Tech2's top 10 hits at MWC 2012

Is it just us or did this year’s Mobile World Congress feel like it got over in a day’s time? It’s probably because all the major announcements happened on the first day, itself, and what a first day it was! ‘Ice Cream Sandwich’ and ‘quad-core’ seemed to be the buzz word around every booth at the event and it will only spread as we make it through this year. We’ve seen offerings from all major manufacturers and we hope you got the play by play as well, if not then we can get you your fix from our MWC 2012 coverage.

Today, rather than just listing out the phones and tablets that were announced at MWC, we’ve shortlisted 10 devices that have gotten us really excited, either due to the design, build, features, or simply because it has a mind boggling camera. So, let’s have a quick look at some of the gadgets that will soon bleed your wallet dry.  

Samsung Galaxy Beam

Move over Maxx Mobiles and Spice, Samsung is now having a go at a concept that has failed to really take off, which could pave the way for a new niche segment, after 3D phones. On the face of it, it’s just another Android phone, that is, until you turn your attention to the HD projector sitting on top. The 15 lumens lamp is capable of projecting a 50-inch wide screen and this coming from Samsung, you know it will be good (at least, we hope so). 

Samsung's new direction

• 4-inch TFT display with a 480 x 800 pixel resolution
• 3G, EDGE/GPRS, Wi-Fi
• GPS with A-GPS support
• Bluetooth 3.0 with A2DP, USB 2.0
• 5MP autofocus camera with LED flash 
• 1.3MP secondary camera
• 8GB onboard, expandable up to 32GB via microSD card
• 3.5 mm handsfree socket 

Huawei Ascend D quad

Huawei is one of our favourite OEM for mobile phones and they haven’t disappointed this time. Out of all the phones they announced, we are really looking forward to the Ascend D quad, primarily due to its own, homegrown quad-core number cruncher. The phone hits all the check boxes as well, 4.5-inch “Retina” grade screen, 8.9mm thick and ICS. While Nvidia have been harping about their Tegra 3 SoC, Huawei’s K3V2 SoC could give it a run for its money. It has more GPU cores (16 vs 12 on Tegra 3), the CPU is supposed to be faster in pure number crunching tasks and is more power efficient, due to a smaller fabrication process. Plus, it’s one hell of a looker! 

The Ascend D quad

• 4.5-inch IPS+ display with a 720 x 1280 pixel resolution
• 3G, EDGE/GPRS, Wi-Fi
• GPS with A-GPS support
• Bluetooth 3.0 with A2DP, USB 2.0
• 8MP autofocus camera with dual-LED flash 
• 1.3MP secondary camera
• 8GB onboard, expandable up to 32GB via microSD card
• 3.5 mm handsfree socket 

Huawei MediaPad 10 FHD

Sticking with Huawei, we are also looking forward to their MediaPad 10 FHD tablet that feels like a nice mix between a Galaxy Tab, HTC Flyer with a sprinkling of the new Transformer 700. It’s powered by Huawei’s K3V2 SoC, but this time, it’s clocked at a higher 1.5GHz. It will support LTE and pack in an IPS, Full HD screen, which should be a sight to behold. 

Four-cores and no slowing down

• 10-inch IPS display with a 1920 x 1080 pixel resolution
• LTE, 3G, EDGE/GPRS, Wi-Fi
• GPS with A-GPS support
• Bluetooth with A2DP, USB 2.0
• 8MP autofocus camera with LED flash 
• 1.3MP secondary camera
• 8GB onboard, expandable up to 32GB via microSD card
• 3.5 mm handsfree socket 

Nokia 808 PureView

One of the most talked about phones right now, happens to be a Nokia – Who'd have thunk? We knew they were planning on a successor to the N8, but no one saw this curve ball coming. The 808 packs in a whopping 41MP sensor, along with a new pixel oversampling technology that captures data from seven neighbouring pixels and condenses it into one pixel. This means even though you’ll mostly be shooting in 5MP or 8MP mode, the quality will be of a 41MP sensor, so images are mostly noise free, even in low-light conditions. Nokia says, you’ll also be able to capture an image in true 38MP resolution, but obviously, the quality will go for a toss. 

Some crazy optics

• 4-inch AMOLED  display with a 360 x 640 pixel resolution
• 3G, EDGE/GPRS, Wi-Fi
• GPS with A-GPS support
• Bluetooth 3.0 with A2DP, USB 2.0
• 41MP autofocus camera with Xenon flash 
• VGA secondary camera
• 16GB onboard, expandable up to 32GB via microSD card
• 3.5 mm handsfree socket 

HTC One X 

We can’t wait for HTC's entire new ‘One’ series to launch and the One X is definitely ‘one’ of the phones to watch out for. This is their replacement for the Sensation XE (we think) and is packed to the gills with features. Despite the large screen and Tegra 3 SoC, HTC have managed to squeeze them all in a 9.3mm polycarbonate shell (like the Lumia 800) and their new design, which has the screen ‘spilling’ over from the sides. All we know is, this is one sexy looking phone, dripping with awesomeness. Oh, and all the new phones come with Beats Audio and Sense 4.0 as well, so there’s another bonus. 

'X'ceptionally good

• 4.7-inch Super IPS LCD 2 display with a 720 x 1280 pixel resolution
• 3G, EDGE/GPRS, Wi-Fi, NFC
• GPS with A-GPS support
• Bluetooth 4.0 with A2DP, USB 2.0
• 8MP autofocus camera with LED flash 
• 1.3MP secondary camera
• 32GB onboard
• 3.5 mm handsfree socket

Budget 2012: Brace yourself for costlier PCs, mobiles and laptops

As the Union Budget 2012 wheeled to an end, yesterday, one the nation's most followed events drew collective reactions from all quarters of the society, since this is one event, which invariably affects everyone - one way or the other. The tech industry, being no exception to this rule was in for a mixed bag of goodies. For starters, as a Times of India reportconfirms, post Budget 2012 buying personal computing gadgets and accessories, including desktops, laptops, tablets, printers, UPS and mobile phones is going to be a costly affair - all thanks to a 2 percent hike in the excise duty, taking it to 12 percent. Quoting S Rajendran, Chief Marketing Officer of Acer India, the report states, "The prices of all our PCs will rise by 2%. A Rs 25,000 PC will now cost an extra Rs 500." 

Does this budget fit your wallet? (Image credit: Getty Images)

All's not bad. If owning an LED, LCD TV was on the cards, and you have been waiting for the 'right time', then it is now. According to a Deloitte report, the Union Budget 2012 has offered full exemption from basic customs duty on LED, LCD panels. However, here comes the spoiler. Reportedly, fully exempting LED, LCD panels from basic customs duty will have little effect, since already there is no custom duty for imports from Japan and Korea, countries from where major brands, like LG, Samsung, Panasonic and Videocon largely get their TV panels from. The Union Budget 2012, while having fully exempted LCD, LED TV panels from basic custom duty, has levied upon these products - an inflated excise duty. Result? The existing prices are going to shoot up by 2 - 3 percent. As a result, if you now go to the market to buy a 32-inch LCD TV, you will have to shell out Rs.800 more, than what you previously would have to - and Rs.1,200 more, if what you're buying is a 32-inch LED TV. 

So, while buying a mobile phone will be an expensive affair, paying for the bills, later will be no merciful, either. A raise in the service tax to 12 percent will mean your mobile bill will be higher, than it was before, considering that the operators will try to shift the 12 percent tax onto the subscribers. Quoting Mr. Sanjay Kapoor, CEO, Bharti Airtel, a Hindu Businessline report states that, "The rise in service tax from 10 per cent to 12 per cent will increase the cost of services to customers and lead to inflationary pressures which can potentially impact the profit and loss of telecom companies." Cable operators and DTH service providers, too will pass on the increased service tax burden down to their consumers.

To get a better perspective of what the Union Budget 2012 has in store for the tech world, read the post-budget reactions. 

Microsoft says hacking code could have leaked

Microsoft's process for sharing information about security vulnerabilities in its products came under fire Friday after a roadmap for exploiting a severe, recently discovered flaw appeared on a hacking website in China. The guideline, known as "proof-of-concept" code, most likely leaked from one the more than 70 security companies that get advance warnings from the company about major new holes, according to the researcher who found the flaw. Microsoft said it was investigating the disclosure and "will take the necessary actions to protect customers and ensure that confidential information we share is protected pursuant to our contracts and program requirements." "The details of the proof-of-concept code appear to match the vulnerability information shared with Microsoft Active Protections Program partners," said Yunsun Wee, Microsoft's director of its Trustworthy Computing effort.

Announced in 2008, Microsoft's program alerts security companies to upcoming patches, typically a day before the patches themselves are released. The idea is to give them time to prioritize and test the fixes before installing them to protect their customers. The timing is essential, because once the patches come out, hackers can reverse-engineer them to figure out what problems they solve, then produce tools to break into unpatched systems. The window from patch release to working hacking code has shrunk from months or weeks to days and in some cases hours. Participants in the advance-warning program include most of the largest and many smaller security vendors, including some in China. All promise to keep the information secret.

Windows XP under threat

Some security professionals questioned why Microsoft allowed so many into its program, though others said it also would be faulted for hoarding information. The patches for the new hole were distributed on Tuesday, as part of Microsoft's regular monthly cycle for security fixes. The hole is a very serious one, because full exploitation would allow an attacker to control machines running Windows XP and later Windows versions that have Remote Desktop Protocol enabled, as long as the network doesn't demand authentication. The protocol is off by default but turned on by many corporate technologists, who use it to install new programs or fix problems on employee machines.

The flaw could be used to spread a worm, meaning that it could hop from computer to computer without users making mistakes such as clicking on a tainted email attachment. Microsoft previously warned companies to install the patches as soon as possible, saying that they expected hacking code to circulate within a month. The researcher who discovered the flaw in May last year, Italian Luigi Auriemma, first submitted his findings and the proof-of-concept to a security group led by Hewlett-Packard's TippingPoint. That group tested and vetted the research and passed it on to Microsoft in August so that the company could develop a patch.

Auriemma had been checking to see who would reverse-engineer the patch first, and was startled to find that the first code to circulate was his own. "If the author of the leak is one of the MAPP partners, it's the epic fail of the whole system," Auriemma wrote on his personal blog. Fortunately, the exploit code Auriemma drafted would only shut a PC down, not hand over control to the attacker. Full exploit code has not been seen yet, but security experts said it would likely come more quickly now that the starting point is in the wild. "Windows users should consider themselves on high alert and harden their defenses by patching their PCs as soon as possible, before we see this worm turn even more malicious," Sophos security consultant Graham Cluley wrote on his company's blog.

Micromax says ICS tablet yet to be announced; not available for sale/pre-order yet

Afew days ago, we had carried an article relating to a mysterious Ice Cream Sandwich running, Micromax tablet on Homeshop18. Priced at a cool Rs.7,999, this looked like one of the cheapest tablets running Android 4.0, even though the update has barely made it out to all Android devices. As far as we knew, Micromax had not announced any such device nor have there been any vague deatils leaked about it, previously. However, we dug a little deeper and manged to get some concrete news on this tablet and its ‘existence’. We spoke with the concerned representatives at Micromax and they replied saying, “Regarding the ICS tablet, the product has not been launched in India'. They further reported that, as of now, an ICS running tablet device, or a tablet of any kind was not available for sale in any of thier current retailing countries. The product is still under development, is what they added.  

Now you see me, now you don't

Which brings us to a lot of questions and very few answers. The product shot, along with specifications was on the Homeshop18 site, till just a little while back, but has been pulled off the site, as of now. The fact that the availability of the device still having the 'Out of stock' mode, got us wondering whether the device has actually been sold out, or is yet to be made available. With the reply from Micromax, it is pretty much clear that the company hasn’t really been selling this tablet, so the chances of it going ‘out of stock’ are basically non-existent. It is possible that this was merely a leaked image.

Whatever the case may be, if this specific product is in the pipeline, and with those specs, then it may be one of the head turners, because in the local market, at least, we’re still stuck with Gingerbread running tablets. As we all know, Ice Cream Sandwich has been optimized to run smoothly and efficiently on both tablets and phones, so that’s one advantage the Micromax ICS tablet may have over its competitors. The rest of the specs for this tab include a 7-inch capacitive touch screen, 512 MB of RAM, 4GB of internal storage and microSD card support upto 32GB. Anyway, this could all just be mere speculation, as now all concrete evidences of this tablet have been made null and void.

Micromax has also informed us that the tablet, in question, although yet to be announced or even unveiled, is on their list of topics for the future. The design has not yet been revealed. As of now, it could still be in the proverbial drawing board phase for all we know, but it is certainly not available for purchase, of that we are sure.

Stay tuned to tech2 for more updates on the Micromax tablet, when they officially reveal its presence.

Top Pocket Camcorders

Pocket camcorders are slowly but surely taking over the space that was once ruled by bulky flip camcorders. It was first introduced by a company known as Pure Digital Technologies that introduced the Flip video. Now unlike the conventional camcorders these little beauties are not only affordable but can easily be slipped into your pocket alongside your cell phone. Moreover they come with either a decent amount of built-in memory or give you the choice of slipping in an SD card via the memory expansion slot. However, they don’t quite offer zooms to the extent that the flip camcorders offer. For instance the compact camcorders are limited to digital zoom and come with no optical zoom that are offered by normal camcorders. So if you are simply looking for a compact and affordable camcorder here is what you can get your hands on.

Kodak Zi8 

The reason why the Kodak Zi8 came out as a winner was due to the fact that this little beauty allows you to add in more memory via the memory expansion slot. Reason being, the Zi8 doesn’t come with built-in memory as compared to others in its category. Nevertheless the device can accommodate a whopping 32 GB of memory and with the fall in price owning an 8 GB card is not something impossible. That apart the Zi8 is priced competitively and comes with a whole lot of features that makes it a winner. Speaking about features the Kodak is the only compact camcorder that allows you to record in three different modes – 1080p, 720p and WVGA. Other than its capability of recording videos the Zi8 also features a 5 MP CMOS censor that allows you to take still images. So if you are looking for a camcorder that’s rich in features yet affordable settle for the Kodak Zi8.

For: Expandable memory, full HD recording, vibrant screen.
Against: Grain sized buttons, low image details, night videos are under-exposed.
Rating: 4 out of 5

Genius DVR HD550 HD vehicle recorder now available

The next device to jump out of Genius’ kitty into the Indian market is the DVR HD550 HD. This new product line, which is also the first video recorder from Genius is capable of recording everything in case of emergency. The Genius DVR-HD550 has a HD video recorder /30fps with 2.4-inch panel and has been aptly designed to provide evidence as a reference. The DVR-HD550 has been crafted especially for vehicle recording and could assist those who travel a lot and like to save traffic videos.  It can be easily installed on a car’s windshield or a dashboard and could assist, while one claims for insurance. Such tech devices could prove to be of great help in situations, such as accidental car damages, making it easier to provide proof during an accident. 

Recording on-the-go

Simply install it on the dashboard or windshield and the device is ready to record videos of road situations, which will be handy for insurance purposes, security surveillance and also for recording anything that happens. The high performance sensor can take videos, even in the dark and adjusts to light change quickly. The HD 1280 x 720 resolution video recording comes with a wide lens of 105 degree. Moreover, it promises a seamless technology, which lets the user watch video clips continuously, negating the time gap when the video clips are overwriting. It has a simple button Design and all the operating features, like the protect function. This ensures that no videos are overwritten.

The high sensitivity sensor helps take clear videos for various times of the day or even in a tunnel. The in-box contents also include DVR Player installed on the SD, easy to review video clips and search video period for review. The Genius DVR-HD550 is available for a price of Rs.4,900 and comes with two years of warranty

New internet speed record set at 186Gbps

Previous internet speed records have been broken by Caltech in the U.S. The new speed to beat is a mind boggling 186Gbps – that’s roughly 23 gigabytes per second. A 1TB drive would take a little more than 40 seconds to fill up. That kind of bandwidth isn’t meant for everyday use at home, but for universities. Caltech (California Institute of Technology) along with the University of Victoria, the University of Michigan, Florida University and CERN (European Center for Nuclear Research) beat this record. The team had previously set a record at 119Gbps, back in 2009. This kind of bandwidth could be beneficial to CERN, which generates a ton of information and requires transferring that quickly to different locations around the world.

Faster than the speed of light?

The demonstration of 186Gbps speeds was recently done at the SuperComputing 2011 conference in Seattle. Similar data transfer tests were also carried out across continents. For example, data was transferred between the Caltech booth at the conference and centres in Brazil and Korea. CERN has generated roughly 100 petabytes of data and this is said to increase a 1,000 times in the future. This development and demonstration should only help demonstrate the capabilities and implement the technology for practical purposes. 

Hands - On: Need for Speed: The Run

After Criterion’s Hot Pursuit last year, the reigns of development for this year’s Need for Speed: The Run, have passed back to developer Black Box. They’re looking at injecting a very cinematic experience in The Run as players embark upon the race of their life from San Francisco to New York in a bid to win $25 million. They recently released a demo on Xbox Live and the PlayStation Network and this hands-on is based on that very same demo. 

You have two cars to choose from in this single player demo, the Lamborghini Gallardo and the Porsche 911 Carrera S. The Porsche is locked and will only be available if you recommend the demo to a friend. You start things off with a normal race where you have to overtake ten opponents before you hit the finish line. This track takes place in a desert across the Nevada highway on a long winding road with a few sharp turns thrown in. A clean overtake nets you 50 XP while a dirty one, in which you probably bang up the dude’s ride only nets you 25 XP. This is probably EA’s way of encouraging players to play nice.

Racing for $25 million is no laughing matter

The second race is where things get real intense as you’ll be racing down a mountain peak through a freaking avalanche. For anyone who’s played Split/Second, this isn’t a big deal as the game constantly accosted you with such set pieces but for a Need for Speed game, this is a first. You’ll have to not only try and avoid driving over the railing but you’ll have constantly dodge all the debris Mother Nature throws your way.  If you smack your car headon into a rock or drive over a cliff, you get to rewind time and undo that fatal mistake. This concept is cool but the way it’s done in the game is pretty lame. Instead of actually showing the whole act of time manipulation in slow motion, you’ll be booted to a black screen where the Rewind icon will flash for a few seconds. Hit rewind and you’ll start off a few seconds before that plunge or crash. The Autolog feature from Hot Pursuit is back as well which means you can see how well your friends performed in a particular race and then continue to decimate their timing. Because that's what friends do.

Car control seemed a tad heavy but solid. Unfortunately due to the heavy handling of cars, I couldn’t manoeuvre my ride as responsively as I wanted to through all the debris. Maybe with a different car, things would play out differently. It turns out this game will also offer players some on-foot action, a first for any Need for Speed game but those segments weren’t available in this demo. Either way it isn’t a big deal as past gameplay videos suggest that all the out of vehicle action will be controlled by QTEs (Quick Time Events).

Racing for $25 million is no laughing matter

The game’s made using DICE’s Frostbite engine 2, the very same engine powering Battlefield 3 but that doesn’t mean you can destroy everything you see. I did experience a few slowdowns especially during the avalanche segment but then again, this is a demo so the full version may have all these issues sorted out. On the whole, I’d say the game looked pretty decent wtih special mention going to its lighting effects but then again, this was the Xbox360 version I tried out. I'm sure it will end up looking a lot better on a high end PC. What? You know it’s true.

So far, Need for Speed: The Run looks solid and if Black Box can keep up the intensity they did with the avalanche level, we could have a winner on our hands. Can it live up to the legacy laid down by Most Wanted after which the entire series took a nose dive? One can’t say at this point in time but I guess we’ll find out soon enough as the game releases by the 15th of November for the Xbox360, PS3 and PC.

What tech can last for 5 years?

It's 6.00am on a hazy Sunday morning in Mumbai. I sneak out silently to our living room, trying not to wake the wife and kid. The low morning light reveals my Denon powered home theatre system and my series-5 Samsung LCD TV—both purchased in the year 2005, and now begging to be upgraded. I draw the curtains, and I slip Gran Turismo 5 into a glossy Sony PlayStation 3. I begin cranking out blistering laps, and then lean back satisfied while the screen loops a replay. This was when it first occurred to me that the PlayStation 3 is the only piece of tech in my house that has really stood the test of time.

The console has now been with me for about 5 years, an eternity in today’s age of use-and-throw tech. In the last half-a-decade or so, I’ve been through more mobile phones and notebooks than I’d like to admit, but this shiny black box has stayed put. It has monopolized the space under my TV. And nothing to date has come even close to dislodging it from its throne. Who would’ve thought that the PS3 would’ve been so phenomenally future proof? In fact, it’s only now that its entertainment and gaming potential is fully being realized. I can’t think of any other consumer device, apart from home appliances, that have this sort of legendary longevity. I also own the Xbox 360 and know that it was launched a year or so earlier than the PS3, but I still think the credit for creating a future-proof console with a Blu-Ray player, which could also double-up as a media center hub goes solely to Sony.

Its entertainment capabilities are more relevant to me today, than they ever were. Over the last few years I’ve gone from a hardcore gamer to a casual weekend gamer and the PS3 in recent times has done more entertainment and movie duty than gaming. It’s amazing how versatile this console is, and to think that the device was launched in 2006 makes you wonder if we’d ever have another launch of this kind.

For me 3 major features have helped the PS3 win this marathon run. Yes, all of the features I will explain below will sound a bit old and obvious. But it’s rare that technology even gives you a chance to list what was cutting-edge back then as top-of-the-line today:

Blu-ray from the get-go
During the first couple of years of my ownership I struggled to get the movies I loved on Blu-ray, and would often hunt for them whenever I traveled out of the country. Today I have a decent sized collection, and I watch them all on my PS3. It all sounds trivial now, but when I first bought the PS3, even the most basic of all Blu-ray players were selling for nothing less than Rs 50,000, and the PS3 was retailing for about half that price. Sure the HD-DVD and Blu-ray battle settling in Sony’s favour greatly helped this cause, but they sure as hell placed the right bet back then. With regular firmware upgrades, the player’s capability set has also kept pace. The console can now play 3D Blu-ray discs, and can be connected to a 3DTV purchased in 2011 without the need to buy a separate player.

Blu-Ray player built-in

Media Center capabilities
There was a time when a purpose-built home theatre PC was connected to my TV all the time. It was my media server: music, movies and games were all played via that box. But the thing required a mini nuclear power-plant to run. It was ugly and unwieldy to move around and keep in the living room. But most importantly, it made too much noise, and collected too much dust in its innards. I slowly migrated to the PS3, and although there are some storage related limitations, everything now gets routed through the PS3. The PS3 also has optical out and I route digital audio directly to my A/V receiver to power my speakers. The PS3 is also fully DLNA compliant, and I have it up via Wi-Fi and a wired connection to my PC to stream content.

Simple and user friendly

Crossbar XMB Interface and Wireless Controller
I think this one’s quite a big deal. My PS3 controller keeps its full charge for weeks on end. Sure my usage is low, but it keeps its charge, and that’s what matters. For casual gamers who fire up their console on the odd weekend this means a lot, because looking at a dead controller means lost time for charging, just when you have a little time to play. The controller is easy to figure out and with the XMB interface makes for a combination that I haven’t yet seen beaten. The interface is what really nails it for me and is what has made the PS3 open up to non-gamers. Having used it for so long, I can use it blindfolded, but that’s no big deal. What is definitely a huge deal is the fact that it is one of the few controller-menu combinations that my mom is not intimidated by, and is able to use without ever getting stuck.

I think the Sony PS3 should become a reference benchmark of sorts, one that manufacturers should aspire measuring up to. Not only has it held its value over the years, but it has also gone on to enhance its capabilities, and is still considered to be as good as it gets.

But you know what really makes me doff my hat? The PS3 has kept the most vociferous, cantankerous, and perpetually dissatisfied bunch of consumers hooked and addicted to it. Now go and find me a mobile phone that will remain top of the heap for the next 5-years.