George Bush shoe attack

MTNL Brings 3G to India

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.

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

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.

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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

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

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

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

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

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......

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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."