Google will continue Nexus program: Pichai

Are you wondering about the status of Nexus program in the wake of Samsung Galaxy S4 and HTC One nexus edition launches? Well, it will continue as usual, revealed Android boss Sundar Pichai at the D11 conference today.

According to Sundar, the idea with Nexus is to push on hardware as well, so that will continue. As, Google had no say in the hardware for Galaxy S4 or HTC One, and it is just releasing its software for these devices, it makes sense for the company to continue Nexus program.

He also added that partnerships like HTC One or S4 nexus editions will also continue and the company will keep on providing stock Android for select devices in the future.

This is certainly good news for stock Android lovers, as they will now have considerably more choices than ever for devices. We are yet to see a new Nexus device this year but that might change on June 10 or in the coming weeks when Google introduces the next Nexus tablet.

HTC One with Nexus experience announced for Rs 33,000

HTC has formally announced the 32 GB HTC One with Nexus experience at a competitive price point of Rs 33,000 ($599) starting from US region initially.

HTC has officially announced the new HTC One smartphone with Nexus experience for its loyal customers. The new HTC One with Nexus user experience will have a 32 GB storage capacity and will be offered in silver colour only.

Except for the user experience, everything else will remain the same for the HTC One with Nexus experience. This smartphone is priced at $599 (Rs 33,000 approximately) and will be made available initially in the US region.

HTC One is the flagship smartphone offered by HTC and it features a nice 4.7-inch Super LCD 3 touchscreen display. This panel has been constructed using Corning Gorilla Glass 2 technology for making it slimmer, stronger and resistant to scratches. By default, it offers 1920x1080 pixel resolution natively and thereby pushing about 469 pixels per inch pixel density.

HTC One 32GB with Nexus experience will be offered initially in the US from July 26 onwards through the Google Play Store. Interesting bit is that the price of HTC One with Nexus experience is same as the price of an unlocked HTC One with Sense 5.0 UI on it. Apparently, the same day Samsung Galaxy S4 with Nexus experience will be offered from Google Play Store but at a price tag of $650.

The hardware inside the HTC One with Nexus experience will remain the same. It will have the brushed aluminum unibody with non-removable 2300 mAh battery. Powered by a quad-core 1.7 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 APQ8064T mobile processor, the HTC One has 2 GB RAM and 32 GB/64GB on-board storage. However, HTC will offer only one with 32 GB on-board storage from the Google Play Store.

The blogpost mentions that the HTC One with Nexus experience will be offered in US region initially. So we do have hope for the same device to be sold sometime by the end of this year for India at least.

Tata Sky Mobile app for Android updated

Tata Sky Mobile app gets a new user interface with few changes in the features of the mobile app.

Tata Sky mobile app for Android platform has been updated and is said to now be more interactive and interesting. The Tata Sky Mobile app has a new user interface and appears better than its last iteration. The app can be used as a full touchscreen WiFi remote to control the Tata Sky+ HD set top box in three different ways. The app can be used as a full remote to perform all kinds of functions like changing channels, browsing menus and even adjusting volume.

The Tata Sky mobile app now also supports gestures in remote mode to change channels. Also, the favorite channel logo leads the user to a set of saved channels. Apart from that, there is a program guide and the user can set the shows for recording on the set top box. The TV show listing also shows details about the cast, crew, story line and reviews for specific movies or shows. Setting reminders is now possible directly through the app. The new user interface looks better, but is nowhere close to the Holo Design UI applications that are available in the Play Store. We urge app developers to implement the changes in the app's user interface to make it more interactive and fast. The updated Tata Sky Mobile app can be downloaded from the Google Play store.

Google Calendar and Play Music apps updated in Google Play

Google has released updates for two of its applications – Calendar and Play Music – in Google Play late yesterday. The updates bring some nifty new features to both the apps.

Talking about Google Calendar first, the new version brings ability to customize event and calendar colours as well more event related options.

Full Change-log of Google Calendar v201305280

Change your default calendar and event colours
More recurring event options
New time & date picker for event creation
Searchable timezone picker

Windows 8.1 screenshot leak suggests the return of the Start button

It was always hard to imagine a Windows OS without its “Start" button, but Window 8, which was launched last year, showed us how Windows could be managed without the traditional Start button.

But, it looks like the Start button is set to make a comeback onto your Windows OS. Leaked screenshots of the yet-to-be-released Windows 8.1 have revealed the look of the Start button that's rumoured to be returning.

Images published on a Windows blog post show that the brand new Start button will be a Windows 8 icon. It is also likely that the button might change colour depending on the background colour. And while using the Switcher app, the Start button will appear at the bottom as the Start tip does in Windows 8.

Reports also suggest that clicking on the Start button will return users to the Start Screen, rather than opening a menu, like in earlier versions of Windows. To help blend the potentially jarring change between the desktop and Modern UI style interface, the Start Screen will use the desktop wallpaper as its background.

The blog has also reported that a boot to desktop option will be included in the latest version of the OS, but will be turned off by default. Though Microsoft is yet to confirm that either of these options will be present in Windows 8.1, this new leak is certainly helpful in substantiating the return of the traditional icon.

Microsoft had earlier confirmed that the latest version of the update will be available for both Microsoft devices and Windows RT devices alike and would be a free update.

MediaTek announces MT8125 quad-core chipsets for tablets

With more and more manufacturers are releasing phones with quad-core CPUs to attract eyeballs and also give the extra kick in the performance.

One of the most seen quad-core chipsets these days in India is MediaTek’s MT6589 processor, which debuted on the Micromax Canvas HD in India and has gone on to power quite a few low-cost smartphones. The company has now announced a new quad-core application processor MT8125, but this one is targeted at mid-range and high-end tablets. The SoC has a Cortex-A7 CPU with clock speed up to 1.5GHz and a PowerVR Series5XT Graphics. The company also revealed that this chipset will be seen in tablets soon, including Lenovo’s IdeaTab S6000 series.

The MT8125 chipset should bring some much-needed improvements in the tablets market, which has in a way stagnated thanks to the barrage of 7-inch slates with similar specifications. The MT8125 chipset is said to support cameras with up to 13 megapixel sensors. It has integrated ISP (image stabilisation) and will support video recording and playback up to full HD 1080p. In addition, it brings support for full HD (1920 x 1200) displays and comes with a proprietary MiraVision technology, which is known to offer better visual quality.

In terms of connectivity, it will support 3G HSPA+, 2G EDGE, Wi-Fi versions, Bluetooth 4.0, GPS and FM. So there’s no LTE support yet. MediaTek has used Wi-Fi-certified Miracast technology in this chip, which is said to improve the speed of multimedia content sharing between devices.

Motorola confirms Moto X smartphone, coming this summer

Google’s Motorola Mobility unit CEO Dennis Woodside today confirmed the existence of the rumoured Moto X smartphone at AllThingsD’s D11 conference. He also said that the smartphone will assembled in the United States, making it the first smartphone to achieve this feat.

Motorola will be using a facility outside Fort Worth, Texas, that was previously used to build Nokia phones, for assembling its smartphones.

Woodside also revealed that this Moto X smartphone will come with an OLED display and will be released in October, however the company later issued a press release contradicting Woodside and noting a summer release. So, it is very likely that we will see Moto X much before October.

Moto X is going to be the company flagship product for this year and will compete with the likes of Galaxy line-up and iPhone, said Woodside.

This is not all; Motorola is also developing a whole portfolio of smartphones, which would cater to different segments.

Ditching tablets and focus on Americas

Dennis Woodside told AllThingsD on the side-lines of the D11 conference that the company is pulling back on tablets and will be mainly focusing on phones.

“A lot of what we know isn’t as important in the tablet. For now we haven’t been focused on that. That may change,” Woodside said.

Woodside noted that Americas – both North and South – will be the key focus area for the company, suggesting that its upcoming smartphones might not be released in other regions, especially the countries where it has already shut the shop like India.

Check out the full interview of Motorola Mobility CEO Dennis Woodside along with Regina Dugan, the head of advanced research for Motorola below.

Here is the full press release that Motorola issued following Woodside’s D11 interview.

Moto X: The First Smartphone Assembled in the USA

There are more than 130 million smartphones in use in the USA today and not one of them was assembled here…until now.

Today at the AllThingsD conference Dennis Woodside revealed how we are reinventing Motorola through a portfolio of products starting with Moto X, a new flagship smartphone that will be designed, engineered and assembled in the USA. We’re not talking about just a handful of units either — available this summer, every Moto X sold in the USA will be assembled in Fort Worth, Texas, making it the first smartphone ever assembled domestically.

There were a few reasons why we decided to do this. There are several business advantages to having our Illinois and California-based designers and engineers much closer to our factory. For instance, we’ll be able to iterate on design much faster, create a leaner supply chain, respond much more quickly to purchasing trends and demands, and deliver devices to people here much more quickly. And as a part of Google we’re being encouraged to take big bets on things that make a difference.

We still have a network of global operations, and that won’t change. Our global manufacturing partner remains Flextronics and we’ll continue to assemble devices locally in China and Brazil. But Flextronics is busy looking for people for the new Fort Worth facility now. If you’re interested, we encourage you to check the available positions and apply.
This is an incredibly exciting time to be in the mobile device industry. Our role in inventing the mobile phone is well known. We’re happy to be shaping its future as well.

Image Credit: AllThingsD

Google announces redesigned Gmail for web and Android

In the bid to make Gmail inbox clutter-free, Google is taking a new approach by integrating categories in the inbox as a part of latest revamp. Google wants to help you separate bulks mails from the main inbox to different categories that appear as tabs in your inbox.

By using the new categories in Gmail, you can automatically send all your Facebook and Google+ notifications and emails from other social networks to social category or retail order updates or shipping information to updates category and so on.

There are a total of five categories – primary, social, promotions, updates and forums. You can choose to use all the categories or select few of these or even none of them.


“We get a lot of different types of email: messages from friends, social notifications, deals and offers, confirmations and receipts, and more. All of these emails can compete for our attention and make it harder to focus on the things we need to get done. Sometimes it feels like our inboxes are controlling us, rather than the other way around,” Itamar Gilad, Product Manager, Gmail noted in a blog post.

“But it doesn’t have to be that way. Today, Gmail is getting a brand new inbox on desktop and mobile that puts you back in control using simple, easy organization,” Itamar added.

According to Google, the new inbox is rolling out gradually, and the web as well Android versions will go live sometime in the next few weeks.

Lava launches E-Tab XTRON+ Jelly Bean tablet for INR 6,990

Lava has silently launched the upgraded version of its E-Tab XTRON tablet in the form of XTRON+ today. The new tablet include Android 4.2 and 3700 mAh battery instead of Android 4.1 and 3500 mAh battery present in its predecessor.

Other specifications of XTRON and XTRON+ are exactly the same, and it seems Lava has discontinued the E-Tab XTRON tablet.

“After the huge success of XTRON its improved and better version is here. XTRON was a near perfect product however there was some scope of improvement. LAVA being a truly consumer centric company has incorporated the consumer feedback and further improved XTRON as XTRON+,” said Lava.

Lava E-Tab XTRON+ tablet packs 7-inch display with 1024x600p resolution, 1.5GHz dual-core Cortex A9 processor, 1GB of RAM and 2MP rear camera. The tablet also comes with 8GB of internal storage, microSD card slot, HDMI out and Wi-Fi connectivity.

There is no 3G support or Bluetooth in the tablet.

According to Lava, XTRON+ comes pre-bundled with Edukart content and a discount of 20% on Edukart courses. The tablet also features free Vedic math course as well as discount up to INR 4000 from Meritnation for students.

The tablet has been priced at INR 6,990 and is now available online at Flipkart.

Samsung to adopt new design for mobiles

The company wants users to identify Samsung devices based on its new and unique design.

Samsung is working towards adopting a new and dynamic design for its mobile devices. The whole idea behind the new design is to make the differentiate Samsung devices from other products in the market. As reported (http://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20130529001100) Samsung held a strategy meeting specifically focused on the new design to be adopted for the devices.

To bring about clear differentiation in design Samsung will have to adopt an out of the box design as most of the designing techniques have already been implemented by companies and device manufacturers across the globe. Samsung Galaxy range of devices today offer more or less similar design characteristics and differentiation between various products form Samsung's portfolios itself is a bit difficult. For instance the Samsung Galaxy Note 8 has striking resemblance to the Samsung Galaxy tab and the Samsung Galaxy Grand resembles many devices coming from other manufacturers.

Clearly to differentiate the device Samsung will have to adopt a new manufacturing process with the use of new materials, perhaps metal for instance can be a great new addition. Devices today already are getting super slim and lightweight and there is only so much, designers can do to improve the design in that aspect.

Now with Samsung focusing on the design aspect called Design 3.0, the Korean company is aiming to not only improving the outside look of the devices but enhancing their usability as well.

Samsung Galaxy Ace 3 details leaked

Samsung is working on the mid-range Galaxy Ace 3 smartphone which would have a 4-inch display, dual-core mobile processor and Android 4.x Jelly Bean operating system.

Samsung is planning to release yet another mid-range smartphone - Galaxy Ace 3 - sometime later this month. The new Galaxy Ace 3 is the successor of the Ace 2 and Ace smartphones. Samsung has packed a bigger display, better processor and a decent battery in the third generation Ace smartphone. Russian website Hi-Tech Mail posted the basic details of the Galaxy Ace 3.

Samsung Galaxy Ace 3 will feature a 4-inch touchscreen display with 800x480 pixel resolution. This display seems decent enough for a mid-range device. Inside the 9.8 mm thick chassis, the Galaxy Ace 3 could pack a dual-core 1.2 GHz mobile processor, 1 GB RAM, and 4 GB internal storage. So less internal storage is likely to become one of the issues that could lead to sluggish operating system performance and memory full errors.

Samsung is said to use a 5 megapixel camera at the back and a 0.3 megapixel camera in the front of the handset. This smartphone will run Android 4.x Jelly Bean update with a layer of NatureUX running on top of it. Samsung has added a 1500 mAh battery to power this mid-range device.

Samsung Galaxy Ace 3 is expected to be launched at a price of around Rs 17,800.

HTC might use Liquidmetal in upcoming smartphone: Report

Unconfirmed reports originating from Taiwain indicate that HTC is thinking to put a Liquidmetal chassis in one of the company’s upcoming smartphones, which will be released in H2, 2013. The company has reportedly partnered with Taiwan-based chassis maker Jabon International for the supply of this chassis; however Jabon has declined to comment on these rumours.

According to Digitimes, HTC has also recruited a Japanese R&D firm to help Jabon with the supply.

Those of you who don’t know about Liquidmetal, it is an amorphous metal alloys developed by a Caltech research team and marketed by Liquidmetal Technologies. Liquidmetal alloys combine a number of desirable material features, including high tensile strength, excellent corrosion resistance, very high coefficient of restitution and excellent anti-wearing characteristics (more on Wikipedia).

There is no word on which HTC phone will come with Liquidmetal chassis (if HTC even uses it) – if we were to guess, we could see it in HTC Butterfly successor because that is the only one flagship phone, HTC is rumoured to launch in the second half of this year.

Asus rolling out Android 4.2.1 update for Transformer AiO

Asus has started rolling out the Android 4.2.1 Jelly Bean update for its Transformer AiO hybrid, which works as a Windows-based All-in-One as well as Jelly Bean-based tablet.

The update is live in the United States right now and is being released over-the-air. There is no word on when it will be available in other regions including India, where Transformer AiO went on sale just days ago.

The official change-log is not available at this moment but the update is expected to include multiple user accounts support, Daydream, actionable notifications, and performance improvements.

The AiO users will get a notification on their tablet as soon as the update is available for their device, they can also go to Settings<<About Tablet<<System Updates, to manually check for the update.

Spice Stellar Jazz Mi-353 Android phone available online for INR 4,589

Another Spice Android smartphone is now available online in India. Dubbed as Stellar Jazz, the phone is targeted to music lovers and packs dual front speakers made by Philips along with SRS Sound enhancements. The phone can be purchased from Saholic.com for INR 4,589.

Spice Mi-353 runs on Android 2.3 and is powered by 1GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor. The phone features 3.5-inch HVGA display, 3G, dual-SIM support and 3MP rear camera.

In addition, you will find a 1.3MP front camera, 1500 mAh battery, 256MB of RAM and 512MB of in-built memory on the Spice Stellar Jazz.

The smartphone also comes pre-loaded with NQ Mobile Security (6 Months Free), Spice Gang, Facebook, WhatsApp, and Vault applications.

Spice Stellar Jazz Mi-353 key specifications

3.5-inch Capacitive Touchscreen
Android v2.3 (Gingerbread) OS
1.3 MP Secondary Camera
Dual SIM (GSM + GSM)
256MB of RAM, 512MB of on-board storage, Expandable Storage Capacity of 16 GB
FM Radio, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS
1 GHz Snapdragon Processor
3 MP Primary Camera
1500 mAh battery

LG not keen on making the Nexus 5 smartphone

With LG out of the Nexus 5 race the next device could be from Samsung or HTC.

LG, which has launched the latest Nexus device called Nexus 4, is not keen on making the next Nexus device.

Speaking to All About Phones, Won Kim, vice president of LG Mobile, Europe, said that while the Nexus 4 has been hugely successful, there is currently no Nexus 5 in production. And that LG has no plans for the next Nexus device as well.

With LG out of race, the next Nexus device is thus likely to be made by HTC or Samsung who currently have the best of Android devices in their portfolio including the HTC One and the Samsung Galaxy S4 respectively.

Samsung is likely to be the logical choice for the device as it has better production capacity and delivery model, while on other hand HTC has been suffering delivery related issues due to the slower production process.

Tata Docomo branded Opera Mini released

Opera Mini claims to load webpages at speeds comparable to a desktop
experience.

Tata Docomo, the unified telecom brand of Tata Teleservices, today announced its partnership with Opera Software to offer a co-branded Opera Mini mobile browser to its users in India. Tata Docomo customers will be able to download this co-branded version of Opera Mini on their devices from m.opera.com.

Opera Mini claims to load webpages at speeds comparable to a desktop experience. Opera Mini said to compress data to as little as 10 per cent of its original size before sending it to the handset; as a result, content is delivered faster, and users can save data costs. For cost-conscious consumers, this means they can access the web more often, for the same price. Opera Mini's offers features such as Smart Page, Speed Dial, tabbed browsing, password manager, download manager and Opera Link to make the browsing experience smooth and fun.

Commenting on the partnership, Rishi Mohan Malhotra, head VAS for Tata Teleservices, says, "We are sure that with the experience enhancements like faster browsing and convenient discovery of content that Opera Mini provides, Tata Docomo subscribers can truly experience world-class mobile internet browsing like never before."

Now recharge your Aircel number through Facebook

People can visit Aircel Facebook page to recharge their Aircel number.

Aircel has started a completely new recharge avenue for its pre-paid subscribers. Users can now visit Facebook Page of Aircel to recharge their prepaid connection.

It has started a Recharge Store on Facebook which can be accessed through its Facebook page. The move is aimed at reaching to the consumer online, where they mostly are. Given Facebook's popularity in India, there could not be a better place to catch them.

The move by Aircel is a new one and will not only help them reach their subscribers better but can also start a new trend where even shopping is available straight on Facebook.com.

Samsung exec confirms Galaxy Note 3, might pack optical image stabilization

We all know that given the success of Galaxy Note and Note II, Samsung will surely be introducing Note III smartphone later this year. However, it is always good to have confirmations – while Samsung might have not officially announced the phone, an unnamed official from Samsung mobile communications division has confirmed to ET news that Samsung is indeed working on Note III, but some of its features are yet to be finalized.

The Galaxy Note III development team is particularly looking at various camera-related technologies to incorporate in the phone. Optical image stabilization is one such technology that might be introduced as a part of Note III. Samsung is also mulling over to include optical zoom capability in the Note III’s 13MP camera but it is unlikely.

“We are pondering various technologies at this stage – for example, OIS (Optical Image Stabilization) and shutter functions. But, nothing has yet to be confirmed, so we cannot conclusively say that those functions will be added to the Galaxy Note 3,” the official told ET news.

Rajasthan Royals in partnership with ICE X launches tablet for Rs 10K

This exclusive tablet comes as a limited edition device with a Rs 10,000 price tag.

Indian Premier League cricket team Rajasthan Royals in partnership with Mumbai based ICE X Electronics, a manufacturer of portable computing devices, announced the launch of its first ever limited edition Android tablet called Ice Extreme Pro. This limited Royal Edition ICE Xtreme Pro tablet is a 3G calling tablet priced around Rs 10,000. It comes preloaded with exclusive content and a Rajasthan Royals application that will help fans follow their favorite team on the go.

The ICE Xtreme Pro is a dual SIM calling tablet that makes sure users do not need to carry different devices to stay connected. The tablet is powered by a dual core 1 GHz processor and has 1 GB of RAM besides 8 GB of internal or onboard storage for data and applications.

The tablet supports 3G networks on the primary SIM, allowing users to make use of 3G data and calling on the go. The ICE Xtreme comes with HD LCD display and also features Bluetooth, GPS and micro USB connectivity. The tablet has the latest Google Android Jelly Bean operating system and has dual cameras as well. It comes in limited edition packing too.

Buyers get one year doorstep service warranty and the tablet will be sold through the Rajasthan Royals official website, while exclusive pre-booking is available through Snapdeal, and retail sales are through Big Bazaar.

Mozilla partners Hon Hai to build Firefox OS device

Mozilla has revealed that it has partnered with Foxconn-parent Hon Hai to build a Firefox OS device. The device, which is reportedly a tablet, will be announced at a press event on June 3, noted Reuters.

Hon Hai, which is the world’s biggest contract manufacturer of electronics, is the 19th company to partner with Mozilla for Firefox OS devices.

“Most of the mobile devices that Hon Hai manufactures run on Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android systems. Hon Hai said it would add Firefox to its product line for clients,” Reuters added.

According to a recent report by WSJ, Hon Hai, which has profited a lot by assembling Apple devices, is looking for new clients and tie up with Mozilla is a step in the same bid.

Both the companies will be formally announcing their tie-up on June 3.

Spice Smart Flo Pace now available online for INR 4,790

Yet another Spice smartphone has landed in the Indian market. Available now on Saholic.com, Spice Smart Flo Pace is the company’s first phone in the sub-INR 5K bracket with Android 4.0 on-board. All other Spice smartphones priced less than INR 5,000 come with Gingerbread on-board.

Spice Smart Flo Pace features dual-SIM GSM+GSM support, 1GHz processor and 4-inch WVGA display. The phone also comes with 512MB of RAM, 3.2MP rear camera and 1.3MP front camera.

The phone has been priced at INR 4,790 and can be purchased now.

Spice Smart Flo Pace Mi-422 key specifications

4-inch 800x480p resolution display
2G, dual-SIM support
Wi-Fi, 3.5mm audio jack, aGPS, Bluetooth
3.2MP rear camera with LED flash, 1.3MP front camera
512MB of RAM, 512MB of ROM (user-accessible memory will be less) and microSD card slot
1300 mAh battery
Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich
1GHz single core processor

Gmail redesign on the horizon?

The new design comes with new labels and automatic mail sorting for easier and relaxed usage.

Gmail or Google Mail has always been working on easing out the functionality and usability of its applications. Many new things have been added for users so far. But its nothing like what Google is planning to do with web and mobile applications, if the leaked pictures are to be believed. Google is looking forward to adding a whole new user interface to the Gmail application, and along with that Gmail will now offer automatic mail sorting.

The user interface takes a cue from the Google Plus interface and tries to incorporate newer colors that Google has been adding to most apps. The mail feed would no longer be in terms of a boring line of text from the subject; but instead a snippet of the mail itself, including user pictures will be available. The inbox is likely to be segregated by four different labels including social, updates, promotions and the primary inbox itself.

Under the Social tab, all messages relating to social media will automatically be moved to this category and will be accessible by users. Following that all promotional emails relating to shopping, sales and purchase will automatically go under offers and updates, and will take care of all important notifications that users get through many of its services, such as credit card payments, mobile bill payments and so on.

The update sounds interesting while it will offer more functionality and ease of access to users, but it again depends on how well everything is implemented, and in the coming times we will get to see if the product will be a hit or something like Orkut that became like just another social networking service.

LG announces White Nexus 4

After several leaks and availability in India, LG has officially announced the White version of Nexus 4 smartphone today. According to the company, the White version will be available beginning tomorrow in Hong Kong.

It will be rolled out in other Asian countries over the next few weeks. The new colour variant will also be available in North America, Europe and Middle East in the coming weeks. The company has not revealed anything about the Google Play availability of the White Nexus 4.

“Nexus 4 set the standard for Android 4.2 Jelly Bean smartphones,” said Dr. Jong-seok Park, president and CEO of LG Mobile Communications Company. “Nexus 4 White delivers the same Google experience to consumers in a stylish and attractive color option.”

To remind you, LG Nexus 4 packs 4.7-inch 1280-by-768 True HD IPS Plus display (320ppi) with Zerogap Touch technology 1.5GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro processor and 2GB of RAM. The phone also comes with 8MP rear camera, front camera and 8/16 GB of internal storage.

Samsung India launches Galaxy Mega 5.8 and Galaxy Mega 6.3 smartphones

As we reported earlier, Samsung has officially launched Galaxy Mega series smartphones today in the Indian market. The phones are targeted to the consumers who do not want to carry two different devices thus opt for a large screen smartphone. Carrying the massive display sizes and 5.8-inch and 6.3-inch, the Mega series smartphones were originally announced last month.

According to a press release issued by the company, Samsung Galaxy Mega 5.8 will be available beginning next week for INR 25,100, while Mega 6.3 will go on around June 10 for INR 31,490.

Samsung has also partnered with Reliance Communications and Vodafone telecom operators to provide data offers to the buyers of Galaxy Mega smartphones. RCOM will be offering 2GB of free data per month for three months as well as unlimited access to Bigflix, Whatsapp, Twitter and Facebook. On the other hand, Vodafone will be giving free 2GB of data per month for two months.

In addition to hardware specifications like dual-core processor, the Mega series smartphone also come with software customisations that were originally released as a part of Galaxy S4 smartphone. Some of such software features are Samsung Link, S Translator, Story Album, Air View, Sound & Shot, Group Play, S Travel and Samsung WatchON.

Samsung has revealed that it is selling the the dual-SIM version of Galaxy Mega 5.8 in the country, while Mega 6.3 will only be available in single-SIM version. Also, Galaxy Mega 5.8 does not come with Infrared port, where the IR is present Mega 6.3.

You can check out the detailed specifications of these smartphones below.

Pantel to launch three Android phones, starting INR 7,000

Pantel Technologies has revealed that it is jumping in the ultra-competitive smartphone market in India. The company will be releasing three Android phones initially, which will go on sale next month.

According to a report in PTI, these phones will be priced between INR 7,000 and INR 15,000. Company managing director Vjiender Singh told PTI that these smartphones will be launched in the second week of June.

Pantel, the company best known for its Android tablets – most of which come in partnership with state-run telecom operator BSNL – started its operations in March 2012 in the country. It is hoping to sell 50,000 to 60,000 phones every month.

The company has stated that the upcoming Android phones will pack 3G connectivity, Android 4.1 Jelly Bean and at-least 1GHz processor. Pantel will also be releasing a 4G device later this year, but nothing is known about that right now.

Nokia Lumia 925 coming to India soon

Improved version of Lumia 920 comes with metal body, improved camera and bunch of improvements on the software side. The phone is listed on Nokia India site as coming soon.

Nokia's Windows Phone 8 based Lumia 925 smartphone, which was announced in mid-May, will soon hit the Indian shores as the handset has now been listed on the Nokia India's website with 'coming soon' tag. However, price of the handset has not been announced yet.

AS the name suggest, the Nokia Lumia 925 is an improved version of the Lumia 920. It comes with a full aluminum casing. Also, the Lumia 925 is said to have a better camera sensor than the Lumia 920 along with a bunch of imaging centric improvements on the software side. Nokia Lumia 925 will be offered in grey and metallic black colours.

The Windows Phone 8 operating system based handset is mere 8.5 mm thick and weighs about 139 grams along with the battery. Compared to that, the Lumia 920 is about 10.7 mm thick and weighs 185 grams.

Inside the aluminum chassis, Nokia has packed a dual-core 1.5 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro mobile processor coupled with 1 GB RAM and 16 GB internal storage. The Lumia 925 flaunts a 4.5-inch Amoled display that has 1280x768 pixel resolution. This display has been constructed using the Gorilla Glass 2 technology for strength and also features Nokia ClearBlack technology for blocking the reflection from the screen. By default the Nokia Lumia 925 will run Windows Phone 8 mobile OS and will come with bunch of Nokia Lumia exclusive apps as well as services.

Major changes are made in the imaging department where Nokia has used the 8.7 megapixel image sensor with PureView technology as the one used in Lumia 920. However, the optimisation comes in the lenses where Nokia has added a layer of glass lens as the sixth lens with the regular five plastic lenses in the image sensor.

Apart from that, Nokia has added a dual-LED flash and improved optical image stabilisation with the tweaked algorithms to deliver better performance in both - bright and low light conditions. Refreshed camera user interface also brings Pro mode that lets the user enjoy full manual control of the camera.

There is a Smart Camera mode that allows the camera to capture ten images with the motion focus feature. This enables the user to employ changes such as remove blur or alter images in the background. Apart from that, the Nokia Lumia 925 will also support the Long Term Evolution networks and added 2000 mAh battery for longer operational time.

The Nokia Lumia 925 smartphone is likely to be priced around Rs 39,000.

Nokia Lumia 920 price slashed by around Rs 5,000

Nokia has cut the price of Nokia Lumia 920 in preparation of the launch of Nokia Lumia 925.

Nokia has unofficially cut the price of its current flagship smartphone, the Lumia 920. The Windows Phone 8 operating system based smartphone, which was retailing at Rs 36,000 plus, is now available for Rs 31,990 from major e-commerce sites and retail stores.

This price cut comes on a day when the next flagship phone of Nokia, the Lumia 925, gets listed on its website with coming soon tag, indicating its impending launch.

Nokia Lumia 920 features a 4.5-inch HD ClearBlack IPS panel display with PureMotion HD+ layer that allows users to work on the display even wearing gloves. The display supports 1280x768 pixel resolution natively and thereby offers 332 pixels per inch pixel density. This display has been constructed using Corning Gorilla Glass 2 technology.

It features 8.7-megapixel camera with dual-LED flash. The camera has the Carl Zeiss optics and offers several features such as image stabilisation and auto focus. The most interesting feature of the camera is the Optical Image Stabilisation that allows capturing great quality HD videos.

The Lumia 920 comes with a dual-core 1.5 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 MSM8960 mobile processor with Adreno 225 graphics chip and 1 GB RAM. This smartphone offers 32 GB on-board storage but there is no micro SD card slot and 2000 mAh battery that promises about 10 hours of continuous talk time over 3G network.

XOLO to launch its thinnest Android phone Q1000+ in July

Lava’s sub-brand XOLO is on a launch spree these days. The company has launched at least new four Android smartphones in the last few weeks and many more are in pipeline. Now, Android Nova is reporting that XOLO will release a variant of its recently released Q1000 smartphone in the form of Q1000+.

XOLO Q1000+ won’t have any significant differences from Q1000 in terms of the specs but it will be much thinner than the latter. In fact, it will be the thinnest smartphone till date from the company with just 6.xmm thick chassis.

Q1000+ will also come with a 5-inch 1280x720p display, 1.2GHz quad-core processor and 8-megapixel rear camera.

To remind you, XOLO is also rumoured to launch Q2000 with 5.5-inch HD display. The phone is also expected to be released in late June or July.

XOLO Q1000+ key specifications

• 5-inch IPS display with 1280x720p display
• 1.2GHz quad-core processor (probably MediaTek)
• 1GB of RAM
• 8MP rear camera
• Jelly Bean
• Dual-SIM support, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS, and microSD card slot
• Expected pricing: INR 15K

Apple iPhone 6 with 4.7 inch full HD display coming next year?

Apple will launch iPhone 6 next year, according to a report.

Apple will launch iPhone 6 next year, according to a report . The report said that the device is expected next year autumn (January-March).

Till now, the grapevine is filled with rumours of Apple launching the next iPhone as soon as this July itself. Most of the reports also said that the phone is to be called as Apple iPhone 5S.

Meanwhile, the recent report said that the Apple iPhone 6 will come with a 4.8 inch full HD resolution display. The display, called the Retina+, will be manufactured by Sharp. Although there are no mentions about the use of naked eye 3D technology anywhere but until the device is officially announced nothing concrete can be said about it.

The iPhone 6 will however will miss out on the hardware home key and will also include eye tracking feature much like the Samsung Galaxy S4 for scrolling pages and documents. The iPhone 6 is expected to be powered with the Apple A7 quad core processor with an expected clock speed of up to 1.8 GHz.

The new Apple iOS 7 would have a much improved user interface without any home screen button, alongside 128 GB of storage as is found in Apple's recent versions of iPad devices.

Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini confirmed via Samsung Apps website

Looks like someone in Samsung Apps team jumped the gun and listed the unannounced Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini on the website. This not only confirms the existence of the device but also suggests the impending arrival of the phone.

The Samsung Apps listing does not reveal any device specific details but as per previous reports, the phone will come with a 4.3-inch Super AMOLED qHD display (720p in LTE version) and 1.6GHz dual-core processor.

The phone will also come with 1GB of RAM (2GB in LTE version), Android 4.2, 8MP rear camera and 2100 mAh battery.

We have previously heard that Samsung is going to announced Galaxy S4 Mini along with S4 Active and Zoom by the end-of-May. So, it is possible that we will see the official announcement in the next couple of days.

Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini model numbers:

HSPA+ version: GT-I9195
LTE version: SGH-I257

LG Optimus L7 P705 getting Android 4.1.2 update

LG India has started the process of updating its Optimus L7 smartphone to Jelly Bean in the country. The update is currently available via LG Mobile Support Tool, but it should also be available over-the-air in the coming days. You can grab the Mobile Support Tool download from this link.

The update brings a host of new features and enhancements to the phone including Project Butter improvements, Google Now support, Wi-Fi protected setup (WPS), expandable notifications and UI enhancements.

Originally launched in India last year, LG Optimus L7 was until running on Android 4.0.

India isn’t the only country where the L7 Jelly Bean update is available; LG has also rolled out the update in countries like Canada, China, Germany, Hong Kong, Italy, Mexico, Poland, and Taiwan.

If you have already updated your Optimus L7 smartphone, do let us know about the experience in comments.

Samsung starts rolling out Android 4.1 update for Galaxy Music

Samsung has begun rolling out Jelly Bean update for its budget Android smartphone Galaxy Music GT-S6010. The update is currently live in the United Kingdom for the single-SIM version. It is being released over-the-air and also via Kies app.

You can check out the update details below:

Android Version: Android 4.1.2
PDA: S6010XXUBME1
CSC: S6010OXABME1
MODEM: S6010XXUBMD3

The update will bring user interface improvements, Google Now support, enhanced notifications, Project Butter improvements and more to the phone.

To remind you, Samsung Galaxy Music features 3-inch QVGA display, 850MHz processor, 3MP rear camera, 512MM of RAM, 4GB of internal storage and 1300 mAh battery.

The phone also packs front dual stereo speakers, Sound Alive & SRS technology, FM Antenna, Wi-Fi, HSDPA connectivity, GPS and MicroSD card support.

The company also sells a dual-SIM version of the phone as Galaxy Music Duos GT-S6012, but there is no word on the Android 4.1 update of it right now, but we hope to see it soon.

HTC announces Samsung Quattro rival - the Desire 600

The latest HTC phone has a 1.2 GHz quad core processor and 4.5 inch display.

HTC has announced a low cost quad core phone, called Desire 600. The phone will run on 1.2 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 200 quad core processor, which is being used on Karbonn Titanium S5 and Samsung Galaxy Quattro.

HTC Desire 600 is a dual SIM phone with 4.5 inch super LCD 2 display, latest Sense 5 user interface with HTC BlinkFeed and HTC BoomSound in place just like the flagship HTC One has. The phone will of course run on latest Android 4.2 Jelly Bean when launch in early June.

BlinkFeed brings Windows Phone type tiled interface to Android and offers customisable stream of live information from more than 1,400 media sources. BlinkFeed draws on more than 10,000 articles per day from some of the world's leading media companies including AOL family of media properties, ESPN, MTV, The Financial Times and Reuters.

In terms of camera the phone will offer 8 megapixel rear and 1.6 megapixel front camera. The phone comes with several camera related features including auto 30 second showreel with sound.

HTC has put built-in amplifiers and has integrated Beats Audio technology in the phone for superior audio. Though not announced, the phone is expected to be priced in Rs 20-21,000 when it becomes available in early June.

Annotary: Highlight Webpages & Take Notes Easily

Keeping track of important information that you find online isn’t quite as easy as you might think. A lot of people will tend to simply copy and paste that information into a text document. While it works, it’s far from being an optimal solution, as it’s hard to search through them efficiently. It may also be helpful to still have the supportive text visible, which isn’t usually the case with text documents unless you put a lot of hard work into it. Simply put, there has to be an easier way.

Annotary is a web service which allows you to highlight information, bookmark those sites, take notes, and share with other people. In other words, it’s a very good note-taking tool for any website. Any annotations and highlighting will stay where you put it whenever you return to the site, which makes remembering all of your edits no longer necessary. The service can be used through extensions, which are available for Firefox and Chrome.

Features:

• Highlight, take notes, bookmark, and share sites.
• Requires a free account.
• Extensions available for Firefox and Chrome.
• Similar tools: InFocus, Co-ment, Bounce and A.nnotate.

Check it out @ www.annotary.com

Browser View Plus: Open Links From Firefox In Other Applications

Are there certain links that you would prefer to open outside of Firefox? Maybe there is a certain website you frequent that only supports Internet Explorer? Do you have a live podcast you listen to that you would prefer plays in an external music player instead of the browser? Fear not, because Browser View Plus is here to make this as easy as possible.

The Firefox add-on will detect many popular programs such as Google Chrome, Internet Explorer and others. If it does not detect the program you want, it is easy enough to add it. Simply open the preference for the add-on and add the executable for the program and what you want it to say in the menu. You can choose up to five download managers, media centers and other web browsers.

Once you have everything all up and running, you simply right-click on a link and mouse over “Open With.” You will see a list of the programs you adds. Click one of them, and the link will open in that application instead of Firefox.

Features:

• Open links outside of Firefox easily.
• Supports download managers, other browsers, and media players.
• Supports five programs.
• Easy to use right-click menu.

Find Browser View Plus the Mozilla Add-Ons store

Honey: Saves You Money By Automatically Finding The Best Coupon Codes Online

While nowadays it is super easy to shop online and compare prices, you can never be 100% sure you are getting the best deal possible. And doing it manually by visiting different websites one by one simply takes too much time and effort. Check out Honey. It is a new handy browser plugin for Chrome that automatically finds the best coupon codes online and gives you the best savings while you are shopping at an online store. It supports hundreds of online stores including Amazon, Macy’s, Newegg and Home Depot among others.

The way it works is very straightforward. You install the plugin to your Chrome browser and head to one of supported sites by the service (no registration needed). Once you are on the site (e.g. Amazon), choose the item, proceed to checkout page where you will see the “Find savings” button. Hit the button and Honey will look for coupon codes online and automatically apply the best coupon deal to your shopping cart.  Thats how simple it is! Even in the case it doesn’t find you a coupon, you will know that you are getting the best possible deal.

If you don’t see the “Find savings” button on a particular site, it means it is not supported yet. They are adding new sites every day, let them know to add your favorite store to the list.

It automatically applies the possible coupon deal to your shopping cart

Features:

• Automatically finds best coupon deals online and applies savings to your shopping cart.
• Works on hundreds of online stores including Gap, BestBuy, JCPenney, Amazon, Macy’s, Newegg and others.
• Supports only Google Chrome at the moment.
• No registration needed.
• No software download.

Check out Honey @ www.joinhoney.com

InstaWifi: Scan QR Codes To Connect With Your Wi-Fi [Android 2.2+]

Many of us keep long complicated passwords for our Wi-Fi networks to keep them secure. This becomes a problem when friends come over and want to share our Wi-Fi since we usually do not have these long passwords memorized. Here to help you easily connect to your Wi-Fi networks without the need to remember long passwords is a tool called InstaWifi.

InstaWifi is a smartphone application for Android smartphones. The app is free to use; it is sized at nearly 600 KB and requires Android 2.2 or later. The app can be used to generate a QR image that has your Wi-Fi network information encoded. Friends simply have to scan the QR code with their phone to connect with your Wi-Fi network.

Additionally the app supports reading information off NFC tags / stickers and connecting to Wi-Fi via NFC tags.

Features:

• A user-friendly phone app.
• Compatible with Android devices.
• Generates QR code for your Wi-Fi network.
• Friends can scan your QR code to connect to the internet.
• Supports NFC tags / stickers as well.

Check out InstaWifi @ play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=net.jessechen.instawifi

PictuTools: Get Image Manipulation Tools In Firefox

Normally when you need to manipulate an online image, you first download it to your computer and then work on it on your image editing application. Or you upload the image to an online image editor and then download the edited picture. Here to make matters much easier is a Firefox browser add-on called PictuTools.

PictuTools is a browser add-on for Mozilla Firefox. The add-on provides you with numerous image manipulation options. When you encounter an online image, you simply right click on the image and choose how you want to manipulate the image. You can convert the format of the image and download it. Or you send it to one of many editing websites. The image can be directly shared or uploaded to other hosts.

A “Similar” submenu lets you search for similar pictures online.

Features:

• A user-friendly browser add-on.
• Compatible with Mozilla Firefox.
• Lets you easily manipulate images.
• Lets you upload images to other hosts.
• Lets you find similar images.

Check out PictuTools @ addons.mozilla.org/en-us/firefox/addon/pictutools

Microsoft unveils new Sculpt mice with dedicated Windows 8 button

After introducing the world to its new operating system Windows 8, Microsoft has turned its attention towards bringing new hardware into the market. The Sculpt Mobile mouse and Sculpt Comfort mouse are the latest addition to the wide range of hardware products that Microsoft has to offer.

The new mouse comes as an answer to the complaints from users of Windows 8 on non-touch devices. The Windows hotkey or the Windows touch tab on the mouse will help you to quickly navigate to the Start screen and access apps faster.

The larger of the two, the Sculpt Comfort mouse is designed for extended use and comfort. The Sculpt Comfort mouse comes with a touch-sensitive blue strip on its thumb region and is called the Windows touch tab. This is expected to make Windows 8 navigation easier with just the touch or swipe of a finger and when pressed it will take the user to the Start Screen.

When on the Start Screen, a downward swipe on the Windows touch tab will reveal all the open apps, on the left side of your screen, making it easier to select. Powered by a pair of AA batteries, one can connect this mouse to the computer using its Bluetooth connection.

If the larger one of the two is meant for an easy and comfortable use, then Sculpt Mobile mouse is meant to be (as the name suggests) used on the go. It is not as big as the Sculpt comfort and the Windows touch tab located on top just behind the scroll wheel could cause discomfort for some users. Though the hotkey is not touch sensitive on the mobile version, it still has the same four-way scroll wheel and the Sculpt Mobile uses an USB transceiver to allow wireless use.

Microsoft has priced the Sculpt Mobile mouse at $29 (Rs 1,617 approx), while the Sculpt Comfort mouse will cost $39 (Rs 2,174 approx) and both will hit stores next month.

UIDAI launches online identity authentication services

The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) Friday launched three Aadhaar-Enabled services to help citizens authenticate their identity online and announced opening of 300 more permanent enrolment centres. The services that were launched are eKYC (eKnow Your Customer) service, authentication service using Iris, and authentication service using one time pin (OTP).

"This is a transformational initiative and I am sure the Aam Aadmi will start reaping the benefits of the Aadhaar project in the near future," Montek Singh Ahluwalia, deputy chairman of the Planning Commission, who was present on the occasion, said. The eKYC and other authentication services will help residents avail benefits of Aadhaar-linked services and give both public and private entities an economical, secure and flexible mode of verifying user identity.

Aadhaar iris authentication is a process wherein Aadhaar number, along with the resident's Iris Image is submitted to UIDAI's Central Identities Data Repository (CIDR) for verification. The service can be availed of by all those who have an Aadhaar number including the old, blind and those who may have undergone cataract surgery.

The OTP service enables Aadhaar-based authentication of all residents who registered a mobile telephone at the time of enrolment or subsequent updation.The authority also announced that around 300 permanent enrolment centres, called Aadhar Kendras, would be established. There is also a plan to increase the number of Aadhaar Kendras to 1,000 by September 2013.These centres will enable enrolment of residents who have missed out during the camps organised by registrars, UIDAI chairman Nandan Nilekani said.

Google building low-cost Android phones to connect the next 1B people: WSJ

Google is reportedly working on a multi-layered effort to bring the next one billion people to the internet. Part of these efforts, the company is currently working with governments in sub-Saharan Africa and South-east Asia to develop wireless networks that will provide internet access.

Google’s effort are not just limited to creating wireless networks, the company is take a more holistic approach. It is building an ecosystem of new microprocessors and low-cost Android phones that will act as the devices to connect to the internet in the emerging markets, reports Wall Street Journal.

The WSJ article is a little vague about Google’s plans with low-cost Android phones but it is very likely that the company is working with phone manufacturers to makes these phones and not doing that itself.

Given the increasing affordability, Android phones do seem like a decent option to bring more people to the internet. Even without Google’s efforts, low-cost Android phones are acting as the first access point to internet for many in the emerging countries, however the expensive or limited access to data or Wi-Fi networks mars the usage and this is what Google wants to sort out with its new wireless networks.

Nexus 4 with Android 4.3 spotted in Thailand, reveals new camera app

We have already seen evidence supporting the existence of Android 4.3 and now the first images of an actual device running on this new Android version have appeared online.

An XDA user spotted the Google Nexus 4 with Android 4.3 at the on-going Thailand Mobile Expo and snapped a few images of this smartphone. While two out of three images just confirm the presence of Android 4.3, one of the images shows Nexus 4 with new camera software on-board, a change from the camera app on Android 4.2.

If you look at the image, you will see that Google has switched the camera controls from circular control panel, which appeared wherever you wanted it, to one corner of the screen.

Other changes in Android 4.3 are not clear at the moment, but these images once again confirm that Android 4.3 is indeed going to be called Jelly Bean.

As per a recent report, Google is going to announce Android 4.3 and White Nexus 4 smartphone on June 10, so we just have a fortnight more to go and everything will become clear. Check out more images of the phone below.

Samsung GT-i8800 Redwood running Tizen 2.1 spotted

Samsung is working closely with the Tizen Association and the first Tizen 2.1 or higher running Samsung GT-i8800 Redwood smartphone will be launched later this year.

Samsung is gearing up to introduce smartphones running the open-source mobile operating - Tizen. The Tizen Greek Community posted the images of the upcoming Tizen 2.1 OS running Samsung GT-i8800 Redwood smartphone. The leaked images also show that the device was running S-Voice, Samsung's own digital personal assistant.

Samsung is working closely with the Tizen OS developers to push out the new smartphones as early as possible. Recently, Jolla Mobile showed off its new smartphone with Sailfish OS and promised to make it available by year end. Prior to that, Mozilla showed off the Firefox OS to the developers.

Meanwhile, Samsung is quietly working on a smartphone with model number GT-I8800 and codenamed as Redwood. This smartphone was spotted running the Tizen 2.1.0 version and also S-Voice integration.

Samsung Executive who is part of Tizen Technical Steering Group, Jong-Deok Choi, stated that that Tizen-based product will arrive very soon. Tizen 3.0 based products are expected to arrive next year.