Within a year of its launch, Apple’s iPad now holds over 1% share of global web browsing and a 2% share of all browsing in the US. Reports from analytics firm Net Applications’ NetMarketShare Report show that the iPad had 53 times the usage share of its nearest competitor, Samsung’s Galaxy Tab and 76 times the usage share of the Motorola Xoom. When compared with the Research In Motion’s PlayBook, the iPad leaves it in the dust with a 306 times greater market share.
In the US mobile browser market, the iPad takes has a moderate 25.5% share, only trailing Android, which has a 31.6% share, and the iPhone, which has a 35.2% share. When you combine the share of the iPhone and the iPad, they come in with a 60.7% share of the US mobile browsing market. That’s almost twice the market share of Android. Blackberry came in at 6.9 percent, while Symbian, Windows Mobile and webOS are left far behind, accounting for less than 0.5 percent.
With the launch of iOS 5 and the addition of tabbed browsing in Mobile Safari, the user’s browsing experience will be brought closer to that of the Mac. This should help the iPad become more acceptable as a mobile browsing platform and gain it higher market share than it holds today.
Rare earth metals are used in the production of everything from iPods to flat screen TV’s. China was the worlds leading source of these metals till today when scientists from Japan announced that they had located a huge cache of these metals in the Pacific Ocean. China accounts for 97 per cent of the world’s production of 17 rare-earth elements, whose unique electrical, magnetic, optical and thermal properties make them vital ingredients for some of the most technologically advanced products.
According to the journal Nature Geoscience, a team of scientists led by Yasuhiro Kato, found an estimated 100 billion tonnes of the minerals in mud at 78 locations on the Pacific seabed. To give an idea of just how much that is, the current reserves of rare earth metals amount to 110 million tons which are found mostly in China, Russia and other Soviet countries and the US. The commercial viability of procuring these metals has yet to be worked out as they are located deep in the ocean, at approximately 13,000ft and 16,250ft.
China’s commerce ministry said that between January and November last year, the country exported 35,000 tonnes of rare-earth minerals, up 14.5 per cent on 2009. About a third of China’s reserves have already been used up, leaving about 15 years’ worth at the current rate of depletion.
The key has been one of mankind’s constant companions for ages. Now it is being swallowed by the cellphone. New technology lets phones unlock hotel, office and house doors. The same technology can also be used to provide key-less entry to your car and start it remotely as well. How it works is that the phone sends a data packet over the Internet to a converter box connected to a door or a deadbolt. Other systems use internal company networks, like General Motors’ OnStar system, to unlock car doors.
Since nearly everyone today has a cellphone, quite a few start-ups, lock companies and car manufacturers are getting on board to provide broad acceptance of the technology. Schlage, a major lock maker, markets a system that lets homeowners use their mobile phones to unlock their doors from miles away, and manage their home heating and air-conditioning, lights and security cameras.
The public is yet to come to terms with the new technology. It still does not feel safe to start a car with your cellphone. If you have a dead battery or no Internet connection, you might just end up stranded. Keys wont be gone for another few years still but in the future, we may just see a more refined version of this technology that addresses all these issues.
The Mi 410 is the first attempt from Spice to attack the 1 GHZ smartphone market in India. Possibly the only phone to offer these specs at a pretty decent price. Lets look into the Spice MI 410 carefully.
BUILD QUALITY, HARDWARE & DESIGN
The Spice MI 410 is built to last, metal accents and a full metal back cover, a metal frame and solid construction make the Mi 410 an extremely robust device. The volume rocker and the power button are flush with the device and highly tactile. The screen is also scratch resistant, but its no gorilla glass.
The device or its internals don’t shake or rattle and the phone is like one solid piece of hardware. Talking about hardware, lets look at the specs.
OS
ANDROID 2.2
Processor
1GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM8255
Flash ROM
2GB eMMC
Ram
512MB
Dimensions
122X 66X 9.9 mm
Weight
143 gm
Display
4.1-inch Capacitive Touch Screen , 800 X 480 WVGA
Camera
5 MP rear with HD Video, 0.3MP front
Battery
1400 mAH
Talk Time
Upto 380 Mins GSM , Upto 300 Mins (3G)
Standby Time
Upto 300 Hours
Network
Quad band GSM , Tri-band 3G, HSDPA/HSUPA , up to 14.2 Mbps
Connect
Bluetooth v2.1 EDR
Other
Supports Flash 10.1
Price
Rs. 14,000/-
Design on the Mi410 is pretty good too with a flat slab/tablet type structure on the device. It one of those designs that may not appeal to all in the beginning, but grows on you as you begin to use the device. Honestly, it kind of reminds us of end 2010 HTC phones, with really prominent edges.
CAMERA & MULTIMEDIA
The rear camera on the Mi410 is a 5MP autofocus camera which does a good job of focusing, you can actually see the camera move when its trying to focus, making it an exceptionally great autofocus mechanism. It also utilized 4 point metering to gain a focus point allowing it to be accurate in most situations, indoor, outdoor or night mode.
Video quality is also decent with jitter free recording and smooth capture. While in video mode the zoom option while recording is missing, but was not quite missed.
The screen is nice and vivid and has a comparatively large ppi at 227.55 ppi. With a native resolution of 480×800 pixels making it a very good display. We have no complaints with the display and in-fact were quite happy with it. The screen is good for watching videos and browsing the internet. The ppi is rich enough for reading books, documents and articles without trouble. Let us remind you that its no retina display, but its possibly one of the best resolutions you can get for the price.
The inclusion of stereo speakers caught our attention at the get go. Its surprising the kind of sound you can get from these speakers. In a normally quiet environment the speakers are sufficient for watching videos and movies. The speakers are loud and clear with accurate channel mapping.
The touch screen on the Mi410 seems like a bother initially, after a bit of playing around we found out that the maximum issue is with the lock screen, where the screen response seems to be less, it also seems like a software glitch, as we upgraded to 2.3 the touch sensitivity issue reduced significantly, but is still there. Pinch to zoom and scrolling work fine and are not affected by the issue.
The included earphones are simply ordinary and don’t expect much from them. While they can be used for simple handsfree usage, if you want to enjoy music on this device, invest in a good pair of earphones.
PHONE & MESSAGING
The sound quality from the earphones and the outgoing sound from the mic is great, and more than expected. While network strength is constantly 1 bar less, it does not affect the usage of the device and in our signal measurement test we would get a consistent -60db value.
Messaging and typing on the keyboard is achieved with ease and effortlessness. The keyboard is well spaces with large keys and responsive, the touch sensitivity issue does not occur in the keyboard, that why we insist its a software issue and not hardware (we could be wrong too).
BATTERY LIFE
A lot of people asked us to test the battery and we did some extensive tests on the battery.
VALUES
2G
3G
WiFI
Talk Time
5 Hours
3.5 Hours
-NA-
Standby Time
72 Hours
50 Hours
5 days
Internet Browsing
5-6 hours
5 hours
8 hours
Video Playback
3 hours
3 hours
3 hours
Video Stream
2.5 hours
1 Hour
3.5 hours
Music
12 hours
12 hours
12 hours
Music Stream
7 hours
5 hours
8.5 hours
We noticed a well managed battery life even with the wifi hotspot on. Battery was inconsistent and scores above are average from out tests.
CONCLUSION
The Spice Mi410 is an extremely great option at its price. With features usually found in devices upwards of 20k. This device also looks, feels and performs like an expensive phone, so it should be a satisfying experience for the user. The fact that this handset is easily root-able will let people exploit the real benefits of the device. The screen issue may bother some , but it is not enough to not let us recommend this phone to some one who has this device in mind.
PRICE : 14,000/-
[xrr rating=4/5 label=”We Rate it : ” imageset=shiny_yellow_star display_as=fraction_stars]
The Spice Popkorn is the first phone in India to have a built in projector and as such sets the standard for all future devices with this technology. Lets find out how it fared at the iGyaan Lab.
Build Quality, Hardware & Design
The Popkorn has a standard candybar design that is much thicker than a regular candybar phone due to the inbuilt projector. It feels quite solid and is comfortable to hold with its metal and rubberized plastic body. The phone weighs 123g and is quite a bit heavier than phones of a similar design, but due to its form factor, it still feels quite comfortable in the pocket.
One feature that we thought was a little delicate was the telescopic antenna. Its quite thin and fells like it will bend if a little too much pressure is applied. Be careful when expanding and retracting the antenna as you use this device.
The screen on the Popkorn is a 6cm 320x240px QVGA display which is quite vivid and displays good contrast in colours. Its nothing to boast about, but then its not the only display the phone has. The device has Dual SIM capabilities and supports GPRS and WAP connectivity. It also has built in bluetooth to allow you to connect your phone to a bluetooth device. It does not support 3G or WiFi.
Included Accessories
The phone comes with a tripod and a tripod mount. We felt that the quality of the tripod could be improved as it feels like it might tip over with the weight of the phone, but such is not the case. The tripod mount holds the phone securely and keeps it nicely balanced on top of the tripod.
Overall, the build quality of this device is exceptional, when you consider the fact that Spice has managed to stuff a projector into a device that weighs only 123g.
Camera and Multimedia
The Popkorn has a 3.2MP rear facing fixed focus camera that can capture images upto 2048 x 1536 px. It can also record video at a maximum of 15fps and also comes with a 4x digital zoom.The camera can be used as a webcam as well, once you plug it into your computer via the included USB cable.
The projector on the device, in our tests, has given a readable display of approximately 40 inches at its largest and 2″ at the smallest. That’s a HUGE screen from a tiny device. We recommend that the phone be setup so that the display is approximately 27″ to 30″ large as this gives the best picture quality. However, the projector is not extremely bright so using it in a well lit room is not advisable. Keep the lights off and the curtains drawn when using the projector. With many air vents around the phone, we did not notice any significant heating of the device, even after extensive use of the projector.
Another great use of the projector is to watch TV. The Popkorn catches analog TV signals from its telescopic antenna. Channels can be programmed and saved to the device so that you can view them at your leisure. While watching TV is a nice recreational activity, the phone also has a feature that can come in handy while at work. It has the ability to playback PowerPoint Presentations, and with the included laser pointer, you can make excellent professional presentations. You no longer need to carry your laptop to your meetings. Simply copy your ppt onto the memory card and carry the phone.
The phone also has built a built in FM radio, and with the telescopic antenna, you do not require headphones to catch a signal. It also has the ability to schedule and record FM radio so you can catch all your shows at your pleasure. The speaker phone is very loud and gives sufficient sound to be clearly heard in a large room. Spice has also included an external speaker which increases the audio output of the device many-fold. The speaker also has a built-in battery so it does not drain the battery on the phone while in use. A few cables have been included to connect as well as charge the speaker.
Phone and Messaging
The Popkorn supports Dual SIM cards. It also has a standard numpad which makes dialing and placing calls a breeze. The microphone and earpiece perform as expected and we have no complaints. As stated, the loudspeaker is really loud and provides a good hands free experience.
Typing on the phone is also easy as the keypad is quite responsive and the keys are easy to press.
Data & Internet
The Popkorn supports GPRS and WAP. It has a browser that leaves a lot to be desired. One feature we found lacking was WiFI. It would have been great if we could use WiFi to browse the internet on the projector or even stream videos directly to the device via our desktops/laptops. Maybe they will include this feature in the next version of the device.
Conclusion
When we got this device, we had low expectations of its performance. However, after using it for a while, we were, quite literally, blown away. The phone by itself is comparable to any number of Dual SIM phones that are on the market today, but the other features that it packs set it a world apart. The Projector with its Video playback, Analog TV and Presentation capabilities left us in awe. For its price, it is possibly the most inexpensive projector on the market today. The fact that its a phone and can fit in your pocket just adds icing to the cake.
MRP: Rs. 6699/-
[xrr rating=3.75/5 label=”We Rate it : ” imageset=shiny_yellow_star display_as=fraction_stars]
Electronic Arts is having a mega sale on the app store. Most games that were priced at $4.99 are now priced at $0.99 for a limited time. Purchase your games today from the links below.
According to a report by Digitimes, Apple will surpass HP as the largest Notebook vendor in 2012, if tablet sales are included in the projections.
Apple will ship 40 million Tablets this year out of the total 60 million tablet sales. The number of the total tablets sold in 2012 is expected to be 80 million out of which Apple iPad are expected to be around the 60 million mark. The total number of sales for Apple in 2012 are expected to be around 75 million including the 60 million iPads and 15 million MacBooks. In comparison HP will only sell 40-45 million Notebooks including the Touchpad the HP slate and various Notebooks.
Microsoft said in January, that the marketplace will cross the 25,000 Apps target in June and so it has. The marketplace, relatively slow, but has managed to cross the the 25,000 apps number . That’s a rapid jump from the 18,000 applications that were available in May but it is still far away from the number of apps offered by iOS and Android.
Android has over 200,000 Apps, whereas the Apple App Store has over 500,000 Apps and growing. Thats a huge target to close up and Microsoft thinks it can achieve a significant reduction in gap in the coming year thanks to the Mango update.
The top 5 downloaded apps are games including the recently released Angry Birds at number one follwed by Sonic the Hedgehog 4 Episode 1, Plants vs. Zombies at two and three.
Samsung has sold 3 million of its super Amoled Plus monsters in 55 days and are proud to tell you about it. The original Galaxy S took 85 days to reach that target.
[toggle title_open=”COLLAPSE” title_closed=”READ THE PRESS RELEASE” hide=”yes” border=”yes” style=”default” excerpt_length=”0″ read_more_text=”Read More” read_less_text=”Read Less” include_excerpt_html=”no”]Samsung GALAXY S II reaches 3 Million global sales
SEOUL, KOREA–(Korea Newswire) — Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd, a global leader in digital media and digital convergence technologies, today announced that the Samsung GALAXY S II(Model: GT-I9100), has reached global channel sales of 3 million units.
The GALAXY S II is Samsung’s flagship smartphone device; a beautifully thin (8.49mm) and lightweight, dual-core smartphone that combines an unmatched Super AMOLED Plus viewing experience with incredible performance, all on Android, the world’s fastest-growing mobile operating system. The next generation smartphone also includes exclusive access to Samsung’s four new content and entertainment hubs, seamlessly integrated to provide instant access to music, games, e-reading and social networking services.
“Announced at Mobile World Congress 2011, the GALAXY S II represents our most advanced smartphone to date and demonstrates Samsung’s commitment to deliver premium, market-defining devices,”and “This milestone reflects the continued strong support from our carrier partners around the world who have chosen the GALAXY S II as their flagship Android device.” said JK Shin, President and Head of Samsung’s Mobile Communications Business.[/toggle]
Just as the movie releases the Game for iOS is out by EA and it delivers 13 levels of non-stop action spread across various settings, from cities like Chernobyl and Atlantic City to the Moon. Just like in the movies, the Autobots can transform between robots and vehicles.
The fight is basically between the Transformers and Decepticons You may unlock up to 13 weapons, each of which may be upgraded using blue energon cubes that you’ll be collecting as you roam about. In this same manner, you can also upgrade your character’s skills. All these upgrades may be performed between levels in the lab. In addition to the weapons, you have two types of special attacks, including one that allows you to lock onto multiple targets. You can also attack the Decepticons at close range with a melee attack button.
Although there is a lot of fighting and action involved, it just seems like the same thing over and over again. The game gets really repetitive and feels like a drag after some time.
The lack of a better storyline fails to impress us with this game.
[xrr rating=2.25/5 label=”We Rate it : ” imageset=shiny_yellow_star display_as=fraction_stars]
Released: Jun 28, 2011 Version: 1.0.0 Size: 175 MB Requirements: Compatible with iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad. Requires iOS 3.0 or later
Google has decided to update its offerings with a new look with the launch of its Google+ service. You would have already noticed the black bar above the Google search page. Adding multiple features over the years has made their Gmail interface more cluttered and complicated to use. They are attempting to clear it up as well as add some more features, however, they have scheduled to do it in phases, so not all features will work at this time. You can check out the new interface by logging into your gmail account and changing your theme. The new interface not only changes the colour scheme of the interface, but also introduces many UI enhancements such as changes in buttons and overall layout. Changes to the Google Calender are also coming soon. Read the Press Release for more info.
We get a lot of great feedback about how Gmail helps you be more efficient, keep in touch with family and friends, and get work done. We’ve saved you from forgetting attachments and made sure that you got the right Bob. Over the years, adding countless features to Gmail has made it an increasingly powerful communication hub, but along the way the interface has also become more cluttered and complex.
That’s one of the reasons we’re embarking on a series of interface updates to help strip out unnecessary clutter and make Gmail as beautiful as it is powerful. This is part of a Google-wide effort to bring you an experience that’s more focused, elastic, and effortless across all of our products. The changes are not going to happen all at once. We know that you love and care about Gmail as much as we do, and we’ll be working on these upgrades gradually over the next few months to allow plenty of time to understand and incorporate your feedback into the evolving design.
We’re kicking things off with two new themes for you to try out as a sort of sneak peek at what we’re up to. Starting today, you’ll see the “Preview” and “Preview (Dense)” themes in the Themes tab in Gmail Settings. Why two themes? Our new interface will eventually expand dynamically to accommodate different screen sizes and user preferences, but until then you can pick the information density that you prefer.
Here’s what one of the new themes currently looks like:
And in conversation view:
If you poke around you’ll hopefully find a lot to like and a much cleaner, modern look but also few rough edges. In particular, some Labs features may look a little strange in the new themes. We plan to fix these issues as we roll out changes in the coming months. You can also expect some updated themes that embody the same design principles but are better suited to working in a dark environment, use a different color palette, or include the illustrations that we know many of you love to see around your inbox.
Look out for these and other new features over the next few months. In the meantime, try out the new themes as a preview of the future of Gmail and let us know what you think.
P.S. Like Gmail, Google Calendar is also getting a new look. You’ll see it automatically within the next few days so there’s no need to turn it on, and we’ll also continue to make improvements there in the coming months. Details about the current changes to Calendar can be found in the Calendar help center.
UK based Gordon Murray Design has unveiled a new car designed for the urban environment which it has dubbed the T.27. The design and development program for the T.27 has cost £9 millionwas made possible through a £4.5 million investment from the government-backed Technology Strategy Board. From design to concept to working prototype, the car has taken just 17 months to come to life, including the design and build of a completely new electric powertrain by Zytek Automotive Ltd.
T.27 specifically targets the urban city environment via a unique manufacturing process called ‘iStream’ developed Gordon Murray Design. It aims to significantly reduce lifecycle impacts and enable low cost, efficient manufacture within the UK. The electric car sets new standards in weight, footprint, small car dynamics, safety, packaging and efficiency whilst addressing full lifecycle CO2 emissions, congestion, parking and low cost motoring.
Company CEO, Professor Gordon Murray, said at the unveiling of the car
[quote]Lightweight is the most powerful tool we have in our armoury in the fight against emissions and fuel consumption. This is true of all cars and especially so with electric vehicles! A lightweight car means a lightweight battery increasing the levels of safety and reducing the retail price dramatically.” The T.27 represents a huge step forward in protecting our mobility and our environment.[/quote]
The tech specs for the T.27 are as follows:
In comparison to other electric cars the T.27 has much lower energy consumption per mile, the Smart EV uses 29% more energy per km, the Mitsubishi iMiEV uses 36% more energy per km, and the Mini-E uses 86% more energy per km, making the T.27 the most efficient electric car by some margin.
A new Android smartphone, the Samsung Galaxy Z has appeared on the Three mobile network in Sweden, although there is no official word from Samsung as yet.
The Samsung Galaxy Z seems to be a downgraded version of the Samsung Galaxy S II, it features
4.2inch inch touchscreen Super Clear LCD
800 x 480 pixels
dual core 1GHz processor.
5 megapixel camera on the back
Android 2.3 Gingerbread
WiFi
GPS
8GB of built in storage
microSD card slot
We are trying to get more information on the availability and launch prospects of this device in India, Price is set at 3995 Sweden Kr = INR. 28,000/-
Kevin Ryan, an entrepreneur and ex-CEO of DoubleClick, predicted that Facebook will generate approximatly $1 billion from its social gaming services this year. He arrived at the figure with the help of his brother Sean Ryan, who is the director of social gaming partnerships for FaceBook.
FaceBook however, as a private company, has no obligation to disclose such financial information and has refused to comment on the prediction. The company will be going public next year with a very high Initial Public Offering because its valuation has been predicted to be greater than $100 billion.
The latest Skype update enables video calling on Android device, but is limited to a strict number of devices. The folks over at DroidLife have found a way to make it work on your new Android 2.3 devices including the HTC Sensation and the Samsung Galaxy S2.
Simply Download the Cracked Skype from the link on droidlife and copy it to your device and install it. (Make sure third party apps are enabled in your settings)
Oh yeah we tested it on the HTC Sensation, and it works flawlessly.
UPDATE: Big update we got the new Skype app up and running and making calls on the Mi 410 from SPICE. A video coming up soon.
