Samsung launches the Galaxy Note 800 in India for a hefty price

Samsung has launched its latest Android based tablet, the Galaxy Note 10.1, in India. As usual for Samsung, they have changed the name of the tablet to Galaxy Note 800 for the Indian market.

Other than the name, the Galaxy Note 800 is identical to the model sold internationally. 

However, it does come with a very hefty price tag. Samsung is selling the Note 800 in India for ₹39,900, which is approximately $720, an enormous $221 more than the international model that sells for $499.

In comparison, the new iPad starts at ₹30,500 ($548) for the base 16GB Wi-Fi only model and ₹38,900 ($699) for the base 16GB 3G model. Having said that, Samsung does enjoy tremendous presence and brand value in Asian markets such as India compared to Apple, so it may help offset the high price tag to some extent.

LG launches world’s first 84-inch, 4K 3D TV in Korea

LG has launched the world’s first 84-inch ‘Ultra Definition’ 4K 3D TV in Korea, with plans to release in international markets soon. This gigantic panel has a resolution of 3,840 x 2,160, which is basically four times the resolution of a 1080p display.




The TV, which is named 84LM9600, comes with LG’s Cinema 3D and a whole bunch of other features with 3D in the name. You also get a pair of passive 3D glasses for viewing the 3D content.

While on paper, this display sounds fantastic, but the reality is that there is very little 4K resolution content available at the moment, which means most of the time you’ll be looking at 1080p content quadrupled to its original size, on an 84-inch panel. This, along with the 25 million won (US$22,105) price tag, makes the whole thing hard to swallow. But if you’re someone who has loads of money to spend and want the absolute best TV to watch all the videos you shot using your RED Scarlet camera then this should make a great buy.

The LG 84LM9600 is out in South Korea right now and will be available in North America, Europe, Asia, and Latin America starting in September.

Is Annualization killing Creativity in Games?

“It almost seems like this games are being manufactured a product line”

A lot has been said and written about how the gaming industry is so reliant on the success of established franchises. We’re being served sequel after sequel by the big publishers as the number of few IPs dwindles,  reduced to  the domain of the indie developers plying their trade via digital distribution platforms. However, my recent trip to the annual Xbox spring showcase made me realize that there’s some more serious problem within the sequel culture that’s starting to become a trend in the industry. Microsoft flagship racing series – Forza Motorsport, which seemed to have settled into a pattern of releasing a game every two years, will now seemingly, do so every year.

Talking a page out of the Call of Duty book, the Forza franchise is now set to developing by to  different studios i.e. Turn 10, the original developers of the Forza Motorsport sim racers, who released Forza Motorsport last year; and the playground Games, who will release ForzaHorizon – a more arcade-like approach to  the series,  this year. A near identical scenario is playing out at Codmasters, who released the rally focused Dirt 3 last year, and is set to release the more action-oriented Dirt Showdown this year.
Now, you may argue that annualization isn’t exactly new to the gaming industry; the likes of Need for speed and several sport franchises have been doing it for well over a decade now and with much success. Well, yes and no. Sports franchises like FIFA and NBA 2k are sort of the exception to the rule. Such is the following for these sports that simply new rosters and incremental gameplay changes are enough to prompt annual interest. Things haven’t worked about quite so well Need for Speed though. Only once in two years does EA manage to put a solid NFS game, with garbage like Pro street, undercover, and The Run shoved in between.

                           That said, you could still make a case for racing franchises being annualized, since they’re fairly technology driven and don’t really follow a set premise, allowing developers to put out something different each year. You could even make a case for annualization of Call of Duty, since the games made by two studios have no connection to one another. But what happens when a franchise with a rich backstory and a reputation for delivering great characters and memorable locations goes down the annual route?

              This is where Assassin’s creed finds itself. Ever since the phenomenal success of Assassin’s creed II, Ubisoft has trying to hold tight and replicate that success every year. And grated they’ve succeeded to an extend because the games that followed it weren’t bad by any means, but they didn’t really moved the franchise forward either. There are reports over, 1000 people working on Assassin’s  Creed alone, and it almost seems like that these games are now manufactured on factory production line rather than being the result of creative process.

             I hope Assassin’s Creed III proves me wrong that it reinvigorates the series the way Assassin’s Creed II did, because you can only be satisfied with the same formula year after year so long before it starts to get old and franchise fatigue starts to set in. Just ask Activision; they made that mistake with Guitar Hero.

Samsung has sold 10 million Galaxy Notes worldwide

During the US announcement of Samsung’s latest Galaxy Note 10.1, we found out that the Korean giant has sold 10 million Galaxy Note devices worldwide. The news was brought by Younghee Lee – Samsung’s SVP and head of global marketing.

The impressive number includes sales of both the international Samsung Galaxy Note N7000 and its US sibling, the AT&T flavored, LTE sporting I717. Given that the T-Mobile version of the phoneblet has been on sale for only a week now, we don’t believe that it has contributed heavily to the above sales number.

While 10 million units in a little less than a year might not appear like much by Apple iPhone or Samsung Galaxy S family standards, it is nevertheless an impressive feat for a device, which many branded as unnecessary when launched. The truth is that Samsung put the use of stylus as an input device back in fashion with its Galaxy Note family.

And now that everyone has noticed, we can reasonably expect the upcoming sequel to do even better than the original. What do you think?

Google Maps gets traffic info for over 130 new cities

Yesterday, Google added live traffic to a host of new locations including some 130 smaller US cities and several South American capitals.

Besides the capitals of Colombia, Costa Rica, and Panama, live traffic has been improved and expanded in a host of countries in Europe and America.

The new updates are, of course, available across both mobile and browser-based Google Maps platforms, and Google has implemented a feature which allows you to check typical traffic trends for a given location. This is great if you’re going to a new city, and want to see what kind of traffic you can expect while you’re there.

Check out the feature in action here:

Here’s to hoping we’ll see Google Maps with traffic in even more areas soon!

HP, Acer, Lenovo eye Windows 8 tablets

HP, Acer, Lenovo are expected to release Windows 8 tablets using Intel's most power-efficient chips. Overall, Intel expects more than 20 tablet and convertible designs based on its chips.

Hewlett-Packard, Acer, and Lenovo, among others, are expected to bring out Windows 8 tablets using Intel's latest system-on-a-chip.HP and Acer are working on designs, a source familiar with the vendors' plans told CNET. In addition, details leaked today about a Lenovo ThinkPad Tablet 2, which will also use Intel's Clover Trail system-on-a-chip (SoC).These Intel-based Windows 8 designs are distinctly different from Windows RT tablets that will use ARM chips. Windows RT devices use a version of Windows 8 that does not offer backward-compatibility with the millions of existing Windows software programs. Intel-based systems offer that compatibility.And this is likely just a small sampling of Intel-based Windows 8 tablets slated to hit on October 26, when Windows 8 launches. "We are... tracking more than 20 Windows 8 tablet designs based on our low-power and low-cost Clover Trail Atom SoC in addition to a number of core-based tablets," Intel's CEO Paul Otellini said on July 17.

                      Laptop-tablet hybrids, or so-called convertibles such as Asus' Taichi, are also expected. Taichi uses a faster but less power-efficient Intel Ivy Bridge chip, the same chip that powers ultrabooks and Apple's MacBook Air.Throw the already announced Microsoft Surface Windows RT and Windows 8 Pro products into the mix, and it's obvious the market will get crowded quickly.

                       The ThinkPad Tablet 2 will sport a 10.1-inch IPS 1,366x768 display, weigh in at about 650 grams (1.4 pounds), have a thickness of 9.8mm (0.39 inches), and include an HSPA+ broadband option, according to Techin5