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Android Honeycomb features revealed

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Android Honeycomb features revealed

Android 3.0 (Honeycomb) is a new version of designed from the ground up for devices with large touchscreens, particularly tablets.

Honeycomb will be the first version to get a holographic theme (which looks like 3D) and an interaction model that builds on Android’s ability to multitask, notifications, widgets, and others.

Android 3.0 is also specifically designed to give developers the tools and capabilities they need to develop apps for tablets and similar devices, together with the flexibility to adapt existing apps to the new UI (user interface) by maintaining compatibility with earlier versions of the platform on other form-factors. This will ensure that users can access existing apps they are used to as well as new ones that will be developed.

Android Honeycomb UI (user interface)

System bar: The new OS will have a dedicated system bar similar to the one on laptops and desktops. It will be located at the bottom of the screen. This system bar will give users straight access to notifications, system status, and soft navigation buttons for Back, Home etc.

Action bar: This is another type of notification bar visible only when an application is running. It sits at the top of the screen and offers quick access to contextual options, navigation, widgets or other types of content.

Home screen: The Honeycomb home screen looks different from other versions of Android. There are five customisable home screens, from which it is possible to search apps, contacts, media files, web content etc.

Recent apps: To improve multi tasking, Google has added a Recent Apps function. Accessible through the system bar, it offers quick access to applications currently running on the device. There are thumbnails to help you see what you are selecting.

New keyboard: Google has included a re-designed keyboard for Android 3.0 Honeycomb. The new version is called “Android soft keyboard” and has been designed to make entering text fast and accurate on tablets and other handheld PCs. Google says the keys for the new keyboard have been shaped and positioned to increase typing accuracy. There are some new keys too, such as a dedicated tab button.

New text selection, copy and paste: Google has also re-designed the text selection system on Honeycomb. Now users can select text by using press-hold and can adjust the selected text by dragging two separate arrows to the desired positions. The new system also lets users select actions such as copy to the clipboard, share, paste, search on the net, or find from the action bar.

Connectivity support: A tablet running Gingerbread can be synchronized to computer or digital camera which is connected. Honeycomb also supports USB or keyboards.

Updated applications

Browser: Google has created a new which is very similar to the one used on laptops and PCs with tab support, with incognito (anonymous) browsing, access to browsing history and bookmarks. Multi-touch support has also been added. Google users will be able to sync bookmarks between their PC and tablet.

Camera and gallery: Google has changed the UI for camera and gallery. Camera mode has controls such as exposure, focus, flash, zoom, front facing camera etc. Gallery has better full-screen browsing.

Contacts app: The new contacts application will utilise two panes and use fast scroll so search is improved.

Email: The email application looks like the contacts with a two pane user interface that has more information and multi tasking capabilities. It is possible to select more than one message at a time. Using the action bar you will be able to quickly move them all to one folder. Using a sync* function email attachments can be kept away for viewing later. New email apps can be placed on your home screen.

Sync: Sync allows users to share information between two or more devices to keep them updated. This function is generally used to sync contacts, emails etc so that you do not need to sort through the same mails over and over on every device you have. It is also useful as a backup tool.

Phone number busy? Get alerts when it is free

The Mobile Indian Network
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Reliance Communications has launched a clever version of missed call alerts which it calls missed call alert 2.0 with Notify Me, that alerts subscribers when people they were trying to get through to are available. RCom will also continue to let users know whether they missed calls when their phones were off, out of coverage etc.

Anil Pande, the head of VAS at RCom, says, “Missed call alert service 2.0 with Notify Me is a great convenience for mobile users. It offers both caller and called party instant notification to connect again, without being bothered with repeatedly attempting to connect.”

The missed call notification for called parties will detail the calling party’s mobile number, and when the call was received; and the calling parties will in turn receive an SMS saying that the called party is available to receive calls. The caller can be on any network.

To subscribe to this service, Reliance customers have to type “M” in an SMS to toll free number 51234. Customers will be charged Rs 15 for 30 days of unlimited alerts.

The offer is also available through Chat and Play e recharge in all retail outlets serving Reliance GSM, CDMA and customers including the company’s retail Reliance Mobile and Reliance World stores across India.

Internet users on mobile to reach 1 billion by 2015

The Mobile Indian Network
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Out of one billion mobile users in 2015, the mobile only users would form 28 per cent of all users or about 13 per cent of world population, says a research report from independent analyst house Ovum.

In the mobile broadband segment, e-book readers, gaming consoles and in-vehicle entertainment are the uses which are likely to spur demand. The analyst house Ovum further forecasts that the mobile broadband market would be dominated by Asia Pacific region.

“Asia-Pacific’s role is extremely important in the fixed-mobile services (FMS) space,” says Nicole McCormick, senior analyst at Ovum.

He added, “The region has the third highest penetration rate of 34 per cent, and also has the fastest growing mobile-only penetration of any region.”

The region is also likely to dominate because of lack of fixed line infrastructure in the growing markets of India and China. At the same time, however, the fixed line broadband is also likely to grow by about 120 per cent by 2015. Users are expected to buy both mobile and fixed line broadband services to remain connected, and for the service providers, it means significant revenue growth opportunities.

The picture appears to be realistic when real world results are taken into account. In recently announced results for Ericsson’s fourth quarter and full year , the company announced more than six fold net income year-on-year, and the growth is driven mainly by mobile broadband market. For the users the figures may not mean much, but they’ll surely notice the growth speed achieved by the mobile broadband segment.

Convert your smartphone into walkie talkie

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We all have grown up fantasising about the walkie talkie conversations in the detective movies and novels. Even mobile phones were not present then but now the things have changed as we have an for that.

The name of the app is HeyTell, which does everything you wished you could do with the walkie talkie. If you are thinking whether the app is useful or not, the app has already garnered more than three million users.

The simple concept of HeyTell is, if the other user also uses the same app, you can send them a short voice message.

The HeyTell team has given this app an interesting tag line – “Push-to-talk, starting at $0.” Developed by Steven Hugg and Jen Harvey, the husband wife duo, the app has already become quite a hit among the users.

The service is free, but there are other in-app services such as adding voice effects and send the same message to several friends at the same time, which bring revenue to the company.

The other question going in your mind might be, how did they succeed? It happened through word of mouth, no money spent on marketing.

The husband wife duo just kept sending to their friends to check the service out, and the app just kept spreading. HeyTell has been generating revenue from the day one, both through in app sales, and through advertising. HeyTell, the app works for both and devices.

The free presentations app for iPhone and iPad users

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Brainshark has launched a new free for devices which lets users easily access Brainshark presentations for both training and sales presentations.

Brainshark provides users with web based presentations platform so that the customers can fine tune their on-demand communication strategies.

The training and certification programs can be ramped up quickly, due to the online nature of the service. On its company website, Brainshark says its services are easy to use which along with on demand access makes business communication that much easier.

While powerpoint presentations require more skill, here even a newbie can easily navigate through the process and create online multimedia presentations which can be accessed by the audience right away.

The users could already access the presentations through the browsers, now, with the Brainshark app, they get the ability to navigate through them as well — they’ll be able to view the table of contents and download attachments. They can also choose to go to any particular slide according to their requirement.

The app also lets the users access business content library and share the presentations with just one click. In simple terms, it means the presentations created within a business can be kept shared, so all the employees of the company may benefit from the shared wisdom. The library is searchable so users can easily find relevant content fast. The enterprise customers can also log into their account to access their own or their company’s content.

Samsung launches Wave II

The Mobile Indian Network
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Samsung has launched Wave II (S8530) with in India. bada is Samsung’s OS and with its Wave series of mobiles that use bada, the company is seeking to provide users with a connected, fast and intuitive smartphone experience.

Ranjit Yadav, the country head of Samsung Mobile and IT, says, “New Wave II enhances consumers’ smartphone experience with advanced entertainment, communication, push e mail, display and superior usability.”

Samsung Wave II is equipped with a 1 GHz that enables multimedia, multi tasking and application downloads from Samsung’s own store.

With a 3.7 inch display, Samsung Wave II offers a bright view, improved outdoor visibility and a wide viewing angle.

Samsung Wave II features Quicktype by T9 which is an easy way to input text. Instead of punching in letters, users with Quicktype T9 just need to swipe their finger in a continuous motion over the letters of the word, and the mobile intuitively spells out the word being typed.

Wave II has a 5 mega camera with flash and a 1,500 mAh battery. The memory of Samsung Wave II is expandable up to 32 and the phone, along with a 2 GB memory card, costs Rs 21,000.

There are five models of Samsung bada phones available for between Rs 8,800 and Rs 21,000.

Samsung launches four new smartphones

The Mobile Indian Network
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The South Korean electronics giant, Samsung, has announced that it will launch four new smartphones to its already vast repertoire of phones in India after Mobile World Congress in Barcelona . The names of the four phones to be launched are Fit, Mini, Ace and Gio — all in the Galaxy series.

JK Shin, president and head of Samsung’s mobile communications Business, says, “Each device delivers something different, with the idea that each user is an individual and wants their mobile experience to be easy and fun.”

All the phones are great for people fanatic about apps and they can download them from both Android market and Samsung apps. In all the Samsung Galaxy lineup, the social hub feature of the phones stands out which lets users conveniently manage SMS, contacts, emails and instant messages in the same place.

All the new devices will be first displayed in the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona though Russia will be the first market where these will be available. Samsung Galaxy Fit is already available in Russia.

Apple iPad now available in India

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Apple has finally launched its famed iPad tablet in India today. The tablet will be available in Apple stores and with Apple premium resellers across the country.

Starting price for the base version with WiFi and 16 storage is Rs 27,900; for 32GB version it is Rs 32,900; and for the 64Gb it will be Rs 37,900. It you also need connectivity the prices will be Rs 34,900, Rs 39,400 and Rs 44,900 respectively for 16GB, 32GB and 64GB.

According to the Apple spokesperson, “Apple does not have a tie up with any of the service providers in India for providing special data plans for users who purchase ipad’s.”

As of now BSNL is the only service provider who has introduced plans on its own specially designed for iPad. BSNL’s plans are: Rs 999 per month plan for unlimited access, Rs 599 for 6 GB and Rs 99 for unlimited data over a day — for pre paid users. Post paid subscribers only have the Rs 999 option.

iPads allow users to browse the web, read and send email, view and share photos, watch video, listen to music, play games, read ebooks and explore apps on Apple’s Store.

Available in Wifi or Wifi and 3G models, iPads are 0.5 inches thick and weigh 1.6 lbs–they’re thinner and lighter than any laptop or netbook. They deliver up to 10 hours of battery life for surfing the web on Wifi, watching videos or listening to music, and up to nine hours of surfing the web on a 3G data network.

Get cell phones delivered to your door step

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Ever thought of having the latest cell phone delivered to your doorstep like a pizza?

Essar group’s The Mobile Store has started a mobile phone delivery service. Orders can be placed at the company’s call centre on 1800-209-6363. The service is currently available in 163 cities across India and will be extended further soon.

Srikant Gokhale, the chief executive officer of The Mobile Store, says, “As a customer-centric organisation we are focused on finding novel ways to deliver a pleasant mobile phone buying experience. Home delivery of cell phones is another step in that direction and is aimed at further facilitating mobile phone penetration across the country.”

The Mobile Store has trained its executives to guide users in deciding which phone to buy. The caller will not need to share his credit card details with a sales representative. After the first call, the customer will receive a call from the Interactive Voice Response which will guide him to enter credit/debit card details. This eliminates a human interface, thereby reducing the chance of fraud.

The store also maintains a website which tells users about current offers. There are 1,300 The Mobile Store retail outlets across India and the company plans to expand further by following a franchise model.

Wifi for Indian villages

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Wifi for Indian villages

Do you frequently travel to the villages? If you do, here’s some good news. Connectivity in rural areas is expected to improve with Haryana-based telecom solutions company Vihaan Networks Limited’s (VNL) new mobile tower, which is cheap and requires no maintenance.

Called WorldGSM, VNL’s tower provides connectivity for voice and wireless as well.

According to global consultancy group Deloitte, rural India is expected to fuel the growth in mobile phone services over the next four years as cell phones become a vital tool in the government’s financial inclusion programme.

However, current mobile towers are powered by diesel generators, which cost as much as Rs 50,000 per month to run. As operating cost of telecom in rural regions far exceeds revenue, network providers lack incentive to offer services in these areas.

VNL was the recipient of GSMA’s 2010 Green Mobile – Best Green Programme Product or Initiative award for inventing mobile base stations fueled by renewable energy. These towers are small, powerful and use solar energy.

VNL’s towers not only reduce installation cost and time, and maintenance cost; they also ensure zero operating cost, making rural networks profitable.

WorldGSM mobile towers also create low cost Wifi networks. Each tower installed in a rural area can work as a Wifi hotspot effective over a 500 m radius. Five or six similar towers create a continuous Wifi zone stretching over about 6 km. This enables the network operator to offer Wifi and GSM connectivity to clusters of villages without having to lay cables.

Rajiv Mehrotra, the founder and chief executive officer of VNL, says, “Using our technology, operators can create a viable business model to operate GSM and broadband networks in rural areas.”

He adds, “95 per cent of tehsils in our country are connected by fibre channel (wired broadband connection). Using our technology, almost the entire country can be provided broadband without the need to lay more cables.”

Most villages have an area of less than 200 metres radius, which means that WorldGSM will enable even bigger villages to be connected without the need to install another tower.

VNL showcased its technology to a select group of journalists. They took us to Bhiwandi tehsil in Rajasthan, where they have set up a trial WorldGSM network.

Mehrotra says that WorldGSM towers cost as little as Rs 8 lakh, which includes solar panels, batteries, backhaul, GSM antennae and Wifi solution. The tower can be installed in two hours on roof tops without a foundation having to be laid. It has no operation costs either.

WorldGSM towers do not require air-conditioning as there are no moving parts in the setup; because there is no air conditioner, there is no need for a generator either. Solar panels, on which VNL’s towers operate, require only dusting once or twice a week, which can be done by the person on whose premise the tower is installed.

These cell towers offer only network. Rajiv said, “Villages right now need to be connected first and is not the requirement. We have included Wifi in our solution as there are low cost devices which work on this network. Wifi is cheaper too as it operators don’t need to pay.

VNL’s WorldGSM solution is being deployed in Africa, Asia and other developing regions. The company is actively looking for buyers in India and is doing trials with BSNL.

WorldGSM can certainly make a difference in how villages are connected. Everyone is gunning to go rural as there is a vast and untapped market there, but current technology is too expensive for the business to be viable.

We believe this technology can not only take broadband to rural areas but also fuel a lot of local enterprise as it enables the setup of micro networks by local entrepreneurs.

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