Samsung copies Apple, announces gold Galaxy S4

NEW DELHI: It seems after witnessing the craze for the recently launched gold editions of the iPhone 5S, Samsung has also decided to tread the golden path. The South Korean smartphone giant has announced that it is bringing in two gold colour models of its flagship smartphone Galaxy S4. 

Nokia Lumia 1020: First impressions

NEW DELHI: Nokia has unveiled the Lumia 1020 smartphone in India though it is yet to announce the price tag. The manufacturer showed off many of the camera features and technologies that go into the phone at a media event on Thursday, but refused to divulge the price. While potential customers will be able to buy the smartphone on October 11, we got to spend some time with it at the event. Here are our first impressions of the Nokia Lumia 1020:

Samsung working on cheaper Galaxy Note 3: Report

NEW DELHI: Samsung recently unveiled itsGalaxy Note 3 phablet, which has been priced at Rs 49,900 in the Indian market. Fans who feel dismayed by the exorbitant price tag of the new handset can take heart from rumours that a cheaper version of the device is in the offing. 

iPhone 5S available for Rs one lakh in grey market

NEW DELHI: Apple has not launched the iPhone 5S or 5C in India. But you can still buy one. The catch: You have to shell out big bucks for these devices. To be precise, the asking rate for the basic model of the iPhone 5S is between Rs 65,000 and Rs 1,00,000, depending on who you ask, and in which city.

Narendra Modi-themed SmartNamo phones launched

NEW DELHI: A Gujarat-based group has launched two Narendra Modi-themed smartphones in India, named SmartNamo Saffron One and SmartNamo Saffron Two. The two smartphones are now available for pre-order at e-commerce website Snapdeal for an initial booking amount of Rs 999.

6 hot Android phones under Rs 7,000

The line between feature phones and smartphones is slowly blurring. Today, it is possible to find mobile devices in budget pricing that are equipped with dual-core processors, 4-inch touchscreens; promising you web browsing, social networking, casual gaming and even HD entertainment. But do these deliver? Ashutosh Desai, Savio D'Souza & Javed Anwer review six such handsets to help you make a buying decision...

Nokia launches 108, 108 Dual SIM budget camera phones

NEW DELHI: With an eye on people wanting to buy their first-ever camera phone, Finnish handset maker Nokia has unveiled the Nokia 108 and the Nokia 108 Dual SIM, priced at $29 (excluding taxes). 

"There remains a huge segment of the global population that has yet to own a camera phone. For the next billion people and beyond, we aim to bring new mobile experiences to ever-lower price points. 

"Nokia 108 and Nokia 108 Dual SIM are examples of this commitment," Nokia's executive vice president for mobile phones, Timo Toikkanen said in a statement. 

The Nokia 108 and Nokia 108 Dual SIM have VGA camera and bear a recommended retail price of $29, excluding taxes and subsidies are expected to start shipping in last quarter of this year, the statement said. 

Though there are many camera phones below this price range but these two models are the first from Nokia in this price range. 

Both the Nokia phone models have expandable storage of up to 32GB. The standby time for Nokia 108 single sim models is up to 31 days and up to 25 days for the Nokia 108 Dual SIM.

Samsung launches Galaxy Note 3 at Rs 49,990 in India

NEW DELHI: Just two weeks after the global announcement of Galaxy Gear and Galaxy Note 3, Samsung launched the two devices in India. While the Galaxy Note 3 has been priced at Rs 49,900 , the Galaxy Gear, which is a smartwatch, will be sold at a price of Rs 22,990. Note 3 and Gear will be available to consumers on September 25, though they can preorder it after paying Rs 2,000 at a web store managed by Samsung. 

Samsung to launch smartphones priced below Rs 15,000 this month

BERLIN: Samsung will launch twosmartphones in India this month for less than Rs 15,000, intensifying competition in themid-segment mobile market. 

The Korean company, which has a 49 per cent share in India's smartphone segment, will offer options in local languages to attract non-English speaking customers. 

Samsung smartphones to soon have 64-bit processors

LONDON: Samsung has reportedly confirmed that its next range of smartphone would feature 64-bit processors. 

This comes amidst Apple's release of its next iPhones featuring A7, 64-bit processors, claimed to offer 'desktop-class architecture'. 

Nokia Lumia 625 review: Bundled goodness

NEW DELHI: Nokia recently launched the Lumia 625 in India, bringing its biggest smartphone to the country. This handset also holds a lot of sentimental value, as it is the last smartphone launched by the Finnish manufacturer before its sale to Microsoft.

The phone matches the specs of key rivals in this segment and does not seem to fall short in most departments, at least on paper, and comes with a host of freebies. Let's see if the sub-Rs 20,000 segment has found a new king, or the Lumia 625 can at best achieve a moderate success in the market. Here's our review to check out the strengths and weaknesses of Lumia 625 and if the phone is worth buying...

Apple & Google back in court over mobile phone patent lawsuit

Washington: Apple and Google subsidiary Motorola Mobility on Wednesday squared off in court over whether a judge should reopen a lawsuit in which the companies accuse one another of illegally using patented mobile phone technology.

Apple: iOS7 to be available from September 18

CUPERTINO: Apple says its next mobile operating system, iOS 7, will be available as a free download on September 18.   Craig Federighi, head of software at Apple, said at an event at the company's Cupertino, California, headquarters that "downloading iOS 7 is like getting an all new device."   The new system can be downloaded on the iPhone 4 and later models, as well as on the tablets beginning with the iPad 2.   Apple also says it expects to ship its 700 millionth iOS device next month. Apple CEO Tim Cook predicts that iOS 7 will become the most popular mobile operating system in the world.   The company later launched two new iPhones: iPhone 5S and a cheaper model iPhone 5C.

A7 processor in iPhone 5S not revolutionary: Analyst

NEW DELHI: While introducing iPhone 5S,Apple also introduced the A7, a new processor that powers the phone. This is a successor to the A6 chip found in iPhone 5 and offers almost two times more performance. The A7 is also the world's first 64-bit smartphone processor. 

Fingerprint scanner: The killer feature of iPhone 5S

NEW DELHI: This is one of those occasions when the rumours turned out to be true. There was a talk ahead of the iPhone launch event on September 10 that the high-end Apple phone will come with a fingerprint scanner for added security. Now we know that iPhone 5S indeed packs in a fingerprint scanner, hidden inside its round home button. 

Apple launches iPhone 5S, cheaper 5C

NEW DELHI: Apple has, for the first time, unveiled a cheaper smartphone, named the iPhone 5C. It has almost the same specifications as iPhone 5, which was launched as the company's flagship device last year, but in a plastic body.

Apple's next big thing may be a cheaper iPhone

SAN FRANCISCO: Apple's much-anticipated update to its line-up of iPhones may leave the impression that the technology pioneer's focus has shifted to making more affordable products than engineering innovative breakthroughs. 

In keeping with its tight-lipped ways, Applehasn't disclosed what's on the agenda for the coming-out party scheduled to begin at 10 am PDT at its Cupertino, California, headquarters. 

How to find a lost device that is in silent mode

I lost my tablet somewhere in my house and have been searching for hours. It's an Android device, which seems to have Wi-Fi-enabled (responds to pings), but doesn't seem to react to cloud-based messages. Furthermore, I have Cerberus installed on it, but cannot connect to it. Is there a way of physically finding the device by measuring the signal strength from different locations in my flat? I know it's theoretically also possible to triangulate a Wi-Fi signal, and even though I have four Linux based Wi-Fi receivers, I don't know any non-commercial software that is capable of doing so.

Plan B
Not a direct answer to your question, but Plan B app is specifically for situations where you've lost track of your Android device and didn't have any sort of "finder" app on it. Note: Plan B only works with Android 2.0-2.3.

airodump-ng
I know you can get the signal reception using airodump-ng (part of the aircrack-ng tool suite) if you have a compatible Wi-Fi card and a Linux distro up and running. You'll see something like this with the signal reception listed as PWR (in decibels). If you keep pinging the device throughout this, you should see the airodump-ng screen update much quicker with the MAC address of the device. You should then be able to move around with your laptop, trying to increase the PWR until you find the device.

Homing Cone
Something that may work: Go to the hardware store and buy some brass mesh and build a cone. You'll probably need to layer the mesh, then hold your phone in the middle of the cone. The brass mesh should block all radio signals, so if you get a signal, it's coming from the direction of the open area of the cone. In theory, you can use this to home in on the device. FYI, the brass mesh is one component in building a SCIF.

Ethernet & More
Some Wi-Fi routers have a signal strength measurement on them. I know DD-WRT has this. If yours does, then you can do something like this:

*Get a long Ethernet cord.
*Plug one end into the router and one into your cable modem, internet connection, etc.
*Move the router around your apartment and see where you get the strongest signal. (Keep in mind, water pipes, metal studs etc can all distort Wi-Fi signals.)
*Another option would be to make your own directional antenna, kind of like this. You could also check out this page for some useful command line Linux Wi-Fi commands.

Triangulate
One-storied home? You can sort-of triangulate using signal strength alone. You have to assume that signal strength is proportional to distance from the transmitter, which isn't very accurate, but it could be accurate enough to help narrow down the search space. How to measure signal strength from 3 points in your house:

On a floor plan of the home, mark your three points, and with a drawing compass, swing an arc across the flat with a radius proportional to the signal strength so that the arcs enclose a fairly small space within the home.

If the assumption we made were true (and your measurements and drawing were accurate), your tablet should be within the space between the arcs. It's not quite true but hopefully not too far off either.

Start your search near that space. Hopefully its location will remind you of where you actually left the tablet. If not, search out from there, possibly repeating the above steps at a shorter distance from this location.

Multi-storied house? Same idea, only now plotting is more complicated by the third dimension. Easier would be to repeat the above for each floor. Now you have two or three more spaces to search but that'll be more information than you had before.

Smartwathch...

It's long been a techie's dream to have a computerised wristwatch capable of more than just telling the time. The category is suddenly in the limelight thanks to three simultaneous new launches. Hitesh Raj Bhagat finds out more.

What is a Smartwatch?

Put simply, a smartwatch does more than just tell the time. The term smartwatch now refers to a wearable device with a smart operating system that can be enhanced by using additional applications - much like a smartphone. Typically, a smartphone pairs with your existing smartphone using Bluetooth - it can then display quick notifications on your wrist for incoming calls, reminders, SMS, email and so on.

WHO NEEDS ONE?

Heavy Smartphone Users

Power users will derive the most functionality. The ability to quickly glance at reminders, to see who's calling (and accept or reject calls with a touch) and get notified of new texts/emails can save a lot of time.

Always on the Move

If you 're always on the move and have both hands full, a smartwatch can help because you won't need to keep pulling out the phone to check every notification or call. A quick flick of the wrist is all it takes to get the info.

Early Tech Adopters

Since the category itself is new, new applications are still being developed. Some interesting possibilities include gaming & remote control. Get one if you like to stay at the forefront of new technologies.

PROS

1) Smartwatches are a geek's dream come true -multiple uses packed into a tiny gadget for the wrist Quick notifications, alarms and calls without having to look at your smartphone.

2) If you're health conscious, you can use one as a pedometer or track your health.

3) High-res colour touchscreens, camera and voice call capabilities can all be built in.

CONS

1) Almost all current smartwatches need to pair with a smartphone for all features to work.

2) Since they need to be worn, batteries are small and consequently, battery life is short You can't install apps in the traditional way & apps have to be developed specifically.

3) Essentially a duplication of what the smartphone already does, just on your wrist .

The New Entrants

Samsung Galaxy Gear

Fans of the comic-book detective Dick Tracy must have been rubbing their hands in glee as Samsung announced the Gear smartwatch — it has a design and feature set reminiscent of the futuristic 2-way wristwatch that the detective wore. Essentially, it offers several firsts in the segment — it's the first to include the ability to make & receive calls because the strap has a microphone and speaker built in — just raise it to your ear to talk. It also has a 1.9 MP camera mounted on the strap for quick videos and photos.

Qualcomm Toq

Qualcomm's smartwatch, dubbed the Toq (Talk) and slated for a Q4 2013 launch, uses a new, low-power, always-on colour touchscreen display called Mirasol. Like others, it allows you to take calls, find out the weather, control music, view text messages, emails & reminders. It also features wireless charging — just place it back in its case and the battery will start to top up. The Toq will be compatible with all Android phones running 4.0.3 and later.

Sony Smartwatch 2

Sony's second attempt at a smartwatch mirrors some design elements from its new range of tablets and smartphones. It has a better display compared to its predecessor: a 1.6-inch, 220 x 176 pixel touchscreen. It'll work with most Android phones, has on-board NFC and Bluetooth (for pairing), charges via micro USB port and has a 3-day battery life. It should be priced at about $270 when it launches in September this year.

FREE SMARTPHONE.......!!!!

NEW DELHI: Internet retail giant Amazon may be set to revolutionise the smartphone industry, according to an exclusive report by former WSJreporter Jessica Lessin. According to the report published in jessicalesslin.com, the online retailer and Kindle maker is considering introducing its long-planned smartphone for free to consumers. 

The report, quoting people familiar with Amazon's plan, states that unlike the existing scenario, Amazon would be releasing the free smartphone without any compulsory wireless plan. In the US, telecom operators usually discount the price of devices when consumers sign up for one or two year wireless contracts, in the bid to recover the price of the device in longer run. 

The report suggests that Amazon may give away the free smartphone under the condition the customers would have to pay for services likeAmazon Prime, the company's loyalty programme. The report claims that though Amazon is in talks with wireless carriers about offering its phones, other sources within Amazon, however, point out that the smartphone may also be directly given away to customers on the website. There are no confirmed details as to how the smartphone would be available to the customers and exactly when the device would be available. 

But if the plans fructify, this might have a big impact on the smartphone market. In a market where high pricing is an issue for most smartphone makers today, this move by Amazon can prove to be huge industry disruptor. Though several factors like Amazon's negotiations with hardware partners would decide whether this move sees the light of day, yet the speculations clearly show the company's plans to undercut rivals and grab meaningful market share.