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Report : NVIDIA Set To License Kepler GPU Technology To Other Manufacturers

We knew NVIDIA had some big plans for the mobile market, but the company has announced just how big those plans are to be. NVIDIA will be licensing it’s Kepler GPU architecture and visual computing patents to manufacturers for mobile products.

This build is found in Nvidia’s GeForce 600-series GPUs and now may end up in graphics cores from other manufacturers, too.

Nvidia said Kepler’s improved performance and efficiency, as well as its Direct3D 11, OpenGL 4.3, and GPGPU capabilities would endear device makers to its licensees. In turn, licensees will receive designs, collateral, and support from the company.

Nvidia said the move has precedent: Nvidia licensed GPU core technology to Sony for the PlayStation 3 game console in past, and also receives hundreds of millions of dollars per year from Intel for the license to Nvidia graphics technology.

Aside from offering smartphone makers the possibility to license its Kepler architecture, NVIDIA has confirmed that it will also offer licensing rights to its visual computing portfolio, thus enabling them the option to design their own GPU functionality.

There’s more to it, as the company has announced that all licensees will get “all necessary designs, collateral and support to integrate NVIDIA’s powerful graphics cores into their devices.”

June 19, 2013
Report : PlayStation 3 Update Version 4.45 Bricking Consoles

For the time being, it’s probably a good idea to decline the latest system update for the PlayStation 3. Many users are reporting bricked consoles after updating.

The firmware update is intended to improve system stability and add options for in-game trophy notifications. However, several user comments on the PlayStation forum have stated that the latest 4.45 update is causing a lockdown on their consoles.

User JadeTreeInWind, for example, said that after the Playstation 3 logo was on display post update, the crossbar menu would not show up. The user tried restarting the console, but the same problem still persisted.

Restarting the system and other recovery attempts do not appear to resolve the issue. If you haven’t downloaded the update yet, avoid it until Sony gives the all-clear. If you have downloaded it and can’t access the XMB, sit tight until we know more.

Assuming the speculation that this issue arises from user-replaced hard drives, then it would bring back memories of the time when the 3.41 update caused a few corrupted Playstation 3 drives, too. Hopefully things will look up for the better in the long run, and a solution should be released sooner rather than later.

As of now, the latest firmware is 4.41, and Sony has yet to offer a statement concerning the bricked consoles.

June 19, 2013
Microsoft Frees 2 Million PCs From Citadel Botnet

According to Microsoft, the actions it took against the world’s biggest cyber-crime rings (the Citadel botnet) freed at least 2 million PCs infected with the virus. It is believed that the Citadel Botnet was used to steal more than $US500 million from bank accounts worldwide.

The information comes from Microsoft Digital Crime Unit’s Assistant General Counsel Richard Domingues Boscovich in an interview earlier this evening. Said Boscovich, “We definitely have liberated at least 2 million PCs globally. That is a conservative estimate. We feel confident that we really got most of the ones that we were after. It was a very, very successful disruptive action.”

The botnets, which were run from “command and control” servers at data hosting centers around the world, were used to steal from hundreds of financial institutions, according to court documents that Microsoft filed to get permission to shut down servers in the United States that were being used to run the operation.

Data center operators typically are not aware that their servers are being used to run botnets.

Among the PCs liberated, the majority were located in the US, Hong Kong, and throughout Europe. The take down process worked by severing the Citadel networks from the infected machines, with a total of 1,400 networks being successfully pulled. Those responsible for leading the networks, however, one of which is known as “Aquabox”, were not captured, and have not been identified.

Though the chief botnet organizer is still on the loose and many machines are still burdened by Citadel, Domingues Boscovich says they “feel confident that we really got most of the ones that we were after.”

[Via, Via]

June 19, 2013
HTC Desire 200 Officially Launched With 1GHz CPU, Beats Audio

HTC has just officially announced its latest budget offering, the HTC Desire 200.

We heard yesterday about an upcoming new budget Android smartphone from HTC that was leaked before it had been announced and even starred in a hands on video. The confirmed specifications of the handset include a 3.5-inch LCD display with a resolution of 320 x 480.

Under the hood of the HTC Desire 200 is a single core Qualcomm S1 processor running at 1GHz and paired with 512MB of RAM, and the official specs of the handset lists Android but doesn’t state which version but the device leaked yesterday had Android Ice Cream Sandwich on board.

There is only 4GB of on board storage but luckily there is the option of expanding this by up to 32GB via microSD card, and on the back HTC has fitted a 5-megapixel camera with a VGA unit around the front of the device.

The removable 1,230 mAh battery is promised to provide users up to 7.5 hours of 3G talk time or 812 hours of standby. Connectivity comes in the form of Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0, GPS, microUSB, and 3G HSDPA.

Pricing and availability of the HTC Desire 200 are unknown at this point, but it’s just a matter of time until major retailers and carriers are ready to share this info.

June 18, 2013
New Porsche Cayman S launched in India

Porsche has launched the new larger, lighter and more powerful Cayman S in India. The longer wheelbase, a wider track and lighweight mixed aluminium-steel construction are all designed to enhance the drive dynamics of the rear-wheel drive sports car.

Powering the sportscar is a 3.4-litre flat-six engine that puts out 329hp of power and 370Nm of torque. The Cayman S can go from a standstill to 100 km/h in 4.9 seconds with the optional seven-speed double clutch PDK gearbox. There is an optional Sport Chrono package that gives the Cayman S launch control and faster, more optimum shift times, allowing it to go from 0-100 km/h in 4.7 seconds and onwards to a top speed of 281 km/h.

The basic design of the new Cayman S remains the same as its predecessor. The front cooling inlets in the bumper have become larger and the fog lamps have been moved around to the corners. Porsche has bought into the new trend of daytime running LEDs as well and the car has shorter overhangs for better handling. At the back, the car retains its twin exhausts, sleek rear spoiler and gets new tail lights and 19-inch wheels come standard.

The cabin gets redesigned interiors and a 7-inch touchscreen. In terms of optional features, the cabin can be specced with a Burmester sound system and bi-colour leather packages amongst others. The new Porsche Cayman S will set you back Rs. 92,27,905 in Maharashtra and Rs 93,99,000 in Delhi.

June 18, 2013
Sony Launches New 55″, 65″ 4K X9004 BRAVIA UHDTV (Eyes On)

At an event in Delhi today, Sony launched 2 variants of its X9004 Ultra-HD television range, a 55″ model and a 65″ model.

The 4K LED televisions contain 8 million individual pixels (3840 x 2160 pixels), have a 16:9 aspect ratio and come with Sony’s latest generation processing engine analysis, which cleans and refines images, restoring impressive results from lower quality sources.

The X9004 Bravia series also up-scales 2K data to 4K quality and deliver images which are clearer and sharper. This is also aided by the Reality Creation database and super resolution processing optimisation that these TVs come with.

The X9004 Bravia also comes with Sony’s unique TRILUMINOS display with Edge-LED backlight, which expand the range of colours BRAVIA TVs can display when compared with normal TVs.

As is the norm these days, the X9004 Bravia is a 3D TV and 4 pieces of 3D glasses are bundled with the television.

At a time when most TV manufacturers pay lesser attention to the audio output of TVs, Sony has added Magnetic Fluid Speakers to the front of the device, which deliver amazing sound with lesser energy consumption. These are a 2.2 channel, 2 way speaker system, and have various sound modes such as sports and cinema.

On both these TVs you can access Skype via an optional camera, with WiFi direct for WiFi connectivity. As it is a smart-TV you also get an inbuit browser and various application for accessing web content.

In terms of dimensions, the Sony X9004 Bravia is 58mm at the edge. These TVs come with a chrome plated stand with a blinking LED light at the bottom, to make the design a lot more elegant.

The 55″ X9004 Bravia has been priced at Rs.3,00,000/- and the 65″ has been priced at Rs 4,00,000/-.

You can watch our eyes-on video with the Sony X9004 Bravia TV below :

[youtube id=”T6_5TfVWSe4″ width=”100%” height=”300px”]

Images

June 18, 2013
iOS 7 For iPad Screenshots Leak

Apple showed off iOS 7 to the world last week and promised its release to consumers sometime ‘this fall.’ The developer community have been busy working through the many changes, but Apple only made it available on the iPhone and iPod Touch, missing is an optimized version for the iPad.

However, if you’re on of the millions who are wondering exactly how iOS 7 will look on your iPad then these leaked screenshot will give you an indication. These images are from an iOS 7 emulator and carried over to iPad, but a notable change brings a full screen Notification Center to the forefront. Overall it seems that Apple is still working things out as important features like the Control Center and calendar aren’t in sync with how the iOS 7 beta looks on the iPhone.

On the iPad, iOS 7 looks largely the same as it does on the iPhone, but more spread out. As is the case with iOS 6, Apple leverages the increased screen real estate the tablet affords it in order to improve certain areas of the OS’ functionality.

Apple’s iOS 7 will come to the iPad 2, iPad 3, iPad 4 and iPad mini this fall, and an iPad iOS 7 beta is reportedly coming in the weeks ahead.

[Via]

June 18, 2013
Maruti Suzuki launches Alto 800 in VXi trim

Maruti Suzuki India has silently introduced the Alto 800 in the VXi trim for Rs 3.13 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi), or with optional metallic paint for Rs 3.17 lakh. This makes it Rs 13,581 more expensive than the Alto 800 LXi in Delhi, which is not a major difference considering the additional kit which comes with the VXi. The Alto 800 VXi costs Rs. 3.36 lakh in Mumbai.

This additional equipment comprises of central locking, a USB compatible stereo that is hooked to four speakers, left outside rear view mirror and a driver’s side airbag as standard. Cosmetic enhancements include door side mouldings and a rear spoiler. Other equipment aboard the Alto 800 VXi includes, air conditioning with heater, power steering, front power windows, dual tone upholstery, dual trip meter, clock, remote fuel lid and hatch opener, tubeless tyres body coloured bumpers and door handles, etc.

The Alto 800 derives its power from a three cylinder 796cc petrol unit churning out 48 bhp and 67Nm of torque. The engine is mated to a five-speed manual gearbox. The Maruti Suzuki Alto 800 is also available with a CNG kit option. As compared to the last generation Alto, the new Alto 800 is a little more spacious, in fact the fuel efficiency of the new version too has been improved by 15 per cent.

June 18, 2013
Volvo joins V8 Supercars series in 2014 down under [w/video]

Volvo fans, we have good news for you. It had been a rumour for a while, and now it’s official. Volvo will be joining the V8 Supercars series in Australia with an official team in 2014. Volvo’s own polestar tuning firm and Garry Rogers Motorsport have joined hands to help Volvo create Volvo Polestar Racing.

The Swedish half of the outfit will produce a V8 engine, and will supply it to the Garry Rogers team, for them to get the car ready for the track. Two V8 Supercars will be used by the team, based on the production S60 road car. But considering that the S60 uses a range of transversely mounted engines with four, five or six cylinders (powering either the front or all four wheels) while the new race car will employ a V8 sending about 650 horsepower to the rear wheels, we guess the similarities between the production variant and the V8 Supercar stop at the exterior design.

Volvo claims this is the first factory-backed entry in the V8 Supercars series from a luxury brand. We should note, though, that Mercedes-Benz is represented in the series with an E-Class sedan, but that outfit isn’t quite an official entry from the car’s German parents. With the going away of the Ford Falcon, the addition of the Nissan Altima and now this Volvo S60, V8 Supercars is surely getting very interesting. Watch the teaser video below, to get an idea of what Volvo has in mind.

[youtube id=”PNvH9n90XtQ” width=”100%” height=”300px”]

[Source: Volvo, Polestar Racing via YouTube]

June 18, 2013
Report : Microsoft Paying Devs $100,000 To Develop For Windows Phone

Sources close to Microsoft have confirmed that the tech giant is determined to prop up its Windows Phone 8 App Store, and it’s willing to bust out the big boy checkbook to do it. According to Business Insider, Microsoft has offered several top tier developers upwards of $100,000 to bring key apps to its mobile platform.

This is on top of offers to pay $100 per app, up to $2000, if developers publish an app before the end of this month.

The payment aims to entice developers to create apps for Windows Phone 8 as Microsoft play catch up to other app stores for Apple, Android, and BlackBerry.

Windows Phone chief marketing office Thom Gruhler told Bloomberg that Microsoft currently has around 145,000 apps and games in the Windows Store, although versions of Pinterest and Instagram are still missing for Windows Phone.

Although Windows Phone 8 is missing these two particularly popular apps, Gruhler explains that the store does still contain 48 of the 50 most-downloaded apps across all platforms.

While some may argue bribing developers is cheating, this is exactly the level of support we expect Microsoft to provide for the ecosystem, and of course Google and Blackberry both used the same strategy in their early years.

Last year, Google announced that Google Play had 600,000 apps, matching Apple’s App Store.

June 17, 2013
Intel To Release 8-Core Haswell-E With DDR4 Support, X99 PCH
People would think Intel will stop for a while as the craze over their fourth-generation continues but they are not the leading player for nothing. As VR Zone reports, Intel announced that it will be releasing Haswell-E in 2014 and it is even better.

Haswell-E will be Intel’s last and best offering using the 22 nm fabrication process, it will come in two versions, core count wise, 8 core part as well as 6 core part with hyper-threading enabled, therefore, boasting no less that 16 execution threads for the 8 core chips and 12 execution threads for the 6 core version. Judging by that alone, Haswell-E should constitute a far superior upgrade over Ivy Bridge-E, compared to what the latter will be in relation to Sandy Bridge-E,

Haswell-E offering two additional physical cores that translate into four additional execution threads. The new chips will boast 2.5 MB of L3 Cache per core, summing up to 20 MB total L3 cache for the 8 core parts. TDP will remain in the same neighborhood it was in the case of its predecessors, around 130-140 W.

Intel will launch Haswell-E with Wellsburg family – next generation of motherboard shipments. The chip set will set the pace for DDR4 support clocked at 2133MHz. This offers more room for overclocking. Features for the Wellsburg X-PCH include:
- Up to 6 x USB 3.0 ports
- Up to 8 x USB 2.0 ports
- Up to 10 x SATA 6Gbps ports
- Integrated Clock support
- TDP of 6.5W
People should also expect Quad-channel DDR4. Speed options come in 1333MHz, 1600MHz, 1866MHz and 2133MHz.

Lots of changes coming and they all look good!

[Via]
June 17, 2013
Leaked Images Show Nokia EOS Aluminum Body

Earlier this week, Nokia started sending out invites to an event in New York City on July 11th. This is when the Lumia EOS is expected to be unveiled – a Windows Phone 8 smartphone that’s rumoured to have a 41MP camera with Xenon flash, 4.5-inch OLED display (1280×768 resolution), wireless charging and 32GB of internal storage. Over the past few weeks several pictures of the Nokia EOS have leaked online that show a polycarbonate body, which is similar to previous Nokia Lumia devices like the Lumia 925, 920 and 820.

Now more images have arrived online that reveal Nokia could be coming to market with an aluminium variant of the Nokia EOS. The leaked images also clearly show the camera lens with LED flash on the back, SIM-card slot and USB port on the top.

There is also some different aluminum lens caps leaked. One has “41 megapixel” and “PureView” stamped in, and there is also one black and one white, and the 41 megapixel stamp is more proof that we will see a real super camera phone, with lossless zoom and all. It will be a tight fight between the coming super phones Nokia EOS and the Sony i1 (Honami)

If these images prove real, Nokia might be launching two versions of the same device, but that seems somewhat unlikely. A more plausible idea is that this is simply a prototype shell, one of many design iterations that the EOS device would have gone through before going into production.

[Via]

June 17, 2013
Hands On with the Lava Iris 504Q at Launch in India (PR)

Lava and Xolo are essentially the same company, and traditionally Xolo was formed by the company to take care of smartphone needs of the market and Lava remained focused on the feature phone market. As the market transitions from a feature phone to a smartphone market. Lava has also transitioned into the smartphone market with the new iris 504q, and the company says it is happy competing within the organization, even if it has to.

Lava on Friday launched the Iris 504Q, a smartphone targeted at the likes of Micromax and Karbonn with their Canvas and Titanium series. Powered by a Mediatek Processor (6589) the company is trying to differentiate the product from the mass of multiple devices in the market with features like gesture control and software enhancements.

Lava iris 504Q Initial Impressions

The handset is manufactured well and almost resembles the HTC Butterfly from a distance, thanks to the resemblance to the earpiece grill. The back of the Lava iris 504Q is a soft touch plastic, that almost feels rubberized for added grip. Lava has managed to get a good balance of subtle branding and design to ensure the phone does not look overly flash and cheap.

The hardware list on the Lava iris 504Q is also pretty common on the market, a 5 inch 1280 x 720p screen, quad core processor , a mix of 8 MP and 2 MP cameras, 1 Gig of RAM and a 4 GB storage. Lava is trying various software tweaks to appeal to the market like gestures for the image gallery and clicking pictures. This will definitely attract buyers who were influenced by these features in the Galaxy S4, but the it does not work that well.

The Lava Iris 504Q is also fairly slim at just 8.4mm and fits well in the hand. For a price of Rs.13499/- in the market Lava has added yet another competitor in the Quad Core dual sim market.

Check out the images below.

[toggle title=”Press Release”]New Delhi, June 15, 2013: LAVA International Limited, a fast growing company in the mobile handset industry, today announced its entry into the high-end smartphone category with its new flagship smartphone, Lava Iris504q. The phone boasts of technologically advanced gesture motion control that reinvents the mobile experience and set a new standard for smartphones in its category. Lava Iris504q is designed to address a large and important segment of the smartphone market where customers are looking to upgrade to an affordable, easy-to-use, full-featured and technologically competitive smartphone.

The Lava Iris 504q is a high-end Android smartphone with 8.4mm thickness that makes it the slimmest in its category. It brings HD experience to a 5 inch IPS screen with OGS display technology and a resolution of 1280×720 pixels. The new gesture motion feature allows the users to interact with the phone with just a swipe of the hand in the air. The gesture control feature can be used for clicking photos, changing tracks on the music player and video player, tuning FM channels and browsing entertainment gallery on the smartphone.

Powered by a Quad Core 1.2GHz processor and running on Android 4.2 (Jelly Bean), the Iris 504q comes with an intelligent flip cover, offering comfort and convenience to the consumer. This device sports an 8MP camera (rear auto-focus with in-built flash and BSI sensor) that provides multiple camera options to capture stunning photographs and a 2 MP front camera for 3G video calling. .

Lava Iris 504q also packs in 1GB RAM and an internal memory of 4 GB, which is expandable up to 32 GB,
giving users enough space to store their multimedia content. A large 2,000-mAh battery provides ample back up for multimedia, stand by and talk time.

Lava has also partnered with Hungama to provide seamless entertainment experience and various VAS initiatives latest being integration of Hungama’s Music Application and ‘LavaZone’ the storefront (Powered by Hungama.com) on Iris 504Q . With this user gets access to over 2 million pieces of content across genres and languages, in the form of music tracks, music videos , trailers & dialogues; mobile content such as ringtones & wallpapers.Iris504q comes with some preloaded apps such as Opera web browser, Hungama Music App and Moden Combat HD from gameloft, making it a smart choice for the smartphone buyers.

Mr. Hari Om Rai, Co-Founder & Director, Lava International Ltd., said, “Lava believes in enhancing consumer experience while assisting efficiency and helping consumers to enjoy products that meet their needs. Our innovative products are a result of careful planning, intense R&D and listening to the needs of our consumers. We are proud to announce the launch of our flagship and the much awaited, Lava Iris 504q – a technologically competitive product, with superior features and high quality, available to our discerning customers at a smart price.”

Lava Iris 504q is a super slim, fast and easy-to-use smartphone that delivers effortless multitasking, making life easier and hassle-free. Priced at Rs. 13,499 Lava Iris 504q will be available across national retail chain stores, multi-brand outlets across India and online stores beginning 4th week of June.

For more information, please visit www.lavamobiles.com[/toggle]

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June 17, 2013
Leaked : Rumoured Logitech Gaming Controller For iOS 7

A leaked photo of the iOS 7 gamepad has surfaced, showing an iPhone 5 compatable gamepad device featuring the Logitech G logo design.

In iOS 7, Apple has designed a bunch of specifications to enable accessory makers to deploy controllers with consistent sets of elements that both players and game designers work with.

The controller fits around an iPhone 5 and features a thumb stick and five buttons. The Logitech manufactured peripheral will work with devices running iOS 7, according to Kotaku, who received the leak.

Since the controller appears to be a G-series product in Logitech’s lineup, we have reason to believe it’s a prototype (i.e. not the finalized product).

No word on when we might see this, although we would expect it to come to market when iOS 7 is released late in the third quarter or early in the fourth quarter. While Apple is not expected to offer its own gamepad, the Logitech model in the picture is just one of many expected options available for game playing Apple iPhone 5 owners by the end of the year.

The idea of a decent gamepad controller for the iPhone is something that many gamers — casual or otherwise — are bound to be happy about.

[Via]

June 17, 2013
Leaked : Windows 8.1 Screenshots

As you probably found out by now, the new Windows 8.1 Preview will come with enhanced support for smaller tablets, so some of the built-in features will be specifically tweaked to look good on 7- and 8-inch units.

Today a collection of screenshots, showcasing redesigns within key Windows 8.1 applications, were leaked online. The shots showcase changes in the Windows Store and Xbox Music, along with brand new apps including a calendar, alarm clock, and voice recorder.

Beta user Bavo Luysterborg sent the screenshots of Windows 8.1 on Twitter earlier today.

From the screenshots, we can see that the Xbox Music app will be receiving a complete UI overhaul in the Windows 8.1 update. It’s unclear whether this app will be included with the Windows 8.1 Preview, or if it will need to be downloaded as an update through the Windows Store.

The new Store interface (as The Verge reports) finally gives recommendations to similar apps based on what you are currently browsing. For example: If you are looking at the Xbox Music app, the store might also recommend Pandora or Slacker Radio.

Frank X Shaw, Microsoft’s corporate vice-president of communications, said the “continuous development cycle” introduced by Windows 8.1 will become “the new normal across Microsoft”, confirming the update model will apply to products beyond Windows 8 and RT, including Windows Phone and Server.

Windows 8.1 will be a free update available from the Windows Store, for both Windows 8 and Windows RT.

Via @BAVO on Twitter.

June 17, 2013