SAMSUNG GALAXY NOTE II

       When Samsung introduced Galaxy Note everyone was very surprised to see that device which lies between a phone and a tablet. Almost all thought that the ‘phablet’ will be a failure in the market. But when it was launched in the market it was a huge success. So now Samsung has unveiled its new modified Galaxy Note II which is better than the original Note in every way. Note II comes with a 1.6GHz Exynos 4 quad core processor and also has 2GB RAM. Its screen is 5.5” which is slightly bigger than the older Note. Display is HD super AMOLED with a resolution of 1280 x 720. Note II is built with the same polycarbonate plastic which was used to build the Samsung Galaxy S III. In looks also Note II feels like the bigger version of Galaxy S III. With the Note II come the all new S pen and many amazing features it can do. Note II will be shipped with the new Android 4.1 Jelly bean so that the consumers won’t have to wait for any updates.

SPECIFICATIONS:

*Android 4.1 Jelly bean OS

*1.6 GHz Exynos 4 quad core processor

*2 GB RAM

*5.5” HD super AMOLED display

*1280 x 720 screen resolution

*Camera: 8MP rear and 1.9MP front

*Comes in 16, 32, 64 GB models and can be expanded upto 64GB

*3100 mAh battery

*Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0, micro USB, NFC, 4G LTE

       Galaxy Note II which is blisteringly fast will surely be a great competitor to many high end phones. But the size of phablet is a factor to be considered while buying this. If you are having small palms then you will have difficulty in holding the Note II. We also don’t know how nicely the new S pen and its new tricks works. However if you are keen on buying a phablet then there is no device better than the Samsung Galaxy Note II.

PRICE : 39,900 Rs

Apple launches the most awaited iPhone 5

     Apple Inc on September 12,2012 unveiled iPhone 5, claiming it to be the world's thinnest smartphone. The new bigger, thinner, faster and lighter smartphone from Apple is launched expecting the top spot in global smartphone market.The iPhone 5 comes with iOS 6 with 200 new features including Maps app with Apple-designed cartography, turn-by-turn navigation, Flyover view; new Siri features ;Facebook integration for Contacts and Calendar etc.

     The iPhone 5 "is made entirely of glass and aluminum," said Tim Cook, CEO, Apple, at the iPhone 5 launch event, adding "You see we're able to add a 5th row of icons." 

     The iPhone 5 comes with a 4-inch retina display. High speed internet can be accessed using 4G LTE network. iPhone 5 is 20 pecent lighter than 4S. It features the Lightning connector that is smaller and more durable than the previous connector. The phone has an 8 megapixel iSight camera with smaller lens. iPhone 5 supports ultrafast wireless standards including LTE and DC-HSDPA

     "It is an absolute jewel. The software and engineering that went into this product is the most challenging our team has ever taken on," said Apples's Marketing Chief Phil Schiller at San Francisco.

FEATURES

*  iPhone 5 is 20% lighter than iPhone 4S

*  Uses A6 chip which is 2X faster CPU, 2X faster graphics, 22% smaller.

*  Voice and data are integrated in one chip

*  7.6 mm anodized aluminum body

*  iPhone 5 is entirely made of aluminium and glass

*  weighs 112g & is 20% lighter than the iPhone 4S.

*  Apple iPhone 5 runs iOS 6

*  8 Mp (3264x2448) camera with thinner lens than 4S

*  iPhone 5 has panorama mode which results in 28 Mp images

*  4-inch screen with retina display

*  iPhone 5 will support 4G LTE and DC-HSDPA

*  Battery life : supports 8-hours of LTE browsing

*  New connector that is 80% smaller than the iPhone 4S

     

     Apple's iPhone 5 will be available in the US, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore and the UK on Friday, September 21. Customers can pre-order the phone from friday, September 14. 

     The iPhone 5 will roll out worldwide to 22 more countries on September 28, including Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland.

     The iPhone 5 comes in either white & silver or black & slate, and will be available in the US for a suggested retail price of $199 (US) for the 16GB model and $299 (US) for the 32GB model and $399 (US) for the 64GB model.

Google Maps Navigation & Traffic Data Launched In India

       Google announced advanced features such as voice guided turn by turn navigation and live traffic updates in India. India is the latest addition to the list of countries where Google offers these features. Google Maps is a free app that can be downloaded from the Play store and navigation also doesn't incur extra charges but for using the navigation you will be charged with the mobile data charges. Google Maps app can be used in any smartphone running Android 2.2 or later.

       "We're extremely excited to bring Google Maps Navigation and live traffic information to Google Maps users in one of the world's most dynamic and fastest-growing markets for online maps, and we're confident that these features will help Indian users find their way around town with greater ease and convenience than ever before." says  Mr. Darren Baker, Product Manager for Google Maps.

       The voice enabled directions will help you reach your destination by simply typing or speaking out your destination address. Currently live traffic update is only available to a few selected cities which are Bengaluru, Mumbai, New Delhi, Chennai, Pune and Hyderabad. 

"Live traffic" on Google Maps

     Different colours are used in the map to show traffic density. Green for free flowing traffic, yellow for small slowdowns, red for significant traffic density. Navigation in Google Maps also considers traffic density and thus you will be shown the lowest time consuming route to current location. 

      Google Maps saves your precious time by reducing the time you stay in traffic blocks. Live traffic updates for other cities will be coming soon. Every Google Maps users in India will surely enjoy the new features added to this excellent app.

Microsoft’s Social Network So.cl Opens to Everyone.

So.cl page with rich content.

       Microsoft silently launched their social network So.cl, which is said to help students to connect each other. The new Social Network was in development stage for almost a year. So.cl, pronounced “Social” lets users share and comment on interesting search results and connect with "like-minded" people. The site was developed by Microsoft’s FUSE Labs intended to help students on learning purposes and to enhance social experiences. 

       “We expect students to continue using products such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and other existing social networks, as well as Bing, Google and other search tools. We hope to encourage students to reimagine how our everyday communication and learning tools can be improved, by researching, learning and sharing in their everyday lives.” Says Microsoft on So.cl’s “About” section. 

       Microsoft says that the social network is not arrival to Facebook or Twitter. They are aiming add a new layer to the current social networking concepts. So.cl even accepts login via Facebook account or Windows Live Account. Microsoft has made a wise decision by not launching the site as a rival for any of the other social networks. It seem that they might have learned it from Google+. It is interesting fact that the beginning of Facebook was similar as students were targeted at first. 

       So.cl is similar to other social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter. The site allows users to share pages, follow “like minded” people, make discussions etc. All searches in So.cl are public by default and users can make their content “private” or delete it. The overall look of the site is good. The layout is similar to Google+, with elements from Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest. 

"Vidoe Parties" in So.cl

       Users can share their activities on So.cl with other users, as in Facebook. Users can follow each other or follow interests as “pages” in Facebook. The “Everyone” feed option is users can see what others are searching or sharing. Users have an option to cross post their So.cl activities on Facebook. The “Video Party” feature which is similar to video sorting in YouTube is a major highlight of So.cl. The feature allows users to create slideshow of videos. 

       The features of So.cl are minimal compared to other mainstream social networks. It is an experimental research project which help combine search with the social network for the purpose of expressing and sharing ideas, organized by interests. Thus So.cl is not meant to replace existing social network at present. 

Samsung Unveils Galaxy Camera.

        Galaxy Camera is the first android digital camera made by Samsung. It is a point and shoot camera with 21x zoom and a 4.8” LCD HD touch screen. Most amazing part is surely the OS which is the new Android 4.1 jelly bean. Galaxy camera is not the first android powered camera; Nikon has already taken that position with the introduction of Coolpix S800c. Other cool features of this camera include Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, 3G/4G LTE and GPS. It has an internal memory of 8GB and it can be expanded via micro SD card. Galaxy camera is very stylish in looks but not the slimmest one. It has many camera modes for inexperienced photographers and it also has advanced modes which can be used by professional photographers. With 1.4 GHz quad core processor under the hood this camera is powerful than most of the mobiles phones in the market.

SPECIFICATIONS:
*  1.4 GHz quad core processor
*  Android 4.1 Jellybean OS
*  Sensor size: 1/2.3”
*  CMOS sensor
*  16.3 MP
*  Minimum/Maximum ISO: 100/3200
*  4.8” HD LCD display
*  21x zoom
*  1080p video capture
*  Memory: 8GB internal and can be expanded using micro SD card
*  4.1-86.1 mm f/2.8-5.9 lens
*  focal length (35mm equivalent): 23-483mm
*  Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS, 3G/4G LTE, HDMI, built in speaker and microphone

         Galaxy camera with its all new cool features has astonished everyone. 21x zoom is very respectable in the case of a camera like this. But however without closer look the image quality cannot be predicted. If you are a traveller and want to share all your pictures you can consider this as it has a lot of connectivity options. But are all these features essential for a camera? When better cameras are available for the same price range will consumers prefer Galaxy camera over them just to play with android? Let’s wait and see…

Expected Price Tag : $630

Microsoft unveils Office for tablets.

Microsoft on July 17, 2012 unveiled a new version of its Office suite tailored for tablets and other touch screen devices, in the company's largest-ever overhaul of the workspace software it relies on for much of its profit. The revamped Office takes advantage of Cloud computing and is designed for use with the Windows 8 operating system, Windows Phone 8, and the updated Xbox. It makes use of cloud computing by storing documents and settings on the Internet by default, and is compatible with touch screens widely used in tablets. It also incorporates Skype, the video-calling service Microsoft bought for $8.5 billion in 2011. While the previous vesions of Office uses PC's hard drives for saving documents, the new Office uses Microsoft's online "Skydrive" or "Sharepoint" service for default storage. The new Office incorporates social networks which allows you to view multiple email accounts, get facebook updates etc in Outlook itself. Documents can be easily shared on facebook or published in blogs in the new Office. The company is planning to sell the product through online subscription service. Office is Microsoft's single-biggest profit driver. The last update of the office was done on 2010 when it introduced the online versions for the first time. The full version of Office 15 is expected to be available in the first quarter of 2013. However it is unclear whether Microsoft have plans to launch versions of Office compatible with Apple's iPad or tablets running Google's Android platform.

ACER ICONIA TAB A110

       Acer has come up with a new budget tablet which is rumored to be priced at 199$. When it was announced by Acer they said it would run Android 4.0 icecream sandwich but now there are some rumours about Android 4.1 jelly bean running the show. Acer Iconia A110 packs a 1.2 GHz Nvidia Tegra 3 quad core processor and a 1 GB RAM. Its main rival is the Google’s own tablet Nexus 7. Unlike Nexus 7 this tablet provides a micro SD slot and HDMI out. So this could be a serious competitor to the Nexus 7 and Amazon’s Kindle Fire. The launch of this tablet is expected to be in October this year.

SPECIFICATIONS:
*  Android 4.0 icecream sandwich (rumour says jelly bean)
*  1.2 GHz Nvidia Tegra 3 quad core processor
*  1 GB RAM
*  7” display
*  1024 x 600 screen resolution
*  Memory: internal 8 GB and expandable upto 32 GB
*  Camera: 2 MP front and no rear camera
*  3420 mAh battery
*  Sensors: Accelerometer, Gyroscope, Compass
*  Wi-Fi, USB 2.0, micro USB, Bluetooth 3.0, micro HDMI, GPS

       At this time more details are not available. But surely this will be a great competitor in the 7” market. Most of the customers who were disappointed with the absence of expansion slot and HDMI out in Nexus 7 will be happy to see this new tablet. But screen resolution and ppi are lesser than Nexus 7 and sometimes battery life also will be a problem. But enough with the assumptions, let’s see more about this tablet when it actually arrives in the market. We will be back with the detailed review soon…