iPhone 5 vs Nokia Lumia 920 vs Samsung Galaxy Slll:

In 2016, phonemakers will ship a billion smartphones, according to research firm NPD DisplaySearch. That will be one smartphone for nearly every sixth person on the planet. The pot of gold at the end of that particular rainbow is pretty gigantic, and it is little wonder that vicious battles are being fought in courtrooms and markets around the world. It is into this ultimate war for tech dominance that the iPhone 5 has been delivered.

True to form, Apple delivered yet another competent iteration of its money-spinning device. But the 'reality distortion field' mastered by the late Steve Jobs is starting to wear off. Look closer (in a manner of speaking, of course), and what we have is a device physically sleeker than its predecessor, but not all that different fundamentally.

While it is true that smartphones have matured as a product category and we are mostly going to see incremental changes as opposed to defining innovations ( touchscreen, apps, retina display, Siri, etc.), there is something more at work here.

If the iPhone 5 has failed to elicit the glowing universal admiration the product line is used to, it is because it has been born into a world with more competent rivals than any of its predecessors. It has in fact been shaped by competition perhaps more than any other Apple device. In other words, after years of leading and shaping the industry, Apple is playing catch up in the handsets category, the arc of its domination appearing to plateau.

The larger screen is a direct response to the success of Samsung's Android phones with large screens. Jobs believed that 3.5 inch (diagonally) was the optimum size for a smartphone. Samsung's flagship Galaxy 3 smartphone sports a 4.8-inch screen. It sold 20 million units in three months of launch. Now iPhone has a 4-inch screen, and a 16:9 aspect ratio.

If there is one decision that was forced on Apple, this is it. Apple has always stuck with compatible aspect ratios and resolutions on its iPhones and iPads for a reason — the vast array of apps in its appstore should work seamlessly across devices and iterations. For the first time, some 700,000 apps made for iOS will appear letterboxed (with black bars at the edges) on Apple's latest device, not an experience the company is known to tolerate.

Apple's decision to do away with Google Maps as standard maps solution in iOS and opt for a proprietary solution is in parts driven by its worsening rivalry with Google. But it is also born out of a desire to take control of the maps experience. Nokia, for instance, has been getting attention for its maps and offline navigation suite, thanks to its $8.1-billion acquisition of Navteq.

Datawind launches 4 new 7-inch UbiSlate tablets at Rs 2,999 onwards

New Delhi: Aakash tablet maker Datawind has launched four new low-cost tablets under the Ubislate range - UbiSlate 7Ri, UbiSlate 7R+, UbiSlate 7Ci, and UbiSlate 7C+ - in India. These models will be available at a price ranging from Rs 2,999 to Rs 4,499.

These new UbiSlate tablets have a 7-inch screen with a resolution of 800x480 pixels, and run Android 4.0.3 operating system. The new tablets are powered by a Cortex A8 1 GHz processor and 512MB RAM. The embedded HD video co-processor is claimed to deliver high quality video content.

The UbiSlate 7Ri and UbiSlate 7R+ have a resistive touchscreen, while the UbiSlate 7Ci and UbiSlate 7C+ feature a capacitive touchscreen.

These tablets have an internal memory of 4GB. The new UbiSlate tablets also have a front VGA camera.

Other features include USB port, G-Sensor, and WiFi.

10 technologies that come straight from the future.

10 technologies that come straight from the future.

Sony Xperia Miro available for Rs 14,499

Sony's latest entry level Android smartphone comes with a 3.5 inch display, 800 MHz processor and Android ICS goodness.

Japanese consumer electronics and mobile phone brand Sony had announced the launch of its new range of Android smartphones including Sony Tipo and Sony Miro in the month of June. While Tipo was launched in India a couple of days ago, the slightly more expensive Sony Xperia Miro has also been made available for purchase in India. The Sony Xperia Miro comes with a price tag of Rs 14,499 and is available on online shopping websites such as Snapdeal.com.

Sony Xperia Miro comes with a 3.5 inch display as compared to the 3.2 inch one found on the Tipo. While the processor remains the same on both devices, an 800 MHz Qualcomm MSM7225A processor with 512 MB RAM, and 3 GB internal memory that is expandable up to 32 GB via microSD card.

The phone will have Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich operating system pre-installed. Along with that there will be a 5 megapixel rear camera that can record VGA resolution videos at 30 frames per second. Along with that the Miro will also feature a VGA front camera for video calling, which was missing in the Tipo.

Although the device will gradually be made available in four different color combinations that include black, black/pink, white/silver and white/gold, the only color that is currently available is a combination of white and silver.

Facebook works to remove fake accounts from its network

Facebook is the largest social networking website with more than 800 million users worldwide. In spite of such huge numbers, the fact is a lot of Facebook accounts are fake. Official figures from Facebook say as many as 8.7 per cent or 83 million accounts on the network are bogus. About 4.8 percent of them are duplicate, 2.4 percent are user-misclassified accounts and 1.5 percent are “undesirable” accounts.

According to Facebook India business manager Pavan Varma, the social networking website is making “huge efforts” to reduce these numbers and prevent misuse of such identities. The official further reveals in case a dubious account is found, Facebook will ask the user to provide his/her identification details. Accounts that use a generic name instead of a proper name, use images of celebrities/cartoon characters as profile image, or do not have “enough friends,” may come under the Facebook scanner, says Varma.

"It could even be that Facebook comes back to you saying, could you help us identify yourself if you don't have enough friends, because we don't want fake identities. We are worried about the experience we deliver...It's not about protecting our brand identity so much," he said.

The Facebook official also acknowledged malware and other methods were used to create fake accounts and Likes. Varma further said advertisers should not only focus on numbers.  "How does an advertiser today treat a Facebook page? It is treated as a place where they just come with a number of people who are there. But that is a wrong way of doing it," he stressed.

It's notable the social networking website has put in place several ways to ensure it only has authentic users. Facebook allows users to verify their phone numbers and also report accounts that seem bogus. To know more about how to report a violation, visit Facebook Help Center.  

Lenovo launches new ultrabook as ThinkPad

International Business Machines ( IBM) and then acquired by Chinese PC manufacturer Lenovo, ThinkPad has come a long way, and remained a favourite among users in the fast-changing technology landscape.

ThinkPad brand is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year. Over the last 20 years, a little more than 60 million ThinkPad units have been sold. To commemorate two decades of the ThinkPad brand, Lenovo today announced the launch of Ultrabook ThinkPad X1 Carbon, one of the lightest business laptops from the company.

Amar Babu, managing director, Lenovo India, said, “We are extremely proud to celebrate 20 years of continuous innovation with the ThinkPad. Lenovo India has seen phenomenal growth overall, as well as in the commercial business, where we have sustained leadership consistently for two quarters.”

With the launch of the ThinkPad X1 Carbon, we are confident of continuing this rich legacy and offering performance users a product that will help them accomplish their professional and business goals.”

The ThinkPad X1 comes with carbon fiber, and is powered by the latest third generation Intel Core processor. It weighs less than three pounds and packs a high resolution 14-inch display into a 13-inch laptop design while also offering a multi-gesture glass surface touchpad, HD face-tracking camera, dual array microphones and Dolby-tuned audio for crisp and clear sound.

“With ThinkPad turning 20 this year, it stands among the few fortunate brands to achieve an iconic stature, with loyal fans that are passionate about each generation of ThinkPad products,” said Rahul Agarwal, executive director, commercial business segment, Lenovo India.

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