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We've been hearing how the Nokia Lumia 520 has been the best selling Windows Phone of all time, but if Microsoft's recent words are to be believed, Windows Phone, as a platform, is now outshipping iPhone in 24 markets. Before you jump to conclusions, the iPhone is not doomed, because it's the emerging markets where the 3rd ecosystem is cementing its place, most likely behind Android in the first place. This is a decent achievement for the platform, but tells us more about Nokia rather than Windows Phone, because these markets are clearly influenced by their legacy supply chain, and hence the obvious sales. Microsoft recently floated this fact with TechRadar claiming that it is the fastest growing mobile platform right now.
According to previous IDC reports, it is indeed true. Windows Phone is outpacing the mobile phone market right now, and if it stays that way, it will soon reach a respectable market share, but as of now, it stays at 3.6% of the global market. Here is the list of countries in which Windows Phone is outshipping the iPhone -
Chile, Colombia, the Czech Republic, Egypt, Ecuador, Finland, Greece, Hungary, India, Italy, Kenya, Kuwait, Malaysia, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, Peru, Poland, ...
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Nokia announced the Lumia 525 in India at the 6th Annual Strategy Sharing Summit in Goa last month. The company has finally announced the price of the device. It was unveiled last year and has a 4-inch (800 x 480 pixels) IPS display at 235 ppi, super sensitive touch for finger nail and glove use and is powered by a 1 GHz dual core Snapdragon S4 processor. It has a 5-megapixel auto focus rear camera with 720p HD video recording, packs 1430 mAh battery.
Nokia Lumia 525 Specifications
4-inch (800 x 480 pixels) IPS display at 235 ppi
1 GHz dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 processor (MSM8227) with Adreno 305 GPU
Windows Phone 8 OS with Lumia Black
5MP Auto Focus camera with 720p HD video recording
9.9 mm thick and weighs 124g
1GB RAM, 8GB internal memory, up to 64GB expandable memory with microSD
3.5mm audio jack, FM Radio
3G, WiFi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0, GPS / aGPS
1430mAh battery
The Nokia Lumia 525 is priced at Rs. 10,399 and would be available in glossy Orange, White, Yellow and matte black colors along with exchangeable shells. It would go on sale across India later this week . Check out the Lumia 525 Hands on below.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aA-oY6Hp5Zs
Nokia has finally launched the Lumia 1320, the company's latest mid-range smartphone as it promised last month. It was announced at the Nokia World last year and packs a 6-inch (1280 x 720 pixels) HD LCD IPS Super sensitive display and Gorilla Glass 3 protection, powered by a 1.7 GHz dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 processor and runs on Windows Phone 8 OS with the latest Lumia Black update. It has a 5-megapixel rear camera with LED flash and a 0.3-megapixel (VGA) front-facing camera.
Nokia launched their high-end Lumia 1520 with a 6-inch 1080p display and Snapdragon 800 processor, in India last month.
Nokia Lumia 1320 specifications
6-inch (1280 x 720 pixels) HD LCD IPS Super sensitive display and Gorilla Glass 3 protection
1.7 GHz dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 400processor
Windows Phone 8 OS
5MP Auto Focus camera with LED flash, 1080p HD recording at 30 fps
VGA front-facing camera
Dimensions - 164.25 x 85.9 x 9.79 mm Weight - 220 grams
1GB RAM, 8GB internal memory, micro SD card support up to 64GB
3.5mm audio jack, FM Radio,
HD Voice, HAAC mic
4G LTE/ 3G HSPA+, WiFi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0 + LE, GPS / aGPS, NFC
3400 mAh (integrated)
The Nokia Lumia 1320 comes in a range of colours and is priced at Rs. 23,999. It would go on sale starting from January 13th ...
MediaTek has announced MT6290, its first LTE modem platform, which is an LTE Release 9 Category 4 modem built on the 28nm process with a wireless baseband processor based on the Coresonic SIMT architecture. It also supports DC-HSPA+, W-CDMA, TD-SCDMA, EDGE and GSM/GPRS. The new LTE modem is fully compatible with MediaTek SOCs, including the new octa-core MT6592, says the company.
MediaTek has also partnered with VIA Telecom to integrate CDMA2000 technology into the upcoming Worldmode mobile platforms with new SOCs. It supports voice and data services across mobile networks globally.
Highlights of MediaTek MT6290 LTE modem platform
LTE Release 9 Category 4 modem in 28nm process
Baseband processor based on the Coresonic SIMT architecture
Proven LTE protocol stack sourced from NTT DoCoMo
Fully compatible with MediaTek SOCs, including the new octa-core MT6592
Carrier certifications underway, first commercial devices expected by Q2 2014
Delivers LTE data rates as high as 150Mbit/s downlink and 50Mbit/s uplink.
Supports DC-HSPA+, W-CDMA, TD-SCDMA, EDGE and GSM/GPRS radio technologies.
The MT6290 has support for RF chip in the platform, MT6169 which supports up to 8 primary RF inputs (3 high bands, 2 mid bands, 3 low bands), and 8 RF inputs for diversity gains. The MT6290 reference design is already available for OEM partners. First commercial devices with the modem are expected in ...
We have already seen projector smartphones, but ZTE has announced Projector Hotspot, the first device with a built-in DLP projector, LTE Hotspot to connect up to 8 devices and a built-in 5000 mAh battery to charge your devices. This is definitely revolutionary. It also has a range of connectivity options such as HDMI, Headset Jack, Audio out and features a 4.0-inch (800 x 480 pixels) Capacitive touch screen and runs on Android 4.2.
It has 100 lumens projector that allows users to project digital media instantly up to 10 feet or 120-inch wide at 1080p resolution. The projector has a contrast ratio of 1000:1.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZKSvjVyJgPU
ZTE Projector Hotspot specifications
4.0-inch (800 x 480 pixels) Capacitive touch screen
Android 4.2 (Jelly Bean) OS
Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n to connect up to 8 devices including WPS support
HDMI, USB-A, Headset Jack, Bluetooth, Audio output
Dimensions: 120mm X 120mm X 28.5mm; Weights 400g
Projects up to 0 feet or 120-inch wide at 1080p resolution
1000:1 Contrast ratio
5000mAh internal battery
No word on pricing or availability yet.
Among the many smartphones and laptops that were presented by Lenovo at CES 2014, there is the Lenovo S930 which is a mid-range phablet. The Lenovo S930, like most smartphones in the Indian Android smartphone, is powered by a MediaTek quad-core processor, has a 720p display and similar specifications. We go hands-on with this huge phablet that has a 6inch display. You can check out the video right below.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fcJAvhrhTpY
The huge phablet has a 6inch 720p display with a pixel density of 245ppi. Being a huge phablet, it measures 170 x 86.5 x 8.7 mm and weighs a relatively less 170g considering that the general 6inch devices weigh more than 200g. It comes with a very good build quality and features Dolby Digital Plus.
Lenovo S930 is powered by a 1.3GHz quad-core MediaTek MT6582 SoC, 1GB RAM and has 8GB internal storage with a microSD card slot. The graphics are taken care by PowerVR SGX544 GPU that is the norm for mid range devices. It comes with a 3000mAh Li-Po non-removable battery. There is a 8MP camera on the back and 1.6MP front facing camera. It runs on Android 4.2.1 Jellybean. Making use of the huge body, Lenovo has given stereo speakers ...
Intel has unveiled Edison, the company's new Quark technology-based computer in an SD card form factor at the International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas. It also has built-in wireless support and is based on 22nm dual-core Intel Quark technology for ultra-small and low power-sensitive smart consumer products and wearable computing. Intel already showed-off its first Quark SoC last year aimed at wearable tech.
The Intel Edison features
Intel processor and microcontroller core
Programmable microcontroller helps manage I/Os and other baseline functions
x86 compatible processor core offers Linux support, multiple operating systems to run sophisticated high-level user applications
Wi-Fi and Bluetooth LE connectivity
LPDDR2 and NAND flash storage, flexible and expandable I/O capabilities
Support for Linux and open source community software tools
Compatible with accessible developer tools used by the maker community
Regarding the new chip, Intel CEO, Brian Krzanich, said
Wearables are not everywhere today because they aren't yet solving real problems and they aren't yet integrated with our lifestyles. We're focused on addressing this engineering innovation challenge. Our goal is, if something computes and connects, it does it best with Intel inside.
Several companies demoed a range of products. Some of it include, Reference design from Intel for a hands-free, smart headset that is always ready to engage and can integrate with ...
Apple has just announced that they have achieved $10 billion sales on the App Store in 2013 . Customers have downloaded almost 3 billion apps in December alone since it is the holiday season, an all time record in the App Store history that made $1 billion revenue in the month. Apple has paid $15 billion to their developers.
After iOS 7 release, several developers such as Evernote, Yahoo!, Tumblr, Pinterest, American Airlines, Dropbox redesigned their app to suit the iOS 7 interface and has also improved the overall performance of the apps. Apple App Store has seen the fastest growth, both in terms of revenue and app count.
Apple's App Store now has more than one million apps in 24 categories, with over 500,000 native iPad apps, says the company. It has 650,000 back in 2012. It is now available in 155 countries around the world. Apple did not reveal number of app downloads by customers till 2013.
Samsung not only unveiled its new tablets yesterday, but also showcased a new Magazine UX for those devices, with panes and tiles reminding us of Flipboard and the Metro UI of Windows 8. Today, we are getting to see leaked images of, what is supposedly, the new Samsung TouchWiz UI for phones. Featuring stylish flat iconography and similar Magazine UX elements, the new TouchWiz, if real, seems like a step in the right direction. At least it is now heading to a place where the whole industry already is - Flat user interfaces. The typography also seems to have gotten a facelift too, but with just three screenshots, it is hard to tell which is which and how all of it will work like.
The TabPRO 8.4 pictured above was one of the first Android 4.4 KitKat devices from Samsung, along with the other three, to have launched in the market and they all come with the Magazine UX that you can see above. The same approach might be pursued for phones too, if the magazine icon on the leaked screenshots is to be believed. Some Samsung phones already have a magazine mode, which reveals itself with a swipe up from ...
Xolo, the Indian company known for its range of low cost smartphones, has just unveiled its first Windows 8 tablet at CES 2014 - the Xolo Win, powered by the AMD A4 Elite mobility processor. This is a first for XOLO as well as AMD, as this is the first Windows tablet for the former while it is the first APU-powered tablet for the latter. Sporting a 10.1" inch screen with a 1366x768 resolution, the mid range tablet will take on the likes of the first generation Surface with similar specifications, but with full Windows 8 functionality. It will have 2 GB of RAM, rear and front facing cameras and a battery that supposedly lasts up to 7 hours. The Xolo Win is slated to be released in the Indian market by the end of January 2014.
Here are the complete specifications of the Xolo Win AMD tablet -
AMD A4 -1200 Dual Core 1.0 GHz Processor “Temash” Generation
AMD Radeon HD 8180G Graphics
DDR3 2GB RAM
10.1", 16:9 LED - 1366 x768
Windows 8 Certified
10 fingers touch
2 Speakers: 1.5W each
Wireless LAN + Bluetooth 4.0
Internal Storage EMMC 32 GB
Camera - Front: 1 MP, Rear: 2 MP
Battery - 2 SIP, 7.4V, 3550 mAh, 26.27 W; Battery Life: ...
Pete Lau, the distinguished engineer from Oppo, had announced earlier that he left the company to pursue something new. It was known that it involved CyanogenMod and its CTO Steve Kondik, but now we know what exactly they are upto. Pete Lau is now the CEO of a new hardware start up called OnePlus, and unsurprisingly, its software partner will be Cyanogen Inc. which will power its phones, starting with the flagship "OnePlus One". No, we are not making that up.
Oppo was the first company in the world to partner with Cyanogen Inc for bundling, as well as creating, the first CM based phones through the N1. While it was good enough for starters, we guess Cyanogen wanted exclusive hardware, and it is not hard to deduce what happened later. Here we are now, with a new start up called OnePlus making phones with Cyanogen as the base OS.
Speaking on this newly formed alliance -
“What’s coming is one of the most popular mobile operating systems specifically developed for the best hardware, with a unique twist,” said Lau. “The smartphone industry is ripe for disruption, and 2014 should prove to be a huge year for the future of the market.”
“Upon hearing ...
Mophie has been well known for its Juice Pack line of devices that merges a portable battery pack with an elegant smartphone case. With the Space Pack, Mophie is bringing its next round of innovation for iPhones. The case not only has a battery pack but also manages to expand storage on your iPhone 5 or 5s.
The battery is rated for 1,700 mAh which should more than double your iPhone's battery life. Storage comes in both 16 and 32GB variants that may as much as double or triple built in storage depending on the configuration you have. Users are free to place any file type on the extended storage and can access it via an iOS app called Space. The application will sort stored files into Collections so that you can see what is stored in the Space Pack. We think that the Mophie Space Pack is an interesting solution to your storage woes if you've ended up getting a model that's just a bit short on storage than what you really need. The Mophie Space Pack starts shipping on 14th March at a price point of $149.95 for the 16GB version, $179.95 for the 32GB version. 
We've been hearing how the Nokia Lumia 520 has been the best selling Windows Phone of all time, but if Microsoft's recent words are to be believed, Windows Phone, as a platform, is now outshipping iPhone in 24 markets. Before you jump to conclusions, the iPhone is not doomed, because it's the emerging markets where the 3rd ecosystem is cementing its place, most likely behind Android in the first place. This is a decent achievement for the platform, but tells us more about Nokia rather than Windows Phone, because these markets are clearly influenced by their legacy supply chain, and hence the obvious sales. Microsoft recently floated this fact with TechRadar claiming that it is the fastest growing mobile platform right now.
According to previous IDC reports, it is indeed true. Windows Phone is outpacing the mobile phone market right now, and if it stays that way, it will soon reach a respectable market share, but as of now, it stays at 3.6% of the global market. Here is the list of countries in which Windows Phone is outshipping the iPhone -
Chile, Colombia, the Czech Republic, Egypt, Ecuador, Finland, Greece, Hungary, India, Italy, Kenya, Kuwait, Malaysia, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, Peru, Poland, ...
Marissa Mayer just concluded Yahoo's CES keynote today and one of the main takeaways from it was how the company is looking to change search, especially on mobile. Google Now has been at the forefront of contextual search on Android and iOS and Yahoo wants to tackle exactly that. How? It just announced the acquisition of the intelligent Android launcher - Aviate. The launcher, which was doing the rounds in beta, is currently a invite-only homescreen replacement that automatically configures your home screen based on contexts like time, usage, preferences and place. It was touted as the "Google Now" of launchers, so it is easy to see why Yahoo lapped it up.
To quickly summarize the launcher, here are its features and how it works, listed on the Play Store -
KEY FEATURES:
★ Navigation simplified — transforms your phone into three, easy-to-navigate screens
★ Clean design — streamlines your phone to make it feel faster and more efficient than ever
★ Personalization — auto-adapts your homescreen to your lifestyle, current context, and interests
★ Collections — auto-categorize your apps so you don’t have to
HOW AVIATE WORKS:
Based on a complex understanding of your context and preferences, Aviate works to deliver you only the best apps and ...
Yahoo's mission for today's CES 2014 keynote was literally this - simplifying daily habits. One of them, according to Marissa Mayer, CEO, was daily news and the way we consume it. It's a total information overload, with multiple news sources reporting the same news, according to Yahoo, so to fix that, they have announced a new app for the iPhone, called the Yahoo News Digest. This is basically the result of the Summly acquisition that happened during March last year, because the resulting app is striking and beautiful, very much like Summly, the very unique news summarizing app that was. Nick, Summly's founder who got acquired by Yahoo in the process, demoed the new app, based on the same principles of news collection and short summaries that made Summly popular, but this takes that concept further.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_w4oh9t1gmU
The Yahoo News Digest app is delightfully designed with great looking design and surprisingly fluid animation, partly thanks to the iOS 7 framework. Beyond the looks lies the function, which is, creating summaries of the most important news stories twice a day. These news bits will carry "Atoms" from multiple sources, which are intelligently gathered through a unique algorithm. Detailing on the "Atoms" -
Our Atoms ...
Polaroid has partnered with C&A Licensing, LLC and Socialmatic LLC to introduce Polaroid Socialmatic instant camera at the CES that lets you print your pictures instantly and also share via major social media networks using the camera’s built in Wi-Fi. It is powered by Android and also comes with a touch screen. It uses Zero Ink Printing technology similar to the LG's pocket printers, which uses ZINK Paper for ink-free printing.
It has a 4.5-inch touch screen, 14 megapixel front camera with LED flash, just like a standard digital cameras and a 2 megapixel rear camera to capture selfies to share immediately to favorite social networking sites, via built in Wi-Fi.It also lets you to pair with your smartphones via Bluetooth to enable instant sharing, if WiFi is not available.
It also has 4GB of internal storage and a micro SD card slot. The built-in printer lets you print a 2X3 inch full-color sticker-backed ZINK photo in under a minute. It also has exclusive QR Mood Assistant.
The Polaroid Socialmatic instant camera comes in Black and White colors. C&A Licensing, an authorized Polaroid Licensee would make and distribute the camera, which would be available in fall 2014. No word on pricing yet, but polariod has promised to ...
Sony unveiled the Xperia Z1 compact, the smaller version of their flagship Xperia Z1 at the CES earlier this week. We already brought you the live images of the Xperia Z1 Compact yesterday, here we have the hands-on video of the smartphone. The phone has the same solid build with single aluminium frame with tempered glass on the front and back that we had seen on the Xperia Z1. It has a smaller, 4.3-inch 720p Triluminos Display with with X-Reality engine. Check out the hands on video below.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eCXUn804vJM
As you can see the dimensions of the phone is much smaller when compared to the Z1. It has dimensions of 127 x 64.9 x 9.5 mm and it weighs just 137 grams.
On the back you have the 20.7-megapixel rear camera with Sony G lens with a 27mm wide angle f/2.0 aperture custom 1/2.3″ Sony Exmor RS image sensor and BIONZ image processing engine. The same module you have in the Xperia Z1.
Even though it has 16GB of internal storage, you have Upto 64GB expandable memory via microSD card on the side.
You have the Sony's signature power key, volume rocker and a dedicated camera button.
On the bottom you have the speaker. Instead of a 3000 mAh battery, ...
After LG and Sony, Razer has introduced Razer Nabu SmartBand at the International CES. Razer calls it has the world’s smartest wristband. It offers notifications from iPhone or Android smartphones smartphone on tiny OLED screens and also tracks selected personal information. Razer says it's and open platform so that third-party developers can create applications for personal, physical and geographical data.
httpv://youtu.be/s2Fp8XqKWfM
Features of Razer Nabu
Public Icon Screen (32x32 pixel) OLED to notify incoming calls, texts, emails and app updates via notification icons
Private message screen (128 x 32 pixels) OLED for detailed information of texts, emails, bio data and other updates
Advanced Sensors (Accelerometer, Altimeter and Cylindrical vibration motor to Track Data for Self Analysis such as data tracking, location information, bio data feedback (steps walked, distance traveled, stairs climbed, etc.), sleep data and more
Programmable gestures, such as dismissing active notifications with a shake of your wrist, or enabling sleep mode with just a snap of your fingers
Utility app for Android and iOS devices for notifications, data, and other settings such as option to set permissions for the data to be shared.
Band-to-band communication allows for social discovery such as finding nearby friends, mutual acquaintances and more based on user-defined settings.
Rain and splashproof
Lithium-polymer battery for up to 7 days of usage
The Razer Nabu ...
Samsung has finally started rolling out Android 4.3 (Jelly Bean) update for the Indian Galaxy S3 users. The update brings, Galaxy Gear support, improved Samsung Keyboard, new GPU drivers, New S-Voice (from Galaxy S4) and lots more. Samsung paused the roll out globally in November last year due to software issues weeks after the roll out and resumed it early December.
The various features that are included in the update are as follows
Support for GALAXY GEAR smartwatch
ANT+ Support
Updated UI elements
New and improved Samsung Keyboard
Better performance and faster device thanks to TRIM Support in Android 4.3 Jellybean
GPU drivers have been updated (Higher GPU benchmark scores) and better gaming performance
New Lockscreen: Multiple Widgets, improved ripple effect than Android 4.1.2, ability to change clock size and set a personal message
New Screen modes (From S4): Adapt Display and Professional Photo
Daydream feature from Android 4.2 JellyBean
New S-Voice (from Galaxy S4)
Driving mode
Move-to-SD-card feature
Actionable notifications
New Camera mode : Sound and Shot
New Additions in Notification Centre
Completely revamped Settings UI (Tabbed interface – Exactly like the Galaxy S4)
Implementation of Voice controls (Let’s you control various parts of the phone using voice commands – Galaxy S4 feature)
New Samsung Apps: Calculator, Clock, Contacts, Gallery, Music
Full screen Samsung apps
As you can see from the software update image above, the size ...
Last year at CES 2013, Huawei announced the first 6inch + phablet in the form of Huawei Ascend Mate and this year too, they have a 6inch + phablet which is the successor of Ascend Mate. At CES 2014, Huawei unveiled the Ascend Mate 2 4G. We went hands on with the huge phablet and you can check out the video right below.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LC3A1Ovu0PE
Successors are expected to be better than the original devices and the Huawei Ascend Mate 2 builds up on the original Ascend Mate. It features a similar 720p HD display and instead of opting for their own SoC, Huawei have used Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 400 SoC for powering this huge phablet. Gaming was one of drawbacks of the original Ascend Mate because of the lack of optimization and so they have used the Adreno 306 which is much more compatible with games. There is 2GB of RAM to power the device.
The perks of a huge device are its huge display and huge battery. The Huawei Ascend Mate 2 features the same huge 4050mAh non-removable Li-ion battery from the predecessor. The biggest improvements are seen in the camera department where the Huawei Ascend Mate 2 comes with a 13MP rear ...
Sony launched their current flagship - Sony Xperia Z1 in September, 2013 during IFA and it has been the company’s flagship till now. Last year at CES 2013, Sony had announced their twin flagships - Sony Xperia Z and Xperia ZL, and hence we expected there was some speculation that Sony will be unveiling something in the smartphone category at CES 2014. We were right, they did announce a smartphone with top of the line specifications, but it isn't exactly the company’s flagship. They announced the Sony Xperia Z1s or Xperia Z1 for T-Mobile which is the entire Sony Xperia Z1 package. Check out our hands on video with the Sony Xperia Z1s right below.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n4WRwDegA1Y
Sony Xperia Z1s is just the Sony Xperia Z1, but only for T-Mobile. The specifications of Sony Xperia Z1s are
5-inch (1920 x 1080 pixels) Triluminos Display with X-Reality for Mobiles
2.2 GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 (MSM8974) processor
Android 4.3 (Jelly Bean)
Single Aluminium frame with tempered glass on the front and back
20.7MP Primary Camera with Exmos RS sensor, HDR photos & videos, 1080p video recording.
2MP front-facing camera with 1080p video recording
8.5mm thick and weighs 170 grams
IP55 / IP58 rating for dust and water resistance
3.5mm audio jack, FM Radio with RDS
2GB RAM, 16GB ...
