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TechCrunch

Blog for internet marketing,SEO,Internet,Computer tricks,GPRS tricks,Movies,Games and Softwares.

TechCrunch

Blog for internet marketing,SEO,Internet,Computer tricks,GPRS tricks,Movies,Games and Softwares.

TechCrunch

Blog for internet marketing,SEO,Internet,Computer tricks,GPRS tricks,Movies,Games and Softwares.

TechCrunch

Blog for internet marketing,SEO,Internet,Computer tricks,GPRS tricks,Movies,Games and Softwares.

TechCrunch

Blog for internet marketing,SEO,Internet,Computer tricks,GPRS tricks,Movies,Games and Softwares.

Friday 13 September 2013

Apple officially unveiled the iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C


Apple today officially unveiled the long-rumored iPhone 5C, a stepdown, less-expensive model to the flagship iPhone 5S, which was also announced.
The iPhone 5C will be available in five colors -- white, green, blue, pink, and yellow -- with the 16GB model priced at $99 and the 32GB version costing $199 (with two-year contract). Sadly, yes, there is no supercheap contract-free version.

Design and feel 
As expected, the phone has a polycarbonate (plastic) back. Jony Ive, Apple's senior vice president of design, described the iPhone 5C as "beautifully, unapologetically plastic. Multiple parts have been reduced to a single polycarbonate component whose service is continuous and seamless."
How does it feel in the hand? Remarkably solid and dense, more like a candy-lacquered metal phone than a "plastic phone." The 5C has a steel frame under the polycarbonate, and the smooth finish feels very hand-friendly. It also feels heavier than the iPhone 5. Hopefully it'll stay scratch-resistant, because that extra-shiny look is a large part of its charm. It almost feels like an iPhone that's been given a custom hard-shell paint finish, or had a skin-thin case permanently bonded to it.
The curved edges are a bit of a return to the older plastic iPhones, but the phone's squarer design still comes through: it has a flat back. It's a shinier, smoother, thicker device than last year's fifth-gen iPod Touch.
The colors are clean, somewhat pastel and vibrant, and Apple's separately-sold $29 microfiber cases studded with large holes come in different color schemes, allowing for mix-and-match patterns. The case's design feels like a similar material to Apple's iPad Smart Covers, and snaps over the back snugly. The design-your-own color process has a similar feel to the Moto X's, and it'll be interesting to see what other cases toy with colors and exposed cut-out designs. 

Specs: iPhone 5-esque 
If you're wondering what makes a 5C different from the now-discontinued iPhone 5, it's basically this: new colors and feel, better front-facing FaceTime HD camera, and a slightly larger battery. Oh, and there's no 64GB version: you'll have to get an iPhone 5S for that.
Some of the specs Apple is highlighting include an A6 processor, an 8-megapixel camera with a 3x video zoom in-camera app, an improved front-facing HD camera, and 802.11 a/b/g/n dual band Wi-Fi, as well as "more LTE bands for world coverage." 
The iPhone 5C weighs slightly more than the iPhone 5 but seems to offer slightly better battery life.


From a specs standpoint, the iPhone 5C appears to be a slight upgrade over the existing iPhone 5. However, at 4.65 ounces, the iPhone 5C also weighs more than the 3.95-ounce iPhone 5. 

Apple Launched iPhone 5S and 5C

Apple pulled up the curtain on its buzzy iPhone 5S at Tuesday launch event held here at the company's headquarters. Physically, the gold, space gray, or white aluminum iPhone 5S closely resembles the iPhone before it (bye-bye, basic black), but Apple has bulked up its flagship smartphone with a fingerprint scanner, a faster 64-bit A7 processor, and high-end camera features. What the iphone 5S does not have, though, is a larger screen: it's exactly the same as last year's iPhone 5, and Apple's other new iPhone, the iphone 5C.
The iPhone 5S costs the same on contract as the iPhone 5 did at launch:
$199 for the 16GB
 $299 for 32GB, and
 $399 for 64GB version.
Apple made Protective cases specifically for these devices will price $39 each.
Along with the cheaper, riotously multi-colored iPhone 5C ($99 for 16GB for a two-year contract), the iPhone 5S goes on sale Sept 20 in countries like the USA, UK, Australia, China, Canada, Germany , France, , Japan, and Singapore. Both the iphones will come to 100 countries and 270 carriers in December.
Fingerprint scanner
The optional fingerprint scanner rescues Apple's honour as a smartphone creator with cutting-edge features that actually affect how people use their phones. The new scanner, called the Touch ID sensor, is embebbed into the home button and adds some stylish materials with its sapphire crystal topper and "stainless-steel detection ring." Now you tap to activate your phone, instead of pressing the button (but the button still depresses for normal navigation actions.
Touch ID scans subepidermal skin layers, Apple says, and has "360-degree readability," means it could be able to recognize your fingerprint regardless of orientation.
In addition to the Touch ID sensor doubling as your security key instead of a four-key password, you can also purchase apps and other iTunes content with a tap of your finger. Fingerprint information is never available to other apps, Apple says, nor will it be stored in the cloud.
As for guest profiles, yes, you can store details for multiple fingers -- yours and someone else's.
In classic Apple style, Touch ID is easy to set up as you tap and circle your finger to capture multiple fingerprint angles. In fact, setup is a bit like a video game that collects more prints the more you tap. After that, you scan your fingerprint and voila, you're in. The entire setup process takes a minute or less. Log-in is as quick as clicking.
How did it feel during a brief hands-on session after Apple's event? Surprisingly easy and fast. We were able to have Touch ID scan our fingerprint after about a dozen or so tap-clicks. After the process is done, the scan happens instantaneously: it feels just like clicking a home button. The scan becomes unnoticeable. There is a little adjustment, though, to getting used to how the button now works capacitively and as a click button.
If you don't want to use the fingerprint scanner, you don't have to. There's still the option to use the four-digit PIN password or no password at all. The benefit? No longer having to enter your iTunes ID in order to make purchases.
Specs-a-palooza
Hardware design stays the course with identical dimensions and the same chamfered edges as the iPhone (that means the 45-degree angles on the corners). The "space gray" design with the silver and black colors has a look that feels like a cross between the iPhone 5 and the 4/4S' silver-and-black banded design, which is to say that it looks very cool and familiar. It actually looks more distinctive than the all-black iPhone 5, and should be more scratch-resistant (we knew more than a few people who had the all-black previously and collected scuffs).
The gold is pale and shimmery, just like champagne. It isn't an offensive shade by any means. The white and silver version looks just like last year's model.
Apple's $39 leather iPhone cases make the 5S look almost 5C-like from a distance, but there are plenty of other cases the 5S should be compatible with: after all, it's the same exact shape as the 5.
The iPhone 5S has the same 4-inch screen as the iPhone 5, and Apple's Retina Display, which has a 1,136x640-pixel resolution and a pixel density of 326 ppi. (This isn't the highest around, but Apple maintains that beyond this so-called sweet-spot saturation level, higher pixel density ceases to matter.)
Here's something new: the iPhone 5S will have the first 64-bit chip in a mobile phone, but will be backward-compatible with 32-bit apps. Under the hood, Apple's A7 processor promises to power the iPhone 5S with 56 times the graphics performance of the very first iPhone, and about 40 times its CPU muscle.
On the gaming front, the iPhone 5S features OpenGL ES 3.0, which has the potential to make this phone the technically best-performing in the smartphone world. (CNET mobile gamer Eric Franklin will love sizing this one up.)
New to the iPhone 5S is the M7 motion coprocessor, which joins the A7 chip in processing. Specifically, the M7 chip keeps tabs on the accelerometer, gyroscope, and compass data. At the end of the day, that makes it possible for wearables like fitness bands and other accessories to tap into that data faster and more efficiently. It's a fascinating idea, but was only mentioned briefly during Apple's event. Keep an eye on this M7 processor: if any chip ever makes it into a future iWatch, it could be this one.
Battery life is a big issue in the smartphone world, and Apple remains coy with actual milliamp hour capacity. Apple takes the iPhone 5S to 10 hours of talk time over 3G (but what about LTE, Apple?!), 10 hours of LTE browsing, and 10 hours of video. You also get 10.4 days (250 hours) in standby mode, a full day longer than on the iPhone 5 (225 hours).
Once again, the iPhone is without NFC, which makes it the only major platform to exclude the short-range protocol. Apple has stubbornly used workaround features like the wallet and perhaps this new Touch ID scanner to circumvent NFC's specific brand of device-to-device communication.
Camera and video
When it comes to camera territory, Apple has traditionally been a gold standard, highly consistent in all scenarios without fussing with controls. This has been slipping with competitors' improved cameras in rival phones like the 
Samsung Galaxy S4, Nokia Lumia 925, and especially the Nokia Lumia 1020 (and its 41-megapixel camera).
Here, Apple once again challenges the field with a lot of built-in logic that makes for automatic adjustments of everything from white balance to the color temperature of the new, dual-tone LED flash.
In addition, Apple gives its iPhone 5S a five-element lens that Apple designed in-house. Its sensor size is 15 percent larger than before, and it packs in a f/2.2 aperture. The result? More light for theoretically better pictures.
You won't find more megapixels in this version of the iSight camera, which means images top out at 8 megapixels. However, you'll find an all-new burst mode that snares snaps at a rate of 10 frames per second when you hold your finger down on the shutter. Burst mode is very fast, and the iPhone 5S automatically picks the best of the bunch, nesting the rest in a sort of digital subfolder. A subtle gray dot designates the best one, but you can easily scan these and pick your own to save.
You can also take shots that span a 28-megapixel panorama. Apple will now automatically adjust exposure as you move, which is a nice touch. There's auto image stabilization as well.Read even more about the iPhone 5S camera here.

Yep, the iPhone 5S comes in gold.
(Credit: Josh Lowensohn/CNET)
The iPhone 5S once again ups the ante with 1080p HD recording for the front-facing camera. The rear captures video at the usual 30fps as well as 120fps for slow-motion video (as do theHTC One and Samsung Galaxy S4.) In the app, slow-mo can be selected for various parts of the clip you shot by sliding little markers, much like editing a video clip in iMovie.
It's hard to tell camera quality in a brief hands-on, but the 5S burst mode is speedy, much more so than the iPhone 5's, and the autopicking of "best shots" in bundled photo collections within the app should avoid a sensation of filling your Camera Roll with identical retakes.
In many ways, Apple's camera functions are still in catch-up mode, with Apple just now getting around to features like burst capture. However, Apple's strength is in bringing consistently great photos to the mass market, and the new baked-in camera features seem to integrate quite nicely with iOS 7's new software.
Operating system
Calling it "the most forward-thinking phone anyone's ever made," Apple ships this new iPhone with
 iOS 7 software inside, which Apple previewed earlier this summer. A brighter, more colorful interface is one major cosmetic enhancement. A Control Center you can call up from any screen for one-touch settings, and new camera apps are more substantial features.
Outlook
The iPhone 5S is a little same old, same old when it comes to the design and features, which isn't going to give flagging-but-hopeful supporters much to get excited about when it comes to the phone's looks -- that is, unless they've been clamoring for a champagne-gold phone all along. (That being said, actually, "space gray" might be our favorite new color and name in an Apple product.)
In other ways, Apple's fingerprint scanner does add a shot of technical intrigue that we'll need to take a closer look at to see if it's more gimmick than game-changer. If Touch ID ends up being a standard that app developers can tap into to make purchases easier and log-ins more self-contained, it could be a wonderful time-saver...and something that could find its way into the rest of Apple's product line.
How good the camera and A7 processor are, really, remains to be seen. The real question in our minds is this: will more people pick the 5S or the 5C, or another phone entirely? It looks like Apple is using this year to refine peripheral technology around the iPhone rather than heading in a bold new direction. That said, if Touch ID makes the iPhone 5S more secure, it'll be no small feature. We'll also be keeping an eye on the M7 chip: Apple might be making a play for iOS health-tracking apps and gear to beat competitors to market, or, failing that, to just plain beat them.

How large a leap the iPhone 5S is over last year's 5 remains to be seen. Will it be a bigger leap forward than the iPhone 4S was over the 4? We don't know yet, but that new home button's pretty nice.

PS4 hits November 15 for $399

Sony's next-gen gaming console will hit stores in the US on November 15 at a price of $399. That price undercuts Microsoft's Xbox One -- also arriving in November -- by $100.
The US launch will be followed by a European release on November 29. The console will cost £349 in the UK, and 399 euros on the Continent.
With the clock ticking on the PS4's release, we've gathered together just about everything we know about the next PlayStation, and how it compares with its new nemesis, the Xbox One. Read on for the details.

DualShock 4: Hands-on with the new PS4 gamepad

Hands-on
At first glance, it's difficult to see any real discernible difference between the PlayStation 4's DualShock 4 and the DualShock 3 of the PS3, but after a few seconds the differences are readily apparent if you've spent a good amount of time playing PS3 games.



Trigger buttons are improved over the DualShock 3, but they honestly don't feel much more like actual triggers as they're flatter and wider than, say, the Xbox One's. The shoulder buttons, however, are much softer and feel more comfortable than either the PS3's or Xbox One's, in my opinion.
The D-pad was disappointing, forgoing the tight precision of the Xbox One's D-pad. I honestly couldn't imagine playing a fighting game on it, at least with anything approaching a modicum of success. The lack of tactile feedback when pressing different directions is troublesome.
The controller feels as light as the previous incarnation's, and its handles feature a grippier texture on the back and bottom. The touch pad feels smooth with a slight groove, and depresses pretty easily. I’ve yet to use it in an actual game, however.


The analog sticks deliver an appropriate amount of feedback; however, the texture on top of the sticks was distracting.
I didn't actually get to touch the PS4 console, so I can't say how light it is or how its buttons or Blu-ray drive work. The system definitely has a look like no other console I've seen. I mean sure, it's black and squarish like most consoles, but it also has this bisected design that looks quite space-age.
Design 
About that design: the angled parallelogram design of the PS4 clearly conjures PlayStations of the past. It looks like a PS2 on steroids. It's an attractive look, but it's boxy; it doesn't seem nearly as big as the Xbox One, however.
Also, box design really means nothing. But, hey, at least we know what it'll look like next to our television, and it's fine-looking without being obtrusive.

PlayStation Plus and PS4 
The PS4 will support the same PlayStation Plus service as the Vita and PS3, with no new subscription price increase: it's all folded together. (Right now, that's $50 per year.) Unlike the PS3, however, a Plus subscription will be required for online multiplayer games. Thankfully, though, you won't be required to have Plus to access PS4's media services (Netflix and the like). You 
do need Microsoft's Xbox Live Gold subscription to do nearly anything -- including Netflix -- on Xbox One and Xbox 360.
The PS4 will have its own Instant Game collection service; DriveClub PS Plus Edition will be the first free game at launch, with one free game per month after that. Titles will include Don’t Starve and Outlast.
Sony’s been smart to offer up free games via Plus, and you have to wonder if Microsoft is taking notice: a similar offering of free monthly games was announced for Xbox 360 owners subscribing to Xbox Live Gold.
Sony announced at Gamescom that PS4 owners will receive a free 14-day PlayStation Plus trial with the purchase of their console, which includes access to games DriveClub and Resogun.

Video content and services 
Leading off the PS4 discussions at E3 was a mention of Sony's video efforts, seemingly aiming for a similar type of video-content approach with the console as Microsoft is with the Xbox One. Sony touted its studio strength and the eventual launch of exclusive videos coming only to the PS4, but it’s unclear what those are.
Video services like Video Unlimited, Redbox, and Flixster are some of the services launching on the PlayStation Network, but it looks like these services will be available on the PS3, too.
The big challenge with fronting content as a reason to buy a console is this: can game systems really become video networks? Microsoft and Sony seem to be betting on this direction, and it’s a dicey endeavor.
New games 
Sony demonstrated games at E3 and Gamescom -- as you’d expect -- in a mix of new games and sequels, including exclusives The Order, Killzone: Shadow Fall, and Infamous: Second Son. It was hard to glean what advantages the PS4 was offering these games that the PS3 couldn’t accomplish, but for the most part these games looked pretty.
Sony's also pledging massive third-party support, and a very easy process for independent developers to publish on the PS4.
The list of PS4 games available before the end of 2013 includes 33 titles, a good number of which are independent and available for download only, as opposed to disc-based. Sony's aggressive support for independent publishers could be a point of differentiation from Microsoft.
Hardware
The PlayStation 4, as you'd expect for a seven-years-later follow-up, has impressively bumped specs:
·         An eight-core X86 AMD Jaguar CPU
·         1.84-teraflop AMD Radeon graphics engine (with "18 compute units")
·         8GB of GDDR5 memory
·         500GB hard drive
·         Blu-ray drive
·         Three USB 3.0 ports
·         802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi
·         Ethernet, HDMI, Bluetooth 2.1, optical audio and analog AV out
The PS4 will use a 500GB hard drive for storage; the same as the Xbox One. The specs overall match that of a modern PC with integrated AMD processors and graphics, or so it seems. It's not a particularly stunning set of specs for a PC, but it's far ahead of any existing game console. It's just not as ahead-of-its-time on the hardware end as the original PlayStation 3 seemed to be.
Immediacy of response reducing lag time while accessing content is also one of the promised PS4 features (unlike the extremely laggy Wii U, perhaps). The PS4 will allow speedy background downloading, and Sony claims that games will even be playable as they're being downloaded.
Yes, the PS4 will have a Blu-ray drive that can also play DVDs. The PS4 will also have three USB 3.0 ports, 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi and Ethernet, Bluetooth 2.1, HDMI, Analog AV-out, and optical digital audio output.

What about PS3 games playing on the PS4? Sony has so far discussed PlayStation 3 gameplay on the PS4 under the same umbrella as playing PlayStation 1 and PS 2 games, via a digital library in a yet-to-be-determined PlayStation Cloud Service. Whether this would be accomplished via streaming, digital downloads, or emulation wasn't specified, but it sounds like Sony's answer to the Virtual Console.