Samsung Galaxy Alpha With Metal Frame Launched in India

Samsung has launched the Galaxy Alpha smartphone in India. The Samsung Galaxy Alpha, which comes with a metal frame around a plastic body, will be available in India starting first week of October at Rs. 39,990.

The alpha  runs the latest Android 4.4.4 KitKat out-of-the-box. It features a 4.7-inch HD (720×1280 pixels) Super AMOLED display. The handset sports dimensions of 132.4×65.5×6.7mm and weighs 115 grams.

The Galaxy Alpha is powered by an octa-core chipset, with 2GB of RAM and 32GB inbuilt storage, which is non-expandable. The Galaxy Alpha sports a 12-megapixel rear camera and also includes 2.1-megapixel front-facing camera. It packs an 1860mAh battery.

Connectivity options include Micro-USB, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, GPRS/ EDGE, 3G, 4G/ LTE, and NFC. Samsung says the Galaxy Alpha is compatible with 4G/ LTE bands in India. The Galaxy Alpha also comes with fingerprint scanner and heart rate monitor.

Samsung notes that the Galaxy Alpha at launch will be available in India in Charcoal Black, Dazzling White and Frosted Gold colour variants. The Samsung Galaxy Alpha was unveiled in August.

Commenting on the launch, S.K. Kim, Managing Director, Sales, Samsung Electronics, India said, “As the market leader, Samsung has significantly contributed to the market growth by setting new benchmarks in offering the best-in-class technology and products. With the launch of Galaxy Alpha, Samsung is announcing a new design approach to satiate customer demands for an irresistibly stunning and stylish product. This revolutionary product will change the dynamics of the premium smartphone segment in India.”

“The Galaxy Alpha was built and designed based on the specific desires of the consumers,” said, Asim Warsi, Vice President, Mobile & IT, Samsung India. “With an entirely new appearance, the Galaxy Alpha focuses on both beauty and functionality combining a stunning metal frame and slim, light weight design with the same powerful hardware and features users expect from a flagship Galaxy mobile device.”

Sony Xperia Z3 Compact review: This is Sony’s finest hour

Sony has been releasing a flagship smartphone in its Xperia Z series every six months rather than the annual cycle that most other tier one brands follow. Every iteration is a slight improvement on its successor that don’t exactly set the market on fire. While Sony has been focusing on positioning its flagship smartphones at a premium with its OmniBalance design and extensive use of glass and metal, the strategy hasn’t quite worked in the commoditized Android ecosystem where hardware specs win over design and functionality. However, Sony had also launched a “Compact” version of the Xperia Z1, which floored us enough to call it the iPhone of Android smartphones. Today Sony has launched the second variant, which it calls the Xperia Z3 Compact (it being the compact version of the Xperia Z3) with the same philosophy of giving top-of-the-line hardware in a handy form factor. Can the Xperia Z3 Compact have us fall head over heels for it again?

 

Hold the Xperia Z3 Compact and you will know that Sony’s designers have put their heart into designing it. The phone might look as if someone trained the shrink gun from “Honey, I shrunk the kids” on to the Xperia Z3 but there are a lot of subtle tradeoffs that work in its favor. The front and back are covered with Gorilla Glass, which make the phone appear premium but at the same time sturdy enough to withstand sharing the same pocket space with keys and coins. The side trimmings are no longer metallic and have been replaced with soft touch plastic, which makes sense as you can actually wrap your hand around the device and the soft plastic feels much better on the skin than metal.

 

The left edge has those familiar flaps, one for the micro-USB charging port and microSD card slot and another for a nano-SIM card slot. Yes, the Xperia Z3 Compact has a nano-SIM card slot. My gripe with Sony’s SIM card trays continue as the tiny rubber tray is extremely difficult to use. It beats me why Sony won’t spend time redesigning it when it is improving every other aspect of the phone. The right edge has the power button slightly above the centre, followed by a slightly tiny volume rocker buttons and the dedicated camera button at the bottom. Ideally the volume buttons should have been above the power button as it is more intuitive to use. In the present configuration, the buttons feel cramped and counter intuitive to muscle memory.

 

That said, Sony’s designers have managed to cram in a bigger display and more features in the same footprint as the Xperia Z1 Compact, which was launched earlier this year. In fact, the Xperia Z3 Compact is thinner than its predecessors and that says a lot. The Z3 Compact has a 4.6-inch display against the 4.3-inch display on the Xperia Z1 Compact and it now has much narrower bezels. Like always, the phone is water and dust resistance and this time it is IP68 certified and can be submerged in water up to one meter for up to 30 minutes.

Coming to specifications, the Xperia Z3 Compact is almost the same as the Xperia Z3 barring the display, of course. We are talking about a Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 2.5GHz quad-core processor with Adreno 330 GPU, 2GB of RAM, 16GB of internal storage along with a microSD card slot that can accommodate cards up to 128GB. There is a 20.7-megapixel camera on the rear that can now also record 4K videos at 30fps and a 2.2-megapixel front-facing camera.

The Xperia Z3 Compact has a 4.6-inch 720p display, which many might find low resolution. However, I found no major qualms with the display resolution. Sony has finally managed to come with a good display in terms of viewing angles, brightness and visibility under sunlight.

 

One of everyone’s constant complains with Sony’s Xperia Z smartphones was the camera performance. Sony was the first Android smartphone maker that not only offered a high resolution camera but also manual controls. However, it never got it right and clicking great shots was always a hit and miss affair. Sony has fixed it with the Xperia Z3 Compact to a great extent.

You no longer have to resort to manual mode to get good shots. The superior auto mode also detects scenes accurately and the post processing is a vast improvement from earlier. By default, in superior auto mode you get photos in 8-megapixel resolution and you can get full 20.7-megapixel photos in manual mode where you can also adjust the exposure value. Apart from the minimal controls, the full resolution photos are good for clicking first, zooming later scenarios. Finally, Sony has a decent camera worthy of being on a flagship smartphone.

 

In terms of performance, the Xperia Z3 Compact is probably one of the few smartphones that truly surprise. The 2,300mAh battery easily lasts for close to two days with moderate usage of an hour of calls, two hours of Internet browsing and two email accounts. Double the voice calling and Internet browsing duration and still the Xperia Z3 Compact easily saw me through 24 hours without seeking a charger.

While the Sony Xperia Z3 Compact is almost perfect, it won’t be the only compact high-end Android smartphone in the market for long. On September 27 Samsung is expected to launch the Galaxy Alpha in India. Given Samsung’s brand value and its marketing might, the Galaxy Alpha would be the Xperia Z3 Compact’s biggest hurdle.

more info @ http://www.sonymobile.com/global-en/products/phones/xperia-z3-compact/

BlackBerry launches Passport smartphone

BlackBerry launched an unconventional new smartphone dubbed the Passport on Wednesday as it embarked on what may be the most critical phase of its long turnaround push.

At simultaneous events in Toronto, London and Dubai, BlackBerry showed off the device, which is the size and shape of a closed passport, with a large square touchscreen as well as a keyboard.

The Passport comes to market as the phones of BlackBerry’s rivals converge on a single profile, with tall, rectangular screens and smooth corners. Users can type on the Passport’s keyboard to enter text, or swipe lightly across it to navigate through the phone.

BlackBerry recently concluded a three-year restructuring process, and it is now up to chief executive John Chen to prove that the company’s new devices and services are capable of generating sustainable new streams of revenue and returning it to profit.

“BlackBerry is still fighting for survival. They still need to turn around and develop a viable ongoing business model,” said Brian Colello, analyst at US investment firm Morningstar.

“Their products are certainly pointing toward that and the new strategy makes sense, but there is still a lot of execution risk at this point in a very competitive market.”

At the Toronto event Chen brought out retired National Hockey League star Wayne Gretzky to talk up the Passport’s features. The device has a suggested introductory retail price of $599 (£367) in the United States.

BlackBerry said the new smartphone should be available in more than 30 countries by the end of the year. It will be carried by AT&T in the United States.

Passport users will be able to download apps from Amazon’s app store, previously only available for Android-based phones. BlackBerry announced the deal that cleared the way for its customers to access Amazon’s store in June.

The launch kicks off a busy period for Ontario-based BlackBerry. The company is set to report its second-quarter results on Friday and within a couple of months it is also expected to launch the long-awaited BlackBerry Classic, which bears similarities to its once wildly popular Bold smartphone.

“BlackBerry just needs one hit phone for now,” Colello said. “It doesn’t quite matter whether it is the Passport, the Classic or anything else, but they do need one device to jump-start the hardware business again.”

The company hopes the Classic and the launch of its new mobile device management system – BlackBerry Enterprise Service 12 (BES12) – will help it claw back ground ceded to rivals in both the hardware and services market.

The BES 12 platform will allow IT managers at large companies and government agencies to not only manage and secure BlackBerry devices, but also manage Windows-based devices, and more easily administer Android and iOS devices.

Chen, a well-regarded turnaround expert in the tech sector, wants BlackBerry to remain a competitor in the smartphone arena, but he is focused on reshaping the company to build on its core strengths in areas such as mobile data security and mobile device management.

BlackBerry is betting that the enhanced security features on its BES 12 platform, coupled with a range of value-added services, will help revive revenue growth and stem its slide

MORE INFO global.blackberry.com/en/smartphones.html 

iPhone 6, 6 Plus launch weekend sales hit 10 million, break record!

NEW DELHI: Apple has announced it has sold over 10 million new iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus models, just three days after the launch on September 19.

Last year, Apple had sold 9 million iPhone 5S and 5C phones during the launch weekend. In 2012, the Cupertino giant had sold 5 million iPhone 5 units in the first three days of launch but the figures also included China. It is worth pointing out that this year’s sales numbers do not include China as the phones are still not available in the region.

Just like last year, Apple has not disclosed individual sales figures for the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus.

Apple had also announced that pre-orders for iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus smartphones touched 4 million within 24 hours.

“Sales for iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus exceeded our expectations for the launch weekend, and we couldn’t be happier,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO. “We would like to thank all of our customers for making this our best launch ever, shattering all previous sell-through records by a large margin. While our team managed the manufacturing ramp better than ever before, we could have sold many more iPhones with greater supply and we are working hard to fill orders as quickly as possible.”

iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus are available in the US, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, Puerto Rico, Singapore and the UK.

The two new iPhones will hit retail stores in Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Ireland, Isle of Man, Italy, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Turkey and United Arab Emirates on September 26.

E-Zone to Open E-Commerce Website by Month-End!

Future Retail has said it will be introducing an online platform ‘omnichannel’ for its electronics store E-Zone in a fortnight to cash in on the festive season.

“We will introduce omnichannel to E-Zone by this month-end through which we sell electronic products like cellphones and television sets as people mostly buy these items during the festive season for gifting purpose,” Future Retail Joint Managing Director Rakesh Biyani told PTI in Mumbai.

Omnichannel involves selling products through multiple platforms like mobiles, online and brick and mortar stores.

Biyani said the company earlier this month tied up with German enterprise resource planning company SAP to facilitate the launch.

“Keeping the forthcoming festive season in mind, we have created a huge space for our customers through omnichannel.”

Meanwhile, flush with funds, the e-tailing segment is gearing up in a big way for the festive season by launching aggressive offers and discounts for customers. Snapdealkicked off its festive season’s bumper sales.

“We are starting off our bumper sales from today. We will bring great products, great offers to our customers during this festive season,” Snapdeal founder Kunal Bahl said.

One-and-a-half years old e-grocery firm, Localbanya, plans to diversify its range of products.

“We are planning to increase the number of products to 20,000 over the next six months from the current 14,000. We do believe that the festive season increases the need for staple products,” Localbanya co-founder Amit Bhartiya said.

Sony Unveils Google Glass Alternative; Asks Developers to Make Apps

Sony has already announced its interest in virtual reality, with its Project Morpheus VR headset, and now, the company is getting into the augmented reality game, with its prototype SmartEyeglass. Similar to the Google Glass eyewear, Sony is working on a smartphone-powered solution that superimposes information such as text, symbols, and images, onto the user’s field of view.

First showcasing the SmartEyeglass as a prototype at IFA, the company on Friday released the SDK developer preview for app makers to create content for the new platform when it releases sometime next year. Sony says it plans to offer SmartEyeglass for sale to developers by the end of FY2014, “with the intention of further promoting the development of applications and accelerating the commercialization of the product for consumer use.”

Sony announced the SmartEyeglass eyewear’s SDK Developer Preview for app developers via a blog post on Friday, saying, “The software development kit will enable developers to build apps for the SmartEyeglass platform, ensuring the foundations are set for a varied, exciting ecosystem of experiences to support the product at launch,” added the Japanese firm.

SmartEyeglass Project Head, Hiroshi Mukawa, added, “releasing the SDK early means that both our industry’s most established and up-and-coming developers will help shape what SmartEyeglass is capable of. ”

Showcased in IFA Berlin earlier this month, the Sony SmartEyeglass is transparent lens eyewear that connects with the users’ Android devices and uses the appsavailable to deliver the desired results in front of the users’ eyes.

Teen makes device to turn breath into words, enters Google science fair!

GURGAON: Arsh Shah Dilbagi, a 16-year-old from Panipat, has entered the Google’s Global Science Fair as the only finalist from Asia this year for developing a device that helps people with developmental disabilities, like Locked-In Syndrome and ALS, communicate, using only their breath.

The device, called ‘TALK’, uses signals from a person’s breath via Morse code, picked up by a sensor, and then converts them into speech. Dilbagi, a student of DAV International School, Panipat, says the device even allows almost entirely speech impaired and paralyzed people to communicate like never before.

Claiming to have built the world’s fastest and cheapest Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) device, a kind used by physicist Stephen Hawking, Dilbagi says it is not possible for all those who have motor-neuro disabilities to afford an AAC device that costs $7,000 (Rs 4.26 lakh).

“AAC devices available in the MARKET are very expensive, slow, bulky and not generic. I decided to find a better solution — an AAC device which is faster, portable and generic and costs only $80 (Rs 5000), making it affordable to the large population,” he explains.

The young innovator says that TALK expects a person to be able to give two distinguishable exhales with varying intensities, for converting them into electrical signals using a microphone. The signals are processed by a microprocessor, called the ‘Morse engine’, which labels the short exhales as ‘dots’ and longer exhales as ‘dashes’. These are further interpreted through the Morse code which converts the signals into words and then sends them to another microprocessor for synthesizing them into voice. According to Dilbagi, TALK features two modes – one to communicate in English, and the other to give specific commands and phrases. These are communicated in nine different voices enabled according to gender and age.

Making two major breakthroughs; increasing the speaking rate, and becoming the world’s most affordable AAC device, TALK has landed the young prodigy as the only finalist from Asia in Google’s Science Fair Challenge.

“I even got predicted results by testing the device on a person suffering from encephalopathy (global brain dysfunction) and Parkinson’s disease,” he has claimed in his proposal to Google.

He adds, “In future, I would like to add auto-predictions to my computing engine and integrate TALK with modern technology like Google Glass to make it easier for people with development disabilities.”

Dilbagi’s father, Amit, said, that since childhood his son had dreamt of doing something meaningful for mankind.

“His attention has always been towards applied science projects. I will request Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union health minister Harshvardhan to consider this project for the countless people in need for such a device in our country,” he told TOI.

Micromax launches Canvas Nitro for Rs 12,990

NEW DELHI: Indian smartphone manufacturer Micromax has been on a roll lately by launching new devices across price ranges. However, they were unable to match up to the competition from Moto G and Xiaomi Mi 3 in the sub-Rs 15,000 price segment. Now, to get a foothold in this segment, Micromax has launched their new smartphone, Canvas Nitro for Rs 12,990.

Micromax Canvas Nitro has a 5-inch IPS display with a resolution of 1280 x 720 pixels and runs the latest Android 4.4. It is powere ..

LIVE analysis: iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 plus launched by Apple

The specifications of the iPhone 6, to be launched today, have reportedly been leaked. The specification sheet reportedly leaked from Apple’s supply chain from product packaging confirms rumours that the 4.7 inch iPhone 6 will get 1,810m Ah battery while the 5.5 inch model will come with 2GB RAM. The leaked specification sheet says that the new iPhones will be available in three colours: white, gold and space gray. It is also says that the sapphire glass screen of the phone will not just be scratch resistant but also waterproof and shatterproof.

\Apple is expected to release the new iPhone at a mystery event set to take place at 10:30PM IST on Tuesday and will be live streamed on Apple’s website. As per Apple tradition, the event is shrouded in secrecy and speculations are rife on what to expect. Rumours include the possible unveiling of  the iWatch and the next generation model of the iPad Air. Apple may also release its latest operating system, the iOS 8, on its new phone. 

Japanese website Macotakara says the two models that Apple will launch today are a 4.7 inch  iPhone 6 and a 5.5 inch iPhone 6 Plus. Last year, the website’s prediction of the models iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C had been accurate. 

Tech website BGR has rounded up of the speculations and rumours regarding the iPhone 6. Among the features expected is an upgraded processor, the A8 quad-core. Currently, the iPhone 5S has 1.3 GHz A7 dual-core processor. BGR reports that the iPhone 6’s A8 processor may also be accompanied by an M8 coprocessor codenamed ‘Phosphorus’.

Apple invites fashion journalists to ‘iPhone 6 launch event Tomorrow

Apple Inc has invited top fashion editors and bloggers in unprecedented numbers to its Tuesday launch gala, further evidence that the iPhone maker is preparing to take the wraps off a smartwatch.

Apple is forging closer ties to the fashion world as it plots its foray into the fertile field of wearable technology, trying to win over a critical crowd that may prove crucial to the success of consumer gadgets worn around the body.

A smartwatch would represent chief executive officer Tim Cook’s first real new product since taking the baton from Steve Jobs. Several fashion media editors told Reuters they received invitations for the first time to an annual September product-launch, which they took as confirmation of a wristwatch in the wings.

“I assume it’s because they are unveiling a wearable,” said Lea Goldman, features and special projects director for Marie Claire magazine, a first-time invitee. “This suggests Apple is serious about tapping into the fashion world, which often sits on the sidelines.”