Here's probably why India got a dual-core Samsung Galaxy Grand

 

 

Samsung recently launched its mid-level smartphone, the Galaxy Grand, in the Indian market. Now, news has it that the mobile giant has launched the same phone on its home turf, but with a more powerful processor. The Grand will hit Indian stores with a 1.2GHz dual-core processor while Korean users can lay their hands on a 1.4GHz quad-core processor. Moreover, Samsung is marketing the Grand as a budget handset in Korea with a price tag that reads 350,000 KRW, which translates to approximately Rs. 17,524. Eyebrows are being raised over Samsung selling a quad-core phone in Korea for a lower price while it sells the same phone with lesser hardware for a higher price in India.The Galaxy Grand is priced at Rs. 21,500 in the Indian market.

The dual-core Samsung Galaxy Grand unveiled in India

A quad-core processor would have meant a rise in production cost, which would automatically place the device in the high-end league in terms of the price and to a certain extent the specs.

So how is it possible that Samsung is selling a better version of the same device at a lower price in Korea? Well, for one Samsung isn’t importing the phone into Korea. On the contrary, introducing devices in the Indian market involves custom duties and other applicable taxes. Most of the features of the Grand like 5-inch display and others remain same as the Galaxy Grand in India. The only differentiation is the LTE and NFC feature for the Korean version, besides the quad-core chip. In India, we don’t have LTE coverage yet and wouldn’t need this feature anyway. However, Samsung could have included NFC for Indian audiences.

Samsung has played its cards quite well. It launched the Galaxy Grand with dual-SIM capability for the price-sensitive Indian market and the same phone with LTE and quad-core for the uber-connected Korean market. The Broadcom chipset used in the Indian version doesn't support LTE (and also helps lower the cost). Now, we can't whine about LTE as there is no support for LTE in India. On the other hand, it is certainly a must-have for Korea. LTE is a burgeoning market in Korea and is fast turning into a technical standard. Currently, one out of five people use LTE phones and networks. Just by adding a quad-core chip in the Indian version, it wouldn't greatly benefit the Indian experience, but instead would have simply increased the cost of the smartphone.

Poweramp for Android Review

PRICE IN INDIA

129

TECH2 RATING

 

 

When it comes to music players for Android, there’s no shortage of free players and after pretty much trying all the good ones, you will come back to just one and that’s Poweramp. Ever since Gingerbread days till now, Poweramp continues to be the most powerful music player for Android and has a huge fan following. Let’s take a closer look at what makes this paid player outshine any other in the Play store.

Interface and Features
Poweramp is available as a trial app by default from the Play store and you later purchase the unlocker to make it a full version. Once installed, you’re presented with a clean and easy to use interface. The UI is extremely novice-friendly giving you oversized media controls for Play, fast forward, etc. with plenty of space for a big album art above it. Your music can be sorted according to the usual artist, album categories or you can choose folder view, which shows you all your music the way you have copied it on your phone. Tapping on this takes you to the playlist from where you can switch folders. The album art area also houses the shuffle and repeat toggle buttons along with a five star rating system. The placement and transparencies of all these extra options can be customised in the settings.

Simple and easy to use UI

What makes Poweramp one of the most sought after music player is the long list of audio formats supported. The list includes mp3, mp4/m4a (including alac), ogg, wma, flac, wav, ape, wv, tta, mpc, aiff, which covers pretty much every format you can find audio in these days. The ability to customise the sound is also very extensive. We start off with a 10-band graphic equaliser that can be used to fine tune your music depending on what genre of songs you listen to the most. There are plenty of presets as well and you can also use the sound enhancements (like Dolby or HTC FX) that come with some phones in Poweramp. Besides that, you also have the option to adjust the bass and treble separately along with a volume limiter. You can also add extra effects like Stereo eXpansion, mono mixing and adjust the balance. Every change you make is noticeable provided you have a good pair of headphones. Other features include support for crossfading, gapless playback, queuing system, ability to update missing album art and even download lyrics of the song through the musiXmatch plugin.

Plenty of options to tweak the audio

Performance
With the right pair of headphones, the audio quality is really good and beats any other player in the market. The equaliser and or audio effects make a huge impact on the audio quality and you can actually make out the difference between mp3 and flac files. One neat feature is the ability to parse .cue and m3u files. If you download radio shows, especially trance music, you’ll often come across one single file that’s an hour long. Cue and m3u files help breakdown this singular file into individual tracks so you can skip to the one you want without having to split the track physically. Gapless playback support is also present for albums that feature it.

Customizations galore

You also get plenty of widgets for your homescreen to choose from, including a very nice lockscreen widget. You can customise the amount of information to be displayed on the lockscreen widget too, from album art to equaliser controls. Poweramp also gives you the option to change the theme. You get a bunch of them by default and you can even install third party themes from the Play Store. One feature that we feel should be added is a social component. Apps like MixZing allow you to play your music from your library as well as search for trending tracks around the globe. You can even see what your friends are listening to at the moment and rate songs so your friends can find them.

Verdict and Price in India
Poweramp is available for as little as Rs129 for the full version, which makes it extremely good value. The app is compatible with Android v2.1 and upwards and is constantly being updated with bug fixes and support for the latest version of Android. If you want to get the best out of your music then we strongly suggest you ditch the stock player for Poweramp.

To download this app for Android click here.

PS4 ‘getting ready’ for possible May reveal [rumour]

2
inShare

By Riazul Haque
01.26.13 |

Sony’s vice president of home entertainment, Hiroshi Sakamoto, hinted at the announcement of the PS4 during an interview with Emol (translated).
Sakamoto spoke about “a new announcement related to the new PlayStation.” He also said that the news is “still a big secret” and that the PlayStation side of Sony, “are getting ready for it.” Hmm, all very cryptic and ambiguous, but with all the rumours that have surfaced over the last couple of months, one can only suspect that he is talking about the next PlayStation, even though he did not outright mention it.
Sakamoto went on to say that the PlayStation team “is focused on E3 (the Electronic Entertainment Expo)” and that “the announcement could take place at that time, or maybe even before, in May.” When asked if he could be more specific whether it would be just an announcement or something specific, Sakamoto carefully dodged that question with: “Probably the former (an announcement), on that date we hope to deliver big news, but we must wait until May at least.” E3 will take place 11 – 13 June.
This would mean that Sony could get the jump on Microsoft, and announce a new console before its major rival. The verdict is still out whether that’s a good or bad move, but it sure will put all eyes on Sony. Gamers should also curb their enthusiasm, as Sony are renowned for stalling after an announcement of a new product, as was the case with the PS3.

FCC tweaks Broadband Acceleration Initiative to expedite network expansion, temporary cell tower deployment

---

 
Waiting for LTE to roll out to your neighborhood? FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski understands, and he's trying to speed up the process. The commission's head honcho recently announced new actions to the Broadband Acceleration Initiative, clarifying technical provisions within the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012 that should make mobile broadband deployment a little easier. The crux of the change focuses on how requests to modify existing base stations and wireless towers are reviewed, and is designed to give providers less pause when investing in building out their infrastructure.
"Just as is the case for our nation's roads and bridges, we must continue to invest in improvements to cell towers and transmission equipment, in order to ensure ubiquitous, high-speed Internet for all Americans," Genachowski said in an official statement. "To keep pace with technological advances, such as the advent of small cells, and to lay the groundwork for new developments, our policies must continue to adapt." Speaking of adaptation, the Chairman's announcement also noted FCC efforts to expedite the installation of temporary cell towers, used to bolster network capacity for events like the Super Bowl or Olympics. You wouldn't want to miss tweeting about the half time show, would you? Read on for the Chairman's official announcement.

DmC: Devil May Cry

Digit Rating: Excellent

4.5/5

 

Features:

 

Performance:

 

Value:

 

Design:

PROS

• Good story
• Great variety of weapons and moves
• Great environments
• Varied enemies
• Good level design
• Good character design

CONS

• PS3 version is sluggish, and bad-looking when compared to the 360 and PC
• Boss fights stick to the tried and tested mechanics

• Boss fights stick to the tried and tested mechanics

MRP: 2999 Rs

Summary

DmC is the perfect reboot and should be set as a benchmark for other action game reboots. The story is simple yet entertaining thanks to the great execution of characters. The combat is fantastic and friendly to newcomers as well as challenging to veterans. At the end of the game you have a satisfying feeling of accomplishment. I haven't had so much fun playing a game since Batman Arkham City! The game will take about 12 hours for the first playthrough and there are unlockables as an incentive to go through the journey once more. Not to mention the varying difficulty levels. A must buy for all the action adventure fans out there. A free Bloody Palace DLC, providing endless more hours of time spent honing one's skills, will also make its way...

Resident Evil Revelations to hit store shelves on May 24

Share:

The next chapter in the Resident Evil franchise will hit store shelves on May 24 on the Xbox 360, PS3, PC and Wii U. The story this time around takes place between Resident Evil 4 and Resident Evil 5.

Capcom has confirmed today that the next game in the Resident Evil franchise will hit store shelves on May 24. Resident Evil Revelations will launch for the all the platforms out there – PS3, Xbox 360, PC and Wii U. There were rumours circulating the Internet about a PS3 and an Xbox 360 version of the game but what comes as a surprise is the fact that the game will also be available on the Wii U and the PC. The game will be available as a digital download for all the platforms and will be priced at $49.99 (Rs. 2,700 approx.).

The story of the game takes place between the timeline of Resident Evil 4 and 5. Revelations was first launched for the 3DS. The story of the game is same on the consoles and the 3DS but the graphics and gameplay elements will be bumped up to HD for the console and PC release. You can take a look at the debut trailer of the game below.

The Resident Evil games defined the survival horror genre when they launched on the PS One. In todays day however, other franchises such as Dead Space have taken that crown. We have seen a number of games launch in the survival horror genre such as Alan Wake, Silent Hill and more and they have all been relatively successful, but Resident Evil is the only franchise that has made its mark on all the gaming hardware launched till date.

Google Slides gets offline editing support

Google's PowerPoint-rival, Slides now gets offline support.

 

 

Google has rolled out an update to its Slides service, making more features of the service accessible to users offline. Slides, similar to PowerPoint, is one of the important services offered by the search engine giant to users via Drive. Slides could be used earlier offline, but several features had to be used with an Internet connection.

With the update, Google Slides users can now create presentations, edit presentations and give presentation as well as leave comments. “You can now create, edit, comment and (perhaps most importantly) present without an internet connection—just like you can with Docs. Any new presentations or changes you make will be automatically updated when you get back online. So you can continue polishing slides on your next flight, and head to your upcoming presentation without worrying about whether there's going to be Wi-Fi,” says Google in a blog post.

Users who have already offline editing for Docs enabled, they do not need to change anything to work with Slides offline. If still disabled, users can turn it on for Slides by instructions posted here. Google points out that users will need Chrome or ChromeOS to work offline.

The fresh update is likely to provide a huge boost to the service which otherwise had seen very limited usages due to need for Internet. The offline editing is likely make the usage of the service more convenient. It's notable Google Docs already has a range offline editing features. Google will be soon rolling out offline editing support to its spreadsheet app.

Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0 images and specifications leak online

Images and specifications of the upcoming Samsung Galaxy Note 8 have leaked online. It is expected to be officially unveiled at MWC 2013.

 

Images have leaked on the Internet that showcase the Samsung Galaxy Note 8 (also known as the Note 8.0) along with its specifications. The device is expected to be unveiled at the Mobile World Congress that takes place in February in Barcelona. The model number of the Note 8 is thought to be Samsung GT-N5100.

From the leaked images it is clear that the Note 8 looks a lot like the Samsung Galaxy Note II. It has a white border surrounding the screen, a front facing camera on the top, a physical home button and the capacitive menu and back button. The rest of the look of the device is on the same lines as the currently available Samsung Galaxy Tab 2.

As the name suggests, the Galaxy Note 8 tablet is expected to have an 8-inch Super Clear LCD display with a resolution of 1280x800 pixels. The Note 8 will also supposed to have a 5MP rear camera, a 1.3MP front facing camera for video calls, and 2GB of RAM. In terms of storage, it will have 16 or 32GB built-in, with microSD card support for expansion. A 4600mAh battery expected to power it.

The Galaxy Note 8 is expected to feature a variety of connectivity options such as Bluetooth version 4.0, USB 2.0 and Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n and A-GPS. The dimensions of the tablet are supposedly quite svelte, at 211.3×136.3×7.95mm, and it weighs 330 grams. The Note 8 will run on Android 4.2 Jelly Bean straight out-of-the-box.

Soon, unlock your car by waving your smartphone

Melbourne: Keep misplacing your car keys? Just wave your smartphone to unlock the door!
Engineers at South Korean automobile major Hyundai have invented a new system that will allow your smartphone to double as your car keys, and the technology will be made available to buyers within two years.
Rather than using Bluetooth, the system by Hyundai uses wireless Near Field Communication (NFC), allowing you to lock and unlock the car by waving your phone over a small tag on the car window.
Inside the car, you place the phone on a pad in the centre console that wirelessly charges it while the content is synced and streamed to the car’s infotainment system and touchscreen.

Representational Image

The system can also store in-car preferences, including radio stations, seating positions and even mirror adjustment — with multiple profiles able to be saved for different drivers.
The system was demonstrated on a concept version of Hyundai’s popular i30 in Germany. Hyundai said developing the system was part of the carmaker’s aim of producing technology for the mainstream consumer, website carsguide.com.au reported.
“The Connectivity Concept showcases Hyundai’s philosophy of making tomorrow’s technology accessible to a wide range of customers,” Hyundai Motor Europe chief operating officer Allan Rushforth said.
“With this technology, Hyundai is able to harness the all-in-one functionality of existing smartphone technology and integrating it into everyday driving in a seamless fashion,” Rushforth said.

Sony to launch new Xperia Tablet Z in Japan soon

Sony Corp’s Sony Mobile Communications Inc said it will sell the new version of its Xperia tablet in Japan this spring, the Nikkei reported, citing Kyodo News.
The Xperia Tablet Z, whose price has not been announced, has a 10.1-inch display, is 6.9 mm thin and weighs 495 grams, according to the company’s website.
Rival Google Inc’s Nexus 10 tablet is 8.9 mm thick, while Apple Inc’s iPad mini measures 7.9 mm.

A product image of Sony Xperia Z tablet.

Sony halted sales of Xperia in October, a month after launch, after discovering gaps between the screen and the case that made some of the machines susceptible to water damage.
The Nikkei reported on Sunday that Japanese smartphone makers seem to be regaining some market share they lost to companies like Apple and Samsung Electronics Co.

Apple chart: Why iPhones, iPads are key to future results

A chart depicting the products that Apple sold for this quarter.

Apple Inc on Wednesday announced its results for Q1 2013 and the company posted a quarterly revenue of $54.5 billion and a quarterly net profit of $13.1 billion. While these numbers are a record by themselves for Apple, for Wall Street these numbers were just not good enough as Apple missed forecasts for the third time.
In q1 2013 Apple sold 47.8 million iPhones, up 29 percent from the year-ago period where it sold 37 million iPhones. This was however below the 50 million number that was forecast.
In the tablet category, Apple sold 22.9 million iPads during the quarter, compared to 15.4 million in the year-ago quarter. The company did not reveal numbers for iPad mini separately though so it’s not clear how well the iPad mini did.
As far as Macs were concerned the sales declined and Apple sold only 4.1 million Macs, compared to 5.2 million in the year-ago quarter. iPods too saw a decline with company selling only 12.7 million compared to 15.4 million in the year-ago quarter.
Clearly as the chart above shows, Apple’s biggest selling products are the iPhone and iPad. Here’s a quick look at some expectations from both.

iPhone: There’s no doubt that the iPhone has been the jewel in Apple’s kitty, and the one device that revolutionised the smartphone industry. But with the rise of Android and Samsung, the iPhone is often seen as too expensive and lacking some features. Rivals have created smartphones with bigger screens; the Galaxy S III has a 4.8-inch screen while Apple has only increased the size of the iPhone’s screen with the latest model. iPhone 5 has a four inch screen and some feel Apple needs to change this.
Then of course there is the high-price of the iPhone which makes it a very expensive smartphone to buy, especially in developing countries. In China, the world’s most populous nation with over 60 percent smartphone users, Apple is currently at number 6 in the market, according to research firm, IDC.

The iPhone 5 and the iPad mini seen in this combo. AFP

There were reports earlier this year that Apple could launch a cheaper iPhone with less expensive materials, such as a shell made of polycarbonate plastic. However Apple’s marketing chief Phil Schiller dismissed such rumours, stating that Apple wouldn’t resort to such tactics to grab a larger market share.
Interestingly the iPhone 5 is the top phone in the US market with a share of 48.1 percent according to Kantar Worldpanel, which measures smartphone sales data.
But this is a narrow lead and for most analysts the demand seems to be clear. If Apple wants to challenge Android, it needs to push out more versions of the iPhone, say perhaps with bigger screens and maybe a cheaper device. Tim Cook however feels that the current size of the iPhone works just fine.

iPads: The tablet market is one where Apple is still the global leader. Although Apple did not reveal the number of iPads and iPad mini devices sold for the quarter, this is one device where Android tablets haven’t overrun the market. According to research firm IDC, Apple has a 53.8 percent tablet market for the year 2012, and while this will slip to 49.7 percent in 2016, the Android army won’t catch up. In fact IDC expects Android’s tablet share which is 42.7 percent for 2012, to fall to 39.7 percent in 2016.
The truth is that the iPad still doesn’t have a serious rival. Google’s recently launched Nexus 10 tablet is still facing supply issues. Moreover Tim Cook, Apple’s chief executive, believes the iPad is already cannibalising sales for Macs, something he doesn’t see as a problem. He also said that the iPad is posing a serious challenge to Windows sales and expects the growth in tablets will lead to pressure on PCs.
However there have been reports that Apple cut supply orders from supplier Sharp for the screens of the 9.7-inch iPad as it attempts to deal with demand for the iPad mini.
Will iPad mini have a negative impact on the sales of the iPad in future? For now that doesn’t seem to be clear but there’s no doubt that 7-inch tablets could pose a serious challenge to the iPad and mini in the future.

Lenovo serious about smartphones; eyes possible RIM partnership

Not long after RIM had let it be known that they are open to all options in 2013, including selling off the hardware division, Lenovo has registered its interest in a partnership, as it looks to strengthen its own standing in the smartphone market.

Just days after Research In Motion CEO, Thorsten Heins had made it clear that the company would consider all options, Lenovo has registered a clear interest in a possible partnership. This comes at a time when Lenovo is looking to add a strong smartphone portfolio to go with its computing devices.

Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Lenovo Chief Financial Officer Wong Wai Ming told Bloomberg, "We are looking at all opportunities - RIM and many others. We'll have no hesitation if the right opportunity comes along that could benefit us and shareholders."

This news was the latest good news for RIM, as stocks went up 3% immediately. Incidentally, the same stocks had seen a 13 month high when the CEO announced they are open to an alliance.

Lenovo is currently on target to become the largest PC maker in the world. RIM, on its part, is fairly confident of a successful BlackBerry 10 launch, both for the hardware and on the critical operating system side.

However, any partnership or deal for RIM would not be very easy, whoever the other party may be. One of the reasons for that is that Canada considers RIM as a “crown jewel”. After Heins’ comments earlier this week, Canada's Industry Minister Christian Paradis told Reuters that Canada may even go to the extent of reviewing a sale of RIM's handset business if such a deal was proposed.

"Research In Motion has made an important contribution to information and communications technology in Canada, a sector that is so important to the Canadian economy. We hope they continue to do so well into the future," Paradis said in an emailed response to the Lenovo comments on Thursday.

Alternatively, thanks to its Chinese roots, Lenovo will face scrutiny from the U.S. government, since the Department of Defense and other government departments rely heavily on the BlackBerry service, for possible data security concerns.

Google Image search gets a new design, will load faster

Google has just revamped how Image search will work on the search engine.  The new search format which will be rolled out in a couple of days, will see images load faster and in a newer, cleaner design.
Google made the announcements on its webmastercentral blog.
Once the changes come into effect, users will be able to quickly flip through a set of images by using their keyboards. What this will mean for search results:
• Google will now display detailed information about the image (the metadata) right underneath the image in the search results, instead of redirecting users to a separate landing page.

Image from Google.

• Key information such as the title of the page hosting the image, the domain name it comes from, and the image size will be displayed much more prominently next to the image.
• The domain name is now clickable, and there’s a new button to visit the page the image is hosted on.
• The source page will no longer load up in an iframe in the background of the image detail view. This speeds up the experience for users, reduces the load on the source website’s servers, and improves the accuracy of webmaster metrics such as pageviews.

Acer unveils mid-range Jelly Bean-based Liquid E1 smartphone

Acer has added a new device to its mid-range smartphone portfolio. Called the Liquid E1, the device has a 1GHz dual-core processor, 1GB of RAM and runs on Android 4.1 Jelly Bean.

Acer has officially added the Liquid E1 to its smartphone portfolio. Acer is positioning the device as a mid-range smartphone. Acer hasn’t yet announced the pricing and availability of the device.

Under the hood, the Acer Liquid E1 has a 1GHz dual-core processor, 1GB of RAM and runs on Android 4.1 Jelly Bean straight out-of-the-box. It has a 4.5-inch display with a 960x540 pixel (qHD) resolution. The rear of the device has a 5MP camera with an LED flash whereas the front has a 0.3MP camera for video chat.

Looking at the specs, this could very well be the Acer V360 we'd heard of in December, a device that was supposed to be the company's first Jelly Bean handset.

The Liquid E1 weighs 130 grams and has dimensions of 132 x 68.5 x 9.9 mm. It also has a 1760mAh battery, and Acer claims that the battery should last for 8 hours of talk time and 400 hours of standby. The Liquid E1 has 4GB of built-in storage expandable via a microSD card. It also features an FM radio, a feature that is surprisingly absent from most high-end smartphones today.

It has been a while since Acer launched a mobile device in India, after a series of Liquid devices in 2011. The company's tablets, such as the Iconia family, have continued to make their presence felt in the Indian market however.

If you are in the market to pick up a budget phone today, you can take a look at our best budget smartphones in India today here. If you are looking to pick up your next smartphone, you can take a look at our top 10 smartphones here.

Leaked Huawei Ascend P2 product shots confirm 13MP camera

expect to see at the event. Today, the Internet has revealed to us leaked images of the Huawei Ascend P2. The leaked image shows that the device has a 13MP camera.

The device is expected to be 6.45mm thin, so it’s a little surprising to see that the device is so thin and yet houses a 13MP camera.

In terms of other specifications, the Ascend P2 is expected to have a 5-inch 720p HD IPS display, 1.8GHz quad-core HiSilicon K3V2 processor along with 2GB of RAM. It has 8GB built-in storage and runs on Android 4.1 Jelly Bean straight out-of-the-box. A 3,000mAh Li-on battery is supposed to power it.

At CES 2013, Huawei showcased the Ascend Mate and The Ascend D2. The Ascend Mate has a 6.1-inch display with a 1280x720 IPS+ display and has a 1.5 GHz Hi-Silicon quad-core processor under the hood combined with 2GB of RAM. It runs on Android 4.1 Jelly Bean straight out of the box and is powered by a 4050mAh battery. The Android OS is skinned with Huawei’s Emotion interface. It has an 8MP AF rear-facing camera with HDR and 1MP HD front-facing camera for video calls.

The Ascend D2 will sport a 5-inch IPS display has a resolution of 1920x1280p and runs on Android 4.1 Jelly Bean straight out of the box. The OS is skinned with Huawei’s Emotion interface. In terms of specifications under the hood, the D2 has Huawei’s K3V2 1.5 GHz quad-core CPU along with 2GB of RAM. It has a whopping 13MP BSI rear-facing camera along with a 1.3MP front-facing camera for video calls. It also sports a 3000mAh battery.