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Hands-On With The Blackberry Q10 At India Launch

Blackberry today launched the first Blackberry 10 powered QWERTY device, the Blackberry Q10 (read here).

BlackBerry believes there is a niche for QWERTY-based smartphones in today’s mobile space with around 80 per cent of users wanting large-form touch-only devices like the iPhone 5, Galaxy S4, and HTC One – that explains the decision to launch the Z10 first. We wen’t hands-on with the device.

Blackberry Q10 Initial Impressions

The BlackBerry Q10 is the first phone to land running the BlackBerry 10.1 operating system update. As a result, the Q10 is a joy to use, mostly.

Jumping through menus and reverting back to the home screen is prompt and fuss free. Opening apps, however takes that fraction of a second longer than desired.

After looking at the Blackberry Q10 in images on the internet for quite some time, we had the impression that it would be a small device. Instead, the Blackberry Q10 feels great in the hand, with beveled edges all around the plastic back. There is a black steel edge around the entire device and a glass front above the keyboard.

The back comes with a gray tweed-over-black pattern, which Blackberry claims is unique to each Black Blackberry Q10. The white Blackberry Q10 has a glossier look and feel to it and it does not have the poly carbonate weave at the back.

Overall, it looks and feels elegant, refined and professional.

Moving on to the keyboard, one thing to note is that the once curved keyboard has now been straightened out and the metallic frets separating the rows of characters are now slightly raised for improved tactile feedback – in other words you should be able to feel where your thumbs are on the board more easily. The break in the keys is a nice clean look however and the overall size of the keyboard is similar to previous devices. Impressive.

The Blackberry Q10 has a 3.1-inch Super AMOLED touchscreen, albeit with a square 720 x 720 resolution rather than a widescreen aspect like a typical touchscreen phone. It’s a necessary trade-off to fit in the keyboard, but it does mean any video you watch is squashed and hard to view. The screen looks neat though, and the bright and bold Super AMOLED display does a good job of making everything pop.

The Q10 uses a removable 2,100 mAh pack that’s plenty large enough given the relatively compact screen. It is reported that BlackBerry has even taken advantage included some darker color schemes for BlackBerry 10 apps, to take advantage of the fact that AMOLED uses less power for dimmer parts of the display.

Also, we were really impressed with the Blackberry Q10’s browser. Pages load quickly over cellular or Wi-Fi means, and well laid out options and quick access to shortcuts make the Q10 browser is efficient and business like. The QWERTY keyboard makes inputting URL’s a breeze, with no pop-up digital display crowding out on-screen content. It also has an option to load flash content.

An impressive feature for business customers is that they can take advantage of BlackBerry’s new Balance feature, which made its debut with the Z10. With Balance, a user can blend both work and personal email streams into a single email stream. (Phones with BES advanced policies set require users to go to separate work and personal email inboxes.) Other apps are divided into separate work and personal containers.

To make Balance or these advanced policies work, users must be connected to a BES server, which in most cases means an enterprise buys the server to locate behind the firewall.

In conclusion, we’d like to say that for existing users, the Q10 is an obvious upgrade: it’s the best QWERTY smartphone available in the market today, but that may have more to do with the fact that very few manufacturers are interested in revisiting that segment. It is fast, snappy, and has that old-school Blackberry feel to it. However, we feel that the Blackberry Q10 is overpriced by at least Rs. 10,000, and the company will have to reconsider it over time.

Full review coming soon!

June 6, 2013
Additional Shots Of The Nokia EOS Surface Online

Nokia currently has three versions of its Windows Phone flagship, in the form of the Lumia 928, the thin and light aluminium-bodied Lumia 925, and the original Lumia 920. But as we’ve known for some time, a new range-topper is set to join the company’s line-up soon, Nokia’s 41-megapixel ‘EOS’ device.

After yesterday, not one, but two sources bubbled up photos today of a Nokia Windows phone that could be the handset-maker’s next flagship, the Nokia EOS.

Known as the Nokia EOS, photos from a GSM Arena tipster and from a new Twitter user going by ViziLeaks (via WP Central) both show a similar squared-off shape and tall dimensions.

As you can see from the photo,the device features a large camera lens on the back, with what looks like a massive flash for a smartphone and also a focus assist light, this could possibly be a prototype of the device, as the ‘XX Mega Pixel’ shows that this is not the final version of the device.

Much of the EOS’ design echoes what we’ve seen before on the Lumia 920, so it has a fully polycarbonate bodyshell and it’s quite thick and chunky.

The Nokia EOS is reportedly only 1mm thinner than the Lumia 920, which was widely criticised for its weight and bulk, so it’ll be interesting to see how consumers react.

It will apparently feature a 4.5-inch 1280×768 pixel AMOLED display, like the Lumia 928, along with wireless charging support and a full-sized Xenon flash.

While these images, like yesterday’s, are also unconfirmed – originating from anonymous or unverified sources – the fact that multiple sources have revealed what appears to be the same device would seem to confirm that this is indeed Nokia’s new flagship Windows Phone.

[GSMArena, @ViziLeaks]

June 6, 2013
Stock Google Keyboard Now Available On Google Play
Do you use Swype or SwiftKey on your Android? Google wants you to switch away and use their stock Android keyboard.

Google today released its Google Keyboard app for phones and tablets running Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) and above. You can download it now directly from Google Play, although it’s only available in English-speaking locales (Google says more countries will be added soon).

This is the same keyboard that was introduced with Jelly Bean (Android 4.2), that includes Gesture typing, a way to swipe from letter-to-letter to spell out words. It should also actively predict words on-screen as you gesture between letters, making this one of the smartest keyboards you’ll use.

Downloading and launching the Google Keyboard app will walk you through turning on the keyboard and setting it as your default, after which your Android phone will have the same typing experience available on Nexus devices. Switching back to the keyboard that came with your phone (or any other alternative keyboards you may have downloaded) can be done from the device’s Settings page.

Google Keyboard’s features:
- Gesture Typing with dynamic floating preview.
- Voice Typing.
- Next-word suggestions and current-word completions.
- Dictionaries for 26 languages.
- Advanced keyboard layouts.
- Works across your Android devices (tablets and phones).
So if you’re unhappy with what companies like Samsung and HTC have cooked up, you can always use the stock Google keyboard now.

[Ars Technica]
June 6, 2013
Blackberry Finally Launches The Blackberry Q10 In India

Blackberry has finally launched the Blackberry Q10 in India, at an initial price of Rs. 44,990/-.

The Blackberry Q10 smartphone, which comes with the physical keyboard that many BlackBerry fans prize, is selling well in both Canada and Britain, the 2 main countries where it was launched first.

The BlackBerry Q10 is the successor to their premium QWERTY phone which is Bold, and features a square 3.1-inch AMOLED touchscreen with 720 x 720 resolution. The usual shortcut buttons are now part of the user interface with the space below the screen dedicated solely to BlackBerry’s tried and tested QWERTY keyboard. BlackBerry also noted that the Q10 has a glass weave body for added strength and weight reduction.

The Blackberry Q10 sports a 1.5GHz processor with 2GB of RAM and 16GB of onboard storage, which is expandable with a microSD slot. The 3,1-inch touchscreen has 330ppi, 720 x 720 display.

Blackberry Q10 will come running on BlackBerry 10, which will also come with applications and games such as Foursquare, Skype, Twitter, Facebok, Angry Birds Star Wars, Where’s My Water, Cisco WebEx and many more.

The Blackberry Q10 was listed on online retail sites for pre order, Blackberry claims they have already received over 1000 pre orders.

BlackBerry hopes its new line of smartphones, led by the touchscreen Z10 device it introduced earlier this year, will help claw back market share lost to the likes of Apple Inc’s iPhone and Samsung Electronics Co.’s wildly popular line of Galaxy devices, which are powered by Google Inc.’s Android operating system.

June 6, 2013
Ford’s 1.0L EcoBoost wins second consecutive Engine of the Year Award

Ford has taken top honors in the International Engine of the Year voting for the second year in the row. As was the case last year, Ford’s 1.0-liter EcoBoost earned the the American automaker the accolade, achieving the highest-ever accumulated score in the 15 year history of the award.

The award is voted on by 87 automotive journalists from 35 countries around the world based on drivability, performance, economy, refinement and the successful application of advanced engine technology. This is only the third time an automaker has managed back-to-back victories. Voters were impressed by the EcoBoost engine’s power output – 123 horsepower between 1,400 and 4,500 rpm, 148 pound-feet of torque from 1,400 to 4,000 rpm. It is also surprisingly compact in size; Ford has demonstrated that the package is small enough to fit in the overhead bin of a passenger airplane.

The 1.0-litre EcoBoost will be offered in the Ford EcoSport when it goes on sale in India later this summer. Apart from this, it is offered in the European Fiesta, B-MAX, Focus, C-MAX and Grand C-MAX, and Ford plans to put the engine in the Transit Connect, Transit Courier, Tourneo Connect, Tourneo Courier and Mondeo and EcoSport soon. It’s no wonder that Ford is planning on increasing production of the EcoBoost engine at its factory in Cologne, Germany to almost 1000 engines a day from mid-August to meet demand.

The other category winners are listed below:

New Engine
Ford three-cylinder turbo (Focus)

Green Engine
General Motors 1.4-liter range extender (Chevrolet Volt, Opel Ampera)

Performance Engine
Ferrari 4.5-liter V8 (458 Italia)

Sub 1.0-Liter
Ford three-cylinder turbo (Focus)

1.0-Liter to 1.4-Liter
Volkswagen 1.4-liter TSI Twincharger (Polo, Beetle, Golf, etc.)

1.4-Liter to 1.8-Liter
BMW-PSA 1.6-liter turbo gasoline (Mini Cooper S, Peugeot 207, etc.)

1.8-Liter to 2.0-Liter
BMW 2.0-liter twin-turbo four gasoline (125i, 320i, Z4 20i, etc.)

2.0-Liter to 2.5-Liter
Audi 2.5-liter five-cylinder turbo (TT RS, RS3 Sportback)

2.5-Liter to 3.0-Liter
BMW 3.0-liter bi-turbo six-cylinder (1 Series M Coupe, 335is, Z4 35is)

3.0-Liter to 4.0-Liter
BMW M 4.0-liter V8 (BMW M3)

Above 4.0-Liter
Ferrari 4.5-liter V8 (458 Italia)

Image courtesy: Ford

June 6, 2013
Leaked : Nokia EOS 41-MP PureView Hardware Photos

The reliable leakers over at WPDang have trudged up some interesting shots of the hotly anticipated Nokia EOS, a Lumia-looking device, similar in size to the Lumia 920, with an enormous camera sensor and lens combination, like the PureView 808.

Like the PureView 808, this model appears to have quite a hump on the back of the phone to accommodate the 41MP sensor, which is believed to be identical to the one found in the original. There will be undoubtedly be improvements made to the lens system, however, and you can expect the inclusion of optical image stabilization and a host of other algorithmic optimizations as well.

The front of the device appears nearly identical in size and shape to other Lumia devices, but is not squared off like the recently-announced Lumia 928 and 925. It will apparently feature a 4.5-inch 1280×768 pixel AMOLED display, like the Lumia 928, along with wireless charging support and a full-sized Xenon flash.

The PureView 808 creates near-lossless photos, even when zooming, by using a technique called oversampling, or pixel binning, which combines the data captured by multiple pixels into one sharper, less grainy pixel. This works to create photos of sharable 5MP size from a much larger sensor. It seems the handset will also support wireless charging, and there are whispers even about variable aperture on the camera.

The veracity of these photos is not completely verifiable, but they look about as real as any leak can be.

The Nokia EOS release date is said to be July 9th and if true the official unveiling should happen very soon.

[Mobile Syrup, WPDang]

June 5, 2013
HTC One Mini Leaked shots emerge : 4.3 inch 720p and Ultrapixel camera

The HTC One Mini has been doing rounds through the rumor pages for many days now, the M4 codename device has finally shown off its aluminum accents in black color at Estonian site forte.delfi.ee. Equipped with a downsized 4.3 inch 720p display and Dual core processor the HTC One Mini retains the Blinkfeed UI, the Ultrapixel camera and the 2 GB RAM. The Ultrapixel camera is still 4 MP and the storage is a moderate 16 GB.

HTC has seen huge success with the HTC One where the company recently crossed the 5 Million sales mark for the handset. Even with delayed deliveries people have really appreciated the HTC One, and the next logical step for the company seems to be, to follow in Samsung’s footsteps and launch Mini versions of its flagship. This way the HTC One mini will give the feel of the full fledged device including the great camera and Beats audio, along with build quality and features (read:blinkfeed) for a considerably cheaper price.

The website claims that the phone will be available in August for €400, but it seems too late for our liking. Now if we could get some more information on the HTC One with a 5.9 inch screen.

[via] [source]

June 5, 2013
Samsung Galaxy S4 Active Is Now Official

The Samsung Galaxy S4 Active is now official after what seems to be months rumours.

“The Galaxy S4 Active is the newest addition to the Galaxy series and is purposefully designed for active users who love the outdoors,” JK Shin, CEO and President of IT & Mobile Communications Division at Samsung said. “Samsung has taken the innovative features of the Galaxy S4 and added breakthrough protective design elements to create a device that thrives in an active environment and is built for a lifestyle of travel and exploration.”

Specifications for the Galaxy S4 Active include a 5-inch 1080p Super LCD display, a Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 quad-core processor clocked at 1.9GHz, 2GB of RAM, 16GB of internal storage, and an 8-megapixel camera. That’s down from the 13-megapixel shooter found on the standard Galaxy S4, but Samsung says that this camera is optimized to take pictures underwater thanks to a new “Aqua Mode”.

A microSD card slot is also included for expandable storage up to 64GB, and just like the Galaxy S4, the Active features a large 2,600mAh battery. Android 4.2.2 will run on the phone out of the box. That added protection against the elements brings a little bulk to the phone, though. Samsung says the Active is 9.1mm thick and weighs 151g. That’s a slight jump from the Galaxy S4’s 7.9mm thickness and 130g weight.

In terms of the Samsung Galaxy S4 Active release date all we know is that it will go on sale sometime this summer in select markets.

June 5, 2013
“Smaller” Windows 8 Tablets To Get Office 2013 For Free

Aside from announcing that Outlook 2013 will be coming to Windows RT 8.1 later this year, Microsoft has revealed at Computex 2013 that all new “small” x86 tablets running Windows 8 will come with basic Office 2013 apps for free.

So far, there are few details regarding what products will be eligible for the bundle, what version of Office will be included and whether it will be a time-limited deal, but we do know that Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote will form the free package.

Only x86 Windows 8 tablets will qualify for the bundle, as they are the only devices able to run the full version of Windows 8. The ARM processors used to power Windows RT devices, such as the Microsoft Surface RT, can’t run x86 applications and will miss out.

This follows with what we’ve seen in recent tablet launches, such as the 8-inch Acer Iconia W3, which comes with a free copy of Office 2013 installed out of the box. Expect more information about Windows 8 and the inclusion of these Office 2013 apps at BUILD 2013, Microsoft’s developer event scheduled for later this month.

Microsoft is also adding a version of its Outlook email and calendar app to Windows RT — the version of Windows 8 that runs on ARM-based chips from Qualcomm and Nvidia. Prior devices, such as Surface RT, came with only Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote, along with a custom e-mail and calendar program.

“We’re always listening to our customers and one piece of feedback was that people want the power of Outlook on all their Windows PCs and tablets,” Microsoft said in a statement.

June 5, 2013
Google Glass XE6 Update Brings HDR Photography, Captioning

Are you among the few out there with Google Glass? Now you’ve got better pictures — and the ability to add a caption – on the way.

Google has begun rolling out a software update for the Google Glass heads-up-display computers with major changes to the way the device takes and handles photographs. Notably, the device will now take photos in rapid succession so you can choose the best photo possible.

The update brings “rapid sequence of shots”. This feature takes a burst of photos with every photograph that is taken. Those multiple images are then merged together, producing a single image that is more detailed and better exposed than the previous images Glass would take.

You can now shoot HDR images on Glass, which will help in high contrast situations. This involves taking a brighter, darker and mid-range image and combining them together to reproduce a fuller range of tones. It’s very common now on smartphones and other cameras, so it’s nice to see it come to Glass.

There’s also a new option to add a photo caption via voice as you share your photo out. Just tap and talk and a caption will appear with your social sharing to Google+.

The camera aside, there are some other small changes and improvements that are included in update XE6, such as a change to the shut down notification sound and Off-Head detection sound. Hangouts produces a ring when connecting, Google Now Sports and Birthdays cards are new and improved, off-head detection is better, and several small fixes have been applied.

[The Next Web]

June 5, 2013
HTC COO Departs After Reporting Highest Revenue In 11 Months

HTC reported that sales of their flagship HTC One hit ‘around 5 million.’ This is certainly great news for CEO Peter Chou as he previously declared that he would resign if the One was not a success. For now the all-aluminum Android is pressing forward. Earlier today the company their strongest month of revenues in almost a year. Unaudited revenues ending May 31st hit $967 million, but still down 3.3%.

That’s the good news. Unfortunately another exec has departed the company. Bloomberg is reporting that Matthew Costello, Chief Operating Officer, has decided to part ways after a 3-year stint. No other details were given, but “Costello will stay on as an executive adviser after moving to Europe.” His role will be absorbed by Fred Liu, currently president of engineering and operations, and will now oversee “operations, quality, sales operations and services.”

This marks the seventh HTC executive to fly the coop since the beginning of the year. According to The Verge, the May departure of Asia CEO Lennard Hoornik and Kouji Kodera, chief product officer, were the latest in a slew of employee losses, including Jason Gordon, vice president of global communications; Rebecca Rowland, global retail marketing manager; John Starkweather, director of digital marketing, and Eric Lin, product strategy manager.

In an interview last week with AllThingsD, Jason Mackenzie, HTC’s president of global sales, sought to put the departures into context and suggested that the media was blowing them out of proportion.

“HTC has been around for 15 years now, so it’s still a relatively young company, and still a company where it feels like a family. It feels like a mom and pop organization because many of the founders are all still there. And so it’s tough when we lose one employee; we’re like that,” he said. “But the news around this ‘mass exodus’ has really been overblown. We’re a big company today and we’ve lost a few people. Some were planned and some were not. But it’s not masses of people.”

Another interesting point in the report notes that HTC will be forming a new quality assurance division that will “handle product lifecycle matters” and “product reliability.” This division will be run by Georges Boulloy and will most likely hone in on improving device launch time.

[Mobile Syrup, The Verge]

June 5, 2013
Sony Unveils Xperia M and M Dual
Enjoying the success of dual sim phones, Sony has shown off the new Xperia M and Xperia M Dual. Both the Xperia M and the Xperia M dual carry a 4.0-inch TFT display of FWVGA resolution. The M and M dual run on a 1GHz dual-core processor along with Adreno 305 graphics, 1GB of RAM, 4GB of internal storage of which 2.8GB is user-accessible. A 32 GB microSD can expand the end-user storage.

Both phones have a 5-megapixel rear camera with auto-focus and a 0.3-megapixel front snapper along with a 1,750mAh battery and Wi-Fi, 3G with HSPA, Bluetooth 4.0 and NFC. Sony has built in NFC connectivity and dedicated sharing apps, and the company is pegging Xperia M and Xperia M dual to be phones with “magical one-touch functions”. The Xperia M runs on Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean) while the dual will come with Android 4.2.2 out of the box and both flavors will run Sony’s own Timescape skin.

The Sony Xperia M will be available in four colour options – Black, White, Purple and Lime. While the dual will be available in Black, White and Purple colours. While no pricing information has been shared for the two phones, it is expected that the phones will go on sale in Q3 2013.

Sony Xperia M and Xperia M dual key specifications
- 4-inch display with FWVGA resolution
- 1 GHz dual-core processor
- 1GB RAM
- 4GB internal storage, expandable by up to 32GB via microSD
- 5-megapixel rear camera with auto-focus
- VGA front-facing camera
- Dual-SIM (GSM+GSM) only for Xperia M dual
- Wi-Fi, 3G, Bluetooth, aGPS, NFC
- 1,750mAh
- Android 4.1 for Xperia M, Android 4.2 for Xperia M dual
[youtube id=”x5x3aOwfYCs” width=”100%” height=”300px”]
June 5, 2013
Porsche 911 50 Years Edition Is Here

Porsche is celebrating 50 years of the iconic 911 with a special edition version called the 911 50 Years Edition. The 911 50 Years Edition is based on the 911 Carrera S and like the original 911, it is a coupe with a flat-six rear engine and rear wheel drive. However it makes use of the wider body reserved for the 911 Carrera 4 models. It is powered by a 395bhp 3.8-litre engine and comes with either seven-speed manual or PDK. In homage to the year of birth of the 911, only 1963 units will be produced.

Features exclusive to the 911 50 Years Edition include ‘Fuchs’ inspired two-tone 20 inch alloys with matte black details and polished centres. The car comes in two exclusive colours, Graphite Grey and Geyser Grey, apart from black. Other changes include a bespoke vented engine cover as well as choice items from the regular 911’s options list, like SportDesign mirrors, aluminium door sill kickplates, and adaptive xenon headlights.

The interior includes colour-coded instrument dials, green digits and white needles, limited edition badging, brushed aluminium accents and retro designed upholstery on 14-way adjustable seats. A limited-slip differential with torque vectoring and specially tuned Porsche Active Suspension Management (PASM) are standard to complement its increased track width and to improve upon the excellent cornering dynamics of the 911.

With the seven-speed manual transmission the 911 50 Years Edition can accelerate from 0-100 kmph in 4.5 seconds and hit a top speed of 300 kmph. With the dual-clutch automatic ‘PDK’, 100 kmph comes in a quicker 4.3 seconds but goes on to 297 kmph.

June 4, 2013
Google Bans Google Glass Porn App, Changes Policy

The first pornography app for Google Glass has launched, though not for long.

Porn company Mikandi, which calls itself the world’s top app store for porn, released “Tits and Glass” this morning. A very classy title of course, as befits the porn industry. The app was designed to make “authentic” porn, allowing users to create, upload, and share photos taken with Glass.

It would also allow users to comment and vote on their favorite content, according to a statement from MiKandi.

“Google Glass is still in its infancy. The technology is really awesome, but it’s still brand new,” said Jesse Adams, CEO of MiKandi. “It’s important for us to stay on the cutting edge, though. It’s going to be connected to everything, so it’s important for us to push limit and see whats possible.”

Google officially banned sexually explicit material on the futuristic eyewear.

The company changed its Google Glass Platform Developer Policies today:

Sexually Explicit Material: We don’t allow Glassware content that contains nudity, graphic sex acts, or sexually explicit material. Google has a zero-tolerance policy against child pornography. If we become aware of content with child pornography, we will report it to the appropriate authorities and delete the Google Accounts of those involved with the distribution.

More than 10,000 people have visited the landing page for the app, and a dozen Google Glass owners had signed up with the app, MiKandi CEO Jesse Adams said in a blog post.

He said the company made sure it was following the Google Glass developer terms when it started creating the app two weeks ago, but those rules were quickly changed by Google. MiKandi will comply with the new rules, and plans on rolling out a new app that somehow doesn’t include any of the forbidden content.

MiKandi, also wants to explore direct Glass-to-Glass interactions.

[CNN]

June 4, 2013
Nvidia Showcases New Stylus Input Technology

Today at Computex, Nvidia’s CEO Jen-Hsun Huang showed off a software-based pressure sensitive display powered by the company’s Tegra 4 chipset, using a normal non-digitizer stylus to draw on it.

As the Verge reports :

Using the third generation of Nvidia’s own DirectTouch technology on a reference Tegra 4 tablet, Huang was able to draw with extreme precision using a very basic and crude conductive stylus. “The precision of DirectTouch is many, many times higher than your normal touch controller,” said the CEO, “the resolution and sample rate are much higher.”

The software is able to sense how much the stylus’ head is pressing down on the display at the point of writing and adjusts the stroke sizes accordingly. Huang also flipped the stylus around to erase what he wrote, and because the stylus had a specific thickness at that end, it’s able to “know” that it should be erasing.

Image Credit : CNET

Also, speaking at Computex, Asia’s biggest PC trade show, Chief Executive Jen-Hsun Huang told The Wall Street Journal that the Santa Clara, Calif., company is interested in technologies that “fit into its businesses,” but declined to give more specifics. He revealed that Nvidia was open to acquisitions.

The chip maker is expanding beyond selling chips by developing a portable device that can play videogames. The handheld console called Shield will be priced at $349 and is on track to ship by the end of June, Mr. Huang said.

[CNET, Wall Street Journal, The Verge]

June 4, 2013