Category: Tech

Latest Technology News, Alternative, Bio-Tech, Medical, R&D and Innovations

With About $19 Billion Valuation, Snapchat To Become Third Most Valued Startup

Snapchat, the service that lets you send self-destructing text and picture messages is going places. In the latest round of funding, the company seems positive to raise its valuation to $16-19 billion. With this funding round, the company will become the third most valued startup after Xiaomi and Uber.

Last year, Snapchat raised $485 Million and was then valued at $10 Billion. This time around the company is targeting $500 million and is expected to be valued between $16-19 Billion. The company will over all raise $1 Billion after proposed funding.

Snapchat needs the funding as it plans to purchase the recording label Big Machine. This purchase is expected to cost Snapdeal a massive sum of $350 million. To raise its funds further, the company has said that it will be introducing ads on the platform.

Snapchat has been gaining popularity and is said to have acquired up to 200 Million monthly active users. For comparison, Instagram has over 300 Million subscribers while Whatsapp, the most popular of the messaging app has a user base of over 700 million.

February 18, 2015
Apple’s Upcoming 12-inch MacBook Air May Feature Touch ID Fingerprint Scanner

The highly anticipated next generation MacBook Air is said to boast a 12-inch display along with Intel Broadwell chipsets, but its other specs are still behind the veil. A Taiwanese website Apple.club.tw has made an announcement that the Cupertino-based giant will embed the future MacBooks and desktops with Touch ID fingerprint scanner. This includes the rumoured 12-inch MacBook Air as well.

According to the source, Apple will infuse the Touch ID in the trackpad of the purposed 12-inch laptop and next-gen MacBook Pro. As for desktops, the fingerprint scanner is likely to be implanted in the Magic Mouse or Magic Trackpad.

The website also stated that the next sleek and thin MacBook Air may come in three colour variants – silver, space grey, and gold. The colours may remind you of the last released iPhones and iPads.

Meanwhile, it should be noted that these are just rumours, and the company hasn’t come forward with any statement confirming these reports. If the speculations turn out to be true, then it may give a push to the company’s payment system, Apple Pay. The users will be allowed to make safe online purchases using Apple Pay. The mobile payment, as for now, is limited to the two top-end handsets, the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus. In future, it will be compatible with iPhone 5 series when paired with Apple Watch.

The reported 12-inch MacBook is said to be thinner than its predecessor and will come with a Retina display. It is expected to launch this year by the end of the second quarter.

February 18, 2015
Apple Might Step in the VR Headset Space With an iPhone Centric Device

Virtual reality is the newest trend in the market that every firm wants to foster. Samsung and Facebook are already making headlines with their offerings in virtual reality space. Now, Apple is attempting to jump into the battleground to make a space way for itself in this budding market.

Today, the Cupertino based tech giant has been granted a patent titled ‘Head-Mounted Display Apparatus for Retaining a Portable Electronic Device with Display.’ The patent describes a Samsung’s Gear VR-like portable electronic device, which will be powered by the high definition screen of the iPhones. The patent was first filed back in September 2008 and the company is now awarded the same after five years.

According to images registered with the patents, the iPhone will be placed within the headset frame, and its screen will act as the primary display for viewing the virtual reality content. The pictures also depict a remote that could be used to control the content on screen.

Electronic headset concept is not new as Samsung and Google have gone far ahead in VR headset game. Samsung Gear VR is a commendable product which is compatible with Galaxy Note 4 and the new Galaxy A7 for now. The company is also exploring the virtual reality space with Project Beyond, which is a 360-degree camera for recording VR content.

Meanwhile, besides a VR headset, the patents speak of one more feature called picture-in-picture (PIP). This tool will aid users in keeping an eye on the real world when the headset is on. A total of 41 patents have been granted to Apple on Tuesday, which came to light today. These patents are related to optics, design and accessories. So, users can expect a pinch of new innovation with Apple’s VR headset.

February 18, 2015
Amazon Launches ‘Golden Ticket’ Sale of Yu Yureka

A good news for the Yu Yureka fans. Amazon India has announced the access to a ‘Golden Ticket Sale’ for select customers who have shown a high levels of interest to buy the Yureka handset but are still unable to avail the phone due to its limited supply.

The ‘Golden Ticket Sale’ will be held on 18^th February, Wednesday, between 2pm-5pm. For this sale, only registered customers who were unable to buy the handset will be eligible to participate and receive a confirmation on email by Amazon

According to the company, the last sale of Yu Yureka witnessed a sale of 25,000 units, all sold out within 4 seconds. The fourth flash sale saw 15,000 units sold off within the same time span. The third sale saw 10,000 phones sold off within 3 seconds.

The sixth Yureka weekly flash sale will go live as planned on February 19th, Thursday, on Amazon from 2 pm onwards for all registered customers for this sale. For a quick recap, the smartphone sports a 5.5 inch HD IPS display, and is powered by a Snapdragon 615 Octa-Core processor, paired along with 2 GB of RAM. It is priced at Rs. 8,999. So if you are one of the few lucky ones to have been selected by YU, this is your chance to get a hold of this awesome device.

February 18, 2015
German Company Lets You Print A 3D Replica of Yourself

The selfie culture refuses die down. It is the ultimate expression medium for the inner narcissist. Smartphone makers are also hard at work to give the best front camera capabilities to their handsets. Now a German company is taking things a step ahead. Why should you be only contended with digital images of yourselves when you can create a real life 3D printed replica.

Meet DOOB 3D created by a Dusseldorf-based company. To scan a person DOOB 3D system requires a room size scanning booth. The system incorporates 54 DSLRs, 54 lenses, an extensive 3D modeling pipeline. The final replica or the DOOB is printed out of full-colour 3D printer worth USD 80,000.

You can get DOOBed on your special occasions.

DOOB 3D can also print multiple people at one. A person just steps in the booth, and the cameras are all fired at once to capture the moment from all angles. All the images are transferred to a propriety software that creates the 3D model which is ready to be brought into the real world through the 3D printer.

You can also DOOB your furry friends.

The printer prints out the replica at a leisurely pace of 1.1 inches in an hour. The DOOBs are as tall as four to fourteen inches. It might take a few hours to half a day to print out a complete DOOB.

The 3D Printing revolution has begun and has unlimited possibilities. DOOB is utilizing the technology well, and the massive system could be shrunk down so that it can be introduced everywhere. Maybe the next step of this technology would be to create 3D self-replicas with moving parts. It might also let people print themselves as various different characters such as superheroes so imagine your shelf full of Marvel character action figures with your face on them. May however you look at it, DOOBs are cool.

To know more about the prospects of 3D printing in just two quick minutes, watch our new show, Tech in Two:

February 18, 2015

Samsung Galaxy Grand Prime | Hands On

Samsung came out with a plethora of devices at the 2015 Samsung Forum held in Bangkok, Thailand. The newest entrants in the 4G lineup are four handsets – Galaxy J1, Galaxy A7, Galaxy Core Prime and Galaxy Grand Prime. The company looked promising and the India Head of Samsung, Asim Warsi, took to the stage announcing that the firm will focus on bringing out more 4G devices to the market.

Meanwhile, we got an opportunity to get our hands on one of the devices, Galaxy Grand Prime 4G.

The Galaxy Grand Prime, as earlier said, is a 4G capable device and holds two SIM slots. At a thickness of 8.6mm, it couldn’t be considered slim, and the rounded edges give it more bulky look. With a plastic body, the Grand Prime weighs mere 156 grams. The design of the Galaxy Grand Prime is nothing extraordinary and is akin to the other Samsung models with similar key placement and identical build.

The handset comes in two colour options – white and grey.

Talking about the specifications of Galaxy Grand Prime 4G, then the smartphone boasts a 5-inch qHD TFT (960x540p) display and is equipped with a 1.2GHz quad-core processor. The device runs on Android 4.4 KitKat with TouchWiz UI on top, and there’s yet no notification if the device can be upgraded to Android 5.0 Lollipop. The smartphone sports an internal memory capacity of 8 GB (expandable up to 64 GB) and 1 GB RAM.

The Galaxy Prime Grand features an 8MP snapper at the back with LED flash and speakers. The front sports a good 5MP front camera that sits at the top of the 5-inch screen for clicking selfies. The back of the phone secures a 2,600mAh battery that powers up the device. Connectivity options like Bluetooth, USB 2.0, Wi-Fi Direct, Wi-Fi and NFC.

Just like any other handset, the Galaxy Grand Prime holds the volume rocker on the left-hand side and power button on the right. The top of the rim has a 3.5mm audio jack and the bottom comprises of a USB slot for charging the device.

The Samsung Galaxy Grand Prime 4G support TDD-LTE (2300) 4G network used in India. The 3G variants of the smartphone are already available in the market, but this handset will hit Indian stores in March this year. Meanwhile, the company is tight-lipped about its price but is anticipated to be priced slightly higher than the J1, around Rs. 15,000.

Check out the specs sheet below for details:

SPECS	Samsung Galaxy Grand Prime
Operating System	Android OS, v4.4 (KitKat)
Screen Size	5.0-inch, 960×540 pixels
RAM	1 GB
Battery	2600 mAh
Processor	1.2 GHz quad-core
Internal Storage	8 GB
Expandable up to	64 GB
Front camera	5 MP
Rear Camera	8 MP

February 18, 2015

New Microsoft Office Update Extends Support to iCloud Storage

Microsoft is expanding its horizon and is releasing app upgrades equally for all platforms. They’ve recently taken commendable steps to ensure everyone gets the chance to use their services, without being restricted to Windows. Today, the company updated the Microsoft Office app to Version 1.6, adding iCloud support for iOS customers. The new upgrade allows users on Apple devices running iOS 8 or above, to open, edit, and save Office documents to iCloud.

With the new version, users don’t have to pay for an Office 365 subscription or to use OneDrive. They can view, edit and create docs for free. The upgrade could be a bit confusing for the regular iCloud users as the new version doesn’t allow you to add iCloud as a place in Word, Excel or PowerPoint. One has to tap on ‘More’ section to access the saved documents on iCloud.

File type is also a hurdle and users wouldn’t be able to overwrite the docs created with TextEdit on Mac. But you can always create a new document. Simply share your work with others by emailing a hyperlink, the file or a PDF.

February 17, 2015
Google’s Upcoming 2-in-1 Chromebook Will Run on Both Chrome OS and Android

If Google is the frontrunner in the smartphone race with Android, Microsoft is the boss of laptops and computers with the power of Windows. The internet search beast wants to take the charge in this segment as well and is geared to release a hybrid 2-in-1 Chromebook that would be working on both Chrome OS and Android.

The yet-untitled device is a detachable machine that runs on Android in the tablet form, and when attached to a keyboard instantly switches to Chrome OS. Google has gone far ahead with the integration of Android ecosystem to Chrome OS.

Meanwhile, it’s not known that how the two operating systems are going to boot or if Android apps will run on Chrome OS. It seems like the 2-in-1 hybrid machine will switch between the two operating systems automatically as per requirement.

The forthcoming Chromebook is said to be designed by Quanta Computer and will launch under Google branding. The product will complete sometime in the first quarter of this year. Many vendors are said to be joining Google’s 2-in-1 Chromebook later this year.

The Chromebooks did tremendously well in 2014 with a worldwide shipment of 6.5 million units. But to retain that number and increase it, Google needs to carry on, on the path of innovation.

February 17, 2015
First Look at Toshiba’s First Working Camera Modules for Project Ara

Project Ara is an on-going endeavor by Google to create a modular smartphone for which the user can switch critical components in and out, thus allowing them to build the perfect phone for their specific needs. It seems that one of the third parties working on the modules is Toshiba, which is contributing towards its progress in creating the first swappable camera units.

Toshiba has created one prototype with a 2MP camera which is designed to be placed in front of the camera and 5MP and 13MP camera modules, which is to be placed as the primary camera. All the cameras are within a swappable module, which would allow the user to swap cameras according to their desired shot, or simply purchasing a better camera piece and replacing the existing one.

Toshiba had revealed some of the initial designs at the Modular Phones Forum. As of now, the company is now developing three different modules: a 2MP front camera and 5MP/13MP primary camera.

The video below shows Toshiba’s new 5MP prototype camera module working and capturing images.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mo4GeSil9fU

February 17, 2015
Top 5 Apps to Help Keep a Tab on the World Cup Fever

The 11^th Cricket World Cup, which the whole world was eagerly waiting for, commenced on 14^th February. The first battle of the Indian team was with the arch-rival Pakistan and the players added one more star to their report cards with a historic win.

Fortunately, the decisive tussle was on Sunday, and everybody cheered for India sitting in front of their TV sets. But the upcoming matches won’t coincide with the holidays, and everybody would be busy with their routine schedule. But we’ll make sure the World Cup fever doesn’t fade away.

Catch the match with the list of apps that will offer you Live cricket experience:

ESPN Cricinfo

If you wish to get updates real quick, then ESPN Cricinfo is the app to go for. The website is the oldest provider giving cricket coverage, and the app adds value to it. You can check the scoreboard, and can track the number of 6s and 4s. Player-wise scores are exhibited within the app, and it also helps new viewers by showing the bio-data of each player. Besides, it supplements with related cricket news and covers almost all updates about the World Cup matches till date.

Cricbuzz

If you’re looking out for live cricket commentary and want the scores to come in the form of a widget on your home screen, then install Cricbuzz app from the Play Store. Apart from scores and other match updates, the app allows you to watch match images, get live tweets from experts and ranking of each team along with points and rating.

Star Sports

This app is appealing and the most user-friendly one. You can fetch the status of every ball, plus it gives extra information about the scene to retain engagement. As it’s the official broadcast partner for the World Cup, users can see the complete match live on their smartphones. Also, one can see video highlights for batsmen and bowler innings, ball by ball commentary and forthcoming event details.

ICC Cricket World Cup 2015

This app by the International Cricket Council accomplishes the vital and primary needs of cricket fans. One can learn ball-by-ball scores and commentary, score notifications, tournament stats, match highlights and related news about the game. Additionally, it has polls and a social hub to get interactive through #cwc15.

ESPN Cricket 2015

This app is for die-heart cricket fans who can’t afford to miss the World Cup matches at any cost, even if they have to watch it on repeat as well. Another tool by ESPN is primarily designed to witness the World Cup live and rebuild the thrill of all 49 matches, in case someone missed a match. In all, it’s a wholesome entertainment pack, exclusively for iPhone users.

February 17, 2015

Samsung Galaxy J1 4G | Hands On

Yesterday, Samsung at their annual Forum announced that they will be focusing more on releasing 4G smartphones for the Indian market. Keeping in line with their word, they went forward to announce four 4G devices. The Samsung Galaxy J1, is one of the devices. It was also the cheapest handset announced by the company yesterday.

The Galaxy J1 sports a 4.3-inch WVGA TFT display with 480×800 pixel density. It is equipped with 1.2GHz quad core processor and runs on Android 4.4 KitKat. It has an inbuilt memory of 768 MB RAM and 4 GB internal memory, which can be upgraded up to 128 GB via microSD slot.

Samsung has gone for a curvier look with the J1. The design is typical Samsung-style – touch capacitive buttons at the bottom, centre oval shaped home button and the logo placement is kept the same as every other model by the company.

The look and feel of the device is good, however it is slightly on the bulky side, especially when compared to the rest of the sleek devices recently launched by Samsung.

The Galaxy J1 features a 5MP rear shooter with Flash along with 2 MP front camera; the company should’ve considered going for a higher resolution cameras.

The Dual SIM handset gets powered up by a 1,850mAh battery. The device is available in blue, black and white colour variants. The model will come at Rs. 9,900 and will be available in India from the second week of March 2015.

The specifications are mediocre for the amount the company has priced the device. There are several devices in the sub-Rs. 10,000 segment, which offer way better specs, some even at lower prices.

SPECS	Samsung Galaxy J1 4G
Operating System	Android OS, v4.4.x (KitKat)
Screen Size	4.3 inch 480×800 pixels
RAM	768 MB
Battery	1850 mAh
CPU	Quad-core 1.2 GHz
Internal Storage	4 GB
Expandable Up to	128 GB
Front camera	2 MP
Rear Camera	5 MP
Price	Rs. 9,900

February 17, 2015

Samsung Galaxy A7 | Hands On

Yesterday, Samsung Forum 2015 kicked off in Bangkok Thailand, and the company took the opportunity to announce a couple of devices. One of them was the new Galaxy A7, the slimmest Galaxy smartphone yet, measuring only 6.3 mm. They claimed that the phone has been packaged with premium hardware for a superior social experience. We decided to check the smartphone out for ourselves. Here are our first impressions:

Galaxy A7 vies to expand the services provided by Galaxy A5 and A3. The A7 is exactly like the big brother of the A5. Except that they’ve upped the notch on specifications, the look and feel of the two devices is exactly the same. The use of metal gives this device an extremely premium feel. The device will be appreciated for its classy design.

Samsung Forum 2015 Galaxy A7 9 — The Galaxy A5 and the A7, size comparison.

On the front bottom, below the screen of the device, there are the touch capacitive buttons, and in the centre is the Samsung’s typical oval style Home Button. At the bottom we have the main USB slot/Data synching port and 3.5 mm jack.

The metal handset is equipped with a 5.5 inch, Full HD Super AMOLED display, which is a step ahead of the A5. This one delivers an excellent viewing experience. With the bigger screen and good display, watching videos and browsing the internet was a breeze.

The company has also added Adaptive Display Technology which intelligently optimizes the screen brightness and the color saturation.

Coming to the camera of the device, it is equipped with a 13 MP primary camera and a 5 MP front camera, along with Advanced Selfie features like Ultra Wide Shot, GIF shooting modes and Auto Selfie modes (Palm and Voice Selfie.) We checked out the camera, and it served the purpose well.

It runs on Android 4.4 KitKat and comes packed with 2GB of RAM. It is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon Octa-core processor which allows users to easily perform data intensive tasks. On the first go, the UI seemed really fast and responsive.

All in all, with its nice accents of metal, the big brother of A5 is a good addition to Samsung’s portfolio. Priced at Rs. 30,499, it may appear to be expensive but is unique in its own way!

SPECS	Samsung Galaxy A7
Operating System	Android OS, v4.4.x (KitKat)
Screen Size	5.5 inch 1080×1920 pixels
RAM	2 GB
Battery	2600 mAh
Processor	Qualcomm MSM8939 Snapdragon 615
CPU	Quad-core 1.7 GHz
Internal Storage	16 GB
Expandable Up to	64 GB
Front camera	5 MP
Rear Camera	13 MP
Price	Rs. 30,499

The handset is available online at the company’s official India e-Store in black, white and gold colors.

February 17, 2015

Samsung Following LG WebOS’ Footsteps to Make Tizen the Next Big Thing for TVs

LG’s WebOS inclusion in TVs brought out revolutionary products. It marked the beginning of the era of smart TVs. The WebOS was well received by the tech community, and the reason is it’s snappy, engaging and a simple operating system. It seems like Samsung has understood the popularity of the WebOS and is going the LG way.

Meanwhile, Tizen OS on TV is the mini version of WebOS. Just like WebOS, Samsung’s Tizen-based TVs feature a panel at the bottom of the screen that depicts apps. The LG’s WebOS is advanced and highlights the screen shot of the ongoing programme. The Smart Hub on Tizen OS allows for seamless navigation and throws recent apps on one screen. The content can be shared from the TV to different devices, enabling users to have a multi-screen integrated experience. It provides easy and seamless navigation across videos, games and the web. Whereas on WebOS, there’s a Launcher Bar to optimize the menu and everything is right in front of you. Through the Magic Motion remote control, users can point, click, and scroll your way through the interface.

At the Samsung Thailand Forum 2015 in Bangkok, Thailand

WebOS is the heart of the TV’s user interface and with Tizen entering the game, it will take some time to make a concrete ground for itself. Samsung is leaving no stone unturned and is embedding electronic equipments with the Tizen OS. The company has announced that all forthcoming smart TVs will pack its own OS. Samsung Z1 is already running on Tizen OS, and the Korean producer has confirmed to launch Tizen-powered electronic products like refrigerators, air conditioners and washing machine in the coming future.

We will see the Tizen OS on the new SCurve TV by Samsung. If Samsung does the significant alterations, it can draw a considerable audience to its Smart Tizen TV; becoming the second favorite OS after WebOS. Samsung is, presently, showcasing its newest innovations at the Samsung Forum 2015 in Bangkok.

February 16, 2015
Lava Brings More Fuel With the Budget Iris Fuel 20 Featuring a 4400mAh Battery

Lava has added another smartphone to its fuel range with the launch of the launch of Lava Iris Fuel 20, though this time around at entry level prices. The latest addition to the Fuel series packs a mammoth 4400mAh battery that is claimed to provide a 2G talktime of 42 hours, 13 hours video playback and 35 hours of music playback.

Other specs of the Iris Fuel 20 include a 5-inch FWVGA 850×480 resolution. The smartphone sports a 1.3 GHz Dual-Core processor coupled with 512 MB of RAM, while the OS on-board is Android 4.4 KitKat. Optics on the phone include a 5MP rear camera bundled with LED flash, along with a VGA front-facing cam. The Iris Fuel 20 is also claimed to support HD video playback.

Coming to connectivity options, it supports 2G connectivity, microUSB v2.0, Bluetooth v4.0 and Wi-Fi. On the memory front, the smartphone comes with 4GB in-built storage expandable upto 32GB.

The Iris Fuel 20 will be available in white and metallic grey colour options in in retail outlets across India and leading e-commerce portals at Rs. 5,399 from next week.

February 16, 2015
New Additions to Samsung’s 4G Portfolio, Galaxy Grand Prime and Galaxy Core Prime

Today, at the Samsung forum 2015, held in Bangkok, Thailand India Head Asim Warsi announced that Samsung is now focusing on releasing 4G-friendly smartphones. He also mentioned 4G internet in India is expected at the same price bands as of 3G today.

Keeping in line with its promise, Samsung introduced three 4G enabled smartphones; swelling the spectrum to nine 4G devices in total. Apart from Galaxy J1 4G and Galaxy A7 announced earlier today, the company added Galaxy Grand Prime 4G and Galaxy Core Prime 4G in its 4G smartphone portfolio. Both the handsets encompass a comparatively larger screen and pack a decent set of specs.

The Galaxy Grand Prime 4G boasts a 5-inch TFT (960x540p) display and is infused with 1.2GHz quad-core processor. The device runs on Android 4.4 KitKat and is dual SIM. Holding an 8 GB ROM and 1 GB RAM, the memory of the Galaxy Grand Prime 4G is expandable up to 64 GB. It comes with a 8MP rear camera and 5MP front snapper. With 2,600mAh battery, the Galaxy Grand Prime 4G has connectivity options like Bluetooth, USB 2.0, Wi-Fi Direct, Wi-Fi and NFC.

On the other hand, the Galaxy Core Prime 4G features a 4.5-inch WVGA TFT (480x800p) screen. The gadget is powered by 1.2GHz quad-core processor paired with 1 GB RAM. Running on Android 4.4 KitKat, the device has 8 GB internal memory which can be expanded up to 64 GB. The camera is restricted to 5MP rear and 2MP front. The dual-SIM handset gets its juice from the 2,000mAh battery.

The company hasn’t given a word about the price of both the devices, and how they are planning to retail them.

Stay tuned, hands-on coming up soon!

February 16, 2015

Category: Tech

SPECS

Samsung Galaxy A7