A TECHNICAL

Microsoft is preparing to debut an update to its Windows Phone 8.1 operating system, which includes expansion of its Cortana personal assistant availability to more regions. The update introduces Cortana to China and the UK in beta form, and Canada, India and Australia in alpha mode. Cortana is only just starting to make waves in the market, several years after Apple debuted Siri, while Android's Google Now has been available for some time. Cortana, named after the artificially intelligent character Cortana in Microsoft's  Halo  video game series, first became available earlier this month with  the release  of the Nokia Lumia 635. Customized Assistant Microsoft is positioning Cortana as a highly customizable personal assistant. The Notebook feature, for instance, stores personal information like a user's interests, reminders, location data, and contacts to learn usage patterns and behaviors. Cortana is designed to offer assistance that is more closely t...

The Google Play has become the Android’s go-to place for everything app, widget, and game wise. Finding out which apps are the best can be hard which is why we have created this list of the best Android apps. There are apps for almost anything you can think of and there are more being added every single day. It is one of the most priceless resources to make your Android device all it can be, and make it suit your needs. Here are the top 100 apps for the Android in the Google Play  Store.  for  5$  click  here to view the service

Quoting from the site wsj.com Posted by:Dr Ahmed.M.Shaban The Irish data privacy watchdog said it will take a broader look at  Facebook   FB   +2.26% ’s research practices.   Bloomberg Facebook’s psychological experiment on users’ emotions could cause more headaches for the social networking giant. The Irish data privacy watchdog said it will take a broader look at Facebook’s research practices, including previous research activity, to review the company’s use of personal user information, after a paper published in June  showed how Facebook manipulated  the news feeds of nearly 700,000 users to see the effect on people’s emotions. “We will be examining more closely the uses that Facebook is making of personal data for research purposes,” Billy Hawkes, the data protection commissioner for Ireland, told the Journal. Like several large American tech companies, Facebook’s European headquarters are in Dublin. Irish and U.K. data-protection...

Quoting from the site gsmarena Posted by:Dr Ahmed.M.Shaban Historically, the last week of May hasn't seen much action in terms of new smartphone announcements. The market rollouts of flagships announced at our around the MWC have historically dominated, along with rumors about the next big announcements - the new iPhone and, more recently, the new Samsung Galaxy Note. Samsung Galaxy S III released Some of the more interesting stories revolve around the milestones achieved by the Samsung flagships over the year. Two years ago the  Galaxy S III  was just taking the world by storm,  getting a wide by the standards back then 28-country initial release  and  becoming Vodafone's most pre-ordered droid ever . And that was despite  the production issues that plagued the Pebble Blue version . Samsung ships 10 million Galaxy S4 units, adds new colors Fast forward another year and you can see the  Samsung Galaxy S4   scoring its 10 millio...

Quoting from the site gsmarena Posted by:Dr Ahmed.M.Shaban Nokia Lumia 638 quietly went up for pre-order in China with Windows Phone 8.1 on board. The dual-SIM, LTE-capable smartphone is priced at 1,199 Yuan (about $192). Like its  Nokia Lumia 630  and  Lumia 635  siblings, the newcomer features a Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 SoC with 1.2 GHz quad-core CPU, 4.5” display, and 5 MP main camera. However, the Nokia Lumia 638 packs 1 GB of RAM – twice as much as the rest of the budget-friendly lineup. There is no word on availability of the Nokia Lumia 638 outside of China.

Quoting from the site gsmarena Posted by:Dr Ahmed.M.Shaban Nokia officially unveiled its first TD-LTE phones today – the Nokia Lumia 636/638. They are headed to China Unicom and China respectively, both at the price of CNY 1,300 ($210). The Lumia 638 went up  on pre-order  a couple of weeks ago at a slight lower price of CNY 1,200. The two new smartphones are based on the  Lumia 630 , meaning they have a 4.5" WVGA screen and are powered by a Snapdragon 400 chipset, but the RAM has been doubled to 1GB. TD-LTE is the Chinese flavor of 4G LTE, but the phones are compatible with international LTE for roaming too. The Nokia Lumia 636/638 run Windows Phone 8.1 and come with free navigation from HERE Maps and free Nokia MixRadio music streaming. The Lumia 638 will be available from June 21 and is currently displayed at the Mobile Asia Expo. The Lumia 636 will launch on July 5. They will be available in Black, White, Orange and Yellow.

Quoting from the site gsmarena Posted by:Dr Ahmed.M.Shaban After having been on sale in countless other places for a long while, the  Nokia Lumia 1320  is finally out in the US. You can get one right away from Cricket, the carrier that was recently acquired by AT&T and now serves as its prepaid arm. The Lumia 1320 is priced at $279.99, and there's obviously no need for you to sign a long-term contract to get it. What's more, if you buy one until July 10, you can receive $50 back in the form of a Visa rebate card. The mid-range phablet can be paired with Cricket's plans that start at $40 per month for unlimited talk, text, and data (with the first 500MB going up to 4G LTE speeds). If you're not sure whether the Lumia 1320 is right for you, you can take a look at  our review  to help make up your mind.

Quoting from the site techcrunch Posted by:Dr Ahmed.M.Shaban Samsung Electronic’s head of mobile design, Chang Dong-hoon,  has resigned  following criticism about the Galaxy S5 smartphone’s lack of pulchritude. Though the Galaxy S5′s design did not actually  deviate too far from earlier models , its looks and textured plastic back were roundly lambasted by reviewers. “I think I audibly let out a sound that was something along the lines of ‘aaaahuughhhh’ upon seeing the shimmering dimpled gold back of the Galaxy S5,” wrote  Derek Kessler at Android Central , summing up many reviewers’ reaction to the device’s appearance. Other Samsung smartphones have also been described as ugly. For example, some users felt that  the Galaxy Note 3′s leather-textured plastic back was tacky . Meanwhile, the Galaxy S4′s  glossy back looked and felt cheap , especially considering that it is one of Samsung’s pricier flagship models. Despite their perc...

Quoting from the site techcrunch Posted by:Dr Ahmed.M.Shaban This  is allegedly  the Samsung Galaxy K, the successor to the odd Galaxy S4 Zoom. The device in question sports the same faux leather casing as the Galaxy S5 and Samsung has a product launch on the books in the coming days. Chances are good this is the real deal. The leaked specs state that this device has a 10x optical zoom paired with a 20MP sensor. A six-core Samsung Exynos 5 Hexa SoC with 2 GB of RAM powers the device. There’s a 4.8-inch Super AMOLED HD display on the backside along with a 2MP front-facing camera. This time around, the device looks decidedly more like a smartphone than a camera. It’s slimmer and looks to be much more pocketable, all while retaining the 10x optical zoom found on the previous model. The pricing and release date were not included in the leak.

Quoting from the site techcrunch Posted by:Dr Ahmed.M.Shaban The rush to fund interesting companies in the world of online security continues apace. Today,  Centrify  — a specialist in cloud-based identity management for enterprises — is announcing that it’s picked up an additional $42 million from a group of investors that includes Samsung Ventures, a strategic investment that will be used to help bolster the mobile giant’s KNOX enterprise offering. Centrify itself will be using the funding to expand internationally and build out its products. “We can fill out and expand with sales and marketing overseas,” says CEO Tom Kemp. “This gives us more rocket fuel.” It’s the second mammoth round of funding for identity management companies to be announced in the last two days, after  Dashlane yesterday  announced a $22 million round. Centrify’s Series E also includes other strategic investors Fortinet and Docomo Capital, the VC arm of the...

Quoting from the site techcrunch Posted by:Dr Ahmed.M.Shaban Google Glass is kinda sorta now a publicly available product – the launch came with a series of fits and starts, culminating in an open, unlimited public beta that kicked off yesterday. Its first major competitor might be gearing up for a debut to follow shortly, according to a new report from  Business Korea  (via  Business Insider ). The report says that a Samsung employee passed along the info, saying the so-called “Gear Glass” will be ready for the annual IFA electronics show in Berlin this fall. The wearable device is an electronic headset that includes an ear place and a display, and it’s powered by Samsung’s homegrown Tizen OS, according to the report. Tizen is the OS that now powers Samsung’s Gear line of wearable wristborne devices, after the Korean company switched over from using Android on the original Galaxy Gear smartwatch released last year. For wearables, Tizen has benefits in terms o...

Quoting from the site techcrunch Posted by:Dr Ahmed.M.Shaban It was inevitable that major OEMs would try to beat startup Dropcam at their own game, by providing inexpensive, HD IP camera for home security enthusiasts, people with babies and folks who just in general like to watch. Samsung has a few entrants in this category, and the SmartCam HD Pro is their most recent offering. The camera is very capable, and will meet the needs of most, but it does so in a barebones way that can be frustrating to set up and that lacks the charm of its upstart competitor. Basics Wi-Fi and Ethernet connectivity SD card storage Low latency Built-in mic and speaker for two-way talk MSRP: $189.99 Product info page Pros SD card storage with no recurring fees Relatively inexpensive Cons No cloud-based recording option (if the camera is stolen, so is your video) Design Samsung’s camera is modern-looking, with a circular face dressed in white that’s more likely to blend into...

Quoting from the site techcrunch Posted by:Dr Ahmed.M.Shaban Basics sAMOLED display 720p still and video camera Replaceable straps MSRP: $299.99 Product info page Pros Great health features Nice interface Cons Battery life is around three days Camera is a bit spurious If I’ve noticed any sort of trend in the wearables space it’s that watches now look like watches. Runners will remember early Garmin GPS watches that looked like bulbous alien egg sacs on your wrists while even the  Omate  wrist computer still looks like an unlanced polyp. But almost everyone else –  Pebble , Basis, and the like – have created devices that are one step above the thinness and usability of an old Casio calculator watch. And that’s a compliment. Now, I dare say, Samsung has upped the game. The  Samsung Gear 2  is the company’s latest smart watch and it works with a number of Galaxy smartphones. It is a Jack-of-all-trades and features a bright AMOLED ...