Indian pricing of HTC One X, One V leaked before launch

We just talked about an April 2 launch for the HTC One X in India, earlier today, and we’ve now got a whiff of the possible pricing when it actually launches. According toPhonemantra, the HTC One X will arrive with a very attractive price tag of Rs.35,000, while the One V will be priced at Rs.17,000. Now, we’ve obviously spoken to the powers that be at HTC and they say that it’s still not going to be officially launched till probably Monday (2nd April). There’s no word about the pricing for the One S, yet. If HTC do launch it at that price, then we can expect older phones around that price segment to start dropping in price, like the Galaxy Note, Sensation XE, Evo 3D, etc. Based on the specifications alone, the One V is proving to be a very strong competitor to the Xperia Neo V as they share some of the basic specifications.

HTC One X

The One X will be HTC’s and India’s very first quad-core phone when it launches. Armed with Android 4.0, a large IPS display, 8MP shooter and 32GB of onboard memory, it seems like a formidable opponent. 

Here is a look at the highlighted features of the HTC One X:

• Android 4.0 with HTC Sense 4
• 1.5 GHz quad-core processor
• 4.7-inch display with a resolution of 1280 x 720
• 8MP camera with AF, LED flash, BSI sensor and 1080p HD video recording
• F2.0 aperture and 28mm lens
• 1.3MP front camera with a resolution of 720p for video chat
• 32GB Internal memory
• 1GB RAM
• Beats Audio
• NFC, Wi-Fi, DLNA, micro-USB 2.0, HDMI
• 1800 mAh battery

HTC One V

The One V will also feature ICS, but is targeted at the mid-range segment. While it doesn’t up the ante in terms of specifications, when compared to existing handsets in this price range, a new addition is always welcome and gives users more options to choose from. 

So, here’s a look at what the One V has to offer:

• Android 4.0 with HTC Sense 4
• 3.7-inch display with a resolution of 480 x 800
• 5MP camera with AF, LED flash, BSI sensor and 720p HD video recording
• F2.0 aperture and 28mm lens
• 4GB Internal memory
• 512 MB RAM
• Beats Audio
• Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, micro-USB
• 1500mAh battery

Nokia TV to strengthen ecosystem within ecosystem with live streaming

There are chances that a fresh ‘Lumia only’ application is soon going to hit the Windows Phone 7 marketplace, and it looks like it is going to be a live TV streaming application. As you can see in the images below, it has been dubbed Nokia TV, and this app aims to provide users with streaming of daily shows and videos over Wi-Fi or data connection. As reported by The Verge, the screenshots of this particular application have been leaked on siteWP7forum.ru and there are chances that it will be launching soon in Finland, with their local broadcasters YLE, MTV3 and Nelopen. The application will allow users to gather and view content from various archives and upcoming networks and though complete details aren’t available, it seems like a pretty nifty feature to have in your Lumia handset. The deal however, is that if it indeed comes to Lumia phones, when will it actually come to India? That might be another story in itself. 

Nokia TV might be coming soon

We have already seen Nokia trying to make their presence felt in the WP7 smartphone world, with the current set (and impending release) of Lumia only applications, like Nokia Play, Drive and Maps. Also, a couple of imaging applications are also in the pipeline. This method of an ecosystem within an ecosystem definitely does give it an edge over the other Windows Phone 7 manufacturers, like HTC and Samsung. Nokia is clearly differentiating themselves from the other manufacturers and have been trying to get the crowds close to their ecosystem, and that’s definitely good planning on their part. Some might feel that this may be inclining towards more fragmentation, but it’s important to note that even for Android smartphones, every manufacturer (Sony, Samsung, HTC) has their own set of dedicated applications that are universal, only for that particular manufacturer. So, for all you guys owning Lumia phones, good news may soon be around the corner! As for the rest of you guys with Windows Phone 7 handsets, are you feeling left out? Or does the growing Marketplace more than cater to your needs? Let us know in the comments section below. 

All Facebook company profiles will have Timeline tomorrow

Facebook's switching all company pages over to Timeline tomorrow and they've reminded everyone, from users to Page administrators that all their pages will go live tomorrow. Administrators, especially for pages of companies have had a month to curate their Timelines before they go live. The Timelines go live on Friday, Pacific Standard Time and we should see them live here on Saturday. Facebook says, "Reminder! Tomorrow starting at 11am PST we will begin to migrate Pages who have not upgraded yet to the new Timeline format. If you admin one of those Pages, you still have time to get your Page ready by adding a cover photo, milestones, etc. before tomorrow! Check out these tips from other Page admins, here.

Company Page Timelines will be pushed out tomorrow

Facebook announced that they would roll out Timeline for companies, earlier this month, saying that the profile page for a company would look very similar to that of a regular user. The Timeline page of a company will have both, a profile picture and a cover image. Administrators will be able to 'star' particular stories on their Timelines to make them stand out. Administrators will also be able to 'pin' posts, which will place a post on the top left of the Timeline for seven days, putting it in a prominent position. Like individual profile pages, business pages will also have milestones on their Timeline. So while an individual can add when they were born, a business can add when they were created.

Furthermore, when someone visits a page, they will be able to see their friends' activities, more specifically friends' recent posts on the page. There will also be an Admin panel where administrators will be able to track their activity and performance, as well as send and reply to private messages that come to the page account. Facebook started rolling out private messaging to company pages about two months ago.

While Facebook has rolled out Timeline to all company pages and will be making them live tomorrow, they still have not mentioned when Timeline will be mandatory and published for all individual users yet. Facebook started rolling out Timeline to users about two months ago and a study revealed that 51% of users have concerns about Facebook's Timeline. The study also revealed that only 8% of users like Facebook Timeline. Do you like Facebook Timeline? Let us know the comments below.

HTC One X, One V to hit Indian market next week

HTC is going to launch its HTC One-series smartphones, including One X and One V, in India next week. According to reports, HTC One X will be priced at Rs. 35,000, taking on the likes of Samsung Galaxy SII. The HTC One V will come for Rs. 17,000 and is likely to compete with other Android smartphones under Rs. 20,000.

GSM Arena reports HTC's flagship devices HTC One X and One S, and a mid-range HTC One smartphone will be released in Europe and in certain Asian markets on April 2. It's not clear which Asian markets will get the HTC trio, but Singapore and Taiwan have already been confirmed. Reports of the HTC One trio come days after the company posted a teaser video of the One X on their official Facebook page.

Among the three HTC smartphones slated to be launched next week, the HTC One X is the most talked about device. The HTC One X sports 1.5 GHz quad-core processor and runs Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich with HTC Sense 4.0 UI. The device has a 4.7-inch display with 1280 x 720 resolution, 8MP camera. 1.3MP front facing camera, 32GB internal storage and 1GB of RAM. For connectivity, the HTC One X has NFC, Wi-Fi and micro-USB 2.0. The HTC One X comes with a 1,800 mAh battery. Check out the full specifications here.

HTC had announced a new lineup of Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich smartphones, including One X, One XL, One S and One V, at the recently held MWC event. Earlier this month, reports had claimed that the HTC One X and One S smartphones will be launched in April.

Google Maps for Android v6.5 released, with multiple updates

This week Google updated its Google Maps for Android to version 6.5, adding a redesigned Navigation menu for devices with Android 4.0+ platform. The new version provides estimated travel times within Google Maps in accordance with the traffic conditions. The traffic data is refreshed constantly so that user gets the latest possible information.

Google already offered traffic data but this is first time it has made the data available as part of directions. “The previous traffic feature that was removed from “Google Maps” last summer provided users with the worst-case traffic scenario based on historic traffic data — e.g. ‘up to 50 minutes in traffic," said a Google spokesperson.

The spokesperson further revealed that Google pulled that feature as it wanted to better the freshness of the data. The new feature gives users ability to check current traffic conditions and also provides an estimated length of travel time, which is based on data constantly refreshed. Google says the traffic information will be better and more precise if more people opted in the service.

For devices with high pixel density screen such as Galaxy Nexus, Galaxy S II, Droid Razr and others, Google Maps will provide now higher resolution map, which means you will get less cluttered map while navigating. The new style is also said to help maps react more quickly to panning, zooming, and twisting. Google also added the ability to prioritize a transit mode and route option in Google Maps 6.5 for Android.

Google Maps for Android v6.5 is available at Google Play.

Google Drive Will Offer 5GB Of Online Storage.

Google has reportedly upped the storage capacity of its upcoming Google Drive virtual locker to 5 GB.

Zoom

TalkAndroid has discovered that Google's upcoming Google Drive service will actually provide 5 GB of free storage from the start, not 1 GB as previously reported.

Details surrounding the upcoming drive have been a little mixed. We ran with GigaOM's report claiming Google Drive would offer 1 GB of storage, but TalkAndroid quickly coughed up a screenshot showing 2 GB of free space. It was speculated that Google's virtual locker would work like Dropbox, adding a little extra storage for every referral that signs up. Ultimately the user would receive a max storage limit of 5 GB, lower than what Dropbox promises.

But now another Google Drive screenshot has emerged showing a default of 5 GB. At this point, it may be that Google is merely increasing the capacity based on the number of growing beta users, and user feedback -- the various screenshots could merely have been taken during specific points in the beta testing. So far the service is still on track to open its doors to the masses during the week of April 16 although Google has not made an official announcement.

Is Google Drive even necessary? It's definitely a good way to drive up sales thanks to those willing to pay for additional storage. Yet Google already provides free storage to its current users: almost 8 GB for Gmail alone, enough space for up to 20,000 songs via Google Play, free storage for purchased Google Play ebooks and free storage for Google Play Android apps. Even Google Docs coughs up 1 GB for files before charging extra. Thus Google Drive would seemingly only be needed for those who don't want to use Google's other services.

GigaOM's report from last week said Google Drive will launch for Google Apps customers, and will be domain specific. It will also feature a built-in API so that users can store content from other third-party apps. But so far the true nature of Google Drive and how it will be an added benefit to current Google users is unknown at this point.

LG Intros 6-inch Flexible E-Paper Plastic Display

Soon you don't have to worry about breaking your new e-reader's display, as LG is now mass producing a flexible plastic version to replace the current glass-based e-paper.

ZoomLG Display said on Thursday that it has begun mass producing the "world's first" plastic electronicpaper display (EPD) for use in e-readers. LG says its plastic solution should "revolutionize" the e-reader market, using e-ink and sporting a XGA (1024 x 768) resolution. The EPDs will first be supplied to ODM companies in China, followed by completed products to be released in Europe at the beginning of next month. So far there's no word of a North American release.

The new EPD is comprised of a plastic substrate as slim as cell phone protection film, measuring just 0.7-mm which is 1/3 slimmer than the current glass version. Its flexible design allows bending at a range of 40 degrees from the center of the screen. It's also half the weight of the glass version, measuring only 14g on the scale.

"E-Book users have long expressed a desire for more durable EPD, since around 10-percent of them have damaged their product screens from accidentally dropping or hitting them," LG said on Thursday. "When LG Display's plastic EPD was put through repeated drop tests, from 1.5-m above the ground or the average height of reading when standing, no damage resulted. When put through a break/scratch test involving hitting the display with a small urethane hammer, no scratches or breakage resulted."

The company said it developed a unique technique to utilize the high TFT process in the production of its plastic EPD, a process which is typically used in general LCD manufacturing and generates temperatures exceeding 350 degrees. LG didn't really explain how it overcame the obstacles associated with applying this process to heat susceptible plastic, but the company said it was able to maintain strong durability in high temperatures during mass production.

"With the world's first plastic EPD, LG Display has once again proven its reputation for leadership and innovation with a product we believe will help greatly popularize the E-Book market," said Mr. Sang Duck Yeo, Head of Operations for LG Display's Mobile/OLED division. "Based on our success in mass-producing plastic EPD, we are excited as we look toward applying concepts from this experience tofuture developments like plastic OLED and flexible displays."

There's no reason to assume this new e-paper and related products aren't coming to the States. It's just a matter of when, so stay tuned. Heck, we just might even see it in a new Kindle later this year.

Nokia rolls out update to fix Lumia 800 battery life

If there is one problem that has plagued the smartphone industry, it’s the problem of battery life. Nokia’s Windows Phone 7.5 flagship device, the Lumia 800 is no exception to this problem. The Finnish smartphone manufacturer has started rolling out an update that addresses the rapidly draining battery life of the device. For those of you that are wondering, the Nokia Lumia 800 sports a 1,450 mAh battery.

On its official blog, Nokia said, “This software version for the Lumia 800 (1600.2487.8107.12070) brings significant improvements in battery performance and power management. Originally scheduled for 18 April, we’ve now managed to bring the schedule forward. But before you get all excited and reach out for that cable to connect your Lumia 800 to your Mac or PC, there’s just one more thing to know: the update will not span the globe all at once. It will be queued up over 4 weeks, beginning today (28 March) for the first batch. Subsequent phased updates will be on 4, 11 and 18 April.”

Nokia has previously rolled out an update to fix the battery life of Lumia 800. Reports then claimed that the upgrade would triple the battery life of the device.

If you would like to know whether the update is available in your country, Nokia has a ‘software availability’ webpage that informs you is the update is available in your region. Click here to see if the update is available to you.

Apart from improving the battery life, the update to the Lumia 800 adds the following features to the device:

• Improved bass when playing music
• Soft keys will be quite visible at all brightness levels
• Various fixes for reboots, lockups and ending calls

To download the update, users need to connect their Windows Phone to Zune on the PC, or Windows Phone 7 connection on the Mac to download the update to their handset.  

In case this is the first time you are updating your Nokia Lumia 800 smartphone, here’s a quick video by Nokia that shows you how to update the device via your PC.

Nokia adds Traffic Feature on Nokia maps, starting with Delhi and Mumbai

Nokia has added the Traffic Update feature to the Location Services portfolio on Nokia Maps. At the moment, this is available for users in Delhi and Mumbai. The service is powered by NAVTEQ Traffic Pro, and will depend on data collected from users.

Before setting off, users can feed in the destination into Nokia Drive or Nokia Maps, and get an idea of the traffic situation along the way. The service refreshes every two minutes, and will re-route on the fly in case the situation changes.

“The launch of this traffic feature on Nokia smartphones reflects the ever-growing consumer appetite for more interactive location based services beyond the traditional turn by turn navigation. Going forward, we will continue to introduce more location-aware services that represent the future of mobility for consumers in India”, said Rajat Tandon Director Sales, Nokia, Location & Commerce.

The update is available as a free download for all Symbian-based Nokia smartphones, as well as the Nokia Lumia 710 and the Lumia 800.

Nokia prepping another Windows Phone handset, Fluid

It looks like Nokia is set to expand its Windows Phone lineup with new handsets after launching Lumia 800 and Lumia 710. A new Nokia device, dubbed as Fluid, has been spotted on a website with Windows Phone platform.

At the Game Stats page, the Nokia Fluid is featured along with the Qualcomm Fluid hardware, which probably means the handset is equipped with a Qualcomm chipset inside. The site has no detailed information about the hardware of the forthcoming Nokia device.It's notable that the list also hasLumia 719, another rumoured Windows Phone device.

Nokia has officially confirmed three Windows Phone based handsets namely Lumia 710, Lumia 800 and Lumia 900. A low-cost Lumia 610 is also said to be in the works. The device, destined for Asian and African markets, is speculated to be launch in coming months. The Lumia 610 is being touted as the first low-cost Windows Phone handset, sporting an 800MHz Snapdragon S1 processor, 256MB of RAM, and 8GB of built-in storage.

Nokia is also planning to launch a non-4G version of its Lumia 900 in India in future. The device Lumia 900 is expected to be priced at roughly Rs. 31,500 in Indian market and is going to be pitted against the likes Samsung Galaxy S II and Apple's iPhone 4S. 

Prices of BB Curve 8520, 9380, 9360 and Torch 9860 slashed in India

If you have been delaying buying that BlackBerry smartphone, which by now, all of your friends, colleagues or even members of your family own, because of the price tag, then this may come as some good news for you. As per a report by The Financial Express, Research in Motion, the manufacturers of BlackBerry smartphones have reduced the prices of four of their handsets, one upto 26 percent. The handsets, which get the price cut are the Curve 8520, Curve 9380, Curve 9360 and the Torch 9860. These are very popular handsets in the market and with the price cut they may do a lot better.

RIM drops prices of four popular handsets

As per the report, Managing Director of Research in Motion, India, Sunil Dutt said, “RIM as a brand has moved from just an enterprise device to as a more consumer device. Be it our services or the product, we have seen a strong uptake by the youth and therefore, to get the devices into more hands, we are cutting the prices. The focus is not just on reducing prices, but we want to address a larger number of people and give them the overall experience of BlackBerry. We will continue to focus on bringing locally relevant products, services and applications to Indian consumers.”

The report details the price reduction of each handset. The BlackBerry Curve 8520, the hottest selling BlackBerry in India is now available at a price of Rs.8,999 that fell from the earlier Rs.10,990, which is an 18 percent price cut. The Curve 9380 is down to Rs.16,990 from an earlier price of Rs.20,990, while the Curve 9360 now sells at Rs.18,990 from its previous price of Rs.19,990. The biggest price drop has been for the Torch 9860 that has been reduced by a large 26 percent. The price of the handset now stands at Rs.21,990 from an earlier price of Rs.29,990. Speaking on the drop in prices of these BlackBerry models, Dutt said, “These four handsets comprise a bulk of sales in the country, it is 60 per cent of the business from India.”

RIM is keeping up with the trend of reducing their prices after earlier on slashing the prices of their tablet, the BlackBerry PlayBook. The slate from BlackBerry is now available for as low as Rs.13,990.

Cook assured of better intellectual property protection in China

Apple chief, Tim Cook has embarked on his first ever trip to China, ever since he took on his current role from predecessor, the late Steve Jobs, and if the reports detailing the event are anything to go by, then there’s a lot happening. Yesterday, according to the reports, Cook in his meeting with the vice premier of China, Li Keqiang was assured that the country would up their intellectual property protection norms, which hopefully would ease the situation for the iPad maker in the country. China, the world’s largest mobile market also happens to be the second largest market for Apple. However, those following our reports detailing the ongoing lawsuit between Cupertino-based, Apple and China-based, Proview Technology would know that the future of Apple’s celebrated tablet computer lies in darkness, as the Chinese company seems to be in no mood to blink first. For those not in the know, China-based, Proview Technology has levelled allegations against Apple, claiming that they and not Apple are the rightful owners of the trademark term - iPad and hence, Apple is infringing on their rights by selling their tablets in China. 

Strenghtening bonds!

Only recently, Proview Technology took their actions against Apple to the next level, when they, citing temporary impoundment began pressing major retailers across China to stop stocking the tablet computers in their stores. Although not so well off financially, Proview Technology have managed to get themselves some major breakthroughs and have been giving Apple some sleepless nights, since the lawsuit has been creating a dent in the sales of their products in China. That apart, Apple has been very actively involved in carrying out routine inspections across several of their supplier factories in China, after persistent reports about poor working conditions, labour suicides, among others began grabbing global headlines. The Fair Labor Organization was then requested by Apple to conduct an inspection across Foxconn factories in Shenzhen and Chengdu, China, where a bulk of Apple products are manufactured. Here in, officials of the FLA carried out inspections across the factories, asking labourers questions over working and living conditions, health and safety issues, compensation, working hours and communication with management, among other aspects, which would help them assess the situation, better. 

Quoting the vice premier of China, Li Keqiang, the report stated, “To be more open to the outside is a condition for China to transform its economic development, expand domestic demands and conduct technological innovation.”