Vodafone has launched a news alert service called Newswrap, this is a MMS based service which sends updates twice (Morning and Evening) in the form of a MMS, which contains Text and images.

The subject of the news could be Sports, National, International, Entertainment and Business. Vodafone plans to start and Voice and Video news alerts soon.

The charges for this update is Re1 for a day, Rs 5 for a week, and Rs 20 for a month. Vodafone users can send SMS ‘MN’ to 111 or they can log on to Vodafone Live (service is not available in Jammu and Kashmir).

Since it’s a MMS based service, users will need handset that supports MMS.

McAfee, a security technology provider, has launched solutions for mobile phones and tablet computers – named as McAfee Mobile Security and McAfee WaveSecure Tablet Edition.

McAfee Mobile Security software, available for both smartphones and tablets, provides a comprehensive mobile security solution by combining three McAfee mobile security products: WaveSecure, VirusScan Mobile and SiteAdvisor for Android.

These products will protect data and privacy in the event of loss or theft, gives protection against viruses and spyware targeting mobile devices, as well as protects the devices from Web based threats, such as phishing sites that probe for personal and sensitive information.
Users of these solutions will be able to back-up and restore data to help protect sensitive information and irreplaceable photos. Even if the device goes missing, users can back up their data.

One can also remotely lock the device to protect against misuse as well as safeguarding personal data. The security system also triggers an audible alarm to help users find the device or disrupt a thief, and or pop-up a notification with instructions for returning the device.

You can also remotely remove data from a lost or stolen device via the McAfee Web portal, mobile Web portal or via a SMS message from a buddy device. Apart from this there is real-time anti-malware protection against viruses, worms and spyware, Trojan horses and battery sapping malware.

“With device growth eclipsing PCs, consumers need tools to not only protect their personal information, but also to provide safeguards for business data should they decide to use that device for work,” said Todd Gebhart, executive vice president and general manager of consumer, small business and mobile, McAfee.

McAfee Mobile Security and WaveSecure software are available multiple languages, but for us only English is useful (no Indian language). McAfee Mobile Security software is currently available as free App on Android market.

Tata Docomo has launched a new service called Endless Music, a complete bank of music with various categories and sub categories. Under this service, customers listen to endless music for the entire day and can also download ringtones of their favourite songs by paying a subscription charge of Rs 2 per day with no extra charges.

And with an additional cost of Rs 1 per day customers will also get the benefit of downloading unlimited Call Me Tunes (CMTs)(same as caller tunes). This service is available for all the Tata Docomo post-paid and pre-paid customers across all the circles.

Rishi Mohan Malhotra, Head VAS, Tata Docomo, said “Mobile phones are the newly evolved 24X7 music stations. Endless Music service offers a reservoir of songs that can be accessed anytime, anywhere. This service enables customers to listen as many musical tracks as they wish on to their mobile phone, at a nominal subscription charge of Rs 2 per day.”

To avail this service, customers have to dial IVR Short Code 59090 (Toll Free). The service is auto renewable on daily basis. The service is powered by Hungama.com, a major content provider, which you can visit to get other services as well.

Google has announced its third attempt at a social networking platform after Orkut and Buzz. The first being Orkut, which is popular but has failed to challenge the formidable Facebook. The new platform is meant to enable more natural social networking among people.

It will be possible to group contacts so that updates needn’t be sent to everyone; and there is a feature called Hangout that can be visited by people when they are in the mood to chat. Hangout has video chatting and similar capabilities.

The best part is that this platform will be mobile ready right from go. The platform will use the phone’s location information to enable people to meet their friends when they’re in the vicinity. The feature is in essence a group Messaging service. The social network will also allow users to upload media directly from their mobiles.

Given that Google owns the Android platform, the current dominant player in the smartphone space, we expect the integration to be really tight, enabling even better usability than the web version will allow.

The new platform, currently called Google +, will allow people to segregate friends and family, and to also make ‘friend circles’ such that one’s closest friends can be in a small circle; while one’s acquaintances occupy a larger circle. Users will have the option to share updates with the circle of their choice.

Another function called Spark is like a discussion board allowing people to share videos, reading material etc. It is also possible to search and hold discussions here.

Currently the platform is under trial and is only available through invitation. Google+ is available on Android Market and the mobile web, and it’s coming soon to the App Store as well.

Android marketplace last month took a big step towards changing its refund policy for paid applications, and many people dislike the new policy. The new refund policy, as stated by Google, lays out a simple principal: that if you do not like an application then you get your money back. The only difficulty is that in order to get a refund on the paid application the user must return the App within fifteen minutes of having downloaded it.

So users will have to install and try out an app, and then if they find they don’t like it then they will need to ask for a refund within fifteen minutes.

The effects of this change in policy have already started showing amongst users and now people who download paid applications are actually spending more time reading about the application before they download it.

In Taiwan Google recently stopped showcasing paid applications in its marketplace owing to the continuing fight that arose merely because of the change in the return policy, when it was dramatically reduced to just fifteen minutes from 24 hours.

Now the government in Taiwan is hell bent on making Google modify its application policy for that country and apparently the country has a cyber law that states that anything bought online comes with a seven day refund. Google did not comply with the law and neither has it shown any interest in changing the policy, because of which it was fined $1 million and now only free applications are available to Android users in Taiwan.

The reasons for which Google changed its policy are still unknown but are totally senseless as an average person would definitely take more than just fifteen minutes to test the features of an application before filing for a refund, and Google’s is the only store with such a refund policy. Take iTunes Store for example, where all sales are considered final. But whenever users have provided genuine reasons for seeking a refund, Apple has responded positively and we have never heard of the company fighting over an application refund issue.

The Amazon App Store uses something totally dynamic and useful in the case of applications as it allows users to try the app on a virtual Android handset before deciding to make the purchase. Hence, the chances of users being dissatisfied with a purchased app reduce greatly.

There will probably be many appeals to Google that it change its refund policy. The company will meet officials in Singapore on Thursday to discuss the issue, but based on how things have developed so far, Google is unlikely to step back.

Only two weeks ago, the mobile search page of Google was updated with buttons for local places and services search. Looks like Google hasn’t completed the task yet, as the company has now come out with a new update.

This update has made tabs available on the top of all the Google pages just like the tabs in Google Chrome browser, and users just have to tap the relevant tab to go to the relevant Google service.

Also this new update contains an icon which will help users is using search functionality, as they will see options such as tabs for web, images, places and news at the top of the search page. Users just have to scroll down to make the tabs disappear, so they don’t have to worry about their precious screen space either.

Interestingly, some time ago the social side of the search engine Bing was unveiled and now we see one step after another by Google to update its own mobile search site.

In the earlier update, Google tried to address the problem that users tended to get lost while they were searching for something on the move, and the company added short cuts for local businesses such as coffee shops, food joints in the form of easy to notice icons.