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.”