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Category: Tech

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

  • Top 5 Time Lapse Alternatives For Android Users

    Top 5 Time Lapse Alternatives For Android Users

    Time-lapse video mode is is one of the coolest feature in iOS 8. Timelapse videos, which take frames at slow speeds to give the illusion that time is speeding up, have always been difficult to create, and required expensive equipment. However, there are a handful of apps that combines the simplicity of the photo sharing service and an image stabiliser to put time lapse photography in everyone’s hands. And, yes! There are some for Android users too.

    This is a list of the Top 5 iOS’s time lapse mode alternatives for Android users.

    1. Framelapse

    If you want something similar to iOS 8’s automatic time lapse mode, Framelapse is the one app you are looking for. A “simple, fast and intuitive interface” lets you control frame interval, video duration, zoom, autofocus, white balance, color effects, exposure compensation and more, and that’s all in the free version. If you upgrade to pro for $3, you get exposure locking, white balance locking, Sleep Mode (screen off) while recording to significantly reduce battery drain, Wizard Mode that sets the frame interval automatically, and a few other features as well.

    Download : Play Store

    2. LapseIt

    Arguably, one of the most popular time lapse app for both Android and iOS, LapseIt gives users the most control of any of the apps but trades in the super-simple “just point-and-shoot” capability. Among LapseIt’s popular features are the ability to import and speed up video, the ability to import image sequences from DSLRs or GoPros, the ability to attach music from your library to your finished time-lapse and more. You can also use it to create stop motion sequences.

    Download : Play Store

    3. Hyper TimeLapse

    hyperlapse

    It is, in true sense, quite an efficient alternative to Instagrams highly-popular Hyperlapes app.  It even describes itself as a Hyperlapse alternative in the Google Play store. It’s really easy to use, and has a great interface. Just push the record button to record the video, and then speed it up using customizable frame rate up to 8x as per your preference. It is quite simple, however, there are some functionalities that are missing.

    Download : Play Store

    4. EasyLapse

    Similar to Hyper TimeLapse it is quite simple to use, as the name itself suggests. The app provides you with basic functions and runs quite smoothly. The best thing about the app is its social media integration. You can share your wonderful time lapse video easily, upload it to Instagram or Facebook with a few taps.

    Download : Play Store

    5. Droid Timelapse

    droid timelapse

    This free app comes with the single purpose of recording time-lapse videos on Android devices, and it has no ads. It supports the highest resolution of your camera (up to 1080p), has a recording delay timer, so you can control the speed of your time-lapse and the resulting video is of high MP4 quality. You also have both manual and auto-focusing modes, as well as the option to fine-tune white balance and color effects.

  • Unboxing | Google Nexus 6 | Hands On

    Unboxing | Google Nexus 6 | Hands On

    The Nexus has been the star of Google’s Android stable, and each year the handsets have become more and more admirable. The new Nexus 6 is a complete overhaul , from what the nexus was intended to be, a developer phone. The Nexus 6 is a premium flagship that is meant to compete and defeat the real flagships and sort of set a precedent for performance and expectations of the users. Built to run the stock version of Android in the best possible way, the Nexus is also the first to get the latest software updates from Google, including the latest version of Android.

    The Box of the Nexus 6 also shows the premium nature of the device. The packaging is high quality and the in box accessories are superior in built as well. In the box you get

    • A Nexus 6 Handset
    • Documentation
    • In Ear Earphones
    • USB Charger
    • USB Cable
    • Sim removal Tool

    The first experience with the Nexus 6 is great, it has a brilliant build that is apparent the minute you hold the device in your hands. The Nexus 6 is a large device, almost too large, sporting a mammoth 5.96 inch super AMOLED display with a massive 2560 x 1440 px resolution. The sides of the Nexus 6, unlike its predecessors, is all metal and rounded-off which translates to a great in hand feel.

    Some users may not get the earphones, but the Indian variant, from flipkart will come with earphones. So it might be a good idea to get from them if you are in India. Amazon US sells the phone for US $ 650 without contract, which translates to roughly the same cost as here.

    Specs

    Google Nexus 6
    Operating System Android 5.0 Lollipop
    Screen Size 5.96 inches
    Super AMOLED
    1440 x 2560 pixels
    RAM 3 GB
    Battery 3220 mAh
    Processor  Qualcomm Snapdragon 805
    CPU Quad-core 2.7 GHz
    GPU Adreno 420
    Front camera  2 MP
    Rear Camera 13 MP
    Price Rs. 44,000 for 32 GB/ Rs. 49,000 for 64 GB

     

     

     

  • AAP Brings Out Muffler Man, an Android Game ‘That Fights Corruption’

    AAP Brings Out Muffler Man, an Android Game ‘That Fights Corruption’

    Just when you thought AAP (Aam Admi Party) peaked at becoming the laughing stock among the Indian public, the party volunteered a bigger and better joke. Its digital agents have developed an Android Game called Muffler Man, in an effort to increase donations. Muffler Man (who looks quite similar to Mr. Arvind Kejriwal, but faceless) jumps all the way from India Gate to limitless sky.

    Download Now!

     

    The funny faceless Muffler man jumps on various platforms overcoming hurdles like corruption and bribe to win the game. According to the developers, they decided to keep the protagonist faceless to represent the common man. There are platforms like bribe, scam and corruption that will bring you down. Also there are brooms or ‘JHARU’ (party’s official symbol) which gives the Muffler Man the power to fly with a funny red cape.

    In the latest bid to garner more donations, AAP has linked this game with all new campaign hash tags. Well, even if it is quite a new thing in Indian politics, one thing is true, we couldn’t stop laughing when Muffler Man collected 3 ‘JHARUS’ to fly like Superman!

  • Samsung Reportedly Working on Galaxy S6 Edge and Dual Edge

    Samsung Reportedly Working on Galaxy S6 Edge and Dual Edge

    Samsung will probably be launching its new flagship, the Galaxy S6 sometime in the first or second quarter of 2015. The company has codenamed the Galaxy S6 as Project zero which signifies that the company is building it from zero-base.

    Apart from confirming that Project Zero is the real deal, rumours also revealed some more important information about the device.

    Along with this, the publication also pointed out that the company usually tests multiple variants of its flagship device before actually releasing them. According to the conversation on Reddit, it seems that Samsung is testing at least three variants of the Galaxy S6, one with a one-sided curved edge display, another with a dual-sided curved edge display, and one more with a normal display.

    Samsung-Galaxy-S6

    The new flagship is expected to come with a Snapdragon 810 or Exynos 7420 processor, with octa-core technology. Although internal storage is not expected to be increased beyond 128GB. That said, a AnTuTu leak revealed that the S6 may come with a 64-bit octa-core Exynos 7420 processor and ARM Mali T-760 GPU backed by 3GB of RAM. Samsung, however, has been raving about 4GB RAM developments so we’d expect them to appear in the S6. It also was shown with 32GB storage. It is being rumoured that the Galaxy S6 might feature a 20-megapixel camera with OIS and 4K video recording.

    Recent rumours have also revealed that Xiaomi is working on a dual screen device; it will be interesting to see who wins the dual edge screen war!

  • Government of India Unblocks Most of the 32 Banned Websites

    Government of India Unblocks Most of the 32 Banned Websites

    The biggest news of 2014 was, of course, about the brutal group ISIS or ISIL or simply Islamic State. This group has been raising terror in Iraq and Syria. ISIS has proactively used internet and social media tools to spread their pernicious propaganda. It was also recently found that a young executive based in Bangalore was responsible for operating a pro-ISIS Twitter handle. The Indian Government has gone ahead and issued directives to internet providers to ban 32 websites citing national security concerns. Now it seems like most of the websites have been unblocked and are functional.

    There were some prominent names in the list including Vimeo, Dailymotion, Sourceforge and Github. A circular supposedly issued by the Department of Telecom (DoT)  also threatened actions against non-compliance of the order by the service providers. The circular came to prominence when it was shared on Twitter.

    Govt-blocking
    This circular supposedly from DOT was shared widely on Social media

    The head of ruling BJP’s IT cell, Arvind Gupta tweeted that the websites blocked were based on an advisory by Anti-Terrorism Squad, and were carrying Anti-India content from ISIS. To ban the websites the government used section 69A of the Information Technology Act (2000) and Information Technology (Procedure and Safeguards for Blocking for Access of Information by Public) Rules (“Blocking Rules”).

    This did cause a lot of furor especially amongst the developer community, which depends on websites like it Github for their projects. Hacktivist group Anonymous also said that they would start attacking Indian government websites if the websites weren’t unblocked. — AnonOpsIndia (@opindia_revenge) December 31, 2014

    As of now, it seems that most of the blocks have been lifted as we were able to access almost all of the websites listed in the circular. The block was said to have affected around 290 million Indian citizens.

  • OnePlus Works Out a New Variant for the Cynogen

    OnePlus Works Out a New Variant for the Cynogen

    The Chinese electronics manufacturer OnePlus was granted some time by the Delhi High Court to think of some alternative to Cyanogen embedded on its devices and the firm has made the best use of this liberty. OnePlus has announced the development of an alpha version of its non-Cyanogen ROM called ‘Android Lollipop Alpha’. It is said to be in the early stages and an official roll out is yet awaited.

    The Android Lollipop Alpha is a result of the allegations put by the homegrown smartphone maker Micromax on OnePlus, which was in an exclusive agreement with Cynogen. According to the statement by Micromax, OnePlus devices cannot run on CyanogenMod as the exclusive rights to use the same are with Micromax. The flagship phone was banned by the Delhi High Court and even its promotion and import was restricted in India. Later, the court lifted the ban temporarily and granted the Shenzhen-based electronics giant a few weeks time to come up with an alternative to Cyanogen.

    The company said that the new ROM has nothing extra to offer and comes with the stock features of AOSP Lollipop. It also added that users will come across a lot of bugs as the ROM is in early stages.

    As per the statement on the OnePlus forum –

    This is the first step in what will become our own custom ROM. It’s so early, in fact, that this build contains no extras beyond the stock features of AOSP Lollipop. It’s the base that we will continue to build upon, improve, and customize as we stabilize core functionalities on the latest firmware updates.

    As we look towards the official ROM release in the near future, we will keep to our promise and deliver an experience that is customizable, yet bloat-free with stock-Android-like simplicity by default; we wouldn’t ask you to settle for anything less.

    Willing users can download the new ROM here, but the company will not cover any damages caused by the Android Lollipop Alpha.

    A few bugs known to be occurring in the new ROM are:

    1. Data roaming turns on by default
    2. The ROM is likely to cause bricking. It’s advisable to take the backup of your data.
    3. Unstable camera and video.
    4. Capacitive keys do not turn off when you enable software keys.
    5. Periodical clock crash.
    6. Startup time will be a bit slow on first boot.
    7. Unstable Wi-Fi.
    8. Build not eligible for OTA updates.

    With the deadline on this Chinese smartphone company from the Delhi High Court, it seems that OnePlus has done all it could to work on a variant of the Cynogen. However, this new ROM seems to have a few bugs and it will be interesting to observe whether this will hinder the sales of OnePlus in India.

  • What to Expect from the Samsung Galaxy S6

    What to Expect from the Samsung Galaxy S6

    Although Samsung has been facing stiff competition from the numerous smartphones released this year, it still continues to lead race among the android devices. Samsung’s devices last year were criticized for being iterative and over-priced. Now Samsung seems to be working on the Galaxy S6, codenamed ‘Project Zero‘ signifying the development of the device from scratch — putting lots of thoughts into its design and materials.

    Finally realising their mistakes, Samsung has been mending its ways with the launch of  Galaxy A3 and Galaxy A5 smartphones, which dropped the plastic body to include the premium metal frame. The company has long been criticized for using cheap plastic body on their devices and it is expected that Samsung will be bringing quite a drastic change in their devices’ design and materials.

    Rumours surrounding the new Samsung flagship has been taking rounds of the internet for several months now. Although most rumours cannot be verified or validated, they give us some idea what we can expect from Samsung 2015 Galaxy S6 flagship.

    galaxy-s5-review-14-1050x591

    Project Zero

    Project Zero is, according to the rumors, Samsung’s top priority these days. More specifically, it is  a codename for the Galaxy S6, according to sources. Previous flagship phones have gone by the names such as Project J, Project H, Project K and Project T in the past few years. as mentioned above, Project zero signifies that the company’s plan to build this phone from the grassroot.

    The failure of Galaxy S5 coupled with the bad sales figures and constant backlash from critics, Samsung recently replaced its mobile design leader Chang Dong-hoon with deputy Lee Min-hyouk. It is safe to say that Samsung indeed is aiming to redefine its brand image with this new flagship. However, whether it will be successful; only time will tell!

    Design

    Recent chatter in the rumour mill has hinted that the new Samsung flagship may come with a flexible display. At a recent event for Samsung investors, Lee-Chang Hoon, vice president of Samsung Display’s, said: “We plan to provide consumers with a product that has a flexible display by the end of the year.” Along with his, the Galaxy S6 is expected to sport a flexible OLED  that would allow the device to fold and bend. However, it’s also widely believed, especially since the all-metal Galaxy Alpha debuted, that the Galaxy S6 will feature a metal frame.

    Samsung-Galaxy-S6 (1)

    Display

    Considering the trend over the last five generations, the screen size of Galaxy S handsets have grown from 4-inches to 5.1-inches. The Galaxy S6 is expected with a 5.2 or 5.3 inch display. Samsung has also previously said it will have 4K 3840 x 2160 displays on the market by 2015. It is therefore, possible that the Galaxy S6 will bypass 2K and feature a 4K screen. That said, South Korean news outlet Daum has predicted it’ll have a curved screen with a Quad HD resolution of 2560 x 1440 pixels. The screen has also purportedly leaked on an AnTuTu benchmark test with a 5.5-inch QHD display.

    Camera

    The camera has always been Samsung’s strong selling point. We expect the company to improve the present 16Mp snapper that comes with Galaxy S5. The AnTuTu leak has hinted  20-megapixel rear camera and 5-megapixel selfie snapper.

    Processor

    The new flagship is expected to come with a Snapdragon 810 or Exynos 7420 processor, with octa-core technology. Although internal storage is not expected to be increased beyond 128GB. That said, the AnTuTu leak shows the S6 with a 64-bit octa-core Exynos 7420 processor and ARM Mali T-760 GPU backed by 3GB of RAM. Samsung, however, has been raving about 4GB RAM developments so we’d expect them to appear in the S6. It also was shown with 32GB storage.

    Price and Release date

    According to a recent leak, the Samsung Galaxy S6 release date is slated for Q2 2015. As for when the phone will actually launch, the Galaxy S4 and Galaxy S5 both launched in April 2013 and April 2014, respectively, so following this pattern, the Galaxy S6 should go on sale in April 2015. It will likely be priced similarly to the Galaxy S5.

    The company has pledged that it will be bringing several changes to the future device to lure in more customers, after a huge setback during the Q3 earnings. Over the past years, the company has been criticised for the use of cheap plastic material in the high-end phones. With the new flagship on its way, the company is expected to make a lot of changes in design to compete in the market ruled by impressive devices like iPhone 6, HTC One and Sony Xperia Z series. This flagship may be a critical device to decide the fate of Samsung smartphones in this highly competitive market.

  • Revisiting 2014: Top Technology Failures of Last Year

    Revisiting 2014: Top Technology Failures of Last Year

    The world of technology saw many ups and down last year. It was predominantly a good year for the tech industry, but there were some visible failures as well. While the sales of smartphones reached new altitudes, the biggest name of mobile telephony, Nokia departed from the mobile phone business. Several high-level security breaches questioned the safety of online storage. As 2014 comes to a close, we decided to list the gleaming failures of the tech industry.

    1. Sony Pictures:

    North Korea had taken serious offense against the movie and threatened merciless retaliation.

    Never before has a movie been called an ‘act of war’, and you wouldn’t have guessed that it would be a Seth Rogen movie. The film led to one of the biggest ever cyber-attacks on a major movie studio. Sony Pictures was brought down and humiliated by a group called the Guardians of Peace or #GOP. They claimed to have stolen more than 100 Terabytes of data from the studio. The hackers soon began unveiling details from the Sony data, that was embarrassing not just to the studio, but also to some big names from the entertainment industry including Angelina Jolie, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Adam Sandler. The hack is also the reason of heavy diplomatic tussle between the USA and North Korea.

    2. iCloud Hack:

    Jennifer Lawrence
    Another major cyber breach took place at Apple’s trusted iCloud storage. Thousands of private and intimate photos of celebrities were leaked online. This caused quite a furor around the world and put Apple in an awkward spot. Apple later confirmed that the hackers responsible for the leak had obtained the images using a “very targeted attack” on account information, such as passwords, rather than any specific security vulnerability in the iCloud service itself.

    3. Uber:

    uber-taxi
    The app based cab service had to face one PR disaster after another. There were multiple complaints of its driver harassing the passengers or sexually assaulting them. A highly publicized rape case in India led the company to temporarily cease its operations in many parts of the country. There were also revelations that Uber was spying on journalists who were being critical of the company. Uber also tried to take down its competition by ordering about 6000 rides and then canceling them. Even the drivers reported that they were exploited by the company. Guess for its new year resolution, Uber’s only resolution should be: Don’t be evil.

    4. Malaysian Airlines MH 370:

    MH 370

    On 8th March 2014, Malaysian Airlines flight MH370 disappeared – vanished, leaving behind many questions and limited answers. No one would have thought that in the age of satellites and modern communication equipments, a plane can just disappear from the radar screens. The disappearance also led to several conspiracy theories. The last signal from the aircraft was broadcasted when it was over South China sea. There was a massive multinational effort to locate the lost plane, but it yielded no results. The search was the largest and most expensive in aviation history. There was also added bad news for Malaysian Airlines whose other plane, MH 17 was shot down pro-Russian separatists in Ukraine using surface to air missiles.

    5. Apple iPhone 6 Plus:

    BEndgate
    After months of speculations and ever present hysteria around it, the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus were launched with much fanfare albeit with a faulty livestream. The bigger variant, the iPhone 6 Plus soon became the butt of all jokes following reports of its bendability. Users found that the new device was easy to bend, and it quickly started trending on social media with the tag “#Bendgate”. There is an easy fix for the issue, and that is to use the phone with a protective case.

    6. Amazon Fire Phone:

    amazon fire phone

    Amazon really hyped its phone. There was a lot of buzz before the launch of the device, but it failed to capture commercial appeal. The device had some features like 3D display that could have been its defining element but turned out to be gimmicky. That coupled with below average battery performance, and low app availability led to low sales and forced the company to slash prices rapidly. Some reviewers even called it more of a prototype than a real device. Amazon has now begun working on the Amazon Fire Phone 2, which is expected to come out in 2016.

    7. BlackBerry:

    Classic Blackberry

    The company that was identified as one of the pioneers of the smartphone market has rapidly lost market share ever since the advent of the iPhone and Android ecosystems. Seeing that it was not going to carve out a place for itself in the brutal touch screen device market, the company decided to go back to its roots. The first device in this new attempt by the company was the Passport. Though the company tried to bring innovations into the device like a keyboard that also acts as a touchpad and a square display, it hasn’t managed to entice a lot of folks. This ultra wide device cannot be used with one hand and takes its own sweet time to focus while taking photos. The second device from the company called the Classic, might help bring back the experience that BlackBerry users were used to and get the company out of these times of peril.

    8. Sony:

    sony

    The year 2014 wasn’t really kind to this consumer electronics giant. The company lost a massive amount of money, in terms of billions. Its smartphone market share constantly kept falling along with its other electronics. The end of the year brought it a massive torment when its Hollywood studio got hacked by the North Korean hackers. The only saving grace for the company was its PlayStation business which saw an upward trajectory this year. All these misfortunes caused the company to introspect and set a goal of returning back to profitability.

    9. Microsoft Kinect 2.0:

    Kinect

    Seems like consumers are not ready for motion capture or spending extra for a hands-free gaming experience. Microsoft bet big money on the Kinect 2.0 and brought it in the market with improved functionalities. Microsoft was selling Kinect with the Xbox One. Sales were slow, and so Microsoft decided to unbundle the Kinect and sold Xbox One without it and cut $100 off the price. The result: Microsoft’s console easily beat Sony’s PlayStation in holiday sales. Though it is not the end of the Kinect as of yet. As the motion-based games and technology gets better, more folks will get comfortable to give the boot to the good old controllers and get on the Kinect bandwagon. It’s just a matter of time.

  • 10 Tech Resolutions You Should Keep This New Year

    10 Tech Resolutions You Should Keep This New Year

    All of us make several resolutions every year. And why not, the beginning of a year is the best time to adopt new habits. But have you ever considered keeping a few tech-related promises?

    Technology has become an integral part of our lives and largely, it has made it simpler. In spite of numerous benefits, its evil effects shouldn’t be ignored. Take a pledge to make these tech resolutions this New Year:

    1. Avoid e-Readers before bedtime

    eBooks-reading

    Definitely, e-Readers have ended the need for hard copies but a recent study has revealed that reading through electronic devices at bedtime could adversely affect sleep habits. Research says that the light emitted by the device can have a bad impact on the overall health, alertness, and circadian clock. This in turn results in sleeping disorders. So, to get a good night’s sleep, vow to avoid gadgets before bedtime.

    2. Go Paperless

    no paper

    Papers cannot be avoided entirely. You need to have a hard copy of the digital document just as a backup, but we also confess that it’s not required always. Many a times, we take a printout of the non-required text and pay no heed to the fact that paper wastage is a direct cause for deforestation. Vow to switch to emails, PDFs, Google Docs and other digital mediums and use paper only when it’s unavoidable.

    3. Keep the TV off bedroom

    tv a family room

    We know that in this ever busy life, we get less time for ourselves. No time to sleep, eat, watch Television and sometimes even eat. You may be entertaining yourself watching late night daily soaps, but seriously, that is not the right decision to amuse yourself. A research organisation American Academy of Sleep Medicine has revealed that watching TV at night may lead to disrupted sleep patterns.

    The organisation said that a minimum of seven hours of sleep is mandatory and the person resting less than that may suffer from increased obesity, morbidity and the worst scenario may lead to death as well. It would be advisable to keep the Television set in the family room rather than the bedroom.

    4. Install an Anti-theft app

    Anti-theft

    Phone theft has become a daily affair. You need to take precautions before you become one of the victims. Pledge that this new year you will install an anti-theft app for the safety of your own phone. Just a few taps and text, and you are done. You can also check out some of these apps to make your phone theft-proof and download one that suits your needs.

    5. Build a Smarter Home

    home automation

    Smart home automation is one thing you need to invest in this new year. Start with lighting and audio-visual and then switch on to shading, sensors, actuators and more. The automation will not only make your life super easy, but also aid in conserving electricity. You can switch off the lights, fans and other electrical appliances from anywhere just through a tab on your phone. Also, the technology senses the presence of a person and adjusts wisely.

    6. Use Tech to Stay fit

    fitness app

    Apart from making the best use of technology at work, it’s time to utilize it for you. Well, we are talking about the fitness apps which are profuse in quantity on the app store, but remain neglected for one or the other reasons. Kickstart 2015 by installing some fitness apps and notice your health stats. Record your walking, running and other activities and also get suggestions based on your performance. The fitness apps will keep many health issues at bay. A few of them to consider are RunKeeper, Google Fit, and Fitocracy.

    7. Download a Password Manager

    1password-logo-round

    Managing passwords for all the websites you are signed up in is a tough task. Certainly, keeping one password for all sites is a solution to your forgetful nature, but that would make your accounts an easy target for hackers. The best way to beat this password management dilemma is downloading apps like 1Password and LastPass. These apps, by default, create strong and different passwords for diverse networks. Just log in and it will do the rest for you.

    8. Unplug gadgets once charged

    phone on charge

    Research concludes that devices may burn due to overcharging of the batteries. These cases point out to  one direction – negligence.

    The devices should be unplugged from charging once the phone shows the full battery notification. Overcharging reduces the life of the device and may even lead to accidental hazards.

    9. Say No to Texting and Driving

    using phone while driving

    We agree, smartphones are an inseparable part of our lives, however it is important to remember that the world’s major accidents happen because of careless driving. If you are one amongst them who don’t care about the road safety rules and drive while keeping your eyes on your smartphone, then this is resolution is for you. Stay alert while driving, keep your eyes on the road and put your phone aside till you hit the next break.

    10. De-clutter Your Desktop

    declutter desktop

    Open a laptop and a countless number of icons appear on home screen instead of wallpaper. If that sounds like your desktop, then there is a need to keep your system organised. Delete the irrelevant stuff and arrange the required items logically in folders. Avoid storing it on the desktop as this slows down your system.

  • Revisiting 2014: 10 Epic Kickstarter Campaigns of Last Year

    Revisiting 2014: 10 Epic Kickstarter Campaigns of Last Year

    The independent tech community went big last year. Websites like Kickstarter.com have given the opportunity to millions of people to become venture capitalists and investors in new products. Such websites have given common people the power to see their ideas changing millions of lives.

    We are listing top 10 brilliant Kickstarter campaigns which made this tech year so fun.

    1. MIYO

    770c90e2eac694f2525c532eb9126aee_large

    This small piece of hardware is the revolution  in the audio tech industry. Still running its campaign, MIYO is a digital-to-analog converter which lets you rediscover your favorite music as though it were high-quality vinyl. MIYO delivers the same amazing sound quality you would expect from that track, at a fraction of the size and cost.

    2. Powerlace P-One

    POWERLACE

    This Kickstarter campaign has made all ‘Back To Future’ fans go gaga. The company created the first shoes with auto-lacing capabilities that McFly made popular back in 80s. The shoes named Powerlace P-One don’t look similar to the sneakers in the movie, however, they certainly get the job done. The Powerlace shoes have a simple mechanism for auto-lacing that doesn’t involve any voice commands, complex chips, apps, batteries or motors.

    3. Biofueled Triplane

    triplane4-690x359

    It’s the world’s first eco-friendly plane powered by biofuel and has been named Bio-Electric-Hybrid-Aircraft or BEHA. This prototype is almost silent and cancels out night flight restrictions and pollution concerns. The six-seat aircraft could be a revolution in the field of aviation. Meanwhile, the BEHA prototype is in its initial phases of development. The developers claim that it is likely to take to the skies post 2020.

    4. Pico

    pico

    Pico is a tiny trigger that you can program through your smartphone and then easily use the programming to shoot time-lapse videos. The accompanying app gives you multiple shooting options such as HDR, speed ramping, and bulb ramping. With these in your hand, you can easily create professional looking visuals to enthrall your audience.

    5. Reeljuice

    8842de5195a6b0165c98b3a3f7e53f7f_large

    Reeljuice is the world’s first backup battery pack with built-in universal charging cable, so you’ll always be prepared to recharge your phone or tablet. It features a 48-inch long, retractable charging cable which can be used to charge an array of popular devices available in the market. Reeljuice is the only portable power solution in the world that integrates patented, retractable, cord reel technology. It is created by a team of designers and engineers, who have received worldwide acclaim for their innovative products.

    6. Pryntcase

    Pryntcase

    A French startup, Pryntcases, has introduced a phone case that converts your phone to a Polaroid camera. Presently, the device can only take one polaroid film at a time and takes a minute to print the image, but it is still a great case to have. The appeal of physically holding a photograph can’t be matched with the tons of electronic images. The case comes with an accompanying camera app, which has a cool feature. It takes video while you are taking a picture. Then, when you hold the developed picture in front of the case, it will start playing the video.

    7. Everykey

    455c8e7ea0cc8593a486c1c7ebe5a5b4_large

    Available in a multitude of colors, Everykey is an innovative universal access device for everything that requires a physical key or password. It allows immediate access to a user’s password-protected electronics such as a smartphone, tablet, or computer, as well as physically locked items including doors, car doors, bike locks, and other access devices that need to be controlled.

    8. Modbook Pro X

    modbook1

    The company, famous for turning Apple’s MacBook Pro into an iPad-like tablet, launched a Kickstarter campaign to fund its project, the Modbook Pro X, back in August. The Modbook has been around for about seven years, when Axiotron and Other World Computing teamed up to deliver the first Mac tablet at Macworld. At the time, 331 backers converted their own Retina MacBook Pros into a tablet. The conversion incorporates the laptop’s original hardware, with components shifted from the lower half of the computer to just behind the 15.4-inch 2,880 x 1,800-pixel LCD.

    9. ZUtA Pocket Printer

    zuta-labs-robot-printer

    ZUtA Pocket Printer is simple, softball-sized and compatible with any electronic device. It can be used anywhere, anytime. Since it doesn’t necessitate any special drivers, it can be accessed via computers, smartphones or tablets, by using the traditional print function or an app. It works with paper of any size and will print roughly 1,000 sheets of paper on a standard, disposable ink cartridge. The printer lasts for up to an hour on full battery and can be recharged via a USB cable.

    10. Hendo hoverboard

    hoverboard

    Inventor Greg Henderson has created hovering technology that he calls Magnetic Field Architecture (MFA). Using the technology, you can practically get everything hovering and a hoverboard is the bare minimum that MFA can achieve. The Hendo hoverboard uses magnetic levitation principle, similar to the one used in Maglev trains. The device hovers 1-inch above the ground, that is good for a start. The board looks bulky, but its design is sleek and sexy. The device is capable of integrating with the natural movement of the rider.

  • Google Nexus 5 is Back in Stock on Flipkart!

    Google Nexus 5 is Back in Stock on Flipkart!

    The flagship smartphone by the US-based search giant, Google Nexus 5, was the most desired device of 2013 and 2014 alike. Those who were able to get their hands on the device were on cloud 9 and a few unlucky ones were anticipating for it to go on sale again. Google has come up some really good news for those waiting for the Nexus 5.

    nexus 5 flipkart

    The smartphone by Google is back in stock on Flipkart with no comment on its stocks. Both the 16 GB and 32 GB versions of the phone are available on the e-commerce website. You can also choose from the three colour variants – red, black and white. The red, 32 GB variant is priced at Rs. 29,919, while the 32 GB version in black and white colours can be bagged at a price of Rs. 32,999 and 31,350 respectively.

    A couple of weeks back, Google confirmed that it will halt the production of the Nexus 5 by the first quarter of 2015, which made the phone lovers rush to the retail stores.

    Briefing its specs, then the Nexus 5 sports a Full HD display of 4.95-inch that is protected by the Corning Gorilla Glass 3. The device is powered by Qualcomm MSM8974 Snapdragon 800 chipset. It runs on Android 4.4.4 KitKat and has 2 GB of RAM. On the camera front, it has an 8MP rear and a 1.3MP secondary snapper.

    For the Nexus 5 lovers, it the perfect opportunity to grab this device at the earliest.

  • Xiaomi Redmi 1S with LTE Support to be Announced Soon

    Xiaomi Redmi 1S with LTE Support to be Announced Soon

    Xiaomi will soon be announcing the LTE variant of its highly popular Redmi 1S. The Chinese manufacturer who was recently banned from selling its products in India, teased on a social networking site Weibo that it plans to unwrap the LTE compatible Redmi 1S on Friday.

    The listing further stated that the smartphone would come with a 64 bit Snapdragon 410 processor bundled with 1GB of RAM. The smartphone would feature a 4.7 inch 720p display and would be equipped with both front and rear camera units at 2MP and 8MP respectively. The dual-SIM phone will have support for TD-LTE and LTE-FDD networks.  Meanwhile, the leaked image also points to a thinner bezel compared to its predecessor. It also sports an OGS screen which should enhance colour and display quality. Sources also reveal additional colour options for the Redmi 1S with LTE support.

    There are no details available as of now regarding its launch in India; however an announcement is expected to be made on January 4th.

  • Xiaomi Get a Clean Chit from Taiwan in the Data Breach Investigation

    Xiaomi Get a Clean Chit from Taiwan in the Data Breach Investigation

    Xiaomi has had a fantastic year, but it also had to face several allegations and controversies. One of the prominent embarrassments for the company was the allegation that the company’s smartphones were sending user’s personal data to their servers in China without permission. This was seen as a serious allegation and it prompted a probe in Taiwan for Xiaomi and other smartphone brands.

    It was a security agency called F-secure which found that Xiaomi was automatically syncing the files on the cloud. This incident led the Taiwanese authorities to initiate an investigation into handsets from major companies to check whether they are breaching data protection laws. Xiaomi responded by saying that cloud syncing was activated by default, which led to the issue. It then issued a new update which let the users decide whether they wanted to sync their data on the cloud or not.

    xiaomi

    It is important to know that it wasn’t just Xiaomi which faced the scrutiny from Taiwanese authorities. The National Communications Commission of Taiwan investigated 12 brands in total which also included devices from Apple, Samsung, LG, Sony, along with Chinese brands like Huawei and ZTE. All of these were cleared by the commission.

    The investigators did ask the companies to strengthen the transfer of information on their devices and make them more secure. The Xiaomi data breach issue had also led the Indian Air force to issue a directive to its staff to refrain from using Chinese smartphones, especially Xiaomi. The company had then responded by moving its Indian user’s data to servers in India. It even plans to launch a local data center in India in 2015 to serve the needs of (and store data for) their Indian users.

    It seems like after a few hurdles, Xiaomi’s ship is now in smoother waters. The company has some big plans for 2015 including a new flagship and more devices coming out of its stable. After this report, you can go ahead and register for the next flash sale with an ease of mind.

  • Unboxing | Micromax Yu Yureka | Hands On

    Unboxing | Micromax Yu Yureka | Hands On

    Micromax’s new company was a smart move for the Indian smartphone giant. However, whether or not the company will be able to provide a better consumer experience will be seen overtime. YU Televentures takes departure from traditional business practices of Micromax and relies on a large community driven eco-system as done by the likes of Xiaomi and OnePlus.

    Well, it’s practically 2015, and India has been left behind in the race for development ROMs. Almost all launched handsets are either locked, on in the case of Indian Manufacturers, have unsupported systems.

    Yu Yureka iGyaan1

    The YU Yureka comes with Cyanogen preloaded, which allows for a lot of development, almost from the moment you open the box.

    To take the packaging in the similar fashion, it sits comfortably between Xiaomi and OnePlus style of packaging, while made from recycled materials, we were far from impressed by the presentation or the box contents.

    In the Box you Get :

    • Yu Yureka Handset
    • EarPhones
    • Charger + Cable
    • 2500 mAh Battery

    The Interface is really snappy and that may be thanks to a mix of the Cyanogen experience along with the new Qualcomm Snapdragon 615 which does 1.5 GHz on octa-cores.

    Yu Yureka iGyaan0

    The eureka comes with Android 4.4.4 out of the box and will be quickly updated to Lollipop as soon as you can find a flash-able ROM or when Cyanogen pushes an update. Check out the specs below and a quick comparison with the Redmi Note (4G variant) which comes with a Qualcomm chipset. Also at the bottom is the Unboxing and Hands-On video. Stay tuned for the full review.

    Specs

    Yu Yureka

    Redmi Note 4G
    Screen Size 5.5 inches
    720×1280 pixels    		 5.5 inches
    720 x 1280 pixels
    RAM 2 GB 2 GB
    Battery 2500 mAh 3200 mAh
    Processor Qualcomm Snapdragon 615 Qualcomm Snapdragon 400
    CPU 1.5GHz  Octa-core  1.6 GHz Quad-core
    GPU Adreno 405 Adreno 305
    Front Camera 5 MP 5 MP
    Rear Camera 13 MP 13 MP
    Price (Click for Updated Pricing) Rs. 8,999 Rs. 9,999
    Special Features Cyanogen OS 11 MIUI 5.0

     

  • Lenovo to Take on the Redmi 1S with an Affordable 4G device

    Lenovo to Take on the Redmi 1S with an Affordable 4G device

    Xiaomi is fiercely racing ahead in the smartphone race. With the recent influx of capital into the company, Xiaomi has become the most valuable startup in the world. Its products are seriously challenging its competition, and there still hasn’t been a real opponent to the company. Lenovo, the other Chinese electronics giant, plans to take on Xiaomi with a new 4G device which will be priced below the popular Redmi 1S.

    According to a report, Lenovo would be introducing a new device at CES 2015. The website suspects that this device might be the Lenovo K3. It is said be powered by 4G-LTE compatible Qualcomm’s 1.2 GHz Snapdragon 410 processor. Lenovo is wasting no time in introducing the device in competitive markets. It will be launching the device in India just a week after its CES launch.

    The specifications cited for the Lenovo K3 make it look like an effective challenger to the Redmi 1S. It has a 5 inch 720 HD display with a pixel density of 294 PPI. It holds 1 GB RAM with 16 GB of internal memory, which might be advantageous as against the Redmi 1S’s 8 GB storage.

    There has been a flux of affordable smartphone companies this year. Companies like Motorola, Xiaomi, Asus have begun the culture of offering good specifications at affordable prices and thus have gained a considerable amount of market share. The winner of this battle, of course, is a budget buyer who gets great functionalities without shelling big bucks.

    Considering the price of the Xiaomi Redmi 1s(a mere 5,999); this device could be a game changer if it delivers the specifications mentioned above. It will also be nice to see a healthy rivalry to the Xiaomi 1s, which presently seems to be running away with the ‘Best Budget Phone’ tag.

iGyaan Network
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