Quad-core LG Optimus G now official, Korea launch in September

The LG Optimus G has finally been announced by the Korean giant, and will launch in Korea sometime next month, followed by an international launch. Japan will get the Optimus G via NTT DoCoMo, in October or November. So far, no pricing details have been revealed, but we can expect the device to be more expensive than the Optimus 4X HD.

The Optimus G made headlines when Qualcomm announced it would be supplying a quad-core Snapdragon S4 Pro processor to LG, and earlier this week, leaked images of the device made their way to the internet, along with some more specs.LG finally released some official information yesterday, confirming the name, HD display , quad-core processor, and super-strength battery that will last 800 full recharge cycles.

The Tru HD IPS+ display will apparently deliver 470 nits of brightness, avoid screen burn-in, and use 70% less power than a regular LCD when displaying all-white. The Optimus G also features G2 Hybrid Touch technology, with a 30% thinner gapless panel, reducing the distance from glass to screen.

LG already has one quad-core phone in the market, the LG Optimus 4X HD – you can check out our review of it. The Optimus G a quad-core 1.5GHz Krait processor, on the APQ8064 chipset, combined with MDM9615 baseband LTE chipset. According to Qualcomm, the APQ8064’s design features four asynchronous CPU cores, with independent control for maximum efficiency.

The 8.45mm thick Optimus G will ship with Android 4.0.4 ICS onboard, but a Android 4.1.1 Jelly Bean update has already been announced.

Other specifications of the LG Optimus G include the quad-core Adreno 320 GPU, 2GB of RAM, a 13MP autofocus camera with LED flash and 1080p HD video recording, a massive 4.7-inch True HD IPS+ 1,280x768 pixel display, 3G/4G (HSDPA, HSUPA, LTE), Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n with Direct/DLNA/Hotspot functionality, microUSB, Bluetooth, NFC, Dolby mobile sound enhancement, active noise cancellation, and a 2,100 mAh battery. A document editor will also be bundled.

Samsung Galaxy Note 2 specifications leak ahead of official announcement

Specifications and images of the upcoming Samsung device, Galaxy Note 2, have allegedly leaked online ahead of the official announcement.

A Korean News Daily has published what it claims to be the specifications and images of the phablet. According to the Korean paper, the Samsung Galaxy Note 2 GT-N7 100 sports a 5.5-inch Super AMOLED display display with a 1280x720 pixel resolution. The device comes with 3G/4G connectivity and a 1.4GHz quad-core Exynos 4412 processor. Interestingly, the device is tipped to run on Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, not the Ice Cream Sandwich operating system as rumoured earlier.

The leaked spec sheet reveals the Galaxy Note 2 also has an 8MP camera with 16GB or 32GB of internal storage. It is being speculated that Samsung's flexible screen technology could play a role in the Galaxy Note, making it easier to fit it in a pocket. The Galaxy Note 2 is supposed to come with the new virtual assistant service S-Voice and a revamped TouchWiz user interface.

Another round of leak suggests the Galaxy Note 2 will be available in two colours, one of which is Ceramic White, while the other one is still unknown.

The fresh leaked specifications of the Galaxy Note 2 aren't surprising, given the recent launch of the Samsung Galaxy S III and the previous rumours for the device. Earlier it was rumouredthat the phablet would come with a dual-core processor and offer a screen resolution of 1680x1050-pixels.

The new Samsung Galaxy Note 2 is likely to be pitted against phones with larger screens such as the LG Optimus Vu.

Samsung is due to unveil the device at the Samsung Mobile Unpacked event at IFA in Berlin on 29 August.

for more details visit: http://www.thinkdigit.com/Mobiles-PDAs/Samsung-Galaxy-Note-2-specifications-leak-ahead_10592.html

Nokia announces Belle Refresh update for N8, E7, C7, C6-01, X7 and Oro

Nokia has announced the rolling out of the Nokia Belle Refresh update for the Nokia N8, E7, C7, C6-01, X7 and Oro devices.

The update v111.040.1511 brings a number of new features for Symbian smartphones such as a revamped browser with HTML5 web apps support, a new set of homescreen widgets, and the previously released Microsoft Office Mobile App and Nokia Maps Suite 2.0 in one package. The Nokia 8 gets additional apps for imaging. Nokia plans to release the update in phases, starting with the vanilla version. The Nokia E6 (version number 111.140.0058) users will get the update later in the week,

“Just like after updating from Nokia Anna to Nokia Belle, some apps may not work due to compatibility issues. If you need more information on available apps, please contact your local Nokia Care support. Furthermore, you can also contact the respective App developer to enquire about the compatibility,” says Nokia on its discussion forum.

The Belle Refresh update comes months after Nokia announced Belle update to its older Symbian^3 devices namely Nokia N8, Nokia E7, Nokia E6, Nokia X7, Nokia C6-01, Nokia C7, Nokia 500 and Nokia Oro.

for more details visit: http://www.thinkdigit.com/Mobiles-PDAs/Nokia-announces-Belle-Refresh-update-for-N8_10589.html

LG Launching gaming portal for Cinema 3D line 

LG wis launching a new games portal offering 2D and 3D games for its Cinema 3D Smart TVs.

ZoomLG Electronics announced the upcoming launch of Game World, a new entertainment portal for its portfolio of Cinema 3D Smart TVs. The portal provides a user-friendly way to search, purchase, and play game apps – in both 2D and 3D – through an easy-to-navigate interface. Many of the games can even be played with LG’s Magic Remote or with any third-party game pad, the company said.

"Game World is a wonderful source of games – especially 3D games – which are suitable for everyone," said Havis Kwon, President and CEO of LG Home Entertainment Company. "Many popular titles will be available along with games developed exclusively for LG Cinema 3D Smart TVs. By making the most of the capabilities of LG 3D TVs, Game World will allow us to push the boundaries of 3D gaming and expand the market."

The Game World interface will feature a menu bar draped along the top sporting four categories: Featured, Top Chart, New and Genre. The Featured portion will showcase some of the more popular apps including those picked by the LG staff. Top Chart will list the most popular paid and freeware games whereas the New list will offer the latest games added to LG's library. The Genre section breaks the games down by the following categories: action, adventure, arcade, puzzle, RPG, shooter, simulation, sports, and strategy.

"The main menu of Game World also provides a tutorial, with manuals and instructions for playing with a Magic Remote or a game pad," the company said on Monday. "The My Games section links users to all previously purchased games and displays a list of the most frequently played games, making it easy to find the next big hit. The titles available on Game World will consist mainly of family-friendly titles, with most titles being compatible with LG Magic Remote’s gestures and movement capabilities and many also playable in 3D."

According to a screenshot sent along with the press release, some of the titles include Air Penguin 3D, Cut The Rope, Plants Vs. Zombies, Shadowgun, Frisbee Forever and more. That said, LG will seemingly have more than just a casual flavor of titles given the shoot-em-up nature of Madfinger's console-style 3rd-person shooter. Will we see Shadowgun in lovely 3D? We hope so, yes indeedy.

So far app prices are unknown, but we expect some to be a bit pricier than their Android and iOS counterparts due to support for 3D. The portal itself doesn't launch until the second half of 2012, so go find a new Cinema 3D Smart TV now.

First Impressions: Samsung Galaxy Note 800

Samsung has launched the Galaxy Note 10.1 in India, slightly rebadged as the Galaxy Note 800. We had a chance to play with the device at the launch event, and here are some initial observations about Samsung’s new flagship tablet.

1. Yes, the Galaxy Note 800 has an all plastic build. There are those who have criticized it saying that an expensive tablet like this needs more metal on the exterior. Alternatively, there are those who support that by claiming that it is the weight that needs to be kept in check. However, our question to Samsung is very simple – how will the customers on the shop floor decipher any comparisons between this and let us say the Apple iPad (read our review) or even something like an Asus Transformer Prime (read our review)? After all, the Note 800 has beenpriced at Rs. 39,990.

2. It is interesting to note (pun unintended) that the Galaxy Note 800 looks very similar to the previous 10.1-inch tablet from Samsung, the Tab 750. We had said back then that while the material used is plastic, it has been put together well. Something similar can be said for the Galaxy Note. However, Samsung could have done a bit better with the way the materials were put together, particularly the rear panel that does have some flex in it.

3. The 10.1-inch display has a resolution of 1280 x 800 pixels. The quality, even under pretty bright spotlights, was excellent. Yes, it has certain reflective tendencies, but is a very bright display, so that is pretty much taken care of. Colour reproduction is brilliant, and the crispness stares at you in the face!

4. Speaking of crispness, the S Pen feature works very well on this rather precise display. Preloaded are S Pen compatible apps like S Note, Adobe Photoshop and Polaris Office. The S Note app that we had a chance to use for a while allows for even a new user to get used to the experience – multiple templates that you can start with, or a blank note that you can start sketching on. Within the app, you have multiple nifty features – formulas can be deciphered via an online search via Wolfram Alpha or even make any drawings like a square or a circle straighten out to look like a professional drawing!

We will have a video of the detailed demo of the S-Pen on our website very soon. We can assure you that the demo will show some very interesting features and implementations of the Pen feature.

5. The Galaxy Note 800’s interface is something that we have grown quite used to with Samsung devices, and full marks for the familiarity bit. The TouchWiz UI has been redone for the bigger screen, allowing for multiple side by side widgets, but the range of the widgets will be similar to what we saw in the Galaxy S III (read our review), with the additional S Pen app widgets.

This is the Galaxy Note 800, front on, in landscape mode. This device is meant for use in landscape mode, as you can notice with the logo placement as well as where the front facing cameras are. On the two sides – the silver borders, if you may, are where the speakers are placed. Usually, speakers are on the rear panel, but this will give a more up-close feel to any audio played back on the device.

These are the specs of the Galaxy Note 800. A quad-core 1.4GHz Exynos 4412 processor and 2GB of RAM power it. We had been saying for quite a while now that any device with a quad core processor deserves at least 2GB of RAM to fully realize its potential. Probably, this is why this can multi-task so well. You can have an HD video playing in a smaller window on one edge of the screen, while you can continue opening and working on any other app without any stutter.

The TouchWiz UI is a very similar to the one we saw on the Galaxy S III. The variety of widgets is very similar as well, with the wider display allowing for more side-by-side widgets.

The Galaxy Note 800’s app drawer has the look we have seen traditionally on Android ICS tablets. There are the tabs for the apps and the widgets, and the app list has the horizontal scrolling nature.

As it rightly should, the Galaxy Note 800 comes with Android ICS out of the box – Version 4.0.4 to be precise. No info yet on the Android Jelly Bean update, but we expect this tablet to be somewhere near the top of the list of devices getting the updates.

We had seen this tap-to-open dock on the earlier Galaxy tablets as well, and that has been carried forward to the Note 800 as well.

If you are using the Galaxy Note 800 in landscape mode, then the power key, volume rocker, card slot as well as the SIM card slot will be on the top spine.

The rear of the Galaxy Note 800 has an enamel white finish, slightly shiny but will not catch smudges or fingerprints.

This is the S-Pen, about to get into action with the S Note application.

The Galaxy Note 800’s an extremely slim tablet - you can see that the pencil is faring slightly worse in this comparison!

The Galaxy Note 800’s slide up notification bar, traditional way Android ICS handles notifications.

for more details visit: http://www.thinkdigit.com/Tablets/First-Impressions-Samsung-Galaxy-Note-800_10564.html

WickedLeak launches 'Wammy Note' ICS smartphone at Rs. 11,000

Wicked Leak has launched a new Android smartphone in the market - the Wammy Note. The smartphone supports dual-SIM and runs on Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich operating system. It has been priced at Rs. 11,000.

The Wammy Note has a 5-inch touch display with 800x480 pixels resolution. It has 512MB of RAM. The device sports an 8MP camera with flash, 1.3MP front facing camera and a microSD card slot that supports storage up to 32GB. On the connectivity front, it has Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and 3G, tethering hotspot and USB. This one also comes with GPS, Analog TV and FM radio.

The Wammy Note measures 144 x 89 x 12mm and has a 2,500 mAh battery, which is rated to deliver up to 8 hours of talk time and 260 hours of standby time. Wammy Note is also available in two colours - black and white. Check out full specifications of the device here.

WickedLeak has previously launched budget ICS tablets - Wammy Plus and  Wammy Ethos.

for more detials visit: http://www.thinkdigit.com/Mobiles-PDAs/WickedLeak-launches-Wammy-Note-ICS-smartphone-at_10563.html

New iPhone not expected to slow Android growth

Google's Android operating system will continue to dominate the smartphone market, growing its lead by 10 percent in the second half of the year despite the upcoming iPhone 5 launch, according to a new report from Digitimes Research, the analyst arm of daily trade paper Digitimes.

Android already leads the market, accounting for approximately 60 percent of all smartphone shipments in the first half of 2012. But even with the forthcoming launch of the next-generation iPhone, Android market share is expected to grow to 70 percent of the global market in the second half of the year, Digitimes Research senior analyst Luke Lin estimated.

Contributing to its growth, several major Android handset vendors like Samsung, Huawei, and ZTE are starting to increase shipments, while second-tier and regional vendors are "aggressively" launching new entry-level Android handsets in China, Lin said.

Android will, however, likely see a "rather weak" year-over-year shipment growth rate in 2012 due to of its strong shipments of 224 million units in 2011. Meanwhile, Nokia and Microsoft's aggressive promotion of Lumia $49.99 at AT&T Windows Phones may be paying off. Windows Phone shipments are expected to more than double year over year to an estimated 21 million units overall in 2012.

Shipments of Apple's iPhone are expected to surpass 125 million units in 2012 compared to 93 million units in 2011. Lin estimated that the iPhone will see year-over-year growth of less than 50 percent, lower than it's been in the past two years.

However, with new iPhone hysteria is in full swing, several analysts have predicted that it could be the biggest debut Apple has ever seen.

for more details visit: http://www.thinkdigit.com/Mobiles-PDAs/New-iPhone-not-expected-to-slow-Android_10568.html

Don't Expect an Apple HDTV Anytime Soon

Apple's iTV HDTV may not happen for quite some time.

ZoomFortune reports that Apple may not release the rumored iTV -- or at least the HDTV version -- for quite some time. This is based on a "company update" issued on Friday by Pacific Crest analyst Andy Hargreaves. He attended a meeting on Wednesday with Apple CFOPeter Oppenheimer and Eddy Cue, senior VP for Internet services and software.

According to Hargreaves, the Apple execs supposedly talked about its HDTV efforts and how difficult it has been to acquire rights from content owners and broadcasters. In short, the vision of changing the living room doesn't seem to be on Apple's world domination plans in the immediate future -- at least, not in the form on an HDTV. However, given recent rumors, Apple may still attempt to transform the television sector with a revamped set-top box first. Once everything falls into place, the company may push forward with an actual HDTV.

Regardless, here is the note from Hargreaves which echoes what Apple has said all along: it won't enter the TV sector until the company can secure the necessary rights to fulfill its vision -- a vision that's seemingly scaring content owners, networks and cable operators:

Relative to the television market, Eddy Cue, Apple SVP of Internet Software and Services, reiterated the company's mantra that it will enter markets where it feels it can create great customer experiences and address key problems. The key problems in the television market are the poor quality of the user interface and the forced bundling of pay TV content, in our view. While Apple could almost certainly create a better user interface, Mr. Cue's commentary suggested that this would be an incomplete solution from Apple's perspective unless it could deliver content in a way that is different from the current multichannel pay TV model.

Unfortunately for Apple and for consumers, acquiring rights for traditional broadcast and cable networkcontent outside of the current bundled model is virtually impossible because the content is owned by a relatively small group of companies that have little interest in alternative models for their most valuable content. The differences in regional broadcast content and the lack of scale internationally also create significant hurdles that do not seem possible to cross at this point.

The latest report surrounding the rumored iTV project is that Apple wants to offer a DVR service that stores TV shows in the cloud so that users can start any show at any time, or restart a show minutes after it has begun, similar to Time Warner's Start Over feature.

One of the many problems Apple is reportedly facing is that some of the proposed services -- including the web-based DVR -- reside outside the existing rights over TV content cable operators currently have. To make everyone happy, content owners will need to expand the rights of cable operators so that the Applebox can be deployed. But the relationship between Apple, cable operators and content owners still remain tense because the latter parties are worried Apple will control the entertainment sector much like it has with the smartphone and tablet sectors.

That said, Apple's transformation of the living room may be an extremely slow one. The company is currently trying to sell the idea of replacing current set-top boxes provided by cable operators with its iTV device. It would offer an iOS-based interface, Siri integration, and motion sensing to eliminate the remote. Mobile devices -- by way of apps -- would help control channel selection as well, similar to the way current apps from Time Warner Cable and other operators already provide.

The new device is rumored to be making an appearance alongside the iPhone 5, iPad Mini and iPod refreshes, but we're betting this will be a transformed Apple TV set-top box for now.

for more details visit: http://www.tomshardware.com/news/iTV-Apple-TV-iOS-Eddy-Cue-Peter-Oppenheimer,17165.html

NASA Launching Mini Satellites Powered by Nexus One Phones

NASA is taking the cheap but effective route by launching 4-inch satellites using Android phones as the on-board computer. Brilliant.

ZoomE.T. won't need to fall to the Earth to phone home: he'll be able to grab one of NASA's cube-like miniature satellites -- roughly the size of a coffee mug -- later this year. They'll reportedly be powered by Google's Nexus One smartphones and include external batteries, an external radio beacon, and a watchdog circuit that will monitor the system and reboot the Android smartphone if necessary.

On Friday NASA said its cube-shaped, pre-Borg-like satellites are part of the PhoneSat Project aimed to make extensive use of commercial-off-the-shelf components, including an unmodified, consumer-grade smartphone. A small team of engineers is working on the project at the agency's Ames Research Center at Moffett Field, Calif., and are taking the same "release early, release often" smartphone route with the small spacecraft.

"Out of the box, smartphones already offer a wealth of capabilities needed for satellite systems, including fast processors, versatile operating systems, multiple miniature sensors, high-resolution cameras, GPS receivers, and several radios," NASA said.

By using only commercial-off-the-shelf hardware and keeping the design and mission objectives to a minimum for the first flight, the team was able to build each of the three prototype satellites in the PhoneSat project for $3,500. Each NASA PhoneSat nanosatellite is one standard CubeSat unit in size (approx. 4-inches) and weighs less than four pounds.

"NASA PhoneSat engineers also are changing the way missions are designed by rapidly prototyping and incorporating existing commercial technologies and hardware," NASA said. "This approach allows engineers to see what capabilities commercial technologies can provide, rather than trying to custom-design technology solutions to meet set requirements. Engineers can rapidly upgrade the entire satellite's capabilities and add new features for each future generation of PhoneSats."

According to the report, the Nexus One smartphone acts as the spacecraft's on-board computer. Sensors are used for orientation while the camera will be used for Earth observations. This 1st-generation satellite -- PhoneSat 1.0 -- will have a simple mission: to stay alive in the frigid vacuum of space long enough to send back images of earth and space while sending data about its overall health in the process.

Once that mission is completed, NASA will move on to the next-generation PhoneSat (2.0) featuring the zippier Nexus S smartphone. This device will add a two-way S-band radio to the core PhoneSat design to allow engineers to command the satellite from Earth. Solar panels will also be added to enable longer missions as well as a GPS receiver. The team will also throw in magnetorquer coils – electro-magnets that interact with Earth's magnetic field – and reaction wheels to actively control the satellite's orientation in space.

Three NASA PhoneSats systems (two PhoneSat 1.0's and one PhoneSat 2.0) are scheduled to launch aboard the maiden flight of Orbital Sciences Corporation's Antares rocket from NASA's Wallops Flight Facility at Wallops Island, Va., later this year, NASA said. The image provided above is a PhoneSat 1.0 satellite during a high-altitude balloon test.

Later in 2013, NASA's upcoming Edison Demonstration of Small Satellite Networks mission -- part of the Small Spacecraft Technology Program -- will demonstrate the possibility of conducting heliophysics measurements using small spacecraft.

for more details visit : http://www.tomshardware.com/news/Nexus-One-Nexus-S-PhoneSat-NASA-Satellite,17173.html

10 ways to customize Windows 8

Microsoft's operating system isn’t even fully released yet, but we've already got plenty to go on with Windows 8 Release Preview (and, if you're a developer, Windows 8 RTM) to have a good idea about the many ways the new OS can be dolled up. In fact, one of the standout revelations of RTM was the new "tattoos" that can add personalized flourishes to your Start screen background.

The new tattoos are only the latest additions to the many personalizations Windows 8 already boasted in previous pre-releases. In fact, the very first choice in Windows 8's PC settings page is "Personalize," where you can make the lock screen, your account picture, and start screen reflect your own style.

Windows 8 also inherits many of the customization options that were available in Windows 7—in the newer OS's desktop mode. Not only can you choose a desktop background, screensaver, and system sounds, but you can also take advantage of downloadable Themes, including some that are dynamically updated throughout the day. And you can now sync your customizations among all Windows 8 PCs you sign into.

There are even already some third-party tools that offer Windows 8 customizations, but since there's so much you can do with nothing but the OS's built-in tools, this collection will concentrate on just those. If you haven't already downloaded the Windows 8 Release Preview, you can do so and install it on any computer capable of running Windows 7. For a complete look at what's new in the OS, read our Hands On With Windows 8 RTM.

1. Lock Screen Picture

 

 

The first thing you see when you power up your Windows 8 PC or tablet is the lock screen. This is a familiar concept for smartphone users, but it's a new one for PCs. Let the first thing you see be something you love. Windows 8 RTM has six cool choices for this. The default is a Seattle scene showing the Space Needle a mountain, and a green hill. The other contrasting and appealing options include a honeycomb, a nautilus, a piano keyboard, train tracks in a city, and prisms of color. To get to this option, simply choose the Settings charm from the Start screen, Change PC settings, Personalize, and then Lock screen.

 

2. Lock Screen Apps

 

 

The lock screen isn't just a static picture waiting for you to log in: In addition to indicating battery level and the date and time, it can display useful information such as the number of email messages awaiting you, the current weather, and calendar appointments and reminders. Not only built-in apps have the ability to display pithy information on the lock screen, but third-party apps like Twitter clients and messaging apps can, too. You can also specify an app that will display detailed status on the lock screen. The only default choices for this in RTM were Weather and Calendar.

 

3. Start Screen Color and Tattoos

 

 

From its first pre-release version, Windows 8 offered a few background and foreground color combinations for the Start screen, and this is the first choice you make on your first run of the OS after installation. With Release Preview, Windows 8 offers 25 different color combinations for your Start screen—enough for every taste. Note your color choice also affects the charms, your tattoo choice, and even the Windows logo itself, which has been redesigned to be color-agnostic.

Prior to the arrival of Windows 8 RTM, you could grace the background of your Start screen tiles with a few mild patterns, but with RTM, the choices for these "tattoos" exploded into phantasmagorias of design and color. The milder options are still available, but now you have 20 total tattoos to choose from, with some real doozies among them, some sporting flowers, planets, gears, guitars, or creatures. The selection could now truly be considered artistic. To get to this option, simply choose the Settings charm from the Start screen, Change PC settings, Personalize, and then Start screen.

 

4. Tile Sizes

 

 

One of the first things you'll notice on the Windows 8 Start screen is that some of the app tiles are twice as wide as others. Don't agree with the default sizes? No problem. Just right-click on a tile (or hold your finger on it and drag up or down if your using a touchscreen), to display the tile options. If the tile is the larger size, you'll see a "Smaller" button, and vice versa for a large tile. Other choices here include unpinning the tile from the start menu, uninstalling the app, and turning off its live updates.

 

5. Group and Re-arrange Tiles

 

 

There are plenty of ways to arrange your Start screen tiles to taste: Simply click and drag a tile to change its position on the screen (or hold and drag on a touchscreen). For more global changes, you can pinch to zoom out (or Ctrl-mouse wheel), making your whole screen shrink, with all tiles on multiple screens visible. From this view, you can move and even name groups of tiles.

 

6. Account Picture

 

 

In Windows 8, your user picture is always starting up at you from your login screen and from the top-right of the start screen. Why not have a good one? From the PC Settings/Personalize page's Account picture tab, you can either shoot a photo from the PC's built-in webcam, or choose any image file in a folder on the PC.

 

7. Customize Your Default Apps

 

 

Microsoft's incipient operating system comes with several new-style apps, which you can modify to your own needs and interests. Four in particular lend themselves to customization—News, Finance, Sports, and Weather (of course). As with most new-style Windows 8 apps, you get to the customizations by right clicking on the program's running screen, or, if you're using a touchscreen, by swiping in from the top or up from the bottom of the display. With any of these apps, you can pin a particular set of content to the Start screen, rather than just the general app. For example, in the Sports app, you can pin a version just for your favorite team.

8. Notifications

 

 

Windows 8 features new "toast" notifications that appear temporarily at top-right when an app or the system has a message for you: For example, an app has successfully been installed, or you've received and instant message. From the Settings Charm, choose Change PC settings, then Notifications. From this settings page, you can turn on and off notifications from every app capable of sending them, or turn all off at once. You can also mute the notification sound if you prefer.

9. Desktop background

 

 

A fair portion of the desktop customizations that existed under Windows 7 remain in Windows 8's desktop mode. You can change the background (aka "wallpaper"), color, sounds, and screensaver. There are still Themes, including some with live-updated RSS themes (the ones featuring the wonderful daily Bing photos are favorites). What's new are that your theme choices here can be synced with any other Windows 8 PC you log into.

 

10. Taskbar Options

 

 

The Windows 8 desktop taskbar has been flattened—no more 3D translucent Aero look and feel—but you can still do a lot to customize it. Just right click on the taskbar, and choose Properties. Nearly all of the old reliable Windows 7 options are still available. You can change its position from the bottom to the top or either side, auto-hide it, change to small buttons, and uncombined a program's windows. You can even add toolbars to the taskbar for addresses, links, the touch keyboard, or for Desktop. This last one will be of great interest to those who lament the loss of the dear departed Start Button—it gives access to not only any desktop icons, but also Libraries, My Computer, Control Panel, and more.

for more details visit: http://www.thinkdigit.com/Software/10-ways-to-customize-Windows-8_10567.html

Samsung's 10.1-inch Galaxy Note 800 launched in India, at Rs. 39,990

Samsung has launched its long awaited Ice Cream Sandwich-based 10.1-inch Galaxy Note 800 in India. Its primary USP is its S Pen stylus capability, brought forward from the 5.3-inch Galaxy Note smartphone-tablet hybrid.

Samsung has priced the Galaxy Note 800 at Rs. 39,990 (MRP) in India, a price that could be justified with the 1.4GHz quad-core Exynos 4412 processor, Mali 400MP GPU, and 2GB of RAM of onboard, apart from built-in 3G connectivity. However, only the 16GB version of the tablet is being launched (and microSD expandability is up till 32GB), once again raising a question as to its value for money. The tablet had been listed for pre-order on Samsung's India eStore a little over a week ago.

Announcing the launch of the Galaxy Note 800 in the Indian market, stated Mr. Ranjit Yadav, Country Head, Samsung Mobile & IT, “India is one of the first 10 markets in the world where the Galaxy Note 800 is being launched. With the Samsung Galaxy Note 800, Samsung provides a unique user experience that goes beyond passive content consumption to a new world of productivity, active creation and personalized communications. While the S pen offers both active content creation and passive content creation, the Multi screen capability finally enables true multitasking. I expect this device to in many ways to fuel the growth of the tablet market in India and help us further strengthen our market leadership in the tablet market here in India.”

Other specifications of the Galaxy Note 800 include a 5MP autofocus rear camera with LED flash capable of 720p HD video recording, a 1.9MP front camera, Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, microUSB with MHL (TV-out), HSDPA 21Mbps, HSUPA 5.76Mbps, Bluetooth 4.0 with A2DP, GPS with A-GPS (Glonass) support, and stereo speakers.

Samsung’s also boasting of some other special features on the Note 800, such as a multi-screen interface that lets users utilize two different apps, web pages, and videos side-by-side, apps supported for Multi-screen are S Note, Internet Browser, Video Player, Email, Gallery and Polaris Office (document editor).

The Galaxy Note 800 also offers the Pop up Play feature first introduced on the Galaxy S III(read our review), allowing users to playback videos in a floating window that can be overlaid anywhere on the screen. The Galaxy Note 800 will also allow users to adjust the size of the video window. The Galaxy Note 800 also comes with a mini-apps tray that can be used on top of others apps, such as Alarm, S Note, Music Player, Email, Calculator and World Clock.

The S Pen apparently features 1,024 levels of pressure sensitivity, and is “designed for natural and intuitive content creation.” Features like Shape Match (which converts hand-drawn shapes into clean and perfect versions), and Formula Match (which solve hand-written formulas), are also included. Samsung has bundled the S Pen optimized Adobe Photoshop Touch onboard, which is integrated with Adobe Creative Cloud, giving users free access to file syncing and sharing features, apart from 2GB of storage space. A video editor is also onboard.

Samsung’s also boasting of a new education app on the Galaxy Note 800, called ‘My Education.’ It is said to feature more than 10,000 free videos that have been curated by teachers, and is apparently the largest collection of educational videos mapped to the Indian curriculum. These videos are relevant for all students from Class I to XII. The app also offers more than 800 education text books, which would be the largest collection of educational e-books in India. Samsung says students will also be able to access assessment papers.

What do you think about the Samsung Galaxy Note 800? Has Samsung given it good enough hardware, and enough features to justify its price, and make it stand out in the market? Let us know in the comments section below. Do also check out our detailed hands-on with the Galaxy Note 800.

for more detaisl visit: http://www.thinkdigit.com/Tablets/Samsungs-101-inch-Galaxy-Note-800-launched-in_10561.html

First Impressions: Sony DSC-RX100

The Sony DSC-RX100 was made available to the Indian public yesterday and we’ve already gotten some hands-on time with it. But before we get into what we think about the camera, let’s recap what all the hype is about. First off, it’s the first point and shoot from Sony to have a 1-inch back-side illuminated sensor.

Thanks to the bigger sensor, Sony’s managed to pack in 20MP of imaging goodness onto the silicon, along with having each individual pixel be 3.6 times bigger than the pixels on a regular point and shoot. Along with that, the Sony DSC-RX100 packs in a bright lens of f/1.8 at its widest setting. There is a control ring on the lens that can be configured to change anything from aperture to shutter speed to manual focus, giving the camera a somewhat pro feel. A powerful sensor, a bright lens and a control ring all packaged into a neat little pocketable camera and that is what the hype is all about. But the real question is, does it live up to it?

For starters, the RX100 really is quite pocket-friendly in size. It is quite light as well, despite the mostly metal construction. The body has a mode dial on top and a slew of buttons and a dial at the back for instant access to the most commonly used settings like ISO, playback, flash modes, burst modes etc. The arrangement is quite neat, but takes a little getting used to if you’ve not been using Sony so far. It’s a treat to see that Sony excluded a touchscreen on this one.

As far as using the Sony DSC-RX100 goes, the control ring takes a little getting used to, but once you have the hang of things, it’s a total breeze. One thing to keep in mind is that despite being an advanced point and shoot, the RX100 IS a point and shoot camera. So it doesn’t have the easy access of a DSLR. For example, the ISO settings have to be accessed by first pressing the Fn button and then scrolling over to the ISO setting. This isn’t much of a deal breaker though, as the right and left presses of the dial on the back can be reconfigured to access ISO settings.

Test Shots

After having fired off a couple of test shots, we’re pretty impressed by how far technology has come. It’s not everyday that we leave our dSLR at home and take a point and shoot with us instead. The images out of the RX100 are pretty good, especially for a point and shoot. The bokeh thanks to the bigger sensor and aperture is extremely pleasing and the camera has a very good minimum focusing distance, allowing for some pretty impressive shots.

There is a lot more to the camera and we suggest you stick around for our full review that’s coming real soon.

for more details visit: http://www.thinkdigit.com/Digital-Cameras/First-Impressions-Sony-DSC-RX100_10565.html