Dual-SIM capable Lava XOLO A700 launched in India

Lava’s new Android smartphone is called XOLO A700 and it is a dual-SIM capable device which is now available with online retailer Flipkart for Rs. 9,999. This device will be shipping in the next six to eight days and by that time we might also hear an official announcement from the company.

This device runs Android 4.0 ICS which may not be skinned with a custom UI. Unlike the much popular XOLO X900 which is powered by an Intel mobile processor, this device uses an ARM based dual-core chipset which is clocked at 1GHz.

Other specifications includes a 4.5-inch IPS LCD display with a 960x540 pixels resolution, it has 512MB of RAM, a 5 megapixel rear camera and a secondary VGA quality front facing camera. It has 4GB of built-in storage, a microSD card slot and a 1,700 mAh battery which is rated for 6 hours of talk time on 2G and just 3 hours on 3G.

Its dual-SIM capability only allows the user to use a 3G+2G connectivity and both SIMs cannot have 3G networks running simultaneously.

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Microsoft disclose Windows 8 sales numbers

It’s been a month since the launch of Windows 8, and Microsoft has disclosed its market performance, albeit in a cheeky way. Tami Reller of Microsoft announced that the company has sold 40million Windows 8 licenses, and Windows 8 is “outpacing” Windows 7 in terms of upgrades. This information was made public through a blog post, which did not see fit to clarify how many of 40 million licenses include OEM types.

Microsoft also through some vague stats about the Windows Store, without getting too much into specific figures. For instance, the company said that their app store has more items than any other at launch, and that number of apps have crossed the $25,000 revenue mark.

The company has also been collecting usage information from volunteers, out of which 90% used Charms on the first day. Also on the first day, 50% visited the Windows Store, and 80% launched the good-old desktop.

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ASUS debut ROG Orion headsets

ASUS has refreshed its line-up of ROG-branded headsets, with the introduction of two Orion models. Both the models have 50mm Neodymium drivers, and 100mm over-ear cushions. These provide passive noise cancellation of up to 30 decibels. The Orion Pro comes with ROG Spitfire audio processor that adds headphone amplification, 7.1 surround virtualization, and digital equalizer specifically designed for FPS games. These audio effects are built into the firmware and they can be turned-off using the attached controller. ASUS has priced ROG Orion Pro at Rs.5,200, and ROG Orion at Rs.4,250, both before taxes.

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Samsung launches ATIV Smart PC and ATIV Smart PC Pro in India

Samsung has launched its ATIV Smart PC and ATIV Smart PC Pro in India and these convertible tablets are priced at Rs. 53,990 and Rs. 75,490. These devices run Microsoft’s Windows 8, the former is powered by a dual-core Intel Atom processor clocked at 1.8GHz while the latter is powered by a Ivy Bridge Core i5 processor.The Samsung ATIV Smart PC has an 11.6-inch display which has a resolution of 1366x768 pixels, the Samsung ATIV Smart PC Pro also has the same size display but with full HD resolution.

The ATIV Smart PC is equipped with 2GB of RAM, 64GB of eMMC memory, 8 megapixel rear camera and a 2 megapixel front facing camera. The ATIV Smart PC Pro has a 128GB SSD, 5 megapixel rear camera and the rest remains the same.

In addition to this they come with a detachable keyboard and the S-Pen Stylus. Both are equipped with dual speakers. The ATIV Smart PC has a 2-cell battery which Samsung claims can deliver up to 13.5 hours of battery life while the ATIV Smart PC Pro has a 4-cel battery which delivers a battery life of up to 8.5 hours.

It features all the essential ports including one micro HDMI, one USB 2.0, a headphone jack, Samsung’s proprietary dock port and a microSD card slot.

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Lenovo's P770 Android smartphone comes with a 3,500 mAh battery

Until now Motorola was the only company to sell a smartphone packed with a massive battery - joining them is Lenovo with its new smartphone, the Lenovo P770. It is an Android 4.1 Jelly Bean based device which packs a 3,500 mAh battery.

While the Lenovo P770 is not as sleek as the Motorola RAZR MAXX HD, the device sports a 4.5-inch qHD IPS display and is powered by a dual-core 1.2GHz Cortex A9 processor along with 1GB of RAM.

This sounds like a mid-ranged device which will provide impressive battery life. The Lenovo P770 is rated to provide up to 29 hours of continuous talk time and standby time of nearly a month. Additional to the huge battery are three different power saving; long standby, normal and custom. Apart from all this it is equipped with a 5 megapixel camera with LED flash and a secondary front facing VGA quality camera.

This smartphone is currently available in China for CNY 1,699 which converts to about $273 and Rs. 15,000. Lenovo is yet to announce its availability in other regions.

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Google integrate Drive with Gmail

Google has introduced a feature in its Gmail service that lets users attach files stored in their Drive space. The effectively means that the maximum attachment size on Gmail has increased to 10GB, or about 400 times the previous limit.

When using this feature to attach files from Drive, the Gmail’s system will automatically verify that the recipients of the message have access to the file on Drive. This mechanism also kick in when explicitly mentioning the Drive link in the message body. Keeping in tradition, Google will rollout this new feature over the next few days. Furthermore, this new feature is only available to those users that have switched to Gmail’s new message editor or composer.

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Apple announces availability of new iMacs, to hit stores on November 30

Apple has announced the new generation iMac will hit the Indian market on November 30 starting at Rs. 85,900 and going up to Rs. 134,900. This is the new redesigned iMac which Apple announced earlier this year and it features a super slim industrial design.

The basic model which costs Rs. 85,900 has a 21.5-inch display and it is powered by an Intel Core i5 processor clocked at 2.7GHz. It also includes 8GB of RAM, 1TB of HDD and a NVIDIA GeForce 640M graphics processor. The other 21.5-inch variant is powered by a 2.9GHz Intel Core i5, 8GB of RAM, 1TB HDD and a NVIDIA GeForce 650M GPU.

The display of the 27-inch iMac offers 75 percent less reflection compared to the previous model and it has a resolution of 2560x1440 pixels. Its first variant is priced at Rs. 122,900 and it is equipped with a 2.9GHz Intel Core i5 processor along with a NVIDIA GeForce 660M GPU while the top-end 27-inch iMac is priced at Rs.134,900 which is equipped with an Intel Core i5 processor clocked at 3.2GHz and a NVIDIA GeForce 675M graphics processor.

Along with this all the new generation iMacs come installed with the ‘Fusion Drive’ which is a hybrid storage system that automatically installs all OS related files and other key programs on the 128GB SSD which is inside the device and all the other data (movies, music, etc.) is stored on the hard drive.

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WP8 reboot bug fix expected this month

Microsoft have declared through The Wall Street Journal that they are investigating reports of certain users experiencing reboots and lock-ups. This issue is apparently affecting Windows Phone 8 users at random, withintermittent and inexplicable system crashes. The effected handsets are the HTC 8X, and Nokia Lumia 920. Since the company hasn’t figured out the cause of the issue, they are not making any promises. However, Microsoft are hoping to release an OTA update before the end of this month.

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