Tuesday, March 18, 2014

Yahoo buys Vizify 'to bring a more visual approach to data'

Vizify, a startup that specialises in creating interactive infographics and videos of users' social media data has been acquired by Yahoo. The details of the acquisition were not disclosed. Vizify's services will be shut down following the acquisition.
"As part of our transition to Yahoo, we will no longer be allowing new signups or purchases of paid plans. We will also be sunsetting the Vizify service, " Vizify said in an email to users. Vizify that was founded in June 2011 is based in Portland.
An announcement posted on the Vizify website gives a vague idea of what the future holds for the Vizify team at Yahoo. "As for what's next, we can't talk specifics just yet, but we're excited to bring a more visual approach to data at Yahoo."
Vizify is no longer allowing new signups or purchases of paid plans and says that "for all bioholders, free and paid, we'll be providing a way for you to opt-in to 'archive' a snapshot of your current bio that will remain live at the same URL through September 4, 2014."

Vizify is Yahoo's 37th acquisition since new CEO Marissa Mayer took charge in July 2012.

Monday, March 17, 2014

Three new flagship models to heat up smartphone battle

Gone are the days when tech giants would launch just one flagship smartphone a year and that too at a specific time. With new and big devices coming much more frequently, the latest instance being Samsung Galaxy S5, Sony Xperia X2 and LG G Pro 2 phones at the Mobile World Congress, Gadgets and Gizmos takes a look at what's on offer.
The last year saw the launch of a number of flagship smartphones that were capable of giving the iPhone 5 and the Samsung Galaxy S4, a run for their money. The HTC One, Sony Xperia Z1 and even the LG G Pro - each one of them had something special. Barely three months into the new year, we already have the wraps off some of the new flagships phones.

Samsung Galaxy S5
The fastest growing Android smartphone maker in the world has stepped into the fifth stage of the Galaxy series. Samsung has unveiled the Galaxy S5, which features several improvements over the S4. The smartphone has a 5.1 inch Full HD display and aa 16MP camera which can capture ultra-HD videos at 30 frames per second. It operates on Android KitKat and runs on 2.5GHz quad core application processor, paired with 2GB of RAM. A fingerprint scanner has been integrated into its home button, much like that of the iPhone 5s. Samsung has followed Sony's footsteps as well and waterproofed this phone. It is water and dust resistant and certified as such. It can withstand water up to a depth of one meter for a maximum of 30 minutes. Connectivity options onboard include USB 3.0, Bluetooth 4.0, NFC, Wi-Fi, and LTE support.

Sony Xperia Z2
The successor to the Xperia Z1 has also arrived. The phone has a slightly bigger display than most, measuring 5.2 inch. It has a 20.7MP camera - an Exmor RS for mobile image sensor, featuring the award-winning G Lens. The phone can also capture 4k videos. It will run on Android KitKat, a Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 processor - a 2.3GHz quad-core Krait CPU and 3GB RAM. It can support LTE and NFC connectivity, and has a 3200mAh battery. Sony is calling it "the world's best camera and camcorder in a waterproof smartphone"

LG G Pro 2

Successor to the LG G Pro, the Pro 2 has picked up the industrial design and material feel of the recently launched LG G2, which includes back mounted buttons for volume and power, as well as the curved back cover and the 13MP camera module. But there are a few changes. The phone comes with the 5.9 inch display with 1080p resolution, which makes it a phablet. It runs on Qualcomm Snapdragon quad core processor clocked at 2.26 Ghz and paired with 3GB RAM. It also has Dolby mobile sound enhancement and LG Optimus UI onboard.

Sunday, March 16, 2014

You can now mirror your Android screen on Chromecast, if you have a Nexus 5


The prospect of mirroring your Android screen on Chromecast has been teased for a few weeks, but the feature can now be finally tried out -- if you have the right smartphone, that is.
An updated version of the Mirror for Android beta includes early support for mirroring to either a Chrome browser or Chromecast, but only if you have a Nexus 5.
Google's phone is the sole device with the hardware video decoder needed for this mirroring technique.
You also have to get root-level access to the operating system with the current release, although that won't be necessary in the future. Provided you meet the app's exact requirements, you can give mirroring a spin at the source link.


Saturday, March 15, 2014

Adobe Revel photo-editing and sharing app finally arrives for Android


Adobe has finally launched its Revel all-in-one collaborative photo-editing and photo-sharing app for Android, nearly three years after it was launched for iOS in 2011.
The Adobe Revel app is now available for download for free via the Google Play store. With it, users can upload photos and videos, edit them, and can keep them organized. One can also share edited photos and videos on social networks.
Users will be able to invite friends and family to join a Group Library, and then control who can see, add, or edit content. The application includes private web galleries for sharing content with only those members whom the user has selected.
The editing option in the Revel app includes some basic tools such as filters, cropping, exposure and contrast adjustment, tools from built-in Elements apps, "Adobe Revel is also integrated with Photoshop Elements 12 and Premiere Elements 12, making it easy for you to bring your edited photos and videos with you anywhere you go," states the Adobe blog post.
The users can upload unlimited images and videos for the first month. After this period, users will be limited to 50 photos and video uploads per month. However, one can still opt for the unlimited uploads via an in-app purchase of $5.99 a month or $59.99 for a year.
Adobe Revel for Android is also seen receiving positive reviews from users on the Google Play store, with a rating of 4.4 stars out of 5. The Abobe Revel app is sized at 17MB and requires Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich and above OSes to run.
In January, Adobe rolled out an updated version of its Photoshop Express app for Android, which is now compatible with Android 4.4 KitKat, and boasts of some new features.


Tuesday, March 11, 2014

HTML? For 1 in 10 in US, it’s a disease

One in 10 Americans believe that HTML is a communicable disease, while 23% think an MP3 is a ‘Star Wars’ robot, according to a new study.
In a study of 2,392 American men and women, all of whom were 18 years of age or older, 11% said that HTML (HyperText Markup Language) – a language that is used in programming websites – is a Communicable Disease. Also 15% said “software” is a comfortable type of clothing and 12% said ‘USB’ is the acronym for a European country. Around 77% of respondents could not identify what SEO means. SEO stands for ‘Search-Engine-Optimisation’.

The study said that 27% of the respondents said “gigabyte” was a South American insect. A gigabyte is a measurement unit for the storage capacity of an electronic device. The study found that 23% of Americans thought an MP3, which is an audio file, was a “Star Wars” robot. Also, 42% said they believed a “motherboard” was “the deck of a cruise ship.”

Monday, March 10, 2014

Turkey President rules out ban on Facebook

Turkey’s president on Friday ruled out any ban on Facebook and YouTube after Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan said the site could be shut to stop his foes anonymously posting audio recordings purportedly exposing corruption in his inner circle.

Micromax Canvas Tab P650E CDMA tablet with Android 4.0


Micromax Canvas Tab P650E, which is a CDMA variant of the company's first flagship tablet, the Canvas Tab P650, is now listed on the company's official website. However, the popular domestic manufacturer is yet to reveal the pricing and availability details of the new tablet.
Recently, the Canvas Tab P650E was available via an e-commerce website at Rs. 8,999.
The Canvas Tab P650E offers single SIM functionality with support for CDMA network. It comes with a 7-inch display with a resolution of 1024x600 pixels. The tablet runs on the dated Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich operating system.
The Canvas Tab P650E is powered by a dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 (MSM8625) processor clocked at 1GHz (unspecified chipset) along with 512MB of RAM. Other specifications include a 2-megapixel rear camera, VGA front-facing camera and 4GB of inbuilt storage, which can be expanded up to 32GB.
The Canvas Tab P650E is backed by a 3000mAh battery which, according to the official listing, delivers up to 220 hours of standby time and up to 11 hours of talk time.
Micromax in February also listed the Funbook Mini P410i on the company's website without pricing or availability details.
Notably, the Micromax Funbook Mini P410i is the successor to the Funbook Mini P410 tablet launched last year, and comes with upgraded specifications.
The Micromax Funbook Mini P410i tablet, like its predecessor, comes with a 7-inch TFT LCD display with 1024x600 pixels resolution. The Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean-based tablet supports dual-SIM (GSM+GSM) functionality with voice-calling.
It is powered by a 1.2GHz dual-core MediaTek (MT8377) processor alongside 1GB of RAM. The Funbook Mini P410i includes 4GB of inbuilt storage which can be expanded up to 32GB via microSD card. The tablet sports a 5-megapixel rear fixed focus camera while there is a 2-megapixel front-facing fixed focus camera.
Notably, the Funbook Mini P410i packs a 2800mAh battery, like its predecessor, rated to deliver up to 6 hours of talk time and up to 120 hours of standby time. The Micromax Funbook Mini tablet will be available in White.

Micromax Canvas Tab P650E key specifications
  • 7-inch display with 1024x600 pixels resolution
  • 1GHz dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 processor
  • 512MB of RAM
  • 2-megapixel rear camera
  • VGA front-facing camera
  • 4GB inbuilt storage (expandable up to 32GB)
  • Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich
  • SIM support (CDMA)
  • 3000mAh battery