<p> <i> 11.49 am </i>

Samsung Group (SSNLF) To Mantain Delicate Balance In Flash Memory Production

The stellar rise of Apple Inc.'s (NASDAQ:AAPL) iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, coupled with a growth in PC shipments over the last quarter, has resulted in large sales for the SAMSUNG ELECT LTD's (F) (OTCMKTS:SSNLF) NAND flash memory in the last quarter. For the South Korean tech firm, a solid growth in smartphones and SSDs will further push its revenues in the flash memory sector. NAND flash memory is a type of non-volatile storage technology that does not need a power source to retain data.

Samsung’s NAND “bit” growth has the potential of exceeding this product's 30% industry growth rate in 2015. According to IDC, there is high expectation that NAND and DRAM memory chips will see a stable growth and demand-supply parity throughout 2015.

Samsung is a big player in the chip-making industry and together with QUALCOMM, Inc. (NASDAQ:QCOM), Broadcom, and Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MU), it acknowledges the challenges to produce advanced, smaller transistor-based chips. This is because production requires increased sophistication, technological prowess, and research. Samsung has also highlighted the additional difficulty of differentiating its products with close competitors in similar technology such as SanDisk, SK Hynix, and Micron. Samsung’s smartphone portfolio is also equipped with its own application processors and baseband cellular chips, which will entail that the company spends more on capital expenditure compared to last year’s $21.4 billion.

Samsung is taking the route of producing more DRAM on smaller transistors in order to benefit from higher sales and larger margin yields, despite the danger to wafer growth and contracts. If demand and supply can be managed, the increased production time allows a boost in price and gross margins, even though it cuts out wafer output.

The strategy employed by Samsung will be to make chips using 18-24 nanometer transistors on 93% of semiconductor wafers, as opposed to 64% of semiconductor wafers using the nanometer transistors now. This can be executed within the second half of 2015. The shift to this process is seen as a move to reduce costs and increase margins. It is estimated that by 4QFY15, 18-24 nanometer transistors will comprise 74% of all DRAM wafers and 19% of 13-17 nanometers. DRAM is now only made on transistors of either 18-24 or 25-27 nanometers.

Samsung has a tough competition from Micron in this regard as the latter, according to data provided by SEMI, will have 100% of its DRAM capacity on 13-17 nanometers by 4QFY15. If realized, this would put Micron ahead of Samsung in the race for transitioning their chips on smaller transistors. This might also give Micron an advantage to cash in on the opportunity for at most two quarters, as Samsung may soon neutralize the advantage soon.

Samsung will play a lead role in determining the pricing of flash memory products if it does not keep a delicate balance between demand and supply. If the company produces large memory chips in a bid for more sales (even though its smartphone division sees further dip in sales), then it will reflect poorly on the memory industry.</p>

<p> <i> 11.42 am </i>

Twitter is still bigger than Instagram

Twitter is bigger than Instagram but no social network comes close to Facebook in terms of account numbers or active users.

Back in December, Instagram reported that it had passed the 300 million monthly user mark and in doing so had officially outmuscled Twitter's 284 million user count. However, it looks as if the photo-sharing site was a little premature.

The latest data from the GlobalWebIndex finds that when it comes to popularity and user numbers, no social network comes close to Facebook. It is number one in terms of users with an account and users who actively use the service.

GlobalWebIndex measures Facebook's user base as being 81% of 16-to-64-year-olds with Internet access.

However, in third place, just behind YouTube, is Twitter, which leads Google+ in fourth place in terms of active users and Instagram (down in fifth place) in terms of both active users and account numbers.

GlobalWebIndex's figures, which are based on interviews with over 170,000 Internet users 16 and over in 32 countries, also found that in 30 or the 32 countries it surveyed, Twitter was ahead of Instagram for active usage -- only in Sweden and Hong Kong is Instagram more popular.

There's no denying the speed with which Instagram has grown. The network is only four years old and when it first launched it was only as an iPhone app. Its website and its support for Android are both very recent developments.

However, not all of that growth has been organic. Within days of Instagram CEO Kevin Systrom's taking to the company's blog to announce it had surpassed the 300 million user milestone, the company admitted it had a serious spam account problem and purged millions of fake users from the site.

GlobalWebIndex points to this spam purge as one of the reasons why its survey paints such a different picture of the social media landscape. It describes Instagram as a 'third-tier' social network that, along with networks like Pinterest and LinkedIn, is trying to build up the user numbers and engagement needed to break into the second tier, currently occupied by Twitter, Google+ and YouTube.</p>

<p> <i> 11.39 am </i>

HTC Desire 816G smartphone with 1.7Ghz processor now available for Rs 19,990

HTC has just launched an updated version of its popular smartphone HTC Desire 816. Called the HTC Desire 816G, the new model comes with a powerful 1.7 GHz octa-core processor.

The new phone sports a big 5.5-inch HD display and has HTC BoomSound feature that has gained a lot of traction among music fans. It features dual-front speakers that has become a legacy of HTC smartphones that have BoomSound technology.

The Desire 816G comes with a 13 MP camera on the back that has some unique features such as HTC Zoe and automatic video highlighting. On the front it has a 5 MP camera for high resolution selfies.

With the powerful octa-core processor under the hood, the phone packs 1GB RAM and 16GB of on-board storage which can be expanded up to 32 GB with a microSD memory card. The phone supports 3G network, has Bluetooth 4.0, and a 2600mAh battery.

HTC said that in India, the new model will go up for sale for Rs. 19,990. The Taiwanese company hopes that the popularity of its previous version will follow to the new model.</p>

Creative launches Sound Blaster Roar in India for Rs 15,999

<p> <i> 11.36 am </i>

Creative launches Sound Blaster Roar in India for Rs 15,999

Creative Know-how introduced the launch of the Sound Blaster Roar moveable Bluetooth speaker right now in Mumbai. The Roar might be promoting for Rs 15,999 solely on Amazon India.

The Roar measures simply fifty seven x 202 x one hundred fifteen mm and weight 1.1kg making it a transportable stereo Bluetooth speaker. The important thing superior acoustic design parts of the Sound Blaster Roar are its twin amplifiers, Area-Filling Dispersion Structure, Boxer-Bass-Module Design, Roar Audio Energy, TeraBass and MegaStereo options.

It homes a 6,000 mAh battery which can be utilized to cost smartphones and may present as much as eight hours of steady audio playback. Connecting the Sound Blaster Roar by way of USB to a PC or Mac allows superior audio processing by way of Sound Blaster Management Panel, a free downloadable software program program specifically designed for the speaker.

“Within the designing of the Sound Blaster Roar, we’ve approached it from the other way. By incorporating superior acoustic design parts, we targeted on top quality audio efficiency first and portability second. Then we launched into a close to inconceivable mission to make it small, function-wealthy, attractive and price-efficient by defying many legal guidelines of typical acoustic engineering. This has allowed us to create the primary excessive efficiency house stereo-grade wi-fi speaker that may be taken on-the-go,” stated Wong Hoo Sim, Chairman and CEO of Creative Know-how.</p>

<p> <i> 11.31 am </i>

MWC 2015: Microsoft to launch 2 new Lumia handsets running on Windows 10

Microsoft may launch two new Lumia handsets running on Windows 10

The Nokia acquisition should have led Microsoft to come up with a flagship device of its own, however, the tech biggie chose to continue offering budget Windows devices. The Redmond based company has launched quite a few entry and mid-level Lumia smartphones, but nothing that could challenge the higher end Android or iOS devices.

However, recent reports suggest that Microsoft may be looking to launch two new Lumia smartphones at the Mobile World Congress 2015 (MWC 2015), which will be held at Barcelona this year from March 2-5. Sources suggest that these new smartphones will once again be an entry-level and a mid-level device. From whatever little we know, both the Lumia smartphones will run on Windows 10 OS.

One of the Lumia handsets that can make its way out is the new Lumia 830 (code-named RSM-1072). It is expected to have a 5 inch 720p display, a Qualcomm quad-core processor, 8.7 MP primary camera and 8 GB internal memory.

The fact that the Lumia 930 (Microsoft’s last flagship device) came out last year during the MWC 2014, will certainly have the Microsoft fans talking about it for the next few days.

Meanwhile, few other companies as Acer have already announced that they would be showcasing Windows 10 phones at the MWC 2015.</p>

<p> <i> 11.27 am </i>

Steam Workshop Earns Players $57 Million

Steam Workshop allows users to create in-
game apparel such as its infamous hats

Steam Workshop, the online platform that allows gamers to make in-game items for Valve titles such as Team Fortress 2, Dota 2, and Counter-Strike Global Offensive, has generated more than $57 million for its vendors.

More than 1,500 contributors to the serviced make a whole range of digital apparel and in-game items, from virtual hats to skins, maps, and weapons. Valve opened the Workshop in October 2011 and, a little after four years, has announced its latest revenue milestone.

Now the studio is working on expanding the service to Steam games that are made by third-party developers, the first two being Dungeon Defenders: Eternity andChivalry: Medieval Warfare.

"When we launched the Workshop late in 2011, we expected that it would grow, but not that it would grow this much, this quickly," Valve said in a statement published on its site.

"So far, the total payments made to individuals for the creation of in-game items sold in Team Fortress 2, Dota 2, and Counter-Strike: Global Offensive have passed $57 million. This money was earned by over 1,500 contributors spread out across 75 countries.

"Today we're happy to announce that after a ton of work, the first curated Workshops for non-Valve games have opened: Dungeon Defenders: Eternity and Chivalry: Medieval Warfare. This is really exciting news and means that more high quality content will be available for the game you love playing. Plus, purchases of this great new content directly enables those community members to continue practicing their craft and making more awesome content."

Valve added that more curated Workshops would open up to creators and players in the coming weeks and months.</p>

<p> <i> 11.24 am </i>

Dell launches new Ubuntu workstation laptop Precision M3800

WASHINGTON, DC: Back in 2007, Dell became the first major computer manufacturer to offer Linux as a pre-installed option on their slate of machines. Fast forward nearly eight years, and Dell is still continuing to bolster the Linux platform — the company recently announced it will be bringing Ubuntu 14.04 to its high-end Precision M3800 workstation and the latest model of the Dell XPS 13.

Barton George, Dell’s Director of Developer Programs, wrote on his blog that Dell wanted to appease programmers who have been asking for an officially supported Ubuntu computer that fires on more power than any other laptop running a Linux build. Dell team member Jared Dominguez took it upon himself to engineer a viable option, and the Precision M3800 is the result of his R&D.

George stated the key features of the Ubuntu-powered Precision M3800 developer edition are:

• Preloaded Ubuntu 14.04 LTS
• Next generation of the world’s thinnest and lightest true 15-inch mobile workstation
• Starting weight of just 4.15lbs (1.88kg) and a form factor that is less than 0.71 inches (18mm) thick
• Fourth generation Intel Core i7 quad-core processor, professional grade NVIDIA Quadro K1100M graphics, and up to 16GB of memory
• 4K Ultra HD (3840×2160) screen option
• Availability: worldwide.

The bad news is that the high-end Ubuntu version of the M3800 won’t support Thunderbolt right out of the box. However, Domiguez explains on his blog that Thunderbolt support will be available via kernel upgrade in the near future.

According to Dell’s retail page, the Dell Precision M3800 with Ubuntu is currently available with a starting price of $1,533. The next Linux-powered XPS 13 isn’t available yet, but when it is, it will purportedly retail for $50 less than the corresponding Windows-loaded machine.</p>

<p> <i> 11.21 am </i>

Advanced Camera App ProCam 2 Is Now Free As Apple Inc. iPhone, iPad App Of The Week

One of the most popular and sought-after camera apps for the iPhone and iPad, the ProCam 2 has gone free for a limited time, as part of Apple’s (NASDAQ:AAPL) “App of the Week” feature.

The Cupertino company selects one premium app from its iOS App Store catalogue and brings it to users as a free download for an entire week.

In the past, Apple has picked some great apps, including the photo-editing app Brushstroke as well as popular games like Marvel Pinball, MUJO and last week’s App of the Week: Shades.

This week the company has once again impressed us with its pick for App of the Week. ProCam 2, developed by Samer Azzam, is a fantastically designed app that doubles as a technical powerhouse for photography enthusiasts.

Using iOS 8’s advanced camera controls, ProCam 2 essentially puts DSLR-like controls into the hands of iPhone and iPad users. In addition to advanced shooting controls the app is also a full featured photo editor and provides users with one of the most complete sets of editing tools, compared to other popular photo editors.

The app already has over 1,500 reviews on the App Store, gathering an impressive overall rating of 4.5 stars.

We tested out the app and were immediately impressed by its user-friendly and clean interface, which does not overwhelm new users with a barrage of features and settings on the viewfinder.

This does not mean, however, that the app does not have some advanced controls hidden within the settings.

Once in the viewfinder, users can easy hit a button to change shooting modes which include a large variety, including Single Shot, Night Mode, Anti-Shake, Video, Burst mode, and four different types of grids to help you align your photographs.

The app allows users to manually adjust any settings, including exposure, focus, and white balance. In Night Mode, users can also manually adjust the shutter speed to allow more light to be captured under low-light conditions. The app also includes smart face detection as well as full HDR photography.

Users also have complete control over the aspect ratio in which they would like to take photos, supporting 1:1, 4:3, 3:2, and 16:9.

The “Level Video” mode is a great feature that allows users to create videos without worrying about the orientation of their device; the video always remains the right way up.

The built-in “Slo Mo” video mode allows users to create slow-motion videos using their iPhone, manually adjusting frame rate and resolution. The powerful camera app also includes a built-in Time Lapse mode, which users can adjust to their liking to capture the best time lapses when required. One of the great things about ProCam’s Time Lapse feature is that it allows users to quickly add a soundtrack to their time lapse video, using any track from their iTunes music library.

Another great feature that users can have a lot of fun with is the “Sound Snap” mode. Using this mode, users can capture a photograph and the app will also record a small sound snippet of the surroundings, adding another immersive element to your photographs.

Additionally, users can change a number of advanced settings, including photo format and quality as well as features like geo tagging, photo tagging, time stamps, and many more.</p>

<p> <i> 11.20 am </i>

Google makes Earth Pro available to virtual travelers for free

While we're sure Google Earth works just fine for your daily virtual 'round-the-world travels, the Pro version comes with some really useful features -- even better, it's now completely free. Google Earth Pro, which used to cost an eye-watering $399 per year, gives you the tools to measure 3D buildings and other locations, print high-resolution screenshots, view demographic and traffic layers, and even record your virtual trips. To use it for free, you'll first need to sign up for a license and make sure your PC or Mac meets the minimum system requirements needed to run the program.

Windows computers should be running XP or higher, and have at least 500MB of free storage and 512MB of RAM. Macs, on the other hand, have to run OS 10.6 or higher, along with the same storage and memory requirements. After that, you can downloadGoogle Earth Pro to plan for that hike you've always wanted to do or, you know, to take your armchair adventures to the next level -- we ain't judging.</p>

<p> <i> 11.17 am </i>

Google Now and third party apps: One interesting dance

Google Now has added more than 40 cards---snazzy data delivery services that make Android worth the price of admission---courtesy of data from third party apps.

The move is interesting for multiple reasons, but here are the highlights.

1. Google's relying on third party data indicates that maybe it doesn't have all the information that's useful to you. And silly me thought they knew everything.
2. For some companies such as Ford, a Google Now partnership is a great marketing vehicle.
3. For other companies, the partnership is a risk because Google can step between you and your customer (yeah that's you Airbnb and The Guardian).
4. Google needs to index apps if it's going to remain relevant in search. Throwing third party apps some love is a nice way to index them too.

Add it up and there's a nice dance to watch going forward. Google Now has been largely a Google-driven vehicle. Google Now cards are ridiculously helpful at times---so much so they freak you out.

Third party apps makers will see a Google Now partnership as either a boon or a deal with the Borg. I seriously doubt there's much in between.

Android users probably won't care about the dance between Google and its app partners. But it's worth watching what partners get a lift from Google Now and what ones get absorbed. Hint: Ford and Walgreens can benefit. Lyft, TripAdvisor and The Economist may have a few issues.

We'll see. In the meantime, hang back and watch the Google Now platform unfold.</p>

<p> <i> 16.58 pm </i>

Now, app that ranks your relationship with people you interact

Researchers have launched a new app that monitors the reaction and behaviour of the users while interacting with others.

Lauren McCarthy and Kyle McDonald are the creative minds behind this innovative app called 'Pplkpr' (People Keeper) that observes the negative or positive impact of the people by recording the feelings of the user while interacting, Mashable.com reported.

McDonald, a co-developer said that this app helps in making healthy decisions that usually people are unable at, but it will not enforce the user for a aim like other lifestyle applications, instead they observed in their research that there was a positive behavioural changes that happened and users were up to make good relations with everyone they met.

This application works with any Bluetooth 4.0-enabled tracker that incorporates GPS and heart-rate monitoring, such as the "Polar H7 chest band" and the "Zephyr HxM."</p>

<p> <i> 16.56 pm </i>

Sterlite develops tech to test 1050 Tbps data transmission

 

Optical fibre and cable-maker Sterlite Technologies has developed a technology to test 1050 Tbps data transmission over long-haul networks.

Work on the initiative is going on at a new centre of excellence dedicated to research and development of fibre-optic broadband technologies established in Aurangabad.

The facility, inaugurated by former President, APJ Abdul Kalam on Thursday, adjoins Sterlite’s integrated 20-million-km optical fibre factory in Aurangabad. The company has invested around Rs. 55 crore for the purpose.

“Sterlite has developed an ecosystem to test 1050 Tbps over long-haul networks. This supports at least 100 Mbps at the user-end in access networks,” said Dr Anand Agarwal, CEO, Sterlite Technologies.

The company has also developed bend in-sensitive fibre that reduces transmission losses substantially.

In his speech Dr Kalam said a new type of fibre optic cable developed by researchers in the US and the Netherlands had smashed data transfer records, managing to squeeze 255 terabits of information per second down a single strand of glass fibre.

“Dr Kalam said our target should be 256 Tbps per fibre with a speciality fibre,” Agarwal shared. Currently, the best data broadband speed in the country is around 0.5 Mbps.

Sterlite pledges $100,000 per annum for BB technologies

To strengthen India’s investments in broadband technology research, Sterlite also announced an annual seed fund of $100,000 per year.

This will be awarded to promising new Indian start-ups working on innovative broadband deployment technologies. Agreements on collaborative research in ultra-high speed broadband were also signed with IIT Madras and IIT Kanpur.

Sterlite, which currently is the only manufacturer of glass to make optical fibre in India, also makes optic fibre and cables at Silvassa, Aurangabad, China and Brazil. It has delivered nearly 40 per cent of India’s fibre network.</p> 

<p> <i> 16.52 pm </i>
 OnePlus names its upcoming software Oxygen OS

OnePlus will share more details about Oxygen OS on February 12.

NEW DELHI: Chinese handset maker OnePlus has announced that its upcoming Android Lollipop-based software will be known as Oxygen OS. The company will share more details about the software on February 12 but said that the ROM will be open, customizable, and free of bloat and unnecessary features.

Making the announcement on the company's forums, OnePlus' Bradon H said, "As many of you know, we will be launching our own ROM in the near future. We've spent a lot of time thinking about what this ROM means to us and our fans. We realized that, like everything we do, our true goal is to make the product that we ourselves would want to use—to make great technology more accessible for everyone. With our ROM, that means software that is open, customizable, and free of bloat and unnecessary features."

OnePlus is currently in a court battle with Micromax over the Cyanogen operating system, and had released the alpha version of its custom software for the One smartphone. The company had announced a contest under which it asked forum members to suggest a name for the new software.

It is expected to release the final version of the custom ROM in the next couple of days. Existing OnePlus One users will need to manually flash the software on their phones while future OnePlus devices will come with the new OS.

The Chinese startup was forced to build a customized version of Android in-house due to an ongoing dispute with Micromax. According to the Indian brand, it holds the exclusive rights to the Cyanogen software in India, meaning that OnePlus One units (which are also powered by Cyanogen software) cannot be sold here.

The Delhi high court in December banned OnePlus from selling smartphones in India, but later repealed the ban as OnePlus contended that Micromax does not have exclusive rights to the software version that its One smartphone uses.

Nevertheless, OnePlus went ahead build a custom version of Android to continue selling its phones in India without any dispute. It is not yet known whether the company will use its own software it sells globally or not.</p> 

<p> <i> 16.50 pm </i>

Eyeglasses convert to sunglasses upon command

New and improved glasses that convert to sunglasses upon the wearer's command could soon hit the market thanks to a new 

A new type of eyeglass lens that rapidly darkens when you want it to -- eliminating the need to passively wait for light changes in your surroundings -- is soon to become a reality, according to researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology in the US.

There are considerable limitations to the transitional, or photochromic lenses currently on the market, which fail to darken inside cars or under baseball caps.

Furthermore many brands let the harmful rays seep through. It also takes time for them to clear up when the sun disappears, which poses inherent safety implications.

A small electrical charge adds the magic touch to the Georgia Tech research team's new development, which switches from clear to dark and back again in seconds, enabling the capacity for fine color tuning.

Any color in the entire range of hues in which sunglasses are commercially available is possible, according to the researchers, who say their method could be easily applied for retail versions.

Their paper was published in the journal American Chemical Society Applied Materials & Interfaces.</p>

<p> <i> 16.45 pm </i>

HTC Desire 526G+ first impression: Appreciable effort in entering budget smartphone segment

HTC Desire 526G+ looks like intersting buy for those users who are fedup flash sales.

HTC is one of the most trusted brands, especially when it comes to mid and high range devices. However, HTC shied away till now from launching budget devices. This resulted in HTC losing a big chunk of the Indian handset market which is now being dominated by Chinese and Indian brands.

But finally HTC woke up from its long slumber and launched its Desire 526G+ - perhaps its first noticeable devices in a couple of year (in terms of Indian market) on which the company could bank on to make an entry into the budget smartphone segment.

Not that the HTC Desire 526G+ is the most decorated handset in the sub-Rs 15,000 segment but it certainly has one of the best combination of features and looks and on top of that the brand value.

Here is our first hand impression of the HTC Desire 526G+ that will make it clear why we are so enthusiastic about the phone.

Design

HTC has always impressed me with its smartphone designs and I was not surprised to see the Desire 526G+ which is undoubtedly one of the best looking phones in this segment. Though it doesn't have metallic body or a rubberised finish (which I prefer the most) but it looks trendy and cute. Its plastic back panel has glossy finish, giving it a sparkling look, and what more, it isn't slippery. But, may be in summers it might be a bit slippery.

It comes in white and black colours; though I haven't seen the black variant, but I can certainly say for sure that you won't regret buying the white version which has blue band on its side panels and around the rear camera module that gives the best contrast to the white body.

The plastic used for the body feels great in hand and it fits the palm nicely and the phone feels quite sturdy as well. As you can see in its pictures, the HTC Desire 526G+ looks completely different from its competitors and most importantly- doesn't look cheap.

Another aspect that I love about HTC handsets is the dual front speakers; since speakers at the bottom often gets blocked while playing games and watching movies.

There are two micro SIM slots under the back panel along with a micro SD card slot. The 3.5 mm jack is at the top while the micro USB port is at the bottom panel along with a tiny microphone hole.

Display

The Desire 526G+ offers a 4.7 inch screen with qHD (540x960 pixels) resolution which on paper isn't that attractive. It should have high definition resolution at least which would have been a huge plus for the phone. However it is not the case to be. But in our first interaction, I wasn't that dissatisfied with the display of Desire 526G+. I loved the overall output and brightness and most importantly the touch response.

But I will like to revise this comment after reviewing it for some other day and in different lighting conditions.

Interface

This is another area where the HTC smartphones continue to impress. Ofcourse I was a bit disappointed to see the older Android 4.4 KitKat version in the Desire 526G+ which most likely It will get the latest Android 5.0 update later on but one must not forget that on previous occasions HTC had a poor track record of releasing updates. However, I must underline here that HTC Sense interface with Blinkfeed feature is one of the most adorable UI to have.

If you are unaware of the HTC Sense's interface, you can head to HTC's website to explore it or wait for few more days; I will detail it during the in-depth review of the HTC Desire 526G+.

Camera

The HTC Desire 526G+ offers an 8 megapixel rear camera and a 2 megapixel front camera. Though HTC's phones are always equated with great camera phones but considering the price, I wasn't that enthusiastic about camera capabilities of this handset. It has the regular camera features as well like panorama, beauty face, etc.

We will soon review its camera quality in-depth in different lighting, so till then you must keep patient (better subscribe to our Newsletter if you don't want to miss out on important news, check the home page's right panel for the same).

Other features

The HTC Desire 526G+ looks terrific with the 1.7 GHz Mediatek MT6592 octa core processor, Mali 450 GPU and 1 GB RAM. I didn't have chance to play high end games but it was quite fluid during the interaction, managing to open and close regular apps quite quickly. On Antutu benchmark, it managed to get a great score of 32913. But as most of you know, benchmark scores cannot be always reliable. So ofcourse we will do plenty of gaming and multitasking on the phone in coming days and you will get to know the true capacity of Desire 526G+ in the coming days.

It comes with decent 8 GB and 16 GB storage, even both the versions have a 32 GB micro SD card slot.

Connectivity wise too the Desire 526G+ looks decent with dual SIM (micro SIM), 3G, Bluetooth, GPS andWiFi.</p>

<p> <i> 16.41 pm </i>

People emotionally attached to their smartphone

People are not just dependent on their smartphone they are emotionally attached to it as well.

People are not just dependent on their smartphone they are emotionally attached to it as well, a new study suggests.

Gisli Thorsteinsson of the University of Iceland in Reykjavik and Tom Page of Loughborough University, UK, said today it is considered the norm for people to repeatedly and distractedly to check their phones, not for missed calls, but for the countless notifications that social sites, apps and other software spit out at them.

Thorsteinsson and Page wanted to know whether attachment to one’s smartphone has a serious emotional element.

Researchers used a questionnaire given to 205 smartphone users in the age range 16 to 64 years from the UK, Hong Kong, China, Canada, Australia, Peru and the US and a case study to draw a preliminary conclusion.

They found that people do indeed grow emotionally attached to their smartphone, or at least, the connectivity and the technology that the device facilitates.

Obviously, a lost or stolen phone can be replaced with the same model and a data backup restored to the replacement; the same cannot be said of a lost pet dog, for instance, researchers said.

It is the ease with which smartphone can be used, the need to keep it close, the ability to pour out one’s life into the apps and networks to which it connects and the customisation and personalisation options of a smartphone that bring emotional baggage to ownership, researchers said.

“Smartphones are creating a huge ripple in the pond of human behaviour and it is important that, as smartphones develop, we continue to study the way they affect behaviour, emotions and emotional attachments,” researchers said.

The study will appear in the International Journal of Mobile Learning and Organisation.</p>