Android 4.4 KitKat to release in October: Nestle

It looks like Android’s latest iteration will see the light of the day in October, as Nestle has revealed the first news about the launch of Android 4.4 KitKat on facebook.

While replying to a user who asked “When Android 4.4 KitKat will be available”, Nestle German KitKat Facebook handle replied “Android 4.4 KitKat is available from October “(Google translation).

While this might not be an official confirmation about Android 4.4 KitKat’s release, at least the German Nestle Facebook handle was kind enough to confirm that it is coming next month.

Earlier this month, the search engine giant which has been known for nicknaming its Android operating systems for smartphones and tablets after desserts, had for the first time announced a candy brand name for the version 4.4. However, Google made no mention of when the android 4.4 update would rollout.

The search giant has been in news ever since it announced the next iteration of its mobile operating system, with the Nexus 4 successor, which is expected to be the platform lead device for Android 4.4 jelly, making multiple appearances on the Internet via FCC filing and image leaks.

In the official promotional video of the Kitkat announcement released by Google, a person seen holding up a phone which came with Nexus logo at the back, very identical to the Nexus 7 (2013). The back of the mysterious phone had a matte finish and include a large camera lens which has not been seen on any Nexus device, yet.

Recently, the alleged Nexus 4 successor was again spotted in new images and a video. The purported pre-production unit of the next Nexus smartphone revealed the front and rear panels. It is rumored that the Nexus smart phone would run Android 4.4 KitKat OS and both are expected to be launched at the same event.

Google developing new interface for mobile searches

Ben Gomes, the India-trend techie who overseas Google’s handling of 100 searches a month, believes a new voice-based interface is needed for the next frontier of search centered round mobile phones and tablet computers.

“Now search is becoming mobile-on phones and tablets. The challenge is that it is on a small screen, so it’s hard to type. The opportunity is that it’s got a really good microphone and touch screen,” he said.

“It can enable a new kind of interface. So we realized we want to build and interface that can much like the way you talk to some person and ask a question,” Gomes said.

And while the Google search app can already respond to questions using voice-based software, Gomes told the BBC that the process is “going to be got more better and intelligent”.

The Tanzania-born, India-bred, US-educated vice-president of search is responsible for helping to answer queries in the shortest time possible on desktops, tablets and phones.

Search is Google’s cash cow, bringing in a majority o f its USD 50 billion revenues last year. It is also, said Gomes, “about having a continuous conversation with the user to find out what he wants”.

Described by a BBC as a “boy-like 45-years-old guru of search in Googleplex”, the company headquarters in Mountain View, California, Gomes works out of an untidy cubicle with four other top engineers.

Gomes and his team work on “their fine-tooth comb search of the worldwide web to serve up the popular search engine”. He said: “When I joined Google in 1999, search was about basically finding the words you search for in a document. Then we took this view that we were going to understand what you want and give you what you need.

Trawling through over 20 million web pages a day, Gomes and his “army of search” – a substantial number of Google’s 44,000 employees – use algorithms to make search intuitive, multimedia and super smart. Gomes is especially proud of knowledge Graph, a new function launched last year to make the site’s algorithm “act more human” in a attempt to offer instant answers to search questions.

“It’s a database of all things in the world. It pulls together different databases and unifies them into a single coherent one that has about 500 to 600 million people, places and things in them and about 18 billion attributes and connections between those things,” he said.

Google handles 100-billio plus searches every month, or over three billion a day. A good 15 percent of the searches questions every day are now. When Gomes joined Google in 1999 after a stint in Sun Microsystems working on a Java programming language, some searches could take up to 20 seconds. Today a search for Ben Gomes on Google shows about 19,000,000 results in 28 seconds.

Gomes, the son of car distributor father and a school teacher mother, moved to the US 25 years ago. He went to Berkeley, where he received a PhD in computer science.

Huawei Ascend W3 Windows Phone spotted in leaked images

Huawei has managed to make its presence known this year with a few of its Android-based smart phone. However, it seems that the China-based company is getting ready to unveil a new Windows Phone device.

Huawei’s expected third-generation of Window Phone 8 devices; the Ascend W3 has been spotted leaked images. The images of the alleged Huawei Ascend W3 were leaked from china and were first reported by GSMinsider which notes that the alleged Windows Phone device will come in two color models – Blue and Yellow. The leaked images show the Ascend W3’s front panel with Live Tiles and Huawei logo branding on top beneath the earpiece alongside the front-facing camera.

The rear panel of the device sports a camera and comes again with a Huawei logo branding in the centre. Presently, there is no word about the innards of the device. However, the site notes that alleged Ascend W3 will support multiple LTE networks in China.

This is not the first Windows Phone that Huawei has manufactured till now. The company had launched Ascend W2 earlier this year at the Mobile Asia Expo 2013. Ascend W2 was the successor to Huawei Ascend W1, which was launched in January.

The Huawei Ascend W2 is powered by a Qualcomm MSM8230 Snapdragon S4 Plus processor with a dual-core clocked at 1.4GHz along with Adreno 305 GPU. It comes with 512MB of RAM and 8GB of inbuilt storage, which can be further expanded by up to 32GB through a microSD card. Huawei Ascend W2 features a 4.3-inch display with a resolution of 480x800 pixels.

On the other hand, the Huawei Ascend W1 comes with a 4-inch LCD display with a resolution of 480x800 pixels with OGS Technology. The device is powered by a 1.2GHz dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 MSM8230 processor and 512 MB RAM. It sports a 5-megapixel auto-focus rear camera with LED flash and a 0.3-megapixel front-facing camera. It includes 4GB of internal storage that can be expanded up to 32GB through microSD card. It is backed by a 1950mAh battery.

Lava Iris 505 and 506Q Android 4.2-based dual-core phablets

Lava, the domestic handset maker, has launched two new mid-range dual-SIM smart phones, the Iris 505 and Iris 506Q through online retailer Snapdeal.

The Lava Iris 505 features a 5-inch display with 480x854 pixels resolution and is powered by 1.2GHz dual-core processor. It runs Android 4.2 Jelly Bean. The device sports 5-megapixel resolution camera along with an LED flash while there is a VGA front-facing camera. The rear camera comes with features like Panorama, 99 continuous shots, face detection and smile detection.

The Iris 505 comes with 512MB of RAM, 4GB of inbuilt storage with expandable up to 32GB thorugh microSD card. It is a dual-SIM (GSM+GSM) device with dual standby. Connectivity options include Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS, EDGE, GPRS and 3G. It includes 200mAh battery which the company claims can deliver up to 6 hours of talk time on 2G network while 4.5 hours on 3G network. There is no word on the total standby time of the device.

On the other hand, the Lava Iris 506Q comes with a 5-inch qHD (540x960) display. The device is powered by a 1.2GHz dual-core processor and runs Android 4.2 Jelly Bean. Much like the Iris 505, this one too comes with 5-megapixel rear camera with LED flash and a VGA front camera. It comes with 512MB of RAM, and 4Gb of inbuilt storage which can be expandable upto 32GB through microSD card. It includes a 200mAh battery which according to the company can give talk time up to 330 minutes (2G) and 240 minutes (3G). Connectivity options on the device include Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS and 3G.

The Lava Iris 505 comes at a price of Rs. 8,999 and Iris 506Q is available for Rs. 11,700. Both the device is dual-SIM with 3G support.

Micromax Canvas Fun A63 with Android 4.2

Micromax’s new budget Android smart phone, the Canvas Fun A63 is now available online for Rs. 6,799 through Snapdeal. However, the company has not officially launched the device in the country.

The Micromax Canvas Fun A63 was listed on the company’s official website earlier this month; however there was no word about the pricing and availability of the device.

The Canvas Fun A63 comes with a 4inch WVGA (480x800 pixels) display, and is powered by a single-core 1.3GHz MediaTek 6572 processor paired with 512MB of RAM. It is also includes 1GB of inbuilt storage which can be further expanded up to 32GB. The Canvas Fun A63 sports a 2-megapixel rear camera with flash. It runs Android 4.2 Jelly Bean. Connectivity options on the device include Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, EDGE, GPRS, GPS and 3G. It includes a 15oomAh battery that can give up to 4.5 hours of standby time, as per the company. It is a dual-SIM device with support for GSM+GSM.

Micromax has been launching a number of budget and mid-range devices in the last few days. Earlier this month, Micromax, introduced a new mid-range Smartphone, the Canvas Ego A113 which went for pre-orders at Snapdeal for Rs. 12,999.

The Micromax Canvas Ego A113 features a 4.7-inch display. The device is powered by a 1.2GHz quad-core processor along with 1GB of RAM. It comes with a4GB inbuilt storage which can be expanded up to 32GB via microSD card. It also sports an 8-megapixel rear camera with an LED flash while there is no word about the front –facing camera. The Micromax Canvas Ego runs on Android 4.1 Jelly Bean. It is dual-SIM phone with support for GSM+GSM. It also packs in 2000mAh battery. Micromax has not officially launched the Canvas Ego A113, yet.

Micromax also rolled out, the Canvas Fun A74 which was available for pre-orders at ecommerce website Snapdeal and lnfibeam for Rs. 7,749. 

HTC One Max reportedly official name of the rumoured 'T6'

The latest word on HTC’s rumored upcoming flagship phablet codenamed HTC T6 is that the company plans to officially introduce the Smartphone as the HTC One Max.

Popular phone tipster, @evleaks claims that the HTC One Max has been confirmed as the retail name of the HTC T6. The tweet said,”HTC One Max confirmed as retail name of the T6. “However, the tweet does not mention anything about the possible launch dates of the long-rumored HTC One Max. The Taiwanese handset giant has been rumored for a while to be working on a large screen Smartphone which will boast a large 5.9-inch display.

Earlier, specifications of HTC’s upcoming One Max phablet surfaced online. The device is said to run Android 4.3 Jelly Bean HTC’s Sense 5.5 UI on top. Other specifications leaked include TD-LTE connectivity, a5.9-inch full-HD display with 1080x1920 pixels resolution, and a 2.3GHz quad-core Snapdragon processor coupled with 2GB of RAM. The leaked specifications also revealed that the alleged HTC One Max will sport a 2.1-meagapixel front-facing camera and the 4MO Ultrapixel camera on the back, which has been introduced in the HTC One.

Some reports even claimed that the HTC’s phablet may be showcased this month that pointed out to possible launch at IFA in Berlin. However, the device was not showcased at the event.

Not too long ago, alleged renders of the HTC One Max (T6) were leaked online. The leaked image showed was supposed to be the non-final artwork of the HTC T6. While it was not the final artwork, it did give a good idea of what to expect from the upcoming phablet from HTC.

Intex Aqua HD with Android 4.2 up for pre-orders for Rs. 15,900

Intex has introduced its newest Smartphone, the Aqua HD through an online retailer for Rs. 15,900. The Smartphone is now available for pre-orders on ecommerce website, infibeam.

The Intex aqua HD comes with a 4.7-inch HD display (720x1280pixels). It is powered by a 1.2GHz quad-core MediaTek6589 processor along with the 1GB of WRAM. It comes with a 4GB of internal storage which can be expandable up to 32GB via a microSD card. A dual SIM (GSM+GSM) card facility would be available in this one, the Intex Aqua HD runs Android 4.2 Jelly Bean.

It comes with a 13-megapicxel rear camera along with an LED flash and can record 1080p videos. It also sports a 5-megapixel front-facing camera. Connectivity options include Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS/aGPS and 3G. The phone has an 1800mAh battery which can deliver up to 5 hours of talk time and 300 hours of standby time. The Intex Aqua HD features a number of sensors that include n accelerometer, a proximity senor, light sensor and gyroscope.

Recently, Intex rolled out its flagship Smartphone, the Aquai7 at a price point of Rs. 21,990.

The Intex Aquai7 features a 5-inch full-HD display (1080x1920) equipped with OGS (one Glass Solution) display technology and Corning Gorilla Glass. It is powered by a 1.5GHz quad-core MediaTek6589 Turbo processor with 2GB RAM. The device includes 32GB internal storage which is non-expandable. It sports a 13-megapixel rear camera with LED flash and a 5-megapixel front-facing camera.

The Intex Aquai7 runs android 4.2 Jelly Bean. It comes with a 2000mAh battery that can deliver around 6 hours of talk time and 220 hours of standby time. The newly launched phone is a dual-SIM device (GSM+GSM) with support for one Micro-SIM and a Mini-SIM.  Connectivity options on the device include Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS/aGPs, EDGE, GPRS and 3G.