Samsung to release high-end tablet 'Roma' to rival Google Nexus 10: Report

 

Samsung is said to working on a new 10-inch tablet. This high-end tablet has apparently been code-named 'Roma'.SamMobiles via TechBlog.gr reports that the new tablet will resemble Google Nexus 10. It is expected to come with a 10.1-inch display with resolution of 2560X1600 pixels and a pixel density of 299ppi. The Roma tablet will allegedly be powered by a 1.7GHz dual-core Exynos 5 processor along with 2 GB of RAM. It will come with 16GB of in-built storage, which can be expanded by up to 128GB via a microSD card.
For camera, there is a 5-megapixel rear camera and a 1.9-megapixel one on the front. The tablet is likely to measure 257X177.7X 8.4mm and will support 4G LTE as connectivity option. Other connectivity options include 3G, Wi-Fi, DLNA, Bluetooth 4.0 and Micro-USB. It will come with a 9,000mAh battery and will weigh about 583 grams. Samsung Roma tablet is expected to run on the Android 4.2 (Jelly Bean) operating system.
As of now there is no word on when this device will see the light of the day or what will it cost.
Samsung is also rumoured to be working on Galaxy Tab 3 10.1 and Galaxy Tab 3 8.0. As per earlier news reports, Galaxy Tab 3 8.0 will come in two variants. SM-T3100 is allegedly the 3G version of the 16GB Galaxy Tab 3, while the SM-T3110 will be the Wi-Fi version. Both these tablets will reportedly come in White colour.
Galaxy Tab 3 8.0 will come with a 8-inch display with a resolution of 1280X800 pixels. It will be only 6.95mm thick and weigh 330 grams. The tablet is expected to run Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean) out of the box.
The tablet will allegedly come with a 3-megapixel rear camera and a 1.3-megapixel front camera. It is expected to have a 4,500 mAh battery.
Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 10.1 on the other hand will sport a 10.1-inch display. The recent rumours suggest that the display resolution of Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 10.1 will be 1280X800 pixels while the earlier reports suggested 2560X1600 pixel display. Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 10.1 is likely to come with a 1.5GHz dual-core CPU and 2GB of RAM. It will have 16GB of internal storage, which will be expandable through a microSD card.

Facebook Home now available in India

New Delhi: Facebook Home, announced earlier this month, is now available on the Google Play store in India - but for select users. Facebook Home currently works on the HTC One X, HTC One X+, Samsung Galaxy S III and Samsung Galaxy Note II. Home will also work on the forthcoming HTC One and Samsung Galaxy S4. The app will be available for more Android devices in the coming months.
The company had earlier announced that Facebook Home would be available as a free download from the Google Play Store starting April 12, but the app has been released today for users in India. We tried to download the app a few days back but a message cropped up saying, "the item is not available in your country". But starting today, select users (mentioned above) can download the Facebook Home app from the Google Play store.
If you still have questions about Facebook Home, then here is a sum-up for you. Facebook Home is a new app for Android. It is a new way to turn your Android phone into a social phone.

 

 

Facebook Home currently works on the HTC One X, HTC One X+, Samsung Galaxy S III, Samsung Galaxy Note II, HTC One and Samsung Galaxy S4.

Home isn't a phone or operating system, and it's also more than just an app, says Facebook. Home is a completely new experience that lets you see the world through people, not apps. Its new family of apps will let users display mobile versions of their newsfeed and messages prominently on the home screens of a wide range of devices based on Google's Android operating system, CEO Mark Zuckerberg told reporters.
"Why do we need to go into those apps in the first place to see what's going on with those we care about?" Zuckerberg told the hundreds of reporters and industry executives gathered at Facebook's Menlo Park campus.
"We want to bring all this content to the front," he said. It is a move that may divert users from Google services and steal some of its rival's momentum in the fast-growing mobile arena.
Facebook Home is built around your friends and puts them at the centre of your phone.

Portronics Handmate Pen adds touchscreen experience to any Windows 8 machine

 

Portronics Handmate Windows 8 Pen is one of those nifty little devices that seem too good to be true when you first read about them. It promises to turn any Windows 8 laptop into a touchscreen device, letting you experience the joys of owning one of those 'hybrid' devices at fraction of the cost. But does it work? Let's find out.Setting up the Handmate Windows 8 Pen is simple - just connect it to any available USB port on your Windows 8 laptop and fix the receiving unit on one of the edges of the screen, about halfway from the top. Go to Control Panel to calibrate the screen (the device comes with instructions on where exactly to go) and a barely a minute later, you are good to go. We hooked up the device to a HP Windows 8 laptop, but any standard Windows 8 machine should do.
Put in the batteries into the pen-shaped stylus and start operating your Windows 8 device by touching your laptop screen - swipe around the Windows 8 home screen, touch to start applications, swipe from edge to bring up the system menu and more, just like your device always had touch. The device really comes into its own when playing games like Cut The Rope or when you want to put finishing touches to your masterpiece in Paint.
However, there's more to touch than just fun and games - combine the Handmate Windows 8 Pen with Microsoft Office's Inking capabilities (found under the Review tab) and you have perhaps the fastest way to give feedback on Office documents while on the move.
A word of caution though, if you're used to super sensitive touch experience of the iPad and the likes, the Handmate Windows 8 Pen will take some getting used to. The stylus requires slightly heavier pressing than you'd probably expect, but not the kind that'll wear you down. It's a small adjustment to make, and one you'll likely make swiftly.
The Handmate Windows 8 Pen comes bundled with spare stylus and batteries that power the stylus. Portronics claims 500 hours of battery life given working/ standby ratio of 1:9. The sensors on the Handmate Windows 8 Pen use a combination of infrared and ultrasound technologies and work on screens sized 16-inches and below, which means it is good to use with laptops and even desktop monitors of that size. A newer generation product that will work with screen sizes of up to 25-inches is expected soon.
All in all, Handmate Windows 8 Pen offers a decent option for those looking to add a dash of touch to their Windows 8 experience

At Rs. 4,999 it's a not-so-expensive option to see if touch fits in your workflow before you take the plunge and buy an expensive native touchscreen device.

Google Glass specs released: 5-megapixel camera, 720p video, 16GB storage, Bluetooth, one day battery life

Google has officially released specifications of its wearable technology innovation, Google Glass.

While Google didn't release the exact specifications of the display inside Glass, it said the resolution will be equivalent to that of a '25-inch high definition screen from eight feet away'. Google confirmed that Glass will feature a 5-megapixel camera capable of recording 720p videos. It will also feature a Bone Conduction Transducer for audio.

Glass will be compatible with any Bluetooth-capable phone, however, for using GPS and SMS it requires the MyGlass companion app which is only available for phones running Android 4.0.3 Ice Cream Sandwich or higher. As per Google, Glass will offer 16GB internal storage space out of which 12GB will be usable and will be synced with Google cloud storage.

The company doesn't specify the battery capacity but mentions that it will offer one full day of typical use, however, it also warns that some features, like Hangouts and video recording, are more battery intensive. Glass will include a Micro-USB cable and charger, and Google specifies that Glass is designed and tested with the included charger and advises users to stick to using the bundled charger.

Glass comes with adjustable nosepads and Google also offers extra nosepads in two sizes.

Prior to listing specifications, Google posted documentation for developers discussing software development for Glass. It also mentioned that the software would be called Glassware and that they'll need to use Google Mirror API 'a set of RESTful services that transmit information to and receive notifications from Glass devices'.

It also informed its developer members that it was seeing the first few devices come off the production line right now and that it wants to start delivering them, although only a portion of them were ready as of date. It mentioned that it will start shipping Glass in waves.

Intex launches Aqua Wonder Quadcore with 4.5-inch display, quad-core processor for Rs. 9,990

 

Intex Technologies has launched Intex Aqua Wonder Quadcore for Rs. 9,990. We had reported about the impending launch of this device carrying a price tag of less than Rs. 10,000 earlier this month.Intex Aqua Wonder Quadcore features a 4.5-inch capacitive 540x960 touchscreen with IPS panel screen technology. It is powered by MediaTek MT6589 quad-core processor and comes with 512MB of RAM. The smartphone has a 1.93GB of internal storage, of which 1.93 GB is user accessible. The internal storage can be expanded by up to 32GB through a microSD card.
It runs on the Android 4.1.2 (Jelly Bean). For camera, there is an 8-megapixel auto focus rear camera with dual LED flash and 2-megapixel one on the front. Intex Aqua Wonder Quadcore is a dual-SIM smartphone (WCDMA+GSM). Other connectivity options include 3G video calling, Wi-Fi, GPS and Bluetooth 4.0.
Intex Aqua Wonder Quadcore has 1,800mAh battery that as per the company claims delivers a talktime of 3.5 hours and about 3 days of standby time. The smartphone comes with four sensors, namely Gravity, Motion, Light and Proximity sensors.
Popular applications such as Music player, Video Player, FM Radio, Sound Recorder, Gallery, Email, Gmail, Browser, Flipkart, Facebook, Google Maps, Nimbuzz, Googledocs and Youtube come pre-loaded on Intex Aqua Wonder Quadcore.
To sweeten the deal, Intex is giving a free pouch and screen guard along with a purchase of this smartphone.
Commenting on the launch of its quad-core phone, Sanjay Kumar Kalirona, GM - Mobile Business, Intex Technologies (I) Ltd. said, "At Intex, we endeavor to bring innovative mobile solutions to mobile users of today. Reaffirming our commitment to quality and pioneering technologies, the newly launched Aqua Wonder quad core smartphone is a step towards empowering consumers in semi-urban towns and cities with cutting edge technology at an affordable price."
Intex has recently launched Intex AQUA Wonder that runs on Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean) and comes with a price tag of Rs. 9,990. Intex AQUA Wonder comes with a 4.5-inch capacitive touchscreen with a resolution of 540x960. It is powered by dual-core 1GHz processor along with 512MB of RAM. Intex AQUA Wonder packs in 1.93GB of internal storage on-board, which can be expanded by up to 32GB via a microSD card. It also has a 1800mAh battery on-board.
Given that the company has launched a quad-core offering for the same price, it is possible that the price of Intex Aqua Wonder may be trimmed a little bit.

Intex Aqua Wonder Quadcore key specifications

• 4.5-inch capacitive touchscreen IPS display with 540x960 resolution
• 1.2GHz quad-core MediaTek MT6589 processor
• 512 MB RAM
• 4GB internal storage, expandable by up to 32 GB
• 8-megapixel auto focus rear camera with dual LED flash
• 2-megapixel front-facing camera
• Dual-SIM (WCDMA + GSM)
• 3G, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0, GPS
• 1800mAh battery
• Android 4.1.2 (Jelly Bean)

Samsung Galaxy S4 India Launch On 25th April, To Be Priced Under 40k

The GT-I9500 in India will offer eight cores, a 5-inch full HD display, and run Android 4.2.2 out of the box.

Samsung's new flagship, the Galaxy S4 that was unveiled recently seems all set to be launched in India on April 25, in-step with the rest of the world. IBNLive claims their sources told them the smartphone will start retailing from April 27. The Samsung Galaxy S4 (model GT-I9500) would have an MRP of Rs 42,000 but sell lower, at under Rs 40K. The device is currently up for pre-booking on ecommerce sites such as eBay.in and Naaptol.

Samsung's media representatives weren't able to offer any comments, when we contacted them.

Still retaining different processors for the US and rest of the world, the Samsung Galaxy S4 had a launch party at New York on March 14th, on a pretty large scale. Read TechTree's Live coverage of the event (the morning of March 15th, Indian time). We got confirmation with most details living up to expectations and ending months of speculation. The looks of the Galaxy S4 (model GT-I9500) don't depart dramatically from the S3/Note2, and the design still offers a hardware "Home" button. Is this a brazen dare, for Apple to expand its lawsuit?

As expected, the new smartphone does offer eight cores with the Samsung Exynos 5410 "Octa" chipset - four Cortex-A15 cores at 1.6 GHz and four Cortex-A7 cores at 1.2 GHz. India will get this 8-core version and that's what we shall list in the specs below, whereas the US will only see a quad-core variant (Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 with 4 Krait 300 cores and Adreno 320 GPU - same as the LG Optimus G Pro and HTC One).

The higher screen resolution seems to have led Samsung to include a 2600 mAh battery, almost 25% more battery juice than the Galaxy S3. Samsung has taken pains to explain that the S4 is barely lighter than the S3 with a polycarbonate body, but first-looks still seem to convey a "plasticky" build, despite Samsung's claims of "slimmer, lighter and more solid" build quality.

Let's get on to what you're waiting for, the technical specifications:

• 8-core processor (Exynos 5 "Octa" 5410 chipset)
• PowerVR SGX 544MP3 GPU
• 2 GB DDR3 RAM
• 16 GB internal storage (microSD card slot available)
• 13 MP rear camera, 2 MP front camera
• 1920x1080 full-HD display resolution
• 4.99-inch Super AMOLED capacitive touchscreen (~441 ppi density)
• 4G LTE (up to 100 Mbit, FD and TD-LTE supported)
• WiFi dual-band (supports the faster 802.11ac standard, only the second after HTC One to do so)
• 2600 mAh battery
• Android 4.2.2 (Jelly Bean)
• Temperature and Humidity sensor, in addition to existing sensors
• Bluetooth 4.0, IR gestures
• Weighs 130 grams
• Available in Black and White colours, from the end of April.

Samsung hasn't taken away the old features/specs you are familiar with. At their event, Samsung made sure they illustrated how some newer features would be useful in daily life. The list of new (non-hardware) additions includes:

• Air View and Air Gesture
• Smart Scroll and Smart Pause
• Smart Switch, to migrate data from your old phone
• Group Play
• Glove friendly screen
• S Translator, supporting many European and Asian languages (no Indian language support)
• S Voice, improved for driving instructions and communicates a bit more
• S Health, Samsung Knox, Samsung HomeSync, Samsung Hub.

The "Dual Shot" camera mode in this device is quite unique, allowing for recording from both, the rear and front cameras simultaneously - useful for videos, photos and calls (Dual Video Call).


Gee, TouchWiz! So many more toggles on a different page from the Notification bar. (Credit: BGR)

In another dare to Apple (in case they possess a valid patent on the iPad "Smart Cover"), the Samsung Galaxy S4 supports similar functionality with its "S View Cover" accessory to cover the phone's screen, available in multiple colors

Samsung Launches 20 Smart TVs In India

2013 range includes some with quad-core CPUs and touch pad remote controllers.

Samsung has launched 20 new Smart TVs with screen sizes ranging from 32" to 65". The TVs are from the company's Series 6, 7, 8, and the Series 5500 and 4500. Also among the newly launched models are the F8000 and F7500 with screen sizes of 46", 55" and 65", which are the first Smart TVs from Samsung with a quad-core CPU. These TVs also feature Smart Interaction, which basically means motion and voice sensing to be used as input. Of these, the F8000 is Samsung's first TV with Intelligent Viewing, which claims to optimise the image quality depending on the source. The TVs also have been "tropicalized" for Indian electrical conditions with Triple Protector feature to protect against electrical surges, lightning as well as humidity.

In addition to the normal remote control, the new TVs also have a much smaller and more convenient Smart Touch Control remote, which has a touchpad that can understand intuitive gesture inputs to carry out the commands. The TVs feature a redesigned Smart Hub with access to apps, photos, videos, and music. Now, up to 30 apps per page are displayed and users can organise and customise favourites. Series F5100, F4800, and F4100 with two USB ports on the side, come with ConnectShare Transfer, which can be used by users to share content between devices via USB without using a PC. Ranging from 22" to 46" screen sizes across Series 4 and 5, these are priced between Rs 16,000 and Rs 76,500. The F4800 is unique with its front woofer and speakers for a loud audio output of 800 PMPO.

If you thought Plasma TVs were dead, Samsung has kept them in the game by launching five models in the Series 8 with screen sizes of 43", 51", and 64", and priced between Rs 35,500 and Rs 2,10,000. The company also showcased its UN85S9 UHD (UltraHD or 4K or 3840x2160) TV with four times as many pixels as a Full HD TV and an 85" screen. Incidentally, the company had introduced this first in January this year at the CES 2013, and it reigned as the world's largest 4K LED TV for a couple of days before Samsung showcased its UN110S9 TV, which took the title with a 110" screen.



With these new additions, Samsung now has 43 models across its LED, LCD, and Plasma TV range with screen sizes ranging between 22" and 75", prices ranging from Rs 14,500 to Rs 7,50,000. It seems that Samsung is following its successful strategy that it applied to mobile phones and tablets: keep pushing for larger screens and flood the market with mind boggling number of models. Even as the company is already selling the largest number of TVs, let's see if the strategy helps it to further solidify its market share in this product segment.