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Thursday 30 August 2012

Samsung announces Android Galaxy Camera


Samsung is Planning to release an Android Camera based on its successful Samsung Galaxy Smartphone series.

The camera is expected to to have Android 4.1 JellyBean preloaded out of the box.  The device cannot be considered as an Android Phone with a powerful Camera since the device will  be not capable to acquire a mobile Number. So there is no option for a user to make calls or send text messages from this Android Camera. However, internet can be accessed through integrated Wi-Fi which enables the user to download apps from Google play and also make calls via VOIP.  So a wide Range of apps Including Facebook and Instagram can be Installed and the user can share photos Instantly without the help of a PC.



The device features a 16 megapixel camera with 21x optical zoom which can be as good as some best selling digital cameras available in the market. It also has 8 GB Internal Memory and a 4.77 inch HD Super Clear Touch Display LCD.
Samsung has still not confirmed the launch date nor the price of this extra ordinary device. Samsung has the habit of launching user friendly innovative devices which has been proven again with the announcement of this Android Camera. This may force other manufacturers to produce similar devices and hopefully within a few months down the line, a buyer may have a line up of smart cameras to choose from. Well Done Samsung !.

Wednesday 29 August 2012

Massive 5” inch Android phone for just Rs. 12,999 Andi 5 iBall


This is Andi 5. The big Android phone from iBall. There are people in India who dream of Samsung Note’s 5.3 inch display but does not find it pocket friendly because of the huge price tag of Rs.33,000.

This phone from iBall has a generous 5” IPS display. This device is definitely pocket friendly in terms of price and also come with Android 4.0 Ice cream sandwich preloaded. It also sports a 1 Ghz Cortex A9 processor and a 2300mAh battery. The design looks pretty decent as well for the price.

 Andi 5 is also a Dual SIM GSM phone, This is one key feature you can’t even find in most high end Android phones costing more than Rs. 30k. It also has a 5 megapixal camera with flash. The Build quality and performance could be on the lower side as its packed with lots of features for a reasonable price and its manufactured by a not so reputed company like iBall.  

Having said that, This device still may attract youth of India who are looking for a big phone with Mid-Range android like features costing under Rs.15 k.

Tuesday 28 August 2012

AndEngine Tutorial Simple Android Game for Beginners


AndEngine is a free Open Source 2D OpenGL Game Engine for the Android platform.

This application contains various Examples that showcase what developers can do with this engine.


Visit the above link to do a simple AndEngine game. It’s a very simple tutorial

Malayalam Technology Blog

Apple iPhone 5 : Images leaked before its launch next month




See how the next generation iPhone is expected to look like. Although there are different versions of iPhone 5 images float around in the web, This could be exactly how the iPhone 5 will look like when its launched next month on the 12th of September. Apple has a tradition of releasing their products to consumers just after its launched.

The iPhone 5 in the Leaked images features a 4 inch Retina display and a taller physical design. This could the answer for apple haters who complains about  small screen size of iPhone 4 (3.5 inch). It also gets a glossy metal covering at the rear and sides which seems to be a fingerprint magnet as seen in pictures. We are yet to know what the added features are in this new phone but haters still claim that iPhone 5 is just an enlarged iPhone 4 and iPad Mini (expected to be launched next month)is a scaled down iPad.

After winning the patent war against Samsung, Apple devices with iOS 6 is expected to get some attention in market after launching iPhone 5 which may also hurt some Android phone makers.

Sunday 26 August 2012

Samsung Launches Galaxy Note 800 (10.1”) in India for a Price of Rs. 39,900.


After Launching  in US and UK markets, Samsung finally Launches the pen Optimized Galaxy Note 800 Tablet in India. It features Android 4.0 Ice cream Sandwich Out of the Box and Samsung has not stated anything about a planned upgrade to  Android 4.1 JellyBean.

The Construction of the Sasmsung Galaxy Note 800 is solid but has that plasticky feel (that most Samsung devices have)  which  makes it look a bit fragile. The tablet is easy to hold as it weighs just under 600 grams.

It Also features a Quad Core Exynos Processor running at 1.4 Ghz and a 2 GB of RAM which are really good specs for a tablet.

Unlike  other  end Samsung devices, Galaxy Note 800 does not feature a Super AMOLED Display in India. Instead Samsung has come up with a 1280X800 LCD Display which is a huge let down. The Display on the cheapest Apple iPad steals the cake when it comes to viewing pleasure.


Battery Life can be encouraging for a user to buy Galaxy Note 800 as it features a sealed 7000mAh Battery on board just like the 5.3” Galaxy Note.

Samsung Galaxy Note 800 can make calls and video calls just like any other phone even though it’s a tablet. That’s one feature which Seperates Note 800 from other tablets in the market.

Performance and Multitasking are the best among tablets with Quad core processor and the Generous amount of RAM. Lets wait and see how consumers react to Galaxy Note 800 in India.

Specification

Processor
  • 1.4GHz Exynos Quad-Core Processor 
Memory
16GB Internal User memory + 2GB (RAM), microSD (up to 32GB)
Display
  • 10.1" WXGA (1280x800) LCD
OS
  • Android™ 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) with Samsung TouchWiz UI.
Camera
  • Main (Rear): 5 Megapixel Auto Focus Camera with LED Flash
  • Sub (Front): 1.9 Megapixel Camera
Connectivity
  • Bluetooth technology v 4.0 (Apt-X Codec support)
  • AllShare Play / AllShare Cast
  • Kies / Samsung Kies air
  • USB 2.0 Host
  • Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n (2.4 & 5 GHz), Wi-Fi Direct
  • Wi-Fi Channel Bonding
Dimension
·         Dimension: 262 x 180 x 8.9 mm
·         Weight: 600g (3G), 597g (WiFi)

Price Rs. 39,900 in India

Benefits of Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich over Android 2.3 GingerBread


1)Refined and easy to use User Interface. Android 4.0 ICS 4.0 has made common actions more visible and easy to access.

2)Visual Multitasking :The Multitasking in Ice Cream sandwich has been made more easier and more visual.

3)Improved Battery performance : Claimed by Google and evident in tablets but some mobile phones has noticed a decrease in battery backup after upgrading Ginger Bread to Ice cream sandwich .

4)Better Network Data Management :  Effective usage of data over a network (in 3G or wi-fi). Effective use of network data while downloading apps, streaming content and synchronizing data. 

5)Android Beam : A sharing application based on NFC (Near field communication)  which allows two NFC enabled devices to share images, contacts, music etc. This feature is not available in Android 2.3 Ginger Bread.

6)Powerful Tabbed Web browsing : Now navigate through entire set of open internet pages simply by scrolling vertically through live thumbnails.

7)Powerful and refined Voice input Engine which offers more practicality 

8) Face Unlocking feature In Ice Cream Sandwich.

9) More compatible with new and latest hardware available.

Apple wins patent case against Samsung


Apple finally wins lawsuit filed against Samsung stating that Samsung has infringed on a series of patents on mobile devices.

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Federal court in San Joes, California found out that Samsung products had violated Apple patents including "Pinch to Zoom" function and "bounceback" visual effect when a user scrolls down to the End of the list. Samsung devices has also found to have copied Physical design of iPhone and iPad in their Galaxy smartphones and Galaxy tabs (tablet).

Now Samsung owes Apple a whopping $ 1 Billion as business damage charges. Although it might not be a financial blow for a worldwide electronics giant like Samsung, It may have some Impact on Google's Android OS used by Samsung products and the wide array of other companies using Android. Samsung is currently the world's largest manufacturer and seller of Android smartphones. As of now for every iPhone sold worldwide, Three android smartphones are sold.

But on the other hand Samsung had also filed a lawsuit against Apple and asked more that $ 422 million , stating that apple had violated Samsung's mobile device patents but eventually got nothing.
The verdict is expected to make some movements in Samsung's shares as it sent Apples stock up by 1.8% just hours after the verdict was made.

However, Samsung stated that the decison is not final. samsung also has the advantage of winning the patent war against apple at its home in Korea few days back. Samsung won a Home court ruling in South Korea on 24th august against Apple related Mobile device patents. But still, the verdict by Federal court in san Joes is expected to make some changes in the market.

Thursday 23 August 2012

Google to Introduce skippable ads in their android Youtube app


Google has confirmed the plan of bringing Ads to their existing Youtube App. This will be similar to the ads that we see on youtube.com. The viewer will be given the option to skip the ad after viewing it for a fixed amount of time. 

In India, I used get frustrated over the slow Internet speeds which used to make me wait until the video gets loaded. Now when the internet speeds are up to the mark Google Introduced ads. As mobile devices are meant to be used on the go, waiting for the ad to complete before viewing the video might be even more frustrating.  

Samsung Galaxy S Advance I9070 Network Problem




I recently purchased a brand new Samsung Galaxy S advance for INR. 19,500. The price was Rs. 23,000 a few weeks back and suddenly dropped to Rs. 19,500. So I grabbed this opporutnity to buy my first dual core processor Android phone and for the price I am paying, It was a pretty good deal.

My misery started from the first dayonwards, I was facing a horrible network problem. The phone won't even survive 5 hours with network signal.

 If I keep the phone idle in an area which shows full coverage, within few hours my phone will show a blocked sign instead of network signal. It gets fixed every time I switch off and switch on the phone. Sometimes i even have to take the battery out and place it back. I had to do it 4 or 5 times on the first day itself.

On the second day.I took it to the dealer and the sales rep said that the problem is with my sim card and my network provider (Idea).I believed them and tried replacing the sim with my Airtel sim (my office number) but no use.

On the third day, the shop salesman asked me to show it at the samsung service center. I asked him for a replacement as I had received a defective peice. But he said that thet are helpless and I need to complete some formalities at Samsung service center to get my handset replace with a new one.

So I visited Samsung service center and waited almost one hour to get to speak to a customer care executive who checked my phone and asked me to change my sim from 32k to 64k and the problem will be solved.
I visited my service provider and got my 32k sim card replaced with a 64k sim.. But network problem remained unchanged. I showed it again at Samsung service and they said they need to get the software updated. they made me wait another two hours (for God knows what) and finally gave me my mobile and assured that the problem is resolved. I was more than happy finally but before reaching back home, I lost the network signal again.

I was frustrated beyong words and rushed back to the Service station and asked them to replace the handset. After lots of arguments , they finally agreed to replace my handset. I got my handset replace with a brand new one. But guess what ? Even that too had a network problem.

Everyone at the samsung service knows that this model has some network issues but they pretend as if nothing is wrong with the handset and its a rare case. Instead of helping the customer, they will make u leave the place by giving some vage excuses.

If anybody is facing the same problem, dont waste your time trying to change the sim or network provider. The problem in the first place is with this handset model Samsung Galaxy S advance I9070. The best thing you can do is to replace the handset with a brand new one. (you might be lucky enough to get a non defective handset) or try to get a refund or sell off the handset for any price possible and go for some other model.

Monday 20 August 2012

How to configure Android plugin (ADT) in Eclipse


Downloading and Installing ADT Plugin

Step 1 : Open Eclipse, Select Help and click on “Install New Software”



Step 2 : Click on Add, In the Add Repository dialog, Enter name as "ADT plugin" and enter the following URL for location.


If u face any trouble acquiring the plugins, Try changing “http” to “https”. 




Step 3: In Available Software, Drop down “Developer tools”  and Check “Android Development Tools”. Click Next.


Step 4 : Accept the license agreement and click Finish. If u get any in software warning in between, click OK
Step 5 : Wait till the Installation completes and Restart Eclipse.

Configuring ADT Plugin

Step 1 : In Eclipse Select Window > Preferences and click on Android from the side panel

Step 2 : Click Browse and locate your downloaded Android SDK

Step 3 : Click Apply, then OK

Now you have successfully configured Android SDK in Eclipse and you can proceed with your SDK Installation.







Sunday 19 August 2012

Minimum requirements for beginning Android Development


Android Development tools can be run easily on all three popular operating systems including  Windows, Linux and Mac. Initially, you don’t  need to have an android device to learn android development. The Android SDK listed below includes an android device emulator  which will enable you to preview and test your development.
Before getting started, make sure that you have the following minimum software requirements ready.  All these software are free and is readily available on the web.
1.   Java Development Kit (JDK 5 or 6)
2.  Eclipse IDE ( Its always better to download the classic version)
3.  Android Development tools (ADT Plugin for Eclipse)
4.  Android SDK
5.  Android Developer Guide (Optional)
Android Emulator
We shall Inform shortly how to Install and configure these downloaded software. All the best.

You can use the comment section for any queries and we will reply ASAP.

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