Apple Unveils iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C: An iPhone For Everyone?

Now you can bite the apple and eat it too, quite literally; or is it? Apple has unveiled an iPhone for everyone: the iPhone 5S, which will be its new flagship successor, and a new cheaper variant known as the iPhone 5C for those who may find the former out of reach. The S could stand for speed, while the C possibly for cheap. Apple has appropriately put the taglines as "Forward thinking" for the 5S and "For the colourful" for the 5C. The launch has ended months of speculations about whether or not the Cupertino-based company will launch a cheaper variant along with its regular premium handset.

To start off, the iPhone 5S is obviously an upgraded version of the iPhone 5 in terms of hardware in a similar way as the iPhone 3GS was to the iPhone 3G. It is powered by a new 64-bit A7 CPU that should allow for better gaming experience approaching the graphical intensity and fluidity of hand-held consoles. Additionally, there is an M7 companion processor that handles motion data, thus offloading the A7. The much speculated silver ring fingerprint scanner is also built into the home button to allow secure unlocking of the phone by its authorised owner.

Coming to the camera, there are improvements with a 15% larger 8 MP sensor compared to its predecessor, which should help reduce noise levels in low-light photography. There is improved video stabilisation for blur-free handheld shooting in addition to Burst mode, Panorama, photo filters aka Instagram, and Full HD video capture at 30 fps. The camera also supports 720p at 120 fps thus making it possible to play back such videos in slow motion, essentially called "Slo-mo video". A dual-LED flash has also been added to shoot in the dark. Apple has retained the 4" screen size and specs from the iPhone 5 and it still looks very much like its predecessor, although it is available in colour variations of Space Gray, Gold, and Silver. However, Apple has got nicely crafted premium leather cases for the iPhone 5S, which are available in multiple colours.

The iPhone 5C is basically the iPhone 5 with cost cutting and some colour, targeting the mid-range buyer segment. After sticking to white or black for years, Apple has finally gone Technicolor with the iPhone 5C, which is available in white, pink, yellow, blue, and green. As a cost-cutting measure, the iPhone 5C sports a polycarbonate body but is heavier than the iPhone 5 at 132 grams.

The handset is powered by an A6 chip with 1 GB of RAM. The screen is a 4" Retina display with pixel dimensions of 1136x640 but without scratch-resistant glass. An 8 MP AF primary camera with LED flash is present along with a 1.2 MP front-facing Facetime camera. Additional features include Bluetooth 4.0, Wi-Fi with AirPlay, and A-GPS with GLONASS.

Both the devices will run the new iOS7. The iPhone 5S 16 GB is priced at $199 (approx Rs 12,800), while the 32 GB variant costs $299 (approx Rs 19,200). The 64 GB version will set you back by $399 (Rs 25,500). The iPhone 5C, on the other hand is available for $99 (approx Rs 6400) for the 16 GB and $199 (approx Rs 12,800) for the 32 GB. Of course, these prices are for the US market with 2-year contracts, so retail prices will be much higher. The iPhone 5C, which has been touted to be for the mid-range, will therefore end up in the high-end price bracket with a retail price of $549 (approx Rs 36,500) and $649 (approx Rs 43,000), thus shattering the dreams of cheap iPhone aspirants.

Toshiba And Sachin Tendulkar Launch Cricket Series LED TVs

Cricket is a religion in India; even rivalling the traditional festivals celebrated in the country. Understanding this phenomenon, Toshiba launched 3 new Cricket Series of LED TVs in India in collaboration with none other than our very own cricketing living legend Sachin Tendulkar. The P2305, L2300, and L3300 series of TVs incorporate a new Cricket Mode, which enhances the image quality to deliver richer colours, sharper details, and crisper images. In fact, the company mentions that the new mode "enhances the green of cricket field, the cracks on the cricket pitch, and the fast moving cricket ball". Motion blur is also reduced to make the fast moving ball appear sharp.

Toshiba says that Sachin Tendulkar himself provided valuable inputs and feedbacks while the TV was being designed, to deliver a stadium-like experience right in your living room. The TVs feature slim bezels to enhance the viewing experience. The audio quality is said to be improved as well with a few models featuring a sound bar like design. Each model adorns a personalised signature of the little master on the bezel or the sound bar.

The Toshiba P2305 LED TV Cricket Series consists of Full HD LED TV of 39", and HD Ready LED TVs with screen sizes 32", 29", and 24". The prices of these models are Rs 47,490, Rs 28,990, Rs 25,990, and Rs 16,990 respectively. These feature a slim silver sound bar at the bottom of the screen with 20 W audio output and Power Bass Booster. These also come with Auto Clean (to reduce picture noise), Auto Signal Booster (improves sensitivity when signal strength is weak), and AutoView (adjusts the backlight and various other parameters according to ambient light) technology in addition to 10-bit video processing for better colour reproduction.

The L3300 series has got two of Toshiba's innovations: Turbo LED and Detail Booster. While the former boosts brightness by 50%, the latter claims to enhance the detail levels, such as while upscaling. There is also Screen Mirroring technology to wirelessly connect the TV to your smartphone, tablet, or PC. There are two models in this series with screen sizes 32" and 39" and priced at Rs 36,990 and Rs 50,990 respectively.

The 50L2300 is the flagship model with a 50" Full HD LED-backlit panel. In addition to the Cricket Mode, it features the 100 Hz Active Motion Rate (AMR) image-processing technology that smoothens fast motion and reduces blur such as during a cricket game. It comes with two powerful 10 W speakers, Dolby Digital decoder, Power Bass Booster, and Audio Distortion Control, and is available for Rs 85,990. The new TVs are already available for purchase off the shelf at major retail outlets across India.

  

I got a chance to take a look at a side-by-side comparison of the new Toshiba TV's cricket mode and a regular LED TV. With all parameters such as contrast, brightness, and saturation, kept at default levels, the Toshiba does appear brighter and the image is better defined. The colours also appear vivid and motion blur is reduced. However, there is one undesirable effect of extra noise getting introduced, which is likely to be a byproduct of the image processing in the Cricket Mode. However, this noise is not always visible and depends on the scene type.

Interestingly, Toshiba has stayed away from the 3D gimmick, which is actually a good thing because there is just not enough 3D content available for it to go mainstream and it is still a very imperfect technology. Do you think that the Cricket Mode will be enough to help Toshiba stay in the television race in India?

Olympus Launches OM-D E-M1 Flagship Mirrorless Camera For Rs 1,05,000

Olympus has launched its new flagship mirrorless camera OM-D E-M1 in India. This is an upgrade over the E-M5. The company had first launched a camera in this category back in 2009 with the PEN E-P1, which was, in fact, the first in a pocketable size with a small lens. The E-M1 features a High Speed Dual fast Auto Focus, which uses phase detection as well as contrast detection. Thus, when phase detection technique doesn't work, contrast detection is employed for the purpose. The company calls this "On-chip Phase Detection Auto Focus".

This 16.3 MP camera with a magnesium body, has an Electronic View Finder (EVF), which the company claims, is as good as the optical viewfinder of a DSLR, meaning that what you see is what it clicks. The EVF features Adaptive Brightness Technology to adjust its brightness as per lighting conditions. Additionally, the company states that the camera is "Dustproof, splashproof, and freezeproof". Of course, the company execs were quick to point out that it cannot be used underwater or in the sand. This means that it is merely resistant to these elements. It can, however, be used up to -10 ° C. Being a flagship product, it is priced steeply at Rs 1,05,000, putting it out of reach of most mirrorless camera aspirants. The pricing takes it deep into DSLR territory and it remains to be seen if it can hold its own against DSLR competitors in the price range even though the E-M1 is more compact.

New Exclusive Shots Of Nokia Lumia 1520, Giant 6" Windows Phone By The Verge

The Verge has got its hands on the Nokia Lumia 1520, which is the largest Windows Phone offering from the Finnish manufacturer. The Lumia 1520 has been in rumourville since the past few weeks, but the exclusive photos on the website alongside a Sony Xperia for comparison's sake seem to be authentic. The upcoming handset sports a 6" screen, thus making it official that Nokia is also going to join the large screen mobile phones bandwagon after most Android phone manufacturers have already done that.

The large screen boasts of pixel dimensions of 1080x1920, thus allowing it to natively display Full HD movies. There is a 16 MP camera at the back with a Carl Zeiss lens and PureView technology. The camera is capable of shooting still shots at 16 MP and saving an additional 5 MP photo to quickly share on social networks. An LED flash is present on top. There are buttons for volume control, lock, and camera shutter on the right of the handset, while the left has caddy slots for micro-SIM and microSD cards.

Judging from the photos, the Lumia 1520 appears to have a unibody design, which basically means that the battery will not be replaceable, but you may not want to complain about that because the device seems to be considerably slim. The thin bezels should make it good to watch movies, but it also increases the chances of inadvertently triggering the touch interface. As expected, the large screen handset runs GDR3, which bears the codename "Lumia Bittersweet shimmer". Nokia provides several Lumia-exclusive apps as can be seen in one of the photos. Check out a few of the shots below and visit The Verge at the above URL to view them all:

Spotted: Alleged Box Shots Of Apple iPhone 5S With Silver Ring Fingerprint Scanner

A Chinese website CtechCN.com has published photos of what appears to be boxes of the upcoming iPhone 5S slated to be launched on the 10th of September. Interestingly, the photos show a silver ring around the home button of the handset, which is said to be a fingerprint scanner. Also, the home button is convex in this case to accommodate the fingerprint sensor, thus protruding a bit. A fingerprint scanner has long been rumoured to be part of the feature set of the upcoming iPhone and a part of the iOS 7 code also points to such a possibility.

A fingerprint scanner built into the handset will allow users to unlock the (securely locked) device without having to enter a passcode. Apple had acquired Authentec last year for $365 million and the technology in question will no doubt be a result of this acquisition. Apple was facing problems integrating the fingerprint scanner because of interference caused from coating materials present under the glass. However, it seems that the Cupertino-based company has finally figured out a way to make the implementation before the launch date. Check out the spy shots below: