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Samsung Pulls the Plug on its Laptop Market in Europe

We all know that Samsung has been going through a rough patch, with thier sales steadily declining in the global market. As the result of the same, Samsung has decided to discontinue selling laptops in Europe. A Samsung spokesperson issued a statement revealing company’s plan to do so is due to a shift in “market demands”.

The Samsung spokesman said: “We quickly adapt to market needs and demands. In Europe, we will be discontinuing sales of laptops including Chromebooks for now. This is specific to the region – and is not necessarily reflective of conditions in other markets.”

The decision is the outcome of the several years’ worth of declining PC sales globally. It is also worth noticing that Samsung announced a new Ativ Book laptop running Windows at CES 2014 and a Chromebook 2 later in the year. Also, Western Europe has been one of the better performing markets for laptop sales worldwide over the past decade.

Recent market research has revealed that PC sales had recently stabilized and had projected huge growth in Chromebook sales in the coming years. After eight quarters of declining shipments, worldwide PC shipments experienced flat growth in the second quarter of 2014, according to preliminary results by Gartner, Inc. Worldwide PC shipments totaled 75.8 million units in the second quarter of 2014, a 0.1 per cent increase from the second quarter of 2013.

Samsung may resume laptop sales in the region should market conditions change. In the case of Sony, the similar move resulted in significant job cuts. The firm also restructured its TV division and although a handful of staff were moved to the new company, the forecasted total loss of employees amounted to 5,000.

September 24, 2014

Hands On : HTC Desire 820 and an Exclusive in Matte Finish

HTC at an event today in New Delhi has launched three new devices in its Desire series –Desire 820, Desire 820Q and Desire 816G. While the Desire 816G is already available in the market, the first two will ship during the first week of November in India.

HTC was mum on the exact date and pricing of the coveted Desire 820 units and are apologetic about the lack of availability pre-diwali. The Desire 820 handsets will be available in a bunch of colors and the company is closely studying the market and the color needs. HTC will be making few colors available in the matte finish including the Grey that you see in our pictures.

Honestly the Desire 816 was a very pretty phone, this one has turned out to be much better, in the overall look and feel, it also seems lighter and more robust than the Desire 816, which like we stated in our review was amazingly sold as well.

Specs wise this is the first handset with a 64 bit architecture based Qualcomm Snapdragon 615 chipset which has a clock speed of 1.5 GHz on eight cores. 2 GB of RAM and 16 GB of Storage, along with the 128 GB Micro SD support and the 100 GB of Google Drive gives you more than needed storage capability.

The front display is bright and vivid and has excellent color reproduction and great visibility outdoors, which makes us very happy. HTC has ensured that the handset will get the Android L update, and we are not too sure if the units we saw are actually running L, specially because the software information had been locked down.

The cameras are excellent with a 13 MP snapper and a 8 MP snapper, both with 1080p quality, initial images and focus speeds are impressive and we are eager to fully review the cameras on this handset. Our review will be out shortly, so stay tuned.

As far as availability is concerned we are expecting the Desire 820 to be available on the November 7th and for around Rs. 25,999/-, but don’t quote us on it.

SPECS	HTC DESIRE 820
Display	5.5 inch, 720×1280 pixels, ~267ppi
Processor	Qualcomm Snapdragon 615 1.5 GHz octa-core (64 bit)
RAM	2GB
Storage	16GB expandable upto 128GB
Battery capacity (mAh)	2600, non-removable
Camera	Rear camera 13-megapixel Front camera 8-megapixel
Operating System	Android 4.4

September 24, 2014

Adobe to Expand its Cloud Offering with the New Aviary Acquisition

Adobe offers wide range of cloud-based features for designers and developers which continues to flourish everyday. Now, Aviary just announced that it has been acquired by Adobe. Aviary provides developers (and companies like Yahoo) with a set of photo-editing tools they can build into their own apps.

Adobe plans to integrate Aviary into the Creative Cloud and possibly provide a new “Creative SDK” intended to be more friendly with third-party apps. The two firms will work together on bringing Adobe’s editing tools and Creative Cloud services to more mobile apps.

Adobe said it’s developing a new software library—called Creative SDK—that will allow app developers to tap into the company’s offerings and aim to expand connections between mobile devices and its products. Adobe’s Creative SDK will also give third-party developers access to company application programming interfaces which were previously only available to the company’s internal engineering team.

According to the reports, Aviary has seen 10 billion photos processed through the service last year alone. In addition to a toolkit for developers, Aviary also offers a popular iOS and Android app for editing photos, also called Aviary. Aviary will continue operations as usual for now.

The company hinted at a collaboration with another Adobe unit, Behance, an online social media platform for creative professionals acquired by Adobe in 2012. The Aviary team will work closely with both Adobe-owned creative communities, Behance and Adobe’s creative cloud platform.

September 23, 2014

HTC Brings Out the Dual-SIM Desire 816G in India For Rs.18,990

HTC at an event today in New Delhi has launched three new devices in its Desire series – Desire 820, Desire 820Q and Desire 816G. While the Desire 816G is already available in the market, the first two will ship during the first week of November in India.

The Desire 816G is a brand new variant of the company’s previously released blockbuster, Desire 816. The GSM-only dual-sim version of Desire 816, has toned down specifications and hardware. The smartphone packs 5.5-inch HD display, 1.3GHz MediaTek quad-core processor, 13MP rear camera F/2.2, 5MP front shooter. It comes with 1GB RAM with 8GB of internal memory which can be expanded upto 32GB with microSD card.

The device is powered by 2600 mAh battery, same as the other handsets launched today. The device runs on Android 4.4 KitKat. The Desire 816G is already available at the price tag of Rs. 18,990.

SPECS	HTC Desire 816G
Display	5.5-inch, 720×1280 pixels, ~267ppi
Processor	1.3GHz MediaTek quad-core
RAM	1GB
Storage	8GB expandable upto 32GB
Battery capacity (mAh)	2600, non-removable
Camera	Rear camera 13-megapixel Front camera 5-megapixel
Operating System	Android 4.4

September 23, 2014

HTC Brings Out the Colourful Desire 820 and Desire 820Q Dual-SIM in India

HTC has launched its new offerings Desire 820 and Desire 820Q Dual SIM in India, which the company showcased at the IFA Berlin 2014. HTC has been one of the front runners in the smartphone game with its One M8 and the Desire line-up, which have been a favourite amongst Android lovers.

The smartphones have been given an amazing look and feel. They come with a bold two-tone color scheme that makes the devices standout. Even the HTC logo on the back gets a different color treatment for each phone color option. The devices are made in a unibody, polycarbonate casing that HTC defines as its “double shot color technology.”

With the Colors and powerful front camera makes it a youth friendly device. — The Colors and powerful front camera makes it a youth friendly device.

Same as its predecessor Desire 816, new desire 820 comes with a 5.5 inch 720p HD screen. The new handset is one of the first phones to come with a 64 bit Qualcomm’s octa-core Snapdragon 615 chipset. The processor runs on two quad-core chips of 1.5GHz and 1.0GHz with 2 GB RAM and 16 GB internal storage.

On the imaging side, the main camera on the device is a 13 MP shooter with f/2.2 aperture and the front camera packs an 8 MP which is one of the main highlight of the handset. The device is powered through a 2600 mAh battery. On the software front, it runs on Android 4.4.2 KitKat wrapped under Sense UI. The Desire 820 comes with latest Category 4 LTE.

The HTC Desire 820Q is essentially the mini version of Desire 820. It comes with a 64 bit Snapdragon 410 1.2 GHz quad core processor and 1GB of RAM. The handset borrows rest of the specs from its bigger brother. Both smartphones will have DLNA to stream wireless on TV.

Back in IFA, HTC said that the phones will be updated with Android L when it comes out which makes it one of the first companies to promise the Android L upgrades. They come with HTC’s Dual Boomsound front facing speakers and also its own version of the dot view case. Both devices will be shipped in early November, however, the pricing is not revealed yet, the company said that they will announce the pricing near the release date.

Specs	HTC Desire 820	HTC Desire 820Q Dual-SIM
Display	5.5 inch, 720×1280 pixels, ~267ppi	5.5 inch, 720×1280 pixels, ~267ppi
Processor	Qualcomm Snapdragon 615 1.5 GHz octa-core (64 bit)	Qualcomm Snapdragon 410 1.2 GHz octa-core (64 bit)
RAM	2GB	1GB
Storage	16GB expandable upto 128GB	16GB expandable upto 128GB
Battery capacity (mAh)	2600, non-removable	2600, non-removable
Camera	Rear camera 13-megapixel Front camera 8-megapixel	Rear camera 13-megapixel Front camera 8-megapixel
Operating System	Android 4.4	Android 4.4

September 23, 2014

Apple Reportedly Plans to Kill the Beats Music Service

According to a new report, Beats as a brand is going to fade away as Apple plans to modify it over time and integrate it into its own music streaming service through iTunes. TechCrunch reported that Apple plans to eliminate the Beats Music streaming service, which it acquired in May.

Earlier, the reports said that the Cupertino, California based company will shutdown the service. However, Apple declined the reports saying, “Company (Beats) may modify over time, and one of those changes could involved changing the Beats Music brand.” It is still unclear what Apple is planning to do with the service. It seems quite possible that the Beats Music product could be rolled into iTunes rather than being shuttered.

If Apple rolls Beats Music into iTunes and removes the dedicated Beats Music app from the App Store, it might be the end of the service. Beats Music itself came from a rebranding MOG music streaming service it acquired back in its heydays.

Apple has been tight-lipped about its plans for Beats since it acquired the popular headphone maker back in May for $3 Billion. Prior to the mega launch event of the iPhone 6 and the Apple Watch, there had been rumours that Apple will include Beats earphones within the new white box. There was also nothing said about Beats Music during the Apple Watch reveal, even though the service could have worked well on the wearable. Seems like an odd decision on Apple’s part to simply eliminate or ignore a service they paid billions for.

Also, the iPhones which are recently launched did not come pre-installed with Beats Music, while several other Apple apps came loaded on the 6 and 6 Plus. All of these point towards the company’s plan to show red flag to the Beats. This, or they may be working on something and better for the to combine Apple services with Beats. Let’s hope for Beats sake, it’s the latter.

September 23, 2014
HTC to Return to Tablets With a New Nexus Device

Rumours about HTC-made Nexus tablet has been around since past few months. However, details about this new device were scarce until now. Recently, NVIDIA inadvertently leaked that the Taiwanese company is linking up with Google to launch the Nexus 9.

And now, Wall Street Journal has added more credibility to the report. According to the report, HTC engineers have been flying to the Googleplex in Mountain View in recent months to work on the project. The reports added that Google has choose HTC over more experienced tablet makers like Samsung to make its upcoming 9-inch Nexus tablet to avoid one single manufacturer gaining monopoly.

However, it is also pointed out that HTC has a bad tablet track-record and focuses almost exclusively on smartphones. The company have not come up with any tablet since 2011 when they launched Flyer tablet which failed miserably in the market.

Google and HTC both declined to comment on this matter, however, Google said, “Android is a vibrant ecosystem, and many of the industry players are doing very well. There’s room for many partners to do well and to innovate with Android.”

As for HTC, the Taiwanese company has been eager to gain a footing in new sectors as it loses ground in the smartphone market. The company’s executives have promised this year that they are working on fresh areas such as wearable devices. HTC had made Google’s first Nexus smartphone, the Nexus One, in 2010, but hasn’t made a device for the line since.

September 23, 2014
Samsung Might Release Galaxy Alpha in India on 27th September

With the Xiaomi fever slowly subsiding and people looking back at major manufacturers, Samsung seems ready to give the Indian market some serious consideration. The company is expected to launch the recently unveiled Galaxy Alpha in India on the 27th of September.

Samsung sent out an invite claiming they would be launching “Next Generation Stylephone.” It is assumed that the phone is Galaxy Alpha that Samsung released in the international markets in August. The phone is a metal-bodied device, a rarity in Samsung’s line-up of products.

The Galaxy Alpha is powered by an Exynos 5 Octa 5430 processor (1.8GHz quad-core Cortex A51 + 1.3GHz quad-core Cortex A7.) It has 2 GB of RAM and 32 GB of internal storage. The device has a 4.7-inch 1280x 720 Super AMOLED display.

The main camera on the device is a 12 MP shooter while the front camera is a 2.1 MP selfie shooter. The Alpha gets its juice from an 1860 mAh battery. The phone runs Android Kitkat 4.4.4 out of the box.

The Alpha was the first to get the metal frame and was followed by the Note 4. The back cover on the devices are still plastic, but Samsung claims the metal frame provides enhanced safety to the phone. We’ll have to wait till the 27th to see what Samsung is really cooking.

September 22, 2014

Moto G (Gen 2) vs Xiaomi Mi3 Comparison

Moto G (Gen 2) comes with considerable improvement over its trendsetting predecessor. Moto G had essentially set a foot forward in terms of bringing cheap Android devices with good built quality and great hardware. Xiaomi Mi3, also recently launched in India, belongs to the same price bracket.

However, the latter has been facing problems in terms of availability , as it has been made available in limited stock exclusively on Flipkart. One of the main highlight of Mi3 is that it comes with quad core Snapdragon 800 processor which is quite an achievement in its price bracket. We are are comparing the Motorola Moto G (gen 2) and Xiaomi Mi3 head to head. Check out the video below:

SPECS	Motorola Moto G (Gen 2)	XIAOMI MI 3
Display	5 inch, 294 ppi	5 inch, 441 ppi
Processor	Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 processor, 1.2 GHz quad-core CPU	Qualcomm Snapdragon 800, 2.3 GHz Quad-core
RAM	1 GB	2 GB
Storage	16 GB	16/64 GB
Expandable Upto	32 GB	–
Main Camera	8 MP	13 MP
Front Camera	2 MP	2 MP
Battery	Non-removable 2070 mAh	Non-removable 3050 mAh
Operating System	Android KitKat 4.4.4	Android 4.3 upgradable to 4.4.2 (KitKat)

September 22, 2014

Everything We Know About the Upcoming Windows 9

Microsoft is all set to launch the “Windows Technical Preview” for Windows on September 30th at San Francisco. Windows 8 has been a huge failure despite the fact that the company has been updating it regularly since the past two years when it was officially released. The new upgrade is said to be focused on traditional desktop PC users. With the new update, the company aims to fix and improve the Windows 8 mistakes with the return of the Start menu, flexible app windowing, virtual desktops, Microsoft’s Cortana digital assistant, and a whole lot more.

Let us look back at rumors and leaks to show what is expected from the Windows 9:

The Name

Most of the leaks and rumours have come with the codename “Project Threshold,” it is certain that this is the next version of Windows. The only mystery here is, what will the new update be called once it is made official for public use. For now, Windows 9 seems like an obvious option.

Return of the Start Menu

Well, it has been pointed out in numerous leaks and rumors that with the arrival of the new update, the company will include the traditional Start menu which has been missing in the Windows 8. The Metro-style Start Screen isn’t exactly gone. Instead, it will just be condensed down into the Start Menu with live tiles. However, the Start Menu will be optionally expandable into a full-screen view for those who are comfortable with a full-screen version now.

Change in Apps

As a noticeable change, rumors illustrate that the charm bar will be removed, and the metro-style apps will run on Windows 9 instead of a full screen-only app mode. Windows Phone’s voice assistant ‘Cortana’ is expected to be among these newly Window-able apps. Windows 9 is also expected to bring virtual desktops into the desktop ecosystem.

Windows Phone

Windows 9 version for the smartphones will apparently strip out the Windows RT desktop and include the Notification Center in it, same as the Windows Phone 8.1. It will turn Windows RT (Window 8 version for smartphones) into a Metro-only tablet-first operating system that straddles the line between desktops and phones by offering a more traditional tablet experience. Also, it is said that the new mobile version of Windows 9 would be limited to running only Marketplace apps much like Windows Phone and Windows RT we have today.

How Much Will it Cost?

Various rumors have pointed out the new update may come at a price. However, it also said that it will be cheap, not more than $20. Meanwhile, Microsoft is said to offer unknown incentive to get people off old Windows XP, which has been Microsoft’s most successful windows update in recent years. It is also Windows 7 users may have to pay a bit more than the others.

When Will it Arrive?

Microsoft has already sent out invites for an event on September 30th. They promise to reveal “what’s next for Windows and enterprise.” It is certain that it will be the Windows 9, and most likely the release of a early developer version known as the “Technical Preview”, in Microsoft’s terms. When the real version hits the market is still unknown. However, all the rumors have pointed out to a spring 2015 arrival.

September 22, 2014
Google Glass Competitor Sony SmartEyeGlass to Arrive Next March

Even though wearables have caused a lot of excitement in the tech scene, there has been barely any competition matching up to Google Glass. And it has been a year since Google Glass was launched. Now Sony will soon launch a device in the market that would be competing with the Google Glass headset.

Sony’s new SmartEyeGlass was first shown off back in January at CES 2014. The device aims to be as versatile as Glass while bettering it in some respects as well. However, Sony has made quite a few changes in the device.

There’s an accelerometer, gyroscope, electronic compass, ambient light sensor, and a 3-megapixel camera. And what sets it apart from the Google Glass is that it comes with a wire connecting it to an external battery pack equipped with an extra touch sensor and microphone.

Sony has released the software development kit (SDK) for SmartEyeGlass yesterday for developers. The company also promised to have hardware kits available for developers to buy by the end of March. Apart from the battery set up the key difference between this heads-up display and Glass is that Sony uses a green monochrome display to overlay information atop the user’s general view.

The Google Glass rival will work in sync with compatible Android smartphones to provide the users with notifications and other useful information like navigation directions.

September 20, 2014
Samsung Unveils Affordable 27-Inch Curved Monitors

When you talk of curved convex displays, LG immediately pops up in your mind. Why wouldn’t it, LG was the first company to come with a curved display on a smartphone (LG G-Flex.) It has proactively marketed itself as the curved screen master. But its compatriot and global electronics giant; Samsung is not going to let LG have a free run. The company has introduced consumer level curved displays for just around $450.

Samsung had recently wowed the audience at IFA Berlin with a massive 105 inch screen that can bend at a press of a remote. In July, it had also released a curved 105-inch 4K TV which cost a king’s ransom of $129,000 which converts to around Rs. 78,48,360. I’d rather buy a Tesla Model S which comes at almost half the price, well if you want to dream, dream good, right?

Samsung claims the 27-inch curved display provides a wider field of view and a greater sense of depth

Coming back to the display at hand. The new curved monitors have 27-inch display. They have a contrast ratio of 3000:1. It would be great for a desktop monitor or for a gaming system.

Samsung UK’s Phil Gaut claimed that the S27D590C offers “a truly immersive and unforgettable experience. It takes movie watching and gaming to new heights, from the monitor’s unique curved screen and comprehensive entertainment features to the incredible picture quality and the impressive sleek design.”

Samsung has included a feature called the Game mode. This feature, the company claims, intelligently detects on-screen changes and corrects blurry images. It also enhances colors and alters contrast for improved visibility of in-game action. According to the company, the curve of the screen also provides a wider field of view and a greater sense of depth.

The monitor definitely looks impressive and is the cheapest curved screen option out there. The price is great for what it offers. We hope it comes to India soon so we can get our hands on it and know for sure of its “immersive and unforgettable experiences” capabilities. Come on Samsung, we have given you a lot of business; we deserve this treat.

September 19, 2014
Microsoft Hands Out Pink Slips to 2100 Employees

The day has arrived. Microsoft, had previously announced that it would be “restructuring” its business to make it better and nimble. To do this, the company decided to cut 18,000 jobs. This was the biggest job cut in the company’s history. So as planned, the company is slowly cutting its fat down and has now handed pink slips to 2100 employees.

In July this year, Microsoft’s CEO Satya Nadella had sent out a memo to its employees stating that they would be cutting jobs to make “fewer layers of management, both top down and sideways, to accelerate the flow of information and decision-making.” Most of these jobs came from the newly acquired Nokia’s stable.

ZDNet reports that 747 of the employees were situated in Washington, 160 were in California. Microsoft’s Silicon Valley Research arm has also been shut down effective today. There will be one more major job loss coming up. The company had recently got bad press for offering Nokia 630 to workers at the Nokia plant in China for quitting their job.

Microsoft has to take on a whole new world if it wants to be a name that can be a part of the future. It is still the biggest corporation with the Windows operating system holding a monopoly over the computers around the world. But the world is fast moving towards mobile and to succeed in this market, Microsoft has to strive hard.

The job cuts do make business sense, but they will hurt the folks who were dependent on the job for their bread. For now, we can just wait and watch if the biggest job cut in Microsoft’s history actually amounts to anything for the company.

September 19, 2014
Panasonic’s LX100 is the World’s First Pocket Camera that Captures 4K Video

Panasonic’s Lumix LX series includes some of the best cameras in the market, however, recently they’ve taken a backseat with the launch of some large-censored compact cameras like the Sony Cyber-shot RX100 and the Fujfilm X100S. Now, the LX series is coming back with a big sensor of its own.

The new Lumix DMC-LX100 is a remarkable improvement from its LX7 predecessor and probably the most sophisticated compact the Japanese company has ever built. One of main highlights of this camera is it’s Micro Four Thirds-sized, 12.8-megapixel MOS chip which is twice as big as the 1-inch-type sensor in Sony’s RX cameras and the Nikon 1 mirrorless cameras.

The LX100’s F1.7 aperture at the wide-angle end of its 3X zoom (24mm to 75mm) which helps it in harnessing even more light. Also, the LX100 is able to capture 11 shots per second in burst mode. A maximum ISO setting of 25,600 should help low-light shooting even more, and that astronomical setting might even be halfway usable at that sensor size.

It’s also got a fast Leica 24-75mm (35mm equivalent) f/1.7-2.8 lens, a wide-screen, 2,764K dot LVF (live viewfinder) and 4K video capture. The LX100 is also one of the first pocket cameras that captures 4K video footage. Some of those specs put it on par with the company’s flagship GH4, and well ahead of all its other interchangeable MFT models.

Other features include Wi-Fi, NFC capability for easier smartphone pairing, in-camera RAW to JPEG conversion and an external flash. It has a “multi-aspect” feature that allows 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9 angles of view, which reduces the usable area of the sensor.

This premium point-and-shoot camera is due at the end of October. It’s expected to cost between $800 and $900, which makes it a direct competitor of the APS-C-sensored Fujifilm X100s and 1-inch-sensored Sony RX100 III.

September 19, 2014
Teardown of the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus Reveals What’s Inside

Apple’s flagship is now available for anyone who has got the money for it. The phone got polarising reviews with Apple fans sticking by their device and Android fans turning social media against the new iPhones using tons of memes. As always, it is now time to rip apart and unveil all the secret sauces that went into making the new jewel in Apple’s crown. The tear down of both phones showed us that they are pretty interesting on the inside.

First up, the iPhone 6 with a 4.7 inch display. A Japanese blog called ‘Mac Otakara’ disassembled the phone. They found that the 1810 mAh battery on the device was fastened to the chassis with adhesive tabs. The phone has received some internal tweaks to adapt to the slimmer design. It has a linear oscillating type vibrating motor that sits on the right with the battery. The phone is said to have 1GB RAM.

The Phones were torn down by IFixit and Mac Otakara

The iPhone 6 Plus, on the other hand, was unraveled by iFixit who are known for surgically removing all the organs of devices and laying them side by side. The battery on Apple’s biggest iPhone yet stands at 2915 mAh. The battery is bigger in comparison to Samsung’s S5 (2800mAh) which was released earlier this year. Like the Samsung flagship, the iPhone 6 Plus has a full HD(1920X1080) display.

iFixit confirmed that the device holds an Elpida 1 GB LPDDR3 RAM. It is an entire gigabyte less than Samsung’s S5 and 2 gigabyte less than the Note 4. The company also confirmed that the smaller sibling, iPhone 6 also carries the same amount of RAM. The devices are powered by Apple’s A8 chipset.

The Camera Module with OIS is beautiful to look at.

The camera modules on the phones were impressive to see. This new cameras has optical image stabilization, and it sure looks beautiful on the inside.

The 128GB NAND flash memory has been supplied by SK Hynix. Other features that were found inside include the Wi-Fi module supplied by Murata, touch screen controller by Broadcom, power amplifier module by TriQuint and gyroscope and accelerometer combo supplied by InvenSense.

Apple has claimed that the new devices have better battery life and are faster than the previous generations. Considering its higher end phones have the same amount of RAM as there is in the Moto E, it will be interesting to see how the phones handle the new additions such as the much-touted interconnectivity features.

September 19, 2014