Acer Chromebook on sale for under $200

Chromebooks may not the hottest thing right now, but Google does not appear to give up just yet. The company has teamed up with Acer to release the C7 Chromebook that is expected to go on sale for under 200 dollars, through the Google Play store. Acer may have skimped on the central processor to keep the price under $200, but otherwise the machine has respectable specs for what it is meant to be.

The laptop has 11.6-inch, 1366x768 screen, 1.1GHz Intel Celeron 847 processor with 2MB L3 cache, 2GB of DDR3 memory, and 320GB of HDD storage. The C7 comes with 802.11 a/b/g/n, three USB 2.0 sockets, HDMI and VGA connectors, and an SD card reader. In addition to Google Play, the Acer C7 is also expected to be available through Amazon (UK).

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BlackBerry 10 set for January launch

Research in Motion has announced that the company is ready to release BlackBerry 10 on January 30, which will be followed by unveiling of two new smartphones. RIM isn’t quite ready to commit to a release date for the hardware, but the market watchers are reportedly expecting it to happen sometime in March. The company’s CEO is pitching “…a truly unique mobile computing experience”, through a design mantra of BB10 that the company has dubbed BlackBerry Flow. Market analysts see BB10 as pivotal in turning the fortunes of RIM that has already lost much of its value and market share.

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The 10 best new-style Windows 8 apps

Sure, Windows 8's new kind of applications—formerly known as Metro—aren't up with iPad apps in numbers yet, at only about 5,000 available in the Windows Store compared with 275,000 in the iTunes App Store for Apple's tablet. But there are already some prime choices among them, many with names we've become familiar with on the other platforms. I refer to these full-screen, touch-friendly apps as “new-style,” since Windows 8 (but not Windows RT devices like the Surface) still run all the millions of standard Windows applications.

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Hold the phone: Microsoft wants to buy Nokia and Nvidia?

Here's an interesting bit of speculation from Information Week's Paul McDougall—Microsoft could be in the market to acquire not just key Windows Phone partner Nokia but also chipmaker Nvidia.

There are a lot of problems with this double-barreled dealmaking approach for Redmond, which we'll talk about in a bit. First, let's look at McDougall's logic.

For all intents and purposes, it sure looks likeMicrosoft wants to "adopt the Apple model" of extreme vertical integration for its product development cycles, meaning it seeks a whole lot more control and input on what it's producing from the silicon level on up.

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Android 4.0 ICS based Aakash 2 tablet launched in India

DataWind in collaboration with the HRD Ministry of India has launched the new low-cost Android tablet called the Aakash 2. This device will come with a special subsidized price for India students and will be up for grabs for the eligible for as low as Rs. 1,132.

The Aakash 2 which just like the original is also manufactured by DataWind is a much well equipped device. It is powered by a 1GHz ARM Cortex A8 processor, it has a 7-inch capacitive display with a 800×480 pixels resolution and 512MB of RAM.

Apart from this the device will includes 4GB of built-in storage, expandable memory via microSD card, runs Android 4.0 ICS, has a front facing VGA quality camera which supports video calling and has built-in Wi-Fi connectivity.

Apart from this the device will be equipped with an app from Amrita University which is especially designed for the Aakash 2. This app is called Amrita Virtual Interactive E-Learning World or A-VIEW. It will be available across all Aakash 2 devices.

The commercial version of the Aakash 2 will have the same specifications and it will be known as the DataWind Ubislate 7Ci. It is already available for pre-order with DataWind’s website for Rs. 4,499.

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Must Buy 7-inch tablet- ASUS Nexus 7

It's spending season this fortnight, that time of the year when you're most likely to be splurging your money on a gadget. In this series, our crew of gadget-obsessed boffins pick the best deal in each category, from entry-level dual-SIMs to superphones, tablets, ultraportables and luxury laptops. We've spent plenty of time deliberating on our choices, saving you the trouble of poring through a sea of specs sheets, reviews and benchmarks. Today we're gonna tell you why we think the Nexus 7 is the best tablet you can buy. Feel free to debate your choices and suggest alternatives in the comments below.

ASUS Nexus 7- Overview

It’s been a good year for Google, Android, and all its beneficiaries, thanks in part to devices such as the Nexus 7 from ASUS that has been shipping by the millions. Coming from ASUS, the Nexus 7 is built on a Tegra 3 SoC that has a quad-core processor clocked at 1.3GHz, and 1GB of RAM. The tablet has a 7-inch IPS-grade screen with native resolution of 1280x800 pixels.

The Nexus 7 model that ASUS has released for the Indian market has 16GB of onboard storage. Being a Nexus device, there is no SD slot for storage expansion, instead the user is expected to use online storage services such as Google’s Drive. Getting the Nexus 7 sourced from North America will set you back by little over $200. Alternatively, the 16GB version can be acquired from local markets for Rs.19,981.

Specs

Screen7" 1280x800 HD display (216 ppi)
Back-lit IPS display
Scratch-resistant Corning(R) glass
Camera1.2MP front-facing camera
WirelessWiFi 802.11 b/g/n
Bluetooth
NFC (Android Beam)
Memory16 GB internal storage (actual formatted capacity will be less)
1 GB RAM
Battery4325 mAh (Up to 8 hours of active use)
OSAndroid 4.1 (Jelly Bean)
CPUNVIDIA Tegra 3 quad-core processor

Pros

Hard to find another tablet with matching price/specs ratio

Easy to Service/Repair

Cons

No Rear Camera
Lack of expandable storage slot
Indian prices are nearly double of what you would have to pay in the US

Bottom-line: Getting an Android device backed by Google should ensure best support for future OS updates, even more so now considering the company is going after the brand with renewed vigor. While the tablet may not be a powerhouse, the specs are quite respectable for a device of its size. Like the rest of the Nexus line, the Nexus 7 is selling at a price that almost makes it a no-brainer for anyone in the market for a mobile computer.

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Android Jelly Bean based Galaxy Camera up for pre-order in India

Just in time before Diwali, Samsung has started taking pre-orders for its Galaxy Camera through the official Samsung eStore. The company demands a Rs. 3,000 pre-booking fee and its official pricing is yet to be disclosed in the market.

With the pre-booking you get a voucher of the same amount which one can redeem while making the final purchase. Along with the device Samsung is also offering 16GB microSD card as a free gift with every pre-order.

In the past the device has been priced in Germany as well as in the UK. Based on these prices chances are that the Galaxy Camera will be priced around Rs. 35,000 in India which is as expensive as an entry-level DSLR camera.

This is a well equipped device and also the first digital camera to run Android 4.1 Jelly Bean. The device is powered by a 1.4GHz quad-core processor, it has a 16 megapixel BSI CMOS sensor, 21x optical zoom lens and a 4.77-inch HD Super Clear LCD display. In terms of the connectivity it supports Wi-Fi a/b/g/n, Wi-Fi HT40 and Bluetooth 4.0. It is equipped with a 1,650 mAh battery.

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RIM offers 1 year free BBM service with purchase of Curve 9220 and Curve 9320

Research In Motion (RIM) which is still selling quite a few devices in India has launched a new offer for Diwali. With every purchase of the BlackBerry Curve 9220 or the BlackBerry Curve 9320 the user gets one year of free BBM service.

This offer will be available between November 9 and December 9. Now this seems like a good deal, but if you want that whole year of free BBM service then along with the new Curve device one will have to get a new Airtel or Vodafone connection. One year is a long time and that new number may be worth it after all.

Airtel subscribers have to message ‘BBM” to 543210 to activate the service on their new SIM. Vodafone users will get the service activated automatically within 48 hours of stating either of the devices with the new SIM.

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