Win an Author Signed copy of  the latest satire on Engineering Colleges and Life by Dipen Ambalia, author of the best selling  book L.O.S.E.R.

How to Win Author Signed Copy-

1.Tell us the craziest moments you faced in your life as a student.

2. Post your reply in the Comment section below the question. Multiple answers are allowed.

3. Sign-in using FBconnect and Like our MSP Books page to participate in the contest.

4. Five Lucky winners will receive Landmark vouchers worth INR 1,000 each.

Contest Starts – May 8, 2013

Contest Ends – May 25, 2013

Other Terms & Conditions -

• - Participants can post multiple answers and each answer will be considered as one entry.
• - Lucky winner will be selected at random from the entries we receive before the end date of the contest.
• - Author Signed copies will be dispatched to any Indian address provided by winner.

So what are you waiting for! PARTICIPATE NOW

With the Samsung Galaxy S4 set to launch this week with a price of Rs. 43,490, we decided to do a round up of reviews from some of the best websites around the Internet. This should give potential buyers a clearer indication of how the S4 will function in real world usage. Let’s delve in to what the world has to say about Samsung’s latest offering.

Display

TheVerge: The GS4′s 5-inch, 1920 x 1080 display is big, beautiful, and seriously eye-catching. The screen is incredibly high-res, bright, and crystal clear with vivid colors. And with a ridiculous 441 pixels per inch, the PenTile display matrix causes no problems.

Engadget: The blacks are still darker on the GS 4, while the whites were brighter and viewing angles better than other 1080p displays. The new Synaptics ClearPad 3D Touch in the GS 4 is capable of detecting your finger from 2cm away.

TechRadar: The Samsung Galaxy S4 is a league ahead when it comes to jaw-dropping screens. If you don’t mind plastic and you like cutting-edge HD screens in your pocket, this is a phone definitely worth checking out.

Gizmodo: Speaking of the screen, it is easily the nicest Samsung has ever made. The colors (especially blues and greens) really pop, and the 441 pixels per inch ensure that text is super-clear. It’s also bright enough to be clearly readable on a bright, sunny day, and the Super AMOLED screen makes the blacks look like staring into the abyss.

TechCrunch: Text is crisp and clear, app icons are sharp, and it’s hard to find a reason to complain. It’s also fair to commend Samsung once again for fitting this gorgeous 5-inch display onto a relatively compact phone.

Camera

TheVerge: The GS4′s camera is the best Android camera we’ve ever used by a considerable margin, and in most cases it’s every bit as good as the iPhone 5′s camera

Engadget: The Galaxy S4 is great in daylight use, but not as good as the HTC One in low-light conditions. Most of Samsung’s new camera modes are fun to use a few times, but offer little practical use

TechRadar: From a blindingly bright flash to a backside-illuminated sensor, our quick snaps came out crisply and clearly – and when we say quick, we mean it.

Gizmodo: In decent lighting, the camera is among the best shooters out there. Images are very sharp and there’s a surprising amount of depth of field. Colors are rich, though they border on over-saturation, and video quality is excellent.

TechCrunch: If we’re just talking hardware, the Galaxy S4 doesn’t have a life-altering, amazing camera. Where things really get interesting, however, is within the camera app itself.

Design and Build Quality

TheVerge: Where Apple and HTC have both made beautiful, well-made, high-quality phones, the GS4 has Samsung back in the land of cheap, plasticky handsets. The GS4 is thin and light, and feels durable despite its cheap materials. It’s also an improvement over the GS3.

Engadget: The GS 4 uses polycarbonate and is pretty sturdy, but the HTC One still has a more premium build quality and visual appeal. The phone maker used the same visual style as the SIII, but made a few crucial tweaks along the way to improve its fit and finish.

TechRadar: The S4 has a larger screen, but smaller chassis than the Galaxy S3, which is a superbly impressive feat of engineering, especially when you consider the specs. However, the Samsung Galaxy S4 feels like much more of an iterative update than new design.

Gizmodo: The S4 retains the same rounded-rectangle look, with metal edges and a slippery, finger-print-trapping plastic back that looks like it belongs on a far more down-market phone.

TechCrunch: The Galaxy S4 represents the first iteration of what appears to be true Samsung design language. It ends up being a mesh of earlier Galaxy S iterations, with a hint of the Galaxy Note and a whole lot of Galaxy S III.

Hardware and Performance

TheVerge: The S4 is an impressively fast and powerful phone, capable of handling anything users throw at it. The 1.9GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 processor and 2GB of RAM inside the S4 do every bit as well as you’d expect bleeding-edge specs to do. The S4 powered by Samsung’s own Exynos processor should be even more powerful.

Engadget: The GS4 holds the record in five of our six benchmark tests. In general, the GS4 performs amazingly well, but there’s a catch: when Air View and Air Gestures were enabled, we noticed the phone acting a little sluggish even in the most basic of tasks.

TechRadar: It’s clear with the Galaxy S4 that Samsung has worked out there’s only so much it can do on the hardware side these days, and as such has tried to bring the unique flavor through the interface instead.

Gizmodo: Despite that fact that the S4 benchmarks better, the HTC One leaves the S4 in the dust in every practical way possible. The One boots up three times faster, navigates the UI quicker, scrolls smoother, opens apps speedier, and most importantly, takes photos with no shutter lag, whereas the Galaxy S4 generally takes about a second to fire off a shot.

TechCrunch: The Galaxy S4 is quick like lightning, in almost all respects. The HTC One is the real phone to beat when considering the Galaxy S4, as it’s the only phone we’ve seen that beats out the S4.

Battery Life

TheVerge: The Galaxy S4 lasts a full day almost no matter how it is used. Not having to worry about the GS4’s battery running out midday is pretty wonderful.

Engadget: On a full day of regular use, the GS 4 managed to last for around 14-15 hours. This means that power users should be able to make it through a full workday with a little extra to spare.

TechRadar: Samsung has managed to lower the thickness of the Galaxy S4 compared to the S3 but upgraded the battery from 2,100mAh to 2,600mAh, promising a much larger capacity and therefore longer life.

Gizmodo: Battery performance on the S4 is among the best we’ve seen from smartphones this year. The S4 made it to the end of the night without additional charging fairly often, thanks to both the larger battery (2600mAh) and the more economical AMOLED screen.

TechCrunch: Samsung beefed up the battery on the Galaxy S4, opting to use a 2600mAh battery. The GS4 is certainly just as power-efficient as it is powerful, along with having the added bonus of a swappable battery.

Conclusion

The world awaits what could be the best-selling mobile this year. If the Galaxy S4 even comes close to emulating the record-breaking sales of Galaxy S3, Samsung is in for another windfall, and should have no difficulty in retaining the title of best manufacturer.

Source: TheVerge’s review, Engadget review, TechRadar review, Gizmodo review, TechCrunch review

Kinds of air conditioners:

Air conditioners come in different variations to suit different needs. Let’s take a look at a few kinds of ACs that are available in the market:

• Window air conditioners: These ACs are economical, can be fitted into windows and are easily serviceable. They do tend to be a little noisy, however.
• Split air conditioners (without inverter): Split ACs run quietly, look sleek, and are mounted on walls. They use a single speed compressor motor which only has two modes, on and off. As soon as a desired temperature has been reached, the compressor switches off, and when it rises to a certain extent, the compressor starts cooling the room again.
• Split air conditioners (with inverter): These are similar to split ACs, but come with an inverter in-built. These ACs come with a variable speed compressor motor, which can adjust temperature dynamically without the need to switch off and on continuously. These ACs have been claimed to be 30% more energy efficient than split ACs without inverters. The image below gives an indication to how these mechanisms work.

Let’s see a few criterions on how various air conditioners are categorized.

Tonnage:

Star rating savings:

*(LG split AC running for 8 hours/day)
+(From non-star AC monthly)

Cost variations by brand:

*(1 ton 3 star split AC running for 8 hours/day)

These are a few indicators that should give users an insight when it comes to buying a new air conditioner.

1. Please tell us who is your Favorite Author and how s/he has inspired you.

2. Post your reply in the Comment section below the question. You can post multiple answers.

3. You’ll have to Sign-in using FBconnect and Like our MSP Books page to participate in the contest.

4. Five Lucky winners will receive Landmark vouchers worth INR 1,000 each.

Contest Starts – Feb 11, 2013

Contest Ends – Feb 28, 2013

Other Terms & Conditions -

• - Participants can post multiple answers and each answer will be considered as one entry.
• - Lucky winner will be selected at random from the entries we receive before the end date of the contest.
• - Participant should have a shipping address in India to receive the vouchers.

So what are you waiting for! PARTICIPATE NOW

How to Win iPad Mini -

Just Shortlist your favorite products and WIN iPad Mini.
How to Shortlist products – click on the “Shortlist” Button (as shown below) and Add your favorite products to your list.

Fashion Category - 

Electronics Category -  

Terms - 

1. Browse through all the wonderful products we have for you on MySmartPrice.

2. Shortlist your favorite items by clicking the “Shortlist” button on the page.

3. You’ll have to Shortlist at least One product to enter the contest.

4. Sign-in to Shortlist your favorite products (please create an account if you don’t have one)

5. One lucky winner gets an iPad Mini

Contest Starts – Feb 7, 2013

Contest Ends – Feb 28, 2013

Other Terms & Conditions -

• - Lucky winner will be selected at random from the entries we receive before the end date of the contest.
• - One user account will be considered as one entry for the contest. Users will have to shortlist at least one item to enter the contest.

So what are you waiting for! Participate and Win iPad Mini NOW!

Ebay : 6% discount on Storage Devices

For the geeks in you, Ebay is offering as much as 6% off on USB Storage devices.

Users can use a Coupon code: EBAYREPME1 to avail the discount.

For more Coupons from Ebay you can check our Coupons section.

IndiaTimes Shopping- 25% discount on Gaming Consoles

Here’s one for the guys. If you are a girl who really wants to make her boy friend extra happy on the Valentines Day, this deal must rank high.
Get up to 25% discount on all gaming consoles from India times.
The offer is valid only for one day: 30th January till mid night.

Click here to avail the offer.

Myntra: End of Season Sale

For all your apparel needs, Myntra is offering some jaw dropping deals this Valentines. Get up to 20% discount on select apparels.

Offer ends on 31st January.

Click here to know more Coupons and Deals on Myntra

Zoomin:  57% off on Valentines Day Flip Book

Make the moments with your Valentines everlasting with this Valentines special Flip Book.  Store photographs in truly attractive photo books that really show the love you have for one another.  Avail the offer on our Zoomin Coupons page.

For Valentines this year, there are some incredible offers on place. As January closes and February makes its entry we can expect even more offers making their way to enthrall lovers around the country.

Key Numbers

Key Trend #1 - Samsung most sought after brand, Micromax gaining popularity with the new Android releases

With most hit models of the year, Samsung gained #1 spot as it ate away everyone’s sales while Nokia slipped down. There were popularity spikes for individual flagship product launches from Apple and HTC which later died down but Micromax has been able to generate continuous gain in popularity with models such as A100 (Canvas) and A110 (Canvas 2).

Key Trend #2 - Mobile phones above INR 10,000 are leading the way

Generally, the popularity of phones priced above the Sub 10K price range saw a boost in their popularity. As the year started, most of the popular phones were under the INR 10,000 as the year ended, most of the popular phones such as Samsung Micromax A110, Galaxy S Duos and Galaxy S3 which are all priced above the 10K price range, saw huge gains.

Key Trend #3 – Consumers are opting for larger screen size

There has also been a change in consumer taste with most of them wanting bigger and bigger screens. As the cost of technology is going down, we are seeing phones with larger than 4 inch screen size at cheap price such as Micromax Canvas. The demand for phones with QWERTY keypads and screen size lesser than 3 inches has died down.

Key Trend #4 – Dual-SIM smartphones are most popular

The year 2012 in general, saw the rise of Dual SIM Android smartphones. A a majority of Indian subscribers have prepaid connections and are not tied down to contracts, so they are willing to spend a little extra to buy the dual SIM versions of smartphones. Among almost all the online stores, the Samsung Galaxy S Duos is one of the best selling model.

Top Hits of 2012

The popularity of Samsung Galaxy S3 and Galaxy Note 2 can’t be missed as Samsung managed to create 2 flagship phones in 2012. Nokia’s most selling phones were from the below 6K price range such as Asha 311 and the Samsung Galaxy Y was the preferred choice of the first-time smartphone buyers.

Top Misses of 2012

The duds of 2012 were mostly from Nokia, Sony and HTC. The Nokia Lumia series failed due to their high price and had no significant advantage over competitors. Sony missed out on one or other important feature in each of their models which turned off the consumers and pushed them back from buying. The HTC One X was defeated by Samsung Galaxy S3 in its price range and consumers don’t want anything other than the best when they are already spending so much money.

Predictions For 2013

As we bid a farewell to 2012, the next year can be bring forward some interesting trends.

1. Nokia might just bounce back with their Windows Phone 8 devices if released in Rs. 10K  - 12K price range.
2. Lenovo may target Indian brands like Micromax, Karbonn and Celkon with their budget Android devices and may end up being in the top 5 mobile brands.
3. Tablets to give a stiff competition to budget Android phones as consumers may opt for a combination of cheap feature phone and a tablet with 3G connectivity.
4. 2013 might just be the year of high-end dual SIM smartphones.

Spreadsheet

For those of you wondering about how we identified these deals as the best, it was really simple. We collect a lot of data about each product being sold online on a daily basis. So once we had decided to bring the best GOSF deals to our users, we simply added the GOSF coupons into our database, processed them to adjust our pricing and then ran our data algorithm to see what products have the best deals.

If you find a better GOSF deal anywhere else, let us know. We shall update the excel so that others can benefit as well.

Investments – Less than 10% have received VC Funding

Top 4 Companies Account for Over 60% of Total VC Investments

Major Investments in eRetail Companies

Category-wise Split of VC Funded Start-ups

Category-wise Total Funding Received

Major Acquisitions

Other Related Companies

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Why iOS Maps Shipped Buggy

Why iOS Maps Shipped Buggy

All Things Digital has always been on the cusp of Technology and was one of the first to put up this comic made by joyoftech.com.  The comic is the brain child of Nitrozac and Snaggy. It portrays a review meeting for the iOS Maps before deployment and the folks supposed to attend the meeting are absent as they are lost.

Christopher Columbus uses IOS Maps

Christopher Columbus uses IOS Maps

Internet image and humor portal 9GAG .com had its own take on the new IOS maps attributing the discovery of America to the IOS Maps

Cast Away Meme

Apple Maps Cast Away Meme

Memes have become this generations method of expression, so it wasn’t surprising to get a  ”… they said” meme dedicated to the Apple Maps. People familiar with the Oscar nominated Cast Away will know just how hilarious is the attribution of iOS maps to the misfortune of Chuck Noland ( Tom Hanks).

Star Wars Meme

Star Wars meme

Luke and party find themselves heading straight for a space station instead of the Moon all thanks to the new Apple Maps. This Meme is a little bit “out there” but it is definitely one for Star Wars Buffs to be happy with.

Futurama Meme

Futurama meme

Following the Meme tradition even Philip J Fry of Futurama gets in on the iOS 6 Map beating with this meme. Found first on YFrog. com

“LOST” MEME

Lost Meme

Found on twitter, this Lost Meme equates the Apple Maps Development Team to the cast of famous Television series Lost. Literally Lost is the Keyword for most iOS Map users.

Motorola’s “#iLost campaign”

Motorola Campaign

Following Nokia and Samsung, even Motorola has decided to take the new iPhone 5 Headon with this teaser on the Maps. Motorola even wants people to take part in the twitter #iLost stream and tweet on their little iOS Map adventure.
Samsung Tweet zinger

Not one to be left behind on an opportunity to rip on its arch rival. Samsung did this tweet for its Galaxy phone users. Clever isn’t it?

Hitler Reacts to iOS maps

Seldom has any technological product or popular trend escaped the Wrath of Hitler ( from the movie Der Untergang). Apple’s new Maps too seem to have irked Hitler.

Apple Explains iOS Maps (Parody)

Critics and Technology buffs alike were not impressed with Apple’s statement on the iOS Maps, some calling it arrogant. Apple in its own tradtion have seldom come forward and accepted any flaws in their “near perfect” devices. So it was anticipated that they would probably deny if not stave off any criticism. Made by Tom Scott this video makes a hilarious explanation “on behalf”of Apple Inc on why IOS maps are actually not flawed at all.

Amazing IOS Maps website

Barely hours after the OTA of iOS6 began, people had started spotting errors on the map. It wasn’t long before a tumblr page would be spawned to catalogue just about every perceivable error that users could find on the map. Check out http://theamazingios6maps.tumblr.com/ for the full list of errors. Some are truly hilarious submissions.

London Tube submission

London Underground takes on Apple Maps

Even the offline world has taken to hitting on ioS6 maps. Seen first on the AmazingIos6Maps. This picture was submitted from the London underground taking on the IOS 6. Truly hilarious

Before we conclude here is a collection of Articles posted on various technology blogs around the world on their take on the Map Mishap.

Gizmodo Articles

Apocalyptical Horror Show

Apocalytical Horror Show

Gizmodo’s article takes a look at a collection of submissions on twitter that make some eeries images of the world. Check out  Apples New 3D Maps turn your world into an apocalyptic horror show for more such tweets.

Early Victims

Good grief! Just checked route from my place to Dad’s using Apple’s new Maps app. Sends me in completely wrong direction for ten miles.

— Friends of Darwin (@friendsofdarwin) September 20, 2012

Apple ios6 maps error: says turn right and there is a no right turn… Hmmm twitter.com/bradlind/statu…

— Brad Lindenberg (@bradlind) September 20, 2012

Within hours of the upgrade twitter was abuzz with tweets from users complaining about being Lost or finding the maps utterly useless. Gizmodo makes a collection of these tweets in this article titled 17 People Apple Maps has already horribly misled

That’s all Folks. Do share your own discoveries in the comment sections and share the humor with Friends and Folks.