Category: Brands and Companies

All Brands and Company Names

Hands on with the Spice Mi 350n, Dual sim & Android 2.3 at Rs 8000

Spice has just announced a tackle to its competitor, priced at just Rs. 8000, (Rs. 300 cheaper if you buy from their online E-commerce website). The device features a 2 point touch 3.5 inch capacitive screen with a resolution of 320 x 480 px. The processor is a 650MHz Mediatek M6573 with what they claim a 200MHz GPU ( say what?). with 512MB Rom and 256MB RAM this device seems like a good alternative to the dual sim android we unboxed a few days ago.

The battery is a 1400 mah pack, and Spice claims that the device has good battery management. The camera is a 3.2 MP autofocus camera at the back without any flashlight. The front camera is a VGA camera but there is Video call over 3G, so its a plus point. The device is chunkier than the A75 and a little less attractive as well. The back cover although metal is very fiddly. And we got a quick hands on video at announcement, before we do an actual unboxing. What we do know is that in-ear headphones + mic and button are included instead of standard ones. check out the images and subscribe to iGyaanTV as the video goes up shortly

December 16, 2011
App A Day : Asphalt 6 Adrenaline Free on iOS for today : iPad, iPod & iPhone

Shocker : Gameloft has made Asphalt Adrenaline 6 full version free for 24 hours on the App Store. The game is one of the most played games on both Android and iOS platforms. You can even take on friends in Online and Local Multiplayer mode for up to 6 racers. The game is only free for today so make sure you get it before the offer runs out.

The total download is 515.4 MB so make sure you have a decent connection.

[Download here]

December 16, 2011
AutoGyaan : 2013 Mercedes Benz SL550 is lighter and more robust

Mercedes is all set to launch a newer sixth generation Mercedes Benz SL, dubbed the 2013 SL- 550 and SL-350. This new revision will begin production early next year to make up for deliveries early summer 2012.

The SL550, which will begin shipping first, will be powered by Mercedes’ new 4.7-liter twin-turbo V-8, giving out 429 hp at 5250 rpm, 516 lb-ft at 1800. It will come with a standard 7 speed Auto-Transmission along with Start/Stop functionality. The company promises 0-to-60-mph time of 4.5 which is almost a second faster than the existing SL550. This improvement comes courtesy the all Aluminum body in a series-production model, which makes it 275 pounds lighter. The car is also slightly larger than its current version, adding 1.4 inches length, 2.2 inches width, and rides on a 1-inch-longer wheelbase.

The front styling is indicative of the SL lineup, it however adds the new LED day running lights and matte paint options. The Glass roof which was earlier optional willow come standard and dropping some serious dough will get you the Magic Sky Control, which is an electrochromic glass panel that can go from nearly translucent to opaque at the touch of a button. The roof is set on a magnesium frame.

For safety and security, the vehicle will come with Sstainless steel A pillars and roll cage, along with a new design of front impact cavities, also Pre-Safe makes its first appearance in an SL as does Attention Assist which should improve the drivers assist. Active park assist will be available, and the car uses the latest COMAND infotainment system, which features downloadable apps. Great for tech lovers.

The first lot of the SL will be dubbed Edition 1, this version package includes designo gray paint—designo denoting Mercedes’ extra-upscale trimmings—a designo red and black interior with piano black wood trim, an upgraded Harman/Kardon surround-sound stereo, the Airscarf neck warmer, and 19-inch AMG wheels.

Ready to pre book?

December 16, 2011
Blackberry 10 Phones won’t come until end 2012

Unfortunate news for those who were hoping that Blackberry would step up to its game. The company’s new plans reveal that they will not be bringing the new Blackberry 10 phones until the end of 2012. Blackberry 10 formerly known as BBX is a new OS by the company that will dramatically change the user experience and add Android application integration.

RIM CEO in a earnings call said that due to a critical chipset that’s not expected to be available in production quantity until mid-next year, BlackBerry 10 devices will emerge late in 2012.

Boo-Hoo RIM we were literally hoping for some real effort to revive the strength Blackberry had few years ago.

[RIM investor call]

December 16, 2011
Samsung Galaxy Note to get a Qualcomm chip in the US, Leave Exynos, add 4G LTE

Looks like fragmentation continues for Samsung on their global launch platforms. The Galaxy Note for the US At&t is said to sport a dual-core 1.5GHz MSM8660 Qualcomm chip. Everything else will remain the same, including the brilliant 5.3 inch screen, and smart pen features. The new radios will support 700MHz / 1700MHz bands to power up the LTE.

[PocketNow]

December 16, 2011
Dell to discontinue Mini series netbooks, focus on Ultrabooks

Dell has announced that it will discontinue all focus and manufacture of Mini series and other Netbooks, their reason for doing this is the investment of the same effort in up ramping of Ultrabooks that seem to be the new rage in the Industry. Samsung had announced similar plans earlier last month, shifting their focus to Ultrabook. Dell has already discontinued the Streak tablets, now they have retired the netbooks. The netbooks appear to be missing from the Dell India site swell so it looks like a global deployment.

Apparently business/enterprise clients can still get the Mini for large scale orders.

December 16, 2011
Windows Phone 7.5 SMS bug found, requires a Hard Reset to fix

A new SMS bug has been found in the Windows Phone 7.5 devices, WP devices that receive a text containing a certain string of characters will reboot and return with a non-functional messaging client which can only be restored via a hard reset. The bug does not affect any particular device, but the OS. The funny bit is that the same bug message could be received via Facebook messenger or MSN messenger.

Android and iOS have had their fair list of SMS bugs, But never one that disables the messaging interface all-together.

December 16, 2011
HP is planning a massive identity shift : Leaked

Hp is planning a huge brand remake, new image, new CEO, new options and a new out look. It all starts with a new logo and a new redesign of products. The new look has been revealed by the team at Moving Brands, who began working with HP on a complete redesign of the company’s brand in 2008. Hit the link at the bottom to see what a major brand overhaul looks like.

[Moving Brands]

December 15, 2011
Google removes 22 apps from Android Market due to fraudulent charging

Google has reportedly removed 22 malicious applications from the Android Market after security vendors tipped off the company about apps attempting to trick users into accepting fraudulent charges via SMS. The devices get infected by a trojan that charges your phone bill with premium rate SMS charges.

[quote]Trojan horse for Android devices that sends SMS messages to premium-rate phone numbers,[/quote] Said Symantec

[quote]The initial application activity presents the user with a single option to continue, which is presumed to be an agreement to premium charges that are buried within layers of less than clear links. The Premium Short Codes used could affect users in Russia, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia, Czech Republic, Poland, Kazakhstan, Belarus, Latvia, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Ukraine, Estonia as well as Great Britain, Italy, India, Israel, France, and Germany.[/quote]

The applications were dressed as copies of the popular apps like Angry birds and Cut the rope, but were actually malicious. Google has not named the apps and has not remotely deleted the apps from users phones. So if your phone bill has been racing high and you think your SMS bills are higher than usual, factory reset your phone and carefully select your apps.

December 14, 2011
HP is ready to make WebOS open source, we want to reverse engineer

HP decided to make WebOS, the controversial OS, open source to serve the community. The iGyaan team has decided to go the reverse engineering way. People have been putting Android on HP Touchpads (including us) we have decided to port WebOS as a build to go on Android devices as a second boot OS. Of course we are not the only ones who have though of this and there are others out there who will be doing it. We aim to contribute a good chunk of our time in either developing or helping develop a build that could go on Tablets and smartphones that support the OS.

Here is the original memo from HP CEO and read the press release below.

[box style=”rounded” border=”full”]

From: CEO – Meg Whitman
Sent: Friday, December 09, 2011 2:03 PM
Subject: webOS to be contributed to the open source community

Meg Whitman
CEO

TO/ All Employees

SUBJECT/ webOS to be contributed to the open source community

Today, we announced that HP will contribute our webOS software to the open source community and support its development going forward. We believe that this is the best way to ensure the benefits of webOS are accessible to the largest possible ecosystem.

Since we announced the discontinuation of our webOS devices last August, the executive team has been working to determine the best path forward for this highly respected software. We looked at all the options in the market today and we see a clear need for a platform that is both open and has a single integrated stack.

webOS is the only platform designed from the ground up to be mobile, cloud-connected, and scalable. By providing webOS to the open source community and other hardware vendors we have the potential to fundamentally change the landscape.

HP engineers, partners, other developers and hardware manufacturers will be able to contribute to the development of webOS. Together, we have an opportunity to make it the foundation of a new generation of devices, applications and services to address the rapidly evolving demands of both consumers and enterprises.

I would like to thank the webOS team for continuing your efforts under very difficult circumstances during these last couple of months. Your dedication is very much appreciated.

This is a very positive move for the development of our people, our software and HP overall.

We strongly believe that the best days for webOS are still ahead.

Best,

Meg

[/box]

[toggle title_open=”Press Release” title_closed=”Press Release” hide=”yes” border=”yes” style=”default” excerpt_length=”0″ read_more_text=”Read More” read_less_text=”Read Less” include_excerpt_html=”no”]HP to Contribute webOS to Open Source
HP to enable creativity of the community to accelerate the next-generation web-centric platform
PALO ALTO, Calif., Dec. 9, 2011 – HP today announced it will contribute the webOS software to the open source community.

HP plans to continue to be active in the development and support of webOS. By combining the innovative webOS platform with the development power of the open source community, there is the opportunity to significantly improve applications and web services for the next generation of devices.

webOS offers a number of benefits to the entire ecosystem of web applications. For developers, applications can be easily built using standard web technologies. In addition, its single integrated stack offers multiplatform portability. For device manufacturers, it provides a single web-centric platform to run across multiple devices. As a result, the end user benefits from a fast, immersive user experience.

“webOS is the only platform designed from the ground up to be mobile, cloud-connected and scalable,” said Meg Whitman, HP president and chief executive officer. “By contributing this innovation, HP unleashes the creativity of the open source community to advance a new generation of applications and devices.”

HP will make the underlying code of webOS available under an open source license. Developers, partners, HP engineers and other hardware manufacturers can deliver ongoing enhancements and new versions into the marketplace.

HP will engage the open source community to help define the charter of the open source project under a set of operating principles:

– The goal of the project is to accelerate the open development of the
webOS platform
– HP will be an active participant and investor in the project
– Good, transparent and inclusive governance to avoid fragmentation
– Software will be provided as a pure open source project

HP also will contribute ENYO, the application framework for webOS, to the community in the near future along with a plan for the remaining components of the user space.

Beginning today, developers and customers are invited to provide input and suggestions at http://developer.palm.com/blog/.[/toggle]

December 14, 2011
Microsoft Launches Skydrive app for WindowsPhone and iOS, what no Android app?

Microsoft is going the Nokia way, where iOS is not a threat and Android is too much clutter. The company today released the Skydrive app for Windows Phone and iOS leaving out Android out of the picture, for the time being at least. The apps will bring the ability to browse all of your files, share them with others, delete them and create new folders. When sharing links you can even choose whether or not a person can edit a document or simply view it. Check out the videos below.

December 14, 2011
Apple Mac App Store crosses the 100 Million download mark (PR)

In less than a year since its debut on Apple computer screens, the Mac App store has crossed 1 million downloads. Thats a huge number if you consider it a Mac only download store, if you compare it to the iOS App Store its mere digits in front of the 18 Billion downloads. The App store already has most of the Apps available for Mac Computers with others coming in fast. Check out the full PR below.

[toggle title_open=”Press Release” title_closed=”Press Release” hide=”yes” border=”yes” style=”default” excerpt_length=”0″ read_more_text=”Read More” read_less_text=”Read Less” include_excerpt_html=”no”]Apple’s Mac App Store Downloads Top 100 Million

CUPERTINO, California-December 12, 2011-Apple® today announced that over 100 million apps have been downloaded from the Mac® App Store™ in less than one year. With thousands of free and paid apps, the Mac App Store brings the App Store experience to the Mac so you can find great new apps, buy them using your iTunes® account, and download and install them in just one step. Apple revolutionized the app industry with the App Store, which now has more than 500,000 apps and where customers have downloaded more than 18 billion apps and continue to download more than 1 billion apps per month.

“In just three years the App Store changed how people get mobile apps, and now the Mac App Store is changing the traditional PC software industry,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing. “With more than 100 million downloads in less than a year, the Mac App Store is the largest and fastest growing PC software store in the world.”

“With Autodesk products in both the App Store and Mac App Store, we can reach hundreds of millions of Apple users around the world,” said Amar Hanspal, senior vice president of Platform Solutions and Emerging Business at Autodesk. “With our free AutoCAD WS and the more powerful professional drafting tools of AutoCAD LT, we’re using the Mac App Store to deliver new products and reach a growing base of new Mac customers.”

“The Mac App Store has unparalleled reach and has completely transformed our distribution and development cycle,” said Saulius Dailide of the Pixelmator Team. “Offering Pixelmator 2.0 exclusively on the Mac App Store allows us to streamline updates to our image editing software and stay ahead of the competition.”

“In less than one year we’ve shifted the distribution of djay for Mac exclusively to the Mac App Store,” said Karim Morsy, CEO of algoriddim. “With just a few clicks, djay for Mac is available to customers in 123 countries worldwide. We could never have that reach through traditional channels.”

The Mac App Store offers thousands of apps in Education, Games, Graphics & Design, Lifestyle, Productivity, Utilities and other categories. Users can browse new and noteworthy apps, find out what’s hot, see staff favorites, search categories and look up top charts for paid and free apps, as well as user ratings and reviews. The Mac App Store is included with Mac OS® X Lion and is available as a software update for any Mac running Mac OS X Snow Leopard®. For more information visit, www.apple.com/mac/app-store.

Mac developers set the prices for their apps, keep 70 percent of the sales revenue, are not charged for free apps and do not have to pay hosting, marketing or credit card fees. To find out more about developing for the Mac App Store visit, developer.apple.com/programs/mac.

Apple designs Macs, the best personal computers in the world, along with OS X, iLife, iWork and professional software. Apple leads the digital music revolution with its iPods and iTunes online store. Apple has reinvented the mobile phone with its revolutionary iPhone and App Store, and has recently introduced iPad 2 which is defining the future of mobile media and computing devices.[/toggle]

December 13, 2011
Galaxy Nexus Launch in India pushed to Jan 2012 End, We get the boot yet again!

We just got confirmation from Samsung that the launch of the Samsung Galaxy Nexus has been pushed back to the end of January 2012. The device is one of the most anticipated phones in India, especially because its the first smartphone to natively run Ice Cream Sandwich aka Android 4.0.

The device will also feature a bump of specs including HD Super AMOLED display (1,280 x 720), a 1.2GHz dual-core processor, Embedded NFC module. Its kinda horrible that India always gets the boot when it comes to devices we really want.

December 12, 2011
Pick : iG Holiday Gift Guide : Mobile Phones under 10,000
Tis’ still the season to be jolly and our next guide covers all sorts of phones we recommend under Ra. 10,000 check it out.

Android Phones

Samsung Galaxy Y (Rs. 7150/-) Android 2.3, a cheap price, 3 inch capacitive touch, 835 Mhz processor, a good 2MP camera and decent performance. We recommend it.

Alternatives
- LG Optimus Net (Rs. 9999)
- Dell XCD 35 (Rs. 8599)
- Micromax Andro A70 (Rs. 7500)
Android Qwerty

Not a lot of options in this category

LG Optimus Pro C666 (Rs 9599) Android 2.3, 800MHz processor, full QWERTY, 2.8 inch touchscreen, that the best you can get in this price. The only other option is the Motorola Fire, which we don’t recommend.

Blackberry

There are not many blackberry devices that can fit in this price bracket but you can get lucky.

Blackberry Curve 8520 (Rs. 9800) The blackberry messenger, push mail, and enterprise ready support, along with upgradability to BB OS5. not much you can ask for in the 10,000 price bracket. The device is a favorite with Blackberry addicted college going ladies, as says Deviana, So if you have a girlfriend a good holiday gift would be a pink/purple version of this.

Its not always fun and frolic, but if you are really lucky you can snag a brand new Blackberry 9000 (original bold) for about Rs. 9500 if someone still has stock.

Nokia / Symbian

Symbian is almost dead, but its popularity in India is nowhere near extinction. People still love Nokia phones, simply because they can’t seem to grow out of it to try something else. Nokia phones are built to last, and have a friendly and easy to remember OS. Although not our top recommendation, if you must buy a Nokia and your budget is 10k then here are our recommendations.

Nokia C5-03 (Rs. 9750) : Features include 3G connectivity, 3.2 inch resistive touchscreen, 5 MP Camera and LED flash, VGA video, Nokia apps world, Facebook and Twitter.

Nokia E5 (Rs. 9730) : Symbian v9.3 OS, 2.36-inch Display, QWERTY keypad, push mail, ARM 11 600 MHz processor, 5 megapixel camera with LED Flash and VGA video.

Stay Tuned for more gift guides.
December 12, 2011
Pick: iG Holiday Gift Guide 2011: Gadgets Rs. 10,000
Tis’ the season to be jolly and make others jolly. With that thought in mind we bring to you the iGyaan Holiday gifting guide of 2011. This edition will include gadgets and gift items that stay within and around the Rs 10,000 price bracket. So lets begin.

Since its iGyaan.in and we love Smartphones, lets begin with them

Smartphone

Till about two years ago fitting the word smartphone in this category was practically impossible. But today we have several options and only one should shine as a recommendation for the guide.
1. Samsung Galaxy Y
Price Rs. 7150/-

The only real smartphone for the price that features specs that would fit in the budget and leave a few Gandhis to spend about on your favorite christmas dinner. This phone features a powerful processor and Android Gingerbread, Its our Recommendation for the best phone under 10,000 Rs.

Personal Media Player

iPod Touch 8GB

8GB : Rs. 10500/-

A lot of media players come close but non so close, if you manage you can grab one for lower than 10000, the best touchscreen experience you can find at 10,000/- along with endless apps from the Apple App Store. Support for Nike +, bluetooth, FaceTime, iMessage, Safari web browser, email, Maps and a whole lot of music in the 8GB capacity. The fact that it bundles as a best gaming device eating into the personal gaming console market for years, makes it an even better device.

Alternative iPod Nano

8GB : Rs.6500/-

16GB: Rs.7500/-

If you can’t go over 10K, the best mp3 player is possibly the iPod Nano, maybe not the best to watch movies on, because you can’t. But you do get an enormously large capacity mp3 player, with a multitouch screen, audiobooks, podcasts, photos, FM radio, Fitness Walk + Run support built in, Nike+ support built in.

Digital Camera

Canon Ixus 130

Rs. 9650/-

Not a lot of pixels, 14.7 to be precise, 17.8mm stainless steel body finished in a choice of silver, black, orange or pink, a 4x optical zoom and a 28mm wide-angle lens is what make the our choice. The camera has HD video recording and SD HC capable memory slots, backed by Canon’s great support and exceptional mechanics in camera technology.

Personal Gaming

PSP 3004

Rs. 7000/-

Apart from the fact that the iPod Touch makes an excellent gaming device, adds a camera and a music player, a dedicated gaming console is a must if you are a hardcore on the go gamer. It allows multiplayer over WiFi and acts as a second remote to your PS3, it allows video out, and music storage. Music , movies, videos, games and everything in Rs. 7000 . Its our recommendation for the best gaming device under 10k, if you don’t want an iPod Touch.

Headphones

Soul by Ludacris Sl99

Rs. 6500/-

If you can find them at that price you are lucky, they retail for about 100 US $ but are very expensive in India. The earphones are the best you can get for the price and the feature an online remote that is compatible with iPhones, iPads and iPods. The remote also somewhat works with some android devices. the earphones have the best in class bass and tangle free flat cables. The build quality is superb and they look, feel and sound premium for a price that is usually considered average for good earphones. Don’t think two ways, these sound better than beats by Dre by a mile.

Stay tuned for more gift guides coming up.
December 11, 2011