NFC or near field communication has been a much talked about technology for its ability to transform the way we conduct transactions and identification.

Most of us working in the corporate world are familiar with this technology thanks to our access cards, which unlock security doors when swiped against a reader.

Now, Tata Docomo has signed an agreement with Megasoft’s subsidiary XIUS to test trial XIUS’ Mobile Touch Transaction (MTT) solutions in Hyderabad. The technology will enable subscribers to recharge their phones, pay bills and download VAS products such as ringtones, games and wallpapers.

The MTT solution enables self-service kiosks through Active Posters, which are touchscreens that display products. They are NFC enabled so that they can identify the mobile phone being used.

The solution ensures delivery of purchased products as well as receipt of payment for them. It is an end-to-end purchase, delivery, and payment solution — all in one.

The network-independent Mobile Touch Transaction solution uses a mesh of multiple touch points such as RFID Sticki, contactless-SIM, touchpads, in-car services and Active Posters.

RFID Sticki (radio Frequency identification), are small stickers with built in RFID, which can be put inside the phone’s back panel and will contain its identification number. This information it will transfer to the active poster when a user walks by.

Active Posters or APs are a type of printed electronic technology. They act as virtual malls, enabling as many as 18 retail options that users can access and purchase by touch commands.

This solution, apart from reducing the need of manpower deployment at the retail end, also acts as a place to advertise services. Further, it addresses the fear of some individuals, especially women, who do not want to disclose their mobile number while purchasing recharge vouchers. The transaction is made secure by PIN authentication.

XIUS officials said that they hope to get big contracts in India. The company also said that the technology can be extended to include credit cards, which can be installed into the cell phone itself, reducing the need for people to carry any other form of money.

Finally there is an application that helps you sleep better.

ElectricSleep, an Android app, uses an Accelerometer to record the sleep movements of the users. It depicts the sleep cycles you go through which can be dissected and analyzed later either by you or a specialist.

Most adults going through the vagaries of the real world will identify with the story. The stress and strain of everyday life makes it difficult for many of us to get a good night’s sleep. Even if you do manage to sleep, you still wake up tired, which says a lot about the lack of sleep quality. You don’t know what’s causing the sleep deficiency because you are neither awake, nor asleep at that time.

This app can find out if you are in light sleep and wake you up accordingly. The basic thought that has gone behind it is those who wake up from a deep sleep are less refreshed than those who wake up from a light sleep.

While using it for the first time, one need to calibrate their sleep cycles with the app.

The application is yet to be (fully) launched in the market though it is open for beta testing.

Graphic.ly, which provides digital comics service, has launched its Android-based App on comics after successfully launching app on applel’s iOS platform. Android users can now buy, download, and of course read comics on their devices.

The app brings titles from Marvel, and about 150 other publishers, and yes, some free issues are also there, so you can get started without spending a penny.

Users can also enjoy comics using the web based app and a desktop client, but you need to first log in to do this.

There is cross platform support as well, which means comics bought from mobile app will also be available through the web based app and on the desktop client.

Users should make sure they read the instructions otherwise even simple things such as zooming in to read the text might appear difficult to them.

Zooming in is anyway important for comics because line art in the comics may get lost in the smaller screen size which are only apparent if you use the zoom in function. The app is available on the Android market free of cost (they would charge you for the comics, of course) for all Android devices which run on Android version 2.1 or above.

Graphic.ly is an integrated reader which acts as a storefront too so you can buy and download your favourite comics here. The Graphicly view mode is equally attractive, since you can view the comics one by one, full screen, thus savouring the complete comics experience.
The Android version of Graphic.ly will have to compete with the Comixology (another Android-based comic app), which too provides apps on comics.

Kaspersky Lab has expanded its mobile security platform to include Android and BlackBerry devices. Kaspersky already supported Windows Mobile and Symbian.

However, Android and Blackberry users will have to wait for Encryption and parental controls features, which are only available for Windows mobile and Symbian phones.

The new Kaspersky Mobile Security 9 supports anti-theft features such as using the phone’s GPS to track down the location of the device and remotely wiping information on all four platforms namely Windows Mobile, Symbian, Android and BlackBerry.
Anti-virus, Firewall and privacy protection are also available for Android but not for BlackBerry users. Mobile filtering, which allows users to block spam text messages and unwanted phone calls, are available for all devices.
McAfee has also recently made available its Mobile Security suite, which offers remote lock, GPS tracking, remote wipe and malware scanning features, to mobile users.
The Kaspersky anti-theft technology available for all four platforms includes SMS Find, Remote Block and SIM Watch.

With SMS Find, users can pinpoint the missing mobile device’s location on Google Maps using real-time GPS location data. The information can also be sent to a pre-defined e-mail address.

Kaspersky Mobile Security 9 also lets users remotely block anyone from downloading data or receiving calls on the missing device. The device can be either locked down to prevent anyone from accessing private data or remotely wiped, to delete all sensitive data.
SIM Watch alerts the original owner if the thief tries to foil GPS tracking and remote wipes by replacing the SIM card, the company said. The telephone number associated to the new SIM card is automatically sent to the predefined email address, and the original owner can still remotely wipe data.

The new version of Kaspersky Mobile Security 9 is available as a subscription-offering for Rs 599 per license. Supported versions include Symbian OX 9.1 and higher, Windows Mobile 5.0 to 6.5, BlackBerry 4.5 to 6.0 and Android 1.6 to 2.2 (Donut to FroYo).

Bharti Airtel has announced the launch of a bouquet of services aimed at ongoing ICC cricket world cup viewers.

Airtel mobile customers can now dial 543210 (toll free) to avail various cricket specific services including SMS, MMS and video alerts, Airtel Talk2Me with cricketers and experts (users get a chance to talk to cricketers and experts), games and applications.

It has also announced a service, called as Cricket Fever, which is a dedicated social networking portal for cricket fans, where users can participate in discussion forums, listen to expert comments and post their views on Facebook and Twitter in their own voice — all by calling an IVR number from their mobiles. They can also upload videos on Youtube using the service.
It has also started ‘Airtel Cricket Contest’. Airtel mobile customers can SMS ‘PLAY’ to 55000 or dial 543210 to test their cricket knowledge and get a chance to walk away with exciting prizes including cars and LCD TVs.

Another service allows users to participate in a contest hosted by Shahrukh Khan, currently the host of the popular game show Zor Ka Jhatka (looks like its promotional campaign for jor ka jhatka program currently being aired on NDTV-Imagine).

Airtel customers can call 53030 to participate in the contest and record personalised good luck wishes for our cricket team. The 11 most Zor Ka Jhatka wishes will then be etched on a cricket bat to be passed onto our cricket team.

Shireesh Joshi, chief marketing officer of mobile services, Bharti Airtel said, “Airtel customers will be able to dial 543210 to opt for various cricket related services. With the 543210 portal now live with an exciting range of offerings — Airtel will continue to add more products for its cricket loving customers over the period of the tournament.”

Airtel’s cricket offerings and price

Tanla, a value added services company, has announced implementation of its 3G video platform with a suite content services including ongoing world cup cricket match videos for all Reliance 3G mobile subscribers across their presently live six circles in India.

Reliance 3G subscribers can now access these services by dialing a Video call to 58000 from their handsets.

With the launch of 3G video platform, Reliance users can now access multimedia content including fashion, regional, hollywood and bollywood movies, devotional videos, sports, lifestyle and animation including the ongoing cricket match videos with feature-rich and personalized video interactivity.

Tanla, a value added services company, which has implemented this platform, said in a statement “Tanla is proud to be associated with Reliance as the platform of choice for delivering high quality video content over the 3G network including cricket updates. This speaks volumes about our 3G infrastructure capabilities and content delivery mechanisms.”

“We will ensure that all Reliance subscribers have a seamless and integrated user experience on their 3G handheld devices across the country,” added Uday Reddy,chairman and managing director, Tanla Solutions Limited.

Tanla implemented this across its six circles in India.

iXiGO.com, one of the leading travel search engine of India, has launched a global Travel App for iPhone users. The application is available free of cost for users of Apple’s iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad devices.

iXiGO’s iPhone App is available in English, Spanish, German and Italian languages,

It allow users to do a quick search for flights and compare fares across multiple airline and online travel agency websites, search hotel rates and availability from over 250,000 hotels from across all leading hotel booking websites.
The app also allows users to view maps, see hotel pictures, read reviews, track flight status and delays, see airport information and locations, and complete flight and hotel bookings either on a website of the user’s choice, or by making a call to the relevant booking provider by clicking on the phone numbers provided.

“This is the first time an Indian Internet company has built a free iPhone travel app with global audiences in mind”, said Aloke Bajpai, founder-chief executive officer, iXiGO.com.

“With our simple, fast and intuitive user interface, whether you are in Mumbai, Madrid or Mombasa, you can get flight & hotel information from all around the world on the go, searching over 100 travel sites. No wonder we are seeing hundreds of downloads already, with five star user ratings too!”

The company also plans to launch applications for other smartphone platforms in coming months.