Google Nexus to launch October 14th

Google is reportedly preparing to launch its next Nexus handset on October 14th.

The Google Nexus 5 has already been at the centre of a number of leaks. Last month, a Google employee was caught using the phone in a video to promote the launch of Android KitKat. That was shortly followed by an FCC filing that confirmed the existence of the Nexus 5. The filing also revealed that the handset will feature Qi wireless charging, LTE support, NFC and Bluetooth 4.0. Previous reports have suggested that the phone will come with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 processor. While the FCC filing did not explicitly confirm that, it did strongly suggest that it will use that processor. The documents also confirmed that the Nexus 5 will come with a 4.96-inch display and be 131.9mm long by 68.2mm wide. No depth was mentioned. The phone is widely expected to be the first official outing of Android’s next version, KitKat. It has been suspected for sometime that LG will be the company behind the next Nexus 5. Its LG G2 handset scored highly in reviews. Though it is impossible to confirm, an October unveiling does make sense. It would be just over one year on from the launch of the Nexus 4. Expect to see invitations go out during the first week of October if there is any truth behind the rumour.

HP Chromebook 14 with Intel Haswell unveiled

HP has launched the Chromebook 14 at the Intel Developer Forum in San Francisco.

The HP Chromebook 14 is the first Chromebook powered by an Intel Haswell processor. The company claims that the new Chromebook can last all day, thanks to the fourth-generation Intel Core (Haswell) processors that consumes less power to enhance battery life by approximately more than 2X over previous generations.

It features a 14-inch diagonal high-definition (HD) display with a resolution of 1366x768 pixels. The HP Chromebook 14 comes with a 16GB solid-state drive for fast start-up times. Connectivity ports on the new Chromebook include HDMI, USB 2.0, USB 3.0, headphone and microphone jack.

Certain models of the HP Chromebook 14 will come with 200MB of free data per month for two years of 4G mobile broadband service on the T-Mobile network, without any contracts.

The new Chromebook also comes with 100GB of free storage on Google Drive for two years and includes Google experience with Chrome apps that include Gmail, YouTube, Google Drive and Google+ Hangouts.

The company has launched the new model in three colours - Coral Peach, Ocean Turquoise and Snow White. HP notes that the all new Chromebook 14 joins the HP SlateBook x2, HP Slate7 and HP Slate21 all-in-one that offer a 'Google experience'.

The HP Chromebook 14 is expected to hit select markets in the United States before the holidays and will ship for $299.99.

Commenting on the launch, Ron Coughlin, senior vice president and general manager, Consumer PCs, Services and Solutions, HP said, "There are customers telling us they are interested in new operating systems and in particular Chromebooks. We built the HP Chromebook to offer a great experience, choice and affordability, with a design that is truly unique."

14 hottest gadgets that will launch soon

The first week of September witnessed unveiling of some hot new gadgets at the IFA trade show in Berlin. From Samsung to LG to Lenovo to Qualcomm, IT companies introduced a bevy of gadgets set to entrall tech junkies in the coming months. Here are 14 of these high-profile hotties.

1.Samsung Galaxy Gear

The biggest highlight of IFA this year was Samsung launching its much hyped Galaxy Gear smartwatch. The device has a 1.3-inch Super AMOLED display, built-in speakers and battery life of 10 hours. Ther smartwatch can connect to the company's latest Galaxy Note 3 smartphone via wireless Bluetooth technology. It can make calls, display messages, record videos and take photos. It runs on Google's Android OS.

2.Qualcomm Toq

On the heels of the launch of Samsung’s smartwatch, Qualcomm too introduced its "Toq" smartwatch. Toq can play music and handle phone calls and messages, marking the chipmaker's entry into the consumer electronics and wearable computing arenas. It will be the first smartwatch with a touch-enabled "Mirasol" color screen that can be viewed easily in bright sunlight.

3.Sony Xperia Z1

Sony Xperia Z1 is the company's latest flagship to battle the likes of Nokia Lumia 1020, Samsung Galaxy S4 and the upcoming Apple iPhone. The smartphone has a 5-inch HD display with 2.2 GHz Quad-core processor. It has a 20.7MP primary camera and a 2MP front camera, both with HD recording facility. While it has a RAM of 2GB, it is powered by a 3000 mAh battery and runs on Android’s 4.3 version (Jelly Bean).

4.Lenovo Vibe X

Lenovo too joined the gadget parade at IFA 2013. The company added all-new ultra-thin smartphone Vibe X to its smartphone lineup. With a 5-inch 1080p Gorilla Glass 3 display, Vibe X adds to the company's phablet range comprising Lenovo K900, P780, S920, S890, S880, A830 and K860 models.


The smartphone runs on a 1.5GHz quad-core MediaTek 6589T processor and is powered by Android 2.2 Jelly Bean operating system. It has a 2GB of RAM, and 16GB of internal storage. For photos, there's a 13MP camera at the back, and a 5MP shooter in the front. Vibe X is 6.9mm thin and weighs 120gm.

5.Samsung Galaxy Note III

Samsung’s other major device, Galaxy Note III, was also unveiled on the opening day of IFA 2013. Galaxy Note 3 is a big phablet with a 5.7-inch SuperAMOLED screen, a 13MP camera that can shoot 4K videos and a multi-functional stylus. The 4G model of Note 3 will be powered by a 2.2GHz quad-core processor while the 3G model, which will be available in India, will be powered by a 1.9GHz octacore processor. It will have 32GB internal storage, 3GB RAM and 3200 mAh battery. Users will be able to expand storage through a microSD card.

It measures 151.2mm x 79.2mm x 8.3mm and weighs 168 gram. The device has a 2MP front camera.

6.LG G Pad 8.3

LG had earlier announced its G Pad 8.3 tablet, though it was unveiled to the public for the first time at IFA 2013. This device has an 8.3-inch screen with 1920x1080p resolution and runs on a quad-core 1.7GHz processor, with 2GB RAM. It is powered by Android 4.2 (Jelly Bean) and packs 16GB internal storage along with a 4,600 mAh strong battery.

7.Asus Transformer Pad TF701T Tegra 4

Asus launched it new range of Transformer tablet which was officially named as ASUS Transformer Pad TFT701T. It has a 10.1-inch IPS LCD screen and is powered by the NVIDIA Tegra 4 T40X quad-core processor. It has 2GB RAM and has internal storage options of 32 and 64GB. It runs on Android 4.2 (Jelly Bean).

8.Asus FonePad 7

Asus also launched its other tablet, the Asus FonePad 7, at the IFA. The 7-inch display device comes with a 1.6 GHz Intel Atom processor, 1GB RAM and a 5MP rear camera that supports full HD recording. It has a strong 3,950 mAh battery and runs on Android 4.3 (Jelly Bean) OS. The tablet measures 0.35 inches thick and features an IPS display with wide viewing angles.

9.Lenovo Yoga 2 Pro

Lenovo launched its new hybrid called the Lenovo Yoga 2 Pro, which runs on the latest Windows 8.1 OS. The 13.3-inch device has a QHD touchscreen and has an 8 GB RAM DDR2 with a storage capacity of 512GB SSD. It is powered by the Intel Haswell Core i7-4500Y processor. 

10.Lenovo ThinkPad Yoga

Lenovo also launched its other hybrid at the IFA which it named as Lenovo ThinkPad Yoga. This is a 12.5-inch capacitive touchscreen device which is powered by the 4th-gen Intel Core i7 ULT processor. It runs on the Windows 8.1 OS and has a RAM of 1TB HDD and storage capacity of 1 TB HDD.

11.Sony SmartShot camera lenses

Sony launched its pair of strap-on camera lenses at the IFA, christened Smartshot QX10 and QX100. The lenses can be attached to the back of any smartphone and work with the device using the Sony PlayMemories app over Wi-Fi. The SmartShot QX10 lens has an 18MP sensor with F/3.3-5.9 optics. The SmartShot QX100 lens features a 20.2MP sensor with F/1.8-4.9 optics. Both lenses boasts of Carl Zeiss optics. 

12.Sony WalkMan F886

Sony also launched its latest music playback device, Sony WalkMan F886. The device comes with 4-inch TRILUMINOUS screen and has an in-built memory of 32GB. The walkman can support 192KHz/ 24bit high-resolution audio formats and deliver up to 35 hours of MP3 playback. While it runs on Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean) OS, it is also compatible with operating systems of Windows and iOS. 

13.Samsung 98-inch TV

Samsung launched a new 98-inch Ultra HDTV. Ultra HDTVs boasts of four times as many pixels as traditional HDTVs. The company is also planning to launch 102-inch UHD TV soon. 

14.LG 77-inch curved TV

LG is also not to be left behind in the field of HDTV, the company launched 77-inch curved UHD OLED screen TV with 4K resolution. The screen is curved in the fashion of IMAX screens which gives the impression of viewing a flatscreen TV from any angle.