Saturday, July 26, 2014

Slimmest Indian smartphone Celkon Millennium Vogue Q455 launches in India for Rs 7999

Celkon Mobiles, on Friday launched the Millennium Vogue Q455, the slimmest Indian Smartphone for Rs. 7,999. Celkon has designed its latest Millennium range of advanced smartphones with a vision to make cutting edge technology affordable and accessible to all.

“We at Celkon believe in a culture led by constant innovation. As a result of our efforts to offer the best in quality and price to our customers, we have launched the new Millennium Vogue Q455. Despite being the slimmest with 7.9 mm thickness amongst the Indian smartphone brands, it is packed with a 2000 mAhbattery. The Kit Kat based Vogue comes with 1.2 GHz Quad Core CORTEX A7 processor”, said Y Guru Chairman and Managing Director Celkon Mobiles.

Millennium Vogue has 4.5 inch QHD Display with IPS /OGS technology and is a dual-sim smartphone. The phone has 16 GB of internal storage and 1GB RAM providing faster processing and multi-application functions. It is powered with 1.2GHz quad-core cortex A7 processor, Android Kit Kat OS, 1.3 megapixels front camera and an 8 megapixels rear camera with flash light. Vogue has WIFI /Bluetooth, GPS facilities, G sensor, P Sensor, light and Acceleration sensor and a 2000 mAh battery.

“The market currently is facing the challenge where there are no slim smartphones with advanced battery backup. Celkon’s endeavor to provide the best-in-class quality with innovative features has led to conceptualizing this unique, powerful, highly fashionable and performance oriented Millennium Vogue with the best battery backup in a smartphone of this range. The new Vogue is sure to be a game changer in the smartphone category with unmatchable features, high style quotient and advanced technology”, said Murali Retineni, Executive Director Celkon Mobiles.

Celkon Mobiles recently launched Millennium Elite and Power smartphones. The new Millennium Vogue is available at all retail stores and is reasonably priced at Rs. 7,999.

Friday, July 25, 2014

Incredible India! walking tour app launched for Android

The Ministry of Tourism has launched a walking tour app for Android which will let you experience 16 cities in your phone

Incredible India! WoNoBo Tours is an app that will help you tour 16 Indian cities on your Android device. The app was developed for the Ministry of Tourism with the help of an Indian mapping company WoNoBo. The app lets you experience 360 degree walkthroughs of 16 cities on your Android smartphone. Presently the app covers 16 cities including Agra, Ahmedabad, Amritsar, Bangalore, Chennai, Delhi, Goa, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Kolkata and Mumbai. There are plans to cover 54 more cities with the app.
Union tourism secretary Parvez Dewan said on Wednesday at a press conference "Potential tourists can see the city in advance and decide if they want to visit or not,".
It also lets users to plan their travel itinerary and get information on things to do around famous historical places.
The app also lets you see advice and expert comments from writers, travel experts and historians.
Last year, the app was launched for Blackberry phones and now the app has landed on Android.
The ministry has plans to launch this app on iPhone soon.

Hybrid BMW Supercar to Arrive in 2016 for Company’s 100th Anniversary?

Reports have emerged suggesting that BMW could launch a potent plug-in hybrid supercar dubbed the i9 in 2016 to help commemorate the firm’s 100th anniversary,

Pinned as a potential successor to the BMW M1, the i9 could be the fast supercar we’ve been hoping for from BMW for quite some time. If reports are to be believed, the BMW i9 will essentially be a hardcore version of the current i8 but likely utilising a different powertrain. As a reminder, the i8 delivers 357 hp figure and 420 lb-ft of torque but these figures should be dramatically increased.

The BMW i8’s engine could be replaced by a larger gasoline engine while the electric motor could also be replaced with a larger unit. Due to the larger power systems, it is quite possible that the BMW i9 will weigh more than the i8 which currently tips the scales at 1490 kg.

To help offset some of these weight gains, carbon fibre and aluminium could be utilised more extensively. A key target of BMW will be to maintain the i8’s perfect 50:50 weight distribution.

Renault Megane GT220R

Click for more photo

Renault Megane hatch review

After some inevitable low down turbo lag, the four-pot engine hits its straps from about 3000rpm onwards, revving freely until the 6500rpm cut out and bringing a sweet engine note. The matching six-speed manual reaffirms the car’s sporty overtones with a slick shifting action and short throw.Tramping the accelerator brought on familiar fast-paced excitement as the front-wheel drive GT220 arrived swiftly at triple figures (official 0-100km/h time is 7.6 seconds – 1.6 seconds slower than the RS).

If the RS265 is considered the hardcore hot hatch in Renault’s Australian arsenal, and the regular Megane the lukewarm version, then the new GT220 variant can comfortably be classified as the simmering interpretation.

Fitted with a slightly detuned version of the 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder petrol engine found in the RS265, the new model produces a formidable 162kW of power (or 220 horsepower as denoted in the name) and 340Nm of torque – figures almost identical to the punchy Volkswagen Golf GTI hot hatch, seen as a prime competitor.

Physically, the GT220 brings to the table a more versatile layout. It comes with four doors instead of the 265’s two, its suspension has been made more compliant for daily driving and the boy racer styling has been toned down.

Stick to this driving style and you’re guaranteed to see a fuel consumption reading higher than the Megane’s 7.3L/100km claim.

The new hatch offered similar conviction through the bends, exhibiting poise and precision in a way that would leave other ‘warm hatches’ trailing in its dust.

But in that regard it doesn’t offering the cornering grip and chuckability of its more storied sibling, despite possessing a lighter 1326kg kerb weight.

One reason is the GT220’s steering. On faster sections, it becomes overly light off the straight-ahead and makes the car felt floaty on the road. During mid-corner inputs, the steering weighed up adequately though not as well as other competitors offering adjustable steering modes for sporty or comfort driving.

The downside of the GT220’s default sporty pretensions is ride quality, which feels busy and is prone to thudding over sharp imperfections, particularly in the rear. It’s firm but not uncomfortably so.

The GT220 hatch is a sharper vehicle to drive than the existing wagon which, by comparison, offers less body control because of the additional weight over the rear axle – a trait you’d be happy to live with if its 524-litre boot was a necessity.

The GT220 is priced from $35,490 in hatch form, representing a circa-$7000 discount on its higher-powered sibling, and a host of other offerings in this segment.

For that money it gets standard features including 18-inch wheels, automatic headlights and windscreen wipers, LED daytime running lights, electronic park brake, rear parking sensors, stop-start idle function and hill start assist.

Opting for the higher-spec Premium pack (from $39,400) adds leather seats (heated in the front pews), lane departure warning, automatic high beam function, front parking sensors, a rear view camera and panoramic sunroof.

Overall the GT220’s cabin is functional and well put together, if a little tight on space. Front occupants are cosseted with snug sports seats and soft trims at all the contact points. The rear isn’t as user friendly, with limited leg and shoulder room and no rear air vents. The generous 372-litre boot helps counter-balance some of those traits.

Of course, the GT220 also inherits the French quirks of the RS265 – such as hidden buttons and inferior tech functionality - but as the old saying goes, you take the good with the bad.

And there is a lot of good about the GT220 hatch. The real test will be in how it stands up against other four door hot hatches - namely the Golf GTI and the Ford Focus ST…

Renault Megane GT220 pricing and specifications

On sale: July 26, 2014

Price: $35,490-$39,490 plus on-road costs

Engine: 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder

Transmission: Six-speed manual only

Power: 162kW at 4750rpm

Torque: 340Nm at 2400rpm

Claimed fuel use: 7.3L/100km combined

Thursday, July 24, 2014

Nokia intro most affordable Windows Phone 8.1 device yet
With a retail price of €99 (around $135), the Nokia Lumia 530 promises to make Microsoft's mobile operating system accessible to a wider clientele. In light of its low price, it's no surprise that this four-inch Windows Phone 8.1 smartphone is not 4G-ready.
In terms of components, the Lumia 530 comes with a four-inch screen (854x480 pixels), a 1.2GHz quad-core Snapdragon 200 processor, a single 5MP camera, 512MB of RAM and 4GB of storage, which can be extended through a MicroSD card. Several Microsoft programs including Skype and Office come pre-installed.
The new model will be rolled out globally starting this August and will be offered in a single or double-SIM version. Users will be able to customize the phone with a variety of interchangeable cases available for €9.90 each (around $13) or with a special case with a screen-protection flap.
The Lumia 530 is the latest addition to the line crowned by Nokia's flagship phone, the Lumia 930, which sells in Europe for around €550 (around $740). A 4G smartphone with a five-inch screen of an impressive 441ppi resolution, the Lumia 930 is powered by a 2.2GHz quad-core Snapdragon 800 processor. The device also includes an NFC chip and a 20MP PureView camera with a stabilized Zeiss lens. The family also includes the Nokia Lumia 630 and 635, marketed as more affordable alternatives that still
deliver all the advantages of Windows Phone 8.1. Both devices are sold for around €169 ($229).
All of these Lumia handsets run Windows Phone 8.1. The latest version of Microsoft's mobile operating system presents several new features, including the Action Center for managing notifications, the intelligent personal assistant Cortana (in beta version), a configurable lock screen, a Word Flow screen for typing without lifting a finger from the screen. Finally, the new version also offers access to a revamped and revised Store, which is now better at highlighting apps that could interest a user and at automatically updating installed apps. While all of these elements are new to Windows Phone, equivalent features already exist on Android and iOS, which are currently the world's leading mobile operating systems.

iPhone 6 in focus as Apple margin concerns fade

A rise in margins has raised hopes that Apple may be able to hold the line on pricing ahead of the launch of new iPhones later this year.

Apple's shares rose 3.3% to a 22-month high of $97.88 on the Nasdaq on Wednesday.

At least six brokerages raised their price targets on the stock by as much as $12 to a high of $123.

Apple's gross margin rose to 39.4% in the third quarter from 36.9% a year earlier, and the company forecast current-quarter margins of 37-38%.

iPhone sales slow before a new launch, usually in September, as potential buyers hold off purchases.

"With (gross margins) stabilizing (year-on-year) and core demand trends solid, we think investors will want to own Apple stock (going) into bigger-screen iPhone 6 and ecosystem-expanding iWatch/iBand launches," Evercore Group analysts wrote in a note.

Apple forecast current-quarter revenue of $37-40 billion, lower than the average analyst estimate of $40.44 billion, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Apple did well in a seasonally soft June quarter and gave a "good enough" outlook, but investors are focusing more on new product launches, the China Mobile deal and a push into the enterprise market with IBM, Cantor Fitzgerald analyst Brian White wrote in a note.

Apple launched iPhone on China Mobile's network in January, which boosted its June quarter revenue by 28% in greater China.

Apple also partnered with IBM this month to sell iPhones and iPads loaded with applications geared at enterprise clients this fall. Investors hope the deal will rejuvenate flagging iPad sales as Apple enters a largely untapped corporate market.

"The bottom line is that the iPhone 6 reception is what matters right now (the iWatch is also expected to come this year, but we expect very limited supply)," Macquarie Capital analysts wrote in a note.

Macquarie maintained its "outperform" rating on Apple's stock, but raised its price target to $102 from $95.

Of the 53 analysts covering the stock, 43 have a "buy" or higher rating, 9 have a "hold" and just one has a "sell" rating, according to StarMine data.

Analysts expect a staggered launch of new iPhones, with a 4.7-inch flagship launching late September, followed by a 5.5-inch phablet around November.

Evercore analysts said they expected Apple to sell about 37 million iPhones across models in the September quarter and 62 million in the December quarter, driven by pent-up demand for a larger-screen iPhone.

"We believe that a larger screen iPhone, combined with Apple's strength in software and ecosystem, will be well received in the market and will drive unit growth," BMO Capital Markets analysts wrote in a note.

Apple's shares have risen about 55% in the past 12 months.