Amazon lets iOS users buy MP3s directly from Safari

Apple is notorious for not letting competing ecosystems expand their services on its turf by demanding 30% of in-app sales and generally making those services jump through hoops to even get to be on iOS.

But Amazon found a loop hole in Cupertino’s tight defences and has now brought its MP3 store to iOS users via the Safari browser.
All of Amazon’s 22 million tracks are available for download through this link, which takes you to the HTML 5-based webpage.

After downloading a track it will immediately be available in Cloud Player and then can be exported to a number of MP3-supporting devices.

Huawei Unveils the Dual-Core Ascend G510

Huawei, the Chinese smartphone manufacturer, which remained quite active throughout CES has announced yet another phone for the masses, this time the Ascend G510 which promises a dual-core CPU on a budget among other nifty features while keeping the price down. Here are the specifications:

• Android 4.1 Jelly Bean
• 4.5 inch IPS display with resolution of 854 x 480 pixels and 16M colors
• Multi-touch, capacitive touchscreen
• Dual-sim support
• Weight: 150g
• Thickness: 9.9mm
• 1.2 Ghz dual-core processor with MediaTek 6577 chipset
• 512MB RAM with 4GB expandable internal storage
• 5 megapixel rear-facing camera with LED flash & 720p HD video recording
• 0.3 megapixel front-facing camera
• Wifi, Wifi-Hotspot, GPS, microUSB 2.0
• 1700 mAh battery

Other than the battery life, the phone has got pretty amazing specs considering its price.
The phone will be available in Q1 or Q2 of 2013 for 200 Euros or Rs. 25,000 which is quite less considering the fact that phones with similar specs which come from HTC or Samsung cost quite more than Ascend G510.

Apple sells more than 35 million iPhone 5 in Q4 2012

Though the rumors state Apple being on the off-side the truth seems quite different. According to analyst Ming-Chi Kuo of KGI Securities Apple is expected to post good results in its forthcoming Q4 report. Citing from chain supply records, Kuo states that Apple sold a total of 52 million iPhones in Q4 of 2012, 35 million of which were iPhone 5 with 9.5 million iPhone 4S and 7.3 million iPhone 4. Though the total iPhones shipment of 52 million in the fourth quarter is 93% greater than Q3 and 41% greater than 2011, the iPhone 5 shipments were 3.5% lesser than the previous company estimate of 36.5 million units.
Combined, Apple is expected to have sold over 140 million smartphones in 2012 with about 74 million unit of iPhone 4S during the first half of the year.

Sony Xperia ZL, the Big Screen Smartphone, Announced

In line with Sony Xperia Z, another smart phone unveiled by Sony at CES is named Xperia ZL.

It is quite similar to its sibling flagship Xperia Z carrying same internal specifications like 5 inch 1080p Bravia Engine 2 screen, 2GB RAM, 1.5 GHz Snapdragon S4 Pro quad-core chip-set, Adreno 320 GPU, a 13 MP Exmor RS sensor snapper and Android 4.1 Jelly Bean.
The connectivity options have been kept similar too; that are 3G, 4G, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/m, GRPS,EDGE A-GPS ,Wi-Fi direct, Wi-Fi Hotspot and Bluetooth.
While the specs sheet are identical of Xperia Z and ZL, but the build of two devices is entirely different. The Xperia ZL is slightly lighter than Xperia Z which is covered in a rubbery plastic with a front camera placed in the bottom right corner of the front panel and dedicated camera button. On the other hand, Xperia Z features carbon fiber skeletal frame and a glass back panel.
The other thing that differ Xperia ZL from Xperia Z is the absence of IP57 certification which makes Xperia ZL non-water proof.
Here are some technical specifications for this device:

• Display and Screen: 5 Inch FULL HD Touch Screen Delivering a resolution of 1920 x 1080 Pixels and Scratch Resistant Glass with QWERTY Keypad
• Operating System : Android v4.1 Jelly Bean with BRAVIA Engine 2
• Processor:1.5 GHz Quad Core Processor
• Memory:
  • In-built Memory : 16 GB
  • 2 GB of RAM
  • 64 GB of Expandable Memory
• Rear Camera : 13 MP  with Flash and Auto Focus and Exmor RS Sensor
• Front Facing Camera :
  • 2 MP for Video Calling
  • Video Recording with HD 1080p
• Connectivity: EDGE,GRPS, 3G, 4G, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/m, A-GPS ,Wi-Fi direct, Wi-Fi Hotspot, Bluetooth with A2DP.
• Battery: 2370 mAh.
• Others: USB Port 2.0, HDMI Port via MHL, NFC Support, USB Tethering, GOLNASS and DLNA, 3.5mm Audio Jack, Single SIM Supports

Sony Xperia ZL is expected to ship in March 2013.The pricing detail is yet to be revealed, however, it is expected to ship at around Rs. 45,000.

Samsung Unveils ATIV Odyssey, Windows 8 Powered Low End Phone

Shining at CES 2013, Samsung has added yet another Windows 8 smart phone dubbed as ATIV Odyssey. This is same ATIV Odyssey that first appeared in leaks back in October when Windows Phone 8 was released, but it was made officially only now in CES.
ATIV Odyssey boasts brilliant 4-inch Super AMOLED touch screen display of WVGA (480 x 800 pixels) resolution.
On hardware front, it is equipped with a dual core Krait processor clocked at 1.5 GHz to quickly access the Internet, music stream and download content. There is 8GB of internal memory with a microSD card slot ready to add another 64GB, plus a 2100mAh battery capacity.
Samsung has packed this device with a 5 Mega Pixel snapper and LED flash which is capable to record 1080p video along with a 1.2 Mega Pixel front camera.
This smart phone is said to be a Global Ready phone allowing users to call and email from more than 220 countries in the world with the features of exclusive Samsung sharing applications such as Photo Editor, Mini Diary and an application providing weather, news, stock and currency updates instantly.
This new device is expected to fill in the entry-level range for Windows Phone 8 but till yet there is no word on its price and its worldwide availability.
Here are key specifications for this device:

• Display: Super AMOLED screen display (WVGA 800×480)
• Camera: 5-megapixel rear-facing camera with LED flash and full 1080p recording and 1080p playback with front-facing 1.2-megapixel camera for video chat
• Connectivity: Dual band Wi-Fi connectivity (802.11 a/b/g/n).
• Memory:8 GB on board storage with 1 GB RAM and Support for up to 64 GB  microSD card
• Battery: 2100 mAh battery
• Miscellaneous: Photo Editor, Mini Diary with weather, news, stock and currency updates instantly.