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."

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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.