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