Easy Ways to Manage Android From Your PC

Easy Ways to Manage Android From Your PC

As any Android power user will tell you, those thousands of contacts, messages & files can be quite hard to manage from the device itself. Karan Bajaj & Hitesh Raj Bhagat round up some of the free tools that make Android management a breeze

1 Airdroid www.airdroid.com

AIRDROID IS OUR favourite app when it comes to managing your Android device from the PC. You get access to your entire phone from a browser window, even if your phone and PC are not on the same WiFi network. You can read & send SMS, reject incoming calls, manage contacts, transfer files, push URL links to the phone, install and remove apps, create ringtones and even locate your phone. What's more, you can remotely view a live feed from your phone's front/rear camera. We love it because you don't need to install drivers on your PC or hunt for a cable for the phone.

2 Mobogenie www.mobogenie.com 

AVAILABLE ONLY for Windows, Mobogenie has a clean user interface with large icons. You can access your phone's storage to manage media and files, manage contacts and SMS. You can even send messages to multiple recipients from your PC via your phone. The app manager uses your desktop's internet connection to download apps from Google Play and then installs them on your phone — saving 

you data charges. You can also backup your entire Android phone to the PC and restore it in case of software issues or when switching to a new device.

3 Moborobo www.moborobo.com 

ONE OF THE most powerful desktop managers, Moborobo works with both Android & iOS devices. You can view the number of contacts, SMS, apps as well as multimedia files on your device through the main window along with details on battery level, firmware and available storage. You can easily take a screenshot of the connected device's screen and save it on your desktop too. Using the software you can send and reply to SMS, install and remove apps as well as easily switch data between multiple devices. There's also a backup feature (iPhone needs to be jailbroken). 

4 MOBILedit! Lite  www.mobiledit.com 

THE FREE  LITE  version of this tool is limited and only allows access to basic functions. You can connect your phone via cable, WiFi or Bluetooth and it works with almost all smartphones as well as a few feature phones. You can view details about your device, send text messages, install updates on your device from the PC and transfer files between the PC and smartphone. The paid version ( 1,619) lets you remove duplicate contacts, take automatic backups. 

5 SnapPea www.snappea.com 

ONE OF THE few Android desktop managment tools that is available for both Windows and MAC, SnapPea also has a browser based version that works very much like AirDroid. You install the free app on the phone and then access the phone over WiFi in your browser window. You can install and remove apps, view and edit phone contacts, send and receive SMS as well as transfer files between the smartphone and PC. Additionally, SnapPea can also import music from your ITunes library and sync it with the Android smartphone seamlessly. 

6 QtADBwww.qtadb.com 

THIS OPEN SOURCE Android management software is available for Windows, MAC and Linux. It has a very basic interface but it provides similar features to the other desktop managers. You can manage contacts, read/ send messages, take a screenshot of your device's display, transfer data and even install or remove apps on your phone from the PC. What makes this one stand out is that it offers the option to flash custom roms to your device. You can wipe, root, load a custom rom and boot into recovery mode on any connected Android device. 

7 pocket.do http://pocket.do 

IF YOU FEEL AirDroid is a bit too complicated, check out pocket.do. It works in a similar way (using a browser window) and does not require the phone and PC to be on the same WiFi network. There are options to connect the device using Google or Facebook accounts or by scanning the QR code in the browser (a separate barcode scanner app has to be installed). Once connected, you can manage contacts, read/send SMS and transfer photos. Additionally, it also lets you locate your device on a map, lock it and view a live feed from your phone's rear camera. 

    PC NOTIFICATIONS     

If you don't need to manage your device from a PC, you can choose to get notifications: for instance, a pop-up on your PC when your phone receives a call, an SMS or when the battery is running low. What you need is Remote Notifier — a small download on PC (http://code.google.com/p/android-notifier) and the corresponding free app called Remote Notifier from the Play Store. The notifications are sent from your device to the PC using WiFi or Bluetooth. 

    TEAMVIEWER    

The popular TeamViewer remote support software also supports Samsung Android devices (and some others, provided they are rooted). Install TeamViewer on a PC, the TeamViewer QuickSupport app on the Android device and you're good to go. You can now remotely access a Samsung device.

    Courtesy : Tectonic, Times of India, dated: 31/07/2013    

Speed up & Clean Your Computer Using Free Apps

Speed up & Clean Your Computer Using Free Apps

Over time, any computer tends to slow down a bit or get bogged down with unwanted files. Karan Bajaj shows you how you can use free apps to restore much of the lost storage & performance

1 Find and Remove Duplicates

YOU MAY INADVERTENTLY end up copying the same files to different locations on the computer. This leads to clogging of precious hard drive space. Both Windows and MAC users can use the free Easy Duplicate Finder (www.easyduplicatefinder.com) — a lightweight and feature-rich program that does the job fast. It lets you search various drives (including external storage such as flash drives and portable HDD) and generates reports of each scan. For photographers who want to find and remove duplicate photographs, a free program called Duplicate Photo Cleaner (www.duplicatephotocleaner.com) finds duplicates even if they were resized or edited.

 2 Remove Temporary Files 

TEMPORARY FILES usually refer to browser files or those that get leftover when you install new applications. Ideally, they should be removed automatically by the respective program, but it doesn't always happen. As more and more temporary files clog up your computer, they eat up hard drive space and slow it down. Get the free CCleaner (www.piriform.com/ccleaner) which is available for both Windows and MAC. It makes short work of cleaning up your system's temporary files. MAC users can also use OnyX (www.titanium.free.fr) which offers advanced cleaning options.

3 Remove Unwanted Shortcuts 

MOST OF US like having shortcuts to often used programs and files — this saves time and improves productivity. However, too many shortcuts can build up over time and make your desktop a mess. 

Several programs also automatically place a shortcut on the desktop during installation. Windows XP comes with a desktop cleanup wizard that scans your desktop for unused icons and removes them. 

Windows Vista, 7 and 8 users can use Bad Shortcut Killer (http://goo.gl/ l2VYbf) to remove unwanted shortcuts from the desktop and start menu.

 4 Defrag to Speed ThingsUp 

DEFRAGMENTATION organises the contents of your hard drive in a way which minimizes the time taken by the drive to access the stored files. The robust Defraggler (www.piriform.com/defraggler) is a great tool that offers the option to defrag the entire hard drive or just specific folder. It displays a drive map that shows how the space of your hard drive is utilised. MAC users usually do not need to defrag their drives because the OS automatically defrags files that are less than 20MB in size. (Note that if your computer uses flash-based storage, there is no need to defragment it) 

5 Make it Boot Faster 

AS YOU INSTALL more programs, you might notice that your PC takes longer to boot up. This happens because many applications and services automatically initialise during the boot process. Soluto (www.soluto.com) is a free Windows utility that analyses your PC's boot up time and removes unnecessary startup programs. It even lets you individually select the programs you want to remove from startup. MAC users can do the same by going to System Preferences > Accounts > Login Items and removing applications that you do not want to open automatically when you log in.

6 Sort Out The Registry 

UNKNOWN TO many, but one of the main causes of a slow Windows PC is a corrupted registry. The Windows registry configures and handles every hardware and software operation on your computer and tends to get corrupted by obsolete/invalid entries. Get the free Registry Repair from www.glarysoft.com/registry-repair. It scans your system registry for a number of common issues and fixes them instantly. It also makes a backup of any registry change so that if your system becomes unstable, it can be restored back to its original state. 

ALL IN ONE SOLUTION 

If you need a single solution to take care of everything, try TuneUp Utilities (www.tune-up. com). The software will set you back 2,900 but is well worth the price. Once you create a profile of your usage, it recommends various steps to improve performance. All the tools you need to scan and fix issues with your system are built in. You can also improve your PC's boot up and shutdown time, delete files safely as well as uninstall programs. The 'one click' system maintenance mode is particularly useful — it scans various areas of your PC and fixes everything in the background without disturbing you. 

ASK FOR HELP 

If you're not too confident of meddling with advanced settings, ask a a tech-savvy friend for remote assistance. LogMeIn, TeamViewer & CrossLoop are some free tools available using which a remote user can easily log into and take over control of your PC (with your permission, of course). Problems can be identified and fixed remotely by your friend and all you need is the software & a reliable broadband connection on both ends.

    Courtesy : Tectonic, Times of India, dated: 07/08/2013    

9 Things You Should Know About Bitcoins

9 Things You Should Know About Bitcoins

There's a huge buzz around Bitcoin because it only exists online. It can be generated, traded and used to buy things over untraceable online transactions. Want to know even more? Hitesh Raj Bhagat & Karan Bajaj delve deep to get you all the answers

What is a Cryptocurrency? 

Cyrptocurrency is a form of digital currency used over the internet for trading or payment for services. The currency is finite in number to keep inflation rates low and uses peer-to-peer transfer technology. It is encrypted using cryptography for security and hence cannot be easily counterfeited. It can be transferred from a computer or a smartphone to another anonymously and cannot be tracked. The value of such a currency is usually determined by supply and demand — similar to precious metals like gold. 

Can I Get Some? 

Tokyo-based Mt. Gox (www.mtgox.com) is the largest Bitcoin exchange there is. It's also one of the most reliable places to buy Bitcoins. You can create an account and start buying Bitcoins using your own currency in a few minutes. The website always displays an exchange rate and can show you a chart with historical exchange rates. If you want to see the value of a Bitcoin against your own currency, head to www. preev.com. At the time of writing, 1 BTC is equivalent to 6,491. 

Who & Why? 

Bitcoin was introduced in 2008 as a peer-to-peer, electronic cash system by an anonymous group of individuals who used the pseudonym 'Satoshi Nakamoto'. Satoshi can be loosely translated as wisdom or reason, so it's another clue that the name is not real. In essence, Bitcoin is a decentralised currency that is created, used and controlled by its users. The Bitcoin network is designed to have a finite supply of 21 million Bitcoins. The system automatically regulates the generation of Bitcoins to ensure a steady growth of the currency with minimal inflation. 

Should I Use it? 

The Bitcoin phenomenon is growing at a rapid speed, but it is still not accepted by most major retailers in the world. At the time of writing, we could not locate any physical or online stores in India that accept Bitcoins. If you want to use Bitcoins on international websites, you can use them for donations and purchases here: http://goo.gl/Pf6ppa. You can also view physical stores all over the world that accept Bitcoins on www.coinmap.org. There's no harm in trying to mine some Bitcoins yourself (see box below) and if the value jumps, you'll end up with more than you thought you had. 

How to Start 

Your first step is to sign up at www.coinbase.com or any other international digital wallet that accepts Bitcoins. Once you sign up, you'll get a unique Bitcoin address — essentially a long string of alphanumeric characters that you will need to use for each Bitcoin transaction. Note that creating a Bitcoin address is free and they can even be created offline using freely available software tools such as Armory (www.bitcoinarmory.com). Each Bitcoin address is also case sensitive, which means that manually entering it during a transaction is not advisable. 

The Advantages 

Being a digital currency, you can easily carry thousands of Bitcoins in your phone or any sort of electronic storage device. Any transaction you do using Bitcoins is untraceable and there are no taxes involved. Unlike physical currency, Bitcoins cannot be easily stolen because theft requires access to your authorised physical device to transfer them. You should also know that once you transfer or receive bitcoins, the transaction cannot be reversed because the 'ownership' of the Bitcoins changes instantly. Lastly, there is no restriction on age or country for a person to use Bitcoins — it is not liable to any government or financial institution making it accessible to everyone. 

What Can I Do With Bitcoins? 

There are a number of places where you can spend Bitcoins. If you're a user of Wordpress or popular websites like Reddit, 4Chan, The Pirate Bay, EZTV and The Internet Archive, you can use Bitcoins to make donations. If you're into online storage, you can upgrade the 50GB free storage that Kim Dotcom's Mega.co.nz offers with Bitcoins. If you like trying your luck, you can try Bitcoin gambling at places like www.satoshibet.com and www.bc-casino. com. And just a little bit of digging will even throw up shopping websites like www.somethinggeeky.com that accept Bitcoin payments. 

There Must Be Pitfalls! 

The biggest pitfall with Bitcoin is the volatility. Within this calendar year itself, Bitcoins have been valued at 8 USD to 1 BTC while at the time of writing, it's actually closer to 105 USD per Bitcoin. Since supply and demand of Bitcoins is not monitored by any central authority (what some consider its main advantage), there is low liquidity. Add to that the problems with any digital currency (frequent hacking attempts, confusion among buyers/users, oscillating interest levels) & you end up with high volatility. And since Bitcoin transactions are not easily traceable, they can be used for laundering money and for all manner of illegal online transactions such as buying drugs or illegal databases. 

How To Get Bitcoins For Free 

Broadly, there are three ways to get Bitcoins without actually converting them from another currency. You can visit websites like www.bitcoins4.me & www.thefreebitcoins.com to simply get free Bitcoins periodically (actually you only get some Satoshi, usually every 30 minutes). These websites are colloquially referred to as 'faucets' because they keep giving out Bitcoins for very little effort. They earn money from advertisers and share a small portion of that with visitors. They usually don't work if you have ad-blocking extensions installed in your web browser. If you have an ad-blocker installed, a notification will ask you to disable it so that you can receive the payments. The second way to earn Bitcoins is by renting out a portion of your computer's CPU power at www.coingeneration.com (a.k.a. Digital Generation) in return for Bitcoin payments. The amount you get is usually very small and you need to evaluate the cost of powering your computer vs the amount of Bitcoins you earn. If you have a more powerful computer with dedicated graphics card(s), you could earn more by using GPU mining. There are also hundreds of websites where you can watch videos or visit other websites to earn Bitcoins. Search for 'Bitcoin mining'. As always, you start by signing up and entering a previously generated Bitcoin address.

    Courtesy : Tectonic, Times of India, dated: 14/08/2013    

7 Ways iOS 7 Improves Apple's Mobile Devices

7 Ways iOS 7 Improves Apple's Mobile Devices

There may not be many revolutionary changes to Apple's popular mobile OS but it builds on popular features found in Android, BlackBerry & Windows Phone to deliver a streamlined experience say Karan Bajaj & Hitesh Raj Bhagat

Easier On The Eyes 

The most visible change in iOS7 is the new user interface. The icons have a modern, flat look with a new colour palette and new fonts that work well on small screens. Most native apps get new icons to suit the new colour palette. Menus and pop-up windows have a translucent background — to give the appearance of layers stacked on top of one another — makes it easier to see the layer right on top. There 's also a lot more white space to give everything a cleaner, more Apple-like feel. 

Easier File Sharing 

With iOS 7, apps can have a 'Share' button built in. Tap the share button to open a new window called Share Sheet from where you can send a selected photo, video or contact to supported apps such as Mail, iCloud, Twitter, Facebook, and Messages. Another feature called AirDrop lets you send files to a nearby iOS 7 user wirelessly (using Bluetooth & WiFi). People around you with iOS7 will be visible in the Share Sheet — and once he/she accepts the incoming transfer, it will be sent to their device. AirDrop transfers between two iOS 7 devices are automatically encrypted. Note that this feature only works with devices on iOS 7. 

Interface Improvements 

iOS 7 banks heavily on gestures to offer improved and easy navigation. Even though there is no physical back button, you get a virtual one — swipe in from the left of the screen to go back to the previous window (works in supported apps only). Swipe an email to delete or move it without opening the mail. Unlocking the phone is easier — instead of swiping left to right on a bar, the screen unlocks with a left-to-right swipe from anywhere on the lock screen. The Notification Centre can also be accessed from the lock screen (this can be switched off in settings). 

iTunes Radio 

Like many internet radio services, iTunes Radio offers over 200 genre-based radio stations to choose from. The difference is that it is baked right into iOS 7's Music app and is completely free. You can create a personalised radio station around your favourite artist or genre and set a balance between playing new songs or known hits as well as choose to never listen to a particular song. Any song being played on iTunes Radio can be purchased and downloaded immediately. Apple says that the service will be free (adsupported) and will initially be U.S. only. 

Control Center 

Quite like Android, with Control Center, you get quick access to a few commonly-used settings, apps & features. To bring up Control Center, swipe up from the bottom of the screen anywhere in the interface (including the lock screen). From the Control Center, you can activate Airplane mode, Bluetooth, WiFi, Do Not Disturb and screen rotation function. You can also adjust screen brightness and launch apps like the Torch, Calculator, Timer and Camera with one tap. Finally, Control Center also includes a mini music player with song information and playback controls (play/pause, track and volume). 

Better Multitasking 

iOS 7 offers a new way to multitask. Double click the home button to see preview screens of all the running apps — this makes it easier to view what you were working on. To close an app, just swipe the preview screen of that app upwards. iOS 7 also learns from your usage habits to optimise app updates. It will learn when you open an app on a daily basis and automatically get the latest update at that time. It will also schedule updates when it causes the least amount of battery drain. 

Camera Improvements 

Many iPhone users complained about the lack of camera features available by default — this also exaplains the popularity of third-party camera apps. With iOS 7, the interface looks modern, clean and adds gesture support. You can swipe horizontally to shift between Photo, Video, Panorama and the Square (for Instagram and the like) shooting modes. Various artistic filters are included — depending on the device you use, filters can either be tried out before taking a photo or applied after. 

What devices will iOS 7 be compatible with? 

iPhone 4, 4S & 5, 5th Gen iPod Touch, iPad 2, iPad 3, iPad 4 and iPad Mini will all get iOS 7 as a free update. 

Will all new features be available on all devices? 

Unfortunately not. Apple has chosen to withhold some features from older devices. The availability of features has nothing to do with the hardware capabilities of those devices. For instance, the new Panorama camera mode will only be available in iPhone 4S, iPhone 5 and 5th Gen iPod Touch (not on the iPads). Live camera filters will only be available in iPhone 5 and 5th Gen iPod Touch. AirDrop will work only on iPhone 5, iPad Mini, 4th Gen iPad & 5th Gen iPod Touch. And finally, Siri will continue to avoid the iPhone 4, iPad 2 and all older versions of the iPod Touch. 

When will the update be available? 

iOS developers have access to iOS 7 immediately. The rest of the public has to wait till Sep-Oct 2013 (no exact date has been given). 

What is 'iOS in the Car'? 

Sometime in 2014, you will start to see in-dash systems with 'iOS in the Car'. This new system will connect to an iPhone 5 for a greater level of incar integration. For instance, you will be able to control your iPhone using the car's built in touchscreen (or voice, using Siri), access music, take calls, use navigation and send/receive messages. Automakers that have already signed on to offer iOS in the Car include Acura, Chevrolet, Ferrari, Honda, Hyundai, Infiniti, Jaguar, Kia, Opel, Mercedes-Benz, Nissan and Volvo.

Courtesy : Tectonic, Times of India, dated: 05/06/2013

The New Kindles: Heavyweights In The E-book Arena

The New Kindles: Heavyweights In The E-book Arena

You can now order all variants of Amazon's Kindle e-book reader in India. Hitesh Raj Bhagat & Karan Bajaj review the Paperwhite and Fire HD 8.9 and offer a few accessory recommendations

Paperwhite Display

The Kindle Paperwhite has a 6-inch e-ink touchscreen with 212ppi (pixels per inch) & 16 levels of grey scale for an optimum display. It has a built-in light which illuminates the screen evenly across the surface making it easy to view/read text in any ambient lighting condition — whether in direct sunlight or in low light. Since it uses 4 low power LED's, the effect on battery life is not that pronunced. 

Not Just For Reading 

If you thought the Kindle Paperwhite is only for reading books, think again. It has built in dictionaries. 

You can also search the web or Wikipedia and even translate text into different languages. You can add annotataions to text anywhere and then export them. There is the also option to create notes or highlight particular phrases/sections and then share them with friends over Facebook or Twitter. 

Unmatched Battery 

Like the previous Kindle e-book reader, the Paperwhite offers fantastic battery life. With wireless switched off & light setting at 10, it claims a battery life of almost two months (half an hour of reading everyday). Even if you use it with wireless on and a brighter light setting, you should get at least a few weeks of battery life, depending on how much you use it on a daily basis. 

How To Get Books 

You can download books by visiting the Amazon book store from the device directly or from your computer. Any purchases made on Amazon using a web browser are automatically delivered to the device. You can also send documents to the device and download books in compatible formats from various other websites like www. manybooks.net & www.freebookspot.com. Free Lifetime 3G 

With the Kindle Paperwhite 3G, you get free 3G for life. There are no monthly charges, no limit and it works anywhere in the world. You are obviously limited to the functions performed by the device — 

searching for and downloading books from Amazon, online search and sharing notes with friends. In India, 3G is powered by the Vodafone network. 

Media Powerhouse 

The Fire HD is a multimedia powerhouse with support for various audio/video formats, full HD video playback and a customised Dolby Digital Plus audio engine. The dual band, dual antenna WiFi offers faster connections for HD video. It also has powerful dual speakers on the side and a microHDMI port so that you can connect it to a larger display. 

Not a Usual Android Tab 

The Fire HD is the only 8.9-inch tablet with a full HD touchscreen. The interface is geared for consumption of books, apps & media. Since it syncs using your Amazon user ID, no set up is required — 

all content is synced over the cloud. The dual core processor, 16GB storage and 10 hour battery life is not the best for the price, but it offers smooth performance thanks to the custom UI. 

Unique User Interface 

Amazon has loaded up a heavily customised user interface on Android. You get a scrollable list of recently accessed apps, books, music, videos with large icons that are easy to view as well as navigate. 

There is deep facebook integration throughout the interface that makes it easy to share photos or post an update quickly from anywhere in the tablet.

No Google Play Store 

There is no Google Play store available on the Kindle Fire HD, so you have to rely entirely on the Amazon app store for apps. The good thing is that the screening process makes sure you get the best of the apps and Amazon offers one paid app for free everyday. The downside is that you do not have the entire variety of apps that are available on the Google Play Store. 

Default Apps 

WIth the Kindle Fire HD, you don't have all the usual Android apps for contacts, calendar, mail and browser. Instead, you get Amazon's own Silk browser that uses their servers to preload webpages so that they load faster on the device. The email app works with various mail service providers and automatically fetches and syncs your contacts with the device.

Courtesy : Tectonic, Times of India, dated: 26/06/2013

The Foodie’s Guide to Smartphone Apps

The Foodie's Guide to Smartphone Apps

The smartphone is an invaluable tool for the connected, city-based foodie. Great deals, recipes, recommendations, restaurant ratings, reservations & home delivery options are just an app away say Hitesh Raj Bhagat & Karan Bajaj

Getting There 

Trying to locate nearby eateries to grab a bite? Check out these apps to get location based results along with easy-to-follow directions

ON THE WAY 

This free Android app is a great companion for the road traveller. It shows details of various eating joints along the highways and major road routes. You can get driving directions to a particular place, cost for two as well as directly call them up for queries. The app is powered by Ixigo and its database is constantly updated with data aggregated from multiple travel websites. 

TIMESCITY 

Available for Android, BlackBerry 10 and iOS, timescity sorts your search results of restaurants and cafes on the basis of distance from current location - making it easy to identify the nearest eating joint. From the results, you can call a place directly, get directions as well as share the details of a place with your friends. 

WIKITUDE 

With wikitude you can use your camera to identify and locate various points of interest around your location along with the distance on how far is each place. Although it does not give detailed directions to reach a particular place, this augmented reality browser is very useful in discovering new places. 

Make it Yourself 

If you're the kind who prefers to cook at home rather than eat out, these apps (they're all available across multiple platforms) will come in handy 

EVERNOTE FOOD 

Evernote Food lets you explore recipes from various websites and save them to your Evernote account. 

You can save recipes with detailed notes, tags and pictures and even share them with friends over email or social networks. The recipes that you store using the app can be accessed on any device by just logging into your Evernote account. 

SWEET'N'SPICY 

If you crave Indian food, this free app offers you over 4,000 different recipes and over 400 video cooking tutorials. You can even select the ingredients available to you and the app will suggest a dish that can be made using those ingredients. As a bonus, it offers a calorie counter (great for weight watchers) plus other useful kitchen tips and tricks. 

COCKTAIL FLOW 

Probably one of the best designed cocktail apps, this one lets you first select what spirits and mixers you have and then suggests what you can make with them. The step-by-step guide makes it easy for even amateurs to quickly and easily make any cocktail. A useful 'bartenders guide' explains what the different types of glasses are, various bar tools and what their function is while making a drink. 

BIGOVEN 

With an exhaustive list of over 2,50,000 recipes from around the world, this free (ad-supported) app lets you search for recipes based on ingredients and keywords. If you like, you can create an account — 

doing so will help you to save your recipes, sync them across multiple devices, share them to social networks and even import more recipes from other cooking websites and blogs. The paid version of the app ($19.99/yr) removes ads & adds more features. 

Get it Delivered 

Craving fancy food but don't want to step out? Use these apps to order food from your couch 

FOODPANDA 

With over 1,000 restaurants in their catalogue, Foodpanda has an easy to navigate interface with detailed restaurant menus. There is no minimum delivery order and you also get the option to pay cash on delivery. Currently the app works for restaurants in NCR, Bangalore, Hyderbad, Mumbai, Pune, Jaipur and Chandigrah/Mohali. 

JUST EAT 

Just eat claims to have tied up with over 2,000 restaurants and other than ordering food for home delivery it even lets you book a table at select restaurants. You can also see rating of each restaurant along with the minimum order cost for delivery. They also have cash on delivery option. The service is available in NCR, Bangalore and Mumbai. 

DOMINO'S PIZZA 

For pizza lovers, domino's pizza India has an official smartphone app to order pizza. The app requires a registration via phone number or via Facebook and post that you can select from the various offerings. 

You can select the size, pizza base as well as additional toppings from the app along with beverages and side dishes. You can also use various discount coupons on the mobile app. Reservations & Discounts Use these apps when you need to find a good place to eat near you and/or get a sweet deal 

EATTR 

Although Eattr (Android only) is powered by Zomato, it's focused on getting you the best deals in restaurants around you. All you have to do is select your city from a drop down list (while the app gets your current location). Then, you can search by restaurant name or type of cuisine and it will start listing places to eat — nearest first. If you prefer, you can also do a generic search for deals in your city. 

DELIGHTCIRCLE 

DelightCircle (free for Android, BlackBerry and iOS) offers many different types of deals (apparel, electronics, grocery and so on). For restaurants, it first figures out your location and shows you the best deals closest to you. Click on any restaurant name and you'll see the offers, the restaurant's address and some helpful tips provided by other patrons. You can choose to call the restaurant directly from this page (if accessing DelightCircle from a smartphone) or view its location on a map (clicking on the 'Get Directions' buttons plugs the location info into Google Maps which starts the turn-by-turn directions from your current location). The service is available in nine cities: all the metros, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Pune, Ahmedabad and Chandigarh. 

CITYPAL 

Citypal (free for Android and iOS) requires you to sign up with them before you start. Sign up only takes a minute and you can choose to sign in with Facebook if you like. Signing in with Facebook also shows you friends who are also using Citypal. From the 'Places' list, click on any one to see details, call from within the app or get directions (using Google Maps). More features (such as search for restaurant by name) are being added soon. Citypal currently works in Mumbai, Delhi NCR, Bangalore and Pune. 

Reviews, Ratings 

Given all the choices, it can be difficult to decide on a place. These should be your 'go-to' apps when you need to get quick user reviews and restaurant ratings 

ZOMATO 

Zomato is the number one choice if you want to see how a particular eating place is rated by visitors. 

You can also view photos of the venue, the full menu as well as read reviews (and tips) about the food and service. The app also provides other useful information such as directions, phone numbers, the cost for two and the restaurant timings. 

BURRP! 

Even though Burrp!'s interface and details on offer are simpler compared to Zomato, it offers one big advantage: it has a line on the specialities served at various restaurants. This means you don't have to go read user reviews to find out what to order. It also shows you directions to the place and lets you place a call from within the app. 

Fun Stuff INSTAPLACE 

Like clicking photos of your food? Instaplace is good place to start — it's like Instagram but with places. 

Start up the app and click a photo or choose an existing one from the image gallery. Then, you can enhance your photograph with fun effects, add the text of your choice and the app will overlay it on the photo along with details of the location (pulled from Facebook or Foursquare) automatically. The final image can then be shared on Instagram or any other social network — you can share your location and boast about what you're eating at the same time. A pro version removes ads and adds more customisation. 

MOODIEFOODIE 

Available only for iOS, this app requires you to select your current mood. Depending on what you select, the app recommends what you should eat. It also helps build up your appetite by showing you big, tempting pictures of the food it recommends. Finally, you can get the detailed recipe for the dish with step-by-step directions on how to prepare it.

Courtesy : Tectonic, Times of India, dated: 19/06/2013

Fwd: 7 Ways iOS 7 Improves Apple's Mobile Devices

7 Ways iOS 7 Improves Apple's Mobile Devices

There may not be many revolutionary changes to Apple's popular mobile OS but it builds on popular features found in Android, BlackBerry & Windows Phone to deliver a streamlined experience say Karan Bajaj & Hitesh Raj Bhagat

Easier On The Eyes 

The most visible change in iOS7 is the new user interface. The icons have a modern, flat look with a new colour palette and new fonts that work well on small screens. Most native apps get new icons to suit the new colour palette. Menus and pop-up windows have a translucent background — to give the appearance of layers stacked on top of one another — makes it easier to see the layer right on top. There 's also a lot more white space to give everything a cleaner, more Apple-like feel. 

Easier File Sharing 

With iOS 7, apps can have a 'Share' button built in. Tap the share button to open a new window called Share Sheet from where you can send a selected photo, video or contact to supported apps such as Mail, iCloud, Twitter, Facebook, and Messages. Another feature called AirDrop lets you send files to a nearby iOS 7 user wirelessly (using Bluetooth & WiFi). People around you with iOS7 will be visible in the Share Sheet — and once he/she accepts the incoming transfer, it will be sent to their device. AirDrop transfers between two iOS 7 devices are automatically encrypted. Note that this feature only works with devices on iOS 7. 

Interface Improvements 

iOS 7 banks heavily on gestures to offer improved and easy navigation. Even though there is no physical back button, you get a virtual one — swipe in from the left of the screen to go back to the previous window (works in supported apps only). Swipe an email to delete or move it without opening the mail. Unlocking the phone is easier — instead of swiping left to right on a bar, the screen unlocks with a left-to-right swipe from anywhere on the lock screen. The Notification Centre can also be accessed from the lock screen (this can be switched off in settings). 

iTunes Radio 

Like many internet radio services, iTunes Radio offers over 200 genre-based radio stations to choose from. The difference is that it is baked right into iOS 7's Music app and is completely free. You can create a personalised radio station around your favourite artist or genre and set a balance between playing new songs or known hits as well as choose to never listen to a particular song. Any song being played on iTunes Radio can be purchased and downloaded immediately. Apple says that the service will be free (adsupported) and will initially be U.S. only. 

Control Center 

Quite like Android, with Control Center, you get quick access to a few commonly-used settings, apps & features. To bring up Control Center, swipe up from the bottom of the screen anywhere in the interface (including the lock screen). From the Control Center, you can activate Airplane mode, Bluetooth, WiFi, Do Not Disturb and screen rotation function. You can also adjust screen brightness and launch apps like the Torch, Calculator, Timer and Camera with one tap. Finally, Control Center also includes a mini music player with song information and playback controls (play/pause, track and volume). 

Better Multitasking 

iOS 7 offers a new way to multitask. Double click the home button to see preview screens of all the running apps — this makes it easier to view what you were working on. To close an app, just swipe the preview screen of that app upwards. iOS 7 also learns from your usage habits to optimise app updates. It will learn when you open an app on a daily basis and automatically get the latest update at that time. It will also schedule updates when it causes the least amount of battery drain. 

Camera Improvements 

Many iPhone users complained about the lack of camera features available by default — this also exaplains the popularity of third-party camera apps. With iOS 7, the interface looks modern, clean and adds gesture support. You can swipe horizontally to shift between Photo, Video, Panorama and the Square (for Instagram and the like) shooting modes. Various artistic filters are included — depending on the device you use, filters can either be tried out before taking a photo or applied after. 

What devices will iOS 7 be compatible with? 

iPhone 4, 4S & 5, 5th Gen iPod Touch, iPad 2, iPad 3, iPad 4 and iPad Mini will all get iOS 7 as a free update. 

Will all new features be available on all devices? 

Unfortunately not. Apple has chosen to withhold some features from older devices. The availability of features has nothing to do with the hardware capabilities of those devices. For instance, the new Panorama camera mode will only be available in iPhone 4S, iPhone 5 and 5th Gen iPod Touch (not on the iPads). Live camera filters will only be available in iPhone 5 and 5th Gen iPod Touch. AirDrop will work only on iPhone 5, iPad Mini, 4th Gen iPad & 5th Gen iPod Touch. And finally, Siri will continue to avoid the iPhone 4, iPad 2 and all older versions of the iPod Touch. 

When will the update be available? 

iOS developers have access to iOS 7 immediately. The rest of the public has to wait till Sep-Oct 2013 (no exact date has been given). 

What is 'iOS in the Car'? 

Sometime in 2014, you will start to see in-dash systems with 'iOS in the Car'. This new system will connect to an iPhone 5 for a greater level of incar integration. For instance, you will be able to control your iPhone using the car's built in touchscreen (or voice, using Siri), access music, take calls, use navigation and send/receive messages. Automakers that have already signed on to offer iOS in the Car include Acura, Chevrolet, Ferrari, Honda, Hyundai, Infiniti, Jaguar, Kia, Opel, Mercedes-Benz, Nissan and Volvo.

Sony CyberShot WX300 

SPECIFICATIONS 18.2MP CMOS sensor, Bionz processor, 20x optical zoom, 3-inch LCD, full HD video, 10fps burst shoot, optical steadyshot, built-in WiFi, HDMI, 166 grams 

Great quality images and videos, fast focus, compact, built-in WiFi Focussing issue at times, no manual 

controls, small control buttons 

KARAN BAJAJ 

NEW DELHI 

At first sight it's hard to believe that Sony has managed to cram a 20x optical zoom lens into this compact camera. More impressive is the fact that the camera also has built in optical image stabilisation, shoots at 10 fps (burst), has built-in WiFi and does full HD video recording. In terms of size, the camera will easily fit in the palm of your hand. It has a brushed metal finish and overall build quality is fantastic. Around the back is a 3-inch (non-touch) LCD that acts as the viewfinder but is prone to fingerprints and smudges. Various control buttons for menu, playback, one touch movie recording and the jog dial for navigation are lined up neatly alongside the display. One issue is that these buttons are a bit small for comfortable use. The mode selection dial on top cannot be operated via the thumb alone — 

it's far too small to get a proper grip. Thankfully the zoom ring and shutter button are a good size. 

Performance from the camera is good — superfast autofocus and impressive results. The camera powers up and is ready to shoot in less than 2 seconds — it takes the same time to power down. Images are sharp with rich colours and have minimal noise even at ISO 1600. Even pictures taken indoors without flash are very pleasing. In low light conditions without flash, the camera struggles like any other compact digital camera. There is one flaw we noticed; it has trouble focusing on objects when zoomed-in. If it's a landscape view, it will focus fine, but even after trying all the modes and after multiple attempts, it failed to focus on individual objects indoors. 

The full HD videos we recorded were very high quality and the camera supports zooming while recording. Since support for tracking focus is built in, we did not find any issues of blurred video when panning. 

There are no manual exposure or manual focus controls on the camera, but it offers plenty of scene modes along with sweep panorama and superior auto mode. With the built-in WiFi, it generates its own secure WiFi network. The network can be used to transfer files to a connected computer. You can also use a smartphone as a remote control (with the supported free app). When using a phone as a remote, the phone's display becomes your viewfinder. You can also zoom in/out using the phone. However, there is a lag of 2-3 seconds. At this price, the WX300 is impressive for its size and feature set. Battery life is phenomenal — we recorded over 300 shots with mixed use of flash and few minutes of video recording from a fully charged battery. You can also consider Canon's Powershot SX260HS that also offers 20x optical zoom, full manual controls with great performance for 15,995. 

ALSO SEE Canon SX260HS 

12MP CMOS sensor, Digic 5, Optical image stabilization, 20x optical zoom, 3-inch LCD, full HD video, built-in flash, GPS, manual controls, 15 995 HDMI, 231g ,

Courtesy : Tectonic, Times of India, dated: 12/06/2013