Huawei Ascend G610 Review

Ascend G610 which is manufactured by Huawei, offers a 5 inch wide screen with an economic price to those in search of a

smart phone. Of course some retrenchments have been made for that job .

Technical specifications

Manufacturer: Huawei

Screen: 540x960 pixels

Processor: MT6589 1,2 GHz, 4 cores

Memory: 1 GB

Graphics processor: PowerVR SGX544

Operating system: Android 4.2.1

Camera: 5 megapixels back, with LED flash / VGA front

Storage: 4 GB onboard, microSD card support up to 32 GB

Wireless network: HSPA+, Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0

Inside box: Headset with microphone, USB power adapter, USB cable

Plextor M6e PCIe solid state drive available in 128GB, 256GB and

512GB capacities starting April 7

Plextor on Thursday announced the worldwide availability of the M6e PCI Express solid state drive. Billed as the first SSD specifically designed for professional gamers, Plextor claims power users can experience speeds up to 50 percent faster than traditional SATA-based SSDs. Offered in capacities of 128GB, 256GB and 512GB with a five-year warranty, the M6e PCIe SSD combines the latest generation Marvell 88SS9183 dual-core server-grade controller and synchronous Toshiba Toggle NAND flash with firmware developed and tested by Plextor's in-house team. By taking advantage of the PCI Express 2.0 x2 interface, the card is able to circumvent the 6GB/sec bottleneck associated with SATA 3.0 and the fact that it is automatically recognized as an AHCI (Advanced Host Controller Interface) device means there are no additional drivers required for installation and use. It supports both legacy BIOS as well as UEFI for added compatibility.

Plextor tells us the 512GB M6e is capable of maximum sequential speeds of 770 MB/sec read and 625 MB/sec write with random read / write speeds of 105K IOPS and 100K IOPS, respectively. Smaller capacity drives offer slower sequential write and random read / write speeds, common among most all SSDs. MTBF (mean time between failure) is listed at 2.4 million hours but of course, individual mileage will likely vary based on how hard you use the drive, etc. It’s not the fastest PCIe SSD we’ve seen hit the market but regardless, it offers yet another option for consumers to contemplate. Cards will be available exclusively at Newegg starting April 7 with pricing starting at $275 for the 128GB offering and topping out around $750 for the 512GB card.

Amazon hires two high-profile game designers in Kim Swift and

Clint Hocking

Amazon Game Studios has hired two high-profile game designers in Kim Swift and Clint Hocking, evidence that Amazon is taking its gaming ambitions seriously. Swift is best known for her work on Portal but also served as creative director at Airtight Games where she helped create titles like Quantum Conundrum and Soul Fjord. Hocking’s resume, meanwhile, includes stints at LucasArts, Ubisoft and Valve. Some of his bigger projects include Splinter Cell, Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory and Far Cry 2.

The hires, both in the Seattle area, were first spotted on LinkedIn by Kotaku. Swift lists her role as

senior designer and says she works on secret things for a secret amount of time that no one can know

about. Hocking’s job title is also senior designer. His job description says he is working on

unannounced projects and has been on the job since February. If you still need more evidence of the

hire, Hocking confirmed his and Swift’s employment in an e-mail to Polygon. It’s anyone’s guess as to

what exactly the two designers will be working on but odds are, it’ll end up being played on Amazon’s

new set-top box. The company unveiled Fire TV on Wednesday at a press event in New York as a

hybrid video streamer / gaming console. The system runs Android and is powered by what equates to

high-end smartphone hardware. It’s on sale as of writing for $99 while the Fire game controller will set

you back another $39.99.

New USB 3.1 spec features symmetrical connector with reversible ends

The UBS Implementers Forum has settled on the final design for the next USB cable and port. USB 3.1 Type-C was created

with emerging product designs with smaller ports in mind and will deliver a number of improvements over existing cables

and connectors.

Much like Apple’s Lightning connector, the new Type-C connector will feature a symmetrical plug so there will be no

upside-down confusion when it comes time to plug something in – a common complaint with existing USB

implementations. What’s more, the cable will be reversible end-to-end so it doesn’t matter which end attaches to what

device; it’ll work all the same.

The connector itself is as thin as a micro-USB 2.0 connector and will likely replace the older style connector as well as the

larger micro-USB 3.0 interface found in some devices like Samsung’s Galaxy Note 3.

Not all of the changes are cosmetic, however, as the USB 3.1 specification will be faster as well. The current USB 3.0

connector can transfer data at up to 5Gbps (bits per second) while the Type-C connector doubles that to 10Gbps. It’s still

slower than the 20Gbps that Thunderbolt 2.0 is capable of but it’s also cheaper and much more commonplace.

USB 3.1 Type-C will no doubt compete with another new spec from the standards body: MA-USB. This wireless standard

was completed last month and is compliant with USB 2.0, USB 3.0 and USB 3.1. Best yet, it doesn’t require any new

hardware – just a driver update in most cases.

Of course, a wired connection like Type-C still has its advantages (like the ability to charge and power

devices) so don’t expect wireless to kill off corded implementations anytime soon.

Type-C is expected to be completed by July and will show up in devices by the end of the year.

Microsoft makes Windows free for select devices, announces universal

Windows apps

Microsoft on Wednesday revealed plans to make Windows free for manufacturers to use on smartphones and tablets

with screen sizes under nine inches. Furthermore, a future version of Windows for the Internet of Things will also be

completely free – moves that will no doubt help the Redmond-based company better compete with Android and increase

market share in the red-hot mobile sector.

The company also used its Build 2014 keynote to announce universal Windows apps. As the name suggests, this is a

method that will allow developers to create a single app that will work across Windows PCs, phones, tablets and on the

Xbox One.

Specifically, developers will be able to reuse much of the code they wrote – in the language of their choosing – on one

platform across all others via Visual Studio. From there, only small tweaks will be needed to fine-tune the app for each

platform – like adding support for the Kinect and controller on the Xbox One or adjusting the look based on the form

factor.

As Microsoft operating system executive David Treadwell pointed out, users may not have to buy a different app for each

device because it’s the same app in use across all devices. It’ll be up to developers to decide if they want to require a user

to pay for their app on the PC and the phone, for example, or allow a single

purchase to grant access across all platforms.

What’s more, activities like notifications and in-app purchases should sync across all iterations of the app via the cloud.

It may all sound a bit boring but truth be told, it’s a really big deal for Microsoft that’ll likely entice more developers to

code for Windows and to encourage them to bring established apps to less established platforms. In the end, that means

more app choices which is a win for everyone.

London Borough ditches Windows XP in favor of Google

Chromebooks

London Borough of Barking and Dagenham is all set to roll out Google Chromebooks in the wake of Microsoft’s Windows

XP support cut-off, according to a V3 report. The council, which was previously using 3,500 Windows XP desktops and

800 XP laptops, is in the process of rolling out 2,000 Chromebooks for employees and 300 Chromeboxes for reception

desks and shared work areas.

According to Rupert Hay-Campbell, ICT and information governance officer at the borough, the council is paying £200 per

Chrome device, which is quite economical when compared to a £500-£600 Windows laptop or a £350 Windows desktop.

The security standards developed by the CESG, the UK government agency responsible for IT security, also helped in the

migration, he added.

The council claims that the migration will save it around £400,000: half of that by not opting for new Windows desktops,

and a further £200,000 worth of savings on electricity costs as Google Chromebooks are more energy efficient than

desktop PCs. Hay-Campbell told Computing that the council chose Samsung 303Cs as its Chromebook of choice because of

its "impressive battery life and portability".

The migration, however, does not mean complete elimination of Windows, as the council is also planning to invest in 600

new Windows desktop machines, especially for those who need to use specialist software like AutoCAD or streetlight-

management systems, which are currently not available via the Citrix desktop.

Out of the 2000 Chromebooks, 350 has been already rolled out, and the council expects to deploy the remaining by early

June. Regarding the learning curve, Hay-Campbell says that the staff would require a bit of training initially, but he is of the

view that the training should be minimal because Google devices look and operate like Windows devices.

Amazon is now taking returns through its locker system

Amazon has quietly introduced a new service connected with the lockers it has been installing in city centers for

some time now. Located in various garages, corner stores, and grocery stores, Amazon customers can now use the

large metal lockers as a way to return unwanted goods purchased through the online retail giant.

Over the past several years, Amazon has used the lockers as a convenient option for purchase pickups (using a

passcode system) when customers aren't home for deliveries, and now it is allowing customers to drop of unwanted

items for return as well.

The cost of logistics for a service like Amazon is through the roof and returned items are a very common thing in the

online retail world. Amazon spent more than $8 billion in fulfillment across 2013 and nearly a third of online

purchases get returned, according to some estimates. With UPS carriers already visiting the locker sites for

deliveries, some have suggested the service could bring Amazon's costs down.

Customers are able to get similar services through local UPS sites, but Amazon feels "Customers like the added

convenience." It looks as though Amazon is charging the same fee for returns whether its through UPS locations or

lockers, so it appears to be an entirely location-based convenience. As Amazon expands its warehouse locations and

locker system, Google is believed to be scaling back initiatives of this type after it announced the shut down of locker

service BufferBox earlier this year.

Microsoft showcases Cortana personal assistant for Windows

Phone during Build conference

Microsoft on Tuesday unveiled Cortana, the company’s own personal assistant for Windows Phone that’s powered

by Bing. As we learned early last month, the service is named after the artificial intelligence character from the Halo

franchise which should be familiar to fans of the series.

Microsoft’s Joe Belfiore drew the onstage assignment during the Build 2014 conference in San Francisco. It was

there that he showed off many of the AI assistant’s capabilities such as setting reminders and responding to dynamic

questions about topics like sports, weather and even search engine queries like calorie count in certain foods.

WhatsApp's new record: 64 billion messages handled in 24 hours

Whatsapp announced yesterday that it has hit a new record after the company processed 64 billion messages in just

24 hours. The figure breaks up into 20 billion messages sent (inbound) and 44 billion messages received

(outbound). The break up might seem disproportionate because it includes group messages, where one inbound

corresponds to several outbound messages.

After Facebook acquired Whatsapp in February, the messaging service went through a few hiccups. It not only

suffered one major outage, but also came under the scanner for privacy issues. Last month, WhatsApp CEO Jan

Koum had to come forward to say the Facebook-Whatsapp deal will not affect user privacy.

But the new record will not only help put those concerns to rest, it's also proof that the world’s most popular

messaging app is growing strong. Earlier this year, Whatsapp claimed that it has more than 465 million monthly

active users.

Recently the messaging service also announced that it will expand to voice calls in the second quarter of 2014. The

new feature is expected to roll out on Google’s Android and Apple’s iOS operating systems first, eventually making

its way to other platforms like Windows Phone and Blackberry.

Average US consumer spends 2 hours and 42 minutes every day using mobile devices

We’re now six years into what app analytics provider Flurry calls the mobile revolution and as you might expect, the average

consumer in the US is spending more time than ever using mobile devices. According to the firm’s latest report, daily time spent

using a mobile device has risen to 2 hours and 42 minutes – an increase of five minutes compared to last year’s findings.

Mobile apps continue to dominate as 86 percent of the average US mobile consumer’s time is spent using them. Mobile web usage,

meanwhile, continues to dwindle and now accounts for just 14 percent of the pie – down from 20 percent a year ago.

Looking at each app category, we see that gaming apps remain on top with 32 percent of time spent. Social and

messaging applications collectively account for 28 percent with Facebook holding strong at 17 percent.

YouTube and other forms of mobile entertainment make up eight percent of time spent using apps. As Flurry president

and CEO Simon Khalaf notes, YouTube is definitely Google’s killer franchise on mobile and there are a lot of people saying

it is the best acquisition they ever made.

Utilities, productivity, news and other apps make up the remaining 18 percent of time spent within apps.

Flurry gathered data for the report from its network of over 450,000 mobile apps installed on more than 1.3 billion

devices around the globe. The firm also used comScore and NetMarketShare to calculate and distribute usage

figures.