Apple's gold-coloured iPhone 5s might have sparked a gold rush in the smartphone industry. Both Samsung and HTC announced gold-coloured variants of flagships Galaxy S5 and One (M8) this year. But HTC was first to take the newfound gold obsession quite literally, making the "most expensive HTC phone ever created" - HTC One (M7) Gold Edition. We're not surprised to know that only five of these made-in-gold phones were created - each valued at £2,750 (roughly Rs 2,75,000) each.

If there ever was a star-studded product, it probably would be the Stuart Hughes iPhone 5 Black Diamond. Thanks to real diamonds and ample Photoshopping, the phone looks like a school student's astronomy project. Priced at £10,000,000 (roughly Rs. 1,00,00,00,000), we're not quite sure if anyone who plans to use the phone would buy it. Constantly looking at the phone will prove to be a tough task, thanks to several shiny diamonds.

Italian car maker Lamborghini's owners also dabble in luxury goods, such as the phone in the image above. Priced at £2,500 (roughly Rs. 2,50,000) each, this phone is probably the best looking among the ones listed thus far. That is if you ignore the gold variant, whose looks can be described as the opposite of beautiful. Assuming you ever buy this phone, Lamborghini also sells a range of not-so-beautiful leather cases to compensate for the phone's good looks. Let us know how you liked it.

When it was launched in 2011, Tag Heuer Link was actually a pretty good Android smartphone. Its sealed body is water-tight and shock-resistant. If you like rugged smartphones, you might even have considered shelling out $6,700 (around Rs. 4,20,000) to buy one. However, luxury smartphones age like their cheaper counterparts. The phone runs Android 2.2 Froyo, and looks more like a PDA (remember those) than a smartphone.

So why does Dior's Reverie phone cost £78,000 (roughly Rs. 78,00,000)? Apparently because each unit is hand-assembled in France, "intricately embellished in 18-carat white gold, 1,539 diamonds and 46 pieces of iridescent mother-of-pearl". Seriously, if you really had that much money, wouldn't you be better served by buying all that jewellery minus the phone? This phone comes with a full touch screen and a five megapixel camera. You could buy that separately if you had the money.

If this phone is anything to go by, we're happy that Porsche doesn't make phones. The iconic luxury car maker's touch hasn't added to this phone's looks at all. In fact, the P9981 looks like a phone that got the worst of both worlds - the bulk (and price) of a car and software from a bygone era. To top it all, BlackBerry's product listing refers to the BB7 OS on this phone as the "next-generation BlackBerry OS". We're still wondering if anyone really believes that to be true. The price? Rs. 1,39,990.

Luxury handset maker Vertu's Constellation smartphone costs €4,900 (roughly Rs. 4,16,000). features a 4.3-inch HD display with 342ppi pixel density which is protected by a 5.1-inch piece of sapphire crystal which the company claims can only be scratched by a diamond. Luxury components aside, the phone also has a case made of calf leather, which is available in five colours and is far from good-looking.

Phones with the old numeric keypad went out of fashion a long time ago. Yet Ulysse Nardin has managed to make a good-looking retro phone with one. The Chairman is not unique for its keypad, but for its passive recharging system. The phone has a kinetic rotor system that can recharge the phone's battery (similar to the technology used in some watches). For that cool technology and lots of diamonds of course, you might have to shell out anywhere between $12,800 and $49,500 (approximately Rs. 7,20,000 to Rs. 29,00,000).

Savelli's Jardin-Secret series consists of 11 luxury phones, all of which have been hand-crafted and run Android. With each of these phones, Savelli says users get an exclusive UI design and sounds created by professional photographers and DJs. White Ice is a variant targeted at women, and comes with 18-carat rose gold and white alligator skin. While animal lovers may frown at this phone, those who want to buy phones from this series will have to shell out $10,000 to $1,20,000 (around Rs. 6,00,000 to Rs. 72,00,000).

As far as luxury phones go, Mobiado Pioneer probably has the coolest reason for its astronomical cost (€8,600, which is roughly Rs. 7,00,000). The company says the phone is a tribute to the Pioneer 10 satellite probe - the first man-made object to go past the asteroid belt beyond the planet Mars. In a fitting tribute, this phone has a back cover that's made of an actual meteorite. Our palms are itching for first impressions.

Asus, along with the range of new MeMO Pad and Fonepad tablets, has also launched two new tablets under its Transformer Pad series at the on-going Computex trade show in Taipei. The tablets namely, Transformer Pad TF103C and TF303CL, share some common specifications.

Asus Transformer Pad TF103C and Transformer Pad TF303CL models run on the latest 64-bit Intel Atom Z3745 quad-core processor clocked at 1.86GHz, and measure 257.4 x 178.4 x 9.9mm. Both the Asus Transformer tablets also feature a mobile keyboard dock with an ergonomic chiclet keys. The keyboard has one-touch function keys for tasks like Delete and Screenshot. Both also feature stereo speakers with SonicMaster technology.

The Asus Transformer Pad TF103C (See above) tablet sports a 10.1-inch IPS display with HD (1280x800 pixel) resolution and 170 degree wide viewing angle. The tablet, which runs an unspecified version of Android, also offers dual-band 802.11 a/b/g/n Wi-Fi, apart from integrated GPS and Glonass receivers.

The Asus Transformer Pad TF103C comes with a 2-megapixel rear camera and a 0.3-megapixel front-facing camera. The inbuilt storage can be expanded up to 64GB via microSD card from the 16GB, which comes along with the device.

Available in White and Black colour variants, the tablet weighs 550 grams and delivers up to 9.5 hours of battery life. The Transformer Pad TF103C is also compatible with USB OTG and Miracast.



The Asus Transformer Pad TF303CL (See above) runs on Android 4.4 KitKat and features a 10.1-inch IPS display with WUXGA (1920x1200 pixels) resolution and 10-finger multi-touch support. 2GB of RAM also comes with the device.

The tablet sports a 5-megapixel rear camera and a 1.2-megapixel front-facing camera. The Transformer Pad TF303CL is available in two storage variants - 16GB and 32GB. Users would also receive 5GB additional cloud storage (lifetime access) via the Asus Webstorage service, along with 11GB of storage for the first year.

The network options of the Transformer Pad TF303CL include Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0, LTE, GPS and Glonass. Asus Transformer Pad TF303CL weighs 595 grams and is available in Blue and Gold colour variants.

The firm also unveiled a new Zenbook and a triumvirate of hybrid laptops in its Transformer Book series at the on-going Computex trade show in Taipei.

Taiwanese PC giant Acer has detailed five new smartphones, one new smartband, and one new tablet ahead of Computex 2014. These are the Liquid E700, Liquid E600, Liquid Z200, Liquid X1, and Liquid Jade smartphones, the Liquid Leap smartband, and Iconia Tab 8.

Here we look at the Acer Liquid Jade and Liquid Leap, which Acer had first unveiled at its 'touch more connected' event in April with very few details. On Friday however, the company provided a lot more details, along with Q3 2014 availability - no pricing was revealed yet however.

Starting with the Liquid Jade, the dual-SIM smartphone runs on Android 4.4 KitKat. Acer says the smartphone 'targets users for whom every device or accessory carried is an expression of their style and personality.'

It boasts of 5-inch IPS 'Zero Air Gap' display with a 720x1280 pixel resolution and a Gorilla Glass 3 screen. The Liquid Jade is powered by a 1.3GHz quad-core MediaTek MT6582 processor that is coupled with 1GB of RAM. The smartphone features 8GB of built-in storage that is expandable by microSD card (up to 32GB)

The Liquid Jade features a 13-megapixel rear camera with an f/1.8 aperture, 0.3 second autofocus, and 1080p HD video recording. It also features a 2-megapixel front-facing camera. In terms of connectivity options, it offers 3G, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth, Micro-USB, A-GPS, and a 3.5mm audio jack.

Dimensions of the Liquid Jade are 140.5x69x7.5mm, while the smartphone is powered by a 2100mAh battery.

The Liquid Leap on the other hand is Acer's first wearable device, as well as its smallest touchscreen device with a 1-inch display. Acer says the Liquid Leap smartband offers fitness tracking, call and SMS notification, as well as music control, and will be sold together with the Acer Liquid Jade smartphone in selected markets.

The 1-inch touchscreen (resolution unspecified) on the Liquid Leap is placed on a durable rubber wristband, and delivers a battery life of up to 7 days. Calling it lightweight and stylish, Acer hasn't provided the weight of the smartband yet, but did reveal it will connect with smartphones using Bluetooth 4.0, but didn't detail compatibility (or if it was limited to select Acer phones).

The Liquid Leap comes in Moonstone White, Mineral Black, Aquamarine, Fragrant Pink, and Vivid Orange colours, as well as IPX7 certification for water-immersion up to 30 minutes in 1 metre of water - but doesn't specify dust resistance.

Acer Liquid Jade

• KEY SPECS
• 
  

Display

5.00-inch

Processor

1.3GHz

Front Camera

2-megapixel

Resolution

720x1280 pixels

RAM

1GB

OS

Android 4.4

Storage

8GB

Rear Camera

13-megapixel

Battery capacity

2100mAh

Samsung has finally launched its first Tizen smartphone, the Samsung Z. The new Tizen smartphone will be available initially in Russia starting Q3, and will be launched in other markets soon after.
The South Korean giant has revealed that it will be offering additional apps for Samsung Z users via the Tizen Store. The company in an attempt to lure more developers to its new Tizen ecosystem has announced a special promotional program for developers which will for one year.

Unfortunately, the company has not announced pricing details of the Samsung Z; though it can be expected to be announced in Q3. Samsung will be showcasing the new Tizen smartphone at the Tizen Developer Conference on June 3 in San Francisco.



Notably, the Samsung Z sports an angular design with lines, providing a differentiated look and feel from company's Android-based Galaxy range of smartphones. It will be available in two colours - Black and Gold. Much like the Samsung Galaxy S5, the Samsung Z also features the Heart rate sensor, Fingerprint sensor, and S Health 3.0 app.

The Samsung Z is a single SIM device which runs the Tizen 2.2.1 OS out-of-the-box. It comes with a 4.8-inch (720x1280 pixels) HD Super AMOLED display. It is powered by a 2.3GHz quad-core processor with 2GB of RAM.

It comes with 16GB of inbuilt storage, which is further expandable via microSD card (up to 64GB). The Samsung Z sports an 8-megapixel autofocus rear camera with LED flash and BSI sensor, while there is a secondary 2.1-megapixel front-facing camera.

On the connectivity front, the Samsung Z includes 3G, 4G, Wi-Fi, Micro-USB, Bluetooth, GPS/ GLONASS, and NFC options. The smartphone packs a 2600mAh battery with an Ultra Power Saving Mode feature. The Samsung Z measures 138.2x69.8x8.5mm and weighs 136 grams.

Commenting on the launch of first Tizen smartphone, DJ Lee, President and Head of Global Sales and Marketing Office, Mobile Communications Business, Samsung Electronics said, "Samsung is committed to enhancing the mobile experience of consumers with innovation that is both personal and unique to their needs. The Samsung Z integrates the power and adaptability of the Tizen platform, enabling users to browse the web faster and utilize applications more effectively."

Samsung Z

• KEY SPECS

Display

4.80-inch

Processor

2.3GHz

Front Camera

2.1-megapixel

Resolution

720x1280 pixels

RAM

2GB

OS

Tizen 2.2.1

Storage

16GB

Rear Camera

8-megapixel

Battery capacity

2600mAh

What Does DSLR Mean?

DSLR means Digital Single Lens Reflex camera.Digital means that the camera shoots digitally, rather than using film.Single Lens means that it uses one single lens for viewing and shooting. The other type of camera would be a Twin Lens Reflex (TLR) camera, which lets you view through a top lens and shoot through a second, bottom, lens.


Shooting Mode Options
We're going to start with the basics on this board, so I'm going to walk you through the most important shooting modes and how best to use them.

Each brand of camera (Nikon & Canon being the two most common & popular) will have slightly different options on the shooting dial. But the basic, most important functions, are the same between most cameras.


Full Automatic Mode
Full Automatic Mode is indicated by the open green rectangle.

The idea with this mode is that the camera senses the lighting conditions and all other aspects of picture taking, and then automatically adjusts all its settings to fit the situation.

To be totally honest, I don't usually love this mode. It often triggers the flash to come on (not a good thing for quality photos), and it often has trouble with fast-moving subjects...they turn out blurry.  


Portrait Mode
The Portrait Mode is indicated by a drawing of a person's face or profile. That's because usually you take a portrait of someone's face!

A great portrait is focused in only on your subject's face, showing the detail of their eyes (most important!), skin tone, hair, etc. It really focuses in on these things, while blurring out the background.

Think about it like this - a great portrait doesn't have the background equally as in focus as the subject's face. You want all the attention to be on the person's face.
When using the Portrait Mode, be sure your subject is well lit. Harsh sun is not great as it will create unflattering shadows. Soft light (in early morning or late afternoon, for example) is great.

If there's not enough light, your camera will want to use the flash which is a portrait no-no! That harsh lighting is no good for color or quality. 
Last but not least, your portrait model will need to be still. This setting does not handle movement well - it creates blurriness in the final image.


Landscape Mode
Landscape Mode is indicated by a picture of mountains on your camera. That's because if you're taking a picture of mountains (like this example image) you should probably be using the Landscape Mode!

• This mode is also great for taking pictures of far away things or anytime you want to capture "the big picture" of a large scene where you'd like all aspects to be in focus.
• When you use Landscape Mode, a few things happen.  
• The blues and greens will be more vivid in your images.
• The camera will adjust its settings so that most of the image is in focus. This is very different from Portrait Mode, where you wanted only the subject's face (nothing else) to be in focus.
• This mode tends to do OK with moving subjects, but it's not the best. 

Close Up Mode
Close Up Mode is indicated by a flower, usually a tulip. That's because flowers are a common subject for close-ups.

When you use Close Up Mode, your camera will adjust itself so that only a very small amount of the picture is in focus and all the rest is blurred out.  Excellent for flowers, bugs, dew drops, and any sort of still life type shot where you want to capture & highlight all that lovely close-up detail.

Fun fact - that blurriness is called "bokeh"

Some tips for using the Close Up Mode:

• Make sure you've got adequate lighting.
• Hold your hands as still as you possibly can. Try holding your breath. Or try stabilizing your camera on a ledge. A tripod, if you've got one, would be great here too.
• Don't even try to use this mode on fast moving subjects like babies and animals. You'll get a super blurry picture.

Sports Mode
Sports Mode is indicated by a running guy. He's about to sprint super fast, and this is the mode to use to capture him!

In Sports Mode, your camera adjusts its shutter speed to be as fast as possible.  That means it does its very best to capture an image of a very short moment in time - SNAP! By snapping its shutter as fast as possible, your camera is "freezing" objects as best it can.

This mode is great for kids, animals, sporting events, or capturing anything that's fast moving.  

This mode also enables you to take pictures very quickly, one after another, creating a sort of stop-action feel when you look through your photographs.


Manual Mode
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Manual Mode is indicated on your camera by the letter M.
Manual Mode is class level 201 stuff, but it is well worth learning. When shooting in Manual Mode, you are able to control every aspect of your photography in order to create the best possible picture.

What can you adjust when you're shooting in Manual Mode?

• Adjust the ISO to adjust your camera's sensitivity to light.
• Adjust the Aperture, also known as the F-Stop, to adjust how much of an image is in focus. Just a little (like in Close Up Mode) or a lot (like in Outdoor Mode)
• Adjust the Shutter Speed, which changes how quickly your camera snaps the picture. A fast shutter speed will capture a fast moving object but requires more light. A slow shutter speed can operate in lower light conditions but requires a very steady hand. 
• Adjust the Focus manually to be sure your camera is focusing in on the correct area. 

its all about Balance

When you're shooting in Manual Mode, one of the main things to keep in mind is that you're creating a balance between the three key camera settings in order to create the style of photo you want while working with the lighting conditions you currently have.

There are three pillars of photography to learn about: ISO Speed, Aperture and Shutter Speed.

• ISO is your camera's sensitivity to light. If you set the ISO number higher, your camera will be more sensitive to light, which means you'll be able to work in lower light conditions. But set it too high, and you'll create undesirable graininess in your photos.
• Aperture determines how much of the picture is in focus, but also impacts light. A low F-Stop number lets in lots of light while also creating lots of blurriness in the background. A high F-Stop number lets in much less light and causes everything to be in focus.
• Shutter Speed determines how quickly your camera snaps the picture. Slow shutter speed lets in more light (because the shutter closes slowly) and fast shutter speed lets in less light.
• You've got to balance these three things to give your camera enough light, while also creating the effect you're after!

Understand ISO

First things first - the ISO number indicates how sensitive your camera is to available light.

The lower the ISO number, the less sensitive it is to the light, while a higher ISO number increases the sensitivity of your camera. 

This article has some great, in-depth ISO information as well as example images that demonstrate the learnings.

I'll give you the high points here

• The main reason to adjust ISO is when you're shooting in low-light conditions. You will need a higher ISO number here because you want your camera to make use of what little light is available.
• If you go much above 200 ISO, you will begin to introduce graininess into your pictures, which is not desirable. See this article for great examples of what that looks like.

Understanding Aperture

The Aperture is the circular mechanism inside your camera that opens and closes when a picture is taken. This is the setting where you choose how much of the photo is in focus, and how much is blurry. 

This article by the Pioneer Woman contains a great, in-depth explanation of the Aperture and how it works. She's very good at explaining things in layman's terms and has tons of other photography tutorials if you like her style!

High Points:

• You can set the aperture to close very tightly when you take a picture. This is a large F-Stop number, such as  F22, and creates a photo where lots is in focus.
• You can also set the aperture to remain very open. This would be a small F-Stop number, such as F1.4, and creates a photo where a small amount is in focus and the rest is blurry.
• As with all Manual Mode settings, you'll need to balance your camera's need for light with the settings to create your desired effect. Low F-Stop lets in lots of light, High F-Stop doesn’t let in very much light. Got it? 

Understanding Shutter Speed
Shutter speed is the amount of time the camera's shutter is open, when taking a picture. This is measured in seconds, or more usually, fractions of seconds.

1/1000 is a very fast shutter speed, and will "freeze" a fast moving object.
1/20 is a very slow shutter speed. Any moving object shot with this shutter speed would appear blurry.
30 is a very very slow shutter speed.  It means when you take a picture, the camera opens its shutter for a full thirty seconds!  You'd use this setting to take a picture of the dark starry night sky, for example. And you'd need a tripod!
Rule of Thumb: If you set shutter speed to anything lower than 1/60, you'll need a tripod. 1/60 is where blurriness begins to occur due to shaking hands. Humans just aren't able to hold still enough to take a clear picture below 1/60.


As for light & balance: fast shutter speeds don't let in much light, so you have to manage this by balancing your other three settings. Slow shutter speeds let in much more light, so they are great for low light conditions, but you have to manage this against the shakiness/blurriness you might create with a slow shutter speed



The last part of shooting in Manual Mode is learning about manual focus. You don't have to manually focus when you're in Manual Mode (oftentimes auto focus works just fine) but there are some situations where manual focus is best!

First, take a look at my image for this learning. See the little switch on the lens that says AF | MF? That's how you switch between Auto Focus (AF) and Manual Focus (MF). Once you're in MF mode, you twist the grooved moveable ring on your camera to adjust the focal point.

This article outlines five situations where manual focus is best.  I wholeheartedly agree with this advice, and will give you the five situations here. Read through the article to learn more about the thoughts behind each one.

• 
  
• Macro Work (IE super close-ups)
• Low Light
• Portraits
• Shooting Through Glass or Wire Fences
• Fast Action

It seems that every mobile company under the moon is either currently selling a smartwatch, launching one soon or rumored to have one in the works. That includes HTC, whose chairwoman teased earlier this year that her company had an Android-powered wearable in the works. Today a rumor regarding that device has leaked, hinting at what may be one of its most noteworthy features.

TKTechNews claims to have gotten a demo of an HTC smartwatch known as the “One Wear” during a recent visit to Taiwan. The device is said to have a round face like the Moto 360 and will reportedly be available in both polycarbonate and metal versions. The site claims that HTC is currently targeting its One Wear device for a late August or early September debut.

Previous reports have claimed that HTC’s smartwatch will include a camera and will debut in the latter portion of 2014. Additionally, HTC Chairwoman Cher Wang recently teased that HTC wanted to solve smartwatch issues related to batteries and LCDs before it released its own wearable, and apparently it has indeed cracked those problems.

While all of this information is still up in the air, the thought of a metal-clad HTC smartwatch with a round face is pretty enticing. HTC is known for crafting some great-looking smartphone hardware, and I’m definitely interested in seeing its take on a smartwatch, especially if it does indeed feature a round face like the Moto 360.

What do you make of these HTC smartwatch rumors? Does this sound like the smartwatch of your dreams?

Motorola teased earlier this year that the follow-up to the Moto X would arrive in the “late summer,” but the company hasn’t revealed any other details about the device since. Thankfully, the rumor mill isn’t so tight-lipped.

According to a tweet sent by well-known leakster @evleaks, the Moto X+1 isn’t expected to launch until “the literal end of summer.” He goes on to estimate that a release could happen during the final days of September.

The original Moto X debuted in late August last year, so if today’s report holds true, the Moto X’s successor will come a little over a year after the first model. That’s not uncommon in the mobile industry in which more and more manufacturers are following a yearly refresh cycle for their flagship models.

Details about the Moto X+1 are still fairly light, but it’s said that the device is codenamed “Victara” and that it will launch on all four major U.S. carriers. Additionally, the Moto X+1 is expected to have around 25 different custom back options available through Moto Maker, including some leather materials.

HP today announced a new series of laptops, and included in the bunch is a new laptop that runs Android and is known as the HP SlateBook. The notebook is running Android 4.3 Jelly Bean and has an NVIDIA Tegra 4 processor at its heart. Here’s what the full rundown on the SlateBook looks like:

• 14-inch 1920x1080 touchscreen
• Quad-core NVIDIA Tegra 4 processor
• 16GB-64GB of internal storage
• 2GB of RAM
• Front-facing webcam
• Beats Audio speakers
• 1 USB 3.0 port, 2 USB 2.0 ports, 1 HDMI port
• Android 4.3 Jelly Bean
• Up to 9 hours of battery life
• Weighs 3.75 pounds
• Launching in the U.S. on July 20 for $429.99

While HP’s SlateBook certainly isn’t the first Android-powered laptop that we’ve seen, those devices are still somewhat rare. With a 14-inch 1080p touchscreen, quad-core Tegra 4 processor, Beats Audio and a large selection of Android apps, the SlateBook 14 could be an interesting choice for folks looking for a new laptop on the cheap. The inclusion of Android 4.3 is a bit of a disappointment, so hopefully HP will update it to Android 4.4 in a timely manner.

The HP Slatebook 14 features a traditional laptop body, but its 14-inch display is a touchscreen, making it one of the largest portable devices running pure Android. Despite this, HP made the Slatebook pretty darn small, at 16mm thick and a relatively light 1.7kg (3.7 pounds).

The exterior of the Slatebook 14 features a yellow trim that accents its thin frame and gives it a youthful look. HP has yet to specify which version of the Android OS the Slatebook 14 will ship with or what screen resolution to expect, but we do know it houses up to 64GB of storage space, 2GB of RAM, an Nvidia Tegra 4 CPU, and a purported 9.5-hour battery life.

The Slatebook 14 isn't the only new Android-based device HP has announced. A $249 Chromebook, naturally running Google's Chrome OS, made its debut alongside the HP h -- a tablet/laptop hybrid -- and the 13-inch Pavilion and 15-inch Envy -- a pair of convertible PCs that offer a rotating 360-degree hinge. That's quite the lineup.



HP has also taken the wraps off of a new Chromebook today. Dubbed the “HP Chromebook,” the new Chrome OS device features an 11.6-inch display and a design similar to the HP Chromebook 14. The full spec list for the new 11-inch Chromebook is as follows:

• 11.6-inch 1366x768 display
• Samsung processor
• 16GB storage
• 2GB of RAM
• 6.25 hours of battery life
• 2.69 pounds
• Available in turquoise and silver
• Launching in the U.S. in July for $279.99

Check back to PeAkgaru for more information ?. What do you think of a pure Android laptop with a touchscreen? Let us know in the Comments below...