Samsung officially announces Galaxy Mega 5.8 and 6.3-inch phablets

It seems that the rumour mills were right. Samsung has now officially announced the Samsung Galaxy Mega series smartphones. The two smartphones sport massive displays – 5.8 and 6.3-inches respectively. The two phablets will be available in Europe and Russia starting next month and there is no information on a global release date yet. There is no pricing information available about either of the phablets.

As the name suggests, the Samsung Galaxy Mega 6.3 has a 6.3-inch display with a 720p HD resolution. In terms of its specifications, it has an Exynos 5250 chipset with a dual-core processor clocked at 1.7GHz along with 1.5GB of RAM. The phablet will run on Android 4.2 Jelly Bean and will be skinned with the TouchWiz UI. It will also bring with it features such as Air View, Multi Window and more, which are currently found on the Samsung Galaxy S III, and the Note series of devices from Samsung. The Galaxy Mega 6.3 however will not have the S-Pen stylus, which is available on the Note series of devices.

Galaxy Mega 6.3

The rear of the Mega 6.3 has an 8MP shooter and the front has a 1.9MP camera for video calling. In terms of connectivity options, the smartphone supports LTE, Wi-Fi a/b/g/n/ac, NFC and also houses an IR blaster, which means that it can be used as a remote control as well. Despite its large display, the Galaxy Mega 6.3 is relatively slim at 8mm and weighs a mere 199 grams. It has 8/16GB built-in storage expandable via a microSD card. A 3200mAh battery powers the behemoth.

 

Galaxy Mega 5.8

“We are aware of a great potential in the bigger screen for extensive viewing multimedia, web browsing, and more. We are excited to provide another choice to meet our consumers’ varying lifestyles, all while maintaining the high-quality features of the award-winning GALAXY series,” said JK Shin, CEO and Head of IT & Mobile Business, Samsung Electronics.

Samsung already has the first generation Galaxy Note available in India that boasts of a 5-inch display and its successor; the Note II has a 5.5-inch display. Both the devices are very good and have been considered the defining products in the phablet category.

What remains to be seen however is how the Galaxy Mega 6.3 is received in the market. The smallest screen size on a tablet is 7-inches and with the Mega 6.3, the distinction between a tablet and a phablet seems to be reducing.

The Galaxy Mega already has competition from the Huawei Ascend Mate, which was unveiled at CES 2013. In terms of its specifications, the Ascend Mate has a 6.1-inch display with a 1280x720 pixel IPS+ display and has a 1.5 GHz Hi-Silicon quad-core processor under the hood combined with 2GB of RAM. It runs on Android 4.1 Jelly Bean straight out of the box and is powered by a 4050mAh battery. The Android OS is skinned with Huawei’s Emotion interface. It has an 8MP AF rear-facing camera with HDR and 1MP HD front-facing camera for video calls.

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Videocon VT75C 7-inch voice-calling tablet available online for Rs. 5,965

Videocon has added another tablet to its portfolio, the VT75C. The tablet is available for purchase via online retailers. Infibeam has listed the tablet as an in-stock product whereas Flipkart says that the tablet is a coming soon item. The VT75C has a list price of Rs. 6,999 but is available to users for Rs. 5,965.

In terms of its specifications, the Videocon VT75C has a 7-inch display with a resolution of 480x800 pixels. It also sports a 1GHz processor along with 512MB of RAM. The tablet boasts of a SIM card slot supporting 2G, and 3G connectivity is via USB dongle only. The VT75C has 4GB built-in storage expandable up to 32GB via a microSD card. The rear of the tablet has a 2MP camera whereas the front has a 0.3MP camera for video chatting. A 3000mAh battery powers the entire package. The tablet runs on Android 4.1 Jelly Bean straight out-of-the-box.

In terms of its connectivity options, the VT75C supports Wi-Fi along with Bluetooth 2.1. It also houses a microUSB port and a headphones jack. The tablet comes with a bunch of preloaded apps including Notepad, Media Library, Skype, Games, Facebook, TOI, ET, Saavn, YouTube, Movie Studio, Google Talk and Instant Messaging.

In the past we have seen tablets such as the Videocon VT 10, a 10-inch Jelly Bean powered tablet, launch for Rs. 11,200 and the 7-inch ICS based Videocon VT 71 launch for Rs. 4,799.

If you have a budget of Rs. 6,000 and are looking to invest in your first tablet, you can take a look at the HCL Me U2, Micromax Funbook P250 and the Lava E-Tab Xtron to name a few.

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Asus launches 32GB Nexus 7 in India, starting Rs. 18,999

 

As Google starts shipping the 16GB Nexus 7 via the Play store, Asus India today announced the 32GB version, in both Wi-Fi and 3G variants.

Asus India has today announced the availability of the Nexus 7 in India. The 32GB version of the 7-inch tablet will be available in both Wi-Fi only and 3G variants in the market.

The Asus launch of the Nexus 7 comes hot on the heels of Google's launch of the Nexus 7 via the Google Play store in India, but that is the 16GB Wi-Fi only variant. While Google has just started shipping the 16GB variants, Asus is also giving Indian customers the option to get more storage and more connectivity options for the same tablet.

The Asus Nexus 7 is powered by an Nvidia Tegra 3 processor and 1GB of RAM. The Nexus 7 also boasts a 7-inch IPS panel with a display resolution of 1280x800 pixels, the highest in its class. The tablet is just 10.4mm thick and is incredibly light, weighing in at just 340 grams.

“We are elated to announce the most awaited ASUS Nexus 7 to the Indian consumers. We have received an assenting reception for this tablet from the users globally and we are happy to cater to the growing demand in India by making it easily available in the country. The ASUS Nexus 7 is a promisingly thin, light and portable marvel which will revolutionize your computing experience and to become your permanent travel companion. It is one of the finest products available at an affordable pricing with exceptional speed and performance. We believe that ASUS Nexus 7 will bring us further closer to the persistent perfection that we set to achieve and offer to our consumers,” asserted Mr. Peter Chang, Regional Head – South Asia & Country Manager, System Business Group, ASUS India.

The 32GB Wi-Fi only version of the Asus Nexus 7 will cost Rs. 18,999 while the 3G variant will set you back Rs. 21,999. The tablet is exclusively available through Croma stores across the country

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Global market for cyber security solution to reach $870 mln by 2017: IDC

Research firm IDC points out at a sharp surge in the number of cyberattacks on websites of leading financial firms and other important organisations last year. IDC says cybercriminals are exploiting thousands of networked PCs (botnets) to 'jam' a website by directing massive traffic to it, leading it to crash.

IDC adds such incidents have propelled the demand for proactive solutions worldwide. The research firm predicts global market for cyber security solutions will grow to $870 million by 2017.

“The worldwide market for DDoS prevention solutions will grow by a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 18.2 per cent from 2012 through 2017 and reach $870 million,” Christian Christiansen added.

Highlighting a growth in frequency, volume and orientation of such cyber attacks, IDC Vice President (Security Products and Services research) Christian Christiansen says, “As attacks surged in prevalence and sophistication, organisations were often caught unaware. Embedded capabilities were quickly overwhelmed and outages were readily apparent on the Web.”

IDC also expresses concern over possible growth in DDoS attacks due to expansion of cloud services and mobile networks. Measures such as firewalls, intrusion protection and others could reduce low-level threats, but attacks in large volume could be dangerous as these might not be able to differentiate between legitimate and illegitimate traffic.

A recent joint report by IDC and Microsoft had pointed out that malware found in pirated software is likely to have a massive impact on the time and money of consumers and enterprises in the near future.

The study said the computer users will spend 1.5 billion hours and $22 billion on determining, repairing and recovering from the impact of malware. Global enterprises will too bear similar impact as they are expected to spend some $114 billion on the measures to deal with malware.

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Temple Run hits Windows Phone alongside Gravity Guy 2 and other games

Temple Run is finally available on Windows Phone platform. The version launched on Microsoft's Windows Phone 8 platform is the original Temple Run game, not the recently launched Temple Run 2

 

“At the risk of stating the obvious, Temple Run sets you off on one of the most heart-pounding challenges ever,” said Microsoft in a blog post.

“Swipe to turn, jump and slide as you race over obstacles and whip around corners on a pathway resembling China’s Great Wall, all on your way to capturing hidden treasure. Collect coins, buy power-ups, and see just how far your feet can take you, with the beat of native drums setting your pace.”

 

The original Temple Run has so far seen a massive popularity with more than 170 million downloads from Apple's App Store and Google Play since its launch in 2011. Following its success, Imangi Studios came up with a sequal for Android and iOS platforms – Temple Run 2. In the meanwhile, Imangi also tied up with Disney to launch two themed versions of the game called Temple Run Brave, and Temple Run Oz.

Temple Run is available for free on Windows Phone 8 platform. You can Download the game from here.

Besides Temple Run 2, Microsoft has rolled out a slew of other games including the Gravity Guy 2, the next series of the popular Gravity Guy. The game priced at $2.99 is available for download now, and will be sold exclusively to Windows Phone for next month.

Other games that make their way to Windows Phone are Chaos Rings, 6th Planet, Propel Man, Orcs Must Survive, and Fling Theory. It's notable Chaos Ring is only available for Windows Phone 7.5 devices.

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British teen sells mobile news app to Yahoo for GBP 18 million

Yahoo buys the Summly news app from 17 year old Nick D'Aloisio.

 

A 17-year-old London schoolboy has made big news, after he sold his news app company to Yahoo, for an estimated £18m. Nick D'Aloisio hails from Wimbledon in south London, had created the app called Summly – which provides crisp summaries of content from various news sites. The total transaction value is understood to be £18m, assumed to be 90% in cash and 10% in shares at Yahoo. However, some reports suggested the total could go up to as much as £40m.

D'Aloisio, who learnt how to write code for apps when he was 12 years old, developed the Summly app at the age of 15. The application was made for the iPhone, and till the time it was pulled from the Apple App Store after the announcement of the Yahoo deal, had clocked 1 million downloads. The application had content deals with 250 news sources globally, including the Rupert Murdoch owned News Corp., and was managed by a team of 10 employees based in London. Over a period of time, D’Aloisio got monetary backing from Horizons Ventures, the venture capital arm of Hong Kong billionaire Li Ka-shing as well as Zynga Inc.'s Mark Pincus and actor Ashton Kutcher.
“We will be removing Summly from the App Store today but expect our summarization technology will soon return to multiple Yahoo! products - see this as a ‘power nap' so to speak”, Nick says in a post on his website.
This could be a big acquisition for Yahoo, as it aims to refresh and rebuild its offerings, after having lost relevance significantly, at least in the smartphone ecosystem.
"To me, Yahoo is the best company to be joining right now because it's one of these classic Internet companies," D'Aloisio said in an interview. "With new leadership from Marissa Mayer, Yahoo has a strong focus on mobile and product, and that's the perfect fit for Summly."
D'Aloisio, who is currently on a break from studies for a short period to give complete focus to Summly, will join Yahoo's London office. Meanwhile, he will continue with his education. "Technology has really been the driver behind this whole deal. I can't wait to see how it plays out at Yahoo", he says.

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DataWind's UbiSlate 7C+ Edge tablet launched for Rs. 5,999

Priced at Rs. 5,999, the new UbiSlate tablet comes with SIM slot for voice calling and Wi-Fi. DataWind says the UbiSlate 7C+Edge is its recommendation for the Aakash 3 tablet.

 

DataWind, the company spearheading the Aakash tablet project, has released a new tablet called the UbiSlate 7C+Edge. It's notable the tablet is DataWind's recommendation for the Aakash 3.

Online retailer Snapdeal is selling the new UbiSlate tablet for Rs. 5,999 and promises to dispatch the device within 5 working days. The tablet is however listed 'out of stock' on DataWind's official website.

DataWind's UbiSlate 7C+ Edge comes with SIM slot for voice calling. It has a 7-inch capacitive touchscreen with 800x480 pixel resolution. The tablet runs Android 4.0.3 Ice Cream Sandwich and is powered by a 1GHz Cortex A8 processor. It has 512MB of RAM. There's a front VGA camera and G-sensor as well.

The tablet has an internal storage of 4GB and comes with microSD support that enables additional storage up to 32GB. For connectivity and networking, the UbiSlate 7C+ Edge supports Wi-Fi, microUSB and EDGE. Check out the full specifications of the tablet here.

The release of the UbiSlate 7C+ Edge comes amid reports of the HRD Ministry is looking to shelve the Aakash tablet project due to delays in manufacturing and supply. DataWind was supposed to deliver some units to the government by March 31, but it looks unlikely the company will be able to meet the deadline.

DataWind in a detailed clarification over the alleged delay said verifications process that Customs needed to conduct on the Exemption Certificates for certain components issued by IIT-Bombay had led to delay. Read about DataWind's clarification here.

In the meanwhile, reports suggest the government is working on the Aakash 3 and Aakash 4 tablets. Union ministry Kapil Sibal recently revealed that he had formed a joint working committee when he was the HRD minister. The committee had been assigned to work on the Aakash 3 and Aakash 4.

"That committee consists of head of CDAC, IIT (Madras), IIT (Bombay) and some others. It has representatives of HRD as well. I spoke to Ashok Jhunjhunwala who is also part of the committee. He has told me about 18 vendors want to manufacture Aakash in India," he said.

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