Technology News, Reviews

How to invest in Gold

2011-03-18T15:37:00.001+05:30

The sheen of returns from investing in gold makes it impossible for anyone to miss out investing in the yellow metal. Specially this past decade- the prices of gold have gone up nearly 6 times. The graph shows CAGR of 34.39% for the past two years.

Gold provides a perfect hedge against inflation. Also it is the most sought after asset class in times of volatility and market crashes. One cannot avoid having gold as an important element in one’s portfolio - only the proportion would differ with stage of the life cycle.



There are many ways of investing in Gold. But then, each of them has its pros and cons.

Physical gold: Investing the household savings in gold jewellery is an age old tradition in Indian families.
Pros
1. It gives us a mental satisfaction of possession
2. It carries with itself a beauty and ornamental value
3. Emotional value is attached.
Cons
1. High development charges account for wastage
2. Purity has to be verified before purchasing
3. Storage and security issues and the connected costs do not make this option viable
4. Resale valuation issues for out of fashion designs.

Gold funds: These days you have option to invest in gold funds. Two latest funds-Kotak gold fund and Reliance gold fund give you this flexibility. There are also many Gold funds which invest in gold mining companies for example Blackrock Global Funds, World Gold Fund and the AIG World Gold Fund.
Pros
1. Comes with SIP flexibility
2. No DEMAT required
3. Good for conservative investors
Cons
1. Double charges-for mutual fund scheme and for ETF both

ETFs: ETFs are exchange traded fund like mutual funds, but here the NAV keeps fluctuating the whole day and you can sell and buy anytime you want.
Pros
1. No responsibility of security and insurance
2. You do not have to worry about the purity of gold since it is guaranteed by the LBMA (London Bullion Market Association)
3. Pricing is not an issue since you can buy and sell as and when you feel
4. No STT, VAT, sales tax and wealth tax.
Cons
1. ETFs attract long term capital gains tax.

Commodities market: Investing in commodities market is good for those who are well versed with the idea of trading in commodity spot and futures.
Pros
5. Good returns can be expected
6. Good for diversification of portfolio
7. Good for investors how already have a DEMAT account
8. Good for investors who want to stay away from the stock market
Cons
2. Time is required to invest and understand
3. Good understanding of spot and futures is also required.
4. Forecasting ability and of importance
5. No suitable enough for a small investors.

Investing in mutual funds sound obvious but there are some crucial factors you should look at:

Mutual funds trade at NAV at the end of the day, whereas ETFs give you the flexibility to trade intraday.
With ETFs, it is simple to trade because of one price that is involved. But with mutual funds, the underlying shares are constantly being traded and the price keeps changing which is quite a bit complex to track.
ETFs are more cost effective than mutual funds. Mutual funds are actively traded and actively managed mutual funds are thus expensive. Gold, does not need to be actively managed that way and so, is a cheap investment haven.
With mutual funds, come in investment styles and trading strategies of different mutual funds houses, a hassle for an investor to be dealt with. Nothing as such happens in gold ETFs. Gold does not need any investment strategies.
Now since ETFs need not be managed like mutual funds, their expense ratio is much lower than mutual funds. Management expenses and trade commissions are nit as high.
In terms of purchasing and investing, mutual funds do require a minimum amount to be invested, which is not the case with ETFs.

Investing in Gold ETFs is very simple. It is similar to how you buy shares, i.e. you need to register yourself with a broker having membership of the NSE, fill up the KYC form, open a demat account, post margins and commence trading. If you have an existing Demat account you can use the same.

Following is the list of gold ETFs listed on NSE:

Gold Benchmark ETF
UTI Gold ETF
Kotak Gold
Reliance Gold ETF
Religare Gold ETF
Quantum Gold
SBI Gold ETS
HDFC Gold ETF

A comparative analysis of some leading Gold ETFs:


Source: Valueresearch Online

How to File Your Income Tax Returns Online: E-filing

2011-03-18T15:32:00.002+05:30

Filing of Income Tax Returns could be quite a task for many, owing to plethora of paperwork and lengthy procedures. In this era of technology, no longer is this going to be a daunting task. You could now file your Income Tax Returns online without having to spend hours at the Income Tax office, or pay exorbitant fees to a chartered accountant. Read on to know about the hassle free process of “E-filing” of returns.

What is E-filing?
E-filing is a process of filing your returns the electronic way using the help of the internet. Various web portals have been designed and designated to help you file returns. So, without being bogged down by lengthy procedures, you could now use the internet to file your returns in the comfort of your home or office, at any time of the day.

Where do you E-File your Returns?
The Income Tax of India website lets tax payers of all kinds, to file their returns online, free of cost. The steps involved are explained in the main home page of the website. This free version however is not very user friendly for novice users. For someone not familiar with ITR-1, ITR 2 etc, understanding and using the excel based utility could be quite difficult. Also, the site has no provision for online help and could get slow at times.

Sites such as Tax Yogi and some of the other portals which, at a nominal fee, not only guide you through the e-filing process, but also offer value added services.
Tax Yogi offers users two tax packages, Basic and Advance. One need not have to worry about any form numbers such as ITR-1 or ITR-2. Tax Yogi’s ITR tool takes care of it all. It takes just 10 minutes to fill in the details and complete the process. The advance package of Tax Yogi additionally offers expert advice on tax saving options and, tax planning services for the future.

How do you E-file Returns?
Before you begin, keep all relevant information such as your Form 16, your investment details, your income from other sources etc., ready at hand.
Step 1: You would need to register with the portal through which you desire to file your returns. Most tax return filing sites are user friendly and help you through the process in a step by step manner. You can achieve the same task by downloading Excel utility from the It department website. However it may be difficult to use.

Step 2: Details such as name, address, PAN, total salary, deductions etc are collected in a digital format.

Step 3: An ITR XML file is generated which is your electronic income tax return. Do not try to make sense of it as it’s a bit technical.

*Step 4: You would need to upload this ITR XML file on the Income Tax website. For doing this, an account needs to be created in the Income Tax website using your Permanent Account Number. Once uploaded, an acknowledgement receipt called ITR Form-V would be generated. This needs to be signed and sent to “Income Tax Department – CPC, Post Box No.1, Electronic City Post Office, Bangalore – 560100, Karnataka” within 120 days of e-filing.

*The TaxYogi Advantage: Tax Yogi has an e-intermediary status and hence you would not require to login to the income tax site to upload the electronic return. The electronic return is generated and automatically uploaded by them. In this case, users get the ITR-V by email instantly from the IT department which needs to be printed, signed and sent to the CPC Bangalore.

Step 5: You would receive a confirmation from the IT Department, acknowledging the receipt of ITR-V. This is your final acknowledgement that concludes your e-tax filing.

Points to Keep in Mind

As you would be entering your financial information, ensure the site you log in to is trust worthy and has a security certificate.
If you do not wish to post the ITR-V form to the IT office, you could alternatively use an “electronic signature” to authenticate your identity. Sending by post is mandatory only when returns are filed without the use of a signature.
If the ITR-V is not submitted within 120 days of e-filing, what has been submitted will be considered as null and void. In such a case you will have to file your returns again, get a new ITR-V and submit the same within 120 days.
If one requires an “E-Refund”, i.e. when the refund process is carried out electronically, the details of refund (if any) are filled up online in a prescribed form. After approval of refund request by the concern authority, the refund amount will credited to your bank account.

VANISHING TRADITION

2011-03-18T15:16:00.002+05:30

Can We Save South India’s Traditional Wear From Vanishing?

Gone are the days when we would find teenage girls walking on streets wearing half sarees. Half saree is the traditional outfit of South India. But for the past two decades the number is reducing year by year and it is almost reaching a stage where the traditional outfit will vanish completely. The North Indian traditional dress shalwar kameez over shadowed half sarees in south and girls of late prefer salwar kameez to half sarees as they find it more comfortable. But then pants are dominating shalwar kameez too in all metropolitan cities irrespective of North or South. The reason being the effect of western culture on Indian youth.

Still, I feel half saree has its own beauty and one should realize that and save our tradition. Therefore, here I present some of the beautiful pictures of South Indian Actresses in half sarees

Cool pics, great quotes.

2011-03-18T15:15:00.002+05:30

Next time you have extra time try stacking your coins

Cool Mailboxes

I hope that backpack is a parachute

"Ahhh, it’s so warm and cuddly on here"

Sorry bro, but thanks for being my chair

Looks like he wanted to be alone… and chances are he will be

Bye Bye Freeway… Mother Nature had another idea

Help! Call 911

It’s good to have a friend when you need one!

I guess cats can read after all

This is not as comfy as I thought it would be

Static cat!

Is the sign really necessary?

Don’t try this at home

The water is so clear the boat seems to be floating on air

I’m sorry… I didn’t know you were coming back

OK, let’s change places at the next corner

Fluffy in flight

Let me know when all the dogs are in so I can move

You may not be happy with dinner but you are going to eat it anyway!

Contribute to Save Earth

2011-03-18T15:08:00.000+05:30

C REATIVE AD

CONTRIBUTE TO A NOBLE CAUSE

There is a cute small round press button at the bottom right corner of almost all monitors: Please make use of this

Stop printing out Harry Porter, Jeffrey Archer and other e-books. This is a classic example of paper wastage.

If you have forgotten to give double-side prints, make sure you make use of the empty sides as scribbling pads or for your kids' imposition

!

Take two minutes from your busy schedule before hurrying back home to shut down the computer.

All of us are big time Googlers. Have you heard of the Blackle search engine? Blackle (Google powered) is a search engine designed all in Rich Black so that your system consumes less power. So change your homepage.

Plastic bags these days indeed come in bright and flamboyant colours and tempt us to take them home with us. But the saying, "Appearances are deceptive" holds true for these plastic things too. Next time, hold back or go prepared to counter temptation with a cloth bag.

Roses, Jasmine, Hibiscus and Peas; All these saplings cost hardly between Rs 10 - 20 each. Can't we afford to plant these in and around our houses? Also, more importantly, caring and maintain them as they grow?

Try to segregate the different kinds of waste into Bio-Degradable (Fruit or vegetable waste) , Recyclable (waste Paper, paper products) and Electronics (Floppy disks, CD-ROMS ). Once you have segregated your thrash, look for specialized trash cans to throw them away.

Try to minimize the use of horns. Honking has drastically increased and this adds to the noise pollution and does not provide a conducive environment to live in.

Use rechargeable batteries though it's an expensive product, it's one-time purchase. Recharge when required. (Same applies to cell-phones, MP3s, iPods and Laptops)

The best pens to use would be ink ones. Though if you have to use a ball point pen, buy refills instead of buying new pens. Pencils are much better for rough use! (That's why we used it at school!!!)

Remember to close water taps before preening in front of the mirror. Of course you are beautiful, but Water is a precious resource!

Let's not just wake up and walk out of finished meetings and conferences with a sigh of relief, let us remember to turn off the lights and projectors too.

Take few minutes to learn about topics like 'Global Warming' , 'Air / Noise /Land / Water Pollution ' etc apart from constant surfing of News, Latest Gadgets, Movies and Music.

Spread this message to your friends and colleagues. They too can make a difference.

The Earth has already become a dangerous place to live in for the animals and birds. Soon it might be our turn. So let's pledge to save our beautiful planet so that you and your future generations can live happily and peacefully ever after.

Save the Planet

Running a half empty machine, taking a bath instead of a shower or leaving the light on for no reason destroys the planet. Remember: turn your monitor off along with the computer , unplug chargers if you don't use them and use water wisely .
A bit of attention can go a long way!

Don’t use paper cups for taking tea or coffee, save our environment… please it’s in our hands let us give a clean and safe environment to our children

Major earthquakes throughout history in pictures

2011-03-18T15:02:00.000+05:30

Major earthquakes throughout history in pictures. Statistics from The Geological Society of London.

1906: USA (California, San Francisco). Richter scale: 7.8, Deaths: 3,000, Cost ($m): 524

1908: Italy (Messina). Richter scale: 7.5, Deaths: 25,926, Cost: ($m) 116

1923: Japan (Tokyo-Yokohama). Richter scale: 8.3, Deaths: 142,800, Cost ($m): 2,800

1936: Pakistan (Quetta). Richter scale: 7.5, Deaths: 35,000, Cost ($m): 25

1939: Chile (Concepcion). Richter scale: 8.3, Deaths: 28,000, Cost ($m): 100

1939: Turkey (Erzincan). Richter scale: 8.0, Deaths: 36,740, Cost ($m): 20

1960: Morocco (Agadir). Richter scale: 5.9, Deaths: 12,000, Cost ($m): 120

1970: Peru (Chimbote). Richter scale: 7.7, Deaths: 67,000, Cost ($m): 550

1976: China (Tangshan). Richter scale: 8.0, Deaths: 290,000, Cost ($m): 5,600

1976: Guatemala (Guatemala City). Richter scale: 7.5, Deaths: 22,084, Cost ($m): 1,100

1985: Mexico (Mexico City). Richter scale: 8.1, Deaths: 10,000, Cost ($m): 4,000

1988: Armenia (Spitak). Richter scale: 6.9, Deaths: 25,000 Cost ($m): 14,000

1989: USA (California, San Francisco). Richter Scale: 7.0, Deaths: 68, Cost ($m): 6,000

July 1990, Baguio City, Philippines. Deaths about 5000.

1995: Japan (Kobe). Richter scale: 7.2, Deaths: 6348, Cost ($m): 200,000

1999: Turkey (Kocaeli). Richter scale: 7.4, Deaths: 19,118, Cost ($m): 20,000

2004: Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami. Richter scale: 9.2, Deaths: 230,000

2008: Sichuan Province. Richter scale: 8.0, Deaths: 68,000, Cost ($m): 20,000

2010: Chile (Maule Region). Richter scale: 8.8, Deaths: 486

2011: Japan. Richter scale: 8.9.

Google Multiple Account Sign-In – Login into multiple Google accounts in same browser

2011-03-18T13:56:00.000+05:30

Google Multiple account login

Till now only single Google account login was possible at any time in a Browser.If you had set the “remember the password” option and are lazy like me to enter the password every time you want to check your mail,you might be using Firefox,Chrome,Safari,and IE for all your different GMail accounts.I always found it cumbersome to open my different GMail account on different Browsers and use one different browser for each of my GMail account .
Google has now enabled the option of signing in to multiple Google accounts simultaneously from the same browser.This option can be enabled by going to the Google accounts page and enabling the option : “multiple sign-in”. If you don’t see the option, it should be soon available.

After changing the Multiple sign-in option to “on” after clicking on the “change” link, Google informs that this is an advanced feature and that it will only work for Gmail, Google Calendar, Google Sites, Google Reader, Google Voice, App Engine and Google Code. When multiple sign-in is enabled, a drop-down is displayed next to your email address at the top of the page, so you can quickly switch to a new account.
“If you use multiple sign-in, the first account you sign in to will be your default account. If you visit other Google products that don’t support multiple accounts after you’ve signed in, you will automatically sign in to your default account for that product. If you sign out of any Google product while signed in to any account, you will be signed out of all your Google Accounts at once.”

Tips to optimize Laptop Battery – Improve laptop battery life with laptop battery care

2011-03-18T13:54:00.000+05:30

Laptop Battery Tips

Optimizing laptop battery usage is very important to increase the battery life and performance.
Following are the Top tips to optimize the laptop battery :

Buy smart: Look for notebooks with low power consuming processors like the Intel’s “CULV” “Consumer Ultra-Low Voltage” processors or AMD processors with “cool & Quiet” feature.
Dim screen brightness: Choose an environment with adequate lighting—less brightness means you’ll drain less power from your battery.Use the Function key (Fn) available in most of the laptops to dim the brightness.
Run your applications wisely: To get the most from your laptop, even when multitasking on the go, run resource intensive applications just when actively using them. Then make sure to close the applications you aren’t using.Running Video on the laptop will consume the battery very fast.Avoid to run video almost all time.
Close unused applications: Programs will still use power while sitting idle.Also some unrequired background processes can be closed using the task manager.Stop such processes from starting at boot.
Have the right RAM for your needs: With appropriate RAM, instructions run off memory instead of disk. Less power is needed to refresh the RAM than to spin the hard drive.So increasing the RAM in in the laptop with high resource usage works will highly improve the battery life.
Clean your battery: Rub the battery’s metal contacts with rubbing alcohol every two months. Allow to dry before re-inserting.
Remove extra accessories: Unplug items like PC cards, USB and FireWire devices that are not being used.
Use built-in power management devices: Enable this feature and set your system to “Battery Optimized” mode or “Max Battery” mode. Put your computer to sleep earlier and turn off the screen backlight sooner.Start > Control Panel > Power Options (in Classic View).
Disable Wi-Fi and Bluetooth if not being used: Wireless LAN and Bluetooth access uses power even when it is not in use. Transmitting and receiving data drains the battery.
Defragment your hard drive regularly: The built-in defrag utility included with Windows will take your file fragments and put them closer together on your hard drive, which will decrease hard drive access times and save battery life.
Use Direct Power as much as possible : Keep your laptop connected to the direct power supply using the laptop power adapter as much as possible.
Connect laptop to UPS supply : If possible then connect your laptop to UPS supply.This will save your laptop from power fluctuations and if there are frequent power cuts then your laptop battery life-cycle will not be wasted.
Use battery only when on move : Try to power laptop through battery only when you are on move or if there is no power supply.

Nokia E7 Price in India – Nokia E7 Smartphone

2011-03-18T13:49:00.002+05:30

Nokia E7 price

The new Nokia E7 is a large 4-inch AMOLED touchscreen display smartphone featuring Nokia’s latest “Clear Black Display” (CBD) technology.It sports a full QWERTY tilt-slider keypad.It is the first touchscreen mobile phone in the Nokia Eseries mobiles.
Nokia E7 is one of the Nokia’s flagship business smartphone and the successor of the Nokia E90 communicator.It also sports high speed connectivity options like 3G and WiFi n.It features Nokia Maps with free GPS navigation , 8 MP camera and HD video , and Fully integrated social networks .
Nokia E7 is constructed from anodised aluminium with an AMOLED real glass display along with Nokia ClearBlack technology for improved outdoor viewing.
Nokia E7 mobile phone features :

Large 4-inch ClearBlack AMOLED touch screen display
13.6 mm slim anodized aluminum body
Full 4-row QWERTY tilt-slider keypad
Dolby Digital Plus Surround Sound
Support for Microsoft Exchange
Pre-installed Microsoft Communicator Mobile
Real-time push emails with Mail for Exchange
Get fast, secure intranet access with the built-in VPN.
Ovi Maps with free lifetime GPS navigation and voice guidance
8 MP camera with Dual LED flash capture high-resolution photos and HD video
Video calling support
Fully integrated social networks – Facebook,Twitter,Instant Messengers
mini HDMI output (HDMI cable is not in the box , you have to buy it separately)
Bluetooth 3.0 : Latest and Fastest
Powered by the latest Symbianˆ3 operating system
Connectivity : 3G HSDPA , Wi-Fi n , GPS
USB on the Go
Direct connectivity to Pen drives
WLAN Positioning
Security features including pre-installed F-Secure AntiTheft

Nokia E7-00 mobile phone detailed specifications :

Dimensions
- Size:123.7 x 62.4 x 13.6 mm
- Weight (with battery): 176 g
- Volume: 97.8 cc
Display and user interface
- Screen size: 4-inch
- Resolution: 16:9 nHD (640 x 360 pixels) AMOLED
- 16 million colours
- Capacitive touch screen
- Orientation sensor (Accelerometer)
- Compass (Magnetometer)
- Proximity sensor
- Ambient light detector
Keys and input methods
- Full QWERTY keyboard
- Home key, Power key, Lock key, Camera key, Volume key
- Finger touch support for text input and UI control
- On-screen alphanumeric keypad and full keyboard
- Possibility to use capacitive stylus
- Full screen handwriting recognition
- Handwriting recognition for Chinese
Colours - Anodised aluminium casing available in:
- Dark grey
- Silver white
Battery
- BL-4D 1200 mAh Li-Ion battery
- Talk time (maximum):
  - GSM up to 540 mins (9 h)
  - WCDMA up to 300 mins (5h)
- Standby time (maximum):
  - GSM up to 430 h
  - WCDMA up to 470 h
Memory - Internal memory: 16 GB
Operating Frequency
- GSM/EDGE 850/900/1800/1900
- WCDMA 850/900/1700/1900/2100
- Automatic switching between WCDMA and GSM bands
- Flight mode
Data Network
- GPRS/EDGE class B, multislot class 33
- HSDPA Cat9, maximum speed up to 10.2 Mbps, HSUPA Cat5 2.0 Mbps
- WLAN WiFi IEEE 802.11 b/g/n
- Capability to serve as data modem
- Support for MS Outlook synchronisation of contacts, calendar and notes
Connectivity
- Bluetooth 3.0
- HDMI
- High-Speed USB 2.0 (micro USB connector)
- Micro USB connector and charging
- USB On-the-Go
- Standard 3.5 mm AV connector
- FM Radio
Software & applications
- Software platform & user interface
- Symbian^3 OS for Nokia
- Java MIDP 2.1
- Qt 4.6.2, Web Runtime 7.2
- HTML 4.1
- Flash Lite 4.0
Applications
- Preloaded applications
- Mail for Exchange
- Quickoffice dynamic premium
- Adobe PDF reader
- F-Secure Anti-theft for Mobile
- Ovi Maps with free GPS navigation
- PC Applications
- Nokia Ovi Suite
- Nokia Ovi Player
Communications
- Email and messaging
- Easy-to-use email client with attachment support for e.g. images, videos, music and documents .doc, .xls, .ppt, .pdf, .zip
- HTML support for email
- Full screen email viewer with HTML support
- Unified email client for multiple protocols: Yahoo!® Mail, Gmail™, Windows Live™, Hotmail and other popular POP/IMAP services, Mail for Exchange
- Editing of key office documents
- Email widget for home screen
- Chat instant messaging support: OVI Chat, Yahoo, AIM, Windows Live, Gtalk, MySpace*
- Unified MMS/SMS editor
- Conversational view for SMS
- Push email and expanded portal support available through Nokia Messaging for Email and Instant Messaging
Browsing and internet
- Full web browsing of real web pages
- Web browsing with touch control
- Supported markup languages: HTML, XHTML MP, WML, CSS
- Supported protocols: HTTP v1.1, WAP
- TCP/IP support
- Visual history, HTML and JavaScript support
- Flash Lite 4 will support a majority of Flash Player 10.1 content
- Nokia Mobile Search
- RSS reader
- Support for streaming video
- Unified home screen access to Facebook and Twitter through Ovi by Nokia Social client
- Social networking profiles visible in phone contacts
- Upload and view photos and video and see locations via Ovi by Nokia Social client
- Social networking events visible in phone calendar
Navigation
- GPS and navigation
- Integrated GPS, A-GPS receivers
- Ovi Maps with free car and pedestrian navigation
- Wi-Fi positioning
- Compass and accelerometer for correct orientation of display
- Use Nokia Ovi Suite to get the latest country maps for Ovi Maps for free
Camera
- 8 megapixel camera
- Fullscreen 16:9 viewfinder with easy-to-use touchscreen parameters
- Dual LED flash
- Face recognition software
- Still images file format: JPEG/EXIF
- Zoom up to 2x (digital) for still images
- Zoom up to 3x (digital) for video
- Secondary camera for video calls (VGA, 640 x 480 pixels)
- Image capture
- Automatic location tagging (Geotagging) of images and videos
- Images automatically taken in the correct orientation
- Pinch your fingers to zoom in Photos image viewer
- View photos by tag cloud, month, album, slide show
- Photo editor
Video
- Main camera
  - HD quality 720p resolution
  - Shoot 16:9 videos in HD
- Video capture in 720p 25 fps with codecs H.264, MPEG-4
- Settings for scene, video light, white balance, colour tone
- Secondary camera VGA for video calls
- Video codecs & formats
  - H.264 (base profile, main profile, high profile), MPEG-4, VC-1, Sorenson Spark, Real video 10
  - Streaming: H.264, Flash Lite 4 (Flash 10 compatibility for video), On2 VP6, Sorenson Spark
- Video sharing and playback
  - HD 720p Video playback on HD TV through HDMI cable
  - Support for download, streaming, and progressive download
  - Video editing software
  - Videos application: collection of stored videos
  - On demand WebTV widgets to watch local and global internet streaming TV
  - Support for Flash video
  - YouTube browsing and streaming
  - Video call support (WCDMA network services)
Music & audio
- Music features
- Cover flow user interface to browse the albums in your music collection
- Ovi Music Unlimited service in selected markets
- Nokia Music Player
- Ovi Music store
- Audio codecs: MP3, WMA, AAC, eAAC, eAAC+, AMR-NB, AMR-WB, E-AC-3, AC-3
- Bit rate up tp 320 kbps
- DRM support WM DRM, OMA DRM 2.0
- Radio
  - Stereo FM radio (87.5-108 MHz/76-90 MHz)
  - RDS support
Gaming
- Use the touch UI to play games
- Dedicated graphics processor with OpenGL 2.0 enables 3D graphics
- Native and Java games
- Use the accelerometer to play games

Nokia E7 Video

Nokia E7 Price in India

Nokia E7 Price in India : The new Nokia E7 price in India is Rs.27,500 in India .It is now available in the market . Nokia E7 on EMI is also available . It is available in 3 EMIs at no additional cost .
Vodafone Nokia E7 offer :
Vodafone customers in India (existing and new) will get Free 2GB data usage per month for 6 months on Vodafone’s 3G/Edge network by using Vodafone SIM in the new Nokia E7 . Just insert the SIM in the mobile to activate this offer .
Nokia E7 review :
First impression : The new Nokia E7 mobile’s slider mechanism is not very smooth and it takes a hard push to slide open the QWERTY keypad , the build quality is good . Again the Symbian ^3 user interface needs more improvement both in design and touch-experience .
It is one of the best build quality Smart-phone from Nokia .It has a large keyboard with good build quality and conveniently spaced-out keys . Its also has arrow keys for easy navigation . Its battery is not removable for its unibody design .It is a business series mobile phone featuring noise cancelling mic and Video calling support for better communication experience.
Buttons and ports on Nokia E7 :

Left : slider lock switch
Right hand Side :
- SIM card slot
- Camera key
- Volume key
Top :
- microUSB port for Charging and USB-On-the-go
- HDMI 720p
- Power button
- 3.5mm audio-jack which also works as TV-out with standard resolution with composite cable

Some of the Cons of Nokia E7 :

Symbian ^3 OS UI – need improvement
Browsing is not very fast and smooth , specially loading Java-scripts
Stiff slider – may be need to get use to
No auto-focus camera – a compromise to keep the phone thin
No microSD slot

Nokia E7 Accessories in the Mobile box :

Nokia Battery BL-4D (embedded)
Nokia Connectivity Cable CA-101D
Nokia Stereo Headset WH-701
Nokia High Efficiency Charger AC-10
Nokia SU-36 (selected markets only)
Quick start guide

LG T325 – 2.8-inch touchscreen mobile with WiFi and 3G HSDPA 3.6Mbps

2011-03-18T13:44:00.002+05:30

LG T325

The new LG T325 is a large 2.8-inch full touchscreen display mobile phone featuring high speed 3G connectivity with 3.6Mbps HSDPA (max. download speed) .It is an affordable price touchscreen mobile with 3G and WiFi connectivity .It is a Social Networking ready mobile phone and also features Windows Live messenger and Opera Mini 5 web browser to keep contact with your friends at anytime.
LG T325 3G mobile phone features :

2.8-inch touchscreen display
3G HSDPA 3.6Mbps
Wireless LAN WiFi
SNS Dedicated Client
Messenger (Windows Live, Yahoo)
LG Mobicomix – get your favorite comics in your phone
MP3 player with 3.5 mm Jack
FM With recording
Document Viewer

LG T325 mobile phone specifications :

Form factor : Bar Touch Screen
3G HSDPA 3.6 Mbps
Quad Band GSM
DISPLAY Screen : 2.8-inch , 240×320 resolution
MP3 Player
Pre-set equalizer
FM Radio
Voice Recording
Camera : 2 mega-pixel
Video recording
MEMORY
Internal Memory : 30 MB
External Memory : Micro SD upto 16GB
Messaging :
- SMS, MMS, E-Mail
- Group Messaging
- SMS to All(Up to 20nos)
Wireless Connectivity
- Wireless LAN WiFi 802.11 b/g
- Bluetooth
Applications
- NDTV Active
- Anti-theft Mobile Tracker
- World Clock
- Unit converter
- Calculator
- Speakerphone
- USB Charging
- Document Viewer
- USB Data transfer
- Flight Mode
- Alarm
Embedded Game : Mingle Mangal, Thomsons & Touch, Diamond Twister Demo
Social Networking : Facebook, Twitter, Myspace, Orkut, Picassa, Flicker
Embedded Applications : Push e-mail, Opera Mini 5, Newshunt, LG Zap Box
Stop Watch
PC Sync
JAVA MIDP 2.1
Browser
Weight : 92.5 gm
Dimensions (WxDxH) : 102.4 x 56.4 x 11.9mm
BATTERY Type : 900 mAh
- Talk time : Upto 7.9 Hrs
- Standby time : Upto 381 Hrs
Accessories in the mobile box : Battery, Charger, Manual, Driver CD, Stereo Ear Microphone, USB Data Cable, 2GB Memory Card

LG T325 price in India

The new LG T325 price in India is Rs.6,800 .

Airtel 3G Tariff Plans in Mumbai

2011-03-18T13:41:00.003+05:30

Airtel 3G Tariff in Mumbai

Airtel has launched its high speed 3G connectivity tariff plans in Mumbai .
Airtel 3G Sachet Plan in Mumbai

Rs.8 for 10 MB, validity 1 day , after that 30p/20kb
Rs.41 for 30 minutes, validity 1 days , after that Rs.3/min
Rs.61 for 65 MB, validity 3 day , after that 30p/20kb

Airtel 3G Standard Plans in Mumbai

Rs.101 for 100 MB, validity 30 days , after that 30p/20kb
Rs.201 for 250 MB, validity 30 days , after that 30p/20kb
Rs.450 for 600 MB, validity 30 days , after that 30p/20kb
Rs.750 for 2 GB, validity 30 days , after that 30p/20kb
Airtel 3G Postpaid and Airtel 3G prepaid has almost the same tariff plans .

Airtel 3G Flexi-Shield Plan in Mumbai

Rs.675 – 1.25GB Data
- After 1.25GB, the rates will be 1p/100KB upto Rs.2000. After your used amount reaches Rs.2,000 , you will get free unlimited browsing at 20Kbps speed .This plans validity is 30 days.

Airtel 3G Pay As You Go Plan (PAYG) in Mumbai

Rs.18 (Rs.20 in postpaid) – Usage @15p/20Kb – Validity of 20 days prepaid and 30 days postpaid
Normal pay as you go plan in Airtel 3G – 30p/20kb , no voucher/rental and always valid

Airtel 3G Video Call Plan in Mumbai – 5p/sec or Rs.3/minute on both local and STD

Airtel 3G launched in Mumbai

2011-03-18T12:51:00.001+05:30

Airtel 3G Mumbai

Airtel 3G service comes docking on the shores of Mumbai

Announces significant network investment to offer comprehensive 3G coverage in aamchi Mumbai
Provides stock market and entertainment followers with multiple ways of staying tuned to the latest – all through the mobile device
Brings along enhanced speed capabilities to empower Mumbaikars with the ability to access data and a host of innovative applications – anytime, anywhere

Mumbai, 8^th March, 2011: India’s leading telecommunications company, Bharti airtel today launched its 3G services in India’s financial and entertainment capital – Mumbai. This empowers millions of the always ‘on-the-go’ Mumbaikars with multiple ways of staying tuned to latest developments – using the ubiquitous mobile platform. When in traffic at Mahim junction – airtel 3G services will allow customers to catch the stock market action on Mobile TV, quickly access portfolio management sites – or keep a tab on share prices through stock related applications on airtel App Central. Similarly, even while catching the local train – entertainment lovers in Mumbai will now be able to leverage airtel 3G to access a host of exciting capabilities including video talkies, fast music downloads and rapid social networking. With airtel 3G services, customers can now access a wide array of capabilities at never experienced before speeds – thereby bringing them closer to all that they love. With the objective of delivering a robust 3G experience for customers, airtel has made significant network investments in Mumbai.
Commenting on the 3G launch in Mumbai, Atul Bindal, President – Mobile Services, Bharti airtel said, “Mumbai is the commercial and entertainment capital of India – and therefore at the leading edge of driving a paradigm shift from voice to data services. With the highest data penetration in India of over 20%, the city of Mumbai truly represents the data revolution story that our country is currently witnessing. As we bring the power of 3G to Mumbai today, we are confident that this launch will add impetus to the expansion of data services in India. Whether stuck in office, or on the move – all Mumbaikars can now experience airtel 3G services and enjoy high speed internet access and a host of other exciting services on their mobile devices”.
Airtel 3G will allow customers to enjoy various other exciting service offerings including video calls, high speed internet and video capabilities on social networks. A wide range of LIVE and on-demand TV channels as well as shows are also available on airtel 3G Mobile TV at an affordable price of Rs. 40 for 20 minutes per week.
Airtel customers in Mumbai can now go 3G and choose from airtel’s easy-to-understand 3G tariff plans. Crafted to prevent ‘bill shock’, airtel 3G plans are designed to help customers monitor their data consumption with personalised usage limits and alerts. airtel 3G customers can enjoy the benefits of 3G speeds on the device of their choice – be it their mobile handsets, laptops or tablets.
Already launched in the cities of Bengaluru, Chennai, Coimbatore, Mysore, Manipal, Udipi, Jaipur and Delhi NCR– airtel will launch its 3G services in all 13 3G-license circles by March 2011. Having commenced the rollout of its 3G services a little over a month ago, airtel has already achieved the milestone figure of half a million 3G customers across India.

Consequences of Japan tsunami aggravates, over 10,000 dead or missing

2011-03-16T13:19:00.000+05:30

Yahoo! India News – Tue, Mar 15, 2011 9:04 AM IST

The aftermath of the catastrophic earthquake in Japan worsened Tuesday, with fears of the spread of radioactive materials becoming a reality following apparent hydrogen blasts at reactors at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant. The number of casualties following last Friday's magnitude 9.0 quake also climbed, with more than 10,000 confirmed dead or reported as missing five days after the quake.

9:25pm: After three explosions and a fire in four days, the situation at Japan's earthquake-stricken Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant grew more serious Tuesday, chasing all but a handful of workers from the site and raising fears of a far more dangerous radiation threat, CNN reports.

The latest incidents, an explosion Tuesday at the plant's No. 2 reactor and a fire in a cooling pond used for nuclear fuel at the No. 4 reactor, briefly pushed radiation levels at the plant to about 167 times the average annual dose of radiation, according to details released by the International Atomic Energy Agency.

8:30pm: Radiation levels have fallen at Japan's earthquake-stricken Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, the government says. (BBC report) The announcement was made after a fire was extinguished at the plant. The government had earlier warned that radiation leaks from the plant had reached harmful levels.

Weather reports indicate winds are dispersing radiation from the plant to the east, over the Pacific Ocean, but the government has ordered people living within 20km (12 miles) to leave.

7:45pm: As many as 100,000 children may have been displaced by the earthquake and tsunami that devastated Japan's north-west coast last Friday, Save the Children has warned. The British charity said it was concerned that some of the children affected by the disaster may have been separated from their families. Read more

7:17pm: Strong quake of 6 magnitude shakes Kanto region, no fear of tsunami.

7:15pm: IAEA says radiation levels at quake-hit Japanese nuclear centre have fallen.

6:45pm: Death toll rises to 3,373 after earthquake, tsunami in Japan, police say. Another 6,746 people are missing, CNN reports.

6:00pm: Status of quake-stricken reactors at Fukushima nuclear power plants

Travel warnings after Japan's earthquake

5:30pm: Tohoku Electric Power Co. said Tuesday that it will implement electricity rationing in northeastern Japan from Wednesday to grapple with power shortages in the wake of Friday's killer earthquake, a day after Tokyo Electric Power Co. took the unprecedented measure in areas near the capital.

4:57pm: Winds are now dispersing radioactive material from the Japanese nuclear crisis over the Pacific Ocean, away from Japan and other Asian countries, the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) said on Tuesday.

4:54pm: 115 Pakistanis have returned from disaster-hit Japan. The passengers, brought back by a Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) flight, told media persons that even basic commodities are not available in Japan. So far, some 230 Pakistani nationals have returned on two PIA flights, the Dawn reports.

3:54pm: Japan's Tokyo Electric Power Co says it has pulled out 750 workers from its Daiichi nuclear plant since Tuesday morning, leaving 50 there to deal with problems with reactors.

3:34pm: Not all psychological first aid works. Time reports, "Experience with past disasters suggest that some types of psychological first aid may help those who have lived through them, but others can actually cause harm." When victims are told that they may experience nightmares, the counselling might bring the symptoms on, an expert says.

3:30pm: China plans to evacuate its citizens from Japan quake areas.

2:50pm: The central government should chalk out a foolproof strategy to protect the Kaiga nuclear power plant, which was giving Goa 'constant nightmares' in the wake of the tsunami-triggered crisis at Japan's Fukushima nuclear plant, a local Congress MP said Tuesday, IANS reports. Kaiga is in Karnataka, close to the Goa border.

2:34pm: Nuclear experts from the European Union meeting on Tuesday in Brussels must consider whether the bloc can move away from nuclear energy one day, EU Energy Commissioner Guenther Oettinger said. He called the meeting to coordinate policy in the light of Japan's nuclear crisis, and as Germany suspended a planned extension of the lifespan of its nuclear power plants, reports Reuters.

2:32pm: BBC reports: "It looks as though Thursday's nuclear accident at the Tokaimura processing plant in Japan was a classic case of human error. The facts that have emerged show that workers at the complex made a simple but terrible mistake. They were preparing uranium fuel for use in a nuclear reactor. Normally only 2.3 kgs (5 pounds) of liquid uranium is placed into a container containing nitric acid. By error nearly eight times that amount was used."

2:28pm: Japan has told the UN nuclear watchdog a spent fuel storage pond was on fire at a reactor damaged by the earthquake and radioactivity was being released "directly" into the atmosphere, the Vienna-based agency said on Tuesday. Reuters reports: "The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), citing information it had received from Japanese authorities at 0350 GMT, said dose rates of up to 400 millisievert per hour have been reported at the Fukushima power plant site."

2:24pm: Bangalore-based software major Infosys Technologies has advised its Indian employees to send their families back to India and given them the choice to return if the situation warrants it. 'We have about 350 Indian software professionals working at our proximity development centre in Tokyo. We have advised them to first send back their families and gave them a choice to return or stay back depending on the situation,' Infosys Chief Executive S. Gopalakrishnan told IANS.

1:22pm: No looting, no crime reported in the wake of the earthquake and tsunami. A journalist blogging for The Telegraph says, "Perhaps even more impressive than Japan’s technological power is its social strength, with supermarkets cutting prices and vending machine owners giving out free drinks as people work together to survive."

12:47pm: Former chairman of Atomic Energy Commission Dr Anil Kakodkar endorses nuclear energy against the backdrop of opposition to the upcoming Jaitapur nuclear power project in coastal Maharashtra.

12:34pm: Disaster fears spread across the world. Reuters reports: California will experience unthinkable damage when the next powerful quake strikes, probably within 30 years, even though the state prides itself on being on the leading edge of earthquake science.

12:24pm: A team from the International Atomic Energy Agency has arrived in Japan to investigate the country's worst nuclear accident, reports BBC. "The IAEA in Vienna said the three-man delegation will return to the agency's headquarters over the weekend and prepare a report on its findings... The Japanese Government, which initially refused the IAEA's offer of help, is promising new laws to tighten nuclear site safety."

12:16pm: Indian embassy in Japan says no reports of casualties among Indian nationals: "The Embassy of India has contacted the Indian communities in all cities in Japan as well as Indian schools and is in constant touch with various sections of the community."

12:08pm: Japanese official numbers: 2,500 confirmed dead, 17,000 missing, 5 lakh in temporary shelters.

12:03pm: The Obama administration has brushed aside calls for a freeze on new US nuclear power development, reports Wall Street Journal. They say the nation's nuclear facilities are safe and the threat of harmful radiation reaching US soil from Japan is minimal.

11:24am: Evacuation, panic buying in Tokyo as radiation fear spreads.

11:18am: 'Minute amounts' of radiation in Tokyo, government admits.

11:03am: Indian embassy in Tokyo sets up a 24-hour helpline, gets over 100 calls a day. Helpline numbers are: + 81 3 3262 2391 to 97.

10:48am: Oil prices slide further, now 99 dollars a barrel.

10:17am: Stay indoors, people in radiation-hit areas ordered.

10:12am: Ten Japanese local governments rethinking emergency response strategy, reports Japan Times.

10:04am: Telecom companies scramble to fix cables damaged by earthquake.

9:54am: Buying on bad news? Nuclear investment is a gamble riskier than before, says Reuters.

9:50am: Devastation brings back memories of World War II to Japan's elders.

9:46am: Crisis turning into a catastrophe, warns The New York Times: "...industry executives in close contact with officials in Japan said

that the chain of events at Daiichi suggested that the authorities had

come close to losing control of the situation, and that it would be

difficult to maintain emergency seawater cooling operations at stricken

reactors if a fire at a fourth reactor nearby was releasing large

amounts of radioactive material — at least without threatening the

health of emergency workers onsite."

9:42am: Winds blowing towards Tokyo, but officials say direction could change later on Tuesday.

9:36am: “Under the best scenarios, this isn’t going to end anytime soon,” an expert tells The New York Times.

9:34am: As radiation leak spreads, many countries issue travel warnings.

9:30am: Japan police confirm 2,400 deaths from earthquake and tsunami.

9:26am: Brent crude for April fell $1.87 to $111.80 a barrel at 0256 GMT

after trading as low as $111.49. U.S. crude for April dropped $1.88 to

$99.31. "People are going for risk aversion, so investors are liquidating

assets and positions including in crude oil and gold," said Tetsu

Emori, a fund manager at Tokyo-based Astmax Co Ltd..

9:18am: Radiation was briefly nine times the normal on Tuesday.

9:14am: Nikkei plunged after PM Naoto Kan confirmed that the radiation levels were no longer under control.

9:10am:Huffington Post reports, radiation could reach Tokyo in 10 hours from the nuclear plant.

Fresh blast, radiation fears in Japan

2011-03-16T13:14:00.001+05:30

Yahoo! India News – Mon, Mar 14, 2011 9:27 AM IST

Japan scrambled to avert a meltdown at a stricken nuclear reactor on Monday after a second hydrogen explosion rocked the facility, just days after a devastating earthquake and tsunami that killed at least 10,000 people.Reuters reports from Tokyo: Japanese authorities have been working desperately to avert a meltdown, compounding a nuclear catastrophe caused by Friday's massive quake and tsunami.

The core container was intact, Jiji news agency said, quoting the plant operator, Tokyo Electric Power Co, but the local government warned those still in the 20-km (13-mile) evacuation zone to stay indoors. Kyodo news agency quoted TEPCO as saying workers were injured in latest explosion.Yahoo! India News brings you updates on the disaster. Refresh this page for the latest.

10:00pm: Photos: Japan earthquake and tsunami - before and after [Must See]

9:40pm: Japan has officially asked the UN nuclear watchdog the IAEA for experts to help in the current nuclear crisis, AFP reports

9:29pm: Tokyo Electric is preparing to start pumping water into Daiichi No.2 unit to cover rods

9:15pm: The devastating earthquake and tsunami in Japan will rank among the costliest natural disasters on record, experts predict.

8:45pm: Rolling power outages have begun with many still without water, food and fuel

8:30pm: About 2,000 bodies reportedly found on the shore in Miyagi prefecture

8:00pm: Tokyo Electric says fuel rods at Daiichi No. 2 unit exposed again

7:45pm: Japan's crippled coastline doesn't get worse than this, says Patrick Fuller of the International Red Cross Federation.

7.30pm: Heartbroken by the scenes of devastation in Japan, US President Barack Obama said the US will stand with Japan in the difficult days ahead.

7:00pm: US engineering giant General Electric, which supplied reactors to Japan's stricken Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant, says it is to donate $5 million to relief efforts.

6:30pm: According to the US geological survey, there have been 38 earthquakes in Japan today alone.

6:10pm: This image by NASA shows the effects of the tsunami on Japan's coastline.

6:05pm: Radioactive releases in Japan could last months, experts say

5.45pm: Meltdown alert at Fukushima reactor; Japan scrambles to avert meltdown at quake-stricken nuclear plant
‎

5.15pm: Shinmoedake volcano erupts as Japan struggles in earthquake aftermath

Hundreds of people fled after Japan’s Shinmoedake volcano erupted, shattering windows 6km away, as the nation struggles with the aftermath of a massive earthquake and tsunami.

4:53pm: Twenty-two test positive for radiation contamination, reports Al Jazeera.

4:51pm: Radiation leak at Fukushima can hurt recovery of nuclear power industry.

4:48pm: Containment vessel at nuclear plant intact, says UN watchdog.

4:36pm: Only Buddhist temple, supermarket survive tsunami in coastal town Otsuchi.

4:34pm: France urges its citizens to leave Tokyo area.

4:19pm: What are the dangers? Will the situation improve? Can the reactors be cooled? A quick guide to the crisis in Fukushima.

4:17pm: US pulls ships, aircraft away from Japanese nuke plant area.

4:15pm: Singapore tests food imports from Japan for radiation contamination.

4:10pm: Middle-East crude prices may ease as Japan resorts to distress sale.

4:06pm: Bihar minister claims astrology can predict tsunamis.

3:58pm: Aid: A quick list of what friendly countries are offering to give Japan in its hour of need.

3:54pm: International relief efforts begin; 70 countries pledge support for Japan.

3:43pm: Prime minister Manmohan Singh orders review of safety at India's nuclear installations.

3:38pm: Indians in Japan are safe, says foreign minister S M Krishna.

3.12pm: India sends its first relief plane to Japan.

3:06pm: Too early to say how Fukushima explosions will affect nuclear power industry, says General Electric CEO.

2:57pm: Monday's explosion has left 11 injured. Seven others have gone missing.

2:53pm: Japan, world's third largest economy, is likely to slip into a long recession.

2:45pm: Suzuki stocks fall 3 per cent in India.

2:41pm: Disaster coverage: Wall Street Journal puts out interactive before-and-after pictures.

2:36pm: Opposition-ruling party truce may not last long. Leaders are already criticising prime minister Kan's handling of the humanitarian crisis.

2:32pm: South Korean pop star makes a donation towards Japanese disaster relief, reports Straits Times.

2:20pm: Japan reactor explosions will affect US nuclear industry, reports The New York Times: Obama is seeking tens of billions of dollars in government insurance for new nuclear construction, and the nuclear industry in the United States, all but paralyzed for decades after the Three Mile Island accident in 1979, was poised for a comeback.

2:17pm: Experts worried, fear radiation releases in Japan could last months.

1:21pm: Would you like to help? Japanese Red Cross Society is accepting donations.

1:20pm: More than 4.5 lakh people evacuated.

1pm: Fifty-year-old tsunami survivor can't believe his eyes, feels like he's in a movie.

12:54pm: Japanese PM urges people not to be pessimistic, says disaster could create huge demand for products and services, according to a Japan Times report.

12:40pm: Indian nuclear establishment describes Japan explosions as a 'freak case'.

12:30pm: Radiation containment efforts may be failing, reports Al Jazeera.

12:22pm: Auto, steel, electronics factories suspend operations across Japan.

12:16pm: Blackouts in Japan to conserve power; stocks plunge.

12:10pm: Another video from the disaster area.

11:47pm: Facts about Japan's nuclear problems: How does Fukushima compare with Three Mile Island, site of the worst nuclear accident in the US?

11:45pm: Evacuation area around Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station expanded to 20 km from 10 km, which means 1.8 lakh more people have to relocate. (About 2.1 lakh people have already been told to evacuate the areas.)

Rescue workers airlift tsunami survivors

US Navy releases video of supplies being loaded for Japan relief.

Just released video shows tsunami going over a sea wall, destroying boats and cars.Newly released video of tsunami

Video shows train tracks hanging in the air.Japan video

11:36pm: Even as aftershocks continue, Japanese media say 7 magnitude quake likely in the next few days.

11:33pm: A compilation of disaster pictures.

11.15am: Malaysian paper criticised for running an insensitive cartoon on the quake issues a public apology.

11.08am: Russia, China put diplomatic differences aside and offer all help to Japan

10.50am: According to a New York Times report a US warrior aircraft passed through the radiation clouds. The report says the crew was exposed to one month's worth of radiation in an hour..

10.49am: Toyota has decided to halt all production till Wednesday.

10.41am: According to Kyodo news agency reports, 11 people were injured in the nuclear reactor blast

10.35am: Over 2000 bodies were washed up on the shores of Miyagi

10:25am: Nuclear operator says radiation levels at unit that exploded "within legal limits".

10:22am: Woman isolated after fears of radiation hit Fukushima neighbourhood.

10:12am: Seven ways to help. Mashable offers tips on how you can harness the power of social media to help relief efforts in Japan.

10:05am: Japanese language helplines (missing persons): Iwate: 0120-801-471; Miyagi: 022-221-2000; Fukushima: 0120-510-186 / 090-8424-4207 / 090-8424-4208

9.59am: Japan's stocks plunge on first trade day after quake. Tokyo market's shakedown has caused a loss of billions of dollars.

9:55am: Rescuers dig for survivors, but the going is tough.

9:52am: Japanese trying to come to terms with disaster, The Guardian reports from Sendai and northern Japan.

Massive quake hits Japan; triggers Tsunami

2011-03-16T13:13:00.000+05:30

Coverage Day 1

-- At 2.46 pm Japan time, an earthquake measuring 8.9 on the Richter scale struck at a depth of 24.4 km below the ocean's surface, 130 km (80 miles) from the coastal city of Honshu and 373 km (231 miles) from Tokyo

-- The resulting tsunami, with waves in excess of 10 meters in height, struck the port of Sendai and devastated a large part of North East Japan

-- This is reported to be the worst earthquake in 140 years

Light planes and vehicles sit among debris at Sendai airport, northern Japan.

government. The Indian embassy has also assured that 25,000 Indians in Japan are safe

The shocking, stunning images and news from quake-hit Japan continue. The video above shows Kesennuma city, located in the extreme north-west of Miyagi prefecture, in flames.

Houses are in flame in Natori city, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan after strong earthquakes hit the area.

8:43 pm:

New York, expressed his sympathies for those affected by the Japan quake, and
said various UN agencies were mobilising to help the victims.

7:46 pm: As Oregon and Western California brace for the tsunami to
hit, Associated Press reports that the Hawaiian island of Kauai was the to be
hit by the tsunami. Unusually high waves estimated at three meters or
thereabouts swamped the beach at the famed resort of Waikiki, but stopped short
of the star resorts where the rich and famous play. Officials have warned that
waves of similar or greater magnitude will keep coming in on Hawaiian beaches.

7:15 pm: In a statement issued to the media, Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan speaks of "tremendous damage" across a wide area "centered on the Tohuku district." While extending his sympathies to the victims, Kan says "As for our nuclear power facilities, a portion of them stopped their operations automatically. At present we have no reports of any radioactive materials or otherwise affecting the surrounding areas."

7:09 pm: Update: At least 60 dead, numerous others missing, injured after quake: Kyodo
reports

7:04 pm: Between 200 and 300 bodies have been found on a beach near Sendai: BBC reports

6:58 pm: India offered help after a devastating earthquake and tsunami hit Japan, and added that the 25,000 Indians living in that country were safe.

6:56 pm: Thousands -- still scarred by memories of the 2004 tsunami that left over 240,000 of their people dead -- living along the eastern Indonesian coast had fled to high ground following the quake and resultant tsunami warning.

6:54 pm: Waves raised by the Japan quake have hit the north east of Indonesia, but the BBC reports that they are less than half a meter in height and hence not expected to cause any significant damage.
6:48 pm: Japanese news agency Kyodo reports that 700 or more flights from Japan have been cancelled in the wake of the quake. An estimated 12,500 people are reported stranded at Narita International airport and another 10,000 or more at Haneda airport, both of which collectively serve the Greater Tokyo region.

6:43 pm: Britain's Foreign Secretary William Hague has said, following a meeting of the emergency committee, that rapid response units attached to the British armed forces have been placed in a state of alert and are in ready-to-go status in response to the Japanese quake. Hague said Britain is committed to provide any assistance sought by the Japanese government.

6:33 pm: In a statement expressing his, and First Lady Michelle Obama's, condolences for the victims of the Japan quake, US President Barack Obama said the US is standing by and ready to help in any way required. The Japanese government, which has already alerted its own military to help with rescue and relief efforts, has indicated that it needs help from the US military to deal with the aftermath of the quake and the resulting tsunami.

6:30 pm: The International Atomic Energy Agency reports that the fire that broke out at the Onagawa nuclear plant, in the Oshika district of Miyagi prefecture, has been extinguished. Onagawa-3 is reputed as the most modern, state of the art reactor in Japan. The reactor had also been affected by the 2005 Miyagi earthquake. In May 2006, officials found a leaking pipe; the damage was caused by debris that resulted from the quake.
6:25 pm: Japanese agency Sankei reports that authorities have asked people living within 2 km of the Fukushima nuclear plant to evacuate immediately. The report says this is a precautionary measure, while authorites work to cool off the nuclear reactor which, when shut down following the quake, was discovered to have a defect in the main cooling system.

6:11 pm: Update: Kyodo News reports that the official toll has been revised upwards to 59.

5:32 pm: No matter how many pictures and videos you see, or stories you read, the awesome forces of nature continue to defy the imagination, to beggar description. Here's an example: a BBC video of an enormous whirlpool triggered by the Japan quake

5:22 pm: An emergency cooling unit has been activated at the Fukushima nuclear plant, where the cooling system's malfunction had led to the declaration of a state of nuclear emergency (See update of 5.16 pm). Kyodo News Agency, meanwhile, reports a fire in the turbine building of the Onagawa nuclear plant, which is located in Miyagi prefecture, one of the regions worst hit by the tsunami..

5:16 pm: Associated Press reports that the 'nuclear emergency' declared by Japan is non-lethal. Quoting chief cabinet secretary Yukio Edano, AP reports that the nuclear in Fukushima prefecture, located on the island of Honshu, developed mechanical failure of the systems needed to cool it down after it was shut in the wake of the quake. The declaration of emergency, Edano said, was a precaution; there was no immediate danger, and no leak, at the plant, the cabinet official confirmed.
5:15 pm: Ship carrying 100 people carried away by tsunami, says Japanese news agency Kyodo.

5:05 pm: Trains and buses remain shut down, and stranded commuters in Tokyo report a huge dearth of taxis. On Twitter, Makiko Itoh (@makiwi) reports that various schools and universities in the area are opening up their classrooms for the benefit of the stranded commuters.

5:04 pm: Japan has declared a state of 'nuclear emergency'. Government broadcaster NHK reports that attempts to cool one reactor has not "gone as planned". All reactors were shut down, as a safety measure, in the immediate aftermath of the quake.

4:54 pm: Japan has declared a state of emergency because of the failure of the cooling system at one nuclear plant, according to the Associated Press.

4:36 pm: "People were very frightened. Very rare since people in Japan are used to quakes. Today was very different" -- Reactions, as quake-prone Japan trembles to the biggest quake in 140 years. Read the story

Look at earthquakes that triggered major tsunamis

Disaster management operations on: Japan PM

Recent major earthquakes to hit Japan

Asia stocks drop on Japan quake, bonds jump

4:30 pm: Update: At least 32 people have been killed and numerous others injured, says Japanese news agency Kyodo.

4:27 pm: All Indians in Tokyo reported to be safe: Sources

4:25 pm: IAEA says four nuclear power plants closest to the earthquake's epicentre have been shut down safely.

4:15 pm: Yahoo! Australia reports, quoting International Red Cross officials, that the tsunami now racing across the ocean is high enough to wash over some entire Pacific islands. More
4:13 pm: 4.6-magnitude quake hits Hawaii; state is still under tsunami warning from Japan quake: NBC News reports

4:07 pm: The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has published an updated Tsunami alert, giving places likely to be hit and the concerned timings. The full list
4:06 pm: Honda suspends operations at assembly plant in Saitama, near Tokyo: Japanese news agency Kyodo reports.
4:00 pm: Government authorities in Taiwan says there has been small evacuations: BBC reports.

3:58 pm: The website Earthquake Report has listed over 30 aftershocks consequent on the Japan quake. More

3:56 pm: Government and police raise death toll from Japan quake to 29: AP reports

3:37 pm: The Japan Meteorological Agency estimates that the city of Kurihara, located in the north-western part of Japan's Miyagi Prefecture, has been completely destroyed. Kurihara is known for the quality and quantity of rice it produces, and also as a tourist destination thanks to a large number of hot springs, many of them located at the foot of the dormant volcano Mt Kurikoma.
3:31 pm: In a sadly ironic twist, Japanese quake experts were elsewhere when the quake hit earlier today. Some of the country's leading experts on earthquakes had, at the initiative of the Japanese government and the request of the New Zealand government, flown to Christchurch to help in the aftermath of the disastrous February 22, 2011 quake in that city that left over 300 dead and caused untold damage.

3:27 pm: The official death toll has now climbed to 19. Those confirmed dead include two in the wider Tokyo area due to a wall collapse and the fall of a roof; three in the Ibaraki prefecture north-east of Tokyo due to house collapses; five in the Fukushima provine and three in the Kanto province. On-ground reports indicate that the actual toll could be fearsome, and that it will take days for the full magnitude to be measured. Many dozens meanwhile are trapped in the rubble following a hotel collapse in the city of Sendai.

3:12 pm: Little things make a big difference. The Japanese government, currently battling the worst earthquake to hit the quake-prone country in 140 years, found the time and sensitivity to do the little things: reports say that with cellphone services out of whack, the government has made all pay phones free of charge to enable people to stay connected at a time of considerable chaos.

3:07 pm: Residents in the Phillippines have been warned to evacuate and move to high ground, with weather experts predicting the first waves of the tsunami to strike around 6 PM local time. The Coast Guard has been put on high alert, and rescue teams have been placed in a state of emergency alert.
3:05 pm: Authorities in Taiwan have warned that tidal waves triggered by the Japan quake could reach the eastern coast of the Island at around 5.30 PM local time, and also possibly hit the north-eastern port of Keelung by 6:00 pm.
3:03 pm: The US Geological Society meanwhile has reported a secondary quake, timed at 5.12 PM Japan time, of magnitude 6.2, also near the eastern coast of Honshu. More

3:00 pm: In another illustration of how social media is supplementing, even exceeding, the work of news agencies, the CitizenTube initiative features videos of the Japan quake shot by the people themselves. Watch video
2:41 pm: Within half an hour of the quake, the Twitter monitoring service Tweet-O-Meter indicated that tweets out of Tokyo were streaming in at the rate of over 1,200 per minute.

2:40 pm: Tsunami alert issued across US West Coast; evacuation on in Hawaii.

Photos: Tsunami damages northern Japan
2:30 pm: 11,000 evacuated in Russia in the wake of Japanese tsunami

2:29 pm: With a massive electricity and communications blackout impacting the quake-hit area, estimates of the toll and damages will take a considerable time to be collated. For now, the Japanese government is officially reporting five dead, AP reports.

2:27 pm: Though the Sensex fell over 200 points in reaction to the news of the quake, no lasting impact on the economy is expected, say experts. More

2:24 pm: The United States Geological Survey, which has been tracking the quake and its aftermath, has pegged the Japan quake at 8.9 on the Richter scale. That makes this the 5th biggest earthquake in history, ahead of the February 2010 quake in Chile. See chart

2:22 pm: Four million homes in Japan have no power supply.

2:21 pm: Sendai airport in northern Japan flooded.

2:17 pm: Japanese news agency Kyodo reports that as many as 14 public structures are on fire in Tokyo.

2:15 pm: The Japan Meteorological Agency in a press statement warned that aftershocks of a possible magnitude of 7 and above on the Richter scale could happen in a month, consequent on today's quake.

2:15 pm: AP reports that Russian authorities have evacuated over 12,000 residents of the far-eastern Sakhalin Island and its neighborhood as a consequence of the tsunami warning.

2:05 pm: Biggest quake since 1995, say Japanese met officials.

2 pm: Blaze continues at major oil refinery. Fires break out in Tokyo as well. Aftershocks continue in Tokyo. Casualty numbers trickling in.

1:55 pm: Kudan Kaikan auditorium collapses: 600 had gathered for a graduation ceremony, 30 seriously injured.

1:53 pm: Television studio cameras shake as aftershocks continue.

1:52 pm: Tsunami warnings for Australia, New Zealand.

1:45 pm: Japan's disaster management team is headed by its prime minister Naoto Kan. One of the biggest earthquakes ever to hit the country, says met office.

Tsunami may hit Indonesia, Hawaii next.

1:26 pm: Japan has swung into disaster control mode following a tsunami and massive earthquake on Friday.

The country has shut down all its ports, airports and nuclear installations.

The early story

The biggest ever earthquake to strike Japan in recorded history has resulted in hundreds of deaths and millions, possibly billions, worth of damages.

The quake struck at 2.46 pm Japan time, with an epicenter located approximately six miles below sea level in the Pacific Ocean. The city nearest the epicenter is the coastal city of Honshu (130 km or around 80 miles), while Tokyo, 373 km (231 miles) away reported tremblors lasting for many minutes.

As Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan put his nation on emergency alert and pressed the coast guard and military into service, officials battled to cope with massive blackouts not only in Honshu but even as far away as Tokyo. Rail services and buses were stopped, and reports indicated that thousands of passengers were stranded when the trains halted midway. One entire passenger train is still unaccounted for.

Both of Tokyo's airports suspended services, and thousands of commuters were stranded as area schools and universities opened up their classrooms to provide temporary shelter. An estimated four million households were left without power; communications became difficult with cellphones going out of operation; the government in response threw open the public call booths for free.

It is way too early to estimate either the toll or the extent of damages, authorities said, adding that they were focused on relief and rescue operations. Stretching their efforts further are the 90-odd fires that are reported to have broken out in Honshu and Tokyo, including in a still plant and an oil refinery in the Chiba region of Greater Tokyo.

It is being anticipated that the toll will be very high - reports have come in of three hundred or more bodies found in Sendai city, Honshu; the toll is expected to mount rapidly as relief workers move from rescue operations on the surface and start digging under the debris. Meanwhile, Japanese news agencies report that a ship carrying over 100 people have been washed away by the tsunami.

The Japanese government declared a state of 'nuclear emergency' after it was found that the cooling system of the Fukushima nuclear plant had failed to kick in. The four major nuclear reactors in the region were automatically shut down when the quake hit, but the cooling system at Fukushima failed to kick in. Over 3000 people, living within a 3 km radius of the plant, were evacuated, and officials were working on the stand by system. Officials said there have been no reports of radiation.

Even as waves of aftershocks struck the area (postings on Twitter from the Sendai region spoke of tremblors every 15 minutes or thereabouts and larger shocks, some measured close to 7, at occasional intervals), tsunami warnings went out to countries as far apart as Russia, Australia, New Zealand, Guam, Taiwan, Indonesia, the Philippines, and the western coast of the United States. The warnings were later lifted for Australia and New Zealand.

The quake is one in a series to have hit Japan this week, with a 7.3 magnitude quake having hit the region two days earlier, on Wednesday. Japan is one of the most seismically active countries in the world, accounting for about 20 per cent of the world's earthquakes of magnitude 6 or greater.

With Reuters/AgenciesMore photos

-- All public transport, rail, air, port and mobile services were shut down. Schools are providing shelter to stranded commuters

-- Nuclear power emergency declared. Five plants shut down. A fire broke out at Oganawa nuclear plant in NE Japan and has since been extinguished

-- The Yen dropped, Nikkei closed at a five-week low and all other world markets are trading lower than usual.

-- Honda has suspended operations at its assembly plant in Saitama, near Tokyo

-- As many as 80 buildings, many of them in Tokyo, burst into flames as a result of the quake

-- 4 million households hav e been deprived of electricity

-- Tsunami alert along the Pacific Coast; Hawaii experiences a 4.9 magnitude quake; Taiwan, Russia, Chile still on high alert

--Hawaii, Russia and Taiwan have evacuated people from the danger areas

--US, Britain and India have offered to help the Japanese
--The official toll stands at 59; true figures are expected only once communications are restored

More Videos
With the tsunami having fizzled out without doing major damage along its path, the focus shifts back to the north-eastern coast of Japan, where rescue and relief efforts will continue through the night and, given the extent of damage, for the next several days. Meanwhile, we are halting the live updates; spare a thought, as you read this, for the many thousands in Japan struggling to survive against the furies of nature.
9:50 pm: Responding to the problem at the Fukushima nuclear plant, the United States has despatched emergency supplies of coolant to Japan. Reporting this, Reuters quotes Secretary of State Hillary Clinton saying "We just had our Air Force assets in Japan transport some really important coolant to one of the nuclear plants. You know Japan is very reliant on nuclear power and they have very high engineering standards but one of their plants came under a lot of stress with the earthquake and didn't have enough coolant."

9:15 pm: US appears to be out of major danger from the tsunami, White House Chief of Staff Bill Daley said, according to a BBC report

9:13 pm: Two more aftershocks measuring 5.1 magnitude shake Japan's east coast, reports the US Geological Survey

9:04 pm: Indonesia has lifted its tsunami warning after only small waves reached its eastern coastline and caused no damage, Japan's Kyodo news agency reports

9:03 pm: The reactor cooling system that failed after the quake at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant is expected to return to normal soon, according to the Jiji Press news agency, reports BBC

8:57 pm: Quoting officials of the California Emergency Management Agency, Associated Press reports evacuations in the Del Norte and San Mateo counties in coastal California.

8:56 pm: Canada has issued tsunami advisories for parts of British Columbia on the coast: Guardian reports.

8:48 pm: Kyodo News reports that between 60,000-70,000 people have been evacuated from Sendai, a historic city that came into existence around 1600. It is the capital of Miyagi prefecture and one of the areas worst affected by the quake-triggered tsunami. Japanese TV meanwhile has been showing images of large parts of Miyagi engulfed in flames.
The Chiba prefecture, in the Greater Tokyo area, reports major problems at industrial installations. Major fires are being reported at the Chiba refinery run by Tokyo giant Cosmo Oil, while another fire is reportedly raging at JFE Holdings' Chiba steel plant.

8:41 pm: Oregon emergency management has advised coastal residents to evacuate before 7:00 am PT due to tsunami risk: Huffington Post

8:37 pm: Narita International airport, which had shut down in the immediate aftermath of the quake in order to inspect runways and other facilities, has begun a gradual restoration of services, Japanese news agencies report.

8:36 pm: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh condoled the loss of lives in the earthquake in Japan and offered help. In a message to Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan, Dr. Singh said that India stands in solidarity with the people of Japan and is ready to help in any way required and our resources are at your disposal.
8:30 pm: Five more powerful aftershocks measuring around 5.5 magnitude have rattled the eastern coast of Japan: US Geological Survey reports

7:50 pm: Follow live coverage of the tsunami as it hits Hawaii, here
7:48 pm: UN Secretary General Ban-ki Moon, speaking to the media in

Desperation, panic grip Japan after quake

2011-03-16T13:11:00.001+05:30

Yahoo! India News – Sat, Mar 12, 2011 2:57 PM IST

Japan scrambled on Saturday to avert a disastrous meltdown at a nuclear plant damaged when a massive earthquake and tsunami struck the northeast coast, killing at least 1,300 people.

Jiji news agency said there had been an explosion at the stricken 40-year-old Daichi 1 reactor and TV footage showed vapour rising from the plant, which lies 240 km (150 miles) north of Tokyo.

Survivors of Japan's devastating earthquake and tsunami huddled in shelters and hoarded supplies as rescue workers searched a mangled coastline of submerged homes, cars and stranded boats. Meanwhile, we are halting the live updates for the day.

9:45 pm: About 50,000 Japan Self-Defense Force personnel were being deployed Saturday in quake and tsunami relief efforts, according to a Kyodo report.

9:32 pm: A South Korean rescue team arrived in Japan, with 55 other nations and regions offering support for the quake-hit country, the Japanese Foreign Ministry said.

9:13 pm: More than 300,000 people have now been evacuated from their homes in northern Japan: Kyodo News reports
Japanese PM Naoto Kan inspected areas in northeastern Japan affected by a calamitous earthquake and said the government will do all it can to save as many people as possible.

9:09 pm: A strong aftershock from the devastating earthquake occurred rocking wide areas of the Tohoku and Kanto regions.

8:51 pm: Japanese govt has ordered the evacuation of residents within 20 km of one nuclear power plant and within 10 km of the second plant.

8:48: The loss of life and destruction caused by catastrophic earthquake in Japan grew, with the combined number of people who have died or remain unaccounted for expected to top 1,700.

8:36 pm: US Ambassador to Japan John Roos said that the US will continue to offer whatever support is needed to help Japan recover from a powerful earthquake that struck northeast Japan.

8:22 pm: Three people seeking refuge near the Fukushima nuclear plant were exposed to radiation: Kyodo News

8:08 pm: Japanese PM Naoto Kan said more than 3,000 people have been rescued since a powerful earthquake hit northeastern and eastern Japan: Kyodo News

8:04 pm: Switzerland announced it was sending a team of some 25 rescue and medical experts accompanied by nine sniffer dogs.

8:02 pm: Britain said it would be flying out 63 British search and rescue personnel to Japan in response to a request from Tokyo.

7:28 pm: A 6.0 magnitude quake occurred off Fukushima Prefecture, measuring lower 5 on the Japanese seismic scale in a coastal area of the prefecture: Kyodo News

7:11 pm: About 9,500 people are unaccounted for in the town of Minamisanriku in Miyagi Prefecture, prefectural officials said: Kyodo News

7:05 pm: The official death toll now stands at 574, with 586 people declared missing and 1,105 injured.

7:03 pm: Japanese authorities are making preparations to distribute iodine to residents in the area of both the Fukushima nuclear plants: IAEA

7:00 pm: Noriyuki Shikata, chief cabinet secretary for public relations for the Japanese PM says, "Blast was caused by accumulated hydrogen combined with oxygen in the space between container and outer structure. No damage to container."

6:24 pm: BBC's Damian Grammaticas describes the scenes of devastation in Sendai as "truly astonishing". He says, "Giant shipping containers have been swept inland and smashed against buildings, all around me are trees and rubble. The streets covered in mud that was swept inland. There are dozens and dozens of cars that were carried along, twisted and turned, and crushed by the wave. The gas and water have been cut off, fires are burning, and locals say hundreds of people died in this area."

6:00 pm: Japanese authorities have confirmed there was no explosion at the troubled No. 1 reactor of the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant: Kyodo News

5.53pm: Indian foreign minister S M Krishna sends his condolences to Japan. Ministry of external affairs sets up special cell to monitor developments.

5.45pm: Summary of what World Nuclear News is saying: The plant has six reactors, three of which were in operation when the quake struck on Friday. All three shut down at once, as they are designed to, and automatically began removing residual heat with the help of emergency diesel generators. The generators stopped functioning after about an hour, possibly because of flooding caused by the tsunami. Plant owners Tokyo Electric Power Company immediately notified the government of an emergency. Work at the site is now centered on connecting portable power modules to replace the malfunctioning diesels..

5.36pm: World Nuclear News puts out status update on radiation leaks. Its website crashes, but is restores soon.

5.28pm: Aftershocks continue in Japan, while attention is focused on nuclear reactors. Texas researchers put out a map which tracks tremors in near real time.

4.33pm: Map from The New York Times, offering interactive information on earthquake and tsunami damage.

Aerial video from town closest to Japan's mega-quake epicentre

Where will the next big earthquake strike? (Courtesy: Good)

Predicting the next big earthqauke9:44 pm:

Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant affected by a massive earthquake is facing a possible meltdown.

More photos

4.30pm: Japan's Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency says serious damage to Fukushima nuclear reactor container unlikely.

4.26pm: 2.15 lakh tsunami-affected people now in emergency shelters.

4.22pm: Tsunami waves reach Africa, northern Chile. No damage reported.

4.20pm: Experts are downplaying risks from the explosion. Reuters quotes Ian Hore-Lacy, of the World Nuclear Association, as saying. "It is obviously a hydrogen explosion due to hydrogen igniting. If the hydrogen has ignited, then it is gone, it poses no further threat."

4.05pm: There are over 1,000 people unaccounted for -- either dead or missing, according to Japan's Kyodo News agency.

4.04pm: All 81 aboard tsunami-swept ship rescued: Japanese team airlifts everyone on board to safety, CNN-IBN reports, quoting Jiji Press.

4.02pm: Sony, Toyota, Nissan and Honda are among firms to have closed plants due to the massive quake, reports BBC.

3.50pm: As officials and relavant agencies struggle to come to grips with the explosion at Fukushima: a) authorities have extended the evacuation area at the neighboring Fukushima; b) to a ten kilometer radius.

3.48pm: Blast the the plant may have been caused by a hydrogen explosion, say reports

3.47pm: BBC's nuclear expert Walt Patterson, an associate fellow with Chatham House, said the presence of caesium, one of the elements released when overheating of a nuclear plant causes core damage, does not pose any significant threat to public health. Meanwhile, as engineers try to establish if Fukushima is in meltdown, Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan has re-declared a state of emergency at the plant, and at the neighboring Fukushima.

3.40pm: Official claims that the radiation levels at Fukushima-Daiichi was not serious is meeting with considerable speculation. The BBC in a report pointed out that officials have been less than honest with their "reassurances" in the past.

3.23pm: Japan's Meteorological Agency officials have told people living on the Pacific Coast to remain alert although there's slim chance of a 10m or higher tsunami now.

3.17pm: Aftershocks continue. The USGS reports the latest one, magnitude 5.4, is just 25 km (15.5 miles) off the east coast of Honshu.

3.16pm: BBC reports, Japan's Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency is investigating the explosion at the Fukushima-Daiichi plant.

2.59pm: Video of the explosion

2.57pm: The leak seems more serious than it first appeared. Kyodo News is now reporting that the amount leaking each hour is more than the maximum permitted in an entire year.

2.50pm: CNN reports that the Japan quake and resulting tsunami appear to have shifted the island of Japan by 8 feet (2.4 meters) and shifted the Earth on its axis.

2.47pm: Reports say the walls and roof of the Fukushima nuclear plant have sustained heavy damage in the blast, and preliminary reports indicate increased levels of radiation. Japan's Nuclear Safety Commission has warned that the plant, 150 miles (240 km) north of Tokyo, may be approaching or experiencing meltdown.

2.45pm Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano has confirmed a radiation leak at the Fukushima nuclear plantReuters reports: Japan scrambled on Saturday to avert a disastrous meltdown at a nuclear plant damaged when a massive earthquake and tsunami struck the northeast coast, killing at least 1,300 people.

Fukushima nuclear plant explosion

Jiji news agency said there had been an explosion at the stricken 40-year-old Daichi 1 reactor and TV footage showed vapour rising from the plant, which lies 240 km (150 miles) north of Tokyo.

The country's nuclear safety agency could not confirm the reported incident, which came as plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Co (Tepco) worked desperately to reduce pressures in the core of the reactor that -- if not contained -- could lead to a release of radiation into the atmosphere.

"An unchecked rise in temperature could cause the core to essentially turn into a molten mass that could burn through the reactor vessel," political risk information service Stratfor said in a report. "This may lead to a release of an unchecked amount of radiation into the containment building that surrounds the reactor."

NHK television said the outer structure of the building that houses the reactor appeared to have blown off, which could suggest the containment building had already been breached.

Earlier the operator released what it said was a tiny amount of radioactive steam to reduce the pressure and the danger was minimal because tens of thousands of people had already been evacuated from the vicinity.

Media reports estimate at least 1,300 people may have been killed by the 8.9 quake, the biggest since records began in Japan 140 years ago, and the 10-metre tsunami that swept ferociously inland after it struck.

Italy's National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology said the earth's axis had shifted 25 cm as a result of the quake and the U.S. Geological Survey said the main island of Japan had actually shifted 2.4 metres.

Japanese officials and experts have been at pains to say that while there would be radiation leaks, they would be very small and have dismissed suggestions of a repeat of a Chernobyl-type disaster.

THOUSANDS FLEE

Friday's tremor was so huge that thousands fled their homes from coastlines around the Pacific Rim, as far away as North and South America, fearful of a tsunami.

Most appeared to have been spared anything more serious than some high waves, unlike Japan's northeast coastline which was hammered by the huge tsunami that turned houses and ships into floating debris as it surged into cities and villages, sweeping aside everything in its path.

"I thought I was going to die," said Watauga Fuji, a 38-year-old sales representative in Koriyama, Fukushima, north of Tokyo and close to the area worst hit by the quake.

"Our furniture and shelves had all fallen over and there were cracks in the apartment building, so we spent the whole night in the car... Now we're back home trying to clean."

The unfolding natural disaster, which has been followed by dozens of aftershocks, prompted offers of search and rescue help from 50 countries.

The central bank said it would cut short a two-day policy review scheduled for next week to one day on Monday and promised to do its utmost to ensure financial market stability.

The disaster struck as the world's third-largest economy had been showing signs of reviving from an economic contraction in the final quarter of last year. It raised the prospect of major disruptions for many key businesses and a massive repair bill running into tens of billions of dollars.

The earthquake was the fifth most powerful to hit the world in the past century. It surpassed the Great Kant quake of Sept. 1, 1923, which had a magnitude of 7.9 and killed more than 140,000 people in the Tokyo area.

The 1995 Kobe quake caused $100 billion in damage and was the most expensive natural disaster in history.

(With input from agencies)

Source - Yahoo India News

Live: Fresh fire in Fukushima N-plant

2011-03-16T13:05:00.001+05:30

Yahoo! India News – Wed, Mar 16, 2011 8:22 AM IST

Japan races to avert a catastrophe after fire broke out on Wednesday at a nuclear plant that has sent low levels of radiation wafting into Tokyo, prompting some people to flee the capital and triggering growing international alarm at the escalating crisis. Refresh this page for latest updates.

12:45 pm: Rajeev Sharma, an Indian who has just returned from disaster-hit Japan, said the Indian embassy in Tokyo had been of no help. When he got through to them after much trying, they reportedly told him they had no intimation from the government about what to do, and suggested he call again after five days. Five days, Sharma told Times Now, would have been "too late". On its website, the embassy says it has been answering up to 100 phone calls a day, and helping Indians cope with the crisis.

12:40pm:This infographic from Reuters shows the latest figures on Japan quake and tsunami

12:30pm: IPad2 launch delayed: Apple's latest version of the iconic tablet, which launched on March 11 -- the same day the 8.9 quake and resulting tsunami devastated the eastern coast of Japan -- will now face delays of up to four weeks before it arrives in Japan, CNet reports. As per the original schedule, sales of the IPad2 were slated to begin March 25, the same day the latest version of the tablet rolled out to 24 other countries around the globe. The full story

12:20pm:Fresh quakes in Japan: The United States Geological Survey reported two fresh quakes off the coast of Honshu. The first, of magnitude 5.8, is reported as located 31.1 km (19.3 miles) off the east coast of Honshu, while the second, of magnitude 4.7, is located at 25.1 km (15.6 miles), also off the east coast of Honshu.

12:15pm: Public trust in the Japanese government faces its biggest test since World War Two over the handling of the nation's nuclear crisis, raising concerns that a breakdown in confidence could fuel panic and chaos if appeals for calm go unheeded. Reuters reports that foreigners are leaving Tokyo, or shutting themselves indoors, and supermarket shelves are running empty despite authorities assuring citizens there is no need to panic. Locals have increasingly lost confidence in the government of Prime Minister Naoto Kan, which was already unpopular before the disaster struck. And it is not just the citizens who are feeling aggrieved -- Reuters reports that even the local mayor of a town close to the wrecked Fukushima Daiichi nuclear complex complained that the government had failed to keep his office updated on the situation. "We've been asking the prefecture and the government to give us information quickly but we've been having to force information out of them," said Katsunobu Sakurai, mayor of Minamisoma. Read the full story

12.10pm: When tragedies strike, perhaps the saddest question that surfaces in the aftermath is "Could this have been avoided?". That question surfaced in relation to the Japan calamity, with Steven Swinford and Christopher Hope of the Telegraph, UK, reporting that an official from the International Atomic Energy Agency as warning, way back in December 2008, that safety rules in some Japanese nuclear plants were out of date, and that a strong earthquake could cause serious problems. Citing cables from Wikileaks, the Telegraph reported that the Japanese government had at the time pledged to upgrade safety measures at all its plants. However, though an emergency response center was built at the Fukushima plant, it was only designed to withstand tremors of 7.0 magnitudes, and not able to resist the 8.9 quake that struck on March 11. Read the full story here and the Wikileaks cables here
11:55am: Shares in Fukushima's operator TEPCO plunge 24%7 in Tokyo's trade, the AFP reports.11:31am: Rescue operations continues on Wednesday, with 80,000 Self-Defense Forces personnel and police officers mobilized in the devastated areas, where temperatures have dropped to midwinter levels.

The National Police Agency said it has confirmed 3,676 deaths in 12 prefectures, while 7,843 people remained unaccounted for in six prefectures as of 12:30 p.m.
The death toll, however, will inevitably climb higher as the recovery of bodies mainly in the tsunami-hit coastal areas started in full swing after waters there held back and tsunami warnings were lifted. Full story on Kyodo news

Though we have been watching it live ever since the 8.9 magnitude quake struck Japan March 11, it is still difficult to comprehend the scale and scope of the devastation. Aiding that understanding is this infographic from Live Science, that shows how earthquakes and tsunamis, while dangerous enough by themselves, become doubly catastrophic when they combine.

Though we have been watching it live ever since the 8.9 magnitude quake struck Japan March 11, it is still difficult …

11:40am:

11:26am: Workers have returned to the damaged Fukushima Daiichi plant after an evacuation order was lifted, Tokyo Electric Power Company said.

11:15am: Setting aside recent tensions in their bi- and multilateral relationships, the United States and China have joined hands to help Japan cope with the aftermath of the quake and consequent tsunami, Wired.com reports. "Japan and the United States have had their share of tensions with China lately, thanks to feuds over US-Korean exercises near China's borders and disputes between China and Japan over where those borders actually lie, among other issues," Wired points out, adding that the US already has a number of warships operating on relief and rescue missions off the Japanese coast, including the entire carrier group headed by USS Ronald Reagan, and four destroyers. Four more US ships are expected to arrive off the Japanese coast within the day, Wired says. Full story

10:45am: Minister of State for Environment and Forests Jairam Ramesh on Tuesday promised that additional safeguards would be put in place before giving environmental clearance to the planned Jaitapur Nuclear Power Plant (JNPP) in Ratnagiri, Maharashtra. Earlier this week, Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh had said an immediate technical review of India's atomic plants has been ordered to check if they can withstand the impact of large natural disasters such as tsunamis and earthquakes. Read the full story on Yahoo India

10.30am: The death toll in Japan from Friday's 9.0-magnitude earthquake and subsequent tsunami stood at 3,676 Wednesday afternoon, authorities said, though the number of missing people increased.

9:45am:The container of the No.3 reactor of the quake-hit Fukushima No.1 nuclear power plant is feared to have been damaged and may have leaked radioactive steam Wednesday, emitting high-level radiation, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano said.
The radiation level briefly topped 6 milisievert per hour at the plant, the government's nucler safety agency said.
The explanations were given after smoke was seen rising from the No.3 reactor since around 8:30 a.m., according to Edano. (Kyodo News)
9:30am: Chen Guangbiao, a 42-year-old billionaire and chief executive of recycling company Jiangsu Huangpu Renewable Resources, headed to Japan Friday to personally donate rescue supplies and 13 million yen (US$158,820) to the country’s earthquake and tsunami victims. Read more

9:00am:Dealing with the dead has become a pressing problem in Ishinomaki. The town's vice-mayor, Etsuro Kitamura, estimates that 10,000 out of a population of 160,000 may have died in the tsunami that pulverized the Japanese coast on Friday.
Although cremations are traditional, this is not an option given the shortage of fuel and the lack of facilities. "Our city has only one crematorium, which can handle perhaps 18 bodies a day," Kitamura said. "If there are 10,000 dead, it will take 500 days to burn them all. Read more on Guardian.co.uk
8:30am: Workers at Japan's earthquake-damaged Fukushima nuclear plant have evacuated the plant, after radiation levels rose, Japan's chief cabinet secretary, Yukio Edano, said.
"All the workers there have suspended their operations. We have urged them to evacuate, and they have," he said, according to a translation by NHK television.
The IAEA says contamination levels at the plant shot up to 167 times the average dose.

8:20am:

Radiation exposure levels compared.

8:00am: A new fire hits the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant Wednesday, the latest in a series of setbacks that increases fears of widespread radiation contamination.

The operator of the quake-crippled plant said workers were trying to put out the blaze at the building housing the No4 reactor of the nuclear facility in Fukushima, 240 km (150 miles) north of Tokyo.

Experts say spent fuel rods in a cooling pool at the reactor could be exposed by the fire and spew more radiation into the atmosphere. Japan's Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency said two workers were missing after blasts at the facility a day earlier blew a hole in the building housing the No 4 reactor.

Officials in Tokyo said radiation in the capital was 10 times normal at one point but not a threat to human health in the sprawling high-tech city of 13 million people.

Toxicologist Lee Tin-lap at the Chinese University of Hong Kong said such a radiation level was not an immediate threat to people but the long-term consequences were unknown.

Fears of trans-Pacific nuclear fallout sent consumers scrambling for radiation antidotes in the US Pacific Northwest and Canada. Authorities warned people would expose themselves to other medical problems by needlessly taking potassium iodide in the hope of protection from cancer.

source - yahoo

Best Android Phones: February 2011

2011-03-16T12:04:00.000+05:30

With new Android phones releasing month after month, there can be no definitive way to declare a particular phone to be the best buy for too long. That's why we've made it a monthly habit to keep updating the Best Android phones to buy list, so that potential buyers have one place to seek advice.

Phones under Rs. 10,000
There is a growing number of options in this cost conscious smartphone range, with every manufacturer trying to one-up the other by marginally improving the features. As a rule of the thumb, I'm not even going to consider all those phones with resistive touchscreens, and with good reason. As of now, we declare the newly launched Samsung Galaxy Pop S5570 as the champion of the paisa vasool range.

It's an upgrade to the popular Galaxy 5 i5500 model and it brings about some important changes -- the screen size is bumped up from 2.8 inches to 3.2 inches, although it still has the low QVGA (320 x 240 pixel) resolution. But for the price, we can forgive Samsung of this sin.

The camera resolution is upped from the pitiful 2 megapixel to the not-so-pitiful 3.2 megapixel. It still lacks autofocus and an LED flash; don't expect great photo quality from it.

The most important change is that it runs Android 2.2 Froyo from start, unlike the Galaxy 5 which still runs Android 2.1, with no clear update roadmap in sight. It may not be the most recent Gingerbread (2.3) version, but we still appreciate it running a fairly recent version, given how fast Google churns out OS updates every year.

It still has the i5500's 600 MHz processor, and with the same QVGA resolution and the Froyo performance optimizations, you can expect the User Interface to fly swiftly. Apart from this, the Galaxy Pop also adds a proximity sensor and a compass to the package.

Connectivity is sorted with 3.5G (HSDPA), Wi-fi 802.11n and A-GPS support. It sells for Rs. 9,000 -- the same price that its predecessor was sold at when launched. For the price, we think the Galaxy Pop S5570 is a good package for the Android lover who likes to hold back on splurging hard earned money.

Phones between Rs. 10,000 and Rs. 15,000
Till a few days, the LG Optimus P500 was the undisputed champion of value for money phones for people who want more quality than what the el-cheapo Andros offer. That was until Samsung launched the most tempting mid-range Android phone - the Galaxy Ace S5830 - for just a shade under Rs. 15,000.

While the Optimus P500 is still a decent buy for Rs. 12,500, let us tell you why investing Rs. 2,500 more to buy the Galaxy Ace will repay you aplenty. First -- the screen is bigger at 3.5 inches -- imagine the iPhone's screen size. Second, it comes with a higher resolution 5 megapixel autofocus camera with an LED flash (the P500 doesn't have one). Although both the P500 and the Ace run the same type of processor, the Ace gets a speed bump of 200 MHz which brings the clock speed to 800 MHz.

The Galaxy Ace too runs Android 2.2 out of the box. At a price of Rs. 14,990, it is a tempting buy and gets the upper hand in this spot.
Phones between Rs. 15,000 and 20,000
This range is currently ruled by the one and only champion -- the Motorola DEFY. We had a chance to use this phone intensively, and I walked away impressed. It's a tough nut to crack, thanks to the resistance from water and dust. The screen is protected by Corning's scratch-proof Gorilla glass. It has a bigger 3.7 inch high-resolution (854 x 480 pixel) screen, and yet the phone's body is very petite.

The interface runs pretty smooth thanks to the 800 MHz processor and the PowerVR SGX530 graphics chip. The camera doesn't take stunning pics but they're pretty decent in quality overall.

The call quality and network reception is awesome and the loudspeaker is powerful. The only bottleneck in the DEFY is its Android 2.1 OS, but it is expected to be updated to Version 2.2 in the second quarter of 2011.

At Rs. 18,500, you're getting a good set of add-ons when compared to the pick in the category before.
Phones between Rs. 20,000 and Rs. 30,000
For people willing to invest a good sum into feature-packed Android phones in this price range, we'd ask you to do one thing -- HOLD YOUR PURCHASES! Have we gone nuts? Of course, we're a little nutty all the time. But seriously, the main reason for why we're saying this can be explained in three letters -- MWC, or the Mobile World Congress 2011 that's going to happen next week.

The MWC will have all phone manufacturers launch their latest handsets. Phones like the Sony Ericsson XPERIA Arc and XPERIA Play and the Samsung Galaxy S2. Then there are phones like the Motorola Atrix 4G or the LG Optimus 2X that have been formally announced and are expected to start selling soon.

What will these monster phones bring to the table? Some will bring dual-core processors and 1080p HD video playback, higher screen resolutions and biometric fingerprint readers. 8 megapixel camera sensors will become a standard, and front-facing video-call cameras, that were a rarity even in the best Android phones till now, will also appear in many of them.

So, when these phones launch in India at that Rs. 30,000 price range, you'll feel like a fool having spend very close to that amount in purchasing a high-end Android phone today. And once these phones land, we can only expect the pricing of current "high-end" phones like the Dell Venue or the HTC Desire HD to go down for the fear of being called outdated, overpriced handsets.

But if you don't really care about all the features we mentioned above, and cannot wait any longer to buy one (maybe even both), then here are our recommendations. Just don't come crying back saying we didn't warn you.

In the under Rs. 25,000 bracket, we find the HTC Desire to be quite a tempting buy. A big S-LCD display with HTC's eye candy Sense UI and it runs Android 2.2 now. The Desire feels nice to hold and has a good build quality. It's got all the features that an avid smartphone user would want, and a Rs. 22,000 price tag that might seem very reasonable to many.

In the Rs. 25,000 to Rs. 30,000 bracket, if you really had to buy one now, we'd put our money on the Dell Venue, since the original Galaxy S isn't selling anymore. The Venue has a couple of pluses over the former; like a body that isn't entirely made of plastic and the 8 megapixel camera with an LED flash. It sells for Rs. 28,000.

Next week is going to be an insane week for mobile phones enthusiasts, and we can't wait to lay our hands on the new Titans that will be launched. But if you want to buy an Android phone today, hope this guide has helped you make a choice.
source - techtree

11 Reasons Why I Prefer Android Over iPhone

2011-03-16T12:00:00.000+05:30

When it comes to mobile phones, the iPhone seems to stand strong like a lone warrior against a seemingly endless horde of smartphones. But is it really worth the hype? Of late, there has been an army of formidable Android phones, which can do everything that the iPhone can do, and at times do it even better. As a mobile operating system, Android has matured a lot and is maturing more and has achieved the polished finesse of iOS. When it comes to a buying decision, here is how I would go about choosing between the iPhone and the Android phones - I would go straight for an Android phone, and here is why.

1. Availability:

Android phones are almost universally available, unlike the iPhone, which is available only at Apple Stores and a select few stores. Also, nearly all Android phones are available almost instantly in India when they are launched worldwide, but the iPhone is available usually after a year, when it is already too old.

2. Network lock:

iPhone has been notorious for usually being sold with a network lock - it works only with one mobile service provider to which it is subscribed, and fails to register a SIM card of another provider. Android phones do not have such restrictions and the users are free to use any network of their choice.

3. Price:

It has become a frustrating annual ritual - a new iPhone is launched, it is priced exorbitantly and is pretty much out of reach for most consumers. Android phones, on the other hand, are a mixed bag as far as price is concerned, as there are so many of them that almost every price segment is covered and you can choose the Android phone that suits your wallet.

4. Widgets:

Unlike the screen of the iPhone that is littered with icons, Android phones have desktops with widgets with an actual purpose, giving you information at the flick of a finger.

As an example, Data Counter widget instantly displays data usage to check your internet usage, while Twitter widget keeps you updated with your Twitter account's status. Take a look at this article to know what I mean.

5. No need for software application on the computer:

iPhone requires you to install iTunes on your computer and sync with it in order to do just about anything on the iPhone, such as transferring applications, music, videos or contacts. Furthermore, you can sync it with only a limited number of computers. Android phones do not need any such application - simply plug the phone into any computer and exercise complete control over your phone.

Data transfer is as easy as drag and drop. On a side note, I deem the SD card expandable memory option in the Android phone to be better than having no memory slot as in the iPhone, because you can carry additional memory cards with you and use when required without worrying about running out of memory.

6. Convenience:

You can instantly switch on or off Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, Mobile Network or GPS on the Android phone by simply clicking on the provided buttons on the desktop. This goes a long way in conserving battery life. In the iPhone, you have to dig deep into the settings to be able to enable or disable these features.

7. Better web browser:

The web browser on the Android phone is simply amazing. To know what I mean, you have to use and experience it. It is faster than Safari, has every feature that you expect from a web browser, and supports Flash. Being an operating system developed by Google, as expected Google is integrated deep into the heart of Android. Thus, if you want to search Google, simply enter the search button and enter your search string and the results appear swiftly.

Of course, the browsing experience varies with the speed of the processor inside the Android phone, which means that you will get the best browsing experience on the more expensive phones. Also, we must mention here that the web browser on the iPhone 4 is supposed to be the best around, but we don't get the iPhone 4 here in India and even if we were to import it, it is too expensive. There is also a Google Voice app for Android.

8. Notification system:

In the iPhone, there is a very limited notification system. For example, if you are a Twitter user, then you need to open the Twitter app to find the updates.

In Android phones, notifications are better organized. These apps can access the notification system of the operating system and alert you on the notification bar to a new email, voice message, and Twitter or Facebook notification, in addition to SMS. The application runs in the background and you do not need to open it to find out the status.

9. Apps from Market:

Just like the App store from Apple, there are thousands of apps for Android available in the Android Market. Just about every iPhone app has an equivalent, which is usually free. The good thing is that you need not sign into your account every time you want to install an app from the Market, even if the app is free. And yes, Market has more liberal censorship laws for Android apps - Google does not play the moral police.

10. Unlimited personalization:

Android phones can be personalized the way you want. Thus, you can make the phone appear the way you want, and behave the way you wish.

Depending on what type of user you are, you can configure each desktop to serve your needs. If you are a business user, you may want a screen with contacts, emails, stocks and news updates via RSS, etc. A social network user may want to have a Facebook desktop, a Twitter desktop, and so on. You can even add a whole new desktop if you want and set default actions for different contacts. This is not possible on the iPhone.

11. OS update makes your phone better:

Updating the operating system on an older iPhone such as installing iOS 4 on the iPhone 3G, usually results in a much slower performance, forcing me think whether it is a ploy by Apple to force you into buying their newer iPhone. Forget about preventing the OS being updated in older devices after a certain version, Apple does not even have the courtesy of warning the users against the ill effects of updating the OS on older devices.

Android on the other hand, has been seen to actually make the phones work faster with the updated OS. Better still, to avoid any problems as we have seen in the previous example, a trend has been seen where most Android phone manufacturers play safe by setting a limit that an Android phone can update its OS only twice in its lifetime.

Some of the above limitations can be overcome by Jailbreaking the iPhone, but then would you risk voiding the warranty on such an expensive device? I wouldn't.

So there you are, these are good enough reasons for me to decide to go for an Android phone. Please let me know your views in the comments section below.
source - techtree

Nokia X2-01 Review

2011-03-16T11:55:00.000+05:30

Nokia's C3-00 was its first handset that stepped into the ring of the inexpensive QWERTY phones flooding the Indian market by Indo-Chinese manufacturers. But at Rs. 5,800, the C3 is still a few thousands above average price range of the competition.

The X2-01 is an aggressively priced sibling of the C3 that cuts a few corners to get to a price point that will be more appealing to the cash-strapped, QWERTY keyboard desiring phone buyer. Let's find out whether this phone doesn't give up too much to attain that under Rs. 4,000 price tag.

Design and Build:

The Nokia X2-01 is designed differently than the C3-00. Where the C3 had a nice curvaceous body that we adored, the X2-01 has pointy edges and a noticeable use of cheaper quality materials. But fear not, the phone still feels fairly sturdy and shouldn't shatter into pieces after a few drops. The X2-01's design is a bit longish but doesn't cause any inconvenience while carrying it in the pocket.

The screen is exactly the same as the C3 -- a 2.4 incher with a QVGA resolution. Other than the lack of brightness control, we had no complaints with the display given the pricing. Content looks clear, fonts are nice and big thus bettering readability, and with a white background, text is fairly visible even under direct sunlight. The buttons above the keyboard click well and accurately. We liked the messaging and music player shortcut buttons to either sides of the D-pad.

The QWERTY keyboard is more or less similarly designed like the C3's, but for some reason, we felt the type-ability of the C3 was a tad better. Not to say the X2-01's QWERTY is bad -- it offers decent tactility and dedicated keys to frequently used symbols like a full-stop or a comma.

The 3.5mm earphone jack is located rightly to the top of the phone, while the thin-pin charging port is right next to it. The camera sensor and speaker grille lay at the back, as usual.
User Interface and Performance:
The X2-01 employs the exact same interface as the C3-00, so we won't re-iterate the same thing over; and would ask you to click here to read it instead. To summarize, the X2's interface is pretty good overall to use. Its easy, the interface looks much better than the archaic UI's on the Indo-china phones. The only main pitfall with it is its inability to minimize applications, let alone juggle amongst them. So, in case you had Opera Mini opened and you wanted to make an urgent phone-call or SMS, you'll have to close the app to do your thing and start from scratch after you re-open it.

Secondly, Nokia's built-in social networking apps and mail client are kinda laggy and take a long time to open in the first place. After configuring my Gmail account, I felt the advertised "push" mail isn't instant. The phone took around 10 minutes to notify a new e-mail and it missed notifying altogether sometimes.

As a phone, the X2 is pretty much up to the mark. Call clarity and network reception were spot-on. The earpiece volume on the X2 is fortunately loud enough, unlike the earpiece on the C3 which left us wanting for a little more volume. The speaker-phone volume is also loud. One compromise on the X2 in order to get the price down was to pack a VGA camera instead of the 2 megapixel sensor on the C3. Not saying that the C3's sensor was good to begin with, the VGA sensor is just pathetic when you have every other camera phone out there with more than 16 times its resolution. Pics taken in good lighting appear decent on screen, but forget uploading such tiny resolution photos onto even a social networking website. Videos were also shot in a grainy QVGA resolution, but at least maintained a smooth frame-rate.

Despite carrying the generally pro-multi-media 'X' series tag, forget camera quality but even the bundled in-earphones are very very mediocre. They weren't comfortable to wear too and I could not listen to them for more than a minute. But on the brighter side, plugging in a good pair boosted the audio quality through the roof, thus suggesting that all hope is not lost in case you plan to use this phone as a music player. In that case, we'd ask you to purchase a separate pair immediately.

The battery in the X2 has a little lower capacity than the C3's. Still, the phone managed to give be a decent up-time of a day and a half with heavy phone-call usage.

Price and Verdict:
The Nokia X2-01 sells for Rs. 3,850. Although that may sound cheap, but It still cannot match the pricing of phones from companies like Micromax that start at an insanely low Rs. 1,600. As compared to the C3, which still costs Rs. 2,000 more than the X2-01, you're loosing out on the better design and finish, Wi-fi support, the bigger battery and the higher-resolution camera (which honestly doesn't amount to much).

The Nokia X2-01 is a decent phone for somebody who's keen on buying an inexpensive QWERTY that'll help him/her to send-receive emails, chat on instant messengers, tweet and update Facebook statuses and read on the Internet.

The X2 falls under that intense under Rs. 5,000 range, and I would prefer buying it over Indo-Chinese phones only because of a better interface and keyboard design. However, if you're into using two SIM cards with one phone, then X2 isn't going to fulfill that.
source- techtree

Maruti-Suzuki rolls out 1,00,00,000th (1 Crore) car

2011-03-16T11:50:00.000+05:30

Maruti-Suzuki just hit a monumental landmark in the history of the Indian automotive industry by rolling out its 10 millionth (1 Crore) car.

It’s no doubt today that Maruti-Suzuki, the largest auto manufacturer in the country, has been going great guns ever since the company started way back in 1983 (then Maruti Udyog Limited) as a joint venture between the Government of India and Suzuki Motor Corporation, Japan. But today marks an occasion that adds another, rather large, feather in the company’s hat. Maruti-Suzuki became the first Indian car maker to produce 1 Crore cars – that’s 1,00,00,000 cars! The momentous 1,00,00,000th car to roll out of the company’s Gurgaon plant was a Metallic Breeze Blue coloured WagonR VXi.

With this achievement, not only has Maruti-Suzuki become the only Indian car maker to have manufactured 10 million cars, but also joins a select club of automobile manufacturers around the world which have achieved this accolade. Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Shinzo Nakanishi, Managing Director and CEO, Maruti Suzuki India Limited said, “As we reach this historic landmark, we thank our founding partners who laid a solid foundation of values and practices. We thank our customers who have brought us this far. The commitment of employees and continued strong support of business associates has played a critical role all through the journey. Their enthusiasm and commitment is especially reflected in manufacturing around 5 million units just in the last 6 years. Today is a day of pride for the full Maruti Suzuki family.”

As India’s largest passenger vehicle manufacturer, Maruti-Suzuki not only holds a 45-percent market share in passenger vehicles, but also offers a total of 16 models on sale. The road to 10 million cars was not a short one. Since the company started manufacturing the little Maruti 800 in India back in December 1983, the first million mark was hit in 1994, followed by 2 million in 1997. April 2005 saw the company roll out its 5 millionth car and just a hair under 6 years after that, in March 2011, the magic 10 million number was reached. Looking at the company’s current production capacity of 1.7 million units annually, which is swiftly on the rise as well, it won’t be too long before we see 20 million Maruti-Suzuki cars on the road.

source- zigwheels.com

Maruti Suzuki SX4 Diesel : First Drive

2011-03-16T11:48:00.000+05:30

The SX4 made its debut as a muscular sporty sedan that was great value for money. Taking this up a notch is the new SX4 diesel, which promises to be just as macho yet offer the efficiencies of having a diesel heart. Vikram Gour gets under the hood to see how the SX4 fares on a diesel diet

When Maruti Suzuki first rolled out the SX4 sedan in India, it marked the company’s entry back in to the premium midsize sedan segment post the departure of the Baleno. At the time the market was still rather petrol oriented and standing as testament to customer wants and needs was the Honda City, the undoubted king of the premium midsize sedan segment. The SX4 raked in the numbers however it couldn’t pipe the Honda. Having said that, the car has garnered a strong fan following over the years and still remains a strong contender in that market segment.

Obviously this wasn’t enough. Maruti Suzuki was more than adamant to take on the mighty king of the hill and rumours of a diesel variant started doing the rounds. The idea of putting in a diesel engine under the hood clearly made tremendous sense, for this would open a whole new avenue for MSIL to sell the SX4. Further to this, the market was changing and diesel powered cars such as the Volkswagen Vento, Hyundai Verna, Fiat Linea and Ford Fiesta were steadily making inroads.

source- http://www.zigwheels.com

Dell Vostro V130 Review

2011-03-15T14:29:00.001+05:30

Dell wowed us with its Vostro V13 a year back with its sleek styling and aluminum finish; it was very stylish yet extremely functional. There were some minor drawbacks though like no HDMI port, few USB ports and a slightly underpowered processor. A year has gone by and Dell seems to have listened to our complaints (well, some of them at least) and have brought out a new model called the V130. The basic design and ergonomics have remained the same and Dell seems to have stuck to the philosophy, "If it ain't broke don't fix it" and has made some connectivity additions and upgraded the internals.

The Dell V130 is powered by a Core i3 ULV series 380UM running at 1.3GHz. It does not support Turbo Boost but it has Hyperthreading so it should be a bit faster than the older Celeron 743 which also ran at the same speed. The downside of the Core i3 is the higher TDP of 18W which can take a toll on the battery life which wasn't great to begin with. Other than that, Dell has still maintained the low 1.5kg weight and the comfortable keyboard. Let's see how much of a difference these new improvements have really made.

Performance

The keyboard is taken straight from the V13 so it's very comfortable to type on even for prolonged usage. The anti-glare screen means that it can be used even in sun light without much problem. The trackpad is smooth to use and the buttons have a soft press. On the multimedia front, we tried playing some 1080p flash videos after installing the new Flash Player 10.3 for Internet Explorer. Even though the CPU usage was only at 25 percent, the video wasn't very smooth; there was a slight hint of stutter. Since the onboard graphics is quite weak, we didn't even bother trying out any game. The speakers are not too great as well since there isn't any dedicated vent for sound.

Battery life
The battery is exactly the same one fitted in the older V13 which is a 6-cell 30Whr non-removable battery. In our 720p video drain test, the V130 lasted for 1Hr 47min which is a whole 25min lesser compared to the older model. This is mainly due to the higher TDP Core i3 CPU and possibly the 7200rpm hard drive. Under regular usage, the notebook gave us a slightly better 3Hr 15min of back up time which sadly is pretty average today and could have been a lot better. Since the battery is non-removable as well, you can't even upgrade it to a higher capacity one even if you wanted.

Pricing and Verdict
With prices starting at Rs. 37,290, it's similar to the older model. However, the V130 that we received would cost a bit more, we predict closer to 40K as Dell is yet to give us the final price. For this price, you can get better performing multi-media notebooks but that's not the purpose of the Vostro. The V130 is designed to be a sleek and durable business companion and it does exactly that. The build and finish of the V130 is what sets it apart from the crowd. The revised internals gives it a bit more grunt allowing you to watch HD movies with ease. The extra USB port and HDMI is a welcome addition and the anti-glare screen means it's very usable outside as well. It does not come without its flaws though, with all the changes made to the V130, the battery life has worsened which is quite an important factor. We also feel the pricing is a bit high for what you're getting.
Source:- techtree.com

The design hasn't deviated much from the original and this time, we got a ruby red sample which looks really good. The matt finish has a sheen to it which doesn't attract a lot of finger prints and yet looks striking. The Vostro V130 now comes with three USB 2.0 ports instead of two and an HDMI port as well. What's missing is the Express Card slot which is fine since it's hardly ever used. The V130 now comes with a 4GB RAM by default and a choice of 320GB or 500GB 7200rpm hard drive.

The keyboard remains exactly the same and is very comfortable to use. The power button and the status lights have swapped places on the top for whatever reason. The 13.3-inch anti-glare screen sports a 1366x768 resolution which means images and video look sharp and clear.

Overall, the V130 is a nice little upgrade to the earlier V13 in terms of horsepower and connectivity is concerned. Now let's have a look at the performance improvement and more importantly, the battery life.

2011 Audi A6 : First Drive

2011-03-15T13:54:00.001+05:30

There is a new name on the prowl for the battle of the minds in the executive luxury segment and both the Stuttgart star as well as the Munich muscle have been warned, the Ingolstadt express means business as Adil Jal Darukhanawala found out in the course of his drive through Mafiosi territory in Sicily.

Audi (and its parent Volkswagen Group) has been suffering from plenty. All its plants have been working 24/7 and supply just can’t keep pace with worldwide demand. It is a problem many other car makers would love to have on their hands but it is a problem nonetheless and that should worry the marketing men as well as the product planners but how does one tackle it without having to invest in mega bucks production facilities? Well that is not the ambit of this feature but Audi has decided to tackle this with yet another interesting take. After its stunning A8 and A7 models have established its top down quality and performance approach to its technology and luxury perch, Audi has decided to compound the problem (of plenty and not enough to go around!) and confound the skeptics by ushering in yet another all new model!

However, it will be too trivial a detail to think of this as Audi humouring its customer base but the advent of the latest, seventh generation, A6 is in sync with the company’s product development timelines and it can’t have come a day too soon. Especially given the fact that this sort of an executive saloon is so very important to fit in the portfolio of any decent global luxury brand! Having also seen the rapid introductions from Mercedes-Benz and BMW of their latest generation E-class and 5-series models in 2009 and 2010 respectively, Audi’s challenger to these two rival nameplates was always on the cards for 2011. In so many respects the previous generation A6 and its Audi 100 original flattered only to deceive, never having taken the fight to the 5-series or the E-class with as much determination as Audi’s other models have. Sure it was a competent car but it didn’t have that zeitgeist or the soul to stamp its authority on the minds of the enthusiast driver executive and while luxury and craftsmanship was never in doubt, the A6, even with Quattro all-wheel drive was always a degree or so behind in perception and appeal when it came to delivering an involving drive experience.

Speaking of size and proportions, the latest A6 breaks new ground in that it is slightly shorter in length compared to its predecessor but an all new thought in front suspension design has seen the front axle being kicked out to the tune of almost 71mm and this increase in the wheelbase has brought about not just more space for cabin and boot but also helped the surefootedness of the A6 when on the move. And from here on the details to enhance the dynamics of the car while building on classic A6 strengths just keep on adding up. Take weight for example, the new A6 even with Quattro all-wheel drive weighs nearly 80 kilos lesser than its predecessor and is the lightest when compared to equal spec rivals from BMW and Mercedes-Benz. All this has come about thanks to ample use of aluminum, not just in body panels but also in many of the suspension components now being crafted out of this light but strong material. In fact, aluminum accounts for almost 20 per cent of the bodywork of the A6 and this has massive repercussions – for the better – in terms of handling, performance, fuel efficiency and overall emissions!

This creed to set an all new aesthetic standard hasn’t meant a compromise on ergonomics and in fact the A6 goes on to deliver a great driver’s environ while enhancing the luxury and comfort of the other occupants like no other car in its class. Sure Jaguar comes close in this regard but with the new A6, Audi has moved the goalposts a bit further. There is tremendous space, even at the rear when I was slouched low and there was enough of leg room for me to stretch out comfortably. The view out from the infinitely adjustable driver’s seat (heated, cooled and with massage functions incorporated in it as well) is perfect and the controls fall well to hand for the involved driver intent on rapid motoring.

At any other point in time I would not have bet on the Audi but after my drive in Sicily it is clear that the 530d and the E350CDI are in for a torrid time. The manner in which the A6 soaks up the terrain while maintaining body poise through corners slow and fast is terrific to say the least. Apart from the wheelbase getting a 69mm hike in length, the wider front track helps, as does the all-new five-link front suspension. An all new electromechanical steering system is precise and just quick enough to direct the car with almost telepathic intent and there is a bit of feel in it as well, maybe not as much as one would expect from a hydraulic system but then the overall efficiency of this new type of assist is what drives car makers these days. The A6 is also available with optional air spring suspension, another feature moved down from the A8 and it delivers a firm and a very controlled but well damped ride which should be mighty pleasing for many in India where ride quality reigns paramount, as it should. The good thing is that this ride quality is of a supreme order and now comes with terrific handling ability without the front end washing out in fast sweepers.

I have made a point of mention about Audi building two of the world’s great engines, for the A8 in the form of the 4.2-litre TDI as well as the large W12. What many have missed in the glare of well-deserved hype for these two motors is the fact that there is a third and just as impressive motor in Audi’s armoury and this is the engine, which will be the range topper for India. This 2967cc V6 TDI is not about absolute power (242bhp at 4000-4500rpm) or torque (500Nm) but for the way in which its output flows out so smoothly in any cog. And speaking of cogs, lets get enmeshed in the all new 7-speed dual clutch automatic gearbox which is perfection personified, be it when getting this 1715kg car off from rest or when tackling steep gradients or even when going up the box when rapid motoring is permissible. The massive torque of 500Nm is one major ingredient but just as significant is the fact that this entire torque thrust is on call over a very wide band, from as low as 1400rpm to 3250rpm! Now wonder then that the car felt not just light and quick when tripping through the Sicilian countryside but was punchy when coming out of corners and rocketing through.

Absolute speeds mean nothing these days when everything is electronically limited to 250km/h but the drive through the ’box is truly exhilarating. And this brings me to another delightful facet of the new A6. The new 7-speed S-tronic gearbox and the Quattro drive with its new sporty rear differential is rated by its maker to consume just 6.0-litres of diesel for every 100km (works out to 16.6 kmpl) while emitting a low 158 g/km of carbon dioxide! Not bad for a car which can sizzle from rest to 100km/h in 6.1 seconds without ruffling the collars or the composure of its occupants. However the other slightly lower output version of this very engine, with 204bhp on call can go 100km sipping just 5.2-litres of diesel and it is just as effective in its delivery. The A6 with this engine though will not make it to India but what will be is the base A6 model powered by the 2.0-litre four-cylinder TDI and driving the front wheels using a 6-speed manual gearbox. This engine has been tweaked massively and like the others features start-stop and is easily the most frugal of all in the A6 range, delivering over 20kmpl in the EU cycle.

The gasoline-fuelled A6 models employ the 2.8-litre FSI and 3.0-litre TFSI engines and the larger of the two will be there at launch in India around August-September 2011. The TFSI mills are very smooth and creamy in their delivery and in fact run the diesels close on efficiency.

Another area where Audi stands out over the rest is in its innate ability to get the driver hooked up to the digital world in a most safe and intuitive manner. Connectivity seems to be the key word here and with active co-operation from Google it has built in WiFi capability to run eight laptops on the go (now whoever would want to do that many and why is another question altogether!). The driver can also get on the World Wide Web via the large motorized flat screen which pops out of the dashboard using the MMI interface. The Google Earth Maps in the sat nav, which I experienced during the drive in Sicily, was an interesting though gimmicky bit but I am sure the kids would love it.

Delving into its large repertoire of techno-tricks, the A6 features an integrated camera system, which with the help of parking sensors and night vision is a mighty useful driver aid. In fact with the AAC (adaptive cruise control), amazingly one can also be informed of oncoming speed limit changes via the heads-up display.

Overall the new A6 has much to offer and in fact it will all depend on how Audi really emphasizes its strength plus also delivers the brand experience to many who yet are under the magic spell of the three-pointed star as well as the blue and white propeller logos. Given that the new A6 has the ability to run with the best of them and also in most cases run rings around them, this is a car to be watched because it could be the gamechanger this class always needed.

TOPIX heads for biggest loss since 1987

2011-03-15T13:45:00.001+05:30

Japanese stocks plunged 12% on Tuesday on reports of rising radiation levels near Tokyo and lurched towards their biggest loss since the 1987 crash, in a panic selloff likely to compound the economic impact on the quake-stricken country.
Government bond futures soared after Prime Minister Naoto Kan said the risk of nuclear contamination was rising at the Fukushima Daiichi complex on Japan's ravaged northeastern coast, 240 km (150 miles) north of Tokyo.
Equity futures fell and the yen rallied as risky assets were dumped. The yen steadied soon after, raising suspicion that authorities had intervened. The Ministry of Finance declined to comment on intervention.
In contrast to Monday's trading, when construction stocks rose, none of the 225 constituents of the benchmark Nikkei average gained on Tuesday. The broad TOPIX index of Japanese stocks has dropped by a fifth this week.
"All focus is on the nuclear crisis. In the situation where the crisis appears to be worsening, foreign investors, domestic fund operators are pulling out from Japanese shares," Hideyuki Ishiguro, a supervisor at Okasan Securities in Tokyo.
The TOPIX share index plummeted 12.1% to 743.10, after posting the biggest full-day decline since the 2008 financial crisis on Monday on record volume. The index was on course for the biggest one-day drop since the stock market crash of October 1987.
The Tokyo Stock Exchange's biggest companies have lost about USD 720 billion in value this week.
The Nikkei share average dropped 12.7% to 8,399.97, the lowest in two years.
Shares of Tokyo Electric Power, the owner of the stricken nuclear plant, did not trade, although sellers massed at the indicated price of 1,341 yen on Tuesday, down 280 yen, or 17%, from Monday's close. There were no buyers.
The firm's credit default swap spreads, contracts that protect against debt default and restructuring, were 150/170 basis points compared with 40 basis points on Friday an indication of increasing nervousness about the company's future.
Since the quake, the Japanese government's CDS spreads have widened by more than 20 basis points to 99 basis points, but were still narrower than the record 120 basis points reached in February 2009.
Ten-year Japanese government bond futures rose 0.90 point to 140.83, and hit a new high for the year.
In the cash market, the 10-year yield fell to 1.17%, the lowest since January 2011. The 5-year to 20-year yield curve, or the difference between the maturities, steepened to 159.5 basis points.
"The focus is the steepening yield curve beyond 10-year zones ahead of a 20-year bond auction tomorrow," said Chotaro Morita, head of fixed income strategy research at Barclays Capital Securities in Tokyo.
"Amid a lot of uncertainty, there are possibilities of additional bonds issuance with the supplement budget. Investors including life insurers may back off at the auction," Morita said.
The yen was up slightly at 81.53 per dollar, relatively stable in the face of the equity market selloff. Traders were on alert for signs that Japanese investors were repatriating funds, a phenomenon pushed up the yen in the wake of the 1995 Kobe earthquake.
At one point, the dollar spiked against the yen in volatile trading and dealers suspected the authorities may have intervened in the market. They later downplayed the idea.
The dollar had touched a low around 80.60 on Monday, less than a yen from the record low of 79.75 yen touched in 1995 on EBS.
The immediate focus of market participants has been the escalating nuclear crisis. They are also worried that Japan's economy may stall after the 9.0 magnitude quake that struck on Friday.
"The immediate impact on Japan may be stagflationary: negative for growth and upward pressure on the prices of items in short supply such as rice, some other foods and possibly even some materials needed for reconstruction," said Gerard Lyons,
Standard Chartered's chief economist, in a note.
"The scale of the devastation means that the region impacted may take years to recover fully, as it needs major reconstruction and some of the agricultural areas will need to be repopulated; not easy for a country with a rapidly aging population."

Source :- Moneycontrol.com