Now surf internet on TV - Amkette launches EvoTV

Amkette, the IT peripherals maker, has launched a new device called 'EvoTV', which will allow users to surf Internet on their television sets in the same way they do on their computers.

 EvoTV is an Android operating system based digital media device which allows users to access content like videos, games and websites using WiFi and broadband connection. It comes with a remote that acts like a mouse and has a mic to facilitate conversations on VoIP (like Skype). 

Amkette plans to revolutionalise the future of television globally with EvoTV. Instead of confining the Internet experience just to the PCs, the users will be able to access games and content like videos, just like they would on a PC using EvoTV.


The device is powered by twin ARM processors (ARM Cortex A9 and ARM Mali 400)  and comes preloaded with basic applications. Users can also download more apps from the Android application market, Google Play.


EvoTV comes bundled with a motion sensing remote, the ‘Evo Touch’, which adds to the look and feel of  touchscreen. In-built features like ‘Evo Views’ provide one click user interface and ‘Evo Discover’ is an Internet Content Discovery Software.

Google, which operates the Android platform, also plans to launch its set-top box 'Google TV' to allow viewers to use their device both for television viewing as well as accessing the Internet simultaneously without adjusting any cables.


The EvoTV is priced at an MRP of Rs.12,995, while its street price is Rs. 9,995 with Evo Touch Remote.

Specifications:

• Processor:  ARM Cortex A9 + ARM Mali 400 Graphics Processor
• Memory: 4 GB inbuilt Memory.
• Built-in Wi-fi and Ethernet ports
• 4 USB ports
• Fast Processing Speed
• Upto 1080p full HD
• 7.1 Channel Surround Sound Audio output
• Supports 3G Dongle.
• EvoShare connectivity/DLNA
• Connectivity:  HDMI, DLNA, Wi-Fi, 4 USB slots, 1 SD/MMC Card Slot
• Access data file through Samba Share on your TV
• Very low power consumption

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Instagram | Android | Awesomeness

Some things come around and completely change the way you see things . Google gave you the power to search webpages on your finger tips . Facebook made it easier to meet your friends and family any time you want . Instagram serves you a similar feeling . It lets you capture the world with your lens and makes it beautiful . Well there are plenty of apps that can do just the same . So what does Instagram do better ?

For starters Instagram is one of the most simplest apps i have ever used on my Android device . It works seamlessly and is smooth to operate . What i like the most is it does not behave like an iphone clone . Not that i hate iPhone but usually some apps look like they where created for iPhone and then ripped off to make  an Android version . This app makes use of the android icons and feels great to operate .

What strikes me is the simplicity with which this app works . Publishing a photo is only 4 clicks away . And to do justice to this review i did download a dozen photo sharing and editing apps . Most of them work pretty well and do everything they claim to . But none of them combine the flow and simplicity of Instagram .

Instagram brings the photographer out of everyone . Initially I was hesitant in using this app , but when  i saw what it did to my photograph , i was amazed .  This app takes social networking seriously and not only does it have its own huge network , but there is also an option to share to various social networking sites .

Instagram’s network might come out to be a little flat , because it uses a completely different method to discover new people and their photography . There is a button for  popular photos , where  most popular photos are displayed , and then you could search for hashtags as well as photos favorited by the people you follow .

What i really appreciate is the support team . It took them only a day to fix most of the crucial bugs that cropped up initially . Since the release there have been a lot of updates . The recent one with the tilt-shift feature . This feature is one of the best in its class . Some other apps like Cymera do have this feature but do not do justice to the blurring .

My only fear is Facebook’s acquisition of Instagram . And to add to this fear is the recent release of the Facebook Camera App . I only hope facebook does not kill Instagram , like the way it killed Snaptu and other services it bought .

[Original Post By Anish Hegde @ www.bigbangtechie.wordpress.com]

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Bharti Airtel to launch 4-G services in India

Bharti Airtel, a leading global telecommunications company with operations in 19 countries across Asia and Africa has selected ZTE Corporation (ZTE), a publicly-listed global provider of telecommunications equipment and network solutions to plan, design, supply and deploy its 4G network in Kolkata.

                                    

                                 
          4G is the fourth generation of cellular mobile communications standards. A 4G system provides mobile ultra-broadband Internet access, for example, to laptops with USB wireless modems, to smartphones, and to other mobile devices. Conceivable applications include amended mobile web access, IP telephony, gaming services, high-definition mobile TV, video conferencing and 3D television.  4G technology provides download speeds of around 100 Megabits per second on the move and it can go up to 1 Gigabits per second at a fixed location.

Bharti Airtel had bagged broadband wireless access (BWA) licence to offer the services in four Indian telecom circles -- Maharashtra, Karnataka, Kolkata and Punjab. “According to industry estimates, by 2016 – 6% of all mobile connections will have 4G connection, which would create 36% of the total mobile data traffic – thus paving way for the ensuing data revolution. The impending launch of 4G in the country will provide ultra high speed data access, driving fundamental changes in society at large.

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Nokia files patents for Electronic tattoos

I often set my cell phone to vibrate,but my arm?  Well,that's a new one.

Nokia has filed a U.S. patent application for a  magnetic, vibrating tattoo that wirelessly connects to a mobile device and alert users to phone calls, texts and battery status.Nokia wants to make it physically impossible to ignore an incoming call by patenting an electronic tattoo that would vibrate, on your body, whenever someone calls.

How does this work??

Nokia’s patent application describes a system that could work in two ways. Under one concept, a detachable electronic material would be applied to a person's skin, much like a temporary tattoo.
The removable piece of electronic equipment could then be paired with a person's smartphone,
as it would be capable of vibrating when it detects its magnetic field.The second concept would use a ferromagnetic ink to permanently imprint this material into your skin. You could get whatever image you’d want, just like a regular tattoo, and after it’s applied it would be magnetised so it, too, could recognise
a magnetic field from your phone.

My take:
I think this is an interesting concept from this Finnish company.It would be easier to monitor
the phone in situations where phones are frowned upon:movie hall,gym and work.The only
worrying factor is the health hazards due to the tattoo imprint on the skin.Otherwise,its another
innovation by Nokia to help you stay connected.

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How did the word 'QUIZ' originate?

You may be passionate about quizzing and may participate in quizzes regularly. But do you know about the origin of the word 'quiz'. If you do not know then read on.....

A quiz is a form of game or mind sport in which the players (as individuals or in teams) attempt to answer questions correctly.

 The word first appeared in 1784 and means a very odd or eccentric person. This sense survives today in the word 'quizzical'.

It was also used in the term quizzing glass, a common accoutrement of British Regency dandies. It later acquired a meaning of to make fun of, or to mock. How it acquired its current meaning of a test is unknown, but that sense did not appear until 1867 and then it was in the United States.

The OED2 cites from 1847 where the word appears: "She com back and quiesed us", which could be a clue to its origin. Quiz is possibly a corrupt form of the Latin Qui es, meaning "Who are you?" 

According to American Heritage it may be from the English dialect verb quiset, meaning to question. 

There is a well-known myth about the word 'quiz'. It says that in 1791 a Dublin theater owner named James Daly made a bet that he could introduce a nonsense word into the language within twenty-four hours and the public would define its meaning. He then went out and hired a group of street urchins (according to another version he gave his staff cards with the word quiz written on them) and told them to write the word , which was a nonsense word, on walls around the city of Dublin. The word soon caught the fancy of tne people of Dublin. Within a day, the word was common currency and had acquired a meaning (since no one knew what it meant, everyone thought it was some sort of test) and Daly had some extra cash in his pocket. However, there is no evidence supporting the story, and the term was already in use before the alleged bet in 1791.

Quiz was also used as a name for a curious toy, something like a yo-yo which was popular around 1790.

Hence it is highly debatable how the word quiz originated and so is its meaning of 'to question or interrogate' which it acquired later. Quiz as we know today emerged in the mid-19th century.

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