Samsung unveils Galaxy S III Mini

Samsung Electronics Co. has unveiled a smaller and cheaper version of the Galaxy S III smartphone with the same screen size as the iPhone 5. Samsung says the Galaxy S III mini features a screen measuring 4 inches diagonally, smaller than the Galaxy S III's 4.8 inch display but the same as Apple's iPhone 5, which was Apple's first upgrade of the iPhone screen size.

                            

Samsung said the mini will be launched in Europe later this month but kept mum on schedules for other countries. Samsung's German mobile shop lists the mini's price at $516 versus $711 for the cheapest S III. The mini is powered by the latest version of Android software but does not support faster fourth-generation wireless networks.

                  

Samsung Electronics unveiled a new version of Galaxy S3 smartphone to better compete with Apple's newest smartphone iPhone5.

                             

The Galaxy S3 mini, the compact version of the flagship Galaxy S3, came with a 4.0-inch Super AMOLED display, according to an e-mailed statement.

       

The screen size was smaller than the 4.8-inch Galaxy S3, but was the same as the one of Apple's iPhone5. Galaxy Note2, the new phablet model launched by Samsung, has a 5.5-inch screen, reported Xinhua.

                   

Except for the screen size, the compact version held most features of the Galaxy S3. The mini model is powered by 4.1 Jelly, Bean, the latest version of Android operating system, featuring a 1GHz dual-core processor.

   

S Voice, the language recognition software, allows users to unlock the phone, play favourite songs or organise schedule with simple voice command.With Smart Stay feature, the phone's camera tracks users' eyes and keeps the screen lit as long as the users are looking at it.

    

Models hold a Samsung 'Galaxy S3 mini' (R) phone and a 'Galaxy S3' phone during the mini's world premiere in Frankfurt October 11, 2012.

    

"The Galaxy S3 introduced a new concept of smartphone that has proven hugely popular around the world. We' re now delighted to bring its revolutionary design, intuitive usability and intelligence to the Galaxy S3 mini in a more compact form," said Shin Jong-kyun, head of Samsung's IT & mobile communications division.

                  

World's first 24 karat gold plated iPhone 5

Apple's iPhone 5 may be the most sought after phone in the world but for some it does not have enough bling as a Vertu has. For those who love the flashy, Gold & Co. of London has created a 24-karat gold-plated iPhone 5.

    

On September 27, Gold & Co unveiled the world's first 24-karat gold-plated iPhone 5 at the Collector's Palace in Dubai Mall.

   

The strictly limited edition phones, which are also available in rose gold, are each individually numbered, presented in handcrafted wooden boxes with a guaranteed certificate of authenticity and are ready for pre-order.

        

The latest iPhone sports a larger four-inch retina display screen that is 18 per cent thinner and 20 per cent lighter than its predecessor.

                       

The roomier screen of the iPhone 5, which has 40 per cent more colour saturation, can be used by apps makers to provide most accurate display in the industry.

   

The iPhone 5 comes with Apple's newest 'A6' processor, which executives said runs twice as fast as the previous generation. It will pack three microphones - enhancing built-in voice assistant Siri -- and an 8 megapixel camera that can take panoramic views.

   

With the iPhone, it is shipping new 'EarPods' audiophones, designed after digitally scanning hundreds of ears.

                                 

The iPhone 5 has chips that support additional bands and frequencies and it's capable of delivering up to 100 Mbps per second.

   

The iPhone 5 comes with Apple's newest 'A6' processor, which executives said runs twice as fast as the previous generation.

   

The iPhone 5 is getting a new connector to attach to computers and chargers. It had been using the same one from the iPod. That means the new iPhone won't be compatible with old accessories.

   

Nokia unveils Asha 308 and Asha 309 full-touch smartphones

Nokia today unveiled the Asha 308 and Asha 309, the latest additions to the Asha Touch family of mobile devices. They are tagged as the Nokia’s most affordable capacitive touchscreen devices to date giving consumers fast web access at low cost. The Nokia Asha 308 features easy swap Dual SIM and Asha 309 is the single SIM variant with WiFi. Asha 308 and 309 deliver a full smartphone experience enriched with new Nokia web services and developer tools. Nokia estimates the retail price for the Nokia Asha 308 and Nokia Asha 309 to be about Rs 5300, excluding taxes and subsidies, with shipping expected to start in the fourth quarter 2012.

                      

The new devices offer a fluid 'swipe' user interface and an open environment for third-party application development, characteristics that have earned the complete Asha Touch range full smartphone classification from global market research companies and analysts such as GfK and IDC."Our innovative Asha Touch family of devices is designed for people who want a great smartphone experience with lower running costs," said Timo Toikkanen, executive vice president, Mobile Phones, Nokia. "By introducing the Nokia Asha 308 and Nokia Asha 309, we're expanding our affordable smartphone lineup and bringing new mobile experiences to more people."

                                           

The Nokia Asha 308 and Nokia Asha 309 are Nokia's most affordable capacitive touchscreen devices to date. A view shared by independent analysts is that the Asha line represents great smartphones available for less than USD 99. "Nokia's Asha Touch family delivers all the core smartphone experiences, and with the new software developer kit, provides ever-increasing flexibility for developers to build compelling new experiences for consumers," said Will Stofega, Mobile Phone Program Director, IDC.

                                   

The Nokia Asha 308 and Nokia Asha 309 are 2G-enabled devices featuring a 3.0'' WQVGA capacitive display, multiple home screens, stereo radio, loud speakers and up to 32GB microSD card support. The Nokia Asha 309 is the single SIM variant with WiFi, while the Nokia Asha 308 is a dual SIM device featuring Nokia's industry-leading Easy Swap technology. Easy Swap enables people to switch between multiple SIM cards quickly and easily to get the best local tariffs without having to remove the battery or turn off the phone.

    

The phones also come with the free* gift of 40 premium EA games, social features such as standalone Facebook and Twitter clients, the Nokia Messaging Service, and video streaming through the browser from sites like YouTube - a first within the Asha Touch range.

                                 

Nokia Asha 308 key specifications
Nokia OS>br> 3-inch WVGA capacitive touch display with 400x240 pixel resolution
Dual-SIM
2MP camera
Bluetooth 3.0connectivity
1110mAh
64MB internal storage, expandable upto 3GB via microSD
FM Radio with RDS

                 

Nokia Asha 309 key specifications
Nokia OS
3-inch WVGA capacitive touch display with 400x240 pixel resolution
2MP camera
WiFi and Bluetooth
1110mAh
64MB internal storage, expandable upto 3GB via microSD
FM Radio with RDS

                      

Nokia also introduced two extensions to its Xpress Browser Internet platform, the only cloud-based web browser to support web apps. The Nokia Nearby web app helps people discover new places by searching nearby locations and presenting the options on a map.

                        

The service is available via Nokia Xpress Browser or as a feature within Nokia Maps.The Nokia Life+ web app will give millions of people access to content that spans education, health and infotainment to enhance their daily lives. Nokia Life+ is available in English across 18 countries, with local versions coming to India, China and Indonesia in the fourth quarter of this year.

    

Nokia Life+ can be accessed through Nokia Xpress Browser or the Nokia Store.Both services work with Asha Touch smartphones. In addition to these services, Nokia introduced a new web-based tool that makes it even easier to build new applications. With Nokia Xpress Web App Builder, publishers can create appealing web apps for Asha Touch devices, and even novices can turn their web content into a fun and sophisticated web app for Nokia consumers

    

What's new in Apple's new iPhone 5

The iPhone5 sports a larger four-inch retina display screen that is 18 per cent thinner and 20 per cent lighter than its predecessor.

   

The roomier screen of the iPhone 5, which has 40 per cent more colour saturation, can be used by apps makers to provide most accurate display in the industry.

   

The iPhone's width is just right for navigating with one's thumb, to make it easy to send text messages, swipe through pages and browse the Web. The additional vertical space on the iPhone 5 screen will let users add a fifth, additional row of apps on the home screen - more room for Web browsing and reading.

   

The iPhone 5 comes with Apple's newest 'A6' processor, which executives said runs twice as fast as the previous generation. It will pack three microphones -- enhancing built-in voice assistant Siri -- and an 8 megapixel camera that can take panoramic views.

   

The iPhone 5 has chips that support additional bands and frequencies and it's capable of delivering up to 100 Mbps per second.

   

The iPhone 5 is getting a new connector to attach to computers and chargers. It had been using the same one from the iPod. That means the new iPhone won't be compatible with old accessories, though Schiller said accessory makers were already working to update their products. Apple will sell an adapter to work with older accessories.

   

One popular enhancement was improved battery endurance -- the iPhone 5 can support eight hours of 4G Web browsing.

   

With the iPhone, it is shipping new 'EarPods' audiophones, designed after digitally scanning hundreds of ears. 

Apple is releasing a new version of its phone software, iOS 6. It will have a new mapping software, as Apple ditches the one from Google it had been using. The new software will have turn-by-turn voice navigation ' a feature Google had limited to Android versions of its mapping app.

   

Upgrades to the software include voice navigation for driving, a feature already available on many Android smartphones, as well as 'Passbook' for storing electronic boarding passes, sports tickets and gift cards.

   

Top rumours about Apple's iPhone 5

• Apple Inc distributed invitations to an event in San Francisco on September 12, setting the stage for what is widely expected to be the release of the iPhone 5. The typically cryptic invitation said 'It's almost here', sported a number 12 - corresponding to the date of the event - and cast a large shadow of the number 5, a clue that the fifth version of the popular smartphone could be in the pipeline. The event will take place at San Francisco's Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, the preferred venue for the unveiling of past products such as the iPad.

Here's a look a the top rumours about the most-anticipated Apple device till date:

#1 The new screen could measure 4 inches from corner to corner, one source has said, an increase from the 3.5-inch display that has been held constant since the smartphone began selling in 2007 and revolutionized the mobile industry.

#2 A technology blog, 9to5Mac, that got hold of a purported photo of the next iPhone, say that the new phone would be taller than the previous iPhones, but not wider like many of the Andriod phones available today.

#3 The leaked images also show that the back panel appears to be covered in metal and the headphone jack is on the botton of the phone now.

#4 Apple Inc's new iPhone will drop the wide dock connector used in the company's gadgets for the best part of a decade in favour of a smaller one, a change likely to annoy the Apple faithful but which could be a boon for accessory makers. The iPhone 5, Apple's next generation iPhone expected to go on sale around October, will come with a 19-pin connector port at the bottom instead of the proprietary 30-pin port "to make room for the earphone moving to the bottom", two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters. It would mean the new phone would not connect with the myriad of accessories such as speakers and power chargers that form part of the ecosystem around iPods, iPads and iPhones, without an adaptor.

#5 The phone will have an advanced technical capability of LTE (Long Term Evolution) wireless network that would give all phone carriers a chance to sell their fastest data services to Apple's base of iPhone customers. LTE technology is much more fragmented than the previous third-generation wireless technology, making it more difficult to make LTE phones that work seamlessly around the world.

#6 The next iPhone, is expected to come with a built-in chip which can serve as your credit or debit card for small payments. Tech savvies looking at leaked images of the internals of the device have spotted what they believe is an NFC chip within the phone. NFC is seen as the successor to the chip-and-pin, serving as a small contactless card that can be waved against scanners at tills to automate a payment, the Daily Mail reported.

#7 Audience Inc , which makes chips used in Apple Inc's iPhones, said its top customer is unlikely to use its technology for the latest iPhone. Audience's chips improve the voice quality in mobile devices by filtering out background noise, and the company supplies these to Apple's contract manufacturers like Foxconn International Holdings Ltd and Protek Ltd.

#8 Vietnamese tech news site tinhte.vn, has speculative images of the newly designed earphones that could accompany the new iPhone.

#9 Photos that are believed to be that of the next generation iPhone's motherboard that have surfaced on the WeiPhone user forum, show that a SIM card slot that seem to be smaller than the iPhone 4 and the iPhone 4S.

The future of concept mobile computing..

Check out the Blackberry 'Wrap Around' concept mobile

Nokia unveils Windows 8 Lumia phones

Finnish firm Nokia has finally launched its smart phone handsets powered by Microsoft's Windows Phone 8 operating system. Microsoft and Nokia unveiled the new Lumia 820 and 920 smartphones at a special event in New York.According to the BBC, the new Lumia 920 features wireless charging and a 'PureView' camera, which the mobile firm said offered better video and still images than rival smartphones. It also features several Nokia-only functions designed to make it stand out from other Windows Phone 8 devices.The firm claimed that 'floating lens technology' meant the handset could capture up to 10 times the amount of light than other handsets. According to the report, some users may be disappointed that it features an 8.7-megapixel sensor, many times below the 41MP resolution sensor on an earlier PureView device.

Finnish firm Nokia has finally launched its smart phone handsets powered by Microsoft's Windows Phone 8 operating system. Microsoft and Nokia unveiled the new Lumia 820 and 920 smartphones at a special event in New York.

  

According to the BBC, the new Lumia 920 features wireless charging and a 'PureView' camera, which the mobile firm said offered better video and still images than rival smartphones. It also features several Nokia-only functions designed to make it stand out from other Windows Phone 8 devices.The firm claimed that 'floating lens technology' meant the handset could capture up to 10 times the amount of light than other handsets.

                                   

Lumia 920
Colors
•Yellow, Red, White, Grey, Black Camera
•PureView camera technology with Optical Image Stabilization and Carl Zeiss optics captures blur-free pictures & videos even if your hand is shaky, or in low light conditions
Nokia Original Accessories
•Nokia wireless charging plate DT-900
•Fatboy® recharge pillow DT-901
•Nokia Luna Bluetooth Headset with Wireless Charging
•Nokia wireless charging stand DT-910
•JBL PlayUp Portable Wireless Speaker for Nokia
•JBL PowerUp Wireless Charging Speaker for Nokia
•Nokia Purity Pro Stereo Headset by Monster

                

Additional Features and Services
•PureMotion HD+ display, the world’s brightest, fastest and most sensitive touchscreen
•Nokia Smart Shoot will take multiple photos with a single click so that you can edit effortlessly to make the perfect shot
•See your surroundings differently with the exclusive Nokia City Lens —Augmented Reality using the phone’s camera viewfinder
•Microsoft Office, built into your phone, synced with your laptop
•With Nokia Music you can stream unlimited music for free. Tap into the latest tracks or create your own channels based on the artists you love
•Live Tiles constantly update in real time on your Start screen, to bring you what’s new in a glance
•Internet Explorer 10 is faster and safer than other browsers, and with Lumia’s uniquely responsive PureMotion HD+ display, it’s smoother and clearer too
•Nokia Drive gives you free, turn-by-turn voice-guided navigation. Select your destination, get speed limit warnings, to find your way faster. You can even make maps available offline

  

The the new Nokia Lumia 920 (L) and 820 Windows smartphones are displayed during a joint event with Microsoft on September 5, 2012 in New York City. The new Nokia phones are the first smartphones built for Windows 8.

The the new Nokia Lumia 920 (L) and 820 Windows smartphones are displayed during a joint event with Microsoft on September 5, 2012 in New York City. The new Nokia phones are the first smartphones built for Windows 8.

  

   

Analysts see the new phones as Nokia's last chance to compete with fellow technology companies Apple and Samsung in the lucrative smartphone market.

  

 

The the new Nokia 820 and (L) Lumia 920 Windows smartphones are displayed during a joint event with Microsoft on September 5, 2012 in New York City. The new Nokia phones are the first smartphones built for Windows 8. Analysts see the new phones as Nokia's last chance to compete with fellow technology companies Apple and Samsung in the lucrative smartphone market.

   

Lumia 820
Simply versatile design
•Available with a range of fabulous cut through colors, the Lumia 820 offers a simple and beautiful choice
•Going beyond colors, the Lumia 820 is able to transform to different needs, be that sports, going out with friends or staying charged the whole day

                                            

Nokia original accessories
•Nokia wireless charging plate DT-900
•Fatboy® recharge pillow DT-901
•Nokia Luna Bluetooth Headset with Wireless Charging
•Nokia wireless charging stand DT-910
•JBL PlayUp Portable Wireless Speaker for Nokia
•JBL PowerUp Wireless Charging Speaker for Nokia
•Nokia Purity Pro Stereo Headset by Monster
Additional Features and Services •ClearBlack OLED display, delivering a wide range of vibrant colors
•Nokia Smart Shoot will take multiple photos with a single click so that you can edit effortlessly to make the perfect shot

                        

•See your surroundings differently with the exclusive Nokia City Lens —Augmented Reality using the phone’s camera viewfinder
•Microsoft Office, built into your phone, synced with your laptop
•With Nokia Music you can stream unlimited music for free. Tap into the latest tracks or create your own channels based on the artists you love
•Live Tiles constantly update in real time on your Start screen, to bring you what’s new in a glance
•Internet Explorer 10 is faster and safer than other browsers, and with Lumia’s uniquely responsive ClearBlack Display, it’s smoother and clearer too
•Nokia Drive gives you free, turn-by-turn voice-guided navigation. Select your destination, get speed limit warnings, to find your way faster. You can even make them available offline

       

The new Nokia Lumia 920 charges on a speaker during the launch of the Lumia 920 and 820 Windows smartphones on September 5, 2012 in New York City. The new Nokia phones are the first smartphones built for Windows 8. Analysts see the new phones as Nokia's last chance to compete with fellow technology companies Apple and Samsung in the lucrative smartphone market.