Samsung has started delivering Gingerbread (Android 2.3) to Galaxy S devices starting from the Nordic countries (Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden), followed by the UK and other European countries.

In India, which is poised to be the biggest market for Samsung (according to some reports), users will have to wait at least till the end of May or early June for this update.

Samsung’s spokesperson have confirmed this by saying that the update will be available earliest by the end of May, but that it is more likely to arrive in June.

Currently, Galaxy S runs on Android 2.2 Froyo, which is getting upgraded to the latest version of Android for smartphones. This update is delivered over the air, meaning that you just need to connect your phone to your PC and get the update through the internet.
Therefore, the delay is surprising.

Without this update, you are missing:

New keyboard

This new virtual keyboard has its keys reshaped for faster input, and the software brings up word suggestions depending on the letters you type.

Other new features are multi-touch keyboard to type numbers and symbols with shortcuts instead of having to flip between numerical and alphabet keyboards like you’ve got to now. This new keyboard also has PlayStation controls.

Copy/paste

The copy and paste function has been improved and you can now select words by just pressing and holding keys, and then selecting and copying text for pasting later.

Power management

Another improvement is your ability to manage power consumption. Inside your application settings you’re able to see your battery and how it’s being used by various apps.

Application control

Along these lines is a shortcut to “Manage Applications”, which you can reach from your options menu. From here, you can indeed view all your applications, see how much power they’re using, and you’ve got the ability to stop any App instantly.

NFC (Near Field Communication)

This is the future of commerce, and particularly of credit cards. Use this to touch or swipe posters, advertisements etc. that are embedded with NFC tags, and you will be directed to a website. This functionality won’t work in India though as we don’t have the other systems that are needed.

Internet calling

SIP internet calling addresses can be added to your contacts list and you can make internet calls via Quick Contact or Dialler. Of course, you’ll need a SIP account for this to work and these features will be turned off or on depending on what your manufacturer or carrier wants.

Again, this will not work in India as the service is not legally allowed.

Downloads management

A new download manager is in place to work from your browser, email, or other apps.

Camera

Multiple cameras can now be accessed from one new camera app just by clicking the “Select Camera” button.

Intex Technologies has launched a mobile phone for visually impaired people. The phone has a large Braille keypad.

Called Intex Vision, the device is a dual GSM SIM phone with a Talking Keypad, which speaks out the number in English as the user presses keys. This is helpful for people who do not understand Braille.

The only problem is that it only supports English. However, an Intex spokesperson said that “more language support including Hindi is on the cards”.

The phone also has a unique SOS feature which allows it to save four emergency numbers. By pressing the SOS button, the call gets automatically directed to the first emergency number.

Shailendra Jha, deputy general manager, telecom, Intex Technologies, said, “Intex believes that simple and affordable technology can do wonders in enhancing the quality of life of differently-abled people. India has the largest number of blind people in the world and NAB (National Association for the Blind) is the best platform in the country to reach them. Intex Vision is just a small gesture to help empower the visually impaired population by bringing connectivity within easy reach.”

“Blindness is a disability that could be overcome with training and guidance. The Intex Vision phone is an ideal tool for the visually impaired to satisfy their communication needs. It can play a very useful role in their integrated development,” said Mohinder Kapur, president, National Association for the Blind.

The other features of the phone include a wireless FM radio, audio player, expandable memory up to 2GB, torch light, auto call record, mobile tracker, dedicated one-touch key for locking the keypad, and phone and SMS memories that can hold 1,000 contacts and 250 messages, respectively.

For the safety of users, the FM Antenna has been thoughtfully housed in the panel below the phone to avoid its accidental contact with the eyes. The backlight has a soothing orange tone which does not affect the eyes and hence caters to those with partially impaired vision.

With a price tag of Rs 2,600 the phone is not as expensive as other specialised devices like the iBall Senior, which costs Rs 3,500. However, both the phones look strikingly similar; though their features are different.

Samsung, which recently launched Galaxy SII, is all set to strengthen its feature phone portfolio in India with 11 new feature phones that it plans to launch in the following two months.

Talking to the The Mobile Indian, Asim Warsi, director of marketing, mobile business, Samsung, said, “We will be launching 11 new feature phones based on Java and BREW, in the next 11 weeks, to strengthen our feature phone portfolio in India.”

He added, “Most feature phones that will be launched will be upgrades of existing successful products like Samsung Guru, Corby and Star.”

He didn’t reveal prices but said the handsets will have smartphone-like features and that they will be affordable.

On the design of the handset, Warsi said, “The new feature phones will come in flip, slider, twist and touchscreen categories.”

Feature phones are basically mid range mobile phones. The difference is that they have more computing abilities than basic phones do though they have fewer features in comparison.

They are enhanced for Messaging services including SMS, MMS, mobile email, and mobile IM. These devices have QWERTY keyboards and other capabilities, and are more affordable than smartphones.

Toshiba is all set to launch its tablet very soon, an indication of this has come from online retailer Amazon, which has put up a “coming soon” sign on its website.

The tablet, Ant, is likely to come armed with Honeycomb operating system and a 1 GHz NVIDIA Tegra 2 dual core processor. It has a 10.1 inch display as well as HDMI output, back and front facing cameras, and full sized or mini USB ports.

Ant is to have a 5 mega Pixel camera at the back, and a 2 mega pixel camera in front. The battery of the Toshiba tablet will be replaceable. In addition, Ant will offer Bluetooth and Wifi connectivity.

An e-commerce website has predicted that the tablet will be priced between $450 and $580 (Rs 20,000-Rs 26,000). However, the website toshiba-android-3-0-tablet-will-start-at-449-for-8gb-wi-fi-only-model/ ) later removed the page.

The market is already getting crowded with companies like Samsung and Motorola launching their own tablets; while Apple still rules the market.

Notably Acer Iconia tablet is going to be launched on April 24 in India.