Technoholik

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Friday, May 20

Nokia X7 scheduled to arrive in India by June, with Symbian Anna onboard

Posted by Unknown on 6:42 pm






 
Nokia has announced it will be launching the Nokia X7 sometime next month in India, within the second quarter of 2011. A 4-inch Symbian device similar to the Nokia N8 and E7, the X7 has the same 4-inch Nokia ClearBlack AMOLED display (16M colours and 640x360 pixels), but a more sharply angled look than its Symbian^3 predecessors. The Nokia X7 will be priced at around 380 Euros, roughly equal to Rs. 25,000.
The X7 as expected features the latest version of Symbian –Symbian Anna, which comes with numerous interface updates, a brand new browser, and many other performance improvements. Read more about the changes here. Powered by the same 680MHz ARM 11 processor and Broadcom BCM2727 GPU combination as the N8, the device has 256MB of RAM, 1GB of ROM, and will come with a 8GB microSD card pre-installed. It weighs a little more than the N8, at 146 grams, but is a little thinner, at 11.9 millimetres. It has the same 8MP camera as the E7. For detailed specs, refer to our previous coverage.
It has a 1200mAh battery that is rated to deliver up to 450 hours of standby time, up to 6.5 hours of talk time, and up to 50 hours of music play – not too shabby for an entertainment device. What do you think? Does it stand a chance in the market? Let me know in the comments section below:

Hands on Review: Acer ICONIA A500: The Honeycomb Debutant

Posted by Unknown on 6:21 pm
Introduction

Until the arrival of Honeycomb, most tablets were playing catch-up with Apple's all conquering iPad and it's smartphone OSs. Now, in its second generation, the iPad 2 is likely to face some serious competition from the likes of Motorola, Acer, Samsung, HTC, Dell and other manufacturers who are embracing Google's tablet specific Honeycomb OS.

One such might be the Acer ICONIA A500, the first Honeycomb tablet to hit India. Can it take a bite out of the big Apple?

Hardware

The 10-inch A500 seems extremely thick at 13.3 mm versus the sub-10mm frame of the iPad 2. It is interesting to note that the original iPad was 13.4 mm thick. So the competition is still trying to emulate the original iPad even the next version has set new benchmarks for sheer form factor.

Quite naturally, when compared to the iPad 2, the device is bulky and feels heavy. It is quite a challenge to use while reading books. You will also find yourself setting the device down very often, because of the weight factor.

Having said that, for a first generation device, it has good build quality and looks good with the brushed metal finish.

In terms of connectivity, the device has the power switch, headphones jack and mini HDMI out port on the left panel. The right houses the charging port along with a micro USB port and a full sized USB 2.0 port. Please note that the device will only charge through the charging port and not the micro USB port. The top of the device has the micro SD card slot that is covered along with the volume rocker and the screen orientation lock whereas the bottom of the device has Acer's proprietary dock connector. All the buttons feel logically placed and are convenient to use.

The rear of the device houses a 5MP autofocus camera with a single LED flash and the front has a 2MP camera for video chatting.

The screen is a 10.1-inch LED backlit display with a resolution of 1280x800.

Under the hood, the device is powered by NVIDIA's 1GHz dual-core Tegra 2 processor with 1GB RAM. The review unit we received was Wi-Fi only but a 3G version is expected to launch as well.

The A500 has 16GB of onboard storage and another 32GB can be added via a micro SD card.

Overall the hardware of the device seems to be at par with other Honeycomb offerings available in the global market such as the Motorola Xoom.

Android Honeycomb

Previous tablets such as the first generation Samsung Galaxy Tab ran Android's smartphone OS. Honeycomb has been built from the ground up keeping the tablet in mind, which means it will not only take advantage of the larger display but the processing power of the tablet as well.

If you already own an Android device and are used to the functioning of the OS, you will find yourself on familiar ground. Even so, as the OS is customized for a larger display than your smartphone,  there is a learning curve especially with some particular widgets.
 
True to the Android tradition, there are five customizable homescreens. However, gone are the standard four physical buttons you would find on an Android smartphone - the home, menu, back and search. Instead, you have the back, home and menu buttons displayed all the time in the bottom left corner of the screen on the notification bar. No matter what app you have open.

Another visual element that remains constant on screen resides on the bottom right corner. This is the time, battery and Wi-Fi indicator. This corner also doubles up as the notifications area. It doesn't matter if you are playing a game or running an app. If you receive a chat message, an email, a software update or any form of notification, it will appear here. The notification system on Honeycomb is way better than the one visible on the iPad.

Customizing your homescreen is a lot of fun. But, if you are used to the simplicity of the iPad you may find it a bit frustrating. The homescreen customization option is divided into widgets, app short cuts, wallpapers and more. The only unique aspect here is the widgets, which looks really cool. You could have your Gmail, website bookmarks, calendar events, market updates etc. on one screen. Seeing the customization options of the widgets really gives you the vast scope of the device and convenience of having all your data flash on one screen.

The overall performance of the OS is great but there are times when it feels buggy. There was a point where the home button just wouldn't respond until we restarted the device. Though these problems are not major, they can be fixed by a simpler update.

Recently at the I/O event, Google showed off an update to Honeycomb (version 3.1). One of the advantages of this update is the improvement in the widgets on the device. The 3.1 update allows the widgets to have custom sizes.

Although this update is limited to the Motorola Xoom we can expect it to hit other Honeycomb devices soon.

Cameras

The rear of the device houses a 5MP autofocus camera with a single LED flash and the front has a 2MP camera. The camera app has been optimized to take advantage of the 10.1-inch display. The controls such as zoom, flash, white balance, colour effects, scene mode and settings rest on the right of the display. The layout design of the camera controls is unique and looks really cool. It gives you a lot more control on the images you click when compared to the iPad 2 but you do feel the absence of a physical camera button.
 
The quality of the camera is pretty standard and can be compared to the camera that resides on your smartphone. But, the quality of pictures from this is much better than the iPad 2 cameras.

The front facing camera works well especially with Google video chat. You can rotate to the rear camera if you wish to show something specific to the person you are chatting with. It works a lot like Apple's Face Time with the only difference being that Google video chat can happen between any two computing machines that support Google video chat unlike Face Time, which is restricted to Apple products.

Gaming and multimedia

Games on the Acer ICONIA A500 look absolutely stunning. The device came preloaded with NFS Shift, Lets Golf HD and Hero of Sparta HD. Need For Speed HD looked really good and Hero of Sparta was the highlight. Angry Birds Rio, too, was stunning on the 10-inch display. Although there aren't many tablet specific games available for Honeycomb devices, the existing smartphone games scale relatively well on the 10.1-inch screen.

A game we recommend you download is Fruit Ninja for Honeycomb. It is a paid app and is different from its smartphone cousin only in that it incorporates multi-touch, which is really cool.

The inbuilt multimedia features are good. The photos, videos and music app have an interface that takes advantage of the 10.1-inch display. The audio from the device was pretty nice for a tablet. The stereo speakers help a lot and sound much better than the iPad 2.

The video app was a little disappointing as it refused to detect any other format except for MP4. MP4 720p videos ran very smoothly on the device.

On the bright side, and this is an India specific observation, the USB port will be Internet dongle compatible in the near future. Acer has confirmed to us that you will be able to connect your Reliance or Tata Photon dongle to the tablet to access the Internet. This feature will not be available out of the box and users will have to wait for an update before taking advantage of this feature. With this, you will be able to use your current dongles to connect to the Internet, without the need of a 3G version of the device.

The earlier mentioned 3.1 Honeycomb update will also let you connect game controllers via the USB port enabling more comfortable gaming for hard core veterans. No word on when we will see the update hit the A500.

The browser on the tablet has a Chrome experience to it. Tab browsing on a tablet device is great. Add the flash support and you have a browser that can give Apple's Safari a run for its money.

Apps

There are quite a few Honeycomb specific apps on the device but the ones that need special mention are the YouTube and Gmail apps.

YouTube has a tile-based view, which has a very Matrix like feel to it. The 3D interface is extremely intuitive and spans the whole screen. The browse tab too has been optimized for use on a tablet device. The videos themselves play out smoothly and the navigation options are great and easy to use, unlike some frustrating Windows based tablets.

The Gmail app too has been optimized for tablet display. It looks more like Microsoft Outlook with mail labels on the left column, and the mail list and details on the right panel. Extremely intuitive and easy to use. But, here's where the weight disadvantage kicks in again - you're not going to be able to use it for email very long because of how heavy the device is.

Another noteworthy point; There aren't many Honeycomb specific apps available on the app store. But the mobile versions of apps scale quite well on the tablet device. There are a few bumps such as some images may look pixelated, stretched or out of proportion. Some text alignment too may seem off but the overall scalability of applications is commendable.

Case

Acer gets two thumbs up for bundling a case with the A500. It is nowhere near the awesomeness of the Smart Cover but it is handy for protecting the device. The case also doubles up as a stand that rests the device horizontally. And the best part is that it is free.

Verdict

As the first Honeycomb tablet to hit India the Acer A500 is good. The device is a few thousand rupees cheaper than the 16GB Wi-Fi only iPad 2. If you are looking for an experience other than the iPad you may want to take a look at the A500. But if you're in the market for a sleeker Android based tablet, you may want to hold-off until the Samsung Galaxy tabs hit India.

Bottomline: Does the A500 qualify as an iPad 2 killer? No.

However, it holds some interesting promises such as Internet USB dongle support that is great for the Indian market.

The device and the OS aren't perfect. But for as an India debut for Honeycomb, it is a really good start.

Benchmark Performance:

Quadrant (Higher score is better)- 2000.

System benchmark (Higher score is better)-
Overall: 3549
Memory: 729
CPU Integer: 1140
CPU Float: 1029
2D Graphics: 130
3D graphics: 175
Database IO: 75
SD card write: (11.1MB/s) 111
SD Card Read: (16.0MB/s) 160

The LG optimus 2X and the Motorola Xoom scored better than this but marginally.

Benchmark pi (Higher score is better): 518

Linpack (Higher score is better): MFLOPS: 41.959, Time: 2.0 sec, Norm Res: 5.68

Smart bench 2011 (Higher score is better):

Productivity index: 3230
Games Index: 2530
Motorola Xoom: 4196 and 2542
LG Optimus 2X: 3777 and 2946

Pros:
Good build quality
Mini HDMI out
Internet USB dongle support
Tablet specific OS
Good display and sound

Cons:
Heavy
OS is a bit buggy
Few Honeycomb specific apps in the marketplace
Some video playback issues
No micro USB charging

AMD rumoured to launch quad-core A8-3530MX Fusion processor for laptops in June

Posted by Unknown on 5:50 pm
A Turkish website has correctly brought to light some early Nvidia details in the past, and it's now back with a leak of a new AMD Fusion chip that's said to be a part of the company's upcoming "Sabine" platform. 


Coded as the A8-3530MX, it’s a 32nm, quad-core processor purportedly clocks in at 1.9GHz and also features 4MB of Level 2 cache, and it can apparently be boosted to 2.6GHz in TurboCore mode. Otherwise, it's said to pack an integrated Radeon HD 6620G graphics core, along support for for both 1,600MHz DDR3 RAM and low-power DDR3L memory. Of course, all of that it still unconfirmed by AMD itself but, if Donanimhaber is to be believed, we should be seeing this one hit laptops sometime June.

Thursday, May 19

Google rolls-out Android 3.1 and unveils Ice Cream Sandwich

Posted by Unknown on 2:22 pm
During Android’s keynote presentation at this year’s Google I/O, the company revealed its next Honeycomb update and their plans to have a common OS between tablets, cell-phones and Google TV. The hope to achieve the latter with a version of Android, which has been code-named Ice Cream Sandwich. However, there isn’t much information to go around about Ice Cream Sandwich at this time, besides the general direction the company is heading with Android development.
On the other hand, we know a few things about Honeycomb 3.1, not least of all that the update is all ready to be rolled out and the ball in now in the carrier’s court. Some of the addition made to Android Honeycomb with this new update includes option for the user to resize widgets. To demonstrate this feature Google used the Gmail widget, which when resized gives a preview of the inbox. A major update is the inclusion of USB support that will allow users to connect I/O devices like a keyboard or even a gamepad. Lastly, the update will include all the bits needed to access Google’s newly launched movie rental service


Intel Ivy Bridge chips first to employ 3-D transistors, entering production later this year

Posted by Unknown on 1:58 pm

Buying A Cheap Andro What U Should look For :

Posted by Unknown on 12:40 pm

Atleast a 600-800 MHz processor on entry-level and mid-range phones. Avoid 400 Mhz phones like these. 
HVGA resolution or WVGA resolution capacitive screens. All but one of the phones shortlisted below has a resistive screen.
Choose manufacturers with a history of pushing regular firmware updates (recent study) 
It's advisable to stick to phones that have a plain vanilla UI as they're likely to receive OS updates faster. 
Preferably running Android 2.2 Froyo or or 2.3 Gingerbread
Secondary camera for video calls
    Low Range Phones (Under Rs. 10,000)

1. Spice Mi 310 - Rs. 9,000
2. Samsung Galaxy S5570 - Rs. 9,000
3.Micromax Andro A60 - Rs. 6,700
4. Samsung Galaxy 5 - Rs. 8,500 


Cheap Android Phones : Huawei Ideos - upcoming affordable Android smartphone with Froyo

Posted by Unknown on 12:10 pm


Huawei hasn’t exactly impressed with their previous two Android phones but this one looks like a disruption for sure – Ideos - dubbed "the world’s first affordable smartphone" will be priced at less than Rs 10,000 ($100-$200) and comes loaded with Android 2.2. It should be a very interesting phone to watch out for when it launches in India, as most of the Androids (except for HTC Desire) here are running Android 2.1 or lower. Only 5% of Android devices presently have Froyo according to Google. Support for Android 2.2 Froyo means Wi-Fi and USB tethering, voice dialing, voice navigation, and the ability to run applications off the SD card, with speed enhancements all wrapped up in the latest stock UI - the Ideos should be able to hold its own against the UI customisations made by other brands with stock Android 2.2 running on a QVGA screen.  
Ideos has a smaller 2.8 inch QVGA (240 x 320 pixel) screen, which now seems to be the only differentiating factor that seperates high-end and low-end Android phones. Other specs of note: 528 MHz processor, a 3-megapixel camera, support for 3G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 2.0,and 32GB MicroSD cards. Engadget's recent hands-on with the phone notes generally improved responsiveness and touch sensitivity, so we have our hopes up. If you were holding out for an affordable Android phone, you might want to wait for this. From the video it seems like Ideos has been made in close collaboration with Google.

Update: Sources tell us that the IDEOS will be available in India by Diwali this year

Tuesday, May 17

Over 75 lakhs tiny tots on FB

Posted by Unknown on 10:18 pm

According to a recent survey by Consumer Report , America

more than 75 lakhs of minors ( i.e. below 13 ) have their illegal accounts on Facebook .

And 50 lakhs are below 10 !!!!!!!

Surprisingly their parents dont even know about it .

And these are the only ones who were victims of Cyber fraud and harassment , from people whose requests they accept  unknowingly.

So Better have a look on info before moving ur cursor on ACCEPT !!!!

Google makes the day for ones stuck without Admin privileges for browsing !!!!!!!!

Posted by Unknown on 5:34 pm
Google has some good news for those of you stuck using Internet Explorer 6, 7 or 8. The company’s Chrome Frame technology, which injects the Google Chrome rendering engine into Internet Explorer, can now be installed without needing admin privileges in Windows.

For now the new features are only in the experimental dev channel, but once this build has been stabilized the new features will roll out to the beta and final release channels.

While it’s true that simply switching web browsers is a far better solution than using Chrome Frame, for those who can’t switch browsers because they’re stuck in corporate IT environments where old versions of IE still reign supreme, Chrome Frame remains the only real solution. Of course such environments are also precisely the sort of places where users can’t install their own software, which is why Google has eliminated the need for admin rights to install Chrome Frame.

Triggering Chrome Frame is left up to individual sites, which must add a meta tag to their pages to check for Chrome Frame.

For more info on what’s new in the latest release of Chrome Frame, check out this video from Google’s ongoing I/O conference in San Francisco:

Sunday, May 15

SRK is right : Cell phones causing decline in bee numbers?

Posted by Unknown on 12:47 pm
A recent scientific study suggests that bees are significantly disturbed when mobile phones are used in close proximity to the furry critters.


The study may shed light on why the bee population is in decline globally.
As bees can communicate through sound, the experiment at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology observed any changes to the noises the insects made when active mobile phones were placed in their hive. The results were quite worrying.

Facebook adds new user security features

Posted by Unknown on 12:13 pm
Facebook is launching several new security features today designed to protect users from malware and from getting their accounts hijacked.

First, the site will display warnings when users are about to be duped by clickjacking and cross-site scripting attacks in which they think they are following a link to an interesting news story or taking action to see a video and instead end up spamming their friends.

For example, a scam was circulating yesterday in which Facebook users were inadvertently commenting on what looked like a news site with details of the iPhone 5. Clicking on the link leads to a page with a captcha window and if it is clicked the spam is then spread on a user's Facebook page. Another one was spreading today that urged people to verify their accounts by clicking on something. Facebook was quickly removing those posts.

In cross-site scripting (XSS) attacks, people are often asked to cut and paste Javascript or another type of code into their browser Web address bar in order to see a video or get a free product, for instance. But the code ends up doing something else entirely.

Both types of attacks take advantage of a vulnerability in the Web browser, and Facebook says it is working with the major browser companies to fix the underlying issue. Internet Explorer 9 already has some protections against this in place.

But now, Facebook will display a warning to users if it detects that suspicious activity is going on behind the scenes. To block clickjacking, the site will ask users to confirm their "like" before posting a story to their profile and their friends' News Feeds. And to prevent XSS attacks, Facebook will ask users to confirm that they meant to take the action.

Facebook also is offering two-factor authentication called "Login Approvals," which if turned on will require users to enter a code whenever they log into the site from a new or unrecognized device. The code is sent via text message to the user's mobile phone.

Speak Asia : biggest online fraud going on !!!!!!!!!!!!

Posted by Unknown on 12:05 pm
Speak Asia Touting itself to be a biggest survey company in asia has got in trouble now.
Company promises to multiply ur money by 5 times , and says it earnsBY DOING SURVEYS FOR Airtel , Samsumg n other MNC's .
But The companies revealed they never had sevices from Speak Asia.
S.A. now has over 17 lakh memebers and is adding @ 35,000 / day.
It functions on prohibited Money Circulation system , and has no offfices in India completely based in Singapore .
Because of which company is now going to be monitered by State agencies and is likely to be prosecuted.
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