Category: Brands and Companies

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Google Rolls Out Android 5.1; Here are the New Features and Improvements

It was learnt a few days back that Google is working on an improved version of Android Lollipop with bug fixes and new features. The internet search giant has officially released an update to Lollipop – the Android 5.1. The new software is currently rolling out to compatible devices.

The confirmation came from the official blog post of Android that talks about improved stability and performance. However, the company forgot to mention the inevitable bug fixes, which the users were desperately looking forward to in the upgrade.

New Features of Android 5.1

The new Android 5.1 looks promising and packs a bunch of new features. The top of the list is the multiple SIM slot. This tool helps users share the phone with family and colleagues. The upgrade can manage multiple SIMs on a device at a time.

Device Protection falls second in the list and is an essential feature for the security of your precious smartphone. The tool locks your device and it remains locked until signed in with the user’s Gmail account. Not only that, the phone will not function even if the factory settings are reset.

HD Voice calling is another feature Google is rolling out with Android 5.1 Lollipop. Compatible devices like Nexus 6 and other Android devices associated with T-Mobile or Verizon can avail this facility.

The Quick Settings menu has been redesigned to connect and control Bluetooth devices and join Wi-Fi connection directly from the menu.

Wondering when you’ll get the update? Google Nexus 6 and HTC Nexus 9 will be the first ones to see the update, others should follow shortly. Keep checking back, we’ll keep you updated about the same.

March 10, 2015
Apple Introduces the Thinnest Keyboard With the New Macbook

Apple yesterday re-introduced the product line of Macbook, but this time, it comes with a complete makeover. It is thinner than any other product in the laptop market. Apple says one of the major changes in the new Apple Macbook is the addition of a new keyboard that helps to slim the device down further.

Apple has done away with the traditional “scissors” and inducted a new “butterfly” mechanism. This new design allows for a shorter keystroke that the company claims helps in more precise typing and fewer errors. The company also claims that the design of the keyboard is 40% thinner than the regular keyboards and is four times more stable in comparison.

To make it easier to work in low light conditions, the keyboard also features a LED light under each key. This allows for more light and better visibility of the keys in comparison to other keyboards.

Check out how the new keyboard comes together in the video below.

March 10, 2015
Exclusive Leak : LG is Reworking the G4 Design to Take on Samsung Galaxy S6

The Mobile World Congress 2015 became the spectator of the recently unveiled flagships from Samsung. The two phones launched by Samsung tried to address the concerns raised by the critics and they were well received by the industry. But the other major Korean manufacturer, LG, is yet to reveal its cards. Rumors have been whirling about LG’s next flagship, the G4. This new device is expected to trump over the G3 with a revamped design and upgraded specs. However, with Samsung’s new Galaxy S6 making records within a week of its launch, there’s mounting pressure on LG to pack the G4 with invincible specs and features. We have received exclusive information that LG is taking “inspiration” from Samsung’s flagship for its new handset to bring out a worth challenger in the market.

As per exclusive information, LG is planning to transform the G4 on the lines of the Galaxy S6.

According to a reliable source close to iGyaan, the Korean producer is ditching plastic and metal body plans in favour of an all metal design with strengthed glass protection. The new LG G4 will come in a bold metallic casing, which will guard the phone against accidental drops. Besides the layout, the battery capacity and camera of the upcoming LG flagship will also be overhauled so as to give a tough competition to the Galaxy S6. For the camera, LG G4 will tie in the already existing laser autofocus with improved optics for better shooting capabilities.

The LG G4 is expected to launch in the second quarter this year, and our sources have confirmed that the roll out of the device will begin much later after its unveiling. LG has time to remodel its top segment device by estimating the responses for HTC One M9 and Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge. But it should make a quick and smart move so that it can bring a worthy competitor in the market to challenge the flagships from Samsung and HTC.

March 10, 2015
New Apple MacBook Marks the Beginning of the Next-Gen Reversible USB-C

There were several major announcements today at Apple’s Mega Event held in San Francisco. We found out the Apple Watch’s pricing, availability, and battery life. The company also announced its new ResearchKit. And then, there was the arrival of the Apple MacBook.

Apple’s new notebook sounds like an amazing product. It’s the thinnest and lightest MacBook ever. It is their first fanless notebook and also the first to include Force Touch in its keypad. Most importantly, it is the first one to incorporate the coveted USB Type C.

We’re certain that this marks the beginning of a new era; the next line of products are sure to add-on this feature. iPhone 6 leaks had indicated that Apple was working on its own USB-C, but we weren’t quite expecting it to arrive today.

Apple’s USB-C supports higher wattage charging, USB 3.1 Gen 1 (5Gbps) data transfer and DisplayPort 1.2 all in a single connector that’s one-third the size of a traditional USB port. Since the MacBook is the thinnest notebook ever (24% thinner than the Air,)slimmed down ports were also necessary to bring in.

Not only that, this new connectivity standard gives you five ports in one – power, USB data transfer, DisplayPort, HDMI, and VGA capabilities.

What makes the Type-C a revolutionary technology is that it is going to replace all the form factors and unlike the other standards which target different classes of device, Type-C form factor will be a universal USB standard. The reversible Type-C connector is roughly the same size as the existing Micro-USB connector at the bottom of your smartphone, but it’s reversible.

To understand the reversible USB Type-C better, click here for an in-depth explanation.

March 10, 2015
Apple Watch Battery Life to Last Up to 18 Hours

Apple fans over the world were eagerly waiting for this. At the Spring Forward event, Apple, at last, has told us everything there is to know about its new wearable.

The smartwatch is a personalised device and comes with different watch faces. Users can customise the device with widgets for the faces like stopwatch, calendar, date, etc. The Watch supports iOS 8.2 and comes with many pre-installed apps like Uber, Shazam, WeChat, Twitter, Apple Pay and health apps.

The Apple Watch works in tune with the iPhone. Any notification that appears on the handset can pop on the Watch as well. Apple Pay is an important component of the smartwatch that lets users pay through the watch on their wrist. There is a built-in speaker and microphone on the Watch that lets you receive calls on the go.

However, one of the biggest concerns with a wearable is its battery life. With the number gadgets in our lives, we don’t need another gadget that needs to be constantly fuelled. Earlier reports had worried us, however it seems like the company managed to deliver a decent battery life. The company claims, on a day of normal usage, the Apple Watch will last you a decent 18 hours.

The Apple Watch will come in three variants – Sport, Regular and Gold Edition. The Sport Edition comes in Silver or Space Gray colour and ranges from $349 for the 38mm Sport to $399 for the 42mm.

The Regular Apple Watch edition is a traditional stainless piece and comes for $549 – $1,049 for the 38mm and $599 – $1,099 for the 42mm. The 18-carat gold edition is the most expensive and starts at $10,000. All the three watches will be available from April 24^th onwards.

March 10, 2015
Apple Watch Edition is Officially the Most Expensive Smart Watch

Apple has lifted curtains on the new Apple Watch and different elements variations including the aluminum version Apple Watch Sport which starts at US$ 349 for the 38mm and US$ 399 for the 42MM versions. The Apple Watch made from a custom version of stainless steel forged using special alloying techniques starting for a price of US$ 549 for 38mm and US$ 599 for the 42mm version, the strap you select will affect the pricing of course.

The Apple Watch Edition, aka the pure solid gold edition, available in a block of 18 carat yellow, or rose gold will go on sale starting at a whopping price of US $ 10,000 for the 38mm version, and the price will only increase as per the edition you decide to buy.

The Apple Watch edition is set to target the high-end watch market, mainly from the name brand watches, the likes of Omega and Tag Heuer will see a shift in buying from the users.

The biggest reason, watch enthusiasts would stay away from smart watches would be the general availability of smart watches vs the exclusivity and high end precision with which the traditional watches were made.

With Apple creating a similar market for the Watch Edition, making it available in select quantities and in select stores across the world. Apple is basically pinging the high end watch lovers.

The question however remains; Would a high end watch enthusiast drop his/her precision hand made watch that potentially would never need a charge for a watch that would require to be charged daily?

Will the Apple Watch Edition end up being a high price novelty? Especially considering that we might see a new version in about 365 days of launch.

March 10, 2015
24th April Onwards Apple Watch Will be Available in Nine Countries

While we have known most details about the Apple Watch since Apple’s last major event, the company officially announced the smartwatch today. It is one of the newest entrants in Apple’s ecosystem. Tim Cook, Apple CEO, had earlier announced that we would be able to buy the device sometime in April, we have now been given an exact date for the same.

[quote text_size=”small” author=”Tim Cook” author_title=”Apple’s CEO”]

Apple Watch begins a new chapter in the way we relate to technology and we think our customers are going to love it,

[/quote]

It will be available on 24th April to customers in Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, the UK and the US. While 10th April onwards, in Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, the UK and the US, Apple Watch will be available for preview, try-on by appointment at Apple’s retail stores, and available for pre-order through the Apple Online Store. Customers who purchase online or in-store from Apple will be offered Personal Setup to customise and pair Apple Watch with their iPhone.

Want to know more about the Apple Watch? Click here.

March 10, 2015
Apple Announces ResearchKit, a Software That Turns iPhones into Powerful Diagnostic Tools

The much-awaited ‘Spring Forward’ event by Apple has finally commenced and before the main highlight of the show, the Cupertino giant made several other important announcements. The CEO of the company Tim Cook took to the stage and recalled the strongly growing iPhone ecosystem. He stated that iPhones will continue to transform every part of our lives through three mediums – CarPlay, HomeKit, and HealthKit.

Today in San Francisco, Apple today announced ResearchKit, an open source software framework designed for medical and health research, helping doctors and scientists gather data more frequently and more accurately from participants using iPhone apps.

It is made specifically for medical researchers. ResearchKit and HealthKit work hand in hand. Simply put, the ResearchKit turns iPhones and HealthKit into power diagnostic tools.

The University of Rochester together with Sage Bionetworks built mPower, an app that uses ResearchKit to conduct Parkinson’s disease research. It helps iPhone users sign up for studies, which will help further research. Now it’s simple for Parkinson’s patients to take tests and perform tasks and feed the information to researchers.

Apple is releasing ResearchKit next month, and the first five apps will be available from today. The first apps made with ResearchKit target diabetes, cardiovascular disease, asthma, and breast cancer.

For more updates, keep checking back this space.

March 10, 2015
Pricing of the New Apple MacBook Revealed for India

Apple today unveiled the all-new MacBook, a new line of notebooks. At just two pounds and 13.1 mm thin – they are their thinnest and lightest Macs ever. The new MacBook features a 12-inch Retina display that is the thinnest ever on a Mac, an Apple-designed full-size keyboard which is dramatically thinner and highly responsive. With this launch, for the first time, MacBook is available in three finishes—gold, silver and space grey.

For India, the MacBook will begin shipping on Friday, 10th April through select Apple Authorised Resellers. The new notebook comes in two variants – one with a 1.1 GHz dual-core Intel Core M processor with Turbo Boost speeds up to 2.4 GHz, 8GB of memory, 256GB of flash storage and Intel HD Graphics 5300. It is priced starting Rs. 99,900.

The second, and the more powerful variant, comes with a 1.2 GHz dual-core Intel Core M processor with Turbo Boost speeds up to 2.6GHz, 8GB of memory, 512GB of flash storage and Intel HD Graphics 5300 is priced starting Rs. 119,900.

Stay tuned, more details coming up soon.

March 10, 2015
Apple Outs its Lightest, Thinnest Notebook Ever; Meet the ‘MacBook’

Apple’s Spring Forward event, recently dubbed as the ‘Apple Event’, will soon be renamed the ‘MacBook Event.’ We were looking forward to a slew of major announcements about the Apple Watch, but instead we were introduced to the new MacBook. Yes, that’s the name. It has been simply named ‘MacBook.’

The new notebook, weighs a mere 2 pounds (lightest ever.) It comes with the beautiful retina with edge-to-edge glass covered 12-inch display with a 2304 x 1440 resolution. It’s as thin as 13.1mm thin, compared to 17.3mm of the MacBook Air. It’s 24 percent thinner than the Air, the company mentioned at the event.

The new MacBook has an all-new, full-size keyboard that’s been reengineered from the ground up. One of the most interesting aspects about the newly unveiled device is the fact that it comes with a Force Touch trackpad. Force Touch was introduced with the Apple Watch, it is the mechanism which senses pressure. The Force Touch trackpad has force sensors that detect how much pressure you apply on its surface. So basically, it can tell the difference between a light tap and a deep press.

The keyboard comes with a brand new backlighting system, with every key having its own LED light. It helps the entire keyboard get a uniform glow. Not only does this save space, but it also allows the new MacBook to run in silence. The company claims to have added a new, custom-shaped battery maximizes every millimeter of space, helping the MacBook achieve an all-day battery life.

Another first from the company, it has used USB-C a third the size of a standard USB cable (more on that later.) The Macbook comes in two variants, 256GB (1.2GHz Intel Core M) priced at $1299 and the second configuration for $1599 features the 12-inch Retina display, 1.2GHz Intel Core M, Intel HD Graphics 5300, 8GB memory, and 512GB of flash storage.

The MacBook starts shipping on 10th April 2015.

March 9, 2015
Apple Online Store Temporarily Down; New Devices on the Horizon

We’ve already discussed what we’re expecting to see at Apple’s Spring Forward event, in detail. It’s scheduled for tonight and will be held at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts Theater in San Francisco. We’re mostly expecting to see Tim Cook on stage reveal more details about the Apple Watch, and maybe a refreshed MacBook. But is an event by the Cupertino-based company ever complete without a few surprises?

Apple’s online store is currently down, they’ve left a message which reads, “We’ll be Back.” From our experience, Apple shutting shop means one thing – it’s going to reopen with a bang!

We had reported that the Apple Watch would only be available for purchase by April 2015, but it seems like the company might’ve managed to move the date up. Earlier today, reports had also surfaced about Apple’s own music streaming service. The company had acquired Beats by Dr Dre for a whopping $3.2 Billion dollars early last year. We’ve been waiting to see what it has decided to make of the same; our questions may be answered tonight.

Luckily, we don’t have to wait too long. Make sure to log in tonight as iGyaan will be reporting the events as they unfold.

March 9, 2015
Apple’s Music Streaming Service Expected to Arrive in June

Sources close to Apple suggest that the Cupertino based giant is prepping the launch of its own version of Beats Music streaming service. Apple is currently planning to unveil the service, most likely in its beta form at its Worldwide Developer’s Conference (WWDC) in June.

The service will be based on the technology acquired by Beats Music, though with a slightly different user interface for Apple apps. Moreover, the service will no longer get the Beats brand name and will be integrated with OSX, Apple TV, and iOS, while pricing is expected to be around $7.99 per month, slightly cheaper than Beats Music, Spotify, and Rdio.

[quote text_size=”small” author=”9to5 Mac”]

Apple currently plans to launch the new music service as part of an iOS 8.4 upgrade for the iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch following WWDC, but a final decision has not yet been made. It’s possible that the service will be bundled into iOS 9 this fall, which is expected to have a significant focus on bug fixes and stability improvements.

[/quote]

Meanwhile, the service will be available on Android as well, making it Apple’s first in-house Android app. Apple is aiming at expanding its user base with its new music streaming service. As of now, Spotify has 60 million clients and 15 million paid endorsers. While Beats Music streaming launched in January last year far behind the likes of Spotify in terms of the number of subscribers, but it is likely that some of that ground could be made up with lower rates.

March 9, 2015
Micromax Teases Lollipop for Yu Yureka, Devices to Receive Update Shortly

The Yu Yureka smartphone will soon be getting the Android Lollipop 5.0 update, as the company has posted a Lollipop teaser on its Facebook page. This could only indicate that the devices will be receiving the update in the next few days. The handset was launched with Android 4.4 KitKat based CynagoenOS 11, and with the new firmware update it will get CyanogenOS 12.

Meanwhile, the company has assured that the Yu Yureka will be the first handset to get Lollipop based Cyanogen update. The new update should bring with it a plethora of new features and customisation options. Owners of Yu Yureka can expect usual software updates from Google, but we’re sure it’s the updated CyanogenMod features that everyone would be looking forward to.

Yu Yureka’s Lollipop teaser on its official Facebook page

The image uses a dot-to-dot game to tease the update, with the numbers ending at ’26’. Does this indicate that the update starts rolling out on March 26? We have a feeling that we’ll know sooner than later.

The device already boasts an impressive set of specs at a very attractive price point, and the latest software update should attract more customers to an already great performing device.

Do check out our review of the Yu Yureka below:

March 9, 2015
Moto Turbo Goes Up for Pre-Order on Flipkart; Pricing Revealed

Less than a week back, Motorola India Head confirmed that Moto Turbo will soon be arriving in India and today, the company has officially put the device up for pre-order. The Schaumburg-based telecommunication company released the handset at the online retail website Flipkart for Rs. 41,999, and is taking pre-orders starting today.

The new Moto Turbo sports a 5.2-inch Quad HD display with 565 ppi pixel density. Powered by quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 805 processor, the device holds Adreno 420 GPU and 3GB of RAM. A water-repellent coating is incorporated on the screen that protects the device. The battery support of Moto Turbo is 3,900mAh and it also comes with Motorola’s Turbo Charger feature that powers the device for up to seven hours of usage in just 15 minutes of charging.

The optics of the phone are also top-notch. A 21MP autofocus snapper with dual-LED flash sits at the back along with other features like slow motion video, burst mode, auto HDR, Panorama, and few more. Though the front camera is a conventional 2MP. The device runs on Android 5.0 Lollipop and the connectivity options include Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, 4G LTE with LTE Cat 4 and Micro-USB.

Flipkart is trying to lure the potential buyers with few deals like 100% cashback for 25 lucky customers and extra 10% off on Moto Turbo with American Express Cards. The handset is estimated to release in the third week of March.

Click here to pre-order now.

March 9, 2015

Xiaomi Redmi 2 Expected to Arrive in India this Week

Xiaomi is apparently prepping the launch of its Redmi 2 smartphone in India with the expected launch date as March 12. The device is being teased through an online contest which allows interested customers to win priority passes to purchase it without the hassle of going through flash sales. The contest is a puzzle of sorts asking people to find hidden keywords inside it. Check out the image below:

It seems a lot of Facebook users have already cracked the code with words such as Snapdragon, wideangle, expandable and matte. Which suggests that the device may be the Redmi 2. Essentially because the Redmi 2 runs on a Snapdragon 410 chipset and also supports quick charging functionality. In addition, it also features expandable storage and a 28mm wide-angle lens with f/2.2 aperture on its rear camera.

iGyaan spoke to the Xiaomi’s spokesperson, who refused to confirm the arrival of the handset. We do hope the cyberspace isn’t jumping to quick conclusions. We’ll have to wait for a few more days for an official confirmation.

The contest is still open and interested users can head over to the company’s official website or Facebook page for more details. We can expect the Redmi Note 2 to be priced somewhere around Rs. 7,000.

Check out the key specs below:

Display	4.7-inch IPS LCD, 720p HD
OS	Android 4.4.4 KitKat
Processor	1.2GHz quad core Snapdragon 410
RAM	1GB with Adreno 306 GPU
Memory	16GB storage (expandable up to 32GB)
Camera	8MP rear, 2MP front
Battery	2200mAh

March 9, 2015

Category: Brands and Companies

New Features of Android 5.1