UMI X2 brings 1080p screen, quad-core CPU for unbelievable Rs 14,000

 

Blown away by the Micromax Canvas HD? Wait till you hear about this one. Chinese smartphone maker UMI has launched its flagship, the X2 in India, available online for Rs 14,000. The X2 is a follow-up to UMI's first smartphone, the X1.

That itself won’t grab your attention, so why don’t you take a look at the specs? For starters, the UMI X2 brings a quad-core MediaTek MT6589 processor, the same as the one in the Micromax Canvas HD. It also has a 5-inch IPS display just like the Micromax smartphone, but where the Canvas HD has a 720p display, the UMI X2 brings a full HD resolution. That adds up to 441 pixels per inch.

The UMI X2 has a 1080p display and a quad-core CPU

The UMI X2, you will remember, is one of many Chinese smartphones that are taking the world by storm, chiefly by packing in high-end specifications but at a low price tag. The high-end specifications are not limited to only the processor and the display. The 1.2GHz quad-core processor is coupled with 2GB of RAM and a PowerVR SGX544 GPU. We reckon that should be enough for any task you can think of. Well, maybe not for playing Crysis 3, but you get a fair idea.

The UMI X2 runs Android 4.1 Jelly Bean out of the box. We think there will be a few customisations, but looking at the images on the company’s site, it seems the handset is running an almost-stock version of Jelly Bean. The company says it will be upgraded to 4.2 Jelly Bean by April. It is a dual-SIM handset and supports a 3G connection on one SIM, which is pretty standard. Internal storage is capped off at 32GB and UMI has also allowed for a microSD card slot, which supports cards up to 32GB.

On the rear is a 13 megapixel autofocussing camera with LED flash. The camera supports HDR mode as well as 1080p video recording. The front-facing snapper is a cool 3 megapixel unit. The back of the handset is removable, so you can replace the 2500 mAh battery, if need be. All this is packed inside a 8.9 mm thin body. UMI has gone with capacitive Android navigation keys under the display instead of on-screen buttons, but it looks like the company has kept the recent apps button instead of the legacy menu button.

Here’s another look at the key specifications of the device

• 5-inch IPS LCD with a resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels and 441 pixels per inch
• Dual-SIM, HSPA on WCDMA, GPRS/EDGE on GSM
• Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g with Wi-Fi hotspot
• Bluetooth 4.0 with A2DP
• GPS with A-GPS
• Accelerometer, proximity sensor, ambient light sensor, magnetic sensor
• 13 megapixel primary camera with LED flash and 3 megapixel front facing cam
• 32GB internal memory, with microSD card slot for further expansion up to 32GB

However, we have to admit that the handset looks like a result of something nasty the Samsung Galaxy S3 and Galaxy Nexus did when no one was looking. Of course, in light of other rip-offs coming to us from China, this is a relatively original-looking handset.

Samsung Galaxy S IV coming on March 14; to be unveiled on Apple's turf

Seoul: Samsung Electronics Co Ltd said it will launch its new Galaxy S smartphone on March 14 in New York, taking its fight for market supremacy to Apple Inc's doorstep after reportedly being inundated with requests from US mobile carriers.
The Galaxy S IV model will heat up competition in the crucial US mobile phone market, where Apple surpassed Samsung Electronics as the top mobile phone seller for the first time in the fourth quarter of 2012.
It will be the first US launch of Samsung's flagship Galaxy smartphone in three years, company spokeswoman Chenny Kim said, and comes amid a Samsung advertising blitz in the United States that has including light-hearted jabs at Apple's fans.

The new Galaxy S model is expected to feature a higher-resolution display and camera than its predecessor, as well as a faster quad-core processor.

"We introduced the Galaxy S III in London last year, and this time we changed the venue (to New York)... as we were bombarded with requests from US mobile carriers to unveil the Galaxy S IV in the country," Samsung Electronics' mobile division chief JK Shin was quoted as saying on the Edaily news website.
The new Galaxy S model is expected to feature a higher-resolution display and camera than its predecessor, as well as a faster quad-core processor, media reports said.
Samsung Electronics unveiled its first Galaxy S during the CTIA mobile trade show in the United States in 2010, followed by the Galaxy S II at the MWC fair in Spain in 2011 and the Galaxy S III in London last year.
Samsung Electronics may have lost its lead in the US handset market but globally the $210 billion South Korean giant is expected to widen its smartphone advantage over its Cupertino, California-based rival this year, helped by a broad product line-up.
Apple investors have grown anxious about the company's prospects amid intense competition from Samsung's cheaper, Android-powered phones, and signs the premium smartphone market may be close to saturation in developed markets.
Apple shares have slumped 15 per cent this year and the company is reportedly slashing orders for screens and other components from its Asian supplier as intensifying competition erodes demand for its latest iPhone.

Samsung Electronics stock price has inched up 1.5 percent so far this year.

Tablets, notebooks for students at Rs 25 only

Panaji: Students in Goa can now get a tablet PC or a notebook for just Rs 25. The digital largesse is a part of the Goa government education department's initiative to familiarise Class V and VII students with computers in order to "prepare them for the life ahead and get them curious about the e-systems", according to additional director education Anil Powar.
"General category students will have to pay only Rs 25 while SC and ST students will have to pay Rs 10 to register for the scheme," Powar told reporters here Tuesday.
The official said that the state government was making arrangements for purchasing nearly 50,000 notebooks and tablet PCs for distribution.

General category students will have to pay only Rs 25 while SC and ST students will have to pay Rs 10 to register for the scheme.

"All the computers will have a special e-learning packages. After a day in class, the students will now be able to revise their tutions at home over the tablets," Powar said, adding that a provision of Rs.95 crore had already been made for the purchase of the computers in the last budget presented by Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar.
All the systems will have inbuilt security systems installed to ensure that the computers are not misused for pornographic purposes and other controversial web applications, but the education department will also take an undertaking from the student's parents before handing over the computers.
"It is a no objection certificate saying they are OK with us giving them the computers. The parents should also be in a position to both goad the students to logging onto the right websites," he said.
The Goa government was the first state government in the country to give out free laptops to students over a decade ago.

HP eyes tablet comeback with Android-backed Slate 7.

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  Reuters/Reuters - A Hewlett-Packard logo is seen at the company's Executive Briefing Center in Palo Alto, California January 16, 2013. REUTERS/Stephen Lam.
  
  

(Reuters) - Hewlett-Packard Co announced the launch of a $169 tablet powered by the Android operating system, a centerpiece of the company's effort to expand in mobile devices and reduce its dependence on the shrinking personal computer market.

The launch of the Slate 7 marks HP's latest foray into the consumer tablet market. It follows the 2011 failure of its WebOS-based TouchPad, which the company stopped selling after just seven weeks, citing poor demand.

Powered by Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, the Slate 7 offers Google Inc services including search functions, YouTube and Gmail, as well as Beats Audio for improved sound, HP said.

The 13-ounce device also includes access to apps and digital content through Google Play, and cameras on both sides of the 7-inch screen.

HP said it expects U.S. sales of the Slate 7 to begin in April, and said the product offer a "compelling entry point" for people looking to buy tablets.

Google's Nexus 7 tablet costs $199, as does Amazon.com Inc's Kindle Fire HD.

HP also makes the ElitePad tablet for businesses, which is powered by Microsoft Corp's Windows 8. WebOS had been developed by Palm Inc, which HP bought in 2010.

The Slate7 is part of a multi-year plan by HP Chief Executive Meg Whitman to turn around the Silicon Valley icon.

HP in recent years has struggled with costly acquisitions, management turnover, governance issues, and falling sales and margins from PCs, where the Palo Alto, California-based company still has the largest U.S. market share.

Shares of HP closed Friday 12.3 percent higher at $19.20 on the New York Stock Exchange, a day after HP reported quarterly results and an outlook that exceeded analysts' forecasts.

The company's market value has nevertheless dropped by nearly two-thirds since April 2010.

HP announced the Slate 7 on the eve of the Mobile World Congress, a wireless industry trade show taking place this week in Barcelona, Spain.

Nokia strengthens basic range with 15 euro phone

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  Reuters/Reuters - Picture shows a Nokia logo at a shop in Warsaw, January 26, 2012. REUTERS/Kacper Pempel

BARCELONA (Reuters) - Nokia launched a 15-euro ($20) phone to shore up its position in the basic handset market, where it has lost share while it focused on developing expensive smartphones.

It also unveiled a 65-euro phone with some Internet access and lower-priced versions of its Lumia smartphones, filling the gaps in its product line-up between its high-end Lumia devices that run Microsoft software and mid-tier Asha feature phones.

The Finnish company hopes the new phones will increase sales in emerging markets and help it regain its once-solid footing at the cheaper end of the market, where it makes the bulk of its handset revenue. Sales of basic phones fell over 20 percent in 2012 to 9.4 billion euros.

"That is a key part of our approach to competition, particularly in a country like China," said Chief Executive Stephen Elop at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.

"There's a very large number of inexpensive and largely undifferentiated devices. We believe we have to offer differentiation at each price point."

The entry-level Nokia 105, its lowest priced ever device with a color screen, was aimed at first-time buyers in markets such as South America, Africa, Russia and Asia-Pacific, he said.

The phone shows Nokia, once the undisputed leader in the mobile phone industry, trying to fend off growing competition at the low end from Asian rivals such as Huawei and ZTE.

IDC research director Francisco Jeronimo said it would probably be the cheapest phone available in the world from a major brand when it goes on sale later this quarter.

"The pressure is now on the Chinese vendors. Why will any consumer in the world buy a cheap Chinese phone when they can have the same price with better quality from a well known brand?" he said.

LOWER LUMIA ENTRY POINT

The Finnish phonemaker also lowered the entry point of its Lumia smartphones with a new model, the Lumia 520, priced at 139 euros ($180).

Most other Lumia phones cost over $200, and the top-of-the-range 920 can retail at over $600 without a carrier contract in the United States and some European markets.

The 920 model was launched last November and has won plaudits from industry analysts for features such as photography and mapping. Sales, however, have been dwarfed by devices from the likes of Samsung running Google's Android and Apple's iPhone.

Nokia's market share in smartphones has fallen to around 5 percent, while Apple and Samsung together control over half the market.

A new lower entry point for the Lumia 520 would enable Nokia to better compete with some mid-tier Android devices, analysts said.

Feature phones, in the middle market between high-end smartphones and cheaper basic phones, are seen increasingly crucial even though many consumers in developed markets are moving on to smartphones.

"In short, Nokia can still cash the feature phone market with around 5 percent margins even though it is shrinking," said Inderes analyst Mikael Rautanen.

IDC's Jeronimo said the new products, which included the Lumia 720 smartphone with the same camera lens as the 920, gave Nokia a comprehensive range, leaving little excuse for poor sales.

"If Nokia does not improve its market performance with these devices, then they will never do without a radical change in its portfolio strategy," he said.

Nokia strengthens basic range with 15 euro phone

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  View Photo
  Reuters/Reuters - Picture shows a Nokia logo at a shop in Warsaw, January 26, 2012. REUTERS/Kacper Pempel

BARCELONA (Reuters) - Nokia launched a 15-euro ($20) phone to shore up its position in the basic handset market, where it has lost share while it focused on developing expensive smartphones.

It also unveiled a 65-euro phone with some Internet access and lower-priced versions of its Lumia smartphones, filling the gaps in its product line-up between its high-end Lumia devices that run Microsoft software and mid-tier Asha feature phones.

The Finnish company hopes the new phones will increase sales in emerging markets and help it regain its once-solid footing at the cheaper end of the market, where it makes the bulk of its handset revenue. Sales of basic phones fell over 20 percent in 2012 to 9.4 billion euros.

"That is a key part of our approach to competition, particularly in a country like China," said Chief Executive Stephen Elop at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.

"There's a very large number of inexpensive and largely undifferentiated devices. We believe we have to offer differentiation at each price point."

The entry-level Nokia 105, its lowest priced ever device with a color screen, was aimed at first-time buyers in markets such as South America, Africa, Russia and Asia-Pacific, he said.

The phone shows Nokia, once the undisputed leader in the mobile phone industry, trying to fend off growing competition at the low end from Asian rivals such as Huawei and ZTE.

IDC research director Francisco Jeronimo said it would probably be the cheapest phone available in the world from a major brand when it goes on sale later this quarter.

"The pressure is now on the Chinese vendors. Why will any consumer in the world buy a cheap Chinese phone when they can have the same price with better quality from a well known brand?" he said.

LOWER LUMIA ENTRY POINT

The Finnish phonemaker also lowered the entry point of its Lumia smartphones with a new model, the Lumia 520, priced at 139 euros ($180).

Most other Lumia phones cost over $200, and the top-of-the-range 920 can retail at over $600 without a carrier contract in the United States and some European markets.

The 920 model was launched last November and has won plaudits from industry analysts for features such as photography and mapping. Sales, however, have been dwarfed by devices from the likes of Samsung running Google's Android and Apple's iPhone.

Nokia's market share in smartphones has fallen to around 5 percent, while Apple and Samsung together control over half the market.

A new lower entry point for the Lumia 520 would enable Nokia to better compete with some mid-tier Android devices, analysts said.

Feature phones, in the middle market between high-end smartphones and cheaper basic phones, are seen increasingly crucial even though many consumers in developed markets are moving on to smartphones.

"In short, Nokia can still cash the feature phone market with around 5 percent margins even though it is shrinking," said Inderes analyst Mikael Rautanen.

IDC's Jeronimo said the new products, which included the Lumia 720 smartphone with the same camera lens as the 920, gave Nokia a comprehensive range, leaving little excuse for poor sales.

"If Nokia does not improve its market performance with these devices, then they will never do without a radical change in its portfolio strategy," he said.

Huawei reveals 'fastest smartphone in the world'

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  Associated Press/Huawei - This undated product image provided by Huawei, shows the Chinese company's new flagship model that it calls "the fastest smartphone in the world."The company said Sunday, Feb. 24, 2012, the device supports faster download speeds than other phones, but today's wireless networks aren't equipped to supply those speeds. (AP Photo/Huawei).

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Huawei, a Chinese company that recently became the world's third-largest maker of smartphones, calls its new flagship product "the fastest smartphone in the world" and wants to use it to expand global awareness of its brand.

Parts of the presentation of the phone at a press conference Sunday in Barcelona, Spain, suggest that the company has some way to go in polishing its pitch for a global audience.

Richard Yu, head of Huawei's consumer business group said the new phone can be programmed to display more than 100 different "themes," or looks. This is important because "ladies like flowers, colorful things," Yu said.

Yu also said Huawei is learning from Apple how to make Google's Android software easier to use, a lawsuit-friendly utterance considering that Apple is on a global campaign to sue makers of Android phones for copying from the iPhone.

The new phone, the Ascend P2, will have a 4.7 inch screen. Yu said it will be available in the April to June time frame for about $525 without a contract. It's the "fastest" because it supports faster download speeds than other phones. However, today's wireless networks aren't equipped to supply those speeds.

Huawei Technologies Ltd. was the world's third largest seller of smartphones, after Samsung and Apple, in the fourth quarter of last year, according to research firm IDC. That's despite selling very few phones in the U.S., where the big phone companies mostly ignore it. It has a much better position in Europe, where cellphone companies have embraced its network equipment, and France's Orange is committed to selling the phone.

In the U.S., a congressional panel recommended in October that phone carriers avoid doing business with Huawei or its smaller Chinese rival, ZTE Corp., for fear that its network equipment could contain "back doors" that enable access to communications from outside. The Chinese government rejected the report as false and an effort to block Chinese companies from the U.S. market.

Meanwhile, a report by a private U.S. cybersecurity firm concluded recently that a special unit of China's military is responsible for sustained cyberespionage against U.S. companies and government agencies. China has denied involvement in the attacks in which massive amounts of data and corporate trade secrets, likely worth hundreds of millions of dollars, were stolen.

"It has not been an easy journey for us," Huawei's global brand director, Amy Lou, said Sunday of the company's quest to become globally recognized and trusted. She called the company "a great consumer brand in the making."

The world's largest cellphone trade show, Mobile World Congress, opens Monday in Barcelona.

Samsung Series 7 Chronos 

trickles into US stores

After whetting our appetite at CES, Samsung's updated Series 7 Chronos is slowly squeaking its way into US retailers. Spotted at Best Buy for $1,200, this 21mm dynamo packs a 2.4GHz Intel Core i7 3635QM CPU and an AMD Radeon HD 8870M GPU along with a 15.6-inch touchscreen. While this lean, mean, Windows 8machine's streamlined design and spec sheet are impressive, such adornment comes at a price. Absent from the Chronos' fine engineering is room for an optical drive, so DVD and Blu-ray enthusiasts be warned. However, should this caveat not apply to you, then by all means you have our blessings to check out Sammy's new up and comer.

ASUS Transformer Book

Windows 8 hybrid goes up for

pre-order

Despite being announced long before the budget-minded VivoTab Smart, ASUS' higher-end Windows 8 laptop / tablet hybrid known as the Transformer Book has yet to make its way to store shelves -- or receive official pricing, for that matter. Nonetheless, those intent on throwing one of the machines into their satchel can snag the Transformer Book on pre-order, which is available through MacMall for $1,479.99. The 13.3-inch system sports a 1,920 x 1,080 display, and in this particular configuration, you'll fetch a dual-core 1.9GHz Core i7-3517U CPU with Intel HD Graphics 4000, 4GB of RAM, and a 500GB hard drive that's augmented by a 128GB SSD. This price includes the keyboard dock, but it's worth reiterating that you might pay more than necessary to snag the system on pre-order. If you're on the fence, be sure to revisit our hands-on from last summer's Computex.

Linux kernel patches surface for Chromebook Pixel

Google's flagship Chromebook might be a solid piece of hardware, but its prohibitive $1,299-1,449 sticker price left us aching for the ability to dual-boot a more robust operating system. Lucky for us that Google's Benson Leung has a knack for Linux -- he's already patching the Linux kernel to support Pixel's hardware. Just hours after the notebook's reveal, Leung updated the Linux kernel mailing list with patches supporting the Pixel's touchpad, touchscreen and ambient light sensor. A small step, to be sure, but one that could eventually help the community build a Linux distro that can make the most out of Google's premium hardware.

Samsung Series 7 Chronos trickles into US stores

After whetting our appetite at CES, Samsung's updated Series 7 Chronos is slowly squeaking its way into US retailers. Spotted at Best Buy for $1,200, this 21mm dynamo packs a 2.4GHz Intel Core i7 3635QM CPU and an AMD Radeon HD 8870M GPU along with a 15.6-inch touchscreen. While this lean, mean, Windows 8machine's streamlined design and spec sheet are impressive, such adornment comes at a price. Absent from the Chronos' fine engineering is room for an optical drive, so DVD and Blu-ray enthusiasts be warned. However, should this caveat not apply to you, then by all means you have our blessings to check out Sammy's new up and comer.

Sony previews PlayStation 4 capabilities, design remains a secret

Sony wants you to know that the PlayStation 4 is coming this holiday season, but not what it will look like.The Japanese electronics giant talked about its upcoming console for the first time Wednesday and showed what it can do, without actually revealing the device itself during the two-hour event. Presenters played games that were projected on screens in a converted opera house, but the PlayStations themselves were hidden backstage.
"I don't know that the box is going to be something that's going to have a dramatic impact on people's feelings about the game. It will be a color and a size fairly comparable to previous consoles," said Jack Tretton, CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment of America, the U.S.-based arm of the PlayStation business.
"There's a big story to tell here, and it's going to take between now and the holiday season to get all the details out there," Tretton said in an interview.
Tretton said the price of the PS4 hasn't been decided yet, but hinted that it wouldn't be as high as the PlayStation 3 was initially. The PS3 debuted in 2006 with two models for $500 and $600. It now sells for about $300.
The PS4 will be jostling for attention this holiday season with Microsoft's successor to the Xbox. Details on that device are expected in June. Xbox 360 came out a year before PS3 and has been more popular, largely because of its robust online service, Xbox Live, which allows people to play games with others online. Having an event this early allows Sony to grab the spotlight for a few months, though the lack of an actual device was noted by many people on Twitter and elsewhere.
Sony did reveal that the insides of the PS4 will essentially be a "supercharged PC," much like an Xbox. That's a big departure from the old and idiosyncratic PlayStation design and should make it easier for developers to create games. Sony Corp. is using processing chips made by Advanced Micro Devices Inc.
"One of the big challenges we faced in the past was that we created great technology that we handed over to the development community, and they had to go through a learning curve before they could harness it. And when they did, we saw some phenomenal games," Tretton said. "We wanted to lower that barrier of entry and really give them the ability to create tremendous gaming experiences from Day One."
The adoption of PC chips also means that the new console won't be able to play games created for any of the three previous PlayStations, even though the PS4 will have a Blu-ray disc drive, just like the PS3. Instead, Sony said gamers will have to stream older games to the PS4 through the Internet.
Other new features revolve around social networking and remote access. With one button, you can broadcast video of your game play so friends can "look over your shoulder virtually," said David Perry, co-founder of the Sony-owned Internet game company Gaikai. With remote play, you can run a game on the PS4 to stream over the Internet to Sony's mobile gaming device, the PlayStation Vita, which debuted last year.
The goal is to make the PS4 so good at figuring out what games and other content you want that it can download it without being asked, so that it's available when you realize you do want it, Sony said.
"Our long-term vision is to reduce download times of digital titles to zero," said Mark Cerny, Sony's lead system architect on the PS4.
The PS4 is arriving amid declines in video game hardware, software and accessory sales. Research firm NPD Group said game sales fell 22 percent to $13.3 billion in 2012. With the launch of the PS4, Sony is looking to attract people who may have shifted their attention to games on Facebook, tablet computers and mobile phones.
Forrester analyst James McQuivey said Sony is missing the point by building what amounts to an upgraded PS3.
"Sony believes the future will be like the past and has built the game console to prove it," he said. "Tablets and smartphones now engage more people in more minutes of gaming than consoles will ever achieve."
Sony showed an updated controller that adds a touchpad and a "share" button. The controller also features a light bar, which means a new PlayStation camera can more easily track the device for motion control.
The bulk of Wednesday's event was devoted to demos of games for the PS4, including a realistic team racing simulator, "Drive Club," super-powered action sequel "Infamous: Second Son," artsy puzzler "The Witness" and several first-person shooter games, including "Killzone: Shadow Fall." Beyond games, the PS4 will let people create animation in 3-D using a Move motion controller - all in real time.
Last fall, Nintendo launched the next generation of gaming consoles with the Wii U, which comes with a tablet-like controller called the GamePad. The controller allows two people playing the same game to have different experiences depending on whether they use the GamePad or a traditional Wii remote, which itself was revolutionary when it came out because of its motion-control features.
Judging by Wednesday's event, Sony seeks to improve but not revolutionize game play. The games were updates to existing ones, with improved graphics.
"At the end of the day, this is a device by gamers for gamers," Tretton said. "The games that people go out and spend billions of dollars on are your traditional shooters."
The original Wii has sold more units since its launch than both its rivals, but it has lost momentum in recent years as the novelty of its motion controller faded. Nintendo said it sold 3.1 million Wii Us by the end of 2012. It was a disappointing start for the first of a new generation of gaming systems.
In some ways, notably its ability to display high-definition games, the Wii U was just catching up to the PS3 and the Xbox 360, the preferred consoles to play popular games such as "Call of Duty."
All three console makers are trying to position their devices as entertainment hubs that can deliver movies, music and social networking as they try to stay relevant in the age of smartphones and tablets. The PlayStation online network will have access to Sony's video and music services, as well as Netflix, Hulu and Amazon, with paid subscriptions to those services. People will also be able to access Facebook.

Facebook, Google co-founders join forces to extend human life

Famed founders of Internet rivals Google and Facebook joined forces on Wednesday to back big-money prizes for research aimed at extending human life.Sergey Brin and Mark Zuckerberg, along with their spouses, joined Russian venture capitalist Yuri Milner to award 11 scientists $3 million each to launch the Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences.
"Priscilla and I are honored to be part of this," Zuckerberg said.
"We believe the Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences has the potential to provide a platform for other models of philanthropy, so people everywhere have an opportunity at a better future."
Art Levinson, who chairs boards at mobile device powerhouse Apple and biotechnology star Genentech, will head the non-profit foundation created to support breakthrough research.
Levinson said he believes the prize will spotlight outstanding minds in medicine and hopes it will help enhance medical innovation.
Zuckerberg, Milner, and Brin's wife Anne Wojcicki will be on the foundation's board of directors. They have agreed that going forward, five annual Breakthrough prizes of $3 million each will be awarded.
"We are thrilled to support scientists who think big, take risks and have made a significant impact on our lives," said Wojcicki, co-founder of startup 23andMe, which provides personal DNA testing services.
"These scientists should be household names and heroes in society."
Brin remarked that "curing a disease should be worth more than a touchdown" in an apparent reference to riches heaped on professional athletes such as those who play US football.
This year's Breakthrough Prize winners, many of whom targeted cancer in their research, agreed to serve on a committee to select future honorees.
"Solving the enormous complexity of human diseases calls for a much bigger effort compared to fundamental physics and therefore requires multiple sponsors to reward outstanding achievements," Milner said of the Silicon Valley heavyweights teaming up to back the award.

Hike Messenger app review

Instant messaging (IM) has become a trend these days especially with the youth. A trend, pioneered by the immensely popular WhatsApp IM application, others like Nimbuzz and Samsung's proprietary ChatON messenger are trying to follow suit as well.

The latest entrant in this genre is Hike, a communication app that offers both instant messaging and SMS under one roof. Developed by Bharti Softbank, a 50-50 partnership between India's Bharti Telecom and Japan's Softbank telecom provider, the app is the brainchild of Kavin Bharti Mittal.

A cross platform messenger app, Hike is similar to WhatsApp but is better in the sense that it also allows users to communicate over SMS, which is certainly a big advantage for those who do not have access to mobile Internet or data on the-go and for communicating with your friends without Hike app from within the same app.

That said, we played around with the app a bit on the iOS and Android platforms to see what is refreshing about it that has made it the No.1 Top Free app in the Google Play Store (It is placed at the third position under Top Free apps in the India Apple App Store).

Let the SMS-ing begin!
Hike offers messaging in three different ways. Hike-to-Hike messaging with other phones is unlimited and free worldwide. Second, you can communicate with other smartphone users who don't have Hike via SMS, which is only restricted to India at the moment. Finally, you can message any other phone user via SMS. But beware, if you constantly bug another user with Hike, they are given a code that they can use to block you.

On the bright side, each Hike user gets 100 Free Hike SMS every month to message those friends who aren't on Hike., which gets replenished each month and in case any friend joins the app on your request via SMS, you get 10 Free SMS extra and the company will also be awarding each user with 50 free SMS per month for each friend they have invited to Hike. Other ways of inviting friends are through Facebook, Twitter and email.

Furthermore, Hike users will also be rewarded one-time SMS bonuses of 100 each for connecting to Twitter and Facebook and the company plans to keep offering such bonuses time and again. These one-time bonuses will be valid for life until you run out of them.

Getting started and user interface
The user interface of Hike is very clean, simple and basic with pleasant hues of white and blue. Once you've downloaded the app, you'll be prompted to enter your mobile number. While the iOS version sends a 6-digit verification code via SMS that expires within a minute (reminiscent of Google Authenticator), the Android version simply greets you to the welcome screen asking you to enter your name and complete the registration. This is then followed by a tutorial of the app's basics.

Also, as soon as you enter the app, an Inbox message welcomes you with a reward of Rs.10. Every time you successfully invite a friend via SMS you earn credit of an additional Rs.20. In order for you to earn rewards, your friends must download and activate the app soon after you invite them.

Features and usage
Hike-to-Hike communication via instant messaging has features such as group chat and photo and video sharing, which are right up there with any top smart IM app. Group chats can be initiated by an icon in the top right corner while a '+' icon on the bottom right can be used to send a new message. The app supports various audio and video formats and uploads up to 6MB for each file.

That said, we experienced almost instantaneous responses over a stable Internet connection, especially with group chat that works pretty well and so does the image and video transfer. This is, of course, dependent on Internet connection speeds.

Using the app is fairly simple. The app smoothly integrates your entire existing phone contacts. You can access various menu options such as Home, Invite Friends, Free Messaging and more by swiping left. Swiping right reveals Search bar along with Favourites and Friends on Hike.

We couldn't help but notice this functionality as being very similar to Facebook Messenger. Another feature resembling Facebook's Poke is 'Nudge'. You can 'Nudge' a friend by double tapping anywhere in their conversation screen.

Once you send a message you can see sent (S), delivered (D), read and typing (...) notifications, similar to WhatsApp, which has a different notification convention. Apart from the standard Emojis on your device, Hike has its own set of emoticons for variety.
iOS versus Android

The UI as well as functionality on both platforms is pretty much the same. A word of caution, Android users will not be able to play .mov files sent by iPhone users. The company is aware of the scenario and plans to soon implement a fix soon to convert the video to a universal MP4 file format at their backend so that it can be played on every device.

Other issues include couple of emoji smileys not appearing properly for the iPhone 3GS, Android Hike app unable to open the correct image at times from a clicked thumbnail, multiple file uploads failing on EDGE networks and the "D" and "R" notifications currently unavailable from Hike-to SMS. For Android, the app works only on v2.2 or later,

Overall, the app offers a fresh alternative to other instant messaging clients out there and is a welcome addition to the pool. It's true that the app is pretty nascent and does not offer video calling support like Nimbuzz or even voice recording as offered by WhatsApp and ChatON, but it does deliver a quality performance at what it's best - messaging, instant or otherwise.

It is available across all major platforms - Apple, Android, Windows Phone and on various Nokia Asha Full Touch devices namely Asha 305, 306, 308, 309 and 311  (It is expected to launch soon for BlackBerry as well) that will help it gain the much needed attention amongst its current competitors.

Apart from certain issues like we mentioned earlier, the app seems to deliver a holistic user experience. The company has promised to rectify all issues and we hope that the app receives timely updates in the future to offer a more refined experience across all platforms.

The problem with any new closed chatting platform is the lack of users. While almost everyone in our contact list in now on WhatsApp, hardly any users showed up on Hike. We expect this problem to get fixed as more people discover Hike as a compelling alternative. Until then the ability to SMS non-Hike users will sure come in handy. Start Hiking!

Hike Messenger (iOS, Free)
Hike (Google Play, Free)

Hike (Windows Phone, Free)
Hike (Symbian, Free)

PlayStation 4 launch anticipated at Sony's Wednesday event

Sony is expected to reveal its vision of the future of home entertainment on Wednesday by providing a glimpse at a new-generation PlayStation console that streams games, films, music and more."Sony needs a big hit with this game console," said Forrester analyst James McQuivey.
"Not just because it has lost its dominance in gaming to Microsoft's Xbox 360, but because the company needs to make what might be its last attempt to be relevant not as a device maker but as a digital platform."
McQuivey argued that the Japanese consumer electronics titan must show it can go beyond selling gadgets to skillfully cultivating ongoing relationships with customers who turn to online sources for entertainment.
"It's a big challenge," the analyst said. "While we won't know for a while whether Sony's new box succeeds as a device, we will know right away whether Sony has the right ambitions."
Analysts and industry insiders are certain that a Sony event in New York City on Wednesday evening will be devoted to introducing the PlayStation 4, a console that would hit the market next year.
"Expect Sony to come out, guns blazing, talking about technical details and specifications of what is likely to be a pretty mind-blowing system," said TechSavvy Global strategic innovation consultant Scott Steinberg.
The company will likely also announce "kick-ass games and development talent recruited to the cause," he continued, explaining that "Sony has traditionally been run by engineers and focused on high-performing gaming systems."
However, analysts want to see whether Sony goes beyond impressive hardware to a console that integrates services, the popularity of smartphones and tablet computers, and rich portfolios of games, films, music, and television shows.
"The question is going to be how the system has been updated to stay relevant to the times," Steinberg said. "Gamers want to know what they can get on the PS4 that they can't get anywhere else."
The PS4 will succeed PlayStation 3 consoles that began their lifespan in late 2006.
Sony has remained mum, but that hasn't stopped talk of hardware upgrades such as improved graphics and controllers with touchpads, and chatter of a Sony cable-style service to route film or music content to PlayStation consoles.
Speculation ahead of the event included talk of being able to play full-scale videogames streamed online a break from the practice of selling titles on disks.
"If Sony can offer streamed top-notch games via an affordable pricing plan, that would be a coup," Steinberg said. "It is a nascent market that will be growing by leaps and bounds in coming years."
Free or inexpensive free games on smartphones and tablet computers are increasing the pressure on videogame companies to deliver experiences worth players' time and money.
New generation consoles are typically priced in the $400 to $500 range, and blockbuster game titles hit the market at $60 each.
"Sony is under a lot of pressure," said National Alliance Capital Markets analyst Mike Hickey. "Gamers are desperate for innovation and better games."
While Sony is tethered to "legacy" hardware, companies such as Apple and Google are driving innovation with tablets, smartphones, and ways to route Internet offerings to television sets, according to Hickey.
In ramping up content and services for PlayStation, Sony needs to motivate people to upgrade from the current model.
"If Sony wants to win it, they need to show some killer games to get people to go out and spend a lot of money for the core game experience," Hickey said.
He blamed a dearth of compelling titles as a reason for disappointing sales of Nintendo's innovative Wii U consoles, introduced late last year.
"The Wii U is a case study you can't ignore," Hickey said. "Sony at least has to nail it with the games; the core market can drive the mass market."
Industry tracker NPD Group reported that just shy of $9 billion was spent in the United States last year on purchasing or renting video and computer games.
Another $5.92 billion was spent on game downloads, subscriptions, and play on mobile games or at social networks, according to NPD.
"Tablets are in every household and the computing power of tablets is going up every year," Hickey said. "Eventually, the tablet could very well become the console."

Apple could unveil iPhone Mini this summer, says analyst

Launched in China, a lower-cost iPhone might triple Apple's potential market share in the country, says a Morgan Stanley analyst.

Is an iPhone Mini due out this year?

An iPhone Mini priced at $330 in China would provide a healthy shot in the arm to Apple's Chinese smartphone sales, according to Morgan Stanley analyst Katy Huberty.

A low-priced iPhone would add another 20 percent to the 10 percent Chinese market share currently addressed by the iPhone 5, the analyst said today. Smartphone prices are starting to stabilize in China, which will open up the market for such a phone. But a deal with China Mobile is also key.

Apple currently sells the iPhone to Chinese consumers through China Unicom and China Telecom. The company has been trying to cook up a deal with China Mobile, the country's largest carrier, but has run into stumbling blocks.

Still, the analyst sees China Mobile as a major contributor to the growth of the iPhone, citing a few different factors. First, Apple would launch a new Mini model. Second, legislation for TD-LTE licenses and number portability could pass later this year or in 2014. And third, China Mobile would be more open to subsidizing higher-end smartphones on a TD-LTE network.

"We believe Apple could launch iPhone Mini at $330 (about Rmb 2,000), in-line with flagship products in China from Lenovo, Huawei, ZTE, and Coolpad," Huberty said in an investors note out today. "Even in a scenario of low 40 percent gross margin and 1/3 iPhone cannibalization rate (flattening legacy iPhone shipment growth), which we view as conservative, the iPhone Mini adds incremental revenue and gross profit dollars."

The $330 would be the unlocked price for the phone in China. Launching over the summer, the iPhone Mini would target other emerging markets beyond China, according to the investors note.

Several analysts have also forecast a less-expensive iPhone on the agenda for sometime this year.Rumors of a low-cost iPhone gained traction last month following stories from The Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg claiming such a device is on the horizon.

Strategy Analytics analyst Neil Mawston also sees an iPhone Mini in Apple's future but doesn't think it will appear until 2014, at the earliest.

iOS 6.1.2 fixes Exchange battery-drain bug

A small update promises to fix a bug affecting battery-life performance on some iOS devices due to a bug with Microsoft's Exchange technology.

Apple has put out yet another small software update to iOS 6 that addresses a bug that could cut device battery life.

This morning Apple put out iOS 6.1.2, a supplemental update that promises to fix "an Exchange calendar bug that could result in increased network activity and reduced battery life."

The update was previously rumored to arrive sometime this week by Apple news site iFun.

No word yet on if the update also closes a security exploit used by jailbreaking solution Evasi0n, which has become the fastest adopted jailbreaking tool ever.

PlayStation 4 should go all-in on cloud-streaming games

The technology for live-streaming gameplay is still imperfect, but the era of physical media is ending.

Based on the steady stream of rumors about Sony's upcoming next-gen living-room console, it's widely expected that gamers will be spending at least part of their time playing games streamed directly over the Internet.

According to the Wall Street Journal and others, Sony's acquisition of streaming-game provider Gaikai in 2012 set the stage for streaming-game content, and the new Sony console, whatever it's called, will offer both streamed games and games played via traditional optical disc, purportedly older catalog titles for the former, and newer games via the latter.

A move to streaming games is a far-thinking idea, and one that would reduce the need for large amounts of local storage for fully downloaded games, as well as the need to manufacture, transport, and store physical game discs -- with games joining music and movies as media types moving away from being distributed through retail stores on disc.

The idea of streaming game content is one we've been playing with for some time. The best-known player in this space is OnLive, a PC-based service that runs game software on a remote server farm and then streams the action, in real time, to players interacting via a controller or mouse/keyboard combo. Since that service launched in 2010, we've been reasonably impressed with it, although it works better for some games than others (for example, casual or third-person action games work better than first-person games, which are more sensitive to even the slightest lag).

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The biggest pushback (besides the fact that OnLive has struggled to succeed) is that streaming games are far too reliant on your broadband Internet connection, which can be flaky, slow, or sometimes out altogether. This, coupled with the lag already built into live cloud game delivery, is enough to potentially turn off consumers.

Legitimate concerns, to be sure, and I have no illusion that today's A-list games could all be converted to cloud streaming right now and deliver the same high level of visual quality. But, the discussion about Sony and Gaikai reminds me of a conversation I had at the 2011 E3 video game trade show with John Carmack, a PC gaming legend and the lead programmer behind classics such as Doom and Quake. I asked him about streaming games in general, and OnLive specifically, and this is what he said:

I've played the On Live stuff and a lot of people have just enough technical knowledge to count it out for the wrong reasons. When you talk about having a 50ms ping, that does not invalidate the process. One of the points that I make is that if you take a lot of the console games out there, and you're playing with your wireless controller, going through your post-process TV, the games themselves often have multiple frames of latency.

You get an event, you pipeline an animation, and it goes to the render thread and the GPU. A lot of games have over 100ms of latency in them right now. Now it's true that adding latency is always bad, and with OnLive, you're adding a compression step and two transmit steps.

But the laws of physics do not guarantee this to be a bad idea. I don't necessarily think any of the current players will live to see the pot of gold at the end of this rainbow, but I'd say it's almost a foregone conclusion that five or ten years from now, that's going to be a significant marketplace.

From a raw technical standpoint, it has too many positives going for it. There are negatives, but a lot of times, people will accept a big negative for a much bigger win. And the win for convenience and managing your library is huge. And the win for publishers and developers -- zero piracy, instant patching, all that data gathering -- are strong advantages. I don't think it's the big thing next year, but I think it's coming.

Even if the next-gen PlayStation kicks off with only a nod to streaming games, the era of the physical disc is still winding down. The current Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and Wii U all offer full game downloads (even if many of these consoles have limited onboard storage for full games), and a whole generation of media consumers already thinks of video and music as streaming products from Netflix, Spotify, and others, as opposed to something you get on a plastic disc.

The game publishers themselves would like nothing more than to kill disc-based gaming. Think of the fixed hard costs associated with manufacturing an optical disc, putting it in a box, loading it in a gas-guzzling truck, driving it to a store, placing it on a shelf, and waiting for a consumer to march in and buy it (to say nothing of the resale of used games, something game publishers hate). Many of these costs can be reduced in the future by digital distribution, both download and streaming -- not that gamers can expect to see any of the savings passed along to them.

Whatever new hardware is being announced by Sony later this week will surely include an optical drive, as will the inevitable Microsoft Xbox upgrade expected later this year. But if we take a look at the current state of laptops, there's something similar going on. Many popular models, from the MacBook Air to almost every ultrabook, omit the once-ubiquitous DVD drive. Taken to its logical conclusion, this may be the last generation of living-room consoles that include support for physical game discs.

Sony's PlayStation event will be held in New York on February 20, starting at 3 p.m. PT/6 p.m. ET.