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The video messaging service from Skype has been lurking in devices as a beta feature for quite a while now, but has finally gained the official status and launched on major platforms like Windows, iOS, Android and Mac. The voicemail-like feature is present even on the Blackberry devices now, but surprisingly has evaded Windows Phone, which is disappointing. The video messaging feature is completely free of charge and is available for all accounts effective immediately. We think it is a nice feature on the whole, and here is a demo video explaining the usability -
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=88nDTJyEIz4
According to Skype, here is how you record a video message -
First, tap the “video message” button.
Next, tap the record button to capture your video message.
You can record a message of up to three minutes, which can be previewed prior to sending. If you’d like to, you can delete and re-record until you are completely happy with it.
When you are ready, simply click on the envelope icon to send your video message to the recipient.
We expect more information on Windows Phone compatibility soon, but for now, if you own any other device, you can try the feature out in Skype's latest update. More information in the ...
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Microsoft Research has been sitting on various improvements it made to the AI voice and natural language recognition for a while now, but today Microsoft's research team and the Bing team have allowed Windows Phone to get a taste of it. Showed off earlier in a tech demo at one of the various developer conferences, the new update to Bing's voice search and voice recognition is now twice as fast and about 15% more accurate. This update is gradually rolling out for Windows Phone users in the US right now, and will eventually reach out to the rest of the world in the coming weeks and months.
These voice features are a part of a larger research work done by the MSR team, says Microsoft. The bigger system in the works is apparently called the "Deep neural networks" which is mining a mountain of data and processing them right now for improvements in the future like natural language conversations, translation of voice to another language instantly, and a lot more futuristic implementations that are far away from a phone ecosystem for now.
That said, we are looking forward to seeing how natural language evolves in the Microsoft side of things, as Google ...
The video messaging service from Skype has been lurking in devices as a beta feature for quite a while now, but has finally gained the official status and launched on major platforms like Windows, iOS, Android and Mac. The voicemail-like feature is present even on the Blackberry devices now, but surprisingly has evaded Windows Phone, which is disappointing. The video messaging feature is completely free of charge and is available for all accounts effective immediately. We think it is a nice feature on the whole, and here is a demo video explaining the usability -
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=88nDTJyEIz4
According to Skype, here is how you record a video message -
First, tap the “video message” button.
Next, tap the record button to capture your video message.
You can record a message of up to three minutes, which can be previewed prior to sending. If you’d like to, you can delete and re-record until you are completely happy with it.
When you are ready, simply click on the envelope icon to send your video message to the recipient.
We expect more information on Windows Phone compatibility soon, but for now, if you own any other device, you can try the feature out in Skype's latest update. More information in the ...
Amidst a sea of 5 inch phablets in the mid range category comes Xolo's entry, the Q1000. Launched a while back, for a price of Rs. 14,999, the device has landed in our labs for testing. The 5 inch 720p screen has been a standard in most devices in this price range and they all come with very similar specs, so we went ahead and unboxed the Xolo Q1000 for you, with an unsuspecting view of the retail box contents and some initial thoughts on the device, watch the video -
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SZ7MNrYMmKY
The box contents are shown off in the image above. Apart from all the usual suspects, it was good to see a scratch guard inside the box(not shown above). That's a sensible addition because people buy it anyway. The device, with its really thin bezel and a metallic rim on the sides stands out in terms of build quality except for the glossy plastic back. The screen is nicely bright and has decent viewing angles from our initial hands on time with it.
Here is a rundown of the specifications of the Xolo Q1000 -
5-inch (1280 x 720 pixels) HD IPS display at 295 PPI with scratch restistant Dragon Trail Glass
1.2 GHz quad-core ...
The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has reduced the limit for national roaming tariff for calls and SMS. They have also issued a new regime for the telecom providers to offer unlimited roaming through Special Tariff Vouchers (STVs) and Combo Vouchers. Several operators such as Airtel, Vodafone and Aircel and cheaper roaming rates through tariff vouchers, Videocon offers free incoming calls without any processing fee or a special tariff vouchers.
The Cabinet had approved New Telecom Policy 2012 back in May 2012 that detailed on removing roaming charges across India under One Nation-Free Roaming. Now TRAI says providing free roaming is not possible since it would hit operators by Rs. 2200 crore, which would make them increase the tariffs.
Now TRAI has reduced the charges for local and STD calls to Rs. 1 per minute and Rs. 1.50 per minute, respectively while roaming. Previously it was Rs. 1.40 per minute and Rs. 2.40 per minute, respectively prescribed by TRAI in 2007. Incoming call charges would be Rs. 0.75 while roaming . Local and National SMS charges would be Rs.1 and Rs. 1.50 per SMS and the incoming SMS charges would remain free. Telecom providers can set cheaper rates than these fixed amount set by TRAI.
TRAI has announced that every service provider should provide partially free ...
Samsung is in talks with several carriers to introduce its LTE-Advanced version of the Samsung Galaxy S4. LTE Advanced 4G is an upgrade from the conventional LTE networks deployed currently and offers a data transmission speed at up to double the speeds of standard 4G networks.
The phones will run on Qualcomm chipsets and could possibly be powered by the Snapdragon 800 processor. The news follows reports that industry analysts have cut sales forecasts for the Galaxy S4 by as much as 30 percent owing to saturation in the high end smartphone market. Samsung's market capitalization is $195 billion but the company's shares have lost almost $20 billion in value since June 7th. Samsung's JK Shin reaffirms that sales for the Galaxy S4 remain strong and variants with faster data transmission, rugged designs will only bolster this demand. We reviewed the Galaxy S4 and found it to be a very powerful high end handset with a compelling feature set.
[Via - Reuters]
Pelican Imaging announced the array camera for smartphones earlier this year. Now the company has released a new video that show off the depth-enabled features of the array camera including 3D printing, all-in-focus image capture, linear measurement, and 3D video capture. The camera can capture still images and video footage with depth information of the scene. You can perform several actions such as refocusing, selecting multiple objects of focus, measuring distance between any two points, or creating a depth map/3D model of any scene. The camera is about 50% of the thickness of the top-end camera modules used in mobile phones says the company.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nleclfgqn_U
The video shows a person capturing a video using the array camera on a smartphone all-in-focus image capture, linear measurement, and 3D video capture. Later the person captures a video of the bride and groom and prints a 3D model of them by connecting the phone to a 3D printer.
"We're looking forward to working with our customers, strategic partners, and third party application developers to bring Pelican's mobile array camera to market in late 2014." said Pelican Imaging CEO and President Christopher Picket.
Qualcomm and Nokia Growth Partners have invested in the company alongside several venture capital firms. Hope we can see ...
Huawei has launched the Ascend Mate, the company's latest flagship Android smartphone in India. It went on sale online few days back. It has a 6.1-inch 720p display with Corning Gorilla glass protection. It features magic touch technology that would let you use the phone even with gloves. It is powered by a 1.5 GHz quad-core Hi-Silicon K3V2 processor and runs on Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean) with Huawei’s Emotion UI 1.5 on top. It has a 8-megapixel rear camera with LED flash, full HD video recording and a 1-megapixel HD front-facing camera.
Huawei Ascend Mate specifications
6.1-inch (1280 x 720 pixels) HD IPS display with Corning Gorilla glass protection
1.5 GHz quad-core Hi-Silicon K3V2 processor with 16-core GPU
Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean)
9.9 mm thick and weighs 198 grams.
8MP auto focus rear camera with LED flash, 1080p video recording
1MP HD front-facing camera
3.5mm audio jack, FM Radio
2GB RAM, 8GB of internal memory, expandable memory card slot
3G, Bluetooth 4.0 LE, dual band WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n, GPS
4050 mAh battery
The Huawei Ascend Mate is priced at Rs. 24,900.
The Galaxy Note 8.0 launched way back in February, at the Mobile World Congress as the first 8 inch screened device in the Galaxy Note series. The surprising addition was that the cellular edition of the device could make calls and lets you use it like a phone thanks to the on-device ear piece. It was extremely awkward to see people holding a huge device to their face but worry not, we have got the 16 GB WiFi only version for review here and we are going to see whether the Note 8.0 is really worth your money. Lets find out in the full review then.
Hardware Walkthrough
The Note 8.0 is a natural progression of the Galaxy S3's design philosophy. With rounded corners, plasticky faux-metal sides and a glossy plastic back, it looks like a stretched out S3. There are various other changes though, one being the non-removable battery cover, as it does not make sense for a device as big as the Note 8.0, so yes, Samsung have gone with a sealed battery.
Amongst things that never change with most Samsung devices is choice of materials used. Dominated by glossy plastic, the Note 8.0 looks really cheap, especially at the price ...
The Huawei Ascend Mate was launched at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas in January and has then evaded the Indian market until now. Today, the company has launched its ambitious phablet device with a massive 6.1 inch screen at a price tag of Rs. 24,900, just weeks after Samsung continued their trend of releasing phablet devices with the Galaxy Mega series. The Indian market seems to have likened to the big screen phenomena and the Ascend Mate is hoping to address at least a part of it. The device just landed in our labs and here is our ritualistic unboxing video below -
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K3QcGRsn2bU
The Ascend Mate is packaged in a seemingly small box but as it is revealed, we see that the whole device almost spans the height and width of the box, which is a testament in itself to the massive scale of the device. Here are the box contents -
Includes a travel charging adapter, a stereo headset with mic, user manuals and the standard micro USB cable. It was good to note that all the box contents were of high quality. Here is a quick look at the back of the device -
A quick recap of the ...
Huawei launched the Ascend Mate with a 6.1-inch HD display in India earlier today. We brought you the unboxing of the device earlier today, here we have the benchmarks of the device. The Ascend Mate is powered by a the Huawei's own K3v2 processor developed by HiSilicon Technologies from Huawei. It has four 4 ARM Cortex A9 cores based on ARMv7 architecture. The chip is based on 40nm technology. It has a 16-core Vivante GC4000 GPU. Huawei uses the same CPU and the GPU in the Media Pad FHD.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L-NGMxuoVGs
Quadrant Benchmark
The Ascend Mate could easily beat the Galaxy Note in the Quadrant benchmark, but it couldn't beat the S3 or the Note 2.
AnTuTu Benchmark 3.3
In the AnTuTu benchmark the Ascend Mate's scores are almost similar to the Nexus 4. It is better than the S3, but it couldn't beat the nexus 4.
Vellamo 2.0 HTML5
In the Vellamo 2 HTML 5 browser benchmark, the Ascend Mate scores 1621 points.
Vellamo 2.0 Metal
It managed to score 453 points in the Vellamo 2 Metal benchmarks that measures the CPU subsystem performance .
NenaMark 2
In the NenaMark 2 GPU benchmark it clocks 59.8 fps similar to the Xperia Z.
GLBenchmark 2.5 Egypt HD (On screen)
In the GLBenchmark it clocked 23 fps and ...
HTC has officially announced the Desire 200, the company's latest budget Android smartphone. It was leaked recently and has a 3.5-inch (320 x 480 pixels) display, powered by a 1 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor and features a 5-megapixel camera. Details about the Android version is not available but it is likely to be 4.0 or 4.1. It has Beats audio support and comes with in-ear headset. The looks like an enhanced version Desire C that was launched last year. Even the rear part of the device looks similar to the Desire C. It has the HTC Data Manager that lets you manage your data usage.
HTC Desire 200 specifications
3.5-inch (320 x480 pixels) display
1 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor
Android OS with Sense UI
5MP rear camera
11.9mm thick and weighs 100 grams
3.5mm audio jack, Beats audio
512MB RAM and 4GB of internal storage and expandable up to 32GB with microSD
3G (HSDPA 7.2 Mbps) , Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0 and GPS /aGPS
1230 mAh battery
The HTC Desire 200 comes in Black and White colors. No word on pricing or the availability yet.
LG has announced that the sales (to supply channel) of their latest flagship, the Optimus G Pro has surpassed 1 million units in their home county Korea, in less than 4 months of launch. The LG Optimus G Pro was unveiled in February, that went on sale in Korea on February 21st. The LG Optimus G Pro sales crossed 500 thousand units in Korea back in April in less than 40 days after the launch.
It has a 5.5-inch (1920×1080 pixels) Full HD IPS curved glass display, 1.7 GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 processor and runs on Android 4.1.2 (Jelly Bean). It has a 13MP rear camera with LED Flash, 2 MP front-facing camera and packs a 3140 mAh battery. It has Dual Recording, Virtual Reality (VR) Panorama Smart Video, Smart Camera, Pause and Resume Recording and lots more.
LG expanded the sales of the smartphone throughout Korea last month. They had also announced that the Optimus G Pro would roll out across Asia in June starting from June and would gradually roll out in other Asian markets including India later this month.
Vodafone India has announced that they have reduced the 2G data rates for the Pay as you Go (PAYG) users up to 80%. The charges are down to 2p/10KB from the previous rate of 10p/10KB. This rate would be applicable for all pre-paid and post-paid customers using 2G network on a Pay as you Go basis, which would be affordable for those who use mobile internet in a limited way. Vodafone revised their 3G data plans last June that made additional usage charges after free data and The Pay As You Go (PAYG) rate for the customers customers as 2p/10KB on a 3G network.
Regarding the rate cut, Vivek Mathur, Chief Commercial Officer, Vodafone India said,
The overall internet penetration in India is low while the mobile penetration is several times higher. Most consumers will discover the power of the internet via the mobile. We, at Vodafone, want to accelerate mobile internet adoption through penetration, consumption and value addition. This 80% reduction in data charges for customers using 2G network is an important step in this direction and we are confident that this move will facilitate in faster adoption and better usage.
Vodafone launched one-time trial packs for 2G and 3G customers back in April. The company says the new move is also ...
Take this with a pinch of salt but some of the deep rooted developer pages belonging to Nokia have recently added references to "Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 MSM8974" and "Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 MSM8274" both of which are part of the new range of Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 SoCs, which are currently the fastest chips on the market, alas with not a single device based on it yet. Qualcomm just announced its support for Windows RT 8.1 by readying its Snapdragon 800 chipsets for it. And now we are seeing Nokia add references to it on its website, co-incidence? While the recently leaked phablet comes to mind, there's always a possibility of a Windows RT tablet from Nokia, as it has been rumored for a long time now.
These are the exact references from the developer page -
** Changes from Version 1.93 to 1.94
Added new values for dp:Battery
http://sw.nokia.com/DP-1/Battery/BL_4U_1200
http://sw.nokia.com/DP-1/Battery/BL_4YW_2000
http://sw.nokia.com/DP-1/Battery/BP_4GWA_2000
http://sw.nokia.com/DP-1/Battery/BV_4NW_2000
Added new value for dp:HardwareGraphicsProcessor:
http://sw.nokia.com/DP-1/HardwareGraphicsProcessor/adreno_330
Added new value for dp:HardwareCPUType
http://sw.nokia.com/DP-1/HardwareCPUType/qualcomm_snapdragon_s4_msm8274
http://sw.nokia.com/DP-1/HardwareCPUType/qualcomm_snapdragon_s4_msm8974
Added new value for dp:CPUCount:
http://sw.nokia.com/DP-1/CPUCount/quad_core
Added new value for dp:DeveloperPlatform
...
iBall has launched the Slide 7334i, the company's latest Android tablet. It has a 7-inch (1024 x 600 pixels) capacitive touch screen display and is powered by a dual-core 1 GHz Cortex A9 processor. It runs on Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean), comes with a 2-megapixel rear camera with flash and a VGA front-facing camera. It has dual SIM support with 3G on both, voice calling and FM Radio. Celkon launched the CT888 Tablet with a similar 7-inch display and FM Radio, but it has a single-core processor and runs on Android ICS.
iBall Slide 7334i Specifications
7-inch (1024 x 600 pixels) capacitive 5-point multi-touch display
Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean) OS
Dual SIM with dual standby
1 GHz dual-core Cortex A9 processor
2MP rear camera with flash
0.3MP (VGA) front-facing camera
3.5mm audio jack, FM Radio
3G (via SIM card slots), WiFi, Bluetooth, GPS
1GB DDR3 RAM, 16GB internal memory, 32GB expandable memory with microSD
3000 mAh battery
The iBall iBall Slide 7334i tablet is priced at an MRP of Rs. 10,499, but it is available at a market price of Rs. 9,990.
Aircel has announced that they will offer special short-term prepaid Yatra SIM Cards and seamless mobile coverage for the pilgrims of Amarnath Yatra in Jammu and Kashmir during the yatra. The company would also set-up special counters in Jammu, Pahalgam, Baltal and more locations in Jammu and Kashmir to make these special SIM cards available to the yatris.
The annual Amarnath Yatra commences on the June 28 this year, which is next week and concludes on August 21st. Registration for the Yatra started from 18th March. Every year over 6 Lakh pilgrims visit the Amarnath Temple. The short-term prepaid Yatra SIM Cards wouldenable the yatris to stay connected 24X7 during the Amarnath Yatra. Aircel is planning unique initiatives for the Yatris during the course of Amarnath yatra.
To avail the services, yartis need to original Yatra registration slip and submit a photocopy while purchasing this SIM card. Additionally, yatris have to submit a self-certified copy of valid Proof of Identification and Proof of Address as prescribed by DoT, besides filling CEF and submitting 4 latest photographs.
Domo Gadgets has launched the nTice F12 and nTice A10, the company's latest smartphones. The F12 is a mid-range Android smartphone with a large screen and the A10, and entry-level Android smartphone with 2G (EDGE) support. The nTice F12 has a 5.2-inch (480 x 800 pixels) capacitive touch screen display, powered by a 1 GHz dual-core MediaTek MT6577 processor and runs on Android Android 4.1 Jelly Bean. Tthe Domo A10 has a 4-inch (480 x 800 pixels) capacitive touch screen IPS display, powered by a 1GHz single-core processor and runs on Android 2.3 (Gingerbread).
Domo nTice F12 specifications
5.2-inch (480 x 800 pixels) capacitive touch screen display
1 GHz dual-core MediaTek MT6577 processor and PowerVR SGX531 GPU
Android 4.1.1 Jelly Bean
Dual SIM (GSM + GSM) with dual standby
8-megapixel rear camera with dual LED Flash
0.3MP (VGA) front-facing camera
12mm thick and weighs 199 grams
3G, WiFi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0, GPS
512MB RAM, 4GB internal memory, Expandable memory up to 32GB with microSD
2500 mAh battery
Domo nTice A10 specifications
4-inch (480 x 800 pixels) capacitive touch screen display
1 GHz Spreadtrum SC6820 single-core processor with Mali 300 GPU
Dual SIM (GSM + GSM) with Dual Standby
Android 2.3 (Gingerbread)
2MP camera with LED Flash
0.3MP front-facing camera
3.5mm audio jack, FM Radio
2G (EDGE), Wi-Fi, Bluetooth
256MB RAM, 512MB internal memory, 32GB expandable memory with microSD
1500 mAh battery
The Domo nTice F12 and ...
Huawei has finally announced the Ascend P6, the company's latest flagship smartphone with metallic body at an event in London. It comes with a 4.7-inch (1280 x 720 pixels) display based on in-cell LCD screen technology and MagicTouch that is responsive even when wearing gloves, powered by a 1.5 GHz quad-core processor and runs on Android 4.2.2 (Jelly Bean) with new Emotion UI that comes with panoramic shoot, facial recognition photography, Themes, enhanced Easy Panel with profile selection. It has a 8-megapixel rear camera with BSI sensor, F2.0 aperture and 4cm macro and 1080P full HD video recording and has IMAGESmart software with lot of features including HDR video recordin. It packs a 5-megapixel front-facing camera with auto facial-enhancing capabilities for self portraits. It is just 6.18 mm thick and weighs just 120 grams.
It has multi-screen AirSharing capability and packs a 2000 mAh battery with Automated Discontinuous Reception (ADRX) and Quick Power Control (QPC) battery optimization and power saving technology similar to the Ascend Mate.
httpv://youtu.be/E75gTh3nK1k
Huawei Ascend P6 specifications
4.7-inch (1280 x 720 pixels) capacitive touch screen display
1.5 GHz quad-core processor
Android 4.2.2 (Jelly Bean)
8MP camera with BSI sensor, F2.0 aperture, 4cm macro lens
1080P full HD video recording and playback
5-megapixel front-facing camera with auto facial-enhancing capabilities
6.18 mm thick and weighs 120 ...
2K and Firaxis Games have announced the XCOM: Enemy Unknown for iOS devices. It is an award winning turn-based tactical role-playing video game the is already available for PC, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and recently launched for Mac OS X. The game has been optimized for the touch interface of iOS devices.It comes with GameCenter support and utilizes iCloud functionality that would let players save games across their iOS devices.
The game is set in the near future, as a global alien invasion begins and you play the role of the commander of XCOM, and proceeds to engage in a war against an extraterrestrial enemy. You need to direct the soldiers in turn-based combat missions against alien enemies.
The XCOM: Enemy Unknown will be available via the iTunes App Store as an an universal app for both iPhone and iPad at £13.99 on June 20th. It is compatible with iPad 2, iPad 3, iPad 4, iPad mini, iPhone 4S, iPhone 5 and iPod touch 5 th Generation. Head-to-head multiplayer mode would be available later as a free update.
Via: Gamasutra
Spice has consistently done a good job of providing well built phones with decent performance and affordable price points. With the Spice Stellar Pinnacle Pro, the company aims to continue this tradition.We spent some time with the Spice Pinnacle Pro and here's our review of the handset.
Design
The Pinnacle Pro is one of the more generic looking handsets out there and as such Spice hasn't done much to make it stand out from the herd. The front of the phone is dominated by the 5.3 inch screen. Three capacitive buttons line up below the screen and work as expected.
Above the screen is a front facing camera. With dimensions of 152 x 79 x 10.3 m, the Pinnacle Pro is one of the larger handsets in its category. Weighing almost 196 grams, you definitely feel the heft of the phone however it is evenly distributed and isn't really an issue in day to day usage.
Spice has bestowed the Pinnacle Pro with a power key, volume rocker and even a dedicated camera key in terms of buttons. The buttons provide decent feedback and are fairly easy to access given the dimensions of the phone.
We really like the material used by the company on the ...
