Instagram launches time-lapse video app for iPhone

Facebook-owned photo-sharing service Instagram on Tuesday launched an application for capturing time-lapse videos using Apple mobile devices.

The Hyperlapse "app" was designed to let people easily make high-quality time-lapse videos even while moving around with a smartphone, according to Instagram.

Hyperlapse videos can be saved on mobile devices and shared on Instagram.

"From documenting your whole commute in seconds or the preparation of your dinner from start to finish to capturing an entire sunset as it unfolds, we're thrilled about the creative possibilities Hyperlapse unlocks," Instagram said in a blog post.

Hyperlapse applications were made available only for mobile devices powered by Apple software.

Market research firm eMarketer said in a report in March that nearly 35 million people in America accessed Instagram at least once each month as of the end of 2013, a jump of more than 30% from a year earlier.

And the report said nearly 25% of smartphone users in the United States will use Instagram at least once a month by the end of this year -- bringing the total user base to more than 40 million.

Instagram in November began displaying ads as Facebook moved to start making money from the smartphone photo sharing service it bought in a billion-dollar deal in early 2012.

Samsung launches NX Mini SMART camera starting at Rs 22,990

Samsung has launched its NX mini interchangeable-lens camera in India. The camera will be available exclusively through Amazon.in as part of a strategic partnership. NX Mini SMART camera sports a portable and stylish design.

The camera comes with 1-inch 20 MP BSI CMOS sensor and includes features like Wink Shot and Baby Monitor. The camera comes with NFC and Wi-Fi capabilities that allow sharing of images on a real-time basis. Samsung claims its NX mini to be the world’s slimmest and lightest interchangeable-lens camera which will be sold on Amazon.in.

The camera features a solid premium metal body with a leathery finish and is available in five different colours- white, black, brown, green and pink- in India, users can choose the colour that best suits their style.

Reflecting the recent consumer trend of selfies, the NX mini has a range of exclusive features which allow photographers to effortlessly indulge in this global trend of self-shooting. With a 75.2mm (3.0-inch) Flip up and Touch Display that flips 180-degrees and an ultra-slim 9mm wide angle lens, users can frame images of themselves perfectly, capture group shots from an arm’s length away and easily be a part of those.

The NX mini has 6fps continuous shot mode and features 1/16000 second shutter speed.

Exclusive to Samsung, Tag & Go connectivity allows the NX mini to pair with NFC-enabled devices, such as smartphones or tablets, simply by touching the two together. Once paired, users can:

Additionally, extensive storage options are integrated into the NX mini and images can be uploaded directly from the camera to the cloud for an easy storage solution. Users can also upload their pictures directly from the NX mini to both Dropbox and Flickr. Dropbox provides 2GB of free storage to users, accessible from just about any device and with Flickr, users can upload up to a terabyte of images.

Samsung has introduced three NX mini lenses (NX-M) which are optimised for use with the NX mini body:

The NX-M 9mm F3.5 ED lens has an ultra-slim design and its wide angle makes it the ideal choice for those capturing landscapes and self-portraits. This lens also provides the optimum angle for taking selfies, ensuring the camera becomes the go-to choice for those looking to share the best of them.

The NX-M9-27mm F3.5-5.6 ED OIS lens offers a variety of shooting options from wide-angle to telephoto shots, with optical image stabilization for sharp results.

The Samsung NX mini comes with a 16 GB memory card and is now available in India at a special launch price of  Rs. 22,990 (9mm Lens) and Rs. 27,490 (9-27mm Lens) on http://www.amazon.in. As a launch offer, customers will also get a Samsung Backpack worth INR 1,999 free along with the camera.

Panasonic launches Eluga A smartphone at Rs 9,490

Panasonic India has launched Eluga A, the second smartphone in its Eluga range, at Rs 9,490. The phone will be available for purchase starting August 15 in black and white colour variants. 


Based on Qualcomm reference design, Eluga A sports a 5-inch IPS FWGA (480x854p) display. The phone is powered by a 1.2GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 200 quad-core processor and 1GB RAM, and comes with 4GB internal storage. The phone comes with a microSD card slot that supports cards up to 32GB capacity. 

The phone runs Android 4.3 Jelly Bean with Panasonic's Fit Home UI that facilitates single-hand usage,. 

Panasonic Eluga A sports an 8MP autofocus rear camera and a 1.3MP front facing camera. It comes with a 2000 mAh battery. 

The Eluga A offers features like Qualcomm Audio+ audio enhancement technology, Voice+ voice enhancement technology, Qualcomm's BatteryGuru for efficient power management, and Quick Charge for up to 40% faster charging, as per the company. 

Eluga A also features support for major Indian languages allowing users to browse the web, chat and navigate the phone menu in their local language. 

The dual-sim phone supports 3G, Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n, Bluetooth 3.0, A-GPS and FM radio.

Microsoft launches 'most affordable' Lumia 530 in India

Microsoft on Wednesday launched the Lumia 530 Dual SIM smartphone, the 'most affordable' Lumia to date, in India. The phone is priced Rs 7,349 and will be available in stores from August 14, 2014.

Lumia 530 comes with the latest version of Windows 8.1, with updates such as the one swipe notification from the Action Center and the World Flow keyboard. It comes with changeable cover shells in bright orange, bright green, dark grey and white. 

The phone has a 4-inch display with a screen resolution of 480 x 854 pixels. It has a 1.2Ghz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon processor. 

With a RAM of 512 MB, Lumia 430 has an on-board memory of 4 GB and expandable memory of up to 128 GB. Microsoft also offers an additional 15 GB of free cloud storage on its OneDrive, allowing users to sync, store, access and share files between Lumia 530 and computers, laptops and tablets.

The phone has 5 MP rear camera, but no front-facing camera or flash.

The Lumia 530's dimensions are 119.7 x 62.3 x 11.7mm, and it weighs 128 grams. It has connectivity options of GPRS/ EDGE, 3G, Wi-Fi (802.11 b/g/n), Bluetooth (4.0), GPS and Micro-USB. 

Microsoft is looking to target the youth with the Lumia 530 in the affordable smartphone segment.

“We, at Microsoft Devices, are committed towards helping people experience the uncompromised technologies and services that we offer on our Lumia devices. Lumia 530 builds on the legacy and success of Lumia 520 and will help us consolidate our position in this segment further,” said Viral Oza, Director-Marketing, Nokia India, a subsidiary of Microsoft Mobiles Oy.
 
“With its innovative design, the latest Windows Phone 8.1 and signature Lumia experiences, the Lumia 530 3G Dual SIM is the perfect device for those who are looking for a distinctive smartphone,” he added.

In India, the phone comes with special offers. Phones bought through the Windows Phone Snapdeal app will get Rs 3,000 off. Buyers can also win six free movie tickets from BookMyShow when they book seats to any show through the app.

When can I get an iPhone 6?

History tells us that the new iPhone 6 will be released on September 9 (Picture: AFP/Getty)

The wait is over. We now know that there will be a big Apple event on September 9 2014.

Apple is holding a large press event where the iPhone 6 is almost certainly being introduced. While the secretive Apple will not yet disclose the details of the event, history tells us that the iPhone 6 will make its debut with iOS 8 available for immediate download.

Traditionally, Apple has released a new phone every year at almost exactly the same time. Many people have therefore concluded that this will in fact be the launch date and all the details regarding the iPhone 6 will finally be released.

If the launch date does turn out to be September 9, then it is looking increasingly likely that the phone will go on sale on the Friday of the following week, as this is the pattern that Apple has followed when launching previous models.

Most likely iPhone 6 preorder and sales dates

According to Aaron Basil, Lead Mobile Application Developer at Ethervision,

If Apple’s iPhone launch history serves as any indicator, then people can expect to preorder the iPhone 6 starting Friday September 12 with the first wave of devices arriving in home and ready for sale at all outlets by September 19.

Further weight is given to this conclusion by the fact that it is rumored that staff in Apple stores have been told that they are unable to book off any annual leave surrounding these dates.

Don’t forget about iOS 8

To create as much buzz on September 9, Apple will also most likely release iOS 8 to the masses. This is a perfect way to transfer the excitement into the hands of current iPhone users so they are salivating to get a new (and most likely bigger screened) iPhone 6.

When iOS 8 is released then there are likely to be a number of new features that have deliberately been kept hidden from the public and iOS developers in beta builds in order to give people something to look forward to. This is a good way for Apple to build huge amounts of anticipation.

Because Apple is unlikely to hold an event just to announce iOS 8, this further lends to the reality of 9/9/14 being the date the iPhone 6 is announced.

Microsoft launches low budget 'Nokia 130' for just NZD 30

Microsoft has launched a low budget phone 'Nokia 130', which can play music and videos but no internet capabilities, available for just 30NZ dollars.

The Nokia 130 comes in single and dual-SIM card varieties but does not have internet capabilities. Instead, it's optimized for playing music and videos.

The handset boasts up to 46 hours of music playback time and 16 hours of video playback. It can remain on standby without needing to charge for a month. Music and videos can be stored locally on the device with an SD card, and the phone itself can store up to 32 GB, Adweek reported.

The Nokia 130 also comes equipped with an FM radio, flashlight and 1.8-inch LCD display.

Microsoft understands the importance of hooking customers in developing markets, particularly Africa. Microsoft's Jo Har low said that Microsoft doesn't have any other project that can reach these consumers, the report said.

Motorola Moto G2 could be coming soon

Motorola has already manufactured the successor of the Moto G smartphone. Moto G proved out to be the all-time best seller Android phone, with this device the company also started a price war in India which in deed helped bring down prices of most smartphones. Now the company is prepping for the launch of the Moto G2 smartphone, which will follow the footsteps of its predecessor by maintaining a low price tag.

We also expect Motorola to launch the Moto X+1 smartphone sometime in the coming months at Berlin. Moto X+1 will shift its focus from user experience to spec war and is likely to come with high end specs like Snapdragon 801, 5-inch 1080p display and 2GB RAM. About Moto G2 smartphone, we think it is likely to come with a 5-inch 720P display, Snapdragon 400 processor and 1GB RAM.

Moto G2 is also said to come with upgraded set of cameras; the rear camera will have a resolution of 8-MP while the front facing camera will have 2-MP resolution. And don’t forget the regular software updates for the device from Google. Xiaomi has already created a price war in the market to which Motorola responded with a Rs 2,000 price cut in Moto G. Do you think Motorola will keep the price of this device above 15K? Let us know what you feel about the Moto G2 smartphone.

Intex launches Aqua Style Android 4.4.2 KitKat phone at Rs 5,99

Supporting dual-SIM functionality, the smartphone comes with a 5 MP rear camera.

Intex Technologies has added another smartphone to its Aqua series, called Aqua Style. The phone runs on Android 4.4.2 KitKat operating system and is powered by 1.3 GHz quad-core processor along with 1 GB of RAM and 4 GB ROM. The smartphone comes with a 5 MP rear camera and offers shooting modes like panorama, HDR and continuous shot.

Supporting dual-SIM functionality, the phone supports Bluetooth 4.0 and WiFi. Available in two colors – white and black, the device is priced at Rs. 5,990. Intex is also offering a free flip cover with it. The phone is available at Intex retail stores, and leading e-commerce portals across India.