Minecraft creator slams Windows 8

Microsoft's Windows 8 has prompted the ire of certain game makers, and Minecraft creator Markus Persson is the latest to voice his concern. He posted two Twitter messages on Thursday that panned Redmond's upcoming OS, as the BBC originally noted.

"Got an email from Microsoft, wanting to help 'certify' minecraft for win 8," the first message said. "I told them to stop trying to ruin the pc as an open platform."


Four minutes later, he wrote that he would "rather have minecraft not run on win 8 at all than to play along. Maybe we can convince a few people not to switch to win 8 that way."

The PC building-block game became a viral sensation upon its launch, and surpassed 3 million Xbox 360 sales in less than three months. But it looks like Persson won't have the same success with Windows 8.

The certification requirement Persson referenced is a way for Microsoft to prove it has reviewed a program to confirm its code is "completely finished" and reliable to run on a Windows 8-powered PC – which excludes games rated PEGI 18 for ages 18 and up.

Valve co-founder Gabe Newell and Blizzard's executive vice president of game design, Rob Pardo, took shots at Windows 8 this summer.

"I think Windows 8 is a catastrophe for everyone in the PC space," Newell said during a Seattle video game conference in July. "I think we'll lose some of the top-tier PC/OEMs, who will exit the market. I think margins will be destroyed for a bunch of people. If that's true, then it will be good to have alternatives to hedge against that eventuality."

Meanwhile, Pardo also took to Twitter to mirror Newell's statements, adding that the OS is "not awesome for Blizzard either."


Source: http://www.thinkdigit.com/Software/Minecraft-creator-slams-Windows-8_10922.html

Camera+ now available on iPad

Tap Tap Tap has finally released the iPad version of Camera+. The Camera+ app became very popular amongst iOS users, when it first came out roughly two years ago, since then it has sold over 9 million copies.

The new Camera+ for iPad app has been long awaited and now with the release of iOS 6 and the new iPad (some time ago), this was the most appropriate moment for the app to hit the iTunes store. The app is as fully featured as its phone counterpart, offering the ability to independently set the exposure values and focusing point, something that the stock camera app in iOS has always lacked. The ability to separate focus and exposure from each other has allowed for the reduction of the number of bum shots taken by the iOS device, especially in conditions where the subject is backlit.

The iPad app utilizes the retina display of the new iPad along with its full real estate. While taking photos with the iPad app is just the same as shooting with the iPhone (save for looking silly), but the real joys of using Camera+ lies in the lightbox and editing section sections.

The lightbox allows the photos to be displayed along with their EXIF data, which is pretty nifty. The editing station has a plethora of effects that can be applied to the image, but the new feature of the app is the ability to layer effects. Earlier, each effect had to be applied one at a time, making the process cumbersome, and often turning people away to other editing apps.

Camera+ is currently on discount in the iTunes store and can be bought for just $0.99.

Source: http://www.thinkdigit.com/Apps/Camera-now-available-on-iPad_10909.html

Google celebrates its 14th birthday with a chocolate cake doodle

Google celebrates its 14th birth anniversary with an animated doodle on its home page. The doodle features a cake with 14 candles, and below that, portions of a chocolate cake, which together form the word “Google”.

The doodle is complimented by 14 candles that tally the number of years that Google completed. Upon clicking, the doodle directs visitors to the search engines results page for the word “Google”. Take a look at today's doodle below:

Google, now a dominant Internet company, was started as a research project by Larry Page and Sergey Brin in 1996. The company filed for Inc. on September 4, 1998 and booked Google.com domain on September 15, 1998. The company later chose to celebrate its birthday on September 27, most probably to avoid being too close to the tragic September 11 event. Google, however, says it's just “whenever they feel like eating cake.”

On its 13th birthday, Google's doodle featured five letters of the company logo donning party hats seated around a cake with balloons and gifts around. Check out Google's 13th birthday doodle here.

Over the years, Google has played a pivotal role in changing the way we use the Internet, making it simple and convenient for us. Its contributions to the web has been invaluable, and the company has continuously updated things around. For more read Google's top seven contributions to the Internet. 

Source: http://www.thinkdigit.com/Internet/Google-celebrates-its-14th-birthday-with-a_10893.html

Adobe releases Edge suite for web developers

Adobe’s relentless drive to provide exceptional products for the creative souls has met with another major addition in the form of Adobe Edge. Edge has been expanded by Adobe to include more tools and services to streamline the web development process. The various tools tackles the task of animating, coding, inspecting and packaging for mobile devices and play well not only together, but with third party applications too.

Amongst the various tools Adobe Edge Animate takes a key spot as a tool for creating animations for the web. It has an interactive UI based on WebKit in order to provide maximum fidelity across various popular browsers.

• Edge Reflow allows for the designing and laying out of websites. Reflow takes full advantage of CSS to create impressive designs along with an option to export code to etiher Dreamweaver of Edge Code.
• Edge Inspect is an inspection tool for designers to preview and tweak the final HTML code for mobile sites.
• Edge Code is powerful code editor built on the Brackets open source project optimized to work efficiently with HTML, CSS and JavaScript.
• Edge WebFonts is a free web fonts service that plugs into an ever-growing online library of open-source fonts.
• PhoneGap Build – A service for packaging mobile apps built with HTML, CSS and JavaSCript for popular mobile platforms.

The idea behind this collection of products is to allow the web developers to deliver a polished product, along with making the process of creating said product much more streamlined and simpler. "We are excited to put a powerful new set of HTML5 tools into the hands of Web designers and developers and can't wait to experience the beautiful websites, digital content and mobile apps they'll create," said Danny Winokur, vice president and general manager, interactive development at Adobe. "We are passionate about enabling creative people to do anything they can imagine with Web technologies, which is why we're contributing to the Web platform and making the Edge Tools & Services available for free, including the first release of Edge Animate."

Pricing and Availability

Adobe Edge Tools & Services are available immediately as part of Adobe Creative Cloud free and paid memberships. Following an introductory period, Edge Animate is expected to be priced at US$499 for a perpetual license, US$14.99 per month for a standalone subscription, and included in a paid membership to Creative Cloud. Additional capacity for Edge Inspect and PhoneGap Build is available via standalone subscriptions priced at US$9.99 per month each and included with a Creative Cloud paid membership. Typekit paid plans which include more websites, fonts and page views are available for between US$24.99 per year and US$99 per year, with the US$49.99 per year Portfolio Plan included in paid membership to Creative Cloud.

Paid membership to Creative Cloud for individuals is US$49.99 per month based on annual membership and US$74.99 per month for month-to-month membership. Customers who own an individual license of any Creative Suite edition or single product, version CS3 or later, are currently eligible for an annual membership price of just US$29.99 per month for their first year. Education pricing is also available. For more details, visit www.adobe.com/go/creativecloud.


Source: http://www.thinkdigit.com/Software/Adobe-releases-Edge-suite-for-web-developers_10883.html

Google allows developers from India to sell paid apps on Play store

App developers in India can now also sell paid apps on Google's Play Store. Google recently included India in the list of the countries that may register as Google Checkout merchants and sell paid applications. Prior to this, Indian app developers were only allowed to distribute free apps on Google's app store.

The inclusion of India comes months after Google added countries such as Czech Republic, Israel, Poland and Mexico in that list. With addition of India, there are now 31 countries from where developers are allowed to sell paid apps.

Google has also listed a few pointers for developers looking to post a paid app on Play store, such as "Google Checkout account which you need to link to your Google Play developer account can only be linked once from within the developer account interface". Moreover, once accounts are linked, they cannot be removed, changed or updated. If you need to do this, you will have to sign up for a new developer account by paying the fee of $25 US. This is supposed to allow developers to launch paid apps, include in-app purchases and also launch a paid ad-free version for their ad-supported apps. Find out more here.

Google's move could provide a huge impetus to its app store, which according to a recent estimate has about 600,000 Android apps. As Android Police in its report points out “this is a big deal. Not only because India is the second-most populous nation on earth, but because mobile technology and software development have absolutely exploded there. Android is absolutely dominating the country thanks to budget handsets.”

Also, it would help the Indian developers make more money. So far the developers depended on advertisements as s source for revenue. We recently saw Microsoft attempting to tap the growing app developers industry in India for its latest Windows Phone 8 platform. Microsoft's coding festival held in Bangalore got itself into the Guinness Book of World Records for the maximum number of developers coding for a single event at a common location.


Source: http://www.thinkdigit.com/Apps/Google-allows-developers-from-India-to-sell_10849.html

Inside Assassin's Creed III: Episode Four

In the final segment of this four-part documentary series, Inside Assassin's Creed III: Episode Four: America, by Land and Sea, you'll explore a whole new world from the bustling city streets of Boston and New York, into the far reaches of the American frontier and vast open seas. You’ll get a behind the scenes look at the all new triple environment gameplay, dynamic weather system, crowd and animal AI and more as you learn what makes this all new chapter in the Assassin's saga truly unforgettable.

In the final episode, gamers can get a close look at colonial cities in Assassin’s Creed III such as Boston in the year 1773. Staying true to tradition, the developers of the game have made a replica of Boston and New York. Those familiar with these cities will be able to see familiar landmarks and feel right at home.

The game also ups the ante in terms of stealth gameplay by adding new places in the environment for Connor to hide in. The game also shows of dynamic environments such as summer and winter.

Connor will also navigate the frontier through deep snow and the harsh summers. Since you will go into the wild, the developers of the game have added a variety of animals in the game giving you the ability to become a hunter.

In case you missed it, you can catch Episode One here, Episode Two here and Episode Three here.

Source: http://www.thinkdigit.com/Gaming/Inside-Assassins-Creed-III-Episode-Four_10828.html

Canon EOS 6D finally announced, with 20MP full frame sensor

The rumour mill can be a wondrous thing. Many years ago, before the 7D was announced, rumour had it that Canon was going to announce a “6D”. What we got then was a crop sensor 7D, but the name has been around for years, cropping up every now and then around major events like CES.

The mills can finally stop turning now, as Canon has officially announced the EOS 6D, the third full frame camera from the Japanese camera giant. The last few days have seen postulation of what the specs will be and Canon has put them all to rest.

The Canon EOS 6D features a newly designed 20 megapixel full frame sensor which is complimented with a Digic 5+ image processor. This is the same processing beast found in the 5D MarkIII and the 1Dx. The AF system comprises of just 11 AF points, with one (central) point being cross type, with a sensitivity of up to -3EV. The viewfinder offers only a 97% coverage area, lower than that of the 5D MarkII (98%) and the 5D MarkIII (100%). The EOS 6D offers an ISO sensitivity range of ISO 100 – 25,600 which is expandable to 50 – 102,400.

New additions to the feature set of the 6D are the built-in Wi-Fi and GPS. The Wi-Fi capabilities allow the photos to be either transferred to external storage or uploaded directly to social networking sites. Videos can be uploaded directly to Youtube as well. The built-in GPS will allow tagging of photos for location data, allowing the photographer to keep track of where each image was shot.

The rear LCD is a 3-inch Clear View LCD screen with a 1.04 million dot resolution. No tilt-swivel or touchscreen functionality though, as many were expecting. The entire gamut of features is packed into what Canon is calling their lightest and most compact full frame DSLR ever, weighing in at 770 grams and 144.5 x 110.5 x 71.2mm. The camera has a part magnesium alloy construction with dust and drip resistant seals. The BG-E13, a new grip has been specially designed for the 6D, takes the LP-E6 batteries. Perhaps the one feature that would appeal to all photographers is the ability to swap out the default focusing screen and replace it with one that would allow better manual focus with third party lenses such as Zeiss.

It’s hard to clearly identify which slot the 6D fits in. It doesn’t seem like a replacement for the 7D, given its lack of regular and cross type focus points. We can’t help but feel that the 6D is in many ways, a rebranded 5D MarkII, with a bit of fluff added to it. Obviously, we are just looking at the specifications on paper. The performance of the camera in the real world will eventually decide its place in the product hierarchy and whether it justifies the $2099 (body only) price and $2899 for the 24-105mm f/4 L IS kit.

There is no word yet on India price and availability.

Source: http://www.thinkdigit.com/Digital-Cameras/Canon-EOS-6D-finally-announced-with-20MP_10788.html

Adobe shuns Windows XP, drops support for next version of Photoshop

Adobe has issued an official statement that the next version of Photoshop will not be compatible with Windows XP. Microsoft released XP back in 2001 and for the last few years, has really been pushing people to upgrade to the newer OS.

Tom Hogarty, Adobe Product Manager, said in a blog post "The Photoshop team would like to provide advanced notice that Photoshop CS6 (13.0) will be the last major version of Photoshop to support Windows XP.” He justifies the move by explaining that the newer versions of Photoshop are very performance sensitive and therefore require modern hardware and graphical interface, which XP doesn’t provide.

“Leveraging advances available on newer operating systems and hardware allows us to deliver significantly better performance, and focus our innovation efforts around the areas of the greatest benefit to our customers. Photoshop CS6 already demonstrates that relying on a modern operating system, graphics cards/GPUs and graphics drivers can lead to substantial improvements in 3D, Blur Gallery and Lighting Effect features not available to Windows XP customers. The team hopes that by providing this information early it will help you understand our current decisions around operating system support and where we we're headed with future releases of Photoshop. We encourage all customers who are currently using Windows XP to begin making their migration plans now so they can fully take advantage of future Photoshop innovations as soon as they are available.”

Adobe has already dropped support for Lightroom on Windows XP, so the move to discontinue Photoshop isn’t unexpected.

Source: http://www.thinkdigit.com/Software/Adobe-shuns-Windows-XP-drops-support-for_10786.html

Reliance Global Call launches Unlimited Calling Pack to India

Reliance Global Call, a web-based international calling service, has launched its newest pre-paid call plan, the 'Unlimited Calling Pack.' It is designed to be cost effective, and to enable uninterrupted calling to landlines and mobiles in India. The plan also supposedly gives unlimited calling to more than 25 other countries worldwide.

According to Reliance Communications, its Reliance Global Call service has been “the most liked and respected calling card service provider since 2004,” and boasts of a customer base of over 2.5 million users. The Reliance Global Call ‘Unlimited Calling Pack to India’ has been given a monthly price of USD 15.99. Find more details about the calling pack, here.

Features of the Reliance Global Call ‘Unlimited Calling Pack to India’ include

• Uniform Plan Value – USD 15.99/month
• Single account for mobile and landline
• No daily call limits
• Free smartphone app to give you a direct dialling experience for ILD Calling
• Call additional 25 countries with the same pack at no extra cost
• No contracts - free to cancel at any time
• Prepaid plan with no hidden charges
  
  

Punit Garg, President, Reliance Communications, spoke on the launch of the new plan, saying:

“With the launch of Reliance Global Call’s Unlimited Calling Pack, we have added a new dimension to our offering for retail customers. This is an extremely attractive plan especially designed to offer huge cost savings to our customers who regularly make international long distance calls to India and abroad.” 

Source: http://www.thinkdigit.com/Mobiles-PDAs/Reliance-Global-Call-launches-Unlimited-Calling-Pack_10775.html

What a smartphone will look like in 5 years

Remember that wild and woolly time before iPhones? I do. In early 2007, I used to keep a Thomas Guide in my car. I think it was also the last time I played Scrabble by picking actual tiles from a bag. As the Apple faithful contemplate the better life that awaits with a 4-inch screen and 4G LTE, it got us thinking -- not about the changes in the past 5 years but about how we'll use smartphones in another 5.

We enlisted the help of Mike Liebhold, senior researcher at the Institute for the Future, to help paint the picture. He described a hyperconnected device that can be charged wirelessly and will come in an assortment of form factors: a wearable version that straps to your forearm and includes a keyboard, and a lower-priced credit card–size phone for developing countries.

Much of the information we learn at our annual physical could be fed to us daily with smartphone apps: our pulse rate and blood pressure levels. Liebhold even suggested that our phones will detect our emotions, when we're happy or too nervous. With any luck, it'll be more accurate than a mood ring.

And just like my well-worn, heavily dog-eared Thomas Guide, my trusty leather wallet is likely to be replaced by a smartphone. The new iPhone 5 may not have near field communication (NFC), but by 2017 it should be standard issue. Just swipe your phone past a sensor to pay for those to-die-for boots that caught your eye. Liebhold says there is one obstacle: current cash registers have no way of talking to an NFC device. But he shared a rumor that could solve that pesky problem: when Apple does put NFC in its phones, it may also give retailers iPads to serve as point of sale terminals.


Source: http://news.cnet.com/8301-11386_3-57512492-76/what-a-smartphone-will-look-like-in-5-years/

Cooler Master launches HAF 912 Combat chassis at Rs. 5,000

Cooler Master has announced the launch of HAF 912 Combat chassis. It has room for no less than four 5.25-inch drives, six 3.5-inch internal drives and two 2.5-inch drives in its standard configuration.

A section of the 3.5-inch cage that holds up to four drives can be rotated 90 degrees, or removed to fit graphics cards longer than 320mm. The bottom mounted 2.5-inch drive cage can also be mounted on top of the 3.5-inch drive cage if more room is needed at the bottom of the case. According to CM, this modular approach puts you in total control and it’s something you won’t find anywhere else.

Cooler Master says its HAF 912 Combat chassis has been designed for unhindered air flow. Moreover cable management and routing has apparently been made easy by providing access holes. Removable dust filters are also pre-fitted to the front of the case as well as the PSU air intake at the bottom.

One of the notable feature of of the chassis is that it comes with two 120mm fans on the top, one 120mm front and rear each and provisions have been made for adding either a 120 or 140mm fan on the sides. The HAF 912 Combat has been designed to accept an external, top mounted, dual 120mm radiator liquid cooling system. Three pass-through holes with rubber grommets for the tubing are pre-cut.

The HAF 912 Combat sports a black interior, comes with USB 3.0 & USB 2.0 ports, 7+1 expansion slots, 3.5” to 2.5” adapters and host of other features. The HAF 912 Combat is priced at an MRP of Rs 5,000- and carries one year warranty.


Source: http://www.thinkdigit.com/Parts-Peripherals/Cooler-Master-launches-HAF-912-Combat-chassis_10753.html

Twitter lets users upload images from its mobile website

Even as Twitter cracks down on third party apps and developers, the micro-blogging website has quietly updated its mobile website, enabling users to upload an image for use in a tweet from their mobile devices. Earlier, users could upload photos through mobile site via third party clients.

As spotted by Sociable, users of mobile site could upload existing photos and even new ones from the device's camera. The feature is available on devices supporting Android 4.0 and 4.1 platforms. According to The Next Web report, the tool also works on iOS 6, which means it will be available for the two most popular mobile platforms.

The report further says Twitter is now 'gearing up' for the next wave of ICS and Jelly Bean-based Android devices, along with the new iOS 6 platform. According to Google's Android distribution figures, ICS has grown to 21 percent, while Jelly Bean is at 1.2 percent. The popularity of the new Android platforms is based on the new devices expected to launch this year and upgrades to the older devices.

Twitter has seen severe criticism from developers and users for changing its API rules. The new version of API v1.1 makes life tough for the third-party developers. Some of the notable changes made by Twitter include abandoning support for RSS, XML and Atom, and 100,000 users limit. To know more about Twitter's API v1.1 rules, click here. Also read our previous coverage.

Source: http://www.thinkdigit.com/Internet/Twitter-lets-users-upload-images-from-its_10743.html

Used iPhones flood the market anticipating the iPhone 5

With hours ticking down before Apple is said to unveil the new iPhone 5, old iPhones are flooding the market. eBay and Craigslist are full of them, and companies that specialize in buying back used mobile devices are reportedly busier than ever.

According to USA Today, NextWorth, which buys back used phones and gives quotes on their worth, had a record number of iPhone quote requests the past three weeks. From August 17 to September 6, requests for quotes increased by 610 percent over the same period before the launch of the iPhone 4S.

This may be because many iPhone owners didn't upgrade from the 4 to the 4S since the device didn't appear to be much different. However, with rumors of the iPhone 5 having a completely different body shape, dock connector, and displays, people may be ready for a change.

Currently on eBay, there are more than 6,000 used iPhone 4 for sale, while there are around 4,000 used iPhone 4S. According to USA Today, half of NextWorth's quotes are for the 4 model, while just 20 percent are for the 4S.

CNET's Marguerite Reardon offered readers advice on when they should sell their used iPhone if they plan to shell out for the upgrade. Her recommendation was based on advice from NextWorth, which said that as the rumor mill churns prior to the launch of a new iPhone trade-in prices start declining and that it's best to sell used iPhones as soon as possible.

Although the new iPhone is sure to wow many users, there are still people that believe the older versions will continue to suffice since progress on smartphones has slowed. So, not to worry -- unlike a few years ago, last year's model won't look like an outdated relic.

Source: http://news.cnet.com/8301-13579_3-57510074-37/used-iphones-flood-the-market-anticipating-the-iphone-5/

PayPal exec gets personally involved in account dispute

PayPal has had its share of public black eyes but now has its eye on improving its reputation.

After ordering a violin smashed earlier this year and freezing an account designed to let people donate toys to underprivileged children, the payment processor appears to be trying to put a more human face on its corporate image.

The fresh feeling of good will came from David Marcus, PayPal's newly appointed president, and delivered to a frustrated customer who had tried for months to free $64,000 locked up in a PayPal account. It all started in May, when Andy McMillan, organizer of the Build conference, attempted to have minimum balance requirements removed from his account. The specifics of that effort can be read on McMillan's blog.

The limitations were put in place to cover any refunds resulting from any potential disputes, but McMillan said the revenue from the Build ticket sales had long been removed from the account and that in the four years of running the conference, there had never been a refund dispute case filed.

While attempting to access those funds, he created a new account, which he soon learned had been locked down. He said months of trying to resolve the issue by e-mail and phone calls with Executive Escalations went unaddressed, leading him to turn to Twitter. PayPal's @askpaypal Twitter account took notice, but that only lead to more bad news for McMillan two days ago: "Sorry Mr McMillan, but we will not be releasing any funds to you, and consider the matter closed," he said, paraphrasing a phone call he had with PayPal.

Then yesterday Marcus sent McMillan an e-mail (see below) that assured him that the limitations would be lifted and his funds would be released, adding that he was trying to make fundamental changes to customer service at PayPal.

"Please know that I'm now going to use your story to radically change how we deal with holds, and communicate with our customers," Marcus said in his note. "I'm driving a lot of changes at PayPal (I took over 5 months ago), and I hope that over time we will earn your trust again."

McMillan said the two later spoke on the phone and Marcus apologized for the episode.

"Obviously there's no excusing putting anyone through what I've been through, and it happens all too often, usually with quite devastating consequences," McMillan wrote. "There's a lot of work to be done to gain back trust in the service, but if the concern turns out to be genuine, and David's offer of having me provide input into actually changing their policies and systems in order to make PayPal less of a colossal nightmare to use, it's an offer I'd gratefully accept."

So is PayPal turning a leaf and serious about improving customer relations and communications? We shall see.

CNET contacted PayPal for comment and will update this report when we learn more. 

Source: http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-57509148-93/paypal-exec-gets-personally-involved-in-account-dispute/

Intel's new Haswell processors expected to be unveiled next week

Intel has a very successful lineup of processors in the market right now, the latest Core i Ivy Bridge family, but word on the tech circuit is that the mammoth chip maker is about to unleash a slew of new processors sometime next week, codenamed Haswell.

With newer and more process intensive applications, not to mention the requirement of longer battery life on portable devices, it comes as no surprise that Intel will be announcing newer chips. We can definitely expect better performance from Haswell, not only in terms of raw computing power, but also much lower power consumption.

With Microsoft about to release Windows 8 to the market, Intel has even more reason to be announcing newer processors. Microsoft plans to have its OS infiltrate the tablet realm, which will run on ARM processors and Intel powered x86 devices as well. With Microsoft aiming at a very efficiently optimized user experience, and the fact that ARM devices will offer stiff competition in terms of battery life to the Intel powered devices, the need for Intel to produce new processors is not far fetches.

Ever since HP reported a significant dip in desktop PC sales, Intel’s revenue share has also dipped, given that 80% of the PCs worldwide are powered by Intel processors. So with Microsoft being the catalyst for the launch of a wave of new products, there is the expectation that PC sales will rise again, and with Intel releasing new processors, the revenues will go up, but manufacturers are still uncertain which of the two, ARM or Intel-powered devices, will catch on with the consumers.

Whatever the outcome may be, the launch of new processors are sure to catch the attention of enthusiasts and users who are on the go a lot and require good battery life without compromising on performance.

  

Source: http://www.thinkdigit.com/Parts-Peripherals/Intels-new-Haswell-processors-expected-to-be_10708.html

Amazon's new Kindles: Everything you need to know (FAQ)

Q: What's the quick and dirty version of Amazon's announcement today?

A: Amazon has unveiled a pair of new e-ink readers and three new tablets -- but each one is available in several versions. Here's a breakdown, with pricing and availability.

• Kindle e-reader: A new bare-bones e-ink reader. Slight upgrade from last year's version (improved display, still no touch screen), and a tad cheaper: $69 (ad-supported), $89 without ads. Available now.
  
  
• Kindle Paperwhite: Amazon's first self-illuminating e-ink reader, and now its only touch-screen model. It's $119 with Wi-Fi, $179 for 3G (both ad-supported; add $20 for ad-free versions). Ships October 1.
  
  
• Kindle Fire: Amazon's new baseline tablet. For just $159, you get a faster CPU and longer battery life than the older model. Ships September 14.
  
  
• Kindle Fire HD (7-inch): The cheapest "new" tablet in Amazon's lineup. It's $199 for 16GB, $249 for 32GB. Fully featured tablet with Amazon's customized version of Android, 1,280x800-pixel display, front-facing camera, dual-band MIMO Wi-Fi, ships September 14.
  
  
• Kindle Fire HD (8.9-inch): Same as above with bigger, more-high-res screen (1,920x1,200 pixels). The 16GB model costs $299, 32GB is $369. Ships November 20.
  
  
• Kindle Fire HD (8.9-inch, 4G LTE wireless): The same big dog as above, but with a built-in LTE connection (on AT&T). It's $499 for 32GB, $599 for 64GB, plus $50 a year for 250MB of data a month. Ships November 20.
  
  

All of the above products are available for preorder today from Amazon.com.

Q: OK, so what are the big new features in the Paperwhite?

A: The Paperwhite replaces Amazon's previous flagship e-reader, the Kindle Touch. The new model comes with a higher resolution (1,024x768 with 212 pixels per inch), yielding 62 percent more pixels than the Touch. But the bigger selling point is the embedded fiber optic light circling the display. That means you don't need a separate light source to read. Another cool feature is that the Paperwhite keeps track of your average reading speed, which lets it display an estimate of how long it will take you to finish a chapter or an entire book. Note that the Paperwhite no longer offers the audio support found on the Touch -- but we doubt anyone will miss that.

Q: How does the Paperwhite compare with other e-readers?

A: Pretty well. The $119 Paperwhite costs less than Barnes & Noble's recent Nook Simple Touch with GlowLight . In his brief hands-on with the device, CNET's David Carnoy found that the Paperwhite's light shone more uniformly than the Nook version, and he also liked the higher-resolution screen.

It's harder to compare the Paperwhite with the recently announced Kobo Glo e-reader. The Kobo has LED-based lighting, rather than the Paperwhite's fiber optics. Kobo also claims only a month of battery life for the Glo, versus Amazon's claim of two months. In Kobo's favor, you can expand the local storage via the microSD card slot, whereas the Paperwhite offers no expandable storage (though you can still store up to 1,100 books, and swap more in and out as needed via Amazon's cloud-based library). At $129, the Glo also costs $10 more -- but is ad-free.

Q: How about the Kindle Fire HD?

A: The Kindle Fire HD is a feature-rich tablet available in two screen sizes, 7 and 8.9 inches, and with multiple storage and data plan configurations. The 8.9-inch model has a 1,900x1,200-pixel-resolution screen, the 7-inch version is 1,280x720 pixels. Amazon says the Fire HD screen reflects 25 percent less glare (presumably compared with the original Fire tablet's screen). Amazon has also given the Fire HD Tablet stereo speakers with Dolby Digital Plus support, as well as dual-band MIMO Wi-Fi, a front-facing camera, and a Bluetooth receiver, all of which are improvements to the hardware in the standard Kindle Fire.

For storage, Amazon will offer 16GB and 32GB options for the 7-inch model, and 16GB, 32GB, and 64GB options for the 8.9-inch model, at varying price points. The highest-end model is the $599 64GB version, which also has a $50-a-year 4G LTE data plan. That plan only gets you 250MB of data per month, though, which you can wipe out with one decently sized photo album download. A $499 version of the 8.9-inch unit has the same data plan, but only 32GB of storage.

On the software side, Amazon has given the Fire HD an assortment of new capabilities. Whispersync for Voice lets you pause an audiobook and pick up where you left off in the e-book version. Whispersync for Games lets you transport your in-game progress when you pick it up on a different Amazon device. X-Ray for Movies allows you to pause a movie and look up the actor's onscreen, via a partnership with IMDb. You now also get multi-user support, and Kindle Freetime gives you a way to regulate how much time a particular user, like your kids, can use certain kinds of applications on the device.

Q: Does the Kindle Fire HD compare well with its competition?

A: It depends on the price point. Among the other 7-inch tablets, the Google Nexus 7, Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 7.0, and the Kobo Arc, announced today, all offer 8GB models at or around $199, the same price as the 7-inch Kindle Fire HD with 16GB of memory. The Nook Tablet is the only other 7-incher with 16GB for $199, but it lacks Bluetooth and a camera. And Barnes & Noble cannot match Amazon for its media ecosystem. (We should note, though, that we expect B&N to announce a new product later this fall.)

On the 8.9-inch front, the baseline 16GB Kindle Fire HD doesn't have a lot of competition. The Samsung Galaxy Tab from 2010 had an 8.9-inch variant, and you can find a few other oddball 8.9-inchers, but no serious direct competition comes to mind here. The older, 10-inch iPad 2 with 16GB of memory is the most obvious next option, but at $399 it's $100 more than the $299 big-screen Kindle Fire HD. Of course, the big wildcard here is the rumored iPad Mini. With a possible September or October debut, that model is expected to sport a 7.85-inch screen (pricing is anyone's guess, but somewhere between $249 and $349 seems likely).

Once you start expanding the memory on the 8.9-inch Fire HD and driving the price up, you then might start to weigh storage space vs. screen size in terms of pure hardware comparisons. The 32GB Kindle Fire HD costs $369. If the 10-inch iPad 2 still seems out-of-date, the more recent 10-inch Asus Transformer Pad TF300 could make a better Fire HD competitor. You can find that tablet, which includes a keyboard, 32GB of memory, and an Nvidia Tegra 3 CPU, for $350.

Q: Can I still buy the older Kindle products?

A: For the most part, no. At least not new from Amazon. The Kindle Touch is no longer available, and the older Kindle and Fire tablet have both been replaced by the updated products. The one legacy product still available is the Kindle Keyboard 3G.

Q: When will CNET have these new e-readers and tablets reviewed?

A: As soon as we get them in for real, long-term testing. (In the meantime, click though the links above for our first impressions.) Based on the release dates Amazon has provided, look for reviews of the baseline Kindle, the Kindle Fire, and the 7-inch Kindle Fire HD as soon as mid-September. That will be followed by the Paperwhite (by October 1) and then, finally, the 8.9-inch Fire HDs in November.

Source: http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-3126_7-57507546/amazons-new-kindles-everything-you-need-to-know-faq/

Samsung Galaxy Y Duos Lite up for pre-order online

Samsung's Android-based dual-SIM smartphone 'Galaxy Y Duos Lite' is available for pre-order at the company's e-store for an advance payment of Rs. 1,000. Samsung hasn't yet revealed the price of the device, which is expected to be launched on September 5.

Specifications of the Galaxy Y Duos Lite, which is also known as the Galaxy Pocket Duos S5302, are very similar to the recently launched Galaxy Pocket. The Galaxy Y Duos Lite features a 2.8-inch touch display with 240x320 pixels resolution and supports dual active SIM (GSM + GSM). The Galaxy Y Duos Lite runs on Android 2.3 Gingerbread and is powered by an 832MHz processor. Memory specifications are as of now, unknown.

Other specifications include 2MP camera, FM Radio, built-in storage of 4GB (3GB user available), microSD card slot that supports storage up to 32GB, and a 1,200 mAh battery, which is rated to deliver up to 15 hours of talktime and up to 410 hours of standby time. For connectivity, the device supports Bluetooth, USB 2.0, and Wi-Fi. The device comes pre-loaded with various apps such as Chat ON, Google Search, Play Store, Google Latitude, Google Talk, Google Mail, Google+, YouTube, Samsung Apps, Social Hub and Messenger .

Samsung is offering a free 8GB microSD card with every pre-booking. Check out Samsung's offer on the Galaxy Y Duos Lite here.

Looking at the specifications, the Galaxy Y Duos Lite is likely to be a budget device, perhaps priced around Rs. 6,000-9,000. Earlier this year, Samsung had launched a similar budget device, Galaxy Pocket, which featured 2.8-inch touchscreen, Android 2.3 Gingerbread OS and 832 MHz processor. The device is priced at Rs. 8,150. Check out the full specifications of the Galaxy Pocket here.

Source: http://www.thinkdigit.com/Mobiles-PDAs/Samsung-Galaxy-Y-Duos-Lite-up-for_10661.html

Karbonn introduces 'Smart A18' dual-SIM ICS smartphone at Rs. 12,990

Karbonn Mobiles has introduced another Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich-based smartphone called 'Smart A18'. The new Karbonn smartphone supports dual-SIM (GSM+GSM) and has been priced at Rs. 12,990. However, the Smart A18 has already made it to the online shopping sites such as Flipkart where it is selling at Rs. 9,790.

The Karbonn Smart A18 features 4.3-inch capacitive touchscreen with 480 x 800 pixels resolution. The device is powered by a 1GHz processor and has 512MB of RAM. Other notable specifications of the device include a 5MP camera, 1.3MP secondary camera, 2.55GB built-in storage, microSD card slot that supports storage up to 32GB, and 1,500 mAh battery, which is rated to deliver 7.5 hours of talktime and 270 hours of standby time. For connectivity, the device supports 3G, USB, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth.

The device comes preloaded with various apps including Facebook, Google Currents, Twitter, Picasa, Gmail, Google Search, Google Talk, Yahoo Messenger, Flickr, WhatsApp, PayTM, Karbonn Smart, Google Play. Check out the full specifications of the device here.

The new Karbonn A18 is being pitted against the likes of Micromax Superfone A90, which also features a 4.3-inch display, Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich and 1GHz processor. The Superfone A90 is priced at Rs. 12,990. Take a look at the device here. You would also like to check out iBall's Andi 5c, which has dual-SIM, Android 4.0.3 ICS and 1GHz processor. The Andi 5c is available for Rs. 12,999. Read more about the device here.

Karbonn has of late launched quite a few Android devices. The company recently launched a Jelly Bean Smart Tab tablet. It also launched A-series smartphones namely A9, A7 and A5. The company is reportedly going to launch a Jelly Bean based smartphone later this year.

Source: http://www.thinkdigit.com/Mobiles-PDAs/Karbonn-introduces-Smart-A18-dual-SIM-ICS-smartphone_10658.html