It seems 128GB wasn’t enough, as flash memory specialists SanDisk has announced a 200GB microSD card (the Ultra microSDXC UHS-I card Premium Edition). It is claimed to be the largest commercially available microSD card.
The 200GB microSDXC card will sell for about $400 when it arrives in Q2 of this year, and your phone should be compatible with SDXC standard to make the card work. It is claimed to have transfer speeds of about 90MB per second, or approx. 1,200 photos per minute.
Meanwhile, SanDisk’s Memory Zone app for Android can automatically transfer data to the microSD card at times when storage is limited on a smartphone or a tablet.
In addition, the company also announced 32GB and 64GB high endurance microSD cards, specially created for dash-cams and home security systems. These high endurance memory cards can withstand extreme temperatures such as heat and extreme chills. These high-endurance cards are also designed keeping in mind heavy duty video recording. They come with a two year warranty and will be available in the U.S, Europe and South Korea.
Sony has announced its latest Xperia M4 smartphone at MWC 2015 in Barcelona. In addition, Sony also announced its Xperia Z4 tablet, making them the only two devices Sony has announced so far at MWC 2015. The Xperia M4 gets a launch price of €299 (Rs. 23,000 approx.), making it a mid range smartphone, which is a bit surprising as Sony hasn’t spruced up its flagship and not launched a successor to the Xperia Z3.
The newly launched Xperia M4 is the first IP68 certified waterproof phone which does not feature rubberised caps for its microUSB port. It gets a 5.2 inch 720p IPS display, while powering the smartphone would be a Snapdragon 615 octa-core 64-bit processor, Adreno 405 GPU and 2GB of RAM.
Optics on the phone include a 13MP primary camera and a 5 MP selfie cam, while storage options include 8GB and 16GB internal memory and microSD card support. The Xperia M4 runs on Android 5.0 Lollipop, gets 4G LTE connectivity, while juicing up the smartphone is a 2400 mAh battery.
The Xperia Z4 Aqua design is quite similar to the Xperia Z3, featuring a tempered glass to protect the display and the frame. It also gets a dedicated camera shutter.
The smartphone will be available globally this spring in white, black, coral and silver colour options. As of now there’s no word yet on an Indian launch date or price but we expect Sony won’t be taking too long to launch the Xperia M4 here.
Samsung has announced its own version of Apple Pay, titled Samsung Pay at MWC 2015. With S-Pay customers can make secure mobile transactions. Samsung has collaborated with Visa and Mastercard and is planning to further expand the eco-system with the likes of American Express, Bank of America, Citi, JP Morgan and US Bank.
Samsung offers this capability by deploying a technology called Magnetic Secure Transmission (MST). Consumers can use Samsung Pay in merchant locations regardless of whether the terminals support NFC or traditional magstripe, which is the vast majority of existing terminals.
The system essentially relies on the Galaxy S and Note devices fingerprint sensor. Users just need to swipe up from the bottom to launch the Samsung Pay app, choose their credit card and simply authenticate the transaction with their fingerprint. Proper safety measures have been taken, Samsung has integrated the system with its KNOX platform, ARM TrustZone and tokenization.
Samsung claims it has tied up with 90% retailers in the US already. Samsung Pay launches in the United States and Korea in the summer, while other regions (such as Europe and China) will follow later. The first devices to support it will be the Samsung Galaxy S6 and Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge.
The much anticipated forthcoming flagship from Samsung has finally been officially unwrapped. Our earlier leak might have ruined surprises, if there were any. As expected, there are indeed two versions of the flagship – one with the standard screen while the other one is a curved display.
Watch our Hands On with the new Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge here:
The normal Galaxy S6 boasts a slightly larger screen size than its predecessor with a 5.1-inch Super AMOLED QuadHD display with a pixel density of 577PPI. Powering the new Galaxy S6 will be an Exynos Octa-Core chipset clocked at 2.1 Ghz which is bundled with a 3GB LPDDR4.
Meanwhile, in terms of optics, it retains the same 16MP count just like its predecessor, though it gets OIS which was missing in its previous iteration. In addition, it also gets a 5MP front facing camera.
On the memory front, the Galaxy S6 will be available in three variant, 32, 64 and 128 GB variants. All based on UFS 2.0 (Universal Flash Storage). And yes, just like the iPhone – the Samsung Galaxy S6 and the S6 Edge will not have micro SD expandability.
Connectivity on the new flagship has been given a slight upgrade, it gets LTE Cat 6 compatibility, while other connectivity options include Bluetooth 4.1, Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, while globally unlocked variants will work on TDD and FDD LTE bands so networks should not be a problem for Samsung this time around. It also gets a fingerprint scanner while juicing up the smartphone would be 2550mAh battery.
Coming to its curved counterpart, all specs and features are the same except it gets a slightly beefier battery unit at 2600mAh along with an Exynos Octa core chipset clocked at 2.5Ghz. Meanwhile, the edge is mostly for aesthetic appeal. At the event the company announced that it took upto 800 Degree to bend the Gorilla Glass 4 display.
Samsung has included quick charging and wireless charging capabilities in the new S6 and the S6 Edge. The company claims that a 10 minute charge will result in 4 hours of usage.
Charging the Galaxy from 0-100 takes the half the time as the iPhone 6
The pricing remains a question (which should be answered shortly), however it is rumored that the Galaxy S6 Edge will cost more than the Note Edge did at launch.
We have pitted them against each other for a closer look at their specifications:
Acer has just announced a slew of smartphones along with a wearable at MWC 2015 in Barcelona. The company announced a Windows Phone – the Liquid M220 along with a trio of Android smartphones – the Liquid Jade Z, Z220, and Z520. In addition, the company also announced a wearable – the Liquid Leap+ active band.
Acer Liquid M220
The Acer Liquid M220 is an entry level Windows phone. Specs on the phone include a 4-inch display, a 5MP main camera with 2MP selfie cam, which can be voice operated. The back of the phone is made out of a strange texture which the company claims is inspired by Thai silk suit jacket material. The phone will be available in two colour options – black and white.
Acer Liquid Jade Z
The Liquid Jade Z sports a 5 inch display while the powering the smartphone is quad core 64 bit Media Tek chipset at 1.5 GHz. Optics include a 13MP rear camera with a 5MP front camera. It runs Android 4.4 KitKat out of the box, which should get Android Lollipop 5.0 soon. It gets two variants – 1GB of RAM with 8GB of storage, or 2GB of RAM with 16GB of storage.
Acer Z520 and Acer Z220
These are two budget Android smartphones. The Z520 has a 4 inch display with a 900 x 480 pixel resolution, while powering the smartphone is a quad-core Mediatek processor bundled with 1GB of RAM. Optics on the smartphone include an 8MP primary camera and a 2MP selfie cam.
Meanwhile, the Z220 gets a WVGA display, 1.2 GHz dual-core Snapdragon processor, 5MP primary camera and a 2MP front cam.
Acer Liquid Leap+
This marks Acer’s entry into the wearable market. The Acer Liquid Leap+ is a fitness band that comes with a 1-inch OLED display and keeps a track of your sleep, calories, distance covered. It’s not platform specific so it supports notifications from Android, iOS or Windows Phone devices.
It’s also waterproof as it gets an IPX7 rating, while the screen in the middle can detached and can be combined with a slew of different colour options. It gets an European price tag of 80 Euros.
Huawei’s smartwatch finally goes official, the Chinese manufacturer just announced its first Android wear at the ongoing Mobile World Congress 2015. The smartwatch gets a circular face with a 286 ppi 1.4 inch AMOLED touchscreen and will be available in three colour options – gold, silver, and black.
Specs on the smartwatch include 4GB storage, 512 MB of RAM, a six-axis motion sensor, while the powering the smartwatch is a 1.2 Ghz processor by Qualcomm. The smartwatch can pair itself with any Android phone using Bluetooth LE.
In addition, the company also announced a new version of its wearable, the TalkBand B2. It appears less gaudy than its predecessor though Huawei claims it offers much more precision and accuracy. The B2 is claimed to offer a battery life of up to six hours of talktime or almost two weeks on standby.
It will come in three colors, black, silver and gold. The retail price of premium version (with leather strap) is 199 euros and that of standard version (with TPU strap) is 169 euros.
Huawei also announced the TalkBand N1 and claims to provide users with ultimate experience in professional sound quality. It can be paired with a smartphone which then acts as fitness tracker and can perform functions like step counting, distance calculation, calorie consumption tracking and more.
The TalkBand N1 will be available in Silver, Grey and Red col0ur options priced at 119 euros.
We barely have a day before Samsung officially unveils its flagship smartphone to the world in Barcelona. A lot is at stake here for the Korean manufacturer. The device is supposed to redefine Samsung’s approach to design and features. The Korean electronics giant has really come to struggle in the market in the past couple of years and it is imperative the company comes out with an exceptional device.
The rumors of the upcoming S6 have been encouraging with a continuous onslaught of leaks and teasers, and we’ve gathered it all here in one place.
What can we expect from the new Galaxy S6, here’s a compilation of our calculated prediction as to what can we expect from the next big thing from Samsung.
Rumor mill suggests the upcoming Galaxy S6 will get a Super AMOLED Quad HD display anywhere between 5-5.5 inches with Corning Gorilla Glass 4. The Galaxy S5 sports a 5.1 inch display, and as we’ve seen in the past, large screen sizes are reserved for the Galaxy Note phablet range. Hence we can expect a smaller screen size, something in line with the Galaxy S5.
What about curves, will the Galaxy Edge get a curved edge? Well, going by the most recent leak from T-Mobile, it’s a YES. The picture titled “SIX APPEAL” clearly shows a Note Edge like device. Samsung had hinted before that the S6 will have a curved screen, and the image gives a clear view of the curved display. Some even suggest that Samsung will be extending it to both sides of the device.
The Galaxy Note Edge made quite a stir with its unusual and distinct design, so its a reason good enough for Samsung to bank upon this idea.
NEW DESIGN AND BODY
Plastic or metal, this could be anyone’s guess. Samsung has been flaunting new metal bodied phones, such as the all-metal Samsung Galaxy A5, Galaxy A3 along with the Galaxy A7.
The latest teaser by T-Mobile clearly shows grey metal body visible around the display, hence we can expect the Korean manufacturer to bolster its image with a premium metal clad smartphone.
CAMERA
We saw some awesome camera performance with the Galaxy S5 and the Galaxy Note 4, both of which came with 16 megapixel cameras, though the Galaxy S5 lacked OIS; a significant feature appreciated in the iPhone 6 Plus. So it’s a reason good enough that Samsung would bring this feature in their latest flagships’s camera.
Galaxy S5’s 16-megapixel camera is one of the best smartphone cameras around.
As we’ve seen in the past, Samsung usually increases the megapixel count with their new models. Samsung’s senior VP in a blog post recently stressed upon the fact how they have been constantly working on improving the cameras used in the Galaxy Series. In addition, Jang also stressed on the importance of the selfie cam, and duly noted that it forms an essential part of the whole ecosystem.
A recent report suggested a 20 MP camera sensor along with OIS and a 5 MP front facing shooter on the Galaxy S6 prototype. Both cameras are likely to include sensors from Samsung.
PROCESSOR, MEMORY AND STORAGE
Rumours suggest Samsung may be opting for its in-house Exynos 7420 for the first batch, and probably even make different variants of the phone. The Exynos 7420 is a 64-bit chip with four Cortex-A53 and four Cortex-A57 cores.
The Korean manufacturer plans to ditch Qualcomm’s Snapdragon chips with the Galaxy S6 as it reportedly faces overheating issues. As we’ve seen with its earlier flagships, Samsung will make different variants of the Galaxy S6 with different chipsets for different markets.
On the memory front, the phone is rumoured to come in 32, 64 and 128 GB variants. Samsung is likely to equip the Galaxy S6 with 3GB of RAM, along with a microSD slot that is expandable upto 128 GB.
OS and TouchWiz
TouchWiz sitting atop Android 5.0 Lollipop should be the standard norm of the day. A recent report says Samsung will chuck many of its own programs in its forthcoming TouchWiz user interface. Instead Samsung will bundle Microsoft apps including OneNote, OneDrive, Office Mobile, and Skype.
Samsung’s TouchWiz is getting final touches before its anticipated announcement in Barcelona. And Samsung is apparently being sensible as it’s doing away with its own bloatware which included apps like S Health and S Note.
It’s likely be a toned down version of TouchWiz on the new device, in an attempt to improve the overall performance and responsiveness of the device.
FEATURES
The Galaxy S6 will reportedly get a host of new features. It may feature dual front speakers like the HTC Boomsound. Meanwhile, Samsung itself has dropped a lot of hints about its next-gen flagship. For instance, we can expect the Galaxy S6 to get wireless charging and fast charging capabilities. Rumour also has it that it’ll get a fingerprint sensor.
While, recent reports also suggest that the Galaxy S6 will have support for Gear VR, currently compatible only with the Galaxy Note 4.
MULTIPLE VARIANTS
The Korean giant is expected to launch the Samsung Galaxy S6 flagship along with the anticipated curved-display variant, rumoured to be called Galaxy S6 Edge at the Galaxy Unpacked 2015 event.
Hence we can expect multiple variants of its new flagship, with and without curved displays. Which makes sense as the Galaxy S6 might be akin to a more traditional flagship, while curved could be the model that brings a different flavour to the flagship.
Launch, availability and Price
Samsung has already sent out teasers and invitations for its forthcoming Galaxy Unpacked event on 1st March in Barcelona at MWC. Samsung’s earlier flagship model, the Galaxy S5 was unveiled at MWC 2014. The phone went on sale just a few weeks later, hence we can expect the Korean manufacturer to do the same with its upcoming flagship – the Galaxy S6.
Tentative release date for the Galaxy S6 is rumored to be somewhere between March 22 too April 19. A recent report claims that similar to last year, Samsung will release its flagship champion(s) in the Indian market in early-to-mid April. Indian customers can place pre-orders for the Galaxy S6 starting mid-March.
As far as pricing goes, Samsung tends to stick to the same pricing for its Galaxy Range. Initially, it is expected to be priced exorbitantly, easily above Rs. 60,000, which will likely come down to Rs. 50,000 within months (knowing Samsung). In short, it’s going to cost a lot of money, and we hope it’s worth it for prospective buyers.
A new promotional image of the Galaxy S6 and the Galaxy S6 Edge has popped up on the Internet, this time courtesy of a Reddit user. The promotional image does lineup fairly well with the recently leaked images and specifications.
While the images appear rather authentic, there are a few things that do seem a bit out of place. Firstly, the Galaxy Edge is written in both lower and upper case. In the text description, the ‘Edge’ appears in uppercase, while the logo towards the bottom of the ad shows it in lower case. Moreover, the use of ‘GS6’ seems rather odd.
Though one thing the promotional image does confirm is that there are indeed two versions of the flagship – one with the standard screen while the other one is a curved display.
The Mobile World Congress is just around the corner, we’ll have to wait just a little longer before Samsung makes its official announcement.
We saw amazing camera performances with the Galaxy S5 and the Galaxy Note 4, both came with 16 megapixel cameras. The one major feature the Galaxy S5’s camera lacked was Optical Image Stabilisation (OIS), a significant step that seriously impressed users of the iPhone 6 Plus and Galaxy Note 4. Even without OIS, Galaxy S5’s 16-megapixel camera is one of the best smartphone cameras around. Now it seems the Korean manufacturer has outdone itself yet again when it comes to camera capabilities.
According to sources close to iGyaan, Samsung has apparently spruced up its camera unit with a 21 megapixel count for its forthcoming flagship, and gets the same sensor as the Sony Xperia Z3. In addition, it gets a 5MP front facing shooter and is likely to get OIS with excellent low light capabilities.
Samsung’s first teaser suggested that the forthcoming flagship’s camera experience would be an integral element of the Galaxy S6’s overall appeal. Meanwhile, Samsung’s senior VP in a blog post recently stressed upon the fact how they have been constantly working on improving the cameras used in the Galaxy Series.
Batman: Arkham Knight is the finale in the Batman Trilogy, marking the return of RockSteady Studios. Today, the game has been given a brand new trailer titled ‘Gotham is Mine’. The trailer primarily focuses on Gotham’s nefarious thugs and their plans for the city. It sets a rather dark and gritty tone for the game, with Scarecrow being the Dark Knight’s nemesis this time, voice acted by veteran actor Kevin Conroy.
The new trailer does a fairly good job setting up the premise for the game, showing some snippets of gameplay in the process. Gotham City, as expected, is in a turmoil, overrun with nefarious thugs while Batman’s worst foes are running the show, and are conspiring over Batman’s utter destruction. Scarecrow just isn’t satisfied with killing Batman, he wants to annihilate him in every way possible.
We also get to see Poison Ivy, The Penguin, the Riddler, Harley Quinn and Firefly, though for the most part, the trailer was all about Scarecrow. The game has been rated M, implying we may have some really intense moments in the game.
[quote text_size=”small” author=”Sefton Hill ” author_title=”Game Director”]
I’m not blind to the fact that [the M rating] does mean some fans will miss out… I don’t want to be oblivious to that fact. It would have been wrong to water down the game and deliver a story we didn’t believe in to keep the game ‘mass market’ or enable it for more people. We feel that’s the wrong way to go about it. We said we love the story and we don’t want to jeopardize that.
[/quote]
Rocksteady’s Batman: Arkham Asylum got a lot of gamers into Batman lore, and it’s been one hell of a ride from there. This one looks quite promising as well. Rounding up the Rocksteady Batman: Arkham trilogy. Arkham Knight launches worldwide on June 2 for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC.
Do check out the new trailer below:
In addition, some keen eyed viewers noticed some cryptic codes popping up in the trailer. A Reddit user has apparently cracked the code, which reveals three different set of character bios for Ivy, Scarecrow and Harley Quinn. These codes can be punched in the game’s official website for access to bios. We tried it out though nothing happened. Do let us know if the codes worked for you guys.
-qeL e2uLEE2 zul2e for Harley
-pPL2a3Mn Ppi3mAMpyL2 for Ivy
-c Rcn3n3 N2Jn3tjHn2 for Scarecrow
Canadian manufacturer BlackBerry has joined hands with Google to bring its security based expertise to the Android platform, a move that follows BlackBerry’s recent partnership with Samsung. The move will allow Google’s suite of mobile productivity tools to run on BlackBerry’s device management system.
Back in November, BlackBerry announced its partnership with Samsung and other top tech companies to expand its security based services beyond its own platform. The collaboration with Google is aimed at managing devices that come with Android for Work – an initiative from Google to securely classify and separate business from personal data and apps.
[quote text_size=”small” author=” Kevin Stadtler” author_title=”President of Stadtler Capital Management Llc. “”]
The partnership shows BlackBerry’s reputation for security is still strong. One shortcoming of the Android platform is security. They’re partnering with BlackBerry in order to directly address that.
[/quote]
The Canadian manufacturer has years of expertise in dealing with devices for corporations and entreprises. This move could strategically position the Android platform as a more prominent solution in the business sector.
Meanwhile, Google also announced partnerships on Android for Work with top companies including SAP SE, Samsung and SOTI Inc.
Google has been expanding its SafeBrowsing initiative. The search engine giant recently added a new feature to its Chrome browser, that pops up a red flag in case users accidentally visit a site that prompts them to download malicious malware.
Now the Indian Government has joined hands with Google to launch an internet safety campaign, primarily aimed at young adults and children on sensitive issues like identity theft and online harassment. Government plans to involve various departments and ministries for consultation and dissemination of information on internet and data security as a part of this initiative.
[quote text_size=”small” author=”Chetan Krishnaswamy” author_title=” Google’s Public Policy India Head “]
To enable this and ensure that families and young people across India are safe, we’re working with CERT- In and MyGov to get the word out about good Internet practices and how to keep users safe online.
[/quote]
According to a PIB release, the campaign will be carried out by Department of Electronics and Information Technology, which comes under union ministry of Communications and Information Technology, in partnership with Google and the Indian Computer Emergency Resposne Team (CERT).
Meanwhile, Department of Electronics and Information Technology (DEITY) Additional Secretary suggested an annual programme to raise awareness of key policy makers on matters concerning cyber safety. The initiative would include roundtables, workshops, Security Cafes, contests for young adults, policymakers and NGOs. However, an exact date of launch has not been specified yet.
Samsung’s upcoming flagship is creating quite a buzz. With only a few days left before its official announcement in Barcelona, a new report suggests that Samsung is launching both the curved and the normal Galaxy S6 at a rather outrageous price point. Moreover, carriers are also reportedly having a hard time getting enough stock of the curved Galaxy S6, suggesting that Samsung might be having manufacturing issues with its curved display.
Much has already been revealed about Samsung’s forthcoming flagship, with the Korean manufacturer expected to announce the Galaxy S6 at the Mobile World Congress next week. The new report also confirms there will be two versions of the Galaxy S6 – a normal version and a curved version sporting curved edges on either sides of the device.
In both cases, pricing is quite exorbitant, apparently higher than the iPhone. For the non curved display – European pricing is €749 ($849), €849 ($963), and €949 ($1,076) for the 32GB, 64GB, and 128GB models respectively. While for its curved variant, the source says one can add €100 to each of the above figures.
Meanwhile, Indian pricing will be a lot more complex than simply converting Euros to Rupees, thanks to our rigid tax structure. But even without considering external variables that would affect the overall pricing, both the upcoming flagship variants are priced way above the launch price of the Galaxy S5. This could be a cause for concern unless the hardware is truly spectacular.
Expect the Samsung Galaxy S6 to be unveiled at an unpacked event in Barcelona on Sunday. We’ll be there to bring you live updates, stay tuned for more.
As is often the case with prominent flagship smartphones prior to their official unveiling, virtually all details of HTC’s next flagship are out in the open. With the One M9 all set to be officially announced at the Mobile World Congress 2015, three new promotional videos were published on YouTube by user Upleaks which were immediately removed. Interestingly, the source of the clips is also no where to be seen on YouTube. Though we managed to find a source that currently works. Readers be reminded that videos are in line with leaks in the past, and barely leave room for imagination.
The promotional videos showcased the design of the upcoming flagship, along with its hardware capabilities. Key attributes of the HTC One M9 include a dual-tone metal body, Ultra-pixel front facing camera which can apparently offer better low light selfies, a 20 MP primary camera, and the BoomSound feature has been upgraded with Dolby Audio surround sound.
The video also shows a new home screen focused on the Sense-d Android 5.0 and its new camera unit. HTC has added a slew of improvements to its latest custom UI like better BlinkFeed and a plethora of customisation options.
Meanwhile, earlier this week a German listing for a smartphone was spotted that looked uncannily familiar to the HTC One M9. The leaked images did look authentic and shows that HTC has moved some buttons around, we may see the power button right below the volume rockers on the right, unlike the M8 where it was located on top, making it quite a task to reach at times given the size of the M8.
HTC One (M9) debuts this Sunday, on March 1 in Barcelona. Make sure you tune in to find out everything about HTC’s new flagship, if there’s anything left to show. Also check out the leaked intro video below:
Search engine giant Google is expanding its SafeBrowsing initiative to make sure its users accidentally don’t download malware while browsing. Apart from the warnings prior to downloading, the Chrome browser from now on will pop up a red flag (like the one below) in case users visit a site that may encourage them to download malware.
Google is also asking site owners install its Webmaster Tools to help them tackle any threats and stay on top of any possible issues. Google will in return provide technical support to resolve any issues that may be caused by sites that encourage people to download malicious programs.
Even Google search now incorporates signals that identify such deceptive sites. This change reduces the chances you’ll visit these sites via search results. In addition, Google is actively disabling Google Ads that lead to sites with unwanted software.
Google has been criticized in the past, though it’s nice to see the company living up its motto “Don’t be evil”, trying to make the cyberspace a safer place for everyone.
