Motorola to launch new smartphone in India on May 13
Tech major Motorola will launch a new smartphone on May 13 simultaneously in India and the UK. The Moto E is said to have a 4.3-inch screen and may include 1.2GHz dual-core processor, 1GB RAM, 5MP camera and 1,900mAh battery.
It is expected that Mototola could price the device
similar to its Moto G, which is retailing in India at about Rs 12,000 (8GB).
Smartphone sales in the country grew almost 3-fold to over 44 million in 2013, buoyed by a strong uptake of affordable devices made by local firms such as Micromax and Karbonn, according to research firm IDC.
While Samsung led the category with 38 per cent share, Micromax had 16 per cent, Karbonn 10 per cent, Sony 5 per centand Lava 4.7 per cent in Q4, 2013. India was one of the fastest-growing countries worldwide in terms of smartphone adoption in 2013, as per IDC data.
‘Gesture’ keyboard lets you
swipe words in air!
In what could bring about some sweeping changes to the information technology, scientists are now on their way to present “gesture-swipe” keyboards that lets you type messages simply by waving your hands in the air.
Based partly on sensor technology built for the Microsoft Kinect games, the keyboards of the future could let users manipulate data without sitting down and typing in one letter at a time. These ideas will help doctors use a computer while doing surgery, for example, or just drive a video game race car with an imaginary steering wheel, said researchers.
Microsoft Research has already come up with a prototype keyboard “sensing rich and expressive motion gestures performed both on and directly above the device”. “It lets you pinch and swipe just like a smart phone screen a few inches above the keyboard, using built-in infrared sensors to detect movement,” Discovery News reported.
Now, high-tech headband that can read your mind
Researchers have created a high-tech headband, which reads your brainwaves. The purpose of the Muse brain-sensing headband is to clear your mind of distractions, CNet reported.
Toronto-based Interaxon said that it developed Muse to help people regain focus to improve productivity and decrease stress. The Muse headband contains sensors on the forehead and behind the ears. You slip it on like a pair of glasses.
$1500 Google Glass’s hardware costs only $80
Interaxon co-founder Ariel Garten said that the headband picks up brainwave data and sends it to your phone, and then it’s able to show you how your brain is doing.
A team of researchers have found that total hardware of the Google Glass costs nearly 80 dollars, whereas the product is priced at about 1500 dollars.
According to CNET, the most expensive part in the Google Glass is the Texas Instruments OMAP 4430 applications processor, which costs nearly 13.96 dollars. Apart from that the integrated camera costs 5.66 dollars, display is worth 3 dollars, and a flash memory of 8.18 dollars, the report added.
However, Glass’s production involves packing nearly a dozen components to make the device wearable and safe. Meanwhile, Google has said that the company plans to make Glass affordable, when the consumer model launches.
Research shows that ‘scummy’ ads fail to trap mobile users
A recent research at Penn State Media Effects Research Laboratory has shown that scummy advertising methods rarely fool mobile users into clicking the ad, instead cause users to treat the website as threat. According to TechCrunch, mobile users ignore sites and banners that encourage them to do something ‘right now’ or ‘click to win’.
Professor Professor S. Shyam Sundar believes that mobile users are more experienced, and less prone to such scams. Sundar explains it as a Boomerang effect, where marketers want to attract people but actually, they are making them defensive about the site
Skype removes ‘potentially
offensive’ emoticons
Online video chat service, Skype has reportedly removed some of emoticons for being ‘potentially offensive’
According to The BBC, icons like a smiley face showing middle finger and woman’s legs wearing high heels were removed, as they were potentially offensive. The removed emoticons were part of a hidden range of icons separate to the standard ones. However, other hidden emoticons are still available to use.
LG to launch G3 smartphone
on May 27
LG could be launching its new G3 Android smartphone on May 27. According to The Verge, the Korean company has issued invitations to events in six cities across the world on May 27th and 28th, with San Francisco, New York, and London holding simultaneous gatherings for the launch of a new product.
The invitations sent by LG have been set in a dark brushed aluminum surface, which hints that the company is using a premium new material. While the company hasn’t confirmed the G3 launch on the said day, LG acknowledged that it plans to release the G3 within the second quarter of 2014 in its earnings report filed yesterday, the report added.
