Microsoft releases Blink Lens app with burst mode for Windows Phone 8

Microsoft has released a new Lens app for Windows Phone 8 devices. The app, named Blink, is available on the Windows Phone Store for free. It gives the camera burst mode capability. According to the description of the app, it captures a burst of images before you even press the shutter, and continues to capture pictures after you've taken your shot.

Here is the complete description of the app: “With BLINK for Windows Phone 8, you'll never miss the best shot. BLINK captures a burst of images before you even press the shutter, and continues to capture pictures after you've taken your shot. It’s no problem if you press the shutter a few seconds too early or too late. With BLINK, a simple finger swipe lets you find the perfect shot. Advanced image stabilization technology from Microsoft Research removes camera shake and lets you focus on the important parts of the scene.”
Blink gives you burst mode in your WP8 camera

Blink gives you burst mode in your WP8 camera





The Blink lens essentially lets users take many photographs in the span of a couple of seconds and pick the one they find to be the best of the lot. This is not different from the burst mode in the camera of higher end devices such as the HTC One X+ and the Galaxy S III.

While the lens has received praise from many users, some still have their misgivings about it. According to some user reviews on the Windows Phone Store, the pictures taken through the Blink lens tend to be of a lower quality compared to those taken without any lens. Some users have also reported on a bug that makes images appear skewed when being edited. Considering that this is the first release, though, it's likely that Microsoft will solve a lot of the problems with the lens in future updates.

Lenses basically work like addons to the Windows Phone 8 camera app. They allow you to do a number of things, ranging from having instagram-like filters to giving you the ability to take pictures in panorama mode. With the addition of the Blink lens taking the WP8 camera closer to that of high-end Android devices, one can venture a guess that a lens that gives the ability to take pictures in HDR (high dynamic range) lighting is not too far off.

Temple Run: Oz the Great and Powerful to release on February 27

With the recent release and success of Temple Run 2, Imangi doesn’t seem to be taking a break. According to SlashGear, the company is working on another game in the series, and once more, it will be a movie tie-in game. The upcoming Temple Run will be based on the Disney movie Oz the Great and Powerful. The game is set to be released on February 27.

The game was announced through a tweet by Disney representative Cecile Fouques. No other detail on the game is available yet. It’s not even known whether the title of the game will simply be Temple Run: Oz or Temple Run: Oz the Great and Powerful. While it does make more sense to have the complete name of the movie in the game, it ends up being a name that’s too long to say in conversation.
Temple Run 2 is out now for iOS

Getting another movie tie-in




Earlier this month, Imangi had announced that Temple Run had hit 50 million downloads in 13 days.

Imangi’s press release stated: “Temple Run 2 originally launched exclusively on the App Store on January 17 and quickly rose to the  number 1 slot in Free Apps, earning over six million downloads in less than 24 hours. Following a release on Google Play and Amazon Marketplace, the sequel continued its record-breaking success, racing to the number 1 spot, respectively, in each store. Following in the footsteps of Temple Run, which has been downloaded over 170 million times, Temple Run 2 has cemented itself in mobile gaming history.”

Keith Shepherd, co-founder of Imangi, said the Temple Run franchise has grown much bigger than the company. “The game has performed beyond our wildest dreams, and we are thrilled that gamers and fans have embraced Temple Run 2 in such a short period of time,” he said.

The Temple Run franchise has expanded to include apparel with JEM Sportswear, digital comics with Ape Entertainment, and card and board games with Spin Master, among other licensing partnerships. In June 2012, Imangi and Disney Pixar launched Temple Run: Brave, a collaboration between the makers of the animated film Brave and the game developers. The game rushed to the top spot on Apple’s App Store soon after it was released.

Temple Run’s premise is simple: as an intrepid explorer, you steal an idol from a temple (where else?) and are chased by "demonic monkeys," and all you can do is run away from them as fast as possible. There are obstacles, of course, like overhanging tree branches or sections where the path has caved in.

As far as running games are concerned, the franchise is easily the most popular one for smartphone users, a fact underlined by this latest achievement. Temple Run 2 was first released on iOS and Android users had to wait a week for it to be released. Even so, the game has been widely praised for its new levels and intricate courses. Check out our review of Temple Run 2

Facebook developing a location tracking friend-finder app

Facebook will now know everywhere you go. The social networking giant that celebrated its ninth birthday yesterday is reportedly building its own mobile location tracker, reports Bloomberg.


Trying to benefit from the growing number of smartphone users, Facebook is developing a whole new app for tracking purposes. Currently, Facebook does work with locations, but only through check-ins and geo-tagged posts. With this new app Facebook will try to help users locate friends nearby while their location is tracked in the background.


According to sources that are working closely with its development, the entirely new app is slated to be released sometime in mid-March and is designed to run in the background even when it isn’t open on the handset. Reports suggest that the app in essence will be quite similar to Google Latitude, Apple Find My Friends and similar services.


Facebook will help you find your friends

Facebook will help you find your friends




The location software is said to be headed by Peter Deng, a product director who joined over from Google in 2007 according to a source. The team also consists of engineers from Glancee, a location tracking startup and Gowalla, a location tracking social network that were bought over by Facebook in the past couple of years.




Facebook had attempted to launch a feature in a similar vein in June last year. Very quietly, the social networking website had launched the ‘Find Friends Nearby’ service that did exactly what the name suggests. The service that used GPS to locate users and inform their friends about their whereabouts was slammed by users and critics alike for being ‘creepy’ and ‘stalker like’.


Just as quietly as it was launched, it was taken off by Facebook that was stung by the severe backlash it generated. Facebook explained the pull out of the service stating that the feature was under test and it wasn’t a formal release. The company said that the feature was just something that the engineers were testing. "With all tests, some get released as full products, others don’t. Nothing more to say on this for now, but we’ll communicate to everyone when there is something to say,” read the official statement.


Now it looks like Facebook learnt some lessons from the service test and is set to package old wine in a new bottle for users who have been lapping up Facebook’s latest mobile offerings like Poke and newer features in the Messenger app.


Late in January this year, Facebook announced in its Q4 earnings call that for the first time ever Facebook Mobile’s Daily Active Users exceeded those on the desktop version of the website. CEO Mark Zuckerberg highlighted the surge in mobile users, saying, “There’s no argument, Facebook is a mobile company.” He also referenced a comScore report to prove that Facebook is the top app in the US, beating Google Maps, and accounts for 23 percent of total time spent on mobile apps in the country.

HTC to ditch megapixels, M7 could launch with a 4 ultrapixel camera

The HTC M7 is one of the most eagerly-awaited handsets of 2013, and will be the first phone to boast of a 1080p resolution display under 5 inches in size. But a new rumour suggests that won’t be the only headline-grabbing feature of the M7.

According to a report by Pocket-lint, the M7 incorporates a new camera sensor that won't be measured in megapixels, but in a new term the company has coined: "Ultrapixels." Earlier rumours suggest that the new smartphone will use a 13 megapixel sensor, however, sources familiar with the company’s new flagship have told the website that the new camera will instead be made up of three 4.3-megapixel sensor layers. Image processing is done by combining the layers to produce one image.
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An earlier leak showing the HTC M7 running Sense 5.0




Three layers of 4.3 megapixel sensors add up to 13 megapixels, but instead of delivering one image at a 13 megapixel resolution, the sensor picks a pixel from each layer to represent one final pixel. The technique is similar to the one used by Sigma in the Foveon X3 sensor.

In layman terms, this means the data from the three sensors is combined to generate a crisper, cleaner image, and at least in the case of the Foveon X3, it delivers better colour accuracy.

Nokia handled image data in the 808 PureView’s camera in a similar fashion, but a more conventional sensor structure is employed; the 808 uses surrounding pixels to render one pixel in the final image. The multiple-layered structure that HTC is allegedly using is a first for mobile phones.

The 'ultrapixel' sensor is expected to be a core feature of the new M7 smartphone, the name of which was seemingly confirmed by an excited CEO Peter Chou last week. It seems possible that the ultrapixel name could be a marketing strategy to prevent consumers from assuming that the M7 will be launched with a 4 megapixel sensor.

HTC released an infographic on its site today, which showed the development of photography and, predictably, touted its cameras as being the best in the market when they were launched. It boasts about the camera on the HTC One X, which was released last year, and promises to bring a new sound and camera experience in 2013.

The M7 is expected to be launched on February 19 at two events in London and New York. The phone was shown off to HTC’s employees by Chou and other executives at the company’s year-end bash last week. A leaked video of the event suggests that the phone will have a physical camera shutter button, which, if true, should fall nicely in line with the company’s aim of positioning the M7 as a phone with a super camera.

The M7 is said to have a 1.7GHz quad-core Snapdragon processor, 2GB of RAM, 32GB of internal storage, and an LTE chip. The device is expected to have a dedicated amplifier designed by Beats, along with stereo speakers. The smartphone is expected to run Sense 5.0 over Android 4.2 Jelly Bean.

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt world will be 20% larger than Skyrim

Details of CDProjekt RED’s next fantasy epic—The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt—have emerged on the latest issue of GameInformer, and it seems the new game's world will be around 20 percent bigger than it was in Skyrim, and player's will take 30 to 40 minutes to cross it on horseback. The details were brought to light by a user on the NeoGAF forums.

It's also been revealed that the company is opting for a new game engine—CDRED Engine 3. The game will be out on “all top-of-the-line” consoles, so there is a very high chance that it will be a next-gen console game. The game will also be opting for a more open-world design instead of the acts/chapters system of the previous games. Unlike in the previous games, the protagonist—Geralt— will not be suffering from amnesia this time.
The render of Geralt will see improvements

Geralt will look better, besides remembering stuff.




GameInformer wrote: “CD Projekt RED has provided the screenshots you see here from its current in-game assets running on its Internal PC development hardware. However, the renderer - the part of the engine that translates the game files into what you ultimately see on screen - is still in development and will boast significant improvements by the time The Witcher 3 ships. "Right now you see the game in the old renderer, but it's going to be taken to a truly next level," says gameplay producer Marek ZSiemak. In particular, the developers tell us that skin shaders and the dynamic lighting model will be markedly more advanced in the final version.”

More information will be available when CDProjekt officially announces the game later today.

CDProjekt had hinted that it would be announcing the game via a secret message hidden in the CG trailer for its upcoming sci-fi RPG—Cyberpunk 2077. The message was discovered, again, by a member of the NeoGAF forums. The secret message seemed to be about the announcement of a new game. The message read: "We are about to reveal our other project, which is much closer to being completed, and it will also be a fully open world game with an intense story. You can probably guess the game we're talking about. On the 5th February, it will all be clear."
Concept art for the open world

Concept art for the open world




Most of the speculation about this secret message points towards the next Witcher game—the series that made the company famous. The Witcher games are based on the universe created by Polish writer Andrzej Sapkowski and revolve around Geralt, the titular Witcher. The Witcher games have received critical acclaim thanks to its handling of mature themes such as politics and racism. The first game of the series received some criticism because of collectible cards in the game, which revolved around having sex with as many women as possible. Despite this, the games have been praised for its mature storyline and moral choices that actually mattered.

The first game revolved around Geralt losing all of his memory and everyone who knew him thinking that he was dead. The main story revolves around the Salamandra—a cult hell-bent on taking over the world.

The second game involves Geralt being framed for the assassination of a king, and him being set free to clear his name. Much of this game's plot revolved around the racism and political tension between humans and a group of freedom fighters/terrorists named the Scioa'tel.

Pinterest for iOS updated, lets you edit pins and delete comments

Pinterest yesterday rolled out an update for its iOS app, enabling users to edit pins and delete comments. Users can now update the description of a pin, change the location of a board or delete a pin altogether. You can also delete any comments you have made on Pinterest.



The update brings some performance improvements and a couple of bug fixes. Pinterest stated in a blog post that it has made some behind-the-curtain improvements to the app, which results in smoother scrolling when viewing pins. 

Pinterest is currently trying out a new look that aims to make surfing its website faster and more pleasing to the eye. The company will implement a tweaked navigation panel, bigger pin sizes and more.



Pinterest will be testing this update with a small group of users. You can sign up to be let inside the controlled group. The company says the update will be rolled out to more users after they work out any kinks that could crop up with the new design. With this new update, Pinterest is aiming to keep users more captivated on its website, which is known for its iconic masonry design. To be a part of the test group that gets the update first, you can fill out this form to send your information to Pinterest.



Without revealing too much, the company stated on its blog, “We made the navigation more intuitive, so it’s faster to get to where you want to go.” A look at the screenshots shows that the navigation panel has received a big facelift.



Currently, the top bar on Pinterest looks slightly cluttered and most of the links are strewn around. The new layout shows two drop-down buttons on either side of the screen, which contain all the links you will need. On the right you will find the profile and what looks like the ‘add pin’ button. The left column now contains all the quick links that earlier used to be in middle of the top bar. Categories like home, art, architecture and even men's fashion are placed here. Options to switch between your feed and all pins are now within this drop-down list.



In November last year, Pinterest started allowing users to add secret boards, which are boards that users can choose to keep private. Users can choose to share the boards with only a handful of people.



Pinterest launched its app for iOS in August last year. The app lets users swipe the screen to get back to browsing once they are done viewing a board. They can also use the embedded browser to see what others are pinning. The app is compatible with iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, iPhone 4S, iPhone 5, iPod touch (3rd generation), iPod touch (4th generation), iPod touch (5th generation) and iPad. To be able to use the app, users will need iOS 5.0 or later.

Wishtel launches two 'Ira' Android budget tablets, starting Rs. 4,000

Wishtel India has launched 2 tablets in the Indian market, the Ira Thing and the Ira. The two tablets are priced at Rs. 4000 and Rs. 5,500 respectively, plus tax.

The specifications of both the budget tablets are the same apart from the fact that the Ira Thing has a resistive touchscreen and the Ira has a capacitive touchscreen. The battery of both the devices too is different.

The Ira Thing has a 2,200 mAh battery where as the Ira has a 2,800 mAh battery. Other specifications of the device can be found in the table at the end of the article.

The device comes preloaded with a bunch of apps such as a Web Browser, Media Player, Photo viewer, Office, MSN, Skype, Gtalk, Note pad, Clock, Weather and more.

The devices on display at the press event ran Android 2.2 Froyo but the manufacturers have confirmed that the device will launch with Android 2.3 Gingerbread.

Apart from Android, customers will have the option to use the tablet on the Linux Sugar OS.

Speaking at the event, Milind Shah, CEO, Wishtel, said:

    “This launch is the first step in our long term vision of bringing people closer to technology by creating gadgets that truly touch their lives. By enabling support for Indian languages, we are providing the opportunity for hundreds of millions of Indians to join the tablet revolution that is sweeping the globe today. We also hope to reach out to those brilliant minds in India that are inhibited for the lack of proper resources.”

Richard Brown, VP International Marketing, VIA Technologies, Inc., added:

    “With the introduction of the IRA and IRA Thing, Wishtel is leading the way in driving tablet innovation in India. The potential for these devices is breathtaking, particularly in areas such as education.”