Monday 30 December 2013

2nd Test: India left facing uphill task in Durban

12/30/2013 11:44:00 am CRICKET No comments

2nd Test: India left facing uphill task in Durban

India's Cheteshwar Pujara bats during Day 4 of the second and final Test against South Africa at Kingsmead in Durban. (AFP Photo)

DURBAN: There will be no fairytale ending for India. A maiden Test series win in South Africa is out of the equation, as the visitors stage a grim battle for survival in an effort to go home with honours shared. And the man behind India's predicament is none other than Jacques Kallis, who couldn't have hoped for a better farewell script.

Scorecard | Match in Pics

A marathon 393-minute effort, in probably his last Test innings, saw Kallis notch up his 45th Test century and his team take a 166-run lead. After South Africa were all out for 500 after a rain interruption in the final session, the Indian top-order embarked on Mission Survival. They were 68-2 when bad light stopped play with four overs to go, still needing 98 to avoid an innings defeat.

The light was falling, Dale Steyn, Vernon Philander and Morne Morkel were steaming in, and the pitch had quite a bit to offer. While Steyn was full and straight with a sprinkling of short deliveries, Philander was keeping it well pitched-up. Morkel was just a little short of length, constantly asking questions of the Indian batsmen.

As (6) got drawn to a Philander outswinger and edged it to slips, there was tension in the Indian camp. Dhawan wasn't looking too convincing, but he showed the determination to stick around for two hours. It was a moment of magic by Faf Du Plessis at short mid-wicket that brought about his downfall at the fag end of the day. The left-hander stepped out to left-arm spinnerRobin Peterson and looked to play over mid-wicket, but Faf jumped and plucked the ball out of thin air.

Pujara (32 batting), on the other hand, played with a level of confidence and responsibility that has become a trademark of India's new No. 3. He left a lot of balls and played only when he had to, staying alive for a fight on the final day. Virat Kohli (11 batting) looked equally determined during his half-hour vigil at the crease.

But the hero of the fourth day had to be Kallis (115). His wicket was the one Indians were desperate for and they didn't take the new ball to ensure that he doesn't get his runs quickly in the morning session. It could be interpreted as negative strategy, but Dhoni felt Jadeja had a better chance of taking a wicket with the 100-over old ball than his three pacers with the new cherry in overcast conditions.

Kallis was unfazed. He kept pushing the ball into the gaps, took the singles and completed his century with a glance towards fine-leg. Nightwatchman Dale Steyn (44) had gained in confidence at the other end and the two put on an 86-run sixth-wicket partnership that helped South Africa go past the Indian total of 334.

Kallis was finally dismissed top-edging a slog sweep off Jadeja (6-138) and Dhoni caught the skier. Steyn was dismissed soon after by a below-par Zaheer (2-97) and India expected the lead to be less than 100.

But by then, the pressure was off and South Africans Du Plessis and Peterson played with freedom.

2nd Test, Day 4: India vs South Africa

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India's Virat Kohli bats and South Africa's AB de Villiers watches during Day 4 of the second and final Test at the Sahara Stadium , Kingsmead in Durban. (AFP Photo)

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LG G Flex: First impressions

12/28/2013 10:28:00 am TECHNOLOGY No comments

LG G Flex: First impressions

LG finally introduced its first curved display smartphone in India, the G Flex, at an event in New Delhi. Indian consumers will have to wait till next year to get their hands on the device, as the G Flex will be available in India only in February 2014.

We got a chance to play with the LG G Flex at the event however, and sum up our first impressions below.

When we first held the G Flex in our hands, we were definitely a bit taken aback by its ergonomic curved design, which definitely is the device's USP. The G Flex is curved on its horizontal axis which gives the device's top and bottom edges a curl shape.

The biggest perceived advantage of the G Flex's curve in our limited period usage, is while talking on the device - the design definitely better hugs your face, much like an old landline phone. In terms of gripping, the curve also helps to comfortably hold the device, but the rear is made of plastic, so it can also slip out during long usage.

When compared to some of its close competitors like HTC One Max and the Galaxy Mega 6.3, the G Flex (160.5x81.6x8.7mm) is better to hold and move around thanks to the curve design.

Next big thing which is very much noticeable in the G Flex is its size, the 6-inch display does puts it in the phablet category and does looks like a large device in hands. Notably, we were unable to easily use the G Flex with one hand, as we found it difficult to stretch our thumb across the device. When talking about phablets, we still believe that Samsung's Galaxy Note 3 (151.2x79.2x8.3mm) and Sony'sXperia Z Ultra (179.4x92.2x6.5mm) were better in terms of daily usage because of a more lightweight and sleeker profile.

At the event, we were told that the G Flex can actually 'flex' until it's totally flat, and one of the company representatives even claimed that the South Korean manufacturer has tested the flexibility of the G Flex up to 100 times with about 40 kilograms of weight putting on the device without damaging the G Flex's screen. Let's say in the case, when accidentally sitting on the G Flex.

While we couldn't test it with 40 kilograms of weight, we did press the curve of the G Flex, and it did stretch to be flat. While the display didn't crack, it's not really advisable to do this on a daily basis.

Following closely on the lines of LG's current flagship smartphone, the LG G2, G Flex also features rear physical keys for power and volume controls. LG has equipped the LED light on the rear power key which comes handy for notifications and while taking a selfie. The keys are metallic and offer good tactile feedback, very much like the LG G2. The volume-up button also doubles up as a shortcut key to launch the Quickmemo app on long press and the volume-down button acts as a camera shortcut key on long press when the phone is locked.

The G Flex also includes a number of ports around the edges including the 3.5mm audio jack and the charging port that sits at the bottom panel, while the micro-SIM card slot sits at the left panel of the G Flex. The rear panel includes the primary 13-megapixel camera with an LED flash, which is accompanied by an IR Blaster.

It would be unfair to end the design part without talking about G Flex's self-healing back that has been creating a buzz worldwide. When we wanted to test the self-healing capability of the G Flex, we were sure we needed a scratchy material; unfortunately we didn't carry a knife so we tried our key chain to rub the rear panel and gave it a surface level scratch which was very much visible initially. After some time, we noticed that the scratches were reduced but not completely eliminated. While looking the G Flex from a certain angle, it looked that the scratches were gone, although it was pretty much noticeable. However, we must confess we were impressed and believe that the G Flex can easily handle day-to-day bruises.

Coming to the hardware of the G Flex, it is powered by a quad-core 2.26GHz Snapdragon 800 (MSM8974) processor with an Adreno 330 GPU, and 2GB of RAM. The G Flex easily handled multitasking with ease, and the apps opened and closed instantaneously. Performance wise, the G Flex fared well in our limited testing.

The G Flex sports a 13-megapixel rear camera, and a 2.1-megapixel front-facing camera. During our usage, the camera app opened instantly and did click at good speed without any shutter lag. The G Flex is powered by a 3,500mAh battery and weighs 177 grams. The LG G Flex comes with 32GB inbuilt storage, which is non-expandable.

The LG G Flex runs Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean, which is a disappointment as we expected LG to ship Android 4.3, the most recent iteration of the OS with the phone. However, with LG finally revealing plans for rolling out the Android 4.4 KitKat update for the flagship smartphone, the G2, we expect that the G Flex will also get the KitKat treatment soon.

On the software department, the G Flex borrows many things from the G2. The company has added the same LG G2 UI layer on top of the G Flex, majorly changing the look and feel of the interface and enabling users to customise the phone according to their liking.

The LG G Flex also features the KnockON, which is LG's version of double tap to unlock and even lock the smartphone. In our limited testing, we found that at times while trying to unlock the phone it didn't register our taps. In fact, it was annoying at times.

Other features on the G Flex include Slide Aside which is a way to multitask by moving between three apps at once via a three-finger swipe gesture; Guest mode, which allows you to create a guest mode with pre-selected apps for times when your friends or family want to use your phone; Dual Window, which divides the screen into two panels for multitasking and QuickTheatre that gives direct access to gallery, videos and YouTube icons.

You can expect more detailed observations and testing when we review the LG G Flex.

LG G Flex

Display

6.00-inch

Processor

2.2GHz

Front Camera

2.1-megapixel

Resolution

720x1280 pixels

RAM

2GB

OS

Android 4.2

Storage

32GB

Rear Camera

13-megapixel

Battery capacity

3500mAh

See full LG G Flex specifications

Bitcoin operators start shutting down in India, following RBI advisory

12/28/2013 10:27:00 am TECHNOLOGY No comments

Bitcoin operators start shutting down in India, following RBI advisory

A number of Bitcoin operators in India have begun suspending their business following RBI's warning against use of such virtual currencies due to potential money laundering and cyber-security risks.

While RBI is yet to come out with a clear regulatory framework for Bitcoins, which have been gaining currency across the world over the past few months, it has issued an advisory cautioning general public against use of Bitcoins and other virtual currencies - notably, no ban.

Within days of this advisory issued on December 24, a number of entities offering Bitcoin services have suspended their operations, temporarily or indefinitely, while websites of a few others have gone down.

However, some other entities continue to run their operations of offering Bitcoin exchange services for rupee and other currencies.

Bitcoin is a virtual currency that can be generated through complex computer software systems with solutions shared on a network, although the process is complex and such 'mining' can be done only on very powerful servers.

Hardly three years into existence, Bitcoin has already become the world's most expensive currency and its per unit value soared past $1,000 level or about Rs. 63,000 recently, although the prices have now slipped below Rs. 50,000 level.

There was a phenomenal surge in the exchange rate for Bitcoin from little over $200 to well past $1,000 during November, but there has been an extreme volatility since then and the RBI's warning has further added to its woes in India.

One of the Bitcoin operators in India, buysellbitco.in, has posted its website, "Post the RBI circular, we are suspending buy and sell operations until we can outline a clearer framework with which to work. This is being done to protect the interest of our customers and in no way is a reflection of Bitcoin's true potential or price."

( Also see: Bitcoin, other virtual currencies potentially risky, and not authorised: RBI )

Another entity, INRBTC also said that "in light of RBI's notice, services of INRBTC.com are being suspended indefinitely".

Explaining its decision, INRBTC said that RBI has stated that users of virtual currencies are exposed to both legal and financial risks.

"Further it (RBI) states that absence of information of counterparties could subject the users to unintentional breaches of Anti-Money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) laws," it added.

"The only option left now is suspend the services until further arrangements can be made," INRBTC said, while adding that all trades which have been executed till December 26, 2013 will be processed completely.

"All pending orders will be cancelled and the deposits on those orders will be refunded 100 percent to the users," it said.

Many other websites offering Bitcoin services in India have gone down, although a few continue to operate as of now despite increasing regulatory glare on Bitcoins globally.

Telecom operators ask panel for uniform spectrum fee of 1 percent before auction

12/28/2013 10:26:00 am TECHNOLOGY No comments

Telecom operators ask panel for uniform spectrum fee of 1 percent before auction

Top executives of leading GSM companies - Airtel, Vodafone, Idea and Uninor - have asked the Prime Minister's Office, members of EGoM on telecom, and the DoT to implement a uniform annual spectrum fee of 1 percent across the industry to ensure the success of the auction starting January 23.

"Implement a flat SUC (Spectrum Usage Charge) before the upcoming auction. In case the same is not immediately possible, apply a uniform SUC to all technologies, e.g. all LTE (4G) technology deployment across any spectrum band should attract same current SUC of 1 percent," the joint letter said.

Spectrum usage charge, which is levied annually by government as percentage of revenue earned by telecom companies from telecom services, varies between 3 and 8 percent in case of mobile operators.

This annual fee is currently 1 percent for firms broadband wireless spectrum including Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd (RJIL) and Tikona.

"...the unresolved issue of SUC...has the potential to make or break the upcoming auction," the letter stated.

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India has recommended implementation of 3 percent uniform spectrum usage charge across telecom industry with effect from April 1, 2014.

Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd (RJIL), however, has opposed TRAI recommendation as it will increase the SUC applicable on company by two percentage points.

The joint communication made by Bharti Airtel CEO Gopal Vittal, Vodafone India CEO Marten Pieters,Idea Cellular Managing Director Himanshu Kapania, Uninor CEO Sigve Brekke have demanded a more level-playing field in this matter.

"Not taking strong and affirmative action at this critical juncture could result in even more opacity and an auction design that is flawed and discriminatory," the letter said.

CEOs of the four telecom operators said that 1 percent SUC is applicable if 4G is launched in 2300MHz spectrum band (held by RJIL).

If the same technology is deployed by an existing GSM or CDMA operator in spectrum band being put up for auction, then they are required to pay SUC between at rate of 6 to 8 percent, it said.

The communication added that government will lose more if spectrum remains unsold compared to Rs. 250 crores per annum that it estimates to lose by reducing SUC.

"As you may be aware, 167.50MHz of spectrum in 1800MHz (2G) band remained unsold in the November 2012 auctions. Even taking today's reserve prices... the loss to the government exchequer on account of this unsold spectrum is around Rs. 4,900 crores upfront and about Rs. 1,960 crores per year," the letter said.

The same letter has been sent to TRAI chairman also.

The Telecom Commission is meeting on December 31 to discuss SUC and its recommendation will be sent Empowered Group of Minister on telecom, headed by Finance Minister P Chidambaram.

It will be for the EGoM to move the Cabinet for a final decision on the SUC, sources said.

Amazon to compensate customers for late Christmas gift deliveries

12/28/2013 10:25:00 am GENERAL, TECHNOLOGY No comments

Amazon to compensate customers for late Christmas gift deliveries

Amazon Thursday said it would give $20 gift cards and pay shipping costs for customers affected by problems at UPS and FedEx that delayed some Christmas package deliveries.

The Amazon pledge came after UPS in particular came under fire for late packages despite vows from retailers to meet a December 25 deadline.

Some customers took to Twitter to voice their displeasure, likening one or both delivery giants to the "Grinch who stole Christmas."

Amazon pointed the finger squarely at the delivery companies. The online retail giant did not give estimates for the number of affected shoppers.

"Amazon fulfillment centers processed and tendered customer orders to delivery carriers on time for holiday delivery," said Amazon spokeswoman Mary Osako. "We are reviewing the performance of the delivery carriers."

Walmart also will provide gift cards to customers who did not receive packages by the promised deadline, the New York Times reported.

Walmart did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

"UPS experienced heavy holiday volume and is making every effort to get packages to their destination as quickly as possible," UPS said on its website. "UPS has resumed normally scheduled service on December 26."

A FedEx spokesperson also reported a "surge" in volume, but said the rise was typical.

"We had minimal service disruptions despite the increase in volumes, and are working directly with customers who may have experienced any delays," said the FedEx spokesperson.

The delivery woes suggested the retail sector is still adjusting to shifting customer behavior with the rise of online shopping.

Analysts had expected brick and mortar shopping to rise just 3-4 percent in 2013, but online shopping to jump 13-14 percent.

More retailers have promised to execute Christmas-deadline deliveries ordered later and later in the season.

Amazon characterized its overall holiday shopping season as the "best ever" in the company's history.

Particularly popular was the "Amazon Prime" service, which provides free two-day shipping services and streaming of some television shows and movies for $79 a year.

Amazon said it signed up more than one million customers for its "Prime" service in the third week of December.

LG will equip G3 flagship with 'swipe' fingerprint scanner: Report

12/28/2013 10:24:00 am TECHNOLOGY No comments

LG will equip G3 flagship with 'swipe' fingerprint scanner: Report

We've already heard reports about yet-to-be-announced LG G3's specifications, and now, a new report claims LG is said testing a fingerprint scanner for its expected next flagship smartphone.

The Korea Herald cites an industry source and claims that LG only recently decided to adopt the fingerprint recognition technology for its next flagship smartphone and is now testing a prototype of the alleged LG G3 with fingerprint scanner.

As per the report, LG is testing a swipe fingerprint sensor that's different from what Apple is using oniPhone 5s. The report does not detail much about the upcoming feature on the next flagship from LG, but we can assume the regular functions like unlocking the smartphone, and mobile payment authorisations.

Further, the report reveals that the South Korean manufacturer's rumoured G Arch smartwatch and G Health fitness wristband will both be compatible with the LG G3.

We'd first heard of the rumoured G Arch and G Health wearable devices in a report on Thursday that suggested LG will soon enter the wearables segment with the two devices. The report had then only claimed that the G Arch and G Health would be compatible with LG Android smartphones, with no specific devices mentioned. The alleged G Health fitness band was said to come with features similar to Nike's Fuel Band.

Rumoured specifications of the alleged LG G3 include a 1440x2560 pixels QHD (Quad-HD) display, with no word on screen size, yet; an octa-core chipset, believed to be codenamed LG Odin, being developed by the company itself, and also a 16-megapixel rear camera.

Apple can take credit for bringing the fingerprint scanner feature to smartphones, and now the technology seems to be finding adoption from more smartphone OEMs.

Apple's September launch of the iPhone 5s was the first smartphone with a fingerprint identity touch sensor, and then soon HTC joined the club with its One Max, featuring the fingerprint scanner at the back which lets users log in with a swipe of fingertip.

Nvidia Tegra Note tablets start receiving Android 4.3 update over-the-air

12/28/2013 10:23:00 am TECHNOLOGY No comments

Nvidia Tegra Note tablets start receiving Android 4.3 update over-the-air

Nvidia has started rolling out an over-the-air (OTA) Android 4.3 Jelly Bean update for Tegra Note tablets, which brings new features and additions to the partner devices such as the Xolo Play Tegra Note.

The chip maker confirmed the news via the official Nvidia blog, and also noted that the update is now live for Tegra Note manufactured by OEMs such as Advent, EVGA, Gigabyte, Shenzhen Homecare Technology, Xolo and Zotac.

Nvidia has also revealed the changelog for the Android 4.3 Jelly Bean update for Tegra Note tablets. Some of the changes included are enhanced stylus abilities with adding support for left-handed tablet users and upgrade in overall response; addition of the DirectStylus help option which will now appear on tablet setting's menu and a new stylus removal and insert option in the notification bar.

In addition, Nvidia has also upgraded the Tegra Note's camera app with the introduction of always-on high-dynamic range (AOHDR) capability, which according to the company provides more lifelike-images across various lighting conditions. The company notes that the new AOHDR feature will utilise the Tegra 4's processor prowess and Chimera computational photography architecture. The update also adds video stabilization for shake-free video. Other features in the new Android 4.3 update include security and bug fixes.

In September, Nvidia finally pulled the curtains back to reveal its Tegra Note tablet. However, the newly revealed Tegra Note was not a new consumer tablet, but instead a reference design tablet for Nvidia's partners to adopt and brand as their own.

Recently, Xolo launched its 7-inch Nvidia Tegra 4-powered tablet in India, the Xolo Play Tegra Note, at Rs. 17,999. It comes with a 7-inch HD IPS LCD (1280x800) display and is powered by a 1.8GHz Tegra 4 processor with a 72-core GeForce GPU and quad-core Cortex-A15 CPU. The tablet also packs in 1GB of RAM, coupled with 16GB of inbuilt storage that is expandable up to 64GB via microSD.

The Xolo Play Tegra Note features a 5-megapixel rear camera with HDR capabilities, and a VGA front-facing camera. It also sports front-facing HD audio stereo speakers with a 'bass-reflex port'. The Xolo Play Tegra Note tablet measures 199x119x9.6 mm, and weighs in at 320 grams.

Alcatel Idol X+ full-HD display, octa-core Android 4.2 smartphone launched

12/28/2013 10:22:00 am TECHNOLOGY No comments

Alcatel Idol X+ full-HD display, octa-core Android 4.2 smartphone launched

TCL, the Chinese handset maker that owns the Alcatel brand, has unveiled the Idol X+ in China. The new Alcatel Idol X+ has been priced at roughly $330 without contract, which translates to around Rs. 20,500. Unfortunately, Alcatel did not reveal any details about availability of the Idol X+ outside China

Engadget China reported the launch first, noting that TCL has bundled the Idol X+ with a Boom Band, which is a Bluetooth-enabled wristband that is available in various colours. The site claims that the Boom Band can work as a proximity alarm, if in case a user forgets the phone behind. The Boom Band is compatible with the Idol X+ via a companion app, which also tracks user's fitness. As of now, there is no word whether the Boom Band will work only with newly launched Idol X+, or if it is compatible with other Android smartphones also..

The Alcatel Idol X+ is the successor to the Idol X launched in September this year and features upgraded specifications.

The Alcatel Idol X+ runs Android 4.2 Jelly Bean, much like its predecessor. The Idol X+ comes with a 5-inch full-HD IPS display with a resolution of 1080x1920 pixels and boasts of a Dragontrail Glass.

The Idol X+ is powered by an octa-core MediaTek MT6592 processor clocked at 2GHz along with 2GB of RAM. The phablet sports a 13-megapixel rear auto-focus camera with features like HDR, face detection, touch to focus, panorama, burst mode and night mode. However, there is no word on the front-facing camera and also about the inbuilt storage. Connectivity options on the Idol X+ include Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS/ aGPS, Micro-USB and 3G. It includes a 2500mAh battery, which is bigger than the 2000mAh battery on the Idol X.

Mobiles launched in December 2013