4 K COMPETITION HEATS UP

Everyone's vying for top spot at IFA 2014 in Berlin and Panasonic has well and truly thrown its hat into the ring with its new X492 ultra-high definition 4K television.

Competition for 4K TV's has been rife this year, with the likes of Toshiba, Samsung and Sony all unveiling 4K models, and this latest Panasonic offering shows that they obviously don't want to miss out on the action.

Read more: Falling behind its competitors? Panasonic's X800 TV will not support Netflix 4K

The 85in Viera 4K UHD model boasts a resolution of 3,840 x 2,160 pixels as well as Panasonic's own 200Hz back light scanning and 4K intelligent frame creation technology.

There are also a host of other features, including: a quad-core Pro5 processor, a 4K studio master drive, 3D colour management system and automatic local dimming to improve the contrast of black and white backgrounds.

The TV even comes equipped with the latest HDMI ports that can support 4K 60fps input.

Read more: IFA 2014 live: All the biggest tech news as it breaks

As you may have already guessed, this TV is certainly not going to come cheap. All this technology places this model emphatically in the high-end range and, although there's no word of a price yet, we're pretty sure our pocket money at ITProPortal won't cover it.

HP HYBRID IN IFA 2014

HP has unveiled five new consumer devices at the ongoing IFA 2014 trade show in Berlin. The new lineup includes two colourful Chromebook models, two HP Envy 2-in-1 detachable hybrids, and the ultraportable 2-in-1 HP Pavilion x2. 

The new 11-inch HP Chromebook and 14-inch HP Chromebook are both thin and light. The 14-inch model is based on an Nvidia Tegra K1 processor and boasts "world-class graphics performrance" while the 11.6-inch model is based on an Intel Celeron N2830. Both models' screens have a resolution of 1366x768 and both promise 8 hours, 15 minutes of battery life. Both also offer Wi-Fi b/g/n/ac and optional mobile LTE/HSPA modules. 

Multitouch trackpad gestures are supported, along with HDMI, USB 3.0 and USB 2.0 ports. The two models also have front-facing webcams and microphones. The 11-inch model will go on sale starting at $199.99 (approximately Rs. 12,090) in either turquoise or white, while the 14-inch model will cost $299.99 onwards (approximately Rs. 18,130) and come in turquoise, neon green. orange or silver.

The new HP Envy x2 devices are available in 13.3-inch and 15.6-inch models. Both are powered by the new Intel Core M processor and promise great performance as well as long battery life. The new design features a fabric-covered backlit Bluetooth keyboard which doubles as a cover. The 13-inch model comes with up to 256GB of solid-state storage while the 15-inch model optionally comes with a 500GB hybrid hard drive. 

Alcatel Onetouch IFA 2014 LAUNCH

Alcatel Onetouch has a new range of low priced smartphones and tablets that come in a variety of different colours and sizes that take advantage of one of Qualcomm’s latest Snapdragon quad-core processors.

The Pop 2 and Pop 8S both offer 4G LTE connectivity and are among the first devices that include Qualcomm’s brand new Snapdragon 410 processor.

“Our POP series makes the smartphone experience fun, easy and available to everyone,” said Dan Dery, Chief Marketing Officer for Alcatel Onetouch. “These devices offer a choice for every need, whether that’s streaming, browsing or creating content on the go. The POP 2 family is a proud continuation of this tradition.”

Information on the Pop 2 is scarce except for that it has five different colour panels inside the box that come in yellow, red, blue, green and purple with are easily interchangeable.

Further to this it has a download booster, Wi-Fi and can also be bought in a premium edition with the two screen sizes available across the whole range – 4.5in and 5in.

The Pop 8, meanwhile, is an 8in tablet that is branded as an entry level offering that is powered by the same Qualcomm Snapdragon 410 quad-core processor and weights just 309g.

European versions of the device have a 5-megapixel camera on the back and all versions come with a variety of smart feartues including voice calling and TV companion apps to allow control around the home.

There’s currently no indication when the devices will be released and indeed the exact markets that Alcatel Onetouch plans to brings them to 

best phone ever Samsung Galaxy Note 4

From Sony’s successor to the flagship Z2 that was launched earlier this year to Microsoft’s affordable flagship rivaling the iPhone 5c and the likes, the first day at the IFA had exciting new smartphones to show off. However, one of the biggest highlights of the trade show was Samsung’s trump card Galaxy Note 4, which is set to take Apple’s upcoming phablet head-on. Samsung also threw in a surprise package with the Note Edge, which puts the Youm flexible display to use. We bring to you a quick recap of all the smartphone announcements at the IFA, so far.

Samsung Galaxy Note 4
Without much ado, Samsung has officially announced the Galaxy Note 4, the next iteration in its Note series and successor to the Note 3. It comes with a revamped S Pen stylus that offers better grip and more functions. The accompanying software has been spruced up for a cleaner, dare-we-say Android L-like look. Snap Note turns photos of printed documents and text into editable text, like an OCR editor. In terms of processing speed, expect two powerful variants; one with Snapdragon 805 chipset, which brings LTE Cat 6 support and another with Samsung’s Exynos 5433 chipset and LTE Cat 4 connectivity. The Note 4 runs Android 4.4 KitKat at launch and with the proprietary interface on top.

linux news

is perhaps one of the hallmark Linux distributions. It is sponsored byRed Hat, the commercial developer of Red Hat Enterprise Linux. Red Hat's investment in the Fedora community is collaborative. Fedora Linux releases often provide RHEL developers with a field test environment that incubates innovative open source software technologies.

Fedora Project Leader Matthew Miller

Red Hat Linux 1.0 was released in late 1994 as Red Hat Commercial Linux. It was the first Linux distribution to use the RPM Package Manager as its packaging format. The distribution spawned several other distributions, such as CentOS, Mandriva Linux andYellow Dog Linux. Red Hat discontinued the Red Hat Linux distro in 2004, replacing it with Red Hat Enterprise Linux to meet the targeted needs of enterprise environments.

The Fedora community continues to develop its own Fedora distro as a noncommercial (free) version for consumers who elect not to pay for enterprise support. However, users will discover that the upcoming Alpha release of Fedora 21 may well be a radically different distribution that's more than a desktop OS.

In this interview, Matthew Miller, the Fedora Project's new leader, discusses with LinuxInsider the pressing issues impacting the growth of Fedora Linux and how it is steering the progress of the FOSS (free and open source software) movement.

LinuxInsider: How do you see progress and adoption of the Fedora distro?

Matthew Miller: We are at a point where we have had 10 years of good success. We had a really big burst of popularity a while ago. Since then, it has been coasting. So a lot of what we are trying to address in Fedora and working on now is designed to change that. We are projecting a growth curve as a result instead of a flat status among users.

LI: Is this coasting period a reflection on Linux usage in general?

Miller: I do not think it is Fedora per se that has a problem. I think it is the Linux distributions as a concept and an operating system are not fulfilling expectations as well as they were a decade ago. We are trying to address that at Fedora.

LI: What new features are you planning to help make Linux more fulfilling?

Miller: We are in the midst of our Fedora 21 cycle. The Alpha release should be coming out very soon now. One of the major things we are doing in response to the waning popularity is release three separate Fedora deliverables for this release. We are planning three separate products, if you will, although we are not going to be selling them. We are splitting Fedora into Fedora Server, Fedora Cloud and Fedora Workstation. Each of those is intended to have a target focus.

LI: Is the Fedora community reinventing its brand?

Miller: If you look at Fedora over the past decade, you see sort of a decision to make it one-size-fits-all. But we are now looking at Fedora and asking, 'what is Fedora?' and 'what can we make better?' When you look at Fedora now, you can see that there was a decision to make it a desktop-only distro -- so that was the focus for a while.

LI: Is this a radical change for Fedora?

Miller: When you look at Fedora's history separate from Red Hat Enterprise Linux, it had a very historic user base of sysadmins. That user base has been important to Fedora and has always been there. That includes sysadmins running Fedora as a desktop and sysadmins running Fedora for a lot of things in production that are not desktop-related.

LI: So why make a change?

Miller: Over the last few years, the focus has changed. There has been a growing tension in the community. So we made the decision to address those other uses for Fedora. We thought it would be better to diffuse those tensions by making separate versions.

LI: Why has the Fedora community not shown much interest in a server release until now?

Miller: One of the reasons there never was a Fedora server is that at one of the very early Fedora conferences in Boston, we had a session to define what a Fedora server would be. I saw a lot of disparity. There were 30 different people in the room discussing 30 different server things. So we made the decision that there would not be a Fedora server.

LI: What will the first Fedora Server release encompass?

Miller: The server distribution is focused on the idea of server role and easy deployment. We will have a policy under it to guide its development.

LI: How different will the workstation edition be from the existing Fedora desktop distro?

Miller: For the workstation version, we are packaging a desktop distro that has all the previous features and desktop choices. We are not taking those away. But we really want to really focus on packaging up a desktop distribution that targets a specific niche that will be really successful. The idea is to make Fedora into the best office distro. We have some people working on exactly what that means. I do not want to get people too excited about changes. It will not be too radically different -- but it will have that new focus. It will be really appealing to office workers. The goal is to have Fedora spread out rather than fade into abomination.

LI: What is your strategy for dealing with the cloud?

MOTO X with awesome spec is back again

Motorola launched the second generation of its popular Moto G and Moto X devices on Friday, called the Moto G (Gen 2) and Moto X (Gen 2). 

While the company has announced India pricing and availability of the Moto G (Gen 2), it has yet to disclose the pricing for the Moto X (Gen 2) in India - though Motoroladid say it will be made available by the end of the month. The company however has disclosed US pricing at $499.99 (roughly Rs. 30,200) unlocked, and $99.99 (roughly Rs. 6,000) on a 2-year contract across select carriers.

Both phones are powered by Android 4.4.4 KitKat, and the company has confirmed it will roll out an Android L update for the two devices - however, there was no mention made of such an update for the previous generation.

microsoft screen sharing for lumia devices

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=28iFIFsGXs0&list=

Microsoft went with its own branding for the curiously named Screen Sharing For Lumia Phones HD-10, but the device looks and works like your typical Miracast dongle: It lets you beam content from a smartphone to an HDMI-connected HDTV so you can watch movies, photo slide shows, and other content on the big screen.

If you haven't already, be sure to check out IFA 2014: Microsoft Devices Announces New Lumias, Accessories, Firmware for an overview of all of Microsoft's devices announcements today.

Here's what's happening with the Microsoft Screen Sharing For Lumia Phones HD-10:

It's Miracast. Don't be fooled by the name. The HD-10 is your basic Miracast dongle.

NFC pairing plate. Like other Miracast devices, the HD-10 uses Wi-Fi for connectivity. But it includes a handy NFC disc, which makes pairing painless on NFC-compatible devices, including many Lumia handsets. Best of all, you can place this NFC disc anywhere in the room so you can more easily pair your handset and the HD-10, which can remain over by the HDTV.

nokia selfie phone lumia 735

he Lumia 730 has a quad-core 1.2GHz processor with 1GB of RAM inside a Snapdragon 400 chipset. The display is a 4.7" ClearBlack unit of 720p resolution. The camera on the back is a 6.7MP unit with a wide f/1.9 aperture for better low light performance.

The Lumia 730 goes on sale this month for €199 with 3G and the LTE Lumia 735 wil cost €219. All new Lumia smartphones, starting with the Lumia 730 will come with three months of Unlimited Wold (Skype calls subscription) for free.