Bose Solo TV sound system now up for grabs in India

Bose recently launched its Solo TV sound system in the Indian market,  priced at Rs. 25,673. The name says it all; this is a single sound bar for your TV which creates a surround sound system effect without investing on a high-end home theater system.

Bose claims that this portable sound bar is capable of dramatically improving the dialogue, action and music on any movie. Now it might not be as precise as a fully fledged home theatre system, but if you are on a limited budget this might suit your requirements. The Solo TV is 7cm high and 52.5cm wide. It has especially been designed for big flat panel televisions, and like other horizontal sound bars it will sit right under your television. The sound system has extremely easy installation with one cable connecting to your TV. Already up for grabs in India, for a live demo check it out at a Bose experience center near you.

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Official photos of HTC Deluxe DLX leaked

Recently we saw the leaked press image of the HTC Deluxe which is the international version of the Droid DNA and HTC J Butterfly. This device is the Taiwanese manufacturers’ competitor in the phablet space and now official photos of this 5-inch smartphone have surfaced on the web.

These are not the best quality images and they hardly reveal any information about the smartphone. However, we can confirm that the HTC Deluxe will be available in Black, White and Brown and it will be referred to as HTC Deluxe DLX.

It is likely that the device might have the same specifications as its other variants, which include the 5-inch Super LCD3 full HD display, 2GB of RAM and a 1.5GHz quad-core Snapdragon Krait processor, amongst others.

The launch of this device is still not confirmed by HTC and chances are that the company will reveal more details on the same during CES 2013 and MWC 2013, which are scheduled for January 2013 and February 2013 respectively.

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Samsung Galaxy Camera now up for grabs in India

Samsung has now launched its much awaited Android based camera in the Indian market. This device is called the Samsung Galaxy Camera and it has been for pre-order with the Samsung eStore in India.

The Samsung Galaxy Camera is a fully equipped digital camera which runs Android 4.1 Jelly Bean and it is powered by a 1.4GHz quad-core Eyxnos processor. This device has a 4.8-inch S-LCD display and a resolution of 1280x720 pixels, it has a 16 megapixel sensor with 21x optical zoom. It also features a microSIM slot and is a 3G capable device along with Wi-Fi connectivity. It has a microSD card for storage.

Another Android based digital camera in the market is the Nikon CoolPix S800C, which runs Android 2.3 Gingerbread and the Galaxy Camera also has better hardware. This Android based Nikon camera is priced at Rs.20,950 while the Samsung’s Galaxy Camera is officially priced at Rs. 29,990.

Samsung has pre-loaded the device with a bunch of custom applications which are developed to help the user with photography. One can also use the vast number of camera applications available on the Google Play Store.

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Samsung Galaxy Camera launched in India at Rs. 29,990

Samsung India has officially launched the Galaxy Camera in the country, and according to Mr. Asim Warsi, Vice President, Samsung Mobile, India is among the first five markets in the world where the camera has been launched.

The Samsung Galaxy Camera is built upon the DNA of Samsung’s very popular Galaxy S III Android smartphone, sharing with in common the Exynos 4 processor, a quad core chip that is clocked at 1.4GHz. Along with that, there is also a 1GB of RAM along with 8GB onboard storage, which can be expanded using a microSD card. There is a gorgeous 4.8-inch touchscreen at the back, which, for a second, made us feel like we were looking at the Galaxy S III. Besides the massive processing power and RAM numbers, the Galaxy camera stands apart as a peerless innovation by packing in 3G/4G radios.

Samsung’s goal with the Galaxy Camera has been to make a shooter that is truly connected. They wanted to eliminate the “yes, I’ll send you the photos later when I get home” problem by building connectivity options into the camera so that the images could be shared instantaneously. Even though we do have an Android powered camera (Nikon’s Coolpix S800c running Gingerbread), Samsung’s Galaxy Camera stands apart from it in almost every single way.

Since the camera’s key feature is that it runs on Android, Samsung has powered the impressive hardware with Android 4.1 Jelly Bean OS, the somewhat newest offering from Google. When asked about the plan of updating to Android 4.2 (specifically for the Photo Sphere feature), we were told that the update is in the works, but no timeline for release has been set yet.

Running on Android with such impressive hardware, the Galaxy Camera allows the users to download any app from the App store and run it on the camera. It even supports third party photography apps like Instagram and Panorama Camera 360. We tested that for ourselves to make sure it wasn’t just a gimmick and for sure, the apps worked beautifully, interfacing with the Samsung hardware very well.

One aspect of the camera that Mr. Warsi pointed out specifically was that it has been built ground up by Samsung. The processor, the RAM, the display, the 16-megapixel BSI sensor and even the 21x optical zoom lens (23-481mm) are all Samsung made. This comes in light of the fact that Samsung is known to use Schneider lenses in other camera models, but the German-made lenses are missing on the Galaxy Camera. To showcase that Samsung engineering could hold its own, prominent fashion photographer Anushka Menon showcased some of the works she had shot on the camera, and it was definitely enough to impress us.

The Samsung Galaxy camera can now be purchased online immediately and will be available in stores tomorrow for Rs. 29,990. Seeing as how a 1650mAh battery might not be enough in case you decide to use your camera as more than just a camera, the good folks at Samsung are also packing in an extra battery into the retail box for the initial sales period.

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Samsung rolling out Jelly Bean for Galaxy Tab 2

Samsung has started rolling out the Android Jelly Bean update for the Galaxy Tab 2. Once installed, this will update the version to Android 4.1, and bring this pretty much on par with the likes of the Kindle Fire HD.

According to SamMobile, the Android 4.1.1 version has been rolled out for the Tab 2 in France, which indicates that the rest of the European countries should be getting the same update soon. No official word though from Samsung regarding any timelines about the update rollout globally.

This update is available for download and install over-the-air (OTA), but if you do like a little bit of stress in your life, there is always the option of updating via the Kies desktop software!

The real advantage of Jelly Bean is the slicker user interface, thanks to Project Butter. Also arriving with the newer OS is Google Now, the personal assistant that gives you regular updates about things that may matter to you.

It will be interesting to see if this roll-out is successful. The Jelly Bean update for the Samsung Galaxy S III was pulled off the air, after users reported battery an performance issues. Surely, Samsung would have worked to ensure that such issues were ironed out from this update before it went Live.

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Windows Store goes past 20,000 apps

The Windows Store in Windows 8 has gone past 20,000 apps after almost a month since its launch. The Windows 8 store added 7,000 apps in the last two weeks. Though it's not known when it hit the landmark, but Win App Update, which keeps tracks of the totals, claims the Windows Store hit the milestone on Tuesday this week.

According to Win App Update, about 17,958 of the apps (87 percent) are free. It's notable not all apps are available in all regions and languages. Almost 13,000 of those are available in the U.S., 14,000 in Canada and 11,000 in the U.K.

Earlier this month, the Windows 8 store had about 12,895 apps. This means the store went on to add about 7,715 apps in the last 17 days, averaging more than 453 apps per day. The milestone means the Windows store's growth has once again accelerated, as it initially averaged 500 apps additions daily and then dipped to 300 apps per day recently.

At this rate, the Windows 8 store is estimated to go past 30,000 mark by end of this year or may close in on 40,000 apps. The coming holiday season may see developers adding more apps to Windows 8. Developers would be looking to cash in on 'massive' sales of the Windows 8-ready devices around the world.

The Windows 8 store is likely to see 'new-style' apps, which are optimised for the Metro UI

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Sony Vaio Duo 11 laptop/tablet hybrid launched in India

Sony has launched its new Vaio Duo 11 in India and it is officially priced at Rs. 89,990. Like most of the new Windows 8 portables this device is a laptop/tablet hybrid which has an 11-inch Full HD touchscreen display.

This device features a slide-our keyboard under the display and it has all the prime connectivity options like USB 3.0 and HDMI ports. This is not a new design as we have already seen similar form-factors in the past and even though they have not being a huge hits Sony for some reason has still decided to go with this design. It is quite a heavy devices weighing at 1.2 kilograms and it is 0.75 inches thick.

In terms of the specifications this hybrid is powered by the latest generation Intel Ivy Bridge i5 processor which is coupled with 6GB of RAM. It has a 128GB SSD and there is no dedicated GPU.  Further the lack of an optical trackpad means users will have to get used to touch/type style interface with this device.

Apart from all the aforementioned the Sony Vaio Duo 11 includes Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity, it has an Ethernet port and a VGA port and Sony ships with the Pen which can be used as a stylus for input.

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Pantel launches Android 4.0 ICS based 8-inch tablet

Pantel has launched yet another tablet device in the Indian market and this device is called the Pantel WS802C-2G which features an 8-inch display and a SIM card slot allowing users to make calls.

Apart from the aforementioned this Android 4.0 ICS based tablet is powered by a 1.2GHz single-core processor, it has 1GB of RAM, 8GB of built-in storage, microSD card slot, USB port which supports 3G dongles and a 5,000 mAh battery.

Pantel has also partnered with BSNL to launch this tablet and the telecom operator will provide 4GB of data for the first two months. The WS802C-2G tablet is officially priced at Rs. 8,299 and the company is also offering a keyboard accessory which has stereo speakers and it costs an extra Rs. 1,499.

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