When it comes to buying a car, consumers usually enquire about mileage, road safety and maintenance cost etc. Nowadays, more and more cars come with new features and hi-tech gadgets for the customers. But the best of cars, can't make driving in congested roads easy. A group of researchers from Australia were recently in India to hold talks with IT firms like Tech Mahindra, TCS, Infosys, HCL and Cognizant for developing a system to address traffic problems.Professor Jugdutt Singh, Director of the Centre for Technology Infusion at the La Trobe University, Australia, who was a member of the research delegation, during a recent visit to New Delhi informed the media that the researchers at the university have already built a patented system for automobiles using sensor technology to enable vehicle-to-vehicle communication.The pilot phase of implementing the technology has already started in Victoria, Australia. By using this technology, cars can signal to each other to align in such a way that congestion is avoided.Some firms have already shown interest in collaborating for developing advanced transportation software, which help ease off the traffic especially in regions where huge numbers of vehicles ply on less road space, leading to congestions.While planning to implement the technology in India, the first thing that came to his mind was the traffic in Delhi and Mumbai, said Professor Singh.A sensor with Dedicated Short Range Communication (DSRC) technology embedded in the vehicles convey information about the traffic scenario while on-the-drive display and voice messages help the driver avoid heading towards traffic jams. Also, this information can be shared amongst vehicles within a radius of 500 meters to 1 km. This technology will also keep a check on errant drivers as a warning will be sent to the rashly driven vehicle by the other car near it using the same technology. However, this will only be possible if all cars come embedded with the sensor.The privacy settings have been designed in a way that information regarding only traffic congestion, accidents on the road, rash driving and related matters could be exchanged and couldn’t be misused.Ccording to the researchers, this could be the next big thing after the mileage and maintaining cost in encouraging prospective buyers.Singh mentioned that the cars with this new technology will start rolling out by 2015.In the long run, the researchers can look at further upgrading the solution by connecting with the emergency help-lines such as fire brigade, police control room, ambulance services, women help-lines etc which will come as a handy help to anyone and everyone driving on the road. Technology is a tool which has a large scope for improvement with each passing day and with the kind of resources available these days it’s even easier to implement it.
Read More
Get It Done SoonerGetting things done becomes so much easier when the planning is enjoyable. And the iPhone app Sooner makes it so. This rather expensive app(Rs 350) uses gestures in a most unusual interface. It’s like a clock face. You drag a plus sign to the edge of the clock to add a task or list of tasks under a category. So you can make lists within broader lists. But its main idea is to lay out tasks and goals to span the clock, which is when you can actually get them done, one by one, in priority. Sooner has much-needed tips that come up contextually as you try to do something. Calendars, reminders, notes, etc., all pop up when needed and can be accessed with a swipe or tap. It’s very much a personal use app but you can edit the categories given and include professional work out tasks and goals to span the clock. A Network Of Wallpaper UsersFor the easily bored, here's a free app that changes your wallpaper every time you unlock your Android phone. If that's too much of a good thing, you can tune it down and change every once in a while. The wallpapers in Bitmado come from users. When you submit a photo to the wallpaper collection, Bitmado checks out the resolution and rejects the picture if it doesn't make the cut. So no one gets to see low-quality images. The context is up to the users and fortunately is mostly very nice. Users vote up or down an image and the selections show up on screen. It's addictive especially when you put in your own images. The app is like a social network of wallpaper users and could be more interesting. It would also be nice if the app didn't register users with their Google or Facebook logins. Change The LookLaunchers, or applications that can change the interface of your Android phone, have tended to be complicated to use. Sometimes, in fact, they only work with a ‘rooted’ phone. But they’re getting easier and mainstream. Find on the Google Play Store, an app called Themer. It’s still in beta, so you have to ask for an invite. Once you do, open it and allow it to be your main launcher temporarily. With the new themes from Themer, you can set widgets and apps afresh, in a new look, changing the look of your phone completely. Be prepared to find things that you’ve put in familiar places to have disappeared. They’re all in the app drawer and the widgets section, of course, and you can get back to them by selecting your smartphone’s own interface again. Themer is free. (This story was published in BW | Businessworld Issue Dated 30-12-2013)
Read More
It is called the game of survival, that which makes species like “In-Car Navigation Systems” reinvent themselves against the assault by alternate devices. In the mid 2000s, it was the advent of PNDs (Personal Navigation Devices) - which were available for less than $100,clung on to the wind shield and seemed to offer everything that a $500-$2000 in-car navi could offer. There were predictions of the entire infotainment systems market getting wiped out, but what looked like an explosive new product saturated and now shows significant decline. The in-car navi survived. In the recent past, it is the invasion of the all pervasive smart phones. With the smart phone market growing by 50 per cent and 2 billion devices expected to be sold to end consumers this year, it is obvious that the trend cannot be ignored. The threat of a new device disrupting many individual markets looms around all the time. But people do not seem to prefer a single ubiquitous device that could be your computer, mobile phone, audio player, video viewer and in-car navi system. The famous question of ‘convergence of devices’ pops up often, but coexistence of multiple devices appears to be the way. In the near term, smart phones will not outsmart in-car navihead-units. Rather, the trend is clearly towards strong integration, giving rise to a new symbiotic technology trend.Automotive Apps are leading at the forefront of this innovation wave due to integration. Broadly, two types of apps are emerging. There are apps that enable locking the car and switching on the heater/cooler remotely, which provide car functions on a smart phone. There are Apps like in-car version of Facebook or internet radio Pandora that runs on the infotainment platform and makes smart phone features available in the car. This makes the smart phone and the car infotainment system an inseparable pair, rather than a competition to each other. There are a wide range of utility apps available for users. The simple app called GasBuddy gives cheap gas prices nearby, helping users to save on fuel costs. Technology savvy users could use apps like “Dynolicious Fusion” which gives vehicle performance measurements – real time horsepower, 0-60 miles acceleration time, lateral G-forces etc.Diagnostic codes can be read and issues fixed faster by knowledgeable users. In the context of electro-mobility, Apps are indispensable. Apps help monitor charge levels, plan routes with charging schedule and act as a guide to charging stations.The ecosystem to support automotive apps is evolving rapidly. GM calls it Mylink, Ford calls it AppLink, Nissan offers Carwings for Leaf, almost all OEMs are creating platforms to explore the possibilities of automotive and smart phone integration. In every autoshow and Consumer Electronics event, new solutions with smart phone integration are showcased. Emerging open platforms allow independently developed apps to be launched. What remained as a closed space between OEMs and suppliers is opening up.The Apple model is getting replicated with business models and strong user communities. OEMs are seeing clear business benefits and brand value in establishing their own platforms to deploy Apps.Like any other emerging technology trend, there are challenges to battle. The idea of automotive apps is not to grant the pleasure of playing Angry Birds while driving. There is a definite risk of business models pushing pop-up ads which load the display. Till automatic driving becomes an everyday reality, driver distraction will remain a fundamental topic not to be ignored. Already there are concepts to disable certain distracting functions depending on driving conditions, these will get further strengthened.Looking in to the future, just replicating the screen from a mobile device on the in-car display would not be enough value. More and more automotive functions would get tightly coupled to smart devices. Enough has been done to bring the internet in to the car and now the effort is on to take the car on to the internet, on to the cloud. Automotive apps could continue to lead the innovation wave, connecting cars and its users.(The author is Sri Krishnan, Vice President, Robert Bosch Engineering and Business Solutions Limited)
Read More
Lenovo P780Rs 19,999Ask some people what they want most in a phone and they’ll say – battery life. Can’t blame them, for those who are focused on communication and only want other smart functions to play second fiddle, are hard put to find a phone today that will satisfy them with enough battery life. The Lenovo P780 is built for battery. It’s a business-like looking phone, with metal-plus-textured-plastic making for an appearance that is handsome, though not necessarily cool. It’s clearly a look that will appeal to working professionals rather than the hip youth, who want something snazzy. But it has a whopper of a battery — 4,000 mAh should be enough on any smartphone. There’s also an app that lets you choose your usage pattern, so you can stretch the battery life further. If you are not busy draining out the battery with videos and gaming, this should last a couple of days for sure. The battery is, of course, a weight unto itself, but the phone is overall not at all prohibitively heavy. I’ve seen others this size that are heavier. The P780 has a very nice 5-inch display, with a 780 x 1280 resolution, while some have moved on to full HD. Colours are beautiful, images and text clear and viewing angles are fine. The cameras are 8 MP and 0.3 MP and not particularly good. The device is powered by a 1.2 GHz quad-core Mediatek processor with 1 GB RAM and 4 GB storage. It runs on Android 4.2.1 and works quite fast and smooth. It’s overall a standard Android phone with a few touches from Lenovo and no heavy overlay of annoying interfaces. It also offers a dual sim. Lemon Aspire A4Rs 17,999It's companies like lemon Mobiles and more so Micromax, Karbonn and Lava that are giving the phone bigwigs a run for their money. Not only do they eat up the lower end of the market, they’re now showing that they can make smartphones with hefty specs too. Lemon has come up with an Aspire A1 and Aspire A4 (the one we look at today) in the 5-inch space. A1 even has a stylus. The Aspire A4 may be 5 inches but it doesn’t feel oversized or heavy. It has a nice back, fingerprint resistant and is nicely done, but the metallic-looking strip along the sides doesn’t quite have the“finish” that one associates with worthwhile products. The power button on this device is also a bit recessed and not easy to get to by pure feel. But the smartphone comes into its own when you turn on the screen. The default animated wallpaper is quite quirky — showing off the 1920 x 1080 full-HD screen in all its colourful glory. The image revolves when you move across screens and I was so childishly delighted with this I kept everything else off the home screens. The A4 doesn’t just stop at a great screen. This fairly fast phone runs Android 4.2 on a 1.2 GHz quad core processor with 1 GB of RAM. The cameras are 13 MP and 5 MP — but perform averagely. There are a lot of Lemon apps on the device. The battery is an 1850 mAh, which may be a tad too little for a device you’re going to like seeing the screen of. Wammy Passion Z+Rs 15,990The 5-inch phone that goes by the unlikely name of Wammy Passion Z+ came to the market a while ago with an upgrade to the earlier Passion Z, and with a bunch of advantages. First, it’s got an obvious nice build. It’s a slab, say, reminiscent of some of the Sony devices, but has a look and feel to it. Slightly rounded corners and smooth sides make it easy to hold. That, and the fact that it isn’t too wide to sit in the palm of your hand. The back is smooth plastic and doesn’t need to pretend to be anything else as it doesn’t look cheap. It’s in black and white. The back panel opens to let you get at the 2500 mAh battery as it sits inside neat interiors. Power this device up from the button on the right, designed neatly into the body, and you’ll find a pretty nice screen, one of the early full HD IPS 1080 x 1920 ones. Viewing angles are not bad. Sound is a fraction low, but not disappointing. Surprisingly, it has a good 13 MP camera, not half as noisy as some seen on more expensive and well-known brands. It shows quite a bit of sharp detail, even inside. The front camera is a 2 MP. Running it all — and Jelly Bean Android 4.2 — is a MediaTek 1.5 GHz MT6589T quad-core processor. There’s 1 GB of RAM and sadly about as much storage space because that’s what’s available of the 4 GB on board. You can add a memory card and expand the storage, but it’s the apps that need the space on a device. The phone performs smoothly and is fast enough and offers dual-sim — all offered for a fair price. A reminder that Micromax is by no means the only company that offers value-for-money phones. (This story was published in BW | Businessworld Issue Dated 16-12-2013)
Read More
If you’ve been using Samsung’s Galaxy Note II, the flagship stylus-based large smartphone, you won’t be able to help wondering whether you could make a good thing better by saying goodbye to the Note II and moving on to the newest version, the Note 3, recently launched in September. This time, wonder of wonders, it really does seem as if Samsung has been listening and has taken every little thing about the Note II and made it better. Well, almost. Here are the pros and cons to help you decide whether to take the plunge and get the new Note, or be happy with the one you have.Reasons To UpgradeEvery Hardware Spec Has Been Boosted: From the screen to the battery, the processor to the camera, everything is more, more, more on the Note 3. Even if you’re not a specs junkie and realise that ultimately the proof of the pudding is in the using, the boosted hardware makes an immediate and significant impact. The screen is miles better. If you look at the two Notes side by side, you’ll see the more refined, sharper screen of the Note 3 in all its 5.7 inch 1080 x 1920 pixels glory. It isn’t a perfect display and doesn’t look as sharp and crisp as some, but it’s a massive difference from the Note II, and the screen is often the one thing that makes everything feel different. But of course, everything else is also different and the smartphone performs at top level with its Exynos 5 Octa 5420 chipset, 3 GB of RAM, 32GB storage space, and Android 4.3 running smoothly, carrying along an updated TouchWiz (Samsung’s interface and features). The camera, which is now a 13MP primary and 2MP front-facer, is much more capable and has a few tricks up its sleeve to boost low-light images – as long as you stay still and your subject does as well. There are a few annoyances though, but we’ll come to that in a bit.The hardware improvements include a Bluetooth 3.0 for faster charging and transfer of data, depending on what’s at the other end. The S-Pen, Samsung’s stylus, has also improved and even goes into its slot any way you care to insert it, a thoughtful refinement that many will appreciate. And finally, the glossy plastic back has been replaced with a faux leather panel which looks nowhere near as bad.The Ergonomics Are Up: The Note 3 has more powerful chops than its predecessor and yet is thinner and lighter and somehow much easier to hold. It also has a better grip to it because the slippery back has gone. If you use the flip cover, the advantage is retained because that too is textured. And believe me, that little bit of difference in grip is important and can mean someone can or cannot knock the device out of your hand as they pass by. All in all, the Note 3 being a little larger actually doesn’t feel it or even look larger than the Note II. The optional flip cover has a window through which you can see and receive or reject calls, view messages or even take pictures and notes. When you’re in a big hurry, that cover adds to the ease with which you can be on calls.It’s obviously difficult to use a device as large as the Note 3 one-handed, but Samsung has tackled this problem with software. You can use the now enhanced one-handed operation features to create a phone within a phone,. Apps such as the dialer, browser, calculator etc can be squeezed into a phone window that can be used with one hand – until you’re ready to go back to the original size.Air gestures and voice command features also add to the improved ergonomics on this device. While there are some of these features on the Note II as well, they’ve been enhanced. Just waving your hand in the proximity of the screen will let you move to the next photo in your gallery, for example. Such features were on the S4 well before they appeared on the Note 3, and well, some people like them while some find them far too gimmicky. So whether you welcome them or not depends on which category you fall into.Also adding to the ergonomics is the adjustable sensitivity of the screen. You can use the phone with gloves on and you can interact with the screen through the plastic window of the flip cover.More Features To Explore: If you love discovering new things to do with gadgets, the Note 3 is really up your alley as Samsung is most fond of packing a device with features. There’s no pressure to use them and you can choose to keep it simple until and instead just explore new features at leisure. This is one of the most enjoyable aspects of the Note 3. For example, I chanced upon a feature on the S Note app that lets you record your drawing. I have no immediate use for it, but it was fun finding it and setting it aside for a time when I might want to explain something with a drawing that unfolds.There are new features tucked into every corner of this smartphone, in settings, with apps, and so on. This is one of the more future proof aspects of the device.You Can Accessorize It: The Galaxy Gear, Samsung’s smartwatch and companion to the Note 3 (optional buy) is, according to many, still a concept that needs much refining. But should you count yourself as an early adopter, then you have the option of adding more uses and features via accessories like the Galaxy Gear which will hold apps that will give you quick access to information and functions on your phone without your having to reach for it. You can also add accessories to start to explore the health and fitness tracking features that are becoming popular on smartphones. These come at a cost, of course. The Galaxy Gear costs approximately Rs 23,000, but for those who really enjoy technology to the hilt, nothing is too much.Capable Camera on Board: The Note 3’s camera does have a few annoyances such as continuously auto focusing that doesn’t lock manually, no optical image stabilisation, and none of the 4k video recording that is on the Snapdragon version not available in India. But it’s a 13MP all rounder which, for a change, shows a clear difference from previous 8MP shooters. The front facing 2MP also leads to some pretty nice self shots and clearer video calls. There are various modes like beauty shot, sports etc but also some special ones such as shooting to capture an animated photo, an image with a bit of sound, and a drama mode which takes frozen inter-action images. There’s also a golf mode with which you can examine a golf swing repeatedly.On the Note 3, the camera boosts ISO to take lit up shots in low light and reduces noise. There’s digital image stabilisation but you do often get blurry pictures if you or the subject moves. It’s still an enjoyable camera for casual photography of the phone variety and it does a better job than most other non-specialist phones. In daylight, the photos are crisp and in nice colour. And there’s an HDR or rich tone mode for greater depth.The Note 3 is a top-of-the-line gadget today but for users of the Note II, it’s a want-to-have rather than a must-have device….Reasons To Stick With The Note IIA Steep Price: If you’ve paid for the Note II, it will almost certainly feel like paying twice for the same thing. Despite the improvements. At Rs 47,990, (though you may find it for less) the Note 3 is a hefty sum unless money is no object – or unless you can’t resist the lure of new features. We easily refer to a new version as an upgrade, but when we’re paying for another device, it’s a whole new clump of cash and a new purchase not an upgrade at all. So, if you decide not to pay all over again – or just yet – rest assured that you still have a perfectly good device. As long as you keep it free of lag by resetting it and not overloading it with data and apps, it will easily give you at least a year of productive work until you perhaps feel you need to catch up with specifications and features that have moved on ahead. This is specially the case with the Note II as it’s a productivity focused device rather than a gamer’s gadget or an ordinary phone with high performance. If you work a lot with your Note II, it will continue to be useful to you for quite a while.Simplicity Wins: If you’re focused on productivity, and so the right target customer for the Note series, you’ll value familiarity and simplicity. Having become accustomed to the Note II’s apps and interface, you may find one of two things on the new device more complex, though one can get used to anything. The S-Note application is simpler and feels more natural than its equivalent on the Note 3. The handwriting mode, for example, is easier on the eye on the Note II, and it’s easier to use. Pulling out the S-Pen brings up a pop-up Note on the Note II but on the Note 3 you have further options to become habituated to. Google Now is up front when you long-press on the capacitive button on the Note II, but on the Note 3 you have a comprehensive search feature. If you’re not currently ready to give new features your time and attention, you’re by no means badly off with the Note II.Hardware Specs Are Not Everything: The battery on the Note 3 has just a little more juice than the Note II’s, but having used the Note II since it launched, I found it was consistent and gave me a steady one and a half days of use between charges – if I left it alone while I slept. The Note 3 is still being seasoned, but in practical use isn’t making a significant difference. The processor is more powerful now and there’s a whole 3GB of RAM, but you can make any Android device currently available laggy if you stuff it with apps and force it to retrieve large amounts of data on app start up. The Note II still has enough wherewithal to work quite smoothly if it’s treated well.Also A Capable Camera: The camera is indeed much better on the Note 3 but its style of auto focusing continually is not easy to get used to. Also gone is the night mode or low-light mode, now replaced with a digital image stabilization measure which fills an image in low light with brightness but is a little more prone to softness. On the other hand, the Note II’s camera has more noise and grain in low light images, but also a little more sharpness. A dedicated macro mode has also gone. In sum, the Note II’s camera isn’t bad and one of the best in the 8MP category, specially in daylight.On a spec to spec comparison, the Note 3 would obviously win out, but the trade off is a big expense. The Note II is still desirable enough to offer a good alternative to those buying a member of this series for the first time as it can be brought for between Rs.27,000 and 30,000 or so. Both are win-wins for Samsung as well as consumers.mala@pobox.comTwitter: @malabhargava
Read More
Burberry CEO Angela Ahrendts rebuilt the brand after over-exposure of its trademark pattern alienated wealthy clientele. Her approach: to embrace digital innovation, build a strong online business and tap Chinese and Latin American markets. Now Apple Inc is hoping she can do the same at the world's most valuable technology company.In poaching Ahrendts to direct strategy, expansion and operation of its retail and online stores, Apple CEO Tim Cook has set her the task of bolstering global iPad and iPhone sales and returning some lustre to the Steve Jobs-created brand which has not launched a major new device in almost four years.Apple's profit fell 22 per cent in the June quarter as gross margins slid below 37 per cent from 42 per cent a year earlier and its shares, down more than 30 per cent since September 2012, are being pummelled by fears of slowing growth, and competition from Samsung Electronics."The point of Apple retail is to sell Apple, not to sell Apple products," said Benedict Evans, who covers mobile and digital media at Enders Analysis, a research consultancy."What they've got is somebody who can take 400 stores with really great premium positioning and turn that into 800 stores and do that in China, and do that in India and do that in Europe and in Russia and in South America and everywhere else which at the moment they don't really have."Jumping to Apple - whose $157 billion net sales are nearly 50 times those of Burberry - is a challenge of a different proportion for Ahrendts. The pressure is made all the more intense by Cook's previous stumble hiring a retail star from the UK market.John Browett, chief executive of consumer electronics retailer Dixons, was appointed by Cook in 2012 to lead the iPad and iPhone maker's global retail expansion. But Browett left after just six months and later said he had not fitted in with the business culture at Cupertino, California-based Apple.Ahrendts' digital experience means she is likely to have an easier time adapting. While at Burberry she launched a website dedicated to the firm's traditional trenchcoats and introduced webcast catwalks, using the new iPhone5S to shoot the entire spring/summer 2014 show. She also collaborated with Google for a brand campaign named Burberry Kisses.Strategic Vision"Clearly she has good strategic vision; she understands and talks digital," said John Guy, an analyst at Berenberg in London. "Under her stewardship Burberry has done well, there has been a lot of organization in terms of the backend in sourcing supply and replenishment."One of Ahrendts' main challenges will be to boost Apple's sales in China, its second-largest market. Here, analysts say, she will be able to draw on her Burberry experience of introducing less expensive goods without damaging the value of the brand.Apple launched a cheaper plastic iPhone last month to help make up ground in emerging markets to rivals like Samsung Electronics and Huawei Technologies. Analysts said the phone - still more expensive than many of its rivals' models - was not cheap enough."Part of her role from a retail point of view will be to ensure that that kind of premium or added value level that Apple is seen to represent remains intact," said Neil Saunders, managing director of retail consultancy Conlumino."The trick is to allow people to buy into the product and make it as mass market as possible, because you want the volume and the sales, but you don't want that to come at the expense of the cachet of the brand." ($1 = 0.6244 British pounds) (Reuters)
Read More
Many phones are available with many features. Here we have a list of 5 best phones with the best dual camera under 20,000.
Read More
Asus Zenfone 5z is a new contender in the race of becoming the best smartphone in India's affordable high-end smartphones category. With price starting from Rs 29,999, Asus Zenfone 5Z is the brand’s latest flagship offering in the Indian market which is packed with Qualcomm Snapdragon 845, AI-backed dual rear cameras, 19:9 ratio display with 90 percent screen-to-body ratio, Android 8.0 Oreo
Read More
Vivo Nex, an all-screen phone without a notch and minimal bezels has been recently launched in India. In order to minimize bezels, Vivo has opted for motorized selfie camera that pops out whenever you want to click a selfie. Vivo has also ditched the traditional earpiece and instead uses Screen SoundCasting technology and turns the display into a speaker. So, after innovating the earpiece and front camera design, Vivo has achieved ultra-slim bezels.
Read More
The new Samsung Galaxy Burgundy Red is a definite show stopper. It not only lets consumers make a style statement, but also takes elegance and gorgeousness to an entirely new pedestal. Priced at Rs 45,990, the limited edition handset is also available with additional cashback of Rs 10,000 through Paytm Mall.
Read More
