Xolo Q3000 with 5.7-inch full-HD display

Xolo Q3000 with 5.7-inch full-HD display now up for per-order at Rs. 20,999

 

Xolo's latest phablet, the Q3000 is now up for pre-order at an e-commerce website at Rs. 20,999. The online retailer claims that the Xolo Q3000 will be available on January 4, 2014. However, there is no official word on the pricing and availability of Xolo Q3000.

Earlier, the latest phablet from Xolo was spotted at an online retailer without pricing.
The Xolo Q3000 is a dual-SIM (GSM+GSM) device which runs Android 4.2 Jelly Bean. It comes with a 5.7-inch (1080x1920 pixels) full-HD IPS display. The Xolo Q3000 continues the Q-range tradition and is powered by a 1.5GHz quad-core MediaTek MT6589T processor with 2GB of RAM.

Jet Airways launches iOS app

Jet Airways launches iOS app, featuring Passbook app support

Jet Airways on Tuesday launched its mobile application on Apple's iOS (a mobile operating system) to enable customers a seamless travel experience.

The application is available for free download from the App Store and is compatible with iOS 6 version and above, Jet Airways said in a release in Mumbai.
The app has been specially optimised for iPhone 5, it said.
"Jet Airways is the first airline in the country to offer such an application. This will enable customers a seamless and uniform travel experience across all mobile platforms," airline's senior vice president (commercial) Gaurang Shetty said.

Panasonic, Sony end their TV development alliance

Panasonic, Sony end their joint OLED TV development alliance

Sony Corp and Panasonic Corp, Japan's two largest consumer electronics companies, said on Wednesday that they will end joint development of organic light emitting diode (OLED) television screens, a thinner and brighter type of next-generation display in which Korean rivals have a head-start.

The two companies, which have been scaling back their TV operations after chalking up heavy losses in recent years, will instead focus their efforts on conventional liquid crystal display screens for so-called 4K ultra high-definition televisions which have shown greater promise, company spokesmen said.

Sony and Panasonic formed the OLED alliance in June last year with the goal of developing mass-production technology by the end of 2013. Doubts had mounted over the partnership's prospects, however, as it became clear it would miss its target.

OLED panels, while used in smartphones and tablets by Samsung Electronics Co Ltd, are still considered prohibitively expensive for larger sizes used in televisions.
They have not delivered the growth originally envisioned by the Japanese companies and are unlikely to be commercially viable in the near future, the spokesmen said.
Both companies displayed 56-inch OLED televisions at this year's CES electronics show in January. The spokesmen said they would continue independent efforts to develop OLED technology.

LG Electronics Inc, considered the front-runner in OLED televisions, has models on the market but they are significantly more expensive than comparable LCD televisions and have yet to achieve significant sales. Samsung also markets OLED televisions, which offer higher resolution and use less power than LCD panels.

 

Samsung starts mass producing Galaxy S5 QHD AMOLED display

Samsung starts mass producing Galaxy S5QHD AMOLED display

As we are approaching the end of 2013, Samsung's alleged 2014 flagship smartphone; the Galaxy S5 is hitting the rumour mill on a regular basis. The latest buzz about Samsung's next flagship reveals that it would sport a 5.25-inch QHD (Quad HD) AMOLED display and that it has entered mass production.
Sammobile cites a Korean publication and claims that the display for alleged Galaxy S5 would comprise diamond pixel arrangement, which the company has reportedly used on Samsung's 2013 flagship smartphone, Galaxy S4 and recently unveiled Galaxy Note 3. The report suggests that the new diamond pixel arrangement would offer enhanced sharpness and pixel density.
Further, the Galaxy S5's screen resolution is said to be 1440x2560 pixels, with the pixel density to be 560ppi, much in-line with our earlier reports. Not too long ago, a GFXBench listing had revealed a device codenamed Samsung SM-G900S sporting a screen resolution of 1440x2560 pixels (2K).
Recent reports have already suggested that the South Korean manufacturer has plans to release two versions of the alleged Galaxy S5. As per the report, there would be two variants of the Galaxy S5: a premium variant which would sport a metal chassis and a flexible OLED, and a variant which will come with the usual plastic body, as found on other Galaxy smartphones.
Earlier this month, a report claimed that the South Korean maker would again use plastic for its next flagship smartphone, instead of the metal chassis rumoured for quite some time.
Rumoured specifications of the alleged Galaxy S5 include a 64-bit Exynos chipset or a Snapdragon chipset; 3GB of RAM, a 16-megapixel camera, a 4000mAh battery and Android 4.4 KitKat with TouchWiz UI on top.
Samsung has also been rumoured to equip the alleged Galaxy S5 with an eye-scanning sensor. Samsung's expected next flagship smartphone (the Galaxy S5) will probably be the first device to pack such a feature.
Some reports have indicated that Samsung may announce the Galaxy S5 as early as January, in a bid to overcome 'disappointing' Galaxy S4 sales.

Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen sells private island

Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen sells private island for $8 million

Olympia, Washington: Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen has sold a private island in northwestern Washington state to undisclosed buyers for $8 million, his real estate agent said on Monday.

The 292-acre (118 hectare) Allan Island - not named for its former owner - had been on the market for nine years and sold on Friday for well below its original asking price of $20 million, according to selling agent Wally Gudgell of Windmere Real Estate.

Allen wanted to ensure that the buyers would maintain the essential natural integrity of the mostly undeveloped property, which lies east of the San Juan Island chain about 80 miles (129 kilometers) north of Seattle near Anacortes, Gudgell said.

"It was important to the seller what the buyer was going to do to the island," Gudgell said. "We had some pretty wild buyers looking at it."

The eventual buyers of the property plan to build roughly eight homes on the island and use it as a retreat, said buying agent Tere Foster, also of Windmere.

"They hope to basically live off the grid," Foster said. "It's a 'be-one-with-the-environment' kind of a thing."

The island, which Allen bought in 1992, has one log cabin, a small landing strip and a network of walking trails. Foster said she was not sure whether the buyers would keep the log cabin or raze it.

Samsung invest over Rs 350 crore in electronics plant India

Samsung invest over Rs 350 crore in electronics plant India

Korean major Samsung plans to invest in India about Rs 350 crore within a year to ramp up its electronics production, according to government sources.

"Electronics manufacturing policy has been attractive.

Samsung has again proposed to invest about Rs 350 crore in its electronics plant. This is in addition to about its Rs 400 crore investment made for the mobile phone facility," a government official told PTI.
The company plans to invest this amount in production of flat panel TVs and washing machines, he added.
No comments were received from Samsung on the matter.
Samsung has gained following a government decision in August to impose 36 percent import duty on flat panel TVs that were brought into India as part of baggage by passengers from abroad, the source added.
As per industry body Consumer Electronics and Appliances Manufacturers Association, about 1 million TVs were coming in as accompanied baggage in a year, which constitutes about 20 percent of the total market size of the country.
The production of flat panel TV in the country has grew by about 39 percent in September and 20 percent in October on annual basis.
In July, Department of Electronics and IT cleared Samsung proposal of Rs 406 to invest in handset manufacturing.

BlackBerry cancels phones before release

BlackBerry cancels phones before release The struggling smartphone maker drops plans for two phones, reportedly code-named Café and Kopi, before they have a chance to hit the market.

BlackBerry had to cancel more than its conference this year. Fearing poor sales, the beleaguered company also had to cancel two phones that were still in development.

"The company also made the decision to cancel plans to launch two devices to mitigate the identified inventory risk," reads BlackBerry's third-quarter earnings report published Friday. The Wall Street Journal came across the buried tidbit Monday.

The two phones were code-named Café and Kopi, and BlackBerry had plans to market them as low-cost devices, unnamed sources told the Journal.
The news coincides with BlackBerry's announcement that it's canceling its annual BlackBerry Live conference. The company last week reported third-quarter losses of $4.4 billion and said it sold only 1.9 million smartphones last quarter, a sharp decline from the 3.7 million the previous quarter.