TECH world

How Get the fastest Internet connection ever

2013-03-02T01:28:00.001-08:00

Increase Your INTERNET Connection Speed

It has always been a geek’s dream to have the fastest Internet connection ever, and we bet you would desire the same too. Almost all those who are hooked on to the Internet to surf, download or entertain themselves would definitely be owning an broadband connection at home. It could be via a telecom service provider, your local cable guy or 4G wireless Internet providers. Some even own 3G USB Internet dongles for their work and entertainment while being outdoors. Most smartphone users today also opt for 3G Internet services on their phones and tablets. All these connections can be individually used on your PCs, laptops and handhelds efficiently.

Download, set up and activate the utility

Though you can connect them all together on a single PC and access the Internet, the Internet speed will be only drawn from the last connected network, leaving the others unused. For instance, you have four different Internet connection sources A, B, C and D. Your PC will access Internet from A when it is connected. The moment you initiate a connection from B, the PC will divert all network connections via B, leaving A unused. The same happens when C is initiated; A and B are unused and it applies the same to D. The operating system is not smart enough and does not know that there are multiple Internet networks. It needs help, but is unable to do so. In Linux, it is possible to do so by tweaking the kernel, adding some modules and running some scripts that will tell the operating system about the various active Internet connections and balance the network load accordingly. On Windows, it is not possible and a third-party utility is required.

Single connection speed

Clubbing all your available Internet connections into one single mammoth pipeline was not possible until Connectify, a well known software development company which developed Connectify hotspot, a virtual software router for Windows, stepped in. It kickstarted a campaign to help collect funds for the project and achieved it. It finally came up with Connectify Dispatch, a utility to connect to multiple Internet connections for combined speed and reliability. Using this utility, you can now connect all your available Internet connections – be it from a DSL modem, a wired cable connection, a wireless router, a tethered mobile phone or a USB Internet dongle – into a single mega broadband connection. Read ahead to know how you can do it in four simple steps.

All adapters active and associated with Dispatch

Step 1: Download Connectify Dispatch and install it. It is not a free utility and there are no demo versions available. The utility costs Rs 5,114 for a lifetime license, which includes the HotSpot Pro utility as a bundle. Optionally, you can opt for a one year license for Rs 4,023, but we recommend the lifetime offer, which is reasonably cheaper than this one. Once installed, activate the utility and you can see it running, but not active, in the system tray.

System tray showing adapters activated and deactivated

Speed using a single Internet connection only

All Internet connections combined as a single large bandwidth

Step 2: individually set up and test all your Internet connections on the PC. Install the USB dongles, tethered phone, wireless network, Ethernet cable Internet, or whatever sources you may have. Ensure they are working and all connected to the PC.

Using only three connections

Step 3: Double-click on the Connectify icon in the system tray to pull up the Dispatch user interface. Here you see the Dispatch utility, which is not started as yet. There is a graph available to know the bandwidth of all your available connection’s, and the overall bandwidth speed. Also, you will see the number of active adapters (Internet connections) in the lower half. Other icons available are Hotspot (to start the Wi-Fi hotspot) and Settings (to tweak a few changes).

Step 4: Connect, enable or start all your Internet connections. Once all are active, hit the ‘Start Dispatch’ button on the Dispatch window and you are ready to cruise the Internet highway by utilising all the Internet connections simultaneously. The Dispatch utility will automatically combine all the Internet connections together, analyse each one of them and route the Internet traffic accordingly whenever and wherever necessary. You can check the download speeds by downloading some large file, video or torrent. You will definitely notice a difference.

Assign individual applications to select particular Internet routes

How we tested
1. Internet connection A – Tikona Wireless 4G broadband via Ethernet – 2 Mbps speed.
2. Internet connection B – Tata Photon Plus 3G USB internet dongle – Speeds up to 3.1 Mbps.
3. Internet connection C – Tata Photon Plus 3G USB internet dongle – Speeds up to 3.1 Mbps.
4. Internet connection D – Tata Photon Plus 3G USB internet dongle – Speeds up to 3.1 Mbps.

Set bandwidth limitations for each Internet connection

The setup was done on a Lenovo laptop and was conducted inside a house in the suburbs of Mumbai. The testing was done at night around 1 AM when we could obtain maximum speeds and minimum interferences from any other networks in the surroundings. As we all know, the USB 3G Internet dongles claim maximum speeds of up to 3.1 Mbps, but this entirely depends from area to area. In our case, the maximum Internet speeds we acquired was between 800 Kbps to 1.5 Mbps at any given time. The Tikona connection was stable at around 2 Mbps. In all, estimating the USB dongles gave us around 1.2 Mbps speeds and the Tikona Wireless giving us around 2 Mbps speeds, clubbing them together, the speeds we acquired was a little more than 6 Mbps.

Override the default DNS

Testing and using the Connectify Dispatch for a few hours, we definitely state that the utility works and can benefit those who are looking for higher broadband speeds. BitTorrent is designed to make use of many network sockets simultaneously, which makes it a perfect application for Connectivity Dispatch.

Select adapters to act as Primary connections or stay as backups

Other options possible with Dispatch
You can further tweak the Dispatch utility to benefit your work. You can set up individual applications to use particular Internet connections to balance the load manually too. In this way, for example, you can download multiple files from Hotfile, Rapidshare, Mediafire and other similar file hosting websites that have IP-based time limitations to download the next file. It can also benefit those who want to download particular files faster than others, such as torrents can be on a faster bandwidth while smaller files can use the slower Internet connections.

Start Hotspot with a combined speed and share it to other devices

You can also use Dispatch to balance the load as per your will. You can set it to keep particular Internet connections as standby or backup connections in case any one of them fails. Other options available are to use DNS servers other than the ISP provides you. You can use Google or OpenDNS to your advantage. You can also meter individual connections to limit the Internet usage so that you don't exceed the download limits according to your plans. This can be done on daily, weekly or monthly rules according to your download plans. Lastly, you can set Dispatch to draw the bandwidth from the available connections that have the best latency and reliability.

An Android phone using Hotspot over Wi-Fi with full combined speed

Finally, if you have bought the Dispatch + Hotspot utility together (Rs 5,114), you can start up HotSpot and share this combined mega-Internet pipeline to all other computers and devices on the network wirelessly or using a router.

Connectify Dispatch is a very powerful utility that can benefit small and large business environments too. Take for example, a large organisation that provides most of the employees with a USB Internet dongle for use when they are travelling. When they are not travelling, the Internet connection is wasted as they are lying unused and the office Internet connection is used at work. By using these dongles on a PC installed with Dispatch, the entire bandwidth can come in handy for the entire office to have a faster Internet connection. Other areas where Dispatch can come in very handy is for video chat, online high-definition and 3D video entertainment, distributed or cloud gaming, online backups and data sync servers, remote desktop sharing, and a few others.

Micromax XOLO A1000 Specifications

2013-03-02T01:23:00.000-08:00

First Impressions: XOLO A1000

Hot on the heels of the Canvas HD announcement by Micromax, XOLO spared no time in announcing its answer to the competition. The A1000 is priced at Rs.13,999, so it competes directly with the A116 from Micromax. We’ve been playing around with the handset for a bit and these are our initial impressions of XOLO’s attempt at causing a stir in the budget Android space.

Design and build
Given XOLO’s excellent build of the A800, a phone we all loved very much, the A1000 follows a similar path and does not disappoint. As soon as you remove it from the box, the massive screen, along with the shaved down bezel, screams style. The build and finish of the A1000 is a lot better than the Canvas HD with acute attention to detail and very good aesthetics. We can safely say that the handset easily rivals smartphones double its price. The phone is a bit on the heavier side due to the battery, but it still sits comfortably in your pocket. The silver strip on the side along with the chrome trim running along the edge gives it a classy and expensive look.

Very good fit and finish

The IPS panel packs in an HD resolution (1280 x 720) just like the Canvas HD. The display also uses, what XOLO calls, One Glass Solution (OGS) where the display panel and outer glass are fused together, making the display thinner overall. Due to this, the display does look slightly sharper and the colours, more saturated. The front features a 1.2MP BSI camera along with the sensors. The capacitive buttons works well and even have backlighting. The power button on the side is a bit of a stretch for your thumb and the same goes for the volume rocker. Below it is another button that can snap a picture or take a screenshot. The rear cover is a bit too flexible and there is a possibility of it cracking over time if you’re not careful. The 8MP rear camera protrudes out, just like the A116 and is prone to scratches. Instead of the glossy white finish, we were hoping for a matte finish, like the A800 had. This has much better aesthetic appeal and doesn’t attract too many fingerprints. As far as aesthetics go, the XOLO A1000 wins any day over the Canvas HD.

Interface
The UI is pretty much identical to the Canvas HD except for one critical difference – it's not as smooth as the A116. Despite both handsets running on Jelly Bean and with 1GB of RAM, there is a very noticeable lag in the menus and animations. The A1000 is powered by a dual-core MediaTek SoC, but we doubt it would have such a negative effect on performance. The Galaxy Nexus uses a dual-core and it runs Jelly Bean just fine. We’ve spoken to XOLO about this issue and the company has agreed to send us another unit, just in case it was a piece fault, so we’ll reserve our verdict for now. Other than this, it’s business as usual. XOLO has also bumped up the dpi of the icons just a little bit, so they all appear a bit larger.

This is supposed to be an 8MP camera

Camera
If the lag in Jelly Bean was puzzling, it’s nothing compared to the surprise that awaits you in the camera interface. In the picture settings, you have the option of going all the way up to 12MP! The reason why this is strange is because XOLO’s website states that it’s an 8MP BSI shooter. Anyways, here’s a first look at the capabilities of the supposed 12MP camera.

Proof of the supposed 12MP camera

Decent depth of filed in macro shots

We also found the camera interface to be very laggy, unlike the interface of the A800. We’re hoping this is an issue with the build or some sort of glitch, since there’s no excuse given the specs and the fact that it’s Jelly Bean.

Pricing could be an issue
The A1000 has the potential to be a hot-seller but XOLO has to do better with the pricing. The Canvas HD is available for the exact same price and offers a more powerful SoC and much smoother UI. At a price of roughly Rs. 10,000, the A1000 would be more attractive, provided XOLO fixes this lag issue and figures out if its bundling an 8MP or a 12MP camera. In any case, we’re hoping our replacement unit would fare a lot better before we put it to the test.

Stay tuned for the full review and camera comparisons with the Canvas HD A116 only on tech2.com.

Smartphone and tablet launched in India in Febrauray

2013-03-02T01:16:00.001-08:00

Latest Smartphone and tablet

In the hustle-bustle of everyday life, you might have missed the launch of smartphones and tablets this week. Worry not. Here’s our round-up of this week’s launches. Let’s start with the smartphones.

HTC One
The much-awaited HTC One was unveiled by the company in London and New York and there’s a good chance we could see the handset in India in March, with the global roll-out of the handset.

The HTC One is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 processor with each of its four cores clocked at 1.7GHz. It comes with an Adreno 320 GPU and has 2GB of RAM. The new flagship has a 2300 mAh battery, which is not user-accessible. HTC One has dual front stereo speakers along with Beats Audio, a package which the company calls "HTC BoomSound".

The HTC One has a 4.7-inch full HD display

Other specs of the phone include:

4.7-inch SuperLCD3 display with 1080p resolution and pixel density of 468 ppi
HSPA+; LTE, Cat3, 50 Mbps UL, 100 Mbps DL
Wi-Fi 802.11 a/ac/b/g/n, Wi-Fi Direct, DLNA, Wi-Fi hotspot
Bluetooth v4.0 with A2DP
GPS and GLONASS
NFC
Infrared blaster
HTC Ultrapixel primary camera with simultaneous HD video and image recording, geo-tagging, face and smile detection, OIS, HDR Video and HTC Zoe
2.1MP front camera with 1080p video recording and HDR mode
32/64GB internal storage
MHL-compatible microUSB

The One comes with HTC's Sense 5 and BlinkFeed, a new homescreen experience

Videocon A27
Videocon Mobile launched the Videocon A27, a dual-SIM low-end handset priced at Rs 5,999. The A27 is powered by a 1GHz Broadcom processor with 3.75G capabilities.

Videocon A27

Here's a quick look at Videocon A27’s specs:

4.0-inch WVGA capacitive touchscreen display
Dual-SIM 3G, GPRS/EDGE/WCDMA
Wi-Fi with Wi-Fi hotspot
Bluetooth 3.0 with A2DP
GPS and A-GPS support
3MP rear + front VGA camera
Internal memory expandable up to 32GB

Videocon A27 runs Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich and comes with pre-loaded applications for news, music and movie editing.

Huawei Ascend Y210D
Huawei launched yet another entry-level smartphone, the Ascend Y210D. The phone is priced at Rs 4,999.

The Ascend Y210D has a 1GHz Qualcomm processor ticking underneath but only has 256MB of RAM, which explains why it only runs Android 2.3 Gingerbread and not ICS or Jelly Bean. However, the battery life should be good thanks to the 1700 mAh battery that comes with Huawei’s Power Saving Technology.

Huawei Ascend Y210D

Other key specs of the phone include:

3.5-inch HVGA display
Dual-SIM, dual-standby, 3.5G, GPRS/EDGE/WCDMA
Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n with Wi-Fi Hotspot
Bluetooth with A2DP
GPS with A-GPS support
2 megapixel camera with CMOS sensor

The Ascend Y210D is available in two colours – Ceramic White and Phantom Black.

Swipe Fablet F2 and Fablet F3
Swipe Telecom launched two smartphones that cater to the phablet-crazy market. The Swipe Fablet F2 and Swipe Fablet F3 are price at Rs 7,590 and Rs 9,290, respectively.

Swipe Fablet F3 runs Android 4.1.1 Jelly Bean and comes with 512MB DDRIII RAM and is powered by a 1GHz dual-Core Processor.

Swipe Fablet F3

Here's a quick look at the specs of the Fablet F3:

5-inch display with 5-point multi-touch screen
Dual-SIM, 3G, GPRS/EDGE/WCDMA
Wi-Fi with Wi-Fi hotspot
Bluetooth with A2DP
5 megapixel rear camera and 0.3MP front facing camera
4GB built-in memory, expandable up to 32GB
FM Radio

The Fablet F3 is fuelled by a 2200 mAh battery. Swipe has introduced 360° Camera Technique, a camera technique which shoots pictures in .mop format and presents a 360-degree view of the subject. Fablet F3 comes with three back casings (Black, White and Trendy Blue), which are available to the users for free with the Fablet. The device also comes with a Free Business Navigator (flap cover) to protect the device from dust and scratches.

The Swipe Fablet F2 is powered by a 1GHz Processor and runs Android Gingerbread 2.3.6 OS; it also has a 2200 mAh.

Swipe Fablet F2

Here's a quick look at the specs of the Fablet F2:

5-inch WVGA capacitive multi-touch screen
Wi-Fi with Wi-Fi hotspot
Bluetooth with A2DP
5MP back camera, 0.3MP front- facing camera
4GB built-in memory, expandable upto 32GB

The Fablet F2 comes in Black, White or Trendy Blue colours. The smartphone has an in-built FM receiver for music on the move.

Intex Aqua Style
Intex Technologies launched the massive Intex Aqua Style priced at an attractive Rs 11,200. The Aqua Style is dual-SIM (2G+3G) phablet that runs on Android Ice Cream Sandwich. The phone is powered by a 1GHz Dual-Core processor and has 512MB of RAM.

Intex AQUA Style

Here’s a quick look at the specs of the Aqua Style:

5.9-inch capacitive touchscreen with a resolution of 480 x 800 pixels
3G + 2G, GPRS/EDGE
Wi-Fi with Wi-Fi Hotspot
GPS with A-GPS support
Bluetooth
8MP rear camera with flash, 1.3MP front camera
4GB internal memory offering 1GB free space, expandable up to 32GB

The phone has a 2500mAh battery, which gives user a talk-time of 3.5 hours and 100 hours of standby. It comes with 3D equaliser for the music player and is available in black or white.

Plenty of options to choose from when it comes to smartphones, but tablet launches aren’t far behind. Three Indian manufacturers launched slates this week. Here’s a round-up.

Micromax Funbook P600
After the Canvas HD launch, Micromax has turned its attention to tablets with the launch of the Funbook P600, available online for Rs 9,499. The Funbook P600 is powered by Qualcomm MSM8225A ARM Cortex A5 1Ghz dual-core processor. It runs on the Android 4.0.4 operating system and comes with 512MB RAM

Micromax Funbook P600

Here’s a quick look at the specs of the Funbook P600:

7-inch capacitive multi-point touchscreen
3G, GPRS/EDGE
Wi-Fi with Wi-Fi hotspot
2 megapixel rear camera along with front-facing camera
2GB internal memory, expandable up to 32GB

The company claims that the tablet’s battery should last up to 10 hours under normal usage and has standby time of up to 224hrs.

Penta T-Pad WS707C
Pantel Technologies launched the Penta T-Pad WS707C, a Jelly Bean tablet with a price tag of Rs 7,999. The Penta T-Pad WS707C is powered by a Cortex A9 1GHz processor, has a Mali 400 GPU and 1GB of DDRIII RAM. It comes with a SIM slot. The device comes with multi window support a la the Samsung Galaxy Note 2.

Penta T-Pad WS707C

Here’s a quick look at the specs of the Penta T-Pad WS707C:

7-inch multi-point, capacitive touchscreen with a resolution of 1024 x 600 pixels
EDGE/GPRS
Wi-Fi capabilities
Bluetooth
0.3MP front camera, 2MP rear camera
8GB internal memory, expandable up to 32GB

The tablet is fuelled by a 3000 mAh battery. The Penta T-Pad comes bundled with 3D goggles and supports a wide array of video and audio. It also has a USB port, an HDMI Port and a TF card slot.

Go Tech funTab 2G Talk
Go Tech Digital unveiled a new addition to its funTab range of tablets, the funTab “2G Talk”, priced at Rs. 6,999. As the name suggests, the tablet has a SIM slot that supports voice calls.

The tablet has a Boxchip A13 Cortex A8 1.2Ghz CPU ticking under the hood along with a dual-core Mali-400 GPU. Additional processing power comes thanks to the 512MB DDR2 RAM.

Go Tech’s funTab 2G Talk

Other specs of the device include:

7-inch capacitive LCD touchscreen with a resolution of 800 x 480
Voice calling on 2G connection
Wi-Fi IEEE 802.11 b/g/n with Wi-Fi hotspot, Data dongle support
Bluetooth with A2DP
USB with host support
2 megapixel rear camera and VGA front-facing camera
Internal memory of 4GB, which is expandable up to 32GB

The tablet will launch with Android 4.0.3 Ice Cream Sandwich and will have a 3000 mAh battery.

wirelessly charge your Samsung Galaxy S3

2013-03-02T00:53:00.001-08:00

How to wirelessly charge your Samsung Galaxy S3

Charging the battery – and that too without a cable via induction – will be one of the most important features of the forthcoming generation of smartphones. In this tip, we show you how you can upgrade this function even today in your mobile phone. eBay is full of individual induction mats and also individual battery compartment lids for several different handsets. Since the technical details of the components are normally not very strong, we generally do not recommend these products. The reason: more, or less, voltage builds up depending on how many windings are present in the coils, in the mat and battery compartment lid. The result could be that the smartphone is not charged, or worse, is maltreated with over-voltage, which could again lead to the battery getting destroyed.

Well-suited: the induction test by Palm
You would be better off buying a set consisting of an induction mat (or in this case: block) and matching battery compartment lid. This is already available at online auction houses from Rs. 1800 onwards. We settled on a product by Palm, as the oblique, magnetic induction block is well suited to keep the mobile in view while charging. The set is actually an upgrade kit for the Palm Pre. As mentioned, there are other options in eBay.

Takes somewhat more time, but is convenient
You cannot expect induction charging to work wonders. But that has got nothing to do with self-built or bought; rather, it is technology-related. The efficiency of such an energy transmission lies between 60 and 70 percent. About one-third of the energy expended is lost. But that does not make it particularly expensive; since very little current generally flows over here, it is not so bad when one-third of very little is lost. The only thing is that it takes a bit longer till the battery is fully charged by induction.

For this particular DIY, we have selected the Samsung Galaxy SIII as the test device. This could also apply to other handsets as well. After we had received the Touchstone kit from Palm, we first tested to see if the transferred current was fundamentally sufficient to charge the device. We found it was validated, removed the secondary coil from the Palm-Pre lid after that and applied it in the battery compartment lid of Samsung Galaxy SIII. After that, only the contacts of the secondary coil have to be connected with the charging contacts of the Samsung handset – and that completes the induction charging handiwork. A special app, or even a driver, is not required, by the way. The Samsung system recognises that current lies at the internal contact, interprets it correctly as wireless charging and responds accordingly.

How it’s done

1 Preparation
Get yourself an induction charging kit. It would be best to buy a battery compartment lid and mat (or block) in a bundle. Thus, you can be sure that one matches the other and that the current transmission is also functional. Also, get hold of a soldering rod, tin-lead solder, some stranded wire and a cutter knife.

Step 1

2 Soldering the Palm Lid
Before you really get going, you should test whether the whole thing actually functions and that the charging process actually starts. Therefore, solder two thin wires on the contacts of the secondary coil.

Step 2

3 Connecting the Charging Pins to the Test
Next, solder the free ends to the inner pins of the Galaxy SIII. If you have another mobile model, you should find out on the Internet how best to get hold of the correct pins for charging. Also, pay attention that the wire which is soldered in the Palm at the lower contact is soldered at the upper contact in SIII.

Step 3

4 Executing Functional Test
Now check if a current is flowing by laying the Palm lid on the plinth (connected with the power supply). The SIII should now show >>Wireless charging.

Step 4

5 Removing the Secondary Coil
Disconnect the cable from the Palm lid and carefully remove the coil from the lid.

Step 5

6 Inserting the Secondary Coil
Stick it into the SIII lid. Remain in the centre as much as possible so that the lid fits later on.

Step 6

7 Closing the Smartphone
Trim the cable and solder the ends to the contacts of the secondary coil again. Finally, reassemble the device.

Step 7

8 Wireless Charging
Lay your smartphone on the charging block for testing – the charging process should now begin.

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Tags: Wireless Charging Kit , Make your phone Wireless Charging compliant , How To ,

Disclaimer
We've thought very carefully about the advice given above. And while we can state, categorically, that all effort has been made to ensure that it is reasonably sound advice, we cannot guarantee that your problem will be solved. Tech2 does not warrant or make any representations as to the accuracy, usefulness or completeness of the prices, data, recommendations, advice, and any other information.

Tech2portal disclaims all responsibility and all liability for all expenses, losses, damages, loss of face, costs, or anything worse that you might incur as a result of the information on this page, or any linked website.

Do not attempt to troubleshoot, repair, or modify any device without understanding and following all of the relevant safety guidelines! Do also please keep in mind that repairing a product on your own while it is under warranty, will automatically nullify the warranty provided by the company.

Simulate Firefox smartphone OS on your PC

2013-03-02T00:43:00.002-08:00

How To Simulate Firefox smartphone OS on your PC

Mozilla is gearing up for the launch of its Firefox OS. Naturally, the mobile community seems very curious to see just what this all new OS will bring to the table. Developers are also working hard on apps for the new OS, and Dev devices like the Keon and Peak are already in their hands. Here you’ll find a simple way to get your own hands-on demo of the upcoming mobile OS before it makes it to the commercial space. So read on to find out how you can get a glimpse of the OS from the comfort of your Firefox web browser.

Developer phones equipped with the new Firefox OS

Firefox OS is a Linux-based operating system for smartphones and tablets and is being developed by Mozilla since a few years now. It is designed to allow HTML5 applications to integrate directly with the device’s hardware using JavaScript and it has been tested on Android-compatible smartphones and Raspberry Pi. Presently, you cannot install it on your phone, but the only way you can get a feel of it is by using a simulator on your desktop PC. The operating system is based on three major software layers within—Gonk (the Linux kernel), Gecko (the application runtime) and Gaia (the user interface). The operating system is still in its test phase until the launch date and the desktop build is code-named Boot2Gecko (B2G). It is available for testing on all platforms, namely, Windows, Mac and Linux. To cut short the encyclopedia about the OS and get to the simulator part, read on ahead.

What you need to get the Firefox OS running on your desktop PC is just the Firefox browser extension and, of course, the browser itself. The procedure is similar to all operating system platforms. Let’s get started.

Step 1: Download and install Mozilla Firefox if you don’t already have it on your PC. The present version is 19.0 for Windows and you can download it by clicking this link.

Download and install Firefox on your PC

Step 2: Next, you will need the simulator extension. Click on this link and download the appropriate file for your operating system. The file is around 67 MB and will be downloaded with the extension name .XPI.

Download the emulator for Firefox OS

Step 3: Download the file and save it to your desktop. Start Firefox and click on "Tools" and then on "Add-ons". On the newly opened tab, click on the settings icon on the top right side located before the search bar. Next, click on "Install Add-on from File". Browse the desktop, select the .xpi file you just downloaded and click on "Open". In the next dialogue box, click on the "Install" button; the Extension will be added in a few seconds. You can install add-ons using the drag-n-drop method too. Simply open Firefox, drag the .xpi file into the browser window and Firefox will automatically install it. Restart Firefox if asked to.

Add the add-on into Firefox for PC

Install the add-on

Launch the simulator

Start the Firefox simulator

Step 4: You are ready to check out the new smartphone operating system on the simulator from Firefox. Click on "Tools", then on "Web Developer" and finally on "Firefox OS Simulator". A new tab opens up indicating the simulator button on the left column and highlighting that it is stopped. Click on the icon to start it and a new floating window will pop up with the smartphone operating system.

Check out the user interface and settings in Firefox OS

Play around with a few apps, install apps from the market

Have fun checking out the new OS and see what is new. Check out the settings and install new apps by downloading them from the Market Place. The OS, as we mentioned, is still in development phase. It is an experimental prototype of the actual version and is a bit buggy.

Android users can now type in Hindi

2013-03-02T00:37:00.001-08:00

Android users can now type in Hindi, courtesy the Google Hindi Input app

Google recently released a Hindi Input app, which lets Android users type in Hindi. It works like a keyboard extension and once you install the app, you can choose to type in Hindi for just about everything. You can compose text messages, type email, or even create word documents in Hindi. Your phone should be able to read Hindi characters for the app to work, so check for that before you download it.

Google Hindi Input app, now in the Play store

To get going, download the app from Google Play, go to your phone's ‘Settings’ menu and enable ‘Google Hindi Input’ in the ‘Language & input’ section. Once enabled, you can choose to type in Hindi. To compose a message in Hindi, click on the “a->” icon on the English keyboard—this will turn on/off the transliteration mode. Basically, you type Hindi words using English characters and the app transliterates the text into Hindi. Switch it off and you can resume typing in English.

But if you want to type using the Hindi keyboard, click on the ‘Globe’ symbol. The consonants are alphabetically ordered into two pages. Press the paging button “1/2” and “2/2” to navigate between pages. You can select from the various forms of words by long pressing on the character key.

Typing in Hindi using the app is quite easy

Google's transliteration service is available online and it supports several Indian and international languages. The Google app is certainly a bonus for smartphone users. We found it to be extremely easy to use and the transliteration works quite well. Typing using the Hindi keyboard is quite easy, but having to switch between two pages to find the characters will take some getting used to. The word prediction is pretty useful, accurate and is something that will definitely help you save time when typing.

Apart from Google, there are several other tools that allow you to type in Indian languages. Some of the popular tools include Quillpad, Panini Keypad, Indic Typing Tool and the Devanagari Keyboard Tiger, amongst others.

Facebook single-column Timeline design

2013-03-02T00:28:00.003-08:00

Facebook tries single-column Timeline design with some users

The Next Web has information that Facebook is testing a new single-column Timeline design for its users in New Zealand. The new design, of which they have a screenshot shows that the "About" section has been pushed to the left-hand side of the page and Status updates, and other shared posts has been moved to the right-hand side of the page. That apart, the name of the user has been shifted too - to be made one with the cover photo and is written in white.

Moving on, you look at the top of the page, you will notice that the icons for message, friend requests and other notifications have been moved to the right-hand side of the blue strip, while the name of the user has been moved to the left.

If you go and check out how your profile page looks currently, you'll notice that it has been divided vertically - with the space for status updates, and other posts to the left and the friends lists, photo albums and likes, among other things to the right. So in practice, if the new design is rolled out uniformly, the columns would have switched sides.

Is this how our pages will look?

TNW managed to lay their hands on a second screenshot, too. This one shows off a new feature, wherein BuzzFeed links to an online article, but this time there is a new "Like Page" button.

We spoke of Facebook’s plans of introducing a single-column Timeline design in early November last year. At the time, it had been reported that in the new layout design that was being tested, all posts will be visible in a single column on the left, while all activity indicators will be moved to a column on the right. A single-column design is interesting, and if this design lives, users will be able to view all the posts in a single, vertical stream, instead of the current design that has users switching from right to left to view posts.

Timeline essentially allows users to view their lives as on Facebook in chronological order, dotted with pictures, posts, videos and all. All the events in the life of the user, and the content he or she has posted, right from the date of creating the profile, is neatly arranged in chronological order, as if telling a story.

When the Timeline was introduced, not all users liked the idea of adopting the Timeline and sure enough, this compulsory transition is bound to face stiff resistance. The Telegraph quoted one user as saying, "I’m sorry but this is rubbish. I’m surprised Facebook hasn’t included a compulsory DNA profile section (default to public obviously)."

Late in January last year, there were similar reports about Facebook giving users a week's time to make the scheduled switch from their old profiles to the one with the Timeline. At the time, we had cited an official blog post by Paul McDonald on The Facebook blog. In his post, he had said, "Last year we introduced timeline, a new kind of profile that lets you highlight the photos, posts and life events that help you tell your story. Over the next few weeks, everyone will get timeline. When you get timeline, you'll have 7 days to preview what's there now. This gives you a chance to add or hide whatever you want before anyone else sees it."

In December last year, there were also reports about Facebook possibly tweaking its Timeline design some more. What started it all was that Facebook reportedly rolled out a new Timeline design for one of ABC News’ producers, leading them to believe that the social networking giant may have given them 'a peek at the future of Timeline'. Facebook even confirmed with ABC News that, “This is a new design Facebook is testing with a small percentage of people to make navigating timeline even easier."

Google, NASA bring 'Earth at Night 2012' imagery in Google Maps

2012-12-11T10:33:00.002-08:00

Ever wondered how the Earth, or for that matter your city looked at night? You can stop imagining and check out this official blog post, where Google shares that users can now explore the popular "Black Marble" imagery from NASA/NOAA in Google Maps.

"Now you can explore this imagery in Google Maps - thanks NASA/NOAA for this data and amazing imagery!" Google reveals in its blog post. Users can begin by going here, and select the location they want to view either manually or by moving their cursor over the map and zooming in or out to view the world ‘at night’.

What Google has readied is Earth at Night 2012, which it refers to as a new global view and animation of Earth's city lights. In the description to Earth at Night 2012, Google elaborates that the result is a composite put together using the data by Suomi NPP satellite. Interestingly, the visuals that users can now see is essentially data that was collected over nine days in April2 2012 and 13 days in October 2012. What's also impressive is that it took 312 orbits to get a clear image of "every parcel of Earth's land surface and islands".

Type your location in the search box to view the location of your choice

The data thus acquired was then mapped over the existing Blue Marble imagery of the Earth to get a realistic view of the planet.

Recently, Google included terrain and colour gradations to represent vegetation and labels for natural land formations to its latest Google Maps update. Karl Johann Schmidt, Software Engineer, Google Maps, shared in an official blog post that the new visualisations will enable users to understand and see for themselves the location of expansive forests, deserts and mountain ranges around the world. In addition, users can gauge the impact of natural land formations, as well as how and why man-made developments such as urban cities, dams and bridges are made.

Now when users search Maps for natural land formations such as the Gobi Desert, Melville Peninsula or Nullarbor Plain, they will be able to spot “improved, well-labeled results”. In order to depict its newest changes better, Google shared a comparison of search results before and after the update.

Google recently released an update for the web version of its Maps service that lets users access Street View from the mobile browser version of Google Maps in iOS. While the update is mainly for iOS devices, Google has said that other phones can also use Street View on the Google Maps web app, but it won’t work equally well. The feature is available on both the iPhone and the iPad by accessing Google Maps from the device and hitting the Street View button on the upper/lower right side. It is also possible to have Google Maps and Nokia Maps running on your browser in full screen on your iOS device.

7 Free mobile apps for Wikipedia readers and contributors

2012-12-11T10:30:00.000-08:00

Here is the lowdown on seven free mobile apps for readers and editors of Wikipedia.

When you want the largest free knowledge base in the world available in the palm of your hand, you refer to Wikipedia apps. Like with Wikipedia itself, we'd like the apps to access Wikipedia to be free-of-cost^{[citation needed]}. Here is a lowdown on seven free mobile apps for readers and editors of Wikipedia.

Wikipedia {Android, iOS (named Wikipedia Mobile), BlackBerry}

The official Wikipedia app by the Wikimedia Foundation displays Wikipedias in 280-odd languages. You can save pages for referring to them later or offline. Pages can be shared on social networks using the Share function.
A nifty feature is ‘Search Nearby’, which identifies your location and displays information from geo-tagged Wikipedia pages on a map about everything located or happening nearby. (The map is built on OpenSteetMaps using MapQuest tiles.) The UI is uncluttered and minimal. A no-frills, full screen search function helps find pages quickly. The featured article for the day on the Wikipedia is displayed by default on the homescreen.

The app displays a read-only version and does not support logging in. That is a feature we would definitely like to see so that users may edit Wikipedia on the go. Like with Wikipedia, the source code is open and developers are encouraged to build upon it.

Wikipedia beta (Android)
The Wikimedia Foundation is also developing the next version (v1.4beta1) of the current Android app (v1.3.3). It has all the features of the previous version and a night theme named Solarized Dark. The search bar hides automatically after some time to maximise real estate on the screen. The new typography adds to the appeal of the UI. Languages that are read right-to-left have better support in this version and the developers have also promised a theming engine and better touch-zoom in the ‘Search Nearby’ maps.

Users are cautioned that the app may pop a few surprises as any beta version would. The app is free software available under a public license (GNU-GPL).

Menu of Wikitrack English app (left); Recent Changes feed (right)

Wikitrack English (Android)
Wikitrack is meant for Wikipedia editors to track their own work and other updates on the English language Wikipedia. You can log in to Wikipedia using the app to access the ‘Contributions’ and ‘Watchlist’ part of your dashboard. The number of items visible in the three feeds – Recent changes, My Contributions and My Watchlist – can be fixed from the Settings. The app is very light and fast and the UI is uncluttered.

While the rest of the app works smoothly, the ‘My watchlist’ part returns an error if you try to log in with a watchlist token or your username and password. We would love to see the User Talk Page notifications and the Sandbox added to this app. In the absence of the ability to log in using the official apps and the mobile version of Wikipedia, this app is really handy for Wikipedia editors. It is free of cost and shows no ads. Wikitrack is also available for Tamil, Sanskrit, Kannada and Malayalam Wikipedias.

LoboWiki - Wikipedia Reader (Android)
LoboWiki is optimised for Android Ice Cream Sandwich (v4.x) smartphones by using Holo, Google’s recommended theme for the design of apps running on ICS and later versions. It supports 30 languages including English and the UI is available in English, Polish and Italian. The UI is neat and made for long reading hours. When the reader navigates interwiki links (links leading to other Wikipedia pages), the app queues up the links, which can later be swiped between. This saves the user the hassle of going back and forth between Wikipedia pages. Various tables present on a page can be viewed in a scrolling window and the overall navigation is smooth.

Homepage of Windows Phone Wikipedia app (left); List of favourites (right)

Wikipedia (Windows Phone)
This app by an indie developer is the most colourful and aesthetically appealing of all apps listed. It supports 100 languages and has a delightful display of multiple live tiles and accented colours. This app deals with the possibility of a reader navigating from one interwiki link to another. It remembers the position on a webpage from where a reader exited the page, and restores the position on returning to the page. Like the official app, this app has a search function, displays nearby locations, enables sharing of pages and has an offline mode. You can bookmark your favourite Wikipedia pages, and view summaries and previous versions of pages. You can switch themes between light and dark, and lock screen rotation. A live tile displays the day’s featured article or changes to pages you have marked as favourite.

Tablet Browser for Wikipedia (Android)
This browser is optimised for viewing, bookmarking and searching Wikipedia on Honeycomb, Ice cream Sandwich and Jelly Bean tablets. Apart from English, the browser has limited support for German, French, Dutch, Italian, Polish, Spanish, Russian, Japanese, Portuguese and Esperanto Wikipedias. The default version visible is that of the desktop version of the Wikipedia website rather the mobile version. It has the functionality to share pages and bookmark them, and the text wraps automatically when you resize the page using pinch-zoom.

Discover (iOS)
Discover for iPad is another visually appealing app that displays Wikipedia in a magazine-like layout. Swiping to the right from an article brings into view the Infobox (a table with a summary of the most important information) associated with it. Using the pinch-zoom function displays the table of contents present at the top of an article. Wikipedia articles can be accessed offline from the app’s browsing history. It has a search function and displays no ads.

Nokia launches Asha 205 in India

2012-12-11T10:26:00.000-08:00

Nokia launches Asha 205 in India for Rs 3,499

The Nokia Asha 205 has been launched in India. The phone has a QWERTY keyboard, and introduces a new, dedicated Facebook button, with which Nokia is targeting those who want quick access to their Facebook profile. The phone also comes with support for popular email services like Gmail and with Twitter and eBuddy Chat pre-installed.
For Features & Specifications

Other key features of the Nokia Asha 205 include:

A mobile entertainment package that includes 40 free EA Games available for download, along with tens of thousands of other apps available from the Nokia Store
Nokia’s exclusive EasySwap technology that enables consumers to change SIM cards without having to turn off the device
A quoted standby time of up to 37 days with single SIM and up to 25 days with dual SIM

The Nokia Asha 205 with a dedicated Facebook button

The Nokia Asha 205 is available in Cyan and Orange and priced at Rs 3,499. It will be available in India from December 24, 2012.

The device also takes advantage of the Nokia Xpress Internet platform, which uses Nokia’s cloud technology to reduce data consumption by up to 85 percent, helping consumers enjoy more affordable Internet access. It also features Nokia Nearby, a web app that helps consumers discover more than 7 million points of interest such as restaurants, shopping and ATM machines close to their location.

Facebook and Nokia had earlier announced a partnership with the introduction of a built-in Facebook button available on the Nokia Asha 205. This is the first Nokia phone that includes a dedicated Facebook button.

“People around the world use Facebook Mobile to connect and share with their friends,” said Kevin D’Souza, Country Growth Manager, Facebook India. “We are focused on delivering the best Facebook experience to as many people as possible and our partnership with Nokia perfectly complements our strategy of giving people around the world a rich Facebook experience for keeping in touch with their friends.”

“Young consumers are increasingly using Facebook for communication, socializing and entertainment. The launch of the Nokia Asha 205responds to this growing demand and gives a unique option for consumers at an affordable price point,” said Viral Oza, Director Marketing, Nokia India. “People who use NokiaAsha devices are hyper-social and we are proud to partner with Facebook to improve the user experience further with the introduction of the Facebook button.”

The new Nokia Asha 205 enables people to easily access the Facebook for Every Phone app and use messaging, one of its most popular features. People using the messaging features in Facebook for Every Phone can now:

See which of their friends are online to start chatting with them right away
Start messages and group chats fast
Reach more of the people they know, wherever they are, no matter what device they are using

First Windows Phone 8 update (WP8 update)

2012-12-11T10:22:00.000-08:00

First WP8 update addresses HTC 8X Wi-Fi issue

Ads by Google

Microsoft has rolled out its first update to its recently launched Windows Phone 8 OS and with it, the software giant has added a feature that issues a fix for the Wi-Fi problem that had plagued handsets running on this platform. A report by WPCentral states that the OS is now brought to OS 10211 up from the previous build which was 9905 and with it comes fixes for the device resetting as well as the keep Wi-Fi alive feature, which made the Wi-Fi connection go off when the display was turned off.

As per the report, the update is called Portico. Those who have recently jumped on to the Windows Phone 8 bandwagon may have noticed that there is a problem with the device losing connection to a Wi-Fi network when the screen is locked.

WP8 update rolling out to HTC 8X

In response to a tweet by a Windows Phone 8 user who said that the Wi-Fi shuts off after turning off the screen on every Windows Phone, Joe Belfiore, corporate vice president, Windows Phone Program Management, stated, “Someone is gonna yell at me for saying this, but... fix is coming. :) Sshh. Just promise me a little patience though.”

If one happened to be downloading an app using Wi-Fi, and then locked the screen, the Wi-Fi would suddenly turn off once the screen was unlocked. Users were adopting a temporary fix by keeping the screen turned on till the app was completely downloaded.

Early adopters of the Windows Phone 8 platform have been experiencing some issues with their devices and it is not limited to a particular manufacturer. One of these issues is that some owners of Nokia and HTC handsets are experiencing random reboots. In a statement, Microsoft claimed that they had identified this issue and they hoped to deliver an over-the-air (OTA) fix that addresses the issue. This update aims to fix this issue as well.

With this update, Microsoft has also added new features such as SMS Call Reject, SMS Drafts and SMS Select. These are reportedly undocumented features and in the SMS Drafts feature one can review, edit and assess an SMS draft which is located in the drafts folder. A user also has the ability to mass select all the messages and delete them all in just two steps as opposed to manually selecting all messages, one at a time. The last one is the ability to reject a call with a text message. This option can come in handy when a call comes in as a user can now choose to send a preset text message to the recipient. A user can also enter two custom messages for the text-call reject feature.

As of now, it appears that the update is issued only for the HTC 8X and not the HTC 8S. Do let us know in our comments section below if you have started receiving the update and if there are any other changes visible.

Google makes '$100 laptop' a reality

2012-12-11T10:18:00.000-08:00

Google makes '$100 laptop' a reality

BOSTON: Google began selling basic laptop computers to schools at a price of $99, meeting a price point that prominent MIT professor Nicholas Negroponte famously held out in 2005 as key to bringing computing power to the masses.

The internet giant said on Monday that it will be offering the steep educational discount on Series 5 Chromebooks from Samsung Electronics through December 21. They typically retail for $249.

Negroponte's One Laptop Per Child Foundation failed to meet his ambitious target, which critics said would be impossible to meet when he set it. His XO laptop currently sell for about $200.

Still, he is widely credited with helping to launch the era of low-cost portable computing.

The creation of relatively low-cost laptops from his foundation pressured industry giants including Intel, Microsoft, Hewlett-Packard and Dell to develop inexpensive versions of their products such as the netbook.

Source : TOI

Angry Birds Star Wars goes live for Windows Phone 7 handsets

2012-12-10T01:46:00.000-08:00

After releasing Angry Birds Star Wars for a range of platforms a month ago, Rovio has released Angry Birds Star Wars for the Windows Phone 7 operating system as well.

This app is available for $0.99 and those interested in purchasing this game will require having their handsets running on the Windows Phone 7.5 platform and WVGA resolution of 480 x 800. To download this popular game for your Windows Phone 7 handset, click here.

In early November, Rovio released Angry Birds Star Wars for iOS, Android, Amazon Kindle Fire, Mac, PC, and Windows 8 devices. Along with the game, the company has also released a new trailer and merchandise in select retailers worldwide.

Now available for Windows Phone 7.5

“It’s a banner day for us,” said Peter Vesterbacka, CMO of Rovio Entertainment when they launched the game, “This is our best Angry Birds game yet, and we’re excited for our fans to finally meet Luke, Leia, and the rest of the gang! But it’s more than just a game launch: we think fans are going to just love the new animated trailer and the Angry Birds Star Wars products, sure to be a big hit this holiday season.”

For those not in the know, the game follows a plucky group of Rebel Birds in their fight against the evil Imperial Pigs. Fans will use the Force, wield a lightsaber, and blast away Pigtroopers on an intergalactic journey from the deserts of Tatooine to the depths of the Pig Star -- where they’ll face off against the terrifying Darth Vader, Dark Lord of the Pigs.

Commenting on the release of the game, Colum Slevin, Vice President, Head of Studio Operations for Lucasfilm Ltd said, “We can’t wait for fans around the world to experience the fun of launching the Angry Birds characters into the Star Wars universe. This is the kind of creative partnership that has helped Star Wars remain vibrant and beloved for over 35 years.”

Concurrently with the game launch, Rovio and Lucasfilm have also introduced tie-in merchandise and a new cinematic trailer, which retells the classic Star Wars cantina scene with Angry Birds Star Wars characters in the starring roles. Angry Birds Star Wars merchandise, ranging from Hasbro toys to apparel to plush toys, is available now from select retailers.

Late last month, less than a month after releasing the game, Rovio rolled out an update for Angry Birds Star Wars and these new levels are in the ice world of Hoth. So, what does one get with the first update to the game? For starters, a player gets 20 levels in the ice world of Hoth. The pink bird makes an appearance and it wields a new power with which one can aim for a weak spot to completely destroy the AT-ATs. Apart from this, Rovio has also added two new bonus levels.

Commenting on this release, Rovio stated, “It is a dark time for the Rebellion. Evading the dreaded Imperial Starfleet, a group of freedom fighters has established a new secret base on the remote ice world of Hoth. Unfortunately the evil Darth Vader discovers their hideout, and the desperate Rebel birds must escape the AT-ATs and Pigtroopers hot on their trail. But the Rebels have an ace up their sleeve with the debut of PRINCESS LEIA!”

Google Now may soon come to Desktop Chrome

2012-12-10T01:32:00.000-08:00

Android users have been giving Google Now a thumbs up for its all purpose notification services. Now it looks like this feature is about to come to Desktop Chrome as well.

In revision #171868 of the Chromium Project, the author has revealed that a skeleton of Google Now has been created. “Creating a skeleton for Google Now for Chrome implementation. The CL creates the top-level structure for showing Google Now cards in Chrome via Chrome Notifications. The implementation lives behind -enable-google-now-integration flag,” reads the log.

Google Now cards will now be shown through Chrome Notifications on the desktop. Google Now for Android has been touted to be the next best thing to happen to smartphones by many. The service predicts what news and information may be useful to you considering the time and your location. If you’re leaving your home to get to your office, Google Now on Android will let you know what the condition of the traffic is and will suggest alternate routes.

Google Now to come to Chrome soon!

On Android, Google Now already has the services of about 25 cards that detail weather, traffic, events and more with more to come in the future. All of these notifications are a part of the service that guesses when which notification will be important to you.

The appearance of this code on the Chromium Code Reviews shows that this service will make its way onto Chrome very soon. Google is working on driving audiences to its services in a smart fashion by making smartphone users consider Android and computer users consider Chrome thanks to their intelligent and intuitive services. The company seems to be working hard on breaking the shackles that limit services to either mobile or the web by making services accessible to users on most platforms.

Chrome for desktop already has cards called Desktop Notifications that pop out every time the user needs to be notified of an event, outside the browser window. Google will probably be integrating the Now cards with Desktop Notifications.

Google has hinted that the feature is being worked upon, but remained tight-lipped about it. “We’re always experimenting with new features in Chrome but have nothing to announce at this time,” said spokeswoman Jessica Kositz.

New cards were revealed by Google in time for the Holiday season to make vacations a breeze with the personal assistant Google Now. The way the updated app works is by telling you what the weather will be like at your destination, before you've left home and pulling out your boarding pass automatically at the airport helping you make your way past the gate quickly. Once at your destination, you can use the Google Now app to discover some great activities, as it will show you the events happening around, while also suggesting websites for you to explore to help you decide on things to do. The app also lets you learn more about specific pieces while you're at a museum - using Google Goggles.

The Google Now service was introduced at the Google I/O event held earlier this year. Essentially a new search interface for Android users in real-time, Google Now has aimed to get users more relevant and real-time results.

TRAI to initiate action against Idea for not implementing UCC SMS service

2012-12-07T23:09:00.000-08:00

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) will be initiating action against Idea Cellular for not implementing the UCC SMS complaint lodging module, it has stated officially. TRAI's run against pesky calls and SMSes isn’t unheard of, and has been on since a while now. In this respet, the TRAI had issued “The Telecom Commercial Communications Customer Preference (Tenth Amendment Regulations, 2012” on November 5, 2012 prescribing further measures to tighten the framework for controlling the menace of unsolicited commercial communications (UCC).

The TRAI had facilitated the option to lodge UCC complaints via SMS, by forwarding the UCC SMS to 1909 alon with the telephone number/SMS header and date of receipt of SMS. TRAI, however, found by way of numerous complaints that some of the access providers have not implemented the revised procedure for loding UCC complaints by forwarding an SMS. Interestingly, a compliance was sought in this regard from the access providers, and it turned out that all the access providers implemented the revised procedure, barring M/s Idea Cellular Ltd. The TRAI has therefore initated action against the Access Provider.

Idea found not implementing UCC SMS (Image credit: Getty Images)

When Rahul Khullar, the Chairman of TRAI, was quizzed on the issue of pesky SMSes, he had assured that something would be done by November 5. Sure enough, TRAI released the 'The Telecom Commercial Communications Customer Preference (Tenth Amendment) Regulations, 2012', and Telecommunication Tariff (Fifty Fourth Amendment) Order, 2012' in an attempt to better address the niggling issue of unsolicited SMSes. TRAI’s amended regulations aimed at “tightening the framework” pertaining to addressing the menace of Unsolicited Commercial Communications (UCC), especially relating to commercial SMSes from unregistered telemarketers.

TRAI acknowledged that concessional SMS packs and tariff plans offered by service providers to bulk SMS users are being misused by unregistered telemarketers for sending promotional SMSes to customers. Now, the body has placed a price restraint on the number of SMSes sent at a concessional rate. A customer can send up to 100 SMSes per day, per SIM card at the concessional rate. Anyone who crosses the 100 SMS limit will be charged a minimum of 50 paisa more for every subsequent SMS.

Elaborating upon the UCC SMS system, TRAI had earlier shared that it is now easier to file a UCC complaint through SMS. The UCC SMS has to be forwarded to the number 1909, along with the mobile number and date of receipt of the unsolicited SMS. In addition, ASPs are required to set up a web-based complaint registration system and a dedicated e-mail address to receive such complaints on UCC.

Interestingly, ASPs have been directed to send SMSes to all customers periodically, advising them against sending commercial communications while also informing them about its consequences. "Whenever a new customer is enrolled for service, the Access Provider is required to take an undertaking from such customer in the Customer Acquisition Form that he shall not use the connection for telemarketing purpose and in case he uses the connection for telemarketing purposes such connection shall be liable to be disconnected," TRAI stated further.

Samsung shows off Ativ S in official hands-on videos

2012-12-07T23:04:00.000-08:00

Samsung has recently released two videos showing off the features of the highly anticipated Windows Phone 8 Ativ S. Those eagerly waiting for the handset can learn about the features of this handset from these videos before it hits shelves across the globe.
Samsung shows off the body of the smartphone along with some of the highlighted features of the Ativ S. The video also previews some of its specifications such as the 8MP camera and microSD card slot. This video in summation is basically about the design and software of the Ativ S.

In the second video, Samsung talks about the social media and camera capabilities of the Ativ S. The video speaks about the People application and its ability to show a user the convenience of keeping tabs on all the people in their lives through all the various social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter. Speaking about the camera capabilities, Samsung states that accessing the camera is very convenient; it can be activated using the dedicated camera button at the side or by launching the camera tile. Samsung has also added a wide range of manual settings in the camera, which can be great for advanced users.

At the IFA 2012 event in August, Samsung had shown the world its Windows Phone 8 smartphone called the ATIV S. While the operating system that ATIV S runs on may be the biggest feature, the handset does come equipped with other features that set the bar for other Windows Phone devices. This smartphone features a 1.5GHz dual-core dual-core Snapdragon S4 Plus Krait chipset, 1GB RAM and a large 2300 mAh battery that will last a considerable amount of time.

Here is a look at the highlighted features of the Samsung ATIV S:

4.8-inch Super AMOLED display with a resolution of 720 x 1280 pixels
GSM, HSDPA, Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, Wi-Fi hotspot, DLNA, NFC
GPS with A-GPS support and GLONASS
Bluetooth v3.0 with A2DP, microUSB v2.0
Stereo FM radio with RDS
8 MP AF, LED flash with full HD video recording, 1.9MP front facing camera
16GB, 32GB versions with expandable support up to 32GB via MicroSD card

Apart from these specifications, it will also feature sensors such as an accelerometer, gyro, proximity and compass.

Commenting on this smartphone from its Windows Phone stable, Samsung says, “Samsung ATIV S is a new smartphone for both work and entertainment featuring Windows Phone 8. ATIV S brings a stunning hairline design and high performance with a range of content-sharing and productivity options.”

At the announcement, Samsung’s Executive Vice President of IT Solutions Business, Seong Woo Nam said, “Samsung is delighted to introduce a wide portfolio of Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8-powered devices. With our leadership in design and technology and Microsoft’s leadership in operating systems, together we are able to provide customers with a full range of ATIV devices for cross-category convergence.”

As far as availability of this smartphone is concerned, there are a few countries that will receive it in December while a mass rollout will take place in January, 2013.

How To: Rip a Blu-ray movie

2012-12-06T22:51:00.000-08:00

Check out these three options to rip Blu-ray titles into full 1080p HD MKV files.

If you want to enjoy full high-definition 1080p videos, Blu-ray discs are the only possible option at present. However, to watch Blu-ray movies, you will need to invest in a Blu-ray drive on your PC or player for your TV, and definitely some surround sound speakers. As far as the equipment is concerned, it is a one-time investment, since you wont be upgrading that often. However, Blu-ray titles are not cheap and depending on the release date or the popularity of the movie, you could be spending thousands on each one of them. You can borrow them from friends (that is, if they have what you want to watch), but eventually you have to return them. Well, why not simply copy them to your hard drive and watch them over-and-over again or whenever you want to?

Blu-ray may be the best quality movie format available ever, but it also carries with it more copy protection than DVDs, which limits you to play it only on your PC, or BD player provided the region code matches. We show you how you can easily bypass this copy protection, rip your favourite Blu-ray flicks and store them on your hard drive to watch them endlessly and anywhere. You will not need to have your own BD player or BD ROM for playing the ripped movies. And best of all, the movies are full HD 1080p and you have the choice of including subtitles and chapters.

Copy protection on Blu-rays needs to be bypassed (Image: Getty images)

Ripping Blu-ray titles to keep a backup of your original discs is a good idea, but sharing the rips are actually considered illegal because you are breaking the copy protection on the disc. Keeping the legal issues aside, decrypting protected content is not as simple as copy-paste. It involves a few utilities that can do it for you. There are several such CD, DVD and BD rippers available online and while some are free, others are paid versions. In order to rip a BD or DVD for free, you would need two utilities—one to help bypass the protection and the other to convert the Blu-ray into a single file on the hard drive. We show you how you can do it at home using a few utilities—some free and some paid. We shall show you three simple options on how you can rip a Blu-ray movie.

Option 1: Completely free, but totally time and space consuming
This option points to the use of two freeware utilities, but it involves a lot of time and the disk space needed is enormous. For this method, you will need two utilities—MakeMKV from ‘www.makemkv.com’ and HandBrake from ‘www.handbrake.fr’. MakeMKV is a simple one-click transcoder that can convert an encrypted disc (DVD or BD) into an MKV file. The file is large and completely uncompressed. It stores the files into a single MKV format or container file that has the ability to store multiple audio tracks and preserve chapters too. The final file is equal to the original M2TS file itself and can be anywhere between 24GB to 50GB, or even more depending on the movie time and quality. This file needs to be further compressed into a smaller size, but ensuring the quality is more-or-less the same as the original. This compression procedure is handled well using the free utility called HandBrake. It is an open source GPL-licensed multi-platform and multi-threaded video transcoder.

Use MakeMKV to decrypt and dump the movie

After you have installed the two utilities, simply insert the Blu-ray movie into the BD ROM and run MakeMKV. The utility will detect the inserted disc and give out the details of the type, label and protection involved on the disc. Just hit the Blu-ray to HDD icon on the main window and relax. MakeMKV will automatically list out the tracks and chapters on the Blu-ray and save them on your hard drive as individual MKV files. The utility will bypass the encryption and store the MKV file on the hard drive. You need to define the location of the file output using the preferences section. This is a large uncompressed file stored on the disc with all the information stored within. The time taken will purely depend upon the speed of the PC and the Blu-ray ROM. You can estimate around 1.5 hours to 2 hours as an average. Now we need to compress it.

Use Handbrake to convert the dumped MKV file into a smaller sized file

MakeMKV has done its job and you can close the utility. Start up HandBrake, click on the source button and choose the file(s) you created using MakeMKV. You actually need not do anything after this as the utility is pretty set for functioning ahead of this. In any case, you can tweak the settings as per your choice. Choose the chapters you want to convert and select the container as MKV. Next, choose the presets as ‘Normal’ from the right side. Then let the video size (resolution) be as original (1920 x 1080). Lastly, you can choose to insert subtitles and select the audio track as per your choice. Once ready, hit the Start icon and let HandBrake transcoder your movie. This can take a while and expect around 2 hours on an average. In our tests, we ripped a 1 hour 37 minute animation movie to uncompressed 32GB MKV file in 1 hour 42 minutes using MakeMKV and then later into a compressed 3.5GB MKV file using Handbrake in another 2 hours. The whole process of ripping a single Blu-ray disc takes an average 4–5 hours even on a fast enough PC. We used a test rig that comprised an Intel Core i7 2600K CPU clocked at 3.4GHz, 8GB of RAM, AMD Radeon HD6870 and a 250GB SATA6 SSD. The Blu-ray drive used was a Buffalo 6x Portable USB 2.0.

Option 2: Part free, part paid utility. Less time and lower space needed
This is a fairly simple and straightforward process and does not involve the initial dumping of the decrypted disc on the hard drive. Therefore, we can do away with the MakeMKV section above. For this step, you will need a protection bypassing utility called AnyDVD. Download the utility from ‘www.slysoft.com’. It is a 21-day trial utility and you can opt for the full version for around Rs 4,000. All you need to do is install AnyDVD and keep it running in the system tray—no settings required. AnyDVD works in the background to automatically and transparently enable read access of the contents of a movie DVD or Blu-ray as soon as it is inserted into the drive.

AnyDVD will bypass any encryption or copy protection on DVDs and Blu-ray discs

You can then use any utility to rip or copy the discs. Once AnyDVD is running in the background, you can use HandBrake and set the source as the Bly-Ray disc itself. The rest of the settings can be tweaked as per your choice. This procedure cuts down almost half the time as compared to option 1. Instead of HandBrake, you can also use another free utility called Freemake video converter, which can be downloaded from ‘www.freemake.com’. Select the source by clicking on the +Video icon, then select the MKV file format preset from the list of scrollable preset icons on the bottom. On the next screen, choose HD1080p. you then have the options to further tweak the MKV preset with respect to frame size and audio/video codecs. Finally, choose the destination folder and click convert.

FreeMake is a free utility to convert the Blu-ray into a compressed MKV

Option 3: The easiest, but a fully paid version
The third option involves just a single utility that can handle the encryption portion by default. This utility is DVDFab Blu-ray ripper from ‘www.dvdfab.com’. It costs around Rs 3,600, which might seem expensive, but is a one-time investment to high-quality movie ripping. It has loads of other features under its belt. It can handle 3D movies and takes the advantage of Nvidia CUDA and Intel Quick Sync to speed up the transcoding process.

DVDFab is an all-in-one utility for decrypting and transcoding

Each of the above options gives you the choice to convert the rips into smaller sized files or lower resolution movies. Head to the options of the respective transcoding utility and choose to limit the output file size or downscale the resolution. For example, you could convert your Full HD 1080p movies into 720p or 480p videos to cut down the final output file by a massive amount or keep the resolution the same and limit the output file size. However, on the contrary, you would end up losing the original high quality of the movie. You can later choose to store multiple movies on a single DVD or a pen drive too. Additionally, these options mentioned here can be performed using DVDs and also pre-ripped movies and videos.

Finally, a full HD 1080p Blu-ray movie ripped to the hard drive

Now that you have a few methods listed here to rip a Blu-ray movie into a single MKV file, you can go ahead and rip your whole collection of HD movies to store on your hard drive or NAS. Share them with your friends or carry along your collection on your holiday. You won’t need to tag along your Blu-ray drive or player anymore.

Disclaimer

We've thought very carefully about the advice given above. And while we can state, categorically, that all effort has been made to ensure that it is reasonably sound advice, we cannot guarantee that your problem will be solved. Tech2 does not warrant or make any representations as to the accuracy, usefulness or completeness of the prices, data, recommendations, advice, and any other information.

Tech2 disclaims all responsibility and all liability for all expenses, losses, damages, loss of face, costs, or anything worse that you might incur as a result of the information on this page, or any linked website.

Do not attempt to troubleshoot, repair, or modify any device without understanding and following all of the relevant safety guidelines! Do also please keep in mind that repairing a product on your own while it is under warranty, will automatically nullify the warranty provided by the company.

Despite the above, if you feel you'd still like to send us a query then please note that your full name will be published, and your question will only be edited for language. Send in your queries for the TroubleShot section to: queries@tech2.com

How To: Trigger an application via email in Outlook

2012-12-06T22:46:00.001-08:00

Use Outlooks Rules trick to automate your jobs by simply sending an email...

If you have been using Microsoft Outlook at office or at home, you will know that there is an option to assign rules to every email that you send or receive. Each rule can be set to move any email – be it from a person, an email account or with particular texts in the subject or the body – to particular folders automatically. Therefore, every time an email is sent or arrives, the set rules take over and handle the emails accordingly. A few might know that you could also actually use these rules to get some automated work done for you.

Let’s take a practical example from our day-to-day life. You are at office and your home PC is set to download some torrents or is presently downloading a large file from an HTTP or FTP server. Now you need to access your PC remotely to shut it down, resume a paused download or maybe stop the seeding of a particular torrent. One option is RDP or using Team Viewer software, which can help you completely. However, if the case is the opposite and your PC is in the office and you are at home, and your office network does not permit the use of RDP or Team viewer, you cannot access the PC at all.

Another example is that of a network admin who has his servers running at office and now he needs to run a backup, synchronise some data to an FTP server, simply shut down the server or start a service. He too can use an RDP or VNC client and take over or schedule some tasks in this case. Here again, what if you need to remotely access the office PC or network? Or, what if you are on a long weekend or a holiday and you do not have a PC and are only left with a mobile phone with a weak or no Internet connection at all? What do you do in such a case? One option is to call someone at home or office (depending on the situation) to get the work done. However, this also involves giving away your access password. Alternatively, in the worst case scenario, what if there's no one at home or office or you forgot to keep the RDP, VNC server or Team Viewer utility running? You would only have to wait until you get back to the PC and physically access it. There is a simple method to save your day and a simple email can come to your rescue.

Head on to the Rules and Alerts section in Outlook

If you have been using Microsoft Office on your PC, then you'll definitely find Microsoft Outlook in the bundle. Why not make use of Outlook to do this simple important job for you? All you need to do is set some rules on your Outlook client, and the rule will detect the phrases and do the suitable work it is designed to do.

In this article, we shall show you one example of how to trigger an application on the PC by simply sending an email to a specified email account. All that is necessary is exact defined words in the subject or body text. In our example, we are going to send an email with the subject “Start TeamViewer” and Outlook will start it for us without any questions asked, unless necessary. However, before doing so, you have to pre-configure the application that needs triggering and ensure that Outlook is running in the background.

Select the rule for the emails that arrive

Check out what needs to be done. Initially, set up Outlook to receive emails using the POP or IMAP settings. It is recommended that you register yourself with a new Gmail account and configure the POP servers for the email in Outlook. Once Outlook is configured for the new email account, follow the procedure ahead.

Click on “Tools - > Rules and Alerts”. On the new window that pops up, click on the ‘New Rule…” button. A “Rules Wizard” window will pop up. Here you need to set the first criteria – the Template. There are three templates here, of which two are pre designed and one is a manual setup. In the top section, select "Check messages when they arrive" from the section "Start from a blank rule" and click "Next". In the next window, you will find a lot of check boxes with different criterion for the rule. Select "through specified account" and "with specific words in the subject". This selection will make sure the triggering email has come in from a specified email account and has the specific words in the subject line. You can choose many more options such as words in the message body or subject, in senders address, in the header, date span, emails with attachments, and many more—take your pick.

Select the application that needs triggering

After you have checked the box(es), you will find the bottom window filling up with lines according to your selection. Each line will have an underlined word(s), which means you have to specify the function for it. In our example, we selected text in the subject body and hence, we have to specify the specific words for it. Click on the "Specific Words" and you will see a new popup where you can add a single or multiple words to the list. After you have finished adding the words, move on by clicking the "Next" button. Here you will need to specify the execution for the trigger. You can choose to let Outlook send, move or delete the email to folders, play a sound, start an application, process more rules or simply display an alert window. In our case, we have selected to start an application. Click on "application" in the bottom window and enter the path to the application you want to run. After you have selected the application, click on "Finish" and return to the rules wizard. Now send a test email to the email account and check if outlook receives the email and automatically starts the application you asked for.

Note: Outlook is usually set to send and receive emails automatically after every 30-minute interval. You need to decrease this time to around 5 minutes or lower. To do this, go to "Tools -> Options -> Mail Setup -> Send/Receive" and decrease the scheduling period. This will ensure that your application or function is triggered within 5 minutes, at least.

Tip: You can use a mouse and keyboard macro recorder to record your work and play the sequence accordingly if your trigger application needs additional user intervention after being started. "Macro Recorder" is a keyboard and mouse macro recording utility for Windows, which can convert the recorded actions into a single EXE file for execution. This can be used for operating applications such as torrent clients, backup and sync utilities, server services, video chatting utilities etc., where user intervention is required. This process can also be used for starting a video surveillance using your webcam in your absence.

Disclaimer

How To: Take Nandroid backups without rebooting

2012-12-06T22:45:00.000-08:00

A utility to perform Nandroid backups without the need to reboot and enter the recovery mode.

Most Android-based smartphone users today would definitely know the terms ‘Rooting’, ‘ROM flashing’ and ‘Nandroid’. Those who constantly keep flashing their phones with new ROMS, tweaks and updates would know the importance and criticality of taking backups before flashing their phones. Backing up the presently installed and working operating system before flashing a new ROM or tweak involves performing Nandroid. This means one would have to turn off the phone and reboot it into the recovery mode, then select the backup function and perform the Nandroid. The entire procedure wastes a lot of time rebooting the phone and most importantly, you spend a lot of time keeping your phone offline and might even miss important calls and messages.

Nandroids are usually taken from recovery modes

There is a very fast and easy method by using a simple app to take a complete ROM backup or Nandroid without switching off your phone. No doubt, installing a ROM or flashing a tweak would still require you to switch off the phone and do the needful in the recovery mode. However, using this method you can at least save on 60 percent of your time. This method can also benefit those who keep installing various apps and like to play with different scripts and kernel tweaks. They would prefer to take repeated backups of their ROMS before and after the tweaking.

The app we are about to show you is available for free on the Google Play Store and is developed by Ameer Dawood. He developed this app because he constantly does Nandroid backups and does not want to waste time rebooting and entering the recovery mode. We shall show you how you can do the same. Before we get down to it, you would need to download and install two apps on your phone. The first is Online Nandroid and the second one is BusyBox installer.

Update BusyBox on your phone using the updater app

Online Nandroid is the tool that takes Nandroid backups while your OS is online, and you do not need to reboot into the recovery mode for backups anymore. The app backs up the partitions such as boot, recovery, system, data, cache, cache data, dalvik cache, .android_secure, sd-ext, Appslog and any other partitions you have on your phone. The date format used for folder name is the same used by CWM itself and Nandroid backups created with Online Nandroid can safely be restored using CWM recovery.

Get the script installed for Online Nandroid to work

Let’s get started. Before you begin, you need to make sure you have the latest version of BusyBox or at least version 1.20 and above. For this, start the BusyBox app and update the version over the Internet. If you run the Online Nandroid app, the utility will also detect the BusyBox version and exit if the requirements are not met. Now start the Online Nandroid app. Online Nandroid is actually a script with a graphical user interface that runs in the background and takes the backups. You need to install this script initially and Online Nandroid will automatically do it for you. Once you click on the app, you will be greeted with a large dialog box stating that you don’t have the script and prompting you to download it—click ‘Yes’. The new version of the script will be automatically downloaded and installed at the required location. Later, the display will give you details of the script version on screen. You are now ready for a Nandroid without rebooting.

Start backing up using the Online Nandroid backup utility

On the Online Nandroid screen, select the name format you would like for your backups. You have a choice between custom name, UTC time zone name and phone time zone name. Preferred option would be a custom name as you can add the ROM name, date and time as per your choice. Select the custom name and hit the ‘Start Backup’ button. The next screen will ask for a confirmation and the screen after that will prompt you to enter the custom name for your backup. Feed in the requirements and click on the ‘OK’ button. The backup will start immediately and you can see the entire process in verbose mode on your screen. Depending on your phone’s speed and ROM type, the entire process can take anywhere between 5-10 minutes.

Backups are made and can be restored using CWM easily

The backups are finally stored in the folder ‘/SDCARD/ClockWorkMod/Backup/<your custom backup name>/’. You can safely restore this backup anytime using the recovery mode.

Disclaimer

Smartphones can work as medical labs too

2012-12-06T22:34:00.001-08:00

Smartphones doubling up as diagnostic labs may soon become a reality, thanks to the initiative of a University of Sydney researcher. "This method makes heart rate research more inexpensive, portable and straightforward," said James Heathers, the doctoral student from University's School of Psychology behind the project.

"The sensor, placed on a finger instead of using electrodes on the chest, is so small we can mail it to study participants," added Heathers, according to a Sydney statement. Data on tiny fluctuations in our heart rate provides critical information on the state of our nervous system, and is essential for a range of psychological research including on anger, anxiety, stress and self-control.

Heart rate research can become inexpensive due to this technology

At the moment, heart rate variability (HRV) research is done in a university lab with a group of study participants. Electrodes are attached to their chests to measure HRV and the data is recorded, one person at a time, using a lab computer.

"The idea struck me because I'm by nature impatient and my area is psychophysiology -- which is all about the relationship between physiological and psychological states," said Heather. "By providing people with a sensor and then using their smartphone to process the data, we are no longer tied down to booking appointments in a university laboratory, and can record dozens of separate data streams at the same time."

Heathers collaborated with Simon Wegerif, a biomedical engineer. Wegerif's company, HRV Fit Ltd, already had an HRV phone app -- iThlete -- widely used by professional sports teams and athletes, for whom heart rate variability is an important measurement of their performance and recovery.

The challenge was to adapt a similar app into a tool that can collect and provide HRV data in a way useful to researchers.

"We have run tests of our sensor linked to a smartphone and the software is working very well. I expect it to be up and running -- and available for free -- in the next few months," said Heathers.

Heathers plans to use the HRV data to expand theories on the day-to-day fluctuations of the nervous system, and to collect data from groups that are traditionally hard to access.

These results were presented at the Australasian Society for Psychophysiology conference 2012.

Google adds 5,000 more stock images for Docs, Slides and Sheets

2012-12-06T22:32:00.000-08:00

Those using Google Docs, Sheets and Slides now have a wider variety of stock images to choose from - a good 5,000 more! In an official blog post, Adah Berkovich, User Operations Specialist at Google shares that the update is a result of suggestions from users, about expanding the selection of stock images in Google Drive, while also adding to the categories that they’re most inclined towards. Their suggestions have resulted in 5,000 new photos of nature , weather, animals, sports, food, education, technology, music and 8 other categories. These images will be available for use across Google Docs, Sheets and Slides. Interestingly, over 900 of these stock images were picked directly from user submissions.

A nice, bright image on an otherwise text heavy page could do wonders!

To begin with these images, users will have to select Insert > Image, click on Search, filter to Stock photos, and search for the images that they want. A nice bright image on an otherwise text heavy page could do wonders!

Following a recent update to Google Drive for mobile devices, users can make and edit spreadsheets. Google has launched an update to Google Drive that includes a new native editor that lets you create a new spreadsheet or edit an existing one right from the Drive app on your iPhone, iPad or Android device. You can switch fonts, resize columns, sort data and do much more in a spreadsheet. And just like on the online service, you will be able to see other people’s edits and comments in real time.

The update also includes a slew of functionality improvements to the Google Docs editor. You can now edit the contents of tables in the Google Docs editor. The updated editor also preserves the formatting of content when copy/pasting content within Google Docs. You can also enter the ‘Edit’ mode in Google Docs by single tapping, instead of having to manually switch between the edit and view modes.

The Send Link option for files and folders has a new option that lets you copy links to the clipboard, in addition to giving you the usual roster of services and applications you can use to share links.

More interestingly, Google Drive now lets you create a shortcut to Drive files and folders on your homescreen. This will allow you to directly access frequently-accessed files and folders from the shortcuts on the homescreen instead of having to navigate to the Drive app, opening it and then browsing to the desired file or folder. This feature can be quite useful if you have a truckload of files and folders stored on Drive.

This is only the latest in the improvements that Google is rolling out for Google Drive in a bid to increase the integration between its various services and the cloud storage solution. Only recently, it also announced that Drive has been integrated into Gmail, allowing you to directly attach files to emails from Google Drive. This feature allows you to attach a maximum 10 GB worth of files to your emails. Google explained that since the files being sent are stored in the cloud, this feature would let the recipients access the most recent version of the file.

Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 price slashed ahead of iPad launch in India

2012-12-06T22:30:00.000-08:00

Earlier this year, Samsung launched the Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 in India and it was priced at Rs 32,990. There has been wide speculation that Apple’s new iPads would be coming to India today and from the looks of it, to fend off competition, the price of the Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 has now been dropped to Rs 25,900 as per a listing on online retailer Saholic.com.

The iPad mini and fourth generation iPad are expected to launch in India today with the base model of the 7.9-inch iPad starting at Rs 21,900 while the larger, 9.7-inch variant is expected to debut at Rs 31,900.
These tablets are expected to make a huge impact in the market and could decimate the competition, even though they come with price tags that are higher than tablets from other brands.

Galaxy Tab 2 receives a price drop

When Samsung launched the Galaxy Tab 2 10.1, it ran Ice Cream Sandwich (ICS) out of the box. The Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 is fuelled by a 1 GHz Dual Core Processor. The Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 is powered by a 7,000 mAh battery. It sports a 3 MP shooter with video recording capabilities at an HD 720p resolution and weighs in at 583 grams. It is a rebadged version of the company's existing Tab 10.1 (or Tab 750).

The company had first announced the Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 at MWC 2012 event. Compared with the Tab 10.1, the new model is a bit thicker and heavier. There is a slight change in the design too, as the stereo speakers are more prominently placed facing the front, rather than the sides. While the screen resolution and type have remained the same, the Tab 2 (10.1) does get expandable memory support this time.

For those who've missed it all along, here's a quick look at what it has to offer:

10.1-inch PLS LCD display with a resolution of 1280 x 800
3G, Wi-Fi and Wi-Fi Direct
GPS with A-GPS, GLONASS,
Bluetooth v3.0, USB 2.0,
3 MP auto-focus rear camera with full HD 1080p video recording capabilities @ 30fps
VGA front facing camera for video calling
16/ 32GB Internal memory with MicroSD Card support up to 32 GB
3.5mm audio jack

The tablet is available in silver and white variants.

While there is no official confirmation yet, sources have informed us that the iPad mini and the fourth generation iPad will be available in India today. According to some sources, the 16 GB iPad mini Wi-Fi only version is expected to be available for Rs 21,900, while the 32 GB and 64 GB versions may sell for Rs 27,900 and Rs 33,900, respectively. The iPad mini Wi-Fi + cellular version may cost Rs 29,900 for the 16 GB version, and the 32 GB version may be priced at Rs 35,900. The high-end 64 GB iPad mini Wi-Fi + cellular version will sell for Rs 41,900.

The fourth generation, 9.7-inch iPad Wi-Fi only version is rumoured to be selling at Rs 31,900, the 32 GB model at Rs 37,900, and the 64 GB one at Rs 43,900. The Wi-Fi + Cellular iPad 16 GB version could cost Rs 39,900; the 32 GB tablet could cost Rs 45,900; and the 64 GB variant may sell for Rs 51,900.

So if you have waited for the Galaxy Tab 2 10.1’s price to drop and want to snag a unit, now will be a good time to get your hands on one.

Google Translate for Android now recognises text with camera

2012-12-06T22:24:00.001-08:00

Google Translate app for Android has been updated to version 2.5.3. Those updating to the newest version of the app will be able to translate Chinese, Japanese and Korean languagesby recognising text with their camera. However, it only supports horizontal text at the moment. Moreover, the app can now recognise handwriting in more languages, i.e. Afrikaans, Croatian, Czech, Icelandic, Latvian, Lithuanian, Macedonian, Slovak, Slovenian, Ukrainian and Welsh. To be able to use the Google Translate app, Android users will need devices running version 2.1 and above. Head over to the Google Play store to download the latest version of the app.

Recognises text with camera

A popular Android app, Google Translate allows you to translate text between more than 64 languages. Users can translate words and phrases between over 65 languages using the app. For most languages, users can even speak their phrases and hear the corresponding translations. Additionally, users can use their camera to click a picture and brush text to translate – the feature is available on Android version 2.3 and above.

The app allows users to communicate with others using speech-to-speech translation in Conversation Mode (ALPHA, 14 languages). Translations can be viewed in full screen mode to make it easy for others nearby to read. Users can star their favourite translations for quick access even when offline. Users can spell out the translation of non-Latin script languages (e.g. Chinese, Japanese etc..) in Latin characters to read it phonetically (e.g. Pinyin, Romaji). They can also view additional dictionary results for single words or short phrases. To write what you want to translate, all you need to do is push the handwriting button.

Recognising handwritings

The Google Translate app for Android was updated to version 2.5 in August this year. The new version, among other things, allowed users to take a picture of the text that they want translated and then swipe it to have it translated. This new feature is available to users with Android 2.3 and up. Late in 2010, we had reported about Word Lens, which did something similar with images and translation. Word Lens is an app for the iPhone that instantly translates text in an image. It uses optical character recognition technology. So the next time you don't understand something, just point at it with your iPhone camera and you'll be greeted by an instant translation.

Among other features, the updated Google Translate app provides you instant translation results as you type. Users also have the option of choosing dialect preferences for speech input. One of the other highlighted features of the updated app is multiple character recognition for Japanese handwriting input.

Last year, Google had added as many as 14 global languages to the Conversation Mode feature. The feature is now available in Brazilian Portuguese, Czech, Dutch, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Mandarin Chinese, Polish, Russian and Turkish, taking the total number of supported languages to an impressive 16.

Conversation Mode was first introduced as an experiment. This feature allowed users to speak directly into their smartphone's microphone, and the app would translate the spoken language and would read it aloud. Then, the person on the other end would speak into their microphone and the Translation app would translate it for you and read it aloud.

Apple iPad mini launched in India starting at Rs 21,900

2012-12-06T22:15:00.000-08:00

After a ton of rumours and speculation surrounding its launch date, the Apple iPad mini has finally made its way to India. This mini tablet from Apple is now available at authorised Apple resellers for a starting price of Rs 21,900.

The 16 GB iPad mini Wi-Fi only version is available for Rs 21,900, while the 32 GB and 64 GB versions costs Rs 27,900 and Rs 33,900, respectively. The iPad mini Wi-Fi + cellular version costs Rs 29,900 for the 16 GB version, and the 32 GB version is priced at Rs 35,900. The high-end 64 GB iPad mini Wi-Fi + cellular version sells for Rs 41,900.

With the iPad mini starting at Rs 21,900 (16GB), it can compete directly with the Nexus 7 and the Galaxy Tab 2 (310), both of which are priced slightly below Rs 20,000. Read our comparison of these three tablets here.

At the announcement of the iPad mini in late October, Apple declared that the new iPad design is such that it is now 23 percent thinner and 53 percent lighter than the third generation iPad. The new iPad mini sports a 7.9-inch multi-touch display, FaceTime HD, and iSight cameras.

The iPad mini has come to India

The iPad mini has an aluminium and glass design 7.2 mm thick, and weighs only 0.68 pounds. As per an official statement by Apple, the iPad mini has 35 percent more screen real estate than 7-inch tablets, and up to 67 percent more usable viewing area when browsing the web. The dual-core A5 chip on the iPad mini allows for responsive graphics and a multi-touch experience that Apple believes to be both, fast and fluid while still providing all-day battery life.

The iPad mini features a front-facing FaceTime HD camera and a 5-megapixel iSight camera at the back, which allows for recording full 1080p HD video. The iSight camera includes video image stabilisation and both cameras feature backside illumination, which Apple claims will allow users to capture great pictures in low light. The iPad mini also allows easy sharing of photos with friends and family using iCloud’s Shared Photo Streams.

Can fit in a hand

The iPad mini features dual-band 802.11n Wi-Fi support for speeds up to 150 Mbps, which Apple says is twice the Wi-Fi performance compared to previous the iPad models. The iPad mini is available in a Wi-Fi version and a cellular one, which are world-ready with built-in support for most wireless standards, including LTE and DC-HSDPA. Using the Personal Hotspot feature you can share a fast cellular data connection via Wi-Fi, Bluetooth or USB with up to five other devices such as the MacBook Pro, the iPod touch or another iPad.

The iPad mini features support for the Lightning connector, which Apple states is smaller, smarter, and more durable than the 30-pin connector. Lightning connector accessories are available to support cameras, SD cards, and VGA or HDMI digital video.

HP Envy 4 1104TU Review

2012-12-06T02:39:00.003-08:00

Ultrabooks are being sold across the board at different price ranges, and it seems like pricing of products is slowly coming down. They were first launched at price tags crossing Rs. 70,000, but with prices dropping, adoption rates are likely to rise. HP has quite a few models being launched and its Envy line-up received the Spectre XT Ultrabook a while back. For the more mainstream masses, now there’s the new Envy 4 1104TU, a larger Ultrabook from HP with a more ‘fuller’ keyboard.

Design and build
The Envy 4 has the same feel and look as the Spectre XT in many ways. In fact, it looks like a larger version of the Spectre XT. It’s got a larger form factor due to the larger 14-inch screen, but it’s also thicker at the same time. The top of the cover has the usual metal finished HP logo on it—this against a black brushed metal finished top on this particular model. From the outsides, the Envy 4 1104TU is quite the looker.

HDMI, USB and foldable Ethernet ports on the left side

Open the cover and you find some resemblance to the Spectre XT. There’s a silverish brushed metal finish around the keyboard and the trackpad. Above the keyboard is the speaker bar that has a Beats audio logo embedded on it. This also matches the layout of the Spectre XT as well, with a similar styled power button on the left.

For cooling the notebook, there’s a long panel of vents at the rear. The side panels are made of plastic and feature the connectivity ports. All in all though, the notebook is quite sturdy. There’s very little flex and the hinge on the screen is decent. It’s pretty thin and gives the notebook a good look. However, there’s some display issue noticed when tilting the screen, which is due to the pressure on the screen.

Separate audio connectors on the right

The keyboard is well-spaced and the keys look larger and are easier to type on than some of the smaller Ultrabooks. The keys are soft and light, somewhat like the MacBooks. The keys aren’t backlit though. The up and down direction keys are small and placed on top of each other, making them a tiny bit annoying to use. The keyboard for the most part is well laid out though, except for the missing Pause key. There are no physical hotkeys but only shortcut keys to adjust volume and perform multimedia functions. The trackpad is decent sized and the click buttons are the same as on the Spectre XT, without any clear separation. When it comes to weight, it’s 1.75 kg in weight, which is a bit heavy.

Features
When it comes to hardware, there’s nothing spectacular as such. There’s an Intel Core i5 3317U processor under the hood that runs at a speed of 1.7GHz. It’s a dual-core processor with two threads each and 4GB of RAM onboard. That’s exactly the same as the Spectre XT as well. Most of the similarities end there though. For data, there’s a 500GB hard drive in place of the SSD that’s found on the Spectre XT. HP bundles Windows 8 on the HP Envy 4 1104TU.

There’s a 14-inch display on the 1104TU that runs a standard resolution of 1366 x 768. In terms of connectivity, there are three USB ports and two separate 3.5 ports—one for microphone and the other for headphones. HP continues to bundle the Beats audio speakers and system on its Ultrabooks.

Keyboard layout is neat but similar to most other Envy line of notebooks

There’s an HDMI port but no D-Sub port. To save space, there’s a foldable Ethernet port as well. The battery on the Envy 4 1104TU isn’t removable, which can be a little annoying if you want to upgrade.

Performance
The notebook we reviewed came bundled with Windows 8 and we used the same benchmarks that we’ve used with Windows 7. We had some issues running PCMark 7, but excluding that, all the other benchmarks ran just fine. 3D Mark Vantage throws out a score of 10617, which is similar to other notebooks but surprisingly faster than the Spectre XT. The same is the case with benchmarks such as Cinebench 11 and other real world tests such as file compression using 7-zip, which takes 34 seconds to compress a 100MB file. Video encoding to x264 codec takes marginally longer though.

The presence of a hard drive means that read and write speeds aren’t as impressive as that of an SSD. Read speeds on CrystalDiskMark barely cross 100MB/s while write speeds peak out at 96MB/s. The screen of the Envy 4 1104TU is pretty vibrant and detailed, but viewing angles make the display difficult to view from the sides or from any vertical angle. Audio is detailed but lacks bass. There are slightly better sound speakers that we've heard on laptops priced under this range.

The built-in battery will last an hour and 40 minutes, which is a bit low considering that the smaller Spectre XT covered well over two hours without much effort.

Verdict

Nice black, brushed metal finish on the rear

The HP Envy 1104TU sells at a price of Rs. 52,990 here in India. For that price, you get most of what you get in the Spectre XT, but for a lot less. The Spectre XT was priced at Rs. 64,990. but the 1104TU is a good Rs. 12,000 less. In that price, you also get Windows 8 and a slightly more usable notebook thanks to its larger keyboard and screen. The only actual lacking feature is a built-in SSD.