Author: Parul Ritvik Sood

NVIDIA’s New Shield Tablet Takes Portable Gaming to the Next Level

Back in 2013, we saw the launch of first end-to-end consumer product: NVIDIA Shield. Now, Nvidia has unveiled the next generation of its Shield gaming hardware.

Later this month, the company will be offering a new Shield Wireless Controller and the Tegra K1-powered Shield Tablet, changing up the formula from the original Shield clamshell portable that was announced at the beginning of last year.

The new NVIDIA Sheild will replace original Shield’s 5-inch screen in favor of a bigger 8-inch, 1080p display. The Shield Tablet is equipped with an 8-inch 1,920 x 1,200 display, a 2.2Ghz quad-core A15 CPU, 2GB RAM and Nvidia’s impressive Tegra K1 mobile processor.

On the software side, it will be shipped largely with a stock of the Android 4.4.3, with just a few gaming tweaks. Twitch is integrated into the device system, allowing players to stream almost any app, game, or part of the Android interface.

The front-facing camera can be used for picture-in-picture, with audio coming from the integrated microphone or an external headset. When plugged into a TV, the tablet automatically switches into “Console Mode,” which brings up a controller-optimised 1080p interface for launching and purchasing apps and games.

It is equipped with a pair of front-facing stereo speakers sporting a solid and sleek design. At 9.2mm thick and weighing 390 grams, it’s also small and light enough to easily toss into a bag or purse when on the go.

Some apps that come out of the box include 1080p Netflix streaming, Hulu Plus, Shadowplay for capturing gameplay footage and Gamestream for streaming PC games directly to the tablet. 11 Tegra-K1 optimised games will be available at launch, including The Talos Principle, Half Life 2 and War Thunder, complete with cross-platform online play.

The new Shield Controller is similar to the game pad found with the current Shield portable, but features a smoother attractive design. Its layout features a pair of analog sticks at the bottom, a directional pad on the top left, four face buttons to the right and a set of dual-shoulder buttons that are perpendicularly-aligned, not unlike those on the Xbox 360 controller. In the center of the controller are buttons that are used to navigate around Android and Nvidia’s software, as well as launch voice-activated commands.

Nvidia’s new Shield Tablet will be available for an affordable $299 USD with 16GB of built-in storage and Wi-Fi connectivity. Doubling the storage and adding LTE will cost $399—the tablet is compatible with AT&T and T-Mobile in the United States. The Shield Controller will be sold for $59, and a cover for the tablet that can also be used as a kick stand is priced at $39.

July 23, 2014
BenQ Launches a New 24-inch Monitor For Competitive Gaming

BenQ, a renowned digital lifestyle provider and professional gaming monitor pioneer, announced a new addition to its RL Series: the RL2460HT. Company said that RL2460HT is a fully optimized monitor for high-speed PC and console gaming — perfect for RTS- and MOBA-style games, as well as fighting games.

The new addition to RL series is packed with exclusively designed Fighting Mode and HDMI Output for console games, as well as all the latest features from 1ms GTG to Flicker-free Technology, Black eQualizer, Low Blue Light Technology and Height Adjustment Stand with Precision Scale System, the 24” novelty is the world’s first-ever professional gaming monitor dedicated to optimize the experience of high speed gaming. This is also BenQ’s first time to work with professional gamers of this exciting genre, inviting console game legend, Justin Wong of Evil Geniuses, to co-develop the new Fighting Mode.

“With the launch of RL2460HT, BenQ aims to offer exciting special features for some of the professional gaming industry’s most popular titles, played by millions of in-person and online gamers,” said, Rajeev Singh, Country Head & General Manager, BenQ India. “The RL2460HT has been engineered in collaboration with the world’s top professional fighting game champions enabling it to deliver the precision, speed, and market-first innovations needed to provide gamers with a memorable experience”.

The RL2460HT now features a built-in HDMI output, which eliminates the risk of system input lag and delay by allowing for action to be captured after rather than prior to going through the monitor. This ensures an ultra-smooth, distortion-free gaming experience and uncompromised streaming while also enabling easy head-to-head setup capabilities for multiplayer games using a single screen – giving gamers a solid combination of game play supremacy and setup satisfaction.

With the RL2460HT’s HDMI Out port, pro gamers can stream their game content after it goes through the monitor so that the audience sees exactly what the player has seen, without risk of lag or delay to the player. In this manner, pro gamers can preserve monitor speed and performance regardless of the streaming system used. The monitor provides a height-adjustable stand with a precision adjustment marker system that makes setup fast and easy, enabling the player to duplicate the precise setup every time and everywhere.

The RL2460HT is available at a price of Rs.17,500 across India.

July 23, 2014
Sennheiser Launched a New Range of Lightweight Headphones For India

The German audio giant, Sennheiser has announced a new range of headphones, PX 95 mini-headphones, rotatable neckband earphone PMX 95 and the in-ear PCX 95 in India. The new headphones targets the new-age Indians who need their personal entertainment on the go.

Sennheiser PX 95 Mini headphones

The three new audio devices are said to have been made specifically for Indian consumers, and are rated to be highly durable and lightweight. Available via the Sennheiser India online store, the PX 95, PMX 95 and the PCX 95 are priced at Rs. 3,990, Rs. 4,990 and Rs. 5,490 respectively.

The PX 95 mini-headphones provide a detailed stereo sound reproduction, while still being light enough to wear comfortably for hours. The audio device is equipped with slender steel headband is amazingly flexible, thus providing a proper fit. The headphone’s earpad foam and quality fabric mesh enhances acoustics and the adjustable ear cups ensure a personalized fit.

Rotatable neckband earphone PMX 95

The Sennheiser PMX 95 comes with uni-sided anti-friction cable that the company says provides better handling, and with rotational ear cups for a better fit. The headphones also feature an ergonomic neckband and weigh only 54 grams.

PCX 95 is company’s first ever in ear neckband design. The audio device is capable of delivering detailed, bass-driven sound with amazing depth, as explained by the company. The device also have a single-sided cable same as the PXM 95 to better mobility.

Sennheiser in- ear PCX 95

“In this day and age of mobile infotainment consumption there is a need for good quality audio to supplement HD video and the new age Indian customer is telling us that they want a brand that is relevant to them and makes products that cater to their needs while offering great vale to them. Sennheiser is extremely excited to launch this new range of headphones created especially for the new age Indians keeping in mind the requirements of the Indian consumer,” stated Kapil Gulati, Vice President, Sales and Marketing, Consumer Segment, Sennheiser Electronics India during the launch.

The company is providing 2 years of warranty with each handset and are compatible with iPods, MP3, iPhones and other portable media players.

July 23, 2014
Sony Launched 7.7mm-Thin Xperia T3 in India

Sony, refreshing its mid-range smartphone segment, launched the Xperia T3 in India and the phone will be available starting Monday, 28th July.

It runs Android 4.4 KitKat OS out of the box, and has been launched in a single SIM variant, with no word on if a dual-SIM variant will be available soon. The company is proud of the large-screen smartphone’s slim design, giving it a thickness of 7.7mm, and a weight of 148 grams.

The T3 is a distinct looking device and it features a stainless steel frame around the sides, which immediately sets it apart from other mid-range Sony phones, which normally feature matte plastic on the sides. The Android smartphone from Sony features a 5.3-inch (720×1280 pixel) HD Triluminos display powered by a BRAVIA Engine 2. The display offers a pixel density of 277ppi. A quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 (MSM8228) processor powers the device, clocked at 1.4GHz, with 1GB of RAM.

The smartphone sports an 8MP rear camera with auto focus Sony Exmor RS for mobile image sensors. The Xperia T3’s rear camera comes with features such as scene detection, HDR, face recognition, red-eye reduction, sweep Panorama and geo tagging. It also houses a 1.1-megapixel front-facing camera.

In terms of connectivity, Xperia T3 supports Wi-Fi, Miracast, NFC, LTE and A-GPS. It comes with 2500mAh battery promising standby time of up to 688 hours and talk time of up to 12 hours 46 minutes. It will be available in three colour options including Black, Purple and White.

The high pricing of the device may cost them some of their potential buyers, especially when there are so many great alternatives available. The Nexus 5, LG G2 and the Galaxy S4 come within the same price range and feature better specs.

July 23, 2014
Apple’s iTime Patent Strongly Hints Their Entry into The Wearable Market

While iPhone 6 is making rounds on the internet with new renders and rumours everyday, Apple’s much-awaited smart watch seemed to have gotten lost in the crowd. But recent evidence of Apple’s interest in wearable devices surfaced on Tuesday with the publication of the company’s latest U.S. patent.

Apple has never publicly acknowledged that it’s working on a smartwatch, although it’s widely expected that an “iWatch” could be introduced as soon as this September. On Tuesday, the United States Patent and Trademark Office granted a patent to Apple for a smartwatch concept referred to as ‘iTime’. The documents was first spotted by AppleInsider, disrupting the secrecy code regarding company’s wrist-based ambitions at least a little bit.

Unlike the all-in-one smartwatch devices already revealed by Samsung and LG, the iTime will actually feature two main components: a smart strap, which can apparently be swapped out to change functionality, and a small touchscreen media player reminiscent of the sixth-generation iPod Nano, which is mentioned by name in the patent. Although, you can certainly expect the display technology used on the iTime to be vastly superior to the old Nano.

Based on the patent, Apple envisions a smartwatch with a range of functions, including notifying the user of incoming messages and allowing a user to remotely control other devices. “An incoming phone call, a text message, a social network post, or a news feed directed to a user’s electronic device (e.g., mobile phone) can cause a notification to be provided to a nearby electronic wristband of the user,” the document said. The electronic wristband can also “provide remote controls to a user.”

Apple is widely expected to introduce a wearable device with functionality very similar to that described in the patent. According to the most recent speculation, Apple’s first attempt into the wearables game may sport a “slightly curved” 2.5-inch OLED display and could come in three sizes. The device is also said to have a heavy focus on health and wellness, with possible fitness tracking functions built-in.

Based on what Apple told us at WWDC of company’s plans for health, fitness and home automation, a new wearable (or wearables) could fit perfectly into the its grand scheme of things. And if this patent is any indication, they’ve already been devising that scheme for years.

July 23, 2014
Xiaomi Announced a Super Cheap Mi Band Along With Mi 4

Since the Xiaomi Mi 3 sold in India like hot cakes, we’re keeping our eyes on any and every device the company might soon offer. Yesterday, Xiaomi not only introduced the new flagship phone Mi4, but also a fitness tracker. The band looks quite simple with no display. It is a bold step for the company to enter the wearable market, but with their aggressive pricing strategy they are mostly likely to sell out within hours.

The Mi Band tracks your movement (walking or running) plus sleeping pattern, and you can also use it as a smart vibrating alarm to wake up feeling better. Interestingly, a single charge on this waterproof device will last up to 30 days, which easily beats its competitors that tend to last for a week or less.

Just like Xiaomi’s smartphones, the band is super-cheap compared to the ones available in the market priced at CNY79 (approximately Rs 789). At this price point, the Xiaomi could take the reach of wearable tech to a new level, in case it is launched as a standalone device that works with other devices too. However, there is the possibility that it may work only with Xiaomi phones.

Equipped with an aluminium surface with a micro laser perforation and no display screen, the Xiaomi Mi Band is water resistant (IP67). Once paired with the smartphone, the Mi Band can be used to unlock the user’s smartphone without typing a password or patterns. The Mi Band will be available in range of colour variants including Blue, Pink, Brown, Black, Purple and Grey.

There is no word on the availability of the device in India. We wonder if Xiaomi plans to bundle it with the Mi 4. While, Xiaomi is little known in the West, where it does not yet sell devices, there is an emerging popularity of the company in India. Furthermore, the firm disclosed that its first batch of Mi 3 went on sale in India and sold out within 38 minutes earlier.

July 23, 2014

HTC Desire 816 Vs 616 : Which One Is More Desirable?

HTC has come up with two amazing phones recently; Desire 816 and 616. Though, these two devices belong in different price brackets, they are actually very similar in terms of of design and other specifications. The Desire 816 came out some time back, priced at Rs 25,000, where as the Desire 616 is awaited and is priced at Rs. 17,000.

The Innards

The Desire 816 runs on a Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 quad-core chipset which runs on at 1.6 GHz. Where as the Desire 616 runs a Mediatek MT6592 processor which is on Octa-core at 1.4 GHz. Now, whether you consider Snapdragon stronger or not, we personally feel that Octa-core chipset is slightly more powerful at 1.4 Ghz than the 1.6 GHz Snapdragon 400 in Desire 816. That means Desire 616 will give a slightly better performance than the Desire 816.

Display

The 5.5 inch Desire 816 has a 1280X720 pixel resolution which is same as the Desire 616 which fashions a 5-inch screen. This means, the 5.0 inch 616 has a better resolution and higher pixel per inch ratio, thereby giving it a better display in comparison to the Desire 816.

Operating System

Now, this is the category where Desire 816 easily wins. The 816 sports Android 4.4 out of the box, also the device has HTC sense as well as HTC BlinkFeed, which come fully loaded to the device. Although, you do get BlinkFeed and HTC Sense 5.5 with the 616, but it is not a full version and the device runs on Android 4.3 JellyBean. So, the 616 doesn’t possess latest version softwares and there is no schedule for any update either.

Camera

As far as the imaging is concerned the Desire 816 wins with its 13 MP camera at the rear and a 5 MP on the front. Both the rear and the front camera are capable of shooting 1080p videos. It fashions an f/2.2 aperture lens with various additional features for the HTC Sense camera. Whereas in the 616 only the 8MP rear camera supports 1080p video capturing, the 2MP front camera shoots at 720p only and also you don’t get those fancy camera features.

Battery

Desire 816 sports a pretty impressive battery at 2,600 mAh where as the 616 gets a 2000 mAh battery. We have experienced that 816 has a phenomenal battery life while 616 lags behind in this segment.

Memory and RAM

Desire 816 holds a much larger internal storage than 616 i.e. 8 gigabytes against 616’s 4 gigabytes. Both devices support microSD cards with 616 supporting expansion of only 32 GB while the 816 being capable of expanding to 128 GB of additional memory. Also Desire 816 gets 1.5 GB of RAM whereas you get only 1 GB RAM with Desire 616.

Design

In terms of design, Desire 816 looks impressive with its matte plus gloss finished body, which looks amazing. Overall the device feels sturdy . You don’t get a removable back panel which some people may not like, but the aesthetics as well as the shiny steel barrel around the camera steals the show.

The Desire 616 is slightly thicker and has an overall plastic shell (even the buttons are plastic). It’s back panel is removable. The plastic body makes it look less impressive when compared to the 816. But still the 616 is a really good looking device, in fact one of the best looking ones in it’s price bracket.

Summary

Overall, both the devices are the hottest selling commodities in their respective categories and there is good reason for that. They are fantastic in terms of build quality, software and obviously the support you get from the HTC. 616 gives you an octa-core processor at the price in which other devices provide you with dual core where as 816 brings out a large screen and fantastic built quality t0 the Rs. 25,000 segment. You do have several good alternatives in both these categories such Nexus 5 and also LG G2in 25k price bracket while you can get various handsets from the likes of Gionee, Micromax and others in the 17k segment. But with this purchase, you get amazing customer support from HTC. The company has proved that they have well built phones and have great service and support in India, which very crucial in today’s market place.

Phone	HTC Desire 816	HTC Desire 616
Display	5.5 inches720x1280 pixels	5.0 inches720x1280 pixels
Memory	8GB	4GB
Ram	1.5GB	1GB
Camera	13MP rear5MP front	8MP rear2MP front
OS	Andriod 4.4 KitKat	Android 4.3 Jelly Bean
Processor	1.6 Ghz Quad-coreQualcomm Snapdragon 400 chipset	1.4 GHz Octa-coreMediatek MT6592 processor
Battery	2,600 mAh Non-removable	2000 mAh removable
Price	Rs. 25,000(approx)	Rs. 17,000(approx)

July 22, 2014

Fresh Renders Surface of The iPhone 6 And Retina iPad Mini

We have seen a plethora of dummies of the much-awaited iPhone 6 over the span of the past few months. However, it has been reported that the existing iPhone 6 dummy mockups have had major design flaws.

A graphic designer, Martin Hajek, popular for his various dummy mockups, has created beautiful renders of the two upcoming Apple products.

“Based on rumors and images of the purported iPhone 6 all over the internet, I decided to do a concept study of what an iPad mini would look like with this new, soft and round iPhone 6 design ‘language’ slapped all over it,” Hajek wrote on his blog while publishing his most recent work.

For example, a number of reports suggest that the tablet will indeed feature Apple’s Touch ID fingerprint scanner beneath the home button. However, the iPad mini case is not expected to feature any major design changes, so we will most likely have to wait until next year before we see anything that might resemble Hajek’s design.

As far the much anticipated iPhone 6 is concerned, this mockup seems like the closest we got to the real device. It shows a thick black plastic line on the top and bottom at the rear-side of the phone. However, many reports point out that those lines are from the leaked iPhone 6 schematics and they actually designate areas on the back of the phone that contain glass panels, similar to the ones on the back of iPhone 5 and iPhone 5s.

Well, again, we can’t help but point out that these render simply based on rumors and are subject to change.

July 22, 2014
New Facebook ‘Save’ Feature Helps Bookmark Content For Later Viewing

Well Facebook updates usually take time to get accustomed to but this new feature seems to solve a huge problem for the people who use Facebook on the go regularly. The new ‘Save’ feature, as it is called, lets you save links, pictures, places, music etc. to go through later when you have time.

“Every day, people find all sorts of interesting items on Facebook that they don’t have time to explore right away,” said Daniel Giambalvo, software engineer at Facebook, in a blog post. “Now you can save items you find on Facebook to check out later when you have more time.”

Facebook’s Save feature rolls out to all iOS, Android, and web users over the next few days. You’ll notice the option in your newsfeed either as a button on the bottom of some posts or in the drop-down menu beside each post. Users can then re-visit their saved items using the “More” tab on mobile, or by hitting the “Saved” link on lefthand rail of the desktop version. The save option can only be seen by you on your your phone or web browser.

The new feature, like almost all components of the social network is to keep you inside Facebook. Instead of saving items to Pinterest, Instapaper, Pocket, or other read-it-later services, you can use Facebook as a bookmarking service. It’s also a good way to keep track of restaurants and stores you may want to visit.

There’s a very good reason Facebook may not be caching content: it would rob its publisher partners of ad views. If Facebook simply scraped the destinations of links for their text, images, and videos, and let you view them on a stripped down page in Save, why would you go to the actual Page? It seems Facebook likely doesn’t want to offend these publishers since they contribute content to its service through Pages, and buy Facebook ads to grow their audience.

July 22, 2014
3 Upcoming Motorola Devices We Can’t Wait to Get Our Hands On
Motorola’s comeback has been widely successful with the much-appreciated Moto G and Moto E. After the company was acquired by Google, Motorola has constantly been launching phones. More are soon to come, including their long awaited flagship phone. We are listing 3 new devices that we hope Motorola will launch soon:

1. Moto X+1/X2

We can expect the Moto X+1, aka Moto X2, to be released sometime in September. We have seen details surrounding Motorola’s next-generation flagship smartphone leak a number of times thus far. In fact, there have been several sightings of the unreleased phone in a handful of videos.

Key Specifications
- 5.2-inch Full HD AMOLED display
- 1080 x 1920 pixel resolutions
- 2GB of RAM
- Snapdragon 800 2.3 GHz processor
- 12 MP primary camera
2. Moto G2

Motorola has reportedly started working on the Moto G2. A smartphone said to be the successor to the popular Moto G. A website called Mallandonoandroid has published an image and alleged specifications of the phone that carries the model number XT1068. As per the report the dual-sim phone will sport a 720p display and Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 processor, just like the Moto G, but will feature a 8MP rear camera. Moto G came with a 5MP rear camera, which was one of its weak points.

Rumored Specifications
- Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 processor
- 1,280 x 720 pixels
- 8MP rear camera
3. Moto G Google Play Edition

While the standard version of Moto G sold by Motorola has been extremely popular, everyone seems to have forgotten about the Google Play edition of the phone sold in the US, including Motorola and Google. The phone is not available in India, it is expect that Motorola may launch the device soon.

Key Specifications
- 1.2 GHz Quad-Core Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 Processor
- 1 GB RAM
- 4.5 Inch HD Touchscreen Display
- 5 MP Rear Camera With LED Flash
- 1.3 MP Front Camera
- 2070 MAh Battery.
July 22, 2014
Top 4 Cloud Office Suites To Make Your Working Life Easy

Working online has become an integral aspect of the corporate world. The cloud, as we call it, contains everything we need to work on the go and is available 24X7. Online office suites make that work easy with their varied tools, document and slide show creators and much more.

Three features that particularly help the Cloud stand out: the ability to access files from any internet-connected systems, ease of file-sharing, and automated back up with versioning. The suites may not be as comfortable to use as Office, nor as feature-packed, but as long as the basics are in place, most users are unlikely to complain – especially if they’re getting them for free, as is usually the case for personal use.

We are listing 4 of the best online office suites you should use while working:

1. Google Drive/Docs

Google Docs was the first online office suite which actually worked as needed, and is still one of the most popular ones out there. Compared to when it was first launched, it has improved tremendously. Now it looks and feels far more like Microsoft Office, from the virtual sheet-of-paper view used by its word processor to the availability of multiple fonts, including Office’s current default, Calibre. Docs doesn’t offer anything close to Office’s power. It rather focuses on the basics that everyone needs for word processing, spreadsheets, presentations and simple vector-based drawing. Along with this it provides online storage space for additional files and decent file conversion options from Office formats. Google adds features on a regular basis, but don’t hold your breath for specific improvements. Development on Docs feels slow – too slow, and there is still a long way to go.

2. Zoho

Zoho is the king of online office suites and the reason is the variety of feature provide by this office suite. With text documents, accounting, spreadsheets, presentations, mail, calendars, notebooks, wikis, discussion groups, invoicing and more, Zoho offers a jaw-dropping number of features. Better yet, all of them are available free for personal use. They’re geared towards business use though, with the idea being that you pay for additional users and features in specific apps. The website doesn’t do a great job of explaining this up front, but at least you can try everything without having to pay first. You can’t argue with its power though. If you want all of your business and editing tools in one place, this is where you’ll find them waiting for you.

3. ThinkFree Online Office

ThinkFree is a Java-based office suite, which needs a download on your desktop. Being a Java app, it’s not the speediest – and you don’t get to use it offline just because you’ve installed it. If you want to do that, you have to buy the slightly misnamed ThinkFree Office, which costs £35. Not a huge amount compared to a copy of Microsoft Office, but still lightens up your wallet. There is, however, a dedicated syncing tool that you can download, so that you can at least fire up another tool and continue working until your internet connection resumes, and there are mobile apps available to access and share files too.

4. iWork

Apple’s hallmark intuitive interface and extensive help and support make their feature-rich products a pleasure to use. If you’re an all-Mac (or mostly Mac) business or a personal Mac user/student, iWork is the Mac office software for you. It will provide you with all of the power you will need to make your work look professional and well-polished. The different programs Pages, Numbers and Keynote give you the ability to tackle just about any assignment, whether it’s for school or work. If you need the more ubiquitous presence and collaborative options of Microsoft, you’d be well-advised to choose Microsoft Office for Mac.

July 22, 2014
Launch of MacBook Air With Retina Display Might Be Pushed to 2015

Recent report by Taiwan’s Economic Daily News said that Apple is going to launch two new Macbook Air variants; 11-inch and 13-inch in coming months. The report also added that the upcoming redesigned 12-inch MacBook with a Retina display is expected to ship later than expected, as late as early 2015.

The publication reports that the updates to both current MacBook Air sizes have entered production with Apple partner Quanta Computer and the new computers will boost Quanta’s 2014 notebook shipment numbers by 15%. The new devices are said to sport new chassis, screens, and chipsets. It is also said that the shipments are due in late-August.

Apple’s 12-inch MacBook with Retina display was initially reported to hit the marketplace sometime in the earlier part of the third quarter. This device will mark the first expansion of Apple’s Mac line since the MacBook Pro with Retina Display product line was introduced in mid-2012. According to the report, the new MacBook’s launch is glued to Intel’s power and performance-efficient 14-nanometer Broadwell part.

Any more specific hardware details for the new 11-inch and 13-inch MacBook Air laptops have not been revealed.

Apple has already refreshed its MacBook Air line a few months ago, updating its two models with slightly faster and more efficient processors, and dropped the prices across the line by $100. Apple will launch its OS X Yosemite update at some point in fall, likely alongside new hardware. In addition to the rumored new MacBook Air models, it is said that Apple might update its MacBook Pro family later this year, too.

July 21, 2014
Google Play Store Beats iOS App Store in Number of Downloads, Lags In Revenue

An app analyst at App Annie have compiled their data for Q2 2014 and have come out with the results. For the months of April, May and June, the Android Play Store has again surpassed the iOS App Store in terms of app downloads. In raw numbers, the Android Play Store registered about 150 million app downloads as opposed to 100 million app downloads against its iOS counterpart. This means a 60% increase from the previous quarter for Android, and a 45% increase for iOS.

App revenue, however, is a completely different story. iOS has a huge lead in this department with $100 million in app revenue as compared to $60 million for Android. Again, that is an increase of 45% for iOS from the previous quarter as against a 30% increase for Android. Now there can be a number of reasons for this, but the primary reasons being ‘free-medium’ apps on Android, which actually cost a few dollars on Apple’s iOS platform.

However, it is predicted by analysts that the Android Play Store will actually surpass the iOS App Store even in revenue by 2018. Android already dominates about 80% of the smartphone market, and app revenues are expected to reflect that soon.

In terms of app downloads by categories, both platforms are dominated by Games, Tools, Communication, Entertainment and Social applications. This is not news as these categories were dominant in the previous quarter as well.

The role of low-priced Android phones in emerging markets also makes a mark on these rankings. India jumped up two spots to claim the third overall spot in total app downloads on Android, behind the United States and Brazil. On the iOS platform, Japan, United States, South Korea, Germany and Taiwan continue to dominate the top five nations in terms of downloads.

Apple is presently preparing for the launch iPhone 6 which is said to be more expensive than the iPhone 5s, while on the other hand Google has recently announced the Android One, a cheap mobile platform for budget phone in India . It will be interesting to see how both companies with different marketing strategy compete with each other in this volatile technology market.

By Pranav Arora

July 21, 2014
Gionee Aspiring For Size Zero: Rumored To Launch a 5mm Smartphone
The Chinese phone maker turned heads when they launched world’s slimmest smartphone. Now, China’s TENNA, recently certified a mid-range model that’s even thinner. If you think that the S5.5 was the best Gionee could do, then you might have been wrong. Gionee is most probably in process of launching another slim phone which will only be 5mm thick.

The new handset, code-named as GN9005, will strictly be a mid-ranger, featuring a 4.8-inch HD (1280×720 pixels) AMOLED display. The device will run on quad-core 1.2GHz processor (presumably Cortex-A7) with 1GB RAM. It will run Android 4.3 Jelly Bean out of box.

In terms of camera, the GN9005 will be equipped with an 8MP primary camera at the rear and a massive 5MP front facing shooter for wooing all those selfies lovers. Other technical specifications include 16GB of internal storage and a modest 2,050mAh battery.

There is no word on the launch date or pricing right now but as it is visible on leaked product images, the phone is expected to be released on telecom operator China Mobile. We hope to get more details in the coming weeks, till then check out the alleged specifications of the phone.

Rumored Features
- Size: 139.8 × 67.4 × 5.0 (mm), 94.6 grams
- Display: 4.8-inch AMOLED display, 1280x720p
- Processor: 1.2GHz quad-core
- Battery: 2050 mAh
- Connectivity: TD-LTE, GSM, TD-SCDMA, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth
- OS: Android 4.3
- Memory: 1GB of RAM, 16GB of storage
- Cameras: 8MP rear camera, 5MP front
July 21, 2014
Updated Xbox One Will Have a Facebook Inspired Live Feed

In terms of numbers, Microsoft may sell less consoles than Sony, but it seems that Microsoft’s Xbox One is gaining better features faster that the arch-rival Sony. It has been said that players can expect, as part of the August Xbox One update, some noteworthy additions to the the console.

Microsoft’s Larry Hryb outlined some major features in a new blog post this weekend. The August update will expand the activity feed on Xbox Live and turn it into a Facebook-like inteface. Players will be able to write text messages on their feed or share gameplay clips. They can also interact with others’ updates with ‘likes ‘and ‘comments’.

Friends’ activities can be found quickly on the revised Home Page. An enlarged ‘Friends’ area gives you an update on their online or offline status, including their most-played games. A leaderboard tracks who’s been picking up the most Achievements. Also, the Friends list is going to show you how long it’s been since your buddies were online.

Update 1408 is expected to launch next month and is said to include the long-awaited 3D Blu-ray playback. It will also give you the ability to remotely download games and apps purchased through Xbox.com and SmartGlass, but only when your console is set to automatically turn on.

A low battery notification will tell you when your controller’s almost out of battery. Notifications can be disabled during videos for an uninterrupted viewing experiences. The Blu-Ray player app will be upgraded to support 3D Blu-rays.

Microsoft will also add support for mobile purchases in August. If you’re away from home and decide to buy a game from SmartGlass or Xbox.com, your console will automatically power on, download it, and install, so it’s ready whenever you next pick up a controller. Sony has offered similar functionality for the PS4.

No specific date is given for the update’s release. Only that early access users will be seeing them first, starting next week.

July 21, 2014