Author: Shivaank Rana

Samsung Galaxy Note 3 Specs Leak, 5.68-Inch 1080p HD Display

Samsung asked us to ‘note” September 4th on our calendars last week. This is when we can expect them to officially unveil the Galaxy Note 3, a follow-up to the original Galaxy Note and the Note II phablet. A new report from reputable site SamMobile has revealed a bevy of new specs.

Depending on the country release, the Galaxy Note 3 will have a couple model numbers – SM-N900 & SM-N9005 – and sport the following specs: 5.68-inch full HD Super AMOLED (1920 x 1080 resolution, 1.8GHz Octa-core Exynos 5420 processor, 3GB RAM, 13MP camera with Optical Image Stabilization (OIS), LTE connectivity, 16/32/64GB internal storage (64GB will be rare) plus a microSD slot, 3,200 mAh battery and running Android OS 4.3 Jelly Bean. No insight into any new S-Pen features.

Samsung announced at the end of July it had started mass production of low power, 3GB LPDDR3 RAM for mobile, and devices using it would appear during the second half of 2013.

The latest leak also hints that Samsung will launch more than one variants of its Galaxy Note 3, similar to the international and U.S. editions of the Galaxy S4 from earlier this year. This is consistent with previous rumors.

There’s no word on the availability, pricing, or colours, but Samsung will show off the Galaxy Note 3 at the upcoming Samsung Mobile Unpacked event during the IFA in Berlin.

[Via]

August 13, 2013
Microsoft Posts New Video To Discuss 40 New Improvements In The Xbox One Controller

Microsoft has published a new video in which Xbox community mouthpiece Larry Hyrb and Xbox One general manager Zulfi Alam discuss the creation of the console’s brand-new controller.

Microsoft has “redefined” the wireless protocol used in the Xbox One’s wireless controller to reduce input lag by 20 per cent over the current Xbox 360 wireless controller.

“There were two goals: first increase the bandwidth of this wireless protocol, significantly more, 20x more than what we have right now. And the other one was to reduce the latency, so the moment you press the fire button, the time it takes to go to your console and back, essentially we reduce that.”

The controller is confirmed as having haptic feedback, advanced rumble motors, and a more comfortable design. There is also a USB input on the back of the pad, which gives consumers the option of playing either wired or wireless.

“The moment you plug in the wire essentially the radio in the controller shuts down, and at that point the controller transforms into being a truly wired controller,” he adds, with data carried purely through the USB cable.

The pad also has IR LEDs so that the system knows – thanks to Microsoft Xbox Kinect – who is holding the pad. The Xbox One automatically shifts gamers profiles depending on who is handling it.

[youtube id=”m4SYaTLCWL0″ width=”100%” height=”300px”]

August 12, 2013
Blackberry Z30 Leaked In New Hands-On Video

BlackBerry is looking for a buyer for the company, but until then, the company will still needs to make big moves to find buyers for its phones.

A full hands-on video of the as-yet unreleased Blackberry Z30 has appeared on Vietnamese website Cellphone S. The 5-inch screen-toting BlackBerry 10 powered handset looks similar to the likes of the already-on-sale BlackBerry Z10 and Q5. The video footage showcases the BlackBerry Z30 and its AMOLED 1,290 x 720p resolution display with a 295ppi image density.

There are plenty of screens to view as the Vietnamese tester scrolls through the operating system, but you could get the same by looking at one of the current models. The interesting stuff lies in the fact that, if true, the Z30 will very much be a statement phone. Its 5-inch AMOLED display may be rumoured to have only a 720p resolution, but it’s certainly big enough.

Although there’s no official launch date for the BlackBerry Z30 from the Canadian smartphone manufacturer, the fact that the smartphone already has an AT&T logo on the rear from the US network provider could suggest that the 5-inch smartphone will be unveiled imminently.

Other reported specs for the BlackBerry Z30, aka the BlackBerry A10, include an 8-megapixel camera on the back. On the inside, the phone is expected to rock a dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro processor with 2GB of RAM and 16GB of storage. It’s certainly nothing too surprising and isn’t anything groundbreaking, but we’d say BlackBerry loyalists will get a kick out of the new phone.

[youtube id=”rX62bqi9sWI” width=”100%” height=”300px”]

August 12, 2013
20 People Injured At LG’s G2 Event In Seoul

LG attempted to muster up some enthusiasm for its new G2 smartphone with an event in Seoul, but after it ended poorly, the hardware maker decided to cancel all ensuing G2 PR occasions.

20 people were injured at a recent promotional event in South Korea. According to the Korea Times, the event in Seoul saw balloons filled with coupons redeemable for a free LG G2 released into the air. But LG’s plans backfired when some attendees brandishing BB guns attempted to shoot down the balloons, leading to a reported 20 individuals being inadvertently shot.

“Some were using BB guns to shoot the balloons. As far as I know, there were only some 20 security guards. LG should have placed more security personnel as the event was already promoted via social networks such as Facebook, Twitter and leading local portals. Some of the injured were hospitalized,” a witness said.

“We cancelled events offering free G2 smartphones that had been scheduled in major cities nationwide, including Busan, due to safety concerns,” LG said in a statement.

LG has issued an apology regarding the incident and has promised to cover the medical bills of all the injured.

The LG G2 was launched last week and features a 5.2-inch full HD resolution display, a thin bezel on the side that’s only 2.65 mm thick, a Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 quad-core processor operating at 2.26 GHz., a 3000 mAh internal battery promising more than a full days use per charge, a 13-megapixel rear-camera featuring optical image stabilization technology, 24 bit/192kHz Hi-Fi playback, 16GB/32GB storage capacities, and the Android 4.2.2 operating system.

August 12, 2013
BlackBerry Creates “Special Committee”, Will Consider Sale

Looks like the rumours from last week were true about BlackBerry potentially going up for sale. The company has announced this morning that the Board of Directors have created a ‘Special Committee’ to “explore strategic alternatives” that could include ‘possible joint ventures, strategic partnerships or alliances, a sale of the Company or other possible transactions.”

According to the press release the Special Committee will be chaired by Timothy Dattels, plus include Barbara Stymiest, Thorsten Heins, Richard Lynch and Bert Nordberg. Leading the “Exploration of Strategic Alternatives” process will be JP Morgan Securities as its financial advisor, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP and Torys LLP are serving legal advisors.

Timothy Dattels, Chairman of BlackBerry’s Special Committee of the Board, stated “Given the importance and strength of our technology, and the evolving industry and competitive landscape, we believe that now is the right time to explore strategic alternatives.”

This isn’t the first time we’ve heard of BlackBerry investigating its options in an increasingly-competitive smartphone market — in early 2012, the company reportedly hired Goldman Sachs to evaluate its options, and last June the company was reportedly investigating the selloff of its handset business.

Of course, a lot has happened since last year — BlackBerry 10 finally launched in 2013, but so far the new OS hasn’t stopped the bleeding for the formerly-dominant company.

[Via]

August 12, 2013
WSJ : Next iPad To Be Thinner, Will Use iPad Mini’s Light Touch-Panel Technology

Various sources have been mulling for months that Apple’s fifth-generation 9.7-inch iPad will adopt the overall appearance of the iPad mini, including its skinnier side bezels and thinner, lighter enclosure. And as if you ever needed more proof, now the credulous Wall Street Journal is finally out with its own report :

The same touch-panel technology that made the iPad mini thin and light will likely feature in the next iPad, which is currently being produced by Apple Inc.’s Asian suppliers, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

What many consumers generally call a “screen” consists of multiple layers, and the “touch panel” specifically refers to the layer equipped with touch sensors, between the liquid-crystal display and the outermost cover glass. The iPad mini, according to a teardown report by research firm IHS iSuppli, uses a film-based touch panel, which is thinner and lighter than the glass-based touch panel that the current full-size model uses. Following the iPad mini’s success, Apple plans to use the film-based touch panel in its next regular-size iPad, the people said.

Apple’s next iPad is expected to take other design cues from the iPad mini, including a thinner bezel on the sides of the device, allowing the overall frame to become smaller while still offering the same 9.7-inch display. It’s also possible that the fifth-generation iPad will include stereo speakers, like the iPad mini.

In the second quarter, Apple was still the largest tablet vendor accounting for 32.4% of the market by shipments, but its share had declined from 60.3% a year earlier, according to research firm IDC.

Apple’s next big event is scheduled for September 10th.

[Via]

August 12, 2013
Asus Pulls Out Of Windows RT Devices

Asus says it will no longer make systems that run the Windows RT operating system, while Nvidia implies the OS’ problems hurt Tegra sales.

ASUS CEO Jerry Shen spoke with the WSJ citing the reason for the company’s dropping of Windows RT is due to “weak sales” as well as “industry sentiment… that Windows RT has not been successful.” Windows RT getting the boot means ASUS is now able to focus solely on creating Windows 8 devices that will run on Intel chips due to the backwards compatibility that Windows RT lacks.

Shen told the WSJ that Asus is not the only device-maker to have been disappointed with the not-too-heartening response to Windows RT; and added that “the industry sentiment is also that Windows RT has not been successful.”

Windows RT, launched at the same time as Windows 8, is designed to work on ARM-based devices from the likes of Qualcomm and Nvidia and is a pared-down version of Windows 8. Stripping out the desktop and designed for tablets, its biggest problem is that in switching to ARM it had to drop support for many of the software apps people have come to expect from a Microsoft PC.

Microsoft slashed prices for the Surface RT last month due to an inability to move units and wound up taking a $900 million “inventory adjustment” charge associated with the Surface RT in its last fiscal quarter.

As far as Nvidia’s decision is concerned, the chip-maker’s executives have indirectly blamed the lower-than-anticipated sales of Windows RT devices for the precipitous plunge in the company’s revenue from its Tegra chip business.

[Via]

August 10, 2013
Ex-Microsoft Executive Bill Henningsgaard, Son Killed In Plane Crash

Bill Henningsgaard, an ex-Microsoft vice president and the co-founder of education group Eastside Pathways, and his son were killed in a small plane Friday morning that crashed into two homes in East Haven, CT.

According to CBS New York, National Transportation Safety Board Investigator Robert Gretz said there were casualty reports of two or three people in the plane and two or three on the ground.

The father and son duo left the West Coast on Monday to tour colleges on the East Coast and New Haven was on itinerary. He was flying out of Teterboro Airport in New Jersey and tried to land at Tweed-New Haven Airport but was unable to for unknown reasons, according to Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). The plane was attempting a second landing when it crashed into two homes in East Haven at 11:25 a.m., engulfing both houses in fire.

Bill Henningsgaard was the son of former Astoria Mayor Edith Henningsgaard-Miller and brother of City Attorney Blair Henningsgaard.

Blair Henningsgaard, the victim’s brother, said the 54-year-old retired from Microsoft years ago and dedicated his life to helping underprivileged youth through Eastside Pathways, a non-for-profit organization he had set up.

Seattle-based non-profit organization Social Venture Partners confirmed the death of board member Mr Bill Henningsgaard in a tribute on its website.

‘There are hundreds of people that have a story about Bill Henningsgaard- when he went the extra mile, when he knew just the right thing to say, how he would never give up,’ SVP said in a statement. ‘He was truly all-in for this community, heart, mind and soul.’

August 10, 2013
Pirate Bay Survives Legal Hassles And Threats: Turns 10 Today

Ten years ago, the controversial filesharing website The Pirate Bay hit the web. In those early days the site ran on four Linux servers and has transformed over the years in the technology they have used, all in a defiant and often legally challenged cause.

In a blog post, the site’s administrators greeted the site a “Happy X” following a decade of “aggression, repression and lulz.””We really didn’t think we’d make it this far. Not because of cops, mafia or corrupt politicians. But because we thought that we’d eventually be to old for this s***. But hey, running this ship makes us feel young,” it said. “And we’re gonna stay young ’til we die,” it added.

At times, it said it has had to move its servers all over the world as Internet service providers were ordered by various governments to block access to The Pirate Bay.

As The Next Web reports, in January 2008, Swedish prosecutors filed charges against the four founders for facilitating illegal downloading of copyrighted material. In February 2009, they were put on trial and in April 2009, Peter Sunde, Fredrik Neij, Gottfrid Svartholm, and Carl Lundströmwere were found guilty by the court, which sentenced them to a year in prison with a fine of 30 million SEK (approximately $3.5 million that year).

All four appealed the verdict, and in November 2010 the court shortened the prison sentences, but increased damages. In February 2012, the Supreme Court of Sweden refused to hear an appeal in the case.

The Pirate Bay plans to throw a party in Stockholm to celebrate its decade-long existence.

August 10, 2013
Microsoft Points System Will Be Removed With The Next Xbox 360 Update

Earlier, Microsoft announced it would be retiring its Microsoft Point system for purchasing games and other virtual items on the Xbox One when it launches in favor of using real money from a user’s local currency. Today, there’s an update on the Microsoft Points shutdown which concerns current Xbox 360 owners.

“Our goal is to make this transition as easy as possible for you,” Whitten wrote on the Xbox blog. “After the next Xbox 360 system update, when you go to buy something or redeem a Microsoft Points card or code on your console with your Microsoft account, we’ll add to your account an amount of currency equal to or greater than the Xbox Marketplace value of your Microsoft Points, which will be retired.”

Some of the added benefits of the change include faster and easier purchases with no need to calculate the conversion of your local currency to Microsoft Points. Whitten assures that you’ll still be able to purchase content directly from Xbox stores using any form of payment in your region. Furthermore, in late 2013 you’ll be able to buy new Xbox Gift Cards through Microsoft’s online retailers and local retail stores.

Whitten said that any Microsoft Points earned by people as part of their now shut down Xbox Live Rewards program will remain in their account and will also be converted to real money with the Xbox 360 update. A new rewards program will be announced on September 1st.

[Via]

August 10, 2013
All Apple Developer Services Back Online With Free One Month Extension

Apple today restored the Developer Center – the place where it stores all of its resources and information for third-party app creators. A message on the website read :

We are pleased to let you know that all our developer program services are now online. Your patience during this time was sincerely appreciated.

We understand that the downtime was significant and apologize for any issues it may have caused in your app development. To help offset this disruption, we are extending the membership of all developer teams by one month. If you need any further assistance, please contact us.

The short update to developers, which apologizes for the service outage that lasted just over three weeks, comes five days after Apple announced plans to have the portal at full capacity by the end of this week.

As promised, Apple has extended developer memberships to make up for all of the down time. Devs will be pleased to see that 1 month has been added to their remaining membership time, meaning if you were set to expire next May, it’s now next June.

A Turkish security researcher by the name of Ibrahim Balic came forward shortly after the outage and claimed responsibility as the intruder that breached the Dev Center’s database. No personal data was stolen from users, but Apple decided the breach warranted a complete rebuild of the backend.

August 10, 2013
New Nexus 7 Reportedly Suffering From Dodgy GPS

Google recently launched their new Nexus 7 tablet, and now a number of owners of the tablet have reported issues with GPS.

It seems that some owners of the NExus 7 have been having issues with the GPS system on the device, with the feature working ok for a short time before suddenly stopping. The device then reverts to the searching mode with the GPS icon continually flashing, and some owners have stated that a hard reboot sometimes does the trick but not always.

Some have changed the device for another one for the problem still to occur so it seems the bug is being caused by an issue with the Android 4.3 firmware, and we have already heard of issues with the software affecting other Nexus devices.

If it’s an issue with the Android code, a simple firmware update could squash the bug. If the problem lies with the GPS hardware, the only solution could be to send off for a replacement Nexus 7.

Apparently, Google has acknowledged this and are currently is working on a fix, but we are unsure when this come about. Comments on this situation can be seen over on the Google Product Forums, along with other problems encountered with the GPS signal, while others have said that rebooting the system can sometimes sort this issue out as reported above.

[Via]

August 9, 2013
HTC One X+ Receives Android 4.2.2 Update With Sense 5.0 And BlinkFeed

HTC One X+ users can look forward to pretty significant feature and performance improvements in the next few weeks as the Taiwanese OEM rolls out an update to Android 4.2.2 that brings Sense 5 and BlinkFeed.

The update adds to the HTC One X+ many of the features first experienced on the this year’s HTC One, including the homescreen news aggregation widget BlinkFeed, automatic video highlights, a new and improved lockscreen, a new music app, autofocus lock in the camera app and more.

All this is part of HTC Sense 5, the company’s relatively new and vastly improved user interface that has gained so much praise since the launch of the HTC One.

Battery endurance on the HTC One X+ is reportedly also improved thanks to a new sleep mode switch. Users can track the status of the battery easily by turning on the percentage battery meter in the status bar. Since this is Android 4.2.2, the Quick settings panel is also presents and can be accessed by a two-finger swipe down.

HTC is yet to reveal any more information regarding the HTC One S, which it previously said would be updated to Android 4.2 but has since cancelled its plans for the handset. The news that the HTC One S would not be updated was met with dissatisfaction by device owners and a petition is still underway to pressure HTC into changing its mind.

August 9, 2013
Report : Blackberry Set To Follow Dell And Go Private

The latest rumour to circle about BlackBerry is not a new smartphone, but that the company is entertaining the idea of going private. Reuters “several sources familiar with the situation” revealed that the board is favouring this route and believe being a private company “would give them breathing room to fix its problems out of the public eye.” The company noted in the report is private equity firm Silver Lake Partners, same company who’s behind Dell’s current private dealings, but they make it clear that “no deal is imminent” and “BlackBerry has not launched any kind of a sale process.”

The message from BlackBerry’s communications department has been pretty consistent regarding its recent quarterly performance, as well as issues like layoffs and executive departures – the company is still in turnaround mode, and needs to make more changes to get the organization ship-shape before it can return to growth. But that’s not a refrain that investors enjoy hearing – especially not when the track’s on repeat.

Ever since Thorsten Heins, BlackBerry’s CEO, took over the reins he stated that the company was not for sale, but could potentially look at licensing BlackBerry 10 to other manufactures. In an interview last year Heins stated “We don’t have the economy of scale to compete against the guys who crank out 60 handsets a year. We have to differentiate and have a focused platform. To deliver BB10 we may need to look at licensing it to someone who can do this at a way better cost proposition than I can do it. There’s different options we could do that we’re currently investigating.”

BlackBerry’s openness to consider a deal marks a radical shift in thinking at the once high-flying smartphone maker. Until recently, BlackBerry, formerly known as Research in Motion and a pioneer in providing secured emails on handheld devices, had been bent on staying independent, betting its turnaround on its latest smartphones.

BlackBerry reported 6.8 million smartphone shipments last quarter and revenues of $3.1 billion, but also recorded an operating loss of $84 million.

[Via]

August 9, 2013
Celkon Launches The Campus A63 In India For Rs. 4499

Celkon today launched the Campus A63 in India. It has been priced at INR 4,499 and will be available in the market beginning today.

The Campus A63 runs on Android 4.2 Jelly Bean operating system and is powered by a 1.2 GHz Dual Core processor with 256MB of RAM. The Campus A63 sports a 4-inch WVGA display with a resolution of 480×800 pixels.

The phone features a 3.2-megapixel rear camera and a front-facing camera. It runs on a 1,500 mAh battery and has a microSD card slot that supports 32GB of memory.

Apart from being a dual-SIM (GSM+GSM) supported smartphone like other domestic devices, it also supports a regular connectivity options like Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and GPS, but lack 3G support.

Celkon is also expected to launch more device in its Campus series in the coming weeks including the Campus A60, A20 and A10. Stay tuned for more details.

August 8, 2013