Pages

Saturday, August 09, 2014

Top 7 travel apps

With mobile technology penetrating well across global market, it has lead to a serious surge in the amount of apps in recent years. Travel apps can solve you travel related problems, some while travelling and some helping you in planning your travels. Here are our top 7 travel apps:

1. Google Maps

A de facto navigation app, some would call it the de facto travel app. Whether you want to go to a nearby pizzeria or want to check out attractions around you or you just want to get from point A to point B, this app is equipped to do all that. Accurate maps in over 220 countries are covered by this app. With GPS, your exact location can be determined and then this app can guide you to go wherever you want to go.

Available for: All mobile platforms and web.

2. Google Translate


Language problem is the most primitive form a problem you may encounter while travelling. Supports over 80 languages. You can give input through keyboard or speech. On some phones, you can even take a picture of what's written and get it translated.

3. AccuWeather



All in one weather app, displays almost all weather parameters including temperature, UV index, humidity, dew point, pressure, wind velocity, etc. Forecasts are available on hourly, daily and weekly basis. Uses GPS to determine your location so that you do not have to update your settings every time you move to a different place.

4. XE Currency Converter


Currency prices are subject to fluctuations due to high liquidity in the FX market. This makes buying/selling currencies tricky. Unaware of the latest prices, you could end up spending way more than expected. With this app, you can keep track of the latest currency prices. Also features charts for historical pricing. It is not just when you go to purchase foreign exchange but even when you go to purchase something in a foreign country with your credit/debit card, you may not have information of the latest price movements and may incur an expensive charge.

5. WorldClock


Moving through different time zones can make you lose track of the time and put you out of sync with your country's time zone. This app lets you add different cities to the list and track what time it is in a particular city. A very hand app for frequent country hoppers.

6. Kayak


All in one travel planning app. You can book hotels, flights and cars all under one roof. Flight status can also be seen and one of the best features of this app is the "Price Alerts" which notifies you whenever fares change for a particular sector.

7. Flightradar24


Delayed flight? Depend on your airline to update you and all they say is "We'll update you when we have more information" ? Well, not any more when you have this app. It lets you track the location of a flight in real time (almost, with a delay of about 10-15 minutes). Most major airports are covered. It also lets you see the total air crafts flying in a region over a map. 



Wednesday, August 06, 2014

Samsung and Apple decide to call off pending patent disputes outside US

Samsung on Wednesday said that Apple and Samsung have decided to call off patent disputes pending in courts outside US. The tech giants have been involved in a patent war in about countries relating to mobile phones and tablet products.

"Samsung and Apple have agreed to drop all litigation between the two companies outside the United States," Samsung said in a statement.

This agreement does not involve any licensing arrangements, and the companies are continuing to pursue the existing cases in US courts," it added.

What happens to US cases?

Both companies will actively fight patent cases in US courts; a probable reason for this could be that Apple has a huge customer base in the US.

A boost to sales

Amidst all this legal battle both companies ended up gaining in sales.

It should be noted that Samsung supplies many semiconductor devices for Apple's products. Can these companies let such a partnership get into jeopardy?


"Samsung and Apple have agreed to drop all litigation between the two companies outside the United States," Samsung said in a statement.

"Samsung and Apple have agreed to drop all litigation between the two companies outside the United States," Samsung said in a statement.

"Samsung and Apple have agreed to drop all litigation between the two companies outside the United States," Samsung said in a statement.

Tuesday, August 05, 2014

New HTC J Butterfly unveiled

Taiwanese phone maker HTC has unveiled the new J Butterfly handset in Japan.

The new HTC J Butterfly comes with 2.5GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 quad-core processor, 2GB RAM, 32GB inbuilt memory, memory card support, 13 MP main camera and 5 MP secondary camera.

The new handset will be available in Japan, there is no intimation on its availability in the global markets.

Here are the specifications:

Model: HTC Butterfly HTL23
Display: 5.0-inch super LCD 3 full HD screen
OS: Android 4.4 KitKat
Processor: 2.5GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 quad-core processor
RAM: 2GB
Storage capacity: 32GB
Expandable upto: 128GB
Main Camera: 13 MP
Secondary Camera: 5 MP
Battery: 2,700 mAh