Samsung Galaxy Stellar (Verizon Wireless)!

Samsung may have cornered the high-end smartphone market with the Galaxy S III$249.99 at Amazon Wireless, but not everyone is looking for a big, expensive new device. Many people are still picking up a smartphone to use for the first time. And even plenty of experienced users aren't willing to shell out $200 or more for a new phone every two years. That brings us to the Samsung Galaxy Stellar. It's a perfectly capable smartphone that's free with a two-year contract, and it has a simplified starter mode for first-time smartphone users. Overall it's a stellar deal, but the phone's camera isn't quite out of this world.

here's an empty, side-mounted microSD card slot on the left edge of the phone. My 32 and 64GB SanDisk cards worked fine in it. You also get 1.72GB of free internal storage.

All of our music test files played back except for FLAC, and sound quality was fine over both wired 3.5mm headphones as well as Altec Lansing BackBeat Bluetooth headphones. All test videos played back too, at resolutions up to 1080p, except audio clipped in and out on DivX files.

The 3.2-megapixel camera is the Stellar's low point. Shutter speeds are slow, at 1.1 seconds, and autofocus doesn't lock in until after you press the button to take a picture. The camera actually captures some decent detail, but colors are a bit washed out. More than that, however, there's only so much you can do with a 3-megapixel sensor, and these photos just can't compete against those taken by most other smartphones. Unfortunately, video capture is worse. The Stellar records video at a steady 30 frames per second both indoors and out, but maxes out at a small, lackluster 640-by-480 resolution. There's also a standard 1.3-megapixel front-facing camera for video chat.

If you can deal with the disappointing camera, the Samsung Galaxy Stellar is actually a great choice for Verizon users on a budget. It's a lot more powerful than either the keyboarded LG Enlighten$0.01 at Amazon Wireless or the Pantech Breakout$0.01 at Amazon Wireless, two of Verizon's other low-cost options. The Pantech Marauder is actually a good match spec-wise, and it's a better choice if you want a phone with a physical keyboard. But the Stellar has a sleeker form factor and better battery life, making it the better choice overall. If you're willing to spend some more money, the Motorola Droid Razr M gets you a larger, sharper display and a faster processor for just $100.

Farewell to an American pioneer: Neil Armstrong, the first man to walk on the moon, given hero's burial at sea as his remains committed to ocean by his widow!

First man on the moon buried at sea today by his widow Carol Given full ceremonial burial by U.S. Navy off the coast of Florida

Emotional memorial service held yesterday at the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C.
Made history with 1969 Apollo 11 moon landingNeil Armstrong, the first man to set foot on the moon, was buried at sea today with a full military service.

The ashes of the ‘reluctant’ icon of the 1960s Space Race were transported on the guided missile cruiser USS Philippine Sea and were committed to the Atlantic Ocean.

Yesterday, Armstrong was praised in a memorial service at the National Cathedral as a humble hero who led mankind into space.

As commander of the Apollo 11 mission, Armstrong became the first human to set foot on the moon on July 20, 1969.The legendary astronaut was born on August 5, 1930, near Wapakoneta, Ohio.

He went on to work in the military, fighting in the Korean War. Later, he would pilot planes for NASA, and eventually, spacecrafts.

During the historic mission on July 20, 1969, nearly half a billion people tuned in to watch the black and white mission to the moon, where Armstrong, joined by Edwin ‘Buzz’ Aldrin, spent some two hours loping around on the eerie grey surface.

He radioed back to Earth the historic news of 'one giant leap for mankind.' 'The sights were simply magnificent, beyond any visual experience that I had ever been exposed to,' Armstrong once said.

The moonwalk marked America's victory in the Cold War space race that began October 4, 1957, with the launch of the Soviet Union's Sputnik 1, a 184-pound satellite that sent shock waves around the world.

Although he had been a Navy fighter pilot, a test pilot for NASA's forerunner and an astronaut, Armstrong never allowed himself to be caught up in the celebrity and glamor of the space program.

'I am, and ever will be, a white socks, pocket protector, nerdy engineer,' he said in February 2000 in one of his rare public appearances. 'And I take a substantial amount of pride in the accomplishments of my profession.'

However, his Apollo 11 moon mission turned out to be Armstrong's last space flight. The following year he was appointed to a desk job, being named NASA's deputy associate administrator for aeronautics in the office of advanced research and technology.

Armstrong, who died last month in Ohio at age 82, walked on the moon in July 1969. 'He's now slipped the bonds of Earth once again, but what a legacy he left,' former Treasury Secretary John Snow told the gathering.

Apollo 11 crewmates Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins and Mercury astronaut John Glenn and about two dozen members of Congress were among the estimated 1,500 people in the cavernous cathedral.

A moon rock that the Apollo 11 astronauts gave the church in 1974 is embedded in one of its stained glass windows.NASA administrator Charles Bolden, a former astronaut, said Armstrong's humility and courage 'lifted him above the stars'.

Bolden read a letter from President Barack Obama saying, 'the imprint he left on the surface of the moon is matched only by the extraordinary mark he left on ordinary Americans'.

Royals unfazed by topless islanders!

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have come face to face with a group of topless South Pacific women and did not bat an eyelid when introduced.

Wearing just a few banana leaves as a makeshift top the group performed a dance with men from their region as they showcased their culture for the royals.

Their exposed breasts are a normal part of life in the Solomon Islands' province of Choiseul, where the women are from, and they happily chatted to William and Kate who seemed completely at ease in their company.

One man among their group had a greeting written in pidgin English painted on his chest for the royals - Welkam Wills and Kate.

The royal couple met the performers when they toured a cultural village exhibition in Honiara, capital of the Solomon Islands, showcasing the unique arts, music and culture found in the nation's nine provinces.

William and Kate were animated and looked relaxed throughout their visit and appeared to have moved on from the furore surrounding the publication of topless pictures of the Duchess, taken while on a private holiday in France last week with William.

A civil action has already been launched by the royals against the French magazine Closer which printed the images and later today the Duke and Duchess will ask France's criminal prosecutors to consider charging the photographer who took the intimate pictures.

The couple's lawyers will make a formal criminal complaint to the prosecutor over an invasion of their privacy, St James's Palace said.

Once the complaint is made, it is up to the prosecutor to investigate and possibly lay charges over the notorious images published last week.

Apple iPhone 5: Announced!

Apple announced its 6th generation iPhone, the iPhone 5, at a special event in San Francisco this morning. The iPhone 5 brings a huge list of improvements. Apple unexpectedly used the iPhone 5 to introduce its next-generation SoC: the A6.

Apple didn't say anything about core counts and clock speeds, but it did give us a good indication of performance: 2x faster CPU and GPU. Based on the performance gains, Apple's history of SoC naming and some other stuff we've heard recently, it looks like Apple has integrated two ARM Cortex A15 cores on Samsung's 32nm LP HK+MG process. This is a huge deal because it means Apple beat both TI and Samsung on bringing A15s to market.

 

The GPU side isn't entirely clear at this point, but the 2x gains could be had through a move to 4 PowerVR SGX543 cores up from 2 in the iPhone 4S.

The new SoC is paired with Qualcomm's single-chip 28nm MDM9615 LTE baseband. Apple claims support for EDGE, EV-DO, HSPA, HSPA+, DC-HSDPA and LTE. The WiFi gets updated to dual-band 2.4GHz and 5GHz 802.11a/b/g/n, using 20MHz channels Apple can hit a peak link rate of 150Mbps over WiFi.

The display sees a big upgrade from 3.5-inches to 4-inches diagonally. The new resolution is 1136 x 640, same width but with a taller height (16:9 ratio). Legacy applications will be letterboxed until they are updated to support the added real estate. Within iOS the biggest change will be a fifth row of icons on the home screen; along with added content within apps like the calendar and Mail. 

The iPhone 5 includes three mics, including support for beam forming. The ear piece also now features a noise cancelling feature. As expected there's a new dock connector: the 8-pin Lightning connector. The Lightning connector is reversible and significantly smaller than the previous 30-pin dock connector introduced in 2003. 

Pricing hews to tradition, with configurations starting at 16GB and $199 and adding $100 to the price at each step up in storage (32GB and 64GB). The rest of the lineup shuffles its way down, with the iPhone 3GS being led of stage, and putting the iPhone 4S at $99 and the iPhone 4 gratis, all on contract of course. Preorders start September 14th and will be available in stores September 21st.

BPCL makes the grade!

Eventful in ways more than one, the final day of phase one in the MCC-Murugappa Gold Cup hockey tournament on Thursday provided a cornucopia of pulsating moments, notwithstanding the sharp showers that interrupted the schedule for over 45 minutes in the contest involving the top guns — IOC and Air India.

Notably, it was the twist to the script that accentuated the suspense when Indian Overseas Bank denied the Army XI a place in the semifinals but helped BPCL to gain that slot from Pool A. IOB won 2-1.

All that the Army team needed was a draw to keep BPCL out of contention. But surprisingly phlegmatic, both in approach work and confronted by a confident goal-keeper Sreejesh, the Army team failed to live up to the expectations.

BPCL, which has a better goal-aggregate and one goal difference against zero by Army, took the second spot in the pool behind ONGC.

By all accounts it was an inspiring performance by the home team which has been subjected to a lot of flak over its poor showing thus far. But on Thursday, IOB looked a transformed side and worked hard to get the moves going and received generous help from goalkeeper Sreejesh.

Needlessly circumspect, the Army defenders allowed IOB to gain the advantage. IOB hoisted the lead after fluent sally that involved Adam Sinclair and Muthanna before Vinod Rayar provided the finishing touches.

IOB hung on to the lead, but enlarged the margin when full-back Rupinderpal Singh struck from a penalty corner.

Desperate bid

Down in the dumps with hopes fading away, the Army XI made a desperate bid in the second-half. A goal-mouth scrimmage ended in Sreejesh being penalised for obstruction. John Jasrotia converted.

The quest for another goal intensified but IOB defenders stood their ground well to frustrate the Armymen.

In the needle contest the fortunes fluctuated tantalisingly.

Eventually, IOC trooped out a 3-2 winner, thanks to the deciding goal by Raghunath.

Prabhjot Singh gave IOC the lead after moving in tandem with Deepak Thakur but Vikas Pillay produced a sparkling drive to neutralise.

After the break, Joga Singh hit the target but Roshan Minz levelled for IOC after goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh had brought off two brilliant saves for Air India. Finally, the goal which turned out to be the match-winner came from Raghunath off a penalty corner.

Why the new iPhone may not be called iPhone 5?

Even before Apple sent out a cryptic invitation to the press for its Septmeber 12 event, the tech world was already abuzz with reports referring Apple's next-generation iPhone as the iPhone 5. After Apple's invitation, carrying a large shadow of the number 5, hit the mailboxes of tech bloggers and journalists, the tech journalist fraternity more or less seemed to confirm that the next iPhone will indeed be called the iPhone 5.

But Apple may have a surprise up its sleeve for us. It is likely that what we are calling the iPhone 5 may not turn out to be the iPhone 5 after all.

The use of the number 5 in the invite by Apple might be intended to play with the pre-conceived minds of tech buffs, and excite them a little more.

 

The 5 in the invite may mean something altogether different. Many recent reports have suggested that Apple may be launching a number of products at the September 12 event and hence the number 5 could be indicative of the number of products and not the name of any particular model.

Earlier in the year Apple named its third-generation iPad - the new iPad, and the new iPhone could be named the new iPhone.

Also, since the next iPhone will be the sixth-version of the trendsetting smartphone, calling it the iPhone 5 appears to be a break in the chronological order.

The suspense over the number 5 will be over on Wednesday night when Apple will announce to the world the name for its next-gen iPhone.

Deccan Chargers reject Rs 900 crore bid by PVP Ventures!

The sole bid for IPL team Deccan Chargers made by PVP Ventures, a film production firm, was rejected today by the  current owners Deccan Chronicle Holdings.

“The price and terms of payment were not acceptable to them (the owners of Deccan Chargers) so they rejected it,” BCCI President N Srinivasan told reporters in Mumbai today.

The company, which was the only firm to submit a bid for the team from Hyderabad, had bid Rs 900 crore, according to a Times Now report. However, the bid was opposed by the banks to whom current owners Deccan Chronicle Holdings owe money, CNN IBN said.

The BCCI had assisted the owners of Deccan Chargers in floating tenders and had examined financial criteria of the bidders, who had bid for the team, the BCCI President said.

“We found that they (PVP Ventures) were acceptable,” Srinivasan said.

However, the owners of the team Deccan Chargers rejected the bid and only they could comment on why it had been rejected, he said.

While refusing to comment on the future course of action for the sale of the team, Srinivasan said that the cricket board had issued notice to the Deccan Chargers to “cure certain defects” and have given them time to resolve them.

The BCCI is expected to take a final decision on Deccan Chargers at Working Committee Meeting on 15 September.

Shares of current team owners, Deccan Chronicle Holdings, dipped 2 percent following the decision.

Potluri Vara Prasad of PVP Ventures, that recently made a bilingual hit film Naan Ee, has financial interests in real estate, finance and entertainment.

In a statement issued following the announcement, the BCCI said,”The bid that was received by Deccan Chronicle Holdings Limited met the BCCI’s eligibility and suitability criteria. The bid was then reviewed by Deccan Chronicle Holdings Limited who, in its discretion and with no role being played by BCCI, rejected the bid on the basis of the payment terms offered by the bidder.”

Deccan Chargers has been unable to pay salaries to its players for their performance during the last edition of the IPL.

According to reports, among the corporate houses that were in the fray to buy the team included the RPG Group, infrastructure firm Jaypee Group and Hyderabad-based private equity fund Peepul Capital.

Private equity fund Peepul Capital, which had earlier shown interest in acquiring the media assets of Deccan Chronicle, had later said they were not to keen on funding the team. While RPG Group admitted to having bought the tender document, Videocon group which had initially said it was interested later said that they had no interest in buying the team anymore.

The fact that the new buyer will be responsible for clearing the liabilities of the current owner has held many back from bidding for Deccan Chargers, and has resulted in a lower valuation than expected for the team.

But for Deccan Chronicle Holdings, which is under scrutiny from its lenders across the country, the sale of the team may have come as a lifeline to do away with some part of its debt, estimated by some to be over Rs 4,000 crore.