mYtech_aj

Stay tuned for updates from the world of tech, some philanthropy and lots more!!

[mytecaj-blog]

Samsung Galaxy S4 Zoom: Phone or Cam, u decide!!!

Another day, another new Samsung Device. Just a month after the latest flagship device, the Samsung Galaxy S4, from the Korean manufacturer went on sale the company has released another variant of the phone. Yes PHONE.

It has officially announced the Samsung Galaxy S4 Zoom. This is the third in a series of variant. The first being the Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini which had a smaller screen and the Samsung Galaxy S4 Active which is a water and dust proof variant of the flagship.

The Samsung Galaxy S4 Zoom features a 16-megapixel CMOS sensor with a 10x optical zoom lens in front of it. It comes with a Xenon flash. The camera has a built-in Optical Image Stabilizer (OIS). This camera has a 1.9-megapixel front camera.

It also has a Zoom Ring, which can be used to activate the Quick Launch and Shortcut features of the camera.

The S4 zoom has a 4.3-inch qHD (960×540) Super Amoled display and 1.5GHz dual-core processor, runs Android 4.2 Jelly Bean, and supports LTE. The flagship S4 has better and higher specifications than this. It has a 2,330mAh battery.

It weighs 208 grams and is 15.4 millimeters thick, making it pretty heavy and thick. It is nearly double the thickness of the original Galaxy S4.

Being a device aimed at photographers the device maxes out at ISO 3200. It has a maximum aperture of f/3.1-6.3.

This is not the first time that Samsung has taken a serious shot at putting Android in a camera. Last year, it released the Galaxy Camera which had better specs and also a much longer 21x optical zoom range.

The leader in the smartphone camera market is still the Nokia Pureview which has a 41 megapixel camera.

At the rate Samsung is releasing phones, we are not surprised that they have started piggy backing on names of their flagship devices to sell more of these variants. But while Samsung may have the marketing power we wonder if this is just too much for the regular customer and if the niche market is large enough to justify the launch of such devices.

[mytecaj-blog]

Review: iOS 7

Apart from OS X Maverick, Apple also took the cover off the new look of its mobile operating system iOS 7. It is definitely the most dramatic shift in the design of the iOS since the first version and has forfeited a lot of its old design for a flatter more modern look. A lot of people will definitely say that the new OS has been inspired by Windows Phone and Android, but the design team led by Jonathan Ive have definitely pulled a refresh out of what was becoming a boring looking iOS.

The whole OS has got a top-to-bottom redesign, and there is a bright color scheme. From the screen shots the icons don’t really look good but other parts of the OS do look better than before.

All of the standard apps that come with the iPhone like Mail, Phone, Messages, Calendar, Music etc. have been redesigned with the cleaner look.

There are also a whole lot of new features but here are just a few of the highlights:

Control Center: This menu appears when you swipe up from the bottom of your screen. It lets you control basic settings like WiFi, Bluetooth, and screen brightness. It even has a flashlight option. This is something most Android users have become used to. The screen is semi transparent and takes the colors or the background. You can open the control center from anywhere on the OS.

Multitasking: Unlike before, now all apps can make use of full multitasking. There is also a swiping gesture for closing apps.

Safari: The web browser now has a much cleaner look and has 3D tabbed browsing, that reminds us of Chrome, that makes switching between windows easier. You can also view tabs which are open on other iOS devices. There is also a full screen browsing mode.

AirDrop: This lets you swap files between iPhones and iPads. Since it uses peer to peer WiFi t will only be available on the last generation of iOS devices.

Camera: The camera app has a new look that makes it easier to switch between each different mode – camera, video, square camera or pano. There are also various live filters built in.

Photos: The new photos app can automatically build new albums for you based on when and where you snapped the photo. Some like what is there on the HTC One.

Siri: Siri has a got a brand new look and also voice. Apart from the female one you can also choose a male one. It can control basic functions on your phone like brightness, Bluetooth etc . Apple has also integrated Twitter, Wikipedia and changed the default search engine to Bing from Google.

iOS in the car: iOS 7 can sync with certain cars, which mirrors your iPhone on your in-car display.

App Store: Apps now update automatically. You can also search for apps based on what’s popular in your location. Apple also announced that there are now over 9,00,000 apps that have been downloaded over 50 billion times.

Music and iTunes Radio: The Music app has a new design and includes access to iTunes Radio, a streaming radio service. iTunes Radio is free, but supported by ads and is coming to iOS devices, Macs and Apple TVs. iTunes Radio comes with full playback history and the ability to buy new music. There will also be featured stations.

Activation Lock: A new security feature that lets you wipe all the data from your phone remotely if it’s lost or stolen. It also prevents the phone from being reactivated again unless the thief has your Apple password.

Other Features: There are also a whole lot of other new features like voice calls over a WiFi connection, notification sync and phone, Facetime and Message blocking.

Devices: iOS 7 will work on iPhone 4 or later, iPad 2 or later, and the 5th generation of the iPod Touch.

[mytecaj-blog]

WWDC: Day 1

All right,

We have witnessed the 1st day of WWDC-13 and you have to say, apple struck the world of awesomeness with full force. The awestruck audience witnessing the keynote present there and around the world were falling short of words to describe what they were seeing, and people not already on the apple platform were gearing up to land in there. iOS 7 was definitely the star of the day but all developments were a trademark of apple's excellence. This is indeed a platform where apple does all its show off but believe, you, me they have done it in style.

Talking about the highlights of the day......well perhaps the entire day was a highlight as is mostly the case with apple. The major launches on day 1 were

iOS 7

OS X Maverick

Mac-Pro

iWork for icloud

iTunes radio

Mac Book air

They have tried to bring in major revamping at all platforms and new products and to say the least, they have been very successful in their efforts. Talking about the iOS 7, they have tried to complete take a make shift from the previous versions of the iOS. People would like to down size it by saying that apple has made it similar to android and stuff like that but they would like to take a pause to realize that where did Android get its design ques. Talking about the revamping, its mainly flawless but a user based review can only point out the shortcomings(if any). The most awaited software product of the year stood its ground and stood firmly.

The latest version of the desktop operating system from apple, the OS X has been name Maverick. It looks pretty sturdy and its working....well it just takes Steve jobs legacy of performance forward.

Mac-pro well to describe it perfectly its an atom-bomb!!! Computing minimized and perfected to its very best.

Giving the feel of the Stark expo apple just showed off its supremacy in its so abstract yet so great products.

This just increases the benchmark for expectations for the days to come and the future versions of WWDC.

[mytecaj-blog]

Windows 8 failure: How, why and what it means?

OK!!!!

So its a fact now. Windows 8 has failed and how. Its not just in our minds but also in terms of figures now.The major revamping of the U.I withe metro look didn't go down well with the users. We will try to get an understanding of why it has happened, and what does this mean for not only Microsoft but for a lot of others as well.

HOW?

Starting off with how can we really call Windows 8 a failure. Its been more than 7 months since the official release of Windows 8 and with reputation of Microsoft, every one would have thought that W-8 would have stormed the operating system's market by now, the reality however is that W-8 is a mega-mile from taking over the market. Windows Vista which was Microsoft most maligned failure had shown better signs of adaption in the market.Figures are indicative of that. 

Even after months, W-8 lags far behind when compared to any sort of an O.S. Even Microsoft has realized this act and has quickly come up with a Windows 8.1

WHY?

Why has windows 8 been such a turn-off for Microsoft. Well there are a number of things we would have to consider here.

The bottom line still remains that people are not adaptable to changes and with Windows 8, Microsoft has certainly tried to change a lot, especially in terms of desktop computing. The other major reasons can be numbered out as follows

1) A completely revamped U.I, also known as Metro look.

2) Not much of innovation to the desktop

3) Developers hate it.

4) Since its completely different from the previous versions in terms of accessibility, the old loyal customer base of Microsoft is not moving ahead.

5) The version focuses more on touch screen devices.

6) The all time favorite START button is missing from the traditional U.I.

Microsoft is in desperate need of re-considering addition of these options. You could majorly blame it on the U.I to begin with but then there are other things also which are in the radar.

What it means?

It may mean nothing at all. Microsoft just needs to play the waiting game. As soon as the users become accustomed to the new U.I pattern, things will come right on track, but this would have been the case  if U.I would have been the only problem.

It means that the need for operating systems has faded out quite a lot with the advent of Android and other mobile device operating systems. People want most of the things on the go which means they don't want anything new for the desktop unless it is pretty easy to grasp and much better also. This could pretty much mean the shift in trends of types of computer systems being used but this type of a trend would take decades to creep in properly.

It could also just mean that Microsoft got it all wrong. To integrate desktops, laptops, tablets and mobiles is something which has all ready been tried by Apple, but they didn't exactly gain too many fruits out of it. It may be because of the cost factor, but if apple cant do it right chances of Microsoft are even feebler.

Advice to Microsoft would be to concentrate more on improving the traditional look of Windows 8 and leave the metro look for the Mobile and touch screen devices.

[mytecaj-blog]

"No matter how fast you run in your life, some things are bound to get left out!!! So....might as well enjoy some of the moments while they last!!! "

[mytecaj-blog]

A bite from apple's iOS 7

With WWDC set to kick off in a matter of days the rumors mill is abuzz with how Jony Ive's involvement with Apple's mobile operating system division would result in the next iteration of iOS, code named "Innsbruck," getting a refreshing, 'flat' user interface design, devoid of flashy textures . 

Lets get the anticipations straight

-It would be black and white and flat all over

-A new design for the screen lock

-A swap for the square-grid prompt for entering the Lock Screen pin code with round, black buttons that feature white text and white borders.

-Lock Screen notifications might also come with support for new gestures and the Notifications drop down will include new panels including new widgets and a panel with toggles for Wi-Fi, Airplane Mode, and Bluetooth.

-Support for Wi-Fi direct based file sharing through AirDrop

Well from the looks of it we can make out that apple is trying to be modest in terms of the outlook. It would be safe to say that with the failure of Microsoft's much hyped Windows 8 some sort of pressure is already mounting on apple in this WWDC to deliver with their iOS baby number 7.

Apart from the iOS7 we can expect the much talked about wearable computer from apple. There would be some talks about it if it is not delivered in this conference specially with google glasses round the corner. iRadio would also be something to look out for. A revamping in developer's tools is also due from sometime now.

So there you have it folks. Stay tuned for more updates on Apple's WWDC.

[mytecaj-blog]

BBM on android and iOS by June 27th

In one of the most talked about platform shifts that we have heard about in recent times,  the BBM expanding base to android and iOS. It has been learnt that this transition would finally take effect on the 27th of this month.

What might sound intriguing to some is lame for others. Well same is the case about this news. This transition has seen mixed responses from across the globe.

Not only will it have to face stiff competition from the likes of 'Whatsapp', which is already a cross platform application but it would also be interesting to see what does blackberry charge for the app, since it charges a significant amount on its platform for accessing the service. Even if it gives the app for free it would only be spoiling its own customer loyalty.

The move by blackberry is a little confusing in itself. The phone sales of blackberry are already pretty insignificant when compared to the likes of HTC, Samsung ,Sony and apple. With this move there would only be a loss in exclusivity. Also, the fact that there are better smartphones in the market is well know to all so why would the market tilt back to blackberry ever again. Indeed the app would do a great advertising for the brand but we still don't see reason to go back to blackberry.

With the latest release of blackberry Q10, blackberry has already gone horribly wrong with the pricing, by marking it at almost Rs.45,000.

We don't really see even the efforts to pull the rabbit out of the hat let alone doing it.

We can now safely say BlackBerry R.I.P.

[mytecaj-blog]

Google glasses 1st thought

[mytecaj-blog]

Google glasses for the future

Ok, So Its been almost a year since google teased the world with the name "project glass". What you would know better as the "google glasses". The first glimpse via the vdo would make you think about augmented reality, has it finally arrived in your palms or more so on your eyes??

go ahead take a look!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=9c6W4CCU9M4

Mounting excitement is the appropriate feedback for that one. Well the vdo is only real(ish). The actual stuff is believed to be far from this as for now. I would speculate 20% of this on the gear and in the marked by the end of 2014.

The current version does not have a lens but google is teaming with stalwarts like ray-ban and warby parker. Voice commands are not that efficient as yet. It would be interesting to see how google manages the varying accent problem across the world. So all in all the head mount display(HMD) mini computer is still a little far from ready. It is actually believed to have been competing with the apple's much anticipated watch!!

We would really want something we wear on our heads to be really light. News is that the 1st prototype back in august 2012 weighed 8 pounds.

By far it has had a mixed set of reviews. tell me what do you think!!!

[mytecaj-blog]

Is Google Claiming Back Android One Step at a Time? Releases Stock Keyboard on Play Store

Galaxy, Android. Which came first? Many people on the street say the former. Google has an image problem with Android, with Korean manufacturer Samsung stealing most of the limelight with the launch of it’s flagship Galaxy series and countless other devices across price points and sizes.

But if recent developments at Google are a sign of things to come it looks like the Internet giant, is making moves to get back control of the number one mobile operating system.

In what has come has a bit of a surprise, Google has released the stock keyboard of Android in the Play Store, a signal it is slowly reclaiming each component from the manufacturers.

The stock keyboard includes all the features introduced up through Android 4.2, and it can be installed on any Android device running 4.0 or higher. According to the latest numbers from Google , the combined number of users on Ice Cream Sandwich (4.0) and Jelly Bean (4.1+4.2) is now at 58.6%.

So a majority of devices can now experience the stock keyboard even if they are not Nexus devices which were till now the only devices that had this keyboard. Most manufactures were including their own versions of keyboards which was not necessary the best experience.

The app supports gesture typing, which lets you swipe across the screen from letter to letter to form a word, automatic error correction, word predictions, and voice typing. It currently features dictionaries for 26 languages.

The best part about Google releasing the keyboard in the Play Store is that they can now push out new features without waiting for OS updates.

Earlier this year, Google had released the Google Hindi Input keyboard which allowed users to type in Hindi.

This is a new strategy that Google seems to be following. At the Google I/O last month, Google announced various enhancements to Android without actually updating the Android OS. It included new APIs for developers in various services, including Google Play Services. These APIs since they were updated in Play Services would now be available for all developers for free and all versions of Android above 2.2 could make use of it.

This was a great move by Google, since OS updates from manufactures took a lot of time and a majority of phones never got an update. (Just look at your phone and see what version it is running on.) When Micromax had released the Jelly Bean update for the Canvas 2, it made customers actually walk into stores to get the update. Not really a great experience, when others are doing OTA updates.

Android users, even those on Froyo, can now thus get advanced features just as geofencing.

Apart from this, Google announced a Google Edition of the Samsung Galaxy S4 at Google I/O and just last week Sundar Pichai, the head of Chrome and Android at Google, announced that there would also be a Google Edition of the HTC One. Both these phones will both go on sale on June 26th in the US on the Play Store.

The selling of devices on the Play Store is another move by Google as it seeks to take back control of Android from the growing dominance of manufacturers like Samsung. It has slowly expanded its store to other countries including India, where the Nexus 7 is available online.

This all does not mean that Google will go slow on Android OS updates. If one looks at the screenshot on the Play Store careful, the time says 4:30. Could this mean that Android 4.3 is going to be released soon?

[mytecaj-blog]

Changing the way messaging apps are

News from the mYwindow pirate bay is that, there is a messaging app in the pipeline.

Where even the 1st look of the app has not been revealed by the company, there are already very high speculations that with this app  mYwindow is going to change the way messaging apps are looked at and function. The co-founder of mYwindow Mr. Nikunj Agrawal restrained from giving out any details about the app, he said

"We are about to change the way messaging apps are suppose to be. This would bring the entire experience from the world of internet to your palms, warped in the form of this app."

While the developers themselves have very highly praised the interface of the app, speculations keep mounting as co-founder Veer Mishra added his comments

"Such sort of multi-functionality in the messaging app is something the world has never seen before"

From what we can hear, a big change is surely lurking around in the messaging app business. Lets see how much can mYwindow stand up to their promises.

[mytecaj-blog]

Opera Hasn’t Forgotten the Feature Phones; New Version of Opera Mini is Here

                                        While most of the attention these days is on smartphones, one company in particular has not forgotten about feature phones.

Opera has released an update of its mobile browser for low-price mobile phones with a few features that the apps for smartphones already has.

The highlights of the latest version 4.5, are a new download manager, privacy mode and a new look.

The download manager lets users have greater control on what they are downloading and users can pause, resume and manage the download process.

The privacy mode, lets users open a new session that deletes all the data entered once it is closed. It also has a new look and feel that is more user friendly. It also has touch enhancements for supported phones.

The Opera Mini also uses data compression technology to shrink webpages to little as 10% of that on other browsers.

This browser will work on most basic phones that run Java. If the phone is more advanced one will be given the option to download a suitable version like Opera Mini 7.5, that uses an advanced version of Java.

To download the latest version available for your phone visit m.opera.com on the pre-existing browser on your phone.

[mytecaj-blog]

Socilablood.org: The 1st of its kind, a compassionate social network

Socialblood,  is a social network that connects the blood donors and recipients of the same blood type using Facebook as an underlying medium. It is a thriving ecosystem which is proud to have thousands of potential blood donors ready to contribute and make a difference, one life at a time.

It has been founded by Karthik Naralasetty. Born in India, Andra Pradesh, he dropped out of Rutgers University, New Jersey and formed his own  company named Redcode informatics in Bangalore, India.

He was 1st struck with the idea when a family member struggled to find blood for regular transfusion. He came up with a solution for it.

The solution makes d world open connected and compassionate. Applying technology to save lives, Karthik has done a wonderful job with the website as well.

So the idea was excellent and the execution as it turns out is even better.

His idea has been appreciated on various platforms. He was even invited by facebook to their company to talk about social blood. Check it out 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nAv6kuj82IU

[mytecaj-blog]

Breaking: Amazon Launches Marketplace in India to take on $400 bn Retail Market

E-commerce giant Amazon has launched its market place in India, marking its entry to the $400 billion retail market. The company, which has been biding its time to enter the fledgling e-commerce market, has launched Amazon.in with books, movies and television shows on sale.

“The marketplace provides Indian customers with a shopping destination to purchase products from third-party sellers. India represents Amazon’s tenth marketplace launch,” the company said.

Amazon operates marketplaces in 10 countries including United States, Canada, France, Japan and the UK. There are more than 2 million third party amazon sellers worldwide.

“With the introduction of the Amazon.in marketplace and launch of two new programmes – ‘Sell on Amazon’ and ‘Fulfilment by Amazon‘ – sellers across India now have access to unlimited and free ‘virtual shelf space’ and a scalable, pay-as-you-go fulfillment and customer service offerings,” said Amazon.

Three months ago, a top Amazon executive met India’s trade minister Anand Sharma and discussed the creation of a favorable policy environment for Amazon to do business in India, which is otherwise not allowed in the country.

After intense debates in September, the Indian government had paved way for foreign investor’s to own more than 51% in multi brand retail companies in India. However, the government later said that the new policy does not allow e-commerce ventures with foreign direct investment to operate multi-brand retailing websites in the country.

The government seems to have given its approval to Amazon to set shop in the country. The largely unorganized retail market in India is estimated to be $400-450 billion in size. However, the total market size of e-tailing in India, with about 10 million online buyers is only around $10 billion.

In the coming soon section, the company lists mobiles, cameras and more. Amazon has over 7 million books to choose from. The company is also offering free home delivery for a limited time when fulfilled by Amazon and cash on delivery. When the offer expires, orders above Rs 500 will be home delivered.

Amazon veteran Amit Agarwal, who headed Amazon’s expansion efforts in Italy and Spain will head Amazon’s consumer and seller businesses in India, according to the site.

The company has not killed its price comparison shopping website Junglee.com yet.

Last month, as part of the global expansion of its app store, Amazon launched its Android app store in India.

Earlier last year, Amazon launched the Kindle Store in India and began retailing Kindle e-readers through electronics retailer Croma. The company began testing the waters in India with the launch of Junglee.com, its comparison shopping site.

[mytecaj-blog]

Kiran Shah: The executor

  She is one of those modern dynamic Indian girls who believes in execution and changing ideas. Highly motivated with ideals and actions of Anthony Robins, Steve Jobs and Mahatma Gandhi she is somebody who is not afraid to follow her heart. She dropped out of IIT Kaharagpur in the penultimate stages to pursue her interests in the field of fashion designing.

Some of her creations which are on display at mYwindow.me

check her out at www.mYwindow.me/kiran

[mytecaj-blog]

Wipro Invests in M2M Platform Provider Axeda

Wipro Ltd and Axeda Corporation jointly announced that Wipro has made an $5-million investment in Axeda.

Axeda is a provider of cloud-based service and software for managing connected products and delivering machine-to-machine (M2M) applications

Wipro is an Axeda Platinum Partner and with this this investment, the two companies will accelerate services and end-to-end solutions designed to help organizations connect with any asset, leverage real-time machine data to enhance business processes, and develop new enterprise applications.

Wipro is the only Systems Integrator (SI) partner to have achieved Axeda Platinum Partner status. This will entitle it to receive top-priority commitment from Axeda and preferential benefits such as dedicated access to Axeda trained technical resources and premium support and services to drive Machine-to-Machine (M2M) initiatives.

The Wipro and Axeda portfolio is being built and tested in Wipro’s M2M Center of Excellence in Bangalore. Assets include an integrated M2M stack, various deployment models and reference applications for the telecommunications, health and life sciences, manufacturing and, energy and utility markets.

The companies says that the partnership will give their customers the ability to benefit from Axeda’s rapid M2M application development and Wipro’s big data analytics capabilities.

Commenting on the development, Dr. Anurag Srivastava, Chief Technology Officer, Wipro said,

“Wipro’s investment in Axeda is driven by growing demand and interest for M2M solutions across verticals from global customers and partners alike. We find that customers prefer to work with mature partners like Wipro and Axeda who have the capability and experience to plan, build and integrate M2M solutions that are able to demonstrate quick business results.”

[mytecaj-blog]

Being successful is all about using the stones and bricks thrown at you by your critics to lay a firm foundation of your house of ideas!!