Microsoft launches Windows Phone 8

Microsoft has officially launched the Windows Phone 8 and an event in San Francisco. The company had already announced this new update to their smartphone operating system back in June and yesterday the company demoed several of the new features which are introduced in this new update.

The key features on Windows Phone 8 include Lens in Camera, Kid’s Corner, Rooms in People’s Hub and seamless integration with Skype and SkyDrive. The Kid’s Corner allows the kids to use their parents’ smartphone, where the parent has full control over what should be accessible to the kid. Rooms is a feature which lets you create groups and share notes, calendars, photos, messages, etc.

It has automatic photo uploads, which uploads your camera pics to you SkyDrive account. Of course this needs internet connectivity on your device and you can also choose not to automatically upload the images.

At the moment the Widows phone 8 based devices that have been unveiled include the Nokia Lumia 920, Nokia Lumia 820, HTC 8X, HTX 8S and also the Samsung ATIV S. There are now specific launch dates or pricing announced for these devices.

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Huawei MediaPad 7 Lite now available for purchase in India

Huawei announced his device back in August and now the Huawei MediaPad 7 Lite is up for grabs in India via online retailer Flipkart. The device sports a 7-inch IPS display with 1024x600 pixels resolution.

The MediaPad 7 Lite is powered by a 1.2GHz Cortex A8 processor and it runs Android 4.0 ICS. It seems to a slightly premium tablet in the entry-level segment, which might hopefully last longer than its competitors. It supports 3G with voice calling, SMS and MMS. The device also has a 3.2 megapixel rear camera and a front facing 0.3 megapixel camera for video calling.

This tablet also features 1080p HD video playback at 30 frames per second, it has 1GB of RAM, 8GB of built-in storage and a microSD card slot for expandable storage. In terms of connectivity, it supports 3G (HSDPA 3.6Mbps), Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, DLNA, Bluetooth 3.0, aGPS and USB On-the-Go.

It has a 4,100 mAh battery and is device is priced at Rs. 13,700 with the online retailer. The Media Pad 7 Lite is expected to being shipping in 6-8 business days.

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ARM launches 64-bit Cortex-A50

Mobile chipmaker ARM has disclosed two processors at ARM TechCon, called Cortex-A53 and Cortex-A57 that based ARMv8 architecture, bringing enhanced 64-bit support. Its makers are calling it the most energy efficient 64-bit processors that will deliver three times the performance of todays’ top super-phones. These processors also hold the distinction of being the most complex ARM has ever built. ARM is ready to begin shipping these processors, and current licensees for the tech include AMD, Broadcom, Calxeda, HiSilicon, Samsung and STMicroelectronics.

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Disney buys all Lucas properties, new Star Wars movie in 2015

Walt Disney has entered a deal with George Lucas to buy out Lucas Films, Skywalker Sound, and Industrial Light and Magic, which includes property rights for Star Wars and Indiana Jones franchises. Lucas will reportedly be receiving about half of the $4.05 billion value of the deal in cash, plus 40 million stock shares. TheStar Wars franchise however appears to be at the heart of the deal for Disney, as they soon announced plans to release a new Star Wars film in 2015, followed by a new release every other year.

During a investors’ investment call, Disney outlined its plans for the Star Wars franchise that include video games focused on mobile and social gaming markets, licensing to other game developers, Star Wars themed attractions at Disney owned resorts and parks, and something on Disney XD TV channel. Meanwhile, Disney will be putting the Indiana Jones franchise on the back burner, featuring potential hurdles with the franchise distributor Paramount.

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Black Ops II gets a star-studded live-action trailer directed by Guy Ritchie

This trailer is a testament to how much money the Call of Duty franchise makes. For the upcoming launch on November 13th of Black Ops II, Activision has put together a superb star-studded trailer of utter awesomeness. Featuring Robert Downey JR, Jack Black and a lot of international stars from gaming, movies and music. The trailer is directed by none other than Guy Ritchie and it features those actors getting blown up in various creative ways using the advanced weaponry at your disposal. 

Black Ops II takes the CoD franchise into the future, literally, though it seems to be using the same old engine. The game shows the world of espionage, subterfuge and interrogations in the distant future. With access to some creative weaponry and you have robot mechs to content with in addition to other high tech agents, one thing is for sure, the Call of Duty know how to make a kick-ass single-player campaign. The ball is in your court now, Battlefield 4.

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Spec Showdown: LG Nexus 4 Vs. iPhone 5

LG Nexus 4

After a series of leaks left very little for launch day, the Nexus 4 announcements ended on a high note - it's $100 cheaper than the Galaxy Nexus, yet it integrates a quad core Snapdragon CPU, larger display, and 8 megapixel camera. 

Core specsDisplay: 4.7 inch IPS Plus capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors, 768x1280 pixels (~318 ppi)
CPU: Qualcomm APQ8064, quad-core 1.5 GHz  
GPU: Adreno 320
Storage: 8/16 GB storage, 2 GB RAM
Camera: 8 MP, 3264x2448 pixels, autofocus, LED flash, 1080p@30fps, Secondary Camera
Connectivity: HSDPA, 21 Mbps; HSUPA, 5.76 Mbps, Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, dual-band, DLNA, Bluetooth v4.0 with A2DP, TV-out, microUSB (MHL) v2.0, A-GPS support and GLONASS
Battery: Li-Po 2100mAh
Price: $299, $350

OS and Software
Jelly Bean 4.2 supports wireless displays, and brings Swype-like keyboard input, panoramic photos, support for multiple user profiles, apart from features integrated in the previous release. 

Pros and Cons
(+) Uses normal SIM cards
(+) Assured of early firmware updates
(+) NFC, MHL, wireless charging
(-) No expandable storage slot

Verdict: 
At half the price of the iPhone, clearly the most exciting smartphone launch this year - here's hoping LG can bring the phone down to India soon, and keep prices level.

iPhone 5

The iPhone 5 runs on a new A6 CPU which it claims is twice as fast as its predecessor, and adds 4G network radios. A recent teardown by iFixit, along with some die analysis has established that the A6 runs on custom armv7 architecture, with three GPU cores.

Core Specs
Display:  4-inch LED backlit LCD, capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors, 1136x640 pixels, (326 ppi)
CPU: A6 Processor
GPU: Triple-core PowerVR SGX 543MP3
Storage:  16GB, 32GB or 64GB
Camera:  8 MP, 3264x2448 pixels, autofocus, LED flash, 1080p@30fps. 1.2 MP 720p secondary cam
Connectivity: DC-HSDPA, 42 Mbps; HSDPA, 21 Mbps; HSUPA, 5.76 Mbps, LTE, 100 Mbps, Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, dual-band, Bluetooth 4.0 with A2DP, Lightning port, A-GPS support and GLONASS
Battery: Li-Ion 3.8V - 5.45Wh - 1434mAh battery
Price: Rs. 45,500, 52,500, 59,500

OS and SoftwareLaunched last month, iOS 6 brings over 200 new features, including native Facebook integration, Passbook, Shared Photo Streams, and a Panorama Mode for photography. 

Pros and Cons
(+)Unibody design
(+)Designed for one-handed use.
(-)Uses a nanoSIM card
(-)A lot of mapping features and voice search (Siri) will not be supported in India.

Verdict
With a larger screen, improved camera optics, and a uni-body design, it's a considerably improved iPhone.

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Nokia Lumia 920 and 820 coming in November

Nokia has announced that it will begin shipping the Lumia 920 and the Lumia 820 in Europe and Russia this week, with other countries, including India, lined-up for a November launch. Nokia is not talking exact dates or even pricing yet, but have confirmed the regions to get the new Lumia phones in November include Australia, France, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Italy, Poland, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Thailand,  Turkey, UAE, UK, US and Vietnam.

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Google announces $299 LG Nexus 4, coming to Asia in November

So we saw a bunch of rumors and leaks for this device and despite the cancellation of its launch event, Google and LG have announced the new Nexus 4. The LG Nexus 4 is the first Nexus smartphone from LG and also the first smartphone to run Android 4.2, which is also called Jelly Bean.

The design is quite similar to the Samsung manufactured Galaxy Nexus, however it is much powerful from the inside. The Nexus 4 is powered by a quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro processor which is clocked at 1.5GHz. It also includes 2GB of RAM, an 8 megapixel rear camera, 1.3 megapixel front facing camera and 8GB/16GB storage variants with no expandable memory.

The LG Nexus 4 sports a 4.7-inch IPS display which has a 1280x768 pixels resolution with Zerogap technology which helps provide a pixel density of 320ppi. It comes with all the new features introduced with Android 2.3 Jelly Bean and also includes NFC and wireless charging capability. It is equipped with a 2,100 mAh battery developed by LG Chem.

The Nexus 4 will be available via the Google Play Store starting November 13. The phone will arrive soon in November in Asia, Central/South America, Europe, CIS and the Middle East.

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