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Slow Growth: Windows 8 Reached 8 Percent of Web Traffic

When Windows 7 was newly launched the web traffic for Windows xp went down, which is because whenever a new operating system comes up in the market it usually grows faster than the previous generation of OS.

Windows 8 does not seem to behave the same way, as the total web traffic on windows 8 reached 8 percent worldwide, whereas Windows 7 grew faster and has 46.4 percent of web traffic currently. Ever since its launch Windows 8 is been treated with mixed emotions, some like the way it looks some find it to be complicated. The rise in Windows 7 use corresponds to a drop for Windows XP, which shows that customers are less likely to choose a new Operating System. However, Microsoft has faced problems with the new Operating System overall, but they might have a different plan considering Microsoft to take over Nokia for Its Lumia, we might have something big coming up soon.

[via]

October 2, 2013
Samsung is Claimed to Boost The Galaxy Note 3 Benchmarks to Show Better Performance

Samsung has been into news earlier this year for inflating the benchmark scores of the Exynos devices and this time the company might have also done the same with other versions of hardware as well.

As reported by Ars Technica, the galaxy note 3 Snapdragon 800 version includes a code that allows the central processing unit cores to run at full speed during some benchmark tests. This allows the device to give a 20 percent higher score in any benchmark app, or the source says this is enough to claim an artificial large advantage over competitive devices like the G2.

The website further says, there might also be graphics boost, we’ve asked Samsung for its take on the findings. Whether or not the company responds, we don’t envy its position. What do you think of this ?

You can view our benchmarks video below:

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

[via]

October 2, 2013
Grand Theft Auto 5 Online Mode Arrives

The update that will enable access to Grand Theft Auto 5 Online is now available for download. Just start up GTA 5, and you should get an automatic prompt to download an update for the game. After that, the “Online” tab within the game will be populated with Grand Theft Auto 5 Online options and information.

Due to “unanticipated additional pressure on the servers due to a significantly higher number of players [than expected]”, Rockstar has warned that play might be “temperamental” for the first few days. “We are working around the clock to buy and add more servers,” said the game’s developers in a blog post.

It’s essentially a massively multiplayer game, like World of Warcraft, but set in a modern city rather than a fantasy kingdom. Each time you play, you enter a server that is currently restricted to 16 players, but the entire universe is interconnected – there’s even a persistent economy and a stock market that changes dynamically based on what players all over the world spend their in-game cash on.

Passive mode, rumours of which have leaked from the game’s closed beta apparently allows you to switch off all interaction with other players so that you can just drive around and go shopping without worrying about getting shot.

In preparation for online play Rockstar has also outlined a slew of rules and recommendations to deal with the troubles of multiplayer, whilst also letting players known that the online portion of the game occurs “a few months prior to the events of Grand Theft Auto 5 single player story.”

October 1, 2013
Nvidia Introduces The Battlebox Gaming PC (PR)

An ‘elite gaming PC’ is heading to market from graphics card specialist Nvidia.

Nvidia’s GeForce division has announced a new range of incredibly high-end gaming PCs called GeForce GTX Battleboxes, making a clear statement of intent as the AMD-powered next generation of consoles prepares to take the stage.

A BattleBox is a desktop built by Origin PC, approved by Nvidia, and powered by GeForce GTX 780 graphics or better. A system that qualifies as a BattleBox will be capable of playing the latest games at 4K Ultra HD without feeling like you’re watching a slide show. That includes titles such as Batman: Arkham Origins, Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag, Watch Dogs, and Call of Duty: Ghosts. Key to each is an SLI configuration of GTX 780 or Titan cards, backed up by i7 processors and other high-end components. 4K output support is also high on the agenda.

Systems that qualify as BattleBoxes are specially configured versions of Origin PC’s Millennium and Genesis lines, which are available now. The cost of entry for a BattleBox is $2,873 in the US.

[toggle title=”Press Release”]ORIGIN PC announces their strategic partnership with NVIDIA’s GeForce team to design and build 4K-Gaming ready, “BattleBox”, high-performance GENESIS and MILLENNIUM desktops for all gamers and enthusiasts. Approved by NVIDIA and powered by GeForce GTX 780 graphics cards or better, ORIGIN PC’s BattleBox desktops gives you an unbeatable combination of GPU horsepower, NVIDIA SLI, and the highest-grade components available in the market place.

It’s the most you’ll ever need to play this Holiday’s biggest action games, including Batman: Arkham Origins, Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag, Watch Dogs, and Call of Duty: Ghosts at buttery smooth frame rates and even capable of running them all at stunning 4K, ULTRA HD resolutions on your favorite 4K display. GeForce GTX cards also come loaded with an arsenal of game-changing technologies like PhysX, TXAA, Boost 2.0, and frame metering. This gives you the raw speed and performance to take on next-generation technologies like 4K, and experience the fastest, smoothest and most advanced ORIGIN PC BattleBox gaming desktop possible.[/toggle]

October 1, 2013
Upcoming Nexus 5 Poses In Latest Leak

The Nexus 5 release date should be sometime next month as pictures of the device hit the internet this week.

The photos were taken by a MacRumors user who happened to encounter the device while out and about. He released a brief report detailing his experience with the Nexus 5.

“Got to handle the Nexus 5,” he said. “It is smaller than the G2. Didn’t actually measure it, but holding it in the hand it is smaller. It does feel good holding it. The black back cover feels like my Nexus 7. The screen was ok, didn’t wow me like the Note 3. The bezel is very small.”

This is another solid and somewhat clear view of the back plate, albeit partially obstructed by another device at the bottom (likely to cover up any identifying information), that shows off the vertical “Nexus” logo and large camera pod in the top left corner. The back seems to be of a similar material as what we’ve seen before, but giving the lighting we can’t be sure.

The device that appears in the new pictures closely resembles the handset seen in the Android 4.4, KitKat software unveiling photos. This enhances the possibility of the Nexus 5 sporting this same design seen in both pictures when it launches later this year.

Documents at the FCC confirmed a few specs: display of 4.96-inches, 2,300mAh battery, 2GB of RAM, 16-32GB of internal storage, LTE connectivity, 13MP rear camera and a 2MP front-facing camera.

[Via]

October 1, 2013
Dropbox Updates Adding Screenshots Saving Automatically

If you use Dropbox you would already know how convenient is it to transfer and store stuff between your smartphone and your computer. As the company today announced a new update which will automatically save the screenshots you will take on your computer.

Dropbox has previously announced products that automatically upload images took on the phone, and uploaded from cameras on your computers. Now, one can take a snapshot which will not only be saved automatically but it will also create a link for that particular image and will copy it to the clipboard so that it can be shared on the spot.

The company also announced an added bonus for the Mac users, the update also includes a importer that copies all the photos from iPhoto directly to the Dropbox.

October 1, 2013
Faces of Facebook: View Yourself Along With the Other Increasing Number Facebook Users

A new website showcases profile photos of Facebook users in an clickable collage. Faces of Facebook is the web site which lets users see all the Facebook users throughout the world.

Designed by Natalia Rojas, The Faces of Facebook starts off with a running count of Facebook’s growing membership, with each person represented by a tiny dot. Click anywhere in the static like screen and the page zooms further and shows a thumbnail structure of the faces which handful of Facebook users. Click on any thumbnail, and that person’s public profile pops up.

Miami-based Natalia Rojas has developed the project using HTML5, Javascript, CSS, jQuery, EaselJS, Ajax, FB API, PHP and MySQL.

It seems impossible for one to find a particular face, however, the site also lets you connect with your own Facebook account to let you find your face number and see where your face appears along with your friends being visible on the screen. You can try to find your face here.

October 1, 2013
HTC Butterfly 2 Images Leaked, New Colors and Bigger Display

The HTC Butterfly 2 shows a glimpse with the recent images online, the leaked pictures of the device shows three colors white, blue and black.

The images also show the device to be tall which can mean a bigger display, if rumors are to be believed this alleged device could come with a 5.2-inch screen and the HTC Butterfly 2 will feature Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 processor.

HTC launched an upgrade to its original Butterfly, called the Butterfly S and now rumors suggest the next device will be known as the Butterfly 2. The HTC Butterfly 2 is expected to be available by January 2014. However, while you wait for this device to come up soon, you can watch are unboxing for the HTC Butterfly S by clicking here.

October 1, 2013

Sony Launches GTK-N1BT a 100W Speaker With NFC

Sony has launched the multi-functional 1BOX audio, the GTK-N1BT, company’s new portable speaker in India for a price of 16990 INR. The device has 100W output with NFC and Bluetooth connectivity options for smart devices to stream music without cables.

You can connect a USB stick to the USB port to stream the music in, the device also has FM Radio, Audio In and has Multi-colour LED patterns.

The key features of Sony GTK-N1BT include:

• USB (Play & iPhone/iPod over USB)/FM/Audio IN(stereo mini)/Bluetooth/NFC

• Smartphone charging via USB (It may not charge depending on the device.)

• Multi-Color LED Speaker

• Transportable with Handle

• 16cm subwoofer x1 and 6.5cm full range unit x2

• Control with Android smartphone by SONY original “App Remote” application

• Music EQ(R AND B/ROCK/POP/HIP HOP/FLAT)

• Child lock/Apt-X/AAC(BT & USB)

Specifications:

Genral Features:
Power Requirement	AC220V-240V, 50/60Hz

Audio Power Output:
Front (RMS)	20W + 20W
Subwoofer (RMS)	60W

Function:
USB	Yes
FM	Yes
Audio In	Yes
Bluetooth	Yes

Sound Features:
Equalizer	R&B, ROCK, POP, HIP HOP, FLAT
Sound Enhancement	DSEE

Lightning Effect:
Power Illuminator (color)	Yes(Red)
LED Effect	LED SPEAKER(Multi-color)
Illuminated keys	Yes(Blue)

Convenience Features:
Demo Mode	Yes
Timer Play	FM, USB
Timer Sleep	FM, USB, AUDIO IN, BLUETOOTH
Clock Display	24 hours

Power:
Auto Standby Mode	Yes
Power Consumption	38W

Display:
Display Type (Main display)	1 Line LCD
Color	Black and White

Connectivity:
NFC	Yes
Bluetooth	Yes
Formats For Sound Playback	WAV, MP3, WMA and AAC

Front Speakers:
System	1 Way
Detachable Grille	No
Audio/Video Shield	No
Sub-woofer Unit Size	160 mm
Full Range Unit Size	65 mm x 2

Other Information:
Matrix Layout System	Yes
LED Speaker	Multi-color(10 pattern)
Carrying Handle	Yes

Weight and Measurements:
Dimensions (cms)	554 x 213 x 280
Weight (kg)	8.75

The Sony GTK-N1BT is now available throughout India.

October 1, 2013

Samsung Says First Gold S4 Was Sold Even Before The Gold iPhone Was Announced

Apple released its two new iPhone’s on 10th September 2013, iPhone 5c and 5s. iPhone 5s was launched with the new color ‘gold’ and since then, we have seen leaks for HTC phones going Gold but in the recent news we saw Samsung Galaxy S4 in gold color.

On Friday, Samsung posted to the company’s blog, Samsung indirectly acknowledged the popularity of Apple’s new gold iPhone 5S by posting a gallery where they showed all the phones launched in gold color by them(including Gold S4 ). The blog said:

“Everybody loves gold, which is why we sometimes make phones in that color. (Or sometimes even with actual gold for the body!) See below to check out some of the phones we’ve released in gold in the past”

The blog post was likely crafted in response to voices on social media channels like Twitter that took Samsung to task for claiming (indirectly) earlier in the week that it had a gold smartphone on the market before the iPhone.

October 1, 2013
Samsung Galaxy S4 Zoom Full Review

Design And Build Quality

No surprises here. From the front, the device is a carbon copy of the Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini. It has the same 4.3 inch screen towards the front, with the default Samsung layout of buttons underneath it. It has a brushed aluminum finish bezel running along the sides. Volume and power are on the right side, speaker grille up top, a tripod port and MicroSD card slot towards the left.

From that back the S4 Zoom looks like the front of a standard compact digital camera. A circular silver lens case is surrounded by a chunky white plastic case. There’s a flash at the tip to the left as you look, and even further left is a handle with ‘Samsung’ written on it in silver.

The Galaxy S4 Zoom measures 15.4mm thick, and we struggled to squeeze it into our jeans pocket or hold it comfortably, with the chunky lens making it difficult to fit the handset naturally in the palm of the hand.

At 208g it’s also much heavier than many of its rivals, as Nokia’s 41MP Lumia 1020 weighs just 158g.

Hardware

The Samsung Galaxy S4 Zoom is powered by a 1.5GHz dual-core processor, has a 4.3-inch Super AMOLED display with resolution of 960 x 540, 1GB of RAM.

It runs Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean skinned with Samsung’s TouchWiz UI. The camera set-up includes a 16-megapixel rear camera with optical image stabilization (OIS), optical 10x Zoom, Xenon flash, HDR, panorama, and 24mm wide-angle lens. It offers full HD video capture, and there’s also a 1.9-megapixel front-facing camera.

Thee’s 8GB of storage, which you can expand via Micro SD. That’s good because photos and video take up a lot of space and in our review sample there was only 5GB free space when we started.

Display

The Galaxy S4 Zoom features a 4.3in 540×960 Super AMOLED touchscreen, the same display found on the Galaxy S4 Mini. That gives it a pixel density of 256ppi. It’s bright and clear, and great for viewing pictures on.

Being an AMOLED display though, its colour reproduction is fairly inaccurate and over-exaggerated. As a result, photos can end up looking far less exciting on your computer screen than the S4 Zoom’s.

Outdoor visibility though was better than we expected, but the viewing angles hampered that a bit.

Camera

As expected, the Galaxy S4 Zoom’s 16MP rear-facing camera is the handset’s standout feature, arriving complete with a 10x optical zoom and additional software features that Samsung hopes brings the phone in line with dedicated camera devices.

With its last attempt, the Galaxy Camera, Samsung never quite got the imaging tech right – the pictures just weren’t sharp enough. With the S4 Zoom, most of these issues appear to be fixed.

Bright sunlight and high contrast images have a decent amount of dynamic range, while darker environments are helped with some good optical image stabilisation. Video is also of a good enough quality for it to outdo what most smartphones offer right now.

The 10x zoom is also a slightly bizarre thing to have. On a smartphone, you almost don’t expect it to be there, but it actually becomes a very handy thing. It allows you to pull out more detail than you could get from a normal smartphone, by zooming in further.

There are several different shot modes available, including Auto, Smart and Expert. We found ourselves reverting to Smart mode most of the time, as it easily let us select a mode such as HDR or nighttime rather than having to fiddle with the complicated settings found in Expert mode, which lets you tweak settings such as shutter speed and aperture.

Zoom Ring : The Samsung Galaxy S4 Zoom has a Zoom ring around the camera lens, similar to the one found on the Sony Rx100 cameras. It functions as the name suggests, zooming in and out of images, both while shooting and in the image gallery. It also helps you to select the imaging mode to jump straight into, without opening the camera app itself.

We found the amount of effort required to turn the zoom ring often produced unavoidable shaking in video footage.

Battery

With mixed use, we found that the phone’s 2330mAh battery provided more than enough juice to get us through the day — unsurprising since similarly-specced smartphones get by with much smaller batteries. The Galaxy S4 Zoom likely will need to be charged every night following a day of average usage.

Conclusion

“Jack of all trades, master of none.” That line perfectly sums the Samsung Galaxy S4 Zoom. It has a camera which is miles above any other smartphone camera, except probably the Nokia Lumia 1020. Then again it isn’t good enough to replace your standard point and shoot any time soon.

The smartphone side of the device again is decent enough to get most things done, but it isn’t as powerful as other devices in this price segment. It is too bulky to become someone’s daily driver.

For those who want a compact camera and a mobile, with space saved in their pockets for something else, it’s ideal. Then again, we don’t think there are many people out there who do want that.

Videos

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October 1, 2013
Here’s Why The 0% Interest EMI Schemes Were Scrapped

Over the past 6 months, various companies including Apple, Samsung and Micromax went on an aggressive marketing drive that was based around the “0% EMI” tagline. Consumers, young and old alike, were attracted by the possibility of buying the device of their choice, by paying small amounts of money over a prolonged period of time. That too without any overhead costs. Who wouldn’t?

So when the RBI on Wednesday banned zero per cent interest rate EMI schemes for purchase of consumer goods, it came as a shock for many people.

What would possibly have been wrong? The companies were sacrificing their interest money just so we could get our dream products easily no? No.

The very concept of zero per cent interest “is non-existent,” the RBI said. So how were the companies offering such schemes?

The answer here lies in that “negligible” processing fee that the companies/showrooms charged when you opted for the EMI schemes. In the zero per cent EMI schemes offered on credit card outstandings, the interest element is often camouflaged and passed on to customer in the form of processing fee.

Explaining the zero per cent EMI schemes on credit cards, Gaurav Mashruwala, a certified financial planner, said, “When a person buys a TV set for Rs 60,000 and makes full payment in cash, the dealer gives him a discount say of Rs 5,000. However, when the same TV is bought in instalments with a credit card, he is not entitled to any discount which is the earning for the bank.”

As BankBazaar explains, these zero percent schemes have hidden costs inbuilt in them. Perhaps the biggest loss for you would be forfeiting the cash discount on a product that you could have otherwise got if you had bought it on full cash. This apart you will also be paying a transaction or processing fee under the zero percent scheme and consequently more money through advance EMIs.

For example, you decide to buy an LCD colour television that costs around Rs. 48,000. You decide to buy it using the zero percent finance scheme. Under this arrangement you will pay the entire cost in six EMIs of Rs. 8,000 for six months. This works out to be Rs. 48,000 spread over 6 months. Now here’s how you end up paying more! To begin with you pay a processing fee of Rs. 1,000. And since you are buying the LCD on a zero percent finance scheme you are not entitled to the cash discount of Rs. 2,000!

So here’s how it looks in the above example. The LCD costs Rs. 48,000! Add up the Rs. 1,000 processing fee that you pay initially and Rs. 2,000 that was lost out on cash discount. A total of Rs. 3, 000! This means you get a net finance of Rs. 45,000 only! Now you pay an EMI of Rs. 8,000 for 6 months which totals up to Rs. 48,000. So at the end of six months you pay Rs. 3,000 more for what you got.

So ultimately, it all came down to false advertising and clever marketing. The consumer was led to believe that he/she was getting a fantastic deal whereas the company was earning way more than they would in case of a down payment. These schemes helped companies attain double digit growth as far sales were concerned.

No wonder they are aggrieved by the RBI’s decision. Well done, we say.

September 30, 2013
Apple is Worlds Top Brand, Coca-Cola Left Behind

The Best Global Brands report is coming up since 2000, the previous brand which was at the top most position was Coca-Cola which now fell to number 3. For the first time in its 13-year history, Best Global Brands have a new leader of its annual study of the most valuable brand names, which is Apple.

Not only has Apple replaced Coca-Cola as first among the 100 most valuable brands based on criteria that include financial performance as well. Apple came over Coca-Cola, which had led the study since it began in 2000, with a brand value Interbrand assessed at $98.3 billion. However, Google came in at second place with a brand value of $93.3 billion, ahead of the soft drink maker’s $79.2 billion value.

Other positions of different brands can be seen below:

September 30, 2013
HTC Desire 500 Dual SIM With 4.3 Inch Screen Now Listed Online

The HTC Desire 500 is listed online in few websites but is still not listed in the company’s website for India. However, the HTC Desire 500 is available for pre-order on Snapdeal, website notes that the device will be released in the first week of October. The HTC Desire 500 has also been listed on Flipkart and shows coming soon.

The HTC Desire 500 has a Quad-Core 1.2 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 200 processor along with a 1 GB of RAM and comes with a 4 GB of inbuilt storage which can be expanded to 64 GB via Micro SD. The device features a 4.3 inch WVGA display with a resolution of 800 x 480 pixels. HTC Desire 500 sports a 8 MP(BSI Sensor) main camera with LED flash and has a 1.6 MP(BSI Sensor) secondary camera. The device is also capable of 720p video capture.

The dimensions of the phone are 131.8 x 66.9 x9.9 mm and the device weighs 123 grams. The Desire 500 comes with a 1800 mAh battery and runs on Android 4.2 with Sense 5.0 and BlikFeed.

September 30, 2013
LG G2 Benchmarks and Hardware

LG’s latest flagship the LG G2 is now available across major cities in India, available in two variants 16 GB and 32 GB and priced at 40497 INR and 43497 INR respectively. The device come up with Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 chipset, with a Quad Core Krait 400 CPU clocked at 2.2 GHz and the new Adreno 330 GPU.

Coming to our benchmark tests, we started by running Quadrant Standard on the LG G2 and the device performed well up to it’s hype and scored 19689. This score is far better than what we got on the HTC One and Samsung Galaxy S4, but if we talk about Samsung Note 3, the device scored a bit of more score which is 20599.

Next up, we ran AnTuTu Benchmarks on the LG G2 and the device showed a score of 35736 which makes it the top scorer, as the other devices like the Samsung Galaxy Note 3, Samsung Galaxy S4 and HTC one scored 34546, 28431 and 25064 respectively.

We also checked the graphic performance of the LG G2, the smartphone scored 59 fps, where as the Note 3 scored 60.4 fps in our benchmark tests. Check out the benchmark test below and our ‘unboxing’ video here!

[youtube id=”ePYIXqsGhI8″ width=”100%” height=”300px”]

September 30, 2013