The OUYA Android Game-Console Goes on Sale for $100

The OUYA console, backed mainly by the audience on Kickstarter.com has finally gone on sale in a few countries. The Android-powered console uses its own store for games.

The console’s tale started almost a year ago in July 2012 when the project was initially launched. It quickly gained attraction and became one of the biggest projects to date on the site, raising nearly 86 million dollars on the site.

The Console

Hardware-wise, there’s hardly any ground-breaking stuff. Under the small box (the console, i.e.), you get a Nvidia Tegra 3 processor, 1 GB of RAM and 8 GB internal storage. The OS running is Android 4.1 Jelly Bean. That’s hardly extraordinary but then again, it simply can’t have Xbox Live or something but we feel that at least Play Store should’ve been on-board.

The Games

Games are obviously not “Crisis-like”. Currently the OUYA website says that there are 176 games available right now. The great thing is that all of them can be tried out before buying. The bad thing though is that they are of of quite low quality. Only a few of them really shine out.

Final Fantasy III and Gunslugs look great fun along with some others but otherwise nothing impressive. Several of the games are already on Android and other platforms but overall, they do feel underwhelming.

The developers will really have a great time with the OUYA. The console itself is really easy to open (as long as you have a screwdriver). They can then post it on OUYA’s store. Still, that number will most-probably pale in comparison to other gaming stores.

The Controller

The console will be shipping with one controller. It itself seems to be inspired by the Xbox 360 processor. Its four buttons on the right have the letters O, U, Y, and A written on them. Alongside them is the 3 inch touchpad. Additional controllers can be bought for $50.

For connectivity, a USB port, HDMI, Ethernet, Wifi, microUSB and Bluetooth 4.0 are there.

The Price

The most attractive aspect of OUYA is its price. At $99, the OUYA is definitely among the cheapest consoles available currently. Its already sold out at Amazon. Competition however is really tough. For $100 more you can get the new Xbox 360. Games will be much, much expensive though.

This means that it all comes down to the end user. If you’re a casual gamer or someone on a strict budget, then the OUYA will do, otherwise a second-hand console or even a mobile phone with an additional gamepad will work.

The Google Play Edition of Samsung Galaxy S4 and HTC One Go on Sale

A while back, Google announced that it would be selling the Samsung Galaxy S4 and HTC One with Vanilla version of Android OS onboard. That day has finally arrived and both of the phones have finally gone on sale on Google Play.

The Google Edition of the phones are deprived of their exclusive software features and are exactly the same in this department. It is agreeable that HTC Sense and Touchwiz UI add a lot of features over Vanilla Android but with both of them gone, the phones will feel a bit snappier, that’s for sure.

Specifications-wise, the duo is exactly the same as there original counterparts. The Galaxy S4 version packs a SnapDragon 600 chipset underneath instead of the octa-core version but that won’t be hurting anyone much. Instead, it will yield better battery life. HTC One, on the other hand, will be packing the same quad-core SnapDragon 600 version as the original phone.

Here are the specs of the Google Edition of Galaxy S4:

• Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean with Stock Android
• 7.9mm thick
• 130g heavy
• 5 inch display with Full HD resolution of 1080 x 1920 pixels
• Corning Gorilla Glass 3
• 1.9Ghz quad-core Krait 300 processor with SnapDragon 600 chipset
• Adreno 320 GPU
• 2 GB RAM with 16/32/64 GB expandable memory
• 13 megapixel camera with Full HD video recording, image stabilization and HDR
• 2 megapixel Full HD front-facing camera
• Wifi Hotspot, microUSB 2.0, USB-OTG, NFC, IR Blaster, Bluetooth 4.0
• 2600 mAh battery

Here are the specs of the Google Edition of HTC One:

• Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean with Stock Android
• 9.3mm thin
• 143g heavy
• 4.7 inch display with Full HD resolution of 1080 x 1920 pixels
• Corning Gorilla Glass 2
• 1.7Ghz quad-core Krait 300 processor with SnapDragon 600 chipset
• Adreno 320 GPU
• 2 GB RAM with 32/64 GB non-expandable memory
• 4 mp UltraPixel camera with Full HD video recording, image stabilization and HDR
• 2.1 megapixel Full HD front-facing camera
• Wifi Hotspot, microUSB 2.0., NFC, IR Blaster, Bluetooth 4.0
• 2300 mAh battery

The Galaxy S4 Google Edition will be costing $649 at launch. The HTC One will be cheaper at $599. Their original versions can be found at lower prices in the market currently but you know, the Vanilla Android lovers are always there so the deals won’t be too bad after all.

You should expect to find them in any of the popular online stores in Pakistan soon.

Digital Landscape of Pakistan (Infographic)

The Internet and social media are changing advertising, marketing and public relations, and it is time that the marketing professionals in Pakistan put digital in its proper place and give it the appropriate role.

2012 year end industry estimates have claimed a 100% growth in digital advertising spend in Pakistan to over PKR1 billion – this is still a drop in the bucket given the overall industry numbers and potential.

The below infographic outlines the digital landscape in Pakistan – consolidating several studies that have recently been published in the market – including the Economic Survey for 2011-12 by the government of Pakistan; on which 2012-13 budget of the country is based.

This infographic provides several key figures for businesses and digital marketers to understand the digital diaspora in a statistical and concise form.

It is important to note that, Pakistan is still struggling with multiple issues like internet censorship, lack of 3G services or online payment solutions – millions of Pakistanis have learned to embrace digital platforms (via mobile & internet) for work, to socialize or keep themselves updated with the latest news.

The statistics, however, are based on data starting from 2010 to some more current and up to date numbers. Industry numbers and information in some areas – especially digital advertising and ecommerce are just not available and in those cases estimates or feedback from industry experts has been used. It is good enough for a quick understanding.

Intel Launches 4th Gen Intel Core processors in Pakistan

Naveed Siraj, Country Manager, Intel Pakistan with his team at the launch of 4h Gen Intel Processors.

Intel yesterday announced the 4th generation Intel® Core™ processor family, dubbed as Haswell, in Pakistan.

Intel said that its 4th gen Intel Core delivers optimized experiences personalized for end-users’ specific needs, packing extraordinary battery life capability, better graphics and new usages in devices such as 2-in-1s, tablets, robust enthusiast and portable all-in-one systems and secure and manageable business device with Intel® vPro™.

The new Intel Core processors provide responsive, secure and powerful performance for consumers to create and consume content wherever their mobile lifestyles take them. The first chip ever built from the ground up for the Ultrabook™ and the most significant roadmap change since Intel® Centrino® technology, 4th gen Intel Core processors combine PC performance with tablet-like mobility, accelerating a broad new category of 2-in-1 devices.

“4th gen Intel Core processors offer the most significant gain in battery life enabling ever achieved by Intel, up to double the graphics and significant CPU performance improvements that are delivering exciting new consumer experiences,” said Naveed Siraj, Country Manager, Intel Pakistan. “Today’s announcement accelerates a new category of 2-in-1 computing devices delivering the best of a notebook and a tablet in amazing new form factors. This year is the perfect time for consumers to refresh their old tablet or PC with these new 2-in-1 devices.”

Low Power Plus Enhanced Performance and Better Graphics

4th gen Intel Core processors can bring a 50 percent improvement in battery life over the previous generation, and two to three times improvement in standby battery life. Intel exceeded its expectations on power reduction at the CPU level to as low as 6 watts and also worked across the system for power optimization.

Active power is improved as is idle power by architecting new ultra low-power processor states where the CPU consumes a fraction of the power compared to previous idle states. The 4th generation Intel Core processors also bring the highest performance currently available in mainstream computing with the additional benefit of superior graphics support.

More Peace of Mind for New Intel Core-Powered Ultrabook

4th gen Intel Core – completely redesigned from the ground up specifically for the Ultrabook – represents a seismic shift in the compute landscape. All new Ultrabooks will be touch-enabled and have Intel Wireless Display capability built in to bring natural touch and motion interactivity and speed mode for low-latency gaming on the big screen. Ultrabooks will also be hardware-ready for voice command and control, giving the user flexibility to choose the most natural and intuitive way of handling the task at hand. Ultrabooks will wake in less than 3 seconds from deep sleep and in some cases much faster, offering the nearly “instant-on” experience that people want. Ultrabooks will pull email, social media and other updates while in a low-power mode, meaning less waiting for fresh data upon waking. Ultrabooks are also equipped with built in security capabilities. The recently introduced McAfee LiveSafe service brings the deepest protections available by taking advantage of technology in new Intel Core processors and Intel IPT and Intel AT.

Built for the Enterprise

4th generation Intel Core vPro processors further strengthen security and increase business productivity. The 4th generation Intel® Core™ processor family is also ideal for the design of high-performance, low-power intelligent systems for retail, industrial, media servers, medical and digital surveillance environments. The improved 3-D graphics and media performance deliver outstanding HD media playback for highly visual retail and digital signage applications, while new Intel AVX 2.0 instructions enable faster calculations for the rapid collection and interpretation of sound waves in an ultrasound machine.

It is estimated that by 2016 all TV, video-on-demand and Internet video combined may compose up to 86 percent of global consumer traffic.

Sony Announces New Super-Sized Phablet the Xperia Z Ultra

Sony is the latest company in the increasingly growing number of companies producing out monstrously large phones. The new phablet, the Xperia Z Ultra has a giant 6.4 inch Full HD display and the latest SnapDragon 800 processor.

The Xperia Z Ultra happens to be amazingly thin, in fact, it’s the world’s thinnest 1080p Full HD display smartphone at only 6.5mm. It is quite heavy though, at 212g.

The Xperia Z Ultra’s 6.4 inch display comes with Sony’s new X-Reality and OptiContrast tech and is of Full HD 1080p resolution. It’s also super-sensitive just like the new Lumias and Galaxy S4, which means you can virtually use any object to work on the phone, including pencils.

The Xperia Z Ultra is the world’s first phone to pack a SnapDragon 800 processor. It comes with 2 GB RAM and 16 GB internal expandable storage. The back hosts a 8 megapixel camera with 1080p Full HD video recording and HDR mode. LED Flash is missing here unfortunately.

The Xperia Z Ultra happens to be water-resistant. It comes with IP58 certification which means it can dive deeper than 1 meter for more than 30 minutes.

The phone runs on Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean.

Here are the full specs of the Xperia Z Ultra:

• Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean
• 6.5mm thick
• Weight: 212g
• 6.4 inch display with 1080p Full HD resolution
• Super-sensitive, shatterproof display
• IP58 certified water-resistant
• 2.2Ghz quad-core SnapDragon 800 processor
• Adreno 330 GPU
• 2 GB RAM with 16 GB internal expandable storage
• 8 megapixel camera with 1080p Full HD and HDR mode
• Bluetooth 4.0, microUSB 2.0, USB-OTG, NFC, 4G LTE
• 3050 mAh battery

The phone will be available in Q3 this year for a price tag of 719 Euros which will be equivalent to around PKR 95,000. That price tag might be tough to swallow but due to its high-tech specs, it will probably find quite many buyers.