Micromax launches Canvas Turbo at Rs 19,900

Micromax has finally launched the most expected Canvas Turbo, the company’s latest flagship smartphone in India. It has a 5.0-inch (1920 x 1080 pixels) CGS (Continuous Grain Silicon) IPS display, powered by 1.5 GHz quad-core MediaTek MT6589T processor and runs on Android 4.2.1 (Jelly Bean). It has a 13-megapixel auto focus rear camera with LED Flash and a 5-megapixel front-facing camera similar to the Canvas 4. It has Camerazzi camera which offers a lot of features including 360 degree panorama, Cinemagraph that lets usr animate still photographs (.GIF) and Object Eraser feature allows users to erase unwanted objects from still pictures that are shot with the smartphone.



It has Freewheel feature which gives access to various apps and features with one click (SMS, Call, Pop-up video player and Pop-up Browser). It has full aluminum casing and packs a 2000 mAh battery. It supports OTA updates and comes pre-loaded with BBM & Hike for Instant Messaging, Spuul to Watch Free Movies, Kingsoft Office to read, write and edit attachments On-the-Go, M!Security, M!Unlock, M!Live portal and Game-hub.

* Micromax Canvas Turbo specifications -

5-inch (1920 x 1080 pixels) Full HD CGS (Continuous Grain Silicon) IPS display
1.5 GHz MediaTek MT6589T quad-core processor
Android 4.2.1 (Jelly Bean)
Dual SIM (GSM + WCDMA) with Dual Standby (One standard SIM and one Micro-SIM)
13MP auto focus camera with LED Flash, 1080p Full HD video recording
5MP front-facing camera
3G HSPA+, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0, aGPS
3.5mm audio jack, FM Radio
Light Sensor, Motion Sensor, Proximity Sensor, Magnetic Sensor, Gyroscope Sensor
2GB RAM, 16 GB internal memory (12.47 GB user memory)
2000 mAh battery
The Micromax Canvas Turbo comes in pristine white and midnight blue colors and is priced at Rs. 19,990 (MOP). It would be available from leading retail outlets across India from October 26, 2013.

Apple launches new iPad Air, Retina iPad mini

Apple on Tuesday launched latest models of its popular tablet computers called iPad air and the new iPad mini with Retina display.

NEW DELHI: Apple on Tuesday launched latest models of its popular tablet computers callediPad Air and the new iPad mini with Retina display.

The new Apple tablet is called iPad Air and is 20% thinner, 28% lighter and has 43% smaller bezels than its predecessor iPad 4. It looks just like the first generation iPad mini and measures 7.5mm in thickness and weighs 1 pound. Apple claims it is the thinnest full-sized tablet in the world.

iPad Air has the same 64-bit A7 chip and the M7 motion co-processor that was introduced with the iPhone 5S. It has a 9.7-inch Retina screen and can open files and render graphics twice as fast as the iPad 4, while maintaining the 10 hour battery life.

The all-new iPad Air is powered by Apple's iOS 7 operating system and comes with 5MP rear iSight camera and a 1.2MP front-facing FaceTime unit. Connectivity options in the device include 2G, 3G, 4G, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.0. It will hit the market on November 1 and will come in Space Grey and Silver colours.

The new model will be available at $499, $599, $699 and $799 for the 16GB, 32GB, 64GB and 128GB Wi-Fi models. The Wi-Fi and 4G variants cost another $130 over the base price of the respective models.

Saif, Jimmy bond over food and fitness on 'Bullett Raja' sets

Saif Ali Khan

Actors Saif Ali Khan and Jimmy Shergill, who will be seen together in 'Bullett Raja', bonded over gourmet food and gymming during their shoot for the film.

The long shooting schedule in Lucknow and Kolkata which went on for a couple of months, gave both the actors quite a lot of time to spend on and off the sets.

"Saif and Jimmy both are very passionate about working out. The team was asked to give them a break in the evening so that they could go to the gym. Apart from discussing about their daily regime in the gym the boys were seen discussing about their love for the Lucknowi food, films, gadgets and much more," a source said.

Saif and Jimmy have earlier worked together on films like 'Eklavya' and 'Hum Tum'.

Besides the two, the Tigmanshu Dhulia film also stars Sonakshi Sinha, Vidyut Jamwal, Gulshan Grover, Raj Babbar and Chunky Pandey in pivotal roles. The action drama is all set to release on November 29.

I am the heroine of 'Krrish 3': Priyanka Chopra

Priyanka Chopra

Actress Priyanka Chopra insists she is the heroine of 'Krrish 3', which also stars Kangana Ranaut.

Kangana had initially turned down the film as she was concerned about sharing screen space with Priyanka. Earlier, Jacqueline Fernandez,Chitrangada Singh, had similar concerns and they rejected the film.

"A lot of girls rejected that role. It is really stupid to do it as it is an amazing role. I am the heroine of the film, I am playing wife of Hrithik and that is how it is," Priyanka said in an interview.

Priyanka feels Kangana's role is also quite interesting and if she had the opportunity, she would have even taken it up.

"Her character is credible, it is an amazing role and if I had the opportunity I would have done it. I had told Rakesh sir I am ready to play that part, as everybody was saying no to doing it," Priyanka said.

"I am happy Kangana has done the role, she has done an amazing job. She is looking fabulous and it is a new thing for Hindi cinema," she said

Samsung launches world's first curved screen smartphone

Electronics

Curved displays are on the frontline of Samsung's innovation war with rivals such as Apple and LG Electronics, as the South Korean firm seeks to expand its lead.

Image courtesy: Samsung Tomorrow

SEOUL: Samsung Electronics launched the world's first smartphone with a curved display, a variant of the Galaxy Note which moves the Asian giant a step closer to achieving wearable devices with flexible - even unbreakable - screens.

Curved displays are on the frontline of Samsung's innovation war with rivals such as Apple and LG Electronics, as the South Korean firm seeks to expand its lead in the slowing market for high-end smartphones.

"It's a step forward for having unbreakable gadgets and flexible devices eventually. But for now, the new phone is more of a symbolic product," said Hana Daetoo Securities analyst Nam Dae-jong, adding that Samsung did not yet have capacity for large-scale production of curved touch-screens for the new Galaxy Round.

The Galaxy Round is Samsung's attempt to gauge consumer appetite for curved phones although its lack of other eye-catching features means it is unlikely to be a hit, he said.

"I don't think it'll be massively compelling enough for gadget buyers as ... the curved display doesn't come with many unique features," he said.

The Galaxy Round's 5.7-inch (14.4-centimetre) display has a slight horizontal curve and weighs less than the Galaxy Note 3, allowing a more comfortable grip than other flat-screen models on the market, Samsung said in a statement.

Its key features include a tilt function which allows users to check information such as missed calls and battery life, even when the home screen is off. Users can also scroll through media files by pressing the screen's right or left, the company said.

The phone initially would be available only in South Korea and no decision had been made about releasing it in other markets.

Design challenges
Curved displays open up possibilities for bendable designs that could eventually transform the high-end smartphone market, where growth has slowed amid competition from low-end producers.

Samsung's Galaxy Gear smartwatch released last month has a flat screen, but the company is hoping to have the technology to make more attractive and wearable devices in what is shaping as a key battleground for consumer electronics companies.

Technology firms have yet to figure out how to cheaply mass produce the parts and come up with display panels that can be thin and heat-resistant. Batteries also have to take new forms to support flexible screens that can be rolled out, attached to uneven surfaces or even stretched. The battery in the Galaxy Round is not curved, Samsung said.

Competition is heating up with Samsung's cross-town rival LG Electronics planning to introduce a smartphone with a vertically curved display in the first week of November, a source familiar with the matter said this week.

Its components affiliate, LG Chem, said on Tuesday it had started commercial production of a curved battery for use in the device.

The firm also said it has developed a battery in cable form, suitable for wearable devices, and expected to start commercial production within the next couple of years.

Technology analysts and media reports say Apple is working on a smartwatch, potentially with a curved screen, but there has been no word from the California-based company about its plans.

Samsung's new curved-screen phone, available through South Korea's biggest mobile carrier SK Telecom, costs 1.089 million won ($1,000).

Smartphones can identify you by your touch

US-based scientists have developed a new software that can enable your touchscreen smartphone to identify you simply by the unique way you tap and swipe on the device.

LONDON: Move over, passwords. US-based scientists have developed a new software that can enable your touchscreen smartphone to identify you simply by the unique way you tap and swipe on the device.

The software, Silent-Sense , developed by Cheng Bo and his colleagues at the Illinois Institute of Technology, has demonstrated 99% accuracy in tests.

It uses the phone's built-in sensors to record the unique patterns of pressure, duration , fingertip size and position of each user when interacting with their phone or tablet, Bo said.

Machine learning algorithms then turn this information into a signature that identifies the user — and will lock out anyone whose usage patterns do not match, New Scientist reported.

The system's accuracy can be further enhanced by enabling the smartphone's accelerometer and gyroscope to measure how much the screen moves when you are jabbing at it.

They can also pick up on your unique gait as you walk while using the screen.

In tests, a group of 100 users were told to use the smartphone's touchscreen as they would normally.

SilentSense was able to identify the smartphone's owner with 99% accuracy after no more than 10 taps. Even with an average of 2.3 touches, the software was able to verify the user 98% cent of the time.

The software stops checking the smartphone user's identity when apps and mobile games are being used. However, to maintain security, it automatically switches on whenever more sensitive applications, such as email or SMS, are accessed, the reaserchers said

Indians hit mobile apps to find love

Moving from US to India to research their mobile dating application, entrepreneurs Josh Israel and Devin Serago made some surprising revelations about how women are 'wooed' online here. "I signed up as a woman on dating services and saw that guys harass women with incessant messages," says Israel, who is of Indian-origin.

Men with fake profiles and guys who sign up as girls to talk to other girls were also discoveries, but most baffling was what they encountered after debuting their app, called Thrill, this July. Older men, signing up using real Facebook profiles with photos of wives and kids, were indignant at being screened out. "When asked why they want to be on a singles' app when they are already married, they'd say, 'Wife-swap !'" Israel claims, laughing.

Israel and Serago may be the first to decode the mobile dating space in India, where an increasing number of smartphone-wielding youngsters aged 18-25 are searching for friendship and love across Android, iPhone/iPad, Blackberry and Windows platforms, but they aren't the only entrepreneurs 'thrilled' by this growing market. The people at Tinder, the world's hottest dating app described by co-founder and CMO Justin Mateen as a "cool new way to meet new people," are excited about their India numbers. "We're growing 3-4 % day on day," Mateen says of the site which globally makes two million matches per da.

Grindr, an app for gay men, has over 11,000 plus monthly users in India. "In conservative regions where being gay may be taboo, Grindr allows for connections that wouldn't happen face-to-face so it's not surprising that it is popular in India," says a Grindr spokesperson.

SinglesAroundMe (SAM), another US-based app, claims they have 66,000 Indian subscribers. "India is third after the US and UK and represents only 5% of our user base presently, but the number is growing very quickly," says CEO Christopher Klotz.

Numbers aside, the cultural shift in society was encouraging for Thrill creators, who believe Indians are adapting quickly to influences from the West. Malini Agarwal, blogger and founder of social group Friday Club, says youngsters today aren't looking for marriage. "Indians are a lot more comfortable with the idea of dating. But there is also the feeling that you have to be extra careful, especially when you hear horror stories of rape and attacks," she says.

Thrill's 'he applies she decides' approach enables women to choose the men they want in. "We guarantee guys won't harass them," says Israel, who along with Serago currently vets the male applicants. App matches are based on physical attraction and common interests. On Tinder, for instance, you "swipe rate" people based on their attractiveness, which Mateen calls an accurate reflection of human interaction. "When you walk into a coffee shop, the first thing you do is look for physical attributes that attract you or not, and after that you engage in conversation," he says.

The way dating apps work is simple -- users chat with matches, become Facebook friends, exchange phone numbers and then meet. "It's step-by-step so when you meet you are not really strangers," says Serago. Geography is never a deterrent to pursuing a real life relationship as the apps locator technology only matches users with people in their vicinity, without revealing the users exact locations. Thrill, however, won't be enabling their locator technology at the moment . "It's a turn-off for women who are already a little fearful," says Israel.

Thrill, available in Delhi and Mumbai now with a 1,000 user base, is customizing other features for India users, debating whether match information should include job, education , income and horoscope, to comply with their female users' requests. Tinder is planning its India launch a few months down.

They're all clearly upbeat, but more experienced players are advising caution. "It's a challenging business," says Anupam Mittal, founder of Shaadi.com, a leading portal in India's Rs 510-crore online matrimony market. For starters , the ratio of men to women online is skewed towards men. "Also culturally, we're not a society of daters. We introduce boyfriends as friends, preferring to dance around the issue," Mittal says.

Israel agrees that mobile dating needs more time. "But everyone said that when Match.com came out in the US in 1995, now they are a $500 million company. I think that is going to happen in India and what we're trying to do is get in on the ground floor," he says.