Category: Tech

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

Google Launches an Initiative to Promote Indian Languages

India has a vast and diverse population. This population exists with multiple languages, customs and cultures, under one roof. In such a country, internet can be a great tool for the development of people from different languages to come and share their ideas. But for this to happen, it is essential that there is a language support system to assist people with the use of this information superhighway. Google has now formed an alliance that will work towards promoting Indian regional languages.

The alliance will work towards providing support to Indian language users to create and receive content in their languages with ease. Google intends to involve over 300 million users from India using the language initiative by 2017.

It is estimated that India will have about 500 million internet users by the end of 2017, up from 200 million users at present. It will surpass the whole internet population of the US. Creating content and accessibility options for regional language speakers will create a healthy future market for the internet giant. India also has a robust smartphone market, and Google can make heavy gains by providing language assistance to the people of India.

The company did a demonstration of its Hindi voice search capabilities on an Android phone. They also launched an aggregation website called hindiweb.com where people can find access to most sites that provide content in Hindi.

This alliance is, in fact, an appreciable initiative from the Silicon Valley giant. It is of course going to benefit Google by bringing in new users for its services, but it will be greatly beneficial to a whole new population of the country that has still not gained access to this essential utility. Google’s alliance will include companies like Times Internet, C-Dac, Reverie Language Technologies, LinguaNext Technologies, and Amar Ujala Publications and some others.

November 3, 2014
64GB OnePlus One to be Priced Under Rs. 25,000 in India

One of the long-awaited phones in India has been the OnePlus One. This one of a kind phone has created waves all over the world. Its youthful design coupled with high specs and low price has made the device a darling of technology enthusiasts. The added value of exclusivity has made OnePlus One even more desirable. Lately, the company has opened up on what all Indians were till now waiting for, its price.

The Chinese company will be selling its blockbuster phone through its India-specific invite system. In an interaction with The Indian Express, the company claims that this will prevent shortage of device for potential customers. The invite process is also much fair and transparent then the flash sale model.

The company has mentioned the price of the 64 GB variant for less than Rs. 25,000 ($407 approx), which is a bit above the expected price range, but still is a great offering if its specs are taken into account. OnePlus One’s Cyanogen-based user experience has been appreciated for its customisability and regular updates. The phone will also be available in its 16 GB avatar, but its price isn’t known as yet.

The phone doesn’t have much of a competition in its mid-segment price. It will compete with Nexus 5, Elife E7, Desire 820 and their likes. Considering the demand for the device, it is surely expected to repeat a Xiaomi act in India. Whatever may be the case, the winner will still be the consumer who will get this fantastic piece of gadgetry at an enviable price.

November 3, 2014
Google Makes Bookmarks Interactive With New ‘Bookmark Manager’

With the sheer amount of things on the internet, you might find it hard to keep track of everything. To make your work feasible, you create bookmarks, but now the shortage of time to catch up on these bookmarks has led to the never-ending list that just stays there never to be caught back. Google seems to have stepped in the way to make bookmarks more accessible and useful.

The company has introduced an extension for Chrome called Google Bookmark Manager. The extension will bring all your bookmarks in a grid view. The bookmarks will all be pooled together in various folders. During the creation of a new bookmark, Google will prompt you with some folder suggestions. To make things even easier, you can add photos or notes to folders you desire to access quickly.

This new extension will also get a boost from ‘Power Searching with Google’. The extension will be able to scan into the content of bookmarked pages to let you find out what you were looking for. It does seem like Google has got some inspiration from the new Safari bookmarks that are available in Yosemite.

The bookmark manager will come really handy for folks who want immense convenience to access their references. The bookmarks have been around since the inception of consumer web browser, but it’s good to see it finally getting attention from browser manufacturers. Guess Safari and Chrome have new bookmark managers, Firefox may join soon, but the users of Internet Explorer should anticipate their upgrade by the end of the decade.

November 3, 2014
Microsoft Opens Up Outlook to Third-Party App Developers

Microsoft is opening its business-centric Office service to developers on a large scale this time around. Earlier this year, the software giant invited developers to make third-party apps for Office 365, and now that plan includes Outlook.com.

A new suite of APIs, which will soon be released by the company, will give developers tools to integrate into Microsoft’s webmail service and add features to everything from the Calendar to the Compose screen and Contacts. However, these apps won’t come to mainstream until spring 2015. Anyhow, the plan of the company to bring third-party apps holds some exciting promise and possibilities.

The company’s official blogpost reads : “Think about it: Whenever a customer reads or composes an email or calendar event, your app could be there, helping them get the job done. If you have a great idea for how our customers should interact with their email or calendar, now is the time to make it happen. Not only are these apps simple to build–they use open web technologies such as HTML and Javascript–but you can start building them today. To learn how to get started, check out ‘Mail apps for Outlook’ on MSDN and the Office Dev Center.”

Along with this, ‘Mail apps for Outlook’, which work on Exchange Server 2013, Outlook 2013, Outlook Web Access, and OWA for Devices, will soon work on Outlook.com too, bringing together some 400 million potential new users of app developers, and all without browser plugins or extensions.

Developers may come up with some truly useful apps that plug into not only Outlook.com, but also the rest of the Office 365 ecosystem, which includes Word, Excel and PowerPoint. According to Microsoft, these apps will be cross-platform.

November 3, 2014
Collapsible and Wearable Smartphone Kyocera Proteus Sets a Benchmark

No smartphone calls for as many speculative rumors as much as the iPhone. Before every iPhone release, there is one render that keeps making a comeback. It shows a flexible device that can collapse and become a wearable. Well, Apple won’t be making any such device anytime soon, but a Japanese company Kyocera has beaten the brand name to bring such a device for the world to drool over.

Meet the Kyocera Proteus, a device with unmatched innovation. It can transform from a flat, bar-shaped phone into a bracelet and can be draped or wrapped around a thin rail, like a cycle handlebar. This device when mass-produced can make all of the present mobile technologies obsolete.

The Proteus concept was presented at CEATEC, which is Japan’s largest consumer electronics show. The concept is ultrathin, almost see-through, and superlight.

When folded from the bar mode to a wearable mode, the phone turns on its sensors and you can start your health tracking on the device. When riding a bike, the device can become your GPS guide. The possibilities of this device are endless.

The Proteus is expected to have AMOLED display. The concept looks great in its initial stages, and it’s a great one-device solution that everyone was looking for. The company is currently in the process of figuring out the battery technology to be utilized to make the device fully functional. There are multiple suggestions being given. According to a source, one of the most innovative suggestion is the inclusion of piezoelectric generators that will convert kinetic energy into electric charge. Hence, the battery can be completely avoided and the device can be charged even on the move.

Kyocera deserves credit for bringing the fantastic product to reality. We just hope they get rid of all the glitches and take us into the future as soon as possible. Now who is working on those damn jetpacks?

November 3, 2014
BBM Brings Snapchat-Like Multiple Features With its New Update

BlackBerry’s propriety messaging system BBM (BlackBerry Messenger) has been one of the most successful messaging apps. The company has even introduced versions for other operating systems. At this time, when the company is struggling to hold back its position in the market, it’s natural that they are bringing new features to their most visible product.

BlackBerry has added several features to the new version of BBM. This includes Snapchat-like time-limited messaging attribute. It allows you to send an image or message, and set the amount of time you want it to be visible to the other person. The application will even send you notifications if the other person takes a snapshot of that picture or the message.

Other upgrades include message retraction, timed messages, HD image transfer, and many more. The message retraction will come really handy for folks who compulsively and erroneously hit the send key, and also for drunk texters who can swiftly act when they gain some senses and get rid of that embarrassing message or pic they have previously sent.

It seems like BlackBerry went into a full ‘get-inspired’ mode, and it borrowed features from several major apps and made one unified app. It also has a Skype-like feature where you can see what your contacts are listening to or watching.

The app will be available for download for BlackBerry, iPhone and Android users. But all these awesomeness come at a price. The features like timed messages and message retraction will be free only for the first three months, after which you’d have to pay for them. This will be a major challenge for the company as users already have free access to all these features through other apps. BlackBerry wants to eventually provide a BBM subscription service that comes bundled with all the multiple features it has introduced with this update.

So, this seems like a great app to have which gives almost all the features of all the messaging apps combined. You can either keep using all the free apps that crowd your phone or you can just pay a premium for one unified app. That is for you to decide.

November 1, 2014
HP Teams Up With a Fashion Designer to Debut a Sleek Smartwatch

With an onslaught of smart wearables these days, HP has engineered a watch with designer Michael Bastian to create a traditional-looking timepiece called the ‘MB Chronowig’.

This wearable will be compatible with iOS and Android, and comprises all smartwatch features along with a design that emanates traditional watches. The MB Chronowig facilitates users to control music from their wrist, as well as displays email/text notifications. The watch can also sync with your calendar and alarm. This innovative piece does all these nifty little tricks while looking quite elegant – courtesy, the fashion designer.

The smartwatch will be up for sale on the website Gilt.com from 7th November. The range starts from $349 for the base silver-plated model. If you’re willing to shell out $649, there’s also one that comes in black with a sapphire glass and an elegant alligator strap.

November 1, 2014
With Moto-Power Lenovo Becomes the Third Largest Smartphone Company in India

The acquisition of one of the most adored brands, Motorola by Lenovo was met with a wide negative response in India. But this acquisition did more for Lenovo than just being the owner of an awesome brand. It took an enormous leap in the Indian smartphone market. The Chinese electronics company now is the third biggest smartphone company in India.

Lenovo acquired Motorola from Google for a sum of $2.9-billion. The deal was finalized this Thursday, the 30th of October, and it will give Lenovo the boost in the Indian market that it was looking for. The deal got Lenovo in the third spot in India and many other markets globally.

This may also mean a bit of a pull back for Xiaomi. According to data research by IDC, the company will move down to the fourth spot after just recently hitting the podium stand. Seems like celebrations didn’t last long for the company. This will be a neck and neck competition because both Motorola and Xiaomi are stars of the low-cost markets. This is a market where the maximum amount of sales takes place. Lenovo has a good market stand in the offline channels and combined with the high online demand for Motorola product it can easily set a flag post at the third spot.

The top spot in India is still in the hands of Samsung, that has come up to become an alternative recognizable brand after the demise of Nokia. It holds 23.8% of the mobile phone market and is distantly followed by Apple with a market share of 12%.

Lenovo says that it considers India as an important market, and it will continue its original market plan. It will definitely benefit from the brand recognition of Motorola, especially in the youth market. Since its return to Indian shores, the company has sold over 2 million products from its catalog.

The Lenovo-Motorola partnership plans to sell about 100 million smartphones and tablets globally by march of next year which is an audacious task. The part of this acquisition that will be appreciated by most folks casting doubts on the future of Motorola products is that Lenovo and Motorola will continue on as separate entities. So you can expect your next Moto buy to still hold the Moto experience that you have come to love and appreciate.

November 1, 2014
Everykey: A Single Wristband That Would Replace All Your Keys and Passwords

A new start-up called Everykey launched a Kickstarter campaign to fund production of its stylish wristband that replaces keys and passwords with one easy-to-use device. A month old fundraiser started on 29th October and the company has pledged to raise $100,000 in this one month.

The Everykey wristband is designed to store your passwords and keys securely for easy access. Available in a multitude of fashion-forward 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.

“When the Everykey wristband is within the range of a user’s device, the wristband will allow the user to bypass that device’s password or physically unlock it automatically, eliminating the need for complicated passwords and cumbersome keys. Everykey also manages a password keychain, which can be used to seamlessly log users into their online accounts when they’re close to one of their devices. When the wristband goes out of range, the device automatically re-enables security mechanisms so it is safe and secure when out of trusted hands.” reads Everykey’s Kickstarter page.

“We just came up with a conceptual idea, we didn’t think it was our place to develop it because its hardware would take a lot of money to develop,” Chris Wentz, Co-Founder of Everykey, said in an interview. “But at the end of the class, the professor shook our hands and said, ‘You guys should consider doing this as a real business.’ And he offered to invest his own money. We realized, ‘Oh, this could potentially be a big idea.’”

Everykey uses military grade encryption, allowing only you to access your personal property and accounts. Like a credit card, you can instantly disable your Everykey if it ever gets lost or stolen.

November 1, 2014
Motorola’s Monster Droid Might Get a Global Release as ‘Moto Maxx’

Verizon-exclusive Motorola DROID Turbo is reported to get a global release under the company’s quintessential ‘Maxx’ branding. Going by the invite posted by a Portuguese publication named Tecnoblog, the company is gearing up to announce the global roll-out of the smartphone on 5th November at an event in Sao Paulo, Brazil. The country has always been an important market for Motorola since its heydays, which is evident by the fact that the company globally unveiled the popular Moto G (first generation) last year at an event in Sao Paulo.

The invite doesn’t illustrate any specific phone, but it does show a device with the same Ballistic Nylon back panel featured on the DROID Turbo.

The DROID Turbo, which is popularly known as Moto Maxx, features a 5.2-inch Quad-HD AMOLED display, 3900 mAh battery, Android 4.4.4 KitKat and 2.7 GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 805 processor. The phone also packs 21 MP rear camera with f/2.0, 2 MP front snapper, LTE support, 3 GB of RAM, and 32/64 GB of internal storage.

Motorola’s last Maxx-branded smartphone, the Motorola DROID MAXX, launched last year exclusively at Verizon Wireless. Meanwhile, the last ‘Droid’ smartphone that was announced back in 2012 in India was the Motorola RAZR MAXX.

October 31, 2014
Rovio Rolls Out Angry Birds Transformers for Android

As expected, Rovio Entertainment, makers of once-popular Angry Birds, has released Angry Birds Transformers for the Android platform. This means, the new Angry Birds game, about 129 MB in size, is now available for download via Google Play.

Announced back in June, this new mobile game is very different from the previous Angry Birds games, and features the popular Angry Birds characters running and using a range of different weapons hitting targets in the background including pigs, buildings and more.

In the latest title by Rovio, the birds and pigs have been transformed into ‘Autobirds’ and ‘Deceptihogs’ (inspired by Transformer’s Autobots and Decepticons), respectively. More of a run-and-gun shooting pastime, the game accomplishes what it sets out to do – provide Android users with an easy pick-up-and-play time killer. You control the attack of a chosen transformer which will blast the pigs in the background, as they balance on physics-based platforms.

The Angry Birds Transformers for Android is compatible with devices running on Android 4.0 and higher. The game also comes with in-app purchases. Last month, the company launched Angry Birds Stella globally, available on Android, iOS, Amazon Fire, BlackBerry 10 OS and NOOK platforms. In the Angry Birds Stella, Stella and friends try to save Golden Island from the villains, Gale and the wicked green pigs.

October 31, 2014
Xiaomi is Reportedly Working on a Mid-Range 9.2-inch Tablet

Xiaomi has become a star among Android lovers. Despite catering to a few select Asian countries, the company has come a long way since last year. It very recently became the world’s third-largest smartphone maker, lagging behind only Samsung and Apple. However, it seems like Xiaomi isn’t closing the year just yet.

According to the GFXBench listing, Xiaomi is working on a 9.2-inch tablet. The mysterious tablet dubbed as Xiaomi 2014811 includes a 9.2-inch screen with 720p screen resolution. On the hardware front, it is said to come with a 1.2GHz quad-core Snapdragon 410 processor with Adreno 306 GPU, paired with 1 GB of RAM and 8 GB of internal storage. It is said to run on Android KitKat and supports connectivity options like Bluetooth and Wi-Fi.

However, it is still under wraps as whether it will come with voice calling over the cellular network or not. If it does, the tablet, despite its huge size, will attract a lot of customers.

October 31, 2014
Kerala Declares an Internet Strike Against High Mobile Data Charges

If you own a smartphone, you know the state of the Indian mobile internet. The speed is pathetic, the access is limited, and the prices are high. The options are limited too as the major companies are monopolistic with the prices being increased unanimously across the board. In the age of heavy inflation, the data charges are a severe blow to the pocket. So the young folks in Kerala are going for an innovative way to protest against these arbitrary rises in data charges by organizing an internet hartal.

Today on the 31st of October, the data subscribers will be disconnecting from their data connections. It is called the All Kerala Internet Hartal. The organizers have said that the reason behind the hartal is to protest against the day to day increase in the prices of data packs. The protest is specifically targeted at AVoId ( Airtel, Vodafone and Idea) who have now become mind-bogglingly huge with a massive number of users dependent on them.

The folks are fed up with their inability to share their grievances with the companies, to which the companies tend to lend a deaf ear. Hartals are a proven way of civil disobedience, and this will definitely make the point across to the other side.

The reason behind the massive leap in prices is the advance of messaging apps like Whatsapp, Hike, Snapchat and others who have caused a severe dent in the SMS revenue. The telecom companies have to pay a heavy sum for renting the spectrums to provide the services, and they want to squeeze every last penny of profit for the sum they invested. But they can also do this by providing cheaper internet and count on the massive users they will bring for the company, specially at the speed Indians are buying smartphones.

People participating in the protest have also used the analogies from history. One of them has given the reference of bread strike in England. “…once in England when bread companies increased their prices, the whole country did not buy bread for few days, and the company had to decrease their price,” says a message.

The sorry state of the internet in India calls for protests like this. We at iGyaan understand the need for a real internet revolution in this country. In the coming days, we’ll be announcing a massive initiative demanding a model internet which compliments a nation that sends spacecrafts to Mars. Keep checking the space for more details in the future.

As for the hartal today, if you agree with the stand of the folks in Kerala, you can support them by switching off your data packs for the day. You can also organize a hartal in your own state. It is also a great way to get rid of all that noise in the digital world and have a glance at the beautiful 3D physical world, at least for a day.

October 31, 2014
Samsung Galaxy A Series Expected Arrive in Early November

Samsung’s Galaxy A series has been in rumors since the past few months, but with the revelations made by a Tech journal, Korea IT Times, it is now clear that Samsung is all set to launch the new A series smartphones as early as next month. The new handsets that are said to be the Galaxy A3, Galaxy A5 and Galaxy A7 are expected to come with a premium metallic material, just like Galaxy Alpha. According to the report submitted by Korea IT Times, the smartphones will be launched in China first, followed by selected markets, and will be available shortly after the launch.

It is said that the new Galaxy A series is directly targeted at Xiaomi, which was recently designated as the third-largest smartphone maker in the world by IDC. While Xiaomi is only catering to selected Asian countries, it has swelled its shipment three times since last year, only lagging behind Samsung and Apple.

According to the earlier reports, the Galaxy A7 is set to feature a 5.2-inch 1080p display, octa-core processor, 2 GB of RAM, 16 GB internal storage, a 12-megapixel camera, and a 4.7-megapixel front camera. On the software front, it will run on Android 4.4.4 KitKat out of the box.

As for Galaxy A5, it is said to come with a 5.2-inch HD display, 1.2 GHz quad-core processor, 16 GB internal storage, a 13-megapixel rear camera, a 5-megapixel front camera, and a 2,300mAh battery.

Both the devices are set to launch in China next month with other select markets to follow. However, the news has surfaced that they might not see a mainstream launch like many other Galaxy phones in the west.

October 31, 2014

Samsung Galaxy Alpha Unboxing and Hands On

Specs	Samsung Galaxy Alpha	Samsung Galaxy S5	iPhone 6	Moto X (Gen 2)
Display	4.7 inch 720p HD (312 ppi)	5.1 inch Full HD (432 ppi)	750 x 1334 pixels, 4.7 inch (326 ppi)	1080 x 1920 pixels, 5.2 inch (424 ppi)
Processor	Exynos 5 Octa 5430 (1.8GHz quad-core Cortex A15 + 1.3GHz quad-core Cortex A7)	Exynos 5 Octa 5422 (Quad-core 1.9 GHz Cortex-A15 & quad-core 1.3 GHz Cortex-A7)	Apple A8, Dual-core 1.4 GHz Cyclone (ARM v8-based)	Qualcomm Snapdragon 801,Quad-core 2.5 GHz Krait 400
RAM	2 GB	2 GB	1 GB	2 GB
Storage	32 GB (non-expandable)	16/32 GB (expandable upto 128GB)	16/64/128 GB (non-expandable)	16/32 GB (non-expandable)
Camera	12 MP Main, 2.1 MP Front	16 MP Main, 2 MP Front	8MP Main, 1.2 MP Front	13 MP Main, 2 MP Front
Battery	1860 mAh	2800 mAh	1810 mAh	2300 mAh
Operating System	Android Kitkat v4.4.4	Android Kitkat v4.4.4	iOS 8, upgradable to iOS 8.1	Android OS, v4.4.4 (KitKat), upgradable to Android L

October 30, 2014