Camera Nikon D600

NIKON D600 IS ONE OF THE NEWEST FULL-FRAME CAMERA

Nikon D600 is one of the newest full-frame DSLRs to hit the Indian market. There’s a lot of hype surrounding it, considering the fact that it’s quite possibly the cheapest full-frame DSLR out there at the current market rate of around Rs. 1,32, 000. The body weighs just 760gm (850gms with battery and memory card).

Features – video shooting capabilities

While typically it’s the norm to speak about the image sensor and resolution in any camera review, it’s the video features that also make the Nikon D600 so interesting, especially for a professional. Here is the camera that finally challenges the Canon 5D Mark II in its video making ability. You can record on MPEG-4 and H.264 formats. Nikon D600 offers two resolutions to shoot video – 1920 x 1080 and 1280 x 720. The former’s frame rate is 30, 25, 24 fps while the latter’s is 60, 50, 30, 25 fps. It can stream uncompressed footage over its HDMI port. Another superb feature of the D600 is time lapse photography.

Maximum recording time for time-lapse photography is 20 minutes. Through the menu, one can set the shooting interval and time. Movie files of time-lapse photography are saved in the 16:9 aspect ratio. It can even output an uncompressed live video stream to external recorders.

Design and build quality

The D600 has a rugged magnesium alloy body on the top and the rear of the camera, but the front plate is plastic. This is one of the main reasons why the D600 is so light. Nikon D600 has dual SD card slots with SDXC and UHS-I support on its right hand side. The D600 uses the EN-EL15 battery that’s also used in some of the other Nikon DSLRs such as the D7000 and D800. To the left of the body are three doors. The topmost one shelters the ports for external mic and audio-out. Sound levels can be manually adjusted in the camera, but a professional would definitely want to use an external one. Below this are the slots for the USB 2.0 port and a mini HDMI connector. The D600 also has an optional Wi-Fi unit, which allows the camera to be controlled remotely from an Android or iOS device. The shutter has been tested for 150,000 cycles.

Image quality

The colour reproduction is extremely good even at higher ISOs. The Nikon D600 has incorporated its newly developed 24.3 MP FX format CMOS sensor (35.9 x 24mm). This sensor provides us with the native wide ISO range from 100-6400. ISO can also go down to 50 and pushed up till 25,600 and still retain accurate colours with minimal noise.

Nexus 7 Android 4.2 have more problem

NEXUS 7 USERS HAVE  MORE PROBLEMS WITH ANDROID 4.2

Jelly Bean might be the latest version of Android yet, but Nexus 7 owners who have updated from Android 4.1 are facing a bevy of problems, if posts on the the Android page on Google Code are anything to go by. Apparently, users are facing issues with performance and Google Talk after upgrading to Android 4.2. Some Nexus 10 users have also reported of facing similar issues.

Google hasn’t confirmed anything yet, but going by the posts on the XDA Developers forum, it seems the performance lag is caused by the Google Currents app. Now, we don’t have a Nexus 7 to actually test it out, but users are reporting that turning off the background sync on Google Currents and re-booting the device fixes the problem. Android 4.2 brings multi-user support for the first time to smartphones and tablets, with which users can create multiple user accounts and use the device as independent users with different IDs. But it seems even this feature is buggy. It appears the OS only allows users defined as the ‘Owner’ of the device to use Google Talk, whereas other users get an error message stating, "This version of Talk can be used only by the owner of the device." This may be due to the current Google Talk app not being compatible with multiple users. Google is yet to comment or acknowledge this issue.These are not the first bugs to be found on Android 4.2. It recently came to light that Google had forgotten to include Decemberin the People/Contacts app, which comes as a stock application in Android. Google has only added 11 months in the calendar year. After November 2012, comes January 2013.

However, Google quickly acknowledged the bug and is in the process of releasing a fix for it by dishing out a minor update in the form of Android 4.2.1 to certain Nexus devices to fix this bug. "We discovered a bug in the Android 4.2 update, which makes it impossible to enter December events in optional fields of the People app (this bug did not affect Calendar). Rest assured, this will be fixed soon so that those of you with December birthdays and anniversaries won't be forgotten by your friends and family," the company wrote in a post.Several posts on XDA forums suggest that the fix is currently available only for the latest Nexus devices such as the Nexus 4 and Nexus 10. However, one should expect other Nexus devices such as the Nexus 7 and the Galaxy Nexus to get the update soon enough.

According to posts by users of the latest Nexus devices, the update is just 1.1MB in size and the build is dubbed JOP40D. The major feature of this version is that it addresses the December event glitch that had been prevalent in the earlier build of Android 4.2. With this update, all other features remain the same as the previous version.

BlackBerry 10 L-Series

BLACKBERRY 10 L-SERIES HANDSET LEAKED

BlackBerry 10 operating system scheduled for January 31, 2013, the leaks of the devices that are set to be launched with it are continuing to pour in. After appearing a few days ago, an upcoming L-Series handset from BlackBerry has surfaced once again, and this time around, leaked images of the BlackBerry 10 smartphone had surfaced on Twitter and then it was swiftly removedPrior to the images being taken down, a website called Tech Suplex had managed to acquire the images and from the images, we can see some of the features of the upcoming BlackBerry 10 interface as well as the battery housed in the handset, with the back panel removed.The images do not show us anything new from what we had seen earlier. However, one image does shed some light on the connectivity features that will be found on the handset when it is launched. The handset features connections such as NFC, VPN, Mobile Hotspot, Bluetooth, Internet Tethering and Wi-Fi.The report also notes that the handset has an incredibly fast boot up time of just 8 seconds. From the images, we can see all the different angles of the handset giving us a fair idea of what to expect once it goes official in early next year.

Previously, a few images surfaced online, which showed a BlackBerry L-Series handset, giving us a glimpse of what we can expect to see once the first BlackBerry 10 handsets arrive.According to a post by CrackBerry.com, one of its readers has posted images on its site of an evaluation unit of an L-Series BlackBerry 10 smartphone. This handset is placed alongside a BlackBerry Bold 9700. From the images we can see that this is a sleek-looking device and in comparison it is a lot thinner than the Bold 9700. This is a good direction Research in Motion is going in, and hopefully for the brand, this handset, along with the new OS, should succeed.Research In Motion (RIM) had announced that it will hold its BlackBerry 10 launch event on January 30, 2013. The event will happen simultaneously in multiple countries around the world. This day will mark the official launch of its new platform, BlackBerry 10, as well as the unveiling of the first two BlackBerry 10 smartphones. Details on the smartphones and their availability will be announced at the event.

 

BlackBerry 10 will offer a large catalogue of the leading applications from across the globe and across all categories, including Games, Productivity, Social, Lifestyle and Leisure, Multimedia and Published Content, as well as applications designed for business and enterprise use.

The BlackBerry 10 platform has recently achieved FIPS 140-2 certification, which means that government agencies will be able to deploy BlackBerry 10 smartphones and BlackBerry Enterprise Service 10 as soon as it is available. The company claims that this marks the first time BlackBerry products have been certified ahead of their launch.  In addition, RIM recently announced that BlackBerry 10 smartphones have now entered more than 50 carrier labs with many more entries expected in the coming weeks.

NOKIA LUMIA 920, 820

NEXT YEAR NOKIA WILL LAUNCH  LUMIA 920, 820

 Windows Phone 8 devices by Nokia are probably the most sought after handsets of recent times. There has been a lot of debate as to when the Nokia Lumia 920 and 820 will be launched in India. The brand recently announced that these devices will hit shelves in Singapore on December 8, 2012. This has led to speculations that these handset will make their way to India too, in December. For those looking forward to the new Windows Phone 8 Lumia handsets, our sources have just confirmed that these handsets are not coming to India this year and will be launched only by 2013. As of now, the official date of availability has not been finalised, but in all likelihood, the handsets should be available in January.

With the prices of the Lumia 920 and Lumia 820 being released, we now have a vague idea about the pricing of the new Lumias when they are launched in India. The Lumia 920 is priced in Singapore at S$899, which roughly translates to Rs 40,750, whereas and the Lumia 820 costs S$699, which roughly translates to Rs 31,700. However, one should not expect the prices to be the same when the handsets come to India—the additional taxes could make the devices cost a bit more.Nokia has a lot depending on the success of these handsets, and we expect them to launch an aggressive marketing campaign prior to the release of these handsets.

Nokia first took the wraps off its Lumia 920 at the Nokia World 2012 event in New York City. Featuring a a polycarbonate body, the Nokia Lumia 920 packs in a Snapdragon S4 processor and a PureView sensor. It also comes with the Blink app, which is the smartphone's Burst mode. The smartphone will feature an LCD display, which is a little better than the HD displays available now.

The Nokia Lumia 920 includes the latest Nokia PureView camera, which the company claims captures five times more light than competing smartphones. It gives bright pictures without flash, even indoors and at night. It also features built-in wireless charging, making it easy to keep the battery topped up throughout the day.

The Nokia Lumia 820 offers exchangeable covers in a range of colours. Both phones have the option of wireless charging, a sensitive touchscreen and Nokia ClearBlack display technology. The Lumia handsets come with the full suite of Nokia navigation applications, including Nokia City Lens and Nokia Music that streams unlimited music directly to the phone.

Gmail users can Use up to 10GB

GMAIL USERS CAN NOW SEND ATTACHMENTS UP TO 10GB

My Friends ,If you are not happy with google's 25mb file attachment limit in gmail, then google's latest announcement should definitely make you glad. Google has now announced to integrate google drive into gmail, thereby allowing users to insert files from drive directly into an email without leaving their gmail.

With drive, users can now send files up to 10gb, which is 400 times larger than what a user sends as a traditional attachment. Also, because a user is sending a file stored in the cloud, all recipients will have access to the same, most-up-to-date version.

"gmail will also double-check that your recipients all have access to any files you're sending. This works like gmail's forgotten attachment detector: whenever you send a file from drive that isn't shared with everyone, you'll be prompted with the option to change the file's sharing settings without leaving your email. It'll even work with drive links pasted directly into emails," said phil sharp, product manager, google, in a blog post.to get started, users can just click on the drive icon while they are composing a message. Google has announced to roll out this feature over the next few days.

KICKASS VIDEO GAME

KICKASS VIDEO GAME

Kickass Video Game :

Continuing our series of absolutely kickass video game levels of all time, this instalment takes the best from three of the most loved video game franchises. All three examples cited here veer off the beaten path of level design and incorporate varied approaches to creating levels that don't just push the plot forward, but deliver memorable experiences. We have levels ranging from those employing the abstract to ones that dial ingenuity and cinematic flair all the way to 11. Let's start off with the crazy one.

Sorrow's River (Metal Gear Solid 3)

Hideo Kojima and his Metal Gear franchise are well known for a brand of typically Japanese quirkiness. The Metal Gear Solid games feature cheesy self-referential humour and characters that break the fourth wall with impunity. However, this sort of inanity is well complemented by Kojima's painstaking attention to detail. A bizarre confluence of these two virtues is best seen in a bizarre boss level where you fight The Sorrow, who's a powerful spirit medium soldier of the Cobra Unit capable of communicating with the dead. This isn't your conventional boss battle as there's no way to kill The Sorrow. That's because you can't kill what's already dead. There isn't any win condition either, since the whole level is an endless walk through a shallow river until the ghost kills you. The idea is to feel the sorrow of those whose lives you had ended through the course of the game.As you wade through the river, all the men you have killed chronologically appear as revenants. This is especially creepy because the game keeps a track of exactly how you've murdered them. Those who've had their throats slit will be seen clutching it, whereas if you had shot someone in the gentleman's area, you'll hear them scream about how they won't be able to have kids anymore. The more disturbing examples include ghosts accusing you of cannibalism if you've eaten a vulture that's, in turn, feasted on an enemy you'd killed earlier. Sorrow's River's sheer ability to keep a track of all you have done through the game and surprise you by reminding you of your misdeeds in the most morbid manner sends its bizarre and hence awesome quotient through the roof.

All Ghillied Up and One Shot, One Kill (Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare)

With its extremely linear and restrictive nature, the Call of Duty series may not win any awards for gameplay, but the game sure knows how to flaunt its cinematic flair. When the first Modern Warfare released, it caught everyone by surprise with its almost Hollywood-like polish and by delivering some truly memorable adrenaline-pumping sequences. Ask anyone who's played COD4 about their favourite part in the game and they'll invariably talk about the "cool sniper level". To be precise, it's the bit where you have the intel and the opportunity to eliminate the main baddie Imran Zakhaev. Like any high value target, this is a job for the sniper; it plays over two levels dubbed All Ghillied Up and One Shot, One Kill.The levels start with you and Captiain MacMillan donning ghillie suits and making your way as ghosts undetected through the outskirts of Chernobyl en route to the sniper's nest deep in the abandoned zone. The entire level is marked by a thick air of tension as you stalk enemy soldiers while moving through the outgrowth. Kills are fast and coordinate surgical strikes, as you clear the perimeter one enemy patrol team at a time. You encounter plenty of heart-stopping moments where you're at spitting distance from an enemy platoon, with only the blades of grass and quick thinking keeping you from getting discovered and subsequently Swiss cheesed.As you move further towards the goal, you come across hazards ranging from radioactive zones and pack of deadly feral dogs to battle tanks replete with foot soldiers for escort. Survive long enough and you are treated to a satisfying sniping segment, where you take a shot from a mile across. This is the kind of level that makes your palms sweat invariably. It's easily the highest point in a game otherwise filled with truly brilliant cinematic sequences.

Unexpected Turbulence (No One Lives Forever)

Among the many underrated gems that couldn't get the recognition that they deserved in the shadow of Half Life, The Operative: No One Lives Forever (NOLF) is the most intelligent game of them all. This First-Person Shooter manages to pull off satire, which is one aspect that has otherwise largely been missing in FPS games. The game puts you in the shoes of Cate Archer. She is the female equivalent of James Bond, who somehow manages to maintain an air of grace and sophistication despite dressing up in the typically 70s styled pastel shaded attire.

NOLF does a terrific job of parodying James Bond's brand of spy movies, even as Cate reacts to the hilarity around her with a subtle nonchalance, incisive sarcasm and wit that's rarely seen in video games. Apart from maintaining highest standards of AI, gameplay and story, the game did an exceedingly brilliant job of delivering the most memorable set pieces. Levels such as Unexpected Turbulence from the original NOLF showed a level of imagination and level design ingenuity that was unprecedented at that time.Unexpected Turbulence involves a typical Cold War routine of escorting a scientist who has defected from the post-war Berlin. What starts out as a safe flight back home after a successful extraction turns into a mid-air hijack. Soon enough, your aeroplane starts falling to pieces and you're left with no choice but to dive out of the burning wreck. What happens next is quite shocking to an FPS gamer who's, until that point of time, used to linear level design comprising long corridors and warehouses brimming with crates.

The entire level takes place in a free fall, and you have to start off by diving off the plane to borrow a parachute from one of the baddies. A polite "Mind if I borrow that?" later, Cate's all ready to land, but soon enough a dozen odd grunts jump off the intercepting plane and open fire. What follows next can be best described as mid-air ballet, and Cate rolls, dodges and dives through the sky—all the while capping baddies in the head. When you finally dispatch the last minion and pull the chute, the level ends in a cutscene that goes back to the grunt we had borrowed the parachute from. Headed straight for a barn sans a parachute, the baddie is shown chanting, "Please be full of hay! Please be full of hay!", right before a very loud thud.

Trend Micro malware

INDIAN USERS AFFECTED BY NEW GAMARUE MALWARE: TREND MICRO

Trend Micro has reported that hotel booking spam has made its way into Indian users’ inboxes. As per the infection statistics, 1.89 percent of Indian Internet users have already been affected. The email purporting to be in the name of one of the hotels has a similar theme to its English-language counterpart as it contains confirmation and details on an alleged booking reservation. Elaborating further on the malware, Trend Micro shares that Gamarue is a family of malware that may be distributed by exploit kits, spammed emails or other malware, and has been observed stealing information from an affected user.One of the Trend Micro’s Manager received this email at his personal email address, and he almost fell for it, given that he travels a lot, until he noticed the address of the hotel. It’s too bad the spammers aren’t as good with geography as making spam; the hotel does not exist in India. While he was initially looking forward to staying at the hotel, having read the excellent reviews on TripAdvisor, the email made it clear that this was, unfortunately, a scam. Meanwhile, the attachment was already flagged and detected by Trend Micro as BKDR_ANDROM.P.“A lot of e-commerce websites pay the price of being popular.  Online travel and hotel market has become an attractive target for cybercriminals given the large volume of transactions on hotel and online sites. A frequent traveler who has done a hotel booking or checked reviews recently, in all probability, would be prompted to click that mail. When a user clicks the attachment in this spam mail, the malware known as Gamarue becomes active. It can steal from an affected user any information left behind on the emails and saved on user’s system”, said Suchita Vishnoi, head, corporate communications, Trend Micro.

Sophistication and persistence of the cyber crimes today has magnified significantly. Simple measures such as installation of foolproof software and using secure websites help in curtailing the menace of cyber threat. Just stop and think before you click on any links or attachments. Trend Micro Smart Protection Network already blocks the related domains and links, as well as blocks the particular email from even reaching users’ inboxes. It also detects and deletes the files as BKDR_ANDROM.P.

Earlier this month, Trend Micro stumbled upon yet another malware that steals image files from all drives of an affected system and then sends them to a remote FTP server. Detected as TSPY_PIXSTEAL.A, this particular malware opens a hidden command line and copies all .jpg, .jpeg, and .dmp files. Both .jpg and .jpeg files pertain to file formats commonly used for images, while .dmp files are memory dump files that contain information on why a particular system has stopped unexpectedly.

As per a security roundup released by Trend Micro recently, it asked Android users to be more careful while downloading apps from Google Play as there has been a sharp increase in the amount of malware found on the app market. According to a security roundup by Trend Micro, the number of high risk and dangerous apps that are targeting Android users has risen, from 30,000 in June to 175,000 in September.

The security company has also reported a rise in the number of aggressive mobile adware that collects information about the users. "Though most adware is designed to collect user information, a fine line exists between collecting data for simple advertising use and violating one's privacy," Trend Micro said. "Because adware normally collect user information for legitimate purposes, they can serve as an effective means to gather more data than some would want to give out."

Motorola Mobility

Motorola Mobility shuts down

Motorola had announced that it was shutting shop in India. In what has come as another nail in the coffin for Motorola Mobility in India, the company has now shut down its website, marking the end of its India operations.

If one happens to mosey over to the Motorola website, and tries to enter it, one is greeted with the text, "Important message to our customers in India".The message reads, “We are streamlining our business and support systems, and unfortunately, we'll no longer have a dedicated website for India. Your local support site will remain open well into the future, and we'll continue to provide support for our existing products. If you are interested in viewing our current products, you can still do so here.”

This shows that Motorola’s affair with India has come to a close, and in all likelihood, we may not see any new products from the brand in India. This will come as some horrible news to those who have been followers of the brand and have opted for its handsets.

Google acquired Motorola Mobility for $12.5 billion in May this year. Motorola Mobility, which separated from the now-independent Motorola Solutions experienced heavy losses last year. Google said in a filing to the US Securities and Exchange Commission, "These changes are designed to return Motorola's mobile devices unit to profitability, after it lost money in fourteen of the last sixteen quarters.”

In August, Motorola Mobility had announced that it will do away with about 40 percent of its vice presidents. The job cuts were forecast to set Google back by $275 million in severance-related charges. As per a report by The New York Times, the move was one of the first steps by Google to reinvent loss-making Motorola, to augment the Android platform, and expand beyond just search and software into hardware manufacturing. Reportedly, the mobile manufacturer has lost $233 million in its first six weeks under Google.

The New York Times reported that one-third of the 4,000 jobs lost would be in the US. The report cited Dennis Woodside, Motorola's then new chief executive, as saying that the company planned to leave unprofitable markets, stop making low-end devices, and focus on a few cellphones instead of dozens. “Woodside also plans to cut the number of devices Motorola makes from the 27 it introduced last year to just a few. He wants to make the company's products cool again by loading them with things like sensors that recognise who is in a room based on their voices, cameras that take crisper photos and batteries that last for days,” the report stated.

Woodside had said Google benefited from many manufacturers’ using Android and repeated Google’s promise that Motorola would have no advantages. He said Motorola would also compete equally with others to build Google-branded Nexus devices, which Google makes with a hardware partner when it introduces new versions of Android.

It is believed that Motorola would continue to sell its products in India till stocks are depleted, and the company's service centres would remain operational for those who are using existing handsets.

Samsung Galaxy Note II

SAMSUNG GALAXY NOTE II UNITS SOLD SINCE LAUNCH

Samsung had announced that the Galaxy Note II had surpassed 3 million sales worldwide since the launch of the phablet in September. In what has come as better news for the South Korean tech giant, global sales of the Galaxy Note II have nowexceeded 5 million units.

In early November, Samsung had announced that the 5.5-inch smartphone is selling at three times the pace of the original Galaxy Note. 10 million units of the Galaxy Note had been sold across the globe since it was launched. To know more about the Galaxy Note II, read our review of this stylus-enabled smartphone. The Samsung Galaxy Note II features most of the specifications that had been written about in the past but Samsung has thrown in a new feature that can potentially change the way mobile phones are used nowadays. Apart from the fact that it features the Android v4.1 (Jelly Bean) out of the box, and is powered by a 1.6GHz quad-core processor, the major talking point about the Galaxy Note II is that it features an all-new Air View feature.

Here is a quick look at the specifications of the Galaxy Note II:

•        5.5-inch Super AMOLED touchscreen with a 1280 x 720 pixel density

•        4G LTE, EDGE, Wi-Fi, Wi-Fi HT40, NFC

•        GPS with GLONASS and A-GPS support

•        Bluetooth v4.0 with USB 2.0 Host

•        8 megapixel AF/ Touchfocus camera, 1.9MP VT Camera, BSI front-facing camera

•        16GB, 32GB and 64GB versions, all with expandable support up to 64GB

•        2GB RAM

•        MHL for AV out

Samsung currently sits at pole position as the largest smartphone manufacturer in the world. The Samsung Galaxy S III and Galaxy Note II are two of the brand's hottest selling devices this year, and this has made Samsung's smartphone sales look good. A recent report by Yonhap, a financial analysis company, estimates that Samsung will have a good fourth quarter, and will sell over 60 million smartphones.Samsung's smartphone shipments are likely to exceed 60 million units in the fourth quarter of this year, proving its prowess in the world's mobile phone market, despite its ongoing patent war with Apple, an investment bank said on Wednesday.

UBS, an investment bank and financial analysis company, estimated that Samsung Electronics will sell 61.5 million units of smartphones in the October-December period, up 5 percent from an estimated 58 million in the previous quarter. The number could reach as high as 63 million depending on the sell-through, or the volume that is actually sold to consumers.

The report stated that a major contributor to these numbers will be the Galaxy Note II that was released in September. Nicolas Gaudois, an analyst at UBS said, “The Galaxy Note 2 has shipped 3 million units in its first five weeks of sales, with sell-through strong in Asia and Europe, and the U.S. gathering pace post-launch. We hence forecast 7 million Galaxy Note 2, compared to our initial expectation of 5 million for the fourth quarter.”

The report goes on to add that the high sales of the Samsung Galaxy Note II may affect the impact of the latest Apple flagship smartphone, the iPhone 5. The Swiss bank notes that the flagship Galaxy S III, which hit the market in late May, continues to show strong performance, with more than 5.5 million units sold in October alone. "We see a limited ramp-down, if any at all, for the Galaxy S III, and we feel comfortable with our 15 million estimate for the fourth quarter of 2012,"Gaudois said.amsung had announced that the Galaxy Note II had surpassed 3 million sales worldwide since the launch of the phablet in September. In what has come as better news for the South Korean tech giant, global sales of the Galaxy Note II have nowexceeded 5 million units.

In early November, Samsung had announced that the 5.5-inch smartphone is selling at three times the pace of the original Galaxy Note. 10 million units of the Galaxy Note had been sold across the globe since it was launched. To know more about the Galaxy Note II, read our review of this stylus-enabled smartphone. The Samsung Galaxy Note II features most of the specifications that had been written about in the past but Samsung has thrown in a new feature that can potentially change the way mobile phones are used nowadays. Apart from the fact that it features the Android v4.1 (Jelly Bean) out of the box, and is powered by a 1.6GHz quad-core processor, the major talking point about the Galaxy Note II is that it features an all-new Air View feature.

Here is a quick look at the specifications of the Galaxy Note II:

•        5.5-inch Super AMOLED touchscreen with a 1280 x 720 pixel density

•        4G LTE, EDGE, Wi-Fi, Wi-Fi HT40, NFC

•        GPS with GLONASS and A-GPS support

•        Bluetooth v4.0 with USB 2.0 Host

•        8 megapixel AF/ Touchfocus camera, 1.9MP VT Camera, BSI front-facing camera

•        16GB, 32GB and 64GB versions, all with expandable support up to 64GB

•        2GB RAM

•        MHL for AV out

Samsung currently sits at pole position as the largest smartphone manufacturer in the world. The Samsung Galaxy S III and Galaxy Note II are two of the brand's hottest selling devices this year, and this has made Samsung's smartphone sales look good. A recent report by Yonhap, a financial analysis company, estimates that Samsung will have a good fourth quarter, and will sell over 60 million smartphones.Samsung's smartphone shipments are likely to exceed 60 million units in the fourth quarter of this year, proving its prowess in the world's mobile phone market, despite its ongoing patent war with Apple, an investment bank said on Wednesday.

UBS, an investment bank and financial analysis company, estimated that Samsung Electronics will sell 61.5 million units of smartphones in the October-December period, up 5 percent from an estimated 58 million in the previous quarter. The number could reach as high as 63 million depending on the sell-through, or the volume that is actually sold to consumers.

The report stated that a major contributor to these numbers will be the Galaxy Note II that was released in September. Nicolas Gaudois, an analyst at UBS said, “The Galaxy Note 2 has shipped 3 million units in its first five weeks of sales, with sell-through strong in Asia and Europe, and the U.S. gathering pace post-launch. We hence forecast 7 million Galaxy Note 2, compared to our initial expectation of 5 million for the fourth quarter.”

The report goes on to add that the high sales of the Samsung Galaxy Note II may affect the impact of the latest Apple flagship smartphone, the iPhone 5. The Swiss bank notes that the flagship Galaxy S III, which hit the market in late May, continues to show strong performance, with more than 5.5 million units sold in October alone. "We see a limited ramp-down, if any at all, for the Galaxy S III, and we feel comfortable with our 15 million estimate for the fourth quarter of 2012,"Gaudois said.

FACEBOOK PRIVACY

FACEBOOK PRIVACY NOTICE MESSAGE

 Message for some time has been seen doing rounds on Facebook, advising users to post a "Facebook Privacy Notice", which in turn will restrict the public use of the material posted by them on Facebook. Though the message has been debunked number of times, but following the footsteps of their obtuse Facebook friends, users are still publishing the same "Privacy Notice".

However, the message is meaningless and makes no sense. Hoax-slayer explains, "The supposed Privacy Notice has no legal standing of any kind and posting it on Facebook will do nothing whatsoever to protect the privacy of users. Reposting this message will do nothing other than spread misinformation and clutter Facebook with even more pointless garbage."

"For those of you who do not understand the reasoning behind this posting, Facebook is now a publicly traded entity. Unless you state otherwise, anyone can infringe on your right to privacy once you post to this site. It is recommended that you and other members post a similar notice as this, or you may copy and paste this version. If you do not post such a statement once, then you are indirectly allowing public use of items such as your photos and the information contained in your status updates," Hoax-slayer explicitly stated.

PRIVACY NOTICE: Warning - any person and/or institution and/or Agent and/or Agency of any governmental structure including but not limited to the United States Federal Government also using or monitoring/using this website or any of its associated websites, you do NOT have my permission to utilize any of my profile information nor any of the content contained herein including, but not limited to my photos, and/or the comments made about my photos or any other "picture" art posted on my profile.

You are hereby notified that you are strictly prohibited from disclosing, copying, distributing, disseminating, or taking any other action against me with regard to this profile and the contents herein. The foregoing prohibitions also apply to your employee , agent , student or any personnel under your direction or control.