Android next version KitKat - Google

11:53 AM

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technology news

Sundar Pichai, head of Android division at Google, on Tuesday revealed on Twitter that the next version of the company's mobile operating system (OS) will be called Android KitKat.

Android next version will be called KitKa

"We now have over 1 billion Android activations and hope this guy in front of the building keeps that momentum going," Pichai tweeted as well as posted an image of a giant Android mascot built like KitKat chocolate.

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Hacker turns Google Glass into a drone controller

8:29 PM

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technology news

A security researcher has reportedly used a JavaScript code in order to turn Google's wearable computing eyegear Google Glass into a drone controller.

Google Glass

Blaine Bublitz experimented with a JavaScript program called node.js. to create a program to tweak for different controllers andvehicles.

Bublitz was successful in his experiment and is now able to control a drone softly floating in the air before him with just a slight tilt of the head, Sydney Morning Herald reports.

Although, he was able to control the AR drone via Google Glass, there were a few glitches as Bublitz said that he couldn't see where the bot was while he was control ling it adding that something that could be of about eye height would have been better.

He said that he would like to add the ability to rotate the drone left and right based on Google Glass' azimuth value but that will take time to realize.

Users who want to experiment with the program can also download it from Bublitz's GitHub profile, the report added.

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Micromax's smartphone Canvas Doodle 2 launched in India

4:12 PM

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technology news

INDIA NEW DELHI: Indigenous smartphone manufacturer Micromax has launched its biggest-ever and most expensive smartphone in India. The new phone, named Canvas Doodle 2, has a 5.7-inch screen; the upcoming Samsung Galaxy Note III is also said to have a 5.7-inch display.

Available on online retailer Snapdeal, the new Micromax phone has been priced at Rs 19,990, making it the most expensive handset by the company. The listing says the phone will be dispatched in five days.

The new Canvas Doodle 2 has previously been teased by Micromax via its Facebook page with the tagline "Can your imagination get bigger?" The phone is not listed on the company's website as of now.

Micromax Canvas Doodle 2 has screen resolution of 1280x720p, same as that of Canvas HD and Canvas 4. It is powered by a 1.2GHz quad-core processor, backed by 1GB RAM and comes with 12GB internal storage. This dual-sim smartphone will run on Android 4.2 (Jelly Bean) and come with Micromax's 'Blow to Unlock' feature.

The manufacturer has used a 12MP camera with dual-LED flash on the back and a 5MP shooter in front. The listing on Snapdeal mentions connectivity options like 2G, 3G and Wi-Fi. The 2,600mAh battery of the phone has been rated at 8 hours of talk time on 2G network.

Micromax has said it will launch a total of 30 smartphones this year and has tasted success with handsets likes Canvas HD and Canvas 4.

Source:indiatimes.com

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Micromax Canvas Fun A76 available online for Rs 8,499

12:25 PM

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technology news

India:Micromax has quietly introduced a new smartphone named "Canvas Fun A76". The phone has a 5-inch screen, and is available on Snapdeal.com for Rs 8,499.
Running Android 4.2, the smartphone has a 5 megapixel rear camera and a 0.3 megapixel front camera.

This dual SIM phone has an itnernal memory of 4GB. Its memory is expandable up to 32GB. The phone is powered by a 1.2 GHz processor and has 512MB of RAM.

The 5-inch Micromax Canvas Fun A76 available online for Rs 8,499

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Facebook - 62 million mobile phone Indian users

10:07 PM

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technology news

Exponential growth of affordable handsets in India has helped social networking giant Facebook clock 62 million mobile phone users by June 2013 in the world's second most populous country. 

The California-based firm reported a healthy growth of 5 per cent in its monthly active users (MAUs) in India to 82 million as of June 30, 2013 from 78 million in June 30, 2012. 

"As of June 30, 2013, 62 million people in India accessed Facebook through their mobile phones. It has 82 million MAUs in India and the firm believes that the next billion users are going to come through mobile," Facebook India Country Growth Manager Kevin D'Souza said. 

Globally, mobile MAUs rose by 51 per cent to 819 million as of June 30, 2013 from 543 million as of June 30, 2012, the company said while presenting its quarterly results. 

"In all regions, an increasing number of our MAUs are accessing Facebook through mobile devices, with users in India, Brazil and Indonesia representing key sources of mobile growth over the second quarter of 2013 as compared to the first quarter of 2013," Facebook had said. 

Mobile MAU is a user who accessed Facebook via a mobile app or via mobile-optimised versions of the website, whether on a mobile phone or tablet during the period of measurement. 

"Feature phones consists of a large chunk of mobile phone users in India and with low price points these devices are becoming the first Internet connected device many people will own," D'Souza said. 

Research firm IDC pegged the mobile phone market in India at about 218 million units last year, growing by 16 per cent year-on-year. Of this, 16.3 million units were smartphones. 

According to CyberMedia Research (CMR), Indian mobile phone market is seeing a spurt in sales, growing 20.8 per cent to 221.6 million handsets in 2012. Feature phones registered a sales growth of 19.9 per cent to 206.4 million in 2012 from 172.2 million in year-ago period. 

Irrespective of the platform Facebook's focus is towards connecting people whether it?s through desktop, laptops, feature phones or smartphones, he added. 

"Facebook has evolved from a 'mobile first' to 'mobile best' company as it becomes the primary reason for many to access the Internet. Our priority is to ensure that people have access to Facebook regardless of platform or device," he said. 

Mobile is the perfect platform for Facebook as both were built for connecting, a constant companion that can capture and share moments anywhere, anytime, D'Souza said. 

Facebook invested in building 'Facebook for Every Phone' app, which delivers Smartphone-like Facebook experience on feature phones. Over 100 million people access the website every month through the app for feature phones, aiding the firm in expanding in developing markets like India. 

PTI 

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Android Jelly Bean adoption continues to grow

10:11 PM

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technology news

Android Jelly Bean adoption continues to grow after recently surpassing Gingerbread for the first time.

According to stats published Friday, Jelly Bean (versions 4.1.x and 4.2.x) was running on 40.5 percent of Android devices as of Aug. 1. Gingerbread landed at 33.1 percent, followed by Ice Cream Sandwich at 22.5 percent.
Jelly Bean first topped Gingerbread in June, according to last month's stats. At that time, approximately 37.9 percent of Android users were on Jelly Bean, while 34.1 percent were on Gingerbread, and 23.3 percent were still running Ice Cream Sandwich.
At this point, very few Android devices are still running the earliest versions of the mobile OS. Around 2.5 percent are on Froyo, while 1.2 percent have Éclair, and just 0.1 percent are running Donut (as well as the tablet-centric Honeycomb).
Google just yesterday unveiled the much-anticipated Moto X phone, which will run Android 4.2.2 at launch. Spokespeople did not have any timetables on a possible bump to Android 4.3, which launched last month on the new Nexus 7. For more, see PCMag's Hands On With Motorola's Moto X.

The next major update to Android, codenamed Key Lime Pie, is expected in October, though Google has made no announcements. This will likely contribute more to the phenomenon known as Android fragmentation, though a recent report argued that fragmentation actually has its benefits.
Meanwhile, the Android platform overall is still going strong, with a 65 percent lead over all other mobile operating systems, according to new stats from Strategy Analytics. The report tipped a growing global smartphone market, up 47 percent year over year for a total 230 million units shipped in the second quarter. Android was the greatest benefactor of the uptick, having captured a record 80 percent share of the global smartphone OS market.

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Nokia Lumia 625 budget smartphone unveiled

3:24 PM

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Live News

NEW DELHI: Nokia today unveiled its Lumia 625 budget smartphone at an event in London. The new phone has a 4.7-inch screen, the biggest ever in a Nokia handset, and will cost 220 euros (before taxes). The Finnish manufacturer said that Lumia 625 will be launched in India, China, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East, Africa and Latin America in the third quarter of the year. 

The new Lumia 625 has a LCD display with 800x480p resolution and 201ppi pixel density. The screen features the Super Sensitive Touch technology that allows users to use it while wearing gloves. Under the hood is a 1.2GHz dual-core processor, 512MB RAM and Windows Phone 8 operating system. The company has included 8GB internal storage in the phone, along with microSD support up to 64GB. 

Nokia's latest smartphone has a 5MP autofocus camera with LED flash on the back, while a VGA unit has been used in the front. For connectivity, this phone has features like 2G, 3G, 4G, Wi-Fi, microUSB 2.0 and Bluetooth 4.0, but no NFC (which was present in Lumia 620). Powered by a 2,000mAh battery, this phone weighs 159gram and will come in orange, green, yellow, black and white colours. 

Among the accessories for Lumia 625 are the colour back covers (called interchangeable shells by Nokia). The company also launched three new headphones called Coloud Boom, Knock and Pop, which have been priced at 27, 22 and 18 euros, respectively. 

Nokia has including apps like Smart Camera, Cinemagraph, Here Maps, Nokia Music, Here Drive etc in its Lumia 625 smartphone. 

This will be Nokia's fourth smartphone in as many months, after Lumia 925, Lumia 928 and Lumia 1020. Other handsets launched by the company during this period include feature phones like 208, 207, Asha 501 and Asha 210. 

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Apple developer website was attacked

5:06 PM

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technology news

Apple has sent out emails to developers informing them that its developer website was attacked by an outsider last week, AllThingsD reports. The company has stated in the mail that it was due to an intruder’s intervention that it had to shut its developer’s website. On the safety front, Apple has claimed that since the database and information regarding developer’s sensitive personal details had been saved in an encrypted format, these could not be misused by the intruder. Though, it has also mentioned that the attacker might have been able to access developers name, mailing addresses, and/or email addresses.

Apple’s developer site had been shut since Thursday and it had initially said it was down for maintenance, only now revealing the real cause. According to the note sent to developers, the website will remain shut for security reasons, and will be unavailable until the company hardens the security and provides a better safety system. The note also includes that they are “completely overhauling our developer systems, updating our server software, and rebuilding our entire database.”

Apple has not mentioned any detail on when exactly will it reopen for the developers, and has stated that “we expect to have the developer website up again soon.”

The website is updated now, and is reopened for users.

The Apple developer site can be used by developers to get access to iOS 7, OS X Mavericks and other software development kits. It also guides developers in putting their apps to beta testers, and comes with developer-only forums.

Here is the note sent out to the developers:

Apple Developer Website Update

Last Thursday, an intruder attempted to secure personal information of our registered developers from our developer website. Sensitive personal information was encrypted and cannot be accessed, however, we have not been able to rule out the possibility that some developers’ names, mailing addresses, and/or email addresses may have been accessed. In the spirit of transparency, we want to inform you of the issue. We took the site down immediately on Thursday and have been working around the clock since then.

In order to prevent a security threat like this from happening again, we’re completely overhauling our developer systems, updating our server software, and rebuilding our entire database. We apologize for the significant inconvenience that our downtime has caused you and we expect to have the developer website up again soon.

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