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Apple announced their first smartwatch at the tail end of last year but until a week ago, we had no information on price or availability of the new smartwatch. One of the EU's leading retailers feels that the high price commanded by the Apple Watch - the base model starts at $349 and the most expensive costs over $10,000 - could result in Apple's newest technology venture becoming a flop.
Speaking in London, Sebastian James, Chief Executive Officer of Dixons Carphone, said he is skeptical of the potential success of Apple's latest gadget. Mr James believes that by selling a premium luxury smartwatch, such as the expensive Apple Watch Edition, the company is entering a different market entirely which contains the likes of Bvlgari, Rolex, TAG Heur and Hublot amongst others.
Mr James' viewpoint comes from the fact that whilst traditional timepieces increase in value, Apple's product range is refreshed on a yearly cycle. As a result, whilst watches from the likes of Breitling and Rolex retain and appreciate in value over a long period of time, the Apple Watch will depreciate in value over the same period of time.
Mr James added:
“If you buy a smartwatch, in two or three years time you will ...
Google has updated its Messenger app for Android to version 1.2 that brings support for animated GIF. With this feature you can now send and receive animated GIFs through messages. The update also brings support for widgets in the lockscreen and the homescreen. Check out the complete changelog of the update below.
New features in Google Messenger for Android v1.2.036
Support for animated GIFs
Widget
Performance improvements and bug fixes
Google released its standalone Messenger app for Android back in November last year. It feature material design and comes with several features including support for audio messages, emojis, colored text threads, message archiving and more. There were some minor updates for the since the release, but this is the major update that adds new features.
Download Google Messenger (Free) - Android
Samsung has a history of introducing cases for their new smartphones and we've previously seen them introduce both flip and s-view window covers for the Note 4 and Galaxy S5 amongst other flagship devices. When designing for the Note Edge however, the company was clearly faced with a problem; how to make the unique Edge Screen - the key selling feature of the handset - accessible even when the cover is closed.
The result is a case that is both functional and protective but have they succeeded with the design?
Design & Quality
The Galaxy Note Edge Flip Wallet Cover does exactly what the name suggests - it's a leather cover that flips over to the protect the front of your phone when you're not using it. It comes sans the window that's found on the S View cover and instead relies on you either interacting with the Edge Screen or opening the cover to use your handset.
The front flap essentially covers the "normal" display on the Note Edge and leaves you able to use the Edge Screen. When the cover is closed, you're able to swipe between the different panels on the edge. The cover itself has the same faux leather finish as ...
Apple announced their first smartwatch at the tail end of last year but until a week ago, we had no information on price or availability of the new smartwatch. One of the EU's leading retailers feels that the high price commanded by the Apple Watch - the base model starts at $349 and the most expensive costs over $10,000 - could result in Apple's newest technology venture becoming a flop.
Speaking in London, Sebastian James, Chief Executive Officer of Dixons Carphone, said he is skeptical of the potential success of Apple's latest gadget. Mr James believes that by selling a premium luxury smartwatch, such as the expensive Apple Watch Edition, the company is entering a different market entirely which contains the likes of Bvlgari, Rolex, TAG Heur and Hublot amongst others.
Mr James' viewpoint comes from the fact that whilst traditional timepieces increase in value, Apple's product range is refreshed on a yearly cycle. As a result, whilst watches from the likes of Breitling and Rolex retain and appreciate in value over a long period of time, the Apple Watch will depreciate in value over the same period of time.
Mr James added:
“If you buy a smartwatch, in two or three years time you will ...
We are back with another readers meet up and this time we are teaming up with Intel to make this happen. And, we all know about brand Intel and the company doesn't need any introduction.
Intel has been a pioneer in the semi-conductor industry and we are sure that everybody has a gadget or two that's powered by Intel. Now, we are presenting you a golden chance to meet and interact with the team behind these revolutionary products.
Along with team Intel, some of the members from the FoneArena will also be at the venue and you can interact with all of us. Furthermore, we will be carrying some cool gadgets with us and we’ll surely give you an opportunity to play with them.
To make things even more exciting, we are giving away some goodies and one lucky winner at the venue will walk away with a grand prize. Wohoo! We will serve hi-tea to all our guests and it’s going to be a fun evening.
The meet up will happen in Bangalore early next week and we can’t just wait to meet all of you! If you are interested to be a part of our meet-up, then go ahead and register ...
Swipe introduced the Swipe Ultimate Tab 3G tablet as the first 2-in-1 Windows 8.1 tablet with built-in 3G and USB 3.0 support earlier this year. It went on sale recently for Rs. 18,991. Is this 2-in-1 device worth the price? Can this replace your laptop? Let us find out in the complete review.
Box Contents
Swipe Ultimate 3G tablet in Black color
AC power adapter (5V-2.5A)
OTG Cable
Magnetic keyboard with trackpad
Warranty Card
Display, Hardware and design
The tablet has a 10.1-inch display with a resolution of 800 x 1280 pixels and a pixel density of just 149PPI. Even though the resolution is low, the display is bright and offers 178-degree viewing angle. It has 10-point multi-touch input offering smooth touch gestures. The display is also protected by a scratch resistant glass. Since the display is glossy it is prone to fingerprints. There is a Windows capacitive touch button below the display.
It has a 2-megapixel fixed-focus camera on the top, above the display. There is also a LED notification light that glows in red and green colors. The front camera is not great in low lighting conditions since it has a lot of noise. It is decent in bright outdoor environment.
On the left side there is a a ...
HTC has launched a new fitness and health focused app for Android devices. Dubbed as Fun Fit, the app lets users track their activities like walking, running etc.
The Fun Fit app also offers calories burned, active time, running time, distance covered and so on. It is a social app and lets you log in with either a "guest account" or via your Facebook account. The app will let users connect and compete with Facebook friends and select quirky avatars. Moving on there are also charts that provide daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, and yearly records.
In addition, the Fun Fit app offers personalized settings with daily goals like unit: metric/imperial, height, and weight. It is a little surprising that being an HTC app, it does not require HTC login also users can login to the app one device at a time. The app is compatible with the Android 4.1 or higher version running phones.
Play Link - Fun Fit
It looks like Sony is working on another selfie focused smartphone after the Xperia C 3. Photos of a certain Xperia Cosmos has been leaked focusing the 5MP front facing shooter with LED flash.
Photos of the Xperia Cosmos have been leaked by popular leakster @upleaks on Twitter. As per the images, the phone will run Android 5.0 Lollipop and smartphone powered by a MediaTek MT6752 processor (a 64-bit octa-core LTE SoC). It has rounded corners, smaller bezels and a the trademark Sony power button on the right side.
The phone looks like a mid range device and Sony is releasing yet another device that will capitalize the current selfi trend. Unfortunately, there are no other details about the specs of the phone are available.
Micromax's YU has started teasing its upcoming smartphone that will run on Cyanogen OS based on Android Lollipop. The company's latest teaser says You've got a KitKat. Why don't you wait for a Lollipop. Stay tuned for project caeser. The teaser shows lollipop loaded till 60%, so the smartphone could be unveiled in a few weeks.
In another teaser YU took a dig at Xiaomi by using Mi India's M in the teaser stating KitKat in the age of lollipop? Give ME a break. It also says Project Caesar: Stay tuned, the fYUture is coming!
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Both the teaser images doesn't reveal any other details about the company's upcoming smartphone. It is not clear whether if the smartphone will have better specifications compared to its current YU YUREKA smartphone that was launched few months back. YU partnered with Cyanogen Inc. last year so that all the YU branded smartphones will run on Cyanogen OS.
YU has promised to offer Android Lollipop update for YU YUREKA in the form of Cyanogen OS 12, which will roll out in a few weeks, since the beta testing for the update has already started.
YouTube launched a music subscription service Music Key for Android and iOS in November last years. Now, it seems like YouTube is expanding its subscription service to video.
YouTube is considering to launch a subscription video service owing to increased competition for original content from VoD services including Hulu and Vimeo. The possibility of this service was noticed in a Variety report that says that "YouTube is exploring the prospect of launching its own subscription VOD service, modeled on YouTube Music Key;”. YouTube Music Key beta, monthly subscription service is available at a promotional price of US$7.99/month and the original price is US$9.99/month.
It is said that the paid service will provide ad free video streaming. An executive at a YouTube content creation partner said that it was approached by the video site late last year about getting on board an SVOD licensing deal. There is no word from YouTube regarding the service.
Sony just announced that it has started rolling out Android 5.0.2 (Lollipop) update starting from the Xperia Z3 and Xperia Z3 Compact smartphones. It will roll out from Nordics and Baltics. It already promised that it will offer Lollipop update for the entire Xperia Z series devices. Today the company has announced that it will offer Lollipop updates for more Xperia Z Series devices in around two weeks.
New features in Android 5.0 Lollipop update for Sony Xperia Z3 and Z3 Compact
Fresh, streamlined looks – based on Google’s material design, but retaining our minimalistic approach to interface and application design.
New look notifications and lock screen – with fully customizable settings, so you only get the information you really need.
Multi user profiles and guest mode – making it easy for family and friends to use your device, or the creation of dual environments for work and play.
Android for Work – not only are business-ready Xperia smartphones and tablets unique devices for work – with waterproof form factors, great battery life and productivity features – they will now also be part of the Android for Work ecosystem.
Better storage control and customisation – with the option to easily move applications from internal memory to SD card – giving you ...
Google is reportedly planning to work on an open API for Google Now that will allow any third-party app to display information through the service.
The API will allow developers of any third-party app to surface information via their own Google Now cards. At present the pilot program works only on 40 third party devices and this will be a great expansion. Aparna Chennapragada, Director of Product Management for Google Now, has confirmed that API will be available for the devices. She added that Google Now will display data from apps based on the individual's app usage patterns over time.
The Google Now team over the next 6-12 months will work to better marry Google’s understanding of the world, with personal circumstances of the users.
Earlier this year Honor, the global brand under Huawei today announced at the MWC that it will launch the Honor 6 Plus smartphone and new 4G devices in India late March. Today the company has revealed that it will launch the Honor 6 Plus smartphone in India on March 24th. The smartphone was announced back in December last year and has an unique dual 8-megapixel cameras on the back with dual LED flashes for effective pixel size to 1.98 microns resulting in sharper images. It also has an adjustable aperture that can be set between f/0.95 and f/16.
It has a 5.5-inch 1080p screen with 72.8% screen-to-body ratio and 2.8mm slim bezels on the sides, is powered by a Octa-Core (4×1.8GHz + 4×1.3GHz) Hisilicon Kirin 925 processor with i3 low-power sensor.
Huawei Honor 6 Plus specifications
5.5-inch (1920 x 1080 pixels) in-cell LTPS display with 10-finger multi-touch
Octa-Core (4×1.8GHz Cortex A15 4×1.3GHz Cortex A7) Hisilicon Kirin 925 processor with Mali T628-MP4 GPU
3GB RAM, 16GB/ 32GB internal memory, expandable up to 128GB with microSD
Android 4.4 (KitKat) with Emotion UI 3.0
Dual SIM (micro + nano)
Dual 8MP camera rear cameras with, F2.0 aperture, Dual LED flash
8MP front-facing camera, F2.4 aperture, Sony BSI sensor, 5P lens
Dimensions: 150.46 x 75.68 x 7.5; Weight: 165g
IR ...
The handset might have already been replaced but Samsung's first curved edge smartphone - the Galaxy Note Edge - still has some uses. Sharing the same internals as the Galaxy Note 4, the Note Edge is a powerhouse capable of performing lots of tasks and armed with a 3000 mAh battery to power you through the day.
The week of Mobile World Congress 2015 is traditionally one of the busiest of the year for journalists, with endless hours of status updates, checking facts, finding your way to venues and occasionally, posting on the go. Samsung claim that the Galaxy Note Edge can easily last a full day of heavy usage so how did the Note Edge - courtesy of Vodafone UK - handle the heavy usage of a week at MWC?
There's three areas we're focusing on in this editorial; the unique curved Edge Screen, the connectivity capabilities of the Note Edge including LTE and the battery life.
Edge Screen
The Galaxy Note Edge was the first to have an Edge screen with the customisable panels and during the busy week, the Edge Screen came in handy. From checking the latest trends on Twitter to the latest notifications and even incoming calls, the Edge Screen was ...
Sony Xperia Z4 has been leaked in new renders by @Onleaks that shows the smartphone in several angles. According to him these images are unofficial 3D renderings of how the smartphone would look like based on unfinished versions of the smartphone, according to his source. The design of the smartphone doesn't differ from the company's Omnibalance design language in the Xperia Z3, but location of the ports are different.
Charging/Notification light on the top left corner and the 3.5mm audio jack on the top are the same compared to the Xperia Z3. Secondary microphone on the top has been moved to the top right, from the left. Loudspeaker grills / microphone on the front are slightly larger and have been moved to the edges. Location of the front camera has been changed to left side from the right of the SONY branding in the Z3, which now has proximity and ambient light sensors. SIM card and memory card slots under a flap have been shifted to left side and the charging dock connector has been completely removed from that side, but the power button, volume rocker and the dedicated camera key are in the same position. According to him the early prototype doesn't have memory card slot, ...
A couple of screenshots of Windows 10 for phone have been leaked. The screenshots of the phone build 8.15.12521 shows new features and UI tweaks on the phone.
The leaked screenshots show off new features such as activation of LED notifications that will be seen on devices such Lumia 730, Lumia 735 and Lumia 930. There is a redesigned settings section with toggle setting. Another small but useful feature is that users will be able to remove the main Microsoft account without restoring the entire handset to factory setting.The New Outlook contact page shows a circular space for adding the contact photo which was square in shape earlier.
Similar to Windows 10 for desktops, the Windows 10 for phones will enable users set which apps can use the onboard microphone. Importing or exporting the contacts from the SIM Card is possible. OneDrive backup also gets showcased, with the feature set to allow users to back up app data to the cloud service. Finally, the screenshots also give us a look at the new messaging and people apps.
Last month, Microsoft confirmed that Windows 10 phone preview will support 512 MB RAM models.
Xiaomi is partnering with Chinese sports footwear company Li Ning for smart running shoes. Both the companies will make running shoes that will have a have chips in its soles to track activity.
The smart chip inserted into the shoes will collect fitness-related data like distance covered, progress, achievements, goals and so on. This chip will be connected to the smartphone via an app and users can see all there fitness data in one place. According to Li Ning, the partnership will result in two pairs of smart shoes initially. One will be a smart version of one of Li Ning’s existing high-end running shoe models, priced the same while the other will be a brand new shoe model that Li Ning says will “create a new low price for smart shoes.
"We have chosen to collaborate with the Mi band because of Huami Technology's strength in "smart" wearable products. We hope to use this opportunity to provide professional "smart" running shoes to running enthusiasts in China at an affordable price."
Li Ning said in a statement.
Li Ning said its partnership with Huami Technology, the fitness wearable company behind the Mi band and part of the Xiaomi ecosystem, is the first collaboration between sports and ...
Xolo has announced Q1001, the company's latest smartphone in the Q CORE series that comes with a quad-core MediaTek MT6582 processor. Apart from the processor most specifications of the smartphone are similar to the Xolo A1010 smartphone that was launched last month, including a 5-inch (854 x 480 pixels) FWVGA IPS display, Android 4.4 (Kitkat), 5-megapixels rear camera with LED flash, VGA font-facing camera, dual SIM support and 3G connectivity.
Xolo Q1001 Specifications
5-inch (854 x 480 pixels) FWVGA IPS display at 196 PPI
1.3 GHz quad-core Mediatek MT 6582M processor with 240 MHz Mali 400 MP2 GPU
512MB RAM, 4GB internal memory, expandable memory up to 32GB with microSD
Dual SIM
Android 4.4 (Kitkat)
Dimensions: 143 x 73.2 x 9.5 mm
5MP rear camera with LED Flash
VGA front-facing camera
3.5mm audio jack, FM Radio
3G HSPA+, WiFi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0, GPS
2000 mAh battery
The Xolo Q1001 comes in black and white colors and is priced at Rs. 6,199. It is expected to go on sale soon.
Apple is expanding its trade in program and luring Andriod users to switch to iPhone, according to a report from 9to5Mac, The trade-in program from the company does not accept phones from other OEMs but that is about to change as per the report.
The new trade-in program that will be offered by Apple retail stores will purely focus on getting Android users to trade-in their current devices for an iPhone. It would work similarly to the way you trade in an iPhone where Apple determines the value of the phone based on what condition it is in and a variety of other factors. In turn they will issue Apple gift cards for them that can be used for the purchase of a new iPhone.
The report further says that the store employees will help them transfer contacts, customers themselves will be responsible for saving any important files or content other than contacts. This program is said to arrive in a few weeks’ time, with training for in-store employees to happen this week. The iPhone trade-in program launched in 2013 to encourage Apple fans to swap their old iPhones for store credit toward a newer one.
Motorola has updated its Gallery app with several new features that includes sorting images by event and time, material design enhancements and easy access for cropping an image. Highlight Reel that helps you make short video clips from your best photos and video that was present only for DROID Turbo is now available for more Moto X series devices and Droid Ultra. It also gets a new icon. Check out the complete changelog below.
New features in Motorola Gallery
Improved Camera Roll view with sorting by event and time
New app icon and material design enhancements
Quicker access for cropping a photo
Stability and performance enhancements
Highlight Reel now available for Moto X (1st gen), Moto X (2nd gen) and Droid Ultra
More free music downloads to personalize Highlight Reels
The Motorola Gallery update is now available for Motorola smartphones from Google Play.
Chromecast streaming dongle can now be controlled via your TV's remote. Users can now play and pause video content on the Chromecast that makes it easier to control.
The feature works with HDMI-CEC technology and the TV needs to support this. This technology allows the Chromecast to automatically turn on your TV when you want to play a video. The feature is working with apps like WatchESPN, HBO Go, Chrome HRML5 videos, YouTube, Allcast, BBC iPlayer, Google Play Music, and TuneIn Radio. At the moment, it seems like most of the big video-streaming services work with the remote, bar Netflix.
Google has not officially announced the latest feature for Chromecast. The media streaming dongle was launched in India last year for Rs 2,999. Check out out Chromecast review here.
