Low-cost iPhone heading to emerging markets this year -- report

Apple plans to launch a new iPhone version designed exclusively for China and emerging markets that could be available in the second half of 2013, according to Digitimes' sources.

Apple is working on a low-cost iPhone for emerging markets around the world, a new report claims.
The company is working on an iPhone for China and emerging markets that would launch in the second half of 2013, Digitimes is reporting, citing unnamed sources in Apple's supply chain. Those sources say that the iPhone will have a large display, but will come with a revamped design and be much cheaper than the company's current handset.
That said, one part of the Digitimes rumor doesn't quite add up: the low-cost iPhone will have a larger screen than the iPhone 5's current 4-inch model, according to the sources. Considering that a larger display would make more sense in a higher-end product, it's possible that the sources are plain wrong -- a scenario that often times plays out with Digitimes' unnamed sources.
Still, this isn't the first time we've heard of the possibility of Apple launching a new, cheaper iPhone. Last week, Strategy Analytics analyst Neil Mawston said he believes Apple could launch an "iPhone Mini at some point over the next three years to address the hundreds of millions of prepaid users worldwide that cannot afford the iPhone."
However, Mawston argues that the success of the iPhone 5 means Apple has no reason to launch a cheaper handset this year. Digitimes' sources say that the device they have seen will ship in the second half of 2013.
Jefferies analyst Peter Misek agrees with Digitimes' sources. He said recently that he believes a low-cost iPhone could launch this summer for $200 to $250 but that Apple hasn't given it the go-ahead so far because the company is concerned about the margin it would derive from the sale of a low-end handset.
It's not clear what a lower-cost iPhone might offer consumers. However, Digitimes' sources say that Qualcomm's dual- and quad-core Snapdragon chipsets could find their way into the device.
CNET has contacted Apple for comment on the Digitimes report. We will update this story when we hear back.

iPhone users pay highest phone bills

New data shows that 59 percent of iPhone users spend more than $100 per month on their carrier bill, while 56 percent of Windows phone users and 53 percent of Android users pay that much.

Phone users pay higher phone bills than other smartphone consumers. (Credit: CBS Interactive) Rumors of a cheaper iPhone on the horizon may come as welcome news for fans of the device -- especially because iPhone users reportedly pay the highest monthly phone bills, no matter the carrier, according to AllThingsD.
Android, Windows, and BlackBerry users spend less per month to use their smartphones, according to data by Consumer Intelligence Research Partners that was acquired by AllThingsD. It seems that the higher costs come from carriers charging more for iPhone data plans and additional wireless fees.
"We think it has to do with their data plans and carriers, rather than their usage habits," CIRP co-founder Michael Levin told AllThingsD. "They are all on expensive data plans, unlike Android users, some of which are on prepaid or unsubsidized plans with regional carriers."
The data collected is from October to December 2012 and shows that 59 percent of the iPhone users surveyed spent more than $100 per month on their plan with 10 percent of those users spending $200 or more. Only 6 percent spent $50 or less. Conversely, 13 percent of Android users spent $50 or less and 53 percent spent more than $100. Both Windows and BlackBerry users spent even less overall.

Although the monthly cost difference between the four types of devices is slight, the highest costs are still skewed toward iPhone users. This may be because iPhones are more expensive devices and carriers have to shoulder that burden.
"Given the subsidies on iPhones, the carriers are working hard to make their money back during the course of the contract," CIRP's Josh Levitz told AllThingsD. "With the exception of perhaps the hottest Android phones, we think the subsidies on Android phones are lower, so the carriers make more money even with slightly lower per-subscriber revenue."
If Apple does indeed release a cheaper iPhone, it'll be interesting to see if carriers will also lower monthly charges for the device.

Videocon launches 7-inch Android tablet Videocon VT 71 at Rs 4,799

Videocon Mobiles Phones has launched a new tablet - Videocon VT71 - which runs Android 4.0 ICS. It has a 7-inch capacitive touchscreen with a resolution of 800x480 pixels. The tablet is powered by a 1.2 Ghz Processor and a 3200 mAh battery.

The VT71 features 4GB ROM, 512MB RAM, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, front VGA camera and an expandable memory up to 32 GB. It also includes a 3.5mm audio jack, an HDMI Out port with free HDMI and OTG Cable, micro USB Support and 3G support via Dongle.

Available in Grey Silver, the tablet is is priced at Rs 4,799. The tablet category is likely to reach an expected number of 182 million end-user devices by the year 2013 as forecasted by Gartner.

Micromax silently announces A89 Ninja, expected at Rs. 7,000

The Micromax A89 appeared on the official website. It boasts of a 4-inch display, Android 4.0 ICS and a 1GHz dual-core processor.

Micromax wasn’t kidding when it said that would launch more than 30 phones in its portfolio in 2013. The latest addition to their smartphone family comes under the Ninja umbrella. Christened the A89 Ninja, the device has made an appearance on the company’s official website with details about the specifications but no information about the price.

In terms of the specifications, the A89 Ninja has a 4-inch TFT display with a 480x800 pixel resolution. A 1GHz dual-core Mediatek MT6577 SoC processor and 512MB of RAM power the device. It houses a 1450mAh battery which Micromax claims can last for 170 hours of standby and four hours of talk time. It runs on Android 4.0 ICS. The rear of the A89 houses a 3MP camera and there is no front facing camera.

In terms of connectivity options, the A89 Ninja has Bluetooth 2.1, 3G, Wi-Fi and USB. It has 4GB of ROM, and built-in storage of 2.07GB expandable via a microSD card. It also supports dual-SIM functionality.

No pricing is available about the phone, nor has it made an appearance on online shopping portals as of writing this article, but Information on the Internet suggests that the A89 will be available for Rs. 7,000 approximately.

The market is flooded with a plethora of budget phones available in Rs. 7,000 price range. For that budget you can get the LG Optimus L3, Micromax Superfone Elite A84, the Xolo A500 or even the Samsung Galaxy Pocket. The advantage of the A89 however is that it has the MediaTek MT6577 SoC which is designed for low cost phones. The SoC features a dual-core 1GHz Cortex-A9 application processor from ARM, a PowerVR Series5 SGX GPU. How well the SoC is optimized with the device is something we can say when we review the device.

Micromax has gone all out to capture the budget market in India. They had the successful Canvas A110 launch just a few months ago. You can read our review of the device here.

Micromax and MediaTek have also joined forces to launch the first quad-core powered smartphone running Android 4.1 Jelly Bean. Called the A116 Canvas HD, the device boasts of a 5-inch display and some impressive power under the hood. You can read the launch details of the A116

BlackBerry Z10 review: neat and tidy, but unique? Not really

RIM's new devices are stylish, but only their hidden corporate-user features mark them out from their competitors

Asked repeatedly what the company behind the BlackBerry has learned from the iPhone, its UK managing director struggled to answer. "It's unique," said Stephen Bates, reassuring listeners in a stilted appearance on BBC Radio Five Live. "We have a unique proposition."

The USP – unique selling point – is what every technology marketer strives to identify to ensnare the would-be buyer. For the BlackBerry brand, and the new all-touchscreen Z10, and keyboard-toting Q10, there is indeed a USP. But it's very well hidden. And it will cost you.

BlackBerry's problem is that it has to court three groups. First there are the existing corporate and consumer users who remain loyal but might be looking at defecting to rival platforms: Google's Android; Apple's iOS; and Microsoft's Windows Phone. Second are those who have already defected, whom it badly needs to win back. And third are the not-yet-smartphone users, the people still carrying around ageing Nokias that do calls and texts, but not the internet. With the touchscreen Z10 and BB10 in general, BlackBerry is really chasing the first two groups. In particular it is trying to reclaim its former status as the most secure and easy way to get the internet – one which has been taken, in many ways, by the iPhone, and to a lesser extent by Android.

But "unique"? The Z10 and BB10 are different, certainly, but once you get past the main difference – that you unlock the phone by swiping up, and rather than pressing a real or virtual home button to get to your main screen you swipe up again – you're left with a familiar set-up. There is a grid of icons – just like iOS, Android and Palm – and a People Hub pulling together your texts, emails, Twitter responses, and BlackBerry messenger messages – like Windows Phone. It's not unique so much as reordered. So where is the USP? Buried deep inside, and only if you are working for a company that pays for the new BlackBerry Enterprise Server software. BB10 offers corporate users a feature called BlackBerry Balance. Swipe upwards from the middle of a screen, and you flip from your personal phone – with your Angry Birds and other apps – over to the corporate space, whose content your company decides. You can't copy from one to the other because the firewall is total. It's very neat, and for the properly paranoid corporate IT chiefs it will be the answer to a prayer. The Q10, with its keyboard, will probably fit in nicely again.

For the average consumer, though, the Z10 is just another black mirror when locked and just another touchscreen phone when unlocked. The Q10 has a small screen, so won't be such a consumer hit. Lots of apps? Well, quite a few and some of them such as Twitter show the haste with which they're been ported over from Android versions. A big selection of films and music? Yes, but the others have that too. Maps, search, some voice control – yes, yes, yes. None of those is a USP, though. Everyone has them now.

I tried the Z10 for about five days ahead of the launch, and generally liked its style – though the upwards swipes can be hard to do accurately. It's tidy, clearly thought out and smooth. But given the lack of compelling apps, it's not likely to tempt the not-yet-smartphone users, nor to tempt back already defected users. That leaves the corporates who are still with it, and the 79 million consumers – it was 80 million until December – around the world who use it. Even on Wednesday I heard of a company that is considering not using BlackBerrys any more because of fears RIM might implode during the two-year contract. The challenge for BlackBerry's management is to keep the ship steady. And that challenge is not unique in the smartphone market.

Auto Switch-off Staircase Light

In areas like staircase or porch of your home, lighting is required only for a short period of time at night. We often forget to switch off these lights, which results in considerable wastage of electricity. Here is a simple circuit that switches off the lights automatically after a predetermined time. The circuit consumes no power when inactive.

Producing a small DC voltage from AC mains to run an electronic control requires a step-down transformer or a voltage-dropping capacitor circuit. Here a tricky and easy solution is adopted. Bulb B1 gets power via the diode of bridge rectifier BR1 and zener diode ZD1. The voltage drop across zener diode ZD1 is filtered by capacitor C1. This voltage is sufficient to run the rest of the circuitry.

Working of the circuit is simple. Press switch S1 momentarily to turn bulb B1 ‘on.’ The bulb remains ‘on’ for around 20 seconds and then turns off automatically. This duration is long enough for you to find your way up or down the staircase in the dark. It can, however, be varied by changing the values of timing components R2 and C2.

Fig. 1: Circuit of staircase light controller

Construction and testing
An actual-size, single-side PCB for the staircase light controller is shown in Fig. 2 and its component layout in Fig. 3. Assemble the circuit on a PCB to minimise time and assembly errors. Carefully assemble the components and double-check for any overlooked error.

Fig. 2: An actual-size, single-side PCB for staircase light controller

Switch S1 should have current rating corresponding to the load. Multiple switches can be installed in parallel to switch S1 to turn on the bulb from different places, say, from top and bottom of the stairs. The circuit runs directly from mains power. So take utmost care while assembling.

To test the circuit for proper functioning, check test points TP1 and TP2. These should be at around 5V once switch S1 is pressed.

HTC unveils 4-inch Desire U with Android 4.0, 1GHz processor

HTC has announced a new 4-inch device in its home country dubbed as the Desire U. The device is expected to retail for 7990 New Taiwan Dollar (about $274) or at NT$ 291 per month on contract from Chunghwa Telecom. Launch details for other regions remain unknown at the moment.

Specs wise, the Desire U doesn't have much to show off. At 9.32mm thick and weighing 119g, the smartphone sports a 4-inch capacitive touch display (800x480) and runs on Android 4.0 with the company's Sense UI atop. It comes with a 5-megapixel auto focus rear camera with LED Flash.

Internally, the device is powered by a 1GHz processor with 512MB RAM and has 4GB of internal storage with expansion options upto 32GB via microSD cards. The smartphone comes with a 1,650mAh battery.

An interesting addition to the phone's design is the micro-drilled cover art on the back panel. The HTC logo is engraved in the centre and like most other HTC device. It features Beats Audio integration. Connectivity protocols include Wi-Fi 820.11 b/g/n, 3G, Bluetooth 4.0 with aptX and GPS. The device will come in black and white colour options.

HTC has been in the news lately for its M7 full-HD device that is expected to launch one week ahead of the Mobile World Congress next month. The HTC M7 has been leaked in press renders over the past few weeks also seen with the yet-to-be-announced Sense 5.0 UI.

Previously rumoured specifications for the device indicate a 4.7-inch full-HD display, making it an incredible 468ppi. Other alleged specs include a 1.7GHz quad-core Snapdragon processor with 2GB RAM, 32GB of internal storage, 12-megapixel rear camera and a 2-megapixel one in the front.

HTC Desire U key specifications

• 4-inch (800x480 pixels) capacitive touch screen display
• 1 GHz processor
• 512 MB RAM
• 4GB of internal storage expandable up to 32GB via microSD
• 5-megapixel auto focus rear camera with LED Flash
• 3G, Wi-Fi 820.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0 with aptX, GPS
• 1,650mAh battery
• Android 4.0 with HTC Sense UI
• 9.32mm thick
• Weighs 119 grams

Sony Xperia T gets official Jelly Bean alpha build

Sony has released the alpha build of the upcoming Jelly Bean update for Xperia T smartphone. Clearly meant for advanced users and ROM developers, this build is in no way meant for daily usage. According to Sony, the update build can be flashed using company’s recently released Flash tool, but it would need the bootloader to be unlocked first.
Several key features like Voice-calling, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, NFC, Google Apps are currently missing from this update build due to various reasons.  Company however notes that the final Jelly Bean update for Xperia T is not very far.
“We’re now making an early alpha ROM of Jelly Bean (Android 4.1) available for Xperia™ T, along with the open source archive, as a way for us to get valuable feedback from the custom ROM community (although we are not far away from the official release of JB for Xperia™ T).  Thanks to the great dialogue we have with open community developers, we see this as a great way for us to get input, and for the open developer community to get to try this alpha out hands-on,” company noted on the developer blog.

Micromax launches android smartphone Micromax A54 Smarty 3.5

Micromax on Friday unveiled launches android smartphone Micromax A54 Smarty 3.5. Though the company has not disclosed its price, it is available on ecommerce portal infibeam.com at Rs.5999.

This phone is available in all the leading online stores the major cities including Mumbai, Chennai, Delhi, Bangalore, Kolkata, Hyderabad, and Ahmedabad in India.

Micromax A54 Smarty 3.5 runs on Android v 2.3.5 Gingerbread OS. It bears single core 1 GHz processor from Qualcomm, 3.5” HVGA capacitive touch screen having the resolution of 480×320 pixels, and 3 megapixels camera. As with all the Micromax phones, this phone also a powerful battery backup of 1300 mAh which can last for 170 hours on standby and 4 hours talk time.

Micromax is ranked 12th recently in the world for handset manufacturing. The company has already announced to launch as many as 30 new models of mobile phones in 2013. Micromax A54 Smarty 3.5 is the new offering by the company in the Smartphone mobile market.

Other striking features of the phone are as follows:

•  Dual SIM standby ( GSM +  GSM)
• Entertainment features include audio player, video player, and stereo FM radio.
• Connectivity options include Bluetooth v2.1, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n connectivity, and  micro USB v2.0
•  A 3 mp camera with LED flash and video recording feature
•  G-Sensor and Proximity sensors
• Internal Memory of 130 MB that can be expanded up to 32 GB.
• Quick access to popular apps like Facebook, Hookup, Mi Zone, Mi Store, Google Play Store, IM, and GTalk.

Lamborghini unveils Aventador Roadster at Rs.4.77 crore

Lamborghini has introduced its open-top luxury super sports car, Lamborghini Aventador LP700-4 Roadster, in the Indian market to cater to the super-rich.

The car is priced at Rs.4,77,50,000 (ex-showroom Delhi). It will go on sale from mid-2013 at Lamborghini dealers nationwide, Lamborghini India said.

“The Roadster is the most exciting super car that embodies performance, design, technology and engineering excellence which has captivated the imagination of auto enthusiasts across the world. The Aventador Roadster will not only wow Lamborghini fans with its innovations, but will also further develop our presence in the emerging Indian super-luxury sports car segment,” Andrea Baldi, Sales Manager, Southeast Asia & Pacific said, while launching the super car.

“India is slowly accepting the super cars as a mode to realise aspirations and we are hopeful of the success we can achieve here. We believe that our portfolio of legendary super cars has what it takes to satisfy the discerning Indian market,” he added.

“The luxury car market in India has seen a fair amount of growth in the last few years, and continues to grow at a significant rate each year. The emphasis has shifted from pure price consideration to design, quality and pleasure,” said Pavan Shetty, Head of Operations, Lamborghini India. The car can immediately be recognised by the unique profile of its upper area, which extends along newly-designed geometric lines from the removable roof to the engine hood.

It accelerates from 0 to 100 km per hour in just three seconds flat and has a maximum speed of some 350 km per hour.

In 2012, Lamborghini India maintained growth momentum with a 21 per cent increase in sales.

Apple sells 47.8M iPhones in Q1

Apple closed out 2012 on a high note with its iPhone sales, but many fear its momentum is already beginning to peter out.
The Cupertino, Calif., company said today that it sold 47.8 million iPhones in the fiscal first quarter (or the last quarter of the calendar year). The results were above analysts' average projected sales of 46 million to 47 million units, although many analysts had higher estimates, and were left disappointed. It sold 37 million units a year ago.
What remains to be seen is whether the iPhone 5 can keep up with the pace of sales amid increasing competition from the likes of Samsung Electronics and its Galaxy S line. The iPhone franchise has long been the driver of revenue and earnings growth for Apple and is among the most crucial parts of its business.

Apple executives didn't directly address the issue, but noted that supplies were constrained. In addition to a shortage of iPhone 5 units in the early part of the corner, supplies of iPhone 4 were also constrained, CEO Tim Cook said during a conference call with analysts. He did say that he expects iPhone sales to grow over a year ago.
Cook also seemingly dashed any hopes of a larger display for the iPhone by touting the iPhone 5's larger 4-inch Retina Display screen. He reiterated the screen's ability to work with one hand.
"We put a lot of thinking into screen size," he said.
Apple had cut the component orders for iPhone displays, suggesting a letdown in demand, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Cook addressed that rumor directly, saying he would question the accuracy of any rumor, and noting that the single data point couldn't accurately reflect the larger picture of Apple's business.
"It would be impossible to accurately interpret what it meant for the entire business," Cook said.
The past few weeks have seen a back-and-forth on Wall Street on whether the iPhone really is starting to see eroding sales, all while the company's shares slumped. At least one analyst said the company would lose share in the March quarter, while Kantar Worldcom ComTech said the iPhone still took the crown in the U.S. during the final quarter of the year.
Verizon, meanwhile, posted its fourth-quarter results yesterday, reporting sales of 6.2 million iPhones. The bad news: Half of those sales were made up of the older iPhone 4S and iPhone 4 models, indicating that consumers are starting to pause when considering the latest and greatest from Apple, instead settling for a lower-cost alternative.
"Clearly, Apple likely experienced strong sales of cheaper iPhones which helped offset supply constrained related to the iPhone 5," said Julien Blin, an analyst at Infonetics.
Apple doesn't break out sales of each iPhone model, but Cook said the mix between iPhone 5 sales and older models was similar to the mix of iPhone 4S and its prior models a year ago. He noted that the average selling price for the iPhone business was roughly equal.
Apple likely benefited from a large number of iPhone users that were coming up for renewal, Blin said.
Cook, however, said a lot of new customers were buying the phone. But he didn't directly address a question about whether a majority of sales were coming from upgrades.
Cook also announced 36 more carriers would get LTE support for the iPhone 5, including carriers in Italy, Denmark, Finland, the Philippines, and several Middle Eastern countries.

Nokia looks to reclaim top spot in India

Mobile phone maker Nokia is down, but not out. The company’s India division claims it is leaving no stone unturned in trying to reclaim its top spot in the growing Indian mobile phone market.

Speaking on the sidelines of the launch of new phones in Nokia’s Lumia series, Viral Oza, director-marketing, Nokia India, told The Hindu about the company’s strategies, its USP and its most ambitious offering in its smartphone Lumia series – the Lumia 920.

Formerly the market leader in the Indian phone segment, Nokia was known for its feature phones in the mid- and low-budget ranges, until recently. Is it an even playing field now? “The whole approach Nokia has is to make sustained growth. For this, we have been executing on three pillars: future disruption, connecting the next billion and the partnership with Microsoft. Innovation gives us the competitive edge,” he said.

Defending its profits without divulging any numbers, he said, “In the first three quarters, Nokia has shipped more phones than any others.”

But is Nokia concentrating more on the expensive smartphone market at the cost of its feature phones?

“We are still the largest selling phone brand in India. Nokia is always invested in India. Our focus is on the consumer; to know and understand our consumer,” he said, adding that Nokia’s budget phones, such as those in the ‘Asha’ series, highlighted the “democratic benefits of technology”.

“Under the Asha range, we started offering phones at prices that couldn’t even be thought of,” he recalled.

Nokia launched new feature phone models last month, which showed that the company was not concentrating on the smartphone segment, he added.

Walking the tightrope when asked about whether the partnership with Windows Phone would be enough to tackle the huge Android market, Mr. Oza said, “Our aim is to create a third ecosystem.”

Musical Bell

This circuits uses very few component and gives melody sound. It uses 3 terminal IC UM66 and can be build small enough to be placed inside a greeting card and operated off a single 3V flat button cell.
    There is not much to the circuit. The UM66 is connected to its supply and its output fed to a transistor for amplification. Any common speaker can be used or a “flat” piezoelectric tweeter like the one found in alarm wrist watches. If you use the piezo, then it can be connected directly between the output pin 1 and ground pin 3 without the transistor.
    The UM66 looks like a transistor with 3 terminals. It is complete miniature tone generator with a tune. Now they come with wide variety of different tunes.
    For amplification we have used a NPN transistor which is BC548. Here BC548 makes a common emitter circuit. For limiting the base current we have used a resistance of 220 Ohms so that transistor will not get damaged by excess current.

          Circuit Diagram of Musical Bell

PROCEDURE :
1. Draw circuit diagram on ply board and make hole with compass or broader for component pin insertion.
2. Identify emitter base collector of transistor and pin no. of IC UM66
3. Solder all parts according to the circuit. You will need soldering iron, Soldering flux and flexible wire.
4. Make sure all points are well soldered according to the Circuit Diagram and no dry solders. Wrong connection of IC may heat up and get damage.
5. After loading battery power ON the circuit. Now you can check the function of the project.

Heat Sensor

Here is a simple circuit which can be used as a heat sensor. In the following circuit diagram thermistor and 100 Ohms resistance is connected in series and makes a potential devider circuit . If thermistor is of N.T.C (Negative temperature Coefficient ) type then after heating the thermistor its resistance decreases so more current flows through the thermistor and 100 Ohms resistance and we get more voltage at junction of thermistor and resistance. Suppose after heating 110 ohms thermistor its resistance value become 90 Ohms.then according to potential devider circuit the voltage across one resistor equals the ratio of that resistor’s value and the sum of resistances times the voltage across the series combination. This concept is so pervasive it has a name: voltage divider. The input-output relationship for this system, found in this particular case by voltage divider, takes the form of a ratio of the output voltage to the input voltage.
    This output voltage is applied to a NPN transistor through a resistance. Emitter voltage is maintain at 4.7 volt with a help of Zener diode.
This voltage we will use as compare voltage. Transistor conducts when base voltage is greater than emitter voltage. Transistor conducts as it gets more than 4.7 base Voltage and circuit is completed through buzzer and it gives Sound.

Burglar Alarm

The circuit illustrated here is used as an Burglar alarm. LDR is kept at such a place that when thief enters our house then a shadow will fall on the LDR. A small beam of light source is also needed to supply continuous signal to LDR. For best Light source we can use Laser diode which will work for few KMs. For home use Infra Red LED’s will be good and will be tricky to thief and works with same efficiency at night.
      This circuit uses a popular timer I.C which is 555. I.C 555 is connected as comparator with pin 6 connected with positive supply, the output goes high-1 when the trigger pin 2 is at lower than 1/3 level of the supply voltage. Conversely the output goes low-0 when it is above 1/3. So small change in voltage of pin 2 is enough to change the output state of pin 3 from 1 to 0 and 0 to 1. The output has only two states high and low and can not remain in any intermediate stage. It is power by 9V battery for portable use. The circuit is economic in power consumption. Pin 4,6& 8 is connected to the positive supply and pin 1 is grounded.
      To detect the present robber we have used LDR and a source of light.
LDR is a special type of resistance whose value depends on the brightness of the light which is falling on it. It has a resistance of about 1 megaohms when in total darkness,but a resistance of only about 2-5 k ohms when brightly illuminated. It responds to a large part of the light spectrum.
      The source of light and LDR is so adjusted with a reflector that light will directly fall on the LDR but when robber enters inside then it will block the beam of light and LDR will be under darkness.
      We have made a potential divider circuit with LDR and 100 K variable resistance connected in series. Voltage is directly proportional to conductance so more voltage we will get by this divider when LDR is getting light and low voltage in darkness. Sensitiveness can be adjusted by variable resistance. Divided voltage is given to pin 2nd of 555. As soon as LDR gets dark the voltage of the pin 2 drops 1/3 of the supply voltage and pin 3 gets high and Buzzer Beeps.

                          Burglar Alarm Circuit Diagram

For Demo we have used simple LED for LED1 may be Red or White Color
LED = Light Emitting Diode
LDR = Light Dependent Resistance
IC = Integrated Circuit
Components:-
1) 9V battery with snap
2)LDR
3)Variable resistance 100K ohms
4)Resistance 470 ohms
5)LED
6)IC 555
7)Switch

Rain Alarm

GIVES BEEP WHEN WATER IS IN CONTACT WITH THE WIRE

Water is a conductor of electricity. When water is in contact with the probe then there is a flow of current which reaches to the base of Q1. Transistor Q1 is a NPN transistor which conducts. With the conduction of Q1 electron reaches to Q2 which is a PNP transistor .Q2 also conducts and current flows through the speaker. In a speaker there is inductive coil which causes motion in one direction and also produce induce current which is in opposite direction to the flow of current this induce current in the form of pulse flows through a capacitor, resistance and switches off Q1 and relax .this process repeats again and again till probe is in contact with water or we can say there is a oscillation in the circuit thus speaker diaphragm vibrates and gives a tone. Frequency of the circuit depends on the value of Speaker Coil impendence, Capacitor and Resistance Value.

 

Google Nexus 4, Nexus 7 3G coming to T-Mobile this winter, as carrier reveals holiday lineup

As you already know by now, Google on Monday unveiled its new products that will target shoppers around the world this holiday season including the Google Nexus 4 smartphone made by LG, the Google Nexus 10 tablet by Samsung and the new Google Nexus 7 tablet versions made by Asus. Obviously, all of them will run Google’s most recent Android 4.2 OS right out of the box (also announced today,) so there are plenty of reasons to be excited about these new devices.
In addition from buying them from Google directly, at least in the USA, T-Mobile will offer two of them to its subscribers this holiday season, the Nexus 4 and the 32GB Nexus 7 3G – you might recall that T-Mobile also had an event scheduled for today, which it had to cancel just like Google did, because of Hurricane Sandy.
The T-Mobile Nexus 4 will be available for $199.99 with new two-year contracts, while the T-Mobile Nexus 7 will be available with cellular service directly from Google Play in early November.
Moreover, T-Mobile will also have a variety of other smartphones and tablets in stock this winter, including the Galaxy Note 2, the Galaxy S3, the Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 and the LG Optimus 9:

• Google Nexus 4: Classic Plan – $199.99 with a two-year service agreement on qualifying voice and data plans
• Google Nexus 7: Available with T-Mobile service via Google Play starting 11/5
• Samsung Galaxy Note II: Currently available online and in retail stores. Classic Plan – $369.99 with a two-year service agreement on qualifying voice and data plans
• LG Optimus 9: Expected to be available online and in retail stores starting 10/31. Classic Plan – $79.99 after a $50 mail-in-rebate card with a two-year service agreement on qualifying voice and data plans.
• Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 10.1: Expected to be available starting 11/14 online and in retail stores. Classic Plan – $349.99 after a $50 mail-in-rebate card with a two year service agreement on qualifying mobile broadband data plans
• Samsung Galaxy S III: Currently available online and in retail stores.

The new entrants in mobile OS segment

The smartphone ecosystem today has two dominant players: Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android operating systems. A late entrant, Android, has been quick to catch up with iOS and the Open operating system only seems to be surging ahead.

Given the success of Android, many other Open Source paradigms are being floated, most notably the Free and Open Source projects Firefox (of browser fame) and Ubuntu that are re-making their debut this year in the commercial smartphone segment. Together, these projects that have been successful in the technology segments they currently operate in could perhaps help break into the combined monopoly of Apple and Google in the smartphone segment.

Canonical’s Ubuntu is trying to market the idea that smartphones must be as capable as one’s PC and are trying to port the Ubuntu OS from the desktop with minimum changes so that it can offer a unified experience across all platforms. Mozilla’s Firefox OS too targets the low-end phones (in the smartphone segment) with an all HTML5 approach, implying that every application that would run on the smartphone will offer a website like experience.

PC out of a smartphone

Ubuntu is among the most popular Linux-based desktop operating systems today. The backlash Ubuntu has had to face with its changes in the user interface since its release in April, 2011, has now evolved into the more stable “Unity” interface — a futuristic, touch-oriented graphical user interface. Unity, as the name suggests, was projected as the thread weaving and unifying all the computing environments — PCs, laptops, tablets, TVs and smartphones that run on Ubuntu. The smartphone link had been missing, and now Canonical is all geared up to flex its muscles by porting Ubuntu on the smartphones.

Mark Shuttleworth, in a virtual keynote address to the user community, in January 2013, presented Canonical’s ideas for Ubuntu on smartphones. At the Consumer Electronics Show 2013, Ubuntu OS was demonstrated on Google Nexus.

Ubuntu’s Unity interface is what Canonical is betting big on. The Unity interface, even on desktops yields more space for users with less focus on permanent navigation or menu options. This again if ported well on smartphones will be a plus. The navigation on Unity will be the same across all platforms, unlike Apple’s iOS or Windows OS, which differ on platforms to match up to the hardware constraints. Mr. Shuttleworth describes the Unity interface on laptops, TVs and smartphone as “Individually great in their own right, and coherent as a family”.

Applications are already in plenty for the desktop platform from the Ubuntu Software Center, and Ubuntu has invited developers to write apps for the mobile platform using the Webkit. Canonical has for long had the vision of getting Ubuntu on the mobile platform, and in small steps they have inched close, ready to take the dip in the deluge.

Web all the way

The second most promising entrant in this segment is the Mozilla Foundation’s latest attempt to build an operating system that’s as free as the Web. Mozilla believes that Android is not as Open Source an ecosystem as Google claims and that most design decisions are made by Google and pushed down to the developers and that often the source code of the OS is not released after the devices are shipped. Mozilla claims that Firefox OS will provide an alternative to these “walled gardens”.

Mozilla Foundation started the operating system in the name of Boot to Gecko, now more commonly called the Firefox OS. This is an all HTML5, Javascript and CSS framework, and truly Open Source. Technically, the biggest challenge for a Web-based operating system is to gain access to the hardware such as telephony or camera. For, in conventional browsing environments the Web requests are handled by the native operating system like iOS, Android or Windows, creating an abstraction between hardware and the Web framework. Using Javascript and Web Application Programming Interface (API) Boot to Gecko has already been able to demonstrate most of the functions by directly accessing system resources.

The first prototype of this was demonstrated in the Consumer Electronics Show 2013, on a ZTE-made smartphone. The official statement of Mozilla is that Firefox OS will be in its final form in a couple weeks, ready to be ported and released in the market.

Z10 BlackBerry 10 vs Apple iPhone 5 vs Samsung Galaxy S3: BB10 will beat all

 The new Z10 B10 handset will come with a very impressive 4.2-inch display with 1280 x 768 resolution with 356 PPI that leaves Apple’s iPhone 5’s retina display look like an old generation handset. iPhone 5 comes with 326 pixel per inch that was once a yardstick, but now Research in Motion is coming up with far improved display than even Retina display and that is going to help the RIM among the quality conscious executives across the world. Compared to it Galaxy S3 comes with 720 x 1280 pixels, 4.8 inches (306 ppi pixel density) display. so the forthcoming blackberry handset beats both the market leaders with huge margin.
The new Z10 BB10 handset comes packed with power. It will come with a dual core 1.5GHz TI OMAP 4470 processor (Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM8960 for the US and Canada markets). Compared to it Apple’s iPhone 5 comes with A6 chip that Apple claims delivers a CPU two times faster than the A5 and several times better graphics. On the other hand Samsung Galaxy S III comes with their own quad-core 1.4GHz Exynos processor. Compared to Galaxy S3’s 1GB RAM, Z10 BB10 comes with 2 GB RAM that will make it faster than its competitors.
The new BlackBerry handset will come with 8MP rear camera and a 2MP front facing camera with 1080p video recording. Apple iPhone 5’s rear iSight 8MP camera remains impressive, taking great pictures in bright conditions. There’s a bigger virtual camera capture button and video stabilisation seems to have improved. It now detects faces and auto-focuses in video and allows you to capture stills while taking video. The video-compression algorithm has also improved, reducing the file-size of footage without any discernible reduction in quality, and making for friendlier email attachments. Its rear camera comes with 1.2 MP. Galaxy S3 comes with similar camera capabilities. Its 8MP/1080p camera takes continuous shots at a rate of 6fps, then picks the best shot based on smile detection, blink detection, contrast and blurring. It comes with 1.9MP front camera.
BlackBerry 10 will come with all the connectivity options that anyone can dream to have. It will come with with NFC, Bluetooth 4.0, 3G and, of course, Wi-Fi (802.11 a/b/g/n). reports suggest that it will come with microHDMI-Out for AV with microUSB for PC interfacing and charging. It will come with 16 GB internal storage, though less than iPhone  and Galaxy S3, nonetheless sufficient for most of the people.

Research in Motion is not leaving much to imagination. It is showing what is set to come with its BlackBerry 10 and how its forthcoming smart-phones with new and all the improved BB10 operating system are not just going to take the threat of Apple’s iPhone 5 and Samsung Galaxy S III and Galaxy Note 2 head-on.
RIM’s next generation handsets may not be huge like Samsung Galaxy S III, Galaxy Note 2, HTC’s One X or One X Plus, nonetheless it comes with 4.2 inch display size that is enough for most of the business users, backbone of RIM smart-phones who don’t have much time to play games or watch endless videos with their huge, tablet looking smart-phones. And to top it all BlackBerry 10 handsets are going to beat Apple iPhone 5’s Retina Display by a huge margin.
Ontario, Canada based Research in Motion’s forthcoming handsets are not going to remain the sluggish or unattractive handsets that they have remained. These handsets are going to be blazing fast, very attractive and win back the hearts and minds of BlackBerry fans once again. Z10 BB10 full touch smartphone will come with top features that are very competitive compared to other smart-phones available in the market.

Solar Battery Charging Indicator

Here is the circuit of a simple charging monitor that indicates whether the storage battery of a solar power unit is being charged or not. It, however, does not tell the state of the solar panel. 

Fig. 1: Block diagram of solar battery charging indicator

The circuit consists of two common ICs, an npn transistor, ten 5mm red LEDs and a few discrete components. It can be divided into two parts: voltmeter and display controller.

The voltmeter, built around IC LM3914 (IC1), is a low-power, expanded-scale type LED voltmeter that indicates small voltage steps over the 7-16V range for 12V solar panels. The meter saves power by operating in a low-duty-cycle 'flashing' mode where the LED indicators are on (and hence consuming power) briefly. The circuit may be switched to steady mode where the active indicator remains on at all times.
The input for IC1 (LM3914) is derived from the solar panel voltage via a potential divider network comprising preset VR1 and resistors R1 and R2. This variable input is about 3V for a DC potential of 12V.
The display range depends on the internal voltage reference and resistors R3-VR2-R4. The lowest LED (LED1) glows when the input voltage at pin 5 of IC1 is 1.8V and the top most LED (LED10) glows when the voltage exceeds 4V. as the input signal is divided by 4, the display ranges should be multiplied by this figure. So the actual display range is 7-16V, i.e., 1V per LED.
The display controller is built around IC LM555 (IC2) that is wired in astable (free-running) mode with a narrow-pulse output. The duty-cycle of IC2 is controlled by the ratio of resistors R6 and R7. If you want faster blinking, use a smaller value of resistor R7. A preset may be substituted for R7 if a rate adjustment is desired. Increase the value of resistor R6 to get a longer 'on' time for LED indicators. The frequency of oscillations is determined by the combination of capacitor C4 and resistors R6 and R7.
The output of timer IC2 is fed (through current-limiting resistor R5) to transistor T1 ,which, in turn, controls the power to IC1. Capacitor C1 filters the control voltage input to IC1 and capacitor C3 provides DC filtering for the entire circuit. When you press switch S1 across capacitor C4, the output of IC2 remains high, and the display switches to steady mode from flashing mode. Switch S2 is the master power-on/off switch.
Assemble the circuit on a small, general-purpose printed-circuit board (PCB) and enclose in a suitable plastic box. After necessary calibration, connect the circuit to the output cable of the charge controller unit with correct polarity.
For calibration, lock preset VR1 at the centre position and then set VR2 to its maximum resistance with the help of a digital multimeter. Now close both the switches (S1 and S2) and connect the circuit to a variable-voltage DC power supply unit with its output level set to 12V (1%). Adjust VR1 until LED6 (at pin 14 of IC1) lights up. Finally, lock presets VR1 and VR2 using glue.  

Fig. 2: Circuit of solar battery charging indicator 



 

Cellphone-Based Remote Controller for Water Pump

nconvenience in switching on a water pump installed in a remote farm is a common problem faced by farmers. Many circuits have been developed to solve this problem. Most of them are expensive and microcontroller-based. Here we present a cellphone-based remote controller for water pump. By calling the cellphone attached to the controller, the water pump can be directly activated.

Circuit and working
Fig. 1 shows the block diagram of cellphone-based remote controller for water pump. Fig. 2 shows the circuit. The circuit is built around DTMF decoder IC MT8870 (IC1), timer NE555 (IC2) wired as monostable multivibrator and a few discrete components. The main component of the circuit is IC MT8870. This DTMF decoder has band-split filter and digital decoder functions. It offers the advantages of small size, low power consumption and high performance.

Fig. 1: Block diagram of cellphone-based remote controller for water pump 

 Fig. 2: Circuit of cellphone-based remote controller for water pump 
Once monostable timer IC2 is triggered, its output goes high for the preset time period. The time period depends on the values of resistor R7 and capacitor C4. It can be adjusted between 8 and 50 minutes using pot-meter VR1. The high output at pin 3 of IC2 energises relay RL1 to switch on the water pump.

The triggering pulse for IC2 is generated by DTMF decoder IC1 and the arrangement of diodes D1 through D5. Std pin of IC1 provides a high pulse when a valid tone-pair is received. Transistor T1 conducts only when outputs Q0 through Q2 and Std are high simultaneously. This can be achieved by sending digit ‘7’ through DTMF.

The water pump controller is connected to a dedicated cellphone through connector J1 with auto-answering mode enabled. The DTMF signal sent from the user end is decoded by the DTMF decoder and the corresponding binary-coded decimal (BCD) value appears on outputs Q0 through Q3. In this circuit only three of them are used.

Working of the circuit is simple. To switch ‘on’ the water pump, call the cellphone connected to the controller circuit and press ‘7’ once the ring stops. LED1 will glow to indicate that the water pump is switched on. The water pump turns off automatically after the preset time. LED1 turns off simultaneously.

Construction and testing
An actual-size, single-side PCB for cell-phone-based remote controller is shown in Fig. 3 and its component layout in Fig. 4. Suitable connector is provided on the PCB to connect the cellphone. Assemble the circuit on a PCB to minimise time and assembly errors. Carefully assemble the components and double-check for any overlooked error. Use suitable IC socket for MT887 and NE555 ICs.

Fig. 3: An actual-size, single-side PCB for cellphone-based remote controller

Fig. 4: Component layout for the PCB

Use relay RL1 with contact current rating capable of carrying the water pump’s current.

To test the circuit for proper functioning, press switch S1 and verify 5V at TP1 with respect to TP0. Connect the cellphone to the controller using connector J1. Call this cellphone and press ‘7’ once the ring stops. At the same time, verify high-to-low triggering pulse at TP2. TP3 now should be high for the preset time period.

 

Apple won't blindly pursue market share, Chinese paper reports

SAN FRANCISCO/BEIJING: In a revised version of an interview published Thursday in a Chinese newspaper, Apple Inc marketing chief Phil Schiller said the company would focus on making "the best products" for customers and "never blindly pursue market share".

On Thursday, the Shanghai Evening News had originally cited Schiller as saying that Apple would not develop a cheaper smartphone for the sake of expanding its market share.

That appeared to undermine other recent media reports indicating that Apple was working on a low-end smartphone, which would represent a significant shift in strategy for a company that has always focused on premium products.

But in a new version of the story published after the original, the Shanghai Evening News removed all references to cheaper smartphones, except for a mention of rumours of a "cheaper, low-end product".

It also amended its original headline from "Apple will not push a cheaper smartphone for the sake of market share", to "Apple wants to provide the best products, will not blindly pursue market share".

Apple confirmed the interview had taken place and that it had contacted the Chinese newspaper about amending its original article, but had no further comment and declined to provide a transcript of the interview.
A reporter at the Shanghai Evening News who identified himself as Huang Yinlong, whose byline appeared on the stories, said the paper had made some changes, as Schiller's remarks may not have been presented as clearly as possible.

As well as deleting references to cheap smartphones, paraphrased statements attributed to Schiller in the original version were replaced with direct quotations.

Asked if the paper had made the changes at Apple's request, Huang said that the paper had made the decision on its own.

"We deliberated about it, and wanted to reflect (Schiller's) meaning in the interview more accurately, so we made some adjustments", said Huang, adding the interview was conducted in Beijing on Tuesday.

The original story had quoted Schiller as saying that developing a cheaper smartphone to try and replace feature phones was not a direction in which the company wanted to head.

That comment was amended in the new version of the story, which now cites Schiller as saying that while some manufacturers are moving toward such cheaper smartphones, "Apple has always focused on providing the best products for its consumers, we've never blindly chased market share."

An operator at the Shanghai Evening News said the paper did not have a spokesperson. Queries for comment were referred to Editor-in-Chief Niu Yefang, whose phone went unanswered.

A spokeswoman for Apple in China could not be reached immediately.

Apple rarely addresses rumors about upcoming products, which often spur intense speculation. Earlier this week, the Wall Street Journal cited anonymous sources as saying Apple could release a cheaper iPhone as early as this year. 

Apple's Schiller: A cheaper iPhone? Um, no

LAS VEGAS--I had always fancied that when CES comes along, Apple's devious PR people sit around and wonder which little rumor to toss out, just to turn the heads of those who gawp here.
Of course, there's no proof that this week's hearty rumor -- that Apple will produce a cheaper iPhone -- came from Cupertino, but the leak seemed timed with a stroke of mischief regardless.
So as CES reaches its later stages, news emerges that Apple's SVP of worldwide marketing, Phil Schiller, has declared himself on the subject -- a declaration that can be roughly summarized as "Hah."
The Next Web reports that Schiller gave an interview to the Shanghai Evening News yesterday in which he said: "Despite the popularity of cheap smartphones, this will never be the future of Apple's products. In fact, although Apple's market share of smartphones is just about 20 percent, we own 75 percent of the profit."

Some might interpret this as: "Do you really think we're going to go grubbing around in the basement, looking for a few coins?"
Wise and regular analysts estimated that a cheaper iPhone could reach half a billion customers.
But where would the cachet be if everyone was walking around with an iPhone? Some might say it's bad enough already when everyone and her ex already has an iPad.
In Apple's world, if something is cheaper, it has to have some palpably positive -- and, hopefully, novel -- value.
It's hard to believe Apple would create something that is simply cheap for cheap's sake.
And anyway, if this thing were to be a smaller iPhone, that would be an iPhone 4, right?

Smartphone touted as ‘remote for your life’

LAS VEGAS (AFP) - It can talk to your car, your refrigerator, water your plants and help you stay fit and healthy: the smartphone is become the consumer’s remote control for life.
That was the message delivered by dozens of firms at the International Consumer Electronics Show, where terms like “appification” were tossed around freely.
The hundreds of thousands of “apps” developed for mobile platforms such as Apple’s iOS, Google’s Android and Microsoft’s Windows Phone and showcased at the Las Vegas tech gathering are quickly taking a lot of functions that people or different devices used to do.
Nowhere was this more evident in the “connected home” zone of the world’s biggest technology show.
Samsung, the South Korean tech giant, showed a connected refrigerator which can stream music from a smartphone, while US appliance maker Dacor unveiled what it called the “first Android oven,” with a panel to check emails and the Web.
US appliance maker Whirlpool showed its lineup of smart appliances which can send a user a text message when the laundry is done. Whirlpool’s refrigerator can also stream music through an app, enabling a host to set a playlist for each course of a dinner party, for example.
“You don’t need to be friend on Facebook with your fridge, but it makes its use easier,” quipped Warwick Stirling, Whirlpool’s senior director of energy and sustainability. South Korea’s LG offered an integrated solution: one smartphone app which can remotely turn on a robotic vacuum or washing machine, or monitor something cooking in the oven.
An LG refrigerator, equipped with a touchscreen panel, can deliver a shopping list to your smartphone wirelessly, provided that the database is created in the appliance.
“You can control your life with a smartphone,” said LG’s Lisa Hutchenson.
French-based firm Parrot and Korea’s Moneual each showed off an app to allow smartphone users to keep their home plants watered, using a sensor which transmits information on temperature, light and humidity and alerts people when the plants are thirsty. The home thermostat, locks and lighting can be controlled with an app developed by Ingersoll Rand.
“The phone can be your remote control for your house,” said Matt McGovren, marketing manager for the maker of home equipment.
“Everything will be connected, even things not generally associated with smartphones, like locks.”
In the car, drivers can mimic their key fob functions to control their car, track, locate and monitor their vehicles with an app from Delphi Automotive, shown at CES.
And Ford and General Motors announced at CES that they will be launching efforts to help app developers create programs which be used in vehicles, some of which already can play streaming movies or music from mobile devices.
“Up to now, radio was the only entertainment in the car,” said Thomas Sonnenrein, of the German equipment maker Bosch. “Today we have a system shared with the Internet, the smartphone and the car” which “creates a lot of value.”
The health segment is exploding with apps which can monitor heart rate, blood sugar, distance traveled by runners and many other things seen in the CES fitness tech zone. The integration of the television and smartphone was a major focus at CES, with numerous smart TVs sharing with mobile phones and tablets. Not to mention the simple use of the device as a remote TV control.
Shawn DuBravac, chief economist at the Consumer Electronics Association, told the CES opening session that 65 percent of time spend on smartphones now is “non communication activities” such as apps for health, entertainment or other activities.
“We have moved away not only from telephony but from communications being the primary part of these devices,” he said. “So it is not just a communications devices, it is a hardware hub around which people build services... the smartphone is becoming the viewfinder for your digital life.”

Now, headphones that you can wear like headband to bed

Researchers have created a headband with built in earphones could help us sleep more soundly and easily.
The SleepPhones are a fabric band with earphones built in - and its makers claim you can even use them without waking a partner sleeping next to you, the Daily Mail reported.
Current versions have a wire to connect to a phone, but a wireless version, set to go on sale in April, has just won a prestigious awards at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.
“Being able to sleep soundly is crucial to feeling well overall, and SleepPhones help by playing relaxing audio, drowning out noises, and establishing a positive bedtime routine,” Wei-Shin Lai, one of the inventors of the headphones said.
The firm began selling the product in 2007, when Lai was working as a doctor.
The firm is now set to introduce its first wireless version, selling for 50 pounds in April.
“There’s a version of our product for sports, a version for sleep, and now a wireless version that eliminates cords entirely by playing back media from any Bluetooth-enabled device,” Lai said.
The current version has a wire so it can be plugged into an iPod or bedside alarm, but the next version will be wireless, the firm said

School shooting victim expected to recover

Officials try to determine a motive, with the Kern County sheriff saying the assailant believed that the two students he targeted had bullied him.

A day after the shooting at Taft Union High School in Kern County, many students, family members and friends gathered at the school to attend counseling sessions or offer each other comfort. (Henry A. Barrios, The Bakersfield Californian / January 11, 2013)

A Taft Union High School student targeted and shot by a classmate was on life support and in intensive care Friday but is expected to recover, hospital officials said, as law enforcement authorities sought to discern a motive for the attack.
The 16-year-old boy, whom authorities have not identified, suffered injuries to the lungs and liver after shotgun pellets hit his chest and abdomen, officials at Kern County Medical Center said.
"He's in … an induced coma to protect him," said Paul Hensler, chief executive officer of the Bakersfield-based facility, which is a trauma center.
Hensler said the boy had undergone about three hours of surgery on Thursday and would probably need "additional surgeries after he's stronger."
Law enforcement officials said the suspect, also age 16, would be charged with attempted murder. They did not give his name because he is a minor.
They said they were investigating what role bullying may have had in motivating him to fire a 12-gauge shotgun at students in his science class. In addition to the hospitalized victim, the suspect tried to shoot a second student and missed before the teacher was able to talk him down, authorities said.
"He certainly believed the two he targeted had bullied him," Kern County Sheriff Donny Youngblood told reporters at a news briefing. "Whether or not that occurred, we don't know that."
Youngblood said the suspect planned the attack the night before and used a shotgun owned by his brother. A school surveillance camera captured the boy as he entered a side entrance to the campus "trying to conceal the shotgun." The video "showed he was nervous," Youngblood said.
In the scramble to escape, some students barricaded themselves in a storage closet, while others fled through a back door, authorities said. Two additional students suffered minor injuries. One girl was close to the assailant as he fired off rounds and was treated at a local hospital for possible hearing damage; another hurt her ankle, Youngblood said.
Classes were canceled Friday, but the school remained open for a few hours so staff and students could collect belongings left behind during the mayhem. Grief counselors were available on campus "to talk to people," said Ray Pruitt, public information officer for the Kern County Sheriff's Department.
Sixteen-year-old junior Oscar Martinez said in a telephone interview that some students who stopped by the campus Friday were crying. Others were hugging and holding hands.
"It's a small town. We really can't believe it happened in Taft," said Oscar, who ran from the school building when word spread that a shooter was at large.
Classes were scheduled to resume Monday.

 

iPhone5 Inspired Titanium Gray Galaxy S3 Released By Samsung

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s iPhone 5 apparently has a strong influence on Samsung, as the Korean tech company announced plans for a titanium gray version of their flagship phone, Galaxy S III. This new model hits T-Mobile stores earlier this week.

The new version comes with 16GB of internal storage, Android 4.1.1 Jelly Bean operating system, 8 megapixel camera with LED flash, 4.8 AMOLED HD display, NFC capabilities, and a 1.5 GHz dual-core processor. The phone will sell for $279.99, after a mail-in rebate coupon for $50.00.

Brian White (analyst for Topeka Capital Markets) predicts  that Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) will release their next generation smartphone in six to eight different colors. That’s why they supposedly launched the fifth generation iPod Touch is many colors, they wanted to gauge the reactions of consumers before colorizing the next iPhone. Since it has proven to be successful, Apple will probably colorize the iPhone and the iPad next.

He also predicts that Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) will introduce the iPhone in different sizes in order to appeal to all markets including the low-end markets. There has been some talk lately about Apple creating an iPhone Mini in hopes of securing a lead in the budget smartphone market. It’s been also predicted that the iPhone Mini could arrive as early as this summer.

To keep up with the competition, Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. (LON:BC94) (KRX:005930) recently announced their plans to release a budget-friendly smartphone called Samsung S Galaxy II Plus. Yesterday, we reported that this new phone is essentially an enhanced version of the original Galaxy II, with hyperglazed plastic construction, 4.3 inch Super AMOLED display, 1.2 GHz processor, and 8 megapixel back camera.  It also comes in two color choices white or dark blue.

The smartphone battle between Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) and Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. (LON:BC94) (KRX:005930) will continue to heat up as both companies continually release new smartphones and improve the ones they have on the market. 2013 could be a big year for smartphones.