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2011-08-06T00:52:00.001+05:30

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2011-07-05T20:24:00.001+05:30

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Review of iPad 2

2011-06-11T09:25:00.000+05:30

Hardware

The iPad 2 is both all about -- and not about -- the hardware. From an industrial design standpoint, the iPad 2 just seriously raised the bar on sleek, sexy computer hardware. If you're an owner of the original model, you know it was no slouch in the design department, but its latest iteration takes it to a whole other place. The first thing you'll probably notice about the iPad 2 is that it's thin -- unbelievably thin. At its thickest point, the tablet is just 0.34-inches (compared with the first iPad's half an inch of girth). The device is slightly shorter than the previous model (at 9.5-inches tall), but also slightly less wide (just 7.3-inches versus the iPad's 7.47-inches). It looks and feels amazingly sleek when you hold it. As Steve Jobs pointed out at the launch event, the device is thinner than the astoundingly thin iPhone 4 -- quite a feat considering what's packed inside the slate. Of course, it's still not exactly light, weighing in at 1.33 pounds (or 1.34 / 1.35 for the 3G models), just a hair under the original's one and a half pounds.

As with the previous version, the front of the device is all screen, save for a bezel (which appears slightly less broad than the one on the first model), and a home button at the bottom of the display. The iPad 2 does add a camera opposite from that button at the top of the device, but the small dot is barely noticeable. Around back there's the familiar, smooth aluminum of the previous version (it does feel slightly smoother here), a small, dotted speaker grid on the lower left, a camera on the upper left, and depending on what model you get, the 3G antenna along the top back. The volume buttons and mute / rotate switch sit on the back left side of the device, while on the right you'll find the Micro SIM slot (on 3G versions). A standard 30-pin dock connector is along the bottom, while the top reveals a power / sleep button on the upper right side, and a 3.5mm headphone jack on the left. All pretty standard business for an iPad, but smartly put together on this tiny frame.

The device is available with either a white or black bezel -- we reviewed the white model.

In all, it's an incredibly handsome and svelte package. Pictures don't quite do the iPad 2 justice -- it feels really, really great in your hands. Not only does the construction give it a feeling of heft and permanence, but the thin profile combined with the new, tapered edges make holding the device a real joy. Apple is known for its industrial design, and they didn't just chew scenery here; the iPad 2 is beautifully and thoughtfully crafted.

Display / Audio

Much has been made about what is -- and isn't -- inside the new iPad. For starters, Apple has replaced last year's A4 CPU with a new, 1GHz dual core chip it's calling the A5 (surprise surprise). According to Geekbench, there's now 512MB of RAM in the iPad, bringing it up to iPhone 4 standards. That still seems on the low side to us -- a device in this class should probably be sporting 1GB, though we had no memory issues. The screen is identical to the previous model, a 1024 x 768, 9.7-inch IPS display. It still looks good, though we really would have liked to see a bump in resolution -- if not up to the Retina Display's doubled numbers, then something substantial. We don't take issue with the quality of the display as far as color balance or deepness of blacks go, but we would like to see higher pixel density, especially for the book apps.

On the wireless front, you can nab either a WiFi (802.11a/b/g/n) only model, a Verizon 3G version, or an iPad of the AT&T / GSM variety. Bluetooth 2.1+EDR is on board, as is an AGPS chip in the 3G versions. All the models come equipped with an ambient light sensor, an accelerometer, and a new addition: a three-axis gyroscope.

As we said, Apple has relocated the iPad's single speaker to the back of the device. The sound seems clearer if somewhat quieter than the old version, and we can't say that there's a major improvement as far as the placement goes. It does the job, but if you're working in GarageBand (or just listening to music or watching video), you'll want good headphones or decent speakers nearby.

Still, on the specs front the iPad 2 feels very iterative. There's nothing here that is totally mind-blowing, but there's nothing here that makes it feel far off from its nearest competition. We're early enough in the tablet game that a small push in specs like this will last us another season, but Apple needs to deliver bigger guns by the time we see a "3" at the end of the iPad moniker.

Performance

Geekbench	Results (higher is better)
Apple iPad 2	721
Apple iPad	442
Apple iPhone 4	375

As we noted above, the iPad is equipped with a 1GHz, dual-core chip called the A5. According to Geekbench, the CPU is clocked at 800MHz. When we first handled the device, it seemed noticeably faster to us, and even after a week with the tablet, it's still zippier than the previous model by a longshot.

The CPU and graphics performance of this tablet felt extremely impressive to us -- the iPad 2 performed excellently no matter what we threw at it, games and graphically taxing apps seemed to have higher frame rates, and even when dealing with CPU intensive programs like GarageBand, it rarely (if ever) seemed to be struggling.

But don't just take our word for it: Geekbench demonstrates quite clearly just what the processor gains on the iPad 2 look like.

Battery life

	Battery Life
Apple iPad 2	10:26
Apple iPad	9:33
Motorola Xoom	8:20
Dell Streak 7	3:26
Archos 101	7:20
Samsung Galaxy Tab	6:09

Not surprisingly, Apple promises major battery life on the iPad 2. Though the device has been physically trimmed down, the company says users can expect the same longevity we witnessed in the previous version. In our testing, this was 100 percent true. For the first few days we used the device we didn't even bother plugging it in. In fact, even during heavy use -- 3G and WiFi on, app testing (heavy work in GarageBand in particular), browsing, news reading, emailing, picture / video taking, and music listening -- we neglected to plug the iPad 2 into a socket for a span of about five days. When we did plug it in, the battery percentage was still only hovering around the low 30s.

Cameras

Let's just put this out there: the iPad 2 cameras are really pretty bad. They're not unusable, but it's clear that the sensors employed are not top shelf by any measure. If you have a fourth generation iPod touch with cameras, you can expect the same results. In fact, it seems to us that these are the SAME cameras used in the iPod touch -- there's an "HD" lens around back (which means it's roughly a single megapixel shooter), and on the front you've got a lowly VGA cam. Neither one of these produces remotely satisfying results for still shots, and in particular (when compared with something like the Xoom), the back camera just seems utterly second rate. For video duties and FaceTime calls, the cameras are reasonably useful -- but we would never trade a dedicated camera (or at least a smartphone with a 5+ megapixel shooter) for this.

Software

It wouldn't be a new iOS product without an iOS update, and the iPad 2 ushers in iOS 4.3, a minor update which touts a few bells and whistles. Notably, Apple has improved browser performance, added broader AirPlay support, mercifully added an option to toggle your mute switch for rotation lock duties, and (on the iPhone at least) brought Personal Hotspot to GSM devices (but not the iPad 2).

Alongside the iPad update, Apple also introduced two fairly major pieces of software -- GarageBand and iMovie for the iPad. Here's our take on those apps, as well some of the other big additions.

Browser

Apple claims big gains in the speed and performance of the new iOS browser thanks to the introduction of the Nitro JavaScript engine to the underlying Mobile Safari software. In our testing, we scored a fairly healthy Sunspider number of 2173.1ms (while Google's V8 returned a score of 338). Nothing to freak out about in comparison to the laptop numbers below -- but compare those digits to the iPhone 4 and original iPad running 4.2. Of course, the Motorola Xoom is neck and neck with the iPad 2 in terms of browser performance, which shows that speed is most certainly not Apple's domain alone.

In general use, we found the browser to be noticeably faster and more responsive than on the previous iPad, which is a good thing considering that the browsing experience still doesn't quite give you a desktop experience. That said, the iPad 2 gets a lot closer to the speed and fluidity you see on your laptop -- and it's obvious Apple is putting time and effort into making this complete.

We still have to take issue with the lack of Flash, however. Though many sites have begun to employ HTML5 for video and interactive elements, there's still loads of content we couldn't view because Apple won't allow Flash on its platform. We're not saying that we think the experience will be killer (though we've seen good Flash performance on a jailbroken iPad), but the option to turn it on and off would really be welcome.

FaceTime / Photo Booth

As you might expect, the FaceTime experience on the iPad isn't wildly different than the experience on an iPhone or OS X computer. Though the layout is different, you're getting basically the same results. As with the phone, you're unable to use the service when not on WiFi, but given that you're dealing with a tablet as opposed to a handset, it seems to make a little more sense.

Results were unsurprising but satisfying with the video calls we placed, but again, those cameras don't produce stunning images -- especially when you're piping video in both directions.

Photo Booth, on the other hand, has gone from a minor sideshow in OS X to a full blown event app on the iPad 2. The device's A5 CPU seems to have little trouble cranking out nine separate, live video previews of the kinds of effects you can do in the app, and when you're in full screen mode, you can tweak the silly-yet-often-psychedelic graphics to your heart's content. It's not something that is wildly useful, but we imagine a lot of people will be walking out of Apple stores with an iPad 2 in hand after playing around with this for a few minutes. It's just kind of cool.

GarageBand

Coming from a background in professional audio production, our initial reaction to GarageBand was one of heavy skepticism -- but that attitude changed pretty quickly. The $4.99 piece of software offers eight tracks of recorded audio or software instruments, along with the ability to mix your levels, add effects, and even apply amps and stompboxes to your tracks. The software also features a library of preset loops, along with options to sample audio and create your own playable instruments.

We were immediately impressed with the layout and thoughtfulness that's obviously gone into this app; it doesn't feel like a watered down version of the desktop application -- it feels like a whole new game. Creating tracks and recording pieces for a song couldn't have been easier, and the provided software instruments provide myriad options when it comes to sound creation and manipulation. Besides the standard selection of pianos, keyboards, and drum kits, Apple has also introduced an ingenious (and sure to be maddening to some) set of instruments called Smart Instruments.

Smart Instruments work in a kind of uncanny way; if you're using the guitar setting in this mode, you're presented with what looks like the neck of a guitar and a spread of preset chords. You can pick or strum the instrument as you would an actual guitar and the results are surprisingly, disarmingly lifelike. If you're really not musically inclined, you can have the guitar basically play itself for you while you switch between styles and chords. We were amused by the latter option, but completely hooked on the former. We would like to see Apple add options to let users define their own chords, which would open up tons of options and really let musicians get creative, but this is an excellent start to a completely new concept in music-making. There are also Smart Instruments for piano / keyboards (a little more hands-off than the guitar variation), and drums. The drum Smart Instrument allows you to mix and match specific drums on a grid which represents volume and pattern, allowing you to create fascinating combinations of rhythms just by dragging and dropping your kicks, snares, and hi-hats. Again, we'd like to see Apple allow for user-definable patterns here, but there's lots to like and explore for musicians and non-musicians alike.

iMovie

iMovie for the iPad wasn't quite the revelatory experience that GarageBand was, but the application provides loads of utility for video editing on the go -- and it does it on the cheap, clocking in at just $4.99. In a kind of blown-up version of the iPhone app, iMovie now lets you edit both videos you've shot on the device and imported files in a touchy-feely environment that's actually more intuitive than its desktop counterpart -- at least in a some ways.

As with other versions of the software, you get a set of movie templates and associated effects which you can apply to your clips. Editing is a new experience -- all swipes and gestures -- but surprisingly simple. There aren't a slew of options for transitions or effects, but the raw materials provided are more than enough to create competent work, especially if you're editing together family vacations or first birthday parties. We would like to see some better options for dealing with audio (cross fades and proper iMovie style volume curves would be great), but we're sure people will come up with some very interesting work despite the limitations of the app.

AirPlay / HDMI adapter / Smart Cover

AirPlay has now been expanded to work with more applications, which means developers can plug into the API to get video (and more) out to TV screens anywhere an Apple TV is located. That's nice, but until people start taking advantage of it, there aren't a ton of places you can use it right now. You can, however, stream all H.264 video from websites, and you can now access photos and video you've shot on your device that live in your camera roll.

If you're really serious about getting video out to your TV, you'll want to pick up Apple's new HDMI dongle ($39), which allows you to plug directly into your HDTV (and has a spot for your dock connector as well). It's a pretty odd product, considering that you've got to have your HDMI cable stretched across your living room. Unless of course, you're just dropping your iPad off by the TV to watch some content, and never pausing or skipping anything. That said, the adapter worked flawlessly, and when we had HD video running on the iPad 2, it sent that content to the TV with no trouble whatsoever.

The other accessories of note are Apple's Smart Covers. These ingenious little flaps are basically screen protectors with a set of smart magnets along the side -- instead of wrapping around your iPad or hanging onto the device with unsightly hooks or straps, Apple has devised a method for attaching the cover with well placed magnets. It's hard to explain how the covers work, but the effect is surprising when you first see it; the magnets just seem to know where to go. It is a neat trick, and the covers (which come in polyurethane for $39 and leather varieties at $69) do an excellent job of keeping your screen protected. The covers also can put your device to sleep and wake it up as you close or open the flaps -- and it can be folded over on itself to be used as a stand in a variety of positions. The accessories also have a microfiber lining, which supposedly helps keep your screen clean. But of course, there's more to the iPad than just a screen, and our test device actually got a nasty scratch on the back because there was nothing there to protect it. We love the convenience of the Smart Cover and the way it looks, but if you're seriously concerned about the entire iPad (and not just the display), you might want to check out other options.

Wrap-up

It might frustrate the competition to hear this, but it needs to be said: the iPad 2 isn't just the best tablet on the market, it feels like the only tablet on the market. As much as we'd like to say that something like the Xoom has threatened Apple's presence in this space, it's difficult (if not impossible) to do that. Is the iPad 2 a perfect product? Absolutely not. The cameras are severely lacking, the screen -- while extremely high quality -- is touting last year's spec, and its operating system still has significant annoyances, like the aggravating pop-up notifications. At a price point of $499, and lots of options after that (like more storage and models that work on both Verizon's and AT&T's 3G networks), there's little to argue about in the way of price, and in terms of usability, apps like GarageBand prove that we haven't even scratched the surface of what the iPad can do.

For owners of the previous generation, we don't think Apple's put a fire under you to upgrade. Unless you absolutely need cameras on your tablet, you've still got a solid piece of gear that reaps plenty of the benefits of the latest OS and apps. For those of you who haven't yet made the leap, feel free to take a deep breath and dive in -- the iPad 2 is as good as it gets right now. And it's really quite good.

First Mobile Phone in World

2011-06-09T23:05:00.000+05:30

On April 3rd, 1973, 38 years ago today, Martin Cooper made a phone call while walking down the street in New York City. At the time, he was the general manager of Motorola’s communications division. He had promoted the idea that phone numbers shouldn’t be tethered to a place, but to people. And they should be able to take their phones with them, anywhere they went.

When Martin Cooper made that first cell phone call, he did not make it to another cell phone. People didn’t have them yet — who could he call?
No, he made the cell phone call to a land line — specifically, to the land line of his chief competitor at Bell Labs. Motorola had beaten Bell to become the first company to make personal cell phones work. Cooper, you might say, rubbed it in. Think how the Bell Labs research engineer must have felt when he heard Cooper calling him from the noisy streets of Manhattan.
That first cell phone was so big that it was often described as resembling a shoe, or a brick. It weighed 2½ pounds. Cooper would joke to friends and colleagues that the calls from that phone would have to be short in duration: Who had the strength to hold it to an ear for very long?

Difference between CDMA and GSM

2011-06-08T23:57:00.001+05:30

When we buy a mobile phone, we usually don’t concern ourselves with the standards or technologies that our mobile phone uses. This is more so when we buy mobile phones that have the standard contract from the phone company, since it is 100% assured that it would function with that network. But in case you did not know, there are 2 very prominent technologies around the world. The first is GSM (Global System Mobile) and CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access).

The problem with these two technologies is that they are not really compatible and mobile phones that were made for one network would not necessarily work on the other. It shouldn’t really be a problem for you unless you travel outside your usual area or possibly outside the country. But in case you do travel around a lot, it might be better if you have a GSM mobile phone in tow since GSM holds a much bigger share of the mobile phone industry. And you should also consider this when buying a mobile phone from abroad. I know a couple of people who bought CDMA mobile phones when the whole country they were in was on GSM.

Technology wise, CDMA was supposed to be more advanced compared to GSM, but the hold of GSM over the market has already been cemented in the years that it was ahead making it impossible for CDMA to totally replace GSM. With regards to the third generation of mobile phones, it became apparent that GSM would not be able to compete with CDMA in terms of speed. Therefore it became apparent that GSM would have to move to CDMA. But the people who run GSM networks made a move that still made the two networks incompatible, by deploying WCDMA (Wideband CDMA) or UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications Service) as it is known in Europe. This standard is still incompatible with EV-DO which was the next step for the CDMA crowd.

The battle between this two has long abandoned the technology aspect which was how it started, but now it is all about market share. Although in the technology side GSM seems to be gaining the upper hand with 3.6Mbps for UMTS and 7.2 for the later HSDPA, compared to the 2.4Mbps of EV-DO and 5.2Mbps of EV-DV which are the current competing technologies. Although it seems that CDMA isn’t going to be able to compete with GSM superiority in the mobile phone market, it is still unclear whether CDMA is actually going away

Top 10 Mobile Applications of 2012

2011-06-08T14:20:00.002+05:30

Money Transfer: This refers to people sending money via SMS messages. Like mobile payments, this service has more appeal in developing markets for now. However, there may come a time when even using your debit card seems passé, while paying for something with actual cash seems downright ancient
Location-Based Services: As mentioned above, there are still far too many services to choose from when it comes to location-based social networking, fragmenting the market. Your friends on Loopt are often different than those on Brightkite and that list is different than those on Foursquare. But LBS extends to more than social networks - it includes any application that taps into your phone's GPS capabilities to offer up location-based services of any kind, whether that's local business reviews or directions to the nearest Starbucks. Gartner says this will be one of the most disruptive technologies in the future, with a user base growing from 96 million in 2009 to 526 million in 2012.
Mobile Search: No, mobile search isn't new, but on the mobile platform, it may get shaken up a bit. Gartner predicts that consumers won't necessarily be sticking with the search services they know and use on the Web (think Google, Bing, Yahoo) and instead experiment with using a few different search providers that have "unique technologies" for mobile search. While that statement is a little vague, it sounds like good news for services like Taptu who have entered this field with search offerings designed from the ground-up for mobile devices.
Mobile Browsing: Saying that mobile browsing technologies will be heavily used in the future sounds a little bit like stating the obvious. But as Gartner notes, mobile browsing capabilities currently exist only on 60%+ of handsets today. By 2013, that number will climb to 80%, meaning that those who are still using the app-less,more basic feature phones will still be joining the mobile web in mass numbers over the coming years. That's also good news for web developers who can build mobile web applications to cater to this bunch as opposed to focusing all their efforts into building apps for the numerous mobile platforms like the iPhone, Android, RIM, and others.
Mobile Health Monitoring: Another technology whose impact will be felt more heavily in developing markets, mobile health monitoring is still at an early stage of maturity and implementation says Gartner. Project rollouts have been limited to pilot projects for now, but in the coming years the industry will begin to monetize these efforts by offering mobile healthcare monitoring products, services, and solutions to various care delivery organizations.
Mobile Payments: Like mobile transfers, mobile payments are more common in developing markets at the moment, but that is quickly changing. Yet even as this type of service grows, Gartner admits there will be challenges. Mobile payments will be a "highly fragmented market" where there will not be "standard practices of deployment," notes the report. That makes it sound like this is one technology that will still need some work, even when 2012 rolls around.
Near Field Communications (NFC): More popular in some European and Asian markets than in the U.S., NFC still isn't a standard feature on many of today's phones. That may be about to change, too. In late 2010, Gartner says that NFC-enabled phones will begin to ship in volume, with Asia leading deployments, followed by Europe and North America.
Mobile Advertising: Also not new but growing fast, mobile advertising is one of the most important ways to monetize mobile content. Total spending on mobile advertising in 2008 was $530.2 million and it will grow to $7.5 billion in 2012. And mobile advertising will also be used by companies alongside their other campaigns including TV, radio, print, and outdoors.
Mobile Instant Messaging: Gartner says that latent user demand and market conditions are conductive to mobile IM's future adoption. It will appeal to developing markets where mobile phones are often the only connectivity device a user owns. But will it be a major app by 2012? It seems that SMS is still the service to beat, especially in the developing world. We'll have to wait and see on this one.
Mobile Music: Sure, you have the iPhone, but what about your other options? What about mobile music services - especially those for non-iPhone devices? We're still waiting on Spotifyin the U.S., for example, and their competition too. Gartner says that we're beginning to see new innovative models in this area that will include both device (think "Comes with Music") and service bundles.

Mobile Application With C#

2011-06-03T10:13:00.001+05:30

Developing mobile applications has never been easier than before. With the advent of Microsoft’s .NET technology, we are given a choice of language to use that we are familiar with. One of the most fascinating and powerful language is C#. Unlike C++ which is designed to be a low-level platform-neutral object oriented language, C# was designed to be a somewhat higher-level component-oriented language.

To begin, we will be using Visual Studio .NET for this project. On the “New Project” window, choose Smart DeviceApplication. See Figure

Once chosen, the Smart Device Application Wizard will appear. For this project we will be selecting Pocket PC as our target platform while our type of project will be a windows application.

Once we have chosen our options on the “Smart Device Application Wizard”, we’ll notice that the form displayed is somewhat smaller (246 x 302 pixels) than that of the usual windows form. For obvious reasons, mobile devices has a smaller screen than those of the desktop and notebook PC’s

Now let’s put in some controls in our form.

First, let’s drag a label control and set its size to 216 x152 pixels . For a final touch let us put in a button control on our form.

Let’s put in the finishing touches to our form.

elect our form, Click on “View Code” in the Solution Explorer.

On our codes, let’s set the text properties of our two controls.

public Form1()

{

//
// Required for Windows Form Designer support
//
InitializeComponent();

// TODO: Add any constructor code after InitializeComponent call
//
this.label1.Text = "This is my first .NET mobile application";
this.button1.Text = "OK";
}

That’s it! We are ready to go and test our application. Press F5 to compile and see it run on Visual Studio’s emulator.

Mobile Computing

2011-06-03T10:03:00.000+05:30

How to: sidestep Nokia Messaging on the Nokia E52, E55 and E72

2011-06-01T00:12:00.000+05:30

This was getting very frustrating. I was determined to get Nokia Email working on my E72 after months with the slightly clunky Java-based Gmail client. Yet, despite three hard resets, trying three different SIM cards and trying multiple email accounts on multiple servers, Nokia Email wasn't playing ball.

On older S60 phones, you could simply set up email using Messaging itself, which clung on to the old email code used for the previous four or five years. But for the E52/E55 and E72, it's now Nokia Email or... nothing. And there's seemingly no way to override the application's (erroneous) knowledge of popular email systems. Opt for 'Gmail' and plug in my Gmail address and the wizard sits and does nothing. Opt for 'Other' and enter my Gmail address and the wizard auto-detects that a Gmail address is still being used and switches back to its faulty Gmail mode....

Very frustrating. What's needed, of course, is to play a trick on Nokia Email, to pull off a little sleight of hand....

A little scene-setting. Out of the box, the current E72 firmware includes Nokia Email 2.2 - which also doesn't work properly, for me, incidentally. In Software Update, we find Nokia Email 3.9, as reported here. One thing I did want from this whole shebang was rich text email and proper attachment support, so I updated to this latest build.

The usual starting point for Nokia Email - setting up a new mailbox. Picking Gmail and entering details does absolutely nothing - for me, as mentioned above. And I did try very hard

As mentioned, we thus have to play a little trick on Nokia Email. Firstly, pick 'Other', but then add a bogus character to the email address so that the software doesn't think we mean Gmail and start side-tracking us to the malfunctioning wizard. Enter the password when prompted.

Select POP/IMAP - as we're going to be using Google's excellent IMAP (server-based email) support. We're past the danger zone now, the setup process isn't going to derail things by trying to recognise the domain name, so we now need to go through the offered fields, taking the extra (bogus) character out of the email address where needed.

Nokia Email's generic IMAP settings work fine for Gmail, in terms of ports and security - you can check for yourself on

Having checked all the incoming/outgoing server settings (almost no changes will be needed), press 'Save' and there we are - one Gmail mailbox ready to roll!

Before using it in anger though, pop into the Settings and then on the mailbox name ("Google Mail"), since you'll probably also want to fill in the name, 'reply to' and signature fields, as shown.

Being a compulsive fiddler, I also went into 'Advanced mailbox settings', where you can fine tune which access point to use. You'll possibly want your cellular connection here, though for personal reasons I specifically wanted the software to 'ask' in this case. It's up to you though.

It's then time to connect up and, a few tens of seconds later (the first sync is always the longest!) here's my email, retrieved by IMAP. If needed, you can also fine tune when Nokia Email makes a fresh IMAP connection to the server. In theory, IMAP connections can persist, i.e. stay always 'on', but in practice, something will time out or you'll go out of coverage, so I'd recommend 15 or 30 minutes as a sensible reconnection interval.

So there you have it. Nokia Email 3.9 on the E72 can be a little slow sometimes, in that it takes over the device's limited processor while coordinating an update. And it's not the fastest at downloading and filling in email detail either. But - it does work, and if (like me) you've been struggling with Nokia Email's setup wizard, then at least this gives you a way forward!

Asus launches Eee Pad Memo 3D Honeycomb tablet

2011-05-31T01:41:00.000+05:30

After PadFone concept device, Asus today revealed another Android tablet – Eee Pad MeMo 3D and it comes with 7 inch display. As the name suggests, Eee Pad Memo 3D comes with a glasses-free 3D display and will have Android 3.1.

Asus has also put stylus support, which means you can use a stylus and use MeMo 3D as a notepad very similar to what HTC Flyer does. Company will be bundling a Bluetooth handset with the tablet, which will help you in making calls and listening to stuff, which hints that Eee Pad MeMo will be coming with cellular connectivity.
Other specifications of the tablet haven’t been revealed as of now so is pricing and other details. We will be updating the post as soon as we hear anything else from Asus.

ViewSonic ViewPad 7x official with 7 inch display and Honeycomb

2011-05-31T01:39:00.000+05:30

Waiting for a 7 inch Honeycomb tablet, well ViewSonic just launched one at Computex. After thenews of Acer Iconia Tab A100 delay, ViewPad 7x is expected to be the first 7 inch tablet with Honeycomb tablet to hit the markets.

ViewSonic ViewPad 7x features a 7 inch LED capacitive display with 10 point multitouch support, HSPA+ connectivity, nVIDIA Tegra 2 processor with front and back cameras. Other specs include HDMI port, DLNA support, SRW TruMedia and it weight 380 grams.

There is no word on the launch dates or pricing as of now but we are hoping to get more details on that.

Mobile Networking

2011-05-30T22:27:00.003+05:30

Mobile Networking

Mobile Network Signaling:
Telecommunications signaling is the transmission of data for purposes of sharing
information for network control and/or call control. The type of signaling used in
a modern network is called Signaling System number Seven (SS7).

SS7 is a critical component of modern telecommunications systems. SS7 is a
communications protocol that provides signaling and control for various network
services and capabilities. Being a layered protocol, SS7 provides various
protocol levels for connection oriented and connectionless (database) signaling
in fixed and mobile networks.
SS7 is comprised of a series of interconnected network elements such as
switches, databases, and routing nodes. Each of these elements is
interconnected with links, each of which has a specific purpose. The routing
nodes are the heart of the SS7 network and are called a Signal Transfer Point
(STP). STPs are connected to Service Switching Points (SSP) that are switches
equipped with SS7 control logic.

SS7 Network Architecture:

Each of these network elements have a specific role in the SS7 network.
• Service Switching Point (SSP): A telecommunications switch that contains the
control logic (software) necessary to send/receive SS7 messages to other
nodes in the network. If a Mobile Switching Center (MSC) has said control
logic, it is by definition considered an SSP.
• Signal Transfer Point (STP): This is the "heart" of the SS7 network. STP
routes messages between other network elements.
• Service Control Point (SCP): This is the "brain" of the SS7 network. The SCP
is nothing more than a database. However, utilization of a SCP offers
profound enhancements for service delivery and network control.
• Service Node (SN): Includes database functionality of the SCP along with
additional capabilities such as voice interaction and control of voice
resources. Generally speaking, SCPs work well with requirements that call
for voluminous data transactions. SNs, on the other hand, are typically not
designed for high volume data processing. Instead, SNs are best suited for
special circumstance call processing involving voice resources and/or
interaction.

SS7 Network Elements:

SS7 involves two different types of signaling:
connection oriented signaling and connectionless oriented signaling. Connection oriented signaling refers to the establishment of switch-to-switch facilities call inter-office trunks. These trunks
carrier voice communications. The ISDN User Part (ISUP) part of the SS7
protocol is utilized to establish trunks between switches. In contrast, the
Transaction Capability Application Part (TCAP) is utilized for connectionless
signaling which typically entails switch-to-database or database-to-database
communications. An example of connectionless signaling is TCAP signaling of
Home Location Register to Visiting Location Register discussed below.
Mobile Networking Standards
There are two major types of inter-system signaling for mobile communications:
GSM Mobile Application Part (MAP) and ANSI-41. GSM MAP is the standard
utilized for GSM and ANSI-41 is the inter-system standard for all other mobile
networks including CDMA, D-AMPS (IS-136), and AMPS.
Although the two standards have their differences, both have certain key things
in common. They support three network elements that are required for mobile
communications: MSCs, HLRs, and VLRs.

Mobile Switching Center:

A Mobile Switching Center (MSC) is a telecommunications switch deployed in
mobile communications networks, to provide call control, processing and access
to the Public Switched Telephone (fixed) Network.
Home Location Register
The Home Location Register (HLR) is a database that is maintained by a user's
home carrier or the mobile operator from whom the user has initiated service.
The HLR stores information about the user, including the user profile
(preferences), account status, features and capabilities.
Visiting Location Register
The Visiting Location Register (VLR) is another database and is used by the
serving carrier system to manage service requests from mobile users who are
away from their home system.
The interaction between the MSC, HLR, and VLR is best understood by walking
through the registration process.

In the above figure, the mobile user's home system is depicted as System A and
the mobile user is currently roaming in System B, the visited or serving system.

Step One: Detecting a Potential User

The first step involves the serving system detecting your mobile phone. This
occurs over the radio interface. Each mobile phone emits a unique identification
that is detected by the radio frequency (RF) equipment of the serving system.
The mere fact that you have your mobile phone "powered on" triggers the serving
system RF equipment to inform the equipment switching of your presence. The
switching equipment in turn queries a database which first determines whether
you are in your "home" area or whether you are a "visitor". In this context, visitor
means that you are not in your normal home location (the city/area where you
signed up for service).

Step Two: Exchanging the Appropriate Information about the User

The second step involves database interaction to determine appropriate handling
of call requests. If you are in your home area, the Home Location Register (HLR)
provides information necessary to handle requests for either call origination
(making a call) or termination (being called). If you are not in your home area, a
Visiting Location Register (VLR) must request information from the HLR so that
the visited (serving) system can process calls appropriately.
Communication between the VLR in the serving system and the HLR of the
home area is facilitated by mobile networking protocols and signaling based on
MSC/VLR
HLR
MSC/VLR
SS7 Signaling Network
System B System A
ReqNot (invoke)
ReqNot (response with profile)

SS7. In GSM networks, GSM MAP mobile networking protocol rides on top of
SS7, allowing VLR to HLR (and HLR to VLR) communications.
This signaling and database communications typically occurs before any call is
either placed or received, allowing the serving system to know exactly how to
handle calls when a call is placed/received.

Step Three: Handling Calls

By the time the user either places or receives a call, this database interaction has
occurred. The serving system now knows whether the mobile phone is
associated with an account in good standing (bills all paid), user feature/service
subscription, and the location of the user so that calls placed to the user may be
delivered.
Placing a call
Upon detecting a request for a mobile phone user to originate a call, the serving
system reviews the VLR record (established in Step Two above) to determine
appropriate treatment. This allows the serving system to determine if the call is
allowed and if any additional features/services should be made available. Once
this investigation occurs (in a fraction of a second), the switch processes the call
attempt as appropriate.
Receiving a call
When someone calls a mobile phone user, the home switch reviews the HLR. If
the user is in the home area, the call is delivered immediately. If the mobile user
is in another serving area (called "roaming"), the HLR record indicates which
VLR is currently maintaining the mobile user's records. The HLR uses SS7 and
the appropriate mobile networking protocol to request delivery instructions from
the VLR. The VLR provides these instructions to the HLR, allowing the home
switch to deliver the call to the serving switch and seamlessly terminate the call
to the mobile phone as if the user were in the home area.

Mobile Networking and Applications:

ANSI-41 and GSM MAP support various applications including basic services
such as call waiting and conference calling. This support is provided in the form
of profile updates between the serving system (VLR) and the home system
(HLR). The HLR updates the VLR regarding subscriber services, allowing the
serving system to provide the appropriate services to the visitor. A discussion of
these applications is beyond the scope and purpose of this white paper.

Historical Smartphone operating systems

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Windows Mobile from Microsoft (2.8% Market Share Sales Q3 2010)^[7]^[23] (closed source, proprietary)

The Windows CE operating system and Windows Mobile middleware are widely spread in Asia. The two improved variants of this operating system, Windows Mobile 6 Professional (for touch screen devices) and Windows Mobile 6 Standard, were unveiled in February 2007. It has been criticized for having a user interface which is not optimized for touch input by fingers; instead, it is more usable with astylus. However, unlike iPhone OS, it does support both touch screen and physical keyboard configurations.

Windows Mobile's market share has sharply declined in recent years to just 5% in Q2 of 2010.^[24] Microsoft is phasing out the Windows Mobile OS to specialized markets and is instead focusing on it's new platform, Windows Phone.

Mobile Applications

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Mobile application development is the process by which application software is developed for small low-power handheld devices such aspersonal digital assistants, enterprise digital assistants or mobile phones. These applications are either pre-installed on phones during manufacture, or downloaded by customers from various mobile software distribution platforms.

iOS, Palm webOS, Symbian OS, and Windows Mobile support typical application binaries as found on personal computers with code which executes in the native machine format of the processor (the ARM architecture is a dominant design used on many current models). Windows Mobile can also be compiled to x86 executables for debugging on a PC without a processor emulator, and also supports the Portable Executable (PE) format associated with the .NET Framework. Windows Mobile, Palm webOS and iOS offer free SDKs and integrated development environments to developers. Machine language executables offer considerable performance advantages over Java.