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Hyundai launches Celebration Edition Santro Xing

Hyundai has now been in India for 15 years. The company is celebrating its success with the first car they had launched in India. The first generation Santro, with a 1 liter petrol engine, gave India its first tall boy hatchback.

Soon in 2003, Hyundai launched the updated version of the Santro, known as Santro Xing with a 1.1 liter petrol engine. Now, its a decade this car is stil running successfully, as per the sources Hyundai sells 4,000 units a month on average.

Hyundai Santro Xing Celebration Edition

The car’s “Celebration Edition Santro Xing” is the latest revision in the series of updates the car has received. The Celebration Edition adds some interesting new features like – Graphics on the flanks, Rear Chrome garnish, Reverse parking sensors with LED display, Manual sun blind for rear windscreen, new floor mats and Blaupunkt audio system.

If we talk about the mechanics of the car it remains the same, the 1,061cc-4 cylinder petrol engine that outputs 62 Bhp of peak power and 96 Nm of peak torque with a 5 speed of manual gearbox. But, the new Celebration Edition would be available both in petrol and LPG variant. Pricing is still not out but is estimated to be starting from 3.81 lakhs(ex-showroom). The company is planning to offer up the Celebration Edition Santro Xing with special finance options as well.

[via]

August 13, 2013
Nokia Asha 501 Review

Nokia has long lost the major chunk of the market it used to own, and it is not easy to come down from the 80% market share to a lowly 15%. Despite the continued efforts of the the Finnish manufacturer, the market seems to not want to adapt to their ecosystem anymore. Fortunately for Nokia, countries like India still exist and devices like the Nokia Asha 501 are the only Asha (ray of hope) the company may have at surviving their toughest time yet. Does the Nokia Asha 501 cut its place out in the market which is now dominated by cheap Chinese replicas.

Build Quality and Hardware

Impressive. That is the only word that comes to mind the minute you pick up the Nokia Asha 501, its almost nostalgic. Suddenly Nokia has been able to remind us why we have so many MEMEs about the Nokia 3310. Nokia has once again focused on making a sturdy and strong device, that will promise to last long through the battles of life. The Nokia Asha 501 also targets the youth with a array of beautiful color options including Cyan, Green, White, Black and the “Pinkenta” that we got (seriously !)

With its Unibody-esque ( the shell is openable) design and polycarbonate feel, which is actually plastic make this phone really robust. The quality of materials used has actually shown off in the end result and will be appreciated for a long time to come.

On the hardware front all is sketch, in an age where people want to know everything about the workings of their phone, the 3 pieces of relevant information here are : 3 inch screen, 1200 mAh battery and 3 MP camera. All of which are in the 3 negatives; below par, below standard and below competition.

Software and UI

Nokia has done something fascinating with the new “ASHA” UI, which makes is a lot more appealing. The number of interactions required by a user before execution have been considerably reduced with the new Nokia Asha 501.

The new ASHA interface truly is a rebuild of S40 which is a rebuild of Symbian which means you have JAVA on this phone. Which means that you should not expect an experience close to any Smartphone that you have ever seen, in fact despite Nokia’s huge software attempt, the UI is slow, boring and sort of dated.

Coming down from an Android, best of luck transferring contacts! Despite the series of softwares available, its still not done automatically via Gmail.

Sure you get Nokia Music and Express Browser that do work well and the music service is truly worth the value. You also get FM radio, but you still need a headset ( incidentally the one in the box is color coded to the color of the handset).

Phone and Battery Life

The Dual Sim Nokia Asha 501, is one hell of a phone, and that is what it is. The modern marvel of Nokia build engineering and possible Meme star (part deux) has immaculate network reception along with impressive voice handling and transmission. No network lag during travel and little or no disturbance through usage. In todays low/no network enviorment, the phone works as great indoors as it does outdoors.

The battery life is another gem in the treasure chest, over 12 hours of talk time on our test, with endless standby. The company claimed 17 hours of talk time and over 600 hours of standby actually seem possible with time.

Camera and Multimedia

Dont think this phone is limited in terms of features, you get a pretty impressive browser that actually impressed us with the promptness with which is handled many websites including iGyaan. The video playback from Youtube over Wifi is smooth and lag free and the speaker is pretty loud.

The 3 MP camera is a feature that you get but may never use, the images are poor and composed without a pop of color, are flat and underexposed. Low light conditions will remind you of the days of 3310 indeed, where a no camera is better than any camera at all.

Conclusion

The Nokia Asha 501 is not supposed to be a Smart Phone, even though the company may be leading the world to believe so. The Asha 501 is a fantastic phone, built with an impressive quality and attention to detail, and a battery life that puts the big dogs to shame the market over. Unfortunately Nokia fails to communicate this to potential buyers, when its trying to show off features like music playback and Facebook access, which truly are not the highlights of this phone.

The Nokia Asha 501 is a fantastic second phone, I’d buy one just because its that good a phone, which that good battery life, but that is all there is to it. Several options in the Rs. 5000 price bracket offer Smartphone-features especially if the phone is loaded with Android. We have listed a few options below.

Buying Options

August 13, 2013
Bharti Airtel To Launch 4G In Delhi Soon

Bharti Airtel is likely to launch 4G telecommunication services in the Delhi service area either in September or by end of this year.

The company claims that the 4G technology allows users to watch videos and download content on mobile devices much faster than third-generation(3G) networks. Airtel is already offering 4G in Kolkata, Bangalore, Pune and Chandigarh and now Delhi will be the 5th city.

As per TOI the company has collaborated with the Chinese equipment maker Huawei to build and operate the 4G network in Delhi.

We are planning to launch 4G services in Delhi by September and has selected Huawei for the network,” a company source said.

The company in 2010 won broadband wireless licences in the four service areas of Maharashtra, Karnataka, Kolkata and Punjab. Additionally in May 2012, Bharti Airtel bought 49% later increased to 51% stakes in four entities of Qualcomm’s wireless broadband business in India. As a result, the entities that hold wireless broadband or broadband wireless access (BWA) licences in four circles of Delhi, Mumbai, Haryana and Kerala, have become subsidiaries of Bharti Airtel.

After Delhi, Airtel will launch 4G services in Mumbai and the company is in talks with players such as Huawei and ZTE for network. 4G mobile Internet technology provides download speeds of around 100 Megabits per second (Mbps) on the move and it can go up to 1 Gigabits per second (Gbps) at a fixed location.

Here is an image that shows the price of Airtel 4G in Chandigarh, we can now assume the price for the 4G services in Delhi:

Airtel 4G tariffs in Chandigarh

[via]

August 13, 2013
Microsoft Posts New Video To Discuss 40 New Improvements In The Xbox One Controller

Microsoft has published a new video in which Xbox community mouthpiece Larry Hyrb and Xbox One general manager Zulfi Alam discuss the creation of the console’s brand-new controller.

Microsoft has “redefined” the wireless protocol used in the Xbox One’s wireless controller to reduce input lag by 20 per cent over the current Xbox 360 wireless controller.

“There were two goals: first increase the bandwidth of this wireless protocol, significantly more, 20x more than what we have right now. And the other one was to reduce the latency, so the moment you press the fire button, the time it takes to go to your console and back, essentially we reduce that.”

The controller is confirmed as having haptic feedback, advanced rumble motors, and a more comfortable design. There is also a USB input on the back of the pad, which gives consumers the option of playing either wired or wireless.

“The moment you plug in the wire essentially the radio in the controller shuts down, and at that point the controller transforms into being a truly wired controller,” he adds, with data carried purely through the USB cable.

The pad also has IR LEDs so that the system knows – thanks to Microsoft Xbox Kinect – who is holding the pad. The Xbox One automatically shifts gamers profiles depending on who is handling it.

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August 12, 2013
Blackberry Z30 Leaked In New Hands-On Video

BlackBerry is looking for a buyer for the company, but until then, the company will still needs to make big moves to find buyers for its phones.

A full hands-on video of the as-yet unreleased Blackberry Z30 has appeared on Vietnamese website Cellphone S. The 5-inch screen-toting BlackBerry 10 powered handset looks similar to the likes of the already-on-sale BlackBerry Z10 and Q5. The video footage showcases the BlackBerry Z30 and its AMOLED 1,290 x 720p resolution display with a 295ppi image density.

There are plenty of screens to view as the Vietnamese tester scrolls through the operating system, but you could get the same by looking at one of the current models. The interesting stuff lies in the fact that, if true, the Z30 will very much be a statement phone. Its 5-inch AMOLED display may be rumoured to have only a 720p resolution, but it’s certainly big enough.

Although there’s no official launch date for the BlackBerry Z30 from the Canadian smartphone manufacturer, the fact that the smartphone already has an AT&T logo on the rear from the US network provider could suggest that the 5-inch smartphone will be unveiled imminently.

Other reported specs for the BlackBerry Z30, aka the BlackBerry A10, include an 8-megapixel camera on the back. On the inside, the phone is expected to rock a dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro processor with 2GB of RAM and 16GB of storage. It’s certainly nothing too surprising and isn’t anything groundbreaking, but we’d say BlackBerry loyalists will get a kick out of the new phone.

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August 12, 2013
20 People Injured At LG’s G2 Event In Seoul

LG attempted to muster up some enthusiasm for its new G2 smartphone with an event in Seoul, but after it ended poorly, the hardware maker decided to cancel all ensuing G2 PR occasions.

20 people were injured at a recent promotional event in South Korea. According to the Korea Times, the event in Seoul saw balloons filled with coupons redeemable for a free LG G2 released into the air. But LG’s plans backfired when some attendees brandishing BB guns attempted to shoot down the balloons, leading to a reported 20 individuals being inadvertently shot.

“Some were using BB guns to shoot the balloons. As far as I know, there were only some 20 security guards. LG should have placed more security personnel as the event was already promoted via social networks such as Facebook, Twitter and leading local portals. Some of the injured were hospitalized,” a witness said.

“We cancelled events offering free G2 smartphones that had been scheduled in major cities nationwide, including Busan, due to safety concerns,” LG said in a statement.

LG has issued an apology regarding the incident and has promised to cover the medical bills of all the injured.

The LG G2 was launched last week and features a 5.2-inch full HD resolution display, a thin bezel on the side that’s only 2.65 mm thick, a Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 quad-core processor operating at 2.26 GHz., a 3000 mAh internal battery promising more than a full days use per charge, a 13-megapixel rear-camera featuring optical image stabilization technology, 24 bit/192kHz Hi-Fi playback, 16GB/32GB storage capacities, and the Android 4.2.2 operating system.

August 12, 2013
BlackBerry Creates “Special Committee”, Will Consider Sale

Looks like the rumours from last week were true about BlackBerry potentially going up for sale. The company has announced this morning that the Board of Directors have created a ‘Special Committee’ to “explore strategic alternatives” that could include ‘possible joint ventures, strategic partnerships or alliances, a sale of the Company or other possible transactions.”

According to the press release the Special Committee will be chaired by Timothy Dattels, plus include Barbara Stymiest, Thorsten Heins, Richard Lynch and Bert Nordberg. Leading the “Exploration of Strategic Alternatives” process will be JP Morgan Securities as its financial advisor, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP and Torys LLP are serving legal advisors.

Timothy Dattels, Chairman of BlackBerry’s Special Committee of the Board, stated “Given the importance and strength of our technology, and the evolving industry and competitive landscape, we believe that now is the right time to explore strategic alternatives.”

This isn’t the first time we’ve heard of BlackBerry investigating its options in an increasingly-competitive smartphone market — in early 2012, the company reportedly hired Goldman Sachs to evaluate its options, and last June the company was reportedly investigating the selloff of its handset business.

Of course, a lot has happened since last year — BlackBerry 10 finally launched in 2013, but so far the new OS hasn’t stopped the bleeding for the formerly-dominant company.

[Via]

August 12, 2013
WSJ : Next iPad To Be Thinner, Will Use iPad Mini’s Light Touch-Panel Technology

Various sources have been mulling for months that Apple’s fifth-generation 9.7-inch iPad will adopt the overall appearance of the iPad mini, including its skinnier side bezels and thinner, lighter enclosure. And as if you ever needed more proof, now the credulous Wall Street Journal is finally out with its own report :

The same touch-panel technology that made the iPad mini thin and light will likely feature in the next iPad, which is currently being produced by Apple Inc.’s Asian suppliers, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

What many consumers generally call a “screen” consists of multiple layers, and the “touch panel” specifically refers to the layer equipped with touch sensors, between the liquid-crystal display and the outermost cover glass. The iPad mini, according to a teardown report by research firm IHS iSuppli, uses a film-based touch panel, which is thinner and lighter than the glass-based touch panel that the current full-size model uses. Following the iPad mini’s success, Apple plans to use the film-based touch panel in its next regular-size iPad, the people said.

Apple’s next iPad is expected to take other design cues from the iPad mini, including a thinner bezel on the sides of the device, allowing the overall frame to become smaller while still offering the same 9.7-inch display. It’s also possible that the fifth-generation iPad will include stereo speakers, like the iPad mini.

In the second quarter, Apple was still the largest tablet vendor accounting for 32.4% of the market by shipments, but its share had declined from 60.3% a year earlier, according to research firm IDC.

Apple’s next big event is scheduled for September 10th.

[Via]

August 12, 2013
Google Launches Rs 12 Crore Hunt For India’s Most Innovative Social Entrepreneur. ‘Google Impact Challenge’
On the eve of India’s independence day, Google is celebrating the spirit of creativity and entrepreneurship of the world’s largest democracy by spotlighting the best local nonprofits that are using technology to make the world better.

As per Google:

Today they are launching the Google Impact Challenge in India, inviting Indian nonprofits to tell us how they’d use technology to improve people’s lives. At the end of the challenge, four nonprofits will each receive a Rs 3 crore (around $500,000) Global Impact Award and technical assistance from Google to bring their projects to life.
- 5th September 2013 – Final day to apply to the Google Impact Challenge.
- 21st October 2013 – Google announces the finalists, and the public votes online for their favourites.
- 31st October 2013 – Each finalist team will pitch its idea to an esteemed panel of judges at an event in Delhi. Four finalists, including the non-profit chosen by the public vote, will be announced as Global Impact Award recipients.
The Blog further said that registered Indian nonprofits can apply online until September 5 at g.co/indiachallenge. Googlers from India, and around the world, will review applications and announce the 10 best projects on October 21. You can learn more about the top 10 finalists then, and cast a vote for who you think should receive the Fan Favorite award.

On October 31, I’ll join Ram Shriram, Jacquelline Fuller, Anu Aga and Jayant Sinha in Delhi to hear the 10 finalists pitch live. As judges, we’ll select three awardees based on their potential impact, scalability and ingenuity. We’ll also announce the winner of the Fan Favorite, according to your vote.”
Growing up in India, I’ve seen firsthand the vibrancy and innovativeness of India’s social entrepreneurs. I’m excited to see their projects and support their ideas for how to use technology and Rs 3 crores to change the world.

Said – Nikesh Arora, Senior Vice President and Chief Business Officer Google
August 12, 2013
HTC One Dual Sim Now Available For Purchase

The dual-SIM version of the HTC One is still listed as “Coming Soon” on the HTC India website, But the phone has made its way to an online store. The dual-SIM HTC One is available on Flipkart.com for Rs 46,495. Flipkart says, the dual-SIM HTC One, which is available in silver colour, will be delivered in 9-10 business days.

The HTC One dual sim:

SIM1:- Up to HSPA (900/2100 MHz) and up to EVDO REV. B (800 MHz)

SIM2:- Up to EDGE (900/1800/1900 MHz)

As per the website It supports both GSM and CDMA, has a 32 GB of inbuilt memory and is expandable till 64 GB. The phone has a 4.7-inch full HD display. The phone is powered by a 1.7 GHz quad-core processor coupled with 2GB RAM. It is packed with a 2300 mAh battery.

Possible leaked image for the HTC One dual sim

The other major difference between HTC One and HTC One dual sim is the expandable memory the new phone has a memory card slot that can take upto 64 GB of extra memory which seems like a great input from HTC. The HTC One is a great phone(check our review) and the company launching the dual sim variant can be helpful for few. What is your thought ?

[via][via]

August 12, 2013
Nokia Launches The Biggest Lumia Yet : Lumia 625

Nokia, which is lagging behind rivals like Apple and Samsung in the global smartphone market, has launched its biggest-ever Lumia phone in India dubbed the “Lumia 625”. Nokia is planning to make available the Lumia 625, the handset with largest touchscreen in its portfolio, by the end of August.

Lumia 625

The Nokia Lumia 625 will feature a 4.7-inch IPS LCD display, the biggest for a Lumia handset, but the phone will be a mid-range device. The screen will also feature the Super Sensitive Touch technology which allows you to use the handset with gloves on (lucky since winters are around the corner, not!). Under the hood is a 1.2GHz dual-core processor, 512 MB RAM and Windows Phone 8 operating system with Qualcomm Snapdragon™ S4 processor. The company has included 8 GB internal storage in the phone, along with microSD support up to 64 GB.

Colorful accessories

Nokia claims that the Lumia 625 will have the Smart Camera features that will allow users to create action shots, remove objects, blur backgrounds and capture the best smiles. “Editing your photos is a snap on the big screen”- says Nokia’s website for the Lumia 625.

Nokia Lumia 925 and 625 are expected to be available together in Indian market, while the 925 is already up for prebooking, we suppose that the Lumia 625 would also be available soon. Can this phone be the game changer that Nokia needs in India? only time and pricing will offer the answers for this device.

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August 12, 2013
Samsung To Buy OLED Maker Novaled For $347 Million

Samsung is spending a few hundred million on a new acquisition to help it meet the growing need for OLED displays.

According to Cnet, Samsung Electronics and its affiliate Cheil Industries will together buy Novaled for $347 million. Chiel, which makes electronic materials for OLED screens, will purchase a 50 percent chunk of Novaled, while Samsung will acquire 40 percent. The remaining 10 percent is already owned by Samsung’s venture capital unit.

Germany-based Novaled develops OLEDs (organic light-emitting diodes) that are used in the displays of smartphones and increasingly those of TV sets. OLED screens are thinner, lighter, and brighter than conventional LED screens, but are more difficult to manufacture.

Samsung has faced technical challenges trying to ramp up production of OLED display panels, especially ones large enough to handle large-screen TVs. Samsung’s success rate at producing a reliable 55-inch OLED screen has been only around 50 percent, according to analysts cited by The Wall Street Journal. That’s one reason why the cost of the the company’s new 55-inch OLED TV is still exorbitantly high, starting at $13,000.

Through the acquisition of Novaled, Cheil Industries strengthens its leading position in the field of electronic materials, and we are able to achieve significant synergies in research and development of OLED material of the next generation,” Cheil Industries CEO Jong-Woo Park said in a statement.

This step by Samsung can be of great help to them and possibly to the buyers as now the screens can be manufactured according to the demand and may be Samsung keeps a reasonable amount for its buyers.

[via]

August 12, 2013
Apple’s Next iPhone event slated for September 10th

Apple’s next big game changing event is slated for 10th of September if AllThingsD are to be believed. The next editions of the iPhone are slated to have 4.7 and 5.7 inch display and a cheaper variant popularly known as the plastic clad – iPhone 5C.

It is also easy to assume that iOS7 will be pushed out to all the remaining iPhones officially around that very time. iPod Lovers can expect an iPod refresh ranging from a new iPod Shuffle all the way over to a iPod touch to match the dimensions of the next iPhone.

If the event is anything like last years, then an iPad refresh might be on the table, with a new iPad mini with retina display and a new iPad 5.

[AllThingsD]

August 11, 2013
Asus Pulls Out Of Windows RT Devices

Asus says it will no longer make systems that run the Windows RT operating system, while Nvidia implies the OS’ problems hurt Tegra sales.

ASUS CEO Jerry Shen spoke with the WSJ citing the reason for the company’s dropping of Windows RT is due to “weak sales” as well as “industry sentiment… that Windows RT has not been successful.” Windows RT getting the boot means ASUS is now able to focus solely on creating Windows 8 devices that will run on Intel chips due to the backwards compatibility that Windows RT lacks.

Shen told the WSJ that Asus is not the only device-maker to have been disappointed with the not-too-heartening response to Windows RT; and added that “the industry sentiment is also that Windows RT has not been successful.”

Windows RT, launched at the same time as Windows 8, is designed to work on ARM-based devices from the likes of Qualcomm and Nvidia and is a pared-down version of Windows 8. Stripping out the desktop and designed for tablets, its biggest problem is that in switching to ARM it had to drop support for many of the software apps people have come to expect from a Microsoft PC.

Microsoft slashed prices for the Surface RT last month due to an inability to move units and wound up taking a $900 million “inventory adjustment” charge associated with the Surface RT in its last fiscal quarter.

As far as Nvidia’s decision is concerned, the chip-maker’s executives have indirectly blamed the lower-than-anticipated sales of Windows RT devices for the precipitous plunge in the company’s revenue from its Tegra chip business.

[Via]

August 10, 2013
Ex-Microsoft Executive Bill Henningsgaard, Son Killed In Plane Crash

Bill Henningsgaard, an ex-Microsoft vice president and the co-founder of education group Eastside Pathways, and his son were killed in a small plane Friday morning that crashed into two homes in East Haven, CT.

According to CBS New York, National Transportation Safety Board Investigator Robert Gretz said there were casualty reports of two or three people in the plane and two or three on the ground.

The father and son duo left the West Coast on Monday to tour colleges on the East Coast and New Haven was on itinerary. He was flying out of Teterboro Airport in New Jersey and tried to land at Tweed-New Haven Airport but was unable to for unknown reasons, according to Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). The plane was attempting a second landing when it crashed into two homes in East Haven at 11:25 a.m., engulfing both houses in fire.

Bill Henningsgaard was the son of former Astoria Mayor Edith Henningsgaard-Miller and brother of City Attorney Blair Henningsgaard.

Blair Henningsgaard, the victim’s brother, said the 54-year-old retired from Microsoft years ago and dedicated his life to helping underprivileged youth through Eastside Pathways, a non-for-profit organization he had set up.

Seattle-based non-profit organization Social Venture Partners confirmed the death of board member Mr Bill Henningsgaard in a tribute on its website.

‘There are hundreds of people that have a story about Bill Henningsgaard- when he went the extra mile, when he knew just the right thing to say, how he would never give up,’ SVP said in a statement. ‘He was truly all-in for this community, heart, mind and soul.’

August 10, 2013