Search Results for “Galaxy Note Edge” – Page 18

Samsung to Introduce Smartphone With Curved Display in October

Samsung Electronics just launched the Galaxy Note 3 a while ago, the smartphone itself is not yet available in all the markets but the company is all set to introduce another smartphone with curved display in the month of October.

The company said that the new device will be introduced in October, however, some of the sources say that the device might be introduced by the end of this year. Samsung introduced the world to the curved display technology in the CES 2013:

[youtube id=”N3E7fUynrZU” width=”100%” height=”300px”]

The device showcased above is code named as as YOUM, the prototype’s screen is stretched to the outer edges of the device and was able to display notifications on the edge of the device.

We plan to introduce a smartphone with a curved display in South Korea in October,” says Samsung’s mobile business head of strategic marketing D.J. Lee

The curved displays are flexible and shatter proof, unlike the ones that are used in the current generation smartphones, we will have to see if Samsung will be able to bring these devices with a good pricing in the Indian markets. However, after the pricing of the Galaxy Note 3 it seems a bit impossible for Samsung to launch curved display phones that might also include the new ISOCELL camera sensors at an affordable price range.

September 25, 2013

Apple iPhone 5S, iPhone 5C Launched : Pre-Order Starting 13th

As expected, Apple has unveiled two new iPhones today, the iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C.

The widely-leaked phones speak to two different markets, with the more expensive 5S maintaining the same premium build, internal specs and price as the former iPhone 5, while the 5C enters the market as a so-called lower-cost variant.

First, the iPhone 5C. It will be available in green, yellow, blue, white and red. Apple claims that there are no seams or joints in the device — it is made with a single piece of “hard-coated” polycarbonate.

It has a 4-inch display with the same 1136×640 pixel resolution as the iPhone 5. It also has the same A6 chip and 1GB of RAM of the iPhone 5. There’s a new HD FaceTime camera on the front and an 8MP iSight camera on the back with BSI, IR filter and 5-element lens. Looks to be the same one as the iPhone 5, too.

It will also have full LTE connectivity and dual-band WiFi along with Bluetooth 4.0.

The company is touting the iPhone 5C as an introductory phone for many users, and the device will come with a variety of cases for $29 each.

The second phone on the docket today is the iPhone 5S.

The iPhone 5S has a 4-inch 1136×640 pixel IPS display, identical in size and resolution to the current iPhone 5. What’s different is tantamount to the typical evolution of an iPhone: a faster processor, improved camera, colour additions and, yes, a fingerprint scanner.

According to Apple, it’s the “most forward-thinking phone we’ve ever created.” It comes in a new gold colour, in addition to the existing white and slate.

Probably the most important improvement is the A7 chip, a 64-bit SoC that’s “the first ever of its kind in a smartphone.” It has over one billion transistors and a modern instruction set — this is truly a computer, just shrunk to a 102mm squared die size.

While apps will have to be re-engineered to support the new instruction sets, it opens up a number of possibilities for mobile computing (can’t wait to see what the A7X is capable of in the new iPad this fall).

To the layman, it means that the A7 CPU and GPU are twice as fast as the iPhone 5?s A6. The new GPU supports OpenGL 3.0, which is one of the newest programming frameworks for 3D games (which also came recently to Android 4.3).

There’s also something called the M7, a chip that works alongside the A7 to measure motion data, accelerometer, gyroscope and compass. It works with the newest generation of health and fitness apps such as Nike+ Move, to track all of your movement. This works instead of a Fitbit.

The iPhone 5S promises 10 hours of battery life from LTE browsing and 3G talk time, along with 40 hours of music playback and a staggering 250 hours of standby. Similar to last year’s model.

The new camera is also improved over the former model, with a wider f/2.2 aperture and bigger pixels despite the 8MP resolution. This lets in more light — a 15% larger active sensor area — which automatically makes better photos from the same lighting scenarios. There’s also a digital form of image stabilization, and a new burst mode at up to 10fps. The software analyzes multi-photo series and chooses the best one. This is similar to Best Shot from the HTC One and Galaxy S4. It also has dual flash.

The camera support 120fps slow motion (slo-mo) as well at 720p, and the built-in editor can speed up or slow down certain parts of the video for a great effect.

Perhaps the most important addition to the device is a digital fingerprint scanner. That ring around the mechanical home button indicates when it’s being used. Called Touch ID, “it reads your fingerprint at an entirely new level,” with 500ppi resolution and 360 degree readability.

The use cases are many, and Apple says Touch ID has been deeply integrated into iOS 7. It allows you to authenticate purchases using just a slight depression of the home button. There is a sapphire crystal lens that takes a photo of a user’s fingerprint and analyzes it for consistency.

In Apple tradition, Touch ID can be used by multiple people, and sensitive information is not stored on Apple’s servers at all. All data is encrypted, too.

Indian pricing has not been revealed yet but the US price points are the same as the iPhone 5 before it. Pre-order for the iPhone 5C will begin on the 13th while the iPhone 5S can be booked starting from the 20th.

[toggle title=”Press Release”]Apple Announces iPhone 5s-The Most Forward-Thinking Smartphone in the World

Apple® today announced iPhone® 5s, the most forward-thinking iPhone yet, featuring an all-new A7 chip, making iPhone 5s the world’s first smartphone with 64-bit desktop-class architecture for blazing fast performance in the palm of your hand. iPhone 5s redefines the best smartphone experience in the world with amazing new features all packed into a remarkable thin and light design, including an all-new 8 megapixel iSight® camera with True Tone flash and introducing Touch ID™, an innovative way to simply and securely unlock your phone with just the touch of a finger. iPhone 5s comes with iOS 7, the most significant iOS update since the original iPhone, engineered for 64-bit technology and featuring hundreds of great new features, including Control Center, Notification Center, improved Multitasking, AirDrop®, enhanced Photos, Safari®, Siri® and iTunes Radio?.

“iPhone 5s is the most forward-thinking smartphone in the world, delivering desktop class architecture in the palm of your hand”

“iPhone 5s is the most forward-thinking smartphone in the world, delivering desktop class architecture in the palm of your hand,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing. “iPhone 5s sets a new standard for smartphones, packed into its beautiful and refined design are breakthrough features that really matter to people, like Touch ID, a simple and secure way to unlock your phone with just a touch of your finger.”

The all-new A7 chip in iPhone 5s brings 64-bit desktop-class architecture to a smartphone for the first time. With up to twice the CPU and graphics performance, almost everything you do on iPhone 5s is faster and better than ever, from launching apps and editing photos to playing graphic-intensive games-all while delivering great battery life. Apple also engineered iOS 7 and all the built-in apps to maximize the performance of the A7 chip. iPhone 5s is the best mobile gaming device with access to hundreds of thousands of games from the App Store?, the A7 chip’s 64-bit architecture and support for OpenGL ES version 3.0. iPhone 5s delivers incredibly rich and complex visual effects, previously only possible on Macs, PCs and gaming consoles.

Every iPhone 5s includes the new M7 motion coprocessor that gathers data from the accelerometer, gyroscope and compass to offload work from the A7 for improved power efficiency. Developers can also access new CoreMotion APIs that take advantage of M7, so they can create even better fitness and activity apps that go well beyond what other mobile devices offer. The M7 motion coprocessor continuously measures your motion data, even when the device is asleep, and saves battery life for pedometer or other fitness apps that use the accelerometer all day.

iPhone 5s introduces Touch ID, an innovative way to simply and securely unlock your iPhone with just the touch of a finger. Built into the home button, Touch ID uses a laser cut sapphire crystal, together with the capacitive touch sensor, to take a high-resolution image of your fingerprint and intelligently analyze it to provide accurate readings from any angle. Setting up Touch ID to recognize your fingerprint is easy, and every time you use it, it gets better. The Touch ID sensor recognizes the touch of a finger so the sensor is only activated when needed, preserving battery life. All fingerprint information is encrypted and stored securely in the Secure Enclave inside the A7 chip on the iPhone 5s; it’s never stored on Apple servers or backed up to iCloud®. Touch ID can also be used as a secure way to approve purchases from the iTunes Store®, App Store or iBooks Store?.

iPhone 5s makes it even easier to take great photos with the world’s most popular camera. The all-new 8 megapixel iSight camera features a larger f/2.2 aperture and a new, larger sensor with 1.5? pixels for better sensitivity and low-light performance, resulting in better pictures. These improvements, along with the Apple-designed image signal processor in the A7 chip and the new Camera app in iOS 7, provide up to two-times faster auto-focus, faster photo capture, automatic image and video stabilization, and better dynamic range. iPhone 5s introduces the new True Tone flash-the world’s first for any camera-that variably adjusts color and intensity for over 1,000 combinations, so photos taken with a flash appear more natural. iPhone 5s also includes a new Burst Mode, Slo-Mo video with 120 fps, a new FaceTime® HD camera for better low-light performance and audio-only FaceTime calls with iOS 7.

iPhone 5s features a remarkable thin and light, precision-crafted design that customers around the world love, including an anodized aluminum body with diamond cut chamfered edges, a stunning 4-inch Retina® display and glass inlays. iPhone 5s is available in three gorgeous metallic finishes including gold, silver and space gray. To complement iPhone 5s, Apple designed premium leather cases in six rich colors-beige, black, blue, brown, yellow and (RED)-with soft, color-matched microfiber lining.

iPhone 5s makes it even easier to connect to high-speed networks with support for up to 13 LTE¹ wireless bands, more than any other smartphone in the world. With download speeds up to 100 Mbps², you can browse, download and stream content even faster. iPhone 5s includes dual-band 802.11 a/b/g/n Wi-Fi support for up to 150 Mbps² and Bluetooth 4.0. iPhone 5s delivers an amazing 10 hours of talk time on 3G networks, up to 10 hours of web browsing on Wi-Fi and LTE networks and up to 8 hours on 3G networks, and up to 10 hours of video playback and up to 40 hours of audio playback.³

iPhone 5s comes with iOS 7, the most significant iOS update since the original iPhone, engineered to support the A7 chip’s 64-bit architecture, the new iSight camera and Touch ID fingerprint sensor. iOS 7 features a stunning new user interface, completely redesigned with an elegant color palette, distinct, functional layers and subtle motion that make it feel more alive. iOS 7 has hundreds of great new features, including Control Center, Notification Center, improved Multitasking, AirDrop, enhanced Photos, Safari, Siri and introduces iTunes Radio, a free Internet radio service based on the music you listen to on iTunes®.?

iPhone 5s customers have access to the revolutionary App Store, which offers more than 900,000 apps to iPhone, iPad® and iPod touch® users in 155 countries around the world. More than 50 billion apps have been downloaded from the App Store to date, offering customers an incredible range of apps in 23 categories, including newspapers and magazines in Newsstand, games and entertainment, business, news, sports, health and fitness and travel.

Designed specifically for iOS, iPhoto®, iMovie®, Pages®, Numbers® and Keynote® are among the most popular apps in the App Store and are now available as free downloads with the purchase of iPhone 5s. iPhoto and iMovie enable you to do more than you ever thought possible with your photos and movies, and with Pages, Numbers and Keynote you can create, edit and share stunning documents, spreadsheets and presentations on your iPhone, iPad or iPod touch.

Pricing & Availability

iPhone 5s comes in gold, silver or space gray, and will be available in the US for a suggested retail price of $199 (US) for the 16GB model and $299 (US) for the 32GB model and $399 (US) for the 64GB model.? iPhone 5s will be available from the Apple Online Store (www.apple.com), Apple’s retail stores, and through AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, Verizon Wireless and select Apple Authorized Resellers. iPhone 5s cases will be available in beige, black, blue, brown, yellow and (RED) for a suggested retail price of $39 (US) through the Apple Online Store (www.apple.com), Apple’s retail stores and select Authorized Apple Resellers. iPhone 5s will be available in the US, Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, Puerto Rico, Singapore and the UK on Friday, September 20. A new iPhone 4S 8GB model will also be available for free.? iOS 7 will be available as a free software update starting on Wednesday, September 18 for iPhone 4 and later, iPad 2 and later, iPad mini and iPod touch (fifth generation). Some features may not be available on all products.[/toggle]

September 11, 2013

Rumour : 6″ Full-HD HTC One Max Set For September Launch

HTC is prepping a couple extensions to their popular One device. Leaked images of the HTC One Mini have arrived online a few times. The HTC One Mini should be launching within the next couple weeks and sports a 4.3-inch 720p LCD display, 1.4Ghz dual-core processor, 16GB Internal Memory, 1GB RAM, 4-megapixel “Ultrapixel” camera, run Android OS 4.2 Jelly Bean and many of the new features such as Beats Audio, Zoe Share, BoomSound.

In addition, HTC has long been rumoured to compete against rival manufacturers with a phablet. Mobile Geeks cited individuals who claim to have knowledge of the company’s plans.

HTC will reportedly debut a 6-inch version of its HTC One in September. Dubbed the HTC One Max, the Android handset could arrive at the same time as Samsung’s expected Galaxy Note 3 and several other near-tablet-sized phones from Sony and LG. In addition to the large displays, all of these are expected to use the same chip inside.

Rumoured specifications indicate that the HTC One Max will have a 6-inch 1080p Super LCD 3 display, 2 GB of memory, either 32 GB or 64 GB of internal storage and a 3200 mAh battery. A 2.3 GHz Snapdragon 800 chip will power the Max.

No rumoured price points of the HTC One Max have surfaced, yet.

[Via]

July 16, 2013

Hands-On With The Blackberry Q10 At India Launch

Blackberry today launched the first Blackberry 10 powered QWERTY device, the Blackberry Q10 (read here).

BlackBerry believes there is a niche for QWERTY-based smartphones in today’s mobile space with around 80 per cent of users wanting large-form touch-only devices like the iPhone 5, Galaxy S4, and HTC One – that explains the decision to launch the Z10 first. We wen’t hands-on with the device.

Blackberry Q10 Initial Impressions

The BlackBerry Q10 is the first phone to land running the BlackBerry 10.1 operating system update. As a result, the Q10 is a joy to use, mostly.

Jumping through menus and reverting back to the home screen is prompt and fuss free. Opening apps, however takes that fraction of a second longer than desired.

After looking at the Blackberry Q10 in images on the internet for quite some time, we had the impression that it would be a small device. Instead, the Blackberry Q10 feels great in the hand, with beveled edges all around the plastic back. There is a black steel edge around the entire device and a glass front above the keyboard.

The back comes with a gray tweed-over-black pattern, which Blackberry claims is unique to each Black Blackberry Q10. The white Blackberry Q10 has a glossier look and feel to it and it does not have the poly carbonate weave at the back.

Overall, it looks and feels elegant, refined and professional.

Moving on to the keyboard, one thing to note is that the once curved keyboard has now been straightened out and the metallic frets separating the rows of characters are now slightly raised for improved tactile feedback – in other words you should be able to feel where your thumbs are on the board more easily. The break in the keys is a nice clean look however and the overall size of the keyboard is similar to previous devices. Impressive.

The Blackberry Q10 has a 3.1-inch Super AMOLED touchscreen, albeit with a square 720 x 720 resolution rather than a widescreen aspect like a typical touchscreen phone. It’s a necessary trade-off to fit in the keyboard, but it does mean any video you watch is squashed and hard to view. The screen looks neat though, and the bright and bold Super AMOLED display does a good job of making everything pop.

The Q10 uses a removable 2,100 mAh pack that’s plenty large enough given the relatively compact screen. It is reported that BlackBerry has even taken advantage included some darker color schemes for BlackBerry 10 apps, to take advantage of the fact that AMOLED uses less power for dimmer parts of the display.

Also, we were really impressed with the Blackberry Q10’s browser. Pages load quickly over cellular or Wi-Fi means, and well laid out options and quick access to shortcuts make the Q10 browser is efficient and business like. The QWERTY keyboard makes inputting URL’s a breeze, with no pop-up digital display crowding out on-screen content. It also has an option to load flash content.

An impressive feature for business customers is that they can take advantage of BlackBerry’s new Balance feature, which made its debut with the Z10. With Balance, a user can blend both work and personal email streams into a single email stream. (Phones with BES advanced policies set require users to go to separate work and personal email inboxes.) Other apps are divided into separate work and personal containers.

To make Balance or these advanced policies work, users must be connected to a BES server, which in most cases means an enterprise buys the server to locate behind the firewall.

In conclusion, we’d like to say that for existing users, the Q10 is an obvious upgrade: it’s the best QWERTY smartphone available in the market today, but that may have more to do with the fact that very few manufacturers are interested in revisiting that segment. It is fast, snappy, and has that old-school Blackberry feel to it. However, we feel that the Blackberry Q10 is overpriced by at least Rs. 10,000, and the company will have to reconsider it over time.

Full review coming soon!

June 6, 2013

ARM unveils Mid Range Cortex-A12 CPU and Mali-T622 GPU (PR)

ARM has just announced a new Cortex-A12, which will replace the industry king the Cortex-A9, and will offer a 40% increase in performance.To increase power savings the A12 will initially be fabricated at 28nm instead of 40nm, and will be offered to manufacturers alongside a new Mali GPU (the Mali-T622) and video engine (Mali-V500) that promise further reduction on consumption and enhance the life of the battery.

The configuration of the chip will allow the Cortex-A12 chipset to be placed along with an A7 for example, to take over for tasks that require less processing power. The same system that was implemented in the “Octa-Core” version of the Galaxy S4. The Chipset will land with manufacturers by 2014 and should reach consumer hands almost instantly.

[toggle title=”Press Release”]ARM Targets 580 Million Mid-Range Mobile Devices with New Suite of IP

News Highlights:

· Faster time to market and less design risk with suite of IP including: ARM Cortex-A12 processor, Mali-T622 GPU, Mali-V500 video solution and POP IP technology;

· 580 million mid-range smartphones and tablets are forecast to be sold in 2015_[i];
· Cortex-A12 processor delivers 40 percent more performance than Cortex-A9 and brings premium features such as virtualization to the mid-range mobile device market; efficiency profile also makes it ideal for DTV and home networking;

· Cortex-A12 processor brings optimum performance and maximum efficiency of big.LITTLE processing to mid-range smartphones and tablets;

· Mali-T622 GPU offers an efficient and qualified OpenGL ES 3.0 solution and smallest Full Profile GPU Compute solution, putting even greater compute power into the hands of more mobile users;

· Mali-V500 video IP solution reduces system bandwidth and power, while enabling the protection of premium video content with TrustZone support.

Cambridge, UK and Taipei – 3 June 2013: Today at Computex, ARM announced an optimized IP solution designed to power the 580 million mid-range mobile devices expected over the next two years. The mid-range market is projected to exceed the number of premium smartphones and tablets beginning in 2015. Targeted at the mid-range market, this new suite of ARM IP is optimized for power, performance and die size. Used together, this suite of IP will provide consumers with premium features like virtualization, big.LITTLE processing and GPU compute at mid-range price points.

The suite extends the ARM® Cortex®-A processor and ARM Mali™-T GPU series with the Cortex-A12 processor and Mali-T622 GPU and introduces a new video IP product, the Mali-V500. With support from ARM POP™ technology and the ARM Development Studio 5 (DS-5™) toolchain, ARM partners can deliver smartphones and tablets with higher efficiency and reduced time to market. Partners will announce their plans in due course, but ARM expects this IP solution will be in mobile devices by mid-2014.

“Mobile users expect a range of devices at different price points and for a mid-range mobile experience to include some high end mobile features. With a billion smartphones predicted to ship in 2013 and tablets projected to out-ship notebook PCs, device-makers can now provide quality, high-performance mobile products with the features that matter the most, at a range of price points,” said Ian Drew, chief marketing officer and executive vice president, ARM. “The market is evolving at an amazing rate and there is now a choice of solutions for semiconductor companies and for mobile device-makers. Our suite of optimized IP expands the choice for the mid-range mobile market.”

Bringing Premium Features to the Mid-Range
The energy-saving technology known as ARM big.LITTLE™ processing is only just coming to high-end devices today, but now can be designed into mid-range smartphones, allowing users to do more with their devices. The Cortex-A12 processor offers ARM partners a 40 percent performance uplift in the same power envelope when compared to the successful Cortex-A9 processor. The Cortex-A12 processor builds on best-in-class efficiency as a standalone solution and additionally supports the innovative big.LITTLE™ processing technology with the Cortex-A7 processor. The Cortex-A12 introduces features found in premium smartphones and tablets to mid-range devices, including virtualization. Additional information for the Cortex-A12 processor can be found here.

Ready for the Next Graphics Standards
The Mali-T622 GPU, is OpenGL ES 3.0 conformant, supports the Renderscript and OpenCL™ APIs, and is the smallest full profile GPU Compute solution available for mobile devices. The Mali-T622 GPU brings a rich, visual experience to mid-range mobile devices with functionality only now becoming available in the highest-end premium smartphones and tablets. It does all of this while providing a 50 percent energy-efficiency improvement over first-generation Mali-T600 series products. A closer look at the Mali-T622 GPU can be found here.

High-Quality Video in Mid-range Mobile
The energy-efficient Mali-V500 video solution provides dedicated video processing and reduces system bandwidth requirements by more than 50 percent_[ii] compared to currently available solutions. The Mali-V500 is a multicore video solution, scaling from a single core capable of 1080p/60 encode and decode to multiple cores supporting ultra-high definition 4K at a blistering 120 frames per second. Additionally, the Mali-V500 video solution was architected with support for TrustZone® security technology enabling efficient, hardware-backed security for movie and TV content from download to display. More details on the Mali-V500 video solution are available here.

ARM Brings it all Together
ARM is best positioned to ensure its IP can be combined together for optimal performance with minimal energy consumption across the entire SoC, thus allowing every task to be run on the right processor. System advances include:
· ARM POP IP supports leading 28-nanometer foundry processes. ARM POP IP is the only implementation solution which is co-developed and co-optimized, offering the best design points and fastest time to market for the Cortex-A12 processor and Mali-T622 GPU. More information on ARM POP IP, featuring Artisan® physical IP, available for this optimized suite can be found here.
· ARM DS-5 toolchain to support development and optimization of software for systems based on the Cortex-A12 processor, Mali-T622 GPU, and CoreLink CCI-400 cache coherent interconnect. Complemented by the addition of the ARM Fast Models simulation library, the DS-5 toolchain enables early software development and system-wide performance and power optimization. Learn more about system software optimization here.
“The immense success of Cortex-A9 processor-based SoCs, and the demand for highest performance at best energy efficiency, makes the new Cortex-A12 processor the perfect choice for VIA and will help drive our strong commitment to provide leading-edge platforms for our partners and the ARM ecosystem. The premium feature set of the Cortex-A12 processor will enable new use cases previously only limited to high-end devices and will allow the mid-range mobile device segment to continue growing rapidly,” said Tzu-Mu Lin, senior vice president, VIA Technologies.

Tweet this story

About ARM

ARM designs the technology that is at the heart of advanced digital products, from wireless, networking and consumer entertainment solutions to imaging, automotive, security and storage devices. ARM’s comprehensive product offering includes RISC microprocessors, graphics processors, video engines, enabling software, cell libraries, embedded memories, high-speed connectivity products, peripherals and development tools. Combined with comprehensive design services, training, support and maintenance, and the company’s broad Partner community, they provide a total system solution that offers a fast, reliable path to market for leading electronics companies. Find out more about ARM by following these links:[/toggle]

[VIA]

June 3, 2013

Hands on with the new HTC One

HTC has recently launched the new HTC One, a flagship for the company with impressive specs and a wonderful new design. The HTC One comes with a unibody Aluminum design which is built into a seamless unit which is 4mm at the slimmest and 9mm at the thickest. Making it only roughly thicker than the iPhone 5.

What one really needs to appreciate is the new Blink feed on the gorgeous display. The new UI lays out social feeds, news updates, calendar info, friends data and more right on the home screen of the phone in this new super smooth flowing interface.

The HTC One has a Ultra pixel camera with a larger 4 MP sensor that will allow more light to be captured allowing for a beautiful print size of upto 8 x 12 inches directly from the camera of the phone. HTC has incorporated several camera enhancements in the HTC One , most interesting being ZOE that allows a user to capture few seconds of images and HD video at the same time allowing you to relive the experiences .

HTC also claims improved battery life with the HTC One lasting almost twice that on the iPhone 5, and 30% more compared to similar tests on a Galaxy S3 or a Note 2. The phone is 10% smaller compared to the HTC One X and slightly smaller in size when compared to the Butterfly.

(More Developing)

Quick Specs Check

Android 4.1.2 with HTC Sense 5
Processor: Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ 600, quad-core, 1.7GHz
Total storage: 32GB/64GBi, available capacity varies
RAM: 2GB DDR2
Battery: 2300 mAh embedded rechargeable Li-polymer battery

CAMERA

BSI sensor, Pixel size 2.0 ?m, Sensor size 1/3′
Dedicated HTC ImageChip™ 2
F2.0 aperture and 28 mm lens
Optical Image Stabilization (OIS)
Smart Flash: Five levels of flash automatically set by distance to subject
Front Camera: 88 wide angle lens with HDR capability
1080p Full HD video recording for both front and back cameras
HDR Video
Continuous shooting and VideoPic
Slow motion video recording with variable speed playback
HTC Zoe™ with highlights and HTC Zoe™ Share
Retouch with Object Removal, Always Smile, and Sequence Shot

CONNECTIVITY

3.5 mm stereo audio jack
NFC capable
Compliant with Bluetooth 4.0
Bluetooth 4.0 with aptX™ enabled
Wi-Fi®: IEEE 802.11 a/ac/b/g/n
DLNA® for wirelessly streaming media from the phone to a compatible TV or computer
Support consumer infrared remote control
micro-USB 2.0 (5-pin) port with mobile high-definition video link (MHL) for USB or HDMI connection (Special cable required for HDMI connection.)

HTC BOOMSOUND™

Dual frontal stereo speakers with built-in amplifiers
Studio-quality sound with Beats Audio™
HDR Microphone
Sense Voice

NETWORK

GSM/GPRS/EDGE (850/900/1800/1900 MHz)
WCDMA (1900/2100 (B2/B1) MHz)
CDMA (800/1900 BC0/BC1/BC10, Sprint)
LTE (1900 (B25, SPCS)
Frequencies will vary by region/operator

SENSORS

Gyro sensor
Accelerometer
Proximity sensor
Ambient light sensor

LOCATION

Internal GPS antenna + GLONASS
Digital compass

AC ADAPTER

Voltage range/frequency: 100 ~ 240 V AC, 50/60 Hz
DC output: 5 V and 1 A
SIZE: 137.4 x 68.2 x 9.3mm/4mm (max/min)
WEIGHT: 143 grams with battery
DISPLAY: 4.7 inch, Full HD 1080p, 468 PPI

February 21, 2013

Samsung Promises Software Update As Quickly As Possible For Exynos Vulnerability

Samsung has confirmed recent reports of a security vulnerability that affects Exynos-equipped handsets, such as the Galaxy S II, Galaxy S III and Galaxy Note II. In a statement issued to AndroidCentral, the company acknowledged the “potential security issue” relating to the Exynos processor and promises to release a software patch, however a release timeframe has yet to be announced.

[quote]Samsung is aware of the potential security issue related to the Exynos processor and plans to provide a software update to address it as quickly as possible. The issue may arise only when a malicious application is operated on the affected devices; however, this does not affect most devices operating credible and authenticated applications. Samsung will continue to closely monitor the situation until the software fix has been made available to all affected mobile devices.[/quote]

The flaw, discovered by developers on the XDA Developers forum, left certain Exynos-powered devices vulnerable to malicious apps that could steal personal data, wipe data, and even brick handsets. It affected a number of Samsung’s own devices — including the hugely popular Samsung Galaxy S III, and the Samsung Galaxy Note II — plus some third-party handsets as well.

One of the developers at XDA forum, named Chainfire has already released an app based on the kernel exploit. “ExynosAbuse,” the newly released 1-click APK, uses the exploit in question to root a device with just a single click of a button.

On the flip side, alephzain pointed out that RAM dump, kernel code injection and other possible harms could be possible via app installation from the Play Store. Although there are many ways to inflict harm, Samsung has just provided yet another easy way to exploit, making the security hole more dangerous and exposing the phone to malicious apps

We will be looking out for more news on Samsung’s fix for its top Galaxy handsets – stay with us.

December 20, 2012

LG Google Nexus 4, Samsung Nexus 10 and 32GB Nexus 7 Official Now!

Google today announced the Google Nexus 4 Smartphone, the Google Nexus 10 Tablet and the 32 GB version of the Google Nexus 7 tablet.

The Google Nexus 4, the newest smartphone in the Nexus line-up from Google, was announced today for availability starting next month in select markets.

[quote]“LG is proud and excited to play this role in helping build the latest Nexus smart-phone,” said Dr. Jong-seok Park, President and CEO of LG Electronics Mobile Com-munications Company. “Users will be delighted by the perfectly balanced combination of form and function with the latest generation of Android.”[/quote]

The specs of the Google Nexus 4 include a 4.7-inch True HD IPS Plus display (1,280 x 768), an 8 megapixel rear camera, Gorilla Glass 2, a Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro processor, 2GB of RAM and the latest rendition of Google Now. Turn-by-turn navigation via Google Maps is included, as are 3D Maps, Street View and Indoor Maps. The Nexus 4 will be sold unlocked, supporting some 200 carriers that play by the GSM / HSPA+ rules. It’ll be made available in both 8GB and 16GB versions starting November 13 in the US, UK, Canada, Germany, France, Spain and Australia, with pricing set for $299 (8GB) / $349 (16GB).

[quote]“This is the first time we collaborated with LG to build a Nexus device,” said Andy Ru-bin, Senior Vice President of Mobile and Digital Content at Google. “They brought an extraordinary amount of talent to the project, and the result is a feature-packed device that feels great in your hand, and blazingly fast under the hood.”[/quote]

[toggle_box title=”Press Release” width=”Width of toggle box”]

LG AND GOOGLE ANNOUNCE NEXUS 4

Sleek, New Smartphone Combines LG’s Best-in-Class Hardware with the Best of Google

SEOUL, Oct. 30, 2012 – Designed collaboratively by LG and Google, Nexus 4, the newest smartphone in the Nexus line-up from Google, was announced today for avail-ability starting next month in select markets. With a sophisticated hardware design from LG, your favorite Google Apps, and the latest version of Android™, Nexus 4 puts the best of Google in the palm of your hand.

“LG is proud and excited to play this role in helping build the latest Nexus smart-phone,” said Dr. Jong-seok Park, President and CEO of LG Electronics Mobile Com-munications Company. “Users will be delighted by the perfectly balanced combination of form and function with the latest generation of Android.”

“This is the first time we collaborated with LG to build a Nexus device,” said Andy Ru-bin, Senior Vice President of Mobile and Digital Content at Google. “They brought an extraordinary amount of talent to the project, and the result is a feature-packed device that feels great in your hand, and blazingly fast under the hood.”

Capture and share your world
Nexus 4 comes with a high-performance 8MP camera and takes stunning Photo Sphere images, letting you capture every detail of the world around you. Up, down and all around you, it’s like no camera you’ve ever seen; with Nexus 4, you can snap pictures in every direction that come together into incredible, immersive Photo Spheres that put you right inside the scene. Plus, photos upload themselves with Instant Upload so you’ll never lose a shot.

All of this comes to life with stunning clarity and crisp, natural color on the vibrant 1280-by-768 4.7-inch True HD IPS Plus display supported by Zerogap Touch technol-ogy. Gently curved glass edges allow your finger to slide smoothly on and off the 320ppi screen, while cutting edge display technology means you feel like you’re touch-ing every pixel, protected by scratch resistant Corning? Gorilla? Glass 2.

Built for speed
Nexus 4 comes with a cutting-edge Qualcomm Snapdragon™ S4 Pro processor, so you’ve got speed and power to spare. Zip around the web, experience rich 3D graphics and gameplay, and effortlessly switch between multiple apps without ever missing a beat. With 2GB of RAM and the fastest version of Android ever, Nexus 4 is the snappi-est Nexus smartphone yet.

Information at your fingertips
Nexus 4 comes with the latest Google apps, putting the best of Google in the palm of your hand. The latest version of Google Now is built-in, which keeps you even more organized – get reminders about upcoming flights, restaurant reservations, hotel confir-mations and even nearby photo opportunities – when and where you need them.

Get to the places you care about quickly and easily with Google Maps™ for Android. With turn-by-turn GPS navigation, live traffic info, and integrated driving, walking and public transit directions, getting from A to B has never been easier. 3D Maps and rich satellite imagery give you a more realistic sense of what’s around you while features like Street View and Indoor Maps make sure you always know what’s in front of you.

Nexus 4 is sold unlocked and is GSM/HSPA+ compatible so it will operate on more than 200 network providers worldwide. Just pop in a supported SIM card and be up and running in no time. It will be available to purchase in both an 8GB version and a 16GB version on Google Play™ starting November 13 in the US, UK, Canada, Germany, France, Spain and Australia. Offline availability in Europe, Central/South Americas, Asia, CIS and the Middle East will begin from the end of November.

[/toggle_box]

Also, Google released the 32GB version of the Nexus 7 tablet, signalling an end to the 8GB version. The 16GB Google Nexus 7 has now taken center stage in Google’s Play Store, with $199 netting you a slate that’s currently boasting a “now shipping” status. Those willing to fork out $249 can get a 32GB model (also listed as “In Stock”), while $299 provides access to a GSM-enabled 32GB model that’ll hop onto cellular networks — unfortunately, that one’s listed as “coming soon.”

And last but not least, out comes the iPad rival from Google’s stable, the Google Nexus 10. The new tablet, built in collaboration with Samsung, has one big bragging point — the highest resolution display of any tablet on the market — a 2560 x 1600, 300ppi, 10-inch touchscreen. Google promises about 9 hours of continuous video playback and about 500 hours of standby time. Despite being a Nexus device, the new tablet picks up on the design language of the Galaxy Tab 10.1 and Galaxy Note 10.1. It features a pair of front-facing stereo speakers on either side of the display (when it’s held in a landscape orientation) plus an 8-megapixel rear camera and a 1.9-megapixel front camera for video chats. Under the hood, there’s a dual-core processor, 2GB of RAM and built-in NFC. It also gets a built-in micro-HDMI port.

Like the Nexus 4, the Google Nexus 10 will ship with Android 4.2 Jelly Bean. One new 4.2 feature Nexus 10 users may enjoy is the ability to have multiple user profiles on a single device. The Nexus 10 will ship on Nov. 13 at a price of $400 for 16GB of storage and $500 for 32GB.

October 30, 2012

Everything you need to know about Android 4.1 Jelly Bean

Google has officially taken the curtain down from what is the next big mobile OS for the company. Android 4.1 Jelly Bean brings to Android what ICS missed out on. The biggest change according to Google is something they like to call “project butter” which now allows the the whole interface to run at 60fps. While the difference in speed is a few milliseconds, you will notice the difference when a Jelly Bean device is placed next to a ICS device.

The home screen has been tweaked, adding features like dynamically resizing widgets,that resize and move unwanted apps and icons out of the way. The camera app, which was already a highlight of ICS, has gotten even better in 4.1. Now, the gallery is slickly integrated, allowing you to quickly pull up the photo you just took with a swipe to the left. Something like what you would see in the Windows Phone Camera app.

Deleting images is as simple as swiping a pic off the screen. The unique undo button allows you to recover a photo you might have accidentally deleted. Google Android Jelly Bean 4.1 brings something that most smartphone users have asked for in the past year, voice to text without data. The language model in Jelly Bean adapts over time, and the keyboard even guesses what the next word will be before you’ve started typing it. With improved text-to-speech capabilities, voice typing on Android is even better; it works even when you don’t have a data connection, so you can type with your voice everywhere you go.

Jelly Bean also bring advanced Accessibility to the mix, With Jelly Bean, blind users can use ‘Gesture Mode’ to reliably navigate the UI using touch and swipe gestures in combination with speech output. Jelly Bean also adds support for accessibility plugins to enable external Braille input and output devices via USB and Bluetooth.

Taking note from the Galaxy S3 the new Jelly Bean OS for Android brings Android Beam to every smartphone running it, with just a simple tap, in addition to sharing contacts, web pages, YouTube videos, directions, and apps. Just touch two NFC-enabled Android devices back-to-back, then tap to beam whatever’s on the screen to your friend. Instantly pair your Android phone or tablet to Bluetooth devices like headsets or speakers that support the Simple Secure Pairing standard by just tapping them together – no more syncing or searching required.

Android 4.1 Jelly Bean also Improves Google Search on the phone OS, it has a new look-and-feel, and has faster and more natural Voice Search.Predictive input lets you select your search criteria, before you even ask. The new Knowledge Graph is used to show you search results in a richer way. It’s easier to quickly get answers and explore and browse search results.

With JB 4.1 and the new “Google Now” tells you today’s weather before you start your day, how much traffic to expect before you leave for work, when the next train will arrive as you’re standing on the platform, or your favorite team’s score while they’re playing. The Knowledge database build around your likes and wants and build your phone to become more and more personal over time.

June 28, 2012

NVIDIA Launches GeForce GTX 680 and 600M GPUs on Next-Generation Kepler Architecture (PR)

NVIDIA has launched several cards based on their new GPUs which are made on the next-gen Kepler Architecture. The new GPU’s are supposedly less power hungry by upto 28% and emit less heat, therefore running cooler.

The NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 680 GPU is designed to work in desktops and the GeForce 600M GPUs are designed specifically for ultrabooks. Kepler is based on 28-nanometer (nm) process technology and succeeds the 40-nm NVIDIA Fermi architecture, which was first introduced into the market in March 2010.

Compared with the closest competitive product, the GeForce GTX 680 GPU is more than 300 percent faster in DirectX 11 tessellation performanceand up to 43 percent faster in cutting-edge games such as Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, yet consumes 28 percent less power. It also provides twice the performance per watt of the GeForce GTX 580, the flagship Fermi-based processor that it replaces.

The GeForce GTX 640m is designed to run alongside the next gen Intel Ultrabook processors to allow for thinner designs and faster performance, claims Nvidia. Read on the full press release below.

In India, the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680 GPU is now available from card suppliers, including ASUS, Gainward, Galaxy, MSI, Palit, POV, Sparkle and Zotac. Ultrabooks and notebooks based on the GeForce 600M family of GPUs: Acer, Asus, Dell, HP, Lenovo, LG, Samsung, Sony and Toshiba.

[toggle title_open=”Press Release” title_closed=”Press Release” hide=”yes” border=”yes” style=”default” excerpt_length=”0″ read_more_text=”Read More” read_less_text=”Read Less” include_excerpt_html=”no”]

NVIDIA Launches First GeForce GPUs Based on Next-Generation

Kepler Architecture

GeForce GTX 680for PC Gamers is Fastest, Most Efficient GPU Ever Built;
GeForce GT640M for Notebooks Puts the “Ultra” in Ultrabooks

MUMBAI, India. — March 22, 2012 — NVIDIA today launched the first GPUs based on its next-generation Kepler™ graphics architecture, which deliver dramatic gaming performance and exceptional levels of power efficiency.

The result of some 1.8 million man-hours of work over five years, the Kepler architecture’s first offerings bring unprecedented technical capabilities to both gaming desktops and Ultrabooks.

For desktop gaming, the NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 680 GPU provides a faster, smoother and richer experience. For notebooks, the new lineup of GeForce 600M GPUs puts the “ultra” in Ultrabooks, enabling smaller, more powerful designs than were previously possible. Both are available immediately.

“The Kepler architecture stands as NVIDIA’s greatest technical achievement to date,” said Brian Kelleher, senior vice president of GPU engineering at NVIDIA. “It brings enormous performance and exceptional efficiency. Gamers will love the GTX680’s performance, as well as the fact that it doesn’t require loud fans or exotic power supplies. Ultrabook users will love the GT600M family for its performance and power efficiency.”

Kepler is based on 28-nanometer (nm) process technology and succeeds the 40-nm NVIDIA Fermi architecture, which was first introduced into the market in March 2010.

GeForce GTX680: A Marriage of Speed and Extreme Efficiency

The GeForce GTX 680 GPU brings impressive performance and extreme efficiency to the desktop gaming market, delivering a quiet, smooth, extremely fast experience.

Compared with the closest competitive product, the GeForce GTX 680 GPU is more than 300 percent faster in DirectX 11 tessellation performance⁽¹⁾ and up to 43 percent faster in cutting-edge games such as Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim⁽²⁾, yet consumes 28 percent less power⁽³⁾. It also provides twice the performance per watt of the GeForce GTX 580, the flagship Fermi-based processor that it replaces.

Setting the standard for future enthusiast-class GPUs, the GeForce GTX 680 is built on an array of new technologies, including:

A new streaming multiprocessor block, known as SMX, that delivers twice the performance per watt of previous-generation products

Special board components, including acoustic dampeners, high-efficiency heat pipes and custom fins, that create a quiet gaming experience

NVIDIA GPU Boost technology, which dynamically adjusts GPU speeds to maximize gaming performance

New FXAA and TXAA antialiasing and Adaptive VSync technologies to enrich visual quality without compromising gaming performance

Support for up to four separate displays– three of them in 3D –off a single card for a massive 3D gaming experience

Manufactured on TSMC’s new 28-nm process, with support for PCI-E Gen 3 and DX11.1

Kelt Reeves, president of Falcon Northwest, a leading producer of high-end gaming systems, said: “The GTX 680 lays down what should be whiplash-inducing speed at the sound of a whisper. Even at full throttle, it doesn’t heat up. In the immortal words of Obi-Wan describing a lightsaber, it’s ‘an elegant weapon for a more civilized age.’”

Mark Rein, vice president of Epic Games, creators of the award-winning Unreal Engine and billion-dollar “Gears of War” franchise, said: “The GTX 680 is amazing and completely redefines what an enthusiast-class GPU is. We have already shown outstanding success with the GTX 680, recently presenting our real-time Samaritan demonstration running on it along with a special preview of Unreal Engine 4 for select developers.”

GeForce 600M GPU Family: Putting the “Ultra” In Ultrabooks

The NVIDIA GeForce 600M family of GPUs, when paired with the latest processor technology from Intel, enables Ultrabook and notebook PC designs that are thin, light and fast. Technological advances that set them apart from the competition include:

NVIDIA Optimus™ technology enables extra-long battery life by automatically switching the GPU on and off so it runs only when needed

NVIDIA Verde™ notebook drivers provide frequent performance improvements and rock-solid stability

NVIDIA PhysX® engine support brings games to life with realistic physics

Optional NVIDIA 3D Vision™ technology automatically converts more than 650 titles into immersive 3D

Optional NVIDIA 3DTV Play™ software connects 3D Vision-based notebooks to 3D TVs

NVIDIA SLI® technology links two NVIDIA GTX GPUs up to double gaming performance

“The Acer Aspire Timeline Ultra M3 brings a superior level of performance to the Ultrabook category,” said Sumit Agnihotry, vice president of product marketing at Acer America. “With a GeForce GPU onboard, our thin and light Ultrabook does everything our customers want it to do, with no compromises.”

Rene Haas, general manager of notebook products at NVIDIA, said: “Customers are about to see notebook manufacturers unveil a host of Ultrabooks that are truly worthy of the ‘ultra’ moniker. The more efficient and powerful GeForce 600M GPUs will raise performance from the Ultrabook segment all the way up to gaming notebooks. And they will be the most popular discrete GPUs used with Intel’s upcoming Ivy Bridge processor.”

India Availability

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680 GPU is now available from the world’s leading add-in card suppliers, including ASUS, Gainward, Galaxy, MSI, Palit, POV, Sparkle and Zotac.

The following manufacturers will be shipping Ultrabooks and notebooks based on the GeForce 600M family of GPUs: Acer, Asus, Dell, HP, Lenovo, LG, Samsung, Sony and Toshiba.

[/toggle]

March 23, 2012

Amazon sells over 4 Million Kindles this Season

The numbers are in, Amazon has sold over 4 Million Amazon Kindles this Holiday season including global shipments and including shipments to countries ilk India and China. The company also noted that its #1 and #4 best-selling eBooks released this year were published by independent authors through its Kindle Direct Publishing platform.

We are grateful to our customers worldwide for making this the best holiday ever for Kindle, And in a huge milestone for independent publishing, we’d also like to congratulate Darcie Chan, the author of ‘The Mill River Recluse,’ and Chris Culver, the author of ‘The Abbey,’ for writing two of the best-selling Kindle books of the year.”

-Amazon.com CEO Jeff Bezos

The Kindle Fire was the most popular device followed by the Kindle Touch and the Kindle, The company report states that E-Book gifting also went up 175% from Last Year. Read the extensively exhausting Press Release below for the full numbers

[toggle title_open=”Collapse” title_closed=”2011 IS THE BEST HOLIDAY EVER FOR KINDLE” hide=”yes” border=”yes” style=”default” excerpt_length=”0″ read_more_text=”Read More” read_less_text=”Read Less” include_excerpt_html=”no”]

2011 IS THE BEST HOLIDAY EVER FOR KINDLE

Amazon customers purchased millions of Kindle Fires and millions of Kindle e-readers

#1 and #4 best-selling Kindle books released in 2011 published independently by authors using Kindle Direct Publishing

Businesses selling on Amazon have record-breaking holiday sales

SEATTLE, Dec. 29, 2011 – (NASDAQ: AMZN) – Amazon.com, Inc. today announced that 2011 was the best holiday ever for the Kindle family as customers purchased millions of Kindle Fires and millions of Kindle e-readers. Authors also continue to benefit from the success of Kindle — the #1 and #4 best-selling Kindle books released in 2011 were both published independently by their authors using Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP).

“We are grateful to our customers worldwide for making this the best holiday ever for Kindle,” said Jeff Bezos, Amazon.com founder and CEO. “And in a huge milestone for independent publishing, we’d also like to congratulate Darcie Chan, the author of ‘The Mill River Recluse,’ and Chris Culver, the author of ‘The Abbey,’ for writing two of the best-selling Kindle books of the year.”

More Kindle holiday facts:

· Throughout December, customers purchased well over 1 million Kindle devices per week.

· The new Kindle family held the top three spots on the Amazon.com best seller charts – #1: Kindle Fire, #2: Kindle Touch, #3: Kindle.

· Kindle Fire is the #1 best-selling, most gifted, and most wished for product across the millions of items available on Amazon.com since its introduction 13 weeks ago.

· Kindle is also the best-selling product on Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.de, Amazon.fr, Amazon.es and Amazon.it this holiday season.

· Gifting of Kindle books was up 175 percent between this Black Friday and Christmas Day compared to the same period in 2010.

· Christmas Day was the biggest day ever for Kindle book downloads.

· Kindle Fire is the best-selling product on Amazon.com’s mobile website and across all of Amazon.com’s mobile applications.

Additional Kindle Direct Publishing successes include:

· December’s #1 best-selling Kindle Direct Publishing book “Wife by Wednesday” was also the #5 overall best-selling Kindle book in December and has appeared on both the USA Today and Wall Street Journal best seller lists. Author Catherine Bybee was formerly an emergency room registered nurse, and has now left her job to focus on writing full-time.

In 2011, KDP and CreateSpace author CJ Lyons reached #2 on the Amazon best seller list, #2 on the New York Times best seller list, and #4 on the USA Today best seller list. As a former pediatric ER doctor, CJ has lived the life she writes about in her cutting edge suspense novels, and she quit her job in medicine after 17 years to pursue her dream of becoming a full-time novelist. Her latest work includes “Face to Face” and “Hot Water.”

Businesses Selling on Amazon

2011 was also a record-breaking holiday season for businesses that sell on Amazon. Third-party sellers experienced record holiday growth: the number of sellers who exceeded $5,000 in sales during the holiday season increased 44 percent year-over-year. For the year, businesses on Amazon sold hundreds of millions of units worth billions of dollars worldwide.

Scharf Industries, an office supplies and electronics provider, increased its sales on Amazon by over 500 percent this holiday season compared with last holiday season.

“We greatly value the cooperation that we have developed with Amazon,” said Andrew D. Scharf, CMO of Scharf Industries. “They have provided us with the tools necessary to grow our business in a rapid and efficient manner.”

Ken Reiss, the owner of Reiss Innovations, LLC, started with one Amazon Webstore, selling five to 10 mouse pads for the year. Six years later he has a successful eCommerce business, selling through multiple Amazon Webstores. Just this year alone, Reiss saw a 21 percent increase in sales compared with the holiday season last year. He has also increased the number of product listings by 50 percent over 2010 and recently extended his business to Canada.

According to Reiss, one of the most beneficial aspects of his relationship with Amazon is that “It allows me to scale in efficiency. I can devote my time to building vendor relations and growing my inventory, rather than worrying about logistical aspects, such as shipping products.” Reiss currently stores 90 percent of his inventory in Amazon’s warehouses, up from 75 percent last year.

Other seller successes include:

· Amazon’s third-party sellers sold enough cameras for every fan at the next 10 Super Bowls to snap their own shots of the winning touchdown.

· Amazon’s third-party sellers sold enough toys in 2011 to give a toy to every resident of Chicago. In fact, they sold as many Lalaloopsy Dolls as there are lights on the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree in New York City.

· Debra Keyes, CEO of The Internet Department Store, which sells costumes for both adults and children, began utilizing Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) – the Amazon service that stores, packs and ships orders for third-party sellers – as soon as it launched. By January 2011, she had 1,300 products listed in FBA. That number has now grown to 7,800 products by November 2011. During that same time period, the company’s sales increased by 34 percent.

Holiday Fun Facts

Shipping:

The last One-Day Prime order that was delivered in time for Christmas was placed on Dec. 22 at 11:59 p.m. PST and shipped to Ballwin, Mo. The item was “The Cook’s Herb Garden,” a book by Jeff Cox and Marie-Pierre Moine.

The last Local Express Delivery order that was delivered in time for Christmas went to Seattle, Wash. It was a Sony Rechargeable Battery Pack that was ordered at 2:35 p.m. PST on Christmas Eve and delivered at 6:15 p.m. PST that same evening.

Earlier this year, an Amazon customer called with an urgent request for large volume of a single book, which they needed at the airport the next day before they boarded a flight. The books were special gifts and no other retailer had them available in such short notice. Even though the cutoff time had passed for all traditional delivery methods, Amazon was able to arrange a delivery to the customer’s hotel just prior to their departure for the airport.

Customer Purchases (Amazon.com only; holiday timeframe-specific):

· Amazon customers purchased enough copies of Walter Isaacson’s “Steve Jobs” book to create a stack taller than Mt. Everest.

· The cumulative weight of the Bowflex 552 Adjustable Dumbbells purchased by Amazon customers would outweigh more than 70 adult elephants.

· If you unfolded and stacked each pair of jeans purchased by Amazon customers this holiday, the height would be 2,500 times taller than the Statue of Liberty.

· Amazon customers purchased enough sweaters to outfit each of Santa’s reindeer during Christmas Eve deliveries for the next 14,000 years.

· Amazon customers purchased enough copies of Just Dance 3 to give 15 copies to each person who participated in setting the world record for simultaneous dancing.

· Amazon customers purchased enough HeatMax HotHands Handwarmers to give a pair to each resident of Iceland.

· Amazon customers purchased enough Rory’s Story Cubes to give a cube to each person watching the New Year’s Eve ball drop live at Times Square.

Holiday Best Sellers (Amazon.com only; based on units ordered):

Electronics: Kindle Fire; Kindle Touch; and Kindle

Toys: Rory’s Story Cubes; Qwirkle Board Game; and Perplexus Maze Game

· Video Games: Just Dance 3; Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3; and Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

Sports & Outdoors: Zumba Fitness Total Body Transformation DVD Set; Emergency Fire Starter; and Flexible Flyer Snowball Maker

Home & Kitchen: Cuisinart 5-in-1 Griddler; Fred M-Cups Measuring Matroyshkas; and Pure Komachi 2 Series Hollow-Ground Santoku Knife

Books: “Steve Jobs” by Walter Isaacson; “Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Cabin Fever” by Jeff Kinney; and “11/22/63” by Stephen King

Kindle Books: “The Hunger Games” by Suzanne Collins; “Catching Fire” by Suzanne Collins; and “The Litigators” by John Grisham

CD: “Christmas” by Michael Bublé; “21” by Adele; and “Duets II” by Tony Bennett

Amazon MP3: “100 Classic Christmas Songs” by Various Artists; “Mylo Xyloto” by Coldplay; and “A Very She & Him Christmas” by She & Him

DVD: “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2”; “Bridesmaids”; and “The Help”

Amazon Instant Video: “Super 8”; “The Help”; and “Crazy, Stupid, Love”

Watches: Timex 1440 Sports Digital Resin Strap Watch; LEGO Kids’ Star Wars Darth Vader Mini-Figure Alarm Clock; and XOXO Rhinestone Accent Gold-Tone Bracelet Watch

Jewelry: 10k White Gold Round Diamond Stud Earrings; Sterling Silver Amethyst Butterfly Pendant; and White Peacock and Pink Freshwater Cultured Pearl Button 3 Pair Stud Earrings Set

Clothing: Levi’s 501 Jean; Levi’s 505 Straight Fit Jean; and Levi’s 550 Relaxed Fit Jean

Shoes: UGG Australia Classic Tall Boots; Crocs Classic Clog; and BEARPAW Emma Short Boot

Beauty: Wonderstruck by Taylor Swift Eau de Parfum Spray; Olay Pro-X Advanced Cleansing System; and NARS Orgasm Blush

Health & Personal Care: Philips Norelco SensoTouch Electric Shaver; Philips Norelco Shaving System; and Philips Sonicare Essence Power Toothbrush

Tools & Home Improvement: Streamlight Nano Light Miniature Keychain LED Flashlight; Smith’s PP1 Pocket Pal Multifunction Sharpener; and Black & Decker All-In-One SureGrip Laser Level

Automotive: Battery Tender Junior 12V Battery Charger; Wagan 12-Volt Heated Seat Cushion; and Mystic Industries Reindeer Vehicle Costume

Baby: Baby Einstein Take Along Tunes; Vulli Sophie the Giraffe Teether; and Cloud B Twilight Turtle Constellation Night Light

· AmazonWireless: Motorola DROID RAZR 4G Android Phone (Verizon Wireless); Samsung Galaxy S II Epic Touch 4G Android Phone (Sprint); and Samsung Galaxy S II 4G Android Phone (AT&T)

Amazon Appstore for Android: Angry Birds (Ad-Free); TETRIS; and Pandora Internet Radio

[/toggle]

December 30, 2011

HTC Sensation XE with Beats Audio Review

The HTC Sensation XE has been a low baller in India, especially because it was launched soon after the Sensation, added only minor improvements that made major differences. Here is our review.

Build Quality

The Sensation XE, just like is predecessor, is built in a unibody fashion, with a sold structure and aluminum back panel with rubber edges. The front of the device has an outward curved gorilla glass which is shatter and scratch resistant. The HTC Sensation XE is superbly built and will last a lifetime by designers who took everything into perspective from the aesthetics to the functionality and the intelligent placement of the buttons – which by the way are extremely tactile and responsive.

Specs

There is no questioning the latest hardware in the Sensation XE, the latest dual core processors a very high resolution screen, functional 8 megapixel camera with full HD video at 1080p not to forget the added Beats by Dre audio.

DESIGN

The Sensation XE is still the Range Rover that the original sensation was, you can infact say this is a higher end model, especially because it does not add any changes to aesthetics except the obvious beats branding and the red accents.

PHONE AND MESSAGING

Just like the original Sensation we got superior audio in and out during calls. The network performance was excellent and sustained throughout our test period. 3G and WCDMA performance excelled in the Sensation XE. The XE also continues the standard that the Sensation set as being the best in phone networks on our list of devices. Over all impressive.

The touchscreen on the device is same as the original Sensation, allowing 4 point interaction, what that means is that you can have 4 simultaneous inputs. What it also means is that you can use the onboard keyboard as fast as you can move your thumbs. This allows for really fast messaging and the keyboard has nice and large keys considering that the Sense keyboard is one of the most coveted Android keyboards yet.

Beats Audio + Multimedia

The Sensation XE not only features a Beats audio processing engine but also has one of the best included earphones/headphones with a smartphone. The iBeats come with a uniquely distinctive carry pouch and also have online microphone and remote for audio control. While you can’t compare the quality of audio to high end standalone headphones, these uniquely stand out far above normally included ones. Offering good, deep bass and excellent vocals. The device also instantly detects the iBeats, once plugged in, and activates the beats audio profile.

The screen is a brilliant qHD Screen with a native resolution of 540 x 960 px, large enough to put any phone to shame, not considering of course the Galaxy Note and likes. The screen is also no Amoled or Super-Amoled display so don’t expect it to be as vivid. But watching movies, reading text and playing games is great on this device. The Beats audio improves the overall multimedia experience a lot, making movies, music and just plain old videos sound better.

The camera is an 8MP snapper the same from the Sensation, it captures stunning pictures and great full HD video. The camera app comes with a lot of features in the standard HTC style, which allows for a lot of tweaks to be made by the photographer at hand. On the front is a lowly VGA camera which offers decent VOIP capabilities and no video calling.

BATTERY LIFE

Values	2G	3G	WiFi
Talk Time	unto 9.5 Hours	5 hours	–
Standby time	48 Hours	30 hours	7 Days
Web Browsing	8-9 hours	5 hours	5 Hours
Video Streaming	4.5 Hours	3 Hours	4 Hours
Music Streaming	15 hours	10 hours	14 hours

In certain cases we saw improvement in the battery management on the Sensation XE compared to that of the HTC Sensation.

Conclusion

Although not a major improvement over the Sensation, in terms of looks and performance, the little add-on definitely make a big difference. The processor bump to 1.5GHz improves overall device performance and does not affect battery life. The beats audio improves the overall experience of the device and the earphone make an excellent add on. The device is robust, well made and is built to impress, a definite up above the competition.

[xrr rating=4.5/5 label=”We Rate The Sensation : ” imageset=shiny_yellow_star display_as=fraction_stars]

Price Rs. 32,599/-

Videos

Review Video

December 23, 2011

The HTC Sensation Full Review

After the sudden downpour of benchmark gods in the division of mobility, HTC also let out its dual core beast amidst the ever growing population. The HTC Sensation is the first dual core phone from HTC and also the highest resolution device from the company. Lets see if it actually fares decently well with the competition in the market.

BUILD QUALITY

If you want benchmarks for build quality when it comes to mobile devices, HTC is the global standard. HTC has always managed to surprise us with their quality and build standards. Solid unibody construction along with a tough front facing gorilla glass display which is not only impact resistant, but is also very scratch resistant. The back of the device has rubber accents in strategic locations making it an easy to handle and operate phone. The device is well build and you can see that as soon as you pick up the device in your hand.

With no shaking and rattling this device is robust and built to last. The upward edged glass is functional and is easy on the fingers as you slide off – off the screen. The designers of the HTC Sensation took everything into perspective from the aesthetics to the functionality and the intelligent placement of the buttons – which by the way are extremely tactile and responsive.

HARDWARE

There is no questioning the latest hardware in the Sensation, the latest dual core processors a very high resolution screen, functional 8 megapixel camera with full HD video at 1080p.