Liquipel 2.0 nanocoating debuts

with improved water protection.

We were rather stoked when Liquipel brought its "watersafe" nanocoating service from California to South East Asia in fall 2012, but it turns out that the Santa Ana-based company had another surprise lined up for us later on. At Startup Debut 2013 in Las Vegas today we saw the announcement of Liquipel 2.0, which claims to have "significant advancements in durability, corrosion resistance and water protection" than its predecessor. Specifically, the new version is "up to 100 times more effective... while maintaining component integrity and RF sensitivity." Obviously we had to see it to believe it, and to our surprise, this time Liquipel had a demo that let us submerge a 2.0-coated iPhone 5 under two feet of water -- you can see us going bonkers with it in the video after the break.

According to Managing Director Sam Winkler, a device thoroughly treated with Liquipel 2.0 can actually achieve a liquid protection rating of at least IPX7: immersion at a depth of 1m for 30 minutes. While the iPhone 5 we tortured did eventually take in too much water and thus disabled the touch panel, it quickly came back to life after we shook off some of the water. Winkler added that his company's now offering its 4ft x 4ft "Liquipods" for shops that want to provide the Liquipel treatment themselves, but it'll be a while before all existing partners -- mostly outside the US -- can be upgraded to 2.0. That said, interested customers can already get the 2.0 treatment for the same price via the online service in the US.

One final note: it turns out that Jaybird also uses Liquipel during the assembly of its sports headphones. Hopefully we'll see more products treated with the same goodness in the near future.

Sony rumoured to be working on 6.44-inch full-HD device

2013 is being called the Year of the phablet and for good reason. A niche category that came into existence with the launch of Samsung's Galaxy Note, is now being populated with devices from companies like Huawei, HTC, ZTE and even Indian manufacturers like Micromax, Karbonn and Byond.

Sony that had already entered the category with its 5-inch full-HD Xperia Z, which it unveiled  at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES). It now seems to be working on a much bigger phablet this time round.

Engadget reports that a leaked image posted on the Chinese-language Digi-wo forum shows a 6.44-inch display screen along with a claim that the screen for this component has 1080p HD resolution. Apart from this, there is no other detail regarding the device. For all we know, it could just be a prototype of an upcoming device or even a fake image. With Mobile World Congress (MWC) being round the corner, one should not be surprised if the device does make an appearance there.

Huawei launched two new devices this year at CES. The company's new flagship Ascend D2 comes with a 5-inch display and the Ascend Mate sports a big 6.1-inch IPS+ LCD capacitive touchscreen.

HTC came into the phablet arena with the J Butterfly, which was the first full-HD device and has a 5-inch display. A more recent entrant is the ZTE Nubia Z5 featuring a 5-inch full-HD display. The company is already rumoured to be working on the Nubia Z7 that will have a 6.3-inch display with a screen resolution of 2560x1440 pixels. The Chinese company also took the wraps off of its Grand S, which is being flaunted as the world's thinnest 5-inch full-HD smartphone.

Indian device manufacturer Byond Tech recently introduced the Phablet PIII sporting a massive 6.3-inch display. Karbonn, on the other hand launched the dual-SIM A30 Android device with a 5.9-inch display. Micromax jumoed into the bandwagon with the A116 Canvas HD with a 5-inch 720p IPS display.

Coming back to Samsung, the company that started it all, post the success of its Galaxy Note, the company went ahead and launched the Galaxy Note II that came with a bigger 5.5-inch Super AMOLED HD display.

The company is now gearing up for a third generation Galaxy Note III, which is rumoured to sport a 6.3-inch screen and will perhaps come with recently announced Exynos 5 Octa processor as well. Samsung also recently launched the 5-inch Galaxy Grand earlier this week. 

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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.