Tech Weekly Round-Up

Hi tekhabitians(Okay, I have no idea where that came from but it's nice. No? Okay). WELCOME to the first edition of a series of weekly features where we bring you a mash-up of the week's technology headliners. Let's get into things then.

INSTAGRAM INTRODUCES VIDEO

So, it looks like Vine has got a new pal or maybe not. On Thursday, Instagram announced that its 130 million monthly users will now be able to shoot and share editable 15-second videos with 13 special filters. The new video feature was made available to all iOS and Android Instagram users as a free update to the existing Instagram app. Instagram is no longer about just taking a perfectly good photograph and running it through a filter. "It's everything we know and love about Instagram, but it moves", Systrom ,co-founder and CEO of Instagram described. This new video-sharing feature puts Instagram in direct competition with Twitter's Vine. Find out more here

SAMSUNG LAUNCH ATIV Q ANDROID-WINDOWS HYBRID

Galaxy is to Android as Ativ is to Windows 8.  On Thursday, Samsung introduced a half-tablet half-laptop under its Ativ brand; a true hybrid device that runs Android apps as well as Windows 8 software.The Ativ Q has a 13.3-inch touchscreen and a hinge that enables it to be twisted into four different formations. The display has a pixel density of 275 pixels per inch. The device will come with Android 4.2.2 installed and users can transfer and share files between the two OS's. It also comes equipped with an Intel core i5 processor.

ATIV BOOK 9 ENTERS ULTRABOOK BATTLE

Samsung also launched a new ultrabook this week in the form of the Samsung Ativ Book 9 Plus which is fitted with a 13.3-inch  3200 x 1800 pixel display, similar to the recently announced Samsung Ativ Q hybrid tablet.The new Samsung Ativ Book 9 Plus is powered by an Intel Haswell Core processor but the exact specifications for the system have not yet been made available by Samsung.The device was constructed using aluminium and features a hinge that allows you to recline the screen 180 degrees. It also features a battery that can support 12 hours of use on a single charge which is nothing short of amazing when you think about the fact that the battery is powering a 3200 x 1800 resolution screen.

APPLE SHOW OFF IOS7 AND SOME IPHONE 5S LEAKS
 
Apple unveiled  iOS7, the company's latest version of it's mobile operating system that debuted back in 2007 on the original iPhone at its Worldwide Developer Conference during the week.The new design is evident in everything from sharper, flatter icons, slimmer fonts, a new slide-to-unlock function, and a new control panel that slides up from the bottom of the screen for frequently accessed settings.(Android already has this, i think). The stock apps have all been redesigned.

Apple's head of design Jony Ive notes that the new icons feature a new palette of colors , gone are the bold, primary colors of old, replaced by modern shades and tones. Multitasking has been upgraded with support for all apps, not just the limited services or stock apps that earlier versions of iOS were restricted to. Apple's Safari mobile browser now features improved full-screen browsing, gesture-based navigation, and a new flipping card-tab overview. Apple provided an answer to Samsung's group sharing features and the tap-based NFC sharing supported by other platforms with a new feature in iOS7 called AirDrop which lets you share content with other iOS users through the Control Center. The camera has been refreshed with an improved UI, square photo framing, and new filters. Siri has been  upgraded with new voices, so you can choose between a female or male voice in English, German or French with more languages added over time.Proceed here for more detailes

iPhone 5S is rumored to have dual-LED flash and a slightly bigger battery. This rumour came from a couple of blurry photos posted by macrumors. Read more here

Our android app of the week goes to Noom Walk Pedometer; a free app that counts steps using your smartphone's accelerometer, so you can see how active (or inactive) you are.

That's it for Tech Weekly. Till next week.