Author: Shivaank Rana

Prince of Persia: The Shadow And The Flame Arrive For iOS And Android

Ubisoft today released the legendary Prince of Persia franchise back to mobile devices with Prince of Persia: The Shadow and the Flame. Available to download now, Prince of Persia: The Shadow and the Flame is compatible with iPad, iPhone and iPod touch as well as on Android devices.

The mobile adaptation takes place 11 days after the conclusion of the original Prince of Persia, and the remake will include both gesture-based and virtual joystick controls over 14 levels. Prince of Persia: The Shadow and the Flame will also ship with GameCenter leaderboards on iOS, “brand-new visuals” created for its mobile rebirth and a new combat system that arms players with a new combo system and pits them against multiple enemies.

The original Prince of Persia game released in 1993 and then re-released as a 3D version in 2007, but the entire franchise has nearly a dozen versions of the action-adventure game with a focus on different incarnations of the eponymous prince.

Ubisoft announced the remake in April. The Prince’s latest adventure is available on iTunes, Amazon, and Google Play for $2.99.

July 26, 2013
Intex Cloud X3 Launched In India, Priced At Rs. 3,790

Intex today launched the Intex Cloud X3 smartphone with a MediaTek MT6572 chip housing a Cortex A7 1GHz dual-core processor at a price tag of Rs 3,790.

Sanjay Kumar Kalirona, GM-Mobility Division, Intex Technologies Ltd at the launch event said, “The feature phone market in India has matured and there is a subsequent growth in the smartphone category. Building on this burgeoning market, Intex offers its latest smartphone Cloud X3 that is especially designed to meet the need of entry level users who would like to migrate to a more sophisticated mobile experience”.

The Intex Cloud X3 has a 3.5-inch display with MiraVision technology, with an undisclosed resolution and 256MB of RAM. It has 115MB of built-in storage that is expandable up to 32GB via microSD card slot. The phone has a 2MP rear camera with video recording and a VGA front facing camera for video calling. The dual-SIM Android 4.2 Jelly Bean phone comes with a 1450 mAh battery.

On the connectivity front, the Intex Cloud X3 offers dual-SIM functionality with GSM+GSM support, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and GPS. It comes with inbuilt gravity sensors and motion sensors. Other features included are a video/ audio recorder and integrated FM radio.

It is available in white and black colours.

July 26, 2013
Android 4.3 Allows You To Tinker With App Permissions

Google Android 4.3 may be a minor update to Google’s mobile operating system, but it has some nice features including performance tweaks, Bluetooth improvements, support for limiting a user’s access to some apps or content on multi-user devices, and much more.

It also has a hidden feature. It’s called “App Ops” and it lets you selectively disable some permissions for your apps. Is some misbehaving app constantly pinging your location and draining your battery in a few hours? You can fix that now.

Once there, the user will see that all of their apps and permissions are broken down into four easily distinguishable categories: Personal, Location, Messaging, and Device. Simply choose an app, tape the on/off button, and voilà! The user’s app is still completely functional without annoyingly draining your device.

Another notable feature in Android 4.3 is improved Photo Spheres. Evan Rapoport, a Google Maps Product Manager, recently revealed on Google+ that the latest version of Jelly Bean offers better alignment and stitching while taking photos with Photo Sphere. The app also offers improved exposure compensation that’ll lead to fewer gray areas and inconsistent coloring in photos.

Other highlights of Android 4.3 Jelly Bean include multi-user restricted profiles which limits access to specified content, a sound for aspect of sale systems and kiosks, for example. Security is in play here as it works for parental controls too. Bluetooth Low-Energy support will easily pair Android 4.3 with a fitness sensor for the workout-aholics out there.

[Via]

July 26, 2013
Samsung Galaxy Note 3 Prototype Leaked, Reveal Specs And Design

Samsung is on deck to announce the 3rd generation of the Galaxy Note this September at IFA. Previous leaks indicated that the Note III will sport a 5.99-inch display, but today a picture and spec sheet has found its way online, courtesy of techkiddy.

The photos, which supposedly depict a prototype of the Galaxy Note 3, portray a form factor with sharp square edges as opposed to the soft rounded corners we’re accustomed to.

According to Technology Blogs Simplified, the specs of the Galaxy Note 3 are a little different to previous rumors that we reported back in December last year; the phone will feature a “pants busting” 5.7″ Super AMOLED Full HD display, Octa-Core or Snapdragon 800 processor, 13 megapixel camera, Android 4.3, S Pen functions and Samsung’s own TouchWiz nature UX interface.

Of course all of this is still unconfirmed, and should be taken with a fistful of salt, as the images don’t show any comparison to previous iterations, or even if we’re looking at what will be the Galaxy Note 3 at all.

What do you think? Can Samsung still sell more phones by using plastic? Keep in mind that Google will start selling a new phone in August with better materials, plus HTC is already selling its two Android-based smartphones with better build quality than Samsung — the HTC One and the new HTC One Mini.

[Via, Via]

July 26, 2013
BenQ Launches W750 Projector With Support For Up To 300″ Screen Size (PR)

BenQ has today announced the launch of another entry level 3D projector to its kitty, the BenQ W750, which is all set to provide the comfort of 3D cinematic experience to home segment.

Featuring the latest DLP technology, the BenQ W750 delivers 3D projection with a single video feed unlike traditional 3D projector system, which requires two perfectly aligned projectors with two separate video feeds.

With built in 10W audio power, the projector comes with single connectivity HDMI interface directly to a Blu-ray player, Satellite or latest 3D games from PS3, to deliver digital HD signal and sound via just one cable. It comes with a newly designed pair of 3D glasses as well.

It offers a native resolution of 1280 x 720 pixels at 16:9 aspect ratio, dual HDMI inputs, 13,000:1 contrast ratio, 2,500 ANSI lumens brightness and a claimed 6,500 hour lamp life.

The extra long lamp life of 6500 hours significantly lessens the overall total cost of ownership of the projector by reducing the frequency of lamp replacement.

The BenQ W750 is available at a price (MRP) of Rs. 60,000 across India.

[toggle title=”Press Release”]BenQ extends 3D cinematic experience to your home; launches W750 projector supporting up to 300” screen size

Single Video-feed projector supporting 3D functionality through HDMI1.4a, equipped with DLP® technology, 13000:1 contrast ratio, connectivity, 10W audio power, Smart Eco technology for extra lamp life of 6500 hours

New Delhi, INDIA, July 23, 2013 – BenQ, an internationally renowned provider of digital lifestyle innovations, is a market leader in Indian Projector market with more than 20% market share .The company is proud to be globally No. 1 Projector brand in DLP technology which is the preferred choice world over.

BenQ has today announced the launch of another entry level 3D projector to its kitty, W750, which is all set to provide the comfort of 3D cinematic experience to home segment. Featuring the latest DLP® technology, the BenQ W750 delivers 3D projection with a single video feed unlike traditional 3D projector system, which require two perfectly aligned projectors with two separate video feeds

For home users seeking hassle-free, big-screen enjoyment, BenQ W750 is a perfect choice with enhanced 3D projection on screen through HDMI 1.4a. With built in 10W audio power, the projector comes with single connectivity HDMI interface directly to Blu-ray player, Satellite or latest 3D games from PS3, to deliver ultra-smooth digital HD signal and sound via just one cable. It comes with a newly designed pair of 3D glasses which is comfortable to wear and stylish in looks with an astonishingly realistic quality.

W750 features World-leading SmartEco Technology, which can adjust the lamp power to maximize lamp power saving up to 70% and lower the maintenance costs. The extra long lamp life of 6500 hours significantly lessens the overall total cost of ownership of the projector by reducing the frequency of lamp replacement. With ultra-high contrast ratio of 13000:1, 16.9 aspect ratio, 1280×720 native resolution and 2500 ANSI Lumens, it project sharp images for high brightness projectors using a palette of 1.07 billion colors. BenQ W750 can play back images with a diagonal size of upto 300 inches,

BenQ W750 offers s simple plug-n-play installation experience. All one has to do for enjoying the immersive 3D experience is a simple preparation of 3D glasses and blu-ray 3D content. An efficient Quick-release button makes projector placement even more flexible.

The BenQ W750 is available at a price (MRP) of Rs. 60,000 across India. For more information, please visit www.BenQ.co.in.

We are here on Facebook and twitter to share all the new announcements with you.

About BenQ Corporation
BenQ Corporation, a leading provider of networked digital lifestyle devices, is a multi-faceted company with strengths in product design, visual technology and mobile technology. BenQ offers unrivalled breadth and depth of products and integrated technologies across platforms through the brand promise of “Bringing Enjoyment and Quality to Life,” including digital projector, LCD monitors, laptop PCs, Netbooks, All-in-One PCs, LCD TVs, digital cameras, storage devices, eBook reader, mobile phones, storage media and human interface devices such as mice and keyboards.

About BenQ Group

The BenQ Group is currently comprised of 16 companies that operate independently while sharing resources and leveraging synergies among them. The BenQ Group companies include BenQ Corporation, AU Optronics Corporation (world’s top 3 manufacturers of large-size TFT-LCD panels), Qisda Corporation, Darfon Electronics Corporation, Daxon Technology Inc., Daxin Materials Corp., Forhouse Corp., Light House Tech, SiPix Imaging, Lextar Electronics Corp. BenQ Guru Software Co., BenQ Hospital, Darwin Precisions, Ltd, Raydium Semiconductor Corporation, Cando Corporation and Wellypower Co., Ltd.
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July 26, 2013
New Apple Patent Indicates A Location-Aware Battery System For The iPhone

Future iPhone devices may come with intelligent batteries that draw down power based on a user’s location and charging habits, a new patent application suggests.

From the application :

A method for modifying one or more characteristics of a mobile electronic device in order to save or reduce power consumption of the device. The method includes determining by, a processor of the mobile electronic device, an estimated use of the mobile electronic device during an upcoming time period; using the estimated use, determining, by the processor, whether an internal power source of the mobile electronic device has sufficient power to continue operation of the mobile electronic device in a first state during the upcoming time period; based on the estimated use and the internal power source, if the internal power source does not have sufficient power, adjusting the one or more characteristics to reduce a power consumption of the mobile electronic device during the upcoming time period.

Apple proposes a system that can compare the estimated time period a user will spend on their device with battery reserves, determining whether the device has sufficient power to last for said period. If the battery does not have sufficient power, the system will adjust “one or more characteristics” to conserve energy.

Image Courtesy : Apple Insider

As devices like the iPhone get thinner and come packed with more features, improving or maintaining the same battery life will be one of the biggest challenges for Apple. It will also have to come out with innovative software based solutions to improve battery life.

We’re already seen Apple use software based solutions such as intelligent scheduling, opportunistic updates, coalesce updates, push notification triggers etc. to bring us smarter multitasking in iOS 7 without having a major impact on your iPhone’s battery life.

[Via]

July 25, 2013
Front Panel Of A 6-Inch Lumia Device Spotted

Nokia has long been rumoured to be moving beyond the 4.5-inch screen range for its Lumia devices, even supposedly working on a 7-inch Windows RT tablet.

With the impending release of a Microsoft’s GDR3 update for Windows Phone 8, which should increase the maximum screen resolution of its partners’ smartphones to 1920×1080 pixels, it’s safe to say that Nokia is looking for a way to differentiate itself in the highly-competitive smartphone market.

This latest leak which supposedly comes from a factory floor in China brings a phablet Lumia device from Nokia one step closer to reality, the kind that would compete against the increasingly popular Galaxy Note series from Samsung.. It measures 6-inches in diagonal and is supposedly already being mass-produced by Nokia.

The updated software is also rumoured to bring support for quad-core processors, likely from Qualcomm, adding extra CPU and GPU horsepower to continue Windows Phone’s consistently-high framerates.

Nokia recently launched it’s flagship device, the Nokia Lumia 1020 with a 4.5-inch, 1280×768 pixel LCD display with PureMotion HD+ and Super Touch Sensitivity.

[Via]

July 25, 2013
Report : New Nexus 10 Tablet In The Works

Just hours after the unveiling of the Google Nexus 7 we’ve heard word that the Nexus 10 could also be getting an update soon.

According to Google’s Sundar Pichai, the new 10-incher refresh isn’t far away. While we haven’t heard anything from Pichai publicly, The Wall Street Journal’s Amir Efrati has been recounting his experience at today’s Google event on Twitter, and mentions that Pichai advised that a Samsung-made follow-up to last year’s Nexus 10 should be launching “in the near future.”

The new Nexus 7 launched last night, packing a high-res 323ppi display, 1.5GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 CPU, 2GB of RAM and Android 4.3.

Unfortunately apart from the confirmation that a new Nexus 10 is in the works, the exact specifications of the tablet were not shared, obviously, but he did state that we can expect to learn more about it in the near future.

Samsung will most likely pack the new Nexus 10 with it’s latest Exynos octa-core processor. Guess we’ll have to wait and see!

[Via]

July 25, 2013
Sony Announces Android 4.3 Update For Select Xperia Devices

Sony Mobile officially confirmed the upcoming availability of the Android 4.3 Jelly Bean operating system for some of its latest Xperia smartphones out there, including the Xperia Z and Xperia Z Ultra.

A post on the company’s blog says it is “already getting stuck in” and is working to develop updates for the Xperia Z, Xperia ZL, Xperia ZR, Xperia Tablet Z, Xperia SP and Xperia Z Ultra.

Some older Xperia phones running Android 4.1 are still under examination. There’s a possibility that at least some of them will be updated straight to Android 4.3, but no names have been confirmed yet.

Sony, however, is not known for being quick with Android rollouts so customers will probably need to be patient once again. Back in December 2012, the company promised Android 4.2 updates for 10 of its 2012 Xperia range, and that process was only completed last month.

It admits that the Android 4.1 upgrade “process hasn’t been as succinct or as timely as you might’ve expected”, which leads us to believe that this may happen once again with the roll-out of the third Jelly Bean iteration.

With Android 4.3, many of the updates appear to be under the hood. Among the front-end changes is the addition of a Multi-User Restricted Profiles feature.

Sony posted a video of the Xperia Tablet Z already running the AOSP version of Android 4.3, as they previously did with 4.2.

[youtube id=”c8sVrFVXUTc” width=”100%” height=”300px”]

July 25, 2013
Google Announces The New Nexus 7

Google has announced the new Nexus 7 today, updating the look with a thinner, taller design and a 1920×1200 pixel IPS display.

The updated tablet is 2mm thinner and 50g lighter than its predecessor, but boasts a bunch of improved specs, such as a quad-core 1.5Ghz Qualcomm Snapdragon APQ8064 SoC with Adreno 320 graphics and 2GB of RAM, a 5MP rear camera and 1.2MP front-facing shooter, a battery that lasts for 10 hours, and the brand new Android 4.3 software. There’s also dual speakers (on the back), NFC, HDMI, wireless charging and Bluetooth 4.0 on board, in case you needed more reasons to upgrade.

Three versions of the Nexus 7 tablet will be available: Wi-Fi only 16GB and 32GB models for $229 and $269 respectively, and the 4G LTE version launching in the coming weeks. Indian pricing and availability has not been announced yet.

Google has once again tapped Asus as the manufacturing partner for its own-branded tablet, and that’s great news for that OEM as the previous generation of the Nexus 7 was its best-selling tablet by most accounts.

Google’s latest foray into hardware arrives as competition in the tablet space continues to heat up, with options such as Apple’s iPad, Amazon’s Kindle Fire and Samsung’s Galaxy Tab series.

July 24, 2013
Android 4.3 Jelly Bean Announced

Google today announced the latest iteration of Android – Android 4.3 Jelly Bean during a press breakfast in San Francisco.

The long-awaited OS update will be coming to Android device users based on their devices. The Android 4.3 Jelly Bean update will start rolling out today to the Nexus 4, Nexus 7 and Nexus 10. The “Google Play Edition” versions of the HTC One and Samsung Galaxy S4 can expect it soon, most likely August or September.

As ArsTechnica reports, the new operating system will feature multi-user restricted profiles. This will let users control access to contents and apps per user—so parents, for example, can control which applications their kids can access. When accessed from restricted profiles, applications behave differently. On stage, Hugo Barra demonstrated this by showing a puzzle game whose in-app purchase functionality was automatically disabled when it was accessed on the kid’s restricted profile.

Other features include built-in OpenGL ES 3.0 support, DRM APIs for providing hardware-based encryption for protecting content, which will allow it to provide 1080p video to its tablets. The first partner is Netflix, which supports 1080p HD streaming. The Nexus 7 is the first device to support it.

Android 4.3 also introduces many other features, including support for Bluetooth Smart devices, background Wi-Fi location, more language support and “easier text input.”

We’ll bring you more on the new release as it comes. In the meantime, share your thoughts down in the comments.

July 24, 2013
Nvidia Project Logan Chips For Mobiles Bring PS3-Like Graphics To Your Smartphone

Back in March, NVIDIA showed off its roadmap of its Tegra SoCs and what we can expect from them. Well, it may be late July, and we may be still waiting on Tegra 4 devices to pop up, but NVIDIA clearly hasn’t stopped working. The company recently showcased some of the features in Project Logan, with a large focus on Mobile Kepler.

Today the company revealed that its upcoming mobile chip will utilize the same Kepler graphics architecture found in its latest desktop and laptop GPUs, bringing graphics that exceed PS3 and rival current PCs to smartphones and tablets. Behold Project Logan.

“I think this is the biggest breakthrough in graphics since we introduced the GeForce 256 (graphics chip) 14 years ago,” said Dan Vivoli, senior vice president of corporate and strategic marketing at Nvidia in Santa Clara, Calif., in an interview with GamesBeat. “But this is 400 times more powerful than the original GeForce. This is the most efficient mobile processor ever designed.”

Kepler supports the full spectrum of OpenGL – including the just-announced OpenGL 4.4 full-featured graphics specification and the OpenGL ES 3.0 embedded standard. It also supports DirectX 11, Microsoft’s latest graphics API.

Nvidia’s first Project Logan prototype chips have been back from the factories for only a few weeks, but the company says they are running cool demos such as Ira already.

[youtube id=”Vx0t-WJFXzo” width=”100%” height=”300px”]

[Via]

July 24, 2013
Viber Support Website Hacked By Syrian Electronic Army

Hacker gang the Syrian Electronic Army broke into the systems of Viber, the popular mobile chat service, and dumped its user account records online.

“The Israeli-based ‘Viber’ is spying and tracking you . We weren’t able to hack all Viber systems, but most of it is designed for spying and tracking.” Hackers said in the defacement.

Image Courtesy : eHackingNews

To demonstrate that they’ve gained access to Viber’s systems, the hackers have published several screenshots showing data records stolen from the company. Furthermore, on the defacement page, they have listed the names, phone numbers and email addresses of Viber administrators.

Currently, the support.viber.com website has been taken offline. The hackers have told E Hacking News that they still have access to the company’s systems.

The phone numbers of the individuals exposed in the defacement began with the international dialling code of 963, the code for Syria. The page also revealed Viber administrators’ contact details, such as their names, phone numbers and email addresses.

In a statement, Viber admitted its computer defences were breached after a support staffer was tricked by a phishing email. It said the hack looked worse than it was, but nonetheless resolved to beef up the security of its systems anyway.

Viber is the third company targeted by the Syrian Electronic Army over the past week. First, they have hacked the systems of global phone directory Truecaller.

[Via]

July 24, 2013
Report : Sony Making Gran Turismo Movie

Sony has decided that it wants a piece of the fast car pie, and it’s pressing ahead with a movie based on its massively successful Gran Turismo series of videogames. What angle it’s going to take is unclear at this stage, but producers Dana Brunetti and Mike De Luca have the job of working some of that out. They’re also producing Fifty Shades Of Grey, incidentally.

In addition to De Luca and Brunetti, Elizabeth Cantillon, DeVon Franklin, and Hannah Minghella will oversee the project for Sony. No director, writer, or stars have been announced at this time. The games have no real plot to speak of — they’re racing simulations, pure and simple — so we’ll have to wait and see what the filmmakers cook up. The lack of an in-game narrative should allow them plenty of freedom to work with.

Developed by Kazunori Yamauchi and Polyphony Studios, Gran Turismo is one of the biggest franchises from the Playstation. The series has sold over 70 million copies worldwide. However, it remains to be seen if the game’s popularity will translate into box office success.

The success of Fast and Furious 6 has prompted a number of studios to move forward with their own car-oriented action flicks. DreamWorks Pictures is presently putting together an adaptation of Need for Speed starring Breaking Bad’s Aaron Paul, Michael Keaton, Dominic Cooper, and Imogen Poots.

The latest game in the long-running PlayStation-exclusive franchise, Gran Turismo 6, is currently slated to ship on the PS3 some time during 2013.

[Via]

July 24, 2013
Nvidia Launches The Quadro K6000 – The World’s Fastest GPU

NVIDIA has announced at Siggraph, the annual computer graphics conference, the Kepler-based Quadro K6000. The company says it’s “the fastest and most capable GPU ever built” with twice the graphics capability of the Quadro 6000 predecessor.

The NVIDIA Quadro K6000 GPU is actually a graphics card with the full-featured GK110 graphics processor (Kepler architecture).It comes with 2,880 streaming multiprocessor (SMX) cores (faster visualization and compute horsepower) and 12 GB of GDDR5 ultra-fast memory.

Between that and four simultaneous display links (up to 4K resolution with DisplayPort 1.2), the adapter is five times as fast as the NVIDIA Quadro 6000 GPU (its predecessor) and has twice the graphics capability.

“The Kepler features are key to our next generation of real-time lighting and geometry handling. We were thrilled to get an early look at the K6000. The added memory and other features allow our artists to see much more of the final scene in a real-time, interactive form, and allow many more artistic iterations.”
-Guido Quaroni, Pixar vice president of Software R&D

The “world’s largest and fastest” DDR5 graphics memory enables companies like Nissan to load nearly complete vehicle models, for instance.

The Quadro K6000 is set to hit the market in autumn and will be available through vendors such as HP, Dell and Lenovo, as well as system integrators and partners like PNY.

July 24, 2013