Category: Brands and Companies

All Brands and Company Names

Troubled Waters Lay Ahead for Sony as it Registers $1.2 Billion Loss

Billion is an amazing number. It is used to signify the number of stars in the sky, the populations of India and China, and the number of atoms in a human body. But for Sony, the term means time to take drastic measures. The Japanese consumer-electronic giant has been in troubled waters for a while and seems like it’s not going to come to an end anytime soon.

The company has registered a record loss of $1.2 billion. This has led the company to decrease its smartphone sales figures from 43 million to 41 million. This came after the company has decreased its sales projection from 50 million to 43 million in this financial year that runs from April 2014 to March 2015.

There is some silver lining in this bleak news from the once-unanimously valued brand. The company saw an overall sales increase by 7.2% to reach $17.4 billion. Sony’s latest gaming console, the PlayStation 4, is the most visible product that is holding up its fort as of now.

The Japanese company has been in damage control mode for a while. It increased its marketing expenses, and research and development expenses, in order to expand sales. This may pay off in some key markets.

Sony’s latest flagships have been appreciated for their features, but they come at a flagship price range. Hence, the phones haven’t been able to provide the company the revenue they require. Sony has also given the charge of its smartphone business in the hands of a new head, Hiroki Totok. He will replace the current head, Kunimasa Suzuki, on 16th November. Hopefully, the infusion of new head might bring some ideas that will help get Sony back on track. Or else, it may go the way of Nokia, which is, fortunately, not a possibility as of yet.

October 31, 2014
Motorola’s Monster Droid Might Get a Global Release as ‘Moto Maxx’

Verizon-exclusive Motorola DROID Turbo is reported to get a global release under the company’s quintessential ‘Maxx’ branding. Going by the invite posted by a Portuguese publication named Tecnoblog, the company is gearing up to announce the global roll-out of the smartphone on 5th November at an event in Sao Paulo, Brazil. The country has always been an important market for Motorola since its heydays, which is evident by the fact that the company globally unveiled the popular Moto G (first generation) last year at an event in Sao Paulo.

The invite doesn’t illustrate any specific phone, but it does show a device with the same Ballistic Nylon back panel featured on the DROID Turbo.

The DROID Turbo, which is popularly known as Moto Maxx, features a 5.2-inch Quad-HD AMOLED display, 3900 mAh battery, Android 4.4.4 KitKat and 2.7 GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 805 processor. The phone also packs 21 MP rear camera with f/2.0, 2 MP front snapper, LTE support, 3 GB of RAM, and 32/64 GB of internal storage.

Motorola’s last Maxx-branded smartphone, the Motorola DROID MAXX, launched last year exclusively at Verizon Wireless. Meanwhile, the last ‘Droid’ smartphone that was announced back in 2012 in India was the Motorola RAZR MAXX.

October 31, 2014
Google Hangouts Now Allows Free One-Minute International Calls

Google has already created a user base niche for its international calling service through Google Hangouts that uses your data connection for calling. Now, stepping ahead in the game, the company recently announced that it is extending its international call support for Hangouts, i.e. the users, from now on, can make ‘the first one minute phone call in twenty-five different countries absolutely free of cost’.

Though, this one free minute might not sound like very much, but Google has listed some of its uses on its official blog post. The company states, “You can say a lot in just 60 seconds. In honor of time-hackers everywhere, Hangouts wants to help you say it for free. We’re making the first minute free for calls to phone numbers in twenty-five different countries around the world.”

The blogpost further reads that this new feature is somewhat like leaving a live voicemail to someone who’s overseas. And of course, if you want more time to talk with someone in another country on Hangouts, Google will let you do so for a price.

“Don’t worry, if you need a bit more than a minute, we’ve got you covered there too. As always, phone calls with Hangouts are free for most numbers in the US and Canada, and our international rates are super low. You can make phone calls from every device where you use Hangouts, and also with Hangouts Dialer on Android. So, what are you waiting for? Pick up your phone (or grab your tablet or computer) and show us what can you get done with sixty free seconds.” Google writes.

October 31, 2014
Xiaomi is Reportedly Working on a Mid-Range 9.2-inch Tablet

Xiaomi has become a star among Android lovers. Despite catering to a few select Asian countries, the company has come a long way since last year. It very recently became the world’s third-largest smartphone maker, lagging behind only Samsung and Apple. However, it seems like Xiaomi isn’t closing the year just yet.

According to the GFXBench listing, Xiaomi is working on a 9.2-inch tablet. The mysterious tablet dubbed as Xiaomi 2014811 includes a 9.2-inch screen with 720p screen resolution. On the hardware front, it is said to come with a 1.2GHz quad-core Snapdragon 410 processor with Adreno 306 GPU, paired with 1 GB of RAM and 8 GB of internal storage. It is said to run on Android KitKat and supports connectivity options like Bluetooth and Wi-Fi.

However, it is still under wraps as whether it will come with voice calling over the cellular network or not. If it does, the tablet, despite its huge size, will attract a lot of customers.

October 31, 2014
Samsung Galaxy A Series Expected Arrive in Early November

Samsung’s Galaxy A series has been in rumors since the past few months, but with the revelations made by a Tech journal, Korea IT Times, it is now clear that Samsung is all set to launch the new A series smartphones as early as next month. The new handsets that are said to be the Galaxy A3, Galaxy A5 and Galaxy A7 are expected to come with a premium metallic material, just like Galaxy Alpha. According to the report submitted by Korea IT Times, the smartphones will be launched in China first, followed by selected markets, and will be available shortly after the launch.

It is said that the new Galaxy A series is directly targeted at Xiaomi, which was recently designated as the third-largest smartphone maker in the world by IDC. While Xiaomi is only catering to selected Asian countries, it has swelled its shipment three times since last year, only lagging behind Samsung and Apple.

According to the earlier reports, the Galaxy A7 is set to feature a 5.2-inch 1080p display, octa-core processor, 2 GB of RAM, 16 GB internal storage, a 12-megapixel camera, and a 4.7-megapixel front camera. On the software front, it will run on Android 4.4.4 KitKat out of the box.

As for Galaxy A5, it is said to come with a 5.2-inch HD display, 1.2 GHz quad-core processor, 16 GB internal storage, a 13-megapixel rear camera, a 5-megapixel front camera, and a 2,300mAh battery.

Both the devices are set to launch in China next month with other select markets to follow. However, the news has surfaced that they might not see a mainstream launch like many other Galaxy phones in the west.

October 31, 2014
New HP Sprout Seamlessly Blends Physical with the Digital World

HP had announced recently that it would be unveiling an all new form factor, and it’s here. HP calls it the ‘Sprout’ and it connects the digital and analog with an ease that till now was only possible on Sci-fi features.

Sprout consists of two screens. The first one is a 23-inch LCD screen with 10 point multi-touch capabilities. The second and more interesting one is a 20 inch touch mat which is capable of 20-point multi-touch. The touch functionalities are integrated under the mat.

The Illuminator is where all the magic happens.

What makes the Sprout fully functional is the ‘Illuminator’, which sure sounds like a name for a cyborg. The Illuminator is made up of a set of imaging technologies that are pooled together and placed on an extended arm on the top of the LCD display. It holds in itself a 14.6-megapixel digital camera, a DLP projector, and Intel’s RealSense 3D camera. The 3D camera lets users easily scan 3D Objects and being working on them right away.

HP has created its own UI called the Workspace that is built on Windows 8.1 interface. The company will be releasing a Software development kit for the developers to create app for this innovative new product.

With the specs on hand this is a creative professionals dream come true.

It is powered by a 4th generation Intel Core i7 Processor. The graphics are taken care of by an NVIDIA GeForce GT 745A graphic card with 2GB DDR3 dedicated memory. It comes with 8 GB DDR3 SDRAM (2x4GB and is expandable up to 16 GB). The device flaunts 1TB SATA 6G Solid State Hybrid Drive with 8GB flash acceleration cache. It will also sport an Adonit Jot Pro stylus to write and draw comfortably, and it can be attached magnetically to the upper-right side of the Sprout display.

Sprout is targeted mostly toward artists, designers, architects, publishers and other creative professionals. It will cost $1,899, which is a great price for a debut product with such innovative features. It ships with a 20-inch touchscreen monitor, a physical keyboard and a mouse. Though you may want to do away with the peripherals and just use the digital keyboard and feel its fantastic, futuristic pleasures.

October 31, 2014
It’s Done! Lenovo Now Officially Owns Motorola

Today, Motorola officially announced that Lenovo has completed the acquisition of Motorola Mobility and the company is now a part of the Lenovo family.

Lenovo Group Ltd has finally closed its $2.91 billion acquisition of the Motorola handset unit from Google Inc and is preparing itself for a fresh attack on the U.S smartphone market. The purchase comes as Lenovo, the world’s leading PC maker, is trying to integrate its business into various segments and establish itself as a smartphone maker with global appeal.

Back in 2012, Google acquired Motorola Mobility and its patent for $12.5 billion but was unable to revive the company to its old glory.

“The iconic Motorola brand will continue, as will the Moto and DROID franchises that have propelled our growth over the past year,” explains Rick Osterloh, Motorola President, “We will continue to focus on pure Android and fast upgrades, and remain committed to developing technology to solve real consumer problems.”

“Google will maintain ownership of a majority of the Motorola Mobility patent portfolio, while Motorola will receive a license to this rich portfolio of patents and other intellectual property,” says Lenovo. Google’s CEO Larry Page said, “Motorola is in great hands with Lenovo, a company that’s all-in on making great devices.”

October 30, 2014
Here’s the First Look at the Working Prototype of Google’s Project Ara

Remember Phonebloks, the folks who came up with a revolutionary concept of a phone that can be easily updated and save the environment with the massive e-waste generated each year? The project was taken up by Motorola and named project Ara. The project got passed on to Google after Motorola’s departure from the company, and it seems that they have been working hard to get the concept to reality.

Dave Hakkens, the Dutch designer who was the brains behind Phonebloks paid a visit to one of the contractors working on Project Ara. NK Labs is one of the dozen contract partners who are assisting Google in bringing out this new generation product.

In the video, the engineer assembled various modules onto the device, and it worked. The device is operational and is running an Android operating system. The modules included the LED, battery, application processor, loudspeaker and USB charging bits. The camera and other complex features may be added later, but this is a great start for the project.

Google had announced last week that it will be establishing independent stores where users can go and buy their choice of swappable modules. Paul Eremenko from Google had said that they will be creating a free and open platform on the lines of the Android project. The devices are expected to run Android Lollipop, and the “Spiral 2? prototype will be introduced on January 14th, 2015 at the next developers conference. Now this is one technology we can’t wait to get our hands on, not only is it economically viable, it has an environmentally conscious approach towards technology.

October 30, 2014

Samsung Galaxy Alpha Unboxing and Hands On

Specs	Samsung Galaxy Alpha	Samsung Galaxy S5	iPhone 6	Moto X (Gen 2)
Display	4.7 inch 720p HD (312 ppi)	5.1 inch Full HD (432 ppi)	750 x 1334 pixels, 4.7 inch (326 ppi)	1080 x 1920 pixels, 5.2 inch (424 ppi)
Processor	Exynos 5 Octa 5430 (1.8GHz quad-core Cortex A15 + 1.3GHz quad-core Cortex A7)	Exynos 5 Octa 5422 (Quad-core 1.9 GHz Cortex-A15 & quad-core 1.3 GHz Cortex-A7)	Apple A8, Dual-core 1.4 GHz Cyclone (ARM v8-based)	Qualcomm Snapdragon 801,Quad-core 2.5 GHz Krait 400
RAM	2 GB	2 GB	1 GB	2 GB
Storage	32 GB (non-expandable)	16/32 GB (expandable upto 128GB)	16/64/128 GB (non-expandable)	16/32 GB (non-expandable)
Camera	12 MP Main, 2.1 MP Front	16 MP Main, 2 MP Front	8MP Main, 1.2 MP Front	13 MP Main, 2 MP Front
Battery	1860 mAh	2800 mAh	1810 mAh	2300 mAh
Operating System	Android Kitkat v4.4.4	Android Kitkat v4.4.4	iOS 8, upgradable to iOS 8.1	Android OS, v4.4.4 (KitKat), upgradable to Android L

October 30, 2014

BlackBerry to Bring QWERTY Back with the New ‘Q20’ Classic

BlackBerry, once the definition of a smartphone, has lost most of its market since the advancement of Apple and Google’s mobile ecosystems. It tried its hand at touchscreen phones but didn’t manage to create a whole lot of buzz. It seems like, in a desperate attempt to stay valid in the touchscreen era, BlackBerry is going back to its roots. The company will be releasing the new BlackBerry ‘Q20’ Classic, which will take it back to the ‘Bold’ era.

BlackBerry’s recent and unique release, the BlackBerry Passport, has given an inclination to go back to its traditional looks. Passport’s square display received mixed reviews but was appreciated for the unique features like the touch-enabled touchpad that lets you scroll through the pages with ease.

Passport received mix reviews but was appreciated for its unique features.

The ‘Q20’ Classic is expected to release later this year. The device will come with nostalgic features such as a top row of navigation keys and a trackpad. The phone will run on the BlackBerry 10 OS and will have a bigger screen than its predecessors. The company also claimed that their application catalog has grown over the years.

The company still has a steady following in the enterprise and government segment. These are the folks who want maximum utility off their devices so that the gadgets can assist them in their busy schedule.

BlackBerry’s CEO, John S. Chen, recently published an open letter for the loyal BlackBerry users to create a buzz for the upcoming Classic. Chen said in the letter, “It’s tempting in a rapidly changing, rapidly growing mobile market to change for the sake of change – to mimic what’s trendy and match the industry-standard, kitchen-sink approach of trying to be all things to all people. But there’s also something to be said for the classic adage, if it ain’t broke don’t fix it.” This statement signaled their return to their original design philosophy.

October 30, 2014
Microsoft Outs its Fitness Wearable with 10 Sensors Onboard

Microsoft has just listed its new fitness offering on its official website. ‘Microsoft Band’ will go on sale today for $199 at the company’s online and physical stores, for US customers only, and in ‘limited quantities’.

Microsoft Band is a 10-sensor fitness tracker which would last two days on a charge, according to the company. In addition to the obvious optical heart rate monitor, which is evident on the design itself, the new Microsoft’s wearable includes a UV sensor to keep track of your sun exposure, a galvanic skin response sensor to measure stress, and a built-in GPS.

Designed by Quentin Morris (who also developed the Xbox One controller), it comes with 18.5 mm band, which is made up of thermoplastic elastomer making it soft and quite stretchy. It has got a 1.4-inch touchscreen display with 320×106 resolution and is powered by two 100mAh lithium-ion batteries.

The new fitness band is a part of Microsoft’s Health initiative to track and analyze world’s health data and is also just one way to collect it. It is to be noted that the company has opened it up for use on devices and platforms built by others. Microsoft plans to let people use the Health app with other personal trackers.

Also, not only is the device cross-platform ready, it is said that Microsoft will look for other companies (maybe Samsung, HTC, Pebble, Fitbit) to make their devices Microsoft Health compatible. That way, they can sync into the data and notifications immediately, all powered by the Microsoft backend.

One of the main highlights of this device is that it comes with a microphone to issue voice commands to Cortana. However, it will only work if you pair the band to a Windows Phone device. In addition to that, the Microsoft Band will be able to perform usual task of Smartwatches such as e-mail messages, calendar reminders, phone calls, Twitter and Facebook notifications, weather and stock information.

Microsoft has already partnered with major health-related service providers such as Jawbone, MapMyFitness, MyFitnessPal and RunKeeper. Another feature that the company has added is its ability to share data from the HealthVault with your medical provider. Microsoft is aiming for folks active both at work and in the gym and according to them, they have come up with a perfect system for such consumers.

October 30, 2014
Xiaomi Now Holds the ‘World’s Third-Largest Smartphone Maker’ Tag

Despite being in controversies regarding privacy concerns, Xiaomi, the Chinese handset maker, has become the world’s third-biggest smartphone maker. According to the recent report by International Data Corporation (IDC), the smartphone maker has tripled the shipments since last year.

Also, it’s the first time Xiaomi has made it to the list of top 5 smartphone makers in the world, released by IDC. The company is trailing behind Samsung, who despite witnessing a steep fall in shipment from last year, still leads the race followed by Apple in the second position.

It is to be noted that Xiaomi’s focus on China and the neighbouring markets like Southeast Asia helped boost Xiaomi into the top 5 by resulting in triple-digit year-over-year growth in the third quarter of 2014. According to IDC, the launch of Xiaomi’s flagship phone MI4, which is meant to compete against Samsung’s Galaxy S5 and Apple’s iPhone in August, was the key to its success.

Although, the company has made a mark in China and its adjacent markets, it is still unclear how well it will fare in other markets where it faces greater competition from already established smartphone giants – Samsung and Apple. The report illustrates that while Samsung (24.7 percent) and Apple (12.3 percent) still dominate, LG’s recent popularity and increasing sale has also moved it to fourth.

“Despite rumors of a slowing market, smartphone shipments continue to see record-setting volumes. We’ve finally reached a point where the most developed markets are experiencing single-digit growth while emerging markets are still growing at more than 30 percent collectively,” said Ryan Reith, Program Director with IDC’s Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker.

While Samsung remained the world’s leading smartphone maker, IDC said it was the only company in the top 5 to see shipment volume decline year-over-year. Meanwhile, Apple’s latest iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus pushed Apple to its largest third-quarter shipment ever.

The report reveals that Apple has sold close to 10 million units during their first launch weekend of the new smartphones and also continued to sell previous generation iPhone 5s and 5c in large numbers, which made up the bulk of Apple’s volume for the quarter.

October 30, 2014
New Oppo R5 Now Leads the ‘World’s Thinnest Smartphone’ Race

Oppo has just launched the much-awaited R5, which has broken the fellow Chinese manufacturer Gionee’s record for the world’s slimmest smartphone. The Oppo R5 measures just 4.85 mm thick; the company has shaved quite a bit compared to the 6.3 mm Oppo R3.

The hand-polished frame is made up of 3D-welded aluminum alloy. The other measurements are 148.9×74.5 mm (that’s rather tall for a 5.2-inch device) and it weighs a mere 155g. Previous generation R series handsets are known for their slim and sleek design, but the new R5 has upped the expectation from the company even further.

The new R5 pack a 5.2-inch AMOLED screen of 1080p resolution (423ppi), which the company said is one of the best displays available in the market with best brightness, lowest reflectivity and highly accurate colors. The R5 will launch with Android 4.4-based ColorOS 2.0. It’s powered by Snapdragon 615, Qualcomm’s mid-range octa-core chipset. It features an octa-core Cortex-A53 processor clocked at 1.5 GHz, which is paired with an Adreno 405 GPU and 2 GB RAM.

It fashions a 13MP Sony IMX214 sensor and a f/2.0 aperture, while the front camera is a 5MP shooter. Also with that, the company has added a special cooling element made from liquid-metal and phase-change materials to balance the heat created by the chipset.

Surprisingly, despite being so thin, Oppo R5 managed to juice it up with a 2,000mAh Li-Polymer battery along with the VOOC mini rapid charge tech support. The company said that the smartphone will make its way to the global market in December and will be available to the customers at a price of $499 in silver, gold and grey colours.

October 29, 2014
Oppo Brings Out the N3 with 16MP Rotating Camera

As expected, Oppo has launched two new smartphones today at a press event in Singapore, the N3 and R5. N3 has been touted as the most interesting ‘camera phone’ ever with a motorised swivel camera that can track objects as they move, and can rotate up to 206 degrees.

The successor to the N1 fashions a 16MP motorized camera letting users track objects as they move. The sensor used by the camera is 1/2.3-inch in size and the pixel size is 1.34micrometer. The camera uses Schneider Kreuznach-approved lens that sums it up to an impressive level of quality.

The mechanized camera is super useful to shoot panoramas and taking selfies for example. Panoramas are shot in up to 64MP resolution. The fingerprint sensor at the back also allows you to protect your images immediately after taking them with a single swipe.

Some of the other camera functions that come under the Oppo N3’s ‘Ultra image 2.0’ suite include slow shutter, ultra macro mode, after focus, and shooting in RAW. The N3’s 16MP shoots 4K video at 30 fps, 1080p video at 60 fps, 720p slow motion video at 120 fps.

Specs-wise, the new N3 is no less compared with other flagship phones available in market. In terms of connectivity, the phone offers Wi-Fi 802.11ac, NFC and Bluetooth 4.0. USB OTG is also supported. It comes with a 2.3GHz Snapdragon 801 quad-core SoC, 2GB of RAM, 32GB of internal storage, a nice 5.5-inch full HD LCD (the N1 had a 5.9-inch one), NFC and a 3,000 mAh fixed battery.

The N3 also comes with VOOC rapid charging with a smaller charger, which means you can go from zero to 75 per cent in just half an hour. The handset is now listed on the company’s China website with a price tag of CNY 3,999 (roughly Rs. 40,100). The company said that the handset’s dual-SIM variant will also arrive later.

October 29, 2014
Company Confirms India-Specific OnePlus Invite System to Arrive Soon

OnePlus has already confirmed that it will launch its flagship handset OnePlus One soon in India. Now, the company has confirmed that it will release India-specific invites to prospective ‘One’ consumers online.

OnePlus One, which has been called a ‘Flagship killer’, will continue to sell on an invite-based approach, just like it has done everywhere else. The premium looking device packs in some high-end hardware specifications while maintaining a relatively cheaper price tag. But the phone has been criticized for one reason; its scarce availability.

The company director (Global), Carl Pei, in his latest blog post, besides wishing Indians’ a belated Happy Diwali, announced the cheerful news of releasing India-specific OnePlus One invites to the fans.

“We’ve made tremendous progress in just the last week and are grateful to all of our partners who took time during their holiday to help us move this forward. We’ll be ready to share some very exciting updates with you in the coming weeks. But for now, we wanted to talk a little about how you’ll be able to get the One in India.” Pei added.

The company said that like other countries, Indian users will be able to purchase the One with an India-specific invite. According to Carl Pei, invites have been immensely helpful for the company so far and they allow them to control their inventory, scale their team and support services to grow along with the demand and create an overall better experience for the users. “As this is our first experience with the Indian market, we didn’t want to be too ambitious. We are more concerned with offering outstanding service and experiences to users than getting the One in as many hands as possible. It will take us some time to learn, and the invites are a great way for us to do that.” Carl further stated.

Besides introducing invitation-only registration process, the company is also in talks with some e-commerce websites to offer OnePlus One in India. If all things fall in place, the flagship phone is expected to set a mark in the Indian market by December end for around Rs. 25,000.

October 29, 2014