Friday, March 20, 2015

10 Tips For Taking Best Shots Using Your Everyday Smartphone

Even though digital SLR prices have fallen considerably, but the reality is that not many would like to invest their money in a category that's bound to fade away with time. 

Well, there's no doubt that an entry-level DSLR camera with a good lens will easily beat a premium camera-centric smartphone. One thing we need to realize is that your smartphone is always with you, so why carry unnecessary bulk?

 Today, smartphone cameras have largely replaced point-&-shoot cameras for casual photo shooting. Even a budget smartphone camera is capable of taking much better shots compared to previous generation devices in the same league.

The question is - are today's smartphones capable of shooting professional-grade photos? Not really...but we can get some terrific shots by tweaking the settings and knowing a few tricks.



Get the appropriate light 
One of the biggest problems with mobile phone cameras: they hardly perform well in low light settings. To solve this issue, make sure you take photos under natural light settings. You can shoot images by going near to windows or doors when taking pictures indoors.  

Ignore Digital Zoom 
While an optical zoom will actually magnify the subject of your shots, it does nothing to enhance the quality of the image. Instead, you should always move closer to your subject. 

Hold Steady 
Holding your phone steady is rather critical while shooting a picture. Always make sure you have a good grip on your smartphone. Try to not move it at all while taking the shot as it may lead to a blurry photo, especially if your camera doesn't have an in-built in image stabilizer. 

Check the background 
Always check the background of the photo. That's an important element when you learn photography.

Follow the Rule of thirds
The rule of thirds is a simple and easy trick you can use when composing your photos. Just imagine that the frame is split into three equal sections vertically and horizontally, as pictured. Place your subject along one of the vertical lines, or where a horizontal and a vertical lines intersect; then place the horizon along one of the horizontal lines. Try different camera apps While smartphones come with native a camera app, there may be better options available on the Google Play Store. There are dozens of free camera apps available that could be seen as an alternative to your smartphone's camera app. 

Learn how to use your camera modes
Almost every smartphone these days come with embedded camera modes. Some phones have advance camera modes, while others have standard camera settings. Knowing how to use these modes will sharpen your photography skills. 

Clean your camera lens
Generally, smartphone cameras tend to have lenses exposed. That's why once should clean it from time to time. 

Use the Flash with utmost care
Of course, a flash generally helps solve the lighting limitations of smartphone cameras. But make sure you use a flash with utmost care. A flash that's too bright can ruin the image. 

Use HDR mode Instead of a flash, try to use the High Dynamic Range (HDR) mode. These days even a low-end camera phone has this mode. Using the HDR, you will capture a range of tones and colors that often results in far better images.

Read more at: http://www.gizbot.com/mobile/10-tips-taking-best-shots-using-your-everyday-smartphone-023630.html

5 Reasons Why Your Smartphone Is Not Charging

Some of you may have experienced a smartphone that won’t charge smoothly and surged out to buy another charger to get it fixed. In case you’re having battery issues with your gadget, for example, not charging, here is our aide for how to settle it and get your battery working efficiently once more. 
The trouble

The trouble happens in different appearances. Either your smartphone won’t charge AT ALL when it is connected to, or it just charges gradually (once in a while scarcely speedier than it is draining). It’s an commonly seen problem, and one I’ve experienced with gadgets myself, so here are a couple of easy fixes.

USB port fix




The fastest, least demanding, and frequently best arrangement, is just to do a little DIY repair on your genuine hardware. The issue is all the time that the metallic surfaces inside the USB port and the microUSB charger are not reaching, either through an assembling fault or due to the ceaseless stopping and unplugging of the charging link.

You should do nothing more than close down your gadget, take out the battery if conceivable and use something little, in the same way as a toothpick, to ‘lever up’ the little tab inside the USB port on your phone or tablet. Do it very gently, then reinsert your battery and plug it in once more. Nine times out of ten this is all that is required.

Switch cables

The most dramatic piece of a charger is obviously the cable, not the adapter that attaches into the wall socket. On the off chance that your gadget is having charging issues and the previous fix didn’t work, you may have a flawed cable. Before you surge out to purchase another adapter, simply snatch an extra USB cable from any other gadget and give it a try. Generally the cable will shred inside in light of the fact that it is always being nestled into, on and so forth.

On the off chance that the cable doesn’t appear to be the issue, check the wall plug adapter, that may be the issue. Additionally, make sure that the same charger & cable works with an alternate gadget as this will help you kill the chance that it is your gadget, not the cable or charger.

Source: Gadgetstouse

Sony launches its Internet TV service PlayStation Vue

Japanese conglomerate Sony has launched its PlayStation Vue, an InternetTV service accessible, just through its gaming console, but the product is only being sold in New York, Philadelphia and Chicago presently.
The entry-level price of PlayStation Vue is US $49.99 a month.
PlayStation Vue, which is offering 7-day free trials, is the latest in a series of TV services to hit the Web in recent months. Warming to such services shows how networks and TV providers have recognized the long-term importance of appealing to an Internet-based video.
Sony said it is introducing Vue as an entertainment solution for households that already have the company's PlayStation 3 and 4 gaming consoles
CNET quoted Daniel Myers, Vue's head of products, as saying, "That gamer household is something we've defined even further. Lots of people use these platforms to consume Netflix and other digital media. The household is bigger than just the guy who bought the PlayStation."
Vue streams live, on-demand and DVR TV over the Internet. The company also has an iPad application in the works.
Though Vue is limited for now to New York, Chicago and Philadelphia, Myers said Sony will add more US cities later this year. 
Source: DNA

5 best features of the Samsung Galaxy S6


Samsung completely rethought how it makes phones to come up with the Galaxy S6. It doesn’t have a removable battery or a microSD card slot, but it does have a slick new design and a number of awesome features that could lure even committed iPhone users over to the Android side of the fence. Let’s check out the five coolest features of Samsung’s new flagship.

A better fingerprint reader

There was a fingerprint reader built into the Galaxy S5, but it was really just there as a novelty — a checkbox so Samsung could compete with Apple. The home button isn’t a particularly comfortable location for a fingerprint sensor in the first place, and the Galaxy S5 required you to swipe your finger across it. Not good. The Galaxy S6 gets the fingerprint sensor right, though. All you have to do is press, just like Apple’s Touch ID.
The home button on the GS6 is a little larger to accommodate the touch-based sensor, but it seems quite snappy. You can teach it several finger patterns, although it takes a lot of presses to get them set up.

Samsung has tied the fingerprint reader into a number of services like PayPal, Samsung Pay (which we’ll get to soon), and the Android security settings. The fingerprint reader can unlock the phone, of course, but it can also unlock securely saved files and data stored in Samsung’s private mode. This requires you have Knox active, so modifying the device will usually disable it.

Wireless charging and Fast Charging

Samsung opted to do away with the removable battery in the Galaxy S6, which will no doubt enrage some long-time Galaxy users. It does, however, come with an important upgrade. Samsung used to sell additional back covers for its devices to enable wireless charging, but that will be included with the Galaxy S6.

Samsung has tied the fingerprint reader into a number of services like PayPal, Samsung Pay (which we’ll get to soon), and the Android security settings. The fingerprint reader can unlock the phone, of course, but it can also unlock securely saved files and data stored in Samsung’s private mode. This requires you have Knox active, so modifying the device will usually disable it.

Wireless charging and Fast Charging

Samsung opted to do away with the removable battery in the Galaxy S6, which will no doubt enrage some long-time Galaxy users. It does, however, come with an important upgrade. Samsung used to sell additional back covers for its devices to enable wireless charging, but that will be included with the Galaxy S6.
The wireless payment system at work in the Galaxy S6 is based on technology acquired from LoopPay. It’s capable of beaming the data saved from your card’s magnetic stripe wirelessly to a standard card reader. This is called Magnetic Secure Transmission (MST), and it works by generating a rapidly changing magnetic field with a range of about three inches.
Samsung says this should work on about 90% of magnetic stripe readers, but some very old terminals might fail to recognize the signal. Still, it’s probably your best shot at leaving your wallet at home.

Faster camera

Samsung had long been at the top of the heap when it comes to Android camera performance, and it looks like the Galaxy S6 will continue that tradition. We’re still looking at a 16MP sensor, but the aperture is larger at F1.9. That should mean better low light performance, which was the only weak point of the Galaxy S5’s camera.

he camera on the Galaxy S6 also has improved launch and capture speed. Samsung says you can get the camera open and ready to take a snapshot in 0.6 seconds. It also has a feature called fast-tracking auto-focus that allows the software to intelligently track an object that is moving to keep it in focus.

Theme engine

There were rumors leading up to the announcement that Samsung was going to slim down TouchWiz this year, but that might have been an overstatement. Samsung’s custom UI layer is still on display with Lollipop on the Galaxy S6. However, you can finally change the way it looks significantly. Samsung has added a theme engine that can change the colors, icons, wallpaper and more with a single tap.
The Galaxy S6 will ship with a theme store containing a selection of themes, both free and paid. There’s an Avengers theme, a stereotypically pink girly theme, and a few more. While TouchWiz has some odd color choices, it is consistent and not really bad looking any more. Some of the themes that have been demoed at MWC are irredeemably ugly, and it’s all or nothing. You can’t apply just the icons or wallpaper, for example. That doesn’t mean there isn’t potential, though.
Samsung hasn’t offered details on whether or not third-parties will be able to add themes to the store. We can only hope, though. I’m confident someone will make a “Nexus” flavored theme shortly after release if at all possible.
Source: Geek

Google’s Places API for Android, iOS brings better location awareness

When you tell someone where you are in the world, you rarely give out your longitude and latitude (unless your name is Walter White). That’s because you probably don’t know it, can’t find it, or just plain don’t care. Today, Google figured out longitude and latitude are cool and science-y, but not useful for consumers. With their new Places API for Android and iOS, Google is letting Developers tap into your location signal to actually let people know where you are, not your coordinates.

With the new API, Developers will get info on the place you are, replete with detailed info like a name and address. The new API also supports autocomplete, just like you find with Google Maps.

If the API can’t identify your place, you can add it! A widget within the API allows for us to specify places we are. Next time you’re grabbing a burrito from that sketchy food cart, drop a pin and tell Google why you’re spending so much time there.

This has been lying in wait for some time, as the JavaScript library has been available for web apps for quite some time. now that it’s coming to Android and iOS, expect Developers to implement it quickly.

Source: Google Developers

Bye bye microSD? Samsung working on 128GB flash storage for mid-range phones

Samsung has announced that it is developing superfast 128GB flash storage for future mid-range smartphones and tablets, indicating that the Korean tech giant could dump expandable microSD storage options.
Until now, 128GB internal phone storage has been associated exclusively with high-end flagship phones like the Samsung Galaxy S6, which uses the new eMMC 5.1 standard. Mid-range phones will get 128GB of Samsung's new 3-bit eMMC 5.0 NAND memory, which the company claims is is fast as eMMC 5.1.
Jung-Bae Lee, Senior vice president of Memory Product Planning at Samsung, told Samsung's official blog:
“With the introduction of our value-focused, 3-bit NAND-based eMMC 5.0 line-up, we expect to take the lead in the expansion of high-density mobile storage”.
Samsung also talked about how the new flash storage technology is capable of carrying out random read/write operations up to 10 times faster than a typical microSD card. This comparison suggests to us that Samsung is looking to use the new 128GB storage as a replacement to the microSD card in mid-range devices. This would be in line with the Galaxy S6, in which Samsung dropped the option of expandable storage.

Source: Androidpit

LG G Pad 8.0 Now Available For Purchase In India

LG's mid-range tablet, the G Pad 8.0 is now up for grabs in India carrying a price tag of Rs. 17,999. The tablet was announced last year in July, so it has taken a while to land in the country. The company will offer a free flip cover for the tablet as well, which is a good freebie to get along with the device.

The pricing appears to be a little too steep, considering the amount of competition it faces in the country. Xiaomi's recently launched Mi Pad 7.9 offers substantially improved hardware for a fraction of the cost, so we think LG needs to rethink the pricing strategy of the tablet for it to have any impact on the market.
LG G Pad 8.0 specifications:
· 8.0-inch 1280x800 display
· 342 grams, 9.9mm thickess
· 5MP primary camera
· 1.3MP front camera
· 1.2 GHz quad core Snapdragon 400 chipset
· 16GB of storage
· 1GB of RAM
· Android 4.4 KitKat
· 3G support
· 4,200 mAh battery
LG will offer the G Pad 8.0 in black and white color variants. Even though the tablet has 3G support, it doesn't support voice calling over cellular networks, so your usage will be limited to browsing and downloading content. The company is endorsing the QPair 2.0 feature, which pairs the device with other smartphones to offer call and message notifications when your phone is away.
The smartphone will be available directly through Snapdeal, where the retailer has an additional 5% off for customers of HDFC Bank debit cards.
Source: Gizmodo

OnePlus One likely to get a price hike in India soon

OnePlus has announced today that the prices in Europe for its One 16GB and 64GB variants have been increased. The elevated prices will be effective from March 25, and the company has also hinted that India could see a similar price hike.
“In response to the falling value of the Euro, OnePlus has made the difficult decision to adjust pricing for the OnePlus One in the EU. This new pricing strategy affects only those nations using the Euro. We have not yet finalized our pricing policy for India but our Indian users can expect an announcement regarding our pricing strategy in the near future,” the company said in a statement.
This pretty much confirms the price hike even though the company has not announced the amount or a timeline for the increase. If you are looking to purchase an OnePlus One, it is wise to pick one up now, before the revised prices are official. The One Plus One 16GB variant goes on an open for an hour between 1.00PM to 2.00PM today. On March 24, OnePlus is giving away the 16GB and 64GB variant without any invitation on Amazon India starting 10.00AM.
The price hike will definitely affect the sales of the One in India. The smartphone vendor competes aggressively with Xiaomi and other local players who offer similar hardware at similar competitive prices. The Euro prices have bumped up to €299 for the 16GB variant, and €349 for the 64GB variant. The original prices were €269 for the 16GB variant and €299 for the 64GB variant.
The current price of the OnePlus One in India is Rs 18,999 for 16GB, and Rs 21,999 for 64GB. To recap on the specifications, the OnePlus One flaunts a 5.5-inch full HD (1920×1080 pixels) display, and is powered by a 2.5GHz Snapdragon 801 quad-core processor paired with 3GB of RAM. Additionally, it also features a 13-megapixel rear camera, 5-megapixel front-facing camera, and a 3,100mAh battery. On the software front, the smartphone runs on Cyanogen OS 11, but will soon be updated to the company’s Oxygen OS.
Source: Bgr

Samsung Galaxy S6 And Galaxy S6 Edge Launching In India On March 23

Samsung is expected to bring the Galaxy S6 and the Galaxy S6 Edge to the Indian market in April, with pre-orders starting on the 23rd of March. A new report now claims that the company intends to sell about 55 million units of the two handsets globally before the end of the year.

We've seen the company set lower sales estimates before, but the sort of demand it has seen from retailers across the world has apparently made them increase these estimates.
The company is expected to sell 22.5 million units of the smartphone by the end of the second quarter, so it's clearly aiming high. Samsung's forecast for the fourth quarter is a little low which is understandable as Apple's new range of iPhones are expected to hit the markets.
The manufacturer only expects to sell about 12.5 million units during this period. The launch of the Galaxy Note 5 might also have a part to play in the reduced sales forecast for the fourth quarter.
The Galaxy S6 and the Galaxy S6 Edge are just the kind of devices that Samsung needed to make a comeback in the mobile industry. Although it's still too early to tell if the handsets will have a major impact on the markets, there's no denying that the Galaxy S6 will be something to look out for this year. HTC's One M9 might not have a big role to play in 2015 given the flak it has received so far regarding overheating issues
Source: Gizmodo

US Navy will fire fighter jets into the air with electromagnets

For the last 60 years, the US Navy has launched fighters from carrier decks using steam catapults. While that made for some atmospheric Top Gun shots, the jerky motion adds wear-and-tear to aircraft and pilots alike. The military is now ready to test the next generation Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System (EMALS) aboard the new USS Gerald R. Ford after successful land trials (see the video below). EMALS uses a prescribed dose of electromagnetic energy to smoothly launch a variety of aircraft at the precise speeds needed, reducing stress on airframes. It's more adaptable to different aircraft and launch conditions than current catapults, and is well-suited for lightweight drone systems like the X-47B now aboard US carriers.
Starting in June, the Navy will start catapulting "dead loads" into a river. Eventually, EMALS will launch F/A-18 Super Hornets, EA-18G Growlers, E2D Advanced Hawkeyes and other craft aboard Ford-class ships, which can pump out three times the voltage (13,800 volts) of older carriers. It will also catapult the controversial F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, which has already been tested with EMALS at the Lakehurst land proving ground. The Navy's F-35C Lightning II variant recently went through a two-week sea trial with 124 successful "cat shots" on a regular steam launcher and is scheduled to go into service by 2018.

Source: engadget

Sony Xperia J1 Compact With 20.7-Megapixel Camera, 4.3-Inch Display Launched

Sony on Thursday  unveiled its first 'SIM-free' smartphone dubbed the Sony Xperia J1 Compact (D5788) in Japan. The firm will launch the device with NTT DoCoMo on April 20. It will be up on pre-orders starting March 27 with a price of JPY 59,184 (approximately Rs. 30,000).
The Sony Xperia J1 Compact (D5788) is company's first LTE communication "PLAY SIM" device with MVNO (mobile virtual network operator) support, that provides voice calls plans on NTT DoCoMo tailored to consumer needs, says Sony.
Coming to the specifications of the Xperia J1 Compact (D5788), the smartphone runs Android 4.4.4 KitKat OS and features a 4.3-inch HD (720x1280 pixels) display. It packs a 2.2GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 processor coupled with 2GB of RAM.
The 16GB of inbuilt storage on Xperia J1 Compact can be expanded via microSD card (unknown capacity). The device boasts of 20.7-megapixel rear camera with flash just like Xperia Z3, and a 2.2-megapixel front facing camera.
Connectivity options on the handset include 4G LTE, GPS/ A-GPS, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0, and NFC. With a 2300mAh non-removable battery, the Sony Xperia J1 Compact (D5788) weighs 138 grams and measures 128x65x9.7mm. This device also comes with IPX5/ IPX8 water and dust protection ratings.
Earlier this week, Sony launched the Xperia E4 Dual in India, priced at Rs. 12,490. Based on Android 4.4.4 KitKat, the Sony Xperia E4 Dual features a 5-inch IPS LCD display with a qHD (540x960 pixel) display, and is powered by a 1.3GHz quad-core MediaTek MT6582 processor coupled with 1GB of RAM. It bears 8GB of inbuilt storage that is expandable via microSD card.
Other specifications of the Xperia E4 Dual include a 5-megapixel rear camera with LED flash, a 2-megapixel front-facing camera, and a 2300mAh battery that Sony claims provides two days of battery life.

Source : NDTV