Apple iPad Mini and 4th Gen iPad Now Available in India
Apple latest generation of tablets – the iPad mini and the 4th
generation iPad – are up for grabs online in India today. An
advertisement is doing the rounds in major newspapers in the country,
signifying the release of the iPad mini tablet in India. The information of the launch of the
tablet however was not communicated to us via Apple’s PR. The
advertisement shows the availability of the product in iWorld stores,
which is a premium reseller of Apple products.
Users who wish to purchase the tablet can also do so from online retailers such as saholic.com or flipkart.com, which have listed the device as available. Both sites claim the tablets will be delivered in 4 to 6 business days.
The pricing of the iPad mini is as follows:
- Apple iPad mini (16GB Wi-Fi): Rs. 21,900
- Apple iPad mini (16GB Wi-Fi + 3G): Rs. 29,900
- Apple iPad mini (32GB Wi-Fi): Rs. 27,900
- Apple iPad mini (32GB Wi-Fi + 3G): Rs. 35,900
- Apple iPad mini (64GB Wi-Fi): Rs. 33,900
- Apple iPad mini (64GB Wi-Fi + 3G): Rs. 41,900
- Apple iPad 4th gen (16GB - Wi-Fi): Rs. 31,900
- Apple iPad 4th gen (16GB – Wi-Fi + 3G): Rs. 39,900
- Apple iPad 4th gen (32GB – Wi-Fi): Rs. 37,900
- Apple iPad 4th gen (32GB Wi-Fi + 3G): Rs. 45,900
- Apple iPad 4th gen (64GB Wi-Fi): Rs. 43,900
- Apple iPad 4th gen (64GB Wi-Fi +3G): Rs. 51,900
One thing that must be noted that we
have four models of the iPad available in India - the iPad 2, iPad third
generation, fourth generation and the mini available in India.
The pricing of the third generation iPad in India is as follows.
- Apple iPad 3rd gen (16GB - Wi-Fi): Rs. 28,900
- Apple iPad 3rd gen (16GB – Wi-Fi + 3G): Rs. 36,900
- Apple iPad 3rd gen (32GB – Wi-Fi): Rs. 34,800
- Apple iPad 3rd gen (32GB Wi-Fi + 3G): Rs. 42,900
- Apple iPad 3rd gen (64GB Wi-Fi): Rs. 40,900
- Apple iPad 3rd gen (64GB Wi-Fi +3G): Rs. 48,900
YouTube Reveals New Design Focussing on Subscriptions and Channels
YouTube is on the verge of rolling out a new look to the site with a definite focus on subscriptions and channels, according to a blog post on the Official YouTube Blog. Also, the revamped design will be seen across platforms ie. desktop, smartphones and tablets, which is something that was missing initially. This will make your YouTube experience seamless across all platforms, the way it should really be.
Of course, YouTube had the Guide feature which was introduced last year which gave you a streamlined view of your subscribed channels and the activity on those channels in the centre of the YouTube home page. The new design builds up on the Guide feature and takes it across platforms. The new design also adds in a Manage Subscriptions button below the subscriptions section to allow you to manage all your channels and determine actions such as ‘Show uploads only in feeds’ or ‘Email with new uploads’ and so on.
YouTube will go in for a simpler and
cleaner look putting the video that you are watching in the front and
centre with your playlist on the right hand side - a much better
implementation than the ribbon interface at the bottom of the page that
we were used to so far. The subscribe button, social actions and video
information are all placed below the video player. The rollout will start later today. It
hasn’t yet been activated at our ends. From the looks of it, we know
that it is not going to go down too well with some, whereas others will
love it. We will reserve our judgement till we come across the new
design. If you come across it, please go ahead and share your take on
the new YouTube design in the comments section below.
Microsoft Updates Socl with User-Friendly Features
Socl had gone live in December 2011 as invite-only network built by Microsoft's Research/ Fuse Labs, and opened up to a large audience in May. The site features elements of Facebook and Pinterest and is powered by Bing search engine.
Fuse Labs explains the update:
Posts. Viewing the rapid feed on
Socl is faster and, well, just better. The home screen is all about the
beautiful posts you create (often in just seconds, using the new post
creator!). You can choose to see the posts two-columned or three, so
it’s less likely you’ll miss out on anything. And now you can see the
posts even if you are not signed in or are new to Socl.
Interests. The crowd-sourced
interest gallery is more discoverable, helping you socialize with
like-minded people over topics you care about.
People/Me. People finding and
following can be done via posts, the new people gallery, or from a
person’s page. Everyone on Socl has an updated page where profile
information, posts, interests, people and parties can be viewed together
in one place. Check out your “me page” today, or if you’re new to Socl,
sign in and we’ll create a page for you.
Parties. Create a playlist and watch videos with others in Socl, and chat together as you watch.
Apple's Popular Music Store iTunes Goes Live in India
iTunes, Apple's popular music store, has finally opened its doors for India. The India store went live on Tuesday, along with Russia, Turkey and South Africa.
The India store has audio as well as video content in Hindi, and also lets users purchase intonation all content. An average Bollywood movie is priced around Rs 490 for HD purchase and Rs 120 for rental.
A rental movie has a validity of one month and 48 hours after a user has started viewing it.
Access to the iTunes Store has been one of the long standing demands of Apple users in the country. The music store is now termed as one of the world's top media companies with $8 billion revenues last fiscal.
WhatsApp reportedly Fixes Status Error Bug, Warns Users of Hoax Messages
WhatsApp has reportedly fixed the glitch that sprung up earlier this
week that showed “error:uknown” as contact status. According to reports,
the glitch had affected thousands of users worldwide. The bug was followed by a hoax message urging people who use the app to forward a message to all their contacts or face having their accounts deleted.
The viral message is from the CEO of WhatsApp, one 'Jim Balsamic', and
reads, "We have had an over usage of user names on whatsapp Messenger.
We are requesting all users to forward this message to their entire
contact list. "If you do not forward this message,"
the message continues, "we will take it as your account is invalid and
it will be deleted within the next 48 hours. "Please DO NOT ignore this message or
whatsapp will no longer recognise your activation," the fake
communcation orders, warning, "If you wish to re-activate your account
after it has been deleted, a charge of 25.00 will be added to your
monthly bill."
WhatsApp has assured its users on circulated messages calling them hoax.
The site quotes a Whatsapp blog as saying “We have been getting a lot
of emails and questions from you about a chain letter message
circulating in our network. Please understand that this is a hoax and
there is no truth to it.
Fresh Leaks Show BBM Video May Be Arriving with BlackBerry 10
Now, there is a possibility of video chats in BlackBerry Messenger with BB10. We now have seen some fresh leaks pointing to the same. The confirmed big introduction in the next final release of BBM would be free voice calls between Messenger contacts. However, some new leaks have hinted that BlackBerry Video chat may also be a part of the Messenger that will be a part of BlackBerry 10.
The leak is apparently confirmed by the latest BlackBerry 10 Dev Alpha
update, and the leaked image shows a folder called “bbm_video” with a
file named “video_chat.m4a” conveniently sitting in the folder. The
picture was released by the BlackBerry focus website, Crackberry.com.
Let us make it very clear that the existence of BlackBerry Messenger Video
has not been confirmed by any official sources, and this is the first
we are seeing of it in any of the BlackBerry 10 leaks. Also, there is no
word if this feature will be a part of the Messenger package, or a
separate application. And it is too early to comment on whether the
BlackBerry devices on OS6 and OS7 will get the update or not.
After Delay, Apple iTunes 11 Rolled Out
Apple has released the latest version of its popular music software, iTunes. The updated version, iTunes 11, was scheduled for roll out last month, but Apple had delayed the release to “get a little extra time to get it right”.
The biggest change in iTunes 11 is the redesigned interface. The focus now shifts from Cover Flow to an album cover centric layout, where the song list and details flow out when you select the individual album. The sidebar has been done away with. The new iTunes is also tightly knit with iCloud allowing you to stream the purchased music on all iOS devices. The mini-player mode now offers more details about the contents of the library. iTunes 11 update has been a long time coming. The last major update, iTunes 10 was released back in September 2010, and Ping was the most touted feature back then. There have been incremental updates along the way, but nothing major. In September 2012, Apple announced that there are over 400 million iTunes accounts registered, and set up with the 1-Click purchase option, with a linked credit card. The iTunes store currently sells from a range of 26 million songs.
You can download iTunes 11 for Mac and PC directly from Apple’s website, or via the Apple Software Update utility if you already have iTunes installed.
Adblock Plus now Available as an Android App
Popular ad blocking service ‘Adblock
Plus’, which has been widely successful on desktop browsers, is now
available for Android smartphones. The app brings with it the same
functionality as its desktop counterpart.
The app is available free on the Google
Play store and is a 1.8MB download. Adblock Plus blocks all annoying ads
on your Android device. No root required! It blocks all online
advertising when browsing, and when using apps like Angry Birds.
Adblock Plus blocks mobile ads, video advertising, banners, push
notifications, display advertising, HTML5 advertising, and much more.
The app will work on Android 2.1 and up. On rooted devices the app blocks ads over Wi-Fi and 3G. Non-rooted with
Android 3.1 or later, the app blocks ads over Wi-Fi. Non-rooted with
Android 3.0 or earlier requires some manual configuration. Set the proxy
host to localhost and port to the number displayed by Adblock Plus
should solve the problem.
Attach Up to 10GB Files in Gmail, Using Drive
Attachments these days can sometimes get
really heavy, and the limit of 25MB offered by Gmail may seem too
little (ask us, who have to transfer video files often). Gmail now
however, has a killer offering which allows you to send across files up
to 10GB in size, using Google Drive.
According to the latest update on the Gmail blog post, you can now insert files directly from Google Drive
into your email, without having to leave Gmail. This capacity is almost
400 times larger than a traditional attachment limit of 25 MB.
This feature will roll out in the next few days and is applicable only with the new Compose box feature. In our news article on the Compose mail box features,
we had seen that on hovering your mouse pointer over the Attachment
logo, it further broke up into two more logos, namely Insert Photos and
Insert Links. You will now get to see the Google Drive logo titled
‘Insert files using Drive’ beside the attachment logo. Google Drive files have their own share settings options. So Gmail has
also added in a smart-assistant feature, which will prompt you with the
option to change a file’s share settings, if it isn’t already shared
with the recipients.
Indian Government to Deploy IPv6 to Combat Cybercrime
Indian government has stepped up the
process of allocation of the newest IP addresses, IPv6. But it’s not
just the allocation of the new addresses, but also the localization of
the process that’s going to further add efficiency to the whole process. Earlier, allocation of IPv6
was handled by an Australian internet-registrar, Asia Pacific Network
Information Center (APNIC, also an anagram for PANIC), who did not share
their database freely and in a timely fashion in the event of a
cybercrime.
The localization of IPv6 registry has
also been subsidized heavily by the government, with an address block
costing only Rs.21,999 as against the earlier AU$1180 (roughly Rs.
68,440). NIXI hopes that a much cheaper price point will help push the
adoption of the new IP system much faster.
The importance of switching to IPv6 is
quite significant in the war against cybercrime, which is definitely on
the rise in India. The current IP address system, IPv4 only allows
roughly 4 billion addresses, a number that was exhausted on February 3,
2011. What this has done is that it has allowed the allocation of one
address to multiple users, making it very difficult to track the source
of an attack. The address book of the IPv6 runs well
into trillions, so each device will eventually have a unique IP address,
making it very easy to track the source down.
How to Integrate Facebook Messenger with Firefox 17
Mozilla has released the latest version
of its popular web browser, Firefox. This is version 17.0 by its own
count. The update comes across all three platforms – Windows, Mac and
Linux. The most important new feature is the introduction of the Social
API, with the launch of Facebook Messenger.
The best feature of Firefox 17's
Facebook integration is that it keeps users logged in and connected
irrespective of the website they are navigating. Users can chat, view
notifications, messages, friend requests, without leaving the comfort of
the page you are navigating.
The icon that gives users access to this
feature sits on the top right corner of the browser. The Facebook
sidebar that is a part of the new add-on to Firefox displays the news
feed as well as a list of chat contacts online. The sidebar can be
hidden or opened with the simple click of a button at the users
discretion.
Those of you that are interested in taking a look at the new add-on can download the latest version of Mozilla’s browser here. You can also take a look at some details of Facebook Messenger for Firefox on the official Facebook page here. If you are a Mac user then beware. The
latest version of Firefox does not support Mac OSX 10.5 Leopard. If you
are one of the few still using the old OS, you will have to stick to the
old version of the browser or switch to another browser. We could also
suggest you upgrade your Mac.
Nintendo reportedly Launching Mini Wii on December 7
Nintendo is planning on launching a smaller version of its Wii U console system, the Mini Wii, sometime around December 7 of this year. Nintendo has now officially confirmed the Wii Mini on its website and also confirmed a $99.99 price point. The new machine would be significantly smaller than the current Wii, is expected to ship with a Wii Remote Plus, Nunchuk, and Sensor Bar, and hopefully carries a much lower (sub-$100) price. I also said I’d like to see a game thrown in the pack, too.
Well, it looks as though this wasn’t
just a rumor. Best Buy Canada has the image you see above visible on its
homepage along with confirmation of the December 7 release date.
Unfortunately, clicking on the image does not lead to a page full of
details about the Wii Mini.
If the image is correct, though, then
the Wii Mini is indeed a smaller unit. Just look at its proportions next
to the Wii Remote Plus in the image. I’d guess the new machine measures
just 157 x 170mm, with a depth probably similar to the existing Wii.
That 157mm width would match the current console, with the space saving
coming from the depth (currently 215mm).
Sony Rises Into Smartphone Top 3, Nokia & HTC Lose Out
Sony Mobile seems to have turned the
corner, or at least figured out which corner needs to be turned! The
company is now comfortably in the third spot in the smartphone sales
rankings.
This has been established in the latest research from IDC,
which states that in Q3’12, Sony holds a 4.8% market share in the global
smartphone market. This puts it solidly in third place, behind Samsung
and Apple. It is interesting to note that this
market share percentage is down from 5% at the corresponding stage in
2011, but Sony has risen most because of the fall of Nokia and HTC.
Nokia’s quarter on quarter market share dropped from 13.6% to 3.4%,
while HTC dropped from 10.3% to 4.7%. RIM’s market share also fell, from
9.6% to 4.2%. For the top two, Samsung saw an increase from 22.7% to
31.3%, while Apple improved from 13.8% to 14.6%.
Sony’s rise is partly because
of the interesting Android phones it made this year, and partly because
of the decline of Nokia and HTC. From the figures mentioned earlier,
Sony’s market share actually fell slightly, but Nokia’s and HTC’s fell
more. But there is absolutely no way that we can take anything away from
the fact that after the divorce with Ericsson, Sony Mobile has
rebranded itself rather well.
3D Printers to Print Out Electronics Cheaply in the Near Future
"3D-printing” your own gadgets at home in the near future. The think tanks at the University have created a simple and inexpensive conductive plastic composite that can be used to produce electronic devices using the 3D printing process.
The material has been dubbed
“Carbomorph” and will allow printing of electronic tracks and sensors
right into the 3D printed object, in the process, allowing the printed
gadget to have touch-sensitive areas. The team has successfully managed
to print out game controllers with touch sensitive buttons and mugs that
can tell how full they are. What’s next is to take this process further
and “print” more complex designs, including wires requires to connect
devices to computers.
Dr. Simon Leigh, lead researcher at UW’s
Department of Engineering said: "It's always great seeing the complex
and intricate models of devices such as mobile phones or television
remote controls that can be produced with 3D printing,
but that's it, they are invariably models that don't really function.
We set about trying to find a way in which we could actually print out a
functioning electronic device from a 3D printer.”
Tag :
technology,
updates
Facebook Pushes Android Adoption Internally
The social media company doesn’t share a particular bias for the green droid, but feels that the only way to speed up the development process for a bug-free Android app would be if the employees switch to Android. BlackBerry is the leading example of changing times, of how even big names can lose out to competition. While Facebook’s push for Android adoption may seem like the company’s trying to promote the OS, but the reality remains that its only trying to push its developers to get used to an OS for which they are having a hard time developing a well fleshed out app.
However, this isn’t the first time we’ve
seen companies make a switch with respect to their mobile platform.
Recently, The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board has cemented its resolve to replace
RIM's BlackBerry devices in favour of the iPhone. RIM’s services failed
twice over the year, causing the services of the NTSB to get severely
impacted during crisis situations. This sort of an outage could be
catastrophic, given how the NTSB looks after the investigations for
aviation and other transport based accidents. So with BB services going
out, the coordination of the investigation could get affected, which led
to the NTSB switching to the iPhone.
