Talk in Tech Corners

Apple unveils iPad mini with retina display

If rumours are to be believed, work is underway at Cupertino to address this concern. Evidently, a retina display iPad mini is already being developed, with the same display size and overall design but with a massive 2048 x 1536 resolution (the same as the new iPad). It will be priced at $399 and will be revealed sometime in the first half of 2013 in India. The existing iPad mini however will not be phased out. Of course, all this is just talk. Watch this space for more information.

A gaming Surface…

Microsoft’s Surface RT tablet has certainly been grabbing eyeballs all over the world with its innovative design. And it seems the Redmond giant is going to release another version of it, targeted at gamers. The gaming Surface will evidently come with a Core i7 processor and a 2 GB graphics card built into its slim frame and some rumours say it might even sport a higher resolution and size than that seen on the Surface RT. While the keyboard-cover will remain the new-iconic magnetically attached one, there will also be special keys dedicated to gaming on it. A gaming tablet that you can carry around? Perhaps with superb Xbox integration? We love the idea. Do it, Microsoft. Pretty please!Facebook with facial recognition

Facebook is preparing a massive revamp of its mobile app, with facial recognition being added to the mix. Remember how secret agents in Mission Impossible 4 identified people by just pointing their phones at them, letting the camera collect and collate data by analysing their faces? Well, something similar is evidently coming to Facebook. The company had snapped up a developer who specialised in facial recognition software and now it seems that feature is being incorporated in the next big update of the Facebook app. While some users are delighted by the news, others are concerned about privacy. But then, THAT is one debate at Facebook that never ends.

Asus-Google on the rocks?

We have absolutely no official hints about this but there is talk in corners that all is not well in the Asus-Google relationship. Evidently, the big G was not exactly delighted at the delay in the launch of the Nexus 7 tablet – which was manufactured by Asus – in some key markets (India being one of them). Others say that this is not the case and that Asus is in fact the miffed party because after the acclaim garnered by the Nexus 7, it was expecting to be handling the manufacturing of the 10-inch Nexus tablet, an honour which however went to Samsung. As we said, we have absolutely no official word about this, but are watching with interest how Google manages its nexusoriented relationship with various manufacturers. At the moment of writing, three manufacturers are involved in Nexus products – Asus, Samsung and LG – and all of them are each other’s rivals!

Flipkart getting into tablet mode?

India’s e-shopping portal might be joining the tablet wars with a tablet of its own. Evidently inspired by Amazon’s Kindle and Kindle Fire series of devices, Flipkart is now looking at developing a table and/or e-book reader that will allow a user to easily access and purchase its digital content – the company already offers music downloads and is planning to make a big move into e-books and downloadable video/games as well. And of course, a tablet that is locked to its e-store would be inch perfect for it. Evidently, the company is in talks with a number of tablet manufacturers for such a device, with Android being the preferred OS. Watch this space for more developments.