Latest Information and news about Internet, Mobile, 3G and Digital world.

Dull colours in MS Word 2011 for Mac using *.doc format

2012-01-31T11:20:00.003+05:30

I had a problem where I created a nice diagram in JPG format, but when I inserted it in my Word document the colours appeared dull and washed-out. This was using Mac Microsoft Word 2011 and saving the document in Word 97-2004 compatible format (*.doc). I tried many different ways to insert the image (including dragging and dropping it in), but all resulted in the washed-out image.

Saving the document as a Word document (*.docx) resolves the problem; but unfortunately I need to use *.doc format for backwards compatibility with my corporate clients.

Then I noticed that some of my earlier images in the same document were not washed out. How could this be? Reinserting these older images resulted in nice bright pictures in my *.doc document. So the problem had to be with the new images I was creating. I was using the same method I had always used to create images, but Word did not like my new ones. Something must have changed.

I quick check of the image properties, via the Finder, revealed the answer: The Color Profile

I had created the first images on my laptop which gave them a Color Profile of "Color LCD". The later images had been created on my secondary monitor and got a Color Profile of "DELL 3008WFP".

The Solution

The solution was to preview the image, on my laptop screen, and take a screen shot of it (using Command-Shift-4 and selecting the image). This screenshot had the required "Color LCD" Color Profile. I then dragged that screenshot into MS Word and the colours were perfect! Voila!!

World Chess Championship 2010: Topalov vs. Anand - Game 10

2010-05-23T15:52:00.000+05:30

whitby pier

2010-05-15T12:04:00.001+05:30

whitby pier
Originally uploaded by lomokev.

Nokia To Ship 2 Top-End Unlocked Phones

2009-04-11T09:10:00.000+05:30

Las Vegas — Nokia will brings its first 8-megapixel camera phone and its new flagship N-series phone to the U.S. market this year as unlocked devices, the company told TWICE during the CTIA convention here.

The Nokia devices will be available direct to consumers through Nokia’s Web site and flagship stores as well

The flagship N97 is Nokia’s first N-series device equipped with both a touchscreen and hard QWERTY keyboard.

as to retailers through such distributors as Brightpoint and Ingram Micro.

The flagship N97 is the company’s first N-series device equipped with both a touchscreen and hard QWERTY keyboard. It will be available here shortly after its June launch elsewhere in the world. The 8-megapixel N86 is due in the second half in the U.S.

The only other 3G camera phone available in the U.S. with 8 megapixels is Samsung’s Memoir touch-screen phone, available through T-Mobile. SonyEricsson, however, plans U.S. availability of an 8.1-megapixel HSDPA model at the end of the second quarter and announced global second-half availability of a 12.1-megapixel model whose U.S. availability hasn’t been announced.

Both Nokia models are 3G W-CDMA/HSDPA phones shown at the GSM World Congress earlier this year.

The N97, priced in Europe at an estimated 550 Euros ($729) before taxes and subsidies, features 3.5-inch 16:9 touchscreen with virtual dialing keypad. With the phone in landscape orientation, users slide the display up at an angle to reveal a hard QWERTY keyboard. The screen’s 35-degree viewing angle makes it easier to view and reduces glare, the company said. With the screen at an angle, the device resembles the company’s Communicator phone of the 1990s, though that device was a clamshell that opened up to reveal a QWERTY keyboard and screen.

The N97 features 32GB embedded memory, 16GB MicroSD card slot, 5-megapixel camera with Carl Zeiss optics, video capture in 16:9 DVD quality, Wi-Fi 802.11b/g, Microsoft Exchange support, and customizable home screen with preloaded and downloadable widgets that can be dragged and dropped to different positions. Select widgets display frequently updated information from Web services and social-networking sites.

Other N97 features include assisted GPS and electronic compass, Web browser, Flash video streaming, and compatibility with Nokia’s navigation service and Nokia’s N-Gage downloadable games.

In the N86, the company is offering the capabilities of the U.S.-available N85 but upgrading the camera to 8 megapixels from 5 and, for the first time, incorporating variable rather than fixed aperture and mechanical shutter. The mechanical shutter eliminates motion blur, a spokesman said. Like the N85, the N86 feaures Carl Zeiss optics, Symbian 60 OS, OLED display and triband (850/1900/2100MHz) HSDPA operation.

The N86 features slide-from-the-side horizontal QWERTY keyboard that doubles as a vertically oriented dialing keypad. Four media-control keys slide out from the other side.

Full specs weren’t available, but the European version features 3.6Mbps HSDPA, Wi-Fi 802.11b/g, UpnP, assisted GPS, A/V storage and playback FM transmitter, FM tuner with RDS, display that rotates from portrait to landscape mode, HTML browser, video sharing over cellular, 16GB MicroSD slot, and compatibility with Nokia’s navigation service and Nokia’s N-Gage downloadable games.

MWC 09: HTC Reveals New Android Powered Handset - HTC Magic

2009-02-22T12:37:00.001+05:30

Vodafone and HTC Corporation have announced the HTC Magic smartphone, Vodafone’s first Android-powered mobile, which will be available in the spring. The introduction of the HTC Magic is the result of a successful relationship between Vodafone and HTC, and Vodafone’s joining, late last year, of the Open Handset Alliance.

“Delivering an unbeatable mobile internet experience for our customers is a priority for Vodafone, so we are very excited to be introducing our first Android-powered smartphone in the spring,” says Patrick Chomet, Global Director of Terminals, Vodafone Group. “Following our joining of the Open Handset Alliance, we have worked very closely with HTC to bring this cool new phone to the market. Our customers want to access a wide range of the most attractive mobile devices to help them make the most of their time - the HTC Magic helps meet that need.”“The HTC Magic embodies the compact style and sophistication for which HTC has come to be known, with the powerful and intuitive internet experience for which the Android platform was designed,” says Peter Chou, president and CEO, HTC Corporation. “We are proud of our partnership with Vodafone and excited about making the Android-powered HTC Magic available to Vodafone customers in Europe.”
"The announcement of the HTC Magic is an important step for Android and the Open Handset Alliance," says Andy Rubin, Senior Director of Mobile Platforms at Google. "With it, Vodafone is opening up the mobile web for consumers across Europe and giving more third-party developers a platform on which they can build the next wave of killer applications."The HTC Magic has -
a 3.2-inch QVGA touch screen display
Features a trackball and navigational buttons for quick, easy access
Accelerometer sensor for auto-rotate
Handwriting recognition
MicroSD card support
Wi-Fi, 3G, EDGE/GPRS
Bluetooth only for mono headset, USB (mini)
3 megapixel AF camera
GPSThe HTC Magic includes a variety of email options such as Google Mail, POP3 and IMAP. In addition, Android Market allows for quick and easy downloading of games and applications utilizing Vodafone’s network.
The new handset is exclusive to Vodafone in the UK, Spain, Germany (Black) and France where it’s available in White. It’s also going to be out in Italy on a non-exclusive basis in both colors – Black and White. Customers can ensure that they are the first to receive information about the HTC Magic’s availability, pricing and pre-ordering by registering their interest via their local Vodafone website from today. Full details of availability and pricing will be available in the future in local Vodafone markets.

George Bush shoe attack

2008-12-20T11:08:00.001+05:30

MTNL Brings 3G to India

2008-12-11T12:10:00.001+05:30

Most of us spent on expensive 3G handsets, hoping that some day 3G services would be available in India, but were left disappointed. Well today it seems your wait is over, for the first time in India 3G services are available courtesy MTNL. MTNL is a state owned telecom provider in the cities of Mumbai and Delhi. With 3G, MTNL has ushered a new era of mobile communication in India. 3G is capable of offering advanced services such as video calls, broadband wireless data, faster online video streaming and a better gaming experience due to it fast data transfer rate which can reach up to 2Mbps. MTNL's 3G network is based on the UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System) technology one of the popular 3G technology used worldwide. The 3G network infrastructure in Delhi has been built with equipments from Motorola. MTNL will initially offer its 3G services in Delhi, followed by Mumbai. BSNL, another state owned telecom provider is soon expected to launch 3G services all over India starting with Chennai. While MTNL and BSNL were awarded the 3G spectrum by default, the Government has yet to open the bidding process for private players.

2008-12-09T12:15:00.006+05:30

Nokia has unveiled N97; a new flagship model with a large touch screen which it hopes will bolster its smartphone offering. The world's largest cell phone maker Nokia is calling the new smartphone `the world's most advanced personal computer.' Incidentally, N97 is the second touchscreen device from the stable of Finnish handset giant; the company unveiled its first touch handset, the 5800 XpressMusic, in early October, more than a year after the iPhone debuted. Nokia 5800 XpressMusic will hit the retail shelves in January 2009. Other than iPhone, N97 is a direct rival to Sony Ericsson's X1 and HTC's Touch Pro -- which both use Microsoft's Windows software. Here's looking into what the new Nokia NSeries entrant brings for the users.

The sleek handset pairs a 3.5 inch touchscreen with a QWERTY keyboard. The slide-out QWERTY keyboard is a full 3-row. The smartphone transforms from a touch slate to a landscape QWERTY device. There's a tilting touchscreen display and a customisable home screen that can be personalised with widgets. The wide touchscreen has a 16:9 aspect ratio and a resolution of 640 x 360 pixels. The smartphone is reportedly 30 per cent thicker than iPhone.

N97 offers a powerful 32GB memory with microSD for adding 16GB more (making it a staggering 48GB), 5 megapixel camera (with Carl Zeiss optics and dual LED flash), support for Nokia's N-Gage gaming system and handwriting recognition. Other features include, a 3.5mm headset jack, microUSB port used for syncing and charging, Haptic feedback and 1500 mAh battery. The smartphone runs on S60, the latest version of Nokia’s Symbian operating system.

Nokia claims that the Nokia N97 will use a browser that supports Flash and Flash video. Making what many term a jab at Apple iPhone (which lacks Flash support), at a pre-launch event in New York, Bill Plummer, vice president, said that N97 enables "real Internet browsing--unlike some phones". According to the company, N97 has up to 37 hours of music playback, 4.5 hours of video and a staggering 16.5 days of standby time.

N97 has 3G wireless network connectivity, a built-in compass and GPS. There are comprehensive connectivity options: WiFi, tri-band HSDPA, Bluetooth and USB. The N97 introduces the concept of social location (So-Lo). Using the GPS receiver and integrated compass, N97 has the capability to always know where it is located and with social networking integrated it can broadcast that position to authorised friends and family.

India's demographic dividend

2008-11-23T13:42:00.000+05:30

Nowadays no meeting on India seems complete without a reference to the coming "demographic dividend".

What really is this demographic dividend?

The basic idea is straightforward enough.

In the year 2004 India had a population of 1,080 million, of whom 672 million people were in the age-group 15 to 64 years.

This is usually treated as the "working age population".

Since outside of this age group very few people work, it is reasonable to think of the remainder, that is, 408 million people, as the "dependent population".

A nation's "dependency ratio" is the ratio of the dependent population to the working-age population. In the case of India this turns out to be 0.6.

On this score India does not look too different from many other developing countries. Bangladesh's dependency ratio is 0.7, Pakistan's 0.8, Brazil's 0.5.

Your views on this article

What is different about India is the prediction that it will see a sharp decline in this ratio over the next 30 years or so. This is what constitutes the demographic dividend for India.

India's fertility rate - that is, the average number of children a woman expects to have in her life time - used to be 3.8 in 1990.

This has fallen to 2.9 and is expected to fall further. Since women had high fertility earlier we now have a sizeable number of people in the age-group 0-15 years.

Benefits of demography

But since fertility is falling, some 10 or 15 years down the road, this bulge of young people would have moved into the working-age category. And, since, at that time, the relative number of children will be small (thanks to the lowered fertility), India's dependency ratio would be lower.

It is expected that, in 2020, the average age of an Indian will be 29 years, compared to 37 for China and 48 for Japan; and, by 2030, India's dependency ratio should be just over 0.4.

This can confer many benefits.

First is the direct benefit of there being a rise in the relative number of bread-winners.

Moreover, with fewer children being born, more women will now join the work force; so this can give a further fillip to the bread-winner ratio.

A more indirect but vital benefit for the economy is the effect this can have on savings.

More women can work with fewer children being born

Human beings save most during the working years of their lives. When they are children, they clearly consume more than they earn, and the situation is the same during old age.

Hence, a decline in the nation's dependency ratio is usually associated with a rise in the average savings rate.

India's savings rate as a percentage of GDP has been rising since 2003. It now stands at 33% which is comparable to the Asian super-performers, all of whom save at above 30%, with China saving at an astonishing near 40% rate.

This savings growth is driven by improvements in the government's fiscal health and a sharp rise in corporate savings.

But even if these factors disappear, the decline in the dependency ratio should enable India to hold its savings and investment rate above the 30% mark for the next 25 years.

Striking example

This theory of demographic advantage has been challenged by some as just that - theory.

One way of evaluating this in reality is to look at the actual experience of other nations.

The most striking example of economic growth being spurred by demography is the case of Ireland.

Ireland's legalisation of contraception in 1979 caused a decline in the birth rate, from 22 (per 1000 population) in 1980 to 13 in 1994. This caused a rapid decline in the dependency ratio.

The phenomenal economic boom in Ireland thereafter, earning it the sobriquet "Celtic Tiger", is very likely founded in this fertility decline. (I am disinclined to concede ground to the competing view that it was caused by Pope John Paul II's visit to Ireland in 1979).

India's fertility rate has fallen

One has seen a similar sequence of changes in demographics and the economy in Japan in the 1950s and China in the 1980s.

But even if this happened in some places, will it happen in India?

My expectation is that India will get benefit from higher savings and investment rates and this will continue to fire India's high growth rate.

Beyond that much will depend on how the nation performs on primary and secondary education (to make sure that the larger working-age population conferred by the demographic dividend are an educated lot) and the manufacturing sector (which is needed to create job opportunities for the larger labour force).

What is important to remember is that the demographic dividend is a population bulge in the working-age category.

Like a kill in a python's stomach it will eventually move up, causing a rise in the old-age dependency ratio some three to four decades from now. That is, every demographic dividend comes with an accompanying "demographic echo".

It is in the nation's interest to reap as much as possible from the dividend so that it is robust enough not stymied later by the echo.

This debate is closed. Here is a selection of comments you sent.

IAF to launch its satellite to gather information: Air Chief

2008-11-19T09:37:00.001+05:30

The first Indian Air Force (IAF) controlled satellite to gather navigational information will be launched in July 2009.
Air Chief Marshal F H Major who, described the proposed satellite as "the IAF eye in the skies", today said that it would basically be used to gather navigational information which would help IAF positioning.
The Air Chief who was interacting with reporters on the sidelines of a function at Pune University, said similar satellites of almost all major countries are already operating to collect necessary data.
Major, who delivered the annual Gen B C Joshi memorial lecture at the university, said, "Our plans for future expansion have made it inevitable that we would have to utilise the realm of space."
He said, "While I am not a die-hard proponent of weaponisation of space, I am convinced that harnessing the capabilities that space provides, creates a force multiplier effect and increases effectiveness of our operations manifold."
Noting that India has a well developed Space programme, the Air Chief said it was his intention to harness the capability that space based assets provide and put in place structures and mechanisms to exploit enhanced capability.

ISRO Bhuvan - an Indian version of Google Earth

2008-11-15T09:35:00.003+05:30

Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is in a new avatar now! This time, it is Bhuvan - an Indian version of ‘Google Earth‘, with which they want to take India into a new height. ISRO’s entrance into the software development field has added a new dimension in the world IT segment.

Bhuvan, a new eye of ISRO and a satellite mapping tool, is at the final stages of development and is based on the Indian Remote Sensing (IRS) technology. The portal, which is likely to be made operational by mid 2009, will provide powerful and effective images similar to the Google’s ‘Google Earth‘ or Wikimapia. Following Bhuvan, ISRO has also plan to unwrap “Bhu Sampada”, another satellite based Desi IRS information portal.
Bhuvan, which means Earth, will be more efficient and user-friendly than the Google Earth, said ISRO. Space Applications Center (SAC) of ISRO is now seriously engaged in designing and enhancing features of Bhuvan, which will be upgraded annually in place of Google Earth’s four-year upgrade schedule. Bhuvan, the Desi Google Earth, will be able to give you details up to 10 metres, whereas Google’s and Wikimapia’s efficiencies are up to 200 metres and 50 metres respectively.
Disclosing first about the projects, Dr G Madhavan Nair, chairman, ISRO said on Tuesday last at the Indian National Cartographic Association (INCA) International Congress in Gandhinagar, “Bhuvan will use the data recorded by the Indian satellites only. The prototype of Bhuvan will be ready by the end of November and ISRO is hoping to officially launch the service by March next”. The portal will be dedicated to the Indian sub-continent only, and “With Bhuvan we will be able to produce very local information which will be specific to only to our own country. This information available from this mapping system will be useful in addressing very local problems like floods, famines, infrastructure development, education and much more,” Nair said.
According to Mr. Nair, “The information on Bhuvan will be layer wise and the options of viewing filtered information will be available. Inputs from a lot of local players, like farmers, fishermen and likes who know the local area in and out, will also being integrated in Bhuvan. This is for the primary reason to make it of more use to the general public”. He was giving a lecture on the “Benefits of Space to the Society”.

Indian satellite orbiting Moon

2008-11-09T18:31:00.000+05:30

Lunar capture (LC) has been achieved; now for a closer orbit

India is celebrating the arrival of its Chandrayaan 1 spacecraft at the Moon.

An 817-second burn from the probe's engine on Saturday slowed Chandrayaan sufficiently for it to be captured by the lunar body's gravity.

The craft is now in an 11-hour polar ellipse that goes out to 7,502km from the Moon and comes as close as 504km.

Further brakings will bring the Indian satellite down to a near-circular, 100km orbit from where it can begin its two-year mapping mission.

Launched on 22 October, Chandrayaan is India's first satellite to break away from the Earth's gravitational field and reach the lunar body.

The mission will compile a 3D atlas of the lunar surface and map the distribution of elements and minerals.

Powered by a single solar panel generating about 700 Watts, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) probe carries five Indian-built instruments and six constructed in other countries, including the US, Britain and Germany.

The Indian experiments include a 30kg probe that will be released from the mothership to slam into the lunar surface.

The Moon Impact Probe (MIP) will record video footage on the way down and measure the composition of the Moon's tenuous atmosphere.

It will also drop the Indian flag on the surface of the Moon.

Shameless Chinese finger raised over Indian Moon Mission

2008-11-03T09:45:00.000+05:30

Despite huge unilateral friendly behavior shown by Indian political lobby in form of frequent visits it seems that Dragon has not dropped its contempt view of Tiger. Lately, as US has drawn near to India the Chinese have not even left the cheapest possible way to tarnish Indian image.
It has been reported that Chinese Nationalist media has declared Indian Chandrayana Mission as sham and is trying its best to spread the falsified report as wild fire through numerous blogs and sites. Also they have added into their vicious reasons the inability of India to curb human rights violations and poverty. It would better for these chinkies(Chinese) to first check their own closet. A country which shamelessly and brutally murdered its thousands of peaceful student protestors and wreaked havoc on Tibetans has no right to doubt integrity of other country.

NASA scientists want ISRO jobs

2008-11-01T09:51:00.000+05:30

Several NASA scientists - of Indian origin as well as foreigners - are knocking the door of Indian Space Research Organisation looking for opportunities to work in future 'desi' space missions following the success of Chandrayaan-I launch, a senior ISRO official said on Saturday.Project Director of Chandrayaan-1, India's first unmanned lunar mission, Mayilsamy Annadurai says he definitely sees a "small trend" of what he calls "reverse brain-drain"."Some of my friends and juniors working there (NASA) are looking for opportunities for working in ISRO," Annadurai said.He said at least half-a-dozen of them had approached him seeking openings in the Indian space agency and he knew that "a good number of foreigners" were also looking for such jobs."Other senior ISRO officials sure would have got similar calls," he said. The question they are all asking is: "Is there any opportunity for working in future missions of ISRO".India's Chandrayaan-I, launched on October 22, is carrying 11 payloads (scientific instruments) - two from NASA, three from European Space Agency, one from Bulgaria and five from India."Fifty per cent of the instruments have come from outside. It's symbolic. Instead of we going there, they have come along with us as co-passengers," Annadurai said.ISRO Chairman G Madhavan Nair said, "Comments and observations with envy that have come from overseas after Chandrayaan-I's launch reaffirms ISRO's matured and advanced technologies."After the launch, US Democratic presidential nominee Barak Obama had said India's mission should be a wake-up call to America, and should remind his nation that it was getting complacent or sloppy about maintaining its position as the foremost nation in space exploration.

Chandrayaan-1 Camera Tested Successfully......

2008-11-01T09:28:00.001+05:30

The Terrain Mapping camera (TMC) on board Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft was successfully operated on October 29, 2008 through a series of commands issued from the Spacecraft Control Centre of ISRO Telemetry, Tracking and Command Network (ISTRAC) at Bangalore. Analysis of the first imagery received by the Indian Deep Space Network (IDSN) at Byalalu and later processed by Indian Space Science Data Centre (ISSDC) confirms excellent performance of the camera.The first imagery (image 1) taken at 8:00 am IST from a height of 9,000 km shows the Northern coast of Australia while the other (image 2) taken at 12:30 pm from a height of 70,000 km shows Australia’s Southern Coast.
TMC is one of the eleven scientific instruments (payloads) of Chandrayaan-1. The camera can take black and white pictures of an object by recording the visible light reflected from it. The instrument has a resolution of about 5 metres.
Besides TMC, the other four Indian payloads of Chandrayaan-1 are the Hyper spectral Imager (HySI), Lunar Laser Ranging Instrument (LLRI), High Energy X-ray Spectrometer (HEX) and the Moon Impact Probe (MIP). The other six payloads of Chandrayaan-1 are from abroad.
It may be recalled that the 1380 kg Chandrayaan-1 was successfully launched into an initial elliptical orbit around the Earth by PSLV-C11 on October 22, 2008. This was followed by four orbit raising manoeuvres, which together raised Chandrayaan-1’s orbit to a much higher altitude. The spacecraft is now circling the Earth in an orbit whose apogee (farthest point to Earth) lies at 267,000 km (Two lakh sixty seven thousand km) and perigee (nearest point to Earth) at 465 km. In this orbit, Chandrayaan-1 takes about six days to go round the Earth once. The spacecraft performance is being continuously monitored and is normal.

Chandrayaan in orbit, cruising around earth

2008-10-22T10:59:00.000+05:30

Sriharikota: India's first lunar spacecraft Chandrayaan-1 started to cruise around the earth in its designated orbit Wednesday morning, minutes after a copybook liftoff launched the country into the elite club that has sent missions to the moon.
Other members of the club are the US, former Soviet Union, European Space Agency, China and Japan. The US returns to lunar exploration aboard Chandrayaan-1, which is carrying two NASA instruments in its payload.
Speaking minutes after the successful liftoff from this spaceport off the Andhra Pradesh coast, about 80 km north of Chennai, Chairman of the Indian Space Research Agency (ISRO) G Madhavan Nair described the moment as "historic. India has started its journey to the moon. The first leg has gone perfectly. the spacecraft has been launched into orbit."
The 44.4-metre-tall 316-tonne rocket, Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV C11), had a copybook launch at 0620 hrs (IST) and completed its mission by placing the lunar orbiter Chandrayaan-1 into its scheduled orbit around the earth within 18 minutes, just as planned.
Nair pointed out that the launch had gone off perfectly despite heavy rain in and around the spaceport for the last four days. "We've been fighting the odds for the last four days," he said. But the weather gods relented by Tuesday evening and there no rain when the launch took place in a cloudy morning sky.
Chandrayaan-1 started to orbit the earth on its geostationary transfer orbit (GTO), from which its onboard liquid apogee motor (LAM) will be fired in a series of complex manoeuvres to take it to the lunar orbit - 387,000 km from earth - Nov 8.
It was a dream come true for about 1,000 space scientists and technologists when PSLV-C11, with the spacecraft atop, blasted off from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre of the state-run ISRO.
Within minutes of the 44.4-metre rocket roaring aloft, leaving behind an inferno in the underground inlets of the second launch pad, the mission control centre of the space station erupted with joy and excitement.
Top scientists, led by Nair, space centre director M.C. Dathan, associate director M.Y.S. Prasad and others shook hands and hugged one another even as the high-security facility reverberated with clapping of hands and cheers.
Former ISRO chairmen U.R. Rao and K. Kasturirangan and space commission member Roddam Narasimaiah, who were present on the occasion, congratulated Nair and his team.
Prominent dignitaries who witnessed the historic mission from ground zero included Tamil Nadu governor Surjit Singh Barnala and Minister of State for Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation Kumari Selja.
Once the 1,380-kg Chandrayaan-1 gets near the moon its speed will be reduced to enable the gravity of the moon to capture it into an elliptical orbit.
At the earliest possible opportunity the spacecraft that will orbit 100 km above the surface of the moon will drop its Moon Impact Probe (MIP) which will land on the lunar surface carrying India's flag, among many scientific instruments. After that, the spacecraft will also activate its cameras and other instruments on board.
Chandrayaan-1 will orbit the moon for two years. It carries 11 experimental payloads, five Indian and six from abroad - the two from NASA, three from the European Space Agency (ESA) and one from the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences.
The objectives of the mission are to expand scientific knowledge about the moon, to upgrade India's technological capability and provide opportunities for planetary research to the younger generation of scientists and technologists.
"Chandrayaan-1 aims to achieve these objectives through high resolution of the moon in the visible, near infrared, microwave and x-ray regions of the electromagnetic spectrum," mission director M. Annadurai told IANS.
A three-dimensional atlas of the lunar surface and chemical mapping of the entire lunar surface are the other objectives of the mission.
India's mission to the moon is the world's 68th. Of them, 64 have been launched by the US and the former USSR. China and Japan launched their respective moon missions Chang'e and Kaguya in September and October 2007, while the ESA undertook such a mission from November 2004 to September 2006 with SMART (Small Missions for Advanced Research in Technology).
Wednesday morning's launch differed in some important aspects from earlier PSLV launches by ISRO. At liftoff, PSLV C11 weighed 22 tonnes more than the earlier models, as its six strap-on motors were 3.5 metres bigger at 13.5 metres and the rocket carried 12 tonnes of solid propellant as against the usual nine tonnes.
"The vehicle structure was altered to have bigger strap-on motors. The rocket is also padded up with additional thermal insulation," George Koshy, project director, said.

AirTel Launches Digital TV

2008-10-08T20:17:00.000+05:30

After Reliance, AirTel has also jumped into the fray and is launching their Direct-To-Home (DTH) satellite TV service - Airtel Digital TV, on October 9th.

Airtel Digital TV will be available in 62 cities in the first phase through 21000 Airtel retail and relationship centers. With over 175 channels, the packages will start from Rs. 2499 for a six-month subscription in which the channel price band will range from Rs. 99 to Rs. 424.

Airtel Digital TV will use MPEG4 standard with DVB S2 technology. The system is claimed to be HD ready and expected to deliver quality interactive content.

The set top box will bundle with a universal remote. The dish antenna is 20% larger than the conventional antenna for better performance during adverse weather conditions.

Airtel Digital TV also boasts of high set top box memory for new interactive applications such as iMatinee (cinema ticketbooking), iTravel (browse and book travel packages), iShop (tele-shopping), iCity (city information guide) and Widgets (stocks) along with eight screen iNews and iSports with 2/4 screens.

Apart from this, other features such as Worldspace Radio content, new games every six weeks and on screen account meter are packaged with the Digital TV.

Airtel has to show difference in their product and services to stand strong amongst existing DTH segment players like Tata Sky, Zee Dish TV, Sun Direct DTH and Reliance Big TV. The DTH segment in India is slowly firing up and is leading to stiff competition for the local cable TV operators.

Nokia set to unveil 'iPhone killer' in November in india

2008-10-06T10:21:00.000+05:30

KOLKATA: Nokia has decided to launch its first touchscreen phone in India in the third week of November. The Finnish handset major will position the phone—Nokia 5800—under its music platform XpressMusic series and is likely to price it at sub-Rs 20,000. The model has just been unveiled globally and pegged by analysts as the iPhone killer.

Talking to ET here on Saturday, Nokia India managing director D Shivakumar said the company expects this phone will create the market for touchscreen devices in India. “What iPhone did was to bring the touch element to a multi-media converged device. Since we are already the leader in converged devices in India, Nokia 5800 will be a revolutionary launch from our stable,” he said.

Industry circles feel the price of Nokia 5800 will play a major role in garnering market share, since the recent spate of touchscreen phones like Apple’s iPhone and Samsung’s Omnia are priced more than Rs 30,000 in India. “Our touchscreen bet will have the latest features and will be packed with music,” said Mr Shivakumar.

The Nokia 5800 features a 3.2-megapixel camera with Carl Zeiss lens, a virtual QWERTY keyboard and offers all the music essentials—graphic equaliser, 8GB memory, supports all digital music formats with built-in surround sound stereo speakers.

After its launch, Nokia intends to study consumer behaviour towards touchscreen phones in India. “We have to study what are some of the key features which Indian consumers aspire for in a touch device. Based on this feedback, the company will decide on building a portfolio of touchscreen devices in India,” said Mr Shivakumar.

This apart, Nokia is also planning to bundle exclusive content featuring its brand ambassador Shah Rukh Khan for handsets sold in India. It has recently bundled the full length ‘Om Shanti Om’ movie in Nokia N96. It will look at bundling video clips and music of Shah Rukh Khan movies in the handsets.

Shah Rukh Khan said: “I am looking forward to collaborating with Nokia for such possibilities in my personal capacity and through my production house Red Chillies Entertainment.”

Top 5 Cellphone Busts of 2008

2008-10-04T19:45:00.001+05:30

5. LG Dare

The Hype: LG's Dare seemed aptly named...at first. As the premier U.S. phone to sport 120 fps video recording (and face recognition), it was poised to shake up the feature phone market. Perks like zippy EVDO Rev A. connectivity, GPS, and a 3-inch touch screen made for some impressive ante uppers too. But it was the Dare's audacity to challenge the iThrone (with faster data speeds and full HTML browsing, no less!) that really caught our attention.

The Letdown: Word to the wise: slapping advanced features together isn't a foolproof recipe for success. Sure, the Dare brought a large touch screen to the party. But navigating with it was a pipe dream. The smokin' data speeds? Squandered on a terrible browser. Other coffin nails include the phone's aggravatingly slow OS, nixed Wi-Fi, and email apps…that you had to pay for. If only LG had dared to raise the bar beyond the phone's (legitimately sweet) camera.

4. Motorola Z10

The Hype: Every once in a while Motorola knocks it out the park. The Z10, Motorola's self-proclaimed "pocket-sized mobile studio," was looking to be a BALCO-assisted grand slam. On the outside, its playfully sophisticated sliding/bending design reminded us of the RAZR’s glory days. However, goodies like MP3 playback, a 3.2MP camera, and the ability to shoot and edit video (at 30 fps!) is what got geek juices flowing. Even more exciting was the fact that it came unlocked and ran on Symbian UIQ instead of a Motorola train wreck OS.

The Letdown: The joke was on us. The would-be savior of an OS was less train-wreck accident more Hindenburg sized disaster. Its sluggish response not only irritated during ordinary tasks, but also ruined the Z10's similarly troubled 'whizz bang' features. Ultimately, the Z10 spread itself too thin with its mobile studio ambition. All the multimedia goodness — pictures, videos, and even audio for MP3 playback — were second rate in quality. Oh, and the head turning bendy chassis? A nightmare for texting. And we're not even going to mention the price.

...fine. This clunker ran an unbelievable $500.

3. Palm Treo Pro 

The Hype: All it took were some blurry leaked photos and the industry was atwitter over the Pro. It made sense. After numerous iterations of the Treo, Palm finally found a design that wasn't hideously fugly. Also, the Treo Pro was slated to make touchscreens hip again (for Palm devices at least), and put a clear emphasis on simplicity and usability. Basically, this was Palm's moment to elegantly descend the spiral staircase and demurely reveal its brand new makeover.  

The Letdown: Despite a number of weaknesses working against the Pro (Windows Mobile 6.1 OS, being manufactured by Palm) it's not a terrible device. Its feature set is a by-the-number execution of smartphone sweetness (Wi-Fi, camera, microSD, 3G, GPS, QWERTY keyboard). Too bad it was all eclipsed by a horrid screen. The TFT touch display on the Pro isn’t a step in the wrong direction; it's like Palm bounded four steps to the side and then broke its legs. Elements of the phone were clearly light years ahead of previous Palm devices, but the Pro's stylus reliant, surprisingly small, unresponsive 320 x 320 touchscreen wasn't one of them.

2. Google G1

The Hype: Googlephone rumors have been circulating for years. So, when news surfaced that HTC, Google, and T-Mobile were (finally)bringing the G1 to market, froth mouthed gadget geeks, pundits, and journalists were driven into a frenzy. Lofty expectations included a totally customizable OS, loads of free applications, and a snappy form factor. Also, with Google's penchant for unloading free stuff on the public, the overall assumption was that the G1 would be the smartphone for the everyman. Boom! Take that iElitists!

The Letdown: Letdown: The G1's unveiling was a lot like the Bigfoot press conference — a long, awkward presentation that left a lot of people confused and/or disappointed. The handset poised to out-iPhone the iPhone had a laundry list of hardware letdowns: bulky, unattractive, and saddled with yet another proprietary headphone jack. Under the hood, the G1 had even more perplexing issues. Any sort of multitouch interface was missing, as was Microsoft Office support (beyond viewing), and video playback. Updates to Google's Android OS could salvage the device (à la the iPhone 3G). But for now, the G1 doesn't even trigger the same excitement as a gorilla costume in an ice chest.

1. iPhone 3G

The Hype: The fevered buzz surrounding thelatest iProduct to emerge from the hive mind in Cupertino was deafening. Sure Apple adherents were dizzy for updates like GPS, a thinner profile, and a flush headset jack. But the real prize was the promise of 3G delivering gushing access to ~~pr0n~~ our favorite websites. And hey, don’t forget how “fun” it is to stand in line for Apple products every 18 months.

The Letdown: Turns out the iPhone's second coming was less Jesusphone and more false idol. After camping in long queues and enduring a hellish activation process, customers found themselves with a handset that was essentially borked. With applications like Mobile Me initially M.I.A., 3G functionality that was severely crippled (a firmware update managed to patch the problem), and a battery that died faster than a suicidal lemming, the whole debacle left us feeling more deflated than circa 1998 Apple stock.

BSNL dials BlackBerry, Apple for 3G rollout

2008-10-04T10:01:00.002+05:30

NEW DELHI: The much sought-after 3GiPhone and BlackBerry may soon be available in the state-owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) network.

The country’s largest telecom service provider, BSNL, is in talks with Apple and BlackBerry to launch the services in India in its own network.

According to BSNL executives, talks with BlackBerry are at an advanced stage and this handset is likely to be available to BSNL’s customers by the year-end.

On the other hand, subscribers on the PSU’s networks may have to wait longer for access the 3G iPhone as talks with Apple are still lingering in preliminary stage, BSNL executives added.

If BSNL were to tie-up with Apple, the state owned telco would be the third player after Airtel and Vodafone to offer 3G iPhone in India.

However, BSNL will be the first player in the Indian market to offer 3G service on the iPhone. Airtel and Vodafone will only have 3G spectrum if they bag these radio frequencies in the upcoming auctions.

The government has already granted BSNL 3G radio frequencies and the telco is expected to launch high-end services on its 3G network early next year.

“We are in talks with Apple to launch 3G iPhone in our network since we will be the first ones to launch the 3G services here. We are also awaiting the launch of BlackBerry in our network by end of this year,”said BSNL CMD, Kuldeep Goyal.

IBM puts India on cloud computing map

2008-10-03T19:24:00.000+05:30

Global computing giant IBM on Wednesday launched a "cloud computing" centre in Bangalore, putting the country on the world map in an emerging area that takes information technology one step closer to being a utility service like electricity or water – with users sharing a common set of hardware and software and paying only what they use.

The Indian centre, which is just getting started, can potentially help small and medium businesses (SMBs) cut down costs and boost innovations. IBM is targeting e-governance, microfinance and telecommunications among industries that could use the Indian centre. In effect, cloud computing would enable small entrepreneurs to increase IT usage without worrying about coughing up large amounts in capital expenditure on data centre or expensive software. They will partly use both hardware and software like rented rooms paid for on the basis of actual usage.

“In Diwali shopping, for instance, if you are managing a store in a peak period which generates high volumes that you need to manage, a cloud centre provides you that ability,” said Ponani Gopalakrishnan, vice-president, IBM's India Software Lab, which employs 1,600 research experts.

Create free “Group SMS” service within your friends circle using Google SMS Channels

2008-10-03T16:47:00.000+05:30

Did you ever wish for an SMS service similar to YahooGroups or Google Groups???

A service that you could help you send your one SMS to all your friends and if any one of them reply to it… the reply goes back as an SMS to mobilephone of all you friends in the group.

Well here is a cool usage of Google SMS Channels to create a similar service…..but before going into details…

Catch this situation —>>

One lazy Sunday afternoon in Pune, sitting at home you feel like planning to watch a late night movie show….You type an SMS and send it to 6 of your friends to check who is interested to join you. Minutes later you start getting all types of queries.. one wants to watch “Drona” the other friend is ok with any movie but only in “Inox” … the third one can watch any movie but only in “Rahul cinema”…. while you start trying to collaborate using only SMS (as its only 10 paise per SMS) you actually end up doing 2-3 round robin of calling everyone to bring all to a conclusion…… Total time taken : 30 minutes

Now the same situation using “Group SMS” –>>

One lazy Sunday afternoon in Pune, sitting at home you feel like planning to watch a late night movie show….You type an SMS and post it to your “Google SMS channel”. All your friends receive this message (as an SMS on their mobile) as they have subscribed to your channel… now everyone post back to the channel (reply the SMS) what their preference is (You have set up your Google SMS channel in such a way that it allow its subscribers to post messages).

Everyone’ s SMS is further relayed to all other friend’s mobile handsets.. and after 2-3 iterations (posting back SMS on the group) you come to a unanimous plan. Total time taken : 5 minutes

Before winding up here are few simple steps you need to take to create your own cool SMS group!!!!!

Step 1

Start your own SMS channel
Click on “Try now>>” under “Create your own channel” onhttp://labs.google.co.in/smschannels/browse
Give name to your channel say “CoolGroup”
Do not select any Data Source
Set ‘Allow publishing by’ to ‘Any subscriber’
Set ‘Who can subscribe’ to ‘By invitation only’

Step 2

Invite your friends using “Invite others”

Step 3

All your friends will receive an invitation SMS from Google on your behalf
They need to send an SMS ‘ON CoolGroup’ to 9870807070
and later ‘accept’ to 9870807070 to accept the terms and conditions

Step 4

To post a message to the channel (sending SMS to all your friends) any of the members can send an SMS to 9870807070
In this case it will be sending an SMS ‘CoolGroup Hi all wanna go 4 any movie 2nite?’ to 9870807070
This message will reach everyone’s mobile to which they can further reply back using the same method

Google SMS channels are poised to bring a complete revolution in the way we exchange information today! People are already exploring ways to innovate cool applications using Google SMS channels….

So keep exploring the countless possibilities and do keep me posted…

Google SMS Channels for India

2008-10-03T14:23:00.001+05:30

Google in India launched a new Labs service called Google SMS Channels, as Digital Inspirationreports. Digital Inspiration explains the service “lets you subscribe to news alerts, blog updates and other kinds of information like horoscopes, jokes, stocks or even cricket scores via SMS text messages,” adding that Google SMS Channels are “free both for content publishers as well as mobile phone users who subscribe to text updates via SMS.”

HTC Touch Pro Features and Software

2008-09-26T10:18:00.001+05:30

Why The T-Mobile G1 Is Better Than The Apple iPhone

2008-09-26T10:10:00.001+05:30

All the hype came to its crescendo this week as T-Mobile, Google and HTC jointly released the T-Mobile G1, the first commercially available mobile device based on the open source Linux Google Android operating system.

The touch screen G1, known to some as the HTC Dream, bears some similarity to the Apple iPhone, which saw amazing uptake with the release of its 3G model. Even the original iPhone, released 15 months ago, still garners a great deal of hype.

And while it's uncertain whether the T-Mobile G1 and Google Android will unseat the iPhone for smart phone supremacy, the G1 is better than the iPhone, though it might not be as pretty.

At the G1's official launch on Tuesday, the main focus was on Google Android's openness and its work with the Open Handset Alliance. Along with unveiling the physical device itself, the Google and T-Mobile teams also launched the Android Market. Similar in concept to the Apple AppStore, Android Market enables third-party application developers to offer their apps to be used on the device.

The Android Market, simply put, is better than Apple's AppStore.

Google's hands-off approach means there will be no whining about what applications do and don't get picked up. Essentially, a developer can offer his or her application on the market without fees, review or even Google's stamp of approval. With Apple keeping a tight grip on the apps offered in its AppStore -- anyone remember IAMRICH? -- Android Market will be a breath of fresh air.

The G1 may earn a leg up on Steve Jobs' baby because T-Mobile is a better carrier than AT&T. It might come as a surprise, considering T-Mobile currently doesn't support 3G in every major metropolitan area, but the G1 will also support Wi-Fi and 2G networks until T-Mobile gets its high-speed 3G initiative fully up and running. Many potential iPhoners have been put off by the AT&T mandate, which is now in place until 2010, often complaining about the data plan pricing and unsatisfactory service.

While T-Mobile is bound to offer a few dead zones of its own, it has set reasonable pricing on its plans, offering a limited plan for $25 and an unlimited Web and messaging plan for $35. It's estimated that over a two-year period a voice and data plan for the G1 could save consumers nearly $400 compared to similar service for an iPhone. Plus, the G1 comes in around $20 cheaper than the cheapest iPhone model with a two-year contract.

Where the iPhone is sleek and slender, the G1 comes with a little more girth and weight. But the extra fractions of an inch and added ounces are worth it for the physical full QWERTY keypad. Similar in style to T-Mobile's now-iconic Sidekick line, the G1's screen slides up to reveal a full keyboard, with enough short cuts to ease Web surfing and make messaging simpler -- without relying just on a touch-screen keyboard to get the job done.

The G1 also offers multimedia messaging, copy and paste, voice dialing and a removable battery, which the iPhone notably lack.

And for those who buy devices for looks more than functionality, the G1 comes in three colors, while the iPhone hits just two: black and white. The G1 adds brown to the mix.

Both devices also offer a host of similar features and functions. Both have a music player, Bluetooth, GPS, GoogleMaps with Satellite View and Traffic and POP3 and IMAP email. The G1, however, relies on Amazon's MP3 store and the iPhone on Apple iTunes for music. The G1 also wraps into GoogleMaps Street View and a compass mode that orients the screen as the user moves, features the iPhone is missing. No, the G1 currently doesn't support Microsoft Exchange for email, which the iPhone does, but it does offer push Gmail and the device's makers anticipate someone will create an Exchange application for it soon and offer it in the Android Market.

Oh, and the G1 has a 3.2 megapixel camera, a touch higher than the iPhone's 2 megapixels.

Will these reasons be enough to propel the G1 past the iPhone? That remains to be seen. Research firm Strategy Analytics is predicting that the G1 could sell 400,000 units by year's end, accounting for roughly 4 percent of the smart phone market. While analysts at Piper Jaffray have predicted that Apple will have sold 5 million iPhone 3Gs in the past quarter. Surely, Google and T-Mobile have an uphill battle, but its strong feature set and subtle differences could be the boom the smart phone market needed for Apple to find its true rival.

Google Patent Could Kill Off Cellphone Contracts

2008-09-26T08:02:00.000+05:30

Google's keyword auctions redefined web advertising. Now, a patent filing reveals, the search company wants to do the same thing for wireless services.

Google's patent filing describes "devices, systems and methods" that would automatically poll nearby wireless services to find the best price for a voice or a data connection for a "portable communications device." That connection might come via a cellphone carrier, a WiMax provider, or even a Wi-Fi hotspot. According to the patent, users can either manually select the bid they like best or they can allow the device to connect automatically with the lowest-cost provider.

The upshot? Just as advertisers know they're always getting the market price for keywords on Google's AdWords system, wireless users would always get the market price for wireless data service -- or phone calls. The system could potentially free users from cellphone contracts and locked phones that tie them to one service provider and allow them to switch from one carrier to another, seamlessly, based on which carrier had the lowest price at that moment.

"It is an interesting notion," says Neil Strother, mobile analyst for Jupiter Research. "The idea would be that the device or system is smart enough that the switching could be invisible and in the background and, if they could patent it, it could be very disruptive."

Granted, a lot of obstacles stand in the way of this vision, not least of which would be the unwillingness of entrenched cellular carriers to play ball. Also, the system would require compatible software not only on handsets, but also on any potential wireless connection points -- a major infrastructure hurdle. But the patent is striking for its scope -- and for the glimpse it gives of Google's lofty wireless ambitions.

The patent covers both voice calls and data transmission sessions and also covers a device that will wirelessly connect to a number of carriers, pull pricing information and then select a carrier based on the information.

The patent, filed in March 2007 but published today, is an indicator of how the company sees mobile as its next playground.

Already the launch of the T-Mobile G1 phone (carrying the Google brand and Google's Android operating system) has established the company as a serious contender in the mobile business.

Mobile, after all, is the among the few technology sectors that have the potential to be a bigger business for Google than search.

And the patent goes along with Google's mantra of opening up the wireless industry.

In its patent, Google has said it wants to bring together all the different modes of connectivity and offer consumers a device that potentially make them agnostic to the carrier they use.

With the proliferation of wired and wireless access technologies including DSL, cable, Wi-Fi or 3G networks, consumers are struggling to unify their communications, says Google's patent. Most users have a land line at home or work, a cell phone for mobility and sometimes a PDA for data access.

"And they may have a different provider for each of these services, even though, to the user, they are just communications applications and not much more," says the patent.

Though some attempts have been made to simplify communications, they are limited and restrictive, claims the patent.

And that's where Google could step in. If successful, the company could offer a system that could help a single device operate on multiple networks.

The patent cites an example of a mobile phone that could run on a home broadband network and transition to a Wi-Fi network or a cellular network outside.

"The connections may, in appropriate circumstances, be provided by different telecommunications providers, and may involve hand-offs of a particular communication session from one provider to another," says the patent.

The advantages to the system are clear. It would help users have access to the lowest cost network at all times.

"In addition to cost as a factor in selecting appropriate telecommunications providers, users may opt for alternative auction models based on maximal bandwidth offered, best coverage/reliability, or some combination of options," says the patent.

To be sure, the patent may not amount to much. Even Google with its might may not be able to break the stranglehold of telecom carriers in North America, and it is unlikely most wireless carriers or telecom service providers would play ball.

"There is a lot of heavy lifting that would be required in the background to pull this off," says Strother. "The software has to be really smart and the device has to be well tuned to detect and switch quickly across different technologies."

"It's not impossible," says Strother, "but it would have to be a very nifty trick that they would have to pull off."

But even if telecom carriers don't sign on, Google can potentially pull this off -- albeit slowly. Last year, the company participated in the federal government’s auction of wireless spectrum in the 700 Megahertz band. Though Google failed to win any licenses, it bagged a commitment from the Federal Communications Commission that spectrum owners, Verizon and AT&T, among others, can't block out internet or telecom rivals.

Meanwhile, the company has invested about $500 million in the Sprint-Clearwire WiMax wireless broadband network

"It is not clear how big WiMax will be, but if it takes off, then it could be an alternative to current carriers," says Strother.

The biggest challenge then would be in convincing the FCC, says Strother. "The question is would the FCC go along with this?"

So far Google has been pushing the FCC to open up the airwaves, and just maybe it can convince it to take this step.

Eventually if Google can realize a part of its vision and convince customers to sign on, carriers will have little choice but to work with the company, say industry experts.

"You can't stop innovation," says Frank Meehan, director and general manager of 3G Handsets and Products for the Hutchison Whampoa Group. "As carriers we can instead choose to become platforms that drive innovation and look at building value around advertising and applications."

Google phone to hit Indian stores in December

2008-09-26T07:39:00.002+05:30

Taiwanese handset major High Tech Computer (HTC) is planning to launch the Android platform-powered phone (popularly referred to as the Google phone) in India this December.

The price hoverer higher than its US debut tag of around Rs. 8200.

Ajay Sharma, country manager, HTC (India), told Business Standard: “We would prefer a mobile operator tie-up to introduce the Google phone in India in December.”

HTC’s G1 (the Google phone model) will cost more since “the Indian market does not work on the handset subsidy model".

Android is a Linux-based operating system for mobile devices that was announced in November last year and developed by the Open Handset Alliance — a group comprising players like Google, HTC, Intel, Motorola and Samsung.

Research firm Strategy Analytics has predicted that the G1 could sell 400,000 units by the end of 2008, accounting for 4 per cent of the smart-phone market.

To spur the growth of third-party applications, Google recently announced the Android Market, similar to Apple's App Store, where consumers can buy and download content for its mobile platform.

Labelled as competition to Apple’s iPhone, which is priced at Rs 31,000 for the 8GB model, the HTC G1 could be priced cheaper to maintain an edge in India. Currently, HTC has smart-phones in the Indian market priced between Rs 10,000 and Rs 35,000. Google India officials were unavailable for comment.

HTC’s device is a 3G phone with a touch-screen, slider keyboard, GPS and Wi-Fi.

HTC India, which has an exclusive partnership with Airtel, is also open to selling the G1 phone through independent retail channels. “We will decide the business model soon,” said Sharma.

He believes that Google’s software platform and operating system for mobile devices has the benefit of leveraging on more than 100 million online web users as well as its open source development platform and advertising-oriented business model.

Although India does not have 3G yet, Sharma said applications like maps and search could find takers. “We expect to build volumes in India and the Android-based phone should make HTC a bigger player in the wireless handset market,” he said.

HTC India hopes to sell 600,000 mobile devices in 2009, having doubled sales this year from 100,000 in 2007.

Android Makes its Debut in T-Mobile G1

2008-09-23T19:41:00.000+05:30

After less than a year since the initial Android announcement, T-Mobile USA launches today the first handset that uses Android's software stack: a smartphone built by HTC, which is known for manufacturing Windows Mobile portable devices.

T-Mobile G1 showcases some of the most advanced capabilities of Android, by including a touchscreen, QWERTY keyboard, accelerated 3D graphics, Wi-Fi and 3G support, GPS and accelerometer. The device won't have an impressive design and it won't be as easy to use as an iPhone, but it will certainly be able to run a lot of interesting applications.

Android's marketplace will accept any applications without a preliminary review, so that users decide whether they're useful. That means Angelo DiNardi's MailWrangler application won't be rejected because it duplicates the functionality from a built-in application. "Developers will be able to make their content available on an open service hosted by Google that features a feedback and rating system similar to YouTube. (...) Content can debut in the marketplace after only three simple steps: register as a merchant, upload and describe your content and publish it," explains Android's blog.

Even if the first device fails to impress, it will still be a success because Android pushes the boundaries further. "Consumers will see cheaper and more innovative mobile devices and services, which will inevitably feature more engaging, easier-to-use interfaces - as well as a rich portfolio of applications," envisions Open Handset Alliance's FAQ.

We will find more at 10:30 a.m. EDT, when T-Mobile and Google will announce the device in a press conference that will be webcasted live.

Update. TmoNews has more information about the device:

Size: 4.6 x 2.16 x 0.63 in (117 x 55 x 16 mm)
Weight: 5.6 oz (159 g)
Display: 65K color screen, HVGA (480 x 320)
Talk Time: 5 hours
Standby Time: 130 hours
Memory: expandable up to 8 GB
Camera: 3.1 MP

Send FREE SMS to mobile phones in India via Email

2008-09-22T16:51:00.002+05:30

Send FREE SMS to mobile phones in India via Email without any cost and is unlimited!

Just send an email from your email account to the Mobile Email of your friend and it will SMSed to your friend mobile phone. It will be delivered in minutes, depending on the email transmission. If the cell is switched off, then the message will be delivered as soon as it comes to the network. Example: If your friend cell number is 9843012345, then your friend's mobile number series is 9843 and so you have to send an email to your friend as 919843012345@bplmobile.com

Use the table to below find out mobile email of our friend.

State / City - India	Cellular Operator	Mobile Number Series	Mobile Email SMS
Andhra Pradesh	AirTel	9849	919849xxxxxx@airtelap.com
Andhra Pradesh	Idea Cellular	9848	9848xxxxxx@ideacellular.net
Chennai	Skycell / Airtel	9840	919840xxxxxx@airtelchennai.com
Chennai	RPG Cellular	9841	9841xxxxxx@rpgmail.net
Delhi	Airtel	9810	919810xxxxxx@airtelmail.com
Delhi	Hutch	9811	9811xxxxxx@delhi.hutch.co.in
Gujarat	Idea Cellular	9824	9824xxxxxx@ideacellular.net
Gujarat	Airtel	9898	919898xxxxxx@airtelmail.com
Gujarat	Celforce / Fascel	9825	9825xxxxxx@celforce.com
Goa	Airtel	9890	919890xxxxxx@airtelmail.com
Goa	BPL Mobile	9823	9823xxxxxx@bplmobile.com
Goa	Idea Cellular	9822	9822xxxxxx@ideacellular.net
Haryana	Airtel	9896	919896xxxxxx@airtelmail.com
Haryana	Escotel	9812	9812xxxxxx@escotelmobile.com
Himachal Pradesh	Airtel	9816	919816xxxxxx@airtelmail.com
Karnataka	Airtel	9845	919845xxxxxx@airtelkk.com
Kerala	Airtel	9895	919895xxxxxx@airtelkerala.com
Kerala	Escotel	9847	9847xxxxxx@escotelmobile.com
Kerala	BPL Mobile	9846	9846xxxxxx@bplmobile.com
Kolkata	Airtel	9831	919831xxxxxx@airtelkol.com or Net 2 Cell
Madhya Pradesh	Airtel	9893	919893xxxxxx@airtelmail.com
Maharashtra	Airtel	9890	919890xxxxxx@airtelmail.com
Maharashtra	BPL Mobile	9823	9823xxxxxx@bplmobile.com
Maharashtra	Idea Cellular	9822	9822xxxxxx@ideacellular.net
Mumbai	Airtel	9892	919892xxxxxx@airtelmail.com
Mumbai	BPL Mobile	9821	9821xxxxxx@bplmobile.com
Punjab	Airtel	9815	919815xxxxxx@airtelmail.com
Pondicherry	BPL Mobile	9843	9843xxxxxx@bplmobile.com
Tamil Nadu	Airtel	9894	919894xxxxxx@airtelmail.com
Tamil Nadu	BPL Mobile	9843	919843xxxxxx@bplmobile.com
Tamil Nadu	Aircel	9842	9842xxxxxx@airsms.com
Uttar Pradesh (West)	Escotel	9837	9837xxxxxx@escotelmobile.com

MSC Code for Cellular Circle Operations

Supported Networks

Airtel: Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Chennai (Skycell), Delhi, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Goa, Karnataka, Kerala, Kolkata, Maharashtra, Mumbai, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh (West)
Hutch: Delhi
Escotel: Haryana, Uttar Pradesh (West), Kerala
BPL Mobile: Mumbai, Maharashtra, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Pondicherry, Goa
Idea Cellular: Andhra Pradesh (Tata), Maharashtra, Goa, Gujarat
RPG Cellular: Chennai
Aircel: Tamil Nadu
Celforce (Fascel): Gujarat

Note: Ananthapuri.com is not responsible for any errors in the above list or any information provided in this page, and also delays in the message delivery system. Message Delivery time depends upon the cellular network.

BSNL - Email to Mobile Phone

The Unified Messaging Service from BSNL allows to send SMS messages to all BSNL cell phones in India. You can send SMS emails to BSNL phones as mobilenumber@bsnlumN.com

The email domain is different for each region - bsnlumn.com (North), bsnlums.com (South), bsnlume.com (East) and bsnlumw.com (West).

PC to Mobile SMS Links

FREE SMS to MTNL Mobile Users

» Send a free SMS to your friends' mobile from the Yahoo! Messenger - You can send an SMS to Hutch, Orange, Airtel Escotel and Spice Punjab and Spice Karnataka users in India and AT&T users in USA.

» SMS in Malayalam and other local languages - SMS is no longer just available via English language, you can send and SMS in Hindi, Gujarati, Marathi, Bengali, Kannada, Malayalam, Punjabi, Tamil and Telugu! Receive MSN Messenger messages from your mobile device, download ring tones.

How to Create my Own Website

2008-09-21T10:28:00.001+05:30

How to Create my Own Website

a guide for beginners

You are welcome to evaluate this article
with the stars in the rating tool above :-)

A short summary of the article

In order to launch your website first you need to create the HTML and other files your site will consist of. You can decide to write the codes yourself or use a web page editor program to do the task for you. A nice design can be produced with free web templates available on the net.
When you are ready with your site, you need to choose a web server you will upload your files to. You might want to register a domain name for your site, as well. Once on the server, the site can be accessed by any visitor from the Internet.
There are codes, other than HTML, that can make your web pages more attractive and functional. CSS will make your site good-looking, JavaScript or PHP will result in dynamic effects and functions.
You might also decide to download, free of charge, professional ready to use dynamic sites, forum programs, or content management systems, personalize them and use them as your own website.

A web page – what is it?

A simple web page is usually a nicely designed text document, with embedded images and with links to other web pages. (More complicated web pages might have other features, too.)

While files used by word processor programs have .doc, or .txt extension, file names of web documents are ending in .html so that the computer can detect, that the file is supposed to be opened with a web browser (e.g. Internet Explorer, or Firefox). Another common feature of text and web documents is that, similarly to word processors, there are web page editors available. Web page editors will save your documents in HTML format. A document created this way is ready to be uploaded to a server.

Does a webpage work only on web servers?

Before, or instead of, publishing your web page on the Internet, you can place it to the hard drive of your computer, too. It makes no difference to a browser program to download a web page from a folder on your C: drive or from a remote computer (web server). This is very helpful anyway, because this way you can try out your website on your own computer before uploading it to a web server.

The browser program will open your document if you enter the folder and file name. This may be e.g. C:/documents/webpage.html on your computer. The difference is that if you want to open a HTML file that is already uploaded in a folder of a server, you will need a domain name too, so that the browser program can find the remote computer on the net. The domain name will direct the browser to the root directory affiliated with this domain. Now you only have to provide the domain, the folder and file names to the browser in order to download an HTML document from the server:

http://www.example.com/ documents/webpage.html = domain/folder/file name

You surely have already opened many web pages simply by typing in the domain name, without any folder, or file names. This easy way of connecting to web sites is made possible by the servers, because, if you enter only a domain name, the server will automatically look for a file called index.html in the root directory. So if you have a website composed of a number of web pages, you will have to call the main page index.html

HTML codes

HTML codes were designed to help in formatting the text and other objects on a web page. (HTML = HyperText Markup Language.) As mentioned earlier, there are web page editor programs available that will generate HTML documents for you, just like word processors produce text documents. One of the free editor programs can be downloaded here: http://nvudev.com/download.php

However, you can create HTML documents without professional web editors as well, because codes are quite easy to use. All you need is a Notepad, or any simple word processor. When saving your document, make sure the extension is .html

It is advisable to open HTML files only with very basic word processors (e.g. Notepad), that save your documents in simple text format. More sophisticated word processors will put their own codes into the text files while you are editing them. These codes may not comply with HTML standards and will not be understood by web browsers.

A simple unit of text, or other object, formatted in HTML, is called an HTML element. An element will look like this:

text, or other content to be formatted

So if you want to make a sentence bold, you need to type this into the HTML document:

This sentence will be bold

To set the color, you type this:

This text is blue

If you are interested in learning more codes, there are plenty of resources available on the Internet.

Introduction to HTML: http://www.w3schools.com/HTML/html_intro.asp

Try it editor: http://www.w3schools.com/HTML/html_examples.asp

An HTML tutorial: http://www.htmlcodetutorial.com/document/

Other files and codes to improve your website

It is enough to upload a single HTML document to the server in order to create a fully functional website. However, an HTML file contains only text, which is formatted by the codes. If you want to include images, videos, sounds, or other objects, first you have to provide them in separate files. Then, in the HTML document, you need to include references to them (folder and file name), in the part of the document where you would like to include them.

A web site will usually consist of:

1. HTML files (one for each web page on your site)
2. image, video, etc. files (references to them provided in the HTML documents)

3. possibly other files too (e.g. CSS files for advanced formatting, or PHP files for dynamic pages)

If you have all the files ready, you only need to upload them to the server or to your hard drive.

CSS, PHP, JavaScript and other codes may be used for more advanced sites. There will be a short summary about them later on in this essay.

Uploading your files to a web server

Web hosting is relatively cheap, especially if you have a simple static website. Even free hosting is available at many places.

If you are a beginner, it is a good idea to gain experiences on a server where hosting is free of charge. There are, however, some disadvantages if you choose free servers: the lack of good customer service and that they will usually put ads in one of the corners of your site.

Web developers would typically say that it is not advisable to choose free hosting if you have a serious site.

Before the site becomes fully operational, you need to register a domain name. The hosting provider will do it for you for a fee and you have to wait for a couple of days or weeks for the approval, depending on the type of domain. In the case of free hosting, you don't have to bother about registering a domain, you usually get a free sub-domain immediately after you have opened your account.

After you have finalized the structure of your site and tried it out on your own hard drive, the files can be uploaded to the server. Create the folders (if needed) in the root directory of the server and upload the files. If you have been using a template, the original folder structure can remain as it was downloaded. Make sure all the references pointing at the different folders, pages, images, etc. are correct in the documents, because web editor programs sometimes might make unexpected modifications in the files.

The most common way of uploading the files is through FTP-connection (FTP=File Transfer Protocol). There are many ways to make an FTP-connection; one of them is the Total Commander program. You can download the program at http://www.ghisler.com/

The service provider or your web editor program might also assist you in making FTP-link to the server.

In any case, in order to establish an FTP-connection, you will need the address of the server, the name of your account and a password.

Website templates

There are plenty of free website templates available on the Internet. These templates are professionally formatted, complete sites. You can download your favorite template into a folder of your hard drive (do not forget to check for viruses). If you have a web editor program, open the html file(s) and finalize the web pages. The main page will be called index.html.

In case you don’t have a web editor program, the html files can be edited with simple text editors, too, e.g. with Notepad. After you saved the changes you made in the file, you can check the result by opening it with a browser program.

Some places to download templates from:

www.freecsstemplates.org/css-templates/ www.freelayouts.com/websites

CSS code

Using CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) is an important means to create well formatted web documents. In website templates, the CSS file is usually included in the main folder, together with the HTML files.

One of the main advantages of using CSS is, that the codes defining the “looks” of the webpage are dealt with separately, thus the HTML document doesn’t have to be full with repeated formatting codes. This is especially advantageous if you have several pages within a site: you need to define the format only once. When you decide to do any change in the design of your site later on, you only have to edit the CSS file, this will affect all the HTML pages.

Example:

With the following code, Heading 2 will be formatted in the CSS file:

h2 {

text-align: left;

color: blue;

font-family: "Arial";

font-style: italic;

}

In the HTML file, Heading 2 will be defined like this:

text to be formatted

Now, in any html document, affected by this CSS file, Heading 2 will be aligned to the left, and will contain italic, blue, Arial letters.

CSS codes are usually provided in separate files, but may also be included in the HTML file (the latter solution is not advised if you have more than one page to deal with).

For more details, have a look at any CSS course on the Internet, e.g. on the official Microsoft site

Dynamic web pages – JavaScript, PHP, MySQL

The content of static websites can be altered only by uploading a new HTML file to the server instead of the existing one. In contrast to this, dynamic pages are changeable, with the help of different applications, built in the web page, or running on the server.

JavaScript may be one of the least complicated of these applications. It should not be confused with the Java programming language, although there are some similarities between them.

JavaScript is basically a little application that can be built into a HTML document. Web browsers are able to interpret and run the JavaScript. After the web page has been downloaded to the visitor’s computer, the browser will execute the codes, thus, the program, arriving with the HTML page, will run on the user’s computer. (This is why it is called client-side application.)

These applications can be quite diverse; you certainly have encountered many of them. Java Scripts may instantly check whether you type in the correct answers in a questionnaire, or may alter the size of an image when you pull the mouse over it. Diary applications are very common, too.

If you want to place similar tricks into your HTML-page, simply copy the code into the part of the page where you want it to appear. Plenty of ready to use codes are available on the Internet.

Note: Javascript is a very commonly used friendly little program arriving with web pages. However, as the application runs on the user's machine, it also may be used by hackers to create a gateway to your computer for malicious programs from the Internet. This is one of the reasons why it is important to visit only trusted websites and to run a top quality anti-virus and firewall program.

PHP is one of the most common server-side applications. This code also fits into HTML-files, but, unlike client-side JavaScript, PHP will run on the server. Consequently, the dynamic elements of the webpage are finalized by the server and will arrive at the user’s computer in their final shape. A pre-condition to this is that a program running PHP codes must have been installed on the server. The extension of the file has also be changed from .html to .php so that the server can detect there is an application to be run in the page before forwarding it to the reader. Thus, if your main page contains php codes, its name will be index.php instead of index.html.

How does a PHP-script work? Let’s take a webpage hit counter as an example. This application is able to count the number of visits to the page it is installed on. This little program obviously can only be run on the server, because this is where you can follow the hits at the webpage. Every time when a visitor downloads the page, the server automatically runs the PHP code embedded in the page. This short application basically checks the actual number shown by the counter, adds one to it, saves the new number and displays it in the section of the page where the code was placed.

In practice there is a very wide range of PHP applications, starting from this kind of simple codes to complex ones, like full content management systems.

Databases are often needed to support dynamic web pages. In the example above, you only need to store a single number on the server (number of visitors so far). It is enough to create a text file for this purpose (e.g. counter.txt), where the number is saved, and replaced by a new number when there is a new hit. This file can be stored in one of your folders on the server.

There are of course more serious applications with larger, separate databases. Here comes MySQL into consideration, which is one of the most popular database systems. MySQL is used by most of the free forum programs and content management systems, so if you would like to run one of these, make sure the host is able to provide you with MySQL (usually they are).

JavaScripts and PHP Scripts to download: www.hotscripts.com

Ready to use forum programs and content management systems

There are more complicated dynamic sites available as well. You can download ready to use forum programs, then simply upload the files to a server and you will have your forum administered by yourself. Unlike the case of static website templates, here you don’t need to change anything in the downloaded files before uploading them to the web server. You will have to finalize your site through the Internet, using your administrator rights.

Forum programs can be downloaded e.g. at www.phpbb.com or www.simplemachines.org

Before uploading, make sure that the server is capable of running PHP codes and there is a database (MySQL) connected to your account.

Content Management Systems (CMS) are similarly, or even more sophisticated ready to use programs. CMS programs can provide most of the features needed for a Web 2.0 site. Depending on your choice, authorized users may write articles, blogs, comments, create forums, etc., on your site.

Thanks to Content Management Systems, anybody can create professional dynamic websites without any serious knowledge on informatics. The quality of a web page doesn’t necessarily depend on the amount of invested money anymore; good content created by you will be sufficient to become successful. You will need to spend a couple of days, however, to try and learn the way you can administer the CMS.

Some of the best CMS programs can be downloaded at these sites:

Some recommendations before finalizing your website

When you prepare your web pages on your own computer, keep in mind that readers may have different screen resolutions, or browser programs than you. When you are ready with the website it is worth having a look at it with major web browsers (Internet Explorer 6.0 and 7.0, or Firefox) and checking it with different screen resolutions.

You shouldn’t forget either that some of the visitors will have slow Internet connections. If you don’t want to make your site a nightmare for them, do not use large files. Text files are relatively small; a HTML file is usually only a couple of kilobytes. The main problem is caused by images. It is enough to put a few pictures with a size of a couple megabytes on your webpage and it might prove very slow to download. For this reason, web developers prefer to use images with small file sizes. If you don’t have an image editor program on your computer, you can shrink your images at websites on the Internet, e.g.: www.shrinkpictures.com

Nokia 'free' music phone sales to start on October 17

2008-09-19T09:07:00.003+05:30

HELSINKI: Nokia's first phone model with free access to music is scheduled to go on sale on Oct 17 in Britain, retailer Carphone Warehouse said on its Web page. Nokia's "Comes with Music" bundle of phone and music service could help the music industry make up for falling CD sales, while challenging dominance of Apple's iTunes in the digital music market.

The package will differ from other bundles on the market as users can keep all the music they have downloaded during the 12 month subscription period. Carphone, the exclusive retailer for the first model, said the phone was expected to go on sale on Oct 17.

A Nokia spokesman declined to comment. Nokia has signed deals with the top three music labels -- Universal, Sony BMG and Warner Music Group -- to offer their tracks on the service. Having the world's three largest labels on board is set to help Nokia attract smaller music companies and challenge the dominant pay-per-track sales model for digital music.

"'Comes with Music' and other bundled services, should they succeed, offer a lifeline to the music labels which have seen revenues decline sharply in the digital age," David MacQueen, analyst at researchers Strategy Analytics, said in a statement.

Strategy Analytics said its consumer survey showed clear latent demand for bundles like "Comes with Music", with 84 percent of respondents willing to pay for such service. "Comes with Music" is a key part of Nokia's push to expand its offering to services, beyond maturing cellphone market. While last year Apple grabbed most of the headlines in mobile world with iPhone, now analysts say Nokia has stolen the spotlight from Apple in the digital music world with the "Comes with Music" package. Record labels are looking to Nokia and others to challenge the dominance of Apple's iTunes as they have struggled to negotiate with the American group on a level footing when it comes to issues such as pricing.

Nokia's Carphone deal is for prepaid sales of its first "Comes with Music" model, but getting the new lineup to carriers portfolios is likely to prove more challenging as many telecom operators already run their own music stores and create additional revenue and profit from those. Nokia's head of new services business, Niklas Savander, told Reuters last week the firm was confident its phones with free access to music also will be sold by telecom operators, with the timing now up to the carriers. ID:nL9295900 Deals with operators are usually more beneficial to phone makers as operators subsidise phones to boost demand and win new clients, hoping to win the subsidy back in monthly bills.

Will Google's Android be an iPhone killer

2008-09-19T09:07:00.002+05:30

NEW YORK: Anyone expecting the Google mobile operating system to change the market as Apple's iPhone has over the past year will probably be disappointed, for now.

Industry insiders who have worked on Google's Android system say it will struggle in the near term to match the consumer enthusiasm generated by the iPhone, which redefined the touchscreen phone market and greatly improved mobile Web surfing.

Instead, Google sees Android as an open source platform for designing mobile devices and says it will encourage innovation by allowing outside software developers to tinker with the system and create better mobile programmes and services.

But these things take time, and the first phone using Android, code-named the Google "Dream" phone, is unlikely to wow consumers. The device is made by HTC of Taiwan. Deutsche Telekom's T-Mobile unit reportedly intends to introduce it in New York on September 23. The mobile phone to use Google Inc's Android mobile operating software will cost $199, the Wall Street Journal reported on its website

"I'm not sure the consumer experience is significantly better than that of the iPhone," said Rajeev Chand, a wireless analyst at the investment bank Rutberg, who has tried out an early version of Android. "When the iPhone came out, the experience was several orders of magnitude better than anything that was out there."

Google, its partner carriers and application developers hope the Android platform will drive even more mobile Web surfing than the iPhone, which has helped mobile Internet use rocket in comparison with other smartphones.

But unlike Apple, which keeps a tight grip on the iPhone's hardware and software, Google will have less control. Android will be open to developers to create componenttechnologies in almost any way they can imagine.

Google's engineering-led culture appears content to introduce the first Android phones as a kind of science project that will be rapidly improved afterward. But Google will not have the kind of leverage in mobile that it is used to in the PC world, where it dominates Web search. Phone carriers have a huge say over how devices are designed and what data services are accessible over their networks.

While Android could offer real promise in terms of technology and usability it is unlikely by itself to change the restrictive nature of the mobile industry, said John Poisson, founder of Tiny Pictures, a developer partner of Android.

Carriers in each market will still control how it gets implemented and on which devices and in which form," Poisson said. "Android lives and breathes at the pleasure of the operator."

Another problem for Android is how to explain what it is to consumers. Unlike the iPhone, which came on the back of Apple's hugely successful iPod music player, Android is an unknown brand, even though the Google name has plenty of cachet.

Qualcomm plans Rs 4,000 3G mobile

2008-09-19T09:07:00.000+05:30

In a bid to make 3G handsets affordable, US-based chip giant Qualcomm is working with handset manufacturers and telecom operators (both CDMA and GSM) to launch 3G-enabled mobiles for as low as Rs 4,000 in India.

These handsets, which will offer Internet on mobile besides other features, will be available early next year. Also, 3G smartphones, on the lines of Apple iPhone and Nokia’s N96, will be rolled out in the second half of 2009 with an entry-level price tag of Rs 10,000.

“We are in talks with all operators to explore, along with our OEMs (original equipment manufacturers), how this space can be penetrated so as to increase the addressable market. We are working to make sure 3G entry-level phones start at Rs 4,000. Affordable 3G smartphones, beginning at Rs 10,000, will bring in a new dimension to enterprise connectivity,” Qualcomm India and South Asia president Kanwalinder Singh told ET.

Qualcomm will provide the chipsets for mobiles and other devices. These are used by low-cost manufacturers like Huawei and ZTE to make handsets while telecom operators bundle them with their services because it increases their revenues from new applications and value added services (VAS).

The San Diego-headquartered company is also bringing together its OEMs and GSM operators to offer data card connectivity solutions comparable to CDMA operators. “3G USB modems will bring ‘always on’ wireless broadband connectivity to laptops and desktops. These modems will enter the market in the Rs 3,500 price range,” he said.

Currently, the data card market in India is dominated by Tata Teleservices and Reliance Communications (RCOM). Till now, Qualcomm has only been associated with CDMA operators. However, as 3G comes to India, Qualcomm is also working with GSM service providers including Airtel, Vodafone Essar and Idea. This is because for evolution to 3G services, the GSM community has chosen wideband-CDMA radio interface, which increases data transmission rates in GSM systems.

Globally, GSM 2G is transitioning to 3G. “In India, we will drive a similar trend and bring in affordable tiered solutions to stimulate mass market adoptions. While the key application of all 3G handsets will be no-compromise-access to mobile Internet, various price points will provide experience of different kinds. We expect all devices to support downloading and uploading of videos,” Mr Singh said. According to technology research firm IDC, 3G feature phones and smartphones in the range of Rs 4,000 and above will account for 30% of the Indian handset market.

iPhone Hobbled by High Prices in Japan, Lack of 3G in India

2008-09-18T09:44:00.000+05:30

Apple's iPhone may be giving competitors a run for their money in North America but when it comes to three of the biggest telecom markets in Asia — Japan, India and China — the company seems to be coming up lame.

The latest sales figures suggest the Jesus phone is struggling to find new converts in Japan. Not far away in India (the second largest telecom market after China) sales of the device are also lackluster thanks to prices that are pushing seven Benjamins for the entry level 8-GB version. And Apple has yet to finalize a deal with Chinese telecom carrier, China Mobile, to bring the iPhone to the People’s Republic.

A combination of high pricing and a marketing strategy that fails to take into account the needs of local markets has left Apple selling just a few hundred thousand units in countries where millions of other phones are sold every month.

Take India, one of Asia's fastest-growing telecom markets. Between 2006 and 2007, sales of smartphones within the nation grew an estimated 31.4 percent. The data-centric convergence device segment exploded at 89 percent, while voice-centric devices shot up by 26.3 percent. As of July 2008, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India reported total wireless subscribers of about 296 million. About 9.2 million subscribers were added in July alone.

Nokia is the market leader in India but other players like Research In Motion (makers of Ur-smartphone BlackBerry), HTC and Sony Ericsson are gaining traction. But not Apple.

It isn't for lack of interest in the iPhone, says Naveen Mishra, an analyst at IDC India.

Apple's brand and the iPhone's design have captivated Indian consumers but the high cost of the device and the lack of a nationwide 3G network has kept away users from buying the phone.

"The iPhone has a large fan following," says Mishra, "but when it comes to buying the device not a lot of people want to spend that kind of money."

Apple CEO Steve Jobs introduced the 3G iPhone with the promise of $199 price tag at which it retails in the United States along with a two-year contract with the service provider.

But in India the device has been priced much higher at 31,000 Rupees ($673) for the 8-GB version and 36,100 Rupees ($785) for the 16-GB model.

The reason for the higher cost? Wireless customers in India flat out refuse to sign legally binding mobile phone contracts. Because they’re not obligated to stick with a service provider, handsets on the subcontinent are always full priced, never subsidized.

The iPhone's limited availability through a contract with just two mobile service operators has cramped sales, says Mishra.

Unlike the United States, India's telecom market is skewed in favor of prepaid users, who comprise at least 70 percent of total cellphone users in the country.

Most cellphone users in India buy their handsets from a retail store and activate it with the carrier of their choice; cellphones are generally sold unlocked.

The iPhone is the exception. It is currently available only on Airtel and Vodafone leaving potential iPhone buyers with limited options. India does not offer number portability and switching carriers means existing users could lose their phone number as they move to a new carrier.

India also does not have the 3G … yet. Analysts expect the first 3G networks in the country to be available mid-2009.

For the iPhone in India, sales are unlikely to pick up unless the service providers slash the price of the device, make it available through retail stores and launch their 3G network, says Mishra.

"There's going to be very limited uptake for the device unless the carriers do one or all of these things," says Mishra.

Despite weak sales, it is unlikely Apple will push for significant price cuts in the country, say analysts. "Apple throughout its family is willing to forgo large market share for profitable market share," says Ezra Gottheil, an analyst with Technology Business Research.

Meanwhile in Japan, Apple has partnered with Softbank, Japan's third-largest mobile service provider to sell the iPhone 3G. After the initial buzz, demand for the iPhone has fallen to a third of what it was as users cringe at the high cost of ownership for the phone and the unavailability of some features, says a report inThe Wall Street Journal.

As for China, despite speculation, Apple seems no closer to signing a deal with China Mobile to offer the iPhone 3G in the market.

For Apple, it may be time to take a closer look at its business in Asia. Unless the company can move swiftly to change its strategy, it may find itself locked out of the largest telecom markets of the world.

The First Android Phone Will Be Launched Next Week

2008-09-17T15:43:00.000+05:30

HTC Dream, the first mobile device that uses Android will be introduced on September 23 by T-Mobile at a press conference in New York. "HTC says it expects to ship 600,000 to 700,000 units of the smart phone, dubbed the Dream, this year," according to Wall Street Journal.

The phone will be available at the end of October, but you can see a demo from Google Developer Day in London.

Popout
Andy Rubin, Google's director of mobile platforms, is aware that the first Android-powered mobile phone is very important for the public perception. "If we come out with a dud, people will go, 'Well, that was a waste of time'". Reuters reports that the device will ship with a beta version of the Android application marketplace and Google will not make money from selling applications. "We made a strategic decision not to revenue share with the developers. We will basically pass through any revenue to the carrier or the developer."

Stars

2008-09-16T09:35:00.001+05:30

Stars
Originally uploaded by Ketan N.

Bollywood gathers...........

Holding hands

2008-09-16T09:20:00.001+05:30

Holding hands
Originally uploaded by manganite.

Its Nice...........

Flaw in Internet Explorer

2008-09-14T10:47:00.000+05:30

NEW YORK: Tim Berners Lee, the British-born inventor of the World Wide Web, says he doesn't like to express preferences among Web browsers. But he does have an issue with one of them: Microsoft Corp's Internet Explorer.

Berners Lee, director of the standard-setting World Wide Web Consortium, or W3C, said in an interview this week that Internet Explorer is falling behind other browsers in the way it handles an important graphics feature for Web pages.

A Web image that is encoded as a scalable vector graphic, or SVG, can be resized to fit the computer screen or zoomed into without becoming blocky and losing sharpness, as happens with images encoded as the more traditional "bitmaps." Maps are one popular use of SVG.

"If you look around at browsers, you'll find that most of them support scalable vector graphics," Berners Lee said. "I'll let you figure out which one has been slow in supporting SVG."

That would be Internet Explorer. While Firefox, Safari and other browsers have built-in support for SVG, Microsoft relies on a plug-in from Adobe Systems Inc that must be downloaded before Internet Explorer can show SVG objects.

This applies even to the recently released "beta" version of Internet Explorer 8.

"SVG support is something that we have been evaluating for some time," Microsoft said in a statement. "We recognise the demand for vector graphics from Webdevelopers, and realise this is a high-priority demand."

The matter is more urgent for Microsoft because on January 1, Adobe will be ending its support of the SVG plug-in, and it's unclear if it will be available for download after that.

Microsoft supported another format for vector graphics, called Vector Markup Language, or VML. However, the World Wide Web Consortium recommended SVG in 2001.

Google to revolutionize wireless Internet service on mobile

2008-09-14T10:41:00.003+05:30

NEW YORK/SAN FRANCISCO: Google Inc is betting it can revolutionize wireless Internet service on mobile phones the way that it transformed the search business on PCs.

The search behemoth has already taken on Microsoft Corp in the market for productivity and Web browsing software. Google's Android software is taking aim at Microsoft's Windows Mobile; Symbian, in which Nokia is an investor; and Apple Inc's iPhone, which dominate the smart phone market.

Andy Rubin, Google's director of mobile platforms, told reporters that Android's success hinges on the reception of the first phone, due out later this month.

"We're in the final stages and having lots of sleepless nights," he said in an interview. "We're very happy with the results," said Rubin, who worked previously at Apple and a number of Silicon Valley start-ups.

T-Mobile USA is expected to introduce the first Android phone in New York on Sept 23, sources familiar with the plan told Reuters this week.

After two years of speculation, Google is under pressure to deliver a product sufficiently different from Apple Inc's iPhone and the myriad copycats that have appeared since it was introduced last year.

Rather than launch the new operating system with a range of devices from several handset makers and phone carriers, Rubin said Google chose to "put our blinders on" and make sure the first phones impress consumers.

"If we come out with a dud, people will go, 'Well, that was a waste of time," said Rubin, co-founder and former CEO of Danger Inc, which built the T-Mobile Sidekick, a pioneering Web phone shaped like a bar of soap with an flip-out keyboard.

Google has worked almost exclusively with Taiwan's High Tech Computer Corp (HTC) and T-Mobile for the first Android phone, he said.

"Google wanted to make sure that we had enough control over the hardware to make sure the software worked," he said.

Apple tightly controlled both the hardware and the software of the iPhone, which is seen by many mobile industry watchers as the future of device development.

Prior to working with Google, HTC relied on Microsoft Corp's Windows Mobile for its smart phones. HTC hopes Google's brand and popular services such as search, Gmail or YouTube can attract consumers beyond the business crowd that it expects to continue buying its Windows phones, said Jason Mackenzie, HTC's North American vice president of operations.

INDEPENDENT DEVELOPERS

The first Android phone, code-named Dream, is depending on independent software developers to build hundreds or even thousands of programs, such as photo sharing, to run on Google software. Rubin said a contest to lure early developers drew 1,759 application submissions.

"Once they leave the store with the device the thing that keeps them happy will be the software," he said.

Apple's second-generation iPhone applied the same strategy, and offers more than 3,000 applications through its App Store.

Google plans its own software store, called Android Market. "It's not necessarily the operating system software that is the unifying factor, it is the marketplace," Rubin said.

Unlike Apple, Google does not expect to generate revenue by selling applications or to share revenue with partners. "We made a strategic decision not to revenue share with the developers. We will basically pass through any revenue to the carrier or the developer," said Rubin.

One of Google's challenges will be for Web page access to work on a mobile device as well as it does on a PC. The Android browser is built on the same technology as the new Google Chrome browser but designed for smaller screens.

"What you get will be Chrome Lite or Chrome To Go or Chrome Mobile," Rubin said.

First BlackBerry flip-phone unveile

2008-09-14T10:41:00.001+05:30

Canadian wireless giant Research In Motion (RIM) Wednesday unveiled its new BlackBerry Pearl Flip 8220 smartphone - the first device in the popular flip version.

Weighing only 3.6 ounce, the quad-band EDGE-based BlackBerry Pearl Flip smartphone packs an impressive range of features into its compact design, including phone, email, messaging, organiser, browser and multimedia applications.

In a statement, RIM said: 'You can send a message to your friends or family, make a call, browse the web, snap a picture, watch a video or listen to your favourite song. It's all in your control with a simple flip.'

The new device features a two megapixel camera with flash, zoom and video recording to capture memories while on the move, and includes BlackBerry Maps to deliver maps and step-by-step driving directions quickly and easily.

Its browser supports Real Time Streaming Protocol (RTSP) for watching online streaming video on sites like youtube.com.

The smartphone delivers exceptional voice quality and includes many premium phone features, including speaker independent voice recognition (SIVR) for voice activated dialing (VAD), support for mp3 ring tones, smart dialing, conference calling, speed dialing, call forwarding, voicemail attachment playback and enhanced background noise cancellation.

It also features a speakerphone and Bluetooth for use with hand-free headsets, stereo headsets, car kits and other Bluetooth peripherals such as a GPS receiver.

Its removable/rechargeable 900 mAhr battery provides four hours of talk time and over 14 days of standby time.

The large keyboard will make typing messages and dialing numbers fast and easy. With an advanced media player, the BlackBerry Pearl Flip is the perfect on-the-go entertainment centre, the RIM statement said.

'The popularity of BlackBerry smartphones has grown tremendously around the world and the introduction of this exciting new flip phone will help extend the reach of the BlackBerry platform even further,' said RIM president and co-CEO Mike Lazaridis.

Without giving price details, the RIM statement said the smartphone would be available around the world in the autumn.

MTNL to test launch 3G services in Delhi by September-end

2008-09-11T20:37:00.001+05:30

State-run telecom firm MTNL will test launch the first ever 3G mobile services in the country in Delhi by the end of this month. The company will trial launch its services in and around the central Delhi, mainly around Connaught Place area, the Department of Telecommunications (DOT) said in a statement.

MTNL is planning to provide 3G services by installing 7,50,000 GSM lines each in Delhi and Mumbai. The telecom firm has already done the indoor trial of the service and will launch the high-end service in Delhi by the end of this year.
However, in Mumbai, the service will be launched early next year, it added.

In this regard, the company has already procured all the required equipment in this regard and currently mobilising the necessary radio equipment. 3G services will enable the users to get high speed data services, video streaming and better voice solutions. The company has already been allocated the scarce 3G spectrum much ahead of the auction scheduled to happen by the end of this month.

Latest Multimedia Handset N-96 Unveiled By Nokia

2008-09-11T20:32:00.000+05:30

India on Tuesday saw the launch of the most advanced multimedia gadget-Nokia 96, by the mobile and communication giant, Nokia. This exclusive set will be in the market from 15th September, with the price tag of Rs 34,999.

The user will get memory of 16 GB with N-96 that can be further increased to 24GB with an optional microSD card. This enables the user to preserve hours of media and entertainment going on across the world.

Devinder Kishore, Nokia India Marketing Director, informed, “In the Web 2.0 era, the new Nokia N96 places the power to shape internet in your hands. Nokia N96 offers the most personalized mobile internet experience to date and it defines convergence by blending phone and multimedia options seamlessly.”

This unique set has extraordinary look which will create an ultimate experience for the user while using Web or entertainment.

The storage space of N-96 is also awesome, with the capacity to store nearly 18,000 songs, up to 20,000 images at 5 mega pixel, up to 60 hours of video or full length movies. One can avail the movies, music and games on its 2.8" screen on a touch of a button through its multifunctional media keys.

Kishore also reported, ”Nokia NSeries has always been at the forefront of innovation and has time and again added new paradigms to mobility and introduced devices that cater to the consumer aspirations.”

Google Turns 20 (fiction)

2008-09-10T14:25:00.000+05:30

This month, September 2018, marks the 20th anniversary of Google as a business – ever since in 1998, a Mr. Bechtolsheim signed a check for $100,000. We’ve come a long way since the happy days of the 10th anniversary, around a time when Google employees got together to mass-dance the sirtaki in Greece for a world record. People often ask, what was it that brought the Google as we knew it down? I think it wasn’t a single factor but many:

1. ActualAI. Probably the biggest factor of the downfall of Google was the emergence of high quality search results as a commodity. When the AAI hacker group in 2012 released to the public domain their idea for a distributed artificial intelligence representing the global brain consciousness, and when that AI spread like wildfire around the globe in the form of peer-to-peer clients, all of a sudden any company could easily tap and then serve working search results. Among the biggest winners were more experimental search companies, but also the big Google competitors Yahoo and Microsoft. When in 2015 even Google switched to ActualAI because the relevancy difference became too enormous to ignore, it was admitting defeat for a company that once considered search its core.

2. The Microsoft-Yahoo merger. Around 2008, Yahoo’s search results were already incredibly close to Google’s in terms of quality. Still, there was a noticeable difference. When Microsoft increased its Yahoo acquisition offer once again in 2010 and snapped up the company for the galactic price of $120 billion, later putting all its strength in both improving results, and utilizing Yahoo.com as a platform to popularize their offerings, the advantage of Google’s multi-year jump start in search was reduced dramatically.

3. Windows Free. Microsoft was often accused of reacting slowly and not “getting” the web... but boy, when they finally did get it, they had it spot on. The release of Windows Free marked a milestone here: a light-weight, completely free, high usability, open-source, partly-Linux-based (of all things!), redistributable-by-anyone version of a Microsoft operating system that would serve as nothing but a window to the web – plus incredibly tight integration into the simultaneously released Microsoft Web Office Free program suite – might be nothing special for some of you today. For us back in 2013, it was a huge deal. Microsoft changed for good, and by now we have reason to believe that all the time in which they let Google take a lead online, they were just playing with them – a cat letting the mouse escape for a bit to double the fun catching it later (confirmed in further detail by Bill Gates in his book “Looking Back On the Road That Was Ahead”, where he argued he ordered Steve Ballmer to make intentionally bad business decisions in order to cure Bill’s depression).

4. The Google monopoly court case. When Google was split up into Search vs Apps vs Rest following the antitrust case filed by the United States Department of Justice, it dealt an immense blow to the company’s cross-integration efforts that previously helped boost applications including Google Docs, Gmail, and OpenChrome (that browser which Microsoft later sped up by a factor of 9 during their legendary 1-year Barbados hackathon). No more linking to their offerings from their search engine results; no more using special features in Google’s Blogger that would lead people to AdSense; no more “open document in Google Docs” in Gmail; no more homepage promotions sending people towards their unheard-of products. When Google’s application production line was forced to make it on its own merits, Apps had to downscale dramatically. Layoffs and product cancellations became the rule, and even those who did prefer Google Docs started switching away to the offers by all those competitors who finally had a realistic chance to succeed in the market. It was probably this event more than any other which turned the Zoho CEO into the partying billionaire and owner of Taipei 101 he’s known as today.

5. The departure of Eric, Marissa, Matt and Sergey. There were many people responsible for Google’s more successful early years. But who would’ve thought how easily the strategic direction of the company would lead from riches to rags... when just a few key people in the upper levels leave? As a recap for those who only started following the Google events in recent years: Eric departed for health reasons likely due to general burn out after his 24/7 work shift, and while the exit party – in which legendary ex-chef Charlie Ayers returned to cook the world’s largest lasagna – was awe-inspiring, the aftermath wasn’t. Marissa left for Microsoft, and clutter continued to creep in and subsequently ruin the Google homepage. Matt Cutts switched to become an independent blogger covering tech news after the events of the historic Gmail User Account Privacy Vulnerability Scandal (which in itself played a major role in people losing trust – imagine how for 12 hours, everyone was able to read everyone else’s emails! – and also triggered the simultaneous quitting of 252 other Google employees out of solidarity to Matt). And Sergey Brin bought, then redesigned Russian Yandex. Some of us described the exit of these four as the exit of strategy, interface, dialogue and culture, in that order. Larry Page made an OK CEO, but Google would never be the same again.

6. Google being down more and more. At first it was impossible to imagine; in 2008, Google.com used to be the site you’d check when you weren’t sure you had internet (if even Google is down, it was surely your internet connection that was broken!). Things changed quite a bit since then. But when the World Senate forced Google Inc. to make available 90% of their server farm for the public good and progress of humanity, their speed and availability suffered. When people worldwide went online en-masse to research the green glow in the skies after the Even Larger Hadron Collider experiment in 2011, Google.com wasn’t available – and people started looking for alternative ways to access news. Google became available again days later, but some users would never return. (Besides organic downtimes, there was also immense user drain due to the legally forced shutdowns of Google search history, Google Maps Street View and other services after the 2016 Privacy Protection Statutes were passed.)

7. Real Net Neutrality. When Real Net Neutrality laws started to throttle the internet traffic of bigger services in order to give smaller companies a chance in the market once more, the loss for the biggest companies like Google and FriendFeed was understandably high.

8. The black Monday of 2013, and the ad slump that followed. For a company whose main income are ad revenues, this Wall Street crash was the ultimate nightmare. Not only did GOOG start a free fall, but when in the following months advertisers stopped their budget and started consolidating their business, it was clear there was no parachute available either.

9. The Chinese contender. The Chinese internet market overtook the US several years ago already, but that wasn’t the end of growth by far. When strong local contenders started beating Google due to better understanding of the market as well as more business connections and licenses, a domino effect was started. Sure enough, if half the world’s internet users start sending around Baidu Text Docs instead of Google Docs, and you just can’t open the darn thing without creating a Baidu account, it’s the kind of promotion you can’t beat.

10. The Government Information Transparency Act of 2015. Three years ago, when for the first time in history the public was able to inspect all government orders which had secretly polled Google for information as part of the US Patriot Act in the years around 2008, we were stunned. After the first moment of shock, we knew we needed alternatives, diversification, and an even stronger influence by the World Senate. Things didn’t get any better for Google when it became known just what kind of government backchannels Google had set up in other countries like China, Germany, and India. Today kids ask us why we didn’t always have a world senate serving the people at large in transparent ways; wether it didn’t really complicate things to need a visa if you wanted to work in another country; if it wasn’t immensely complicated to learn new languages instead of having autotranslators; and how, by and large, we were able to get along at all. Whenever I try to explain to the younger generation just why we had all those odd n’ quirky things that made global communication and exchange harder and how we allowed governments to serve their interests instead of ours, I pause, and, looking for words, I know that whatever I say probably won’t be a convincing answer.

BSNL to launch iPhones by Dec

2008-09-09T07:23:00.001+05:30

The country’s largest telecom operator, Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL), will introduce Apple’s iPhone for its subscribers across the country by December along with the launch of the third generation network, according to SK Chakravarty, chief general manager of Calcutta Telephones. “On September 30, we will have a meeting of the circle heads where we may take a decision on making iPhones available to our consumers,” said Chakravarty.

One of the issues that the national BSNL meet will discuss is regarding the roll out of the 3G network by the end of this year.

BSNL and MTNL are the first two government operators to get 3G licence. At present, iPhone is available for Vodaphone and Airtel customers only. “iPhone is a 3G phone and we think that unless we have a 3G network, its full potential can’t be utilised by customers,” said Chakraborty. BSNL is investing around Rs 2,500 crore in creating the 3G network, where the share of east and north is Rs 1,000 crore and that of west and south is approximately Rs 1,500 crore.

Ericsson will roll out the network for east and north, while Alcatel and Huwei will be responsible for west and south, respectively. According to a senior BSNL executive, by the end of this year, all the district headquarters in the country will have the 3G-network connection. “We will work towards this and there should not be any problem to achieve the target,” he said.

Why iPhone is costlier in India than US?

2008-09-07T17:12:00.001+05:30

New iPods coming September 9?

2008-09-04T16:54:00.001+05:30

Apple has sent out invites to journalists and analysts about a special event to be held at San Francisco’s Yerba Buena Center on September 9. There are lots of rumors what Apple will reveal at the event – including new iPods as well as a new version of iTunes. However, we remain convinced that Apple will actually introduce a music subscription service at its press conference entitled “Let’s Rock”.

Google removes cached page of Chrome download

2008-09-04T16:53:00.001+05:30

Being Google has its advantages, of course – for example the ability to completely remove certain pages that accidentally went online, were stored in the search engine’s cache and may reveal more information than Google intended to.

Google’s search engine cache has become one of the most valuable research features of Google Search, since it enables users to travel back in time and find pages that may not exist anymore. Dell has made its experiences in the past with unannounced products that were apparently put online for test purposes and got indexed before the company removed such pages again. Or, remember the recent controversy about the age of Chinese gymnasts whose published age on cached pages did not match their currently published age?

A similar hiccup apparently happened to Google itself when it briefly published the download of the new Chrome browser at http://gears.google.com/chrome/?hl=en exactly at 12:00 am PST, earlier today. A search for “Google Chrome” and “Google Gears” points to a cached page, which, however, is not available anymore. It may have been an intentional leak or an accidental leak, but the fact that the page has been removed from the search engine cache as quickly as it was published may raise eye browse here and there.

Anyone who wants to see a preview of the browser can jump over to Google Blogoscoped, which managed to grab a few screenshots of the browser, before the page disappeared. These images in fact reveal that Chrome will have a user interface that is reduced to a minimum and focus on an “omnibar” search auto-completion feature, a homepage that has tiles of nine homepages, applications that are usually accessed through the browser, but can be added as applications to the Windows Start Menu as well as anonymous browsing support and a Download manager.

Chrome captures 1% market share in just nine hours

2008-09-04T16:50:00.000+05:30

Google's new browser has zoomed past 1% market share in just ten hours after its release yesterday at 3:02 p.m. EDT and reached almost 1.5% earlier today. Although it is too early to tell which competing browser makers were hit by Google’s new software, the initial numbers numbers indicate that Chrome is off to a good start.

According to Net Applications, Chrome crossed 0.5% just two hours after its release. At midnight (EDT), Chrome surpassed 1% market share. The browser hit 1.48% share of the browsing market at 4 a.m., eventually stabilizing at about 1% over the course of the following hours. According to the data published by the market research firm, Chrome held 1.06% at the time of this writing.

The spike does not come unexpected, especially if we consider the enormous reporting on Google Chrome within the past two days. Google’s own news service indicates that more than 3000 articles covering Chrome were published on Tuesday and Wednesday.

But 1% of the worldwide browser market is huge. It is difficult to estimate how often Chrome may have been downloaded, but considering the fact that there are currently about 1.46 billion Internet users, it would take at least 14 million downloads to keep the 1% mark at a stable level – at least if the Net Applications data is somewhat comparable to the data provided by Internet World Stats.

Even if Chrome isn’t a perfect browser yet, Google certainly has managed to deliver an impressive launch.

Why Chrome is a fantastic browser

2008-09-04T16:49:00.001+05:30

First Look - We have had a chance to have a thorough look at Google’s new Chrome and run the browser to range of usability tests. Our initial conclusion is that the Chrome beta reveals a much more ergonomic and useful browser than what the available versions of today's established browsers can offer. Yes, it is very rough around the edges, but we are officially impressed with what we've seen so far. Here are our top five observations of features we believe are proof that Chrome is here to stay.

People say that the first impression often is key to make you love or hate a product. In the case of Chrome, it took only a few minutes to convince me that Google’s latest product is an amazing browser and a new type of browser that takes this software category to the next level. At first sight, Chrome may look like it has bypassed all graphic designers, but it is very consistent with all other Google software in a way you would expect it to look and feel – in a similar way how you expect Apple software to look and how you expect Microsoft software to feel.

In Chrome’s case, the GUI is extremely thin and lightweight. Instead of showing shiny buttons, it is focused on usability and speed. Performance, search and browsing are its top three unique selling points that leave any other browser in the dust at this time.

Most importantly, Chrome impressed me with its responsiveness when dozens of tabs were loaded at once. When a site crashes, you simply close a tab to kill all associated processes and reclaim the occupied memory without fragmentation. This is possible because Google actually developed a cloud operating system of its own that just happens to accommodate a browser as well. I am convinced that Chrome is a big step towards what may evolve into an operating system from Google aimed at thin clients.

A fresh user interface

Google user interfaces take time getting used to. Remember the first time you saw Google Search and compared it to Yahoo? It felt a bit empty to me. You may have the same impression with Chrome. A simple, uncluttered user interface gets - a trademark of Google product design – can take you quickly to the feature you need – once you are familiar with Chrome’s workflow and a few shortcuts. The main window is slightly rounded with the standard minimize, maximize and close buttons. There's no window title, no icons or menu bar to obscure your view. Tabs sit on top followed by the toolbar below - that's it. A light blue window background frames the browsing area, tabs and the toolbar.

Consider the UI the opposite extreme of IE8, which occasionally feels overloaded and may overwhelm some users. Chrome is reduced to the minimum, which can speed up your daily browsing tasks. On the downside, you will have to explore the deeper feature set and learn some shortcuts to reveal Chrome’s productivity potential.

Dynamic tabs

Chrome nails the task of window and tab management with useful keyboard shortcuts that simplify navigation patterns. Drag a tab to a new slot and others get out of the way smoothly. Close a few tabs and the remaining extend to the width of your entire after a brief pause – there’s a bit of Apple design philosophy in this feature. You can drag a tab out of the Chrome window (it will turn into a large site thumbnail) onto your desktop to create a new window. You can move tabs between windows effortlessly, without any slowdown or delay. You can also close all tabs associated with the current tab with a single option.

When you open a new tab, the window will show a grid of nine websites you have visited the most. Unlike Opera, Chrome doesn't let you assign your own set of sites to the nine slots. Boxes with search engines you use the most, links to three recently closed tabs and your most recent bookmarks are placed in a right column. You can also access your full browsing history by choosing a small "Show full history" option at the bottom of the “home” page.

Tabs have become one of most important features within a modern browser and Chrome does a great job handling multiple web pages. There is just one annoying omission that spoils the experience - Tabs shrink to an extremely small width when you open lots of them – which means that you can read the window titles anymore. Google should consider the Firefox solution of a scrolled tabs area. Also, there is no drop down menu to view all your tabs and select the one you want.

I also have to say that I like Microsoft’s idea to create groups of tabs – for example for pages you open from one website into multiple tabs. Microsoft color-codes these tab groups, which, in our opinion, is a must-have feature for a modern browser.

Navigation and search/address bar

The main toolbar with navigation options is positioned below your tabs. It has just seven buttons and the dominant URL box. There are forward and backward arrows reload and go buttons, two buttons that open page and settings menus and a star symbol to bookmark a page. The pictograms on buttons should be recognized by anyone who has used a browser before. In fact, Chrome's toolbar combines the best of Firefox 3 (bookmark star, back/forward buttons) and IE7 (buttons with drop-down menus for page options and settings), but it differs in two important details. There is no home button or search bar.

Eliminating these two input options is one of the “strange” new features that will require you to adjust your browsing behavior. But if your homepage is a search engine anyway, then Chrome has eliminated the need for a home page. Here’s why.

The lack of a home button guiding you to a certain website may be a matter of personal preference. It is one of those original features of a web browser that acts as a door to the web and provides you with a starting point. However, Google was able to eliminate the two input options since the most popular websites are listed right on the front page, effectively giving you multiple start options (a fixed configuration option would be nice) and if you are using Google Search as your home page, you can now use the address bar for your searches - no matter where you are.

When you start typing in the address bar, it will suggest popular sites, searches and pages you already visited that contain your search term. You can choose a suggested item from the drop-down list or simply hit ENTER to send your query to the default search provider (which you can set in Chrome's preferences). You can also use common search operators. Additionally, there is a handy Paste-and-Search option - simply mark a word, right-click and search for the selection. But searches in Chrome are much more intelligent than that.

Other, site-integrated search engines are accessible directly from the address bar in an innovative way. Start typing a search engine's URL or name (for example “YouTube”). If Chrome finds it in its internal search engine list, it auto-completes the address and offers you to hit TAB to select that site’s engine for search (if supported by that site.) Simply enter your search term and hit ENTER to be taken directly to that search engine's results page, in this case YouTube's.

Chrome shines when you want to reach previously visited pages. Just start typing any piece of content you can remember, such as a headline, parts of text, or a combination of words you may remember. Since your search provider has cached all the pages you visited before, Chrome can ping it to bring up the appropriate page based on the partial content you provided. If your search provider is Google, then Google Suggest service will be used to provide auto-suggestions. You can turn off the auto-suggestion in Chrome’s settings.

Windows 7 multi-touch LCD demonstrated

2008-09-04T16:46:00.000+05:30

Multi-touch is one of the big technology trends these days: Bill Gates recently demonstrated a display integrating multi-touch at the recent D6 conference and unfortunately received little more than lukewarm feedback. Albatron is one of the first companies demonstrating what appears to be a production ready multi-touch device: Having played with the LCD at Computex, we have to say that we are impressed.

It is easy to overlook the truly exciting products at Computex due to the flood of rather common things at the show. After day one of the show, we found that the probably most stunning product on the show floor comes from Albatron. This motherboard and graphics maker may not be the first name that comes to you mind when you are thinking about LCD displays, but we have to admit that the company’s new LCDs reveal a whole new level of interactivity on your PC.

Imagine Apple’s iPhone display on a large scale: Albatron integrated sensors on both sides of the touchscreen display. Robert Doncevski, sales director at Albatron, demonstrated the screen and its features to us and as far as we could see, controlling an operating system is a breeze. You simply only use your fingers to start and close applications. Bill Gates’ demonstration may have been rather underwhelming, but seeing a multi-touch LCD actually in front of us made it clear that this technology works much better than we expected. Playing around with Google Earth was a blast.

Albatron integrated the technology into a 22" LCD providing a resolution of 1680 x 1050 pixels. According to Doncevski, multi-touch is not affected by typical touch-screen limitations. Screen sizes of 24” and above simply require a third sensor on top of the screen. That’s it.

You don’t have to have supernatural powers to predict that this display may become a huge hit when Windows 7 becomes available. At this time, the display works with the current crop of Windows XP users, while Vista is the default operating system.

Pricing and availability has not been announced, but we were told that physical price of this multi-touch screen is only 20% above a regular LCD.

Nike+ for the iPhone 3G Will Support Google Maps, Leaked

2008-08-25T15:11:00.000+05:30

The French-language iPhone rumor blog has published leaked shots of Nike+ for the iPhone 3G application. The Nike+ is a popular device which measures and records the distance and pace of a walk or run. For example, the Nike+iPod system consists of a small accelerometer attached to a shoe, which communicates with the Nike+ Sportband and/or a receiver plugged into an iPod nano.
If using the iPod, iTunes software can be used to view the walk or run history. Similar functionality is currently in development for the iPhone 3G.
In addition to tracking personal workout statistics, the Nike+ integrates directly with the Nike website. Workout data can be automatically uploaded to the website during an iPod sync with iTunes or through another program via the website’s public API. The iPhon.fr screenshots of Nike+ iPhone 3G app show fitness performance graphs right on the phone. Another feature improvement includes Google Maps support, which could be used to map training routes and calculate distance and other data.

War - Nokia N96 vs Apple iPhone

2008-08-25T15:03:00.000+05:30

We realise that we have been going on and on about the iPhone and the Nokia N96, but thats all what we can do since this is our job and specially when the two iconic phones launched together in the same week in India.Price Comparision:The Nokia N96 will cost you around Rs. 36,000 while the Apple iPhone 3G with 8GB memory will cost Rs. 31000 and 16GB about Rs. 36,100. On price points even though they are hugely expensive we give them equal rank.SMS Forwarding, FM Radio:These two features are the darling of any mobile phone user in India. Since Texting messaging is really cheap in this part of the world forwarding SMSes is a very normal thing for all users. FM Radio is the life of people whilst traveling this is your one source of entertainment on the roads of the Indian metro cities. The lack of both these features on the iPhone is a big minus as far as its Indian market is concerned.Battery Life:Nokia N96 wins on this hands down. There have been lots of problems with the battery drainage of the Apple iPhone and these don't seem to stop. You will have to charge your phone everyday or twice a day for that matter if you are a heavy user.GPS:This is not a huge factor for the Indian market, but still a talking point. On the GPS front Nokia again wins this pretty easily.Video Calling:Video calling is not possible on the iPhone and the Nokia N96 is pretty good at it.Data Transfer and Bluetooth usage:A major , major talking point regarding the iPhone. The bluetooth on the iPhone can only be used for hands-free calling. No data transfer allowed between handsets or even with a computer with bluetooth enabled.Storage:You thought the storage factor will play in for the iPhone ? That isn't true. The Nokia N96 comes with 16GB of internal storage plus you have the luxury of adding a 8GB memory card giving you a whopping storage of 24GB. The iPhone again loses here.Design:There is no beating the iPhone, as simple as that!All in all, if you are looking for more bang for the buck, go for the Nokia N96. Lookwise and as a fashion symbol, we still say there is no beating the iPhone!

Reliance to roll out its IPTV service. IPTV will pave the way for personalised entertainment

2008-08-24T22:08:00.001+05:30

Anil Dhirubhai Ambani promoted Reliance Communications plans to roll out Internet Protocol (IPTV) by the end of this year, a top official said. Reliance Communications president Mahesh Prasad told IANS on the sidelines of the BIG launch in Mumbai Tuesday, "With customers demanding personalised entertainment, IPTV service would allow subscribers more choice and control. We will launch this service within this year."

Earlier in November 2007, Reliance Communications announced a tie-up with Microsoft to use its software for IPTV and paid a license fee of $500 million.

IPTV will allow operators to deliver content to their subscribers using telephone lines through IP technology. So far this technology was being used to deliver voice over Internet telephony. The services on IPTV include video-on-demand and recording.

India, us ties up for moon mission......

2008-08-23T12:39:00.000+05:30

Preparing to its first unmanned mission to moon, Chandrayaan-1, between October and December, India joined seven other nations to team up with Nasa for the future exploration of earth's only satellite. Confirming this, Isro spokesperson S Satish told TOI that a key pact was signed at a conference of International Lunar Users' Group at Nasa's Ames Research Centre last month. India was represented by Devi Prasad Karnik, space counsellor attached to the Indian embassy in Washington. The other seven countries are Canada, Germany, Italy, Japan, South Korea, France and Britain. Japan has already launched an unmanned mission to the moon. Germany, Italy and Britain had announced at International Astronautical Congress in 2007 that they planned their own lunar missions which would be independent of the European Space Agency. The international lunar agreement, which Nasa says a "landmark" one, will allow India and the seven countries to join hands with Nasa for developing new technologies and send robotic exploratory missions for a manned return mission to the moon. For Nasa, the lunar agreement is important as the eight countries, including India, are keen to send astronauts to the moon. Experts say the increased interest in the lunar science and the emergence of India, Japan and China as important space-faring nations will also help Nasa.

Reliance Big in US Content Market......

2008-08-23T12:35:00.001+05:30

The Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group (ADAG)-promoted Reliance Big Entertainment on Friday announced the US launch of Jump Games, a publisher and developer of mobile video games. According to a statement issued by the entertainment company, Jump Games is "aggressively looking" to acquire mobile content licences and brands for distribution to mobile phones worldwide. "We are keen on building a global enterprise that leverages the top entertainment content across the globe," said Reliance Big Entertainment president Rajesh Sawhney. "Our recent deals in the entertainment space convey our focus and commitment towards building global entertainment equity." Jump Games, which has set up its US headquarters in Chicago, expects partnerships and alliances with America's biggest firms will be critical.

"The idea is to expand the mobile entertainment umbrella for Jump in the mobile space, via strong and sustained growth, both organic as well as inorganic," said Sawhney. For expansion in the US, Jump Games has appointed Amit Khanduja as its executive vice president in America. Khanduja has previously worked with several leading companies like Sun Microsystems, HP and Tira Wireless. The company also has exclusive global licences to create and distribute games for some of the world's leading brands such as Manchester United Football Club, Virgin Comics, and Honest Entertainment (Fido Dido).

Setback for GSM players in dual tech case

2008-08-23T12:34:00.001+05:30

The Delhi High Court on Friday dismissed a petition by GSM players that challenged the government’s decision to allow telcos to offer mobile services under dual technology (both GSM and CDMA technology platforms). GSM operators had told the court that the DoT was ‘attempting to pass off a second and new license to CDMA operators in the garb of dual technology’. The Delhi HC’s move is set to benefit existing CDMA players, all of which have applied for GSM radio frequencies under the dual technology licence. The DoT has already allotted start-up GSM spectrum to Reliance Communications, the Tatas and Shyam-Sistema for launching services on this platform. While dismissing the petition, the Delhi HC also imposed ‘a cost’ of Rs 50,000 each on six petitioners, including Bharti Airtel, Vodafone-Essar and Idea Cellular, and their industry association Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI). The telcos have been asked to deposit this sum with the court’s legal service authority. It is not known if GSM operators will appeal against the Delhi HC’s decision. The issue of dual technology licences is also being heard by telecom tribunal TDSAT. Industry observers say that the Delhi HC ruling could have an impact on the TDSAT’s final judgment on the issue. COAI, the GSM operators’ association refused to comment on the Delhi HC ruling. The Association of Unified Service providers of India (AUSPI), the body representing CDMA players welcomed the ruling: “This will allow our members who will soon launch GSM services to bring competition into the market. The consumers are set to benefit,” AUSPI’s secretary general S C Khanna told ET. GSM operators had approached the Delhi HC in December 2007 following the telecom tribunal’s decision not to grant a stay on allocation of spectrum and licenses to new entrants including dual technology license holders. The COAI had said that the allotment of crossover spectrum to rival CDMA service providers by the government was in violation of Unified Access Service License regime. It had also sought that the Delhi HC quash DoT’s policy announcements on October 18 and 19, 2007 which permitted the use of dual technology. Additionally, it had also asked the Delhi HC to turn down the DoT’s decision to endorse sector regulator TRAI’s recommendations for adoption of an enhanced subscriber-linked criteria for allocation of additional radio frequencies. The COAI had also questioned the events of 18/19 October 2007 (when the government approved the dual technology license) and had alleged that an “in-principle approval” was given to RCOM for launching GSM services even before the new policy on dual technology was publicly announced. However, CDMA players such as RCOM in their submissions to the Delhi HC had said that that GSM players after having got more than their share of required radio frequencies and were now trying to stop others from getting the start-up spectrum for operations in the same segment.

Hefty price tag spoils iPhone’s launch party

2008-08-23T12:31:00.000+05:30

High price and lack of high-end 3G services seem to have dampened Apple’s iPhone launch party in India. Only a few buyers turned up at midnight launches done by both the operators across eight cities in India. The snazzy gizmo failed to draw crowds to the stores of Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Essar in sharp contrast to the international markets where iPhone lovers had queued up the whole night to buy the handset. The mood was subdued at the midnight launch of iPhone at Mumbai’s Infiniti Mall with Friday being a working day. The stage was set for a grand launch, complete with confetti and cheerleaders, but at the stroke of midnight, there were just 10 people who actually bought the high-end device. At a Vodafone store in Connaught Place, Central Delhi, journalists outnumbered customers by a huge margin. Only about 15 customers turned up to buy the phone. The Airtel retail store nearby wore a deserted look on Friday afternoon, with not a single customer buying the iPhone. In Gurgaon, Airtel unveiled the iPhone at Sahara Mall. Despite the frenzy, the D-day did not quite match the expectations with just about 35-40 people lining up to buy the coveted smartphone. Though the launch attracted hundreds of curious onlookers late at night, very few of them were convinced enough to shell out an exorbitant Rs 31,000 for the 8 GB version and Rs 36,100 for the 16 GB one. “The pricing is a little on the high side. I would have bought it if the price was around Rs 25,000. But at 31,000, it makes little sense. I’ll wait for the price to come down,” said one of the onlookers.

Rajkumar Kanojia, who landed up at the venue much ahead of the launch, was the first person from Mumbai to get his hands on the phone. “I am buying the 16 GB version because it’s not much expensive than the 8 GB version. Since I am into business, it’ll help me combine my work and pleasure into one compact device,” he said. Maharaja of Jaipur, Bhawani Singh, and football captain Baichung Bhutia were the first customers of Vodafone Essar in Jaipur and Kolkata respectively. In Delhi, Nishant Arya, owner of JBM Group, a Rs 2,500-crore auto components company, claimed to be the first legal buyer of iPhone 3G in India. Over two lakh users had pre-registered with Airtel for the iPhone, but only around 5,000-5,500 may have actually bought or booked the handset across the company’s stores in 65 cities, said sources. Bharti Airtel president (mobile services) Sanjay Kapoor brushed off the fear of iPhone turning out a damp squib because of high cost. “We are targeting the high-end user segment as well as the youth, which does not cares much about the pricing if the product is good,” he said.

Apple iPhone 3G Finally Launched for the Indian Audiences

2008-08-22T16:39:00.000+05:30

After taking the whole world by a storm, the iconic 3G-enabled iPhone from Apple was finally launched for the Indian audiences at midnight on Thursday at glittering functions organized by the two leading mobile operators, Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Essar.

Bharti Airtel and Vodafone have priced the 8 GB phone at Rs 31,000, while the price tag on the 16 GB model is Rs 36,100. This might have put off many potential customers, who were expecting prices to compete with the US offer of USD 199 or roughly Rs 9,000.

Sanjay Kapoor, president-mobile services, Bharti Airtel defends this price proposition saying, "the US price comes with a two-year airtime contract, so it is not fair to compare these rates. We are selling these phones to enhance customer experience, not to make a profit."

He further added saying that, “we are offering an attractive bolt-on data plan, offering free 500 MB a month, for the first 12 months for all iPhone users, besides giving m-check e-commerce service and access to our portal Airtel Live.”

While Airtel claims 200,000 customers registered for the iPhone, Vodafone has reportedly registered half this number. Soon the Apple smartphone will be available in over 50 cities across India.

Nokia unveils N96 to take on iPhones

2008-08-19T20:24:00.000+05:30

Ahead of the launch of Apple's inconic brand iPhone here, world's largest mobile phone maker Nokia today unveiled its new converged device N96 under its 'N Series' stable.
Apple and Nokia have not yet announced the prices of their models, but according to industry sources, both phones having 3G enabled features, which allow high quality net surfing, video and music download etc, would be priced in the same range.

The price of iPhones would also have an Indian component as it would be offered by the service providers Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Essar.

While iPhone is likely to cost about Rs 31,000 for the 8 GB version, N96, which is expected to hit the Indian market by September, is likely to be priced above Rs 30,000.

Though Nokia is quiet confident that the company's sales would not be impacted by the launch of the iPhone in the country, experts tracking the sector feels Nokia is hurrying the launch of N96 in India to counter the hype associated with the iPhone.

"Our sales will not be affected by the launch of iPhone in the country...There are different segments of consumers whose needs are different," Nokia India Director-Marketing Devinder Kishore told reporters here.

With a large 2.8-inch screen display, the phone packs 16 GB of internal memory, expandable up to 24GB.

"The memory of N96 can store up to 18,000 songs, up to 20,000 images and up to 60 hours of video or 20 full length movies," Kishore said.

Though the phone would be available from September, consumers can pre-book the phone from across 2,000 Nokia outlets across the country from tomorrow.

Intel in talks with telecom operators for WiMax rollout

2008-08-19T20:23:00.000+05:30

Betting big on WiMax in India, chip giant Intel is in talks with telecom operators to enable the growth of WiMax ecosystem through its products for boosting the penetration of wireless broadband in the world’s fastest-growing telecom market.

The US-based company is working with ODMs (original device manufacturers) to evolve new products like WiMax USB dongle, mobile internet devices (MIDs) besides WiMax notebooks with an aim to have wireless broadband networks running by the first quarter of 2009 in India.

“The idea is to utilise existing telecom tower, power and fiber backhaul infrastructure of operators to ensure faster roll out of WiMax networks at the lowest costs and time-to-market. Like the USB dongle, a similar PCM express WiMax card will come from Intel’s ODMs. It’ll be a PC add-on card. Laptops will also evolve to have mobile internet,” Intel’s MD, emerging market, Wimax program office, C S Rao said.

“We are talking to operators to evolve good device partnership models with them. India is the market for Intel. If we are able to add even one-tenth of the 8million-9million subscribers being added every month, it will be huge. Volumes in this market are going to be significantly high,” he said.

WiMax or Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access is a wireless communication technology, which can offer high speed connectivity in about 50 km radius. Globally, 484 WiMax products are available for commercial use. While a customer premise equipment (CPE, which resides in the user’s premises) is available for around $100 (Rs 4200), a WiMax notebook from Taiwanese technology major ASUS can be bought for as low as $400 (Rs 16,800). An ecosystem of products and infrastructure is crucial for the success of any new technology and WiMax seems to be ready on these counts.

Right now, India has around 4.5 m broadband subscribers, mostly through copper wire. The targeted user base is 20 million by 2020. “With WiMax, the target may be achieved a little earlier because of high demand and existing ecosystem. Intel has strong distribution channels in India. All those will be used to proliferate WiMax devices,” he said.

In India, Tata Communications (earlier VSNL), Reliance Communications and public sector BSNL are strong proponents of WiMax. “Logistics of wireless broadband roll out are much more easier and cost effective. Telecom infrastructure, like towers can be used for WiMax, resulting in sharing of costs between more parties,” he said.

Comparing WiMax with 3G (third generation), which is a competing technology, Mr Rao said WiMax will offer three times more speed and will be cheaper. Operators like Bharti Airtel and Idea Cellular are betting big on 3G. While 3G-enabled handsets are already available in India, the launch of Apple’s 3G iPhone is expected to formally ring in the rollout of 3G in the country.

“3G has the capability to offer high-speed data services but doesn’t have the scalability. You need more base stations for offering 3G at the same capacity of total bandwidth and with this, the capex per subscriber goes up. And if you add more subscribers, the speed goes down. WiMax is a more cost-effective and efficient technology,” he added.

Google’s GPhone - A Phone Or An ‘Operating System’?

2008-08-16T16:09:00.001+05:30

It’s been the buzz of the blogosphere for last few months - the much-awaited launching of a Google mobile phone - with industry watchers haunting over incessant hearsays and supposedly leaked effigies of the legendary phone.

Google has declined to reassert any further plans for the GPhone

But at the moment it looks that the so-called 'iPhone killer' could be one of the most hyped non-devices in record.

According to the recent information, the mobile phone Google engineers have spent two years secretly making is really not a cellular phone in any way but an operating system (OS), which is configured to bring all the tech majors’s online goodies comprising its highly productive advertising to mobile users.

Now the world's most popular search engine is in quest of extending its authority of internet marketing to the mobile phone market.

The company desires to redeem on what it considers as the speedily rising mobile internet advertising market that is comparatively small nowadays.

It is making a mobile phone operating system, which it desires service providers and makers to set up in their phones. The phones cost could even be subsidised by the publicity, which appears on their screens.

A declaration about the growth is projected soon with handset using the latest software available as early as 2008.

At present, mobile phones make use of a range of operating systems to access the internet consisting arrangements from Microsoft and London-based Symbian. The software is assembled into the phones by makers. Google is projected to present its software free without charging phone manufacturers a licensing cost.

Together with the operating system, Google is likely to originate a unique browser for cellular phones and modify some of its features to beat the search and mapping software presently offered on wireless phones.

In July, the company also said that it was thinking over bidding at least $4.6 billion for wireless airwaves at a US federal auction.

Smartphone with Google operating system set to rival iPhone

2008-08-16T15:57:00.000+05:30

British chipmaker ARM has unveiled a prototype mobile phone that will use the operating system Android, launched by Google last November.

The unbranded prototype handset demonstrated at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona features an internet browser, map software, multimedia applications, text messaging, calendar functions, email and other cell phone functions.

Tipped to rival Apple’s iPhone, ARM's prototype uses Google as its web browser home page, Google Mail as its email application, and Google Maps for navigation.

Although the Android project is at a relatively early stage, the first Android-based mobile phones are expected to be launched in the market later this year, reports the Telegraph.

Experts at the research firm Strategy Analytics reckon that Android—which is being backed by an alliance of more than 30 mobile phone operators, handset makers, software firms and component manufacturers—will be installed on two per cent of smartphones by December.

Check your emails on mobile for free.

2008-08-16T15:56:00.001+05:30

Adroit Claretdene Infotech has finally announced the launch of a new mobile email solution - email@mobile through out the world.

email@mobile is the first solution of its kind which allows users to register for new email ID through a mobile phone. The latest solution will allow worldwide mobile users to own a free mobile email ID which shall be accessed over any ordinary mobile phone capable of internet browsing.

With the introduction of email@mobile solution, users can now read text/ attachments, reply or compose new email, delete or send email, set up address book and avail other features of any web-mail program - from a basic mobile handset.

To use the service, users neither have to buy any smartphone/PDA nor install any software on their mobile phone. All that is required is a mobile phone capable of internet browsing.

Users can now use their existing mobile phone with WAP 1.2 & above browser to wirelessly access their new e-mail box as well as register for new email ID through their basic mobile phone.

At present, few companies are providing similar email solutions, but they are charging device compatibility and monthly subscription charges. But with the introduction of email@mobile, users can now check their emails for free and save a lot of money.

Users can sign up for this free solution at www.emailatmobile.com over a web browser or wap.email@mobile.com using a mobile browser on their mobile phones.

Now Create Your Website Through Cellphone!

2008-08-16T15:54:00.000+05:30

Wanna create your website through your cellphone? Yes, it is now possible to create a website through the mobile phones.

From 15th of August this year onwards, Akmin Technologies, a Chennai
based company would start offering mobile website services that will
help users to create websites from their own mobiles in just few
seconds.

Moreover, the company will offer this service free of cost to its users.

But, to avail this facility, the users must have a GPRS enabled
handset, and this mobile based application will run from the domain
www.mobisitegalore.com.

According to a survey done by Telecom Regulatory Authority of India
(TRAI), there are 250 million mobile phone users in India of which 65
million have GPRS enabled handset. The number of people having access
to internet broadband connections is only 14 million.

Mr. Akmin CEO S Prashanth said, “We offer the technology free of cost
to the customers. Unlike the web version, the screen in the mobile
version will be customized and user-friendly to enable even lay persons
have their own websites. No technical knowledge is required and no
downloads needed. Mobile users can build, publish, manage and share
mobile websites.”

Experts feel that as the number of mobile users in India is increasing
day by day at a very fast speed there is a huge scope of creating
mobile based applications that would be of use to the large mobile
audience.

Apple faces growing list of problems with iPhone Customers complain of service, dropped calls; chipset could be the cause

2008-08-15T11:14:00.002+05:30

Apple Inc.'s 3G iPhone has been a hot seller, a rash of service problems and technical glitches has left the company with a black eye that industry analysts say could buy time for its competitors.

The latest version of the iPhone has been a big hit, with Apple (AAPL:

Apple Inc

AAPL 179.32, +0.02, +0.0%) selling at least 1 million of the devices since it was released a month ago.

But in that time, a growing list of complaints has taken some shine off the wireless device. IPhone users have flooded Apple's online message boards with comments about poor support for the device and complaints about how calls placed over the 3G networks of partners such as AT&T Inc. (T:

AT&T Inc

T 31.12, -0.18, -0.6%) are being dropped or shifted over to slower networks.

The situation caused Apple to lock its discussion board on iPhone network coverage on Wednesday after the thread became too long for Web browsers to handle. A new thread was opened later.

The company did not return calls seeking comment on the matter. Shares of Apple closed trading Thursday up 2 cents at $179.32. The stock has risen about 14% so far this month.

The service issues follow on the heels of problems experienced during the first weekend of iPhone sales in July, when customers complained about excessively long iPhone activation times, or not being able to activate the devices at all.

Additionally, Apple has had severe problems with its new MobileMe service, which represents the company's move into "cloud computing," a service where information stored on a computer server can be updated via any device linked to the cloud. When one device updates information through the cloud, all devices connected directly or wirelessly to the cloud are updated. Apple sees MobileMe as one of its main initiatives to expand the reach of its 3G iPhone into the corporate market. See full story.

A problem with chips?

Richard Windsor, an analyst with Nomura Securities, says that the problems with the iPhone's 3G network coverage appear to be stemming from chipsets made for the device by Infineon Technologies (IFX:

infineon technologies ag sponsored adr

News, chart, profile, more

Last: 8.62-0.22-2.49%
4:02pm 08/14/2008

In a report earlier this week, Windsor said the Infineon chips haven't been tested much in the hands of consumers and are being used in one of their first, large-scale deployments in the iPhone. According to Windsor, part of the problem is the radio technology used in the chips to access the 3G networks.

A report Thursday on the Web site of BusinessWeek said Apple will likely try to fix the iPhone's problems through a software update that can be downloaded to the device. Citing unnamed sources, the BusinessWeek report said the service problems have affected 2% to 3% of iPhone traffic, compared with a dropped-call rate of about 1% for all of AT&T's wireless traffic.

Nomura's Windsor said in an interview Thursday that a software update is unlikely to fix the problem.

"The problem is likely with the low level software and the chipsets," Windsor said. "It's difficult to fix through [software] upgrades. Also, it's not enough of a problem to warrant a recall."

He added that while iPhone customers have a right to be upset, the device's problems need to be put into historical perspective. "This is exactly what happened a few years ago when the first 3G phones went on sale. It's something that will be worked out."

However, the problems with the new iPhone may be a help to rival device makers such as Nokia Corp. (NOK:

Nokia Corp

The New Cuil Search Engine Sucks

2008-08-15T10:59:00.000+05:30

If you are going to roll out a new search engine, please try to make one that has more going for it than a silly name and cheap, misleading PR. Thus we have Cuil, the search engine rolled out this last week by some ex-Google folks who see a market opportunity. While all the people involved seem competent and have great resumes, the site itself out-and-out stinks.

It's buggy. It's slow. It seems hand-tweaked in odd ways. Worse, it requires exact spelling. Use lower case on a proper name and it can come up empty (but not always).

But it's the apparent fiddling with the results that bother me the most. Here's where it gets funny. Type in "Sergey Brin" (the founder of Google) and you get back a whopping "250 results for Sergey Brin"; yes, 250. And they are mediocre hits, many dating back to his Stanford days in the 1990s. There is an "Explore by Category" box, which won't help me find out anything about Brin, from what I can tell. It's pathetic. On Google you get 1.5 million hits. And if you think that's because of Google bias, on MSN Search you get over 3 million hits.

This is pathetic, since Cuil founder Anna Patterson has 11,381 results for herself. And the top search hit is her glowing bio on the Cuil site itself. What a coincidence! Try finding a Brin bio. Then if you search for Louis Monier, the ex-Googler and go-to man at Alta Vista who is now working at Cuil, he gets over 13,000 hits, many with flattering pics that are of other people.

So I decide to do a vanity search on myself to find out where my current bio appears. It's on the Dvorak.org site. Low and behold, the Cuil engine doesn't seem to find my blog at all, let alone my bio. One version of the search using my middle initial comes close, offering up at least a Wikipedia entry. But subsequent uses of my middle initial come up dead altogether. So I go with "John Dvorak." My blog gets a million page views a month, but Cuil finds a bunch of other blogs and tired old posts or people grousing. The top hit was a CSS blog commenting on a two-year-old story I wrote (although Cuil never found the story itself); the next two were "Dvorak is an idiot" posts from even more obscure blogs followed by various entries about me that you find on speakers' bureaus' Web sites. Yeah, this is endearing. No mention of PC Magazine, MarketWatch.com, Cranky Geeks, or any number of things I'm doing.

So I go to page two. After waiting for an eternity, I get pretty much the same thing on page two: people who condemned me on their blogs. Hey, I can go to Technorati for this abuse! Page 3: still no mention of my own blog or PC Magazine or MarketWatch.com or even Mevio. In fact, some of the hits are redundant. OK, so how many times do I have to pound this thing to find my base Web sites—any of them? I gave up after page six and figured that this site was useless. I mean, if your search term has their own Web site, you'd think said Web site would be in the search results. If I was doing a search engine, it would be a priority. After all, Dvorak is in the URL!!

And, yes, I do have enough presence on the Web to use myself as a benchmark.

Now you're wondering if this site has any usefulness. When the site was actually reviewed by others, I didn't see anybody jacked up about anything. Here is an example from this BBC blog:

Search term: "Nikon d50 reviews problems". Plenty of articles on the D70 camera, but none on the D50 (which might suggest it isn't doing its job in terms of prioritising meta tags and headlines above freetext). Google however got a good review from a reputable independent source as first link.

So while I'm always hoping for something better or more interesting or uniquely valuable, I still end up having to use Google. This over-hyped product is just another dead-end as far as I can tell. Oh, and the name is stupid too.

Indian iPhone Will Be Not Be 3G

2008-08-15T10:46:00.001+05:30

Is it okay to pay for iPhone 3G, which will not be 3G for at least a year or so?

Bharti Airtel and Vodafone, both are bringing in the iPhone 3G to India and have started bookings as well. But what no one is talking about right now is that there is actually no 3G in India. And if we look at the promises the telecom department has been making for the past few years, there is no deadline for when 3G will be available in India. So, in a situation like that is it fair for users to pay heavy amount to buy 3G iPhone which will not be able to use the power of the next generation network?

A Non 3G, iPhone 3G How justifiable are the claims of Vodafone or Bharti Airtel of bringing in the iPhone 3G to India? Should consumers fall for that and buy iPhone 3G, which will not be a 3G device? There was a dialogue in Matrix movie where Neo, when arrested by agents, asks for a phone call. Agent Smith says, "How good is a phone call, when you can't speak?'' As he had sealed his lips. So, here one can say, "How good is the iPhone 3G when there is no 3G network in the country?" Nathan Burley, an Australia-based analyst with research firm, Ovum, explains,"There is no other iPhone model to sell so that is the only model available. Apple is pushing the 3G model very aggressively. I think there are a lot of un-locked or cracked iPhone already available in India. But through this Apple will get the Indian market. Well, the iPhone 3G will run on 2G network as well, so you will be able to do a lot of things like the Internet access and other stuff, but the experience will not be that good as compared to running these on a 3G network. Still since iPhone is more about a style statement and the rich interface so at least people will be able to use it and flaunt that."When Will It Be 3G?So, iPhone it is, on papers and technologically. But it is going to take quite a while for Indians to reap the benefits of 3G that the device offers? Looking back at history, there has been more promises made than met. As we are aware that the frequency that 3G networks use was assigned to defence forces in India and it took quite a time to release that frequency as defence forces needed to build the infrastructure to migrate from that frequency. That was followed by the expulsion of the much adored minister Dayanidhi Maran due to some political issues. The change of minister further delayed the arrival of 3G in India. A. Raja, took over as the minister of communications and information technology and after taking his time to settle has started the 3G drive. The government is trying to put things in place by announcing 3G guidelines and policy. There will soon be an auction of 3G spectrum in India, as late as the end of September.Just few days ago Indian government approved the release of one block of 3G Spectrum each to BSNL and MTNL, the two Public Sector telephone service providers. The spectrum blocks released for the two companies have the size of 2x5 MHz in 2.1 GHz Band. “Besides this special consideration for BSNL and MTNL, 3G / BWA Spectrum would be allocated through an auction process to be conducted by a specialised agency. For the Spectrum blocks released to them, BSNL and MTNL will pay a price equal to the highest bid in the respective service areas,” a press statement says.If Your Operator Doesn't Get 3G SpectrumSo, the PSUs already get the 3G spectrum, which leaves the two major GSM players Airtel and Vodafone who have already have deals with Apple to bring the iPhones to India. Then there are CDMA players like Reliance and Tata, so there is going to be a tight fight for getting the 3G spectrum. Though, there are estimates that the two major players Bharti Airtel and Vodafone may get the desired spectrum. Still what if one of the two players, who already announced plans for iPhones don't get the 3G spectrum, how would they meet the promises they have made?"3G will do a lot more than just offering services on the iPhone and other 3G phones available in the market, so definitely there will be limited spectrum for the operators, and as you ask, if someone any of the operators don't get the 3G spectrum, then they will either go for some deals or acquisitions to acquire the 3G spectrum," says Nathan.But the guidelines and policy released by the government clearly discourages such deals or mergers. The press statement says, ”Mergers will not be allowed during the initial five years. No trading/ reselling of spectrum is allowed."The government also wants to ensure no hoarding or under usage of the spectrum, “There will be roll out obligations to avoid spectrum hoarding. If licensee does not achieve its roll out obligations, it shall be given one year to do so on payment of 2.5 percent of its successful auction bid (i.e. spectrum acquisition price) per quarter or part thereof. If licensee does not complete its roll out obligations even within this one-year, the spectrum assignment shall stand withdrawn. The roll out requirements, including rural roll-out, as well as stiff penalties for non compliance of the same has been stipulated,” further says the press statement.So, its going to be a tough time for players in not only getting the spectrum, but also rolling it out efficiently. We approached both Bharti Airtel and Vodafone, but they are tight lipped on the issue.Too Early To Be Too HappyBut don't think that the moment they get the spectrum, you will start using 3G services. It is going to take a long time to roll out 3G services in India. The infrastructure for 3G has to be suild. Ironically, the two PSUs who got 3G spectrum in advance have no prior experience of 3G services. On the other hand Vodafone and Bharti Airtel have good experience of 3G servies as they are already offering services in other countries, so that experience is going to help them build the needed business in India. And closer to home and before India, Airtel will be rolling out 3G in Sri Lanka later this year. So that will work as a testing bed for Airtel to roll out 3G in India. The sad think is if there will be iPhone in Sri Lanka, they will be ahead of Indians in teams of using iPhone 3G's full features. According to leaked reports in media, iPhones in India are going to be manifold costlier – between Rs 30,000 to Rs 36,000 -- than those available in US or UK. In some of the countries iPhones have been subsidised by operators which makes it cheaper. But Indian Indian telecom players are not known for giving subsidies on high-end phones. Now, the question is while international operators cover that cost through services, in India since these are not subsidised so will the services be cheaper? An expert who refused to give out his name says that Indian operators will keep prices higher as compared to international counterparts, even if the phones are not sold at subsidised rates so that will simply mean stealing away from the customer. Nathan feels, “But looking at the popularity of pre-paid services in India, I think there will be more pre-paid services and there can be subsidised iPhones as well in India. ”It took India quite a while to match the International calling rates, which were expensive compared to rest of the world, so it may not be a good idea to think that iPhone services will be cheaper in India, especially when the device is not being subsidised. These are the things we will keep an eye on. International Players Not InterestedThe bad news for auction is the government may not get the expected revenue from the auction as the international players are not interested in bidding for the spectrum, which would have raised the bid. “The worst think is currently no international player in interested in 3G auction of India, reason being the market structure. 2G is very strong in India and it will take up a lot of resources to build up the 3G infrastructure also the business model is not tested, so right now it will be interesting to see how current players take leverage of the infrastructure and presence and build the business. So, in the current situation it is easier for local players to build on top of that. Pricing and presence of many small players in various reasons is another reason for that," says Nathan. To reach to those areas, you need to tie-up with those small players and that can be a tricky business for international players. So many hurdles in the road to 3G. So, when you line up to get your iPhone, don't expect much except the cool device and interface “Yes, that will be a disappointment for users as there is no 3G in India and they will not be able to get the best out of iPhone 3G. They will have to settle with the current network which is of course slower than 3G. However the iPhone has been very very successful every where, owing to the interface and style so same is going to happen in India as well. Even if things will be slower on 2G, still people will be able to use some of the functionality of iPhone. ”Can we say iPhone for India will not be 3G, actually? Nathan laughs at that, “Well until there is 3G network in India, you won't be able to reap benefits of 3G, so in a way you are right. ”Despite the 3G machinery sitting inside iPhone will continue in the state of hibernation like the Indian mythological character Kumbhkaran did unless awakened by some drumbeats and trumpets of the arrival of 3G services in India. But looking at the record, 3G in India seems to be on the track of making and breaking promises -- keeping up that promise is still everyone is waiting for. So, those who do want to line up in front of exclusive stores to get iPhone, don't start feeling yourself part of the elite group of iPhone 3G owners. In India your iPhone will be 3G minus. The D-day, 22 August, is not far. It's just the coming Friday. So will you be going for first day first show or will wait unless prices fall further or the Kumbhkaran of 3G wakes up?

DoT clears air on 3G

2008-08-15T09:20:00.000+05:30

The department of telecommunications (DoT) today ruled out any change in third-generation (3G) spectrum pricing rules and the time frame for an auction.

According to the current schedule, the auction for 3G spectrum will be held within three months, spectrum allotted by the year-end and services launched by mid-2009.

DoT officials said if needed, there could be more consultations with the finance ministry.

However, “3G policy is consistent with the 2003 cabinet decision on spectrum pricing”, they added.

The finance ministry yesterday alleged that the DoT’s announcement of the 3G guidelines without consulting it was inappropriate and contrary to the 2003 cabinet decision.

The cabinet meeting held on October 31, 2003, had decided that spectrum pricing would be decided mutually between the DoT and the ministry of finance to provide incentives for efficiency and discourage the sub-optimal use of spectrum.

Earlier this month, telecom minister A. Raja had announced the guidelines for 3G services — which offer high-speed downloads of data and voice such as movie and video clips — saying the government will auction five to 10 3G licences per service area.

Raja also issued 3G licences to state-owned BSNL and MTNL without waiting for the auction and said they would roll out their services within six months.

8GB iPhone to cost Rs 31,000

2008-08-12T14:13:00.001+05:30

NEW DELHI: The wait is finally over. The pricing of the most-awaited gadget Apple iPhone, to be launched in India on August 22, is out.

Reports indicate that the 8 GB version of the 3G iPhone will cost Rs 31,000, while the 16 GB version will cost between Rs 36,000–37,000.

The prices are not inclusive of the plan the phone will come bundled with.

Last week Bharti Airtel and Vodafone announced that they will launch iPhone on August 22.

In a statement, Bharti said that millions of Airtel subscribers will be able to purchase the iPhone at Airtel's Relationship Centres from August 22.

"iPhone has been an iconic technological revelation of this year and Airtel has been at the forefront of innovation and customer delight in the Indian telecom sector," Sanjay Kapoor, President, Bharti Airtel mobile services, said.

iPhone is embedded with all 3G features and is twice as fast as the existing mobile phones. The phone also has in-built GPS system, which facilitates as navigation and positioning tool.

India world's 2nd largest wireless mkt

2008-08-11T16:42:00.001+05:30

BANGALORE: Mobile telephony has grown rapidly in India, especially during the last three years, with India becoming the second-largest wireless market in the world, says a World Bank study. The number of wireless subscribers in the country has reached 250 million, making India the second-largest wireless market in the world, says the study, The Role of Mobile Phones in Sustainable Rural Poverty Reduction. Authored by Asheeta Bhavnani, Rowena Won-Wai Chiu, Subramaniam Janakiram and Peter Silarszky, the study says India is now second only to China, with tele-density already surpassing the 25 per cent mark. Currently, China is adding about 6-7 million new subscribers per month, India about 8-9 million and the US about 2-3 million, it notes. "The private sector is also active in India and there are a number of telecommunication companies providing mobile telephone services who have to compete for market share and meet consumer expectations," according to the study released recently. It argues that mobile telephony has a positive impact on economic welfare by generating GDP; job generation (both in the mobile industry and the wider economy); productivity increases; and taxation revenue with mobile operators usually being a sizeable contributor.

RIM's Bold move against iPhone

2008-08-11T16:40:00.000+05:30

TORONTO: Push email major Research In Motion (RIM) has made a Bold statement in an effort to retain its edge in the smartphone battle with Apple iPhone. Like the iPhone , the BlackBerry Bold will also operate on the much faster, next-generation 3G network and has a built-in GPS. With a half-VGA LCD display and 480x320 resolution, the smartphone has 624 MHz processor and 1GB internal storage memory. The smartphone has a 2 megapixel camera and video recording capability, built-in flash and digital zoom. The new device also boasts of an advanced media player that displays pictures and slideshows quickly, plays movies smoothly in full screen mode and manages an entire music collection. The audio can be played over the handset's dual speakers in rich, stereo sound, and when using headphones or external speakers, the media player gives the user an equalizer with 11 preset filters -- like "Lounge", "Jazz" and "Hip Hop" -- that boost or soften audio ranges to create the perfect ambience. Though the Bold version has been designed to meet increasing requirements of business professionals during the day, the company said the new smartphone also 'indulges the consumer experience during lunchtime, evenings and weekends.'

IBM building Microsoft-free PCs

2008-08-11T16:39:00.000+05:30

NEW DELHI: To give a further boost to its open source initiative, technology giant IBM has entered into an alliance with three Linux distributors, Canonical, Novell and Red Hat. The alliance aims to design a package of tools that will build Microsoft-free PCs. Seems IBM wants to cash on the tepid response to the Microsoft's latest OS, Windows Vista. The package, which will allow PC users to run their computers without Microsoft software, includes IBM's Lotus Notes, Lotus Symphony e-mail, desktop productivity suites and Linux operating system. Linux OS and Lotus Symphony are both available for free. IBM claims that the package will bring down users' TCO by at as much as 30 per cent as compared to Windows PCs. The open source suite is likely to hit the market in early 2009.

HP wants iPhone touch

2008-08-11T16:38:00.000+05:30

NEW DELHI: Seems Apple iPhone has made touchscreen the tech flavour of the year, after a flurry of cell phone manufacturers scrambling to launch touchscreen mobile phones, now you may soon have a touchscreen laptop. According to reports, the #1 PC maker Hewlett Packard is working on several products, including notebooks that will use the finger-tapping interface popularised by iPhone. The company plans to bring the touchscreen laptop to the market in the next 18 months. The company's present touchscreen product portfolio includes Pavilion tx2500z tablet laptop and the recently-launched TouschSmart All-in-one PC. HP sees touch technology as one of the most preferred method for tapping in non-technical users. With Microsoft's next operating system, Windows 7 also expected to have touchscreen features, PC makers are gearing up to offer touch-enabled systems. Last month, Dell showed of its touchscreen products including LCD monitors and 12.1 inch Latitude XT tablet. According to market analysts, the Touchscreen device market is set to be double to 800 million by 2013.

Intel names new chip Core i7

2008-08-11T16:36:00.000+05:30

SANTA CLARA: Intel Corp said it plans to sell its new generation of chips for desktop computers under the established ``Core'' brand, with the first chips of the new line to be called Core i7. The microprocessors are based on a design the company has code-named Nehalem and are expected to be in production the last three months of this year. Intel says the new design will deliver both high performance and energy efficiency. Santa Clara, California-based Intel indicated that the Core name, already used for other chips including the popular Core 2 Duo processor, will be its flagship PC processor brand. ``Expect Intel to focus even more marketing resources around that name and the Core i7 products starting now,'' Sean Maloney, general manager of Intel's sales and marketing group, said in a news release. The first chips in the new family of processors, including an ``Extreme Edition'' version, will carry an ``i7'' identifier. The identifier will be the first of several to come as different chips are launched over the next year, Intel said. Intel is the world's No 1 maker of microprocessors with about three-quarters of the worldwide market.

Bindra shoots first ever Olympic gold

2008-08-11T16:32:00.000+05:30

BEIJING: Abhinav Bindra won India's first individual Olympic gold medal on Monday with a thrilling come-from-behind victory in the men's 10m air rifle. (Watch) Bindra had been fourth after qualifying but had a brilliant final round and the Indian, the epitome of tranquillity, hit a near perfect 10.8 on his last shot to pull in front of Henri Hakkinen of Finland, who fell to bronze with a poor final shot. That late stumble by the Finn allowed China's Zhu Qinan, the defending Olympic champion and heavy favourite, to salvage a bitter day with silver. Zhu sobbed uncontrollably on the podium and again at a news conference. "I can't describe how happy I am," the ever-calm Bindra told journalists. "It's the thrill of my life. That's about it. It's hard to describe. I just went for it. I knew I was lying in fourth. Thankfully it went my way and I just went for it." ( Watch ) Zhu suffered a lapse in concentration in the qualification earlier when he had to rush his final shots to make the time limit, dropping to second behind Hakkinen ahead of the final. "I was under tremendous pressure and at times I felt really agitated," Zhu said just before stepping on the podium and breaking down in tears. "But I tried my best." Moments later at the news conference Zhu was crying harder. "I've been through a lot of hardship and shed a lot of tears in the last four years, there have been successes and failures," he said. "After 2004 my only aim has not changed. I had so very much wanted to be a champion at the Beijing Olympics." He added: "In the last two rounds I made several mistakes because I had used up all my physical and mental energy." Bindra, who faced criticism for failing to deliver on the great promise he showed as a child, said he was not thinking about making history in India with a first individual gold medal. In fact, he said, he was "not thinking about anything". "I was just trying to concentrate on shooting," he said. "I wasn't thinking of making history. I was two points behind the leaders. I was just trying to shoot good shots. I wanted to shoot well and shoot aggressively. And that's what I did." His 10.8 of a possible 10.9 on his final shot sparked loud celebrations from group of fans from India. Hakkinen, who was even with Bindra before his mere 9.7 on his last shot, said that crucial shot felt like the nine before it. "It just wasn't my turn," he said. "It shows that shooting is a sport from the first to the final shot. Every one counts." Randhir Singh, Indian Olympic Association secretary-general and former shooter who was present at the range, was stricken by nerves as the competition reached its climax. "I haven't prayed so much in my life. With the second last shot they tied together and then he (Bindra) shot a 10.8. It couldn't have got better," he told Indian television. Bindra won the 2006 world championships and finished seventh in Athens four years ago.

DreamWorks deal with ADAG nearly complete: Report

2008-08-10T16:47:00.001+05:30

A deal between Steven Spielberg's DreamWorks SKG and Reliance ADA Group to set up a new film company is on the verge of completion, the Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday.

The deal with Mumbai-based ADAG is the initial step in Spielberg's and DreamWorks co-founder David Geffen's plan to leave Paramount Pictures and set up their own studio to make films to be distributed by a soon-to-be-determined studio.

Speculation has swirled for months regarding the next probable move for the duo as their long-troubled relationship with DreamWorks parent Paramount, a unit of Viacom Inc, flared up publicly last fall.

Under the agreement, ADAG would invest about $500 million equity in the new movie venture and another $500 million in debt through JP Morgan Chase & Co, the Wall Street Journal said, quoting people familiar with the matter.

A Reliance ADA spokeswoman did not immediately return calls seeking comment.

People familiar with the situation say an agreement will probably be reached next week, allowing Spielberg and his DreamWorks team to leave Paramount as early as November, the paper said.

Spielberg is said to be looking closely at General Electric Co's Universal Pictures, where he started his career, to distribute the venture's films, though no agreement has been reached.

Tatas to invest Rs 6,000 cr in GSM

2008-08-10T11:47:00.000+05:30

Tata Teleservices has said it will invest Rs 8,000 crore over the next 24 months to expand its telecom networks. Of this, about Rs 6,000 crore would go in building a pan-India GSM network, while the remaining Rs 2,000 crore would be used to strengthen its existing CDMA networks. Tata Teleservices managing director Anil Sardana told ET that the company would launch GSM services across India by March ’09. Tata Teleservices will also launch BlackBerry handsets for its customers by September. “The platforms are ready and the soft launch has already taken place. We are sorting out some minor issues in logistics before we launch it finally,” Mr Sardana said. The development assumes importance as the company’s plans to launch BlackBerry services have been held up since last year. The department of telecom has not cleared the proposal citing security fears. But the Tatas are launching Blackberry services as all major operators, including Bharti Airtel, Reliance Communications, Vodafone Essar and Idea Cellular, are already offering it. Tata Teleservices has a subscriber base of 27 million on the CDMA platform and the company is betting big on bagging a significant chunk of the new additions over the next four years. “We are targeting a customer base of 35 million plus by March ’09 and 100 million by 2011. By then, we expect to have 55 million new users on our upcoming GSM platform,” Mr Sardana said. He did not rule out the possibility of taking the acquisition route to meet the 100-million target. On the CDMA platform, the company offers services in 19 of India’s 22 telecom circles. It will launch CDMA-based mobile services in the remaining three circles — Assam, North East and Jammu & Kashmir — within the next couple of months. Tatas’ GSM foray may, however, be delayed as the DoT is likely to take time to provide the company with radio frequencies. “We are concerned about the delay as this will impact our rollout plans. We have paid for the GSM frequencies but the allocation has not happened yet,” he added. The Tatas also plan to leverage their ‘superior network quality’ and customer services in a bid to get customers from other operators when number portability kicks off in India. On the company’s plans to offload 49% stake in the hived off passive infrastructure and tower arm, Mr Sardana said the process was on. “We are looking at different business models and are yet to finalise a partner who will get a 49% stake in the company,” he added. Asked if Tata Teleservices planned to bid or acquire mobile licenses abroad, he said the company would continue to focus on the Indian market. “Expansion in the global markets will be through Tata Communications (VSNL). They already have mobile operations in Nepal, Sri Lanka and South Africa and will continue to evaluate other options,” he said.

GSM cos hampering entry of Rcom, Tatas in GSM telephony

2008-08-09T13:40:00.000+05:30

CDMA operators association AUSPI today charged the GSM players with hampering their entry into GSM space as also defying the regulator's direction on dual technology by denying interconnection to RCOM and Tata Tele.

"The COAI has been trying to stop launch of fresh competition in the cellular market in every possible way. Its latest attempt to delay onset of competition by AUSPI members including Reliance Communications and Tata Teleservices... by denying them network on existing Points of Interconnections," AUSPI said in a letter to TRAI Chairman Nripendra Misra.

It said the move is not only illegal but also against the interest of consumers, as the full benefit of the competition will be delayed.

AUSPI has also submitted that COAI's representation is not the consensus view of GSM operators - a few members including Aircel and BPL have already opened GSM codes of member service providers.

The delay in interconnection is the handiwork of only few dominant GSM players with an aim to scuttle serious competition. It is a blatant attempt to defy DoT's and TRAI's directives, AUSPI said.

TRAI had earlier said the existing interconnections can be used for exchange of traffic for both CDMA and GSM technologies.

"On August 4, 2008, TRAI had again issued a fresh directive to the defaulting operators to open GSM levels allocated to our member service provider on existing PoI. COAI is contemplating to defy the fresh directive and questioning the TRAI's powers to issue this direction," it said.

Airtel, Vodafone have 3G edge over other players

2008-08-09T13:35:00.000+05:30

Vodafone’s expertise in 3G and Bharti Airtel’s partnership with SingTel may them take lead over other operators. While Bharti Airtel will roll out its 3G services in Sri Lanka by year-end, thus having a six-month lead to test its services, Vodafone will look to bring its global 3G expertise to India.

While Bharti Airtel has already launched 3G in Seychelles, Jersey and Geurnsey, Vodafone is credited with rolling out 3G services in global markets like the UK, Germany, New Zealand, Australia, Spain and others. On the other hand SingTel, which owns a little over 30% in Bharti Airtel, is a major player in the 3G space as it has already rolled out such networks in several markets across Asia.

Bharti Airtel will also have a six-month advantage of testing its 3G services in the region as it rolls out services in Sri Lanka by December, 2008. Bharti Airtel plans to rollout 3G in India by mid-2009 only. Both Vodafone and Airtel may import their successful products and applications to India.

“We just gave the request for proposal to Ericsson and Nokia for 3G networks in Sri Lanka,” Bharti Airtel president for mobility Sanjay Kapoor told ET. “Most of the content will be Sri Lanka specific, but we can also share some content from our operations here. Over the last year, a bulk of the deals we have entered into with content developers have been done keeping 3G in mind. So most of this can be extended to our 3G platform easily,” Mr Kapoor added.
In contrast, Vodafone marketing head Harit Nagpal said that Vodafone has already rolled out 3G services in Egypt, parts of Africa and Turkey—markets similar to India. “With a global subscriber base of 280 million, Vodafone’s 3G expertise is unmatched. We have the capability of handling migration of customers from 2G to 3G in markets like Egypt and Turkey. We will also see such migration in India. Moreover a strong leadership presence in metro cities, will give us an advantage over others,” he said.

Interestingly, Vodafone and Bharti Airtel are competitors in India, but this has not stopped the companies from extending their alliance to markets abroad. Jersey Airtel and Guernsey Airtel, subsidiaries of Bharti Enterprises, last year entered into an agreement with Vodafone to jointly offer telecom services in Jersey and Guernsey (islands in Europe, close to UK). (Bharti was granted licenses to operate 2G and 3G mobile services in Jersey and Guernsey in 2006.)

While the two rivals have partnered globally, they may not replicate the same model in India. Meanwhile, Bharti Airtel and Vodafone will begin selling the new generation 3G-enabled iPhone from August 22. This will also give them an additional edge over other operators.

Bharti and Vodafone, which account for a significant number of the high ARPU (average revenue per user) subscribers in India, will have a further edge as a large segment of their high end users already have 3G compatible handsets.

Interestingly, the move to partner Airtel and Vodafone marks a major shift in Apple’s global strategy of ‘one country-one operator’. With India emerging as the fastest-growing cellular market, Apple wanted to maximize its exposure here as Airtel and Vodafone have a combined subscriber base of over 120 million.

Beijing Olympic Online on Google Maps

2008-08-08T17:16:00.002+05:30

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BSNL denies advantage in 3G field

2008-08-07T22:09:00.001+05:30

Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) has denied any first mover advantage in the 3G arena, despite the award of 3G spectrum ahead of private sector players. Last week, telecom minister, A Raja, while announcing the 3G guidelines, had said BSNL/MTNL would be given 3G spectrum with immediate effect and would pay the eventual highest bid price only after the 3G auctions.

"Our system of processing orders is agonizingly long and cumbersome. This will nullify any head start on spectrum, which means we will not be able to launch services ahead of private operators", a senior BSNL official told TOI.

BSNL's statements seem to point at a potential 3G launch not before 2009-10 or closer to the end of the UPA government's tenure despite the head start in terms of spectrum allocation.

This apart, how BSNL/MTNL will embark on business case planning with no clue about the total project cost which depends on the final spectrum bid amount, remains a mystery. It is quite possible that in the case of 3G, the cost of acquiring spectrum could be as high as half of the total project cost, depending on the total number of blocks available.

However, BSNL has already placed an order for 3G and 2G equipment for 10 to 14 million lines with Ericsson. BSNL sources further confirm that an advance purchase order for 18 million lines has also been placed on ITI, which will be serviced by Alcatel Lucent in the west and Huawei in the south.

Earlier, BSNL chairman, Kuldeep Goyal had said BSNL plans to invest upto $3 billion per year over the next 3 years on overall capex. With the imminent allocation of 3G spectrum, it appears the company would want to expedite its equipment orders hoping to at least match if not beat the private sector to a 3G services launch.

While BSNL believes that it owes this priority allocation of 3G spectrum to TRAI's recommendations, this was denied by TRAI chairman, N Misra. "We did not even discuss the subject in our recommendations. We never made any distinction between public sector companies and the private sector," he clarified. Finally, whether DoT will be in a position to allocate this promised spectrum and whether this will translate into a competitive advantage for BSNL, remains to be seen.

Google Insights for Search, Another Google Trends

2008-08-06T22:21:00.000+05:30

Google has launched an application called Insights for Search. Pascal Herbert, TomHTML and Tony Ruscoe already noticed this program lately but neither of us was able to log-in. You can provide a couple of terms and let Google show you the search volume for these mapped over time (from 2004 to this year), with search frequencies displayed on a world map.

Sounds just like the existing Google Trends program? Indeed it does, and you get to wonder why Google is rolling out a secondary product in this area instead of iterating the version number. (Google’s Marissa Mayer once talked about the San Angeles strategy to merge existing initiatives wherever possible to make it easier on the user – does that make this the Chicago Chicago approach?) Though perhaps in the future, who knows, these two programs may be merged.

At the moment, Insights for Search may be slightly more targeted towards advertisers with Google (it was announced in the Google AdWords blog). For instance, it contains categories (alternatively called verticals) to restrict your terms to. It also shows top searches and top rising searches in the neighborhood of keywords you enter. “Overall, this seems to be a huge extension to Google Trends, Google Ad Planner, and the tools available within AdWords to advertisers,” Search Engine Land’s Barry Schwartz comments.

Bharti Airtel to launch iPhone on Aug 22

2008-08-06T22:06:00.000+05:30

Almost two months after Apple chief executive Steve Jobs’ keynote address featured the Bharti logo prominently alongside the likes of AT&T and O2 as mobile operators who will sell the iPhone 3G worldwide, Bharti Wednesday formally announced Aug 22 would be the launch date. Bharti in its statement did not reveal the price at which the phone will retail in the country. The iPhone is sold between $199-$299 (Rs.7,960-Rs.11,960) in the US.

The phone, which won Time magazine’s coveted ‘invention of the year 2007′ honour, and marked the Cupertino-based computer giant’s foray into the mobile phone arena, debuted in June last year.

Although Apple had then stated that India would get the phone by November 2007, it wasn’t until this May that Bharti made public the upcoming launch of the phone.

According to a recent survey, more than 150,000 iPhones (2G) are already being used in the country, which have either been imported by enthusiasts or bought in the grey market.

India is the third largest unofficial market for iPhone after Russia and China.

Ironically, China where the phone is manufactured, still does not feature in Apple’s roadmap for retailing the iPhone.

Wednesday’s announcement comes after rumours of Vodafone - the rival telecom company - launching its own iPhone on Aug 13.

Although Bharti did not state the price, Jobs’ statement in June said the “iPhone 3G will retail all over the world for $199 or less”.

His claim led to a flurry of speculations that the breakthrough device which features a 3.5 inch touch screen display might sell for as low as Rs.8,500; the original phone which retailed in the US market between $399 and $599 has been selling in India for around Rs.25,000.

However, the $199 price tag in the US and other countries comes attached with a fixed two-year contract with the service provider. In the US, the minimum monthly bill for an iPhone with the AT&T contract is $60.

Although a norm in the US, fixed contract plans have not picked up well in India.

When Reliance Infocomm launched its mobile services in 2003, it had initiated similar contractual services. The company later discontinued the practice.

“Customers will be able to purchase iPhone 3G at Airtel Relationship Centres, and will have the iPhone 2.0 software,” the Bharti statement said.

The 2.0 software was launched alongside the 3G and had major additions like Microsoft exchange mail server, Cisco secure VPN access, apart from the original 1.0 OS X software features.

Apple, a few days back released the 2.01 firmware update to fix minor problems and bugs in the 2.0.