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Intel Core i7-940XM: Fastest Quad Core Processor for Notebooks [Coming Soon]

July 6th, 2010 by Varun

Intel is doing wonders with their Nehalem architecture, and now they have decided to raise the bar by upgrading their flagship processor, core i7 chip. This new processor is named as Core i7-940XM, and it will become thefastest quad core notebook processor from Intel as soon as it is launched. Continue reading ‘Intel Core i7-940XM: Fastest Quad Core Processor for Notebooks [Coming Soon]‘

As an Indian it feels immense pleasure to welcome Epic into the family of web browsers. Epic browser, powered by Mozilla, is launched by three developers of Indian origin working at a Bangalore based company Hidden Reflex in India.Epic is by far the only browser that provides you with virus scanning solution.

Although Epic is powered my Mozilla but its lot more than just another Firefox port. Some of the many interesting feature of Epic browser are :-

• It by far the only browser that has integrated antivirus support. This antivirus is powered by ESET antivirus solutions and makes your browsing safe and secure by detecting and quarantining any threat in your downloads. You can also scan your computer and folders by an on-demand scan available from the sidebar menu.
• Malicious Website warnings and anti-phishing support.
• Epic is powered with Google Indic Transliteration tool which makes it easier to type in Indian languages easily anywhere.
• Impressive sidebar applications which which comes in handy at many occasions.
• My personal favorite, one click deletion of cookies, flash data and no storing of your personal data once you enable the Private Mode.

Its too early to say any thing about the browser but it surely bagged 4.5 stars out of 5 in the latest PC-World review.

Toshiba’s Dualscreen Libretto W100 Gets A Sneak Peek

Toshiba shared one of their prototype Libretto W100 dualscreen laptops with Engadget and their resident portable reviewer Joanna Stern had a go at it. The Japanese tech company is planning to release the device next month through retailers including Amazon. Some of the highlights are the tandem operation of the two screens that maximizes the device despite being on top of a Windows 7 OS. You can configure it into many modes including a laptop mode that puts the keyboard on one screen, and a mode that splits the keyboard onto the bottom half of the two screens. There’s even a touchpad mode to help out if you need to. It does need a bit of work on the heat dissipation and the responsiveness of the accelerometer.

You would think that two touchscreen would be twice the fun, right? After all, the iPad was excellent and it only has one screen. Well, you better look at the price first since the Libretto will clock in at roughly €880 ($1,100), way too much for an unproven piece of tech. Maybe if Toshiba adds some excellent software to the mix that takes advantage of the dual screen but even then, the price point need to drop a bit for people to get interested.

Seagate FreeAgent 3TB Previewed

Crunchgear’s Matt Burns gave a quick hands-on with the new Seagate FreeAgent GoFlex Desk 3TB. I’m pretty sure prolific downloaders as well as media professionals will be eyeing this new desktop drive though I concur with the reviewer that many will probably want their media in more than one drive. But 3000 GB really is impressive. Some takeaways are that Seagate gets negative marks on not bundling USB 3.0 and Firewire adapters with the device (you have to buy it separately) and it seems to have no eSATA as well. On the plus side, it’s quiet and solid with an external casing that’s easily removable for people who want to pry out the drive and stick into their desktop. This looks like the best solution if you want the most disk space in a single drive though personally, I’d rather slice up my storage needs into separate hard disks, just in case.

Skinput Touch Interface

Skinput is a new futuristic interface currently being developed by Microsoft and Carnegie Mellon University. The system is the combination of two technologies, the ability to detect ultralow-frequency sound, and a microchip-sized projector.

This amazing interface can recognise which parts of the body has been tapped using the sounds that is created by the sin, bone and skeleton. The Skinput technology uses a band which is strapped on to the arm. The armband contains piezoelectric cantilevers, or sensors that measure pressure, acceleration and force.

Check out the video below.

• Finally, a Break from QWERTY, Multi-tap Keypads

  Techtree News Staff, Jul 16, 2010 1743 hrs IST

  Lava Mobile launches phones with Alpha keyboards

  

Blackberry-esque QWERTY keypad laden phones by Indian manufacturers have become a common thing these days. Most of these phones come with a bunch of features and are very modestly priced. Lava Mobiles, an Indian mobile phone maker also had a a few handsets in this category and it has just added two more to the list with the launch of the Lava B5 and the Lava B2.


What makes these phones unique, however, are the keypads. While these may look like a phone sporting QWERTY keypads upon a closer glance, you'd notice that the QWERTY keypads are actually ABCDEF ones. That's right! These might be one of the rare phones out there to come with an Alpha keypad. If you're still wondering what an Alpha keypad is, it's just your normal keypad with the alphabets arranged alphabetically (A-Z).


While adopting this new standard might be quite weird for folks who have grown up using QWERTY keypads, the company says this is for people who have never used a PC and would find it easier to type using an alpha keyboard.

As for the phones, the Lava B5 costs Rs. 4,399 and comes loaded with a 2.2-inch QVGA display, dual SIM capabilities, email, Opera mini, Nimbuzz, MSN, Skype, FM radio, Bluetooth, Media player, 3.5mm headset jack, and memory card support. The Lava B2 is similarly spec-ed and is priced is slightly cheaper at Rs. 3,999.

The B2 and B5 also have QWERTY versions - you can see them at Lava's official website.

Samsung Wave

Prasad Naik, Jul 09, 2010 1130 hrs IST

Its smart looks, excellent feature set and aggressive pricing makes it a great buy

Excellent design, build and finish, stunning display, smooth interface, good quality camera, 720p video recording, HD video playback (including MKV), superb audio quality, multitasking support, terrific value for money

Clumsy web browser interface, no lens cover, no ambient light adjustment, too few apps on the Samsung store as of now

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Expert Rating :

A high resolution Super AMOLED display, 1GHz processor, 5 megapixel camera with 720p video recording, HD video playback, Bada OS; the Samsung Wave has the kind of specifications list that will strike fear in the heart of competition and leave the consumers drooling. And if that wasn't enough Samsung has dared to price the phone very competitively. But is it really good? We decided to find out.

Bundle

• Samsung Wave
• Battery (1500 mAh Li-Ion)
• Charger
• Stereo Headser
• USB Cable
• 2GB microSD card + SD adaptor
• Pouch
• User Guide
• Software CD

The Samsung Wave is priced at Rs. 18,000. Samsung Wave is hands down the best phone you can buy under Rs. 20,000 in India today. It looks great, has an incredible hardware, a gorgeous display, 1GHz processor, smooth fluid interface, good quality camera, 720p video recording and HD video playback. Even if you forget for a while that the Wave is a smartphone that supports full multitasking and support for native bada apps from Samsung's application store, and think of it as a feature phone it still is a great buy for that price. As and when the price falls and the store gets populated with more and better apps it will be an even sweeter deal. It's not perfect though and nor is it an iPhone killer. But for the kind of money you are paying, you are getting much more in return. If you have a budget of 20k, then this isthe phone to buy. Well played Samsung.

The Wave has a 1500 mAh battery. With heavy usage, consisting of several hours of web browsing over EDGE and Wi-Fi, music playback, occasional GPS usage and heavy camera usage, the phone gave me one day of battery life. When I dropped the intensity of my usage I got half a day more of battery life. Considering the kind of features the phone has I feel one day of battery life is fairly acceptable.

Test unit sourced from Samsung India Pvt Ltd.