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Lenovo Buys Motorola from Google for $2.9 Billion

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Google has decided to sell Motorola Mobility to Lenovo for $2.91 billion. The American search company, whose buyout of Motorola was puzzling, despite the fact it owns Android, disclosed the news last night and we’re really not surprised much.<br />

As a part of the deal Lenovo will get to own Motorola’s 2,000 patents
 and its brand name, while remaining (majority of) patents will remain 
with Google.<br />
The deal is also one of the largest ever initiated by a Chinese technology company.<br />

The move is widely seen as an attempt by Lenovo, which is the 5th 
largest and among the quickest growing smartphone manufacturers, as 
gaining some important market share in the American markets where 
Motorola remains a major force.<br />

Lenovo, whose reach has been limited to emerging markets mainly China until now obviously eyes Motorola as its Holy Grail.<br />

Also, while Lenovo is now the largest PC manufacturer in the world, 
the dropping sales of the category have made it realise that in order to
 earn more profits, the attention must be shifted towards the smartphone
 business.<br />

<blockquote>
<i>“We dream to become a global player. This deal is a 
shortcut to enter mature markets.” Yang Yuanqing, Chairman and CEO of 
Lenovo Group Limited.</i></blockquote>
Google had itself bought Motorola for a gargantuan $12.5 billion just in 2012. Since then, it has released the Moto X and <a href="http://rexhacker.blogspot.com/2013/11/motorola-announces-moto-g-45-inch.html" target="_blank">Moto G</a>
 smartphones but the division has been leaking money and hasn’t been 
able to create a more balanced environment in the smartphone industry, 
nor a name for Google in the hardware business.<br />

For Lenovo, however, Motorola isn’t the first high-profile capture, 
since it has already brought stuff like the IBM PC and server businesses
 earlier.</div>

Lenovo Buys Motorola from Google for $2.9 Billion

Google has decided to sell Motorola Mobility to Lenovo for $2.91 billion. The American search company, whose buyout of Motorola was puz...

11:52:00 AM

Smartphones Shipments Cross 1 Billion For the First Time in History in 2013

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According to a new report by IDC, the number of smartphone shipments 
in 2013 reached one billion for the first time ever. Scales were tipped 
just above the golden figure, at 1.004 billion units. The total mobile 
phone sales also reached 1.82 billion.<br />

The big names were responsible for the achievement. Samsung raked up 
most sales, selling a record 313.9 million smartphones, capturing 31.3% 
market share and marking a 42.9% year-on-year increase.<br />

Apple remained second after it sold 153.4 million smartphones.<br />
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The Chinese giant, Huawei was third, managing to capture 4.9% of the 
market with 48.8 million phones sold. It along with LG and Lenovo was in
 for a tough battle, with the latter two selling 47.7 and 45.5 million 
smartphones respectively. Still, out of the three, Lenovo was a big 
winner with 91.7% increase in sales over last year.<br />

The “Others” portion, which includes names as HTC and Nokia 
constituted for 39.3% of the smartphones sold worldwide, which is bigger
 than any single company right now.<br />

The research firm also concluded that the biggest trends last year 
were the increase of display sizes and low cost phones. This was also 
the first year where the number of smartphones shipped was larger than 
that of feature-phones.<br />

<h4>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Smartphone Shipments and Market Share, 2013 (Units in Millions)</span></h4>
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Smartphones Shipments Cross 1 Billion For the First Time in History in 2013

According to a new report by IDC, the number of smartphone shipments in 2013 reached one billion for the first time ever. Scales were ti...

7:14:00 AM

Mac Celebrates 30th Anniversary: A Brief History of the World's Most Revolutionary Computer

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Apple’s most famous computer just celebrated its pearl jubilee or 30th birthday.<br />
Three long decades since Apple first announced its “speaking” 
computer, the original Macintosh, which has grown into a phenomenon now.<br />
Although flawed, it is certainly among the most important computers 
of all time and its importance remains to this day. So to celebrate its 
30th anniversary, here’s a brief look at the history of this important 
bit of computing:<br />
<h4>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Predecessors</span></h4>
The original Macintosh was brought to life by a group of rebels. By 
the time it came, Apple was already a popular name among hippies who 
self-assembled computers. Several products had already been launched, 
including the LISA which was the first personal computer with GUI, yet 
it was the aging Apple II, Steve Wozniak’s baby which continued to roll 
out slimming profits.<br />
Having been kicked out of the LISA project, Steve Jobs was infuriated
 and inspired alike to make his new brainchild a success. Except that it
 wasn’t <i>his</i> brainchild only though.<br />
<h4>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">The story of inspiration</span></h4>
In 1979, Jobs and a small group of engineers were granted a visit to 
Xerox PARC, a renowned research facility in Palo Alto, California for 
return of a million shares. That was the first time he ever saw GUI 
elements and a pointing device, called a “mouse”. And he was enthralled.<br />
Back at Apple, he took his team on a mission to make a product using 
all the technologies which were simply rotting away at XEROX. The result
 was the Macintosh which became one of the first relatively-affordable 
personal computers with GUI.<br />
<h4>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">The specs</span></h4>
The computer came with a 9 inch black and while display, along with 
its own keyboard and mouse. In an attempt to make its users use the 
mouse, Apple knowingly shed off the arrow keys from the keyboard.<br />
A floppy disk slot is found beneath the display. Showing his 
obsession with design, Jobs ruled out a fan, leading to some overheating
 issues. Popular software like MacWrite and MacPaint was bundled along 
in the OS.<br />
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<br />
It also had a 128K RAM, which, as you would expect, was low even then.<br />
<h4>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">The launch</span></h4>
The launch of the original Macintosh was the first instance where 
Steve Jobs demonstrated his marketing and presentation prowess.<br />
It was first introduced in the popular “1984″ commercial by Apple but
 the real deal was Steve Jobs’ own presentation. Dressed like a 
gentleman, Jobs first gave a few scathing, tongue-in-cheek remarks on 
IBM and his competitors before famously taking out the 1.5 pound machine
 out from a bag (to show just how light it was) and inserting a floppy 
disk on its slot.<br />
Accompanied by the theme from “Chariots of Fire”, the computer showed
 numerous slides from popular Mac programs of the time including 
MacWrite and MacPaint. But what made the audience stand on their chairs 
was the speech by Macintosh itself which followed those slides:<br />
<blockquote>
Hello, I am Macintosh. It sure is great to get out of 
that bag. Unaccustomed as I am to public speaking, I’d like to share 
with you a maxim I thought of the first time I met an IBM mainframe: 
Never trust a computer you can’t lift. Obviously, I can talk right now, 
but I’d like to sit back and listen. So, it is with considerable pride 
that I introduce a man who has been like a father to me: Steve Jobs.</blockquote>
Thinking that his team had done a remarkable job, the inside of the 
original Mac even came with the autographs of the entire Mac team 
inscribed.<br />
<h4>
<b>Demo Video</b></h4>
<h4>
<b>Watch below Steve Jobs demonstrating Apple’s Macintosh in 1984:</b></h4>
</div>
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 <span style="font-weight: bold;">What happened next?</span><br />
The Mac was released for $2,495 and is quite a success, selling 
70,000 units. And it wasn’t flawless either. The most severe of issues 
was due to the severe shortage of RAM. Having just a skimpy 128K DRAM, 
doing even the most basic of stuff could become a chore. The reason for 
adding no more memory was because of the high-pricing of those things at
 the time.<br />
There certainly wasn’t enough storage and a great display to do some 
practical work either. Due to Jobs’ reluctance to fit a fan onto the 
thing, there also were some heating issues. None of that mattered.<br />
The Mac became one of the most popular computers of all time and its 
acclaim can mainly be attributed to the fact that it popularized the 
idea of accessible personal computing, which also happened to be great 
fun.</div>

Mac Celebrates 30th Anniversary: A Brief History of the World's Most Revolutionary Computer

Apple’s most famous computer just celebrated its pearl jubilee or 30th birthday. Three long decades since Apple first announced its “sp...

7:47:00 PM

Fuhu, Intel Team Up on First Intel-based Android Tablet Just For Kids

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<a href="http://www.fuhu.com/">Fuhu Inc.</a>, known for creating 
tablets and applications for children, recently announced the new 
DreamTab tablet. Designed to deliver grown-up technology but built just 
for kids, the tablet is the result of collaboration between Fuhu, 
DreamWorks Animation SKG Inc. and Intel Corporation and is designed to 
deliver fun educational and entertainment experiences that transform the
 way kids learn, play and grow through technology.<br />

The new tablets will be available starting in June 2014.<br />

“We are dedicated to providing kids new and engaging experiences in 
learning and entertainment integrating the most up-to-date and powerful 
technology in the market,” said Jim Mitchell, CEO, Fuhu. “With Intel 
Inside, we are provided with the power and performance to deliver 
amazing experiences, limitless creativity and professional tools for 
kids to animate and tell stories in the palm of their hands.”<br />
Based on Intel’s new 64-bit enabled Intel® Atom™ Z3740 processor 
(“Bay Trail”), the DreamTab will offer fast performance, powerful 
graphics capabilities, long battery life, and rich, immersive 
educational and entertainment experiences.<br />

Combined with a new operating system layer on Android, DreamTab will 
be a powerful Android-based tablet that includes advances in stylus, 
touch-screen and NFC technologies.<br />

“We are excited to collaborate with Fuhu, a leader in tablets for 
children, and bring Intel technology to its next-generation DreamTab,” 
said Hermann Eul, vice president and general manager for Intel’s Mobile 
and Communications Group. “This is just one example of the leading 
educational and entertainment experiences our companies can deliver 
together with Intel Inside.”<br />

Here are few of the DeamTab features:<br />

<ul>
<li>Advanced parental controls allow moms/dads to set time limits and 
lock or unlock features. The controls also provide for a 
COPPA-compliant/kid-safe e-mail, text and photo sharing capability that 
is one-of-a-kind and can integrate with parents’ own mobile devices.</li>
<li>With NFC (near field communication) gaming technology, figurines 
come to life online by tapping on the tablet. The initial game, School 
of Dragons, an educational multiplayer online experience, will feature 
DreamWorks Animation’s How to Train Your Dragon franchise.</li>
<li>Custom-built “nabi Play” features the widest variety of kids 
programming — from DreamWorks Animation as well as Nick*, Disney*, 
Cartoon Network* and other leading children’s content sources — 
comingled in one easy-to-navigate location.</li>
<li>Curated App Zone and Treasure Box allow parents and kids to browse, 
download, purchase apps, games, music, movies, videos, e-books and even 
real goods with a single click.</li>
</ul>
Intel believes technology can help educators, leaders and school 
technology professionals prepare students for a lifetime of success. 
Based on a decade of real-world collaboration, implementation and 
research, Intel education solutions are designed to help educators 
inspire students, to support schools in achieving educational 
excellence, and to enable better manageability by administrators.</div>

Fuhu, Intel Team Up on First Intel-based Android Tablet Just For Kids

Fuhu Inc. , known for creating tablets and applications for children, recently announced the new DreamTab tablet. Designed to deliver g...

1:45:00 PM

The First Phone which will Evade Any Surveillance is Launched

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The recent revelations regarding the NSA and other spying agencies have thrown our knowledge of piracy back on our heads.<br />

So to be more private, we now know that we’ll have to be more 
high-tech and reclusive in our modern lives and here’s a phone which 
promises exactly that.<br />

Named appropriately the “Blackphone”, the device is made by the 
Spanish manufacturer Geeksphone and the communications firm Silent 
Circle. It runs on a modified version of Android OS, PrivatOS, which is 
strongly coded so as not to leak any of your texts, calls or any other 
stuff, while either sending or receiving them.<br />

For privacy purposes, anonymous VPNs are used while browsing the web.<br />
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<blockquote>
“I have spent my whole career working towards the launch of secure telephony products.</blockquote>
<blockquote>
Blackphone provides you with everything you need to 
ensure privacy and control of your communications, along with all the 
other high-end smartphone features you have come to expect.”</blockquote>
<blockquote>
Phil Zimmermann, the founder of Silent Circle</blockquote>
The phone should work with any carrier worldwide. The specs aren’t 
unveiled right now but the creators behind the project claim that they 
are enough to place the Blackphone among the top offerings in the 
market.<br />

The phone will be introduced at the MWC in late February, until then 
we can only speculate about more info. Still, what can possibly be 
better than a top-class phone which actually keeps your conversations 
private?</div>

The First Phone which will Evade Any Surveillance is Launched

The recent revelations regarding the NSA and other spying agencies have thrown our knowledge of piracy back on our heads. So to be more...

8:29:00 PM

Sony Announces the 4K Shooting AX100 Camcorder for $2,000

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Getting a camera/camcorder to shoot 4K videos is an expensive 
business but Sony is now trying to get things under control with its new
 FDR-AX100 camcorder. Priced at $1,999, the AX100 is a comparatively 
cheaper solution of getting your hands on a next-gen shooter.<br />

It comes with a 20 megapixel 1″ Exmor R CMOS sensor which doesn’t 
sound too big but its maker is promising quality results nonetheless. 
Its 29mm wide-angle Carl Zeiss Vario-Sonnar T lens supports up to 12X 
optical zoom.<br />

Talking of its video-shooting capabilities, the AX100 shoots 4K 
videos at either 24 or 30 fps in XAVC-S or MP4, as well as Full HD 
slo-mos at 120 fps.<br />
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And thanks to a new My Voice Cancelling feature, the audio in the 
videos shot will be clearer and much-more directed towards the subject 
being shot. Optical SteadyShot Image Stabilization too makes sure that 
the videos being shot are smoother.<br />

The LCD touchscreen display measures 3.5 inches in size, standing 
alongside an OLED viewfinder. The AX100 comes with NFC, built-in USB and
 Wi-Fi for faster file transfers, along with support for Class 10 SDXC 
memory cards.<br />

It also comes with Sony’s same Bionz X image processors as Sony’s other top-of-the-line Alpha mirrorless cameras.<br />

Available in March for $2,000, you’ll be mad to buy it if you aren’t 
truly dedicated towards shooting videos, either for fun or 
professionally but in either way, this is the cheap way forward.<br />

If you don’t want 4K video shooting, you can look towards Sony’s own 
HDR-CX900 which does every thing the AX100 does, just in Full HD and not
 4K for $500 less. Professionals can also look towards this handycam’s 
larger brother, the AX1 which is much larger and high-tech, 
not-to-mention much more expensive at $4,499.</div>

Sony Announces the 4K Shooting AX100 Camcorder for $2,000

Getting a camera/camcorder to shoot 4K videos is an expensive business but Sony is now trying to get things under control with its new ...

10:15:00 AM

This Smartwatch Might be Your Next Phone

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If you’re one of the kind of people who don’t like Pebble’s blockbuster <a href="http://rexhacker.blogspot.com/2013/09/why-most-smartwatches-are-useless.html" target="_blank">Pebble smartwatch</a>,
 and want your smart watch with as many features as possible, then 
probably the Neptune Pine running on Android 4.1.2 will be your next 
purchase.<br />

Unlike <a href="http://rexhacker.blogspot.com/2013/09/samsung-galaxy-gear-gets-official.html" target="_blank">the Gear</a>
 or the Pebble, the Pine is massive, literally. That is mainly because 
of the 2.4″ touchscreen display with resolution of 320 x 240 pixels. 
It’s obviously a color display, accompanied by 3 capacitive buttons and a
 VGA front-facer (along with an LED Flash).<br />

Under that display, you will find a 1.2Ghz dual-core SnapDragon S4 
processor, 4 GB RAM and an 800mAh battery lasting up to 120 hours. 
Storage capacity is set at either 16 or 32 GB non-expandable.<br />

At the back is a 5 megapixel camera with LED Flash and 720p video 
recording. Being an smartphone trimmed down to the size of a smartwatch,
 there is a microSIM card slot onboard, supporting 3G. Other 
connectivity means include Bluetooth 4.0, GPS, 3.5m headphone jack and 
Wi-Fi.<br />
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Running full Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean, the Pine comes with the 
official Google Play app, which means it’ll be possible to run Angry 
Birds or Candy Crush Saga on the thing. The watch is also 
IP67-certified.<br />

All this might be sounding very well but the price might eventually turn quite many people off.<br />

At $335 for the 16 GB model (and $395 for the 32 gig version), it’s 
not a lot more expensive than the Galaxy Gear (on retail for $299) but 
still lands squarely in the smartphone territory, despite arriving from a
 company whose name you probably haven’t heard yet.<br />

To buy this thing, you have to ask yourself whether you really need a
 full-fledged smartphone or a stand-alone device for your wrist at all. 
The Pine will be released in March.<br />

Check blow the comparison of Neptune Pine with other Smartwatches of the time.<br />
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This Smartwatch Might be Your Next Phone

If you’re one of the kind of people who don’t like Pebble’s blockbuster Pebble smartwatch , and want your smart watch with as many featu...

9:57:00 AM

ZTE to Put a Modular Phone Up for Retail in the Very Near Future

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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-u0U0zZRIgEA/UtTAHO8wpVI/AAAAAAAAFAo/w6RujVa1jSA/s1600/ZTE-Moduler-Phones.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="235" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-u0U0zZRIgEA/UtTAHO8wpVI/AAAAAAAAFAo/w6RujVa1jSA/s400/ZTE-Moduler-Phones.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
In the coming two or three years, who knows, you might be playing with a modular phone of your own, courtesy of ZTE.<br />

At CES 2014, the company had plenty of prototypes on display, called Eco-Mobius.<br />
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The prototypes consist of a central plastic case, with voids that are
 filled with all the essential components of a smartphone, namely the 
display, CPU, GPU, RAM, camera, storage, battery and more.<br />

The idea, just like the <a href="http://rexhacker.blogspot.com/2013/10/project-ara-motorola-efforts-to-make.html" target="_blank">Motorola Ara</a>, is about replacing select outdated components of a phone, rather than the entire device after its planned lifetime.<br />

The “green solution” as ZTE calls it might eventually turn out to be a
 huge force in the future. Modules in the Eco-Mobius use magnetic 
connectors for connection. Every part can be snapped in and out at will 
with ease. The back cover is also replaceable and reflects the internal 
structure of the phone, giving it a high-tech look.<br />

A concept like this gives you much more freedom over your 
requirements. It is also much cheaper in the long run. The guys from ZTE
 predict that the prototype might see an arrival in the market in as 
little as two years. If that is true, then we can’t wait.</div>

ZTE to Put a Modular Phone Up for Retail in the Very Near Future

In the coming two or three years, who knows, you might be playing with a modular phone of your own, courtesy of ZTE. At CES 2014, the c...

9:43:00 AM

Lenovo Announces The Best 8 Inch Windows Tablet

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Lenovo, the world’s largest PC maker, has announced a new Windows 8 
tablet which is not only the best one it currently makes, specs-wise, it
 is the best 8″ tablet running on Windows 8 in the world.<br />
Starting with the display, the new ThinkPad 8′s 8″ display comes with
 a 1920 x 1200 pixel resolution, the highest for such a tablet yet. It 
has lost its pen input though.<br />
Under the hood, you get the new 28nm 2.4Ghz quad-core Intel Atom Bay 
Trail processor with 2 GB RAM and 128 GB internal storage, which is 
expandable.<br />
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Connectivity options include microUSB 3.0 and miniHDMI, which will 
allow you to connect with any external display, along with optional 4G 
LTE support. A duo of 8 and 2 megapixel HD cameras can also be found at 
the back and front.<br />
On the software side, the ThinkPad 8 runs on Windows 8.1, and comes with Microsoft Office pre-installed.<br />
It will also come with two additional Quickshot Covers which protect 
the screen by attaching to it magnetically. It also features a neat 
trick where uncovering a part of the cover from the camera at the back 
automatically launches the snapping app.<br />
Pricing starts at $399 which is a bit steep for an 8 inch tablet but 
puts it head-to-head with the iPad Mini 2. Considering that it is a 
full-blown tablet which you’re getting, the deal starts to make sense.</div>

Lenovo Announces The Best 8 Inch Windows Tablet

Lenovo, the world’s largest PC maker, has announced a new Windows 8 tablet which is not only the best one it currently makes, specs-wise...

10:20:00 PM

Lenovo Announces Successors to its Two Most-Popular Laptops

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Lenovo has announced the successors to its two most-popular Windows laptops at CES 2014, the ThinkPad X1 Carbon and the Yoga 2.<br />
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<h4>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon</span></h4>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LyDun47q1mU/Us1kefPlCsI/AAAAAAAAE-s/5bAFn-8g2kE/s1600/Lenovo-ThinkPad-X1-Carbon.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="185" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LyDun47q1mU/Us1kefPlCsI/AAAAAAAAE-s/5bAFn-8g2kE/s1600/Lenovo-ThinkPad-X1-Carbon.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-weight: bold;"> </span></h4>
The new flagship laptop by Lenovo still comes in an exotic carbon 
fiber package. It is also just 0.68″ thick and 2.8 pounds heavy. A 14″ 
display can still be found with 1600 x 900 resolution, but a touchscreen
 option with resolution of 2560 x 1440 pixels can also be found. <br />

Underneath, a Core i5 or i7 processor can be found, along with 
Intel’s HD 4400 Graphics, 4 GB worth memory and a 128 GB SSD (up to 512 
GB can be brought).
<br />
Also you can get quite a few connectivity options, including 
HDMI, 2 USB 3.0 ports, mini DisplayPort and OneLink Pro. Lenovo has also
 added Voice Control, NFC and Gesture Control.
<br />
Yet, the biggest change in the new version of Lenovo’s popular 
Ultrabook comes in its keyboard. Gone are the legendary function keys 
from the top. Their place has been taken by a strip of capacitive keys, 
with options such as search, brightness, magnification, screenshot and 
more. And it is always adapting to the work you’re doing. The red 
TrackPoint is still there, and so is the button-less TrackPad. 
<br />
The laptop is available for $1299 right now.<br />
<br />
<h4>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Lenovo Yoga 2</span></h4>
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<h4>
<span style="font-weight: bold;"> </span></h4>
The Yoga is one of the company’s most popular line-ups and has seen 
an addition too. The new Yoga 2 lies in the mid-budget category and will
 be available in either 11 or 13 inch models.
<br />
The smaller model comes with full-blown Windows 8.1, touchscreen 
and a resolution of 1366 x 768 pixels. It is powered by an Intel Atom 
Bay Trail processor with a 500 GB hard drive, 4 GB RAM and 6 hour long 
battery life. It weighs around 2.9lbs and will be available for $529.
<br />
The larger 13 inch version will come with a touch-enabled display
 with Full HD resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels. This Yoga 2 will be 
getting an Intel Core i5 processor with a 500 GB hybrid drive and 8 GB 
RAM. It weighs 3.5 pounds and will come at a much more tough-to-swallow,
 $999. 
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However, none of them will replace the older (and better) $1100 Yoga 2 Pro as of now.</div>

Lenovo Announces Successors to its Two Most-Popular Laptops

Lenovo has announced the successors to its two most-popular Windows laptops at CES 2014, the ThinkPad X1 Carbon and the Yoga 2. Lenovo T...

7:47:00 PM

Samsung Announces a New NotePRO and Three TabPRO Tablets

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Samsung has announced 4 tablets at the CES 2014 in Las Vegas. These 
include the NotePRO 12.2 and the Galaxy TabPROs 8.4, 10.1 and 12.2.<br />
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The tablets include Samsung’s new homescreen interface called 
Magazine UI, which includes tiles of apps and your favourite content.<br />
<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Galaxy NotePRO 12.2</span></h4>
As expected, the highlight of the bunch is the NotePro 12.2, which is
 the largest member of the entire Note line-up. As you would expect, it 
has an S-Pen slot at the back with the same leathery-finish on the back.
<br />
The display comes with a WQXGA resolution of 2560 x 1600 pixels. 
Underneath, you’ll get either a SnapDragon 800 or Samsung’s Exynos 5 
Octa processor.
<br />
Alongside it will be Adreno 330, 3 GB RAM and 32 or 64 GB 
expandable storage. Towards the back is an 8 megapixel camera with Full 
HD video capture at either 60fps or 30fps, depending on the version.
<br />
Connectivity options include IR Blaster, microUSB 3.0, Wi-Fi 
802.11ac and Bluetooth 4.0, with a 4G version being in the pipeline as 
well. The OS running is Android 4.4 KitKat.<br />
<br />
<h4>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Galaxy TabPRO 12.2, 10.1, 8.4</span></h4>
The remaining three tablets, the Galaxy TabPROs 12.2, 10.1 and 8.4 
are all almost entirely the same, with the major difference amongst them
 being the varying screen sizes.
<br />
The largest of the lot, the Galaxy TabPRO 12.2 features 
specifications completely similar to the NotePRO 12.2, with a 12.2″ 
WQXGA resolution, SnapDragon 800/Exynos Octa 5 processor, 3 GB RAM, 
32/64 GB expandable storage and an 8 megapixel rear-camera. There’s no 
S-Pen, of course.
<br />
The TabPRO 10.1 features a substantially smaller display, again 
with WQXGA, but this time with 2 GB RAM, 16/32 GB storage and 8220 mAh 
battery.
<br />
The TabPRO 8.4 also retains the maddeningly high resolution but 
there’s only one choice as for the processor here, the SnapDragon 800 
one. The amount of battery storage is also smaller, at 4800 mAh. 
<br />
The tablets  will be released in the first quarter of 2014. Pricing isn’t announced for either of them yet.</div>

Samsung Announces a New NotePRO and Three TabPRO Tablets

Samsung has announced 4 tablets at the CES 2014 in Las Vegas. These include the NotePRO 12.2 and the Galaxy TabPROs 8.4, 10.1 and 12.2. ...

7:40:00 PM

MoIT Takes PCB and EDG to NAB for Not Delivering Projects

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The Ministry of Information Technology, on directions of Anusha 
Rehman, Minister of State for IT, has ordered to refer the internal 
audit reports showing gross financial, administrative and procedural 
irregularities of thirteen PSDP IT Projects, executed by Pakistan 
Computer Bureau (PCB) and Electronic Government Directorates (EGD), to 
NAB, we have confirmed.<br />

Most of the projects started during the period in between 2004-2006 
with a deadline for completion of projects of of 2-3 years. However, 
despite a lapse of more than 7 years, the projects desired deliverables 
were not achieved with in the defined timelines.<br />
Ministry of IT has revealed that It has become a yearly trend of 
PCB/EGD to seek extension of these projects on one pretext or other.<br />

The projects include<br />

<ul>
<li>Provision of E-Services at CDA, Islamabad,</li>
<li>M/o Information Technology – Health NET Telemedicine Project for Rural/Remote Areas in Punjab (Holy Family Hospital Rawalpindi)</li>
<li>HMIS and Networking facilities at Children Hospital, PIMS, Islamabad</li>
<li>E-Enablement of Establishment Division</li>
<li>Federal Government Data Centre and Intranet</li>
<li>E-Services at Chief/Deputy Commissioner’s Office</li>
<li>E-Services of Islamabad Police</li>
<li>E-Office at MoIT</li>
<li>E-Office Replication at Federal Ministries/Divisions</li>
<li>E-Services at FIA</li>
<li>E-Services at Ministry of Health</li>
<li>E-Services at Ministry of Interior</li>
<li>E-Services at Ministry of Population</li>
</ul>
The Minister way back in September, 2013 ordered to conduct a Special
 Audit of all the projects of MoIT attached departments/entities to 
ensure the transparency, efficiency in their business processes and 
in-time delivery of the project deliverables.<br />

The reports of special audit to be conducted by AGP are still awaited.</div>

MoIT Takes PCB and EDG to NAB for Not Delivering Projects

The Ministry of Information Technology, on directions of Anusha Rehman, Minister of State for IT, has ordered to refer the internal aud...

3:39:00 PM

Punjab Gets E-Learn Platform to Make Textbooks Available Online for Free

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Punjab Government has made its e-learn platform available online, 
which will enable students to access textbooks, videos, tutorials and 
other academic stuff online for free.<br />

Somewhat similar to Khan’s Academy, PITB’s e-learning platform will 
be specifically tailored for students enrolled with Punjab Education 
Boards.<br />

Platform will offer Text Books, Videos, Simulations,  Animations and 
other supporting assessments for the better understanding of students 
about their subjects and topics.<br />
Currently platform offers content for just a few subjects for 9th and
 10th class. There are overall 1744 videos, 369 simulations and 1700 
pages of content available for Chemistry, Biology, Physics and Maths.<br />

Of course there is a lot more content to come in coming days. 
Moreover, anyone can contribute towards the digital content that will be
 made available to other students after necessary evaluations.<br />

Dr. Umar Said, Chairman PITB, in a statement said that for the first 
time in Pakistan, textbooks are made freely available online, augmented 
with a lot of supplementary material. “We have made this platform to 
also crowdsource content from our users, which will make textbooks 
richer and enhance the overall learning experience”, Dr. Said concluded.<br />

E-Learn Platform, down the line, may get this same content pre-loaded
 into laptops or tablets, or made available in the form of CDs. The 
introduction of online self-assessment features as well as centralized 
course/content management tools for public schools is also planned.<br />

You can Access ELearn.Punjab here: <a href="http://elearn.punjab.gov.pk/" target="_blank">http://elearn.punjab.gov.pk/</a></div>

Punjab Gets E-Learn Platform to Make Textbooks Available Online for Free

Punjab Government has made its e-learn platform available online, which will enable students to access textbooks, videos, ...

2:37:00 PM

Samsung's Smart Home will Let You Control Your Home Appliances via Your Phone

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Samsung has announced a new platform – Samsung Smart Home — which brings all the technologies you interact in one place.<br />

It is a new service which consists of a single application installed 
on your mobile device, which will forward messages to other appliances 
in your home, be it a Smart TV, air conditioner, refrigerator or a 
vacuum cleaner.<br />
Initially, it will allow you three features: Device Control, Home 
View and Smart Consumer Service. Device control gives you control over 
Smart TV, lightning in your home and other high-tech stuff. Yes, in the 
future, your smartphone will control your air conditioner!<br />

Home View allows you to see what’s going on in your home via the 
cameras installed on your home applications. Lastly, Smart Consumer 
Service will notify you when these appliances require servicing or when 
consumables need replacing.<br />

Voice Over will also be supported. For example, saying “goodnight” to
 your Gear will dim lightning while telling it “going out” will shut 
down select appliances.<br />

Samsung should be making more revelations at the CES 2014 event later this week.</div>

Samsung's Smart Home will Let You Control Your Home Appliances via Your Phone

Samsung has announced a new platform – Samsung Smart Home — which brings all the technologies you int...

2:32:00 PM

Acer Announces the World's First Android Tablet With 4:3 Aspect Ratio for $149

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Acer has announced its new tablet line-up running on Android, 
consisting of two tablets. Both of them are in the rock-bottom category 
both in terms of specs and price. The B1-720 is an average offering with
 hardly anything exciting. The A1-830 though, is an interesting product.<br />

It comes with a 7.9″ display with 768 x 1024 resolution. However, it 
also is one of the world’s first Android tablets with a 4:3 aspect 
ratio, which (almost) places it in the same territory as Apple’s iPad 
Mini.<br />
Apart from that, there is hardly anything similar in the two. It 
comes with a dual-core Intel Atom Z2560 processor with 1 GB RAM and 16 
GB expandable storage. A duo of 5 and 2 megapixel HD cameras can also be
 found.<br />

Android 4.2.1 and the $149 price tag push it even further than the 
iPad Mini. If you’re in a market for Android tablets with displays of 
this variety, then this tablet is probably your only option.<br />

Its younger sibling, the B1-720 comes with a lot more commonplace 7″ 
screen with 600 x 1024 resolution. Instead of Intel Atom, you’ll get a 
dual-core MediaTek processor under the hood, with 1 GB RAM, 16 GB 
expandable storage and 2 mp VGA camera at the front.<br />

It is available for an even cheaper price tag of $130.</div>

Acer Announces the World's First Android Tablet With 4:3 Aspect Ratio for $149

Acer has announced its new tablet line-up running on Android, consisting of two tablets. Both of them are in the rock-...

2:31:00 PM

Microsoft Holds ICT Event for NGOs, Youth

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Microsoft Pakistan addressed Information Communication Technology 
solutions for NGOs, Youth and Education at a day-long event last week.<br />

Prominent educationists, philanthropists, representatives from social
 sector and community builders attended the event where discussions on 
the use of ICT solutions to alleviate social problems ensued.
<br />
“Microsoft technology has been benefiting the social as well as 
educational sector. This event is to further promote the many advantages
 Microsoft can offer when it comes to tackling issues of poverty, 
health, education, environment and cultural heritage to name just a few.
 We have also pledged to reach, by 2015, the next 1 billion users who 
have yet to receive the benefits of ICT”, said Mr Amir Rao Country 
Manager Microsoft Pakistan.
<br />
Microsoft’s 21<sup>st</sup> Century Learning tool which enables 
students not only to grasp concepts very quickly but also facilitates 
problem solving skills and knowledge construction was spoken of at 
length.
<br />
“The 21<sup>st</sup> Century Learning Device opens whole new 
avenues for teachers and students alike.  On the students’ part it 
encourages self- regulation, concept building and innovation, whereas 
the teachers can use the tool to introduce new ways of thinking and 
problem solving,” commented a student present at the occasion.
<br />
Employability Portal, Microsoft’s popular CSR initiative, was 
also spoken of at length. Employability Portal provides available 
courses to develop professional skills, a job search function as well as
 youth mentoring by professionals and social networking. The portal will
 help bridge the opportunity divide for young Pakistanis through the use
 of technology. This implementation truly reflects the aspirations of 
Microsoft for a better society.
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Office 365, Microsoft’s new and complete office version, allows 
users to stream full versions of all applications on any internet 
connected device. Thus enabling them to work on the go via any tablet, 
phone or PC.
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The Office 365 University connects teachers & students online
 for remote classes as well as post class discussions and assignments. 
The full range of Office 365 features advanced tools and rubrics 
beneficial for the social and educational sector.</div>

Microsoft Holds ICT Event for NGOs, Youth

Microsoft Pakistan addressed Information Communication Technology solutions for NGOs, Youth and Education at a day-long e...

10:23:00 AM

Nokia Ends Support of Symbian and Meego

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The day has come for the Symbian – once the most widely used and most popular mobile OS – to get buried.<br />
Nokia has officially put a stop to Meego and Symbian, with the 
closure of their app stores. They obviously haven’t been scraped and 
removed altogether though.<br />
The step comes after <a href="http://rexhacker.blogspot.com/2013/10/nokia-to-end-support-for-symbian-and.html" target="_blank">it announced a while back</a> that all Symbian and Meego services will be ceased on 1st January 2014.<br />
Users will be able to install apps for an indefinite amount of time 
while the developers will be able to reap in profits. However, these 
profits won’t be a lot as sales of the OS have continued to fall with 
the last phone running on the OS getting released in early 2012. 
Developers also won’t be able to release updates to their apps.<br />
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With this move, Nokia is reiterating its faith on Microsoft’s Windows
 Phone and its own Asha range. While it hasn’t exactly been benefiting 
endlessly from them either, things aren’t exactly going nowhere and 
there certainly is interest.<br />
We don’t know a lot of people who (still) own a Symbian smartphone 
but if you’re one of those people, then maybe the time has come to 
abandon the ship with a huge question mark over its head.</div>

Nokia Ends Support of Symbian and Meego

The day has come for the Symbian – once the most widely used and most popular mobile OS – to get buried. Nokia has officially put a stop...

10:21:00 AM

Samsung Announces its Second Take at a Point-and-Shoot Android: the Galaxy Camera 2

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Samsung’s mission of putting Android on every single possible slot 
may sound quite absurd but we actually welcomed the OS on 
point-and-shoot cameras. The idea of snapping and sharing photos 
directly from your camera wirelessly and conveniently does sound quite 
tempting to us but the execution wasn’t perfect.<br />
Here it is though, announcing its second take on the idea: the Galaxy
 Camera 2. The new Android-running point-and-shoot comes with a snappier
 processor, more RAM, a new image processor, NFC and a new design.<br />
The basics are still the same. You get a 4.8″ 720p Super Clear LCD 
Display at the front. Android 4.3 Jelly Bean comes pre-installed on the 
camera. The camera still captures 16.3 megapixel photos through its 
1/2.3″ BSI sensor. Also you get the same 21X optical zoom, up to 3200 
ISO and Optical Image Stabilization.<br />
However, you do get a new pop-up Xenon Flash and Autofocus Light. The
 Galaxy Camera 2 features 28 shooting modes in total, with additional 
control over focusing and exposure via the touchscreen for 
professionals. Videos remain at 1080p Full HD at 30fps, as well as 
slo-mo at 120fps.<br />
Apart from that, you also get a 1.6Ghz quad-core processor with 2 GB 
RAM, 8 GB internal storage (2.8 GB is accessible), which is also 
expandable. Battery capacity is set at 2,000 mAh which should be enough 
for around 350 shots.<br />
As for the design, we are seeing the same leathery finish as we saw on the later Samsung flagships.<br />
We don’t know when it will be put up on retail but we should be getting more details at the CES event next week.</div>

Samsung Announces its Second Take at a Point-and-Shoot Android: the Galaxy Camera 2

Samsung’s mission of putting Android on every single possible slot may sound quite absurd but we actually welcomed the OS on point-and-...

10:15:00 AM

MCB Launches Mobile Wallet, A Single Solution for All Financial Needs!

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The Muslim Commercial Bank (MCB) launched the world’s first Visa enabled, socially connected Mobile Wallet yesterday.<br />

MCB Lite is a mobile account that comes with Visa Card, allowing its 
users the endless possibilities of shopping, transacting online and for 
using it at ATM machines across the globe. Customers will be able to 
manage their account through internet as well.<br />

MCB President & CEO Imran Maqbool, Group Head (Retail) Ali Kazmi,
 Digital Banking & Business Development Head Qasif Shahid, a large 
number of other stakeholders and media was present on this occasion.<br />

In their marketing campaign they asked the public a thought-provoking
 question “are you getting the most out of your smart phone?” As it 
turns out, even though our phones are our most prized possessions, yet 
we fail to utilize them to their true and maximum potential.<br />

MCB Lite is more like UBL’s WIZ card, but of course with more value and features.<br />

Customers can have their MCB Lite account activated by visiting any 
MCB branch, by calling their helpline or by sending a SMS “Lite” to 
6222.<br />

After having an MCB Lite account, you can fill it by depositing cash,
 transferring funds in it from your MCB account or from any account of 
any bank for that matter.<br />
<div class="adsxpls" id="adsxpls1" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding: 0px; text-align: center;">
</div>
Once filled with funds, Your MCB Lite account will act as your 
regular bank account. You can shop anywhere, pay utility bills (via 
internet or Android App), make online payments, transfer funds to other 
bank accounts and much more.<br />

Just to mention, for using MCB Lite online, you will have to get your
 account activated for online usage. There are currently no transaction 
charges associated with payments made over internet.<br />

Here are few of the MCB Lite Features:<br />

<ul>
<li>Global Acceptance</li>
<li>Bank Independent: MCB Lite Mobile Wallet resides on top of your 
existing bank account. You can simply use your Mobile Wallet in 
conjunction with your existing bank account and load it via IBFT or MCB 
branches.</li>
<li>Unlimited Usage</li>
<li>Online Shopping: The payment solution lets you shop securely and safely at local and international online stores.</li>
<li>Pay Anyone: In times of need, you can send money to anyone in Pakistan:
<ul>
<li>Any MCB Lite User</li>
<li>Any MCB Account Holder</li>
<li>Any other Bank Account Holder through IBFT</li>
<li>Any valid CNIC Holder (Coming Soon)*</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Utility Bill Payment</li>
<li>Top-Ups: Pay mobile phone bills or buy top-ups of all five Telecommunication companies in Pakistan.</li>
</ul>
MCB Bank Group Head (Retail) Ali Kazmi  said, “the Bank believes that
 the greatest benefits are derived from MCB Lite if it is established 
& practiced in social groups. It’s similar to operating and owning 
an email account or a fax machine. There is no point in having one if 
you are the only one with the machine or an email account as there will 
be no one to send or receive faxes or emails to.<br />

In other words, the more acquaintances you have on MCB Lite the 
greater the benefit in terms of time saved and money saved through 
just-in-time, free person-to-person mobile initiated payments,” he 
added.<br />

Speaking on the occasion, MCB Digital Banking & Business 
Development Head Qasif Shahid said, “Through our previous work in the 
mobile/digital payments space and working closely with Visa we have 
realized that the road to going viral, attaining scale and changing 
behavior hinges on creating payments solutions that are; bank, telecom 
& device independent, free of charge, interoperable and support 
frictionless onboarding processes. MCB Lite is built exactly on these 4 
cardinal principles and we hope it revolutionizes the payment behavior 
of the masses in a top-down approach.”<br />

MCB President & CEO Imran Maqbool said, “MCB Lite complements the
 excellent work that is already happening in the industry for financial 
inclusion. All of it has been possible due to the remarkable regulatory 
framework set-up by State Bank of Pakistan and initiatives so far led by
 telecom operators with the exception of one large bank.  Most of the 
players are operating at the bottom of the opportunity pyramid, with MCB
 Lite; we aim to play in the parts of the opportunity pyramid that 
remains largely unoccupied by others.”<br />

In future, MCB plans to expand and strengthen their proposition by 
introducing innovative features and functions by keeping in line with 
their philosophy of co-creating products with their consumers.<br />

The launching ceremony concluded with an interactive question-answer 
session and positive note that  Pakistan is among a few countries of the
 world which are going to develop in this technology during coming four 
to five years because of being a member of club of English speaking 
countries and high level of teledensity.</div>

MCB Launches Mobile Wallet, A Single Solution for All Financial Needs!

The Muslim Commercial Bank (MCB) launched the world’s first Visa enabled, socially connected Mobile Wallet yesterday. MCB Lite is a mob...

9:13:00 PM

Google Makes 98% of Profit From Play Store via In-app Purchases

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In a new report by analytics firm, Distimo, it has been proven that 
how powerful the bloodsucking Freemium modelling of apps is. A mammoth 
98% of revenue that Google makes from the Play Store comes as a result 
of in-app purchases from these free apps.<br />

Piracy has always been a huge issue on Android and while this method 
is a pain to live with, it has also proven to be a great way of 
combating privacy. As you would expect, the remaining 2% money comes in 
from paid apps and in-app purchases on these paid apps.<br />
Google also makes about $12 million a day from the store, up from a 
paltry $3.5 million a year ago but behind Apple’s figure of $18 million a
 day. Also up, from 30% to 37%, is the percentage of worldwide app 
expenditure.<br />

A huge amount of money was made via developing markets. A particular 
case was that of South Korea from where earnings increased by a stunning
 759%.<br />

So there you have it, the future that is. While we know for sure that
 you loathe freemium apps like Real Racing 3, Angry Birds Go! and Candy 
Crush Saga, they are certainly the way forward. Or at least until 
governments worldwide take a strict action against them.</div>

Google Makes 98% of Profit From Play Store via In-app Purchases

In a new report by analytics firm, Distimo, it has been proven that how powerful the bloodsucking Freemium modelling of apps is. A mammo...

2:05:00 PM

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