MasHD Blog

The iPod touch is still considered to be the best PMP (portable media player) round , although the user base has diminished over the years , the device is still preferred by parents who want to give their child a fun all round device without cellular connectivity .when Apple launched the 5th gen iPod touch at $299 , many buyers felt upset over the fact that there was no entry model for a affordable price  , so Apple introduced a cut down version without the camera , and lanyard loop attachment for $230 but this was still a tough sell . After realizing the mistake , Apple has finally removed the cut down version in favor of a 16GB version with a camera and lanyard loop ,the new 16GB iPod touch comes in the same pallet of colors as the earlier 32 and 64 gb versions and comes with a product red version as well . The entry level (16GB) iPod touch has dropped to $199 with the 32GB version costing $249 and $299 for the 64GB version . The only catch with the 16GB model is that the lanyar...

pic.twitter.com/ZXNtLhlyw6 — Occupy Google (@occupygoogl) June 24, 2014 While Google unveiled their developer preview of the next version of Android and new SDK's for smartwatches ,car displays and tv systems yesterday , the conference was interrupted by two people from the audience and a sizable crowd who started protesting outside Google's HQ for net neutrality . The activist group "Occupy Google" erected tents outside Google's HQ demanding freedom for the internet in the form of Net neutrality , some of the protesters were arrested by the police after they expressed interest to camp on the HQ premises that night . The two other incidents occurred when two people from the audience shouted anti Google slogans during the live event . A San Francisco  elementary teacher who has been pressured by the rising cost of housing in the city shouted  "Stop Jack Halprin " repeatedly , the verbal attack was on one of Google's lawyers , who apparently is the...

Android's Open Automotive alliance is one of the latest treaties formed by Google renamed as Android auto. The main objective of the group was to bring Android to the automotive world via the inteligent infotainment systems found on most cars today . The new system allows the user to plug in his or her handset to the car ,allowing Android L's car interface to take over . Basic features such as voice guided search , music playback , reply to texts and call connectivity are all run on the smartphone , with the touch screen car display acting as a mirror to the phone . The car interface minimizes the hassle and danger when driving and offers the driver keep using basic  functions without the burden of typing in a small keyboard while on the road .25 auto companies hae joined the Alliance and many centre console computer manufacturers like Nvidia have also joined the group . Written by Rakitha for MasHD Click the "GOOGLEIO2014" tag below for related arti...

Android wear was originally demo'ed a few months back , but now the Android based smartwatch platform is finally official . With the Announcement of Android L and its card like UI with its Material design , Android based smartwatches are finally at a level where they can go mass market starting today . The Android wear initiative is lead by LG ,Samsung and Motorola , who have teamed up in creating three different hardware models with Motorola taking things a bit too hard with its round design . The other two devices use the standard cube design but Truth be told  , all three serve the same purpose . The wear connects mostly by Wifi direct  , it can also act via Bluetooth but search and map functions require Wifi . The Wear devices feature a very minimalistic interface , swipe down to mute the device and swipe up to un mute and allow data transfer . The wear devices can show data such as maps and location information which can be entered via Voice search . By swiping to th...

Google demoed a developer preview of the upcoming Android "L" project aka Lollipop at Google IO  2014 . The update is the biggest change since the holo theme used since Android 4.0 ICS back in 2011 and it features major changes in the way the platform performs and scales to multiple devices which include Smartphones , Tablets ,Smartwatches ,In Car entertainment systems and Home Entertainment systems . First off , we have Android's new design language called "Material design" - this is Android's replacement to the Holo theme used from Android 4.0 to 4.1 . The new UI uses a card type Interface with flat surfaces with variable 3D shadow effects which are rendered real time . the theme is easily scalable for smartphones and tablets so developers can easily use the set designs to make quality apps for the platform . Android L says Bye bye to Dalvik officially , and is now replaced by ART which supports faster transitions at around 60fps . Android...

After revealing Android marketshare specs , Google announced that they plan to expand to the next 5 Billion people in emerging markets with the new Android One project , this is basically a off the shelf  hardware and software platform that allows OEM's to use Google's pre produced designs and hardware components to create sub $100 Android smartphones for people who like to buy a smartphone , but are unable to afford them . Apart from the hardware reference models , Android One  will feature a Google backed software solution as well , and this includes Stock Android , Promised updates for future versions of the software and minimal bloatware . The Android One project will start in India with Micromax taking the lead with their first Android One device , which has Dual Sim Support , a SD card slot , 4.5" hd Display and FM Radio  for  less than $100. other Indian OEM's like Karbonn and Spice are said to join soon , along with other OEM's from around the world . ...

Via -TechCrunch With over 1 billion active users per month and a billion + activations Android continues to dominate the smartphone market .Android tablet share has hit a whopping 62% , this figure was released at GOOGLEIO2014 , for more info , click the GoogleIO2014 tag below

We are less than 2 hours away from Google IO 2014 , the developer event is Google's equavalent to WWDC and it is mostly a event that shows the next version of Android , new developer tools and google hardware . About one hour ago , Android police obtained screenshots of the next version of Android , rumored to be Android Lollipop , the next version might be the end of the 4.x lineup which started in 2011 with ICS . The leaked pictures show a new UI with flatter icons and a card like system to display information . Further details are not available as Android Lollipop is still only a leak, so stay tuned to MasHD for further updates by clicking the AndroidLollipop tag below Written by Rakitha for MasHD Source - Androidpolice

The Nokia X series of smartphones are only 2 months old , but that didn't Stop Microsoft (Nokia's new Owner) from launching the Nokia X2 , which is the technical replacement for the Nokia X , X+ and XL smartphones . The Nokia X2 features better hardware in the form of More RAM(1GB LPDDR3) and a newer Snapdragon 200 chipset which is based on the Cortex A7 series of processors rather than the Snapdragon s4 play processors using the Cortex A5 design in the Nokia X lineup and a home key and a Multi functional back key . The Nokia X2 is also based on the Nokia X platform 2.0 ,which uses Android API 18 which is basically Android 4.3 Jellybean , the Older versions (Nokia X,Nokia X+ and Android XL are based on Nokia X platform 1.0 based on Android 4.2) and are no longer compatible for the Nokia X platform 2.0 update , so basically , the Nokia X ,X+ and XL are now considered obsolete ,which is a shame considering that they have had such a short lifetime .   Written by Rakitha f...

On its own , the F Type is a cool machine , but what will happen if you made it even more Ubercool by adding some retro to it? Say hello to the limited edition Jaguar Project 7 , which is said to be in production for 250 units . The project 7 harks back to the old D-Type jag of the bygone era , although this is just your typical F Type underneath , the engine is said to be replaced with a  supercharged 5.0 L v8 with about 550bhp .Other changes include the obvious single air cowling on the left hand side and a new spoiler which now stops the car from having a roof .The car is painted in a shade of blue/green (Ecurie Ecosse Blue) with white racing stripes and a "7" roundel on the doors .The Project 7 is expected to cost somewhere in the range of $100,000+ which is not shocking considering that most special edition F Types usually end up in that range , expect to see the Project 7 in flesh and blood (metal and fuel) at the Goodwood festival of speed this year Written by Rak...

The Nokia X was not well received by the tech community , its lack of a home and menu button , rear flash , and a front facing camera and its lack of ram made it a dead on arrival device  . Nokia's new owner ,Microsoft quickly replaced the two month old Nokia X range with the Nokia X2 bringing some new specs and a still affordable price . The Nokia X2 at first glance ,looks a lot like the Lumia 620 with its left bezel Nokia logo . the phone also has a new design with a transparent glass like coating surrounding  the plastic case making it feel like a holographic key tag .The phone now comes in a orange barley color and Nokia's signature Android green and Black (other colors will come later) . The back cover is still removable which gives you access to the MicroSD card , Sim slots and a 1800 mAh removable battery . This is perfectly enough to power the 4.3" IPS LCD which has a resolution of 480x800 and Clearblack technology .The Phone still has a windows phone inspired...

Lg landed a a perfect hit with the LG G3 .The phone won the hearts and minds of many .The company expects to launch their masterpiece on the 27th this month (June) .The phone is expected to cost somewhere in the range of $700 off contract (Global version) without local taxes . LG will reveal market prices depending on which country you are in . The device will first Launch in Asia and later progress to Europe and the Middle East and other regions in July . The Asian and European versions will come with the ability to charge wirelessly via a QI charger which will be sold separately  . “Early indications give us reason to be optimistic that G3 will be as successful globally as it has been in Korea,” said Dr. Jong-seok Park, president and CEO of the LG Electronics Mobile  Communications Company.  “It’s quite an honor to be considered the new industry benchmark for premium smartphones but in the end, what really matters is how consumers feel about our latest fl...

Amazon has been dealing with mobile devices for a very long time now , the Kindle series of E Readers have been highly successful , but with the rise of low priced tablets , Amazon knew that the Days of the E-reader are numbered . The company adapted to the situation and launched the Amazon Kindle Fire , which for its time , was one of the fastest devices devices to come out with a then High end -Dual core processor , the price of $199 made it a instant hit .Amazon rode on this low price-high end spec platform until last week when they launched their first smartphone ,The Amazon Fire Phone , which being priced at $649 off contract ($200 for a 2year contract on AT&T) makes it a definite No-No to the average smartphone buyer , but As far as Amazon is concerned ,the Fire phone is not about selling a phone , its about making a statement , or let's say , setting a foundation for future devices , but in order to do that , the foundation must be firm , people usually pay thousand...

I would like to apologize to our readers  for the long delay , the blog was offline for almost 2 weeks due to my examinations and therefore I was not able to publish the latest news topics that were out during that time . Now the mashd blog is back , and now you can expect to read the latest tech/automotive news topics daily . Rakitha Main Editor -MasHD

People usually lost count of how many Samsung Galaxy tablets actually existed , the lineup expanded every year with the term Tab being added to fixed display sizes of 7" and above , the tab lineup was  not a worthy competitor to the ipad because of its inferior specifications , but Samsung started to give Apple a run for its money by launching the TabPro lineup , which are fully equipped with the latest specs and a premium prices . However , the tabPro lineup's success may be short lived because Samsung has launched the Tab S lineup to replace the TabPro tablets. The new Amoled displays , and Samsung's own Exynos chipsets and fingerprint sensors make these tablets outshine the competition , and it also makes Samsung's premium offerings worth the extra money. Samsung Galaxy S 10.5 is Samsung's second Tab S device after the Tab S 8.4  . The tablets design is quite similar to the TabPro , but it features a more streamlined faux metal rim around the edges with t...

First off , we have the Tab S 8.4 , this is basically a beefed up version of the TabPro 8.4 . The tablets design is quite similar to the TabPro , but it features a more streamlined faux metal rim around the edges with the 3.5mm headphone jack pushed to the rear end of the device , the right hand side contains the IR Blaster , a SD card slot , and a Sim Slot if you preorder the LTE version . The tablet's back has been given a new dimpled look which is similar to the one on the Galaxy S5 smartphone , the 8mp camera and the LED flash have been shifted to the middle , and they no longer have that metal insert around them.The front button now has a fingerprint sensor which is similar to the one found on the Galaxy S5. The internals of the Tab S 8.4 are very interesting , First off we have that gorgeous 2560x1600 resolution SAMOLED display which pushes a mind blowing 359ppi which is the same resolution as its older TabPro 8.4 counterpart , but unlike the TabPro 8.4 , which has a ...

In a few years , we will need to have special bags to carry our smartphones around ,the term Man-purse springs to my mind when I think of these oversize smartphones , but truth be told , these phone designs are here to stay , so like all companies adapting to the new style , Lenovo has launched a 6" phablet called the K920 . The phone at first glance looks similar to previous Lenovo smartphones in design , but the Bezels have been shaved off to make it look a bit slimmer . The phone packs a 6" 2560x1440 resolution display which is the same resolution as the LG G3 launched a few weeks ago, Lenovo has modified the Stock Android 4.4 experience with its own UI , increasing the usability of such a large device .The phone has dual sim capacity , a 32GB storage capacity with MicroSD expansion slot and 3GB of ram to power the insane display resolution . The phone runs on a Snapdragon 801 chip , which is now the industry standard for all flagship smartphones . The phone has a  op...

For many , the OnePlus  One was vaporware , and after the recent delay , many  potential buyers gave up on the idea of buying the phone because of the long waiting list and disappointment over its actual existence , but now , Oneplus has officially stated that they will start delivery of the units for the first batch of sent invites after a software fix from Cyanogenmod was issued yesterday . The recent software update patched up a new OpenSSL bug that was discovered on the 5th of June .The Oneplus one runs on a AOSP(Android Opensource platform) version of Android 4.4 which offer a ton of customizations which are not available on Stock Android devices .,The phone which is powered by a Snapdragon 801 processor competes with rival smartphone brands by offering it at a cut price of $299 for the 16GB version and $349 for the 64GB version , that being said , the phone is extremely difficult to buy mainly because of the invite system which requires you to either beg for a inv...

Canvas Entice A105 is a budget 5" smartphone from the Indian OEM -Micromax . the phone has a Quadcore Broadcom BCM23550 chipset which uses a Cortex A7 Architecture ,the chip is mated to a Broadcom Videocore IV GPU and 512MB of Ram with 4GB of onboard storage with a Expansion slot . The phone has single 5MP camera that records upto 720p HD video and this does not have a LED flash ,the front camera is a 0.3mp sensor with VGA video quality . The Android 4.4 powered phone is expected to sell for around 80-90 Euros and it will come with Dual Sim support . source -  GSMArena

When it comes to being slim , The Sony Xperia T3 takes the cake for being the slimmest smartphone this year .The phone measures in at 7mm thick and it features a 5.3" display with Sony's omni balance designThe design features a slight curve that mimics the design of the Xperia M before it , the design however skips on waterproofing ,which has lately become a part of Sony's new phone range .The display of the phone has a resolution of 720p , but the pixel density is reduced to 277ppi because of the 5.3" display . The phone has a Snapdragon 400 Processor ,1GB of RAM and 8GB of onboard storage (of which 5GB is available for apps) along with a MicroSD card slot that takes cards upto 32GB for external media . The T3 features a 8MP Sony ExmorRS sensor with a LED flash , the phone supports 1080p video recording ,AR effects and Live streaming to facebook and other social media and it has a backup front facing 720p camera with 1.1mp. The phone supports 4G LTE Cat4 , ...

HTC officially announced their slightly affordable version of the HTC One M8 dubbed HTC One E8 . The phone looks a bit like the HTC One M7 from last year but it comes with a polycarbonate shell .The HTC One E8 basically has the same internal specs as the flagship , but the camera , and the pricing has been altered to match the $450 list price  . For better or for worse , The HTC One E8 skips the 4megapixel "Ultrapixel" madness HTC has been carrying out for two years , and in return , the Main camera has been replaced by a single 13MP camera with a f2.2aperture and 1080p recording . The camera flash has been reduced to a single LED and it does not have the Optical image stabilization feature present in the One M series . The front camera has been left untouched and it still has a wide angle 5mp sensor at the front . The display of the E8 has the same 1080 p resolution of its Premium brother , the display is protected by Gorilla glass 3 and it has 441ppi . The dual fr...

A few hours ago , Apple announced OSX version 10.10 code named "Yosemite" , Gone are the days when Apple named Their new OS versions after Big cats , From now on , OSx versions will carry names of famous landmarks instead . apart from OSX , Apple also introduced the next version of IOS dubbed iOS 8 "Okemo" iOS went through a radical change after iOS 7 , but the platform was still not appealing as before , so Apple has made things different with iOS 8 and , for the first time included some features that would make it appealing to the mass market . First off , the Notification centre has gone through a major upgrade , swiping down from any app or even the lockscreen allows you to instantly reply to texts , facebook messages and tweets without pressing the home button to shift apps . The today view now features widgets , although they are not similar to Android's offerings , they still display relevant information such as sport scores , prices , stocks in...

A few hours ago , Apple announced OSX version 10.10 code named "Yosemite" , Gone are the days when Apple named Their new OS versions after Big cats , From now on , OSx versions will carry names of famous landmarks instead . Yosemite features a complete redesign of the OSX interface , the new features makes the mac based OS to look similar to its iOS mobile counterpart with similar "glass" features , icons and a new layout . The new messaging app is a perfect example where Apple has shifted for a more iOS like design .The mail app has also been revamped and Yosemite features a enhanced spotlight search to search local content as well as stuff online . the notification centre features a glass look with support for widgets , extended view and a dark mode to adjust the transparency . Email attachments have been given a boost and Apple has now included the support for extra large  attachments upto 5GB where data is stored on iCloud .the email receive...

Dell has unveiled 2 new Android based tablets with 64bit Intel processors . the new Dell Venue 7 and Venue 8 are aimed at budget conscious buyers who want well made products with reasonable power inside them . The Dell Venue is the cheapest tablet of the duo , The venue 7 has a 7" IPS display with 1280x800 resolution , the tablet has a dual core intel Z3460 processor clocked to 1.6Ghz . The Dell Venue 8 has a 1920x1200 resolution IPS panel which a 2.3Ghz Z3480 dual core processor . The Venue 7 has a 1 MP front facing camera and the Venue 8 has a 2MP camera , Both devices have 5mp cameras on the back (without flash) Both tablets feature Maxx Audio enhancement and 1GB of RAM with MicroSD card slots for storage expansion . The Dell Venue 7 and Venue 8 run on Android 4.4 Kitkat And are priced at $159 for the Venue 7 and $199 for the Venue 8 Phandroid

Asus has a reputation for thinking out of the box , and most of the time , those ideas do stick well , The Asus Transformer Book V (5) is a Android phone , Android tablet , Android hybrid laptop , a Windows tablet and a Windows Laptop . The hybrid device is confusing to many , but the transformer book 5 is basically a dual boot smartphone with a tablet dock and a keyboard dock . the Phone is basically the heart of the entire process , the phone has a quadcore Intel atom processor with 2GB of LPDDR3 Ram.It also has a 5" display and a 8mp rear camera , which will also act as the main camera of the tablet setup . The phone runs on Android 4.4 kitkat and has 64GB of eMMc storage .The phone has LTE support as well . The tablet part features a 12.5" display and new 4th gen Core-i series processors with 128GB of eMMc storage to run Windows 8.1 . the tablet has 4GB of LPDDR3 ram and a button that shifts the OS to boot into either Windows 8 which uses the tablet's pro...