Apple’s new iPad

The new iPad for the most part is of the same construction as the iPad 2, except it has managed to put on a little weight and a wee bit more thickness. It now weighs in at 1.44 pounds compared to 1.33 pounds and is thicker by .03 inches which is almost negligible. If you're an owner of an iPad 2, you'll be able to feel the weight gain right away. After using it for a couple days however, you really don't think about it.
 
The display touts a 2048 x 1536 screen which means it has four times the pixels of its predecessors. We can add more numerical figures to show how the display oozes beauty but it's something you have to see it to experience it. The icons just seem cleaner and the text, more crisp. Viewing pictures on this beast of a screen is a real pleasant experience. There are a few apps that are optimized for the Retina display: Facebook, Amazon Kindle, iPhoto, Evernote

The iPad uses the 1GHz dual core A5X chip which seems to be a reworked A5 chip used to power the iPad 2. This time it bumps up the ram to 1GB from the 512mb in the iPad2. Apple has worked in a quad-core GPU which enhances graphical performance over the iPad 2. You'll find Bluetooth 4.0, as well as Wi-Fi 802.11a/b/g/n on board. Additionally, it packs 4G LTE radios for the North American version. In other parts of the world the device is compatible with 3G HSPA+ networks. Just as with the last version, you can buy an iPad with 16GB, 32GB, or 64GB of storage. This review was done using a 16 GB Wi-Fi version.

The iPad's rear camera has been upgraded to a 5-megapixel auto focus camera which can also record HD (1080p) videos up to 30 frames per second. The camera lacks a flash so let's not expect to capture high quality images in low light conditions. If you were really counting on the iPad to help you capture those memorable moments, then maybe its time to drive down to an electronic store and get yourself a good point and shoot camera. Moving on to the front, you can expect the same VGA camera used in the iPad 2.

We would have liked to see an upgraded shooter considering Apple's push for their proprietary FaceTime application. It's safe to assume that people would use their tablet to video chat more than they would use it to take still images or videos. Nothing has noticeably changed as far as sound goes. We're still bummed about the placement of the speakers which is placed in the rear. The experience would be much better if Apple would have managed to place the speaker on the sides similar to the Samsung Galaxy tab 10.1 which actually has dual speakers on either side.

Doing all these various tasks on the iPad must be heating it up quite a bit, wouldn't it? That's the latest grumbling around the web, isn't it? I'll just speak for myself. The iPad does heat up but then again it all depends on the specific tasks you're performing and the length of time its being performed. I use a case so it necessarily not a big deal for me.

The new iPad is power hungry and to feed the quad core graphics and the Retina display, Apple has packed it with a 42.5Wh then you better hope that Apple hours As far as the battery life of the new iPad is concerned, the new 42.5Wh rechargeable battery compared to the 25Wh powering the iPad 2. Apple claims to provide 10 hours of use from a single charge. We came close to it but then again, the battery life will be different for different folks depending on what they're using the tablet for. Charge time from empty to full is an overnight affair.

The new iPad is priced exactly the same as the previous versions. A 16GB Wi-Fi only model starts at $499, 32GB for $599 and the 64GB for $699.  source-firstpost.com/

Datawind tablets

UbiSlate 7 and 7C, these tablets feature a 7-inch display, 256MB of RAM and are powered by Cortex A8 800 MHz processor.  The tablets also come with a 3200 mAh battery and are powered by Android Gingerbread (v 2.3). In terms of connectivity, both support GPRS as well as Wi-Fi.

The only difference between these two devices is that UbiSlate 7 comes with a 2GB of internal memory and has a resistive touchscreen, while the UbiSlate 7C has 4GB of internal memory and comes with capacitive touchscreen.

Datawind, which had run into problems with the IIT Rajasthan and its sub-contractor Quad Electronics for the much-touted 'Aakash' claimed that it has already done 30 lakh bookings for the new tablets launched in the commercial market.

"We will first deliver pre-bookings, which are over 30 lakh ," Datawind CEO Suneet Singh Tuli told reporters here.

Tuli did not agree with the perception that the tablet market in India was not growing.

"We are getting around 8,000 orders...". When asked whether all these bookings are genuine purchase orders, since no advance payment is required, he said "conversion (from pre-to-firm bookings) is 88 per cent".

Datawind had hit headlines in October last year when it unveiled 'Aakash', touted as the world's cheapest tablet to be supplied to the HRD Ministry at Rs. 2,276 a piece. The government, in turn, had to give about one lakh of these tablets to the students at ubsidised price Rs. 1,100-1,200 each. However, the IIT-Rajasthan, the nodal agency for the 'Aakash' project, had rejected the tablet for not meeting performance criteria and the project had to be shifted to IIT Bombay. source-gadgets.ndtv.com

Soni Xperia Sola now in India - at Rs 32549/- approx

Phone specifications

  • Floating touch navigation for an easy web browsing experience
  • NFC enabled and Xperia SmartTags in the box to enable quick app loading and easy content sharing
  • 3.7" Reality Display with Mobile BRAVIA Engine gives razor sharp clarity
  • Powered by a 1GHz dual-core processor for super fast browsing
  • xLOUD and 3D surround sound audio technology for crisp and loud listening
  • Direct access to Sony Entertainment Network* with pre-installed Video and Music Unlimited** apps
  • Launches on Android platform 2.3, upgrade to Android 4.0 during summer 2012
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    A floating touch of magic

    Making its smartphone debut exclusively on Xperia sola, Sony's unique floating touch lets consumers navigate the web by hovering their finger above the screen so it acts like a moving curser, without actually having to touch the screen. Once the desired link is found it can be highlighted and a simple tap will load the page. Floating touch will evolve with new user functionality and applications through software updates and engagement with developers.

    Calum MacDougall, Head of Xperia Marketing for Sony Mobile Communications, commented; "Xperia sola comes with the power of Sony and a sense of magic with floating touch, giving consumers a fun new way to browse the web and latest technology to show off. With Xperia SmartTags out of the box and access to the latest content through Sony Entertainment Network, Xperia sola is perfect for consumers looking for ease of use and the best in entertainment in a smart and innovative smartphone."

    Simplify the everyday with SmartTags

    Xperia sola is NFC enabled and comes with two NFC Xperia SmartTags in the box as standard to simplify consumers' everyday smartphone experiences. By touching an NFC Android smartphone on a SmartTag, a pre-configured profile in the smartphone will launch. The two SmartTags included with Xperia sola can be personalized with up to 10 commands. Out of the box they are ready for the living room to turn on Wi-Fi™ and launches Google™ news and weather apps, or for the bedroom, which turns on the alarm and switches to silent mode. Xperia sola supports NFC pairing, allowing consumers to enjoy great connectivity with other NFC smartphones, applications and services by tapping their smartphones together.

    Powerful entertainment anytime, anywhere

    Xperia sola boasts razor sharp clarity with Reality Display powered by Mobile BRAVIA® Engine, xLOUD™ and 3D surround sound audio technology delivering crisp and loud sound, and a 1GHz dual-core processor for super fast performance. Xperia sola also comes with fast capture to take the camera from sleep to snap in a little over a second with a single key press.

    Consumers can also access premium entertainment experiences with Sony Entertainment Network**, where they can watch the latest Hollywood blockbusters on Video Unlimited or listen to millions of songs*** through Music Unlimited. source-pressreleases.sonymobile.com

    Instagram - fast, beautiful and fun way to share your photos with friends and family - it’s free.

    Snap a picture, choose a filter to transform its look and feel, then post to Instagram. Share to Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr too – it's as easy as pie. It's photo sharing, reinvented.
     
    as per wikipedia - Instagram is a free photo sharing application that allows users to take a photo, apply a digital filter to it, and then share it on a variety of social networking services, including Instagram's own. A distinctive feature confines photos to a square shape, similar to Kodak Instamatic and Polaroid images, in contrast to the 4:3 aspect ratio typically used by mobile device cameras.
    Instagram was initially supported on iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch; in April 2012, the company added support for Android camera phones running 2.2 (Froyo) or higher. It is distributed via the iTunes App Store and Google Play.
    On April 9, 2012, Facebook announced it would acquire the company (and its 14 employees) for approximately $1 billion in cash and stock, with plans to keep it independently managed.
     

    By December 2010, Instagram had one million registered users. In June 2011 Instagram announced five million users, passing ten million in September the same year.Instagram announced that 100 million photos had been uploaded to its service as of July 2011. The total reached 150 million in August. In April 2012, it was announced that over 30 million accounts were set up on Instagram.

    Instagram's new Android version in Google Play crossed more than one million downloads within 12 hours.

    On April 3, 2012, Instagram for was released. That same week, Instagram raised $50 million from venture capitalists for a share of the company that valued it at $500 million. On April 9th, it was announced that Instagram would be acquired by Facebook for approximately $1 billion in cash and stock. The deal, which was made just before Facebook was scheduled to go public, cost Facebook about a quarter of the cash-on-hand they had as of the end of 2011; the deal was for a company characterized as having "lots of buzz but no business model" and the price was contrasted with the $35 million Yahoo! paid for Flickr in 2007,a website which has since become among the 50 most popular in the world. Mark Zuckerberg noted that Facebook was "committed to building and growing Instagram independently", in contrast to its common practice of, as CNNMoney.com put it, buying "hot startups, kill[ing] their products, and redeploy[ing] their staff on other projects. source-wikipedia