Canon EOS 700D review

Canon EOS 700D review

Canon EOS 700D is the 'flagship' device in company's entry-level consumer DSLR range. Canon has included some creative features as well as a very responsive capacitive touchscreen to make sure this camera appeals to first time users as well as those looking for an upgrade. Bundled with the camera is the 18-55 f/3.5-5.6 stock lens. So how does it work, let's find out.

In the box

• Canon EOS 700D body
• LP-E8 rechargeable battery
• AC adapter kit ACK-E8
• Manual
• Warranty card
• USB cable
• Hand strap
• 512MB SD Card
• Software CD
• Canon EF 18-55 f/3.5-5.6 lenses

Build/ Design

The first thing you notice about the 700D is its petite frame, slightly smaller than the previous generations and much lighter when it comes to weight of the body alone. Canon EOS 700D is one of the lightest DSLR cameras that I have come across, slightly smaller than most entry-level DSLR cameras, and lighter, at just 580 grams for the body with the battery and a SD Card inside. The bundled kit lens adds another 200 grams to this, making it pretty light to carry around on a holiday or a trek. The body is made of stainless steel covered in polycarbonate resin and glass fibre making it durable to take on the challenges of day to day photography. The controls are well placed and easily accessible, and the 180 degree tilt touchscreen is bright, responsive and full of detail.

I also liked the fact that the card slot is on the side and not at the bottom. This means you easily swap out the card when you have the camera mounted on a tripod. The bottom part of the camera has just the battery slot and tripod mount, while the front of the camera has no buttons or controls.

On the top side of the Canon EOS 700D, over the grip, you have the shutter button, the Aperture and Shutter control dial, ISO Button, a Mode Dial, and three-position toggle on-off switch, that switches off power, switches it on and moves to the video mode. Also on the top, next to the hot shoe are the built-in stereo microphones, and the pop-up flash.

On the back are your usual buttons, including a D-Pad that lets you choose between white-balance, multiple shots and AF Mode. A big advantage with the camera is that all the settings are clearly visible on the big 3-inch vari-angle touchscreen LCD, so if you don't know how to move around using the buttons, you can always touch the screen to get to the setting you are looking for. There is also a dedicated button that shuts off the LCD and switches to the viewfinder.

What is nice to see is that though all functions and settings of the camera can be accessed via the touchscreen, Canon has still included the buttons that let you scroll through the settings, which come in particularly handy if you are an experienced Canon user who's gotten used to things being a certain way.

Features / Performance

As I mentioned earlier, Canon likes to call the 700D its flagship entry-level DSLR, and I put it under some great tests, including late night handheld street photography and some light blurs, and, overall, the camera performed very well for an entry-level DSLR.

The Camera can shoot JPEG and RAW Images, and also save both of them, though remember that if you choose to save images as RAW (or indeed both), you are advised to have a faster card, else you'll have a bottleneck while taking shots.

On the Mode Dial, you choose between Av (Aperture Priority), Tv (Shutter Priority), M (Full Manual), Portrait (P), SCN (Scene), High Speed Sports, Macro, Landscape, Portrait, Full Auto (A+), CA and a No Flash Mode with Full Auto where flash does not fire.

It was also good to note that the lens Canon is now including in the kit is image-stabilised and is the new avatar of its entry-level lens, giving you a good control on image stability both in video and still mode. There is no built-in GPS but the camera can take an optional GPS-E2 unit if you need GPS functionality.

The Canon EOS 700D does not charge via USB so you need to take the battery out and use the supplied charger. The battery lasts you anywhere between 400 and 440 shots, so if you are a light use photographer out for a holiday over a weekend, you can probably leave the charger behind, but in most cases you will need to carry it along with you.

Focus System

The Canon EOS 700D features a smartphone like interface, that lets you touch the screen to indicate the area you want to focus on while taking pictures and videos, which gives you more control than the traditional autofocus points.

The camera, though an upgrade on its predecessors, the Canon 600D and Canon 650D, does not seem to have an in-body improvement on the focussing system, but the bundled 18-55 kit lens from Canon now has a stepper motor that does a much faster autofocus, which makes the 700D seem faster than the earlier generation cameras. I usually don't recommend buying a DSLR with the kit lens, and, instead, buying lenses that you want to use, but the kit lens Canon includes is very agile, and silent, which comes in especially handy while shooting videos. The 700D also has predictive autofocus.

The sensor on the 700D has 9 cross-type AF points. The focus points are superimposed both on the LCD when using live view mode and on the view finder when shooting. You can switch to manual focus by toggling the switch on the lens.

My big peeve though is the viewfinder on the Canon EOS 700D. I understand that this is an entry-level camera, but since this is an upgrade from the previous generation, I would have liked Canon to make the view finder brighter than what we've seen before. At times I was worried if the photos that I am taking are properly composed and had to overcompensate with settings.

Image Quality

I have been using a very high-end DSLR as my primary camera for about a year now, so I didn't have high expectations from the entry-level Canon EOS 700D, but the image quality on the camera was surprisingly good.

Most of the low-light photos taken with the kit lens were shot anywhere between ISO 800 and ISO 1600, and I was worried about the images being slightly noisy. However, the camera handled these very well and the noise was barely noticeable, though images over ISO 3200 did show a bit of noise. If you want, you can take up ISO Settings up to 12,800 in the snapshot mode and 6400 in video mode, but I would really not recommend that. Canon also let us use their prime 28mm f/1.8 lens for some shots, and I was very happy with the way this worked.

The Canon EOS 700D performed well in most situations, indoors as well as outdoors, and the lens also kept up with it. A few shots in the gallery were taken with the prime lens, specifically for getting the lights to look like stars, but with the bundled 18-55 lens too I managed to get some interesting shots.

I am no fan of the on-body flash on any camera, and typically use a higher ISO and a lower shutter speed to achieve a better low light capture. However, at times you need the flash to freeze the moment, and just to capture things without changing settings. I loved the fact that Canon has included a non-flash auto mode on the mode select dial. This means you can turn off the flash fully, or you can go to the auto mode where the flash will automatically popup. I took a few street pictures with the flash on, and got some good fill results, which was good - there was no burning of faces and/ or over-lighting of the scene.

(Also see: Canon EOS 700D gallery for more sample shots)

The camera also supports a 5 frames per second shooting mode. I took some street shots of cars whizzing past the Shinlin Night market in Taipei, and the scenes were nicely captured.

From dawn to dusk, I took about 50 pictures with the camera using various settings, indoors, low-light areas, and brightly lit neon signs, and the camera performed well for an entry-level DSLR in all scenarios. I understand why Canon likes to call the 700D its flagship entry-level DSLR.

Video

One of the things that stood out for me when I had read the Canon EOS 700D press release of the new kit lens was the silent motor, and I really wanted to give it a shot. In scenes where you depend on the autofocus, you usually get the motor's hum, and then have to come back and edit that out in the movie.

I took the camera out to shoot a small movie and the camera performed well. It was able to pick up sounds clearly and with the on-board stereo microphones, the quality of sound was very good, and yes, the motor was silent compared to the earlier generations. The 700D also supports external microphones (to be purchased separately).

Battery Life

The battery on the Canon EOS 700D is rated at 400 shots and my testing gave similar results. On a four day trip across Hong Kong and Taipei, I did not need to charge the battery once, even though I was shot videos and a number of delayed-shutter shots, which can be battery intensive. The LP-E8 is the same battery that shipped in the previous generations, hence getting a spare battery is not an expensive affair in case you propose to shoot a lot of pictures.

Verdict

I was a little skeptical trying the Canon EOS 700D, especially when I realised that nothing much had changed in the body of the camera from the previous generation. However, the new menu and the kit lens did capture my attention, and once I started using the camera, it came out with flying colours.

Right now, the 700D is one of the lightest DSLR cameras around, and it was really nice slinging it along on the trip. The new interface that Canon has built combined with the very responsive capacitive touchscreen were great to use. I was surprised to see myself play with the settings on the touchscreen rather than go through clunky menus with the buttons, even though I'm used to the latter. It was also nice to see an auto mode that disables flash.

What really bothered me, however, is the viewfinder brightness, which takes some getting used to. You need to make sure you are not over compensating for images based on what you see on the screen. On the first few shots my settings were a bit off, as I am used to a different camera, but after the first few shots, things were much better.

Those relatively minor issues aside, the Canon EOS 700D is a very good overall package. Though I'm usually not a fan of kit lenses as I said before, if you are thinking of buying the 700D, I strongly recommend you pick up the body plus kit lens combo, as the 18-55 is good value for Rs. 6,000 extra.

Canon 700D - pictures & sample shots

Price

• Rs. 53,995 for body only
• Rs. 59,995 for body and 18-55 lens
• Rs. 39,995 for the prime 28 mm f/1.8 Lens

Pros

• Good noise control
• Quality video and sound capture
• Lightweight body
• Responsive touchscreen

Cons

• Not a big upgrade from the previous generation
• Viewfinder not bright enough

Rating (Out of 5)

• Build/ Ergonomics: 3.5
• Features / Performance: 4
• Image Quality: 4
• Video: 4
• Battery Life: 4
• Value for Money: 4
• Overall: 4

Acer Iconia W3 review

With Windows 8, Microsoft turned its focus to touchscreen devices as the new operating system featured swipe gestures and charms that could be best experienced on touch-enabled devices. While we've been seeing ultrabooks, hybrids and 10-inch tablets running Windows 8, it was not ported to a device with a smaller form factor, until now. This is primarily because the OS has been majorly seen as a platform focusing on 'productivity' (Microsoft is also to be partially blamed for that), and not on content consumption. The other reason being that anything less than 10-inch would make the experience of using legacy apps cumbersome and OEMs wanted to market their devices as a PC substitute.

The Acer W3 changes all that, becoming the first 8-inch (8.1-inch to be precise) tablet to run Windows 8 and not Windows RT, which Microsoft created specially keeping tablets into consideration. The 8-inch form factor is really good when it comes to using a tablet for consuming content - reading, watching videos and movies or playing games. But would an 8-inch Windows 8 tablet be able to offer a good experience? We try to find out in our review.

Build/ Design
The Acer Iconia W3 tablet doesn't exude a premium feel. It looks plasticky and feels bulky due to its thickness and weight. The front of the tablet features the 8.1-inch screen surrounded by a rather broad Black bezel. The bezel makes the tablet look really unpleasant. The display panel with the bezel fits into White coloured plastic frame, which also sports a Windows hardware key at the right side of the tablet (in landscape mode). There's a 2-megapixel front facing camera located at the left side (top if you hold the tablet in portrait mode).

The right side of the tablet features a proprietary charging port connector, a 3.5mm headset jack and two speaker grills. A Micro-USB port and a micro-HDMI port are placed at the left hand side of the tablet, along with the Power/ Screen lock key. The microSD card slot and the Volume rocker key sit at the top of the tablet. 

The back of the tablet is made of plastic with a Silver-Grey matte finish. There's a 2-megapixel rear camera located at the top right corner (looking at the tablet in landscape mode). There's also some Acer branding and Windows and Intel stickers.

As we pointed out earlier, the tablet doesn't feel premium and its design is to be majorly blamed for this.

Display
The Acer Iconia W3 has an 8.1-inch Active Matrix TFT Color LCD, which sports a resolution of 1280x800 pixels. We have to say that the tablet sports one of the worst screens we've seen, and that affects the experience of using the tablet adversely. Colours look washed out and viewing angles are terrible. This means that not looking at the screen directly from a certain angle affects visibility and colour rendering.

The screen looks terribly grainy, as if someone's put a screen protector on it, and there's moisture between the two. (Be assured that there was no screen protector and we removed the one that came with the tablet). Even after cleaning the screen rigorously, you won't be able to remove the grains.

Other than this, text and images appear decent and videos look above average. We also observed that the screen was very reflective and under-sun visibility was not that good. 

Another downside of the display is the resolution as Windows 8 requires a minimum resolution of 1366x768 pixels if you want to 'snap' apps. The snap mode allows users to run and view two apps simultaneously. There are reports that Microsoft plans to change the requirement with the Windows Blue update but for now you'd not be able to use this functionality with the Acer Iconia W3 tablet.

Touch was pretty responsive, however, desktop apps with small buttons are a little difficult to use and we recommend a stylus (not included) for that.

Camera
The tablet sports a 2-megapixel rear camera and a front-facing camera sporting the same resolution. The cameras take average quality photos in both daylight and artificial light. The rear camera doesn't feature a flash so you can't really click pictures in low light conditions. Even with decent light, pictures appeared to be grainy. The awkward placement of the front camera makes it difficult to use the tablet for video calling in landscape mode. Even the rear camera is located at the extreme right, which makes taking photos a bit cumbersome. We wish Acer had placed both cameras at the centre. 

The bundled Camera app doesn't offer too many options except settings for brightness, contrast and exposure and a timer feature. The cameras support shooting up to 1080p resolution videos. Acer also offers its own camera app, Acer Crystal Eye, which offers a more intuitive UI.

Videos shot through the cameras were just about average in terms of quality, though.

While, we're not sure if a lot of users would click pictures with a tablet, it's nice to have a good quality option to fall back upon.

Software
The tablet comes with Windows 8 Pro, which is the most touch-friendly version of the OS. Mind you, it doesn't run Windows RT, which is Microsoft's OS for tablets that leaves out the ability to run legacy Windows desktop apps (or programs in Windows terms). This means you can run anything from Adobe's Photoshop to Apple's iTunes on the tablet, in addition to Microsoft's Modern UI apps that can be downloaded from the Store.

The tablet comes with some pre-installed apps including Acer Explorer (a services, apps and information destination), 7digital music store, Evernote Touch, Amazon, Kindle, newsXpresso, TuneIn radio, Skype, Acer Crystal Eye, AcerCloud and Social Jogger. The tablet also offers Office Home and Student 2013 edition but that needs to be activated through a code that comes with the box. This is a big add-on as Office doesn't come preinstalled on most Windows 8 tablets.

Performance/ Battery life
The Acer Iconia W3 is powered by a 1.8GHz dual-core Intel Atom (Z2760) Clover Trail Processor. The tablet has 2GB of RAM and features Intel Graphics Media Accelerator GPU. In our usage we found that the tablet performed well in daily tasks including browsing the Web, playing some casual Windows 8 games, using a text editor, and watching HD videos. Casual games that are available on the Windows Store including Jetpack Joyride, Angry Birds and Cut the Rope run fine.

The tablet offers a good Windows 8 experience except missing the Snap view functionality. With casual use the tablet delivers close to 7 hours of battery backup though Acer claims that it offers a usage time of 8 hours. It's worth mentioning that we used the tablet with the screen brightness set to the highest level, and some third-party apps sending push notifications, so your mileage may vary.

The tablet only offers Wi-Fi connectivity though you can use a 3G dongle with a Micro-USB to USB converter.

With Windows 8 Pro you can also download legacy Windows app along with Metro/ Modern UI apps that are only available through the Windows store. It's a little cumbersome to use legacy/ desktop apps and even the regular Windows settings through the touch screen. Mind you, the touch-enabled 'PC settings' menu doesn't feature a lot of advanced settings for which you still need to fire up the control panel.

Verdict
So is the Iconia W3 a usable 8-inch Windows 8 tablet? Well software wise, Microsoft has made the operating system touch-friendly with the Modern UI layer. We didn't face any problems with Modern apps that are optimised for touch devices. Even though there are apps that only run in landscape mode (Music app is one), the OS is now a fit for small-screen touch devices.

You can browse the Web with Internet Explorer, read ebooks on Kindle or just play casual games. Even India-focused apps like Zomato, NDTV or BookMyShow are available on the Windows 8 store. We do have to mention that app selection and the quality of apps still lags behind the iPad, though.

Coming to the tablet's hardware, we'd say that it's not ready to hit prime time, majorly due to its poor screen and bulky form factor. At a price of Rs. 27,999 (MRP is Rs. 30,499, we feel that the tablet is steeply priced, especially considering the quality of the hardware. At this price, you'd be better off buying an iPad. Having said that, we can safely say that Windows 8 has the potential to be a good tablet OS. With Windows 8.1 set to release later this year, the OS would see more refinements. We just wish Acer and other OEMs make hardware that does justice to it.

Price: Rs.27,999


Acer Iconia W3: In pictures 

Pros

• Good battery life
• Microsoft Office bundled

Cons

• Poor screen quality
• Not exactly a value for money proposition
• No snap mode due to low resolution

Ratings (out of 5)

• Design: 3
• Display: 2.5
• Camera: 2.5
• Performance: 3.5
• Software: 3.5
• Battery Life: 3.5
• Value for Money: 2.5
• Overall: 3

Ouya review

The ongoing explosion in independently developed, low-budget video games has been a boon for players who travel. Whether I'm on the road with an iPad, an Android smartphone or a laptop, I know there's a huge library of games to play.

When I get home, though, I want to play on a bigger screen. That's where the Ouya comes in. It promises to deliver the best in inexpensive indie gaming on a high-resolution screen, through a small device that runs the Android operating system designed for phones and tablets.

Ouya costs just $100, a few hundred dollars less than what you'd pay for a major game console. Thousands of gamers and game developers got Ouyas over the past few months after contributing at least $95 to Ouya's creators through the group-fundraising site Kickstarter. The device went on sale more broadly on Tuesday.

Ouya runs Google's Android system and is built around Nvidia's Tegra 3 processor, used mostly in smartphones and other mobile devices. That should make it easy to port over the thousands of games already made for Android phones and tablets, but for now you're limited to software specifically designed for Ouya. Nearly 180 games are available so far through Ouya's online store, with many more expected.

Each game has a version you can download for free. If you like what you see, you can download a full version for a few bucks. By contrast, games for one of the big three consoles can cost as much as $60 each - usually with no free trial.

The device itself is a cube measuring 3 inches on each side, with slightly rounded corners on the bottom. The controller is a bit chunkier. It resembles what's available with Microsoft's Xbox and Sony's PlayStation, with two exceptions: The Ouya controller has a touchpad in the middle (although none of the games I sampled took advantage of it), and its grips are longer, each accommodating an AA battery. One controller comes with the Ouya, and extra ones cost $50 each.

Setup is easy once you connect the Ouya to your high-definition television set using a supplied HDMI cable. When you turn on the console, it automatically searches for Wi-Fi connections. You can also connect to the Internet through an Ethernet cable, which you have to provide yourself. Once connected, you need to create an account and supply credit card information.

Then you're taken to a simple menu with four options: play, discover, make and manage. "Make" takes you to an area for potential game developers, while "manage" lets you tinker with system settings.


"Discover" takes you to Ouya's game store. You can find games by genre, such as role-playing, sim/strategy and "meditative." You can also check out showcases such as "couch gaming with friends."

Download speeds aren't bad; it took about 20 minutes for me to transfer a 725-megabyte file over Comcast high-speed Internet. Smaller games are, of course, much faster. The device has 8 gigabytes of internal storage, and you can add more by connecting an external hard drive to the Ouya with a USB cable.

Once you have your game, clicking "play" on the home page takes you to your personal library. Compared with the sometimes daunting menus on the Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3, Ouya's displays are clean and elegant.

The offerings on the Ouya store vary wildly in quality and ambition. Android is an open platform, so anyone can write software for it. That means you have professionally executed games such as the beloved "You Don't Know Jack" competing head-to-head with the sloppy trivia game "Quizania." Some popular console games, including "The Bard's Tale" and "Final Fantasy III," have been adapted for the Ouya, but it isn't the place for blockbuster titles such as the latest "Call of Duty" and "Grand Theft Auto."

More prevalent are games that have been cult hits on PCs and smartphones, including "Canabalt," "Saturday Morning RPG" and "Organ Trail." There are a few Ouya exclusives, including the 3-D puzzler "Polarity" and the multiplayer archery game "TowerFall."

Ouya offers high-resolution displays in 1080p, comparable to the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Nintendo's Wii U. Most of the Ouya's offerings are fairly low-def, though, and if you're looking for the wide-screen majesty of "The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim" or "BioShock Infinite," you won't find it here. If your video-game habit dates back to the 1970s, you'll notice a distinct retro feel to the Ouya's library. That's not a complaint; there's something refreshing about taking on a simple running-and-jumping game such as "Canabalt" after you've survived a grueling epic like Sony's PS3 hit "The Last of Us."

Indeed, some of the more satisfying indie releases of the last few years - say, "Fez," "Hotline Miami" or "Monaco: What's Yours Is Mine" - have combined old-school graphics with game play that's more sophisticated than most big-budget console releases offer. Nothing currently on Ouya matches the quality of those games, but if the system can attract that level of talent, it will be a console to be reckoned with. If you're a hardcore gamer, it won't replace your Xbox or PlayStation, but for $100 it's a worthy supplement

Disney Infinity review

In ancient times B.V.G. (Before Video Games), here's how kids played: Take all your toys - dolls, soldiers, cars, blocks, that thing you got from a cereal box - and dump them on the floor. Forget about logic or plot consistency because the most important goal is to create an entertaining adventure. (My neighborhood is still reeling from the sordid G.I. Joe-Barbie affair of 1974.)

That's the essence of "Disney Infinity" (for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii U, Wii, $74.99 for starter kit). Why not let Buzz Lightyear ride Dumbo? Or invite Mickey Mouse to hang out with Wreck-It Ralph? There's one limitation: the characters have to belong to The Walt Disney Co. But given the depth of Disney's roster - which now includes "Star Wars," Marvel superheroes and the Muppets - the possible combinations do seem endless.

The starter kit comes with figurines of Mr. Incredible, Capt. Jack Sparrow and Sulley, and "play sets" for their corresponding movies, "The Incredibles," ''Pirates of the Caribbean" and "Monsters University." Additional characters cost $13 each; "Cars" and "The Lone Ranger" play sets cost $35 each. It's hardly the optimal lineup: Disney's hand-drawn animated classics are absent, and I'd happily trade Tonto for, say, Scrooge McDuck. (I suspect the game's developers would have, too.)

The introductory package also includes the Infinity Base, which plugs into your game console and has two round spaces for characters and a hexagonal space for a play set. Park Sulley and his play set on the base, for example, and you're off on an adventure at Monsters U. By providing different game worlds for different characters, the play sets distinguish "Disney Infinity" from its obvious inspiration, Activision's blockbuster "Skylanders" series.

The initial play sets offer an engaging mix of video-game genres. The Incredibles leap tall buildings and battle evil robots. Capt. Jack engages in swordplay and commands a pirate ship. And the Monsters U. students conduct a stealthy war of pranks against their rivals at Fear Tech.

Each of these solo campaigns lasts about four hours, but you'll want to spend more time collecting the hundreds of capsules scattered across each open world. They contain the components you'll need to build your own virtual playground in the "Disney Infinity" Toy Box.

Your Toy Box begins as a small, flat plot of land that you can upgrade with trees, hills and other natural features. As you gather more capsules, you can add people, animals, vehicles and buildings. And if you're ambitious, "Disney Infinity" gives you the tools to build drivable racetracks or playable pinball tables.

If you want to jump right into the Toy Box you'll be frustrated, since you need to explore the play sets to find enough objects to build with. And there's an unfortunate element of randomization, so you may not be able to find that one item you need to top off that paintball sim you've worked so hard on. Some items are available on power discs that are sold separately - two for $5 - but they come in blind packaging so you never know what you'll get.

With its amusing, movie-specific adventures and its deep yet easy-to-use Toy Box, the "Disney Infinity" starter kit provides more than enough activity to be well worth the $75 price. But cost-conscious parents should be wary. Once you start adding characters, play sets and power discs, your future investment in "Infinity" could be, well, infinite. Three stars out of four

No reward for hacking Zuckerberg Facebook page

A researcher who hacked into Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg's profile to expose a security flaw won't get the customary reward payment from the social network.

While Facebook offers rewards for those who find security holes, it seems that Palestinian researcher Khalil Shreateh went too far by posting the information on Zuckerberg's own profile page.

Shreateh said on his blog he found a way for Facebook users to circumvent security and modify a user's timeline.

He said he took the unusual step of hacking into Zuckerberg's profile after being ignored by the Facebook security team.

"So i did post to Mark Zuckerberg's timeline , as those pictures shows," he said, including screen shots of the posting.

"Dear Mark Zuckerberg," he wrote."First sorry for breaking your privacy and post to your wall, i had no other choice to make after all the reports i sent to Facebook team. My name is KHALIL from Palestine."

His reward for exposing the flaw was having his Facebook account disabled.

He later got a message saying, "We are unfortunately not able to pay you for this vulnerability because your actions violated our Terms of Service. We do hope, however, that you continue to work with us to find vulnerabilities in the site."

Facebook said it appreciates help with security but not by hacking into user accounts.

Facebook security engineer Matt Jones posted a comment Sunday on a security forum saying "we fixed this bug on Thursday," and admitted that "we should have asked for additional instructions after his initial report."

"We get hundreds of reports every day," Jones said. "We have paid out over $1 million to hundreds of reporters. However, many of the reports we get are nonsense or misguided."

Jones added that "the more important issue here is with how the bug was demonstrated using the accounts of real people without their permission."

"We welcome and will pay out for future reports from him (and anyone else!) if they're found and demonstrated within these guidelines," Jones said on the YCombinator hacker news forum.

Independent security researcher Graham Cluley said he had "some sympathy" with Facebook on the issue.

"Although he was frustrated by the response from Facebook's security team, Shreateh did the wrong thing by using the flaw to post a message on Mark Zuckerberg's wall," Cluley said on his blog.

HTC Zara leaked picture, specifications reveal 4.5-inch display, Sense 5.5

HTC has been in the news recently due to its inability to come the upcoming HTC One Max out of the leaks, but it seems the company is also working on a mid-range smartphone, the HTC Zara. The alleged mid-range smartphone, HTC Zara is no stranger to the rumour mills itself, having been spotted doing the rounds earlier.

Now a new tweet posted by the notorious @evleaks has revealed the design of the alleged HTC Zara as well as specifications of the device. The leaked image shows the front and rear panel of the yet to be announced mid-range smartphone from Taiwanese handset maker.

The images reveal that the HTC Zara will follow the same design language as the HTC One but will have a plastic body similar to HTC's Desire smartphones, which is how the phone was previously detailed as well. The image also shows what look like front-facing BoomSound speakers.

According to the tweet by @evleaks, the Zara is expected to sport a 4.5-inch qHD display with a resolution of 540x960 pixels. It is likely to sport an 8-megapixel rear camera and will be powered by a 1.2GHz dual-core MSM8930 processor. Other specifications include 1GB RAM, 8GB storage, microSD slot and 2,100mAh battery. The device is said to run on Android 4.3 Jelly Bean with HTC's Sense 5.5 UI on top, which is the highlight of the device, since this is the first time we've heard of an update to HTC's UI since Sense 5 shipped with the HTC One. The tipster also claims that the latest mid-range smartphone is slated for a Q4 debut.

It's worth noting that @evleaks has posted images of the HTC Zara with the watermark @urbanstrata, which is the Twitter handle of Jeff Gordon, HTC's Senior Global Online Communications Manager. However, Gordon took to Twitter to explain he had nothing to do with the leak, saying, "Welcome to my new followers. If you're here because u saw my Twitter handle watermarked in an alleged leaked image, yes, I'm being trolled."

Nokia 'Bandit' Windows Phone with 6-inch full-HD display, 20-megapixel camera in the works: Report

Nokia seems to be bitten by the phablet bug and is reportedly working on a 6-inch phablet.

The Verge has claimed that the Finnish handset manufacturer is currently testing a 6-inch device running an updated version of Windows Phone. The site further claims that the company has code-named the device as 'Bandit' and it is expected to include a full-HD (1080p) display and will be powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon quad-core processor.

However, the device may not be unveiled before Microsoft rolls out the GDR3 update to Windows Phone. Microsoft is expected to release the GDR3 update for Windows Phone 8 soon which will enable support for quad-core processors and full-HD displays on the Windows Phone platform.

The report also notes that the Nokia Bandit phablet will ship with a 20-megapixel rear camera and also suggests that the device may borrow the rear panel features of the Nokia Lumia 925 to accommodate the camera. It also asserts that the Lumia phablet will be sleek and light in weight and would come with a polycarbonate body.

Microsoft's GDR3 update is due for launch later this year and is expected to improve some of the features already present in Windows Phone. The Verge lists some changes that are expected with the roll out of the GDR3 update. In addition to the features listed above, Windows Phone GDR3 update is expected to bring an additional column of Live Tiles on the Start screen, rotation lock, minor UI tweaks and a new Driving Mode option, the report notes.

Previously, purported picture of Nokia Lumia phablet's front panel was leaked online. However, not much was known about the device in terms of specifications. With the first set of specifications leaking out, we can expect to hear more on the device soon.

India's Aakash tablet in US pilot projects

After a few minutes on the Aakash, a five-year-old American kid proudly announced he had achieved Level 4 in an addition game. He'd started the day at Level 1. These poorer kids in North Carolina were already picking up skills they'd be learning in the next school year, which was unprecedented - they would usually start off the year at a disadvantage.

The world's cheapest Made-in-India tablet, nicknamed Aakash (sky), had promised to transform Indian education. Instead, the government project got mired in delays and controversies in India. Meanwhile, the $50 Aakash tablet was creating a buzz in a dozen countries, and in the United Nations, where it was showcased last November.

Now, the Aakash has just completed a pilot in the US state of North Carolina, with 100 units of the Android tablets deployed in summer camps for poorer schoolchildren (mostly under age 10) to help them prepare for next year's studies. And there are other projects under way, with 2,000 tablets - DataWind's Aakash-equivalent UbiSlate models - already deployed.

The man behind the North Carolina pilot is software entrepreneur Chris Evans. After hearing about the Aakash from Valley-based entrepreneur Vivek Wadhwa, Evans agreed to fund 100 tablets for the American non-profit Communities in Schools (CIS), which was running the summer camps in North Carolina. Evans is on the board of CIS. "(The richer kids) were already using smartphones and tablets at school," Evans says, "and I thought the Akash would be an affordable way to keep them in pace with their classmates and engaged with their studies."

Wadhwa is an evangelist for low-cost tablets. He has written extensively in the Washington Post, ForeignPolicy.com, and elsewhere, about their potential to transform education. He also saw the Aakash "as a way to force US tablet prices to drop - bring in some competition from abroad". Along the way, Wadhwa spoke about the Aakash to Lotus Corp founder Mitch Kapor, Obama's former CTO Aneesh Chopra, and to others including Evans, to bring them on board for different projects involving the low-cost tablets.

The tablets in the pilot shipped with apps mostly developed by New York-based Mango Learning, an educational games venture. Mango's chairman Prakesh Ahuja offered access to their entire suite of apps, including a management and evaluation system that tracks student progress.

The sub-$50 price of the Wi-fi was a game-changer, Evans says, adding that free wi-fi was available in many of the students' neighbourhoods. "We discussed giving the tablets to the students for the pilot, but the staff preferred to keep possession of them to make sure they stayed configured consistently," adding that several parents now want to buy the tablet--even though they all live on public aid.

The Aakash, which costs about $50, was designed and developed by London-based DataWind for India's ministries of human resource development (HRD) and information and communication technology (ICT). About 100,000 units were supplied in the first phase, ending in April 2013, mostly in the form of Aakash 2, a tablet well received even by critics who had panned the first Aakash.

Initially meant for engineering college students at a subsidized $35, the Aakash was to be later given to other students - with ambitious plans of giving them to all 220 million students in India over seven to eight years. That rollout is now planned for 2014, with what the Indian government now calls Aakash 4.

The US isn't the only country with Aakash pilots. DataWind CEO Tuli reports deployments in a half a dozen African countries, Mexico and Afghanistan, spanning NGOs, government departments and UN agencies. Most deployments, he says, are in the hundreds of units, while Mexico and Zambia "are in the range of tens of thousands of units". Wadhwa says those projects are good to have, but for technology, the world looks to the US. "That is why what happens here matters more than anywhere."

"The 2,000 tablets in the US so far reflects the equivalent of just a day of shipments in India for us," Tuli says. "But we've not yet commercially rolled out there. A US rollout could easily exceed a million units in the first year. These initial deployments are in support of NGOs and educational institutions."

Sony Xperia Honami mini with 4.3-inch display, Snapdragon 800 reportedly in the works

While we still wait for official confirmation of Sony's latest flagship smartphone, the Xperia i1 aka Honami which is scheduled for a September 4 launch, a rumour has claimed that Sony might be working on its downsized version.

A forum post at Esato.com has revealed the specifications of the alleged Sony Honami mini which shows the device code-named Ray 3.

According to the post, the Xperia Honami will sport a 4.3-inch Triluminos 720p display. It is allegedly powered by a 2.2GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 800, similar to the rumoured processor inside the Xperia Honami. It will reportedly come with 2GB RAM and 16GB of internal storage. There is a 2400mAh battery and support for microSD card. But interestingly, the Xperia Honami mini will again feature the 20.7-megapixel camera which is the major highlight of the yet to be announced Xperia Honami aka i1.

As per the post, the Xperia Honami mini will feature the same Sony G lens, f/2.0 aperture and the same 1/2.3" sensor which is being expected in the original device.

It seems when it comes to a mini version of the flagship smartphone, Sony has decided to stick to standard specifications and just reduce the display size, literally making it a 'mini' version of the flagship. This is a contrast to what other OEMs like Samsung and HTC have done with 'mini' versions of their flagship devices, which get a cut down in not only screen size but also in hardware specifications.

Earlier, it was reported that Sony will unveil its next flagship smartphone on September 4 before the start of the IFA consumer show in Berlin.

The report further claimed that the alleged Sony Xperia Honami aka i1 will feature 'X-Reality' picture-enhancement chips developed for Bravia TVs as well as sensors shipping in company's Cybershot cameras. The expected launch date for Xperia Honami aka i1 is in-line with earlier reports that pointed at an IFA launch.

HTC One X update rolling out, brings Android 4.2.2 and Sense 5

It seems the wait for software update for HTC's 2012 flagship smartphone, the One X is over.

The Android 4.2.2 update including Sense 5 for the HTC One X was spotted on Xda-developers forum and picked up by Android Central. The publication notes that HTC is rolling out update to version 4.18.401.2 for the HTC One X in Europe for now, with other regions to follow suit soon.

The report further affirms that the update for HTC One X will hit Nordic countries and parts of Eastern Europe like Denmark and Slovakia first, while other European countries are likely to get the OTA update in coming days. As per the reports, the software update weighs around 380MB and includes Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean with the Sense 5 user-interface on top.

The update will add some new goodies like BlinkFeed home screen, which has been quite popular after first making an appearance on company's flagship smartphone, the HTC One. Some new features that the HTC One X will get include improved battery endurance, new gallery and camera apps and automatic video highlights.

With the updates rolling out in European region first, the wait for HTC One users in India to receive the Android 4.2.2 updates begins. Earlier, HTC announced an Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean update for HTC One X+ also. However, we are yet to see the update rolling in India.

HTC had announced that it will be offering upgrades to some of its existing devices in the next few months. However, it had mentioned the software update won't include all of Sense 5 features, as some are dependent on the HTC One hardware.

Nokia Lumia 625 with 4.7-inch display up for pre-orders at Rs. 19,499

The Nokia Lumia 625 is now available for pre-orders in India for Rs. 19,499 through online retailer Flipkart.

The retailer notes that the estimated release date for the Nokia Lumia 625 is the fifth week of August.

Nokia announced the launch of the Lumia 625 sporting a 4.7-inch LCD screen, its biggest on a smartphone yet, last month. The specifications of the Nokia Lumia 625 include a 1.2GHz dual-core processor alongside 512MB RAM and 8GB internal storage that can be expanded up to 64GB via microSD card. It comes with a 5-megapixel rear camera and a VGA front-facing shooter. The 4.7-inch screen sports a 480x800 pixel resolution. The device runs Windows Phone 8.

Flipkart is also highlighting some promotional offers available with every pre-booking of Lumia 625. This includes 11 free ebooks from the Flipkart store. Users can download these ebooks up to three months from the date of purchase. Also include is a Nokia music subscription which will be valid for 6 months, Nokia movies subscription via movies app on the Lumia smartphone valid for three months. Also included is free 3G data for 3 months or 2G data for 6 months via Tata Docomo.

It has been raining Lumia smartphones of late, with the Lumia 925, Lumia 1020 and Lumia 625 hitting the global markets in quick succession.

Earlier, we saw the Nokia Lumia 925 being listed on company's official website and now joining it is the Lumia 625. The company's official website still has Lumia 625 listed with a 'coming soon' tag. However, that may change soon.

With the Nokia Lumia 925 and Nokia Lumia 625 now finally being rolled out for the Indian market, the wait for the 41-megapixel Nokia Lumia 1020 continues.

Mobiles launched in August 2013

Nokia Lumia 625 key specifications

• 4.7-inch 480x800 resolution
• 1.2GHz dual-core processor
• 512MB RAM
• 8GB internal storage, expandable by up to 64GB
• 5-megapixel rear camera
• VGA front camera
• 2,000mAh battery
• Windows Phone 8 with Amber update

Mark Zuckerberg's Facebook Wall 'hacked' by irate security researcher

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg is unlikely to forget the name Khalil Shreateh in a hurry after what happened to him recently.

Some time back, Palestinian security researcher Khalil got in touch with Facebook team to inform them about a bug that lets anyone post to someone's Facebook wall, even if they are not friends with the individual on Facebook. Khalil claims he shared details of the vulnerability with the Facebook team after having successfully tested it by posting to the Facebook wall of Sarah Goodin, a friend of the Facebook CEO.

Despite having attached a screenshot of his post on Goodin's wall (someone who he obviously wasn't Facebook friends with), the Facebook security team rejected Khalil's claims saying, "I am sorry this is not a bug."

Upset at the rebuff, Khalil decided to notify Facebook Mark Zuckerberg himself, by using the bug to post directly to his wall. Within minutes of the post, Khalil reportedly heard from Facebook security engineer Ola Okelola, requesting details of the exploit. Facebook also temporarily disabled Khalil's account as it investigated the issue, to prevent him from exploiting the bug.

Ultimately, Facebook acknowledged the bug and re-enabled Khalil's account. However, Khalil, whodetailed the incident on his blog, will not be eligible for the $500 payout that Facebook gives to security researchers that help find bugs, as he used real accounts instead of dummy accounts to demonstrate the bug, which is a violation of Facebook's policies.

In case you are wondering what happened to the bug itself, another Facebook engineer has revealedthat the bug was fixed on Thursday

Apple to begin shipping two new iPhones in September: Report

Apple has asked its Taiwan-based supplier to begin shipping two new versions of the iPhone next month, including a lower-cost model, the Wall Street Journal reported Monday.

The Journal, citing unnamed sources, said Taiwan-based Hon Hai Precision, the parent company of Foxconn in China, was readying both a standard iPhone with new upgrades and a less expensive model with fewer features.

Last week, the news site AllThingsD, part of the same company as The Journal, said Apple had scheduled a September 10 event to unveil the new smartphones as part of an effort to regain momentum.

An Apple spokesman declined to comment.

Apple's move comes with its chief rival Samsung reportedly set to unveil its own smartphones and other devices, including a smart watch.

Speculation has centred around whether Apple will shift its strategy to include a lower-cost handset to appeal to more consumers, especially in emerging markets.

A survey released by Gartner last week said Apple's share of the smartphone market worldwide fell to 14.2 percent in the second quarter, while Samsung's share rose to 31.7 percent.

Gartner said the Google Android operating system was used on 79 percent of smartphones sold in the period.