Month Recap: Gadgets Launched In February

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Before we start looking at the next month’s big tech events, let’s take a look at this month’s big and popular tech news. It was certainly a big month for us tech geeks as we saw some great gadgets like Galaxy Note 8, Asus FonePad, HTC One and PlayStation 4.

PS4 Unveiled

ps4 leaked image

Sony officially unveiled the PlayStation 4 this month at its NYC event after months of rumors. The company announced the hardware specs of the next generation PlayStation and also showed the DualShock Controller 4 with some amazing features. The new PS4 comes with an 8-core 64-bit x86 AMD CPU, 8GB GDDR5 RAM, enhanced Radeon GPU and 6x Blu-ray drive.

We don’t have any specific release date yet but you can expect to get the PS4 in the Holidays 2013.

Galaxy Note 8

galaxy note 8

Samsung has unveiled the Galaxy Note 8 at the 2013 Mobile World Congress after lots of rumors and leaked pictures. It’s a tablet version of the company’s successful Note and Note II and is ready to compete with iPad Mini with its 8-inch display. The company didn’t reveal the tablet’s specs yet but it features 8-inch 1280×800 screen, 2GB RAM, 5MP rear camera and 1.3MP front camera. Another notable feature of this device is its S-Pen like other Note devices.

The company is yet to announce its availability and pricing details but you can expect to see an initial Q2 release in Asia and Europe only.

iPhone 5 leaked

leaked iPhone 5S image

A Chinese website has posted some leaked photos of the rumored iPhone 5S recently and they believe it’s a pre-production version of the next iPhone. Apple failed to protect it’s secret last time before the announcement of iPhone 5 so there is a fifty-fifty chance that these rumors are true. According to the rumors, we can expect to see the same taller screen, an improved camera with powerful LED flash, fingerprint sensor, full-HD display and color options like the latest iPod Touch.

Apple refused to comment on these rumors as usual so we have to wait for an official announcement to confirm these rumors.

Asus FonePad

Assus Fonepad ImageAsus announced FonePad, a Nexus 7 like tablet with 3G mobile data and voice-calling feature at the Mobile World Congress this month. The new device looks like a combo of Asus’ docking PadFone mobile and the popular Nexus 7.

The FonePad features 7-inch IPS screen with 1280×800 display, Android 4.1 OS, Intel Atom Z2420 processor, 1GB of RAM, optional 8GB or 16GB internal memory, 3-megapixel rear camera, 1.2 megapixel front camera, voice calling feature and full 3G telephony support. The company is planning to release the FonePad between April and June in the U.K. and in Asia at the end of the June for $249.

HTC One

HTC One

HTC recently unveiled the HTC One at an event earlier this month and called the new flagship smartphone a “game-changer” because of its “innovative features”. The company usually releases several phones using the same name but they decided to drop X or S from this device. The Taipei City-based company also decided to make this device their sole flagship smartphone for this year.

The HTC One features a 4.7-inch full 1080p HD Display with 468ppi, 1.7GHz quad-core Qualcomm processor, 2GB of RAM, Android 4.1 Jelly Bean OS and a 2,300mAh battery. The flagship device will be available on Sprint, T-Mobile and AT&T in the US next month and is now available for pre-order.

Chromebook Pixel

chromebook pixel price

Google unveiled its premium notebook, at a San Francisco press event this month. The Chromebook features a 12.85’’ inch screen with 2560×1700 resolution and it’s also a touchscreen which is introduced in a Chromebook for the first time.

The Chromebook also features a 1.8GHz Dual –core Intel i5 processor, integrated HD 4000 graphics, 4GB of RAM and Chrome OS. But it’s not these features that attracted tech geeks, it’s the price, $1299 for the 32GB of flash storage and Wi-Fi version and $1449 for Wi-Fi, LTE broadband and 64GB of storage. It’s too much for a Chrome OS based device which is only good for using web-based apps and internet browsing.

ZTE Grand Memo

zte grand memo specs

ZTE has announced the Grand Memo, a phablet with 5.7-inch screen at its MWC 2013 event this month. The flagship device features a big 5.7-inch screen with 720p resolution, 13-megapixel camera, 1.5GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 processor, customized Android 4.1.2 and 3200mAh battery.

Looks like ZTE is trying to push the boundaries of phablet and is trying to grab some attention in the phablet arena. The smartphone will be launched in China soon and then in Europe.

The Biggest Tech News Stories of 2012

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Tech Events 2012

Like last year, the stories that captured the attention of all the major tech news websites this year were mostly about Apple and Google. After following hundreds of stories, we are presenting here ten biggest news stories of 2012 for us tech geeks.

Angry Birds Space NASA announcement (8 March)

Rovio unveiled a new version of Angry Birds called “Angry Birds Space” this year in the most unique way possible. The company enlisted National Geographic and NASA as their launch partners for Angry Birds Space and released a video where we saw the first ever game announcement and gameplay footage from space.

Samsung Galaxy S3 (May 3)

If you are into smartphones or technology in general, then you might already know that this year was all about Samsung smartphones. The Samsung Galaxy S3 has been a blockbuster hit since its launch back in May and broke sales record by reaching 20 million in just 100 days. The company also released Galaxy Note 2 and Ativ S this year but when it comes to the “biggest news stories” of this year, the Galaxy S3 takes the cake. The Samsung Galaxy Note 2 has sold more than 5 million units worldwide.

LinkedIn Hacked (July 3)

2012 is considered as a bad year for online security breaches as we saw some high-profile security breaches in big companies like LinkedIn, Yahoo and Last.FM. The security breach at LinkedIn resulted in 6.46 million user passwords leaked and the security breach at Yahoo! Resulted in over 450000 account password leaked.

Google Glass: Live Video Skydiving (June 27)

Google demoed its Project Glass with a crazy stunt that is considered as one of the most insane thing done at a tech event. The company showed live video skydiving with Google Glasses during their Google I/O event. Our next big news is also related to this event.

Google Nexus 7 (June 27)

Google Nexus 7, the best-selling Android tablet ever is our big news no 5. Google unveiled this cool tablet at its I/O developers conference and released it in July. The 8GB version was available for only $200 earlier but now the 16GB version is available for the same price. The device comes with Tegra 3 quad-core processor, 1GB of RAM and 16GB of internal storage for only $199. Google also released the Nexus 4 and Nexus 10 this year but the Nexus 7 is a complete package with an affordable price tag.

Ouya Android Gaming Console (July 3)

Ouya is a new Android based gaming console that is planning to enter in the gaming console market soon with an attractive price tag of only $99. Julie Uhrman, CEO of Boxer8 announced Ouya on July 3 and started a Kickstarter campaign on July 10 to see how many people are actually interested. The project was an instant hit and the fundraising goal was raised within 8 hours.

Microsoft changes logo after 25 years (August 23)

Microsoft released their very own tablet this year, Surface and a new operating system, Windows 8. But we are not counting those as a big news story as the company also did something surprising, they changed their logo after a long 25 years. The new logo matches with their new tile-centric Metro interface.

Apple vs. Samsung Patent Case (Verdict August 24)

Apple has filed a number of lawsuits against Android device manufactures like Motorola and HTC but the company’s patent case against Samsung is considered as the patent trial of the century. The case began on April 15, 2011 and the verdict came out this year on August 24. The jury found Samsung guilty of infringing Apple’s patents intentionally and awarded Apple $1.05 in patent case.

Apple iPhone 5 and iPad Mini

Apple released the long awaited iPhone 5 and the 7-inch tablet, iPad Mini this year. The internet was filled with iPhone 5 and iPad Mini rumors before the release of these devices and now they are creating news by breaking sales record.

Google’s October 29th Tech Event Cancelled

After Google I/O’s keynote presentation, we were really looking forward to see what Google has in store for us this time. However, Google cancelled the big Android event due to Hurricane Sandy. They unveiled all the new gadgets and Android 4.2 “Key Lime Pie” in a blog post.

Apple Breaks Record In iPhone 5 Pre-Order, Samsung Breaks Ethics

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When a “Job-less” Apple launched iPhone 5 few days back, many speculated it as the biggest fail from Apple ever. To an extent Apple event was missing the charm and spark of its late founder Steve Jobs but several observer in the industry went to the extent of defining it as the start of decline of Apple. Too high user (read observers because not everyone uses iPhone) expectations from iPhone 5 did disappoint lots of tech-lovers all over the world and also put a smirk on Samsung lovers which resulted in a number of iPhone 5 jokes on Facebook and Twitter. Truly, despite of so many new features, iPhone 5 is just another smart phone in the market.

But these negative reviews have never demoralized a true Apple fanboy. Apple products are like sex, you want it even if you oppose it. No matter what the world says, Apple has a cult following and its products are status symbol, pride possessions for many. And the pre-record sales of iPhone 5 has once again showed the world who is the boss. In the latest press release, Apple claimed to have sold more than 2 millions iPhone 5 within 24 hours of opening the pre-orders. Going by these stats, it is predicted that the sale will cross 10 million mark by the end of month.

The crazy fan-boys, the die-hard technology lovers, the wanna be cool teenagers, who doesn’t want an “apple pie”? No doubt that this craziness drives the Chinese teenager to sell their kidney or virginity. A screenshot of ebay India shows that people are willing to buy iPhone 5 for even double of its price.

EBay-India-Iphone 5
Image Courtesy: CompTalks

Samsung, the biggest competitor to iPhone with its Galaxy series is not just standing as a mute spectator. Just 3 days after the launch of iPhone 5, it has spread the . Apart form that it has also started, kind of, smear advertisement campaign comparing its flagship Galaxy S3 with iPhone 5. Why Samsung is mentioning its software to compare the features with iPhone is beyond fathom.

Apple iPhone 5 Vs Samsung Galaxy S3 Advertisement

It will be interesting to see if launch of Galaxy S4, to be available worldwide by March’13, will be able to refrain users from buying iPhone 5. But if you thought that negative reviews will hurt Apple and iPhone 5 could be a big flop, you just got an egg on your face. By the way, do you remember when was the last time an Apple product failed?

How to fix: Android Samsung Galaxy S2 not recognized on Linux

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Problem:

I was facing problems connecting my Samsung Galaxy S2 on Ubuntu, which is particularly annoying bearing in mind the total lack of support by Samsung for Linux (even Kies is of no use). Strange enough, it works flawlessly on Windows 7, where it recognises it instantly and I can transfer files between my phone and computer.
When I plug it into my Linux machine, it is recognised and I can see the contents of the root of /sdcard and the SD card but I cannot access the contents of any file or folder as all the folders are empty.
When I connect my phone to USB there is no “mount USB” option but just MTP application in the home screen. [Read more…]