Samsung ATIV Odyssey Windows Phone 8 device coming soon

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer just revealed that the Samsung ATIV Odyssey Windows Phone 8 smartphone will be coming to Verizon Wireless this December. The Odyssey is Samsung's first ATIV smartphone in the US and joins the HTC Windows Phone 8X and Nokia Lumia 822 in Verizon's Windows Phone 8 lineup. However, Microsoft did not provide and details regarding Odyssey's specs or pricing.

Courtesy: The Verge

Google announces new Nexus tablets and smartphone

Google announced lots of new hardware today via blog post, after an event in New York was canceled in anticipation of Hurricane Sandy. The major announcements are:

Google Nexus 4: Nexus 4 is Google's latest smartphone, developed together with LG. It has a quad-core processor which means it's super fast, a crisp 4.7" (320 ppi) display that's perfect for looking at photos and watching YouTube, and with wireless charging you just set the phone down on a charging surface to power it up, no wires needed.

• Google Nexus 4 smartphone: Developed with LG, it features a quad-core processor, a 4.2-inch display, 8 MP Photo Sphere camera and a wireless charging feature that lets you power the phone by setting it down on a charging service. It runs Android 4.2 (Jelly Bean) and a feature called Photo Sphere for creating 360-degree panoramas. The phone goes on sale Nov. 13 for $299.

• Google Nexus 7: Nexus 7 now comes in new Wi-Fi models that are 16GB (for $199) and 32GB (for $249). Google also is making a version available with an HSPA+ cellular connection -- $32GB for $299. It's on sale Nov. 13.

• Google Nexus 10: developed with Samsung, offers what Google calls the highest-resolution screen in the tablet marketplace at 300 pixels per square inch. That 2560 by 1600 pixel display will still get nine hours of video playback, Google says. And it has an account-switching feature that lets multiple users share the tablet more easily. The 16GB model goes for for $399; the 32GB model costs for $499. It's available from Nov. 14.

Google also announced updates for Google Now and Google Play

• Google Play: More entertainment, more countries. A ton of great new entertainment items are added to Google Play, such as movies and TV shows from Twentieth Century Fox. Earlier this year the service was expanded service beyond movie rentals and now you can purchase movies and build a library of your favorites in Google Play. Movie purchasing is available in more countries - Canada, the U.K., France, Spain and Australia.

• Google Now: Its predictive-search feature that presents information on a series of cards without the user having to search. In addition to weather and traffic information, cards will now display flight information, restaurant reservations, hotel confirmations and shipping details. 

Courtesy: CNET

HTC OneX JellyBean Update in October for Asia and Europe

HTC announced that Android 4.1 would roll out for its One X and One S handsets in October, and it looks like the company has hit one of its targets.

Android Central reports that the Jelly Bean update has already started rolling out for customers with the HTC One X in Asia and Europe. The Android update will also include HTC's Sense 4+ skin, two new Gallery app views, a refreshed HTC Watch app, and Google Now. There's no word on when the update will hit in the US.

Courtesy: The Verge

IE and Firefox Cake giving tradition

Internet Explorer is no longer the best web browser, its dominated by Firefox and chrome. But it does not stop the Redmond company to stop the its team from continuing its cake-giving tradition with the makers of Firefox.

According to Mozilla employee Matt Brubeck, the IE team began it all when it sent over a cake to congratulate the company on the launch of Firefox 2 in 2006. Since then, the Internet Explorer crew has continued to send over cakes for each new version, though they smartly switched over to less-costly cupcakes when Mozilla began its accelerated 6-week upgrade cycles. 

To return the favor, Matt hand delivered a massive cake to celebrate the launch of Internet Explorer 10 this week to the Microsoft team's headquarters in Redmond, and signed it "Love  Mozilla." Competition  is only in the field of business, not in kindness.

Courtesy: The Verge

Due to Hurricane Google Android event canceled

Google has cancelled a major Android event planned for Monday in New York City due to Hurricane Sandy.

The event was rumored to revolve around the launch of Android 4.2 “Key Lime Pie” and a 10-inch “Nexus 10″ tablet running on the brand-new OS. However, it’ll be at least a little longer before we see that Android update and tablet.

Google sent an email to the the people who have booked their tickets:

“We are canceling our Monday morning event in New York due to Hurricane Sandy. We will let you know our plans as soon as we know more."

It's the second time Google has postponed a launch event in recent memory — last year it moved its Ice Cream Sandwich event after the death of Steve Jobs.

However, it won't make a loss because Microsoft is going to launch Windows Phone 8 on Monday, 29 Oct 12. 

Get your Google back [video]

Got Windows 8? Find yourself missing your Google functionality with all that Bing on board?

Although Windows 8 ships with Internet Explorer and Bing installed in, Google is taking measures to keep users loyal to Chrome and Search, releasing a new instructional video to explain how to install the apps on Microsoft's new OS. 

Titled "Get Your Google Back," the video directs users to go to GetYourGoogleBack.com, which quickly accesses the download pages for Search and Google's browser.

Courtesy: The Verge, Mashable

Watch the video below:

Microsoft Surface RT Pictures

Windows 8 represents another radical shift for Microsoft, as the company bets on tablet computers and other touchscreen devices as the future of personal computing.

The new "Metro" interface offers a tile-based Start screen similar to that of the Windows Phone OS.

Here are some pictures of the newly released Microsoft Surface RT.

[Click on the images to get full view]

Windows 8 finally launched

Microsoft officially announced Windows 8 Thursday at a massive event in New York City.

Windows 8 will be available in 140 markets and in 37 languages on Friday. Users can start downloading Windows 8 at 12:01 a.m. and copies will be available in stores at midnight local time at retailers around the globe.

Existing Windows owners can upgrade to Windows 8 for $39.99.In addition to Windows 8 and Windows 8 Pro, Microsoft is also announcing Windows RT. Windows RT will come preloaded on ARM devices such as the Microsoft Surface tablet.

At the launch event, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer said that Windows 8 is ushering in a “new era for Microsoft.” Windows 8 is the first product of this new era. With the release of this version of Windows and Surface Tablet, it seems that Microsoft is tightening its grip to hold the crown for being the best. 

Windows 8 ads

Apple has refreshed its Mac lineup and introduced a new iPad mini, but that's not stopping Microsoft from promoting Windows 8. Redmond based company has released four new ads that will be shown globally.
Microsoft has put its all effort to promote Windows 8.  


Advertising agency Crispin, Porter and Bogusky created the ads for Microsoft, with certain features localized in particular regions.

"We didn’t get too literal," says Rob Reilly of Crispin, Porter and Bogusky. "It’s not about landing features and scenarios." The latest round of ads follow on from Microsoft's initial Windows 8 ad that started airing in the US earlier this month.

Dropbox updates ios app for iPhone 5

Dropbox has released version 1.5.6 of its iOS app. It's now adapted for the iPhone 5's taller screen, and users are also finally able to download photos to their devices in full resolution. Previously the app downscaled photos when saving to the camera roll, so for example a 14-megapixel 4592 x 3056 image became just 960 x 638 when viewed on the iOS device. This was particularly aggravating when using the app on a Retina display, and made Dropbox less useful as a photo storage tool than it otherwise might have been — though it was possible to get around the limitation by saving images from Safari.

It's good to see the issue addressed, then, but the feature isn't without its problems. Downloads also take considerably longer than before even with this reduction in filesize, leaving us waiting a few minutes to save a single photo. All in all the update will please some people, but others might be frustrated if they prioritize speed over detail.

iPad mini event will be streamed live to Apple TVs

Apple will stream a live video feed from today's iPad mini keynote directly to Apple TVs. Users with an Apple TV should see a new "Apple events" icon on their homescreen.

Clicking on the icon will take you to a page inviting you to tune in at 10 AM Pacific time to watch the event live. First noticed by MacRumors, the decision marks a u-turn for Apple, which hasn't broadcast live video from an event since 2010.

There are a lot of sites which are offering Liveblogs for this event. Some of them are:

1. Engadget 
2. The Verge
3. Techno Buffalo
4. CNET

Cheapest Lumia: Nokia Lumia 510

Nokia has launched its latest Lumia smartphone today in India, Lumia 510. The device brings a 4-inch, 480×800 pixel screen, an 800MHz Qualcomm processor, a 5-megapixel camera, 256 MB of RAM and 4 GB of storage memory.

It’s powered by Windows Phone 7.5 or Mango with a WP 7.8 update promised for the future. Yes, besides the screen size, this particular Lumia does not have thrilling specifications, but Nokia promises it will be its most affordable Lumia yet.

Nokia says the device will be priced below 11,000 Rs ($205) and will be available to buy starting in November in India, China, South America, and Asia.

Specs

• 800 MHz processor
• 4" 480 x 800 screen
• 256 MB RAM
• 4 GB internal memory
• 5 MPx camera
• Windows Phone 7.5 (update WP 7.8)
• Rs. 11,000 ($205)

Acer Iconia Tab A110

The Nexus 7 demonstrated that consumers have an appetite for powerful yet affordable 7-inch tablets, and now Acer is making its own play in the same space. The Acer Iconia Tab A110 features a 7-inch 1024 x 600 display, an Nvidia Tegra 3 quad-core processor clocked at 1.2 GHz, 1 GB of RAM, and 8 GB of internal storage, all running on Android 4.1 Jelly Bean. The screen may fall short of the Nexus 7, but Acer has seen fit to include a microSD card slot for up to 32 GB of additional storage. 

The usual radios are onboard too, including Wi-Fi b/g/n and Bluetooth 3.0, with ports including Micro USB and Micro HDMI. A 2-megapixel front-facing camera, meanwhile, handles video-calling duties. Acer says battery life on the tablet should be good for up to seven and a half hours.

The company says that the A110 will begin shipping on October 30th in the United States and Canada, with the price set at $229.99. Acer hasn’t quite managed to match the Nexus 7 on either price or specs, and paired with Google’s admission that its own tablet is sold through at cost, it raises questions as to how viable Nvidia’s Kai program really is for manufacturers.

Specs

• 7" 1024 x 600 screen
• Nvidia Tegra 3 processor
• Android 4.1 JellyBean
• 1.2 Ghz processor
• 1 GB RAM
• 8 GB internal memory
• Micro SD Card: Upto 32 GB

Courtesy: The Verge

Gallery

Next Android event will be on 29 Oct

Google has an Android event planned for Oct. 29. Invites have begun to flood in-boxes around the Web, with a tagline that says, “The playground is open.” It might be the Android 4.2.

An invitation from Google just landed in media in-boxes for an event at 10 AM in New York City, and while the invite is light on specifics aside from a tagline reading "the playground is open," the design is unmistakably a reference to the company's Google Now interface. 

Over the past few weeks rumors are being seen building for an LG Nexus phone running stock Android and based on the company's Optimus G hardware, but leaked images purporting to be of a Sony Nexus device lend credence to months-old talk of an expanded, multi-manufacturer Nexus program.

Courtesy: The Verge

AOL Launches Alto webmail client

AOL today announced Alto, a web-based IMAP email client that lets you manage multiple email accounts on one website. "We found that nobody wants another email address," Senior Director of Product for AOL Mail and Alto Joshua Ramirez told The Verge. "People have multiple email addresses, and they want to get it in one spot, so we went back to the drawing board and came up with something we think is game-changing." The web app is available today by invite only, and will launch to the general public in the first quarter of 2013.

Instead of singing up for a brand-new email address, users log into the service with an existing Gmail, Yahoo Mail, AOL or iCloud account and can use Alto to organize, send and receive messages. In addition to the traditional list view of received emails, Alto takes a cue from analog letters and automatically sorts mail into stacks depending on whether they contain attachments, photos, daily deals, notifications from social networks and bulletins from retailers. Users can customize and hide existing piles or even create new stacks based on key words, recipients, senders and other parameters.


Have more than one email account that needs its contents wrangled into order? No problem. Alto can handle up to five accounts per user. 

Courtesy: The Verge, Engadget

Apple loses UK Galaxy Tab design appeal

It seems that Samsung has got some relief in case of Suit for Galaxy Tab by Apple. 

Apple has lost its appeal in the UK regarding the High Court of Justice’s ruling that Samsung’s tablets did not infringe the iPad. The smartphone maker has now been ordered by Judge Kitchin to run a public apology stating that Samsung did not infringe its design. In an amusing twist, Reuters reports that the font size for the acknowledgement must be "no smaller than Arial 14."

Judge Colin Birss noted in July that Samsung’s tablets "were not as cool," stating that the designs didn't have "the same understated and extreme simplicity." The judge in the case also ruled that Apple would have to run advertisements on its website and in UK newspapers declaring that Samsung did not copy its designs. That motion was stayed, however, following today’s appeal.

Courtesy: The Verge

Nokia temporarily shuts down Symbian OS

If you owned a Nokia smartphone before the Finnish firm adopted Microsoft’s Windows Phone platform, chances are it was running Symbian. It was once a hugely popular platform, but the likes of Android and iOS — and indeed Windows Phone in recent years — have quickly eaten away at its market share.

It’s no surprise, then, to hear that Nokia is finally pulling the plug on the operating system and sending it into “maintenance mode.” Its latest update, Belle Feature Pack 2, will be the last, and no new features will be added by Nokia. The company confirmed its move in an email to a Symbian developer who reported a bug with the Nokia Drive app.

Is it the end of Symbian, or the Finnish mobile giant has some new plans to relaunch Symbian in a new Avatar, and new power too. Share your views in comments.

Courtesy: Techno Buffalo

Microsoft Surface Advertisement

Microsoft debuted the first television ad for its Surface tablet on Monday, ahead of the company’s Oct. 26 launch. Entitled “The Surface Movement,” it focuses on the device’s magnetic, easily attachable keyboard as well as its kickstand, which makes a clicking sound. 

The US Microsoft Store seems to have sold out of its first shipment of the $499 model, or else there's been some sort of delay. It now lists the cheapest $499 model (without Touch Cover) as shipping within three weeks. Originally, it would ship by October 26th.

Surface will have two versions of Windows 8: Windows 8 RT and Windows 8 Pro. It is considered to be a good competitor to the Apple's iPad and Galaxy Tab series.

Surface website: http://www.microsoft.com/surface

Courtesy: Mashable

Read: Microsoft Surface- A new dimension

HTC J Butterfly launched

HTC has launched a new flagship Android smartphone with a 5-inch, 1080p display, called the HTC J Butterfly.

Unveiled by KDDI as the HTC J Butterfly (HTL21), this Android 4.1 device is the first announced phone to feature a 5-inch, 440ppi full-HD"Super LCD 3" panel, and it's fittingly complemented by a 1.5GHz quad-core APQ8064 underneath, making this the latest member in the small family of Snapdragon S4 Pro phones. 

The screen is indeed the star here: A 5-inch behemoth with a full HD, 1080p, 440ppi resolution, making it one of the most advanced smartphone screens out there. For comparison, the iPhone 5′s retina screen has a 640 × 1,136 resolution at 326 ppi.

The device is only 9.1mm thick, but it still has a solid 2,020mAh battery inside.

Courtesy: Mashable, Engadget

100th post: iPhone 5 v/s Galaxy SIII

And this is our 100th post. So we thought to post something that most of you are willing to see. 

Deathmatch: Apple iPhone 5 v/s Samsung Galaxy SIII

Galaxy SIII

iPhone 5

The article is taken straight away from Techno Buffalo as they compared this video test. Enjoy the comparison between best of both worlds: iOS and Android.

Courtesy: Techno Buffalo

XBOX Music is now official

Microsoft's new music initiative begins in earnest starting Tuesday, October 16th alongside the new Xbox 360 Dashboard update. The Xbox Music service — named as such to emphasize the Xbox's branding as an entertainment brand that goes beyond just gaming is launched today with Xbox 360 and come pre-installed on all Windows 8 (starting October 26th) and Windows Phone 8 devices.

Xbox Music was first announced at an event in June of this year. The service will let users stream more than 30 million tracks worldwide across Microsoft’s ecosystem of Windows 8 mobile devices and PCs, as well as the Xbox. Think of it as Microsoft’s in-house version of Spotify.


The Xbox Music Pass grants Xbox 360 users access to almost 70,000 music videos, more than Vevo, according to Xbox Music General Manager Jerry Johnson.

For Microsoft, Xbox Music represents a kind of do-over in the music market. The service will replace the Zune Marketplace, Microsoft’s online store for music and other entertainment offerings.

Courtesy: Mashable, The Verge

Sony's rumored Nexus X

Does it look like the upcoming Nexus phone? Photos of a smartphone, purported to be Sony’s contribution to Google’s Nexus line of devices, emerged online Sunday.

Picasa user Mutul Yeter posted two photos of the phone, called the “Sony Nexus X” to his or her only album. One photo shows the front of the rectangular phone, which features three hardware buttons, including Back and Home. Another shows its back side, which has the Google and Sony logos inscribed on the surface. The device also appears to have both front- and back-facing cameras.

Courtesy: Mashable

Galaxy SIII mini unveiled

We knew it was coming, but Samsung has officially announced the Samsung Galaxy S3′s little brother…the Galaxy S3 Mini. The device is built in a similar style to that of its big brother, but aimed at those looking for a mid-end smartphone, with a mid-end budget.

Samsung hasn't yet provided details about availability or pricing. 

“The Galaxy S3 introduced a new concept of smartphone that has proven hugely popular around the world,” says JK Shin, President and Head of IT & Mobile Communications Division at Samsung Electronics. “We’re now delighted to bring its revolutionary design, intuitive usability and intelligence to the Galaxy S3 Mni in a more compact form. We continue to make every effort to provide extraordinary mobile experiences to meet a wide variety of user needs.”

Specs

• Android 4.1 JellyBean
• Dual core 1GHz processor
• 5mp camera
• Memory: 8/16 GB (internal), upto 32 GB (micro SD)
• RAM: 1GB
• 4.0" screen (223 pixels per inch)
• Dimensions: 121.6 x 63 x 9.9 mm 

The Galaxy SIII mini is ready to deal a serious blow to the competition in the midrange, by offering a more compact (and cheaper!) way to get the premium smartphone experience. An ambitious goal it is, but Samsung isn't afraid of a challenge.

Courtesy: The Next Web, GSMArena

[Click on images to get full view]