5 hot smartphones under Rs 20,000

5 hot smartphones under Rs 20,000.

Tech wars take Microsoft, Apple and Amazon out of their comfort zones

Watch out for the snafus and the mess-ups. When Apple released its version of a maps app for iOS, it received a reaction quite out of sync with the usual fawning adulation that an Apple product launch gets.

Noticeably inferior to Google maps, or even the kind of mapping app available on (gasp!) Nokia phones, it drew howls of derision, led to a public apology by chief executive Tim Cook, and earlier this week, to the sacking of the company’s head of iOS software, Scott Forstall.

Also watch out for the confused messaging. Microsoft launched Windows 8 earlier this week, and along with that, the Windows Surface, its bid for tablet market dominance.

Given that Surface is being heavily marketed along with a range of colourful covers which double up as keyboards, Microsoft seems to be at least hinting at the fact that Surface, unlike iPad or Android tablets, could be used for something more productive than simply checking mail or playing Angry Birds. Indeed, the tablet will ship with versions of Excel, Word and PowerPoint.

A New Microsoft?

But it won’t run Outlook, an odd omission, for those who would like to take it along on business trips rather than lug a bulky laptop around (though there are alternatives). And the version of Windows on Surface won’t run most Windows applications on the desktop — they will be incompatible.

China to become world’s largest robot consumer in 2014

BEIJING: Demand for industrial robots is predicted to hit 32,000 units in China by 2014, making the manufacturing giant the world’s largest robotics consumer.

According to the International Federation of Robotics, the sector’s technology and production have gained momentum amid higher labour costs and China’s efforts to restructure its economic growth pattern and improve energy efficiency.

At the China International Industry Fair, which ended yesterday, China’s robot manufacturers exhibited their models in direct competition with their foreign counterparts.

The fair attracted more than 1,800 participants over the five-day exhibition, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

At the event, a Chinese company, SIASUN Robot & Automation Co demonstrated their new models, which are integrated with numerical control machines that can accomplish multi-procedure processes.

The company’s self-designed products have been exported to overseas markets including the US, Canada, Russia and India, the report said.

Despite the growing sector, the industry warned that a lack of core technology will stall the development of robot manufacturing in China