Facebook’s Internet.org app brings free limited internet in Zambia

Facebook had announced its ambitious Internet.org project last year with an aim to bring affordable internet access to emerging markets like India and Africa. Today, the social network has launched the Internet.org mobile app that gives users in Zambia, Africa free access to a handful of online services on their mobile phones.

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Pebble Steel Unboxing and First Impressions

pebble-steel-unboxing-5

It’s still very early days for smartwatches but Pebble, the Kickstarter success story, already looks like a veteran. Pebble, the first Smartwatch that ignited the whole market frenzy for wearable devices, has been out for a long time, so long that it already got a facelift through Pebble Steel, mainly for people looking at a premium version of the original. It was exactly that, a premium version of the Pebble, adorned with steel, glass and leather, while the original was fully plastic and silicone. There was also a general shift in design and a better overall finish, with minor changes to the power connector and the addition of a LED at the front. These changes also command a premium, with the price at $249, almost matching the recently launched Android Wear devices. We had finally got one a while back, the stainless steel version, so here’s the unboxing of the Pebble Steel, in case you are looking to get one –

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Z7Frxqsnfo

Read our review of the Pebble Smartwatch

Continue reading “Pebble Steel Unboxing and First Impressions”

Airtel launches 4G LTE services in Nashik

Airtel 4G

Airtel has launched 4G services in Nashik, Maharashtra. The company launched 4G services in Pune, Maharashtra in 2012. It launched 4G services in Nagpur last week. Nashik is the 15th city in the country to get Airtel 4G. Customers in Nashik can access 4G on dongles and Wi-Fi CPEs (Customer Premise Equipment/ routers), but the company has not launched 4G on mobile in the city yet. Continue reading “Airtel launches 4G LTE services in Nashik”

Samsung Galaxy Star 2, Star Advance and Ace NXT officially launched in India, starts at Rs. 5100

Samsung Galaxy Star 2, Star Advance and Ace NXT

Samsung has officially launched the Samsung Galaxy Star 2, Galaxy Star Advance and Galaxy Ace NXT smartphones in India. The Galaxy Star 2 has a 3.5-inch HVGA display, powered by 1GHz single core processor and has 2-megapixel rear camera. The Galaxy Star Advance has a 4.3-inch WVGA screen, powered by a 1.2 GHz single-core processor and comes with a 3-megapixel rear camera with LED flash. The Galaxy Ace NXT went on sale earlier this month and packs a 4-inch WVGA screen and comes with a similar single-core processor and 3MP rear camera with LED flash as the Star Advance.

Continue reading “Samsung Galaxy Star 2, Star Advance and Ace NXT officially launched in India, starts at Rs. 5100”

Amazon Appstore’s $100 worth free apps offer is back, ends August 2nd

Amazon free Apps July 31st to August 2nd 2014

Amazon Appstore is back with its new offer. Today the company has announced that it would offer 29 paid Android apps worth over $100 for free on the Amazon AppStore starting Thursday, 31st July  (from 1 PM IST) to Saturday, 2nd August (up to 12 PM IST). Last month the company offered 31 apps for free for two days. This time the list is new, that includes Bills Reminder, Sonic and SEGA All-Star Racing, Oxford Advanced Learners Dictionary 8th edition,  Instapaper and more. Continue reading “Amazon Appstore’s $100 worth free apps offer is back, ends August 2nd”

Nokia Z launcher receives significant update, pre-beta program opened for new users

Nokia rolled out Z launcher for Android in June that predicts apps and brings them in the front depending upon user usage pattern and preferences.  Today, the Z launcher has received an update  that will allow you to configure the way you want your favorite apps to appear on your home screen, using drag and drop.

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Sony IFA 2014 press conference slated for September 3rd

Sony CEO Kazuo Hirai

Sony has scheduled their IFA 2014 press conference for 3rd September. Last year it was scheduled on September 4th, where it announced the Xperia Z1, QX10 and QX100 smartphone camera lenses. According to earlier rumors, this year the company is expected to announce the Xperia Z3 and the Xperia Z3 Compact smartphones, Sony SmartWatch 3 (SW3) and QX30 smartphone camera lens. Continue reading “Sony IFA 2014 press conference slated for September 3rd”

Micromax Canvas L A108 with 5.5-inch display, Android 4.4 now available for Rs. 10499

Micromax Canvas L A108

Micromax Canvas L A108 that surfaced on the official website last week is now available from online retailer Infibeam. It has a 5.5-inch qHD screen, powered by a 1.3 GHz quad-core MediaTek processor and runs on Android 4.4 (KitKat). It has a 8-megapixel autofocus rear camera with LED flash and a 2-megapixel fixed focus front-facing camera. Continue reading “Micromax Canvas L A108 with 5.5-inch display, Android 4.4 now available for Rs. 10499”

1Password introduces third party app extension for iOS 8

AgileBits, the developers behind 1Password have unveiled app extension for third party apps.  The extension will allow third-party developers to integrate 1Password access into their apps. That would allow 1Password users to fill in log-in information without ever leaving the other app. ios-8- Continue reading “1Password introduces third party app extension for iOS 8”

HTC J Butterfly (HTL23) with One M8 specs and Waterproof body announced

HTC J Butterfly HTL23

HTC has just announced the J Butterfly (HTL23), its new smartphone in the Butterfly series for Japanese carrier KDDI. Most of the specifications of the new J butterfly are similar to One (M8), including a 5-inch 1080p display, quad-core Snapdragon 801 processor and Android 4.4 (KitKat) with Sense UI, but this comes with Water ( IPX5 / IPX7) and  dust resistance (IP5X). Continue reading “HTC J Butterfly (HTL23) with One M8 specs and Waterproof body announced”

Samsung profits fall in Q2 2014, mobile revenue down 12% QoQ

Samsung-Galaxy-S5-photos-9

Samsung just reported its earnings for Q2 2014, in which the company has managed to make operating profit of 7.19 trillion won ($7.02 billion) for the quarter ended June 30th, down 15% compared to last year.  It has reported net profit of 6.25 trillion won ($6.1 billion) on revenues of 52.35 trillion won ($51.02 billion), down by 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Continue reading “Samsung profits fall in Q2 2014, mobile revenue down 12% QoQ”

Spice Smart Pulse review: A not so smart watch

Spice Smart Pulse -2

The market for wearables is clearly divided. Smartwatches have lined the upper end of the spectrum with Samsung’s Gear line of devices and now Android Wear based watches being the most prominent ones. The other end of the spectrum includes the standalone fitness focussed wearables. These wearables are then focussed on tracking your fitness related activities and include basic time keeping functionality. Due to the price, functionality divide between the categories, neither of them really have the potential to democratize wearables. And so step in indigenous manufacturers that try to bridge that gap by introducing a device that cherry picks features from higher end smartwatches and makes them available at a very accessible price point. Today we take a look at the Spice Smart Pulse, a device pegged as a smartwatch for the masses by the company. Worth it? Read on to find out. Continue reading “Spice Smart Pulse review: A not so smart watch”

Huawei hints new phone launch via press invites for IFA

Huawei has sent out press invites for an event scheduled at the upcoming IFA trade show in September in Berlin.  The invite simply reads “Empowering a Future of exciting possibilities” and does not give out any hints about the phone.

huawei press invite

But, it is widely expected that Huawei will launch the Ascend Mate 3 at the event. Earlier this week, the specs of the phone appeared in the AnTuTu benchmarking site. The phone is expected to sport a 6-inch full-HD display, a 13MP and 5 MPfront-facing camera. It is also expected to be powered by Huawei made octa-core HiSilicon Kirin 920 processor and run Android 4.4.2 KitKat OS out-of-the-box.

Huawei is yet to confirm any details about the anticipated Ascend Mate 3 handset. The Chinese smartphone maker had launched its predecessor, the Ascend Mate 2 at CES earlier this year.

Another Honor-branded smartphone, the Honor 6 is also expected to launch in China. It sports a 5-inch display with 720p resolution, a MediaTek MT6582 chipset, a 1.3GHz quad-core Cortex-A7 CPU and 1GB RAM. The rear camera is only 2MP

via:GSMArena