Thursday 22 December 2011

Nokia and Nokia Lumia 800

Nokia has been getting a lot of criticism(ass whooping) due to its Sybian OS's and this increased during the time of the launch of Android 2.1. Android became popular and cheaper day by day and as mentioned in my earlier posts, it became capable of competing with iOS. So now when you are getting such a thing in 15k you are definitely going to shit your friend's nokia symbian s60. Loosing their market to Google, nokia had to work out something, so first it was Symbian Anna and then Symbian Belle which were although better than the previous version but still not good enough.

Back in US there was another big company's product being washed up by Android. It was Microsoft's Windows Mango 7.5, which had been launched recently but could not procure any market attention due to android's shimmer. So, both come together (the most common comeback strategy today) to take on Google and Samsung and this was the end product, and what a beauty!!

NOKIA LUMIA 800


Ok, so Nokia and Windows' final gamble to get their market back is a complete package of what someone would like in a 30,000 phone. Lets see the specs first:

Display:
3.7" Multi-touch capacitive touchscreen
AMOLED
480x800 resolution
Corning Gorilla Glass

Camera:
8 MP, 3264x2448 pixels
Carl Zeiss optics
Autofocus
Dual-LED flash
720p Video @30fps

Processor 1.4 GHz
RAM 512 MB
OS Microsoft Windows 7.5 Mango


Now what it does not have:
A secondary camera
Memory Card slot
A java platform (Thank God)
A tendency to hang up all the time(lolz)



The biggest up is the processor and the OS. The camera being a standard 8.1MP with autofocus, earlier in N8 is a bit more refinedand records HD video @30fps which is the best in the market.The secondary camera though not being such a big problem now, makes the whole concept of video calling useless and after eating up 16gb memory of my phone I really think they should start putting in memory card slots now.
Corning Gorilla Glass with Clear black display is an attraction. All in all its a 9/10 phone with just a little bit of price issue. With just a 5 grand less it could have been a winner all the way.  Now lets talk about how mango has changed nokia. Wonder what the fruits have to do with tech. first Apple then Mango. Anyways, firstly when you touch on something on this nokia, instead of hanging you up it shows a beautiful animation to take you to the next menu. Thats all the Nokia fans wanted. Its the best bet today if you ask me. Go for it!!












Wednesday 14 December 2011

Greatness of Steve Jobs questioned (Look who is talking)!!

  

A Statuary warning: This article might contain offensive language about Neeraj Thakur and it is meant to be so, but he needs to understand that I'm presenting my views about his thoughts about Mr. Jobs. Evidently, I don't know who you are and honestly I don't care, but here's a simple lesson for you to get your facts and definitions right.

 What you've portrayed through one shit of an article is that if one guy doesn't get something, no one should.
Grow up dude, that's life!!  A salute to Mr. Jonas Edward Salk and respect for what he did in medicine. Polio drops have saved lives and that's a social cause. The man who invented it was generous enough to not to patent it to his name. But wake up Mr. Dumbo if some company is making it, this generous gesture of Mr. Salk has increased their profits and just so you know, polio is for free because of govt. subsidies not that Mr. Salk is producing it for free. Lets come to the comparison of Mr.. Jobs with this. First thing he did not produce iPhone, iPad, or any other apple product for a social cause. He runs a company that produces the finest quality products available in the market, and no govt. would provide a subsidy for that. Now talking of the patent thing, don't get iPad- the name patented and guess how many law suits you have to file in China.

Greatness is measured by what you do in your field. An engineer will not be judged on how good food he makes, similarly Jobs will not be judged on what social issues he considered. He was a great entrepreneur and so he would be judged. You talking about what he did to eradicate poverty??
Come out of your idealistic world. The man was the CEO, Co-founder and Founder of 3 most successful companies in his life span and worked hard to make them the best even when he was suffering from such a disease. You say he removed philanthropy because company was not earning profits. Tell me something smart guy would you give your money to charity when you are not even able to clear your own dues.

You have confined the man's intelligence in one line, and I quote "He just re-packaged products and technology that were already available with companies like Blackberry, Windows etc.". Well let me tell you none of the above companies invented a digital camera that is fitted in all the smartphone today. First Blackberry vs. Apple: Blackberry still uses the java platform for OS, and although I do like blackberry too, the difference between the two is huge. But how would you know you don't an Apple product and from your statements I can see you've not bothered to look at one too.
Windows vs. MacOS: Do I even need to write anything about this. The only reason people buy windows is because they don't want to spend too much for their computers.
So do clear your facts the next time you talk about a tech. product, or just try and have a look at them before you "Repackage" and post your thoughts.

And the last thing that annoyed me is the use of the line "so-called great products". Coming from a person who has never used an Apple product its a bit idiotic statement.I'd say you don't know what you are talking about or whom here. So, you should rather not speak!!

I'd like to end this by saying that when you write about something please at least first have a little knowledge about it!!

Click here to start your lessons Neeraj!!
Note: If anybody knows this guy please help me send this message to him. Re-post on your walls!!















Tuesday 18 October 2011

SAMSUNG Galaxy Nexus


Start with this. Looks Awesome, Doesn't it?? But this was more about ice-cream sandwich. Lets get to the device hardware first.

4.65" Display size                        :- Big display with 720p resolution,
720p Display                                  you can't differentiate between pixels.

5 MP camera with flash                :- Not that good for a phone of price above 25k. Should have been
1080p @30fps video recording       at least 8MP. Still resolution is very high and Full HD video rec.


1.3 MP front cam                            compensates it. Almost all phones till now have VGA cams in front
                                                       this one's has been upgraded to 1.3MP. Don't know if network will be
                                                       able to transmit that quality of video(at least not in India).

1.2 GHz Dual core processor       :- Very good processor indeed, decent RAM standard 16-32 GB
1GB RAM                                      memory .

16/32 GB internal memory

4G Network capability                  :- 2G scam not over yet, feels bad to know 4G enabled devices are out.

And now the biggie first phone showcasing Android 4.0 Ice-cream Sandwich.



 Android market is increasing day by day. Google is updating very fast, fixing bugs etc. New in the market it has come a long way. You know about Gingerbread so I'll stick to the newly added features.

Face Recognition:- Don't know how responsive it will be but we can expect perfection from Google  and with Nexus having 1.3MP front cam.

New improved Notification

Better Graphics :- Looking very good
New Home-screen widgets:- Now get fb notifications on the home-screen itself.
New call rejection system, giving you options on how to reject, like with message etc.
Google's own Siri i.e. voice commands.
All in all a good package, lets see if the price makes it a must buy or we'll have to go for iPhone only!!

Saturday 15 October 2011

iOS v/s Android

First things first, this is not iPhone v/s an Android "phone". I am just going to discuss about the operating systems, so no comparisons of the battery life, cameras, sound quality etc.




Now before Android 2.1, if you tried comparing any phone with an iPhone you would be dumb, coz' iPhone with all its hardware had an unfair advantage over all others which is its software. The biggest contribution made by Steve Jobs when he was not in Apple to Apple and to the world was his (finally known to be)software company NeXT(how??). But now if anything can come even closer to iOS its Google's Android. It'll not be wrong if I say that iOS 5 kind of copied notifications and wireless sync from Android.

Lets get to the facts now,

1.  Android is an open source OS, i.e. anyone can make an app for Android phones and any Android user can use it. But with iOS Apple is very particular about what apps its users are allowed to use unless you jailbreak yours. Apple even charges a 30% share for every app.Google Android is free.

     Verdict: Whats good in this is that Apple is more secure, whereas Android is prone to Viruses and bugs in apps.But that restricts the no. of apps. for iOS and Android is catching up fast. So it all depends on your downloading instincts.

2.  Android provides with Home-screen widgets which have become very popular. Not even the latest version of iOS has it.




     Verdict: 1-0 for android

3.  Android can run Flash whereas iOS cannot. I am not talking about the camera flash. I am talking about the flash player apps.

     Verdict: There are enough apps. already, but can be a problem if you want a specific flash app.

4.   Android has become the 2nd fastest OS after iOS in very less time and is improving. It has a bigger market as phones of different companies can have Android(except Apple). So you can be loyal to your favorite brand like nokia and still have an OS that does not hang up every single time you try to use it. Apple's philosophy of Hardware and Software being twins and should be born together has been good till now, but Google has found an answer for it and its Android. It lets the creativity of the Phone  manufacturer to come into play and bring more out of its OS.




     Verdict: Good that you get more choices in terms of the looks for an Android phone as well as different price range. You can get an Android from 6000-30000. But there is only one iPhone upgraded with new hardware every year with minute changes in the body.

5.  Now lets come to the final blow!! At T3 Gadget Awards 2011 surprisingly Samsung Galaxy S II was crowned the phone of the year beating iPhone 4. Both have comparable hardware, what really stood out was how Samsung integrated Android in its device that helped it beat iPhone4("surprisingly").


      Verdict: Android is coming in at a very fast rate, Apple needs be more alert and creative with its software with a competition popping out out of nowhere. With the sole founder of Apple's Software development section NeXT Steve Jobs gone, its not going to be a clean sweep as earlier times when Apple has the monopoly in software.

Final Verdict: Head to head competition, with no one winning currently difficult to say which ones gonna win in the long run.This competition is going to be less about "Who wins??" and more about "Who's gonna let go" first??"

Thursday 13 October 2011

Hyundai Eon

Hyundai launches the new Eon, a new model in the entry level segment.



Specs.
814cc(0.8L) engine
 56PS@5500rpm maximum power
7.65Kgm@4000rpm peak torque
21.1kmpl (claimed)
5-speed manual transmission
Fluidic Design
And now the biggest attraction, starting at 2.65 lakhs




Highest mileage in the segment with the lowest price with hyundai's experience in the segment, what else do you need!!
Alto sales are expected to crash, with EON taking over the market with its features.





Wednesday 12 October 2011

T3 Gadgets of the year


 Here are some of the best surprises of the year!!

Gadget of the year: Xbox Kinect 


As expected, its got the best motion sensor gaming experience till date. Once you start playing, you cant move away from it.



Computer of the year: Mac Book Air
 No surprises there!!

Commuter Gadget of the year: Amazon Kindle
 
 Getting popular day by day this Reader has got everything that you need from Wi-Fi to download e-books to big bright display.

Tablet of the year: iPad 2

 Launched within an year after ipad 1 this dynasty of gadgets have defined a new category, and its not surprising that the son of the creator of the category gets the award in the same!!

Phone of the year: Samsung Galaxy S II

 Big surprise there as it beat up iPhone 4 to award. Launched last year, this thin guy boasts an android gingerbread for OS. I think this win is for Android rather than for Samsung.

Tech Brand of the year: Google

No surprises there too, with Android, Google+, YouTube being the contributing factors.

Tech Guru of the year: Mark Zukerberg 


This Young Guy became the first to break Google's take at Social Networking. 2nd year in college if you can take Google down and keep it that way then you've owned that position!!

Work Gadget of the year: Blackberry bold 9780


Blackberry can't miss on this category, its got its monopoly in this. Black berry and White collar is the trend today!!
 Retailer of the year: Amazon
All set to set foot in India, this award would be a confidence booster for amazon in a completely new market.

Digital media service of the year: Twitter

Yup this ones apt, for 50% controversies popped up from this website in India.

Gadget Accessory of the year: Eye-Fi Pro X2 card

Now this ones a biggie. A Wi-Fi hub in a memory card??
Yeah, most cameras won't have a Wi-Fi port so this one is for them. You just need a Hot spot and all your photos and videos will be uploaded to fb, YouTube or even you laptop, ipads etc. Not good as there are very less Hot spots in India but a must buy in other countries. But you can still sync it with your laptop or android device. Its got this infinite memory option, that will keep on uploading the data to other devices and deleting the original copy giving you more memory in hand.



Saturday 8 October 2011

We will miss you Steve Jobs!!

"He was neither an engineer nor a manager, still he headed the biggest tech company in the world"

Apple, has become a hot favorite in every category it has stepped in, all due to Steve's ideology. The way he presented the products, improved them and stood by his decisions were all idealistic. He was a visionary.

After leading a complicated life during his childhood Jobs finally went to Reed college. But he soon dropped out after 1st semester. After he dropped out of college, he felt free and started taking the classes he liked not the one he was bound to(For e.g. Calligraphy etc.). In his own words, "Taking this classes helped making a difference to the Mac, like the calligraphy class I took helped to give a brilliant typography it and since Windows copies Mac no computer would have had multiple typefaces or proportionally spaced fonts".

Working with Steve Wozniack at Hewlett Packard, Jobs managed earn a living. He found a good friend in Wozniack, and later persuaded him to assemble a computer. Both founded Apple. All went well until by the end of 1984, Apple's sales dropped and Jobs was relieved of his duties at Apple. How bad is it to be thrown out of your own company!!
None the less Jobs felt that it was the best thing that ever happened to him. He was not going to give up on anything. So he started his own company NeXT Computers in 1985. By 1986 he also bought The Graphics Group (currently known as Pixar). By 1990 The first NeXT Computer was launched. By the mid 90's NeXT became a software development firm, whose products were later adopted in Apple to develop iTunes etc. 1996 Apple bought NeXT Computers for $429 million with it bringing back the co-founder of Apple. NeXT projects were used extensively in Apple, like the NeXTSTEP went on to become Mac OS, which is by far the best in its kind. Apple's success story depends mostly on its software programs, that were ultimately designed by the NeXT. So the time Jobs remained out of Apple, he was "non-intentionally" working for the success of Apple. In the mean time Pixar was bought by Disney, giving Jobs 7% share in the company, highest single shareholding ever. With everything back on track, Jobs never looked back. He worked hard, achieved his goals, and we know now where he has led his company to. In his time as CEO he revolutionized the world. Weather it were the iPods, the ipad or the iPhone, all defined a new category and perfection. All because of the simple idea of Steve Jobs that "Hardware and Software should be made together".

We will miss you Mr. Steve Jobs!!

Friday 7 October 2011

Its iPhone 4S not 5!!

First things first, its not iPhone 5 its iPhone 4S so stop saying iPhone 5 is coming again and again. 

Secondly, its outer body is the same as iPhone 4 not the transparent one or the one projecting the screen and the keyboard.




Most of the perks added being advertised to lure the customers are of iOS 5 which will all be there on all the older versions of iphone and ipod touch.


Whats new??
  1. The all new A5 processor is the upgraded version of the older A4 one. It increases the graphic performance significantly.
  2. A better camera of 8 megapixel, that can even record videos at 1080p at 30 fps(frames per second)
  3. Dual antennas for CDMA and GSM, with in-call antenna switching capabilities(solving the old antenna problem). This increased the weight a little bit.


As can be seen the outer body is exactly the same, but the core has been changed to A5 and a better camera has been installed. Thats all that the S has offered in iphone 4S. Rest is the same.What significantly will change your experience with this phone is the new OS. iOS 5 has got the notification center (like the android), its got Siri(The advanced voice commands responder), the faster Safari and alot more(200+ more as they say it).

Thus if you don't have an iphone, well you don't have an iphone!!

Sorry about that, if you don't have an iPhone 4 then go for iphone 4S, but if you've just bought an iphone then you should wait for iPhone 5 to bring something new to the table, which it will definitely will!!

Wednesday 5 October 2011

Desi Tablet!!

Apple iPad 2 price in India is Rs. 36551/-
Samsung Galaxy Tab price in India is Rs. 32999/-.
Datawind UbiSlate price in India ..::::1750/- ::::...

No a zero is not missing there, also it is not another chinese mobile. It is the Indian govt.'s latest venture to provide tablet PC's at such a low cost. Why are they doing this??
I don't know!!
Seriously speaking the most amazing thing about this is that it costs less than the 16GB memory units installed in the other 2 tabs (A 16 GB MicroSD varies from Rs. 1200 - 2000)
Lets get to the current specs of the tablet


  1. 7" Resistive touch screen                                             
  2. Wi-Fi
  3. 2 USB Ports
  4. 2GB internal storage
  5. MicroSD slot(expandable upto 32GB)
  6. 2G Card enabled with data plans starting from 99/month
  7. Android 2.2 OS
7 inch wide screen, wide enough. But its resistive, remember how we hated the resistive touch screen  (http://msgmech.blogspot.com/2011/09/feel-touch.html). Wi-Fi enabled device is a necessity today and the best way to access fast speed internet without the cumbersome wires. 2 USB ports, required to connect Pendrives, or maybe datacards. 2GB internal storage is bad but is expandable so not much of a problem. THE BIGGEST PERK OF THEM ALL IS ANDROID 2.2. Support for 2G cards for internet access. No 3G.

Cost cutting strategies, Difference between 30000 and 1750!!
  1. Resistive touchscreen instead of Multi-touch Capacitive touch
  2. 2GB instead of 16GB (You can cover that with another 1500 for a memory card)
  3. 2G instead of 3G
  4. I don't think this covers the gap, Do you???
The only OS today that can even come close to iOS is Android. And you have it in this guys. So cheer up guys you'll get your fruit ninja in this. But you may not like the feel because of the touch. But you saved a hefty sum of Rs. 28,000/- so learn to adjust.
Future plans
The CEO of Datawind claims that with an order of 3Million pieces, it will be able to add a capacitive touchscreen and a 3G modem at the same cost. Solves two of the biggest problems. I think that would be the complete tablet.

So if you go by my advice, Wait for that 3 Million mark!!





Tuesday 4 October 2011

Firefox DownloadHelper

One of the most popular browsers is the Mozilla Firefox. You would like to make the most out of your browser. The biggest problem while surfing the net is that you hear a song or watch a video that you like but you cannot get it to download coz its only for listening or viewing, like the YouTube etc. But how good would it be if your download was just a single click away. DownloadHelper provides you with this feature to get to download anything streaming live, weather .mp3, .mp4, .flv etc. What you need is Mozilla Firefox, and a plugin called DownloadHelper. An icon like this will appear adjacent to your address bar.




While playing the video or streaming the mp3 just click on this icon, it will give you the available files and the different qualities in which they are available. Just Select one and click download and its done.


Your file will start downloading and will automatically be saved on your pc in a separate folder. Sorry for the chrome lovers Google does not allow any plugins like this. There is still a way to download videos on chromE which will be separate article. Just wait, till then try using firefox!! 

Get the plugin from the following link:

MSG

Wednesday 28 September 2011

Feel the touch!!

Touch screen is the best User-Input method for any device. Currently Every kind of gadget uses a touchscreen, from cell-phones to laptops. Today when you go to the market, you are offered 2 types of touchscreens
(i)Resistive
(ii)Capacitive
The biggest mystery for a non-geek wanting to buy a phone!!

Resistive touchscreens are considered inferior as, first thing they are cheaper as well as when you use it, it feels that it tends to miss your touch input. But actually you have to press it a little harder to make it work. And thats why we like capacitive touch screens more. The basic mechanism of the working of a resistive touch screen is that it uses two conductive layers with a very small gap between them. They upper layer is coated on the inside and the lower layer is coated on the upper side with a conductive material. Now we need to press the upper layer to cover this gap. There is a current flowing in the layer that is disturbed by the joining of the layers. This is how the touch is detected in a resistive touch screen. The scope of resistive touchscreens is huge in Industries, restaurants etc. For the reason that it is spill proof and you can use it with gloves as is the case in many industries.

Capacitive touchscreens are all the more expensive. But why we agree to spill more moola from our pockets is that it feels a lot better, coz you dont have to push down an elastic layer down the gap. It is more responsive!!
A capacitive touchscreen works on the principle that human body is a conductor. An insulator like a glass is coated with a conductive material on one or both sides forming a capacitor. Now when we touch on one side of this screen(capacitor) the value of capacitance changes and thus the touch is detected. But it cannot be used with gloves and also require a special stylys.

Another big technology advancement that happened was the multi-touch (or the mutual capacitance). It uses a grid of capacitors that can detect multiple touch on the same screen. Its like many small screens are joined together that can function individually. This with corresponding software developments have enabled us to detect gestures, for example the most common pinch gesture to zoom in or out. Now with more advancements we can also detect changes in pressure with which we press the screen.

You might have guessed that the whole capacitive phenomena completely resembles the touchscreen of an iphone or ipad. Yes, Apple has the most developed touchscreen with the desired software helping to enhance the experience further!!
So enjoy

MSG

Monday 26 September 2011

Download: You tube videos as mp3

Every time you watch a video song on YouTube that your friend posted on your wall and you like it, you rush to beemp3, songs.pk or any other free music downloading site to get the song. But many a times these are not available as they are new. Songs come on YouTube before the actual music launch, so this would be an easy method to get your fav. song.

So how do you get it??

The traditional method is to download the video, then convert it into an mp3 format file using your Audio/Video converter software. But that is lengthy because first you download the video then download the software (one time) and then wait for it to convert. Plus downloading videos from YouTube is all together another issue and also videos take up more space than a normal mp3 file. So you will have to download a 20MB video when you need just a 3MB audio file. Also on portable devices like cell phones, iPods etc. this is not possible.

 What to do then??

The best way out is to use online AV conversion sites that convert videos into audio files and provide you with a 3MB download link. For e.g. vidtomp3.com, videotomp3.com.
This gives you a easy way to get your favorite songs right away in mp3 format.

What you have to do??

1. Just go to the YouTube link of the video you want to convert to mp3
2. Copy the text from the address bar
3. Paste it in the text box of the provided website, and click on convert

4. After processing for a few seconds you will get a download link to your mp3
Enjoy!!

Links to Websites:
www.vidtomp3.com
www.video2mp3.net

Now try this method to get one of your favorite song!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n6mraYuSELU



Sunday 25 September 2011

Ping-Pong of Social Networks!!

A little glimpse of History
The idea of social networking has been there since the birth of internet (1980's). But it did not pick up soon enough as by then only boring govt. officials and some geek researchers had access to internet. With several attempts at social networking websites, it was not until 2002 that one of them became a hit. "Friendster" though started as a gaming and music website turned out to be a stepping stone for the future ventures. "Friendster" followed by "my space" in 2003 and "orkut". "my space" (like "Friendster") concentrated more on sharing music, movies, etc. with friends .



Orkut Serves
How can there be a web development and Google sits quietly and watches. So it recruits some geek heads and makes a new one for themselves. "Orkut" was all about you. It was much more personal. Launched in Jan 2004 "orkut" like all other Google ventures developed a huge user base in very little time.
Facebook’s First blow!!
But soon after “facebook” was opened to the world on September 26 2006, this huge user-base rushed out of “orkut” in very little time. It is very rare that Google ever takes a strong blow in the face; this was one of those rare times. Remember the times you were told not to do a thing, but your urge to do it increased. “Facebook” used the same strategy. It was restricted to only some colleges in the US until it opened to the world, which made it all the more exclusive. It was a clean, classy and no non-sense type website, which had all the plus points of its predecessors. It was as user-friendly as Google, easy to share music, games, and pictures etc. but in a new style. “Facebook” developed very fast, coming up with well developed privacy setting and building a strong user-base.
Google’s Come Back……
Google would never be taken down so easily that to by a College drop out. In the time when “facebook” was making and learning from mistakes, Google was planning to come back with a bang. Seemed easy as “facebook” took everything from a well established “orkut”. It was debated that “facebook” was a hit just because it provided the same thing in a new look. By then “facebook” had stepped up its security, a separate department for photos, videos, user made games, polls and a hell lot more came up. Google pooled all its resources to take on and as well take down “facebook”. Namely Picasa web albums, Gtalk (which included video chatting feature with “free” group chat), YouTube, and “facebook's” "strategy of exclusivity". The venture was named Google+ for which the whole Google outlook was changed. Technically speaking Google plus was much better in terms of features it offered, speed, privacy, photo sharing, tagging, notifications and every other thing it offered. But their own strategy went against them. They launched it at a Beta testing level restricted to only some users. For the first 15 days it was the most talked of thing on facebook, from asking for invites to bragging about getting a Google plus account. People were jealous that their friends got in and they didn't. But this testing took a lot of time. By then those who got in got bored cause many of their friends were not yet there, and those who didn't get in forgot about it or got frustrated and dropped the idea of getting in.
Facebook tries to Defend!!
But seeing the product Google was offering shook everyone at “facebook”. It had to upgrade to protect its user-base and that too fast. So by the time Google+ was over its Beta testing period, “facebook” that till then believed in making everything by itself joined hands with Skype to launch video chatting on its site within 2 weeks after launch of Google+. This showed how badly “facebook” feared Google+. So even after opening to the whole world Google+ plus did not get its desired user-base. Which has completely shattered Google's dream of its Social Network. At least for now. Let’s see what it comes out with next or what “facebook” does wrong!!!

New “Facebook”
For now “facebook” has improved its chat to a great extent, got a stream of notifications over the chat box updating continuously, improved the photo-viewing and is coming up with something new every day.
So if Google wants to come back again it would need more than its resources (maybe collaboration with fb would do)!!

MSG