Google Views image sharing service launched

Google had introduced clicking the 360 degree panorama style images as Photospheres with the Android 4.2 Jelly Bean update. The Photospheres were a great way to share the entirety of the exact situation around a person but this feature is limited only to Android 4.2 Jelly Bean or higher update devices. To make those spheres easily available to others, Google has announced a new community based site - Views. The Views page links the user's Google+ account and also Google Maps data for the location of the photosphere.

Photospheres are basically the 360 degrees panorama images but is available to select devices running Android 4.2 Jelly Bean. The Photospheres are obviously bigger in terms of file size compared to a regular image captured using phone camera. Google has created the new Views page for the public sharing of the Photospheres.

Existing Photospheres can be uploaded directly from the Gallery app of an Android device or through the Google+ Photos from the Views community page. In the Gallery App of the Android device, select the Photosphere image, choose the option to share it and select Google Maps from the popped out list of the apps. Alternatively, users can log into the Views Page using Google+ credentials (Google Account) and upload the Photospheres from the Google+ Photos. These uploaded Photospheres would be publicly available through the Views page and Google Maps.

Google Views page can be accessed here .

BlackBerry 10.1.4 upgrade now available

After releasing BlackBerry OS 10.1 for the Z10 devices recently , BlackBerry has now announced the release of upgrade 10.1.4537.

The upgrade 10.1.4 comes with improved social networking features from Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. Along with that the upgrade also brings in two points or two factor authentication for Facebook and Twitter for added security.

As per the new security policy, work and personal accounts will now be allowed to be different on devices. Along with this the upgrade also comes with support for simple passwords, users can now add simplified password from the lock screen and work space for authentication. The simple password feature utilizes a reduced keyboard layout containing only numeric characters and allows users to set a numeric PIN for your smartphone or work space password

The upgrade also bring Next/previous message navigation shortcut with which users can use a simple gesture to quickly move to the last or next message without having to return to the full message list. To do so users have to swipe to the right and then up (like a backwards L), to move back to the previous message and Swipe to the right and then down (like an upside-down L) to move forward to the next message

After the upgrade, BlackBerry world application will have My Wish list feature. Users can add items to their wish list from a content details page and add up to 48 items to your wish list. When the 49th item is added, the first item added to the list will be automatically removed.

The upgrade 10.1.4 release has been released in Asia Pacific, Canada, and EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) and will be making its way to other countries by second week of August.

Large Screen Nokia device with Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 spotted

Nokia is reportedly working on a large screen device with one of the most powerful quad core processors. NokiaPowerUser spotted a mysterious Nokia RX-114 device at the GFXBench benchmark listings. This Nokia RX-114 device is speculated to be the large screen Windows RT based tablet.

Nokia was rumored of working on a Windows RT based tablet and it was set to match with the Windows RT launch schedule. However, that tablet was never talked about.

GFXBench lists the Nokia RX-114 running Windows OS and sports 1371 x 771 pixel resolution. This resolution comes close to the Windows Surface RT tablet. Quite likely that this is the Nokia's Windows RT based tablet.

Nokia RX-114 also packs the top of the line quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 mobile processor with Adreno 330 graphics chip. This high end chipset can easily drive a tablet with HD display.

Bryan Biniak, vice president for app development at Nokia, expressed their frustration with the slow development pace of the Windows Phone platform. Lack of popular apps has been making Nokia miss the opportunity of sale.

With the new Nokia RX-114 Windows RT based tablet, Nokia is perhaps trying to catch up with the existing trends and also bring its portfolio of Lumia Exclusive Nokia apps to the Windows RT platform.

Samsung Galaxy S4 tweaked to perform better on benchmark

Samsung's flagship Android smartphone, the Galaxy S4 has been on top of the benchmarking results charts since day one, which most of us thought is due to its superior hardware. But it has now been revealed that Samsung has tweaked the device's software to perform almost 10 per cent more when running a benchmarking application while regular usage offered lower performance.

A Luxemburg based Samsung Galaxy S4 user, who goes by the name 'Nebuchadnezzar', was benchmarking his Galaxy S4 smartphone when he made this shocking discovery. The user was running applications like Antutu and GL Benchmark on his Galaxy S4. It has been discovered that Galaxy S4's graphic engine has been tweaked to perform at 532 MHz in popular benchmarks while the regular clock speed stays at 480 MHz.

Digging deeper in to the system files developers also discovered a string named 'BenchmarkBooster' which is a clear indication that Samsung has tweaked the device for better results in the benchmarking applications.

Despite these claims there is though no dispute about Galaxy S4's capability; with an octa core processor, the smartphone is still the best Android smartphone in the market now vis-à-vis raw power. Samsung however has not responded to the reports so far.

Picture credit: Anand Tech

Google to choose LG over Asus for the next Nexus tablet

Just about a couple of days back Google in association with Asus unveiled the next generation Google Nexus 7 tablet for users. But as analyst Ming-Chi-Kuo is suggesting, the Google Asus partnership is going to end with the launch of this product. Apparently Google and Asus will no longer be partners in the making of the next generation Nexus tablet. Google has chosen LG over Asus for its next line of tablet products in the Nexus range.

One of the key reasons as given by Ming-Chi-Kuo is LG's superior display technology, and LG being the manufacturer itself would bring something positive to the table. LG is apparently also one of the key suppliers to Apple for displays that are used on its mobile devices. Also, LG was the first company to use a 700 nits brightness based display on a smartphone-the LG Optimus Black P 970.

The new Google Nexus 7 tablet is the first device with Android 4.3 Jelly Bean update running on it out of the box and it is a significant improvement over the first Nexus 7 based on core hardware, camera, weight and mobile operating system.

Now with Asus out of the game we will have to wait for more news on the next Nexus.

BlackBerry Z10 with Porsche Design

BlackBerry is working on yet another high end smartphone with the Porsche Design. Last year, BlackBerry had introduced the BlackBerry Porsche Design P9981 handset at a premium price. Now the company is planning the BlackBerry Z10 refresh with Porsche Design. As of now, the device seems to be under development and the company might take a couple of months before releasing it to the masses.

Last year, BlackBerry had released the limited edition BlackBerry Porsche Design P9881 with a metallic body at a premium price. This year, the company is planning to do something similar with BlackBerry Z10 as well as BlackBerry Q10 products.

As of now, grainy images of the BlackBerry Z10 with Porsche Design written on the top side bezel have been leaked via the Vietnamese BlackBerry enthusiast website. The device is deemed to run the BlackBerry version 10.x OS.

The website also noted that BlackBerry will work on the Porsche Design bearing BlackBerry Q10 with Qwerty keyboard. We expect the price of these limited edition devices to be much higher than the regular editions. The packaging also includes custom accessories.

Sony Xperia Z Ultra vs HTC Butterfly

Sony has finally launched its Xperia Z Ultra smartphone in India. As is obvious from its price tag, Xperia Z Ultra comes with very high end features. Thus, here we have compared it with another high end Android smartphone, the HTC Butterfly, on the basis of features. We earlier reviewed the HTC Butterfly here .

Design

Xperia Z Ultra is Sony's biggest smartphone. With a 6.4 inch touchscreen, it is also the biggest flagship smartphone of any handset maker. But before you jump to any conclusion about its handling, spare a thought to its dimensions: with 6.5 mm thickness and weighing 212 grams it is definitely one of the slimmest and lightest phablets made till date.

What's more, it is waterproof to up to 1.5 meters and is dust resistant as well. "Both the front and back panels of Xperia Z Ultra are made with durable tempered glass, coated with an anti-scratch film. And the skeleton frame is made of tough glass fibre polyamide. It has superior mechanical strength, and is so strong that it's often used as a metal substitute in cars and electronics," claims Sony.

This means the Sony Xperia Z Ultra is a perfect smartphone for those careless users who drop their smartphone every now and then or love a rain dance.

HTC Butterfly too is a lovely smartphone, but it has a much smaller 5 inch screen (as compared to Xperia Z Ultra. Even so, it looks a lot bigger). HTC Butterfly has a unibody design with tapered edges. This makes it easier to hold. Butterfly has good build quality and feels like a premium device, which it is. The phone weighs 140 grams and is 9.08 mm thin.

In a nutshell, HTC Butterfly may be considered light and stylish by many people, but it is not slimmer than the Xperia Z Ultra. Though the Butterfly is said to be waterproof (IPX-5 certified,) it does not allow users to take pictures under water like the Sony smartphone does.