Category: News

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MegaCloud – a free cloud storage service

MegaCloud is a free cloud storage service that lets you backup, store, sync and share your photos, music, videos and more with friends across every device.

With MegaCloud for mobile you can manage and share your documents, photos, movies and music on the go, easier than ever before.
Not only can you share and sync your files across different devices or amongst friends, family and work colleagues but with MegaCloud for Android you can also access your files on the go.

Features:
>> Access and manage your files on the go
>> Easily share photos, videos and files across twitter & Facebook
>> Add Facebook friends to MegaCloud with one click
>> Create Shareable links to share your files to your friends
>> Upload photos and videos from your device to MegaCloud
>> Sync files across different devices
>> Read documents and even stream music and videos directly within the app
>> View your files offline by saving them as Favorites
>> View files in both gallery and slide show formats
>> Backup your photos and much more for free
>> Revisit and restore earlier versions of your files
>> Review and retrieve deleted files
>> In-App Text Editormega

Download the MegaCloud apps to get an extra 3GB of storage for FREE!

https://www.megacloud.com/mobile?c=1000

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.megacloud.android&hl=en

Also visit out page: https://www.facebook.com/itechgenie

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Five Reasons Why You Should Look Out For Nokia Lumia 920

The wait for Nokia Lumia 920 is withering away as the month of November draws closer. Tagged as the potential savior of Nokia, the Nokia Lumia 920 has a lot to prove. Nokia may have been the market leader once but those seem to be the times of antiquity. Losing its way, Nokia seemed to have been stuck in a black hole of mediocrity. However, there could be a savior rising from the ashes in the shape of Nokia Lumia 920. Clearly there are reasons to put faith in it. Let us take you through the five reasons why you should look out for Nokia Lumia 920.

Microsoft Windows 8 For A Refreshing Change

We are not fond of monopolies and oligopolies popping in the mobile industry. Android and iOS seem to have extended a pretty forceful reign over other OS’s but we feel it is about time that a competitor rose from the ranks and offered something new. Nokia Lumia 920 seems to be just the right candidate so let’s dive into the details of how this phone challenges the competition.

As one of the very first smartphones with Microsoft Windows Phone 8 OS, Nokia Lumia 920 is certainly gambling its life on a new OS. This may set a new trend or put you off once and for all.

Luck favors the brave, though. And Nokia Lumia 920 certainly earns credit for its courage and guile. We are huge fans of Live Tiles, so it would be really interesting to see how well the highly customizable W8 proposition pans out on a 4.5-inch LCD screen.

 

Wireless Charging On A Platter

We recently covered how Nokia refused to be innovative in its methods of operations of late. We also wrote how wireless charging was one such amenity that Nokia could have incorporated to stand out among the rest. It seems like Nokia paid heed to what we had to say.

Wireless charging with Nokia Lumia 920 takes an interesting course. This is achieved as you place the phone on a Fatboy Recharge Pillow – a wireless charging plate. This frees you from the hassle of plugging your phone in charger providing you convenience at its very best.

 

A Display That Locks Horns With iPhone Retina Display

We are almost always on the lookout for iPhone ‘killers’, are we not? It looks like we have a challenger with real potential to go up against the mighty Retina Display. Android fanboys often try to cook up tales about how SuperAMOLED is better than Retina. However, in actuality, the display features on Nokia Lumia 920 help it qualify as the only real competitor to date.

Firstly, 4.5 inches is a healthy size for a display on Windows 8 phone. You can well imagine how brilliant a view the Live Tiles would be on a spacious screen. We are also pleased by the fact that Nokia has incorporated an IPS LCD that is powered by PureMotion HD+. This particular feature promises to enhance picture clarity and produce crystal clear photos and well-refined videos.

You would be pleasantly surprised to know that the display boasts a pixel density of 323 ppi. This might hurt Apple fanboys a little as they fancy boasting about the generous pixel density on the iPhone. Moreover, features like light sensing technology and polarization filter speak for how brilliantly the phone will manage the viewing angles and sunlight legibility. Did we mention it is super sensitive as well?

 

An 8.7 Megapixels Snapper That Shines Even In The Dark

The 8.7 Megapixels camera on the Nokia Lumia 920 is a super star, to say the least. We feel that it is a rare commodity on smartphones these days. Sure, it isn’t as scarce as the 41 megapixels giant on Nokia PureView 808 but we do have our reasons for it.

A number of smart features have been incorporated in the camera department. PureView technology along with Floating Lens functionality feature on the Nokia Lumia 920. While the PureView will sharpen the snaps you take, Floating Lens will play the steady cam and offer noise and stutter free results.

Most importantly, we are very pleased with how amazingly well the snapper performs in low lighting. Smartphones usually get away with decent photography in daylight but the real test begins in low lighting. The camera prototype tested by The Verge clearly proved that Nokia Lumia 920 is the best in regards to low light photography due to its Optical Image Stabilization.

 

Sufficiently Satisfying Performance On Offer

A Dual core Krait processor, clocked at 1.5GHz will keep operations running at a satisfyingly brisk pace. Moreover, the Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 chipset also promises to maintain the flow of tasks. 1 GB of RAM and sufficient storage in 32 GB will also complement it well.

Interestingly enough, the Snapdragon S4 chipset is said to help with battery efficiency. Nokia Lumia 920 is lucky to have a Dual core processor on board as this feature is absent on the Quad core variants. Besides, we are certain that the phone possess enough power under the hood anyway.

Finally, 2000 mAh battery comes across as the largest on a Nokia smartphone. This goes to show how desperately Nokia is trying to make the Nokia Lumia 920 reap the rewards. With wireless charging as an added advantage, the battery promises to fair well with a bit of assistance from the S4 chipset.

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Apple posts ‘apology’ to Samsung on U.K. website!!

As required by a U.K. court, Apple has posted a notice on its website that says Samsung did not copy Cupertino with its Galaxy lineup of tablets and smartphones. Well, sort of.
In the notice, accessible via the “Samsung/Apple UK judgement” link on apple.co.uk, Apple acknowledges that the High Court of Justice of England and Wales found that that Galaxy Tab 10.1, Tab 8.9 and Tab 7.7 do not infringe on Apple’s design patent for the iPad.

But those hoping for a mea culpa from Cupertino shouldn’t hold their breath. Apple goes on to toot its own horn and highlight the parts of the judge’s ruling that criticize Samsung’s tablets – particularly that bit about how the Galaxy Tab lineup is “not as cool” as the iPad.

“The extreme simplicity of the Apple design is striking,” the judge wrote. The Galaxy Tabs, though, “do not have the same understated and extreme simplicity which is possessed by the Apple design.”

Apple concludes by pointing out that judges in Germany and the U.S. have ruled in Apple’s favor on patent infringement cases involving Samsung.

Apple did not pen this note out the goodness of its heart, of course. In July, Judge Colin Birss of the High Court ordered Apple to post a note on its website and publish an ad in magazines and newspapers to say that Samsung did not rip off Apple when it designed its tablets. Not surprisingly, Apple was not pleased and appealed the decision, so its public apology was delayed. But the U.K.’s Court of Appeals last week upheld the lower court’s decision. Apple has apparently decided not to take the issue to the U.K. Supreme Court, and posted the notice.

The full notice is below. Also check out PCMag’s roundup of Apple’s Most Notable Apologies.

Samsung / Apple UK judgment

On 9th July 2012 the High Court of Justice of England and Wales ruled that Samsung Electronic (UK) Limited’s Galaxy Tablet Computer, namely the Galaxy Tab 10.1, Tab 8.9 and Tab 7.7 do not infringe Apple’s registered design No. 0000181607-0001. A copy of the full judgment of the High court is available on the following link www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWHC/Patents/2012/1882.html.

In the ruling, the judge made several important points comparing the designs of the Apple and Samsung products:

“The extreme simplicity of the Apple design is striking. Overall it has undecorated flat surfaces with a plate of glass on the front all the way out to a very thin rim and a blank back. There is a crisp edge around the rim and a combination of curves, both at the corners and the sides. The design looks like an object the informed user would want to pick up and hold. It is an understated, smooth and simple product. It is a cool design.”

“The informed user’s overall impression of each of the Samsung Galaxy Tablets is the following. From the front they belong to the family which includes the Apple design; but the Samsung products are very thin, almost insubstantial members of that family with unusual details on the back. They do not have the same understated and extreme simplicity which is possessed by the Apple design. They are not as cool.”

That Judgment has effect throughout the European Union and was upheld by the Court of Appeal on 18 October 2012. A copy of the Court of Appeal’s judgment is available on the following link www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWCA/Civ/2012/1339.html. There is no injunction in respect of the registered design in force anywhere in Europe.

However, in a case tried in Germany regarding the same patent, the court found that Samsung engaged in unfair competition by copying the iPad design. A U.S. jury also found Samsung guilty of infringing on Apple’s design and utility patents, awarding over one billion U.S. dollars in damages to Apple Inc. So while the U.K. court did not find Samsung guilty of infringement, other courts have recognized that in the course of creating its Galaxy tablet, Samsung willfully copied Apple’s far more popular iPad.

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Windows 8 available in India, pricing starts at Rs. 699!!

Finally, the wait is over. Microsoft has announced the availability of its latest Windows 8 OS for users in India and around the world. Starting today, users can access the latest Microsoft OS on a wide range of Windows 8 PCs, ultrabooks, tablets and hybrid devices. Windows 8 will be available in two versions at retail – Windows 8 and Windows 8 Pro.
Apart from buying from the new range of Windows 8 devices, users can also upgrade their current PCs to Windows 8. From 2nd June 2012 until 31st January 2013, users currently running PCs with Windows XP, Windows Vista or Windows 7 are qualified to download Windows 8 Pro for an estimated price of Rs. 1,999. Those who wish to buy a DVD to upgrade will have to pay Rs. 3,499. This offer is valid until January 31, 2013. After that the OS is expected to be priced above Rs. 11,000.

Any Windows 7 PCs purchased between June 2, 2012, and January 31, 2013, are also eligible to get a Windows 8 Pro update for an estimated price of Rs. 699 with the Windows Upgrade Offer, available at www.windowsupgradeoffer.com.

For business users, Microsoft is offering ‘Windows 8 Enterprise’, which features Windows To Go, DirectAccess, and BranchCache, as well as new security with features including BitLocker and AppLocker.

Microsoft has also announced the launch of Windows RT for ARM based tablets, which will only be available pre-installed on new devices. With the Windows 8 launch, the Windows Store is now open for consumers to download apps. Indian users have access to a range of free and paid apps that can be downloaded including Bharat Matrimony, BigFlix, BookMyShow, Bookyourtable, Burrp, Dhingana, Fastrack Tees, Flyte MP3, Gaana, Goibibo, ICICI Bank iMobile, ICICIDirect, JustEat, MakeMyTrip Explore, MapmyIndia, my airtel, PVR Cinemas, Tarla Dalal, Yahoo Cricket and Zovi.

As many as 14 OEM partners including Acer, Asus, Dell, Fujitsu, HCL, Hewlett-Packard (HP), Lenovo, RP Infosystems, Sai Info System, Samsung, Sony, Toshiba, Wipro and Zenith Computers will be providing Windows 8-based PCs and tablets in India. According to Microsoft, more than 250 Windows 8-based devices, including 23 brand new SKUs of Windows 8 PCs, will be available in 100 cities and more than 2,500 retail stores in India.

“With the launch of Windows 8, Microsoft is unveiling a reimagined Windows to the world,” says Mr. Bhaskar Pramanik, Chairman, Microsoft Corporation India Pvt. Ltd. “Whether you want a tablet or a PC, whether you want to consume or create, whether you want to work or play – Windows 8 delivers a personalized experience that fits your unique style and needs.”

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Hands on with the Apple iPad (4th Generation)

The new unit looks just like the old one. It’s the same size and the same weight—I put two next to each other and they were difficult to tell apart except for the new Lightning port on the fourth-gen iPad’s bottom edge. The new iPad doesn’t need a smaller docking port—in fact, you could argue for a larger plug that’s better able to keep it in place in a dock —but Apple’s switching all of its iOS devices over to Lightning right now.

The difference is inside, in performance. The third-gen iPad had the odd A5X chip, which boosted the device’s GPU without accelerating its CPU at all over the iPad 2. The new iPad has an A6X, which appears to use the brand-new, Apple-designed processor found in Apple’s iPhone 5.

That means faster performance. I ran the browser benchmark Browsermark on the new iPad and got a score of 200,333. Compare that to the 126,886 on the previous iPad, and the 191,158 on the iPhone 5, and you see that we may have a significantly faster Web browsing experience here.

Apple also boosted the Wi-Fi speeds (invisible) and is offering it on more LTE networks, including Sprint’s (also invisible). The front camera has been upgraded to 1.2 megapixels. So you get the idea—what we have here is a completely familiar iPad with the same gorgeous high-res Retina screen and 275,000 apps, just faster and a bit better specced.

The new model rusticates the third-gen model, making it look like the formerly new iPad was a stopgap in Apple’s cadence of annual releases; perhaps the company was waiting for the A6 to be ready, but needed an iPad for its traditional spring unveiling. Fortunately for third-gen iPad owners, “better performance” is much less visible than “gorgeous Retina screen,” and with the iPad mini now in the running, developers will still be making sure their apps run well on A5 processors.

In other words, I didn’t see a huge difference between the fourth-gen iPad experience and that of third-gen iPad here at Apple’s event. That will change over time. The difference will be huge for people able to get the iPad on Sprint LTE, of course, and I suspect the faster Wi-Fi and faster processor will combine to create a notably faster Web-browsing experience. But we’ll have to see that when we do our full review.

 

Another New Apple iPad: The latest Apple iPad looks a lot like the last Apple iPad (a.k.a. the New Apple iPad), which was released mere months ago, and is now discontinued. The changes are mostly internal: a much faster processor, more 4G carriers, and a better front camera.

Apple iPad (4th Generation): Side – Apple didn’t mess with the design of its successful 9.7-inch iPad. It’s still 0.37 inches thick and works with existing cases and covers.

Apple iPad (4th Generation): Lightning Connector – Apple replaced the older 30-pin dock connector with the new, smaller Lightning port. The iPad doesn’t need to save the space, but Apple needs to nurture a world of Lightning accessories.

New (3rd-Gen) Apple iPad and Apple iPad (4th Generation): The third-generation iPad (at left) is no more. It’s been replaced by the nearly identical, but more powerful fourth-generation unit (at right).

New (3rd-Gen) Apple iPad and Apple iPad (4th Generation): Edges – The New Apple iPad (now discontinued) and the Apple iPad (4th Generation) seem thin until you compare them to the iPad mini. They’re still very handsome tablets.

New (3rd-Gen) Apple iPad and Apple iPad (4th Generation): Backs – Around back, the difference between these two iPads is just that our third-generation iPad is a cellular model, with the plastic antenna covers.

Apple iPad (4th Generation): Benchmark – This result probably isn’t valid, as it comes from an iPad that was being manhandled during the benchmark. But even with all that going on, its Web browsing performance beat the third-generation iPad (which scored 126,886) and the iPhone 5 (which scores around 191,000).

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10 Tips and Tricks for iOS 6

Maybe you’ve installed Apple’s iOS 6, the newest operating system for iPhones, iPad, and iPod touch, but do you know about all the tricks that are inside and how to use them?

Apple’s latest mobile operating system, iOS 6, may have sparked a fury of Internet hate for the new Maps app, and I certainly won’t wag my finger at anyone who misses Google’s engine behind the Maps app, but plenty more goodies are tucked away in iOS 6 that you shouldn’t miss.

Here are ten of the best features and how to use them.

1. Swipe up to reply to incoming calls with a text message. Maybe you heard that when a call comes in, you can now reply with a text message instead of just declining the call. But these options don’t appear automatically. You have to swipe up from the bottom of the screen to reveal them.

2. Customize your text replies to declined calls. The feature that lets you turn down phone calls but reply with text message allows you to use a canned message for added convenience. A few options appear when you swipe up, as mentioned in the first tip. To change what they pre-written texts say, go to

Settings > Phone > Reply with Message.

You can now customize your one-touch replies.

3. Learn how to work the Do Not Disturb option. A new feature called Do Not Disturb appears in the settings, but it’s nothing more than an on/off switch. Where can you set the hours for quiet time, or make it so that calls from emergency contacts come through? Oddly, these choices fall under the Notifications area. Go to

Settings > Notifications > Do Not Disturb.

The Scheduled button lets you define the hours when you don’t want to be disturbed. The Allow Calls From button just below it launches a new screen where you can exclude people from your do-not-disturb list.

4. Attach photos and videos to email in the Mail app. Formerly, using the mail app was occasionally a pain. You’d compose a message, remember that you wanted to send the recipient a photo, too, and realized you couldn’t actually attach anything to the draft. Now you can. In an email draft, press a hold anywhere in the body. In landscape mode (holding the phone horizontally), list of options will appear, including one to insert a photo or video. If you’re in portrait or vertical mode, just press the arrow button that appears until you see the right choice.

 

5. Read in full-screen mode. News articles, blogs, and other text-heavy pages, when viewed on an iPhone especially, cause squinting and more pinching, zooming, panning than most people feel comfortable doing. When Safari detects a text-heavy page in iOS 6, it supplies a button called Reader at the top right of the URL bar, which reformats the page in a full-screen and easier-to-read layout. You’ll also notice a “share out” or “send to” button (curved arrow) in Safari with a lot of great option beneath it also worth exploring. They’re mostly not new to iOS 6, but they do appear in a newly designed interface.


6. Pass your iPad or iPhone to friends without worrying they’ll get nosy. I admit that I’ve hesitated in the past before passing my mobile devices around to friends to let them look at photos or something that made me giggle on Facebook. The larger the group of friends, the more suspicious I am that someone might take liberties with my device when I’m not looking. The same is true, I’m sure, for parents who let their kids play with their iPhone or iPad. Guided Access, new to iOS 6, lets you lock down your device so that only the app you open can be used, and no other functionality works until you enter a unique four-digit passcode. It’s a little tricky to find and set up.

First, go to

Settings > General > Accessibility > Guided Access.

Toggle the switch to on and set a passcode. When you want to use Guided Access, just open the app of choice, and triple tap the home button. Be sure to hit the start button at the top right. But wait, there’s more (see the next tip).

7. Disable buttons in apps (in Guided Access). When you enable Guided Access in an app—which locks users from going into any other app or areas of the phone—you can also disable parts of the screen. For example, if you turn on Guided Access in the Photos app, you can also use your finger to circle parts of the screen you want to disable, such as the top row of buttons so that one can look through your other albums. Just be sure to hit the Start button in the top right corner before handing over your device!

8. Share Photo Stream. Apple’s syncing service, iCloud, handles images with speed and good responsiveness. But it was never easy to share your pictures until iOS 6 came along. To share your Photo Stream images, go to the Camera app and press Photo Stream. Then hit the plus button in the upper left, which will open a screen where you can fill information about how to share your Photo Stream, whether with a select few individuals, or by making it public on your iCloud account.

9. Learn what the new Privacy button means (and use it). A new Privacy button under Settings comes with little explanation. Tap it, and you might not know what information it’s even telling you because there are no instructions or explainers. Here’s what it does: Privacy shows you apps that can talk to other apps, and whether they are. For example, my Twitter app talks to my Flipboard app. I enabled that integration, and I’m okay with it. But if I didn’t remember allowing it, or wanted to shut it off, I can do so in the Privacy area with one quick motion. This feature gives you very good ability to quick ability to turn off any app-to-app sharing that you don’t want and you might have forgotten existed. So if you don’t want Facebook to know where you are, check the Location Services section of your Privacy buttons, and you can flip the switch off lickety-split.

10. Customize native Facebook alerts. A big new feature in iOS 6 was the direct folding in of Facebook functionality, meaning you can share to Facebook a picture from your Camera app or a link from Safari without ever opening the Facebook app itself. It works similar to the baked-in Twitter functionality that was new to iOS 5. What many users may overlook, however, is the ability to customize your Facebook chat and message alerts, separate from the Facebook app as well. They’re found under

Settings > Facebook > Settings.

Of course, you can also add Facebook alerts to your Notification Center, but that feature isn’t new (it’s under Settings > Notifications, and then scroll down until you find Facebook in your list of apps).

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iPhone 5 benchmarked: The fastest smartphone in the land!

The iPhone 5 looks to be the fastest smartphone we’ve ever tested With its mysterious, Apple-designed A6 processor, the iPhone 5 is unique in the world of smartphones. Most high-end phones nowadays run on one of two architectures: ARM’s Cortex-A9, which is used by Nvidia, Texas Instruments and others, and Qualcomm’s Krait. But the A6, as AnandTech discovered, is something completely different—an ARM-compatible system-on-a-chip designed, top to bottom, by Apple.

We’ll focus on five tests here. First the browser benchmarks: Sunspider, Browsermark, and Guimark 3 Bitmap all test Web browser performance. Sunspider is about JavaScript, Guimark is about interactive HTML5, and Browsermark is an overall browser benchmark. Different browsers will score differently on the same phone. We test with the default browser, because that’s what most people use.

(Since you’re wondering about Chrome, which is an optional download on Android phones, it gives similar Browsermark results to the default browser on the Samsung Galaxy S III.)

The iPhone 4S running the Safari browser in iOS 6.0 on a dual-core 800MHz A5 processor is about on par with leading Android 4.0 phones like the Samsung Galaxy S III and the Motorola Droid RAZR M, both of which are using 1.5GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 processors, or their equivalent. Obviously, the difference is that Safari is a faster browser than the Android browser.

The iPhone 5 takes things to the next level with a processor that can compete with the S4 along with the fast browser. Its Browsermark score is 80 percent higher, and it shows much quicker Sunspider times. GUIMark, like most mobile on-screen graphics tests, maxes out at 60 frames per second because that’s as fast as your screen updates.

Geekbench is a processor benchmark, which tests the basic components of a phone’s system. Here you see less of a difference, but it’s still there. Look at the subscores. The A6 and the other processors do math about as fast as each other, but the “memory” and “stream” scores, both of which test loading data in and out of RAM, come out much better on the Apple device.

Mix together the two sets and you see how much of a difference the Safari browser makes, but also that the iPhone 5 still wins with the browser taken out of the picture.

GLBenchmark 2.5 is a graphics benchmark, creating and walking through simulated game scenes. Performance in the “onscreen” tests is dependent on a phone’s graphics power but also on screen resolution (you can do more frames per second if you’re pushing fewer pixels.) The “offscreen” tests are purely graphics-crunching power. The Galaxy S III has 26 percent more pixels than the iPhone 5 (921,600 to the iPhone’s 727,400) but as you can see, in the “offscreen” measure of raw graphics performance, the iPhone 5 doubles the Galaxy S III’s result. It’s simply a more powerful phone.

A phone’s hardware performance can’t be taken in isolation, but it’s definitely a piece of the puzzle. Based on these benchmarks, the iPhone 5 lives up to the promise of being twice as fast as the iPhone 4S. It’s also, for now, the fastest handheld computer sold in the US.

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Apple iOS 6 update starts rolling out globally!!

There is good news for all those who own Apple iOS devices. iOS 6, the highly anticipated update to the mobile and tablet platform has officially started rolling out as of last night.

Unfortunately, the release of the new OS didn’t go as smoothly as one would have hoped. Early iOS 6 adopters have been reporting that after updating their devices and connecting to Wi-Fi, Safari would launch on its own to verify whether the user was using a Paywalled Wi-Fi connection or not. What this led to, was Safari not being able to load the verification page at all, leaving hundreds, if not thousands, of users without the ability to connect to their own Wi-Fi networks. However, Apple has issued a fix for this problem on their end and users should be able to go ahead and connect to their Wi-Fi networks without any hiccups.

 

iOS 6 is said to include over 200 updates and additions that supposedly make the iOS devices far more pleasurable and convenient to use. Of those new features, the key updates to look out for are:

 

Facebook integration

Shared Photostream

Do Not Disturb

Google Maps replaced with Apple Maps

Turn-by-turn navigation

Call handling updated

Better Siri functionality and integration

No native Youtube App

We are still in the process of running our iPhone with iOS 6 through intense use to see if there is any change in battery performance, so we will update on that front at a later point. You can read our hands-on with the new OS here and see which of the features will be supported, given that we are in India. For starters, there is no turn-by-turn voice navigation when using GPS.

 

iOS 6 can be downloaded via iTunes (connect your device and clicking “check for updates”) or by the software update option that can be found on your device (Settings > General > Software Update). If the official route doesn’t work for you (like it didn’t for us initially), you can download the IPSW file for your respective device directly from the Apple website using the links below:

 

iPad 2 CDMA

iPad 2 GSM

iPad 2 Wi-Fi only

iPad 3 CDMA

iPad 3 GSM

iPad 3 Wi-Fi only

iPhone 3GS

iPhone 4 CDMA

iPhone 4 GSM

iPhone 4S (UNIFIED RECEIVER, SO NO GSM OR CDMA)

iPod Touch G

As a word of caution, we recommend ALWAYS taking a full backup of your device before updating the firmware on your iOS device. Once iOS 6 is installed, you can then proceed to restore from backup, ensuring that all your information is intact.

 

Have you already installed iOS 6 on your iOS device? What do you think of the new OS? Let us know in the comments section below:

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Apple iPhone 5 versus competing flagship smartphones!

Last night Apple unveiled to the world their sixth generation smartphone, the iPhone 5. The device was pretty much a culmination of all the rumours that have been doing the rounds since January and the launch felt like a really bad kept secret.

Nonetheless, the iPhone 5 has received some good first impressions from the people who got hands-on time with the device at the launch event.

Today’s flagship smartphones are not only about the looks and style but also about the power under their hood and what new they bring to the table in terms of their features and performance. So here we take a quick look at the specifications and the USPs of the iPhone 5 versus other flagship smartphones – the HTC One X, Samsung Galaxy S III, LG Optimus 4X HD and the Nokia Lumia 920.

The table below is a comparison of the specifications and unique features:

Models

Samsung Galaxy S III
HTC One X

LG Optimus 4X HD

Sony Xperia Ion

Nokia Lumia 920

Apple iPhone 5
Thickness
8.6mm
8.9mm
8.9mm
10.8mm
10.7mm
7.6mm
Weight
133gms
130gms
133gms
144gms
185gms
112gms
Display Size
4.8-inch
4.7-inch
4.7-inch
4.55-inch
4.5-inch
4-inch
Display Type

Super AMOLED capacitive touchscreen

Super IPS LCD2 capacitive touchscreen

True HD-IPS LCD capacitive touchscreen

LED-backlit LCD, capacitive touchscreen

IPS LCD PureMotion HD+ capacitive touchscreen

LED-backlit IPS TFT Retina display
Display Resolution
1280×720
1280×720
1280×720
1280×720
1280×768
1136×640
Pixel Density (ppi)
306
312
312
323
332
326
Built-in Storage
16/32/64 GB

32 GB (26 GB user-available)

16 GB storage (12 GB user available)

13.2 GB (12.9 GB user-available memory)
32 GB storage
16/32/64 GB
Expandable Storage

microSD, up to 64 GB
No

microSD, up to 32 GB

microSD, up to 32 GB
No
No
Rear Camera

8MP with an LED flash

8MP with an LED flash

8MP with an LED flash

12MP with an LED flash

8.7MP Carl Zeiss optics with pulse burst LED flash

8MP iSight camera
Video Recording
1080p @ 30fps
1080p @ 24fps
1080p @ 30fps
1080p @ 30fps
1080p @ 30fps
1080p @ 30fps
Front Camera
1.9MP
1.3MP
1.3MP
1.3MP
1.3MP
1.2MP
OS

Android 4.0.4 Ice Cream Sandwich upgreadable to Android 4.1 Jelly Bean

Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich upgradeable to Android 4.1 Jelly Bean

Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich

Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich

Microsoft Windows Phone 8
iOS 6
CPU

1.4 GHz quad-core Cortex-A9

1.5GHz quad-core

1.5GHz quad-core

1.5GHz dual-core

1.5 GHz dual-core Krait
Unknown
GPU
Mali-400MP
ULP GeForce
ULP GeForce
Adreno 220
Adreno 225
Unknown
RAM
1GB
1GB
1GB
1GB
1GB

Unknown (spculated at 1GB)
Chipset

Exynos 4412 Quad

Nvidia Tegra 3

Nvidia Tegra 3

Qualcomm MSM8260 Snapdragon

Qualcomm MSM8960 Snapdragon
Apple A6
Battery
2100mAh
1800mAh
2150mAh
1900mAh
2000mAh
Unknown
Unique Features -S Voice
-Smart Stay (Eye Tracking)
-Direct Dial
-50GB Dropbox storage for 2 years for free
-Pop up Play		 -Burst mode for the camera
-32GB Dropbox storage for 2 years for free
-Beats Audio		 -QuickMemo (instant note taking app)
-Finger Tip Seek		 -Bravia engine display
-xLoud audio
-50 GB Box.net storage for 2 years for free		 -Wireless charging
-Floating lens technology
-Touchscreen can be used with gloves		 -New Lightning dock connector
-Panaroma shoots
-Airplay
-AirPrint

 

From the above chart we can notice a few similarities between all the flagship devices. For starters all of them boast of 1GB of RAM making them quite snappy, with smaller load times. The front-facing camera on all the devices was 1.3MP except the Galaxy S III, which has a 1.9MP camera. All the Android-powered smartphones run on ICS straight out of the box. All the phones feature a 720p HD resolution displays.

When the iPhone 4 was launched, it brought with it the revolutionary Retina Display. It took the competition nearly a year to catch up and bring about displays that boasted of an HD resolution (most commonly 1280×720). What’s disappointing to see in the iPhone 5 is that even though the size of the display has gone up to 4-inches, the resolution of the display has lost its edge when compared to the competition. The iPhone 5 has a pixel density of 326ppi. That brings it close to the Sony Xperia ion, which has 323ppi. The clear winner from the above table is the Nokia Lumia 920 with 332ppi. This doesn’t mean that the displays on the other smartphones are bad, it’s just a reflection that Apple, the company that once held the benchmark of smartphone displays, has lost the edge it once had in the game.

The Xperia Ion has the biggest camera sensor of the bunch, however, as we have seen its low-light performance is nothing to write home about – something the PureView camera on the Lumia 920 apparently excels at. We will have to wait and see what wonders the iPhone 5’s camera can perform. It brings with it a bunch of new features such as improved optics, an f/2.4 aperture five-element lens, a BSI sensor, Hybrid IR filter and it is roughly 20 percent smaller than the iSight on the 4S. It also features a new panorama mode that allows users to create images that are 28MP wide when stitched together. We will reserve our opinion for which is the best smartphone camera when we put them through their paces ourselves.

In terms of the battery life, we have tested all the devices except the Nokia Lumia 920 and of course, the recently launched iPhone 5. All the tested devices last for nearly a day and a half except the LG Optimus 4X HD, which boasts of 2,150 mAh battery, and lasted us for almost two days with average use. Apple promises the following battery life for the iPhone 5 – 3G talktime/browsing up to 8 hours, Wi-Fi browsing up to 10 hours, video playback up to 10 hours, music playback up to 40 hours, and a standby time of up to 255 hours. If it delivers anything like the promised figures, it should be amongst the less power hungry offerings.

The Apple iPhone 5 certainly goes a long way in redefining slimness, with a thickness of just 7.6mm. If the svelte nature of a phone truly matters to you, the iPhone 5 stands out from the rest of the flagship smartphone crowd – the next slimmest device is the Galaxy S III, at 8.6mm.

The new iPhone runs on Apple’s latest iteration of its mobile OS – iOS 6. Apple announced iOS 6 at WWDC 2012. The company has revealed that iOS 6 will be out on September 19 and will be compatible with the following devices – iPhone5, iPhone 4S, iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS, the new iPad, iPad 2 and the iPod Touch 4th gen.

With iCloud and iOS 6, Apple has a new feature called Photo stream. Apple has also brought panorama mode to the iPhone’s camera in the new OS.

We have seen the capabilities of iOS 6 and Apple showed us another glimpse of the new features of the OS. As we reported earlier, Apple has ditched Google Maps for a Map app of its own. Maps for iOS 6 has been updated with features such as POI’s (Point of Interests) along with turn-by-turn directions, satellite imagery, and 3D view. Apple has also ditched YouTube as a native app on iOS and now users will have to download it from the App Store.

In iOS 6, apps such as Safari open in full screen mode. Apple showed off this feature on the iPhone 5 and it looked quite good.

We really had high expectations for the iPhone 5 and just how Apple would try to outsmart the competition. Frankly however, we were left a tad disappointed. Not because the device won’t deliver what it promises, but because it is exactly what we have already seen in the leaks that have been making the rounds on the internet since January.

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iPhone 5 to feature a Nano SIM tray?

Apple is expected to launch the next generation iPhone, the iPhone 5 around September 12th and the rumour mills are hard at work, churning out new information about to Apple’s upcoming smartphone.

The latest rumour suggests that the device will feature a “Nano SIM” tray. Images have surfaced on the Internet suggesting what the tray may look like. The report comes from nowhereelse.fr, which shows off the images of the new Nano SIM tray.

This isn’t the first time that Apple will incorporate a new type of SIM card in its smartphones. The iPhone 4 was one of the first devices to incorporate the Micro SIM card and this has been adopted by other smartphone such as the Samsung Galaxy S III and more.

The Nano SIM will be 40% smaller than its predecessor and this will allow the next iPhone to be very slim, or fit more capabilities into the same space.

If the advantage of the Nano SIM is that the next iPhone will be slimmer, the disadvantage is that it will lead to compatibility issues with other devices and in a country like India where users change there smartphones on a regular basis, this may be a bit of a problem.

In the recent past we have heard many rumours about Apple’s next flagship device. Some rumours suggest that the device will have a new smaller dock connector. We have even seen an iPhone 5 assembled from leaked parts.

Other rumours making their rounds on the Internet suggest that the device will have a larger display than its predecessor and also have a smaller home button.