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Popslate Case adds a second screen with E-Ink to the iPhone 5

An Awesome case that takes iPhone photography and ability a step further. Its called “Popslate” and its a pretty cool cover that adds a second (E-Ink) display to the back of the iPhone which is also touch sensitive. The iPhone app lets you take a picture with your phone and display it on the back of the device instantly , the always-on, ultra low-power, black and white display can also become a canvas for notifications, sports scores, maps, lists and notes.

The open API will let you cutomize your apps to work with Popslate, The company has a partnership with E Ink to use the latest in ruggedized e-paper technology and is hoping to raise enough funds to make Popslate a reality. The Popslate will be available in two colours at launch (White and Black like the iPhone) and will be available for US $79 for the first 500 supporters and US$99 post the 500 mark.

The company does not have a prototype yet and has assembled a team of engineers and designers, to make the Popslate a reality. However if you look at their video, it seems quite unlikely that an E-Ink display fitted case could be that slim, and the display that responsive. Also with the display running on the iPhone’s batteries, it may be a major concern. Since the iPhone 5 is not doing great in the battery department anyway. Checkout the Video below and hit the link if you wanna buy one.

[Indiegogo (popSLATE)]

November 30, 2012
Steve Ballmer : Windows Phone Sales Have Quadrupled

Speaking at the company’s annual shareholders meeting on Wednesday, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer waxed enthusiastic about Windows Phone 8, claiming sales were off to “a great start.”

Without citing any exact numbers, Ballmer said Redmond is selling four times as many Windows Phone devices than at this time last year.

In addition, he said the Windows Phone Store now offers more than 120,000 apps, and that it will soon have “46 of the top 50 apps that people use.”

Those aren’t bad results for a product that launched only a month ago, and Ballmer’s comments must surely have sounded encouraging to Microsoft shareholders, for whom the poor performance of the Windows Phone division has been a longstanding gripe.

Competing with Android and iOS is no simple task. Apple is a pioneer in the smartphone space that has demonstrated a blend of persistent innovation, and recently, price flexibility in its smartphone line to reach several socioeconomic demographics. At the same time, Android has taken on the position in the smartphone market that Windows has long enjoyed in PCs: the low-cost, volume leader that also has the ability to sell high-end devices to enthusiasts.

According to Microsoft, demand for Windows 8 PCs and tablets is enormous; the data, however, shows a 21% decline for Windows PCs over last year (including tablets, which were practically non-existent), and according to analysts the Windows 8 tablet market is “virtually non-existent.” Again, until we hear from OEMs reporting actual sales data we won’t know for sure. We’ll also likely hear how many Surfaces were sold when Microsoft issues its next quarterly results. Either way, it will be spun into a web of success: Ballmer is good at that, and we love an underdog.

November 29, 2012
Go Android! Facebook Wants Employees To Choose Android Over iOS

Facebook reportedly is encouraging its employees to switch from Apple‘s iPhones to devices running Google‘s Android operating system.

In the past, Facebook gave employees iPhones; however, according to Tech Crunch, the push is on to get them to begin using Droid-based phones; FB also is encouraging workers to begin looking for issues with Facebook apps for the Android OS.

The Android Facebook app has floundered as a hybrid HTML5/native app for months, periodically adding features to the camera or chat portions but rendering the main timeline in a web view.

This issue is not unique to Facebook. Despite its huge market presence, most app developers choose to cater to iOS version before Android. While we’re at a point where we can count on an Android version to be released, it often comes weeks or months after the iPhone or iPad.

Facebook, by asking its engineers to “dogfood” its Android app by switching to the platform, may be the first of many companies seeking to change the perspective of Android as an also-ran OS for developers. Some dev houses see Android as a necessary evil, and prefer to develop for iOS. This runs counter to the sheer numbers of devices sold, but it also speaks to the financial incentive of building an app for Apple’s platform.

Over the coming months, as Android 4.0+ devices broach the majority of overall share, we can hope to see more Holo-based Android apps with excellent performance and great feature sets. Now if only Google could ensure developers make enough money to continue building great paid Android apps, we’d be set.

November 29, 2012
WhatsApp Hoax Messages Doing Rounds Again

WhatsApp users on Wednesday were in for a rude shock, when they first found everyone on their contact list switch their status field listed “error: unknown” and then got a terse message from the CEO of the company complaining about how they weren’t making money and you needed to forward the message to all your contacts to prove you were a legitimate user.

Thankfully though there’s little to worry about: WhatsApp remains free to use, the CEO doesn’t hate as you as much as you thought from his message and it was just a spam message that made the rounds as a feature of the messaging service was affected.

Several hoax messages have recently been going around on the cross-platform messaging app, WhatsApp, which allows users to chat between iPhone, Android, BlackBerry and Windows Phone via an internet connection rather than using SMS.

The CEO hoax however seems to be designed to garner mobile numbers and contact information, which could in turn be used to scam money. Don’t fall for it.

November 29, 2012
RIM Anounces Blackberry 10 Dev Alpha C With A Physical Keyboard

At BlackBerry Jam Asia this morning RIM announced a number of changes and additions that we can expect in the coming months. First, the BlackBerry App World, RIM’s app store, will be renamed when BB10 officially launches to simply “BlackBerry World.” This will feature more than apps as you’ll be able to purchase music, movies, TV shows and games.

Alec Saunders, RIM’s VP of Developer Relations, also revealed the new Dev Alpha C device – a BB 10 smartphone with a physical QWERTY keyboard. This BB10 is only for developers who are looking to test their BB10 apps. Similar to the all-touch Dev Alpha A and Dev Alpha B, there’s a limited amount to go around. In total, RIM has only produced 1,500 Dev Alpha C devices and interested developers need to qualify to score one. On their blog they noted scoring is based on a point system, specifically that “The top 1,500 people to submit two or more applications will be given priority seeding for the BB 10 Dev Alpha C.” Here’s the breakdown of the point system:

– 50 points for ported Android applications
– 250 points for all other applications (Native, BlackBerry WebWorks, Adobe AIR)
– 1,500 points for Built For BlackBerry certified application
– 200 points to start for BlackBerry 10 Dev Alpha A/B recipients
– 200 points to start if you are a BlackBerry Elite Member

Developers who received a BlackBerry 10 Dev Alpha device and who have submitted a “qualifying” BlackBerry 10 application are eligible to receive a free, limited edition final-release BlackBerry 10 smartphone shortly after the January 30 BlackBerry 10 launch event. More details on terms and conditions can be found on RIM’s developer blog.

November 29, 2012
Microsoft Windows Phone 8 Reboot Bug Fix Coming In December

Microsoft has found the issue that’s causing some Windows Phone 8 users devices to randomly reboot. It’s certainly frustrating and it’s happen to other platforms in the past.

Hundreds of users of the Nokia Lumia 920 and HTC 8X smartphones have reported on Internet forums that their phones were repeatedly and spontaneously rebooting. The reports identified several different mobile operators in the U.S. and Europe. The forums didn’t identify a consistent culprit for the problem.

Initially, it was speculated that the patch to fix the rebooting issue will be part of a larger software update for the platform, known as Apollo Plus, that would bring added features. However, it looks like as the problem has been identified, Microsoft may not want to wait and is rolling out the patch ahead of Apollo Plus.

Unfortunately Microsoft isn’t specifically saying what’s causing this, only stating that it’s not them but “with our partners.” No indication if it’s a manufacturer, carrier or app developer. However, according to AllThingsD a fix is en route OTA in December.

November 28, 2012
Latest Leaked Images Of Blackberry 10 L-Series, Next To An iPhone, Note 2 And Lumia 920

Yet another photo of Research in Motion’s upcoming BlackBerry 10 L-Series leaked online Thursday, though the latest image adds a new dimension to the speculation.

That is, the photo shows the BB10 phone snuggled up next to Apple’s iPhone 5.

The only brand really missing is HTC, but there’s the Samsung Galaxy Note, Nokia Lumia 920, Apple iPhone 5, and apparently the upcoming all-touch BB10 L-Series from RIM (the device has the old style icons).

This picture gives a good idea of it’s size compared to the other devices. We already know the screen resolution will be 1280 x 768, but it’s now looking like this BlackBerry 10 device will have a screen size of 4.2-inches.

The rest of the images show some familiar BlackBerry features (like the clock) and more angles of the device itself.

Of course, everything is unconfirmed until RIM officially unveils their goods on January 30th, 2013.

November 28, 2012
Ad Block Plus for Android not only Rids ADs from Browsers but also from Apps

The newly launched Ad Block Plus Android app is a derivative of the original and much loved Ad Block Plus for mainstream PC OS. The Ad Block Plus Android app is available for free in the Google Play Store claims to “block all annoying ads on your Android device” including “mobile ads, video advertising, banners, push notifications, display advertising, HTML5 advertising and much more” without requiring any rooting.

There are limitations to the effectiveness of the Ad Block Plus Android app, Non-rooted Android devices running Android 3.1 or later can only block ads over Wi-Fi and devices running Android 3.0 or earlier requires some manual configuration. Rooted devices however will have full access to blocking ads over Wi-Fi and 3G.

The Ad Block Plus Android app will bring a lot of promise to users, the only people who will be unhappy with Ad Block Plus are Advertisers and App developers who rely on the AD revenue.

November 28, 2012
Apple iMac in India launch dates confirmed, along with prices and Options

Apple new super slim version of the 2012 iMac will launch in India on the 30th of Nov 2012. The new iMac is not only slimmer in profile but also offers a nely enhanced display that is 75% less reflective. The new model of the iMac will be available in India in the same two sizes the 21.5 inch and a 27 inch size.

The 21.5 inch will launch on 30th November whereas the 27inch will launch in december. Apple announced the new iMac along side the iPad Mini and the 4th iPad launch back in October 2012. The new 21.5 inch iMac in India features Core i5 quad-core processor at 2.7GHz, 8GB of RAM, an Nvidia GeForce 640M GPU and a 1TB hard drive and will be priced at Rs 85,900.

The upgrade model costs Rs 99,900 and features a 2.9GHz Intel Core i5 quad-core CPU, 1TB of storage, 8GB of RAM and an Nvidia FeForce 650M GPU.

The new 27-inch of iMac in India launching in December will have a starting configuration display of 2560×1440 pixels, an Intel Core i5 procesoor with a quad-core CPU clocked at 2.9GHz along with an Nvidia GeForce 660M GPU priced at Rs 1,22,900. The top of the line for India will be a 27-inch panel with the same native 2560×1440 pixel resolution, but upgraded Intel Core i5 quad-core CPU clocked at 3.2GHz and adds the Nvidia GeForce 675M GPU. Alas no customisation options for i7 for India.

Apple may also not launch the Hybrid Fusion Drive in India, as in the US it is available as a built to order option.

November 28, 2012
Reliance Globalcom Partners with Ciena for 100G Submarine Cable Network Upgrade

Ciena Corporation, today announced that Reliance Globalcom, has selected Ciena’s market-leading WaveLogic coherent optical 100G networking solutions to upgrade its FLAG Europe-Asia (FEA) submarine network. Based on Ciena’s OP architecture, the 100G network will bring massive capacity increases to a route that connects Egypt and Jordan to satisfy customer demand for high-bandwidth services, while using its existing fiber infrastructure to support growing bandwidth requirements.

[quote]“Ciena’s submarine network solutions are designed to fit into existing wet plants to significantly increase submarine network capacity without disrupting existing customer traffic or adding cost and complexity to the network. Our solutions are ideally suited for large submarine networks like Reliance Globalcom that play an important role in ensuring continuous global broadband connectivity, and thus cannot afford downtime for network build-out and service turn-up,” said Anthony McLachlan, Vice President and General Manager, Asia Pacific, Ciena. [/quote]

As part of the network upgrade, Reliance Globalcom will deploy a 100G DWDM system with Ciena’s 6500 Packet-Optical Platform equipped with WaveLogic coherent optical line interfaces. Using principles of Ciena’s OP network architecture, the upgrade will allow Reliance Globalcom to support the surge of high-bandwidth applications such as cloud computing, video conferencing, business continuity/disaster recovery, data center connectivity, and storage area networking, in addition to ever increasing Internet traffic.

The network upgrade with 100G technology allows Reliance Globalcom to increase submarine bandwidth on this segment by 10 times, and enables the launch of 10GE and OTU-2 services. The upgrade also enables Reliance Globalcom to provide 100GbE for their end customers as required.

Ciena is also providing Reliance Globalcom with its advanced network management solution for streamlined service activation, robust fault management and comprehensive performance monitoring. Additionally, the deployment includes a wide range of professional services for this deployment via Ciena’s Specialist Services portfolio, including engineering, furnishing and installation (EF&I).

[quote]“Ciena’s proven coherent optical technology gives us the ability to upgrade our existing submarine networks from 10G to 40G and 100G rates, and beyond, so that we can keep pace with our customers’ changing bandwidth requirements while leveraging our investments in fibre assets. We are already using Ciena coherent solutions to deliver 40G services on multiple, critical submarine routes, so when we decided to upgrade our FEA route to 100G, we knew Ciena was the right choice to help strengthen our leadership position and differentiate our network capabilities,” said Punit Garg, President and CEO, Reliance Globalcom.[/quote]

November 27, 2012
Now Enjoy Free Incoming Calls On Airtel Mobile While Travelling To United States

Bharti Airtel today announced the launch of three new International Roaming Packs for post-paid mobile customers travelling to United States of America. Customers can get upto 5 hours of free incoming calls while travelling in USA, and also make outgoing calls to local USA numbers as well as outgoing calls back to India at just Rs.20/min with Airtel.

Available in three different tariff packs of INR 1000/-, INR 3500/-, and INR 8500/- with a validity of 30 days each, the tariff plan allows customers to easily stay in touch with family and friends back home at affordable rates on their Airtel India postpaid number. Also their family and friends in India can call them at local India rates. Customers can activate the pack by messaging the respective activation keyword to 121 for the selected pack and enjoy the discounted rates. Standard roaming rates would apply for all other outgoing international calls, messaging and data usage.

November 27, 2012
Rumour : LG Optimus G2 To Sport 5-inch display, Quad-Core Processor, Android Key Lime Pie And More

The Optimus G is LG’s most powerful and best looking smartphone to-date. The specs are impressive as it comes packed with a 1.5Ghz quad-core processor, 4.7-inch display with a resolution of 1280×768, 2GB RAM, 8MP camera, 2100mA and currently runs Android OS 4.0 ICS.

According to a recent article on MK, LG plans on releasing its successor, supposedly dubbed LG Optimus G2, packing the smartphone with a quad-core processor with each core clocked in at 2GHz.

In fact, the company is said to have partnered with Qualcomm for the inclusion of its Snapdragon S4 MSM8974 chipset inside the upcoming device.

At the same time, the Optimus G2 is expected to arrive on shelves with a full HD touchscreen display, something that has been rumored before. Apparently, this would be a 5-inch 1920 x 1080 pixel panel capable of delivering a pixel density of 440ppi. Reportedly, LG has already started to produce the screen.

The handset might also hit the market with the next flavor of Google’s Android operating system, Key Lime Pie, loaded on it and will rival Samsung’s successor to the Galaxy S3.

November 27, 2012
Facebook App for iOS gets much awaited update, enables Emoji, Tagging, Sorting and Reposting

The Facebook App for iOS gets the much awaited update allowing users to now tag their friends in posts and comments, along with photos. The new update also enables features like reposting from the news feed and smileys and emoji into your Facebook messages.

Users can also now sort out their feed by pressing the sort button on the left of the sidebar. Check out the changelog below and the link to download the update.

What’s New in Version 5.2.2

Now you can share the best stories from your news feed with just one tap.
• New Share link to re-post stories from your news feed
• Tag your friends in any post, comment or photo
• Smileys, hearts and other emoji in messages
• To sort your feed, tap the button next to News Feed in the left sidebar
• Security and bug fixes

(Facebook App)

November 27, 2012
Report : Microsoft Working on Apollo Plus Update for Windows Phone 8, Coming Early 2013

There’s no mistaking the fact that, despite Windows Phone 8’s extensive feature set and countless improvements over its predecessor, there were a few notable omissions in the final Windows product.

Microsoft admitted that it ran out of time to bring a new notification centre to the OS, and basic enterprise features like VPN support were also omitted at launch.

To that end, the company plans to introduce a software update for Windows Phone 8, currently dubbed “Apollo+”, early next year, likely during Mobile World Congress in February.

Also expected to make an appearance in the update, which may be the first to use Microsoft’s new over-the-air infrastructure, will be fixes for WiFi disconnecting when the screen is turned off, corrections for audio glitches, and the possibility of notification improvements.

Last but not least, it’s said that Microsoft plans to test the ability to receive Windows Phone 8 updates via OTA (over the air), but it’s not yet decided whether this change will be introduced with Apollo Plus update.

November 27, 2012
Samsung Launches ATIV Smart PC and Smart PC Pro in India

Samsung Today launched two new tablets+PC convertibles for India, the ATIV Smart PC and Smart PC Pro. Prices for the ATIV Smart PC and Smart PC Pro are ket at a staggering Rs. 53,990 and Rs 75,490 respectively.

The ATIV Smart PC features dual-core Intel Atom CPU clocked at 1.8GHz, an 11.6-inch display with a resolution of 1366×768 pixels, 2GB of RAM, 64GB of eMMC memory and has dual cameras (8-megapixel rear with full HD Video and a 2-megapixel front facing shooter). The keyboard dock comes standard along with a 2-cell battery, dual speakers and the S-Pen stylus. Samsung claims that it can deliver a battery life of up to 13.5 hours with the standard battery. Other ports include a micro-HDMI, one USB 2.0, a MicroSD card reader and a 3.5mm combi-headphone jack.

The ATIV Smart PC will also feature the full set of Samsung developed apps to utilise the Windows 8 Platform

Samsung’s ATIV Smart PC Pro promises to deliver the extra features missing from the Smart PC, Intel Ivy Bridge dual-core i5 processor and a full-HD 11.6-inch display. Its only 9.9 mm thick and classifies as an ultrabook. ATIV Smart PC Pro also includes standard keyboard dock, 4GB of RAM, a 128 GB SSD drive, stereo speakers, twin cameras 5.0-megapixel rear camera, 2.0-megapixel front facing camera, funnily enough the more expensive one out of the two has a lower resolution camera. The ATIV Smart PC Pro has a 4-cell battery and up to 8.5 hours of battery life.

The ATIV Smart PC Pro also features the S-Pen stylus, one micro-HDMI port, one USB 3.0 port, a microSD card reader, a combi-headphone jack and Samsung’s proprietary dock port. Both the Smart PC and Smart PC Pro are expected to be available in December 2012

November 27, 2012