Author: Bharat Nagpal

Watch the Galaxy Note 3 , Galaxy Gear Launch Live on iGyaan

Samsung will launch the Galaxy Note 3 in India today at 12:15 pm IST, get the live video and key moments from the event below. The Samsung Galaxy Note 3 is the third iteration in Samsung’s Note series of phones, which usually are considered flagship devices. The Note 3 was launched globally on 4th September at a press event held during IFA 2013 in Berlin, Germany.

Samsung will also launch the Galaxy Gear “smart watch” alongside the Note 3 with an expected prcie tag of Rs. 17999. India will be one of the first countries in the world to get these devices, showing how big a market India is, for Samsung.

We broke the news of the launch of the Note 3 and Gear in India early last week when the company was still finalizing pricing and specs for the final version intended for the Indian market. Today’s launch will remove all doubt from the mind of those in a quandary.

September 17, 2013
Sony may launch the Xperia Z1 in India on 18th Sept

We just got invites for a special Sony Xperia event and we are calling out to the Xperia Z1. Sony’s new 20.7MP shooting flagship the Xperia Z1 was unveiled at the IFA 2013 trade show in Berlin, just over a week ago, and if the company has already set up the launch, it shows that Sony is serious about the Indian market and will show aggresive launches ahead.

The Sony Xperia Z1 will boast modern specs worthy of a flagship smartphone, including a 5-inch full HD 1080p display (441ppi) sporting Sony’s TRILUMINOS screen tech and X-Reality for mobile that debuted on the Xperia Z Ultra 6.4-inch phablet. There is a 2.2Ghz Snapdragon 800 SoC inside, along with 2GB of RAM. 16GB of storage (expandable via MicroSD) and a 3000mAh battery

The 5-inch Sony Xperia Z1 sports a 20.7MP Exmor RS sensor with an unprecedented size of 1/2.3?, along with a G Lens from its higher-end cameras. Its F2.0 aperture and 27mm wide-angle lens means that photos should be sharper, faster and more detailed than most of its rivals, though we will wait until a review unit for a verdict on its efficacy.

The Sony Xperia Z1 is also rated at IP55 and IP58 for water and dust resistance, similar to the Xperia Z and will come in black, white and purple variants.

The pricing information remains mum for the time being but it looks like the phone will be available for around Rs. 49,990 to begin with, so if you have your pockets left after the September 17th flagship and wearable announcement from a competitor, the Z1 will get some love.

If Sony does launch the Xperia Z1 on the event, expect an iGyaan Style review asap.

September 13, 2013
Samsung wants 64 bit processors in its Smartphones too

Post Apple’s September 10th announcement of the two new iPhones, with the iPhone 5s running a 64 bit chipset, Samsung head JK Shin has said that the next Samsung smartphone will run a 64 bit processor too, reports Korea Times.

JK Shin added that Samsung is aware of the Apple’s plans in China and will be affected by them. The upcoming 64 bit smartphones will come “not in the shortest time,” but that “our next smartphones will have 64-bit processing capability.”

ARM has been promoting their 64 bit architecture for some time and this would be any easy in-house production for Samsung for their next Exynos 6 and Galaxy S5 combination expected to be announced at CES January 2014.

Is this a knee-jerk move by Samsung, or is it a planned announcement? Only the folks at Samsung know.

September 12, 2013
Apple to launch the iPhone 5S and 5C in India by Oct 20th

Apple yesterday announced the iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C, two new iPhones that are set to replace and enhance the experience you get from the current generation iPhone 5.

In the US and several other countries the Apple iPhone 5S and 5C will go on sale starting September 20th 2013, however no concrete information was available on their launch dates in India.

Apple sources close to iGyaan have let us know that Apple India is planning to bring the new iPhone 5C and the 5S to India as early as Oct 20th. The iPhone 5C which will be a replacement of the iPhone 5 will actually cost as much as the iPhone 5 does today, Rs. 44500 for 16GB. This is thanks to the inflated costs of Dollar vs Indian Rupee. The iPhone 5s however will launch for upwards of Rs. 50,000 for the 16GB variant making the 64 GB iPhone 5s the most expensive smartphone till date in India, since it will cross the Rs. 65,000 barrier.

Apple saw a 400% growth in the past year in India, and it thanks quick availability and easy payment schemes for it. Last year Apple was able to sell out its initial stock of 20,000 iPhone 5 units in one day, this year the company plans to bring in over 100,000 units at the time of launch, this number will include a variation of iPhone 5C and iPhone 5S in all colors.

India as a market has shown some real potential, and Apple wishes to remain at the forefront of technology. We have been planning the launch for over a month prior to the announcement yesterday, and it should happen in Oct, if the Cupertino office is in line with our Ideas.

Many claim that Apple may not have the same impact in the market with the iPhone 5C or iPhone 5S as they did with the iPhone 5, because of the lack of innovation in these new products.

Apple is hoping that the new Touch ID security features will enable a lot of business folks, who prefer Samsung phones/ Blackberry devices, to easily pick the iPhone 5S thanks to the rock solid security.

September 11, 2013
Here is a Roundup of Apple’s 10th September iPhone 5C and 5S Event

Despite many expectations, every bit of information from the past leaks came true as Apple took stage on Tuesday 10th September to launch two new iPhones the iPhone 5S and the iPhone 5C. One handset which is replaces the existing iPhone 5 and one which supersedes it.

The iPhone 5c which was expected to be a cheap iPhone, never really made it to that mark, basically its a complete change of play by Apple. It definitely looks cheap, thats thanks to the extended use of shiny/glossy plastic polycarbonate composite. But it also is a phone intended to replace the iPhone 5, a phone which was made out of premium aluminum and glass has been replaced by a phone made of plastic with the exact same specs and the exact same price. Sure it was intended to be cheap, a cheap move by Apple.

iPhone 5c

One thing it does do however, is play with the colors, opening the market to a frenzy of color options which have been limited to the two from the origin of the iPhone. The iPhone 5c retains the retina display and A6 chipset, along with the same 8 MP camera and lightning connector. It does add an upgraded FaceTime HD front camera for High definition FaceTime and VOIP calls.

The iPhone 5s however, is a whole new story. The existing shell of the iPhone 5 has been upgraded with a few new exciting enhancements in hardware, Apple calls the iPhone 5 “the most forward thinking phone ever”.

The iPhone 5s adds a new A7 architecture which adds new capabilities to the device. In retrospect, the iPhone 5 is half as fast and has half as powerful graphics in comparison to the new iPhone 5s. You also get a new camera system, that increases the size of pixels and has a new element lens, for brighter and more accurate images. The new iPhone 5s will also feature a champagne gold color, which seems to have created a buzz on the twitter feeds despite it leaking out almost 6 months ago. The new iPhone 5s also has the worlds first desktop level 64 bit architecture, making life for developers difficult initially, but opening them up to a whole new world or options for future apps.

[pullquote_left]The Touch ID may as well be the new revolution for the mobile industry[/pullquote_left]

What is a mobile industry first is the new Touch ID sensor, a fingerprint sensor on a smartphone is a new one alright. It opens up a whole new array of possibilities, even though Apple has not yet opened it up to developers.

The Touch ID replaces the lock code requirements and also password requirements for you iPhone, hopefully you can also use it to access the iPhone keychain to auto-magically enter passwords.

Apple also announced that iOS 7 will be officially available post September 18th 2013 for all those supported devices.

The iPhone 5C will be available fro Pre Order on September 13th whereas the iPhone 5S will go on Preorder September 20th 2013. starting $549 and $649 for the 16 GB unlocked variants.

September 11, 2013

iPhone 5s vs Galaxy S4 vs HTC One vs Nokia Lumia 1020

Apple has just announced the new iPhone 5s which adds a lot new features to the already popular handset. But how does it stack up against the competition? Here is a chart that will give you an idea of how the new iPhone 5s looks with respect to the top brass in the mobile industry.

iPhone 5S vs. Galaxy S4 vs. HTC One vs. Lumia 1020

iPhone 5S Early 2
iPhone 5S

Samsung Galaxy S 4
Galaxy S4

HTC One
HTC One

Lumia1020
Lumia 1020

Screen Size

4 inches

5 inches

4.7 inches

4.5 inches

Resolution

1136 x 640

1920 x 1080

1280 x 768

Screen Type/ppi (pixels per inch)

LCD, 326 ppi

Super AMOLED, 441 ppi

S-LCD 3, 468 ppi

AMOLED, 334 ppi

Weight

3.9 oz

4.6 oz

5 oz

5.5 oz

Chipset

A7 64-bit chip, M7 motion co-processor

Quad-core 1.9GHz Snapdragon 600 in the U.S. (8-core 1.8GHz Exnyos 5 Octa elsewhere)

Quad-core 1.7GHz Snapdragon 600

Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 (Dual-core 1.5 GHz)

Storage

16GB, 32GB or 64GB, no card slot

16GB, 32GB or 64GB +microSD slot

32GB or 64GB, no card slot

32GB, no card slot

Connectors

Apple Lightning

microUSB

Operating System

iOS 7

Android 4.2.2 (Jelly Bean)

Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean)

Windows Phone 8

Battery (in milliamperes/hour)

1,434 mAh, LTE browsing time 10hrs

2,600 mAh

2,300 mAh

2,000 mAh

Camera

8MP, True Tone dual LED flash, burst mode 10fps, auto image stabilization, 720p HD video at 120fps slow-mo

13MP autofocus, LED flash & zero shutter lag

4MP (“ultrapixels”)

41MP, PureView, Xenon Flash

Networking

Wi-Fi 802.11n (2.4GHz and 5GHz), 2G, 3G, 4G LTE

Wi-Fi 802.11ac, 2G, 3G, 4G LTE

Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, 2G, 3G, 4G LTE

U.S. Price (with 2-year contract)

$199 for 16GB, $299 for 32GB, $399 for 64GB

$199.99 for 16GB, $299.99 for 32GB

$199.99

Unlocked Price

US $ 649 for 16GB ( US) / India Price Unknown

Rs 37,000 for 16 GB

Rs 40,500 for 32GB

Rs. 50,000 Expected

September 11, 2013

iPhone 5s has a Fingerprint Sensor : TouchID : Here is what it does

The iPhone 5s is a beefed up on steroids version of the iPhone 5, with a new A7 SOC and new hardware on the inside the iPhone 5s is twice as fast and has 56 times as fast graphics. A new camera system with a 5 element system and a new f2.2 lens along with a new flash technology refine its already leading optics. But possibiy the biggest change on the iPhone 5s is the industry first fingerprint sensor dubbed “TouchID”.

A capacitive touch glass pasted on top of the home button makes for a new technology (touchID): 170 microns in thickness with 500 ppi resolution, it reads the fingerprint of the owner to unlock the phone.

But thats not where it stops : The high resolution image of the fingerprint is “encrypted and stored securely in the Secure Enclave inside the A7 chip” after which is can be used to authorize several things.

Examples include a singe finger swipe to buy apps or authorize buying apps, in-app purchase authorizations and even purchases within apps like Amazon or eBay would make for a much better payment system. The sensor uses a laser cut sapphire crystal cover; it retains a tactile input for those wary of the sensor wearing down after lengthy use.

Apple has dubbed the iPhone 5s as the most secure smartphone yet thanks to “touchID”, with a great play for marketing, making it a boon to the enterprise industry.

How useful do you think a fingerprint sensor will be ? And what do you think it should be really used for , let us know below.

September 10, 2013
Apple iPhone 5s User Guide Allegedly leaks, Fingerprint sensor called Touch ID

With Apple’s iPhone event a mere hours away, a new leak showing off the user guide for the supposed “next generation iPhone, the iPhone 5s” has surfaced. 9to5Mac reports that the “alleged” leaked document from Nowhereelse.fr is the inlay “quick user guide” that all iPhone owners are accustomed to, which shows that the home button is also a Touch ID sensor aka fingerprint reader.

To unlock the iPhone with the fingerprint reader, an iPhone 5S user simply clicks and holds their finger/thumb down on the sensor for a few seconds. It is unlikely that the sensor login and passcode could be used in tandem. There will be a preference in the iPhone’s Settings app to disable the sensor. – says 9to5Mac

Touch ID as a name could also mean that the sensor will only act as an unlock security and not as a app launcher or shortcut initiator, as it would on a laptop. Also to note is that Apple will be selling the phones with color matched wallpapers out of the box as the would on the iPhone 5C, whose packaging and box was leaked last week.

Get live updates at launch here : LiveBlog.

September 10, 2013
Exclusive : Samsung to Launch Galaxy Note 3 and Gear on 17th September

We’ve got exclusive news about the launch of the next generation Galaxy Note, the Galaxy Note 3. The Note 3 was announced on 4th of September during IFA 2013 in Berlin, and was expected to hit markets by September 25th.

Exclusive sources at Samsung close to iGyaan have told us, that the company will launch the handset on September 17th and the 16GB variant will be priced under Rs. 50,000. This week a rumor pointed out that the Galaxy Note 3 will be launched for a price of Rs. 47990, and if we tie it up with the information we received from our source, it sounds about right.

India is one of the biggest markets for Samsung, and has been constantly the first tier to receive our products in the mobile division, this time it will be no different.

S View Case for Note 3

Samsung will launch the new Galaxy Note 3 at an event in New Delhi on the 17th of September and will have the phone available in the market by September 25th. Samsung is also expected to launch all the new accessories including the new S-View cases for the Note 3, the Leather back case options and the glam cases, alongside the Note 3.

The biggest disappointment to buyers in India will be the chipset option for the Galaxy Note 3. With LTE a far away dream for Indians, the company will presently launch the Galaxy Note 3 with the Exynos 5 Octa chipset, also limiting Video Capture to 1080p and not the 4k offered in the Snapdragon 800. Samsung will however launch all three colors the black, white and pink , where the company expects a lot of female buyers for the Pink option, opening a new market of consumers.

Samsung will also launch the Galaxy Gear watch alongside the Galaxy Note 3, with an expected price of Rs. 18000. also to be available by the 25th of September.

It is also expected that Samsung will initiate a pre-order option with some bundles to offer for early buyers. If Samsung launches the Galaxy Note 3 at Rs. 47,990 with a bundled flip case, would you buy it, and in what color ? Let us know below.

Update : Although the 32GB variant was the smallest version announced at IFA, we have heard that Samsung may launch a 16 GB variant to keep the price low in markets like India.

September 8, 2013
Yahoo reveals their new logo

A month ago Yahoo started a 30 day campaing to finalize its logo, and today the company has finally revealed what that is going to be. Yahoo’s CEO Marissa Mayer began this project to give some fresh visual interest into the now less popular tech brand, while keeping the familiar color and exclamation point. A lot of new companies have transformed to new logos this year including Microsoft, Ebay and even Motorola after its Google acquisition.

We wanted a logo that stayed true to our roots (whimsical, purple, with an exclamation point) yet embraced the evolution of our products.

[Yahoo (Tumblr)]

September 5, 2013
Watch Live The launch of Samsung Galaxy Note 3 at the Unpacked 2013 event

Samsung will start its 2013 Unpacked event at IFA at 19:00 CEST / 13:00 EDT, for those in India the time is IST 9:30 PM. Catch the live stream above. and catch our live updates below.

The Samsung Unpacked 2013 Episode 2 livestream will likely see the official announcement of the Samsung Galaxy Note 3 , Samsung Galaxy Gear smartwatch and potentially one or more new tablets. The Samsung Unpacked 2013 Episode 2 event is being held in advance of the major IFA 2013 conference in Berlin, Germany. Like many other companies, Samsung is attempting to get a jump on the competition by announcing its major product releases early. Sony is holding a rival event on the same day where we can expect to see the Sony Xperia Z1 “Honami”, Sony Xperia Z1 Mini “Itsuki” and possibly the Sony Lens camera. Other companies we can expect at IFA Berlin 2013 include HTC and LG.

September 4, 2013
Is this the Nexus 5 ? Google slips up in its own video

Earlier today Google Announced the new version of Android 4.4 aka Android KitKat. During the video unveil of the new statue at the campus, a Google employee seen in the green shirt above seems to be hold a unique device which appears to be bigger than the Nexus 4 seen on the right being held by the woman. The word Nexus is spelled out in a different direction, the camera seems different, and it looks bigger than the Nexus 4, but it appears to have an LG logo on the bottom. Could this be the next nexus aka Nexus 5?. Google has stuck its guns for the Nexus 7 and continued production for the Nexus 7 with Asus, so LG may as well be next manufacturer for the Nexus 5.

Google has removed the official video from the company’s Youtube channel, sort of confirming the misappropriated leak, but you can see a version of it below and decide for yourself.

[youtube id=”hn795s9h8n8″ width=”100%” height=”300px”]

September 4, 2013
“KitKat” will be the next version of Google’s OS : Android 4.4
After the previous minor upgrade retained the “Ice Cream Sandwich” moniker, the next version of Android OS aka Android 4.4 will be called KitKat. Google’s SVP Sundar Pichai has just confirmed by posting the image of the statue across the social networks.

“It’s our goal with Android KitKat to make an amazing Android experience available for everybody. :- Google

The company is remaining mum on the project and on what new features the new name will bring. Google has also already worked out a no money agreement with Nestle for the name sans a space in the middle, hence, KitKat vs the original Kit Kat. Google SVP Pichai also announced that there are now over one billion Android device activations, surpassing the 900 million mark back in May this year.

The list of Android versions incase you have not kept up
1. Cupcake (1.5)
2. Donut (1.6)
3. Eclair (2.0)
4. Froyo (2.2)
5. Gingerbread (2.3)
6. Honeycomb (3.0)
7. Ice Cream Sandwich (4.0)
8. Jelly Bean (4.1-4.3).
9. KitKat (4.4)
The deal between Nestle and Google closed within 24 hours of the first phone call to the confectionary manufacturer.

John Lagerling, director of Android global partnerships, also confirmed that his team did originally consider “Key Lime Pie” as a potential name for Android after Jelly Bean, but the issue was “very few people actually know the taste of a key lime pie.” The BBC reports that there will be more than 50 million Kit Kats promoting the Android mascot in 19 markets (including Brazil, India, Japan and Russia).

Watch a fun video by Nestle below.

[youtube id=”OKOrkLxOBoY” width=”100%” height=”300px”]

[toggle title=”Press Release”]Google has ended months of online speculation about the name of the latest version of its Android mobile operating system by revealing it will be called ‘Android KitKat’, after Nestlé’s popular chocolate and wafer confectionery.

The creators of the world’s most popular mobile platform have teamed up with the world’s biggest food and beverage company to name the next release of the platform ‘Android KitKat’.

Sweet themes

Android has been developed by the company’s engineers under sweet-themed names ever since the release of Android Cupcake in 2009 and continuing in alphabetical order until the most recent version, Android Jelly Bean.

The news that the letter ‘K’ will be dedicated to Nestlé’s KitKat will surprise most technology commentators, who had widely thought the latest version would be ‘Android Key Lime Pie’.

“We couldn’t imagine a better name for our Android K release than the tasty chocolate that’s been a favourite among the team since the early days of Android,” said Marc Vanlerberghe, Director of Android Marketing.

Strong digital presence

“We’re excited to announce this partnership with Android, the world’s most popular mobile platform, which will help us to enable even more KitKat fans to enjoy their break,” said Patrice Bula, Nestlé’s Head of Marketing.

“KitKat is one of the world’s top ten fast-moving consumer goods brands in social media in terms of fan numbers and engagement,” he continued. “We continue to build on its strong digital presence with interactive, creative branding campaigns.”

To mark the release of Android KitKat, more than 50 million specially branded KitKat bars will be available in 19 countries including Australia, Brazil, Germany, India, Japan, Dubai, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States.

The packs will lead consumers to the website android.com/kitkat where they will have the opportunity to win prizes including a limited number of Google Nexus 7 tablets, and credits to spend in Google Play, Google’s online store for apps, games, music, movies, books and more.

A small number of Android robot-shaped KitKat bars will also be offered as prizes in selected markets.

Closer to consumers

Nestlé’s branding partnership with Google is the company’s latest move in its ambition to leverage digital technology and online content to get closer to its consumers to better understand and cater to their preferences.

Earlier this year, Nestlé acquired its first-ever piece of online content property, the Petfinder website in the United States. The online database, which links prospective adopters with adoptable pets, is visited by more than 100 million pet-lovers annually.[/toggle]
September 4, 2013
Here is Why Microsoft’s Buying Nokia

Microsoft and Nokia have been strategic partners for the manufacture of Windows Phone devices for a couple of years. Microsoft helped the company bail out of its financial woes when Nokia took 1 Billion USD to exclusively manufacture Windows Phone devices and drop plans to make devices on Android, Symbian and Meego. Microsoft’s acquisition of Nokia comes in after the successful transition of Motorola into Google, for the company may be a proud owner of a high tech manufacturing brand. Such an acquisition will enable Microsoft to manufacture devices as per their own set norms and create benchmarks for other partners. Along with the hardware and services Microsoft will also become the owner of a wide array of patents and licenses that Nokia owns, one of which earns US $ 1 for every iPhone sold.

Microsoft puts it out there, the company claims that buying a manufacturer like Nokia will enable Microsoft to deliver a

“first-rate Microsoft phone experience for users”.

Microsoft has been trying to be a hardware manufacturer in the past few years, as it attempted with the “bust” Windows RT and 8 based Surface Tablets, the Acquisition of Nokia could lead to new Hardware under the Microsoft name in the mobility segment. What the future of the once world leader in Mobile telephone will be post the acquisition is unknown, but we hope that this does not pan out similar to the HP – Palm acquisition, which ended the life of a very innovative company.

Microsoft could easily be blamed for this acquisition as well, 3 years ago Nokia was valued at well over US $ 25 Billion, Microsoft’s so called “Strategic Partnership” basically ended the marketshare that Nokia had enjoyed in the good old days of Symbian and S40. Analysts claim, if Nokia had stuck to new operating systems like Meego and relatively young Android ( at the time), the company would have prospered and would have been close to the likes of Samsung and Apple in number of movements.

Today Nokia heavily depends on its feature-phone sales for its revenues, and in a global world where the 100$ smartphone is overtaking the 100$ feature phone, Nokia may have realized the limited lifecycle it had left.

Microsoft is no stranger to takeovers, and with many a past companies under its sleeve, Nokia would be more of a trophy, just so the execs at Redmond can say “Hey, We manufacture our own phones! Just like Apple and Google.”

Microsoft really has an opportunity, with the vast array of designers and young minds at Nokia, years of experience and a complete team of experts in mobility, maybe the top brass at Microsoft will be more open to world changing ideas, than they were back at Nokia. Heck in 2006 a fully capacitive touchscreen phone was rejected within the Finland HQ at Nokia stating that the world was not ready for a full touch phone. In 2007 June, the iPhone was launched, Nokia couldn’t have been more wrong.

September 3, 2013
BBM for Android gets shown of in a Video

Event though the BBM for iOS and Android has not yet arrived, videos are starting to leak out and that is a good sign. Folks over at BlackberryOS have got hold of a test video of the new BBM for Android and it might just live up to the hype. Apart from the swipe in from the sides to chose chats and setting, the video shows the ability to transfer contacts through NFC, which is good sign that the messaging app will make the most of these the new features that are present in Android Devices.

Let us know below what you think.

September 3, 2013