Twitter for Android, iPhone and iPad updated with Photo Editor and Filters

Twitter has updated the Android, iPhone and iPad apps that brings photo filters and option to enhance photos with auto fix and crop. This feature is powered by Aviary. Photo filters are already available in Instagram and Snapseed apps for Android and iPhone. The Instagram app was released for Android earlier this year and the iPhone app got a major update today. The Snapseed photo editing app was released last week for Android and iOS app went free.

 

  

New features in Twitter for Android, iPhone and iPad

• Apply one of eight filters, ranging from black & white to vintage, to add a new look and feel to your photos

• See how each filter would affect your photo in a single grid view, or swipe through looks to compare your options

• Crop and pinch to zoom in order to focus attention

• Make your photos pop with balanced light and colors by tapping the wand

• Improvements and bug fixes

Download Twitter for Android from the Google Play Store and Twitter for iPhone and iPad from the Apple iTunes Store.

Chinese iPhone 5 Preorders Exceed 300,000

This Friday the iPhone will go on sale in China, and just days before, the nation’s second largest carriers revealed that preorders for the device has surpassed over 300,000 units less than a week after initiating reservations.
In a post on Sina Weibo microblog (via MacWorld), China Unicom said pre-sale orders for Apple’s iPhone 5 is now at over 300,000. This means that the carrier added around 200,000 reservations to the 100,000 recorded a day after reservations were made available.
China Unicom is Apple’s largest partner in the country, with China Telecom coming in second.

MediaTek launches MT6589 quad-core chip aimed at mid to high-end Android devices

 

 MediaTek has launched MT6589 System on a Chip (SoC), aimed at mid to high-end Android smartphones and tablets. It has power-efficient quad-core Cortex A7 CPU from ARM, PowerVR Series5XT GPU and multi-mode UMTS Rel. 8/HSPA+/TD-SCDMA modem. It is built on 28nm process technology. This also has Dual-SIM support with Dual-Active functionality and the MT6589 is the world’s first HSPA+ smartphone to come with this feature. MediaTek launched MT6577 dual-core processor few months back, that powers the latest Micromax, Spice and Intex devices. Reports about the quad-core MediaTek chips started back in September.

The ARM Cortex A7 consumes less power and the 28nm manufacturing is done with TrustZone for system-level security. This would also offer rich multimedia experiences with support for up to Full HD (1920×1080 pixels) LCD displays, 13MP Camera with Integrated ISP, 1080p 30fps video playback and recording and enhanced picture processing for DTV-grade image quality.

This also supports Cool Suit 3D that offers support for stereo 3D cameras and displays, real-time 2D-to-3D conversion and an optimal 3D user interface. It has Miracast technology for multi-screen content sharing and has WiFi 802.11 b/g/n, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0, GPS and FM Radio.

The MT6589 quad-core platform is currently being incorporated into Android smartphones and tablets and are expected to ship in Q1 2013. Hope we can expect some quad-core Android devices from local OEMs such as Micromax, Spice and Intex by the first half of 2013.

Apple's Gizmo of the Future and the Rush from Rush

"Here she is - the iPad HD! Er, new iPad," says Engadget. Right! Wait - what? Yes, the new iPad is not being called the iPad 3 but just the new iPad. You know, like they did for the New Testament. "Breaking away from the numerical tracking system used before (and still used in the iPhone range), Apple has decided to highlight the most major change in its newest slate by simply dubbing it 'new.' " Everybody cheer on the count of three: One. Two. Yay. Three. Couldn't hold it in! The denumbering aside, "unsurprisingly, Apple has managed to produce something that's truly beautiful to look at," Engadget adds. Slate Moneybox says Apple is gunning for the PC market with the new iPad, introduced on Wednesday with most of the features experts predicted: a super high-res retina display, quad-core graphics, speedy 4G LTE networking. "The way they presented it, it's not that there's a 'tablet' market dominated by the iPad. Instead, there's a PC market in which...steady incremental improvements to the iPad's capabilities turn it into a potential PC replacement. The more powerful chips mean that more sophisticated apps can reside on the iPad. The rollout of iCloud is supposed to render the iPad's limited storage capacity less relevant..."

The Next Web runs down Apple's full presentation and the product highlights, including a new an iSight camera on the front and a rear camera that runs at 5MP. Plus "a host of Apple apps were updated to work with its Retina display, including iWork, iMove and Garage Band. The new iPad is priced at $499 for 16GB, $599 for 32GB, $699 for 64GB. And $629, $729, and $829 for 4G. It will be available on March 16th in the US." The Verge has a one of those fancy charts where they compare the new iPad against, like the entire National League Central. Well actually the iPad 2charts, Samsung Galaxy Note, the Asus Transformer something, and the Nook and the Kindle for good measure.  

Gizmodo happened to notice another new feature: a new rainbow colored Apple logo at the end of the presentation. "Put your Apple Kremlinology hat on, folks...Is this Apple's new logo? I hope so! I hope so because: I love the rainbow. I LOVE DOUBLE RAINBOWS.... It gets me back to my old Mac years, when all of you didn't know what the hell Apple was." But not everybody is down with the rainbow connection. At VentureBeat Jolie O'Dell lists the new tie-dye logo as part of a new unraveling of the Apple brand, "a certain sloppiness that was absent from former, Steve Jobs-led launches. This wasn't anything major, just a few minor but glaring inconsistencies: Tim Cook going for the 'rumpled executive' look, the ambiguous naming of the 'new iPad,' the use of a truly horrible pun ["Resolutionary"] on a new product's landing page, and the tie-dyed Apple logo at the presentation's conclusion.... all of it pointed to a leadership that either didn't understand or didn't care about consistency in iconography...Today, we saw the first cracks in what will eventually become a wholesale break with the past." Huh? 

At Buzzfeed an essayist says she can resist the hype and go without the new iPad: "I wondered whether people like me felt the same way, so I did an informal survey of some of my female friends who are all in their early 30s, have jobs in media, and could afford one if they wanted one. We all have iPhones; several of us have Kindles. We don't hate technology, or America, or Apple. But the general consensus was that we mostly don't need one." The Onion has jumped on the bandwagon, though, saying, with a report saying "This Article Generating Thousands Of Dollars In Ad Revenue Simply By Mentioning New iPad."

 

While Apple is out on the front lines creating the media devices of the future, it's good to know some folks are still creating good old fashioned content. Take Rush Limbaugh - he just has to open his mouth and there's a week of reaction for us to read, watch and listen to. Says the L.A. Times' Company Town blog: "The flight of advertisers from The Rush Limbaugh Show continued Wednesday, with a total of 45 national and local companies pulling their spots, according to the liberal activist groups angered by the talk radio host for calling Georgetown law student Sandra Fluke a 'slut' and a 'prostitute.' Yep. They're not calling him the new Rush. "The current tally is up to 46 - and 48 if you count the bands who don't want their music played on the show," updates Atlantic Wire. The lib-leaning Media Matters site is tracking who is still advertising on the Limbaugh program. Muses Boing Boing: "I wonder if many Republican politicians are secretly rooting for Limbaugh to receive a Joe McCarthy-style dethroning, because they are scared to death of him?" In a column for Bloomberg, Michael Kinsley starts a backlash-backlash against Limbaugh's opportunistic critics: "The self-righteous parade out the door by Limbaugh's advertisers is hard to stomach. Had they never listened to Rush before, in all the years they had been paying for commercials on his show? His smiling of a barely known law student may be a new low - even after what he's said about Nancy Pelosi and Michelle Obama - but it's not a huge gap." But at Esquire's The Politics Blog, Charlie Pierce backlashes it one step further: "This is Kinsley being deliberately stupid...We can't do the right thing now because we didn't do the right thing then?" 

Apple iRing

Apple iRing Video 

Apple iRing Concept video. You can control your iPhone or iPod with Apple iRing.

 

Control your iPod with Apple iRing

With a stylish design and wireless Bluetooth connectivity with your iPod and iPhone, the iRing allows you to control playback and volume on any of your Apple media devices. iRing features a bright OLED status display with touch-sensitive function strip, and a rechargeable battery life of up to 2 days. Conveniently recharge your iRing using the included cradle. Its minimal size and unique ring-lock mechanism make it an ideal companion for charging and storing your iRing.

 Victor Soto’s apple iRing Concept for i-Devices

Victor Soto has comes up with a new concept, called the iRing that enables users to control playback and volume on any of the Apple media products.

The stylish iRing features a wireless Bluetooth connectivity that allows the iPod and iPhone consumer to operate their devices with ease. It also sports a bright OLED status display with touch-sensitive function strip and a rechargeable battery that offers a life of up to 2 days.

A cradle helps you to recharge the iRing and a locking feature allows you to lock the controls on the back of the ring.

If this concept gets a reality tick, you get an option of white and black color. 

IRing

apple iring concepts images.

Apple iRing

Apple always was famous for the accessories to a player iPod, and also to mobile phones of own manufacture, and now has decided to fill up their list perhaps with the most unusual. iRing - the original and stylish ring allowing remotely manage audiotracks from iPhone memory.

Nokia 808 Pure View

The Nokia 808 PureView uses a 41 MP sensor, which captures image data from seven adjacent pixels and condenses it into one, resulting in stills at around 5 MP resolution with amazing detail and low noise levels. The optics are Carl Zeiss and there's Xenon flash and a LED one acting as a video light.

Technically, the sensor is able to capture 3 MP, 5 MP, 8 MP, 38 MP at 4:3 aspect ratio and 2 MP, 5 MP [Default], 8 MP, 34 MP at 16:9.

Video recording goes as high as FullHD 1080p at 30 fps and there's also 720p@30fps. Video is H264 encoded and supports stereo sound. The large image sensor allows 4x zoom in 1080p and 6x in 720p.

The Nokia 808 PureView has a single-core 1.3 GHz processor and 512 MB of RAM and runs Symbian Belle. The display is a 16:9 4" AMOLED unit of nHD (640 x 360) resolution covered with curved Gorilla Glass.

There's NFC, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 3.0, USB on the go and 16 GB of onboard storage.

The Nokia 808 PureView should be on the shelves around May 2012.

The Nokia 808 Pure View is a 41 Megapixel Camera With Xenon Flash And LED Flash Smartphone which comes with 5.1 Dolby Surround Support and 512MB Ram.

Nokia 808 Pure View Features:

• 41 Megapixel Camera With Xenon Flash And LED Flash
• 1.3 GHz Processor
• 512MB RAM
• 1080p 30fps Recording
• 5.1 Dolby Surround Support
• Symbian Belle fp1
• 16 GB On-Board Storage
• USB OTG
• FM Transmitter
• HDMI

Nokia 808 Pure View Specifications:

Network
Technology / Frequency Bands
GSM : 850/900/1800/1900 MHz HSDPA : 900/2100 MHz

Battery
Type Li – Ion
Capacity 1400 mAh
Standby 465 hours
Talktime 660 mins

Built
Dimensions 123.9×60.2×13.9 mm
Weight 169 g
Form Factor bar
Colors Black,White and Red

Display
Size 360×640 pixels
Type color : LCD
Colors 16000000 colors
Secondary Display no

Camera / Imaging / Video
Camera Yes 41MP
Resolution 4000×3000 pixels
Zoom yes
Flash yes
Video Out yes
Secondary Camera yes

Connectivity
Bluetooth Yes
Irda No
Wlan/Wi-fi Yes
USB yes
GPS yes

Data
GPRS Yes
EDGE Yes
3G Yes
Internet Browsing Yes , Symbian Browser

Media
Audio Playback Yes
Video Playback Yes
Ringtones 64 polyphonic MP3/MIDI/WAV/AMR
FM Radio Yes
3.5mm Headphone Jack yes

Memory
Inbuilt 16 GB
Memory Slot Yes microSD/TransFlash

Messaging
SMS Yes
MMS Yes
Email Yes

Software
Operating System Belle Feature Pack 1

Nokia 808 Pure View Price in India:
Mobile Phone: Nokia 808 Pure View
Price (Indian Rupees): Expected Price:Rs.29000

Samsung launches Galaxy Beam projector smartphone

Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. has unveiled the Galaxy Beam smartphone at its South West Asia Regional Forum held in Bangkok.

The Samsung Galaxy Beam is powered by a 1GHz dual core processor and has a 4-inch display with a resolution of 480 x 800 pixels. It comes with Android 2.3 preloaded. Speaking of the specs, there is a 5MP rear camera as well as a 1.3MP video call camera. The phone comes with 8GB internal storage with a microSD slot up to 32GB, Bluetooth 3.0, micro USB port, Wireless N and weighs 145 grams. There is a 2,000 mAh battery, providing the juice for all day usage.

However, the real highlight of the Samsung Galaxy Beam is its built-in projector, with 15 lumens brightness. It can project images up to 50-inches. This will be able to play back the media from the internal storage as well as a memory card.

“Galaxy Beam provides mobile freedom, enabling a unique shared experience around digital content for everyone – anywhere and instantly – from a smartphone as slim and portable as any in the market, said Ranjit Yaday, Country Head, Mobile and IT, Samsung India Electronics Pvt. Ltd.

There’s no word on the pricing or whether Android will receive an upgrade anytime soon. The Samsung Galaxy Beam is expected to hit the Indian shores by April this year.

Samsung Galaxy Beam is the Android 2.3 Gingerbread Operating System smartphone with 15 Lumens Projector With HD Projection Up-To 50-Inch Wide, 5 MegaPixel Auto Focus Camera, and 1 GHz Dual-Core Processor.

Samsung Galaxy Beam Features:

• 4.0-Inch TFT Display
• 15 Lumens Projector With HD Projection Up-To 50-Inch Wide
• 1 GHz Dual-Core Processor
• Android 2.3 Gingerbread Operating System
• Elegant design, just 12.5mm thick
• 5MP Auto Focus Camera With Flash
• 1.3MP Secondary Camera

Samsung Galaxy Beam Specifications:

Network

Technology / Frequency Bands
GSM : 850/900/1800/1900 MHz HSDPA : 900/2100 MHz

Battery
Type Li – Ion
Capacity 2000 mAh

Built
Dimensions 124×64.2×12.5 mm
Weight 145 g
Form Factor bar
Colors Black

Display
Size 480×800 pixels
Type color : TFT
Colors 16000000 colors
Secondary Display no

Camera / Imaging / Video
Camera Yes 5.0 Megapixel
Resolution 2592×1944 pixels
Zoom yes
Flash yes
Secondary Camera yes

Secondary Camera
Flash no

Connectivity
Bluetooth Yes
Irda No
Wlan/Wi-fi Yes
USB yes
GPS yes

Data
GPRS Yes
EDGE Yes
3G Yes
Internet Browsing Yes , Android Webkit browser

Media
Audio Playback Yes
Video Playback Yes
Ringtones 64 polyphonic MP3/MIDI/WAV
FM Radio No
3.5mm Headphone Jack yes

Memory
Inbuilt 8 GB
Memory Slot Yes microSD/TransFlash

Messaging
SMS Yes
MMS Yes
Email Yes

Software
Operating System Android 2.3

Samsung Galaxy Beam Price in India
Mobile Phone: Samsung Galaxy Beam
Price (Indian Rupees): Expected Price:Rs.34000