Category: Tech

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

Facebook will buy Instagram (PR)

Talk about big acquisitions! Social networking giant Facebook will buy popular imaging app Instagram for $1 billion in cash and shares. This comes soon after the app was developed for Android.

We think the fact that Instagram is connected to other services beyond Facebook is an important part of the experience. We plan on keeping features like the ability to post to other social networks, the ability to not share your Instagrams on Facebook if you want, and the ability to have followers and follow people separately from your friends on Facebook.

-Instagram CEO Kevin Systrom

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Facebook to Acquire Instagram

MENLO PARK, CALIF.-April 9, 2012-Facebook announced today that it has reached an agreement to acquire Instagram, a fun, popular photo-sharing app for mobile devices.

The total consideration for San Francisco-based Instagram is approximately $1 billion in a combination of cash and shares of Facebook. The transaction, which is subject to customary closing conditions, is expected to close later this quarter.

Mark Zuckerberg, founder and CEO of Facebook, posted about the transaction on his Timeline:

I’m excited to share the news that we’ve agreed to acquire Instagram and that their talented team will be joining Facebook.

For years, we’ve focused on building the best experience for sharing photos with your friends and family. Now, we’ll be able to work even more closely with the Instagram team to also offer the best experiences for sharing beautiful mobile photos with people based on your interests.

We believe these are different experiences that complement each other. But in order to do this well, we need to be mindful about keeping and building on Instagram’s strengths and features rather than just trying to integrate everything into Facebook.

That’s why we’re committed to building and growing Instagram independently. Millions of people around the world love the Instagram app and the brand associated with it, and our goal is to help spread this app and brand to even more people.

We think the fact that Instagram is connected to other services beyond Facebook is an important part of the experience. We plan on keeping features like the ability to post to other social networks, the ability to not share your Instagrams on Facebook if you want, and the ability to have followers and follow people separately from your friends on Facebook.

These and many other features are important parts of the Instagram experience and we understand that. We will try to learn from Instagram’s experience to build similar features into our other products. At the same time, we will try to help Instagram continue to grow by using Facebook’s strong engineering team and infrastructure.

This is an important milestone for Facebook because it’s the first time we’ve ever acquired a product and company with so many users. We don’t plan on doing many more of these, if any at all. But providing the best photo sharing experience is one reason why so many people love Facebook and we knew it would be worth bringing these two companies together.

We’re looking forward to working with the Instagram team and to all of the great new experiences we’re going to be able to build together.

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April 10, 2012
The 3D Chocolate printer will go on sale end-April

The 3D Chocolate printer of everyone’s dreams is finally going to be available, and that too in April. Like a regular 3D printer it builds up three dimentional models by repeatedly laying down layer after layer, but instead of using melted plastic, it squeezes molten chocolate out of a syringe.

Fancy buying one? The 3D sweet stuff printer is up for pre-orders at a steep price, namely for £2,488, or just under $4,000 ( about 2 lac Rupees). But hey think of the possibilities, chocolate Androids for everyone? An edible iPhone or even Bharat’s unboxing knife ;) .

April 9, 2012
Apple Patent Hints at Face Unlock for iOS devices, iPhone, iPad and iPod.

Apple is still at the face unlock for iOS devices, according to their new patent entitled “Electronic Device Operation Adjustment Based on Face Detection.” It describes using a forward facing camera on a device to recognize individual users and also track the orientation of their face with respect to the device.

The process would involve the device to initiate a scan and detect a specific user’s face, and then unlock the device after the person has been recognized. Failing the recognition the alternative option would be to enter a code to prevent total lockout.

“If the detected human face is recognized… an operation of the (device) can be modified based upon the recognized human face,” the application reads. “The modification can include executing a pre-defined set of operations such as opening email, opening text messages, and so forth.”

“The facial data can be used to determine an orientation of the human face relative to the orientation of the presented visual content,” the filing reads. “In other words, the electronic device can determine if the orientation of the presented visual content, is substantially the same, or different, than the orientation of the human face.”

[Appleinsider]

April 9, 2012
Google Co-Founder Sergey Brin spotted wearing Google Glass prototype

Were you wondering if the Google Glass prototype was actually real or just a pro type in the testing? Well, here is the answer, apparently Google is really serious about the project. How serious you ask? Google C0-Founder Sergey Bring was spotted wearing a prototype at a recent charity event for the Foundation Fighting Blindness. Robert Scoble posted the images on his Google+ account for the world to see in amazement. According to the comments in his post other people, including Google exec Vic Gundotra also have the prototype glasses.

Wowie?

[Robert Scoble]

April 9, 2012
Still wishing for Tegra 3 ? Tegra 4 coming Q1 2013

While some are still waiting for their fix of quad core goodness of Tegra 3, it seems that the hardware is already old news. Reportedly leaked Tegra 4 details and the NVIDIA CEO Jen-Hsun Huang saying that “A new Tegra every year” means that 2013 will see face of a newer more powerful Tegra Chipset. The new chipsets will be major designed for 10 inch tablets. The Tegra 4 will come in four variants, three with a quad-core ARM Cortex A15 configuration, with clock speeds from 1.2 to 2.0GHz.

The Fourth one seems to be a budget SP3X variant based on A9, designed for 7inch tabs, it will also add high speed LTE.

[VR-Zone ]

April 9, 2012
Update for Instagram adds support for tablets, WiFi handsets and SD card installation

The new 1.0.3 update for photo popular app Instagram is out. This new update allows users to move the installation of the Instagram app to the SD Card allowing for a much lower space requirement and larger handset compatibility. The new update also adds support for Tablet installation and and wifi only devices that seemed to have been left out earlier.

If you hesitated in downloading the previous version due to the above issues, go ahead and hit the link below to get your Instagram fix.

[Google Play]

April 8, 2012
Apple issues Second Java Update to Fix Flashback Trojan Venerability

Apple has not hesitated to close the loophole that allowed to Flashback trojan to penetrate the Apple OS X system. The Update which is 66.6 MB patches the venerability and fixes those computers that have already been affected.

As reported earlier, the Flashback Trojan managed to infect hundreds of thousands of Macs worldwide. The majority of the infected machines – 350,000 are in US; about 125,000 are in Canada and 75,000 in the United Kingdom

So if you are feeling insecure , go – ahead and hit the software update app and download the update.

April 8, 2012
Instagram comes to Android , snap away bot lovers
Got yourself an Android power phone? Fancy a quick snapper, then instagram is your answer. An app that does it all, click pictures, edit add filters and share with your fellow beings on Facebook, twitter et all. Check it out before I go hands on soon.

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Instagram – A beautiful way to share your world. It’s fast, free and fun! ??

Pick from one of several gorgeous filtered effects to breathe a new life into your mobile photos. Transform everyday moments into works of art you’ll want to share with friends and family.??

Share your photos in a simple photo stream with friends to see – and follow your friends’ photos with the click of a single button. Every day you open up Instagram, you’ll see new photos from your closest friends, and creative people from around the world.??

Features?:?
- 100% free custom designed filters and borders
- Lux works its magic by making your photos more vibrant and brings out details in your photos you couldn’t see before
- Instant sharing to Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, and Foursquare
- Interact with friends through giving & receiving likes and comments
- Works with Android versions 2.2 and above that support OpenGL ES 2
- Full front & back camera support?
- And much much more…
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Download
April 4, 2012
Motorola Atrix 2 Full Review + Video + Images

Often, in terms of technology, new products are launched worldwide. Some make it to our fair nation and some completely neglect its existence. The Motorola Brand is one of those companies that dares to beat the odds and infiltrate our market. Late more than ever, some of their products do reach us and the Motorola Atrix 2 did come to India, Although, much later than we wanted it to.

After using it for donkeys days we realized that it actually was stiff competition to the likes of Samsung and HTC in the Android sector and blew away by proportions the iOS of this range namely 3Gs.

Here is our low down, dirty and in-depth review of the Moto Atrix Deux (2)

Build Quality

The Atrix two has a slightly understated build, the company does not do a good job of marketing their product in India. The back of the Atrix 2 has rubber, the kind that does not attract dust a lot, but has a wonderful texture that allows it to be grippy. The back also kind of prevents your phone from going into a panic shock (only if dropped on the back). The Atrix 2 has a nice shiny bezel that has a chrome undertone – more dark chrome titanium esque – and a wonderful display with Corning Gorilla Glass, that gives it the protection it deserves in the front, making it scratch and impact resistant.

Specs

The Display, Camera and Multimedia

Most of these sections are related hence they are all in one sub, The display on the Atrix 2 is a brilliant 4.3 incher with a qHD resolution of 540×960 making it a rich 256 pixels per inch. The only back draw is the level of black is not as intense/deep as we’d like it to be, seemingly also the only thing that is bad with the display of the Atrix 2. The clors are bright and vibrant, brightness levels are excellent.

The Camera is a wonderful snapper, don’t go on comparing it to the super fps of the One X, it captures 264×2448 px images at its max. The camera is fast and has good light capture, it also does full hd video at 1080p. The front camera is a VGA, but should suffice for Skype and Facebook DP images, there is no 3G video calling unfortunately.

Multimedia involves, excellent video playback on the qHD display this is beautifully played thanks to the juice in the processor. The Audio quality is excellent aswell, plug in your headphones to get a great mix of software enhancements. Overall the 3 segments of the Atrix 2 are impressive leaving only did-bits to desire.

Phone, Network and Data

The phone calling capability is robust, with a great earpiece and a receptive mic, there is also noise cancellation to better the overall experience. The network remained solid in our tests with little or no dropped calls, quite good.

Data browsing is fast and 3G connectivity was quite stable in our unstable 3G nation. No flickering between networks meant that we also saved a whole lot of juice and time while trying to access the internet or using connected apps. The online experience on the Atrix 2 is what Android was built for, according to us anyway. Its a pity that we haven’t seen such performance on any other device, the tweaks by Motorola really set the online capability of the Atrix 2 apart.

Moto Mix

Motorola also added a ton of features, including 10 free games from EA and a lot of connected apps that have now started to work in India (most of them anyway). In our opinion with a few limitations, the Moto Blur experience only stands behind the likes of TouchWiz and TimeScape.

Battery

This is our most loved aspect of the Atrix 2, we don’t know what Motorola has done, But seriously, companies should replicate it, license it, steal it or whatever it takes to get the battery performance from their Android devices. The Atrix 2 went on and on, with no special settings changes, we did not turn off the data, or location services or any other connected app.

Standby times were phenomenal, with the device staying connected , receiving notifications for upto 5 days. Talk time over 3G was an outstanding 6-7 hours with an hour increase with 2G mode.

Similar was the experience with 3G web browsing, ranging from 6-10 hours. Battery on the Atrix 2 is Moto Wow!

Conclusion

The Atrix 2 is priced right, comes with Android 2.3 , but will definitely get ICS, performance and battery life is phenomenal. Multimedia and gaming is good, with it being an excellent phone with solid networks and a brilliant battery life. Moto also packs in multiple games for the buyer to entice him/her. You can’t go wrong with this, except it does have a slightly washed out black level, limited connectivity to Motorola blur add ons, and well it has less clout value in the market. Hopefully some of those can be fixed with a software update.

Best Price : Rs. 21,500/- USD : 409.

We Rate It: 4.25/5

Videos

Images

April 3, 2012
Samsung Star 3 Duos Gets Unboxed and Reviewed on iGyaan (Video)

Another one of those duos phones, the Samsung Star 3 Duos is the next version of the Samsung Star Series and is a great add on to their existing lineup. Priced just in the Rs. 5000 price bracket the phone delivers quite a bunch of surprises.

Wifi, Dual sim, Facebook, Twitter, and even Sammy’s own Chat On messenger – the TouchWIz esque UI is a good add on as well. The phone feels great in the users hand is well built for a long lasting experience.

Good speakers and microphone make it a good phone aswell. The network seems capable, although the range of the wireless is weak according to us.

April 3, 2012
The New iPad goes through Benchmarks, iPad 3 vs iPad 2 vs Transformer Prime vs Galaxy Tab 10.1

During the launch of Apple’s third-gen iPad, the company made huge claims about the performance of the new A5x chip, claiming that the A5X processor with quad-core graphics provided up to 4x the graphics performance of NVIDIA’s Tegra 3 chip and 2x the graphics performance of the iPad 2?s A5 chip.

Benchmark data shows the iPad 2?s A5 chip bettering both the A5X and Tegra 3 with the A5X’s improved graphics being used mostly to power the new iPad’s high-resolution Retina display of 3.1 million pixels.

However when the Screen is in off mode and benchmarks are run, the results of the A5x significantly prove to outperform all remaining devices.

For CPU Tegra 3-powered ASUS Transformer Prime and Galaxy Tab 10.1 scored higher in GeekBench than both the iPads:

Tegra 3?s quad-core configuration blazes past the dual-core A5X, garnering GeekBench scores of 1540 and 750, respectively. Interestingly, the A5X’s average score fell a few points short of the iPad 2?s standard A5 chip, 753. Both the A5X and the A5 also fell shy of the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1?s Tegra 2, which received an overall score 905. The gains made by the Tegra 3 are easily chalked up to its two extra cores, but it is also boasts the highest clocking speed of the group at 1.6GHz, compared to the 1GHz clock of the A5X, A5 and Tegra 2.

– IGN

For graphics tests with GLBenchmark, iPad 2 scored higher than the third-gen iPad in both tests.

For the Egypt test, the iPad 2 (1024×768) produced 6,709 frames at a framerate of 59 frames-per-second, while the new iPad (2048×1536) ran 5,974 frames at 53 FPS and the Transformer Prime (1280×800) generated 5,955 at a rate of 52 FPS. The Galaxy Tab 10.1 (1280×800), on the other hand, produced only 2,465 frames at a surprisingly low 21 FPS.

-IGN

The results of the off-screen tests show the A5X producing 15,412 frames at a rate of 138 FPS compared to the iPad 2 that has 10,143 frames at 90 FPS.

April 1, 2012
LG’s flexible plastic e-paper display to launch in Europe next Month (PR)

LG has today made an announcement of a six-inch display that promises to “revolutionize the e-book market.” With a native resolution of 1024 x 768 px the display can be bent and squished at an angle of up to 40 degrees. The display is only 0.7 millimeters thick and weight only 14 gms.

When LG Display’s plastic EPD was put through repeated drop tests, from 1.5m above the ground or the average height of reading when standing, no damage resulted. When put through a break/scratch test involving hitting the display with a small urethane hammer, no scratches or breakage resulted.

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LG Display Begins Mass Production of World’s First Plastic E-Paper Display

With advancements in functionality and design, Plastic EPD to revolutionize E-Book market

Seoul, Korea (March 29, 2012) – LG Display [NYSE: LPL, KRX: 034220], a leading manufacturer of thin-film transistor liquid crystal display, announced today that it has started mass production of the world’s first plastic electronic paper display (EPD) for use in E-Books. The 6″ XGA (1024×768), e-ink, plastic EPD is expected to revolutionize the E-Book market with its advancements in functionality and design.

“With the world’s first plastic EPD, LG Display has once again proven its reputation for leadership and innovation with a product we believe will help greatly popularize the E-Book market,” said Mr. Sang Duck Yeo, Head of Operations for LG Display’s Mobile/OLED division. “Based on our success in mass-producing plastic EPD, we are excited as we look toward applying concepts from this experience to future developments like plastic OLED and flexible displays.”

Innovations in Functionality and Design
The world’s first plastic EPD from LG Display offers users a paper-like reading experience with a plastic substrate that is as slim as cell phone protection film, and a flexible design that allows bending at a range of 40 degrees from the center of the screen. Compared to glass EPD of the same size and resolution, LG Display’s plastic EPD realizes a super slim thickness of 0.7mm which is 1/3 slimmer than existing glass EPD; as well as a weight of 14g which is more than 1/2 lighter.

E-Book users have long expressed a desire for more durable EPD, since around 10% of them have damaged their product screens from accidentally dropping or hitting them. When LG Display’s plastic EPD was put through repeated drop tests, from 1.5m above the ground or the average height of reading when standing, no damage resulted. When put through a break/scratch test involving hitting the display with a small urethane hammer, no scratches or breakage resulted.

As EPD gets thinner, lighter, and more durable with the introduction of plastic EPD, E-Books will be able to offer certain unique benefits compared to smart devices and tablets, including reduced eye fatigue and more efficient electricity consumption in addition to lower prices.

A Manufacturing Breakthrough
LG Display developed a unique technique to utilize the high TFT process, typically employed in general LCD manufacturing and with temperatures exceeding 350 degrees, in the production of its plastic EPD. By overcoming the obstacles associated with applying the existing production process to heat susceptible plastic, LG Display achieved a breakthrough with the successful mass production of plastic EPD able to maintain strong durability in high temperatures.

Availability
The world’s first mass-produced plastic EPD from LG Display will first be supplied to ODM companies in China, followed by completed products to be released in Europe at the beginning of next month.

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March 30, 2012
BenQ launches Joybee GP2, Palm sized Projector with iPhone Dock (PR)
BenQ at a press conference in New Delhi, launched their new Joybee GP2 Palm size Projector. The projector has an all-in-one Apple iPhone/iPod-compatible dock, optional battery pack, power-efficient 3LED projection, 720p HD-ready short-throw projection, 200 ANSI lumen brightness, HDMI multimedia connectivity , multiple format support, SD card slot, USB Reader , File Transfer to 2GB onboard memory from computers and two 2W stereo speakers.

‘Delivering on our commitment of providing efficient projection solutions for India, this new power packed projector, GP2 has been specially designed to combine ease-of-use with optimal performance allowing users to create Big Picture experience even in smallest of spaces. People today are always on the move and GP2 is the perfect answer for the collaborative needs of professionals as well as individuals. Joybee GP2 is a product that can be used while you are off for a vacation, organizing a party at your home or even at your office boardroom presentations by connecting it to Apple iPads, iPhone and other tablets via HDMI. It is an all-in-one pocket device that can serve both business as well as personal entertainment purpose.”

–Rajeev Singh, Country Head & General Manager, BenQ India

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The GP2 can project for 30,000 hours without decrease in brightness. The projector has been launched and is available at a price of Rs 39,167 (MRP) across India.

New Delhi, March 28, 2012 – BenQ, World’s # 1 DLP projector brand today announced the launch of its second-generation Joybee GP2 in India for a big screen experience on the go.

A revolutionary mobile entertainer, the Joybee GP2 leads the category with unparalleled audiovisual multimedia experience on the go. These include an all-in-one Apple iPhone/iPod-compatible dock, optional battery pack, highly power-efficient 3LED projection technology, 720p HD-ready short-throw projection, 200 ANSI lumen brightness, superior multimedia connectivity (connectable to Apple iPads and other tablet computers via HDMI), multiple format support, SD card slot, USB Reader , File Transfer to 2GB onboard memory from computers and two 2W stereo speakers.

“‘Delivering on our commitment of providing efficient projection solutions for India, this new power packed projector, GP2 has been specially designed to combine ease-of-use with optimal performance allowing users to create Big Picture experience even in smallest of spaces. People today are always on the move and GP2 is the perfect answer for the collaborative needs of professionals as well as individuals. Joybee GP2 is a product that can be used while you are off for a vacation, organizing a party at your home or even at your office boardroom presentations by connecting it to Apple iPads, iPhone and other tablets via HDMI. It is an all-in-one pocket device that can serve both business as well as personal entertainment purpose. Said, Rajeev Singh, Country Head & General Manager, BenQ India.

Light and compact at a mere 565g, this palm-sized device features an all-in-one iPhone/iPod-compatible dock designed to put a spin to house parties, sleepovers, camping expeditions or even expeditions abroad. With a simple plug ‘n play, users can share videos, photos and games with their family and friends on a brilliant 160″ cinematic display or hit the beat via the music playback function effortlessly. The simultaneous charging capability ensures the fun will never stop. What’s more, BenQ has designed an optional battery pack to go with this nifty device, offering users three full hours of big picture when the battery is fully charged.

Everything about the GP2 is to provide you with a friendly user experience like no other. It is packed with multimedia connectivity applications to support just about any home entertainment and personal media devices and to process a variety of multimedia formats from videos, photos and music files to MS office and PDF documents. The USB Display feature allows users to connect their computers to the GP2 using a USB cable with no driver required, while the USB File Transfer function help users transfer their multimedia files to the 2GB onboard memory storage for light traveling.

The GP2 is built around a DLP chip along with an LED light source meant to last for the life of the projector. The GP2 can project for 30,000 hours without decrease in brightness when put in the Eco Mode. Its durable, filter-free DLP engine design makes it practically effortless to maintain.

The new BenQ Joybee GP2 is available at a price of Rs 39,167 (MRP) across India. For more information, please visit www.BenQ.co.in.
BenQ Corporation, a leading provider of networked digital lifestyle devices, is a multi-faceted company with strengths in product design, visual technology and mobile technology. BenQ offers unrivalled breadth and depth of products and integrated technologies across platforms through the brand promise of “Bringing Enjoyment and Quality to Life,” including digital projector, LCD monitors, laptop PCs, Netbooks, All-in-One PCs, LCD TVs, digital cameras, storage devices, eBook reader, mobile phones, storage media and human interface devices such as mice and keyboards.
The BenQ Group is currently comprised of 16 companies that operate independently while sharing resources and leveraging synergies among them. The BenQ Group companies include BenQ Corporation, AU Optronics Corporation (world’s top 3 manufacturers of large-size TFT-LCD panels), Qisda Corporation, Darfon Electronics Corporation, Daxon Technology Inc., Daxin Materials Corp., Forhouse Corp., Light House Tech, SiPix Imaging, Lextar Electronics Corp. BenQ Guru Software Co., BenQ Hospital, Darwin Precisions, Ltd, Raydium Semiconductor Corporation, Cando Corporation and Wellypower Co., Ltd.

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March 30, 2012
Kingmax launches 64GB SDXC ProMax series cards in India
Kingmax has launched their new line of SDXC, SD 3.0 standard, cards in India. These cards are capable of read speeds up to 55 MB/s and write speeds up to 30 MB/s. According to Kingmax the cards are built to perform under those tricky high speed situations, and built to last through them.

Features :
- High speed and capacity to satisfy demand for Full HD still images/recording
- CPRM support
- Built-in write protection switch to prevent accidental data loss
- Support ECC and wear leveling functions
- Exclusive patented PIP packaging technology used for waterproof and dustproof SDXC memory cards
- Support SDXC host devices; do not support SDHC and SD standard devices/card readers
- Comply to RoHS
The cards are available in capacities of 8GB -thru- 64GB , there is no information on Market Price.
March 30, 2012
Exclusive : HTC One X Coming to India 2nd April for Rs. 35,000

We are in an Interview with Mr, Lennard Hoornik in Singapore at the HTC One X Launch. We have confirmed news that the One X will be available in India starting Monday 2nd April 2012. The Price is expected to be about Rs. 35000/-.

Mr. Hoornik says that the products for markets like India need to be more durable and long lasting.

The materials and the design of the One X ensure that the product will last long in developing markets like India, The microphone and earpiece have been designed to resist water and dust.

He added that Indian languages play an important role in the Indian Android market and with ICS on their future devices, We can expect added language support.

Stay tuned for updates.

March 30, 2012