HAPPY NEW YEAR 2015

   
New Year is not about changing the Dates but Direction;
It's not about changing the Calendar but Commitment;
It's not about changing the Actions but Attitude;
It's not about changing the Fruit but Faith, Force and Focus!
May you Commit and Create the best New Year ever!

Merry Christmas! 2014

Let us celebrate Christmas day
with fun and laughter with family and friends
Merry Christmas To You

Viber Introduce Viber Games

Viber a message, voice and video platform rivaling Skype has expanded their operation with games platform called Viber Games. Viber has recenlty added more features like Mobile Video Calls and Viber Public Chats now they have cooperated with game developers to produce a different gaming experiences using the platform that features Viber characters and exclusive content. Viber Games is currently available in countries like Singapore, Belarus, Malaysia, Israel, and Ukraine. The platform will be rolled out to the other countries in a staggered release.

The game line-up includes "Viber Candy Mania" and "Viber Pop" from mobile game network Storm8 and "Wild Luck Casino" from casual games developer, Playtika. The games were developed through “Viber Connect,” which is a new private API that let users to sign in with their Viber ID to connect with their friends and contacts on Viber. Using it you can send them gifts and tell them about your achievements. You can also send game invites through Viber, and see what games your friends are currently playing.

The 3 games that are available at launch:

• Viber Candy Mania (Storm8)
• Viber Pop (Storm8)
• Wild Luck Casino (Playtika)

 Viber Games will be available worldwide by January 2015.

Bluetooth Updated to ver. 4.2 faster and safer

The Bluetooth Special Interest Group said that there's a new version of their wireless connectivity specification that is designed to raise the level of security connections with Internet of Things (IoT) in mind. The Bluetooth ver. 4.2 will also increase the speed of connection.

"Key updates in 4.2 improve privacy and increase speed, and a soon-to-be ratified profile will enable IP connectivity. Bluetooth 4.2 opens up new opportunities for developers, OEMs and the industry to build a better user experience for consumers while creating use cases never before imagined," according to Bluetooth.com.

Bearing in mind that some 28 billion gadgets will have internet connection by 2020, the Bluetooth Special Interest Group promised that they will make Bluetooth the best solution in connectivity "all the technology in our life."

This update is really important since anyone can just Google search for Bluetooth hacks and you'll get results on how to hack Bluetooth connection. With Bluetooth technology are now being use in cars and appliances, that kind of weakness was simply not acceptable.

The new update will ensure Bluetooth smart devices are not tracked, and that the data transferred through Bluetooth will be confidential. It also designed to use less power. The company said that data can be synced quickly and reliably up to 2.5x faster than previous versions. 

Here are the details of the Bluetooth 4.2 standard.

Samsung Galaxy Core Prime G360H

Samsung the biggest smartphone manufacturer is said to be targeting the launching of the Samsung Galaxy Core Prime G360H this month of December. The company has yet to announce the new smartphone officially.

The Samsung Galaxy Core Prime G360H will run on Android 4.4 KitKat and is said to feature dual-SIM support. The screen size will be 4.5 inches WVGA PLS (plane-to-line switching) TFT display with a 480x800 pixels resolution. The horsepower is 1.2GHz quad-core processor (unspecified chipset) coupled with 1GB of RAM. It will come with a internal storage of 8GB that is expandable through microSD card (up to 64GB).

The Galaxy Core Prime will also feature 5-megapixel autofocus main camera at the rear end, and a 2-megapixel secondary camera at the front. The smartphone will be powered by a 2000mAh battery. Connectivity options are Wi-Fi b/g/n, Wi-Fi Direct, Wi-Fi Hotspot, Bluetooth 4.0, GPS, and 3G.

Samsung Sold 12 million units of Galaxy S5 in 3 months

Samsung, a South Korea based smartphone manufacturer has sold 12 million units of Galaxy S5 for the month of April up to June. In 2013, they have sold 16 million unit of Galaxy S4 in the same period of April to June, that's a huge drop. Wall Street Journal also reported that Samsung sales for the Galaxy S5 is 40% lower than what they have expected.

Samsung manufactured 20% more units of Galaxy S5 than Galaxy S4. Unfortunately for Samsung the Galaxy S5 have not been selling too well like what they hoped, which caused merchandise piling up in warehouses. This gave Samsung no other choice but to dish out more money to marketing to sell more units.

The company has lost market shares from China, which is their biggest market by revenue. They have sold 50% units less of Galaxy S5 than the Galaxy S4 in the first 6 months of release. They have lost some market to local based smartphone manufacturers like Xiaomi, Coolpad, Oppo and OnePlus.

In India Micromax and Karbonn is cutting through Samsungs market share, they have in fact given two official price cuts to Galaxy S5 within one month in India. It was launched at Rs 51,500 last April, now it costs just Rs34,900.

The only country in which the Galaxy S5 is doing well is in the United States which it outsold the Galaxy S4 in the same period.

Google Nexus 6

Google will be launching their newest smartphone the Nexus 6 that features a huge 5.9 inches screen. The new device is codenamed "Shamu", yep they named it after orca the popular killer whale at SeaWorld San Diego. Reports from tecn sites suggests that the Google Nexus 6 will be powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 805 Quad-core 2.7 GHz Krait 450 processor with 3GB of RAM. The device will have an HD screen with a resolution of 1440 x 2560 pixels, and the glass protection is Corning Gorilla Glass 3. The Nexus 6 will be larger than Apple's 5.5 inches iPhone 6 Plus and the 5.7 inches Galaxy Note 4.

It is also expected to have a 13 megapixel primary camera with autofocus, optical image stabilization, and dual-LED (ring) flash, while the secondary front camera is 2 megapixel. The device will run on Android OS, v5.0 Lollipop.

Lenovo VIBE X2 sold out In Just 48 hours In India

Chinese company Lenovo released the VIBE X2 two days ago and after just 48 hours Flipkart sold them out. Flipkart has the exclusive to sell the world’s first layered smartphone. Lenovo VIBE X2 is a mid-range smartphone that cost about Rs 19999 (US$325) which is a little pricey. However, Flipkart run a promotion adding 95% discounts on Lenovo’s innovative Smart Battery Layer for the Vibe X2 which will soon be available, 35% off on shopping on Myntra via the Myntra Android App and free pre-selected Flipkart eBooks. The Smart Battery Layer can be attached to the phone as one more layer and provides additional power.

Lenovo VIBE X2 Specification:

Display: 5 inchess 1080p full HD display
Processor: 2GHz octa core MediaTek 6595M processor
GPU: PowerVR G600
Camera: 13MP rear, 5MP front
Memory: 2GB RAM, 32GB storage
Operating System: Android 4.4 KitKat
Battery: 2300mAh
Dimensions: 140.2 x 68.6 x 7.3mm
Weight: 120gms

Jawbone New fitness trackers: The Up3 $180 and Up Move $50

The Up3

Up Move

Jawbone a San Francisco based technology and wearable products company unveiled two new devices in addition to their current line-up of fitness bands, The Up3 and Up Move.

The Up Move which is an entry level fitness wearable has a clip-on option just cost $49.99. It is equiped with an accelerometer that tracks steps, exercise, and calories burned. It can also monitors sleep. It can be worn on the user's wrist or clipped on to clothing. If you are just starting up with your fitness routine this is a great product. It is powered by a standard, replaceable watch batteries.

The Up3 is a high-end pricier fitness tracker. It has added functionality and it is the company’s smallest and lightest tracker yet. The combination of tri-axis accelerometer, bioimpedance sensors, and skin & ambient temperature sensors detects the user’s heart rate. It can also monitor the user’s resting heart rate, which the company said is an important indicator in overall heart health.

The Up3 can also monitors sleep and detects what type of workout the user is doing like jogging, running, swimming, tennis, or cross-training. However, you won't see any display on the bracelet. You will need a smartphone and the Jawbone fitness app in order to view the biometrics data it collects.

BOth device will be available at Jawbone.com, Amazon, Apple, Best Buy, and Target stores later this month.

The New Samsung Galaxy Alpha

The new Samsung Galaxy Alpha has a new design, they are now shifting from plastic casing to a more sturdy looking metallic bodies. The smartphone also comes in different colors. The Galaxy Alpha is the best looking Samsung smartphone in the market today. It has an aluminum side and a very thin elegant look.

Samsung Galaxy Alpha is a bit smaller than the Samsung Galaxy S5, it is 6.7mm thick and just weigh 115g. The back panel is still made of plastic but it has a rubber feel for easy grip. The Alpha is also equipped with fingerprint reader that is located at the home button. The heart rate sensor is at the back of the phone.

Unlike the S5, Alpha is not designed for rugged use since it has no water and dust proofing. It also don't have a microSD card slot for storage expansion. The internal storage is 32GB, which I think is more than enough. The battery of the device is 1,860mAh that can go the whole day for regular usage like texting, calling, email, and surfing the net.

The screen size is 4.7" inches Super Amoled display with 1,280 x 720 resolution. Even though it doesn't have full HD resolution the display looked rich and very bright.

Samsung Galaxy Alpha is powered by Snapdragon 801 chipset, and it runs on Android 4.4.4 KitKat. The main camera that is located at the back of the phone is 12-megapixel. It has HDR (High Dynamic Range) mode that shows details that are usually lost in the shadows or blown out by bright light.

Galaxy Alpha Specs:

DISPLAY: 4.7" in Super Amoled (1,280 x 720 pixels) at 312ppi
PROCESSOR: Octa-Core processor (Quad-core 1.8Ghz Cortex -A15 and Quad-core 1.3GHz Cortex A7)
OPERATING SYSTEM: Android 4.4.4 KitKat
CAMERA: 12-megapixel autofocus rear camera, 2.1-megapixel front camera
MEMORY: 32GB internal memory, 2GB RAM
EXPANSION SLOT: None
NETWORK: 4G LTE, 3G HSPA+, GSM/WCDMA 850/900/1900/2100MHz
CONNECTIVITY: Micro USB
BATTERY: 1,800mAh
OTHER FEATURES: Heart rate monitor, Fingerprint reader
DIMENSIONS (W x D x H): 132.4 x 6.7 x 65.5mm
WEIGHT: 115g
Colors:     Charcoal Black, Sleek Silver, Dazzling White, Frosted Gold, Scuba Blue

Samsung Galaxy Grand 2 Specs And Price

If you are a fan of large screen then you will love this phablet from Samsung, the Samsung Galaxy Grand 2 offers an exceptional large screen experience and performance. It is equiped with a huge 5.25” inches HD TFT capacitive touch screen that renders 720×1280 pixels. You can definitely enjoy a bigger and clearer smartphone viewing experience, which is great for watching movies or playing games.

The Samsung Galaxy Grand 2 has 146,8×75,3×8,9mm dimensions and weighs 163 grams. Underneath the device, it is powered by a 1.2GHz quad core cortex A7 processor and Qualcomm MSM8226 Snapdragon 400 chipset, that provide a seamless multitasking and fast webpage loading. It has plenty of storage at 8GB internal memory, it can be expanded to 64GB with a Micro SD card.

It runs on Android Jelly Bean operating system and has 1.5GB of RAM, it is still upgradable to v4.4.2 (KitKat). Samsung Galaxy Grand 2 is equipped with an 8 megapixel main camera located at the back with LED flash and auto-focus. The second camera on front has 1.9 megapixel. It is poweredb by  a Li-Ion 2.600mAh battery that can go up to 17 hours of talking on 3G.

The device also boast an enhanced multitasking capabilities that lets user view two apps at the same time, the user can view two instances of the same app or preview of other apps in a multi window view makes switching between apps easier.

Samsung Galaxy Grand 2 is priced at $269.99. 

Apple's Newest Range iPads

Apple, US tech giant will be unveiling their new range of iPads at a Silicon Valley launch on Thursday October 16, 2014 in the hope to revitalize their spot at the top end of the tablet market.

The event will be held in an auditorium at Apple's campus in the Silicon Valley Cupertino, California. Apple will be competing with Google's new Nexus Android tablet that will be produced by HTC a Taiwanese tech company. The world tablet market is dominated by gadgets that is powered by Android software because most of it are priced lower. Apple's iOS software is the 2nd largest followed by Microsoft's mobile Windows operating system.

Jitesh Ubrani an analyst of International Data Corporation (IDC) said that the market for tablet are heading towards low-cost devices, and companies that will stick to their premium pricing will tend to lose share. iPads are priced at $500 while the mini version is at $400 while Android devices cost around $250 or $300.

It is expected that the new line of iPads will have enhanced features like fingerprint scanning and  Apple Pay mobile wallet which are included in the new iPhones.

Leaked Photos of Samsung Galaxy Alpha A3 and A5 Smartphones Android 4.4.4 OS

Android Mexico posted some leaked photos of the new Samsung Galaxy Alpha A3 (SM-A500M) and Samsung Galaxy Alpha A5 (SM-A300H) on their Twitter account. It looks like that both latest smartphones from Samsung has the new elegant, bold, Galaxy Alpha design.

It is reported that the Galaxy A5 will have 5 inches screen size with super amoled display. It will be powered by either Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 or 410 quad-core processor clocked at 1.2 GHz, Snapdragon 410 is 64-bit processor. It will have plenty of internal storage at 16 GB that is expandable using micro SDcard. The primary camera is 13 megapixel, while the secondary front camera is 5 megapixel.

The Galaxy A3 is said to sport a 4.5 inches display with amoled screen and 960 x 540 pixels. It is expected to be powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 410 quad-core processor clocked at 1.2 Ghz. It is also expected to have 8 GB of internal memory that is expandable using micro SDcard and 1 GB RAM. The Samsung Galaxy Alpha A3 will have 8 megapixel rear primary camera and 5 megapixel front secondary camera.

Both Samsung Galaxy Alpha A3 and A5 Smartphones will run on Android 4.4.4 KitKat operating system. The price tag for the Galaxy Alpha A5 is rumored to be between USD$ 400 to $450, and the Galaxy Alpha A3 is expected to be priced at USD $350 to $400.

Nuevo portafolio Samsung: A5, Alpha y A3, equipos q van a ser lanzados en los próximos meses. Exclusiva de AndroidMX pic.twitter.com/uiyXgjpDt5
— Android México (@AndroidMX) October 4, 2014

Ya tenemos Moto G 2da generación 16gb ;) se puede usar con cualquier operador. http://t.co/Wv6xn0M7eF
— Android México (@AndroidMX) October 4, 2014

Gionee Elife S5.5, World's Thinnest Smartphone at 5.1mm

The world's thinnest smartphone goes to the new Gionee Elife S5.5, they have set a new Guinness World Record since it is only 5.1mm thick breaking their own record. The thinnest before was Elife 5.1 which is 5.5mm thick.

Gionee or Gionee Communication Equipment Co. Ltd is a China based mobile phones and smartphone manufacturer located in Shenzhen, Guangdong, China.

It is so thin and at the same time powerful, you can choose between TRU Octa-core 1.7GHz or Quad core 1.2GHz CPU. It also has 1 GB of RAM and 16GB of non-expandable memory. The display is 4.8-inch 720P AMOLED. The elegant frame is magnesium alloy, with curve edges just like iPhone 6. The smartphone is equipped with 5-megapixel cameras that can capture high-quality pictures.

The Gionee Elife S5.5 will be initially available in Asia this October.

Quick Specs:

• Display: 5" Super AMOLED capacitive touchscreen
• CPU: Octa-core 1.7 GHz Cortex-A7
• Memory: 16 GB internal, no cardslot for expansion
• RAM: 2 GB RAM
• Camera: 13 MP, 4160 x 3120 pixels, autofocus, LED flash (Primary), 5 MP (secondary)
• OS: Android OS, v4.2 (Jelly Bean), upgradаble to v4.4.2 (KitKat)
• Battery: Non-removable Li-Ion 2300 mAh battery

Budget Phone: Samsung Galaxy S Duos 3

Samsung Galaxy S Duos 3 is the newest product in the line of Samsung’s Galaxy S Duos series. It runs on KitKat the latest OS from Android. It also has TouchWiz Essence user interface by Samsung.

Other specification are almost the same from the Samsung Galaxy S Duos 2 S7582. It is equiped with a 4 inches display, WVGA screen 480 x 800 pixels TFT capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors. The processor of the smartphone is 1 GHz dual core Cortex-A7 with 512 MB of RAM. The phone storage is 4 GB of internal memory that is expandable with microSD card. The back camera is 5 MP shooter 2592 х 1944 pixels with autofocus, and LED flash. The front camera is VGA. Samsung Galaxy S Duos 3 is powered by Li-Ion 1500 mAh battery.

Discounted Moto X Units .edu email Users

Motorola is promoting their newest flagship smartphone Moto X to students and educators by giving discounts to .edu email users. Moto X, and other new products of Motorola like Moto Hint Bluetooth and Motorola Turbo Charger are available for pre-order on September 16. If you have a .edu email address, you can get $50 off for the Moto X smartphone for only $449.99, the regular price is $499.99. 

If you are interested in availing the .edu discount you will need to complete a form on their site and register your .edu email address to get the promo code. This promo cannot be used in conjunction with other discounts that Motorola is offering. The .edu promo Moto X will not have a contract with any carrier.

Facebook Video

Facebook have now added a view counter to public videos, you can now find popular and trending videos and monitor your own video if people are viewing it. Facebook said that they are serving about a billion video views per day and about 66% are from mobile users. The advantage of Facebook Video against YouTube is that Facebook is social media and the clip have the potential to go viral more rapidly.

Facebook has tapped video ads as an important part of their revenue stream. They have acquired video ad company LiveRail to help generate more income.

Smartphones Kill Switch California

To curb crimes involving smartphones and cell phones, California Governor Jerry Brown signed a historic bill last Monday August 25, 2014 that mandates all phones and smartphones sold in California to be equipped with a “kill switch”, that will turn it inoperable if lost or stolen.

Under the new law, it states that smartphones or other connected devices sold in California must have a method to remotely lock and erase information from a phone, that will render the device useless if stolen. The law will take effect on July 1, 2015. It was passed to curb the rising number of smartphone theft in the California.

If the owner of the phone recovers the device, the owner will still have the capability to restore the functionality and data of the device.

The law will also require the makers to develop a technology that will prevent the device from being requiring for the owner’s identification. It will also require the phone makers to educate and inform the consumers about this new technology.

Samsung Galaxy Alpha

The new Samsung Galaxy Alpha is a very thin, metal-framed Android smartphone it is Samsung's thinnest Android phone.

Samsung's sales is struggling despite the smartphones sales growing by about 27%, this time Samsung wanted a more elegant and more sturdy casing for their Samsung Galaxy Alpha. The smartphone casing is a metal frame and it is 6.7mm thick making it the thinnest Android phone of Samsung. Samsung's Galaxy S5 is 8.1mm thick. The phone is also light weighing just 115 grams.

The Samsung Galaxy Alpha has a 4.7" HD Super AMOLED display with a resolution of 1280 x 720 pixels. It is powered by an Exynos processor with four ARM Cortex-A15 cores that runs at 1.8GHz and four Cortex-A7 cores running at 1.3GHz, or quad-core 2.5GHz processor.

It runs on Android 4.4.4 (KitKat). It has a 12 megapixel rear main camera and a 2.1 megapixel front camera. It is equipped with a 2GB of RAM and 32GB of internal storage, but the storage is not expandable with a microSD card slot. The LTE connection supports download speeds up to 300Mbps, as long as there is a network that can handle it as well. You can also connect through WiFi, USB, and Bluetooth. The smartphone is also equipped with a fingerprint scanner.

The battery is not that impressive, it has a 1,860 mAh battery.

The back panel is removable with a tactile pattern. The colors available are Charcoal Black, Dazzling White, Frosted Gold, Sleek Silver, and Scuba Blue.

The Samsung Galaxy Alpha will go on sale on September.

Asus Transformer Pad TF103

Asus Transformer Pad TF103 is designed to have the mobility of an Android tablet and the function of a small notebook. It is a slick hybrid which has a 10.1-inch display that has a keyboard with a hinge which makes it foldable like a notebook. You can also unhinge the keyboard using a quick release button to transform it into a tablet. It weighs 545 grams and ist 9.9mm thick. It weighs at 985 grams and 19.8mm thick with the keyboard attached.

Asus Transformer Pad TF103 runs on Android 4.4 KitKat with a very clear 1280x800 IPS LCD screen with a 16:10 aspect ratio, vivid colours, wide viewing angles and amazing contrast.

It is powered by a 64-bit Intel Atom 1.3GHz quad-core processor with a 1GB of RAM. It is also equipped with a full-sized USB port for the detachable keyboard. You will also find a micro-USB port on the tablet itself which is also use for charging. It has a plastic body. It has  Bluetooth 4.0, GPS and 802.11a/b/g/n Wi-Fi at 2.4 and 5GHz.

The storage is 16 GB Embedded MultiMediaCard and expandable using a micro-SD slot. Max Supported Capacity is up to 64 GB.

If you are looking for very mobile notebook that can act as a tablet this is a very attractively and affordable choice. It has a low starting price at $299.

Amazon Fire Repairability Rating 3 According to iFixit

iFixit gave Amazon Fire a score of 3 out of 10 when it comes to reparability on their Teardown Scale since the smartphone has a lot of wires and other constraints that makes it harder for the user to tear it apart then pull it back together. The cables, connectors and glue are just too messy. It will be a nightmare for the repair department.

That's to be expected since Amazon Fire is not an ordinary smartphone. It phone has 1280 x 720 pixel display and a screen size of 4.7 inches. It is equipped with 13MP main camera and a 2.1MP secondary camera. The internal storage of the phone is 32 GB, you can also opt for a bigger storage of 64GB. It has 4 IR cameras so that it can detect the users face to give the screen a 3D effect. The smartphone is powered by quad-core 2.2GHz Snapdragon 800 application processor and a graphic processor. It runs on Android Fire OS 3.5 operating system. The 32 GB is priced at $199 with a contract. 

iFixit discovered that the phone uses WCN3680 chipset which supports Bluetooth LE 4.0—a technology. So the BLE (Bluetooth low energy) are incompatible with the Fire Phone.

Samsung Rolls Out "Galaxy Apps"

Samsung wants get in the "Google Play" market and challenge their dominance by rebranding their app store with "Samsung Galaxy Apps." They have presented last Friday July 11, 2014 their new  Galaxy Apps store, it will be offered to over 130 million users in over 161 countries.

Here is their blog post message:

"Samsung Electronics launched Samsung Galaxy Apps, an app store that offers hundreds of apps exclusively available to users of Samsung Galaxy mobile devices. An improvement upon its predecessor, Samsung Apps, the new app store features apps that will allow greater customisation of mobile devices and will also function as a platform to offer various promotions and discounts."

The new Samsung Galaxy Apps store has an intuitive user interface and is composed of 3 sections:

Best Picks - this section allows the users to look for recommended apps and promotions with ease.

Top - this section shows the most popular apps, and they can be viewed and arranged according to their popularity, date, and price.

For Galaxy - this section is further divided in 4 sections.
    Galaxy Gifts - offers premium apps exclusively for Galaxy devices.
    Galaxy Essentials - delivers must-have apps for Galaxy devices.
    Apps for Professionals -it is the home of business focused apps and other services that fully utilize the features of Galaxy devices.
    Galaxy Specials - here users can download apps specifically created by using Samsung SDKs.

Introducing the New Sony Xperia C3 smartphone the Selfie Phone

Check out the new Sony Xperia C3 smartphone that is design primarily for the selfie people. Sony have seen the predicament of a lot of people who loves to take photos of themselves which is best known as selfie. Oftentimes, using the primary camera of the smartphone is pretty difficult since you need to extend your arm and pray that you press the correct button. If you want it easy and use the secondary camera it will give you dim and grainy photos since it has no flash and it is a low megapixel camera.

Now with the new Sony Xperia C3 smartphone that is designed specially for taking selfies, say goodbye to those predicament. The new phone is equipped with a big 5-megapixel camera in front with flash. It has also a main 8-megapixel camera also with flash at the back. The front camera has a wide-angle lens that would be best for group selfies with your friends and family.

The phone is not just for taking selfies since it runs by a very powerful 1.2GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 quad-core processor with 1GB of RAM and the Adreno 305 GPU that is great for playing games and watching movies. The display is 5.5 inches 720p IPS that is supported Sony's signature Bravia 2 Engine and Triluminos display tech.

It is powered by 2,500mAh battery. The 8GB of internal memoryis a lot of space for all your photos and videos. You can also expand it using microSD. You can do a lot with your pictures since the phone is loaded with Vine app, Portrait Retouch, TimeShift-burst, Picture effects, Movie creator, Social Live, Sweep Panorama, and Superior Auto. It is also LTE supported. It runs on Android 4.4 KitKat.

The Sony Xperia C3 will first be release in China in August and other countries will follow.

The new Android L

 
Android KitKat is the latest Android platform that has great features and improved performance but Google is not resting on their laurels. They now previewed their latest platform with even better performance and more features, the Android L. It was presented at the Google I/O developer conference that was held last June 25 – 26 at Moscone West Convention Center in San Francisco, USA.

The Android L will have a new look and it will be bold and a complete overhaul from the previous Android platforms. It will have a uniform design for mobile and desktop. It features new iconography and typography. It will also have bright and striking colors. Android L also offers 3D animations, new themes that has real-time shadows.

Google promised that Android L will have better notification process which you can launch by double tapping or get rid of it by swipping them away.

Android L will be equipped with ART. ART is the latest runtime complier that processes applications more efficiently. It can support cross platform and can give faster performance. It will also have an Android Extension Pack to give more detailed graphics for games.

The best thing about Android L is the promise of an improved battery life. They will be introducing a feature called Project Volta that will make sure that the battery performance keeps up with the rest of the operating system.

Project Volta is created to enhance the overall battery life through optimization of the subsystems of the device. It also offers a Battery Historian tool and a Battery Saver mode.

Battery Historian shows the list of programs that drains your battery while Battery Saver will let you clock-down CPUs, turn down refresh rates and shut off background data to save your battery.

Low End Smartphones: Nokia Lumia 630 Dual Sim

If you don't want to spend a fortune for a smartphone then check out Nokia Lumia 630 Dual Sim this smartphone is budget friendly and is equipped with the functionality of a smartphone.

Nokia Lumia 630 Dual Sim - This smartphone is a low-end very affordable Windows phone 8.1 from Microsoft Devices. This is the first Lumia dual sim-card smartphone.

The phone is equipped with dual-core 1.2GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 processor with 512MB of RAM. The smartphone has 8GB internal storage, and expandable up to 128GB using a micro-SD card. The Windows 8.1 application is very responsive, and menu navigation very easy to use.

It weighs 134g. It has a 4.5 inches Clear Black screen that has good performance with angles. The display is 854 x 480 pixels and build with a very tough Gorilla Glass 3. It has a 5MP camera with no flash.

The phone is powered by a 1830 mAh battery and comes in yellow, black, orange, green, and white.

Japan Provides tourists with free Wi-Fi

Japan is a very lovely country it's clean and they have a very efficient public transportation network, within the metropolis and between large cities. However, finding free Wi-Fi is a challenge. It is not ordinary in Japan to find free Wi-Fi in public areas. This is because most locals are using data plan. It is hard to find free Wi-Fi in Japan specially for tourists. The Japanese government want to change all that by providing Free Wi-Fi as part of an effort to attract more tourists. There is a new program by the government of Japan to provide free Wi-Fi for foreign tourists.

For a foreign tourist to get access to their free Wi-Fi, they need only to present their passports upon arrival to a Japanese airport in order to register for a Wi-Fi card. Then the tourist can use the Wi-Fi card for free Wi-Fi coverage across 45,000 hot spots throughout the entire eastern Japan that includes Tokyo, Hakone, Mt. Fuji, Yokohama, Nagano, Nikko, Kusatsu, Tohoku, Hokkaido and Fukushima.

The free Wi-Fi access lasts upto 14 days, or 336 hours. The Japanese government expects the system to be fully operational by 2016. The trial program was launched earlier this year that will run up to September.

iPhone 5 Useful Trick

Here is one of iPhone 5 useful trick that's really helpful, and one of my favorite. iPhone iOS 7 has a quick Control Center to put your phone in airplane mode, activate Wi-Fi, turn on your phone's Bluetooth, access apps, and change your phone's brightness.  You can also easily access the apps like flashlight, timer, calculator, and camera.

It's easy to activate the Control Center in iOS 7, just swipe your screen starting at the bottom all the way to the top of the screen. That's the easiest way to access it. However, sometimes it doesn't work. Here's another way to access it:

1. Double Tap the Home button on your iPhone, just like switching between open apps or closing them.

2. Swipe the display from the bottom of the screen all the way to the top. This would easily activate the Control Center without any fuzz.

Microsoft Surface Pro 3 Review

Check out Techcrunch Hands On review of the new Microsoft Surface Pro 3. Microsoft Surface Pro 3 boast that it can replace laptops. It is like combing a tablet and a laptop, it has the mobility of a tablet and the utility of a laptop.

Microsoft Surface Pro 3 has 3 version high-end, mid-range, and low-end.

Core i7 (high-end) Price starts at $1,549 - It runs on a very powerful 1.7GHz Core i7-4650U that can run at 3.3GHz using the turbo mode. It has a high end graphics by Intel HD 5000. The 12-inch display has 160x1,440 resolution.

Core i5 (midrange) Price starts at $$999 - same processor as the updated version of Surface Pro 2. 

Core i3 (low-end) Price starts at $799 - It runs on a 1.5-GHz Core i3-4020Y. It uses HD 4200 graphics processor.

Here are other main specs:

- Screen size: 12"
- Resolution: 2160 x 1440
- Dimensions: 11.5” x 7.93” x 0.3”
- Battery Life: Up to 9 hours of web browsing4
- Surface aluminum Pen
- 5.0 megapixel rear-facing camera, 5.0 megapixel front-facing camera
- Software Windows 8.1 Pro

Facebook Updates Privacy Features with more Security

Great news to million of Facebook users around the world. Facebook said that they have created a new privacy features that will upgrade the privacy control of their users. They have announced Wednesday new privacy features which let you control what information you want to share with apps for games, a new dashboard for managing app permissions, a new anonymous Login feature and other changes to the Facebook login.

Now it's a “hassle-free to log in and try apps” Zuckerberg said. You can also choose to continue to log in with full Facebook identification or not. It's a way to "to try apps without fear", Zuckerberg added.

Here are the list of New Privacy Features of Facebook:

1. Anonymous Login - using this option you will be able to try an app without sharing your personal information from Facebook.

2. Facebook Login - you will now have an option to choose what information to share if you use an app. Facebook said that in 2013 users logged into apps and websites using their Facebook login credentials more than 10 billion times.

3. App control panel - this will be the one place where you can manage the apps you use. You can manage a particular permissions for every app, you can also remove apps from the dashboard.

Nokia Will become Microsoft Mobile

Microsoft reported that they will close the $7.9 billion purchase of Nokia's handset business this coming Friday. Microsoft general counsel Brad Smith said that the deal was delayed by a month because they needed to clear regulatory clearances in Asia and that it will be completed on April 25.

"This acquisition will help Microsoft accelerate innovation and market adoption for Windows Phones," he said.

Nokia was the top mobile maker before it was overtaken in recent years by Samsung and Apple. A leaked online said that Nokia brand will be renamed as Microsoft Mobile according to an article on the site NokiaPowerUser.

The leaked letter seems to be a letter to Nokia's devices and services business suppliers.

    "Under the terms of the sale, Microsoft will assume all rights, benefits and obligations of the Nokia Devices and Services business, including Nokia’s agreements with suppliers, customers and partners which pertain to the Devices and Services business. Therefore, the purpose of this letter is to update you that the current terms and conditions that you have with the Devices and Services business will not change.

    Please note that upon the close of the transaction between Microsoft and Nokia, the name of Nokia Corporation/Nokia Oyj will change to Microsoft Mobile Oy. Microsoft Mobile Oy is the legal entity name that should be used for VAT IDs and for the issuance of invoices."

The letter also stated that Microsoft Mobile Oy will be creating new bank accounts, however they will not change the invoice sending method.

Nokia have said that they expect to complete the sale of its Devices and Services Business to Microsoft Corp. this month.

Last September 2013, Microsoft divulge their plans to acquire Nokia for $7.2 billion, and Nokia shareholders agreed to the deal in November.

Internet Data Security at Risk because of a bug called "Heartbleed"

A major security bug has been recently discovered that put millions of usernames, passwords and credit card numbers at risk from hackers. The bug has been exploited by hackers and NSA who snoop at everyone for more than two years. The bug is called "CVE-2014-0160" or "Heartbleed."

This is a different kind of breach, it is not like a web site getting hacked. It is a major bug, the code that suppose to keep servers secure has a flaw. Servers that keep data for thousands of sites. Experts say that this is the worst bug yet and everyone who uses the internet, do business using the internet should be worried.

It is like forgetting to unlock your car or your home, you may never know if a burglar will help themself stealing your stuff.

A Finnish security firm Codenomicon conducted a test exploiting the "Heartbleed" bug to try and steal data here how it goes:

"We have tested some of our own services from attacker’s perspective. We attacked ourselves from outside, without leaving a trace. Without using any privileged information or credentials we were able steal from ourselves the secret keys used for our X.509 certificates, user names and passwords, instant messages, emails and business critical documents and communication."

"Heartbleed" bug was discovered in a type of software called OpenSSL. OpenSSL is used on servers to encrypt sensitive information to protect people’s privacy. More than 500,000 servers were reportedly vulnerable.

Last March, another open-source encryption library "GnuTLS" discovered a bug that fails to correctly validate certificates. Now it's OpenSSL turn.

Administrators and vendors are scrambling to patch this bug since OpenSSL is used by millions of websites and it has affected almost everyone. The only way you website is not affected by this bug is if your website is not using SSL or you have an outdated versions of OpenSSL which are also equally risky.

As for Amazon, they are working to patch "Heartbleed" memory-leak vulnerablities in their Amazon Web Services hosting infrastructure.



Here are Online Tests that you can use:
http://possible.lv/tools/hb/
https://www.ssllabs.com/ssltest/
http://filippo.io/Heartbleed/

LG Gives G2 and G Flex Knock Code

LG introduced G2 with a KnockOn feature that gives users the ability to wake or lock the device by just giving a double tap on the screen. Now LG has develop it gradually to a more secure Knock Code with the recently launched LG G Pro 2, this new feature allows the users to tap on the screen in a pattern that can be customized, which is definitely more secure way of accessing (locking/unlocking) the LG Smartphones. The Knock Code will be use for both the LG G2 and G Flex through a firmware update starting in April. Models that will be equipped with this feature are G Pro 2, G2 mini, F Series and L Series. Old version can also be updated through a firmware update.

The Knock Code security function use a "tap to unlock" gesture, it divides the smartphone screen into four invisible quadrants. The user simply need to "tap" or "knock" in an specific area to unlock the phone. The user will be able to assign from 2 to 8 taps in a quadrant using a specific sequence. This gives a combination of 80,000 possibilities which gives the smartphone a high security level.

Also the possibility of password theft will substantially decrease, considering the Knock Code is hard to mimic if you don’t know where to tap.

The Knock Code can easily be carry out anywhere on the screen and it works better than the bio-recognition systems since it is more responsive. LG hasn't announce the specific date for the roll-out. I'll keep you posted.

Apple's iOS 7.1 update Shorten battery life

The latest iOS 7.1 update by Apple has been blamed for a shorter battery life and the update is also blamed for other minor glitches in iPhone devices that have updated.

The other glitch that was reported includes, disrupt bluetooth connection, wifi connection issues, and lost contacts that are save in the phone memory.

iPhone users have storm the official Apple forum and Twitter to complain about these glitches.

Apple released iOS 7.1 last Monday and its their first major update to iOS 7, and it's causing a lot of problems I hope they fix it soon.

Bad news: after five months of testing, iOS 7.1 has an iPhone battery-killing bug. Good news: iOS 8 is only 6 short months away. Maybe 7.
— Jeremy Horwitz (@horwitz) March 14, 2014

Wow iOS 7.1 kills my battery.
— Selena Larson (@selenalarson) March 14, 2014

This 7.1 update sucks. Drains the battery on my 5s, delayed sounds, and a wonky touch screen. Sorry if I favorite your random tweets.
— Eric Smith (@ericpatricksmit) March 13, 2014

Battle of Smartphone Platform: Google and Apple Dominates

According to a comScore Report, Android devices are the king of smartphones there are more people using it than any other Platform. Android has a comanding lead at 51.7% against Apple's 41.6%. It is for the three-month period ending January 2014.

The best benefits in dominating the smartphone platform is that it spills over into the web properties also. comScore reported that Google Sites ranked as the top web property on smartphones at 89.4% of the mobile media audience, followed by Facebook 86.6%, Yahoo Sites 86.2%, Amazon sites 69%, and AOL 56.9%.

Nokia Likes XDA Developers Hack

Nokia instead of getting mad about hacking their phones got excited about a hack that will let Google Android apps and services run on Nokia X smartphone. Xda-developers member Kashamalaga found a way using Nokia X to run Google Play Store and apps like Google Now, Gmail, Google Maps, and Hangouts.

Nokia X use a forked version of Android like Kindle that has its own app store.

Nokia Developer Team Tweeted about it, and they sounded pleased.

@KashaMalaga This is awesome! Very excited to see progress is being made - we actually really like @xdadevelopers
— Nokia Developer Team (@nokiadeveloper) February 28, 2014

check out http://gametechs.blogspot.com/ for tech and game reviews 

Samsung Galaxy S5 smartphone

The new flagship smartphone of Samsung the Galaxy S5 has been unveiled at the 2014 Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain, on Monday, February 24, 2014.

The company give special importance to its built-in heart-rate sensor and improved camera features over its slightly larger size.

The screen size of Samsung Galaxy S5 is 5.1 inches and the camera is 16 megapixel which is a good upgrade from the S4's 13 megapixels. It also has a faster auto focus. You can also focus on a specific subject blurring the foreground or background of an image.

Galaxy S5 will be out in the market worldwide on April 11.

Key Specification of the Samsung Galaxy S5 smartphone:

Display - 5.1 inch screen with 1080p resolution however, they have a new technology that makes the screen brighter than the Galaxy S4.

Fingerprint Scanner - same with iPhone 5S that adds security to the device.

Power - It has a power saver feature that turns off power guzzler apps to preserve power.

The Phone has water and dust proofing. It also has a heart rate monitor.

Samsung Galaxy S5 colors charcoal, blue, gold and white

iPhone 5S

Galaxy S5

Size	123.8 x 58.6 x 7.6 (mm)	142.0 x 72.5 x 8.1 (mm)
Weight	112g	145g
Screen	4.0-inch LCD	5.1-inch Super AMOLED
Resolution	1136×640 pixels	1080×1920 pixels
OS	iOS 7	Android 4.4.2 with Samsung UI
Storage	16/32/64GB	16/32GB
SD Card Slot	No	Yes
Processor	64-bit A7 chip	2.5GHz Quad core
RAM	1GB	2GB
Connectivity	Wi-Fi, 4G LTE, HSPA+	Wi-Fi, 4G LTE, HSPA+, NFC
Camera	Front 1.2MP, Rear 8MP	Front 2.1MP, Rear 16MP
Bluetooth	Yes, version 4.0	Yes, version 4.0
Motion Processor	M7 chip	Heart Rate Monitor
Fingerprint sensor	Yes	Yes
Water Resistant	No	Yes, IP67 rated
Battery	1570mAh	2800mAh
Charger	Lightning connector	USB 3.0
Marketplace	Apple App Store	Google Play Store
Ave. Price	$200+	$N/A
Availability	AT&T, Sprint, Verizon, T-Mob	April on AT&T, Sprint

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