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Samsung trumps Apple’s tabs in India

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Despite being the topper in the world tablet market, Apple has been left behind by Samsung in the Indian tablet market.

According to a research report of CyberMedia, Samsung commands 45.8 per cent market share in the 158,000 strong Indian tablet market. The Samsung tablet, Galaxy Tab 7 was launched in India back in October 2010, whereas Apple entered the Indian market late in January.

Apple enjoys only 18.4 per cent market share whereas even BlackBerry PlayBook is reported to have 21 per cent market share in India, according to the CyberMedia report. But the figure of 21 per cent is probably more about the number of tablets with the distributors rather than the number of tablets bought by the end users.

There are 27 tablet models available in India from 10 manufacturers. The well-known tablets available in India include Samsung Galaxy Tab, Motorola Xoom, Apple iPad 2, and BlackBerry PlayBook.

In the report, it was estimated that there will be major influx of cheaper tablets within the segment of Rs 7,000 to Rs 15,000 soon. The report notes the Indians users prefer to buy 7 inch tablets more and the operating system preferred by them is Froyo 2.2.

Another surprise, Indian tablet users prefer the tablets more than the WiFi ones, which means they are not price conscious after all.

The Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 was launched in India in August this year whereas the 8.9 inch tablet is expected soon. It is interesting to note that Apple has not filed legal action against Samsung in India, whereas it has done so in almost all other major markets. Probably, that is because Apple does not see India as a major market for itself.

Even otherwise, Samsung has been the only company which has posed a credible threat to Apple’s iPad and that’s probably the reason the company has faced numerous lawsuits from Apple as well. The apprehension proves itself in India. Just like the Apple flagship stores in the US and other major markets, Samsung has also opened its flagship stores in India.
Recently, Samsung had opened its smartphone cafe in Bangalore where users can experience the devices and not dummies, just like the Apple’s retail stores abroad.

The idea of experience zones, however, is not new in India. Many companies such as Research In Motion, Dell, Nokia and even Lava have their own experience zones in India. Nokia calls its experience zones Concept Stores. Several carriers in India such as Aircel, Airtel and Vodafone have also set up their experience zones in India.

BlackBerry Playbook gets Flash security update

rahul-gupta
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Research In Motion (RIM) has started the roll out of a new update for the BlackBerry Playbook devices worldwide. While the update 1.07.3312 comes in the form of the device upgrade, it focuses mainly on the security fixes and not on performance or operations related improvements.

The update aims at fixing the Adobe Flash issues that can potentially affect any PC, tablet, or other device with an operating system that supports Adobe Flash.

This vulnerability APSB11-26, identified by Adobe as critical vulnerabilities have been identified in Adobe Flash Player 10.3.183.7 and earlier versions that could cause a crash and potentially allow an attacker to take control of the affected system. And there were reports that of these vulnerabilities being exploited to trick the user into clicking on a malicious link delivered in an email message.

Adobes released the Flash player update version 10.3.183.10 for most devices but since the Playbook does not use a separate Flash application the Playbook developers have updated the Flash version through the operating system update option.

While there have been no attacks reported worldwide involving the attack on a Blackberry playbook, RIM is still urging Playbook users to upgrade to the latest update for added security.

The update is available for users across the globe over the air and users will get automatic notification for the update being available for the device.

Users running BlackBerry Playbook software version v1.0.7.2942 will get the update as a Flash only update which will take a few minutes to update over WiFi. Older OS version users will have to download the latest OS version along with the flash upgrade too.

Google Docs app spruced for Android Honeycomb tablets

samir-makwana
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Google has rolled out a tiny update for the Google Docs to let it work better with the Android Honeycomb based tablets.

Google Docs allows caching documents on the phone and tablets. On the Google Docs app, one can also create word files and spreadsheets with photos and videos attached inside the documents.

The new Google Docs app brings a 3-panel interface for the Honeycomb tablets for better navigation and browsing through the documents. The three panel interface appears like Microsoft Outlook or the Twitter app for Mac.

Amongst the three panels, there is a details panel that shows the thumbnail and the sharing panel. Besides that, the Honeycomb tablet users can now use Google Docs in portrait or landscape view mode as per their wishes. That does make quite a lot of difference for the different screen size and orientation bearing tablets.

Along with the new interface, the autocomplete system has been tweaked for better sharing experience. The new Google Docs app now supports 46 languages on the Android Honeycomb tablets.

The new update for Google Docs is now available for download in the Android Market.

New HTC Sensation XL with Beats Audio unveiled

samir-makwana
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New HTC Sensation XL with Beats Audio unveiled

HTC has announced its new Sensation XL smartphone with Gingerbread and Beats Audio smartphone at the Beats Event in London.

The new HTC Sensation XL is the fourth device under the Sensation brand succeeding Sensation, Sensation and Sensation XE. The new HTC Sensation XL was previously reported at the HTC Runnymede 2.

HTC has used a massive 4.7 inch Super touchscreen display with technology. Surprisingly, the display has WVGA (800×480) pixel resolution. With that resolution, the icons on the big touchscreen might not look that sharp and a qHD 960×540 pixel would have been perfect to suit the display size.

However, countless applications for Android platform are built to support the WVGA as the best makes the WVGA native resolution an obvious choice for Sensation XL.

Under the 9.9mm thick chassis, the smartphone runs a single-core 1.5 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM8255 coupled with Adreno 205 graphics chip and 768 MB RAM. This hardware is decent enough to run the Android 2.3.x Gingerbread update with layer of new HTC Sense 3.5 smoothly on it.

By default the smartphone has 16 onboard storage out of which only 12.64 GB is actually available to the user. For those who wish to add more storage can make us of the micro SD card slot that can hold up to 32 GB memory card. Interesting part of this handset is that it supports the m4a and m4v file formats which are typically used for the Apple devices for high quality Audio and Video.

The Sensation XL has 8 megapixel camera with dual-LED flash and a 28mm f/2.2 lens to capture beautiful images and also record 720p videos. In the front lies 1.3 megapixel camera for video calling or video chat. Under the chassis, the smartphone has gyroscopic sensor, G-sensor (accelerometer), digital compass, proximity sensor and ambient light sensor.

HTC has also used 3.0 and WiFi (802.11 b/g/n) for wireless connectivity. HTC has added 1600 mAh battery pack promising up to 12 hours of talk time on GSM networks and up to seven hours of talk time on networks.

The unique aspect of the Sensation XL smartphone is that it comes pre-loaded with the Beats Audio music profiles to complement the bundled urBeats headsets. The urBeats headphones come with line-in remote and microphone. The Beats profiles are loaded as soon as they are plugged in to the smartphone through the 3.5mm audio port.

HTC did not specify the price of this handset but promised that the same would be available in UK soon from Three and O2 network operators. Also, no specific date of release in the USA or other regions was shared at the launch of HTC Sensation XL.

Google to launch Android Ice Cream Sandwich on Oct 11: Report

samir-makwana
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Google to launch Android Ice Cream Sandwich on Oct 11: Report

Google will launch the Ice Cream Sandwich operating system on October 11 at the CTIA Enterprise and Apps 2011 convention in San Diego, USA.

In enthusiasm, the Developers’ official account had made the video of ‘Android ICS launch’ on its YouTube account and pulled it back later. CNET managed to grab the screenshot in time and thereby confirmed Google’s Android Ice Cream Sandwich launch plan.

Google announced Android Ice Cream Sandwich update at the Google I/O Conference earlier this year in May. The Android Ice Cream Sandwich update will unify the Honeycomb and Gingerbread experience for both tablets &#151 One that runs everywhere providing a seamless user experience on smartphones, tablets and other devices.

Most importantly, the Android Ice Cream Sandwich is expected to eradicate the fragmentation to ease off the developers. For users, there would be a shiny new user interface that will be like a mixture of Gingerbread and Honeycomb put together.

Till now, there is no clarity on the version number of the Android Ice Cream Sandwich and one can expect more details at the CTIA event next week.

Samsung is expected to show the first Android Ice Cream Sandwich loaded Google Nexus Prime smartphone on October 10, a day before the actual Ice Cream Sandwich launch.

Confusion over Zune Media Player lingers

prasoon-kumar
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Confusion over Zune Media Player lingers

There is some confusion in the air about the current status of Zune hardware, the portable media player from Microsoft.

Microsoft had earlier said that the Zune HD is dead and that Windows Phone is the new focus for it.

“We recently announced that, going forward, Windows Phone will be the focus of our mobile music and video strategy, and that we will no longer be producing Zune players. So what does this mean for our current Zune users? Absolutely nothing!”

Microsoft posted on Zune.net website some days ago.

It further added, “Your device will continue to work with Zune services just as it does today. And we will continue to honor the warranties of all devices for both current owners and those who buy our very last devices. Customer service has been, and will remain a top priority for us.”

Contradicting the above statement, the Zune Support team has now on Twitter said: “We are still supporting the Zune HD hardware. No official info has been released stating hardware is being discontinued.”

New app aims to bring Android apps to other devices

prasoon-kumar
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Myriad, a member of the Google formed Open Handset Alliance which supports Android, has come out with a cross platform application that can work on different devices.

Myriad Alien Dalvik 2.0 will not only enable apps to run across non-Android smartphone platforms, but will now enable the Android ecosystem to be extended across multiple devices and screens such as tablets, e-books, TVs, automotives and even avionics.
“Myriad Alien Dalvik brings Android applications to non-Android devices, allowing OEMs, operators and application stores to leverage the Android eco-system across a much wider range of mobile devices. Android applications run unmodified and with no loss of performance on non- Android platforms,” the company said in a press release.

The basic idea to create one Android which can run on other platforms through virtual machine is enticing enough for the users, and the performance difference on different platforms where the apps are run is close to zero. Even at the time when there is talk of HTML5 becoming the default standard of web apps to make sure users don’t have to worry about which platform they are accessing the apps from, the Myriad solution to bring Android apps to all the platforms is impressive to say the least.

“We have seen incredible momentum in Android adoption, but we are just scratching the surface,” said Simon Wilkinson, chief executive officer, Myriad Group. “With Alien Dalvik 2.0, we are creating a more flexible, consistent user experience by mobilising content such as live sports, recorded TV shows and on-demand movies, so users can enjoy content seamlessly from one device to the next.”

At the same time, if the users are thinking they can download Alien Dalvik and run Android apps on whichever device they are using, it’s not going to work that way. Instead, Myriad is working with handset makers to make sure its solutions are incorporated at the device level itself. Those wondering why the company is focusing so much on the Android apps only to bring them to the masses, it’s because Android apps anyway run on a virtual machine &#151 they are made that way by default. Hence Android apps are a natural fit for the company and its product.

Xbox companion app for Windows Phone coming soon

rahul-gupta
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Xbox companion app for Windows Phone coming soon

Microsoft has announced that it will soon launch an Xbox companion application for Windows Phone based smartphones. With the new Xbox companion application, Windows Phone users will be able to remotely control and play games on their Xbox console using their smartphones.

Microsoft has released a new video displaying the capabilities of the Xbox Kinect sensor in terms of multimedia and entertainment. The video also shows the use of Windows Phone device to control the Xbox 360.

The Xbox Companion application on Windows Phone will allow users to find content just like on your Xbox while giving access to the Xbox LIVE Marketplace catalog of games, movies, music and TV shows.

Also with the use of this application, users can get more details and information about the video being watched or the song being played on the Xbox right on their Windows Phone based device.

Finally the application will allow users to control and play the content on their Xbox. With Windows Phone based devices would offer functionalities like a remote control, controlling media in real-time.

Microsoft has, however, not said anything on the availability of the Xbox companion application as of now but with Windows Phone Mango update being rolled out, it is highly expected that the application will be soon made available to all the users that too free of cost.

Aakash: The Nano of the tablet world

Sandeep Budki
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Aakash: The Nano of the tablet world

In 2009 Tata launched the world’s cheapest car at Rs 1 lakh. It was dubbed the car for the masses and now DataWind, in association with IIT Rajasthan, has launched world’s cheapest 7 inch tablet, Aakash at Rs 2,250. The device aims to bring India’s masses onto the information highway.

India pioneers in innovations aimed at making the lives of common people easier at an affordable price and Aakash is the step in that direction.

Aakash world’s cheapest internet device was conceived under the Human Resources and Development Ministry’s National Mission on Education through Information and Communication Technology (NME-ICT) to provide students a device that could be used as an Ebook reader, to access online streaming course material and web based research.

Under NME-ICT, the government intends to deliver 10 million tablets to post-secondary students across India. The target price of the 10 million units is Rs 1,750 per unit.

Not limited to students, Aakash offers anybody that wants to access web, social networking, instant messaging, multimedia, games and hundreds of thousands of applications, through a durable and affordable mobile device.


First impression: Aakash

When I took Aakash in my hand for the first time, I was impressed by how it felt. The 7 inch tablet gets a big thumbs up for its design, and for weighing just 350 gm.

The tablet surprisingly has very decent specifications as well. It has 2.2 Froyo operating system, which most low cost smartphones run on. While it has a very small 366 MHz processor, to improve performance there is an video co-processor and graphic accelerator, and 256 of RAM. But watching regular HD movies on the device could be difficult.

While surfing the tablet I didn’t see the icon for Android Marketplace in the menu, but a DataWind executive said the model for sale will have it though he didn’t clarify why it’s been left out in the model meant for college students.

The touchscreen is a 7 inch unit and uses resistive technology, which is not as good as capacitive, but is okay considering the price. Connectivity options include built in WiFi support and the ability to connect a data card for and GPRS connectivity. There are two USB ports, and Aakash has 2 of built in memory. It comes with a 2 GB slot and supports external memory up to 32 GB. The USB port can also be used to attach an external camera.

The used in the tablet is called UBI Surfer, which has been developed by DataWind and is said to be ten times faster than any mobile browser. I was not able to check its surfing capabilities because there was no WiFi network.

Aakash supports popular file formats like .doc, .docx, .pdf, .pptx and has a 3.5 mm standard stereo jack. It has a 2,100 battery which can last for about 3 hours depending upon usage.

The tablet comes with a leather case which not only protects the device but also doubles up as a keyboard case so that tablet can be used as a netbook as well. For that though the user has to connect the cover with a USB port.

The tablet has two buttons one at the side panel which is a power on button and the other on the front panel which is the home button.

What can consumers expect?

DataWind, a Canadian company that is manufacturing Aakash, will begin selling the tablet through retail stores by the end of November at Rs 2,999.

Suneet Singh Tuli, chief executive officer of DataWind said, “Commercially we will be selling Aakash under the brand name of UbiSlate with a one year warranty.”

He added that the tablet in the open market will have a slot and will link to Android Market. Tuli further said, “We are in talks with two mobile service providers in India to offer an internet plan at Rs 99 per month bundled with the tablet when it is commercially available because we want people to have an affordable tablet along with an affordable data plan.”

Tuli said, “Apart from Android market we are also working on incorporating some value added service (VAS) for addressing the entertainment needs of Indian consumers.”

About the processor he said, “The next stock on the tablets will have a 600 MHz processor and we are also working on a 1.2 GHz processor for the next version of the tablet.”

In the pipeline

DataWind has many products under it sleeves for the Indian masses and the company has no plans to compete with the likes of Apple or Samsung.

Tuli said to The Mobile Indian, “Products from Samsung and Apple are for the elite class and we cannot match them at the price we are offering our products. We are making good quality products in India for Indians at an affordable price.”

Regarding the next product DataWind is going to launch, Tuli said, “By the end of the year we will have a 5 inch Android 2.2 smartphone at a price which will not put any burden on the pocket of consumers who currently buy low end feature phones to meet their communication needs.”

On the future course of action, he said, “We have not set a time frame for future launches but we are working on 9 inch and 10 inch Android tablets. They will have capacitive touchscreens and we will try to keep them under Rs 5,000.”

While the tablet looks quite attractive as far as price and form factor are concerned, the public’s response is yet to be seen when it is available in the retail market. But we are sure that it will not disappoint users who have been using low cost handsets for a long time and now plan to experience a tablet at an affordable price.

Samsung Galaxy Note in India this Nov

rahul-gupta
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Samsung will launch its Galaxy Note in India in the first week of November, a spokesperson for the company told The Mobile Indian. Also, Samsung UK has just issued a press note saying that the Samsung Galaxy Note will be available in the UK market for purchase after November 17 this year.

Samsung had unveiled Galaxy Note at the IFA 2011 event in Berlin, Germany. Since then the device has created a lot of buzz especially for its huge 5.3 inch display that offers the functionality of both &#151 a smartphone and a tablet.

Galaxy Note is the first device to sport a 5.3 inch Super Amoled screen, and it displays native resolution of 800 x 1280 pixels, supports multi-touch and also comes with an S Pen advanced stylus. Galaxy Note runs 2.3 Gingerbread along with Samsung TouchWiz user interface.

To power this massive device Samsung has used a dual core 1.4 GHz Exynos microprocessor with a Mali-400 graphics chip. The Galaxy Note also features 1 of along with 16 GB onboard storage memory. Its 8 megapixel camera comes with LED flash and is capable of recording 1080p full HD video at 30 fps. There is a front facing 2 megapixel camera as well.

The price of the device still remains a mystery but is expected to be above Rs 30,000.

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