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7-Inch Videocon VT71 Launched For Rs. 4,799
Videocon has launched another budget Android tablet in the Indian market – Videocon VT71. The tablet is available online for Rs 4,799/-

The tablet runs on 1.2GHz processor and is powered by Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) OS out-of-the-box.

The all-new Videocon VT71 tablet features a 7-inch screen with resolution of 800x480p. It has 512MB RAM and 4GB of internal storage, which can be expanded up to 32GB with microSDcard. The device’s connectivity features include Wi-Fi, microUSB and 3G (via dongle). The tablet has a 3200 mAh battery.

[quote]Khalid Zamir, Head Product Planning and Development, Videocon Mobile Phone, said, “The Videocon VT71 is aimed towards the emerging tablet market of the country which is on an unprecedented growth spiral as of today, and will become one of the lead generators of revenue in the telecommunications market, going forward. Through the engaged device, we seek to create an immersive tablet experience for the discerning consumer, and afford him the best of multimedia experience on a 7-inch device. The announcement of the VT71 is an endeavour to expand the product portfolio of the segment and embark upon a pertinent customer engagement program wherein by affording them the range of tablet devices, we seek to bring about an engaged tablet experience to them.”[/quote]

The company had launched the VT10 with a 10-inch IPS display last month for Rs. 10,999. Its 10-incher also showed a decent spec sheet including 8GB internal memory, 32Gb expandable memory with microSD card slot, support for Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and HDMI.

Videocon VT71 Specifications
- 7-inch (800 x 480 pixels) capacitive multi-touch display
- 1.2 GHz Rockchip RK2918 processor
- Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) OS
- 12.5 mm thick, weight 181 grams
- 0.3MP (VGA) front-facing camera
- 512MB RAM, 4 GB internal memory, expandable memory up to 32GB with micro SD
- 3G (via USB Dongle), WiFi b/g/n, USB 2.0, USB OTG support, HDMI out
- 3200 mAh battery
February 2, 2013
Angry Birds Star Wars Gains 20 New Mynock Pigs Filled Stages

The popular Angry Birds Star Wars game by Rovio has been updated with 20 additional free levels, where players must navigate an asteroid field.

Version 1.1.2 of Angry Birds Star Wars is set after the Battle of Hoth seen in the last game update, with the Rebel Birds being chased by the PigTroopers through an asteroid field.

The 20 new “nail-biting” levels feature new characters, the Mynock Pigs, found deep in the belly of the asteroid the Rebel Birds have flown into trying to find cover.

The update also includes 2 additional bonus levels and a new boss level you’ll have to “make a daring escape” from.

[quote]The update reads: “After the epic Battle of Hoth, the Rebel Birds have barely escaped the ice planet with the Pigtroopers in close pursuit! There’s an asteroid field close by that could provide some cover… but watch out, there’s more to it than meets the eye!”[/quote]

For those who haven’t played it yet, Angry Birds Star Wars is well worth a download, if just for the nostalgia factor. Straying all the way out into space, the game combines the best of all the Angry Birds games into one. This 20-level update costs nothing and is a nice little content boost to an already enjoyable app.

Angry Birds Star Wars is available on iOS, Mac, Android and Windows platforms costing up to £1.99 for the HD version. The 1.1.2 version update will be available free to all those who already have the app.

February 2, 2013
HTC CEO Brandishes White M7, Starts “HTC M7!” Chant!

Ever woken up the day after a killer party and everyone but you knows you messed up last night? HTC CEO Peter Chou might be that guy when he wakes up, unless he intentionally showed off the new HTC M7 smartphone just a few days before the official launch.

The cordial and savvy CEO was seen taking photos of a crowd during a news broadcast, and though we don’t see much detail of the white version of the phone, we’re happy to see it. The HTC M7 is expected to come in both black and white at launch, and may be released in early March according to the latest rumours.

[quote]”This event today is a great opportunity for testing [the camera],” Chou, as translated by Engadget, said. “I was still testing it just now.”[/quote]

Aside from the fact that he was so juiced he had gave the world its first real look at the HTC M7, Chou’s excitement came pouring out as he led the room in spirited chants of “HTC” and “M7.”

The device appears to be longer and narrower than the popular One X, with a centred camera module and a barely-perceptible HTC logo on the back.

As for the phone itself, rumors say this phone will have a 4.7-inch 1080p display with a 1.7Ghz Snapdragon S4 Pro and 2GB of RAM. Add in a 13MP camera in the back and a 2.1MP wide frame camera in the front and you’ve got yourself a pretty solid phone. If HTC is, in fact, about to release a beefier HTC Butterfly that is a little easier for most people to actually hold and use with one hand, the M7 will be a force to be reckoned with this spring.

You can watch Chou let it all out in the clip below:

February 2, 2013
Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 Benchmarks Leaked, Tipped To Launch At Mobile World Congress

Today a few benchmark results have appeared on the web showing off a Samsung tablet device that will likely be appearing at Mobile World Congress 2013 for the first time in full. This device appears to be one of 3 or 4 new models appearing soon according to SamMobile, their tipster letting it be known that “Santos” is the code-name attached to the whole new Galaxy Tab 3 lineup.

This model could be the Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 8.0, Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 10.1, or the Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 7.0, though the last entry on this list has also reportedly been dropped from final production.

With these benchmark results in effect we’ve got a 7-inch display on a tablet with 800 x 1280 pixel resolution, not all that fantastic, but certainly not low-end. You’ve also got Android 4.2.1 Jelly Bean and a processor (with an unknown amount of cores) running at 1.5Ghz. This machine will likely be an incremental update resting on the specifications of the Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 7.0 which we reviewed mid-2012.

Additionally, Samsung is also making efforts to bring the Android-based Galaxy Tab 3 Plus or P8200 to the market. This is the high-end tablet we reported earlier that is expected to come in 16 and 32GB variants. Furthermore, a second generation Galaxy Note 10.1 codenamed Vienna may also be in the works.

February 2, 2013
Rumour : HTC To Follow M7 With M4 and G2

Taiwanese mobile phone maker HTC Corporation is reportedly gearing up for the release of new Android-based handsets in the near future, including the newly leaked HTC M4 and HTC G2 smartphones, which will complement the previously spotted HTC M7, it seems.

These could very well be announced at the upcoming Mobile World Congress in a few weeks. First up is the “M4? – a device that will come with specs just under the M7 – and sport a 4.3-inch 720p display, 1.2GHz dual-core Snapdragon processor, 2GB RAM, 13MP camera and a 1.6MP front-facing camera, 1,700 mAh battery, plus run Android OS 4.2 Jellybean with the new Sense 5.0.

Next is another code-name device called the “G2.” This is an entry level Android that might feature specs that were popular on devices last year. The “G2? is rumoured to come with a 1GHz processor, 3.5-inch HVGA display, 5 MP camera, runs OS 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich The main difference, 512 RAM and a 1,400 mAh battery.

On the specs front, the HTC M7 is expected to be powered by 1.7GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon processor paired with 2GB of RAM. The device would come with a 4.7-inch Full-HD display, amounting to a pixel density of 468ppi. The M7 will most probable sport a 13 megapixel snapper at the back along with a 2 megapixel camera at the front and 32GB of on-board storage.

The HTC “M4? and “G2? are rumoured to be available “sometime during the spring.

[Unwired View]

February 1, 2013
Temple Run 2 Downloaded Record 50 Million Times in Less than Two Weeks

Temple Run 2, the mobile infinite runner, has surpassed 50 million downloads in just 13 days. This breaks a record established by Angry Birds Space, which went on to achieve the coveted 50 million downloads milestone in 35 days.

The game was launched on January 17 on iOS, and arrived in the Google Play Store on January 24, proving one of the most popular mobile titles out there very fast.

[quote]Temple Run has evolved into something so much bigger than us,” said Keith Shepherd, co-founder of parent company Imangi. “The game has performed beyond our wildest dreams, and we are thrilled that gamers and fans have embraced Temple Run 2 in such a short period of time.”[/quote]

The original Temple Run saw 170 million total downloads during its tenure. Christmas downloads were explosive for the first version, seeing 2.5 million on Christmas day alone.

The Temple Run franchise was created by a husband-and-wife development team Keith Shepherd and Natalia Luckyanova in Raleigh, North Carolina. The studio has since added a team of additional developers.

Temple Run 2 is available on iTunes and Google Play now as a free download but, as with the first game, there are plenty of in-app purchasing options to buy coins and gems in order to enhance the game in a more speedy fashion.

We expect 100 million downloads to be here quick.

February 1, 2013
Motorola X Phone Confirmed By LinkedIn Job Posting

Motorola posted a job opening on LinkedIn this week searching for a product manager for an upcoming smartphone called the X Phone.

There was a pervasive rumour going around last year that Google and its newly-acquired Motorola Mobile division were working on a phone that would rival the iPhone, both in terms of sales and quality. While Motorola hasn’t had the best 12 months, repeatedly losing money quarter over quarter, the company is poised for a comeback in 2013.

The job posting on LinkedIn was for a “Senior Director of Product Management” to work on the X-Phone project and this is the first time Motorola directly referenced the X-Phone. The listing did not reveal anything about the phone itself, but at least it seems to prove its existence. It also indicates that development is still at an early stage, so don’t expect to see it anytime soon.

Motorola is trying to regain its strength in the smartphone market, and Google is attempting to get its $12.5 billion money’s worth. During Google’s earnings call last week, they deflected blame that they haven’t yet been able to turn around Motorola’s mobile business, stating that all the devices the company released since the acquisition were planned and executed without Google’s intervention.

We’re excited about the potential for Motorola’s success this year; the company is in better hands with Google than it was before.

February 1, 2013
Google+ And Google Play Music For Android Updated
Google on Wednesday released updates to two of its Android apps, Google+ and Google Play Music. You can download the latest versions now directly from the Google Play Store: here and here.

The former now displays notifications in the top right corner, much like its web-based counterpart. This makes more sense when scrolling through the app, as Google+ relies so heavily on them. Google+ users can now also insert links into their posts, and Community Moderators have more options when administrating a page.

The Google Play Music update is more significant. This makes sense given that the service is even newer than Google+, if you can believe it.

Instant mixes finally go beyond 25 songs (an arbitrary limit that should never have been there in the first place) and the app now features new album art. As for new features, the homescreen widget has gained a previous button and you can now shuffle an album, artist, or playlist.

There’s a new widget design and, thankfully, freezing fixes for the Galaxy S III.

Changelog for version 4.5.910I:
- Instant mixes continue playing beyond 25 songs.
- Added ability to shuffle an album, artist or playlist.
- New default album art.
- Previous button added to widget.
- Pinning progress now shown on album and playlist pages.
- Fix for the Galaxy S3 freezing issue.
Again, neither of these updates are particularly breathtaking but they are part of what makes using Google’s apps so enjoyable. Everyone likes regular updates that bring in more functionality for free. In both the social networking and music streaming spaces, Google has to keep iterating to fight the competition.

[The Next Web]
February 1, 2013
Facebook Has Knocked Out 37% Of Spam Accounts Since June 2012

While spam accounts are obviously still an issue on Facebook, they have been able to make a considerable dent in the amount of fake accounts that are registered. Since June 2012, Facebook has been able to remove 37% of spammers, bringing the total amount of spam accounts down to about 9.5 million compared to 15.1 million in mid-2012.

There are millions of spam users still on Facebook, according to the Facebook Q4 2012 earnings report, about 1.3% of their monthly users are spammers.

The spam fighting states were discovered on page 23 of the company’s Q4 2012 earnings release. Facebook refers to the spam accounts as “undesirable accounts” and says they “represent user profiles that we determine are intended to be used for purposes that violate our terms of service, such as spamming.”

Spam accounts have a tendency to create fake data on the social network by flooding accounts with spam photos, links and other information. Because Facebook relies on user behavior to tweak its advertising and sales platforms removing those accounts is critical to the company’s future successes.

Facebook urges all of its users to report spam accounts when they are spotted. You can report those accounts by following the photo listed at the top of this post. Simply click on the pop down menu next to the message icon and choose “Report/Block…”

What do you think? Is spam hurting your user experience on Facebook?

January 31, 2013
Nokia : Blackberries Make a Great Snack, But For The World’s Best Business Smartphone Try a Lumia

The big news today comes from the company-formerly-known-as-RIM and their new OS and flagship smartphone. Blackberry has always been loved by businesses for it’s many business features, but in the past few years the competition, such as Windows Phone, has made big strides to be business ready. This has lead a lot of businesses to adopt “bring your own phone,” which lets employees use many different popular smartphones, not just Blackberry devices.

Nokia has taken to Facebook to point out that Lumia devices are just as business-ready, if not more, than Blackberry devices.

[quote]Nokia Canada’s Facebook page stated that “Blackberries make a great snack, but for the world’s best business smartphone try a Lumia.” This is of course part of the new “Make the Switch” marketing campaign that encourages people to use the Lumia.[/quote]

Windows Phone has native Skype support along with Office applications, plus SkyDrive for backup. BlackBerry is known in the industry for having the best, probably most secure, email support for businesses, but Windows Phone 8 also added many modern security protocols. In addition, BlackBerry has SAP support, Box and Dropbox for cloud storage and will soon be adding Skype to their list of apps.

It’ll be very interesting to see who wins the battle for 3rd place.

January 31, 2013
Windows Phone 7.8 Rollout Starts For Many Devices Including Nokia Lumia 900

Nokia has started to roll out the Windows Phone 7.8 update to all its smartphones currently sitting on Windows Phone 7.5.

Handsets confirmed for the upgrade so far are the Lumia 510, 610, 710, 800 and 900, with Windows Phone 7.8 arriving over the coming weeks on all the handsets.

Annoyingly you’ll have to dig out your USB cable, turn on your computer and fire up the Zune desktop software to get Windows Phone 7.8 downloaded and installed on your handset, as over-the-air support only arrived with Windows Phone 8.

Windows Phone 7.8 update will add new features like a new start screen UI with resizable live tiles, as found in Windows Phone 8. The update brings Windows Phone 8 branding to existing Lumia devices on the splash screen and icons for Games, Office and Windows Phone Store.

Windows Phone 7.8 doubles the number of theme and accent colours to 20 and adds other new lock screen features: the option to automatically display the Bing Picture of the Day plus the ‘A1B2C3’ PIN/password challenge to prevent accidental device wipes on phones connected to Exchange accounts.

No word yet from the likes of Samsung and HTC on Windows Phone 7.8 update plans for their devices.

January 31, 2013
White Blackberry Q10 spotted

While Blackberry was busy renaming their parent company and launching the new OS along with black variants of the Z10 and Q10 a white version of the BOLD series replacement the Blackberry Q10 has been spotted at the event.

The Blackberry Q10 is packed with a 720 x 720 Super AMOLED 3.1-inch display, the Blackberry Q10’s screen is slightly larger than its touch-hybrid predecessor, the Bold 9930, and has a pixel density of 328ppi. Other specs include the 1.5GHz dual-core CPU and 2GB of RAM, 10.3mm-thick body and a 139g weight.

January 31, 2013
Blackberry Announces Blackberry Q10, With Physical QWERTY Keyboard

The BlackBerry Q10 is the first BlackBerry 10 smartphone with a physical keyboard, it features a glass laminated back which is reportedly lighter and stronger than plastic. The handset features a stainless steel build, “edge-to-edge glass”, and what it’s calling a three-dimensional weave on the back.

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.

[quote]”We have the aspiration to be the best keyboard experience period,” Chief Executive Thorsten Heins said during an event in New York.[/quote]

BlackBerry 10 will also launch 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 Z10 will be available in the UK starting tomorrow, in Canada February 5th, the UAE February 10th and in the US in late March.

Heins, meanwhile, discussed other features of the new products and operating system, including BlackBerry Flow, which allows users to move between apps. The technology allows users to open and minimize apps through swipes, and everything keeps working. BlackBerry Peek allows users to play a video and check notifications at once.

BlackBerry has confirmed that it will be getting some big name apps including Amazon Kindle, WhatsApp, LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter.

It was also announced earlier in the week that BlackBerry had signed a deal with the major TV studios and film networks confirming that big titles such as Prometheus, American Dad and Friends would all be available on BlackBerry 10.

January 30, 2013
Blackberry Launches New Flagship Z10

In a move that shocked precisely nobody, the new BlackBerry Z10 has been launched.

[quote]When introducing the BlackBerry Z10, Thorsten Heins said, “This is the most beautiful BlackBerry we have ever launched. I can’t wait for you to try it out. We knew a large beautiful display was important. This is the window into the BlackBerry 10 experience.”[/quote]

The new handset features BlackBerry 10 OS as the obvious talking point. The Blackberry Z10 also has a 4.2-inch HD screen, dual core processor and 16GB of onboard storage.

The BlackBerry Z10 contains a 1.5Ghz dual-core Snapdragon S4 8960 SoC with an Adreno 225 GPU, the same part found in the Lumia 920.

The 356ppi pixel density is sharper than the iPhone 5, though it doesn’t match the ridiculous 440+ found on recently-announced Android products like the Sony Xperia Z.

The BlackBerry Z10 has two cameras, a 8MP back shooter and a 2MP front-facing lens. They offer a few nifty features, such as the ability rewind and get the picture you wanted, rather than the one you actually took, called TimeShift.

[quote]”We have been on a journey of transformation, to transform our business and our brand, but also one that will transform mobile communications to true mobile computing,” Heins said on stage. “Saying we have reinvented this company is simply not enough. Today is a new day in the history of BlackBerry.”[/quote]

BlackBerry also discussed a feature called BlackBerry Balance, which allows you to create different areas of the phone for work and your personal life. Additionally, it’s new BlackBerry Messenger will have voice and video chatting functionality, allowing users a way around using their minutes.

The BlackBerry Z10 is has a specially designed screen for precise touch input, so typing on the BlackBerry keyboard can be faster and more accurate. The BlackBerry Z10 screen uses the latest technology to ensure images are sharp, clear and incredibly vivid.

[quote]”We will be the platform launching with the highest number of apps on day one,” Boulben said. The company has worked with software developers to stock its BlackBerry World store, which includes apps and music and movies, to have 70,000 apps out of the gate. RIM announced that popular apps like Facebook, Twitter, Angry Birds, Evernote, Rdio, ESPN Scorecenter, Flixter and Cut the Rope will be in the store for consumers.[/quote]

Like all previous BlackBerry smartphone and, with clear sights on its utilitarian roots, the Z10 has a removable battery cover with a replaceable battery cell. The new battery, LS1, is taller and narrower than in previous RIM products and, at 1800mAh, is slightly larger.

RIM also includes a Siri-like Voice Assistant that is activated by holding down the play/pause button on the side of the phone. It can perform many of the same tasks as its iOS counterpart: send texts and emails, search the web, schedule an appointment or make a Remember note.

The Blackberry Q10 has also been announced. We’re still awaiting the magic of things like prices or a release date, but we’ll update the story as soon as we hear.

Specs

– BlackBerry 10 OS
– 4.2-inch 1280×768 pixel TFT display
– 1.5Ghz dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 SoC
– 2GB RAM / 16GB internal storage (w/ microSD)
– 8MP BSI back camera / 2MP front-facing camera
– 1080p video capture @ 30fps
– WiFi (b/g/n), Bluetooth 4.0, A-GPS/GLONASS, NFC
– 1800mAh removable battery
– 130mm x 65.6mm x 9mm
– 135.4 grams
– 3G (850/1900) / LTE (700/AWS)

January 30, 2013
Microsoft Launches Office 365 For Consumers

Today, Microsoft Corporation announced the availability of Office 365 for consumers, a reinvention of the company’s flagship Office product line. Families can now subscribe to Office 365 Home Premium, which includes the latest and most complete set of Office applications; works across five PCs/Macs plus five mobile devices; and comes with extra SkyDrive storage.

[quote]“This isn’t just another version of Office. This is Office reinvented as a consumer cloud service,” said Steve Ballmer, CEO, Microsoft Corp. “Together with Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8, Office 365 gives you the freedom to do things when and how you want.”[/quote]

Microsoft also announced it will now deliver many new features and services to the cloud first, transforming the company’s traditional three-year release cycle. Now, new features and services stream to subscribers as soon as they’re ready, eliminating the hassles of upgrading and keeping subscribers always up-to-date.

[quote] “This is a major leap forward,” said Ramkumar Pichai, GM – Microsoft Office Division, Microsoft India. “It’s a service designed to help you manage the tasks of your work and home life, wherever you are, whenever you need, online or offline. Also, it’s a perfect fit for busy families and individuals who can connect multiple devices with a single subscription.”[/quote]

The new 365 Home Premium will be available for purchase in India at an annual subscription of INR 4,199/-. Simultaneously, Microsoft also announced in India the availability of the updated FPP version of its traditional Office suite for consumers – Office Home and Student 2013.

January 30, 2013