In this world of interactivity, Vodafone has taken a step towards making the process of selecting caller tunes interactive. Now Vodafone customers can use their Facebook accounts for selecting caller tunes. Along with this, they can also make use of their Facebook accounts to share and copy caller-tunes among other Vodafone users across the Facebook.
BP Singh, chief executive officer, Vodafone Karnataka, said, “Caller-tunes are an individual’s way of expressing their passion for music. ‘Vodafone Caller-tune share’ extends the caller-tune services onto Facebook enabling our customers to activate and recommend songs to their friends, all from the comfort of their social network page.”
“This is the first time a telecom operator is launching such a unique service for its customers and we will continue to provide such exciting services through the year,” he added.
To access this feature Vodafone users are required to log on to their Facebook account, and get the ‘Vodafone Caller-tune Share’ application and register their Vodafone number with it. Following that a confirmation PIN is sent to the registered phone number for verification. Once verified, the users by using the application can change their caller-tune and even promote and share it amongst their friends.
All the caller-tunes available on Vodafone’s directory can be accessed by a simple search of the song name or artist or even by album. Every caller-tune can be previewed online for up to eight seconds.
Charges for Vodafone caller tunes are Rs 30 for a month of subscription and Rs 15 for song selection. Also if the user chooses not change the caller-tune for 90 days or cancels the subscription for the service , an additional charge of Rs 15 has will be automatically deducted from the users account.

The two most talked about companies today, Apple and Google, have announced rival services that will enable publishers to set the price and billing terms for content sold through their apps, on the condition that Apple and Google will get a cut of revenue.

The subscription service from Apple allows newspapers, magazines, music, and video publishers to set payment terms for content chosen by users in the App Store. The deal will cover all purchases made either through the iPad, iPhone or iPod touch.

The One Pass subscription service from Google makes digital content available across devices such as tablets, smartphones and websites, and is likely to boost the Android platform. Google plans to get 10 per cent cut for all sales made on its platform.

On the other hand, Steven Jobs, chief executive officer of Apple, said, “Our philosophy is simple–when Apple brings a new subscriber to the app, Apple earns a 30 percent share; when the publisher brings an existing or new subscriber to the app, the publisher keeps 100 percent and Apple earns nothing.”

The response from Google was swift though the company denies that it has been trying to counter Apple’s move. Google’s announcement is not restricted to mobile devices only; it will serve all web users.

Google One Pass also allows publishers more control over how they let users access content, and at what price. Google says, “Publishers have control over how users can pay to access content and set their own prices. They can sell subscriptions of any length with auto-renewal, day passes (or other durations), individual articles or multiple-issue packages. Google One Pass also enables metered models, where a publisher can provide some content or a certain number of visits for free, but can charge frequent visitors or those interested in premium content based on the business model that the publisher prefers.”

Most current computer and smartphone makers use Lithium-based batteries. While these batteries offer many benefits over conventional nickel and lead ones, they have a limited lifespan and the clock starts ticking the moment they leave the factory.

Among the worst things one can do to a Lithium ion battery is discharge it completely every time. Hundred per cent discharge puts too much strain on the battery. It is just like exercising the human body – some running is good for the body, but one should not try to run a marathon every day. If a Lithium ion battery is completely discharged on a daily basis, its life span will reduce.

Keeping the battery fully charged all the time is not good either as it results in capacity loss. Battery performance decreases gradually either due to usage or aging. The battery lasts longer if there is a shallow discharge, and manufacturers indicate that a battery can endure 80 per cent discharge. Li ion batteries should be kept cool for best results.

In simple terms:

The battery should be charged often and deep discharges should be avoided.

Users should keep the battery cool, if possible. The battery should not be frozen or left in a hot car, either.

Li ion batteries should not be bought by users for later use. Before purchasing Li ion batteries, their manufacturing date must be checked.

Those who are worried about whether Honeycomb, the version of Android for tablets, will make it to their smartphone have reason to rejoice. Android’s open source and compatibility tech lead, Dan Morrill, tweeted, “Honeycomb runs all existing Android apps; all the APIs (application programming interface) and features will come to phones in some form. Just a matter of time.”

There is a possibility that Dan Morrill might be testing an Android upgrade, which could also be called Gingerbread. In related news, PhoneScoop reported that the action bar (app specific buttons which help users take action according to the app, and are above the screen in tablets,) will be applied to smartphones as well. The system bar, at the bottom of tablets, will not be used on phones.

Earlier, Google had said that Honeycomb is completely tablet oriented. Even the Honeycomb emulator available online, when tried with phone screen resolutions, looks broken and offers very limited support.

The latest tweet from Google is likely to calm some fears about Android being too fragmented.