Cheaper Tablets for Aam Aadmi

When Mahendra Kumar Jain first thought of manufacturing a touch screen device four years ago, the word 'tablet' had only one meaning - it was something the doctor prescribed. He wanted to be in the infotainment device segment, and the touch screen seemed just the right device to make. However, by the time he unveiled his device in mid-August this year, an enormous change had occurred: the tablet had become the gadget of desire for the well-heeled. So much that in the April to June quarter Apple's iPad grew at 183 per cent year on year, while the global PC industry grew 2.6 per cent in volumes.

Apple sold 9.25 million iPads during the period. India, the last of the major global markets to get the iPad, already has six to seven tablets on offer, including Samsung's Galaxy Tab and Research In Motion's PlayBook, apart from the iPad. Yet, Jain, Managing Director of Bangalorebased Laxmi Access Communications Systems, or LACS, fancies his chances of making a dent.

His cheapest tablet costs Rs 4,500, with the price rising up to Rs 36,000 for more costly versions.

The iPad costs Rs 28,000, the Galaxy Tab Rs 26,000 and the PlayBook Rs 27,000. LACS, which was so far into information technology distribution and manufacture of coated paper, is not the first Indian company to try and crack open this market by offering tablets cheap.

Reliance Communication has come out with its own at Rs 12,000 and Beetel, a Bharti company, has launched one for Rs 9,999. Around six months back, HCL Infosystems also came out with a range of India-made tablets, priced at Rs 12,000 onwards.

Will tablets follow the mobile handset pattern? Long dominated by multinationals like Nokia, Samsung and Motorola, and later raided by RIM's BlackBerry, Apple's iPhone, and various HTC models, this market was turned on its head by a clutch of Indian manufacturers who based their operations in countries like China and Taiwan, and pulled off a coup.

As the market share of the Indian manufacturers, led by Micromax, Lava and Spice, climbed from zero in 2008 to more than 20 per cent in 2010, market leader Nokia lost ground, with its share falling from 46 per cent to 35 per cent in the same period.

What gave Indian companies the edge was a rich list of features and long battery life for their products, and low prices. Should we brace for an encore in tablets? "The tablet market is clearly going the mobile handset way," says Naveen Mishra, lead telecom analyst at Cyber Media Research. He believes the market adoption of Indian tablets will speed up once Broadband Wireless Access takes off. Tablets are all about use of data on the move.

The tablet market is at 100,000 pieces a year and expected to grow at 35 per cent, say current estimates. "Beetel is trying to break the affordability barrier," says Vinod Sawhny, Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer, Beetel Teletech. Jain of LACS is trying to do exactly the same, and more forcefully. He believes that many people in India aspire to owning a tablet - make it more affordable and they will come in droves. "At Rs 6,000-7,000, our products will have a much larger multiplier effect," says Jain. More so because he has tied up with finance companies, so customers can buy his tablet on a 12-month instalment scheme.

Sawhny and Jain both believe that there is a large untapped market in the rural and semiurban space. The lowering of the entry price, therefore, would be critical, as will be the world of applications that these companies can open up to the user.

They had better hurry, because Micromax and Lava are getting ready to launch their tablets, too.

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Most awaited Gadgets of new Era

Most awaited gadgets,bellow all cal knocks your door within a year.they will be very useful to gadgets lover.

As a potential buyer you always look out for what's the new gadget buzzing in the market. And India is no doubt a gadget freak country, always eager to land on the latest device, be it hardware or software.

So what more does the tech world has for you to offer in the year ahead. Let's get a sneak peek into the most awaited gadgets to arrive in the market.

1. iPhone 5:

Undoubtedly Apple's innovation in the smartphone world awaits them to come up with their next version of iPhone, iPhone 5.

News surrounding Apple iPhone5 have been doing the rounds with new twist and tales every now and then. Initial speculations revealed that Apple is all set to launch iPhone 5 on September 2011.

As far as design of the product is concern, it is speculated to be on the sleeker and thinner side with a slight teardrop taper toward the back of the phone. It might come along with a larger, edge-to-edge display and the mute button shifted to the opposite side, that too with a increased resolution. 

2. 7-inch Samsung Galaxy:

Samsung is expected to venture into the world of mini tablets with its 7-inch Samsung Galaxy. A leaked stated that the 7-inch device is said to be heading for release with a 1024 x 600p AMO LED display alongside a 3-megapixel rear-mounted camera and a second, forward-facing 2-meg snapper. 

3.Googlerola tablet

The news of Google acquiring Motorola mobility has spread the rumor mills strong that soon it will venture the market with a tablet which will be so

  meshing to watch out for. The combo from Google and Motorola will definitely have lots to offer.

 

4. New Apple TV

It has been long time since Apple has made any additions to Apple television sets. It is anticipated that soon Apple will reinvent the magic with its next versio

n of Apple television sets.

 5. Microsoft Xbox 720 :

The experience of gaming will change altogether with the launch of Xbox 720 by Microsoft and the industry has been waiting very eagerly for this one. 

Microsoft is pursuing vigorously its plan to release the first of its Xbox series that is the Xbox 720. The plan to release the new game console has been in the news for few years now and lovers of the game had started to wonder whether Microsoft is actually serious about releasing the new game because of the delay. However Microsoft appeared determined to release the new game. The officials of the company have always used any available opportunity to convince people of their readiness to release the new game in shortest possible time. Experts on the game are not certain on what is delaying the release of the new game console.

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Mozilla Shows off Previews of FireFox for Tablets

Fire Fox for Tablet

Mozilla has offered a first glimpse of its Firefox for Tablets web browser.

Mozilla is expanding development of Firefox for Android with new efforts to improve its performance, lower its power consumption, adapt it for tablets--and keep the browser maker relevant in the hottest area of computing.

Firefox is the second-most widely used browser on computers, but things are different in the mobile arena. There, Firefox is at a serious disadvantage compared to mobile browsers such as Apple's Safari and Google's unbranded Android browser that are built into the operating systems.

The company described the new product as “an evolution of its phone based predecessor, with some added enhancements that take advantage of a tablet’s larger screen size,” in a blog post.

From what we can see (which is admittedly not much at this point), that seems to be a pretty good description. The tablet version has room for more UI elements, such as a row of tabs, unlike Firefox for mobile. A tab menu appears on the left side of the screen in landscape mode or on the top of the screen in portrait mode.

Theme-wise, the browser heavily borrows from Honeycomb, Android’s operating system for tablets. But you’ll still find familiar Firefox elements, including a big back button and Firefox’s signature “Awesomebar” — a URL field that also searches bookmarks, history and synched desktop activity.

When Mozilla programmer Dave Mandelin began an active discussion about what Firefox needs to run better on ARM processors, which dominate the phone and tablet market, a broad, active discussion took off. Mandelin wasn't very gentle.

"If you have a powerful device, Firefox performance is in many ways pretty good. But UI [user interface] responsiveness and memory usage seem to be in pretty bad shape," Mandelin said. "So we need to get better measurements and start improving performance in those areas, today."

And Mozilla, barred from bringing its browser to major mobile operating systems such as Apple's iOS and Microsoft's Windows Phone, is moving beyond browsers, too.

"Smartphones and tablets are where the next billion people will expect their personalized experience to be available to them anytime, anywhere," Mozilla said in its vision statement that Mozilla Vice President of Products Jay Sullivan published earlier this year. "To significantly affect Internet life in the future, we will have to deliver value on major OSes, whether we are allowed to ship our own browser engine or not."

Some Glimpses of Mozilla Fire Fox On Tablet.. 

 
Mozilla has still not announced a release date.

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Apple Hires iPhone Hacker Nicholas Allegra(@Comex) from iPhone jailbreaking community

Apple has just hired yet another member of the iPhone jailbreaking community, Nicholas Allegra, also known as “@comex” on Twitter. Allegra is best known for the JailBreakMe website which made the process of jailbreaking the iPhone as simple as visiting a webpage using mobile Safari.

"JailbreakMe is the easiest way to free your device. Experience iOS as it could be, fully customizable, themeable, and with every tweak you could possibly imagine.

Safe and completely reversible (just restore in iTunes), jailbreaking gives you control over the device you own."

The 19-year old hacker from Chappaqua, New York, posted the news of his hire on Twitter, stating that he will be starting an internship with Apple week after next.

Allegra was one of the most visible members of the jailbreaking community, regularly finding security vulnerabilities in Apple’s iOS software, which made it possible to hack iPhones, iPod Touches and even iPads. 

Typically, these holes were exploited through the use of specialized jailbreaking software applications which required the phone or other device to be connected to the computer via a USB cable.

But JailBreakMe was far easier to use – visitors just launched the website from their mobile device. The site featured a familiar-looking “slide to jailbreak” bar at the bottom of the page. One simple gesture, and the device was hacked. It made jailbreaking accessible to anyone, even non-technical users.

"Jailbreaking your device means installing a small program that removes restrictions in the default software. A jailbroken device can run apps and extensions (themes and tweaks) not approved by Apple. Jailbreaking does not slow down your device or use extra battery, and you can still use all your existing apps and buy new ones from the App Store. Jailbreaking simply enables you to do more with your device, nothing is taken away. "

Traditionally, Apple discouraged jailbreaking, as it allows for the installation of third-party applications outside the official iTunes App Store. The concern is that once a phone or other device is jailbroken, it’s easier to illegally pirate applications which would otherwise be sold in the App Store, earning revenue for developers and Apple alike.

However, not all jailbreakers are interested in stealing apps – sometimes, like their Android-rooting counterparts, they just want control over their handset. On jailbroken iOS devices, users can make tweaks to the software and install widgets, themes and other unapproved applications by way of third-party “jailbreak” app stores like Cydia, Icy and ThemeIt.

Nick on Facebook

In recent months, Apple has begun to take notice of the now-burgeoning jailbreak community, estimated to include 10% of all iPhones. For example, Apple hired Peter Hajas in June, the creator of a popular jailbreak app known as Mobile Notifier, which bears a striking resemblance to the new notification system in iOS5. The move prompted discussion as to whether Apple was reconsidering its position in regards to jailbreaking – maybe it’s now being thought of as a farm league for discovering new talent?

Jailbreaking is going even more mainstream this year, thanks to its first-ever hacker convention called MyGreatFest. According to event organizers, Allegra was planning on attending the conference, but whether he still will is now unclear.

Says MyGreatFest organizer Craig Fox, “I think it’s a great move for Allegra, but it’s sad for the jailbreaking community to lose such a bright and young hacker.”

This jailbreak was brought to you by comex, with the help of Grant Paul (chpwn), Jay Freeman (saurik), MuscleNerd, and many others. Please don't use this for piracy. Donate?


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Hollywood filmmaker Stanley Kubrick designed the first ever iPad : Samsung

Stanley Kubrick

Hollywood filmmaker Stanley Kubrick designed the first ever iPad, and not Apple Inc, says rival company Samsung in a bizarre patent suit that cites the director's '2001: A Space Odyssey' as evidence, according to a media report.

Stanley Kubrick (July 26, 1928 – March 7, 1999) was an American film director, writer, producer, and photographer who lived in England during most of the last four decades of his career. Kubrick was noted for the scrupulous care with which he chose his subjects, his slow method of working, the variety of genres he worked in, his technical perfectionism, his reluctance to talk about his films, and his reclusiveness regarding his personal life. He maintained almost complete artistic control, making movies according to his own whims and time constraints, but with the rare advantage of big-studio financial support for all his endeavors.

Kubrick's films are characterized by a formal visual style and meticulous attention to detail. His later films often have elements of surrealism and expressionism that eschew structured linear narrative. His films are repeatedly described as slow and methodical, and are often perceived as a reflection of his obsessive and perfectionist nature. A recurring theme in his films is man's inhumanity to man. While often viewed as expressing an ironic pessimism, some critics feel his films contain a cautious optimism when viewed more carefully

The two companies are 'suing each other all over the world' for patent infringement, after Apple accused Samsung of 'blatant copying' of its products, the Sydney Morning Herald reported.

Apple won a temporary injunction against Samsung's Galaxy Tab 10.1 in Europe. In Australia, it forced Samsung to agree not to sell the device until it can satisfy Apple that it does not infringe on its iPad patents.

A patent case against the Galaxy Tab is also running in the US and Samsung has filed its reasons as to why Apple should not be granted an injunction.

One of Samsung's exhibits was a still image and a YouTube clip taken from Stanley Kubrick's 1968 film '2001: A Space Odyssey'. The clip shows two astronauts eating while at the same time using what appear to be personal tablet computers, the report said.

Samsung says this was an example of 'prior art' for the general design of the iPad.

It also cited a scene from the 1970s British TV series 'The Tomorrow People', which appears to depict a tablet computer.

Consultant and blogger Florian Mueller, who first uncovered the Kubrick reference, said it would be 'amazing' if the court agreed with Samsung.

Mark Summerfield, a senior associate with a Melbourne intellectual property law firm, believes Samsung 'may have a case'.

'Generally science fiction is not legitimate prior art to a utility patent, because it does not inform the public how to make the fictional apparatus,' said Summerfield.

But there was no reason why science fiction could not be 'invalidating prior art' to a registered design, he said.

'For example, if I were to copy the Star Trek communicator as a novelty mobile phone, I would have no right to claim a monopoly in that design. I did not devise it myself,' he said. 'I think that Samsung probably has a viable defence here.'

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Nokia N9 challenges iPhone 4

Bangalore: The launch of Nokia's latest innovation N9 has been sending thunder waves among its primary competitors 'Apple' and 'Google's Android.' It is all set to capture its lost throne of being the largest handset maker which currently is dominated by Apple, but introduction of this meego based button-less touch screen smartphone can very well do that. Nokia N9 is claimed to give iPhone a run for their money as far its features are concerned.

The history of Nokia sales has been very interesting. There was a point when Nokia accounted for at least 8 out of every 10 phones sold in Asia. This year Apple surpassed Nokia as the world's largest phone vendor by revenue. This milestone was achieved by Apple by its incredible revenue of $11.9 billion in the last quarter from iPhones. While Nokia's revenue slipped down to $9.4 billion.

Faced with stiff competition and falling smart phone market share, Nokia hoped to revive its fortunes with Microsoft partnership. The Finnish entity would be using Microsoft's Windows Phone 7 as the main software for its smart phones. The initiation of Nokia N9 ahead of a Windows Phone came as a surprise to everyone. However the features of this new introduction will pose some serious concern for the rising sales of Apple iPhone.

Let us first go through their specific and unique features of both the smartphones and then go through a comparison to find out the best in them.

Nokia N9

Nokia N9 displays AMOLED capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors with a resolution of 480x854 pixels and measures 116.5x61.212.1mm, weighs 135g. Moreover the screen is scratch resistant and employs Gorilla Glass technology. It has multi touch input method, accelerometer, and proximity sensor for auto on/off and is anti glare to be easily used in broad daylight. It is powered by Meego OS v1.2 Harmattan, has 1 GHz Cortex A8 processor, and packs a solid 1 GB of RAM.

It is available with 16/64 GB of internal storage. The smartphone is Wi-Fi802.11b/g/n, GPS with A-GPS, EDGE, GPRS, and Bluetooth v2.1 with A2DP and EDR. The phone has a full HTML and WAP 2.0/xHTML browser that provides seamless browsing. N9 has games preloaded with Angry Birds, Galaxy on Fire and Rea, Golf.

The camera of this devise gives promising pictures due to its dual camera which comes with a rear 8 MP camera that is auto focus and has LED flash and geo tagging. It can capture HD videos in 720p. It also has a secondary camera to make video calls. N9 is packed with standard Li-ion battery (1450mAh) that provides a talk time of up to 7 hours in 3G.

The two new things that one can find in Nokia N9 is that users can switch between applications with a thumb avoiding any need to return to the main menu or press button. And secondly it has incorporated a sculptured 4 inch glass screen and a polycarbonate plastic body.

iPhone4

iPhone4 on the other hand has capacitive touchscreen and a resolutions of 640x960 pixels and measures 115.2x58.6x9.3mm, weighs just 137g which making it one of the slimmest and lightest smartphones in the market. It is remarkably scratch resistant with an oleo phobic surface and has features like accelerometer, gyro sensor, multi touch input method and a proximity sensor. It has the ubiquitous 3.5 mm audio jack at the top.

It comes with a rear 5 Mp camera that shoots pictures in 2592x1944 pixels, is auto focus with LED flash, is capable of geo tagging and can record HD videos in 720p and also has a secondary camera to make video calls.

iPhone 4 is powered by iOS 4.3, has a powerful Cortex A9 1 GHz processor, 512 MB RAM and is available in two models with 16 GB and 32 GB internal storage as it does not support micro SD cards.

The phone has connectivity like Wi-Fi802.11b/g/n, Wi-Fi hotspot, Bluetoothv2.1 with A2DP, EDGE and GPRS (class 10), and GPS with A-GPS and comes with HTML (Safari) browser that provides seamless browsing. It provides a long talk time of up to 7 hours in 3G as it is packed with standard Li-ion battery (1420mAh).

On comparison, both the devices look stunning as far as the features are concerned. However, there are certain key differences between them which is going to decide their sales in the market. The present trend is to flaunt a bigger display and in this area Nokia steals the show with its display of 3.9 inch than iPhone 4 which has a 3.5 inch. But if you are looking for better resolution than iPhone will be your ideal choice as it has a resolution of 640x960 pixels than N9 480x854 pixels. Moreover iPhone 4 is thinner (9.3mm) than N9 (12.1mm).

Nokia N9 runs Meego which do not seem too applauding for the consumers, compared to iPhone 4 which runs on iOS. It would have been more triggering if N9 would have been powered by Windows.

But N9 has a striking feature that the RAM which is of 1 GB but iPhone4 comes with a RAM of 512 MB. And when it comes to camera N9 has a better camera with 8 MP than iPhone4 5 MP. The camera of N9 shoots with higher resolution (3264X2448 pixels) than iPhone 4 (2592X1944 pixels).

The most unique feature of all is that N9 has a UI that provides 3 home screens that are lacking in iPhone 4.

Hence now it up to the consumers which one to opt for. The choice is yours so get the best out of your investment.

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