The iPhone 5c and 5s are slated to hit India end Oct 2013 and go on sale starting Nov 1st. Airtel and Reliance seem to be the two major companies marketing this set of phones aggressively. The pricing information for the 2013 edition of iPhones has come out and does not look to be in the region that buyers from India will appreciate.
The iPhone 5c is set to go on sale for a price of Rs. 41900 for the 16 GB variant irrespective of color, while the iPhone 5s is expected to go on sale for a price of Rs. 53,500 for the 16 GB variant again irrespective of color. Some rumors earlier had pointed out that the price of the gold color may be hiked, but such is not the case.
If we compare the price to the US, a contract-free and unlocked 16GB version of the iPhone 5C is available for USD 549 (about Rs 34,700) in the US, while an unlocked and contract-free iPhone 5S can be bought for USD 649 (about Rs 41,000). Apple is charging a hefty premium, this is considering the stricter Custom duty laws and the ever fluctuating price of the dollar.
On a different note, the phones are already available in the grey market sometimes cheaper than the slated launch price. So are you waiting for the official “high priced” iPhone 5c / 5s or are you taking the jump with the import units. Either way you still get warranty because the import units are still under warranty at Official Apple Stores across the globe, India has a franchise model so the imported units are not covered under warranty.
This festive season Apple is launching iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c in the Indian market. As Apple has just confirmed in a global announcement that the iPhone 5C and iPhone 5S are launching in India and several other countries on Friday November 1st.
Pricing information is still not revealed but you can expect it to be around 50000 for the 5s and around 40000 for the 5c. The prominent features of the iPhone 5S include the new TouchID scanner , better camera camera , faster processor. Whereas the iPhone 5c is pretty much the same as the iPhone 5, except the the vibrant color choice that Apple has given to its consumers.
However, iPhone 5s and 5c will be available on October 25 in Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, French West Indies, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macau, Malta, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Reunion Island, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan and Thailand. iPhone 5s and 5c will also be available on Friday, November 1 in Albania, Armenia, Bahrain, Colombia, El Salvador, Guam, Guatemala, India, Macedonia, Malaysia, Mexico, Moldova, Montenegro, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and UAE. Both iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c are currently available in the US, Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, Puerto Rico, Singapore and the UK.
HTC has finally launched its latest smartphone in India, the Desire 500 is now available for 21490 INR in India. The HTC Desire 500 will be available in stores starting wednesday.
The HTC Desire 500 is powered by a Quad-Core 1.2 GHz processor along wth a Qualcomm Snapdragon 200 chipset. The device has a 1 GB of RAM along with a 4 GB of inbuilt storage which is expandable via Micro SD. Desire 500 sports a a 4.3 inch WVGA display with a resolution of 480 x 800 pixels. The device features a 8 MP rear camera with LED flash and a 1.6 MP front facing camera. HTC Desire 500 is capable of recording at 720p and also features Beats Audio.
The Desire 500 is packed with a 1800 mAh battery, the device runs on Android 4.2 with Sense 5.0. The phone measures 131.8 x 66.9 x 9.9mm and weighs 123 grams
The Archaeological Survey of India(ASI) has partnered with Google to create a 360 degree imagery of India’s important heritage sites, which will include Taj Mahal, Khajuraho and Ajanta and Ellora caves.
The company claims that the mission is to make information more accessible, as Google hopes to help make more of India’s heritage accessible to people around the world and also to preserve the history for the coming generation. Starting today Google will work with the ASI to bring the street view trekker, a wearable bag like designed device with a camera system on top, check it out in the image below.
Street View Trekker
This trekker is designed to capture images in remote sites or places that are only accessible by foot. Once published, this imagery of the Indian heritage will be available on Google Maps and on World Wonders Site. Part of Google Culture Institute, the Google Worlds Wonders Project is a platform which brings online the major world heritage sites of the modern and ancient worlds. At the launch vice president and managing director of Google India said:
In a country like India, where we have the world’s second largest population and 5,000 years of history, rich and cultural diversity, technology can help us share the Indian experience with the rest of the world – and each other- more effectively than ever before. We’re honored to be working with the ASI to help make these important Indian heritage sites available for the world to experience online.”
The Union Minister of Culture Smt. Chandresh Kumari Katoch said during the launch:
India’s historical and archaeological sites are an important part of the world’s knowledge, and through this partnership with Google we hope to engage more people, both around the world and here in India, in discovering and learning about our country’s rich history.”
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.
The HTC Butterfly is ready to get the Android 4.2.2 update according to the company. The phone was released in late January in India, is now getting the firmware update along with the updated HTC Sense 5.0 UI.
The sense 5.0 will bring the BlinkFeed homescreen, first seen on the HTC One. The company confirmed the news on Twitter, saying, “Upgrade to the BlinkFeed on your HTC Butterfly! Android 4.2.2 is out now. Announcements for other handsets to come soon.” Which further hints that other devices can get update soon.
The Android 4.2.2 and HTC Sense 5.0 UI update will also add some other features, like a new gallery layout, new camera apps, automatic video highlights and improved battery endurance.
Opera announced that the company is focusing on further expanding its India business to drive growth in the South Asian region and has partnered with seven new handset makers, including Micromax, Spice and Wynncom as part of these efforts.
The companies include Micromax, Videocon, Spice, MoMagic Technologies, Wynncom, Lemon Mobiles and iBall, the original equipment manufacturer will preinstall Opera Mini browser as an exclusive, third-party mobile browser across their upcoming Android devices, the company said in a statement. Opera has also signed two similar OEM partnerships with Symphony Mobile in Bangladesh and Colors Mobile in Nepal.
India is home to the largest number of Opera Mini users in the world. Partnering with local OEMs in India and neighboring countries is part of our growth strategy to take Opera Mini’s user numbers in the region from strength to strength,” Sunil Kamath, Vice President – South Asia, Opera Software said.
He further said, since the beginning of this year, more than 100 Android devices with the browser preinstalled on them have been launched in India, Bangladesh and Nepal.
Not very long ago, Doctors used Google Glass for a surgery at Ohio State University, which helped medical students to see from the Doctors prospective. Now, in India a surgeon operated upon two persons wearing Google glass, allowing people across the globe to see the procedure live.
Chennai based Dr JS Rajkumar, laparoscopy surgeon and chairman of Lifeline Hospital, became the second surgeon in the world to operate using the Glass on Tuesday.
Dr JS Rajkumar
“We at Lifeline have always been ahead technologically and this was just another such attempt,” said Dr Rajkumar.
“As a surgeon I could access whatever information was available on the surgery right inside the operation theater, and it is also a boon for medical students who can watch the surgery live on their computer screens anywhere in the world. Expert surgeons can guide surgeons during difficult surgeries from any part of the world,” he said.
Dr Rajkumar admitted to being a bit nervous at the start of the surgery.
I was a wee bit nervous initially, which was obvious, considering I was aware the whole world was watching. But it was a trial run and there will be more surgeries happening in the coming weeks, this is going to be a game changer as it will give you tremendous transparency, and I am proud to be the first person to introduce it in India,” said Dr Rajkumar.
Yahoo received 29,000 government data requests on its users this year, with almost half coming from the United States, according to the company’s global transparency report released Friday.
Yahoo said in the report, covering the first six months of 2013, that 12,444 of the requests from worldwide governments came from the United States.
At Yahoo, we take the privacy of our users seriously,” general counsel (Yahoo) Ron Bell said in a blog post. We also recognize our role as a global company in promoting freedom of expression wherever we do business. That’s why we’re issuing our first global law enforcement transparency report.”
He added that the report includes US “national security requests” which have become a major issue in light of reports on secret government surveillance programs run by the United States. “Our legal department demands that government data requests be made through lawful means and for lawful purposes,” Bell said.
“We regularly push back against improper requests for user data, including fighting requests that are unclear, improper, overbroad or unlawful. In addition, we mounted a two-year legal challenge to the 2008 amendments to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act and recently won a motion requiring the US government to consider further declassifying court documents from that case.”
The US data requests:
Yahoo said the numbers reported “include all types of government data requests such as criminal law enforcement requests and those under US national security authorities, including the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) and National Security Letters (NSLs), if any were received.”
In addition to the United States, Yahoo listed requests from 16 other countries or territories including Australia, Hong Kong, India, New Zealand, Singapore, Taiwan, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Spain, Britain, Argentina, Brazil and Mexico.
Samsung has been the leader in the “phablet” segment for quite some time, but Indian brands are trying to change that and fast. With the iBerry Auxus Nuclea N1 coming awfully close to the title. But, today its the Micromax Canvas Doodle 2 A240 vs Samsung Galaxy Mega 5.8 ,the Micromax Canvas Doodle 2 is almost the same when it comes to screen size and dimensions. There are pros and cons on both devices, and in most cases users tend to choose Samsung over any other brand, for the sheer brand value and service network.
The Micromax Canvas Doodle 2 has one major disadvantage in all of this, the inability to accept microSD cards for storage expansion. We saw that with just a few games and music we ran out of space which can be really crucial on Smartphones these days. However the Canvas Doodle 2 wins hands down against the Samsung Galaxy Mega 5.8 in a few departments including cameras, where the doodle 2 carries a 12 + 5 MP combo the Mega 5.8 carries a 8 +1.9 MP combo. The display on the Micromax Canvas Doodle 2 also leaves Samsung Galaxy mega in the pixel dust, with a 1280 x 720 pixel on a 5.7 Doodle 2 inch vs a 960 x 550 px on a 5.8 inch Galaxy Mega 5.8.
The Samsung Galaxy Mega 5.8 is not ready to go down without a fight simply because, what it loses in the hardware department it brings in an additional 0.5 GB of RAM and the TouchWiz experience which some like and some hate. Most can also argue that the heavy to use TouchWiz itself will be responsible for additional RAM requirements.
PHONE
MICROMAX A240 CANVAS DOODLE 2
SAMSUNG GALAXY MEGA 5.8
Display
5.7-inch 720p HD LED-backlit IPS
5.8-inch qHD TFT
Processor
1.2 GHz Cortex-A7 MediaTek MT6589 quad-core
1.4GHz dual-core Broadcom
RAM
1GB
1.5GB
Internal Storage
16GB (12GB user-accessible)
8GB (around 5GB user-accessible)
MicroSDcard slot
No (unconfirmed, but most probably ‘no’)
Yes
Cameras
12MP rear camera with LED flash, 5MP front camera
8MP rear camera with LED flash, 1.9MP front camera
Dimensions
161 x 82.5 x 9.3mm
162.6 x 82.4 x 9 mm
240 g
182 g
Battery
2600 mAh
2600 mAh
Connectivity/ Ports
Wi-Fi b/g/n, Wi-Fi Direct, Bluetooth 4.0/ microUSB v2.0, 3.5mm audio jack
Wi-Fi a/b/g/n, Wi-Fi Direct, Bluetooth 4.0/ microUSB v2.0, 3.5mm audio jack
Happy news for everyone waiting for the new Nexus 7 2013 to officially launch in India. Google and Asus are working closely to bring the device to India through official Google means and should be available for sale as early as End of September.
Our source at ASUS points out :
The Google Nexus 7 did really well in India, despite the delayed launch and Asus has received overwhelming response for the new Nexus 7, despite it not being officially announced for India.
The early launch of the new Nexus 7 will make sense for the computer manufacturer in India, especially considering that Asus is the company working on the 10 inch variant.
The new Nexus 7 is expected to launch at a price of Rs. 18999 for the 16 GB and Rs. 20999 AND 23999 for the 32GB and LTE variants respectively. While we gather more information on the device from the companies, watch our initial set of videos below.
A total of 78 government websites were hacked and 16,035 incidents related to spam, malware infection and system break-in were reported this year so far. Minister of State for Communications & IT Milind Deora said.
As per the information reported to and tracked by Indian Computer Response Team (CERT-In), a total number of 308, 371 and 78 government websites were hacked during the years 2011, 2012 and 2013 (up to June) respectively,” Deora said in a written reply to the Lok Sabha.
The Minister said 16,035 security incidents related to scanning, spam, malware infection, denial of service and system break-in including that of government, Defence and public sector undertakings were reported up to June this year. The number of security breach incidents stood at 13,301 in 2011 and 22,060 in 2012, he added.
It has been observed that attackers are compromising computer systems located in different parts of the world and use masquerading techniques and hidden servers to hide the identity of actual system from which the attacks are being launched. It is difficult to attribute the origin of cyber attacks,” he added.
In order to detect and prevent cyber attacks, the government has taken various measures including release of a National Cyber Security Policy 2013, which addresses protection of information and infrastructure in cyber space and building capabilities to prevent cyber threats.
“All new government websites and applications are to be audited with respect to cyber security prior to their hosting,” Deora said. It has also been mandated that all government websites to be hosted on infrastructure of NIC, ERNET or any other secure infrastructure service provider in the country. The Information Technology Act, 2000 provides legal framework to address the issues connected with cyber attacks, Deora added.
The social media giant ‘Facebook’ has paid over 1 million USD to security researchers who report bugs on their website, with India being the second biggest recipient among other countries. India has over 78 million Facebook users, and now is one of the fastest growing in the Bug Bounty program. The social networking major said 329 people have received rewards, including professional researchers, students and part-timers. The youngest recipient was 13 years old.
A software bug is an error, flaw, failure, or fault in a computer program or system that produces an incorrect or unexpected result, or causes it to behave in unintended ways. Most bugs arise from mistakes and errors made by people in either a program’s source code or its design, and a few are caused by compilers producing incorrect code.
As per Facebook To qualify for a bounty, you must:
Adhere to the Responsible Disclosure Policy of Facebook.
Be the first person to responsibly disclose the bug
Report a bug that could compromise the integrity of Facebook user data, circumvent the privacy protections of Facebook user data, or enable access to a system within the Facebook infrastructure, such as:
Circumvention of our Platform/Privacy permission models
Remote Code Execution
Privilege Escalation
Provisioning Errors
Use a test account instead of a real account when investigating bugs. When you are unable to reproduce a bug with a test account, it is acceptable to use a real account, except for automated testing. Do not interact with other accounts without the consent of their owners.
Reside in a country not under any current U.S. Sanctions (e.g., North Korea, Libya, Cuba, etc.
Facebook offers great prize money which is a minimum of $500 and there is no maximum amount they have quoted, as each bug is awarded a bounty based on its severity and creativity.
Our Bug Bounty program allows us to harness the talent and perspective of people from all kinds of backgrounds, from all around the world,Two of the bounty recipients have taken up full-time jobs with the Facebook security team” Facebook Security Engineer Collin Greene said
While Sony may be busy announcing its next generation console, their present iteration is still doing strong. The Last of Us is a Sony exclusive title developed by company’s Naughty Dog studios, for the PS3. The game plays on the zombie apocalyptic post world era, that we all have come to love and expect, yet there are some exciting new additions to the overall storyline and gameplay experience.
Joel and Ellie
Storyline
The Game begins with the normal life of main character Joel, and how it suddenly gets affected an outbreak that causes the Zombie Fungus Cordyceps to start spreading like wild bushfire. The gameplay is set in the United states and shows how everywhere, post this outbreak, there is utter pain and chaos. The character, like any hero is destined to help end the problems of the world by delivering a solution, where he needs to travel across the badlands of the United States.
Unlike any other Zombie game the Last of Us is designed in a different manner, and you simply cant expect instant hardcore action from the game. The game storyline is slow and progresses as the character fights various kinds of zombies, human enemies known as hunters and the government which basically controls everything. The story as it progresses reminds you from time to time the hopeless situation of the world and how the Joel fights on despite that. The game essentially takes off from the typical end of humanity scenario, but chooses to tell a story about the two people that travel across the pain stricken world in an attempt to revive humanity.
The gameplay is full of beautiful backdrops, amazing sceneries of the untouched wilderness and the post fungus cities which are destroyed and collapsing. The game developer has ensured that each scenery and backdrop shows the status of the world and each new backdrop tells a brand new story about what has happened.
As the game progresses the secondary character Ellie starts to take limelight as she becomes closer and closer to Joel. Their relationship is strengthened by Ellie’s constant need to oppose the exacting situation and Joel constant efforts to keep things under control. Ellie has been born into this world and has no idea what the real world is like, her constant need and discussions to find out what the world was, make for some of the best ingame scenarios.
The story line is beautifully presented and ensures that you build a relationship with the characters as the game progresses. The game defines what possibly is the best ever story written for the Playstation.
Post World Cities
Gameplay
What the storyline builds, the gameplay delivers! With a vast variety of interesting elements that make it a truly exciting and entertaining experience. Despite the fact that the game has many enemies throughout the story, the major focus remains on the infected. Cordyceps infested humans become rage hungry monsters that don’t eat or kill, they simply bite and infest others. The main elements of the infected are the runners that are basically the pawns of the enemies, the clickers are the bishops, blind yet brutal and many other higher ups that define the bosses of the infested chains.
Infected Clicker
Gameplay becomes intense and inflicts a sense of fear in the gamer as the infected arrive, while Joel has a vast majority of mainstream weapons to his disposal including pistols, automatic guns and even crossbows, the most interesting element of the gameplay is the characters ability to forge destructive weapons from the post world scavenging. While ammo is mostly scarce, hard to find and carried in a limited quantity, the handcrafted grenades, smoke bombs and throat slitting shivs are manufactured from items found on the map, including broken scissors, alcohol and pieces of cloth. All this crafting happens real time and the gamer is in constant stress especially when the threat is nearby.
Nearby Hunter
While the gameplay is close to perfection it may lack the certain finesse and responsiveness that users may expect from a actions scenario game like the Last of Us. The progress is slow and the expansive storyline, mixed in between intense gameplay, tends to take from the mood of the excitement. There are also stages where the characters are simply walking while figuring out their path, which may truly frustrate some.
Multiplayer
Although the Last of Us was not designed to be a multiplayer, the game does a wonderful job of that as well. Making you the leader of a group of survivors, scavenging and fending off enemies, you have to constantly explore the map and ensure that you are on top of the situation and in control of your team that often finds itself surrounded by problems. The multiplayer may not be the main concept but is a well appreciated addition to the overall experience of the Last of Us.
Conclusion
There is no doubt that the Last of Us is possibly the most beautiful game on Playstation 3, and the extensive work behind the tile truly shows from the start to the finish. The story is involving and creates a sense of relation and there comes a point where you actually start to feel bad for the state of the situation. The gameplay adds a lot of action and thrill, and literally keeps your heart pounding, especially when the higher-up infected are around. There is really nothing more you could ask for from a game.
If you own a Playstation 3 and are looking for a game that will keep you busy for hours and days, while making your heart pound and your thumbs smashing the controller, look no further.
Panasonic recently added three new cameras to its Mirrorless series- the GX1, G5 and GH3. The price range of the cameras ranges from Rs. 22,000 to Rs. 99,990 (body only).
Panasonic GH3
The camera offers smooth high-definition progressive scanning, a host of recording formats, and a heat-dispersing design for extended shooting.
At the heart of the DMC-GH3 lies a re-engineered 16.05-megapixel Live MOS Sensor. To maximize the resolution of the newly developed Live MOS Sensor, the image sensing block is designed as an integrated unit. The new filter optimizes the conventionally conflicting effects of increasing resolution while suppressing moire. The camera also features the new Venus Engine which has an unprecedented ability to process both still and video signals with razor-sharp clarity.
A rugged magnesium alloy body with a splash proof, dustproof design makes the DMC-GH3 tough enough for active outdoor use. . In the DMC-GH3’s Contrast AF system, the image sensor doubles as the AF sensor to resist any mechanical margin of error.
The DMC-GH3 uses a variety of advanced recording media, including the SDXC, SDHC, and SD Memory Cards. It lets you transfer your valuable shooting data at lightning fast speeds. The camera also has a built-in Wi-Fi® (IEEE 802.11 b/g/n) function. By installing LUMIX LINK 2.1 or newer, a dedicated application compatible with iOS and Android for smartphones and tablets, you can enjoy a new shooting style using Wi-Fi.
Price: Rs. 99,990 Body, Rs 154990 with 14140 lens.
Panasonic GX1
The Panasonic GX1 comes equipped with a 16.0-megapixel Live MOS Sensor. With the dedicated circuit, which reads out signals with minimum noise, the level of noise is significantly suppressed by more than 66%.
The DMC-GX1 features approx. 0.09 second of ultra-high speed Light Speed AF which is achieved by reducing the detection time for focusing by the synchronization of the lens and the sensor at 120 fps.
An electric zoom lever on the left side of the lens barrel makes it smoother to zoom when concentrating on the shutter operation with the right hand.
Price: Rs.34,990 with 1442 mm lens.
Panasonic G5
Panasonic has formally unveiled the LUMIX DMC-G5, a mid-level mirrorless interchangable lens camera. The G5 is built around a 16MP LiveMOS sensor that the company implies hasn’t been used in a G-series camera before. This, combined with the company’s latest ‘Venus Engine’ allows the capture of 1080p video at 60 frames per second. It also gains an additional control lever, higher-resolution 920,000 dot rear LCD and regains the eye-sensor to automatically switch between LCD and electronic viewfinder.
The Panasonic DMC-G5 features two types of noise reduction: Multiprocess Noise Reduction, which optimizes the noise reduction in the bright parts of the image for both single* and burst shooting, and 3D Noise Reduction, which applies optimal noise reduction by differentiating the edges and the smooth parts of the image in single shots.
It features the world’s fastest level of auto focusing, called Light Speed AF, which is achieved by reducing the detection time for focusing by doubling the drive speed from 60 to 120 frames per second.* The DMC-G5’s high-speed, high-precision AF functions operate even while shooting videos. The DMC-G5 records high-resolution Full-HD 1,920 x 1,080 60p (NTSC)/50p (PAL) videos with 28 Mbps videos in AVCHD Progressive (MPEG-4/H.264) format.
Price: Rs. 37,990 with 1442 mm, Rs. 43,990 with 1442 and 45150 mm lens.
