Camera is the focal point of G4 quite literally, says Puneet MehrotraCall it it’s beauty or it’s bane, the fact is technology is un-predictive in nature. Who would have thought a startup called Uber would have $50 billion valuation in less than four years. Having been in the business of writing on technology and predicting trends for last 13 years I can for sure say one thing, you never know what’s coming as far as technology is concerned. The speed of innovation is just so phenomenal. Anyone one or any brand which says it knows it all is simply being pompous. It is simply fascinating to see new innovations. LG G4 Sets New HighsYesterday LG launched its latest mobile phone G4. If you thought you have the latest phone which has it all, or that nothing can be beyond the Galaxy or iPhone, maybe you need to check this one out. I don’t say it’s the best, but it definitely is the latest and has quite a few things that sets new standards especially in the photography department. What’s Hot and What’s Not Two things that set LG G4 apart are Design and CameraPacked with a luxurious design LG G4 with a premium leather backside with the curve to match, LG G4 looks deliciously sexy. The screen size is 5.5 inches. Some of the other hot points are Puneet MehrotraSelf obsession has a new high at 8 megapixels. Selfies now at 8 megapixels, combined with gesture support sets new highs for selfie lovers 3000 mAH removable battery. This is decent especially for those who live their life through their cell phones. Camera is the focal point of G4 quite literally. The camera features are unique and the noteworthy is a retooled camera software which means an incredibly fast camera start up time of just six-tenths of a second. Rear 16MP with F1.8 ApertureShutter speed controls (the photography lovers will understand it’s importance)Color sensors in addition to normal IR sensors What’s Not HotThe price is Rs.51,000. To do justice to the phone, worth writing is it is more of an association with the brand problem than the phone. The Last WordThe camera sets new benchmarks. The quality of pictures is a pure delight to watch. This phone could be a good one for those who are stuck in the Apple garden and want a more friendly and compatible Android environment yet want the quality of pictures they click to be delicious and juicier than the apple! Puneet Mehrotra is a columnist on business and technology puneet@tbe.in
Read More
As the International Yoga Day nears, Mala Bhargava and Kunal Khullar suggest some Yoga apps for youWith India going crazy over Yoga, this may be your best time to take it up as you’ve always promised yourself you would. And if you know how to be very careful and attentive, you can try it without the instructor. Let an app teach you instead. But watch and listen with great care first and always be alert for discomfort. The best way is to study the session first and then use the audio while checking your pose in the mirror, if you can. Yoga StudioAvailable on iOS, this app is beautifully made. You download classes based on your needs – beginner, advanced, etc – or even make your own mix of asanas, and watch the gentle and careful instruction. When you’re ready, schedule it on a calendar provided in the app, and let the soothing voice guide you through the movements. There are also written instructions, in case The file sizes are small, so you won’t have to worry too much about download time or data usage. The plain white background to the videos makes it easy to see exactly how to do the pose. Yoga Studio costs Rs 60 on the App Store. 5-Minute YogaA short spell of exercise is better than no exercise at all. If you go in for it, you’ll find that the more you move, the more you want to move. But 5-Minute Yoga, on iOS for Rs 60, focuses on quick sessions for those who are too busy. You can even schedule reminders. Videos of a number of poses will show you how to do the poses. Watch first, try, and then include into your daily routine. The app uses simple but effective poses and is particularly good for stretching and flexibility. Ramdev YogaIf you’d rather stay Indian and in fact loyal to the current reigning king of Yoga, Baba Ramdev, look for his apps on Android. Ramdev Yoga, while not a very slickly made app, it’s got text instructions on 7 pranayams and 7 essential asanas. Ramdev Yoga 2 is better made and in Hindi. Unfortunately, there’s no video in either, which is not nice at all for those who’ve never done yoga before. An app called Baba Ramdev in Hindi is also all text based. Yoga.com37 Yoga programmes, 289 poses, and audio and video guides. The app is free, but you get limited content until you go Pro, which is just Rs 97 anyway. With that done, you can access the database of poses, see them performed individually or get audio instructions or you can choose a level and see the associated poses in that way. But even with the free version you can access programmes that last anything from 9 minutes to 50 minutes. The instructions are a bit stilted and there’s no commentary on why a pose is useful. But it’s still a rich repository of poses. In fact, this app is useful even if you’relearning with a teacher because you can use it to refine your poses. Daily YogaAlso on Android is Daily Yoga, Fitness on the Go, a free app with a Pro version and some in-app purchases for lots of different modules including Yoga Sun Salutation, breathing, weight loss etc. You download the module you want and run the class. There’s even an office Yoga module here. It’s a slight nuisance that they’re all separate on the store, but they are accessible through the main app.Yoga Apps for Windows Phone YogaThis app gives you info about the various asanas and how to perform them in 10, 30 and 60 minute regimes. The app also includes diagrams showing how each asana is performed. It is free of cost and available on the Windows Phone app store and is available for devices with Windows Phone 7.5 and up. Baba Ramdev YogaFree of cost for all Windows Phone users, this app comes with a variety of yoga videos of the well known Indian Yogi, Baba Ramdev. The videos explain how to perform asanas and yoga exercises to keep a check on diseases and health issues like diabetes, high blood pressure, etc. Pregnancy Care (Prenatal Yoga)According to this app, prenatal yoga is a good way to prepare for birthing process as it helps in lessening the discomforts of pregnancy. This is app is custom made for pregnant women who want to learn prenatal yoga exercises to bring fitness and relaxation in day-to-day life during pregnancy. Facial YogaIf you thought yoga is only for your body and mind, think again. This app offers more than 85 exercises to tone up the muscles of your face and neck. Face yoga exercises help you in getting a leaner face reducing the fat even the ageing process.
Read More
InFocus M350 will be available exclusively on Snapdeal from June 26, says Arshad Khan US-based technology company, InFocus is set to launch the M350 smartphone on 26th June exclusively through Snapdeal.com. Speaking on the launch, Sachin Thapar, country manager for InFocus Mobiles, said, "We gave our design team a clear mandate to find out what makes India's youth rolling and give them the phone of their dreams. After months of research, our engineers and design experts came out with smart phone for a savvier, more cosmopolitan generation of Indian consumer." Priced at Rs 7,999, InFocus M350 features a 5-inch HD screen with on-cell display technology. It is quite sleek and handy, with a thickness of 3.5mm. The M350 sports an 8MP front camera, which with auto-focus and a BSI sensor is unmatched in its segment. It is powered by a quad-core 64 bit processor, which is suited well for multimedia and 3D gaming experience. It is fuelled by a 2500mAh battery, which ensures the party keeps going for hours. The M350 has curvaceous back cover and super-slim metal edge, crafted to reflect the spirit and passions of India's sensitive youth. It has the perfect mix of aesthetic beauty, sophisticated functionality and raw power and 8MP front camera.
Read More
Apple loves to stir up things and it certainly did so when it announced the Apple Watch back in September last year. The product is now officially rolling out in select countries including the US, Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan and the UK. There is still no confirmation as to when fans in India can officially buy the smartwatch, but we can expect an announcement soon. It has been touted as THE gadget to own, but is it really something that you should put your money on? According to early user reports, the device might not be as amazing as one would expect. A number of users have or are planning to return the Apple Watch plainly because it isn’t what Apple claims it to be. Some of the major concerns are: PriceThe cost for the basic Apple Watch starts at $349 (Rs. 21,000 approx) which is as much as a decent mid-ranged smartphone. Spending so much on a device seems pointless as it is just an extension of your smartphone that gives you notifications and updates, the time and a few health stats. Battery LifeMost of the smartwatch makers today are struggling to provide a long battery life and it is the similar case with Apple Watch where users are claiming a battery life of just about a day. This can get annoying as you apart from charging your smartphone, you now have to charge your watch on a daily basis. App supportThe app support is not at par. There are only a few useful apps and native app support is still under works. If that works out only then will the device support third party apps to run on the watch itself rather than syncing with the app on the iPhone. The watch is in its early stages and we can expect the app support to improve, but it will definitely take a few more months. SoftwareThe interface of the Apple Watch is quite interesting however according to early user reports the performance is sluggish. The device doesn’t seem to have a DFU (Device Firmware Update) mode either, which simply means that in case you update your Apple Watch to the watchOS 1.0.1 or the recent watchOS 2 beta update, there is a high chance that you cannot go back to an older version. Why would one want to do that, you may ask, well the new updates are having certain issues with the heart rate monitor. Since users cannot downgrade the software, they are being instructed by Apple to send their Apple Watch back to the company for repairs and on certain occasions are being charged for the service. CompatibilityThe Apple Watch can only work with an iPhone, and in case in the future you decide to move to different platform, your Apple Watch will be useless, and you will be left with just a watch that costs as much as a good smartphone.
Read More
Toshiba’s shop girl, Aiko Chihira, a robot, moves about the shop floor, interacts with customers, and talks quite sweetlyYour next best friend could be a piece a chatty chunk of metal and tech The human race’s attempts to recreate itself in metal and tech is unstoppable. Robots aren’t just intended for cleaning windows or taking on monotonous tasks in factories that people get bored with or replacing humans for dangerous jobs. They’re made to delight kids, take care of the elderly when they have no one else, and even read the news when it’s too late for people to be up. Just recently, the Japanese took their fascination for robots up a notch with the launch of Toshiba’s shop girl, Aiko Chihira. She moves about the shop floor, interacts with customers, and talks quite sweetly. She’s very human – and yet isn’t. She’s a robot who’s going to man (or should that be robot) the information desk at a Tokyo store and help customers find their way about and get what they want. All are movements are startlingly people-like and you’d be tempted to makesmall talk with her – but that may be going too far. Chihira is going to be working at Mitsubishi among other places but someday, there could obviously be plenty of her kith and kin working around the world, say at airports, to guide people across increasingly complex spaces or at hospitals, to do some basic tasks. Exciting, but at the same time someone’s going to be done out of a job. But now here’s a robot that doesn’t look human – he looks like a robot– but behaves like a person. Pepper, developed by Softbank, is incessantly chatty, demands to be called cute, and avoids difficult questions. It’s a glossy white saucer-eyed four-footer that seems willing to chat all day. And it’s a bit cheeky, so people are immediately amused and start to chat with it – or him. It looks like it’s been designed to keep chatting and seems to like human company. But the chatting isn’t one-way. You reply and all its sensors and cameras are trained on you noticing your body language and responding accordingly. In other words, it’s supposed to be understanding human feelings though it’s also a bit thick skinned and does what it likes mostly. Now Pepper is actually becoming commercially available as of nowthough it costs $1,600 and will also have a service fee of $200. Softbank is starting with 1,000 Peppers and it will only be available in limited countries for now, but you can see where this is going. Robots like Pepper are not just a lab experiment any more. Pepper could be used for just about anything you develop it to work with. It’s as cute as R2D2 and kids are extremely charmed by the creature, so it could be used for teaching things that are readily gamified. It could be used, like Chihira, to help customers. Or just make it a member of the family. Pepper even likes and responds tobeing patted on the head.
Read More
Taiwan’s leading manufacturer of computer peripherals, Genius launched its two super mini products the Micro Traveler 9000R – mini infrared mouse and the Slimstar8000ME - multimedia wireless keyboard/mouse combo.Measuring only 68 mm, Micro Traveler 9000R mouse combines 1200dpi with a super efficient 240 mAh lithium polymer battery, which lasts upto four weeks per charge. Sporting a Stick-N-Go mount design, the 9000R can be easily attached to a notebook and carried everywhere, be it meetings or studying. A two-in-one slot acts as storage for the pico receiver and the Stick-N-Go mount. The Micro Traveler 9000R is available in 3 vibrant colors – Pink, Black and White and is priced at Rs 1350 only.Slimstar 8000ME a newly designed wireless keyboard/mouse combo that brings efficiency, simplicity and elegance to your lifestyle. The 2.4 GHz ensures anti-interference and greater operational distance. SlimStar features an ultra slim keyboard design, with innovative keycaps for great tactile feedback. In addition, a spill resistant design protects the keyboard from accidental spills. The wireless mouse has 1000 dpi optical tracking technology so you can navigate web pages or documents effortlessly, and the mouse is ergonomic designed to provide great working efficiency and performance. The Slimstar 8000 ME is priced at Rs 1100 only.Gaurav Mathur, Country Head (India), Genius, said, ‘We are one of the leading players in the keyboard and mouse segment in India. With the launch of the Micro Traveler 9000R and Slimstar 8000ME, we have demonstrated our commitment to be among the top 3 players soon. Sleek and user friendly design, superior performance and an affordable price point, make Genius products an irresistible combination. We are positive that our customers and channel partners would love our new offering.’
Read More
Microsoft India, in partnership with iBall, announced the launch of iBall Splendo, the first compact and affordable PC-on-a-stick device that can convert a TV into a fully functional PC and a Smart TV at price of Rs 8,999 only. It includes a wireless deskset (mouse and keyboard), all the user has to do is plug the device into the HDMI input on the TV for a complete Windows PC experience.Vineet Durani – Director Windows Business Group, Microsoft India said: “The iBall Splendo is for people who love devices and want to be connected all the time using multiple form factors. These users are tech enthusiasts who love gadgets, have access to multiple TVs at home, love the Smart TV experience and use Windows for browsing, social networking and multimedia consumption.”It is powered by the Intel Atom Quad-core processor, runs Windows 8.1 and has a 2 GB RAM with 32GB in-built memory. When connected to a TV, through its HDMI male plug, the device can turn the TV into a PC – complete with features including HD graphics, multi-channel digital audio, a micro SDXC slot, Normal USB port, Micro USB port, Wi-Fi and in-built Bluetooth 4.0. The device has a fanless design and comes with a one-year warranty.“The Intel® Processor based Splendo adds a new dimension to computing as we know it. Whether one needs to develop digital signage, add intelligence to a conference room projector or deploy a room full of PCs running the same operating system, the Splendo delivers the performance, cost and size that users’ need while efficiently meeting their computing needs anywhere and at any time” said Sandeep Aurora, Director – Marketing and Market Development, Intel South Asia.iBall Splendo will be available for sale beginning of July across the country. It will also be broadly available on IT and TV retail channels.
Read More
Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced on his Twitter status that he had launched an app that was available on the Play StoreYou know how they say “There’s an app for that,” a snide remark on how everything in the world is getting to be an app? Even this phrase has become a little passé because everything actually is an app and it’s no longer surprising or comment-worthy. But when a prime minister launches his own app, it’s time to raise an eyebrow or two. On Wednesday (17 June), Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced on his Twitter status that he had launched an app that was available on the Play Store: “Come let’s stay connected on the mobile,” he invited Indian citizens. The PM’s Facebook page echoes the announcement as well. While Twitter has close to a billion users worldwide, the active user base is much smaller as new users create their accounts and promptly disappear from the network, finding the onboarding too overwhelming and the stream of hanging 140-character conversations too chaotic. On Facebook, on the other hand, the engagement is more intense and users are not hesitating to put in long-winded comments and remarks. “We’d like to see you on iOS and Windows next,” says one user, humourously. The app has clearly been created keeping current design in mind. It’s visual, easy to use, and quite feature-filled. Unlike many bare-bones government apps, it gives the user a lot to do. When you sign up with Facebook, Twitter or Google, you swipe into a few introductory screens. Getting past that you see a stream of news, each item topped by a photograph – the developers have obviously keptin mind the fact that visual content draws audiences. You can tap into news items to read the full article and comment. Apart from articles, interviews, his Man Ki Baat video and in general daily prime ministerial activities can all be seen in the app. You can also save items to read later. More interestingly perhaps, there’s a platform to interact with the Prime Minister, writing to him with your views and questions. What answers one will get and from whom, remains to be seen. Writing to the PM takes the user out of the app and to pmindia.gov.in website where you first register with your email id. In the app, the user also gets “personal” messages from the PM, possibly in the style of the recent direct message sent out to his followers on Twitter. A “To Do Tasks” sections seems currently to hold ebooks about various activities such as the PM’s visit to Germany recently. The Narendra Modi app certainly feels more personal than comments made on Twitter or Facebook. It remains to be seen how Indian citizens take to this new method of connecting with a prime minister.
Read More
