Nokia introduces Music+ service for Lumia devices

Nokia has announced Music+ Lumia-only music streaming service. The app is available as a paid upgrade.

Nokia takes on music streaming services such as Spotify and Last.fm as the company rolls out an extension to its Mix Radio app called, Nokia Music+. The new Nokia Music+ app is available as a premium upgrade for the Lumia users.

Nokia Music+ features unlimited downloads and unlimited music discovery. It also has unlimited skips, allowing users to skip from track to track. The app promises to deliver high quality streaming music. Even over a 2.5G connection, Nokia Music+ allows you to download music at ‘eight times’ the standard quality. Moreover, there’s option to access lyrics as well as a web-app for desktop users.

“It’s the only smartphone music service out there offering access to millions of songs out of the box without the need to sign up, sign in, or suffer adverts in between enjoying the music. When you add in the ability to skip songs and save playlists for offline uses like the tube, you have something unique,” says Jyrki Rosenberg, VP Entertainment at Nokia in a blog post.

“Nokia Music is great for discovering new music, and we’ve found that there’s a core of users that want even more of it. This is how Nokia Music+ came about. By introducing features like infinite skips and unlimited downloads, we’re opening the doors for unlimited music discovery at only €3.99 per month.”

Nokia Music+ will be rolled out in the next few weeks. The app will be available at around $4 in the U.S., however Nokia says the price will vary according to territory.

Source: http://www.thinkdigit.com/Apps/Nokia-introduces-Music-service-for-Lumia-devices_13226.html

Samsung Galaxy S4 reportedly set to launch in April

The successor to Samsung Electronics’ blockbuster Galaxy S3 could launch in April.

That’s according to Samsung news Web site SamMobile, which pegs the phone’s launch on April 15.

The Galaxy S franchise has emerged as a true competitor to the iPhone, and garners as much hype and anticipation as Apple’s marquee smartphone. While early iterations of the Galaxy S phone faced a slow start, the Galaxy S3 catapulted out of the gate as a smash hit, and has held up remarkably well even as other competitive phones have faded. The phone has helped propel Samsung into the top spot among handset vendors.

The Galaxy S4 — which ultimately might be branded Galaxy S IV — will feature wireless charging as a key feature. But unlike other smartphones such as the Nokia Lumia 920 or Droid DNA, the service won’t be built-in. Users will have to buy a kit with a wireless charging station and replacement cover, according to the report.

The next Galaxy S phone will also reportedly feature a larger 2,600 mAh battery, compared with the Galaxy S3′s 2,100 mAh battery.

With a launch date in April, SamMobile said Samsung could hold its own event in March, or possibly unveil the smartphone at Mobile World Congress, which begins in late February. The Galaxy S3 was unveiled at a Samsung event in May last year.

Even if the April 15 launch date holds true, that doesn’t necessarily mean the Galaxy S4 will make its way to the U.S. at that time. As with the Galaxy S III, the phone may launch at different times depending on when the U.S. carriers want to release the phone, which could vary from days to weeks.
Samsung declined to comment on the report, noting that it wouldn’t comment on rumors.

Micromax launches 5-inch phablet Canvas HD

Strengthening its position in the phablet segment, Micromax has launched a new device, the Canvas HD. The device has a 5-inch five touch point HD IPS panel display. It is powered by MediaTek’s 1.2 GHz quad core processor paired with 1 GB RAM and runs on Android 4.1 Jelly Bean. Canvas HD also has also an 8 MP rear camera and 2100 mAh battery.

It is a dual SIM phone with single active option. The Canvas HD has 4GB internal memory with an expandable memory of up to 32GB. The device will be available from the first week of February and will be priced below Rs 15,000.

In future, market will be for Micromax and Samsung, competing against the likes of Nokia and HTC. Micromax will lead the Indian market with its budget pricing.

Mozilla Unveils Firefox OS Smartphones – A Threat To Android?

Bangalore: Mozilla made a major foray into the Smartphone segment with the launch of first devices to run Mozilla’s HTML 5-based Firefox OS,”Keon” and the “Peak”, reports ZDNet.

These two Smartphones, rather than currying up for retailers, are aimed at developers who want to try this new platform for developing and testing apps. The retail versions will be made available in February.

“Developer preview phones will help make the mobile web more accessible to more people. Developers are critical to the web, and to Mozilla’s mission to make the web accessible to everyone,” Stormy Peters, director of developer engagement at Mozilla, said in a blog post on Tuesday. “Now we are working on bringing the power of the web to mobile through Firefox OS, along with all the power of open standards and an open community, and once again, we’d like to invite web developers to join us.”

The Two preview phones are developed by GeeksPhone in partnership with the Spanish carrier Telefonica.

Of two, the lower specced Keon will come with Qualcomm Snapdragon S1 1GHz processor, 3.5-inch HVGA touchscreen display, 3MP camera, and 4GB of internal storage,  microSD support, Wi-Fi (N), and GPS, but has no secondary camera.

The Peak is slightly higher specced—dual-core 1.2GHz Snapdragon S4 processor, 4.3-inch qHD display, 8 MP primary and 2MP secondary camera, 4GB of internal storage and higher capacity battery.

“If you’re a developer interested in web technologies and mobile, now is the time to try out Firefox OS,” Peters said. And she added that the new OS is aimed at “keep the Web open” and “help make sure the power of the web is available to everyone — even on mobile devices.”

The offering from the Mozilla is an open source mobile OS, about which Peters said “you’re not locked in to a vendor-controlled ecosystem. You can distribute your app through the Firefox Marketplace, your own website, or any other store based on Mozilla’s open app store technology.”

This non-profit group’s OS project names as Boot to Gecko will go after Google’s Android or Apple’s iOS, to offer Smartphones that are less expensive than an iPhone while offering similar experiences to those running on other platforms.

On January 26, Mozilla will be hosting a set of “hack days” to give developers around the world the chance to “learn, hack, share, and celebrate Firefox OS”, Peters said.

Indian Made eTouch Pen Converts Old Monitors Into Touch Screens

Bangalore: Touch screen devices relish the digital era, and the demand for the same has increased especially after the introduction of the touch centric Microsoft Windows 8 operating system in the market. Majority of the PC/ laptop users are in a state of dilemma thinking of how to make the best use of Windows 8 system. In an attempt to make use of the growing demand, Bangalore- based Jeswill Hi-Tech Solutions has come up with an innovative stylus ‘e-touch Pen’ to facilitate the conversion  of non-touch based PC or laptop into a touch screen devices.

The e-Touch Pen is designed for the Windows 8 with non-touch devices, as the new Microsoft operating system provides the ultimate user experience on touch devices. The device can also be used on PC’s running on Windows 7.

The device works based on a combination of ultrasound infrared technology and doesn’t require drivers for installation. It includes components like a cordless electronic pen and a detachable base unit with a USB cable connector. It has a receiver that can be clipped on to a screen and a stylus pen that acts as a transmitter. Apart from that, a small magnetic strip is stuck onto the side of a screen.

The receiver is clipped on to the magnetic strip and connected to the computer through a USB port. Since the clipped on receiver is an infrared device, it helps in positioning the stylus. The stylus transmitter is a battery- operated, ultrasonic device which has few brushes at its tip which attracts the vibrations when the pen is moved on the screen. The signals are subsequently transmitted to the receiver. The receiver transmits the input to the PC which completes the action accordingly.

There lies a price gap between a touch screen PC and a non-touch PC which is more than 10, 000 in market, but the new i-Touch pen can bridge the gap as it costs around to 5,000.  It works on a maximum screen size of 22-inch with a resolution of 100 DPI.

According to Mr. Sylvester P. Moorthy, Chairman, Hi-Tech Solutions, the e-Touch pen was designed especially for Windows 8. He also said that users will be able to write, draw, and edit pictures on the screen as well as perform certain other functions using this device.