Google might have sold off Motorola to Lenovo, but is keeping all those patents and research teams close to Mountain View. Motorola's R&D initially unveiled a concept called "Ara", the first modular smartphone that has the potential to totally change the way we look at, and buy smartphones. The concept is pretty simple, as it follows the typical "Build you own PC" method, which grants you the flexibility of choice in interesting permutations and combinations. Ara now belongs to Google, and naturally, we are seeing some momentum here, with them announcing a Modular Development Kit, using which hardware manufacturers or "Module Developers" can create different modules that will eventually turn up on your own custom Ara phone.
The released MDK throws light on how the whole modular concept could work, with carefully detailed module specifications so that developers could take advantage of it. Google calls the base part of the Ara Phone "Endo", a short form of Endoskeleton, which will support all the modules. There will be two sides, Front and the Back, where modules can be fixed. The front will naturally have the user interaction parts while the back will have the actual functions that one would want, which will ...
Google might have sold off Motorola to Lenovo, but is keeping all those patents and research teams close to Mountain View. Motorola's R&D initially unveiled a concept called "Ara", the first modular smartphone that has the potential to totally change the way we look at, and buy smartphones. The concept is pretty simple, as it follows the typical "Build you own PC" method, which grants you the flexibility of choice in interesting permutations and combinations. Ara now belongs to Google, and naturally, we are seeing some momentum here, with them announcing a Modular Development Kit, using which hardware manufacturers or "Module Developers" can create different modules that will eventually turn up on your own custom Ara phone.
The released MDK throws light on how the whole modular concept could work, with carefully detailed module specifications so that developers could take advantage of it. Google calls the base part of the Ara Phone "Endo", a short form of Endoskeleton, which will support all the modules. There will be two sides, Front and the Back, where modules can be fixed. The front will naturally have the user interaction parts while the back will have the actual functions that one would want, which will ...
iBall has launched Andi 4.5P Glitter, the latest smartphone in the Andi series. It has a 4.5-inch (480 x 854 pixels) FWVGA touch screen IPS display, powered by a 1.3 GHz quad-core processor and runs on Android 4.2 (Jelly Bean). It has a 8-megapixel rear camera with LED flash and a front-facing camera. It also has 3G connectivity and has dual SIM support, auto call recording and flip to mute features.
iBall Andi 4.5P Glitter specifications
4.5-inch (480 x 854 pixels) touch screen IPS display
1.3 GHz quad-core processor
Android 4.2.2 (Jelly Bean)
Dual SIM (GSM + GSM)
8MP rear camera with LED Flash
front-facing camera
3.5mm audio jack, FM Radio
512MB RAM, 4GB internal memory, 32GB expandable memory with MicroSD
3G HSPA+,WiFi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0 with A2DP, GPS
1450 mAh battery
The iBall Andi 4.5P Glitter comes in White and Yellow colors and is priced at an MOP of Rs. 7,399, while the MRP is 8,299.
iBall Andi 3.5Kke Genius and Andi 3.5Kke Winner are the new smartphones in the Andi 3.5Kke range. Both these smartphones have a 3.5-inch HVGA display, powered by a 1.3 GHz quad-core processor and runs on Android 4.2 (Jelly Bean). These have a 3.2-megapixel rear camera with LED flash and a VGA front-facing camera.
The Andi 3.5Kke Genius has 3G HSPA+ connectivity, but the Andi 3.5Kke Winner comes only with 2G ...
Motorola launched the Moto X in India last month. You might have already seen the unboxing and benchmarks of the device few months back. We brought you the photo gallery of the device recently. Here we have the camera samples of the smartphone. The Moto X has a 10.5-megapixel OmniVision (OV10820) 1/2.5″ 1.4 um sensor with an f2.4 lens. This captures captures RAW images using a RGBC (red / green / blue / clear) color filter and the chip automatically converts the image into Bayer format. The new RGB Clear (RGBC) color filter that is used for the first time promises better low-light performance.
Unlike most phones that captures images and videos in 4:3 aspect ratio, this captures images and videos in 16:9 aspect ratio natively. The Moto X has a 4.7-inch (1280 x 720 pixels) edge-to-edge display AMOLED display with Corning Gorilla Glass protection, powered by a 1.7 GHz dual-core Snapdragon S4 Pro processor with Adreno 320 GPU and runs on Android 4.4 (KitKat). It also has a 2-megapixel front-facing camera and packs 2GB RAM, 16GB internal storage and 2200 mAh battery.
Check out the camera samples (click to view these images in full resolution) below.
Daylight
Low Light
Flash
HDR
Macro
The Moto X can record videos at 1080p resolution at 30 fps. Check out the video sample
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jsf1xWUT_08
It ...
All devices running Android 2.2 and above come with a "Verify Apps" feature built into the Google Settings application. So far this feature has been used to scan apps while installing. The feature would kick in whenever a user would install an APK file obtained from other than the Play Store. Going forward, Google is pushing out an update to flesh out this functionality.
Verify Apps will now run continuously as a background security service that will keep an eye on all running apps and monitor them to ensure that no malicious activity is taking place. What this means is that even if a manually installed APK manifests itself as malware after installation, the service will be able to track it down. This would also work for apps obtained via the Play Store which is particularly important as we've seen several cases recently where malware riddled applications disguised themselves as high ranking apps.
It remains to be seen if the constantly running service will be a battery drain and if it will effect performance. The service has been used over 4 billion times since it was debuted. Given the rising number of malware affected apps on the Play Store, this is ...
As competition in the chipset space increases, its been rumored that LG has plans of their own to bring along an ARM based system on chip dubbed Odin. While rumors have been around for a couple of years now, we finally might have something concrete around the specifics of the chipset. Believed to be based on the big.LITTLE configuration that we talked about a while back, the Odin chipset would pair four Cortex A15 cores clocked at 2.2Ghz each with four Cortex A7 cores clocked at 1.7Ghz. To be manufactured on the 28nm process, it is believed that TSMC is in charge of manufacturing.
Said chip will however not be making its debut in the LG G3. A critical product for the Korean company, LG will be relying on Qualcomm's Snapdragon 805 chipset to power the handset. To be available in both quad and octa core configurations, the SoC will pack an ARM Mali T604 or T760 GPU depending on the configuration. The first handset to be powered by Odin is expected to be a low - mid range device later this year. Meanwhile, the LG G3 is shaping up to be a beast of a smartphone with a 2k display, ...
Samsung Galaxy S5 that was launched in India last month is on sale from retailers and from the official Samsung India eStore. Samsung started taking pre-orders for the Galaxy S5 starting from March 29th with cash back offer for Citbank credit card holders. It packs a 5.1-inch full HD (1920×1080 pixels) Super AMOLED display, powered by a Octa-Core Exynos 5422 (A15 1.9 GHz ＋ A7 1.3 GHz) processor with Heterogeneous Multi-Processing and runs on Android 4.4 (KitKat).
It has a 16-megapixel rear camera with LED Flash, Ultra HD video recording at 30fps, HDR (Rich tone), Selective Focus, Virtual Tour Shot and more new features and a 2.1-megapixel front-facing camera. It has IP67 ratings for Dust and water Resistance.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X_cw_fisMKs
It also has the Finger Scanner for a secure, biometric screen locking feature and mobile payments, S Health 3.0 with additional tools including a pedometer, diet and exercise records, and a new, built-in heart rate monitor and packs a 2800 mAh battery with Ultra Power Saving Mode.
Samsung Galaxy S5 Specifications
5.1-inch full HD (1920×1080 pixels) Super AMOLED display
Octa-Core Exynos 5422 (A15 1.9 GHz ＋ A7 1.3 GHz) processor with Mali T628 MP6 GPU
Android 4.4.2 (KitKat)
16MP rear camera with LED Flash, BSI and Ultra HD video recording
2.1MP front-facing camera
IP67 ratings for dust and water resistance
8.1 mm thick and weighs 145 ...
Amazon has bought digital comic book store ComiXology for an undisclosed sum. Founded in 2007, ComiXology has a collection of digital comic books from more than 75 publishers. It boasts of graphic novels from popular publishers like Marvel and DC along with many independent creators.
ComiXology introduced a digital reader and store in 2009 while in 2013, it launched a self-publishing platform for comics that allows comic creators to upload and sell their own work. The “Comics by Comixology” app which is available free on iOS and Android, topped 200 million comic book downloads last year.
David Naggar, Amazon's vice president of content acquisition and independent publishing, said in a statement.
We've long admired the passion ComiXology brings to changing the way we buy and read comics and graphic novels. We look forward to investing in the business, growing the team, and together, bringing comics and graphic novels to even more readers.
Amazon did not mentioned how it will exactly use the acquisition, however it can be predicted that the company will integrate it on Kindle or Kindle Fire Tablets. The company recently launched EMI schemes for Kindle devices in India. The deal is expected to close during the second quarter of 2014.
The downward slide of PC shipment continued even in the first quarter of 2014 after constant decline throughout entire 2013. Global PC shipments dropped to 76.6 million units in the first quarter of 2014, a 1.7 percent decrease from the same period last year, according to Gartner. Gartner attributed the slump in PC shipments to Microsoft's decision to end support for Windows XP operating system.
Mikako Kitagawa, principal analyst at Gartner in an official statement.
All regions indicated a positive effect since the end of XP support stimulated the PC refresh of XP systems. Professional desktops, in particular, showed strength in the quarter. Among key countries, Japan was greatly affected by the end of XP support, registering a 35 percent year-over-year increase in PC shipments. The growth was also boosted by sales tax change. We expect the impact of XP migration worldwide to continue throughout 2014.
Giving insights about vendor performance this quarter, Gartner revealed that Lenovo continued to be the leader with 16.9% global market share followed by HP and Dell at 16% and 12.5% respectively. The share difference between Dell and HP once again narrowed as HP managed to achieve its fastest shipment growth of the last two years with 4.1%. On the other hand Dell maintained a strong ...
Sony announced the Vaio Fit 11A tablet computer during January earlier this year and the product went on sale during February. However, in the past weeks, Sony had received three complaints from consumers reporting burnt parts in the Vaio Fit 11A. As a result, Sony has said that there was risk that the batteries of these products, which are made by Panasonic, could overheat and catch fire.
According to the WSJ, around 26,000 computers that have been sold have this glitch. After receiving three complaints - one on March 19 in Japan, the other on March 30 in Hong Kong and the third on April 8th in China. The company stopped selling the products at the starting of this month.
Sony sold the personal computer division a couple of months back and the Vaio Fit 11A was the last Vaio product developed by Sony. Sony has said that it would be identifying the defective products by their serial number and would soon finalize a way to either get the device replaced or repaired. They would be updating more information about this on their homepage within a couple of weeks.
This isn't the first time Sony isn't recalling its Vaio series products as it ...
Spice has launched Stellar Glide Mi-438, the latest smartphone in the Stellar series. It has a 4-inch touch screen display based on One Glass Solution (OGS) technology, powered by a 1.3 GHz dual-core processor and runs on Android 4.2 (Jelly Bean). It has a 2-megapixel rear camera with LED flash and a 1.3-megapixel front-facing camera.
It has 3G connectivity and dual SIM support, similar to most phones in Stellar range. Spice also offers 2GB of free storage on Spice Cloud to backup your data. Xolo launched the A500 Club with a similar 4-inch OGS display recently.
Commenting on the launch, Mr. T M Ramakrishnan- CEO, Devices, Spice Retail Ltd, said
Stellar Glide is a power-driven device in terms of its processor and expandable storage (upto 32 GB). At Spice, we believe in catering to consumers’ needs and aspirations and the Stellar Glide with GMS certification is another potent effort from us in exceeding consumer expectations.
Spice Stellar Glide Mi-438 specifications
4-inch touch screen OGS display
Android 4.2 (Jelly Bean)
1.3 GHz dual-core processor
Dual SIM
2MP rear Camera with LED flash
1.3MP front-facing camera
3.5mm audio jack, FM Radio
512MB RAM, 4GB internal memory, expandable memory up to 32GB with MicroSD
3G, WiFi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 3.0 with A2DP, GPS
1350 mAh battery with up to 4.5 hours talk time and ...
Google seems to be spending a lot of time and resources in adding features and functionality to its suite of applications that come with an Android smartphone. Rumors are floating around that Google is planning a complete visual overhaul of its Gmail application and Google Calendar application. In the meantime, Google has updated its mobile browser - Chrome for Beta with some much needed features.
Some of the features that Chrome Beta has picked up in the latest update include the ability to undo a tab close, better fullscreen video viewing and Samsung Multi-Window support. Chrome for Beta has been updated to version 35 and according to Google's official blog post, the following are the changes
Undo Tab Close
Fullscreen video with Subtitles and HTML5 controls
Support for some multi-window devices
Support for casting some videos with Chromecast
In addition to mentioning the features, since this is a beta version, Google has also given a list of issues that come with the browser.
Known issues include:
YouTube support for casting videos is not complete
Fullscreen video controls are not complete
Source
Alleged screenshot of LG G3 leaked recently that showed off a flat Android UI. Now UA Profile of the LG LS990 for Sprint has surfaced on the official sprint website. Since the LG G2 for Sprint has a model number LS980, this smartphone is expected to be the upcoming LG G3. According the UA Profile, this smartphone would come with a 5.5-inch Quad HD (QHD) display with a resolution of 2560 x 1440 pixels that was announced last year, powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM8974 processor (could be Snapdragon 800 or 801 SoC).
It would run on Android 4.4 (KitKat). Earlier rumors suggested that it would feature a 16-megapixel rear camera, but the UA profile shows that it would come with a 13-megapixel rear camera similar to the LG G2.
LG G3 (LS990) rumored specifications
5.5-inch (1440×2560 pixels) Quad HD display at 538 ppi
quad-core Snapdragon 800 or 801 processor with Adreno 330 GPU
Android 4.4.2 (KitKat)
13MP rear camera with 1080p video recording
2.1 MP front-facing camera
3GB DDR3 RAM, 32GB of internal memory, expandable memory up to 64GB with micro SD
4G LTE/3G HSPA+, WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n, Bluetooth, GPS / aGPS
We still don't have the battery capacity or a press render of the smartphone yet. It is also likely to come with rear mounted power ...
The entry level segment remains the largest selling section of the smartphone market in India. HTC recently announced the Desire 310 that targets exactly this corner of the market. With entry level specifications and a price to match, the phone could prove to be HTC's trump card in the volume segment especially as our initial impressions show the phone to be a rather well optimized piece of kit. Check out our unboxing while we work on our review of the HTC Desire 310. httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=da6mJlaMs_c
HTC Desire 310 dual sim Specifications
4.5-inch (854 x 480 pixels) touch screen IPS display
1.3 GHz Quad-core Mediatek MT6582M processor
Android 4.2 (Jelly Bean)
Dual SIM (GSM + GSM)
5MP rear camera with 1080p Full HD video recording
0.3MP (VGA) front-facing camera
11.25 mm thick and weighs 140 grams
3.5mm audio jack
512MB RAM, 4GB internal memory, 32GB expandable memory with MicroSD
3G (HSDPA: 21 Mbps, HSUPA: 5.76 Mbps), WiFi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0 with aptX, GPS, MHL
2000 mAh battery
The HTC Desire 310 dual sim is available in Blue, White and Red colors and is priced at Rs. 11,480.
Last month, LG had announced the LTE variant of their popular G2 smartphone. While they had a demo of the device, it was mainly for the press and media. Now Qualcomm and LG have set up an LTE Experience Zone for the public in Bangalore.
The Experience Zone is in Phoenix Market City Mall in Whitefield, Bangalore. The public can freely go over they on any day between 11th to 13th April to get a first hand experience of 4G LTE and the improvements it brings on the LG G2 LTE.
The LTE variant of the LG G2 which is LG's first LTE device in India is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 processor. The device had no issues streaming the content over 4G and then wirelessly displaying the content onto the large screen TV. Qualcomm is already on its 4th generation LTE multimode modem and only one to offer LTE Advance with carrier aggregation
The LG G2 LTE version is now available at a price of 49,000 rupees for the 32GB model. It's available in three colour variants - White, Black and Gold and customers will also get a Quick Window case free of charge.
While we were at the booth, we tried ...
Asus launched the Fonepad 7, a 7-inch tablet with 3G and voice calling capabilities in India last year. The has sent us a press invite for the launch of Asus Fonepad 7 Dual SIM (ME175CG) with dual SIM support in India on April 15th. It was announced at the MWC 2014 earlier this year and packs a 7-inch (1280 x 800) HD LED Backlit IPS display, but this is powered by a 1.2 GHz dual-core Intel Atom Z2520 processor and runs on Android 4.3 (Jelly Bean).
Other features are similar to the single-SIM variant including a 5-megapixel rear camera with 1080p full HD video recording and a 1.2 MP front-facing camera, SonicMaster audio technology and 3G HSPA+ connectivity along with voice calling capabilities.
Asus Fonepad 7 Dual SIM specifications
7-inch (1280 x 800) HD LED Backlit IPS display with 10 finger multi-touch
1.2 GHz dual-core Intel Atom Z2520 processor with 300 MHz PowerVR SGX544 GPU
Dual SIM with dual standby (micro SIMs)
Android 4.3 (Jelly Bean)
5MP rear camera with 1080p Full HD video recording
1.2MP front-facing camera with 720p Video Recording
11.35mm thick and weighs 340g
1GB RAM, 8GB GB internal memory, expandable memory up to 64GB via micro SD
3G HSPA+, WiFi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 3.0, GPS
3950mAh battery with up to 28 hours of 3G talk time and up to 35 days ...
Google Glass, the Mountain View company's first wearable product that took the world by storm, started out as a preview, with an invite-only explorer program. But in a turn of events, Google will be selling the Explorer edition of Glass to anyone in the US, but with a tiny catch. It will be available only for a limited time frame, and only on April 15th, when it will be out for anyone to buy. All you have to do is sign up with your details on this page and you will be able to get the Glass on the 15th, but of course you have to be a US citizen and have to pay the same 1500$ price. But the upside is, you get a frame or shade, according to your preferences and there is no extra cost associated with it.
Next Tuesday, April 15th at 6am PDT, we’re opening up some spots in the Glass Explorer Program. Any adult in the US* can become an Explorer by visiting our site and purchasing Glass for $1500 + tax – and it now comes with your favorite shade or frame, thanks to feedback from our current Explorers. The number of spots available ...
Rumors around the long awaited Amazon smartphone have been floating around for years now but The Wall Street Journal has now gone on record to say that it should be expected this June. Amazon is believed to be showing off prototypes to developers in SFO and Seattle to gain support for its rather unique hardware. While showing 3D content on a phone has been done before, Amazon will be the first to include retina tracking technology that will largely be handled using the four front facing cameras that it will include. This approach will create a 3D hologram like effect and will not require users to wear special glasses.
Amazon has been going big on all fronts over the past few months. The company launched it's own set top box that includes class leading voice control technology. Amazon also managed to cross 200,000 applications on it's app store. This is in addition to the company's drone delivery ambitions as uncovered last year. Suffice it to say that even though 3D on mobile phones has been dismissed as gimmicky, it will be foolhardy to sideline Amazon's entry into the ecosystem.The first Amazon smartphone is expected to ship in September ahead of the ...
Unless you've been living under a rock for the past few days, its been hard to miss the buzz around Heartbleed, the latest and greatest vulnerability to hit the internet. The flaw in OpenSSL is said to affect close to two thirds of the internet and could allow theft of data protected by SSL/TLS encryption. In short, all your passwords could be easily accessible. Most of the sites that you're likely to frequent and most devices that you use have since been patched to get around Heartbleed, all except one.
Google yesterday issued a statement saying that all versions of Android are immune to CVE-2014-0160 ie Heartbleed with the limited exception of Android 4.1.1. Google's Android distribution dashboard states that Android Jellybean (4.1.x - 4.3) accounts for 34.4%. If even a small subset of the current install base is on 4.1.1, it potentially makes several million users out there vulnerable. Fret not though as Mountain View has already pushed out a patch to Android partners and it is now up to OEMs and carriers to roll this out to users.
Security research firm Lookout confirmed that hackers are less likely to go after individual devices than servers. This stems from the ...
Today we've the unboxing of the Samsung Galaxy S5. It was officially announced in February during Mobile World Congress 2014. It is now available for purchase in India through Samsung stores and most other retailers.
The device retails for a price of around 51,500 rupees. The price varies a bit depending on your location and the retailer you choose. This is quite high even if you if you compare the launch price of the Samsung Galaxy Note 3.
There is also a special offer going on at the moment which gives you around 15-20% cashback based on the card that you have. That guarantees you a saving of at least 7000 rupees. So we advise you to check for any such offers before making a purchase.
The contents of the box are :
Samsung Galaxy S5 (Powered by Exynos Octa-Core Processor)
2800 mAH Battery
Earphone and Additional Eartips
USB to microUSB 2.0 Cable
Wall Charger
Documentation
The device available in India is powered by an Octa-Core (A15 1.9 Quad + A7 1.3 Quad) Exynos 5422 processor and it wont support LTE bands.
The box contents are as expected bar the USB cable. Despite having a USB 3.0 port on the device, Samsung has chosen to provide us with a 2.0 cable. While ...
PayPal has announced that the fingerprint-based authentication system for the Galaxy S5 is available in 25 countries. This lets users just login to PayPal on mobile web sites, mobile apps and in stores with their fingerprint. This was first announced at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona in February. It is also more secure, says PayPal.
Here is the official demo that shows how to use the biometric authentication system to login to PayPal on the Galaxy S5.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=41K8b_Kcj1U
John Lunn from PayPal Developer Network, said
Customers can use their finger to pay with PayPal from their new Samsung Galaxy S5 because the FIDO Ready software on the device securely communicates between the fingerprint sensor on their device and PayPal’s service in the cloud. The only information the device shares with PayPal is a unique encrypted key that allows PayPal to verify the identity of the customer without having to store any biometric information on PayPal’s servers.
It has also launched PayPay apps for Gear 2 and Gear Fit that lets users to check-in to pay with PayPal in eight countries, as it promised at the MWC 2014 earlier this year. It also lets users check their PayPal balance, get payment notifications and save offers from local businesses.
Here is a demo of ...
