Hexa-core and octa-core smartphones from Karbonn

BANGALORE, INDIA: Karbonn, the leading Smartphone brand today launched new portfolio of ‘true' octa-core & hexa-core processor based Smartphone range.

Sudhir Hasija, chairman - Karbonn commented, "We are very excited to launch India's first Smartphone devices on ‘True' multi-core processors with the revolutionary Android KitKat OS. With these devices we are confident of creating a new benchmark in engaged Smartphone experience by offering cutting-edge Smartphone capabilities to the consumers."

"Our endeavour going forward will be to develop this new range of Smartphones into a robust family with which we will aim to capture the biggest Smartphone market share in the country, thus truly ‘Massifying Technology," added Hasija.

Karbonn Titanium Hexa

Karbonn Titanium Hexa as the name suggests is the latest smartphone which sports the Mediatek MT6591 - 1.5 GHz Hexa Core Processor. The device features a 5.5'' (13.97 cms) Full HD 1920*1080p Screen. It has a Scratch Resistant LTPS Screen supporting wide viewing angles and comes with Oleophobic Coating.

Running on the latest Android v4.4 - KitKat OS, the Titanium Hexa is powered by a 2 GB RAM and 16 GB of Internal Storage. With an extendable memory support of 32GB through OTG Cable Support, you will never run out of memory on the device.

For camera lovers, the Titanium Hexa offers a 13 MP AF Rear Camera with Flash along with features like Smile Detection with Auto Capture, Object Tracking, Face Detection, Panorama Mode, Voice Capture and Auto Focus. It also features a 5 MP Front Facing Camera for dynamic video-calls and self-portraits.

The device is powered by a 2050 mAh Li-Po Battery and offers a range of connectivity options like Dual SIM, Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0, GPS with Voice Assist and HSPA+ (upto 42.2 mbps). Sensor support of the device includes G-Sensor, Proximity Sensor, Gyro Sensor, Light Sensor and Magnetic Sensor. Special features of the device include Gesture Mode and Pop up Video. The Karbonn Titanium Hexa is priced at Rs. 16,990/- (MOP)

Karbonn Titanium Hexa Specifications

General	Name	Karbonn Titanium Hexa
	OS	Android 4.4 Kitkat
Hardware	Chipset	MediaTek MT6591
	CPU	1.5 GHz Hexa-core
	GPU	-
	RAM	2 GB
	Internal Memory	16 GB
	Expandable Memory	Upto 32GB using microSD
Display	Type	LTPS capacitive touchscreen
	Size	5.5 inch, 1920 x 1080 pixels, 400.53 ppi
Camera	Primary	13 MP, AF, LED FLash
	Secondary	5 MP
Battery	Capacity	2,050 mAh Li-Po
Connectivity	EDGE	Yes
	HSPA+	Yes
	LTE	-
	NFC	-
	Wi-Fi	Yes
	Bluetooth	Yes(v4.0)
	GPS	Yes
	USB	Yes
	Dual SIM	Yes
	FM Radio	Yes
Others	Sensors	Proximity, Light, G-Sensor, Gyro & Magnetic
	Dimension	154 x 76.8 x 6.9 mm
	Weight	-
	Colours	White
	Online Price	Rs.16,990

Karbonn Titanium Octane

Karbonn Titanium Octane is the latest Smartphone running on the Mediatek MT6592 - 1.7 GHz Octa Core Processor. The device features a 5'' (12.7 cms) HD 1280*720p IPS Screen. Running on the latest Android v4.4 - KitKat OS, the Titanium Octane is powered by a 1 GB RAM and 16 GB of Internal Storage. With an extendable memory support of 32GB, you can save all your pictures, songs, videos, apps and documents without the worry of low storage.

For all your camera needs, the Titanium Octane offers a 13 MP AF Rear Camera with Flash along with features like Smile Detection with Auto Capture, Object Tracking, Face Detection, Panorama Mode, Voice Capture and Auto Focus. It also features a 5 MP Front Facing Camera for video-calls and selfies. The device is powered by a 2000 mAh Li-ion Battery and offers a range of connectivity options like Dual SIM, Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0, GPS with Voice Assist and HSPA+ (upto 42.2 mbps). Sensor support of the device includes G-Sensor, Proximity Sensor, Gyro Sensor, Light Sensor and Magnetic Sensor. The Karbonn Titanium Octane is priced at Rs. 14,490/- (MOP)

Karbonn Titanium Octane Specifications

General	Name	Karbonn Titanium Octane
	OS	Android 4.4 Kitkat
Hardware	Chipset	MediaTek MT6592
	CPU	1.7 GHz Octa Core
	GPU	-
	RAM	1 GB
	Internal Memory	16 GB
	Expandable Memory	Upto 32GB using microSD
Display	Type	IPS LCD capacitive touchscreen
	Size	5 inch, 1280 x 720 pixels, 293.72 ppi
Camera	Primary	13 MP, AF, LED FLash
	Secondary	5 MP
Battery	Capacity	2,000 mAh Li-ion
Connectivity	EDGE	Yes
	HSPA+	Yes
	LTE	-
	NFC	-
	Wi-Fi	Yes
	Bluetooth	Yes(v4.0)
	GPS	Yes
	USB	Yes
	Dual SIM	Yes
	FM Radio	Yes
Others	Sensors	Proximity, Light, G-Sensor, Gyro & Magnetic
	Dimension	145.7 x 71.2 x 7.9 mm
	Weight	-
	Colours	Red
	Online Price	Rs.14,990

Karbonn Titanium Octane Plus

Karbonn Titanium Octane Plus sports the Mediatek MT6592 - 1.7 GHz Octa Core Processor. The device features a 5'' (12.7 cms) Full HD 1920*1080p IPS Screen. Running on the latest Android v4.4 - KitKat OS, the Titanium Octane Plus is powered by a 2 GB RAM and 16 GB of Internal Storage.

With an extendable memory support of 32GB, you get the freedom to load as many photos, videos, songs, apps and documents on your device. For all your camera needs, the Titanium Octane Plus offers a 16 MP AF Rear Camera with Flash along with features like Smile Detection with Auto Capture, Object Tracking, Face Detection, Panorama Mode, Voice Capture and Auto Focus. It also features an 8 MP Front Facing Camera for brilliant selfies.

The device is powered by a 2000 mAh Li-Po Battery and offers a range of connectivity options like Dual SIM, Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0, GPS with Voice Assist and HSPA+ (upto 42.2 mbps). Sensor support of the device includes G-Sensor, Proximity Sensor, Gyro Sensor, Light Sensor and Magnetic Sensor. The Karbonn Titanium Octane Plus is priced at Rs. 17,990/- (MOP)

Karbonn Titanium Octane Plus Specifications

General	Name	Karbonn Titanium Octane Plus
	OS	Android 4.4 Kitkat
Hardware	Chipset	MediaTek MT6592
	CPU	1.7 GHz Octa Core
	GPU	-
	RAM	2 GB
	Internal Memory	16 GB
	Expandable Memory	Upto 32GB using microSD
Display	Type	IPS LCD capacitive touchscreen
	Size	5 inch, 1920 x 1080 pixels, 440.58 ppi
Camera	Primary	16 MP, AF, LED FLash
	Secondary	8 MP
Battery	Capacity	2,000 mAh Li-ion
Connectivity	EDGE	Yes
	HSPA+	Yes
	LTE	-
	NFC	-
	Wi-Fi	Yes
	Bluetooth	Yes(v4.0)
	GPS	Yes
	USB	Yes
	Dual SIM	Yes
	FM Radio	Yes
Others	Sensors	Proximity, Light, G-Sensor, Gyro & Magnetic
	Dimension	147.3 x 72.6 x 7.6 mm
	Weight	-
	Colours	Red
	Online Price	Rs.17,990

source:http://www.ciol.com/

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Microsoft Shares MS-DOS Source Code

Early tech fans might remember the good 'ol days of Microsoft MS-DOS, the company's first operating system from the 1980s. Now, with the help of the Computer History Museum, Microsoft is making the source code for DOS available to the public for the first time ever. Get excited, hackers.

The Computer History Museum, based in Mountain View, Calif., is making MS DOS 1.1, 2.0 and Word 1.1a available to help fans and technologists better understand the history of computing.

Microsoft announced the move in a blog post on its website and detailed the early beginnings of the iconic software.

Following the first DOS-based version of Microsoft Word in 1983, Word for Windows launched in 1989 and become a huge hit for the company. It generated over half the revenue of the worldwide word-processing market, according to Microsoft.

"Thanks to the Computer History Museum, these important pieces of source code will be preserved and made available to the community for historical and technical scholarship," a company said in a statement.

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All New Toyota Etios Cross

Toyota, taking a cue from the Volkswagen Cross Polo, has unveiled the 2014 Toyota Etios Cross in India during the 2014 Indian Auto Expo. Essentially the Etios Liva with some added body cladding, the Etios Cross is an alternative for those who want their car to have the looks of a crossover but do not want to spend a lot on buying a proper one. 

The Etios Cross, even with the body cladding is about 100mm short of the 4-metre mark, making it eligible for the excise duty benefits that such cars get, meaning that the car would be priced pretty aggressively. Along with the body cladding, upholstery changes on the inside, the Etios Cross will get three engine options, a lot of features and Toyota’s proven reliability.

Design

The 2014 Toyota Etios Cross gets a new, more-butch look as compared to the Etios Liva, the company hopes that this will attract more people towards it. Apart from the obvious black plastic cladding all around the car, the Etios Cross gets a silver ‘grille guard’, silver side mouldings on top of the black plastic and silver guards on the front and rear bumper. You also get silver roof rails. The headlamp is different, the indicator is now sifted from the headlamp unit and placed above the fog lamps, you get a new grille which is much bigger and less curvy than the one on the hatchback. The rear-roof spolier is also a new addition to the car. The Etios Cross also gets a black plastic moulding on the bottom of the hatch-door with Etios Cross embossed on it. The last differentiating factor on the outside are the new 15-inch alloy wheel design.

The 2014 Toyota Etios Cross gets all black interiors to go with the sporty theme of the car. The plastic around the centre console, door trimming, over the instrument cluster etc are finished in piano black plastic, while the fabric used on the seats, doors etc. are black. The 3-spoke steering wheel is black with silver inserts, the gear-lever gets the same treatment as well.

Features

• Electric power steering with tilt adjust
• 2 DIN audio with bluetooth / USB / Aux
• ABS with EBD
• Dual front airbags
• Height adjustable driver seat

Engine, Transmission and Handling

• 1.2-litre, 4-cylinder, petrol motor, 79 BHP / 104 Nm
• 1.5-litre, 4-cylinder, petrol motor, 120 BHP / 132 Nm
• 1.4-litre, 4-cylinder, diesel motor, 67 BHP / 170 Nm
• 5-speed manual transmission
• 185-mm section tyres, 15-inch wheels
• McPherson Struts at front, Torsion beam at the rear
• Ventilated disc brakes up front, drum brakes at the rear

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"We Won't Break Into Users' Email Accounts Anymore" says MICROSOFT

Just one week after news surfaced that Microsoft secretly broke into the Hotmail email account of one of its users, the company is updating its security policies.

Microsoft stated it will now contact law enforcement if it needs access to a user's email account for security purposes instead of secretly doing it themselves, the company wrote in a blog poston Friday.

In 2012, Microsoft accessed a blogger's private Hotmail account to determine if a former employee stole trade secrets. News of the incident ignited an outcry over the privacy implications.

"Over the past week, we’ve had the opportunity to reflect further on this issue, and as a result of conversations we’ve had internally and with advocacy groups and other experts, we’ve decided to take an additional step and make an important change to our privacy practices," Microsoft executive Brad Smith wrote in the post.

"Effective immediately, if we receive information indicating that someone is using our services to traffic in stolen intellectual or physical property from Microsoft, we will not inspect a customer’s private content ourselves," he said.

Microsoft will be updating this change to its customer terms of service in the coming months, so that it’s "clear to consumers and binding on Microsoft."

Last week, reports circulated that former Microsoft staffer Alex Kibkalo is facing federal criminal charges over allegations that he stole trade secrets during his tenure at the company. The indictment states Kibkalo "uploaded proprietary software and pre-release software updates for Windows 8 RT as well as the Microsoft Activation Server Software Development Kit (SDK)" to his personal SkyDrive (now OneDrive) account in August 2012.

Soon after, a French blogger tipped off Microsoft that he received a code from the Microsoft Server SDK, which had originally come from a Hotmail user. Since Microsoft operates Hotmail (now Outlook.com), it could access his account without a court order. This was legal because a statement in Microsoft's terms of service allowed the action to take place if it was to protect the security of its customers. Eventually, the move led to an investigation where, according to court documents, Kibkalo was identified as the source and admitted leaking Microsoft code to outsiders.

"It’s always uncomfortable to listen to criticism. But if one can step back a bit, it’s often thought-provoking and even helpful. That was definitely the case for us over the past week," Smith wrote. "Although our terms of service, like those of others in our industry, allowed us to access lawfully the account in this case, the circumstances raised legitimate questions about the privacy interests of our customers."

Smith also referenced how in the “post-Snowden era,” Microsoft has advocated that governments should rely on formal legal processes and the rule of law for surveillance activities.

"While our own search was clearly within our legal rights, it seems apparent that we should apply a similar principle and rely on formal legal processes for our own investigations involving people who we suspect are stealing from us," Smith wrote. "Therefore, rather than inspect the private content of customers ourselves in these instances, we should turn to law enforcement and their legal procedures."

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Microsoft Office for iPad Dominates Top of App Store

The suite of Microsoft Office apps for iPad have only been in the Apple App Store for 24 hours and are already dominating the download charts.

The three preemium apps — which are free to download but require a subscription ($99) to edit documents and perform other functions — are occupying the top consecutive spots of the App Store's free downloads. Microsoft OneNote, which doesn't require a subscription but has ties to Office, is in the No. 4 spot.

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella drew attention to the achievement with a tweet sent on Friday, noting it "looks like it's a productive Friday for #iPad owners!" He also included a screen shot of the apps at the top of the App Store.

The apps include Word for iPad (No. 1), Excel for iPad (No. 2), PowerPoint for iPad (No. 3) andOneNote for iPad (No. 4).

The apps offer a lot more than the versions already available on the iPhone, but you'll need to be an Office 365 subscriber to edit and create content. It's free to view documents via the apps.

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The Sony Xperia Z1

The Sony Xperia Z has already been on the market for half a year, and now the Xperia Z1 has become its first successor. At first glance, the two smartphones appear to be identical, but upon closer look it's clear that the outside isn't quite the same. The changes to the smartphone's inner life are even more substantial. Is it worth switching to the new device? And how does it do compared to the competition?

The competition is not only impressively broad, but also strong. The leading Android smartphones are currently head-to-head in the battle for the crown. For now, the Samsung Galaxy S4, the HTC One and the LG G2 are the devices against which Sony's new family member must measure up. But Apple's iPhone and the top devices with Windows Phone, like the Nokia Lumia 925 and 1020, are also competitors Sony has to take seriously.

Countering the current trend, the Sony Xperia Z1 has grown a little compared with its predecessor. It now measures 144 x 74 x 8.5 millimeters (5.67 x 2.91 x 0.33 inches; L x W x H), which means it's bigger on every side. In terms of weight, the Z1 now weighs 23 grams more (0.02 pounds) and comes to a total of 169 g (0.37 lbs). The main reason for the extra weight is likely the significantly larger battery. The frame around the display has also grown for the same reason.

The device feels good in your hand and gives you the sense that it'svery well-made. This impression is deepened by the high-quality materials Sony selected. The front and back sides are made ofscratch-proof mineral glass. Unlike the Xperia Z, rather than plastic, the frame is made of matte gray aluminum.

The smartphone feels very stable and is hard to twist, though it crackles audibly if you manage it. When you put pressure on the backside of the case, wave formations appear on the display. Still, the device seems solid, and we'd be more concerned about damaging the floor than the phone if we were to drop it.

The IP certification is a little broader. Along with its IP5X specification against harmful dust deposits on the inside of the device, the Z1 is also IPX8 certified. That means the phone is protected against the penetration of water no matter how long it remains immersed. The Xperia Z and the Galaxy S4 Active are only protected against brief water immersion.

Connectivity

The device's connectivity options mirror those of its predecessor. The USB 2.0 port serves both as the Sony Xperia Z1's charging port as well as video output via MHL 2.0. DLNA and Sony's MirrorLink are also supported. A Dualshock 3 controller can also be connected through the USB port. If you wirelessly transmit the display content to a compatible television, you have a pocket-sized gaming console.

Software

For their operating system, Sony selected Google's Android 4.2.2 with Sony's own UI. Useful widgets make the interface attractive, though all in all it has a modest appearance. The Japanese company's media programs, like Music and Video Unlimited, are also preinstalled. There's also some bloatware, though less than we found on the smartphone's predecessor.

As of now, Sony has not yet communicated when and whether they will release an update to anewer version of Google's operating system.

Communication & GPS 

In terms of communication features, the Sony Xperia Z1 has even more to offer and houses the most current technology. The WLAN module supports the IEEE 802.11 standards a/b/g/n/ac and transmits over the frequency bands 2.4 and 5.0 GHz. Unfortunately, the WLAN module'sreception range leaves something to be desired. Only ten meters away the signal already waned noticeably, and at a distance of 20 meters it was no longer possible to load a website.

On the go, the smartphone can connect to the internet via UMTS/HSPA+. LTE is also on board -- the newest Category 4 standard to be precise. This LTE standard allows for a downstream speed of up to 150 MBit/s. The smartphone now covers a much broader range of frequencies, so the device shouldn't have any wireless compatibility problems anywhere.

The smartphone determines its location via GPS and Glonass. It works reliably even indoors. Outdoors, the device ascertains its position very quickly. To test it further, we biked through a partially forested area with a navigation device from Garmin as our reference. We observed that the Z1 wasn't very exact in its determination of our position, and sometimes diverged significantly from our actual path. The GPS module proved to have particular difficulty with adjacent routes and inside the forest.

Telephone Function & Speech Quality

Sony only made minor modifications to the appearance of the Android telephone app, leaving it comfortably familiar. Calls can be simply made, taken or ignored. The proximity sensor works flawlessly and prevents unintended input.

When you hold the device directly to your ear, the phone's voice quality is very good for both conversation partners. The speakerphone also functions excellently, though we sounded a little quieter on the other side. The Xperia Z1's speaker performed its job perfectly. Things were a little different with the headset. While we could hear our conversation partner well, the microphone cut out several times.

Cameras & Multimedia

The main camera on the backside of the Sony Xperia Z1 has a resolution of 20.7 MP (5248x3936 pixels, 4:3). However, this resolution is only available in manual mode. If you shoot on the automatic presets, the camera uses a set resolution of 8 MP (3840x2160 pixels, 16:9.) The Exmor RS sensoris intended to produce especially high-quality images. Sony even boasts that they have the best camera in a smartphone. 

Indeed, in good lighting situations, the lens' results are very good. The color representation is excellent and the images are nice and sharp. Here the Z1 proves to have a real edge on the competition and produces the best pictures in comparison. In weak light, however, there tends to be some noise in the camera's images. Here the Nokia Lumia 920 shows off its talent, as it takes significantly better pictures in this environment.

Display

The Sony Xperia Z1 has a 5-inch Full HD panel (1920x1080 pixels). That corresponds to a format of 16:9 and a pixel density of 441 PPI. Like its predecessor, the screen image looks pin-sharp and subjectively appears to display brilliant colors. But the technology behind the glass has actually changed. Instead of the Mobile Bravia Engine 2, the new device is outfitted with a TFT screen with Triluminos technology. In direct comparison, the colors aren't as saturated as they were on the predecessor, and they appear more natural. This is especially noticeable if you run films on both devices and hold them up to each other for comparison (see the above video).

In terms of brightness, the Z1's display proves to be even brighter than that of the Xperia Z (max. 452 cd/m²) and reaches an average of 496 cd/m². No other crème de la crème smartphone reaches such a high number. Even the brightness masters, the iPhone 5 (487 cd/m²) and the HTC One (489 cd/m²) are a little bit dimmer. At an 89% similarity across the screen, the Z1's brightness distribution is fairly even.

Performance

The Sony Xperia Z1's computations are performed by Qualcomm's fastest SoC to date. The Snapdragon 800 MSM8974 clocks at up to 2.15 GHz and has four cores. The lightning-fast Adreno 330 serves as the graphics unit. 2 GB of working memory also stand at the ready.

The smartphone is wired for good results in our benchmarks, and indeed, the Z1 achieves quite respectable results in our synthetic performance evaluations. It even beats out the Xperia Z Ultra (Snapdragon 800, 2.2 GHz) and the LG G2 (Snapdragon 800, 2.3 GHz), which should be the faster models on the basis of their specs. This could be related to more effective cooling

Verdict

The Sony Xperia Z1 is a well-executed renovation of the Xperia Z. The smartphone is a little heavier and bigger, most noticeably in the area around the display, but the bulked-up device feels a little more costly and robust.

Our strongest criticism still pertains to the panel. The mediocre calibration wouldn't be too much of a problem, were it not for the comparably bad viewing angle stability, the slight blue cast and thehigh black value. The review device loses enough points in those three areas to take a significant hit in its overall grade.

Otherwise, Sony does everything right. The manufacturing quality is excellent, and theperformance is stellar. The smartphone also has a very good camera that can take great pictures. The memory space is ample and even expandable. The device is also exemplary in the broad range of wireless frequency bands it supports.

If you're looking for a high-end smartphone to call your own and would like it to be IP certified, yet elegant -- and if the limited panel quality doesn't put too much of a damper on things for you -- the Xperia Z1 is an excellent option.

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