Month Recap: Gadgets Launched In February

March 1, 2013 By ishayat Leave a Comment

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

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

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

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

Asus 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 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

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 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.

Leaked Photos Of iPhone 5S Appear Online

February 12, 2013 By ishayat Leave a Comment

There were rumors about Apple planning to release an iPhone 5S later this year and now a Chinese website has posted some leaked photos of the rumored iPhone to back that up. The website posted a series of pictures showing the dimensions and design of the upcoming Apple device in various stages of production and are allegedly taken at Foxconn’s facility in China.

The leaked pictures show a pre-production version of the rumored iPhone 5S which gives us a pretty good idea of how the device is going to look like. Apple followed the iPhone 5’s design for the upcoming device with the same taller screen. According to the post, iPhone 5S will offer a minor update from the previous phone while the iPhone 6 will feature a trendy 5-inch screen.

Earlier rumors about iPhone 5S said that the upcoming device will feature a better processor, an improved camera with powerful LED flash, fingerprint sensor and color options like the latest iPod Touch. Sharp displayed its IGZO display at the CES 2013 recently in a 32-inch 4K monitor and we are expecting to see this technology in the upcoming iPhone. HTC and Sony have already unveiled their flagship smartphones with full-HD displays and Apple is also planning to feature full-HD screen in the next iPhone.

Apple recently announced a 128GB iPad so we are also expecting to see a storage bump in the iPhone 5S. According to another Chinese website, the successor to the popular iPhone 5 will be cheaper but stockier and will be available in attractive six colors. Foxconn is usually known for its top security within its manufacturing area and there is no way to confirm if the images are real or not. However, the rumor mill managed to predict almost everything perfectly last time before the release of iPhone 5 so there’s a fifty-fifty chance of these rumors coming true.

Apple is refusing to comment on these rumors as usual and according to a report by Business Insider, the next iPhone will go into production next month and will be unveiled in June. We know that the last two iPhones were released at the end of the year but it’s also true that both the iPhone 3G and the iPhone 4 were released in mid-year so we can expect to see the next iPhone in June.

The Biggest Tech News Stories of 2012

December 2, 2012 By ishayat 2 Comments

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 29^th 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.

5 Reasons Why Apple Maps Sucks Big Time

September 29, 2012 By ishayat Leave a Comment

Apple announced its plan to remove Google Maps and YouTube in its latest iOS 6 back in June. Google has already managed to replace the native YouTube app with its own YouTube app but Apple decided to replace Google Maps with its own Maps app. So far, Apple Maps has proved to be a disaster and the company is now desperately trying to make things right by luring away Google Maps employees. Let’s take a closer look at Apple’s new Maps app to see what makes this app a complete failure.

Inaccurate Search Results

The first thing we noticed when using this new Apple Maps is inaccurate search results. If you search for Manchester United Football Club’s location, you will be redirected to Sale United Football Club. Zach Epstein of FoxNews.com also wrote in a post recently how a search performed in Apple Maps for a restaurant he was standing no more than 100 feet away showed results in Kansas. People are getting faulty address search results and incorrect business listings when using Apple Maps.

Misplaced Towns

The second thing we noticed when using this new Maps app is misplaced towns and missing local places. Another funny thing is, we found a museum located in a river. CNET also published where all the major Maps errors are highlighted – wrong directions and misnamed venues. Walt Disney Family Museum is actually located seven miles away from its original location and the map is missing Statue of Liberty, need we say more?

Redirects to Google Maps on Desktop, Android and non-iOS 6 phones

Apple’s plan was to replace Google Maps with its own Maps app but looks like the company is actually sending users to Google Maps. When we share a location using Apple Maps, users get redirected to Google Maps when clicking from a desktop, Android or other non-iOS 6 phones. This is not really a big problem if you compare it with the other two problems mentioned above. However, if Apple is trying to grab the attention of Google Maps users, this is surely not the way to do so.

Cloudy Satellite Images

If you are from Scotland, the new Apple Maps app is surely not for you as most of the Satellite images of Scotland in the map are obscured by cloud. As you can see in the image, a part of Scotland is covered with clouds and is of no use to users. Blurry and low-quality satellite images are also noticed in some places. The Hoover Dam looks like a ski-slope of death in 3D images.

Not good with abbreviations

Apple Maps is not good with abbreviations and is not ready to handle abbreviated search yet. Recently, a user reported that when he was looking for Rua General Urquiza in Rio de Janeiro, he got wrong search results as the word “General” is commonly abbreviated “Gal” in Brazil. We really don’t expect this type of mistake from Apple.

These are the issues we have faced so far when using Apple’s new Maps app. Apple CEO Tim Cook said the company is “extremely sorry” and is now suggesting to “try alternatives like Bing, MapQuest and Waze” after receiving tons of complaints from users. However, if you are willing to go back to Google Maps, you don’t have to wait for long as Google Maps will be coming to Safari’s iOS browser soon.

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

September 18, 2012 By Abhishek Prakash Leave a Comment

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.

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?

5 Reasons why iPhone 5 is just another smart phone?

September 15, 2012 By ishayat 2 Comments

Apple Inc’s new iPhone pre-order starts from today featuring a larger, taller 4-inch screen and LTE connectivity. It is not difficult to say that there will be lines outside of the Apple store to get this smart phone. However, the device is clearly missing the ‘wow factor’ that could have kept the company ahead of all other rival companies. The iPhone 5 looks like just another upgrade to the popular iPhone lineup, like they released the iPhone 4S as an upgraded version of the iPhone 4 last year.

The phone Apple unveiled on Wednesday was the same phone that appeared online a long time ago in plenty of leaked images. Some of the features like LTE connectivity and 4-inch screen were nice, but nothing was actually surprising. We just saw in the event how the rumors eventually turned out to be true on the event. Tim Cook, Apple CEO did say earlier that they will “double down” on secrecy to prevent leaks but he clearly failed. Now let’s take a look at the features that Apple highlighted in their event and check why these features are missing the ‘wow factor’.

The new 4-inch screen Retina display

The iPhone is now taller and larger with a 4-inch screen. It’s surely a nice thing if you think of it as an iOS device. But when you compare it with Android phones, most of the Android phones out there have got 4-inch screens and some of them show 720p resolution whereas iPhone is only showing 1136×640 resolution. The phone is now wider and Apple claims that this new shape is designed to fit in the hand perfectly. This is clearly not the best explanation we expected from Apple as all the big Android phones out there including Samsung Galaxy S3 with 4.8-inch screen and HTC One X with 4.7-inch are currently ruling the smart phone market. Moreover, all the docks and stands designed for the old iPhones are not going to work with this one as the Lightning technology won’t make your docks and stands bigger and taller.

The 8-megapixel iSight Camera

The iSight camera is a little bit better than the old 8-megapixel camera we saw in iPhone 4S, but it still is nothing rare if you think about Nokia’s PureView technology and Nokia Lumia 800 with 41-megapixel camera that they revealed a long time ago. All the other smart phone makers are now thinking about releasing smartphones with 12-megapixel camera like the Sony Xperia Sand Nokia N8 so releasing an 8-megapixel camera is really nothing attractive.

The all-new A6 chip

The new A6 chip introduced in the iPhone 5 will perform faster than the old one. The new chip promises up to twice the CPU and graphics performance than the iPhone 4S but the other vendors are already working on faster quad-core chips and phones like Samsung Galaxy S3 and HTC One X already available with quad-core chips. The smart phone is thinner than the old one and also 20 percent lighter than the 4S with the new A6 chip. However, these are nothing new or innovative that we usually expect from Apple.

LTE

The LTE connectivity is another feature the company highlighted yesterday. The latest iPhone supports ultrafast wireless standards including DC-HSDPA and LTE. However, this was only a feature we wanted to see in iPhone as other phones already have this feature for a year or more.

No NFC

We were looking forward to see the near field communication technology (NFC) which is also a common thing in other latest phones nowadays but it’s also missing. Some experts believe it was a wise decision by Apple because of the slow adoption of NFC in U.S. When AllThingsD asked Apple Senior vice president Phil Schiller why the iPhone 5 does not include NFC, he said “Passbook does the kinds of things customers need today.”

These are the reasons that make iPhone 5 just another smart phone. The new iPhone is larger, taller, looks really cool, offers longer battery life and a good camera. It is certainly true that the iPhone 5 is better than the previous iPhones. However, it’s not good enough to be the ruler of the smart phone market as there are plenty of Android phones out there with similar and even better products. Popular companies like Samsung, HTC and Motorola now has the chance to easily attract Apple customers with devices like Galaxy Note 2 and HTC One X+ as Apple has failed to be innovative this time. If you also feel the same or have something different to say, don’t forget to share it with us.

Apple reveals the iPhone 5. Check the features!

September 13, 2012 By ishayat 2 Comments

In a special event in San Francisco, Apple unveiled the long awaited, iPhone 5 today. Apple tried to keep all the iPhone 5 features a secret and said the company was “doubling down” on secrecy but the general rumor mill still managed to find out some key features like the larger taller screen, 4G network, small dock connector and better camera. Let’s see if the rumors were true or not.

Bigger Screen, Lighter Weight

The first rumor that we heard about the iPhone 5 was its larger, taller, 4-inch screen, and looks like we weren’t wrong! The new iPhone 5 indeed sports a bigger 4-inches display with 1136×640 pixels. The bigger screen is also capable of adding 5 rows of icons. But that’s not all, the iPhone is now 18% thinner than the iPhone 4S and is only 7.6mm thick. Apple claims it to be the world’s thinnest smartphone but we are not really sure about that. However, it’s really the thinnest and lightest iPhone and is 112 grams in weight.

More Processing Power

The new iPhone also features a new A6 CPU which also matches with the rumors. This new CPU is 2 times faster than the CPU used in the iPhone 4S. Another rumored feature was LTE connectivity and the new iPhone 5 indeed comes with this feature with a single chip and single radio to offer ultrafast wireless. The smartphone will support all the major carriers including Verizon, AT&T and Sprint in the US.

Finally, Better Camera

There were rumors about the next generation iPhone to feature the same 8-megapixel camera with new technology and this rumor also turned out to be true. The new iSight camera is packed with features like backside illumination, Hybrid IR filter, f/2.4 aperture and five-element lens. The new camera is 25% smaller than the iPhone 4S is capable of 1080p video recording and face detection. Another attractive feature of the new camera is the Panorama mode that supports capturing 28-megapixel images. The FaceTime camera is now HD and FaceTime calls can be done using the cellular network.

iOS 6

Phill Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president also revealed the iOS 6. Users will find some new apps optimized for the iPhone 5 and the latest operating system includes some new features iCloud tabs feature for iCloud, new Maps app and improved Siri. All the old apps will appear in the same size and the blank space will be covered with black borders. The latest iOS will be released and iPhone 4S, 4, 3GS, new iPad, iPad 2, iPod Touch 4G users will be able to upgrade to iOS 6 from September 19 for free.

Any surprises?

The new iPhone 5 will be available for $199 (16GB), $299 (32GB) and 64GB for $399 with two-year contract. Apple discontinued the 3GS and presented their new iPhone lineup with iPhone 4, iPhone 4S and iPhone 5. The new iPhone will be available for pre-order on September 14. Looks like all the rumors we heard about the new iPhone were true and there was almost nothing surprising revealed on the event. Apple also announced an updated version of iTunes, the iPod Nano 7G, iPod Touch 5G and new EarPods on the event and demoed two new games, Real Racing 3 and Clumsy Ninja. Visit Computer And You soon to find out more about the new iPods and EarPod. Till then enjoy this official iPhone 5 commercial:

Apple Confirms “Rumored” iPhone 5 Launch Event on September 12

September 5, 2012 By ishayat 1 Comment

An iPhone 5 launch event on September 12 has been rumored for quite some time now and Apple has finally confirmed it. The rumors of the iPhone 5 are expected to come to an end next week as Apple has already started to send invitations for the event where it will unveil the next iPhone at 10AM on September 12 at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts.

The invitation says “It’s Almost Here” and doesn’t reveal much of what we can expect to see at the mysterious event except the “5” appearing in the shadows of 12. The number “5” is the hint which confirms the arrival of the next iPhone and it will be actually titled as “iPhone 5”.

All the latest iPhone 5 rumors suggest that we can expect to see the next iPhone with a taller, larger 4-inch screen, 4G LTE support, new smaller dock connector and “nano” SIM standard. Apple is also expected to give redesigned earphones with the new iPhone 5 if the recently leaked pictures are real.

Most of Apple’s fall event includes more than one product so we can also expect to see updated iPod Nano, new Apple TV, 13-inch MacBook Pro with Retina Display or an updated iTunes in the event. The new rumors suggest that we can expect to see a new line of iPods at the event.

A smaller version of the iPad called the “iPad Mini” was also expected to make an appearance at the event but the recent rumors suggest that Apple is planning to hold a separate event for the “iPad Mini” in October before the holiday season. We can also expect to see the new iPod Touch soon. Don’t forget to check Computer And You on September 12 if you don’t want to miss the announcements from the event.

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