Asphalt 8: Airborne review

Asphalt 8: Airborne is the successor to Gameloft's incredibly popular racing game, Asphalt 7: Heat. It carries on the tradition of providing an exciting racing experience on your mobile device with an added twist.

The title of the game is a pointer to the biggest change compared to its predecessor. Asphalt 8: Airborne rewards for tricks you perform while you are in the air, like doing Barrel Rolls or Flat Spin jumps. You can do Barrel Rolls by driving onto one of the many angled ramps present on the track, letting a mix of gravity and momentum do the rest. In most cases you can trust that you'll land safely, unless you really messed up the approach. Flat Spin jumps are a bit tricker to perfect, as they require you go off a ramp while drifting (braking the car at high speed while steering it), and the success or failure depends on the angle of your approach.

You can play Asphalt 8: Airborne in various modes including World Series (Multiplayer over the Internet), a local Wi-Fi race, a quick Solo race, or the Career mode. The main screen of the game can be a little intimidating, and it takes a while to figure out the various options.



In Career mode, you start with a car and a pretty minimal budget, and try to earn more money by winning races and performing tricks. As you go along, you also have the opportunity to pick up stars that unlock the next racing events within the season. You can pick up to five stars at each event, with 3 based on where you finish (1 star for finishing third, 3 stars for winning the race) and two additional stars for achieving event-specific objectives like doing the specified number of Barrel Rolls, Knockdowns, Perfect Nitro Triggers etc.



Asphalt 8: Airborne features excellent graphics though you may need the latest devices to enjoy them to the maximum. The game stuttered at times on our iPhone 4S, though our third-generation iPad handled everything without any hiccups. However, we liked the fact that we could seamlessly switch from one device to the other and the game was able to sync our progress via the cloud using the Game Center ID for authentication.



Coming to the actual gameplay, the default controls for Asphalt 8: Airborne feature tilt to steer, auto-acceleration, with taps on the left and right edge of the screen to brake (drift) and nitro-boost respectively. You can of course change the controls to get tap-to-steer and manual acceleration, if that's what you prefer. The in-game music is pretty good, with an option to choose between Bass, Rock, and Electronic music.

It's quite easy to start playing Asphalt 8: Airborne, but surprisingly difficult to actually win a race, especially with the crummy car you start with. You can upgrade your car by making an in-app purchase, or by working your way up by winning races - did we mention how difficult that is? You can drive a near perfect race, and still find yourself unable to overtake the five AI-controlled cars. Maybe that's just us, and the petrolheads out there would do a better job.

Each event in a season is associated with a city. So you can be driving across the desert in Nevada in one event, and find yourself speeding through the streets of Tokyo in another. You'll go through tunnels, avoid oncoming traffic, and even discover a shortcut or two along the way. We personally liked the ability to take a different route compared to the other racers, though it does come with mixed results - sometimes you gain an edge, and at other times you end up going around in circles without getting anywhere.

Asphalt 8: Airborne is just $0.99 for iOS (universal app for iPhone and iPad) as well as Android. At the price, the game is a must download, especially if you have the latest hardware and don't mind slowly working your way to the top.

Microsoft-Nokia deal an opportunity for Micromax?

Rahul Sharma never takes calls or replies to text messages on frenzied Tuesday mornings. It's a day when he is busy attending closed-door presentations by his sales team. An SMS, however, this Tuesday made him break his rule. 

"It's fantastic news," says the co-founder of Micromax, a sense of excitement palpable in his voice. "I thought they would rethink and partner with Google," he adds, recalling his reply to the SMS. 

Sharma, of course, is referring to Nokia's decision to sell the mobile services business to the US software giant Microsoft in a $7.2-billion deal. His excitement, however, is not because he considers it a win-win transaction. Far from it. As a rival in the Indian market and placed at No. 2 position in smartphones behind Samsung, he's just glad that Nokia chose Microsoft and not Google. 

"I thought that after the disaster with Windows operating system, they would do a rethink and tie up with Google," he says. "But I am happy that this option has been ruled out." 

Sharma's point is that the Microsoft-Nokia combine won't be able to alter market dynamics in India, even if Microsoft slashes prices of Nokia smartphones as is being widely talked about. "This (price cut) is unnecessary speculation," says Sharma, adding "no player can survive in India solely on the basis of pricing." A section of analysts closely watching the Indian handset market reckons that only an all-out disruption can help Microsoft revive Nokia in India. 

"The one big opportunity that has come to Nokia with the takeover," says Deepak Kumar, a former analyst at global market research agency IDC, "is an access to deep pockets, given that Microsoft will leave no stone unturned to make a success of its Windows Phone platform." 

Money can't buy share However, if only money could make all the difference, Microsoft would have been the leader in mobile phones a long time back, adds Kumar, a founder analyst at BusinessandMarket.net. The pace at which Microsoft has been able to push disruptive offerings into the market has been much slower than what a Google or a Samsung has been able to achieve, he points out. "In fact, home-grown players like Micromax have been even better at it despite their characteristic limitations." 

Pete Cunningham, principal analyst at global market research firm Canalys, says while local players are popping up across the globe, in India they are more pronounced. "Micromax leads the pack and is a serious challenge to established MNC brands," says Cunningham. A quality product at a low price is what has helped local brands do well in a price-sensitive market like India, he tells ET Magazine over phone from Berkshire, UK. 

Figures bear this out. While Nokia had a commanding 46% share in the smartphone segment in second quarter of 2011 in India, that slice has shrunk to a paltry 5% two years later. During the same period, Micromax jumped from just 1% to 22%. Even Karbonn, another Indian handset brand with a 13% market share in the smartphone segment, has raced ahead of the Finnish handset maker.
The solace for Nokia has been the performance in the feature phone segment, which still makes up an overwhelming portion of the handset market in India. These low-cost phones account for almost 85% of the overall mobile phone market, according to IDC India. But here too, while Micromax and other local players have either maintained or increased their share, Nokia has been seeing a steady decline - from 23% in the second quarter of 2011 to 15% two years later. 

Nokia is still the leader in feature phones, but that may not matter as the action shifts towards smartphones. By 2017, India will replace the US to become the second-largest smartphone market after China, according to IDC. The potential for smartphone growth in India is huge as the smartphone share of overall mobile phone shipments in India in the second quarter of 2013 was the lowest in Asia Pacific excluding Japan, adds IDC. 

"Nokia's feature phone business for the moment is likely to remain where it is," says Jessica Kwee, an analyst at Canalys. There are a few things that might shake up the Indian market, depending on the course of action Microsoft-Nokia will take, she tells ET Magazine over phone from Singapore. "If the integration can help bring down the cost of Windows Phone [foregoing licence fees, and even hardware margin altogether, this will make the devices a lot more appealing, especially in a priceconscious market like India," adds Kwee. 

The price game
The momentum, Kwee points out, is quickly shifting towards the local brands in the country. They offer the same specs at half the price (although they do use cheaper components such as Mediatek chipsets instead of Qualcomm's). "But in the end, the massive price difference is more important." 

And price is what some of the Indian brands are still flaunting, apart from quality products. Take, for instance, the Hyderabadbased Celkon, India's sixth-largest mobile handset company, which posted revenues of Rs 606 crore in fiscal year 2013 and expects to double that in the current fiscal year. 

"Indian brands are over 30-40% lowerpriced than their global peers," says Murali Retineni, executive director of Celkon, the largest player in south India. The company's smartphone sales contributed a fourth to total revenues last year; that contribution is expected to double to half of total revenues by the end of this fiscal year. "By December, Celkon's sales will reach 1 million handsets per month, from the current 600,000 handsets per month," adds Retineni. 

The biggest challenge for the Microsoft-Nokia combine, he explains, is to bring down handset costs in India. He feels the huge manpower of Microsoft and Nokia will increase their operational and overhead costs. 

"Microsoft and Nokia may have solemnised marriage, but India is not the right place for their honeymoon," he says. "Nokia has not succeeded because of Windows. So how is the equation going to change now?" Lava, another Indian player, too believes it's a lost battle for Nokia. "Two weak people can't be successful life partners," says SN Rai, co-founder and director of Lava Mobiles. 

Marketing experts point out that the baggage Microsoft brings with it will hurt Nokia. "Brands are not just what you see and feel, they are also about heritage," says Harish Bijoor, CEO of Harish Bijoor Consults. He adds that Microsoft has had issues of non-performance (Vista, Zune, Windows ME, Bing, Smartwatch are some of its notable flops). 

This heritage of Microsoft is going to rub off on Nokia, avers Bijoor. 

The problem is not with the hardware, but with the software, he explains. "While Nokia's hardware story is solid, Microsoft's software has negative imagery (except for Windows PC). In India, its biggest challenge would be to sort out this negative imagery." 

Change in focus
The Indian players insist that the Microsoft-Nokia deal is a blessing in disguise. "Earlier Nokia's focus was on the Asian market," says Pradeep Jain, managing director of Karbonn Mobiles, the third-largest smartphone maker in India. "Now, with Microsoft taking control, they will focus on US and Europe." Nokia's transition to Windows Phone since 2011 gave Karbonn precious time to establish itself in the Indian market, he adds. 

Both Nokia and Microsoft declined to comment to ET Magazine when contacted. 

Micromax's Kumar explains that the fact that the Indian handset market is not as evolved as say a South Korea or a Finland works to the advantage of the local players. "You can't sell a Ferrari when roads are not good enough to drive even a Mercedes," says Sharma, a sports car freak who bought a Bentley two years back. "We are an Indian brand and nobody understands Indian consumers better than us," he says. 

That understanding is helping Micromax launch products that click with consumers. For instance, its 5-6.99 inch screen size smartphones, or phablets, grew 17 times in the second quarter of 2013 over a year ago. "While our rivals are still stuck in the 4-5 inch space, we are going big," says Sharma. With average selling price of smartphones in India estimated to fall below $200 by end of this year, it's players like Micromax who stand to gain most. 

The billion-dollar question of course is for how long will the party last for the local majors. After all, as analysts point out, the biggest flaw in the business model of local brands is that it's difficult to differentiate one from the other. "All the phones start to become very similar - and if you look at different countries' local vendors, you will find even some phones are exactly the same [from the same design house]," says Kwee of Canalys. 

Differentiation may be a challenge for bigger brands too, but it's clearly on this front that some big-bucks-fuelled innovation could tilt the scales for Microsoft-Nokia in the longer term. For now, though, the price fighters are sitting pretty.

Samsung launching ultra-HD TVs starting @ Rs 3.25L

Consumer electronics major Samsung unveiled seven new products across verticals, including two models of ultra high definition, that are expected to be launched in Indian market this month at prices of Rs 3.25 lakh and Rs 4.40 lakh, respectively. 

A company official said that the TV sets would be available for Indian markets this month and would be priced at approximately Rs 3.25 lakh and Rs 4.40 lakh for 55-inch and 65-inch, respectively. 

Besides, the company announced the launch of 55 inch OLED TV which had been made available in the European markets at a price of 8,000 euro. 

"The UHD TV would give views an unique TV watching experience and sharper image quality. With just one Connect Box it would also give customers a relief from hassles of cable wires," Michael Zoller Senior Director European Sales and Marketing at Samsung said, adding Samsung is in the business of making TV for 40 years now. 

The company unveiled two commercial monitors with screen sizes of 98 inch and 31.5 inches. 

Samsung at the event showcased new products in across product range which included refrigerators, washing machines, vacuum cleaners and range of computer printers.

Sony‘s first curved LED TV

Sony unveiled a mountain of new gear at IFA press conference, but for whatever reason it decided to quietly slip this beauty out under all the noise. Comparable to the 55-inch OLED set that Samsung unveiled at CES, Sony's new 65-inch, 1080P, S990A is the first set to put a gentle curve on LED flatscreen technology. And since LED sets are pretty common these days, it means the S990A is available for pre-order right now for just $4,000, compared to the $9,000 that Samsung wants for its curvy offering. 

The 16:9 aspect ratio introduced with HDTV was designed to better fill a user's field of vision, and the gentle curve on the S990A takes that idea one step further with a slightly more immersive feel when you're sitting front and center. The effect is even more noticeable when you're playing games with a first-person perspective, but it works just as well for the home theater experience too. 

The S990A uses Sony's TRILUMIOS display technology, which has the ability to precisely control the set's LED backlighting in order to make colors seem particularly vibrant. And as much as it sounds like just a marketing buzzword, the results are colors and saturation that are very intense. As long as your source material hasn't been compressed to a muddy mess, you'll certainly see the difference on the S990A if you're upgrading from a flatscreen that's even just a few years old. 

To allow the 65-inch set to still be mounted to walls, the back of S990A doesn't match the curve of its display up front. It remains flat, which means that while the TV is thin in the center, it gets a few inches thick at the sides. But Sony has found a way to even promote that as a good thing, by using that extra space as resonance chambers for a set of four speakers on either side. 

Home theater enthusiasts will probably still want to stick with their own speaker setups, but those happy to rely on the S990A's will appreciate that the top speaker on either side is actually pointed slightly outwards to bounce the sound around a room, creating a faux-surround experience. You won't be fooled into thinking you're sitting in a movie theater, but it's adequate enough if the S990A topped out your budget. 

The downside, of course, to this recent trend of curved TVs is that you run into the same issues with viewing angles as we did with 3D sets. It's not quite as bad here, you can certainly sit pretty much anywhere in front of the S990A without any loss of image or color quality. But the sweet spot for the full immersive experience is still dead center, which limits how many people crowded in front are getting the best experience. 



However, the curve is so gentle that sweet spot issues aren't a complete deal breaker. And if you live alone and are looking for the ideal way to escape into a movie or a video game, the immersive feel of the S990A is most definitely noticeable. Particularly when you then go back to a perfectly flat set and wonder why the screen is curving away from you. And Sony has managed to price the S990A at a reasonable level so that this first generation of its curved sets isn't completely out of reach for most consumers.

Google Glass: The future‘s on your face

  

Way back in 1945, Vannevar Bush, the director of the US Office of Scientific Research and Development, wrote a remarkable essay titled "As we may think." In it, Bush predicted the rise of the worldwide web. He also wrote that "the camera hound of the future wears on his forehead a lump a little larger than a walnut. It takes pictures 3 millimetres square, later to be projected or enlarged."

Bush's future is here. With the arrival of Google Glass, the camera is even smaller than a walnut.

In a detailed piece in The New York Times, author Clive Thompson looks at the history of wearable computing, beginning with Bush's vision. He talks about the experiment conducted by mathematician Edward Thorp and Claude Shannon , the engineer and cryptographer known as the father of information theory. Thorpe and Shannon created a small device, the size of a cigarette pack, that they used to beat the odds at roulette at Las Vegas casinos. This was the first wearable computer.

Thompson also talks about Thad Starner, first a student, then a professor at MIT. As a student , in 1993, Starner found it difficult to take notes and concentrate on what his professor was saying at the same time. He built a device to help him. It was made of computer parts stored in a backpack. Input was through a one-handed keyboard called the Twiddler. The user interface was an LED display clipped two inches in front of his right eye. He found the device so useful that he has used it for nearly 20 years now. In 1998 Starner met Larry Page and Sergei Brin, the founders of Google. Years later, Brin and Page would hire Starner to help them work on Google Glass.

               

Thompson also discusses the design process of Google Glass - how it went from a mad scientist's design to its current streamlined structure, with one arm acting as a trackpad, the other arm acting as a speaker that plays music directly against the skull. A future so bright, you gotta wear shades!

10 Crazy and Weird Uses of Smartphones

When buying a smartphone, almost all people have uses such as making calls, surfing the Web, taking photos, watching movies, shooting videos, listening to music and updating social network statuses in mind. However, the introduction of smartphones has seen tremendous increase in creativity with the use of these devices. Here are 10 weird uses of smartphones you might have not known yet.

Weird Uses of Smartphones

1.    Measure Heart Rate

No more measuring and guessing your heart rate using two fingers. Smartphones can now do that for you, thanks to Azumio’s Instant Heart Rate app. By simply placing your finger on the screen of your smartphone for a couple of seconds, you will know your heart rate. You can share that data on Twitter and Facebook too. Now isn’t that one of the weird uses of smartphones?

2.    Checking How Much Time You Waste

This can simply be done by monitoring how you use your time, but there is now a creative way of doing that – and it’s weird. Hold On is an app that needs just a finger on your screen when you are idle to determine how much time you waste. Just Hold On, and you’ll realize it is among those weird uses of smartphones you did not know.

3.    Mock Drinking

Designed to give those who love smuggling “outside beverages” into movies and stadiums, iBeer is used as an intriguing virtual refreshment that proves to be almost meaningless. Its animation of a hopped beverage is only short of the inebriation and pesky flavor associated with drinking. When I first saw this app, I noted that there are more weird uses of smartphones coming up every day.

4.    TV Remote

With the list of weird uses of smartphones keeps on growing every day, there is now a new remote in town. TV remotes have a habit of getting lost under the couch. But now there is an alternative – your smartphone. Smartphone apps have been developed that, when downloaded and installed, can turn a smartphone into something that controls what shows on the television. Boxee Wifi Remote App, Official XBMC Remote and Roku Remote App are a few examples.

5.    Mirrors

There is one thing about smartphones – their screens. Clean and reflective, the screens of smartphones are commonly used as mirrors. What about in the dark? Mobile smartphones with flashlight are used by simply shooting a photo in the dark and looking at the photo. The first part isn’t weird enough for me, but the second part; I bet it makes the list of the weird uses of smartphones.

6.    Keeping Tabs on Earthquakes           

Again, the weird uses of smartphones somehow make anyone into anything. No need for advanced knowledge in geophysics, there is an app for monitoring earthquakes now. iShake is an app developed by Berkeley to measure the intensity of earthquakes using accelerometers installed in these devices.

7.    Irritating Teens

All sorts of phones plus teens can be irksome, but mobile smartphones can be utilized in a different way to annoy teenagers too. When these youngsters annoy with their hip-hop ringtones and non-stop texting, you can annoy them back using the Annoy-a-Teen app. Go have your vengeance on them today - yet another of the weird uses of smartphones.

8.    Blowing Out Candles

While phones are thought of as gadgets operable only in digital environments, smartphones defy that and Blower is an app that proves just how a smartphone can blow out candles. It simply turns the speaker of your phone into a personal fan. What again? Yes, weird enough – blowing out candles using your smartphone is just one of the crazy uses of smartphones I have never imagined of.

9.    Digital Tape Measure

Most people do not own tape measures, but time and again they find themselves in need of measuring something. Smartphones can now do the job. GPS Tape Measure is one of the apps that turn these gadgets into tape measures. Do you find this a part of the weird uses of smartphones? Somehow I do.

10. Control Light Bulbs from Afar

Philips Hue is the smart software technology behind this luxury of adjusting the color of light bulbs remotely using your smartphone. It works via Wi-Fi and can remotely turn off lights too so you can look like you are at home when in real sense you are still in the office.

Top 5 Android smartphones above Rs 20,000 and below Rs 30,000.

A great collection of smartphones that offer large screen, powerful hardware and an enduring multimedia experience.

Many people are now willing to upgrade to smartphones that offer great performance and are not priced as high as laptops. These smartphones come with great display quality, a slim form, powerful dual core mobile processor and compelling hardware. One thing needs to be considered seriously here-whether the phones are upgradable to Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich.

Sony Xperia S (Rs 28,999)

Sony introduced its new Xperia NXT series smartphone recently. The all new Sony Xperia S is powered by a Mobile Bravia Engine 2.0 for the 720p HD display. The new Xperia S has a 4.3 inch touchscreen display and by default it runs Android 2.3 Gingerbread. Sony is working quickly to make Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich available for Xperia S.

Sony Xperia S has a 1280 x 720 pixel resolution Reality Display that is powered by a Mobie Bravia Engine. Under the hood it houses a dual core 1.5 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM 8260 processor coupled with 1 GB of RAM. At the back it has a 12 megapixel camera with LED flash that is capable of recoding full HD video. This camera has Sony's Exmor R sensor technology that helps it capture quality images even in low light conditions. The burst mode allows it to take multiple images in continuation for fast paced action such as sports, fireworks and dance. On the connectivity front Sony Xperia S features 3G, WiFi, Bluetooth and NFC capability. The Xperia S is an officially certified PlayStation device that will let you download and play compatible games from the Sony PlayStation store. Xperia S packs a 1750 mAh battery that promises about 8.5 hours of continuous talktime. With a great new slim design, the Xperia S is a powerful device meant for flaunting and enjoying a great mobile experience on the move.

Sony Xperia P (Rs 24,500)

Sony's new Xperia NXT series smartphone Xperia P has a 4 inch display that offers qHD resolution by default. Bearing new sleek looking NXT styling the Xperia P smartphone has a changeable chin panel and there is a transparent strip-like component which connects the chin to the rest of the body. The Xperia P runs on a dual core ST Ericsson NovaThor U8500 mobile processor with Mali-400MP mobile graphics chip. This is the same graphics chip used to power the Galaxy S II and it is capable of full HD playback as well as recording.

At the back, the Xperia P has an 8 megapixel camera capable of recording full 1080p HD video with its Exmor R imaging sensor. Sony has added a number of features in its camera software and made it spiffy to use. On the front rests a VGA quality camera for video calling and chat. Sony has packed its proprietary set of audio technologies and enhancements with the new Walkman app and offers harmonious wireless connectivity options. This smartphone packs 1 GB RAM which is technically good enough to drive the lightly skinned TimeScape user interface as well as rich apps and games. By default, Xperia P offers 16 GB on-board storage of which only 13 GB is available to users. Unfortunately, this smartphone does not offer a microSD card slot to expand its storage and supports only a micro SIM card. This smartphone has an HDMI port to connect it to an HD display for viewing multimedia content. Packing a mere 1305 mAh battery, this might be another pitfall since it offers only 5 hours of talk time over 3G.

HTC One S (Rs 28,999)

HTC had introduced the new One series Android OS based smartphones and several new features with it. The One S features a 4.3 inch Super Amoled display with quarter HD (960 x 540 pixel) resolution. This smartphone is only 7.8 mm slim and weighs just about 119.5 grams. HTC has added the new Sense 4.0 UI along with Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich.

The slim chassis of the One S packs a dual core 1.5 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon S3 mobile processor for India and 1 GB RAM to power the mobile operating system. It packs an 8 megapixel camera with LED flash and is capable of recording 1080p HD videos at 30 frames per second. Also, the camera app is quite fast and will let you click photos while you are recording a video. There is a front facing camera for video chat too. There are two major negatives about this smartphone-16 GB onboard storage with no option for expansion and a non-removable 1650 mAh battery. For greater music experience, this smartphone offers Beats Audio technology integration with the music player. Apart from a regular set of features such as WiFi, Bluetooth, GPS and others, this smartphone supports micro SIM. With a great looking display, slim form and powerful hardware, the HTC One S is a beautiful smartphone and it performs well.

Samsung Galaxy S II (Rs 27,500)

Samsung's flagship smartphone last year - Galaxy S II GT-I9100 still remains one of the best devices from the company after the Galaxy Note smartphone-tablet hybrid. Featuring a 4.27 inch Super Amoled Plus touchscreen display, Galaxy S II offers 480 x 800 pixel support with vibrant colour reproduction. The display uses Corning Gorilla Glass and is scratch resistant. This smartphone was released with Android 2.3 Gingerbread but it has now received Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich update. Samsung has added its TouchWiz 4.0 user interface which brings a couple of additional features and under the hood enhancements.

Under the slim 8.5 mm chassis, Galaxy S II houses a dual core 1.2 GHz Samsung Exynos mobile processor with 1 GB RAM to power the user interface. The hardware has a Mali-400MP mobile graphics chip that is capable of handling the major Android 3D games. Not only that, the device is capable of smooth 1080p HD video playback (even if it is an .mkv container file). This smartphone can play several popular video formats out of the box thanks to TouchWiz. At the rear, this smartphone packs a great 8 megapixel image sensor that offers high quality images and allows video capture in full 1080p HD video quality. For connectivity, it offers WiFi, WiFi Direct, DLNAsupport, Bluetooth 3.0, GPS, and support for USB-on-the-go. Samsung has packed a 1650 mAh battery which is decent enough to promise about 9 hours of continuous talk time after Android 4.0 ICS update. Though it appears slightly big it is one of the best performing smartphones in this segment.

Motorola Razr XT910 (Rs 27,900)

Motorola had re-introduced its famous Razr styling for smartphones with the new Razr XT910 for India. The Motorola Razr XT910 has a slim form factor with 7.1 mm thickness. The back panel is built using strong Kevlar fibre material. By default the Razr XT910 has a 4.3 inch Super Amoled touchscreen with quarter HD (qHD) pixel resolution. This Super Amoled display has been built using Corning Gorilla Glass technology for resistance from normal scratches. Motorola Razr packs a dual core 1.2 GHz Texas Instruments OMAP 4430 mobile processor with 1 GB RAM to power Android 2.3.5 Gingerbread. Motorola has released the Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich update for this smartphone.

Its hardware is good enough to drive graphics intensive apps easily and offers a fluid user experience. Razr by default comes with 16 GB on-board storage of which some space is reserved for system updates. Motorola has installed an 8 megapixel rear camera with LED flash that is capable of recording full 1080p HD video at 30 frames per second. On the front rests a 1.3 megapixel HD quality camera for video calls. Motorola has added a massive non-removable 1780 mAh battery that promises 10 hours of use to power the large screen and hardware. Of all the devices in this segment, Motorola Razr is still the best looking slim Android smartphone out there. If you plan to buy this smartphone, do note that it supports micro SIM only.

Nokia’s First Phablet, The Lumia 1520 Info Leaked

Nokia has been rumoured to be preparing a Windows Phone-powered phablet for many months, to expand the upper echelons of its smartphone portfolio and battle Samsung’s Galaxy Note line (the latest of which, the Note 3, was unboxed only this week). Images purporting to depict a palm-stretching handset carrying Nokia’s branding have also cropped up online before now, but today at GrabaGadget we has posted a press image in Nokia’s typical style.

The image shows what’s evidently a larger than usual Windows Phone, with enough screen real estate to display 11 x 6 rows of icons (vs the 7 x 4 icons that the 4.5 inch Lumia 925 accommodates). The other notable feature is the gently protruding rear camera which looks to be the same as the 925′s PureView-branded 8.7MP lens — so not, in other words, the 41MP ‘true PureView’ Lumia 1020.

Nokia hasn’t officially confirmed its phablet launch plans, but the pattern of an increasing flow of leaks is consistent with other leaky Lumia launch trajectories (such as the Lumia 1020). It’s certainly no secret that Nokia has been weighing up getting into the phablet space on Windows Phone — and doing so for a long time. Back in February 2012 the company told TechCrunch that it was “looking closely [at the mid-size tablet market] and looking to see whether it will catch on”.

In the event, Samsung has continued building momentum in the category, while smartphone screens generally have inflated in size to try to keep up with the trend for bigger phones.  Meanwhile Nokia has faced an uphill battle trying to sell its smartphones in a market dominated by Android and iOS. Indeed, it’s been such a struggle for the company that, at the start of this week, it confirmed it would be throwing in the towel by selling its Devices & Services unit to Microsoft for $7.2 billion and licensing its brand name for use by Redmond on mobiles and smartphones.

That transaction is not due to close til the first quarter of 2014, though, so Nokia has a few more months of pushing phones ahead of it. The Windows Phone phablet is named as the Nokia Lumia 1520 and includes this year’s date — indicating a 2013 launch, which suggests Nokia will be launching the device, rather than letting Microsoft do the honours.

Getting into the phablet making-game — even at this late stage — is one way for Nokia to try to make its devices stand out against the iPhone, which has remained sub-phablet sized, despite Apple increasing the screen size of its current flagship iPhone 5 to 4 inches (up from 3.5 inches). But it’s not going to help Lumia stand out against Android, as many Android OEMs have been ploughing the big phone furrow for some time. As well as the Galaxy Note line (and Samsung’s other phablet brand,Mega), a Nokia phablet would compete with phablets from the likes of Sony, LG and Huawei.

Add to that, Apple continues to be rumoured to be testing bigger screen iPhones – albeit, testing different form factors is simply due diligence in such a competitive market as smartphones. It remains to be seen whether a phablet-sized iPhone will end up going into production — a Reutersreport has previously suggested Apple is considering a 2014 time frame for that. Meanwhile Cupertino of course has its iPad mini and full fat iPad to cover off the larger form factor tablet space in its portfolio (Nokia is rumoured to be lining up a Windows RT tablet too — doubtless on its soon-to-be-phone-owner Microsoft’s instructions).

Returning to the Lumia phablet, at the end of the day, a larger screen is not what Windows Phone needs to lure consumers away from Android and iOS. It needs more developers to make better apps — but with Android dominating market share and iOS still leading on app monetisation there’s precious little reason for developers to prioritise Microsoft’s OS.

And, from the consumer perspective, Windows Phone remains a solution looking for a problem. Android and iOS continue to be successful because of their apps focus and app-centric UIs. Just offering something different is not in itself enough of a reason for choice-spoilt consumers to care at this point — as the failure of Facebook’s Android launcher/app replacer, Home, also underlines.

Amazon Launches New Kindle Paperwhite

With all the advances in tablet technology, the experience of reading a physical book is still preferred by many people – or if not a book, then an e-book with electronic ink instead of an LCD or OLED display. Amazon has had a lot of success with their Kindle e-book readers over the years, and today they’ve announced the latest model, the Kindle Paperwhite. Scheduled to start shipping at the end of the month (September 30, 2013), the Paperwhite boasts an upgraded display, an enhanced backlight for reading in the dark, and faster processing to speed up page turns. 




All of the new features are certainly welcome updates, but the price is also substantially higher than the standard Kindle: $119 (with the current special offers) will get you the Kindle Paperwhite, while the previous Kindle is available for $69. There’s also a 3G Paperwhite available for $189, which adds free 3G connectivity with no contracts or monthly fees.




There are plenty of reasons for book lovers to prefer the Paperwhite over reading on a tablet. There’s no glare in bright sunlight, for one, and I personally find the reading experience to be more comfortable on the eyes. The Kindle is also lighter than similar size tablets, and battery life (with WiFi off) is listed as up to eight weeks between charges (depending on your usage, naturally). Battery life incidentally is also rated at twice that of the previous Kindle, though whether that’s thanks to improved technology or simply a larger battery I’m not sure (probably a little of both). Here’s the full set of specifications:

             

Amazon Kindle Paperwhite Specifications
Display	6" Paperwhite Exclusive Carta e-paper technology Next-generation built-in light 212 ppi, 16-level gray scale
Size	6.7" x 4.6" x 0.36" (169 mm x 117 mm x 9.1 mm)
Weight	7.3 ounces (206 grams)
System Requirements	None; fully wireless and no computer required
On-Device Storage	2 GB internal (~1.25 GB available) Holds up to 1,100 books
Cloud Storage	Free cloud storage for all Amazon content
Battery Life	A single charge lasts up to eight weeks (30 minutes of reading per day, wireless off and light setting at 10) Battery life will vary based on light and wireless usage
Charge Time	Approximately 4 hours from a computer via USB cable
Wi-Fi Connectivity	802.11n (WEP, WPA, WPA2 security) Wi-Fi Protected Setup (WPS) Optional 3G Wireless on Paperwhite 3G
Content Formats Supported	Kindle Format 8 (AZW3) Kindle (AZW) TXT PDF Unprotected MOBI PRC natively HTML Word (DOC, DOCX) JPEG, GIF, PNG, BMP (through conversion)
Warranty and Service	1-year limited warranty included Optional 2-year Extended Warranty available for U.S. customers
Included in the Box	Kindle Paperwhite, USB 2.0 charging cable and Quick Start Guide
Price	Kindle Paperwhite: $119 promotion, $139 normally Kindle Paperwhite 3G: $189 promotion, $209 normally