Samsung's Galaxy Beam projector-phone

Samsung has released the new version of the Galaxy Beam smartphone, which has a built-in projector, in the UK.

The handset can cast high-definition content onto a wall or ceiling at a size of up to 50 inches. Its current iteration was first shown off in February, at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.

"It's the kind of device you won't find anywhere else — a high-definition projector within a standard-sized smartphone — and is great for people who want to watch movies, show photos to friends or need to give a presentation while they're out and about," Samsung UK and Ireland vice president Simon Stanford said in a statement.

A first iteration of the device was unveiled in 2010. The update brought a larger screen, measuring four inches rather than 3.7 inches. However, the device still carries what is now a very outdated version of Android, 'Gingerbread' 2.3.

The 145g smartphone runs the OS on a dual-core 1GHz processor, and also features a 5-megapixel camera and 8GB of internal memory.

Samsung did not announce any official UK pricing for the Galaxy Beam, nor did it say which networks, if any, will be carrying it.

At the time of writing, none of the major operators' websites showed the Beam on offer. Various independent online retailers are offering the smartphone for around £400.

Wait!!!! Dont Wash Your Cars

Researchers have developed a technology that could make washing your car a thing of the past.

Catarina Esteves and her colleagues from Netherlands' Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e) have created a highly water-resistant car coating that not only heals superficial scratches, but encourages specs of dirt to roll off the car in drops of water.

Near Field Communication Can Infect Android Remotely

Android and Nokia N9's MeeGo operating system can be exploited by using near field communication (NFC), that too without any user interaction.


Near field communication (NFC), a new radio communication technology, which connects similar smartphones when they are touched or brought close to each other, is already in use in several high end smartphones. However, it can be a potential threat to Android and Nokia phones.

Charlie Miller, a security specialist at the Black Hat information security conference in Las Vegas used NFC to transfer malicious code to different smartphones without interacting with the smartphone owner. 


Miler studied the process of infecting via NFC for about nine months and focused on applications that use the radio interface like Google's Beam. Miler explained that, “if a victim's smartphone is placed in the vicinity of a tag that has been tampered with, the phone's browser will be launched and will access a web site – in this case one that contains malware exploits for Android,” according to The H Online report. A tag is an unpowered NFC chip.

The demonstration also revealed that majority of the Android devices are outdated and are easily vulnerable to this bug, which can infect devices without any user interactions using NFC technology.

Also, Nokia N9's MeeGo operating system got infected as it is programmed to arbitrarily accept NFC communication. Miller stated in The H Online report: "The file rendering applications contain numerous bugs that can cause buffer overflows and enable attackers to take control of a device."

An attacker can also activate the N9's Bluetooth interface via NFC and then pair the device with a notebook, after which it can be used to send premium-rate SMS text messages or call premium numbers, or can even be used to export address book, and access the N9's filesystem. 

With the ever expanding horizons of technology, data security remains a prime concern that needs to be addressed before deploying a large scale technological solution. 

Meet The Transparent Solar Cell!

Made of photoactive plastic, the new transparent solar cell is 70 per cent transparent to human eye so you can still see outside.

UCLA researchers have developed a new see-through solar cell for windows that generate electricity. According to the researchers, it is an advance toward giving windows in homes and other buildings the ability to generate electricity while still allowing people to see outside. In other words, these transparent solar cells could one day be used to build solar windows or even sun collecting smartphones.

The UCLA team says that the new kind of polymer solar cell (PSC) produces energy by absorbing mainly infrared light, not visible light, making the cells almost 70 per cent transparent to the human eye. They made the device from a photo active plastic that converts infrared light into an electrical current.

Their study has been published in the journal ACS Nano.

"These results open the potential for visibly transparent polymer solar cells as add-on components of portable electronics, smart windows and building-integrated photovoltaic and in other applications," said study leader Yang Yang, a UCLA professor of materials science and engineering. Yang is also director of the Nano Renewable Energy Center at California Nano Systems Institute (CNSI).

According to Yang, there has been intense worldwide interest in so-called polymer solar cells due to their advantages over competing solar cell technologies. "Our new PSCs are made from plastic-like materials and are lightweight and flexible," he said. "More importantly, they can be produced in high volume at low cost."

Scientists are said to be investigating these PSCs for their potential in making unique advances for broader applications. Several such applications would be enabled by high-performance visibly transparent photovoltaic (PV) devices, including building-integrated photovoltaic s and integrated PV chargers for portable electronics.  

Reasons Why You Should Stay Away From Nexus 7

Will the low cost Google Nexus 7 tablet end up being a 'cheap' disaster?

 Google has successfully attracted the tablet market with its latest Android 4.1 Nexus 7 tablet. The $199 Nexus 7 has wooed the tablet crowd to the extent, that Google had to cease taking pre-orders of the 16 GB model, owing to huge demand. So, what exactly did the crowd find attractive in it? Price is clearly a winning proposition, so is the fact that this is first tablet direct from Google's kitty.

So if you are already considering owning a Nexus 7, have a rare peep inside the Nexus 7. 

Nexus 7 cannot read your pen drive: There is no USB OTG support on the Nexus 7, so, you cannot plug in your pen drive to watch movies.

There's hardly any apps in Android 4.1 Jelly Bean: A few days back Google released the software development kit (SDK) for Android Jelly Bean, so, it will take a while before you get to have a host of applications. Currently, Jelly Bean apps are limited in number.

No expandable memory slot: If you are planning to buy the 16 GB model, kindly note that you will end up getting around 12 GB of usable disk space. There is no facility to expand memory via external card slot. Just ask this question- what is 12 GB of memory in the age of high definition videos? You will always have to compromise on your old multimedia content to store new ones.

Google seems to have compromised too much just to achieve one aspect- price. Price is important but not at the cost of functionality. Several other complaints came up from Android fans like:

Screen separation: The display in several Nexus 7 tablets is creaking when touched at a certain point. The display seems to be faulty. Though it might be solved manually but if you are facing such problems, please get it replaced under Google's 15-day return policy.

Charging complain: Google seems to be in a real hurry to deliver its tablets. Chris Zeigler at The Verge reported that his Nexus 7 does not simply charge. He tried different wall chargers, but nothing worked. Zeigler even called Google Customer Support, which replied that the company does not provide warranty on Nexus 7 units sold through local retailers and insisted Zeigler to check with the retailer. Evidently, many other users are also facing the same issue.

Touch problem: If you are playing high end graphics games optimised for Tegra 3 on the tablet, then the touch detection might be a problem. This is due to over heating of the Tegra 3 processor that interacts with display and reduces the responsiveness at a specified portion on the display.

Microphone issue: Users at XDA Developers forum are complaining of a dead microphone in Nexus 7 tablet. So, check yours and use the Google's return policy effectively. 

Ghosting effect: Ghosting effect is a situation where a particular image is retained on the screen. This is a major issue with high pixel density IPS panels. The effect can be seen properly if you put the Nexus 7 tablet on full brightness level.

The complain log is steadily getting packed with issues, so watch out before buying this Jelly Bean!

Future Green Train Could Be Twice As Fast As Airplane!

Hyperloop, a future green train, could transport people from Los Angeles to San Francisco in just 30 minutes.

Have you ever imagined a train that could even surpass an airplane in speed? Elon Musk, chief executive officer, Tesla Motor has disclosed plans for a new green vehicle that could transport people from Los Angeles to San Francisco--the two California cities--in as little as 30 minutes. If ‘Hyperloop’ successfully achieves this, it would surpass not just a bullet train but also an airplane in speed. Currently the fastest way to travel between the two California cities is by plane, which takes about an hour.

According to a report by InHabitat, Musk recently discussed the new transit system at the first ever Pando Monthly event in Santa Monica, CA. The system would be "entirely powered by solar energy."  

"You would go from downtown LA to downtown San Francisco in under 30 minutes. It would cost you much less than an air ticket than any other mode of transport," Musk was quoted as saying. "I think we could actually make it self-powering if you put solar panels on it, you generate more power than you would consume in the system. There's a way to store the power so it would run 24/7 without using batteries."

Musk should be out with more information about the new mode of transportation in the coming weeks. So look forward to hearing more about the train which will not only be inexpensive and weather-proof but also resistant to crashes! 

Apps That Will Rock Your Android Tablet

We have made a list of apps that will equip your Android tablet to be a real time friend in all need and deeds! 

As Android tablets are becoming cheaper day by day, its popularity is steadily heading north. So, what to do after buying your first Android tablet? Well, instead of randomly downloading applications and trying them out, we have made a list of applications, which are worth trying.

To start with social networking, there are several apps in Google's Play Store but the following ones are the best in the social sector. You can try them out and choose:

Plume: The Twitter application for tablet isn't that smooth, so you can get Plume, a highly customisable Twitter app, that will help you with tweets on your Android tablet. 


Friendcaster: Well we all have the Facebook app, but try this out and feel the difference. Friendcaster for Facebook is far better than the official Facebook app. 

IM+: You can stay connected with your friends on AIM, Google Talk, Skype, MSN, Yahoo, Facebook chat for free via IM+.

Next in line is entertainment. These are the apps we shortlisted for satisfying all your entertainment needs.

MXPlayer: This is an eye-candy for Android tablets. It can play several different video formats including popular ones like avi, mkv, divx.

IMDb: Which movie to watch? Which movies to download? Get to know all about movies via the IMDb app for free. 

Kindle: We are definitely not talking about the Kindle fire tablet! This Kindle is a free app through which you can buy kindle e-books. 

Sketchbook Pro: A full touch Android tablet can be a perfect canvass for the artist inside you. Spend $5 and you get to draw and paint with virtual tools and brush styles that can be really used to create art. You can save up to six layers per file and export files to photoshop.

Crackle: This is a free release from Sony. You can streams full-feature movies and popular TV shows to your Android tablet via Crackle for free.

Camera Launcher: Camera Launcher lets you access camera in the Nexus 7 and flip it into a dedicated camera app so you can take self portraits. Also, it records video too.

Stitcher Radio: Stitcher Radio can play over 10,000 radio stations, shows and podcasts from the best of NPR, CNN, Fox, BBC, Freakonomics, Adam Carolla, etc.

A couple of more applications will make your Android experience easy.

File Manager HD: Through this app, you know what's going on inside your Android buddy! File Manager reveals the file structure of the OS so you can find files, transfer stuff around and more.

Evernote: If you want to take and manage your notes, then Evernote is the ideal app for you. It's free and you can take notes, pictures, record voice notes and upload files to carry it on the cloud.

HOW TO SAVE YOUR ANDROID PHONE BATTERY

The big screen and fast processor of an Android Smartphone drain its battery pretty fast. Here are a few tips to help you get the most out of your phone’s battery.

A major issue faced by Android Smartphone users is its battery drainage. With its big screen and fast processor, the phone consumes a lot of battery power. With access to umpteen applications, your download and upload frequency increases too. You are lucky if you get 24 hours out of its battery. Here are 8 tips for saving your phone battery:

  1)  Find out applications and components that consume more power. The first step to increase battery life is to find out the apps and components that consume the most power. Press ‘Menu’ key, go to ‘Settings’, scroll to bottom of the settings menu and tap ‘About Phone’, and tap ‘Battery Use’ to know about the battery consumption.

  2)  Use the screen wisely. The big display of Android phone puts the maximum load on its battery. Make sure that your phone goes into sleep mode when you are not actively using the device. To set the screen time-out time, tap ‘Display’ in ‘Settings’ menu, click ‘Screen Timeout’ and set the time.

The brightness of the screen can also be controlled. The ‘Display’ menu has a option to select brightness levels. You can either select constant screen brightness or enable automatic adjustment to suit the ambient light. Choosing the ‘Power Saving Mode’ enables variations in the brightness level depending upon the picture. Immediately lock the keypad once a work is over, to instantly turn off the screen.

  3)  Turn off the features that you’re not using. Radio interfaces eat up a lot of battery. You can drag the ‘Notification’ bar down to toggle WiFi, Bluetooth and GPS. Keep such services off unless you are actively using these. Turn on the GPS just before you need it.

  4)  Quit applications properly if not in use. It is a common practice to use the home button for getting out of any application, but this actually leaves the application open in the background. In order to save the Battery, quit applications properly by pressing ‘Back’ or ‘Exit’.

  5)  Resist using a lot of widgets. Widgets are useful, but many of these like news tickers or weather forecasters need a lot of processing time and data downloads for regular updates. Keep away from having too many widgets on your home screen. You can instead create application shortcuts and run these when required. Similar is the case with the Android’s live wallpapers. These look good but can drain the battery constantly.

  6) Get rid of checking e-mails of-ten. Checking e-mails very often eats up a lot of power, but many a times it cannot be avoided. Get started with Android’s E-mail app and go to an account. Press ‘Menu’ key, click ‘More’ and choose ‘Account Settings’. Tap ‘E-mail Check Frequency’ and choose ‘Every Hour’, then repeat for other mail accounts as well. You can enable the settings for social media applications like TweetDeck too.

  7)  Avoid too many videos and Games. Android phones have great radios, music or movie players, but video playback drains the battery fast. So be restrictive when you use your iplayer, play Angry Birds or Stair Dismount. Overuse can leave you powerless!!!!

  8)  In an Emergency. Android devices warn about low battery mostly when only 15% charge is left. As soon as you see this alert, head to the notifications bar and turn off as many applications as possible. Also, hold in the power button and turn off the data network mode. Make sure that you exit all non-essential apps, return to home screen and turn the screen off. In short, it is advisable to use your Smartphone as a phone only in case of low battery.

Cheapest iPhone in the World

Indian operator Aircel sprung a pleasant surprise by announcing that it had slashed the iPhone 3GS price to Rs. 9,999 (US $180). While the iPhone 3GS is available for free on a contract in the US, as far as total cost of ownership is concerned, the Aircel deal is probably the cheapest iPhone anywhere in the world.

Aircel is offering the black 8GB iPhone 3GS for an upfront payment of Rs. 9,999 (US $180) and an "advance rental" of Rs. 3,000 (US $55). This advance rental gets you 2GB of 3G data per month for an year or 1000 minutes and 2500 text messages per month for 6 months.

The icing on the cake is that the phones are unlocked, which means you are free to take the phone anywhere in the world, and put in a SIM of your choice. That's right, an unlocked iPhone for a total cost of $235 ($180 + $55).

As a contrast, in the US you can pick-up an iPhone 3GS 8GB for free but with a two-year $39.99 a month contract. That's a whooping $960 over the 24 months, and the device is locked to AT&T for the length of the contract.

Alternatively, you can pick up an unlocked iPhone for an up-front $375 in the US, £319.00 ($498) in the UK, HKD 2,888 ($372) in Hong Kong, A$449 ($465) in Australia or Euro 349 ($424) in Spain. That makes the Aircel iPhone 3GS the cheapest by a wide-margin - $137 or around Rs. 7500.

Now if that isn't the cheapest iPhone deal anywhere in the world, we don't know what is. No seriously, if your country/ operator offers a cheaper iPhone total cost of ownership, let us know via the comments!!!!

TOP 7 Windows Phone App

Top 10 Must have Apps for every Windows Phone:

Here I am providing the list of some apps which I believe that it should be there on each and every windows phone.I categorized these on the basis of there information given to users and there informativeness. All the apps listed here are of student developers as I believe they are new to this field but have done great job to be in this list...... 

1) Unknown Tricks:

Unknown Tricks

Description: This application provides you all the tricks related to Famous company's like Microsoft,Google,Facebook and some of the Maths trick that makes calculation easy and fast.
As I have tried this app and used it, It provided me help in many fields so its the top listed app.Also the success tips are creative and easy to follow.

After its latest Update this app is also providing the Computer tricks and Success tips in your room that will amaze you and makes you easy to work with any kind of OS installed on your PC or Laptop.
MUST TRY.!!!!


2) Photo Edit Pro


 This app allows you to edit photos, it enhances your photo quality and also

provides worlds best effect like vivid, aqua, ventura and lots more.

The app will add colours to your life too. This app is ranked 2 because of its creativity and popularity.This app is free for now but as its popularity is increasing it may be changed to paid app, so go and grab it don't wait.

Caution: Don't use this app when you are connected with your PC via Zune 

software (It won't work at that time).

 MUST HAVE APP.!!!!






3) Bollywood HD Songs

Bollywood HD Songs

Description: As the name of the app suggest that it provides the latest Bollywood HD songs that are most famous and loved by everyone, it contains the HD songs from Yash Raj films and also such other famous industries.Its a must try app for everyone.

The new version 6 of this app is more awesome and adds a lot of amazing user interface and the new HTML5. So the new version of this app will amaze you. All the bugs have been fixed in the latest version so we rank this app as top 3.



4) Quotes By Swami Vivekanand

Quotes By Swami Vivekanand

Description: This is the app which is all about the thoughts of Great Great Swami Vivekananda. And if you read these Quotes you will really feel like being surrounded by Heavenly bodies and positive minds.This app gives you a positive thought and makes the day wonderful.
You must have this app because if you start your day with his thoughts then you will really have a nice future and career.


5) Strange Facts

Strange Facts

Description: Are you aware of all the facts in this world ??
No, then is app is for you, as it gives some of the strange facts of the famous personalities.
By the way this app is also strange and crazy as it gives the crazy information of the celebrities.The coming update seems to be better in user interface and will be helpful to its users.

6)  Save Me

Save Me

Description: You all need help in Dangerous  situation or in any kind of Hazards. So this app provides the best measures to be taken when some natural hazards takes place like if Tsunami comes then what should you do, and all such questions are answered.So I believe that this app should be there in every mobile as we don't know whats going to happen in coming minute.





7) Tech Magazines 


This app contains RSS of popular Technology Magazine site like PC World, 

MacLife, Linux Journal, cnet news, etc.

This is really a best app for all magazine lovers.And will give you all the magazine coverage in free, so need to waste your money on buying each and every magazines you can just install this free app and enjoy.

Considered as best magazine app by its user.


 

Samsung Galaxy Note 2

Samsung has announced it will launch a new Galaxy device at a press conference scheduled to be held on August 15. Rumours are the company is going to unveil its next flagship smartphone - Galaxy Note 2, which will come with remarkable improvements over the original Galaxy Note.

According to BGR and Mobile Syrup, the Samsung Galaxy Note 2 will not only be thinner but taller as well. The device is said to have a 5.5-inch display, as compared to 5.3-inch screen of the original Note. The Note 2 will run on the latest Android 4.1 Jelly Bean operating system and sport a 13MP camera. The device is expected to be powered by a quad-core Exynos processor, the same as seen in the S III.

Rumors further suggest that the device will be shown off well ahead of the August 31 IFA event slated to be held in Berlin.

Rumors about the Galaxy Note 2 have been circulating for quite sometime. Last month, we'd passed along the speculation that the Note 2 will be launched in October. It was rumored that Samsung will pit its Note 2 against Apple's iPhone 5, which is expected to be introduced around the same time.

It may be noted here Samsung has remarkably grown its market share with launch of new products in the recent past. Samsung took the world by storm with launch of the Galaxy S II in 2011. This year the company released the Galaxy S III (read our review here). With the inclusion of the Galaxy Note 2 plus Jelly Bean to its arsenal, Samung will definitely grab on an edge over its rivals such as Apple.

New Technology Converts Ink Into Sound!

The printed paper when connected to an audio amplifier give us a considerably loud sound. 

We have seen flexible electronic circuits from Xerox and also flexible organic flash memory from Tokyo University in the past. But it seems that a German researcher could be the first to commercialise electronics printed on a sheet of paper. Professor Hübler, who runs a research and development group at the Chemnitz University (pmTUC) in Germany, has come up with a new technology that converts ink into sound. The newly developed ink makes it possible to produce flat speakers or printed solar cells.  The printed paper loudspeaker is connected to an audio amplifier like a conventional loudspeaker. "Frequency response and hence sound quality are very good and the paper is surprisingly loud. Just the bass of the paper-based loudspeaker is a bit weak,” explains Dr Georg Schmidt, senior researcher at pmTUC. The thin loudspeakers, which are printed in the laboratories of pmTUC, contain several layers of a conductive organic polymer and a piezoactive layer.

According to project assistant Maxi Bellmann, the loudspeakers can be produced in a very cheap way as mass printing methods are used. It is possible to print coloured messages on unused space available at the bottom side of the paper loudspeaker.

New applications 
The paper loudspeakers could be integrated into common print products. They also look promising for the advertising segment. "In addition, sound wallpapers and purely technical applications, e.g., distance sensors, are possible, because the papers are also active in the ultrasound range,” says Hübler and adds: "As printing allows for different formats and forms, there is the possibility to influence the generated sound waves.” 

Top 15 PC Viruses Since 1986

The journey from Brain to Flame. Know about the most prominent creatures of the world, that we have always wanted to quarantine. 

The journey from Brain to Flame. Know about the most prominent creatures of the world, that we have always wanted to quarantine.  Now days, computer viruses are fast treading into our day to day life in the form of Trojans, back doors, worms, malwares, spy wares and many more. A peek into the history of these notorious creatures reveal that the first ever PC virus appeared in the year 1986. It was named 'Brain' and multiplied itself by writing its code to the boot sector of floppy disks. Since then, several species have come and gone. Kaspersky Lab has compiled a list of 15 most influential malicious programs in history.  “For the last 15 years, we have been working round the clock every day analysing and combating all kinds of IT threats that have evolved in that time from cyber hooliganism, via cybercrime to cyber warfare. Today it’s more important than ever to cooperate against digital threats. Recent attacks such as Stuxnet, Duqu and Flame have shown just how vulnerable IT infrastructures are to military and terrorist threats. But we are doing all we can to prevent the potential disasters that could result from these kinds of attacks,” said Eugene Kaspersky, CEO and co-founder, Kaspersky Lab. Here's the list of the top 15 viruses: 1986- Brain, the first PC virus appeared. It spread by writing its code to the boot sector of floppy disks. 1988- The Morris worm infected around 10 per cent of the computers connected to the Internet (about 6000 computers). 1992- Michelangelo, the first virus to attract massive media attention.  1995- Concept, the first macro virus.  1999- Melissa ushers in the era of mass-mailing of malware responsible for huge global epidemics.  2003- Slammer, a fileless worm, responsible for a massive worldwide epidemic. 2004- Cabir, first Proof-of-Concept for Symbian; propagated via Bluetooth.  2006- Leap, the first virus for Mac OSX.  2007- Storm Worm (Zhelatin) pioneers the use of distributed C&C servers. 2008- Koobface, the first malware to target Facebook.  2008- Conficker, one of the biggest epidemics in history, infects businesses, home users and governments in over 200 countries. 2010- FakePlayer, SMS Trojan for Android. 2010- Stuxnet, a targeted attack on SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition) systems; signaled the advent of the cyberwar era.  2011- Duqu, a sophisticated Trojan that collects intelligence about its targets.  2012- Flame, a highly sophisticated, malicious program that is actively being used as a cyber weapon to target entities in several countries.