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Logitech Ultimate Ears Audio Line Launched

Rahul R — Wed, 22 May 2013 15:06:06 GMT

Logitech recently launched a new line-up of audio products called the 'Ultimate Ears' series, comprising of portable Bluetooth speakers viz. UE Mobile Boombox and UE Boombox, over the ears headphones UE6000 and UE 9000 and professional Quad armature wired earphone UE900.

Feature-wise breakup of Logitech's Ultimate Ears, according to a press release:

UE Mobile Boombox (Price: Rs 8995) : An ultraportable speaker that works by syncing to smartphones/tablet via Bluetooth. The Mobile Boombox can pair with up to 8 Bluetooth devices and seems to be proud of its manual method of music switching between 2 devices - press pause on one and press play on another. The device is coated with metal finishes, vibrant accents and a grip-action rubber casing. The device also doubles up as a speakerphone with a built-in mic and one can switch between listening to music and taking a hands-free phone call and then get back to the music.

Logitech UE Mobile Boombox

UE Boombox (Price: Rs 21,995): An on-the-go speaker that lets people use their smartphones/tablets to play and control music. Sound from the UE Boombox is delivered by eight custom-tuned drivers. UE Boombox can pair up to 8 Bluetooth enabled devices and play music from 3 devices at the same time. Streaming music can be done from across the room or across the street. An integrated, sculptured aluminum handle makes it easy to roam – from the kitchen, to the bedroom, to a party at a friend’s house or anywhere in between – with uninterrupted music. The device comes with a 6 hour rechargeable battery.

Logitech UE Boombox

UE 6000 (Price: Rs 17,995): A progressive, noise-cancelling, around-ear headphone, with an onboard amp for an immersive and powerful listening experience. These headphones can be folded up like sunglasses when on the go, and they come with a splitter to make sharing simple. The distinct UE sound signature is claimed to provide pure, undiluted audio with a wide-open soundstage and a level of detail in music. Active noise canceling technology filters out ambient noise for an intuitive listening experience. The Logitech UE 6000 Headphones feature plush memory foam cushions; and an around-the-ear design.

Logitech UE 6000

UE 9000 (Price:Rs. 31,995): Connects wirelessly to your favorite Bluetooth devices, but includes an optional cable that can be folded when users are on the go. The UE 9000 is said to incorporate high-resolution drivers. Logitech UE 9000 also features discreetly placed controls that respond to the touch of fingertips, with which users can select songs, turn up the volume, or answer a call.

Logitech UE 9000

UE 900 (Price: Rs.34,995): Said to feature a unique quad-armature design — two for the low end, one for the mid-range, and one for high frequencies. The device incorporates dual-bore technology to boost sound and enable the user to experience music intuitively. Ultimate UE900 comes with eight pairs of specially designed ear cushions. Its microphone and on-cord controls lets people answer calls with just one touch, change tracks and adjust volume and a second standard cable is also included.

Logitech UE 900

Commenting on the launch, Mr. Subrotah Biswas, Director, Logitech India and South West Asia, said, "Artists on stage or people in their living rooms are all united by the music they live for. And we are dedicated to creating products that bring pure and undiluted music."

Logitech

Music

Speakers

Headphones

Audio

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Subheading:

New range of audio products include portable speakers and in ear headphones.

Product:

Home Entertainment

Brand:

Logitech

BlackBerry 10 Not A Hit With Indian Netizens: Reports

kamakshi — Wed, 22 May 2013 14:56:06 GMT

Blackberry claims that its revival plan, the Z10 running its latest BB10 OS has been a success, and has already crossed the million handset sale mark globally. And India has been a big market for the Canadian brand. While a few months ago Forbes.com reported that the Z10 has seen a lot of Android and iPhone users giving it a nod in the US, a social media report by an organisation called Simplify360 says that Indian smartphone users haven't really warmed up to BB's latest flagship device. The latest report suggests that 65% of the audience has expressed negative sentiment towards the brand on social media. Launched at Rs 43,500, price-sensitive Indian smartphone users didn’t appreciate the high price tag. Statistically, the report suggests, 63% of current BB loyalists are unlikely to recommend it to others, and 12% are likely to switch to other brands. On the positive side though, 11% indicated an inclination to buy the Z10 and 7% seem to be looking forward to the Blackberry Q10.

One can never understand the power of a #Blackberry phone till he/she uses it to its maximum potential. I so love it.

— Norwegian Ridgeback (@iYatinGupta) February 23, 2013

That being said, BB's tryst with Twitter hasn't always been fun for the smartphone makers, as they usually end up with more criticism on the medium than support. How well BB tries to regain its foothold in this part of the world, we'll find out with time. Interestingly, the Samsung Galaxy S4 smartphone at a price comparable to the Z10, and seemed to be accepted well in India among those who could afford it, although it did drop almost 10% in price since launch.

Mobile Phones

BlackBerry

Twitter

n/a

Subheading:

A Simplify360 report suggests that the Canadian brand has lost sheen on the Indian social media circuit.

Product:

Brand:

Asus Launches Transformer AiO In India: A Unique Mix Of PC And Tablet

ameya — Wed, 22 May 2013 13:31:15 GMT

Asus today launched its Transformer AiO in India, the world’s first dual-OS (Windows 8 and Android 4.1) All-in-One PC with a detachable display that can also be used as a standalone tablet.

Asus Transformer AiO consists of a desktop PC Station with a 3rd generation Intel Core desktop processor, a discrete NVIDIA graphics card, and a detachable 18.4" Full HD (1080p) display that come with its own NVIDIA Tegra 3 quad-core processor, that can be used as a self-contained tablet running Android Jelly Bean 4.1. This hybrid device gives users the mobility of a tablet, with the performance of a powerful desktop PC. The device is specifically targeted at home-lifestyle buyers, C-level executives, architects, design studios, etc.

When detached from the PC Station, the ASUS Transformer AiO's display can be used as two different types of tablets. First, a wireless Remote Desktop technology with dual-band Wi-Fi that gives complete control over Windows 8 on the PC Station for easy access to popular productivity and entertainment software around the home. Alternatively, the 18.4" display can also be used as a standalone tablet running Android 4.1. It switches seamlessly between operating systems at the press of a button. ASUS pegs the battery life of the tablet module at up to five hours. The display unit weighs just under 2.5 Kg, which makes it as heavy as an average laptop.

One interesting aspect of this device is that when one is using the display of the AIO as an Android tablet, the PC Station can be plugged into a monitor or a TV with HDMI port and be simultaneously used as a separate Windows 8 Desktop PC. The Asus Transformer AiO is available with Core i3, i5, and i7 processor options with 4 to 8 GB of RAM. The India pricing for the device ranges between Rs. 87,000 to Rs. 1,07,000 depending on the choice of processor and RAM. It is currently available only through ASUS-exclusive stores and comes with a 3-year warranty.

Following are some of the key specifications of the Asus Transformer AiO:

Processor

PC Station: 3rd Generation Intel Core i5-3350P / i3-3220 / i7

Tablet: NVIDIA Tegra 3 quad-core

Operating system

PC Station: Windows 8 (64-bit)

Tablet: Android 4.1 Jelly Bean

Display

18.4" (1920x1080) LED-backlit with IPS technology

10-point capacitive multi-touch

Graphics

PC Station: NVIDIA GeForce GT 730M (2 GB)

Camera

1 megapixel front-facing

Memory &
storage

PC Station: 4 to 8 GB DDR3 (1600 Mhz) RAM

Up to 1 TB SATA hard drive

Tablet: 2 GB DDR3 (1600 Mhz) RAM with 32 GB onboard storage

Connectivity

PC Station: 802.11a/b/g/n dual-band Wi-Fi, Gigabit Ethernet

4x USB 3.0 ports, 1x USB 2.0 port

HDMI-out

3.5 mm headphone & 3.5 mm mic sockets

3-in-1 memory card slot

Bluetooth 4.0

Tablet: 802.11a/b/g/n dual-band Wi-Fi

1x Mini-USB 2.0 port

3.5 mm headphone / mic socket

microSD card slot

Docking port

Bluetooth 3.0 + EDR

Battery

Tablet: 38W Li-ion for up to 5 hours' use

Size

Tablet: 294 x 466 x 18 mm

PC Station: 267 x 466 x 162 mm

Combined: 376 x 466 x 162 mm

Weight

PC Station: 4.1 kg

Tablet: 2.4 kg

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Subheading:

The world’s first dual-OS (Windows 8 and Android 4.1) All-in-One PC with a detachable display can also be used as a standalone tablet.

Brand:

ASUS

Will The Xbox One Change The Console Gaming Landscape?

jayesh — Wed, 22 May 2013 10:40:03 GMT

After 8 long years, Microsoft finally launched the successor to its Xbox 360 game console, the Xbox One. The first version of the gaming device was launched in 2001 to compete against Sony's PS2. Both the companies introduced newer versions of their respective gaming consoles with online connectivity in 2005. With the Sony PlayStation 4 slated for release later this year, Microsoft has gone ahead and unveiled their next.

Hardware

The Xbox has undergone architectural changes with the processor going from the custom Intel Pentium III, to PowerPC's tri-core Xenon, and now to AMD's 8-core APU. Likewise, the graphics chipset changed from NVIDIA to AMD. The Xbox One will be powered by a CPU with the x86-64 instruction codes. This should make life easier for game developers to make game versions for the PC and the Xbox One with neither one looking like a makeshift port with bad graphics. The good thing is that Xbox One will support 4K resolution and 7.1 surround sound. This will finally bring console gaming on par with PC gaming as far as the complexity and details of the graphics are concerned. Storage has been upgraded to 500 GB, which should be sufficient for most purposes.

The Xbox One will have a slot-loading Blu-ray drive. Yes, Microsoft has finally embraced Blu-ray after shying away from the high definition optical drive format for five years since the demise of the HDDVD format, which it had coveted for years.

The OS on the Xbox One looks eerily similar to Windows 8 with the tile-based UI. The console will run three operating interfaces: Xbox OS (for gaming), a Windows kernel-based OS that is similar to Windows 8, and a third interface that will facilitate communication between the other two. While it will not be compatible with Windows 8 as such, which means that you may not be able to run apps for the OS on the console, it should not be a problem to port them to the console with slight modifications due to the similar architectures.

There are a few new things that will set it apart from its competitors.

Voice Commands

The Xbox One understands voice commands to make your life easier. For example, you can just say "Xbox On" to launch your personalised Xbox One Home screen and issue other commands to do other tasks. The company boasts that the console can recognise voice commands even in a crowded noisy environment by isolating the user's voice, thanks to the better microphone in the new Kinect.

Better Online Connectivity And Presence

Better Skype experience is being touted by Microsoft with the Xbox One. The new Kinect will come with a 1080p camera, which will allow for better video chat. Also, there is a Snap feature that is basically a picture-in-picture feature using which you can video chat on Skype while playing a game, with the Skype video window sitting in one corner of the screen with the game or a TV show running on the rest of the screen. Apps such as Netflix are there to watch online movies and more apps should be available by the time the console becomes available. The popular Internet Explorer browser is there for other online activities.

It is mentioned that the Xbox One will be able to work with set-top boxes (initially only in the US), to watch live TV. The console will be able to control the STB via HDMI cable that connects the two. Of course, this means that the STB has to support this control method. While this functionality will be limited to the US on immediate release of the console, the company does have plans to bring it to all markets where Xbox One will be available.

DVR

It is for the first time that a gaming console will now be able to record games as they are being played and you can show them off to your friends for bragging rights. Of course, this is possible with the powerful processor and the ample storage space that comes with the Xbox One. The Xbox One will feature an HDMI-In in addition to a standard HDMI-Out, which will let it connect to STBs as mentioned earlier. While the company hasn't mentioned it explicitly, this setup should be able to serve as your personal DVR and make sure that you will not miss any show even when you may not be present in front of the TV when it airs live.

Upcoming Games

Microsoft has made sure that a lot of big titles will be available when the Xbox One becomes available by the end of this year. Of these, Remedy Entertainment's Quantum Break is touted to be a promising game that blends a TV show with gaming. Remedy puts it as "how you play the game impacts the show, and the show informs how you play the game". Additionally, there will be the highly anticipated Call Of Duty: Ghosts, Forza Motorsport 5, FIFA 14, Madden NFL 25, NBA LIVE 14, and Quantum Break, with more titles expected to be announced at E3 2013.

Comparison With The PS4

The Xbox One and the PS4 will both be available by the end of this year. While the PS4 was announced earlier this year in February, we are yet to get a glimpse of how it looks, let alone its detailed specifications. We at least know how the Xbox One looks like. Both the consoles will be powered by 8-core processors with X86-64 instruction sets and feature 8 GB of RAM. Blu-ray, USB 3.0, Wi-Fi, and HDMI-Out are also common features. The Xbox One has a storage capacity of 500 GB, while that of the PS4 is unknown as of now. Social gaming is being promoted by both companies on their respective consoles. Also, the Xbox One supports HDMI-In, which the PS4 lacks, and also touts controlling the STB to watch live TV in addition to having the capability of recording games, none of which is known to exist on the PS4.

In Conclusion

The Xbox One is still a long way off till it is launched, so we do not know of its performance and even its specifications are not known in details. However, we do know just enough to present our views about the upcoming console. If you think of it, there is not much that puts the Xbox One too much ahead of the PS4 as of now as we only know brief specifications of both the consoles and nothing about the performance. However, it is the availability and quality of game titles that will be the deciding factor.

There are a few things that may not go down well with gamers. The Xbox One is not compatible with game titles for previous versions of the console. Also, games can be installed from a Blu-ray to the hard drive only once and you will not be able to install it on another console, unless you pay additional fee. This is because the game gets linked to the Xbox account associated with the console on which it is installed first. While this may be disliked by gamers, it is not really wrong from a legal point of view.

Microsoft has aimed to portray the Xbox One as a convergent device with games, TV, movies, music, and apps along with internet and cloud storage all in a single device. Microsoft has been trying to converge desktop PCs, tablets, and mobile phones with its Windows 8, Windows RT, and Windows Phone 8 operating systems and the Xbox One will be a new addition there. The "convergent device" approach to portray it as a complete entertainment device with online connectivity will surely pay dividends in the months after its launch. How much of those dividends it earns will depend on how well Microsoft braces to face its competitor, the Sony PS4 in India, and the Nintendo Wii U abroad. Of course, this is manageable with a constant replenishment of games, apps, and online services, provided, Microsoft doesn't lose steam by the time the Xbox One is launched after several months from now.

Table Of Contents:

Gaming

Xbox

Subheading:

An analytical look at the reasons why game consoles will no longer be just for gaming.

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Show Inline rating on Teaser:

Brand:

Microsoft

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Google+ Mobile Announces Redesign To Keep Pace With Desktop Experience

Rahul R — Wed, 22 May 2013 09:15:05 GMT

Google which updated its Google+ webpage for desktop browsers with enhancements to its Stream, Hangouts and Photos sections, has announced an update to Google+ webpage for mobile browsers as well. This update is in line with Google's service revamps at the recently concluded I/O developers conference. The most important enhancement in Google+ mobile is the mechanism by which photos, posts, links are converted to "cards". This "conversion" is said to provide for easy readability and resharing of posts on Google+.

The other change in the mobile Google+ site is a redesign of profile pages, for individual users as well as brands. The redesign includes cover photos and larger tap targets (target pages appear big in order to enable easy tapping on a touchscreen).

These enhancements no doubt add a certain amount of functionality to Google+, but they are yet to come close to the Android and iOS mobile application versions of Google+, in terms of user interface. For instance, Google+ for mobile doesn't incorporate functionality such as Hangouts and communities. However, the Google+ iOS app is yet to be updated, and there is only a remote possibility that it will incorporate these aspects. As of now, Google+ offers a similar experience on desktop and mobile.

Screenshot of the new look Google+ mobile.

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Subheading:

A new look for user profile pages is in the offing now, in a post-Google I/O development.

Product:

Internet

Brand:

Google

Opera For Android Now Finalized, Offers Webkit Rendering

Rahul R — Wed, 22 May 2013 06:31:54 GMT

Opera for Android which was available for download in its beta stage has now been finalized and the stable version is officially available for download. With this, Opera's Webkit browser for Android is available for users on Google's Play Store. This browser marks Opera's first webkit venture (Webkit is an open source project). For a decade now, Opera was using its proprietary Presto engine to render web pages.

The tweaks made now complement the already existing features of the Opera browser, and also introduce a revamped user interface (UI) besides a new Discover feature. With Discover, users can find new stuff (new, favorite articles from across the web) with just a swipe on the home screen. The feature helps people to update themselves with all the latest developments from across the web. There are varied categories such as Arts, Technology, News and so on. One aspect to remember here is, the Discover feature displays the latest only upon being synced by Opera, and is not automated.

The Opera Webkit browser also incorporates the Off-Road feature (tested in the beta version), a variant of the functionality that Opera Mobile and Mini already offer. This feature compresses web page sizes for reduction of data traffic while browsing, so that users can save money paid towards data usage. Off-Road would also be suitable when 3G is not present and you have a slow data connection, such as over GPRS. We feel that Off-Road would be of great help to Opera users in India as a "slow internet connection" is all you get through most of the country.

There are the usual performance enhancements to complement the new features, along with an all new combined address and search field for easy accessibility. Opera's Webkit browser for Android is based on Chromium's rendering engine, and offers greater website compatibility. Check out Opera if you want something new on your Android mobile phones. The browser is also available from Opera's official mobile site.

n/a

Subheading:

Users can now dynamically search for web content with the browser's Discover feature, and save on data usage bills.

Brand:

Opera

Lava Iris 458Q Launches At Rs 9,000 With Quad-Core CPU And Android 4.2

jayesh — Wed, 22 May 2013 06:03:46 GMT

Lava has launched its latest handset – Iris 458Q – an iteration of the Iris 458, but with a quad-core CPU in place of a dual-core. The device runs Android 4.2 (Jelly Bean) and sports a 4.5" FWVGA screen. The RAM is 512 MB, while there is 4 GB of internal storage with provision to add up to 32 GB more via microSD card slot. An 8 MP autofocus camera is present on the rear side, while a 0.3 MP front camera takes care of video calling. Connectivity is present in the form of 3G and Wi-Fi. This is a dual-SIM handset with dual standby. There is a 2000 mAh battery that is specified to provide a talk time of up to 13 hours over 2G and 10 hours over 2G. Here are the product specifications:

Android 4.2 (Jelly Bean), Google Play Store.
Dual-SIM (3G + 2G), Dual standby.
4.5" capacitive touchscreen with pixel dimensions of 480x854.
1.2 GHz quad-core MediaTek CPU.
512 MB RAM, 4 GB internal storage, Up to 32 GB microSD support.
8 megapixel rear camera with autofocus and LED flash, 0.3 megapixel front camera.
3G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 3.0, A-GPS.
Sensors: Proximity, Ambient light, Gravity.
2000 mAh battery with a talk time of up to 13 hours over 2G and 10 hours over 2G.

The Lava Iris 458Q has been launched for Rs 9,000, which makes it one of the cheapest Android handsets powered by a quad-core CPU. Its closest competitors are the Lava XOLO Q700 (priced at Rs 9900, with IPS OGS screen, 1 GB of RAM, 2400 mAh battery, but lower 5 MP camera), and the Intex Aqua Wonder (at Rs 9990 with IPS screen, but 1800 mAh battery). The Lava XOLO Q700 (which the company aims to portray as a premium handset with XOLO branding) looks poised to cannibalise its sibling because it stands to be the better handset here owing mainly to its 1 GB RAM and costs only a little more.

n/a

Subheading:

Jelly Bean-based smartphone features a 4.5" screen, dual cameras, and 2000 mAh battery.

Product:

Mobiles

Brand:

Lava

Download: Fantasia Painter (Windows Phone)

Rahul R — Wed, 22 May 2013 03:30:56 GMT

If you enjoy sketching and painting, check out the Fantasia Painter, a free painting app for Windows Phone devices. It is an interesting tool that can be used by photography novices as well.

The application provides 32 different brush types, and over a 100 built-in effect, which users can select based on their level of expertise. These brushes adapt to users' painting style. What's more, users can even try effects such as swapping faces in photographs. All effects can be "painted" to part of the image, so that way users can create unique artworks. The app also gives access to online tutorials, to help you with the tool and to sharpen your skills.

Publisher: Nokola
Platform: Windows Phone (WP7 and above)
Price: Free
Size: 16 MB
Download URL: http://www.windowsphone.com/en-in/store/app/fantasia-painter-free/bfb9c8f3-1c4e-e011-854c-00237de2db9e

Apps

Downloads

Windows Phone

n/a

Subheading:

Master the nuances of painting on your WP device.

Product:

Software

Microsoft Unveils Xbox One, Seems More Than A Gaming Console

ck — Tue, 21 May 2013 19:56:38 GMT

Almost eight years after the Xbox 360 first came out, Microsoft has finally unveiled its next-gen gaming console — the Xbox One. Unlike Sony, the guys at Redmond actually showcased the entire package, and not just a controller. Apart from gaming, the console in its latest iteration promises to deliver TV, music, and video chatting capabilities.

The Xbox dashboard (console's UI) has also received a face lift; it looks more like the Windows 8 operating system. Thanks to its multitasking capabilities, you can use Internet Explorer and chat with your Skype friends all at once. Building onto the speech technology TellMe, the console also recognises voice commands. For instance, you can simply say "Xbox watch HBO" and it will do that for you. And you can also make video calls using Skype.

On the hardware front, the Xbox packs in an 8 core processor, 8 GB of RAM, 500 GB hard drive, Blu-ray drive, USB 3.0, Wi-Fi, and HDMI-Out. Microsoft has also made changes to the controller and Kinect accessory.

Coming to the subject of games, the highly-anticipated Call Of Duty: Ghosts, Forza Motorsport 5, FIFA 14, Madden NFL 25, NBA LIVE 14, and Quantum Break will be made available for Xbox One, with more titles expected to be announced at E3 2013. While the company hasn't shed any light on its exact pricing or availability, the Xbox One will launch in markets around the world later this year.

Gaming

Microsoft

Xbox

n/a

Subheading:

Features a revamped dashboard, multitasking support, and an 8 core processor.

Product:

Games

Home Entertainment

Brand:

Microsoft

iBall Slide Q9703 Launches For Rs 16,000

Rahul R — Tue, 21 May 2013 12:26:22 GMT

iBall has just added yet another Android tablet to it line up with the iBall Slide Q9703. It features a 9.7" display with 2048x1536 pixels (264 ppi), and runs the Android 4.1 Jelly Bean out of the box. The USP of the Slide Q9703 is its quad-core processor. The slate has been priced at Rs 16,000, and would be available across both online and brick and mortar stores, shortly. Earlier, iBall had released the Edu Slide i1017 Android 4.1 slate, priced at Rs 13,000.

Here is a list of the iBall Slide Q9703 technical specifications:

9.7" QXGA HD display with 2048x1536 pixels (264 ppi).
Android 4.1 Jelly Bean OS.
1.2 GHz quad-core processor.
Octa Logic Core GPU.
5 MP rear camera, and a 2 MP front snapper.
2 GB RAM.
16 GB internal storage.
MicroSD card slot supporting up to 32 GB.
3G (via USB dongle), Bluetooth, Wi-Fi.
8000 mAh battery.

The Rs 16,000 price-tag of the iBall Slide Q9703 seems apt considering the device's technical specifications. It closely resembles the Zync Quad 10.1 with similar specs, but packs in a larger display (10.1" 10-point multi-touch screen with 1920x1200 pixels), a better processor (1.5 GHz quad-core processor, with an octa-core Mali-400 MP4 GPU), and of course lesser price (Zync Quad 10.1 is priced at Rs 15,000 online).

Tablets

Android

iBall

n/a

Subheading:

This Android 4.1 Jelly Bean tablet with 9.7" screen packs in a quad-core processor.

Brand:

iBall

FIR Filed Against Facebook Citing Group Encouraging Cow Slaughter

kamakshi — Tue, 21 May 2013 11:49:06 GMT

Facebook often gives us the most bizarre perspective of people's wild side. Most cases of online slander seem to stem from the social networking website. This time around, the service has drawn the ire of a Lucknow-based user, and a senior police officer at that.

The man in question is Amitabh Thakur, who filed an FIR against Facebook at the at Gomtinagar police station, complaining about a group which encourages cow slaughter. A report on NDTV.com suggests that the website is being booked under the Information Technology (IT) Act, 2000 for a FB group that went by the name of 'Aao mil kar kaaten Gaay' (Come together to butcher cows).

The complaint has been registered under famed Section 66 A of the IT Act. The report also adds that Thakur had already filed four similar FIRs but no action has been taken so far. The group, which is said to be abusive towards both Hindu and Islamic beliefs, seems to have been pulled off the social network for now.

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Subheading:

Complainant says group abusive towards both Hindu and Islamic beliefs, complaint registered under IT Act, 2000.

Product:

Internet

Brand:

Facebook

Android 4.2.2 Firmware For Samsung GALAXY S3 Leaked

Rahul R — Tue, 21 May 2013 10:30:57 GMT

A new Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean test firmware for Samsung GALAXY S3 has surfaced, which is expected to start seeding soon. A SamMobile report states that apart from the regular enhancements that Android 4.2 brings with it, the Android 4.2.2-JDQ39 update is expected to incorporate various features that are found in Samsung's latest flagship, the GALAXY S4.

SamMobile says that the Android 4.2.2 would officially be available from June this year, after completion of the current test stage. As for the features, you can expect an improved notification screen, new Settings app UI, new lockscreen with animated ripple and light effects, and even the new S-Voice from the GALAXY S4. Apart from these, other enhancements that are expected to grace the S3 include:

New Screens Modes called Adapt Display and Professional photo that aid users wanting to play around with on screen effects/colours.
Daydream Mode (an essential screensaver for your smartphones, a feature of Android 4.2).
Driving Mode.
Gallery Mode with white background.
Samsung apps viewable in full screen.
Smart Switch widget.
Actionable notifications.
Redesigned User Interface, which is expected to be similar to the tabbed interface found in the GALAXY S4.
Enhancement in Samsung's S-Voice feature.

We expect new camera features with the update as well, but details about that are sketchy as of now. For more, check out the video below.

n/a

Subheading:

The upgrade will bring some S4 features to the handset, expected to release officially in June.

Brand:

Samsung

Ex-Nokia Employees Unveil First Jolla Phone With Sailfish OS

ck — Tue, 21 May 2013 09:43:56 GMT

In 2011, Nokia abandoned its Meego OS (N9's operating system), in favour of Microsoft's Windows Phone platform. In effect, those working on the Meego project had to leave the company. To encourage its ex-employees to set up their own businesses, the Finnish handset-maker came up with sponsored entrepreneurship program. Jolla (pronounced Yolla) is one such start-up funded by Nokia. It mainly comprises of folks who designed the software as well as hardware of the Nokia N9. Of course they wanted to deliver a successor of the N9 and continue the development of Meego.

Now after around two years, the company has finally unveiled its first smartphone called Jolla. According to the official product page, the handset features a 4.5" screen, dual-core processor, 8 megapixel auto focus camera, 16 GB internal storage, microSD card slot, and 4G LTE support. Similar to the recently announced Lumia 925, the phone comes with interchangeable snap on covers. On the software front, you get Sailfish OS, which is a modified version of Meego. Similar to the N9, Jolla phone's UI revolves around swipe gestures. Yes, there are no physical or even on-screen navigation buttons. Those sceptical about the ecosystem will be pleased to know that the OS is compatible with Android apps. Now whether it can run each and every Android app, we don't know yet.

The Jolla phone is priced at EUR 400 (Rs 28,500), and is up for pre-order on Jolla.com. The devices are expected to start shipping by the end of this year. Currently, the company doesn't seem to have plans to ship its device to India or Asia for that matter. Those curious about the new operating system can see it in action below:

Mobile Phones

Sailfish

Jolla

n/a

Subheading:

The handset is made by ex-Nokia employees working on the Meego project.

Product:

Mobiles

Brand:

Jolla

Yahoo! Upgrades Flickr Storage To 1 TB, Releases New Flickr Android App

Rahul R — Tue, 21 May 2013 09:39:31 GMT

After Yahoo! made headlines (and attracted users' ire) on acquiring Tumblr, it has announced a bonanza for its Flickr users. In a blog post, Yahoo! has stated that Flickr users will now be able to store more, with free 1 TB of storage. Not only this, Yahoo has also released a free Flickr Android app (for Android 2.3.3 and above) that is available on the Google Play store. The Android app has a new interface and allows full-size photo uploads, alongside putting up high-res images. It also provides a photo editor to enhance, draw, crop, add text, and even retouch the images. Plus, the pictures can be geotagged. Yahoo! already has an iOS app for Flickr, which can be downloaded from the iTunes store.

With Yahoo! extending the free storage limit on the web-based service, users can store a lot of content, which makes it better than Google+'s 15 GB free storage space. So, we can expect something big from Google very soon.

n/a

Subheading:

The app now now lets users upload full-size photographs, and packs in a photo editor as well.

Product:

Internet

Brand:

Yahoo

NRI Developes Tech That Will Charge Phone Battery In Just 30 Seconds!

jayesh — Tue, 21 May 2013 08:56:08 GMT

Here's some good news for those of you who dread your cellphones dying on you. An 18-year old California-based NRI, Eesha Khare, bagged the Intel Foundation Young Scientist Award worth $50,000 for her invention that claims to charge a mobile phone in just 30 seconds. According to her, the gadget includes a "supercapacitor", which is a capacitor that can hold more charge than the conventional ones. Moreover, it can easily fit inside a mobile phone and can last for 10,000 recharging cycles, as against 1000 for the conventional batteries. Apart from mobile phones, it can be used in just about any mobile device as well as in car batteries.

While details about the device are not yet available, geeksaresexy.net mentions that it is just a few centimetres long and some mm thick, making it small enough to fit inside the phone body, but with a few structural modifications. So from whatever we know so far, this is likely to be a high-capacity capacitor mounted on a tiny PCB. As is the property of a capacitor, it hold charge for a long time, and can slowly discharge to power up the device's battery. Alternatively, the capacitor itself can serve as a battery by charging up fast and providing a slow regulated discharge. Either way, the result is surely going to revolutionise mobile device portability, that too for better.

Accessories

n/a

Subheading:

Invention poised to revolutionise mobile device portability for the better; inventor awarded $50,000 prize.

Samsung GALAXY S4 User Impressions

Team TechTree — Tue, 21 May 2013 07:24:19 GMT

Subheading:

Check out what users have to say about the most anticipated handset of the year.

Here's a smartphone that requires no introduction. But to keep up with the fanfare, the handset bring upon itself a challenging task of getting ahead of its overly-popular predecessor. To find out if this handset really worth your money, check out our review.

Embed Video Id:

WopplVX5V0Q

No Porn Restrictions For Tumblr With Yahoo!

kamakshi — Tue, 21 May 2013 07:22:17 GMT

It is no secret that many Tumblr loyalists are tuned in to the service just because of the explicit content that is freely available. In fact a couple of years ago, a Gawker.com report even attributed the blogging service's success to pornographic material and spam. While the internet doesn't mind nudity or erotica, and doesn't really moral police its users, there are other services such as Apple's iTunes App Store that pull off apps for promoting such content. That is one reason, as Cnet.com suggests, that the Tumblr app for the iOS platform has let go of its porn label, and added a mature rating to it.

However, Yahoo! which has now acquired the service suggests that it will not object to the content hosted on Tumblr. At an event in New York, Yahoo! CEO Marissa Mayer said that she had no objection with the kind of stuff that goes up on Tumblr, reports Daily Mail. However, she did add, "We will not have Yahoo branding on the Tumblr site. We want to let Tumblr be Tumblr, and let Yahoo be Yahoo", which means two things: Yahoo! will leave Tumblr alone, and that you may not see Yahoo! flaunt porno openly anytime soon.

Internet

Yahoo!

n/a

Subheading:

Yahoo! CEO says the company will not flash any branding on the blogging service, and let it be.

Product:

Internet

Brand:

Yahoo

BenQ Launches XL2411T 3D Gaming Monitor For Rs 22,500

jayesh — Tue, 21 May 2013 06:54:12 GMT

BenQ has launched a new LED-backlit 3D gaming monitor, the XL2411T for gamers and professionals. Featuring a 24" Full HD panel, this new XL Series monitor supports a refresh rate of 120 Hz, which makes it compatible with NVIDIA 3D Vision 2 technology, but it doesn't come with an inbuilt IR emitter or 3D glasses. Specs mention a 1 ms GTG response time, which if true, makes it good for gaming. The 12,000,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio claims to display the darkest as well as the brightest part of an image.

The series includes the Black eQualizer, which claims to improve visibility in darkened areas, which can be useful while gaming. The Display Mode and Smart Scaling features allow gamers to change between monitor screen sizes from 17" (4:3), 19" (4:3), 19" Wide (16:10), 21.5" Wide (16:9), 22" Wide (16:10), 23" Wide (16:9), to 24" Wide (16:9), and to manually scale the screen to a custom size.

The monitor differs from the XL2420T that was launched last year, with a faster response time of 1 ms as against 2 ms. Also, the older monitor has speakers, while the newer version does not. Moreover, the newer version which also has a slightly lower power consumption, smaller dimensions and is lighter, does not include the S Switch controller. The BenQ XL2411T is available at an MRP of Rs 22,500, making it somewhat expensive.

Displays

Gaming

BenQ

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Subheading:

24" display boasts of 1 ms response time and 120 Hz refresh rate.

Product:

PC & Peripherals

Brand:

BenQ

Samsung Launches Quad-core GALAXY Grand Quattro In India

ck — Mon, 20 May 2013 14:17:31 GMT

The world's leading smartphone-maker Samsung has added a new handset to its GALAXY Grand series. Dubbed as the Grand Quattro, it's a dual-SIM cell phone with 4.7" screen. Design-wise, it looks much like the S4 and the S III, so you'll have no trouble flaunting it. At Rs 16,500, it is the cheapest quad-core phone from Samsung, which will be the Quattro's selling point. On the flipside, it features a run-of-the-mill TFT display with 480x800 pixels. Its pixel density is nothing to write home about. Guess that's a given with the Grand brand. Moving along, for photography there's a 5 megapixel auto-focus camera with an LED flash. Other specs include 1 GB RAM, 8 GB of internal storage, microSD slot, and 2000 mAh battery. The phone runs Android Jelly Bean out of the box. The detailed specs are as follows:

4.7" screen with pixel dimensions of 480x800.
1.2 GHz quad-core CPU, 1 GB RAM.
8 GB of internal storage, MicroSD card slot.
5 megapixel camera with flash, VGA front-facing camera.
Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, 3.0, A-GPS.
Dual-SIM (GSM); Supports 3G.
2000 mAh battery.
Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean).

From the specs, the Samsung Grand Quattro I8552 seems like an improvisation of the original Grand. Well technically, anything that's usable is better than the Grand. The price too is much more sensible than what the Grand Duos I9082 was launched for (or what it sells for even now). As a special introductory offer, the device will come with a digital wallet of Rs 3000 applicable on games, valid for 90 days.

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Subheading:

Features 1 GB RAM, 5 megapixel camera, dual-SIM functionality, and sports a sensible price tag.

Brand:

Samsung

Review: Samsung GALAXY S4

ck — Mon, 20 May 2013 13:01:40 GMT

Pros:

Excellent screen; Superb camera quality; Loads of camera features; Great sound quality; Supports multiple video formats out of the box; Good battery life.

Cons:

Uninspiring design; Flimsy back cover; Noticeable lag in certain basic tasks; Cluttered UI; Uncomfortable for single-handed use; Expensive.

Samsung GALAXY S4
Street Price: Rs 40,200

Here's a smartphone that requires no introduction. Not just enthusiasts, but almost every person who has the slightest of hint that I work for TechTree, has been asking me about the Samsung GALAXY S4. But to keep up with the fanfare, the handset bring upon itself a challenging task of getting ahead of its overly-popular predecessor. Without further ado, let's find out if the S4 lives up to its hype.

Design And Build Quality
"Arey aapke paas bhi gelexy grand hai?", a co-passenger asked me when I was testing the device. I can't blame him, after all Samsung seems to be unwilling to give a premium feel to its Rs 40,000 phone. As we've seen in the recent times, irrespective of how classy the competing handsets look, Samsung continues to recycle its uninspiring design. Like every other GALAXY phone, the S4 features an all-plastic body. Its sides have a faux-metal finish. From my past experience (yes, it's there on almost every GALAXY phone) I can tell that it goes away over a period of time.

Although, the phone has a relatively smaller footprint than most 5-inchers, it's still not ideal for single handed usage. Especially, pulling down the notification bar can be quite an uphill task. And you're required to do that a lot in an Android phone. The S4 has three sensors and a front-facing camera near the earpiece. These four black dots look awful on a white unit. What's worse is that their placement is just as random as pimples on a person's forehead. Hopefully, it would be less pronounced on the black variant.

While most Android handset makers are going with the on-screen navigation keys, Samsung has retained the tried-and-tested physical home button and capacitive keys. Among other things, the 3.5 mm jack is at the top, while the micro-USB port sits at the bottom. On the right is a Power / Lock button, and volume rocker is placed on the other side. The build quality is decent, and I bet the handset can withstand a few drops. However, the back-panel is extremely flimsy. Even domestic brands like XOLO use better materials for the back-panels of their sub-10k phones than this "premium" device.

Display And Hardware
The S4's 5" Super AMOLED screen is simply outstanding. It makes colours pop-out and delivers impressive blacks. There's even an option to alter the colour tone of the display. For instance, if you like saturated colours, you can opt for a preset called Dynamic. On the other hand, those who prefer natural shades can go with Standard or Photo mode. The 1080p screen is sharp, but the resolution is not the only reason for its sharpness; you just can't tell the difference between this and a 720p resolution on any 5" display. So basically, the 1080p part is nothing more than a gimmick. But having said that, the screen quality is better than any of its competitors or predecessors. The display is scratch resistant, thanks to Gorilla Glass 3, which is considered to be the best in the business. Similar to the Lumia series phones, the S4 sports a glove-friendly screen.

In India, the S4 ships with Exynos 5410 chipset that features 1.6 GHz Octa-Core Processor, and 2 GB of RAM. Other features include 16 GB of internal storage, microSD support for up to 64 GB, 13 megapixel auto focus camera, 2 mp front-facing camera, Wi-fi, A-GPS with GLONASS, NFC, Bluetooth 4.0, IR LED (Remote Control), MHL 2.0, and 2,600 mAh battery. For a quick specs rundown, check out the video at the end of this review.

UI And Application
The S4 features Android 4.2 (Jelly Bean) with TouchWiz UI on top of it. The interface is much like what we've seen on the GALAXY Note II. As mentioned earlier in the article, Samsung has opted for its standard buttons over on-screen navigation keys. These three buttons offer secondary functionality with long press. For instance, you can bring up Google Now by pressing and holding the Options key. Apart from doing its primary task, the notification bar offers quick access to toggles for Wi-Fi, Network, Bluetooth, GPS etc. There's even a brightness slider, which comes in very handy.

The phone features a plethora of features. Out of the lot, split-screen multitasking, Air View, and Smart Stay are carried over from the Note II. Others functionalities including Smart Pause, Smart Scroll, Air Gesture, WatchON, Group Play, Optical Reader are actually new, and here's a brief description of what they do:

Smart Pause: If you look away while watching a movie on your S4, the phone pauses the video player. It resumes when you look back at the screen again. Since this feature requires you to track your face, it doesn't work well in the low-light. Even in well-lit conditions, it seldom works.

Smart Scroll: This feature allows you to scroll emails and websites, by tilting your head or the phone. The Smart Scroll doesn't always work as Samsung would like you to believe. More importantly, I fail to see how it's more convenient than scrolling with your thumb.

Air Gestures: The S4 lets you browse through picture, change tracks, and pick up calls by waving your hand at it. The phone can pick up these gestures only if your hand is less than 5 cm away for the screen. Now irrespective of its success rate, gesture navigation for something that sits on your palm is pointless!

WatchON: Similar to HTC One, the GALAXY S4 features a built-in IR port. Using manual key mapping, you can make it work on most TVs, home theatres, and cable set-top boxes. Now this is a useful feature and quite fun to use too.

Group Play: Using Group Play, you can wirelessly connect multiple GALAXY S4 phones to play music together. It can also be used for playing multiplayer games. Since we had only one GS4, I couldn't test this feature.

Optical Reader: This feature is inspired by Bing Vision found on the Windows Phone devices. It's supposed to help you scan text and translate it. In reality, leave aside translation, the software had a hard time even identifying words.

So basically, the phone has no shortage of features. However, except for the WatchON and Air View, none of them are truly useful. Having too many features isn't bad, but functionality that doesn't serve any purpose creates unnecessary clutter. In GALAXY S4's case, Samsung was so focused on adding bells and whistles, that they have overlooked the core UI elements. Some menus are so flooded with options that they end up looking messy. The company's in-your-face icons and colour scheme don't help either. Then there's a complete lack of design uniformity among Samsung apps. Some of them have hierarchical menus whereas few others feature Windows Phone like swipe interface. Comparatively, HTC One delivers a more streamlined and easy-on-eyes UI.

Thanks to its insanely-powerful octa-core CPU, the S4 had no issues handling complex 3D games such as Dead Trigger and Shadowgun. Coming to the subject of synthetic benchmark, the S4 tops the list of best performing phone by scoring 27650 in AnTuTu. Surprisingly though, the mighty S4 chokes while performing simple tasks! Weird as it may sound, but the phone takes more than a couple of seconds to load the phonebook. It stutters while scrolling the list of songs and takes an unusually long time to change the screen orientation. Forget similarly priced phones, even the Lumia 520 that sells for Rs 10,000 (one fourth of S4's price) beats the S4 at it. We tested a retail unit, and to make sure the problem wasn't limited to that specific handset, we spoke with a few shopkeepers. According to them, many users have been reporting such issues, and some of them have even returned their handsets. More evidence can be found by clicking this link, where the owners of the S4 (Octa-core version that ships in India) are complaining about the lag. There's no denying that the S4 has the most powerful hardware, but if it isn't good enough to deliver a pleasant user experience in basic tasks, it doesn't impress me much.

Multimedia
The S4 comes with a feature-packed music player. It offers usual set of equaliser settings and sound enhancements. There's even Smart Sound that works as a sound normalizer. More importantly, the device's sound quality is great. In terms of video playback support, the S4 covers almost every popular format including AVI, MP4, MKV, and WMV up to 1080p. There's pop up play feature that enables you to watch videos in a small, widget-like window. This allows you to view a clip even while browsing or sending a text message. While watching a movie, you can seek through it by hovering your finger over the progress bar. So overall, the phone doubles up as an excellent PMP.

Camera
The phone's 13 megapixel auto-focus camera is coupled with an LED flash. The camera UI is similar to what we've seen on the GALAXY camera. There's a distinct Mode button that brings up a neatly stacked list of various camera features including Dual Shot, Drama Shot, Cinema Shot, Sound & Shot, Eraser, Best Face, and Beauty Face. Let's go though some of the more interesting features:

Cinema Shot: This app captures multiple frames and makes the photograph livelier by turning it into an animated image. Once the photo is taken, the app highlights the spots that can be animated. If you're not happy with these suggestions, you can manually select the area via the edit mode. It's just like Cinemagraph feature found on Nokia Lumia phones.

Eraser: Assume you're taking a picture of your friend and a stranger unknowingly walks into the frame right when you hit the shutter button. Now generally you don't have an option but to delete that picture and snap it again. However, this feature allows you to remove that "photo bomb". Again, this feature has been lifted from the Nokia Lumia phones.

Best Face: If you're snapping a picture and your friend blinks, you've to retake the shot, right? Thanks to Samsung's Best Face feature, the answer is no. Since this mode snaps additional frames, you can select the face and choose the best expression. Once you get the desired results, hit the check button and then save the file. And yes, this functionality is also inspired by the Nokia Lumia phones.

Drama Shot: This feature combines multiple images in a single frame to convey the action. This works only when the subject is in motion. For instance, this is perfect for taking interesting pictures of runners or skateboarders. Samsung fans will be glad to know that this feature hasn't been taken from Lumia devices. But, did I tell you that it's a clone of HTC's Sequence Shot?

Sound & Shot: As its name suggests, Sound & Shot lets you add audio to your photographs. Thanks to this feature, you'll never forget what song was being played or what was being said at that moment. It's definitely a nice way to preserve those precious moments.

Dual Shot: This is a unique feature that allows you to take simultaneous pictures using both cameras. The snap taken from the front camera gets stamped on the main image. This way, even though you're pressing the camera shutter, you can still be a part of the picture without using third-party photo editing tools. Wonder why one would need that.

Beauty Face: Ever wondered why some people look prettier in their Facebook profile pictures than in person? Well, the credit goes to the Gaussian blur and Smudge effects in Photoshop. Similar results can be achieved using the Beauty Face mode on GALAXY S4. Those registered on matrimonial sites will find this feature incredibly useful.

Innovative or not, one can't deny the fact that the S4 sports a most feature-packed camera. More importantly, it offers great image quality. The resulting photographs contain plenty of detail, while keeping noise under control. It even bests the Apple iPhone 5 and Nokia Lumia 920 in well-lit conditions. Click here, to view the untouched camera sample. Compared to its predecessor (Galaxy S III), the low-light performance is also good. Long story short, it's the best Android camera phone available in India.

Like any other flagship phone, the S4 can record full-HD videos. The clips are saved in MP4 format, and offer smooth playback at 30 fps. You can record slow-motion and time-lapse videos. In addition to that, the Dual Shot feature also works in video mode.

Telephony And Messaging
The phonebook is a standard TouchWiz affair: Swiping a contact to the left results in composing a message, while swiping it to the right lets you call the person. Thanks to Direct Call feature, holding the S4 to your ear automatically dials the number you were browsing. In terms of network reception and call quality, there's nothing to complain about.

Moving on to messaging, the on-screen keyboard is poorly designed. Instead of utilising the space to fit in bigger keys, Samsung has wasted it in the form of spacing between the characters. The only saving grace here is that you're unlikely to punch in wrong keys on a 5" screen.

Battery Life
The S4's packs in a 2600 mAh Li-ion. In our 720p video loop test with brightness set to 60%, it lasted a little over 10 hours. Under normal use, it easily lasts for a day and half. The battery life is nothing short of impressive, given that this phone sports a 1080p display and the most powerful processor in the market currently.

Verdict
The S4 offers a gorgeous screen, superb camera, and great multimedia performance. On the other hand, it has a done-to-death design. The build quality leaves a lot to be desired. The UI is cluttered, and despite having an extremely powerful octa-core CPU, the phone does lag in certain tasks. If you're split between HTC One and S4, I'd wholeheartedly recommend the HTC One as it's a much better smartphone save for the mediocre camera. But if camera and screen quality are at the forefront of your requirement list, there's none better then the GALAXY S4.

On a related note, available for Rs 26,000, the GALAXY S III gives you excellent value for money. Therefore, for those seeking good value it makes more sense to go for the S III than shelling out 40k for the S4. And even if you do care about flaunt value, the best part is that most of your friends wouldn't know whether it's an S III or an S4. Don't believe me? Check out the following picture.

Features: 4.5/5
Design And Build Quality: 3/5
Performance: 3.5/5
Value For Money: 3/5
Mojo: 4/5

Overall Rating: 3.5/5

Specifications:

Bonus content!

For those not so musically inclined, here are the key specifications:

5" Full HD Super AMOLED (1080x1920), 441 ppi, protected by Corning Gorilla Glass 3.
1.6 GHz Octa-Core Processor, 2 GB of RAM.
Android 4.2.2 (Jelly Bean) OS.
16 GB internal storage, microSD support for up to 64 GB.
13 MP rear camera with Auto Focus, Flash and Zero Shutter Lag.
2 MP front-facing camera, Full HD recording @30fps.
Camera Features: Dual Camera, Drama Shot, Sound & Shot, 360 Photo, Cinema Photo, Eraser, Night, Best Photo, Best Face, Beauty Face, HDR (High Dynamic Range), Panorama, Sports.
Wi-fi, GPS with GLONASS, NFC, Bluetooth 4.0, IR LED (Remote Control), MHL 2.0.
Accelerometer, RGB light, Geomagnetic, Proximity, Gyro, Barometer, Temperature and Humidity, Gesture sensors.
Other features: Group Play, Story Album, S Translator, Optical Reader, Samsung Smart Scroll, Samsung Smart Pause, Air Gesture, Air View, Samsung Hub, ChatON, Samsung WatchON, S Travel (Trip Advisor), S Voice Drive, S Health, Samsung Adapt Display, Samsung Adapt Sound, Auto adjust touch sensitivity (Glove friendly), Safety Assistance, Samsung Link, Screen Mirroring, Samsung KNOX (B2B only).
2600 mAh battery.
Requires Micro-SIM.

Inline Images:

Subheading:

The most anticipated smartphone of 2013 is here. Let's find out if it lives up to the hype.

Rate This Story:

Expert Rating:

Product:

Mobiles

Brand:

Samsung

Download: Epic Battle Dude Action Game (iOS/Android/Windows Phone)

Rahul R — Mon, 20 May 2013 12:24:08 GMT

If you bought a Windows Phone 8 device recently and want to play an action game to kill time, the freeware Epic Battle Dude can help. Epic Battle Dude turns you into a king, putting you on a mission where you battle monsters who encroach upon your kingdom, and even kidnap the queen. You need to battle these creatures using weapons such as the sword, axe and mace. Epic Dude is also available to Android and iOS users.

The game packs in 50 levels and real-time combat system for you to wage war on monsters. It takes you to 4 different locations as a part of your mission to save your queen. As the game progresses, 3 different types of attack can be unleashed on enemies, but the difficulty level also doubles with each level. Enemies also challenge bravely with each passing level. Good sound effects are provided with the game.

If the battle ends in your favour, you will be crowned the ultimate Epic Battle Dude. The game offers an easy way to pass time, especially when you are stuck in your vehicle during a long journey and want to download and try out a quick action game or two. Epic Battle Dude is worth giving a try, especially for Windows Phone 8 users as the game has recently got added to the Windows Phone Store.

Publisher: www.handy-games.com GmbH
Platform: Windows Phone 8, Android (Android 2.1 and above versions), iOS (ver. 4.3 and above, optimized to work on iPhone 5)
Price: Freeware
Size: 38 MB (Windows Phone 8), 39 MB (Android), 42.2 MB (iOS)
Download URL: Windows Phone 8: http://www.windowsphone.com/en-us/store/app/epic-battle-dude/51c8bd4d-7fae-410f-a103-63daf274c424; Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.hg.epicbattledudefree; iOS: https://itunes.apple.com/ca/app/epic-battle-dude/id556529438?mt=8

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Subheading:

The game is recently added to the Windows Phone Store portfolio, was earlier available for Android and iOS platforms.

Product:

Games

Software

ZTE To Bring Low-Cost Smartphones, Sell Directly In India

Rahul R — Mon, 20 May 2013 12:13:54 GMT

ZTE, the Chinese smartphone manufacturer now wants to be identified as a direct competitor in the Indian smartphone market, rather than as a supplier of handsets to various Indian brands, as ZTE is eyeing a foray into the Indian open smartphone market by launching a range of smartphones and tablet computers. A ZTE press release states that the China based company, and its Indian subsidiary ZTE Telecom Indian Pvt Ltd, would work with Pune based Calyx Telecommunications who would distribute the ZTE smartphones.

ZTE's Indian smartphones would be priced in the Rs 5,800 to Rs 15,000 range, according to ZTE. These devices are most likely lower and mid-range Android smartphones, considering their expected price tag. However, as the Indian subcontinent is known to have an affinity towards feature-phones/ mid-range smartphones, we expect ZTE to capture a few eyeballs with their devices.

ZTE, which is one among the top 5 smartphone manufacturers in the world, provided CDMA mobile-phones in India, by tying up with various CDMA cellular service providers such as MTS and Reliance Communications. With this partnership, various low-cost phones were introduced into the fledgling Indian mobile-phone market. According to Xu Dejun of ZTE India, the subcontinent contributes nearly 10% of the company's overall revenue, and is one of ZTE'S primary focus and growth areas. According to Dr Gaurav Somani, Executive Director of Calyx Communications, states that ZTE along with Calyx, in India, would look initially at Goa, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh, apart from 60 cities and towns across India.

However, it would be a daunting task for a Chinese firm like ZTE to grab a share of the Indian smartphone market, with big names such as Samsung, Nokia and even Blackberry having already established their retail presence in India. With brands such as Apple taking a serious look at India, in the form of formulating plans to set-up and increase presence of its dedicated retails stores in India, ZTE would need to come up with something out-of-the-box to combat big names in the Indian subcontinent.

Also Read:
Upcoming ZTE Smartphone To Have Intel Atom Z2580 Processor
Mozilla Firefox OS In Five Countries Soon

zte

smartphones

n/a

Subheading:

However, ZTE would have to combat with the likes of Samsung, Nokia and Blackberry, which dominate Indian markets in their own way.

Brand:

ZTE

White Nexus 4 May Accompany Android 4.3 On 10th June

Rahul R — Mon, 20 May 2013 11:56:34 GMT

The highly speculated Android 4.3 wasn't unveiled at Google's just concluded I/O Developers Conference - instead, a bunch of developer tools and features that developers can use to improve their apps were revealed, to reduce platform fragmentation. But now, Google seems to be in the mood to provide consecutive sixers for its users throughout the world. If a report published after the Google I/O keynote in Android and Me is to be believed, then a new white variant of Google's (and LG's) Nexus 4 can be expected in the Google Play Store from 10th June onwards. This is not all, the White Nexus 4 is also slated to run the Android 4.3 OS. However, the Nexus 4 is not expected to feature any spectacular hardware changes, and will most likely be only a white coloured variant of the now available Nexus 4 (black).

As we had already stated that the USP of LG/Google Nexus 4 is compatibility with the latest Android version, reports about the white variant of Nexus 4 featuring Android 4.3 get weightage. Android 4.3 had surfaced on the Google developers website before the Google I/O 2013, and was later taken off from the site, by citing the reason of "unintentionally surfaced". Android and Me states that there would be support for Bluetooth Smart by virtue of the version 18 of Android 4.3's developer API. Details about the other upgradations that Android 4.3 carries in comparison to predecessor Android 4.2 versions, are not available at this point in time, but we don't expect large differences as the newer version may still carry the "Jelly Bean" name.

Current owners would obviously expect the Android 4.3 update rightaway for their Nexus devices viz. Nexus 4 (Black), Nexus 7 and Nexus 10, if Google does release it. As of now, Nexus 4 is priced at Rs 26,000 in India, so expect the white Nexus 4 with Android 4.3 to be priced similarly, if the device does launch.

Google's Nexus 4 (Black) smartphone.

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Subheading:

Google making it official and releasing Android 4.3 updates to its earlier Nexus devices would be nice to look forward to.

Product:

Mobiles

Brand:

Google

Sony Xperia Tablet Z Releases For Global Availability

Rahul R — Mon, 20 May 2013 11:24:45 GMT

Sony's flagship Android tablet, that was announced earlier this year, has now been released and is available for purchase worldwide although not in India yet. The Xperia Tablet Z comes in two variants viz. 16GB which has a price tag of $499 (roughly Rs 25,000), and the 32GB variant which is priced at $599 (roughly Rs 30,000). Sony claims that its Xperia Tablet Z has received their highest number of pre-orders till date. Do note though, that Sony's previous tablets and the Xperia Tablet S suffer from poor battery life.

In terms of tech-specs, Sony's latest Xperia Tablet Z is packed with:

10.1" touch screen, having 1200x1920 pixels
Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean) operating system
1.5 GHz Qualcomm quad-core processor
Adreno 320 GPU
2 GB RAM
Internal flash memory of 16GB/32GB
MicroSD card slot for expansion up to 32GB
8.1 MP rear camera, and a 2.2. MP front snapper
Bluetooth 4.0, Wi-Fi, and 3G connectivity
6000mAh battery with claimed backup time of 9 hrs

The main USP of the Xperia Tablet Z is its lightweight nature - the device weighs in at 495 grams, which makes it fairly light to carry around. Even the tech-specs of Tablet Z look impressive. Sony says that the device can sync with the company's recently released Xperia Z smartphone. But with their high-price tags, Sony cannot expect to win the war easily in India; considering tablets from brands such as Samsung (notably the Galaxy Tab series), and the Apple iPad series get the fancy of tablet computer buyers in the Indian subcontinent.

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Subheading:

Company claims Xperia Tablet Z has received their highest number of pre-orders till date.

Product:

Tablets

Brand:

Sony

LG To Showcase 55" Curved OLED TV And 5" Flexible And Unbreakable Displays At SID 2013

swagatam — Mon, 20 May 2013 11:12:29 GMT

At the Society for Information Display's annual Display Week 2013, LG is gearing up to showcase its latest innovations in display technologies, reports engadget.com. LG's booth will show off the company's curved 55" OLED TV alongside its standard 55" OLED TVs — the curved version is based on the same WRGB OLED technology as the standard one. Last month we had reported that LG is prepping its own flexible smartphone display and at SID 2013, LG would be unveiling a flexible and unbreakable 5" plastic OLED display for smartphones as well. Competing with Samsung, LG is boasting about it being unbreakable, as it is becoming very evident that consumers want displays that are shatter-proof. This one with a 1 mm bezel, will be revolutionary for smartphones aiming at creating borderless designs.

Other technologies on display at the LG booth include an Ultra-HD panel for 23.8" monitors, Quadruple HD panel for 14" laptops, and a Full-HD 7" panel for tablets with a pixel count exceeding 300 ppi. There would also be a 47" transparent LCD panel for refrigerators and a 12.3" Full-HD LCD display automobiles. All these displays will be based on borderless technologies, bringing narrow bezels to display devices.

Mobile Phones

Displays

n/a

Subheading:

Other innovations on display may include 5" and 7" Oxide TFT panels and high resolution display for monitors and tablets.

Brand: