How Robots will change our lives

The Robotic Future 

The robots are coming and their presence will eventually bridge the digital-physical divide, dramatically impacting human life, experts say.

While a lot of attention has focused on how robots could hurt employment by replacing some human jobs, there are a number of positive ways robots may impact human life.

Here are some ways robots may change your life in the future. Robo Service 

As robots become more social, humans will encounter more and more robots in the service industry, said Illah Nourbakhsh, a professor of robotics at Carnegie Mellon University and author of Robot Futures.

At first, humans will increasingly encounter robots more via telecommunications and it will become harder for them to distinguish robots from humans. And eventually, robots will begin to replace more service jobs-like waiting tables.

There are already novelty robots in some places, including Japan where robots act as servers, taking and delivering orders.

However, unlike a human waiter, a robot server will have all kinds of information about you before you even tell it what you want. Because robots will be connected to the Internet, they will be able to access all of the information that is available about you online to predict what you may like to order.Medical and Rehab Robots 

Robots used for medical purposes will also dramatically change the way we treat ailments. Researchers at Carnegie Mellon are experimenting with using robots that are just millimeters in size to perform heart surgery. Engineers at Autodesk are also working with medical researchers to help them develop nano-robots that could be injected into cancer patients to selectively kill cancer cells.

For people with impairments like a spinal cord injury or partial paralysis caused by a stroke, robotics may also be able to assist in the rehabilitation process.

Researchers at Columbia University are studying how robotic exoskeletons can be used to help patients walk again. Basically, researchers have found that the robotic exoskeleton can help partially paraplegic patients retrain brain cells so that they can learn to walk again, or at least improve their gait.Robo Cops 

Robots have played a role in the military for some time. But in the future we will see a growing presence of robots used in the law enforcement, as well.

The robot maker Robotex, which is partially backed by PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel, has deployed its AVATAR robots across the U.S.

SWAT teams, first responders and other law enforcement use the devices to quickly assess dangerous situations to help them engage in action.

But soon, police officials won't be the only ones using robots to monitor their surroundings. Telepresence robots - which are robots used to allow humans to be in more than one place - will enable humans to monitor situations in different places from remote locations.

Robotex also makes robots for people to use at their home so they can see what is going on while they are not there. But people won't just use telepresence robots to check security at their house, they will also use the technology for work and for entertainment, Nourbakhsh said.Beam Yourself Anywhere 

If you think humans are distracted by their smartphones now, wait until they have a remote robot that they can tap into and control from anywhere at anytime from their handheld device.

'Today we are already not all there, but telepresence robotics makes more compelling ways to visit your home, an other places when you are not there,' Nourbakhsh said.

One use for a telepresence robot would be be to beam yourself to work from a remote location. Another scenario for use is for entertainment, Nourbakhsh said.

People may be able to rent a robot in another location to travel or experience new things. For example, say someone wanted to go to attend an Opera performance, but couldn't afford to go the traditional way. They could rent a robot in that location and enjoy everything about the experience as if they were there.Let the Robot Drive 
Robots may be impacting your commute sooner than you think.

According to Google, we are only about three to five years away from an autonomous car that is roadworthy. But before driverless cars are able to freely chauffeur humans around, there is still some work to do, Nourbakhsh said.

'There are absolutely critical infrastructures that haven't been designed yet,' he said.

However, once the right structures are in place, there is the potential to significantly reduce traffic accidents, pollution and energy consumption.Robot Teachers 
A number of schools in the U.S. are already adopting robots into the classroom, not as replacements for teachers, but as teaching assistants. And it won't be long before robots play a bigger role in the educational system, experts say.

Robots can be programmed to teach just about anything, making them an effective classroom tool.

'The cool thing robots do in the classroom is that they turn classes where you learn facts in a vacuum into classes where you solve real-world problems you really have,' Nourbakhsh said. 'You work on real-world challenges, you sense air pollution, you make a kinetic sculpture that motivates your mom to stop smoking on the stoop - so you are learning about biology, programming, craft, rhetoric and air quality all at once. Robots integrate across disciplines.'Robot Entertainers 
A big shift in the entertainment industry will spur from telepresence robots because it will allow people to travel and attend events just about anywhere.

However, robots will also be able to perform music and make artwork for humans to enjoy.

An all robot band called Compressorhead recently performed at a Gibson booth during the Frankfurt Music Fair in Frankfurt, Germany.

Longer Lives via Avatars 

Robots may also be key in helping humans dramatically extend their lifespan, according to Russian tycoon Dmitry Itskov.

Itskov is the founder of the 2045 Initiative, which is a non-profit organization focused on creating an international research center for scientists to research and develop technologies in the field of life extension. His vision consists of humans eventually being able to transfer their human consciousness in an artificial form to avatars.

Itskov said he envisions robots like the pictured Geminoid DK - which is a robot that looks like its master - as an ideal host for real human consciousness, thus allowing for humans to extend their life. 

Six INCREDIBLE facts about Indian universities

Courtesy Careers360 

From their names to minority rights, check out what's so appealing about these Indian universities...

The city of New Delhi has 26 universities -- the maximum in any city followed by Jaipur (25) and Chennai (22).

Most of the private and deemed universities are in Jaipur (18) and Chennai (12) respectively.

In contrast, the Union Territories of Lakshwadeep, Daman and Diu, Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Dadar and Nagar Haveli do not have a single university.

The Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi is the only central university that has a 50 per cent reservation for Muslims, yet has all the privileges and rights of a central university in the country.

There are 22 universities in the name of Gandhi -- eight each named after Mahatama Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi, five after Indira Gandhi and one after Sanjay Gandhi.

Meanwhile, Dr B R Ambedkar and Jawaharlal Nehru have a total of 11 and eight universities named after them respectively.

How does a body cell know that it has to become a skin cell or a heart cell?

This was a query that made scientists at Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai know about a valuable finding about selective unlocking of cells segments.

And it was posed at 'Chai and Why?' -- an informal forum for science geeks organised by TIFR along with Prithvi Theatre twice a month.

It tries to engage people interested in science and keen to discuss their views.

Anyone can pose any question around interesting scientific issues that may be topical, or from their daily life reflections such as global warming, space exploration, stem cells etc.

The idea is to respect the notion that some queries are invariably not stupid, but are often insightful.

The 100th session concluded on May 5, this year.

Rs 3,000 crore is the budget for Nalanda University, which is the most recent University set up in Bihar through an Act of Parliament.

This money could easily bank roll three Indian Institutes of Technology or five Indian Institutes of Science Education and Research.

One wishes we have a few more Nalandas.

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There are 21 universities dedicated to specific languages.

While there are 14 universities imparting Sanskrit, there are two universities each for Urdu and Hindi and one each for Tamil, Telugu and English.

VANKA

Author: Anton Chekhov [More Titles by Chekhov]

VANKA ZHUKOV, a boy of nine, who had been for three months apprenticed to Alyahin the shoemaker, was sitting up on Christmas Eve. Waiting till his master and mistress and their workmen had gone to the midnight service, he took out of his master's cupboard a bottle of ink and a pen with a rusty nib, and, spreading out a crumpled sheet of paper in front of him, began writing. Before forming the first letter he several times looked round fearfully at the door and the windows, stole a glance at the dark ikon, on both sides of which stretched shelves full of lasts, and heaved a broken sigh. The paper lay on the bench while he knelt before it.

"Dear grandfather, Konstantin Makaritch," he wrote, "I am writing you a letter. I wish you a happy Christmas, and all blessings from God Almighty. I have neither father nor mother, you are the only one left me."

Vanka raised his eyes to the dark ikon on which the light of his candle was reflected, and vividly recalled his grandfather, Konstantin Makaritch, who was night watchman to a family called Zhivarev. He was a thin but extraordinarily nimble and lively little old man of sixty-five, with an everlastingly laughing face and drunken eyes. By day he slept in the servants' kitchen, or made jokes with the cooks; at night, wrapped in an ample sheepskin, he walked round the grounds and tapped with his little mallet. Old Kashtanka and Eel, so-called on account of his dark colour and his long body like a weasel's, followed him with hanging heads. This Eel was exceptionally polite and affectionate, and looked with equal kindness on strangers and his own masters, but had not a very good reputation. Under his politeness and meekness was hidden the most Jesuitical cunning. No one knew better how to creep up on occasion and snap at one's legs, to slip into the store-room, or steal a hen from a peasant. His hind legs had been nearly pulled off more than once, twice he had been hanged, every week he was thrashed till he was half dead, but he always revived.

At this moment grandfather was, no doubt, standing at the gate, screwing up his eyes at the red windows of the church, stamping with his high felt boots, and joking with the servants. His little mallet was hanging on his belt. He was clasping his hands, shrugging with the cold, and, with an aged chuckle, pinching first the housemaid, then the cook.

"How about a pinch of snuff?" he was saying, offering the women his snuff-box.

The women would take a sniff and sneeze. Grandfather would be indescribably delighted, go off into a merry chuckle, and cry:

"Tear it off, it has frozen on!"

They give the dogs a sniff of snuff too. Kashtanka sneezes, wriggles her head, and walks away offended. Eel does not sneeze, from politeness, but wags his tail. And the weather is glorious. The air is still, fresh, and transparent. The night is dark, but one can see the whole village with its white roofs and coils of smoke coming from the chimneys, the trees silvered with hoar frost, the snowdrifts. The whole sky spangled with gay twinkling stars, and the Milky Way is as distinct as though it had been washed and rubbed with snow for a holiday. . . .

Vanka sighed, dipped his pen, and went on writing:

"And yesterday I had a wigging. The master pulled me out into the yard by my hair, and whacked me with a boot-stretcher because I accidentally fell asleep while I was rocking their brat in the cradle. And a week ago the mistress told me to clean a herring, and I began from the tail end, and she took the herring and thrust its head in my face. The workmen laugh at me and send me to the tavern for vodka, and tell me to steal the master's cucumbers for them, and the master beats me with anything that comes to hand. And there is nothing to eat. In the morning they give me bread, for dinner, porridge, and in the evening, bread again; but as for tea, or soup, the master and mistress gobble it all up themselves. And I am put to sleep in the passage, and when their wretched brat cries I get no sleep at all, but have to rock the cradle. Dear grandfather, show the divine mercy, take me away from here, home to the village. It's more than I can bear. I bow down to your feet, and will pray to God for you for ever, take me away from here or I shall die."

Vanka's mouth worked, he rubbed his eyes with his black fist, and gave a sob.

"I will powder your snuff for you," he went on. "I will pray for you, and if I do anything you can thrash me like Sidor's goat. And if you think I've no job, then I will beg the steward for Christ's sake to let me clean his boots, or I'll go for a shepherd-boy instead of Fedka. Dear grandfather, it is more than I can bear, it's simply no life at all. I wanted to run away to the village, but I have no boots, and I am afraid of the frost. When I grow up big I will take care of you for this, and not let anyone annoy you, and when you die I will pray for the rest of your soul, just as for my mammy's."

"Moscow is a big town. It's all gentlemen's houses, and there are lots of horses, but there are no sheep, and the dogs are not spiteful. The lads here don't go out with the star, and they don't let anyone go into the choir, and once I saw in a shop window fishing-hooks for sale, fitted ready with the line and for all sorts of fish, awfully good ones, there was even one hook that would hold a forty-pound sheat-fish. And I have seen shops where there are guns of all sorts, after the pattern of the master's guns at home, so that I shouldn't wonder if they are a hundred roubles each. . . . And in the butchers' shops there are grouse and woodcocks and fish and hares, but the shopmen don't say where they shoot them."

"Dear grandfather, when they have the Christmas tree at the big house, get me a gilt walnut, and put it away in the green trunk. Ask the young lady Olga Ignatyevna, say it's for Vanka."

Vanka gave a tremulous sigh, and again stared at the window. He remembered how his grandfather always went into the forest to get the Christmas tree for his master's family, and took his grandson with him. It was a merry time! Grandfather made a noise in his throat, the forest crackled with the frost, and looking at them Vanka chortled too. Before chopping down the Christmas tree, grandfather would smoke a pipe, slowly take a pinch of snuff, and laugh at frozen Vanka. . . . The young fir trees, covered with hoar frost, stood motionless, waiting to see which of them was to die. Wherever one looked, a hare flew like an arrow over the snowdrifts . . . . Grandfather could not refrain from shouting: "Hold him, hold him . . . hold him! Ah, the bob-tailed devil!"

When he had cut down the Christmas tree, grandfather used to drag it to the big house, and there set to work to decorate it. . . . The young lady, who was Vanka's favourite, Olga Ignatyevna, was the busiest of all. When Vanka's mother Pelageya was alive, and a servant in the big house, Olga Ignatyevna used to give him goodies, and having nothing better to do, taught him to read and write, to count up to a hundred, and even to dance a quadrille. When Pelageya died, Vanka had been transferred to the servants' kitchen to be with his grandfather, and from the kitchen to the shoemaker's in Moscow.

"Do come, dear grandfather," Vanka went on with his letter. "For Christ's sake, I beg you, take me away. Have pity on an unhappy orphan like me; here everyone knocks me about, and I am fearfully hungry; I can't tell you what misery it is, I am always crying. And the other day the master hit me on the head with a last, so that I fell down. My life is wretched, worse than any dog's. . . . I send greetings to Alyona, one-eyed Yegorka, and the coachman, and don't give my concertina to anyone. I remain, your grandson, Ivan Zhukov. Dear grandfather, do come."

Vanka folded the sheet of writing-paper twice, and put it into an envelope he had bought the day before for a kopeck. . . . After thinking a little, he dipped the pen and wrote the address:

To grandfather in the village.

Then he scratched his head, thought a little, and added: Konstantin Makaritch. Glad that he had not been prevented from writing, he put on his cap and, without putting on his little greatcoat, ran out into the street as he was in his shirt. . . .

The shopmen at the butcher's, whom he had questioned the day before, told him that letters were put in post-boxes, and from the boxes were carried about all over the earth in mailcarts with drunken drivers and ringing bells. Vanka ran to the nearest post-box, and thrust the precious letter in the slit. . . .

An hour later, lulled by sweet hopes, he was sound asleep. . . . He dreamed of the stove. On the stove was sitting his grandfather, swinging his bare legs, and reading the letter to the cooks. . . .

By the stove was Eel, wagging his tail.

[The end]

White Bengal tiger enigma solved

Bety, a female white tiger, holds one of her three 45 day-old cubs at the Buenos Aires Zoo in this file photo. Photo: AP

The colour of the fur, stripes and eye of the tiger is determined independently by two types of melanin — pheomelanin and eumelanin.

A change in a single amino acid (A477V) in one pigmentation-related gene (SLC45A2) causes some tigers to have white fur with dark or sepia brown stripes, scientists from Peking University, Beijing, have found. They studied 16 captive white tigers from three parents. The results were published on Thursday in the Current Biologyjournal.

The colour of the fur, stripes and eye of the tiger is determined independently by two types of melanin — pheomelanin and eumelanin. In the case of white tigers, only the pheomelanin that produces the red to yellow colour is affected. Eumelanin gives the black to brown colour and is unaffected, the reason why the eye and hair in the stripes are dark or sepia brown.

The scientists found that the point mutation in the amino acid partially blocks a particular channel, as a result of which the yellow pigment-forming process gets affected. Incidentally, mutations in the same pigmentation-related gene (SLC45A2) causes light skin colour in modern Europeans, as well. Mutations in the same gene causes skin lightening in some mouse, horse, and chicken, the scientists point out.

The point mutation has “evolved only once and its frequency is probably never high,” they write. Though white tigers were found in the wild once, their decline was probably due to mindless killing by humans. The last known white tiger was killed in 1958, they note.

To maintain and increase the number of white tigers in zoos, humans often force them to inbreed. But inbreeding, as seen in the case of humans, causes many health problems. In the case of white tigers, thehuman-induced inbreeding has resulted in “premature death, stillbirth and deformities.” Since the mutation affects only the pigmentation process, it probably has no role in causing deaths.

They dismiss the notion that white tiger trait is a genetic deformity. That matured white tiger adults have been sighted in the wild negates this notion.

Despite its low frequency, they emphasise that the mutation is a naturally occurring one and should be considered as a “part of genetic diversity of tigers that is worth conserving.”

CBSE students lose out in race for college admission

That Standard XII students of Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) lose out on admissions in good courses, in arts and science colleges, because they start the race from much behind their counterparts from the State Board, has become a norm now.

With intense competition to admit meritorious students in the open quota and others in the management quota, colleges say they do not have time to wait for the CBSE students who walk in after a long gap in the declaration of results of the two streams of school education. This time, the Plus Two results were published on May 9 while the CBSE results are expected on May 25.

This gives a gap of 16 days between both streams, two days more than last year. And, this gap is proving to be costly with every passing year. This is compounded by the fact that it is the discretion of the colleges to keep a percentage of seats for students from CBSE.

There is no compulsion on the colleges’ part to reserve a quota because neither the Government nor the university stipulates it.

Principal of an arts and science college says that although they have a moral obligation to reserve a quota for CBSE students, this becomes next to impossible when there is great pressure from too many eligible candidates from the State Board for seats.

Kumar (name changed), parent of a CBSE student, says that the college where his son has applied for a commerce course will only receive the filled-in application after May 25 along with the mark sheet. He is apprehensive of his son’s admission even with good marks.

“I hear from parents of State Board students that admissions are almost over in most of the colleges. But the college authorities say that there is a quota for CBSE students,” Kumar says.

His concern is not ill founded. He is among many parents who share the same worry.

The only solution is to reduce the gap between the publication of the State Board and CBSE results. But whether this will be done by the State Government or the CBSE is anyone’s guess.

According to Geetha Jayachandran, Principal of Yuvabharathi Public School, the CBSE schools are helpless even though they are aware of the difficulty of the students. “This is a serious problem here because, in other States, the gap between the publication of the two results is not so wide. Also, there is no quota in colleges. Some colleges give provisional admissions based on the XI Grade card with an attestation by the principals. But this is not the usual practice,” she says.

Continuous representations have been made by the principals to the CBSE in vain. In the recent national CBSE conference held in Chennai, a joint representation was again made. The contention of the CBSE is that since the results are common for the country and have always been published in the last week of May, there is not much that can be done about it.

10 things you must know about PPF

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A comprehensive look at one of the most-preferred tax-saving investment option for the salaried class

PPF is an excellent tax saving option. It needs to be part of your tax saving investment or not, depends upon your overall tax plan and asset allocation. Do your tax plan and check if PPF fits into your tax plan or not for the new financial year that began April 1, 2013.

1. Where to open a PPF account?

PPF account can be opened in a post office or in selected bank branches. The regular KYC documents need to be submitted for opening a PPF account with a minimum investment of Rs 500.

2. What is the interest rate?

The current interest rate for PPF is 8.7 per cent (effective April 1, 2013) per annum. The interest rate changes every financial year in accordance with the average bond yield of the previous year. The interest rate is fixed 0.25 per cent above the 10-year government bond yield.

3. How is the interest calculated?

For the balance amount in your PPF account the interest is compounded annually. However, the interest calculation is done each and every month.

If your contribution to the PPF account is credited on or before 5th of that month, then that contribution will bear interest for that month too. If it is credited after 5th of that month, you will get interest only from the subsequent month. Therefore, if you make sure your contribution is getting credited in your account on or before 5th of every month, you will not miss the interest for that month too.

4. What is the tax benefit?

Under Section 80 C, whatever contribution you make in PPF is eligible for tax deduction. The interest money earned from PPF is also tax free.

These tax benefits are available as of now. If DTC (direct taxes code) is implemented, then the tax benefits will change prospectively and not retrospectively.

5. What is the minimum and maximum investment?

The minimum amount you need to invest every year is Rs 500. The maximum amount of investment allowed every year is Rs 1 lakh. You can make investments through a maximum of 12 installments per year. If your minor child also holds a PPF account then the combined limit of both the PPF account is limited to Rs 1 lakh.

Not making the minimum investment in a year attracts a penalty of Rs 50.

6. When does it mature?

A PPF account will mature at the end of the 15th year. This can be extended for one or more blocks of 5 years thereafter.

7. Can you withdraw money in between?

Yes. You can withdraw after the 6th year. However, you can withdraw only up to 50 per cent of the balance at the end of 4th year or at the end of the immediate preceding year whichever is lower. You will be allowed to withdraw only once in a year.

8. Can you get a loan against your PPF account?

Yes. You can avail the loan facility only from the 3rd year. You will be allowed to take a loan to the extent of 25 per cent of the balance in the previous year.

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9. Can an NRI open a PPF account?

NRI can't open a PPF account. If you open a PPF account as a resident and subsequently you become an NRI, you will be allowed to continue and contribute till its maturity on a non-repatriable basis.

10. What happens if the PPF account holder dies?

In the event of the death of the PPF account holder, the balance amount in the PPF account will be paid even before the completion of 15 years, to the nominee or legal heir of the deceased person. The nominee or the legal heir is not allowed to continue the PPF account by making fresh contributions to it.

PPF is an excellent tax saving option. It needs to be part of your tax saving investment or not, depends upon your overall tax plan and asset allocation for the current year. Do your tax plan and check if PPF fits into your tax plan or not for this new financial year that began on April 1. 2013.

Smartphone review: HTC One

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Beautiful design, specced-up hardware, a camera that captures shots in ultrapixels instead of megapixels and almost 300 new software tweaks makes HTC One a top-notch smartphone, says Gourav Jain

For starters, HTC One comes with more than 300 new features. It will take a lot of time if I start writing about all. So I promise to keep it short. Based on the short duration we spent with HTC One, here's a hands on experience report.

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Build and design

HTC One has a beautiful metallic unibody design. It has stepped away from the polycarbonate design they used on HTC One X and HTC Droid DNA, for a more premium aluminum experience with matte finish. Unlike the iPhone, that comes with an aluminum back too, the HTC One has rounded edges that gives better grip when using the smartphone.

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Display

Pixel density on HTC One is top of the range. At 468ppi, the phone has one of the best displays we have ever seen. Not only does the phone offer a HD display, it offers a display where pixels cannot be noticed, even when zooming in on a webpage.

Comparing it to the HTC Droid DNA, the previous smartphone the Taiwanese company developed for Verizon, we see a small jump in how gorgeous the display is.

Viewing angles on the smartphone are excellent and colour reproduction is close to perfect. Text is incredibly crisp and the display does not suffer from any past issues that PenTile AMOLED screens had.

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Performance

HTC One has a little boost of speed, due to Qualcomm's all new quad-core Snapdragon 600 processor, clocked at 1.7GHz. This comes with Adreno 320 graphics and 2GB of RAM.

Performance on the smartphone is incredibly fast, loading speeds are done in under a second most of the time and games run smoothly with hardly any lag. The experience just works almost all the time, and HTC has worked to make the smartphone simple and run light, making the most of the impressive processing speeds and oodles of RAM available.

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Operating system and user interface

For big Android lovers, the Sense 5 UI brings out more of the Android experience, but it is still layered under what HTC believes to be an all-round better user interface. Whether that is true is for you to decide, but multitasking and Google Now is now a large button hold away.

Most of the Sense 5 design is just layered down, flat, and simple. HTC have tried to make this a simple and almost minimalist user experience, but the generalisation between minimalism and Android is still quite a mile away; with customisation and widgets still being the centre of user experience.

Starting HTC One instantly introduces you to BlinkFeed, HTC's new news-cum-content aggregator that has a Flipboard and Metro (Modern UI) combined like user interface. What happens on BlinkFeed is you get a bunch of different links to news articles, which you can read.

HTC has taken a few cues from Android in terms of text and app/widgets design, with text font mostly Android-native Roboto and Holo stock apps. When using the HTC One, you feel like everything you need is only a few clicks away, because everything is sorted and designed so simply.

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Camera

HTC has added a new camera feature and is declaring that the megapixel number will never be a true way to identify how to rate a camera. Ultrapixels are what the HTC One will have, 4UP, if you will.

Ultrapixels, according to HTC, are pixels that capture a lot more light in dark areas and are overwhelmingly better than megapixels for photo concentration and colour differentiation.

We clicked images from HTC One, Galaxy Note 2, Lumia 920, Galaxy S3 and iPhone 5 in low light environment. In our tests, HTC One did do a better job than most for getting light on dark images. Images clicked with HTC One were vivid and brighter than others.

Top features

1. Zoe

HTC has developed a new three-second video capture service, a lot like Vine. You can take three second recordings on Zoe and then post them to various social networks. Zoe worked very well in our early tests and we really enjoyed using the service, although going up against Vine, it has some problems coming to user experience.

On Zoe, for instance, you cannot take a one-second clip, wait half an hour, then go back and record three more seconds of video.

2. Boomsound

Ah, if HTC's naming process was not already bad enough, now their new amplifier and speaker setup is called Boomsound. This is a direct collaboration with Beats, a company HTC owns. Sound quality on HTC One is incredible, much better than Samsung Galaxy S3 and Lumia 920.

3. IR Blaster

This allows you to connect the HTC One to a TV or other service and acts as a remote. You use the Sense TV software to control the entertainment system, and when we tested the IR Blaster out it worked pretty well in directing and playing TV.

4. Sense Voice

This is one of the features that I badly need today. Its next to impossible for me to make a phone call when I'm travelling in a local train or buses or even at a party when there's lot of noise around. HTC one have dual built in microphones and a kind of sensor which detects loud ambient noise and accordingly boost the in-call voice.

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Verdict

The overall experience with HTC one was damn good. And I bet that its one of the finest phone from HTC till date. Its premium, stylish and can address all my possible needs as a smartphone. I won't even doubt to say that the phone can give tough competition to the best smartphones in the market and also to the ones launching soon.

HTC One is on top of my wishlist but let's see how long it can stay up there.