Apple announced the 4-inch iPhone 5 smartphone

Apple today announced the most awaiting phone for all the Apple lovers, the Apple iPhone 5. Many of the rumors came while talking about iPhone 5. Among those rumours was the 4-inch display and that the phone is thinner and higher than its predecessor, the iPhone 4S. Also chinese iPhone 5 was also launched in china market way before its launch. 

The 7.6mm width makes it the thinnest iPhone so far. Making the phone thinner is probably a good enough reason for many to updating their existing 4S to the new model. But making a thin phone also limit the possibility for Apple to produce a much better camera as it must be room for the lens and sensor which must be stacked on top of each other. Therefore, the Iphone 5 has similar camera specifications. It is a 8 megapixel camera with a BSI sensor, auto focus, face detection and 1080p video capture. The front camera has an increased resolution of 720p.

The new phone has a 4-inch retina display that has a 640 x 1136 pixel resolution. The width of the display is the same as iPhone 4, but the height is increased with 176 pixels up to 1136. This makes up to add one more row for icons. The iPhone 5 has a 800:1 contrast ratio and 500cd/m2 max. brightness, again same as iPhone 4.

The old 30-pin connector has been replaced by a 8-pin connector called Lightning. A Lightning-to-30-pin adapter accessory is available in the Apple Store for $29. The adapter is compatible with all older accessories and Iphone 5, Ipod Touch 5th generation and Ipod Nano 7th generation.




Apple has also updated the headset with a new design. Earlier, you could mix left and right ear-plugs, but that is not possible any more as the new headphones has directional speakers. Just like Apple has done with the camera (iSight) and display (Retina) these headset has got a name. The new headphones are called EarPods and these will work with all previously released Apple products.

Apple has kicked out Google from the iPhone 5 software. Google Maps are now history for iPhone which is now replaced by Maps. Hence, the iPhone 5 will be the first Apple device running iOS 6, and Apple Maps are now the default navigation and map app on this and future iOS devices.

                                            Comparison of Google Maps v/s Apple Maps

Apple is very good at making their new products look revolutionary and sensational. One example of this evident during the presentation today. Instead of saying that the Iphone 5 is 1.7 mm thinner than the iPhone 4S, the company showed the audience that the new phone model was 18% thinner. A much larger number to show off.

The hardware specifications is not iPhone's strength any more. Looking at the specifications alone is not a good reason to go for this particular phone model. I think consumers will buy this for the well-known intuitive user interface and of course the Apple/iPhone brand name.

                              

The iPhone 5 will be available with three variants. Apple has not yet revealed the sim-free price of iPhone 5, but these are the prices in US on two year contract.

16 GB edition for $199

32 GB edition for $299

and the largest 64 GB edition for $399.

Too bad Apple didn't add a memory card slot on the new iPhone.

Like earlier the phone is launched in two colors : Black and White. iPhone 5 will be available in the US, Canada, Hong Kong, Singapore, France, Germany, Australia, UK on September 21st. 22 other European countries will get the phone on September 28. 100 countries will receive the iPhone 5 during December.

Apple again, has shown the world that it can make good software indulged in good hardware. There's no doubt that in one year from now, the iPhone 5 will be the best-selling mobile phones from Apple. I pesonally, do not think the iPhone 5 is the "All-new design" and "Completely redesigned" as Apple chose to call it. The iPhone 5 is an evolution smartphone based on the ideas behind Iphone 4/4S.

Some new features found in iPhone 5 -

• New A6 processor
• Three different network configurations (2 x GSM and one CDMA)
• LTE network speed
• Now with Wi-Fi a (802.11a/b/g/n)
• Larger display (4-inch with a 640 x 1136 pixel resolution)
• 1.2 front camera with 720p video capture
• New smaller Lightning connector (8-pin)
• Audio jack located at the bottom of the handset
• New EarPods headphones
• iOS 6
• Lighter with 112 gram

Apple iPhone 5 highlights -

• Weight: 112 gram
• Size: 123.8 x 58.6 x 7.6 mm
• Networks configurations - 

1. GSM model A1428: UMTS/HSPA+/DC-HSDPA (850, 900, 1900, 2100 MHz); GSM/EDGE (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz); LTE (Bands 4 and 17)
2. CDMA model A1429: CDMA EV-DO Rev. A and Rev. B (800, 1900, 2100 MHz); UMTS/HSPA+/DC-HSDPA (850, 900, 1900, 2100 MHz); GSM/EDGE (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz); LTE (Bands 1, 3, 5, 13, 25)
3. GSM model A1429: UMTS/HSPA+/DC-HSDPA (850, 900, 1900, 2100 MHz); GSM/EDGE (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz); LTE (Bands 1, 3, 5)

• 4 inch touch display, 640 x 1136 pixels resolution
• Wi-Fi a/b/g/n (2.4 and 5GHz
• 8 megapixel camera, BSI sensor
• Bluetooth 4.0
• A6 processor
• AGPS and GLONASS
• Talk time: 8 hours (3G)
• Standby time: 225 hours
• Sensors: gyro, accelerometer, proximity, ambient light

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How to control your Computer using your Android Device

There are times when you are sitting some distance away from your computer and you want to play a movie, or open a file, or browse the internet, or may be shutdown your computer. This all activities could be done using an application called Unified Remote.

Through this application you can do about every single activity that you can do with your Mouse or your Keyboard. Right from typing text in notepad, commenting on your friends Facebook status, Volume up-down of your player, opening a new tab, shutdown, restart your computer each and everything.

Its simply a 2-min job to do and you are ready to access your whole computer with your Android device.


Requirements -

1) Wi-Fi installed on your computer
2) Android Device


Steps -
You have to download two applications, one from your computer and the other from your Android device.

1) Download and install the Unified Remote server application on your computer. This will allow your device to connect and communicate to your PC on your home network. Requires Windows and .NET Framework 4.

Link:  http://www.unifiedremote.com/

2) After starting the server you will have to allow the software to bypass your firewall. This is again an important step as the Unified Remote server application on your computer must be allowed to bypass your firewall for it to connect to your Android device.

3) There appears a Unified Remote icon on your task bar. You can control the server (Start/Stop) from here.

4) When you double click the icon a window opens from where you can Start/Stop the Unified Remote application server when not in use.

5) Now your computer part is done. Time for installing the Unified Remote app on your Android device.

Search into Google Play from your Android device for "Unified Remote" and download the FREE version. Or go to the link,

https://play.google.com/store/apps/developer?id=Unified+Intents

Screenshots of Unified Remote app-

 

Here's a demo video:

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Why PHP is better than other scripting languages?

You will get different views with regards to the function of PHP and ASP.Net.  According to an individual, PHP is better than ASP.Net due to its ROI and open source. But another group have got more benefit than the latter. PHP is a decent language which has got a peculiar specification of object orientation as well as flexibility.  The programmers dealing with VB.NET and C# will be within the venture of switching language in the half way.  You will get inheritable classes around to avail .NET library. There will also be association with image manipulation as well as the working of XML. An individual can easily handle a lot of common task for it.


The facilities and disadvantage in PHP


The latest language known as PHP 5 has got true OOP as well as the capacity of exception handling. In order to prevent class naming collision, the language has got the disadvantage of name spacing advantage. The type checking of PHP is really very loose as compared to ASP.Net. All the variables present in PHP does not have a type.


Advantage of ASP.Net


An individual will definitely get the advantage of ASP.Net framework. There is an option of availing language inter operability. Due to this advantage, an individual can easily use any type of language. Even hit would be compatible with any preferred language of individual. It is now possible to use multiple languages in a single application by using dll.  This is generally used when you come across a big project or have an involvement of a complex team.  Here an individual will not have to upload the source code in the particular server.

The skeptics are asking themselves, "Why should I learn PHP?" The days of static Websites built with HTML files and a few CGI scripts are over: Today's sites must be dynamic.All the stale company brochures littering the streets of the Internet will transform into 24-hour virtual storefronts or be swept away. The toughest decision facing the creator of a Web application is choosing from hundreds of technologies.

Perl has adapted well to being a CGI solution and it has been used to drive complex Web technology like CyberCash and Excite's EWS search engine. Microsoft provides its Active Server Pages with Internet Information Server. Middleware like Allaire's Cold Fusion is yet another solution. ServerWatch.com lists hundreds of Web technologies, some costing tens of thousands of dollars. Why should you choose PHP over any of these alternatives?

The short answer is that PHP is better. It is faster to code and faster to execute. The same PHP code runs unaltered on different Web servers and different operation systems. Additionally, functionality that is standard with PHP is an add-on in other environments. A more detailed argument follows.

PHP is free. Anyone may visit the PHP Web site and download the complete source code. Binaries are also available for Windows. The result is easy entry into the experience. There is very little risk in trying PHP, and its license allows the code to be used to develop works with no royalties. This is unlike products such as Allaire's Cold Fusion or Everyware's Tango Enterprise that charge thousands of dollars for the software to interpret and serve scripts. Even commercial giants like Netscape and IBM now recognize the advantages of making source code available.

PHP runs on UNIX, Windows 98, Windows NT, and the Macintosh. PHP is designed to integrate with the Apache Web Server. Apache, another free technology, is the most popular Web server on the Internet and comes with source code for UNIX and Windows. Commercial flavors of Apache like WebTen and Stronghold support PHP, too. But PHP works with other Web servers, including Microsoft's Internet Information Server. Scripts may be moved between server platforms without alteration. PHP supports ISAPI to allow for the performance benefits of tightly coupling with Microsoft Web servers.

PHP is modifiable. PHP has been designed to allow for future extension of functionality. PHP is coded in C and provides a well-defined Application Programming Interface (API). Capable programmers may add new functionality easily. The rich set of functions available in PHP are evidence that they often do. Even if you aren't interested in changing the source code, it's comforting to know you can inspect it. Doing so may give you greater confidence in PHP's robustness.
PHP was written for Web page creation. Perl, C, and Java are very good general languages and are certainly capable of driving Web applications. The unfortunate sacrifice these alternatives make is the ease of communication with the Web experience. PHP applications may be rapidly and easily developed because the code is encapsulated in the Web pages themselves.

Support for PHP is free and readily available. Queries to the PHP mailing list are often answered within hours. A custom bug-tracking system on the PHP site shows each problem along with its resolution. Numerous sites, such as phpbuilder.com and zend.com, offer original content to PHP developers.

PHP is popular. Internet service providers find PHP to be an attractive way to allow their customers to code Web applications without the risks exposed by CGIs. Developers worldwide offer PHP programming. Sites coded in PHP will have the option of moving from one host to another as well as a choice of developers to add functionality.

Programming skills developed in other structured languages can be applied to PHP. PHP takes inspiration from both Perl and C. Experienced Perl and C programmers learn PHP very quickly. Likewise, programmers who learn PHP as a first language may apply their knowledge toward not only Perl and C, but other C-like languages such as Java. This is very different from learning to code in a visual editor such as Microsoft Visual InterDev.

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Google acquires "Quickoffice" - the maker of mobile office suite for Smartphone and Tablets

   

Google announced that it has get over on one of the top creators of office applications for mobile devices. The  “Quickoffice” is a office suite that are pre-installed on mobile devices from some of the most popular smartphone sold viz. Samsung, HTC, Nokia, LG, Sony, Motorola etc. The application has been installed on over 300 million devices to the date, the company claims. The Quickoffice suite application is available for iOS, Android and Sybian devices.  Adding up to the pre-installed suite on some phones, the company also claims its two main products called “Quickoffice Pro” and “Quickoffice Pro HD” are among the top-ten paid apps in the Google Play market.

Quickoffice is an assortment of apps for creating, editing and sharing Microsoft Office documents such as Word, Excel and Powerpoint. Google alleged in a statement that it will convey the office technology to its Apps product suite.

Google complete statement is:

We're happy to announce that we have acquired Quickoffice, a leader in office productivity solutions.

Google + Quickoffice = get more done anytime, anywhere

Today, consumers, businesses and schools use Google Apps to get stuff done from anywhere, with anyone and on any device. Quickoffice has an established track record of enabling seamless interoperability with popular file formats, and we'll be working on bringing their powerful technology to our Apps product suite.

Quickoffice has a strong base of users, and we look forward to supporting them while we work on an even more seamless, intuitive and integrated experience.

We're excited to welcome the Quickoffice team and their users to Google.

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The War of the Smartphones

There is a battle in progress - the winner will take a profitable chunk out of the mobile phone market and with it the ad and app revenue generated therein. The problem is that the media, bloggers, journalists and even the public believe there is an on-going battle between Google and Apple/BlackBerry in progress. But in reality this isn't the case, far from it, in reality Apple and BlackBerry are competitors as they have handsets which use a proprietary operating system and then they spend a small fortune marketing the brand. Google does something else. It does not make handsets (granted the Nexus is a Google handset but made and co-branded by Samsung) and it does not sell its operating system (it gives it freely to handset manufacturers under terms which allow Google services to interact within the network and handset to generate advertising revenue).

This creates a quandary whereby Apple and RIM are creating in all intense and purposes 'lifestyle' devices incarceration within a pre-determined ecosystem and enclosed application-based environment but Google leaves the portcullis to the castle open to anyone able to adapt, develop and thereafter resell their software. The problem is that Apple/RIM are intoxicated by their own 'brand', although that is not to say Android isn't a brand it's just what that brand means and therein becomes associated with is completely different to anything Apple or RIM create and distribute.

Market share

So, what the issue here surrounds is that of the public perception whereby 'Google' is going to steal or beat Apple and RIM into inferiority within the smartphone market. However this just isn't the case, in reality a free Google product will help to see an increase in market share, but that does not mean Google captures that market share for its self. HTC or Samsung capture that market. We need to remember that Handsets and Operating Systems, partially due to the success of Android, have become divorced from one another. This cleavage creates a perception  problem and one that needs to be cleared up.

Android is battling BlackBerry and Apple

Apple makes the iPhone. The iPhone is in incredible piece of both technological and marketing accomplishment yet it's operating system iOS is confined to the Apple mobile computing environment. You cant install iOS on a BlackBerry 9780 or a HTC Sensation. So that means Android cannot be compared to Apple or BlackBerry in the same way. Yet, this is what has happened so far. The question is can this be healthy for the future of Android.

The argument about Android's open eco-system are predominantly based on the Wintel arguments of the 1990s where, generally perceived, PC manufacturers and Software manufacturers colluded to bring down quality and technical excellence so as they could compete on a race to the bottom. Price was everything and that's how Intel, Windows and HP/Dell or IBM won out! The arguments are transplanted into the twenty first century that Google's Android will with Samsung, HTC and Sony Erricson's help see 'excellence' eroded through a battle of 'dumbing down' and racing to the bottom and competing on price.

Customer Views'

Yet, the issue here is that we are arguing that BlackBerry and Apple, the undoubted smartphone pioneers, worked hard to keep their phones at a certain cost level so as to retain their incredibly profitable revenue streams from collapsing because of engineering excellence. Apple and RIM make billions from selling phones, so when Android came along and people like DoCoMo, Huwaei and HTC created mid-range phones offering similar experiences to the iPhone or BlackBerry but at a substantially reduced price this created the perfect storm to occur within the mobile phone market. Apple and RIM went tooth and nail for the premium customers whilst Android's open handset alliance went all out for the budget and mid-size customers. The result was the undoubtedly that Android would dominate the smartphone market. Android handsets are shipping at 3-1 to Apple or RIM handsets according to Catalyst/comScore but, importantly, to different customers. 

Apple and RIM are rivals but Google's Android isn't, yet, a competitive rival to these two smartphone rivals.

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How to get back your Hacked GMail, Orkut, Google Account

This is my official reply to all mails/comments/scraps asking me how to get back hacked Gmail/Orkut/Google Account. Everyone should read this no matter how safe you think you are! 

As Google Account is a single account used across all Googles services like Gmail, Google+, Orkut, Blogger, Adsense, Checkout. etc, it can turn out to be our worst nightmare if it gets hacked!

Like many other online services Google tries to protect your account with secret question as well as optional secondary email address. But there is one more official option which only Google Provides!

Now lets go step-by-step…

1) Note Down the Verification Code

Whenever any account is registered with GOOGLE, it gives some confirmation messages and provide you a verification ID. Note down that verification id . If you are having that, recovering your account is just easy as burning a match stick.

2) Trying "Forget Password" option

 I know this will not work in most cases, as options like forget password rely on secondary email address and security question, both of which can be easily changed once a account gets hacked. Still you should try atleast once as most password gets hacked by script kiddies and not by real hackers.

So go to Forget Password form first!

3) What if "Forget Password" option FAILS

 You can submit a form to Google in which you can provide details about your Google Account usage.

Details include information which most likely only real owner can provide. Here are few things for example…

• Last successful login date
• Account creation date
• Google products you used with this account and the date you started using each one
• Details about Orkut account (if you use Orkut)
• Details about Blogger account (if you use Blogger)

Now most important part is what they quoted on the form,

“Please answer each question as thoroughly and accurately as possible. If you’re not certain about some of the information, provide your closest estimate. Whether or not we can return your account depends on the strength and accuracy of your responses.”

So I will suggest following things…

• Your goal should be to give Google maximum & accurate data! So take your time and submit form with maximum amount of information possible. You can consult your trusted friends if you are not sure. As an example it could be Sam or Bob who invited you on orkut. If you are not sure call them up and ask it!

• Submit only one form! Yes this should be common sense. Do not submit multiple forms. A person who uses around 10-15 Google products asked me if he can submit multiple forms mentioning different Google products.

• Submit form from the place which you use most often to access your account like PC at home! Although they haven’t mentioned this explicitly, line above submit button says, “Please note that we need your IP address in order to resolve this issue. Your IP address will be captured automatically when you submit this form.”

Finally Contact Form is here!!!

I advise everyone to have a look at this form and information it asks. You can prepare a document about secret info, may be in cell phone or pen down it on a paper. This will come handy if something goes wrong in future! 

I guess I have offered my best possible help on the issue. It may or may not work but thats all I can do.

If you don’t remember any detail required in the form or you just don’t get any reply from Google after submitting the form, please create a new account. There is no other option. Sorry.

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Polaroid launches 16 megapixel HD smart camera powered with Android

Polaroid announces world’s first Android HD smart camera – the Polaroid SC1630 at the CES last week. The compact camera would be running an Android smartphone within it and has no calling features even though press images show a signal strength bar. Having the Polaroid SC1630 smart camera powered with Android you will no longer need to pick between your smartphone and camera because it offers the best of both worlds.

The Polaroid SC1630 delivers everything expected from a digital camera but powered by android astounding packs all the features needed to handily capture, connect and instantaneously share stunning HD digital photos and videos into one device. The five ounces camera is an ultra-portable, 2-in-1 instant sharing powerhouse which leaves behind even the most powerful camera phones by mixing together an advanced imaging feature with an android powered mobile platform. 

                                  

Now what’s cool with the SC1630 is that it has sharing features. The camera has a built in Wi-Fi, so that captured images can be sent off to the cloud or transferred to a PC without the need of the cable. Many of the image editing apps can be downloaded since the SC1630 has access to the Android market which gives the photographer editing possibilities in the field.

Scott W. Hardy, president of Polaroid said, “Polaroid has helped the world bring stories to life through photographs for the past 75 years, the newest member of the Polaroid family, the Polaroid SC1630 Smart Camera unites the beauty of high-end digital images with powerful Android connectivity features. The result is an instant experience of click, capture and share that enables social networks to see and experience the moment as if they were there."

Highlights of Polaroid SC1630 -

• 16 megapixel camera
• 3x optical zoom
• 36mm - 108mm lens
• 3.2-inch display screen
• Wi-Fi
• Face and smile detection
• Geo-tagging
• Red-eye removal
• Resizing
• Colour correction
• microSD card slot. Up to 32 GB
• HD video capture
• Focal length: 3.1 - 5.6

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Apple co-founder "Woz" says Android better than iOS in some ways

In the year 1976, Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak jointly founded Apple, furthermore the very first Apple I computer was launched later the same year. The electrical engineer, Steve Wozniak (Woz) left the company after twelve years. He still holds Apple shares but are not full-time employee any more. His latest chat with Dan Lyons of The Daily Beast made headlines.

Woz said in a recent interview that there are some things which could be done much better with an Android smartphone compared to the iPhone 4S. Even though, Steve highlighted that iPhone 4S still his first preference phone and he believe the iPhone 4S is the most excellent overall smartphone. "My primary phone is the iPhone. I love the beauty of it. But I wish it did all the things my Android does."

The co-founder is not very much impressed with the iOs app Siri any more (Siri is an intelligent software assistant and knowledge navigator functioning as a personal aide application for iOS. The application make use of a natural language user interface to answer questions, make references, and perform procedures by hand overing requests to a web services). He says the voice commands on Android work better than on his iPhone. According to Woz:

“I used to ask Siri, ‘What are the five biggest lakes in California?’ and it would come back with the answer. Now it just misses. It gives me real estate listings. I used to ask, ‘What are the prime numbers greater than 87?’ and it would answer. Now instead of getting prime numbers, I get listings for prime rib, or prime real estate.”

                                                              iPhone's Siri App

Another feature where Wozniak thinks Android is better is the built-in navigation system.

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Motorola Droid Xyboard review: CES 2012

The minute you get your hands on the Droid Xyboard, it is clear that this is a higher-caliber Android tablet while comparing with almost everything else available today. The tablet is sleek, properly balanced and felt comfortable in our hands. A completely new look, significantly enhanced performance and some productivity-oriented enhancements make it feel and look like a first-class business tablet.

The 10.1-inch tablet is powered with Android OS v3.2 (Honeycomb) which is upgradable to v4.0. Motorola Droid Xyboard is just 8.8 mm thin (0.35-inch) which gives the sleek and slim look. But it’s not thin as the Toshiba’s Excite X10 which is just 7.7 mm thin which is the thinnest tablet yet.  It has a 5MP rear camera and a 1.3MP camera on the front. The camera also has a autofocus fuction provided with LED flash which can produce 2592 x 1944 pixels.

The soft rubberized grips on the horizontal sides of the tablet gives a comfortable feel and slip-resistant, but also delicately strengthen the notion that this tablet should be held in landscape mode. The tablet uses an IPS (In-plane switching) panel which results in a bright, vibrant screen that aids readable quality in all lightning conditions.

The only drawback is, the Xyboard lacks the full-sized USB port and SD card reader that other tablets have. But, it does have an IR transmitter that support in tablet’s en suite Dijit app which helps to contol your home theater.

Highlights -

• Size: 10.1-inch, 1280 x 800 pixels
• Weight: 599 grams
• Android OS, v3.2 (Honeycomb), upgradable to 4.0
• 1.2 GHz dual core TI OMAP 4 processor
• Camera: 5MP primary, autofocus, LED flash; 1.3 MP secondary
• 1 GB RAM
• 16 - 64 GB internal memory
• 3.5 mm audio jack
• Bluetooth
• Wi-Fi
• Battery: 7000 mAh; Talktime: 10 hours

Price -

Droid Xyboard is available for $479 for 16 GB version with two-years 4G contract. $579 for 32 GB; $679 for 64 GB; $699 for 16 GB Wi-Fi version.

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