Techpark

LG Optimus 2x (P990)

2011-08-07T16:22:00.002+05:30

It made news, and heck, the Guinness Book of World Records, as the world’s first smartphone with a dual core processor. And it is also LG’s boldest step into the high-end smartphone segment in recent times, with respectable hardware built around aforementioned chip, leading many to predict that it would emerge as a contender (to quote Brando, Marlon) among the many high-profile devices – the Galaxy S2 and the iPhone 4, to mention just two – that are expected in the Indian market in the coming days. But does the LG Optimus 2X (or the P990, to give it its proper moniker) deliver on its innards and almost Dickensian Great Expectations? We have been using it for a few days now. Hit the jump to get our pennyworth.

MSI cuts corners, launches sub-Rs 15,000 Android tablets

2011-08-07T16:20:00.001+05:30

MSI, the Taiwanese tablet maker, has launched its Enjoy series of tablets in India. The two tablets Enjoy 7 (with a 7-inch display) and Enjoy 10 (with a 10-inch display) are based on Android 2.3.3 aka Gingerbread. Not only are these tablets super affordable with price tags of Rs 13,999 and 14,999 respectively, MSI also claims them to be ‘the lightest tablets in India.’ Neither of the tablets have 3G connectivity and the specs sheet claim a battery life of just 4-5 hours. The tablets are up for sale on various retail chains, plus you can also order one online. Jump the break to check out the tech-sheet of MSI’s Enjoy series of tablets. Features- •Based on 1.2Ghz ARM Cortex A8 processor •7-inch 800 x 480 pixels (16:9), 10-inch 1024 x 768 (4:3) pixels display with multi-touch capability •Wi-Fi/Bluetooth connectivity •Adobe Flash 10.1 support •Dual cameras •512MB RAM •Accelerometer, E-Compass, Ambient Light Sensor •4GB internal storage space •mini-USB, mini-HDMI, 3.5 mm audio jack •Expandable memory up to 32GB •Battery life 4-5 hours •Weight: 395 grams for Enjoy 7 and 795 grams for Enjoy 10

Apple releases iOS 5 beta 5

2011-08-07T15:59:00.001+05:30

Apple has just released iOS 5 beta 5 for developers. While the update continues the tradition of bringing OTA updates to iOS devices, beta 5 will require your device to be erased before being able to update — a little frustrating, though it’s obviously not meant for the general public. Apple also released an updated iTunes 10.5 beta 5 and Apple TV beta 4. •I have noticed the ability to send a photo from the camera roll directly to the Messages app for iMessage or MMS, additionally the inclusion of a camera button in the camera roll to skip back to the camera after viewing a photo. •The terrible autocorrect algorithm seems to have been fixed.

Tata Indicom launches BlackBerry data plans at Rs 99/month

2011-08-07T15:58:00.000+05:30

Tata Indicom has launched new BlackBerry data plans starting at just Rs 99 per month. Tata Indicom users can now enjoy BlackBerry Messaging Services(MaiLite), BlackBerry Internet Service and BlackBerry Enterprise Server plans at Rs 99, Rs 199 and Rs 599 respectively for the first three months after which standard monthly tariffs of Rs 299, Rs 399 and Rs 999 shall be applicable. Jump the break to find out more about these new plans. The Tata Indicom BlackBerry MaiLite plan @ 99 offers support for 10 e-mail accounts along with BBM service (BlackBerry Messenger). The Tata Indicom BlackBerry Internet Service plan @ Rs 199 also offers access to 10 e-mail accounts along with BBM, social networking and internet browsing. The Tata Indicom BlackBerry Enterprise Server plan @ Rs 599 includes all the above mentioned services along with access to corporate data and tight integration with IBM Lotus Domino, Microsoft Exchange or Novell GroupWise

Skype for iPad now available on the App Store

2011-08-07T15:51:00.000+05:30

Skype for iPad is finally available for a free download from the App Store. After displeasing numerous users worldwide by first putting the app for a short while before yanking it off the store, Apple and Skype have finally restored the app on the App Store and can be downloaded from here. Users can do instant messaging while video calling, a feature not available in Skype for iPhone app apart from sending text messages. Apple iPad 2 users can switch between the front and rear cameras in a call. And yeah, users will be able to use Skype over 3G too. Hit the break for a quick demo of Skype running on an iPad.

India’s first MeeGo netbook – the Samsung N100

2011-08-07T15:42:00.001+05:30

All right, the press release runs the headline “Smasung Launches the Super Light N100 Netbook,” but for us, the line that really counted came much lower down. It read: “The device includes Intel’s innovative MeeGo™ operating system…”. No reference to Nokia there, but the stark fact is that India has got its first MeeGo netbook, although the release hastens to point out that DOS and Windows versions are also available. In terms of hardware, the netbook tips the scales at a very light 1.03 kg, has a 10.1 inch LED display, a dual core Intel Atom processor (N435, 1.33 GHz), Intel GMA 3150 graphics, 1GB RAM and 250 GB storage. Of course, we know not much about how MeeGo will work on the netbook, although the release talks of a fast boot-up and “easy access to online and offline contents,…social networks can be viewed at a glance,” but we must confess to being impressed by the price – Rs 12, 290, which makes it one of the most affordable netbooks out there from a major brand. Needless to say, we are curious as hell to see how MeeGo works on a netbook meant to run it (we ran an earlier version on our Asus eeePC, with mixed results).

Motorola Defy is in smartphone race

2011-08-07T15:40:00.001+05:30

Motorola Defy Price: Rs.15399 Key Features •Smart Sensors For An Intutive Media Experience •Swype Texting Support •Splash & Dust Proof Chassis •Can Serve As A 3G Mobile Hotspot For Upto 5 Devices •Scratch & Impact Resistant Gorilla Glass Display The Motorola Defy is a full touch phone that runs on Android OS 2.1 - Eclair (Upgradable to OS 2.2 Froyo). The mobile phone has a TI OMAP 3610 800 MHz processor with 512 MB RAM. The Defy is a sturdy phone with dustproof, water and scratch resistant features. Imaging and video is taken care of by a 5 megapixel camera with auto focus and LED Flash features. The camera can record VGA videos at 30 fps. Additional features attributed to the camera include white balance and anti banding, with ability to digitally zoom up to 5x. Design The capacitive touchscreen of the mobile is fitted with a Corning Gorilla Glass which lends it the feature of being impact and scratch resistant. The 3.7-inch TFT display screen has resolution of 480 x 854 pixels. Weighing 118 g, the Motorola Defy has dimensions of 107 x 59 x 13.4 mm. The screen of the Android device can be rotated in three ways, thanks to the accelerometer. Other sensors loaded into the mobile phone are magnetometer, proximity and ambient light sensors. Storage and Battery This Motorola handset ships with 1.25 GB internal memory and a pre-installed microSD card which brings another 2 GB memory on board. Further an external microSD card can be used to increase the memory to a maximum of 32 GB. The Defy uses a Li-Po 1540 mAh battery that serves talk time of maximum 6.7 hours. Internet and Connectivity For connectivity, the Motorola Defy has Bluetooth and USB. Internet access on the phone is made available by GPRS, EDGE, 3G and Wi-Fi. The handset features Android WebKit browser with Adobe Flash Lite support. Location services are provided by A-GPS and e-Compass. The Crystal Talk Plus feature filters background noise and enhances user voice. The mobile also has access to Google maps and Android market.

Android Mobile Phone and Its Advantages

2011-08-07T15:37:00.002+05:30

If you have not heard of Android mobile phones, you are missing out on the very best of mobile technology. These mobile phones have features and capabilities that are far superior compared to regular mobile phones. Once you experience using these phones, you will never go back to the conventional. What are the disadvantages of using conventional mobile phones? One is the limited options for customization. You are restricted to default themes, and you can barely switch around pages to what better suits you. Another disadvantage is web compatibility. There are a lot of websites that you will be able to access on a PC, but not on conventional mobile phones. The last disadvantage is speed and efficiency. These outdated phones give you little options to multitask and make use of customized mobile applications. These disadvantages make them boring and frustrating to use. With Android phones, it is no longer the same case. When it comes to mobile applications, any mobile app that you download from the Android market is compatible with these phones. This simply means that there is a lot of room for customization. You can now make the phone more your own. When it comes to power, Android mobile phones come with power you never thought possible on mobile phones. They even rival the speed of some consumer electronics like smaller notebooks. This simply means that you get the power of laptops with these phones. With this much power and efficiency, it will be easy to multitask. You can run an assortment of mobile applications and the phone will never leave you hanging. Android enabled cell phones are undoubtedly one of the best things to have happened in recent times as far as technological advancements are concerned. As a matter of fact, Android phones have managed to become the top choice for cell phone users in a very short span of time. So what are Android mobile phones all about? Considered to be the best of mobile technology, Android mobile phones use the open source software Google Android as an operating system as well as platform. The capabilities and features of these mobile phones are far more superior as they use software Android in contrast to others which run primitive real time applications. Like this, there are a host of other advantages that are associated with Android mobile phones. Let's take a look at some of the advantages that give Android cell phones an edge over the conventional ones. • Power - As far as power is concerned, these phones come with power that was simply unthinkable of previously. So much so that they can also rival the speed of smaller notebooks. Therefore with these phones, you can get the power of laptops. With such an amount of efficiency and power, it becomes easier to multitask as well. • Applications- Certainly one of the best aspects of these kinds of phones. When it comes to mobile applications, the user has the unique ability to choose from a wide range of application as well as customize the Google Android platform. Any downloaded mobile application from the Android market is compatible with such phones. This gives the customers an opportunity to personalize their handsets. Some of the features that can be customized are the opening screen, RSS feeds and weather details. Even the opening screen icons can be easily customized on Android mobile phones. • Capable of running all websites - Unlike some conventional mobile phones in which there are often web compatibility problems, Android phones are capable of running all the various websites that can be run on PCs. Whether it is a search engine inquiry, accessibility of social networks, email...you can enjoy all your favorite websites anytime without facing any difficulties. This is has been mainly possible due to its HTML5 compatibility. In addition to this, these phones are also capable of supporting broadband internet which is based on 3G networks. With such amazing features it's more like a computer that you can easily fit in your pocket.

iphone 4 review

2011-06-08T17:53:00.005+05:30

The iPhone 4 is the culmination of years of refining Apple’s iPhone line of products.One by one, Apple has improved features and the latest iteration enhances a number of important elements like display, camera (with Flash), dual-microphone, larger battery and multi-tasking – just to cite a few.The design itself has been updated to use steel and aluminosilicate glass, which is ultra-resistant to scratches (but not shocks). The new antenna design has been generating a ton of controversy recently because of interferences caused by the contact between the user’s hand and the phone itself. So, how bad is it? I will tell you what works and what doesn’t, without sugar-coating or politics. Let’s dive in. Technical Highlights OS : iOS 4 Display :3.5″ LCD IPS 640×960 512MB RAM Memory :16GB of internal storage Camera : 5 Megapixel camera Connectivity :Wifi b/g/n, BT 2.1+EDR, aGPS No Radio Connect : via iPhone connector Apple A4 processor: You will see a ton of articles saying that both the iPhone 4′s A4 processor and the iPhone 3GS Samsung processor are based on an ARM Cortex A8 design – this keep coming, and coming… Well, that’s true, but it means… *nothing*. As I have said before, smartphone chips are pretty much the equivalent of a PC motherboard, complete with CPU, GPU, RAM and other co-processors. The CPU, the Cortex A8 is one among many blocks within the chip. Telling you that a PC has a Core i5 processor doesn’t tell you much about it s overall capabilities – it’s the same for the smartphone chip. Maybe it has a few dedicated co-processors that make video and 3D graphics zippy. Or maybe the bus linking all the parts is super fast and let data flow freely. Or maybe the individual blocks have been designed to be shut down at any moment to save more power. “Based on an ARM Cortex A8″ tells you none of that, so in the future, just discard that stuff when you see it. What you’re buying is the overall experience anyway.

samsung galaxy s2

2011-06-08T16:36:00.005+05:30

Samsung's first generation Galaxy S flagship smartphone, and the myriad variants it spawned, helped drive Samsung to the top of the heap in the Android world. It was fast, had a great display, and offered a solid user experience in general. Samsung's second time at bat, however, promises bigger and better things. The new Samsung Galaxy S II is even larger, yet much thinner, and features a 4.3-inch Super AMOLED Plus display and well over twice the processing power of the original. With HSPA+ data support, slick new user interface features, and Google's Android 2.3 Gingerbread OS, the Galaxy S II establishes a new high-water mark that will force all other devices to scramble to stay afloat. Samsung Galaxy S2 that will have super AMOLED screen, is finally here and every one seems to be very excited due to its great features and stunning look. Another good thing that will entice many fans of this hotly awaited smart phone is the fact that the product will be available unlocked. The smart phone from Samsung’s Galaxy variant is expected to be priced at US$ 699.99 and its unlocked variant is expected to be available on Amazon for sale. But despite the euphoria surrounding its launch, we have reports that suggest that Amazon is still just taking orders for the unlocked Android smart phone from Samsung and it is actually not shipping them right now. The shipping date is expected to be between a month and three months depending on the location. Sprint meanwhile is going to sell the super Android phone from Samsung in July. Though details are still shrouded in mystery and not clear, the price is still to be made clear by Sprint Nextel. Many tech experts have called the latest offer from Samsung as iPhone 4 killer. But we heard similar claims in the past. Nonetheless the reviews from tech pundits are very encouraging for the company To be true Samsung’s Galaxy S2 scores heavily over iPhone 4. It sports an 8mega pixel camera besides a 2 megapixel front camera. It also says that the phone can make full HD video that is not with iPhone 5. Besides its very light and weighs just about 100 grams. It uses 4.3 touch-screen. The phone is expected to be among the costliest phone and the company may not offer big discounts as it used to do in the past. The success of different galaxy smart phone seems to have emboldened the South Korean tech giant that is the second largest mobile phone manufacturer behind only Nokia. The Android smartphone will run on a 1GHz dual-core processor and will have 16/32 of GB storage options. It will have 1GB RAM and will use Google’s latest Android 2.3 Gingerbread operating system

Samsung ships 1 million Galaxy S smartphones

2010-08-31T10:10:00.001+05:30

Samsung has shipped 1 million Galaxy S smartphones in the U.S. since their mid-July launch, the company said Monday. Samsung said the Android-based devices' success can be attributed in part to an aggressive ad campaign. The company has advertised Galaxy S phones on several major TV network shows. It was also quick to point out that its decision to offer the Galaxy S through multiple carriers has helped the smartphones attract customers. Galaxy S is a line of Android smartphones, not a single device. The models released so far have been the Samsung Captivate for AT&T and the Samsung Vibrant for T-Mobile. Sprint will start selling the Samsung Epic 4G, starting Tuesday. And Verizon Wireless will introduce the Samsung Fascinate this fall.

Cisco Systems making a play for Internet phone service Skype

2010-08-31T10:04:00.001+05:30

The blog cited an unnamed source who claims that Cisco has made an offer to acquire Skype before the company completes its initial public offering. Skype filed for an IPO with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission earlier this month. TechCrunch admited that it wasn't able to confirm the rumor, which might indicate that its source is not directly related to the talks. It also mentioned that Google had been interested in buying Skype but is not planning to make an offer, due to potential antitrust concerns. Google recently launched a Skype-like voice service that enables users to make free phone calls from its Gmail e-mail and messaging service. Skype is hoping for a valuation of about $5 billion with its IPO, TechCrunch said. So Cisco would have to meet this price at least to make the offer attractive. While $5 billion is a lot of money, it's not out of reach for Cisco. Typically, the company makes smaller purchases, but it has made big acquisitions in the past. In 2005, it spent $6.5 billion on cable set-top box maker Scientific Atlanta. It's likely that Cisco would want to fit Skype's voice over Internet Protocol and video technology into its existing products, such as its collaboration service from WebEx, or as part of its Unified Communications suite of products. (Cisco bought WebEx in 2007 for $3.2 billion. Skype currently has 560 million registered users, with 124 million using it every month.

Google in talks for movie rental service

2010-08-31T10:00:00.001+05:30

YouTube's fledgling movie rental program may soon be getting some Hollywood muscle in the crowded fight for domination of digital movie and television content distribution. YouTube-parent Google is negotiating with major Hollywood studios to stream movies from their catalogs on a pay-per-view basis by the end of the year, according to a report in the Financial Times. The service is expected to stream movies on demand for $5 each, according to the report, which cited sources with knowledge of Google's plans. A YouTube representative declined to comment, saying: "We have nothing to announce at this time." The move would put Google in competition with Apple and Netflix. Apple is reportedly working on a new digital-video service perhaps tied to a new generation of Apple TV. Netflix earlier this month signed a five-year deal worth nearly $1 billion to stream movies from Paramount, Lionsgate, and MGM. Meanwhile, Hulu, the online video service owned by Walt Disney, News Corp., and NBC Universal, is reportedly considering an initial public offering worth $2 billion. YouTube has long been expected to get into the video-on-demand business, especially since Google removed video content purchases from its (now-defunct) Google Video service at the end of 2007. Google first hinted at its intentions in April 2009 when it announced plans to build payment mechanisms into its video-sharing site. Late last year, reports surfaced that YouTube was in talks with a number of film studios in an attempt to warm them up to the idea of renting out their films on the service. YouTube first delved into rentals in January with a test in conjunction with the Sundance Film Festival, making five films temporarily available for rental. YouTube had said that other films and programs would be made available for rental in the near future but did not name any partners at the time.

Application gives special-needs users a voice

2010-08-31T09:52:00.004+05:30

At $189.99, Proloquo2Go is far from the cheapest App Store offering. Believe it or not, though, that price is actually a bargain--one a certain market is seriously happy to pay. The target market? Parents of kids with special needs--specifically those with autism, apraxia, and other disabilities that affect their communication. Many of these kids can't speak, or can't speak as fluently as their peers, but they understand what's going on around them, and they do have things they'd like to say. Augmentative and alternative communication, or AAC, devices can supplement existing speech or replace speech that is not functional to improve social interaction, school performance, and--not for nothing--to give the kids a better sense of self-worth. Electronic AAC aids use picture symbols, letters, and/or words and phrases to create messages. Equipped with an AAC device, a child with cerebral palsy whose speech is limited suddenly has a way to tell you, "I want to go to Grandma's house this weekend!" or "I ate cake!" Proloque2Go is just one of a growing number of AAC apps quickly gaining ground in the special-needs community. The reason is hardly surprising: before these apps came along, AAC devices could cost upward of $10,000--a cost many insurance companies would not cover. And for that hefty price, you got a heavy, clunky device that screamed, "I am different!" You would have looked cooler lugging an actual Commodore 64 around--though, at least then, you could have rocked the whole retro-chic look. Kids aren't the only ones benefiting from these apps, of course--stroke and accident victims, as well as adults with ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or Lou Gehrig's disease) and other progressive degenerative diseases are also tapping into this growing market Part of the reason Proloque2Go and other similar apps work so well is that they offer Apple's familiar--and intuitive--iOS interface, relatively reasonable pricing, and the ease, portability, and cool factor of an iPhone, iPod Touch, or iPad: tap items in a grid or list view to insert them into the Message window, then tap to speak. Tap and hold to access conjugations, plurals, or possessives. Edit standard items, add custom words or sentences, or customize settings such as icon size or background and text colors. Users can also reorder items within categories, which--as the quick-start manual explains--is critical because users quickly learn where items are located and can concentrate more on what they want to "say." "Proloquo2Go is supereasy to program," said Ellen Seidman, mom to Max, a 7-year-old with cerebral palsy. "In five minutes, I created a 'Weekend folder' with photos I'd copied from the Internet ('I visited Aunt Judy'; 'I went to a park with Daddy'; "I ate chocolate ice cream'; 'I found a ladybug in my house')." Retelling events is an important developmental skill, and giving kids a way to do that--without having to rely on a speech therapist to program an expensive device--is truly a breakthrough for many families. My developmentally disabled 6-year-old was still away at camp when I first got the app loaded on my iPod Touch, so I had to improvise. My (neurotypical) 4-year-old had the app up and running, with no prompting, in moments. He was ecstatic to request dessert, tell me that he needed to go to the bathroom, and insist that it was not bedtime (no dice), all by tapping on the Proloque2Go screen images.

Gmail outage blamed on capacity miscalculation

2009-09-02T13:56:00.001+05:30

Gmail was down from about 12:30 p.m. PDT Tuesday to about 2:30 p.m. PDT, affecting millions of Gmail customers who depend on the service for everything from fantasy football roster updates to business-critical information. The problem was caused by a classic cascade in which servers became overwhelmed with traffic in rapid succession.

According to Google, the problem began when it took several Gmail servers offline for maintenance, a routine procedure that normally is transparent to users. However, the twist this time around was that Google had made some changes to the routers that direct Gmail traffic to servers in hopes of improving reliability, and those changes backfired.

Google fixed the problem by allocating traffic across the rest of its prodigious network, a luxury that it enjoys given the resources it has put in place to operate the world's leading search engine. But what's next? Google said it would focus on making sure that the request routers have sufficient headroom to handle future spikes in demand, as well as figuring out a way to make sure that problems in one sector can be isolated without bringing down the entire service. "We'll be hard at work over the next few weeks implementing these and other Gmail reliability improvements -- remains more than 99.9% available to all users, and we're committed to keeping events like today's notable for their rarity," Treynor wrote.

Motorola Unloads Good Technology After Just Two Years

2009-02-27T15:27:00.001+05:30

Is Motorola shying away from its aspirations to compete with Research In Motion for business customers? That's what the sale of its Good Technology unit to Visto might suggest. Motorola bought the mobile messaging company just two years ago, but the company's fortunes have been on a steep decline since then, and it could be ready to refocus on the consumer market. Struggling mobile phone maker Motorola (NYSE: MOT) announced Tuesday that it will sell Good Technology -- its "push" email, calendar and contacts unit -- to Visto. Terms of the deal, which is expected to close at the end of the month, were not disclosed. The sale comes just a little more than two years after Motorola acquired Good Technology in an attempt to compete with BlackBerry maker Research In Motion (Nasdaq: RIMM) for a larger share of the business customer market. The sale of Good Technology is part of Motorola's strategy for turning around its flagging mobile device business by making it leaner and more focused on the consumer market. It also rids Motorola of a troublesome asset. In 2006, Visto sued Good Technology for infringing on patents associated with its push email and synchronization technology. Motorola's stock was up 3.58 percent to US$3.76 per share in mid-day trading on Tuesday.

Windows Washing: Microsoft Talks Up Tweaks Following Public Beta

2009-02-27T15:25:00.001+05:30

Microsoft has detailed some of the changes it plans to make following its public beta of the Windows 7 OS. Meanwhile, remarks made by the president of a Taiwan laptop manufacturer suggested the final version of Windows 7 may arrive as soon as this fall. Vista, however, remains the company's flagship product, and as such it needs regular service. An SP2 release candidate has been made available to select parties.

With its big round of public beta testing out of the way, Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) is apparently moving quickly to the next milestone on the Windows 7 upgrade path. On Thursday, the company revealed some of the changes users can expect to see in the upcoming Windows 7 Release Candidate (RC) -- possibly the penultimate stage prior to the release of a final product -- in its Engineering Windows 7 blog. Looking at feedback garnered during the first round of public beta testing, Microsoft has been working on incorporating some needed changes. "It should be no surprise, but the Release Candidate for Windows 7 will have quite a few changes, many under the hood, so to speak, but also many visible. The goal of having a fully functional Beta was to make sure we received reliable feedback and not a lot of 'hey this doesn't work at all' sorts of reports. This has allowed us to really focus on delivering a refined RC where the changes we made are all the reflection of feedback we have received," wrote Chaitanya Sareen, senior program manager at Microsoft.

With Gmail Offline, Google's Package Is Almost Too Good to Pass Up

2009-02-27T15:24:00.002+05:30

Recently, Google began experimenting with a way to make Gmail accessible offline. Download an applet, get yourself synced up, and suddenly you're able to write and read stored mail even when you have no Web access. It's not perfect, but setup is generally smooth and it works well, writes reviewer Jack Germain. After a year in development and testing, Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) last month added an offline mail client to provide local access to mail folders when there is no Internet connection.Gmail Offline is still experimental and limited to synchronizing a maximum of 10,000 messages. It does not yet provide offline access to other Google features such as Calendar and Documents, but that capability is rumored to be in the works. It is not yet a perfect solution, but it does work rather well.Gmail Offline makes using the free, Web-based email service more efficient and useful. It solves the nagging problem of not having access to data stored in email folders. Until now, the absence of an offline mail reader has been a major reason for not using Web-based services like Google as a primary email delivery system.The ability to continue work tasks regardless of Internet access puts Google in the forefront of the free Web-based email providers. The addition of the offline email component leaves me with no compelling reason to use other Web-based products such as Yahoo (Nasdaq: YHOO) Mail, Windows Live (aka Hotmail or Messenger Live) or Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) Outlook, which is an offline email application.Until Gmail, with its ample gigabytes of online storage, I couldn't see much use for Web-based email in general. However, working on numerous computers in several locations, I can use Web-based email to centralize my email activity. Google's calendar and document storage, along with its latest feature of offline email access, makes the package almost too good to pass up.

The Nokia 5800 XpressMusic

2009-01-08T14:11:00.002+05:30

While it may not be Nokia's first touchscreen phone (anyone out there remember the 7710?), the 5800 XpressMusic is certainly the first to come out of Finland with a mainstream appeal. What we've alternately known as the "Tube" throughout much of its development cycle is the first production device to run S60 5th Edition -- the fourth major overhaul of Nokia's ubiquitous smartphone platform since 2002 and the first to support fingers, styli, and high-res displays. Speaking of high-res displays, the 5800 comes equipped with an impressive 3.2-inch 640 x 360 resistive touchscreen to go along with its 3.2-megapixel autofocus cam, Carl Zeiss optics, dual LED flash, GPS, WiFi, 3.5mm jack, and a microSD slot with support for 16GB cards. It'll be available in three versions -- European HSDPA, North American HSDPA, and GSM only -- and ships this quarter in black, red, and blue for €279 (about $392) unlocked with an 8GB card thrown in for good measure.

"What iPhone did was to bring the touch element to a multi-media converged device. Since we are already the leader in converged devices in India, Nokia 5800 will be a revolutionary launch from our stable. Our touchscreen bet will have the latest features and will be packed with music." said Nokia India's MD, D Shivakumar.

The price is competitive and plays a crucial part for Nokia to gain a foothold in the touchscreen market as most high end phones like iPhone, Samsung Omnia are priced above 30k.

Microsoft Zune (second generation, 80GB, black)

2009-01-08T14:03:00.002+05:30

Product Summary The good: The 80GB Microsoft Zune MP3 player features a 3.2-inch glass LCD; a user-friendly interface; exceptional navigation control; audio and video podcast support; a superlative FM radio with RBDS information; wireless syncing and sharing; high-quality earphones; revamped Zune Marketplace PC software; Zune Pass subscription music support; good audio quality; and a built-in composite-video output. The bad: The Zune is a PC-only device that requires its own software and still does not support older WMA-DRM9 music files; Zune Marketplace does not offer TV or movie downloads; the USB connection is proprietary; no Wi-Fi music streaming; and the EQ feature has been removed. The bottom line: The Zune has blossomed from an ugly duckling into a worthy iPod alternative. Specifications: Device type: Digital player / radio ; Digital player supported digital audio standards: WMA , WMAPro , Audible , MP3 , AAC ; Digital storage media capacity: 80 GB ; Price range: $162.96 - $399.99

Tornado-detecting dual-iPhone alarm clock

2009-01-06T15:45:00.002+05:30

Taking a page from the boombox trend of the 1980s, iPod-docking alarm clocks are taking on an absurd amount of features in an effort to stand out from the herd. Case in point: the iLuv iMM183, a dual-dock alarm clock capable of charging two iPhones or iPods. This little bedside beauty comes with a remote control, FM radio, EQ control, aux input, and last but not least--an NOAA emergency alert system with localized weather warnings. Aside from the emergency/weather alert display, you're basically looking at the same iLuv iMM173 we saw last year. Still, the list of iPhone-supported alarm clocks is pitifully short and if you're a two iPhone family living in a hurricane zone, the iLuv has you covered.

Google to release Picasa beta for Mac

2009-01-06T15:36:00.002+05:30

Google plans to release on Monday a beta version of Picasa for Mac OS X, helping Apple fans catch up to Windows and Linux users already employing the free tool for editing, cataloging, and uploading photos. The Mac version largely matches the features in Picasa 3 for Windows, said Jason Cook, Picasa's marketing manager. Though the company has been scrambling to include some secondary features such as geotagging and the ability to get photos printed, the core abilities of Picasa are present, he said. Picasa lets people edit and print photos, create collages and movies, and add labels, star ratings, and tags. More significantly, given Google's cloud-computing focus, it also lets people upload their images to the company's online Picasa Web Albums site where images can be shared. Google acquired Picasa in 2004. "We have many Mac users," Cook said, though declining to offer any estimates, "and we think they'll be excited about this. It makes the Picasa Web Albums experience better." Online photo sites are great for several reasons, but problems can arise when people manage separate and different set of images. They often upload only a selection of photos on a PC, for example. Sometimes people upload images to an online site that never make it to the PC. And sometimes people add tags, captions, and titles online but not to the versions on their computers. Picasa takes one important step in dealing with this potential rat's nest: when a person edits a photo on the PC, Picasa updates the version stored online. The reverse isn't true, though, but bidirectional synchronization is "something we're thinking about," Cook said. "We want to make sync as useful as possible." Synchronization with the Mac's bundled iPhoto software is another area where people should tread carefully, though Picasa offers cautionary alerts to try to avert any trouble, Cook said. Picasa for the Mac doesn't interfere with iPhoto, he said, but for example when a person uses Picasa to edit a photo, iPhoto still shows the original, which Picasa preserves. And Picasa will read ratings and tags from iPhoto, but not vice-versa.

Apple to expand DRM-free music, new pricing

2009-01-06T15:35:00.001+05:30

Apple has cut deals that will finally enable iTunes to offer songs free of copy protection software from the three largest music labels, according to two sources close to the negotiations. In exchange, Apple has agreed to become more flexible on pricing, the sources said. Under the terms of the deal, song prices will be broken down into three categories--older songs from the catalog, midline songs (newer songs that aren't big hits), and current hits--said one of the sources. Apple has offered songs free of digital rights management protections from EMI for more than a year. But EMI accounts for less than 10 percent of music sold in the U.S.; these new deals will expand iTunes' DRM-free library to include songs from the other three major labels (Sony BMG, Universal, and Warner Music).

Apple and the music labels have also apparently come to terms on over-the-air downloads, according to a source. That would allow iPhone owners to download songs to their mobile devices via cell networks and without the aid of Wi-Fi. Apple, which closed the deals last week, could announce the agreements as early as Tuesday at the Macworld Conference and Expo in San Francisco. Apple did not respond to requests for comment. DRM-free songs are something that many iTunes users have requested for some time. However, the celebration over their appearance at the country's largest music retailer may be overshadowed by increased prices on some hit songs, which might be seen by some as an Apple surrender on pricing. Apple fans have long applauded the company for holding the line on pricing despite loud complaints from the major music labels. The good news is that the price of catalog music is falling to 79 cents per song. The labels will get an opportunity to price some hit songs for more than 99 cents but eventually those songs will drop to 79 cents, according to one source. Before iTunes users get too worked up, they should remember that song prices at iTunes haven't increased in five years. According to the Consumer Price Index, a 99-cent song in 2002 would be worth $1.17 today. Not only will new music downloads be free of copy-protection software, but Apple and the labels will begin removing DRM from music already available in the iTunes Store, the source said. However, it's unclear what will happen to songs that have already been purchased.

New HP ultraportable first to use AMD Neo chip

2009-01-06T15:28:00.003+05:30

Another Netbook? No, not exactly. Hewlett-Packard's new Pavilion dv2 is an ultraportable, thank you. And the new Athlon Neo silicon inside from Advanced Micro Devices will try to prove that point. AMD is introducing new chips at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas that target the no-man's land between Netbooks and notebooks. Typically, these designs are referred to as ultraportables--the most salient examples being Apple's MacBook Air, the Toshiba Portege, and the Sony Vaio TT series. So what makes AMD's platform different? In one word, price. Ultraportables fall into the boutique category of laptops: very stylish, very slim, very light--and very expensive. Usually ranging between $1,500 and $3,000. HP's notebook with Athlon Neo silicon cuts the price in half. The Pavilion dv2 will start at $699 and top out at $899 for standard configurations.

The dv2, at 3.8 pounds, is slightly heavier than ultraportables that typically weigh between 2.5 and 3 pounds. It is 0.9-inches thick, slightly thicker than more expensive ultraportables like the MacBook Air. But the Pavilion dv2 will pack features such as an AMD-ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3410 separate (discrete) graphics chip, a relatively large hard disk drive (HP lists drives up to 500GB), and a 12.1-inch LED screen. Features that differentiate it from Netbooks and put it squarely into ultraportable territory. AMD Athlon Neo silicon details(Credit: AMD) The dv2 will also come with WWAN (Wireless Wide Area Network) options as well as standard Bluetooth and Wi-Fi. Bahr Mahony, AMD's manager of mobile products, said in an interview that one of the few ultraportables available today with discrete graphics is the MacBook Air, but this starts at a whopping $1,800. (The Air uses Nvidia's GeForce 9400M graphics and Intel's Core 2 Duo low-voltage processors.) The Athlon Neo platform can handle 1080p HD playback and a "casual" gaming experience with realistic 3D graphics, using the optional ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3410 graphics chip. AMD's Athlon Neo processor--formerly code-named "Huron" under the platform codename "Yukon"--runs at 1.6GHz and has a power envelope of 15 watts, comparable to Intel ULV (Ultra Low Voltage) Core 2 Duo processors that power ultraportables today. AMD's Neo does fall short in one respect, however. Currently it is only single-core, whereas Intel ULV processors are dual-core at a comparable power envelope, and, moreover, typically integrate 6MB level-2 cache memory to boost performance. AMD's Neo has only 512K of cache memory. A dual-core chip, code-named "Conesus," will come in the second half of this year, according to AMD's Mahoney. The first HP Pavilion dv2 ultrathin notebook is expected to be available from HP in the second quarter.

Lenovo Unveils Giant Two-Headed Laptop( ThinkPad W700)

2009-01-06T15:22:00.004+05:30

Lenovo's latest behemoth notebook PC sports two monitors -- a 10.6-inch screen slides out of a 17-inch screen for dual-monitor multitasking. Weighing in at 11 pounds, the W700ds makes for a tough schlep, but it pack a big hardware punch for those who need workstation power that's more easily transported from one spot to another than a full-blown workstation.

As gadget makers gear up to show their wares at the 2009 Consumer Electronics Shows (CES) in Las Vegas, Chinese hardware maker Lenovo debuted a host of new laptop PCs, the most striking of which offers users a dual-screen configuration. The ThinkPad W700ds features a 17-inch primary screen with a 10.6-inch slide-out secondary screen. It is the first mobile workstation with two built-in displays, according to Lenovo, and will enable users accustomed to working with two monitors the ability to operate in a mobile environment. Prices start at $3,663. Along with the dual screen ThinkPad, Lenovo also unveiled three new Y Series laptops ranging in size from a 16-inch model to a 14-inch notebook, priced between US$829 and $1,199. Lenovo also gave its S10 netbook a makeover, adding new multimedia and networking features. The newly outfitted S10 retails for $350. Rounding out the new PCs is the IdeaCentre A600 desktop, which includes an Intel (Nasdaq: INTC) Core 2 Duo processor, optional ATI (Nasdaq: ATYT) graphics card and a hard drive with up to 1 terabyte of storage . Available in April, the desktops start at $1,000.

The ThinkPad W700ds is not just about the displays, however. The mobile workstation also includes optional features such as Intel's mobile quad core and extreme processors, dual hard drives with RAID (redundant array of independent drives) configurations and Nvidia's Quadro FX mobile graphics hardware. It includes up to 8 GB of high-speed DDR3 memory as well as a choice of solid state drive storage or traditional hard disk drives with up to 960 GB of storage. On the multimedia end, the system offers an optional DVD disk drive and high-speed UDMA (Ultra Direct Memory Access) compact flash reader, support for Dual Link DVI, Display Port and VGA, a 7-in-1 multicard reader and five USB ports. Connectivity options include WiFi with select models offering WiMax support. Security-wise, the dual screen laptop includes an optional fingerprint reader and hard drives with full-disk encryption.