Why Battery Life Should Be The New Smartphone Battleground

<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7l6n9R4gXinRr-B0HMW_1uUfuA6nj8yt_DjEC3CWVKcCq076594tJ4sa9f-CefXkCo0chZPk9XzAm1KaIuHMGBf7yshH8lISRzqw8f02nhidsPkvgXk-a2pVJ6WScHw8xnOvgjtT-l1U/s320/iphonebatt1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="249" /></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Smartphone </i></td></tr> </tbody></table> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7l6n9R4gXinRr-B0HMW_1uUfuA6nj8yt_DjEC3CWVKcCq076594tJ4sa9f-CefXkCo0chZPk9XzAm1KaIuHMGBf7yshH8lISRzqw8f02nhidsPkvgXk-a2pVJ6WScHw8xnOvgjtT-l1U/s1600/iphonebatt1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"></span></a></div> <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Smartphones are unquestionably one of the most useful devices of the 21st century but they continue to have one critical flaw – battery life. We’ve all been there – you forgot to charge your smartphone and you have 10% battery life left to see you through the day.</span><br /> <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">You think of ways to charge it, perhaps stopping off at a local coffee shop to hook up to a power adapter, switching the phone off to make an important call later, or maybe you’ve even purchased a portable power pack to charge it on the go.</span><br /> <span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 24px;">The trouble is, few if any manufacturers seem to have cottoned on to just how much each of us uses our smartphone. They, and sadly many consumers as well, have been obsessed with size and weight but they forget that smartphones are no longer just things we use lightly for an hour a day.</span><br /> <div> <div style="border: 0px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-top: 15px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; word-wrap: break-word;"> <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Sadly, while the processing power and features of modern smartphones is more than up to the task, especially with 4G data speeds coming on tap in many different countries, their batteries simply aren’t. In fact they’re still using comparatively old technology that pre-dates the smartphone itself. There are two main issues with all current smartphone batteries. They take a long time to charge and they lack capacity.</span></div> </div> <div> <div style="border: 0px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-top: 15px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; word-wrap: break-word;"> <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The former might seem like an odd issue to raise but imagine if you could charge your smartphones to 80 or 90% in less than five minutes? Hook it up while you’re having breakfast and by the time you’re ready to leave for school or work, it’s nearly fully charged. This would drastically improve the situation but as is stands, even connecting your smartphone to a mains socket as opposed to your laptop’s USB port, it’s still likely to take a at least an hour to fully charge a smartphone from flat.</span></div> </div> <div> <div style="border: 0px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-top: 15px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; word-wrap: break-word;"> <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Capacity is the real crux of the issue, though, and it’s what makes smartphone battery cases so popular. These are cases with integrated batteries that you can switch on to charge your phone, basically doubling its battery life. Heavy users likely find the need to charge their phones once a day – a battery case can extend this to two days. But what if a single charge could last for a week of heavy use? Does charging your phone on Sunday night and even with a week of heavy use, not having to charge it till the weekend sound good? // <a href="http://www.forbes.com/sites/antonyleather/2013/12/13/why-battery-life-should-be-the-new-smartphone-battleground/">Forbes</a></span></div> </div>

Why Battery Life Should Be The New Smartphone Battleground

Smartphone  Smartphones are unquestionably one of the most useful devices of the 21st century but they continue to have one critical f...

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Apps can monitor smartphone

<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4D2qL-wGkfqdaQns8NYDlGYHDqujTahRmpkUT8bj5k52YuPOPKImUm32Xyme1im0rFiGP1uVLSmNcISttWMhn1QUYXxHQSdHf1jhN5beX4Zmk2E3pYlb7h5KuzEEVCbLz_0lFmqG1xhk/s1600/apple-ios-7-iphone.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" height="247" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4D2qL-wGkfqdaQns8NYDlGYHDqujTahRmpkUT8bj5k52YuPOPKImUm32Xyme1im0rFiGP1uVLSmNcISttWMhn1QUYXxHQSdHf1jhN5beX4Zmk2E3pYlb7h5KuzEEVCbLz_0lFmqG1xhk/s320/apple-ios-7-iphone.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;">smartphone</span></i></td></tr> </tbody></table> <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 22px;">For iOS users, the simplest and clearest app is </span><b style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 22px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">DataMan Next </b><span style="line-height: 22px;">by Johnny Ixe. It features clear, large text that allows the app to tell you much of the information you seek in one glance.</span></span><br /> <span style="line-height: 22px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span> <div style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.4; margin-bottom: 1.25em; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Once it is set up, the app runs in the background, gathering information on how much data you are using over a mobile data connection such as 4G or over Wi-Fi. Opening the app brings up the home page, which has a big percentage number in the middle, a counter to when the billing cycle ends and simple displays of how much you have already used on cellular or Wi-Fi. It also looks at your use patterns and predicts whether you are "safe" for the month's limit. The home page color changes from green to red as you approach the limit.</span></div> <div style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.4; margin-bottom: 1.25em; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The app can also send alerts as you hit different percentages of your data allowance. The app costs $2.</span></div> <div style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.4; margin-bottom: 1.25em; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">My Data Manager</b> is an alternative, available on both iOS and Android. It is a bit more fussy. It is free, though, and provides a more thorough measure of data habits. It has a quick-glance home page to report the data used in a month and how much was mobile versus Wi-Fi. It even has a section to monitor data use when you are roaming overseas.</span></div> <div style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.4; margin-bottom: 1.25em; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">If you tap on the small graph icon on the bottom of the screen, the app will display a bar chart of your data use on a daily basis. You can also see a map showing where you downloaded data the most. The idea is to give you insight into your data habits so that you can modify them sensibly.</span></div> <div style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.4; margin-bottom: 1.25em; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Another good option is <b style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Onavo Count</b>, free on Android and iOS. The Android version looks well designed, with a minimalist interface and intuitive graphs. Its home screen tells you how much of your monthly or weekly data you have consumed with a display of shading on a colored ring.</span></div> <div style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.4; margin-bottom: 1.25em; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">On the home page, it shows how your data use breaks down into categories such as video-viewing, use of social media and so on. It can also show how your use of particular apps compares with that of the average user.</span></div> <div style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.4; margin-bottom: 1.25em; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Other possibilities are the free <b style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Data Monitor</b> by Nutec Apps on iOS and <b style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">3G Defender</b> on Android. They work similarly, but look more cluttered and feel different from the other apps mentioned here. It is also worth noting that in iOS 7 and Android 4.x, Apple and Google have included systems to see how much mobile data is being used. But you have to dig into the settings to find them, and the information is not necessarily as complete as that offered by the apps mentioned here. // <a href="http://www.tampabay.com/news/business/personalfinance/apps-can-monitor-smartphone-data-usage/2158820">Tampa Bay Times</a></span></div>

Apps can monitor smartphone

smartphone For iOS users, the simplest and clearest app is  DataMan Next  by Johnny Ixe. It features clear, large text that allows the a...

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Maybe HP Release New Smartphones Before Year Is Out

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhD4oP6fOXfCOcCtKZKyDh3qwBWsUaWM_EWlcA9rAeXRQAnQyzzg9biCY6H3ymKrvZ_HxQHu-yGSwadJiVF_hV1r-fkh_2oktxTU4boucUZ-oWTRcRn-DbLNJfTiWmQKaOanMOKuL1BPTE/s1600/hp-corporate.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhD4oP6fOXfCOcCtKZKyDh3qwBWsUaWM_EWlcA9rAeXRQAnQyzzg9biCY6H3ymKrvZ_HxQHu-yGSwadJiVF_hV1r-fkh_2oktxTU4boucUZ-oWTRcRn-DbLNJfTiWmQKaOanMOKuL1BPTE/s400/hp-corporate.jpg" width="400" /></a></div> <div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #3b3b3c; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 16px; line-height: 23px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 9px; vertical-align: baseline;"> Hewlett Packard is rumored to be planning a return to the smartphone business in the coming days with a pair of low-priced devices aimed at China and other Asian markets.</div> <div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #3b3b3c; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 16px; line-height: 23px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 9px; vertical-align: baseline;"> The two rumored phablet-sized smartphones would be priced between $200 and $250 as off-contract, unlocked devices and could appear before the end of 2013, <a data-ls-seen="1" href="https://www.theinformation.com/HP-Makes-Another-Phone-Call" style="border: 0px; color: #007ba1; font-family: inherit; font-size: 16px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">according to The Information</a>.</div> <div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #3b3b3c; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 16px; line-height: 23px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 9px; vertical-align: baseline;"> The tech site reported this week that HP CEO Meg Whitman is "taking another stab at the crowded mobile-phone industry as she tries to turn around the company." The rumored "affordable" smartphones for markets like China, India, and the Philippines are purportedly a 6-inch device and a 7-inch handset that would push the envelope on the line between phablets and full-blown tablets.</div> <div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #3b3b3c; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 16px; line-height: 23px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 9px; vertical-align: baseline;"> Details on these devices are pretty spare, but the assumption is that they would run Google's Android operating system and sport an ARM-based application processor. HP already has the Android-based Slate 7 <span class="zdcse-wrapper" id="zdcse_wjbxpn_undefined" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 16px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">$139.99 at Sears</span> tablet powered by a dual-core 1.6GHz Rockchip Cortex-A9 chip in its portfolio.</div> <div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #3b3b3c; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 16px; line-height: 23px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 9px; vertical-align: baseline;"> It could get interesting if the company goes in a different direction—HP plays in the mobile device market with products like its Envy X2 <span class="zdcse-wrapper" id="zdcse_lcttdj_undefined" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 16px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">$611.99 at Amazon</span>, which runs Microsoft's Windows 8 and has an Intel Atom chip under the hood. It seems unlikely that the company would test the waters with its first stab at a smartphone in several years with devices running Windows Phone 8 and/or featuring Intel inside, but you never know.</div> <div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #3b3b3c; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 16px; line-height: 23px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 9px; vertical-align: baseline;"> <i>Source : <a href="http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2428718,00.asp">PCMag</a></i></div>

Maybe HP Release New Smartphones Before Year Is Out

Hewlett Packard is rumored to be planning a return to the smartphone business in the coming days with a pair of low-priced devices aime...

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Apple, Microsoft group to sell Nortel patents

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img alt="" class="cnet-image" height="214" src="http://asset3.cbsistatic.com/cnwk.1d/i/tim2/2013/12/06/FDNewsDOJpatents.jpg" style="border: 0px; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px auto; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" width="300" /></span></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">Apple, Microsoft group to sell Nortel patents<br /><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 19.984375px;"><br />The Rockstar Consortium -- made up of several tech companies, including Apple and Microsoft -- is aiming to sell off a portion of its hard-sought wireless patents, Bloomberg</span></span><a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-12-23/apple-backed-rockstar-said-to-hold-discussions-to-sell-patents.html" style="border: 0px; color: #2964bf; cursor: pointer; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 19.984375px; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">reported</a><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 19.984375px;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px; line-height: 19.984375px;">Monday.</span></span></td></tr> </tbody></table> </div> <div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: subpixel-antialiased; background-color: white; border: 0px; font-size: 15px; line-height: 19.984375px; margin-top: 10px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Unnamed sources told the publication that Rockstar is "holding discussions" to sell off the Nortel Networks patents, largely related to wireless technology, because it hasn't been able to broadly license them. Patent holders can make money by licensing the use of patented technology to other companies.</span></div> <div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: subpixel-antialiased; background-color: white; border: 0px; font-size: 15px; line-height: 19.984375px; margin-top: 10px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The consortium, which also includes BlackBerry, Ericsson, and Sony, fought off Google topurchase 6,000 Nortel patents in 2011 for $4.5 billion.</span></div> <div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: subpixel-antialiased; background-color: white; border: 0px; font-size: 15px; line-height: 19.984375px; margin-top: 10px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The patents cover technology related to wireless, wireless 4G, data networking, optical, voice, Internet, and semiconductors. Rockstar recently filed suit against Google and other smartphone makers like Samsung and HTC over the patents.</span></div> <div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: subpixel-antialiased; background-color: white; border: 0px; font-size: 15px; line-height: 19.984375px; margin-top: 10px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> <i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Via: <a href="http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-57616258-93/apple-microsoft-group-to-sell-nortel-patents/">CNET</a></span></i></div>

Apple, Microsoft group to sell Nortel patents

Apple, Microsoft group to sell Nortel patents The Rockstar Consortium -- made up of several tech companies, including Apple and Microsoft...

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Amazon: 5 bold predictions for 2014

<div class="cnet-image-div image-REGULAR float-none" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; clear: both; float: none; font-size: 15px; line-height: 19.984375px; margin: 10px auto; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 600px;"> <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img alt="" class="cnet-image" height="400" src="http://asset3.cbsistatic.com/cnwk.1d/i/tim/2012/09/06/Amazon_0906.jpg" style="border: 0px; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" width="600" /><span class="image-credit" style="border: 0px; font-size: 0.8em; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 1.133em; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">(Credit: James Martin/CNET)</span></span></div> <div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: subpixel-antialiased; background-color: white; border: 0px; font-size: 15px; line-height: 19.984375px; margin-top: 10px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </div> <div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: subpixel-antialiased; background-color: white; border: 0px; font-size: 15px; line-height: 19.984375px; margin-top: 10px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Amazon spent 2013 attempting to wow us and, for the most part, succeeded.</span></div> <div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: subpixel-antialiased; background-color: white; border: 0px; font-size: 15px; line-height: 19.984375px; margin-top: 10px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This year saw the debut of Amazon's Mayday customer service button -- the marquee feature for its newest line of Kindle Fire tablets -- the revival of the US Postal Service through Sunday delivery, and, of course, the frenzy of debate over autonomous flying robots serving as the next-generation of delivery men ahead of Cyber Monday.</span></div> <div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: subpixel-antialiased; background-color: white; border: 0px; font-size: 15px; line-height: 19.984375px; margin-top: 10px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Think Amazon out did itself in 2013? Well, get ready for even more eye-popping surprises in 2014.</span></div> <div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: subpixel-antialiased; background-color: white; border: 0px; font-size: 15px; line-height: 19.984375px; margin-top: 10px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Known for its willingness to play the long game, Amazon often goes through cycles of large investments before reaping the rewards, and 2014 will be another year when the company "percolates," said NPD analyst Marshal Cohen.</span></div> <div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: subpixel-antialiased; background-color: white; border: 0px; font-size: 15px; line-height: 19.984375px; margin-top: 10px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">"You can feel that they're getting ready in a year or two to come out with some very big things," he said.</span></div> <div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: subpixel-antialiased; background-color: white; border: 0px; font-size: 15px; line-height: 19.984375px; margin-top: 10px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Of course, that won't stop Amazon from introducing more incremental products and services next year as well. But focusing on the next big thing is more fun. Here are five bold ideas we think are most likely bubbling under the surface at Amazon. Sorry, <a href="http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-57614273-93/amazon-drones-bold-experiment-or-shrewd-publicity-stunt/" style="border: 0px; color: #2964bf; cursor: pointer; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">drones</a> not included.</span></div> <div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: subpixel-antialiased; background-color: white; border: 0px; font-size: 15px; line-height: 19.984375px; margin-top: 10px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </div> <div class="cnet-image-div image-REGULAR float-none" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; clear: both; float: none; font-size: 15px; line-height: 19.984375px; margin: 10px auto; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 600px;"> <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img alt="" class="cnet-image" height="400" src="http://asset3.cbsistatic.com/cnwk.1d/i/tim2/2013/10/01/Amazon_Bezos_price.jpg" style="border: 0px; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" width="600" /></span><div class="image-caption" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: subpixel-antialiased; border: 0px; font-size: 0.8em; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 1.133em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos at the Kindle event last year. If Amazon has a smartphone, it will be cheap because the company wants to make money off what you buy from a device and not the device itself.</span></div> <span class="image-credit" style="border: 0px; font-size: 0.8em; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 1.133em; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">(Credit: James Martin/CNET)</span></span></div> <div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: subpixel-antialiased; background-color: white; border: 0px; font-size: 15px; line-height: 19.984375px; margin-top: 10px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </div> <div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: subpixel-antialiased; background-color: white; border: 0px; font-size: 15px; line-height: 19.984375px; margin-top: 10px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b style="border: 0px; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">1. Finally, that smartphone</b><br />We may finally see the debut of the <a href="http://news.cnet.com/8301-1035_3-57607590-94/amazon-htc-to-develop-line-of-smartphones-report-says/" style="border: 0px; color: #2964bf; cursor: pointer; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">long-rumored</a> Amazon smartphone. With so many high-profile smartphones already in the mix, Amazon will need to do a lot to stand out.</span></div> <div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: subpixel-antialiased; background-color: white; border: 0px; font-size: 15px; line-height: 19.984375px; margin-top: 10px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Looking to the <a class="cnet-product" href="http://reviews.cnet.com/amazon-kindle-fire-hdx-8-9-inch/" style="border: 0px; color: #2964bf; cursor: pointer; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Kindle Fire </a>tablet as the model, you can expect a smartphone that can quickly tap into the Amazon storefront. Think Amazon's 1-click feature on its Web site is easy? Amazon may make it an even more integral part of the mobile experience.</span></div> <div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: subpixel-antialiased; background-color: white; border: 0px; font-size: 15px; line-height: 19.984375px; margin-top: 10px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The Amazon phone would also likely be a media powerhouse -- as long as you're an Amazon Prime customer. The device would have easy access to streaming movies and be able to quickly access your purchased music.</span></div> <div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: subpixel-antialiased; background-color: white; border: 0px; font-size: 15px; line-height: 19.984375px; margin-top: 10px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Like it or not, the Amazon smartphone will also likely come preloaded with apps and widgets to help direct customers to its various services, which includes Goodreads, Zappos, Audible, and<a href="http://reviews.cnet.com/kindle/" section="luke_topic" style="border: 0px; color: #2964bf; cursor: pointer; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Kindle</a>.</span></div> <div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: subpixel-antialiased; background-color: white; border: 0px; font-size: 15px; line-height: 19.984375px; margin-top: 10px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">One other way the Amazon phone could emulate the Kindle Fire: an attractive price. While reports of a free Amazon phone turned out to be wrong, the company could decide to sell the smartphone unlocked at a steep discount.</span></div> <div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: subpixel-antialiased; background-color: white; border: 0px; font-size: 15px; line-height: 19.984375px; margin-top: 10px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The strategy has worked for Google and its <a class="cnet-product" href="http://reviews.cnet.com/cell-phones/google-nexus-5/4505-6454_7-35828372.html" style="border: 0px; color: #2964bf; cursor: pointer; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Nexus 5</a> phone, which it is selling for $350 unlocked. Amazon could do Nexus 5 one better and offer a $300, or even $250, phone. Amazon has the added benefit of making up any potential losses through the potentially higher rate of transactions conducted on the phone.</span></div> <div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: subpixel-antialiased; background-color: white; border: 0px; font-size: 15px; line-height: 19.984375px; margin-top: 10px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">With a low price tag, don't expect the hardware to excite anyone. But, you can bet it will be powerful enough and offer a big enough screen to make sure you have a smooth video-viewing experience.</span></div> <div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: subpixel-antialiased; background-color: white; border: 0px; font-size: 15px; line-height: 19.984375px; margin-top: 10px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </div> <div class="cnet-image-div image-LARGE2 float-none" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; clear: both; float: none; font-size: 15px; line-height: 19.984375px; margin: 10px auto; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 610px;"> <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img alt="" class="cnet-image" height="343" src="http://asset3.cbsistatic.com/cnwk.1d/i/tim2/2013/09/24/KindleAdvisor_610x343.jpg" style="border: 0px; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" width="610" /></span><div class="image-caption" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: subpixel-antialiased; border: 0px; font-size: 0.8em; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 1.133em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">An Amazon service rep responding to a Kindle Fire HD Mayday request.</span></div> <span class="image-credit" style="border: 0px; font-size: 0.8em; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 1.133em; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">(Credit: CNET)</span></span></div> <div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: subpixel-antialiased; background-color: white; border: 0px; font-size: 15px; line-height: 19.984375px; margin-top: 10px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </div> <div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: subpixel-antialiased; background-color: white; border: 0px; font-size: 15px; line-height: 19.984375px; margin-top: 10px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b style="border: 0px; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">2. The Kindle, your tutor</b><br />Thanks to Mayday, your Kindle Fire can tell you how to change the brightness of your tablet or how to order an e-book. So why couldn't it also teach your kids math?</span></div> <div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: subpixel-antialiased; background-color: white; border: 0px; font-size: 15px; line-height: 19.984375px; margin-top: 10px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">If Amazon's acquisition of TenMarks is any indication, the company may be looking to delve into education. TenMarks creates math practice programs and is a teaching tool. When Amazon purchased it in October, it said TenMarks would develop new education apps for Kindle tablets.</span></div> <div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: subpixel-antialiased; background-color: white; border: 0px; font-size: 15px; line-height: 19.984375px; margin-top: 10px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It's not a huge stretch to see a potential marriage of TenMarks' education resources and the Mayday service -- perhaps a premium option that allows for tutors to help with math equations via one-sided video tutelage?</span></div> <div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: subpixel-antialiased; background-color: white; border: 0px; font-size: 15px; line-height: 19.984375px; margin-top: 10px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Crazy? Perhaps. But just crazy enough for Amazon? Certainly.</span></div> <div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: subpixel-antialiased; background-color: white; border: 0px; font-size: 15px; line-height: 19.984375px; margin-top: 10px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Couple that with Amazon's newly released free-time features on a tablet designed for penny-pinching parents, and Amazon makes the Kindle the ideal children's tablet.</span></div> <div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: subpixel-antialiased; background-color: white; border: 0px; font-size: 15px; line-height: 19.984375px; margin-top: 10px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> <i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Via: <a href="http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-57615894-93/amazon-5-bold-predictions-for-2014/">CNET</a></span></i></div> <div style="-webkit-font-smoothing: subpixel-antialiased; background-color: white; border: 0px; font-size: 15px; line-height: 19.984375px; margin-top: 10px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </div> <div class="cnet-image-div image-REGULAR float-none" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; clear: both; float: none; font-size: 15px; line-height: 19.984375px; margin: 10px auto; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 594px;"> <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><div class="image-caption" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: subpixel-antialiased; border: 0px; font-size: 0.8em; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 1.133em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">.</span></div> </div>

Amazon: 5 bold predictions for 2014

(Credit: James Martin/CNET) Amazon spent 2013 attempting to wow us and, for the most part, succeeded. This year saw the debut of Amaz...

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Are Samsung Smartphones Seriously safe?

<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWhkJ7pUnhsAe5lP-5oju4BVyCOanM-S1WWJ-nK3pvarhZXuz73SBxsK35Fkku3s-IcLkgCxxNogc6ovbLIEDH6kqNp5lI6lfIvHH-8BvUynJXDMRiyx5BM7Ke0fj4tKCttIwE8_Md39Q/s1600/img_knox_02.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" height="321" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWhkJ7pUnhsAe5lP-5oju4BVyCOanM-S1WWJ-nK3pvarhZXuz73SBxsK35Fkku3s-IcLkgCxxNogc6ovbLIEDH6kqNp5lI6lfIvHH-8BvUynJXDMRiyx5BM7Ke0fj4tKCttIwE8_Md39Q/s640/img_knox_02.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 21.99652862548828px; text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;">A serious security vulnerability was reportedly found in Samsung’s smartphone app Knox</span></span></td></tr> </tbody></table> <div style="border: 0px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 1em; padding: 0px;"> <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported on December 24 that a serious security vulnerability was found in Samsung’s smartphone app Knox.</span></div> <div style="border: 0px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em; padding: 0px;"> <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Mordechai Guri, a researcher at Israel’s  Ben-Gurion University’s Cyber Lab, alleged that a critical security vulnerability was discovered earlier this month, which would allow outsiders to breach the smartphone’s security and access supposedly secure user data.  </span></div> <div style="border: 0px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em; padding: 0px;"> <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The Knox app is designed to protect corporate data on a personal smartphone, data such as email, contacts, and calendr information. But in a worst-case scenario, hackers could install a Trojan on a Knox-enabled phone that could enter the corporate security network via the Knox app and wreak havoc. </span></div> <div style="border: 0px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em; padding: 0px;"> <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Samsung is reportedly conducting its own investigation, but announced that similar allegations have been made before, and that the problem is not as serious as Guri claims.</span></div> <div style="border: 0px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em; padding: 0px;"> <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Samsung also argued that in order to run Knox properly there must be additional software installed, but the lab’s testing was done without the required software.</span></div> <div style="border: 0px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em; padding: 0px;"> <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The WSJ also reported earlier this month that system errors have been repeatedly found in Knox, prompting consumer complaints. // businesskorea.co.kr</span></div>

Are Samsung Smartphones Seriously safe?

A serious security vulnerability was reportedly found in Samsung’s smartphone app Knox The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported on Decemb...

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Best apps for your new tablet or smartphone

<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg24Cc5EBAoCGrwEuVps_ynwbfZ0AR2BwsMG4e-_XqZQAbbiRJKmXVuUlDY9ZxQqGxlo7H1gtYTK4QOHQJP7Ll5hengvo-YzGHfEVDlA-jZ-PWj405LSLBZy4KJMt0ZaiJ35oBy2FRQfRs/s1600/729Sky-620x349.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg24Cc5EBAoCGrwEuVps_ynwbfZ0AR2BwsMG4e-_XqZQAbbiRJKmXVuUlDY9ZxQqGxlo7H1gtYTK4QOHQJP7Ll5hengvo-YzGHfEVDlA-jZ-PWj405LSLBZy4KJMt0ZaiJ35oBy2FRQfRs/s1600/729Sky-620x349.jpg" /></span></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 17px; text-align: left;">Cold War</span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 17px; text-align: left;"> has amazing graphics.</span></span></i></td></tr> </tbody></table> <div style="border: 0px; line-height: 17px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Let's start with some games. <span style="border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Sky Gamblers: Cold War</span> from Atypical Games has 3D graphics so impressive that it is almost as if you had a game console in a device you can put in your pocket. This $5 iPhone or iPad game puts you in the cockpit of aircraft from the Cold War era. You steer by turning your device in the air, and control various systems and weapons by tapping on icons or swiping on the screen. The game has dramatic missions and is great fun. It's also an ideal app to show off the power of your new device to a friend.</span></div> <div class="cT-imageLandscape" style="border: 0px; line-height: 17px; margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;"> <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img alt="Layar gives you information on where you are." itemprop="image" src="http://images.theage.com.au/2013/12/26/5035831/729Layar-620x349.jpg" style="border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: bottom;" /></span><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; clear: left; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; padding: 0.7em 0px 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"> <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Layar gives you information on where you are.</span></div> </div> <div style="border: 0px; line-height: 17px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">On Android a similar game is <span style="border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Sky Gamblers: Air Supremacy</span>, from the makers Namco-Bandai. It also has good graphics and the same sort of complex gameplay. It's free, although it costs up to $3 to unlock missions and aircraft. There is also <span style="border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Air Supremacy</span> on iOS for $1, but I feel the <span style="border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Cold War</span> version is better.</span></div> <div class="hidden" id="adspot-300x250-pos-3" style="border: 0px; left: -9000px; line-height: 17px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: absolute; top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 90px;"> <small style="border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;">Advertisement</span></small></div> <div style="border: 0px; line-height: 17px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">For an alternative to a war-themed game, try <span style="border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Infinity Blade 3</span> on iOS and <span style="border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Dragonslayer</span> on Android. These are fantasy games with amazing 3D graphics that place you on an adventure in a mystical land with just your wits and sword skills to save you. <span style="border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Infinity Blade 3</span>, which is also perhaps the most graphically wonderful game you'll see on an iOS device, costs $3.<span style="border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Dragonslayer</span> is free on Android.</span></div> <div style="border: 0px; line-height: 17px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">You probably have heard of <span style="border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Angry Birds</span>, a wonderfully odd puzzle game where you catapult moody avians to destroy buildings made by evil pigs. The latest, <span style="border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Angry Birds Star Wars 2</span>, is free on iOS and Android and is hilarious to play. Its puzzles and hidden levels have kept me amused for too many hours to count. There is a Windows 8 version too that will cost you a dollar.</span></div> <div style="border: 0px; line-height: 17px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">For a different puzzler, check out <span style="border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Candy Crush Saga</span>, which has been downloaded half a billion times. It's a bit like the classic <span style="border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Tetris</span>, with cute graphics and simple but addictive gameplay. It's free for iOS and Android.</span></div> <div style="border: 0px; line-height: 17px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">With social networking apps you can experience the thrill of sharing news or photos or even video about what you're up to with the world in real time. Twitter (free on iOS, Android, Windows Phone), Facebook (free on iOS, Android and Windows) and Instagram (free on iOS, Android, Windows Phone 8) are all worth checking out. Again, these apps come with a warning - you may use them much more than you expected.</span></div> <div style="border: 0px; line-height: 17px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">But don't forget that smartphones and tablets have more uses than merely to gossip or play games. How about using them to get you from A to B? Waze is a powerful GPS app to try. It replaces that old device that you used to suction onto your car's windshield with a modern mapping system that is constantly improved by its community of users.</span></div> <div style="border: 0px; line-height: 17px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">As well as the usual tricks of showing a map and speaking turn-by-turn directions, Waze offers real-time traffic data and alerts for incidents such as traffic jams or accidents. The app has some quirks, like requiring a network connection for live data, thus eating up your mobile data allowance, and its cutesy graphics may not tickle your fancy. But it is free, and available on iOS, Android and Windows Phone.</span></div> <div style="border: 0px; line-height: 17px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">For more real-time data for the world around you, download Layar or Junaio to tap into some of the same "augmented reality" vibe that Google's Glass headset is championing. These apps turn your device into a digital window.</span></div> <div style="border: 0px; line-height: 17px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">You hold your device up and the screen will show a view through the camera's lens. Superimposed on top of this view is all sorts of additional data you select from a library of different "layers," including information like the identity of boats you can see on the ocean, or photos that Twitter users nearby have shared.</span></div> <div style="border: 0px; line-height: 17px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Layar (iOS, Android) and Junaio (iOS, Android) are free and may amaze you with the amount of information you can find within moments. But this technology is quite new, so be prepared for a bit of a learning curve with the apps and occasionally unreliable performance.</span></div> <div style="border: 0px; line-height: 17px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Finally, check out the amazing power of Shazam. This app listens to music you hear in public, as you sit in a coffee shop, for example, and automatically identifies the tune for you. It's magical to see in action, and it even offers links to buy the music if you really like it. Shazam is free on iOS, Android and Windows Phone.</span></div> <div style="border: 0px; line-height: 17px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">These, of course, are just the beginning. There are many thousands more out there - many free. Do some of your own exploring, and you'll find apps for everything. Just be careful about spending surprising amounts of money on in-app purchases, particularly in games.</span></div> <div style="border: 0px; line-height: 17px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> <span style="border: 0px; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">// The New York Times</span></b></span></div> <br />

Best apps for your new tablet or smartphone

Cold War  has amazing graphics. Let's start with some games.  Sky Gamblers: Cold War  from Atypical Games has 3D graphics so impres...

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Smoke detector for the smartphone generation

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiibNCG4TqwyDUAD1r-zx0slkrz5YitzIMkoZYJxJcweo5S1JQndnIpeZhL7o_eqh859D8UxeJvZQJTOOcIXfqG8ETi2ZbDeCmOuTTEjmqKflLzrLXVLsDMi3s1hNf9I5BiWRK4TYyiX1PN/s1600/leads2013.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiibNCG4TqwyDUAD1r-zx0slkrz5YitzIMkoZYJxJcweo5S1JQndnIpeZhL7o_eqh859D8UxeJvZQJTOOcIXfqG8ETi2ZbDeCmOuTTEjmqKflLzrLXVLsDMi3s1hNf9I5BiWRK4TYyiX1PN/s320/leads2013.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div><div style="line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Back in 2011, Nest did the impossible: It made thermostats sexy. Apple veterans Tony Fadell and <a href="http://www.engadget.com/2013/03/16/live-from-expand-a-conversation-with-nest-co-founder-matt-roger/" style="text-decoration: none;">Matt Rogers</a> applied their iPod-designing expertise to the largely utilitarian world of home-climate control, creating the <a href="http://www.engadget.com/2012/10/02/nest-learning-thermostat-gets-refreshed-with-a-slimmer-design-i/" style="text-decoration: none;">Learning Thermostat</a>, an appliance aimed squarely at the gadget-obsessed citizens of the smartphone age. And then, earlier this year, Fadell and Rogers took on another traditionally banal (but utterly important) aspect of home life: the smoke detector. The conceit of the<a href="http://www.engadget.com/2013/10/08/nest-protect-smoke-detector/" style="text-decoration: none;">Nest Protect</a> was to bring some of the same aesthetics and smart features that made the company's first product a success.</span></div><div style="line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The result is a smoke/carbon monoxide detector with mobile device connectivity and a range of expressions that go far beyond the old beeping alarms, as well as a unique gesture feature that lets you silence the device with the wave of a hand. Admittedly bummed at the inability to test the Learning Thermostat in my prewar New York City apartment building, I happily jumped at the opportunity to review the Protect. So Nest sent along two devices, a can of something called a "smoke detector tester" and, thankfully, thorough instructions on how one goes about testing smoke detectors without accidentally burning the house down.</span></div><div style="line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div><h3 style="margin: 1em 0px; text-transform: uppercase;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;">HARDWARE</span></h3><div class="image-container" style="line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: -15px; margin-right: -15px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" data-credit="AOL" data-mep="55574" src="http://hss-prod.hss.aol.com/hss/storage/adam/29d5783d847450f8546a13ea94ae7eb5/nest2012-09-16_21-00-22600.jpg" style="border: 0px; display: block; height: auto !important; margin: 0px auto !important; max-width: 100%; width: auto;" /></div><div style="line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Given Nest's origins, it's not especially surprising that the company managed to make even the product's box a thing to behold. The message is pretty clear: If Apple ever saw fit to produce a smoke detector, it would look something like this. It's a well-designed bit of packaging that looks more suited for a Best Buy vending machine than a dusty hardware store shelf. Inside, you'll find a wall mount, a set of four screws embedded directly into the cardboard packaging and an awful lot of paperwork -- after all, making sure the device works properly could be a matter of life or death. As for the Protect itself, you've got two options, both at the same price point: a battery-operated model, and a wired version for those who want to tap into their home circuitry. Seeing as how I won't be using the detector permanently, I opted for the latter, which comes with six AA Energizer Lithiums pre-installed.</span></div><div class="image-container" style="line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: -15px; margin-right: -15px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" data-credit="AOL" data-mep="55575" src="http://hss-prod.hss.aol.com/hss/storage/adam/a90d26eb0aaa175d2adf71d53fb91d0e/nest2012-09-16_21-06-57600.jpg" style="border: 0px; display: block; height: auto !important; margin: 0px auto !important; max-width: 100%; width: auto;" /></div><div style="line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Like most current smartphones, the Protect comes in either black or white. Nest sent me two white devices, thankfully -- far better for blending in on my apartment walls. Perhaps some of you willing to drop $129 on this sort of product want to make the thing as conspicuous as possible, but personally, I'd prefer not to have to discuss my smoke detector with everyone who visits my apartment (that's what record collections, bookshelves and stuffed grizzlies are for). With that in mind, it's not surprising that the Protect has a much subtler aesthetic than the company's first device, though it's still unquestionably a much nicer object than the vast majority of smoke detectors I've encountered.</span></div><div style="line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The Apple connection is pretty clear here, right out of the box. With the clean lines and rounded corners, a quick look at the Protect's profile invites comparisons to a flattened <a href="http://www.engadget.com/2012/11/09/apple-mac-mini-review/" style="text-decoration: none;">Mac mini</a> or <a href="http://www.engadget.com/2010/09/29/apple-tv-review-2010/" style="text-decoration: none;">Apple TV</a>. The front of the device, meanwhile, is almost all grille -- this is, after all, a product designed to wake you from deep sleep a couple of rooms away. A big, circular button sporting a Nest logo sits in the middle of the dotted plastic face. Mobile devices aside, this button will be your primary method for interacting with the Protect. You'll press it several times during setup, any time you want to test the detector and when you want to quiet the alarm.</span></div><div class="image-container" style="line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: -15px; margin-right: -15px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" data-credit="AOL" data-mep="55576" src="http://hss-prod.hss.aol.com/hss/storage/adam/69a519ffaf9aaa9910d00fee5122533f/nest2012-09-16_22-19-25600.jpg" style="border: 0px; display: block; height: auto !important; margin: 0px auto !important; max-width: 100%; width: auto;" /></div><div style="line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">There's a thin circle in the button, with faint, light gray text so befuddled houseguests know they're looking at a smoke and carbon monoxide detector. In this spot, you'll also see the light that emanates from behind the button, forming a glowing ring in the center of the smoke detector. This is how the Protect manages to communicate without always making noise. Nest opted not to include a display, likely because you won't find yourself physically interacting with a smoke detector nearly as often as a thermostat. The vast majority of the time, there's no light on at all, allowing it to blend in with its surroundings and conserve battery life.</span></div><div style="line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Still, the light is pretty expressive. During the setup process and testing, it turns blue, letting you know it's working and connected. When you turn off the lights at night, it glows green for a moment to let you know everything is all right with the sensors and batteries (if there's an issue, it'll turn yellow and tell you what the matter is when you wave your hand in front of it). And if you so choose during the setup process, the pathlight will light up when it detects motion in the dark, a sort of beacon to help you navigate your way through a pitch-black room. The light turns yellow as an early warning sign of a problem and red when it's time to sound the alarm.</span></div><div class="image-container" style="line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: -15px; margin-right: -15px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" data-credit="AOL" data-mep="55577" src="http://hss-prod.hss.aol.com/hss/storage/adam/4ba5a6fb3a250fddf97199e4074f3021/nest2012-09-16_21-16-38600.jpg" style="border: 0px; display: block; height: auto !important; margin: 0px auto !important; max-width: 100%; width: auto;" /></div><div style="line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">On the back of the Protect, you'll find detailed explanations about each of the light colors and the standard warnings that come with a product like this. There's a micro-USB port in the middle for "internal use only," according to Nest, and holes for attaching it to the wall dock, a process that just requires a simple twist. At the bottom are two screws you'll need to take out to remove the back while changing the batteries. When you first take the Protect out of the box, you'll also spot a light blue tag popping out the back -- this ensures that the batteries aren't in before you're ready for them. You'll need to yank that out to get started.</span></div><h3 style="margin: 1em 0px; text-transform: uppercase;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;">SETUP</span></h3><div class="image-container" style="line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: -15px; margin-right: -15px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" data-credit="AOL" data-mep="55578" src="http://hss-prod.hss.aol.com/hss/storage/adam/e73c7bd411119665b5a9da1cc343685b/nest2013-12-13_14-46-33600.jpg" style="border: 0px; display: block; height: auto !important; margin: 0px auto !important; max-width: 100%; width: auto;" /></div><div style="line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Pull out the tab and press the button and the Protect will say, "Hi." The smoke detector has a soft-spoken, feminine voice, the sort of strangely calming robotic presence you'd like guiding you in a time of emergency. The voice follows the greeting by asking you to choose whether you'd like her to speak in Spanish or English. Next up, you'll be prompted to test the Protect, to make sure things are all right. "The alarm will sound," she explains. "The alarm is loud." She ain't lying. It's grating, ear-piercing and strikingly loud, and you'll hear a total of six beeps as the Protect checks the smoke and then carbon monoxide sensors. It's annoying when you're testing the thing, sure, but when it comes to smoke alarms, loud is good. "The test is finished," she adds, calm as ever. And, if all goes according to plan, "everything is okay."</span></div><div style="line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Now it's time to download the app. Ahead of Protect's release, the company issued an app that monitors both its thermostats and smoke detectors, available for iOS and Android. Create an account through Nest's site (if you don't already have one); use your handset to scan the QR code on the Protect's back (or manually enter a key, if you're so inclined); and the app will take you through a simple process of connecting it to your wireless network. If you've ever connected anything like a <a href="http://www.engadget.com/2013/07/29/google-chromecast-review/" style="text-decoration: none;">Chromecast</a> to your home WiFi, this should be a familiar process, though I did have to repeat it a few times as everything attempted to connect. I spoke to a Nest rep, and the company's not sure what happened there, but the problem resolved itself before I had to pull my hair out. When you're done, the voice will tell you that she's "connected to the internet" and everything's ready to go. If you've got a second Protect, you'll be prompted to connect that, as well. It's a similar process, albeit slightly shorter with some redundant steps removed.</span></div><div style="line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Next, it's time to take the old smoke detector off the wall -- though the company suggested I not actually do that in my testing, as the review units weren't quite final. This part of the process is naturally a bit more involved, should you opt for the wired version. According to the included instructions, the ceiling is the best place your Protect -- or, failing that, high up on a wall. In either case, it's best to avoid obscuring any edge of the detector with a tight corner. Once you've found the right spot, screw the backplate into the wall and snap the Protect in place.</span></div><h3 style="margin: 1em 0px; text-transform: uppercase;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;">TESTING</span></h3><div class="image-container" style="line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: -15px; margin-right: -15px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" data-credit="AOL" data-mep="56086" src="http://hss-prod.hss.aol.com/hss/storage/adam/94f2f4dd0aafd2c632c60ef0f518e093/nest2012-09-16_23-48-32600.jpg" style="border: 0px; display: block; height: auto !important; margin: 0px auto !important; max-width: 100%; width: auto;" /></div><div style="line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">And now the fun(?) part. If the beeping during setup didn't set off the neighbors, I assumed the testing would. No one came knocking, however, which should give you some idea of how much you can count on the people in your building in case of emergency. Good thing I have four smoke detectors in my apartment at the moment. Nest equipped me with the Smoke Sabre, a smoke-detector tester in an aerosol can. With a spritz (or with actual smoke or carbon monoxide, naturally), the ring of light will turn yellow, alerting you that something is up. The Protect gives you a window of a few seconds in yellow, dimming slightly when it spots you, letting you know that you're in the sweet spot and can reset the alarm with a wave -- just as you might wave away the smoke when overcooking something on the stove. The idea is to stop false alarms before they start -- so if you're in the kitchen and something starts smoking, you don't have to deal with emergency alerts during a non-emergency.</span></div><div style="line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I had a bit of trouble getting the gesture-based override to work during the trial, in spite of some frantic waving. I contacted Nest about the issue, and a rep told me that, due to federal regulations, there are two versions of the alarm. The less serious of the two can be overridden by the user. The other just goes straight to alarm. Apparently I've been hitting the old Smoke Sabre a little too hard. The upside, however, is that I got to see the Nest spring into action (the downside, naturally, is that I got to hear it, too). This, it turns out, is why you installed that app -- like the smoke detector itself, it will sit around idly for the majority of the time, a subtle reminder that everything is copacetic.</span></div><div class="image-container" style="line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: -15px; margin-right: -15px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" data-credit="AOL" data-mep="57564" src="http://hss-prod.hss.aol.com/hss/storage/adam/98a19784a14926e3797f5311616ad181/leads2013-12-16_14-58-32600.jpg" style="border: 0px; display: block; height: auto !important; margin: 0px auto !important; max-width: 100%; width: auto;" /></div><div style="line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">When the Protect encounters an issue, however, you'll get a push notification on your mobile device (an optional, but highly recommended feature). The normally green ring in the center of the app will turn red, along with a quick indicator of what's wrong (in this case: "Smoke"). Tap on that and you'll get a breakdown of your alarms' statuses -- e.g., "Smoke" for the dining room and "All Clear" for the kitchen. Tap through to notes and the app gives you a full breakdown of what happened -- at 4:47 PM: "There is smoke. The alarm is sounding." I was eventually able to hush the sound by hitting the button, and the timeline mentions that as well. At the top of the page is a "What to Do" note, including the usual stop, drop and roll instructions (which you hopefully don't need to pick up a smartphone to remember). There's also a big red button at the bottom for dialing 911.</span></div><h3 style="margin: 1em 0px; text-transform: uppercase;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;">WRAP UP</span></h3><div class="image-container" style="line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: -15px; margin-right: -15px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" data-credit="AOL" data-mep="57735" src="http://hss-prod.hss.aol.com/hss/storage/adam/62cc071ea5033d03f1d04f5be1f4e507/nest2012-09-16_22-55-28600.jpg" style="border: 0px; display: block; height: auto !important; margin: 0px auto !important; max-width: 100%; width: auto;" /></div><div style="line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I'll admit it's been a while since I've been in the market for a smoke detector. A cursory scan of Amazon, however, indicates an average price between $10 and $30, with combo smoke/carbon monoxide detectors landing at the higher end of that spectrum. In either case, it's a range the $129 Protect misses by a country mile. Of course, this isn't just any smoke detector. Like the Learning Thermostat before it, it's a bit of home electronics aimed at gadget nerds, and certainly Nest has managed to do a lot in an otherwise staid category.</span></div><div style="line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">It's a lovely object, so far as these things go, and its expressive center lighting and voice directions offer a lot more than the standard series of beeps: alerting you to emergencies, low batteries and even lighting your way at night. The gesture-based hush can save your eardrums and the smartphone alerts may well save some lives. For most, however, standard smoke detectors will likely still do the trick. Even though certain device idiosyncrasies can be a hassle, $129 still feels like a lot to pay, given the industry average. And for those living in larger homes, it's a price that'll add up fast.</span></div><div style="line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em;"><i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Source : <a href="http://www.engadget.com/2013/12/20/nest-protect-review/">Engadget</a></span></i></div>

Smoke detector for the smartphone generation

Back in 2011, Nest did the impossible: It made thermostats sexy. Apple veterans Tony Fadell and  Matt Rogers  applied their iPod-designing e...

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iBall launches 'safety phone' for women in India

<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="andi" border="0" height="467" src="http://cdn-static.zdnet.com/i/r/story/70/00/024421/andi-550x467.png?hash=ATEvLmxkLw&upscale=1" style="border: 0px; display: block; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; height: auto; line-height: inherit; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; margin-top: 0px; max-width: 100%; padding: 0px; vertical-align: top; width: auto;" title="andi" width="550" /></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #252525; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic; line-height: 18px;">iBall launches 'safety phone' for women in India.</span></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://cdn-static.zdnet.com/i/r/story/70/00/024421/andi-550x467.png?hash=ATEvLmxkLw&upscale=1" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span></a></div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #252525; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">iBall's Andi Uddaan mobile device will be <a href="http://www.iball.co.in/NewsDetail/62" style="border: 0px; color: #005399; cursor: pointer; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">launched</a> across India within 2 weeks, at an introductory price of just 8,999 Indian rupees (US$145). It also comes with free accessories such as a flip cover, extra back cover, scratch guard and even a little pink purse. So besides the incredible price and freebies, what really makes this device unique?</span></div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #252525; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The iBall Andi Uddaan is the first mobile phone with a dedicated and exclusive SOS button on the back of the phone. In case of an <a href="http://www.zdnet.com/in/meru-cab-launches-booking-app-with-emergency-distress-button-7000019417/" style="border: 0px; color: #005399; cursor: pointer; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_self">emergency</a> of any kind, simply pressing the SOS button will set off a loud alarm, alerting people nearby. Furthermore, calls and text messages are made automatically to five pre-defined emergency contacts.</span></div><figure style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #252525; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><figcaption style="border: 0px; font-style: italic; line-height: 1.5; margin: -10px 0px 20px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></figcaption></figure><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #252525; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The text messages provides the pre-defined contacts with the exact geographical location, in real time. Furthermore, the same message is also sent out automatically as an update to Facebook too.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #252525; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In addition to the SOS button, the iBall Andi Udaan also has a pre-installed application: ICE, which stands for In Case of Emergency. The ICE feature allows users to enter vital information such as blood group, medical history, details of people to contact in case of emergency, and other features, thus triggering alert of an emergency situation.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #252525; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Another feature, when enabled and activated, is a GPS tracking system by up to 10 people. The location of the user can again be viewed in real time or at pre-defined intervals, and this feature can also be used for business to track personnel in the field.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #252525; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Under the hood, the iBall Andi Uddaan is powered by a 1.3 GHz Dual Core A7 processor with 512 MB of RAM and 4 GB of internal storage, expandable up to 32 GB, powered by the Google Android 4.2 Jellybean OS.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #252525; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The display is a 5 inch IPS HD display, and also comes both a front 5 MP camera with auto focus and a rear 8 MP camera, also with auto focus and a dual LED flash.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #252525; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>Via: <a href="http://www.zdnet.com/in/iball-launches-safety-phone-for-women-in-india-7000024421/">ZDNet</a></i></span></div>

iBall launches 'safety phone' for women in India

iBall launches 'safety phone' for women in India. iBall's Andi Uddaan mobile device will be  launched  across India within 2 wee...

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DataWind unveils three new dual-SIM 5-inch smartphones, starting at Rs. 3,499

<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcqT_IOVVg8dH6madEjwAmBsfidGtDf3xrQmURXRTh5WYHT_oYAgXC7NlwLvypvQvCJ5oAYM8eU2ib7iB3ZQMAdSUzb_NGpj9hXGjtYUmOjNroGFGqxNk69MD6mpV7rFjewhWasT7UrmtD/s1600/artImg198x166_18905.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcqT_IOVVg8dH6madEjwAmBsfidGtDf3xrQmURXRTh5WYHT_oYAgXC7NlwLvypvQvCJ5oAYM8eU2ib7iB3ZQMAdSUzb_NGpj9hXGjtYUmOjNroGFGqxNk69MD6mpV7rFjewhWasT7UrmtD/s1600/artImg198x166_18905.jpg" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><h1 style="background-color: white; color: #191919; font-weight: normal; line-height: 30px; margin: 0px 0px 8px; text-align: start;"><i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">dual-SIM 5-inch smartphones</span></i></h1></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="background-color: white; color: #191919; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 16px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">DataWind has forayed into the Indian smartphone market with the launch of PocketSurfer5, a new range of low-cost smartphones. All the three DataWind smartphones support dual-SIM, and are priced between Rs. 3,499 and Rs. 6,499.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #191919; line-height: 20px;"></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #191919; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 16px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The PocketSurfer 5x runs Linux OS and is powered by a Cortex A8 1GHz (cores unspecified) processor. It has a 5-inch TFT display and front VGA camera. For connectivity, the smartphone supports EDGE, Bluetooth and microUSB.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #191919; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 16px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The second smartphone is the PocketSurfer 5C+, which runs Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich OS, and is powered by a Cortex A9 1GHz (cores unspecified) processor. The smartphone also has a 5-inch TFT display. It has 2MP rear camera, VGA front camera and supports microSD. In terms of connectivity, the smartphone supports EDGE, Bluetooth, and microUSB. It is priced at Rs. 4,999.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #191919; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 16px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The Pocketsurfer 3G5 runs Android 4.2 OS and is powered by a Cortex A7 1.2GHz dual-core processor. It has 5-inch TFT display, 5MP rear camera and front VGA camera. In terms of connectivity, the smartphone supports 3G, EDGE, Bluetooth, and microUSB. It is priced at Rs. 6,499.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #191919; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 16px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">“On the 10th Anniversary of DataWind’sPocketSurfer - the fastest internet device operating through a GSM SIM beating all other internet devises at that time in speed, we’re very excited to introduce these amazing new devices at unbelievably low prices. Intended to again create benchmarks in the smart phone category, DataWind’s new products break the affordability barriers of smartphones and bandwidth constraints of cellular networks to deliver calling facility and internet access to anybody who can afford a simple mobile phone. Currently simple phones in the market cost as much as the smart phone on offer by DataWind,” says Suneet Singh Tuli, CEO of DataWind.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #191919; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 16px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img alt="" height="289" src="http://www.thinkdigit.com/FCKeditor/uploads/datawind%20pocketsurfer%205.jpg" style="border-style: none;" width="660" /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #191919; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 16px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">“Our primary focus is to bridge the digital divide and deliver an affordable means of accessing the internet. We want to be form-factor agnostic. Globally the massive shift from feature phones to smartphones is being driven by the appetite to get on the internet. We want to be the enabler.”</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #191919; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 16px; text-align: justify;"><i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Source : <a href="http://www.thinkdigit.com/Mobiles-PDAs/DataWind-unveils-three-new-dual-SIM-5-inch-smartphones_18905.html">ThinkDigit</a></span></i></div>

DataWind unveils three new dual-SIM 5-inch smartphones, starting at Rs. 3,499

dual-SIM 5-inch smartphones DataWind has forayed into the Indian smartphone market with the launch of PocketSurfer5, a new range of low-cost...

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Google could launch 'Nexus TV' Android set-top next year, says report

<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipWIlBBZO5Jx5jM72V4fC3zAq-VORXWEQpku7LqtDQbgjCp8NfqNfdw435zdL49LBiJNZFit532bR2CyOK-nt-WjJP-bA8AU9bBwZtxCchvvBM5wwmICPrU1A0pNJdaIwBfyjeKQKkG5Y/s1600/goo.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="208" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipWIlBBZO5Jx5jM72V4fC3zAq-VORXWEQpku7LqtDQbgjCp8NfqNfdw435zdL49LBiJNZFit532bR2CyOK-nt-WjJP-bA8AU9bBwZtxCchvvBM5wwmICPrU1A0pNJdaIwBfyjeKQKkG5Y/s320/goo.PNG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Google could launch 'Nexus TV' Android</i></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="pgh-paragraph" id="paragraph0" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 23px; margin-bottom: 15px;">Google isn't giving up its living room ambitions. The company is said to be working on a "Nexus TV" device that will run Android, stream video from services like Netflix, Hulu, and YouTube, and play a selection of video games. The rumor comes from <i>The Information</i>'s Amir Efrati, who cites an anonymous Google employee. The device is said to be ready for launch as soon as the first half of next year, according to the report.</div><div class="pgh-paragraph" id="paragraph1" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 23px; margin-bottom: 15px;">Rumors of a Google-made Android set top box go back to July of this year, when <i>The Wall Street Journal</i> reported that such a device was demoed by Andy Rubin behind closed doors at the 2013 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. Sources told the paper at the time that the box included a Kinect-like motion sensor and could be controlled with an Android smartphone. Today's report from <i>The Information</i> corroborates these details (though a motion sensor is not mentioned), and adds that a purpose-built touchpad remote could be included with the set-top box. Google reportedly showed off a version of the box to developers as recently as this fall.</div><div class="pgh-paragraph" id="paragraph2" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 23px; margin-bottom: 15px;">It's said that the device will not support live broadcast, which would mean Google could avoid the hassle of trying to bring traditional content providers on board. That's a task that's so far proved impossible for other companies: Intel abandoned its efforts to launch an internet set-top box after failing to secure such deals, and it's rumored that an Apple television device has been delayed for similar reasons. If the Nexus TV reports are accurate, Google seems to be pursuing a similar strategy as Amazon, which is rumored to have a set-top box of its own set for next year.</div><div class="pgh-paragraph" id="paragraph3" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 23px; margin-bottom: 15px;">Google has launched a number of products to attempt to gain a foothold in the living room, starting with the ill-fated (but still living) Google TV operating system that manufacturers built into smart TVs and other devices. It later announced the expensive Nexus Q (which never officially went on sale), and this year it began selling a small HDMI dongle called the Chromecast, which streams from just a few services and costs $35. The latter has seen some success, but it's a device with a simple feature set. A fully-fledged Nexus TV set-top box that runs Android would be in a different category — though today's report suggests it will be "aggressively priced."</div><div class="pgh-paragraph" id="paragraph3" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 23px; margin-bottom: 15px;"><i>Via: <a href="http://www.theverge.com/2013/12/6/5183372/google-nexus-tv-set-top-box-rumored-for-2014">The Verge</a></i></div>

Google could launch 'Nexus TV' Android set-top next year, says report

Google could launch 'Nexus TV' Android Google isn't giving up its living room ambitions. The company is said to be working on a ...

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IDC: smartphones outsell feature phones for the first time ever

<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdnm2d56rKnHDoCmjzfCVuLafBmP5im1IHVtit87kObZ-oSQpr4n7WlsT5fyArjEwXCQ0l94sfJkR27xV-8onUjz-HfankS6ZVZ0KQ1OZtGi7XXSoAaVaJLJAGS7F1HnLHIgAPB2wecjc/s1600/smartphone-lineup_1020_large_verge_medium_landscape.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdnm2d56rKnHDoCmjzfCVuLafBmP5im1IHVtit87kObZ-oSQpr4n7WlsT5fyArjEwXCQ0l94sfJkR27xV-8onUjz-HfankS6ZVZ0KQ1OZtGi7XXSoAaVaJLJAGS7F1HnLHIgAPB2wecjc/s320/smartphone-lineup_1020_large_verge_medium_landscape.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">smartphones outsell feature phones</span></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="pgh-paragraph" id="paragraph0" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 14px; line-height: 23px; margin-bottom: 15px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Research firm IDC is sharing its most recent smartphone sales data, numbers that show big gains for the top manufacturers from Korea and China, but only a modest jump for Apple. The entire mobile market grew by four percent year over year, says IDC, with companies combining to produce nearly 420 million handsets. Most interestingly, it notes that the past quarter is the first time that smartphones actually outshipped feature phones, garnering 51.6 percent of the market, but knowing how nebulously the industry defines "smartphone," we aren’t putting too much stock in the claim.</span></div><div class="pgh-paragraph" id="paragraph1" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 14px; line-height: 23px; margin-bottom: 15px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">According to IDC, Samsung had by far the largest share of smartphone shipments last quarter — a total of 32.7 percent — nearly doubling second-place manufacturer Apple’s share. In comparison, LG, Huawei, and ZTE all shipped roughly the same number of devices — between 10.3 million units (LG) and 9.1 million units (ZTE) over the quarter, with both LG and Huawei growing by roughly 100 percent. In comparison, Samsung moved just over 70.7 million units, and Apple, 37.4 million. Every other manufacturer combined moved a total of 78.8 million smartphones — more than Samsung, which placed first with a 37 percent increase over last year.</span></div><div class="pgh-paragraph" id="paragraph1" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 14px; line-height: 23px; margin-bottom: 15px;"><i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Via: <a href="http://www.theverge.com/2013/4/26/4268982/idc-q1-2013-smartphone-market-data">The Verge</a></span></i></div>

IDC: smartphones outsell feature phones for the first time ever

smartphones outsell feature phones Research firm IDC is sharing its most recent smartphone sales data, numbers that show big gains for the t...

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Smartphones in business: 'Don't spend too much on something that might get run over by a truck'

<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdnm2d56rKnHDoCmjzfCVuLafBmP5im1IHVtit87kObZ-oSQpr4n7WlsT5fyArjEwXCQ0l94sfJkR27xV-8onUjz-HfankS6ZVZ0KQ1OZtGi7XXSoAaVaJLJAGS7F1HnLHIgAPB2wecjc/s1600/smartphone-lineup_1020_large_verge_medium_landscape.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdnm2d56rKnHDoCmjzfCVuLafBmP5im1IHVtit87kObZ-oSQpr4n7WlsT5fyArjEwXCQ0l94sfJkR27xV-8onUjz-HfankS6ZVZ0KQ1OZtGi7XXSoAaVaJLJAGS7F1HnLHIgAPB2wecjc/s320/smartphone-lineup_1020_large_verge_medium_landscape.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Smartphones</span></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #252525; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">While consumers are obsessed with getting hold of the latest and greatest smartphone, businesses would be quite happy if the rate of innovation slowed down just a little bit.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #252525; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">That's because much of their effort is going into internal apps to improve business processes rather than to engage with customers.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #252525; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Seven out of 10 organisations are putting money into creating business apps for employees, according to new research — outstripping the 59 percent making business software for customers.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #252525; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Delivering a flexible workforce comes out far ahead of gaining a competitive advantage, with 83 percent of organisations citing staff flexibility as a main driver for mobility compared with 42 percent for business edge, the study of UK firms by enterprise apps company IFS also shows.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #252525; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Integrated Water Services managing director Peter Aspley takes a firm line on setting goals for his company's mobile strategy.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #252525; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">"We look at it primarily from a business need perspective. So, 'What does the business need?' as opposed to 'What does the individual want?'," Aspley told an IFS mobility round-table in London.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #252525; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">"Our focus is very much on putting the kit out there that does the job the business needs it to. Without being too harsh, if someone needs an iPhone for their personal interaction with Facebook, they can buy one," he said.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #252525; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Aspley's company provides services to the water industry, local authorities and hospitals, including managing plant and equipment on their behalf.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #252525; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">"Water industry, local authorities and government agencies are all feeling the squeeze, so we have to stay one step ahead of the game in trying to help to solve the client's problem." he said.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #252525; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Integrated Water Services' work in Legionella control, for example, requires a lot of daily data collection, so the firm first developed a mobile strategy in 2005 to gather information and feed it back to customers and business systems via the web.</span></div><div class="relatedContent alignLeft" style="background-color: white; border-bottom-color: rgb(221, 228, 233); border-bottom-style: solid; border-top-color: rgb(221, 228, 233); border-top-style: solid; border-width: 1px 0px; color: #252525; display: table; float: left; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; margin: 5px 20px 15px 0px; max-width: 220px; padding: 15px 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: auto;"><h3 style="border: 0px; font-size: 14px; font-style: italic; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.2; margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></h3></div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #252525; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Aspley's mobile strategy takes account of a range of devices, from iPhones at the management level to access business data and Motorola ES400 smartphones for the field engineers.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #252525; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">"That's where the challenge is — with the device interfaces with those field workers. Because you don't want to be spending a disproportionate amount of money on a device that is going to get dropped down a borehole, dropped in a tank, run over by the van," Aspley said.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #252525; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">"The attrition rate with those field-based devices at the sharp end is far higher than you would see in the office and the managerial environment."</span></div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #252525; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Three-quarters of firms have now invested in an enterprise mobility scheme. Of the 24 percent that haven't, three out of four say it's because it isn't business critical.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #252525; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Security issues remain the top concern for companies without mobile strategies, cited by 86 percent of respondents, followed by data loss on 56 percent.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #252525; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The cost of integration comes next, with a figure of 42 percent. However, software development is an issue even for companies that have been running a strategy for some time.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #252525; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Aspley said keeping applications up to date in the face of the short life-spans and rapid development of mobile devices represents an ongoing problem.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #252525; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">"It's been a real challenge for us in terms of the iteration of devices that we've gone through. We've never had across all our operations one device that we've been able to standardise on," he said.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #252525; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">"Because as soon as you've deployed, by the time you've gone through that replacement cycle with all the staff, actually that [device] is no longer in production."</span></div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #252525; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">His company's IT team invests a lot of effort in trying to second-guess the longevity of devices.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #252525; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">"You try to put your application on the right platform that gives you the agility within the inherent system that you're operating to interface with as many devices as possible," Aspley said.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #252525; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">"We stick all our stuff at the moment in a SQL Server database, so we can interface with most things but you can't stand still. The device industry indicates, 'This is the future'. In 12 months' time, it's old hat. It's gathering dust."</span></div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #252525; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Mark Austin, CIO at Bedford NHS Trust, said his route round issues created by the short life of mobile devices is to deliver services via a browser.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #252525; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">"We've strived towards getting applications to be more web front-ended, rather than leading on the device," Austin said.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #252525; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">"I don't profess that that will completely future-proof things but it gives us a little bit of longevity and then in the background we virtualise everything."</span></div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #252525; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The IFS research study polled 200 CIOs and IT managers at UK-based companies with more than 1,000 employees.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #252525; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Via: <a href="http://www.zdnet.com/smartphones-in-business-dont-spend-too-much-on-something-that-might-get-run-over-by-a-truck-7000024020/">ZDNet</a></span></i></div>

Smartphones in business: 'Don't spend too much on something that might get run over by a truck'

Smartphones While consumers are obsessed with getting hold of the latest and greatest smartphone, businesses would be quite happy if the rat...

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Android 4.4.1 update hints at Android Chromecast screen mirroring

<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzQ826d-13DqAVzdUtOTNTNDgpxHHx7x4I1Te1G0j_NCa0kdeLPBXa2RHfks39iLZ-WPlGlXeh_VNPiORU-OxuyRZgH-9lfq8NJBR2E0Cd5lu-QKdNnInP6f_yq8WUcq9kcmgv7jRE9iY/s1600/vhjv.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzQ826d-13DqAVzdUtOTNTNDgpxHHx7x4I1Te1G0j_NCa0kdeLPBXa2RHfks39iLZ-WPlGlXeh_VNPiORU-OxuyRZgH-9lfq8NJBR2E0Cd5lu-QKdNnInP6f_yq8WUcq9kcmgv7jRE9iY/s320/vhjv.PNG" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Android 4.4.1 update</span></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #252525; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Google appears to be planning to extend screencasting capabilities in Chromecast to allow Android devices to mirror the screen to TVs.</span></div><div class="relatedContent alignRight" style="background-color: white; border-bottom-color: rgb(221, 228, 233); border-bottom-style: solid; border-top-color: rgb(221, 228, 233); border-top-style: solid; border-width: 1px 0px; color: #252525; display: table; float: right; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; margin: 5px 0px 15px 20px; max-width: 220px; padding: 15px 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: auto;"><h3 style="border: 0px; font-size: 14px; font-style: italic; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.2; margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></h3></div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #252525; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Google released Android 4.4.1 last week, primarily to fix the camera in the Nexus 5, but as with many Android updates from Google, changes to the source code Google submits to the Android Open Source Project often contain clues as to what's in store.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #252525; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Developers at Funky Android over the weekend released a list of changes that were included in the update, including hints that Google is planning to let Android devices mirror their screens with nearby TVs, via Google's Chromecast.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #252525; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Chromecast is the company's $35 answer to Apple TV. The dongle plugs into the HDMI port of an HDTV, which in theory allows the Android device to share its display with a larger screen. However, at the moment, Chromecast only permits screencasting through supported apps — such as Chrome, Netflix, Hulu and a few others.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #252525; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Koushik Dutta, co-founder of Cyanogen Inc, which makes its own Android firmware, found the reference to the feature in Funky Android's change logs for the latest Android release,noting: "From the patches I see in 4.4.1, they'll be adding Android mirroring to Chromecast very soon."</span></div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #252525; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">But, Dutta adds, the feature will be closed to third-party developers (besides OEMs), meaning it won't be able to support projects that aim to use the same Android screencasting functionality with non-Chromecast hardware. Android owners do have other means of screencasting, however, such as with several dongles that support Miracast.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #252525; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Via: <a href="http://www.zdnet.com/android-4-4-1-update-hints-at-android-chromecast-screen-mirroring-very-soon-7000024073/">ZDNet</a></span></i></div>

Android 4.4.1 update hints at Android Chromecast screen mirroring

Android 4.4.1 update Google appears to be planning to extend screencasting capabilities in Chromecast to allow Android devices to mirror the...

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