Rather than introduce a new smartphone every six months, Sony has adopted a yearly cycle for updates and as part of this, is increasing the marketing activity around its current flagship, the Xperia Z3. One of the impressive devices introduced last year, the Xperia Z3 is being dubbed as the ultimate fitness companion and now Sony's taken this one step further with a high-tech hamster wheel.
Sony is calling the contraption a "high-tech, interactive fitness wheel" that is designed to "show consumers how to enhance their everyday experiences with SmartWear and Xperia Z3". The Sony Wheel was launched at Westfield Stratford in London over the weekend and will soon be touring other major shopping centres around the UK.
The 3.2m high wheel is designed to introduce Sony's suite of applications and services - from the waterproof technology to the low light photography of the Xperia Z3 to the fitness abilities of the SmartBand Talk and SmartWatch 3 - to the British public and incorporates first-person narrative to simulate every day scenarios. Such scenarios include going for a run in the rain, tracking your walk to work or seeing a complete breakdown of your daily activities with Sony's Lifelog application.
[gallery link="file" ids="131952,131951,131950,131949,131948,131947,131946,131945,131944"]
Check out the ...
Rather than introduce a new smartphone every six months, Sony has adopted a yearly cycle for updates and as part of this, is increasing the marketing activity around its current flagship, the Xperia Z3. One of the impressive devices introduced last year, the Xperia Z3 is being dubbed as the ultimate fitness companion and now Sony's taken this one step further with a high-tech hamster wheel.
Sony is calling the contraption a "high-tech, interactive fitness wheel" that is designed to "show consumers how to enhance their everyday experiences with SmartWear and Xperia Z3". The Sony Wheel was launched at Westfield Stratford in London over the weekend and will soon be touring other major shopping centres around the UK.
The 3.2m high wheel is designed to introduce Sony's suite of applications and services - from the waterproof technology to the low light photography of the Xperia Z3 to the fitness abilities of the SmartBand Talk and SmartWatch 3 - to the British public and incorporates first-person narrative to simulate every day scenarios. Such scenarios include going for a run in the rain, tracking your walk to work or seeing a complete breakdown of your daily activities with Sony's Lifelog application.
[gallery link="file" ids="131952,131951,131950,131949,131948,131947,131946,131945,131944"]
Check out the ...
Qualcomm has announced Snapdragon 620, 618, 425 and 415 chipsets in their Snapdragon 600 and 400 lineup. All these chips have LTE support,including Global Mode RF360 support. The Qualcomm Snapdragon 620 is an octa-core chip with 4 ARM Cortex A72 CPUs and 4 ARM Cortex A53 and CPUs, and the Snapdragon 618 is a hexa-core chip with 2 ARM Cortex A72 CPUs and 4 ARM Cortex A53 and CPUs. Both the Qualcomm Snapdragon 425 and 415 are octa-core chips with 8 ARM Cortex A53 64-bit CPUs. Both these have Adreno 405 GPU.
Highlights of Qualcomm Snapdragon 620 and 618 SoCs
Snapdragon 620: Octa-Core - Quad 1.8GHz ARM Cortex A72 + Quad 1.2GHz A53 CPUs
Snapdragon 618: Hexa-Core - Dual 1.8GHz ARM Cortex A72 + Quad 1.2GHz A53 CPUs
Integrated X8 LTE, with Global Mode LTE FDD, LTE TDD, WCDMA (DC-HSPA+, DC-HSUPA), CDMA1x, EV-DO, TD-SCDMA and GSM/EDGE
Cat 7 speeds of up to 300 Mbps down/100 Mbps up via 2x20 MHz carrier aggregation in the downlink and uplink on LTE FDD and LTE TDD
Support for LTE Broadcast, LTE multimode dual SIM and VoLTE with HD Voice and SRVCC
Next generation Qualcomm Adreno GPU
Supports up to Quad High Definition (2560×1600) displays
Dual ISPs can support up to 21MP ZSL at 24fps and 930MP/sec throughput
4K capture at 30fps, 1080p at 120fps, Hardware ...
A new leak about Samsung Galaxy S6 has surfaced and this time it again focuses on the thickness of the phone. It looks like the Galaxy S6 will afterall have 6.9mm thickness.
Earlier this month, leaked schematics images had also suggested that the Galaxy S6 will measure 143mm x 70.8mm x 6.91mm. Case manufacturer OBLIQ has sent latest case images to GSMArena and says that the phone will be 9.5mm with case on. The heart rate sensor and LED flash are seen on the right of the camera according to the leaked cases. Also, the cutouts for antenna can also be seen on top and bottom.
The images show the cases in red, gold and dark grey colors and the Galaxy S6 will be available in dark blue, blue-green, gold, and white colors. Samsung Galaxy S6 will be launched on March 1st at MWC in March. It is expected to come with 5.5-inch QHD display with 1440×2560 pixels resolution, Snapdragon 810/Exynos 7420 chipset, 20MP rear camera, and 5MP front facing camera. Yesterday, Samsung released second Galaxy S6 teaser video.
In a bid to foray into mobile payment solutions, Samsung has acquired mobile payment platform LoopPay. The financial details of the deal which was first rumored in December were not disclosed.
“We are excited to take our relationship with LoopPay to the next level, by bringing consumers a mobile wallet solution that is not just safe and reliable, but also widely accepted at more locations than any competing service. Through this deal we can significantly accelerate our mobile commerce efforts. LoopPay’s outstanding leaders and team have deep-rooted relationships with banks, card networks and merchants that will complement those Samsung has established over the years.”
said David Eun, EVP of Samsung’s Global Innovation Center.
LoopPay's mobile wallet solutions provider turns existing magnetic stripe readers into secure, contactless receivers. Simialr to Apple pay, the platform allows users to pay via their smartphones. LoopPay founders Will Grayling and George Wallner will join Samsung’s Mobile Division as part of the acquisition arrangement, and both the company’s talent and the tech will help the smartphone maker further its mobile wallet ambitions
“LoopPay is focused on delivering a digital wallet solution that is dependable for consumers around the world, one that provides more value from card issuers and the merchants that serve them. ...
Xiaomi announced the Mi Note last month in China. The flagship smartphone from the company is priced at 2299 Chinese Yuan for the 16GB variant and the 64GB variant costs 2799 Chinese Yuan . We brought you unboxing and first impressions of the smartphone recently, here we have the photo gallery.
The Mi Note has a 5.7-inch 1080p 2.5D curved glass display from JDI with just 0.3mm bezel on the sides and Corning Gorilla Glass Protection. It is powered by a 2.5 GHz quad-core Snapdragon 801 processor with Adreno 330 GPU. Running MIUI on top of Android 4.4 (KitKat) it has 3GB RAM and comes in 16 or 64 GB memory variants.
It has a 4MP front-facing camera with large 2-micron pixels, similar to HTC Ultrapixel camera, along with earpiece and proximity sensor. The Mi branding is also present on the left corner.
It has three capacitive touch buttons for menu, home and back.
The power and volume button on are present on the right side and have metal build.
The micro SIM card slot is present on the left side and being a dual SIM phone it supports Micro and nano SIM cards. The phone is 6.95mm thick and weighs 161 grams
On the top ...
vivo entered into the Indian market few months back with the vivo X5Max with 4.75mm thickness. The company also launched a range of smartphones along with the X5Max that includes the vivo X Shot X710. The X Shot has top-end specifications and a 8-megapixel front-facing camera with LED flash for capturing better selfies. There is a dedicated shutter button as well. It also has support for 4G LTE bands (TDD B40 2300MHz and FDD B3 1800MHz) for India. Check out the unboxing of the smartphone.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tUdWCglYkCA
Box Contents
vivo X Shot X710 smartphone in white
vivo XE600i In-ear earphones with microphone
2-pin charger
Micro USB Cable
SIM ejector tool
Protective clear case
User guide and warranty information
vivo X Shot X710 specifications
5.2-inch (1080 x 1920 pixels) Full HD IPS display
2.26 GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 processor with Adreno 330 GPU
2GB RAM, 16GB internal memory, expandable memory up to 128GB with microSD
Funtouch OS based on Android 4.3 (Jelly Bean)
13MP rear camera with f/1.8 aperture, OIS, Dual LED flash
8MP front-facing camera with wide-angle lens and LED flash
Dimensions: 146.45x73.3x7.99mm; Weight: 148g
4G LTE / 3G, WiFi, Bluetooth 4.0, GPS
2600mAh battery
The vivo X Shot X710 comes in white color and is priced at Rs. 29,980 (MRP) and the MOP of the smartphone is Rs. 28,599. We will bring you the photo gallery, benchmarks and more soon.
Dropbox has updated is mobile apps on Android and iOS that allows users to open shared links directly in the mobile app. When you open a shared link on your mobile device while running the latest version of Dropbox, you will be able to open the file or folder directly inside the app, giving you a full view of documents and photos.
Android users can choose to always directly open files within the Dropbox app, while iOS users simply select “Open in app” when they tap a shared link. Prior to this update, users would have to open your mobile browser before you could access the file. In case the file or folder is already in your account, the Dropbox app will open it so you can move, rename, or favorite it for offline access. Although the update adds a small feature it is important and useful as it makes it easier to transfer files to your storage account.
In addition, Dropbox has also added iOS 8 sharing extension that allows users to save information from various apps to Dropbox on iOS without having to open the app.
Dropbox App Link - Android and iOS
It looks like HTC is working on another device that sports a 2K display. According to a latest leak from popular leakster @upleaks, HTC next high end smartphone besides the One M9 will be the Butterfly 3.
@upleaks has taken Twitter and revealed some specs of the the Butterfly 3. The phone will sport a 5.2 inch screen which is larger that the One M9. In addition, the Butterfly 3 will also have a QHD resolution on top. Most likely, the Butterfly 3 will be the successor to the Butterfly 2. At present only limited information is available about the Butterfly 3. However it should me noted that the Butterfly series is typically aimed at Asian customers and comes in classy plastic, instead of a metal housing like the One series.
Meanwhile, HTC is just days away from launching its flagship One M9 at MWC on March 1st.
Flipkart just teased a new Motorola device launch on their social channels. The teaser has a Motorola logo and captions Get your life Turbocharged. Accelerated Performance. Ballistic Nylon Fairing. Revving in soon. The Motorola Droid Turbo was introduced back in October last year for Verizon Wireless in the U.S. Later it was introduced as Moto Maxx for global markets. Since the Droid Turbo is only for the U.S. the device which will launch in India will be Moto Maxx.
The Moto Maxx comes in black Ballistic Nylon back with a light weight and has high-strength aluminum design.
Motorola DROID Turbo / Moto Maxx specifications
5.2 (1440×2560 pixels) AMOLED display with 565 ppi, Corning Gorilla Glass 3 protection
2.7GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 805 (APQ8084) processor with 600 MHz Adreno 420 GPU
3GB RAM, 32GB/64GB internal memory
Android 4.4.4 (KitKat), upgradable to Android 5.0 (Lollipop)
Water Resistant
21MP rear camera with dual LED flash, f/2.0 aperture, 4K video recording
2MP front-facing camera
7.8-10.6 mm thick (curve) and weighs 169 grams
4G LTE / 3G, WiFi 802.11a/g/b/n/ac (dual band), Bluetooth 4.0 LE, GPS, GLONASS, NFC
3900 mAh battery
The Motorola Moto Maxx Black Ballistic Nylon version and was launched in Brazil for 2199 Brazilian Real, which is approximately Rs. 48,100 based on current conversion rate. We still don't have the exact launch date yet, ...
Xiaomi announced Mi Note, its top-end smartphone last month. We brought you unboxing and first impressions of the smartphone and also its photo gallery recently, here we have its benchmarks. It is powered by quad-core Snapdragon 801 (MSM 8274AC) 28nm HPm Krait 400 CPU clocked at 2.46 GHz power core with Adreno 330 GPU and 3GB of RAM, similar to the Mi 4. It has a 5.7-inch full HD display and runs on MIUI 6 based on Android 4.4 (KitKat). Check out the synthetic benchmark scores below.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7mkSrYya7P0
Quadrant Benchmark
It grabs the second spot in the Quadrant benchmark by scoring 24861 points.
AnTuTu Benchmark 4
It managed to score 36771 points in the AnTuTu Benchmark 4.
AnTuTu Benchmark 5
It scored 46152 points in the AnTuTu Benchmark 5 and lies behind the Galaxy Note 4.
Vellamo 2.0 HTML5
It scored 2697 points the Vellamo 2 HTML5 browser benchmark, almost similar to the Mi 4.
Vellamo 2.0 Metal
It grabs the fourth spot, behind the Oppo Find 7 in the Vellamo 2 Metal CPU subsystem performance test.
Linpack Single Thread
It managed to clock around 393.5 MFLOPS in the Linpack single thread benchmark, slightly better than the Mi 4.
Linpack Multi-Thread
It clocked around 869.4 MFLOPS in the Linpack Multi Thread benchmark.
1Geekbench 3 Single-Core
It scored 1006 points ...
HTC's Desire series of phones have traditionally been mainstream, mid-range handsets with specs to match. Over the last few months though, the Desire series has consistently tried to punch above it's weight. The Desire Eye is the biggest example of such a strategy change. With an innovative design, high end specifications and features that keep up with ongoing trends, it has a lot going for it. Read on our full review to get a deeper look at the handset and to gauge whether it has what it takes to earn our recommendation.
Specifications
5.2-inch (1920 x 1080 pixels) Full HD display with Corning Gorilla glass 3 protection
2.3 GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 processor with Adreno 330 GPU
Android 4.4 (KitKat) with HTC Sense 6.0
13MP rear camera with dual LED Flash, f/2.0, 28mm lens, 1080p HD recording
13MP front-facing camera with dual LED Flash, f/2.0, 22mm wide-angle lens
HTC EYE Experience with Face Tracking, Screen Share, Split Capture, Face Fusion, Live Makeup, Auto Selfie, Voice Selfie, Photo Booth, Crop Me In
Dual front-facing stereo speakers with built-in amplifiers, HTC BoomSound
Water resistant (IPX7)
Dimensions: 151.7 x 73.8 x 8.5 mm; Weight: 154 grams
2 GB RAM, 16GB internal memory, expandable memory up to 128GB
4G LTE/ 3G HSPA+, WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n ...
With an aim to boost its fashion business even further, Snapdeal has acquired online luxury fashion store Exclusively.com (formerly Exclusively.in). Financial details of the deal are not disclosed.
Exclusively will continue to function as an independent site and all aspects of Exclusively's online shopping experience will remain intact, with new collection and service augmentations in the pipeline. The fashion portal retails products from leading designers on its site, including Manish Malhotra, Tarun Tahiliani, Manish Arora, Anita Dongre, Rohit Bal, Gaurav Gupta, JJ Valaya, Ritu Kumar, Varun Bahl, Shivan & Narresh and Neeta Lulla.
“Snapdeal has always operated ahead of the curve in the e-commerce space, especially when it comes to category leadership. We have witnessed a surge in the demand from consumers across the country for premium and luxury products, however, given that access to luxury brands is severely limited in our country, we have brought Exclusively into our family to provide our 40 million+ users the access to widest range of aspirational, high end products and services.”
said Kunal Bahl, co-Founder & CEO, Snapdeal.com in the company blog.
The Exclusively.com acquisition from Snapdeal is similar to Fipkart's acquisition of Myntra last year.
Samsung launched the Galaxy A7 (SM-A700FD) smartphone with all metal build for Rs. 30,499 in India recently. It is the top-end smartphone in the Galaxy A series and has 4G LTE support, similar to the Galaxy A5. Let us check out the unboxing of the smartphone.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YaQJyA4TSY4
Box Contents
Samsung Galaxy A7 smartphone in Midnight Black
In-ear earphone with microphone and earbuds
SIM ejector tool
2-pin wall charger
micro USB cable
Quick Start Guide and warranty information
The Galaxy A7 has a 5.5-inch (1920 x 1080 pixels) Full HD Super AMOLED display, slightly larger the Galaxy A5's HD display. It is powered by a Octa-Core Qualcomm Snapdragon 615 processor (1.5GHz Quad A53 + 1.0 GHz Quad A53 ) with Adreno 405 GPU, compared to Snapdragon 410 SoC present on other Galaxy A and E Series smartphone, but it runs on Android 4.4.4 (KitKat) out of the box and has a 5MP front-facing camera with wide-angle lens, which is common in all the A and E smartphones. It has dual nano SIM slots in which the secondary SIM slot can also be used as a microSD slot when required.
The Galaxy A3 is 6.3mm thick, marking it the thinnest smartphone in the A series, but it weighs 141 grams, slightly heavier than the A5. It has a 13MP ...
Uber has expanded its most recent round of funding by $1 billion,according to the New York Times. The report cited Delaware Secretary of State documents showing the Series E round of funding up to $2.8 billion.
The latest round of funding comes after Uber announced its $1.2 billion Series E round, funded in December that valued the company at $40 billion. The report states that Chinese internet company Baidu accounts for some portion of the additional investment above the earlier $1.2 billion round. Uber has become the second highest valued venture backed company in the world with a valuation of $41.2 billion. Present in more than 260 cities in 54 countries,Uber has raised close to $5 billion total in funding since it launch in 2010.
Late last year, Uber was banned from India following rape allegations and although the firm has now re-launhced in New Delhi with an in-app panic button and the ability to send details of your trip and current location to up to five individuals.
OPPO India has launched a Gilded Limited Edition OPPO R5 with gold frame in India. There are just 10,000 units of the smartphone available globally, says the company. The specifications of the smartphone are similar to the silver variant that includes a 5.2-inch 1080p AMOLED screen, octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 615 processor with Adreno 405 GPU, 13-megapixel rear camera with LED flash, 5-megapixel front-facing camera and Color OS 2.0 based on Android 4.4 (KitKat).
Commenting on the new launch, Tom Lu, CEO, OPPO India, said:
This phone has been developed with the end user in mind. We used cutting edge manufacturing techniques to create a phone that fits perfectly into the users’ hands, and that feels incredible. The gold frame has been forged nine times and then finished by hand to give a perfect sheen and feel. It has a quality that is not available anywhere else in the industry. The R5, like the rest of the R series delivers a truly stylish, exquisite and distinctive design and will continue to delight our customers with its innovative yet practical functions.
Oppo R5 specifications
5.2-inch (1080 x 1920 pixels) Full HD AMOLED display
1.5 GHz Octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 615 (MSM8939) processor with Adreno 405 GPU
2GB RAM, 16GB internal memory
Color OS 2.0 based on Android ...
Lebara Group has launched Lebara Talk voice and messaging app. Available on Android and iOS, the app also comes with the ability to do top up using cash, online and in-app.
At present Lebara Talk launches initially in English, Mandarin, Arabic, Italian, Spanish and Indonesian, with free credit on download for every customer. The app works on all networks without the need of changing the SIM card.
“From experience we know that not everyone has access to a bank account, which is why we partner with local stores who provide a cash top-up option. We’ve adopted this same approach with Lebara Talk to make the app as universally accessible as possible.”
said Yoganathan Ratheesan, Chairman and CEO of Lebara Group.
Lebara Talk claims to deliver a clearer conversation with friends and relatives thanks to HD-quality calls over WiFi. It allows you to check rates before you make a call so you know what you are spending on low cost international calls.
Lebara Talk - Android and iOS
OnePlus and Amazon.in have announced that the 16GB Silk White variant of the OnePlus will go on sale in India soon. The company launched the 64GB Sandstone Black variant of the OnePlus One smartphone in India back in December last year for Rs. 21,999. The 16GB Silk White variant will also require an India-specific invite to purchase. OnePlus conducted one-time open sale in India last week, which was a huge success.
OnePlus One specifications
5.5-inch (1920 ×1080 pixels) Full HD display with Corning Gorilla glass 3 protection
2.5 GHz quad-core Snapdragon 801 (MSM8974AC) processor
CyanogenMod 11S on top of Android 4.4 (KitKat)
Dimensions – 152.9 x 75.9 x 8.9 mm, weight: 162 grams
13MP rear camera with Dual LED Flash, Sony Exmor BSI sensor, f/2.0 aperture, 4K video recording
5MP front-facing camera
3GB RAM, 64GB internal memory
4G LTE / 3G, Wi-Fi 802.11 ac (2.4/5 GHz), WiFi Direct, Bluetooth 4.1, GPS, NFC
3100 mAh battery
To celebrate the arrival of Silk White’s arrival OnePlus is giving away first India-specific invites for the 16GB model. You can head to the OnePlus forum to enter contest. The company says that the winners will receive their invites on February 23, which could be the date when the 16GB model goes on sale in the country. The 16GB variant of ...
RBS and Natwest will become the first UK banks to use Apple's Touch ID fingerprint scanner. The banks will allow there customers to access their accounts with a swipe of their finger on their iPhone's Touch ID.
NatWest, the UK's largest commercial and retail bank, is part of the Royal Bank of Scotland group. Touch ID will be available from 19 February on the iPhone 5s, iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus running iOS 8. However, iPads with Touch ID will not support this feature. The banks said that the new feature would make online banking "easier and more convenient".
Making payments and other features will still require extra verification, and limits will be set on new payments. Customers taking advantage of the new system will have to activate their accounts with their regular security information but after that they will only need to use the fingerprint sensor on their Apple device to gain access.
Apple's Touch ID uses a sensor to scan the fingerprint of users that it then matches to one stored in its software. RBS and NatWest say 50 per cent of their 15 million customers now use online banking, with three million using their mobile app. The banks estimate that 1.8 million of ...
Intex has launched Aqua Y2 Remote, the company’s latest smartphone in the Aqua series with universal remote option that would let you control TV, AC, Set Top Boxes, DVD Players and more. It has a 4-inch WVGA IPS display, is powered by a 1.2 GHz dual-core processor and runs on Android 4.4.2 (KitKat). It has a 5-megapixel rear camera with dual LED flash and a 2-megapixel front-facing camera. It has 3G connectivity and dual SIM support.
Commenting on the launch, Sanjay Kumar Karilona, Mobile Business Head at Intex Technologies, said:
The new Aqua Y2 Remote is the most reasonable smartphones with a soothing display to suit the user requirement. As the name suggests, the smartphone turns into a remote once synced with the products. Designed for the users on the go, the Y2 remote is available on different e-portals as well as on various retail stores distributed across the country.
Intex Aqua Style specifications
4-inch (800 x 480 pixels) IPS display
1.2 GHz dual-core MediaTek MT6572 processor
512MB RAM, 4 internal memory, expandable memory up to 32GB with microSD
Android 4.4 (KitKat) OS
Dual SIM
5MP rear camera with dual LED Flash
2MP front-facing camera
3.5mm audio jack, FM Radio
3G,WiFi 802.11 b/g/n,Bluetooth, GPS
1500mAh battery
The Intex Aqua Y2 Remote comes in grey, white and ...
Rovio has rolled out a new game dubbed as Jolly Jam under its Rovio Stars label. Available on Android and iOS, it is a match three puzzle game that has mechanics such as box-to-box gameplay, corner to corner color matching and more.
“We’re proud to bring Jolly Jam in partnership with Magic Tavern to puzzle game fans worldwide. Jolly Jam is a next generation puzzle game with a truly innovative gameplay mechanic and incredibly beautiful graphics.”
said Wilhelm Taht, Head of External Products at Rovio.
Players will have to combine matching fruits which sound very similar to the hit game Candy Crush. This is the latest effort and fourth release from Rovio Stars. The publishing division has previously helped launch Tiny Thief, Juice Cubes, and Plunder Pirates. Users can compete with their friends
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vsQsita4Q9o&feature=youtu.be
“We are very proud of Jolly Jam. Our ambition was to create a new game play mechanic that brings something new, fresh and really enjoyable to people who like pattern matching games. I believe we have achieved that. Through Rovio Stars, we can capitalize on a best in class distribution platform and unique developer tools that will allow us to reach millions of players around the world”.
said Charlie Gu, CEO of Magic Tavern.
Jolly Jam ...
