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Penta T-Pad WS707C Tablet Launched For Rs. 7,999

Pantel Technologies has come with the country’s first EDGE enabled voice calling Jelly Bean tablet in collaboration with BSNL. The latest tablet called Penta T-Pad WS707C comes with 3D graphics support and bears an affordable price tag of Rs 7,999.

The tablet has a 7-inch (1024 x 600 pixels) multi-touch capacitive touch screen which supports a dual screen video operation that allows users to perform two tasks simultaneously, like Samsung’s Multi-window feature.

[quote]Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Vijender Singh, MD Pantel Technologies said “As a pioneer in the Tablet PC industry, Pantel Technologies is proud to introduce the power packed Penta T-Pad WS707C. Endowed with superior specifications, Penta T-Pad WS707C is an EDGE-enabled device which personifies performance with superior connectivity at an affordable price.”[/quote]

The Penta T-Pad WS707C is powered by a 1.2 GHz Cortex A9 processor with 1 GB DDR3 RAM and a Mali 400 GPU. It comes with 8GB of internal storage with additional support for upto 32GB via microSD.

The Penta T-Pad measures 10.5mm in thickness and weighs 340 grams. It boasts a 3,000mAh battery and comes pre-installed with a host of popular applications including Facebook, Skype (for video calling), NexGtv and more.

The device supports various connectivity options like WiFi 802.11b/g/n, 3G (via external dongle), 2G (via SIM card Slot), Bluetooth 2.1, USB OTG and HDMI.

February 18, 2013
Blackberry Z10 Costs $154 To Make

We’ve seen the BlackBerry Z10 from the inside out, but have you wondered just what it costs to actually make the device? There are various bits and pieces that go into making a BlackBerry, from the plastic enclosure all the way down to that red LED. The Z10 was pieced out and together all the components ring in at a total of $154 when all is said and done.

The 4.2-inch display for the Z10 costs around $26.50. The 1.5GHz dual-core Qualcomm processor costs about $23.50. The 8MP rear-facing camera and 2MP front-facing camera totals about $15. The 16GB internal storage costs around $9.00. The other components, including the battery, communication chips, and RAM total $21.00. Finally, the casing, as well as the other small electronics included in the Z10 total around $59.00.

The Blackberry Z10 is slightly more expensive to create compared to the iPhone 5, which costs about $139 to make. But in the Z10’s defense, it has a bigger, higher resolution screen, more RAM, and a bigger battery.

– Display and Glass (4.2-inches): $26.50
– Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 SoC processor $23.50
– Cameras (8MP back camera and 2MP front-facing): $15.00
– 16GB Flash storage: $9.00
– Other components (battery, communication chips, RAM): $21.00
– Remaining materials such as the plastic casing: $59.00

The Blackberry Z10 is expected to retail for around Rs 40,000 in India while the second Blackberry 10 device, the Qwerty keyboard Q10, is expected to make its debut in April, and its pricing is still to be revealed.

[ CNNMoney via Slashgear]

February 18, 2013
GLBenchmark Result Shows Apple iPhone 5 Running iOS 7!
A GLBenchmark result page, sent to us on Facebook by Akash Sukhija, shows the Apple iPhone 5 running on iOS 7, the next version of the Apple mobile operating system. On top of the results page, the OS tab reads “iPhone OS 7.0”.

This comes at a time when Apple is set to release its promised fix for an iOS 6.1 bug that enables intruders to by-pass a user’s passcode and access certain areas of the phone, could be released this week. The rollout of iOS 6.1 hasn’t gone as smoothly for Apple as the company would have liked and it would be eager to make sure that iOS 7 does not follow a similar path.

Running iOS 7, the iPhone 5 scores :
- 3290 Frames (29.1 Fps) in GLBenchmark 2.5 Egypt HD C24Z16 – Offscreen (1080p)
- 4515 Frames (40.0 Fps) in GLBenchmark 2.5 Egypt HD C24Z16 – Onscreen
- 31721 ms (35.6 Fps) in GLBenchmark 2.5 Egypt HD Fixed Timestep – Onscreen
- 48806 ms (23.2 Fps) in GLBenchmark 2.5 Egypt HD Fixed Timestep – Offscreen (1080p)
- 1808 MTexels/s Fill Rate
- 133 MTriangles/s Textured Triangle Throughput
Apple launched iPhone 5 in September along with iOS 6, and it has been reported that the new iPhone will be released in the middle of 2013. Reports last month suggested that Apple could unveil the next version of its iPhone and iOS 7 as early as the spring of 2013.

Back in January, App developers had found references in their usage logs to a new version of the iPhone – identified as iPhone6,1 – and to iOS 7.

This webpage all but confirms Apple’s iOS 7 testing. Thanks Akash!

You can find the webpage here.
February 17, 2013
Bump Now Lets You Share Files To and From a Computer

Do you use Bump a lot? Get ready, because now it’s even better. From now, not only can you bump devices to transfer your photos, you can bump computers! When you bump your phone with a computer, the photos you’ve chosen immediately get transferred to that computer. It’s like magic.

If you’ve missed it, Bump is a mobile app which makes it possible to share files and photos between devices simply by bumping them into each other. It uses your geo-location and some statistics to recognize your specific bump among millions of others. In order to bump photos onto your computer, all you have to do is hit the space bar with your device.

Thanks to the update, you can now easily save all the videos on your phone to your computer’s hard drive. If you get a new phone, you can back up all your contacts onto your computer and reload them onto your new device. Or, you can grab a presentation from your desk computer and bump it to a conference room PC.

It works by matching digital signatures between devices, be it two smartphones or, now, between a smartphone and a computer. We’ve been using the new functionality to transfer photos between my phone and the PC; it’s incredibly fast and works very well.

If you haven’t tried the app yet, it’s a great addition to your mobile repertoire.

February 17, 2013
Apple To Release iOS 6.1.2 Next Week To Fix Major Security Issue

Apple’s promised fix for an iOS 6.1 bug that enables intruders to by-pass a user’s passcode and access certain areas of the phone, could be released this week.

According to a report from German site iFun, which was dead-on about the release of iOS 6.1.1, the iOS 6.1.2 release date could come as soon as next week, possibly by February 20th.

The rollout of iOS 6.1 hasn’t gone as smoothly for Apple as the company would have liked.

Not only did the initial release introduce the security issues and battery problems, in addition to a wallop of a 3G connectivity bug for iPhone 4S users in Europe, the follow-up version, iOS 6.1.1 released last week, introduced a bunch of new issues.

iPhone users are still reporting Exchange connectivity bugs, so severe that Microsoft is suggesting affected devices be booted from the server so as not to slow down the rest of the network.

Earlier this week a video was posted online showing how a complex series of button pushes could nullify the passcode and unlock photo albums, calling logs, voicemail and enable the hacker to modify contacts.

Apple has acknowledged the problem, which is almost identical to one which surfaced in 2010, and said it is hastily working on a fix.

February 17, 2013
LG : 15 Million Optimus L Series Smartphones Sold Globally

LG announced recently that it has sold more than 15 million Optimus L Series smartphones since the phone’s launch last February during Mobile World Congress.

In a press release today LG declared a surge in the number of devices they’ve sold over the past couple months, noting that they sell “an Optimus L Series device every second over the past two months, propelling sales of the popular smartphones to over 15 million units.”

LG has made a strong push for the smartphone market with a growing number of Optimus handsets. The company’s L series, which represents the mid-range of its line, has helped boost its standing in the Android marketplace. Still, LG finds itself a distant competitor to Apple and Samsung, the dominant forces in the mobile market.

[quote]The success of the Optimus L Series is testament to our belief all along that there is indeed a market for well-balanced smartphones that represent individuals’ unique tastes,” said Dr. Jong-seok Park, president and CEO of LG Electronics Mobile Communications Company. “The new Optimus L SeriesII expands upon the design philosophy of the original series so we’re quite confident that we’ll have another hit on our hands.”[/quote]

LG recently announced the L Series II lineup, which includes Optimus L7 II, Optimus L5 II and Optimus L3 II. The new line “embodies the beauty of the first L Series but with a more refined touch.” The devices will incorporate four new design elements: Seamless Layout, Laser Cut Contour, Radiant Rear Design, and Smart LED Lighting placed on the home button.

It will officially announce all three devices during this year’s Mobile World Congress (February 25 toFebruary 28).

[Engadget]

February 17, 2013
Ubuntu Preview For Galaxy Nexus, Nexus 4 Coming Out On February 21st

Linux enthusiasts rejoiced at the news that Canonical would be bringing Ubuntu to the mobile realm, and although it was promised a developer preview would be available for the Galaxy Nexus at some point early this year, it now looks as though the Nexus 4 will be joining it. From 21st of February, anybody in ownership of either device will be able to get a first look at the OS, which is set to release at some point in October, and although developers may not be leaping out their seats in excitement, it’s hard not to take at least a fleeting interest in its progress.

Developers will be able to download and flash the software to these phones to aid in the creation of apps using the preview SDK.

The SDK, which is built atop of the latest Qt framework, comes with tutorials and design guidelines to ensure developers create beautiful, functional apps. As for casual users, it looks like there won’t be much to the installation process, though it will be a little more involved than flashing a custom Android ROM.

Canonical stresses that this is a developer preview and not finalized code, so you probably won’t be running this as your daily driver just yet.

It has been reported earlier that the first Ubuntu Phone OS powered devices will hit shelves later this year,in October to be more precise.

February 17, 2013
Google Search App For Android Update Brings Google Now Widget, Movie Ratings And More

Google has issued an update to its Search app for Android, bringing the rumoured widget functionality to devices running Jelly Bean and higher. The update brings in fresh data, and adds support for movie tickets from Fandango.

The update, for Android 4.1 and higher, will now provide users with movie ratings from Rotten Tomatoes, and real estate information from Zillow, when a house is listed on the markets and resides in that provider’s database. Also, if you live in the United States, and use the app, you will now be provided with a music button a song is currently employed and the app is in voice mode.

What’s in this version:
For Android 4.1+ (Jelly Bean):
– Google Now widget for home screen or lock screen.
– Movie passes from Fandango
– Movies now includes ratings from Rotten Tomatoes
– Real estate listings from Zillow when in the market for a home
– Music button when a song is playing in voice mode (US only)
– Support for US college sports

Google, which made the widget announcement in an Android blog post, assured that Now is just getting started, so we’re sure to see many more updates and improvements hit the pipeline before long.

The Google Search app for Android is available as a free download from the Google Play Store.

February 15, 2013
Facebook For Android Update Brings Better Cover Photos Management

The official Facebook for Android application has been upgraded in the Google Play Store to make life easier on those who tend to change their profile cover photo quite often. Users can now make the change right from their timeline instead of having to dig through settings and go through the grueling, nerve-wrecking task of pressing button upon button upon button.

No one ever accused Facebook of being swift or thorough with its app updates, but they’re at least usually very welcome when they arrive. Back in 2011, the social network introduced ‘Timeline’, the now-mandatory profile layout that gives you one giant photo at the top, with a secondary profile picture in the bottom-left corner. Up until recently, you couldn’t change your cover photo on mobile. Now, in version 2.2, you can.

Again, not a huge feature but certainly appreciated. We’d love Facebook to redesign the app or, barring that, improve the performance of the one we have. But the company clearly has different priorities. That said, today’s upgrade is waiting for you in the Google Play Store so get over there to check it out.

Temple Run 2 for Android has also been updated, the developers have added the ability to restore the coin doubler if you happened to have re-installed the app on your device and purchased the power up.

[Phandroid]

February 15, 2013
Leaked : HTC One In Black

There are but a few days left before HTC officially announces the flagship Android device, the HTC One, so that means there’s time for last minutes leaks and rumors. The latest, as you can tell from the headline, is that a render of the black version of the smartphone is now online.

Here’s another look at the much-rumoured HTC One, this time in a black casing. The leak comes at the same time as a source says the handset will go on sale on March 22 in the US.

The press shot seems to confirm what we’ve already seen – including two buttons below the screen instead of the regular three – but in a black finish instead of the silver one already spied.

The phone’s display shows a location of New York and a date of February 19th. The leaked render of the white variant was localized to London. Both cities will host a duel event that is all but confirmed to be the HTC One’s coming out party.

The HTC One will come with the a couple stereo speakers, plus rumoured to have a 4.7-inch display, a 13MP camera and a 2MP front-facing camera, 1.7Ghz quad-core processor and a massive 2300mAh battery.

We get a small glimpse of HTC Sense 5.0, which looks nothing like the iPhone’s iOS, but not much else. Anybody curious to see what HTC did around the back of this device in terms of design?

[Via HTC Source]

February 15, 2013
New WhatsApp Messenger Beta Released For Android, Updated With Holo-Based Interface

We’re sure that many of you guys use the WhatsApp messenger on your Android device, but if you have felt that WhatsApp’s interface on your Android device is starting to get a bit stale, you might be pleased to learn that an update could be heading your way soon.

A new beta has been released of WhatsApp Messenger for Android featuring, among other things, a new, Holo-style theme much better suited to the general look and feel of Android in general. The app has, hitherto, looked like a straight port of its iOS cousin, but with the security issues of yesteryear now having been resolved with WhatsApp Messenger for Android, the developers behind the popular app can now focus on aesthetics and features.

As well as the beautiful Holo theme, it also looks as though the beta also contains new expandable notifications, making the general functionality of the app in general just that little bit more streamlined. Expandable notifications make everything seem tidier and more natural, and with WhatsApp always seeming a prime candidate for the feature, it’s good to see the WhatsApp team finally implement it.

The update should be rolling out to the Play Store in the coming days or weeks (WhatsApp has not publicized the update yet) but it’s available to download from the company’s website.

As ever, the trial period for WhatsApp Messenger lasts for a year, with an annual service charge of $0.99 thereafter. If you have already paid, you will not be charged again to use the beta.

You can grab the update by heading over toWhatsApp.com/Android

[Redmond Pie]

February 15, 2013
Nvidia Tegra 4 To Ship In May, Project Shield By July

Nvidia CEO Jen-Hsun Huan recently said during the company’s quarterly and yearly earnings call that they did the best work in the company’s history in 2012. The proof is in the revenue which shot up 7.1 percent year over year to a record $4.28 billion.

Quarterly revenue was down 8.1 percent sequentially to $1.11 billion but compared to the same time last year, it was up 16.1 percent. Nvidia also pointed out the fact that they repurchased $100 million in stock and paid a total dividend to shareholders of $46.9 million during the fiscal quarter.

Most important to the company’s growth was the continued success of its Tegra 3 chip, which powered nearly every Android-based tablet in 2012 in addition to Microsoft’s Surface RT tablet.

The company expects its next-generation Nvidia Tegra 4 chip, which is based on ARM’s Cortex-A15 design and has a GPU six times faster than its predecessor, to begin shipping in July. This puts it in consumers’ hands in late July or early August. While this will affects profits for the next two quarters, Nvidia’s CEO, Jen-Hsun Huang, said that he wants to ensure his team can push sufficient volumes upon release.

Nvidia Tegra 4 offers manufacturers plenty of reasons to go with Nvidia for future smartphone and tablet designs, but it faces some stuff competition. Recently, Qualcomm’s Snapdragon S4 has become the standard for most high-end releases, while Samsung will challenge with their Exynos 5 Octa chipset to debut later this year. Any delays in getting Tegra 4 to consumers could hurt Nvidia’s chances of gaining a bigger stake in the mobile industry.

The Nvidia Tegra 4 SoC and Project Shield, a gaming device that will launch “in the latter part of Q2,” likely July or August, aims to challenge Qualcomm and Samsung in the mobile processing business. This may pose a huge challenge as Qualcomm already has a more mature architecture in Krait and has integrated a 28nm LTE baseband in its Snapdragon processors.

Due to a lack of integrated LTE, which Huang acknowledges Nvidia will need “to be successful [in the smartphone business],” 2013 will likely focus on pushing Tegra to the tablet market. “We’ll have some phone success this year, but we don’t expect to have a whole lot of phone design wins until we engage the market with LTE.”

The long time to market may hurt Nvidia in 2013 (Tegra 4 was launched at CES in January), but it’s certainly finding success in the mobile business, and that bodes well for the company’s future in light of a declining PC business where high-end GPUs are becoming more of a niche product. Whether it will be able to compete with Qualcomm in the highly-lucrative smartphone market remains to be seen.

Source: Xbit, The Verge, Mobile Syrup

February 15, 2013
Samsung Galaxy S4 Set For March Release, Will Feature “Contactless Gestures”

According to DDaily, a Korean journal with what seems like the scoop on all things Samsung, the Korean giant will be releasing the Galaxy S4 in the middle of next month, likely at a launch event on March 15th. It may be launched with similar design that of Galaxy S3, but it will be packed with amazing specs and features.

The report says that the Samsung Galaxy S4 will have the same “human-centric,” “organic” look along with the three button-setup. It is initially reported that Samsung experimented with a buttonless arrangement but in the end decided to stick with the familiar home, back and menu layout.

The newspaper says reports of the Galaxy S4 featuring a Wacom-based “S Pen” stylus like the Galaxy Note series are incorrect, but claims that the device will support “contactless” gestures. There’s not much detail about what this might entail, but it’s possible technology similar to that of the Sony Xperia Sola, which can detect fingers at a distance, might be used. Other reported hardware details include a 4.99-inch 1080p SuperAMOLED screen — a long-rumored component, and probably a safe bet at this point.

If Samsung chooses to use its in-house Exynos 5 Octa chipset to power the Galaxy S4 — and we’re almost certain the company will use an Exynos chip this time around — it stands to reason that there will be a fairly large battery cell included with the phone to accommodate all that extra horsepower.

The Galaxy S4 should be publicly unveiled in mid-March, ahead of a late March or early April release. Again, that timing makes sense if Samsung wants to deny Android competitors like HTC and Sony the chance to gain too much traction in the weeks following Mobile World Congress. And it’s not the first time we’ve heard rumors of an early April launch either.

February 14, 2013
American Express Launches Twitter Shopping, Buy Through Hashtags!

Have you ever skimmed your Twitter feed and thought, wow, if only I could buy an Amazon Kindle just by replying to a Tweet? No? Me, neither. But American Express is making it happen anyway.

Starting Monday, AmEx customers who sync their cards can buy items if they use the right hashtag. The first such item is a $25 AmEx gift card, which will go for $15 if you tweet #BuyAmexGiftCard25. Other offers will be rolled out on Wednesday Feb. 13 at noon EST including an Amazon Kindle Fire HD for $149.99 (a $50 discount), an Xbox Controller for $29.99 (a discount of about $10) and an Xbox 360 4GB console with a three-month Xbox LIVE Subscription and two game tokens for $179.99 (which is the price of the console without those extras.)

If consumers opt for those items and use the correct hashtags, then they will get a verification from @AmexSync, which will contain a confirmation hashtag. Cardholders then have 15 minutes to tweet the confirmation hashtag to confirm their purchase. If they do so, the item will be shipped to their home within two days for free.

That could generate a chunk of payments for Twitter if it takes a slice of those purchases. But the service, with more than 200 million users worldwide, is also beginning to ratchet up prices for reaching users: last week it raised the price of a “promoted trend” – visible to many users as they look to see what topics are generating the most interest – to$200,000 per day.

Twitter generated an estimated $350m in revenues in 2012, and its growth and increasing interest among advertisers seeking to place promoted tweets and trends could double that in 2013.

February 13, 2013
Real Racing 3 To Be Free-to-Play, Releasing On February 28th For iOS And Android

Electronic Arts has announced that the third release from its popular Real Racing series will be landing at the Google Play Store for Android, and the App Store for iOS, as of the 28th February. The iPhone 5 launch gave us a glimpse of things to come from Real Racing 3, but while the snippets appeared remnant of Gran Turismo, fans have had to wait quite a while for a solid release date.

Now, the wait appears to be almost over, and by the end of the month – provided no unforeseen delays crop up – the mobile arena’s favorite racer will be back for a third lap.

The title promises “46 licensed vehicles covering 3 classes, a 22 car grid, real world tracks, 8 varied event types and 900+ events.”

As you might expect, not all of that content will be free right away. Though players will be able to unlock all content for free over time, they can also skip the rigmarole by simply purchasing cars and tracks with real cash, according to CNET.

The freemium model has worked wonders for many other developers, as it entices gamers to try out a game in the first place. At $9.99/INR 550, one is only likely to spend money having played before, but if a gamer can try – and enjoy – a title for free having just found it while browsing the App or Google Play Stores, the inclination to spend further money is certainly higher.

Much like other racing games, Real Racing revolves around racing around in cars. The first game was critically acclaimed with an average review score of 94 percent on Metacritic. The series is praised for its visuals and intelligent AI.

The second game was released in December 2010. It features a number of real cars, including the 2006 BMW Z4 M Coupe, the 2010 Chevrolet Corvette C6.R, and the 2010 Ford Shelby Mustang GT500, among others. As with the first game, it features an extensive career mode, time trials, and online play.

[CNET, Redmond Pie]

February 13, 2013