Leaked image of iPhone 5 schematic reveals a 4-inch display

It seems that when it rains, it pours. Shortly after leaked images of what is believed to be the casing of the iPhone 5, another image has surfaced showing the schematics of the upcoming Apple flagship smartphone.

From the image, we can see that there is a striking resemblance to the top panel of the of the iPhone 5 image that was leaked a couple of days ago. A report by Apple Insider, who obtained the image via iLab factory, has the author stating, “The schematics appear to match up with images that surfaced a day earlier, showing an elongated back panel claimed to be from Apple's next iPhone. That part shows an aluminum back with what look to be like small glass ends on the top and bottom of the handset.” The report goes on to read, “The back panel that was pictured online on Tuesday is one solid piece connected to the sides. Pictures of the bottom of the panel also show space for a smaller dock connector, and a headphone jack that has been moved from the top to the bottom of the device.”

There have been a ton of rumours and reports doing the rounds claiming that Apple will incorporate a larger display on their next iPhone and these images match up with it. From the image, we can see that the display size will measure 4-inch diagonally. This information keeps up with the rumours that the brand will launch a smartphone with a display of 4-inch or larger. If Apple does intend on adding a 4-inch display to their next iPhone, then this will be the first time they use a display size that is larger than 3.5-inch. The resolution of the next iPhone is believed to be 1136 x 640, with the width remaining the same.

With the possible change in design, we can also see that Apple will change the design of the dock connector at the bottom and it will be a lot smaller in comparison. This change is believed that is to be implemented is done in order to fit the handset with LTE capabilities.

From the last two leaks of the iPhone, do you think that this will be the final design used when Apple announces it or will they surprise the world and launch a handset with an entirely new design?

Flipboard launches Android app in beta

Flipboard for Android has been an anticipated event. If you're an Android user, you can have Flipboard now, albeit, in beta. Flipboard let out a private beta version of the app for Android users yesterday and to get the app (if you haven't already gotten the leaked version), head over to flipboard.com/android. Once you're there, enter your email address you will receive instructions on how to add the beta version of the app to your Android device via email. Flipboard for Android was first hinted with the demo of the Samsung Galaxy S III where the demo video of the phone showed a Flipboard app hanging out on the homescreen. Flipboard for Android had been rumoured to make its debut on the Samsung Galaxy S III and various other Android devices will come with the app preloaded, depending on make and carrier.

Earlier this month, Flipboard came to Android in the form of a leaked APK file. The 2.32 MB APK was made available on XDA-Dev and seemed to work on all Android devices. If you're not familiar with what Flipboard is, the app essentially acts as an aggregator of your social media feeds and news and articles based on your feeds and preferences. The app originally launched for the iPad in 2010 and came to the iPhone in December of 2011. Originally, Flipboard allowed you to save 9 publications to the app's homescreen and you were presented with articles from those nine apps. Then Flipboard updated to provide you with stories based on your preferences of subjects and also by scanning through your tweets and Facebook posts, if you let it.

Android handset users can expect the Flipboard app to be similar to the experience as that on the iPhone, complete with cover stories. There is no word yet if there will be a seperate Flipboard app for Android tablets, to provide an iPad like experience on the Android platform. Will you download the beta version of Flipboard for Android? Or are you waiting for the official app to launch? Let us know in the comments section below.

Galaxy S III launched in India at Rs.43,180

Samsung has finally launched their next flagship handset, the Galaxy S III, in India. The successor to the very popular Galaxy S II, the S III ups the ante, not only for Samsung, but for Android smartphones as well. The design is heavily inspired by pebbles, which is reflected in the curved design of the phone. It measures just 8.6mm in thickness and weighs 133g, making it thin and light. The screen size is slightly larger, as compared to the One X at 4.8 inches and will sport a resolution of 1280 x 720.

If one has missed out or just wants a quick look, here are the highlighted specifications of the Samsung Galaxy S III:

1. Android 4.0 with TouchWiz
2. 1.4 GHz quad-core Exynos 4212 processor
3. 4.8-inch HD Super AMOLED display with a resolution of 1280 x 720
4. 8MP camera with AF, LED flash, BSI sensor and 1080p HD video recording
5. 1.9MP front camera with a resolution of 720p for video chat
6. 16/32/64GB Internal memory, expandable upto 64GB
7. 1GB RAM
8. NFC, Wi-Fi, DLNA, GLONASS, micro-USB 2.0, HDMI, Bluetooth 4.0
9. 2100 mAh battery

 One of the main features of the S III is the Siri-esque voice recognition system, called S Voice. It also features Smart Stay, a technique that uses the front facing camera to track your eye movement, so it keeps the screen on as long as you're looking at it. Pretty cool. Social Tag uses face recognition that scans the faces in your gallery and maps them to your friends on Facebook or other social media sites. S Beam lets you bond and share data instantly between two S III devices using a combination of NFC and Wi-Fi Direct. AllShare Play uses DLNA to share your photos and videos on compatible TVs. Coming to the camera, it’s an 8MP shooter in the rear with a BSI sensor and a 1.9MP front facing camera. The camera also features new modes, like Burst Mode and Best Buddy mode. The S III will have TouchWiz running on top of ICS, so extra multimedia features, like DivX playback is possible out-of-the-box.

The handset, prior to its official launch had been up for pre-booking on several sites like eBay, Infibeam, Snapdeal, among others. Now, that it’s officially available at Rs.43,180; how many of you’ll are gearing up to buy this beast?

KidsWorldFun: A Cool Website For Children To Have Fun & Learn

Kids World Fun is an online web portal best suited for small children and parents who wish to use the Internet in a productive way and get their children busy in an activity while they do a house chore, etc.

Kids World Fun has a variety of activities best suited for children. These activities are subdivided into four different sections, which are Fun Time, Reading, Activities and Learn. Since Kids World Fun is a web portal, each section has handpicked websites for that specific activity, etc.

The Fun Time section includes activities that a child can do to have fun. These activities include Animated Stories, Online Games, Toy Games, Jokes, Riddles and much more. The Reading section holds all the children reading material for the kids, a great way to learn and waste time on the Internet for children.

The Learn section allows children to strengthen their English, Science and Math subjects through a variety of handpicked websites that provide that material.

Features:

1. Simple and easy to use.
2. Keep your child busy in activities while you do your chores, etc.
3. Some of the best handpicked websites are chosen for the respective categeory and their sections.

Check out Kids World Fun from here @ http://www.kidsworldfun.com

FreeInvoiceMaker: Easily Create & Download Invoices Online

Creating an invoice in a text editor is not an easy task. First of all you need to get the formatting right by positioning all the text correctly. Next you have to make the calculations of how much your service or products will cost the customer. Here to make the invoice-creation process much simpler is a tool called Free Invoice Maker.

Free Invoice Maker is a free to use web tool that helps creates invoices. You need not create any new account on the site. You start by simply typing in the names and addresses of your business and the customer. Then you add an invoice number and the date of the invoice being issued and the date the payment is due. In the subsequent step you enter your services in terms of products or hours/days worked. You can type in the name, unit price, and quantity of each item and the total is automatically calculated for you.

In the final step you download the invoice as a PDF file that can either be printed and mailed or directly emailed to your customers.

Features:

1. A user-friendly web service.
2. Lets you create invoices easily.
3. Automatically calculates total prices.
4. Provides final invoice as a PDF download.

Check out Free Invoice Maker @ www.freeinvoicemaker.com

Monstro: Find Out What Music Is Trending On Twitter Right Now & Listen To It Right Away

Have you ever wished you could keep track of what music is popular on Twitter currently? Well Monstro is the tool to help you do just that. They are built around tracking music sharing services on Twitter, and letting you know what is popular at any given time. They keep in-depth stats about any song that has been shared on Twitter, so this could be a useful tool for artists and labels to see how many people are talking about their music.

The trending page is where you can see what is hot on Twitter now. It shows you what songs people are most talking about, much like Twitter’s own Trending Topics page. From you here you should be able to discover some cool new music that people on Twitter are enjoying. If you sign up for an account, you can view the music shared by your friends on Twitter. This will help you find music from people with similar interests.

Once you click a song, you will be able to see all the people on Twitter who have publicly shared the song. You will also be able to stream a clip, watch it on YouTube, and stream it on Rdio. This gives you lots of options for listening to a song. If you want to see information about a specific song, you can simply search for it, and find out exactly what others are saying.

Features:

1. Find popular music on Twitter.
2. Scans for services such as Pandora, iTunes, Spotify and Rdio.
3. Find out how many times a song has been shared in the last 30 days.
4. View trending songs to see what is most popular currently.
5. Play songs in browser, watch on YouTube, stream on Rdio and buy through iTunes or Amazon.

Find Monstro @ www.themonstro.com

MailBliss sends your emails to your SMS inbox

If you'd like to receive your email when you're on the go and have a shoddy internet connection, you can receive it over SMS with MailBliss(http://www.mailbliss.com/). The service, created by Timeless Technologies essentially creates an email address for you which is hosted on their back end so they can send you the email directly to your phone. To sign up for the service, you head over to the Mailbliss website where you choose an email address. You have six domain options which include: mailbliss.com, mailsplash.com, cellslice.com, cellbite.com, mailhulk.com and mailtwit.com. You then choose your carrier. In the carrier drop down list, you'll see that the service is available in many countries including the United States and those in Europe and South America. Finally you add your phone number and set your account up.

If you know your SMS address, you can enter that instead of filling in your carrier and mobile number. When you send an email via SMS, the service will not disclose your phone number to your recipient. Furthermore, you can set your regular email address, for instance, your personal gmail address or your work email address to forward all your emails to your MailBliss account. This way, instead of relying on push email (or a computer if you don't have a smartphone), you can send and receive emails through SMS. The service is free, however, since you are sending and receiving text messages, standard text messaging rates apply.

This service seems useful for mobile owners who don't have smartphones or are traveling in areas where they will receive cellular signal but not necessarily data signal. Most smartphone owners more than likely will have data plans and therefore, a service like this seems irrelevant for them. Furthermore, the number of carriers that currently support this service in India seems limited. Look at the list below to see if your carrier will support MailBliss.

Andhra Pradesh AirTel
Andhra Pradesh Idea Cellular
BPL mobile
Chennai RPG Cellular
Chennai RPG Cellular
Chennai Skycell / Airtel
Delhi Airtel
Delhi Hutch
Goa Airtel
Goa Idea Cellular
Gujarat Airtel
Gujarat Celforce / Fascel
Gujarat Idea Cellular
Haryana Airtel
Haryana Escotel
Himachal Pradesh Airtel
Idea Cellular
Karnataka Airtel
Kerala Airtel
Kerala BPL Mobile
Kerala Escotel
Kolkata Airtel
Madhya Pradesh Airtel
Maharashtra Airtel
Maharashtra BPL Mobile
Maharashtra Idea Cellular
Mumbai Airtel
Mumbai BPL Mobile
Orange
Pondicherry BPL Mobile
Punjab Airtel
Tamil Nadu Aircel
Tamil Nadu Airtel
Tamil Nadu BPL Mobile
Uttar Pradesh West Escotel

CrowdTilt: An Effective Way to Raise Funds Online

Crowdtilt is an online website that allows people to start a campaign to raise funds for any task. It is like an online fundraiser to accomplish a task with the help of your friends and family, for example, buying food for the flood victims, etc. You can even check out campaigns started by other users and contribute if you think it’s worth it.

Crowdtilt gives the users the option to start a campaign, set a minimum amount at which the campaign will ‘tilt’ – which means the campaign will end and the person will get the funds via direct deposit, cheque or PayPal.

Once a user makes a campaign, they can share the campaign with their friends on Twitter or Facebook who can then visit the website and contribute to your ‘money pool’. The volunteers must sign up an account on the website to contribute. The payment is taken out from the volunteer’s credit card account only if the campaign ‘tilts’ or reaches its monetary goal.
However, the service is only available for US citizens.

Features:

1. Free and easy to use.
2. The campaign can work for 7 days after which it expires.
3. Money is only transferred from volunteer’s bank account if the campaign ‘tilts’.
4. Works in US only.

Check out CrowdTilt @ www.crowdtilt.com

Another tablet for students now in India for Rs 10K

The 7 inch tablet has 1.2 GHz processor, Android 4.0 OS & preloaded with educational content and applications.

KloudPad, a UK based company, has announced its entry into the Indian tablet market with the launch of its first ever 3G Android 4.0 based tablet for India. This low cost tablet, called KloudPad, comes with 3G calling functionality as well as preloaded educational content for allowing students to read and learn as well.

KloudPad comes bundled with contents for CBSE and ICSE courses which will help students in India to use this tablet for learning. KloudPad has tied up with Attano for receiving educational course related contents like sample test papers for professional studies related to medical and engineering etc. This tablet also has preloaded contents like Edu TV and Attano eBook app which enhances the study reference options for students.

KloudPad is powered by an ARM Cortex-A8 based processor with a processing speed of 1.2 GHz, supported by 512 MB RAM. It has a 7 inch display screen with 800 x 480 pixels resolution. Its 4 GB internal memory can be expanded up to 32 GB using micro SD card. Users can also enjoy capturing their favorite shots with a rear Camera and can have video chat as well with the front camera. However, the exact nature of the cameras (in terms of megapixels) has not been revealed yet.

On the connectivity side it features WiFi, USB and HDMI options. The KloudPad is powered with Android Ice Cream Sandwich operating system and has a 4000 mAh battery, which can give 6 hours of battery life.

This new tablet comes in black colour option only. KloudPad Android 4 tablet can be purchased for Rs 9,999 only from slatestore.in as of now, more stores are expected to sell this tab in the days to come.

Ski Diary: Dedicated Diary App For Skiers (iOS)

There is a wide selection of companion apps available on your phone, and this holds true for even the most novel activities like skiing. Ski Diary is a dedicated iOS app for ski enthusiasts, allowing you to create and view fun ski reports, upload photos to the gallery, log your ski dates, find your location, and view your diary entries on a map.

Ski Diary lets you log a comprehensive report of your ski trip. You can add the people you are skiing with, weather, temperature, and the kind of ski activity. You can also rate how your day went and post a description to detail what happened.  The created reports can then be shared to your social media friends.

Ski Diary is a fun app for everyone to enjoy and remember their skiing experience.  This is mighty useful during the lulls or breaks while skiing. While the app is free in the App Store, you can also pay to unlock themes and remove ads.

Features:

1. Create neat reports.
2. Log your skiing day.
3. Report the temperature, weather, and kind of snow.
4. Upload and attach photos and videos to your report.
5. Share with friends.

Check out Ski Diary @ http://www.ski-diary.com

ASUS to show Windows 8, Android Transformer tablets next week

ASUS sent out invite to unveil one Windows 8 tablet and Android based Transformer tablet next week.

ASUS has just released(http://youtu.be/OxlgR7j_8-g) a video teaser on its official YouTube channel and hinted abou the 'Next Transformations' at Computex 2012 in Taipei, Taiwan. At the Computex 2012 event, ASUS is expecting to show one Windows 8 based tablet and one Android based tablet. Both tablets might be branded under the existing Eee Pad Transformer family.

The new Computex 2012 Showcase teaser for the Computex 2012 and the press invite sent out clearly hints at the Next Transformations. It is a no brainer that ASUS has been offering the Eee Pad tablets with Transformer branding since last two years.

The video doesn't show much but the tags added to the video give away the story - Windows 8, Win8, Tablet, Pad, Transformer, Eee, Android. These tags are proof enough to ancipate the company to show Android 4.0 ICS based tablet - Transformer TF700 and another Windows 8 based tablet.

No further details were revealed in the video or the invite. Computex 2012 starts for June 5 in Taipei, Taiwan.

Huawei to unveil Emotion UI for Android 4.0 devices

From July, Huawei Android device will ship with the Emotion UI but the company is mostly targeting...

Huawei plans to introduce a new custom user interface called Emotion UI for its existing and upcoming Android based smartphones. According to Unwired View, which revealed this, Huawei will unveil the Emotion UI for Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich based devices on June 9. The Emotion UI will be available on all Huawei devices that start shipping from July onwards.

Huawei also has plans to join the Android OS custom user interface bandwagon with HTC, Samsung, LG, Acer and Asus. It is believed that Huawei will debut Ascend D Quad with Emotion UI in July. The point of having a custom interface is to add value to the device without hindering its real-world performance. We shall wait and see the improvements the Emotions UI brings to the table.

As per leaked slide posted on a Chinese micro-blogging network, Weibo, Huawei is primarily targeting Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich with Emotion UI and details are scarce on it. However, it is indeed certain that all Huawei Android devices shipping after July will come with Emotion UI preloaded.

Huawei has not clarified on the list of devices getting Emotion UI as yet but we can expect more details on June 6.

Viewsonic to showcase 22 inch Android 4.0 tablet next month

Company calls it a 'Smart business tablet monitor' and will be more or less an all-in-one Android PC.

Viewsonic will unveil the biggest tablet of the world next month. The US based company has sent out invites to journalists for the function in which it is likely to showcase its 22 inch screen based tablet which will come with the Android Ice Cream Sandwich operating system.

While it can also be used at home, this tablet is designed with boardrooms in mind, where it will be used large and clear presentations etc.

Though there is no word on pricing and specifications, this tablet could well be the costliest tablet so far with such a large screen.

Currently, Viewsonic sells 7 inch and 10 inch tablets under its ViewPad brand, and almost all its tablets are based on Android operating system except one with dual boot option of Android and Windows 7.

Though company is marketing it as a tablet, many argue that it is at best an all-in-one PC based on Android and not a tablet. We find the argument credible enough, as this tablet definitely is not a very mobile device which is one of the key features of current crop of tablets.

Google Correlate: View Closely Matched Keywords Based On Search Volume

Google is the largest single mine of keyword data. They also give us tools that can help look up keyword data such as Google Trends, Adword Keyword Tool, and Google Insights. Google Correlate is another effective tool that creates a list of keywords based on the highest correlation of search volume.

To make use of this tool, it is best that we define correlation first. A correlation is a mutual relationship or interdependence of two or more things. In this case, Google answers the question – which keywords have the most comparable pattern of search activity? This gives you another way to search for highly related keywords.
You can filter the list by country, weekly time series, monthly time series, or US state. You can also find a graph below to visualize their correlations. This tool is very useful not only for Internet marketers, and SEO, but also for market researchers, students, or anyone that is interested in keyword data and search patterns.

Features:

• Creates highly-correlated keyword sets.
• Filter by country, time series, and US state.
• Show the best-matched keywords based on search volume.
• Export Data as CSV.

Check out Google Correlate @ http://www.google.com/trends/correlate

Intex iTab now available for Rs 8,900

The 8 inch tablet will have 1 GB RAM and Android 2.3 operating system.

Intex's iTab, which was launched in March this year for Rs 11,900, is now available for Rs 8,900.

The tablet comes with the 2.3 version of the Android operating system with Adobe Flash Player 11. The iTab is powered by a 1 GHz cortex A8 core processor which is supported by a 1 GB DDR3 RAM. It has an 8 inch capacitive five point touch screen display that allows the user to comfortably zoom in and out with all the fingers. The 360 degree G-Sensor feature makes it a complete entertainment and leisure device.

It also has a memory capacity of 8 GB which is expandable upto 32 GB. It supports external hard drive of 100 GB as well. The Intex iTab is powered by a 5000 mAh battery giving it a back up of 5-6 hours (with WiFi), claimed the company.

Connectivity options include in-built WiFi support. One can also choose to stay connected through 3G network by using a dongle. One USB port gives this tablet the versatility of a notebook. It has a front camera and a 3.5 mm audio jack out with built-in mike for video calls. To facilitate office work it comes with Word, Excel and Power Point viewer. Pre-loaded applications such as the Adobe Reader V9 office, easy battery saver and popular games like Angry Birds, Solitaire, Paper Toss, Talking Tom, etc. are among many others that are available in the tablet. Anyway, it has access to Android app store (Google Play store) so one can download as much as application as he chooses to.

The Intex iTab weighs only 475 grams making it a perfect choice for users who like to carry their entertainment wherever they go. In-built GPS software supported by Google Maps is another interesting feature.

Intex has also said that it is looking to bring more 7 and 10 inch tablets in the coming months.

Samsung boosts Galaxy appeal with Music Hub

Samsung has launched a new music service on the Galaxy S3, its flagship smartphone that rolls out across Europe from Tuesday, to boost its appeal in competition with top devices like Apple's iPhone.

T.J. Kang, Senior Vice President of Samsung Electronics' Media Solution Center, said it was the first time the company had created its own music service from scratch. "Samsung is not known for our content services; we make good hardware products but we haven't done much in the content space but that's changing," he told Reuters. "We are doing it to create a better experience for our users. There are things we could do better if we have complete control over all of the service."

The company has previously rebranded existing music and video services on its devices, where they compete with music stores from the likes of Google and Amazon and streaming services such as Spotify and Pandora Media .

Fred Huet at Greenwich Consulting said the mobile phone was increasingly at the heart of a lot more media consumption, and Apple had established a formidable lead. "A lot of the other players are still trying to find the magic formula that can use to counter iTunes," he said.

"Samsung's Music Hub Premium allows users to upload music to the cloud and access it from a PC and up to five mobile devices as well as stream songs for 9.99 pounds or euros a month," said Daren Tsui, Chief Executive of developer mSpot, which Samsung bought earlier this month.

Users will also be able to buy tunes from a 19 million song catalogue, with prices comparable to iTunes, he said.

HTC One S coming to India on 8th June, priced at Rs. 33,000

HTC’s One S is finally coming to India. The Mobile Store has placed the smartphone in their pre-order list with a price tag of Rs.33,000 and availability listed from 08.06.2012. Touted as an equally powerful phone as the HTC One X, the One S was left out when HTC initially announced their One series. In the first half of March, it was reported that Manu Seth, Country Head of Marketing for HTC India, said that HTC will be launching Android Ice Cream Sandwich based smartphones, the One X, One V and One S in the first week of April for the Indian audiences. However, HTC had only launched the One X and One V in India on the 2nd of April, and no word had surfaced about the third handset from HTC’s One series, the One S. Now however, the device is soon going to hit Indian shores and from what details are available of the phone online, it looks like a pretty interesting device with a better battery life than the One X and a competitive price tag.

It’s also interesting to note that the Black version of the One S had a micro arc oxidation problem and HTC was offering replacements for those devices that had these problems. The HTC One S is currently selling in the United Kingdom at a price of £419, which roughly converts to Rs.33,994, so the 33,000 price tag is pretty accurate.

For those not in the know, here is a quick look at some of the features of the HTC One S:

• Android 4.0 with HTC Sense 4
• 4.3-inch with a resolution of 540 x 960 pixels
• 1.5 GHz dual-core processor
• 8MP camera with AF, LED flash, BSI sensor and 1080p HD video recording
• F2.0 aperture and 28mm lens
• 16GB Internal memory
• 1GB RAM
• Beats Audio
• Wi-Fi, DLNA, micro-USB 2.0, HDMI
• 1650 mAh battery

 At this price, the One S directly competes with the likes of the Sony Xperia S and the popular Samsung Galaxy Note. Would you go for this smartphone at this price? Let us know in the comments section below.

Facebook rumoured to buy Face.com for upto $100 million

The latest rumour circling Facebook and its wallet is a potential acquisition of facial recognition service, Face.com. Israeli publication, Calcalist reports that the social networking giant is looking to buy the service and Newsgeek reports that the deal could could be between $80 million and $100 million. It's still in speculation stage and The Next Web reports that when they reached out to Face.com CEO, Gil Hirsch, he said, "There is nothing new to share". While this statement does not confirm an acquisition, it doesn't deny it either. The two companies have allegedly had meetings over the past few years to discuss an acquisition, but Face.com always turned down offers because of the low price that Facebook was paying.

Face.com was launched in 2007 and already has two services up on Facebook. One is called Photo Tagger, which allows users to scan their photos or their friends' photos for known faces. The app scans photos and batches people for suggested tags that you then approve. The company also has a service called Photo Finder, which works similarly to Photo Tagger, where the application scans Facebook photos in your networks and finds pictures of you that you never knew were there. Face.com also recently launched an iPhone application, called KLiK, which also connects to your Facebook network and identifies the faces in your photos.

With the amount of work Facebook has been putting into photos, particularly mobile photos, it makes sense that they would want to make this acquisition. The company recently bought Instagram for $1 billion and then launched their own rival to Instagram, called Facebook Camera. The application functioned as a Newsfeed for photos uploaded to the social network as well as a photo editor and uploader. It features filters, similar to those on Instagram albiet with different names, and an interesting function of the application is that you can upload multiple photos in one go. It would make sense for Facebook to include not only a facial recognition feature, but also a facial identification feature in the app, so friends can be tagged much more quickly on the go. Furthermore, this would be Facebook's first big acquisition post IPO, that is, if it happens. Facebook is also rumoured to buy Opera Software and build their own browser. Between Face.com and Opera, it will be a race to see what Facebook's first big post-IPO acquisition is.

Flame could be the most powerful virus ever

With cyber crime spreading across the globe, Russian security firm Kaspersky Lab, has just uncovered a massive cyber attack codenamed ‘Flame.’ The malicious program was detected as Worm.Win32.Flame and is believed to have been operational since 2010. Kaspersky believes that the cyber attacks are state-sponsored, however, this information isn't confirmed yet, it told BBC.  On infecting a system, Flame begins with its set of complex operations, which is inclusive of sniffing the network traffic, taking screenshots, recording audio conversations, intercepting the keyboard, and even monitoring the display. The information is then sent to a network of command-and-control servers located in many different parts of the world.The first instance of the malware's activities was detected in Iran and the other countries affected by it are Israel, Sudan, Syria, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia and Egypt. The malware has been collecting private data from these countries. Describing it as "one of the most complex threats ever discovered," the research into the attack had been carried in conjunction with UN's International Telecommunication Union. Also being investigated is another malware threat, called Wiper that has been deleting data in western Asia. However, although Flame has done no evident damage, it has been actively collecting very critical data.

Flame is said to be the most advanced and complete attack-toolkits ever discovered. It has hit more than 600 targets ranging from individuals to businesses and government systems. Kasperky Labs' chief expert, Alexander Gostev said in a statement. "One of the most alarming facts is that the Flame cyber-attack campaign is currently in its active phase, and its operator is consistently surveilling infected systems, collecting information and targeting new systems to accomplish its unknown goals."

Earlier we saw the Stuxnet computer virus that wreaked havoc on Iran's nuclear program and later the country detected the Duqu computer virus, which claimed to be based on Stuxnet. However, the new malware code is said to be 20 times larger than Stuxnet and the Flame package of modules is reportedly huge at 20 MB when completely deployed. Flame is called huge because it includes libraries, like zlib, libbz2, ppmd for compression and sqlite3 for database manipulation, along with a LUA (a scripting language) virtual machine. Many parts of Flame have high order logic written in the scripting language with effective attack subroutines and libraries compiled from C++.

"The Flame malware looks to be another phase in this war, and it's important to understand that such cyber weapons can easily be used against any country," Kaspersky said in a statement. "Unlike with conventional warfare, the more developed countries are actually the most vulnerable in this case."

Prof. Alan Woodward, a computing professor from University of Surrey also believes that just like Stuxnet, Flame can also be spread by a USB stick, but has ‘unusual’ data-stealing features and likens it to a vacuum cleaner. He calls it an extremely advanced attack and more like a toolkit for compiling different code-based weapons than a single tool.

Flame has been termed as a backdoor, a Trojan, and has worm-like features. It is capable of replicating in a local network and on removable media as well. Flame first sniffs network traffic, takes screenshots, records audio conversations via microphone, compresses it and sends it back to the attacker, and intercepts the keyboard. After initial Flame malware has infected a system, more modules are added to perform specific tasks, just like adding apps to a smartphone. As it comes across as a sophisticated work, Kaspersky believes that the cyber attack could be state sponsored. Kaspersky Lab’s experts are currently conducting deeper analysis of Flame and over the coming days a series of blog posts will reveal more details about it.

Don't trust rumor about Nokia Pureview 808: Nokia India

Nokia has not revealed the price of Nokia 808 and it doesn't have a tie up with buytheprice.com for pre orders.

Nokia 808, which will come with a massive 41 megapixel camera, is expected to be launched around the first week of June, and its price will be revealed during that time, only contradictory to reports that it is available for pre-orders through buytheprice.com for Rs 32,000.

A Nokia India spokesperson said to The Mobile Indian, "Nokia has not revealed the pricing of Nokia 808 and we don't have a tie up with buytheprice.com for taking pre orders. We will be launching Nokia PureView 808 in the coming few days and Indian consumers will know its price only then."

Nokia PureView 808 smartphone features a single core 1.3 GHz mobile processor, with 512 MB RAM. Nokia has added a big 41 megapixel camera with the latest camera technology, jointly developed by Nokia and Carl Zeiss, which is called PureView. With f/2.8 aperture, the 41 megapixel camera has Xenon flash and promises 7728 x 5354 pixel images in 16:9 format.

Nokia 808 will come with Nokia Belle feature pack 1 operating system and Dolby Mobile Plus for 5.1 channel surround sound playback. Nokia has packed a 1400 mAh battery which promises 11 hours of battery life on Edge and 6.5 hours on 3G.

With the new PureView Pro imaging technology, the company has managed to use a technique of over-sampling for crystal-clear and noiseless 5 megapixel images. Imaging capability is further aided by the graphics processing unit (GPU), which uses a special algorithm to combine seven pixels into one better pixel. The camera also supports up to 4x digital zoom without compromising on quality. It captures full 1080p HD videos at 30 frames per second with up to 3x zoom; while for 720p HD resolution one can go up to 6x zoom.

1st gen iPad prototype sold for $10,200, worth 20+ new iPads

The first generation prototype unit of the original iPad has been sold on online store eBay for a whopping $10,200, which roughly translates to Rs.5,67,307. The iPad was put up earlier at a selling price of $4,800 with an option for people to purchase it instantly at $10,000. Seems like the demand for this unit went through the roof and it fetched a cool $10,200. Looking at the pictures on the site itself, the unit appears to look pretty authentic. The most unique bit about this prototype is that it had two dock connectors, both functional and used for charging the iPad and connecting it to the computer. There were reports way back in 2010 that Apple was planning to get dual connectors to their iPad and while none of the mockups had anything substantial to be termed as concrete proof, the surface of this tester version of the iPad is proof that Apple indeed had planned something like this.

It's not just the hardware that's different with this prototype version, this iPad runs on Apple's software testing suite, called 'SwitchBoard', which the company uses to test the device's functionality. The 16GB Wi-Fi only iPad was manufactured in late 2009 or early 2010 and has the original parts retained, minus the battery. According to the seller, Apple had prototyped these iPads to include the second connector, but decided to remove them at the last minute. The best part is that the iPad is ‘fully functional’ minus the touchscreen, which the seller claimed that may or may not be fixed. Irrespective of these ‘minor’ problems, the iPad has just been sold for an insane amount of cash. The iPad was sold to a U.S. based buyer by the name n***r, which looks like a cloaked name.

Now, spending such a lot of money on the prototype of a device, which is now obsolete may be a different matter altogether, which only the buyer n***r may know. However, knowing Apple's policy of not letting their secrets out in the open, could it be someone from Cupertino coughing up the cash? Well, now that would be pretty interesting.

The Web switches to IPv6 starting 6th June

The problem of IP address shortages as part of the existing IPv4 standard is about to get solved. There has been a limitation on how many IPs can be supported by the standard and going by the increasing number of devices, we’ll run out of IP addresses this year. IPv6 is here to provide a solution to this shortage. It requires the entire internet, which is a lot of connections, everything from devices to service providers to switch to the new standard. Starting from the 6th of June, which is roughly a week from now - there’s even an official launch site with a countdown to the deadline - all of the major companies such as Time Warner, AT&T, D-Link, Google, Cisco, Facebook, Bing and Yahoo! will be participating in the transition.

The IPv6 launch site has a bunch of reactions from leading IT companies. "Last year’s industry-wide test of IPv6 successfully showed that the global adoption of IPv6 is the best way to keep web devices communicating in the future. Permanently enabling IPv6 is vital to keeping the Internet open and ensuring people stay connected online as the number of web users and devices continues to grow.”, said Jay Parikh, VP of Infrastructure Engineering at Facebook.

Vint Cerf, Chief Internet Evangelist at Google had this to say about IPv6 implementation. “World IPv6 Launch marks a watershed moment in Internet history. It breaks the limits of the original address space to open a vast new territory, trillions upon trillions of times larger, and reinforces the end-to-end architecture that made the Internet so powerful at the beginning. Google strongly supports this upgrade. We’re happy to see that everyone is moving to the 21st-century Internet!”

On World IPv6 day which was held on the 8th of June 2011, internet companies indulged in a test - a technical exercise - to try their hands on their new address. A few popular services namely Google, Facebook, Yahoo! and Akamai decided to test out IPv6 along with the Internet Society, an organization which handles internet standards. The exercise was done to eliminate any issues that might crop up during the worldwide transition to IPv6. IPv6 currently has provisions for about four billion IPs.

For those who’ve gotten enterprising and have jumped on to the IPv6 bandwagon, the regular URLs should be accessible, anyway. ISPs everywhere, running outdated hardware too will have to gear up to this impending change, and get in new hardware that would support the new addresses. Companies worldwide, especially Tata Communications, one of world’s largest Tier 1 transit providers are highly optimistic of the change.

As far as the end user experience is concerned, there won’t be anything new with their internet connections. Existing IPv4 addresses were made up of a sequence of four sets of numbers. IPv6 will assign six sets of numbers to different PCs. The move will virtually provide a really large number of IP addresses, something that won’t be exhausted anytime soon. IPv4 was started some 20 years back.

Future Nokia Lumia and PureView handsets to be waterproof

The age old dilemma faced by mobile phone users is that if water seeps into the internals of the device it renders it practically useless. Nokia plans on doing something about this and is working on superhydrophobic technology on their upcoming Windows Phone Lumia handsets as well as their future PureView models.

At a launch event of the budget Nokia Lumia 610 in Europe, besides unveiling the smartphone, Nokia’s Vice President of Western Europe, Conor Pierce revealed a secret project the brand was working on. He stated, “What happens when a drop of water lands on a lotus leaf… has baffled scientists for generations… but our team in Cambridge UK found a solution.” He went on to explain by claiming, “Nano technology lets us do it. Superhydrophobic technology makes water bounce, it stops it, rolls it off the device and leaves it water impregnant, that’s the magic, that’s what we’re going to bring to the party.”

If you were wondering when this technology on smartphones would be commercially available, the Vice President did not reveal any information regarding the same. However, he did mention that it would be featuring on their future Windows Phone Lumia smartphones as well as on their Symbian handsets featuring PureView technology.

A YouTube video by GSMArena shows exactly how this technology works. At the Nokia World 2011 event held last year, the brand demonstrated how a drop of water can actually leave the device coated with this superhydrophobic technology. The brand intends on using this coating on both the inside and outside of their future smartphones unlike the current waterproof models available nowadays.

The concept of coating devices to make it completely resistant to water is not a new concept and there had been rumours that the recently announced Samsung Galaxy S III would be waterproof by using a special coating. However, since that did not come to be, we can only hope these waterproof handsets are made available soon.

Let us know your thoughts on this superhydrophobic technology in the comments below.

Foxconn begins trial production of Apple iTV

The rumours surrounding the talks about an integrated Apple smart TV have been doing the rounds, since quite a while now, but have gathered steam only over the past few months. The fact that Foxconn was producing this mythical Apple HDTV had been refuted by Foxconn’s CEO and now the latest bit of information appears to have turned the tide once more. As per a report by Sina, Apple indeed approached Foxconn with orders for building the iTV and the device is currently in the trial production stage.

The report states that anonymous sources had informed First Financial Daily that the Fuji Kang Longhua factory in Shenzhen had received preorders for the Apple iTV and this HDTV set is currently in the trial production stage. However, besides this information, nothing else is known.

In a related report regarding the Apple iTV, the Business Insider reports, “The news that Foxconn may finally be working on the television matches up with the timeline laid out by noted Apple analyst Gene Munster, who recently predicted that the company would announce the television this December and begin shipping it in early 2013.”

Prior to the Foxconn CEO refuting the claim that Apple had approached them to build an HDTV, there had been a lot of rumours floating around as to when this integrated television set would be released. This statement by the Foxconn CEO came shortly after he claimed that his firm was preparing for the production lines for an Apple iTV.

Industry analysts have stated that it would be launched later this year or early next year.

The news surrounding the Apple HDTV began to gather steam when it was revealed in the late Steve Jobs’ biography that he had finally cracked it. The Apple HDTV is believed to be a television measuring anywhere from 32 to 55-inches and will have features, such as FaceTime using an iSight camera, Siri, which is Apple’s voice recognition assistant and resemble the brand’s Cinema Display but much larger in comparison.

Feel free to share your thoughts on the trial production beginning of the Apple iTV in the comments section below as well as your opinion on when it will launch.

Pre-order Samsung Galaxy S III on Infibeam for Rs.1,000

Infibeam now has the Galaxy S III on pre-order for just Rs.1,000, a whole grand less compared to Samsung’s official pre-order listing. Samsung will be officially launching the Galaxy S III on the 31st of May in New Delhi but it’s still uncertain whether it will be a hard launch or a paper launch. The Galaxy S III is Samsung’s upcoming flagship smartphone that will replace the Galaxy S II. Currently, the S III will go on to compete with the HTC One X, the only other quad-core, ICS running smartphone in the market.

A quick recap of the S III - the phone is equipped with some of the latest tech to make it out of the mobile phone sector. From a 1.4 GHz quad-core Exynos processor (1GB RAM) running on Android 4.0 i.e. Ice Cream Sandwich (ICS) flaunting the latest edition of Samsung’s TouchWiz UI, to NFC support, the device is quite feature-packed. Its 2100mAh battery should also provide users with quite a bit of usage as well. More than the design, Samsung is really pinning the success of the S III based on the new software tweaks that they’ve added. One of the main features of the S III is the Siri-esque voice recognition system called S Voice. It features Smart Stay, a technique that uses the front facing camera to track your eye movement so it keeps the screen on as long as you're looking at it. Pretty cool. Social Tag uses face recognition that scans the faces in your gallery and maps them to your friends on Facebook or other social media sites. S Beam lets you bond and share data instantly between two S III devices using a combination of NFC and Wi-Fi Direct. AllShare Play uses DLNA to share your photos and videos on compatible TVs.

Here’s a closer look at some of the other specs revealed:

• 4.8-inch HD Super AMOLED display with a resolution of 1280 x 720
• 3G, EDGE/GPRS, Wi-Fi with, DLNA support
• GPS with A-GPS and GLONASS,
• USB 2.0, Bluetooth 4.0
• 8MP camera with AF, LED flash, BSI sensor and 1080p HD video recording
• 1.9MP front facing camera with a resolution of 720p for video chat
• 16/32/64GB Internal memory, expandable up to 64GB
• HDMI out

Samsung Galaxy S II ICS update live in India

After months of wait, Samsung India has finally started rolling out Android 4.0 update for Galaxy S II owners in the country. The update is available over-the-air as well as via Samsung Kies application.

The update size is 220.31MB, and it includes Touchwiz UI along with Ice Cream Sandwich goodies like Face Unlock, Re-sizeable widgets, performance improvements, new People App and a lot more.

As consumers wait for the Galaxy S III release in the country, it is certainly welcome news for a generation old phone owners.

Oppo's Finder is the world's thinnest smartphone

Chinese manufacturer, Oppo’s new Android smartphone, the Finder has grabbed the title of being the world’s thinnest smartphone in the current crop of Android smartphones available in the market. While doing so, it also beat Huawei’s Ascend P1 S by a mere 0.03mm. On the spec front, the Finder is pretty impressive and it packs a 4.3-inch Super AMOLED Plus display and is powered by a 1.5 GHz dual-core processor. The phone comes with 1GB of RAM and 16GB of onboard storage. With an 8 megapixel rear camera supporting 1080p video recording and a 1.3 megapixel front facing camera, the available spec sheet of the Oppo Finder does look pretty impressive.

The phone has featured in a rather cool advert as well that compares it to the likes of the iPhone, which is 9.30mm ‘thick’, the Galaxy S II, which is 8.45mm thick and the RAZR which is 7.10mm thick. The Finder, however, as compared to them measures a mere 6.5mm. If thickness (or for that matter, thinness) is something that is extremely important to you, then we’ll throw in a few more numbers. From the current generation of quad-core phones, the HTC One X is 8.9mm thick, while Samsung’s latest flagship, the Galaxy S III measures in at 8.6mm. Coming back to the slim profile of Oppo’s smartphone, the Finder, heating issues and battery life may be two major concerns, but leaving those bits aside, it is definitely an impressive feat to cram these specs into a profile so thin.

As far as availability is concerned, according to Micgadget, the phone will be available for pre-order on June 6 and it will come at a cool price tag of 3,999 yuan (approx. Rs.34,973). The preview for the phone is available on a Thai website and if you want to get a few more glimpses of this phone, you can click here(http://www.mobiledista.net/preview-oppo-finder/). Chances that it will be launched internationally are pretty bleak at the moment, but now that a new benchmark has been set, the question is, how thin can thin get?

Pre-order Nokia 808 PureView in India at Rs.32,000

There has been a lot of back and forth lately, regarding the pricing of the Nokia 808 PureView, which possibly is the most hotly anticipated Symbian handset in recent times. The price of this handset became the topic of intense discussion when it first popped up with a dummy price. Nokia, later rubbished reports citing the dummy price. If one found the dummy price to be an exaggeration and hoped that the handset would be priced lesser, upon launch, then they would be in for some disappointment. As per a listing on buytheprice.com, Nokia 808 PureView is up for pre-order, sporting a price tag of Rs.32,000.

The price of this handset may come as a setback for those seeking to buy this model as it is around Rs. 2,000 more than the dummy price. Though the price is listed as Rs. 32,000, the website claims that the retail price of the model is actually Rs. 33,999 and they are offering a 6% discount. If one is a little apprehensive about purchasing this handset online, the website also provides a hint as to when it will be launched in India by stating that the product will be shipped on the 30th of May 2012. Judging by this date, we can gather that the handset should be available in stores at the same time.

The high price of the Nokia 808 PureView is because of the camera optics featured in it. When launched, it will be the world’s first commercial smartphone featuring a 41MP sensor.

Here is a quick look at the specifications of the Nokia 808 PureView:

1. 4.0-inch AMOLED ClearBlack display with a 360 x 640 pixel resolution
2. 1.3 GHz ARM 11 processor, 512 MB of RAM
3. Nokia Belle OS
4. 16GB internal storage
5. 3G, EDGE/GPRS, Wi-Fi
6. GPS with A-GPS support
7. Bluetooth 3.0 with A2DP, USB 2.0
8. 41 megapixel camera with Xenon flash, 1080p@30fps video recording
9. Stereo FM radio with RDS
10. Memory expandable up to 32GB via microSD card
11. 3.5 mm handsfree socket
12. 1400 mAh Lithium - ion battery

Let us know your thoughts on the possible pricing of the Nokia 808 PureView. Do you think the camera on this smartphone will enable it to create a splash in the smartphone segment, which is currently populated by Android devices? Or, will the price of the smartphone, no matter how crazy the optics are, be a deterrent for those looking to purchase this Symbian smartphone? Let us know in the comments section below.

Vodafone changes 3G plans

Vodafone has silently tweaked its 3G plans and now offers packs close to what Airtel and Idea cellular are offering.

Close on the heels of other telecom operators reducing their 3G tariffs, Vodafone has now tweaked its 3G tariffs to stay in the competition.

It is to be noted that Airtel and Idea have reduced their 3G tariffs by 70 per cent while RCom has reduced its 3G tariffs by a huge 90 per cent.

Just like Idea, Vodafone is now offering 'pay as you go' tariff at 2 paisa per 10 MB, which is bit cheaper than Airtel's 3 paisa per 10 MB. The GSM operator now offers 25 MB for a day for Rs 26. There is also a Rs 44 pack that offers 150 MB for 7 days while Rs 102 pack now offers 300 MB for a month.

For 1 GB 3G data, Vodafone is now charging Rs 251 and for 2 GB you have to shell out Rs 451. However, it is charging Rs 850 for 3 GB but offers 2 month validity for this pack (one month free). On the other hand, other operators are offering 4 GB for slightly lesser price but only for a month.

Vodafone is now charging Rs 1250 for 5 GB and Rs 1501 for 10 GB, in the former you get two months of validity while the later comes with the usual one month validity.

The above tariffs are for prepaid users. For postpaid users, the lower data packs are in fact costlier when compared to Vodafone's prepaid plans. For example, Vodafone if offering 2 GB of 3G data to its postpaid users for Rs 650; while prepaid users just pay Rs 451 for 2 GB data. However, higher data limit packs like 3 GB, 5 GB and 10 GB packs are priced the same as prepaid plans.

Plainly speaking, Vodafone has not reduced the tariff rates of its 3G plans rather the teleco has simply changed some packs with slightly more data per month or in some cases the validity period.

Two operators who have taken some major step in making 3G affordable are Aircel and RCom. While RCom has reduced the base tariff for 3G services and kept it at 20 paisa per MB level, Aircel, which was the first operator to announce new 3G tariff, has completely done away with limit data access packs, and now sells only unlimited packs.

Aircel is offering unlimited plans starting with Rs 8 plan that offers 50 MB at 3G speeds for a day while its costliest plan for Rs 997 offers 10 GB 3G data for 30 days.

Though these unlimited plans from Aircel will offer you reduced speed of 128 Kbps post the data limit mentioned, it is still good speed compared to others and also saves bill shock to users. Aircel's monthly unlimited plans start at Rs 128 which offers 500 MB data at 3G speeds. However, there is a catch with Aircel packs. Only 5 GB and 10 GB plan are being offered at 7.2 MBPS while all other plans of Aircel are being offered at 3.6 Mbps speed only.

Other operators offer only 7.2 Mbps or higher plans. However post data limit, the speed usually gets dropped to 20-64 Kbps.

Facebook's own smartphone coming next year?

Facebook has partnered with HTC to work on a Facebook smartphone project codenamed - Buffy.

Popular social network, Facebook may come out with its own smartphone next year, New York Times has reported. It is to be noted that till now only a handful of smartphones come with a dedicated Facebook button while many has deeper integration of the social network into the phone. However, a smartphone from Facebook itself is being expected for a long time.

Last year, it was reported that Facebook has partnered with HTC to work on a major smartphone, which has been codenamed as Buffy. After the Facebook IPO went public, the company now plans to sincerely focus on the Buffy smartphone.

According to some Facebook employees and those close to the Buffy project, whom NY Times has quoted, Facebook has hired a team of former Apple employees who worked on the iPhone for the smartphone project. One among them is the person who worked on the iPad. The employees told the newspaper that Facebook may release the Buffy smartphone next year.

In past, Facebook has worked with HTC over two smartphones - ChaCha and Salsa. Both the smartphones came with a dedicated Facebook key and tighter integration. Now the social network giant wants to go beyond just the dedicated key and Facebook integration.

It is quite clear that the social network doesn't want to restrict itself to just an app or mere integration with an operating system. Majority of the Facebook users would like to see a Facebook smartphone but we hope that the developers do understand that not everyone's life revolve around Facebook. Of course, it would be a great hit amongst the teens and the youth. One thing is still not clear on whether Facebook will create an operating system of its own or use Android yet again.

The previous set of 'Facebook' flavoured phones received less than a lukewarm response and didn't turn out to be a blockbuster like it was expected. Also the current Facebook mobile apps plagued with poor performance has really put Facebook creators in troubled waters.
A Facebook employee told NY Times, "Mark is worried that if he doesn't create a mobile phone in near future than Facebook will simply become an app on the mobile platforms."

Every Facebook user would like to see a smartphone exclusively running and breathing the social network. But are they ready enough to be bombarded with the ads on their palms?

Vodafone offering free support to BlackBerry smartphone users

BlackBerry smartphone users can get their trackball changed, update to the latest software for their handset and get free goodies.

Vodafone, in association with Research In Motion (RIM), is offering free service to BlackBerry smartphone users. To avail free services, owners of BlackBerry phones have to visit select Vodafone Stores in Delhi from May 26th - June 10th.

The service camps will be held at select Vodafone Stores in New Delhi between 10.30 AM to 7.30 PM.

BlackBerry smartphone users can get their trackball changed, update to the latest software for their handset and get free goodies. Customers can also avail exciting offers and purchase a new handset from Vodafone with exciting deals on BlackBerry service.

Speaking about the initiative, Subrat Padhi, business head, Vodafone India, New Delhi, said, "BlackBerry smartphones are aspirational communication devices that have expended in use from business executives to people from all walks of life. Vodafone was quick to identify this and we have set up the free BlackBerry servicing camps to not only help our prepaid and postpaid customers but for all BlackBerry smartphone users."

Your t-shirt could charge your mobile phone

Engineers at the University of South Carolina have successfully figured out how a mobile device can be charged by a simple cotton t-shirt. According to Discovery News, researchers at the university have managed to turn a cotton t-shirt into a flexible and highly conducive component. The project was led by Xiaodong Li, a mechanical engineering professor at the University of South Carolina, along with postdoc Lihong Bao. Their project has been published in the journal, Advanced Materials. Li had previously converted a cotton t-shirt into lightweight body armour. He did this by converting the cotton fibers of the t-shirt into boron carbide nanowires. Li said about the project, "In the future, you can imagine our cell phones will be just like a piece of paper you can roll up. But we need to have a flexible energy device to integrate with flexible, stretchable motherboards."

The engineers started with a simple cotton t-shirt, which they purchased for $5 (approx Rs.275). They soaked this t-shirt in a sodium flouride solution for an hour. They then took the wet t-shirt and placed it in a pre-heated oven for three hours. After that, they heated the t-shirt further in a hotter furnace, as though they wanted to bake conductivity in. After all these steps, the cotton had effectively changed to carbon. Even though the t-shirt had been through the furnace and heat, the researchers were still able to fold it. The engineers then coated the t-shirt with a nano layer of metal manganese oxide. The device is then called a super capacitor and responds quicker than a battery to power needs.

Their testing states that the device is on par with other carbon-based, super-capacitors. After 1000 cycles, it had 97.3 percent retention. Li said the process is simple, low-cost and it's green. Even though the project already started with a renewable material, purchasing cotton directly from textile companies could be about 10 times cheaper than converting petroleum and coal to carbon. Li said that he's looking for business partners to scale up the project as well as appeal to local governments to use the process to revive local textile mills. The main idea behind the project, according to Li, is to reduce dependency on oil. And of course, in the end, you might be able to charge your cell phone with your t-shirt!

Facebook may be building a smartphone with former Apple engineers

The number of users accessing Facebook on their mobile phones and smartphones have surpassed those who access it on their computers. This trend, however, gained momentum only over the last couple of years, especially since smartphones featuring a dedicated Facebook app came into the picture. These allowed one to easily access the social networking site on-the-go with all the possible features neatly concised into what most would consider a user-friendly app. Naturally relevant updates made to the website will find their way to the apps as well.

Facebook, has made a few attempts already to introduce a social networking-friendly handset in the past and tied up with a few companies, like HTC to develop and release "Facebook Phones". Devices like the Android powered HTC Salsa and HTC ChaCha, didn't quite receive as much success as hoped and so it was back to the drawing board. The most recent attempt at chashing in on thier mobile fame came in the form of the Vodafone Facebook Phone the Blue 555. The Java-based QWERTY device, although not a smartphone, integrated a great deal of the social network into a simple, yet chic looking handset. Unfortunately it seemed that its popularity, too has passed.

Seeing how immensely powerful the smartphone has become in recent times, the social networking giant is once again eyeing the mobile handset segmengt to make a mark. It now appears that the brand could be working on yet another FB oriented devcice. A report in the New York Times suggests that Facebook has hired former Apple employees to build a smartphone as part of their 2013 project, codenamed ‘Buffy.’ As per the report, “The company has already hired more than half a dozen former Apple software and hardware engineers who worked on the iPhone, and one who worked on the iPad, the employees and those briefed on the plans said.”

The news about project Buffy surfaced last year, when reports came in stating that Facebook was planning to launch a smartphone with social networking at its core and not merely a handset with a dedicated Facebook button, as found on the HTC ChaCha. The report states, “Now, the company has been going deeper into the process, by expanding the group working on "Buffy," and exploring other smartphone projects too, creating a team of seasoned hardware engineers who have built the devices before. One engineer who formerly worked at Apple and worked on the iPhone said he met with Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook's chief executive, who then peppered him with questions about the inner workings of smartphones. It did not sound like idle intellectual curiosity, the engineer said; Mr. Zuckerberg asked about intricate details, including the types of chips used, he said. Another former Apple hardware engineer was recruited by a Facebook executive and was told about the company's hardware explorations.”

The report also states that Facebook is not publicizing this smartphone project and everything is being kept under wraps, instead of going ‘door-to-door to find the right talent.’

Facebook recently announced the Facebook Camera, which in retrospect appears to be the brand's attempt at paving the way for a heavily customized operating software for their smartphone. In another bit of information that could also indicate at a probable smartphone from Facebook, a report by Pocket-lint states that the social networking website may be looking to buy Internet browser, Opera. This would also help them to quite an extent to develop a dedicated browsing experience with a formidable player in the mobile and PC browser field.

What OS will be used for this device is yet unknown. If we had to sepculate, then we would consider Android, seeing there's no conceivable way that Apple would concede to a third party company using their OS and Android's Open Source policy makes for easy customization. Perhaps HTC might be on the list as well as the manufcaturers again, but that's just a thought.

Let us know your thoughts on the possibility of Facebook building a smartphone in the comments section below.

5-inch, 1080p displays soon coming to a smartphone near you

LG Display has announced a 5-inch, full HD LCD panel for smartphones – the highest resolution mobile panel to date, giving a clear indication that the 720p display on your current top-end smartphone won't reign supreme for long. This new, 5-inch Full HD LCD panel is a step forward from the existing mobile display technology and is based on AH-IPS (Advanced High Performance In-Plane Switching) technology. It features a 440ppi and 1920x1080 resolution, providing, for the first time, Full HDTV quality on a smartphone. We had first carried a story about AH-IPS displays, way back in May 2011 and LG had announced then that they were indeed developing AH-IPS panels for smartphones. Here's how AH-IPS improves on the existing technology.

This new generation of In-Plane Swtiching showcases better colour accuracy, which in turn allows it to reproduce the original colour without any distortion. In addition to this, it provides greater light transmission, which translates to lower power consumption, while delivering exceptional picture quality, thereby making it ideal for use in outdoor settings. It also provides for better viewing angles with more stability.

Taking a look at the existing display technologies, the iPhone 4S has an IPS panel with a ppi of 326, compared to the HTC One X's 312 ppi density with a super IPS screen and a 720p display. The soon-to-be announced for India Galaxy S III comes with a ppi of 306, while the popular Galaxy Note has 285 ppi. To put it simply, the higher the PPI the more indistinguishable the pixels are, giving the user a very refined display. The new line-up was to be employed in 3.5 and 4.5-inch panels for smartphones and LG has stayed true to its promise. With a 16:9 widescreen aspect ratio, this new panel is also 0.5 inches larger, 2.2 times denser in pixels, and 1.3 times more advanced in ppi than the preceding 4.5-inch panel at 329ppi and 1280x720.

"As smartphones become increasingly valued for how well they do multimedia and with the rapid growth of LTE enabling faster large file transfers, our new 5" Full HD LCD panel is certain to prove a significant asset to the mobile market," said Sang-Deok Yeo, CTO and Executive Vice President of LG Display. "With the world's highest resolution smartphone display, LG Display continues to remain a step ahead in developing the most innovative in display technology products."

The 5-inch Full HD LCD panel from LG Display is expected to be released during the second half of this year, and will be on exhibit for the first time at SID 2012 Display Week in Boston, starting June 4. LG has been a popular display supplier for most of the smartphone companies and if all goes according to plan, then it won't be too long before we see 1080p displays on smartphones. The future of displays is here, well almost!

Hot deal: Samsung Galaxy Y for Rs 6,790

The Samsung Galaxy Y is available for the special price only for today, from Tradus.com.

Samsung Galaxy Y, the youth oriented Android smartphone, has created a large fan base in a very short time frame owing to its great feature list and low price. But all that has just gotten better as Tradus, a leading e-commerce portal of India, has announced a special one day offer on the Samsung Galaxy Y.

Under this special offer, the website is offering the Samsung Galaxy Y for Rs 6,790 only, which includes doorstep delivery of the device. On other popular web portals like Flipkart, Letsbuy and even eBay, the Galaxy Y is being offered for more than Rs 7,000.

This special offer is just valid for today and users will have to make use of a special voucher, bearing code "DD120528", while checking out and making payment for the purchase to get the special price of Rs 6,790.

The Samsung Galaxy Y features a 3 inch capacitive touch based LCD display with a 240 x 320 pixel resolution display. Galaxy Y has Android 2.3 Gingerbread operating system and comes with Touch Wiz user interface. It is powered by a fast 832 MHz application processor and 160 MB of internal memory.

The device has a 1200 mAh battery, which is enough to power this device for up to two days' use. The phone has a small 2 megapixel main camera, but it misses out on the front camera.

Users can log on to Tradus.com to get this offer or can also follow this link to locate the same. This offer is available for today only and after this the device will continue to sell at its normal price.