Amazon 's new smartphone , which features 4 front facing cameras , for a great 3D effect ....@pranshuchittora

The much-awaited smartphone is said to be announced by June and launched by September this year, according to reports.

Amazon, which has already stepped into the tablet-market is now looking to compete in the smartphone category as well. And, looking at its high-quality Kindle Fire tablets, Amazon might come out with an even more impressive smartphone. Leaked photos of the upcoming smartphone from Amazon are now doing rounds on the internet. 

The photos, which show an early prototype, have been leaked by the tech-site BGR. The smartphone seems to be packed in a protective case which hides the actual design of the phone. 

Wall Street Journal had recently reported that Amazon might release the smartphone in June. It also revealed that the phone will be capable of displaying 3D content without any requirement of special glasses. The smartphone is said to incorporate retina-tracking technology "embedded in four front-facing cameras" to display a 3D hologram-like effect. 

Amazon's smartphone will have to compete with the likes of Samsung which recently launched its flagship smartphone Galaxy S5. It will also have to watch out for Apple's upcoming iPhone 6.

So far, what we know about Amazon's smartphone is that it will feature a 4.7-inch 720p display even though one would expect a 1080p display to start of with these days. When it comes to the hardware inside, it will most likely feature a Qualcomm Snapdragon processor with 2GB of RAM. It will run on Android which is most likely going to be the customized version just like its Fire OS featured on its Kindle devices.

The most interesting feature revealed by the leaked photos is the total of five front-facing cameras. Four of them are located in each corner which point to the 3D feature of the smartphone. While BGR has claims that these cameras will follow the position of a user's face and eyes to display things in a 3D perspective, TechCrunch says the 3D feature will be "very limited out of the box" and instead of tracking eyes of a user, the cameras will actually track a user's head position. The tech site also adds that the screen which is technically NOT 3D, will actually "stimulate" a 3D effect. 

Amazon is looking forward to recruit third-party developers  to increase its number of third-party apps which will also take advantage of the phone's 3D surface.

WSJ says that Amazon has already shown the device to key developers in San Francisco and Seattle, which means that the smartphone is likely to launch with third-party support. It also says that Amazon plans to announce the device by June and ship it by the end of September.

Tech Geeks.....

@pranshuchittora

Build your own gaming PC , at a cost equal to the cost of Samsung Galaxy S5......@pranshuchittora

I help you build a PC that will deliver good gaming performance without requiring you to drop a ton of cash.

One of the most popular questions that my readers ask us is- “What should I include in a budget gaming PC?”. The fact is that the PC components market is so lively that it is difficult to point to a certain configuration at a certain point of time and state with complete conviction that this is the perfect build for a specific budget.

However, I also do realise that there will always be a large number of PC gamers always looking out for the best deals on upgrades and a correspondingly large number of people looking to build their first gaming PC. So, here is my pick for the best gaming PC that you can build for about Rs. 50,000.

Please Note: I’ve made two assumptions here-

• I haven’t considered the price of the OS since we assume you will use the legitimate copy you already own. Or you can download it from torrent sites or buy a duplicate OS copy from your nearest computer shop ...
• I have considered the best prices from trusted online sources. You can however choose to go to a physical retailer and negotiate for lower prices.

OK , let us go on...<x> 

The Processor

AMD FX-8320

Price: Rs. 10,400
Buy it here

The FX-8320 is an 8-core processor clocked at 3.5 GHz per core. It’s great for overclocking and has a TDP of 125W. While it may not match up to the Intel Core i5s, it is able to provide a considerable amount of performance for its price. 

I’d recommend you stick to the stock cooler with this processor.

The Graphics Card

ZOTAC GeForce GTX 750 Ti

Price: Rs. 11,200

Buy it here

The GTX 750 Ti delivers good performance for its price. It features Nvidia’s new Maxwell architecture which keeps power requirements low and helps the card run cool. The ZOTAC card comes with 2GB of memory and offers 2 DVI out ports and 1 HDMI port. The only downside is that the card doesn’t support SLI configuration.

The Monitor

LG 22EA53V

Price: Rs. 8,900

Buy it here

The LG 22EA53V is a 22-inch IPS monitor that can display 1920x1080 pixels resolution, which makes it a fantastic buy. While the monitor has been officially discontinued, you will still be able to find it online or with physical retailers.

Another Option: If the LG monitor is pushing your budget a little too high, then you can also look at the BenQ GW2255 21.5 inch 1080p monitor. You can buy the BenQ monitor for Rs. 7,750 from Flipkart. Since the BenQ has a VA panel, it will have poorer response times and may suffer from some input lag as compared to most IPS monitors.

The RAM

G.Skill Sniper DDR3 8GB (2 x 4 GB)

Price: Rs. 6,450

Buy it here

The G.Skill Sniper (1600MHz) is a well-designed RAM module that suits gaming machines. We recommend you get two 4GB modules instead of a single 8GB one to take advantage of the dual-channel platform offered by the motherboard which ensures that the RAM is utilised more efficiently.

The Motherboard

MSI 970A-G43 

Price: Rs. 5,480

Buy it here

The motherboard in a budget PC setup is heavily dependent on the amount of money you have left more than anything else. The MSI 970A-G43 meets this criteria and is a good fit with the AMD FX-8320. It supports up to 32GB of RAM and offers USB 3.0 support as well.

The Hard Drive

Seagate Barracuda 1TB

Price: Rs. 4,000

Buy it here

A 1TB drive is the bare minimum nowadays with games like Titanfall and Thief requiring close to 40GB of hard drive space. The splendidly named Barracuda 1TB is a 7200rpm hard drive that is priced well for a budget gaming PC.

Another Option: If you want a performance jump and don’t mind paying about Rs. 2,000 more, then you can go for two WD Caviar Blue 500GB hard drives (Rs. 3,050 per drive on Flipkart) and run them in RAID 0 mode. 

The Cabinet

Antec X1

Price: Rs. 2,350

Buy it here

The Antec X1 is a good looking, sleek cabinet that is also quite affordable. It comes with one 120mm front fan and offers space for setting up three additional fans. 

The Power Supply

Corsair VS450

Price: Rs. 2,140

Buy it here

The Corsair VS450 is a 450W PSU that is more than sufficient for this budget PC build. Since the GTX 750 Ti does not require additional power from the PSU, you will only need to upgrade the Corsair if you’re upgrading to a more power hungry graphics card or processor.

The Keyboard and Mouse

Microsoft Wired Desktop 600 Combo

Price: Rs. 900

Buy it here

While it would be great to recommend a gaming focused mouse and keyboard, it becomes really difficult to fit in a decent set within this budget. That’s why although the Microsoft keyboard and mouse may not have been made purely for gamers, they do a good job of delivering solid performance and are of good quality as well.

So, to recap:

Total Budget: Rs. 51,820

Tech Geeks.....

@pranshuchittora

Windows 8.1 Update 1: All you need to know about the new features

Just as a reminder, if you haven't, make sure you do it within 5 weeks to get future updates. But those who have already updated, here's what you need to know about the latest features.

The spring update to the latest  

operating system by Microsoft    (Yes, Windows 8.1, no points for   guessing) has been out for a   while now. And for those of you who are still confused    whether or not to go for it, here’s  a detailed walkthrough of all the features it sports. Then you   can decide if it’s worth it or   not. Although we do recommend   updating, since:

1. 
   

• Microsoft insists that you do it within the next 5 weeks. 

• It’s free, and who doesn’t like free updates
• It doesn’t require you to take a backup and install, you simply update, restart and you are done. Not much of a hassle.

Without further ado, here are the new features in brief, and how the update overall will make it a more usable operating system for non-touch devices:

Boot to Desktop
Mouse-users rejoice! You finally don’t have to see the modern UI anymore when you boot your system. Although it still is the start menu, but booting directly to your desktop makes the look more bearable. And windows allows you to change this setting too, if you are a fan of the modern UI.

Modern UI Apps and the taskbar
You can now pin your modern applications to the taskbar. So both desktop and modern apps can be seen on your taskbar now. And what’s more is that you can see a preview just like when you hover over a desktop application pinned to taskbar. Also you can access the taskbar while using metro applications by moving your mouse pointer towards the lower end of the screen. So a win-win situation for non-touch devices.

The charms menu and the application switcher
The hot corners, as they are known, are there for the reason of making some shortcuts more accessible. But sometimes, an unintentional hover towards those corners and all these menus popping can be irritating. With the new update 1, this hatred can be reduced to some extent at the very least. To reduce the ‘false positives’ the OS takes a bit more time for triggering the charms menu and application bar when you move your mouse to the corners.

Right click context menus in start menu
A very important and simple addition has finally made its way into the update. You can now right click tiles in the start screen to access a context menu which offers various options. This gives the metro applications a more like desktop look and feel.

Although this is a welcome addition, but it has only been added to the start screen. The right click work doesn't work anywhere else in the ecosystem, which is very inconsistent by Microsoft.

Modern application Title bar
This one has been a great addition. The modern applications now have a title bar which allows you to access various options like splitting, minimizing and also closing the application. When you move the mouse pointer to the top of the screen, a title bar appears.
Note that although the close button to the top right should behave as a close button, it actually suspends the application (it keeps running in the background). You can read more about it here.

Tweaks to start screen
Many users were unable to follow how to use the power search on modern applications and also they weren’t able to find out a way to turn their machine off. Microsoft addressed this issue by adding dedicated power and search buttons to the top of the start screen, next to the user’s name and avatar.

Default applications are desktop applications
The default applications to launch in desktop mode were modern applications even if the user was using a non-touch based device. This made no sense and was irritating at times. This has been changed in the update and now the default applications set to launch are the desktop applications after the update.

Apart from all these changes, Microsoft had teased a revamped Start menu at Build, which is yet to make an appearance. Considering this update does not have it, it is very much possible to be revealed in the next update scheduled in May. If it does, expect a start menu comeback which will coincide with the Windows you are used to. Let’s see what happens in the future. Till now these are the major changes that the update has to offer.

Did you update? How do you find the experience? If not, after reading this post, are you going to?

Tech Geeks.....

@pranshuchittora

Best Photo and Camera Apps for Windows Phone users

I’ve got a list of apps that you absolutely must have in order to make the best of your Windows Phone camera.

Gone are the days when Windows Phone was the OS of neglect. Recent surge in adoption of the platform has caused app developers to take notice and we are now starting to see not just amazing hardware from Nokia,but also a great set of apps. Given that Nokia’s been rather fixated on the imaging aspect, we’ve got a list of apps that you absolutely must have in order to make the best of your imaging .

                                     Instagram

Okay seriously, I don’t even have to tell you about this app. You probably have been craving for IG to make its appearance on the Windows Phone Store. You can get it from the download link here.

                                                                          6 Tag

Yea you love Instagram, but if you’d rather have those same effects be applied to images that have a higher resolution than “crap,” then 6Tag is your best bet. Developed by Rudy Hyun, a name well known of in the Windows Phone circuit, the app offers all the standard Instagram filters and more, will allow you to directly post into the IG network and best of all, if will even allow you to locally save images to your phone. You can get it from the download link here.

                                                                  Photosynth

The best panorama app, which first debuted on iOS, which is sort of ironic seeing how it was developed by Microsoft. The app is by far the easiest to use and requires just sweeping across the scene to create stunning panoramas. Best of all, its free!.You can get it from the download link here.

                                                             HDR Photo Camera 

Price: Rs.160

Love shooting HDR? HDR Photo Camera is our top choice for the job. While most HDR apps out there take two exposures, one for shadows and one for highlights, HDR Photo Camera takes three shots, one each for shadows, highlights AND midtones. The extra frame being captured allows for more collective information, yielding a more pleasing and balanced HDR image. You can get it from the download link here.

                                                                4Blend

This is the first HDR app in the Windows Phone store that is built on the Nokia Imaging SDK, which means it brings with it the same control interface as the Nokia Pro Cam app and will also be able to utilize the full potential of the PureView technology baked into phones such as the Lumia 1020 and the Lumia 1520. You can get it from the download link here.

                                                                       Fhotoroom

Looking for an all round editing solution on the Windows Phone platform? It is a pity there’s no Snapseed on here, but Fhotoroom is an excellent substitute. It has a host of preset filters, along with the ability to set and fine-tune brightness, contrast and saturation levels. It even comes with a built-in tilt-shift plugin, which adds a lot of character to a photo, when used right of course! You can get it from the download link here.

I have been provided all the download links above , Download then and please write your review in the comment box below........<x>

Tech Geeks.....

@pranshuchittora

A charger , claims to charge your smartphone 's battery in just 30 seconds .@pranshuchittora

StoreDot's prototype bio-organic technology can charge your smartphone in 30 seconds or less.

An Israel based startup, StoreDot claims to have developed a new battery-technology that claims to charge your smartphone's battery in 30 seconds. The startup unveiled its battery prototype at Microsoft's 'Think Next Conference' in Tel Aviv. The company has developed a charger and a battery. This special charger can charge an empty Samsung Galaxy S4 battery within 30 seconds! The demo with an S4 battery was given by the startup at the conference.

StoreDot's charger produces chemically synthesized bio-organic peptide molecules called 'nanodots', that improves the electrode capacitance and performance, which results in batteries that can be fully charged within seconds instead of hours. The technology is cost effective and is inspired by natural processes.

'In essence, we have developed a new generation of electrodes with new materials – we call it MFE – Multi Function Electrode," StoreDot CEO and founder Doron Myersdorf stated. "On one side it acts like a super capacitor (with very fast charging), and on the other is like a lithium electrode (with slow discharge). The electrolyte is modified with our nanodots in order to make the multifunction electrode more effective."

Currently the battery which is the size of a laptop charger, is not ready for the market. According to Myersdorf, it will take a year for the company to make a functional prototype embedded inside mobile devices. The company expects to have the charger ready for production by 2016. The estimated cost of the charger is twice as that of an average charger which is up to $30.

"So we are talking about three years for a commercial ready device," Myersdorf added. "So I assume it will be three years before you can actually purchase it in the market." 

Tech Geeks.....

@pranshuchittora

Facebook changes its privacy features... Again!

The social network will incorporate some new privacy-related tweaks which will provide elaborated explanations and more control over sharing content.

World's most popular social network, Facebook, is going to tweak its privacy features again based on user-feedback. The company is going to bring three major changes which are currently in development and testing phase. Some reports suggest that the changes might already to visible to some users on the Facebook website. Facebook says that it conducts more than 80 trillion privacy checks per day to ensure that users haven't shared their posts with wrong people accidentally. The social network is infamously known for changing its privacy policy every now and then.

"Some people have felt Facebook privacy has changed too much in the past, or we haven't communicated as well as we could have," said Michael Novak, Facebook product manager. "Now we're thinking about privacy not just as a set of controls or settings, but as a set of experiences that help people feel comfortable."

So what are the changes that we will soon start seeing in our Facebook feeds? Here are the changes:

1. Audience selector: Users are able to manually select or make lists of people with whom they wish to share a post. All of you Facebook users must be familiar with the "Public" and "Friends" options in the drop down menu that you select during sharing your status. Facebook will start elaborating these terms from now on and explain what those terms really mean. A new dropdown menu will be added which contains small descriptions such as "Anyone on or off Facebook" and "Your friends on Facebook."

2. New-style Sharing settings: Facebook has now moved the audience selector to the top of the mobile interface right above the status. Earlier, it was placed right above the keyboard next to smiley, location and other icons. The new change also elaborates the sharing setting as it gives a proper title to whom you are sharing your content with, such as "Friends" and "Public".

3. Privacy Checkup: Another change that Facebook will bring is a new "privacy checkup" pop-up which will ask people who haven't changed their privacy setting from Public for some time now.

4. Private cover photos: Till now, cover photos have been public by default but a new feature will be introduced in a few weeks which will let users make their cover photos private.

Tech Geeks.....

@pranshuchittora

Install Windows 8.1 Update , within a couple of weeks to keep getting future updates

Microsoft has said that Windows 8.1 users are required to update before May in order to continue to receive patches and updates.

Microsoft rolled out a spring update for Windows 8.1 yesterday and although it wasn’t available in India till evening yesterday, it has slowly started rolling out to everyone now. But here’s the plot twist: Microsoft requires you to install the update by 13^th May to keep receiving further patches to the operating system.

This is definitely not a good move by the software giant, since they are forcing users to forcefully update even if they wish to or not. All at the threat of not receiving any further updates. This also goes against Microsoft’s 24-month policy of ending support for an operating system/RTM before a 24-month timeframe.

It should be noted that the further updates do look promising enough, since the classic start menu will be returning in the next update as announced at the Build Conference, which is the annual developer conference of Microsoft. But, making the update a “must” was probably not a good move, even if the new update actually does make the OS better than it is as of now.

"Failure to install this Update will prevent Windows Update from patching your system with any future updates starting with updates released in May 2014," said Microsoft in a blog post.

So, now that Microsoft is insisting that you install the update, you might wish to see the changes that the update is going to bring. Although most of them are UI changes, 

And just in case you have not set the update settings to “automatic” and windows store doesn’t show any updates for you, here’s how you can do it manually:

Head over to the PC Settings (Charms menu -> Settings -> Change PC Settings) and in the updates and recovery section, go to Windows update and click Check for updates and install the KB 2919355 update. (If it is not showing up, you might have missed some previous updates, which are a pre-requisite for this one, install those first to get this one).

Note:

1. If you are still running windows 8 though, you do not need to update your machines. You will be provided with security updates till Jan 2016. Windows 9 will most probably be available by then.
2. Windows Server 2012 R2 users also need to apply this update to keep receiving patches and fixes in the future.

Tech Geeks.....

@pranshuchittora

Samsung announces Android KitKat-based Galaxy Ace Style smartphone

Samsung Galaxy Ace Style smartphone boasts of a 1.2 GHz dual core processor, 5MP rear camera and runs on Android 4.4 KitKat.

Samsung has launched the Galaxy Ace Style mid-range smartphone in Germany and has announced that it will be launching the smartphone globally soon. Samsung states that the Ace Style is “designed to support and power young social consumers.” The smartphone is expected to launch in both single- and dual-SIM variants and will be priced between €200 and €300.

The Samsung Galaxy Ace Style has a 4-inch display screen with 800 x 480 pixels resolution. It has 512 MB of RAM and 4GB internal memory which is expandable via microSD card slot. The smartphone has a 5 MP rear camera and a VGA shooter on the front. The Galaxy Ace Style has a dual-core 1.2 GHz processor and runs on Android KitKat 4.4 OS with Samsung's TouchWiz user interface on top. Connectivity wise the smartphone supports Wi-Fi b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0, NFC and USB. It has a 1500 mAh battery. The Samsung Galaxy Ace Style will be launched in cream white and dark gray color options.

Samsung has officially announced its flagship Galaxy S5 in India as well which starts from Rs 51,000. The smartphone is open for pre-booking and will be launched on 11 April globally. The Samsung Galaxy S5 has a 5.1-inch FHD Super AMOLED display with 1920 x 1080 pixels resolution. It runs Android 4.4.2 KiKat OS with Samsung's TouchWiz UI on top. The Galaxy S5 is powered by an a quad-core 2.1 GHz processor coupled with 2 GB of RAM. It comes with a 16MP rear camera and 2.0MP front camera for video calling. The Galaxy S5 has a dust and water resistance body as well and comes with an inbuilt Finger Scanner for additional security. Other features included are a built-in heart-rate sensor, temperature, humidity and gesture sensors.

Tech Geeks.....

@pranshuchittora