Author: Parul Ritvik Sood

CES 2015 : Samsung Announces a Diverse Range of Consumer Electronics

Samsung’s keynote at Consumer Electronics Show 2015 brought us some big announcements. One of the main highlights of the show was the the Korean brand’s upcoming flagship TVs; these aren’t just UHD TVs any more but are SUHD TVs now. Other than this, the company also pulled the wraps off Milk VR, portable SSDs and a surprising new Chef Collection.

1.Super Ultra High Definition TV’s

The company launched the much talked about 2015 4K lineup of its flagship TVs called SUHD TV where S stands for Super. SUHD lineup, which uses quantum dot tech, comprising of three series and nine screen sizes that range from 48-inches up to 88-inches. According to the company the new TV lineup will support both 10-bit color and High Dynamic Range.

Samsung 65JS9500

High Dynamic Range or HDR means that the TVs, which will be available in 65, 78 and 88-inch versions, will be bright enough and powerful enough where colour processing is concerned to handle sources mastered to deliver a much wider colour space than you get with the usual industry video standards.

As the company announced previously, all the 2015 TVs will be powered by Tizen OS. The company said that the Tizen smart TVs will automatically search for nearby Samsung mobile devices and connect to them. The home network will allow the content to be easily shared back and forth. “Users can also watch live broadcasts or TV on their mobile devices, anywhere on their home network, even when their TV is powered off,” Samsung said.

Samsung SSD T1

2. SSD T1

The company has also added three new variants of SSD T1 in its offerings. Available in 250GB, 500GB and 1TB variants, the drives measure a mere 71 x 53.2 x 9.2 mm, which is smaller than a business card, the company claims. It supports AES 256-bit encryption, USB 2.0 and USB 3.0 along with transfer speeds of up to 450MB/s. The SSD T1 models will be made available later this year.

3. Milk VR

The company has entered the virtual reality space with the Milk VR, available exclusively for its virtual reality device Gear VR. It will allow users to stream 360-degree video. Along with Milk VR, Samsung has announced the expansion of Milk Music and Milk Video to the web and smart TVs, respectively.

Chef Collection

4. Chef Collection

The most intriguing announcement was in the lifestyle section. The company introduced the Chef Collection(hardware for the chefs) along with a new app that comes with recipes and tips from expert chefs which will be available for download for free from Google Play starting next month.

The announcements for home products also include new Activ Wash+ technology by Samsung washing machines. The new top-load washer comes with built-in sink, water jet and scrubber and Super Speed technology that helps cut down on wash time.

January 6, 2015
CES 2015 : Asus Brings Out Zenfone 2 and Camera-focused Zenfone Zoom

Asus, Taiwanese smartphone maker, has launched two new variants of its blockbuster phone, Zenfone at CES 2015. The Zenfone 2 and Zenfone Zoom, both are based on the same hardware platform and run on Android 5.0 Lollipop.

The Second Gen Zenfone flaunts a 5.5-inch full HD (1920×1080 pixels) IPS display, with evidently narrower bezels than its earlier devices. In fact, the company claims that the phone features 72 percent screen-to-body ratio. As for power, the smartphone is powered by Intel’s 64-bit Atom Z3580 quad-core processor clocked at 2.3GHz, and it is paired with 4GB of RAM.

On the software side ASUS is now packing Android 5.0 Lollipop and the latest version of its Zen UI custom overlay. On the photography front, the smartphone features a 13-megapixel “Pixelmaster” camera with an f/2.0 aperture, zero shutter lag, and according to the company, “the world’s best HDR technology.”

On the front, there is a 5-megapixel selfie snapper with different features including a Beautification mode, which offers real-time image enhancement, skin softening and brightening, blush and colour correction, eye enhancement and cheek thinning. The Zenfone 2 gets its juice from a 3,000 mAh battery with fast charging capabilities.

On the other hand, the Zoom boast the similar specifications as Zenfone 2 but with serious focus on imaging. The Zoom sports a 13MP camera that has 10-element lens, 3X optical zoom, and optical image stabilization. The back of the smartphone is reminiscent of the Nokia Lumia 1020.

The Zenfone 2 is priced at $199 (Rs 12,600 approximately), and will be available later this year in March. However, the availability and price of the Zoom is yet to be announced.

January 6, 2015
CES 2015 : Withings’ New Activity Tracker is Swiss-made and Affordable!

Withings, French consumer electronic maker, has announced a Swiss Made watch, much like the ones we’ve been wearing for decades but slightly smarter, at CES 2015 in Las Vegas.

Called the Activité Pop, it is a follow up to Withings’ Activité watch which was revealed last year, and comes with a lightweight design that features a swappable silicon strap, a body that is water-resistance for up to 30 meters, and a battery that lasts up to 8 months.

The Activité Pop offers PVD-coating on its case, which allow it to come in three different colors, including a grey, blue and beige tone. The PVD coating which, according to company, help it stand scratches and dings, and it has a step-counting hand which reveals how far along you are to meeting your activity goal for the day, as tracked by the steps taken.

It’s designed to tell the time, of course, with a simple face along with two dials to help you keep track of nearly everything. It’s stealthily tracks your sleep, your steps, and your swimming. It syncs to Withings’ Health Mate app to help you track everything, though it’s iOS-only for now.

The Pop is a great option for more budget-first consumers, especially because it offers an identical feature set to the Activité in terms of tracking not only activity, but also sleep quality. It offers a silent, vibration-only alert when you reach your step goal for the day, or to wake you up when you reach your desired amount of rest if worn at night.

The Activité Pop will be available to purchase online in the United States via BestBuy.com on January 5th for $149.95, and will be available at Best Buy stores in March 2015.

January 5, 2015
CES 2015 : Lenovo Refreshes Its ThinkPad Lineup With New Offerings

PC maker Lenovo has announced a whole new range ThinkPad laptops at Consumer Electronic Show 2015 at Las Vegas. The company has refreshed the ThinkPad line along with a new accessory system, ThinkPad Stack which is aimed to let the enterprise-focus units be a mobile solution.

The company has added some iterations based on users review of previous gen ThinkPads. The physical function keys are back in the refreshed version which were removed in the previous gen X1, leaving users with an “adaptive” panel whose touch-sensitive buttons changed depending on the task at hand.

The physical function keys are back in the refreshed version which were removed in the previous gen X1

Additionally, Lenovo undid some of the changes it had made to the touchpad. Whereas the last-gen model had a clickpad with zero buttons, this year’s model returns the two right and left clickers that used to sit at the top of the pad, the ones meant to be used with the signature red pointing stick.

Both the flagship Ultrabooks in Lenovo’s offering are getting updated for 2015. The ThinkPad X1 Carbon is a portable 14-inch laptop with a high-resolution touch screen (optional) with a thin and light rugged case.

Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon (2015)

Also launched is ThinkPad X250, a 12 inch laptop that works with the company’s Power Bridge technology for flexibility while traveling. The X250 is only 0.8 inches thick and 2.88 pounds. Power Bridge is a dual battery system that allows the user to configure it on the fly for maximum battery life or lowest weight.

Lenovo added 4 new ThinkPads in the 450 series, the T450s, T450, E450, and the L450. The T450s is a 14-inch laptop that is larger than the two flagship models noted above (0.83 inches, 3.5 pounds). It is also a Power Bridge compatible notebook for extending the battery life when needed. The T450 is another 14-inch laptop that is larger than the T450s (0.88 inches, 4.0 pounds). The L450 is a 14-inch laptop that does not have a touch screen option (the others do have touch available). It is a thick notebook and heavier than the others (0.96 inches, 4.25 pounds).

Lenovo ThinkPad T550

Among these, Lenovo also launched T550, addressing users who prefer large screen size, sporting a 15.5 inch screen with high-resolution display (2880 x 1620). It comes with up to 16GB of memory, up to a TB of HDD (or 512GB SSD). The company has added a number of ports and jacks to turn it into a true desktop alternative. The powerful laptop is also portable and travel friendly at 0.88 inches thick and around 5 pounds.

The E ThinkPad lineup has been refreshed with the announcement of the E550 and the E450. The E550 boasts a 15.5 inch screen while E450 stands at 14 inch. Neither of the ThinkPads comes with the touch screen variant, however, there is an option of optical drives. Both models can be configured with up to 1 TB of HDD or 128GB of SSD. The E550 and E450 are 5.2 pounds and 4 pounds, and 0.94 inches and 0.87 inches thick respectively.

Lenovo ThinkPad E450 and E450

Lenovo announced all the ThinkPads will be available in February except for X1 Carbon which will be available later this month. The ThinkPad X1 Carbon starts at $1,249, X250 at $1,149 and L450 at $699. The T450s, T450 and T550 starts at $1,099, $849 and $999, respectively. While starting price for the E450 and the E450 is $449.

January 5, 2015
Top 5 Time Lapse Alternatives For Android Users

Time-lapse video mode is is one of the coolest feature in iOS 8. Timelapse videos, which take frames at slow speeds to give the illusion that time is speeding up, have always been difficult to create, and required expensive equipment. However, there are a handful of apps that combines the simplicity of the photo sharing service and an image stabiliser to put time lapse photography in everyone’s hands. And, yes! There are some for Android users too.

This is a list of the Top 5 iOS’s time lapse mode alternatives for Android users.

1. Framelapse

If you want something similar to iOS 8’s automatic time lapse mode, Framelapse is the one app you are looking for. A “simple, fast and intuitive interface” lets you control frame interval, video duration, zoom, autofocus, white balance, color effects, exposure compensation and more, and that’s all in the free version. If you upgrade to pro for $3, you get exposure locking, white balance locking, Sleep Mode (screen off) while recording to significantly reduce battery drain, Wizard Mode that sets the frame interval automatically, and a few other features as well.

Download : Play Store

2. LapseIt

Arguably, one of the most popular time lapse app for both Android and iOS, LapseIt gives users the most control of any of the apps but trades in the super-simple “just point-and-shoot” capability. Among LapseIt’s popular features are the ability to import and speed up video, the ability to import image sequences from DSLRs or GoPros, the ability to attach music from your library to your finished time-lapse and more. You can also use it to create stop motion sequences.

Download : Play Store

3. Hyper TimeLapse

It is, in true sense, quite an efficient alternative to Instagrams highly-popular Hyperlapes app. It even describes itself as a Hyperlapse alternative in the Google Play store. It’s really easy to use, and has a great interface. Just push the record button to record the video, and then speed it up using customizable frame rate up to 8x as per your preference. It is quite simple, however, there are some functionalities that are missing.

Download : Play Store

4. EasyLapse

Similar to Hyper TimeLapse it is quite simple to use, as the name itself suggests. The app provides you with basic functions and runs quite smoothly. The best thing about the app is its social media integration. You can share your wonderful time lapse video easily, upload it to Instagram or Facebook with a few taps.

Download : Play Store

5. Droid Timelapse

This free app comes with the single purpose of recording time-lapse videos on Android devices, and it has no ads. It supports the highest resolution of your camera (up to 1080p), has a recording delay timer, so you can control the speed of your time-lapse and the resulting video is of high MP4 quality. You also have both manual and auto-focusing modes, as well as the option to fine-tune white balance and color effects.

January 5, 2015
AAP Brings Out Muffler Man, an Android Game ‘That Fights Corruption’

Just when you thought AAP (Aam Admi Party) peaked at becoming the laughing stock among the Indian public, the party volunteered a bigger and better joke. Its digital agents have developed an Android Game called Muffler Man, in an effort to increase donations. Muffler Man (who looks quite similar to Mr. Arvind Kejriwal, but faceless) jumps all the way from India Gate to limitless sky.

Download Now!

The funny faceless Muffler man jumps on various platforms overcoming hurdles like corruption and bribe to win the game. According to the developers, they decided to keep the protagonist faceless to represent the common man. There are platforms like bribe, scam and corruption that will bring you down. Also there are brooms or ‘JHARU’ (party’s official symbol) which gives the Muffler Man the power to fly with a funny red cape.

In the latest bid to garner more donations, AAP has linked this game with all new campaign hash tags. Well, even if it is quite a new thing in Indian politics, one thing is true, we couldn’t stop laughing when Muffler Man collected 3 ‘JHARUS’ to fly like Superman!

January 5, 2015
Samsung Reportedly Working on Galaxy S6 Edge and Dual Edge

Samsung will probably be launching its new flagship, the Galaxy S6 sometime in the first or second quarter of 2015. The company has codenamed the Galaxy S6 as Project zero which signifies that the company is building it from zero-base.

Apart from confirming that Project Zero is the real deal, rumours also revealed some more important information about the device.

Along with this, the publication also pointed out that the company usually tests multiple variants of its flagship device before actually releasing them. According to the conversation on Reddit, it seems that Samsung is testing at least three variants of the Galaxy S6, one with a one-sided curved edge display, another with a dual-sided curved edge display, and one more with a normal display.

The new flagship is expected to come with a Snapdragon 810 or Exynos 7420 processor, with octa-core technology. Although internal storage is not expected to be increased beyond 128GB. That said, a AnTuTu leak revealed that the S6 may come with a 64-bit octa-core Exynos 7420 processor and ARM Mali T-760 GPU backed by 3GB of RAM. Samsung, however, has been raving about 4GB RAM developments so we’d expect them to appear in the S6. It also was shown with 32GB storage. It is being rumoured that the Galaxy S6 might feature a 20-megapixel camera with OIS and 4K video recording.

Recent rumours have also revealed that Xiaomi is working on a dual screen device; it will be interesting to see who wins the dual edge screen war!

January 2, 2015
Airtel Collaborates With Xiaomi to Sell Redmi Note 4G Offline

In a bid to attract more customers to its super fast fourth-generation mobile services, Airtel India has collaborated with Chinese handset maker Xiaomi, to provide 4G device Redmi Note at a price of Rs 9,999 in six cities of India.

The Airtel-Xiaomi collaboration will let users buy Redmi Note 4G handsets from 133 Airtel stores across six cities including Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Chennai, Mumbai, Delhi-NCR, and Kolkata. Users will be able to book the handset from Airtel’s dedicated Mi page and select their preferred Airtel store in the aforementioned cities where they wish to pick up the device. While the booking process has already started yesterday, the sales will commence today.

Similar to Xiaomi Tuesdays flash sales, where the company puts up a flash sale via online retailer Flipkart, Airtel plans to organize a ‘Mi day’ each week at select stores to allow customers to buy the device without having to book it online.

Airtel postpaid customers having at least 500 MB 3G data pack activated on their connection can easily move to the Redmi Note, however, Airtel prepaid and non-Airtel customers will have to first opt for an Airtel postpaid myPlan when they purchase the Redmi Note 4G.

Airtel postpaid users in Bengaluru, where Airtel already has a 4G network, can get up to 10GB free 4G data by logging on to company’s Airtel Live website via their Redmi Note 4G smartphones. In cities where there’s no Airtel 4G network, customers will be automatically upgraded to 4G whenever it is rolled out there.

Following are the tariff plan details on Airtel’s 4G services:

January 2, 2015
What to Expect from the Samsung Galaxy S6

Although Samsung has been facing stiff competition from the numerous smartphones released this year, it still continues to lead race among the android devices. Samsung’s devices last year were criticized for being iterative and over-priced. Now Samsung seems to be working on the Galaxy S6, codenamed ‘Project Zero‘ signifying the development of the device from scratch — putting lots of thoughts into its design and materials.

Finally realising their mistakes, Samsung has been mending its ways with the launch of Galaxy A3 and Galaxy A5 smartphones, which dropped the plastic body to include the premium metal frame. The company has long been criticized for using cheap plastic body on their devices and it is expected that Samsung will be bringing quite a drastic change in their devices’ design and materials.

Rumours surrounding the new Samsung flagship has been taking rounds of the internet for several months now. Although most rumours cannot be verified or validated, they give us some idea what we can expect from Samsung 2015 Galaxy S6 flagship.

Project Zero

Project Zero is, according to the rumors, Samsung’s top priority these days. More specifically, it is a codename for the Galaxy S6, according to sources. Previous flagship phones have gone by the names such as Project J, Project H, Project K and Project T in the past few years. as mentioned above, Project zero signifies that the company’s plan to build this phone from the grassroot.

The failure of Galaxy S5 coupled with the bad sales figures and constant backlash from critics, Samsung recently replaced its mobile design leader Chang Dong-hoon with deputy Lee Min-hyouk. It is safe to say that Samsung indeed is aiming to redefine its brand image with this new flagship. However, whether it will be successful; only time will tell!

Design

Recent chatter in the rumour mill has hinted that the new Samsung flagship may come with a flexible display. At a recent event for Samsung investors, Lee-Chang Hoon, vice president of Samsung Display’s, said: “We plan to provide consumers with a product that has a flexible display by the end of the year.” Along with his, the Galaxy S6 is expected to sport a flexible OLED that would allow the device to fold and bend. However, it’s also widely believed, especially since the all-metal Galaxy Alpha debuted, that the Galaxy S6 will feature a metal frame.

Display

Considering the trend over the last five generations, the screen size of Galaxy S handsets have grown from 4-inches to 5.1-inches. The Galaxy S6 is expected with a 5.2 or 5.3 inch display. Samsung has also previously said it will have 4K 3840 x 2160 displays on the market by 2015. It is therefore, possible that the Galaxy S6 will bypass 2K and feature a 4K screen. That said, South Korean news outlet Daum has predicted it’ll have a curved screen with a Quad HD resolution of 2560 x 1440 pixels. The screen has also purportedly leaked on an AnTuTu benchmark test with a 5.5-inch QHD display.

Camera

The camera has always been Samsung’s strong selling point. We expect the company to improve the present 16Mp snapper that comes with Galaxy S5. The AnTuTu leak has hinted 20-megapixel rear camera and 5-megapixel selfie snapper.

Processor

The new flagship is expected to come with a Snapdragon 810 or Exynos 7420 processor, with octa-core technology. Although internal storage is not expected to be increased beyond 128GB. That said, the AnTuTu leak shows the S6 with a 64-bit octa-core Exynos 7420 processor and ARM Mali T-760 GPU backed by 3GB of RAM. Samsung, however, has been raving about 4GB RAM developments so we’d expect them to appear in the S6. It also was shown with 32GB storage.

Price and Release date

According to a recent leak, the Samsung Galaxy S6 release date is slated for Q2 2015. As for when the phone will actually launch, the Galaxy S4 and Galaxy S5 both launched in April 2013 and April 2014, respectively, so following this pattern, the Galaxy S6 should go on sale in April 2015. It will likely be priced similarly to the Galaxy S5.

The company has pledged that it will be bringing several changes to the future device to lure in more customers, after a huge setback during the Q3 earnings. Over the past years, the company has been criticised for the use of cheap plastic material in the high-end phones. With the new flagship on its way, the company is expected to make a lot of changes in design to compete in the market ruled by impressive devices like iPhone 6, HTC One and Sony Xperia Z series. This flagship may be a critical device to decide the fate of Samsung smartphones in this highly competitive market.

January 2, 2015
Revisiting 2014: 10 Epic Kickstarter Campaigns of Last Year

The independent tech community went big last year. Websites like Kickstarter.com have given the opportunity to millions of people to become venture capitalists and investors in new products. Such websites have given common people the power to see their ideas changing millions of lives.

We are listing top 10 brilliant Kickstarter campaigns which made this tech year so fun.

1. MIYO

This small piece of hardware is the revolution in the audio tech industry. Still running its campaign, MIYO is a digital-to-analog converter which lets you rediscover your favorite music as though it were high-quality vinyl. MIYO delivers the same amazing sound quality you would expect from that track, at a fraction of the size and cost.

2. Powerlace P-One

This Kickstarter campaign has made all ‘Back To Future’ fans go gaga. The company created the first shoes with auto-lacing capabilities that McFly made popular back in 80s. The shoes named Powerlace P-One don’t look similar to the sneakers in the movie, however, they certainly get the job done. The Powerlace shoes have a simple mechanism for auto-lacing that doesn’t involve any voice commands, complex chips, apps, batteries or motors.

3. Biofueled Triplane

It’s the world’s first eco-friendly plane powered by biofuel and has been named Bio-Electric-Hybrid-Aircraft or BEHA. This prototype is almost silent and cancels out night flight restrictions and pollution concerns. The six-seat aircraft could be a revolution in the field of aviation. Meanwhile, the BEHA prototype is in its initial phases of development. The developers claim that it is likely to take to the skies post 2020.

4. Pico

Pico is a tiny trigger that you can program through your smartphone and then easily use the programming to shoot time-lapse videos. The accompanying app gives you multiple shooting options such as HDR, speed ramping, and bulb ramping. With these in your hand, you can easily create professional looking visuals to enthrall your audience.

5. Reeljuice

Reeljuice is the world’s first backup battery pack with built-in universal charging cable, so you’ll always be prepared to recharge your phone or tablet. It features a 48-inch long, retractable charging cable which can be used to charge an array of popular devices available in the market. Reeljuice is the only portable power solution in the world that integrates patented, retractable, cord reel technology. It is created by a team of designers and engineers, who have received worldwide acclaim for their innovative products.

6. Pryntcase

A French startup, Pryntcases, has introduced a phone case that converts your phone to a Polaroid camera. Presently, the device can only take one polaroid film at a time and takes a minute to print the image, but it is still a great case to have. The appeal of physically holding a photograph can’t be matched with the tons of electronic images. The case comes with an accompanying camera app, which has a cool feature. It takes video while you are taking a picture. Then, when you hold the developed picture in front of the case, it will start playing the video.

7. Everykey

Available in a multitude of colors, Everykey is an innovative universal access device for everything that requires a physical key or password. It allows immediate access to a user’s password-protected electronics such as a smartphone, tablet, or computer, as well as physically locked items including doors, car doors, bike locks, and other access devices that need to be controlled.

8. Modbook Pro X

The company, famous for turning Apple’s MacBook Pro into an iPad-like tablet, launched a Kickstarter campaign to fund its project, the Modbook Pro X, back in August. The Modbook has been around for about seven years, when Axiotron and Other World Computing teamed up to deliver the first Mac tablet at Macworld. At the time, 331 backers converted their own Retina MacBook Pros into a tablet. The conversion incorporates the laptop’s original hardware, with components shifted from the lower half of the computer to just behind the 15.4-inch 2,880 x 1,800-pixel LCD.

9. ZUtA Pocket Printer

ZUtA Pocket Printer is simple, softball-sized and compatible with any electronic device. It can be used anywhere, anytime. Since it doesn’t necessitate any special drivers, it can be accessed via computers, smartphones or tablets, by using the traditional print function or an app. It works with paper of any size and will print roughly 1,000 sheets of paper on a standard, disposable ink cartridge. The printer lasts for up to an hour on full battery and can be recharged via a USB cable.

10. Hendo hoverboard

Inventor Greg Henderson has created hovering technology that he calls Magnetic Field Architecture (MFA). Using the technology, you can practically get everything hovering and a hoverboard is the bare minimum that MFA can achieve. The Hendo hoverboard uses magnetic levitation principle, similar to the one used in Maglev trains. The device hovers 1-inch above the ground, that is good for a start. The board looks bulky, but its design is sleek and sexy. The device is capable of integrating with the natural movement of the rider.

January 1, 2015
Micromax Yu Yureka : Benchmarks and Gaming

Micromax’s new subsidiary Yu has made quite an impact in a short span of time with its new smartphone Yureka running on Cyanogen OS 11. The Yu Televenture has adopted new business practices similar to the likes of OnePlus and Xiaomi, relying on community driven ecosystem of CyanogenMod.

Check out our full benchmark and hardware test along with the gaming performance of the Yureka below-

Considering the price range, Yu Yureka packs quite an impressive combination of Cyanogen experience with the new Qualcomm Snapdragon 615 which does 1.5 GHz on Octa-cores. The Yureka comes with Android 4.4.4 out of the box expected to be updated to the Lollipop soon.

The device came to our testing lab and we ran a Benchmark Test, the results are as below-

Test

Yu Yureka

Xiaomi Mi3

Moto G (Gen 2)

Antutu 28,359 30,537 17,159

NenaMark 55.0 fps 60.0 fps 57.5 fps

To test benchmarks, we started by running Antutu on the device. The device performed well up to its hype and got an impressive score of 28,359 . However, the handset lags behind the Xiaomi Mi 3’s score of 30,537.

Speaker is Muffled

We also ran the device through NenaMark 2 and the Yureka scored 55.0 fps. The number is a little low as compared to other competitive devices available in market such as Xiaomi Mi 3 and Moto G (Gen 2).

All in all considering the price bracket of this device it performs pretty well on the benchmark test and is a great device for gaming. Also check out the Unboxing and Hands On of this device on iGyaan and stay tuned for the full review of this device.

December 31, 2014
Xiaomi Redmi Note Fly Off the Shelves Within Seconds

The much awaited 4G variant of Xiaomi’s blockbuster Redmi Note was officially up for grab today. The flash sale started (like always) at 2PM today on Flipkart allowing registered users to buy Redmi Note 4G for Rs. 9,999.

There were only 40,000 units up for sale, whereas, according to Flipkart, 200,000 people registered for the Redmi Note 4G variant. Like in the past, this one was also a torrid affair and the Redmi Note 4G was out of the stock in seconds. Although, last week the Redmi 1S, after a prolonged ban, did not get the expected response.

The major difference between the 4G and 3G variants of the Redmi Note is the processor and connectivity support. As the name suggests, the Xiaomi Redmi Note 4G is a 4G LTE ready device. It is further powered by a 1.6GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 CPU coupled with 2GB of RAM.

Although Xiaomi will be pleased with the response, there continues to remain a partial ban on the company and it will be interesting to observe how this Chinese superpower will proceed. As as now Xiaomi seems to be stronger than ever, KUDOS!

December 30, 2014
What To Expect From HTC One M9

Just like every year, the start of new tech quarter brings the release of some highly anticipated devices, including the HTC One M9, allegedly called “Hima.” HTC is getting ready to release the newest version of the HTC One smartphone and there is great excitement to see what the new flagship from HTC packs.

Considering the predecessor handsets, the HTC One M9 should have an excellent feature set. Recent leaks suggest that the company will be launching ‘Hima’ in March, after the Mobile World Congress 2015, same as the HTC One M8.

A recent leak revealed that HTC will hold a separate press launch for the smartphone like what the company did last year when it released the M8. According to the rumours, the flagship handset will be released alongside two other smartphones – Hima “Ace” and its Chinese variant Hima “Ultra”. The “Ace” variant will sport a plastic body and not the signature metal casing of HTC smartphones.

More importantly, these smartphones will be powered by MediaTek processors and not Qualcomm’s Snapdragon SoC. HTC already packed MediaTek processors in its previous smartphones – Desire 310, Desire 516 and Desire 820.

The leak also suggested that people may be in for some excellent features in the new HTC One M9. Among these are the next generation Snapdragon 810 SoC, new Sense 7 plus 3GB RAM. The camera, however, remains debatable as some people believe it to be around 16 MP while others expect a 20.7 MP resolution from Sony.

Along with this, another leak noted that the new HTC One M9 or Hima will come in several colour variants: gold, gunmetal gold, silver and grey. The leak included that the announcement may come around January, but the expected official commercial release is around March 2015.

As of now the new flagship is referred as Hima or One M9, has no solid leak regarding the name. Until HTC comes forward to confirm these rumours, it is a toss up and should be taken with a grain of salt.

December 29, 2014
Samsung To Replace Galaxy Alpha with the More Affordable Galaxy A5

Galaxy Alpha marked the start of whole new design policy for Samsung. Even though, there were couple of shortcomings, such as the battery life and its full flagship price; it did compete in the high-end smartphone segment with more complete devices.

Now, just 3 months after its launch, Samsung has decided discontinue the Galaxy Alpha and replace it with more affordable successor Galaxy A5.

The 5-inch A5, which launched in China last month, is a continuation of the Alpha’s design philosophy, emphasizing its sleekness and high-quality metal construction. However, the Galaxy A5’s decent specs allow it to be more affordable and give the company a chance to garner larger market which Galaxy Alpha failed to do.

Samsung galaxy A5 sports a 5-inch display with HD (1280×720 pixels) screen resolution. Under the hood, a 1.2GHz quad-core Snapdragon processor runs the phone, paired with 2 GB of RAM, and 16 GB of internal storage, which can be expanded via microSD card. On the camera front, the phone packs a 13-megapixel shooter at the rear and a 5-megapixel snapper upfront. It comes with a 2,300mAh battery to keep the device running. On the software front, the phone comes with Android 4.4.4 KitKat out of the box. The phone will be available in five colour variants.

Galaxy A5 launched in China for 400,000 won (approx. Rs. 24,000). There’s plenty of work ahead for the company but if the company lives up to the promise made, 2015 will be a fundamentally different year to the repetitively iterative products the company has been serving up in recent times.

December 29, 2014
The Interview Becomes the No.1 Online Movie Ever Released by Sony Pictures

There were tons of stories written and discussed about Sony Pictures’ controversial release of ‘The Interview’. Looks like all this free publicity has given Sony a good reason to celebrate. Earlier, there was fuss about Sony releasing The Interview online before it hit theatres as no one was sure how it will turn out.

Now the company has announced that The Interview made $15 million from online sales and rentals since its Christmas Eve release online. The film also made $2.8 million in theaters over the long Christmas weekend.

The Hollywood blockbuster, which follows a hapless TV host tasked with the assassinating Kim Jong-un, was originally intended to be released on roughly 3,000 screens on Christmas Day. It was expected to generate $20 million during its opening.

The studio said on Sunday the film had been purchased or rented online more than 2 million times on the four days through to Saturday, making it Sony Pictures’ No 1 online movie of all time. The comedy was at the center of a crippling security breach at Sony Pictures in November that resulted in an embarrassing spill of company secrets.

The announcement came few hours after ‘The Interview’ finally made its debut on Apple’s iTunes. The movie has been available since Wednesday on YouTube Movies, Google Play, Xbox and a dedicated Sony-built website, Seetheinterview.com. PlayStation Network and XBox Live also experienced some glitches in their server on Christmas Eve, after they started offering online streaming of the film.

December 29, 2014