Samsung Galaxy S6 – “SIX APPEAL”

Samsung is hosting their next big event in Barcelona on the 1st of March 2015. This is surely going to be the reveal of their next flagship device or as they call it “The Next Big Thing” – Samsung Galaxy S6. A sneak peak into the device’s look has been revealed by Samsung on their twitter channel and is here for your viewing:

“SIX APPEAL” hinting (as big as these hints can get) towards the sixth iteration of the Galaxy S series. Clearly Samsung is riding high on its curved screen similar to the one on their Samsung Galaxy Note ‘Edge’. But industry sources have claimed this to be a dual edged screen. Which means no bezel on either side of the devices but a minuscule one on either edges which will not be visible to the not so observant eye.

Whatever it is, it surely is kicking up a storm amongst the Samsung loyal and others to a certain extent. I heard a couple of passengers who travelled alongside me in the train today – “did you hear about the next galaxy device, apparently it going to redefine smartphone screen technology forever”. Well we are just about a week away from knowing if this is going to be true or mere hype.

Typically Samsung has been known to push the limits of innovation (what they define as innovation is very subjective, however). According to the Samsung, innovation would be adding all possible features onto a form factor that otherwise has not been done before. Stay tuned for more information on the Next Flagship from the big S from the big K.

Till Then Keep Obsessing over Gadgets.

Regards,

TeCH_SiD…

OnePlus breathes new “OxygenOS” (Details & Poll)

It’s been sometime since we’ve seen any software updates from the latest darling of the android world – OnePlus. February it was announced that we would see some updates on the new ROM being built post the rough experience OnePlus has had with Micromax. Micromax (an Indian leader in handset manufacturing and sales) claimed to hold an exclusive deal with Cyanogen to sell its Micromax devices in India.

It was already revealed that the new ROM for the device would be called “OxygenOS” and that it would be bloatware-free or in other words as close to stock Android (5.0 Lollipop) as possible. Well they did deliver on that promise but not to everyones expectations. They revealed the team responsible in building the new ROM and they also revealed the new logo for the ROM

Besides this they also gave some information on the team members.

More on that can be found here: OnePlus Blog

Overall I think it is a good way to keep customers engaged by having your star team interact with them, but it would have been better had they done it on the date of the release. There’s a cute little note on why the release might take a little longer.

“Because this is our first major software release, we have to ensure that everything is solid and stable before making it available for download. We wouldn’t ask you to settle for anything less, and we appreciate your patience.”

However it is also widely known from their recent twitter account that the ROM build is currently already in testing phase and release is not too long away. So lets wait and watch when and how this release of “OxygenOS” pans out and how it turns out to be compared to the highly acclaimed CyanogenMod M11 ROM currently running on the OnePlus One.

Are you looking forward to the new ROM “OxygenOS” – Tell us by taking this quick poll below:

NFC Automation – Nearer Than You Thought!

Greetings Friends,

The focus of this post is on a relatively new technology in the consumer domain – NFC.

What is NFC?

Near field communication (NFC) is a set of ideas and technology that enables smartphones and other devices to establish radio communication with each other by touching them together or bringing them into proximity, typically a distance of 10 cm (3.9 in) or less. ~ wikipedia

Intro – ‘Apple Pay’

Recently Apple introduced a new payments technology called Apple Pay. This is not entirely a new technology, only new to Apple to be honest. It is something that has been available on Android devices for almost half a decade now. The only differences being that Apple Pay is restricted to Apple devices and runs along with their proprietary finger print recognition module called TouchID. Together they seem to make a formidable combination when it comes to security and hence it is bound to gain more traction than other players. However the introduction of Apple Pay is only going to boost the NFC tech industry according to industry pundits.

NFC on Android:

Google introduced its Google Nexus S with built in NFC capabilities almost half a decade ago in 2010. This is a technology that relies on close (hence ‘Near’) proximity between two sensors. This is similar to the technology used in the RFID tags you have seen at retail outlets while buying clothes.

It involves the following elements to make life easier in a variety of ways:

1. NFC Capable Smartphone
2. NFC Tags/Stickers and
3. NFC Controlling App to configure the tag to perform certain task(s)

In case you have all three of these, please read on. If you are missing any one of these or more, continue reading as it won’t kill you to know a little more about a relatively new technology that could potentially save you loads of time when it comes to deciding between phones that have NFC and those that do not.

What can NFC be used for?

Several tasks (usually quick yet mundane and involving several steps) can be automated quickly using NFC technology. Here are some of the basic examples.

Tasks: (Not comprehensive or exhaustive)

• Enabling/Disabling:
  • Wifi
  • Bluetooth
  • 3G/4G(LTE)
  • Auto-rotate
  • Airplane mode
  • Silent/Vibrate/Normal modes etc.
• Set brightness to high/medium/low

Actions:

• Direct browser to a particular URL/website;
• “Like” a particular Facebook page;
• “Follow” a particular twitter handle;
• Launch a particular YouTube video;
• Register interest in a particular product;
• Count the tap as a single unique unit;
• Load vCard details

Store Data:

• Store vCard details
• Location data
• Custom data
• Save text
• Configure WiFi network

and many such tasks, actions and data can be programmed onto an NFC tag. I hope this post has triggered some fresh ideas on how NFC can be used to make your lives better. Do feel free to add them down in the comments section and I shall probably make a video out of these suggestions.

Apps:

1. “Trigger” – to configure and perform tasks using NFC, Bluetooth and Wifi
2. “NFC Tools” – to configure NFC tags to perform desired tasks
3. “NFC Tasks” – to perform actions/tasks programmed using the ‘NFC Tools’ app onto an NFC tag

Tags:

1. “Tapto” from Amazon.in
2. “Topaz512” from Amazon.in
3. “NTAG213” by Tagstand on Amazon.com

NOTE: These are not my recommendations for best NFC tags/apps but just options I have seen on Amazon.in and .com

How to Configure An NFC Tag – Video

NFC – Video

I hope you have read most of my recent posts and have found them interesting. If you have any comments and/or suggestions, feel free to jot them down under the comments section below the blog post. I look forward to reading them and bettering my content.

Thank you for your time… “Keep Reading!”

Regards,

TeCH_SiD…

TeCH Update – 05th Feb 2015

Greetings Readers,

I thought of summarizing and presenting to you some of the most significant news that have been doing the rounds in the tech world yesterday. So here they are:

1. Xiaomi Does Not Intend To Enter The U.S. Market Anytime Soon:

Chinese hardware manufacturer and new poster child of the mobile masses – Xiaomi is conducting an SFO based event this 12th of February. However Hugo Barra, (one of the key figures at Google previously who then joined Xiaomi as VP-International) insists that they are not entering the US market anytime soon. This could very well be a check on the interest levels of the company’s products amongst American audiences, carriers.

For the sake of the ‘value-for-money’ seeking Americans I hope Xiaomi devices hit your shores soon.

Source: Technobuffalo

2. “Paper” Given Free To Promote “Pencil” Sales:

The popular drawing/sketching/painting app called “Paper” by 53 (Company name – FiftyThree or 53) yesterday announced that the so far paid ‘in-app purchase’ will be available free of charge from today.

Quick, download it from here: Paper App

They have done so to improve the sales of the hardware device by the name “Pencil”, shown above. The “Pencil” by 53 is a slick new device that when paired with the iPad can be used to draw practically anything.

Check out their awesome video: Pencil by 53

Source: Macrumors

3. Worlds Most Expensive “Typo” – By Ryan Seacrest

Ryan Seacrest (the popular TV Celeb of American Idol fame) had launched an external case for the iPhone with a physical keyboard. This case bears a stark resemblance to the keyboard that a lot of Blackberry devices have (refer image below). The courts had ordered ‘Typo’ to stop sales for the same reasons, yet the order was not honored by the company. This has now resulted in a fine of $860,000 that Typo must pay Blackberry. What needs to be mentioned however is that Blackberry had demanded a compensation of $2.6 million (in penalties) + legal charges, so its isn’t as bad as it seems. 

Fun Fact: $860,000 is just about 1/75th Ryan’s annual salary and about 1/350th his net worth according to CelebrityNetworth.com.

Source: Macrumors

4. Swatch Is About To Enter The Smartwatch Game Soon:

The swiss watch giant apparently has made it clear that they are entering the smart watch industry. Their first smartwatch is expected to be launched in the next two to three months. This puts it head-on against Apple’s AppleWatch release dates expected to hit shores around April 2015.

Game on Apple!

Source: Macrumors

5. Fresh Breath Of “OxygenOS” For OnePlus One Soon:

OnePlus, the Chinese manufacturer that has created a lot of buzz with their first device the OnePlus ‘One’ has announced their new ROM’s name – “OxygenOS”. This device although has been announced for more thanhalf a year has not seen widespread adoption, thanks in part to the extremely lean supply of devices. The new ROM OxygenOS is expected to be as close to stock android Lollipop (Android 5.0.X) as possible with as least bloatware as possible. This has a lot to live up to considering the freedom of customization CyanogenMod has given and users have gotten used to.

Source: OnePlus Facebook

Special Mention: Next post is going to be on Mr. Satya Nadella (CEO, Microsoft)

Thank you for your time…

Regards,

@TeCH_SiD

Placing Ads on Mobile – “Which Platform Do I Place My Ads On?”

Wondering who is still leading the numbers game between Apple and Android when it comes to Mobile ads revenue.

With over 60% of market share (Ad Impressions) amongst the smartphone market Android sure is garnering a lot more opportunity to earn revenue. But with less than half that Apple is still ahead of Android (read Google) with just above 51% share in terms of ad revenues.

Note: This is not to be mistaken as a Google Ads vs iAds comparison as Apple devices are the highest contributor to Google ads on mobile devices too.

Read the Techcrunch report here –
http://techcrunch.com/2015/02/03/apple-still-the-easy-leader-in-ad-revenue-on-mobile-for-2014-despite-android-gains/