Sony Details the PS4 and Shows off the Hardware

Just hours after Microsoft’s announcement of the Xbox One’s pricing and availability details Sony has followed suit too and as expected, has announced the same details at E3. They also finally showed off the hardware of the PS4 console which was hidden under the curtains up till now.

The PS4 console is itself in a parallelogram shape. The upper portion is colored in piano black, while the bottom in matte black. A purple strip divides the two portions. The design overall is a lot more serious than its predecessors though and definitely more inspiring than the one of Xbox One but that might be only us.

The console has dimensions of 275 x 305 x 53 mm. On the front are the blu-ray drive and 2 USB 3.0 ports. The back side sports the HDMI, Ethernet, AUX port and power port.

As for the prices, the console will be available for $399, a whole $100 cheaper than the competing Xbox One. The ‘eye’ motion-sensing accessory will be available separately for $59 though instead of coming bundled along with the console itself like the One.

Controller and a mono headset will be included the package.

Source: GSMArena

Microsoft Details the Xbox One Price, Shows a New Xbox 360

Microsoft has just announced the price of its next-generation game console. The console announced less than three weeks ago will cost $499. The package will include the Xbox One console with a 500 GB Hard Drive, one wireless controller, a Kinect accessory and free two weeks Xbox Live Gold trial.

The eighth-generation console announced late last month is itself a power house. It packs an octa-core AMD CPU, Blu-ray drive, 500 GB hard drive, 8 GB RAM (5 of which will be available for gaming) and compatibility for 4K displays & 7.1 surround sound. For connectivity it has HDMI, 3 USB 3.0 ports and Wifi.

Controller is based on the existing Xbox 360 controller but has gotten better ergonomically. The triggers support vibrations now and the Start & Back buttons are replaced now.

The Kinect for Xbox One is completely revamped in its second outing. The camera in it is now a 1080p one. It process up to 2 gigabits of data per second and features a new IR sensor. It can also detect data from up to six players at the same time now. The Kinect will have to be connected all the time now in order for the console to be usable. Moreover, it supports voice input and air gestures too.

Xbox Live is used for online services and gaming.

A Redesigned Xbox 360

Other than specifying the details of the new One, Microsoft also busied itself by announcing an all new, cheaper Xbox 360 with a new design. The company still thinks that it can sell more consoles even now and the potential is certainly still there.

The design now divides the console in two parts, both of which are glossy and matte black. Apart from that though, nothing is changed.

The 4 GB version of the new Xbox 360 will be up for grabs for $199 or Rs. 22K while the 250 GB version will be costing $299.

Source: GSMArena, GSMArena, Engadget

Samsung Galaxy Star Hits Pakistani Stores at Rs. 9,999

Samsung’s Galaxy Star – a budget Android phone – has made its way to Pakistan. Competing at price, Samsung Star is aimed for young aspiring users who want to switch to Android at an affordable price.

Powered by a decent 1 Ghz processor, Samsung Star boosts 3 inch QVGA display. There is 512 MB of RAM, probably not enough for various users – but considering the price one must remain contented with the package. There is another 4 GB of internal memory as well, that can be expanded with card if required.

There is a 2MP camera on the back of Galaxy Star. Users are likely to struggle with Galaxy Star’s battery.

Specifications of Galaxy Star:

• Android 4.1 Jelly Bean customized with Touchwiz
• Cortex A5 1GHz Processor
• 3 inch QVGA display – 320 x 240 with 65K internal colour depth
• 100.5g heavy and 11.9mm thick
• Optional dual-sim
• 2mp rear-facing camera with QVGA video recording
• 512 MB RAM with 4GB expandable internal storage
• Bluetooth 4.0, Wifi, Accelerometer, FM Radio
• 1200 mAh battery
• • Stand-by: 320 hours
  • talk time: 7 hours

Galaxy S4 Variants, Of all the , Which One is for You?

As of now, Samsung has launched as many as 5 major variants of its Galaxy S4 flagship so it can be a bit of a headache to decide which one is worth buying for you.

So for the sake of comparison and to make the decision a bit easier to make, here’s a table comparing the features of all the existing Galaxy S4 versions:

	GS4 original (octa-core)	GS4 US (quad-core version)	GS4 mini	GS4 Active	GS4 Zoom
Availability	Released	Released	Coming soon	Coming soon	Coming soon
OS	Android 4.2.2	Android 4.2.2	Android 4.2.2	Android 4.2.2	Android 4.2.2
Dimensions	136.6 x 69.8 x 7.9 mm	136.6 x 69.8 x 7.9 mm	124.6 x 61.3 x 8.9 mm	139.7 x 71.3 x 9.1 mm	125.5 x 63.5 x 15.4 mm
Weight	130g	130g	107g	153g	208g
Screen size	5 inches	5 inches	4.3 inches	5 inches	4.3 inches
Protection	Corning Gorilla Glass 3	Corning Gorilla Glass 3	Not specified	Corning Gorilla Glass 2, Water and dust resistant	Corning Gorilla Glass 3
Resolution	1080 x 1920 pixels	1080 x 1920 pixels	540 x 960 pixels	1080 x 1920 pixels	540 x 960 pixels
Processor	1.6Ghz quad-core Cortex A-15, 1.2Ghz quad-core Cortex A-7	1.9Ghz quad-core Krait SnapDragon 600	1.7Ghz dual-core SnapDragon 400	1.9Ghz quad-core Krait SnapDragon 600	1.5Ghz dual-core Cortex A9
RAM & storage	2 GB, 16/32/64 GB	2 GB, 16/32/64 GB	1.5 GB (3G model), 8 GB	2 GB, 16 GB	1.5 GB, 8 GB
Card slot	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Rear-camera	13 megapixel, LED Flash	13 megapixel, LED Flash	8 megapixel, LED Flash	8 megapixel, LED Flash	16 megapixel, 1/2.33” sensor size, Xenon Flash
Video	1080p Full HD	1080p Full HD	1080p Full HD	1080p Full HD	1080p Full HD
Front-camera	2 mp, Full HD	2 mp, Full HD	1.9 mp	2 mp, Full HD	1.9 mp
Connectivity	Bluetooth 4.0, microUSB 2.0, IR Blaster, USB-OTG, NFC	Bluetooth 4.0, microUSB 2.0, IR Blaster, USB-OTG, NFC	Bluetooth 4.0, microUSB 2.0, IR Blaster, NFC	Bluetooth 4.0, microUSB 2.0, IR Blaster, USB-OTG, NFC	Bluetooth 4.0, microUSB 2.0, IR Blaster, USB-OTG, NFC
Battery	2600 mAh	2600 mAh	1900 mAh	2600 mAh	2330 mAh
Price	Rs. 60,990	Around the same as S4 Original	$630	The same as S4 Original	Unannounced

It’s worth nothing though that the GS4 i9505 quad-core SnapDragon version is the phone targeted mainly towards the American market so finding it may prove to be more difficult than you’re thinking. Also the Octa-core version edges it (even if slightly) in benchmarks. Its worse when it comes to battery life though and the i9505 may be more expensive due to shipping costs, duties and taxes imposed while importing.

The GS4 Active is distinctive in a way from the others because of its tough build and waterproof & dust resistant nature. Also it looks better than the regular Galaxy S4. The Galaxy Zoom, however, is for people who mainly take photos using their phone cameras. It’s basically the Galaxy Camera at its heart but with phone capabilities. It’s not very portable and suitable for usage as your normal smartphone, though, due to its huge lens.

It all then comes down to the user, what do they want. It is important to keep your needs in check while buying the suitable version of the phone.

A Screenshot Speaks a Thousand Words!

We captured above given screenshot from Facebook fan page of Telenor’s EasyPaisa. Screen shows an image uploaded by the Social Media team of Telenor, asking thousands of fans a question – which of course can be read easily in the screenshot produced here.

We captured this screen after more than 13 hours when image was initially uploaded.

We are just presenting the screenshot for our readers, without any commentary from our side, because they say: For brilliants, hint is more than enough.

And the hint is that Telenor’s EasyPaisa had 114,194 Fans till we last checked.

Google to Launch Galaxy S 4 with Stock Android

At its famed I/O Conference, Google, instead of announcing a new Nexus smartphone, Google has announced that it will be selling the Galaxy S 4 instead with stock Android OS. The phone will come with the same specs as the original Galaxy S 4 with the only difference being the original, skin-free Android UI instead of Samsung’s own Touchwiz with Nature UI.

The phone will also lose the exclusive Samsung apps but will come with an unlocked bootloader so there won’t be any end of possibilities. And of course, the updates will be coming to this phone before any other existing Android device on the market, thanks to Google’s trusty, uncompromised support.

The phone will come with 16 GBs of expandable storage and will be available for $649 or Rs. 70K at launch. The version of Android running is unknown though as Google might announce a new version of Android in the very conference this phone was announced it but we can’t say that for sure.

The phone will be available at Google’s own Google Play Store initially.

In case you’ve forgotten, these are the specs of the Samsung Galaxy S 4:

• Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean customized with Samsung’s Nature UI
• 5 inch display with Full HD resolution of 1080 x 1920 pixels
• Corning Gorilla Glass 3 protection and super sensitive screen
• 7.9mm thick
• Weight: 130 grams
• Octa-core Exynos processor with 8 cores and PowerVR SGX 544MP3 GPU
• 2 GB RAM with 16/32/64 GB expandable storage
• 13 megapixel rear-camera with HDR and 1080p Full HD video recording
• Optical Image Stabilization
• 2 megapixel 1080p Full HD front-camera
• Bluetooth 4.0, microUSB 2.0, USB-OTG, IR Blaster, Wifi Hotspot, GPS
• 2600 mAh battery
• Available in White Frost and Black mist colors

Next Launcher v1 [MUST HAVE LAUNCHER]

Next Launcher v1 [MUST HAVE LAUNCHER]

DOWNLOAD LINK

At the end of 2012, we have a surprise for you! Next Launcher, designed by GO Dev Team, is officially released now!
Next Launcher is a new launcher application which is full of glorious 3D elements and dynamic effects. Fancy 3D visual elements, gorgeous transition effects and humanized gestures bring you a unique and splendid operation experience and visual enjoyment.

Features:
1. Various operation for icons: icons support rotation, reset, select, align and so on. Operation is easy and fantastic.
2 .Unlimited screen layout: placing icons or widgets randomly which forms your own home screen.
3. Stereoscopic screen preview: lots of screen display effects, dazzling animation of screen switching about adding or deleting screen.
4. Quick screen management: adding different kinds of elements in screen edit including application icons, folders and widgets. It’ll support changing wallpapers and themes soon.
5. Rotatable dock: inverting upward or downward the Dock can quickly switch among home screen, screen edit and screenpreview.
6. Powerful app drawer: icons can be arranged by names or by time, and folders can be created by overlaying icons. Batch mode and operation of adding apps to screen are also available. 
7. Beautiful scrolling effects: a variety of app drawer scrolling effects that provide a distinctive screen switching experience.
8. Fancy 3D widgets: 3D widgets that are based on Next Launcher are coming soon!

Screenshots: