Sony Launches New Affordable Earphones and Headphones in India....!!!

Sony on Wednesday launched two new pairs of headphones - the MDR-XB250, MDR-XB450 - and one new pair of earphones - the MDR-AS200. They are priced at Rs. 2,190, Rs. 1,490 and Rs. 790 respectively. Sony says the MDR-XB250 and MDR-XB450 are targeted at bass lovers, and the MDR-AS200 at sports enthusiasts. The MDR-XB range of headphones will be available from September, and the MDR-AS200 should hit retail shelves in August.

The Sony MDR-XB450 has a 30mm driver with a frequency response of 5Hz-22000Hz. While its predecessor the MDR-XB400 was available in two color options, the new MDR-XB450 will be available in five colors - black, white, red, blue and yellow. The MDR-XB450, made of metal, features a swivel folding style and a flat serrated cord.

The Sony MDR-XB250 also has a 30mm driver, a swivel folding design and a flat serrated cord like its elder sibling, and appears to be nearly identical to the XB450 expect for the metal body.

On the other hand, the Sony MDR-AS200 earphones, built for extreme sporting activities, have an adjustable ear loops and the same flat cord. They have 13.5mm drivers and a water-resistant design.

At the recently concluded press conference at Gamescom, Sony announced that sales of its PlayStation 4 video game console, launched in November, have surpassed 10 million units. In late July, Sony also stated that it saw a $261 million first-quarter net profit thanks to brisk sales of its PlayStation 4 console and a weak Japan Yen, but said it still expects a full-year loss

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Apps for Cheap International Phone Calls - Beyond Skype...!!!

The world is getting smaller and keeping in touch is getting easier than ever before, but one of the problems of using a program like Skype to talk to your friends and family - particularly when they are living in another country, is co-ordinating the call. Most of us have gone through the hassle of exchanging emails to plan out the timing of a Skype call to make sure that everyone is online and logged into Skype at the same time.

In fact, you might have even had to make a phone call to confirm that the Skype call is happening; when you find that the person you were supposed to be talking to, isn't showing up as online!

But did you know that you can actually even use Skype to call people directly on their phones - both mobile phones, and land lines! You need to buy credit on Skype to be able to make the calls, and while the call is not free, but it's a lot easier than trying to co-ordinate to make sure everyone is logged into Skype at the right time!

Aside from Skype, here are some other apps you can install on your smartphone or PC, with which you can call up your friends or relatives on their phone numbers, usually for a fraction of the cost that your operator would charge.

Viber:

One of the messaging apps that has been growing in popularity of late, Viber (Android, iOS, Windows Phone, BlackBerry, and computers) lets you chat with your friends and make free voice calls to other Viber users. But more than that, it also lets you call up people on their landline number or mobile phone. To do this, you have to pay for Viber Out credit; once you do, you can call up someone in the United States for just Rs. 1.16 per minute, to call either a landline or a mobile phone. It's the same rate for calling Singapore as well.

Calling a mobile phone in the United Kingdom is a more expensive proposition, and will set you back by Rs. 3.60; landlines are the same Rs. 1.16 per minute. Calling someone in the UAE on the other hand will set you back by a whopping Rs. 15.85 per minute, on cellphones and landlines. You can see the rates here.

Aside from offering voice calls, Viber is a full-fledged messaging application, with a large install base, and like most modern messaging apps, it uses your phone number as your registration ID, so there is almost no setup involved.

Line

The Line app (Android, iOS, Windows Phone, BlackBerry, and computers) is, like Viber, a full fledged messaging platform. It has features such as private messages which self-destruct on a deadline, file sharing, stickers and video chats. Aside from all this, you can also use Line to call phones around the world.

The app works without any fixed monthly charge, but you can subscribe to a monthly plan for lower per-minute rates as well. The rates are highly competitive - calling a landline in the United States costs 1 credit (Rs. 0.60) per minute, and 2 credits (Rs. 1.20) for mobiles. Calling China costs 2 credits for both landlines and cellphones, while the United Kingdoms charges are 1 credit per minute for landlines, and 5 credits (Rs. 3) per minute for mobile phones. To pay, you have to buy credits, and you get 100 credits for Rs. 60. You can see country specific prices here.

The monthly plan isn't a fixed rental - the credits you purchase expire after 30 days, but the call rates a slightly lower with those credits, so you'll need to figure out if you call any region often enough to make it worthwhile to buy the credits. It can be a little confusing, particularly when compared to Viber, but it is a good choice for many reasons.

An attractive design, competitive call rates, and additional features like Timeline - it's like a Facebook wall, but only the friends you've shared it with can see the posts - photos, pictures, and status updates are all available, but you have to explicitly choose who all can see the posts at the outset - make Line an attractive option.

Nimbuzz

Nimbuzz Messenger is a fairly plain looking app, but once you've figured out the layout, it works as promised. It is also available for almost every device (iOS, Android, Window Phone, BlackBerry, Symbian, and computers) out there, which is always a plus.

You have the option of calling a landline or mobile phone. The layout of the app makes finding the call option pretty complicated - in the BlackBerry app we used, you have to go into two different menus before you can make a call.

The feature - NimbuzzOut - claims to be the cheapest international calling option. The rates we checked were actually rock bottom - you have to buy credits in advance as usual, which you can do from the Nimbuzz website - and a call to the USA, for example, costs $0.008, or approximately Rs. 0.48.

Calls to other countries worked out to more or less the same rates as the other services, but if you're making a lot of calls to the United States, we would certainly recommend using Nimbuzz. It is the cheapest option on our list for calling the US, and it works reliably. One thing we didn't like about the app is that it makes you create a username and password to sign in (because of its chat platform) which feels very outdated today.

Bonus

In case you're not reading this from India, then you can also consider using Google Voice - you can't get a virtual number for incoming calls if you're not living in the United States, but you can use Google Voice to make calls at very competitive rates from most countries now. You can visit this page to see if your country is amongst those covered by Google Voice.

Google Hangouts and Facebook Messenger also support voice calls - since we are often logged into those services, if you see a green dot next to someone's name, you can tap that and start chatting. It's no different from a Skype to Skype or Hike to Hike call, but since people often keep Facebook and Gmail logged in all day, it can be a little easier to see people as they come online.

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Sunstrike Rage Swift With Android 4.4 KitKat Launched at Rs. 2,999...!!

Sunstrike Telecom India on Monday launched its cheapest Android 4.4 KitKat smartphone, the Rage Swift, at Rs. 2,999. The pricing of the KitKat-based Rage Swift is the same as the Celkon Campus A35K, which is till now the cheapest KitKat phone in the country since its launch in June. Recently, Maxx Mobile also launched a cheap Android 4.4 KitKat-based smartphone, the AXD21 MSD7 Smarty, at Rs. 4,020 for the Indian market.

The entry-level Sunstrike Rage Swift offers dual-SIM support and runs Android 4.4 KitKat out-of-the-box. It features a 3.5-inch qHD (540x960 pixels) display with a pixel density of 315ppi.

The Rage Swift sports 1.3-megapixel rear camera with flash and a secondary front VGA (0.3-megapixel) facing camera. While Sunstrike hasn't specified many details of the smartphone, such as the processor, system memory (RAM), built-in storage, and more, it says that the Rage Swift will pack a 1600mAh battery. The company will also provide a free Crystal Cover with the smartphone. It will also come with Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connectivity options.

"Rage Swift has all the trendy features, and it runs on KitKat, the latest Android version, & yet we have kept our product very affordable for everyone. [..] We are quite optimistic that Swift will receive a tremendous response from customers," said Chanpreet Singh, Managing Director, Sunstrike.

Sunstrike Telecom India was founded in 2007, and is a part of the Hong Kong-based Sunstrike International Group. Last week, the company had launched Rage Freedom+ feature phone at a price of Rs. 1,999. The smartphone is touted for its 30 day battery back-up. It comes with a 2.4-inch display; a digital (1.3-megapixel) camera; 8GB built-in storage, and a 3200mAh battery.

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How to Recover Corrupted or Deleted Photos from a Memory Card..!!!

The modern age is epitomised by our daily consumption and creation of digital content. If that includes photos, videos and software, then the question of storage arises - to keep the stuff you want to save.

While the ever-burgeoning and wallet-breaking demands for more and more storage - to keep all the content we want for posterity or easy-access - are not to be ignored, here we concentrate on how to deal with the possibility of data loss, a fate that some would liken to a mugging or even a lobotomy.

An example of such a painful situation, is the loss of photos from the now-ubiquitous form of flash storage - the SD card, which we all use on our cameras or mobile phones (in the smaller microSD card form).

This article may be a lifesaver for those readers who have managed to accidentally delete their SD card data, or been the victim of the not-as-uncommon-as-we-would-like SD card corruptions.

This is actually not a very big deal, and there are a lot of useful tools online. The Web however, is a veritable minefield of scams and/ or paid data recovery software, designed to either fleece, or steal. This guide teleports the readers to the end of the minefield, safely avoiding the danger, by recommending the free software required to bring back lost data from limbo.

We will be recommending PC software here, to help readers recover data from their SD cards. If after connecting the camera, or mobile phone to a computer, the storage on it is not read like a separate drive, users may be required to remove their SD cards from their cameras or mobile devices, and connect them to their PCs via a memory card reader (a laptop built-in card reader on a will also do the trick, though an microSD to SD card adaptor may be required).

The readers should in any case remove the affected SD cards from their cameras or mobile phones immediately, as there is a chance the device will overwrite the delete/ corrupted files when using the SD card.

It's worth noting that while the focus of this how to is SD cards, all of these software will do a great job of recovering files from any kind of media like your hard drive, external drive, thumb drive etc. 

Recuva (for Windows)

Recuva (version 1.51.1063) is a 4.02MB free download, and works with PCs running Windows 2000 or above. To recover your files from your SD card, load the card on the PC via a card reader, select the corresponding drive in Recuva's drop down menu. Run a scan via the Scan button.

The scan will return a list of files on the card, including deleted or corrupted files, and give you the option the recover the files, using the Recover button.

Pandora Recovery (for Windows)

Pandora Recovery (version 2.1.1) is a free-to-use tool that is a 3.12MB download. It supports PCs running Windows XP or above. Just like with Recuva, users will need to load their SD card via a card reader, and perform either a Quick Scan or Deep (Surface) Scan to throw up results of deleted and corrupted files. The second option is for formatted memory, and while it is slower, it should turn up more results than a quick scan.

Users can then choose which files to recover from the results by right clicking. Alternatively, users can run the Pandora Recovery Wizard and follow on-screen instructions.

PhotoRec (for DOS, Windows 9x or higher, Linux, OS X)

A free, open-source multi-platform data recovery software, PhotoRec (version 7.0 beta) is a 9.4MB download (for Windows 64-bit), and works with PCs running a vast variety of operating systems. It comes bundled with TestDisk, an app for recovering lost partitions. Featuring a very basic text-based UI for older operating systems, PhotoRec also features a GUI-based version for newer ones.

In both versions, users will be asked to select the type of file system of the drive, select the relevant drive (after connecting it via a card-reader), and then proceed with Scan option, with the choice of Free (for deleted files) or Whole (for corrupted files). Users can then select the location where recovered files should be saved.

We hope these tools served you well. If you have any suggestions of other data recovery methods you'd like to share with your fellow readers, please let us know via the comments.

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Lumia 530 With Windows Phone 8.1 Goes on Sale at Roughly Rs. 6,000..!!!

Microsoft's latest budget Windows Phone 8.1 handset, the Lumia 530, has finally gone on sale - first becoming available in China, priced at CNY 599 (Rs. 5,900 approximately).

Engadget China reports that the Lumia 530 is now available at leading online retailers as well as physical stores in the country. Microsoft, while announcing Lumia 530 last month, had revealed that the handset will be rolled-out in select markets starting August.

The Lumia 530 was launched alongside its dual-SIM variant, Lumia 530 Dual SIM. Both the handsets come with identical specifications, except that the latter supports dual-SIM functionality. Suggested pricing by Microsoft was EUR 85 (roughly Rs. 6,900), before taxes and subsidies.

Unfortunately, there is no official word from Microsoft when the handset will be reaching other markets, including India. Notably, the official Nokia India website now lists the Lumia 530 Dual SIM, hinting that we might only see the dual-SIM variant launched in India - and soon.

The new Lumia handset runs Windows Phone 8.1 with Lumia Cyan update and supports firmware over-the-air (FOTA) updates. The Lumia 530 will be available in Bright Orange, Bright Green, Dark Grey, and White colour variants. Further, the Lumia 530 sports changeable rear shells.

The Lumia 530 comes with 4-inch FWVGA (480x854 pixels) LCD display that offers a pixel density of 246ppi. It is powered by a 1.2GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 200 alongside 512MB of RAM. It sports a 5-megapixel fixed focus rear camera and also comes preloaded with digital camera add-ons such as Bing vision, Nokia Camera, and Nokia Glam Me.

The new Lumia smartphone includes 4GB of inbuilt storage which is further expandable up to 128GB via microSD card. The Lumia 530, much like other Lumia handsets, comes with 15GB free OneDrive cloud storage space. The smartphone measures 119.7x62.3x11.7mm and weighs 128 grams.

The Lumia 530 packs a 1430mAh battery which is rated to deliver up to 10 hours of talk time and up to 528 hours of standby time. The smartphone comes with GPRS/ EDGE, 3G, Wi-Fi (802.11 b/g/n), Bluetooth (4.0), GPS and Micro-USB connectivity options.

Notably, both the Lumia 530 and Lumia 530 Dual SIM support Micro-SIM cards.

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iPhone 6 Tipped Along With Prices to Launch on September 19..!!

Apple's next iPhone device, expected to be called the iPhone 6, has once again been tipped to launch on September 19 - this time thanks to a leaked promotional flyer from China.

The leaked image of the alleged iPhone 6 flyer was picked up by GSM Insider from a Chinese user's Weibo account, showing the September 19 launch day alongside purported pricing of both the models.

According to the leaked flyer, the rumoured 4.7-inch iPhone 6 will come at CNY 5,288 (roughly Rs. 51,000), while the alleged 5.5-inch model will be available at CNY 6,288 (roughly Rs. 61,000). If true, this would also imply the 4.7-inch iPhone 6 (32GB) is cheaper than the current 4-inch iPhone 5s (16GB) - which costs CNY 5,300.
Recent reports, in-line with the current, had suggested the same CNY 5,288 pricing for the unannounced 4.7-inch iPhone 6 (32GB). Meanwhile, the alleged 5.5-inch iPhone 6 (16GB) was said to be priced at CNY 5,998 (roughly Rs. 57,600).

The images of the alleged iPhone 6 on the purported promotional flyer corroborate what's has been widely expected based on earlier leaks, that the next iPhone will come with curved edges and will be a major departure from the company's current industrial design on existing iPhone models. However, it is yet to be seen whether Apple will do away with its current straight-edge design seen on the iPhone 4, iPhone 5 and iPhone 5s.

Notably, the September 19 launch date tipped by the leaked flyer goes well with Apple's traditional start sale strategy of any new iPhone model; which begins on a Friday to capture the weekend crowd. Previous leaks (including a purported internal communication from a German telecom carrier) had indicated a launch date of September 19.

Contradicting the current launch date, an earlier report suggested a new launch date for the next iPhone from Apple, as well as the name of the anticipated larger 5.5-inch iPhone 6 variant - iPhone Air. The report citing industry sources claimed Apple would unveil the iPhone 6 on September 15 (which seemed a little fishy), which falls on a Monday, while retail availability would begin on September 25, which falls on a Thursday.

Last week, amidst reports about mass production of the alleged 4.7-inch successor to the wildly popular iPhone 5 series of smartphones to begin in July, we were treated with a new case listing purportedly tipped the design of the unannounced smaller iPhone 6 in an Amazon online retail listing.

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How to speed up your Android smartphone..!!!

Though the hardware of smartphones is steadily becoming more capable it can't be utilised to its fullest potential without the software to tap it. This is personal technology's modern hurdle - the optimisation of both hardware and software to ensure a fast and seamless user experience.

The effects of this optimisation are most tangible for smartphone users, who in today's fast-paced world become impatient and frustrated if their smartphone starts slowing down, hanging, or otherwise impeding their productivity.

The slowdown of Android smartphones can be caused by several reasons, and usually starts becoming noticeable after several months of using them. Here are a few tips for users that feel their Android smartphones have slowed since they purchased the devices.

1.    Install a third-party app launcher

Most Android smartphone manufacturers customise the OS on their devices, with specially-designed skins, launchers or UIs that sport widgets, layouts and other custom features in addition to the vanilla OS offering. While some users do find these customisations and added features useful, they can potentially slowdown the smartphone.

A simple workaround is to install a good third-party launcher (simpler than rooting or installing a custom ROM on the smartphone), which should remove most of the custom features, whilst also providing personalisation options. Some of the best launchers available in the Google Play store are 'Nova Launcher', 'GO Launcher EX', and 'Apex Launcher'.

2.    Remove extra apps, wallpapers, widgets

If users have a significant number of apps installed, it could slow down their smartphones. Users need to ask themselves if all the apps they have installed are being used, and then uninstall unused ones. Some apps cannot be uninstalled (especially bloatware apps from smartphone manufacturers), so users will have to settle for disabling them.

Live wallpapers, and an excess of widgets on home screens, can also slow down smartphones, and if users are experiencing performance issues they should consider using static wallpapers instead, and removing any non-vital widgets.

3.    Disable non-vital background processes, check synching apps

Some apps start up with the phone, while others are constantly synching with online services. Both of these can dramatically slowdown users' smartphones. To check which apps are running in the background, users should visit the Apps section in Settings, and swipe to the 'Running' tab. If there are apps running in the background that are not being utilised, users should try uninstalling the apps, or disabling them, in case the apps can't be removed.

Another thing to be checked is if there are apps that are synching in the background, and if the benefits of synching are being utilised by the user. If not, users can turn off synchronisation, saving both data and system resources. To do this, visit Settings>Data usage (could be a separate section called 'Usage' under 'Wireless & networks' menu, depending on your Android version), and scroll down to see which apps are using data.

Users can then either visit individual app settings to turn off synchronisation, or visit the 'Data usage' section's context menu, which has the 'Auto-sync data' option (not present in all Android versions), which can be turned off.

To do the same for any Google app or services, users will need visit Settings>Accounts>Google>UserProfile. Here they can turn off sync settings for individual Google apps and services.

A must-install for Android smartphone users is Advanced Task Killer, which allows users to kill any apps that are taking too much memory (RAM) or slowing down the device for other reasons, such as instability.

4.    Clear app cache

Much-used apps will build up a cache that can slowdown an Android smartphone, and users can delete each used apps' cache regularly to speed up their devices. Unfortunately, this will have to be a rather regular process, as apps will start rebuilding their cache from the moment they are launched. To individually delete each app's cache, users will need to visit Settings>Apps, select the relevant app, and then click on the 'Clear cache' button.

To bulk-delete multiple apps' cache, or to set up scheduled cache-clearing, users can download a third-party application called 'App Cache Cleaner' from the Play Store, which can delete cache for multiple apps, and allow users to set up intervals for regular cache cleaning. Users can also delete cache data for all apps via a native Android option, found at Settings>Storage>Cached data.

5.    Disable animations

Animations are usually graphical transitions between menus, app drawers, and other interface locations. They use system resources to be generated, and occur quite regularly when navigating through a smartphone. They serve no purpose apart from beautifying the smartphone experience, and if users find their devices are slowing down, it is a good idea to turn off animations with no adverse impact on day-to-day use.

Turning off animations unfortunately is not very easy, with the option usually hidden behind the 'Developers options' section. To access 'Developers options', users need to visit Settings>System>About Phone where they can find the 'Build number' of their phone. Once they tap the 'Build number' seven times, users will then see 'Developer options' in the system menu. Here, they turn off all types of animation.  Users should be careful not to turn on or off any other option in this section.

6.    Clean out built-in storage

If the built-in storage of a smartphone is nearly full, the device will slow down quite dramatically. Between 10 and 20 percent of the total built-in storage should be available or free to avoid slowdowns. While a simple solution could be to simply delete all unused apps and clear cache data to save space, ideally users should be looking at a longer lasting solution. Most smartphones come with the option to expand built-in storage via microSD card.

If users' smartphones feature microSD card storage expandability, they should move all media to it, such as pictures, music and videos. Apps can also be moved from internal storage to SD card, by visiting the app's settings via Settings>App and navigate to individual apps. Some older versions of Android don't support this feature, and users will have to download an 'Apps to SD card' app from the Google Play store.

7.    Update firmware

While certain updates can have adverse effects, the general rule of thumb is that a firmware update for a smartphone will bring improvements of various types, usually including performance optimisations. Users experiencing reduced performance on their smartphones should check if the manufacturer has released a firmware update for them.

To do this, users should visit Settings>System>About>Software Updates and check if an update is available over-the-air. If not present here, users can also check by connecting their smartphones to the PC suite software provided by the manufacturer, and check for updates there.

While most updates do not require users to back up their smartphones before the update, we recommend users do so just in case something does go wrong - it's better to be safe than sorry.

8.    Root phone, install custom ROM

While we don't recommend this method to anybody but a power user, the problem of a slowing Android smartphone is often solved by this method, with the user installing a custom ROM that is lighter and less-resource intensive than the manufacturer-customised UI and firmware. The method is similar to installing a third-party app launcher (Tip 1), however, has a much wider effect, essentially replacing all the software on the phone.

There are several guides and resources available online that can help users root their devices, and install custom ROMs from a database of independently developed firmware. XDA Developers Forum is one of the best resources for this, and users are recommended to read in detail the instructions and discussions about the specific custom ROM for their particular smartphone before going ahead. You can also visit CyanogenMod's website, which provides several easy installation tools and walkthroughs for its ROMs.

Please note, rooting smartphones or installing custom ROMs on them is usually (there are some tools also available) a rather complicated task, and a risky one that can see users lose all their data, or end up with a bricked device. Rooting or flashing smartphones also usually voids manufacturer warranty.

9.    SSD TRIM

Smartphones utilise solid state drives for their storage needs, and an inherent flaw with such a storage device is that when data is deleted from flash memory cells, the cells need to be completely wiped before they can used for a write process again. This requires the OS to issue a TRIM command to the drive to specific which cells are unused and should be wiped.

Google reportedly fixed this problem in Android 4.3 and higher, but if you are running an older version of Android, a solution does exist that will allow users to issue TRIM commands to the SSD. Users will need to root their smartphones, and install LagFix from the Play Store. Once again, rooting smartphones is a risky process and we recommend caution.

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WWDC 2014 Preview: iOS 8, OS X v10.10, and the Much-Awaited New Product Line....!!!!?

It's almost time for Apple's annual Worldwide Developers Conference, and that means CEO Tim Cook will be getting up on stage to talk about the company's progress and potentially reveal details of new products and software. Apple's policy of keeping future products secret has become legendary, and it's no overstatement to say that people around the world are already salivating in anticipation of what might be announced.

Thanks to dozens of leaks and even a few teasers from Apple itself - Senior Vice President Eddy Cue has boasted that the products coming later this year are the best he's seen in 25 years - we have a fairly good idea of what to expect at WWDC 2014. Here's a quick recap of everything we know so far:

Hardware:

One of the most tantalising rumours suggests that we'll see new iMac and MacBook models. The iMac is said to be more affordable than existing models, which would help Apple strengthen its position in emerging markets and attract orders from educational institutions where it has traditionally had a strong footprint. Current iMac models are more expensive than the ones they replaced and are also less repairable and upgradeable, thanks to a super slim chassis and increasing integration of core components.

The new MacBook, which could be the basis for a new or revamped product line, is said to be a 12-inch model. It might replace the current MacBook Air lineup, but would come with the same kind of Retina Display that defines the current MacBook Pro models.

A far more ambitious claim that somewhat dovetails with the iMac and MacBook rumour is that Apple will reveal a new lineup of low-cost, low-powered devices based on the same ARM architecture that powers its iPhones and iPads. While the specifics of actual products might not be discussed yet, Apple could announce its intentions in order for developers to have time to port applications to the new architecture, and would have to share details about an ARM-ported version of OS X.

Even more recent leaks suggest that Apple has something entirely different in mind - a home automation platform. After Google's recent acquisition of Nest, Apple might be trying to make sure its competitor isn't able to entrench people in an ecosystem spanning every part of their lives.

Apple has also been allegedly working on wearable devices for several years, and with Samsung, Google and other companies jumping into the battle with all guns blazing, now would be the time to act. We might see a smartwatch iPhone accessory, or perhaps some kind of fitness tracker. Other accessories such as new earphones could also be on the cards.

The Apple TV is long overdue for an update, but if it's addressed at all, it will be a minor refresh. A more radical overhaul will come later, with fresh software and content made possible thanks to the recent acquisition of Beats and its team. Apple will certainly acknowledge the team, especially Dr Dre and Jimmy Iovine on stage, and could discuss what it's planning for the hugely popular Beats line of headphones.

Apple might provide hints about its next iPhone and iPad releases, but only to the extent that developers need to know in order to get apps ready for the expected launch of those devices in the August-October time frame.

Software:

It's pretty certain that OS X v10.10 will be previewed, but it also might be that Apple dedicates a significant portion of WWDC to its desktop OS, which has been overshadowed by iOS in recent years. iOS got a radical makeover last year, with an all-new look and a number of major features. That aesthetic is widely expected to be carried over to OS X this year. All remaining leather, felt and canvas textures will be excised in favour of sharp lines, stark colours and frosted translucent overlays. OS X v10.10 could also feature improved interoperation with iCloud and iOS.

There have also been plenty of leaks regarding iOS 8, although it now seems as though not all planned features will be available at the time of launch. There have been strong indications that Apple will update its Maps app with better imagery and more helpful directions, split the iTunes Radio feature off into its own app, allow Siri to recognise songs, and introduce mobile equivalents of the OS X Preview and TextEdit apps. Perhaps the most significant update could be Healthbook, a new app designed to tie in to potential new health tracking hardware, and track information such as heart rate, sleep patterns, food intake, physical activity, hydration, and much more. iPad users might be able to use two apps side by side if another rumour of split-screen functionality and improved inter-app communication proves to be accurate.

It's also high time the iWork and iLife apps received some attention - Apple changed Pages, Numbers and Keynote significantly in an attempt to simplify them and allow documents to be created and edited on Macs and iOS devices, but alienated many users in the process. Many features were dropped, but Apple has promised to reintroduce many of them.

Developers would also love to hear about improvements to iCloud, hopefully including better file sharing, version control and collaborative editing. iCloud would also have to be a major part of the rumoured home automation platform, so that's another potential topic of discussion.

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Moto E Now Available via Flipkart at Rs. 6,999..!!

Motorola's latest budget smartphone, the Moto E, is now available via online retailer Flipkart at Rs. 6,999. The phone was launched in India on Tuesday.

Consumers willing to buy the Moto E on Wednesday can get a 50 percent discount on the purchase of covers and 8GB Transcend microSD card. Flipkart is also offering free ebooks worth Rs 1,000 on the opening day.

Moto E comes with 4.3-inch display with a qHD (540x960 pixel) resolution, and 256ppi pixel density. Motorola is also touting the Corning Gorilla Glass 3 screen of the phone, along with its 'water-nano coating' which provides a measure of water resistance.

Moto E is powered by a 1.2GHz dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 200 processor along with Adreno 302 GPU alongside 1GB of RAM. The Moto E is a dual-SIM phone that supports Micro-SIM cards and an 'intelligent calling feature.' It runs Android 4.4 KitKat.

Motorola's latest budget offering comes with a 5-megapixel rear camera, but just like the Lumia 630 that launched in India on Monday, it has no flash or front camera, which will disappoint many. The Moto E comes with 4GB of internal storage, expandable via microSD card up to 32GB.

The smartphone is backed by a 1980mAh battery and sports 124.8x64.8x12.3 dimensions, while weighing 142 grams. Connectivity options include 3G, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, GPS with GLONASS, Bluetooth 4.0, Micro-USB, FM radio and 3.5mm audio jack.

Moto E comes in Black and White colour options, but the interchangeable backs let you switch to other colours like Lemon and Turquoise.

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Alleged iPhone 6 dummy model tips 4.7-inch display and thinner bezels..!!

Just a day after an video of the next Apple iPhone's alleged cover case popped-up, we now have three images said to be showcasing a phone dummy for case designers.

The images, sourced by nowwhereelse, a French website, showcase an alleged black-coloured dummy of the iPhone 6 handset. The model seems slimmer than the current iPhone 5s smartphone, along with a larger screen of almost 4.7-inch size.

The alleged dummy model of the iPhone 6 goes in line with the previous mock-up designs we have seen for the handset. Noticeably, the volume buttons are now elongated instead of circular, along with thinner side bezels than the existing iPhone 5s. Unfortunately, no other information can be derived from the images.

Additionally, a video posted on Tuesday showed a purported iPhone 6 case compared to the current generation Apple iPod touch.

Notably, the video shows the alleged iPhone 6 4.7-inch model's case with similarities to the iPod touch in thickness and volume control button placement. For those unaware, the current generation iPod touch sports a 6.1mm thickness and the video purportedly shows how the alleged iPhone 6 case 'exactly' fits the iPod touch.

A recent report even claimed that the 'super thin' 5.5-inch iPhone 6 was reportedly delayed due to supply constraints. The report claimed that the iPhone 6 would pack battery cells that are 2mm in thickness, instead of the normal thick battery components.

Reports have for a while been indicating that Apple might finally enter the screen size battle with the launch of the iPhone 6, and its rumoured two display size variants - 5.5-inch and 4.7-inch.

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Micromax Canvas 2 Colours now available online at Rs. 10,194..!!!

The Micromax Canvas 2 Colours is now available in India via an e-commerce website at Rs. 10,194. The smartphone was recently listed on company's site without pricing and availability details.

As it has been listed at a third-party store, one cannot be certain if Rs. 10,194 will be the official launch price for the Canvas 2 Colours when the phone is officially unveiled in India.

The highlight of the Micromax Canvas 2 Colours is its colourful rear shells. The Canvas 2 Colours will come in two variants, Dark Grey and White. The Dark Grey colour variant will ship with Radiant Red and Mystic Blue rear shells in the box, while the White colour variant will ship with Vibrant Yellow and Splendid Green rear shells.

Notably, Lava launched a smartphone with a similar name earlier this month, called the Lava Iris 450 Colour, which also features interchangeable back panels. Lava had priced the Iris 450 Colour at Rs. 7,999.

The Micromax Canvas 2 Colours (A120) is a dual-SIM (GSM+GSM) device which runs Android 4.2 Jelly Bean out-of-the-box. The smartphone is now listed on Snapdeal.

It comes with a 5-inch IPS display with a resolution of 720x1280 (HD) pixels. The Canvas 2 Colours is powered by a 1.3GHz quad-core MediaTek (MT6582) processor with 1GB of RAM. The Canvas 2 Colours features 4GB of inbuilt storage, which is further expandable up to 32GB via microSD card. It sports an 8-megapixel autofocus rear camera with LED flash, while there is a 2-megapixel front-facing camera also onboard. On the connectivity front, the Canvas 2 Colours includes 3G, GPS, Wi-Fi, Micro-USB, and Bluetooth options.

The Canvas 2 Colours also comes with some preloaded apps, such as Games (Burn the Rope, Fukrey, Frog Brust), Kingsoft, Getit, Opera Mini, M! Live, Mi games, Reverie Phonebook and Smartpad

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Flipkart woos Moto G buyers with full cash back, Rs. 1 lakh free shopping...!!!

Flipkart, the exclusive online partner of Motorola, has introduced a new offer for consumers purchasing a Moto G smartphone.

The Moto G offer on Flipkart includes as prizes one-year free shopping on Flipkart for one customer, and full cash back on the Moto G for 100 customers.

The offer's terms and condition specify that the bumper prize winner will get a Flipkart E-Gift voucher worth Rs. 1 lakh valid up to 30 April 2015, while the remaining hundred winners will get full cash back on their Moto G purchase as a Flipkart E-Gift voucher valid up to 30 April 2015.

In order to avail the offer, a customer needs to answer a question related to the Moto G, coupled with the order ID of the phone, and send it to Flipkart via SMS.

Flipkart notes, "Winners will be announced on 7th May. Winners will be notified via SMS (and email). Full winner list will be published on 7th May on Flipkart's Facebook page."

Earlier, Flipkart introduced exchange scheme on Moto G purchase and offered Rs. 2,000 discount in exchange of select old phones.

With the exchange offer, the Rs. 12,499 (8GB) and Rs. 13,999 (16GB) price tags on the Moto G got reduced to Rs. 10,499 and Rs. 11,999 respectively.

In February, Motorola launched the Moto G dual-SIM phone in 8GB and 16GB storage variants. Within a few weeks of the successful launch of budget smartphone Moto G (Review) in the country, the former Google-owned company unveiled the Moto X, also exclusively available via Flipkart.

The Moto G runs Android 4.4.2 KitKat. The dual-SIM variant has been launched in India, with Micro-SIM card slots. The Moto G features a 4.5-inch HD 'edge-to-edge' display with a resolution of 720x1280 pixels (translating to a pixel density of 329ppi) and boasts of a Corning Gorilla Glass 3 screen.

Powered by a quad-core 1.2GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 processor coupled with an Adreno 305 GPU, the Moto G features 1GB of RAM. On the optics front, the Moto G sports a 5-megapixel rear camera along with an LED flash and also includes a 1.3-megapixel front-facing camera. The rear camera supports HD (720p) video recording

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Kochadaiiyaan games review...!!!

Movie-videogame tie-ins used to synonymous with low quality, and the shift to mobile for tie-in games has largely been a good thing, since the shorter time and budget available for developing these kinds of games is a good fit for the mobile space. As tablets and phones get more powerful, that's going to change, but for now, mobile games based around movies have been seen as a reasonably good fit.

In India however, mobile games based around movies have been about as bad as the console games based around movies. When you look at movie games over the years, you can see slow improvement from the days of something like Ghajini to the new Dhoom 3 game. The latest two such games are based around the Rajinikanth starrer Kochadaiiyaan; both have been made in collaboration by Gameshastra and Hungama, and continue to show how Indian games are slowly improving. Both games are free, but ad-supported, and also include in-app purchases. Currently available only on Android, versions for iOS, Windows Phone and also Facebook are being developed.

Kochadaiiyaan: Reign of Arrows

Given what we've come to expect from Indian developers, the game is surprisingly high quality. The idea itself isn't very new, but the execution is pretty good. It looks a little chunky, and when you compare it with a game like Frontline Commando or The Collectables, then it looks terrible, but compared to the average game, Reign of Arrows is a pretty good fit.

This free Android game is a third person cover shooter; you're controlling Rajinikanth's character and you have to single handedly destroy an invading army that's trying to take over your home town. There's a sea of enemies that keep marching up as easy arrow fodder, which keeps the game quite busy.

Movement is extremely limited - instead of freely running from point to point, you tap on pieces of cover to take up the most advantageous position. You can use special powers like the Reign of Arrows, which is, well, a rain of arrows; other special shots are cheaper and you'll also get them more often, such as explosive arrows and split shots.

One thing that's a little off putting is the strange product placement in the game, particularly considering that it's also ad-supported. There are health potions that you can have to recover from being hit, which are called - "Aegon Religare Health Potion".

The game plays very straighforwardly; get into cover, tap enemies to shoot them, and use your special powers when needed. Between ads between levels, you're able to upgrade your armor and attack abilities, and purchase power-ups. It's a well established genre that works pretty well on the mobile, and the art style and overall visuals look good.

Some of the animations look funny, but it's not a big issue - the main problem with this game is the aggressive monetisation tactics, which range from product placement to in-app purchases to a lot of ads. Despite that though, it's a pretty fun game, and it's free.

Kochadaiiyaan: Kingdom Run

This side scrolling auto-runner is a little bit more of a problem than Reign of Arrows. The fact is that the genre has been very thoroughly exhausted by now - many of the best early games on mobiles were sidescrollers, before the slew of Temple Run clones took over. It's still worth checking out though, and it's available for free on the Android Play store.

As a result, there's nothing Kingdom Run can do to feel fresh. Add to that the fact that the animations don't feel fluid or natural, and the game starts to feel dissatisfying. With Reign of Arrows, the focus is usually on the faraway enemy, and people move a little, then get into cover, and so the flaws in animations get concealed.

Here, you're running up close and personal, and when that feels jerky, when your character's model clips through the geometry, and when the precise dimensions of the platforms underfoot and your character are unclear, then it breaks the immersion.

If you're willing to put up with what is only a very average game for the sake of the IP it's been wrapped with, then you're probably going to enjoy Kingdom Run, when you find the gaps between ads. The game is quite gory - as you run and jump across different levels, you're confronted by a host of bad guys, and you're going to fill them up with arrows as you dash past.

There are special weapons, power ups, and upgrades to purchase along the way, which will keep you interested in the game. It's well thought out, but the execution is sadly lacking.

Overall, this is true for both games, but platformers are a more thoroughly exploited genre and that is why the problems feel more pronounced here. The game has the same kind of monetisation as Reign of Arrows, which can be a little tedious, but again, the game is free, and is certainly a step in the right direction

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HTC One (M8) review: A worthy upgrade...!!

The HTC One might be the best smartphone you never heard of.

The phone won critical acclaim last year, yet it barely made a dent in the marketplace. It's overshadowed by Apple's iPhones and Samsung's Galaxy line of smartphones.

Good thing HTC Corp. doesn't understand defeat.

An updated One expands on some of the features that made it notable. The new One has a metal design like last year's model, but it feels smoother and more comfortable in my hands. The back edges are more curved and remind me of the sleek finish in Apple's latest iPads. HTC also turns its hub for personalized content, the BlinkFeed, into a companion rather than an unwelcomed guest.

HTC is making the Android phone available through all major carriers simultaneously this time, starting Tuesday online and by April 10 in retail stores. Verizon customers don't have to wait months, as they had last year. In an apparent concession, Verizon is the first to get them in stores - on Tuesday.

The new phone, known officially as HTC One (M8) (Pictures), will cost about $200 to $250 with a two-year service contract, or about $650 without a contract. Customers can choose gray, gold or silver.

The One still has some flaws - namely, its 4 megapixel rear camera. By comparison, Samsung's Galaxy S5 phone, which comes out April 11, will have 16 megapixels. Sony and Nokia already have phones that exceed 20 megapixels. Apple's iPhones are at 8 megapixels, twice what the HTC One offers. More megapixels typically translate to sharper images and more options for printing and cropping.

HTC is correct in saying the megapixel count is just one factor in what makes a good camera. It prefers making the size of individual pixel sensors larger to absorb more light for night and indoor shots. That's laudable, but Apple's iPhone 5s (Pictures) and Nokia's Lumia Icon are both able to offer decent low-light shots while providing more megapixels than the One.

Compared with last year's model, though, the One's camera is much better, even at 4 megapixels. Colors look washed out in day shots I took with last year's camera. The new model seems to have fixed that. The new version also has a 5 megapixel front camera for selfies, far better than what rivals offer.

HTC also has improved its camera software

Thanks to a second lens on the rear, the phone now captures depth information. That lets you decide later through built-in software whether to focus on the foreground or the background while blurring everything else. Other phones also offer this capability, but the One does this automatically. You don't have to switch to a special mode ahead of time.

The One offers plenty of manual settings, as other phones are starting to offer. The One goes further in letting you save frequently used combinations of settings. If you take a lot of action shots indoors, for instance, you can save a combo that uses a fast shutter speed to reduce blurring from motion, while adjusting the white balance to filter out the hint of color from the ceiling lights.

You can pause video recordings. Most phones only let you stop recording, so you have to stitch together several files with software to get the same effect. The Vine and Instagram apps also let you pause video recording, but those clips have length limits. With the One, you're limited only by the phone's storage.

As for watching video, sound quality is wonderful, thanks to the phone's two front-facing speakers. If I hold the phone close enough to my eyes and slide the volume to maximum, I can pretend I'm watching in a movie theater. Phones with rear speakers sound boxy by comparison.

The One also has some useful shortcuts when the screen is off. Swipe from the left to get the BlinkFeed content hub, and swipe from the right to get your regular home screen. Press the volume button to get the camera and press it again to take the shot. Double tap to get the lock screen.

With an optional $50 Dot View case, you can see the time and the weather through the small holes, or dots, on the case's front, flip cover. You can answer and reject incoming call by swiping on the case, without needing to flip over the cover.

As for BlinkFeed, the One now offers more ways to customize it and increases the number of social media services it works with. Through a partnership with Foursquare, BlinkFeed also suggests restaurants based on the time and location. Monday's lunch recommendation was dubious, though: It was suggesting frozen yogurt at Pinkberry as outdoor temperatures in New York hovered at water's freezing point.

I do like that you can get BlinkFeed by swiping from the left. Otherwise, it stays out of the way. To get back to the home screen, just tap the home button once or twice. I hated BlinkFeed in last year's model because there was no easy way to restore the home screen without knowing the proper swipes.

The HTC One is a work in progress, though. There's supposed to be a power-saving mode offering 15 hours of battery life when you're down to a 5 percent charge, for instance. That and other promised features weren't done in time for the U.S. release. But if you buy the phone now, you'll get them through upcoming software updates.

U.S. customers are also eligible for a one-time screen replacement if it cracks in the first six months.

The One doesn't have a fingerprint sensor to bypass the security code on the lock screen. The iPhone 5s has it, as will the Galaxy S5. It's also in the HTC One Max (Review I Pictures), a larger version of last year's model. But HTC's version didn't work well, and the company is wise to leave it out in the One.

There's a lot to like in the new phone. This phone likely won't be as popular as the iPhone or the S5, but the One is one worth considering if you're looking for something that feels right and works nicely.

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Get started IOS7 with 5 simple tips

Apple's new iPhones and iOS 7 operating system for mobile devices are packed with new features, although not of all them are readily apparent. I've had a chance to learn a few tricks in the week I spent with both the iPhone 5c and the iPhone 5s, which come with iOS 7 installed.

Here are five things to know if you download the software on one of Apple's older mobile devices starting Wednesday or buy a new iPhone starting Friday. The update is available for free for the iPhone 4, 4S and 5 models, the iPad 2 and later, the iPad Mini and the iPod Touch released last year. You'll need about 3 gigabytes of free storage.

1: Control Center and swipes

Many of the improvements added to iOS 7 are delivered after swiping from various edges of the screen. This redesign is meant to make it easier to navigate, but there is no guide for knowing when and how to swipe. Fortunately, you can still use an iPhone the traditional way, by tapping on an icon or button, even if you don't learn all the new ways to swipe.

As a general rule of thumb, keep swiping from various edges to see what happens. If you discover something neat, remember it for next time. Swiping may produce different results if you're in the lock screen, the home screen or an app.

Here's a guide to the basic swipes:

- From the lock screen, swipe up from the bottom right corner to access the camera. This is a holdover from iOS 6.

- Whether locked or unlocked, swipe up from anywhere else along the bottom edge to get the Control Center. It gives you easy access to frequently accessed settings such as Airplane Mode and Wi-Fi. It also gets you to key apps such as the flashlight feature and the clock, for timing how long the turkey needs to be in the oven. There's a volume control, but only for audio and video playback. You need the volume buttons for the ringer and alerts.

- Swipe down from the top edge to get the Notification Center. You'll see the day's highlights, including the weather, appointments and stock quotes. Tap on "All" or "Missed" near the top to get recent notifications from Gmail, Facebook and other services.

- Swipe down from anywhere else on the screen to get a search box.

- From various Apple apps, try swiping from the left or the right. Not every app will respond, but many will. With the Safari browser, for instance, you can use the left and right swipes in place of the back and forward buttons.

2: Organizing and sharing photos

The new Photos app organizes your photos into moments, based on when and where you took the photos. Several moments will be grouped into a collection, such as a vacation to Europe. Collections will then be grouped by year. It's all automated, so you can't reorganize shots if you would rather break a collection into two. But it's better than having hundreds of unorganized photos.

From any moment, collection or year, click on the header on top of the photos to pull out a map showing all the places you've been, with the number of shots taken at each. You can share entire moments, by hitting "Share" on the right side of that header. A menu should pop out from the bottom. It's tricky because it's easy to miss and hit "Select" above it instead.

Once you have the moment or set of photos chosen, another menu will pop out from the bottom, giving you such choices as sharing by email, Facebook, Flickr or text messaging.

3: Ask Siri

Frustrated with Siri's inability to hear what you're trying to say? Instead of repeating yourself over and over, you can click "tap to edit" to make the change manually. You shouldn't have to with voice search, but fixing one letter is still easier than having to type in the entire phrase.

Just for fun, you can give Siri a sex change by going to the settings, choosing "General," then "Siri," then "Voice Gender." You can now use Siri to change phone settings and return recent calls. And Siri will speak out turn-by-turn directions when walking. Before, the vocal instructions were limited to driving directions in Maps.

4: Freebies

Apple's new streaming music service, iTunes Radio, is easy to find. Click on the Music icon at the bottom of each home screen, then choose "Radio" at the bottom. Create music stations by choosing some genres you like. Then fine-tune your picks by hitting the star when a tune is playing. You can ask the service to play more songs like it or remove that song from future playlists entirely. You can also create new stations based on specific songs or artists. The service will try to find other songs like them.

Best of all, it's free. Just prepare to put up with some ads, unless you subscribe to Apple's iTunes Match for $25 a year.

Meanwhile, you might qualify for some free apps - Pages for word processing, Numbers for spreadsheets, Keynote for presentations, iPhoto for photo editing and iMovie for movie editing. They usually cost $5 or $10 each. To qualify, you need to buy a new iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch. The offer is retroactive to Sept. 1. Once a new device is activated, the app can be downloaded for free to other devices on the same account, as long as the device is upgraded to iOS 7.

5: Fingerprinting

With the new fingerprint ID system on the iPhone 5s, there's no longer a reason to avoid protecting your phone with a passcode. I know passcodes can be very disruptive. I've often lost my train of thought before I could get to an app to jot something down. But your fingerprint now bypasses the need to type in a four-digit code in many situations.

It's easy to set up. The iPhone will walk you through scanning one finger when you set up the phone. You can scan four more fingers - yours or someone else's - by going to the settings. Go to "General," then "Passcode & Fingerprint."

I'm still confronted with passcode screens, especially when I need to authenticate an app purchase. It took me a few days to realize that even though you're asked for a passcode, the fingerprint usually works unless the phone specifically tells you otherwise.

One more thing: The screen needs to be on for the fingerprint sensor to work. To save a step, just press on the home button firmly and let the button pop back up. But keep your finger lightly touching the button's surface. The hard press will activate the screen, and the light touch will unlock the phone.

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