Sony launches lightest LTE smartphone - Xperia SX

Sony has also launched the Xperia GX smartphone. Both devices will run Android 4.0 and will feature slightly different design.

IN SPOTLIGHT: SONY XPERIA SX

Sony Mobile has announced the new Xperia SX and Xperia GX smartphones for the Japan market. The all new Sony Xperia SX smartphone is so far the lightest LTE smartphone weighing about 95 grams. The Xperia GX is a repackaged Xperia Ion smartphone with slightly different design and Exmor R camera. Both handsets will be made available in the Japan market during the second quarter of this year and there is no word on whether same devices will be launched globally.

In terms of design, both smartphones will be slightly different from the 2012 Xperia series and will have rounded corners. Sony Mobile has launched the new Xperia SX smartphone that features a 3.7-inch Reality Display with Mobile BRAVIA Engine. Under the hood, it runs dual-core 1.5 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon mobile processor and offers 8 GB internal flash storage.

Interestingly, this smartphone will weigh mere 95 grams despite having LTE chipset inside it. To be made available in Black and White colours, the Xperia SX will have 8 megapixel Sony Exmore R image sensor at the back.

Meanwhile, the Sony Xperia GX will arrive with Xperia Ion features inside with totally new body design. The Xperia GX will feature a 4.6-inch Reality Display powered with Mobile BRAVIA Engine and supporting 1280x720 pixel resolution.

FASCINATING PHOTON

This smartphone runs a dual-core 1.5 GHz Qualcomm processor and will have 16 GB On-board storage. Sony has also added the Walkman application for high quality audio experience and xLOUD audio engine. The Xperia GX has 13 megapixel camera with Exmor R image sensor for mobile, HD video recording and Sony technology to capture 3D Sweet Panorama images.

Lucky Japanese people will get to see the Xperia SX and Xperia GX smartphones with Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich update.

Courtesy: The Times Of India

RIM launches BlackBerry Curve 9320; may come to India in June

BlackBerry Curve 9320: 

This is the first handset in the Curve series to feature WiFi hotspot functionality.

Close on the heels of launching the first BlackBerry 7.1 operating system based Curve 9220 smartphone in India last month, Research In Motion (RIM) has announced the launch of another phone with the same operating system.

BlackBerry Curve 9320

Along with identical features and specifications as the Curve 9220, the new BlackBerry Curve 9320 brings the WiFi hotspot functionality, making it the first Curve series phone to have the feature. The WiFi hotspot was announced by RIM for its high end devices earlier this year and has been incorporated in the BlackBerry Bold 9900 as well. Notably, the WiFi hotspot functionality would enable Curve 9320 users to share internet with up to five different devices.

The BlackBerry Curve 9320 features a 2.44-inch display with a VGA">QVGA 320 x 240 pixel resolution at 162 pixel density and comes with a full Qwerty keypad that has been one of the key differentiating factors for the BlackBerry range of smartphones.

FEATURE FEED

On multimedia front, the Curve 9320 features a 2 megapixel camera fixed focus camera, stereo FM radio and media player, WiFi connectivity, and expandable memory up to 32 GB through a micro SD card.

Another highlight of this smartphone is the dedicated BBM button for instant access to BlackBerry Messenger without having the need of getting in to the menu or having to setup shortcut icons on the home screen.

Although the device has been announced by the company, the pricing and availability details are yet to be announced. It is being expected that the BlackBerry Curve 9320 will again fall under the budget smartphone category with an expected price tag of Rs 12,000 for the Indian market where it could be launched next month (June) itself.

Courtesy: The Mobile Indian

Apple may launch cheaper version of MacBook Air

In Spotlight: MacBook Air

WASHINGTON: US-based tech giant Apple is reportedly planning to launch a $799 MacBook Air by the end of 2012.

According to a DigiTimes report, sources have revealed that Apple would release a cheaper MacBook Air to compete with the new ultrabook trend that gained momentum during the 2012 International Consumer Electronics Show (CES).

Apple currently offers an 11-inch MacBook for $999, and a 13-inch model for $1,299.

According to CBS News, reports of iPad minis and iPhone nanos have been making rounds.

Rumors of a cheaper, iPad mini with 7.85-inch display have been circulating for some time.

DigiTimes had reported that 'makers' in Apple's supply chain has started 'delivering samples of a 7.85-inch iPads for verification.'

Also, a recent report by the China Times claimed that Apple is planning to release low-cost iPhone nano this year.

According to the report, the move aims to make gains on the low-end smartphone market.

Courtesy: The Times Of India

Samsung Galaxy S3 vs HTC OneX vs iPhone 4S

 Samsung Galaxy S3 vs HTC OneX vs iPhone 4S

The unveiling of Samsung Galaxy SIII recently has further fueled the ongoing smartphone war. One of the most-awaited phones of 2012, Samsung Galaxy SIII is designed to take the fight to the new crop of quadcore superphones. 

The smartphone takes on Apple's iPhone 4S and HTC's recently launched quadcore smartphone HTC OneX. Here's how the three compare in specs.


Processor:

Samsung Galaxy SIII: The phone has Samsung's new Arm-based processor Exynos 4 Quad. The 1.4 Ghz quadcore chip is based on ARM Cortex A9 and enables more tasks in a shorter period of time claims the company. 

Apple iPhone 4S: iPhone 4S is powered by dualcore A5 processor. The company claims that two cores in A5 chip deliver up to two times more power and render graphics up to seven times faster than iPhone 4. 

HTC OneX: HTC One X runs on a 1.5GHz Nvidia Tegra3 quadcore chip.

Operating System:

Samsung Galaxy SIII: Samsung Galaxy S-III runs on Android 4.0 or Ice Cream Sandwich OS. 

Apple iPhone 4S: iPhone 4S comes pre-loaded with iOS5. 

HTC OneX: HTC OneX also runs on the latest Android operating system Android 4.0 or Ice Cream Sandwich.

Camera:

THE IPHONE 4S CAMERA

Samsung Galaxy SIII: Samsung Galaxy S-III boasts of an 8MP rear camera and a 1.9 megapixel front camera. 

Apple iPhone 4S: iPhone 4S has an 8MP camera with back illuminated CMOS sensor, wider aperture and higher quality lens. It also records video in 1080p full HD resolution now. It has a VGA-quality front camera. 

HTC OneX: HTC OneX has an 8MP autofocus camera with LED flash. There's also a 1.3 MP front camera for video conferencing.


Display:

Samsung Galaxy SIII: Galaxy SIII boasts of a 4.8 HD Super AMOLED display, with ultrafast response time. 

Apple iPhone 4S: iPhone 4S retains the same 3.5-inch (diagonal) Retina display as found in iPhone 4. 

HTC OneX: HTC OneX has a 4.7 inch Super IPS LCD2 screen.


RAM & Storage:
Samsung Galaxy SIII: Samsung Galaxy has a 1GB RAM. It comes in three storage capabilities 16, 32 and 64GB. The smartphone weighs 133 gm. 

Apple iPhone 4S: Though Apple did not disclose iPhone 4S RAM, as per teardown tests of the device it is 1GB. 

HTC OneX: HTC OneX also has 1GB RAM. The smartphone has internal memory of 32GB. It weighs 130 gm.


Battery:
Samsung Galaxy SIII: Samsung Galaxy SIII has a removable 2100mAh battery. 

Apple iPhone 4S: Apple claims iPhone 4S offers battery life offers 8 hours of 3G talk time, 6 hours of browsing (9 on WiFi), 10 hours of video playback and 40 hours of music. 

HTC OneX: HTC OneX has a non-removable 1,800 mAh battery.


Courtesy: The Times Of India

Nokia Pureview 808 coming to India in may

The 41 Megapixel King: The Nokia Pureview 808

Nokia's 41-megapixel smartphone PureView 808 is expected to see its India launch in May. Russia will also be one of the first countries to receive the device. 

The Symbian S60-powered Nokia PureView 808 was one of the major highlights of this year's Mobile World Congress held at Barcelona. 

Nokia 808 PureView features a high-resolution 41 megapixel sensor with high-performanceCarl Zeiss optics and new pixel oversampling technology. At standard resolutions (2/3, 5 and 8 megapixels) this means the ability to zoom without loss of clarity and capture seven pixels of information, condensing into one pixel for the sharpest images imaginable. 

Nokia 808 PureView also includes full HD 1080p video recording and playback with 4X lossless zoom and the world's first use of Nokia Rich Recording. Rich Recording claims audio recording at CD-like levels of quality. PureView also features Dolby Headphone technology. 

According to reports, Nokia so far has no plans of launching the device in the US. The company has also not yet revealed the official pricing.

Samsung Galaxy S3, next-generation Android smartphone to launch in India soon

THE SAMSUNG GALAXY S3

NEW DELHI: Samsung on Thursday unveiled Galaxy S3, its next-generation Android smartphone, at an event in London. The phone is powered by Exynos 4212, a quad-core processor running at 1.4GHz. It is expected to become available in India in the coming weeks.

The phone has a 4.8-inch Super AMOLED screen with a resolution of 720P, 1GB RAM, 16/32GB storage with a slot for microSD card, 8MP camera with burst mode, zero shutter lag and backlit sensor, 2,100mAh battery, Wi-Fi, 3G and Bluetooth. The phone weighs 133 grams and has a thickness of 8.6mm.

One of the unique features in Galaxy S3 is its ability to track the eye movement of the user. Samsung calls the feature SmartStay and claims it will make using Galaxy S3 more intuitive. The phone also has S Voice, a feature similar to Siri on iPhone, that will help users in doing several tasks through voice commands.

Galaxy S3 runs on Ice Cream Sandwich, the latest version of Android operating software. However, the default user interface of the OS is TouchWiz Nature UX, a custom skin prepared by Samsung.

Galaxy S3 is one of the most anticipated phones of the year so far. It succeeds Galaxy S2. In February, Samsung had said that it had sold over 20 million units of Galaxy S2 since introducing it in the market in April last year.

Samsung's official Twitter account said on Wednesday that the company would not launch Galaxy Nexus India but consumers should not feel dejected because new and better phone would be arriving soon, hinting at S3 launch here in May.

Samsung, which started selling Galaxy range of phones in 2010, has emerged as the biggest Android phone maker. In fact, helped by the sale of Galaxy Note and Galaxy S2, the firm recently became the largest phone vendor in the world, ending Nokia's 14 years reign at the top. According to IDC, a market research firm, Samsung shipped 93.8 million phones in Q1, 2012 compared to 82.7 million phones shipped by Nokia.

In smartphone category, the firm ousted Apple from the top position. It shipped 42.2 million smartphones compared to Apple's 35.1 million iPhones. Apple, however, continues to be the world's biggest smartphone maker in terms of profit.


Information Courtesy: Gadgets @ Times Of India

Apple launches iPad in India at Rs 30,500

NEW DELHI: Apple's new iPad, with a price tag of Rs 30,500-Rs 50,900, hit the Indian market Friday. 

The tablet features a new retina display, Apple's new A5X chip with quad-core graphics and a 5 megapixel iSight camera and 1080pHD video. 

The PC maker said it had slashed by almost 20 per cent the price of iPad 2, which was launched in India last year, to Rs 24,500. 

The new iPads are available in black and white colours. While the 16GB model wi-fi models are available for Rs 30,500, the 32GB model costs Rs 36,500 and 64GB model Rs 42,500, the company said in a statement. 

The iPad Wi-Fi, 4G tablets are available for Rs 38,900 for the 16GB model, Rs 44,900 for the 32GB model and Rs 50,900 for the 64GB model. 

iPad 2 whose prices have been slashed are available for Rs.24,500 for the 16 GB Wi-Fi model instead of Rs 29,500 and Rs 32,900 for the 16 GB Wi-Fi + 3G model instead of earlier pricing of Rs 34,500.


Courtesy: Gadgets @ Times Of India

Sony launches first ultrabooks, VAIO T series

SONY VAIO T SERIES

Sony is finally joining the ultrabooks fray. The company has launched its first ultrabook series dubbed VAIO T. 

VAIO T series will come in two sizes -- 11" and 13.3" -- and is powered by Intel's ultra-low voltage i3 Sandy Bridge processors. The ultrabooks have a 17.8mm thick brushed aluminum body and up to 9 hours of battery life. 

Other features include 4GB of DDR3 memory as standard, and 320GB hard drive with a second 32GB SSD. VAIO T Series sports comes HDMI, VGA and RJ45 network ports, plus an SD/MMC media slot and an 1.3 megapixel "Exmor for PC" HD web camera. xLOUDTM and Clear Phase technologies are for sound. 

The company hasn't revealed the pricing. 

Key specs: 

* Intel Core-i3 2367M processor * Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit * 4GB DDR3 RAM * 320GB HDD * Intel HD Graphics 3000 * Bundles Adobe Acrobat X Standard


Courtesy: Gadgets Special, Times Of India

Review: Huawei Honor

NEW DELHI: The name Huawei may not ring a bell for most phone buyers in India, but it is a huge multinational firm. The company is among the leading manufacturers of telecom equipment in the world and in the recent years has become a big player in phone and tablet market. 

Gartner, a market research firm, said in February that Huawei had 2.3% share in 2011 in smartphone market worldwide. This put it marginally ahead of Motorola and Sony Ericsson. 

After some success in its home country - China - the firm has started expanding operations abroad. Due to similarities in Indian and Chinese phone market - both are developing countries and price sensitive - consumers here are obvious targets for Huawei. Last year, it had tested the waters here with Ideos range of phones. This year it is more assertive. It has already launched Honor, a mid-range Android phone, and plans to bring Ascend D, the flagship device, soon. 

We have Honor with us today. With this phone, Huawei promises consumers best-in-class features at most competitive price. Not an easy promise to fulfill, we know. Let's find out if Honor can take on the competition in mid-range smartphone market. 

Looks good on paper Honor may not have superstar looks but it's not shabby either. The design is classic candy bar. It has a plastic body with two buttons - power and volume rocker - given chrome finish. Under the 4-inches screen, which has a resolution of 480 x 854 pixels, there are four touch buttons for Options, Home, Back and Search. The back cover, which has a textured finish, can be removed to access SIM slot and battery. 

With a thickness of 11mm and a weight of 140grams, there is nothing striking about Honor. But at the same time, it is functional design, which makes using the device very easy. 

Honor is powered by a single-core 1.4Ghz processor. It has 512MB RAM and 4GB storage, with option to add a micro SD card. The highlight of the device is 8MP primary camera with a LED flash. The phone can record videos in up to 720P resolution. A 2MP camera is provided for video chats. 

User experience
In terms of hardware, Honor is better many mid-range phone. But after using it for weeks, we feel that the hardware advantage has not translated into the user experience that can put Honor ahead of the pack. Let us elaborate. 

For most parts, Honor acts like a nice mid-range Android phones. This means it may not dazzle you with speed and superfast user interface but for all practical purposes the performance is adequate. Apps open without any lag, casual games like Angry Birds work very well, GPS locks in a snap, browsing experience is pleasant, and call quality is good. Media playback is average with the phone failing to play several file formats, like the ones encoded with DivX, but that is acceptable from a mid-range phone. Honor's speaker, though, is very loud considering its size. 

But there are two aspects that stand out. One for good reasons and another for, well, not being up to the mark. 

Good news first. The 8MP pixels camera in Honor punches above its weight. The photograph taken with it have decent amount of details and balanced colours. It doesn't perform very well in low-light but it is all same with most midrange smartphones. Videos shot in 720P resolution are acceptable. 

Now, the bad news. Honor's 4-inch screen is disappointing. It shows good colours and is sufficiently bright until you are not standing in sunlight. Viewing angles could have been better but they will not be any issue for most buyers. The problem is with the screen's touch sensitivity, which is a tad slow. It is not as slow or bad as what found on sub-10K phones but then Honor is not competing with these phones. While in many tasks - for example web browsing - it doesn't affect the user experience, playing games like Temple Run, which require flawless touch sensitivity, is difficult on Honor. 

Another problem with screen is 'ghosting'. It is especially apparent if you are using a Twitter app. While scrolling through timeline, display pictures of contacts leave traces. Ghosting may not be a problem in most cases but if it occurs - in our case it was during Twitter use - it will bug users. 

Battery life is good. When used for emails, Twitter, some photography, some gaming, some calls and lots of browsing the phone lasted over 10 hours on 3G connection. 

Worth its price
Huawei Honor is a decent phone for its price. Screen could have been better but given its good performance and a decent camera for still pictures, our experience with Honor wasn't bad. At the same time, it is not the kind of experience that can make us give Honor a clear recommendation. The phone has an MRP of Rs 19,999. At this price, its primary competitors are HTC One V,Samsung Galaxy S Plus, Sony Ericsson Neo V and Nokia Lumia 710. 

If you are out in the market, looking for a mid-range smartphone, you should definitely consider Honor. Just that before buying it, make sure you demo it at the store to see if you are comfortable with the touch response or not. 

Pros: Good camera for still photographs, lag-free performance 

Cons: Screen touch sensitivity is not optimum, out-of-box runs on Gingerbread and not Ice cream sandwich, the latest version of Android.


Courtesy: The Times Of India

Apple's new iPad - Review: The best tablet money can buy

The New ipad

The iPad is the kind of product that doesn't come around very often. Like Xerox, Walkman and, more recently, the iPod, it's when a particular product sees so much success that it becomes synonymous with the entire category. Less than two years after its launch, the iPad is already a category-defining product.

Not sure what we mean? Here's an anecdote. Only the other day someone walked into our office and popped the question - "Should I buy Motorola's iPad?" Hint: they were referring to the Motorola Xoom.

Back to Apple's iPad. The new iPad - yes, that's what it's called, not iPad 3 - more on that later - builds on the incredible success of its predecessors. Rather than offering something radically different, the new iPad retains the familiar and throws in some compelling upgrades.

What's in a name?
While the name new iPad has confused, and even amused, many Apple's intention is to bring the nomenclature of its mobile products in line with that of traditional computing devices. The 'new' in the name is surely transitional, and the next iteration would almost certainly be simply called 'iPad'.

The latest generation of Apple's ultra-portable laptop is called MacBook Air, just like the four generations before it. Why should the tablet be any different? Indications are that the next iteration of the iPhone would drop the number from its name as well. Years, instead of version number style monikers, would come to represent every product generation, such that the current iPad would be known as the iPad 2012 in the annals of time.

First impressions
The first thing you notice upon taking the new iPad out of the box is that it looks exactly like the iPad 2. It's not until you hold the new iPad in your hands that you notice something different - it's slightly heavier than its predecessors. People who generally use their iPad with a case or Apple's smart cover probably won't even notice the difference.

If you've never used an iPad before, do not let reports of the extra weight bog you down. Just like its predecessor, extended periods of holding the new iPad promise only joy and excitement, and not hurting hands.

As per Apple's specifications, the new iPad is slightly thicker than the iPad 2, but we couldn't tell the difference. We did, however, experience the new iPad's infamous heat. It definitely runs hotter than the iPad 2 because we don't recall our iPad 2 ever warming up to us like the new one does. It didn't deter us from holding the iPad for extended periods of time, so we filed this away under the 'minor irritant' category and moved on.

Display
It's not until you power it on that the new iPad really begins to shine. The all-new Retina Display is everything that it is made up to be, and more. This may feel like your old iPad but the moment you watch your first video, or simply open your favourite website (this one, of course) in Safari, we promise you'll hand down the iPad 2 to your kids faster than they can spell Chhota Bheem.

The official specs peg the Retina Display resolution at 2048x1536 pixels. That's more pixels than a typical full-HD screen (1920x1080). We could wax lyrical about the new display for hours, but nothing will convince you faster than this simple test. Walk in to the closest shop that has both, the iPad 2 and the new iPad, on demo and play any (full-HD) trailer using Apple's Trailer app. The difference between the two will be evident to even the most casual of observers.

The speakers seem unchanged from the iPad 2, loud enough, but not ones that would ever win an award for sound quality.

Camera
The other big improvement from the iPad 2 is the camera. The rear camera is now a 5-megapixel camera, capable of recording full-HD video, just like the one in iPhone 4. Image quality is noticeably better, and the lens seems capable of taking slightly wider shots as well.

The front-camera is beefed up too and it's perfect for FaceTime, Skype or anything else that you would want to do with a front-camera.

While we remain unconvinced about the need of having great rear-cameras in tablets, truth is, Apple would have been criticised if it had stuck with the generation-old camera. We are yet to see people hold their 10-inch tablets in the air to click photographs en-masse, but it's nice to know you have a quality option to fallback on should you have a "photography emergency".

Processor & GPU
Apple made a rather bold claim when it introduced new iPad's A5X processor with quad-core graphics, saying its performance blows the competition away. While NVIDIA was initially upset at Apple's claims and wanted to benchmark the A5X against its Tegra 3, but the fact that they have gone quiet since probably means they might have conducted the benchmarks in private and realised Apple was indeed right in its claim.

As it turns out, the additional processing power in the new iPad is not a luxury but a necessity. The apps you run may not feel any faster, but there's a lot more going on in the background, even when your iPad is simply displaying a webpage on screen.

The new Retina Display has four-times as many pixels as the iPad 2, which means refreshing the display is four-times the work. The quad-core graphics engine does a stellar job in handling this extra load, which means you'll almost never notice any lag in terms of performance.

However, we did stumble upon one such moment of "lag", while trying to take a screenshot of a full-HD iTunes rental video in action. There was a slight, longer than expected, delay between the time we pressed the home and power buttons and when the screenshot was taken. However, that was the only situation where we experienced any kind of a lag and the iPad handled everything else we threw at it flawlessly.

Apps/ Software
The new iPad has access to all apps that worked on the iPad and the iPad 2. However, apps updated to feature graphics optimised for higher resolution display of the new iPad will look a lot better than older apps. Overall, the iPad/ iOS ecosystem trumps all other competing tablet platforms (if you can call them that) combined, in terms of quality as well as quantity of apps available.

The new iPad also features voice dictation. We're not sure if it was the Indian accent or the speed at which we spoke, but our experience with dictation ranged from the outrageous to downright hilarious, with the most unexpected of results. 

Battery Life
In a departure from usual next generation Apple products, the new iPad is, as mentioned earlier, heavier and thicker than its predecessor. With a faster processor and a bigger display to power, Apple decided to increase the battery size, even if it meant giving up the slimmer, lighter maxim it loves. The move seems to have paid off as the new iPad features the same incredible battery life that made its predecessors famous.

4G/ LTE
"What 4G/ LTE?" you might ask, and rightly so. As of date, India has only one 4G network, restricted to one city/ region, so the 4G/ LTE networking feature seems to be a non-starter. What's worse, even when 4G/ LTE takes-off in our country, the new iPad is unlikely to work in 4G/ LTE mode, since the chip inside is designed to work on a different spectrum than what the Indian networks are expected to use. Customers in UK and Australia are already experiencing the problem and Apple has been asked to stop advertising it's models as 4G in these countries.

The good news is that the new iPad works just fine on 3G-mode out-of-the-box, with performance similar to its predecessor. The GSM version of the iPad (the one available in India) comes factory-unlocked, so you can pop in any compatible SIM. The iPad now also supports the Personal Hotspot feature, that lets you create a Wi-Fi network on the iPad for other devices (like your phone) to use.

Verdict
If you're in the market for your first tablet and not looking for bargains at the very bottom of pit, the new iPad is an absolute no-brainer. Apple products are, often incorrectly, perceived to be premium or expensive but nothing could be further from the truth in case of the new iPad. As of today, no other company could possibly deliver a tablet with iPad like specs at this price-point. Apple manages to do so thanks to its amazingly efficient supply-line and economies of scale.

If you have the original iPad, the present generation offers a compelling upgrade. The new display, cameras and the overall performance gain you'll experience compared to the original iPad, makes the new iPad worth your money.

Things are not so cut-and-dry if you have an iPad 2. At the end of the day, the only thing significantly better in the new iPad is the screen. So is that alone worth spending upwards of 30,500 rupees? Not if you use your iPad for email and browsing alone. However, if you love playing games or watching movies, you should give the new iPad a spin and take a call based on your spending ability.

With Android tablets still trying to get their act together in terms nailing down the hardware as well as the ecosystem to go with it, the iPad seems devoid of any genuine competition. In such a scenario, we can safely say the new iPad is the best tablet money can buy.

Pros

• Stunning display
• Battery life
• Cameras
• Apps

Cons

• Wi-Fi+4G option slightly overpriced
• 4G option not compliant with Indian network(s)

Price: Between Rs. 30,500 and Rs. 50,900.

Ratings
Design: 4.5
Display: 5
Performance: 4.5
Software: 4.5
Battery Life: 5
Value for Money: 4.5 Wi-Fi only, 4 Wi-Fi + 4G
Camera: 4.5
Ecosystem: 5

Overall: 4.5


Courtesy: NDTV GADGETS