The Apple Watch-iSister of the iPhones

Competing with the gradually growing market of The Wearables, along with the Korean rivalry and Moto's 360 here's Apple launching their version of the wearable Smartpiece, a smartwatch-The Apple Watch. For information on iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 plus Click Here

The Apple Watch, is a new chapter for Apple as a company.

Design: The Apple Watch has a simple design displaying a simple cubicle which appears like most of the normal watches. It would display the time in many different types, enabling the users to view it their way. It comes with three different cases and six different bands for users to suit their style.

Some of the Styles and Displays of The Apple Watch

It is  released in three different editions, Apple Watch (normal), Apple Watch Sport (sporty), and Apple Watch Edition (luxury version).
Apple Watch, consists of a silver watch unit and a selection of simple straps, Apple Watch Sport, which uses a tough brushed aluminium body and the Apple Watch Edition which comes in 18 carat gold.

Faces of the Watch

Specs: The Apple Watch will work with the new iPhones along with the iPhone 5, 5s and 5c. Here is a look at the specs Apple gives us with the Watch...

• Glance: The watch has got this thing called 'Glance'. Swiping left and right would let us go through these 'Glances'. It allows tasks like Music, Maps, Calendars, Messaging and likes along with control to the iPhone. 

  

  Apple Maps

• Animated Emoji: The little graphics can be made animated  with actions like winking, thumbs up, etc.
• It can receive texts and calls, analyse the text and send quick voice messages.
  
• Sensor Support: The watch is known to have more than 10 sensors functioning for the services like health and fitness specs, accelerometer, etc.
• Health & Fitness: Measures heart rate using custom heart rate sensor located at the back of the watch. Also there is a pre-installed app  "Workout" that keeps real-time record of the distance traveled and total calories burnt. 

  

  Sensors behind the Watch

• The watch functions as the accelerometer, counts the steps and distance hence calculating the total calories burnt.
• Siri: She is along with you on the wrist and hence can be operated for functions like Navigation, Calls and Messaging, Search and more.
• Third Party apps: We get support for third party apps like Twitter, facebook on the watch. A plus point it gets.
  

The price in US is confirmed as $349. The Watch will be available in early 2015.

So this was the Apple Watch sum-up. We surely got to expect much development on this platform along with much improved functionality and specs. Keep watching for more..!

Are you an iPhone user.? The new iPhones will blow your minds.

Apple has finally announced the much anticipated iPhones. Just like last year, Apple has launched two new iPhones this year. But with different sizes this time.

It certainly makes me believe that Android OEMs like Samsung and LG with their phablet market rocket boosting has forced Apple to increase display sizes on iPhones. Hence this year we get 2 different sized devices. A 4.7" iPhone 6 and a Phablet iPhone 6 Plus sized 5.5".

Both of these devices are available in 3 colour options. Gold, Silver & Space Grey. Both these devices are equipped with finger-print sensors which now seems to make a place on every iDevice.

The smartphone market has been dominated much with large screen devices from Android and WP OEMs. And now these bigger iPhones will allow Apple to compete in the similar device segment.

The new iPhones are now even thinner than the last gen The of iPhone 6 scales at 6.9 mm thickness making it the thinnest iPhone since ever, while the iPhone 6 plus comes in at 7.1 mm thickness. With all the metal backs and a glass hat curves around the edges of the device,  this marks the biggest design changes since the iPhone 4, making the device reminiscent of the Original iPhone unveiled in 2007.

The power button has finally moved from the top to sides like most Android and Windows Phone devices. This actually is a suitable position for buttons on large devices for your hands to reach.

Apple has also included great features for single-handed use of the device. Unlike before, a double-tap on the home button moves all apps and content to the lower half of the screen making it user friendly for single-handed uses. Turning the device in landscape mode allows you to use all apps the same way you'd use then on a tablet in landscape.

Both iPhones are now more powerful with the magical new 64-bit A8 processors that's magically 25% faster than the previous iPhones and 50% more power efficient for increased battery life. Its always fun how Apple compares their latest devices to their last gen ones. Apple expects the new iPhones to outlast the 5S by at least an hour.

The Camera didn't see a bump in the spec sheet as Apple believes 8 MP is the standard Camera for a mobile device. Lets just wait and see if that changes in near future. But they haven't stopped improving their cameras anyhow. The new devices happen to carry 8 MP Cameras that has the same 'Focus Pixel' focusing technology that's often found in DSLR Cameras for fast and accurate photos. You can easily catch your dog jumping the wall. The 6 Plus also has optical image stabilisation (OIS) for removing Camera shake.

The new cameras can also shoot videos at 240 fps to create super slow-motion videos. This is double the rate than the 5S. The burst mode also detects smiles in the pictures and then recommends the best one. The camera is protruding slightly out of the body but not so much as to create a problem.

Apple also introduced the new mobile payment service called ApplePay that actually uses NFC (Near Field Communications). Something Apple had been trying to stay away from. Apple has also confirmed to have partnered with about 22k retailers for its payment system so that's something we'll want to try our hands on.

With Wi-Fi 802.11ac, iPhone 6 Wi-Fi speeds are upto 3 times faster than the 5S.

Talking about sensors, the iPhone 6 has a barometer sensor that senses air pressure and measures relative elevation.

Its is very well known that Apple never reveals the hardware specs of its device but reportedly, many of its suppliers aren't that good at keeping secrets. The 64-bit A8 processor running the show is said to be a 1.4Ghz dual-core processor.

The iPhone 6 in its large package holds a 1810 mAh battery with a 4.7" display having a resolution of 750x1334 setting the pixel density north of 320 ppi. Just what its calls Retina Display. The display is made of shatter-proof glass with oleophobic coating and discards the rumours of the new iPhones having a sapphire glass display.

iPhone 6 Plus on the other hand does much better with its 1920x1080 resolution display setting the pixel density at 401ppi which is much more than human eye can notice.

These devices will come with storage capacity of 16GB, 32GB and 64GB. Although people have been talking about a 128GB variant but it hasn't been confirmed yet. 

Moto 360-A Step up at Wearables

We have seen many Android watches like the Samsung Gear, the LG G watch, etc.  Looking at the Wearables market, it seems they haven't been an expected hit. The Moto 360 has something good. The presence of Motorola-after being a part of Lenovo, as a brand at the tech market has been almost an year, and in 2k14 it might have made a mark by introduction of the Moto G, the Moto X and finally the Moto 360. For info on Moto X 2014 Click Here

The Moto 360, not a cubicle like the mentioned above but something different and better. Nobody would like to use a SmartWatch in place of the Smartphone for functions like reading emails, Social networking or likes. The Moto 360 is a round watch and holds the concept a real wrist watch keeping its basic elements in place. It is a simple looking watch which shows the clock in center as the conventional watch which makes it more preferable to the 'cubicles'.

Basic Specifications:

Weather and Time

The Moto 360 runs on the Android Wear platform compatible with 4.3 or above. 

Peeping into the basic spec profile we have the following:

• 1.5inch 320x290 pixels LCD screen
• TI OMAP Screen
• 320 mAh battery
• "Ok Google...." or a screen tap
• Capacitive Touch powered
• Wireless Charging: Substituting the Sammy and LG way of the charging clip, the Moto 360 provides an amazing useful option of Qi wireless charging. 
• Built-in microphone for voice commands and google now for activities like making call, sending text messages and similars.
• Notifications on wrist: Receive notifications from fb, twitter and likes.
• All Round Health: Keep a track of daily activity and heartbeat count on the 360.
• Keeps us updated of the factors like traffic, weather for our location, navigation & maps, flight alerts and reminders.

  

  Wireless Charging 

Variants: This device will be available in many different "Avatars" namely, Black leather, Grey leather, Stone leather, Light metal, Dark Metal of which the black leather is currently available and the rest will be released soon.

"Ok Google..."

This was a glimpse at the Moto 360, A step in the right direction..!

Visit official site moto360.motorola.com for more.

Moto X 2014. Greater Specs. Bigger Size. Better Everything.

Finally uncovered. The 2nd gen Moto X is here. Motorola didn't participate in IFA,Berlin but they just couldn't stop unveiling their 2014 flagship.

When last year's X was unveiled, it left many people wanting for more. It didn't have the most updated specs and was criticized a lot for its mediocre specs. But this happened only until the tech savvy realized that the game was changing. Moto had created the phone with most mediocre specs but which still had the performance of this flagships.

This year might finally up the specs game. But not only the specs are improved, there are a lot other bells and whistles.

Display
The first thing noticed about the new X is the display. Its been upped from 4.7" 720p to a 5.2" 1080p display. This still sounds like last year when the new flagships like LG G3 and Galaxy Note 4 are getting 2k displays, but I personally think anything north of 400 ppi is not required. Your eyes just can't notice the difference. But then again this was the thing said when 1080p displays were handed to people for the first time. We'll obviously see a good difference in display quality and sharpness but we can only enjoy those when we get better performing batteries. Lets just hope this year's X has the same type of battery backup as the last year's.


Battery

The battery is the most lowly upgraded thing. Its still just a 2300 mAh battery. A 100 mAh more than last year. Considering the upgrade in display, this is a bit concerning but moto still promises a full day usage. Just like last year. We'll see that once someone gets their hands on the device.
Those longing for a better CPU in the awesome first gen Moto X might finally be pleased. The X 2014 has got a 2.5 GHz Spandragon 801 powering the device with an Adreno 330 to handle the graphics. The RAM is still the same at 2 gigs which is more than enough considering that moto ships the phone with almost Stock Android.


Camera

The back of the devices houses a 13MP camera with a dual LED flash. Each on a side of the camera. Moto likes to calls it a ring flash. Last year's X had a disappointing camera. This year's a significant improvement over the original in terms of raw hardware, but real world performance might reflect different results. Stay tuned to the internet to get camera reviews soon. 


Design

The X has an edge wrapped in metal which gives it a premium feel. (Because metal is premium, duh..!!) It just has a better look and feel. The bezels on the sides have been cut making the device look sleek. The design improvement in size increase adds a mere 5 grams weight over last year's model which is really awesome. The power and volume buttons are both on the right edge with the power button textured making it easier to distinguish from the volume rockers. 


Storage

Sadly, the X still does not support SD Cards. You get to choose from a 16 & a 32 gig model. You want more, get something else. 

Software


This is where things get interesting. The previous X showed off some real cool features like always listening and active diaplay. So we can hope similar feature improvements this year too.

Above and below the display you can see two front facing speakers which is slowly becoming a norm for flagships. (Yeah HTC. Well done). Better and louder sound shouldn't be questionable. On the sides of the bottom speaker, you can see two sensors for gesture controls. We'll get back here in a sec.


Horse Power

The phone currently launched with Android 4.4.4 Kitkat but will surely be updated to Android L. Remember that the X 2013 unlocked version was launched with Jellybean and was updated to Kitkat in just 2 weeks of Kitkat launch. So software update isn't really a concern.

Moto still packs almost Stock Android with additional features included as separate apps, This is pretty awesome as OS updates could be crazy fast.

What's even better is that stock moto apps got better. Touchless Display has been renamed as Moto Voice and instead of saying Ok Google, you can program custom keyphrase like "Hello Kitty" or "Wake up Sheldon".

Moto Voice gives you full access to Google Voice Search but it also has the ability to work with some 3rd party apps. For the time, there are just a handful off supported apps like Facebook, WhatsApp and Youtube. Updating your Facebook status or sending a WhatsApp message should be a breeze. Moto says more 3rd party apps are coming soon. So this might actually gives us fully touchless controls of the phone.

Other features like Active Display and Moto Assist are still the same but general upgrades. The Active Display has been renamed as Moto Display. Because Google isn't the parent company now. Branding matters now.

Moto Actions is a new feature. It uses the front IR sensors below the display to silence incoming calls and alarms with a wave of your hand.

About customisations, the moto maker still exists and does the exact same thing as last year. But for the original X, moto is stopping any further software updates. Its a dead device now. I feel sorry for the X 2013 users but then again, they do have plenty of developer support for their device.

Moto not only launched the X but also launched a new Moto G and the long awaited Moto 360 smart watch. Read more about the 360 here.

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Pictures: Courtesy, Gizmodo

Xiaomi unveils MIUI 6 developer edition for select devices.

Xiaomi today at an event in Beijing announced the latest version of its popular Android skin. With this launch of MIUI 6, Xiaomi marks the 4th anniversary of MIUI and has unveiled MIUI 6 at the same place it unveiled MIUI to the world 4 years ago. MIUI 6 brings a plethora of visual changes to the OS with a more colorful flat design.

According to Xiaomi, MIUI 6 brings a number of improvements and optimisations. Also the UI has been flattened going with the trend of flat designs. Xiaomi tries to give the best User Experience with MIUI 6 and hence has removed unnecessary distractions from the current UI, thus helping users focus on what they need.

The first thing noticed here is the new homescreen. With all those flat icons it also adds new functionality. The launcher now supports organisation of icons and a quick swipe-up gesture brings the Quick Search panel.

Native apps like Calendar, Calculator, Weather, Compass, Clock and more have also been given a major overhaul in the flat design. The lock-screen now also shows small notifications which can be expanded by a small gesture. The Camera UI has also been revisited and is now what we say, Minimalist. With those big target buttons replaced by floating targets on the screen, it does make the UI. clean. 

Its not just the UI that's changed but also changed is functionality. For instance, the Dialer app has been given the ability to show information about unknown numbers on the Caller ID, thanks to TrueCaller. 

Themes are what makes MIUI what it is. With MIUI 6, we can only expect a few themes that Xiaomi has created buut as developers gets their hands on iit, we can expect more skins to come out. 

MIUI 6 will go in beta testing today and will be available for the following devices by end of the year.

- Xiaomi Mi 2, Mi 2S, Mi 2A and Xiaomi Redmi devices. 

See the other screenshots below.

Watch MIUI 6 in action here.

Samsung Galaxy Alpha out in open

Samsung just released the addition to the famous Galaxy family: Galaxy Alpha. Finally after being rumoured and hyped a lot, the South Korean biggy lets it out in the ground. Though the sales beginning in September '14, Sammy announced it while great before not to steal anything from their next Flagship, The Note 4. Not impressed with the Galaxy S5, this device holds a lot of importance and is heavily under the critics' eyes and pronounced as the competition to the rival's iPhone6. But the most amazing modification to this piece is that the 'plastic follower' Samsung has added a bit of the metal to this smartphone which makes the 'plastic' critics quiet.

Rather than building it heavily metalled like the HTC One M8 and likes, Samsung chose to use rubberized plastic-not attractive as a metal look but a lot more practical also allowing a comfortable grip and added a removable back cover. We have a rubberised back and a sufficiently slim body giving it an elegant and an excellent look.

Looking into the spec profile up to now, we have no water resistance at first place. In addition, there is no microSD slot (ironical to Samsung) ranging the internal memory to 32 gigs with 25 usable and overloading it with the famous heavy Touchwiz, not forgetting the 2GB of RAM. The Galaxy Alpha is the first Samsung device to get a nano SIM. It will roll Android 4.4.4 Kitkat and powered by Exynos 5 Octa 5430 chipset. The camera pretty decent, 12 MP primary and 2.1 MP secondary. It will have an Super AMOLED 720p diplay which looks pretty good. Many pros along with a con, the battery quite small compared to other features.

The primary question at this stage is, Would Samsung enhance their metal addition to the Note 4 or probably their next year release S6..?!?

Fingers Crossed.

Google Hangouts being tested with a new User Interface. Codename: "Ultra Violet"

With all the Google's services and Apps redesigned in Material esque, you wouldn't want Google messenger service Hangouts to be left in space. And that's not gonna happen. If this new report by Florian Kiersch is right, we'll soon be in for a newly designed Hangouts.

The Welcome Screen

The new design that's codenamed Ultra Violet, will bring significant changes to the User Interface. It includes a new Chrome Extension which will represent your chats in facebook style Chat Heads floating on the right of your screen.

Clicking on the Chat Head the first time will bring up a new Welcome screen introducing the new UI and will ask you to login. If you've already done that, it'll show all your chats in bubble formation with circular profile images.

Chat Heads with Circular Profiles

To note again, this is not an official product yet. It still has a lot of bugs and a lot of polishing has to be done before its been deployed to the users. There's also no reports on functionality changes. Its to bee seen if this new UI also brings new functionality or if it makes its way to Android devices.