Google I/O 2012: Google Nexus 7 tablet officially announced, starts at $199

The Google I/O conference kicked off a few hours ago and as expected, the brand has taken the wraps off their first Google branded tablet, the Nexus 7. Talks of the price being paramount to the tablet’s success had been since quite some time and Google added a ton of high-end hardware to the mix and have kept the price down to a minimum by pricing it at $199for the base model, which comes in a storage capacity of 8GB.

As for the specifications, Google’s Eric Schmidt, last year, had said that this would be a high quality tablet and Google have delivered on all counts. This model comes equipped with a 7-inch IPS display that boasts a resolution of 1280 x 800 pixels and is powered by a 1.3GHz quad-core Tegra 3 chip. As for the memory, Google have added a 1GB RAM, which should be able to match up with the best in the business. This tablet should be a gamer's delight  and Google has touted it to be a serious gaming device as the brand has added a 12-core NVIDIA GeForce GPU as well to the fray.

Google makes Jelly Bean official with sculpture

Jellybeans sculpture in googles place

If anyone had any doubts on what Google would be calling their next major operating software, then this sculpture set up by Google on their campus has spilled the beans on what Google’s next Android update would be called. From the image, we can conclude that Google will in fact be naming their next operating system, Jelly Bean. And like in the past, wherein they set up sculptures to show off their operating systems, this year has been no exception. Google's unveiled their latest OS through a sculpture showing an Android filled with jelly beans. Last year, Google had put up a statue showing an Android looking like an Ice Cream Sandwich and right on cue, the brand announced their current operating system Ice Cream Sandwich. In the year before last, Google had set up a sculpture of a Gingerbread Android.

Microsoft Denies Rumours Of Launching Its Own WP8 Smartphone

We had recently heard rumours suggesting that Microsoft was coming up with a Windows Phone 8 device of its own. This didn't seem like a long shot, given that MS had just stepped into the hardware game with the announcement of its Surface tablets. However, the software giant has now come out in the open to deny this rumour.

The company's Senior Marketing Manager, Greg Sullivan rubbished these rumours in an interview with Information Week. He simply said: "No, we do not [build our own phones]", and further added:"We have a strong ecosystem of partners that we are very satisfied with". The denial comes after "industry sources" and analysts had claimed the possibility, which was followed by some convincing fan concepts of the device.

With Microsoft having detailed its plans for the WP8 OS, we are not surprised at the denial. Most of the rumours had sparked only after the company showed off its Surface tablets. Other OEMs are prepping their own Windows 8 slates, but Microsoft doesn't seem to be bothered about it. With a denial coming from the horse's mouth itself, it's safe to say that the rumour can finally be put to rest.

RIM Will Split Its Business Into Two; Facebook Likely To Be A Buyer

Manufacturing handsets in Canada would have been considered an unwise move, and RIM could not change that fact. Fresh reports suggest that the BlackBerry-maker is planning to divide its current set up of the handset division and messaging network into two different entities, and sell away its ailing BlackBerry hardware unit. Although reports don't specify sources, but the Sunday Times goes on to speculate that Facebook and Amazon have been pitched as "potential buyers". If this plan is enforced, RIM might hold on to its messaging and data network, which includes BBM, BIS, and BESand licence them out instead.

Over the last few months, RIM CEO Thorsten Heins had speculated that the company doesn't want to be sold, and that they are looking at "opportunities to leverage the BlackBerry platform through partnerships, licencing opportunities and strategic business model alternative". Reports further suggest that the news may be made public well before the BlackBerry 10 OS launch. How this will help the company and its new OS, which could have helped it turn tides, only time will tell.

Envent Launches Breeze Bluetooth Headset For Rs 1100 Dual-pairing accessory has a range of 10 metres and claims a talk time of 5 hours.

How does Sholay's Thakur use a smartphone? With Siri and a Bluetooth headset, of course! Jokes aside, although these things tend to make you look silly and expose you to ridicule, they are nonetheless quite useful when you have your hands occupied. If you are likewise looking for hands-free bliss, Envent's Bluetooth headset, dubbed the Breeze, should stoke your interest. Priced at Rs 1100, the peripherals manufacturer pitches it as a mid-level offering in its Bluetooth range.

Available in gold, silver, and black hues, the headset is claimed to be lightweight and sports a single button to receive and cut calls. Its dual-pairing capability lets you connect the Breeze with two devices for flexibility. The operational range has been quoted at 10 metres, with the manufacturer claiming a talk time of 5 hours and standby time of 120 hours.

Although Envent CEO Sukhesh Madaan claims that the Breeze "is a useful accessory when you drive", please note that it is illegal to do so, in Maharashtra at least.

Microsoft says new phone software closer to Windows 8

SEATTLE: Microsoft Corp's new phone software will be built on the same core as its new upcoming PC and tablet operating system, bringing the company one step closer to unifying its Windows franchise across a full range of screens that are revolutionizing computing.

The world's largest software company, which is running to keep up with Apple Inc's iPhone and Google Inc's. Android devices, said the common core means customers will have a greater choice of phones and applications, and be able to switch between multiple machines more easily. The move follows the launch of the Surface tablet on Monday, Microsoft's effort to join the fast-growing mobile computing market and to tackle Apple's iPad head on.

At an event in San Francisco on Wednesday, Microsoft officially announced its new phone software, called Windows Phone 8, and said phones running the software would hit the market this autumn.

How to - run Android apps on your PC

Apps on popular mobile platforms such as Android, iOS and Windows Mobile are functional, compact and sometimes, very beautifully designed. Most of the features and information you get from them could practically be used on the desktop. Unfortunately, they aren’t available for the desktop so you’ll find yourself lifting your phone to check out the latest tweets or maybe play a game of Cut the Rope.

What if you could do all of these things on your desktop itself. You can using a remote desktop application installed on your phone or tablet. It’s more complicated and it requires you to use the resources of your devices. There’s a simpler way to run these apps directly off your PC and we’re going to show you how  dojust that.

How to: Install Windows 8 on a pen drive

Windows 8, the latest edition to Microsoft's OS evolution is making big waves in the PC arena. We are sure that many of you are eagerly waiting to try out the new Windows 8 Preview on your PCs, to have a first look and glimpse of what Microsoft has in store for you with the new operating system. Installing Windows 8 on your PC, which already has Windows 7 or Windows XP installed can be quite a task—backing up data, clearing space for the new OS, reinstalling, and so on. However, before that, the pain of burning the downloaded ISO file on a DVD or on a USB pen drive to get the installation ready also makes it a killing task. We shall show you how you can relax and enjoy the complete features of Windows 8 on your existing PC without going through any of the above cumbersome exercises and run the new operating system in less than half the time.

Fleksy keyboard app targets visually-impaired and sighted users alike

Alternative keyboard apps like SwiftKey and Swype have been popular on Android, where they're able to replace the default touchscreen keyboard across the OS. Less so on iOS, where they can't do that.

That hasn't stopped Syntellia and its Fleksy app. Launched in July 2012, it's a minimalist keyboard – just letters, no symbols – which uses swipe gestures for spaces and punctuation. It's for two distinct groups of users: blind and visually impaired people, and sighted users.

I had thought Fleksy started off targeting the former group, then crossed over to the latter. In fact, that's not true, as co-founder Ioannis Verdelis explains.

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