Gionee GPad G5, 5.5-inch hexa-core phone launched at Rs. 14,999

Chinese smartphone manufacturer Gionee has launched the successor to its Gpad G4 phablet called the Gpad G5 for Rs 14,999. The smartphone will be available by next week via both online and offline retailers.

The Gionee Gpad G5 features a 5.5-inch 720p display with Dragontrail glass protection. It supports dual-SIM (GSM+GSM) with dual standby functionality. It runs on Android 4.4 KitKat and has a 1.5 GHz hexa-core Cortex-A7 processor with 1GB of RAM. The smartphone has 8GB of inbuilt storage expandable up to 32GB via microSD card support.

The Gionee Gpad G5 has an 8 MP rear camera with LED flash and a 2 MP front camera. Connectivity options included are 3G, GPRS/ EDGE, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0 and GPS/ A-GPS.  The smartphone comes with dual crystal loud speaker with DTS sound technology. It is available in Black and White colours. The Gpad G5 has a 2400mAh battery, that delivers up to 288 hours of standby time and up to 15 hours of talk time on 2G according to the company.

"I am delighted to present our consumers with our latest product, the Gionee Gpad G5. Our basic thought behind introducing this product was to give our consumers a superior product that can be handled with ease. There is a huge demand for premium features at affordable prices. Keeping consumer preferences in mind we have introduced the device which is high on features and easy on the pocket," said Arvind Vohra, India Head, Gionee Smartphones.

Gionee is rumored to be working on its slimmest smartphone dubbed GN9005. The smartphone was spotted on the Chinese certification website and is just 5 mm thick. The smartphone has a 4.8-inch 720p AMOLED display, a 1.2GHz quad-core processor. with 1GB of RAM and 16GB of internal storage. Other rumored features are an 8MP rear camera, 5MP front camera, and a 2,050mAh battery.

Source: Gionee

Apple to unveil its smartwatch on September 9: Reports

Rumours about Apple launching a smartwatch, dubbed as the iWatch, have been going around for quite some time. While there've been already a spate of leaks about the iWatch, the latest leak/rumour reveals the official unveiling date – September 9. According to reports, Appple will not be unveiling the smartwatch, but also the next line of iPhone.

If new rumours are to be believed, the smartwatch will feature HomeKit function on Apple's new operating system, enabling users to control lights and garage doors. The smartwatch will also be compatible Apple's Health app, apparently taking on the contemporary fitness bands. The Apple iWatch is rumoured to feature a 2.5-inch rectangular display manufactured by LG.

The latest information about the iWatch comes amid rumours of Apple launching a 12.9-inch iPad early next year. According to a Bloomberg report,  the California-based company has been working with suppliers for an year to develop a new range of larger touch-screen devices. The Bloomberg report further says that Apple's Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook is working to shake up the iPad line which is the company's second-biggest product by revenue after the iPhone.

Apple's iWatch, if launched, will definitely heat up the competition in the smartwatch competition. LG and Samsung have just announced their new smartwatches. While LG unveiled the G Watch R featuring round plastic OLED display, Samsung launched the Gear S with curved screen, Tizen OS and 3G.

Coolest Cooler becomes the top-funded campaign on Kickstarter

The Coolest cooler has raised over $10.3 million on crowd funding site Kickstarter, beating Pebble's $10.2 million record from 2012. Developed by Ryan Grepper, the cooler comes with a number of features and some seriously convenient as-seen-on-TV kind of features. It comes with a Bluetooth speaker that can fit right into a compartment on the cooler for storage or be detached for listening. The Coolest cooler also supports USB charging ports for your phone. It also comes with a few other interesting features including a compartment divider that doubles as a cutting board, lights for the inside, storage for plates, a bottle opener and a functioning blender for making drinks.

"I’m honestly overjoyed to be in the same ballpark as some of these other amazing crowd funding products," Grepper stated in a recent interview earlier this month, as the Coolest Cooler campaign shot up in the rankings. "Who wouldn’t like to beat a record? But that's just not my goal."

The cooler reached its $50,000 funding goal in less than 36 hours after its Kickstarter campaign launched and moved past the $1 million mark a day after as the press coverage of the product continued to grow. It now has over 20,000% over its original funding goal, a much higher percentage than any other Kickstarter campaign. The Coolest Cooler is available for $185 for backers on Kickstarter and will be priced at $299 when it actually goes on sale.

Source: Kickstarter

Samsung Gear S with curved screen, Tizen OS and 3G announced

Korean tech giant Samsung has announced their latest smartwatch the Samsung Gear S. The watch boasts a curved AMOLED display and run on Samsung’s Tizen operating system. This is Samsung’s fourth Tizen powered smartwatch after the Galaxy Gear, Gear 2 and Gear 2 Neo.

The Samsung Gear S comes with curved AMOLED display spanning 2 inches and with a resolution of 360 x 480p. It is powered by a Dual core 1GHz processor and 512MB of RAM. The watch comes with a 4GB of internal storage for your apps. The watch is IP67 certified, so it is dust resistant and waterproof which are a basic requirements of a watch.

The watch is powered by a 300mAh Li-ion battery on which Samsung quotes a two day of usage. The Gear S has 2G and 3G calling capabilities on its own and also offers bluetooth support. Besides Bluetooth the watch has Wifi and USB connectivity. The watch also offers a Heart rate monitor at its back.

Samsung also announced a bluetooth headphone accessory the Gear Circle. The wireless headphones work on bluetooth 3.0 technology and can be used to receive calls as the headphones have a built in microphone. With a 180mAh battery Samsung states nine hours of music playback or eleven hours of talk-time.

How 'Skin' Sensors Could Turn Planes Super-Smart

The newest technology for military planes is surprisingly touchy-feely. Applied to the outside of an aircraft, the new "smart skin" lets planes "feel" the world around them through thousands of tiny sensors.

The new tech could help aircraft monitor their own health and automatically report potential problems to engineers and maintenance crews, according to researchers with British defense company BAE Systems, who are developing the futuristic skin.

Made up of a network of thousands of sensors, the smart coating performs a similar function to human skin, allowing planes to sense changes in temperature, wind speed, physical strain and movement. While researchers are still working out the specifics of how to use the technology, they believe it could one day be applied to a plane or other vehicle much like a coat of paint.

Each sensor is about the size of a grain of sand, according to Lydia Hyde, a senior research scientist with BAE systems. These tiny sensors represent an improvement over other sensing technologies, which are much bulkier and less adept at gathering information from a variety of points across an aircraft's surface.

"The idea is to make [aircraft] platforms 'feel' using a skin of sensors in the same way humans or animals do," Hyde said in a video posted on the company's website. These smart skinscould also be applied to other vehicles, including ships and cars, she said.

The data collected by the smart skin can be used to notify ground crews and engineers about damage or stress to the aircraft, reducing the need for routine maintenance checks, according to Hyde.

And the sensors could also help provide a more comfortable experience for pilots and passengers, by detecting airflow across the surface of the plane and adjusting for turbulent conditions, Hyde said.

"The more sensing we can put on [an aircraft] and the more we can understand how it's flying, or how the plane's doing, the better we can make the flight," Hyde said. Knowing about the health of a plane every step of the way could also save aerospace companies a lot of money by detecting potential problems before they become very expensive to fix, she said.

This sensor technology could one day be incorporated into a broad range of commercial products, according to Hyde. A car equipped with the skin could give useful feedback about how to improve fuel efficiency, she said. Or, Hyde noted that a carpet coated in smart skin could let you know when it's time to get out the vacuum.

LG G Watch R goes official with round plastic OLED display

LG has officially introduced its new smartwatch – G Watch R – featuring a round display. The smartwatch has 1.3-inch plastic OLED panel with 320 by 320 resolution.

The G Watch R is powered by a  Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 processor running at 1.2 GHz along with 512MB of RAM. It runs Android Wear, Google's custom operating system for wearable devices, and is compatible with smartphones running Android 4.3 and above.

The smartwatch comes with 4GB of built-in storage. It features sensors such as Gyro/ Accelerometer/ Compass), Barometer, PPG. The G Watch R has IP67 certification to make it dust and water resistant. The smartwatch is powered by a 410 mAh battery. The G Watch R promises “smart notifications” for  missed calls and messages, upcoming meetings, events, and local weather forecasts.

The main highlight of the device is the circular watch face. The screen is hemmed in by stainless steel frame, and comes with 22mm interchangeable calf skin leath strap.

LG will be officially unveiling the G Watch R at IFA 2014 Berlin next week. The smartwatch will be available in select markets starting the fourth quarter of the year. There's no word on the pricing yet.

"What we've noticed in the year of the wearable is that this is a category that can't be compared to smartphones and tablets," says Dr. Jong-seok Park, president and CEO of the LG Electronics Mobile Communications Company. "Wearables are also accessories and consumers will want more than one to choose from. So we wanted to complement the modern design of the original G Watch with the classic look of the G Watch R. Customers can't go wrong with either device."

LG's new G Watch R is a significant upgrade over the original G Watch launched few months ago. Despite being one of the first ones to launch Android Wear based devices, LG did not manage to create a buzz like Motorola did with its Moto 360, which also has a round display. With the G Watch R, LG has tried to steal Motorola's thunder.

Samsung has also launched its new smartwatch, while Asus is also planning to launch one soon.

Could Drones Be Coming to Disney World?

Future visitors to Walt Disney World may come for the rides but stay for the drone show.

Last week, Disney filed for three drone-related patents, envisioning flying robots that could animate giant puppets, carry projection screens and even act as floating pixels, or "flixels," in virtual fireworks shows.

One patent application describes a system in which marionettes or helium-filled balloons could be tethered to and controlled by a fleet of synchronized drones, instead of puppeteers and handlers on the ground. The application even includes an appropriately creepy illustration of a drone-enabled, larger-than-life puppet of Jack Skellington from the film "The Nightmare Before Christmas" parading in front of a group of spectators.

Tiny unmanned aerial vehicles, or UAVs, that light up with their own display screens could act as single pixels in a digital light show, flashing colors to mimic fireworks, Disney's inventors say. Drones could also carry movable and flexible projection screens that could solve the limitations of current light shows that are beamed onto buildings and other fixed surfaces — such as Hong Kong's nightly "Symphony of Lights."

"[T]here remains a need for new technologies for generating aerial displays such as a display involving projection of light and images into or out of the sky or an air space above an audience of spectators," the application for another patent reads.

According to MarketWatch, the three California-based men who applied for the patents — Clifford Wong, James Alexander Stark and Robert Scott Trowbridge — are all part of Disney's Imagineering team, the design and development branch behind the elaborate attractions at Disney's theme parks.

Though drones have long been associated with military and surveillance activities, cheaper technologies have paved the way for commercial and even scientific uses of UAVs — to film movie scenes, to conduct archaeological field surveys and to deliver packages (as Amazon is hoping to do with its Prime Air program). 

But before the industry can really take flight, the Federal Aviation Administration has to finalize regulations for commercial drone use. The agency hopes to do so by 2015, but in the meantime, commercial drones aren't legally allowed to leave ground. So far, the FAA has only given one company approval to conduct private UAV flights: In June, the agency granted a license to AeroVironment to fly its drones over an oil field in northern Alaska to perform surveys for the energy company BP.

It's not clear when and if Disney really hopes to roll out swarms of drones in its theme parks; the company did not respond to a request for comment.

US Military Blows Up Hypersonic Weapon After Failed Test Launch

The U.S. Army launched a prototype hypersonic weapon test from Alaska on Monday (Aug. 25), only to destroy the superfast vehicle seconds later when something went wrong.

The Advanced Hypersonic Weapon, as it is called, blasted off from Alaska's Kodiak Launch Complex just after 4 a.m. EDT (0800 GMT) on Monday, but was commanded to explode as a safety measure when an anomaly was detected in the test flight.

"The flight was terminated in the first four seconds," Pentagon spokeswoman Maureen Schumann told Space.com in an email. The weapon launched on a three-stage STARS solid rocket booster, she added.

Schumann said Monday's hypersonic weapon test is part of the Pentagon's Conventional Prompt Global Strike weapons technology development program. The program aims to develop and demonstrate promising weapons programs for potential uses on land and sea, she added. An investigation into the launch failure is now under way. 

Hypersonic flight is typically defined as traveling at speeds of at Mach 5, five times the speed of sound, or above. At sea level, the speed of sound is about 762 mph (1,226 km/h).

Photographer Scott Wight in Kodiak, Alaska, hoped to photograph Monday's launch with the Milky Way as a backdrop, only to capture a photo of the explosion instead.

"I think it was about a minute or so before the roar of the takeoff made it to us followed shortly after by the sound of the explosion," Wight said in a message to Space.com. "I didn't notice any shock wave although I've heard others say they felt something."

Monday's Advanced Hypersonic Weapon test was overseen by the U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command and Army Forces Strategic Command. The Army launched a successful test of the weapon in 2011 from the Pacific Missile Range Facility in Kauai, Hawaii.

That 2011 test sent the prototype weapon 

That 2011 test sent the prototype weapon across the Pacific Ocean to the Army's Ronald Reagan Test Site on the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands. It traveled 2,500 miles in 30 minutes, according a U.S. Army statement released at the time.

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has launched two test flights of an ultrafast bomber prototype called the Hypersonic Test Vehicle (HTV). The second HTV launch in 2011 reached a mind-blowing speed of Mach 20 before it losing control.Over the last few years, the U.S. military has launched several hypersonic weapon tests in the pursuit of superfast weapons delivery systems and futuristic bombers.

Last year, the U.S. Air Force conducted the fourth test flight of its air-launched X-51A Waverider scramjet vehicle, which reached a speed of Mach 5.1 before plunging into the Pacific Ocean as planned.

NASA Nears Choice on Private Space Taxis for Astronauts

The world could know by the end of the week which private spaceship is going to fly NASA astronauts to and from the International Space Station.

The space agency is about to give out its Commercial Crew Transportation Capability contract, or CCtCap, the last in a series of awards and agreements NASA began putting in place in 2010 to encourage the development of private space taxis for American astronauts.

While one winner is widely expected, it's possible that NASA will tap multiple companies, agency officials said.

"NASA has not specified a set number of awards under CCtCap," NASA officials wrote in a blog post last week. "In late August or September, the agency will select the company or companies that will build an operational space transportation system."

Four companies remain in the running for the final contract — Blue Origin, Boeing, SpaceX and Sierra Nevada. Two of them are led by billionaires; Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos heads Blue Origin, while SpaceX's CEO is entrepreneur Elon Musk.

Blue Origin is developing a conical craft called the Space Vehicle, while Boeing and SpaceX are building capsules called the CST-100 and Dragon, respectively. Sierra Nevada's entry is a space plane named Dream Chaser.

NASA wants at least one of these vehicles to be up and running by 2017. The agency has relied on Russia to provide manned flights to and from low-Earth orbit since the retirement of the space shuttle fleet in 2011. NASA is currently paying about $70 million per seat to fly its astronauts aboard Russia's Soyuz capsule.

NASA views its commercial crew program as a way to free up some of the agency's limited resources for other, more ambitious projects.

"By encouraging private companies to provide human transportation services to and from low-Earth orbit — a region NASA's been visiting since 1962 — the nation's space agency can focus on getting the most research and experience out of America's investment in the International Space Station," officials wrote in last week's blog post. "NASA also can focus on building spacecraft and rockets for deep-space missions, including flights to Mars in the 2030s."

The space agency also looks to the private sector to provide cargo services to the orbiting lab. NASA signed billion-dollar deals with Orbital Sciences and SpaceX to make unmanned supply runs to the space station, and both companies already have successful cargo missions under their belts. SpaceX uses a robotic version of Dragon for this purpose.

Seagate set to announce 8 TB 3.5-in hard drive

Storage manufacturer Seagate is looking to take hard drives to a whole new level. The company is reportedly announcing a hard drive that has 8 TB of storage capacity, making it the first 3.5 inch drive with that much capacity. Before this, Western Digital had held the top spot with its 6 TB drive.

While WD used helium to reduce the friction on the spinning disks, Seagate did the same without helium. They are replicating the same feat with their 8 TB drive now. What Seagate is doing is overlapping tracks, which means that a new track is being written partially on top of the track before it. This is what has allowed the company to jam all that space into such a small drive. Tracks here refer to the circular data tracks that magnetic hard drives use on a spinning disk.

The company hasn’t announced a price for the new 8 TB drive yet. The 6 TB hard drive from Seagate is priced at $300 (Rs. 18,150 approx.), so this should definitely be higher.

Source: Tech Crunch

Apple to launch 12.9-inch iPad in early 2015: Reports

Apple, which has seen sluggish iPad sales in the last two quarters, is reportedly working on a large 12.9-inch iPad that will be launched in early 2015.

According to a Bloomberg report,  the California-based company has been working with suppliers for an year to develop a new range of larger touch-screen devices. According to sources, the new iPad will have a 12.9 inch display screen and will be launched in time for the holiday season. 

Apple current iPad offerings include a 9.7-inch and 7.9-inch display. Bloomberg says that Apple's Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook is working to shake up the iPad line which is the company's second-biggest product by revenue after the iPhone. The larger display could be an attempt by the tech giant to jumpstart its recent sluggish iPad sales as people have shifted to smartphones with bigger screens. Apple spokeswoman Trudy Muller declined to comment on the report. 

Apple is planning to launch the 4.7 inch iPhone 6 next month along with a bigger iPhone 6 with a 5.5 inch display screen called the iPhone Air. According to reports China will be one of the first countries to get the device. The reports says that the 4.7-inch iPhone 6 (32GB) will be priced at CNY 5,288 (approximately Rs. 50,800) while the 5.5-inch iPhone 6 Air (16GB) variant will be launched at CNY 5,998 (approximately Rs. 57,600). According to rumors Apple is also planning to launch the iWatch at the event next month.

Source: Bloomberg

Instagram's new Hyperlaps app lets you make time-lapse videos

Facebook-owned Instagram has launched Hyperlapse, a new standalone video app that can help you create fast, time-lapse videos. Users can download the app from the Apple app store and it is expected to be launched on Android soon.

The app is simple to use, users just need to record a video and then decide what speed they want the finished clip to play back at. Users can choose video speeds from 1x to 12x. If you choose 1x you will get a smooth tracking shot that makes use of Instagram's own image stabilization algorithms. If you choose 12x speed it will result in a more traditional time-lapse video. The video is something you'd normally only get using a Steadicam or other, far more expensive equipment. Users also have the option to save the video and / or share it with friends on Facebook or Instagram.

"This is an app that let’s you be in the moment in a different way," Mike Krieger, Instagram co-founder and CTO, stated. "We did that by taking a pretty complicated image processing idea, and reducing it to a single slider. That’s super Instagram-y."

Instagram launched 'Bolt' video, photo and message sharing app last month. The app is a Snapchat clone and messages once read will disappear. Users can sign up using their phone numbers on the app and then add their friends to a list. Instagram has launched the Bolt messaging only in New Zealand, Singapore and South Africa for now.

According to reports Instagram will be adding new features including follow suggestions, trending hashtags, and “curated” content for users. The update is meant for both Android and iOS, but Instagram has not mentioned the roll out date.  

Source: Instagram

Amazon acquires Twitch for $1 billion

In a letter addressed to the Twitch community on Monday, Twitch CEO Emmett Shear shared that the company has been acquired by Amazon. Emmet said, “We chose Amazon because they believe in our community, they share our values and long-term vision, and they want to help us get there faster.” It was earlier rumored and reported that Google’s YouTube division was in talks with Twitch investors for a $1 billion dollar deal. 

Twitch is the largest live game streaming website by a large margin. Recently during the Dota 2 International, Twitch recorded 6 million users. The site has more than 1 million unique users broadcasting on its platform every month. Twitch is available on the Android and iOS platforms as well.

Source: Twitch Blog

HTC Desire 510 4G affordable smartphone to hit Asian markets soon

Taiwanese Phone maker HTC has announced its new affordable phone, the Desire 510, with 4G support. HTC has confirmed that the phone will be available in regions of Europe and in Asian markets soon. The phone will also be available with some selected carriers in the United States.

The HTC Desire 510 features a quad core Qualcomm Snapdragon 410 SoC clocked at 1.2 GHz. It also has 1GB of RAM and 8GB of internal space which can be upgraded up to 128GB via a microSD card. The phone sports a 4.7 inch FWVGA display enclosed in a polycarbonate body.

In the photography department, the HTC Desire 510 comes with a 5MP camera at the back and a VGA front facing camera. The phone runs on Android 4.4 out of the box with HTC Sense on top. HTC has also employed its Blinkfeed feature in this phone which can aggregate all your latest updates from your Social networks.

HTC has taken design clues from its Desire 816 smartphone. The phone comes with a 2100mAh battery, which HTC claims can supply “17.17 hours of 3G talk time”. HTC has not quoted any talk time or hours of use the battery can withstand on a 4G connection, so that remains to be tested. The phone will available in Terra White and Meridian Grey colours.

Source: HTC Blog

George Takei Helps Beam $650K to 'Star Trek' Fan Film

With the backing of none other than Sulu, a fan-made production of a feature-length "Star Trek" film raised more than $650,000 to chronicle one of the U.S.S. Enterprise's adventures.

"Battlestations! RT if you want exciting new Star Trek filmmaking. Let's make this happen--just hours left to help," George Takei, who starred in "Star Trek the Original Series," wrote in a tweet Saturday (Aug. 23). His efforts beamed about $200,000 to the funding campaign for "Star Trek: Axanar," according to an estimate by the filmmakers.

The newly crowdfunded feature-length film follows a mock documentary called "Prelude to Axanar", which was released a few weeks ago.

"The most important part was Prelude itself, because it gave us enormous credibility," team leader Alec Peters said in a statement. "Combine that with an amazingly-loyal and passionate group of donors from our first Kickstarter, who tirelessly evangelized for us, and the aid of the geek media, which got behind the project after seeing our first trailer, and there was no stopping the momentum we'd built up."

All told, the filmmakers have raised more than six times their original $100,000 goal. The film will follow the events of the Battle of Axanar and Garth of Izar, which were events briefly mentioned in "the Original Series."

Actors in the new production include Richard Hatch (of "Battlestar: Galactica"), Gary Graham (of "Star Trek: Enterprise"), while production staff includes people such as Frank Serafine (who did sound design for "The Hunt For Red October") Tobias Richter, a visual effects artist who assisted with the remastered "Star Trek: The Next Generation" Blu-rays.

Actors are working at reduced ratesto make the cheaper production possible, which is possible because independent films are treated differently in union contracts. The timing of release has not been firmed up yet, but filming is expected to occur in December.

You can learn more about "Star Trek: The Battle of Axanar" through the fan film's Kickstarter website:https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/194429923/star-trek-axanar.

SpaceX Delays Commercial Satellite Launch Over Reusable Rocket Mishap

SpaceX called off the planned early-morning liftoff of a commercial telecommunications satellite Wednesday (Aug. 27) to perform a thorough check of its launch systems in the wake of a test-flight mishap last week involving a prototype rocket.

The private spaceflight company had intended to launch the AsiaSat 6 satellite to orbit atop its Falcon 9 rocket at 12:50 a.m. EDT (0450 GMT) Wednesday from Florida's Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. But the company called off the attempt Tuesday afternoon (Aug. 26).

"We are not aware of any issue with Falcon 9, nor the interfaces with the spacecraft, but have decided to review all potential failure modes and contingencies again," SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk said in a statement. "We expect to complete this process in one to two weeks." 

The scrub comes just four days after SpaceX's prototype Falcon 9 Reusable (F9R) rocket self-destructed shortly after launching from the company's test site in McGregor, Texas. But Friday's (Aug. 22) F9R mishap likely has little bearing on the performance of an operational Falcon 9 rocket, Musk said.

"Had the same blocked sensor port problem occurred with an operational Falcon 9, it would have been outvoted by several other sensors. That voting system was not present on the test vehicle," Musk said in the statement.

"What we do want to triple-check is whether even highly improbable corner case scenarios have the optimal fault detection and recovery logic," he added. "This has already been reviewed by SpaceX and multiple outside agencies, so the most likely outcome is no change. If any changes are made, we will provide as much detail as is allowed under U.S. law.”

AsiaSat 6 is designed to distribute video and broadband service to customers throughout the Asia-Pacific region. It will be operated by Hong Kong-based firm Asia Satellite Telecommunications Company Limited (AsiaSat).

SpaceX launched the AsiaSat 8 satellite earlier this month. Both spacecraft were built for AsiaSat by California-based firm Space Systems/Loral.

Developing reusable rockets is a priority for SpaceX. Musk has said that a fully and rapidly reusable launch system could cut the cost of spaceflight by a factor of 100, opening up the heavens to exploration.

So SpaceX has conducted numerous test flights of reusable rocket prototypes lately, including the F9R and Grasshopper vehicles. The company has also successfully brought the first stage of a Falcon 9 back to Earth for a soft ocean splashdown during satellite launches twice this year.

HTC Desire 820 will run on Qualcomm's 64-bit octa core SoC

A recent Weibo post from HTC’s official account has teased the upcoming Desire 820 smartphone which will likely run on the new 64-bit octa core Qualcomm Snapdragon 615 SoC. We might see the new smartphone get unveiled at IFA 2014 next month. 

HTC boasts that the Desire 820 will be the first eight core 64-bit phone. It was earlier reported that Qualcomm will be unveiling their new gen octa core 64-bit SoCs at IFA. It was also rumored that we might see some smartphones running the new Snapdragon 615 as well.

Since the announcement of the Snapdragon 615 and 610 SoCs Qualcomm has been honing the chipsets. It is likely that we might see more OEMs opting for Qualcomm's latest in their upcoming smartphones but the details are still under scrutiny.

Performance of the Snapdragon 615 and 610 chipsets is still under speculation and we will keep you posted as we get further information.

Via: gforgames

Weibo: HTC, Qualcomm