Sony preparing to launch first Firefox OS phone in India

Indian users may soon be able to get their first taste of Firefox OS for mobiles after a Sony executive revealed that company was planning to launch its first device powered by the new mobile OS. While speaking to The Mobile Indian, an unnamed Sony executive said that the company was already working on developing a handset with applications and tweaks geared for the Indian market.

The Sony source further said that the company was working on adapting the Xperia E to run Firefox OS. The Xperia E is an upcoming budget smartphone from Sony that will run on Android Jelly Bean and sports a 3.5-inch display with a resolution of 320x480 pixels. The Xperia E also has a 3.15 MP camera and is powered by 1GHz Qualcomm processor and 512MB of RAM. While the Xperia E hasn’t been officially launched in India, some online retailers are selling it for under Rs. 10,000.

According to The Mobile Indian, Sony has already released a ROM of Firefox OS for the Xperia aimed at developers and enthusiasts. The Sony executive further revealed that Sony was treating India as an important market for Firefox OS phones and would in fact be one of the first markets where the phone running the new OS would be launched.

Mozilla unveiled the Firefox OS for mobiles at the Mobile World Congress recently held in Barcelona. At the event, Mozilla revealed that phones running its OS would be launched in Europe, Latin America and Asia soon and also showed off two handsets manufactured by ZTE and Alcatel that would be one of the first Firefox OS handsets to be launched. While Mozilla is expected to tie up with network operators in a majority of global markets in order to launch the handsets, in India, the Sony handset won’t be tied to any particular network operator.

We’ve already done a quick runthrough of the Firefox OS through a desktop simulator and we thought that although the OS was derivative of the Android and iOS, it also had a lot going for it such as its clean and simple interface which is very intuitive to use. If the OS is optimized well for mobile hardware, we could see a third OS vying for the smartphone market very soon

No Firefox for iOS till Apple shapes up, says Mozilla VP

All you iOS device users, Mozilla is not in the mood to show you any love, as Mozilla’s Vice President Jay Sullivan asserted that there will not be a dedicated Firefox browser app for iOS unless Apple adjusts its outlook towards third party browsers.

Sullivan isn’t happy how Apple forces developers creating browsers for iOS to use its own WebKit, which takes away from what Firefox is all about. Mozilla Firefox uses its own JavaScript and rendering engines to provide the kind of user experience Firefox is known for, and Cupertino’s rules prohibit a browser app to use anything but its own WebKit. This isn’t the only problem though, as Apple also forces users to accept Safari as the default browser on the iOS devices, with no option to change the default browser to any other, unless you’re Jailbroken, and even then, it’s a buggy solution.

Apple is facing a lot of criticism on its approach to keeping everything as locked down as possible. Besides forcing users to use Safari as the default browser (which could be why the usage numbers are so high).

The fruity giant has also been under fire for creating a monopoly on just where users can download apps from. Many say that it is not fair to pay full price for a device that has intentionally been locked up to get its apps only from one source. While those who are Jailbroken get the added advantage of having the Cydia Store to get system tweaks, it is still not a full-fledged alternative to the iTunes app store

7 tips to give your smartphone a fresh start

From unused apps to files you downloaded once from the internet, extra mobile clutter can make your phone sluggish or simply make it difficult for you to find what you are looking for. Follow these easy tips to give your phone a fresh start.

1. Get into the habit of backing up your data

Running out of space in your phone to save your pictures, music and more? Upload them to the cloud or simply copy everything to an external hard drive. That way, your data will also be safely stored elsewhere in case something happens to your phone. TrySugarSync, a file syncing service that will sync your new photos and other files to the cloud automatically.

2. Drop unused apps like bad habit

If you have not used an app in the last few months, it’s not likely you will use it again. Instead, the icon sits there taking up space and making it harder to find the apps you do use. Go through all your apps and see which ones you use on a daily basis — delete the rest.

3. Move to a smarter browser

Something like the Opera Mini, if you haven’t checked it out. The Opera Mini app shrinks data to as little as 10% of its original size before it lands on your phone. This speeds up the web on your phone, saving you a great deal of time — since you’ll be able to open websites in the blink of an eye — as well as money and battery.

4. Periodically clear cached files

Your apps and browser create temporary files that can take up space and memory. You can download an app to help you do the job, such as Easy Cache Cleaner (for Android), which scans your phone and allows you to clear out the cache files. Once you’re done, you might as well delete the app.

5. Spruce up your message, email inbox

You’ll gain space, and you are never going to read them again anyway. It only takes a few seconds to delete them all — you can even use an app like Delete Old Messages (for Android) to help you — and you’ll feel refreshed after you do it. Do the same for your email inbox, and your phone’s memory will love you for it.

6. Investigate your contacts list

If you cannot figure out who that person in your contacts is or where you know them from, ditch them. Also, check for duplicates on your address book, as syncing from different sources can cause double-ups. It’s all about the space.

7. Conserve power

If your phone drains battery, there are a few steps you can take. Close the apps you’re not using, turn the mobile data, 3G, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth off when you don’t need them, lower the brightness on your screen and turn the keyboard clicks off.

With these tips you will get your phone spruced up prim and proper. Even if it’s working fine, following these steps will keep things from piling up on your phone, giving you more free space to use when you need it and making it easier to find what you’re looking for.

Facebook refreshes News Feed design; focus on minimalism & bigger photos

Facebook hopes that the refreshed design will prevent user fatigue, and also attract new advertisers to the network. The update will be rolled out for all users in the coming weeks.

Facebook has unveiled a new design for the News Feed, with the focus being on minimalism in design, and greater visibility for shared media – photos and videos. The new design is being rolled out for the desktop version, as well as the mobile version. The company wants a uniform look of the network, no matter what the device or the platform.

The News Feed, which provides a running list of updates from a user’s network, will serve as a “personalized newspaper” for Facebook’s 1 billion users, chief executive Mark Zuckerberg said, at the event, held at Facebook’s headquarters in California. He mentioned that this is another step in the “evolving face” of the social network. He said that he wants Facebook to be “the best personalized newspaper in the world.”

The introduction of the topic specific news feed would enable users to have a better tap on the info they are looking for, but equally, the advertisers would have a more precise platform to target. Besides renewing user interest in the social network, something that was waning off late, the refresh is also giving prime real estate space to advertisers on the users’ news feed.

The new design will be rolled out to all users in the coming weeks, across all platforms. In the last quarter of 2012, Facebook’s daily active users on a mobile device had outnumbered its desktop users, for the first time in the social network’s history.

Micromax A110 Canvas 2 is getting Jelly Bean next week

When purchasing smartphones from relatively unknown manufacturers, you are rarely expecting to see much in terms of after-market support and firmware updates. Well Micromax is determined to prove that this doesn't necessarily have to be the case and has committed to releasing a Jelly Bean update for its former flagship.

The Micromax A110 Canvas 2 has been enjoying extremely warm reception in India and at one point it even managed to top our daily interest charts. It has been succeeded by the A116 Canvas HD since, but Micromax is still keen to take good care of it.

The rollout of the Jelly Bean updae for the Micromax A110 Canvas 2 will start next week, but unfortunately it won't be available over the air. What's worse, you won't be able to update your smartphone from your computer either.

Instead, you'll have to call the nearest Micromax service center, confirm they have already received the firmware update for your phone and then go there to get your A110 some Jelly Bean treatment. Hardly an ideal solution, but as we said it's still better than what most of Micromax competitors are offering.

Five Samsung Galaxy S IV rumours that make it worth waiting for

The hype and expectations surrounding the Samsung Galaxy S IVhas reached fever pitch with multiple rumours now zipping around the Internet. While many of these rumours that talk about the phone's specifications state the obvious with regard to improving hardware, some of them also touch upon features that would be really interesting if they actually show up on the final product, which is due to be revealed on March 14.

Display

The Samsung Galaxy S IV is expected to wield a 5-inch displaym but unlike its previous smartphones Samsung is probably moving away Super AMOLED technology. Instead, the Galaxy S IV is rumoured to have an IPS display that uses SoLux technology. This will make the Galaxy S IV's display look more natural than those on the previous Galaxy smartphones but may also look less vivid. The new display is also supposed to be power efficient with a really high pixels per-inch density that may go above 400 ppi. Add to that the fact that the display will also probably have a resolution of 1920×1080p, and the Galaxy S IV may have one of the best looking mobile phone displays when it's launched.

Wireless Charging

Samsung was supposed to bring wireless charging to Android with the Galaxy S III but decided not to. Granted the Galaxy S IV won't enjoy exclusivity when (and if) it launches with wireless charging as feature, since the Nexus 4 already supports it, but it will still be a nice feature to have. Also, once the feature debuts on a massively popular mainstream phone like the Galaxy S IV, you can expect it to gain more traction with other brands.

Camera

The Samsung Galaxy S IV will in most likelihood come with a 13MP camera, and that by itself will be enough to ensure that 13MP is the new 8MP. We can expect that the camera will be pretty good, although maybe not the best in its class. This was also the case with the Galaxy S III that had a very good 8MP camera but was outperformed by the likes of the iPhone 5 and the Lumia 920.

Software

The software and interface featured on Samsung's Android smartphones may not be critically praised for its looks but it sure does pack in a whole lot of features. If the rumours are to be believed, the Galaxy S IV will boast of an all new TouchWiz running on top of its Android OS. The Galaxy S IV will also probably share some features with the Galaxy Note. This includes gesture driven actions that won't require you to touch the display. However, unlike the Note, the Galaxy S IV will not come with the S-Pen stylus but will instead allow users to use their fingers for everything.

Finally, the hardware

The rumours surrounding the hardware that powers the Galaxy S IV all point to a couple of centralities- it will wield either an octa-core Exynos 5 processor or a quad-core Snapdragon 600 processor. While the former is supposed to power Galaxy S IV variants launched in Korea, the latter will probably power variants of the phone launched in Europe. Talking about variants, the S IV is also supposed to be released in variants with different built-in storage - 16, 32 and 64GB.

Leaked AnTuTu benchmark score confirms Octa-Core CPU for Galaxy S4, Still beaten by HTC One!

s we near the launch date for Samsung’s upcoming flagship smartphone, the Galaxy S4, more and rumors have started to emerge about the smartphone. Previous reports suggested that Samsung would ditch it’s own Exynos 5 CPU and use the Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 processor to power the Galaxy S4, but if the latest leak showing the AnTuTu benchmark scores of the device are to be believed, the smartphone is indeed powered by the Exynos 5 Octa-Core processor.

According to the leaked AnTuTu benchmark scores for the Galaxy S4, the smartphone would be powered by a Exynos 5410 Octa-Core processor with a clock speed of 1.8GHz. The new processor is paired with 2GB of RAM, which should make the device blazing fast and the Galaxy S3 successor will also come with a PowerVR SGX 544MP GPU, so expect the graphic performance on the smartphone to be top-notch.

All the raw power under the hood of the upcoming Galaxy S4 makes the smartphone about 40 percent faster than the Google Nexus 4 and it gets an AnTuTu score of 24,894, which surprisingly, is less than the HTC One’s score of 25,064 points on AnTuTu Benchmarks that we got in our benchmark tests.

The other specifications of the device are similar to what have been rumored earlier, like a 4.99-inch 1080p display and a 13 megapixel primary camera with an LED flash along with a 2.1 megapixel front facing camera. The new leak also suggests that the Galaxy S4 would be running on Android 4.2 Jelly Bean out-of-the box.

The connectivity options on the Samsung Galaxy S4 would include NFC, Bluetooth 4.0, Wi-Fi, LTE and GPS and the device would be available in 16GB or 32GB storage options. With just 10 days remaining for the launch of Galaxy S4, the level of excitement is surely at it’s peak! Stay tuned for more details about the upcoming smartphone and it’s launch event on March 14!

Read more: Leaked AnTuTu benchmark score confirms Octa-Core CPU for Galaxy S4, Still beaten by HTC One! - iGyaan.in http://igyaan.in/2013/03/38584/antutu-score-galaxy-s4/#ixzz2MZbUKDpQ

Apple launching iPhone 5S in September; low-cost iPhone a possibility?

Apple seems to be all set to launch two iPhone versions later this year. Chinese tech blog, EMSOne claims this on the basis of speculation by Barclays Capital’s analysts, who think Apple will launch a less expensive version of the iPhone, alongside the ‘iPhone 5S’.

The report goes on to specify that both Foxconn and Pegatron will be producing the low-cost iPhone. It is believed that Apple has bumped up the screen size of the low-cost iPhone to 4.5-inches, and given it a polycarbonate body, instead of the aluminum on the more expensive iPhone, to keep costs down. There still seem to be two schools of thought – one saying that the iPhone “Nano” or the iPhone “Mini” will launch with the next iPhone update, and the other saying it’ll arrive only in 2014.

The main highlight is that Apple’s ‘iPhone 5S’ will apparently carry forward a design similar to the current iPhone 5, with only slight design modifications, but possible colour options.

If these reports are true, the ‘iPhone 5S’ will be launched a full year after the launch of the iPhone 5, in September.

The ‘iPhone 5S’ is rumoured to include a Super HD screen display. The China Times recently reported that Taiwanese supplier Innolux is developing a 'Touch on Display' – 10-point multi-touch with a 0.5mm thickness. It is being rumoured that the iPhone 5S will carry forward the same casing as the iPhone 5, in line with the past examples of the 3G and 3GS and the iPhone 4 and the 4S. The low-cost iPhone is expected to get a bigger display though, assumed at 4.8-inch. It was only earlier this year, during the earning call, that Tim Cook said that iPhone 5 users were happy with the screen size.

Japanese blog, Macotakara, meanwhile reports that the low-cost iPhone will have the same design as the iPhone 5, but with a polycarbonate body and will be available in multiple colours.

The camera could be the biggest improvement on the next iPhone. The megapixel game is being shaken up to life again, with the 13MP clicker on the Xperia Z and the 4MP UltraPixel camera on the HTC One. It is expected, following all the rumours and reports, that the next iPhone will have a 13MP camera.

There really isn’t much to go on in terms of the processor the next iPhone might have, but it could be the A6X from the fourth-generation iPad or the new A7 processor. RAM could be boosted as well, if new visual elements are added to the iOS 7 UI. 

LG announces sales of 10 million LTE smartphones globally

LG Electronics has announced that it has sold over 10 million LTE-enabled smartphones all over the world. The announcement comes six months after LG announced that it had managed to sell over 5 million LTE enabled smartphones.

LG has been quite successful with it’s range of LTE-capable smartphones and a major reason for that is the company’s success in certain markets like United States, Japan, Germany and South Kore where consumers want smartphones which can provide them the fastest network speeds.

LG, which has been quite elated with this success is already gearing up for its next milestone. The company hopes to double it’s LTE smartphones market presence  this year and also expects to triple the sales of its LTE handsets this year.

LG’s target for the year 2013 might well be achieved easily as the company has gone more aggressive and announced the Optimus F5 and F7 LTE-enabled smartphones at an affordable price. Also, it’s other high-end LTE smartphone, the Optimus G Pro will also be available soon, strengthening LG’s hold in the LTE smartphone space. 

Read more: LG announces sales of 10 million LTE smartphones globally - iGyaan.in http://igyaan.in/2013/03/38562/lg-10-million-lte-smartphones/#ixzz2MYzGuAb7

Expect free roaming by October 2013

The National Telecom Policy (NTP) 2012 envisages free roaming across the country. Its implementation was expected to be begin March 2013, and now, it seems to have been delayed for another 4-5 months.

According to an Indian Express report, Union minister for Communications and Information Technology, Kapil Sibal, said at an event in Chandigarh: "...free roaming will certainly be in place by the month of October, 2013". The minister did not specify any particular date for the launch.

Back in December last year, a Times of India report had said free roaming has been listed among the 'key initiatives to be completed within the next three months'.

Recently, the TRAI asked industry players to provide their views by March 18  on the 'Review of Tariff for National Roaming' consultation paper floated last month.

As per the NTP 2012, approved on May 2012, roaming has to be abolished in the country with the introduction of concept of "one nation, one rate."

The proposed free roaming facility is meeting a strong resistance from the telecom operators, who fear aloss of about Rs. 13,500 crore in revenues. The Cellular Operators Associations of India has opposed the government's free roaming plans, saying the DoT should first address a range of policy-related issues, such as migration to the unified licence before directing the telecom operators to end the charges.

Nokia Lumia 620 available for pre-order online at Rs. 15,199

The Lumia 620, Nokia's most affordable Windows Phone 8 handset at the moment, has now finally been given a price tag in India, with pre-booking open via online retailers. Listed at Rs. 15,199, the Lumia 620 will be made available in the second week of March. We can expect an official launch on retail shelves at around the same time, for around the same price.

The Nokia Lumia 620 was first revealed by the company in December last year, before being showcased in India at the Nokia Lumia 920 and 820 launch event in January. At that point however, no exact pricing details were mentioned. Of course, since then, Nokia has also revealed the Lumia 720 and 520 at MWC 2013, filling out the company's Windows Phone 8 lineup with more entry-level and mid-range offerings.

Powered by a 1GHz dual-core Snapdragon S4 processor and 512MB of RAM, the Lumia 620 features a 3.8-inch 800x480 pixel ClearBlack display. Other features include a 5MP rear camera with 720p HD video recording, VGA front-facing camera, 8GB of built-in storage (expandable via microSD card to 64GB), and a 1,300mAh battery that is rated to deliver up to 330 hours of standby time, and 14.6 hours of talk time. 7GB of SkyDrive cloud storage is also available.

Apart from 3G connectivity, the Lumia 620 also supports Wi-Fi a/b/g/n connectivity. Perhaps most importantly, looking at the company's target demographic, the Lumia 620 will come with a vivid variety of switchable back panels or coloured shells.

What do you think of Nokia's Lumia 620 pricing? Do let us know in the comment section below. During ourhands-on with the Lumia 620, we'd hoped for a price tag of roughly Rs. 12,000, but had expected it be around the Rs. 16,000 tag, with Nokia's penchant for overpricing at launch. As you can now expect, theLumia 520 will be the Rs. 12,000 device we were hoping for.

Microsoft Photosynth For Windows Phone 8 Devices Finally Here

Microsoft’s ever-popular panoramic app Photosynth has arrived on the company’s own Windows Phone 8 platform. The app had previously only been available for iOS devices (as well as WP7), but after being absent from Microsoft’s new mobile platform for several months after its release, Windows Phone 8 users can now capture Street View-esque panoramic images with their new Windows Phone devices.

The app was initially slated for the OS’ launch in late October, but Joe Belfiore, Windows Phone team lead, said he “asked them to ‘re-do’ their UI to be a terrific lens experience and they obliged.” In other words, the app had to be retooled to be successfully integrated into the new Lens system, a feature Microsoft has been touting as especially convenient for users.

Three main improvements include:

- Lens integration – Quickly capture and view panoramas by launching Photosynth directly from the camera.
- Ability to view shared panoramas—New sharing capabilities let other Windows Phone 8 users view your panoramas on their phone, and as always you can show off your panoramas by email, Facebook and Twitter.
- More camera controls – Adjust for various lighting conditions by using new exposure and white balance locking options.

One of the biggest criticisms of Windows Phone (as well as BlackBerry and other smaller phone systems) is that not as many apps are available as there are for Android and iOS. However, Microsoft has been steadily increasing the number of apps available for its newest smartphone operating system to catch up with its bigger rivals.

If you’re an avid photographer, download Photosynth for WP8 and stitch some scenes together

Read more: Microsoft Photosynth For Windows Phone 8 Devices Finally Here - iGyaan.in http://igyaan.in/2013/03/38532/microsoft-photosynth-wp8/#ixzz2MTIYQmfJ - See more at: http://igyaan.in/2013/03/38532/microsoft-photosynth-wp8/#sthash.Y1yBpMks.dpuf