Huawei G628 Mid-Range Smartphone With 64-Bit Octa-Core SoC Leaked

Huawei is reportedly working on a new mid-range smartphone that will feature a 64-bit MediaTek processor. Codenamed G628, the handset is tipped to launch in China soon and might make it to other markets as well. The rumoured price of the device is said to be CNY 1,000 (roughly Rs. 10,000).

If the reports are any indication, the device will be the first to feature a 64-bit SoC from MediaTek. The processor named MT6752 featuring eight 1.5GHz Cortex A53 cores will power the Huawei G628, which however is said to run Android 4.4 KitKat OS version with Emotion UI 2.3. Of course at this point, there is no confirmation of the handset's eventual upgrade to Android 5.0 Lollipop - the only version of Android that yet takes proper advantage of a 64-bit SoC.

The report from MTKSJ adds the dual-SIM supporting Huawei G628 will feature a 5-inch HD (720x1280 pixels) resolution display. Besides an 8-megapixel rear camera, the smartphone will also feature a 2-megapixel front-facing camera.

Also, the Huawei G628 might arrive with China Mobile connectivity first as the smartphone reportedly supports TD-LTE and TD-SCDMA networks. China Mobile operates these networks for now. The Emotion UI 2.3, which has been mentioned above, will be including new features like 'Child Mode' and an ultra-power saving mode.

Huawei has previously launched 64-bit processor smartphones, the most recent being the Ascend GX1. The handset, which was launched last month, is powered by a 64-bit Snapdragon 410 (MSM8916) processor clocked at 1.2GHz. Other features include a 6-inch HD (720x1280 pixels) IPS display; a 1GB of RAM; an 8-megapixel rear camera; a 2-megapixel front-facing camera; 8GB internal storage which is expandable via a microSD card (up to 32GB), and a 3500mAh battery.

Micromax Canvas Hue With 3000mAh Battery Launched at Rs. 10,999

Micromax has launched its new Canvas-series smartphone, the Canvas Hue, priced at Rs. 10,999. The smartphone will be available starting Friday this week from online and offline stores across India.

One of the most notable features of the Micromax Canvas Hue is that it packs a large 3000mAh battery, which the company claims can deliver battery back-up of up to 30-days with the handset's super power saving mode.

The Android 4.4.2 KitKat-based Canvas Hue supports dual-SIM (GSM+GSM). The company has announced that the smartphone is upgradable to Android 5.0 Lollipop via FOTA (firmware over-the-air); though it has not revealed an exact release date for the update.

The Canvas Hue features a 5-inch (720x1280 pixels) HD AMOLED display with scratch resistant Corning Gorilla Glass 3 protection. It is powered by a 1.3GHz quad-core processor that's coupled with a Mali 450 GPU and 1GB of RAM.

The Micromax Canvas Hue bears 8GB of built-in storage that can be expanded via microSD card (up to 32GB). It features an 8-megapixel autofocus rear camera with Sony Exmor RS sensor, and LED flash, while also housing a 2-megapixel fixed-focus front camera.

Connectivity options on the Canvas Hue include 3G, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Micro-USB, A-GPS, 3.5mm audio jack, and FM radio. It is available in Gold and White colours.

Commenting on the launch, Vineet Taneja, Chief Executive Officer, Micromax said, "The Canvas Hue is a perfect blend of premium design, seamless efficiency and superior technology that supports the needs of the ever evolving consumers. With the launch of the Canvas Hue, we have again looked at addressing one of the most important needs of the Indian consumers, which is of an extended battery life. We will continue to enrich the consumer experience by delivering state-of-the-art products and services, reinforcing our commitment to raise the bar of affordable innovation in the country."

Microsoft's Bing Search Now Helps Users Find Bestselling Books

Microsoft's Bing now shows users a list of bestselling books when they use certain search terms. The books shown in the carousel added on top of search results are picked up from the New York Times Best Sellers list, and comprise business books, fiction, non-fiction, and children's books.

Bing says that users can search for terms like 'best-selling fiction', 'nonfiction best-sellers', 'best-selling kids' books', and 'current times best business books' for the results to show. The Bing blog post, titled 'Finding great books just got easier with Bing best-sellers search', adds that the bestselling books are ranked by the New York Times based on its weekly or monthly sales data. The book carousel is seen in the similar design format as the users see when they search for 'Comedy movies' or 'Horror movies' on Google Search.

Users can click on the book's cover art shown under the Bing search result to get details including a short synopsis, links from where users can buy the books and the book ratings. The service is however only limited to the US region as of now, accordingto Engadget. It is not yet clear as to when the service will reach other regions.

Bing last month announced two new updates to Bing search - international hotel booking support across 22 countries including India, as well as improved Bing's mobile search results.

In partnership with TripAdvisor, Bing will now allow users to internationally book hotels across 22 different countries in 14 different languages. Users will also directly get rates, and reviews for different hotels from Bing search via TripAdvisor. Microsoftsays that the update is one of the multiple planned optimisations which will arrive in the coming weeks.

Samsung Galaxy A7 Metal-Clad Smartphone With Octa-Core SoC Launched

While last week Samsung had reportedly launched the Galaxy A7 in the Philippines, the company has this week official launched the smartphone globally. The metal unibody handset will hit shelves in Q1 of this year. The Galaxy A7's official price has yet to be disclosed, however the Philippines price was reported at PHP 24,990 (roughly Rs. 34,700).

The octa-core Samsung Galaxy A7 will be arriving in two different chipset-variants depending on the region. The smartphone will feature a 64-bit Qualcomm Snapdragon 615 SoC or 32-bit Exynos 5430 SoC, coupled with 2GB of RAM. The Qualcomm Snapdragon 615 SoC features four Cortex-A53 cores clocked at 1.5GHz and four Cortex-A53 cores clocked at 1.0GHz, while the Samsung Exynos 5430 sports four Cortex-A15 cores clocked at 1.8GHz and four Cortex-A7 cores clocked at 1.3GHz.

Both chipset-variants offer 4G LTE connectivity, though the dual-SIM version running the same Exynos SoC offers only 3G connectivity. The Samsung Galaxy A7 flaunts a 5.5-inch Super-AMOLED display with an HD (720x1280n pixels) resolution and runsAndroid 4.4 KitKat out-of-the-box. At 6.3mm, it is also Samsung's slimmest smartphone to date. There is still no word on a promised Android 5.0 Lollipop update.

The Samsung Galaxy A7 features a 13-megapixel autofocus rear camera with LED flash in addition to a 5-megapixel front-facing camera. Samsung offers Wide Selfie, Rear-cam Selfie, Beauty Face and other camera features, similar to other recently launched Samsung models. Like the Galaxy A5 and Galaxy A3, the Galaxy A7 also flaunts and 'Ultra Wide Shot' and 'Auto Selfie' modes for its front-facing camera.

Besides 16GB of inbuilt storage, the Samsung Galaxy A7 supports expandability via microSD card (up to 64GB). Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0, USB 2.0, GPS, AGPS, GLONASS and NFC comprise the metal smartphone's connectivity features. It is worth mentioning that the NFC option will only be present in the LTE version of the Galaxy A7.

Measuring 151x76.2x6.3mm, the Samsung Galaxy A7 weighs 141 grams and is backed by a 2600mAh battery. Ultra Power Saving Mode, Private Mode, Multi-Screen and Quick Connect are also offered by Samsung.

SpaceX Cargo Ship Reaches International Space Station

SpaceX's unmanned Dragon cargo ship arrived Monday at the International Space Station, carrying 2.6 tons of food and supplies for the astronauts at the orbiting research laboratory.

"We have captured Dragon," Nasa commentator Rob Navias said as the space station's robotic arm, operated by commander Barry "Butch" Wilmore, grappled the spacecraft at 10:54am GMT, according to Nasa's television broadcast.

Wilmore was assisted by European Space Agency flight engineer Samantha Cristoforetti as they used the station's 17.6-metre (57.7-foot) robotic arm to reach out and capture the Dragon spacecraft.

The rendezvous was "flawless," Navias said.

About two hours after grapple, Dragon will be bolted onto the station's Earth-facing Harmony node.

The cargo ship launched atop a Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral, Florida on Saturday. It marked the fifth of at least 12 planned official missions for SpaceX which has a $1.6 billion (roughly Rs. 9,940 crores) contract with Nasa to supply the space station.

The equipment on board includes a Nasa-developed system for measuring tiny particles called aerosols in the atmosphere, known as the Cloud-Aerosol Transport System (CATS).

An IMAX camera and tools to help astronauts during spacewalks are also in the payload.

The arrival was about 18 minutes ahead of schedule, Nasa said.

Astronauts may begin unloading the spacecraft as early as Monday afternoon.

Dragon will spend about a month there before returning to Earth with over 3,600 pounds (1,600 kilograms) of cargo that is no longer needed by the crew in space, as well as computer equipment and science experiments that need further analysis on Earth.

The spaceship is the only cargo vessel in the world that can return to Earth intact. Other supply ships burn up on re-entry to Earth's atmosphere.

Samsung Galaxy A3, Galaxy A5 Metal-Clad Phones Now Available in India

Samsung has made the Galaxy A3 and Galaxy A5 smartphones available in India, and they are listed for purchase on the the company's online India store. 

The Samsung Galaxy A3 and Galaxy A5 smartphones were launched in India last week, alongside the Galaxy E5 and E7. In the meanwhile, the company earlier this week launched the Samsung Galaxy A7 as well, a smartphone that had been expected for a while ever since the first news about the Galaxy A-series leaked. 

Apart from their metal bodies, the Galaxy A-series smartphones are also considerably slim - with the Galaxy A3 measuring 6.9mm, the Galaxy A5 measuring 6.7mm, and the Galaxy A7 measuring 6.3mm.

The Samsung Galaxy A5 sports a 5-inch HD (720x1280 pixels) Super-Amoled display; 1.2GHz quad-core Snapdragon 410 processor; 2GB of RAM; 13-megapixel and 5-megapixel camera; 16GB built-in storage expandable via microSD card (up to 64GB), and Android 4.4.4 KitKat. It has a 2300mAh battery, measures 139.3x69.7x6.7mm, and weighs 123 grams.

The Galaxy A3 on the other hand comes with 4.5-inch qHD (540x960 pixels) Super-Amoled display; 1.2GHz quad-core processor; 1GB of RAM; 16GB inbuilt storage; expandable storage support via microSD card (up to 64GB); 8-megapixel rear camera with LED flash; 5-megapixel front camera, and Android 4.4 KitKat. It features a 1900mAh battery, measures 130.1x65.5x6.9mm and weighs 110 grams.

The Samsung Galaxy A7 features a 5.5-inch HD (720x1280) Super-Amoled display, and comes in two variants with a choice of octa-core SoC (Exynos 5430 or Snapdragon 615), coupled with 2GB of RAM. Other specifications include a 13-megapixel autofocus rear camera with LED flash, a 5-megapixel front-facing camera, 16GB of inbuilt storage with expandability via microSD card (up to 64GB), Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0, USB 2.0, GPS/ A-GPS, GLONASS, and NFC. It measures 151x76.2x6.3mm, weighs 141 grams and is backed by a 2600mAh battery.