Valve developing gaming console

Valve’s Gabe Newell spoke to Kotaku during this year’s Video Game Awards about his plans for the coming years. The recently released Steam's Big Picture mode has received better than expected results, according to Newell, which is being developed as a precursor to Valve’s ambitions to get into the living room.

The company is developing technologies around a gaming console that would be much like Xbox and PlayStation, in purpose and system. The next big milestone on the development path will be a stable release of Steam Linux that is capable of running Steam's Big Picture. Valve is simultaneously working on a new game engine that is destined for the console, and subsequently lead to a new game from the studio.

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AMD cuts chip production

AMD has entered a new agreement with chip supplier GlobalFoundries that cuts the quarterly order from $500m to $115m. AMD will owe GlobalFoundries $320m in termination fees, which is scheduled to be paid in parts until the end of 2013. The company is also in the process of standardizing 28-nanometer technology from GlobalFoundries, which will let it cut research and development costs.

For the year 2013, AMD estimates that it will be making purchases worth $1.15b from GlobalFoundries. Meanwhile, AMD is also preparing for 2014 launch of ARM based Opteron chips for server-grade machines.

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RIM may launch QWERTY BlackBerry 10 before June: Report

The full-keyboard version of the BlackBerry 10 smartphone is expected to come shortly after the touch-screen version, a report has said. A report from Forbes, citing research firm Detwiler Fenton, said the Blackberry 10 devices wouldn't hit until March, and that the QWERTY version wouldn't come until June.

According to a person familiar with the company's launch plans, the bit about a June launch is inaccurate, CNET reports. The report said that Research In Motion (RIM) is likely to unveil its devices on January 30, with a launch coming roughly four to six weeks after, so the first BlackBerry 10 phone may actually hit in March. The full touch-screen device is expected to launch first, while the qwerty version will come "shortly after," the company has said.

The report pointed out that the timing suggests RIM will report weaker results in the fourth and first quarters, with the BlackBerry 10 devices not having an impact until the end of the first quarter. -ANI

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Fujitsu Stylistic Q702: Wintel hybrid for businesses

Fujitsu has taken the plunge into Windows 8 business with an Intel based tablet that snaps into a docking station to form-up like a laptop. Fujitsu Stylistic Q702 has an 11.6-inch IPS-grade display, choice between an Intel Core i3 or Core i7 processor, 4GB RAM, and up to 256GB of storage on SSD. The tablet has dual-camera configuration; USB 2.0 and 3.0, HDMI, and SD/SDHC ports; and optional 3G or 4G support. 

 

The docking station, in addition to keypad and track pad, adds 4-cell battery-pack, Ethernet port, and VGA-out. Fujitsu's selection of security suite for this hybrid includes fingerprint sensor, Computrace, hardware password protection, Trusted Platform Module (TPM), Intel anti-theft technology, and optional Intel vPro. Before taxes, the Fujitsu Stylistic Q702 will set you back by Rs.69,000.

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Samsung Galaxy Music Duos up for 9K

A model from Samsung's Galaxy line of music players had made its way into India for a price that is just under Rs.9,000. Samsung's online store has the phone listed for Rs.9,199, but shows as being out of stock; whereas online retailer Snapdeal has the phone ready to ship for Rs.8,999.

The GT-S6012 Galaxy Music Duo is a dual-SIM phone with a 3-inch screen, 3MP camera, 512MB RAM, and 1300mAh battery. It runs Android ICS, and communicates over Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and FM.

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Popular Apple photo editing app Snapseed now on Android

Popular Apple photo editing app Snapseed has finally arrived in Android-operated smartphones. Snapseed, the creation of 17-year-old Nik software, launched on iOS a little over a year ago, and within a year, the app has seen a whopping 9.5 million downloads as the company was acquired by Google.

 “Before we released Snapseed we were primarily focused on [software for] professionals or advanced amateur photographers – the folks that are buying digital SLRs. The application has been really successful for us,” Josh Haftel, product manager at Google, and previously Nik Software, told Mashable. According to the report, along with the launch of the Android application, Google is knocking the price of the iOS version down from 4.99 dollars to free.

Not your average mobile photo editor, Snapseed has a number of different built-in enhancement options that let you do everything from crop and straighten an image to adjust the focus, many offering choices you might expect to find in a professional photo editor, the report said. “It’s very simple and straightforward, and also very powerful,” says Haftel. Each enhancement you select can be fine-tuned to the photo you’re working with. So, for instance, if you’re editing a photo of a friend who has a shadow on his face from wearing a baseball cap, you can brighten just his face in the photo rather than the entire image, the report added.

When you’re done editing a photo you can save it to the camera roll on your phone, or share it via Google+, Email, Facebook, or Twitter. -ANI

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Nokia unveils Lumia 620 Windows Phone 8 smartphone in Paris

Nokia recently unveiled its new Windows Phone 8 based smartphone at the Le Wen conference in Paris. This new device is called the Lumia 620 and seems to be a Windows Phone 8 based device in the affordable range.

The Nokia Lumia 920 will be available in seven different colors and it will support exchangeable shells with gloss or matte finish based on the color of your choice. This device has officially being priced at $250 which converts to Rs. 13,533 approximately.

This Windows Phone 8 based entry-level smartphone sports a 3.8-inch WVGA resolution ClearBlack display, 512MB of RAM, 8GB built-in storage and expandable memory up to 64GB via microSD card. It is powered by a 1GHz dual-core Snapdragon S4 processor and includes a 5 megapixel rear camera with autofocus and LED flash along with a secondary front facing VGA quality camera.

Connectivity features include NFC capability, Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, 3G capability, Bluetooth 3.0, GPS/aGPS and GLONASS. The battery on the Lumia 620 is rated for up to 9.9 hours of talk time and 330 hours of standby.

Available will start in January, the device will arrive first in the Asia Pacific and African markets.

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Android based Xperia E and Xperia E Dual announced by Sony

Continuing to add new devices to its portfolio, Sony Mobile has recently announced the Xperia E and Xperia E dual, Android based smartphones. The Xperia E is a single SIM device while the Xperia E features dual-SIM capability.

Both have similar specifications, they feature a 3.5-inch display with a 320x480 pixels resolution and are powered by an 1GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM7227A processor. Apart from this both include a 3.2 megapixel rear camera which supports VGA video recording. Along with other specifications like 512MB of RAM, 4GB built-in storage and up to 32GB of expandable memory via a microSD card. Both smartphones are powered by a 1,500 mAh battery.

Apart from the dual-SIM capability another major difference between the two is that the Xperia E runs Android 4.1 Jelly Bean while the Xperia E Dual runs Android 4.0 ICS and it will later be upgradable to Jelly Bean.

These smartphones also feature HD Voice and noise cancellation for improved call quality and are equipped with xLoud for improved sound output. The Xperia E will come in white, black and pink colors and the Xperia E Dual will come in black and gold colors. These smartphones are expected to be available in Q1 2013.

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