Category: Brands and Companies

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2014 Volvo XC90 to offer world-first safety features
The Volvo XC90 has been around for 10 years now, but unlike its rivals, it has undergone almost no changes in its decade-long life. Competing SUVs like the BMW X5 and Audi Q7 have uprooted its market, and it isn’t known for its safety features, as much as Volvo would like it.

Keeping this in mind, Volvo has announced groundbreaking safety features which will be present on the 2014 XC90 and will hopefully rebrand them as the safest manufacturer globally.

When the first XC90 was introduced in 2002, it featured a number of groundbreaking safety features, including a world-first solution that helps prevent rollovers. By revealing a number of systems for the next generation XC90 we once again confirm our leadership in automotive safety

– Thomas Broberg, senior safety advisor, Volvo Car Group

The 2014 XC90 will have a very impressive set of safety features:
- Pedestrian detection in darkness: Volvo’s auto brake technology is updated to work in the dark. According to the automaker, the system includes detection and auto brake for other vehicles, pedestrians and cyclists.
- Road edge and barrier detection with steer assist: This system detects if the car is about to drive off the road and automatically applies steering torque to correct its course. Volvo claims it also works on roads without side markings. “Being able to monitor where the physical road ends is a world first,” the automaker said in a statement.
- Adaptive cruise control with steer assist: The technology helps the driver stay in the lane and automatically follows the vehicle ahead. The car will slow down and/or brake if and when the car ahead slows down and/or brakes, and will accelerate on its own too.
- Collision mitigation for animals: The system — which Volvo calls a world first — detects and automatically brakes for animals in daylight and darkness. It will join the options list after the SUV debuts.
Volvo has long been known the pioneer of safety systems when it comes to the automotive industry. Last year Volvo announced that by 2020, no one will be killed or seriously injured in one of the automaker’s new vehicles. We can’t wait to see the XC90 and its hi-tech systems being tested in the real world!

[Images Source: Volvo]
July 9, 2013
HTC Butterfly Now Receiving Android 4.2.2 And Sense 5.0

After rolling out the Android 4.2.2 update for HTC One last week, the company is giving the same treatment to its older cousin HTC Butterfly.

The update will install the Android 4.2.2 operating system, the HTC Sense 5.0 user interface, the BlinkFeed live-streaming home screen and the Video Highlights slide show function for the camera, the company said in an e-mailed statement.

“We are grateful for the support of Taiwanese consumers, and Taiwan is the world’s leading market to receive the new Sense 5.0 software update for the HTC Butterfly,” Jack Tong, president of HTC North Asia, said in the statement.

Known as the world’s first smartphone with a 5-inch full-HD display, the HTC Butterfly sports a quad-core processor from Qualcomm Inc. and an 8-megapixel camera. It is called the Droid DNA in the United States and the HTC J Butterfly in Japan.

To build on the success of the large-screen phone, HTC released on a refreshed model on June 28 called the Butterfly S, which comes with the same 5-inch 1080p display, a faster 1.9GHz quad-core processor and a larger battery capacity of 3,200 mAh.

The update will bring to the phone the Quick Settings feature, a customizable lock screen (that’s limited to widgets), battery percentage in the status bar and the Jelly Bean Daydreams feature. BlinkFeed has also been improved, it will now also pull feeds from Instagram.

July 9, 2013
Samsung Galaxy S4 Zoom Hands-On

Samsung today launched the Samsung Galaxy S4 Zoom today in India at a price of around Rs. 34,500.

The Samsung Galaxy S4 Zoom offers a blend of smartphone and camera, and is targeted at the many people who now use their phones as their main camera too.

Before you view our hands-on video you may want a quick recap of the key specs and features. The Samsung Galaxy S4 Zoom is powered by a 1.5GHz dual-core processor, has a 4.3-inch Super AMOLED display with resolution of 960 x 540, 1GB of RAM, and 8GB of internal memory that’s expandable via microSD.

The Samsung Galaxy S4 Zoom also has a 2130 mAh battery, and runs Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean skinned with Samsung’s TouchWiz UI. The camera set-up includes a 16-megapixel rear camera with optical image stabilization (OIS), optical 10x Zoom, Xenon flash, HDR, panorama, and 24mm wide-angle lens. It offers full HD video capture, and there’s also a 1.9-megapixel front-facing camera.

The Zoom’s big USP is its ability to take detailed shots of objects that are rather far away. Not only is the Zoom a first in terms of design, but it’s also one of the first smartphones to feature an optical zoom, as well as a digital zoom and optical image stabilisation with a 24mm lens.

It also has a myriad of shoot modes: 25 to be exact, which are as follows:

Smart mode suggest, Beauty face, Best photo, Continuous shot, Best face, Kids shot, Landscape, Dawn, Snow, Macro, Food, Party/Indoor, Action freeze, Rich tone (HDR), Panorama, Waterfall, Animated photo, Drama, Eraser, Sound & Shot, Silhouette, Sunset, Night, Fireworks, and Light trace.

The Samsung galaxy S4 Zoom has a similar shape as that of its predecessor with a bump along the right side for your hand to grip, but the device is considerably slimmer. The whole thing is also made of glossy white plastic rather than the textured rubbery material on the side of the Galaxy Camera. At 208 gms, it’s one of the heaviest smartphones around. It has a plastic ring around the camera lens to access camera options and settings.

Expect a full review of the device pretty soon. Meanwhile, you can watch our hands-on video below :

[youtube id=”51q-oEYyu4s” width=”100%” height=”300px”]

Buy it Now

July 9, 2013
Android Jelly Bean Now On 37.9% Devices, Passes Gingerbread

Google has updated their Android platform distribution numbers for the month of June, 2013. It appears that Jelly Bean is currently running on 37.9% of active devices (of which only 5.6% accounts for Android 4.2.2) — up from last month’s 33%.

Breaking down the numbers more specifically, 37.9 percent of Android users are using Jelly Bean, 23.3 percent have devices powered by ICS, 0.1 percent are on Honeycomb, 34.1 are stuck with Gingerbread, and 3.1 percent unfortunately still have Froyo.

OS Donut and Eclair have are almost completely vanished, but there’s still 1.5% of users somewhere out there rocking the original version.

Remember, this isn’t really representative of Android as a whole — for all we know there are millions of Android devices in the world still running on Eclair.

Google recently tweaked its algorithm in regards to how it counts users for these figures. In its own words, the company said:

Note: Beginning in April, 2013, these charts are now built using data collected from each device when the user visits the Google Play Store. Previously, the data was collected when the device simply checked-in to Google servers. We believe the new data more accurately reflects those users who are most engaged in the Android and Google Play ecosystem.

What OS are you at?

July 9, 2013
Nokia Lumia 1020 Revealed On Flikr, Will Have 2GB Of RAM
The Nokia Lumia 1020’s name was confirmed today by a couple of Flickr photos posted by Windows Phone head, Joe Belfiore and now we are running out of things to expose about the 41MP smartphone.

As we know, it will look like the Lumia 920 on the front, but will have a 41MP camera sensor, Carl Zeiss optics lens and Xenon flash on the back. Windows Phone Central has a few more tidbits to share before the official release date, and they’re quite juicy.

The Nokia Lumia 1020 will have optical image stabilization, so extra-dark shots will stay blur-free and truer to life. This is an upgrade from the mechanism in the PureView 808, which had the same sensor but lacked OIS. The device will also be able to take photos at both 32MP and 5MP at the same time in 16:9, and there will be 7:1 oversampling when converting higher-res photos down to manageable sizes. Photos taken at the native aspect ratio of 4:3 will be 38 megapixels.

It will sport 32GB of internal storage and, thankfully, 2GB of RAM, likely to help quickly offload those high-resolution images. And, like other devices shipping with the “Amber” GDR2 update, the Lumia 1020 will support FM radio and flip-to-silence, two features that will hopefully come to older WP8 devices.

As rumoured, there will be a special “Pro Camera” app exclusive to Lumia devices that will allow Nokia Lumia 1020 owners to change white balance, ISO, focus, shutter speed and flash settings. This is sounding more and more like a regular camera every day.

Features of the Nokia Lumia 1020 revealed by WPCentral :
- It has optical image stabilization (OIS) built in
- It takes the image in a 32MP and 5MP at the same time in 16:9
- The 5MP image is over sampled dropping 7pixels into one “super pixel”
- It shoots 38MP in 4:3
- “Nokia 909” was an early name for it but it will be “Lumia 1020” for release
- 2GB of RAM, an increase of 1GB from other high end Windows Phone 8 devices
- 32GB of internal storage, no SD
- WP8 V 8.0.10322.71
- FM radio (Amber)
- Flip to silence (Amber)
- NFC is on board
- Optional wireless charging backplate will be available
[Via]
July 9, 2013
Samsung Galaxy S4 Zoom Launched In India

Samsung today announced the launched of the Samsung Galaxy S4 zoom, a device which combines the heritage of the latest Galaxy S4 smartphone with advanced photographic capabilities.

Spec-wise, the Samsung Galaxy S4 Zoom seems to deliver for the most part. The hardware is quite similar to what you’d get from a Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini. This means that the Zoom offers a 4.3 inch Super AMOLED display with a resolution of 540 x 960, a dual-core processor running at 1.5 GHz, 1.5 GB of RAM, 8 GB of internal storage expandable via microSD, a 2,320 mAh battery and Android 4.2 Jelly Bean with Samsung’s TouchWiz UI on top.

But the most important aspect of this camera-centric smartphone is, of course, its camera. The S4 Zoom has a 16 MP sensor boasting 10x optical zoom, Optical Image Stabilization, ISO of 100 to 3200 and a xenon flash.

It also has a myriad of shoot modes: 25 to be exact, which are as follows:

Smart mode suggest, Beauty face, Best photo, Continuous shot, Best face, Kids shot, Landscape, Dawn, Snow, Macro, Food, Party/Indoor, Action freeze, Rich tone (HDR), Panorama, Waterfall, Animated photo, Drama, Eraser, Sound & Shot, Silhouette, Sunset, Night, Fireworks, and Light trace.

On the front of the device you’ll find a standard 1.9-megapixel camera. The Zoom will be able to achieve much better photographs than your standard smartphone, however you’ll have to sacrifice speed, beauty and slimness in return for a great shot.

The phone which came for pre-order on the 28th of June with a pre-booking offer will come in White colour option only for now.

July 9, 2013
LG Optimus G Pro Giveaway iGyaan

LG Recently launched their flagship in India, the LG Optimus G Pro and we are giving away One to one of our lucky readers. Simply enter the LG Optimus G Pro Giveaway below and thats it!

Don’t forget to share so your friends can also play.

The terms of the contest can be found here

a Rafflecopter giveaway

GiveAway Result

Here are the Lucky Winners for the LG Optimus G Pro :

Winner: Vidit Chopra

Entry:

The LG Optimus G Pro will not just be my life companion but my ultimate companion. It’ll follow me from the serenity of Ladhak to the hussels of Mumbai. The G Pro would help me capture the panorama of the cafe while enjoying my cup of coffee at the corner cafe and checking my facebook news feed. I would make my friends jealous of the luscious brownie on Instagram later. Watching Ray William Johnson on the full HD, 5.5″ display to bewitching tunes of Nirvana. It’ll take my Android experience to a whole new level. It’ll be my shadow where ever I go.

Runner UP

1:Amolak Chandel
2:Chandan Babu
3:Rohit Sharma

Congratulations :

We will be contacting you within this week via your email.

For all the others, Please stay tuned for two new exciting giveaways.

Incase you have not already, check out our Unboxing and hands on Review below.

[youtube id=”JAdBnnjaX7s” width=”100%” height=”300px”]

July 9, 2013
Nikon : “Must Change The Concept Of Cameras” As Sales Of Compact Cameras Drop

Nikon will broaden its market beyond cameras as it looks to fend off the growing threat of smartphone photography.

Nikon president Makoto Kimura has expressed a desire to develop products specifically designed to counter and capitalize on the rise of smartphone photography.

“Rapid expansion of mobile devices is a change in business environment given to us,” Kimura said in an interview with Bloomberg. “Our task going forward is to find an answer to that change.”

Apparently Nikon is looking for alternative ways to generate growth – they have assembled a new Nikon Imaging team that is working on secret products that will be available in less than 5 years:

“We want to create a product that will change the concept of cameras. It could be a non-camera consumer product.”

Although Nikon has been slow to innovate in some areas, the company was the first manufacturer of note to develop an Android-based camera; the Coolpix S800c disappointed upon release with slow performance and unimpressive image quality. Kimura’s comments suggest that the company has learned from that experience and plans to make a more pronounced effort in the future.

Cameras and compact cameras are increasingly merging. Samsung has announced its own hybrid camera, the Galaxy NX. The camera runs on Android and offers 4G support and interchangeable lenses.

The president Makoto Kimura did not comment on whether Nikon is working on a smart phone.

[Via]

July 8, 2013
New Zynga CEO Tried To Buy Company While He Was At Microsoft

Ex-Xbox chief Don Mattrick tried to tempt Microsoft bosses into buying Zynga years before his recent appointment as its CEO, a new report suggests.

Don Mattrick attempted to orchestrate an acquisition of Zynga during his tenure as head of Microsoft’s entertainment and devices division.

According to a report on Bloomberg, which cites a number of people familiar with the matter, Mattrick opened negotiations with Zynga CEO Mark Pincus in 2010. At that time, Facebook games were ascendant, adding millions of new players every month.

Though Zynga’s market dominance has floundered in the past few years and – according to Bloomberg’s sources – the negotiations fell through, Mattrick’s interest in the company clearly never waned as he’s set to succeed Pincus with a rather attractive deal that was detailed in all in its financial glory last week.

The Xbox head honcho eventually left following a storm of controversy over policies for Xbox One and an eventual, embarrassing U-turn on the ones that were most unpopular. Far from a knee-jerk reaction to Microsoft’s troubles, Mattrick’s departure appears to have been long planned.

Mattrick is said to make $19.3 million this year, and as much as $50 million over the next three years if certain parameters are met.

[Via]

July 8, 2013
Micromax Canvas 4 A210 Hands On

Micromax has let out yet another sensation into the market, or has it? Micromax today announced the new Micromax Canvas 4 A210, a double jump in model number but no real jump in specs. The phone is priced at Rs. 17990 and is available to purchase today.

Initial Impressions

At the first glance the phone will remind you of each and every Canvas phone you have seen till date, plastic design and glass front and the Micromax Canvas 4 A210 is no different. The built quality is much improved over the previous edition Canvases but it is identical to many a smartphone already in the market. The bezel reminds you of a an iPhone with a stainless steel finish where the back panel is very Samsung.

Micromax has kept exactly the same specs of the Canvas HD with the Micromax Canvas 4 A210 and only bumped up the camera on the back and the front. The Blow to unlock feature, comes via an app and is very gimmicky and should cause a lot of problem for people. The interface is stock apart from a lot of Micromax bloatware and the performance seems shabby at first.

The cameras did not boot up on the device we were shown so we were unable to check them out, but the camera app is the standard camera app. The Micromax Canvas 4 A210 is the company’s attempt at making a device which focuses on build quality vs the hardware, and it seems to most this will be a disappointment. The company is also promising good service and easy replacements for the devices, which can only be seen in the time to come.

The camera upgrade and design are not the only changes, Micromax has also reduced the battery to a 2000 mAh battery which may end up resulting in lower battery life. Has Micromax built up this phone too much pre launch to the extent that users got really excited? Is the Micromax Canvas 4 A210 overpriced? While we search for the answers check out the images and stay tuned for a hands on Video.

Are you keeping or canceling your preorder? Let us know below.

July 8, 2013
Micromax Canvas A116 HD Vs Micromax Canvas 4

Micromax today launched their new flagship device, the Micromax Canvas 4. It has been priced at Rs. 17,999/-.

It replaces the Micromax Canvas HD at the pinnacle of Micromax’s Canvas lineup, so we take a look at what it offers over the HD.

Both the devices have 720p IPS displays.

When we talk about the screen, both the Micromax Canvas HD and the Canvas 4 sport 720p HD IPS LCD displays. Both feature a MediaTek MT6589 chipset with quad-core CPU’s clocked at 1.2 GHz.

The camera seems to be the only major difference between the 2 devices.

Graphics are handled by a Power VR SGX544 GPU and the battery on both is a Li-Ion 2,000mAh. The rear camera on the Micromax Canvas HD is a 8 Megapixel snapper, whereas the Canvas 4 has a 13 Megapixel camera. The front camera on the Canvas HD is 2.1 Megapixel whereas the Canvas 4 has a 5 Megapixel front camera.

Obviously, the Canvas 4 boasts of some enhancements on the software front with features like Blow to unlock and video pinning. It will also have OTA support for firmware updates.

So basically, all Micromax seems to have done with the Canvas 4 is add a better camera with some software enhancements. We’re sure this isn’t what most customers were looking for when they pre-ordered the device from their website.

Most customers will be left disappointed by what Micromax has to offer with their latest flagship device.

What do you think? Did you expect better?

July 8, 2013
Micromax Promises Canvas 4 Replacement If Problems Are Not Fixed Within 7 Days At Service Centers

At an event in New Delhi today, Micromax announced their new flagship device, the Micromax Canvas 4.

Micromax Canvas 4’s key feature is a blow to unlock software. That and a 5 MP camera in the front ensure that the users have nothing to complain about lack of basic features. The main camera is a 13 MP autofocus camera and the back panel is glazed just like on Samsung Galaxy phones.

The Micromax Canvas 4 A210 has a HD 720p display on a 5-inch screen. The phone sports the MediaTek MT6589 SoC. There will be 1 GB RAM, 16 GB internal storage and a 2000 mAh battery. It will run on Android 4.2 Jelly Bean. The phone is 144 mm high (5.67 inches ) and 76 mm wide (2.87 inches).

We’ve often heard people complain about the after sales service provided by Micromax, and it seems that Micromax is trying to improve their reputation. At the event today, Micromax announced that if you submit your Micromax Canvas 4 for repairs at one of their service centers and the device is not fixed within 7 days, they will give you a brand new replacement free of cost.

At the moment, this scheme is only available for Canvas 4 devices, but Micromax said they will be rolling out this feature to other devices in the coming months.

Lets hope Micromax stands true on their promise!

July 8, 2013
Micromax Canvas 4 Launched At Rs.17,999

Although many websites were reporting that the Micromax Canvas 4 A210 will launch for upwards of 24 thousand Rupees, it’s been officially launched today at a price of Rs 17,999.

Micromax Canvas 4’s key feature is a blow to unlock software. That and a 5 MP camera in the front ensure that the users have nothing to complain about lack of basic features. The main camera is a 13 MP autofocus camera and the back panel is glazed just like on Samsung Galaxy phones.

The Micromax Canvas 4 A210 has a HD 720p display on a 5-inch screen. The phone sports the MediaTek MT6589 SoC. There will be 1 GB RAM, 16 GB internal storage and a 2000 mAh battery. It will run on Android 4.2 Jelly Bean. The phone is 144 mm high (5.67 inches ) and 76 mm wide (2.87 inches).

Micromax presently moves out over 300,000 units of their canvas series on a monthly basis and a device like this priced around the 15,000 Rupee price mark could easily increase that by 50%.

Micromax had managed to create a lot of buzz around the Micromax Canvas 4 launch with aggressive marketing on social media and Television. It also started pre-booking of the Micromax Canvas 4 at a price of Rs. 5,000.

Micromax has launched the Canvas 4 A210 in White and Black colors, with a graphic texture back panel. There will also be a flip cover included inside the box. You can expect iGyaan style videos to follow suit.

July 8, 2013
Micromax Canvas 4 Live Hands-On

Micromax today launched the Micromax Canvas 4 at an event in New Delhi.

In terms of specs, the Micromax Canvas 4 sports a 5 inch 1920 x 1080 display. The phone is powered by a MediaTek MT6589 SoC. There will be 1 GB RAM, 8 GB internal storage and a 2500 mAh battery. It will run on Android 4.2 Jelly Bean. The phone is 144 mm high (5.67 inches ) and 76 mm wide (2.87 inches).

The phone has been aggressively priced as the company will expect to do large numbers in terms of sale.

You can watch our live hands-on with the Micromax Canvas 4 below :

[youtube id=”_aOr6PzM5vk” width=”100%” height=”300px”]

July 8, 2013
LG Optimus G2 Will Be Launched On August 7, Rumours Point At 5.2″ 423ppi Display

The reliable @evleaks recently posted an image of the LG Optimus G2 and now LG has more or less confirmed that the device will be unveiled at an event in New York on August 7th.

It’s been suggested that this machine will be a hero device for LG to take on the HTC One and the Samsung Galaxy S 4. To do this, the company is tipped to be bringing a top-notch display with edge-to-edge technology making for a rather unique experience in the palm of the users’ hand.

Added together with the rest of the year’s leaks and projections to date, the LG Optimus G2 is expected to feature a full 1080p HD 5.2-inch touchscreen with a retina-busting 423ppi pixel density.

A Snapdragon 800 processor backed by up to 3GB of RAM will power the LG Optimus G2, with the rear will feature a 13-megapixel camera. Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean is expected to be driving things at the helm, with a new build of the Optimus UI running on top.

@evleaks had earlier posted a leaked shot of LG Optimus G2 that indicated the volume rocker keys will be placed behind the smartphone.

This smartphone will likely start retailing from the third quarter of 2013.

[Via]

July 8, 2013