iPhone Touch ID - All That Matters & All You Should Know

The brand new iPhone 5S isn't a big shot upgrade over the iPhone 5, but it does have something, I'd say 'innovative' - the Touch ID. As rumored, it's your fingerprint scanner that leads to a few interesting use cases. As Apple calls it, the sensor takes fingerprint scanning to an entirely new level with 500 PPI resolution. This means that it can scan your fingers very accurately to identify you uniquely. The sensor itself is just 170 microns in thickness and is capable of scanning in every possible direction; called 360 degree scanning.

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What are the possible uses of Touch ID Fingerprint Scanner?

1. The home button which has the sensor retains its old functionality and acts as your quick resort to the home screen from any app.
2. It adds an extra level of security to your Apple store purchases.
3. It adds extra authentication to your iTunes digital downloads.

You will be able to authenticate yourself to iBooks by using your fingerprints. The feature is only available on iOS7; which by the way will make it to compatible Apple devices on September 18.

It's not clear whether the apple will allow multiple user accounts on the same iPhone using the new technology, but it'd definately be something to look forward to.

Security

Apple has promised that the fingerprint data is encrypted and stored in the A7 chip. The data will never be stored in the iCloud or even backed up on Apple's servers. Also, it's not clear how deep access will the developers have to the scanned data for innovative integration in their own apps.

The question is - do all these features push the game forward to the other players? Do you expect Samsung and other manufacturers to include the fingerprint scanners in their devices in coming months?

iPhone 5s and Apple A7's 64-bit architecture: What does it mean?

Apple launched two new iPhones, the iPhone 5c and iPhone 5s, at a special event on Tuesday. While the iPhone 5c sports almost the same internals as the iPhone 5, the iPhone 5s is Apple's new flagship that boasts of many "forward-looking" features as per Apple's claims, including a custom A7 chip (ARMv8 based), which boasts of 64-bit architecture, powering the phone, a first for a smartphone.

This means that the iPhone 5s would be the first mobile ARM chip with 64-bit support. According to Apple the chip has 64-bit desktop-class architecture, a modern instruction set, 2x general-purpose registers, 2x floating point registers, and over 1 billion transistors. While all this sounds too technical, it essentially implies that the architecture of the new chip should result in performance improvements.

In desktop computing, a 64-bit processor can perform tasks at double the speed of a 32-bit one as it can address more volatile memory or RAM. With double the address size, 64-bit processors can transfer data twice as fast. But a lot also depends on the amount of RAM built-in, and Apple has not shed any light on this (it usually does not). So, until a hardware review site actually investigates it, most figures, including number of cores and clock speeds, will remain a mystery. However, Apple has said that the processor is twice as fast as the iPhone 5 and up to 40 times faster than the first iPhone. 

However, not all these gains are derived from the switch to 64-bit, as hardware gurus at Anandtechpointed out from the launch event: "So just to be clear, the 2X increase in performance is not from the move to 64-bit." 

64-bit software will be needed to utilise the capabilities of the hardware, and Apple is shipping a 64-bit version of its mobile operating system, iOS 7 complete with 64-bit kernel, libraries and drivers along with optimised native apps with the iPhone 5s. So, all these apps will work much more efficiently. Even third party apps can be easily compiled for 64-bit architecture. As Donald Mustard from Epic games, the company behind the Infinity Blade games series said while demoing Infinity Blade III, it took them about two hours to compile the game for 64-bit.

Even if Apple doesn't ship the iPhone 5s with tons of RAM, it appears that it wants to prepare developers to make a transition to 64-bit apps making sure it's the first one to jump the gun, when smartphones make the switch. For now, because of the 64-bit kernel, one can expect a faster browser and app loading times, smoother video and audio playback, and faster calculations. Camera engine performance will also be improved, with faster autofocus and capture just some of the benefits implied.

The Apple A7's support for ARMv8 also implies goodies like full-virtualization support. It is also backward compatible with its 32-bit, therefore existing apps will face no real issues. The new custom chip also supports OpenGL ES version 3.0 graphics standard, which together with the 64-bit architecture, implies much improved graphical prowess, something that we can better hope to appreciate once Apple brings the A7 to the next-generation iPad and iPad mini, as expected.

Interestingly, with the inclusion of the M7 co-processor, which takes care of the sensor data processing on the device, allowing fitness, motion-sensing and voice-recognition based apps to function without draining the battery significantly, or decreasing total available processing power. This design, of offloading tasks to another processor for the sake of battery life and performance, is something we've been seeing other manufacturers attempt, such as Nvidia with its companion core on the Tegra 4, and Motorola's X8 computing system.

Just how the Apple A7 compares with its contemporaries, is something we'll have to wait and see, once the iPhone 5s gets launched and makes its way to the benchmarks.
Source:NDTV

Seagate announces 500 GB HDD for mobile devices.

Seagate has officially taken the wraps off its new Ultra Mobile HDD that is designed exclusively for mobile devices. The hard drive is integrated with Seagate’s Mobile Enablement Kit, which also includes Seagate’s Dynamic Data Drive software technology.

The newest storage solution will deliver up to 7x the storage capacity of the conventional 64GB drives, while matching the power consumption, performance and reliability of a flash device.

Seagate’s new Mobile Enablement Kit is said to bring PC-like storage capacity and help manufacturers to make thinner and lighter tablets. The popular HDD maker has also worked on couple of key areas like shock management, heat, vibration and gyroscopic motion in order to deliver the best experience.

The Ultra Mobile HDD uses Dynamic Data Driver software address and its intelligent caching design reduces power consumption and improves its overall performance. With up to 500GB of memory, one can potentially store up to 100,000 photos, 125,000 songs or 62 hours of high-definition video and movies on their mobile devices.

ATake's Dancing Water Speaker (AWD-12) Is Officially Awesome

Traditionally, speakers were meant to output audio waves and so does ATake's 2.1 speaker system. But it goes a step or two more by offering a super-cool audio-visual musical experience. What it does is makes water dance all within its glass body, perfectly in sync with the beats of the music you're playing. Watching water streams jetting out of the tiny water cannons, accompanied with colors emitted by LEDs is more amazing to watch than you'd image. That's why we've a video of the system. Check it out yourself -

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Note that ATake's not the first one in the industry to offer such system, but we'd bet their rivals don't come even closer to what it offers. AWD-12 is one of the two systems Taiwan's ATake has developed and both the systems are expected to be made available by the end of this year. The system has subwoofer to handle the lower frequencies and two satellite speakers rated at 25W. The overall frequency range offered by the system is 40 Hz - 18 KHz. The subwoofer boasts of about 8 water cannons while the satellites have 6 rotating jets each. 

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The speaker system connects to your audio device, desktop computer or laptop using a standard 3.5mm stereo output port and derives its power through USB. There's a click-wheel on the front of the sub-woofer that lets you adjust the bas and the height of the water jets. The speakers were available for demo at IFA in Berlin, Germany.

The price of the system will be $200 - $250. But if that's beyond your tiny pockets, the company's readying a single speaker system that will retail for about $60. It will use Bluetooth to pair with the audio players. The company is also deciding on a stereo 2.0 system. 
Source:Gizmag

How To access Gmail Offline in Chrome / Access your Gmail emails offline in chrome.

Gmail Offline is a Chrome extension that allows you to work with your Gmail mailbox even if you don't have an Internet connection. 

Install App

Google has been on-again, off-again with providing its Gmail users with offline access,  a new, HTML5-based solution for people who need to manage their inbox off the grid.

After months of testing, Google is rolling out offline access for Docs, Calendar, and Gmail. While Docs and Calendar aren't immediately available, Chrome users can enable Gmail offline right now. Here's how:

(Credit: Official Google Blog)

1. Head to the Chrome Web Store and install the new Offline Gmail app. Once installed, open a new tab and launch the app.
2. You'll be asked to allow offline mail storage. This is important: if you approve, your inbox data will be stored on the computer you're using--do not allow offline mail storage on a public computer. If you allow, Offline Gmail will launch and start backing up your inbox.

When you're offline, simply launch Chrome and head to the Offline Gmail app. You'll be able to write e-mails, respond, read, apply labels and stars, and archive messages. Once you reconnect to the Internet, the messages you composed offline will be sent.

A few things to note:

• Depending on how much e-mail you have, Offline Gmail will store three to seven days worth of messages and all starred e-mails. So if you need a specific older e-mail available offline, be sure to star it.
• If you'd like to delete your offline inbox from the computer you installed it on, you can. In the Chrome address bar, type chrome://settings/cookies and press Enter. Then, search for "mail.google.com." Hover over all the search results and click the "X" to delete them.
• Uninstalling the Chrome app alone will not remove offline data.

Castrol Rocket - The World's Fastest Motorcycle At Record Speed Of 606 Kmph

The motorcycle aficionados around the world should have taken note of the Castrol Rocket - soon to be the world's fastest motorcycle with a record breaking speed of about 606 Kmph. The machine that doesn't look like a motorcycle at all, for obvious reasons, is first perfectly in the family of previous record holders. The Castrol Rocket is currently undergoing tests at the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah so get ready to break the land speed record for two-wheeled machine. The machine is a creation of three talented engineers - Matt markstaller, Bob Carpenter and Jason DiSalvo who've been working tirelessly on the design, build and ride the world's fastest and the most advanced streamliner. 

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The specs of this motorcycle are very impressive. The bike is equipped with two Triumph Rocket III engines that consume methanol to produce 1000 HP at 9000 RPM and a total torque of 678 Nm. The engine's covered with a Carbon Kevlar Monocoque body that elongates to about 25ft, making it tad difficult to turn and park. But that's not the real problem here. Take a look at the specs sheet below -



Note that the brakes have been accompanied with parachutes - which come handy when you've to slow down the motorcycle speeding at about 600 kmph. Take a look at the following video that shows the bike -

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_profilepage&v=qt7GQx1Uibo
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While the Castrol Rocket is trying to aim for about 400 mph, an engineering team in London that goes by the name 'Bloodhound' is already readying their 1000 mph vehicle [1600 kmph!] to break the record in the next few months. We'll of course bring you the updates from the ground.
Source:Gizmag
Website:http://castrolrocket.com

iPhone 5C Price In India Doesn't Look Cheap At All

When rumours and leaks of the iPhone 5C began to surface, people in countries like India and China were quite excited. Everyone was hoping that Apple has finally paid attention to the two most populated countries in the world with a cheap iPhone. People had hoped that Apple would somehow manage to keep the price between 20,000 to 25,000 rupees, but it was not supposed to happen. Sure, if you live in the US the phone comes in 16GB and 32 GB variants on a two year contract from a service provider for $99 (6,309 INR) and $199 (12,683 INR) respectively. But the unlocked retail versions in US have been priced at $549 (Rs 36,500) and $649 (Rs 43,000). Now keep in mind, the Indian prices will be slightly higher than these prices. So as it may look brands like Samsung, Micromaxx and Karbonn are here to stay as they offer Android smartphones at much cheaper rates.

Now even though the prices might have put you off by now, it’s no harm of going through what the iPhone 5C has to offer. Like most ‘cheap’ yet premium phones this one has been made out of polycarbonate resin and is available in 5 colours. The screen is a 4-inch retina display with 1136x640 pixel resolution. Underneath the hood, you find Apple’s A6 chipset and 1GB of RAM. Your photographic needs will be taken care of with an 8MP rear autofocus camera with flash and 1.2 MP front camera. In terms of connectivity, you have Wi-Fi with AirPlay, Bluetooth 4.0, A-GPS and GLONASS. The only solace, the phone will run the latest iOS 7 out-of-the-box. Apple has also made sure that you do not rely on aftermarket covers and has decided to give you seven “separately sold” colourful silicon rubber cases which cost you $29 (1,847 INR) each.

Now after having a look at the features, will you still go for it? Let us know in the comment section below.