Category: Brands and Companies

All Brands and Company Names

Apple iPad Mini coming soon Starting Rs. 21,900, Online retailers list SKUs

Several online retailers have started listing the iPad Mini on their websites as “coming soon”, this indicates a pending soon launch. The iPad Mini was originally though to be introduced a week after the iPhone 5 launch in India. But, due to the high demand by the iPhone buyers, Apple possibly wants to be prepared when they launch the iPad Mini in India.

The 16GB iPad mini Wi-Fi only version will be priced at Rs 21,900, while the 32GB will cost 27,900 and 64GB versions will be available for R Rs 33,900. The iPad mini Wi-Fi + Cellular version will supposedly come with a price of 28,900 for the 16GB variant, keeping in the trend of iPhone 5 pricing.

The Flagship iPad mini, the 64GB Wi-Fi + Cellular version, will sell for Rs 41,900. However one has to consider the fact, that a flagship iPad 9.7 inch with retina display will be available for a mere 4 thousand more, then why would one buy the iPad Mini?

Funnily enough Apple is also planning to launch the new generation of iPod Touch at a price of Rs. 23,900 for the 32 GB and a price of Rs. 29,900 for the 64 GB, which just seems strange, because one would definitely choose the iPad mini vs the iPod Touch or even a full fledged iPad for the same price. even more so, a 16 GB iPhone 4 can be had for around the 26 thousand price.

Apple seems to be defeating its own market in India with the pricing of their products. Unless a better more competitive pricing is adhered to, the iPad Mini and the new iPod Touch may never say the beaming numbers of the iPhone 5 or what the iPad 3 had.

November 26, 2012
Galaxy Note 2 Sales Hit 5 Million

It was just three week ago that Samsung declared Galaxy Note 2 sales reached the 3 million milestone in 37 days. Now, according to a post on SammyHub, the 5.5-inch phone/tablet has reportedly crossed over the 5 million mark in global sales in just 2-months – something that the original Note took 5 months to accomplish.

It features a 5.55? HD Super AMOLED display along with 1.6 GHz quad-core processor and 3100mAh battery.

The Note 2 is 9.4mm thick, has a quad-core Exynos processor clocked at 1.6GHz. In terms of design it follows along the Galaxy S3 while retaining the feel of the original Note. Samsung has been smart enough to launch the phone with Jelly Bean and their new Touchwiz UI. The Note 2 also features a new S-Pen that adds a lot of functionality to the device.

November 25, 2012
Volvo V40 Launching March 2013; Priced at Rs 25 lakhs

Luxury car major Volvo would launch its new car in Indian market by the end of March 2013, a top company official has said.

The car ‘V40-Cross Country,’ is already on road in Frankfurt and would hit the Indian market, which is a potential market for the company, Tomas Ernburg, Managing Director, Volvo India, told PTI on Friday.

n India, Volvo V40 will compete with the Mercedes Benz A Class and B Class, and BMW 1 Series hatchback. Tomas Ernburg told PTI earlier this Friday that India is a very big market. “Volvo India wants to be No.1 in India in the luxury segment and aims to capture 15% market share by 2020 and would sell 20,000 cars then. It would gradually increase to 30,000 in 2025,” he said.

Tomas revealed these details in Coimbatore, where he was present to open one of the Volvo showrooms in the country. Other cities that have Volvo showrooms include, Chnadigarh, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Kochi, Mumbai and Pune.

Volvo will increase their production sites to 43 by 2020, from current 12 by 2020 in order to capture the luxury car market by 2020. Volvo would commence operations at their plant in China next year and plans of building a plant in India are gaining momentum.

November 25, 2012
HTC Deluxe Coming Soon, Press Shots Appear

We’re eagerly anticipating the launch of the HTC Deluxe, the international version of the recently-launched Droid DNA.

The device, presuming its hardware is identical to its U.S. counterpart, the HTC Deluxe have a 5-inch 1080p Super LCD3 screen, 2GB of RAM, 16-32GB of internal storage, an 8MP camera with ImageSense, LTE connectivity, a 2020mAh battery and, of course, Android 4.1 Jelly Bean with Sense 4+.

While these new press shots expose the multi-colour scheme of the upcoming device, it does little to further our knowledge of when, and for how much, the HTC Deluxe will be available.

That being said, we know of at least one other 5-inch 1080p device coming in the coming months, specifically Sony’s Yuga.

November 24, 2012
Samsung Premium Suite Coming To Galaxy Note 10.1 in JB Update

The Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1’s software is about to get a lot more useful, thanks to Android 4.1 Jelly Bean and the company’s “Premium Suite” of apps.

The original Galaxy Note got the same boost when it was updated to Ice Cream Sandwich from Gingerbread earlier this year, and the upcoming Galaxy Note 10.1 update promises truly useful inclusions.

Perhaps most importantly, the two-window multitasking, which wasn’t multitasking at all but merely two apps loaded side-by-side, will be changed to Samsung’s Multi Window feature. This allows up to 16 separate apps to be open at the same time (remember, the Note 10.1 has 2GB of RAM), each of which can be resized and pinned to a side of the tablet. This allows for real multitasking, something we’ve yet to see on a tablet.

Samsung is also bringing its S Pen preview feature, Air View, to the Galaxy Note 10.1 with Jelly Bean. This allows users to hover above a photo album and preview its contents or, better yet, check ahead in a video clip without interrupting it.

Premium Suite will also include Adobe’s Photoshop Touch, as well as existing S Pen-based tools such as Knowledge Search, Easy Clip, Colour Picker as well as Shape and Formula Match.

November 24, 2012
Samsung Will Launch the Galaxy Camera Today
Samsung will Launch the Galaxy Camera in the country today the 23rd Nov 2012. The Camera, which we first saw back at IFA in berlin, was launched alongside the Galaxy Note 2 and Ativ Tablets. The Galaxy Camera runs on Jelly bean and is powered by a Quad Core Processor. It has a touch-enabled viewfinder and a few hardware buttons on board, including a flash release (incase it doesn’t automatically pop up), a power button, zoom toggle and shutter release

The Samsung Galaxy Camera features a 16 million pixel 1/2.3 inch CMOS sensor along with an f/2.8 21x optical zoom lens which starts at 23mm (35mm equivalent).

Android Jelly Bean 4.1 is available on the camera, meaning a wide range of apps, including Instagram and Facebook are available to download and use on the camera. Integrated Wi-Fi is also included to download apps, as well as send and share images via social networking sites and email. An internal 8GB memory is included, along with a slot for a micro SD card. On the back of a camera is a large 4.77 inch HD Super Clear Touch Display LCD screen.

With the Auto mode, you’ll have access to a touch-to-focus system while leaving the rest of the computing to the camera. Other camera features include 10 smart pro features, auto cloud back-up, smart content manager, photo wizard, movie wizard, voice control and connectivity to Drop Box. In addition, Samsung supplies its own Photo Wizard and Video Wizard software and another tool designed to get good group shots. Google Mobile services such as Search, Maps, Gmail, Google Plus, YouTube and Google Chrome Browser can all be used from the camera interface. GPS navigation is also included.

The camera will be available in a series of colours and with many accessories, including a waterproof case.
- 1/2.33-inch BSI CMOS sensor
- 16-megapixel
- 21x, f/2.8-5.9, 23-480mm lens
- WiFi with 3G and 4G connectivity
- micro-SIM
- microSD card
- 1,650 mAh battery (seven hours of battery life)
Hands on Video
November 23, 2012
Hands On : Sony Vaio Duo 11

We were really excited about Sony’s entrant into the Hybrid Tablet-PC market this year the Vaio Duo 11. An 11.6 inch screen marks the front of the the Hybrid Laptop with a resolution of 1920×1080, the screen is also a Multi-touchscreen. The Display is quite impressive as it is responsive, which is propped up by a hinge mechanism, similar to the one seen on some smartphones.

The Body of the Vaio Duo 11 is made majorly of Plastic and sports a Gunmetal colour. The Vaio Duo 11 is powered by an Third Gen Intel Core i5 chipset and Intel HD 4000 graphics. you have 128 GB of Solid State Hard with roughly under 80 GB available to the end user, after Windows, and Sony’s softwares. The ram is 4 GB non expandable as it is soldered directly onto the board.

The Vaio Duo 11 is fairly lightweight, but may not be as portable as just simply carrying around a tablet.

The Machine seemed responsive at first look and the bundled noise cancelling headphones work great , but the headphones are powered by the earphone jack on the Duo 11 so the noise cancellation will not work with any other device.

The Keyboard is nicely back-lit and has a touch ball just like the ones seen on Blackberry phones, which makes traditional non touch navigation possible. The Vaio Duo 11 also has mouse buttons just under the spacebar for easy click actions.

We did see some software issues and glitches, as Sony told us that the Vaio Duo 11 being shown to us was not the final product but pre production marketing samples. The Vaio Duo 11 also has an inbuilt accelerometer and conveniently placed screen rotation lock button. The release of the Duo 11 marks the entry of convertible tablets in the market, with many other companies already promising similar specs.

November 23, 2012
Sony launches Vaio Duo 11 Hybrid Convertible Ultrabook for Rs. 89,990 (PR)
Sony has just Launched their Vaio Duo 11 Hybrid Convertible Ultrabook in India for a price of Rs. 89,990/-. The Tablet cum PC Hybrid, Vaio Duo 11, features a Core i5 Ivy Bridge Processor with a battery life rated at 4.5 Hours.

The Vaio Duo 11 features a 11.6 inch Full HD capacitive Touchscreen and Slide-Hinge mechanism to prop up the LCD in-one single motion to expose the backlit Keyboard. The Operating system of choice is Windows 8 Consumer ( non – pro) and the weight of the machine is 1.3 KG. The storage is on a 128 GB SSD drive which is swappable for a higher capacity drive, however the RAM is kept at 4GB which is onboard and non-expandable.

The Vaio Duo 11 features 2 x USB 3.0 ports, one HDMI and a LAN port, along with a VGA out and SD Card – Memory Stick Duo Card Slot. The Vaio Duo 11 features 2 Cameras both 2.02 MP Exmor-R with 1080p video capabilities. Sony is bundling noise cancelling headphones with the Duo 11 to make the deal a little sweeter.

The Vaio Duo is Expected to hit shelves in Holiday season in December 2012.

[toggle_box title=”Press Release” width=”Width of toggle box”]

Touch, write and go with slim new VAIO™ Duo 11

Hybrid Ultrabook from Sony combines fully-featured PC productivity with tablet convenience
- Surf Slider™ design transforms full-function Ultrabook™ PC into tablet operating mode for on-the-go computing
- Slim and light: weighs approximately 1.3kg and 17.85mm thin
- 29.4cm (11.6”) wide view Full HD Touch Screen
- Comfortable and precise hand-writing experience
- Headphone with Digital Noise Cancellation
New Delhi, 22^nd November, 2012: Sony India today unveiled the next generation of Hybrid Ultrabook PC- VAIO^TM Duo 11; the PC from Sony that also turns into a smart, intuitive touchscreen tablet.

With its premium Surf Slider™ design, the powerful VAIO™ Duo 11 PC switches smoothly between Tablet to PC modes to give the best computing experience – wherever you are and whatever you’re doing.

Pick up VAIO™ Duo 11 in one hand and use in tablet mode to browse the web or enjoy music and videos while you’re travelling. In the office, slide out the keyboard and maximise your productivity with a fully-featured PC powered by latest-generation Intel® Core™ processor.

VAIO™ Duo 11 puts touch and handwriting right at the heart of your Windows 8 computing experience. Write and interact with media and applications on the responsive, touch capable, super-bright Full HD OptiContrast™ Panel. It gives the satisfying, expressive feel of handwriting directly on the touchscreen, with the touch of your finger. Make notes, sketch diagrams or ring key points on your presentation with supple responses and imperceptible latency. Smart text recognition even lets you quickly convert handwritten notes to text for easy archiving and searches.

Sharing photos and videos is a pleasure on the super-bright 29.4cm (11.6”) Full HD OptiContrast™ Panel. Friends and family will enjoy detail-packed, high contrast pictures with a wide viewing angle – even if you’re outdoors in bright daylight.

Don’t let your PC slow things down when you’re in a hurry. Quick Boot gets you up and running in seconds. When you need a break, VAIO powers down into a deep energy-saving Sleep mode, keeping your documents safe. With RapidWake + Eco, everything’s ready for instant wake-up, just as you left off.

Optional Sheet-type battery extends battery life.

Despite its slim size, VAIO™ Duo 11 is ready for business with a full complement of ports and interfaces including Bluetooth® Smart Ready, USB 3.0, USB Sleep Charge to charge your USB charging devices like mobiles or music players on the go; even when the PC power is off, HDMI, Ethernet and VGA video ports. You don’t need extra dongles or adapters to hook up a projector or secondary screen: everything’s on board.

VAIO™ Duo 11 gives you life like sound experience, even at noisy places with its unique headphone which comes with Digital noise cancelling feature. Now be in Train, Flight or at office, you can enjoy clear music.

VAIO™ Duo 11 also provides rich networked entertainment experiences.

Expand your entertainment experience even further with three new apps by Sony that are available for free download.

The ‘Music’ application lets you enjoy your music collection with superb quality thanks to xLoud and ClearPhase.

The ‘Album’ application makes viewing, sorting or sharing pictures and videos fun intuitive.

Both applications let you ‘throw’ or stream personal photos, video and music content to enjoy on DLNA compatible large screen TV and audio systems.

Optional accessories include a screen protection cover and carrying case that protects VAIO™ Duo 11 while you’re travelling.

VAIO™ Duo 11 hybrid Ultrabook PC will be available in India across Sony Centers, VAIO flagship stores and other major electronic and IT stores.

Model

Colour

Price

Availability

SVD11213CNB

Gun Metal

Rs. 89,990

End of Dec’12

About Sony India Pvt. Ltd.

Sony India is one of the most recognized consumer electronics brand in the country, with a reputation for new age technology, digital concepts and excellent after sales service. In India, Sony has its footprint across all major towns and cities in the country through a distribution network comprising of over 10,400 dealers and distributors, 270 exclusive Sony outlets and 23 direct branch locations. Sony India also has a strong service presence across the country with 255 service outlets. Manned by customer friendly and informed sales persons, Sony’s exclusive stores ‘Sony Center’ are fast becoming the most visible face of the company in India. A distinctive feature of Sony’s service is their highly motivated and well-trained staff that provides the kind of attentive and sensitive service that is rare today.

For more details, please visit: www.sony.co.in

Follow us on:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sonyIndia

Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/sonyindia

Twitter: http://twitter.com/sony_india

[/toggle_box]
November 23, 2012
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City To Hit iOS And Android On December 6

Grand Theft Auto: Vice City is approaching its tenth anniversary, and to honour that landmark Rockstar Games is unleashing the title on Android and iOS devices early next month.

The 80?s-themed death-fest has been carefully re-worked to support touchscreen-based devices, and will be available on many newer Android devices including the Galaxy Nexus, HTC One X,Galaxy S III and Nexus 4. The list of Android devices covered is quite extensive, and includes even aging phones like the Nexus S and Xperia Play.

Vice City has higher-resolution character models and improved lighting compared to the original, and there will be some mobile-only features available at launch. We’re really excited to see how the game looks and runs on the Nexus 10 tablet, too.

GTA: Vice City 10th Anniversary Edition will run $4.99 for both platforms and will be out on December 6th. See the list of compatible devices after the break.

November 22, 2012
Apple, Samsung Patent Clash Expands To iPad mini, iPad 4, New iPod touch

Samsung Electronics has alleged that three recent products from Apple, including the iPad mini, infringe on its patents.

The South Korean company said in a filing Wednesday in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, San Jose division, that the products were released by Apple after Samsung submitted its original infringement contentions on June 15, and a motion to supplement on Oct. 1 that added the iPhone 5 to products that allegedly infringe its patents.

The products included in the latest motion to amend and supplement the infringement contentions are the iPad mini and the latest versions of the iPad and iPod touch.

Samsung has also asked for clarification from the court if its original contentions properly allege infringement of U.S. Patent No. 7,672,470 by three prior generations of the iPod touch, and alternatively asks leave to add these products to its infringement contentions.

[quote]On Wednesday, Samsung’s chief executive Shin Jong-kyun told The Korean Times: “Without Samsung-owned wireless patents, it’s impossible for… Apple to produce its handsets.”[/quote]

Samsung and Apple are no strangers to court battles, having been engaged in vicious patent battle that extends across four continents since April 2011. Back in August, a court awarded Apple over $1 billion in damages after upholding claims that Samsung had infringing several iPhone and iPad patents with its Galaxy S-series smartphones. Samsung has since appealed against the ruling.

But it hasn’t all been going Apple’s way, with courts in the Netherlands, the U.K. and Japan dismissing Apple’s claims of infringement by Samsung.

November 22, 2012
Skype 3.0 for Android Launched, New Tablet Interface, Better Voice Quality

Microsoft’s newest big-time brand, Skype, has just been updated to version 3.0 for Android. With it comes a brand new interface for tablets, though Microsoft didn’t seem to think that anyone uses a Nexus 7 since the frame is forced into landscape mode. Hopefully this will be fixed in the next update.

Much like the desktop client or iPad application, the new Android version offers a two-column approach aimed at simplifying multitasking. For example, users can now easily access IM messages without leaving a video call.

The claim to improved sound is credible. The variability of Skype’s audio makes it hard to pin down, but apparently there’s a better audio codec called SILK which copes with varying speeds and improves the capture of deep, bassy, tones, like those of Morgan Freeman.

November 21, 2012
Windows Phone 8 Hit With Random Reboot Issues

HTC Windows Phone 8 and Nokia Lumia 920 owners have taken to forums looking for answers to a vexing reboot problem. Pages worth of complaints have sprung up on Microsoft and Nokia’s forums web sites, as well as that of WPCentral.

The problem, which has the device reboot at random several times per day, seems to affect the HTC 8X more than the Lumia 920. Some users report as many as four to five reboots every 24 hours.

It is unclear exactly what is triggering the problems — and whether they are related or down to specific issues with different handsets, although since multiple handsets from different makers are involved a problem relating to the OS seems most likely.

Microsoft is reportedly investigating the issue, and if it can’t be resolved server-side, which seems the most likely cause, it will likely be overcome with an OTA patch in the coming days.

Nokia acknowledged there have been “reports of a small number of people experiencing this unusual performance on their Nokia Lumia 920? and pointed to problematic apps as a potential cause — noting in a statement: “We are investigating but suspect some apps may be at the root of the issue when left running in the background. While we learn more, we advise people when finished with an application to navigate away using the back button to ensure it is no longer active.”

Have you had any issues with your new Windows Phone 8 devices? Let us know.

November 20, 2012
5 Million Google Nexus 7 Units Expected To Be Shipped In 2012

David Chang, ASUS’ CFO, stated last month that shipments of the Nexus 7 were initially slow, popping in around “500K units a month, then maybe 600, 700K.” He then declared October was a breakout month with shipments getting “close to one million.”

With the recent release of the 32GB Nexus 7 and 32GB 3G version you can expect interest to peak, especially at their low-cost price points. News today from an overseas report in DigiTimes claims that their supply chain sources believe that Nexus 7 shipments – all models – will reach 5 million units by year end. That’s not to hard to imagine as the above numbers total 2.8 million, so another 2.2 million in the next couple months is certainly possible.

It’s no secret that a lot of the tablet’s success is down to it’s brilliant pricing. For what you get with the Nexus 7, it’s incredible value for money and a price that no other Android tablet has yet matched. At it’s current pricing, you can get the Nexus 7 with 16GB of storage for $199 and the 32GB model for $249. As of last week there’s the addition of the 32GB Nexus 7 with 3G connectivity for $299, which is pretty cheap for a tablet of its specs with 3G, often the premium for 3G is a lot higher on tablets.

The tablet comes with 7-inch IPS display screen with a 1280×800 resolution and is powered by 1.3GHz Nvidia Tegra 3 processor. Other features of the tablet include 1GB RAM, 1.2-megapixel front camera and 4325mAh battery.

November 20, 2012
Nokia HERE Maps For iPhone And iPad Released

HERE Maps by Nokia, the mapping alternative to Google Maps and Apple’s own Maps service, is now available for iOS. It’s compatible with iPhone, iPod touch and iPad devices running iOS 4.3 or above and is optimised for the iPhone 5.

The app is based off HTML 5 and offers an array of mapping views – map view, live traffic view, public transport line view or satellite view – and has maps/directions from over 200 countries.

The UI follows Nokia’s own interface pattern, rather than the usual iOS conventions, which could lead to some confusion, but otherwise it’s pretty much what we’ve grown to expect from the Nokia Maps browser-based option.

HERE has a public transport view that handily shows nearby routes and stops overlaid on the map. It also provides driving and walking directions, and even lets you cycle through the days of the week when planning routes to see how traffic and other factors on different days might affect trip times and planning. Searching for locales brings up nearby interest points, too, in addition to routing options, as well as website and phone number info if they’re available.

We’ve had a quick look around the app and it features an extensive database of locations and points of interests. The navigation feature seems to work nicely as well.

You can download Nokia HERE from the iOS App Store. Check it out and let us know what you think about this Apple Maps alternative in the comments.

[toggle_box title=”Features” width=”Width of toggle box”]

Features:
• Map views: Pick the map you need from map view, live traffic, public transport line or satellite
• Save map areas & wander without data coverage
• In selected countries, access community maps created and updated by users
• Maps, search and place coverage for nearly 200 countries
• Search with history and suggestions
• Share places with just a tap, including location & how to get there, over SMS, email, social networks
• Organize places you love into Collections
• Sign in to HERE Maps with your Nokia Account or Facebook login
• Sync with Here.net – Access your Collections anywhere
• Step-by-Step voice-guided walk navigation
• Walk navigation through pedestrian routes, parks, alleyways, and more
• Public transportation and driving directions

[/toggle_box]

November 20, 2012
Android 5.0 Key Lime Pie Seen In Sony ‘LT30i’ Benchamarks

Now that Android 4.2 Jelly Bean is safely released to the public, it’s time to focus our attention on the next big version, expected to be called Key Lime Pie and likely to be unveiled in February or March of next year. Key Lime Pie, has appeared online in benchmarking results on a yet-to-be-released Sony LT30i.

The hardware it is being tested, Sony LT30i, is a variation of the Sony Xperia T clocked at 1.6Ghz. Because Sony is a close partner of Google, and may be readying its own Nexus phone, it’s entirely possible that the hardware manufacturer has been granted early access to Android 5.0 as part of the Android PDK.

The LT30i features a 1.6GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM8260 chip with modest Adreno 220 graphics. It also has a display of unknown size, but with a 720p resolution.

All this has to be taken with the usual large pinch of salt as the benchmark figures could easily be faked, as you would have thought we are many months away from seeing Android 5.0 revealed. It is doubtful the company will announce the software before Google I/O next summer, but with Google anything may be possible.

November 20, 2012