New iPad available in India: Check out our video review and comparison

It’s a Good Friday today, for Apple fan-boys in India anyway. Apple has launched the third generation iPad in India. The new device is available in 2 variants - Wi-Fi only and Wi-Fi+4G.

The third generation iPad reviewed: 

The new iPad boasts of some pretty impressive specifications, the crown jewel of which is the new Retina Display. The 9.7-inch display of the iPad boasts of a resolution of 2048x1536. Under the hood, a 1GHz dual-core Apple A5X chip powers the device. The chip also boasts of Quad Core Graphics. The front has the same VGA camera for FaceTime that we had on the iPad 2, but the rear snapper has been upgraded to 5MP. You can read our full review of the new iPad here.

 

iPad price comparison: U.S. vs. India

If you are in the mood to pick up the new iPad and are not sure if you should call in the device from the U.S. or pick up one from your local Apple store, here’s a quick comparison between the price of the device in the US and India.

Particulars	iPad price in the U.S.	iPad price in India
Wi-Fi Only
16GB	$499 (Rs. 26,225 approx.+taxes)	Rs. 30,500
32GB	$599 (Rs. 31,480 approx.+taxes	Rs. 36,500
64GB	$699 (Rs. 36,735 approx.+taxes)	Rs. 42,500
4G + Wi-Fi
16GB	$629 (Rs. 33,057 approx.+taxes)	Rs. 38,900
32GB	$729 (Rs. 38,312 approx.+taxes)	Rs. 44,900
64GB	$829 (Rs. 43,568 approx.+taxes)	Rs. 50,900

 

Apps optimised for the iPad:

If you thought there is lack of content for the new iPad, don’t be mistaken. A lot of developers in the App world have updated their apps to support the new Retina Display. 

 

The competition takes on the new iPad:

The new iPad may be the “new kid on the block”, but that doesn’t mean the competition isn’t trying to fight back. If you are not an Apple fan-boy and want to take a look at what the competition has to offer, here’s a quick comparison between the new iPad, Asus Transformer Prime and the Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1. Let the tablet wars begin! Read New iPad versus the competition.

 

Old vs. New: iPad 2 vs. the New iPad

For those of you that aren’t aware, Apple has dropped the price of the iPad 2. The iPad 2 is available for Rs. 24,500 for the 16 GB Wi-Fi model and Rs. 32,900 for the 16 GB Wi-Fi + 3G model. If you are someone who doesn’t believe in owning the latest and greatest, then you can consider picking up the iPad 2 as it is a value for money product and can run Apple’s latest iOS 5.1 along with all the apps available on the App Store. 

 

Need a reason to pick up the new iPad? Here are 5:

A fan-boy needs no reason to pick up the latest gadget from Apple’s stable but we will give you five reasons to pick up Apple’s brand new tablet. Open up Pandora’s box here.

 

Bulletproof iPad?

If there’s one thing we don’t like about the new iPad, it is the fact that the device isn’t bulletproof. What do we mean? Well, feast your eyes upon the new iPad being shot by an assault rifle here. 

No Siri for new iPad

The new iPad does not have Siri, but Apple has included a voice dictation app. Check it out in the video below:

Angry Birds Space HD comes to BlackBerry PlayBook

Almost a month after its release, Rovio's Angry Birds Space HD has arrived on BlackBerry PlayBook platform. The Angry Birds Space HD comes with 60 interstellar levels on planets and in zero gravity. The game has the traditional free updates, new birds and superpowers. PlayBook users can download the game via BlackBerry App World for $ 2.99 (Rs. 157 approximately).

“I got a great surprise e-mail from our game guru (and Director, Strategic Business Development for Gaming) Anders Jeppsson. Overnight, our friends at Rovio Entertainment Ltd. submitted Angry Birds Space HD for the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet to BlackBerry App World, and it’s now available for purchase,” says Donny H, Blog Manager for Inside BlackBerry.

Rovio recently announced 10 new free levels of Angry Birds Space, the latest iteration of its one of the best selling gaming franchises on the mobile platform. The free levels are currently available for Android and iOS users. The new levels are called “Fry Me to the Moon”. Angry Birds Space is available as a free download for Android Users but iOS users will have to shell out $0.99 (Rs. 52 approx.) for the iPhone/iPod touch version and $2.99 (Rs. 157 approx.) for the iPad version.

The new Angry Birds Space game, which notched up 10 million downloads in three days of launch, has various new features such as gravitational fields and new angry birds – such as the Space Eagle. The game has 60 initial levels and six new characters and has what Rovio describes a "unique twist in a variable gravity environment".

Rovio will be rolling out its Angry Birds Space for Windows Phone platform as well.

Samsung Galaxy SIII to come with Exynos 4 quad-core processor

Samsung has said that its next generation Galaxy Smartphone will house a quad-Corec processor. The new processor is called Exynos 4 Quad is a 32nm processor. The next generation Samsung Galaxy smartphone, so far known as the Samsung Galaxy SIII is expected to be unveiled next month. The Exynos 4 Quad will not only be used in smartphones but in Samsung’s tablets as well. The chip will be clocked at a speed of 1.4GHz.

The fact that the processor in the Samsung Galaxy S III is a 32nm chip is a big deal breaker considering that the third generation iPad and the iPhone 4 and 4S use 45nm chipsets.

In a statement released, Samsung said, "Already in production, the Exynos 4 Quad is scheduled to be adopted first into Samsung's next Galaxy smartphone that will officially be announced in May. The Exynos 4 Quad processor is a crucial element in providing our customers with a PC-like experience on mobile devices. Samsung's next Galaxy device, which will be officially announced soon, offers uncompromised performance and ground breaking multi-tasking features."

Samsung’s press release also says, “In addition, the new processor was architected to drive up to 1366 x 768 (WXGA) display and incorporates a full HD 30 frame per second video hardware codec engine for high resolution 1080p video recording and play-back, an embedded image signal processor interface for high-quality camera functionality and an HDMI 1.4 interface for sharp and crisp multimedia content transmission.”

Samsung has also revealed a video that shows off some of the capabilities of the new processor. Take a look at the video below:
 

HTC developing a Facebook Phone?

Rumours of a Facebook phone have once again surfaced online. This time rumours suggest HTC is working on a device for the social networking and unlike the current Facebook-enabled phones such as HTC ChaCha and Salsa, the new Facebook phone will “have a platform exclusive to Facebook”. Moreover, it will have all the functionality present on the desktop version of the social networking site. The rumoured device is likely to launch in the third quarter of 2012.

“Since Samsung has become the top vendor of Android smartphones, Google will continue to have Samsung develop its next-generation Nexus models, leveraging Samsung's innovation ability with regard to the Android platform, and its ability to control the supply of key components,” says a Digitimes report citing unnamed sources privy to the matter.

The report further said that Facebook is likely to expand its investments and sources of income after becoming a public company, and the launch of self-brand smartphones will be part of its development strategy.

This is not the first time we've heard of a Facebook phone. There have been a number of rumors that Facebook wishes to get into the mobile phone business, but nothing concrete happened.

Last November, rumours said an Android-based “Facebook phone” under a code name of Buffy was in the works. The Facebook phone was then rumoured to be manufactured by HTC and launched within 12-18 months.

MapMyIndia and Telenav allow iPhone users to search house numbers

MapMyIndia has tied up with Telenav, a personal navigation company to release an iPhone app that offers house number search and navigation. This application is India's first mobile application to allow navigation by house number search.Rohan Verma, Director, MapmyIndia says, "The exciting partnership between MapmyIndia and Telenav has resulted in India’s first app that offers house number search and navigation. Our aim is to let more and more people experience how navigation simplifies their daily lives."  Hassan Wahla, Vice President of Business Development, Telenav Inc. says, "With the growth in smartphones and 3G data connectivity, India is a fast-growing market for mobile navigation and we believe that this navigation app is a must have on every smartphone." MapMyIndia Navigator screenshots The MapMyIndia app Navigator by Telenav provides voice guided, turn by turn GPS navigation, moving maps and access to many places for search and discovery. All maps and information for places are cloud based and are updated regularly. The app allows you to search a variety of places and points of interest either by category or name. Places include restaurants, ATMs, hotels, hospitals and more. Users can then select and navigate to the destination chosen and save frequent destinations as favorites. The app allows you to search house numbers in 18 cities, reach any of the 579,000 towns and villages and navigate at street-level across 1,200 cities. The application turns your iPhone into a full-fledged GPS navigator, including voice instructions for each turn, speaking street names as well in English with Indian accent. The application automatically generates a new route if the driver misses a turn. You can shake your phone to instantly start navigation to their home address from wherever you are. On major highways, the application notifies drivers when they exceed the posted speed limit. The application switches to night-time mode automatically, allowing for safer viewing conditions while driving at night. MapmyIndia is offering a promotional price for the application – users can try MapmyIndia Navigator for $3.99 (approx Rs. 210) for one month. An ongoing subscription can be purchased for $29.99 (approx Rs. 1,582) for one year. Users may continue to use the maps and places search for free beyond the paid subscription period. MapmyIndia Navigator by Telenav can be downloaded from the iOS App Store.

Apple to launch a cross between the MacBook Air and MacBook Pro

When rumours surface regarding Apple one may be quick to jump the gun and figure it will pertain to their iOS range of devices. This is in reality quite true as the recent slew of rumours have been centered on the upcoming iPhone. However, the latest bit of information courtesy of MacRumors is regarding the brand’s MacBook models where it is expected that the brand will launch a hybrid notebook that will feature the portability of the MacBook Air and the power of the MacBook Pro.

Will a hybrid MacBook be on Apple's roadmap?

As per the report, research analyst Ming-Chi Kuo states, “Apple’s Mac business in 2Q12 will be boosted by several factors. Three of which are: (1) Mountain Lion, which integrates iOS features with Mac OS, Apple TV’s interaction function, will be launched in June; (2) upgrading to Ivy Bridge; and (3) back-to-school demand. We forecast Apple will sell 5.32 million units of the Mac series (up 28.5% QoQ and 35.2% YoY) in 2Q12, making it the main growth driver. We also predict Apple will roll out a fully new MacBook model in early 3Q12, boasting strong performance and easy carryability by combining the advantages of MacBook Air and MacBook Pro. While adding new products, Apple is likely to stop making the 17-inch MacBook Pro this year due to falling shipments, in order to maintain a lean product line strategy.”

Many users the world over have appreciated the design and portability that comes along with the MacBook Air but one common sentiment shared by most is that it does not offer the same functionality as the MacBook Pro range of notebooks. However, if they do intend to launch the hybrid MacBook, then an unfortunate victim will come in the form of the largest sized MacBook Pro.

What needs to be seen if Apple does indeed launch the hybrid version, is what would happen to the 13-inch and 15-inch MacBook Pro models. There is a good chance that the speculated hybrid MacBook could cannibalize the market of the current MacBook Pro notebooks. 

As all this is still not set in stone, we have to just wait and watch how the whole thing pans out.

Your PS Vita gets a little bit more useful – Skype is coming today

The PS Vita – the gaming device that is the successor to the PlayStation Portable (and pretty much a very tiny library of games) – is getting a bit more useful with the addition of Skype. You will now be able to make video and voice calls with the new app, which will be available in the PlayStation Store for free.

And as a little nudge after the lack of such feature with the Windows Phone 7′s version – the PS Vita does support running in “background mode”, so you will be able to pause a game and conduct the call before resuming. Though, it should be noted that some games will automatically terminate the game, rather than pause, as noted by the PlayStation Blog.

So, I’m assuming the five of you PS Vita owners will be pleased.

Samsung releases new teaser trailer – new Galaxy on the way?

What do space and sheep have in common? Well, this new trailer by Samsung. Released on its YouTube channel, it’s hints potentially of a brand new Galaxy device that “fits perfectly in your hand” – so, let’s get the speculation wheel going.

We can assume that it will have a slim body, and a big screen – if it’s anything like the other images of the supposed Galaxy S III from a Vietnamese blog. The trailer also makes a slight dig at its competitor Apple by labelling them sheep.

Well, what do you think? Comment below – even if its a weird speculation – like I don’t know, Windows Phone 7 on this device?

Windows 8 Release Preview coming this June

Microsoft has announced another preview edition of Windows 8 will be released to the general public in June, called Windows 8 Release Preview, which will be closest yet to the final version.

The Redmond giant has already released two preview editions of Windows 8 before this – theDeveloper Preview was released in September last year, while the Consumer Preview released at the end of February. Interestingly, more than 100,000 changes have been made to Windows 8 since the Developer Preview.

So far, Microsoft has also detailed the SKUs of Windows 8 that will hit the market, Windows 8,Windows 8 Pro, and Windows RT (for ARM), as well as a host of their respective features. The first two, meant for x86 systems, will be available in 32-bit and 64-bit versions.

Windows 8 has been called the “most significant redesign” of the operating system since Windows 95, and a lot of hopes are riding on the platform, a much bigger gamble than just a way into the tablet, and in the future, with Windows Phone 8, phone markets.

The new operating system is due to be released this October-November, and Microsoft's already at work on the Windows Store, a marketplace for both Metro-style apps, and regular Windows software. Our recent poll of our readers " What do you think about Windows 8 Consumer Preview?,"  showed much interest in the Windows 8 platform, with the majority answering: "It's great, I am excited!"

Windows Store expands to 38 developer countries with next update

The Windows Store, a Metro style app and Windows software marketplace which will truly come into its own with the launch of Windows 8, will soon be expanded in terms of number of country-specific developer accounts, and app submission markets.

The updated Windows Store will accept submissions from developers from 33 more countries than just the five it started with, when the Windows 8 Consumer Preview waslaunched. Developers and users can experience all these expansions, when the new preview version of Windows Store is released, possibly with Windows 8 Beta.

Microsoft has also announced 21 new country-specific Windows Store portals or app catalogues, bringing the total number up to 26 (France, Germany, India, Japan, United States, and China already had their own). Developers will now be able to submit applications in 109 different languages, however, to certification, only 12 are accepted. Check out the full list of developer account and app submission markets, here.

Windows Store will launch along with Windows 8 sometime later this year, and in an effort to beef up its infrastructure ahead of the these expansions, Microsoft has announced it has stopped accepting Windows Store submissions for the Consumer Preview edition.

Microsoft, however, did say that the Windows Store will continue to offer all the existing Consumer Preview apps and these apps will of course continue to run on the Consumer Preview build. This will help support developers in the transition to the next pre-release version of the platform.

The Redmond giant also recently detailed the versions of Windows 8 that will be available, specifically, Windows 8, Windows 8 Pro, and Windows RT (for ARM). Read our previous coverage for more details about what each version will get.

New iPad will officially launch in India on the 27th of April

While the new iPad may have been launched just over a month in the US and a handful of other countries, the third generation tablet from Apple is yet to officially land on a number of shores across the world with India being one of them. The wait for the latest slate from Apple appears to be coming to a close with Apple announcing that the device will officially come to India along with a number of countries next week.

Finally coming to India

As per the announcement from Apple, “The new iPad, the third generation of its category defining mobile device, will arrive in South Korea and 11 additional countries on Friday, April 20. The new iPad features a stunning new Retina display, Apple’s new A5X chip with quad-core graphics and a 5 megapixel iSight camera with advanced optics for capturing amazing photos and 1080p HD video. The new iPad still delivers the same all-day 10 hour battery life while remaining amazingly thin and light.” They go on to state that in addition to South Korea, the new iPad also will be available beginning on Friday, April 20 in Brunei, Croatia, Cyprus, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Malaysia, Panama, St Maarten, Uruguay and Venezuela. Beginning on Friday, April 27, the new iPad will be available in Colombia, Estonia, India, Israel, Latvia, Lithuania, Montenegro, South Africa and Thailand.”

So it will be just 10 days till the highly anticipated tablet from Apple will finally make its way here. As for pricing, here is a look at what it will be available for:

iPad Wi-Fi only
16GB – Rs. 30,500
32GB – Rs. 36,500
64GB - 42,500

iPad Wi-Fi + 4G
16GB – Rs. 38,900
32GB – Rs. 44,900
64GB – Rs. 50,900

The brand has also dropped the prices of the iPad 2 in India with the 16GB Wi-Fi version available for Rs. 24,500 and Rs. 32,900 for the 16GB Wi-Fi + 3G model. With the wait almost over, you can now start breaking the piggy bank.

Google to focus on low-cost tablet market to popularise Android

Google chief executive Larry Page believes Google's Android operating system will continue to flourish in the low-cost tablet segment.

“We definitely believe that there is going to be a lot of success with the lower ends of the market, as well with lower-price products; that will be very significant, and definitely an area we think is important, and we're quite focused on, Google chief executive Larry Page said while responding to a question.

He also acknowledged that Google is facing a stiff competition in the tablet market, which is dominated by Apple's iPad. Page also highlighted Amazon's low-cost Kindle Fire tablet, which runs on Android platform but doesn't feature Google's services, like its search engine, e-mail and social network, with the tablet.

"There's also obviously been a lot of success on some lower-price tablets that run Android, maybe not the full Google version of Android," Page noted, referring to Amazon's tablet.

Google chief's comments come amid rumours of Google working on a self-branded Nexus tablet. According to reports, the Google tablet's release has been delayed till July.

Back in India, a number of low-cost Android devices have been launched recently. Micromax's Funbook that is slated to hit the shelves this week runs the latest Android Ice Cream Sandwich operating system. Manufacturers such as HCL and Zynch have also joined the fray. The Indian government's ultra low-cost Aakash tablet is also going to come with the latest Android ICS platform.

Google's special focus on the low-cost tablet segment is certainly going to propel the popularity of its Android operating system in the price-sensitive markets such as India. What do you think of Google focussing on the low-cost tablet market? Let us know in the comments section below:

Microsoft reveals key features for Windows 8 and Windows RT

 
Microsoft on Monday revealed more details about the three editions of Windows 8 it will release when it makes its next operating system available later this year, including some key features that will be part of Windows RT, the SKU that's optimized for ARM processors.

"First, Windows 8 is the official product name for the next x86/64 editions of Windows," Brandon LeBlanc, Microsoft's Windows communications manager, wrote on the official Windows blog.

Microsoft's next OS for PCs and tablets powered by 32-bit and 64-bit x86 chips will come in two flavors, Windows 8 and Windows 8 Pro, while the Windows on ARM (WOA) offering, Windows RT, comes in just one and is only available as a pre-installed OS.

The software giant is loading several new and updated features across all three SKUs, including the next version of Microsoft's Web browser, Internet Explorer 10, Windows Defender, Windows Update, and Enhanced Task Manager (see full chart of SKU features below).

But Windows RT looks to be a somewhat different animal than the x86 versions of Microsoft's next operating system. Unlike Windows 8 and Windows 8 Pro, Windows RT won't be upgradeable from any edition of Windows 7, obviously, but it also won't get Windows Media Player or Storage Spaces.

What WOA does give you is Device Encryption and Microsoft Office bundled in with the OS, neither of which is available for Windows 8 and Windows 8 Pro. Sounds like a fair trade-off, especially when compared with features available with Windows 8, though Windows 8 Pro has numerous goodies that neither Windows 8 basic nor Windows RT have—and remember, Windows RT doesn't have a Pro edition as yet.

"Windows 8 Pro is designed to help tech enthusiasts and business/technical professionals obtain a broader set of Windows 8 technologies," LeBlanc wrote. "It includes all the features in Windows 8 plus features for encryption, virtualization, PC management and domain connectivity. Windows Media Center will be available as an economical 'media pack' add-on to Windows 8 Pro. If you are an enthusiast or you want to use your PC in a business environment, you will want Windows 8 Pro."

LeBlanc noted that the chart released by Microsoft on Monday showcased "key features" and "should not be considered an exhaustive list of features."

Feature name	Windows 8	Windows 8 Pro	Windows RT
Upgrades from Windows 7 Starter, Home Basic, Home Premium	x	x
Upgrades from Windows 7 Professional, Ultimate		x
Start screen, Semantic Zoom, Live Tiles	x	x	x
Windows Store	x	x	x
Apps (Mail, Calendar, People, Messaging, Photos, SkyDrive, Reader, Music, Video)	x	x	x
Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote)			x
Internet Explorer 10	x	x	x
Device encryption			x
Connected standby	x	x	x
Microsoft account	x	x	x
Desktop	x	x	x
Installation of x86/64 and desktop software	x	x
Updated Windows Explorer	x	x	x
Windows Defender	x	x	x
SmartScreen	x	x	x
Windows Update	x	x	x
Enhanced Task Manager	x	x	x
Switch languages on the fly (Language Packs)	x	x	x
Better multiple monitor support	x	x	x
Storage Spaces	x	x
Windows Media Player	x	x
Exchange ActiveSync	x	x	x
File history	x	x	x
ISO / VHD mount	x	x	x
Mobile broadband features	x	x	x
Picture password	x	x	x
Play To	x	x	x
Remote Desktop (client)	x	x	x
Reset and refresh your PC	x	x	x
Snap	x	x	x
Touch and Thumb keyboard	x	x	x
Trusted boot	x	x	x
VPN client	x	x	x
BitLocker and BitLocker To Go		x
Boot from VHD		x
Client Hyper-V		x
Domain Join		x
Encrypting File System		x
Group Policy		x
Remote Desktop (host)		x

Apple’s “revolutionary” product is coming within 8 months, says designer Starck

Image: jikatsu/Flickr (Creative Commons)

Philippe Starck, who is a well known product designer – designing hotel and restaurant interiors, and apparently some hard drive enclosures for LaCie – has said that he has been working with Apple to create something “revolutionary”. Is this the supposed Apple TV – the one that actually is a TV, not its current incarnation? Or possibly a new iPhone?

Don’t get your hopes up just yet. We don’t know. Seriously, we don’t know.

And if it was so “revolutionary” as he claims – then it won’t be an iPhone 5 6 mainly because the iPhone was a revolutionary product. You can only reinvent the phone so many times – and unless it manages to incorporate holograms that don’t look as crummy as CNN’s one back in 2008, then it’s not that revolutionary.

According to news wire AFP, he also says that the company is planning to release this just in time for Christmas. Telling radio station France Info (before declining to comment even further), “Indeed, we have a big project together that will be out in eight months.”

It’s most likely not going to be a gadget, but possibly could be a new Apple Store experience. The Verge is hinting at a possibility of something to do with its spaceship-like campus – but it most likely won’t be since the ‘before Christmas’ vibe to it. Plus, realistically, how hard is it to make a building before Christmas. (Well, maybe a concept design)

HTC One X

It is astounding how HTC makes brilliant looking phones, one after the other, as if the designing process is a well planned production line in itself! The latest flagship phone, the One X, walks down the same path.

Look & Feel
The HTC One X is a looker, and there is no doubting the effort that the Taiwanese manufacturers’ design team has put in for this phone. Judging by the design, the form factor and the quality of materials used, the One X feels quite premium. For a lot of people, a phone with some metal component to the build is an essential indicator to the solidity of the build quality. See and hold the One X once, and all those assumptions will be dispelled. Even though this falls squarely in the big-screen smartphone category, the One X isn't uncomfortable to use or unwieldy to hold.

To understand most elements of the design influence, you need to look at the phone placed vertically on a flat surface, from side on. The slimness literally shouts silently. We had praised the Motorola Razr (read our review) for its slimness, and at 8.9mm, the One X isn't far behind the Razr’s 7.1mm. What you will also notice is slight curve on the top and bottom. The only issue with this slimness is that the 8MP camera protrudes out at the back, and when placed flat, the phone rests on a part of the clicker.

While it is plastic throughout, we believe it is the unibody design that lends it the solidity. We first saw this a few years back on the HTC Legend, and while the design didn’t really catch on then, it never really went away. Off late, we have seen this with a lot of phones, with the Nokia Lumia 800 (read our review) being a prime example. The review unit sent to us had the enamel white finish, which wasn’t glossy and thankfully so, for it isn't a fingerprint or scratch magnet. However, this colour does have the problem of getting dirty very quickly, and you’ll have to be quite careful about that.

The front of the One X looks very minimalistic, particularly when the display us turned off. Amidst the sea of black is a 4.7-inch display and three touch sensitive keys - return, home and what is essentially a task manager. The right spine has the volume rocker, and left one has the micro USB slot. There is no dedicated camera key, which is a bit of a surprise.

To sum it up, the One X is a well-sculpted phone, and clearly, the designers have put their heart and mind into it. It feels like a premium phone to hold and use, which is critical considering what you will eventually be shelling out for it. We would strongly recommend the grey one though, since the white will not be for the cleanliness freaks out there!

Features & Performance
A 1.5GHz quad core processor powers the HTC One X, and this is the first super phone to be launched in India. We still await any news on the LG Optimus 4X and the Huawei Ascend D Quad. Not to forget, this is paired smartly with 1GB of RAM. Logically, it should be a scorcher in terms of performance. To test and compare, we ran a series of benchmarks. And for the sake of comparison, we pitted it against the Samsung Galaxy Note (read our review), which is (or at least was) the fastest Android smartphone till the One X came along (read comparison here). First benchmark we did was Quadrant, and surprise surprise - the One X was slightly slower than the Note. Just to be sure, we restarted the One X and ran the benchmark again. Same result. Logged it while trying the hardest to remain unfazed, we moved to the next set of benchmarks. Not a surprise that the One X blitzed the charts!

In the real-world usage scenario, the One X feels like any dual core powered smartphone, for the most part. However, most apps load quicker, and games are definitely a smoother experience. But why we raised this question about real life performance is because of some statistics - despite having 1GB of RAM, the task manager clearly shows that the free RAM is never more than 250MB. The background processes, and lots of them for that matter, eat up a whole lot of RAM, which basically brings the One X down to the level of a Motorola Razr or a Galaxy Note, in terms of one aspect of the performance. This even we realized once we had a bunch of apps open in the background, and the UI became perceptibly sluggish. Having said that, you would absolutely love the snappiness while playing games or even loading apps.

When stressed, the rear panel does become a bit warm, particularly when gaming or watching videos, the area around the Beats Audio logo becomes a tad warm. Not uncomfortably so, but that will have an impact on the battery life, and you will feel it on your palm.

Apple releases Flashback malware removal tool, with Java security update

Apple has released an automated removal tool to help users remove the Flashback malware discovered by Dr. Web earlier this month, which had infected an estimated half a million computers worldwide within a couple of weeks.

The Flashback malware is a Trojan that has been designed to exploit a vulnerability in Java, allowing it to steal user information through the web browser and other applications, and flash it back to remote servers. It has many variants, some that mask themselves as Adobe Flash video and other browser plugins that users mistakenly agree to install, and some that can even auto-install without direct user interaction.

Other companies have released their own removal tools for the virus, starting with Kaspersky last week, and F-Secure, Symantec yesterday, a little ahead of Apple – which had announced it would be developing one, two days ago. Apple’s tool will be part of a security update to Java. The fruity giant says the Flashback removal tool will get at the "the most common variants" of the malware, and also block automatic web-page Java applet execution.

The Apple Flashback removal tool is only available for systems running OS X 10.6 or later, and will be bundled with the latest Java runtime, that also contains its own patches. The tool will install MRTAgent and a command line tool, which find and scour any Flashback malware instances, submit a log to Apple, and then delete themselves. While all currently known Flashback variants should be successfully removed by the Apple tool, it will require regular updates to work effectively.

Apple will also be working with internet service providers to try and disable access to the remote servers that the Trojan malware is coordinating with. Experts are predicting the time of ‘no malware for Mac’ is at an end, with the bad guys or malware authors turning their sights to the platform, deftly using their experience with the Windows and Linux malware.

You can download the removal tools with these packages - Java for OS X Lion 2012-003 orJava for Mac OS X 10.6 Update 8.

Apple Siri can now speak Hindi

When Siri was announced with the iPhone 4S, we thought the device would never understand the Indian accent let alone be able to speak Hindi. We were however left bewildered when we found a video online where Siri responds to users queries in Hindi!

Currently, Siri Supports English, French, German and Japanese. Support for Japanese was announced recently (during the launch of the third generation iPad). Apple has promised that Siri will support Italian, Chinese, Korean and Spanish languages later this year.

Siri’s support for Hindi comes to us courtesy Kunal Kaul. The hack connects Siri to Kunal’s Google API server and interacts in Hindi. Kunal has also posted a YouTube video (below) to vindicate his claims.

Another interesting aspect of the video is that the questions are asked in English and the responses given by Siri are in Hindi and the devanagari script appears on screen. The face that the questions are asked in English has led us to believe that Siri does not understand questions asked in Hindi.

Even though Hindi isn’t officially on Apple’s Siri language list, it remains to be seen whether the language will be added as the iPhone 4S though expensive is still one of the hottest smartphones in India. iPhone and iPod touch users already have access to devanagari on the devices touchscreen keyboard.

Siri speaking in Hindi:

Kunal Kaul’s YouTube page also shows Siri speaking in Arabic, which shows Apple’s voice controlled personal assistant has a lot of potential to adapt to local languages. Check out the video Siri speaking Arabic -