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MediaTek, popular Taiwanese Chip maker is working on a new Hotknot proximity technology, a cheaper alternative to NFC, according to a recent report from EE Times-Asia. This uses a special capacitor touch sensor chip combined with gravity sensor and proximity sensor, that are already present in latest smartphones.
MediaTek aims to take Hotknot globally over time, but it will first be introduced in China with chips designed into smartphones. It will be initially limited to device pairing. NFC enables mobile payments too, but the use is still available in limited markets globally.
This is how Hotknot works
Hotknot will use a touch sensor chip to send communication protocols, while a gravity sensor (G-sensor) ensures the actual contact, and a proximity sensor (P-sensor) detects the presence of nearby objects, thus verifying that the two objects are close enough.
HaoJung Li, product marketing manager of MediaTek's wireless communications business unit, in an interview to EE Times-Asia said,
What NFC can do, Hotknot can also do. Our first job is to build the infrastructure, making sure that millions of smartphones used in China will actually come with Hotknot. It plans to introduce it in smartphones, tablets, wearable devices, and even TVs eventually.
Chinese manufacturers like Oppo and Lenovo will ...
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Nokia has updated its Nokia Refocus app, that now brings support to all Nokia Lumia smartphones running on Windows Phone 8. The app was demoed back at the Nokia event in Abu Dhabi, back in October, and the app was launched in the Windows Phone Store in November. It was launched for PureView smartphones, the Lumia 920, Lumia 925, Lumia 928 and the Lumia 1020 running the Windows Phone 8 Amber update.
The Refocus app lets you focus a part of an image, after you have captured it. This uses an unique algorithm, takes a number of photos, each at a different focus stage when you press the camera shutter key sand produces a photo with a focus that can be adjusted for viewing it later.
Once the image is captured, you can use the in-built sharing feature to others, so that they can see your photo and choose their own focal point. These images can also viewed via Facebook.
If you have a Nokia smartphone running Windows Phone 8, you can grab the app from the Windows Phone Store for free. It might take some time for the update to roll out worldwide, so don't panic, if it's not available you yet.
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HP launched the Slate 6 VoiceTab and Slate 7 VoiceTab in the VoiceTab series, in India last month. The Slate 6 VoiceTab went on sale in India immediately, the Slate 7 VoiceTab is now on sale in India from the official HP online store. It has 7-inch HD (1280×800 pixels) IPS display, powered by a quad-core processor and runs on Android 4.2.2 (Jelly Bean). It has dual SIM support, dual front-facing speakers, 5-megapixel rear camera and a 2-megapixel front-facing camera.
HP Slate 7 VoiceTab specifications
7-inch (1280 x 800 pixels) touch screen IPS display
Android 4.2.2 (Jelly Bean)
1.2 GHz quad-core Marvell PXA1088 processor
Dual SIM (normal + micro SIM) with Dual Standby
5MP rear camera
2MP front-facing camera
9.5 mm thick and weighs 325 grams
1GB DDR2 RAM, 16GB internal memory, expandable memory up to 32GB with micro SD
3G, WiFi, Bluetooth 3.0 + EDR, GPS
4100 mAh Li-Polymer battery
The HP Slate 7 VoiceTab comes in white colors and priced at Rs. 16,990. Check out the HP Slate 7 VoiceTab hands-on.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=555vqOGP3u0
Google Drive service was started by Google to tackle the many cloud storage companies like Dropbox, Box. Now it is one among the important Google products and is closely tied to your Google Plus profile and GMail. Each time you open a GMail account, you get 15GB free storage option that includes the size of your attachments and your files in Google Drive. Beyond the free 15GB, users had to pay to get more storage from Google.
Until today, the pricing was as follows -
100GB - 4.99$ per month
1TB - 49.99$ per month
And today, Google has slashed the prices by a big margin and the new pricing is as follows
100GB - 1.99$ per month
1TB - 9.99$ per month
The huge slash in price is likely to gain a lot of popularity among users and Google expects them to flock to Google Drive. Dropbox is one of Google Drive's biggest competitors and offers 2GB free storage while Google offers 15GB. Dropbox's premium plan offers you 100GB for 9.99$ per month or 99.99$ per year which is quite expensive when you compare Google's pricing.
When Samsung launched the Samsung Galaxy S4 Zoom last year, a lot of folks were confused if it was a camera or a smartphone - apparently, it was both. Samsung Galaxy S4 Zoom, getting its moniker from the then company flagship, was expected to come with the top of the line specs, but it wasn't true then. Samsung Galaxy S4 Zoom was modest in terms of specifications and came with a 16MP camera on its back along with a 10x optical zoom. The device looked more like a camera than a smartphone.
The device wasn't very popular among the buyers, but it looks like Samsung hasn't given up already. According to a GFXBench result, supposed Galaxy S5 Zoom was spotted in the benchmarks. According to the benchmarks, the Samsung Galaxy S5 Zoom comes with a 4.8inch 720p HD display(remember Samsung Galaxy S3?), 1.3 GHz Exynos 5 Hexa processor, 2GB RAM and ARM Mali T-624 GPU. There will be a microSD card slot as it was in the Galaxy S4 Zoom. There will also be a 2MP front camera and the Galaxy S5 Zoom will be able to capture 1080p Full HD videos from both the cameras.
In terms of camera features, Samsung ...
Google has started rolling out a new Google Play update for Android, that brings option to always require the account password for purchases, option to batch install applications from the my apps section and more minor changes. It also brings option to force update the app to check for the latest version.
Password protection for in-app purchases is definitely a much need feature. In recent incident, a New York woman sued Google after her 5-year-old son spent $65.95 to purchase virtual current on Marvel Run Jump Smash game.
New features in Google Play Store 4.6.16
New Require password options (for all purchases and every 30 minutes)
Batch install in My apps
Force Play Store self-update to the latest version
Settings and Help have to been moved to slideout navigation
Auto-add widgets setting has been renamed to Auto-add icon to homescreen
In-app purchases are now included in the app permissions screen
Google+ +1 counts are now exact for large quantities
Some minor changes in style
These features have been detailed by Android police, who has also uploaded the original apk of the new version, so that you can side-load them, if you have not received the update yet.
While the 802.11ac standard has started making its way to high end smartphones, they've been somewhat gimped compared to more full featured solutions. The new Broadcom BCM4354 SoC is all set to change that as it brings the first 5G 802.11ac 2x2 MIMO system on chip for smartphones. This is an improvement over the 1x1 MIMO devices used by current smartphones. As a side benefit, power efficiency will go up by 25 percent.
Improvements:
Doubles throughput for faster video and music downloads
Improves power efficiency up to 25 percent when using Wi-Fi over 1x1 MIMO solutions
Increases wireless coverage up to 30 percent compared to current deployments
The 2x2 MIMO system will double the throughput and enable speeds of upto 867Mbps while also bringing a tangible increase in coverage by up to 30 percent. The BCM4354 is an improvement over current solutions that employ multiple antennas and hence reduces implementation complexity for designers. The reduced size and power efficiency plays a major role in bringing 2x2 MIMO to smartphones.
Features:
867 Mbps PHY rate/80MHz channel bandwidth
SDIO 3.0 and low-power PCIe host interfaces for WLAN; UART and USB for BT
Android, Windows and Chrome-based operating systems support
Low Density Parity Check Codes (LDPC), Space Time Block Coding (STBC), TurboQAM™ and high-accuracy indoor ...
The Vibe Z is the Lenovo's flagship device which is all set to launch in India soon. It is an improved variant of the previous flagship, the K900, in many ways. Sporting improved internals, we were pretty happy to see that Lenovo has stuck to the same camera and lens unit as the K900. A 13 megapixel Sony sensor with the fastest f1.8 lens still has a lot of untapped potential, so we tested it on the road, while in travel to see how it performed in actual use - capturing moments from a trip. Being the only camera at hand, how does it hold up in various conditions? Does it capture all the moments well? Lets go through our Lenovo Vibe Z camera samples for a quick analysis.
The Lenovo Vibe Z has a 13 megapixel EXMOR RS Stacked CMOS sensor from Sony, which has been used in various phones right from the K900 to the Samsung Galaxy S4 or the LG G2. But how the Vibe Z differs from other manufacturers using the same sensor is the lens module. Lenovo uses a f1.8 aperture lens module on the K900 as well as the Vibe Z, which is the fastest ...
A premium version of the Samsung Galaxy S5 is not happening, the JK Shin, chief of mobile division, Samsung, said to Korean media, according to recent report from K bench. The Samsung Galaxy S5 with a 1080p screen and plastic build did disappoint some fans, since they were expecting a 2K display on the phone.
Some rumors suggested that premium variant of the Galaxy S5 with metallic build would arrive this year. Even though JK Shin denied a premium Galaxy S5, he confirmed that Samsung would unveil the next Galaxy Note smartphone in the series later this year.
During shareholders' meeting on March 14, Samsung revealed its plans to ramp up efforts to expand sales this year through premium product lineup, another report, from Korea's Yonhap News reveals. Samsung Vice Chairman Kwon Oh-hyun said "We will maintain our dominance in key businesses, such as mobile phones, TVs and memory chips, by rolling out premium lineups".
This hints that Samsung might unveil rumored premium (F Series) smartphones soon. This might not be based on the Galaxy S or the Note series and have a new design for the premium market with a higher price tag than the Galaxy and the Note line-up. Earlier today specifications of the Samsung Galaxy S5 Zoom surfaced online. ...
Earlier this year rumors about Amazon's gaming console running Android surfaced. Today, Dave Zats spotted a gaming controller with Amazon branding at Brazilian cetification website, similar to FCC. It did not have any other details, but we can clearly see a layout, similar to the gaming controllers for Android. You can see three familiar Android buttons for back, home and menu, below the Amazon logo.
You can clearly see some media controls, so the gaming console might also act as a media player, and these buttons could be used to control the playback. There are analog sticks on either sides and a navipad. You can also see LED lights on the front.
More images show shoulder triggers. The controller might come with the rumored Amazon's console and might also be sold separately to work with Amazon's Kindle fire tablets or any other Android smartphones. The regulatory filing is tied to Amazon Fulfillment Services Inc, so this might not be fake. We will have to wait for Amazon to announced it officially later this year.
Via
The Nokia X made a huge (green) splash at the Mobile World Congress event a couple of weeks and has been rapidly making its moves into markets, with it launching in Malaysia, India and the Phillipines. It is now all set to launch in China, and just 5 days after announcing the device for the market and opening the pre-orders, Nokia has reportedly received 1 million of them already. The company posted this on its Weibo account with a celebratory image touting the big number.
This is a re-entry of sorts for Nokia, after suffering terrible sales and a rapid decline in marketshare, in the biggest mobile phone market of this world. The decline started just before Nokia switched gears in 2011 and the company never recovered from that fall. But for a country that is devoid of Google services, the Nokia X must have seemed like a viable option, and the numbers show. The Nokia X is basically a forked Android device from Nokia that can run all sorts of Android apps, except the ones that are tied to Google's services. One can sideload APKs and run any standalone Android app or get them through the Nokia Store, which will ...
Google Search for Android has been updated to version 3.3.11, that finally brings support for cricket, just in time for the upcoming ICC World T20, starting tomorrow in Bangladesh. This lets you get live updates of your favorite teams, just by adding them in the Sports Team list. It offers upcoming fixtures of your favorite teams too. This also had IPL teams.
You can also ask Google for the latest scores on your mobile devices and on desktop and also get latest live results after the match is over. This update also adds traffic incident reports on your route and lots more features. Check out the official change log below.
New features in Google Search 3.3 for Android
Traffic incidents on your route
Support for cricket
Set reminders for chains
"Ok Google" hotword for German and French
New Google Search update is already rolling out, and all these features are available for users with Android devices running on Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean) and later.
Earlier this year, at the CES 2014, Asus announced the Transformer Duet which ran Android and Windows side by side. This was probably designed for those who wanted the best of both the worlds and it was quite a hit at the CES 2014. Even an Indian manufacturer - Micromax, announced a similar dual boot device - Micromax Laptab which was supposed to be available in February.
But both those devices are yet to make it to the market and it looks like they will not. According to reports from the Wall Street Journal, Microsoft and Google aren't pleased with devices running two OS. Microsoft seems to be clear that their OS doesn't run side by side with another OS and hence they do not want a dual boot Android and Windows device. Google also seem to prefer a similar option as they expect their devices to be all Android.
With the laptop and tablet market staring at this single OS device, there are plans by Indian manufacturers to launch dual boot smartphones that could run Android and Windows Phone. Karbonn is expected to ship dual boot smartphones in Q2 later this year.
NOMAD, a company based in San Francisco started crowd funding for ChargeKey, a super-small micro USB cable for Android and lightning cable for iPhone last year on Indiegogo, and exceeded more than three times its goal. It began shipping in December, and the also started selling it on their website recently. The company first launched ChargeCard, a credit card sized iPhone Lightning Cable or micro USB cable on Kickstarter, that exceeded their goal by 300%. We got to check out the micro USB version of the ChargeKey, suitable for Android or other mobile devices with a micro USB port.
The first thing you notice about the ChargeKey is its design and the portability. As you can see, it is very small with a thickness of just 2.5mm, and is said to the world's smallest USB cable. It fits into a keychain, so that you can carry it in your pocket always (at least I do). Since it is small, there are chances you might lose it easily, so add it to your KeyChain.
That's how the ChargeKey gets connected to your phone. It has strong micro USB metal tip that it doesn't come out easily, so it can hang when it is ...
MediaTek, popular Taiwanese Chip maker is working on a new Hotknot proximity technology, a cheaper alternative to NFC, according to a recent report from EE Times-Asia. This uses a special capacitor touch sensor chip combined with gravity sensor and proximity sensor, that are already present in latest smartphones.
MediaTek aims to take Hotknot globally over time, but it will first be introduced in China with chips designed into smartphones. It will be initially limited to device pairing. NFC enables mobile payments too, but the use is still available in limited markets globally.
This is how Hotknot works
Hotknot will use a touch sensor chip to send communication protocols, while a gravity sensor (G-sensor) ensures the actual contact, and a proximity sensor (P-sensor) detects the presence of nearby objects, thus verifying that the two objects are close enough.
HaoJung Li, product marketing manager of MediaTek's wireless communications business unit, in an interview to EE Times-Asia said,
What NFC can do, Hotknot can also do. Our first job is to build the infrastructure, making sure that millions of smartphones used in China will actually come with Hotknot. It plans to introduce it in smartphones, tablets, wearable devices, and even TVs eventually.
Chinese manufacturers like Oppo and Lenovo will ...
More than two years ago Samsung announced the Samsung Galaxy Beam - an Android smartphone that came with a projector on its top. The Samsung Galaxy Beam featured mid-range specifications at that time and it was not about specs. As the name suggests, Galaxy Beam was about projection. Last year, we did not see a successor to it, but it seems like Samsung is not giving up so easily. The probably Galaxy Beam successor has been spotted in the wild, but with a metal build.
The Samsung Galaxy SM-G3858 was spotted online in China’s Telecommunication Equipment Certification Center. Just like its predecessor, the Galaxy Beam successor doesn't have the best of specs and comes with a very modest specification list that includes a 4.66-inch display with 480 x 800 pixels, quad-core 1.2GHz processor (possibly a Snapdragon 200), 1GB of RAM, VGA front-facing camera, and a 5MP rear camera with LED flash.
The Certification document suggests that this device is headed for China Mobile and there could be other variants as well. What is surprising here is that Samsung has finally decided to step up the quality of materials and it is good to see a metal clad device from Samsung. We will let you ...
Xiaomi today launched an open beta for a tablet optimized version of the MIUI Android ROM. The company is first targeting the 2013 edition Nexus 7 with versions possibly coming for other devices too. Xiaomi claims that the ROM has a brand new architecture that has been optimized for tablet devices. The MIUI ROM works in both landscape and portrait orientation and has native apps, system menus and screen animations that have been optimized for tablets.
Xiaomi CEO Lei Jun said that the company is open to licensing the ROM for use by third party tablet vendors. The company is yet to ship it's first tablet but given their focus on building a tablet specific ROM, there is a good chance that the company will have their own tablet offering soon. Head over to the MIUI website if you want to give it a shot on your Nexus 7. The download weighs in at 278MB.
[Source - MIUI]
Micromax launched the Canvas Knight A350, the company's first smartphone with Octa-Core processor in India earlier this month. This is one of the first phones in India to feature a full HD display and a 2 GHz octa-core MediaTek MT6592 chip. The Micromax Canvas Turbo too had a 5-inch 1080p display, but it was powered by a quad-core MediaTek MT6589T chip. Check out the unboxing below.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w3KMgkjQSoc
Specifications are mentioned on the back of the box.
Box contents
The box contents include,
Micromax Canvas Knight A350 smartphone in black colour
Tangle free in-ear headset
Flat and tangle-free micro USB cable
Travel charger (5v - 1 Amps) with USB port
Information booklets for SAR, features, Warranty and user manual
Protective cover
SIM ejector tool
The 5-inch full HD display at a resolution of 1920 by 1080 is sharp and bright. It has a 8-megapixel fixed focus front-facing camera. It runs on Android 4.2.2 (Jelly Bean).
The glass back and metal finish on the sides gives the phone a premium look. There is a 16-megapixel camera on the back with LED flash. It is capable of recording videos at 1080p resolution. It has 2350 mAh battery under the back cover. The phone comes with dual SIM support with two SIM micro SIM card slots, located ...
The Mobile World Congress is where innovators from OEMs, software side of things and the core hardware manufacturers present their latest offerings. MWC 2014 was no different where we saw a lot of innovations aimed towards making technology more accessible and to make it work towards improving our life. Broadcom was one such company that we got to spend some time with. From the internet of things, wearables, democratization of LTE to mesh based communication, the company is clearly leveraging its expertise in wireless technology to make tangible improvements across verticals.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZDfizZw9mXE
Across spectrums, we saw a variety of innovations. Let's start off with the internet of things then. as the name suggests, IOT aims at connecting the unconnected and creating a common platform for daily use devices to speak to each other. will be able to provide intrinsic metrics which when paired with smarter software will work towards enabling a healthier lifestyle.
Broadcom's WICED platform is one of the many offerings that aims to create a reference platform for hardware and software providers to hook into. WICED stands for Wireless for Internet Connected Embedded Devices. The WICED platform combines GPS, NFC, WiFi, Bluetooth and provides a common architecture with a sensor hub ...
Xiaomi's upcoming smartphone in the Redmi series got certified in Tenna in China last week. Lei Jun, founder of Xiaomi Tech has confirmed that the phone would called Redmi Note / Red Rice Note and would feature a 5.5-inch HD screen and an octa-core MediaTek MTK6592 processor. As you can see from the image, it has capacitive touch buttons that glows in Red and a LED notifications light on top.
According to the details in the certification, the Redmi Note would run on Android 4.2.2 (Jelly Bean), feature a 13-megapixel rear camera with LED flash and a 8-megapixel front-facing camera, would be 9.45 mm thick and weigh 192 grams. It would have 1GB of RAM, expansion slot, TD-SCDMA connectivity for Chinese markets, 3G WCDMA variant for other markets. It would have WiFi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth and GPS. Other details such as internal storage and battery are not available yet.
The Xiaomi Redmi Note would go on pre-order in China on March 19th at 8PM local time on Qzone. We should know more details about the smartphone by then.
Via
Lapcare, popular for laptop peripherals and accessories has launched Smart 3G Dongle that offers data speed of up to 14.4 Mbps. It supports voice calls and SMS and also supports Micro SD card upto 2 GB. It supports all major operating system and also works on select Android tablets that accepts data cards.
Features of Lapcare Smart 3G Dongle
WCDMA/HSPDA - GSM/GPRS/EDGE – 850/900/1800/1900MHz - UMTS – 2100 MHz
Download speed up to 14.4 Mbps and Upload speed up to 5.76 Mbps
Memory card support up to 32 GB
Support voice and SMS
Internal antenna
LED indicator
Plug and play with auto installation
Operating system supported – Windows 8/7/Vista/XP/Mac/Android
Ms Barkha Bosman, Marketing Head at LAPCARE India Pvt. Ltd. said,
We at LAPCARE constantly strive to innovate and develop technologically advanced devices. With the internet penetration in the country growing at a steady rate, we have tried to address the need of high-speed internet usage with the launch of Lapcare Smart 3G dongle.Lapcare Smart 3G dongle brings ease and affordability to this basic need today by offering high-quality browsing experience for consumers.Lapcare smart 3G is designed with additional features to perform well while travelling.
Lapcare Smart 3G dongle is priced at an MRP of Rs. 1999 and comes with a 1 year ...
