Xperia Z launched in India for Rs 38990

Xperia Z launched in India

Sony, the Japanese consumer electronics brand, today launched its flagship mobile phone the Xperia Z, in India. The smartphone will be available in stores beginning 12 March and is priced at Rs 38,990.

With the Xperia Z, the brand plans to recapture its lost ground in the country and aims to establish the device as among the top three smartphones in India in terms of unit sales.

“We plan to establish Xperia Z among the top 3 smartphone brands in India. We want to exploit the business foundation we have and will make Xperia one of the biggest categories in Sony India,” Kenichiro Hibi, Managing director, Sony India said at the launch.

The Xperia Z was launched by its newly appointed brand ambassador, Bollywood actress Katrina Kaif . The smartphones comes with user experience and technology from some of Sony’s best platforms, like its BRAVIA HD display, its CyberShot camera technology and its legendary Walkman technology in music.

The Xperia Z operates on the Android 4.1 Jellybean platform, has a 5 inch full HD 1080p BRAVIA reality display, Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 pro quad-core processor, 13 megapixel fast capture CyberShot camera 4G LTE, Sony’s Walkman technology and a Battery stamina mode that can help increase battery back up by upto 50 percent.

With Xperia, Sony has also introduced its water and dust resistance feature. Demonstrating it, Katrina Kaif, Xperia Z’s brand ambassador dunked the phone in a fishbowl filled with water, only to retrieve it and use the phone like one normally would.“There are many features of the phone that I like — like the amazing camera. But, I most like the fact that I can actually put it in water, so I can take it while swimming. It’s a fun feature,” Kaif said.

The company also launched the Xperia Tablet Z. The LTE tablet features a vivid 10.1 inch HD reality display, is powered by the Mobile Bravia engine 2 which is water and dust resistant, has S-force front surround 3D, one touch function and a battery stamina mode. The Xperia Tablet Z will hit the markets in May 2013, but its price has not yet been announced.

With the launch today, Sony hopes to triple its sales in India to Rs 3,500 crore in financial year 2013 (ending March 2014).“Sony India has established market leadership in BRAVIA and Cyber Shot and we aim to replicate the same success with the Xperia range. The launch of Sony Xperia Z today, is the start of our journey to triple the Xperia sales in India, to Rs. 3,500 crore  "Hibi" said.

The company has taken several steps towards this direction, including tripling the Xperia marketing budget to Rs 300 crore for 2013, more than doubling the sales channel counters to 8,000 and increasing the service touch points to 200 by 2013. The company is hoping 2013 will be a breakthrough year for them.

“India is a high focus and high growth market for Sony. The smartphone market in India holds very strong mid-term growth potential, with smartphone sales projected to be approximately 33 million units by 2013 in India. Our ultimate objective is to position Xperia among the top 3 smartphone brands in India,” Corporate Vice president, Sony Mobile Communications, Dennis Van Schie, said at the launch.

Aside the Google Play store applications Sony Mobile Technology has also collaborated with other businesses in its family to create and design unique applications for its customers.

Sony Music which will offer customers six months of unlimited streaming and music downloads from over 15 lakh songs. The phone will also have a video streaming app called Sony LIV, which will allow phone buyers to catch up on shows from SAB, Sony Entertainment and Max, from over 4500 hours of video and over 77 shows.

In addition, Sony has also tied up with Vodafone to offer 8GB of free data for the first two months of purchase. The company said they are in talks with other service providers to strike up similar offers.

The Sony Xperia Z will come in three colours: black, white and purple and will be available across national retail stores, Sony Center brand shops, multi-brand outlets and distributors across India from 12 March.

Source: firstpost.com

Microsoft Office 365 officially launched in India

The next-generation Microsoft Office 365 was launched for businesses in India yesterday. The Office 365 productivity suite comes with Office (Word, PowerPoint, Excel, Outlook, OneNote, Access, InfoPath and Publisher), Project and Visio and includes updated Microsoft Lync Online, Exchange Online, SharePoint Online and Yammer. 

Users should note that the Microsoft Office 365 can be installed on up to five devices for a single user under the Office 365 licensing. Office 365 suite for business (Enterprise KI SKU) starts from $4 (Rs 219 approx.) per user, per month and goes up to $22 (Rs 1204 approx.) per user, per month. Office 365 Small Business Premium is also available in retail for Rs 9,119 for a 12 month subscription, Office 365 Home Premium (Consumer SKU) is available for Rs 4,199. 

Office 365 can be used across multiple devices and can be integrated with the cloud. The company has also made available business SKUs of Office 2013 for on premise users.

“In today’s rapidly evolving business landscape, the next generation Office 365 unlocks social and mobility scenarios that will allow businesses and individuals to take full advantage of the cloud. It gives them the freedom to do things, when, where and how they want”, said Bhaskar Pramanik, Chairman, Microsoft Corporation India Pvt. Ltd.

SharePoint together with Yammer and Lync allow people and teams to work together, collaborate and share organisational knowledge and information. The company adds that the suite's usability across multiple devices - tablets, PCs, phones, hybrids, etc. increases it value.

Microsoft also announced new customers of its Office 365. They include, Lupin, Godrej Group, Tata Communications and AEGON Religare. These customers join others who have already chosen Office 365, including Tata Elxsi, FICCI, SIRO Clinpharm, Unilog, Gavs Technologies, Visaka Industries, ACME Tele Power, Dabur India, Adhunik Group, Infiniti Retail, to name a few.

"There were many reasons why we have decided to go with Microsoft's cloud services. With Office 365, we can take full advantage of reliable, state-of-art technology that help our business run more effectively at lower costs. Most importantly, Office 365 creates a more productive mobile workforce by providing employees access to email, documents, contacts, and calendars - using a variety of devices from virtually any location. The first wave of our global rollout of Office 365 has successfully been able to unify our geographically diverse workforce providing them with the access they need anytime and anywhere, with tools that they are already familiar with. At the same time, we have been able to retire a number of legacy messaging systems and consolidate the footprint. That is a great advantage," said Mr. Mayur Danait, CIO, Lupin.

Ramkumar Pichai, GM - Microsoft Office Division, Microsoft Corporation India Pvt. Ltd. said, “This release of Office brings to life the power of next generation computing. It also reflects Microsoft’s commitment of powering the newer work scenarios businesses are experiencing. While on the one hand it is helping users simplify their work and get things done, on the other it is helping CIOs stay in control of a diverse environment created by a proliferation of devices.”

Customers can purchase the next generation Office 365 directly from Microsoft online or through an authorised retail outlet or partner. For more information on Office 365 and to sign up for a free trial, please visit office.microsoft.com/en-in.

Interestingly, it is known that since its launch in mid-2011, Office 365 became Microsoft’s fastest growing businesses globally. The number of small and medium-sized businesses using Office 365 around the world has also grown by over 150 percent in the last 12 months.

Source: tech2.com

Is this what the Samsung Galaxy S IV looks like!!!

Yesterday Samsung put out a teaser video ahead of the launch of its much awaited and much leaked flagship device Galaxy S IV.

The video which doesn’t really say much, is part of a series featuring this super cute child, Jeremy, who is the secret messenger of Samsung UNPACKED 2013 and has to keep the phone a secret. A little late for that now isn’t it, Samsung?

The boy gets to see a peek of the phone, which is kept inside this dazzling white box – literally dazzling. Of course Jeremy now has to hide the phone from the rest of the world and there’s an annoying girl who appears in the end and is determined to get her hands on the box with the smartphone.

How will Jeremy keep the smartphone safe? For that you will have to watch the next part.

The Samsung Galaxy SIV. Image from evleaks’ Twitter handleSamsung will release the phone on 14 March at 7PM in New York City.

We must say it does look like a bit of the Galaxy Note II but hey, nobody’s complaining. Just yesterday, Antutu confirmed that somebody had submitted a benchmark for a new Samsung Galaxy SIV. The test confirmed that device will come with an eight-core processor, 2GB of RAM, a 4.99-inch Full HD (1920×1080) screen and a 13 Megapixel Camera. It will run Android 4.2.

In terms of raw specifications, the Galaxy S IV is going to be pretty fast, no doubt. But it will be other features like S-Pen support, AirView, etc and maybe more that will define the smartphone. For instance New York Times has carried a report today that the S IV will track your eyes for scrolling pages. Basically according to the report, once your eyes reach the bottom of the page, the phone will automatically scroll down to the next few paragraphs. Sounds cool and a little creepy.

Source: firstpost.com

Simply Amazing, dont miss this video featuring Samsung's New OLED Technology

Source: youtube.com

Wohooo Google Playbook store now open for India!!

For e-book lovers in India, the options are growing. After Amazon’s Kindle eBook store was made available to Indian users last year, Google’s Play Books Store is now also available in India. You can download the Play Book app from the Google Play Store by clicking here. The app lets users buy and read e-books on their smart devices and computers.

Google India wrote on its blog page,

Today we’re adding books to Google Play for people in India. Books on Google Play now offers thousands of Indian titles, from new releases to classics. It’s easy to find great Indian authors such as Amish Tripathi, Devdutt Pattanaik and APJ Abdul Kalam, plus international bestsellers from the world’s largest ebookstore. 

Source: firstpost.com

LG Optimus G now available in India

LG’s much-awaited smartphone, the Optimus G in now out in India at a price of Rs 34,500. The smartphone runs Android 4.1.2 (Jelly Bean) OS.

Key features of the device are:

•The smartphone has a 4.7-inch screen with a 1280×768 resolution with True HD and IPS.

• A 13-megapixel autofocus camera.

LG Optimus G in this file photo. AP

• The G smartphone is powered by Qualcomm’s quad-core processor clocked at 1.5Ghz and has a 2GB RAM along with 32GB built-in space. The smartphone does not have a Micro-SD card.

• LG also added new video-related features. The G can dim the video in a translucent layer, allowing users to send text messages or write emails while watching the show in the background. It also allows users to zoom into a scene while playing the video using a two-finger pinch.

Now that the Optimus G is finally here, will the Nexus 4 also hit the Indian market soon? Let’s hope so.

Watch Video

source: firstpost.com

Are you ready for PS 4???

Sony's PlayStation 4 is a major step forward for the games industry, according to an Electronic Arts executive.

Speaking yesterday at the Morgan Stanley Technology, Media, and Telecom Conference, EA Chief Technical Officer Rajat Taneja said that the PlayStation 4 has "8 to 10 times the power" of current-generation consoles, making it a "gigantic leap for the industry".

Polygon, a PlayStation news site, attended the event and reported on Taneja's comments.

Sony unveiled its PlayStation 4 last week. The company said the console will offer a gaming experience superior to current-generation devices, thanks to its eight-core X86 AMD Jaguar CPU and 1.84-teraflop AM Radeon graphics engine. The console will also come with a Blu-ray drive and 8GB of GDDR5 memory. What was lacking from Sony's presentation, however, was the console itself: It was a no-show.

Taneja didn't discuss the look of the next PlayStation, but lauded its ability to make games better and developer lives a bit easier.

"We no longer have to constrain our games or ration computer graphics, memory or bandwidth," Taneja reportedly said. "We can let the games really flourish [in] 1080p, 60 frames a second."

Taneja added that things that now takes "months" to develop will only "take days" with the new console.

Sony's PlayStation 4 is slated to launch in the fall. Sony hasn't said when it'll actually show off the console, but it's expected to make an appearance at some point in the next few months.

Source: cnetasia.com

Stunning Google Chromebook Pixel, dont miss the video

San Francisco: Google is adding a new and more expensive touch to its line of Chrome laptops in an attempt to outshine personal computers running on software made by rivals Microsoft and Apple.

The Chromebook Pixel unveiled Thursday includes a nearly 13-inch (33-centimeter) display screen that responds to the touch or swipe of a finger. That duplicates a key feature in Microsoft Corp’s Windows 8, a dramatic makeover of the world’s leading operating system for PCs.

The Pixel’s high-resolution screen displays 239 pixels per inch, slightly more than Apple Inc’s MacBooks with high-resolution Retina displays. A MacBook Pro with a screen that measures 13.1 inches (33.3 centimeters) diagonally can handle 227 pixels per inch (2.5 centimeters), while the 15.4-inch (39.1-centimeter) model is at 220 pixels per inch.

“This is the future: high-resolution screens and touch,” said Sundar Pichai, a senior vice president who oversees Google’s Chrome Web browser and operating system.

Google Inc designed and built the Pixel for “power users” — a fastidious and generally more affluent segment of the PC market willing to pay more for machines equipped with compelling features and components not found in cheaper laptops.

The new Google Chromebook Pixel. AP

The strategy is a departure for Google, which had positioned Chromebooks based on its Chrome operating system as affordable options for homes and offices looking for a quick and easy way to connect to the Web. Google has been partnering with PC makers to make Chromebooks over the past two years. Among them: Acer Inc. makes a bare-bones Chromebook for just $199, while Samsung Electronics Co sells one for $249.

The Pixel, which Google is building without a partner, will cost $1,299 for a Wi-Fi only model with 32 gigabytes of flash storage. A 64-gigabyte machine that can connect on both Wi-Fi and a 4G LTE cellular network will cost $1,499. That’s the same price as the cheapest MacBook Pro with a comparable screen, though the Apple laptop comes with 128 gigabytes of storage.

Apple does have a cheaper, lighter laptop, the MacBook Air. A 13-inch (33-centimeter) model with 128 gigabytes of storage starts at $1,199. It weighs less than 3 pounds (1.35 kilograms) and doesn’t have a high-resolution screen. The Pixel has the high-resolution screen and weighs 3.35 pounds (1.52 kilograms). The 13-inch high-resolution MacBook Pro weighs 3.57 pounds.

Google believes Pixel is a better value than the Air, given its higher-resolution screen with touch controls. Google is also throwing in 1 terabytes of free online storage in its data centers for three years — a benefit that Pichai estimated would cost $500 to $600.

The Pixel “will stand up very, very well to the MacBook Air,” Pichai said. “The goal here is to push the boundaries to deliver the best laptop at the best possible price.”

Though its popular iPad has a touch screen, Apple has shunned touch-screen laptops. Apple figures that because people use laptops with the screen in front of them, rather than in their hands or laps, it’s not a pleasant experience to constantly have to reach out to touch the screen.

Microsoft, on the other hand, considers touch screens to be central to all computing environments. Windows 8 was designed to make desktop and laptop computers work more like tablet computers. Computers with touch-screen monitors can respond to touch along with old-style mouse and keyboard commands.

Google’s online Play store will begin selling the Pixel in the U.S. and U.K Thursday, with BestBuy.com expected to take orders on Friday. A hands-on experience with the Pixels also will be available beginning Friday in 10 of Best Buy’s retail stores in California, Minnesota, Washington state, Virginia and New York.

Pichai declined to say how many of the lower-priced Chromebooks have been sold, but said the models have ranked as the most popular laptop sold by Amazon.com Inc. for the past four months.

The free online storage is being included with the Pixel to overcome the laptop’s lack of a hard drive. Like other Chromebooks, the Pixel functions like a terminal dependent on an Internet connection to get to information and applications stored in large data centers run by Google or other technology providers.

Spurred by the growing popularity of smartphones and tablet computers, Google is betting more people will prefer having data, photos and video stored in remote data centers instead of individual hard drives so the content can be accessed from any Internet-connected device.

Google’s expansion into the high-end of the laptop market immerses the Internet search and advertising company more deeply into the business designing and making gadgets.

The company is already a major player in the mobile device market through its Android software. To help promote Android, Google also has designed a line of smartphones and tablets under the Nexus brand. The company also owns smartphone maker Motorola Mobility, which it bought for $12.4 billion last year.

Google’s deepening involvement in hardware has ignited speculation that the company might eventually open its own chain of stores to sell its products, just as Apple and Microsoft already do. Pichai didn’t address that in a response to a question on that topic at Thursday’s event.

Apple and Microsoft already have been hurt by the increased competition from Google. Most smartphones and tablets running on Google’s free Android software cost less than Apple’s iPhone and iPad, helping to siphon sales away from those devices. Sales of PCs running on Windows also have been sagging during the past year, partly because consumers are relying more on Android devices.

Google says it expects to make a small profit on each Pixel sold, but the company figures to make more money from the online traffic delivered from the machines. Like other Chromebooks, the Pixel is set up to automatically use all of Google’s services, including its search engine, Gmail and YouTube video site.

Source: firstpost.com

Watch Video

What Most Schools Dont Teach!!

Source: youtube.com

You just cant ignore this!!!

Samsung's critics, who accuse the Korean company of slavishly copying Apple's every move, have probably received more ammunition with the introduction of the Galaxy Note 8.0. This 8-inch tablet, which was officially revealed by Samsung at Mobile World Congress, has an almost identical screen size as Apple's iPad mini. 

In truth, the Note 8.0 looks nothing like Apple's smaller iPad--it takes after the Samsung Galaxy Note 2with similar curves and a plastic chassis. To those who are familiar with Samsung's approach of launching a staggering range of mobile devices in various form factors, this may seem like business as usual. 

Of course, there are plenty of differences between the two devices, not to mention other competitors in the tablet space. In fact, most Android tablets in the market are of the 7-inch variety. Samsung has been the exception--it previously experimented with a 7.7-inch model, though the high price of the Galaxy Tab 7.7 has hindered widespread adoption. 

To illustrate the differences (and similarities) between the new Note 8.0 and some of its potential competitors, we have collated the hardware specifications of popular tablets: The Apple iPad mini, Amazon Kindle Fire HD and the Google Nexus 7.

Specs	Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0	iPad mini Wi-Fi	Nexus 7	Kindle Fire HD
Processor	Samsung Exynos 1.6GHz (quad-core)	Apple A5 (dual-core)	Nvidia Tegra 3 (quad-core)	TI OMAP 4470 (dual-core)
Operating system	Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean	iOS 6.1.2	Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean	Custom Android
Storage	16/32GB onboard storage, expandable via microSD slot	16/32/64GB onboard storage, non-expandable	16/32GB onboard storage, non-expandable	16/32GB onboard storage, non-expandable
RAM	2GB	512MB	1GB	1GB
Camera	5-megapixel rear camera, 1.3-megapixel front camera	5-megapixel iSight camera, 1.2-megapixel FaceTime camera	1.2-megapixel front-facing camera	720p front-facing camera
Screen	8-inch (1,280 x 800 pixels) IPS LCD	7.9-inch (1,024 x 768 pixels) IPS LCD	7-inch (1,280 x 800 pixels) IPS LCD	7-inch (1,280 x 800 pixels) IPS LCD
GPS	Yes	No	Yes	No
NFC	No	No	Yes	No
Dimensions	210.8 x 135.9 x 7.95mm	200 x 134.7 x 7.2mm	198.5 x 120 x 10.5mm	193 x 137.2 x 10.2mm
Weight	338g (3G model)	308g	340g	394g
Price	TBA	US$329 (16GB), US$429 (32GB), US$529 (64GB)	US$199 (16GB), US$249 (32GB)	US$199 (16GB), US$249 (32GB)

Despite the fact that it's physically bigger than the other Android slates in this comparison, the Note 8.0 is the lightest and slimmest. However, the iPad mini, with an aluminum body that's not matched by its rivals, probably wins here overall.

The pixel density of the Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0 is 189 ppi (pixel per inch). This is higher than the iPad mini's 163 ppi, which has been highlighted by reviewers as one of its biggest flaws. On the Android front, there are 7-inch tablets such as the Kindle Fire HD and Nexus 7 that have identical 1,280 x 800-pixel screens, which means the Note 8.0 isn't exactly groundbreaking. 

Samsung has touted the multitasking capabilities of its Note devices--the quad-core processor and 2GB of onboard RAM helps to ensure that performance remains smooth and acceptable. The Note 8.0 is clearly superior to its competitors in the CPU department. The fact that Samsung has retained support for a microSD slot, allowing users to supplement the limited storage on these devices using a microSD card, is another plus for some users.

The Galaxy Note 8.0 does have some unique features. For instance, it can make phone calls (for the international 3G version), and it has a stylus, which is probably its biggest asset when done right. While you can also use a stylus on other tablets, it doesn't have the level of integration as the S Pen on the Note. Besides, the Wacom digitizer on the Galaxy Note 8.0 has better performance and sensitivity. Also, unlike other slates, we bet you won't lose the S Pen easily due to its built-in stylus slot on the Note 8.0.

With a big question mark over the price of the Galaxy Note 8.0, it's probably too early to give a definitive verdict here. We're hoping to get a hands-on with the tablet soon, so you may want to check back here in a couple of days

Source: cnetasia.com