Build Your Own Computer Best Configurations for all Budget 2013!

Building your own computer is the best way to get a system which will get you what you want. You can decide what components you want and what you don't . It also helps you to save a lot of money. You can always choose the latest components in the market and keep yourself updated with the technology.

 

In this post I will tell you the best configuration for building your own computer for all the budget ranges. While, this might not be exactly the best, but this will give you a good performance and speed.

Basic Rig

This is for people, who just want to browse the Internet, do some word processing. These are best for office related work. But if your office uses applications like Photoshop, or any Video Editing Software like Adobe After Effects, this won't give good performance. Choose this, if you are really in a tight budget and just need a computer for normal work.

    Cooler Master Elitie 310
    Processor: AMD Anthlon 2 x2 260
    Motherboard : ASUS M5A78L-M LX
    RAM: Corsair Desktop RAM 2GB DDR3 1333 MHz
    HDD: Seagate 1TB
    Monitor: BenQ G610HDAL
    Graphics Card: None
    Cabinet : Cooler Master Elite 310
    PSU: FSP Saga II 400W
    Speaker: Altec Classic Audio BXR1221
    Mouse: Zebronics Judwas 5
    Keyboard: Zebronics Judwas 5
    Optical Drive: LG 22x SATA DVD Writer
    Sound Card: None


You can choose the speakers, mouse, keyboard as you wish, but keep the heart of the system same.

Entry Level Gaming

This is for gamers who have a small budget but still want to enjoy games. With this specs you will be able to run games like Call of Duty Series and other graphics intensive game. But you have to keep your settings at a minimum level or you might suffer from decreased FPS. And less FPS is a bad thing! Really a bad thing!

    AMD A6-3650
    Processor: AMD A6-3650
    Motherboard : Gigabyte GA-A55M-DS2
    RAM: G-skill F3-10600CL9S- 5GBNT
    HDD: Seagate 1TB
    Monitor: BenQ G2222HD
    Graphics: ASUS 550Ti
    Cabinet : Cooler Master Elite 310
    PSU: Corsair CX340
    Speaker: Altec Lansing V2621
    Mouse: Zebronics Judwas 5
    Keyboard: Zebronics Judwas 5
    Optical Drive: LG 22x SATA DVD Writer
    Sound Card: None

Mid-Range Level

So, you have a considerable budget and want to go for not the ultimate but, play games at medium graphics without decreasing FPS. Here's what you need.

    Intel Core i5-2400
    Processor: Intel Core i5-2400
    Motherboard : MSI-H67-e35
    RAM: Corsair CML8GXM2A1333C9
    HDD: Seagate 1TB
    Monitor: BenQ G2222HD
    Graphics Card: Zotac nVidia 560
    Cabinet : Cooler Master Elitie 340
    PSU: Seasonic S12 II 520
    Speaker: Altec Lansing V2621
    Mouse: Razer Abyssus
    Keyboard: Razer Cyclosa
    Optical Drive: LG 22x SATA DVD Writer
    Sound Card: None

Ultimate Configuration

 

Only for people who are absolutely crazy about gaming and want to play the latest game with full maximum settings. This will truly give you a amazing gaming experience. If you have lots of money laying around and you can't think of anything better, go for it.


    Processor: Intel Core i7-2600
    Motherboard : Gigabyte Z77X-UD5H
    RAM: Gskill F3- 12800CL9D- 8GBXL
    HDD: 2x Seagate 1TB + OCZ 2.5 SSD VTX3- 25SAT3-120G
    Monitor: BenQ XL2410T
    Graphics Card: ASUS nVidia GTX 680 2GB
    Cabinet : Cooler Master HAF922
    PSU: Seasonic X850 (80 + Gold)
    Speaker: Logitech Z506
    Mouse: Logitech G9x
    Keyboard: Logitech G510
    Optical Drive: LG 12x Blu-ray OEM RW
    Sound Card: ASUS Xonar DX 7.1

Please tell us about your computer's configuration. If you have any other suggestions please tell us through the comments!

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Microsoft's Surface 2 tablet follows faithfully in the footsteps of fail...

Microsoft’s long-rumored Surface refresh became reality on Monday, and the revamped Surface Pro 2 shows that Microsoft has been listening to customer complaints. Relative to the original Pro model, the second-generation Pro is vastly more powerful, packs better speakers, and lasts longer on a charge, offering more than 10 hours of battery life when paired with a new Power Cover.
The company has even introduced a new docking-station accessory that lets you convert the Surface Pro 2 from a laptop/tablet hybrid into a full-fledged workstation. Basically, it feels wonderful, and it should be a tremendous improvement over its already impressive predecessor. 


Too bad you can’t say the same for the Surface 2 tablet. 

“Lowering that price by $50 certainly helps Microsoft, but I’m not sure it’s enough to change buyer’s minds.”

 

Despite the fresh name and a handful of helpful tweaks, the Surface 2 is still saddled with the same ho-hum value proposition and half-baked Windows RT operating system as the original Surface RT—a disaster that ended up costing Microsoft nearly $1 billion in write-downs. The Surface 2 doesn’t look any more appealing.

Refining the wheel

“Surface has been one of the best products that Microsoft has ever built,” Surface honcho Panos Panay said at the launch event. “Reinventing the wheel is not the goal. Making it better is.”

The Surface 2 is thinner and lighter than the Surface RT.

To that end, Microsoft upgraded the processor in the Surface 2, making it far faster and more responsive than the original Surface RT. The tablet also got a much-needed bump to 1080p resolution, and—like the Surface Pro 2—a redesigned kickstand that makes the device easier to use on your lap. Overall, it’s thinner, lighter, and longer-lived than the Surface RT. Microsoft also includes a year of free Skype calls with the Surface 2, along with a free, two-year 200GB boost to your SkyDrive storage. 

Oh, and you can get it in silver now. And did we mention the plethora of handy-dandy Surface accessories, such as the battery-boosting Power Cover and the music-minded Remix Cover?
All are solid, welcome improvements. But none fix the core issues that doomed the first round of Surface RT tablets.

Rotten at its core

As fast and as pretty as the Surface 2 is, it still runs Windows RT. Designed for use on tablets with ARM processors, the Windows RT operating system is a crippled mess capable of running only Microsoft’s touch-friendly modern apps. Traditional desktop apps simply don’t function in Windows RT, despite the fact that a vestigial desktop lingers in the operating system. Except for Dell, every third-party PC maker abandoned Microsoft’s Windows RT vision over the past year. 

The original version of Windows RT (and hence the Surface RT) had some glaring interface issues. The impending Windows RT 8.1 update found in the Surface 2 corrects most of those, but it can’t address Windows RT’s biggest problem: a lack of useful apps. 

Photo: Caitlin McGarry

That’s a lot of useful apps, but the number of notable no-shows is just as impressive.

Panay tried painting a rosy picture of the Windows Store on Monday, declaring that Microsoft’s platform now offers more than 100,000 apps. 

Unfortunately, we examined the state of the Windows Store in depth when Microsoft first trumpeted its breaking the 100,000-app barrier in July, and while we found the game and streaming-video genres to be well represented, the rest of the ecosystem is woefully underdeveloped. That isn’t such a big deal on Windows 8 devices, which can use traditional desktop apps, but it’s a massive problem for Windows RT. Worse, some of the big-name apps promised at July’s Build conference—most notably Facebook and Flipboard—have yet to appear in the Windows Store. 

Yes, the Surface 2 will have some appeal to niche users who thirst for portable productivity, largely because it bundles the Office suite in a long-lasting package. But that alone won’t win over the masses, as the failure of the first Surface RT proved—especially considering the next factor.

Shallow use, steep price

The Surface 2 is $450—a cost that represents a $50 discount off the original iteration, but still puts the tablet in the pricing stratosphere alongside the iPad. 

Adding insult to wallet injury, the $450 starting price for the Surface 2 doesn’t even include a Touch Cover or Type Cover.

“Lowering that price by $50 certainly helps Microsoft, but I’m not sure it’s enough to change buyer’s minds,” IDC analyst Tom Mainelli told Computerworld.

Although there’s no question that the Surface is beautifully designed, it simply doesn’t have anywhere near the robust app ecosystem or basic value proposition of the iPad. Asking $450 for the Surface 2 is sheer madness, especially since that price doesn’t even include the must-have Touch Cover or Type Cover so integral to the Surface experience. (The cost for a cover is an extra $120 or $130, respectively.) Great Android tablets, meanwhile, can be had for around $200.

“I understand Microsoft thinks they are making Surface 2 more valuable with Office RT and other interesting services, but they are in a market competing with $200 Android tablets and even the $329 iPad mini,” Mainelli said. 

People aren’t afraid to buy the Surface. Indeed, the Surface RT started flying off store shelves when it was reduced to $350. But history has shown that people won’t pay iPad prices for Microsoft’s ARM tablet, and that isn’t likely to change until the Windows Store matures.

Large and not in charge

At its core, the Surface 2 is a tablet, and most of the tablets selling these days have smaller screens than Microsoft’s 10.6-inch behemoth.

Part of the Surface 2’s high price can no doubt be attributed to its 10.6-inch, 1080p display. While the Surface 2’s big screen pushes the productivity ideal, there’s no denying that the market has largely moved to smaller, 7- to 8-inch designs. Even Apple, long a stalwart against small-screen tablets, released the iPad mini in 2012.
Despite Microsoft’s productivity push, Windows RT is better suited for consumptive tasks thanks to its sole focus on the finger-friendly modern UI—and people looking to immerse themselves in content are buying diminutive tablets, not large ones. Our time with the 8-inch Acer Iconia W3 proved that miniature Windows tablets can be surprisingly useful. Rumors suggest that a “Surface mini” is on the way, but the Surface 2 seems just as awkwardly positioned as its predecessor.

Better in every way but the ones that count

Faster, “sexier” (as Panay dubs it) hardware always helps, but glitz and glamor can’t rescue a fundamentally underwhelming user experience. The Surface 2 proves that Microsoft’s device team can design some truly impressive hardware, yet with Windows RT at its core and a sky-high sticker price, the Surface 2 seems poised to repeat the failures of its forefathers. 

The Surface Pro 2, on the other hand, looks like it could be a truly appealing option for business or graphics professionals seeking one device to rule them all. But that’s another story for another day. 

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The Making Of OPPO N1- Oppo's mad N1 smartphone!

If you haven’t heard of Oppo before now, then the company’s latest smartphone should make you sit up and take notice. We’re used to new phones being subtle evolutions of their predecessors – take the Galaxy Note 3 and the iPhone 5S for example – but as Oppo is really just starting out, it’s free of those restraints. The result is the Oppo N1, which is massive, packed with tech, innovative (yes, really), and more than a bit mad.


So what makes the Oppo N1 standout? There are three interesting, unusual features on the phone, and we’ll start with the camera. Fitted to the N1 is the world’s first rotating camera. Oppo clearly didn’t like the idea of putting a less capable camera lens above the screen when there is a perfectly good one on the back, so it built a 206-degree rotating module and put a 13-megapixel camera inside, so it can perform both tasks.


 


It’s not just any old camera either, as it’s made from six lenses and has an f/2.0 aperture, custom image processing software, an 8-second long exposure mode, dual flash modules (one has adjustable brightness and is diffused for use when the camera is facing forward), and a super fast 0.6-second startup. The rotating section locks into place at any angle, so you don’t have to worry about it slipping at the wrong moment, and a twist of the module automatically wakes the camera app.


The second cool feature of the Oppo N1 is called O-Touch, and it’s a variation on the LG G2’s party piece, except instead of rear mounted buttons, the N1 has a rear mounted touch panel. Measuring 12cm square, it’s used for scrolling through webpages, tapping to open links or apps, and for the camera’s shutter release. On the subject of the shutter release, Oppo has made the O-Click, a keyring-style remote shutter button, which also doubles as a phone finder, as it will command the phone to set of an alarm if you can’t find it.


While this is enough to make the Oppo N1 one of this year’s most intriguing new phones, the choice of operating system is equally creative. The phone will come with Oppo’s own version of Android, named Color, installed, but there’s also an option to flash the CyanogenMod custom firmware directly from the phone’s recovery system. Oppo will also produce a limited edition N1 only with CyanogenMod installed, making it the world’s first phone to offer CyanogenMod as standard.


 


If all this wasn’t enough, the Oppo N1 has a massive 5.9-inch IPS display with a 1080p resolution, a 1.7GHz quad-core Snapdragon 600 processor, 2GB of RAM, a choice of 16GB or 32GB memory, and a hefty 3610mAh battery. The chassis is an aluminum unibody with a ceramic finish. Perhaps the only disappointment is the lack of 4G LTE connectivity, and the fact it weighs 213 grams.


On paper, the Oppo N1 sounds technically amazing, but more importantly, it sounds different, and that’s something we should be embracing. The phone is all set to go on sale this December, when it should be available internationally through Oppo’s own online store, but no price has been confirmed. This could be the N1’s downfall, as that’s a whole lot of tech in one phone, but Oppo is known for pricing its kit quite reasonably. We’ll update you when the price and exact release date is official.

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Honda & Top Gear UK Build Lawnmower With 130 mph Top Speed

Top Gear UK is well known for its ludicrous activities, whether it’s their plan of building a food blender with a V8 engine or sending a Reliant Robin as a space shuttle Top Gear have always lived up to their “ambitious but rubbish” tagline. Recently they came up with an idea to spice up the humble lawnmower that would break speed records while managing to clean up grass, so instead of fooling about they decided to call in some expert assistance. Soon Honda answered their call and sent in their Team Dynamics to get cracking. The team started with a Honda HF2620 mower fitted it with a VTR 1000cc engine and steering rack from a Morris Minor. The wheels and the tyres were taken from a racing quad bike and the back axle was out of a 250 cc go-kart. Since the team has not yet put a seatbelt the machine has not been able to test its actual performance on a track but they have calculated theoretically that this little monster is capable of going from 0-60 mph (0-96.5 kmph) in about 4 seconds and with a power to weight ratio of 520 brake horse power (bhp) per tonne it can reach speeds up to 130 mph.

But what about the grass cutting objective, you say? The team has got rid of the standard metal blades as they were too complicated and they got in the way of the new transmission system. The replacement was done by two electric motors on which a length brake cable was attached that spins a four thousand rpm capable of cutting anything that come across it. To make sure that the powerful lawnmower does not disturb your neighbours, a chain tensioning system has been set between the engine and the rear axle and lined up with plastic. All that remains to see is how this machine will be used in a garden by the tame racing driver of Top Gear, The Stig.

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Printed Electronics Made 10x Efficient With New Process

Researchers at Stanford University have developed a better way to control the flow of ink during the electronics printing process. The new method allows fewer defects in the end-product and also improves its overall electrical efficiency. Printed electronics is used to create lightweight & low-cost solar cells and also in manufacturing flexible electronics screens. However, the big problem with current methods is that the efficiency of these products is far lesser than than traditional electronics products. New process developed at Stanford is called FLUENCE aka fluid-enhanced crystal engineering. The research team expects that this new innovation will accelerate further adoption of printed electronics.

Dr Ying Diao, the lead author of the paper published in Nature Materials says that FLUENCE allows the process to be scaled up to meet the industry requirements. It's interesting to note that printed electronic devices are generally formed using semiconducting crystals. These crystals are grown using special inks containing organic chemicals. The distribution and even flow of ink, which often gets disturbed during rapid printing leads to defects in the final products.

Diao has designed a new printing blade with very tiny pillars embedded in it. These pillars mix the ink in such a way that it forms a uniform film. She has also designed a series of chemical patterns on the organic substrate to make sure that the crystals grow in a regular & uniform pattern. X-Ray studies were carried out at Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource (SSRL) and it allowed Diao to inspect the progress and keep making improvements in the process. Diao and her team were finally able to produce better arranged crystal which are at least 10x longer than the crystal created with traditional process.

Diao and her team now wants to exhamine the relationship between process & the material. This would provide even better control over the final electronic properties of the printed electronic films.

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High Frequency Sound On Plant Matter To Create Biofuels - Iowa State University

Iowa State University researchers are employing high-frequency sound waves to break down plant substances for creation of bio-fuel. The research includes pretreating a wide range of feedstocks like witch grass, corn stover, and soft wood with constant ultrasound, thus enhancing the necessary chemical reactions needed to tansform the biomass into high-value biofuels and chemicals. All these findings shall be presented at the 21st International Congress on Acoustics (ICA 2013) being held from June2-7 in Montreal.

The researchers discovered that they could substantially up the efficiency of removing lignin (the substance that binds cellulose and hemicellulose together in plant cell walls) from biomass in solution. Generally enzymes or chemicals do the trick, but this time the researchers removed lignin by pretreating the plant matter with ultrasound. Once the lignin is removed via this technique, freed sugar gets dissolved within minutes for further processing into biofuel. The team also discovered that hydrolysis of corn starch could be greatly accelerated with ultrasonic. Traditionally, ground corn is steamed with jet cookers at high temperatures, to break down the corn and the remaining starch mash is then cooled and reacted with enzymes to release glucose for fermentation. Ultrasonically, the corn was grounded so small that it provided more surface area for enzymatic action. Economic rewards of this method are great, with less than an year payback period since installation.

A third application for ultrasound in biofuel production is the speeding up of transesterification, the major chemical reaction that transforms oil to bio-diesel. Ultrasounding soybean oil transformed it into bio-fuel within a minute, and not the regular time of 45 minutes.

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Toshiba Excite 10.1 Inch Tablets - Pure, Pro & Write Launched

Toshiba Corporation, the Japanese multinational company, has had an interesting line-up with its Excite series of Android tablets. Today adding new products to this series are three 10.1 inch tablets - the Excite Pure, Excite Pro and Excite Write. Along with these, Toshiba has also launched a keyboard dock which is optional and works with all the three new Excite tablets. With varied price tags, each of the three tablets has something different to offer that makes its stand out among its peers. For instance, Excite Pro and Excite Write models are the first Toshiba tablets to feature a 2560 x 1600 native screen resolution, currently the highest in the tablet market. Pushing an astounding 4 million pixels (300 pixels per inch), images, video and text come alive across the 10.1-inch PixelPure display2 with stunning color and razor-sharp clarity. These two also feature Harman Kardon stereo speakers, making them the first tablets to feature speakers from a premium audio brand. It's a increasing range of prices, with Excite Pure at $299, Excite Pro at $499 and Excite Write at $599. Let us take a look at each of these tablets one by one.

The Excite Pure tablet runs over Android 4.2.2 i.e. Jelly Bean OS and is trying to offer the complete Android experience, just without the external skins. The 10.1 inch screen has a resolution of 1280 x 800 pixels and is powered by the Nvidia Tegra 3 processor. The 3-megapixel rear-facing camera is all you have to capture photos and video. Offering
1GB DDR3 memory and 16 GB of internal storage, the presence of microSD card slot, assures the memory's expandability. You can connect the Excite Pure tab to TV or computer via the Micro-HDMI and Micro-USB ports.

Coming to Excite Pro, which bears a $499 maximum retail price, the tablet runs on a NVIDIA Tegra 4 mobile processor and features Android 4.2 Jelly Bean OS. Excite Pro comes with an 8-megapixel rear camera and 1.3-megapixel front one. There's 2 GB DDR3 and 32 GB internal storage and built-in Micro HDMI, Micro USB ports and a Micro SD slot. It is being said that there's high chance that Toshiba may be competing with the recently launched ASUS Transformer Pad Infinity tablet that offers similar specifications.

After checking the tech specs of the earlier two tablets, you will find that Excite Write'sfeatures are very similar to the Excite Pro. Besides the 10.1-inch PixelPure digitizer display (2560 x 1600) featuring Corning Gorilla Glass 2 and pressure sensitive Toshiba TruPen, there's NVIDIA Tegra 4 mobile processor, Android 4.2, Jelly Bean, 2GB DDR3, 32GB internal storage, an 8MP rear camera and lastly, built-in Micro HDMI, Micro USB ports and a Micro SD slot. This tablet comes with a Wacom digitizer that and makes it a direct competitor of the Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 because of the pre-loaded apps called TruNote and TruCapture that assist with note-taking. This Wacom digitizer has support for 1,024 levels of pressure sensitivity.

All three tablet models will be available beginning on June 25, 2013 and can be purchased directly from Toshiba at ToshibaDirect.com or from major retailers and e-tailers nationwide beginning in early July. In an official press note, Carl Pinto, vice president of marketing, Toshiba America Information Systems, Inc., Digital Products Division said that, "With more and more consumers adopting tablets as their go-to devices for entertainment and travel, we wanted to push the boundaries even further and equip our new Excite tablets with the technology and features needed to maximize the potential of these devices." What are engineers here thinking of the price and features of the Excite series of tablets? Are they value for money? Share your thoughts with us in comments. 

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Sony Introduces Xperia M, A Sibling To The Flagship Xperia Z

The Xperia Z Has earned quite a lot of accolades for its new OmniBalance design, so taking this design to the mid/lower end market Sony has launched the Xperia M. On the front it has got a 4-inch FWVGA (854 x 480) display that is accompanied by a scratch resistant glass. The Xperia M runs Android 4.1 on a 1 GHz Qualcomm MSM8227 (dual core) processor with 1 GB of RAM. In terms of photography it has a 5 megapixel fast capture camera with auto-focus and HDR and a front VGA for video calls with a dedicated shutter key. The Xperia M also features colour-changing illuminations for notifications. In terms of internal memory it has a meagre 4GB out of which less than 2 GB is user accessible, however to make up this flaw Sony has included a microSD card slot expandable up to 64 GB.

The device features NFC, Bluetooth 4.0, Micro USB support, Native USB tethering and the regular Wi-Fi. A-GPS and Google maps take care of navigation and the phone will work dual band UMTS HSPA and quad band GSM networks. The smartphone will be powered by a user removable 1750 mAh battery that will give up to 10 hours of talk time and 498 hours of standby. The battery discharge cycle can be controlled by the ‘Stamina Mode’ of the phone with can be started by the user to prevent unnecessary applications from eating up your charge. Inside the box users can expect battery, charger and Micro USB cable. The phone will also have a dual SIM twin called the Xperia M dual which will run Android 4.2 (other specs are same as the single SIM model). The phones will be available in black, white and purple yellow colours globally in the third quarter of 2013 at an undisclosed price.

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Mahindra Verito Vibe Launch Tomorrow. Price Expected To Be Rs. 5.30 Lakh

Indian car maker Mahindra is all set to launch the new Verito Vibe tomorrow. The price of the car is expected to be about Rs. 5.3 Lakh ex-showroom in Delhi for the base varient. Looking at the teaser, it appears that Mahindra Verito Vibe is a compact saloon. It'll be a smaller (<4m) modification of the company's flagship sedan Verito. The company is expected to enter competition with the likes of Maruti Suzuki Swift, Ford Figo, Nissan Micra and others. The car is expected to be made available with Diesel engine at the launch and no Petrol varient has been planed. We'll only have to wait for official word on this tomorrow.

Because of the form factor and a smaller Renault K9K 1.5 liter dCi Diesel engine that outputs 68bhp, Vibe will enjoy excise duty benefits which will allow the car to be priced competitively. The car was first spotted during its trial run and suddenly gathered mixed reviews about its design.

AutocarIndia reports that the car was earlier expected to be a hatchback, but from the teasers, it seems to be a compact saloon with the boot hinged at the bottom of the rear windscreen. Mahindra has given the car a 2-box appearance instead of the 'chopped saloon' like that of Indigo eCS or Swift Dzire. 

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MTS Duet In India For INR 4,799 - A Dual SIM Budget-Friendly Smartphone

Mobile TeleSystems or MTS, the wireless voice, broadband Internet, messaging and data services company headquartered in Delhi, India is here with a new product of its own. The MTS Duet is a Dual SIM smartphone that supports CDMA as well as GSM networks. The company says that this is its 'strategy to offer greater choice' to users. Powered by a 1GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor, the MTS Duet features a 3.5-inch (8.8cm) display with capacitive touch screen that has a HVGA resolution of 320 x 480 pixels. As you can see the price cut has lead to a this low-end feature look of this smartphone.

The budget-friendly piece is running a top a Android 2.3 aka Gingerbread OS and gets booted up by driving power from a 1200mAh battery. There's an average 3 megapixel camera on the rear side and there’s no front lens. No word on the RAM or internal memory, but potential customers can expect a microSD card slot for expanding the hoarding space up to 32GB. The company’s Chief Marketing and Sales Officer for the country, Leonid Musatov, says that part from this CDMA- and GSM-happy dual SIM handset, there are plans to launch many more dual mode devices.

At a price in India of Rs. 4,799, the company is offering whatever good it can. There's a deal for unlimited data and local calls over 2 months to tempt the young audience who can't get their hands off SMS and prefer to be connected to their peers 24x7. So, interested buyers can choose to sign up for this bundle that costs Rs 599. Just two weeks back MTS had launched a dual-SIM budget phone which also works on CDMA and GSM technologies for its customers in Kolkata and West Bengal. The device is priced at Rs. 1699.

To make it easy for you to read the important, here are the tech specs at a glance -

• Android Gingerbread 2.3
• 1GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon S1 processor
• 3.5-inch display of 320 x 480p HVGA resolution and capacitive touch
• 3MP camera
• Dual SIM: CDMA and GSM networks
• 32GB expandable memory
• 1200mAh battery

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Lensless Camera Created By Bell Labs Never Goes Out Of Focus!

Image processing has undergone many innovations with time, which has always boosted up the quality. But it has always followed the same principle that it works on, that is, using a lens to create an image and a recorder to capture all the photons. Though the way these captured photons go through imaging has drastically changed with better and efficient algorithms, a new technique may bring in a revolution. The people at Bell Labs, New Jersey are calling it 'Compressive Sensing', which means that the data taken from the images are not much different from each other, but only have fractional changes in their measurements and are redundant. With compressive sensing they have built a camera with no lenses, using only a single sensing pixel, and the best part being that the image is never out of focus.

This technique could change optical, infrared and millimetre wave imaging. The camera is made up of only two components, an aperture assembly, and a sensor. The LCD panel allows the light to pass and a single sensor detects the three light colors of the image. Lesser the data in the scene, lesser data is recorded for imaging.

This device has many benefits over the conventional camera we have been using until now. There is less amount of data generated, no problems for bad focus since the whole image would be in focus and it would be cheap since the team has used cheap components to build the camera. The only thing bothering them is that the device takes a lot of time to collect the data and process the image of only still screens and the team is researching to overcome this. Another good thing about this would be that this principle can be used for the other wavelength of light too like infrared and millimetre waves, which could make it relatively cheaper.

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Saker S-1 - The Mach 0.99 Personal Jet With Operating Cost Of $2/Nautical Mile

If you are a busy businessman who doesn't want to wast time (and don't mind spending money to save time) then you might just look at the beautiful beast called Saker S-1. It's military jet inspired personal jet that aims to reach 0.99 aka almost equal to the speed of sound. The company says that it will cruise at a speed of Mach 0.95 and reach the top speed of Mach 0.99. This two seater plane will shave an hour off a 1500 nautical mile flight (approximately 2778 km) as compared to its closest competitor.

The Saker S-1 is designed to take off and land on runways as short as just 1500 ft. It can climb at the rate of 14,000 ft/min and have a service ceiling of about 45,000 ft. S-1has a maximum range of about 1600 miles (approximately 2575km) with its 1890 liter tank. The designers have added two external 380L tanks to increase the range to about 2200 miles (~3540 kilometers).

The craft has a wingspan of about 27ft and length of about 40.5 ft. It's 15 ft high and has empty weight of 2495 kg. The S-1 can carry maximum payload of about 2720 Kg. Two Williams FJ44-4 engines will power the aircraft and will serve for about 500 hours before needing an overhaul. The company says that the operational cost is about US $2 per nautical mile. It's also the aircraft that uses 20% lesser fuel than its competitors.

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World's Thinnest 500 GB & 1 TB HDDs Launched - Seagate & Western Digital

Looks like we've a war of the hard disks. Seagate recently announced the world's thinnest 500GB HDD that is just 5mm thick. The ultra-thin HDD looks like SSD and costs just $89. In the meanwhile, Western Digital too announced a 500GB HDD with very similar specs as that of Seagate. It's likely to find place in the new machines from ASUS and Dell. What's more interesting is that Western Digital has just announced another 'world's thinnest' 1TB hard drive that is just 2 mm thicker than its younger brother, at just 7mm.

The company claims that it features StableTrack which secures the motor shaft at both ends to reduce vibrations during operations and improve tracking. In addition there are dual-state actuators viz. electromagnetic for coarse displacement and piezo for the finer movements. SecurePark technology will keep the heads clear of the disk surface and also improve resistance to shocks. The company had demonstrated it at the IDF in 2012. The price of the 1TB model (WD10SPCXX) is $139 and that includes a 2 year warranty. Check the official press releases below -

WD® DELIVERS WORLD'S THINNEST 1 TB HARD DRIVE

New, 7 mm Slim 2.5-inch Hard Drive Delivers Industry's Highest Capacity Storage Giving Customers a High Capacity Option for Thin and Light Mobile Devices
IRVINE, Calif. – June 3, 2013 – WD®, a Western Digital (NASDAQ: WDC) company, today announced it is shipping the world's thinnest 1 TB hard drive with its new 2.5-inch WD Blue™ 7 mm hard drive. Offering OEMs, channel integrators and consumers a unique storage solution for thin and light systems, slimmer notebooks, as well as compatibility with the industry-standard 9.5 mm drive slots of mainstream notebooks, the WD Blue hard drive family, in capacities from 320 GB to 1 TB in the 7 mm height, now provides a singular option of thin design and high capacity storage.

"Users with large portfolios of content no longer need to sacrifice capacity when buying and Ultrabook or upgrading to a thin and light notebook," said Matt Rutledge, Vice President and General Manager for client storage products at WD. "This most compact 1TB hard drive to-date offers manufacturers of systems an upsell path for their customers who will now be able to choose systems offering both sleek design and high capacity.

"Intel is introducing its fourth-generation Intel Core processor family (codenamed Haswell) to deliver faster and more efficient performance to both desktop and notebook platforms, with significant gains benefitting portable systems" said Roger Bradford, Capabilities Marketing Manager at Intel. "The release of the WD Blue 7 mm hard drives offers a new level of storage capacity that further enriches the computing experience for users of Ultrabooks, All-in-Ones and other thin and light PCs."

"With the release of WD's 1 TB capacity in a 7 mm drive height, Acer customers now have the best of both options and no longer have to choose between the lightness of thin, sleekly designed systems or those with high capacity storage," said Tiffany Huang, BG President, PC Global Operations at Acer Incorporated.

"As ASUS develops new super-slim solutions, reliable storage options such as the WD Blue 7 mm 1 TB hard drive provide us with an ideal capacity to offer our customers," said S.Y. Shian, Corporate Vice President and General Manager of NB Business Unit at Asus. "WD has eliminated the capacity limits heretofore endured by thin and light personal computers while keeping the reliability and data-protection of a traditional hard drive."

Features of the WD Blue 7 mm hard drives include:

- Shock Tolerance – WD's ShockGuard™ technology protects the drive mechanics and platter surfaces from shocks.

- Cool and quiet - WD's exclusive WhisperDrive™ technology enables quiet performance.
- StableTrac™ – The motor shaft is secured at both ends to compensate for system-induced vibration and stabilize platters for accurate tracking during read and write operations which enables consistently higher performance.

- Dual Stage Actuators – Leveraged from enterprise-class drives, dual stage actuators utilize two actuators to improve positional accuracy over the data track(s). The primary actuator provides coarse displacement using conventional electromagnetic actuator principles. The secondary actuator uses piezoelectric motion to fine tune the head positioning to a higher degree of accuracy.

- Reliable – WD's SecurePark™ parks the recording heads off the disk surface during spin up, spin down, and when the drive is off. This ensures the recording head never touches the disk surface resulting in improved long term reliability due to less head wear, and improved non-operational shock tolerance.

- Compatibility Tested - WD performs tests on hundreds of systems and a multitude of platforms in its FIT Lab™ and Mobile Compatibility Lab to give customers confidence that drives will work in specific systems.

Price and Availability

Shipping now through select distributors and resellers, the new 1 TB WD Blue 7 mm 2.5-inch mobile hard drive is covered by a two-year limited warranty. MSRP for the 1 TB, model#: (WD10SPCXX) is $139.00 USD. Additional information about WD Blue mobile hard drives and limited warranty terms may be found on the company website at http://www.wd.com/en/products/products.aspx?id=800

INDUSTRY GIANTS LINE UP FOR SEAGATE ULTRA-THIN 5MM HARD DISK DRIVE

Laptop Ultrathin HDD Set to Redefine the Tablet and Mobile Computing Market

CUPERTINO, Calif. - June 3, 2013 -Seagate Technology plc (NASDAQ:STX), a world leader in storage solutions, today announced it's shipping its thinnest hard disk drive (HDD) ever to OEM partners - the Seagate® Laptop Ultrathin HDD. Just 5mm thin, the Laptop Ultrathin HDD is designed to be integrated into ultra-thin, lightweight mobile computing devices and tablets all while delivering high capacity storage at an affordable price.

"When we originally demonstrated this solution last September, we knew we had a truly innovative product that would empower our partners to reimagine mobile applications," said Steve Luczo, president, CEO and chairman of Seagate. "The strong support from our OEM partners indicates we have delivered on our vision and look forward to a new wave of innovative solutions enabled by this revolutionary product."

The 2.5- inch drive is just 5mm thin and weighs a mere 3.3oz- making it about as thin as four stacked credit cards and lighter than a deck of cards. It delivers up to 500GB of capacity in 25 percent less space than its previous-generation 7mm counterpart, freeing up valuable real-estate within portable devices to accommodate additional designed-in features such as longer-life batteries and better air circulation. An affordable alternative to SSD storage, Laptop Ultrathin HDD helps blur the lines between notebook and tablets by enabling new emerging applications like convertible and detachable storage.

"The new Seagate Laptop Ultrathin truly raises the bar, enabling us to finally create high-capacity, thin and light laptops that consumers crave at mass-market price points they can afford," said S.Y. Shian, corporate vice president and general manager of Asus' notebook business unit. "The drive's capacity, coupled with its ultra-slim, lightweight footprint, empowers our engineers to think out of the box and create truly ground-breaking, innovative system designs- it's a win- win for both us and the consumer."

Delivering the best cost per GB and cost per millimeter in the industry for ultrathin applications, the svelte high-capacity drive can support over 100,000 photos, 125,000 songs or 62 hours of high-definition video. The Laptop Ultrathin incorporates a 6GB/s SATA interface for fast data transfer rates and comes with the industry standard SATA connection for easy integration into existing laptops supported by both hard drive and SSD storage. SED encryption is available on the 500GB capacity version.

The Seagate Laptop Ultrathin has a manufacturer's suggested retail price of $89. For more information on the new Seagate Laptop Ultrathin HDD please visit http://seagate.com/www/ultrathin.

Strong Industry Support

"Dell's heritage is built on empowering our customers to do more with their technology investments with our unbeatable back-end expertise and cost-effective, tailored solutions that empower end-users and IT administrators alike," said Kirk Schell, vice president, personal computer product group, Dell. "Our partnership with Seagate on hard disk drive technology enables us to provide our customers with reliable, leading-edge, thin and light ultrabook and laptop designs with long battery life and uncompromised storage capacity."

"Portable devices have a voracious appetite for data, yet at the same time, owners demand thinner and lighter systems. Seagate has solved both by productizing the Laptop Ultrathin HDD," says Richard Doherty, research director for The Envisioneering Group. "Slimmer than a pencil, this revolutionary new hard disk drive gives freedom to designers and convenience to consumers and businesses alike."

"Our primary focus is to create IT solutions that deliver value. With consumers ever-increasing demand for high-capacity mobile computing devices, coupled with today's data-intensive applications, cutting-edge technologies such as Seagate's 5mm HDD are crucial for meeting end-user's expectations," said Wentao Yang, vice president of Lenovo global procurement. "And this new drive delivers on all fronts- not only enabling higher performance in many applications but also delivering high-capacity storage and providing consumers with a premium computing experience."

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ASUS Unveils G10 and M51 Desktop PCs With Built in UPS and Portable Battery

Continuing our Computex coverage, we have ASUS debuting its two Desktop PCs G10 and M51 with fourth generation (Haswell) Intel Core i7 processors, NVIDIA GeForce GTX graphics. But the feature that makes these features standout is the ASUS Power Pack. The ASUS Power Pack is a removable battery that acts like a mini UPS for the PC providing 25 seconds of power backup and after the 25 seconds it automatically deploys hibernate mode to save the user session. This Power Pack can also be removed from the desktop to act like a portable rechargeable battery pack for smartphones and tablets.

For enhancing the gaming experience the G10 has been equipped with NVIDIA GeForce GTX680 graphics with 3D Vision Surround capable of supporting up to four monitors at once. It also has indicator LEDs to show the operational state of any attached USB storage device. For audiophiles, ASUS has enhanced audio with SonicMaster technology and provided its AudioWizard interface that allows custom sound settings.

ASUS G10 Desktop PC

Both these PCs come with ASUS Smart Cooling System that automatically controls the fan speed to achieve the perfect balance between cooling and noise reduction. ASUS Universal Storage Module hot-swap drive bay makes for easy and fast data sharing. Front mounted USB 3.0 ports with Ai Charger technology for rapid charging of mobile devices. The M51 also comes with an additional wireless charging tray.

ASUS M51 Desktop PC

We are still waiting on the availability and pricing details but it can be safely assumed that it will be on the pricey side.

Update – According to reports from Engadget, The G10 comes with 8GB of RAM and a 1TB HDD paired with a 128GB SSD. An in terms of connectivity it has a 16-in-1 memory card reader, a DVD burner, six USB 3.0 ports, four USB 2.0 connections, HDMI-out, DVI-D and VGA. And it would make its way to shelves in the 3rd or 4th quarter of 2013.

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IIT Madras Develops 'Eye PAC' Software To Help Eye Doctors Work Faster In India!!!

India's leading engineering institute IIT Madras has a Healthcare Technology Innovation Centre (HTIC), a unit of the Research and Development, that has come up with a new affordable eye screening technology called 'Eye PAC' that helps ophthalmologists do their work faster. Up till now, patients with eye problems had to spend a whole day at the hospital for just the screening. With what they've developed here, the process takes just five minutes. Eye PAC is a software that extracts clear information from eyes and in turn help screen a large number of patients and send only the needy ones for further treatment. Thus, the eye doctor can focus on giving immediate diagnostic solutions.

 HTIC unit's head Mr. Mohanasankar Sivaprakasam shared his concern by saying that "Over 80 per cent of cases of blindness in our country are preventable, if only there was no lack of qualified ophthalmologists." Therefore, using the Eye PAC technology what we essentially achieve is the bridging of gap of the shortage of ophthalmologists in the country.



The IIT's HTIC unit has worked on this project by collaborating with the Department of Biotechnology of Government of India. This project also supports '3nethra' -a low cost, portable, and highly integrated ophthalmology device for pre-screening and identification of potential eye diseases, developed by Bangalore-based med-tech firm Forus Health. 3nethra has been already installed in many locations across 10 countries such as India, China, France, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Mauritius and Somalia. As we frequently read about the i-tech innovation across the world, in India we are seeing a lot of eye-tech innovation. Recently, we saw how four engineering students from Srinivas Institiute Of Technology, Mangalore came up with 'Eye Mouse' - a hands-free device that aims at letting the differently abled people use mouse on their computer screen in hands-free mode.


 We look forward to more innovative solutions from India's leading technical institutes and organisations. What are your opinions? Share with us in comments.

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Aakash 4 Specifications & Features Draft Is Ready!!!

Aakash 4 specifications & features list is ready and and the draft describing the same is soon to be submitted to the Government for approval. J Satyanarayana, secretar of Department of Electronics & IT informed the PTI. The government is already rolling up sleeves for the fourth generation of the Aakash tablet while the fate of Aakash 3 isn't clear yet. J Satyanarayana further said that the tablet specifications are beging finalised keeping the cost factor in mind. "We should not add so many features that the cost will go beyond", he said.

 With that in mind, what can we expect in terms of hardware and software from Aakash 4? Let's try & make a guess based on the finalised specs for Aakash 3. Here's what we think would get featured in Aakash 4.

 Unless Aakash 4 offers features what we've guessed, we believe the upgrade won't be worth it. It'd also be interesting to see which firmware does Aakash 4 will ship with. It's high time that the latest version of Jelly Bean Android finds its way to the tablet. 



 Aakash tablet was a brainchild of Kapil Sibal, who currently leads the law ministry in India. The idea was to provide a budget-friendly gadget to students in India so that they can have Internet access for educational purposes. The contract to design and develop the tablet was handed over to a Canadian company 'Datawind'. The first version of Aakash was rolled out in October 2011. The section generation was launched last year. We don't yet have concrete information on the status of Aakash 3 tablet.


 When asked whether any private players have shown interest in manufacturing or assembling the tablet in India, Satyanarayana said that no company has come forth yet, but once the specifications are finalised, proposals would come in.


 We'd love to hear reviews and feedback about Aakash tablet from oure readers & members. Chinese computer giant Lenovo had backed out from submitting proposals stating that it was almost impossible to offer a better user experience in the price bracket set by the Government. Do Aakash owners think that the tablet offers value for money? Share your opinion with us through comments. 

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ALMA telescope finds 15 extremely dark galaxies unidentified until now!!!

      With the help of ALMA (Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array), scientists have observed the "Subaru/XMM-Newton Deep Survey Field" in the direction of the constellation Cetus, and succeeded in identifying 15 extremely dark galaxies which had been previously unknown.

 In addition, they also successfully measured the number density of galaxies with 10 times less luminosity than ones previously observed with the conventional millimeter instruments.

 Based on the observations with ALMA telescope, the research team led by Bunyo Hatsukade, a postdoc researcher, and Kouji Ohta, a professor, both from the Graduate School of Science, Kyoto University, have revealed that approximately 80 percent of the unidentifiable millimeter wave signals from the universe are actually emitted from galaxies.

ALMA telescope finds 15 extremely dark galaxies unidentified until now
     
 Their densities well match the prediction by theories of galaxy formation. Therefore, the researchers consider that they managed to capture more like "normal" galaxies, which had been impossible to detect up to now, than extremely bright "submillimeter-luminous galaxies".

 Using ALMA and the Subaru Telescope , the research team is now seeking to uncover the overall picture of galaxy formation and evolution while conducting observations of much darker galaxies.

 Conventional research on distant galaxies has been carried out mainly with visible light and near infrared light. However, it is possible that many galaxies in the universe have been overlooked as much of that radiation is largely absorbed by cosmic dust. That is why millimeter and submillimeter wave observations are important.

ALMA telescope finds 15 extremely dark galaxies unidentified until now
 Stellar light absorbed by dust is reradiated from the dust as millimeter/submillimeter waves. Therefore galaxies, even those that it has not been possible to observe with optical telescopes, can be detected using these wavebands. Furthermore, millimeter/submillimeter waves are suitable for observation of distant galaxies. This is because the more distant the galaxy is, the more luminous part of light we can see due to the shift of wavelength of light by the expansion of the universe.

 This effect is called "negative K correction" and it compensates the source dimming in the distant universe.

 In past observations, gigantic galaxies deeply covered in dust, where several hundreds to thousands of stars are actively forming per year, have been detected with millimeter/submillimeter waves. To capture the overall picture of galaxies in the universe, it is important to observe "general galaxies" which have moderate star-formation activities. However, it has not been possible to detect faint galaxies due to the low sensitivity of existing observation instruments.

 The research team observed a field named "Subaru/XMM-Newtown Deep Survey Field," located in the direction of the constellation Cetus, with the ALMA telescope. As a result, they succeeded in finding 15 extremely dark galaxies that were unidentified until now.

 "It is thanks to the high performance of ALMA, which is proudly said to be the best in the world, that observations like this have been made possible," said Hatsukade.

 With the ALMA observations the team successfully measured the number density of galaxies approximately 10 times darker than the millimeter wave research results up to now.

 The new results agree well with the prediction by the theories of galaxy formation. That means, the galaxies detected in this research are the faint but dust-rich galaxies and they are most likely to be similar in type to normal galaxies not detected before.

 In regards to this, Professor Ohta commented, "This is a big step towards getting the big picture of galaxy evolution as the objects connecting especially bright galaxies in millimeter/submillimeter waves and normal galaxies were detected with ALMA."

 Furthermore, the team concluded that approximately 80 percent of the sources of the cosmic background radiation within the millimeter/submillimeter wavebands are more "normal galaxies" like those detected by ALMA this time. 

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Georgia Institute of Technology Develops Superhydrophobic Paper For Inexpensive Diagnostic Use

Superhydrophobic Paper

Taking inspiration from the water repelling qualities of lotus leaves researchers Lester Li, Victor Breedveld and Dennis Hess of Georgia Institute of Technology have come up with a superhydrophobic paper that has been proven to repel most liquids and oils. The paper is made from standard softwood and hardwood fibers. The fibers then undergo the standard manufacturing process where the cellulose in them in broken down into smaller parts by mechanical grinding. In the conventional way the paper is pressed in presence of water, but while making this paper the water is removed and butanol is added instead. Butanol inhibits the hydrogen bonding that normally takes place between cellulose allowing better control of their spacing.
 

 In the next step, the researchers used an oxygen plasma etching process to remove the layer of ‘fluffy’ cellulose layer to expose the ‘rougher’ layer of crystalline cellulose nanofibrils on which a thin coating of a fluoropolymer is applied to give it the liquid repelling capability. During the testing process the paper was able to repel water, motor oil, ethylene glycol and n-hexadecane solvent. Researchers have also managed to print patterns on the paper using a hydrophobic ink and a desktop printer. The liquid droplets adhered to the ink pattern and were repelled by the rest of the paper. The team hopes to see that their invention could lead to the development of inexpensive biomedical diagnostic tests where a droplet of liquid containing antigens can be rolled on to printed surface where it would be in contact with diagnostic chemicals and depending upon the reagents they would help identify the disease.


 You might have already read about the Superomniphobic Layer developed by the University of Michigan but the difference between both is flexibility. The paper version is very flexible and to some extent cheaper than its predecessor.


 For more details of the project, head over to Georgia Tech.

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Curiosity Rover Bumps Into Pebbles On Mars, Landscape Might Have Been Shaped By Water

 Marsrocks

With NASA trying really hard from quite a few years to find water on the surface of Mars, they have been collecting real good proof over the years. To add another evidence to the lot, Curiosity, the Rover sent by NASA on Mars, came across pebbles near the Gale Crater. Pebbles are usually formed when they are eroded by wind or water, and these pebbles seemed pretty close to the ones formed due to water, the same way as on Earth. Pebbles roll and bump onto other pebbles and settle at places, eventually forming their well rounded edges. Wind couldn't be the reason behind them since these pebbles seemed too big, about 1.5 inches in diameter. These kind of pebbles have not only been found near the Gale Crater but also on other parts of the Red Planet.


 Many rock formations and landscapes on Mars have been found to look similar to the ones carved out of rivers and streams on our planet, still adding to the possibility that water once flowed over the barren planet. The parts where these pebbles were found are reported to have had ankle deep water and sometimes have been waist deep. The pebbles have also been analysed and found to have not travelled a distance more than nine miles.
 

 Mars has always been in the news frequently, with Curiosity finding something interesting almost every month. This planet is supposed to be the closest to the conditions seen on Earth, but with time Mars might have died away. The people at NASA are determined to find water on the dusty planet and are really hoping in to bump into extra-terrestrial life up there soon. And while Curiosity keeps on looking for more, we anticipate some great discoveries to be unveiled.

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Smartphone turned into handheld biosensor to detect toxins, pollutants and pathogens

               University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign researchers have developed a cradle and app for the iPhone that uses the phone's built-in camera and processing power as a biosensor to detect toxins, proteins, bacteria, viruses and other molecules. 



              Having such sensitive biosensing capabilities in the field could enable on-the-spot tracking of groundwater contamination, combine the phone's GPS data with biosensing data to map the spread of pathogens, or provide immediate and inexpensive medical diagnostic tests in field clinics or contaminant checks in the food processing and distribution chain. 



            "We're interested in biodetection that needs to be performed outside of the laboratory," said team leader Brian Cunningham, a professor of electrical and computer engineering and of bioengineering at the U. of I. 

               " Smartphones are making a big impact on our society - the way we get our information, the way we communicate. And they have really powerful computing capability and imaging. A lot of medical conditions might be monitored very inexpensively and non-invasively using mobile platforms like phones. They can detect molecular things, like pathogens, disease biomarkers or DNA, things that are currently only done in big diagnostic labs with lots of expense and large volumes of blood," Cunningham noted. 





              The wedge-shaped cradle contains a series of optical components - lenses and filters - found in much larger and more expensive laboratory devices. The cradle holds the phone's camera in alignment with the optical components. 




             At the heart of the biosensor is a photonic crystal. A photonic crystal is like a mirror that only reflects one wavelength of light while the rest of the spectrum passes through. When anything biological attaches to the photonic crystal - such as protein, cells, pathogens or DNA - the reflected color will shift from a shorter wavelength to a longer wavelength. 



               For the handheld iPhone biosensor, a normal microscope slide is coated with the photonic material. The slide is primed to react to a specific target molecule. The photonic crystal slide is inserted into a slot on the cradle and the spectrum measured. Its reflecting wavelength shows up as a black gap in the spectrum. After exposure to the test sample, the spectrum is re-measured. The degree of shift in the reflected wavelength tells the app how much of the target molecule is in the sample. 

               The entire test takes only a few minutes; the app walks the user through the process step by step. Although the cradle holds only about 200 dollars of optical components, it performs as accurately as a large 50,000 dollars spectrophotometer in the laboratory. So now, the device is not only portable, but also affordable for fieldwork in developing nations. 



              The team demonstrated sensing of an immune system protein, but the slide could be primed for any type of biological molecule or cell type. 



                The researchers are working to improve the manufacturing process for the iPhone cradle and are working on a cradle for Android phones as well. They hope to begin making the cradles available next year.

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