Author: Parul Ritvik Sood

Sony Introduced Six New 4k Televisions in India

Japanese electronics giant Sony has announced new 4K televisions in three new series in India. The six new offerings from Sony come in screen sizes ranging from 49-inch to 85-inch within the price range of Rs. 1,74,900 to Rs. 7,04,900.

The company said that four of these 4K televisions are already available in the market while the other two will be available by the end of September. Sony claims that the new Bravia 4K TVs offer ‘excellent picture and audio quality, while featuring a bevy of new features will appeal to the discerning consumer’.

Sony has further stated that all six of the new Bravia 4K models offered by them will incorporate the powerful picture processing engine, 4K X-Reality PRO, which uses a combination of unique up-scaling and super resolution technology from Sony to offer any content in beautiful and stunning 4K resolution. All new models supports HDMI 2.0 which gives them the ability to display 4K/60p content.

They are also equipped with a new decoder which supports HEVC and can playback 4K/60p content from Internet streaming services and USB playback. The TVs are also compatible with MHL 3.0, which supports 4K output from smartphones and tablets.

The company is also introducing a new feature called ‘One-Flick Entertainment,’ that allows viewers to quickly browse content across different sources at home. The added One-Flick Remote Control gives users ‘intuitive control’. Using simple swipes users can access both offline and online content. There is also an option of seeing content stored on NFC-enabled smartphones or tablets by touching those devices to the One-Flick Remote Control.

One-Flick Entertainment gives users quick YouTube access while watching regular TV channels. Also, the Sony Bravia 4K televisions have a new ‘Social Viewing’ feature, which enables users to Skype chat (with the built-in camera) apart from keeping track of their social media accounts.

Sony has detailed pricing for the four available Bravia 4K TVs, with the 79-inch Bravia KD-79X9000B priced at Rs. 7,04,900, the 55-inch Bravia KD-55X9000B priced at Rs. 3,14,900, the 55-inch Bravia KD-55X8500B priced at Rs. 2,54,900, and the 49-inch Bravia KD-49X8500B priced at Rs. 1,74,900.

However, pricing details of the remaining two 4K televisions will be revealed when they launch by the end of this month.

September 3, 2014
Specs of the ‘World’s Slimmest Smartphone’ Gionee Elife S5.1 Leaked

Back in July was when we first heard about the Gionee Elife S5.1 via its TENAA certification. While, the handset is yet to be officially launched, a set of very clear images has been leaked online.

If you have a quick look at the Gionee Elife S5.1, you can easily mistake the device for an iPhone as it borrows all its design aesthetics. Along with its design and look, the handset’s specifications have also been leaked.

The Gionee Elife S5.1 will feature a 4.8 inch screen with a resolution of 1280×720 pixels. The AMOLED display is expected to be crisp and come in bright colour variants. The model is powered by a 1.2 GHz quad core Snapdragon 400 processor and 1GB of RAM.

However, one notable thing about the smartphone is that it doesn’t have a micro SD card slot for storage expansion and comes with 16GB of internal storage space. Furthermore, there is no news about the 32GB variant. These days with rapidly increasing size of apps and games, that may pose to be a problem.

The device has an 8-megapixel rear camera with LED flash and a 5-megapixel front camera. The phone supports 4G LTE connectivity, 3G, Wifi, Bluetooth and runs on Android version 4.3 layered by the company’s Amigo 2.0 interface.

It is said that when the device comes to the market, the company will offer four different color choices to choose from including Pink, Turquoise, Black and White. The pricing is yet to be revealed.

September 3, 2014
SHORE : New App for Google Glass That Can Recognize Human Emotions

Well, Google Glass has been a topic of debate since it release and the new app called SHORE may fire that up again. SHORE is an app that runs a software which detects human emotions in real time. This exceptional technology can be used for the aid of people with various disabilities.

The Sophisticated High-speed Object Recognition app (SHORE), uses the camera of the Google Glass to analyze the facial expressions of people and guess their feelings. The app was developed by researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Circuits in Germany.

In addition to the person’s emotions, the app is also able to estimate the subject’s age and gender. The app, however, cannot determine the identity of the person. It guesses emotions through calculations that are based on the structures of the human face. It then uses learning algorithms and a database of more than 10,000 human faces to finish the calculation.

The research team says that this type of technology can open several possibilities for further exploration. For example, the technology can help differently abled people, those suffering from autism to understand facial expressions. The results calculated by the app can be superimposed on the display using augmented reality techniques.

In an attempt to sidestep any privacy concerns surrounding the app, the developers have promised not send any images or data to cloud storage. Since Google Glass application is not commercially available, it will be some time before regular folks can get our hands on a pair and test SHORE.

September 3, 2014
AnandTech Founder Anand Shimpi Joins Apple after Retiring from Tech Journalism

Anand Shimpi, founder of the one of the first technology review website AnandTech, will be soon joining Apple. This was confirmed by an Apple representative to Re/code. Shimpi had earlier announced his retirement from AnandTech with a post titled ‘The Road Ahead’ on the tech news website.

[quote text_size=”small” author=”Anand Shimpi”]

After 17.5 years of digging, testing, analyzing and writing about the most interesting stuff in tech, it’s time for a change. This will be the last thing I write on AnandTech as I am officially retiring from the tech publishing world

[/quote]

Shimpi spent 17 years building the site AnandTech, focusing mostly on reviews of hardware and along the way providing detailed info on products from Apple and other consumer electronics manufacturers. But after so many years covering those products, he’ll now be going inside Apple to work for the company.

While AnandTech is not as well-known as more generalist technology news sites, its influence cannot be underestimated. One of the most well-liked and respected publications, AnandTech has long focused on hard fact based articles, such as detailed performance reviews, and has over time emerged as one of the authoritative voices in technology news.

At this point, details of Shimpi’s new role at Apple are not known. However, this is apparently not the only senior person from AnandTech to join Apple. Also, AnandTech’s Senior Smartphones Editor Brian Klug had left the site to join Apple earlier this year, where his role has a focus on building mobile processors for the company’s iOS devices. It is possible that Shimpi will take up a similar role.

While he moves on, AnandTech will continue to publish. Ryan Smith will take over as AnandTech’s new Editor in Chief who has been working at the AnandTech for ten years.

September 1, 2014
Xiaomi Redmi 1S Exclusive Sale for Flipkart First Subscribers Today

Xiaomi Redmi 1S is going on an early sale today exclusively for Flipkart First subscribers. Starting at 2PM, first 2000 subscribers, who registered to buy the handset, can get their hands on the device ahead of the first flash sale for registered users on Tuesday.

It is said that Flipkart will add the smartphone automatically to the cart of the first two thousand Flipkart first customers who registered for the handset’s flash sale on Tuesday. And the E-commerce website will inform the lucky subscribers through emails about their eligibility for early access.

Due to the limited stocks available, Flipkart has also announced that it will limit orders to one phone per registered email id. “Since stocks would be limited, we recommend you to login & buy immediately 2pm onwards. To ensure that all our customers can get their hands on Redmi 1S, we are limiting orders to one phone per registered email id.” Flipkart mailed the registered users.

Xiaomi is continuing the trend of Tuesday flash sale which was started with the launch of Xiaomi Mi3. The company has claimed that more than 1,00,000 users have applied for Redmi 1S sale. Xiaomi also referred as ‘Apple of China’ has been criticised for the limited availability of the Mi3 smartphone. It is yet to be seen how Flipkart and Xiaomi handle the Redmi 1S flash sales.

Redmi 1S priced at Rs. 5,999 will be competing with likes of Asus Zenphone A450 and Moto E, which are also exclusively sold on Flipkart. The Xiaomi Redmi 1s comes with 2 Micro Sim to Regular Sim adapters in the box for the dual sim device. The phone will run one card on 3G GSM while one on 2G GSM. The Redmi 1S is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 Chipset running at 1.6 GHz on Quad Cores and the Adreno 305 GPU. It accepts micro SD cards unto 32 GB and comes with an inbuilt storage of 8 GB and has 1 GB RAM.

Check out our unboxing and of Xiaomi Redmi 1S below.

September 1, 2014
Oppo Launches Neo 3 For Rs. 10,990 on Flipkart

Oppo launched a new budget-friendly smartphone, the Neo 3 today in India aimed at the budget segment of the Indian market. It is available via Flipkart (its recently announced retail partner), as well as via retail stores across the country, priced at Rs. 10,990.

The dual-SIM (GSM+GSM) Oppo Neo 3 is similar the Oppo Neo in some departments. The camera megapixel count, the processor, display size and resolution are identical to the Neo. It features a 4.5-inch display with a FWVGA (480×854 pixel) resolution, which sounds decent, but there are phones with much higher resolution display in this price range these days like the Xiaomi Redmi 1S, which goes on sale on Tuesday.

The Oppo Neo successor was announced in India by the company via the Oppo Mobile India Facebook page, with caption “In stores now Oppo Neo 3, another gem in out portfolio.”

A dual-core 1.3GHz processor powers the device and there’s 1GB RAM on board. This combination will power Oppo’s custom UI running on top of Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean. The device is equipped with a 5-megapixel camera with an LED flash along with a a 2-megapixel secondary camera.

On the connectivity front, the Oppo Neo 3 includes 3G, Wi-Fi, Wi-Fi Direct, GPRS/ EDGE, GPS/ A-GPS, NFC, OTG, Micro-USB, and Bluetooth 2.1. The smartphone packs a 1900mAh battery.Also, Oppo Neo 3 has a technology called HotKnot, which allows it to “share anything simply by touching another mobile screen with your.”

Oppo’s proprietary ColorOS is slightly better than what Gionee has to offer, but its not all that different in terms of functionality. There’s 4GB of inbuilt storage that can be expanded via a microSD card to up to 32GB.

The device is a bit low on the spec sheet. Considering the arrival of some pioneering devices like the Zenfone from Asus and Xiaomi’s line-up, Oppo should have tried a bit harder with the phone. The price too is on the higher end and they should plan to reduce if it wants to gain some market.

August 30, 2014

Xiaomi Redmi 1S Vs Moto E Vs Moto G Specs Comparison

After the achievement of its Mi 3, Xiaomi is rolling out yet another affordable smartphone in India, exclusively through Flipkart. The company is all set to formally uncover the Redmi 1S valued at Rs 5,999. All things considered, as budget-friendly devices to come in this comparative price bracket and expect to contend with the ruling budget Android, the Moto E and Moto G which are sold at the price of 6,999 and Rs. 10,499.

In terms of display, the Redmi 1S comes with a 4.7 inch display which has a 720 x 1280 resolution, giving it a total pixel density of 312 PPI. The Motorola Moto E come with a 4.3 inch which is not a IPS display and has a 960 x 540 resolution giving it 256 ppi, which is much lower than the Redmi 1S. On the other hand Moto has a 4.5 IPS display which has a 720 x 1280 resolution, same as the Redmi. However, the Moto G is at power here with 326 PPI.

Moto G also has a Corning Gorilla glass, so does the Moto E, but Xiaomi Redmi 1S lacks it and has Dragontrail instead. All three devices i.e. Moto E, Moto G and Xiaomi Redmi 1S are Dual Sim GSM devices. So, they will work on 3G and 2G GSM networks.

On the hardware side, Redmi 1S comes with Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 on quad-cores at 1.6 GHz. Which is mighty impressive for the price bracket and compared to Moto E’s Snapdragon 200 at dual-core 1.2GHZ processor. Where as, Moto G packs a snapdragon 400 which is quad-code at 1.2 GHz. Having said that, Redmi 1S is undoubtedly leads the two Motorola handsets as far as the processor is concerned.

All three have 1GB of RAM, and while the Redmi 1S along with Moto G has 8GB of Internal storage, Moto E lacks behind with 4Gb of internal storage. Also, the Redmi 1S does accept a micro-SD cards up to 64GB, while the Moto E accepts upto 32 GB micro-SD cards. The Moto G, despite being the most expensive handset in the lot, does not.

As far as the battery is concerned, Redmi 1S sports 2050 mAh battery, the Moto E comes with comes with 1980 mAh battery and Moto G comes with 2070 mAh battery. So, there not a considerable difference between the batteries of the three handsets.

The cameras of the devices are varied, the Xiaomi Redmi 1S fashions an 8MP primary camera that supports 1080p video shooting and the secondary camera of 1.6MP which supports 720p video shooting. Moto E disappoints us with no secondary camera and the main camera of 5MP with only 480p video capability. On the other hand Moto G has a similar 5 Mp camera but only does 720p videos along with a 1.3Mp secondary shooter. Moto E also lacks a flash light unlike other two devices. In terms of the camera and video quality Redmi 1S beats both the Motorola devices.

Motorola’s devices take lead in one of the most important specs of any smartphone- OS and updates. Motorola devices comes with Android 4.4 out of the box where as redimi 1s comes with Android 4.3 out of the box with a promised upgrade soon. Moto E as well as Moto G are going to be one of the first devices to get Android LMP update after the Nexus devices.

With respect to the specifications, pricing and overall usability of the device, we feel the Xiaomi Redmi 1S seems to be a value for money package. But with the limited 40,000 units going on sale on 2nd Sept, a lot of buyers and re-sellers are going to be in line to get their hands on the device, so be sure register first and wait for the device.

One major advantage that Motorola devices bring, is that they are now readily available and also the company has an impressive service network along with good customer service support. This can’t be said for the Xiaomi at the moment because they are struggling with their service support which is kept down to low number of service centre and replacements offered by Flipkart.

Key Specs-

Specs/Devices	Motorola Moto G	Motorola Moto E	Xiaomi Redmi 1S
Dimensions (mm)	129.90 x 65.90 x 11.60	124.80 x 64.80 x 12.30	137.00 x 69.00 x 9.90
Weight (g)	143.00	142.00	158.00
Battery capacity (mAh)	2070, Non-removable	1980, Non-removable	2050, removable
Display	4.5 Inch 720x1280px 329PPI	4.3 inch 540x960px 256PPI	4.7 inch 720x1280px 312PPI
Processor	Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 1.2GHz quad-core	Qualcomm Snapdragon 200 1.2GHz dual-core	Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 1.6GHz quad-core
RAM	1GB	1GB	1GB
Internal storage	8GB	4GB expandable upto 32GB	8GB expandable upto 64 GB
Rear camera	5-megapixel	5-megapixel	8-megapixel
Flash	Yes	No	Yes
Front camera	1.3-megapixel	No	1.6-megapixel
Operating System	Android 4.3	Android 4.4	Android 4.3 MIUI version 5

August 30, 2014

Apple Sends September 9th Invites Saying ‘Wish We Could Say More’

Apple has sent out the press invites for the much awaited September 9th press event at the Flint Center for the Performing Arts in Cupertino, California.

Invitation mentions the September 9th date and a cryptic statement ‘ wish we could say more’ in the typical Apple style. The Flint Center for the Performing Arts is the same venue where Apple debuted the Macintosh computer in 1984, 30 years ago. Perhaps, the venue is chosen to pay a homage to the company’s first big achievement with another groundbreaking device, iWatch.

Details on the iWatch hardware are much more scarce. Many reports points extensively on the device’s rich health and fitness capabilities, with Apple having hired many high-profile people for the project.

Apple has constructed a ‘three-story structure’ at the site, which may be used as the hands-on area after the presentation is over. The event will come 3 months after Apple’s developer conference WWDC and an year after the launch of iPhone 5S and 5C.

Even though, Apple hasn’t mentioned any details about the September 9 event. The company is expected to launch two new-generation iPhones, a 4.7 inch variant and a larger 5.5 inch variant which is expected to tagged as iPhone 6L.

The new iPhones are expected to come with a higher price tag which is a courtesy of all new Sapphire screen instead of the regular glass one which will make its screen more scratch resistant. It is said that company faced some problems with the display of the glass which may limit the number of iPhones initially available to consumers.

Also, iOS 8 is slated to launch at this event, it was shown off WWDC back in June. The updated version include new keyboards for typing, a battery usage indicator, impressive new camera features like time-lapse capture for video, interactive notifications, TouchID for apps and also new and improved Siri.

Apple is also rumored to introduce the reversible lightning connector with iPhone 6 that allows you to plug it into USB ports from either end.

August 29, 2014
Top 5 Android Games that you Should Download Right Away

Android app market (Play Store) is flooded with both paid and free game apps. Whether you want games that will last the length of a commute, or want to be lost in a port of GTA where you spend hours mowing down pedestrians and making money out of murder, there is a game on here for you. In the recent time most of the apps that are free usually feature in-app purchases adding premium offerings, which in some cases are not half bad e.g. Smash it!

We are listing top 5 Android games that you should download right away.

5. The Room Two ( Rs. 190)

The Room Two, a sumptuously strange but an amazing puzzle game. You spend minutes at a time examining a series of locked boxes, hunting for keys and mechanisms, deciphering puzzles, searching for signs through your sinister revelatory eyeglass. When you find the right one and put it in the right place, what follows is gorgeously rewarding: keys turn, doors unlock, boxes impossibly unpack themselves and become different, weirder boxes, always with the exact perfect sounds for the movements as they happen. This is a game of incredible polish wonderfully suspenseful sound and graphic design.

4. Injustice : God Among Us (Free)

Not every type of game can make the seamless transition from a console or computer onto the touch screen of your Android device. Injustice: Gods Among Us being no exception to this. However, if you compare it with other android games, it is one of the best game out there. The graphics of Injustce: Gods Among Us are, without doubt, quite stunning. The characters are the highlight of the game. It’s amazing to get to fight with some of your favorite superheroes (and villains).

3. Apparatus (Free)

It is one of the most addictive game you will ever play. Developers have done a good job by providing the Android world with such a creative and addictive game. You can create a complex structure from small parts and build a machine which can outclass other competitors in every respective field. Once you get hold of this game you won’t be able to put down your phone even for a second.

2. Chaos Rings II (Rs. 750)

An amazingly beautiful fantastical world where life is at the brink of destruction, as usual, and the chosen one has to kill five people to save the world, and one of the five is an innocent child. Whether this hero can carry out his duty is the decision that lies in your hands. It is an exhilarating adventure ample for players of all ages who are devotees of science fiction and futuristic scenery. The game requires 1 GB of memory, so make sure you have it available before proceeding to download.

1 Modern Combat 5: Blackout (Rs. 390)

Modern Combat 5: Blackout is the best first-person shooter on smartphones and tablets. You can create a squad, add your friends and test your individual and team skills against other squads in dynamic multiplayer warfare. Modern Combat 5 steals the show when it come to customization. Before a fight, or after dying, you can choose from Assault, Sniper, Heavy Assault, or Recon. Each of the classes has a number of weapons and accessories you can unlock by playing the game and gaining experience.

August 29, 2014
Microsoft will ship Standalone Xbox One Kinect with One Bonus Game

Microsoft’s standalone sensor for the Xbox One increased the console’s price to an unreasonable level, prompting Microsoft to drop it and make it an optional purchase. Now Microsoft gives you an option to buy a standalone Kinect.

Microsoft announced that it will ship a standalone Kinect sensor for the Xbox One on Oct. 7 at $150. However, to make the deal little sweeter they have added a free game with its Dance Central Spotlight, the latest in the dance series from developer Harmonix, which will be available as a digital download.

The standalone Kinect sensor follows Microsoft’s decision to make it an optional peripheral, releasing the Xbox One on its own, without the sensor, earlier this year with an RRP of $599. According to Microsoft, the unbundled console saw Xbox One sales double in the United States.

Buying the complete Xbox One bundle is still the cheapest way to get the console and Kinect sensor, but the standalone Kinect gives people the option of getting the base console and then adding the sensor at a later date if they so desire.

In April, Microsoft said it had sold 5 million Xbox One consoles to retailers, while Sony said it had sold 7 million PlayStation 4 units to consumers. Earlier this month, Sony said it had sold 10 million PlayStation 4 consoles to consumers. Microsoft has not released an Xbox One sales figure since April.

Microsoft has already made a series of price cuts, including bundling top games and Xbox Live Gold membership into the price of its console. Then in June, Microsoft unbundled the console and sensor, selling the Xbox One without Kinect for $399. Sales of Xbox One more than doubled in the U.S. after Microsoft unbundled that console and sensor, the company said in July.

The Kinect sensors allows users to control their Xbox One consoles and play games using voice and gesture commands. Microsoft earlier this month announced India availability of the Xbox One console on September 23, and made it available for pre-order it Rs. 39,990 without Kinect, and Rs. 45,990 with Kinect.

 

August 28, 2014
Top 5 Big Screen Smartphones Under Rs. 25,000

Shopping for a new smartphone is a hard task. With some amazing smartphones flooding the market every day, it is hard to choose one. The idea is to carefully go through what you exactly want your smartphone to do. These days smartphones are going for a bigger screen as a norm and 4.5 inch is becoming lowest screen size available in the market. People prefer big screens as they provide you better multimedia experience on the go and are also convenient for business purpose.

We are listing top 5 big screen smartphones under Rs. 25,000.

5. Sony Xperia T2 Ultra

The Sony Xperia T2 Ultra is a big screen smartphone as it sports a 6 inch HD display (720p) with TRILUMINOS and Mobile BRAVIA Engine 2 for mobile. It is also powered by a 1.4 GHz Quad-Core Snapdragon 400 processor and runs on Android 4.3 Jelly Bean. The handset is packed with a 1 GB of RAM and 8 GB of internal storage which is expandable upto 32 GB via microSD card. For a mere Rs 600 more you can get the T3 which comes with the Sony SmartBand SWR10 and a Sony Premium case a total worth of Rs. 8480.

 

4. OnePlus One

Okay! you need to get an invite to buy this Awesome big screen smartphone. But, don’t worry, we are giving out 5 invitation to our subscribers. Be sure to sign up for the giveaway here. The device is as impressive as it gets, it sports 5.5 Inch display at 1920 x 1080p with a 13 MP primary camera (4K video) and 5 MP front camera (1080p video). It is surely going to create a stir when it launches later this year for roughly Rs. 22,000. Check out the Hands on of OnePlus One.

 

3. Xiaomi Mi4

Well yes, this big screen smartphone has not launched in India yet, But the follow up of the blockbuster Mi3 is expected to launch soon. The impressive device is said to be launch post-Diwali in all likelihood, And our exclusive source told us it is going to available in two variants at Rs. 22,000 and Rs. 25,000. At first glance, the Xiaomi Mi 4 bears a striking resemblance to the design of the iPhone, especially the stainless steel banding around the sides.

Stay updated about Xiaomi Mi 4 here.

 

4. Gionee S5.5

Gionee S5.5 is a gorgeous device with 5-inch screen at 1080×1920 pixels, does not qualify as a really big screen smartphone. However, hardware wise the Gionee Elife S5.5 somehow seems to find a good balance. A Mediatek 6592 chipset with 8 cores clocked at 1.7 GHz a Mali450 MP4 variant GPU, 2 GB of RAM and comes in 16/32 GB storage capacities. The main camera sensor is 13 MP and the front camera sensor is 5 MP both with 1080p capture. Battery is on the low side with just 2300 mAh under the hood, however with the slimness of this device in consideration, its a pretty high value. If looks, beautiful display and a better than average camera is what you need, at Rs 22,999 the Elife S5.5 makes a strong case for itself.

Read our full review here.

 

1. HTC Desire 816

The HTC Desire 816 is a brilliant display equipped big screen smartphone, that looks great from the moment you first hold the device in your hand. The 5.5 inch Super LCD 2 display offers excellent brightness and great wide viewing angles. Almost every time you turn on the display you get a slight smirk on your face as to how beautifully HTC manages color and how good this screen looks.The HTC Desire 816 may be a large device but it fits comfortably, and is an excellent phone with solid network strength.

Read our full review here.

 

August 28, 2014
LG Officially Reveals G Watch R with Circular P-OLED Display

It is a good day for smart watch lovers; Following the unveiling of Samsung Gear S and Gear Circle, LG announced its new G Watch R smartwatch, and it’s one of the most elegantly designed smartwatches we have seen.

The LG G Watch R is said to be the world’s first watch-style wearable device to feature a circular Plastic OLED (P-OLED) display. It utilises 100 per cent of its watch face unlike Moto 360 which has flat bezel in the bottom of the screen.

Like LG’s G Watch, the G Watch R runs on Google’s Android Wear operating system, but that’s by far is the only similarity between the two watches. The G Watch R’s circular touchscreen measures 1.3 inches versus the G Watch’s rectangular 1.65-inch screen. The G Watch R’s display has a higher resolution (320 × 320 pixels) compared with the G Watch’s (280 × 280 pixels).

LG claims that it’s viewable in sunlight and clear from any angle, and the plastic also comes with some durability benefits. The screen rests in a stainless steel frame, and comes with an interchangeable calf skin leather strap.

LG G Watch R packs a Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 SoC with 1.2GHz CPU and 512MB of RAM. The rest of the device’s specs include 4GB of built-in memory, 410mAh battery, and the usual sensors (gyro, accelerometer, compass, barometer).

The G Watch, which sells for $229, took heavy criticism for not including a heart-rate monitor which the company has included in the new G Watch R. It is said that the new device will give tough competition to the much popular Moto 360 which turned lot of heads around during its unveiling at this years Google I/O.

LG G Watch R is already a crowd favorite with its retro-style analog watchfaces, which show sweeping second hands and a set of internal dials that look like a classic watch. There’s even a classic watch crown on the side, which is likely the power button disguised in style.

The sophisticated looking G Watch R come only in black. The Android Gear powered device will run all compatible apps available in the Google Play Store and with an Ingress Protection Rating of IP67, the LG G Watch R is designed to run for up to 30 minutes in one metre of water too. Talk about durability.

The LG G Watch R is said to available in market sometime around this year’s Q4. Prices and details of availability will be announced at the time of local launches. The watch will be on display at IFA 2014 in Berlin next week.

August 28, 2014
Samsung Targets Watch Lovers With The Gear S Smart Watch

Samsung has launched yet another smartwatch called Samsung Gear S (not Solo). The new Tizen based smartwatch is going to be shown off at IFA next week and also at Samsung’s IFA press conference on September 3rd. The company is trying to one up the circular smart watches expected in the near future from Motorola and LG, and is also aiming to lure the more traditional watch lovers.

Gear S will be the first smartwatch from Samsung with built-in 3G connectivity, and have ability to connect to 3G and 2G networks on its own, meaning users won’t need to keep it wirelessly connected to a smartphone in order to get notifications or make calls.

The Samsung Gear S has a 2-inch curved AMOLED display. It is topped with dual-core 1GHz CPU inside along with GPS, heart rate and motion sensors. It is powered by a 300mAh battery which Samsung says can last up to two days. It runs Tizen instead of Android Wear, with pedestrian navigation available from from Nokia’s HERE and support for Facebook.

It also lets you reply to incoming messages using the onscreen keyboard, or S Voice functionality to complete your tasks. You can also make and receive calls directly from your wrist, or get calls forwarded from your smartphone.

The 2-inch curved AMOLED display is kept at a 360 x 480px resolution, which comes out to a fairly impressive 300 pixels per inch. The smart watch does not sport a camera, and unlike Samsung’s other Tizen-based Gear watches, it has a standalone music player.

Along with Gear S, the company also announced the Gear Circle headset; a ring-style headphone that connects via Bluetooth and features a magnetic lock that clasps around the users’ neck when it’s not being used. It can also vibrate to give the user notifications and let you hear notifications, use voice commands or listen to music through the earbuds.

The company has not revealed any pricing details about either of the products, but Samsung said that the Gear S will go on sale this October.

August 28, 2014
Samsung Galaxy Note 4 to Get New Fingerprint Features

Since it’s debut on the Galaxy S5, Samsung  has included a fingerprint scanner on a number of devices. There is no surprise that the Samsung Galaxy Note 4 will come with one as well, but this time it could be in for better features.

Recently Sammobile, popular leakster, claimed that Samsung will use the Synaptics’ Natural ID solution, just like the Galaxy S5 and the Galaxy Alpha in Galaxy Note 4. Presently the Galaxy S5 and Alpha come with Private Mode authentication, and Samsung and PayPal account verification. However, the Galaxy Note 4 will sport some add on features like a Fingerprint Shortcuts and Web sign-in feature. The new feature will allow users to assign specific application launches and functions to swipes of individual fingers.

Leaked Galaxy Note 4 tutorials have revealed  phone’s Fingerprint Shortcuts feature in full detail. “When you unlock the device with the registered fingers, you can make the finger shortcut to any applications or other functions directly from the lock screen,” the instructions read.

Another new feature that’s said to be coming to the Galaxy Note 4 is ‘Web Sign-in’. This feature allows you to sign in to websites that can remember passwords by swiping your finger over the home key, thus saving your time and trouble of typing while being more secure alternative than simply leaving sites signed in.

Since they’re software features, it’s quite possible that Web Sign-In and Fingerprint Shortcuts could make their way to the Galaxy S5 and Galaxy Alpha following the launch of Galaxy Note 4.

The Samsung Galaxy Note 4 is expected to launch at  a pre-IFA 2014 event on September 3. Note 4 is stated to have a 5.7 inch QHD display and is expected to be powered by a Snapdragon 805 or an Exynos 5 Octa SoC. The device is also expected to sport a 16 MP camera on the back and a 3.7 MP front selfie shooter.

August 27, 2014
Apple Slated to Launch 12.9 inch iPad Next Year

With Samsung and Google taking over the tablet market with high-end devices, Apple is preparing to give them a tough competition. Recent reports illustrates that the company is planning to launch a larger 12.9 inch iPad in early 2015.

We first heard of this tablet, which has been dubbed the “iPad Pro” in rumors, in mid-2013 with a prospective 2014 launch date. However, recent rumors suggests that the plans for the tablet had been put on hold. The new 12.9-in. iPad will be launched in the spring, as reported by Bloomberg, following the company’s release of new iPhones next month.

Apple has been struggling with the declining sales of 10 inch and 7.9-inch tablets. The plan to launch this new iPad pro is said to be the outcome of this sluggish market scenario which has been replaced by large smartphone and tablets from likes of Google and Samsung.

According to rumors, the larger 12.9-inch iPad will include a high pixel density display that is almost of an ultra high-definition quality. It will likely adopt many of the design elements offered in the current iPad Air and iPad mini, like an ultrathin chassis and narrow side bezels.

Mass production of Apple’s iPad Air with a 9.7-inch (24.6-cm) screen has already started, and it is likely to be unveiled by the end of current quarter. Along with this, a new version of the 7.9-inch iPad mini is also entering production and is likely to be available by the end of the year. Both of these devices are expected to include upgraded processors and support for the Touch ID fingerprint sensor.

Apple is shaking up the iPad line to increase the sales. Also company is trying to revive iPad sales by selling the devices to large companies through its new partnership with IBM. IBM will use its sales-force to sell iPads to large enterprises. It’ll also make enterprise specific apps for the tablets.

August 27, 2014