Tuesday, November 16, 2010

Introducing the iSlate; A Solar Powered Tablet for the Children of India


While tablets are certainly the hot technology right now, it seems rural Indian kids are the hottest target demographic right now. It started with the Rs. 1,600 computing device aimed at college students. Now it's an iSlate, a solar powered tablet for younger school kids.






The iSlate being designed for rural Indian kids



The iSlate is being developed at Singapore's Nanyang Technological University (NTU) in collaboration with Rice University in the United States. It is designed to be an electronic notepad, especially useful in areas where schools don't have electricity. The chips that allow the tablet to be solar powered are in development by two associations. One is the Institute of Sustainable and Applied Infodynamics (ISAID) at NTU and Switzerland's Centre for Electronics and Microtechnology. The chips will be similar to those in solar powered calculators.



There's no word on how much this will cost yet or what the specs will be. And like the Rs. 1,600 computing device, questions of availability, repair and practicality arise.


Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Rumors Whisper iOS 4.2 Is Arriving on Friday


It's entirely possible that your iPad will start multi-tasking soon and you’ll have improved performance on your iPhone 3G, and have features like AirPrint and AirPlay added to all. This big goodie bag aka iOS 4.2 might be delivered this Friday itself.







Coming soon to your iPad: Multitasking!





There’s gossip that an “inside source at AT&T” revealed that the update would be available for download on Friday. Now Apple has this record of preceding an iOS update with an iTunes update. So that makes the iTunes 10.1 slated for tomorrow (11th Nov). Developers had been asked a week ago to submit apps for iOS 4.2.



It must be noted that these are just rumors and there’s no grounded evidence for them, but there’s nothing wrong in keeping our hopes up.


Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Mobile Number Portability To Be in Effect Nov 1st


Mobile number portability, a service we've been needing for AGES, is finally here. The service is being rolled out in 11 circles across the country, and the first place to have the service is Haryana. The service in the rest of the 11 circles would be implemented by December 20th. On November 1st, however, an announcement will be made to confirm implementation status in these 11 circles.








Mobile number portability is the ability to retain one's phone number despite changing service providers. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India has already missed two deadlines for implementing this service.


Monday, October 25, 2010

Microsoft Launches the 4 GB Xbox 360 Just in Time for the Festive Season


Microsoft launches its new 4GB Xbox 360 console for its Indian consumers this Diwali. The new 4GB console is the second new next generation console introduced this year by Microsoft India, and is ready for the soon to be launched controller free experiences of Kinect. The new console will be available at all leading organized retail stores across the country by end October at an estimated retail price of Rs 14,990.








The Xbox 360 4GB console comes with 4GB of internal flash memory, touch-sensitive buttons and a black matte finish. The new console comes with five USB ports with one dedicated Kinect port and an onboard optical digital audio. Further the new console is powered with in-built Wi-Fi, connecting you to the biggest online network of more than 25 million LIVE members, ensuring the best connected gaming experience with the new 4GB Xbox 360.



With the launch of this model, Xbox 360 has 3 different skews to choose from in the market; the Arcade Console at Rs 11,990; 4GB Xbox 360 at Rs 14,990 and the 250GB Xbox 360 at Rs 21,990.


Spice Beats Out Rest of Mobiledom; Launches First 3D Handset, View-D


Spice has been surprising the Indian market this year with launches of all kinds of mobile to compete with the best out there. Long before the N8 saw the light of day from a fresh new box packed package, Spice had already launched and sold their 12MP camera phone the S-1200. They’ve got another very interesting surprise for us now, remember Samsung and then Motorola made announcements that they were going to launch a touchscreen mobile with 3D capabilities; well Spice has beaten them to it.




Their ‘View D’ mobile may not be much on looks but it is the first 3D mobile phone. Spice has incorporated 3D capabilities into the device that - will allow the mobile phone users to experience images, videos and even the interface in 3D. The auto-stereoscopic 2.4-inch display will provide the user a 3D experience without the 3D glasses, making it very convenient for a common user.






The View D’s screen is designed in such a way that the user can toggle between a normal 2D or 3D user interface as per their choice. The mobile phone has a unique feature known as ‘remote wipe’ that deletes the phone data remotely. This is done by sending a unique SMS to the phone. This works even after the phone is lost and this way the user can prevent sharing its private and confidential data. The phone also features a 2MP Camera, FM Radio, MP3 player, memory card upto 16GB, and GPRS and WAP support.



The View D is priced at Rs 4,299. The Spice M-67 3D mobile phone is available across India through more than 50,000 retail points including the 750+ Spice HotSpot retail network.



How they’re able to incorporate this technology at such a low price is beyond me. I have to see this to believe it, so stay tuned for the review


Get that finger INTO your ear: The NTT DOCOMO Wearable Terminal


How do you use a cellphone you wear on your wrist that has no speaker? Why, you stick your finger in your ear! Yes, really. Docomo’s Wearable Terminal phone is worn like a wristwatch, and transmits the sound waves of incoming calls through your bones, right out of your pinky. To use, you just put your pinky into your ear while speaking into the device itself, snapping your fingers to end the call. It’s very cool, albeit slightly creepy.


Tuesday, October 5, 2010

Dell Streak Launches in India Today


Today, Dell announced the launch of the much-awaited Dell Streak in India, in association with Qualcomm and Tata DOCOMO. The Dell Streak is a 5-inch Android-based tablet.




Key Features:


A full screen browsing experience with a 5-inch capacitive multi-touch WVGA display,

Gorilla GlassTM display resists damage and scratches resulting from regular use or accidents.

At less than 10mm thickness, the Streak is more portable than any other tablet, it easily slips in a pocket or purse

Easily integrated social media apps: Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Google Maps

High resolution 5 MP camera with flash, VGA front facing camera for easy point and shoot and enabling video calls, removable battery, built-in Wi-Fi, 3G HSUPA and Bluetooth connectivity options

The powerful Snapdragon™ mobile processor makes multitasking easy,
allowing users to talk on the phone and browse the web at the same time, or listen to music while using the Google Navigation app.

The Android open source O/S offers more opportunities for growth, to access and download Google Android Market’s many applications

Packaged with cushions made from 100 percent sustainable, compostable bamboo

Specifications:


Qualcomm’s powerful and efficient Snapdragon QSD8250 chipset with integrated 1GHz processor

Android platform complete with Android Market and Dell user interface enhancements

3G + WiFi + Bluetooth

HSUPA with up to 7.2 Mbps downlink and 5.76Mbps uplink speeds

5 MP autofocus camera with dual LED flash. Easy point, shoot, and uploads to YouTube, Flickr, Facebook and more

User accessible Micro SD expandable memory available up to 32 GB. Store up to 42 movies* or 32,000 photos, or 16,000 songs with 32GB Micro SD
Compatible with all GSM/3G connections, Dell Streak was designed with the future in mind and will support updates including platform upgrades, Adobe Flash 10.1 on Android 2.2 later this year, video chat applications and other software innovations.


Priced at Rs. 34,990, Dell Streak can be experienced and will be available for pre-booking at all Dell Exclusive stores, Tata DOCOMO ‘Dive In’ centers and authorized retailers. Dell Streak users will also be able to avail of an enticing data plan through Tata DOCOMO—subscribers will get 500 MB of data usage free every month for a period of six months on Tata DOCOMO Postpay connections.


Friday, September 17, 2010

Charge your mobile phone wirelessly soon


You will soon be able to recharge your mobile wirelessly. Japanese technology company Fujitsu has developed a system that is capable of charging multiple portable electronic devices like mobile phones and laptop computers without the need for cable connections.



The company unveiled a prototype system at an Institute of Electronics, Information and Communication Engineers conference at Osaka Prefecture University and it claimed that it was first of its kind in the world. It works on the transmission of electricity using magnetic fields between the charger and the electronic device. The technology allows wireless charging at distances of up to several metres.
Scientists at Fujitsu Laboratories plan to commercially sell products having wireless charging system by 2012.

"This technology paves the way to integrating compact wireless charging functions into mobile phones and enabling multiple portable devices to be charged simultaneously without any restrictions on their position with respect to the charger," the company was quoted as saying in a statement.

The company added: "We are also looking at applying the results of this work to fields other than portable electronics, including power transmission between circuit boards or computer chips, and providing mobile charging systems for electric cars."


Thursday, September 16, 2010

Tata Sky Announces Price of Rs 999 for Hardware


Tata Sky Ltd., the joint venture between the TATA Group and STAR today announced the launch of a price of Rs. 999, 'No Conditions Apply' of its set-top-box.



The Tata Sky set-top-box would be made available across the country in all leading consumer electronic outlets.

Tata Sky currently offers subscribers over 191 channels ranging news & entertainment, kid’s entertainment, music and sports for every member of the family. Moreover, Tata Sky has made TV viewing a two-way experience with a host of unique innovative customer centric interactive services under the brand name, ACTVE. Education services for the young, English speaking lessons for housewives, cooking recipes-on-demand and 24x7 Darshan of leading temples on TV have been firsts in the Indian market and appeals widely among our subscribers. Today, over one million Tata Sky homes are using the Education services such as Actve English, Actve Learning and Actve Wizkids.


Thursday, September 9, 2010

Spice Mobiles Launches M-5161 & M-6363


Spice Mobiles has expanded its portfolio of handsets with the launch of Multi-SIM phones M-6363 & M-5161. These Multi-SIM phones have wide screens and their batteries ensure a full length movie can be viewed without the need of charging.



With a 2 inch screen M-6363 has a 2 Mega Pixel camera. The phone has multi-media entertainment options such as Video player with multiple format support, MP3 Player, FM recording with Wireless FM, Dual Expandable Memory Slots & Bluetooth. It also features Motion sensor which allows songs to be changed with a flick of the hand. With a strong battery back up of 1500 mah the phone supports talk time of 7 hrs. With the dual expandable memory the phone also has in built applications like JAVA & GPRS. The phone is priced at Rs. 2,499.

With a Digital camera which supports unlimited video recording M-5161 and has a screen of 2 inches. The phone has strong battery back up of 1200 mah and is a complete entertainment with MP3 Player, FM recording & Wireless FM, Expandable memory and connectivity options of Bluetooth to send & receive files and GPRS support. The phone is priced at Rs. 2,999.


Wednesday, September 1, 2010

Lephone offers triple SIM mobile @Rs. 4,990


Bangalore: Lately the Indian consumer is spoilt for choice in the case of mobile phones. It is as if the ever increasing number of dual SIM mobiles, lined up by several phone makers -national and international- were not enough that now makers are coming up with triple SIM phones.

And the phone maker in question is Lephone. A new triple SIM (2GSM + 1CDMA) mobile phone, A10, has been launched in Indian market. The bar form mobile runs on Symbian operating system and is available at a price of Rs. 4,990.



The phone comes with a 2.2 inch display screen and a 3MP camera with flash light. The A10 is registered with genuine IMEI. Its 850mAh battery gives a talk time of 300 minutes and a stand by time of 150 hours.

Its multimedia features include MP3 playback, FM radio, and video recorder. Connectivity options of the phone comprise of Bluetooth, GPRS, WAP and USB connector. The 140 x 42 X 15.3mm sized phone has a quad frequency of GSM850, GSM900, DCS1800 and PCS1900.

The A10 supports multiple languages and comes with a pre-defined internal memory. However you have the option of increasing the memory. The phone comes with a 3D sound stereo speaker.

As these multi SIM mobile phones pack in many features and are available in a reasonable cost, they sure are a good bet for the Indian market. This is because the majority of Indian consumers who use these phones are from middle class and the features offered at these pricing suits their wallets.


Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Zen Mobile Launches Gen Smart Duo: M40 and M20


Zen Mobile launched dual handsets M40 and M20. The handsets have various multimedia features and are priced at Rs.3599 and Rs. 2599 respectively.



M40 is a smart handset with an MP3/MP4 player with dual speakers powered by SRS and WOLFSON, a 2.4” QVGA Screen, talktime upto 5 hours and a standby time upto 200 hours.

M40 has come up with a feature called Smart Dialing. Smart dialing lets the user find and dial a specific contact in a few easy steps, by filtering out contacts on the device. First the user has to enter the digits that one wishes to dial which automatically filters the contacts with similar digits, thus making the user select the contact and dial the number. This facility saves time as well as makes the handset a user friendly device.

M20, on the other hand, is equipped with the feature of the wireless FM with a telescopic antenna for better reception and audibility. The handset has an MP3/MP4 player, a 2.2” QVGA Screen, 1.3 MP camera, battery power of 1200mAh. Like the M40, the M20 phonebook has a capacity of storing 500 contacts and the call register can keep a track of 60 numbers (Incoming, Outgoing & Missed).


Samsung Galaxy S Is Getting Froyo


After multiple leaked Froyo updates for the Galaxy S, Samsung's finally provided an official one via Samsung KIES desktop software. The company also announced that it's sold a million of the devices in the United States in less than two months.




The Galaxy S has various names in the United States. On AT&T customers it is the Samsung i897 Captivate, on T-Mobile it's the Samsung Vibrant, while Sprint is about to sell it as the QWERTY gifted Samsung Epic 4G. Verizon is launching its Galaxy S version as the Samsung Fascinate in September.


Friday, August 27, 2010

Microsoft Launches 250 GB Xbox 360 console in India


Microsoft today launched its new 250 GB Xbox 360 console. The New 250GB Xbox 360 console will be available at all leading organized retail stores across the country at an estimated retail price of Rs. 21,990.

You can log onto www.microsoftstore.co.in and buy the new 250GB Xbox 360 console online.



Tuesday, August 17, 2010

EISA Awards


The 2010 EISA Awards happened and here are the winners in each category:



European Smartphone 2010-2011: Samsung I9000 Galaxy S. Last year it was the iPhone 3GS.

European Tablet Award 2010-2011: iPad. It was praised particularly for its email handling.

European Mobile Phone Award 2010-2011: Sony XPERIA X10 Mini.

European Social Media Phone Award 2010-2011: Samsung S8500 Wave. The jury was impressed with the way the first Bada OS functioned.

European Headphones Award 2010-2011: Beyerdynamic T 50 p

European Portable Navigation Device 2010-2011: Garmin Nuvi 3790t

A 'green' award went to the LG GD510 Pop for its efficient packaging, low energy consumption and use of recycled materials. Surprisingly this year there was no camera phone or music phone category.


LG Launches Digital Frame


LG Electronics launched aDigital Photo Frame in the Indian market today. The new LG F8010N allows users to view and share memories on a 8” inch wide screen. It is equipped with multiple options such as storage folder, image browsing, slide/mutli show, image – pause/zoom, digital clock, calendar and alarm.

It allows users changing of images from a distance. A remote control is packed with the frame. With a resolution size of 800X600, pictures can fit in the formats of JPEG, BMP, GIF, PNG and JPEG RAW.

The internal capacity is 2GB and costs Rs. 8,990.



Samsung Galaxy Tablet P1000 Firmware Leaked!


The firmware on the Samsung Galaxy P1000 tablet is leaked and it looks like the device will come with a 1GHz Hummingbird core. The device will be a 7 inch tablet and will have an 800x480 inch screen. It will have a 3.2 MP rear camera as well as a front facing shooter, a Swype keyboard, Flash and the of course, WiFi and GPS.


Saturday, August 14, 2010

LG Electronics today unveiled LX9500, a full LED 3D TV.


LG Electronics today unveiled LX9500, a full LED 3D TV.

The LX9500 uses a backlight structure to deliver a high-resolution picture. The device is illuminated by LED panels directly behind the screens. The TruMotion 400Hz LED panel has a 400 refresh rate per second -- good enough to accelerate the advent of ultra high-speed images without sacrificing picture quality. The LX9500’s 3D technology comes with a 10,000,000:1 dynamic ratio.



The experience in entertainment includes LX9500’s regular programming and content in high-definition 2D, and also has localized spot control for picture quality. In addition, the Wireless AV Link provides the TV connectivity to other AV devices, while NetCast delivers instant streaming via a broadband connection.
The device has a depth of 22.3mm, and a 16mm bezel.


Friday, August 13, 2010

Lemon Launches Touchscreen Phone


Lemon Mobiles has released the iT 717, a low-priced full touchscreen phone. The phone goes for Rs. 4,499.



Features include:

Dual SIM: The phone supports a Dual SIM, Dual Standby facility - GSM +GSM

Nimbuzz: The phone offers Nimbuzz Instant messenger allowing multiple instant messengers like Gtalk, MSN, Yahoo and AOL in one interface.

Opera Mini: Opera Mini allows faster browsing on the phone and significantly reduces the data usage (Upto 90%) of the consumer.

Multimedia: The phone has a music player (all major audio formats like MP3, AAC, MIDI and WAV), video player (MP4, 3GP and AVI-Motion JPEG). There are dedicated volume keys on the side to increase/decrease the volume.

Camera: The phone includes a 3.2 mega pixel camera.

Phonebook: iT 717 has a phonebook capacity of 2000 contacts and allows storing upto 8000 numbers (2000 contacts x 4 no.s in each contact)

Memory: iT 717 has 28MB internal memory and allows Upto 8GB expandable memory. Customers can store upto 500 SMSs in the phone memory

Battery: It is equipped with an 1100 MaH huge Li-ion battery that comes with 5 hours of talk time and 8 days of standby time.

Other features: Java (MIDP 2.0 and CLDC 1.1), Email, EDGE for faster internet access, FM, Voice Recorder, MP3 Player and Bluetooth. The phone also allows PC synchronization with for Outlook contacts with phonebook. The data cable can also be used to connect the phone to the computer and use it as a webcam and USB mass storage.


TVS Electronics Launches India's First Keyboard With The Indian Rupee Symbol


With the announcement of TVS Gold Bharat, a new keyboard with a dedicated Indian Rupee symbol key, TVS-E becomes the first and only Indian IT company to incorporate the new Indian Rupee symbol in its keyboard. The company dedicated this development to the nation on its 64th Independence Day.



Technical Specification:


Operating Voltage: 5v + 10%
Operating Supply Current: 10mA
Interface: USB and PS2
Storage Temperature: -40oC to 60oC
Operating Temperature: 5oC to 45oC
Relative Humidity: 5% to 80%
Switch Type: Cherry Mechanical Switch
Switch Feel: Click Tactile
Operating Force: 60 + 15 CN
Keyboard Dimensions: 490(L)x180(W)x20(H) mm Ergonomic Design


Thursday, August 12, 2010

XPERIA X10 Mini and X10 Mini Pro Are Also In Pink and Gold


Sony Ericsson's given the X10s some new colour options. The XPERIA X10 Mini, which already has a pink, gotten a gold option. Also, the XPERIA X10 Mini Pro, which currently exists in black and red has gotten a pink option.



These new options will be available next month. So far, no telling on how they may affect the phone's price.


1 Million $35 Tablets To Be Distributed by 2011


HRD Minister Kapil Sibal said that one million of the $35 computing devices will be distributed in 2011. He said that the government needed to procure one million pieces of the device so it can actually sell for $35. They plan on distributing these devices to universities by 2011 and the government will subsidize 50% of the cost.



As for the product details, Sibal said that both Google and Microsoft are in talks with the Indian government. The device will feature USB in, video out and a slot for a SIM card.

SOURCE: Medianama


Thursday, August 5, 2010

Virgin Mobile Announces Music Unlimited Service


Virgin Mobile today announced “MUSIC UNLIMITED", a program that allows users to access a music library across all genres for free. Music Unlimited offers its customers to enjoy any form of music be it as their Tring Tune (CRBT), ringtone (MP3/Poly/Mono) or download of full songs onto their mobile phone, all for free. This service allows customers to download free content from a massive music library comprising over 1.5 lakh songs spanning various genres, ranging from Bollywood chartbusters (Hello Darling, Dabaang, Ashayein, etc), Western Rock, Pop, Bhangra, Indi Pop, Bengali, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam (Aathmakadha, Avan, etc) and much more.

To avail this service, customers have to call at 586865 (charges @ 10p/sec).


Wednesday, August 4, 2010

MVL Telecom Presents Mobile Handset With A Dedicated Push Mail Service


MVL Telecom Ltd. recently launched its first line of mobile phones and the flagship device for the brand, the G-81 priced at Rs. 5,500. It is a bar phone with QWERTY keypad.




The device's selling point is MVL ConnectTM, a dedicated push mail service that comes pre-loaded on the phone. Settings for all the popular clients like Gmail, Yahoo! Mail, Hotmail, etc come preloaded and you can also configure your own Email POP3 and IMAP4 accounts. PUSH MAIL feature comes free for the first 2 years with no fixed charges for data apart from the network GPRS charges. The service also offers Microsoft exchange support via outlook web access. You can also check the attachments in the mail.

The handset comes with a 2.4-inch TFT display and a touch sensitive optical track pad which users can set its sensitivity according to their needs. Apart from that, it can also be used as a mouse to navigate through the phone’s features.

The G 81 comes with utilities like calendar, world clock, currency converter and an e-book reader. The phone also has Opera web browser preloaded for Internet browsing. Other than that, Nimbuzz and Snaptu also come preloaded on the handset to satisfy your SNS needs. Snaptu gives a direct access to applications like Facebook and Twitter.

The handset comes with a 3.2-megapixel camera with Other options include exposure value, contrast and anti-flicker settings. You can use delay timer and continuous shoot and allows you to add colour effects while taking pictures. Video recording is supported and encoding formats include MPEG4 and H.263. G-81 also comes with FM radio with loudspeaker. with schedule FM recording on the handset by specifying the date and time of the recording. The phone offers 78 MB internal memory and with an option to expand to a higher level. The sales pack comes with a beautiful leather pouch for the phone’s safekeep.

Further, the company has set up its L4 service centre at Gurgaon to cater to all service back-up needs, right from basic servicing to component level repairing.


Motorola MILESTONET XT720 and BACKFLIPT With Android in India


Motorola, Inc. Motorola India Private Limited, today announced two new Android-powered smartphones in India, MILESTONE XT720, one of the world’s slimmest 8 Megapixel Android smartphone and one of the first to come powered with a high definition video and a Xenon Flash in India, and BACKFLIP with BACKTRACK, the world’s first reverse-flip design handset.




MILESTONE XT720 is a 10.9mm, capacitive touch Android 2.1-powered smartphone that also features a high definition (HD) video. BACKFLIP with BACKTRACK reverse-flip design makes it easier to enjoy videos, music and photos while churning through emails, texts, news feeds, social network messages. It comes with a friction hinge that allows the QWERTY keyboard to flip underneath for working in tabletop mode. It automatically locks in this position to ensure no accidental pressing of the keyboard.

The new smartphones MILESTONE XT720 and BACKFLIP come preloaded with lifetime free access
to fully voice-guided street-level navigable MapmyIndia maps of 401 cities3 in India. This offers voice-guided navigation and routing in the cities and across major national and state highways. With this, the Indian consumer can drive to 400,000 towns and villages and explore over ­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­one million points of interest like budget/premium hotels, petrol pumps, eating joints, ATMs, hospitals as well as tourist and religious spots. What the consumer needs to do is to launch ‘India’ maps from the MOTONAV application to enjoy a fantastic navigation experience. The GPS navigation service is free with no activation or data charges, independent of mobile networks and can be used without inserting the SIM card, as the maps are fully loaded on the MILESTONE XT720 3 and BACKFLIP 3.

Both, MILESTONE XT720 and BACKFLIP are available in India at select retails outlets in select cities.
MILESTONE XT720 is priced at a MRP of Rs 34,990 and it comes with an in-box 8GB memory card & HDMI cable for output to HDTV. BACKFLIP is priced at a MRP of Rs 22,990 and comes with an in-box 2GB memory card.


Reliance Comm Official Sees 3G Rollout By Year End


Reliance Communications expects to roll out 3G services by the end of 2010, provided government allocates spectrum by September, a company official said on Wednesday. "It is our expectation that the government will allocate spectrum by September, following which we will start the rollout by year-end," Mahesh Prasad, president of the company's wireless business, told reporters.



Tuesday, August 3, 2010

IPhone 4 Gets a Jail Break


IPhone 4 is now legally jailbroken. A few days after the US Copyright Office ruled that bypassing the manufacturer's embedded protection is not illegal the iPhone Dev Team released a jailbreak for iPhone 4 at Jailbreakme.com





This new jailbreak doesn't need the phone to be connected to a computer, instead, it uses mobile Safari. This browser based jailbreak works on all iOS devices including iPods, iPads and iPhones running iOS 4.1 but will reportedly not work on the beta version of iOS 4.1.

Some users have reported that this jailbreak disrupts Face Time and MMS on the phone.


Monday, August 2, 2010

Reliance Mobile and HTC Launch the HTC Wildfire


HTC Corporation and Reliance Communications announced a partnership to launch the HTC Wildfire in India. The 3G ready HTC Wildfire, equipped with the company’s HTC Sense, is an Android phone on the GSM networks that integrates social networks. Under the alliance, Reliance Communications GSM customers can avail up to 500 MB of free data access every month for a period of six months.

The smartphone would also enable the user with features laid on Android platform with HTC Sense operating system. Featuring a 3.2” touch screen, a 5 megapixel camera with auto focus LED flash, FM radio, a media player with a slot for expandable memory, the HTC Wildfire comes with more features including Proximity sensor, G-sensor, Digital compass, light sensor and an optical joystick, caller ID, support for phone, email, text messaging, Wi-Fi, HTML web browser.


The New HTC Wildfire on Reliance Mobile GSM network offers:

Processor: Qualcomm MSM7225-1, 528 MHz
Operating system: Android 2.1 with HTC Sense
Memory ROM: 512 MB Flash RAM: 384 MB
Dimensions: 10.66 cm (L) x 6.09 cm (W) x 1.21 cm (T)
Display: 3.2-inch QVGA 262k colour TFT capacitive touch screen
Network: HSPA/UMTS dual band (900/2100mhz); GSM/GPRS/EDGE: 850/900/1800/1900 (Band frequency, 3G network availability, and data speed are operator dependent.)
Connectivity: Bluetooth 2.1 with Enhanced Data Rate
Camera: 5 megapixel colour camera with auto focus and LED flash GPS GPS/AGPS
Battery: 1300 mAh rechargeable lithium- ion battery
Special features: Proximity sensor, G-sensor, Digital compass, Light sensor, FM radio, Optical joystick
Users can download and install various applications from the Android Market
Priced at Rs. 16,590, the new HTC Wildfire will be available at all authorized HTC resellers across the country


LG GD910 Watch Phone


As mobile technology progresses, we’re making handsets smaller and smaller and as testament to that LG’s GD910 watch phones stands true. If you ever wanted to play spy or Dick Tracy, the super cop, this is one gadget you have got to have, even if it does cost you an arm and a leg. Take a closer look.

Form Factor
The GD910 is a lightweight watch phone at just 84g. Its 1.4-inch touchscreen (capacitive) is very responsive and just large enough to be comfortable to use. The 128 x 160 pixel resolution also makes it clear to view in all lighting conditions. The leather strap is fully adjustable, so it can fit all forearms. It comes with a box full of accessories that includes a charger, USB cable, SIM card remover and of course the Bluetooth headset for calls with its own charger.





A VGA camera is located just above the display. On the side is where the call Take and end keys are placed and in between is a return key. The rear can be easily unlocked to slip in the GSM SIM card. The device sports 2GB of internal memory so you can easily carry your music with you while on the go. The best part about the device is that it’s IPX4 certified water resistant.



The bundled Bluetooth headset was quite comfortable to use and had no issues with voice clarity (incoming and outgoing). It uses a Micro USB port for charging and has a power/lock key slider that’s quite handy.

Features and Performance
Interface
It runs on a Flash UI that’s smooth and easy to navigate. It offers a variety of watch interfaces including analogue styles. Swiping through the menus and accessing settings is a fluid process. Response time is immediate with no lag at all. You can also customize the menus to various styles that you find comfortable. One would assume that typing messages on the small screen would be a problem, but it isn’t. It’ll take no more than a couple of minutes or less to get used to and you’re fingers will be flying across the screen.


Media
The handset offers an image viewer as well as a music player. The biggest problem with the music player is that it will play through the built in speakers and is quite loud, but if you’re looking for privacy, you’ll need a Stereo Bluetooth headset. Audio playback is not supported via the bundled mono headset. This is a concern as it would involve a further investment of at least Rs. 3000 (min). However, audio quality was not bad at via an A2DP headset. A set of EQ presets are also included to help enhance the audio and you can also create a playlist of your favorite tracks right on the device. There’s no video support of nay kind.

Connectivity
The GD910 is a 3G enabled device capable of HSDPA speeds up to 7.2Mbps. The video camera can be used for video calling via 3G whenever that gets here in a larger more usable capacity. There are no internet connectivity options or email retrieval support for this device. It does however support MMS. Bluetooth with A2DP support is another connectivity option. You can also send and receive files via the same medium. USB 2.0 allows you to hook up the device to your PC for data back up and transfer.




Misc. Features
The handset-watch comes loaded with all the essential mobile phone features. Those include a Calendar that allows you to set appointments and memos, a Memo pad for notes, Alarm clock, calculator, Converter, Stopwatch, World Clock and a voice recorder. The GD910 also comes with a Text to Speech engine to read your messages while traveling and a Voice Command option to activate certain features.

Battery
For a device of this size, the battery is quite adequate. On a full charge you’ll able to use the handset for over two days, with minimum usage. Talk time averaged in at just about 2 hours which is not too bad. The Bluetooth headset is capable of at least 3 hours of non stop talk time though, if used with another device.




The Bottom Line
The GD910 comes with a heavy price tag of Rs. 39,990 (MOP). While that is defiantly steep, you have to consider the fact that this device is not designed to be your primary handset, not in this day and age of social networking and emailing. The GD910 watch phone is a gadget for the affluent. If you have the unique problem of having too much money lying around in need of spending and you’re a gadget lover, LG’s watch phone should be in your collection. I asked a few people - if money wasn’t an object would they spend Rs. 40,000 on this gadget. I was quite surprised to find that a majority actually said they would.

The essence of the GD910 is comfort and style while offering remarkable technology and it delivers quite well on these fronts.


Saturday, July 31, 2010

Spice Gets Sporty With Their M-6 Dual SIM Handset


Spice has just launched another new handset – the M6, that’s targeted at the young sports enthusiast. The M6 is designed for these users to stay connected to their sporting news or information of choice while simultaneously being connected with their friends. Its rugged look gives it a very outdoorsy feel.










The phone has a dedicated “Sports Zone” with applications such as Yahoo Sports, Yahoo Tennis, Yahoo Formula 1. In Social Networking the phone supports Facebook, Yahoo & Nimbuzz. It also features Opera Mini web browser and Video sharing application Vuclip. This Dual-SIM (GSM + GSM) phone is black in color which gets accentuated by dashes of green or Orange on side to add to the sporty look. It’s loaded with a 1000 mAH battery that’s supposed to deliver a talk time of 5 hours.



It also features



a 2.2-inch QVGA TFT Display with 262k colours,

GPRS, WAP

Stereo Bluetooth, USB

a 1.3 MP Camera with Digital zoom

FM Radio with Recording

up to 4GB of expandable memory via microSD cards

The Spice M-6 Sports mobile phone is available across India through more than 50,000 retail points including the 750+ Spice HotSpot retail network. It’s priced at Rs. 4499.


Friday, July 30, 2010

Rs. 1600 Computing Device Looks Good on Video


In our previous posts, we’ve seen the minimum functionalities of the low-cost-computing device (they are still contemplating as to what to name the product). Now, what we’ve got here are just the guidelines that manufactures have to work with in order to keep the price low… and sales high. We still haven’t heard a peep about the actual specs of this $35, Rs. 1,600 miracle priced computing solution.







Specifications



Suitable motherboard/system on chip to provide the mentioned expected functionalities.

QWERTY keyboard, a mouse and, a minimum display size of 7-inch color LCD/TFT (the touch interface is optional). Also, an all-in-one projection system is optional.

Minimum 2 USB (2.0) ports and USB hosts

RF, Certification – all “CE Certificate” (according to FCC guidelines)

Minimum three hours battery life

Battery charger with adapter or a hybrid super capacitor quick charger

SD card slot with support for minimum 8 GB

RGB / HDMI display options to enable connectivity with a projector

Support for an external hard drive (minimum 32 GB)

Ethernet port

WLAN card (Wi-Fi a/b/g/n)

Alternate battery support: Via solar cell / Hybrid capacitor

Webcam

Adequate RAM and hard drive / NAND flash

Shock resistant casing of suitable form factor for the device

Operating temperature: Zero to 48 degrees. Max humidity – 80%

ROHS compliant

Operating system: Linux

Seeing as this device is designed for the education sector and we’re all for the betterment of our outdated education system, I still don’t see how anyone could make even a base model with minimum functionalities at such a ludicrously low price. Sure we have cheap touchscreen mobile phones that can do quite a lot but the cheapest model is still in Rs. 4000 range.



The Ministry has invited manufactures and developers to an ‘Innovate’ conference so they break bread and crack heads on how they can make this $35 device for just $10. Wow! Call me a skeptic but I just don’t see it. It doesn’t seem viable for any manufacturer to offer a device with a 7-inch screen (unless it’s monochrome) that’s touch sensitive or comes with a possible slide out Keypad or even 2-4GB of memory for just Rs. 1,600. And let’s not forget it has to have some sort of connectivity option so we’ll have to add that to the price too. Wi-Fi isn’t high-priced, but it don’t come cheap either. Unless of course all this is only the manufacturing cost they’re talking about and the actual product price or MRP is much higher, which is something we’re still in the dark about.









And to top it all off, here we are discussing this ‘fabulous’ and seemingly unrealistic product that is promising so much for so little and we don’t even have a model number or name for it.



We’d like to know, readers, what’s your take on this new gadget that’s making big waves. Do you think manufacturers can pull it off and keep the price that low whole trying to make it lower? Or are you as skeptical as we are? Let us know your thoughts via our comments section.



We’d also like to know, if it were up to you, what would call this device. Let your imagination run wild techies.


Friday, July 2, 2010

iPhone 4 Hits Indian Shores in September!


The iPhone 4 will officially hit Indian shelves this September. The two main carriers will be Vodafone and Airtel. The 16 GB is expected to cost Rs. 35,000 and the 32 GB is expected to cost Rs. 41,500.


This makes India part of the 88 countries originally scheduled to have the phone.




Want to Test Your Eyesight With Your Mobile Phones?


MIT Media Lab researchers have created a quick, simple, and inexpensive way to use mobile phones to measure refractive errors of the eye, including nearsightedness, farsightedness, astigmatism, and age-related vision loss. Until now, these measurements have only been possible using specialized equipment operated by a trained professional.




This new system, called NETRA (Near-Eye Tool for Refractive Assessment), is a project of the Media Lab's Camera Culture research group. A small plastic device—which currently can be produced for less than US$2—is easily clipped onto a mobile phone screen. To use it, simply hold the device up to the eye, look into it, and use the phone’s keypad until two patterns overlap. This is repeated several times per eye, with the patterns at different angles. The whole process takes about two minutes, during which time software loaded onto the phone computes and provides the data needed to create a prescription.






The small size and low cost of the device make it especially well-suited for use in the developing world. As many as two billion people worldwide have refractive errors of the eye, and according to the World Health Organization, these errors, left uncorrected, are the world's second-highest cause of blindness.


iPhone 4 Unveiled: Steve Jobs at WWDC


Exciting new features were unveiled with arguably the most anticipated product this summer.








For one, the design's different. At 9.33mm thick, it is 24% thinner than the iPhone 3GS. It is currently the thinnest smartphone on the planet. It is made of a glass and steel combo; the stainless steel is for strength and the glass is for optical quality and scratch resistance. On the design, there is a front facing camera, LED flash, microSIM, headset and a second mic for noise cancellation.






The display is better than ever. Apple uses what they call Retina display which uses 4 times the pixels in the same given space. There are 326 pixels per inch. The human eye can process not more than 300 pixels per inch. Once you go retina, you can't go back. The new display is all about precision. Existing apps will look better. Retina is better than OLED.






The battery life's better too. The phone promises 40% better battery. 6 hours of 3G browsing, 10 hours of Wi-Fi browsing. 10 hours video. 40 hours of music. 300 hours standby.






Next is the motion sensing. They've tied the gyro, accelerometer and GPS for 6-axis motion sensing. This makes gaming a way better experience than before. To demonstrate this, Steve played a game of virtual Jenga.






The camera's upped! It now is a 5 MP camera (up from a 3 MP camera). Comes with a backside illuminated sensor, 1.75 unit sized pixels, 5x digital zoom, tap to focus and LED flash. Here's the coolest part though. The camera now records in HD video. Wait, here's the cooler part. The video is EDITABLE on the phone. The iPhone 4 can carry iMovie which can cut, trim, edit, add music, transitions and geolocation information to video on the go. The application can be bought for $4.99.






The next part is the OS. The new OS will be called iOS4. A quick summary of its features: Multitasking, folders, Retina Display integration, Unified inbox and threading in Mail, enhanced camera and photo apps, deeper enterprise support, new features everywhere.






They've added both Google and Yahoo! as search engines as well as Bing!. Google will however, remain the default search engine.






iBooks is also coming to the iPhone. iBooks lets you buy books from the iBookstore, it will connect wirelessly to the iPhone, iPad and iPod, you can download the same book to all your devices at no extra charge, it automatically syncs place, bookmarks and notes. iBookstore connects to both the App store and iTunes store.






A new feature is iAds. This is primarily to earn developers money. iAds keeps you in your aps and is built into Apple iOS4. Apple sells and hosts the ads. 60% of revenues go to the developers. Payment via iTunes Connect. Some of the brands that are using iAds are Nissan, Citi, AT&T, GE, Target and Best Buy. Nissan will be giving away a car through their ad. iAds will be on all iOS devices on July 1st. $60 million has already been committed from advertisers.






A very exciting feature (and the major point behind changing the camera and design) is video calling. You can video call using Wifi only in 2010 while Apple works with cellular networks to make video calls. This feature is called 'Face Time' and can be had iPhone 4 to iPhone 4 only. This is going to be an industry open standard. You can use both the front and the back cameras during the video call.






In terms of price and availability, the iPhone 4 comes in black and white and will be priced at $199 in the US for 16 GB and $299 for the 32 GB models. The phone will be on sale on June 24th. The 3GS in the meantime will go for $99 and 3G is no more. Pre-order will start from tomorrow. The number of countries will keep increasing by the month and by September, the iPhone 4 will ship to 88 countries. There are still speculations about when India will get the phone.


Nokia N8

iPhone 4 vs HTC EVO 4G: Fight!

Video

 

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