Author: Shivaank Rana

Apple Opens Largest Store in Asia Near Beijing

Apple’s largest store in Asia opened in Beijing on Saturday. The store, located in the city’s commercial street of Wangfujing, is Apple Inc’s third in Beijing.

John Browett, Apple’s senior vice president of retail, had previously said the new store is the company’s largest store in Asia, with an area of 2,300 square meters and more than 300 employees.

Big Apple events in Beijing tend to get a little rowdy, but Saturday’s opening, tightly controlled by dozens of security personnel, went smoothly. A half hour before doors opened, hundreds of employees in the company’s typical blue t-shirts lined up in formation, slapped high fives with one another and the crowd. Some even jogged around the perimeter of the store, drumming up excitement from customers. By 10 a.m., the line barricades were removed, although a steady stream of customers continued to file in.

It was reported on Thursday that Apple Senior Vice President of Retail John Browett visited the Wangfujing location to offer media a guided tour of what he called the best store Apple has built in Asia. The executive also let loose that construction of a fourth Chinese location was already well underway in Shenzhen, a city in which Foxconn and other Apple manufacturing partners run major fabrication facilities.

October 20, 2012
RIM Invites Key Government Officials for BlackBerry 10 Sneak Peek

Some of Ottawa’s key government officials will be among the first to get a sneak peek of the new BlackBerry 10 operating system.

Over the past number of months RIM has been consistently traveling the world promoting the upcoming BlackBerry 10 OS. Execs have mainly communicated their enthusiasm to the developer community and respected carrier partners, but for those loyal customers, now 80 million strong, rely on leaked information or various hands-on reviews.

One of RIM’s backbone customers are those in the government. Many high-ranking officials, like President Barack Obama, rely on the encryption technology to secure their info.

Apparently invitations have been sent out to Members of Parliament, their assistants, members of Industry Canada, and regional caucus members encouraging them to “get a sneak peek of the next generation mobile platform that will change everything.”

Big test for Blackberry!

October 20, 2012
More Photos And Details on LG Nexus 4 Emerge

Considering the device isn’t even officially acknowledged yet, there’s a surprising amount of information available about the LG Nexus 4.

The latest leaks of the upcoming Nexus 4 smartphone, indicate that the device will indeed launch with a new version of Android, 4.2, but will still be called Jelly Bean. Well, Jelly Bean Maintenance Release 1.

There is only one precedent for this in the Android world. The Motorola Droid was released in late 2009 with Android 2.0 Eclair, and when the Nexus One debuted a few months later it also ran Eclair, albeit with a few updates in Android 2.1. Google could be holding off launching a new version of Android — Key Lime Pie — because Jelly Bean hasn’t proliferated to enough devices yet, and due to its low market share very few users have been able to take advantage of its features.

Android 4.2 will look and feel identical to Android 4.1, but will come with a number of security enhancements and will coincide with a new version of the Gmail app. It may also have an updated notification bar with faster access to quick settings, but that remains to be seen.

The rest of the specs of the LG Nexus 4, as provided by the reliable evleaks, have already been confirmed: 4.7-inch 1280×768 True IPS display, a 1.5Ghz quad-core Snapdragon S4 Pro SoC, 2GB RAM, 8/16GB internal storage, 8MP camera/2MP front camera, 2100mAh non-removable battery, 9.1mm thick, 139g. For comparison, the Galaxy Nexus is 8.9mm thick and 135g.

So, presumably the LG Nexus 4 will be announced at a Google event on October 29th.

October 20, 2012
Facebook for Android Gets Updated

Facebook for Android is now available for download in version 1.9.11, and, while the latest update is not very special compared with recent ones, it does come with three straightforward and important changes.

Photo functionality should be improved with these three tweaks, which allow for faster photo tagging and a better organizing of your pics in albums. Finally, there’s also the customary bug fix, which this time helps solve a problem that was restricting “people using certain languages” from uploading images from time to time.

For an app build almost entirely in HTML5, Facebook for Android is actually quite spritely, especially when run on more modern hardware. We’re excited for the day when Facebook for Android is built on native code, but for the time being enjoy your improved photo uploading experience.

Facebook also made the “biggest overhaul of [its] Android SDK so far,” making it easier for developers to integrate the social network into third-party apps. These features include the Friend Picker and Places Picker, which apps can use to access the Open Grap in more comprehensive ways.

October 20, 2012
7digital to provide music services to RIM’s Blackberry 10 smartphones

BlackBerry 10 is still months away from being released, but that hasn’t stopped partnering companies from sending press releases that will help power the platform. Apparently TomTom will be partnering up for the maps application, plus Scalado will assist with the camera features. As for the music capabilities it’s 7digital.

This really comes as no real surprise as the music service has been working with RIM since 2009 – currently have an music store app for various smartphones and the PlayBook. In a press release we received it notes that “7digital and RIM are working closely together to leverage both 7digital’s open music platform technology and BlackBerry platform abilities, such as the social integration and recommendation engines. 7digital’s platform allows BlackBerry App World to build digital music services into the core of the product.”

Along with the RIM partnership announcement, 7digital also revealed on Thursday its decision to expand beyond music downloads, introducing new digital music services to the firm’s application programming interface (API).

Following what it claims was “a successful year of growth”, the API update will include a scan-and-match feature similar to Apple’s Itunes Match, as well as a streaming functionality akin to Spotify, which won’t be locked to any particular hardware or OS. 7digital said these features will be introduced to the service across Europe, North and South America and Australasia “in the coming months”.

It’ll be interesting to see how the social integration and recommendations happen, possibly even deeper tie in with BBM Music app. 7digital also stood by what RIM has declared, “BlackBerry 10 smartphones are expected to become available in calendar Q1 of 2013.”

October 19, 2012
Philips Launches New DJ Party Machine

Driven by innovation and an obsession with capturing sound in its purest form, Philips, today announced the launch of the Philips DJ Party Machine. Philips has designed this new product keeping in mind Indians’ love for music and their desire to create their own sound. This latest gadget delivers a full and rich sound experience, while giving the DJ inside you a chance to express himself!

The Philips DJ Party Machine is packed with advanced features and dynamic lights. The most interesting feature of the machine is the dual rotatable docks that allow you to play, mix and scratch music from the machine’s archives. Just dock two iPods/ iPhones at the same time or use a USB direct for easy MP3 music playback to swap and play music. An added bonus is that the iPod/ iPhone can charge on the machine while playing. The machine is easy to set up and has channel faders for swapping playback between the 2 devices.

The party machine is designed to enrich your sound experience with MAX sound technology. This technology produces instant bass, maximizes volume performance and instantly creates the most impressive listening experience with the touch of a button. Add to this the digital sound control and 300W RMS total power output and this machine makes for an amazing experience. Anyone can sharpen his/her DJ skills with the Optional djay app for mixing and scratching iPhone music. The app has advanced DJ features that sync up easily with the party machine.

Complementing the excellent sound is the Philips DJ Party Machine’s light feature. The dynamic lighting matches the rhythm of the songs and the jazzy bright blue lights are a great addition.

[quote]Launching the Philips DJ Party Machine, ADA Ratnam, President – Consumer Lifestyle, , Philips India said, “The Philips DJ Party Machine is the perfect blend of Philips’ obsession with sound and our passion for innovation. Designed with the fast-evolving entertainment needs of the young Indian consumer in mind – entertainment, great sound quality, ease of use and contemporary design- this is your chance to unleash the DJ inside you and make sure your party is on fire.”[/quote]

The Philips DJ Party Machine is priced at INR 34,990/- and will be available at all leading retail stores across the country starting Nov,12. It’s just 2 weeks away!

October 18, 2012
DELL Partners with HCL Infosystems for Distribution of Enterprise Products
Dell India and Digilife Distribution and Marketing Services (DDMS), the distribution arm of HCL Infosystems Ltd. (www.hclinfosystems.in), announced today their strategic partnership for the distribution of Dell’s Enterprise class products to partner in emerging markets. This is a first-of-its-kind engagement for DDMS and Dell in the market. DDMS will deal in a wide array of Dell’s Enterprise product categories including servers, storage and networking products in India. The partnership with DDMS will enhance Dell’s Enterprise solutions reach beyond tier-1 cities and propel its focus to target mid-market customers with open, easy to deploy and affordable solutions.

The partnership is geared to promote and extend businesses for both DELL and HCL Infosystems; under this deal DDMS and Dell will collaborate on marketing, sales and technical areas and overall go-to market activities. DDMS will take care of the marketing related activities for Dell Enterprise products and services, and further help promote, participate and extend the sale of the Dell products through activities such as market research, advertising, trade shows, internet marketing etc.

Dell’s Global Commercial Channel (GCC) division retains around 19,000 commercial partners in the Asia Pacific region. The division takes care of programs and policies relevant to channels, which cover all types of business entities such as public companies and large-/medium-sized companies. In India, Dell currently engages with 1700 commercial channel partners, and this agreement will further strengthen the reach of its enterprise solutions to key markets.

[quote]Commenting on the announcement Mr. Sameer Garde, President & Managing Director, Dell India, said “India is the first market for Dell, to define and categorize the new market opportunity as the mid-market segment. DDMS’s strong distribution network in mid-markets, coupled with our broadened product & solutions portfolio will surely help us strengthen our presence across these growth markets, moving beyond the top eight cities in India”.[/quote]

[quote]Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Sanjay David, CEO Digilife Distribution and Marketing Services, a 100% subsidiary of HCL Infosystems said, “We are confident that this collaboration will gain robust traction with our channel and also achieve market leadership in this space. We believe this partnership will add a new dimension to our current offerings. With Dell’s wide product and service portfolio and DDMS’s extensive distribution network across the country, the engagement provides us an opportunity to address the needs of enterprises in diverse locations through our distributors in this segment.”[/quote]

[quote]This program further strengthens the point of Dell being a stable and a long term partner for their partner community. Mr. Ajay Kaul, Director & General Manager, Global Commercial Channel, Dell India said: “Our partners are a very important part of Dell’s overall growth strategy and we have always aimed at providing maximum value to our partner community. We realize the importance of our channel partners in the growth of our business, and hence we take utmost care to enable them to effectively meet the needs of their customers and deliver more value to their growing business. This step again is an indication that we are listening to our partners and shifting our approach in making Dell solution available to them off-the-shelf and thus addressing the run-rate requirement of our customers.” [/quote]

The partnership will enable DDMS to supply the complete range of Dell Enterprise Products and Services. HCL‘s DDMS will help boost the growth of Dell, through the distribution providers in the market. HCL Infosystems widespread network of distributors will further ensure a robust funnel to Dell products and services.

In the past two years, Dell has made 15 strategic acquisitions to enhance its capabilities as an end to end solutions provider and has carefully aligned its channel program with the acquisitions it makes. To enhance Dell’s security capabilities, the company recently acquired SonicWALL, Inc. Having an immense focus on the distribution of its products and its channel partners, Dell has offered SonicWALL’s existing channel partners, an opportunity to join the company’s current PartnerDirect program, which will enable them to preserve the investments made with SonicWALL. Also, in order to offer best to the channel partner community the company will take the best of SonicWALL channel programs and model and combine it with Dell’s PartnerDirect program. This move has not only provided the best for the channel partners but also Dell has expanded its own channel team’s customer relationships by further enabling its existing partners to sell SonicWALL solutions.

Check out the Press Release below :

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DELL Partners with HCL Infosystems for Distribution of Enterprise Products
- DELL enters into a strategic partnership with Digilife Distribution and Marketing Services (DDMS), distribution arm of HCL Infosystems
- DELL takes the next leap in enhancing its commercial and enterprise solutions offering through this new distribution partnership and which is a further expansion of Dell’s PartnerDirect program which has developed a significant amount of the commercial channel partners in India
- Partnership to target Mid-Market customers
New Delhi, India, October 16 2012 – Dell India and Digilife Distribution and Marketing Services (DDMS), the distribution arm of HCL Infosystems Ltd. (www.hclinfosystems.in), India’s premier hardware, services and ICT Systems Integration and Distribution Company announced today their strategic partnership for the distribution of Dell’s Enterprise class products to partner in emerging markets. This is a first-of-its-kind engagement for DDMS and Dell in the market. DDMS will deal in a wide array of Dell’s Enterprise product categories including servers, storage and networking products in India. The partnership with DDMS will enhance Dell’s Enterprise solutions reach beyond tier-1 cities and propel its focus to target mid-market customers with open, easy to deploy and affordable solutions.

The partnership is geared to promote and extend businesses for both DELL and HCL Infosystems; under this deal DDMS and Dell will collaborate on marketing, sales and technical areas and overall go-to market activities. DDMS will take care of the marketing related activities for Dell Enterprise products and services, and further help promote, participate and extend the sale of the Dell products through activities such as market research, advertising, trade shows, internet marketing etc.

Dell’s Global Commercial Channel (GCC) division retains around 19,000 commercial partners in the Asia Pacific region. The division takes care of programs and policies relevant to channels, which cover all types of business entities such as public companies and large-/medium-sized companies. In India, Dell currently engages with 1700 commercial channel partners, and this agreement will further strengthen the reach of its enterprise solutions to key markets.

Commenting on the announcement Mr. Sameer Garde, President & Managing Director, Dell India, said “India is the first market for Dell, to define and categorize the new market opportunity as the mid-market segment. DDMS’s strong distribution network in mid-markets, coupled with our broadened product & solutions portfolio will surely help us strengthen our presence across these growth markets, moving beyond the top eight cities in India”.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Sanjay David, CEO Digilife Distribution and Marketing Services, a 100% subsidiary of HCL Infosystems said, “We are confident that this collaboration will gain robust traction with our channel and also achieve market leadership in this space. We believe this partnership will add a new dimension to our current offerings. With Dell’s wide product and service portfolio and DDMS’s extensive distribution network across the country, the engagement provides us an opportunity to address the needs of enterprises in diverse locations through our distributors in this segment.”

This program further strengthens the point of Dell being a stable and a long term partner for their partner community. Mr. Ajay Kaul, Director & General Manager, Global Commercial Channel, Dell India said: “Our partners are a very important part of Dell’s overall growth strategy and we have always aimed at providing maximum value to our partner community. We realize the importance of our channel partners in the growth of our business, and hence we take utmost care to enable them to effectively meet the needs of their customers and deliver more value to their growing business. This step again is an indication that we are listening to our partners and shifting our approach in making Dell solution available to them off-the-shelf and thus addressing the run-rate requirement of our customers.”

The partnership will enable DDMS to supply the complete range of Dell Enterprise Products and Services. HCL‘s DDMS will help boost the growth of Dell, through the distribution providers in the market. HCL Infosystems widespread network of distributors will further ensure a robust funnel to Dell products and services.

In the past two years, Dell has made 15 strategic acquisitions to enhance its capabilities as an end to end solutions provider and has carefully aligned its channel program with the acquisitions it makes. To enhance Dell’s security capabilities, the company recently acquired SonicWALL, Inc. Having an immense focus on the distribution of its products and its channel partners, Dell has offered SonicWALL’s existing channel partners, an opportunity to join the company’s current PartnerDirect program, which will enable them to preserve the investments made with SonicWALL. Also, in order to offer best to the channel partner community the company will take the best of SonicWALL channel programs and model and combine it with Dell’s PartnerDirect program. This move has not only provided the best for the channel partners but also Dell has expanded its own channel team’s customer relationships by further enabling its existing partners to sell SonicWALL solutions.

About Distribution Partnership

The products that are available through distribution agreements will be priced at par with similar products available direct from Dell. This agreement will give our partners added flexibility in the way

they procure Dell solutions for the end-customer. With the distribution agreement, Dell also aims at their goal of penetrating better in the tier-2 markets of India

About Dell

As the visionary outcome of a true entrepreneur, Dell (NASDAQ: DELL) is committed to helping small and medium businesses solve their technology challenges, ease business pain points and draw greater value from IT. With ProManage-Managed Services, Optiplex – the world’s No. 1 business desktop, new Latitude laptops, the designed-for-small business Vostro line, energy-efficient PowerEdge servers and Small and Medium Business Solutions Center, Dell is here to support entrepreneurs every step of the way.

About HCL Infosystems

HCL Infosystems Ltd, with revenue (LTM) of US$ 2.0 billion (Rs 10,840 crores) is India’s premier hardware, services and ICT systems integration company offering a wide spectrum of ICT products that includes Computing, Storage, Networking, Security, Telecom, Imaging and Retail. HCL is a one-stop-shop for all the ICT requirements of an organisation. India’s leading System Integration and Infrastructure Management Services Organisation, HCL has specialised expertise across verticals including Telecom, BFSI, eGovernance & Power. HCL has India’s largest distribution and retail network, taking to market a range of Digital Lifestyle products in partnership with leading global ICT brands, including Apple, Cisco, Ericsson, Kingston, Kodak, Konica Minolta, Microsoft, Nokia, Toshiba, and many more. HCL today has India’s largest vertically integrated computer manufacturing facility with over three decades of electronic manufacturing experience & HCL desktops is the largest selling brand into the enterprise space. With India’s largest ICT services network that reaches to every corner of India, HCL’s award winning Support Services makes it the preferred choice of enterprise and consumers, alike. For more information please visit us at www.hclinfosystems.in

About HCL

HCL is a $6.2 billion leading global technology and IT enterprise comprising two companies listed in India – HCL Technologies and HCL Infosystems. Founded in 1976, HCL is one of India’s original IT garage start-ups. A pioneer of modern computing, HCL is a global transformational enterprise today. Its range of offerings includes product engineering, custom & package applications, BPO, IT infrastructure services, IT hardware, systems integration, and distribution of information and communications technology (ICT) products across a wide range of focused industry verticals. The HCL team consists of over 90,000 professionals of diverse nationalities, who operate from 31 countries including over 500 points of presence in India. HCL has partnerships with several leading global 1000 firms, including leading IT and technology firms. For more information, please visit www.hcl.com

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October 17, 2012
Microsoft Surface Windows RT Tablet To Cost $499 For 32GB Model, Without Keyboard Attachment

Microsoft accidentally listed the selling prices of its Windows RT Surface tablets this morning, and the prices are surprisingly high: $499 for the cheapest model and up to $699 for a fully loaded one. At those prices, Surface tablets likely won’t make a dent into the iPad’s dominance.

The Microsoft Surface tablet with RT is 680 grams, 9.3 millimeters thick and has a 10.6-inch screen. It will come with 32GB and 64GB storage, and a quad-core Nvidia Tegra 3 processor, which is based on an ARM processor.

The 32GB model comes in at $499 without a Touch Cover, which on its own sells for $119.99. For an extra $100 you get the 32GB model with a Touch Cover, and for $699 you get the 64GB model with a Touch Cover.

Microsoft is also selling the Type Cover, which is a thicker physical-key keyboard cover for $129.99. The Touch Covers look to come in a variety of colours, including white, orange, blue, pink and the default black. There’s no indication whether the Surface tablet itself will come in any other colours but black.

The Microsoft Surface is the company’s first Windows computing device, and expectations are high. Microsoft has made its own hardware in the past, succeeding with the Xbox game console but failing with the Zune multimedia players and Kin smartphones, which have both been discontinued. Microsoft has tried to differentiate from rival RT tablets with some interesting design tweaks like a kickstand and the Touch Cover accessory. Windows RT and 8 are Microsoft’s first tablet OSes, and the company hopes to bring its package of home-grown software, services and hardware to rival Apple, which has a commanding lead in the fast growing tablet market.

October 16, 2012
Leaked iPad Mini Pricing Shows 8GB Version Listed As Low As $249
Apple is widely expected to announce a smaller version of its market-leading iPad tablet on 23 October, although the company has not yet issued invites or given any indication that it has a product in the pipeline.

Most expectations are that it will be half the size of the existing iPad, which has a screen measuring 9.7in diagonally; rescaling would mean an iPad mini would have a screen measuring 7.85in diagonally, but with a total of half the screen area of its bigger sibling.

Over the weekend, a German blog posted what looks like an inventory list of the various iPad mini models along with their pricing. According to the screenshot, the iPad mini will be available in 16 different versions. It will come in both black and white and range in storage from as little as 8GB to as much as 64 GB. Additionally, the image indicates there will be versions of the device that can connect to cellular networks.

As per the screen cap, iPad mini will start with 8GB Wi-Fi only variants in black or white that will cost €249. You can double the capacity or add cellular networking to the same capacity for an additional €100. In other words, the 16GB Wi-Fi iPad mini will cost €349, as will the 8GB iPad mini with cellular networking. The trend continues with the top end model with 64GB storage and cellular networking priced at €649.

Given Apple’s current pricing strategy, US prices are likely to be the same i.e. between $249-$649, rather than exchange rate equivalents of their Euro counterparts.

This is apparently the complete line-up of iPad minis that we’ll see upon release next month:
- 8GB iPad mini Wi-Fi in Black – $249 / €249
- 8GB iPad mini Wi-Fi in White – $249 / €249
- 16GB iPad mini Wi-Fi in Black – $349 / €349
- 16GB iPad mini Wi-Fi in White – $349 / €349
- 32GB iPad mini Wi-Fi in Black – $449 / €449
- 32GB iPad mini Wi-Fi in White – $449 / €449
- 64GB iPad mini Wi-Fi in Black – $549 / €549
- 64GB iPad mini Wi-Fi in White – $549 / €549
- 32GB iPad mini Wi-Fi + Cellular in Black – $549 / €549
- 32GB iPad mini Wi-Fi + Cellular in White- $549 / €549
- 64GB iPad mini Wi-Fi + Cellular in Black – $649 / €649
- 64GB iPad mini Wi-Fi + Cellular in White- $649 / €649
If accurate is the iPad mini priced low enough for you to consider?
October 16, 2012
Asus Padfone 2 Launched (Press Release)

Just a couple of days after the PadFone 2 images were leaked via Twitter, Asus today officially unveiled the PadFone 2. Asus’s Padfone concept encapsulates a smartphone and a 10-inch tablet in one convenient sandwich, with the smartphone module being home to most of the processing internals.

The Asus Padfone 2 is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro quad-core chip clocked at 1.5GHz and has a 4.7-inch 720p display which uses Sharp’s IGZO technology, wrapped under a scratch-resistant Corning Fit Glass. The maximum brightness on the device is an astounding 550nits!

It sports a new 13-megapixel with a burst mode capable of capturing up to 100 shots at a blisteringly quick six shots per second, while simultaneously recording 1080p HD video at 30fps, or 720p HD video at 60fps.Apart from this, it has a 1.2-megapixel front-facing camera, 2GB of RAM, Corning Fit Glass, NFC and 50GB of Asus Web storage.

[quote]ASUS Chairman Jonney Shih unveiled PadFone 2 in front of the world’s media at a press conference in Milan, Italy. “Our relentless drive to innovate through Design Thinking has empowered us to create PadFone 2. It’s beautiful, it’s fast, it’s seamless and, best of all, it’s intuitive,” said Mr. Shih[/quote]

The Asus PadFone 2 has a 2140mAh battery provides up to 16 hours 3G talk-time and 13 hours Wi-Fi web browsing, while PadFone 2 Station’s 5000mAh battery gives up to 36 hours 3G talk-time. PadFone 2 Station’s internal battery also has enough capacity to recharge the docked PadFone 2 three times over.

As far as the pricing is concerned, users can opt to buy the PadFone 2 either as a standalone or together with the PadFone Station. The price ranges between $620 (Rs. 32,739) and $750 (Rs. 39,607) for the smartphone alone and the entire combo costs an additional $210 (Rs. 11,089).

Check out the Press Release below :

[toggle_box title=”Press Release” width=”Width of toggle box”]

Live Life Intuitively with ASUS PadFone™ 2

Quad-core smartphone with incredible battery life and a thinner, lighter PadFone 2 Station deliver the ultimate mobile flexibility.

Milan, Italy (October 16, 2012) – ASUS, a global leader in the new digital era, today announces the PadFone™ 2. Building upon the successful PadFone combination of an Android smartphone and dockable tablet for incredible mobile flexibility, PadFone 2 consists of a higher-specification quad-core smartphone and a completely redesigned tablet.

ASUS Chairman Jonney Shih unveiled PadFone 2 in front of the world’s media at a press conference in Milan, Italy. “Our relentless drive to innovate through Design Thinking has empowered us to create PadFone 2. It’s beautiful, it’s fast, it’s seamless and, best of all, it’s intuitive,” said Mr. Shih.

PadFone 2 is a fully featured 4.7″ Android™ smartphone with industry-leading specifications that docks with the unique PadFone 2 Station to become a lightweight, but fully featured, 10.1″ tablet. Apps are seamlessly optimized on-the-fly to support both tablet and phone modes, with an instant transition between smartphone and tablet screen sizes.

Enlarge and Charge

ASUS’ world-renowned Design Thinking philosophy has significantly reduced PadFone 2 Station’s thickness and weight. At just 649g, the combined weight of both PadFone 2 and PadFone 2 Station is now lighter than most tablets on the market, and the dock mechanism has been redesigned to require just one swift step to use. PadFone 2 has also been subtly refined to increase its screen size to 4.7″, while reducing its thickness and weight to just 9mm at its thickest point and 135g, respectively.
Battery life is astounding, too. The higher-capacity PadFone 2 2140mAh battery provides up to 16 hours 3G talk-time and 13 hours Wi-Fi web browsing, while PadFone 2 Station’s 5000mAh battery gives up to 36 hours 3G talk-time. PadFone 2 Station’s internal battery also has enough capacity to recharge the docked PadFone 2 three times over.

Super Phone, Super Performance

A 1.5GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 quad-core processor with 2GB of RAM ensures incredible PadFone 2 performance in both smartphone and tablet modes. The new 4.7″ 1280 x 720 HD Super IPS+ display uses scratch-resistant Corning® Fit Glass and delivers sharp, detailed images with accurate colors, ultra-wide viewing angles and 550 nits brightness for stunning outdoor visibility.
A new 13-megapixel high-performance camera captures incredibly detailed images with no shutter lag. Burst mode can capture up to 100 shots at a blisteringly quick six shots per second, while simultaneously recording 1080p HD video at 30fps, or 720p HD video at 60fps. Low-light performance is also enhanced by the wide f/2.4 aperture and a dedicated image signal processor. Both PadFone 2 and PadFone 2 Station feature superlative sound quality too, thanks to ASUS SonicMaster technology and audio tuning by Waves, recipient of a Technical GRAMMY Award®.

Easy to Share, Easy to Save

With capacities up to 64GB and 50GB of ASUS WebStorage provided free for two years, PadFone 2 offers endless possibilities for storing data. Data syncing between devices is also a thing of the past, since PadFone 2 storage is used by PadFone 2 Station when the two are connected. Shared mobile data connectivity between smartphone and tablet also means just one data plan is needed for both devices, while support for up to 42Mbit/s DC-HSPA+ and 100Mbit/s LTE delivers super-fast web browsing and downloads.

User-friendly enhancements

PadFone 2 also features a new version of the SuperNote app that instantly converts handwritten notes made in multiple languages into editable text. Its Instant Translation tool also translates any word, phrase or sentence in an email, web page or app at a touch, without the need for a third-party translation tool.

Availability

PadFone 2 will be launched before the end of December in Europe (Bulgaria, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Sweden) and Asia (Hong Kong, India, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, U.A.E). Availability in other countries will be announced at a later date.

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October 16, 2012
No plans To Release Instagram for Blackberry 10, Says Facebook

In what could turn out to be a considerable blow to RIM’s upcoming operating system, Venturebeat has learned that Facebook has no intention of bringing its popular Instagram app to BlackBerry 10. While RIM has promised native apps from social network leaders such as Twitter, LinkedIn, Foursquare and, of course, Facebook, a company insider has shared that at least for the time being there are no plans to do the same for Instagram.

As much as non-users tend to dismiss Instagram as a silly little photo app, the fact is that there are over 100 million users posting thousands of photos per hour, all from just two platforms. While the iPhone provided the amniotic fluid in which Instagram gestated, its expansion to Android has been the true catalyst for growth, adding nearly 70 million users since April.

But for RIM, getting application makers to build for the platform is arguably the single most important factor to determining whether consumers go back to (or discover) BlackBerry, especially if task management flow is all the platform has to set it apart from iOS and Android. RIM has been providing thousands of developers with beta devices, dubbed Dev Alpha, on which they’ve been tasked to build the very apps that users will have access to at launch. They’re already accepting apps, despite the fact that the first devices will launch in Q1 2013.

However, Kevin Michaluk from CrackBerry on Monday disputed the report. Michaeluk has a well established track record reporting on RIM, and said that his sources have confirmed that RIM’s relationship with Facebook is still solid. He added that we “will see Instagram come to Blackberry 10.” He said he’s so confident that, if he’s wrong, he’s willing to buy somebody a car!

More on this to come!

October 16, 2012
Sony Nexus X Leaked Online?

Let the plethora of upcoming Google Nexus devices continue. Coming up on their 5th anniversary, Google’s Android OS usually has the honour of one manufacturer per year, but this year it could be multiple manufacturers. We’ve already seen the LG “Nexus 4 leak online, now it’s the “Sony Nexus X” that has reportedly leaked.

A couple pictures arrived on Picasa that show an Android device with the “Google” branding on back, along with Sony. In addition, the tags used in the photo are “google, nexus, nexus x, sony, xperia, sony nexus, xperia nexus.”

The Sony Nexus X in the photos takes a few design cues from Sony’s Xperia smartphones. It has a curved back and a flat rectangular front with almost squared-off corners. Like recent Sony smartphones this one uses the software buttons Google introduced with Android 4.0.

A “Nexus X” could be a sign of the Xperia branding, which is missing. The “Nexus X” name would fit HTC’s direction (One X and One X+), but this could very well be a prototype of some sorts for the “Xperia Nexus.”

Is the phone in these photos the final Sony Nexus X (or Sony Xperia Nexus), or is it just a prototype? Or, is it an elaborate fake? There are already many who are shouting “Photoshop!” about these photos.

Only time will tell if the photos are legit. We’ll keep you updated!

October 15, 2012
Reliance Communications Exclusively Partners With WhatsApp in India

Reliance Communications, today announced their exclusive partnership with WhatsApp in India. Through this partnership Reliance Communications has launched a first of its kind prepaid plan ‘WhatsApp Plan’ for all Reliance GSM subscribers and ‘My College Plan’ for students across the country. Reliance GSM customers can now enjoy unlimited usage of WhatsApp and Facebook across the country at a nominal fee of Rs. 16 per month only without paying any extra data consumption charges.

WhatsApp Plan offers unlimited access of WhatsApp to all prepaid Reliance GSM customers in the country for just Rs. 16 per month without paying any extra data consumption charges. Facebook is bundled complimentary in this pack for a limited period and hence a customer use of WhatsApp and Facebook is absolutely free on the Reliance network. “WhatsApp Plan” is available with a validity period of 30 Days from the date of recharge and the plan is auto-renewed every 30 days unless unsubscribed.

[quote]Commenting on this association with Reliance Communications in India WhatsApp co-founder Brian Acton said, “With the rapid growth of Smartphones in India, we are delighted to partner with Reliance Communications. We are currently working with industry leaders across countries and this exclusive partnership will enable millions of Reliance customers to experience the most innovative way to send messages, music, pictures and videos to leverage the power of data through their smart communication devices.[/quote]

My College Plan by Reliance Communications offers unlimited social media access of WhatsApp to all college students on the prepaid Reliance GSM network across the country for just Rs. 16 per month. This unique plan allows students to call and SMS within their specified group at just 5 paise and also permits a student to broadcast a juicy tidbit in the campus through a SMS to the entire college group for just Rs. 3 by texting the message to 51112. “My College Plan” is available with a validity period of 30 Days from the date of recharge and the plan is auto-renewed every 30 days unless unsubscribed. This plan is available with SMS based recharge and applicable to most of the colleges across the country and students can get their college IDs from the official website of Reliance Communications. http://www.rcom.co.in/Rcom/personal/prepaid/PlansandPacks.html

[quote]Commenting on the tie-up with WhatsApp and announcing the launch of ‘WhatsApp Plan’ and ‘My College Plan’ Sanjay Behl, Group Head – Brand & Marketing, Reliance Communications Limited said, “We are thrilled to offer the first of its kind offering of sharing unlimited text, music, pictures and videos to our customers through our exclusive partnership with WhatsApp in India. We are confident that ‘WhatsApp Plan’ and ‘My College Plan’ with unlimited usage of WhatsApp is set to provide a compelling new experience with incredible affordability to Smartphone users across the country on our superior network along with free Facebook surfing as an introductory offer for a limited period. We are hoping this offer to trigger a significant shift of youth customers using Smartphones to our superior network.”[/quote]

‘My College Plan’ will allow every student in the college to be updated on all the fun and frolic on their campus without missing any important moment. Students can be a part of only one college group at a time and will be charge for any data consumed by browsing external links from Facebook. Spice Up your college life with ‘My College Plan’.

Check out the Press Release below :

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New Delhi, 15th October, 2012: Reliance Communications, India’s fully integrated telecommunications service provider, today announced their exclusive partnership with WhatsApp in India. Through this partnership Reliance Communications has launched first of its kind prepaid plan ‘WhatsApp Plan’ for all Reliance GSM subscribers and ‘My College Plan’ for students across the country. Reliance GSM customers can now enjoy unlimited usage of WhatsApp and Facebook across the country at a nominal fee of Rs. 16 per month only without paying any extra data consumption charges.

“WhatsApp Plan” offers unlimited access of WhatsApp to all prepaid Reliance GSM customers in the country for just Rs. 16 per month without paying any extra data consumption charges. Facebook is bundled complimentary in this pack for a limited period and hence a customer use of WhatsApp and Facebook is absolutely free on the Reliance network. “WhatsApp Plan” is available with a validity period of 30 Days from the date of recharge and the plan is auto-renewed every 30 days unless unsubscribed.

“My College Plan” by Reliance Communications offers unlimited social media access of WhatsApp to all college students on the prepaid Reliance GSM network across the country for just Rs. 16 per month. This unique plan allows students to call and SMS within their specified group at just 5 paise and also permits a student to broadcast a juicy tidbit in the campus through a SMS to the entire college group for just Rs. 3 by texting the message to 51112. “My College Plan” is available with a validity period of 30 Days from the date of recharge and the plan is auto-renewed every 30 days unless unsubscribed. This plan is available with SMS based recharge and applicable to most of the colleges across the country and students can get their college IDs from the official website of Reliance Communications. http://www.rcom.co.in/Rcom/personal/prepaid/PlansandPacks.html

Commenting on the tie-up with WhatsApp and announcing the launch of ‘WhatsApp Plan’ and ‘My College Plan’ Sanjay Behl, Group Head – Brand & Marketing, Reliance Communications Limited said, “We are thrilled to offer the first of its kind offering of sharing unlimited text, music, pictures and videos to our customers through our exclusive partnership with WhatsApp in India. We are confident that ‘WhatsApp Plan’ and ‘My College Plan’ with unlimited usage of WhatsApp is set to provide a compelling new experience with incredible affordability to Smartphone users across the country on our superior network along with free Facebook surfing as an introductory offer for a limited period. We are hoping this offer to trigger a significant shift of youth customers using Smartphones to our superior network.”

Commenting on this association with Reliance Communications in India WhatsApp co-founder Brian Acton said, “With the rapid growth of Smartphones in India, we are delighted to partner with Reliance Communications. We are currently working with industry leaders across countries and this exclusive partnership will enable millions of Reliance customers to experience the most innovative way to send messages, music, pictures and videos to leverage the power of data through their smart communication devices.

‘My College Plan’ will allow every student in the college to be updated on all the fun and frolic on their campus without missing any important moment. Students can be a part of only one college group at a time and will be charge for any data consumed by browsing external links from Facebook. Spice Up your college life with ‘My College Plan’.

About Reliance Communications

Reliance Communications Limited founded by the late Shri Dhirubhai H Ambani (1932-2002) is the flagship company of the Reliance Group. The Reliance Group currently has a net worth in excess of Rs. 90,000 crore (US$ 17.7 billion), cash flows of Rs. 8,000 crore (US$ 1.6 billion), net profit of Rs. 3,200 crore (US$ 0.6 billion).

Reliance Communications is India’s foremost and truly integrated telecommunications service provider. The Company, with a customer base of about 150 million including over 2.5 million individual overseas retail customers, ranks among the Top 4 Telecom companies in the world by number of customers in a single country. Reliance Communications corporate clientele includes over 35,000 Indian and multinational corporations including small and medium enterprises and over 800 global, regional and domestic carriers.

Reliance Communications has established a pan-India, next generation, integrated (wireless and wireline), convergent (voice, data and video) digital network that is capable of supporting best-of-class services spanning the entire communications value chain, covering over 24,000 towns and 600,000 villages. Reliance Communications owns and operates the world’s largest next generation IP enabled connectivity infrastructure, comprising over 277,000 kilometers of fibre optic cable systems in India, USA, Europe, Middle East and the Asia Pacific region.

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October 15, 2012
Mercedes-Benz Contemplating A-class–Based Mini G-Wagen

Instead of changing the looks of the iconic G-Wagen and modernizing it for today’s world, Mercedes is going to launch the GLG, a mini G-Wagen that is set to take the crossover market by storm. Size-wise, the car will be similar to the upcoming Land Rover Defender, but styling will be heavily inspired by the G-Class.

The small SUV will most likely take the characteristic features of the G class, except with a range of smaller engines, whereas later an AMG model might look some 350 Hp of power. If it makes it to the production it will sit on the MFA platform seen on the new Mercedes-Benz A-Class. The project has been internally nick-named “mini-G” and will complement the GLA crossover, but as more powerful alternative. The ‘mini-G’ will be featuring taller, more upright stance, and visual links to the original G-wagen. Certain reports also indicate that Mercedes might also include a front-wheel drive version of GLG, which makes sense as Land Rover is also working on a similar strategy.

4Matic versions will still be offered and will be able to transfer the torque through an electronically controlled Haldex clutch, instead of the three separate differential locks of the G-Class. Under the hood, the engine line-up will be mainly identical to the A and B-class motors. Petrol engine comes in the form of a 1.6-litre with 122bhp, or a 2.0-litre with either 156bhp or 211bhp. Meanwhile, there are four diesels to be offered: a 1.8-litre/109bhp and a 2.1-litre in differing states of tune good for 136bhp, 170bhp, or 204bhp. For enhanced performance, the range will be topped by a 350bhp GLG45 AMG fitted with stronger brakes, a seven-speed automatic gearbox, quicker steering and a re-engineered front axle.

Via : Nitrobahn

October 15, 2012
US FTC Pushes Antitrust Suit Against Google

The Federal Trade Commission of the United States is raising the ante in its antitrust confrontation with Google with the commission staff preparing a recommendation that the government sue the search giant.

Jon Leibowitz, chairman of the F.T.C., said the agency would decide whether to sue Google by the end of the year while Joaquín Almunia, competition commissioner for the European Union, said he was troubled by Google’s dominance.

The government’s escalating pursuit of Google is the most far-reaching antitrust investigation of a corporation since the landmark federal case against Microsoft in the late 1990s. The agency’s central focus is whether Google manipulates search results to favor its own products, and makes it harder for competitors and their products to appear prominently on a results page.

The staff recommendation is in a detailed draft memo of more than 100 pages that is being shared with the five F.T.C. commissioners, said two people briefed on the inquiry.

The memo is still being edited and changes could be made, but these are mostly fine-tuning and will not alter the broad conclusions reached after an inquiry that began more than a year ago, said these people, who spoke on the condition that they not be identified.

Google rivals specializing in travel, shopping and entertainment have accused Google, the world’s No. 1 search engine, of unfairly giving their web sites low quality rankings in search results to steer Internet users away from their websites and toward Google products that provide similar services.

Computer users are overwhelmingly more likely to click on the top results in any search. The low ranking often forces companies to buy more ads on Google to improve their visibility, one source said.

The agency also is examining whether the company is using its control of the Android mobile operating system to discourage smartphone and device makers from using rivals’ applications, two of the people said.

The FTC began making calls to high-tech companies to gather information for its probe in April 2011 and Google disclosed in June of that year that the FTC had begun a review of its business practices.

On the patent investigation, the agency is scrutinizing whether a strategy of seeking court orders to ban Apple Inc. and Microsoft from using mobile and video compression technology is anticompetitive, said the people.

Meanwhile, Google has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing.

October 15, 2012