Review | 'Motorola Droid RAZR' : Thinner;Smarter;Faster;Stronger

Motorola has unveiled the 'Droid RAZR' smartphone - World's thinnest smartphone - at a joint event with Verizon in the New York City in a totally new avatar which combines the 'Droid' brawn with the legacy of 'RAZR' design.

Motorola Droid RAZR

This latest addition to the Verizon's Droid Lineup, after Droid Bionic, is 'impossibly thin' which comes with a 4.3 inch qHD super AMOLED screen with a Gorilla Glass coating powered by a 1.2GHz dual-core processor. But the feature that makes the phone stand out from any other in the World is its thin form factor. At 7.1mm(0.28 inch), the Droid RAZR stands as the thinnest smartphone in the world right now.

5 years later after the original flip Droid RAZR phone was ceased, Motorola has come up a long way to produce this hugely improved new version which is almost unrecognizable to its predecessor.

With the old same name comes a whole new range of features that come loaded into the new RAZR smartphone. Have a look!

PROS

• The Droid RAZR comes with a solid 4.3 inch qHD super AMOLED display.
• It runs on a 1.2GHZ TI OMAP4430 processor.
• It runs on Android 2.3 Gingergread OS.
• It comes with 1GB of RAM and 16GB onboard memory along with 32GB expandable capability via a micro SD card.
• It has a 8 MP rear-facing camera with with dual LED that has 1080p Video Recording capabilities
• The phone comes with a 4G LTE support.

• It is the thinnest - just 7.1mm - smartphone available in the market right now.

• The phone's display is made out of the Gorilla Glass and the phone has a Kevlar fiber casing along with Motorola's new Splash guard technology and a stainless steel core.

• Other features like Bluetooth 4.0 and HDMI out options.
• 'Smart Actions' application comes installed that helps to automate tasks and optimize battery efficiency.
• 'Motocast' application also comes installed that will stream and download media to the phone from a corresponding desktop PC app.
• The phone has a Webtop application that turns the phone into a portable PC, similar to that in Droid Bionic.
  

CONS

• The phone's battery isn't swappable i.e. the battery can't be removed.
• It's not a World phone as it does not support CDMA network.

So,the Droid RAZR is ready to hit the shelves as the pre-order to the phone would start by October 27 and would soon be available some-time in November with a price tag of $299.

Excited about this much-awaited 'Droid RAZR' ultra-slim phone ? Share your opinions and reactions . We'll surely get back to ya'soon..!!

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Just In | Google Nexus And Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) Unveiled

Samsung unveiled its latest smartphone - 'Google Nexus' - running on the latest version of the Google Android Operating System - Android 4 or Ice Cream Sandwich - with revamped designs and enhancement galore.

Android 4 or Ice Cream Sandwich

Samsung and Google unveiled the much-awaited 'Google Nexus' smartphone, at an event organised in Hong Kong, which is long due to be launched as it was delayed to pay tribute to the Late Steve Jobs - Apple Co-founder.

The all-new Android 4 or Ice Cream Sandwich would be a platform-friendly Operating System as it would be functional on Smartphones, Tablets and everything in between.

Following is an insight of these latest launches from Google and Samsung :

Google Nexus

Google Nexus

Finally, its here! Google announced its new flagship Android device - The Samsung made 'Google Nexus' - which comes loaded with Android 4 or Ice Cream Sandwich.

Listed below are the eye-popping features of this new smartphone :

• The Google Nexus features a whooping 4.65inch HD Super AMOLED display with a resolution of 1280 x 720 with a amazing contrast ratio of 100000:1
• 1.2GHz dual-core processor with 1GB of RAM.
• A 5MP rear camera and 1.3MP front camera with video recording capability of 1080p @ 30fps.
• Internal memory options of 16 and 32GB.
• EDGE/GPRS/HSPA+ connectivity and 4G LTE compatibility.

In terms of dimensions, the phone is quite similar to its predecessor - the Samsung Nexus S - weighing at 135g and is 8.94mm thick. The back of the phone is made up of 'Hyper skin' - a soft gripping texture - which features in Samsung Galaxy S II as well. 

Google Nexus

The camera captures videos at a whooping 1080p with a 5MP rear camera and comes with a panorama mode and NO shutter lag. The NFC technology remains on-board with loads of connectivity options like Bluetooth 3.0, Wi-Fi and HSPA+. The phone also features a proximity sensor and a Barometer.

The phone features a Android Beam feature, a technology which allowing super-quick photo,video,contact and maps sharing with just tapping 2 phones together.

The device is expected to hit the shelves in November in UK this year with a release date still unknown to us.

Android 4 or Ice Cream Sandwich

The Android 4 or Ice Cream Sandwich is now official!

Google unveiled the latest version of Android Operating System - Android 4 or Ice Cream Sandwich - at an event organised in Hong Kong. With a revamped design and a whole lot of new features embedded into this version of Android, Google surely has a winner up its sleeves as it comes loaded with some amazing features like NFC-enabled feature known as 'Android Beam', a next-gen unlocking method called 'Face Unlock' and many more.

Listed below are the eye-popping features of this new Operating System :

• The 5MP camera is really fast as it comes with a zero shutter lag and features like time lapse setting and zoom while recording.
• A browser with improved functionality decreasing the bugs it used to face along with a save-page option for offline reading. The browser allows upto 16 tabs and automatic Google Chrome Bookmark Sync.
• Face Unlock feature which allows only the authorized person to unlock the phone with the help of face scanning.

• Android Beam feature which is a NFC enabled feature allowing exchange of photo,videos,maps and contacts by simply tapping the two phones together.

• Pinch to zoom feature in Calender and drag-and-drop Folder creation method, similar to iOS.
• Integrated feature that allows user to capture the screenshot of the phone's screen by just holding the power and volume buttons,

• Shut down the apps which are not in use and are wasting data in the background to make up the processing and functionality even more smoother.

 Take a look at this Google Nexus Video!

With a whole lot of new feature embedded into this Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) along with revamped design and enhancement galore, Ice Cream Sandwich is surely a big improvement over Gingerbread and Honeycomb and would be loved deeply by the true Android fans!

Excited about the much-awaited Google Nexus And Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) ? Share your opinions and reactions . We'll surely get back to ya'soon..!!

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How To | Activate the all-new Facebook "Timeline" Profile

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced the new redesign for the site’s profiles coming soon called “Timeline”

The site founder unveiled some of the biggest changes in the site's history with the introduction of the new 'timeline' profile pages at the company's f8 conference in San Francisco.



Mark Zuckerberg said the new profile page had been designed so that, 'you can tell the whole story of your life on a single page'.

Timeline is wider than your old profile, and it's a lot more visual.  The first thing you'll notice is the giant photo right at the top. This is your cover, and it's completely up to you which of your photos you put here.

As you scroll down past your cover, you'll see your posts, photos and life events as they happened in time. You choose what's featured on your timeline. You can star your favorites to double their size or hide things altogether.

Although the feature has been announced, it is not yet available to the public – only developers. A beta version is available for developers now, but for the rest of us, it seemed that we’d have to wait a few weeks before we were able to use Timeline.

• Log into your Facebook account.

• Enable developer mode, if you haven’t already. To do this, type “developer” into the Facebook search box, click the first search result.

• Hit the "Allow" button.

• Click “Create New App”.

• Give it a random display name and namespace, and check the “I Agree” box and hit continue.

• Then a security check is required. Enter the captcha in the space provided and click submit.

• You’ll be directed to the Facebook Developers main page. Here, click on “Open Graph” on the left-hand column.

• Fill in whatever you want in the following fields. Create a test action for your app, like “read” a “book”, or “eat” a “sandwich”. Then click “Get Started.”

• Scroll to the bottom of the page and then click on “Save Changes and Next”. Again click on “Save Changes and Next” and finally click on “Save and Finish”

• You may have to wait a bit for your app to be processed. Just go back to your homepage and wait for your invite to enable Timeline.

• You’ll then be greeted with a window that says “Introducing Timeline — A New Kind of Profile.” Click “Get it Now,” and that’s it.

Take a look at this video featuring the all-new Facebook TimeLine Profile.

While the new design is sure to make a few people unhappy, my sense is that most users will embrace it, and while Facebook will allow folks to not switch for some time, everyone will eventually have to switch to the new profile page, so as usual it’s a “like it or leave it” proposition that has worked so far for Facebook.

Blown away with this Timeline feature in Facebook? Share your opinions and reactions . We'll surely get back to ya' soon..!!

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Just In | Windows 8 : Features & Developer's Preview Download

Microsoft has unveiled the details of its much-awaited Windows 8 OS and released the Windows 8 Developer's Preview for download.

Just after Microsoft released a video showing off how fast can Windows 8 boot from a cold start - in just 8 seconds! - and other rumors doing the rounds, Microsoft has followed it up by a release of a Developer Preview to the Public.

As this is a Developer's edition which is designed to make users familiar with this new OS and moreover to debug the errors that might come up while using this edition which when reported by the developers can be rectified by Microsoft for a flawless version of Windows 8 lined up for a 2012 release. But for those who can't stop themselves from getting their hands on this OS, they can simply download the different Developer Preview editions offered by Microsoft.

With the all-new Metro UI being the stand-out feature in this edition, Windows 8 would offer a lot more when released later in 2012. Some of its features are listed below:

• Aero Auto-Colorization : Here's something that doesn't address the critical nuts-and-bolts of Windows 8, but could be fun: Aero can be set to automatically change the colors of your Windows theme based on the primary colors of a desktop wallpaper image you use. There's already a program that does the same thing for Windows 7 called Aura.
• App Bar : A toolbar UI element in "Metro-style" applications that is typically hidden until needed and houses commands, which are generally UI elements like buttons and other graphical controls.

• Charms : A set of five icons - Search, Share, Start, Devices and Settings - available from in the Edge User Interface, which appears when you swipe into the interior of the screen from the right side of the screen.
• Cloud Integration : The Windows 8 Explorer interface will access Microsoft's cloud services, possibly SkyDrive and Windows Live Mesh. SkyDrive is an online storage space that you can put your files in, and Mesh lets you sync your other Windows computers and mobile devices remotely.
  
  
  
• History Vault: Windows' long-time "restore to a given point in time" function will be renamed History Vault. It will be a more robust tool that takes a "snapshot" copy of the entire contents of your Windows 8 computer's hard drive and then lets you easily restore things to that prior system state.

• Internet Explorer 10 : The new version of Microsoft's web browser - IE 10 - will be available in a desktop version.

• Lock Screen : The new lock screen for Windows 8, which appears after you put your computer to sleep or restart or lock your computer. Notifications such as new email alerts, Wi-Fi availability and other essential, user-chosen information will be pushed to this screen.

• Picture password : A new method of logging in to Windows 8 that involves a photo or touch gestures and swipes.
• Refresh Your PC : A new service in Windows 8 that reinstall Windows from scratch as it automatically backs up all of your photos, music, videos, and other personal files and your Metro-style apps and then reapplies everything back to the system.

• Start Screen : Here is the start screen in the ‘Metro’ view (the classic start bar “desktop” view is still available). Users can scroll side-to-side, much as they would on an iOS or Android phone, for different groups of applications. Immediately to the right of this homescreen is the media hub.

• Tiles : These are the UI elements found in the Windows 8 Start screen that replace icons and represents applications in form of "tiles" also known as "Live Tiles". Tiles are said to be "pinned" to the Start screen & when removed they are "unpinned."

• Windows Store : Microsoft's online store for Windows 8 applications, which will consist of both Metro-style apps and traditional applications. Users can install Metro-style apps on up to five Windows PCs. Trial versions of Metro-style apps will be available.

• Zoomed Out View : Users can zoom out from this view to see all of their apps at once. This is also where you can move entire blocks at a time closer to the homescreen. For example, if you want Games immediately next to your homescreen, or on the homescreen itself, you can pick up the entire block and drag it to the left.

With so much to offer and the Developer's Preview edition already been downloaded over 500000 times, the truly innovative feature and UI are extremely compelling and do grab one's attention!

Blown away with this Metro UI? Interested in knowing more about this Windows 8 OS? Share your opinions and reactions . We'll surely get back to ya' soon..!!

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Just In | iPhone 5 Specs Leaked

Vodafone incidentally gave a sneak peak into the specs of the much-awaited iPhone 5. If the specs outed by Vodafone are anything to go by, the all-new iPhone 5 would soon be arriving with in 16GB and 32GB storage flavors along with 2 color options - black and white - as speculated earlier.

As seen on the Vodafone SureSignal listing, Vodafone is going to come up with a whole new range of phones along with this much-awaited iPhone 5. Although Vodafone has already removed the page of SureSignal listing, but a snapshot of the link confirms this alleged 'leak'.

If rumors are anything to go by, the next-gen iPhone 5 would not feature a 64GB capability, as in iPod Touch and iPad. Also, the phone is expected to have a 8MP or higher resolution camera and would feature the same A5 proccesor as in iPad 2.

On being asked to comment on how this alleged 'leak' happened, Vodafone played it safe stating that it would 'look into' the matter soon.

Interested in knowing more about the much-awaited iPhone 5? Share your opinions and reactions . We'll surely get back to ya' soon..!!

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Review | 'Droid Bionic' : Attacked; Killed; Reborn

Motorola's most-awaited launch of the year - The 'Droid Bionic' smartphone in now available in the market with a price tag of $299.99

The Droid Bionic is a Verizon 4G LTE product powered by a dual-core processor and has an ability to transform into a Linux-based PC. After a long wait of about 9 months - from the time it was first announced at CES on 5th January this year - this phone is finally up for the grabs.


So is it worth the wait, then?




Hardware

The phone features an impressive 4.3inch qHD display offering a bright and eye-popping resolution. On the left side, the phone is equipped with  micro-USB and micro HDMI ports while on the right side lies a solitary volume controller. The power button and the headphone ports feature on the top of the phone with a 8 MP camera at the back with a 1080p video recording capability.The phone has a striking similarity to Droid X2's designing and layout.But then, Droid Bionic is Verizon's thinnest LTE phone till date - just 13.3mm thick - and weighs 159grams and it doesn't feature the physical buttons that featured on the Droid X2. Rather, the phone comes with 4 touch buttons for different functions.




Software

The Droid Bionic runs on Android Gingerbread 2.3.4 version. The five homescreens offer great customization to the users and the with a huge screen and a predictive keyboard, writing a message is never a problem. A double tap on the home button shows all the five homescreens at one go. While a normal bootup would clock around some 50seconds, if the phone is put in sleep mode it boots up in a more teneable two seconds. The phone comes with the latest Google Talk app with video chat option and some new apps like QuickOffice and Motoprint.


Performance & Battery Life

The Droid Bionic comes loaded with a 1700mAH battery - the largest battery on any LTE device -offering greater longitivity to the users. On moderate usage the phone offer quite a brilliant resistive battery that can last up for almost a day.


On the performance front, the Droid Bionic surely doesn't disappoint. The TI OMAP processor, running at 1GHz and equipped with 1GB RAM, the phone can render through webpages very swiftly, loads applications snappily and offers a very impressive feddback to its users.




Camera

A 8MP camera delivers offers satisfactory output as it seemed to click some underexposed images at times with the autofocus taking few extra seconds of shutter lag resulting in a slow camera. Anyhow, the phone is capable of recording 1080p videos which offers an improved video recording experience for the users.




With all the specs of Droid Bionic listed above, here's an overview of this high-octane phone.


The Good

• An impressive slim and sleek design.
• 4.3 Inch qHD display.
• Dual core processor and Verizon 4G LTE.
• Multimedia features are plentiful.

The Bad

• Not-so-cool Motorola's Custom UI.
• Camera shutter lag.
• A dull Display.
• Expensive pricing.

The Verdict

Droid Bionic offers everything one could expect from a high-end phone like this. It's sleek and slim design powered with a powerful processor offers a great experience to the users, if they are willing to pay the price!


Excited about this much-awaited 'Droid Bionic' phone ? Share your opinions and reactions . We'll surely get back to ya'soon..!!

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