Nokia EOS to launch as "first real PureView Windows Phone" later this year: Report

Ever since the launch of the first Nokia PureView device, there have been speculations that Nokia may launch a similar camera smartphone based on the Windows Phone OS. And if reports by The Vergeare to be believed then this smartphone could already be in the works.
The tech blog claims that Nokia is currently working on a smartphone that is codenamed "EOS" and it sports a camera sensor, which is similar to the one that is on Nokia's 808 PureView. Furthermore, it claims that unlike the recent devices in the Lumia series, the EOS smartphone might sport an aluminium exterior instead of polycarbonate.

The Verge also states that the EOS is expected to be a new flagship device from the company that will launch later in the year. For now, there are no more details available regarding specifications of the device.

Nokia had first showcased its 808 PureView at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2012. This smartphone garnered a lot of attention, thanks to the massive 41-megapixel camera sensor that it has on-board. Other features of the smartphone include a 4-inch 360x640pixel AMOLED display, 16GB of internal storage, 1.3GHz processor and Nokia Symbian Belle OS.

Nokia 808 PureView debuted in India in June 2012. Its current price is mentioned as Rs. 26,499 but it is currently listed as out of stock on Nokia India official store.

Earlier in the month there were also reports doing the rounds that Nokia is working on a successor to its current flagship smartphone the Lumia 920, which is codenamed "Catwalk". The reports also claimed that this device will come with an aluminium body and will be lighter and thinner than the Lumia 920.

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Samsung to launch 'Galaxy Tab 3' tablets in 2013, Note 8.0 could be priced between $249-$299: Report

A day ago we had shared an indicative product roadmap for Samsung's devices that are expected to launch during the course of this year. The company's tablet plans include the Galaxy Note 8.0, which is more or less confirmed for an Mobile World Congress (MWC) release. Now, according to Digitimes, we know that the 8-inch tablet could see a price range of $249-$299.

The report also mentions that the company is also planning to launch 7-inch and 10.1-inch tablets along with many ultrabooks this year. The 7-inch tablet we know of, may be priced between $149-$199. Rumoured specs for this tablet include a full-HD display, Android Jelly Bean and a quad-core processor.

The Galaxy Note 8.0 has been spotted quite often lately, with the latest appearance in the form of a leaked press image listing out some of the earlier rumoured specifications of the tablet.

From the looks of it, the Galaxy Note 8.0 will compete head on with Apple's iPad mini. The specs listed in the image seem to be in line with previous rumours mentioning an 8-inch 1280x800 display as opposed to iPad mini's display 1024x768 across 7.9-inches.

Other specs listed include a 1.6GHz quad-core Exynos processor, 2GB RAM, options of 16/32GB as internal storage, Android 4.2, 5-megapixel rear and 1.3-megapixel front cameras, Bluetooth 4.0, USB 2.0, Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, A-GPS, HSPA+ and LTE support and the famed S-Pen. It is expected to come with a 4,600mAh battery.

There are also speculations doing the rounds that Samsung may launch two versions of Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0 - Samsung GT-N5100, which will be a 3G+Wi-Fi version and the GT-N5110, which will be a Wi-Fi only version.

Samsung dedicated blog SamMobile further reports that the next generation Galaxy tablets will be branded as Galaxy Tab 3 and will include the 7-inch and 10.1-inch versions, both with and without 3G support as part of this series. These will feature a 5-megapixel camera.

Furthermore, citing their Korean insider, the blog states that these Galaxy tablets will be developed under the codename "SANTOS" and their new code numbers would be GT-P3200, GT-P3210, GT-P5200 and GT-P5210.

Additionally, there will also be a high-end tablet from the Korean manufacturer, the GT-P8200 currently codenamed "ROMA" that will come in 16 and 32GB variants.

Though the specifications of these tablets remain unknown as of now, they are expected to reach markets in the first half of the year. Apart from tablets, the previously leaked roadmap also shows phones including Galaxy Pocket Plus, Galaxy X Cover 2, Galaxy Young and Galaxy Chat 226.

The company's next flagship device, the Galaxy S IV codenamed 'Altius' is expected to be announced in March and go on sale in April. Samsung is also planning to launch the 5.8-inch Galaxy Fonblet in Pure White with Android Jelly Bean straight out of the box and feature dual-SIM capabilities as well.

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Windows Phone 7.8 update expected on January 31: Microsoft

Finally, there is some bit of good news for smartphone users with Windows Phone 7.5 devices. It seems that Microsoft is all set to roll out a Windows Phone 7.8 update for these smartphones shortly.

Recently, Microsoft posted an optional Windows Phone SDK Update for Windows Phone 7.8 on its developer's blog. This update offers two new Windows Phone 7.8 emulator images to the existing SDK installation. With the help of these two emulator images the developers will be able to fully test how their Windows Phone 7.5 app's Live Tiles will look and behave when they are running on Windows Phone 7.8 devices.
With the help of this update, Windows Phone users will be able resize their Live Tiles much like the Windows Phone 8 users. Users will have the option to choose from three different sizes for tiles on the home screen. The update will also bring new themes and accent colours along with a new lock screen option to automatically display the Bing picture of the day.
More recent reports have indicated that Microsoft will be launching the Windows Phone 7.8 update pretty soon. The British telecom carrier O2 had indicated that the update will be rolled out by the end of January while Microsoft's Colombian Facebook page had posted that this update will arrive on January 31, 2013. From the current scheme of things it appears that it's just a matter of days when Windows Phone 7 and Windows Phone 7.5 users will get an update notification.
Furthermore, Microsoft has also posted in its blog that, "new phones with Windows Phone 7.8 are beginning to ship." Not sure of what Microsoft is trying to indicate through this. To us it can mean two things. One, handset makers might be planning to ship their existing smartphones pre-loaded with Windows Phone 7.8 in the near future. Second, it could mean that the company is planning to launch new smartphones on the lines of Nokia Lumia 510 and Nokia Lumia 610 with Windows Phone 7.8. In either case, we will have to wait a little longer to know how things unfold in the future.
Microsoft has already announced the most recent version of its mobile operating system - Windows Phone 8 - in October 2012. Currently, Nokia Lumia 920, Lumia 820, HTC 8X and HTC 8S are already shipping in India with Windows Phone 8 and it is expected for companies like Huawei and Samsung to soon bring their Windows Phone 8 smartphones in India.

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Samsung Launches Dual-SIM Galaxy Grand In India

Bangalore: Samsung has finally launched its Galaxy Grand dual- SIM Smartphone in India. The device comes with special features to look forward to.

The Smartphone, which comes at a price of

21, 500 has a 5-inch screen WVGA TFT LCD screen with an 8 Mega Pixel rear camera and 2 Mega Pixel front camera. It is powered by a 1.2GHz dual-core processor and runs on Android 4.2 aka Jelly Bean. The device has a 1GB RAM and boasts of an 8GB memory which is expandable up to 64 GB supporting microSD card.

The introductory offer will come with a Flip Cover and users can download movies and music through ‘My Services’ worth

8000 along with 50 GB Dropbox space. Vodafone users have an offer of downloading 2GB data worth free per month for two months.

Samsung promises good communication flexibility which allows users to manage two phone numbers from a single phone. It is possible to receive a call from one number while taking a call from the other ensuring efficiency at work where one can never miss a call. The single SIM phone is yet to be launched.

10 Amazing But Little Known Features Of Google

Bangalore: Google has brought with itself a multifaceted, user friendly approach. From being a search engine to a social network, Google entertains people in every way possible. Users can have fun simply by watching some of its exciting features. Most of these features are updated occasionally keeping viewers intact with time.

Here are some exciting features of the search giant that hold in a bundle of surprises!

# 10 Zerg Rush

Just punch ‘Zerg Rush’ into the search tab and you will find yourself defending your search results before these zerglings ‘eat them up’. Colored in red and yellow, they try to leave no trace of your results. If you want to eliminate them, just click on them repeatedly. This will save your search engine results completely.

You will also find Google keeping a score. On the right side of the screen, a widget shows the number of enemies you killed along with the number of clicks you used to kill them. If you are unsuccessful at this, your results are wiped out by the yellow and red colored Os, assembling to form a ‘GG’. You can either share your scores within your Google + circles or clear the game to go to the search results.

# 9 Fighter Jet

If you want to explore the globe, try it here, Google Earth has an amazing feature called Flight Simulator. You can enjoy a flight simulation on your computer screen by simply activating this feature. Just go to the Tools menu, followed by ‘Enter Flight Simulator’.

You can choose your aircraft model and starting position upon starting the simulator. If your system supports the joystick, you can even enable hardware for the flight.

# 8 Pac Man

Though holding an outdated status in the days of HD games, you can still find Pac Man by just hitting Google. On the 30^th anniversary of the game, the search giant made an interactive doodle allowing users to play the game using their keyboards.

# 7 Barrel Roll

The ‘Barrel Roll effect,’ which existed from long back, can still be seen on Google. This has served its way to be one of the coolest tricks for internet users. You can enjoy by typing ‘do a barrel roll’. Your whole page will spin 360 degrees once. You can refresh the page to see the effect again and again.

# 6 Guitar

Another interactive doodle called the Guitar was created on the 96^th birthday of Les Paul. He was the inventor of solid body electric guitar. The logo was redone in the form of a guitar, where users could play it with the help of a cursor, mouse or keyboard. One could even record tunes and upload them on the web with the help of Google. They could also listen to it anytime and save them as a media file on the computer.

# 5 Hurdles

Google also made interactive doodles for the London Olympics game, 2012, which are still available in the Doodle archive. The Hurdles is an interesting one, where the runner had to jump over the obstacles. Using the keyboard, he has to race further with increasing level of difficulty. This fun doodle can help you challenge your friends and even set your best score for the results.

# 4 Moog Synthesizer

In the 1960’s and the 70’s top musicians used the Moog Synthesizer to add depth to their music. On the 78^th birthday of Robert Moog, Google created an interactive Moog Synthesizer, which could be played with the help of the keyboard or the mouse.

The doodle displayed features like the mixer, oscillator, filters and envelope where you can simply have fun fiddling with them. You can also record your own music, share it as well as listen to it.

# 3 Snake

For YouTube lovers, buffering isn’t always acceptable. But in the meantime, Google has this amazing feature for you to play, called the ‘Snake’. The popular game that evolved during the 1970’s can be played by pausing an ongoing or even a buffering video. This is enough by pressing the left, right or down arrow key, immediately followed by the up arrow key. The game can also be played on full screen.

# 2 Price range in search

Google knows what you want simply with a type. This amazing search master can easily be informed and that’s it! You have your results. For users who want to know the range of products and price lists, Google can be used where you type in the name of the product and the Price range of your choice like this’ Product Rs X, Y…’. If you wish to look for Android phones priced between

15,000 and

20,000, simply type ‘Android Smartphone

10,000…..15,000’.

# 1 Slalom Canoe

Another interactive offer by Google is the ‘Slalom Canoe’ of the London Olympics 2012. The game shows a canoe and a rower, which is required to pass through the course in the shortest time possible. With the help of a keyboard, you can control the canoe and avoid all possible obstacles while ensuring that the player passes through the check points.

Micromax launches A30 Smarty 3.0 dual-SIM Android phone for Rs. 3,849

Micromax A30 Smarty 3.0 specifications

3-inch TFT (240x320 pixels) 256k colour capacitive touch display
832MHz Broadcom Processor
256MB RAM
512 MB internal storage expandable up to 32GB via micro SD
2-megapixel rear camera with LED Flash
3G HSDPA (7.2 Mbps), Bluetooth 2.0, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, GPS, Micro-USB
Dual-SIM (GSM + GSM) with dual standby
1500 mAh battery
Android 2.3 (Gingerbread)

Intex launches Aqua Flash and Aqua Trendy dual-SIM Android phones in India

Intex had announced its plans to launch five new phones by October 2012 in the under 10K segment. The company is lagging behind but the effort continues. After launching the Aqua 4.0 and the Aqua 3.2 dual-SIM Android phones last year, now the company has introduced the Aqua Flash and Aqua Trendy budget Android phones for Rs. 9,500 and Rs. 4,900 respectively.

Intex Aqua Flash key specifications

4.3-inch (800x480 Pixels) Capacitive multi-touch Touch display
1GHz dual-core processor
External storage expansion upto 32GB via microSD card
8-megapixel rear camera with dual LED Flash
1.3-megapixel front-facing camera
3G, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth, GPS
Dual-SIM (GSM + GSM)
2,100 mAh battery
Android 4.0

Intex Aqua Trendy specifications

3.5 inch (320x480 pixels) capacitive multi-touch display
1GHz dual-core processor
Expandable storage up to 32GB with microSD
3.2-megapixel rear camera
1.3-megapixel front-facing camera
2G EDGE/GPRS, WiFi,Bluetooth
Dual-SIM (GSM+GSM)
FM Radio and sound recorder
1,400 mAh battery
Android 2.3

Google Chrome Camera App – Chromebook Giveaway

The most recent release of the Chrome OS from Google now features an integrated camera application. Now that alone doesn’t make waves when one considers that OSX has had such functionality for some time now. What sets Chrome apart is that it uses HTML5 primarily (along with JavaScript and CSS) to deliver a camera experience that matches Photobooth.
Whats different about this app is that it was developed by a third-party, a firm called Telerik. In development, the company used a front-end framework called Kendu UI and Google’s still wet behind the ears Packaged Apps Platform that enable engineers to develop applications for Google Chrome. Apparently Telerik worked very closely with to develop an application that can be effectively used as a reference application for engineers who want to write advanced apps. This would be utilized with the Packaged Apps platform and the Kendu User Interface Libraries. For the reason that this is all still fairly new, the two companies will host a webinar with the subject of how to build packaged applications with the Kendo User Interface as it’s theme. This will go down on Wednesday, December 5^th at 2p.m. Eastern Standard. As a special treat they are going to give away 10 Google Chromebooks.
As for the camera application, it offers some nice photo features like mirror, bulge and pinch. It has some neat features like face recognition and some custom effects. For the reason that this app was developed with native properties it can be accessed whether on or offline. Though the app has a web backend, it still functions just like your typical desktop app, which is nice.