LG G2 launched in India at Rs. 41,500

LG has launched its latest flagship smartphone, the G2, in India, pricing it at Rs. 41,500 for the 16GB version. The Korean manufacturer has not yet indicated the availability of the device in the country however.

The LG G2 features a 5.2-inch full-HD (1080x1920) display, with a pixel density of 423 pixels-per-inch (ppi). It is powered by Qualcomm's quad-core Snapdragon 800 processor that's clocked at 2.26GHz. The device comes with 2GB of RAM and offers 16GB and 32GB storage options. 

The LG G2 sports a 13.0-megapixel rear camera with Optical Image Stabilisation and a 2.1-megapixel front shooter. LG's latest flagship runs Android Jelly Bean 4.2.2 and is powered by a 3,000mAh battery. The LG G2 sports dimensions of 138.5 x 70.9 x 8.9mm, weighs 143 grams, and will be available in Black and White colour options.

The LG G2 comes with a unique design that features the power buttons and the volume rocker at the back of the phone, below the rear camera, instead of the sides of the phone, as is usually the case. It also comes with bezels as thin as 2.65mm.

The G2 also comes with some software features like Answer Me - that automatically answers the call after lowering the ringtone when the phone is raised to one's ear; Plug and Pop - which recommends options or related features to choose from when the earphone or USB cable is detected; and Text Link - which allows information embedded in text messages to be selected and easily saved in a memo or calendar and searched on a map or the Internet. Also included is QuickRemote that can remotely control popular home entertainment device.

 LG launched the G2 globally back in August. The handset's 32GB variant was earlier listed on an ecommerce website for Rs.40,499, with the delivery date as September 30.



Mobiles launched in September 2013

LG G2 key specifications

• 5.2-inch full-HD display
• 2.26GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 processor
• 2GB of RAM
• 16GB/ 32GB inbuilt storage
• 13.0-megapixel rear camera
• 2.1-megapixel front camera
• Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean
• 138.5 x 70.9 x 8.9mm
• 3,000mAh battery

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Blackberry Messenger launches on iOS and Android. Now what?

As announced in Jakarta, Blackberry has launched its messaging app, BBM, on both iOS and Android. The official launch was delayed.

Losing a billion dollars in a quarter and then firing 4,500 employees are both tough realities for the company that used to have a $100 billion valuation. But this last ditch effort to help the company survive is being used by millions of people. It’s a logical move and doesn’t come as a surprise, but it might be too little, too late.

As I mentioned before, the Asian-made messenger platforms like KakaoTalk (with more than 100 million users), LINE (more than 200 million users), and WeChat (more than 400 million downloads, with 236 million active users) are beating Blackberry Messenger by far in both numbers and revenue (since BBM doesn’t generate revenue, per se). The younger generation, who prefer features such as cute emoticonsand social games, has deemed the BBM obsolete. It’s also prone to delayed messages and sometimes even undelivered messages. Furthermore, it won’t come with voice or video messages at launch.

Yet one of BlackBerry’s biggest markets, Indonesia, was excited when the company unofficially released its app last Saturday. About one million people managed to download and install the application without Blackberry announcing its App Store/Item Store official link. That caused its server to “crash” and the company announced that it will delay the launching.

The messenger is still in demand despite people already moving on to new devices. In fact, most people i meet nowadays carry two smartphones – one BlackBerry and either an iPhone or Android device. What if it actually manage to retain its users in Indonesia, or even other important markets? Who is threatened by BBM?

My analysis and personal opinion suggests WhatsApp, with its simlar interface and function as a simple and fast messaging which preferred by enterprise, corporate, or mature users. The app, with 250 million users worldwide, might see its users in Indonesia or other Blackberry strongholds move back to BBM. Reason being, WhatsApp doesn’t really offer any incentive or additional features compared to BBM.

It is still possible for Blackberry to evolve the messaging application into a platform. It might be too late, but it could be the life saver and a new revenue driver for the company that will soon be bought for $4.6 billion. It has showed a vision of being a platform with the BBM Money feature, but it has to do more than just be a payment gateway; it needs to push more features on top of its messaging platform. Thousands of people in Indonesia still use applications to buy and sell things. This is an opportunity that other messaging platforms haven’t touched yet, at least in Indonesia.

That being said, I personally tried to download BBM on my iPhone. Because I could not restore my contacts from my missing Blackberry, I uninstalled it right away. I have four other messengers on my iPhone now, and I don’t see a reason yet to install another unless it evolves into something that my friends use.

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Apple is Hiring Maps UI Designer for 'A New Secret Project'

Apple has posted a job opening for a 'Web UI Designer - Maps' that will be working on 'a new secret project'.

At Apple, we're lucky to be working on projects that have the potential to change the world. We're working on an exciting new system and need your help. You would be joining a small team working on an advanced web platform upon which many of Apple's future services will be based. We are looking for an extremely capable front-end engineer who has a strong background in web services development, and who has built high-performance, scalable and extensible systems. In this highly visible position, the successful candidate will collaborate with cross-functional engineering teams to define and implement some of the web pages for the system that will power next generation Apple products.

Description:
● Design, develop, and maintain complex front-end code for a new secret project 
● Document and build unit tests for your code. Work with operations, QA, and product management to maximize product effectiveness

It's unclear what this new secret project might entail; however, Apple has acquired a string of location and mapping based companies and may be looking to create a new service using those acquired technologies.

If you are interested in the job, the listing is linked below...

Read More [via TUAW]

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Apple and Google Unseat Coca-Cola as the Best Global Brands [Chart]

For the first time in the history of Interbrand’s Best Global Brands report, there is a new #1 brand: Apple. The company unseat Coca-Cola's thirteen year run as the top brand, as did Google. This year, the total value of all 100 Best Global Brands is USD $1.5 trillion -- an 8.4 percent record increase over the total value of the 100 Best Global Brands in 2012.

Apple has appeared on Interbrand’s Best Global Brands ranking since 2000, when the ranking debuted. In 2000, Apple ranked #36 and had a brand value of USD $6.6 billion. Today, Apple’s brand value is USD $98.3 billion– almost 15 times the amount of its brand value in 2000. Apple’s meteoric rise in brand value can be attributed to the way it has created a seamless omnichannel experience for customers. By keeping consumers at the center of everything it does, Apple is able to anticipate what they want next and break new ground in terms of both design and performance. With 72 million Macs in use and record-breaking sales of both the iPhone and iPad, Apple has made history by unseating Coca-Cola and becoming Interbrand’s most valuable global brand of 2013.
“Every so often, a company changes our lives—not just with its products, but with its ethos. This is why, following Coca-Cola’s 13-year run at the top of Best Global Brands, Apple now ranks #1,” said Jez Frampton, Interbrand’s Global Chief Executive Officer. “Tim Cook has assembled a solid leadership team and has kept Steve Jobs’ vision intact – a vision that has allowed Apple to deliver on its promise of innovation time and time again.”

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Apple Acquires Video Discovery Startup Matcha

Apple has aquired Matcha.tv, a video discovery and recommendation startup. Matcha.tv disappeared from the App Store sometime in May with no explanation from the company. Tonight, we learn that Apple has acquired the service for $1 - $1.5 million. 

Matcha.TV was an iOS app that provided an extensive overview of everything that's available to watch through cable providers (Comcast, Time Warner, etc) as well as streaming services like Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, and iTunes. Matcha allowed you to manage what you watched next with its queue as well as an ability to connect with social networks and see what your friends were viewing.

Apple Responded with their typical statement when buying startups: "Apple buys smaller technology companies from time to time, and we generally do not discuss our purpose or plans."

Apple's Matcha acquisition clearly points to future Apple TV plans, whether it is the rumored TV set or simply an addition to the current AppleTV is an entirely different topic however. 

Dear users of Matcha, we thank you for using Matcha and hope we were able to improve your TV and movie viewing experience. Unfortunately, from today going forward, this service is no longer available. All personal information collected by Matcha has been deleted. If you have any further questions about your account, please email us at: contact@matcha.tv

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APPLE STILL REMAINS TOP NO 1 SMARTPHONE IN THE U.S.

Time for another round of statistics and figures to feast on. In this latest report by Nielsen, we’re still seeing that Android trumps iOS as the number one smartphone operating system in the US. It’s a fairly significant gap, as well. Android sits at 52% and iOS at 40%. But things are a bit different when it comes to the manufacturers. As Android devices are made by many different manufacturers, the love gets spread a bit thinner across them. Apple is still the top smartphone manufacturer in the US with the same 40% of marketshare. Samsung follows Apple up at 24.7%, and HTC claims third place at 9.4%. Motorola was close to HTC at an even 9%, and LG came in at 7%.

As a whole, there’s nothing really unexpected here. Android and iOS have both plateaued and are riding steady. We all know that Apple is by far the biggest manufacturer in the States and Samsung’s second place spot is entirely expected. It’s good to see that we haven’t seen Android decline at all like some analysts have predicted it would.

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Lady Gaga to open the iTunes Festival in London on September 1

Apple's annual iTunes Festival in London grows ever closer, and now we know who has the task of playing on the opening night; Lady Gaga. Undoubtedly one of the biggest stars in music today, Lady Gaga will take to the stage at the Camden Roundhouse on September 1, the start of a month long festival that already has the likes of Elton John, Kings of Leon and Justin Timberlake on the bill.

UK music fans can apply for tickets to Lady Gaga or any other iTunes Festival show for free via the official app for the iPhone, iPad and iPod touch, or through iTunes on your Mac or Windows machine. Those not lucky enough to win tickets won't miss out completely, as the whole festival will be made available to view in the app, through iTunes and on the Apple TV.

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