Brands and Companies – Page 522

Sony Xperia Z Ultra Phablet Teased, Announcement Rumoured This Month

An invitation to a Sony press event teases what looks like a Godzilla sized phablet. The rumoured Xperia Z Ultra is pictured and the translation reads “Sony mobile reserves a BIG surprise for you.” The Xperia Z Ultra has a speculated screen size of 6.44-inches with a stunning 1080p HD, plus shows a stylus with the words “Don’t forget to mark your calendars!” that indicates it’ll have input support similar to the Samsung’s Galaxy Note.

The Sony Xperia Z Ultra is rumored to feature a 6.44 inch full HD Triluminos display with a resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels, the device is also rumored to feature the new quad core Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 processor with a clock speed of 2.2GHz.

Other rumored specifications on the handset include 2GB of RAM and 16GB of built in storage, plus a microSD card slot with support for 64GB cards, the device is also expected to feature front and rear facing cameras.

On the back of the Sony Xperia Z Ultra there will be an 8 megapixel camera for photos and video, up front there will be a 2.2 megapixel camera for video calls, the device will come with Android 4.2 Jelly Bean.

What we’re not sure about is that the Xperia Z Ultra is rumoured to be water resistant, yet the headphone jack is open with no port covering it. Hopefully all will become clear in the next few weeks regarding the exact specs, but either way we are looking at a very desirable device.

[Via]

June 14, 2013

BMW claims it has 1,00,000 reservations for i3 programme

BMW’s sales boss, Ian Robertson, has said that there are 1,00,000 people around the world who have made reservations for the BMW i3, and a “significant number” of them have made deposits for the car.

Robertson’s interview with Automotive News Europe reports him as also saying that the i3 differs from many of the EVs on the road today because it was developed as an EV from the start, rather than being conventional car with an electric powertrain dropped in.

We are confident that with the i3 and i8 we will shift the [customer demand] needle because we will shape some of this technology.

– Ian Robertson, Chief, Sales & Marketing, BMW

His stance is in contrast with BMW CEO, Norbert Reithofer’s comments from last year, when he said that governments need to pony up more plug-in vehicle support or EVs just won’t be popular.

When asked for the car’s starting price, Robertson said that it would be in the same range as the 3 series, which in Germany is priced between 28,800 and 38,800 Euros for base versions. We will finally get to see the production version of the i3 at the Frankfurt Motor Show this September, 30 months after the announcement of the ‘i’ subbrand, also including the i8 plug-in hybrid supercar. The BMW i3 goes on sale in Europe at the end of the year.

[Automotive News Europe]

June 14, 2013

2013 Tata Nano coming this month

The 2013 Tata Nano is all set to hit the markets next week, however you will be hard pressed to tell the difference between itself and its predecessor. The 2013 Nano comes only with minor cosmetic changes and no significant upgrades.

The 2013 Nano gets new bumpers and strips of chrome both on the front and rear on what is otherwise a largely unchanged exterior. The rear bumper does get bigger air vents though for better cooling of the engine.

The noticeable change on the inside is the addition of a glove box, with the rest of the interior staying largely the same except for some colour, trim and fabric changes. The top-end model however will come with an integrated music system (with both speakers placed on the dashboard) with CD, MP3, Aux-in, USB and Bluetooth capabilities. Such additions may make the Nano more appealing to its customer base.

Other upgrades are largely focused on improving the quality and reliability of the car including a new clutch to replace the highly criticized one on the outgoing model. A few mechanical and electrical upgrades have also been done. The proven 623cc, twin-cylinder engine is carried over from the 2012 model and continues to deliver acceptable performance and impressive fuel economy.

The 2013 Nano is something of a stepping stone for the much awaited power steering and CNG equipped variants, both of which are expected by the end of the year. The power steering would surely help Tata’s sales as the effort required to park this car due to its heavy steering is well accounted in the automotive world. The new Nano is expected to come with a marginal increase in price.

[Autocar India]

June 14, 2013

Leaked Samsung Galaxy NX Mirrorless with Android 4.2

Samsung had recently clarified that the company might be launching Android powered NX cameras, and here is the next logical answer. The Samsung Galaxy NX is Samsung’s answer to a market that does not yet exist; An Inter-changable lens camera with Android 4.2 to boot.

The body and design of the camera is much in line with the company’s existing NX series lineup, except the fact that these have fully equipped smartphones stuck to the back of the lens. You are looking at a 20.3-megapixel APS-C sensor, with ISO from 100 – 25,600 and 1080p video recording.

Is this “big” product what Samsung had in mind when they cooked up the 20th June London event? The Galaxy NX is what the industry was possibly missing, but only if Samsung manages to pull off the execution of the lineup.

[VIA]

June 14, 2013

Edit : iOS 7 Battery Life : One Word “Unfortunate”

Apple released iOS 7 for Beta testers and App developers a couple of days back. While we updated to the new OS in almost utter haste, 48 hours into the update few things are different. There are certain things that once you switch over you will simply adore and get used to. But then there are things that, while iOS 7 is in beta, beckon the user to simply flash back to iOS 6.

Here is what we like about iOS 7

A lot of things have become easier, and although small little changes don’t make sense to the observer, in the entirety of the situation they add up to an amazing overhaul of the usage experience.

Control Center : iOS 7 Control Center, according to my personal opinion, is the most awaited change in the OS. The only reason SBSettings ever existed and the only reason I ever Jailbroke my iPhone. Yes it has existed in Android forever, but Apple put it in a different location. Notifications from the top, control toggles from the bottom. Whether it is building on someone’s idea or simply changing a creation to make your own, it makes sense. Why has no one else ever thought of this? Our money is on multiple apps enabling this bottom toggle drawer on Android in 3 -2-1…..

Page Swiping : To unlock iOS you can now swipe anywhere on the lock screen, you can also swipe back from your Text Messages and Emails to come back into your conversations. It’s not a big deal but I can’t imagine my iPhone without it anymore, and i have used it only for 48 hours with these gestures. Gizmodo shows it off in a beautiful way.

Minimal Design : As we progress into the future, a more minimal approach cleans up clutter and sort of de-stresses the effort. While many elements of the UI are truly unfinished and kiddish, the overall idea is marvelous. The interface is a lot more relaxed and “sober”, for the lack of a better word. It does a lot more with animations and highlight. Once Apple does fix the major design issues, and they must, the UI should be well appreciated by those in the iOS ecosystem.

Blocking: Over a hundred Apps on Android do this, iOS 7 has a wonderful new feature built in that simply lets you block all conversations from a particular number to you phone. Those annoying property sale messages are a thing of the past for me, any new spam number gets added almost instantly. The person calling on the other end gets a busy tone, and you don’t even get a notification. The blocking feature is also premature, I would like to select what all I want to block, only messages or only phone should be an option when they finally roll out. Another feature that would allow you to have a log of all the blocked calls or messages, which users could manually access, would make the feature perfect.

Here is what we don’t like about iOS 7

The OS is still in BETA stage and although it is a bit premature to give out opinion on Apple’s new iOS 7, these are things that may make us switch back to iOS 6.

Battery Life : There is only one word : Unfortunate. The battery life on iOS 7 is lower than ever, we do understand that the OS needs to be tweaked and so do the Apps to work with the ecosystem. But an iPhone 5 on iOS 7, heats up like a firecracker and is ready to go off any moment. Even for developers, the reliability of the battery needs to be perfect, before Developers can start testing their Apps on the OS. At present, only a few may be able to get any work done.

Tap Precision : While many will debate the fact that the OS is new, the overly minimal design has made it a lot more difficult to use the iPhone or iPod on iOS 7. At some deeper level this may be Apple’s way of improving concentration with people (Apple a Day, makes you witty and gray). All Apple puns aside, the company needs to ensure that the final build is either more relaxed in terms of precision of tapping, or less minimal.

A lot more design improvements as well as software fixes are required to make iOS 7 stable and ready for public consumption. However, even with the changes that Apple has shown off, the interface lacks a certain finished feel. While some elements are overly appreciated, some bugs have forced us to revert. A phone that requires a charge every 2 hours if of no use. So, While its time for us to switch back to iOS 6.1.4 on our iPhone 5, it is safe to say Apple is headed in the right direction. Are you switching yet ?

[youtube id=”S5-KmW1QhcE” width=”100%” height=”300px”]

June 13, 2013

Maruti Suzuki announces month-long exchange program

With the car market continuing on a downhill drive, India’s largest carmaker, Maruti Suzuki India has announced an exchange programme for its existing customers which will be valid for the whole of June 2013.

The company is targeting to reach out to over 5 lakh customers across the country with special discounts and offers through the network of its pre-owned car business called ‘True Value’. A mega carnival will be held across 112 cities on June 15th and 16th as a part of the initiative. The carnival will go beyond the metro cities covering tier 1 and tier 2 locations like Ranchi, Patna, Indore, Bhubneshwar, Raipur, Karnal, Hubli, Sagar, Mandi, Vapi, Vardha, Jamnagar etc. to name a few.

The month long Mega Carnival is an initiative for driving exchange and facilitating the new car sales. It will be led by our True Value chain which will act as catalyst to spur growth in of this segment. Maruti Suzuki is the market leader in this format of business. This initiative will provide a boost to an overall sluggish market and also create a positive sentiment for the entire automobile industry.

– Mayank Pareek, chief operating officer, Maruti Suzuki India

On offer will be a number of spot booking benefits, including attractive EMI schemes with bank partners, exchange bonus and loyalty bonus for the full range of Maruti Suzuki cars, during the month-long exchange campaign at all dealerships across India.

Car sales in India fell for a record seventh consecutive month in May with a decline of 12.26 per cent at 1,43,216 units, prompting industry body SIAM to caution that the prolonged slump in the market could result in job losses in the automobile sector. Maruti Suzuki India registered 8.25 per cent decline in domestic sales at 66,342 units in May.

[Times of India]

June 13, 2013

Nokia Will Ship Its Last Symbian Phones This Summer

Nokia is set to ship its last batch of the outdated Symbian OS smartphones this summer, before devoting its smartphone production to Windows devices, The Financial Times reports.

Nokia pointed long development of Symbian devices as one of the reasons to halt their production. According to the manufacturer it takes 22 months to bring a Symbian product to the market, compared to less than a year for a Windows Phone handset.

“It took 22 months to get a Symbian phone out of the door. With Windows Phone, it is less than a year. We spend less time having to tinker with deep-lying code and more time on crafting elements of the experience that make a big difference, such as around photography, maps, music and apps in general.”

Of course, there is also the matter of the number of units sold. Nokia moved only 500,000 Symbian smartphones in Q1 this year – significantly less than the 5.6 million Lumia devices sold during the same period.

Nokia will supposedly sell the last of the Symbian devices only in developing markets, that too only until stocks last.

In the past seven months, the company has released seven new Windows Phones, and with Nokia EOS rumors swirling the company is clearly committed to Microsoft’s mobile platform.

June 13, 2013

HTC One Mini Specs Leaked Along With New Image

Photos of the HTC One Mini popped up just last week. Now there’s a new image to go along with some hardware specifications for HTC’s upcoming 4.3-inch phone.

Bloomberg is confirming what we already knew. According to “two people familiar with the matter,” HTC will release a smaller version of their popular HTC One flagship phone. The report indicates that the One mini will have a 4.3-inch display and “will probably have a less-powerful Qualcomm Inc. processor and lower-resolution screen than the flagship.”

When the images of the HTC One mini leaked online a couple weeks ago the resolution was confirmed to be 720p with a dual-core processor, 16GB internal storage, 2GB of RAM and the trademarked 4MP UltraPixel camera. No insight into what version of Android, probably 4.2 Jelly Bean. Bloomberg’s sources, “who asked not to be identified because details aren’t public,” stated the smaller version of the flagship One “will go on sale by August.” The price is expected to be around $550 (€400).

The HTC One Mini will go head-to-head with Samsung’s Galaxy S4 mini.

Engadget too received some more info about the HTC One Mini, plus the image above. They note that the display is in fact 4.3-inches, comes with a 1.4GHz dual-core processor and has the similar aluminum unibody that the original HTC One features, but the front of the device has been outfitted with plastic. The One Mini comes with Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean with Sense, BlinkFeed, Zoe share, Beats Audio, but lacks the IR blaster.

[Via, Via]

June 13, 2013

GM suspends production of diesel Sail and Sail U-VA

General Motors (GM) India has suspended production of the diesel variants of its newly launched Chevrolet Sail sedan and the Sail U-VA hatchback, suspecting problems with the 1.3-litre diesel engine used in these cars.

GM India has also suspended production of the BS III variant of the Chevrolet Tavera due to emission concerns. Not only might the delivery of these cars might be delayed, the issue may lead to a product recall of all diesel models of the Sail saloon and Sail hatchback manufactured over a certain period. GM India, for now, did not say if a recall of the cars was likely. P Balendran, vice president, GM India, said, “We will come back to you with an update after thorough investigation in the coming days.”

Neither issue is safety-related. The Tavera BS-IV and Sail HB & NB petrol models are unaffected and production of these vehicles is continuing.

It is not clear when the company will resume production the three vehicles. GM launched the Sail U-VA hatchback last year and the Sail sedan this year in the country.

June 13, 2013

Samsung Galaxy S4 Zoom Officially Announced

Samsung has continued the expansion of the Galaxy S4 family of devices and announced the Galaxy S4 Zoom today.

This cameraphone will potentially be loved by the picture-taking crowd with its 16MP CMOS sensor, 10x optical zoom lens and a Xenon flash. Other key specs of the Zoom have it sporting a 4.3-inch QHD DISPLAY (960×540 resolution), runs Android 4.2 Jelly Bean, powered by a 1.5GHZ dual-core processor, Wi-Fi and LTE connectivity, 1.5GB of RAM with 8GB of internal storage (expandable storage up to 64GB) and a 2330mAh battery.

The Galaxy S4 Zoom comes with a dedicated shutter button. Along with the hardware, Samsung has incorporated various features and modes in the software of the device as well to add to the camera capabilities of the device.

The ISO can be adjusted up to 3200, something that is seldom seen in normal smartphones. The hybrid can be used to click continuous shots at 4fps max with auto focus. The camera also comes with up to 25 smart mode options. These smart modes are namely 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, Light trace and Smart mode suggest.

There is also an expert mode with P/S/M/C options, presumably to let you click pictures in Program, Shutter Priority, Manual and Custom modes, just like a camera.

One of the new features that Samsung has included in this category of the Galaxy S4 Zoom is called “Zoom Ring.” This is part of a “revolutionary new interface” that allows you to quickly share while on a phone call. Samsung notes that you do “a quick twist of the Zoom Ring will activate the In-Call Photo Share feature, letting you capture and send an image directly via MMS to whoever you are talking to simply.”

Pricing and availability of the Samsung Galaxy S4 Zoom has not been announced yet.

June 12, 2013

Bing Maps Gets New Features Including 270TB Of Bird’s Eye Imagery

Bing Maps announced a number of new additions today, including a more expansive collection of Bird’s Eye Imagery locations, new Venue Maps and a Report a Problem feature.

Microsoft announced that it has added its largest-ever batch of Bird’s Eye imagery to Bing Maps — nearly 270 terabytes of data, or the equivalent of 100,000 DVDs, as the company tries to keep up with the 3D mapping capabilities offered by its competitors.

So far, Microsoft has published a total of 1,452,958 sq km, or half a petabyte of data, in Bird’s Eye scenes from around the world. The Bing Maps coverage for this release is shown in yellow (it’s mainly for the US, some Europe, plus a little Canada and Australia):

As for Venue Maps, these allow you to navigate your way around malls, airports, amusement parks, stadiums, and more on your computer or Windows 8 mobile device. Venue Maps automatically show up when you zoom in while using Bing Maps. Purple and green polygons will appear, and clicking on one will pop out a directory with a full list of points of interest that you can explore from a top-down view.

Bing Maps new ‘Report a Problem’ feature involves a link that appears in a box when a user clicks on a location. After clicking the link, a user is given the option to select whether a location is currently empty, if there is a new venue in the existing location, or submit comments to identify more specific issues.

[Via]

June 12, 2013

About Time! Google Glass Cracked Open In Teardown

It was bound to happen at some point, and condolences to whomever sacrificed their frames for the greater good aside, we’ve got our first look at the components from Google Glass and how they’re fitted together.

The internet owes a deep thanks to Scott Torborg and Star Simpson who did a detailed tear-down post on the Google Glass.

Some of the motivation for the tear down was purely technological while some of it was driven by the growing concerns about privacy and personal security in the US.

“Growing up on a rich diet of dystopian tech fiction, we were filled with both intrigue and concern about Glass and decided to take our model apart to bring you a detailed view into the electronics guts of the device.

It is not surprising that the camera is similar in quality and resolution to cameras found in your everyday smartphone:

“The Glass camera seems to be of typical smartphone-level size and format. It is not coaxially aligned with the wearer’s eye. The camera and display appear to talk to the CPU independently, with no direct connection between each other.

The main board, which is held in place with “lots of paste.” Removing said paste revealed a TI OMAP4430 chip and a 16GB SanDisk flash chip. Next was the battery, which also required tearing the plastic in order to get to it. Obviously, this means users cannot replace the battery on their own. The rest of the teardown is detailed in extensive pictures, which you can check out at the link at the bottom.

According to the Google Glass Tech specs page, Glass has a 5-megapixel camera that can shoot video in 720p. It supports 802.11 b/g Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. Audio is provided by a bone conduction transducer, and the display is “the equivalent of a 25-inch high definition screen from eight feet away.” As for buttons and connectors, Glass has a Listen button, on/off button, capture button, touch sensitive area, and Micro USB port for charging. There’s also a status LED and rear-facing sensor array.

[Catwig]

June 12, 2013

Apple Debuts Game Controller APIs In iOS 7, Will Support Third Party Controllers

Physical controllers for iPhones and iPads have long been left to the ThinkGeeks and the Kickstarter projects, due to the lack of support. But that’s going to change with iOS 7.

Playing traditional console style games on a touchscreen has always been difficult, especially when the developer has not tailored their game enough to a touchscreen. Now gamers do not have to worry about that problem if their favorite games support Apple’s game controllers API.

A slide (pictured below) indicated that the iOS 7 SDK would support MFi game controllers, a reference to Apple’s licensing program for third-party hardware add-ons.

TouchArcade points to a vague guide that Apple posted to its developer site yesterday that has basic guidelines on how game controllers should be used.

The one on at the top looks like your typical iPhone game controller, with a large opening in the center that allows you to view your handset’s display. And the one right below is obviously more of your standard, standalone-type gamepad.

Game Center will also get a visual overhaul with the latest update to Apple’s iconic mobile operating system, iOS 7, it was revealed during WWDC today. Apple aims to curb cheating through more secure game scores and support for ranking-style leaderboards. It’s also added a new Sprite Kit tool to help developers create games

[Via, Via]

June 12, 2013

Tata Vista and Manza now offered with MapmyIndia Sat-Nav

While the top-end models of the Tata Vista hatchback and Manza sedan are shipped with an infotainment system featuring integrated satellite navigation (sat-nav), Tata Motors has now entered into an association with which the sat-nav device will be offered as a standard feature in the Vista D90 ZX+ with maps from MapmyIndia.

Tata Motors is known as a vehicle manufacturer with a deep understanding of customer needs; the car models reflect this philosophy. Similarly, at MapmyIndia we take into account customer feedback and incorporate it into our product offerings. We are extremely happy to have partnered with Tata Motors to bring a superior GPS ‘navitainment’ experience to Tata Vista D90 customers. We remain committed to developing superior products and set new benchmarks with best in-class features that meet the needs of the Indian car buyer.
– Shivalik Prasad, Executive Director, MapmyIndia

Owners of the Tata Vista D90 ZX+ and of the VX, GVX, EX and GEX variants of the Manza will now be able to use updated maps from MapmyIndia, covering 10.33 million locations, 1.9 million road kilometres, 6,00,000 villages, 4,787 cities at street-level, 50 cities at house-level, 46 cities in full 3D and driving directions to 30,000 tourist locations. The navigation system will also offer features like extended lane guidance, sign-posts, rich points of interest, regional voice guidance and regional maps, turn-by-turn and voice-guided navigation, 3D imagery for India which includes full scale 3D landmarks across the country snd 3D city models which will include 3D buildings for residential and commercial areas across 36 major cities in India.

Sat-nav systems are of great help in finding locations reducing wastages of time and fuel while also making one’s drive comfortable and safer. Sat-nav systems are yet to pick up in India due to incomplete and inaccurate mapping, however organisations such as MapmyIndia are working to provide an updated range of maps across cities outside the metros. Expect to see more indigenous cars with in-built and functional sat-nav systems in the coming years.

June 12, 2013

Nokia, Microsoft Working Even Closer, Collaborative Effort Coming Soon

During a Lumia 925 briefing in the UK, Nokia revealed that they’ve tightened its ever-growing bond with Redmond-based Microsoft, makers of the Windows 8 (mobile and desktop) platform. Nokia UK’s Ray Haddow stated that the Finnish company has been “working even closer” with Microsoft and we can expect to see new collaborative efforts in the near future. Engadget reports that Nokia and Microsoft will work to raise Nokia’s profile.

Nokia and Microsoft first entered into a “broad strategic partnership” that made Windows Phone OS its “primary smartphone strategy,” but there have been rumours of Nokia coming to market with a tablet for years now.

The company went on to discuss marketing opportunities it’s seizing upon as a result of its Microsoft affiliation, so we very well might just be talking about plans for a new promotional blitz. What was less clear is if all that might be focused on a particular product (and we certainly expect the EOS to be a big win for both Nokia and Microsoft) or if it could be more broadly Lumia- or WP-focused in general.

Could this mean that Nokia might be ready to enter the Windows-powered tablet space? No telling what these two have in store but we should know in the next few weeks.

[Engadget]

June 12, 2013

Category: Brands and Companies

Here is what we like about iOS 7

Here is what we don’t like about iOS 7