TECH FLASH

South Korean manufacturer LG is on a spree to challenge its cross town rival Samsung onfronts in the smartphone market. While its answer to Galaxy S III in the form of the acclaimed Optimus G was much ed, the company has taken a slight lead on Galaxy Note III (going by the rumoured specs of the upcoming Samsung phone). The company launched the Optimus G Pro in February this year, with specs that will help it match what the next-gen Note phablet is likely to offer. At the India launch event for the Optimus G Pro, the company compared the handset to the currently available Galaxy Note II several times. While the two phones are miles apart when it comes to features and spec sheets, it is a wise comparison since the latter has a huge fan following in India. We do a review of the LG Optimus G Pro to see exactly how good it is and whether it is a better buy than Samsung Galaxy Note II and indeed over the upcoming Note III, going by leaked specs.   Hardware and desig...

I n your budget, you can pick up a 16GB iPad Mini (Wi-Fi , 7.9-inch screen) for Rs 21,900, or you could get an iPad 2 (Wi-Fi , 9.5-inch screen) for 24,500. Both Apple devices run the proprietary iOS operating system; boast of a superb - almost crashproof - user experience; and have the best apps ecosystem. In fact, iOS is the only platform that has offerings created specifically for the tablet form factor. Additionally, you also get free cloud-based storage through iCloud, as well as the FaceTime feature that lets you conduct video chats with other Apple device users. On the flip side, with both 16GB tablets, you do not have the option to expand device memory; you are tied down to iTunes—not the most friendliest of software to use on a PC—and yes, you are limited to browsing the web via Wi-Fi only, with no support for 3G. Alternatively, you could opt for a slate that runs the Android OS. Here, you could consider the Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 P3110 (Wi-Fi , 7-inch screen) for Rs...

Canadian phone maker BlackBerry today launched the Q5 smartphone in India, bringing its latest handset in the country. This smartphone is aimed at emerging markets and has been priced at Rs 24,990. It is the third BB10-powered phone to be launched in India, after the exorbitantly priced Z10 and Q10 smartphones. BlackBerry Q5 has 3.1-inch touchscreen with 720x720p resolution, along with the Qwerty keyboard. It is powered by a 1.2GHz dual-core processor and packs 2GB RAM, 8GB internal storage. Storage can be expanded up to 32GB via microSD card in this phone. Connectivity features of BlackBerry Q5 are 2G, 3G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0, microUSB 2.0 and NFC. The phone has a 5MP camera with LED flash on the back and 2MP camera in front. This mid-range smartphone runs on a 2,180mAh battery. BlackBerry has used plastic in making Q5, instead of premium material like cold-forged steel (which forms the body of Q10). It is available in the market in red, white and black colours and w...

Lenovo has started taking orders for its IdeaTab A1000 tablet in India on its official website. The Chinese manufacturer has placed this device in the budget segment and has priced it at Rs 8,990. It will compete against the likes of Acer Iconia B1, Asus MemoPad and Micromax Funbook Talk in the market. Unveiled at the Mobile World Congress in February this year, Lenovo IdeaTabA1000 has a 7-inch TFT screen with 1024x600p resolution. It runs on Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean) operating system and is powered by a dual-core 1.2GHz Mediatek processor. It also has 4GB internal storage, 1GB RAM and microSD support of up to 32GB. For connectivity, Lenovo IdeaTabA1000 has features like Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 3.0, microUSB and can be used for voice calling. It has a VGA camera in front for video calling and a 3,500mAh battery. Lenovo also offers IdeaTabA2107 and IdeaTab 3000 in the Indian market. Other tablets in the country with voice calling functionality include Asus FonePad and Samsung G...

US Internet giant Google is scrambling to deliver pay television online and has met with some content providers on licensing, The Wall Street Journal has reported. "If the Web giant goes ahead with the idea, it would join several other companies planning to offer services that deliver cable TV-style packages of channels over broadband connections," the Journal reported. "Intel Corp and Sony Corp are both working on similar offerings, while Apple Inc has pitched various TV licensing ideas to media companies in the past couple of years," the report said. Google's effort, if successful, has the potential to seriously undermine the current pay-cable television "ecosystem," it added.

Hewlett-Packard India has announced a slew of products including notebooks, detachables and All-in-One PCs. HP SlateBook x2 sports a removable screen that also turns into a tablet. By releasing the magnetic hinge, users can move between the two form factors -— tablet and notebook PC.  Powered by Android and Microsoft Windows 8 operating systems, respectively, these versatile two-in-one devices give people the flexibility to create, consume and share content in more places, claims the company. HP SlateBook x2 runs on Android Jelly Bean 4.2.2 and comes with dual battery system, one battery in the base and other in the tablet to enable users to easily switch from notebook to tablet and back. The SlateBook x2 is priced at Rs 39,990.  HP Split x2 is a two-in-one detachable PC running on Windows 8 operating system and is powered by Intel Core processor. Just like SlateBook x2, it too sports a removable screen that turns into a tablet. The hard disk in the base expands s...

Nokia has listed its Lumia 1020 smartphone, which has a 41MP rear camera, on its India website. This handset was unveiled just a week ago at an even in London and is said to have the best camera among all smartphones. Nokia India's official website has listed Lumia 1020 in 'Coming Soon' section. However, the company has not given any details on its pricing or launch date. A listing on e-commerce website eBay India shows that the handset has been unofficially priced at Rs 51,450, with launch date of September-October 2013. The 41MP camera of Lumia 1020 records more details than other camera phones and even tops many point-and-shoot cameras, Nokia says. More pixels mean more sensors for capturing the light that forms an image. Lumia 1020 smartphone features a technology called Dual Capture, which takes two shots at the same time, one at 38MP resolution and the other at 5MP. The former is meant for photo editing, while the latter is ideal for social media uplo...

South Korean smartphone manufacturer Samsung today launched three tablets in India today. While two of the new tablets have 8-inch screens, the other one has a 7-inch screen. The company is offering My Education Service on the three tablets, giving buyers access to 2,000 e-books and 1,000 learning videos as well as content.  The new Galaxy Tab 3 7.0 features a TFT screen with 1024x600p resolution and 169ppi pixel density and runs on Android 4.2 (Jelly Bean). This device is powered by a 1.2GHz dual-core processor, offers 1GB RAM and offers microSD card support. Connectivity options include 2G, 3G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 3.0 and microUSB 2.0. On the back is a 3MP camera, while a 1.3MP unit is used in the front. This tablet measures 9.9mm along the waistline, has a 4,000mAh battery and costs Rs 17,745.  Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 8.0 has an 8-inch TFT screen with 1280x800p resolution and 189ppi pixel density. It is powered by Android 4.2 and packs a 1.5GHz dual-core CPU under th...

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer says the latest update to Windows is a "refined blend" of its older operating system for PCs and its new touch-enabled interface for more modern, mobile devices.  After some hands-on time with it, the update seems to me patch over an ever-widening chasm.  The issue is that there are over a billion personal computers that use some version of Windows as it existed until last October, when Microsoft unveiled Windows 8.those PCs are responsive to mice and keyboards, not the touch screens and other input methods voice and gestures that represent the future of computing. Making it easier to cross that bridge is one of the goals of Windows 8.1, a preview version of which Microsoft released Wednesday.  After spending several hours with devices running Windows 8.1, it remains unclear to me whether a touch-based environment is what traditional Windows users want to accomplish the productive tasks for which they've come to rely on Windows...