Samsung smartwatch coming in September

Samsung Electronics plans to introduce a wristwatch in September.

Samsung Electronics plans to introduce a wristwatch in September that can make phone calls, play video games and send e-mails , potentially beating its archrival, Apple, to market with a piece of technology that moves mobile communications beyond the smartphone. 

The watch, called Samsung Galaxy Gear, would be shown off "around the time" of an electronics industry trade fair in Berlin that begins September 6, a person briefed on the matter said.Samsung has scheduled a media event for September 4 at which it is also expected to introduce the Note III, a new version of its "phablet," a cross between a phone and a tablet. Apple reportedly plans to show off its first wrist-worn device, expected to be called the iWatch, at a Sept. 10 event in Berlin. 

Neither Galaxy Gear nor the iWatch will be the first watch phone on the market. Sony recently introduced a second-generation version of its smart watch, a gadget that works in conjunction with a smartphone in the user's pocket. Other smart devices like the Pebble Watch and the I'm Watch have also been sold for some time. 

For Samsung, the idea is also not entirely new. The company introduced its first watch phone in 1999. Still, the category of smart watches remains underdeveloped, as none of the existing devices have captured the imagination of consumers.

Apple iPhone owners are vain while BlackBerry users earn more!

Do you consider a mobile phone to be a device useful just for making calls and texts? Well, if you think so, you are mistaken, as a new research has revealed that the phone we use can be a window into the lives we lead.

The study, which asked iPhone and BlackBerry users to rate 

their attractiveness on a scale of one to ten, found that while owners of Apple devices gave themselves a six, BlackBerry users thought they were only worthy of a five, Metro.co.uk reported.

It was found that people who possess a BlackBerry earn nearly 2,500 pounds more per year and work less for it.

The study commissioned by TalkTalk also showed that iPhone users are vain and spend the most on clothes and grooming. They love to travel and label themselves as daring, flirty, bright and confident.

Meanwhile, BlackBerry users are more likely to be in a long-term relationship and have the most friends.

They are busier, send more messages and emails and make more calls than their Apple opposites.

The research surveyed 2,000 owners of the three major smartphone brands to determine whether the choice of handset was an extension of their personality.

People using Android phone were found to be hard working but drink the most alcohol.

They are also a devoted TV addict, shy, quiet and calm.

Flash-based PlayStation 3 goes on sale in the U.S. for $199

Sony's PlayStation 3.

(Credit: Sony Entertainment America)

Sony has begun offering its flash-based PlayStation 3 for sale in the United States for $199.

The console, which boasts 12GB of flash storage, is now listed for sale at Sony's U.S. online store. It made its North American debut last week when it went on sale in Canada. An offering in the U.S. was rumored to be near.

In addition to a 2.5-inch flash drive, the unit features a wireless controller, a Blu-ray player, and support for 802.11 b/g Wi-Fi.

The console is now Sony's lowest-pricedPlayStation 3 in the U.S., beating out a $269 super-slim PS3 with a 250GB hard drive unveiled last September. The same flash-based console launched last year in Europe, but Sony said at the time that it had no plans to bring the console to North America.

Another new PlayStation is also expected at the end of the year. Sony said in June it wouldcharge $399 for the PlayStation 4 in the U.S., which it plans to launch in time for holiday shopping in the U.S. and Europe

3 Android apps for extra long battery life

Here are three handy battery saver apps for your Android smartphone or tablet.

Our phones are getting smarter as they let us make video calls, download attachments, indulge in group chats for hours, watch movies, play games, download zillions of apps and more. On the other hand, the battery life has yet to catch up with the advancing smartphone technologies. It’s not just the apps running in background that stealthily suck up power, even elements like display, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS are to be blamed. Wouldn’t it be great if someone could optimise the smartphone as per your usage, without you having to bother about it? Yes, that’s how a battery saver app could come to the rescue. If you are a smartphone user who usually frets over frequent battery power loss, then we've listed three really handy battery saver apps for your smartphone that are worth considering. Du Battery Saver&Switch Widget  The Du Battery Saver&Switch optimises your device to squeeze in some additional battery by shutting down or lowering the intensity of some components/features. We really liked the way the app shows how many more hours your battery will last. One will always find Du Battery notifications, giving a glance at how much battery life is left each time you view the phone’s display. Now, if the time left is six hours and you want it to squeeze through, say, seven hours of battery usage, then simply click on the Optimise button. It will quickly scan your device and show the best possible options such as optimise screen brightness, set the screen timeout, disable Bluetooth/ Wi-Fi and so on. By completely optimising the phone, we managed to extend the battery life by 1 hour and 16 minutes. Optimise the smartphone to save battery life You can choose from several battery saving modes and create new modes as per your preference. For instance, Sleep mode disables all the power consuming features and simply keeps the clock and alarm on. Long mode keeps calls and SMS active and the General mode keeps call, SMS and mobile data on. The user interface is slick and the app performed brilliantly on most of the phones we used, but we did face a glitch while using it with Galaxy nexus.While the free version will suffice your needs, those looking for additional features such as intelligent mode-switching can opt for the premium version that costs Rs 183. Greenify If you are an app-happy person, then Greenify is a must-have. This battery-saving app automatically hibernates battery hogging apps that linger in the background once you're finished using them. On installing the app, one has to just add the applications that they want Greenify to hibernate, and it will do the rest. Though apps hibernate, they don’t freeze and can be used as usual (you may not be able to see notifications from some social networking apps). Unfortunately, it requires root permissions on your smartphone in order to run. The app also helps a user understand which apps can possibly create issues by giving you additional details of what that app is doing in the background. Greenify saves your battery life and resources that are unnecessarily absorbed by apps running in the background. It is free to download but does have a donation page. Hibernates battery hogging apps Battery Doctor Just like most of the battery-saving apps, Battery Doctor shows how much power is consumed by specific apps and suggests certain changes to save battery life. But what sets it apart is its ability to instill some good battery-usage habits in the user. The app ensures that you charge the smartphone up to a certain level and never go below a certain amount of battery power. It uses a unique three charge cycle that boosts battery life and gives you options to ensure that the battery power doesn’t drain below a specific level. Battery Doctor optimises the smartphone in such a way that the battery life lasts longer and the device performs faster. It comes with a handy widget that serves as a shortcut to disable/enable a particular function of the phone. Teaches battery saving habits One should note that these apps don’t bring additional battery life but optimise your smartphone in such a way that it can be used for a longer time between charges. If you've been using any of these apps, then do share your experience about the change in battery life.

How To: Stream PC audio to your Android device via Wi-Fi

Here is a simple workshop using which you can stream audio from your PC to your Android device using the local wireless network.

Imagine this scenario—you have set up an HTPC to create a good home theatre with great audio routed through your surround sound speaker system and the display on a large screen HD television. Now you can enjoy your favourite flicks or FPS games during the day with thrilling audio. Now imagine you want to watch a movie or play a game while at night without disturbing your sleeping family or grumpy neighbours. You have to switch to using your headphones to enjoy the loud sounds without disturbing the surrounding peace. You have an option to watch it on your tablet or phone, but it won't be the same experience as watching it on a large screen. This calls in for an investment in a long wire from your TV or PC to your bed or recliner to connect your headphones. Other options are a wireless headphone or a Bluetooth headset, but they are equally expensive for occasional use. Worse, if you have a friend or two at your place and they need an earphone too? What do you do? Investing on hardware that can split the audio into multiple outputs for two or more headphones is not easy and definitely not as cheap. Why not take a different route? How about “Free”?  Requirements: An Android phone, a wireless router or wireless network, a PC, the server software and the Android app.  The server app can be installed on Windows and Linux PCs SoundWire is a simple Android app that routes any and all audio from your PC to your Android device via the local wireless network. The idea is to convert your Android device into a wireless audio headset using the wireless (Wi-Fi) network. All that is needed is the app installed on one or multiple Android devices and the server on the HTPC. The server supports operating systems such as Windows XP or higher and Linux. Setting up the server is a simple one-click method. Download the server based on your operating system from ‘http://georgielabs.net/’ and install it. Simply double-click on the application shortcut on your desktop and the server is ready and streaming. The server window will highlight the server's (PC’s) IP address, the status of the number of devices (Android devices) connected to it, a master volume control and an audio input selector. This input can be left as "Default multimedia device" or choose the input from the drop-down list. If you are using a standalone DVD player or external media player, you can choose the input mode and route the audio from the player to the line-in of the PC. Optionally, the server also has an option to record the streaming audio to an MP3 or WAV file on the hard drive. The SoundWire app on android. Key in details of your server's IP address Moving on to the app, simply head to the Play Store and download app for free. A paid version is also available for Rs 238. The only difference between the paid and free version is that the former simultaneously allows multiple users to connect to the same server. Once the app is installed, all you need to do is (on the main screen) enter the IP address of the server (PC) and hit the large SoundWire icon above it. The app will then connect to the server and will start streaming the audio instantly. Settings need to be tweaked in the Android app for best results Some settings that can be tweaked for best results At first you will face issues of sound lags where the audio and video being displayed on the monitor are not in sync. To rectify this, you will need to play around with the app settings to set the audio compression bit rate and buffer size. To get the best results, you can refer to settings in the screenshots. Play around with the settings to reach the optimum results for your environment. If you are using this to stream music, you don’t need to bother with the settings at all. The app is a great option if you want to wirelessly stream your music from one room to another or create a wireless speaker system around your house, office or even outdoors. Using this method, you can enjoy your music or movies using your high-end headphones on your Android other than the sticking to the quality of the wireless/Bluetooth headphones.

One more thing: Gold Apple iPhone 5S in the works

It looks like Apple could indeed be prepping a gold-coloured iPhone 5S for launch next month. After images of the shell leaked out last week, new reports and information has given more credence to the rumours of such a device. 

Speculation about a snazzier iPhone 5S was brought up by KGI analyst Ming Chi-Kuo, who has had a proven track record of predicting Apple’s future devices for a while now. Images of the shell that would house the components of the newest iteration of the iPhone were also spotted last week at Macboutic, an Apple shop in France.

More champagne-coloured (right) than bright-gold (left)

This week, TechCrunch says its sources have confirmed that a gold-coloured iPhone is definitely happening. The report corroborated a  iMore's earlier article regarding the new colour option for the iPhone 5S. According to iMore's report,gold would be one of the “easiest colours to anodize onto an iPhone,” even more so than black, which is why the current iPhone 5 has a more slate colour than true black.
To show how the golden iPhone could look, iMore drew up a mock gold version, that had an ultra bright gold-back. However, it is likely that the mock-up is not all that accurate and the colour of the shell is said to be a lot more subtle – more champagne-coloured than gold. 

It looks like Apple has not just jazzed up its operating system, it’s looking to bling-up the phone’s body as well. Will a gold-coloured iPhone work or will it sink like the gold iPod Mini? Something makes us think Apple fans will welcome bling into their lives with open arms, come September.

Sony Xperia Z Ultra: A specifications review

A closer look at the different parts that make up Sony's first entry in the phablet category.

Sony’s latest Xperia smartphone is nothing like any of the past efforts by the company. In the past, we have seen many great Sony smartphones that were always just below the latest hardware and software. This time around there’s no such holding back. The Z Ultra is the first phone to have the Snapdragon 800 SoC inside and is also the first Android 4.2.2 device by the company. The 6.44-inch display has grabbed our attention, and the same can be said about the new touch input capabilities. Let’s take a closer look at the specifications of the Xperia Z Ultra.  OS – Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean Sony’s custom take on Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean is the closest to how Google intends the UI to look. In that sense, there aren’t many cosmetic or even thematic changes from past iterations of the Sony UI. Thanks to the larger display, users will get more screen real estate and Sony has allowed an expanded grid for the homescreen, letting users add up to six app shortcuts on the dock. There are some changes in the app drawer as well, with settings and editing options consigned to a navigation drawer that slides out from the left edge of the landing screen. We are sure there are other new additions, which we will get a look at once the retail version lands in our hands. Performance should be zippy thanks to the ultra-fast processor and the Jelly Bean underpinnings.  Cellular connectivity – LTE and HD Voice As a 2013 top-of-the-line phone, it would have been a shame if the Z Ultra didn’t come with LTE connectivity. 4G is fittingly present and so is HD Voice, if your carrier supports it. And where there’s no LTE connectivity, HSPA+ or GPRS should fill in the gaps. Massive display is perfect for viewing HD videos Display – 6.44-inch Triluminos LCD with 1080p resolution This is Sony’s first phablet and as such it deserved a whopping big display. The Z Ultra’s 6.44-inch display should pretty much negate any need for a tablet on the side. And with a 1080p resolution, it’s not lacking for good image quality either. The one thing that Sony has just not been able to master is smartphone display. The TFT LCD in the Xperia Z looked much washed out to us and the viewing angles were poor. The Triluminos display supposedly does away with those two worries and some early impressions have called it on par with the much-praised Super LCD3 on the HTC One. There’s shatter-proof and scratch-resistant glass on top of the display.  Sony has also baked in its X-Reality image processor, which is said to enhance contrast, improve colour saturation and reduce noise, while the Super Resolution feature is claimed to bring the best viewing experience for videos of all quality. The OptiContrast design means the display is laminated to the glass to reduce light flare. One unique feature is the ability to use any pen or pencil as a stylus for the Z Ultra. Capacitive styluses work as well.  Form factor – Slim, massive, weather-resistant!  There’s no denying that the Z Ultra is a huge phone. We have trouble imagining this thing slipping into our pockets with ease. The glass front and back helps in keeping things smooth. Fitting in all that serious hardware power into a 6.5 mm body is no small feat and even the 3050 mAh battery doesn’t sound slight. Like the Xperia Z and the Tablet Z, the Z Ultra has a very monolithic design. The glass back and front are framed by a metal trim along the edges to lend the whole device more solidity. This one too gets waterproof and dustproof abilities thanks to IP58 certification. We are impressed with the direction Sony is taking, but are equally concerned about the bulk and sheer size of the Z Ultra. Omnibalance design reduces wrist strain during one-handed usage Wi-Fi – Flagship worthy The Z Ultra comes with the very best in Wi-Fi connectivity. This means it can go up to the ac band and also comes with dual-band support. In addition, there’s Wi-Fi Direct and DLNA for content sharing. Wi-Fi hotspot is present as usual.  SoC – Snapdragon 800  This is the first phone to launch with Qualcomm’s ultra-fast Snapdragon 800 SoC. That means it gets four Krait 400 cores clocked at 2.2GHz. That’s in addition to the new Adreno 330 GPU and 2GB of RAM. The chipset is expected to be miles ahead of the second-tier Snapdragon 600 SoC, which is still one of the fastest mobile processors in the world. The Xperia Z Ultra won’t be lacking any firepower, but you are not likely to come across any application that will really put the chipset to the test. Besides improving performance, the 800 also brings native always-on voice command support and an updated version of Qualcomm’s power management solution.  Internal storage – 16GB with microSD card slot Despite the waterproof and dustproof body, the Z Ultra gets a microSD card slot (under flaps, of course), and that’s in addition to the 16GB of internal storage. The slot accepts cards up to 64GB in capacity. Plenty of storage for HD videos. Cameras – 8 megapixel Exmor RS sensor and 2 megapixel front-facing The camera specs of the Z Ultra are slightly behind the Xperia Z. But that’s not to say it’s bad. It gets geo-tagging, touch focus, face detection, image stabilisation, HDR, 3D Sweep Panorama mode plus other shooting modes. Both the cameras are capable of shooting 1080p videos at 30fps, but only the back camera gets video stabilisation and the HDR mode. Can go out for a walk in the rain Extras – NFC, Bluetooth 4.0, USB On-The-Go Like most new Sony smartphones, the Xperia Z Ultra also gets NFC support. There’s Bluetooth 4.0 onboard, but no mention of whether this phone is Bluetooth Smart ready for the new generation of wireless accessories. If you are not happy enough with the internal memory card and the microSD card slot, then there’s USB On-The-Go support for more storage expansion. Sony is throwing in a unique NFC-toting secondary handset SBH52 along with the Z Ultra, which lets users answer calls, read texts or called ID on the small OLED display and also acts as a wireless music player thanks to the included 3.5 mm jack. It's meant to reduce the number of times users fish the phone out of their purse or pocket.  Battery – 3050 mAh Li-Ion battery The battery on the Z Ultra is non-removable thanks to the sealed design. The 3050 mAh unit sounds plenty, but we are not sure how much power will be hogged by the large full HD display and the high-end SoC. There’s Stamina Mode, which allows you to customise which apps can get data connection when the phone is sleeping or locked. This drastically reduces the amount the battery is taxed while in sleep mode. The battery is rated for up to 790 hours and 820 hours on standby on 2G and 3G respectively. It is rated for up to14 hours for talk time on 2G connection and up to 16 hours on 3G. Sony says the phone should last up to 120 hours when playing just music. Available in three colours The bottom line This being Sony’s very first foray into the phablet segment, we are very impressed by what it brings to the table. Not only has the phablet segment grown over the past few years, but manufacturers have also tried to add as much new display and touch innovations in these devices as possible. Sony’s latest allows you to use any regular pen and pencil to navigate and it brings serious hardware prowess to the battle against the LG Optimus G Pro and the forthcoming Galaxy Note 3. At the moment, based only on the specs and the features, we are tempted to call the Sony Xperia Z Ultra the phablet to beat for 2013.