Temple Run 2 Review

PRICE IN INDIA

Free

Temple Run was an instant hit at launch. It was a pioneer in the runner’s class of mobile games and sparked a new era in the industry. Developers have cashed in on the craze and since then we’ve seen scores of games designed around this theme. Disney and Imangi even launched a special edition of the game called Temple Run Brave for their animated movie Brave. The idea was the same, but they threw in a few more challenges, of course, as you play Princess Merida (updated version lets you run as King Fergus as well), the lead character trying to outrun Mordu the demon bear through the forest. Temple Run 2 brings a fresh look to the game and tries to keep things just as entertaining as the first edition. Here’s a closer look. Obstacles look similar but with a few new twists Sticking to the standard principle of the runner game style, Temple Run 2 once again sees an intrepid explorer scurrying from a cave being chased by some sort of demonic ape. The game starts off at an easy pace as usual and naturally picks speed the further you run. Collect coins and power-ups as you run, slide, jump and rail down a tunnel to avoid a host of obstacles in your path. Trip up and the big bad ape will be hot on your heels. Just like its predecessors, Temple Run 2 is quite addictive. Using the device's Gyro and accelerometer, you can dodge obstacles by tilting your device to the left or right. Swipe gestures are still one of the key factors, and so is collecting gold coins. What makes this version so much more entertaining, even if it is essentially the same as the ones before, is the new environment. The murky swamp locale has now given way to a more picturesque mountain path. You’ll need to slide down ropes while swinging either to the left or right to collect coins, jump across streams, across broken wooden bridges, over temple ruins and even over spiked booby traps. For slide moves, you’ll need to slip under ruins and fire traps. Then you get to a rather interesting part in the game after a few thousand metres – a mine shaft. Watch out for those power-ups and tricky miner levels In this level, you’ll be riding along a beaten down track into a mine in a beaten down mine cart. You’ll need to duck and lean to collect coins or avoid obstacles and broken train tracks. Unlike some of the other games in this category, you’ll also need to swipe left or right down the right track. The wrong turn could lead you smackdab into a closed off shaft. What’s great about this game is that resurrection is quite easily available at least once without the need to buy or upgrade some factor for your character. Upgrades are available nonetheless from boosting the time limit on various options like the magnetic capture of coins or gaining protective shields, speed boosts etc. With 10,000 coins, you can even choose a new character to run. Upgrade your existing character or simply choose a new one The more you progress, as you may already know, the faster your pace gets. This is when things tend to get really tricky. There are a few instances where the road might look like it would go straight ahead, but you'd need to swipe left or right—and since the game is quite unpredictable, we can't really say where. This is possibly one of the more challenging parts of the game, especially if you've progressed far into the game and running around a break-neck speed. The bottom line All in all, Temple Run 2 is a well-designed game. The new location adds that fresh appeal to an existing franchise that was already entreating to begin with. We found no issues with control when we tested it on the iPad 2 and Galaxy Nexus devices. The game worked great and was very responsive on both platforms. Best part is, it’s free for both as well. If you’re into runner mobile game genre and were already hooked to Temple Run, part 2 will only make things better. We’re quite looking forward to part 3 (fingers crossed). To download Temple Run 2 for Android go here. To download Temple Run 2 for iOS go here.

RIM to show off first BlackBerry 10 smartphone tomorrow

Toronto: The maker of the BlackBerry smartphone is promising a speedier device, a superb typing experience and the ability to keep work and personal identities separate on the same phone. It's the fruit of a crucial, long-overdue makeover for the Canadian company.
Thorsten Heins, chief executive of Research In Motion Ltd., will show off the first phone with the new BlackBerry 10 system in New York on Wednesday. A marketing campaign that includes a Super Bowl ad will accompany the long-anticipated debut. Repeated delays have left the once-pioneering BlackBerry an afterthought in the shadow of Apple's trend-setting iPhone and Google's Android-driven devices.
Now, there's some optimism. Previews of the software have gotten favourable reviews on blogs. Financial analysts are starting to see some slight room for a comeback. RIM's stock has nearly tripled to $16.18 from a nine-year low in September, though it's still nearly 90 percent below its 2008 peak of $147.

RIM is promising a speedier device, a superb typing experience and the ability to keep work and personal identities separate on the same phone.

Most analysts consider a BlackBerry 10 success to be crucial for the company's long-term viability.
"The old models are becoming obsolete quickly," BGC Financial analyst Colin Gillis said. "There is still a big user base but it's going to rotate off. The question is: Where do they rotate to?"
The BlackBerry, pioneered in 1999, has been the dominant smartphone for on-the-go business people. Corporate information-technology managers like the phones because they're relatively secure and easy to manage. Many employees loved them because of physical keyboards that were easier to type on than the touch-screen iPhone.
President Barack Obama couldn't bear to part with it when he took office. Oprah Winfrey declared it one of her "favorite things." People got so addicted that the device was nicknamed "the CrackBerry."
The BlackBerry began to cross over to consumers. But when the iPhone came out in 2007, it showed that phones can do much more than email and phone calls. They can play games, music and movies. Android came along to offer even more choices. Though IT managers still love BlackBerrys, employees were bringing their own devices to the workplace - a trend Heins acknowledged RIM was slow to adapt to.
Suddenly, the BlackBerry looked ancient.
Even as BlackBerry sales continued to grow in many parts of the world, many BlackBerry users in North America switched to iPhones and Android devices. BlackBerry's worldwide subscriber based peaked at 80 million in the quarter that ended Sept. 1, before dropping to 79 million in the most-recent quarter. In the US, according to research firm IDC, shipments of BlackBerry phones plummeted from 46 per cent of the market in 2008 to 2 per cent in 2012. Most phones in use today are either iPhones or Android devices.
RIM promised a new system to catch up, using technology it got through its 2010 purchase of QNX Software Systems. RIM initially said BlackBerry 10 would come by early 2012, but then the company changed that to late 2012. A few months later, that date was pushed further, to early 2013, missing the lucrative holiday season. The holdup helped wipe out more than $70 billion in shareholder wealth and 5,000 jobs.
Although executives have been providing a glimpse at some of BlackBerry 10's new features for months, Heins will finally showcase a complete system at Wednesday's event. Devices will go on sale soon after that. The exact date and prices are expected Wednesday.
RIM redesigned the system to embrace the multimedia, apps and touch-screen experience prevalent today.
"Historically there have been areas that have not been our strongest points," Rick Costanzo, RIM's executive vice president of global sales, said in an interview. "Not only have we caught up, but we may even be better than some of the competition now."
Costanzo said "no one else can touch" what RIM's new system offers.
The new operating system promises better multitasking than either the iPhone or Android. Simply swipe a finger across the phone's display screen to switch to another program.
All emails and notifications from such applications as Twitter and Facebook go to the BlackBerry Hub, a nerve center accessible with a finger swipe even if you have another application open. One can peek into it and open an email, or return to the previous application without opening the email.
"You are not going in and out of applications; you're flowing through applications with one simple gesture of your finger," Costanzo said. "You can leave applications running. You can effortlessly flow between them. So that's completely unique to us."
That said, multitasking will still be limited. If you're watching a video, it will still run while you check for email. But it will pause if you decide to open an email and resume when you are done.
The BlackBerry's touch-screen keyboard promises to learn a user's writing style and suggest words and phrases to complete, going beyond typo corrections offered by rivals. See the one you want, and flick it up to the message area. Costanzo said that "BlackBerry offers the best keyboard, period."
Gus Papageorgiou, a Scotiabank financial analyst who has tried it out, agreed with that assessment and said the keyboard even learns and adjusts to your thumb placements.
The first BlackBerry 10 phone will have only a touch screen. RIM has said it will release a version with a physical keyboard soon after that. That's an area RIM has excelled at, and it's one reason many BlackBerry users have remained loyal despite temptations to switch.
Another distinguishing feature will be the BlackBerry Balance, which allows two personas on the same device. Businesses can keep their data secure without forcing employees to get a second device for personal use. For instance, IT managers can prevent personal apps from running inside corporate firewalls, but those managers won't have access to personal data on the device.
With Balance, "you can just switch from work to personal mode," Papageorgiou said. "I think that is something that will attract a lot of people."
RIM is also claiming that the BlackBerry 10's browser will be speedy, even faster than browsers for laptop and desktop computers. According to Papageorgiou, early, independent tests between the BlackBerry 10 and the iPhone support that claim.
Regardless of BlackBerry 10's advances, though, the new system will face a key shortcoming: It won't have as many apps written by outside companies and individuals as the iPhone and Android. RIM has said it plans to launch BlackBerry 10 with more than 70,000 apps, including those developed for RIM's PlayBook tablet, first released in 2011.
Even so, that's just a tenth of what the iPhone and Android offer. Papageorgiou said the initial group will include the most popular ones such as Twitter and Facebook. But RIM will have to persuade others to make a BlackBerry version, when they are already struggling to keep up with both the iPhone and Android.
Like many analysts, Papageorgiou recently upgraded RIM's stock, but cautioned that longtime BlackBerry users will have to get used to a whole new operating system.
He said RIM can be successful if about a third of current subscribers upgrade and if the company can get 4 million new users overseas, especially in countries where the BlackBerry has remained popular. IDC said smartphone shipments grew 44 per cent in 2012. If those trends continue, it will be possible for the BlackBerry to grow even if iPhone and Android users don't switch.
"This doesn't have to be the best smartphone on the planet to be a success for RIM," he said. "I think the big question though is, if it fails, is it just too late? Are the other two ecosystems just so advanced that no one can catch up? That's a big risk."

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Apple updates iPhone, iPad software; releases iOS 6.1

New York: Apple has released a software update for iPhones and iPads that speeds up data downloads on some major overseas telecom networks and a handful of small US carriers.
Apple says iOS version 6.1 adds the ability to access the "LTE" networks of 36 additional iPhone carriers. Those include Alaska Communications, Bluegrass Cellular of Kentucky and C Spire of Mississippi. Internationally, they include major carriers in Italy, Denmark, Finland, Croatia, Portugal, Saudi Arabia and South Africa.
iOS 6 features include Siri, which supports more languages, easy access to sports scores, restaurant recommendations and movie listings; Maps with Apple-designed cartography, turn-by-turn navigation and Flyover view; Facebook integration for Contacts and Calendar, with the ability to post directly from Notification Center, Siri and Facebook-enabled apps; Shared Photo Streams via iCloud; and Passbook, the simplest way to get all your passes in one place.

Apple says iOS version 6.1 adds the ability to access the LTE networks of 36 additional iPhone carriers.

Additional updates in iOS 6.1 include the ability to use Siri to purchase movie tickets in the US through Fandango, and iTunes Match subscribers can download individual songs to their iOS devices from iCloud.
The update also includes the ability buy US movie tickets through the "Siri" voice-controlled assistant feature. Also, subscribers to "iTunes Match" will now be able to download individual songs from their online lockers to their phones.
The update is compatible with the iPod Touch as well.

Availability
iOS 6.1 is available as a free software update today. iOS 6.1 is compatible with iPhone 5, iPhone 4S, iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS, iPad (third and fourth generation), iPad mini, iPad 2 and iPod touch (fourth and fifth generation). Some features may not be available on all products.

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Apple launches 128GB iPad 4 at Rs 49,900 onwards; in stores from February 5

New Delhi: Apple has announced the launch of the 128GB version of the fourth generation iPad with Retina display. The 128GB iPad with Wi-Fi and iPad with Wi-Fi + Cellular models provide twice the storage capacity of the 64GB models to hold even more valuable content.
The new 128GB versions of the fourth generation iPad will be available starting Tuesday, February 5, in black or white, for Rs 49,900 for the iPad with Wi-Fi model and Rs 56,900 for the iPad with Wi-Fi + Cellular model. All versions of the 128GB iPad will be sold through select Apple Authorised Resellers.
The fourth generation iPad features a 9.7-inch Retina display, Apple-designed A6X chip, FaceTime HD camera, and iOS 6.1. iOS 6.1 includes support for additional LTE networks around the world, and iTunes Match subscribers can download individual songs to their iOS devices from iCloud.

The new 128GB versions of the fourth generation iPad will be available starting Tuesday, February 5, in black or white.

Apple says iOS version 6.1 adds the ability to access the "LTE" networks of 36 additional iPhone carriers. Those include Alaska Communications, Bluegrass Cellular of Kentucky and C Spire of Mississippi. Internationally, they include major carriers in Italy, Denmark, Finland, Croatia, Portugal, Saudi Arabia and South Africa.
iOS 6 features include Siri, which supports more languages, easy access to sports scores, restaurant recommendations and movie listings; Maps with Apple-designed cartography, turn-by-turn navigation and Flyover view; Facebook integration for Contacts and Calendar, with the ability to post directly from Notification Center, Siri and Facebook-enabled apps; Shared Photo Streams via iCloud; and Passbook, the simplest way to get all your passes in one place.
iPad runs over 800,000 apps available on the App Store, including more than 300,000 apps designed specifically for iPad.

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Dell XPS 12 Review

PRICE IN INDIA

94,990

Technoluverz Rating

7.0

Dell has managed to make a strong name for itself as far as Ultrabooks go and it is once again taking the lead in the Indian market with the swanky new XPS 12. The smallest in the series, the XPS 12 combines the same premium, high-quality craftsmanship we’ve seen in the XPS 13 with a bit of razzle dazzle. On one hand, it’s a regular Ultrabook and then with a quick screen flip, it turns into a tablet. Dell had debuted this same concept a few CESs back, but it never really made it to production because the software wasn’t quite touch friendly at the time. So, does the XPS 12 have enough practical value to justify the high price tag? Let’s find out.

Design and build
On the face of it, the XPS 12 looks like nothing more than a shrunken down version of the XPS 13. Save for the carbon fibre finish on the lid, it looks pretty much identical to its elder sibling. The chassis is made up of a mix of carbon fibre, machined aluminium and Gorilla Glass for the display. This makes the notebook extremely durable and sturdy and it will happily take the beating of everyday use without showing any scars. It’s quite light as well with a starting weight of 1.54 kg. While this is quite light for a notebook, it’s a lot for a tablet.

Well crafted

The ports and buttons are arranged a little differently so that it’s convenient to use in either modes. We have speaker grilles on either side for stereo sound, a volume rocker and orientation lock button for tablet mode, headphone jack and the power switch to the left. The other side houses two USB 3.0 ports, the charging port and a mini DisplayPort connector. There’s no card reader, LAN jack or HDMI present.

Doing the flip

You can switch to tablet mode by simply rotating the display within the bezel itself. There are latches that hold the screen in place when locked into position so that it doesn’t accidentally pop out when travelling. The mechanism is extremely smooth and fluid, allowing you to flip the screen in one swift motion. The backlit keyboard is the exact same one used on the XPS 13 and just like it, the battery is also non-removable. Overall, the Dell XPS 12 is very well designed and built and simply exudes style and luxury.

Low on connectivity

Features
The XPS 12 is available in four pre-set configurations. The base model that we received came with an Intel Core i5-3317U Ivy Bridge CPU, 4GB of DDR3 RAM and 128GB SSD storage. This being a hybrid notebook, you get Windows 8 as the OS of choice. The XPS 12 maxes out at a Core i7-3517U, 8GB of RAM and a 256GB SSD. Sadly, there’s no option for a discrete GPU even if you want it. The battery capacity also remains the same. One good thing is that you get a Full HD display as default, no matter which configuration you pick. The panel has very good viewing angles and excellent colour reproduction, which makes watching video or simply using Modern UI a real treat. However, one side effect of having such a high-resolution display on a screen this small is that the desktop environment does not scale as well as Modern UI so everything looks really small. This makes it a real task to work on text documents or simply read anything without having to zoom in.

Performance
Thanks to the SSD onboard, the XPS 12 performs very well. We recorded a very healthy read speed of 420MB/s in SiSoft Sandra 2013’s ‘File System’ test. PCMark 7 returned an overall score of 4685 points while 3DMark Vantage scored 10,523 points with the entry level preset. Video encoding and files compression will also benefit greatly here due the SSD. Storage is limited here, so you won’t be able to dump your entire music and movie collection on the notebook.

Comfortable keys

As an Ultrabook, the XPS 12 is extremely portable and very comfortable to use even for extended typing. The keys have good tactile feedback as well. The trackpad is large enough to use comfortably, but it tends to get in the way while typing. Audio quality is also pretty good. The volume levels are high thanks to the side mounted speakers and the quality of audio is also very good for music and movies. The weight of the XPS12 can be a problem in tablet mode though. Don’t expect to carry the Ultrabook around in one hand for too long like you would a typical tablet since it’s just not possible. Fatigue tends to set in very soon on your wrist. One tablet feature we found missing was the ability to toggle the screen on and off like you do on a smartphone or tablet. Even in tablet mode, pressing the power button puts the XPS 12 is standby mode, so you can’t really wake it up instantaneously.

Tablet mode

Battery life
We found the battery life to be average. We managed to get two solid hours, which roughly translates to about 4 hrs of good usage. You’ll be able to squeeze a little more if you’re careful with your usage, but don’t expect too much.

Verdict and price in India
With a starting price of Rs 94,990, the XPS 12 is one expensive notebook, even for an Ultrabook. While it does have a very good feature set, behind the fancy new rotating screen, it’s a very average performing notebook. The hybrid nature of the device is fun to use, but we’re sure that the novelty will wear off after a while. The Windows 8 store has still a long way to go in terms of Windows apps and until that happens, traditional desktop applications will still rule—and you don’t need a fancy touchscreen to use them.

How To: Get the fastest Internet connection ever

A powerful utility to combine multiple Internet connections into a mammoth broadband pipeline.

It has always been a geek’s dream to have the fastest Internet connection ever, and we bet you would desire the same too. Almost all those who are hooked on to the Internet to surf, download or entertain themselves would definitely be owning an broadband connection at home. It could be via a telecom service provider, your local cable guy or 4G wireless Internet providers. Some even own 3G USB Internet dongles for their work and entertainment while being outdoors. Most smartphone users today also opt for 3G Internet services on their phones and tablets. All these connections can be individually used on your PCs, laptops and handhelds efficiently.

Download, set up and activate the utility

Though you can connect them all together on a single PC and access the Internet, the Internet speed will be only drawn from the last connected network, leaving the others unused. For instance, you have four different Internet connection sources A, B, C and D.  Your PC will access Internet from A when it is connected. The moment you initiate a connection from B, the PC will divert all network connections via B, leaving A unused. The same happens when C is initiated; A and B are unused and it applies the same to D. The operating system is not smart enough and does not know that there are multiple Internet networks. It needs help, but is unable to do so. In Linux, it is possible to do so by tweaking the kernel, adding some modules and running some scripts that will tell the operating system about the various active Internet connections and balance the network load accordingly. On Windows, it is not possible and a third-party utility is required.

Single connection speed

Clubbing all your available Internet connections into one single mammoth pipeline was not possible until Connectify, a well known software development company which developed Connectify hotspot, a virtual software router for Windows, stepped in. It kickstarted a campaign to help collect funds for the project and achieved it. It finally came up with Connectify Dispatch, a utility to connect to multiple Internet connections for combined speed and reliability. Using this utility, you can now connect all your available Internet connections – be it from a DSL modem, a wired cable connection, a wireless router, a tethered mobile phone or a USB Internet dongle – into a single mega broadband connection. Read ahead to know how you can do it in four simple steps.

All adapters active and associated with Dispatch

Step 1: Download Connectify Dispatch and install it. It is not a free utility and there are no demo versions available. The utility costs Rs 5,114 for a lifetime license, which includes the HotSpot Pro utility as a bundle. Optionally, you can opt for a one year license for Rs 4,023, but we recommend the lifetime offer, which is reasonably cheaper than this one. Once installed, activate the utility and you can see it running, but not active, in the system tray.

System tray showing adapters activated and deactivated

Speed using a single Internet connection only

All Internet connections combined as a single large bandwidth

Step 2: individually set up and test all your Internet connections on the PC. Install the USB dongles, tethered phone, wireless network, Ethernet cable Internet, or whatever sources you may have. Ensure they are working and all connected to the PC.

Using only three connections

Step 3: Double-click on the Connectify icon in the system tray to pull up the Dispatch user interface. Here you see the Dispatch utility, which is not started as yet. There is a graph available to know the bandwidth of all your available connection’s, and the overall bandwidth speed. Also, you will see the number of active adapters (Internet connections) in the lower half. Other icons available are Hotspot (to start the Wi-Fi hotspot) and Settings (to tweak a few changes).

Step 4: Connect, enable or start all your Internet connections. Once all are active, hit the ‘Start Dispatch’ button on the Dispatch window and you are ready to cruise the Internet highway by utilising all the Internet connections simultaneously. The Dispatch utility will automatically combine all the Internet connections together, analyse each one of them and route the Internet traffic accordingly whenever and wherever necessary. You can check the download speeds by downloading some large file, video or torrent. You will definitely notice a difference.

Assign individual applications to select particular Internet routes

How we tested
1. Internet connection A – Tikona Wireless 4G broadband via Ethernet – 2 Mbps speed.
2. Internet connection B – Tata Photon Plus 3G USB internet dongle – Speeds up to 3.1 Mbps.
3. Internet connection C – Tata Photon Plus 3G USB internet dongle – Speeds up to 3.1 Mbps.
4. Internet connection D – Tata Photon Plus 3G USB internet dongle – Speeds up to 3.1 Mbps.

Set bandwidth limitations for each Internet connection

The setup was done on a Lenovo laptop and was conducted inside a house in the suburbs of Mumbai. The testing was done at night around 1 AM when we could obtain maximum speeds and minimum interferences from any other networks in the surroundings. As we all know, the USB 3G Internet dongles claim maximum speeds of up to 3.1 Mbps, but this entirely depends from area to area. In our case, the maximum Internet speeds we acquired was between 800 Kbps to 1.5 Mbps at any given time. The Tikona connection was stable at around 2 Mbps. In all, estimating the USB dongles gave us around 1.2 Mbps speeds and the Tikona Wireless giving us around 2 Mbps speeds, clubbing them together, the speeds we acquired was a little more than 6 Mbps.

Override the default DNS

Testing and using the Connectify Dispatch for a few hours, we definitely state that the utility works and can benefit those who are looking for higher broadband speeds. BitTorrent is designed to make use of many network sockets simultaneously, which makes it a perfect application for Connectivity Dispatch.

Select adapters to act as Primary connections or stay as backups

Other options possible with Dispatch
You can further tweak the Dispatch utility to benefit your work. You can set up individual applications to use particular Internet connections to balance the load manually too. In this way, for example, you can download multiple files from Hotfile, Rapidshare, Mediafire and other similar file hosting websites that have IP-based time limitations to download the next file. It can also benefit those who want to download particular files faster than others, such as torrents can be on a faster bandwidth while smaller files can use the slower Internet connections.

Start Hotspot with a combined speed and share it to other devices

You can also use Dispatch to balance the load as per your will. You can set it to keep particular Internet connections as standby or backup connections in case any one of them fails. Other options available are to use DNS servers other than the ISP provides you. You can use Google or OpenDNS to your advantage. You can also meter individual connections to limit the Internet usage so that you don't exceed the download limits according to your plans. This can be done on daily, weekly or monthly rules according to your download plans. Lastly, you can set Dispatch to draw the bandwidth from the available connections that have the best latency and reliability.

An Android phone using Hotspot over Wi-Fi with full combined speed

Finally, if you have bought the Dispatch + Hotspot utility together (Rs 5,114), you can start up HotSpot and share this combined mega-Internet pipeline to all other computers and devices on the network wirelessly or using a router.

Connectify Dispatch is a very powerful utility that can benefit small and large business environments too. Take for example, a large organisation that provides most of the employees with a USB Internet dongle for use when they are travelling. When they are not travelling, the Internet connection is wasted as they are lying unused and the office Internet connection is used at work. By using these dongles on a PC installed with Dispatch, the entire bandwidth can come in handy for the entire office to have a faster Internet connection. Other areas where Dispatch can come in very handy is for video chat, online high-definition and 3D video entertainment, distributed or cloud gaming, online backups and data sync servers, remote desktop sharing, and a few others.

Opera to launch Ice, a new browser for smartphones and tablets

Opera Software has a new browser for smartphone and tablet users. The maker of the widely used browser of the same name will be launching a new smartphone and tablet browser called Opera Ice in February.

Pocket-lint revealed that Opera Ice is an attempt by the company to make a foothold in the mobile browser field dominated by Google and Apple. In an attempt to take these giants heads on, Opera has changed its approach strategy, switching to the WebKit rendering engine that Google Chrome and Apple Safari use instead of Presto, the engine that has powered Opera since 2003.

Opera Ice in a screen-grab (Photo Credits: Pocket-lint)

In a video published by Pocket-lint, Opera CEO Lars Boilesen explains that Opera has traded in the traditional tabs and buttons in favour of an all-touch gesture based control system. The homepage contains compact icons or ‘apps’ as Boilesen describes them. These apps can be used to open pages directly, like Boilesen shows with the Google Maps app. The URL bar and search functions have been combined to make the experience of browsing simpler. Boilesen shifts back and forth between pages via simple swipe hand gestures.

The ‘apps’ can be bookmarked and an icon placed on the opening screen for easier access. Boilesen also showed how going on to a website deemed dangerous by the browser will throw up a very animated warning sign.

"This is a full touch and tablet-focused browser," said Boilesen in the video explaining Opera Ice’s interface. "Most are taking a PC browser and squishing [it] into a tablet, or they are taking a mobile browser and blowing it up to fill the space."




What about the company’s existing mobile web browser Opera Mini? Boilesen says that while Opera Mini was ‘great’, it wasn’t offering features up to Chrome and Safari’s standards. There are also many sites Opera Mini does not work with. Instead of trying to stretch Opera Mini’s capabilities, the company decided to chalk out a new, smartphone and tablet-based browser that was customised to be used via hand gestures and had a UI that was built especially for the platform.

Boilesen confirmed that the company will not be ditching Opera Mini. "Mini is super important … It needs to be a platform where we create users and then migrate those users to over to our smartphone products,” he said. Boilesen also mentioned that there will be a desktop Opera browser to be launched in March.

Opera Ice is slated to be released in February for iOS and Android, said Boilesen. He said that Windows Mobile will also figure in Opera Software’s scheme of things soon, but it isn’t a priority till sales of the platform pick up.

Windows Mobile has seen a severe problem with browsers in the past, with Google blocking Maps on Windows Phone 8. Google had said that Internet Explorer was not a WebKit supported browser, leading to the blocking of the service. Of course, Microsoft refuted the claim saying, “Internet Explorer in Windows Phone 8 and Windows 8 use the same rendering engine.” Given this tussle, it wouldn’t be a bad move for Opera to take advantage.