Google Phone In January, Unlocked, Thinner Than iPhone

At last, the Googlephone has appeared. Forget the Droid, the G1 and all those other Android wannabees. Google will begin to sell its own reference Android 2.1 handset, designed by Google,made by hardware partner HTC, and called the Nexus One. The phone will be sold online by Google itself.
The Nexus One will, crucially, be sold unlocked, giving Google complete control over the hardware and software with no pesky carrier interference. Even the iPhone, which has had almost unprecedented autonomy in its functionality is still constrained by carriers: AT&T’s anti-tethering paranoia is a good example.
Although not yet officially announced, Google has coyly admitted that the phone is real and will be on sale early in the new year. In fact, it has provided the handset to its employees in order to test it out in the wild. The Google Mobile Blog explains, somewhat cryptically:

We recently came up with the concept of a mobile lab, which is a device that combines innovative hardware from a partner with software that runs on Android to experiment with new mobile features and capabilities, and we shared this device with Google employees across the globe. This means they get to test out a new technology and help improve it.
Unfortunately, because dogfooding is a process exclusively for Google employees, we cannot share specific product details. We hope to share more after our dogfood diet.

The phone is already in use. Nerdy John Gruber of Daring Fireball found this user agent string in his site’s logs:

Mozilla/5.0 (Linux; U; Android 2.1; en-us; Nexus One Build/ERD56C) AppleWebKit/530.17 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/4.0 Mobile Safari/530.17

It makes sense to identify yourself as Mobile Safari, if only to get proper mobile Webkit pages served to you.
Characteristically, and in contrast to Apple’s secrecy, photos of the Googlephone are already being posted openly by Googlers, or being handed to their friends. The picture above, posted on Twitpic by blogger Cory O’Brien, shows the handset (taken on an iPhone and with a BlackBerry in the background). According to O’Brien, “Google Phone = iPhone + a little extra screen and a scroll wheel. Great touch screen, and Android”.
The hardware specs are also leaking. Erick Schonfeld at TechCrunch says that the Nexus will run on Qualcomm’s speedy Snapdragon chip, sport an OLED display, be thinner than the iPhone (with no physical keyboard) and feature two microphones along with a “weirdly large” camera.
Those hoping to get an iPhone-caliber phone on Verizon are out of luck. The Nexus will be a GSM phone, which means T-Mobile and AT&T in the US. Worse, if you do opt for AT&T, your data connection could be EDGE-only. Gruber again, from Twitter.

The bummer I’m hearing about Nexus One: it’s GSM and unlocked, but on T-Mobile’s 3G band, so it works on AT&T but EDGE-only.

According to the Media Memo blog at the Wall Street Journal, the choice to use GSM was prompted by Verizon’s refusal to carry the Nexus. Verizon already sells the Android-based Droid, but this odd decision looks like a repeat of the one made when the carrier turned down the iPhone.
This may turn out to be a Zune-like move, where Microsoft alienated hardware makers by ignoring PlaysForSure in favor of its own new DRM scheme. Or the Nexus could be a light that burns twice as bright as all the existing confusion of Android handsets combined, thus building a brand that can rival the iPhone. Either way, we won’t have to wait for long to see. The Nexus should be on sale in early January, and if these last two days are any indication, then Googlers will have “leaked” all the hardware and software well before the launch.

Dell earns $6.5 million, thanks to Twitter

Those who say that Twitter is nothing more than a place where people share inconsequential experiences in their lives might want to listen up. Dell told Bloombergon Tuesday that it has earned an estimated $6.5 million in sales of PCs, accessories, and software, thanks to promotions on Twitter.

Dell's vice president for the company's online unit, Manish Mehta, told Bloomberg that over the past three months alone, the number of people who have started following Dell's tweets has risen 23 percent. The company's DellOutlet account, which is home to most of the vendor's sales announcements, currently has almost 1.5 million followers. But unlike some companies, Dell has made Twitter an integral part of its operation. Bloomberg reported that "more than 100 employees send out the tweets" to customers.

"It's a very vibrant channel for us and it's growing aggressively," Mehta told Bloomberg, referring to Twitter. "It's not just our reach and growth that has progressed, it's that it's happening globally."

Mehta told Bloomberg that its Twitter accounts are followed by people in 12 countries. Brazil users alone spent $800,000 in the past eight months, he said.

Samsung's Bada Aims to Bring Apps to All

Samsung has revealed a bit more about Bada, a new mobile phone platform that's supposed to bring apps to cheaper smartphones.

Bada will include a lot of the features you'd expect in a smartphone, such as motion and proximity sensors, accelerometers, face detection, and location-based services. Bada-based phones will focus on apps, and Samsung, like so many others, is trying to attract app developers with openness and flexibility. It's worth noting that Samsung will allow apps to control the dialer, send messages, anbd access contact lists. These are the kinds of features you see in, say, the iPhone.

But Bada phones will not be like the iPhone. Samsung calls it a "smartphone for everyone," in essence bringing the app-centric mentality of high-end smartphones down a notch to cheaper feature phones. The manufacturer believes there's a market for that, citing its own survey that found 42 percent of feature phone users willing to pay for apps, and 54 percent of those people saying they'd pay up to 5 Euros (roughly $7) for apps.

So far, Bada has attracted some heavy hitters, particularly in gaming. Electronic Arts, Capcom, andGameloft (developer of Ubisoft-licensed games, among others) will release games on the platform. Twitter and Blockbuster are also getting involved in Bada.

What's the catch? Samsung hasn't announced any phones yet, but I doubt Bada phones will be as desirable as high-end smartphones. Still, it's too early to judge. But in the United States, I see one potential snag: Any phone that consumes a lot of data, including Samsung's existing Omnia phones, is subject to thesame $30 or more for monthly data as high-end phones such as the iPhone and the Droid.

At that point, is downgrading worthwhile? If you want apps, you can get an iPhone or Droid Eris for $100, and Palm's Pre or Pixi for even less. At least then, you're getting proven app platforms instead of a fledgling one.

JetFlash USB

The new JetFlash 600 USB Flash drive is the latest addition to the existing Transcend USB flash drivefamily. According to Transcend the JetFlash 600 USB drives can delivers up to 18MB/s writing speed and up to 32MB/s reading speed.

The JetFlash drives need no introduction; it is already been popular with the masses. The New JetFlash 600 is windows 7, Vista, XP, ME, 2000 compatible. JetFlash 600 Drives can also seamlessly work on different operating system such as Linux and Mac, and efficiently transfer data between them. 

JetFlash 600 USB drives which are now available in India comes in 4GB, 8GB, 16GB and 32GB storage capacity and carry a lifetime warranty.

The USB drive comes with free Elite Software and data management tools.

One just needs to plug the device into the USB slot and the device gets instantly recognised and ready for use. JetFlash 600 USB drives do not require any drives or external power supply.

JetFlash 600 offers ample storage space and is extremely light weight. 

JetFlash 600 are priced as follows
4GB – 1200 INR
8GB – 2000 INR
16GB – 4000 INR
32GB – 8000 INR 

Samsung forays corby

Samsung forays two new Corby brand handset into Indian telecom market. The Phones which will soon be on sales are Corby Plus B3410 and Corby Pro B5310.The handsets supports slide out QWERTY keypads and designed specially to cater youths.

The phone offers social networking over the popular social platforms like Twitter, Facebook and my space. The handsets have TouchWiz sidebar to connect with these widgets.

Here in India the name Corby plus (B3410) has given to Samsung model number B3410 but in other market it is not popular with this name. The Corby name is specially given because of its popularity in India. The fact is that Samsung has noticed a decent sale of its first Corby Phone the S3650.

The Corby pro is having rich features like Wi-Fi,3-2 MP camera and having 100 Mb memory with GPS integration. The phone have3.5 mm jack and the will cost around 13,900.

The Corby pro is Mid-segment handset comes with GPS and Wi-Fi enabled. It has 2 Mp camera and 3.5 jack and will cost around 10,500.

Global warming

More than 1,700 British scientists have signed a petition insisting that global warming is man-made, a spokesman said Thursday after leaked emails sparked a row over the science behind climate change.

The emails, intercepted from scientists at Britain's University of East Anglia, a top centre for climate research, have been seized upon by sceptics as evidence that the experts twisted data in order to dramatise global warming.

But the British scientists' petition, released on the fourth day of a landmark United Nations summit on climate change in Copenhagen, insisted the evidence was clear.

"We, members of the UK science community, have the utmost confidence in the observational evidence for global warming and the scientific basis for concluding that it is due primarily to human activities."

Some of leaked emails expressed frustration at the scientists' inability to explain what they described as a temporary slowdown in warming and discussed ways to counter the campaigns of climate change naysayers.

A spokesman for the Met Office, Britain's national weather service, said its head John Hirst had written to 70 colleagues last Sunday asking them to sign "to defend our profession against this unprecedented attack to discredit us and the science of climate change."

The petition was then forwarded to scientist colleagues to generate support "for a simple statement that we... have the utmost confidence in the science base that underpins the evidence for global warming," the spokesman said.

Twitter voted 'top English word'

Twitter, the phenomenon of social networking in just 140 words made popular by Stephen Fry and Sarah Brown has been voted the top English word this year.

Sarah Brown, the Prime Minister's wife, and Stephen Fry are among the celebrities who are prolific 'Twitterers' Photo: PA

The word was more popular than Obama and H1N1 - the scientific name for the latest Swine Flu strain sweeping the globe.

Other words to enter common currency reflect the global economic crisis such as "stimulus" - the $800 billion aid package meant to help mend the US economy - and "deficit."

Related Articles

• Facebook a target for hackers'

• Stephen Fry faces Polish roasting

• Twitter Japan to charge

Of the top 15 words, a further six are linked to the downturn such as "outrage" to denote feelings generated by bankers bonuses in bailed out companies, "bonus," "unemployed," and "foreclosure" when mortgage defaulters are evicted.

But surprisingly Hadron the ephemeral particles subject to collision in the Large Hadron Collider as part of the giant experiment into the origins of the universe has entered the global psyche.

The top words and phrases were compiled by Texas-based Global Language Monitor which monitors the internet, the media and an electronic database to estimate how many times certain topics are brought up.

Founder Paul Payack said: "In a year dominated by world-shaking political events, a pandemic, the after effects of a financial tsunami and the death of a revered pop icon, the word Twitter stands above all the other words.

"Twitter represents a new form of social interaction, where all communication is reduced to 140 characters. Being limited to strict formats did wonders for the sonnet and haiku.

"One wonders where this highly impractical word-limit will lead as the future unfolds."

The top 15 words were:

1. Twitter

2. Obama

3. H1N1

4. Stimulus

5. Vampire

6. 2.0 - as in suffix attached to the next generation

7. Deficit

8. Hadron

9. Healthcare

10.Transparency

11.Outrage

12.Bonus

13.Unemployed

14.Foreclosure

15.Cartel

Spice Mobiles launches dual SIM ‘Edutainment’ phone

Spice Mobiles launched M-6060 dual SIM handset which has features related to education and entertainment. The features include test papers, vocabulary guides, general knowledge along with entertaining features like MP3 & FM player, 1.3 MP camera, expandable memory, Bluetooth, free boom speakers and other fun applications. It also has Spice Masterji which is application to assist students while preparing for CAT, AIEEE, GMAT, CBSE Board examinations. The model also has sections on health and fitness, job search, Inventions, Woman's zone, Kids' Zone. On the entertainment front, the phone has a free Boom speaker, Big Screen, 1.3 MP camera with flash and e-book reader. It is priced at Rs 4,399/-.

Xbox LIVE iPhone App Lets You Message on the Go

Can't get enough Xbox LIVE out of your Xbox 360? Apple iPhone owner? Two bucks to spare? You might care to give 360 Live a look. It's a smallish 1.6MB app available through Apple's iPhone store designed to let you reach out and touch your Xbox LIVE account from just about anywhere, as well as several of the service's tracking and messaging features.

Accordingly, you can manage your Gamertag as you would in front of the actual box, adding, removing, accepting, or rejecting friend requests. You can see who's online or not, check 'gamerscores' (a numeric tally of lifetime game achievements), biographical info, avatars, locations, and so on. It's possible to keep tabs on friends' game histories and compare achievements in general or by game, and if you're into text chatting through LIVE as opposed to standard messaging tools, you can read and send your LIVE messages--even dispatch to multiple recipients at once.

This isn't the first version of the app, but it is the first that lets you login with your Xbox LIVE credentials and automatically grab friends without having to enter them individually.

Customer reviews seem predominantly positive, with 20 of 35 awarding the app five stars. The handful of low ratings complain of slow logins or the rare crash, and one preaches about the dangers of handing over your Xbox LIVE access information to an independent developer.

The question is whether Microsoft will let that $2 fee stand, since the company declared back in August 2008 that all Xbox LIVE-related apps had to be free. Stories at the time claimed Microsoft has "halted" sales of all LIVE-related iPhone apps, which is slightly misleading, since all Microsoft can technically do is appeal that Apple do so. Whatever actually happened back in August 2008, developers apparently complied, and popular apps like Xbox LIVE Friends dropped to gratis status thereafter.

Should Microsoft be able to dictate the terms of sale when it comes to independent manipulation of what amounts to the exoskeleton of its LIVE services? To the extent end user license agreements can be promulgated and legally enforced, the answer's yes, the operative word in that sentence being 'extent'. Given precedent, I'd wager we'll see the app drop to freebie status soon.

World's most expensive iPhone @ Rs 14.7 cr

A British company has unveiled the world's most expensive mobile phone -- a gold iPhone encrusted with nearly 200 diamonds that retails at a hefty 1.92 million pounds, or Rs 14.7 crore.

The phone, designed by Stuart Hughes for the Liverpool-based Goldstriker International, is made from 22-carat gold.

It has 136 diamonds in the front bezel and an Apple logo made out of no fewer than 53 diamonds.

The phone's front navigation button comprises a rare diamond of 7.1 carats. The phone, which took over ten months to make, ships with a seven kg chest crafted from a single block of granite, offset with Kashmir gold and lined with Nubuck leather on the inside.

Called the iPhone 3G Supreme, it was reportedly commissioned by an anonymous Australian businessman.

Airfone Launches Four Low-end Phones

Airfone has announced the addition of four new models to its expanding line up of affordable handsets in India. The company, which concentrates on the low to mid-range segment in India, has announced the AF 11, the Flip 29i, the AF 26 and the AF 31 - all of which are capable multimedia phones.

All three devices come with dual SIM support as well and offer pretty good multimedia support as well.

Starting off with the Flip 29i, as the name suggests, it is a flip (clamshell) phone and boasts of a 1.3 megapixel camera and a touchscreen OS as well. Additional bits like an MP3 player, video recording and memory expansion make the phone a decent buy for Rs. 4,999. The Flip 29i comes with a 2GB TF card as well.

Next in line is the AF 26, which has similar features as its flip-bodied brethren. The camera on it is a step down though. It can take pictures only at VGA resolution. There is a voice recorder and Bluetooth connectivity thrown in as well. The AF 26 supports expandable memory and can hold cards of upto 8GB. The battery life is above average and the company claims a 15-day standby time for this one! The AF 26 can be yours for Rs. 2,999.

Then, we have the AF 31 that offers GSM+ GSM or GSM + CDMA dual SIM modes. Basic features like a VGA camera audio/video recorder, torch, Bluetooth, GPRS support, stereo FM radio and memory expansion make this phone a decent buy at Rs. 4,999. This one supports upto 16GB of memory with SD cards.

The company has also launched the AF 11, another dual SIM handset, that is claimed to be the country's cheapest. The AF 11 is a very basic phone but supports features like FMRadio, MP3 player and 420-minute talk time. This one wills set you back by just Rs. 1,499!

World's cheapest car Tata Nano goes green

India's Tata Group says it is planning to produce hybrid versions of its Nano, billed as the world's cheapest car.

Ratan Tata, the chairman of both Tata Group and Tata Motors - the biggest vehicle producer in India - made the comments on a visit to South Korea.

A hybrid vehicle typically uses two or more distinct power sources to move it, usually petrol or diesel and a battery.

Mr Tata also said that low-priced goods would drive sales faster than high-end ones in India.

And he predicted this so-called price revolution would also continue to spread across the world.

The chairman did not provide any further details on the possible launch of cheap hybrid versions.

The Nano, whose basic model costs 100,000 rupees ($2,155; £1,306), was first delivered in India in July this year.

IMEI-Less Handsets Goes Offline Today

The Department of Telecommunications (DoT), India has issued directive to relegate the IMEI-Less Handsets from today. This step is being taken to curb the illegal practices.

This news will make about 25 million subscribers unhappy as they have to keep back their favourite sets at home. The mobile operators have been asked to make such phones offline today.

Earlier, the authority had differences in taking a concrete step in banning those sets. Even, it was proposed to assign a legal IMEI number to those phones. But now, the telecom authority has issued a fresh directive to disband those IMEI-Less Handsets from today.

Though, there have been previous attempts to ban such phones, still there has to be a proper action. So it is to be seen if the mobile operators are responding to this directive or making any objection to it.

All new Yahoo

Social networking online never had it any better. And with the choices available on the internet, it is only a given that just e-mails won’t do. Yahoo! has jumped into the give-more wagon and churned out new features for its e-mail service users.“Your favourite e-mail service now comes with additional social and productivity features. You can connect with friends and family, edit and share heavy files, right from you Yahoo! Mail inbox,” says Arun Tadanki, Managing Director, Yahoo! India. The new features include the following.Calling all social beings● The new social features will help you stay updated on what friends and family are sharing online, including the ability to view the most recent e-mails from contacts and receive birthday reminders.● You can view updates across contacts when they change their name, e-mail address or phone number.Stay attached● With more people sharing and receiving larger number of photos everyday, Yahoo! Mail has extended the attachment limit for photos and files up to 25MB (up from 10MB)Always mobile● Stay on top of your e-mails with oneclick access to check, compose, and search e-mail. Additionally, support for downloading attachments such as Microsoft Office documents, PDF files and photos has been added, as well as the ability to access personal folders.● These enhancements will be accessible on over 400 devices with HTML browsers.Calls for a photo● New multi-select and drag-and-drop functionality makes it dramatically easier to attach more photos to e-mail, view thumbnail previews and rotate pictures.

Microsoft cuts price of high-end Xbox model by $100

Microsoft Corp is slashing the price of its high-end Xbox 360 model by $100, ratcheting up the stakes in the game console fight this holiday season.

Microsoft will drop the price of the Xbox 360 Elite to $299.99, it said on Thursday, just days after Sony cut the rival PlayStation 3 to $299.

The price on the entry-level Xbox Arcade model will stay at $199.99, and Microsoft will phase out its mid-range Pro console, leaving it with two models. The Pro will sell for $249.99 until supplies run out. The global price cut is effective Friday.

The Xbox is the No. 2 console in the U.S., behind Nintendo's Wii, which sells for $249. But Xbox sales have showed strength this year, up 17 percent in the U.S., the only console in positive territory.

Microsoft spokesman David Dennis said the price cut has been in the works for some time, and was not a response to Sony's move, which was announced last week at the Gamescom video game trade show in Cologne, Germany.

Rather, he said the company hoped the price reduction would attract new buyers and help simplify its product mix for manufacturers and retailers as well as customers.

"It really makes the decision for consumers a lot easier," he said. "They're either price conscious and they gravitate towards the Arcade or they the want the full Xbox 360 experience."

Game publishers such as Activision Blizzard have been clamoring for console price cuts, which help boost sales of software by increasing the installed based.

Nokia India's music store goes live with 3 million tracks

Nokia has launched its music store service in India, which will offer over three million international and Hindi film and regional soundtracks across all genres. To begin with, the consumers can experience Nokia Music store (http://music.nokia.co.in) via inbox vouchers included in all XpressMusic handsets and select Nseries devices and ESeries devices such as N97, N86, E71, E63 amongst others.

Nokia has tied up with international music labels such as Universal Music Group, Sony Music, EMI and Warner and independent Indian record labels including T-Series, Yash Raj Music, Saregama, BIG Music and Venus. The company has also partnered with Indian Music Industry (IMI), a consortium of over 150 music companies, to give consumers an opportunity to discover and enjoy their favorite music on the go across genres and languages. Nokia has also signed up with GIRI and Phoneytunes for access to South India and North regional content respectively.

Additionally, Nokia also used the Nokia Music Connects platform to showcase three music devices - Nokia 5630 XpressMusic, Nokia 5530 XpressMusic and Nokia 5230. The new devices are Music Store compatible and would be available in the Indian market later this year.

Nokia executive vice president - sales Timo Ihamuotila said, "Music is an all-consuming passion with most people, especially in a country like India where it is an intrinsic part of the culture. Nokia is committed to connect people to what matters to them and with our pioneering music services and devices, we are well-placed to bring a great experience and immense value to the consumers. We also believe that the scale and reach of Nokia's customer base creates a significant opportunity for artists, labels and other music industry stakeholders to generate additional revenue for their offerings."

HTC back to market with myTouch 3G - Successor to G1

HTC is back to the cellular market with the launch of its new myTouch 3G, which is a sleeker device that takes advantage of recent software updates. It has more of software and hardware twists. The new myTouch 3G has a market cost of $200, which is $50 higher than the predecessor, the G1. The later version has smarter advantages.

The myTouch hit the market on August 5. The existing features are somehow similar to G1, but bit different in many aspects. It does not have slide out keyboard, rather it has a slimmer, lighter frame that has a touchscreen keyboard like iPhone. The myTouch 3G has a button, which directly takes a person to Google’s search engine.

While coming to battery life, myTouch 3G is far better than G1. It can last through a day, which includes talking, listening to music, surfing the Web and checking e-mail. Again taking snaps through myTouch 3G is faster than G1 but not that fast as expected. One helpful new feature specific to the myTouch, is the ability to check work email through Microsoft Exchange.

All these features make it more helpful for the businessmen who has round the clock requirement of accessing both personal and official mail accounts on same device. It is expected that the myTouch 3G will grab the market, but again to a niche section which has wide range of customers.

LG GC900 Viewty Smart 8 MP phone @ Rs. 27,500

LG GC900 Viewty Smart 8 MP phone @ Rs. 27,500 – LG Electronics has revealed out its most unique creation i.e. LG Viewty Smart GC900 especially for the Indian market. The phone comprises 8 MP camera, along with other luxuriant features and intelligent shot modes.

Now, users can easily store and memorize their beautiful moments with clear, crisp images captured from extraordinary 8 MP camera. The intelligent shot mode examines scenes and adjusts camera settings according to the user preference and suitability, granting him/her to capture best shots and share them with friends, family and relatives.

Some other unique features of the phone include new 3D S-class user interface, onscreen camera mode selector dial, Power LED flash facility, 1600 ISO sensitivity, Mobile communications and lots more. Embellished with a brushed metal finishing, the phone appeals very classy, durable and tough. This feature can be really helpful for the individuals who are engaged in photographing the exotic world. As per Business group marketing head of Mobile communications
LG Electronics, Anil Arora, “Viewty Smart is a real digital camera in a really stylish phone. Perfect for those dedicated to fashion and who like to be one step ahead of the technology crowd, LG GC 900 allows you to take your best shot and share your photos with friends and family quickly and simply. The Viewty Smart has a gorgeous display and best-of-class user interface. It has the potential of becoming a bestseller as it takes the pleasure of taking pictures to newer horizons”. He also added, “LG Viewty Smart changes are a treasure trove, giving you pictures that look exactly like what you see. It is the best 8 megapixel camera phone on the market not only because of its specs, but because of the unparalleled user experience it delivers”.

The thickness and weigh of the handset is 12.4mm and 102g respectively. Having razor sharp WVGA touchscreen, user can watch Xvid and DivX movies and do their entertainment. In a nutshell, all across the country, LG GC900 Viewty smart phone is available at all the retail outlets and centers at Rs. 27,500.

BlackBerry Curve 8520 for $0.01 by Amazon

BlackBerry fans have a reason to celebrate as the BlackBerry Curve 8520 will now be available just for 1 cent by Amazon. According to Boy Genius Report, the Amazon website reveals a new price that will give users a chance to save nearly $298.98.

Also known as the Gemini, the handset is ideal for users who like to be updated with the latest happenings across the world access the Internet wherever and whenever. It comprises of a 320 x 240 resolution, 2 MP camera and 3.5 mm stereo headset jack. The camera has zoom and video calling capabilities as well. This smartphone

is the first one to possess media keys on the top of the screen along with the BlackBerry Media Sync.

The full-QWERTY keyboard and the touch-sensitive optical trackpad allows easy typing as well as navigation. Besides, it provides 256MB flash memory and 512 MHz processor. It offers easy access to uninterrupted and speedy internet, instant messaging and access to popular networking sites. It offers Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity along with voice dialing option.

Looks like the new price of the BlackBerry Curve 8520 will make users forget the slashed prices by T-Mobile and Walmart.

Samsung Launches New LED TVs in India

Months after launching its 6000 and 7000 series of LED TV's in the country, Samsung has announced the launch if its more expensive (and bigger) 8000 series LED TVs in India. The 8000 series boasts of a 55" model that becomes the flagship LED TV offering from the company in India. Samsung has also added a 32" model to its 6000 series and another 55" model to its 7000.
The 8000 series line-up boasts of a 200Hz refresh rate as opposed to 100Hz in the 7000 and 6000 series. The higher refresh rates endure better rendering of fast moving images during gaming sessions or say, sports.

Apart from being lot slimmer than its LCD brethren, LED TVs boast of lesser power consumption and packs in as much features, but at a higher price range. These TVs also come equipped with high dynamic contrast rations for excellent color reproduction and clarity. Additionally, with an adaptive "Natural" mode, Samsung's LED HDTVs can combine the recognized brightness advantage of LCD displays with the cinema-like viewing experience of plasma displays by automatically optimizing picture settings.

The TVs, at just over 29mm thi(n)ck, can give even the thinnest LCD TVs a complex. This, however, has not been achieved by cutting down on functionalities and connectivity options, which explains the inbuilt tuners that the TVs come with. Another interesting feature of the new range of Samsung Led TVs is the USB 2.0 movie feature, which makes viewing videos and photos from a camcorder, playing music from a media player or accessing multimedia files from a portable drive simple. The DLNA Wireless feature in the 7000 and 8000 Series lets the user seamlessly watch content from the PC without any wires or cables. The Samsung LED TVs come with a built in Content Library Flash which includes pre-loaded content and lets users enjoy all cultural experiences including galleries, games, cooking to yoga.

Samsung India launched its 6000 and 7000 Series of LED TVs in India in April this year and has been carrying out innovative marketing programs to create awareness on this new technology. Based on the positive initial acceptance from Indian consumers, Samsung India expects 10 percent of its Flat Panel sales to be constituted by LED TVs this year, with the contribution levels expected to double next year.

With the new introductions today, Samsung now has three LED Series- 6000, 7000 and 8000 available in the Indian market across 32", 40", 46" and 55" screen size segments priced in the range between Rs.69,900 to Rs.3,00,000.

Review: Sony Vaio P-Series

Sony has a habit of differentiating itself from the competition by creating unique devices, and the Vaio P-Series is no exception. Unveiled in January at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, the tiny but fully functional device sits somewhere between a netbook and an ultra-portable laptop.

Measuring just 245mm wide, 120mm deep and 20mm high, the P-Series can just about fit into a back pocket, and will happily live inside a handbag, briefcase or small backpack. Even the power adaptor is not much bigger than a couple of matchboxes stacked together. It also weighs next to nothing, coming in at under 700g including the power adaptor and the LAN/VGA block.

Its tiny stature means that some functionality is limited, and it's supported by a connector port for attaching peripherals such as an optical drive. Because of the lack of space along the chassis, a LAN port and VGA port are set into a separate block that connects this way as well when required.

The P-Series includes just two USB ports, one on each side, and the right slot is positioned very close to the connector port which can make plugging and unplugging devices a little tricky. On the left is a power socket and a speaker jack. There is no microphone jack, but there is a built-in microphone and a USB microphone can be added if needed. The front houses the power slider, wireless switch, and SD and Sony Memory Stick Duo slots.

Display
Sony has made sure that its leadership in display technology has been put to good use in the P-Series. Although the 8in screen is smaller than on most netbooks, the picture is crystal clear and packs in a resolution of 1,600 x 768. The downside is that this makes for a rather odd aspect ratio, and the icons are tiny. Even with perfect eyesight, you'll find yourself straining and turning the font size up a few notches when working on documents.

Communication
What the P-Series lacks in slots and sockets it makes up for in wireless connectivity, packing in the usual Wi-Fi and Bluetooth along with GPS and a 3G modem, so getting online should never be a problem. The SIM card slot lives behind the battery, which can be slightly annoying if you're using the same SIM card for different things and need to swap it out regularly.

Keyboard
As with most of Sony's Vaio laptops, the isolated keyboard is a pleasure to use. The keys are a decent size, nicely spaced and have a good tactile feel so typing at full speed is not a problem. It's a bit tricky, but you can even hold the device in your hands and type with your thumbs if you're stuck on a crowded train and need to get that all important email sent off or check directions to the meeting.

The full-sized keyboard means that there is no space left for a touchpad, so Sony has opted for a small 'joystick' nub nestled in the centre of the keyboard to handle controlling the pointer, with mouse buttons along the base. The little nub works quite nicely but can take some getting used to if you've never encountered one before. When combined with the high screen resolution, navigating can sometimes be tricky, so you'll probably want to invest in a small USB mouse if you do a lot of pointing and clicking.

Review on Blackberry Curve 8520

The recent newest deal of T-Mobile’s Blackberry phone is astonishingly superb and proffers some unique features like optical track pad. Isn’t it is a very fair and great deal? After doing evaluation of Blackberry Curve 8520 on the basis of its positive and negative features, I found it just awesome and budget friendly phone.

The phone has been opinioned as a budget friendly Blackberry mobile device. Though, there are some lacunas as compared to other high-end Blackberry phones, but Curve 8520 has all the functionalities and does all the things that we look from Blackberry. Equipped with elegant and very attractive design, email and messaging done by Blackberry Curve 8520 is just as fast and organized as done from any other Blackberry phone.

In spite of other high-end Blackberry phones, Curve 8520 has some new add-ons like real multimedia playback controls, solid keyboard and optical trackback buttons. In addition, Curve 8520 is able to cut rate callings on T-Mobile’s network with its UMA Hotspot @Home calls over your Wi-Fi network. In a nutshell, Blackberry Curve 8520 is highly recommendable phone, subsequently when Amazon is proffering this phone just for a penny.

Positive – Curve 8520 is highly slick and light weighted phone, consisting great media playback controls and optical track pad. The phone is capable to do everything that more expensive and high-end featured Blackberry phones can do.

Negative – Curve 8520 call quality is average and lacks GPS, high speed networking functionalities. Battery life is not very good as other Blackberry phones have.

'Massive attack' strikes websites

High-profile websites including Google, Facebook and Twitter have been targeted by hackers in what is described as a "massively co-ordinated attack".

Other sites such as the blogging platform Live Journal were also reportedly targeted.

Twitter was taken offline for more than two hours whilst Facebook's service was "degraded", according to the firms.

Google said it had defended its sites and was now working with the other firms to investigate the attack.

"Google systems prevented substantive impact to our services," the company said in a statement.

The company has not confirmed which services were targeted in the attack, but it is thought that its e-mail service Gmail and and video site YouTube were under fire.

"We are aware that a handful of non-Google sites were impacted by [an]... attack this morning, and are in contact with some affected companies to help investigate this attack," the company said.

Twitter co-founder Biz Stone wrote on its own blog: "Twitter has been working closely with other companies and services affected by what appears to be a single, massively co-ordinated attack."

Those behind this latest attack may be using it as a means of highlighting the vulnerability of the sites we take for granted. Graham Cluley, Sophos

He said that the motivation for the attack was unclear and that the company would "prefer not to speculate".

However, Max Kelly, chief security officer at Facebook, told technology website CNET News that the attack was a strike targeted at a single user, pro-Georgian blogger Cyxymu.

"It was a simultaneous attack across a number of properties targeting him to keep his voice from being heard," he told the website.

Friday marks one year since the outbreak of war between Russia and Georgia.

Writing on his blog, Graham Cluley of security firm Sophos said: "This raises the astonishing thought that a vendetta against a single user caused Twitter to crumble, forcing us to ask serious questions about the site's fragility."

Spam attack

The popular sites were subject to a so-called denial-of-service (DOS) attacks on Thursday, the companies believe.

DOS attacks take various forms but often involve a company's servers being flooded with data in an effort to disable them.

Facebook was not completely taken offline by the attack

"Attacks such as this are malicious efforts orchestrated to disrupt and make unavailable services such as online banks, credit card payment gateways, and in this case, Twitter for intended customers or users," wrote Mr Stone.

These often use networks of computers - known as botnets -under the control of hackers.

The strategy is often employed by protestors against, for example, government websites, said Roger Thompson, chief research officer at security firm AVG.

"Those behind this latest attack may be using it as a means of highlighting the vulnerability of the sites we take for granted.

"There is no profit to be made from DOS and those who do carry out an attack like this will lose their botnet, showing there is no gain to be had."

Some unconfirmed reports have suggested that it was not a DOS attack but the result of a spam campaign containing links to Cyxymu's web pages on the various affected services.

Archived pages on Cyxymu's blog claim he was victim to this sort of attack, known as a "Joe Job".

But Mr Cluley said he didn't think that was a likely scenario. "Most people wouldn't have bothered clicking on the link," he wrote.

"However, I think it is possible that the spam campaign was either run alongside the denial-of-service from compromised computers around the world, or that someone who wasn't responsible for the Joe Job decided to wreak revenge on whoever they believed to have spammed them (and they might have imagined it was Cyxymu) by launching a DOS from their botnet."

Google Gets Into The Advertising Trash Talk Game

Microsoft has spent much of the past year taking shots at competitors through advertisements, and company executives have been crowing about the positive impact this is having on Microsoft's brand perception. Perhaps that's why Google is now getting into the act with some Microsoft-focused advertising of its own.

Google on Monday launched a billboard advertising campaign that will highlight the frustrations associated with using Microsoft Office. Over the next four weeks, billboards in Boston, Chicago, New York and San Francisco will illustrate how an anonymous IT managers' struggles with Office leads him to recommend that his company switch to Google Apps, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Sometime in the second half of 2010, Microsoft will offer Office Web Applications, lightweight versions that run in a Web browser and will be available in advertising-supported or subscription versions. Microsoft hasn't revealed pricing for the subscription versions yet. Google Apps Premier edition is $50 per user per year, but the Standard edition costs just $10 per year for a domain name. That's a pretty low bar to match for Microsoft, which has spent years milking the Office cash cow.

This type of advertising isn't exactly Google's bailiwick, but the Big Dog in search probably feels a need to respond in some fashion to Microsoft, whose recent slew of Bing advertisements suggest that the poor signal-to-noise ratio of today's search engines is frustrating to users. Microsoft is also trying to create the impression that Google's keyword-based search business model is to blame.

Google's billboards will also focus on the high cost of software upgrades as one of the advantages of using Google Apps. That's a delicious stroke of irony given Microsoft's recent efforts to do the same to Apple through its Laptop Hunters campaign. Microsoft has scored points by playing up the higher price tag of Macs, and last month Apple's lawyers asked Microsoft to change one of the ads to reflect recent price cuts.

Microsoft's advertising campaign has been expensive, but executives are clearly pleased with the results. And the Apple-focused campaign has been cheered both by shareholders and partners who've admitted to feeling a certain queasy feeling every time they saw one of Apple's brilliant "Get A Mac" spots.

Google may have watched the dynamics between Apple and Microsoft play out and decided to get some skin in the game. And, by using billboards as the medium, the search giant may be looking to get a bigger bang using fewer bucks.

INQ Mobile's Social Networking Phones

UK based INQ Mobile, while not a big industry name, has managed to carve a niche for itself with its unique range of Social Networking oriented handsets in the past. In fact, INQ shocked its contemporaries when its very first handset, the INQ 1, won the GSMA award for the best handset, because of its uniqueness as the world's only "Facebook phone"
Bolstered by the success, INQ has now gone ahead and announced two new handsets into its growing line up of devices. The new phones announced include the INQ Chat and INQ Mini, both of which boast of Twitter and other social network capabilities. Both the devices are capable multimedia handsets too with support for WMP and iTunes synchronization. The INQ Chat comes with a QWERTY keyboard for helping users chat away with ease. The INQ Mini, on the other hand, is a "normal" device with a standard keypad. Both the devices come with access to instant messaging clients, Skype support and a capable Internet browser.

Both the phones will be available in select countries starting fourth quarter this year. Prices have not been revealed as yet. INQ will, however, limit the sale of handsets to its current markets only.

Western Digital annouces two new mobile hard drives

Western Digital has announced two new mobile hard drives for the Indian market, that reach new capacity extremes. The highlight is a one terabyte model - the industry’s highest-capacity 2.5-inch drive available.

Industry-leading 333 GB-per-platter technology enables the new WD Scorpio Blue SATA 2.5-inch hard drives to offer mobile storage device and notebook users an enormous 1 TB capacity. A 750 GB WD Scorpio Blue model also will be available.

The WD Scorpio Blue 750 GB and 1 TB hard drives have a 12.5 mm form factor and are ideally suited for use in portable storage solutions, such as the newly released My Passport Essential SE Portable USB Drives.

Other applications include select notebooks and small form factor desktop PCs, where quiet and cool operation are important. Both WD Scorpio Blue drives deliver high-performance with a 3 gigabits per second (Gb/s) transfer rate.

Jim Morris, senior vice president and general manager of client systems at WD said “The convergence of the growing mobile computing and digital media trends produces demand for desktop-like capacities in portable devices.”

“Our new WD Scorpio Blue drives enable people to take even more of their digital collections with them wherever they go and, realizing the value of their data, back up their notebooks on their My Passport drives,” he added.

WD Scorpio Blue hard drives offer high-performance, low power consumption and cool operation in portable applications. They are designed with WD features to be reliable and shock resistant while also delivering industry-leading capacity and performance.

LG GC-900: Viewty Smarty

LG GC-900: Viewty Smarty

Product Info:

LG Launches Viewty Smart in India

Get smarty with a new launch of a LG mobile phone Viewty Smart. This newly launched brushed metal finish designed LG GC-900 in India have many features ton attract the attention of people. It has 4-inch touch screen with 8 mega pixel camera to give you good picture resolution of 720 X 480 video capturing facilities anD A-GPS receiver for geotagging the pictures. A perfect phone for to fashion dedicated people who just want to stay ahead of all in the technology crowd.

Main Features:

• Quad band GSM
• 7.2 Mbps HSDPA
• 1.4 Mbps HSUPA connectivity
• 3” full WVGA (800 x 480 px) touch screen display
• S class 3D interface
• microSDHC support, up to 32GB
• Built-in Wi-Fi
• A-GPS
• Accelerometer
• FM with RDS

Apart from these major in built functions of the phone, its camera has many other features as well. Just to start with it has 8 mega pixel cameras with Xenon Flash, image stabilizer; face tracking option, light sensitivity up to ISO 1600, high speed of video recordings to keep all your good memories with you always, DivX playback, XVID playback, Brust mode, manual and auto focusing facility.

What else you want to get techie, just go and grab it!

Samsung to launch Rogue U960 with a QWERTY keypad soon

As per the reports, the details and the images of Samsung Rogue U960 have leaked out. It is also known as the Verizon Glyde.

Samsung’s TouchWiz 2.0 operating system is believed to be running the U960. However, the complete set of specifications is still under covers. Reportedly, it will possess a 3 megapixel camera with a flash and a micro SD slot.

The slide out QWERTY keypad apparently makes the phone a little thick. There is also a 3.5mm headphone jack on the side. Expectedly, there is also a support for GPS navigation and EV-DO connectivity on the cards.

There will be a button for music control and camera on the side.

Expected to get released on the 15th August, the new Samsung Rogue U960 will soon have its specifications released.

Another little gem from HTC

HTC has improved markedly on the user interface from the original HTC Touch Pro. Back then, the UI was a CAB file installed on top of Windows Mobile.

Since HTC stood on their own two feet, some three years ago and began selling mobiles under their own name there has always been a UI called TouchFLO running on top the OS. Only now the new improved TouchFLO 3D comes across as a fully fledged OS and not just a backdrop to Windows Mobile 6.1.

If you wandered off the beaten track with the FLOs in the past, you were right back to the Windows Mobile OS. It's always been felt that the HTC GUI could have had a bigger part to play in the phone's software. Much to our delight, the HTC GUI is now coming into its own. Every screen of the Touch Pro2, from the home screen to the settings menu is all TouchFLO 3D. You'd be hard pushed to find a gap where Windows 6.1 actually pokes through.

There are some downsides to not having the full presence and clarity of Windows Mobile behind everything. One of the troublesome irks we discovered was the "recent documents open" list is now missing. This was very useful when accessing documents instantly, instead of hunting around the OS trying to find exactly where they've been stored.

The device has a full slide-out Qwerty keyboard, which is actually a marvel to type with. We've been looking for a replacement to that other great keyboard-based handset, the Nokia Communicator. For fast, responsive typing the Pro2 really shows up well with its spaced out keys and good comfortable return on the keyboard. Nokia missed an iteration of Communicators and this device could very well steal ground from the market leader.

The Pro2 can be used with the keyboard or without. The display is a 3.6-inch 480x800 WVGA touch screen, an increase from a VGA 2.8-inch display in the previous generation of Touch Pro. This is very responsible and accurate in handling touch requests, unlike previous HTC handsets which were often a tad off key.

Windows Mobile 6.1 is still struggling to catch up with Android and the Iphone, none more so than with multitouch which is still a thing of dreams for Microsoft. Instead of this "pinch to zoom in and zoom out" functionality being on offer, there's a Zoom bar at the base of the screen. Sliding a finger up and down this area scales the screens size, which isn't exactly multitouch but will do for now.

The original HTC Touch Pro looked like the Touch Diamond, only thicker because of the keyboard. HTC has realised this handset series can stand up on its own merits and have distanced it from the Diamond and Diamond2. Within this handset sequel HTC has created a good all round business and consumer phone, especially for those who desire a physical keyboard rather than a virtual one.

IIT Kanpur develops Nanosatellite named 'Jugnu'

A group of students at IIT Kanpur have developed a nanosatellite that provides real-time data on
drought, flood, vegetation and forestation.

"This satellite will have specific function of sending imagery on ground conditions. We will set up a tracking station in our institute where we will get the real-time data on drought, flood, vegetation and forestation," IIT Kanpur Director Prof S G Dhande said.

The nanosatellite costed Rs 2.5 crore to develop and will be handed over to ISRO, which is expected to launch it by the end of the year. Santanu Agrawal, an M Phil student headed the successful team of whizkids and named the satellite 'Jugnu'. There will not be any need of a dedicated launch for the satellite as it weighs less than 8KG. Jugnu will simply piggyback on a bigger satellite that launches. Larger satellites weigh in tonnes and have much more complicated electronic components.

"There will be no dedicated launch of this satellite. These kinds of satellites are launched from the belly of large satellites," Dhande said.

In case you're wondering where the nanotechnology comes in, the Jugnu is termed a nanosatellite for its miniscule size and affordable price. A few years ago ISRO began accepting satellites from other countries and colleges and the IIT Kanpur students took it upon themselves to build a satellite. "We took it as a challenge. We thought why should not we develop a satellite and give it to ISRO. Then 20 students got inspired by the idea and started its designing and fabrication," Dhande said.

Nanosatellites are relatively unpopular with Space Agencies across the globe as they primarily focus on larger, much more complicated satellites. Jugnu will orbit close to the earth. IIT Kanpur will showcase the Jugnu when the university celebrates its Golden Jubilee this month.

HP Pavilion 2709m LCD wide screen Monitor

HP has announced to launch its new Pavilion 2709m LCD wide screen Monitor. It has an aspect ratio of 16:9 and is 27″. It has a resolution of 1920 x 1080. It supports High DVI-D, HDMI and VGA.

It supports for HDCP enables the monitor to display HDTV resolution if connected by the DVI connector.

A monitor without HDCP support, or connected by analog VGA, causes the displayed video to be downgraded in quality to a DVD-like resolution that is less than HDTV.

HDCP is also a content protection system. HDCP prevents transmission of non-encrypted high definition content.

Weight Unpacked: 21.2 lbs (9.6 Kg) EMI standard FCC Class B Mounting Standard VESA 4-hole 100 mm x 100 mm EPA Energy Star As an Energy Star Partner, Hewlett-Packard has determined that this product meets the Energy Star guidelines for energy efficiency.

Features:
Display size: 27-inch (68.58 cm) diagonal and viewable image

Panel active area (width x height): 23.5-inch x 13.24-inch (59.7 cm x 33.6 cm)

Display type: Thin-Film Transistor LCD active matrix
BriteView technolog

WiMax subscribers to hit 50 million by 2014

WiMax is a wireless technology that delivers broadband speeds over the last mile, ideal for locations where cabling is not available or feasible. Faster than current wireless 3G technology, WiMax can also serve large metropolitan areas as it covers a wider area than conventional Wi-Fi.

Referenced in the report, the most advanced WiMax standard, WiMAX 802.16e, delivers greater throughput than other WiMax standards.

Though large-scale WiMax deployments have been delayed, many providers have so far been successful in countries ranging from Pakistan to the U.S., says Juniper.

The new 4G Clearwire wireless networks used by Sprint, Comcast, and other providers, runs over WiMax.

But WiMax faces an uphill climb against the competing wireless broadband standard Long Term Evolution, or LTE. A recent study by research firm In-Stat, predicted that WiMax may ultimately lose the battle against LTE, which is already backed by major telcos AT&T and Verizon.

Juniper Research, however, believes that the global deployment of WiMax will drive its growth. The larger number of WiMax subscribers will be in the Far East and China region, says the report, due to that area's early adoption of the technology.

WiMax gains in Western Europe and, to a lesser degree North America, will occur in areas underserved by DSL. Growth in Africa and the Middle East is likely to surpass that of Western Europe, says Juniper, gaining 15 percent of the overall WiMax subscriber base by 2014.

"WiMAX 16e will have opportunities not just in developing countries, but also areas of developed countries where the DSL coverage is weak or nonexistent," said Howard Wilcox, the author of the report. "The key for the industry ecosystem now is to overcome the challenges and ensure trials evolve into commercial services quickly."

More information about WiMax can be found here.

Microsoft and Yahoo! 'to confirm search deal'

After months of speculation, Microsoft and Yahoo! are today expected to announce details of an online search and advertising partnership, as both companies seek to compete more closely with Google

The announcement will come almost a year after Yahoo! rejected a $47.5 million (£28 million) takeover bid from Microsoft. Despite the knock-back, Microsoft continued to make overtures to the ailing portal company, and turned its attention towards creating a joint search and advertising venture that would present stiffer competition for Google, which dominates the market.

Under the terms of the deal, Microsoft's new search engine, Bing, is expected to power all Yahoo! searches, while Yahoo! assumes responsibility for handling advertising sales. The two companies are likely to leverage Microsoft's ad-serving technology to deliver relevant, contextualised advertising alongside search results.

Both Microsoft and Yahoo! are aware that they need to employ a different strategy if they are to have any hope of chipping away at Google's huge market lead in the search and online advertising sectors.

Yahoo! enjoys an eight per cent share of the global search market and is the second most popular search engine worldwide, but it is still dwarfed by Google, which enjoys a 67 per cent share of the search space, according to comScore. Microsoft, meanwhile, is struggling to convert people to Bing, the new search engine it launched in May. Bing currently accounts for around three per cent of all global searches.

The deal is sure to be well-received by both Microsoft and Yahoo! shareholders. Carl Icahn, a high-profile investor who is on the Yahoo! board of directors and owns a five per cent stake in the company, signalled his support for a deal between the two companies just a few weeks ago.

Now tweet, email with the Nokia 6760 slide

Nokia has announced to roll out its Nokia 6760 slide, a messaging optimized device with a sliding QWERTY keypad.

Ideal for individuals who want to stay connected when they are out and about, the Nokia 6760 slide offers fast and easy access to favourite social networking sites like Facebook, MySpace or Twitter as well as email accounts from Ovi Mail, Gmail, Yahoo! Mail, Windows Live Hotmail and thousands of other email providers.

Setting up an existing email on the Nokia 6760 slide is simple. Only the email address and password are required. Push email is available through Nokia Messaging.

Instant Messaging no longer needs to be confined to a computer as the Nokia 6760 slide also offers access to instant messaging solutions from Google Talk and Windows Live Messenger.

In addition to great messaging options, features like the inbuilt A-GPS module together with the 3D landmarks and the terrain maps give a greater dimension to the Nokia 6760 slide.

At the end of the day, the Nokia 6760 slide is a great multi-tasker – you can tweet, email, IM, share online, browse the web, listen to music, all at the same time. And it makes phone calls too!

The Nokia 6760 slide will be available during the third quarter of 2009 for EUR 199 before subsidies and taxes.

Airtel Slashes Broadband Rates

The broadband war is all set to heat up as Bharti Airtel slashes rates.

Subscribers will be able to experience 1 Mbps surfing speeds from Airtel at Rs. 1,699 per month, which is Rs. 100 more than current 512 Kbps. The 512Kbps speed plan will now cost Rs. 1,099, which is Rs. 200 more than current 256 Kbps.

For Rs. 1,699, subscribers will be offered 1Mbps surfing speeds, along with a free VAS bundle from Airtel worth up to Rs. 500 every month. This bundle would include gaming on Games on Demand, Anti-Virus software PC Secure, Airtel Speed on Demand, and Online desktop

While for Rs.1,099 per month, subscribers will get to experience 512 Kbps broadband speeds along with Rs. 100 worth of free call value per month.

Get details on these plans here.

According to Hindustan Times, state-owned Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd. (MTNL) and Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd. (BSNL) have said that they would offer services at lower than Bharti prices.

Get set for a speedier broadband experience for less. It only gets better!

Global warming: Sea level may rise 7-82 cm by century-end

New predictions indicate that the amount of sea level rise by the end of this century will be between 7- 82 cm – depending on the amount of warming that occurs.

Placing limits on the amount of sea level rise over the next century is one of the most pressing challenges for climate scientists.

Dr Mark Siddall from the University of Bristol, together with colleagues from Switzerland and the US, used fossil coral data and temperature records derived from ice-core measurements to reconstruct sea level fluctuations in response to changing climate for the past 22,000 years, a period that covers the transition from glacial maximum to the warm Holocene interglacial period.

By considering how sea level has responded to temperature since the end of the last glacial period, Siddall and colleagues predict that the amount of sea level rise by the end of this century will be similar to that projected by the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).

According to Dr Siddall, “Given that the two approaches are entirely independent of each other, this result strengthens the confidence with which one may interpret the IPCC results. It is of vital importance that this semi-empirical result, based on a wealth of data from fossil corals, converges so closely with the IPCC estimates.”

“Furthermore, as the time constant of the sea level response is 2,900 years, our model indicates that the impact of twentieth-century warming on sea level will continue for many centuries into the future. It will therefore constitute an important component of climate change in the future,” he said.

... contd.

Transparent aluminium is 'new state of matter'

Oxford scientists have created a transparent form of aluminium by bombarding the metal with the world's most powerful soft X-ray laser.

'Transparent aluminium' previously existed only in science fiction, featuring in the movie Star Trek IV, but the real material is an exotic new state of matter with implications for planetary science and nuclear fusion.

In this week's 'Nature Physics', an international team led by Oxford University scientists report that a short pulse from the Hamburg-based FLASH laser 'knocked out' a core electron from every aluminium atom in a sample without disrupting the metal's crystalline structure.

This turned the aluminium nearly invisible to extreme ultraviolet radiation.

"What we have created is a completely new state of matter nobody has seen before," said Professor Justin Wark of Oxford University's Department of Physics, one of the authors of the paper.

"Transparent aluminium is just the start.