Author: Shivaank Rana

HTC One Mini Officially Announced

HTC today officially unveiled the HTC One Mini, the smaller sibling of its successful flagship model.

In terms of specs, the HTC One Mini has a 4.3-inch 720p display, 1.4GHz Snapdragon 400 dual-core processor, 1GB of RAM, 16GB of internal storage, 1.6MP front cam and 4G connectivity wrapped in a mainly metallic body with a plastic frame keeping the front and back together.

That means it’s got a roughly similar look and feel to the HTC One, which is certainly a good thing in our book, and with vital statistics of 132 x 63.2 x 9.25mm and 122g it should fit nicely in your palm.

BlinkFeed also makes an appearance along with the new-look HTC Sense, the latest user-interface that HTC has skinned on top of Google’s Android operating system.

As with the flagship model, the HTC One Mini comes with dual front-facing speakers complete with BoomSound technology, plus there’s Dr Dre’s Beats Audio tech also embedded into the handset.

Storage, as mentioned above, is taken care of via 16GB (non-expandable) however for those worrying that might not be enough Dropbox, SkyDrive and other cloud storage solutions are all available via Google Play.

The Ultrapixel camera returns, but loses optical image stabilisation. However, it should still be capable of taking reasonable low-light images thanks to the sensor which is comprised of larger pixels than most smartphone cameras.

Mike Woodward, president of HTC North America, said customers have been asking for a smaller version of the HTC One since it launched in late April.

Release dates and pricing for the HTC One Mini will be announced closer to launch, but the phone will obviously cost less than the HTC One.

What do you guys think? Would you be open to buying this device? Let us know in the comments section below!

July 18, 2013
Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 Launched in India (Hands On)

Samsung today announced the introduction of the Galaxy Tab 3 311 (8-inch screen) and Galaxy Tab 3 211 (7-inch screen) in India. These tablets are a follow up to the popular Galaxy Tab 2 series. The Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 211 (7″) is priced at Rs. 17,745, Tab 3 311 (8″) at Rs. 25,725 and the Wi-Fi only Tab 3 310 (8″) at Rs. 21,945.

We went hands-on with the devices.

Specifications and Hardware :

The 7 inch Galaxy Tab 3 is powered by a 1.2 ghz dual core processor, supported with 1GB of RAM. The 7 inch screen has a 1024×600 panel with 169ppi density. There are 8GB and 16GB versions available, with a Micro SD card slot allowing additional storage up to 64GB. The tablet runs Android 4.1 Jelly Bean.

The 8 inch Galaxy Tab 3 is more powerful, featuring a 1.5ghz dual core processor with 1.5GB of RAM. It has a 5 MP rear camera and a 1.3 MP front facing camera. The screen is of a higher resolution at 1280×800. There are 32GB and 64GB versions available with another 64GB offered via the microSD card. The tablet has a 4,450mAh battery and runs Jelly Bean 4.2 with Wifi only and 3G versions.

Initial Impressions

The first thing that you will notice when you see the tablets is that they’re, as usual, of the same Samsung style design. However, the tablets are really slim and lightweight. The 8-inch Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 has 7.4mm thickness and it really helps in somewhat easing one handed operation.

The design cues are the same though. Curved, rounded edges with a large display and a physical home button. Following the tradition, the Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 also has 2 touch capacitive buttons next to the home button.

You have a Galaxy S4 – type bezel running around the edge of the tablets, and the back panel has a glossy finish to it which, unfortunately, attracts finger prints.

The displays though, despite their low pixel densities are surprisingly clear. The colour reproductions and viewing angles are good as well. Samsung also touts the Reading Mode on these devices which adjusts the displays to make reading text easier on your eyes.

The software on these 2 tablets again has all the goodies that comes along with Samsung (TouchWiz) devices. Due to the large screen sizes, Multi-Window is relatively easier to use on these devices than on it’s smartphone siblings.

These devices are one of several Samsung has released with a Dropbox bonus of 50GB of cloud storage added on to your account – or added to a brand new account – for 2 years from the point at which you access said space.

Stay tuned for our full review of the Samsung Galaxy Tab 3.

Images

Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 7-Inch

Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 8-Inch

Buy it Now

July 18, 2013
HTC One Mini Set To Be Launched Tomorrow

Tomorrow is sure looking like the day HTC will officially declare the existence of the much leaked HTC One Mini. On Twitter, HTC UK wrote that “We have a ‘little’ bit of news tomorrow” and showed off a corner of what looks to be the HTC One Mini and its aluminum body and plastic bezel.

We have a ‘little’ bit of news tomorrow. pic.twitter.com/UKXV59wXbs

— HTC UK (@HTC_UK) July 17, 2013

Specs of the HTC One Mini have are rumoured to sport a 4.3-inch display (1280×720 resolution), 1.4Ghz dual-core processor, 1GB of RAM, 16GB of internal storage, 4MP Ultrapixel camera, and a 1.6MP wide-angle front-facing camera. Of course, all this will be confirmed in a few short hours.

HTC will also reportedly debut a 6-inch version of its HTC One in September. Dubbed the HTC One Max, the Android handset could arrive at the same time as Samsung’s expected Galaxy Note 3 and several other near-tablet-sized phones from Sony and LG. In addition to the large displays, all of these are expected to use the same chip inside.

Rumoured specifications indicate that the HTC One Max will have a 6-inch 1080p Super LCD 3 display, 2 GB of memory, either 32 GB or 64 GB of internal storage and a 3200 mAh battery. A 2.3 GHz Snapdragon 800 chip will power the Max.

July 18, 2013
New LG G2 Leaks Indicates A Removable 2540 mAh Battery

LG is expected to launch a sequel to its venerable Optimus G smartphone on August 7th in New York. Dubbed ‘G2‘, the phone is supposed to have some of the best internal specs of any device released this year, indicating the company’s partnership with Qualcomm is alive and well.

With a 5.2-inch 1080p IPS display, a 2.3Ghz Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 processor, 2GB of RAM, 32GB internal storage, a 13MP BSI camera and, newly-leaked, a 2540mAh battery, the G2 appears impressively adorned. Because the device is so thin — under 8mm if the leaks are accurate — LG has opted to include rear volume buttons, along with what appears to be a play/pause key between them.

While the LG G2 has done the normal press rendering dance in front of the cameras we have yet to see what’s under the hood. So a new screenshot, despite its weird crop job, gives us a sneak peak at what exactly lies beneath the surface. You can see the back-facing volume and power buttons, while also giving us sight of the device’s battery, which seems like it’ll be a removable one.

As a comparison we can say the Galaxy S 4 has a 2600 mAh battery and the HTC One has a 2300 mAh battery. Simply put, this LG G2 leak has the battery sitting in the middle at the moment. Alternatively, the LG Optimus G Pro is currently sporting a 3140 mAh battery. But again, we need to look towards real-world use for the end result.

If this all pans to be true, would you opt for the LG G2 just for the removable battery feature? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

[Via, Via]

July 18, 2013
New Nexus 7 To Debut Next Week, Video And Specs Leaked

The Nexus 7 sequel has been on the docket for a long time, and rumoured specifications have been floating around for months — a 7-inch 1280×800 display, a quad-core Snapdragon 600 SoC, 2GB RAM, a 1.2MP front-facing camera, 5MP rear camera, Android 4.3 — but nothing has been confirmed.

Today Google started sending out invites to a “breakfast” conference being held next week with Android head, Sundar Pichai, but Engadget got their hands on an internal OfficeMax document stating that the “new Google Nexus 7″ is also launching next week. Coincidence? Probably not.

The device is expected to launch at $229 USD for the 16GB model, increasing to $269 for the 32GB version. Not the $199 we saw the original debut at, but this is a much more powerful machine.

The more interesting info comes from Android Central, who got their hands on the device itself. “we have no idea if what we see here is a finished product, or prototype,” cautions the site, but the pics certainly look legitimate.

The only change from previously rumoured specs according to Android Central being the inclusion of 4GB of RAM (unlikely) and a slower Snapdragon S4 Pro SoC. And, of course, it will be manufactured once again by Asustek.

[youtube id=”HXrcUyCVA6c” width=”100%” height=”300px”]

The new design appears to mimic its predecessor. The Nexus insignia on the rear is similarly placed as before, as are the various buttons, rockers and ports. There are two speakers on the device, which will provide stereo sound playback and hopefully be an improvement over the original.

The design is also slightly more squared-off than last year’s model, but we can’t be sure if what we’re seeing is a prototype or a finished product.

Google is also expected to launch Android 4.3 next week, a small but important update to the current software. The existing Nexus 7, as well as the Galaxy Nexus, Nexus 4 and Nexus 10 should receive the new version in the weeks following the announcement.

For its part, Apple is also expected to refresh its 8-inch tablet in the not-so-distant future.Recent rumors suggest that a new version of the iPad mini will launch alongside a redesigned iPad 5 this fall, though it doesn’t sound like it’ll get the Retina treatment.

What do you think of the next-gen Nexus 7 thus far?

[Via, Via]

July 18, 2013
HTC One Mini Shows Up On Chinese Certification Website

HTC are expected to announce the new HTC One Mini some time this month. Yesterday HTC started teasing the new One Mini, and now the device has turned up in the Chinese TENAA certification database.

The HTC One Mini ‘601e’ is listed with Android software and HSDPA/HSUPA data connectivity, and as expected looks an awful lot like a 4.3-inch HTC One — note the metallic back and trademark front-facing speakers. The volume rocker appears a little different to the HTC One in this image, as two separate buttons rather than a rocker. And the Mini’s LED flash has been relocated to above the camera lens.

Despite having a different name, the HTC One Mini in China and the rest of the world will differ by just one single aspect, support for TD-SCDMA network. Apart from that, we’ll be seeing the same 4.3″ HD (1280 x 720) display, 1 GB of RAM, 1.4 GHz dual-core Snapdragon 400 SoC, 4MP UltraPixel camera, HTC BoomSound, 1700 mAh rated battery and Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean with the latest Sense 5 UI.

With certifications and teasers out of the way, the official announcement can’t be too far away. There’s no info on when exactly that might happen, though.

[Via]

July 17, 2013
Samsung Galaxy S4 Giveaway Winners

The winner of our recently concluded Samsung Galaxy S4 giveaway is Priyanka Munjal! Congratulations! You have won yourself a brand new Samsung Galaxy S4!

The winners of the Samsung Rex 90 are as follows :

1. Sarthak Kohli

2. Ankit Sehrawat

The remaining runners up are as follows :

3. Udit Kapoor

4. Madhur Bhatnagar

5. Sathya Narayanan

6. Pritesh Panjiker

7. Devansh Arora

8. Satish Kumar

Congratulations to the remaining runners up! You have won yourselves iGyaan merchandise!

We will be contacting you all via email for verification. Meanwhile, do head over to our LG Optimus G Pro giveaway! Last few days left! Good luck!

July 17, 2013
Microsoft : Xbox One Allows Games To Be Played While Downloading

We already knew that Microsoft’s Xbox One console will allow you to play a disc-based game while it installs in the background – which is apparently required – but now it has also been confirmed that you will be able to play a game while it’s still downloading.

A Microsoft spokesperson confirmed with Polygon that the Xbox One will be able to play games as they download, eliminating the need to wait for dozens of gigabytes to transfer to the console before you jump in and start playing.

Sony already confirmed the convenient feature for the PS4, but this is the first time Microsoft has mentioned it.

This will certainly be a huge time saver for Xbox One gamers, especially since the games themselves will likely have large file sizes. Xbox One game discs will be based on Blu-Ray which means that the games themselves could have file sized of well over 10 GB.

The feature presumably covers Xbox Live Arcade Games, Indie Games and titles that are already available as a physical copy, dubbed ‘Games on Demand’. It’s not clear, however, whether this would cover additional downloadable content (DLC) too.

Sony’s play as you download feature will let you choose to first download the single-player or multiplayer part of the game, letting you access your favourite part faster.

[Via]

July 17, 2013
Google Maps Returns To The iPad, Updated With Indoor Navigation And Live Traffic

The big Google Maps update that hit the Android Play Store last week is now rolling out to Apple’s mobile platform. The update, which brings the app to version 2.0, contains a number of new features including iPad support and indoor maps.

Google Maps version 2.0 brings the iOS title more in line with the native Android offering, including indoor mapping and the newly released “Explore” pane.

Google Maps 2.0 for iOS includes both live traffic updates and incident reports that offer details on current traffic conditions. Unlike the Android version of the app, it does not include on-the-fly rerouting, but Google has said that it plans to add the feature in the future. The new version of Maps also offers indoor directions and maps for malls, airports, transit stations, and more.

Google Maps is currently unavailable to download in the App Store for many countries until this update is released.

As 9to5Mac reports, some users have had success downloading the new version of Google Maps by deleting their current version and downloading it from iCloud.

Google launched an overhaul of its Maps service at its IO event in May, and following that it announced an acquisition of the mobile mapping service Waze for just over $1 billion last month.

July 17, 2013
WhatsApp For iOS Reverts To Subscription Model, Adds iCloud Backup, Multi-Photo Sharing

The enormously successful mobile chat tool WhatsApp, which Apple recently listed as the 6th most popular paid app of all time, has received some major updates today.

Today, the company has issued an update with a few nice features, and have quietly removed the 99c / Rs. 60 barrier to entry, reverting to an annual subscription model of the same amount.

The paid app business model is really a vestige of an older era where developers would sell their work up-front. But over time, many paid apps have made the switch toward going free with paid features. Games really triggered this wave, but other high-usage apps like messaging have gone for a freemium strategy.

The new version also adds iCloud message backup, which allows synchronization of chat states between devices and backup and restoration of content after logging out of changing devices.

The company has also added third-party URL schemes, which allows various apps to share data to WhatsApp and vice versa, and users can now send multiple messages to an individual or group (much needed!).

While this isn’t the visual overhaul many users were hoping for, it’s a great update nonetheless.

WhatsApp is one of the most popular cross platform messaging services out there. It recently announced that the service has over 250 million monthly active users, not to mention the fact that WhatsApp handles more than 27 billion messages every single day.

July 17, 2013
Tumblr Issues A “Very Important” Security Update For Its iOS App

Tumblr has rolled out a “very important” security fix for its iOS app for the iPhone and iPad in response to a flaw identified within the service.

Tumblr’s statement regarding previous versions of its iOS app:

If you’ve been using these apps, you should also update your password on Tumblr and anywhere else you may have been using the same password. It’s also good practice to use different passwords across different services by using an app like 1Password or LastPass.

Please know that we take your security very seriously and are tremendously sorry for this lapse and inconvenience.

Another statement read : We have just released a very important security update for our iPhone and iPad apps addressing an issue that allowed passwords to be compromised in certain circumstances¹. Please download the update now.

Tumblr gave a statement to The Verge, noting that the company was “notified of a security vulnerability” introduced into its iOS app earlier today and therefore took immediate action to fix the issue and notify its affected users. It is unknown how many people may have been affected.

Tumblr is one of the Web’s most popular blogging platforms. Bought by Yahoo for $1.1 billion in a deal that closed in June, its network of blogs see more than 300 million monthly unique visitors. Tumblr says there are 120,000 new signups every day with 900 posts published every second.

[Via]

July 17, 2013
Gionee Post A Very Apple-Like Advertisement For The Elife E6, Show Off Design

Gionee has been very keen to showcase its upcoming smartphone, the Elife E6. Last week they posted a specs comparison of the smartphone with other high end devices and this week, they’ve posted a very Apple-esque advertisement of the smartphone on their YouTube channel.

Gionee last week posted a specs comparison of the Elife E6 with the other high-end smartphones.

The advertisement shows off the design of the device, which to be honest is quite similar to the iPhone 5. Along with the design, it reads out the specs of the device in Chinese.

[youtube url=”www.youtube.com/watch?v=ijcXqx2q7Mg”]

Gionee Elife E6 is powered by a 1.5GHz quad-core ARM Cortex A7 CPU and a PowerVR SGX544MP GPU. It has a 5.0-inch AMOLED display with full HD screen resolution. The screen has a 441 ppi and employs OGS technology.

The Gionee Elife E6 will come with a 13 megapixel rear camera and a 5MP front camera. Its 5MP front-facing camera comes with 12 levels of auto beauty effects, object tracing focus, instant facial beauty support and more. It is powered by a non-removable (as it has a unibody construction device) 2020 mAH battery. It has 32 GB internal memory along with 2 GB of RAM. It sports a really slim profile with dimensions of 144 x 69 x7.7mm. It runs on Android 4.2.1 Jelly Bean.

The Gionee Elife E6 also comes with a bunch of gesture support features. The company claims that the Gionee Elife E6 features Heartbeat Synchronizing Technology that enables the system to synchronously wake up applications every ten minutes, reducing the number of applications wake ups improving power consumption.

The Gionee ELIFE E6 is available in Black and White colour variants with matching colour cases. The phone will be available in China starting mid-July for a suggested price of CNY 2699 (Rs. 26,250 approximately) and will be available in India after August 2013.

What do you think? Are you impressed with the design of the device? Let us know below!

July 16, 2013
New Leak Reveals Upcoming Sony Honami Will Have 20.7 MP Camera With 1/2.3-inch sensor

Sony is going to release a new 5-inch flagship device at IFA this year, a sequel to the Xperia Z and now a leak from the Taiwanese site ePrice says the device has a 20.7-megapixel ExmorRS sensor that’s the same size as the one in the Galaxy Camera and other point-and-shoots.

Originally, rumours spread that the Honami’s image sensor was going to have an impressive 1/1.6-inch sensor. However, this leak indicates that the Honami may only have a 1/2.3-inch sensor. But to compensate for that, the Sony Honami will have a f/2.0 with 5mm focal length and utilize the BIONZ processing engine, which effectively allows the camera to take photos with a resolution of up to 5248 x 3936 pixels.

This will help the Sony Honami to take on the recently-announced Nokia Lumia 1020 and the Samsung Galaxy S4 Zoom. The 1020 comes with an impressive 41MP camera that aims to revolutionize smartphone cameras, and while we still have yet to try the phone’s camera out for ourselves, Sony will mostly likely have to out something big in order to overthrow the 1020.

As previous rumours have indicated the Sony Honami will reportedly be capable of capturing video at 4K resolution, or 4000×2000 pixels. This insanely high video resolution is going to work synergistically with Sony’s big 4K TV push at the end of the year, but until then will mainly be little more than a sideshow act.

The battery is reportedly built into the device, suggesting it won’t be user replaceable, with a large capacity of 3,000 mAh battery. In addition to the reported camera specifications, there’s also said to be a 5-inch full HD display, as well as a 2.2GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 quad-core processor, as well as 2GB of RAM and 16GB of internal memory. In addition, there’s said to be a microSD expansion slot, with the maximum supported capacity not being specified.

[Via]

July 16, 2013
Blackberry Q5 Launched In India, Priced At Rs. 24,999

Blackberry today launched their cheapest Blackberry 10 device, the Blackberry Q5 in India. It is the second QWERTY touch and type device from Blackberry, following in the footsteps of the atrociously priced Blackberry Q10.

Similar to the BlackBerry Q10, the device features a 3.1 inch 720 x 720 resolution screen. Unlike the Bold-esque QWERTY on the Q10, the keys on the Blackberry Q5 keyboard are more basic.

The BlackBerry Q5 is powered by a 1.2GHz dual-core processor and has 2GB of RAM, microSD slot, 5MP rear camera, 2MP front camera, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, NFC, 4G and a 2180mAh battery.

Look the BlackBerry Q5 up and down and it’s immediately obvious that this isn’t a premium device, with a sizeable bezel above and below the screen, and then a chunk of plastic below the keyboard too.

BlackBerry CEO Thorsten Heins said earlier this year that the Canadian based manufacturer would launch six BlackBerry 10 models in 2013. Two would be low-end.phones, two would be mid-range units and two would be high-end models. Each price tier would consist of one all-touch and one QWERTY-enabled phone.

With that in mind, we can assume that the BlackBerry Q5 is the low end QWERTY. Heins has said in the past that all of the touch models would have a 4.2 inch screen and share the same resolution, while all of the QWERTY equipped models would have the same 3.1 inch 720 x 720 display. This would make it easier for developers to produce apps for all models without worrying about different screen sizes and resolutions.

Coming in at Rs. 24,999 the BlackBerry Q5 is pricier than we’d expect for what it is. It will be available from authorised retailers from 20 July (Saturday). What do you think? Would you go for the Blackberry Q5? Let us know in the comments section below!

July 16, 2013
Rovio Coming Back With Angry Birds Star Wars II

Rovio Entertainment, the Finland-based creator of the Angry Birds mobile game franchise, announced this morning a sequel to the massively successful Angry Birds Star Wars.

It’ll include a new story as well as over 30 familiar characters including young Anakin, Mace Windu, General Grievous, Darth Maul…and also Jar Jar Binks. There’ll also be the option to “Join the Pork Side” and fight for the villainous pigs.

“Angry Birds: Star Wars was a blockbuster hit for us and Lucasfilm, with over 100 million downloads since its release,” Rovio executive vice president of games Jami Laes said in a statement. “We are thrilled to be able to introduce the exciting next chapter in the Angry Birds: Star Wars saga to our fans around the world. Some of the most amazing character additions are versions of young Anakin, Mace Windu, and Darth Maul. Hasbro’s Telepods technology also provides a great way to extend the experience beyond the app and bring a whole new dimension to the gameplay.”

Rovio is also teaming up with toy-makers Hasbro on the new game, providing licensing tie-ins that will be promoted at Comic-Con in San Diego this week.

“New characters and super powers can be unlocked for players by placing one of the collectible Telepods physical characters from the Hasbro line on the phone or tablet camera and scanning it into the game,” according to Rovio’s press release.

An animated 3D features based on the Angry Birds gaming franchise has been set up at Sony Pictures with delivery planned for July, 2016.

July 16, 2013