Windows XP deadline: All Banks Upgrading the ATM's Operating Systems.

Summary: Windows XP deadline: Banks around the world 

Consumed to meet more stringent capital rules for banks around the world , automated teller machines (ATMs) to secure a place for the old software upgrade and will miss a deadline for Microsoft to face additional costs .

U.S. software company first warned in 2007 that it plans to end support for Windows XP , but it uses a system of 2.2 million ATMs in the world , only one-third of April , a new platform , such as Windows 7 , will be upgraded to the deadline , NCR, one of the largest ATM according to the producers .

To ensure that the machines are protected against viruses and hackers, many banks have agreed to deals with Microsoft and they continue to upgrade their ATMs , but the additional costs are avoidable, and negotiations are now likely to be a distraction for the bank .

" I could not complete their immigration and custom support , that are sure to be a large Enterprise customers ," Microsoft is a spokesman for the users or to quantify the decline in earning extra income , he said .

" The cost to support what they already have, and the two will depend on the specific customer's needs , so it 's different for every customer . "

The five largest UK banks - Lloyds Banking Group , Royal Bank of Scotland , HSBC, Barclays and Santander UK - have, or are in the process of negotiating agreements with Microsoft to support the expansion.

Britain's major banks to extend each of the cost of upgrading to the new platform support and direct Athreya, the London-based head of technology , according to the advice of the financial services firm Sungard , 60 to 50 million pounds ( $ 100 million ) will be in the area of ​​consulting , a prediction corroborated by a source of one of the banks .

Athreya banks in the wake of the 2007-08 financial crisis, overwhelmed by the demands of the new control systems to upgrade and then said the last to leave .

"They come from Microsoft , especially the so -referential . , There is a change at this point in time a lot of these banks and Windows XP as they saw another change , " he said .

Windows XP currently supports about 95% of the world's ATM .

440.000 about - or a quarter of the world's ATMs - the banks operating in the United States and they are also still for a while after the expiration of the April 8 with Windows XP will be running their ATMs , Doug Johnson , vice president for risk management policy of the American Bankers Association .

" One thing in our favor, XP will be tougher battle , " said Johnson . "People over the years have benefited from the close of XP ... It has been through the wars . "

Stand in line Means that banks do not have enough people in the queue waiting to be upgraded in order to work ." There is a little bit of a bottle neck , " said Johnson .

Cards with magnetic stripes , rather than having to read the microchips as some of the banks and their ATMs are used to update an opportunity to introduce new features .

Swipe and sign of the old-fashioned magnetic stripe credit cards are still in use in the United States , in the banks and their ATMs to read chip cards to be upgraded .

Bank JP Morgan , which is 19,200 , with a goal of completion by the end of the year , in July, Windows 7 will start to change its machines . Change , JP Morgan and machines to improve data encryption to ensure more efficient and less time consuming software updates intended for the line .

A spokesman for the bank, JP Morgan, Microsoft has extended XP coverage declined to say how much .

Bank of America also ask Microsoft to extend support for the machines that are still running Windows XP .

Citigroup Inc. , which is 12,000 ATMs around the world , said that it is in the process of upgrading its machines from XP and declined to give further details .

Britain has been hit by a succession of IT problems, RBS, and for three years in return for the efforts of its 9,000 ATMs agreed a fee with Microsoft , said a source familiar with the arrangement .

RBS next year to run the Windows 7 upgrade its ATMs will start and expects to complete the process in about three years , he said. To invest in the bank's computer systems, the new chief executive Ross McEwan 1.4 billion pounds each year, part of which is bound to improve .

RBS McEwan admitted in December of decades of neglect of his technology .

Lloyds until 2016 , however, support for Microsoft to extend its 7,000 ATMs Updates writing to pay an undisclosed amount . The bank will start this year to upgrade its ATMs .

3,200 ATM HSBC, which it expects to complete next year, the three-year program of upgrades to two years . It has reached an agreement with Microsoft .

Barclays ATM 4,300 , 2,370 ATMs , which Santander UK,, which has already agreed to a deal , he said , it is still in talks with Microsoft 

Read More

Wipro to train over 100 foreign interns in India

Summary: Wipro to train over 100 foreign interns in India

As the spotlight remains fixed on the issue of onsite hiring for IT firms, Wipro is planning ahead in cultivating teams of local business leaders with an Indian ethos. The company is scaling up its "India gateway" programme, through which it gives campus recruits from the UK, Europe, and Africa an opportunity to spend months at a time in its India campuses.

Launched last year, Wipro says the programme has been more successful than anticipated, and this year, over 100 employees across the world are expected to be working here.

"Going forward, the number of local hires abroad will only increase. Management also has to come from local talent more in the future. Keeping that in mind, we felt it was important to have locals immerse themselves in the culture of the company. Having them train here is a great way to do that," says Sourabh Govil, senior vice president - Human Resources, Wipro.

"We expect these trainees to make up the middle management rung in the near future, and then go on to take bigger leadership roles," he adds.

While a majority of the students have come for 3-6 month internships in technology and management from countries such as the UK, Germany, France, Switzerland, a large number has also been roped in from South Africa, with almost 30 local students undergoing the program for three months.

Wipro says it is unsure of how many such interns it will take on board next year, but numbers are expected to surpass the 100 from this year.

Says Pratik Kumar, executive vice president, Human Resources, Wipro, "The anxiety that we had, in terms of visa issues, and interest level amongst students to come and work here, has been put to rest. The issues are much smaller than we had anticipated, students are showing a lot of interest, and we will definitely be recruiting for the program in larger numbers."

ReferingLink :http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/tech/careers/education/Wipro-to-train-over-100-foreign-interns-in-India/articleshow/24702441.cms

Read More

IBM,TCS, Infosys,Wipro and all MNC's Changing IT Training process in India

 Summary: What is changing IT training industry in India

         Institutes that provide training in the Latest new technology areas-cloud computing, mobile and data analytics,Microsoft Dynamics CRM,SAP CRM,are growing in prominence to cater to demand from software companies such as TCS, Infosys and Wipro.

     The Top technology training centers is not unlike what happened more than decades ago which resulted in companies like NIIT and Aptech becoming household names.

"We have recorded all scenarios growth in demand," said Gaurav Vohra, founder of Jigsaw Academy, an online training institute that specialises in analytics. now enrolls 125 students a month. Jigsaw's alumni now work at top IT firms like Infosys and Genpact as well as core analytics providers such as Fractal Analytics.

     The demand is huge.only India require at least one lakh cloud computing people by 2015, globally it will be shortage of some 2 lakh data analysts by 2019, according to a study by EMC and Zinnov. In 2013-14, software industry grouping Nasscom estimates that 1.5 lakh graduates will be hired by the industry, compared to 1.8 lakh in the previous year.

     Koenig Solutions, partnered with cloud computing softwaremaker VMware to train students in a technology which helps enterprises access their IT services through the internet. Rohit Aggarwal, chief executive of the company, said his students have received offers from TCS, Infosys and IBM.

        "Short-term training in hot skills is at an all-time high," said Surabhi Mathur Gandhi, senior vice president at Teamlease, a staffing firm. "A lot of training institutions have started tying up with IT companies for post-placement opportunities."

         India's third-largest IT services firm, Wipro Technologies, which already has a team of 1,000 to work on these new technologies, is expected to hire more. "These skills are not available at the level of new engineering graduates," said Deepak Jain, senior vice president and global head for workforce planning and development at Wipro. "We work with training institutes and our alliance partners for training on emerging technologies."

Read More

Karnataka government Pushing jobs for locals in IT

Summary:
Summary:The Karnataka government is pulling IT companies to Local employment opportunities.

     "We can enforce (local employment) it if it's not being done by them. We have asked IT industry body Nasscom to conduct a survey to assess the level of opportunities provided to locals," IT/BT minister S R Patil said on Thursday in reaction to a question from the media.

       IT/BT minister S R Patil  was speaking on the  of an event organized by Whitefield Export Promotion Park Industrial Association (WEPPIA) to discuss issues faced by companies operating in the Export Promotion Industrial Park (EPIP) area.

       Karnataka contributes about 40% to the country's IT Sector. The state recorded IT Area of over Rs 1.35 lakh crore during 2012-13 and is expected to touch Rs 1.50 lakh crore in the current financial year. The IT sector contributes 20% to the state's GDP. The government is planning to set up a high-powered committee to act as a single window agency to accelerate infrastructure clearances in the Information Technology Investment Region coming up in Devanahalli.

     The Karnataka government has partnered with Nasscom to conduct a study on the impact of the IT sector in the state. "The survey will be a pointer to potential IT ecosystems outside Bangalore by assessing the available inventory of skill sets in different districts. If the IT sector has to employ 20 lakh people by 2020 from the current 7 lakh, we have to identify other IT destinations where jobs can be moved," said KS Vishwanathan, vice president - industry initiatives in Nasscom. The report would be completed in 4-5 months, he said.

     

Read More

Google's 'Hummingbird' hatches new search formula

Summary:Google's 'Hummingbird' hatches new search formula

Google has quietly retooled the closely guarded formula running its internet search engine to give better answers to the increasingly complex questions posed by web surfers.

The overhaul came as part of an update called "Hummingbird" that Google has gradually rolled out in the past month without disclosing the modifications.

The changes could have a major impact on traffic to websites. Hummingbird represents the most dramatic alteration to Google's search engine since it revised the way it indexes websites three years ago as part of a redesign called "Caffeine," according to Amit Singhal, a senior vice president for the company. He estimates that the redesign will affect the analysis of about 90 per cent of the search requests that Google gets.

Any reshuffling of Google's search rankings can have sweeping ramifications because they steer so much of the internet's traffic. Google fields about two of out every three search requests in the US and handles an even larger volume in some parts of Europe. The changes could also drive up the price of Google ads tied to search requests if websites whose rankings are demoted under the new system feel they have to buy the marketing messages to attract traffic.

The search ads and other commercial pitches related to web content account for most of Google's revenue, which is expected to approach $60 billion this year.

Google disclosed the existence of the new search formula on Thursday at an event held in the Menlo Park, California, garage where CEO Larry Page and fellow co-founder Sergey Brin started the company 15 years ago.

Google celebrates its birthday on September 27 each year, even though the company was incorporated a few weeks earlier. The company is now based in Mountain View, California, at a sprawling complex located about seven miles from the 1,900-square-foot home where Page and Brin paid $1,700 per month to rent the garage and a bedroom. The co-founders' landlord was Susan Wojcicki, who is now a top Google executive and Brin's sister-in-law.

Wojcicki sold the home to Google in 2006 and it is now maintained as a monument to the company's humble beginnings.

Google's renovations to its search engine haven't triggered widespread complaints from other websites yet, suggesting that the revisions haven't resulted in a radical reshuffling in how websites rank in the recommendations. The Caffeine update spurred a loud outcry because it explicitly sought to weed out websites that tried to trick Google's search engine into believing their content was related to common search requests. After Caffeine kicked in, hundreds of websites that consistently won a coveted spot near the top of Google's search results had been relegated to the back pages or exiled completely.

Hummingbird is primarily aimed at giving Google's search engine a better grasp at understanding concepts instead of mere words, Singhal said.

The change needed to be done, Singhal said, because people have become so reliant on Google that they now routinely enter lengthy questions into the search box instead of just a few words related to specific topics.

With the advent of smartphones and Google's voice-recognition technology, people also are increasingly submitting search requests in sequences of spoken sentences that resemble an ongoing conversation. That trend also factored into Google's decision to hatch Hummingbird.

Just as Page and Brin set out to do when they started Google in a garage, "we want to keep getting better at helping you make the most of your life," Singhal said.

Besides Hummingbird, Google also announced a few other updates to existing search features aimed at providing information more concisely so people won't need to navigate to another website. These changes are part of Google's effort to adapt to the smaller screens of smartphones that aren't well suited for hopscotching across the Internet.

The additions primarily affect Google's "Knowledge Graph," an encyclopedia-like box that increasingly appears at the top or alongside the search results, and Google Now, a virtual assistant that tailors key information suited to each user's habits, interest and location.

Besides providing informational snapshots of famous people and landmarks, the Knowledge Graph is now capable of comparing the attributes of two different things, such as olive oil and coconut oil. It will also be possible to ask the Knowledge Graph to sort through certain types of information, such as the creative evolution of various artists.

An upcoming update to Google's search application for devices running Apple's mobile operating system will ensure notifications about personal appointments and errand reminders are also delivered on a smartphones or tablets running on Google's competing Android software. Google Now also will start flagging new developments and information about famous people that have previously piqued a user's interest.

Read More

Using Control-Alt-Delete for login was a mistake, Bill Gates admits

Summary:Using Control-Alt-Delete for login was a mistake, Bill Gates admits

            Microsoft chairman Bill Gates has acknowledged that setting Control-Alt-Delete as a way to log in to Windows was a mistake. Gates made the comment during a talk at a Harvard University fundraising event.

         "We could have had a single button, but the guy who did the IBM keyboard design didn't want to give us our single button ... and so we programmed at a low level ... it was a mistake," said Gates.

        During an hour-long interview with David Rubenstein, Gates also spoke about his early days at Microsoft, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and his friendship with Warren Buffet.

          During the interview, Gates also claimed the two companies did some clever things too. "We were able to experiment with a lot of stuff, but more on the software side than the hardware," said Gates.

        Gates attended Harvard as an undergraduate. However, he dropped out to start Microsoft. Decades later, the university awarded him an honorary degree.

          David Bradley, a designer of the original IBM PC, is said to have invented the Control-Alt-Delete. During IBM's 20th anniversary of the IBM PC, Bradley had reportedly said he may have invented alt-control-delete combination for login, but it was Gates who made it famous.

Read More

How to change Google Calendar details after sharing it ?

Summary:How to change Google Calendar details after sharing it.

                   Log into your Google account and go to your Calendar screen. Find the event you want to change, select it and click the "Edit event" link. On the page for that event, change the time, location and any other information that needs to be updated. You can also invite more guests, add a video call or request a timed reminder from Google, so you remember the event yourself.

                  When you click the Save button at the top of the page to seal in the changes, Google Calendar presents you with a pop-up box asking if you would like to send an updated invitation to your recipients. Click the Send button to notify your guests of the change.
                 For those new to Gmail, you can send invitations for meetings and other events by first creating and addressing a message to your potential attendees. (You can also create an invitation to accompany a reply or a forwarded message.) When you have the addresses added, move the mouse cursor over the + button in the bottom toolbar and click the Insert Invitation icon, which looks like a tiny calendar.


                  When the Invitation box appears on screen, fill in the details and click the Insert Invitation button to include it with your message.

Read More

Unbreakable smartphones price in India

Summary: Unbreakable smartphones coming soon in India.
     
             Unbreakable rubber-like smartphones, rollable tablets and functional clothing have come closer to reality, thanks to new breakthrough research by scientists including one of Indian-origin.

           Researchers from Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) RMIT University have developed a new method to transfer electronics with versatile functionality, which are usually made on rigid silicon, onto a flexible surface.

         The ability of micro and nano-electronic devices to sense, insulate or generate energy is controlled by thin, transparent nanolayers of oxide materials, often much thinner than 1/100th of a human hair.

              These oxide materials are brittle and their high processing temperatures - often in excess of 300 degrees Celsius - have until now prevented their incorporation in flexible electronic devices.

       Lead author, Philipp Gutruf, said the new process could unleash the potential of fully functional flexible electronics, while providing a new way for the materials to mesh together. "We have discovered a micro-tectonic effect, where microscale plates of oxide materials slide over each other, like geological plates, to relieve stress and retain electrical conductivity," he said.

        "The novel method we have developed overcomes the challenges of incorporating oxide materials in bendable electronic devices, paving the way for bendable consumer electronics and other exciting applications," said Gutruf. Supervisor and co-leader of the research group, Dr Madhu Bhaskaran, said the new approach used two popular materials - transparent conductive indium tin oxide and rubber-like silicone which is also biocompatible.

             "The ability to combine any functional oxide with this biocompatible material creates the potential for biomedical devices to monitor or stimulate nerve cells and organs. This is in addition to the immediate potential for consumer electronics applications in flexible displays, solar cells, and energy harvesters," said Bhaskaran. 

Read More

Microsoft offers Indian boy $180,000 to work in its US headquarters

Summary:Microsoft offers Ahmedabad boy $180,000 to work in its US headquarters

                 An Amdavadi boy who attended school in Shahibaug and interned at the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) Ahmedabad, has landed one of the highest pay packages offered to an engineering postgraduate - $1,80,000 USD plus incentives. The offer was made by Microsoft to 23-year-old Priyanshu Kumar Jha, who earned a master's from Singapore. Priyanshu will work for Microsoft's Bing search engine as development engineer.

              Priyanshu will head to the Microsoft headquarters in the US next week. He is the youngest of the batch of students who appeared for placements at the National University of Singapore this year, where he studied for the master's degree in software engineering. He has secured a bachelor's degree in information technology from UV Patel College of Engineering, Ganpat University, Mehsana.

             Priyanshu's father, Prabhat Kumar Jha, is a zonal director (central zone) National Small Industries Corporation, ministry of medium, small & micro enterprises. Priyanshu's mother, Ranjana, is a homemaker. Priyanshu completed his schooling from Central School, Shahibaug.

     Priyanshu told TOI that he had been exposed to computers since 1994. "My dream is to work for corporations for a while and use my learning to launch my own company after coming back to Ahmedabad," he said. "I want to give back to society which has given me so much."

                 "As an engineering student, I always aspired to work for Microsoft at some point in my career," Priyanshu said. "But to have my first job, at this age, as an engineer in Microsoft is a dream come true." Being the youngest achiever in his group has been Priyanshu's habit. He was the youngest to be chosen for the master's programme in Singapore. "I had to put in a lot of extra work to keep up with my batchmates, who had a minimum of two years of work experience," he said. "I was the only one with no work experience, but my top scores always gave me an edge over the others."

          As for the interview with Microsoft, Priyanshu said it consisted of six rounds with each one lasting six hours. But he said the interactions were always relaxed.

Read More

what's the android latest version name kitkat in all smart,andriod phones

Sub:Google next version of the company's mobile operating system (OS) will be called Android KitKat.

NEW DELHI: Sundar Pichai, head of Android division at Google, on Tuesday revealed on Twitter that the next version of the company'smobile operating system (OS) will be called Android KitKat.

"We now have over 1 billion Android activations and hope this guy in front of the building keeps that momentum going," Pichai tweeted as well as posted an image of a giant Android mascot built like KitKat chocolate.

Earlier, there were rumours that the next version of the OS would be called Android Key Lime Pie.
Since Android 1.5, Google has named each version of the OS after a sweet. Android 1.5 was Cupcake. Android 1.6 was Donut. Android 2.0 was Eclair. Android 2.2 was Froyo. Android 2.3 was Gingerbread. Android 3.0 was Honeycomb. Android 4.0 was Ice Cream Sandwich. And Android 4.1, 4.2 and 4.3 have been called Jelly Bean.

"Android is the operating system that powers over 1 billion smartphones and tablets. Since these devices make our lives so sweet, each Android version is named after a dessert... As everybody finds it difficult to stay away from chocolate we decided to name the next version of Android after one of our favorite chocolate treats, Kitkat," Google said.

The KitKat will be Android 4.4. So far there is no word on when Google will release this OS but it is likely to debut in the market with the new Nexus phone in the coming months.

Google announced the new version of Android just minutes after Apple sent out invites for an event on September 10 where it is likely to launch the next version of iPhone.

For KitKat name Google has tied up with Nestle, which makes KitKat chocolates.

"We couldn't imagine a better name for our Android K release than the tasty chocolate that's been a favourite among the team since the early days of Android," said Marc Vanlerberghe, director of Android marketing.

Nestle said that to mark the release of Android KitKat, more than 50 million specially branded KitKat bars will be available in 19 countries including Australia, Brazil, Germany, India, Japan, Dubai, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States.

The packs will lead consumers to the website www.android.com/kitkat where they will have the opportunity to win prizes including a limited number of Google Nexus 7 tablets, and credits to spend in Google Play.

Read More

Microsoft Take over the Nokia smartphones, services in $7.6B deal

Microsoft Corp. is buying Nokia Corp.'s lineup of smartphones and a portfolio of patents and services in an attempt to mount a more formidable challenge to Apple Inc. and Google Inc., as more technological tasks get done on mobile devices instead of personal computers.

The $7.6 billion Cdn deal is fuelling speculation that Nokia's CEO, former Microsoft executive Stephen Elop, a Canadian, could emerge as a top candidate to succeed Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer.

The deal announced late Monday marks a major step in Microsoft's push to transform itself from a software maker focused on making operating systems and applications for desktop and laptop computers into a more versatile and nimble company that delivers services on any kind of internet-connected gadget.

Microsoft, which is based in Redmond, Wash., is being forced to evolve because people are increasingly pursuing their digital lives on smartphones and tablet computers, causing the demand for PCs to shrivel. The shift is weakening Microsoft, which has dominated the PC software market for the past 30 years, and empowering Apple, the maker of the trend-setting iPhone and iPad, and Google, which gives away the world's most popular mobile operating system, Android.

Nokia, based in Espoo, Finland, and Microsoft have been trying to make inroads in the smartphone market as part of a partnership forged in 2011. Under the alliance, Nokia's Lumia smartphones has run on Microsoft's Windows software, but those devices haven't emerged as a popular alternative to the iPhone or an array of Android-powered devices spearheaded by Samsung Electronics' smartphones and tablets.

Microsoft is betting it will have a better chance of narrowing the gap if it seizes complete control over how the mobile devices work with its Windows software.

"It's a bold step into the future — a win-win for employees, shareholders and consumers of both companies," Ballmer said in a statement.

Microsoft investors were not convinced the deal would be a winner and sent the stock down $1.52 US or 4.5 per cent to $31.88.

Investors in Nokia welcomed the deal and its price, sending shares in the company over 38 per cent higher to €4.10 in early trading Tuesday in Helsinki.

Read More

Microsoft Ready to Release the Skype 3D video calls

Sub:Microsoft Ready to Release the Skype 3D video calls

Instant messaging and video-calling service Skype is reportedly working on the prospects of 3D video calling and the current limitations with the 3D technologies stopped the company from launching the feature. 
Microsoft's corporate vice-president for Skype , Mark Gillett said that
the lab experimentation has been done to analyse the capability of 3D-screens and 3D-capture.

Gillett said that there has been a lot of progress in screens and people have started to buy televisions and computer monitors capable of delivering 3D image, but there is a lack of 3D capture devices and the company has been working on just that, BBC reports.

According to the report, the vice-president said that Skype is working with the technology where multiple cameras need to be attached to the computer, precisely calibrate them and point them at the right angle and are now aiming at using that technology to make it work in practical with supporting devices.

Gillet agreed with Hollywood director James Cameron who said that all forms of entertainment will eventually be 3D but warned that 3D video chats will take longer to catch on than other uses.

He further added that the penetration of 3D technology would be more on televisions and computers before eventually reaching the smartphone market, the report added.

Read More

LG Optimus G, the Nexus 4 Mobile Price In india and review

The Nexus 4 is currently priced in India at Rs. 25,990, which is pretty good and in line with other similarly specced phones on the market, such as the Samsung Galaxy S III.

The Nexus 4 took its sweet time coming to India. Based on the Optimus G, the Nexus 4 combines LG’s hardware with Google’s software in a powerful combo that Android fans have been waiting to get their hands on. Now that it’s finally here, let’s take a quick look at it.

Design

Although it’s based on the Optimus G, the Nexus 4 looks nothing like it. It’s hard to tell who gets the credit for the design of the Nexus 4, whether it’s LG or Google or both, but whoever it is has done a remarkable job.

The Nexus 4 is easily one of the best looking phones available in the market today. The front and the back are both made from glass, and whereas the front has a completely nondescript, all-black surface, the rear is covered in a beautiful glittering pattern which reflects light in a fascinating pattern and looks amazing.

Around the sides, you have a rubberized plastic strip and a chrome-finished plastic strip around the display bezel. On the left are the volume control keys and the microSIM card tray. On the right is the power button that is placed a bit too far close to the top of the phone. Although it’s probably placed there so you don’t press it when you keep your thumb on the side it is a bit hard to reach when you do actually want to press it. On the top is the headphone jack and a secondary microphone and on the bottom is the microUSB port and the primary microphone.

Although it looks great, the Nexus 4 is a delicate device. Unlike phones that are made primarily from plastic or metal, the Nexus 4’s use of glass on either side makes it twice as vulnerable to damage. The glass as usual is brittle and can shatter easily if it happens to fall directly on it. Moreover, the chrome-finished strip around the display is also delicate and managed to dent with a short two feet fall. As such, a case for the phone is a must if you intend to keep it in pristine condition because it clearly isn’t capable of withstanding rough usage.

Another issue with the design is the positioning of the loudspeaker. It’s placed on the back and loses nearly 80 percent of its efficiency when you keep the phone on a surface. The newer models of the Nexus 4 come with tiny nubs near the bottom edge that raise the phone slightly but don’t do much to improve the performance of the speaker. I had to keep the phone upside down to be able to hear the alarm every morning.

The overall size and weight of the device are quite good. It does have a bit of a heft to it, likely due to the use of glass on the back but it’s not too heavy to be a bother. The size is also quite appropriate, particularly the width, and the Nexus 4 fits perfectly between the lengths of your fingers and the rubberized sides provide good grip.

Display

The Nexus 4 has a 1280 x 768 resolution IPS LCD panel. It is one of the better looking panels on the market but is far from the best. Although the display looks fine at first glance closer inspection reveals slightly washed out colors. The color accuracy itself is a bit off and many colors don’t really look the way they are supposed to. This could either be down to the quality of the panel or the display calibration but out of the box the Nexus 4 doesn’t impress as much as you’d expect a phone with an LG display to.

Other aspects of the display are good, though. The viewing angles are good, sunlight visibility is good and the black levels are okay for an LCD. The 15:10 aspect ratio means you do have tiny black bars at the top and bottom in videos but they are too small to be an annoyance.

Hardware and Software

The Nexus 4 runs on a Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro processor, APQ8054 to be precise. It has a quad-core Krait CPU clocked at 1.5GHz and Adreno 320 GPU. Then there is 2GB of RAM and 16GB of flash memory, out of which roughly 13GB is available to the user. There is no support for expandable memory on the Nexus 4 so 13GB is all you get. Fortunately, that’s about the only limitation as the phone has pretty much has every other desirable hardware feature.

In terms of software, it’s exactly what you’d expect from a Nexus device: bone stock Android. And of course it’s running the very latest version so it has all the bells and whistles introduced in the last major version, which added features like the notification screen shortcuts, lockscreen widgets, Daydream, Photo Sphere mode in camera, etc.

I have always had mixed feelings about stock Android. Although in the latest version it looks and works great, it is still missing some of the conveniences that you find in custom skins, especially in Samsung’s TouchWiz and for that you have to spend extra time finding third party apps that would plug those holes. Also, the quality of the stock apps, such as messages, camera, gallery, phone, etc. is still below par and the choice of going with Google Chrome as the default browser is particularly annoying as it still doesn’t perform as well as the stock Android browser, which is no longer provided. A lot of people, however, clearly don’t mind this and stock Android remains a popular choice for Android fans. Those who think rationally may want to disagree, however.

Performance

In terms of UI performance, the Nexus 4 performs quite well. Apps open and close promptly and the scrolling is fairly smooth. Note, I’m only talking in comparison to other Android phones as the performance on Nexus 4 still lags behind iOS on the iPhone 5 and even the cheapest Windows Phone device. But if you’re upgrading from a slower Android handset then you would be quite satisfied with the performance on the Nexus 4. Being someone who has used better, I continue to await the day when Android and the apps on it will perform with the same fluidity and urgency as they do on iOS.

In terms of multimedia performance, the default video player, which is nothing but the Gallery app, is terrible for anything other than watching videos recorded from the camera and you have to install a third party player. Once you do that, the experience is quite decent. The music player is a lot better but the latest version is a bit too fancy for someone who just wants to play locally stored music and its focus on online music streaming is a waste in India as the service is not available here. Once again, I ended up installing a third party app for playing music.

The audio quality is quite impressive, both over the headphones and the loudspeaker. The speaker on particular is surprisingly loud and sounds good as well but the awkward positioning means it fires away from you and as mentioned before gets blocked when you put the phone on a surface. It’s best to use the headphones then. Surprisingly, LG does not provide any sort of headset with the phone so you’re on your own for this one.

Camera

The Nexus 4 has an 8 megapixel camera on the back with an LED flash and capable of 1080p video recording. The Nexus 4 has received a lot of flak for having a terrible camera but in my experience it wasn’t as bad as it is often made out to be. During daylight or in sufficiently lit environment, the results are perfectly usable and in line with several other 8 megapixel cameras on the market. Closer inspection reveals higher than acceptable noise levels and a hint of over sharpening but unless you are viewing the images at 100 percent zoom these things aren’t a major concern.

In lowlight, the image quality takes a big hit and this is where you’d see most of the complaints. The noise levels increase and the image becomes quite soft. Still, the results are once again comparable to other phones in this price range and particularly bad as such.

Where the Nexus 4 really disappoints is in the camera software department. The actual camera hardware to me seems fine but it’s Google’s software that lets it down. Google has put in only the absolute basic features such as flash settings, white balance and exposure adjustment. You don’t get ISO settings, metering settings, macro mode, burst mode, grid lines and several other options found on almost every other Android phone. The only fancy features here is the HDR mode, panorama mode and Photo Sphere.

The HDR mode actually works quite well and subtly but effectively adjusts the dynamic range of the image to produce a more evenly lit image. In lowlight, it can help produce a slightly better image with less noise, provided you can hold the phone still enough. Unfortunately, HDR images take about two seconds to process after you shoot and reduce the shot to shot time considerably.

Photo Sphere mode is like an advanced panorama, allowing you to move the camera in multiple directions and forming a 360 degree image. Unfortunately, the stitching is far from perfect and only works relatively well in open spaces with objects at a distance. Close by objects produce bigger discrepancies in the stitched images and the whole thing just looks odd then. It’s an interesting feature but one that needs more tuning and better implementation.

Battery Life

The battery life on the Nexus 4 is acceptable at best. It’s not the longest running phone I’ve used but with nominal usage tends to get you through a day without too much trouble.

Verdict

The Nexus 4 is currently priced in India at Rs. 25,990, which is pretty good and in line with other similarly specced phones on the market, such as the Samsung Galaxy S III.

The Nexus 4 has a lot of things going for it. The design is simple yet elegant, the hardware is powerful and being a Nexus device means you get the coveted stock Android experience along with assurance of quick software updates from Google. The less than stellar camera performance, washed-out colors on the display and the limited storage capacity mar the overall experience but for the price the Nexus 4 is still a very good smartphone.

Read More