Samsung Note 3 launched; costs a cool Rs 49,900

New Delhi: Korean tech major Samsung on Tuesday unveiled in India Galaxy Note 3 smartphone that comes with a price tag of Rs 49,900, the highest price for any hi-tech mobile phone from the company's stable.

The company also announced the India launch of its first smartwatch Galaxy Gear, a wearable computing device, for Rs 22,990.

Both these products would be available from September 25.

"We have seen that customers have been demanding bigger screen and more productivity. The Galaxy Note 3 has a bigger screen compared with the previous version and is even lighter.

"We have not increased width of the screen, but have increased the size of display. The S pen in Note 3 does more than just simply making note," Samsung Mobile and IT (India) head Vineet Taneja said here.

Samsung Note 3 prise-wise is next to only Apple's iPhone 5 series that cost more than Rs 51,000.

"Samsung has already created a large user base for its high devices through previous version of Galaxy series. They would like to upgrade to Note. Also people who are using iPhone may see Note 3 as an option," gadget expert Rajat Agarwal said.

Weighing 168 gms, the Android-based Note 3 would have a 5.7 inch screen and 13 megapixel camera. The smartphone has an internal memory of 32GB with an option to add another 64 GB. The phone has 3200 MAH battery that is sufficient to give give a back-up for about a day.

The Note 3 will support 3G and 2G networks.

Samsung Galaxy Gear can complement Galaxy phone users. It allows making a call, seeing quick preview of incoming texts and emails.

"Gear comes with Bluetooth 4.0 and hence is compatible with most of Galaxy devices," Taneja said.


The Gear would be compatible with most of the Samsung Galaxy devises and the 10.1 tablet which the company would launch in October, Samsung Mobile Director Manu Sharma said.

Note 3 would have improved version of 'Find My Mobile' feature which will allow user to disable the phone when it is stolen or lost and allow users to remotely track or erase the data from their lost or stolen Note 3 phone, Taneja said. 

Criminals can’t unlock iPhone 5S with users’ mutilated fingers

Wellington: Apple introduced its hi-tech biometric security inclusive iPhone 5S and the experts were quick to react on the Touch ID feature with some claiming that such a feature could lead to more brutal crimes where criminals could mutilate fingers just to get the fingerprints.

However, security experts have dismissed all the claims and said that in order to unlock the iPhone 5S using the fingerprint scanner, owner of the finger needs to be alive and attached to the finger being used.

Chief technology officer at Validity Sensors, a California based provider of fingerprint sensor solutions, Sebastien Taveau said that the sensor in the phone is built in a way that the fingerprint image has to be taken from a live finger and a severed finger will not work with the feature, stuff.co.nz reports.

The report said that the iPhone’s Touch ID feature uses radio frequency scanning to detect the sub-epidermal layers of the skin and hence, it is indispensable for a user to be alive and attached. 

Apple iPhone 5S fingerprint scanner gets plaudits in early reviews

San Francisco: The fingerprint reader on Apple Inc's top-end iPhone 5S received an early thumbs up for ease of use from two influential reviewers, helping dispel concerns about the scanning technology which has been notoriously unreliable in other cellphones.

Apple's scanner is seen as a first step toward realizing the full potential for biometrics in personal electronics, heightening security for applications like banking and shopping while doing away with multiple passwords.

"The best part is that it actually works - every single time, in my tests," wrote reviewer David Pogue of the New York Times.

"It's nothing like the balky, infuriating fingerprint-reader efforts of earlier cellphones. It's genuinely awesome; the haters can go jump off a pier."

The Wall Street Journal's Walt Mossberg was also enthusiastic, calling it simple and reliable. But he noted that the gadget would inexplicably prompt him for a password when swiping a finger to make purchases, which he blamed on a bug.

"I have come to like it and consider it a step forward, despite a few issues," he said of the overall device.

Re-tooled iOS7 mobile software, a better camera, a more useful voice-activated "Siri" personal digital assistant and a faster processor combined to make the iPhone 5S the best smartphone on the market, he added.

However, he argued that owners of the previous-generation iPhone 5 may not have a compelling reason to buy the latest device unless they specifically wanted the fingerprint reader.

Many industry analysts view the iPhone 5S and the cheaper 5C as being modest improvements on the previous generation, reviving fears that Apple's most innovative days may be behind it. They said the mere fact of a fingerprint scanner was unlikely by itself to make the gadget a sure win in a crowded market.

Apple has embedded the scanner into the iPhone's home button, while other mobile devices usually have it on the back, making it awkward for the user and increasing the number of failed attempts.

Archrival Samsung Electronics Co Ltd (005930.KS) and fellow South Korean electronics manufacturer LG Electronics Inc (066570.KS) have had problems incorporating the technology into finished products.