Temple Run hits Windows Phone alongside Gravity Guy 2 and other games

Temple Run is finally available on Windows Phone platform. The version launched on Microsoft's Windows Phone 8 platform is the original Temple Run game, not the recently launched Temple Run 2 (read our review).

“At the risk of stating the obvious, Temple Run sets you off on one of the most heart-pounding challenges ever,” said Microsoft in a blogpost.

“Swipe to turn, jump and slide as you race over obstacles and whip around corners on a pathway resembling China’s Great Wall, all on your way to capturing hidden treasure. Collect coins, buy power-ups, and see just how far your feet can take you, with the beat of native drums setting your pace.”

The original Temple Run has so far seen a massive popularity with more than 170 million downloads from Apple's App Store and Google Play since its launch in 2011. Following its success, Imangi Studios came up with a sequal for Android and iOS platforms – Temple Run 2. In the meanwhile, Imangi also tied up with Disney to launch two themed versions of the game called Temple Run Brave, and Temple Run Oz.

Temple Run is available for free on Windows Phone 8 platform. You can Download the game from here.

Temple Run for Windows Phone

Besides Temple Run 2, Microsoft has rolled out a slew of other games including the Gravity Guy 2, the next series of the popular Gravity Guy. The game priced at $2.99 is available for download now, and will be sold exclusively to Windows Phone for next month.

Other games that make their way to Windows Phone are Chaos Rings, 6th Planet, Propel Man, Orcs Must Survive, and Fling Theory. It's notable Chaos Ring is only available for Windows Phone 7.5 devices.

"New Windows Phone 8-compatible gaming engines make it much easier for programmers to quickly create Windows Phone versions of their Android and iOS games, so keep you eye on the Store in the months ahead for even more great titles to arrive," Microsoft's Michael Stroh wrote in a blog post Wednesday.

DARK: New trailer reveals vampire powers

Dark is an upcoming stealth and action RPG game that puts you in the shoes of Eric Bane, a vampire. A new gameplay trailer showcasing the abilities Bane wields has just been released and it looks rather good.

The video reveals several abilities range from Shadow Leap, which enables protagonist Eric Bane to leap across short distances in puffs of smoke and the night vision-like Auspex to Shadow Kill and Shadow Grip . The names are pretty self-explanatory, so we don’t really have to get into that. There’s plenty of room for stealth and plain murder. Then there’s domination, which allows Eric to mind control enemies. The icing on the cake, though, happens to be the finishing moves that Eric Bane has been blessed with. We sense a little bit of Mortal Kombat meets Vampire fanaticism.

The game is being developed by Realmforge Studios and being published by Kalypso Media. It is slated for release sometime later this year, but it will only be making an appearance on the Xbox 360 and PC. Currently, the status of a PS3 version of the game is unknown.

Apple planning to open more than 130 exclusive stores in India by 2015

Apple is planning to greatly increase the number of stores selling its products in India, with a target of 200 stores by 2015. According to The Economic Times, Apple franchisees have revealed that the company has asked them to scale up their presence in India by opening more stores selling its products. Currently there are 17 franchisees in India that are running 65 exclusive Apple stores, known as Apple Premium Resellers, and Apple hopes to triple that number in two years time.

The franchisees also revealed that Apple would be sharing design specifics and manpower to build new stores in India, in order to make them similar to the Apple Stores that the company itself runs in many countries abroad including the United States and China. Apple has decided to fund the new Indian stores by reimbursing the total amount (estimated at Rs. 1 crore per store) to the franchisees over a year.

Although Apple Stores have been phenomenally successful abroad, the iPhone makers will find it very difficult to open its own stores in India because of Government regulations. According to these regulations, any product being sold by the manufacturer through its own single brand store should either be made in India or should at least have 30% of its components sourced locally. Since Apple products like the iPhone and the iPad are completely manufactured in China and imported into India, Apple will not be able to sell them through its own stores. The franchisee model, therefore, allows Apple to circumvent that rule by letting Indian retailers sell its products.

The Apple Store located at Fifth Avenue, New York

Apart from the exclusive stores, Apple is also planning on increasing its presence in multi-brand stores in India such as Croma and Reliance Digital.

Apple’s decision to ramp up its presence in the Indian market comes in wake of the newfound success that company is experiencing in India. With the help of retail schemes that offer premium Apple products to Indian consumers through installments, and a bigger marketing push, Apple has managed to rack up a400% jump in its total sales in India, as revealed by an IDC report released in February. The report also showed that Apple had jumped to the second spot in terms of revenue in the Indian smartphone market. For a company that has been conspicuous by its absence from the Indian electronics market in the past, Apple has revealed a new India-focused strategy for the new year, which will mean that Apple products will be launched in India at around the same time that they are launched elsewhere.

New HTC marketing images show the Desire P and Desire Q

HTC has released a couple of marketing images showing off two of its upcoming mid-range smartphones- the Desire P and the Desire Q. The images have been released for the Taiwanese market and both phones will first be launched in Taiwan before hitting global markets.

The Desire P has a 4.3-inch display with a resolution of 800x480 pixels and will be powered by a dual-core 1GHz processor. It will use an 8MP camera for shooting pictures and videos, complemented by an LED flash. Like most HTC phones, the Desire P will feature Beats Audio technology and will also support microSD cards for expandable storage. The Desire P is expected to be launched for around $365 (Rs. 19,800 approx.). Unwired View  points out that the Desire P looks a little like the Desire SV that was launched last November in India.

The Desire Q shares some features with the Desire P including Beats Audio technology. The Desire Q will sport a 4-inch display and is expected to retail for around $235 (Rs. 12,750 approx.). There is still no word regarding what version of Android both phones will run on, but it’s expected to be Android Jelly Bean.

Samsung Galaxy Note III reportedly coming with a 5.9-inch display

Rumour mills have been hard at work suggesting what the display size of the next generation Galaxy Note would be. We have already seen speculation, which suggests that the Note III will have a 6.3-inch display and other speculations, which suggest that the phablets will have a 5.9-inch display.

It seems that the speculations, which suggested the 5.9-inch form factor, can be a bit more believable. The Korean Times reports that representatives of AT&T and Samsung will meet this week in Seoul, South Korea. The executives will get a look at the device and discuss the launch and promotion activity around the smartphone.

Other rumoured specifications of the Note III suggest that the phablets will run on Samsung’s recently launched Octa core processor, the same one that is powering the S4. But since the S4 has two variants, which will launch globally, it is safe to think that we can expect the same from the Samsung Galaxy Note III.

Just because the Note III wont house the 6.3-inch display doesn’t mean that there isn’t a 6-inch device in the works at Samsung’s labs. Android Authority says, “A 6.3-inch phablet is also in the works with the company expected to introduce the model in the first half of this year. The 6.3-inch phablet will be a budget model not a flagship one in line with its strategy to expand product lineups.”

The original Samsung Galaxy Note can be considered as the first successful phablets after the failure of the Dell Streak. Launched in 2011, the first generation Galaxy Note is still a very relevant smartphone as it just received the Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean update bringing to the device a slew of Samsung features that are available on the Galaxy Note II. The update can be downloaded over the air or via Samsung KIES PC client.

Leaked! Rendered images of the Motorola X Phone

A rendered image of what is claimed to be the highly awaited X Phone from Motorola has been leaked to the web. The image was leaked to GSM Arena by an anonymous source who may be working in the team developing the X Phone. The source also revealed some of the specs that will presumably power the X Phone including a quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 processor, a 4.7-inch display with a resolution of 1280x768 pixels and made from Gorilla Glass 3, and a massive 4,000 mAh battery. The X Phone will also probably come with Android 4.2 (Jelly Bean) and may be IP57 certified (like the Sony Xperia Z) which will make it dust and water resistant. The X Phone is also expected to have a large amount of internal storage and no support for microSD cards.

Even though there’s no official details at all about the X Phone, it has been confirmed that Motorola is working on the device. In February, a job listing posted by Motorola for a senior executive to handle the X Phone development was spotted. Apart from the X Phone, Motorola is also rumoured to be working onthree other Android phones targeted at different price-points. These include the Ghost XT912A, the Sasquatch and the Yeti.

Nexus 7 launched in India via Google Play store at Rs. 15,999

Last month, we had reported that as Asus launched a slew of their own products for the Indian market, the coveted Google Nexus 7 washeld off for a later date. Well, that day has arrived, as the Google Nexus 7 has officially graced the Indian Google Play store.

A month back, we had predicted that Google would be opening up the Play Store’s hardware section to the Indian market within the first quarter of the year, with the Nexus 7 being the first device to be sold through the portal.

Besides the tablet becoming available, what’s even more interesting is that it is being sold through Google’s Play store. Currently, the tablet bears a price tag of Rs.15,999 for the 16GB version of the Nexus 7 and the expected shipping date is set to April 5.

The Nexus 7 has a 7-inch screen with a resolution of 1280x800 pixels, making it one of the highest on a 7-inch tablet. The tablet lacks 3G capabilities, but does come with built-in Wi-Fi. The great thing about the Nexus 7 is that it is powered by an Nvidia Tegra 3 processor and 1GB of RAM, pegging it almost just as powerful as most 10-inch counterparts.

While it is great that the Indian consumer has the choice of one additional 7-inch tablet, what’s even better is the new trend that could be sweeping in. Google could start selling their hardware through the Play store in India, like they have been doing in the US. Could this mean that we will start seeing Google also sell the Nexus phones to the Indian audience through the Play store? Could Google finally do away with the middleman and have their phones and tablets make their way to the Indian market?

Ericsson Sues Micromax For Rs.100 Crore Over Patent Infringement

Swedish telecom giant, Ericsson has accused Indian smartphone-maker Micromax of patent infringement and has moved to the Delhi High court seeking Rs.100 crore in damages. The Delhi High Court has been been quite swift in this matter and has asked Micromax to pay royalties to Ericsson on every device it sells. This decision by the court is a part of an interim agreement before the two companies settle the patent deal by April 9.

According to the report in Economic Times, Ericsson had moved to the Delhi High Court saying it was taking legal action after three years of negotiations failed to yield a licence agreement on ‘standards-essential’ patents. Ericsson has said that Micromax has constantly refused to enter into a licensing agreement over some some of the essential patents owned by Ericsson pertaining to some wireless technologies like GSM, EDGE and 3G.

As a part of the agreement known as FRAND (fair, reasonable, and non-discriminatory terms), the Delhi High Court has ordered Micromax to pay 1.25-2% of the sale price of the devices under dispute as royalty to Ericsson and the money paid by Micromax will be deposited in the court will the dispute is finally settled. 

Also, as a part of the agreement before the two companies finalize a patent deal, the Delhi High Court has said that Micromax and Customs department will inform Ericsson whenever a consignment of the disputed devices arrives at customs, so that it can be checked by the executives from Ericsson for any patent violation. Once Ericsson completes it’s inspection, the consignment can then be handed over to Micromax. 

The devices under dispute in this matter include some of the most successful devices from Micromax like the A110 Canvas 2, Funbook Talk and the Ninja series of smartphones. 

This is the first major patent infringement case in the Indian IT and Telecom sector and it could have a serious impact on some of the other low-cost handset makers as well, as they might be next in line to face similar charges. 

Read more: iGyaan.in | Ericsson Sues Micromax For Rs.100 Crore Over Patent Infringement http://igyaan.in/2013/03/40716/ericsson-sues-micromax/#ixzz2Oe0Mti00

Sony rolls out update for the Xperia Z, fixes sudden-death issue

Some people, who have purchased Sony’s latest flagship smartphone, the Xperia Z, have complained on Sony forums that their brand-new Xperia Z’s have been randomly crashing. Some users were able to fix this problem with a hard reset of the device. For those that weren’t able to do so, a fix has been released by Sony to address the issue.

The fix for the Xperia Z is available to users either over the air or via the PC sync software. The update is being rolled out in phases so if you haven’t received the update, you should in the next few days. The update only addresses the issue of the sudden death of the smartphone and doesn’t bring any new functionality or features to the table. If you are one who hasn’t yet received the update and is impatient to update your Xperia Z smartphone, can do so via theXDA developers forum.

The Xperia Z was launched earlier this month and we really liked some of the features of the smartphone. You can check out the details in our review. The phone is capable of resisting dust and even being immersed in water and sports an excellent display and camera. We put the durability of the Xperia Z to the test and we have a video to prove its capabilities.

The Xperia Z is Sony’s flagship smartphone boasting of some impressive specifications that includes a Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro quad core processor clocked at 1.5GHz. The device also sports 2GB RAM and houses a 5-inch Reality Display with a 1920 x 1080 pixels resolution. The Adreno 320 GPU supports its graphical capabilities. The Xperia Z has 16GB built-in storage expandable via a microSD card slot. The rear of the smartphone houses an 8MP shooter and the 2330mAh battery powers the entire package.

iPhone 5S to continue the trend with marginal upgrades over the iPhone 5: Report

Apple’s next iPhone, the iPhone 5S is in the works and if sources on the Internet are to be believed, the shipment of the components for the smartphone will begin at the end of May. The iPhone 5S is expected to hit store shelves sometime in September.

September is the speculated timeline because the iPhone 5 hit store shelves in September 2012. The DigiTimes report reads, “The new iPhone will not receive a major upgrade and may just be a slightly enhanced version of iPhone 5 (iPhone 5S), the sources said citing their latest specification data. Meanwhile, there are also rumors stating that Apple also plans to release an iPhone model using plastic chassis to push its global smartphone market share, the sources added.”

Apple has been losing market share to Android because Android powered smartphones are available starting from Rs. 5,000 all the way up to Rs. 45,000 running Google’s mobile OS. So a “cheaper” iPhone does make sense. Earlier in January, we have seen reports on the Internet, which suggest that Apple may be working on a low cost iPhone. There have however been no further developments to these rumours.

The report also suggests that if the component shipment is smooth, manufacturers will be able to deliver the iPhone 5S to retailers in a matter of 1 to 2 weeks. DigiTimes also says “Apple is expected to ship 25-30 million iPhone 5s in the first quarter, down from 45 million units in the fourth quarter of 2012.”

It is no shocker that the iPhone 5S will be an incremental upgrade as it has been the case with all the “S” iterations of the iPhone, be it the iPhone 3GS or the iPhone 4S. What remains to be seen is what these upgrades are. We have seen the launch of the Samsung Galaxy S4 and the HTC One. Both are Android powered flagship smartphones of the respective manufacturer and bring with them a slew of features in addition to the upgraded hardware. Both the smartphones are expected to go on sale by April. Some speculations also suggest that the iPhone 5S may be unveiled earlier than September and seeing the trend of competing smartphones, this may actually turn into reality.

Celkon A119 Signature HD Launched for Rs.13,499

Celkon has launched their latest smartphone, the A119 Signature HD for a price of Rs.13,499 in the Indian market. The smartphone offers a decent set of specifications for it’s price, but isn’t the most powerful Android smartphone in it’s segment. 

Quick Specifications of Celkon A119 Signature HD

• 5-inch 720p display
• 1GHz dual-core processor, 1GB RAM
• Android 4.1 Jelly Bean
• 12MP rear camera, 3MP front camera
• 4GB internal storage, micro-SD card slot
• 3G, GPS, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth
• 2,100mAh battery 

For starters, the Celkon A119 comes with a 5-inch display capacitive touchscreen display with a 720p resolution and is powered by a 1GHz dual-core processor paired with 1GB of RAM. Running on Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, the Celkon A119 Signature HD should be able to give a smooth user experience because of the raw power under the hood. 

However, you can easily get a smartphone with a quad-core processor under the hood at this price point but it won’t match up with the Celkon A119 Signature HD as far as it’s key highlight is concerned, which is it’s 12 megapixel rear camera and the 3 megapixel front facing camera. That is probably one of the best camera smartphones available at this price point, on paper at least. 

The Celkon A119 Signature HD comes with 4GB of internal storage, which can be expanded by up to 32GB using a micro SD card. Connectivity options on the smartphone include Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS and 3G and the smartphones houses a 2,100mAh battery, which according to the company can give a talk time of about 5.1 hours. 

Celkon A119 Signature HD surely takes a bit different route in the Indian smartphone market, which is currently flooded with budget quad-core smartphones.

Read more: iGyaan.in | Celkon A119 Signature HD Launched for Rs.13,499 http://igyaan.in/2013/03/40416/celkon-a119-signature-hd-launched/#ixzz2OQmWUGdl

Xolo B700 With 4.3" Screen Appears Online For Rs.8,999

After launching the Xolo X1000 recently, Lava is back with another Xolo smartphone, the Xolo B700. The smartphone has been spotted online of Flipkart and is listed as available at a price of Rs.8,999 and Flipkart is promising the delivery in 7-8 business days.

Quick Specifications of Xolo B700

• 1GHz dual-core processor, 512MB RAM
• PowerVR SGX 531 graphics
• 4GB internal storage, micro-SD card slot
• 4.3-inch qHD IPS display
• Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich
• 5MP rear camera, 0.3MP front camera
• dual-SIM
• 3G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS
• 3,450mAh battery 

Coming to the specifications of the Xolo B700, the smartphone features a 4.3-inch IPS display that has a resolution of 540 x 960 (qHD) pixels. The Xolo B700 is powered by a 1GHz dual-core processor paired with 512MB of RAM along with PowerVR SGX 531 graphics. 

Running on Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, the Xolo B700 comes with 4GB of internal storage which can be expanded by up to 32GB using a micro-SD card. On the back, you get a 5 megapixel camera with LED flash that’s capable of recording videos in 720p while at the front, you get a 0.3 megapixel camera for video calling. 

The Xolo B700 is a dual-SIM smartphone, where one of the SIM cards supports 3G as well. Other connectivity options on the smartphone include Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and GPS. 

However, the highlight of the smartphone is it’s massive 3,450mAh battery, which according to the company, can give a talk time of up to 23 hours on 2G and up to 20 hours on 3G. So, if you have have been craving for an Android smartphone that might last through a full day’s of heavy usage, the Xolo B700 might just be the right smartphone for you.

Read more: iGyaan.in | Xolo B700 With 4.3" Screen Appears Online For Rs.8,999 http://igyaan.in/2013/03/40400/xolo-b700-online-8999/#ixzz2OQluR6LQ

Google Nexus 5: Top 10 Facts You Need to Know

The Google Nexus 4 has been quite successful for the search engine giant, with almost 1 million units sold. Now, fans and tech enthusiasts are anxiously awaiting the Nexus 4's successor, rumored to be called the Google Nexus 5. What can we expect from the Google Nexus 5? Here are some of the rumored features, specs, and release date.

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1. The Nexus 5 is Expected to be Released in Late November/Early December



Sources close to the development of the Google Nexus 5 told Heavy.com the device is expected to be released in "late November/early December" of this year. This information is close to what other news outlets have been reporting as well. Android and Me wrote that a source tipped them off that Google would be introducing the Google Nexus 5 in October.

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2. The Google Nexus 5 Will Run Android 5.0 Key Lime Pie

According to some news outlets, the Nexus 5 will run the still-unannounced Android 5.0 Key Lime Pie. The operating system is rumored to be packed with new features, and the operating system is tapped to be released at the Google I/O conference in May 2013.

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3. It Could be Priced at Only $99 Dollars

The IBTimes AU reports that the Google Nexus 5 could be priced at only $99, half of what smartphones like the iPhone 5 costs. Having such a cheap price for such a packed device could really help Google undercut some bigger smartphone manufactures like Apple and Samsung, and help with sales in developing countries. Apple is reportedly working on a cheaper version of the iPhone for developing markets as well.

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4. It Will be Packed With Features and Specs

A fan's depiction of what some of the features of the Google Nexus 5 might include.

Android and Me says that the Google Nexus 5 will be stacked with some pretty impressive features:

5.2″ OLED Display with 1920×1080 resolution
Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 @ 2.3 GHz
3GB LPDDR3 Ram
16/32/64GB of internal storage
16MP rear camera by OmniVision (4k video recording @30FPS, 1080p video recording @60FPS, Real Time HDR & HDR video recording, optical image stabilization, BSI 2.0)
2.1MP front camera (1080p video recording @30FPS)
3300 mAh Lithium Polymer battery
Front positioned stereo speakers
Qualcomm RF360 (LTE 150 Mbps & HSPA+)
Integrated DVB-T / ATSC-antenna
Gesture like controls (navigation, zoom, etc)

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5. The Device May Have a Nikon Camera

Credit: TechCrunch

Phonearena cited a source close to Google that said the upcoming Google Nexus 5 will use Nikon technology to develop the smartphones' camera, with a "triple sensor" array. Phonearenaalso said that the camera will be one of the "selling point[s]" for Google and the Nexus 5.

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6. The Device Will be Manufactured by LG

Similar to the Google Nexus 4, the Nexus 5 will be manufactured by LG. It's interesting that Google has decided to use LG as the manufacturer. In 2012, Google acquired Motorola Mobility, and many critics hypothesized that the only reason Google acquired Motorola Mobility is because of Motorola's large number of patents in the smartphone industry. With companies like Apple and Samsung engaged in some high profile legal battles, many assumed that Google bought the company to protect itself from these lawsuits. However, Google executives maintain that they plan on utilizing Motorola Mobility to its fullest potential and the company is rumored to working on a smartphone called the "Motorola X."

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7. It Might Even Be Called The "LG Nexus 5"

According to some sites, the phone could even be called the "LG Nexus 5" instead of the Google Nexus 5. While this could be a little confusing for consumers - and wouldn't have the same prestige as a "Google Nexus" titled device - a device called the LG Nexus 5 would indicate that Google is planning on working with Motorola Mobility to release a flagship smartphone device, the Motorola X.

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8. The Google Nexus 5 is Codenamed "Megalodon"

Multiple news outlets are saying that the internal codename for the Google Nexus 5 is "Megalodon." According to CNET, "Megalodon" is a reference to a prehistoric shark that was much larger than the Great White. Perhaps the device is named after the shark because Google is hoping that the Nexus 5 can devour the competition?

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9. Google Hopes to Steal Some of Samsung's Thunder

It's interesting that Google Nexus 5 rumors leaked, after months of hearing nothing about the potential device. It seems like the leak may have been planned by Google and LG to steal some thunder from Samsung after its unveiling of the Samsung Galaxy S4. Last week, Samsung announced its successor to the Galaxy S3, one of the most popular phones in the smartphone industry. Since both devices are running Google's Android mobile operating system, both companies are competitors and deeply invested in these products.

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10. Many Analysts Think These Leaks Are Complete BS

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A lot of tech analysts think that these leaked features and specs for the Google Nexus 5 could be almost too good to be true. 3GB of RAM? The iPhone 5 only has 1 GB. Similarly, the Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 hasn't even come out yet (though it should be released by the second half of 2013). Lastly, a lot of the leaked information that has come out recently about the Nexus 5 is conflicting, namely the screen size and RAM.