Nokia Lumia 920 and 820 to be launched in India on January 15

One of the most anticipated devices to hit Indian shelves in 2013 will be Nokia's Lumia 920. The Lumia 920, along with its smaller sibling, the Lumia 820, will be launched in India around January 15, said our sources in the grey market. They also mentioned that the device may be launched a couple of days late, depending on Nokia. Nevertheless, the devices should be available across the country from January 17. The Lumia 920 is set to cost between 38,000 and 40,000, while the 820 will be in the 25,000 to 28,000 price bracket. When we reached out to Nokia, the company said that it has not yet made an official statement about the launch of the devices in India. The Lumia 920 is priced in Singapore at SGD 899, which roughly translates to Rs 40,750, whereas the Lumia 820 costs SGD 699, which is approximately Rs 31,700. However, one should not expect the prices to be the same when the handsets come to India—the additional taxes could make the devices cost a bit more. Coming mid-January It was revealed earlier this month that the Indian variant of the Lumia 920 is set to support nine 4G bands. This gives it a significant edge over the other big release of the year, the iPhone 5, which supports only five LTE bands. Another place where the Lumia 920 wins out is that it is pentaband WCDMA, as opposed to the iPhone 5 being quadband. Nokia has a lot depending on the success of these handsets, and has already launched an advertising campaign. Nokia first took the wraps off its Lumia 920 at the Nokia World 2012 event in New York City. Featuring a polycarbonate body, the Nokia Lumia 920 packs in a Snapdragon S4 processor and a PureView sensor. It also comes with the Blink app, which is the smartphone's Burst mode. The smartphone will feature an LCD display, which is a little better than the HD displays available now. The Nokia Lumia 920 includes the latest Nokia PureView camera, which the company claims captures five times more light than competing smartphones. It gives bright pictures without flash, even indoors and at night. It also features built-in wireless charging, making it easy to keep the battery topped up throughout the day.   The Nokia Lumia 820 offers exchangeable covers in a range of colours. Both phones have the option of wireless charging, a sensitive touchscreen and Nokia ClearBlack display technology. The Lumia handsets come with the full suite of Nokia navigation applications, including Nokia City Lens and Nokia Music, which streams unlimited music directly to the phone.

Verizon's NFL Mobile App Gets Slightly Less Terrible With Free Tablet Streaming For Verizon FiOS Subscribers

We've lamented the various restrictions on NFL Mobile's streaming audio and video before: the fact that it costs extra even for games on public broadcast, the fact that you can't use it with HDMI output, and most of all, the fact that it's only available on Verizon. Today the app gets a little less restrictive, at least assuming that you use Verizon FiOS for your home Internet connection. The latest update indicates that FiOS subscribers will be able to access NFL Mobile live streaming on their tablets for free. I guess they figured that they've got enough of your money.

The update text reads as follows: "Now Verizon FiOS customers can enjoy Live video on Android Tablets." We don't have a connection to test, but we suppose that means that WiFi tablets are fair game for streaming, so long as you have a FiOS account.

[New App] GMD Smart Rotate Copies Samsung's Camera-Based Orientation Control - Perfect For The Frequently Horizontal

Does the fact that your smartphone or tablet's orientation control conform to its orientation rather than yours constantly enrage you? Well, you could go buy a late-model Samsung device for its Smart Rotate feature, which uses the front-facing camera to see which way your face is pointing and adjusts the screen accordingly. Or you could download GMD Smart Rotate, which does the exact same thing.

  

GMD replaces the accelerometer function with facial recognition, meaning that if you hold your phone in portrait mode even when you yourself are horizontal, it will know not to rotate the screen. I can think of exactly one amazingly good use-case scenario: when you're lying on your side and want to read or watch something, and don't have five precious seconds to toggle the auto-rotate function in stock Android. I tried the app out and it seems to work well, though there's a slight delay in order to let the camera snap a temporary photo. You've also got to make sure that your whole face is clearly visible to your front-facing camera - an optional notification makes this easier.

The free version of the app does what it says on the label, with a few extra bells and whistles. The reasonably-priced $2 pro version adds features that will keep the screen on while you're looking at it, hide the notification bar, and allow you to customize the rotation behavior on an app-by-app basis.

Via Addictive Tips

DirecTV Genie whole-home DVR review

We're very happy that 2012 ended up being the year of whole-home DVRs. We reviewed Dish Network's Hopper earlier this year and now we've spent some quality time with DirecTV's Genie -- can't say we expected the cute names. Capable of serving up to eight rooms in your house (but only four at once), the Genie system works with a variety of setups, including being built into some newer Samsung TVs. Only available as part of DirecTV service, the Genie can be had for free by some new DirecTV customers who are willing to sign a term agreement and select the right package, and available to existing customers as an upgrade for $300 depending on the circumstances. If DirecTV didn't already have you at five tuners, 1TB and up to eight rooms, then click through for a full rundown on the latest the original direct satellite broadcast TV provider has to offer.

More BlackBerry N-Series images surface, appeases QWERTY lovers with sharper focus

Remember this little guy? It was Christmas Eve when Mr. Blurrycam gave us a look at this keyboard-equipped BB10 prototype. Skip to the present, and N4BB has apparently come across news images of it, minus the fuzz. Aside from being clearer, the phone's screen is notably powered on in this round images -- essentially proving it's more than a dummy. While we've known the unit is likely part of RIM's N-Series, the site notes that its actual model number may officially be presented as the X10 (not to be confused with Sony Ericsson, Klipsch and Fujifilm offerings of the same moniker). Things will certainly become even clearer on January 30th, that's for sure -- for now, hit the source link for a couple of more images.

Samsung confirms multi-window feature and Jelly Bean update for original Galaxy Note

That previously-spotted Premium Suite upgrade for the Galaxy Note is on its way, with Samsung revealing all the details on its site. With a refreshed UI appears very similar to its successor, the respectable Android slab will also lay claim to Air View, Multi-window apps and the addictive easy clip function that allows you to crop and share images and text with the stylus. Thanks to that Jelly Bean update, owners of Samsung's original phablet can also start dabbling with Google Now, which will continue to pluck information from your search history, location and timezone. There's no word yet on when the refreshed Premium suite will find its way onto devices anywhere, but with Samsung already singing the update's praises, it shouldn't be far away.

Mysterious ASUS P1801-T visits the FCC, might be the finished Transformer AiO (updated)

The FCC sometimes gets a peek at hardware and reveals nothing but a model number to hint at what's passed through its labyrinth. The latest filing leaving us scratching our heads is for the ASUS P1801-T, a "tablet" which could be the final version of the Transformer AiO prototype we saw back at Computex. How did we arrive at the AiO? Well, the model number is a possible clue -- ASUS' Eee Slate B121 has a 12.1-inch panel, so P1801-T may point to this device having 18 inches of screen. As ASUS' dual-OS prototype all-in-one is the only (sort of) tablet we've seen with roughly that many inches, we assume the company is getting paperwork done before a proper launch at CES 2013. A "P1801" running Android 4.1.1 has also popped up at GLBenchmark, with Tegra3 graphics, a 1,920 x 1080 graphics and a Cortex-A9 CPU inside. If ASUS is keeping two OS's as per the AiO prototype, that processor caters for only one Microsoft product -- Windows RT. We'll just be kept wondering until we hear something official, but at least for us, an 18-inch Android / RT super-tablet and part-time desktop sounds like it could be a hard sell.

Update: We noticed that the original PR from Computex 2012 stated that the tablet portion could also "become a wireless display for the AiO PC," which could mean that the base unit is full-fledged Windows 8 machine with x86 hardware, making it a much more tempting idea.

LG launches Optimus Vu in India for Rs 34,500

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The LG Optimus Vu when first announced was targeted at the Korean market, and was designed to take on the likes of the Galaxy Note. However, a couple of months ago, LG had announced that it would launch another version for the handset for global markets. However, the brand had not provided any dates for the Optimus Vu reaching Indian shores. The LG India website has now listed this handset to its line up, and priced it in India at Rs 34,500. The international version will have a range of features better than those in the original. The highlighted attribute found in the global version will be the inclusion of a NVIDIA Tegra 3 processor. Officially launched in India As per the official announcement, LG states that on the heels of its successful debut in Korea and Japan, the Optimus Vu will make its appearance global starting from select markets in Europe, Asia, Middle East, Africa, and Latin America this year. The brand claims that with the world’s first 5-inch 4:3 aspect ratio display, the Optimus Vu blurs the line between traditional tablets and smartphones and gives a unique smart device experience. According to figures by LG, more than 500,000 units of the the Optimus Vu have been sold since the handset’s March debut in Korea, demonstrating public acceptance of its form-factor. The reception the device received in Korea prompted LG to launch the Optimus Vu in Japan earlier this month, where it has been received positively.   For the global roll-out, the Optimus Vu will be equipped with the NVIDIA Tegra 3 mobile processor, and the fast 4-Plus-1 quad-core processor with the fifth battery-saver core, which offers a superb balance of performance and power requirements. Four cores are used for high performance tasks such as games and multitasking. For voice calls, email, music, and video playback, only the fifth core is enabled. The handset runs on Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich and a customisable home screen.   When paired with the high-resolution 5-inch, 4:3 ratio IPS display, the Optimus Vu becomes a device that’s both pocketable and spacious. The Optimus Vu will come with an upgraded version of QuickMemo and Notebook, two features that make great use of the large display real estate. As for the handset’s camera optics, the LG Optimus Vu features an 8 megapixel rear camera with AF and LED flash and 1.3 megapixel front-facing camera. Connectivity on this handset includes LTE, HDMI, DLNA and Wi-Fi Direct. The handset comes equipped with 32GB of internal memory and features 1GB of RAM. Other notable features of the handset include QuickMemo, Sound Profile, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Accounts & Sync, Airplane mode, Auto-rotate screen, Brightness, Data enabled, GPS, NFC and a Portable Wi-Fi hotspot “The different form factor makes Optimus Vu: unique even in the 5-inch smartphone category which we expect will catch on once they become more widely available,” said Dr. Jong-seok Park, president and CEO of LG Electronics Mobile Communications Company.

Note Editor improved in updated Evernote Android app

Recently, Evernote for Android was updated to version 4.3, bringing a host of new features to the table. In an official blog post, the company has added that the latest update introduces “nice new features”, one of which is an improved toolbar in the Note Editor.

Elaborating upon the changelog, Evernote shares that with the latest update, the Note Editor toolbar on Android has been de-cluttered. The app now excludes everything that doesn’t pertain to editing, and instead puts it into the Action Bars along the top of the note. Using the toolbar, users can style their text and even go ahead and organise it with bullets, lists, and checkboxes. If users want to hide the toolbar, they can do so by tapping on the arrow. 

The Note editor toolbar has been cleaned up

Among other changes to the app in this latest version is the Offline Notebook multi-select option for Premium users. With this update, users will be able to select multiple notebooks at once, which Evernote claims, makes it a no-hassle affair. Users can begin doing this by first going to their notebook list. Once there, they can tap on one either Android phone or Android tablet options. Tap the download icon in the bottom Action Bar for Android phone and/ or tap the three dots in the top right corner, then tap Offline Notebooks for Android tablets. Users will then be given the multi-select view option. Here, users should tap the notebooks that they’d like to keep for offline access, tap the check mark at the top left of the screen, and the notebooks will begin downloading in the background.

Offline notebooks now has a multi-select view option

Evernote shares that Offline Notebooks is one of its most popular Premium features. Using this feature, Evernote claims that Android users can download as many notebooks as they like directly to their phone or tablet. Users can access their notes and any attachments quickly, irrespective of where they are at the time. 

The updated app has made way for redesigned Action Bars for Android tablets. The updated app brings context aware Action Bar options for Android tablet users, shares Evernote in its blog post. With the latest update, users will be able to spot the actions in the bar changing depending on the panel open at the time. For example, if you’re in the Notebook List, an arrow will appear beneath Notebooks. Tap the Action Bar label to show a menu of sorting and grouping options. The same is true for Tags and All Notes views.

Evernote has also gone ahead and added a stretchable widget to their widget app. Let’s take a look at what’s new. Evernote now has a separate widget app available from Google Play using which users can create new notes right from their device’s desktop. Evernote claims that new Grid Widget is designed such that it will fit perfectly on any sized screen.

The stretchable Grid widget

Once users have downloaded the widget app, they have to tap and hold on their device’s desktop. Then, they will have to choose the Evernote Grid Widget. Once done they will have to select the note types and functions that they would like the widget to display. The widget will now appear on your screen. If users want to re-size the widget, they will have to tap and hold it until they see a frame appear. To keep the appropriate dimensions, users will have to drag the frame. 

New Halo 4 trailer shows origin of Spartans

With the release date for the game right around the corner, developer 343 Industries has released a new trailer for Halo 4. The trailer is more of a story trailer than anything else as it shows many small bits of story, including the origin of Master Chief and other Spartans. Master Chief's mind is violated by a powerful new enemy, who in searching for Chief's weaknesses, finds the source of his strength. The video sheds some light on how Master Chief became a Spartan. This hints to the fact that Master Chief, who was known as John before he donned the armour, had a lot of experiments done on him. Recently, Halo 4 was leaked and the game was easy to acquire through torrents. The game is available on torrent sites with all uploaders having their own versions of the disks. Some have single ISO files for each disk, sized 8,334MB; others have the entire two-disk game in one torrent. The torrent for the game is being seeded by several thousand torrenters, and is spreading like wildfire. This can be attributed to the fact that Halo 4 is easily one of the most anticipated games this year. Soon after the leak, Microsoft has started banning players it finds have pirated the game from Xbox Live. Users from Reddit have stated that they have received an email from Microsoft saying that they have been banned from Xbox Live for "prerelease title play".  Back in September, developer of the game 343 Industries had released some screenshots that showed some of the environments and weapons that will be in the game. The new screenshots showcase the game’s varied environment and level design and hints to the die-hard fans of the series about where the story will take them in this game. The screenshots also show the protagonist – Master Chief – using some of the weapons that were shown in the Covenant weapons trailer that was released by 343 Industries recently. More asses need to be kicked The developer had also released a trailer that showed the new weapons and sound effects in August. The trailer mostly attempts to showcase the completely rebuilt sound effects for the weapons in Halo 4. The video also displays the revamped sound effects of popular weapons from the earlier games, such as the pistol, DMR, rocket launcher and shotgun. Some of the newer weapons showed in the trailer are a sticky grenade launcher and a rail gun that can kill in one hit, but has a relatively long down-time between shots. During Comic-Con in July, Microsoft and 343 had announced a limited edition Halo 4-themed Xbox 360 set costing $399 (Rs 21,500 approximately). The set contains the Xbox 360 with Halo-themed artwork, two limited edition Halo 4 controllers, a copy of Halo 4, a wireless headset and downloadable codes for Halo-4 themed avatar items and in-game DLC. The development of Halo 4 has been taken over from Bungie by 343 Industries that helped out with the game Halo: Reach and provided fans with an HD remake of Halo: Combat Evolved. It’s about time the Xbox 360 got a solid first party game. It seems since the past few months, Microsoft has been targeting the casual gamer over the hardcore one. Halo 4, Microsoft’s next iteration in the Halo franchise, will arrive exclusively for the Xbox 360 by November 6, 2012. Halo 4 takes place nearly four years after the events of Halo 3 and will mark the return of Master Chief, who was absent from both Halo 3: ODST and Halo: Reach. Coincidentally, this game also marks the beginning of a brand new Halo trilogy.

Google acquires patent for left-eye version of Project Glass

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Google seems to be working hard on its devices for augmented reality. According toEngadget, the company has obtained patents for a left eye version of its augmented reality project – Project Glass. The patent simply switches the Project Glass eyepiece on the other side of the glasses to accommodate those who would prefer their information on the left side, instead of the right. Information on the patent can be seen here. The patent image for the left-eye version of Project Glass Google had unveiled its web-based digital project – Project Glass – back in April during the Google I/O event. The experimental 'augmented reality' glasses - from the same team that is developing self-driven cars - can snap photos, initiate video chats, and display directions at the sound of a user's voice. The prototype digital glasses, unveiled on the company's Google+ social network on Wednesday, are still being tweaked and tested, and are not available in stores yet."We're sharing this information now because we want to start a conversation and learn from your valuable input," Google wrote in a post on a Google+ page devoted to Project Glass. Google Chief Executive Larry Page has cut down on many of the projects and products underway at the company since taking the reins a year ago. But he has defended Google's commitment to working on "speculative" projects that could one day turn into "billion-dollar businesses," though he has stressed the company isn't "betting the farm" on such efforts. The glasses could provide a way for Google to more closely entwine its advertising-supported online services, including Web searches, maps and email, into people's daily lives. The glasses also could help Google match some of the buzz that rival Apple Inc has generated with its latest iPhone and the built-in Siri digital assistant, which takes spoken commands to do such tasks as schedule calendar appointments and get weather forecasts. Earlier this month, Google had attained the patent for a SmartWatch that incorporates augmented reality. Going by the description of the device on the patent filing, it would sport two screens, one at the top, and one that you get when you flip open the top. According to the patent filing, “A smart-watch can include a wristband, a base, and a flip up portion. The base can be coupled to the wristband and include a housing, a processor, a wireless transceiver, and a tactile user interface. The wireless transceiver can be configured to connect to a wireless network. The tactile user interface can be configured to provide interaction between a user and the smart-watch. The flip up portion can be displaceable between an open position exposing the base and a closed position concealing the base. Further, the flip up portion can include: a top display exposed when the flip up portion is in the closed position, and an inside display opposite the top display. The inside display can be concealed when the flip up portion is in the closed position and be exposed when the flip up portion is in the open position”.

Apple exec explains absence of light sensor on new iPod touch

When Apple announced the iPhone 5, the new iPod touch devices launched at the same event too received a warm welcome. However, a feature that is missing with the device is that it does not come equipped with an ambient light sensor. The lack of this feature has bemused a lot of early adopters, and one such user has written an email to Apple executive Phil Schiller inquiring why this feature was not present in the device. Apple’s Phil Schiller has replied explaining that the iPod touch does not come with an ambient light sensor because the device is too thin for it. As per a report by iDownloadblog, the author states that Apple had emphasised the lack of an ambient light sensor in the fifth generation iPod touch after initially highlighting the omission in its iPod touch fifth generation review. A reader then claims to have emailed Apple’s SVP of worldwide marketing, Phil Schiller, and received the response explaining the drop of the sensor. Apple recently announced the 2012 line up of iPods. The new iPod touch is the thinnest iPod touch ever, and features a 4-inch Retina display, Apple’s A5 chip, and Siri. Housed in an anodised aluminium body, it’s even slimmer than the iPhone 5 at just 6 mm thick, and weighs just 88 gm. With Apple’s dual-core A5 chip inside, iPod touch is touted to deliver up to twice the processing power and up to seven times faster graphics than the fourth generation iPod touch. Apple states that the device has a battery life of up to