Facebook re-designs Photo Section and adds ‘save it for later’ feature to its iOS app

By: Aseem Gaurav on July 31, 2012

Facebook has once again re-designed the look of its photos section. The mosaic view feature is sure to boost the overall appeal of the Photo Section on your Timeline, along with Timeline of anyone's profile.

Now users can access photos all at one place which were earlier scattered over different places in form of albums.

The revamped look will appear above your Timeline and enables a user to click the star button to make important photos stand out. Just like the old version, one can comment and like on any particular picture.

The feature is initially available in America but the social networking giant said it will slowly push this feature out to its 955 million strong base of active users in a period of few weeks.

The company has said that the new design lets you see "larger pictures that fill up the page" when you click Photos at the top of Timeline. In addition, you can use the menu to find shots you’re tagged in, pictures you’ve shared and albums you’ve created.

Facebook has recently become aggressive in tweaking its photo section and is focusing more on providing its users satisfactory experience.

In addition, the company has also revealed a new feature in its iOS app called "save for later" which allows users to keep up with all of the interesting articles and links that users share on their Timelines. The Save feature can be used to save Shared links on their mobile device or on a computer.

Apple's OS X Mountain Lion downloaded 3 million times in 4 days

By: Aseem Gaurav on July 30, 2012

Apple's brand new desktop operating system, Mac OS X 10.8 or Mountain Lion, has been downloaded 3 million times in just four days of its availability, thus making it one of Apple’s most successful OS release ever. Mac is currently available as a download from Apple’s Mac App Store for just $19.99.

The next version of OS X offers as many as 200 new features. Some are major like a new Notification Center, icloud integration, AirPlay Mirroring, system-wide Sharing and a desktop version of Messages. Others include Facebook integration, Dictation, AirPlay Mirroring and Game Center.

The new OS comes with a new iCloud feature that makes it easy for users to just drag and drop documents/ files to their cloud-based storage. Even developers can also add iCloud to their own apps.

Indeed, Mountain Lion has become a mature cat, which gives significantly higher speed as compared to its predecessor, and you can easily boot your Mac Air in just few seconds. Mountain Lion really brings the Mac into the iPhone-iPad family.

One of the best features of the new OS is its Notification Center, in which Apple has tried to give mobile-like features. You need to swipe your fingers from right to left on the edge of the trackpad, and a list of notifications in form a panel, will appears on the right side of the screen. Here you can view iMessages, Tweets, missed IMs and of course E-mails.

Similarly, log on to your Mac and keep track of all of the messaging systems available across Apple’s different hardware platforms like: iChat, iMessage, and then FaceTime. So no need to pick you iPhone to respond to the message that you friend has just sent you. The user interface in simple and easy to use.

Also the new OS comes equipped with the ability to share, for instance, you can sign into your Twitter, Flickr, or Vimeo accounts right in Mountain Lion's System Preferences. Thereafter you can share from apps like iPhone and Safari. Mountain Lion allows you to send tweets right from the Notification Center.

Moreover, there’s also ‘Do Not Disturb’ option which you can use to temporarily turn off notifications when you are working on something important and do not want to be disturbed.

Overall, Apple has done a good job in bringing to users a unified notification system that gives them more control over how they want their lapotp's Notification system to work. For $20, the new operating system is steal given the loads of the features the company is offering.

Download the new OS here.

Top 5 reasons you should buy Nexus 7 tablet

By: Aseem Gaurav on July 29, 2012

It’s Google's first own-branded tablet, running the all new Android 4.1 Jelly Bean operating system, and may be the most competitive Android tablet yet released. It’s low cost, packed with great features and significantly raises the Android tablet experience. The tablet has been designed to narrow the gap between Apple’s highly popular iPad range of tablets and budget Android tablets. With a $199 price tag, the Nexus 7 is clearly a worry for Kindle Fire fans more than Apple lovers. Here iPadfanzz, is giving you five reasons why you should go for the tablet:

Design

The size of a tablet is an important consideration at the time of making a purchase. The 7 inch is almost a perfect size for a tablet. As you go bigger, portability may be sometime of a concern to you. The 7 inch tablet may work best when you have to immediately take out the tablet from your coat pocket or a handbag. It’s also easy to wrap your thumbs around it to type. Going for a larger tablet, say 10 inch, may be a good option when you want to use it mainly for home, or want to do casual browsing.

Gaming

The Nexus 7 is a beast when it comes to gaming. The tablet is equipped with the quad-core Tegra 3 processor which features a unique 4-PLUS-1 quad-core architecture to deliver outstanding performance in terms of gaming. While playing games the tablet is smooth and responsive, and even playing multiple apps is easy. Being a powerful quad-core tablet, it is capable of playing even graphic intensive games with effortlessness. In addition, the tablet’s gryoscope and accelerometer makes it perfect for action-heavy games like "Horn" and the zombie shooter "Dead Trigger." As of now all the Nexus 7 tablets come with two freebies – a copy of Transformers: Dark of the Moon and $25 of Google Play credit.

Google’s latest operating system Android 4.1, also known as Jelly Bean

With Jelly Bean, Google has made it easier to do more with less effort thanks to some tweaks. The new OS is certainly one of the scoring points of the tablet as it is quite fast to operate and is more stable. Other important features of Jelly Bean include: accessible task manager, useful notification system, lets you access your frequently accessed data through widgets and enables you to hide infrequently used apps. Swiping between screens and opening the app drawer is fast and there are also significant improvements in terms of animations. But one of the most prominent and anticipated feature of Jelly Bean is Google Now, which utilizes actions you've performed on your phone in the past (i.e. search queries, calendar appointments, your locations, etc.) to get an idea of your general interests and habits. It then uses those ideas to help you in different ways by making little clips of info called "cards." You can activate the feature by tapping on the search box or swiping up from the bottom of the screen. It will then display Google Now cards filled with up to the minute, contextualized information. The feature comes in handy when you are commuting or want to know what weather will look like for your location and your work. One more thing, the cards are populated automatically, so you don’t need to search for it or open other apps.

Value for money

The Mountain View, California-based company has delivered a product that it made to its specifications by Asus; the 8 GB version is already selling like hot cakes. The Nexus 7 appears to have struck a chord with consumers, although Google has not yet released any figures for sales. Consumers who have purchased the product can do almost everything they’d expect from a tablet – web surfing, watching videos, HD movies or TV shows, playing games, reading e-books, and accessing apps. It is truly durable for even the most demanding mobile users, and claims of delivering up to 9.5 hours of battery life. Google also claims that the device can deliver up to 10 hours of web browsing, 10 hours of e-reading, and over 8 hours of HD video playback. The Nexus 7 sells for $200 with 8GB of storage – costing similar to Amazon Kindle Fire and Barnes and Noble’s Nook Tablet at the same storage capacity. You can also get the 16GB version for $250. It is a WiFi only tablet and there's no 3G/4G connectivity option. Further, it has a 1.2 megapixel forward-facing sensor that is useful for video chatting. Unfortunately, there’s no microSD for expansion, which is a big letdown about the Nexus 7.

Build quality

Google and Taiwan-based tech firm Asus have finally created an Android tablet, that is good looking and feels like a premium product, almost making us double check the price. The Nexus 7 is a thin (10.5 mm) and weighs just 340 grams. The tablet is comfortable to hold and comes with black rubberized plastic on the back. The tablet’s 7-inch in-plane switching (IPS) panel is solid. The bezel of the tablet is quite wide and the screen doesn't get close to filling that edge-to-edge glass. The scratch resistant Corning glass gives a premium look to the tablet and the buttons and ports also feel solid, not like what we’d expect from cheap budget tablets.

Features and specifications

Series: ASUS Nexus 7
Operating System: Android 4.1
CPU: NVIDIA Tegra 3 T30L Quad-Core@1.2Ghz
Memory: 1GB
Hard Drive: 16GB
Display: 7" WXGA (1280x800) Screen, IPS Panel, 10 finger multi-touch support
Wireless: WLAN 802.11 b/g/n@2.4GHz
Bluetooth: Yes
Webcam: 1.2 MP Front Camera
Expansion Slots: N/A
I/O Ports: 2-in-1 Audio Jack (head-out/MIC), 1x micro-USB, 2x Digital microphone,2x High Quality Speakers, 1x Docking PIN
Keyboard: N/A
Pointing Device/s: G-Sensor, Light Sensor, Gyroscope, E-compass, GPS, NFC, Hall Sensor
Battery: 9.5 hours, 4325mAh,*2 16Wh Li-polymer
Dimemsions: 198.5 x 120 x 10.45 mm
Weight: 340 g.

Social media to transform London 2012 Olympic viewing

By: Aseem Gaurav on July 27, 2012

The London Olympics are set to be the most social and digital game ever. Millions of fans are going to tweet, pin, like and share news stories, photos and videos related to events, athletes and the city which is hosting the event. 

Image courtesy: Olympics.org

Given that pretty much every Olympic event will be broadcast live on television as well as Internet, the amount of information that will end up being shared with friends and others, is going to be mind boggling. The boost will happen mostly because of the rise in number of people using social media since the Beijing Olympics, along with the people having smartphones, the iPad or Android based tablets. 

The noise created by social media is loud, and is indeed giving the opportunity to all to participate in the event, irrespective of their location. Even games organizers are loving the connection between athletes and fans – a kind of intimacy that is created on Facebook and Twitter.

                                                                                 Image courtesy: Olympics.org


During the last Summer Olympics in Beijing in 2008, Twitter had about 6 million users and Facebook 100 million. Now the figures have drastically changed, as there are 140 million for Twitter and over 950 million for Facebook.

The good part about social media is that even Olympians are not missing this opportunity to comment online in real time of their social media pages. US hurdler Lolo Jones, for instance, uses Twitter in a big way to interact with her fans. A lot of people are interested in knowing Jones’ personal life along with what her chances are of winning a gold medal in London.

Paralympian Dame Tanni Grey-Thompson wrote: “Feeling very olympic today...”

On July 23, Tomoko Fukumi, tweeted, "London has greeted us with fine weather. The Athlete's Village is quite comfortable."

 Image courtesy: Olympics.org

However, on the flip side, the explosion of social media usage has created a problem for IOC (International Olympic Committee) which has set down the guidelines and the athletes have to comply. Last summer the IOC issued guidelines that stated that athletes can “take part in social media” to post, blog and tweet their experiences, provided “such postings, blogs or tweets must be in a first-person, diary-type format and should not be in the role of a journalist.” IOC has also banned comments on the activities of other athletes, and the online posting of video or audio recordings from the games.

The IOC has emphasized that breach of guidelines will result in accreditation of "any organization or person ... may be withdrawn without notice."

                                                                                        Image courtesy: Olympics.org

On the other hand, brands and advertisers can’t afford to miss the event, and are using every possible tool to make an impact. But one may wonder, do they have a choice. The 11 biggest corporate sponsors have poured in nearly $1 billion for the rights to flaunt the Olympic seal during the London Games.

For instance, Coca-Cola is using social media to connect with its customers by encouraging them to create and share music videos. Similarly, Visa is nudging fans to post elaborate cheers for the athletes. In addition, fast food brand, like McDonald's, which has received criticism for its menu, mounted a public outreach campaign in London, announcing the launch of a new QR code system that lets consumers get nutritional information about the foods by scanning them with their smartphones. The QR code will roll out to a majority of McDonald's restaurants by 2013, the company had said.

Overall though, social media holds the key in promoting the Olympics like never before.

Apple’s iPad holds 68% market share, latest figures show it's unstoppable

By: Aseem Gaurav on July 27, 2012


The iPad is still the boss in the tablet market and Apple’s second quarter financials speaks volume about it. And it is not just the consumers who are in love with this tablet, even for the company it is the most important business unit.

For the second quarter of 2012, Apple said the iPad shipments grew 83 per cent on a year-on-year basis, and 44 percent from the previous quarter to 17 million units sold during third quarter.

According to Strategy Analytics, the iPad accounted for 68.3 percent of global tablet shipments last quarter, a jump of nearly 10 per cent from the last quarter of 2012, and up 7 percent year-over-year.

For the second quarter of 2012, 25 million tablets were shipped in all, which is a 67 per cent jump from 14.9 million in second quarter of 2011. According to analysts, the demand for tablet among consumers, education and business users remain robust.

The latest figures suggest that a couple of tablets such as Amazon’s Kindle Fire which got off to a good start last year, has failed to gain momentum during the current year. But one can’t deny bright spots such as Google Nexus 7 tablet, which is in short supply at retailers. Meanwhile, Microsoft is prepping its Windows 8 tablet, the Surface, and other companies are preparing their own Windows 8 tablets and hybrids.

On the other hand, Android tablet grabbed 29 per cent share of the global tablet shipments in the second quarter, maintaining the status quo in terms of last year’s figure. Although a lot of companies have entered the small tablet market fray like Amazon, Samsung, Acer and Asus, but they are yet to make a serious dent in Apple’s dominance of the tablet market. Analyst attribute Android’s mixed performance due to hardware designs, limited uptake of cellular models and a modest number of tablet-optimized services. Global Android tablet shipments grew by more than half to 7.3 million units.

HP Pavilion Elite M9065.UK-a PC - GU660AA Review

HP Pavilion Elite M9065.UK-a PC (GU660AA): Intel Core 2 Quad processor Q6600 2.4GHz ,Wireless LAN 802.11 b/g , 500 GB SATA 3G Hard Disk Drive (7200 rpm), 3 GB DDR2-SDRAM , Intel High Definition Audio 7.1, Wireless keyboard and optical mouse HP Vista Media Center Remote Control , TV (analog and DVB-T) tuner card, NVIDIA GeForce 8500 GT , DVD writer SATA DVD RAM and Double Layer supporting LightScribe technology , Windows Vista Home Premium.

Product Features

• 2.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600
• 3GB DDR2-SDRAM
• 500GB 7200rpm
• DVD Writer SATA DVD RAM
• Vista Home Premium
• NVIDIA GeForce 8500 GT
• Intel High Definition Audio

Specification

• Processor:2.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600
• System Memory:3GB DDR2-SDRAM
• Hard Drive:500GB 7200 rpm
• Optical Drive:DVD writer SATA DVD RAM
• Operating System:Vista Home Premium
• NVIDIA GeForce 8500 GT
• Intel High Definition Audio

Hp Probook 4540s Notebook

Hp Compaq Elite 8300 Minitower

Hp Compaq Elite Ultra-Slim Pc

Hp Probook 4540s Laptop

View more at www.systemactive.com .

Hp Pavillion Desktop Refurbished

Netflix, YouTube top ‘must-have’ apps for Internet-connected TV owners

By: Aseem Gaurav on July 23, 2012

Streaming video apps is the most popular category for both Smart TV owners, who are now “app-ifying” their internet-connected TVs.

According to results of a recent Harris Poll of 2,634 adults in the US, video viewing apps Netflix (47 per cent) and YouTube (44 per cent) are the most popular apps among smart TV owners.

The other three of the top five "must have" apps are Facebook (35 per cent), Amazon Instant Video (34 per cent), and Pandora (28 per cent). One of the reasons for growing popularity of these apps is because manufacturers are selling more televisions preloaded with Internet-connected functionality, frequently referred to as Smart TVs. It allows consumers to use apps and do activities like surfing the web, play video or TV shows or music right on their TV sets. 

"With the proliferation of social media sites, younger adults are not only more tech savvy, but are accustomed to being able to share their online experiences with their friends and family. So why not add TV viewing to the list of online experiences to share?" said Manny Flores, Senior Vice President at Harris Interactive.

"As the TV occupies a dominant role in entertainment arena, it is only a matter of time before we see the mainstream use of additional content apps, such as Facebook, being used on the TV," added Flores.

Surprisingly, popular app Angry Birds wasn’t on the list, but who knows it may soon rise to top of the list.

The survey also revealed that almost 73 per cent of non-Smart TV owners indicate that they are not that familiar (39 per cent) or not at all familiar (33 per cent) with Smart TV or Internet Connected TV. It is surprising given the rise in shipments of Smart TVs. Also, only 7 per cent of respondents unfamiliar with Smart TVs said they were likely to purchase a Smart TV in the next 12 months.

Top 15 must-have apps for smart TVs according to Harris Interactive:

Netflix - 47%
YouTube - 44%
Facebook - 35%
Amazon - 34%
Pandora - 28%
ESPN - 21%
Hulu + - 21%
Twitter - 17%
Syfy - 14%
HBO Go - 13%
Rhapsody - 9%
MLB.com - 8%
Vudu HD Movies - 7%
Conema Now - 7%
Vimeo - 5%
None of these - 23%.

Chirp iPhone app lets you share content via sound

By: Aseem Gaurav on July 22, 2012

A new cool iPhone application called Chirp is out in the App Store that allows people to share digital content – web pages, pictures or video – by playing short tunes to each other. Surely, an innovative and quick way to get social using the power of sound.

In order to share something, you first need to ensure that the other person has the Chirp app installed on his/her iPhone. Now with the click of just a button, you can easily send or receive images from your camera or a video that you just recorded, with everyone in the room. It’s that simple!

The Chirp app notifies the receiver about what you have shared by turning the information into a sequence of 20 musical notes, which is decoded by other person’s Chirp-equipped device. The device then displays your information: say image or a video.

According to Patrick Bergel, chief executive of Chirp creator Animal Systems, the use of sound in sharing something provides much more flexibility and is less expensive as compared to other technologies in use.

Youcan download the app here.

Color LED notifications to your iPhone could be reality thanks to Kickstarter project‎

By: Aseem Gaurav on July 22, 2012

The iPhone users have long demanded a case that gives them a notification light for new messages, emails and calls rather than just the LED camera flash. Developers Trey DeArk, a mechanical engineer, and musician Terence Green — known together as Phaze5, have come out with a project on Kickstarter, that aims to fix this.

It’s called FLASHr case that is made out of three layers that reflect the LED flash onto a larger glow frame, which is shown in green in the picture above. Further, you don't need to worry about how the phone is oriented as the glow will still be visible. 

As explained in Kickstarter, “Switch on "LED Flash Alerts" in your Accessibility settings, and you iPhone's LED camera flash will light up for calls, texts, emails, and for all Push Notifications (Twitter, Facebook, Games, or any app with Push Notification settings).”

The case is made up of three layers and each layer is available in five colors, thus resulting in 125 possible color combinations.

At the moment, the company has managed to gather $8,114 with 33 days to go. The developers are asking for a hefty $75,000 in pre-orders, to make the project become a reality. A minimum pledge of $35 will secure your color combo choice of FLASHr case.

Go to the project's Kickstart page.

Gameloft releases The Dark Knight Rises app for iPhone and iPad

By: Aseem Gaurav on July 21, 2012

The third and final act of Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy ‘The Dark Knight Rises’ is out in cinemas across the globe, and coinciding its release, Gameloft has launched an iOS app, inspired by the movie.

The app offers numerous missions in addition to random events which will make you feel like a superhero. It has got everything: Batman's gadgets, vehicles, excellent graphics and a plot that is on the same line as the film. Players will deal with hostage situations, jailbreaks, bomb squads and car chases to prove that you’re the true protector of Gotham.

The app comes with a thrilling fighting system that will be put you right in the middle of action scene along with cinematic effects. While battling the bad guys, you can collect items hidden within the city to unlock upgrades and new fighting skills for Batman.

In six thrilling chapters, you glide from rooftop to rooftop, hop on the Bat-Pod, which adds a sense of drama. This time around, Batman takes on the terrorist Bane, while also uncovering the motives of Selina Kyle, aka Catwoman. Strikingly, users can be as creative as possible in completing Batman’s mission as there’s no pre-determined way of going about that.

The apps is available for $6.99 and weighs a whopping 819MB. The game is compatible with the iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, iPhone 4S, third and fourth-generation iPod touch and all iPad models running iOS 4.0 or later.

Download the app here.

Samsung unveils ES9000, 75" 3D HDTV with gesture-controlled Angry Birds app

By: Aseem Gaurav on July 20, 2012

South Korean electronics giant Samsung recently unveiled its new ES9000 75-Inch 3D TV at a five-day Samsung SpaceFest Festival at Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum at NYC. The model comes packed with all the features you'll need to make your television viewing experience an unforgettable one.

The 75” monster with an equally monstrous price of $10,000, has all top of the line features like: 3D, DLNA, media streaming, dual-core processor, micro-dimming backlight and both gesture and voice control, that are coming standard in all of Samsung’s 2012 smart flagship televisions like the ES8000. In addition, it offers video calls and web browsing. 

Thanks to a very slim .31 inch curved bezel, the television looks borderless, which adds to the overall elegance. The model comes with Sound Share which via Bluetooth connects the TV’s audio signal to a Samsung Series 6 or Series 7 wireless audio system. The company is giving four pairs of 3D glasses with the television.

But the most interesting feature of ES9000 is that it comes with a dedicated Angry Birds which allows you to play the popular avian game entirely with gestures and no controller is required. You just need to wave your hands to fling those birds and destroy the pigs. Angry Birds will also be available to all 2012 LED 7500 / Plasma 8000 TVs and up.

"It is great combination of a super amazing TV and a literally game-changing new app," said Joseph Stinziano, Senior Vice President of Home Entertainment, Samsung Electronics America. "The Intrepid and Space Shuttle are each iconic symbols of innovation and discovery and Samsung also is driven to push boundaries and deliver a sense of wonder and delight."

The ES9000 will be launched in the United States in August.

Running late? Twist, an app for iPhone, will text or e-mail your apology

By: Aseem Gaurav on July 20, 2012

If you have developed a habit of being late all the time, a new app called Twist is here to help you. Twist, a location-based app, notifies your friends and colleagues when you’re running late by calculating the time of arrival and sending text messages to the people waiting for you.

It is a free app, that can be used for trips by bike, foot and public transportation in leading US cities. The app uses your location, average speed, you travel and current traffic data to communicate your exact arrival time.

The company, founded by serial entrepreneur and investor Bill Lee and Mike Belshe, an original Google Chrome team member, emphasizes that the app will help cut down on the number of people who text or e-mail while driving by 24 per cent. 

“Time is money and time wasted is not acceptable,” said Lee.

The company also hopes the app to perform well in the market given that a large chunk of US population is consistently late, and given that a lot of folks now own a smartphone and carry with them while going to office.

Here’s how it works: After opening the app, the users describe where they are headed. Twist then plots a route for them by car, foot or public transport and offers an ETA. Now it is upto the users with whom they want to share that. But after they chose one, let’s say boss, then the recipient will receive a notice via text message when you leave your present location and while you’re en route. In case you get stuck into traffic or witness some unavoidable reasons, Twist will update the recipient about your new ETA. Moreover, you don’t need to worry about contact as after using the app the algorithm will learn your most popular contacts and surface them to the top.

However, the uses of Twist are not just limited to informing people about your being late, you can also use to pre-plan your travel and tell others when to leave or tell your wife when to have dinner ready, or tell a babysitter when to expect you back.

A survey by Harris Interactive, conducted on behalf of Twist, found that traffic or other transportation issues are a major cause of lateness (53 percent), followed by underestimating travel time (38 percent) and simply getting lost (25 percent).

In one package, Twist said it combines the features of email, text, calendars, maps, traffic, photos, recommendations, and check-ins.

HP TouchSmart 310-1205uk Desktop PC - LN495EA Review

HP TouchSmart 310-1205uk Desktop PC (LN495EA): AMD Athlon II X2 245e (2.9 GHz 2 MB L2 cache), AMD RS880M, 3GB DDR3(1 x 1 GB, 1 x 2 GB), 500 GB SATA 3G (7200 rpm), Slim Tray Load 8X SuperMulti Drive, Integrated graphics using AMD Radeon HD 4270, 6-in-1 memory card reader, Integrated VGA webcam with built-in microphone, Wireless LAN 802.11 b/g/n, Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium.

Product Features 

• 2.9 GHz AMD Athlon II X2 245e
• 3GB DDR3
• 500GB SATA 7200rpm
• Slim Tray Load 8X SuperMulti Drive
• Windows 7 Home Premium
• AMD RS880M
• Integrated graphics using AMD Radeon HD 4270
• Wireless LAN 802.11 b/g/n
• Integrated VGA webcam
• 2 High Performance speakers
• Wireless optical mouse

 Specification

• Processor:2.9 GHz AMD Athlon II X2 245e
• System Memory:3GB DDR3
• Hard Drive:500GB SATA 7200rpm
• Optical Drive:Slim Tray Load 8X SuperMulti Drive
• Operating System:Windows 7 Home Premium
• Chipset:AMD RS880M
• Graphics:Integrated graphics using AMD Radeon HD 4270
• Wireless LAN 802.11 b/g/n
• Integrated VGA webcam with built-in microphone
• 2 High Performance speakers
• Wireless optical mouse

View more at www.systemactive.com

Facebook earning 58% more per ad than last year

By: Aseem Gaurav on July 19, 2012

It's been quite the roller coaster few weeks for social network giant Facebook whether it is falling user numbers and share prices, or the slowdown concerns. But the company finally has some good news on the mobile ad revenues front. 

According to a study by social ad firm TBG Digital, the cost per thousand impressions (CPMs) on ads on the social network jumped by 58 per cent as against the last period, with overall engagement also up by 11 percent, a sort of reversal from last quarter.

Comparatively, ads appearing in people’s Facebook news feeds on their mobile devices get four times as many clicks as similar Twitter ads. The analysis is based on 406 billion impressions between the second quarters of 2011 and 2012, from 276 clients based in more than 190 countries. 


The study pointed out that Facebook's new mobile ads have outperformed desktop ads in click-through rates and CPMs by 14 times.

TBG said the study indicates that the Sponsored Story ad format is engaging and received click-through rates 53 percent higher than standard Facebook ads.

Moreover, the cost per fan for sponsored stories was 39 per cent lower.

During the period under review, CTR (Click Through Rates), a parameter which indicates how relevant and interesting ads are to users, rose by 11 per cent over the same period. TBG CEO Simon Mansell said the launch of Facebook’s mobile ad targeting feature in early June 2012 impacted CTR in a positive way. “It appears that Facebook is doing something right here. The CTR increase could also be partially due to a general improvement in targeting techniques and ad creative,” said Mansell.

Let’s take a look at what people clicked the most sector-wise. The health sector topped the list followed by Pets and Animals, Not For Profit, Entertainment and so on. 

TBG further said, Facebook’s clients are now willing to pay more for quality clicks and fans and the focus is shifting towards measurable engagement.

The data gives some indications how things are going for the social media giant which was facing questions like how it is going to translate advertising into mobile versions. It also puts away all the worries related to mobile ads which some said wouldn’t work at all, given that the new data shows that they are clicked on 13 times more often that its traditional desktop ads. 

Apple Online Store now offers order status updates by text message

By: Aseem Gaurav on July 18, 2012


Apple has added a new feature to its online store. It now let users receive a text message alert notification on orders placed.

The company will send a text message once their order shops or is ready for pickup at a retail store. The new feature is available to the following careers: Nextel, Alltel, Sprint, T-Mobile, AT&T, Boost Mobile, Cricket, U.S. Cellular, Verizon Wireless, and Virgin Mobile USA.

The service is in addition to the e-mail notification that allows users to track their orders.

Apple further said, the text message will be sent only between 8:00am and 9:00pm in your time zone, meaning your sleep won’t be disrupted.

Google+ beats Facebook in customer satisfaction index

By: Aseem Gaurav on July 17, 2012

In an unexpected turn, Google+, the social network from the Internet search giant, has been ranked higher among consumers than Facebook in a new customer satisfaction survey of social-media websites.

The American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) reported that Facebook users are unsatisfied with the world’s largest social network. The Palo Alto, California, based Facebook, scored 61 on a 1 to 100 scale, while Google+, led all social sites with a 78 rating, said ForeSee, an analytics company, that produced the report with the help of the ACSI.

Facebook scored a rating of 66 last year and a 64 in 2010.

The report suggests that Google+ good results is because of the absence of traditional advertising and is seen among consumers as a good mobile product. On the other hand, Facebook lost points because of users complaining of ads and privacy concerns. The recent complaints about Facebook include its user interface and the Timeline feature.

"Facebook and Google+ are competing on two critical fronts: customer experience and market penetration. Google+ handily wins the former, and Facebook handily wins the latter, for now," said Larry Freed, President and CEO of ForeSee.

"If Facebook doesn't feel the pressure to improve customer satisfaction now, that may soon change," Freed added.

According to Freed, Google+ is reaping benefits from Google+ search service, which has always been the top choice of the customers.

Other notable social networking websites, namely LinkedIn, Pinterest and Twitter, scored 69 and lower, but greater than Facebook’s 61 points.

At the same time, Google also dominated the customer satisfaction ratings of online search engines, with 82 points followed by Bing and Ask.com with scores of 81 and 80, respectively.

HP Laptops for Home and Office Use

Laptops have dominated market over the desktops that give freedom of working anytime and anywhere. All the capabilities of a PC can be experienced on a laptop including document processing, web looking, gaming and others. The growing competition in IT sector has given rise to several companies manufacturing laptops. Laptops are available in various configurations, battery back-up, mass storage capacity, styles, colours and many more.

Buying a branded laptop is costly though its features are quite impressive. The dealers of computer, Delhi provide these laptops at a price that suits individual's budget. Among the famed laptop manufacturers, HP laptops stand apart for their quality and stylish look. HP Laptops are available in various sizes, designs and colours that make them attractive among youth. Laptops and notebooks of HP are also popular for their light weight and easy mobility. The rising ultra moveable laptops are the new additions of HP. Meeting the demands of users, HP has designed its range by using innovative technology. The laptops are operated with Intel Duo Core processors which can process up to 1.6GHz and more. These are no usual laptops, and from processor to motherboard, these are designed to work under any condition. The laptop is made to suit your leisure and commercial demands and is integrated with Wi-Fi, infrared, Bluetooth and LAN. The Wi-Fi in new additions of HP allows user to join any Wi-Fi community by using right entry and privileges.

A user always looks for a battery working for longer span in a laptop. Various batteries in HP Laptops such as HP F2024B battery, HP F2024A battery, HP XH260 battery, HP Pavilion N5200 battery, HP Omnibook XE3 battery, HP 346970-001 battery, HP HSTNN-DB02 battery, HP HSTNN-UB02 battery and HP DP390A battery are available. The batteries of HP laptops are lithium ion batteries which give them strength for a longer life. These can work for up to seven to eight hours during non-stop utilisation. Thus, HP laptops exceed the expectation of users.

Laptops from HP have superior audio and video features as these are developed to provide high end leisure to users. Intel GMA 950 chipset and 1366 x 768 (WXGA) let the user enjoy clear, crisp and high quality video and graphics, which make it ideal for watching movies or pictures. It can also suffice your extreme gaming needs. HP meets the demand of user by manufacturing a complete power pack laptop. Every time something new is introduced in the market for users of small and mid size businesses to corporate which supply ease of the computing at home or office .

View more at www.systemactive.com .

Best iPad 2 and iPad 3 cases

By: Aseem Gaurav on July 17, 2012

Speck PixelSkin HD Wrap Case for iPad 2

The case is perfect for those who want lightweight and stylish protection, secure grip and some nice features. The case is made of a soft rubberized material with a glossy-matte finish on the front and back. The iPad fits quickly into the case and the snug fit gives protection from bumps and other shocks. For hassle free and convenient access of the iPad, the case offers cut-outs for ports, cameras and speakers. The case comes with a folding cover that works with the slate’s wake/sleep function and folds into a reading/viewing/typing stand. When you close the cover, the micro-suction feature of the case ensures that it stays that way, thus protection the screen from scratches. To view movies, videos, play apps and write e-mails, just flip the cover open and wrap is behind the case. Speck PixelSkin offers full screen body protection to the case and comes in a selection of bright, vibrant colors that enhances its visual appeal. It is made of thick rubber that doesn’t add too much bulk on you device. Also, the latch of the case is firm and is intended to keep the screen of your iPad protected. Overall, for $50, Speck PixelSkin offers you a right balance of modern looks, protection, and functionality and a price tag that is not too heavy on your pocket.

ZooGue iPad Case Genius

The ZooGue iPad 2 Case Genius is a stylish and multi-functional leather portfolio case for the iPad 3 / iPad 2. The case comes with an adjustable strap that can be used as a hand strap or headrest mount – giving you the flexibility to hang you iPad 2 practically anywhere. It makes it easy to use the case in business meetings or keep your kids engaged in long car journeys by attaching it to your car headrest. The most striking feature of the case is that it offers almost all viewing angles. It is made possible by Velcro strips which can be used to position your iPad to any angle when you fold back the case against the lid. Thus, you can easily watch movies, surf the web, play apps and type a long document. In addition, it comes with soft microfiber interior, which offers protection from scratches and scrapes. The case also contains magnets that provide the same Smart Cover style lock and unlock for the slate. The case also has cutouts so that you can access your iPad's features while in the case. However, due to its portfolio style, the ZooGue iPad Case Genius case adds some bulk to the case. It comes with a price tag of $49.99.

STM Skinny 3

STM, which is known for its quality and well-designed bags, offers the second version of its flagship iPad case, dubbed Skinny 3, made specifically for the third-generation iPad.  It is a sleek and compact hard-shell case that doesn't saddle you with excessive weight or bulk as its overall weight is just 160 grams. The rear shell in made of a fabric-covered polycarbonate and has microsuede on the inside. The case offers good protection for the screen, back and the iPad edges. The case comes with textile finish and comes in Black, Mushroom, Berry, Royal Blue, Pink colors. It comes with a lid that adds to additional safety, but you need practice to thread the loop quickly. Some of the negative points of the case are: only flat typing position and no-so-stylish material on the outside. But at $39.99, it is relatively inexpensive.

Also read: Top 3 wireless speakers for iPad.

Best cases for iPad 2

Google's Nexus 7 tablet reports good sales across US

By Aseem Gaurav on July 15, 2012

Initial trends suggest that Google’s Nexus 7 tablet is off to an encouraging start across the United States, as major stokists are reported to be running out of the gadget.

Video game retailer GameStop and Sam's Club, the warehouse chain owned by Wal-Mart Stores Inc, are reported to have run out of Nexus 7, co-developed by Google and Taiwan's Asustek that starts at $199. Google recently started shipping the device and many of the retailers seems to be applying for re-stocking.

Google recently unveiled the 7-inch tablet, in an attempt to compete in a market dominated by Amazon’s Kindle Fire. The tablet has been designed specifically for Google Play, an online store that offers consumers apps, books, music, movies and other digital content. The strategy is almost similar to Amazon’s Kindle which has its own retailing store and sells similar content.

Both Nexus 7 and Kindle Fire are of same size and price range. Both have 7-inch screens and sell for $199. However, Google’w tablet weighs a little less at 0.75 pound, as against the Kindle Fire’s 0.9 pound. In contrast, the iPad weighs 1.44 pounds and sells at $499 and up.

One reason for Nexus 7’s popularity could be because it offers a good bargain, since it almost boasts of the same features like the Kindle Fire, but has a front-facing camera with 1.2 megapixels has support of Google Play, which is one of the fastest growing online store for people looking for some great content.

The Nexus 7 is powered by a quad-core Tegra 3 processor, and comes with Google’s new operating system, Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean). Asus claims the device to have 9.5 hours of battery life, which is pretty sufficient considering you can surf the web for about two hours, stream a television show, play music and even use the tablet as a GPS. The tablet is quite portable as it can easily slip into an inside jacket pocket or a small bag.

As reported by various tech sites, Google is not making much margin by selling these tablets, but making money on the hardware isn’t the plan for Google. The company’s focus is entirely on content and if Google can plug its users to buy products like books, movies, games, apps, it can easily cover up the money for the hardware.

Nexus 7 specifications:

Dimensions: 198.5 x 120 x 10.5 mm
Weight 340 grams
Display: LED-backlit IPS LCD capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors -- Size: 800 x 1280 pixels, 7.0 inches (~216 ppi pixel density)
Storage: 8 or 16 GB internal
Bluetooth: Yes
NFC: Yes
USB: Yes, microUSB v2.0
Camera: 1.2 MP with video-calling
Operating system: Android OS, v4.1 (Jelly Bean)
CPU: Quad-core 1.3 GHz Cortex-A9
Chipset: Nvidia Tegra 3
Sensors: Accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass
Messaging: Email, Push Email, IM, RSS
Battery: 4325 mAh battery -- Upto 10 hours.

Yellow Jacket iPhone case doubles up as a stun gun

By: Aseem Gaurav on July 13, 2012

Touted as the world’s first defensive smartphone defense case, the Yellow Jacket iPhone case offers protection to your iPhone 4/4S and doubles up as stun gun.

The case comes has an external battery pack which enables the case to deliver a whopping 650,000 volt stun gun, suitable to stop an aggressive attacker.

The company says the case has been designed in such a way that anyone can easily make it functional in a few seconds as compared to a regular stun gun which can take five to ten seconds to find and deploy. According to the company, the case can be extremely useful in case of events such as robbery, assault, rape and murder, where the reaction time is much lesser and one has to decide quickly what to do.

The Yellow Jacket is about 1 inch in thickness and only weighs about 4 ounces.

The case has been designed by Seth Froom, a man who was attacked in his home. Froom says, although he had many defensive weapons stored inside the home, none were by his side at the time of attack. The most immediate one is always of course, his iPhone. Thus, the idea of making a case which can double up as a stun gun case began to take shape.

The Yellow Jacket iPhone stun gun case also provides your phone up to 20 hours of additional standby battery, thus taking away some of your worries regarding battery recharging.

Those who are wondering about what kind of effects can the case make on the assailant, then according to the company, the stun gun can easily take down a fully grown make by inflicting a painful impact.

Regarding accidentally discharging the stun gun, the company says, “Yellow Jacket features a safety switch and a rotating electrode cap, both intended to prevent accidental discharge. In less than a second, a user can disable these safety mechanisms by moving the switch forward, rotating the cap downward and then be ready to press the activation button to fire the electrodes and be prepared to confront an assailant.”

The case is charged via the same cable as your iPhone. The available colours are: black, white, pink and limited edition gold. You can pick up the Yellow Jacket now by supporting them on Indiegogo for only $85 (limited edition).

You can avail further information by visiting this site.

Angry Birds maker Rovio launches new title Amazing Alex

By: Aseem Gaurav on July 12, 2012


Rovio, the maker of the wildly popular Angry Birds game, knows how to rule the mobile gaming market. Two years, and millions of downloads later, Rovio has come out in the market yet again with an amazing physics-based puzzler game titled ‘Amazing Alex.’

The centre of attraction in the game is whiz kid Alex who is obsessed with American cartoonist and inventor Rube Goldberg's creations. Simply put: players arrange objects given on the screen – each of which are a piece of the puzzle and has an effect on another – in order to create a chain reaction.

In total, there are 35 fully interactive objects just waiting to be set in motion. The objects can bounce, pop, rochochet, bash and crash into each other to create an elaborate Rube Goldberg device. Interestingly, there will always be more than one answer to the solution, and thus users can share their solutions with friends and family to see who came up with the best answer. The game presents over 100 challenging levels spread across four locations.

In order to boost consumer interaction, Rovio has given a unique twist in form of users creating their own challenges and then share them with others. And with other users also creating and uploading their new levels, what this means is constant flow of exciting new levels to test your skills.

“We’ve taken out time polishing a fantastic game and believe we’re created something fun and accessible for all ages. We’ve had a lot of fun with the game, and we can’t wait to see what our fans come up with,” said EVP of Games, Petri Järvilehto.

Unlike its previous titles, the new game sets the Finnish game maker apart from the usual avian slingshot model in which the goal is to bring the structure down to crush the pigs. As of now the game is released on Android and iOS versions, but the company confirmed the new game will be soon out for PCs, Macs and Windows Phone handsets.

With Amazing Alex, Rovio has tried to stay within the physics game genre which it has already mastered with its popular Angry Birds game. The game has been designed to keep consumers engaged and keep on thinking to come up with different solutions to a simple problem with an added element of surprise. With great graphics and amazing sound, the game is bound to impress users.

For iTunes download here. 

For Google Play, download here.