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Maruti Reveals Face-lifted Wagon R

The Maruti Suzuki Wagon R is one of the highest selling cars in the history of Maruti Suzuki India Ltd. The Wagon R, which got a comprehensive model update a couple of years back, has now got a mild facelift to remain fresh in the market.

It may be noted that MSIL realizes the need to regularly spruce up its small cars to fend off the ever increasing competition.

The changes are minimal; however the company claims to improve engine’s efficiency. The makers boast an OBD II complaint engine including other changes that make the vehicle eight percent more efficient than its 2010 edition.

The updated version is powered by a 1.0-litre, three-cylinder K Series petrol motor while power and torque remain unchanged. The car once again will be offered in CNG and Petrol variants. Also the front bumper, headlights and grill are re-designed.

Talking of the interior, beige and black combination gives it a fresh, up class feel along with increased storage space just above the glove box. The best part is improved audio unit which enables USB connectivity. The day/night inside rear view mirror is a cherry on top.

The prices for Maruti Suzuki’s face lifted Wagon R may be announced next week and an increase of 0.5 percent to 2 percent is expected.

January 13, 2013
Google Nexus 4 Gets Android 4.2.2 in Brazil and Malaysia

While most of the world is seeing Android 4.2.1 as the latest version of Jelly Bean, it looks like Google has quietly begun rolling out something a bit newer. According to new reports, Google has begun rolling out Android 4.2.2 in select countries. So far the reports are pinpointing just two countries — Brazil and Malaysia.

According to a recent report, LG Mobile’s production facility situated in Taubaté, Brazil has already started churning out Nexus 4 smartphones today in hopes of catching up with the overwhelming demands, an interesting twist to this story is that at least a thousand of these quad-core packing monsters have — purportedly — been loaded with Google’s latest version of the Android Jelly Bean platform so don’t be surprised if the Nexus 4 you have ordered via the Play Store portal will come running the Android 4.2.2 operating system.

Also, a new leak reveals the LG Nexus 4 in Malaysia running the new, unannounced software from Google.

True or not, we suggest taking this news with a grain of salt since it’s still unknown if the leaked image is legitimate — but, like we’ve previously mentioned, the fact that Google has stopped letting users download the Android 4.1.2 may give us a vague clue as to what Google is really hiding up its sleeves and the Android 4.2.2 may just be the answer we’ve been waiting for.

source: Adrenaline.uol.com.br

January 12, 2013
BlackBerry 10 Promo Slides Show Up Online

Image Courtesy : RapidBerry

Some of the first promotional material for the upcoming BlackBerry Z10, which we believe the final name to be, has emerged online. It shows off many of RIM’s upcoming BlackBerry 10 features, including the unannounced but highly-suspected BBM Video, which looks an awful lot like FaceTime. It has been said these slides are the official retail marketing for BlackBerry 10, but we’d surely hope RIM would do a way, way better job.

RapidBerry also got its hands on photos of the white and black versions of the upcoming device, and these high-quality stills really show the thoughtful design of the phone and the interesting UI design. These device images are clearly quite old, though, as the app icons are placed in the old, boxy wrapping that has since been updated. The Twitter icon uses the deprecated design, and BlackBerry World is still called App World, though it is cited correctly in the slide headline. These were likely slides shown to carriers or partners.

All of the leaked photos are down in the slideshow so check them out if you’re curious about the upcoming BlackBerry 10 smartphones and the BlackBerry Z10 in particular.N

As we get closer to January 30th, more of these glimpses into BlackBerry 10 will probably get out, and we can’t wait to see the finished result.

[Rapid Berry, Mobile Syrup]

January 11, 2013
Google Launches Chrome Beta Channel For Android

Google has finally launched a beta channel for its own Android web browser, Google Chrome. The beta, now available in the Google Play Store, will be updated more frequently with the latest work-in-progress features for users to try out before they’re ready to go stable. You’ll have to note that betas are not promised to be perfect, so while this is a great way to test new features you might also encounter some bugs and rough edges.

The company posted a blog post citing massive increases to Javascript performance, better HTML5 integration and, hopefully, smoother scrolling on tablets like the Nexus 10.

[quote]Chrome for Android now benefits from all the speed, security and other improvements that have been landing on Chrome’s other platforms. For example, in today’s Beta update we have improved the Octane performance benchmark on average by 25-30%. In addition, this update includes interesting HTML5 features for developers such as CSS Filters. This is just one step of many towards bringing beautiful experiences to the mobile web.[/quote]

It looks like this beta version is running the same source code as the current desktop beta: 25.0.1364.8.

You can grab the new version from the Google Play store now. You will need to use the link as the app can’t be found by simply searching for it.

January 11, 2013
Apple VP Phil Schiller : “Cheap Smartphones Will Never Be The Future Of Apple’s Products’”

Apple’s senior VP of worldwide marketing Phil Schiller threw Apple-watchers for a loop on Thursday by stating that cheap smartphones will “never be the future of Apple products.” Schiller made the comments to the Shanghai Evening News, noting that Apple’s goal is to use the best technology available in order “to provide the best product to the market.”

Rumours were rampant earlier this week about Apple potentially coming to market with a low-cost iPhone that could possibly compete with Google’s entry-level Android devices. Both the Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg‘s sources indicated that we’ll finally see Apple launch an iPhone around the $150 mark by the end of 2013. Unfortunately, as expected, this dream has been shot down by Phil Schiller.

[quote]According to a translation from The Next Web, Schiller said, “At first, non-smartphones were popular in the Chinese market, now cheap smartphones are more popular and non-smartphones are out … Despite the popularity of cheap smartphones, this will never be the future of Apple’s products. In fact, although Apple’s market share of smartphones is just about 20%, we own the 75% of the profit.”[/quote]

Despite these comments, one can simply look at Apple’s iPod lineup to see lower cost alternatives to the iPod touch that wouldn’t be considered cheap yet cost less and still use the best technology available.

January 11, 2013
Google Allows Developers to Respond to Play Store Comments

Big news for small developers: regardless of size, presence or popularity, all devs can now respond to comments in the Play Store.

Way back in June of 2012, Google began letting developers reply directly to user comments in the Play Store. The one catch with that, this was made available only for a select group of developers, those sporting a “Top Developer Badge.” And well, flash forward back to the present day and it looks like this is now rolling-out to all developers.

Not only will this help establish better relationships between app developers and their customers, but it will also allow developers to provide feedback and answer questions to critical comments or concerns. Trevor Johns, developer programs engineer at Google, previously said that “conversations are meant to be two-sided, and facilitating discussion between developers and users will ultimately yield better apps, to the benefit of everyone.”

The feature doesn’t seem to have rolled out in full, though it should only be a matter of time before your complaints can be heard, and dealt with, in one fell swoop.

Google+ integration was also recently added to the Play Store, forcing members of the social network to post comments under a real name, opening up richer commentary and preventing troll culture from taking over.

January 11, 2013
Apple Updates App Store Screenshot Rules To Kill Scam Apps

Have you ever been scammed into buying an app because of a screenshot that falsely represented the app you were buying? If you have, then there’s some good news for you.

Apple today announced on its Developer Portal that screenshots added to app descriptions will be locked in place once an app has been approved.

[quote]Beginning January 9, app screenshots will be locked in iTunes Connect once your app has been approved. New screenshots may be uploaded when you submit a binary for an update to an existing app or a new app.[/quote]

Before the new policy went into place, app developers would often upload legitimate game screenshots to accompany the app description, then switch them out for screenshots that resembled more popular games once the app was approved. The switch often snagged unsuspecting victims who assumed they were downloading a different app.

For example, in one instance, an unofficial Pokemon Yellow app was uploaded to the App Store. The app snuck by Apple using an unobtrusive set of screenshots, and then switched them out with photos from the Nintendo game, which thousands of people then purchased.

While this presumably means that scamming developers will no longer be able to game the App Store, it also hobbles legitimate developers trying to keep their app descriptions up to date.

[CNET]

January 10, 2013
Nokia Sold 4.4 Million Lumias in Q4 2012, Says Mobile Division “Exceeded Expectations”

Nokia sold 4.4 million Lumia smartphones during the fourth quarter of last year, as the company’s Devices & Services unit exceeded expectations, according to preliminary data.

[quote]Stephen Elop, the company’s often-criticized CEO said, “We are pleased that Q4 2012 was a solid quarter where we exceeded expectations and delivered underlying profitability in Devices & Services.” While net profit was minimal at around $262 million USD, there is reason to be bullish for the next several quarters as Lumia sales continue to rise as the company releases its phones into more markets.[/quote]

The next 12 months will be key for Nokia and Microsoft, and the sale of 4.4 million Lumia smartphones is a step in the right direction, according to Pete Cunningham, principal analyst at market research company Canalys.

Nokia also sold 9.3 million Asha touch smartphones, as well as 2.2 million Symbian smartphones.

During the fourth quarter in 2011 Nokia sold 113.5 million units, including around a million Lumia devices and a total of 19.6 million smartphones.

The 4.4 million Lumia smartphones Nokia sold also compares to the 2.9 million it sold during the third quarter. The company could have sold even more if it hadn’t been for supply constraints, which especially affected the Lumia 920.

Nokia is also getting a €50 million sum from non-recurring IPR income (coincidentally, RIM recently had to pay Nokia €50 million after a patent settlement).

Anyway, the Nokia Siemens networks also exceeded expectations and posted a profit for a third quarter in a row. The non-IFRS operating margin for this division in Q4 2012 is expected to be 13-15%.

While Nokia is ending 2012 on a positive note, the start of 2013 will be less rosy – the seasonally weak quarter will lead to a non-IFRS operating margin of negative 2% (+/- 4%).

Meanwhile, Nokia today launched the Lumia 920, 820 and 620 at an event here in New Delhi.

January 10, 2013
Samsung Announces Galaxy S II Plus With Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean, Lesser Storage

Samsung has been enjoying a really successful time of things in the last year or so in the smartphone market with a number of hugely successful products on offer. Its recent successes were arguably built on the Samsung Galaxy S2 that was released in 2011 and is still available today. Now though the company has revealed the Samsung Galaxy S2 Plus and we have the official specs and details for you.

Initially outfitted with Android 2.3 Gingerbread, the original S2 received an update to Android 4.0 last June and is finally due up for Android 4.1 sometime soon.

Otherwise, most of the tech specs between the S2 Plus and the original S2 are the same.

Like its precedessor, the Galaxy S2 Plus will offer a 1.2 GHz dual-core processor, 1GB of RAM, and a 4.3-inch WVGA Super AMOLED Plus display. An 8-megapixel camera with an LED flash is on the back, while a 2-MP camera graces the front. But the rear camera now comes with a zero-lag shutter speed that can more easily capture fast-moving objects.

The new phone offers 3G in the form of 21Mbps HSPA+, dual-band Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth 3.0.The Plus’s built-in storage has been trimmed in size to 8GB from the original’s 16GB or 32GB. But the new model’s SD storage can handle up to 64 gigabytes of data, while the original maxed out at 32GB. The Plus also includes an option for near-field communications support so people can use the phone for mobile payments.

At the time of writing Samsung has yet to reveal any pricing or availability for the new smartphone, but the device is promised to have a big boost in functionality and usability compared to the original Samsung Galaxy S2.

January 10, 2013
Eight Core Samsung Exynos 5 Octa CPU Demonstrated at CES

Samsung today took the wraps off an 8-core processor known as the Exynos 5 Octa.

Stephen Woo, president of Samsung’s System LSI business, said during a keynote address here at CES that the Exynos 5 Octa will offer a “level of pure processing power never before seen in a mobile device.”

The Exynos 5 Octa is an eight-core SoC destined for tablets and high-end smartphones.

Not all of these CPU cores are created equal: four of them are high-performance Cortex-A15 cores, the very same found in the Exynos 5 Dual that powers the Nexus 10 and Samsung’s ARM Chromebook. The other four are Cortex-A7 CPU cores—these have the same feature set and capabilities as the A15 cores, but are optimized for power efficiency rather than performance.

This makes the Exynos 5 Octa one of the first products to actually use ARM’s big.LITTLE processor switching technology. The SoC is designed to dynamically split the workload between the high-performance and the high-efficiency CPU cores based on the task at hand—less strenuous activities like browsing an app store or checking e-mail might be done on the A7 cores, for instance, while gaming and number crunching could be handed off to the A15 cores.

Both sets of cores are said to work in tandem together and offer great speeds without compromising on battery consumption.This differs from Nvidia’s Tegra 3 and Tegra 4 SoCs, which include a low-power Cortex-A9 and a Cortex-A15 (respectively) “companion core” that can only be used when all of the SoC’s other CPU cores are powered down

The new SoC will be manufactured using a 28nm process as opposed to the 32nm process used by the Exynos 5 Dual, hence claiming to be more power-efficient. According to Samsung, the SoC can deliver twice the performance of quad-core Exynos CPUs, while using 70 percent less power.

What Samsung has not yet revealed is when the first devices running the Exynos 5 Octa will be available on the market, nor at what cost.

January 10, 2013
BlackBerry 10 Demoed on Z10 At CES

It’s coming — soon. But we wouldn’t miss one last opportunity to see BlackBerry 10 before it is announced on January 30th. There are still plenty of features of the OS that we haven’t yet seen and RIM is doing a good job of keeping some secrets under wraps until launch day.

Forbes got a great look at the almost-finished OS running on the Dev Alpha B hardware, which we believe to be quite similar in specs to the finished hardware, which we know as BlackBerry Z10. As we’ve seen before, the exciting things (that have already been revealed) are the keyboard, the Peek and Flow gestures for notifications, and the centralized Hub where all your important content is stored.

As we’ve heard before, the keyboard has heat-mapping which will learn over time where you most commonly hit keys in error and adjust accordingly to increase accuracy.

We’re getting excited as Launch Day approaches, and can’t wait to try out the device for ourselves. What do you think? Does this whet your appetite for the upcoming BlackBerry 10 phone?

[Mobile Syrup, Crackberry]

January 9, 2013
Panasonic launches two new Toughpads, FZ-G1 Windows 8 and JT-B1 Ice Cream Sandwich
Panasonic has just launched two new Toughpads at CES 2013, The FZ-G1 is a 10-inch tablet running Windows 8 Pro, while the seven-inch JT-B1 runs Ice Cream Sandwich.

FG-Z1 10-inch Specs
- 1,920 x 1,200 display
- 1.9GHz Ivy Bridge Intel Core i5-3437U vPro CPU
- 128GB SSD (upgradeable to 256GB)
- 8GB of RAM
- eight-hour battery
- optional microSD slot
- USB 3.0 and 2.0 ports
- Bluetooth 4.0
- 802.11 a/b/g/n WiFi and 3G
JT-B1 Specs include
- 1,024 x 600 display
- 1.5GHz dual-core TI OMAP 4660
- 16GB storage
- 1GB RAM
- built-in microSD slot
- 13-megapixel rear camera
- 1.3-megapixel forward facing cameras
- 5,720mAh battery.
The FZ-G1 will go on sale in March for $2,900 (or about INR 149,000) the JT-B1 will be available in February and will cost $1,300 (or about INR 71,500). So if you are ready to take your tablet to the extremes, you might want to hold up some spending.

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PANASONIC EXPANDS TOUGHPAD™ ENTERPRISE-GRADE TABLET LINE

Ten-inch Windows 8 Pro-based and Seven-inch Android™-powered Tablets offer Choice to Meet Expanding Business Tablet Expectations

Las Vegas, NV, January 9, 2013 – Panasonic, an industry leader in rugged, reliable mobile computers since 1996, today expanded its Toughpad™ line of enterprise-grade tablets with the introduction of the Toughpad™ FZ-G1, a 10″ tablet featuring Windows® 8 Pro, and the availability of the Toughpad JT-B1, a 7″ Android™-powered unit. Both devices follow the original 10″ Android-powered Toughpad FZ-A1 which became broadly available late last year. With the Toughpad (#Toughpad) family of ruggedized tablets, businesses and government institutions have a single partner delivering a selection of highly reliable and purpose-built devices ideal for numerous operational needs.

“For nearly 20 years, Panasonic has engineered the most reliable mobile computing devices on the market,” said Rance M. Poehler, president, Panasonic System Communications Company of North America. “Because our customers know they can count on our products to deliver performance and return on investment, Panasonic – through its Toughbook brand – holds nearly 80 percent market share in the rugged mobile device space. We believe our engineering acumen, vertical market expertise and reputation for reliability, backed by our world-class service, will result in the Toughpad family being the leading B2B tablet solution in the coming years.”

Hide Harada, Director, IT Products Business Unit added, “The goal for Panasonic is to achieve 50% market share in the ruggedized tablet space by 2015.”

Toughpad tablets are designed for mission-critical and highly mobile workers in fields such as the military, construction, healthcare, public safety, utilities, retail, maintenance, supply chain logistics and insurance. The devices are ideal for a host of usage scenarios, including inventory control, eForms, field sales, field service, route delivery, eCitations, electronic medical records, inspections, mobile point-of-sales and GIS.

Panasonic Toughpad FZ-G1: Key Features

Operating System: Windows 8 Pro
Processor: 3rd Generation Intel® Core™ i5-3437U vPro™ 1.9GHz up to 2.9GHz with Intel® Turbo Boost Technology
Memory: 128-256GB SSD, 4-8GB RAM, optional micro SDXC
Rugged: MIL-STD-810G, 4′ drop, IP65, 14° to 122°F (operational temp range)
Display: 10.1″, sunlight viewable, touch screen and active digitizer, 800nit, WUXGA (1920×1200)
Battery: 8.0 hours (user-replaceable)
Dimensions: 10.6″ x 7.4″ x 0.75″
Weight: 2.43lbs
Wireless: Bluetooth V4.0, 802.11 a/b/g/n Wi-Fi, optional embedded 4G LTE or 3G
I/O: Full size USB 3.0, HDMI, optional micro SDXC, Full size USB 2.0, wired LAN, true serial port or dedicated GPS.

Panasonic Toughpad JT-B1: Key Features

Operating System: Android 4.0
Processor: TI OMAP4460 1.5GHz Dual core
Memory: 16GB ROM, 1GB RAM, micro SDHC
Rugged: MIL-STD-810G, 5′ drop, IP65, 14° to 122°F (operational temp range)
Display: 7″, daylight viewable, 500nit, WSVGA (1024 x 600)
Camera: Front: 1.3Mp fixed focus, Rear: 13.0Mp auto focus w/ LED light
Battery: 8.0 hours – Large 5,720mAh battery (user-replaceable)
Dimensions: 8.7″x 5.1″ x 0.7″
Weight: 1.2lbs
Wireless: Bluetooth V4.0, 802.11 a/b/g/n Wi-Fi, optional embedded 4G LTE + 3G
I/O: Micro USB

Toughpad tablets are MIL-STD-810G tested for drops, fluid ingress and temperature, to assure they deliver reliable performance under circumstances that render typical tablets non-operational. Devices feature daylight viewable screens, user-replaceable or serviceable batteries, a stylus for signature capture and handwriting (on the FZ-G1 and FZ-A1 with 3rd party apps), and multiple options for peripheral connectivity.

“Our Toughpad tablets were designed based on years of input from customers,” continued Poehler. “This customer feedback is a critical part of the development process and will continue to shape Toughbook and Toughpad devices in the future. The wide variety of devices in the Toughbook and Toughpad families is a clear indication that we build products to meet our customers’ needs.”

Enterprise-class mobile computing requires an enhanced level of device security and the Toughpad family is designed with this in mind. Security features like encryption, IPsec VPN, trusted boot, root protection and FIPS compliance are available in various configurations of the Toughpad FZ-A1 and Toughpad JT-B1. Compatibility with world-class Mobile device management (MDM) tools are also available to allow IT managers to manage applications, secure devices from unauthorized use and perform many other tasks.

Toughpad tablets are supported by an ecosystem that includes an enterprise-focused app store, developer tools and deployment support. Panasonic will offer a full set of professional-grade accessories to support the Toughpad line, including cases, mounts, printers, keyboards, magnetic stripe readers, smart card readers and multi-unit storage and charging solutions.

Pricing and Availability
The 10″ Windows 8 Pro-based Toughpad FZ-G1 will be available in March starting at $2,899. The 7″ Android-powered Toughpad JT-B1 will ship in February starting at $1,199. The 10″ Android-powered Toughpad™ FZ-A1 is now shipping, starting at $1,299. All Toughpad tablets can be purchased through authorized Panasonic resellers.

Toughpad FZ-A1 LTE Certification
Powered by Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich), the 10″ Toughpad FZ-A1 is now certified on the Verizon Wireless 4G/LTE network.

All products in the Toughpad family come standard with the industry’s most comprehensive 3-year warranty.

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January 9, 2013
Apple App Store Crosses 40 Billion Downloads, 500 Million Active Accounts

Apple announced on Monday that the App Store has surpassed 40 billion downloads. That’s unique downloads excluding re-downloads and updates. Nearly half of that came in last year alone. The company also says it has over 500 million active users, and surpassed over 2 billion downloads during the month of December.

There are over 775,000 apps available in the store, for iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch devices. Apple says it has paid the developers of those apps over $7 billion.

[quote]”Developers have made over seven billion dollars on the App Store, and we continue to invest in providing them with the best ecosystem so they can create the most innovative apps in the world,” says Eddy Cue, Apple’s senior vice president of Internet Software and Services, in a statement.[/quote]

Apple launched its app store in 2008. The store hit the 10 billion downloads mark in early 2011. In March 2012, Apple announced that more than 25 billion apps have been downloaded.

The last valuable figure Google gave for its Play Store was 25 billion downloads, encompassing 675,000 apps. Google’s marketplace launched after the App Store, but the search giant does not disclose how much money it has paid to developers.

January 7, 2013
Hp Launches Monitors Galore at CES 2013, 20 to 27 inch IPS panels

HP has just flooded the streets with a lineup of monitors they have released at CES 2013. Ranging from 20 inches to 27 inches and US $ 130 to US $ 500 (approx. INR 7000 to 30000).

Envy 27.

The Envy 27 is the flagship monitor by HP for 2013 with an asking price of US $ 499 or INR 27500 The HP Envy 27 has a 1080p IPS panel with wide viewing angles . A anti reflective coating on the glossy display makes looking at the monitor a stunning experience. Edge to Edge disply along with a die-cast aluminum base and built-in Beats Audio.

For ports, there’s VGA, DisplayPort, HDMI, a 3.5mm headphone jack and optical digital output, allowing you to send audio to wireless speakers]. The monitor will go on sale in February in the US and should hit India side soon after.

Pavilion 20xi, 22xi, 23xi, 25xi and 27xi.

Similar to the flagship above the HP Pavilion line offers full hd 1080p IPS panels in a affordable price bracket. ranging in sizes from 200 to 27 inch. The 20-inch 20xi has a lower 1,600 x 900 resolution, along with VGA and DVI output (but not HDMI). These monitors will go on sale in February in the US and should hit India side soon after with prices ranging from $130 to $340.

ProDisplay P191, P201, P201m and P221.

Designed for Enterprise and businesses these HP monitors range in size from 18.5 to 21 inches. Throughout the line up most of the specs are the same: a 250-nit brightness rating, 1,000:1 contrast ratio and 5ms response time. All can tilt 35 degrees and can rotate up to 90 degrees to offer ergonomic options to the viewer.

the P191 has a pixel count of 1,366 x 768, compared with 1,600 x 900 for the P201 and 1080p for the P221.

These HP monitors will go on sale in February in the US and should hit India side soon after price from $129 to $179, making them the most affordable of these new models.

January 7, 2013
NVIDIA launches Tegra 4: with quad-core Cortex A15 and 72 GPU cores !

At CES 2013, NVIDIA has announced their chipset upgrade of the year, The Tegra 4 platform. Even though the chip retains the same 4-plus-1 arrangement of the Tegra 3 Platform, adds capabilities of an impressive 72 GPU cores. That will improve the GPU capability almost 6 times.

The first test this processor was put to live on stage was between itself in an unnamed tablet and the Google Nexus 10 – loading webpages on the Tegra 4 finished almost 50% quicker than the Nexus 10.

Its also the first quad-core processor with Cortex A15 cores on-board, which offers compatibility with LTE networks. NVIDIA also claims this piece of silicon is the world’s fastest mobile processor. in a comparative chart putting the NVIDIA Tegra 4 ahead of the iPad 4 and then the Nexus 10.

The Tegra 4 also boasts of new Photography computational expertise, which will drastically improve the time between an image clicked, processed and saved. NVIDIA said that it will introduce a new mobile processor architecture each year, with the Tegra 4 however it seems the Tegra 3 chipset has been updated.

January 7, 2013