Apple iPad Mini vs Google Nexus 7

Power :

The iPad Mini is powered by Apple’s A5 dual-core chipset which promises to be plenty fast enough to run all your favourite games and apps. The device also features 16, 32 or 64GB of storage, though, being an Apple product, you won’t find support for micro SD cards here, so use that internal space wisely.

The Nexus 7 is driven by an NVIDIA Tegra 3 chipset which consists of a quad-core 1.3GHz Cortex-A9 CPU and a ULP GeForce GPU that’s able handle any game you throw at it. The device also sports 1GB RAM and comes in 8 and 16GB flavours, and we’re expecting a 32GB version to drop soon too, giving you a nice extra option.

The device doesn’t offer support for micro SD cards though so, like the iPad Mini, you’ll have to be picky with your content.

Display :

The Google Nexus 7 is fronted by a 7-inch LED-backlit IPS LCD which operates at 800 x 1280 and offers a pixel density of 216PPI.

The screen is bright and vibrant, and offers some of the best viewing angles around, but if you plan on using the device outdoors on a sunny day you’ll likely be disappointed.

The iPad Mini sports a 7.9-inch LED-backilit IPS display which operates at a resolution of 768 x 1024 and offers a pixel density of 163PPI. The screen looked superb in Apple’s demonstrations, as you would expect, and we’re looking forward to doing some testing of our own, but expectations are high with this one.

Software :

Google’s Nexus 7 runs on Android 4.1 AKA Jelly Bean, and the most recent iteration of the company’s mobile platform is by far the most comprehensive.

It’s fast, offers unbeatably smooth graphical performance thanks to Google’s ‘Project Butter’ initiative and expands on the new UI first seen in Ice Cream Sandwich to offer users automatically resizing widgets, great new notifications system and the spookily accurate Google Now enhanced search solution and a ton more to boot.

In addition to the core functionality of the OS being taken up a notch, users can also still make use of the Google Play Store for all their app, game and media downloads, and the selection is great.

The iPad Mini runs on version 6.0 of Apple’s ageing iOS platform. The software is (still) remarkably easy to pick up, with intuitive gestures and menus throughout, and also looks polished and pleasing, but the lack of widgets, real-time information and customisation options set it back against Google’s platform.

Fortunately it isn’t all bad though, because iOS gives users access to Apple’s App Store, which is chock full of great apps and games, and you’ll also find iTunes too, for your media needs.

Form :

Apple iPad Mini - 200 x 134.7 x 7.2mm, 308g

Google Nexus 7 - 198.5 x 120 x 10.5mm, 340g

The iPad Mini is a thin, light, well designed device which looks every inch the Apple product. Its lines are clean and the device looks to be ergonomically sound, which is more than can be said for many tablets.

The device is priced competitively and only time will tell if Apple has had to cut any hardware corners for the privilege of rivaling the Nexus 7 on that front.

The Nexus 7 is small, light and easy on the eye, and remarkably well built considering its bargain basement RRP, in fact you’ll find very little to complain about in Google’s joint venture with ASUS – the device simply checks all the boxes.

Camera :

We’re dealing with tablets here, so photographic prowess isn’t exactly top priority. That said, it’s nice to have the ability to snap the odd image and Google’s Nexus 7 obliges by offering a very simple 1.2-megapixel front-facing camera which is more than adequate for video calling and casual use.

If you want to make use of the camera you’ll have to take to the Google Play Store and download some third-party software to enable it though – and we have no idea why. Answers on a postcard please.

The iPad Mini features a 5-megapixel primary camera and a VGA front-facing camera which, like the Nexus 7, is fine for FaceTime and Skype use but doesn’t offer much more beyond that.

Apple Introduces iPad mini Smart Covers For $39

Apple updated its website to let us know that the Smart Cover would also be available for the newly announced 7.9 inch iPad mini.

The iPad mini Smart Cover is largely similar to the larger iPad Smart Cover with the same magnetic attaching and hinging mechanism, except that it seems to be available only in polyurethane, as opposed to the larger Smart Cover which comes in both, polyurethane and leather.

Another difference between the two covers is the absence of metal in the hinge of the iPad mini Smart Cover. This lets the entire color wrap around the edge of the device, maintaining uniformity all across the front, while the back remains exposed.

The iPad mini Smart Cover is available in six colors – pink, green, blue, light gray, dark gray and (PRODUCT) RED.

The covers aren’t on sale yet, and will presumably be available for pre-order on October 26 along with the iPad mini.

iPad Mini Features, Release Date & Price Announced

After several years of rumors and speculations, Apple has finally unveiled the smaller and cheaper version of the full-sized iPad called iPad Mini to compete with cheaper Android based tablets like Google Nexus 7 and Amazon Kindle Fire.

iPad mini features a 7.9-inch screen with 1024x768 resolution, front and back facing camera, powered by Apple's dual-core processor and support for 4G LTE networks.

Design/Form Factor:

iPad mini looks exactly like the smaller sibling of the third generation iPad with the aluminum casing, but it's more beautiful with the diamond cut edges and sleek metallic finishes.

As rumored, the smaller iPad comes with thinner bezels along the sides in portrait mode like the iPod touch. It is 23 percent thinner and 53 percent lighter than the full-sized iPad. It is only 7.2 mm thick, whereas as iPad 3 is 9.4mm thick.

It also weighs only 308 grams, making it significantly lighter than iPad 3, which weighs 652 g.

Display:

iPad mini comes with a 7.9-inch display with 1024x768 resolution, not that much smaller than the full-sized iPad's 9.7-inch display. As expected, the smaller iPad doesn't come with Retina Display. It comes with a pixel density of 163 ppi, the same pixel density as the original iPhone.

It has the same resolution as the iPad 2, so you will be able to use all the apps that are available for the original and 2nd generation iPad.

Processor:

iPad mini is powered by the dual-core A5 chip, which powers iPad 2 and the fifth generation iPod touch and not iPad 3's A5X chip or iPad 4's A6X chip.

Camera:

iPad mini comes with front and back facing camera. The back-facing iSight camera is a 5-megapixel camera and the front-facing FaceTime camera is an HD camera, which will allow users to take 1.2-megapixel photos and record 720p HD videos.

Battery Life:

iPad mini comes with the same battery life as the full-sized iPad, which is amazing. It offers up to 10 hours of surfing the web on Wi-Fi, watching video, or listening to music.

Ultrafast Wireless:

iPad mini will also support 4G LTE networks around the world. It also supports HSPA+ and DC-HSDPA. It can also connect to Wi-Fi networks on 2.4ghz and 5ghz on 802.11n.

Lightning Connector:

As expected, iPad mini comes with Apple's new Lightning connector like the iPhone 5, 5th generation iPod touch and 7th generation iPod nano.

Siri:

iPad mini comes with Siri - Apple's personal assistant feature.

Storage Capacities:

iPad mini will be available in 16GB, 32GB and 64GB storage capacities.

Colors:

It will be available in two colors: Black & Slate and White & Silver.

Pricing:

iPad mini will be available for $329 for the 16GB model, $429 for the 32GB model and $529 for the 64GB model.

Apple is also offering 4G LTE versions of the iPad for a premium of $130.

Availability:

It will be available for pre-order on Friday, October 26th in the US, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Korea, Luxembourg, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, UK.

Microsoft Surface Pre-Orders For All Models Are Sold Out

Microsoft is still taking pre-orders for the Surface tablet, but shoppers can no longer order one to be delivered on launch day -- the company has sold out of its pre-release stock.

Microsoft SurfaceThe Windows RT edition of this computer went on Microsoft's website on Tuesday, and the least expensive version sold out within 24 hours. Several days later, all three versions of this device are sold out.

Microsoft is still taking pre-orders, but shoppers will have to wait at least week to get their purchase, even though the Surface with Windows RT is going to debut on Oct. 26. Exactly how long the wait will be depends on the version. The $500, 32GB version will be available in about 3 weeks, the $600, 32 GB one with Touch Cover ships in 1 - 2 weeks, and so does the $700, 64 GB model with Touch Cover.

More about the Surface Series :

There will be two distinctly different versions of Microsoft's upcoming tablet. One of these will run Windows 8 RT, which was designed for ARM processors. The other, expected out next year, will run the full version of Windows 8 Pro on an x86 processor.

Despite their differences, the two editions of the Surface will have a certain amount in common, including a 10.6-inch display and support for the Smart Cover, which is both a keyboard and a cover.

The tablet will be sold only in Microsoft's own stores, and there won't be a version with cellular-wireless connectivity.  Instead, this will be a Wi-Fi only tablet.

Ubuntu running on Nexus 7

Up until now, we haven’t see much of Linux in the tablet world– well, except for the Linux-based Android OS. This is about to change as Ubuntu 13.04 will see a greater focus on aspects like battery life and memory consumption.

Ubuntu has become quite touchscreen friendly in the last few years, thanks to its new Unity interface. With that in mind, it seems that the Nexus 7 is now up and running with Ubuntu 13.04. According to Canonical (the folks behind Ubuntu) this particular tablet makes a great reference device for running Ubuntu.

The only downside to using Ubuntu on a 7-inch screen is that the icons are kind of small. Still, this is probably easily adjusted and we might see a slightly more “tablet optimized” version of Unity in the near future. For future testing, Canonical will focus on Google’s flagship tablet hardware. Who the actual vendor for a real Ubuntu tablet might be remains unseen though. It is also possible that Ubuntu on tablets will largely remain DIY project.

T-Mobile LG Optimus L9 release date October 31 for $80

The new T-Mobile LG Optimus L9 is a nice phone for people who don’t care about technology but still want a “smartphone”, especially those who dont even know what phone updates are. they will be content with this phone which will probably never be upgraded.

For only $80, this is a very, very well specced device. Looks nice except for ICS, which is a dealbreaker, even on a mid-range phone.

The T-Mobile LG Optimus L9 features include a 4.5-inch qHD Corning Gorilla Glass 2 Display, a 5MP rear camera, VGA front-facing camera, 1GB of RAM, 4GB internal memory, 1GHz dual-core Snapdragon S4 processor, dual core 1ghz is enough for most apps and basic games. And a 2,150 mAh battery and Android Ice Cream Sandwich 4.0 will receive Android 4.1 Jelly Bean. It will be available in stores and online beginning October 31st for $79.99 with a two-year contract after a $50 mail-in rebate.

Nokia Lumia 510 launched

Nokia knows that not everyone is able to afford a high end smartphone, which is why when they walked with Microsoft’s Windows Phone platform, there is a market segment that is crying out for an affordable model. I guess that clarion call has been met with the launch of the Nokia Lumia 510, an entry-level smartphone which does not burn a hole in your pocket, and yet looking stylish like all get out, coming in five different colors – red, yellow, cyan, white and black.

The hardware specifications one can look forward to would be a 4″ TFT display at 800 x 480 resolution, 256MB RAM with 4GB of internal memory, a 5-megapixel shooter camera at the back that does VGA videos at 30fps, Bluetooth 2.1, Wi-Fi and WCDMA connectivity. A Snapdragon S1 runs proceedings from underneath the hood, and you will still be able to enjoy Windows Phone’s signature Live Tiles, letting you check out at-a-glance updates as well as enjoy speedy access to all that you want to work with. Having said that, bear in mind that this is a Windows Phone 7.5 device, so you know for sure it will not be a handset to use if you want to remain at the cutting edge.

Microsoft Office Mobile apps have also been thrown into the mix, while the Internet Explorer 9 web browser helps you use the Nokia Lumia 510 right out of the box as it arrives in India, China, South America and Asia for $199 thereabouts from next month onward.

New Version Of Google Wallet Coming Soon

Google has quietly updated the website for Google Wallet, its mobile-payments service, to advertise "the next version of Google Wallet, coming soon."

Visitors can request an invite. We did, and Google asked us what kind of device we used—offering a choice of iPhone, Android, or "other."

That suggests that Google is getting away from its earlier dependence on special hardware on Android phones and is looking to broaden Wallet's acceptance among consumers and merchants.

While Google ran a lot of ads on buses and billboards for Wallet, the mobile-payments service never appeared to take off with consumers—in part because it was limited to specific phones carried by Sprint and Virgin Mobile and relied on NFC, or near-field communications, a short-range wireless technology.

Google also offers a Web-based version of Wallet for online payments, including purchases of digital content and apps in the Google Play store. It has offered a similar service for years, previously under the name Google Checkout.

Black Samsung Galaxy S3 will hit Stores in October 2012

Samsung will release the black Galaxy S3 version on October 24, thus answering calls for the traditional black color that seems to make any smartphone look strikingly pleasing. Samsung originally planned to replace black with Pebble Blue, which was as close as Samsung got to black, without it actually being black. But this was not enough to meet the expectations of a vast worldwide audience. The buyers wanted more, and more is what they got, with Samsung unveiling several Galaxy S3 color versions in recent months.

Expansys tells us that come October 24, or just in two days from now, shipments of the black Samsung Galaxy S3 will start arriving. The retailer will sell the 16GB black version of the flagship device for £409.99, which is obviously the unlocked price of the smartphone.

For those who don’t live in Europe, Verizon’s black and brown versions of the device have already been released. Moreover, the device is available in Garnet Red from AT&T. While the black variant has been sighted on Samsung’s Facebook page at the London Olympics, snapping photos and sharing files via S-Beam, we got to take it for a hands-on spin only at IFA 2012 in Germany.

On a different note, Phandroid reports that a 64GB Galaxy S3 model could soon be available from Verizon, although nothing is certain yet. The model is also said to feature an Exynos chip instead of Qualcomm’s Snapdragon S4 SoC found on all U.S. Galaxy S3 versions. Android enthusiasts may remember Samsung promising a 64GB Galaxy S3 at the London launch event, but the device failed to show up on the shelves. It was assumed that Samsung slated the idea, an ideology the company eventually denied – but we’re yet to see a 64GB Galaxy S3 in stores.

Airtel becomes fourth largest telecom operator in the world

Airtel becomes fourth largest telecom opIndian telco Bharti Airtel has become world’s fourth largest telecom operator, reports Press Trust of India, citing research firm Wireless Intelligence.

According to PTI, Airtel follows China Mobile (No 1, 683.08 million connections), Vodafone Group (No 2 386.88 million) and America Movil Group (No 3 251.83 million) in the top five.

Bharti Airtel currently has 250.04 million subscribers followed by Telefonica Group with 243.51 million.

Wireless Intelligence states in its “Mobile operator worldwide group global ranking by connections (Q2, 2012)’” report that Airtel is the only other telco in top ten apart from China telecom to move up in its ranking. It was earlier at the fifth spot.

While Airtel might have improved its ranking, Bharti’s mobile revenue at $3.04 billion in Q2 is much lower than the other operators in top fiveerator in the world

Acer to launch an Intel powered smartphone by the end of 2012

After Motorola, another big manufacturer is planning to launch Intel-powered smartphones. According to a report in China Post, Acer is gearing up to release its first Android smartphone with Intel chip inside by year-end.

The smartphone is currently a mystery, but we think, it will come with 2GHz Intel Atom processor, which was last seen in Motorola RAZR i.

The news of Acer Intel phone is coming from Peter Shieh, who is the vice president of Acer’s corporate account business division in Taiwan. He stated that Acer plans to pre-install its own cloud service on the new model.

Acer currently uses chips from Qualcomm, MediaTek and NVIDIA (for tablets) and Intel chips will help it diversify its portfolio even more as the company struggles to gain ground in the smartphone and tablet market.

“Intel is a more familiar partner to us because we have been working together in the PC sector for a long time,” Peter Shieh said.

Company has also launched its first Jelly Bean tablet in the North America on Thursday. The tablet has been priced at USD 229.99 and will go on sale starting October 30.

Vodafone’s Galaxy S3 getting Jelly Bean update today

It’s safe to assume that owners of Samsung Galaxy S3 on Vodafone won’t be hit with a bout of the blue Mondays. As expected, the wireless carrier has started pushing out the Android 4.1 update for the Galaxy S3 today.

Following Samsung’s confirmation that all UK-based Galaxy S3 smarphones will be getting Jelly Bean in the coming weeks, Vodafone was the second mobile operator in the country to serve Google’s latest and greatest mobile operating system. Remarkably, there’s no hint of a delay and the software upgrade seems to be rolling out smoothly.

Seeing that it’s being released in batches, you may not receive an update notification on your device right away, and it may take several days or more for the new firmware to reach everyone. If you don’t see any over-the-air prompt yet to download and install the file, it’s worth connecting your beloved Galaxy S3 to your PC and use Kies software to manually check for the update.

Google will unveil the LG Nexus 4 on October 29, confirmed by LG

This one comes as no surprise after so many leaks - LG has now confirmed that Google will unveil the Nexus 4 next Monday, on October 29th

"Google will unveil the LG Nexus on October 29 and the phone will be available in the Indian markets by the end of November," LG Mobile Product Planning head Amit Gujral said. The LG executive mentioned that the device will have a 4.7-inch display and a 1.5GHz quad-core processor.s

With the new Nexus flagship (it seems there will be one new Nexus phone only after all), Google will bring a brand new version of the Android operating system. Android 4.2 was widely rumored and now LG is confirming this as well.

Google is said to be doubling its security efforts with 4.2 (which could be called Key Lime Pie). It’s also allegedly bringing a new Gmail, a quick settings panel, a revised gallery application and multiple accounts for tablets.

Nokia launches Asha 308 in India at Rs. 5,685

The Asha 308 is a full-touch feature phone running on Series 40, which has been a huge success with Asha 305 and the Asha 306. Asha series has been a huge hit for Nokia, regardless the fact that there are affordable Android smartphones available in the market from local vendors. Nokia has reported that in the last quarter the company has shipped over 6.5 million units of the Asha series of feature phones.

This new addition to the series sports a 3-inch capacitive display and is dual-SIM capable. The device also features a 2 megapixel rear camera, microSD card slot, 20MB built-in storage, 64MB RAM and 128MB ROM. Additionally, the device has FM radio capability, however it lacks Wi-Fi connectivity.

Apart from this Nokia has pre-loaded social networking apps including – Facebook, Twitter and WhatsApp. It comes with 40 EA games titles for no extra money.

Aircel offers iPhone 3GS at Rs. 9,999

 Postpaid customers of Aircel will now be able to purchase the iPhone 3GS at a special price of Rs. 9,999. The deal is attached to an Aircel postpaid plan that costs Rs. 3,000 for a full year, and gives you 2GB of data every month, with speeds dialed down to 128 kbps once the FUP limit has been reached. Aircel is also throwing in 6 months of unlimited 2G data in areas where 2G plans are available, along with 1000 local and STD minutes along with 2500 local and national SMSes.

The deal is particularly attractive as the cost of owning the handset even with the postpaid plan is cheaper than the 4G iPod Touch. Apple's latest portable media player starts at Rs. 13,000 for the 8GB version, and sports improved specs over the 3GS, with a 720p camera and high pixel density screen.


While the 3GS has seen support for over four firmware updates, its specs aren't competitive to be priced as a mid-range smartphone in 2012. With a 600 MHz processor and a HVGA resolution screen, and a single 3 megapixel camera on the back, it should certainly dent Android's stronghold in the sub 10k category. The price cut should certainly be a welcome sight for Aircel customers, and should trigger other competitors like Airtel to revise their prices as well.

LG launches Optimus Vu in India for Rs. 34,500

LG has now launched its very first phablet device in the Indian market, called the LG Optimus Vu. The phablet is priced at Rs. 34,500 and will go up directly against Samsung’s Galaxy Note II, which is priced at Rs. 39,000.
The Optimus Vu was first unveiled by the company at MWC earlier this February and it is a 5-inch device which has a 4:3 aspect ratio and a 1024×768 pixels resolution. The Optimus Vu is powered by a quad-core NVIDIA Tegra 3 processor clocked at 1.5GHz, it has 1GB of RAM and 32GB of built-in storage capacity.

The LG Optimus Vu also sports an 8 megapixel rear camera, a secondary front facing 1.3 megapixel camera and a 2080mAh battery. The device comes with its own stylus and just like the Galaxy Note, the device comes with some pre-loaded apps which make use of the stylus input. It runs Android 4.0 ICS. In terms of hardware, the Optimus Vu is not as good as the Galaxy Note II which is powered by a slightly better processor, has huge battery, bigger screen and the stylus input has been heavily optimized. However, this phablet from LG does cost a little less.

Lenovo Brings Bendy Display Design to NEC Via La Vie Y Hybrid Tablet

Lenovo’s Japanese partner NEC is set to offer a variant of the bendy IdeaPad Yoga 11 to its kawaii shores.

Just like the IdeaPad Yoga 11, the NEC LaVie Y is a combination of a laptop and a tablet as its display can be folded over to tuck the keyboard away. This 11.6-inch gadget features a quad-core Tegra 3 processor, 2GB of RAM, and 64GB of storage. But the similarities will end there, as the LaVie Y comes with a custom NEC app within what could be a watered-down version of Windows RT.

The NEC LaVie Y convertible PC will arrive in stores around November 22nd, days before the Lenovo IdeaTab Yoga 11 becomes available. The price, meanwhile, can be a bit too much: estimated at $1,136, almost twice of the Yoga 11’s.

New Intel's 34nm X25-M runs like a thoroughbred SSD, costs less

It was only two days ago that they finally became official, but already we've got a couple of reviews springing up to tell us all about the second generation X25-M SSDs from Intel. PC Perspective kick things off with a full examination of the new drive, finding plenty of good (improved random reads and writes), some bad (minor fragmentation issues under extreme use scenarios) and pretty much no ugly. Not to be outdone, Anandtech have dissected the drive and compared its innards with the older generation hardware, while also running a few benchmarks for good measure. The conclusion in both camps is that while Intel has improved the hardware side of things, it is the drastically reduced price that makes the X25-M G2 the best choice in the consumer SSD space. Navigate past the break for a pricing chart, but remember that retail cost will be a bit steeper, should you be able to snag one in the wild.

HTC J Butterfly Is The World’s First 5-Inch, Full HD Smartphone

HTC has unveiled its 5” competitor the HTC J Butterfly, which is a 5” Android smartphone which runs of Android 4.1. It has a Super LCD 3 as told by HTC which is a 440 ppi Full HD interface. The smartphone or Phablet comes with an impressive Quad Core 1.5 GHz processor which will ensure you that your device will not lag or stop inspite of your multitasking or HD gaming. It is equipped with LTE and NFC which makes it a global device and increases your productability. HTC J Butterfly is new to the market and it is aimed at targeting the Galaxy Note 2 with its high end specifications and sleek design.

Specifications of HTC J Butterfly:

Device Type:Bar Type
Display: 5 inch, Super LCD 3 with 440 ppi full HD
Display: Screen Resolution: 800 x 1280 pixels
Operating System: Android 4.1, Jelly Bean 
CPU: Quad-core 1.5GHz APQ8064 processor
RAM: 2GB
Internal Memory: 16 GB
External Memory: Expandable with Micro SD card
Back Camera: 8 MP, 3264×2448 pixels, autofocus, LED flash
Front Camera: 2.1MP
Video Recording:1080p
Battery: 2020 mAh Li-Ion
Talk Time: Up to 26 h 10 min (2G) / Up to 13 h 30 min (3G)

Microsoft Wedge Touch Mouse

With the launch of Windows 8, Microsoft has released some new peripherals that have been designed to complement the new operating system, and its new way of doing things. First up is the Microsoft Wedge Touch Mouse, a rather odd looking Bluetooth-only mouse.

In the past, Microsoft has launched a number of ergonomic peripherals that are comfortable to use for long periods of time. As you can guess from one look at this mouse, this isn't one of them.

But that's not the aim of this mouse. It's not designed for sitting in front of a desktop PC for hours at a time, but for quickly using with a Windows 8-equipped tablet. There's no dongle, but as long as your tablet is Bluetooth capable you can get Windows 8 to search, detect and connect to the mouse rather painlessly.

Software for adjusting what the mouse can do can be downloaded from Microsoft's website, but there's not many settings to change, so it's pretty pointless.

The mouse is small, so easy to carry around with you, and you can fit a few fingers on there to move the mouse around. As with previous Microsoft mice, the Bluetrack technology keeps the mouse responsive over a variety of surfaces.

The mouse also works with some touch gestures, such as swiping horizontally or vertically. While it doesn't seem to support multi-touch gestures, such as pinching to zoom in, it does make the Windows 8 interface more intuitive, as opposed to using a traditional mouse.