Micromax Canvas 4: First review

New Delhi: Micromax has finally launched its much-anticipated Canvas 4 smartphone. The smartphone is Micromax's new flagship and its most expensive smartphone. Having played with the device for a short period, here is our first impressions review:

Features alone have never been the only constituent in making Micromax the number one homegrown manufacturer. It has always been the perfect blend of aggressive pricing and features that has driven the sales of  Micro max devices and accelerated its growth. But from what I could gather from my brief experience with the Canvas 4 is that the company seems to have taken the wrong turn this time.

Priced at Rs 17,999, this dual SIM phone seems to be a little expensive. There is nothing new in the design except the Aluminum casing that surrounds the edges. The design is plain, simple and lacks any wow factor. The phone is made of plastic and its removable back panel has a glossy finish which I did not like. The Micromax logo in the center of the back panel also spoils the look. The phone is light in weight, but overall, the design does not impress.  

New technology can produce 'petrol from air'

LONDON: A small British firm claimed to have developed a revolutionary new technology that can produce petrol using just air and electricity.
A company in the north of England has developed the "air capture" technology to create synthetic petrol which experts have hailed as a potential "game-changer" in the battle against climate change and a saviour for the world's energy crisis.

Beware With Fake "Bad Piggies" Plugins Hit Chrome Web Store

Rovio's latest game, Bad Piggies, is now available via Google Play and the App Store, and as a PC and Mac download, but it has not yet made its way to the Chrome Web Store.
Scammers have quickly taken advantage of this, introducing bogus versions of Bad Piggies into the Chrome Web Store that exist primarily to serve up in-browser advertisements thanks to a few plug-in permissions.
A search of the Chrome Web Store for "Bad Piggies" serves up at least eight plugins that have the game name in their title or description. But as Barracuda Networks noted, the plugins are far from legitimate versions of Bad Piggies.
Many of the plugins "request a significant permissions, [like] access your data on all websites,'" Barracuda said in a blog post. "At this step, you should stop installing this plugin. Playing a web-based game should have nothing to do with your other browser tabs at all."
Barracuda installed some of the plugins for testing purposes. They found that, not surprisingly, the games were not authentic versions of Bad Piggies. Their main purpose appears to be inserting extra advertisements into popular websites like Yahoo, MSN, eBay,

Nokia Lumia 822, 5-inch HTC smartphone apparently headed to Verizon

Soon after the Nokia Lumia 920 and Lumia 820 were announced officially, a Verizon representative stated that the carrier is planning to release multiple Windows Phone 8 devices. And thanks to a leaked screenshot of Big Red's device management system, we kind of know what smartphone the carrier is currently eyeing. A handset by the name of Nokia Lumia 822 is apparently listed on the DMS with support for 4G connectivity, presumably LTE. It doesn't take a scientist to figure out that this could be a Nokia Lumia 820 model tailored for Verizon.

Google says Apple verdict doesn't "relate to the core Android operating system"

After a jury found that Samsung infringed upon Apple's intellectual property, and awarded Apple nearly $1.05 billion in damages, many analysts and observers suggested that the case might spell trouble for other Android manufacturers. Not so, says Google.

Google Wallet discontinuing prepaid cards next month, so spend your money now

Google has just announced that it will discontinue prepaid cards on its Google Wallet platform. An email being sent to Google Wallet users explains that since Google has added the ability to use any debit or credit card with Google Wallet, it will no longer support prepaid cards. The discontinuation will take place in two stages. Google will stop accepting new funds onto prepaid cards on September 17. Users will then have to spend the remaining balance on their card by October 17 because the card will no longer be active. Any remaining funds will be sent to the user through a refund request.
Google's decision to no longer accept prepaid cards is a surprising one. Being able to add cash to Wallet made the mobile payment option more accessible to users who did not or could not link their Wallet account to a bank card. Going forward, customers will have to link Wallet to an existing debit or credit card to make payments. Google has encouraged customers to make a purchase with their remaining balance or read this FAQ to determine how they can request a refund.

Rogers announces Nokia Lumia 920 exclusivity in Canada

The Nokia Lumia 920 will be widely available on multiple carriers when it launches in Europe and Asia, but customers in North America will have only one local option if they wish to buy Nokia's flagship Windows Phone 8 device. Following yesterday's announcement that the Nokia Lumia 920 will be exclusive to AT&T in the United States,