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Lumia Cyan update brings more features to Nokia’s Windows Phones

It has been a known fact that Nokia bundles its own software additions onto the Windows Phone build, which we call the device specific firmware. Likewise, Nokia will be releasing the Lumia Cyan update to its devices, to run on top of Windows Phone 8.1. This update brings more Nokia specific features on top of the default Windows Phone experience. After Amber and black, Cyan is the additive experience Nokia continues to provide on its Windows Phone devices. Some of the features added to Nokia’s firmware are enhancements to the Nokia camera app, updates to some photo apps and audio specific features for some devices.

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This is Cortana, Microsoft’s take on Siri and Google Now

Cortana, once popular for being Master Chief’s personal assistant, is now truly digital, as it takes the form of Windows Phone’s own virtual assistant. Cortana is Microsoft’s take on Siri and Google Now, currently the two popular voice assistants for iOS and Android respectively. While Siri took a more personal approach to an assistant, Google took it another way with contextual search and ambient presence, while Cortana is trying to marry the both. Powered by Bing’s neural networks, Cortana literally takes advantage of all the data mined over the search engine’s life time. And not only that, it will learn you like Google Now on actions and like Siri on personal detail, which makes it a decent competitor to Google.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nX9P6skzZNU

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Microsoft to make Windows free for devices with screens under 9 inches

One of the more interesting announcements out of the BUILD conference today was Microsoft’s announcement to make Windows free for a whole host of devices. Traditionally OEMs have paid up to $15 per handset sold as licensing fee for Windows Phone 8. This has proven to be a hindrance in the growth of the operating system especially in the lower segment. With cost sensitive players like Micromax getting on board the Windows Phone bandwagon, this move makes all the more sense. Continue reading “Microsoft to make Windows free for devices with screens under 9 inches”

Micromax joins the Windows Phone party, devices coming soon

Micromax, one of the top smartphone players in the Indian market, was rumoured to get into the Windows Phone game for a long time. We had expected the name to pop up when Microsoft announced new partners in India like Xolo, Lava and Karbonn, but it didn’t until now, when Microsoft revealed additional two partners, Micromax and Prestigio, at their Build 2014 keynote. Micromax now joins a big list of partners who are committed to bring Windows Phone 8.1 devices into the market. Bringing a seismic change of sorts to the ecosystem, the Windows Phone 8.1 update enables better hardware compatibility, with which a reference device from Qualcomm was developed. Adding on-screen button support and increased chipset compatibility has enabled players like Micromax to join the Windows Phone ecosystem.

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Windows Phone 8.1 is official, brings Cortana and a ton of new features

Microsoft has finally revealed Windows Phone 8.1, the long awaited update to its mobile platform. Packing lots and lots of new features, the operating system finally gets up to speed in several departments. Starting from the action center, the parallax wallpapers to Cortana, the intelligent digital assistant, it would be safe to say that the OS has finally come of age. It may be a little late, but it is definitely not a little minor update, as it brings with it the potential to change the ecosystem of devices it runs on. The update, announced today, will be available for all Windows Phone 8 devices in the coming months, while enthusiasts can get a hold of this update in the first half of April. Besides that, the OS will come pre-installed on all the new Windows Phone devices, including the just announced Nokia Lumia 930 and the Lumia 635 and the Lumia 630 Dual SIM phone.

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Nokia Lumia 635 with 4.5 inch screen and Windows Phone 8.1 announced, brings LTE connectivity for $189

While the Nokia Lumia 930 is the company’s flag bearer for Windows Phone 8.1, the entry level segment remains critical. To meet the demands of the audience in this category, Stephen Elop today announced the Lumia 635 alongside the Lumia 630 today. The phone’s trump card is that it brings LTE connectivity at an exceptionally low price point. Continue reading “Nokia Lumia 635 with 4.5 inch screen and Windows Phone 8.1 announced, brings LTE connectivity for $189”

Xbox One Smartglass beta previews support for OneGuide and Universal Remote

Xbox One, the latest gaming console from Microsoft, surprised a few by being the first console to have HDMI input for TV, and support for a unified TV channel guide, with voice activated navigation. The voice commands, using the next generation Kinect, might have performed well enough for most, but there is a better way to control the console now. Smartglass, the app that acts as the second screen input for Xbox One, is now in a separate beta channel which lets users preview the new and upcoming features. Amongst the latest features that are going to be added to this app later are support for One Guide, the channel guide that was initially usable only on the console, and a universal remote that can give out commands through the Kinect’s IR blaster.

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Google is rumored to be working on a new Camera app for Android

Google has somewhat tackled the problem of fragmentation by releasing its core apps as separate applications in the Google Play Store, but it is only a small towards a very big problem. According to Engadget, Google is working on a separate Camera application for Android smartphones that it will soon launch on Google Play Store.

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Vodafone India promotes 3G using Augmented Reality and RFID

Vodafone India started BE SMART initiative long back to promote the use of mobile internet in India. The company recently launched a new campaign that uses tools like augmented reality, RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) aimed at engaging, educating and providing a better smartphone experience on the go to its customers. Continue reading “Vodafone India promotes 3G using Augmented Reality and RFID”

ZTE Grand S II with 5.5-inch 1080p display, Snapdragon 801 processor launched in China

ZTE Grand S II

ZTE unveiled the Grand S II at the CES 2014 earlier this year. ZTE has launched the smartphone in China. It has a 5.5-inch (1920 x 1080 pixels) full HD IPS display based on One Glass Solution (OGS) technology, powered by a 2.3 GHz Quad-Core Snapdragon 801 processor (instead of Snapdragon 800 at the time it was announced) and runs on Android 4.3 (Jelly Bean) OS. It comes with a 13-megapixel rear camera with LED Flash, Sony sensor, full HD video recording and a 2-megapixel front-facing camera. Continue reading “ZTE Grand S II with 5.5-inch 1080p display, Snapdragon 801 processor launched in China”

Cortana shows up on Bing’s personalization settings ahead of reveal

Cortana, Microsoft’s own take on a virtual personal assistant, is all set to be revealed at the //build/ developer event today in San Francisco. While we still haven’t heard anything straight from Microsoft regarding Cortana yet, it’s own property, Bing, which will power Cortana, now has references to the long awaited assistant. Cortana has been rumoured to be like Apple’s Siri and Google Now combined, with it offering personalized results, recommendations and more, apart from setting your alarms, reminders etc like Siri.

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Samsung Galaxy S5 Mini specifications leaked

Samsung, like all smartphone manufacturers these days, has followed the trend of releasing a flagship smartphone and shortly sometime after that releasing a “Mini” version of the flagship with toned down specifications. Samsung has been following this approach for the past two flagships – Samsung Galaxy S3 and Samsung Galaxy S4.

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Apple reportedly planning to buy chipmaker Renesas SP Drivers

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Apple is considering buying a unit of Renesas SP Drivers, Japan-based chip maker for smartphone displays, according to a report from Nikkei. Renesas SP Drivers is a joint venture between Japanese chipmaker Renesas, Sharp and Taiwanese manufacturer Powerchip. The chipmaker already provides drivers and controllers for iPhone’s liquid crystal displays that is responsible for quality, performance and phone’s overall energy efficiency. Continue reading “Apple reportedly planning to buy chipmaker Renesas SP Drivers”

Lenovo A526 with 4.5-inch display, quad-core processor launched for Rs. 9499

Lenovo A526

Lenovo has launched the Lenovo A526, the company’s latest smartphone in the A-series. It has a 4.5-inch (854 x 480 pixels) capacitive touchscreen display, powered by a 1.3 GHz Quad-core Mediatek MT6582M processor and runs on Android 4.2 (Jelly Bean). It has a 5-megapixel rear camera without flash and a 0.3-megapixel (VGA) front-facing camera. Continue reading “Lenovo A526 with 4.5-inch display, quad-core processor launched for Rs. 9499”

Lenovo A10-70, A8-50, A7-50 and A7-30 Android tablets announced

Lenovo A8-50

Lenovo has announced four new Android tablets, A10-70, A8-50, A7-50 and A7-30 in the A-series. The A10-70 has a 10.1-inch (1280 x 800 pixels) display, A8-50 has a 8-inch (1280 x 800 pixels) and both the A7-50 and A7-30 have 7-inch displays. All these run on Android 4.2 (Jelly Bean). Continue reading “Lenovo A10-70, A8-50, A7-50 and A7-30 Android tablets announced”