World of Bytes

Amazon Ships Kindle Fire A Day Early

2011-11-14T09:46:00.000-08:00

Amazon.com Inc. started shipping its Kindle Fire tablet Monday, kicking off its expansion into the tablet market a day earlier than it had said it would.

Amazon's $199 tablet is the latest in a series of devices to challenge Apple Inc.'s iPad. The online retailer is betting its lower price and vast library of digital content will make its offering more compelling than rival gadgets from Hewlett-Packard Co., Research In Motion Ltd. and others.

"Kindle Fire quickly became the bestselling item across all of Amazon.com, and based on customer response we're building millions more than we'd planned," Amazon Vice President David Limp said in a statement.

The company didn't give details on why it changed the shipping date. A spokesman couldn't immediately be reached for comment. "Like any other business, you want to underpromise and overdeliver--I think that's essentially where Amazon is right now," Caris & Co. analyst Scott Tilghman said. "Given that their (business) model is to ship products to customers, the sooner they can get the product in customers' hands, the better."

Amazon's library of digital content, which Fire users can access, is seen as an advantage for the product. Customers get a month free of a service called Amazon Prime, which offers streaming movies and TV shows, and free e-books for limited periods on Kindle devices as well as unlimited two-day shipping for physical goods bought on Amazon.com. The service normally costs $79.

Amazon also said its new Kindle Touch and Kindle Touch 3G e-readers will begin shipping on Tuesday, six days ahead of a previously anticipated Nov. 21 launch.

Amazon's Kindle Touch is priced at $99 and the Kindle Touch 3G at $149. Apple's iPad starts at $499.

Apple fixes iPhone battery problem with software update

2011-11-14T09:41:00.000-08:00

Apple issued a software update to its latest mobile operating system on Thursday in a move to fix widespread problems with the battery life of the iPhone 4S.

The software update, iOS 5.0.1 also adds multi-tasking gestures to early versions of the iPad and closes a security loophole that could have duped users into loading malware onto their iPhones and iPads through Apple’s App Store.

Complaints about the disappointing battery life began popping up immediately after the release of the iPhone 4S last month, which Apple acknowledged in a statement last week.

“A small number of customers have reported lower than expected battery life on iOS 5 devices,” Apple wrote. “We have found a few bugs that are affecting battery life, and we will release a software update to address those in a few weeks.” The software update was the first one issued by Apple that was pushed to users over the cellular networks, rather than requiring them to sync up their devices with their laptops.

Google bans phone application used in spying

2010-10-30T04:49:00.000-07:00

A controversial mobile phone application, which helps a cell phone user read the text messages of others secretly, has been removed from sale by internet search engine Google. Google said the application, called SMS Secret Replicator, violated its terms, The Independent reported on Friday.

Once installed on a mobile phone, the Android phone application automatically creates carbon copies of incoming text messages and forwards them to a selected number - prompting fears it could be used by jealous lovers and even work colleagues to snoop on private messages.

Jealous lovers are encouraged to secretly set up a password-protected application on their partners' phones and set it to forward text messages to their own, the paper said.

"The app is unique because there is no visible icon or shortcut to access it, so once it's installed, it will continue to monitor without revealing itself," the developer DLP Mobile was quoted as saying.

Its chief executive, Zak Tanjeloff, said the application was "certainly controversial but can be helpful to people in relationships where this type of monitoring can be useful".

The app's creators have given it the slogan "nothing is secret". Google confirmed it had suspended the application.

RIM Said to Plan Tablet for November to Take on Apple's IPad

2010-07-30T13:36:00.000-07:00

Research In Motion Ltd., maker of the BlackBerry smartphone, plans to introduce a tablet computer in November to compete with Apple Inc.’s iPad, according to two people familiar with the company’s plans.

The device will have roughly the same dimensions as the iPad, which has a 9.7-inch diagonal screen, said the two people who wouldn’t be identified because the plans haven’t been made public. The device will include Wi-Fi and Bluetooth wireless technology that will allow people to connect to the Internet through their BlackBerry smartphones, the two people said.

RIM is racing to come out with a product to rival the iPad in the fast-growing market for devices that bridge the gap between smartphones and notebook computers. Apple, based in Cupertino, California, last month said it sold 3 million iPad tablet computers in 80 days after they debuted in the U.S.

RIM rose $1.45, or 2.6 percent, to $57.15 at 12:18 p.m. New York time in Nasdaq Stock Market trading, reversing an earlier decline of as much as 2.5 percent. The stock had dropped 18 percent this year before today, as Apple had climbed 22 percent.

Uphill Battle?

In the tablet market, RIM will have to demonstrate how its device can stand out against products including the iPad, which has attracted buyers because of its integration with Apple’s iTunes service and many software applications, or apps. More than 225,000 apps are available for Apple devices, the company said in June. RIM said in April it had more than 6,000 apps.

“With the success of the iPad, RIM faces an uphill battle,” said William Power, an analyst at Robert W. Baird & Co., who has a “neutral” rating on the stock. “RIM really has yet to demonstrate that it can roll out touchscreen technology to match the leaders in the space, most noticeably Apple.”

RIM’s tablet will capitalize on the BlackBerry’s e-mail capabilities and the phone’s popularity with corporate users, one person said. The tablet will be closely integrated with the smartphone’s e-mail system and will have similar security for messaging, the person said.

The RIM tablet will also have front- and back-facing cameras for videoconferencing, Rodman & Renshaw’s Kumar said, citing sources at suppliers in Asia.

“I don’t think it’s a zero-sum game,” he said, saying that innovation by Apple, RIM and other competitors will increase the size of the tablet market.

Hewlett-Packard Co., which bought smartphone maker Palm Inc. this month, said it plans to produce a tablet device that runs on Microsoft Corp.’s Windows operating system. Korea’s LG Electronics Inc. said this month it plans to introduce a tablet computer in the fourth quarter that runs on Google Inc.’s Android software. Microsoft Chief Executive Officer Steve Ballmer said yesterday the software company plans to increase its focus on tablets.

Amazon Launches $139 Wi-Fi Kindle

2010-07-29T13:12:00.000-07:00

Amazon has launched a $139 Wi-Fi-only Kindle, hoping to stay ahead of competitors by luring customers with low-priced e-readers that the online retail is betting will drive digital book sales.

Amazon on Thursday also introduced the third generation of the original Kindle, which has Wi-Fi and 3G wireless technologies. The latter makes it possible to buy digital books from Amazon and download them in less than a minute. Amazon kept the price for the device at $189.

Both Kindles are about $10 less than comparable e-readers from rivals Barnes & Noble, Borders and about $30 less than Sony's device, excluding the $25 e-book gift card Sony gives with each purchase.

Besides lower prices, the latest Kindles have several improvements over previous generations. While the size of the screen remains six inches diagonally, the display is based on manufacturer E Ink's latest technology, which offers a contrast ratio about 50% greater. While the screen only displays black-and-white, its high resolution makes it possible to read text even in direct sunlight, an advantage over the LCD displays used in Apple's iPad and smartphones.

In addition, Amazon has made the Kindle 21% smaller through a sleeker design and has reduced the weight by 15% to 8.7 ounces. The latest models have a battery life of a month and twice the storage, which is enough to carry up to 3,500 digital books.

While Amazon has prepped the latest Kindles as stiffer competitors, the retailer won't be able to start shipping the e-readers until Aug. 27. Amazon suspended shipments on Wednesday, but is taking pre-orders.

Nevertheless, Amazon is making the Kindle available in time for the back-to-school shopping season. The retailer is also pressuring competitors to lower prices, as the industry moves closer to offering devices possible as low as under $100, which analysts say would be low enough to be a compulsive buy for consumers.

Amazon's latest releases reflect an industry shift toward making money on the sales of e-books instead of the e-readers, since the lower prices are meant to get the devices in the hands of potential book buyers.

This strategy is apparently working for Amazon. the company this month announced that unit sales of e-books surpassed that of hardcover books. On Wednesday, Amazon said Swedish author Stieg Larsson has become the first writer to sell more than 1 million digital books on Amazon. Larsson is the author of the bestselling "Millennium Trilogy."

The growth rate of e-books sales for Amazon has been impressive, given that digital books overtook hardcover books in less than three years. Amazon has been selling hardcover books for 15 years.

However, competition could get tougher, not just from other e-readers, but also from the emerging category of tablet-style computers, such as the iPad. While the Apple computer starts at more than $300 more than the cheapest Kindle, it does considerably more besides acting as an e-reader. The device also surfs the Web, accesses e-mail and plays video, music and games.

Paypal disables e-withdrawal functionality in India

2010-07-28T13:09:00.000-07:00

Ebay's payment company Paypal has given second blow to the Indian users with the announcement of removing the electronic withdrawal functionality for Indian users from August 1, 2010.

Dickson Seow, Corporate Communications team, Paypal communicated through its blog that the change has been introduced in accordance with regulatory instructions.

“At present, you can request for either an electronic or cheque withdrawal of funds from your PayPal account. From July 29, 2010 onwards, you will only be able to request for a cheque withdrawal of funds from your PayPal account,” it said.

Paypal stated that while the company is working towards restoring the facility it has the alternative options in place for future payments which is the cheque payment process.

The company is ready to refund the $5 USD cheque withdrawal fee to for cheque withdrawals made from July 29, 2010 onwards, it said.

The first shock from Paypal came earlier this year, in February, when it announced the suspension transactions to and from India. However, that was brought back into working within a few weeks.

Yahoo Japan to switch to Google's search engine

2010-07-28T12:38:00.000-07:00

Yahoo Japan, Japan's largest Internet portal operator, will adopt Google's search engine, refusing to follow Yahoo Inc in choosing Microsoft as a partner.

Yahoo Japan, which currently uses Yahoo Inc's search technology, and Google together would control almost all of the search market in the word's second-biggest economy.

The deal stands in stark contrast to the decision by Yahoo Inc, which owns roughly one-third of Yahoo Japan, to integrate its search technology with Microsoft after the U.S. government blocked a tie-up with Google.

Yahoo Japan, which hopes the deal will strengthen its No. 1 position in the domestic market, will also adopt Google's search-linked advertisement delivery system and feed its data to Google sites.

The deal was seen by some as underscoring Microsoft's weaker position in search. Microsoft said the deal would hand the whole search market to Google and stifle competition.

"If this Yahoo Japan and Google partnership works well, other search engine and portal site players all over the world may start adopting Google's technology," said Mitsushige Akino, chief fund manger at Ichiyoshi Investment Management.

At a news conference, Yahoo Japan President Masahiro Inoue said the Japanese company concluded after a thorough investigation that Microsoft's search technology was not strong enough for its needs, citing Japanese language search capabilities as one example.

Yahoo Japan shares gained 1.2 percent on reports of an imminent deal, while the broader market was flat. The announcement came after the close of trading hours.

Yahoo Japan said in a statement Yahoo Inc will remain a strategic partner for the Japanese portal site and the U.S. company will maintain its stake. Yahoo Japan will still use the Yahoo brand.

The Japanese company also said it has confirmed with the Japanese government that the partnership with Google will not violate antitrust regulations.

Yahoo Inc, Yahoo Japan's second-biggest shareholder after Softbank Corp, signed a 10-year deal with Microsoft last year to save hundreds of millions of dollars a year in expenses by shifting Web indexing chores to Microsoft while Yahoo focuses on improving searching.

Yahoo Inc executives have said the company expects to complete the search technology integration in all 59 countries in which it operates by the second quarter of 2012.

Microsoft railed against the Yahoo-Google tie-up in Japan on Tuesday, but stopped short of saying it would challenge it legally.

"This agreement is even more anti-competitive than Google's deal with Yahoo in the United States and Canada that the Department of Justice found to be illegal," said Microsoft's general counsel in a statement.

"(That) deal would have locked up 90 percent of paid search advertising. This deal gives Google virtually 100 percent of all searches in Japan, both paid and unpaid. It means there will be no search competition in Japan and that Google will end up controlling all personal search information for all Japanese consumers and businesses."

Source: Reuters

Netgear introduces new Push 2TV wireless media player

2010-07-28T11:59:00.000-07:00

N etgear has introduced new Push 2TV wireless media player and it is based on Intel’s Wireless Display Technology. This device is very much useful to wirelessly transmit HD videos from laptop and then to play on TV screens. You can watch a movie with your family in the living room over HD television through your laptop,. Netgear has not announced prices of the device so far.

A portable device, the Push2TV PVT-1000 is to be hooked to your HD TV via HDMI cable or Composite. This device will let you stream photos and videos with HD quality to the larger screen installing it on your compatible laptop. The only restriction is that it functions on Intel based laptop only. This means you can not use it on older laptops.

Intel showed its new Wireless Display technology at the Consumer Electronics Show 2010. This technology uses an adapter to bring content from laptop to TV. Intel WiDi technology needs Intel Core i7-620M, Core i3 or Core i5 based laptop with 64-bit Windows 7 OS. Certain specific modules are also needed on the laptop to get the Intel WiDi thing functioning.

Intel MeeGo to power GM, BMW cars

2010-07-26T07:36:00.000-07:00

MeeGo is coming to BMW, GM and many other car brands. GENIVI Alliance has announced the open source operating system (OS) MeeGo as the basis of their next reference release for In-Vehicle Infotainment (IVI).

GENIVI is a non-profit industry alliance with founding members BMW Group, Delphi, GM, Intel, Magneti-Marelli, PSA, Visteon and Wind River.

MeeGo is a brand new species of OS. It's a result of collaboration between N okia and Intel.

MeeGo will provide the base for the upcoming GENIVI Apollo release. In-Vehicle Infotainment (IVI) is a rapidly growing and evolving field that encompasses all the digital applications that can be used by all travellers in a car. Navigation, entertainment, location-based services, and connectivity to devices, car networks and broadband networks are all covered by IVI.

PC/smartphone makers mimicking Apple; working on tablet computers

2010-07-26T00:11:00.000-07:00

With the exemplary growth of Apple’s portfolio - from the Mac to the iPod, and now to an enviable bevy of successful devices including the iPhone and the iPad -, PC/smartphone makers are mimicking the company and working on tablet computers.

With the iPad emerging as a game-changing device – a fact that is evident from the continual selling out of the device from the store shelves -, analysts are reporting that the sales of the iPad and other similar tablets are bound to witness a substantial leap next year; probably giving a blow to the laptop sales.

Essentially a media device, the 10-inch iPad chiefly boasts a PC-like functionality, though it neither features Windows nor Intel processor.

The astounding success of the iPad has attracted other PC-makers to the tablet arena – with PC giant Dell already having released its Streak tablet, which is powered by Google’s Android operating system and a Qualcomm ARM processor.

Another bigwig PC-maker embarking on the tablet computer route is Hewlett-Packard (HP), which is coming up with its highly-awaited ‘PalmPad’ tablet/slate device – basically Palm’s version of the iPad, sans a PC operating system.

Meanwhile, smartphone makers like Research In Motion (RIM) and Motorola are also supposedly having a go at the tablet platform. Though details about the rumored RIM tablet have yet to come by; Motorola’s tablet – which will use software and silicon similar to the one used in the recently-released Droid X handset - is likely to launch later this year.

HTC will bring HTC Sense to Windows Phone 7 and Android 3.0

2010-07-25T22:08:00.000-07:00

While Microsoft has long said they want to standardize the user experience of Windows Phone 7, HTC has said today that they plan to bring HTC Sense to their upcoming WP7 devices, skinning the smartphones like they have Android devices.

Additionally, HTC is moving forward with the Sense UI for Android 3.0 (Gingerbread).

Says Drew Bramford of HTC about the Sense UI for WP7: "We won't be able to replace as much of the core Windows Phone experience, but we will augment it."

In regards to Android 3.0, Google is rumored to be creating a user experience that will negate the need for extra skins, making Sense, MotoBLUR and TouchWiz, among others, useless.

Google, however, will likely not prohibit UI skins for 3.0, whereas Microsoft has been a bit more staunch on their stance.

Intel Ties With Nokia, Worries Arise About Wintel

2010-07-25T08:32:00.000-07:00

It was declared by ARM today that Microsoft will be licensing the IP architecture of the commonly known processor of its unit. There have been speculations that this move is a reply for the decision of Intel, which earlier said that it is working to launch Meego along with Nokia, the world’s biggest handset maker.

With today’s announcement, questions are arising about “Wintel”, the unit that both created together. This is clear, as on one hand where Microsoft is tying up with other manufacturers, like VIA, AMD and Cyrix; Intel has been backing others including Mac and Linux.

It has been reportedly said that earlier Intel revealed that the decision of launching Meego with Nokia, was a result of the annoyance that seeded due to the lack of support from Microsoft regarding the Atom platform. Nothing much has been said and the reason is unclear regarding Microsoft’s decision of not taking up Windows 7 for Intel’s need.

Both the Companies, have always avoided interfering with each other’s decagons after this, as both are aware that if anyone does that, it would be equally bad for both.

After the combination of Intel and ARM, Microsoft needs to be more vigilant, as the two major opponents in the mobile market for Microsoft i.e., Android and Apple already have the ARM hardware license.

Four Ways IPv6 Will Save the Internet

2010-07-25T07:53:00.000-07:00

The Internet will run out of Internet addresses in about 1 year's time, we were told today by John Curran, president and CEO of the American Registry for Internet Numbers (ARIN). The same thing was also stated recently by Vint Cerf, Google's Chief Internet Evangelist.

The main reason for the concern? There's an explosion of data about to happen to the Web - thanks largely to sensor data, smart grids, RFID and other Internet of Things data. Other reasons include the increase in mobile devices connecting to the Internet and the annual growth in user-generated content on the Web.

Why a New Internet Protocol is Needed

Currently the Web largely uses IPv4, Internet Protocol version 4. Each IPv4 address is limited to a 32-bit number, which means there are a maximum of just over 4 billion unique addresses. IPv6 is the next generation Internet Protocol and uses a 128-bit address, so it supports a vastly larger number of unique addresses. Enough, in fact, to give every person on the planet over 4 billion addresses!

John Curran from ARIN, the non-profit responsible for managing the distribution of Internet addresses in the North American region, told ReadWriteWeb that of the approximately 4 billion IPv4 addresses available, all but 6% have already been allocated. Curran expects the final 6% to be allocated over the coming year.

This is largely an issue that ISP (Internet Service Providers) and telecoms carriers need to deal with. However content service providers, including large-scale Internet companies like Google and Facebook, also need to ensure that the transition from IPv4 to IPv6 takes place. Curran explained that a content company like Google (for example its YouTube operation) will need to work with its ISP to transport the content via IPv6 as well as IPv4.

This transition is happening "slowly," says Curran. But he warns that "deployment is where we're behind."

Google, Facebook & Others Making Good Progress

John Curran told us that large carriers like Verizon and Comcast have announced trial IPv6 activity. Curran also noted that new Internet of Things initiatives that use sensor networks, power grids, RFID and similar technologies, are being directed to use IPv6 and not IPv4.

There is also solid support from the big Internet companies. Curran said that Google has already put the majority of its services onto IPv6. Declaring its support for IPv6 on a special webpage, Google states that "IPv6 is essential to the continued health and openness of the Internet [and] will enable innovation and allow the Internet's continued growth."

In June, Google held a Google IPv6 Implementors Conference. At that event, Facebook announced that it had begun to use IPv6.

In his opening remarks to the conference, Google's Chief Internet Evangelist Vint Cerf urges ISPs to move to IPv6, so that a "black market" for Internet addresses won't occur.

The bottom line is that IPv6 is a much larger platform for the coming Internet of Things. So one way or another, the move will have to be made.

Seagate Announces Momentus XT Solid State Drive

2010-07-24T13:46:00.000-07:00

Seagate today announced it is now shipping its Momentus XT, touting it as the world’s fastest 2.5-inch laptop PC hard drive to distribution channels, VARs and system builders, in India. Combining SSD-like performance with the massive capacity and much lower cost of HDDs, the Momentus XT drive features Adaptive Memory – a new technology from Seagate that learns and optimizes the drive’s performance to each user by moving frequently used information into the flash memory for faster access. The Momentus XT solid state hybrid drive boots up to 100 percent faster than traditional 5400RPM drives, the mainstream spin speed for laptop PCs. Adaptive Memory technology uses algorithms designed to learn and anticipate the users’ needs.

In India, the Momentus XT drive is now shipping in capacities of 250GB, 320GB and 500GB at MSRPs of Rs 6,800, Rs 7,400 and Rs 8,100 respectively.

India unveils prototype for $35 touch-screen computer

2010-07-23T07:36:00.000-07:00

The Indian government has unveiled the prototype of an iPad-like touch-screen laptop, with a price tag of $35 (£23), which it hopes to roll out next year.

Aimed at students, the tablet supports web browsing, video conferencing and word processing, say developers.

Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal said a manufacturer was being sought for the gadget, which was developed by India's top IT colleges.

An earlier cheap laptop plan by the same ministry came to nothing. The device unveiled on Thursday has no hard disk, using a memory card instead, like a mobile phone, and can run on solar power, according to reports.

'Manufacturer interest'

It would cost a fraction of the price of California-based technology giant Apple's hugely popular iPad, which retails from $499.

Mr Sibal said the Indian tablet, said to run the Linux operating system, was expected to be introduced to higher education institutions next year.

The plan was to drop the price eventually to $20 and ultimately to $10, he added.

Unveiling the gadget, the human resource development minister told India's Economic Times it was India's answer to the "$100 laptops" developed by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the US.

"The solutions for tomorrow will emerge from India," he said, reports news agency AFP.

Last year, the human resource development ministry was criticised after one of its officials announced it was about to unveil a $10 laptop, triggering worldwide media interest.

But there was disappointment when the "Sakshat" turned out to be a prototype of a handheld device, with an unspecified price tag, that never materialised.

The ministry said it had turned to the elite Indian Institute of Technology, and the Indian Institute of Science to develop its latest device, following a lacklustre response from the private sector.

Mamta Varma, a spokeswoman for the human resource development ministry, said the gadget was feasible because of falling hardware costs.

Several global manufacturers, including at least one from Taiwan, had expressed interest in making the device, she said, although no deals had been agreed, and she declined to name any of the companies.

The project is part of a government initiative which also aims to extend broadband to all of India's 25,000 colleges and 500 universities.

In 2005, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) unveiled the prototype of a $100 laptop for children in the developing world, but it ended up costing about double that price.

In May, Nicholas Negroponte - of the MIT's Media Lab - announced plans to develop a basic tablet computer for $99 through his non-profit association, One Laptop Per Child.

Hitachi to unveil its image search tech

2010-07-22T08:44:00.000-07:00

TOKYO, JAPAN: Hitachi is likely to showcase its image search technology at the Hitachi uVALUE Convention 2010 at the Tokyo International Forum in Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo on July 22 (Thursday) in celebration of the company's 100th anniversary.

This application represents the next generation in search technology.

Recently, Hitachi America announced that its newly developed visual Q&A site, GazoPa Answers, is entering beta testing. GazoPa Answers lets users to ask questions visually using photos and drawings. GazoPa Answers allows users to ask questions by uploading images or drawings.

Users can search for answers using GazoPa's similar image search engine, and they can also ask other users to provide answers to questions through an online community. GazoPa Answers integrates GazoPa's similar image search technology.

The other revolutionary technology that will be unveiled at the uVALUE convention will be on location based services.

The Hitachi uVALUE Convention 2010 is based on the theme of Dependable Technologies for the Next 100 Years : Accelerating Innovation of Society and Business Through Collaborative Creation. Hitachi has held this event, including its predecessor IT conventions, since 1999.

At the exhibition venue, Hitachi will showcase safe, reliable, comfortable and convenient services and solutions for homes, stations and other settings based on the theme Making Cities Smarter Through Social Innovation. Besides, Hitachi will exhibit smart grids, cloud computing and other innovations that will support its ambition.

Dell Overtakes HP in India

2010-07-22T07:39:00.000-07:00

For as long as we could recall, (five years to be precise) HP was leading the PC sales in India when it came to the organized market. It has been consistently selling more PCs than any Indian or foreign company - until now.

HP's Indian dream run has been cut short by Dell who sold more computers in India than HP for the very first time. That's right! According to a report in the DNA, Dell sold around 3.53 lakh PCs in the June quarter compared to 3.31 lakh by HP.

Dell's growth is remarkable considering it was trailing HP by over 1.5 lakh units in annual sales just a year ago. Not long ago, research firm IDC had also noted that HP fell behind Dell in the notebook sales department as well. When Dell first arrived in India, it was using a Direct To Home method of selling its products. However, Dell quickly realized that for it to make any mark in the Indian market it will have to trudge the "traditional" sales path wherein Dell products would have to made available in stores as well. Soon after Dell arrived in India stores, its cut throat pricing vis-a-vis other brands seems to have worked wonders.

In India, Dell now has a market share of 14.3 percent in the overall PC market last quarter, followed by HP with 13.4 percent and Acer with 11 percent.

While HP might be left behind in India, on the global front, Dell still plays second fiddle to HP. Until 2006, Dell was the world's no.1 PC maker until HP overtook it. Bad news followed when Acer pushed Dell to the third place a few years later. Dell has managed to pull itself back though and has now regained its world no. 2 spot by pushing Acer down the order.

Facebook hits 500m user milestone

2010-07-21T10:31:00.000-07:00

Social network giant Facebook has registered its 500 millionth member, the firm has announced.

The site, which launched in 2004, has gained around 100 million new users in the last six months.

Facebook said the number was "an important milestone" and added that it was "humbled and inspired" by the stories of its users, which it is asking people to share on the site.

Stuart Miles of tech blog Pocket Lint said its success was down to "word of mouth".

"There are so many people online and so many people wanting to share with each other's friends - it's like a snowball," he told.

"It started off small, rolled and rolled, then all of a sudden not just your immediate circle of friends are on it but loads of people are, and they're all evangelising about why you should be on it too.

"The next milestone, which will probably be 750m, won't take as long - the more you have the more it spreads, like that snowball."

Mr Zuckerberg recently said that the site was "almost guaranteed" to reach one billion users.

However, the site has also had its share of problems. It recently came under fire for making repeated changes to its privacy settings and thousands of people threatened to boycott it in May 2010. Despite the controversy, most people were not put off.

As Facebook has grown, many of its competitors have shrunk or disappeared. MySpace, owned by News Corp, was once the poster child of social networking.

However, Facebook raced past it in 2008. MySpace currently has around 65 million unique users.

Another competitor, Bebo, has also faced difficulty. In June this year, its owners AOL announced sold the site just two years after it bought it for $850m (£417m).

The company said it was unable to provide the "significant investment" it needed to compete with its social networking rivals.

One site that appears to be growing alongside Facebook is Twitter.

Measurements of Twitter traffic are notoriously difficult as many users do not interact with the service through the website. Instead, they use desktop software and mobile phones. However, it is estimated to be approaching 200m users.

Black box inventor dies

2010-07-21T05:31:00.000-07:00

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA: David Warren, the Australian who invented the black box flight-data recorder 54 years ago, has died at the age of 85, Defence Force officials said Wednesday.

He started working on the idea of recording pilots' voices and instrument readings after investigating the crash of a Comet in 1953. The Comet was the first commercial jet aeroplane.

The black box was dismissed as a worthless invention by Australia's Department of Civil Aviation and it was not until a British aviation official saw it in 1958 that Warren was given the money to develop it beyond a prototype.

The black box - so named not because of its colour but because it was a magical idea - is now compulsory equipment in most airliners.

In 1960, Australia became the first country to rule that all airliners should carry a flight recorder.

Warren, a Sydney University graduate, is survived by his wife, four children and seven grandchildren.

Apple's profit rises 78 p.c. to $3.25 bn in Q3

2010-07-21T03:18:00.000-07:00

SAN FRANCISCO, USA: Apple said on Tuesday that its net income rose 78 per cent to 3.25 billion dollars in the fiscal third quarter which ended on June 26, driven by strong sales of the iPhone, the iPad and the Macintosh line of computers, compared to $1.83 billion for the same quarter last year. This amounts to an earning of $3.51 per share.

Revenue increased to a record 15.7 billion dollars from 9.73 billion dollars a year ago, surpassing the 14.75 billion dollars forecast by analysts. The earnings per share were also well above the expected 3.11 dollars per share.

Apple had given an unusually upbeat revenue forecast that trounced Wall Street's expectations and eased fears that the "Antennagate" controversy around its iPhone 4's reception would hurt sales, boosting its shares 3 per cent.

"It was a phenomenal quarter that exceeded our expectations all around, including the most successful product launch in Apple's history with iPhone 4," Apple CEO Steve Jobs said in a statement. "iPad is off to a terrific start, more people are buying Macs than ever before, and we have amazing new products still to come this year."

Apple sold 3.47 million Macs during the quarter, a new quarterly record and a 33 per cent increase over the year-ago quarter.

iPhones sales were 8.4 million, a 61 per cent growth over the year-ago quarter. Apple sold 9.41 million, an 8 per cent decline from the same period a year-ago.

Nokia makes fun of iPhone 4 reception issue

2010-07-21T02:57:00.000-07:00

The reception issue with Apple iPhone 4 seems to have given a shot in the arm for its rivals, which are bitten hard by Apple's surging sales. And Nokia, the de-throned king of smartphone market seems to be cashing on the opportunity.

As iPhone4 users are complaining about reception issues while holding the smartphone in some position, Nokia Conversations, the Nokia's official blog on Monday sought to make fun of Apple's suggestion to iPhone 4 users on defining positions to use the phone, indirectly though, without even mentioning the iPhone 4.

Apple had sold 1.7 million units of the new iPhone, since its global launch last week. However, the reception issue had created some sort of a tension for Apple, which even issued a clarification in that regard.

Indirectly referring to this clarification, the Nokia blog said "We’ve been looking around and noticed there are many ways to hold your Nokia device. Whether you’re left-handed or right-handed, there’s no shortage of ways to hold your phone."

Further, the blog mentions four defined ways of using cell phones. However, it concludes by telling that Nokia users can ignore all the defined ways of holding a mobile phone. Hold the Nokia devices in any position and still there won't be any signal degradation.

“The key function on any Nokia device is its ability to make phone calls. One of the main things we’ve found about the 1 billion plus Nokia devices that are in use today is that when making a phone call, people generally tend to hold their phone like a…. well, like a phone. Providing a wide range of methods and grips for people to hold their phones, without interfering with the antennae has been an essential feature of every device Nokia has built,” the blog boasted.

Tweeting car

2010-07-21T02:48:00.000-07:00

NEW YORK, USA: Online blogging is a trendy communication tool not just for tech-savvy humans. Now your car can also send messages on Twitter and have more followers than even singer Lady Gaga and US President Barack Obama.

The car that can tweet is AJ, a future model of Ford Fiesta, which is a test bed for company engineers exploring the possibilities when an automobile is connected to the internet and all of its concomitant services.

"It's getting pretty dark; time to put the headlights on," was a typical entry posted by AJ when a team of engineers drove the car to California for an exhibition in May, The New York Times reported.

Followers also learned when AJ’s mood was "joyful" when "there's no traffic, and it's not raining and it's enjoying a winding road", said Joe Rork, an information technology architect with Ford.

Rork recalled the journey during a presentation in Manhattan and explained how AJ was sending the messages on its own.

The software behind AJ was an application called the "Auto"matic Blog. It tapped into the available data on the car, including telemetry information, like location, speed, acceleration and braking.

It also gleaned information from windshield wipers, steering input and GPS data and correlated it with live information culled from the Web.

AJ's software could combine, say, real-time traffic notices about congestion with its current situation (stop-and-go braking) and weather forecasts (storms ahead) and then send a Twitter entry like, "Stuck in traffic; not looking forward to next 50 miles, either."

Apart from Twitter application, the engineers also ran the location-based Foursquare software, through which the car could automatically check the team in at restaurants and tourist spots along the way (and send pictures).

The car is also being tested with a programme developed by University of Michigan students called Caravan Track, which allows a group of travellers to be automatically apprised of their friends' locations and conditions along the way.

Ford is already on track to add smartphone applications, including a Twitter feed, to its Sync-based cars later this year, the daily said.

It has also announced that it will enable other phone applications to connect to its cars, allowing third-party software program to use a vehicle's built-in controls, like buttons on the steering wheel, to control programmes, including music players running on connected Android phones.

The tests with AJ were a natural extension of this strategy to see what's possible when the car is connected and online all the time, according to Rork.

Since mainly off-the-shelf hardware was used, including a high-speed cellular data connection, a Wi-Fi router and a Dell computer running Windows 7 in the trunk, any car could be turned into a Twittermobile, Rork said. ©IANS

Yahoo profit up 50 p.c., revenue falls short

2010-07-21T02:25:00.000-07:00

SAN FRANCISCO, USA: Yahoo Inc missed Wall Street's revenue estimates in the second quarter as some customers unexpectedly cut spending on online display ads toward the end of June, and shares fell more than 6 per cent.

Yahoo's profits rose by more than 50 per cent to $213.3 million, while the revenue in the three months ending 30 June was $1.6 bn compared with $1.57 billion in the year-ago quarter. However, its net revenue, which excludes the revenue it shares with website partners, was $1.13 billion.

The lower-than-expected revenue, which came even as Yahoo continued to improve its profit margins, raised fresh concerns about Yahoo's efforts to increase revenue growth, and about the health of the online advertising market that Yahoo depends on.

"Display (advertising) is brand driven and everyone is tight with their budgets," said BGC Partners analyst Colin Gillis.

"Any talk of slowing is going to spook investors," he said.

But he noted that Yahoo's challenges in display advertising are also due to competition from online advertising exchanges, including Yahoo-owned RightMedia, which offer marketers less expensive ways to reach consumers on the Web.

Yahoo chief executive Carol Bartz said on a conference call on Tuesday that the company's "top job" was growing revenue, and said that Yahoo continued to make progress adding video and social networking to its network of websites in order to make them more popular with websurfers.

She also said Yahoo's Internet search deal with Microsoft Corp, designed to save Yahoo hundreds of millions of dollars in annual expenses by shifting back-end Web indexing chores to Microsoft, remains on track to go into effect before year's end.

Revenue from search on Yahoo's web sites in the second quarter declined 8 percent year-on-year, with executives noting that Yahoo did not see as much of "a pickup in monetizable" searches as it had expected.

Last week, Google Inc, the world's No.1 search engine, reported a 24 per cent increase in second-quarter revenue, though the company's increased spending caused the company to miss Wall Street's earnings per share estimates.

Yahoo ranks among the world's most popular web services, with more than 600 million users of its flagship web site, email and other products, according to the company. But the Internet pioneer's growth has stalled amid competition from Web search giant Google and a new crop of social networking sites like Facebook.

Yahoo said its revenue in the three months ending June 30 rose to $1.60 billion from $1.57 billion in the year-earlier period.

But Yahoo's net revenue, which excludes revenue it shares with website partners, was $1.13 billion -- below the average analyst expectation of $1.16 billion, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.