Author: Preetish Gumber

Apple Hires CEO Of Burberry To Boost Up Retail Business

Apple today announced that Angela Ahrendts, CEO of Burberry, will be joining Apple in a newly created position, as a senior vice president and member of the executive team, reporting to CEO Tim Cook.

Angela Ahrendts, currently CEO of Burberry, has been recruited to fill a position that will be created especially for her when she switches allegiances next spring — as a senior VP responsible for the “strategic direction, expansion and operation” of Apple’s shopping experience. Ahrendts has already demonstrated that she can work with Apple, as Burberry helped to promote the launch of the iPhone 5s (shown above) as the show was recorded with the new iPhone.

Statement from Tim Cook:

I am thrilled that Angela will be joining our team,” said Tim Cook. “She shares our values and our focus on innovation, and she places the same strong emphasis as we do on the customer experience. She has shown herself to be an extraordinary leader throughout her career and has a proven track record.”

Statement from Angela Ahrendts:

I am profoundly honored to join Apple in this newly created position next year, and very much look forward to working with the global teams to further enrich the consumer experience on and offline,” said Ahrendts. “I have always admired the innovation and impact Apple products and services have on people’s lives and hope in some small way I can help contribute to the company’s continued success and leadership in changing the world.”

October 15, 2013
Flickr Previews New Design for Photo Pages

Flickr has rolled out previews for its new design of photo pages, which makes your image appear bigger. With the new look, a 25-percent larger picture fills the left side of a page, while its description, comments, meta information and more take rest on a right-hand side.

Yahoo has also made other changes like, promising a speed boost while loading the next image, which can now be done by clicking the current photo. Marissa Mayer and Co. say that this is an early version of the revamp, however, and that not all features have been included. To preview the fresh layout, just navigate to a photo and hit the “Try Our New Photo Experience” button, and you will be able to enjoy the new preview.

October 15, 2013
Facebook Acquires Onavo To Speed Up Its Mobile Application

Facebook announced on Monday it has acquired Onavo, an Israel based startup focused on intelligence around mobile application data. For more than three years, Onavo has plied its trade reducing internet costs for smartphone users.

Under Facebook’s guidance, Onavo will work with members of the Internet.org coalition to increase the efficiency and lower the cost of web access. Expect Facebook’s apps to get a speed boost in the future, helping it deliver its growing influx of ads. Users if Onavo app may not worry as the company will continue to operate under its own brand.

Our service helps people save money through more efficient use of data, and also helps developers, large and small, design better experiences for people,” Onavo co-founders Guy Rosen and Roi Tiger wrote in a company blog post early Monday morning. “We’re excited to join their team, and hope to play a critical role in reaching one of Internet.org’s most significant goals – using data more efficiently, so that more people around the world can connect and share.”

[via]

October 14, 2013
HTC One Max Power Case, Gives 30 Percent Extra Battery Life

Along with the HTC One Max itself, HTC has also launched a bunch of accessories including the new flip cover like Power case for the giant HTC One Max.

The power case uses paper type batteries that are installed inside the front flip of the cover itself and does not add much bulk to the device. It is fairly easy to use accessory as the device uses a three pin system and gets charged by the phones battery, which terminates the need to put in a wire and charge it separately. The Power Case from HTC adds approximately 1200 mAh of extra battery to the already available 3300 mAh battery of the HTC One Max, which to some extent fulfills a need of carrying a portable charger.

Alongside the battery benefits, the flip cover also gives a premium look the One Max itself and makes it a good experience to watch movies and surf web in the landscape mode.

htc cover

One Max Battery Case

One Max power case

October 14, 2013
HTC Fetch Launched, Will Help to Find Your Lost Phone
If you are tired of losing your phone or leaving it behind, the HTC Fetch might be the best accessory for you HTC phone. The Fetch is a phone finder, or a key finder depending on what you are looking for. The Keychain accessory pairs up with your HTC device via Bluetooth 4.0 and can be used to locate your phone if you have a habit of leaving it on other peoples desks. Just a click after the device is activated can make the phone ring loudly, the fetch also has a inbuilt speaker hence you will get a warning tone if you leave the phone behind, or you lose the fetch.

By any chance if you loose both, a map location feature lets you know where your HTC Fetch and phone were last together.

Specifications of HTC Fetch:
- Audible alert for notification
- Bluetooth 4.0
- Up to 3 Fetch to be connected to your phone
- Working range 15m
- Signal strength indicator
- 6 month battery lifetime (replaceable battery) CR 2032
- Multi-funtion button
- dimensions – 29.35 x 29.35 x 9.3mm
The device is compatible with HTC One mini, HTC Butterfly s and the HTC One Max
October 14, 2013
HTC Mini+ Launched
Alongside the HTC One Max HTC also launched a one of a kind accessory, The HTC Mini+ is in other words a phone for a phone, the device helps you to connect with your HTC smartphone and use it without even picking it up. The HTC Mini+ connects with the One max and other HTC phones and does tasks like, making calls, sending messages, it acts like a remote for your smartphone, and a remote for the television as well while receiving notifications from your main phone.

The Mini+ is like a Bluetooth headset in the shape of a phone. The device lets you take and place calls using your smartphone’s connection after pairing through NFC or Bluetooth. The device has a built in 320 mAh battery in which the company claims upto 9 hours of talktime and and 95 hours of Standby time for the HTC Mini+, the device also charges fairly quickly , fully charging in under 20 minutes.

This device is compatible with:
- HTC One Max (check out our hands on here)
- HTC One
- HTC One mini
- HTC Butterfly
- HTC Butterfly s
- HTC Desire 200
- HTC Desire 300
- HTC Desire 500
- HTC Desire 601
The HTC Mini+ has a 1.5 inch OLED screen with a resolution of 128 x 128 pixels, the tiny device measures 118.7 x 39.8 x 7.15 mm.
Stay tuned for a video.
October 14, 2013
Josh Fortune Square Android Smartphone At a Price Of 2999 INR

Josh Mobile has launched the Fortune Square smartphone the cheapest Android Phone for the company at a price of 2999 INR,

Commenting on the launch, Deepak Gupta, Director, Josh Mobiles said, “Fortune Square has been designed keeping in minds the needs of smartphone lovers who need all in their gadget. Fortune Square promises to suit the requirement of every entertainment lover.”

The Josh Fortune Square features a 3.5 inch display with a resolution of 320 x 480 pixels. The device is powered by a 1 GHz processor and runs Android 2.3.5 Gingerbread, the device has a 2 MP rear camera. The Josh Fortune Square has a 256 MB of RAM and 90 MB of inbuilt storage which can be expanded up to 32 GB. The device has a Dual SIM support and is packed with a 1450 mAh battery and the device have various connectivity options like WiFi and Bluetooth.

October 14, 2013
Binatone Launches New 7 Inch Tablet For Kids

Binatone has launched a new tablet, App Star is a 7 inch tablet made for kids above the age of 4 years. The Binatone App Star is priced at 9999 INR.

Binatone App Star was launched in UK and other European countries earlier, the tablet has a 7 inch screen and is protected with a special case which will protect the tablet if fallen from table height. The tablet can be operated in two modes – ‘APP STAR’ mode for kids and ‘Parent’ mode which is the default Android screen mode. The two can easily be switched through the parental control.

This ‘APP STAR’ is packed full of software suitable for children of 4 years and above. It has preloaded fun games, educational apps, art studios, e-books, audio-books, music player and camera with video recorder,” Binatone Country Head S P Singh said in a statement. The App Star has secured password protected parental control built-in to the software to ensure time control and firewalled Internet browsing for kids.”

October 14, 2013
LG G Flex a Curved Smartphone Revealed in Press Render

After the Samsung Galaxy Round, now its time for LG to bring up its curved Smartphone. LG has been into rumors to bring up a curved display phone, the latest press renders shows the alleged smartphone from LG known as G Flex.

Samsung has just announced its first curved display phone in Korea, the device has a 5.7 inch Full HD Flexible screen and is priced at around 1000 USD. However, the pricing and specification of the LG G Flex are not out yet, but it is believed that the device will be launched sometime next month. The LG G Flex is a curved phone just like the Galaxy Round, both of them are curved at a fixed position.

The launch of this phone might get delayed because LG has its new Nexus just around the corner. According to rumors, the 6 inch LG G Flex will hit the market after the launch of Nexus 5 which is believed to be by the end of this month.

October 14, 2013
Leaked Video: This is How Nexus 5 Looks Like, Epic Sunday Treat!

Leaked information, specifications and other details are spinning in the rumor mills for the Nexus 5 from a couple of days now. Just a day before we saw an image for the Nexus 5, which shows the Nexus 5 revolution and now what has leaked out is a video showing almost everything for the Nexus 5.

The seven minute video shows the device from all angles as well as running various applications but without any sound. The phone showed in the video is very much similar to what we all have seen in the leaked images, the android version on the device is showed as Key Lime Pie which seems a little strange at the first glance but the description of the video clearly says that this video was recorded when the software of the phone was in the earlier stage.

However, the rumored specifications of the Nexus 5 are a 4.95 inch full HD IPS LCD display, supposedly the device will be powered by a 2.3 GHz Quad-Core processor with a Snapdragon 800 chipset along with a 2 GB of RAM, 8 MP camera, a 1.3 MP front facing camera. The device is believed to be run on Android 4.4 KitKat.

This is a leaked video, so people anxiously waiting for the device can calm down as the official news should not be away!

October 13, 2013
Yahoo Acquires ‘Bre.ad’ a URL Shortener

Yahoo has acquired Bre.ad, a URL shortener, the service has shut down on Friday after the success of the acquisition.

Bre.ad posted the news on its website, all services related to Bre.ad Social have shut down but all shortened Bread URLs will remain active till November 11. CEO Alan Chan said:

In Yahoo, we found a company that shares our vision. We are thrilled to join Yahoo’s advertising team in Sunnyvale where we will be working on developing next-generation solutions for social and mobile publishers and advertisers. For the next 30 days, until November 11, we will support Bread links that our publishers created in the past. We highly recommend our publishers swap out their Bread links with new links from bit.ly.

Yahoo confirms that six engineers and product managers will join its advertising technology team, saying:

We have acquired Bread, a company that created a simple way for social media influencers and publishers to monetize their content. The team’s focus on delivering creative and targeted advertising across social media, desktop and mobile devices aligns perfectly with our mission to delight and inspire users.”

October 12, 2013
Leaked Galaxy S4 Mini in Black Mist, White Frost and Pink Colors

Samsung is in the news for its latest Galaxy Round, but that does not keeps rumors away for other devices. The Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini, was launched some time back, and now we see some leaked images of the device in new colors.

The S4 Mini showed up in Black Mist, White Frost and Pink colors, the images were leaked by evleaks. The devices shown in the images are with the major US carrier logo’s Sprint, and AT&T. Other than the colors the device is pretty much the same.

October 12, 2013
Xolo Play Tab 7.0 With Tegra 3 Launched at 12,999 INR

Xolo has finally launched its much awaited tab in the Indian market, the Xolo Play Tab 7.0, the device is priced at 12,999 INR. The availability of the device is still not confirmed.

The Xolo Play Tab 7.0 sports a 7 inch IPS display with a resolution of 1280 x 800 pixels(216ppi). The device is powered by a 1.2 GHz quad-core Nvidia Tegra 3 processor along with 1 GB of RAM and 8 GB of inbuilt storage. The Xolo Play Tab runs on Android 4.1 Jelly Bean and features a 2 MP front-facing camera, surprisingly there is not rear camera on the tablet.

The Xolo Play Tab 7.0 includes a 4000 mAh battery and Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and Micro-USB as connectivity options. The Xolo Play Tab 7.0 measures 194.6 x 122.6 x 10.6 mm and weighs 338 grams. The tablet does not offers calling facility. Xolo is also expected to launch the Xolo Play Tegra Note later this month.

October 12, 2013
Twitter’s Tablet Application Will Only Work With Samsung Devices, Rest to Follow By Year End
Twitter has an app already, but the new app we are talking about is an proper optimized Twitter application specially for tablets. The app provides a landscape view that shows both the Twitter timeline and content from expanded tweets.

Twitter claims that they have worked with Samsung to introduce some unique features for this optimized app. The new features include:
- Multi-screen view – This new view lets you run Twitter and another app at the same time. Much like the multitasking on Samsung devices.
- Twitter widget – The new Twitter widget lets you engage with Tweets, photos, and videos while also delivering country specific breaking news, music, sports and photos
- Illustrate your Tweets – With this app you can now use Twitter as your canvas to create and tweet colorful illustrations, or you can also draw directly on photos from your photo gallery and share them.
The tablet-optimized Android software is available only for the Galaxy Note 10.1 (2014 Edition)right now, and it’s coming to other Samsung slates by end of the year along with other Android Tablets.

[via]
October 11, 2013
Everything You Would Want To Know: Samsung Galaxy Round

Samsung announced the Galaxy Round just two days back, the Flexible OLED technology was first introduced by Samsung at the CES 2013 in the month of January. Ever since then we have got rumors suggesting Samsung is to announce the curved display phone. The rumors came out to be true as Samsung did officially launch the Curved Display Smartphone, the Galaxy Round. The device is very much identical to Samsung’s latest Note, the Galaxy Note 3. The Galaxy Round has the same leather like stitching at the back of the device, and both the devices also share the same screen size, the difference is just the curve for the Galaxy Round.

The Galaxy Round is the first of its kind smartphone available in the market, for now the device is only available in Korea. However we assume that it should be available to all markets soon.

The Samsung Galaxy Round has a 5.7 inch Full HD Super Flexible AMOLED display with a resolution of 1080 x 1920 pixels and 386 ppi. No doubt, the Korean company said such a curved screen smartphone is the first in the world. Moving further, the Galaxy Round is packed with a 3 GB of RAM along with a 32 GB of inbuilt storage which is expandable upto 64 GB via Micro SD card. The device has a 2800 mAh of battery, which is a bit low if compared to the 3200 mAh for the Galaxy Note 3.

The Samsung Galaxy Round is powered by a 2.3 GHz Krait 400 Quad-core processor with a Snapdragon 800 Chipset (the much awaited chipset for ‘Samsung’ devices in India) and an Adreno 330 GPU. The device sports a 13 MP camera at the back along with LED Flash and a 2 MP front camera. The 13 MP rear camera does videos at 2160p @30fps and 1080p @60fps.

The Galaxy Round is available in the Korean market and is launched in the luxury brown color for now. The device measures 151.1 x 79.6 x 7.9 mm and weighs 154 grams. If we talk about the connectivity option on the Galaxy Round, we will again see something very similar to what we saw on the Galaxy Note 3 as the images of the Galaxy Round clearly shows the USB 3.0 port.

Now, we all know all these specifications and features are amazing but what is the benefit of the curved display ? the company has not made it clear either, but we did see a video that showed the roll effect which showed the battery status and other notifications by just wobbling the device around. Samsung is introducing a new feature called “Round Interaction,” which will allow users to look at information such as missed calls, battery life, and the date and time when you tilt it on a flat surface with the screen off. Samsung also claims that switching between home screens will feel like one continuous transition, and has worked on new tilt- and tap-based interactions for the music and photos apps. The phone itself doesn’t flex, but the curved or smile shape makes it more comfortable to hold, Samsung says.

[youtube id=”UIEExKSjWi4″ width=”100%” height=”300px”]

Questions like, will the device be comfortable holding up to the ear while talking?, will the device fit in the pocket easily ? remains unanswered as these can only be answered when we get our hands on the device. The company has not shared its plan to launch the phone in other markets yet, but we will update you on this with time. The device is priced at 1.09 million won (around $1,013), you can check out some images below:

October 11, 2013