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Saturday 27 April 2013

Google Nexus 7 with 3G, 32GB storage launched in India

TOI Tech | Apr 2, 2013, 04.43 PM IST
NEW DELHI: Taiwanese manufacturer Asus has launched the 32GB variant of Google Nexus 7 tablet in India just a week after the search giant rolled out the 16GB iteration of the device in the country. This new version of the tablet comes in Wi-Fi as well as Wi-Fi+3G variants, whereas the model being sold via Google Play Store does not support mobile data. 

Asus has priced the Wi-Fi-only variant of Nexus 7 at Rs 18,999, while the Wi-Fi+3G model costs Rs 21,999. 

Manufactured by Asus, Google Nexus 7 features a 7-inch IPS screen. This tablet is powered by a 1.2GHz quad-core processor with 1GB RAM and runs on Android 4.1, upgradable to Android 4.2. When it comes to connectivity, this tablet can access the internet only via Wi-Fi as well as cellular data (optional), while other data transfer options include Bluetooth, NFC and microUSB. Google Nexus 7 has no rear camera, while a 1.2MP camera is placed in the front. 

Apple iPad mini with 16GB storage capacity and no 3G data compatibility costs Rs 21,990 in India. The 32GB iPad mini with Wi-Fi as well as mobile data is priced at Rs 35,900 in the country. Another Nexus 7 rival is Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0, which has been unveiled in the country but is yet to hit the shelves. Its price is not known as of now.

Thursday 25 April 2013

App Review : Facebook Home for Android


Facebook announces new software to showcase the social network on mobile devices. Read on to know why I gave the social networking giant’s new software 1-and-a-half stars.
[If you don’t want to read the whole article because it’s too long, then read only “The Verdict” part at the bottom of the article.]
What is ‘Facebook Phone’? – The rumours were wrong. The new ‘Facebook Phone’ isn’t a phone. Instead, it’s a set of apps running the Android operating system. You can download them from the Google app store onto certain phones from HTC (One and One X) and Samsung (Galaxy SIII, S4 and Note II). More Android models will be compatible in the coming months, Facebook says.
HomeThis software suite, called Home, replaces the standard Home screen and Lock screen of the phone. In their places, what you see is a slowly scrolling parade of full-screen photos from your Facebook news feed, called Cover Feed. Text-only posts appear, too, using your friend’s primary profile picture as the photographic background.
At the moment, the Cover Feed represents only 80% of what you would see on the actual Facebook website. What’s missing? Video posts and ads. Both, Facebook says, are coming soon. This means that your Android mobile screen will soon become a Facebook advertisement board.
Have fun with Cover Feed – If the stately scrolling in Cover Feed is too slow for you, you can flick to reach the next photo, and the next, and the next. You can double-tap the screen to ‘like’ a post. You can hold a finger down on the screen to see the entire photo, smaller; big parts of it are generally chopped off in the process of enlarging it to fill the phone’s screen. And you can tap a tiny speech-balloon icon to read people’s comments, or to leave one of your own.
Your droid’s home screen is gone! – The Home software replaces the Home and Lack screens that Google or your phone maker designed (Don’t worry, this article will tell you how to get the apps in your home screen back.). Unfortunately, you lose some good features in this process.
Your profile picture is now the ‘controller’ of your Android mobile! – The only icon that appears in Facebook’s Home screen is your own profile photo.
Profile Picture Controls:-
·        Drag it to the left to open the Facebook messaging app
·        Drag it to the right to open the last used app
·        Drag it upwards to open a grid of app icons on a grey background; this screen is now your mobile app launcher. But, you won’t find all your apps here. Swipe your finger to the left to see, all your apps on a black-background. From here, you can hold your finger down on a particular app’s icon to install it onto the grey-background launcher screen, which can have multiple pages. Totally, chaotic. The black-background screen scrolls vertically and the grey-background screen scrolls horizontally. This is currently the only way in Facebook Home to access your Android apps.
Say bye-bye to many Android features – Facebook Home is literally destroying the Android operating system interface.
·        Widgets – Widgets are those small windows on your Home screen that display news headlines and new email messages. They’re still accessible, though buried. They appear when you tap the More button on the black- background app screen.
·        Wallpaper – Wallpapers and Live Wallpapers, which became business for few people on Google’s Play Store, has got a smack in its face from Facebook. Wallpaper is gone; you can’t dress your Facebook Home screen with photo backgrounds of your choice.
·        Status Bar – The bar which sits on top of every Android mobile, which usually displays the time, you signal strength, battery life and other gauges. Status Bar appears only when you’re in other apps.
Facebook-centric features – The grey-background screen offers buttons that let you write a new post of your own, take (or choose) a photo to post, or ‘check in’ (announce your location).
Notifications – Notifications appear in a new style, too. When one of your friends posts an update or someone comments on one of your posts or sends you a message, a small white bar appears on your Home screen to let you know. You can tap the notification box to view the corresponding post or message, or you can hold your finger down and swipe to dismiss all of them simultaneously.
Chat Heads – The last new feature in Facebook Home is Chat Heads (Seriously?!). When someone texts you or sends you a Facebook message, a round icon appears on your screen, displaying that person’s face (it doesn’t matter what app you are using). Tap the Chat Head to reveal the new message on a screen that also displays, screen-play style, all previous back-and-forths with this person.
The Verdict – Everything in Home is attractive, smooth and quick. At the same time, there’s something vaguely incoherent about the whole operation.
Facebook Home is not an operating system and it is not even an app, really. Out of five, I would give Home 1-and-a-half stars.
Facebook deserves to be criticized about this step. Facebook is trying to control Android mobile phones. Home gives us the ability to see Facebook posts on our phone’s home screen. But, is it worth destroying the Android interface? The answer is NO.
Now, who knows? In the near future there might be a Twitter home screen or NBA home screen. Facebook Home is just one attempt to control a user’s phone without even creating an operating system.
(Help was taken from the article “Facebook tries to hit a Home run” by David Pogue for The New York Times.)