Mobile Review: BlackBerry's new Q5 is smart and capable

BlackBerry launched its mid-range Q5 handset on Tuesday afternoon in New Delhi, at a price of Rs.24,990

Why is this handset a big deal? Because BlackBerry's revival rested on its all-new BB 10 software - but the only two BB 10 handsets that have been launched so far have been priced too high to make a difference to markets such as India. The Z10 came in at Rs.43k, and the keyboard-equipped Q10, at a staggering Rs.45k price that was universally criticized.
So while much of the world didn't get very excited about the Q5, India's mobile market has been very curious about it.
The Q5 is a much cheaper Q10. At just over half the price, it gives you almost a Q10-like experience: the same software, in a cheaper package. Where the Q10 felt premium and heavy, with aluminium touches, the all-plastic Q5 is lighter, but feels sturdy - and is in fact easier to hold than the Q10.
In deference to its much lower price, BlackBerry worked hard at distinguishing the Q5, starting with the keypad. It borrows the old Curve model's smaller but more-spaced-out keypad, making the Q5 look older than the Q10. Unlike other reviewers, though, I find I'm typing faster on the Q5's keypad.
The Q5's touch-screen has the same 3.1" square size and 720x720 pixel resolution as the Q10's, but uses LCD (instead of the Q10's more modern AMOLED), making it whiter if mildly less capable in bright sunlight. Yet I found the Q5 touchscreen easier to use, for there's more space under the screen, making it easier to swipe up - an action you use often, to get out of an app.
So the two are well matched. The Q5 is slightly slower, but doesn't feel sluggish. Both use dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon processors and 2 GB of memory, but the Q5 runs at 1.2 GHz against the Q10's 1.5 GHz. However, I didn't really load it with apps (there aren't that many BlackBerry 10 apps yet, anyway). Web browser performance on both handsets is terrible.
My one real disappointment with the Q5 is the 5 Mp (megapixel) camera, down from the Q10's 8 Mp. The resolution doesn't really matter, but the Q5 clearly has a cheaper sensor. Outdoor daylight shots are okay, but indoor or low-light shots are mediocre, noisy. There's poor comparison with, say, the HTC One's brilliant 4 Mp sensor, or even the old Phone 4's 5 Mp sensor.
My other disappointment is common to both Q5 and Q10 - the overwhelming touch metaphor. You can't even make or end a call, or speed-dial, without using the touch screen - which makes it a pain to call or answer when driving. The old "call end" button was a great way to exit apps, but now it's all touch. There's no "BlackBerry" key either, to give you quick, context-sensitive menu options on everything - for instance to quickly forward an SMS as an email.
Overall, though, the BlackBerry Q5 is very capable, and, compared to the Q10, very good value. It matches the Q10 on many counts, and if you can live with sacrificing the Q10's cooler look and feel, is the handset to buy. If you want to buy a BlackBerry!
And therein lies the rub. There aren't all that many BlackBerry loyalists. The Q5 isn't sexy enough to make users switch from Android or iPhone. It isn't cheap enough to get low-end-BB users to upgrade from their older Curve.
So we're back to the price. A Rs.25k price still doesn't give BlackBerry a market-saver in India. It desperately needs phones in the Rs.10-15k price range. Yes, there are those old BB 7 handsets, but they are, well, old.
Still, the Q5 is good value, and all the more so because BB 10 no longer requires you to pay for BlackBerry service. You just need a 3G plan. This isn't great for the company - BlackBerry loses some of its service revenue - but it's nice for the user. For now, this is the handset I'm going to be using.

T-Mobile Launches Impressive iPhone 5 Trade-In Offer For Mother's Day

Looking for the perfect Mother’s Day gift? T-Mobile might be able to help out. From May 10, the so-called “un-carrier” is expanding on its already impressive iPhone trade-in program, and is effectively offering iPhone 5 handsets for $0 down when an iPhone 4 or iPhone 4S is traded in. Furthermore, in some cases, customers will be able to reduce their monthly payments for the sixth-generation smartphone from $20 to $15.
As first reported by TmoNews:

The offer allows both new and existing qualified customers to trade-in an iPhone 4 or 4S and receive a trade-in amount that helps wipe out the down payment on the iPhone 5. The result being a “$0 down” net payment for customers and a decreased monthly payment of $15, down from $20 saving the customer $5 per month.

There are, however, a few reasonable requirements concerning the iPhone 4 or iPhone 4S customers are trading in. Namely, the handset must power on, it must not have a damaged screen, and it must not be liquid damaged or feature any other physical damage.
The good news, though, is that the above offer will be available in-store until June 16, so unless you’re looking for a last minute Mother’s Day gift, there’s no rush.
T-Mobile launched the iPhone 5 back in April, and less than one month later the network announced that it had sold an impressive 500,000 units. Besides the aforementioned trade-in program, the No. 4 iPhone carrier has also promoted the handset through airing a series of TV ads that aim to criticize its competition.
Are you going to take advantage of T-Mobile’s new iPhone trade-in offer?
For further industry news, see: Pentagon To Grant Security Approval For Apple’s iOS Devices Next Week, This Interesting iOS 7 Concept Brings A Stark Visual Change, and A Fourth Apple Retail Store Is Under Construction In Beijing, Set To Open By End Of Year.

Celkon A107 Signature One, C779 launched in India

Celkon has bounced back to India with another Android smartphone called the A107 Signature One which will be accompanied by a basic phone dubbed C779. The company hasn’t mentioned anything about the price and release date details of these devices as yet.
The smartphone in question came close on the heels of the quad core 119Q HD that was introduced in the country earlier this week. It is a hybrid between a phone and a tablet as it flaunts a capacitive multi-touch screen spanning 5 inches diagonally. The driving force behind this device is a dual core chipset processing at a maximum speed of 1GHz and allows prospective customers to launch more than a single application at the same time.

It goes without saying that the handset makes the most of the Android OS, Ice Cream Sandwich v4.0 to be precise. The manufacturer hasn’t said anything about upgrading it to Jelly Bean though. Apart from 512MB of RAM, the gadget has been loaded with 512MB of onboard storage out of which 105MB is accessible to users. It is likely to tag along an expansion slot for a microSD card to ensure additional storage for hoarding digital content.
As for the cameras, interested customers will appreciate the fact that the OEM has blessed the device with two of them. An 8MP snapper with usual attributes such as auto focus, digital zoom and a recorder, rests on the back for capturing images and shooting videos, while a VGA one is fitted on the front side for facilitating video conferencing over the web.
Next up is the aforementioned feature phone, the key highlight of which is that it can be charged using an AAA battery. But such a possibility seems highly unlikely as the mobile gadget has been integrated with a relatively powerful 1800mAh battery. In addition to a 2.4-inch screen, the front panel accommodates an alphanumeric keyboard that highly simplifies typing on the run.
And if that’s not enough, the device has been embedded with dual SIM card slots to extend support to two GSM SIM cards at the same time. Its 1.3MP rear-facing shooter comes in handy for clicking pictures and recording videos. The handset operates with the assistance of the proprietary OS.
The Celkon A107 Signature One and C779 should be made available in the country this month itself.
Specifications of the Android smartphone:
- 5-inch capacitive multi-touch display
- 8MP camera, VGA front-mounted webcam
- 1GHz dual core processor
- Android Ice Cream Sandwich 4.0 platform
- 512MB of RAM
- 512MB of onboard storage

Notion Ink Adam II tablet coming in June with dual displays

Remember Notion Ink, the Bangalore-based startup that came into the limelight with the Android tablet, Adam? Well, looks like the company is back after a long hiatus and silence.
The company has changed its homepage to a banner which reads "Busy creating. Coming back soon." And now a report states that Notion Ink is going to launch the Adam II next month, with a unique design that has two displays. Well, colour us intrigued!
Notion Ink's spokeperson told NextBigWhat that the design of the tablet will be a huge talking point, just like the Adam. "The main focus this time is on the design of the device as compared to specifications. Specifications have saturated now. Adding more cores doesn't mean anything. We will have a very unique design with two displays!"

Google Nexus 7, 32GB Wi-Fi only version available on Google Play for Rs 19K

It is a great tablet and is being loved by consumers in India. Google Nexus 7, 32GB Wi-Fi only version is available in India on Google Play for Rs 19K
Google’s Nexus 7, 32GB Wi-Fi version has been launched in the Indian market after months of wait. Earlier the company had introduced its 16 GB versions in the Indian market making life tough for Cupertino based Apple’s iPad Mini in the market. There is a whole lot of price difference between the two tablets from two tech giants and Google’s Nexus 7 may pose tough challenge before iPad Mini especially in the Indian market. For price and quality conscious Indian consumers a difference of Rs 6000-7000 in price is a huge difference and they will prefer cheaper version if the quality of the product is not compromised.
For Indian consumers the choice has become very wide, unlike the past and now there are all sorts of big 10 inch tablets and small 7 inch tablets vying for consumers’ attention. Several home grown tech companies producing smart-phones and tablets have also introduced several good tabs in the Indian market during the last few months and the best thing about those tabs is the fact that they are very affordable.

Google Nexus 7 comes with all the good things that a consumer may want to be in his or her tablet. It comes with great display quality and a very powerful processor. The Google Nexus 7 comes with an impressive 7-inch 1280×800 resolution display and is powered by a quad-core Nvidia Tegra 3 CPU and 1GB of RAM. The tablet comes with Android 4.2 Jelly Bean out of the box. The search giant has priced the tablet at Rs 18,999.

Asus launches FonePad in India for Rs. 15,999, supports voice calling

Asus has finally launched its FonePad in the Indian market. This device was unveiled by Asus earlier this year during the Mobile World Congress. It is priced at Rs. 15,999.

The Asus FonePad sports a 7-inch HD IPS display with a resolution of 1280×800 pixels. It is powered by an Intel Atom Z2420 processor which clocked at 1.2GHz. It is also equipped by a PowerVR GC540 GPU for improved graphics performance and has 1GB of RAM.

Apart from this the Asus tablet boasts a 1.2 megapixel camera on the front which is capable of recording videos at 720p. It comes in 16GB and 32GB size variants, has a microSD card for expandable storage and comes pre-loaded with Android 4.1 Jelly Bean.

On the connectivity front, the FonePad has a micro-SIM card slot, supports 3G and has voice calling capabilities. It also includes Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connectivity.

Bharti SoftBank invests Rs 37 crore in Hike messaging app, to compete with Whatsapp

With Indian smart-phone and feature phone market expanding at breakneck speed, Bharti SoftBank is investing Rs 37 crore in Hike messaging app that will compete with Whatsapp besides other similar apps
Following the thumping success of its free messaging app “Hike”, which crossed the 5 million active subscribers mark within four months of its launch, the Bharti SoftBank (BSB) is all set to invest USD 7 million (about Rs 37 crore) in the app. The company has also launched the upgraded version of the app called Hike 2.0.
The app that was launched in December 2012 is a product of Bharti Soft Bank, a joint-venture between Bharti Enterprises and SoftBank Corporation, focussing on the mobile-internet space.  According to the company the decision of investing huge amount in the app that is free for use was taken only after looking at the success rate of the app that has earned the tag of being one of the fastest growing free mobile apps globally.

In a statement issued BSB Director Mike Kayamori said: “The traction for hike has been phenomenal, especially in such a competitive market. This new round of investment is an endorsement, of the great work put in by the entire team. What’s unique about hike is its seamless integration between instant messaging and SMS. This is a very powerful feature especially in a market like India where more than 90 per cent of the 900 million strong mobile populations is on feature phones.

The free messaging app Hike that competes with other similar apps including the arch rival Whatsapp, Facebook Messenger and Blackberry Messenger, provides faultless mixing between instant messaging and standard text messaging (SMS).
On the basis of the survey conducted by the company it was ascertained that 60 percent of the hike’s user base comes from India and the rest from Middle East and Europe. At present the app is available on iOS, Android, Windows Phone, Blackberry and S40 platforms.
Meanwhile, apart from announcing the investment plans, the company has also introduced an update called Hike 2.0, which allows the users to post updates about what they are up to or what they are thinking in real-time to their close friends only.
BSB’s head of product and strategy, Kavin Bharti Mittal said: An upgrade of the app which has been announced will offer new features for users. The Hike 2.0 update features Status Updates with Moods that lets users post updates about what they are up to or what they are thinking in real-time to their close friends only. Users can create a ‘Circle of Friends’ in the app to whom the update goes out to.

ASUS MeMO Pad 10 Smart revealed in product leak

This week the folks at ASUS have had a bit of a leak in their pipes with both product images and details surrounding their next Android tablet, the ASUS MeMO Pad 10. This machine (product number ME301T) works with a 10.1-inch IPS LCD display with 1280 x 800 pixel resolution and a quad-core NVIDIA Tegra 3 processor under the hood. Oddly enough, inside this machine you’ll find just 1GB of ram, and that display resolution is less than what we’ve seen on devices like the Transformer Infinity from last year – could this be a budget-minded machine?
What we’re seeing here is an extension of NVIDIA’s plan to push down-clocked versions of their processors to machines that are then priced so low that the competition cannot possibly compete. And it’s not the first time this has happened. We saw this strategy working in the Google Nexus 7 tablet also manufactured by ASUS, and that tablet has been selling like hotcakes since birth.

This ASUS MeMO Pad 10 will be busting out with 16GB of internal storage, Android 4.1 Jelly Bean right out of the box, and both front and back-facing cameras. The front facing camera will be 1.2 megapixels while the back will be 5 megapixels strong, and you’ll have a microSD card to store all the media you collect – at the moment we’re not sure what the max card size is that you’ll be able to plug in there, but we’re expecting 32GB.
BONUS: This tablet has been tipped more than once before with basically the same specifications – looks to be a lock!
This tablet will be working with a microUSB port instead of the larger port used on previous ASUS tablets and will have a microHDMI port as well for working with your HDTV. This tablet has been tipped to be appearing for between 329 to 389 Euro, this meaning a direct conversion to USD would still be above $500 – not exactly wallet friendly. We must expect that this price will be modified for the US market or that the device wont be appearing inside our borders – we shall see!
Also of interest is the fact that this machine has appeared in press photos in blue and white while the listings found thus far have also shown red and pink casings available at launch – wild stuff! Expect this tablet to appear at Mobile World Congress 2013 more than likely!
 

Nokia made Android phone coming this month?

The phone is to be launched by Vertu, which was just recently sold by Nokia to an investment firm.

 Vertu, luxury phone maker, is planning to launch its first Android phone this month itself. Purportedly named as Vertu Ti, the phone could also be the first Nokia made Android phone as the Finnish company was the owner of Vertu just recently before selling it to an investment firm.

Reportedly, the Vertu Ti will come with an 800 x 480 resolution based display, 1.5 GHz Snapdragon MSM8260A SoC, Android 4.0.4 and a rather minuscule 1,250 mAh battery. The phone additionally has NFC, WiFi, and Bluetooth 4.0. While the phone gets very average spec sheet, Vertu phones have never been known for high-end specs and are rather known for being handcrafted and made in the tradition of fine Swiss watches.
According to another website, it is going to be priced at 3000 Euros, making it the cheapest Vertu handset till date.

Smart move: Nokia bets big on Lumia 920

“That’s a big phone.” “Isn’t it too bulky to carry around?” These are the first questions colleagues asked on seeing the Nokia Lumia 920, and the answer to both is in the affirmative. Yes, it is a big phone, and a bit bulky to carry around. But then, Nokia is betting big on this “big” phone to take on rivals Samsung, Apple and HTC. It weighs about 185g — far more than Samsung SIII (133g) and HTC One XL (129g) — but once you go behind the bulk and the weight, there’s a lot to like in the Lumia 920.
For starters, the 4.5-inch screen with 1,280x768 resolution is a delight. It’s a bit less than SIII, but bigger than the iPhone 5. Colours look more vibrant, and even in sunlight you don’t have to squint and read texts or punch in numbers. Watching videos on the Lumia 920 is far better than on the iPhone or the HTC. It certainly scores over its competition in terms of screen size and display.
The Lumia 920 is a Windows 8 phone and comes with popular apps like Nokia Drive, Nokia Maps and Nokia Music. The Nokia Drive map is exceptionally good and way ahead of its competition: Google Maps. If you’re not used to Android or iOS operating systems, you might take a liking to the interface of Windows 8 in the first glance only. But those accustomed to Android or iOS would find it a bit difficult to get used to it. In terms of multitasking, Windows 8 certainly is a bit slow, apps often take time to load and restart and, at times, it does get a bit frustrating.
The best part about the Lumia 920 is its camera, which comes with image stabilisation. In its class of smartphones, the 920 perhaps has the best camera. Be it low-light photography or indoor shots at night, it captures pictures to near perfection. The colours come out beautifully, thanks to the superior display, and it has concept camera lenses like Bing Vision, Panorama, Cinemagraph and Smart Shoot. It has an eight-megapixel Pure View camera at the back and, 1.3-megapixel camera at the front.
Some might say the app argument is an old, harsh and unfair stick to keep beating Windows phone with, but then a lot of people look for apps on smartphones, and it plays an important role in decision-making. The Lumia 920 disappoints on that front when compared to Android and iOS, as it doesn’t have a wide range of apps on the app store. If you aren’t one of those who wouldn’t care much about the apps as long as the phone delivers good performance, Lumia 920 fits the bill.
The battery life, a big bugbear among smartphone users, of the Lumia 920 is pretty good. It can last up to a day once charged fully, even when you use multiple apps. Just like the iPhone, there’s no room for additional memory, and the 920 comes with 32-GB storage capacity. The Internet Explorer browser is pretty fast.
At Rs 38,199, the Lumia 920 is priced to compete against SIII, iPhone 4S and 5, as well as the HTC. Does it actually match up? It certainly is an impressive phone, but doesn’t do enough to make you shell out the asking price. The camera and screen certainly give it an edge over other phones, but Android users will find it tough to switch to the Windows operating system. It is arguably one of the best Windows phones and will find a lot of loyalists picking it. However, Nokia, with Lumia 920, would find it tough to convince Android or Apple users to switch to Windows. At a lesser price point, perhaps it could have done the trick.

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.