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HTC One Max Leaks With US Carrier Verizon’s Branding

A fresh batch of leaked photos depict the still unannounced HTC One Max yet again, and this time it comes with US telecom carrier Verizon’s logo.

The two photographs, which appeared on Android Central’s forum, show the super-sized Max with a Verizon logo on the front. The person who posted them, Jeremy Kessous, claims that his friend works for Verizon and therefore has had access to the new phone.

The Verizon employee who took the photos also says that the oversized smartphone has a fingerprint scanner and a removable back cover to get to the battery and other goodies. It’s been rumored that the HTC One Max would have a fingerprint sensor, and we keep hearing more confirmations that it indeed does have one.

Rumored features include a Snapdragon 800 processor, Android 4.3 Jelly Bean, a large 3,300mAh battery, 2GB of RAM and a big 5.9-inch screen with a full 1080p resolution.

Of course, all availability and pricing details of the One Max are still up in the air, so we’ll have to wait for HTC to finally reveal the device to the world, all in its own sweet time.

We’re hoping HTC’s supply chain issues have been sorted by now as the company hasn’t had a great 2013 so far.

October 7, 2013
Google Forms An Alliance With Top Companies For Affordable Internet Worldwide

Google has kick-started an initiative to bring the Internet to third world countries with the help of its peers in the technology sector as well as a handful of American, British and other organizations.

Called the Alliance for Affordable Internet, group aims to steer countries toward policy and regulatory change that will encourage better wireless and wired Internet access, CNet reported.

Google says that A4AI will work with countries around the world to influence policy changes that will make Internet more affordable. How affordable? Google says that ISPs in developing countries charge up to 30 percent of a person’s monthly income for basic broadband services. With effective policy change, Google says it can bring down costs to the UN Broadband Commission’s recommended target of 5 percent of a person’s monthly income.

“A4AI has a specific goal in mind: to reach the UN Broadband Commission target of entry-level broadband access priced at less than 5 percent of monthly income worldwide,” Jennifer Haroon, principal executive of Google’s access program, wrote in a blog post.

Microsoft, Yahoo, Facebook, Cisco and Intel are just a few of the more than 30 members drawn from technology firms, public sector groups and foundations around the world.

If A4AI achieves its goal, the two-thirds of the world that is not currently online will be able to connect to the Internet for a reasonable price.

October 7, 2013
LG Flexible Smartphone To Be Vertically Concave, Will Be Introduced This Month

LG is expected to introduce a smartphone with a curved display later this month, then mass produce and release it sometime in November. The name of the LG curved smartphone is currently pegged as being called the ‘G Flex.’

As for a launch day, Reuters sources who are ‘familiar with the matter’ believe that LG plans to launch this curved phablet in November – will most likely hit Korea first, then roll out to other countries. There’s no indication on the OS, but it’s safe that LG will continue to use Google’s Android OS. The report also notes that unlike rival Samsung, LG will come to market with a plastic OLED (POLED) display that is curved from top to bottom, not side to side.

LG also issued a press release and declared that the will introduce the world’s ‘First Flexible OLED Panel for Smartphones. LG notes that the ‘OLED panel is built on plastic substrates instead of glass’ and that they ‘made the panel bendable and unbreakable.’

In addition, as expected, the display is ‘vertically concave from top to bottom with a radius of 700mm, opening up a world of design innovations in the smartphone market. And only 0.44mm thin, LG Display’s flexible OLED panel is the world’s slimmest among existing mobile device panels… it is also the world’s lightest, weighing a mere 7.2g even with a 6-inch screen, the largest among current smartphone OLED displays.’

October 7, 2013
Samsung Refreshes NX300 With NX300M, Will Have 180 Degree Screen Flexibility

Samsung’s recently available NX300 mirrorless camera was one of the most anticipated camera because of its 3D capabilities. The camera did not do pretty good in the Indian market, but that does not stops Samsung to refresh the camera.

Samsung has refreshed the NX300 camera with the new NX300M which brings something more useful to the user, the new camera has a 3.31 inch AMOLED touch display that can now flip to 180 degrees instead of just 90 which was on the NX300.

However, the other features remain the same, like the 20.3 megapixel APS-C sensor, 100-25,600 ISO range, 8.6 fps continuous shooting, WiFi with SmartShare and the NFC capabilities. The NX300M will be available in Korea with an 18-55 mm kit lens for 890,000 won approximately 839 USD. We are not sure when and if Samsung will launch the refreshed product for the Indian market.

October 7, 2013
Samsung tries to prove it made fiction a reality with new Gear Ads

Samsung’s new Galaxy Gear ads point towards a very futile yet nostalgic part of our history, taking in key characters from our lives. Dick Tracy, Power Rangers, Flintstones, Jetsons, Knight Rider, Star Trek, Inspector Gadget and even the Predator, all believed in a wearable tech that could let you communicate. Most importantly a watch, that would allow communication and control of surroundings.

The Two ads may spark up a nostalgic feeling for those who have lived in the era, but will not change the fact that the The Galaxy Gear watch is nothing more than a mere control device. They are worth a “watch” anyway.

[youtube id=”B3qeJKax2CU” width=”100%” height=”300px”]

October 7, 2013
Optima Launches Smart OPS 80 and OPS 80Q Android Phablets

Sunstrike Telecom has unveiled two new phablets for the Indian market under its very own Optima Smart series, the OPS 80 and OPS 80Q. The Smart OPS-80Q is priced at 11899 INR and Smart OPS 80 for 6999 INR.

The Optima Smart OPS 80 features a 5.3 inch WVGA display with a resolution of 480 x 800 pixels, and runs on Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich. The device is powered by a 1 GHz Cortex A9 chipset and a 512 MB of RAM. The camera on the device is a 8 MP rear along with a 1.3 MP front facing camera. The OPS 80 sports a 4 GB of inbuilt storage with an option to expand upto 32 GB via Micro SD.

Commenting on the launch, Capt. Chanpreet Singh, Managing Director, Sunstrike Telecom Pvt. Ltd. said, “We are proud to announce our entry in the premium smartphone market in India and we are sure that our innovation based products will charm their way into the hearts of young Indians. Our innovation based devices have wonderful features that are most sought after today and are certain to please the Indian consumer.”

Whereas, the OPS 80Q features a 5 inch qHD display with a resolution of 540 x 960 pixels. The phablet measures measures 142 x72.2 x 9.9mm, runs Android 4.2 Jelly Bean and is powered by a 1.2 GHz quad-core processor. OPS 80Q has a 8 MP rear camera with flash and a 2 MP front facing camera. The device includes 4 GB of inbuilt storage which can be expanded up to 32 GB via microSD card and this phablet comes up with a 1800 mAh battery.

October 6, 2013
iOS 7 Battery Drain Fixes for iPods, iPhone 4, 4s, iPhone 5, 5c and iPhone 5s

If you recently upgraded your iPhone 4, 4s and or 5 to iOS 7 then you are probably suffering from massive battery loss on your iOS device also known as post-upgrade-drain-syndrome. However we have been able to locate a few causes that could be the culprits behind the whole iOS 7 battery life drain issue.

Check out the ten quick fixes below and the ultimate fix at the bottom.

Quick Fixes

1. Brightness and Display Timeout : It’s an age old problem, and probably the easiest to fix quickly : ensure that the brightness is not turned up too high and the timeout of the display is at 1 minute. This will save the battery considerably as the biggest consumer of iOS 7 battery is the Display.

2. Location Services : In iOS 7 a lot of apps ask for location use consent and users mostly agree without realizing that the use of GPS causes sufferable battery drain, quickly fix theis by going to Settings > Privacy > Location Services and turning off apps you don’t want using this service. For example Google Chrome may use location to find localized results but you may not need that, so turn it off. Also at the bottom of the Location services menu,you will find a System Services panel, which can be further tweaked to turn off options like Location Based iAds etc. that you don’t need.

3. iPhone 5/ 5s Parallax : The fun new animation which causes the wallpaper in the background to move, making the whole plane of the iPhone look 3 dimensional also affects the battery life drastically. Head over to Settings > General > Accessibility and set “Reduce Motion” to On. This will disable parallax and increase iOS 7 battery life.

4. Background App Refresh: If your apps are getting updated and refreshed while your phone is resting, its not really resting. While your phone is on standby , its actually getting drained pinging the servers for data refreshes. turning this off will improve battery life considerably. Find it in Settings > General “Background App Refresh” you can turn it off completely or turn off apps you can refresh manually.

5. Push Mail / Fetch Mail : Push Mail and Fetch mail also check the servers for new email frequently, using up data and battery life, setting this to manual will help the battery life of your iPhone / iPod. However some would rather have this feature on. Find the settings in Settings > Mail,Contacts, Calendars > Fetch New Data.

6. Incompatible Apps : Some apps that have not been optimized for iOS 7 may cause battery drain issues, one such daily use app is “Whatsapp”. In our testing we saw that battery drained 200 times faster if Whatsapp is actively running on the iOS 7 device. If not using this app is not an option, then double tapping the home button and sliding the app away to fully quit the app may be a good option to save battery life.

7. iPhone 5/ 5s Airdrop: On the iPhone 5, 5c and 5s a new feature called Airdrop allows you to share files between other iOS devices that support this feature including Mac OS devices. However if you don’t use this feature frequently turning this off from the control center will save additional battery. Swipe the control center up and tap on AirDrop , then tap “Off” and you are all set.

8. Spotlight Settings : With iOS 7, you can now search for anything on your iPhone using Spotlight. All you have to do is pull down on your Home screen and you can search pretty much every part of your phone, from notes to music, to mail. This also takes a mjor hit on the Battery, simply reduce the search options to the ones you do use : go to Settings > General > Spotlight search and set it to use only things you use.

9. Siri: Unless you use Siri frequently, turn her/him off. If you do use Siri, then turning off “Raise to Speak” in Settings > General > Siri will keep the proximity sensor from being used all the time.

10. Bluetooth and Wifi: Although the essence of any Smartphone, if you are not a frequent user of Bluetooth and Wifi, then turning them off will help improve iOS 7 battery life.

Although the above fixes will help a lot with the battery life drain, turning off only those features you can live without is recommended. If all else fails try the major Fix below.

Major Fix:

Set Up as a new device:

In most cases when we update any hardware from one generation of OS to the next, it is recommended that a fresh install be done. Similarly when you upgraded your iOS 6 device to iOS7, a lot of profiles and cached files, tmp file and even some preferences get carried over to iOS 7 which may not essentially be compatible with the new OS and may cause the processor on the iPhone/ iPod to get overworked.

Take a backup of all your images, sync up your contact to iCloud or any similar service, and bid adieu to the old messages. Put your iPhone / iPod in DFU mode , and restore the device via iTunes, once the new iOS is downloaded and flashed on your iPhone / iPod, set it up as a new device and do not restore from backup.

Simply sync back your images, contacts, music and apps and you are good to go. You will see a drastic change in the battery life of your iDevices, as this method will make your device fresh and delete all the garbage that was not required.

October 6, 2013
iGyaan Gift Guide : Headphones and Earphones

The festival season is just around the corner and you want to spend some money on your loved ones. Here we bring you the recommended list of Headphones and Earphones that you can gift to your near and dear ones.

1- Sennheiser MX 170

The Sennheiser MX 170 are in the ear type headphones, with a ear bud design on them. These are budget friednly headphones and are priced at 459 INR. The device has a 22 Hz – 20000 Hz Headphone Frequency Response, 32 ohm Headphone Impedance, 109 dB/mW Headphone Sensitivity at 1 kHz and the device has a standard 3.5 mm jack. The cable length is 1.2 meters.

2- Skullcandy S2DUDZ-003:

The Skullcandy S2DUDZ-003 headphones are in ear style headphones and have a bud design. The device gives stereo sound and enhanced bass, it has a neodymium magnet. It features a standard 3.5 mm jack and a 1.3 meter long cable.

3- JBL Tempo:

JBL Tempo are in ear type headphones available in the market for a price of 1040 INR and are in ear canal-phone type. The device has a 20 Hz – 20000 Hz Headphone Frequency Response and a Gold Plated Connector 3.5 mm jack.

4- Sony MDR-XB30EX Extra-Bass

The Sony MDR-XB30EX Extra-Bass are in ear canalphone designed headphones. The device features a 100mW of max power input with a neodymium maget, 4 Hz – 24000 Hz headphone frequency response with 16 ohm headphone impedance and a standard 3.5 mm jack.

5-Sennheiser CX 180

The Sennheiser CX 180 are in ear canalphone designed headphones that are priced at 1313 INR. The device features 20 Hz- 20000 Hz frequency responce, 16 ohm headphone impedance, 110dB/mW headphone sensitivity at 1 kHz. The device has a 3.5 mm jack along with a 1.2 meter cable.

6- JBL Tempo J04W :

The JBL Tempo J04W are over the ear/head designed headphones available at a price of 1995 INR. The device features 20 Hz – 20000 Hz frequency response, 32 ohm impedance, a 30 mW of max power input.

7- Skullcandy S6HSDZ-072 Hesh 2.0

The Skullcandy S6HSDZ-072 Hesh 2.0 are over the ear circumaural headphones and are priced at 3274 INR. The device features an over the ear design with, 35 ohm impedance and 105 dB/mW sensitivity at 1 kHz.

8- Sennheiser CX 680 Sports

The Sennheiser CX 680 Sports are in ear canalphone designed headphones, priced at 4349 INR. The device features 18 Hz – 20000 Hz frequency, 16 ohm impedance and a standard 3.5 mm jack. These headphones undoubtedly gives a sporty look.

9- Sennheiser HD 280 PRO Over-the-ear :

The Sennheiser HD 280 PRO are over the ear/head Circumaural headphones priced at 7189 INR. The device features 64 Ohm, 102 db/mw, 8 – 25000 Hz and a maximum power of 500 mW.

10- Sony MDR-XB900/C E:

The Sony MDR-XB900/C E are on the ear type headphones, priced at 7791 INR. The device sports a 50 mm driver units, neodymium magnet, 3000 mW maximum power input, Supra-aural closed headphone, frequency response of 3 Hz- 28000 Hz.

11- Sony MDR-XB920

You can check out our own review for these over the ear headphones.

[youtube id=”R-6dBdZN70w” width=”100%” height=”300px”]

12- Sennheiser PXC 310:

The Sennheiser PxC 310 are over the ear closed headphones priced at 19799 INR. The device features a neodymium magnet, 15 Hz – 22000 Hz headphones frequency, 590 ohm impedance and a 107 dB/mW sensitivity at 1kHz.

October 6, 2013
iGyaan Gift Guide : Headphones and Earphones

The festival season is just around the corner and you want to spend some money on your loved ones. Here we bring you the recommended list of Headphones and Earphones that you can gift to your near and dear ones.

1- Sennheiser MX 170

The Sennheiser MX 170 are in the ear type headphones, with a ear bud design on them. These are budget friednly headphones and are priced at 459 INR. The device has a 22 Hz – 20000 Hz Headphone Frequency Response, 32 ohm Headphone Impedance, 109 dB/mW Headphone Sensitivity at 1 kHz and the device has a standard 3.5 mm jack. The cable length is 1.2 meters.

2- Skullcandy S2DUDZ-003:

The Skullcandy S2DUDZ-003 headphones are in ear style headphones and have a bud design. The device gives stereo sound and enhanced bass, it has a neodymium magnet. It features a standard 3.5 mm jack and a 1.3 meter long cable.

3- JBL Tempo:

JBL Tempo are in ear type headphones available in the market for a price of 1040 INR and are in ear canal-phone type. The device has a 20 Hz – 20000 Hz Headphone Frequency Response and a Gold Plated Connector 3.5 mm jack.

4- Sony MDR-XB30EX Extra-Bass

The Sony MDR-XB30EX Extra-Bass are in ear canalphone designed headphones. The device features a 100mW of max power input with a neodymium maget, 4 Hz – 24000 Hz headphone frequency response with 16 ohm headphone impedance and a standard 3.5 mm jack.

5-Sennheiser CX 180

The Sennheiser CX 180 are in ear canalphone designed headphones that are priced at 1313 INR. The device features 20 Hz- 20000 Hz frequency responce, 16 ohm headphone impedance, 110dB/mW headphone sensitivity at 1 kHz. The device has a 3.5 mm jack along with a 1.2 meter cable.

6- JBL Tempo J04W :

The JBL Tempo J04W are over the ear/head designed headphones available at a price of 1995 INR. The device features 20 Hz – 20000 Hz frequency response, 32 ohm impedance, a 30 mW of max power input.

7- Skullcandy S6HSDZ-072 Hesh 2.0

The Skullcandy S6HSDZ-072 Hesh 2.0 are over the ear circumaural headphones and are priced at 3274 INR. The device features an over the ear design with, 35 ohm impedance and 105 dB/mW sensitivity at 1 kHz.

8- Sennheiser CX 680 Sports

The Sennheiser CX 680 Sports are in ear canalphone designed headphones, priced at 4349 INR. The device features 18 Hz – 20000 Hz frequency, 16 ohm impedance and a standard 3.5 mm jack. These headphones undoubtedly gives a sporty look.

9- Sennheiser HD 280 PRO Over-the-ear :

The Sennheiser HD 280 PRO are over the ear/head Circumaural headphones priced at 7189 INR. The device features 64 Ohm, 102 db/mw, 8 – 25000 Hz and a maximum power of 500 mW.

10- Sony MDR-XB900/C E:

The Sony MDR-XB900/C E are on the ear type headphones, priced at 7791 INR. The device sports a 50 mm driver units, neodymium magnet, 3000 mW maximum power input, Supra-aural closed headphone, frequency response of 3 Hz- 28000 Hz.

11- Sony MDR-XB920

You can check out our own review for these over the ear headphones.

[youtube id=”R-6dBdZN70w” width=”100%” height=”300px”]

12- Sennheiser PXC 310:

The Sennheiser PxC 310 are over the ear closed headphones priced at 19799 INR. The device features a neodymium magnet, 15 Hz – 22000 Hz headphones frequency, 590 ohm impedance and a 107 dB/mW sensitivity at 1kHz.

October 6, 2013
iGyaan Gift Guide : Headphones and Earphones

The festival season is just around the corner and you want to spend some money on your loved ones. Here we bring you the recommended list of Headphones and Earphones that you can gift to your near and dear ones.

1- Sennheiser MX 170

The Sennheiser MX 170 are in the ear type headphones, with a ear bud design on them. These are budget friednly headphones and are priced at 459 INR. The device has a 22 Hz – 20000 Hz Headphone Frequency Response, 32 ohm Headphone Impedance, 109 dB/mW Headphone Sensitivity at 1 kHz and the device has a standard 3.5 mm jack. The cable length is 1.2 meters.

2- Skullcandy S2DUDZ-003:

The Skullcandy S2DUDZ-003 headphones are in ear style headphones and have a bud design. The device gives stereo sound and enhanced bass, it has a neodymium magnet. It features a standard 3.5 mm jack and a 1.3 meter long cable.

3- JBL Tempo:

JBL Tempo are in ear type headphones available in the market for a price of 1040 INR and are in ear canal-phone type. The device has a 20 Hz – 20000 Hz Headphone Frequency Response and a Gold Plated Connector 3.5 mm jack.

4- Sony MDR-XB30EX Extra-Bass

The Sony MDR-XB30EX Extra-Bass are in ear canalphone designed headphones. The device features a 100mW of max power input with a neodymium maget, 4 Hz – 24000 Hz headphone frequency response with 16 ohm headphone impedance and a standard 3.5 mm jack.

5-Sennheiser CX 180

The Sennheiser CX 180 are in ear canalphone designed headphones that are priced at 1313 INR. The device features 20 Hz- 20000 Hz frequency responce, 16 ohm headphone impedance, 110dB/mW headphone sensitivity at 1 kHz. The device has a 3.5 mm jack along with a 1.2 meter cable.

6- JBL Tempo J04W :

The JBL Tempo J04W are over the ear/head designed headphones available at a price of 1995 INR. The device features 20 Hz – 20000 Hz frequency response, 32 ohm impedance, a 30 mW of max power input.

7- Skullcandy S6HSDZ-072 Hesh 2.0

The Skullcandy S6HSDZ-072 Hesh 2.0 are over the ear circumaural headphones and are priced at 3274 INR. The device features an over the ear design with, 35 ohm impedance and 105 dB/mW sensitivity at 1 kHz.

8- Sennheiser CX 680 Sports

The Sennheiser CX 680 Sports are in ear canalphone designed headphones, priced at 4349 INR. The device features 18 Hz – 20000 Hz frequency, 16 ohm impedance and a standard 3.5 mm jack. These headphones undoubtedly gives a sporty look.

9- Sennheiser HD 280 PRO Over-the-ear :

The Sennheiser HD 280 PRO are over the ear/head Circumaural headphones priced at 7189 INR. The device features 64 Ohm, 102 db/mw, 8 – 25000 Hz and a maximum power of 500 mW.

10- Sony MDR-XB900/C E:

The Sony MDR-XB900/C E are on the ear type headphones, priced at 7791 INR. The device sports a 50 mm driver units, neodymium magnet, 3000 mW maximum power input, Supra-aural closed headphone, frequency response of 3 Hz- 28000 Hz.

11- Sony MDR-XB920

You can check out our own review for these over the ear headphones.

[youtube id=”R-6dBdZN70w” width=”100%” height=”300px”]

12- Sennheiser PXC 310:

The Sennheiser PxC 310 are over the ear closed headphones priced at 19799 INR. The device features a neodymium magnet, 15 Hz – 22000 Hz headphones frequency, 590 ohm impedance and a 107 dB/mW sensitivity at 1kHz.

October 6, 2013
Nexus 5 full details emerge in Leaked LG Service Manual

In a twist of events Google has not been able to keep the upcoming device under wraps. The first images of the Nexus 5 came thanks to Google’s own Android Kit Kat unveil video, post which a barrage of images started to pop over on to the inter webs.

Now a leaked LG service manual with the model number LG D821 has emerged which gives of the complete low down on the new Nexus 5 and its design. According to the leaked resource the handset will have 4.95-inch display, a 2.3 GHz Snapdragon 800 processor, 2GB of RAM, inductive charging and NFC. This particular model’s LTE bands (1, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 20) are optimized for Asia and Europe.

On the optics front there’s an eight-megapixel camera with OIS on back and a 1.3-megapixel front camera for selfies. Storage is a steady 32GB and is powered by a 2300 mAh juice pack. The LCD IPS display has a 1080p resolution and screen tethering is supported via a Slimport (just like the Nexus 4).

The Hardware will have the usual array of sensors, but one unique one which measures pressure, there is also a notification light and a microSim Slot.

LG D821

[VIA]

October 6, 2013
Skype Enables Chat Sync Across Devices

If you’ve been using Skype for awhile, you know that there are quite few changes that need to be made to the application before its on par feature-wise with a lot of the other messaging applications on the market such as WhatsApp and WeChat. Thankfully, it looks like some much needed changes will be coming in the future.

One particularly noteworthy feature specific to mobile users is the promise that chat synchronization across devices will be improved. This is something that anyone who used Skype on multiple devices will have noticed can be a problem. Send a large number of text based messages from the desktop version of Skype and when you launch Skype on another computer or a phone, you’ll currently find that there can be quite a delay as message history is downloaded. While no details are provided, Mark Gillet says:

“We are working to synchronize chat message status across all of your devices so you will know the current status of all of your chats on every device you use to interact with Skype. This capability will be rolling out across clients over the next few months”.

Skype is also in the process of moving from their original peer-to-peer (P2P) foundation powered by the desktops of yore to one that is cloud based. The benefit of the Skype Cloud is improved battery life for devices and better connections, at least according to the Skype team.

October 5, 2013
Rockstar Releasing GTA 5 Online Mode Patches For Xbox 360 And PS3

Gamers eager to play the new multiplayer version which went live on Tuesday have been met with frozen loading screens, connection problems and repeated error messages.

Rockstar, the makers of the popular franchise, said the entire team was “working around the clock” to fix the problems as they arise and urged players to remain patient.

A title update for Grand Theft Auto Online is now live on PlayStation 3, with a patch for Xbox 360 slated to launch later today, Rockstar announced in a press statement.

Rockstar says that a PSN server issue was the culprit in PS3 users’ GTA Online woes, as it “was limiting the amount of possible concurrent users,” therefore “preventing most players from accessing GTA Online altogether and as of this morning, that problem was resolved.”

The developer noted that players are having issues completing the introductory tutorial mission on both platforms as well, and that it is “working on unblocking this for everyone as soon as possible,” as well as improving GTA Online server stability.

GTA Online lets up to 16 players form teams and enter the world of Los Santos to carry out crimes, take part in races, complete missions and play sports.

The company had apologised pre-emptively to fans on the eve of the launch in anticipation of problems following record sales of GTA 5 when it was released last month.

The game made £500 million in its first 24 hours on sale and £1 billion after three days – believed to be the fastest entertainment product to reach the milestone.

October 5, 2013
Samsung Launches Dual SIM Version of Galaxy Note 3

Samsung’s latest flagship device Galaxy Note 3 is already available in the Indian markets for the consumers, as we all know Samsung launched an Exynos version in the Indian market whereas in other markets the company launched Snapdragon 800 versions of the very same device.

Samsung has now come up with a Dual SIM variant of its flagship, but its only said to be available in China as this is what happened with Note 2 last year. The company’s Chinese website shows up the device with a Dual SIM variant. The model number is referred as N9002. The device comes up with Dual Micro SIM card slots along with a Micro SD card slot.

This N9002 is powered by a 2.3 GHz quad-core Snapdragon 800 chipset. Rest all features are pretty much the same except the 4K recording, it comes up with a 5.7-inch resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels pixels Full HD Super AMOLED display. The device and runs on Android 4.3, 13MP rear camera with LED and 4K video recording along with a 2 MP front-facing camera. Like the Indian version this device also packs 3 GB of RAM, 32 GB of internal memory with a microSD slot up which supports upto 64 GB.

[via]

October 5, 2013
Microsoft : Xbox One Kinect Won’t Fetch Data For Advertisments

The development team at Microsoft says that it currently has no plans to use the motion tracking and identification powers of the Kinect sensor to power personalized advertising that intrudes on a user.

Albert Penello, one of leaders preparing the launch of the next-gen console, says that his team has more pressing concerns linked to the upcoming launch.

In a previous interview, Penello suggested that because the Xbox One’s Kinect can read facial expressions and determine levels of engagement, Microsoft could provide this data to advertisers.

“This is the point that seems to draw some controversy,” Penello said.

However, “nobody is working on that” kind of technology at the moment, Penello said. “We have a lot more interesting and pressing things to dedicate time towards. It was an interview done speculatively, and I’m not aware (emphasis original) of any active work in this space.”

If such an advertising initiative were to come to fruition, Penello said users can be sure that it would not happen without people having full control over it. “Period,” he said.

Penello proceeded to illustrate how Microsoft is protecting users’ privacy on Xbox One. “First, Kinect can recognize your face and log you in automatically. There could be some cool features we could enable if we stored that data in the cloud, like being able to be auto-recognized at a friend’s. I get asked for that feature a lot. But, for privacy reasons, your facial data doesn’t leave the console.

“Second: You’ll see us do some things around Skype that freezes the video when Skype is not in focus (meaning, it’s not the primary app). If you go back to the home screen, or launch another app, we actually stop the video stream. We do this so the user can’t even ACCIDENTALLY have the video stream going on in the background.

“I’ll say this – we take a lot of heat around stuff we’ve done and I can roll with it,” he concluded. “Some of it is deserved. But preventing Kinect from being used inappropriately is something the team takes very seriously. Hope that helps.”

[Via]

October 5, 2013