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.