Samsung is going to launch the highly anticipated Galaxy Note on November 2nd with a live webcast. The galaxy note is the company’s first(possibly the worlds first) 5.29-inch phone which is powered by a 1.4GHz dual-core processor and runs Android 2.3.
The smartphone has an 8 megapixel rear camera and 2 megapixel front camera. It has an internal memory of 16 GB, which is expandable up to 32 GB using a microSD card. With no pricing in the prospect we expect this device to be launched above the 35,000 price bracket, making a new segment of mobile smartphone in the Indian market.
For those who want to watch the webcast can do so here:
Microsoft like every other company sees a future for themselves and a world around it, their vision and what they wish to achieve. In the Company’s Productivity Future Vision concept video they make it clear that they would like seamless interconnectivity. From translating eyeglasses, to active Car window displays and transparent fridge displays. Phone to Tablet to TV transfers, it just seems so smooth and seamless. Check it out.
Already reports of the Steve Jobs’s vision of changing the television industry, and him talking about it in his interviews with biographer Walter Isaacson have stirred up quite a fever. Apple stands a chance to cash in about 100 Billion US $ revenues from foraying into what is unchartered territory for Apple.
“I’d like to create an integrated television set that is completely easy to use, It would be seamlessly synced with all of your devices and with iCloud. It will have the simplest user interface you could imagine. I finally cracked it.”
– Jobs said according to biographer Walter Isaacson
It makes sense now for apple to foray into this, to have a complete home solution dominance. Apple already is the market leader in Smartphone and Tablet sales (sheer numbers), A Television that connects to these devices to stream content and show pictures and connect to the iCloud, would be an added advantage for iDevice owners. Of course when Apple does come out with a television, (if it does) expect this device to sell on pure aesthetics and high value ownership clout. The ecosystem that Apple will create will give it a seamless dominance over other brands, still annoying those who hate restrictions.
After all what all can you do with a Television? That is similar what everyone said before Apple Announced the iPhone back in 2007 ( What all can you do with a Phone?).
As is the case with every Apple device, we wont know till we know.
Rumors are all out, and put to an end. Sony has confirmed that it will buy out its stake from the JV of Sony Ericsson for a whopping €1.05 billion in exchange for its 50 percent. This will give Sony full ownership of the company soon to be rebranded worldwide. This will also enable the company to have a more systematic alignment with the arsenal of tablets and PCs it plans in the future.
The buyout will also give IP cross-licensing agreement and ownership of “five essential patent families” to ensure they stay in the mobile phone business. The separation will be finalized in Jan 2012.
[toggle title_open=”Press Release” title_closed=”Press Release” hide=”yes” border=”yes” style=”default” excerpt_length=”0″ read_more_text=”Read More” read_less_text=”Read Less” include_excerpt_html=”no”]Ericsson: Sony to acquire Ericsson’s share of Sony Ericsson
October 27, 2011, 08:16 (CEST)
Sony Ericsson to become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sony and integrated into Sony’s broad platform of network-connected consumer electronics products The transaction also provides Sony with a broad IP cross-licensing agreement and ownership of five essential patent families Ericsson to receive EUR 1.05 billion cash payment Sony and Ericsson to create wireless connectivity initiative to drive connectivity across multiple platforms Ericsson (NASDAQ:ERIC) and Sony Corporation (“Sony”) today announced that Sony will acquire Ericsson’s 50 percent stake in Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications AB (“Sony Ericsson”), making the mobile handset business a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sony.
The transaction gives Sony an opportunity to rapidly integrate smartphones into its broad array of network-connected consumer electronics devices – including tablets, televisions and personal computers – for the benefit of consumers and the growth of its business. The transaction also provides Sony with a broad intellectual property (IP) cross-licensing agreement covering all products and services of Sony as well as ownership of five essential patent families relating to wireless handset technology.
As part of the transaction, Ericsson will receive a cash consideration of EUR 1.05 billion.
During the past ten years the mobile market has shifted focus from simple mobile phones to rich smartphones that include access to internet services and content. The transaction is a logical strategic step that takes into account the nature of this evolution and its impact on the marketplace.
This means that the synergies for Ericsson in having both a world leading technology and telecoms services portfolio and a handset operation are decreasing. Today Ericsson’s focus is on the global wireless market as a whole; how wireless connectivity can benefit people, business and society beyond just phones. Consistent with that mission, by setting up a wireless connectivity initiative, Ericsson and Sony will work to drive and develop the market’s adoption of connectivity across multiple platforms.
“This acquisition makes sense for Sony and Ericsson, and it will make the difference for consumers, who want to connect with content wherever they are, whenever they want. With a vibrant smartphone business and by gaining access to important strategic IP, notably a broad cross-license agreement, our four-screen strategy is in place. We can more rapidly and more widely offer consumers smartphones, laptops, tablets and televisions that seamlessly connect with one another and open up new worlds of online entertainment. This includes Sony’s own acclaimed network services, like the PlayStation Network and Sony Entertainment Network,” said Sir Howard Stringer, Sony’s Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and President. Mr Stringer also noted that the acquisition will afford Sony operational efficiencies in engineering, network development and marketing, among other areas. “We can help people enjoy all our content – from movies to music and games – through our many devices, in a way no one else can.”
“Ten years ago when we formed the joint venture, thereby combining Sony’s consumer products knowledge with Ericsson’s telecommunication technology expertise, it was a perfect match to drive the development of feature phones. Today we take an equally logical step as Sony acquires our stake in Sony Ericsson and makes it a part of its broad range of consumer devices. We will now enhance our focus on enabling connectivity for all devices, using our R&D and industry leading patent portfolio to realize a truly connected world” said Hans Vestberg, President and CEO of Ericsson.
When Sony Ericsson started its operations on October 1, 2001, it combined the unprofitable handset operations from Ericsson and Sony. Following a successful turnaround the company has become a market leader in the development of feature phones by integrating Sony’s strong consumer products knowledge and Ericsson’s telecommunications technology leadership. The WalkmanTM phone and Cyber-shotTM phone are well known examples.
With the successful introduction of the P1 in 2007, Sony Ericsson early on established itself in the smartphone segment. More recently, the company has successfully made the transition from feature phones to Android-based Xperia(TM) smartphones. By the end of the third quarter of 2011, Sony Ericsson held a market share of 11 percent (by value) in the Android phone market, representing 80 percent of the company’s third quarter sales. During its ten years in operation Sony Ericsson has generated approximately EUR 1.5 billion of profit and paid dividends totalling approximately EUR 1.9 billion to its parent companies. Prominent models include “XperiaTM arc” and “XperiaTM mini” which received 2011 EISA Awards, while recent notable additions to the lineup include “XperiaTM PLAY” and “XperiaTM arc S”.
The transaction, which has been approved by appropriate decision-making bodies of both companies, is expected to close in January 2012, subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory approvals.
Ericsson has accounted for its 50 percent share in Sony Ericsson according to the equity method. Following completion of the transaction, Ericsson will have no outstanding guarantees relating to Sony Ericsson and will no longer account for Sony Ericsson as an investment on balance sheet. The transaction will result in a positive capital gain for Ericsson which will be defined after closing of the transaction.
SEB Enskilda is acting as Ericsson’s sole financial advisor in the transaction.[/toggle]
RIM at their DEVcon forgot to mention that they will be releasing the SDK for their social instant messenger to the developer world, for integration within apps and notifications. The service will allow apps to initiate chats and incorporate BBM statuses, avatars and personal messages. The SDK will also allow “application-to-application background communication,” file transfers over the protocol and sharing apps between users.
This may change the outlook of blackberry devices, even though their future now looks bleek to us.
Nokia today confirmed the continued existence of its proprietary OS “Series 40”. Promised to be released in countries like ours the folowing phones will continue the legacy of the formerly popular OS.
The devices are as follows
Nokia 200
Nokia 201
Nokia 300
Nokia 303
Nokia calls them the access to the web for the next “One Billion” people.
Nokia 200 and 201
Easy Swap option with multiple SIM cards
Up to 32GB of storage for media playback –
Super-loud speakers
201 is without multi-SIM support
Price for both €60 ($85) or INR 4000
200 to ship before the end of the year
201 to ship by Q1 2012
Nokia 300 and 303
The 300 and 303 are both Capacitive touchscreen handsets
The 300 is a Candybar with a numeric keypad
1GHz CPU
5MP camera
3G
€85 ($120) (INR 6000)
Buy it End 2011.
303 offers
1GHz CPU
5MP camera
3G
2.6-inch display and full QWERTY
Price of €115 (about $160) (INR 8400)
[toggle title_open=”Press Release” title_closed=”Press Release” hide=”yes” border=”yes” style=”default” excerpt_length=”0″ read_more_text=”Read More” read_less_text=”Read Less” include_excerpt_html=”no”]Asha: A new family of smarter mobile phones
Nokia continues its mission to deliver high quality, stylish devices that provide the best access to social networks, the Internet and information, and offer the best overall experience and value proposition for the next billion mobile phone users. These consumers want access to innovations such as easy-to-use dual-SIM, local services and content, and third-party apps, all with a superior user experience for which Nokia mobile phones are known.
These devices comprise the new Asha family of Nokia mobile phones. Derived from Hindi – meaning ‘hope’ – Asha signifies Nokia’s focus on positive user experiences and connecting millions of people to new opportunities that help them reach their aspirations.
The Asha mobile phone family includes:
Nokia Asha 303 The Nokia Asha 303 is a stunning phone designed with sophisticated materials and metallic finishes. It combines a large 2.6″ capacitive touch screen with a high quality QWERTY keypad. The Nokia Asha 303 is built with Internet and social networks ease in mind.
The device harnesses a powerful 1Ghz engine, 3G and WLAN to deliver a fast Internet experience. Social networks, email and IM are at the center of the experience, easily accessible from the homescreen. The Nokia Asha 303 is powered by the cloud-based Nokia Browser, which by compressing the web by up to 90%, provides higher speeds and a more affordable access to the Internet.
Entertainment and applications are also a core part of the Nokia Asha 303 offering. Angry Birds Lite, the popular mobile game, comes preinstalled, together with support for other globally relevant applications such as Facebook Chat, Whatsapp messaging and the latest release of Nokia Maps for Series 40 (in selected markets). The price will vary from market to market and operator to operator. The estimated retail price for the Nokia Asha 303 will be approximately 115 EUR, excluding taxes and subsidies. It is expected to start shipping in the fourth quarter of 2011.
Nokia Asha 300
The beautifully designed Nokia Asha 300 is a touch device which also offers the convenience of a keypad. The Nokia Asha 300 has a powerful 1GHz processor and 3G to deliver a faster Internet and social networking experience. The Nokia Browser allows for fast, affordable and localized Internet access by compressing web pages by up to 90%.
Users have fast access to messaging, email and instant messaging from the home screen and can swipe to access apps, music or games from the Nokia Store. The Nokia Asha 300 also arrives preloaded with the popular Angry Birds game.
The Nokia Asha 300 comes with a 5 megapixel camera, a music player, FM radio, Bluetooth connectivity and can handle memory cards up to 32GB. The price will vary by market and operator. The estimated retail price for the Nokia Asha 300 will be approximately 85 EUR, excluding taxes and subsidies. It is expected to start shipping in the fourth quarter of 2011.
Nokia Asha 200
The Nokia Asha 200 is Nokia’s latest dual SIM phone with Easy Swap functionality, allowing consumers to easily change their second SIM without switching the device off.
It is a fun and colorful QWERTY phone designed to meet the needs of young, urban consumers who want to constantly stay in touch. The Nokia Asha 200 features integrated social networking, email and IM, adding RenRen, Orkut and Flickr support. Nokia Asha 200 makes it possible to carry thousands of songs with support for 32 GB memory cards and providing a battery for an amazing 52-hour playback time. The price will vary by market and operator. The estimated retail price for the Nokia Asha 200 will be approximately 60 EUR, excluding taxes and subsidies. It is expected to start shipping in the fourth quarter of 2011.
Nokia Asha 201
The single SIM version of the Nokia Asha 200, the Nokia Asha 201 is ideal for young consumers who wish to stay socially connected, are price conscious and like listening to music. The Nokia Asha 201 has great music features including a high performing loudspeaker, enhanced stereo FM radio and ringtone tuning. With the Nokia Browser you get even faster, even better and more affordable access to the Internet. It supports up to 32 GB memory cards and provides a battery for 52 hours of music playback time. The Nokia Asha 201 also supports push email as well as the popular Whatsapp messaging app. The price will vary by market and operator. The estimated retail price for the Nokia Asha 201 will be approximately 60 EUR, excluding taxes and subsidies. It is expected to start shipping in the first quarter of 2012.
Nokia has also announced a Lumia 710 alongside the Lumia 800. It has the same 1.4GHz CPU found in the Lumia 800,
Specs include
3.7-inch ClearBlack display
Colors :”stealthy black” and “crisp white”
Replaceable back covers
€270, or $375 (INR 18000)
Windows Phone Mango
Nokia Drive, Nokia Music and ESPN Sports Hub inbuilt into the OS.
Lumia 710 will be available in France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and the UK in November and then Hong Kong, India, Russia, Singapore and Taiwan by the end of the year, with additional markets in the first part of 2012.
[toggle title_open=”Press Release” title_closed=”Press Release” hide=”yes” border=”yes” style=”default” excerpt_length=”0″ read_more_text=”Read More” read_less_text=”Read Less” include_excerpt_html=”no”]Signals new dawn with the launch of Nokia Lumia 800 and Nokia Lumia 710, the first Nokia smartphones powered by Windows Phone
Introduces a range of stylish, smart mobile phones, superior Nokia Maps, partnership for co-branded accessories with Monster, and more
London, UK – At Nokia World, the company’s annual event for customers, partners and developers, Nokia demonstrated clear progress on its strategy by unveiling a bold portfolio of innovative phones, services and accessories, including the first smartphones in its Windows Phone-based Nokia Lumia range. The stunningly social Nokia Lumia 800 brings content to life with head-turning design, Nokia’s best social and Internet experience, familiar Nokia elements, such as leading imaging capabilities and new signature experiences. The colorful and affordable Nokia Lumia 710 is a no-nonsense smartphone that brings the Lumia experience to more people around the world.
Nokia also launched four new mobile phones which feature stylish design, a rich social experience and location-aware technology. The Nokia Asha 300, Nokia Asha 303, Nokia Asha 200 and Nokia Asha 201 blur the line between smartphones and feature phones, offering QWERTY and touch screen experiences, combined with fast and easy access to the Internet, integrated social networking, messaging and world-class applications from the Nokia Store.
“Eight months ago, we shared our new strategy and today we are demonstrating clear progress of this strategy in action. We’re driving innovation throughout our entire portfolio, from new smartphone experiences to ever smarter mobile phones,” said Stephen Elop, Nokia President and CEO. “From the Nokia Lumia 800 to the Nokia Asha 201, we are bringing compelling new products to the market faster than ever before. I’m incredibly proud of these new devices – and the people of Nokia who have made this happen.”
“Since Nokia’s major strategic shift only eight months ago, the company has found a new energy. It has provided substantial improvements to Symbian, managed to differentiate on Windows Phone and it continues to build on its strong portfolio in mobile phones,” says Pete Cunningham, Principal Analyst, Canalys. “Nokia is delivering on its pledges, and is clearly demonstrating its path to future success.”
The first Nokia Lumia smartphones First two smartphones based on Windows Phone introduce a range of new experiences designed to make everyday moments more amazing.
Nokia Lumia 710 The purposely built, no-nonsense Nokia Lumia 710 can be personalized with exchangeable back covers and thousands of apps to bring the Lumia experience to more people around the world. The Nokia Lumia 710 is designed for instant social & image sharing, and the best browsing experience with IE9. It is available in black and white with black, white, cyan, fuchsia and yellow back covers. With the same 1.4 GHz processor, hardware acceleration and graphics processor as the Nokia Lumia 800, the Nokia Lumia 710 delivers high performance at an affordable price. The estimated retail price for the Nokia Lumia 710 will be approximately 270 EUR, excluding taxes and subsidies.
Both smartphones include signature Nokia experiences optimized for Windows Phone, including Nokia Drive, which delivers a full-fledged personal navigation device (PND) with free, turn-by-turn navigation and dedicated in-car-user-interface; and Nokia Music introducing MixRadio, a free, global, mobile music-streaming application that delivers hundreds of channels of locally-relevant music. In an update delivered later this year, Nokia Lumia users will also gain the ability to create personalized channels from a global catalogue of millions of tracks. Also integrated in Nokia Music is Gigfinder, providing the ability to search for live local music for a complete end-to-end music experience, as well as the ability to share discoveries on social networks and buy concert tickets also coming in the Nokia Music software update delivered later this year.
Completing the ultimate mobile audio offering, Nokia also introduced the on-ear Nokia Purity HD Stereo Headset by Monster and the in-ear Nokia Purity Stereo Headset by Monster, co-designed and co-developed by Monster, a recognized leader in high performance audio. Both products provide a fresh listening experience and are the first output of the exclusive long-term partnership between Nokia and Monster, intended to introduce a range of premium audio accessories to reflect the outstanding quality and bold style of the Lumia range.
The Nokia Lumia 710 is scheduled to be available first in Hong Kong, India, Russia, Singapore and Taiwan toward the end of the year alongside the Nokia Lumia 800, before becoming available in further markets in early 2012.
Nokia also announced its plans to introduce a portfolio of products into the US in early 2012 and into mainland China in the first half of 2012. In addition to the existing products, which include coverage for WCDMA and HSPA, Nokia also plans LTE and CDMA products to address specific local market requirements.[/toggle]
Its a joyous exercise and we love it! Everyone at iGyaan would like to wish Everyone out there a very Happy and Prosperous Diwali. Whether you play cards on your smartphones or in person, we hope you get the right cards at the right time.
The Samsung Galaxy R is the company’s attempt at making their success story with the Samsung Galaxy Slcd move over to the higher segment. Read on through to understand why we don’t recommend this device.
Build and Hardware
The i9103 is build in traditional samsung fashion, making “plastics feel like metals” look, which makes the device look great and feel great in the hand. But what makes it better is the fact that its styled almost along the lines of the Galaxy S2, which is Samsung’s Flagship. The overall use of materials and build quality is good if not better than the S2.
In terms of Hardware Specs the Galaxy R fails to stand up to serious competition that the S2 gives.
COMPARISON
Samsung Galaxy R I9103
Samsung Galaxy S 2 I9100
Platform
Operating Freq
GSM – 900, 1800
GSM – 850, 900, 1800, 1900; UMTS – 2100
OS
Android v2.3 (Gingerbread)
Android v2.3 (Gingerbread)
User Interface
TouchWiz
TouchWiz 4.0
Java
Processor
1 GHz ARM Cortex A9, Dual Core
1.2 GHz ARM Cortex A9, Dual Core
Graphics
ULP GeForce
Mali-400 MP
Display
Type
Super Clear LCD
Super AMOLED Plus
Size
4.2 Inches
4.27 Inches
Resolution
WVGA, 480 x 800 Pixels
800 x 480 Pixels
Colors
16 M
16 M
Camera
Primary Camera
5 Megapixel
8 Megapixel
Secondary Camera
VGA
2 Megapixel
Flash
LED
LED
Video Recording
1280 x 720
1920 x 1080, 30 fps
HD Recording
HD
HD, Full HD
Other Camera Features
Geo-tagging, Smile Detection, Auto Focus, Image Editor
Auto Focus, Shot Mode, Photo Effects, White Balance, Geo-tagging, Face and Smile Detection
Zoom
Digital Zoom
Dimensions
Size
66 x 125 x 9.5 mm
66.1 x 125.3 x 8.4 mm
Weight
135 g
116 g
Battery
Type
Li-lon, 1650 mAh
1650 mAh
Talktime
18 hrs (2G), 8 hrs (3G)
Standby Time
710 hrs (2G), 610 hrs (3G)
Memory and Storage
Internal
8 GB
16 GB
Expandable Memory Slot
Micro SD, upto 32 GB
Micro SD, upto 32 GB
Display, Camera and Multimedia
The device is after all a good spec’d phone, so expect great performance in terms of the display and sound quality. The display is not as vivid as the one on the S2 simply because of the lack of an AMOLED screen. The speakerphone we found was a bit more organized with its audio quality.
The device features a 4.2 Inch SLCD which appears to be washed out in front of the high intensity black of the S2’s Amoled display. Although both rank in at the same resolution the S2 has a slightly larger 4.27 inch screen. Watching videos and browsing websites is great in the combination of the internal hardware and external display. The device fares well agains competition like the Optimus 2X , but then again if you can spend a couple thousand and get the S2 why wouldn’t you?
Phone and Battery
So here is the segment where there is an actual improvement. The earpiece is exceptionally clear, and sounds great when on a phone call, the mic pics up your audio without the effect of any breakage and overall network connectivity is robust.
The device also has a greatly improved battery life over the S2, with a decent talk time of 5-7 hours depending on usage , we were pretty impressed to see that the device delivered upto 24 hours of music playback.
OS and UI
The device runs Android 2.3.5 and atop that is the TouchWiz UI from Samsung, now the interface is the same on the galaxy S2, but somehow it looked really dull on this device, possibly because of color usage and definitely because of the SLCD. the UI also adds a large variety of good widgets which make the daily usage of the phone a wonderful experience.
Conclusion
The device is a great alternative to the Samsung Galaxy S2, but not at this price range(Available for Rs. 27,000). It offers far less features to justify just a 1.5-2k price gap between the R and the S2. Our recommendation is DON’T BUY THE GALAXY R, instead get the S2 or some similar device from another manufacturer.
Although no timelines have been identified by Apple themselves, the distributers have stopped supplying stores with stocks of iPhone 4 and they seem to be running short. Several iPhone distributers have confirmed that a new model of the iPhone will launch in November and have told stores to pass on the information to the customer. Now if this is the new 4s or the cheaper iPhone 4 remains to be seen, although if a cheaper iPhone 4 is launched it should be backed by a higher price iPhone 4s.
Seeing the tremendous response from sale of iPhone 4 and iPad 2 it may not be wrong information, Apple may have learnt that Indian market is great if the devices are made available in a proper time frame.
We have no other means to confirm this, and we are still trying to contact Apple for more information. No telecom operator seems to have this news, and spokespersons from Reliance have “no comment”.
Despite several phones available in the market in the 20000 price bracket, Vodafone has confirmed that the Apple iPhone remains the most activated device in the past 3 months. This is highly surprising in a country where people have been up talking Blackberries and Android devices, so difficult to believe that we got Rajiv Thakkar, Senior Exec on Vodafone’s panel to talk to us about this .
” In the last three month we have had more activations of the iPhones than any other device in that price segment, with the iPhone 3GS topping in the 20,000 price mark. We have also activated the maximum number of iPhone Data plans, in the last 6 months, since the launch of the iPhone in India.”
– Rajiv Thakkar
Nowwhether or not this information is true or a marketing move from Apple, it seems that people still prefer iPhones to other devices. What do you think?
The air has been cleared over the tablet to Android 4 controversy and it seems all but most Honeycomb tablets will be updated to the latest build of Android from their companies. The only thing that lies in the middle is the timeline, and since we all know that companies like to take their own sweet time ironing out the kinks, we would say it should be a while.
The Blackberry Playbook original failed to do well in the market. But RIM is determined to get the next Playbook appreciated by all and thus have managed to release a better SDK for the next Playbook. German site Macberry.de took the time to film a walkthrough of the recently released BlackBerry Playbook 2.0 developer beta.
The homescreen now has folders similar to that on iOS and most importantly BlackBerry Runtime for Android apps in action.
Android applications will run smoothly and will support the tablets structure fully. CHeck out the video of the possible better future of Blackberry.
The Samsung Galaxy Y has been the most requested device by iGyaan Readers and here it is in the form of an Unboxing and Quick Review.
The device is a budget Android targeted at the youth of the country, a slap on the face of local brands we presume. Check out the Tech Specs followed by images and the Video for pleasure
