A recent survey stats by Nielsen group has revealed that Android phones now have a share of 39% of the US Smartphone market, coming out as a top OS amongst various Android phone manufacturers like HTC, Motorola and Samsung, However no company can come close yet in dethroning Apple as a top phone manufacturer in US market with it's iOS software platform which comes second after Android now.
Another interesting stats that have emerged about Android OS based phones was from a survey conducted by ChangeWave Research which found close to 50% Android phone users were very satisfied with their Android Smartphones, still the green robot has a lot of catching up to do against Apple's iOS platform which is leading consumer satisfaction with a clear lead of 70% users satisfied with the iOS platform using their iPhones, what Android OS needs is a serious line up of apps/games with dedicated support from not just Google but other big names from telecom industry as well that would help this OS mature and drive software/ hardware sales numbers for companies pitching in to support this platform.
Read more about Nielsen survey result here and stats from ChangeWave Research here
I really kept wondering what happened to paid apps on Nokia Ovi store which went off the store that were available to download at least in Euro's, after I got to know what happened in past few months, what could have being a foolish move by Nokia by entering into a tie up with R com offering paid content solely to it's subscribers. Indian mobile handset manufacturers are already gobbling up a good share of Nokia's low end handset segment, Nokia has already lost smartphone top end segement to Apple and Android phones. Mid-Range handset segment has strong line up from Samsung and Sony Ericcsson that rivals Nokia's pricing strategy.
Now Nokia has opened up a beta version of paid apps for consumers in India through credit card purchases, still waiting to launch commercial version of the revised Ovi store which is way too late and Nokia does not seem to learn from it's mistakes from the past. It has already lost the throne of top smartphone company to Apple now globally, wonder what way it is headed in India
Tata sky has introduced a mobile app on iOS platform across iphone, ipad and ipod touch which allows users to use their device as a universal remote and also share programs they are watching on Social platforms like Twitter and Facebook. You can use this app to view 4 days program listing as well, use recording function on Tata Sky + and Tata Sky HD + set top boxes. For this you need to get a infrared attachment which costs Rs 350 including shipping charges and can be ordered by current Tata Sky subscribers for which amount gets deducted from your account balance.
Android version of this app is yet to arrive, iPhone user population could be on a lower side compared to android platform based phones being launched by various companies currently in India. Do you think this tata sky app really adds any value as an accesory for your smartphone/ tablet?
Market for 3D Televisions was not buzzing last year when Samsung started off with 3D television launch in India, with televisions shifting to a smarter breed by incorporating web and wireless features, LG has launched an impressive range of 3D televisions under their Cinema 3D range. Specs like battery free 3D glasses, better 2D to 3D signal conversion with 100 Hz display features it looks to be good proposition. You could land up good deals online, a 42 inch model which is retailing for around INR 94K is available for INR 75K online from letsbuy.com, also there is a 32 inch 3D tv model which does not feature in the available product list on LG india website but is available for sale on letsbuy.com at an attractive price of INR 49K.
3D content currently is very limited in India, also the madness of releasing 3D movies with no real 3D stuff is not helping the cause of promoting 3D content yet, entry of 32 inch 3D televisions could give a boost to pushing 3D tv sales what companies have being aiming for.
Pune's municipal limits have swelled beyond control in last few years. One would find endless hoardings of construction projects (along with birthday wishes hoardings for local goons or so called karyakartas and leaders) on Pune roads. Property price correction is nowhere in sight in Pune with the builder lobby which is hand in gloves with the politicos for a government run jointly by NCP-Congress combine with BJP, Shivsena and NCP sharing power in municipal corporation it could get no worse for city. There is no actual opposition party that exists in city's political set up right now.
Shahid Balwa the head of DB realty group under scanner for alleged role in 2G Scam has 2 big projects in Yerwad currently under construction, after his arrest there was halt that was put to one of the projects that was being carried out on a land owned by a trust which was supposed to build a park in public - private ownership model silently made a deal of this land with DB realty, PMC washing off their hands and when the actual order came from Maharashtra CM the work was halted on this land for some time as they hype died down, construction work has begun on slow pace. Sharad Pawar and his family members name keeps coming up in almost all land scams in Pune which goes to prove what kind of control this family has on the property market in Pune.
Names of family members related to Narayan Rane, Ajit Pawar have also come under limelight for some or the other land scams, Pune's previous commisioner Mahesh Zagade was quitely replaced due to his relationships that got sore with the builder lobby in Pune. Builder's in Pune are not even willing to touch 1 BHK projects due to the presence of large count of IT, ITES workforce that is willing to pay for amenities and for flats starting from 2 BHK. Once a pensioner's paradise is slowly urning into concrete jungle like mumbai now. Luckily there are few high rise buildings in the city but the rapid growth of malls, commercial places and residential projects is creating pressure on pricing of property which is seeing only way up and people looking out for affordable housing have to look at areas in the outskirts of the city or satellite areas near PMC or PCMC municipal limits.
Lavasa project which came under environment ministry's radar for the wrong reasons was nothing that state government or central government would not have being aware of all these years. Land grabbing by politicos and rampant exploitation by builder lobby in Pune is what defines pune's real estate scenario currently.
I had never used an Apple product apart from a 2nd generation Ipod which i had won in a competition, the plain white piece of music playing device did not excite me much, i am a bass junkie and prefer to toy around with customized equalizer feature in any music player which kinda made me sell off my Ipod shuffle as soon as i could. After all these years i resisted the idea of buying an Iphone or an Ipod touch, I kept following the tech news of the growing app market for Iphone over the past few years, and one important thing which kept lingering in my mind was the evolving gaming capacity of this device.
My desktop pc finally conked off after 6 years of use and i was no longer interested in upgrading my desktop, so i got myself a decent laptop upgrade in HP G62-455TX replacing my old acer laptop which had started giving me enough trouble with the battery and overheating issues. I had a plan to upgrade my phone from Nokia N8 to Samsung Galaxy SII because i was planning to shift my mobile OS experience away from Symbian and check out the Android OS catching up to popularity world over. Still my desire to own a good portable gaming device was still pending. I shelved my plans of the phone upgrade and freezed upon two tablet devices.
Apple Ipad 2 and Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 which is due for late June release in India. I was heavily moved with my decision to choose Samsung GT 10.1 and wait for it, however i knew that with an improved dual core processor Apple Ipad 2 would be a good device for portable gaming that i have being looking for all this while.
I began my extensive research on both these devices for few days and finally decided to buy Apple Ipad 2. I got my Ipad 2 from Reliance Digital Istore at Jewel Square mall in Koregaon Park on the launch day itself, a black 16 GB Wi-Fi Ipad 2. The store representative first called me to inform that due to octroi issues their stock had got stuck and i would get my delivery on Saturday, luckily i got a call again in the evening and got my Ipad.
Dimension Specs
0.34 inch in thickness
9.5 inch tall
7.3 inches in width
Weighing close to 600 grams
Holding the Ipad 2 gives you feel of a really well designed tech marvel, not recommended to hold it for long in your palms it would start feeling heavy and having a protective cover is a must for this device as the screen is smudge magnet and there are already some cheap covers + bluetooth keyboard accessories available on ebay india site. Smart cover that is going to retail for Rs 2100 was still not available from the store I purchased my Ipad. Screen resolution of 1024 x 768 is crisp and can be customized for brightness. It also has ambient light sensor, an accelerometer and 3 axis gyroscope . The Power button is situated on the top right corner just behind the screen, with a 3.5 mm jack for headset connection towards top left. Volume control button is placed vertically just below the power button on right hand side.
Powering up the Ipad 2 it boots within roughly 20-25 seconds. Swipe unlock familiar to Iphone and Ipod touch is also present in Ipad 2, factory preset model comes with limited apps like Photo Booth, You tube, App Store, Game Center and FaceTime app. The first thing i did was to download Itunes software on my laptop and load the system updates available from Istore, registered my device and synching the Ipad to Itunes is pretty swift. I got started on the App Store instantly and exploring different useful apps, downloaded few of them.
Using Ipad 2 virtual keyboard is easy in general however you would have to rest the Ipad on a desk or some support because it starts feeling bulky after a while switching palms and hands becomes obvious. Ipad 2 is zippy and does not struggle with orientation changes, home screen swipes opening up multiple applications which i tried with a HD game and camera application and 2 other applications all open while i kept switching between them. the A5 1 Ghz dual core chip within this device handles multi taksing without much issues, still need to check as to what limit would the processor get maxed out. While using the FaceTime app for placing a video call i notice Ipad 2 heating up slightly after almost close to 1 hour of video call.
Ipad 2 scores low on having decent camera for taking photos, HD video recording is almost up to the mark, since taking videos and photographs was not on my priority list of what i was looking from a tablet device so i gave this feature a miss, you can take a look at the sample video and pics i have taken from Ipad 2.
With 512 MB RAM on the house playing games is much sought relief for me to move up from playing on small mobile screen to a proper portable gaming device, i always kept giving Sony's PSP a miss because i did not want to get tied down to a small screen device for gaming which a lot of new gen smart phones are getting better at. I have downloaded few trial games to see how they look on Ipad2 and i must say it delivers pretty well as a portable gaming device.
Watching movies, video clips also looks great. The default video player would only accept MP4 format videos and that too copied via Itunes, you need to buy a seperate camera connector adapter to copy images and videos from a SD card, USB drive. for playing video format other than MP4 you can either download some free apps like Ipad video converter from Aleesoft, which would work for small videos but becomes a tedious process for converting full movies if you have got them in popular formats like DivX or Xvid etc. So i brought a paid app for $3 from the App Store called CineXplayer which is a good and stable software to play your movies without the trouble of conversion, however it does not support .mkv video and AC3 format yet. Unfortunately Itunes store for India does not feature music downloads, you can still download audio and video podcasts for your device. There are some paid apps that are available on the app store to allow viewing of microsoft office documents, not sure how many of them allow creating word, excel and powerpoint format docs as ipad does not have a Microsoft supported office productivity app.
I am yet to test the 10 hour battery claim, so cannot comment much about it right now. You can feel the fluidity in the accessibility and navigation while using the device which is a pleasant experience and i must say that i have got hooked to my Ipad in no time. iOS 4.3 does not herald any significant changes from it's previous versions again i cannot delve much into it because i have not being a iphone or ipod touch user before. ipad 2 also has Airplay feature which enables wireless broadcast of songs, images, videos and other media content on an apple enabled device which supports airplay technology. Using FaceTime app is great and pretty simple to use which i liked the most. Applications like Garage Band, MovieTime also seem to be interesting from the videos i have watched over Youtube not planning to spend much on apps right now, as getting a decent cover with screen protector is the priority right now. Was just amazed by the plethora of accessories and stuff available on the web for ipad 2, no wonder Apple products sell like crazy in US and Europe.
If you already have the first gen Ipad it is really not worth going for Ipad2 unless you are really willing to let go of your previous device and opt for a faster, improved graphics enabled ipad 2 that comes along with front and rear camera. ipad 2 falls short on lack of flash support, no USB connectivity for external HDD devices, missing SD/micro SD card slot (for heavy downloaders storage could easily become a challenge), the same missing checkpoints is where Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 was scoring on with also being a telecom device along with tablet i decided to enter the world of iOS opting over Android as it has a long way to go in garnering developer support to build a strong app library like iOS currently has and also user base that would further drive the success of Android. Samsung GT 10.1's rear side 8 megapixel camera and front 2 megapixel camera with a stunning AMOELD screen almost tempted me but i think i am not regretting by choosing ipad2, people like me who have never used an apple product like macbook, mac pc, ipod or ipod touch and are seeking a good tablet device that provides a rich experience of media viewing especially gamers looking for a cool portable gaming device you can undoubtedly go for ipad2.
Interesting read from an article courtesy indianexpress.com highlights how the domestic help is becoming an important part of urban families which have shrunk in size over the years and couples with kids working to fulfill their dreams and desires are heavily relying on domestic help to take care of their household chores along with taking care of their kids.
Showcased at MWC 2011 Barcelona, take a look at the No Glasses 3D Optimus phone hands on video from LG, smartphones are pushing the envelope with respect to gaming and 3D. I just feel 3D devices are just being pushed down to consumers without much of the genuine 3D content still not available yet, and consumers yet to decide of they want to accept 3D technology as a mainstream tech addition to their digital life.
Pune is touted to be a fast growing IT hub that has placed the city amongst an important destination for retail sector to take note of. When i settled in Pune from Mumbai by the end of year 2004, The eastern corridor in the city was nowhere close to development and it was then the outskirts of Pune city. As the city grew and expanded it has now become the most happening spot in the city and this area of the city came to limelight nationally post the Pune German Bakery bomb blast incident.
A lot of major retail groups set up their shops in this area of the city which now has a host of malls, as a electonics and gadgets enthusiast i always knew Pune definately could not match the charm of Lamington road in Mumbai when it came to electronics market, however even it came to buying a simple cable extension and misc electronics need these so called electronics megastores never used to have any and it required me to do some searching in nearby places to get a fixed source for buying or rely on ebay.
Recently Croma electonics closed down their outlet at Ishanya mall and even Dass Electronics has closed few outlets in the city along with a branch at nagar road, if you check their website today it has not even being updated i suppose from last Aug-Sep'10. These stores opened with lot of promises but somehow they could just not afford to pay huge lease amounts on commercial property compared to the sales that may not help them break even over a particular period of time. There were some small time laptop shops too which opened in the fortaleza society vicinity, opposite Gold Big Cinemas even they closed down soon.
The retail story is somewhere not clicking right in Pune, if you are even lucky to find what you need do not expect good after sales service from the stores in malls. Once you are out of the bright and airconditioned atmosphere of the mall with your product you have brought, as a consumer you are history. The so called "IT crowd" is not sufficient to register impressive sales, Pune has a higher share of student population too which comprises of high footfalls and low spend category that's hurting the growth of retail sector here. Every time i visited Croma or Dass a disinterested or overexcited salesman would come to you suggesting you stuff that you are not seeking, pushing products of some brand that their store is endorsing. At times these sales guys would form their own groups strolling in the store chatting and having a gala time. Same kind of attitude prevails with sales staff at Big Bazaar, Hometown, Lifestyle and Housefull stores which i have visited and experienced.
A collection of some interesting clips from the Pixar movies, goes to show the stellar array of animation movies this studio has produced and has got us spell bound, this montage has being developed by a 21 year old film maker Leandro Copperfield a young Brazilian filmmaker spent 11 days watching Pixar's assorted films, painstakingly selecting the more than 500 clips that make up this touching ode to Pixar Studios.
Nokia has quite a good collection of applications on the Ovi Store for Nokia N8, if you are still searching for some good themes and wallpapers for Nokia N8 here's a collection of some links which i found on the web for Nokia N8
If you have still not checked the trending videos of the year on YouTube, check it out on this link It features the top ten list of videos watched in India and surprisingly the song Crazy Kiya Re from Dhoom 2 is also on the list at number 5, Dil Bole Hadippa title remix song on number 2, the controversial nude back scene from Kurbaan also features in the list at number 8, "Tere Liye" the song from movie "Prince" features at number 3 (Atif Aslam magic worked for this song).
You can even check the top trending international videos also, i can admit that i got seriously hooked to YouTube this year. It started off watching gaming walkthroughs, trailers, music videos however i stumbled upon really witty and timepass stuff exploring YouTube further. I think it would serve as an ideal idiot box replacement for me :-)
Check out this link which has high-res collection of 50 interesting pictures captured in the year 2010, some of these are really thought provoking and makes me think, we should be thankful of what we have and stop cribbing about what we don't have or we do not get.
A rather attacking comment i read on a blog by a Nokia Fanboy against the iphone
Screen/User Interface: iDon’t have themes support. iDon’t have a scalable OS, apps on the iPad are simply stretched to fit. iDon’t have a desktop, entire UI is organized as a single “start” menu. iDon’t have parallax (finger/screen offset) adjusting – low precision especially on small objects. iDon’t have a touch friendly screen, gloves, pens, styluses and not even fingernails work! iDon’t have neither haptic nor any other type feedback whatsoever. iDon’t have any precision compared to resistive touchscreens. iDon’t have a standard(16:10, 16:9, 4:3) aspect ratio only Apple custom ones(3:2) will fit my screen.
Power: iDon’t have USB charging without a dock adapter. iDon’t have any safety garment for the battery(1) melting is known to occur in Apple products(2) iDon’t have warranty for damage made by “external” force aka. the above.
GSM connectivity: iDon’t have full 3G HSDPA speed (7mb/s vs. 2008 smatphones that have 10mb/s). iDon’t have full GPRS/EDGE speed (CLASS 10 is four times slower than CLASS 33!) iDon’t have a decent GSM/GPS/WiFi signal(1) the connection is far worse than on 3GS(2) iDon’t handle videocall via the network, gTalk etc.
WLAN connectivity: iDon’t have DLNA (streaming HD content wireless on a HDTV). iDon’t have UPnP technology (automatic WiFi setup) some networks simply don’t work.
Bluetooth connectivity: iDon’t A2DP right (BT stereo) right: lags on videos(1) and games(2). iDon’t have rSAP, Remote SIM Access Profile(1) – iDon’t work with your in-car hands free(2). iDon’t fully support AVRCP (BT remote)(1) industry standard(2) can’t skip tracks. iDon’t support any Bluetooth services when pairing with a MacBook. iDon’t have any BT file sharing my BT is almost useless!
Cable connectivity: iDon’t have standard USB connectivity(1) only custom cables(2) iDon’t give a damn about the environment: short cables but tons of iAccesories.
Misc connectivity: iDon’t have PC/MAC/LINUX connectivity without iTunes. iDon’t have IR, can’t control: basic household items(1) TV, HDTV(2) DSLR camera(3) MAC(4)
Media/camera: iDon’t have stereo speakers. iDon’t have radio. iDon’t have FM transmitter. iDon’t have decent camera (small sensor and 72 DPI, which is less than most 5mp phones) iDon’t have fine detail in pictures, high noise reduction smears the finer details. iDon’t have video stabilization. iDon’t have exposure control (ISO).
Design: iDon’t eject my sim without a special key. iDon’t have a removable battery. iDon’t have hot swappable memory. iDon’t sell cheap but my value at FOXCONN in China(1), where I am made, is ~190$(2)
iOS 4.0
Web: iDon’t have audio/video streaming for 90% of the multimedia sites. iDon’t offer a real web experience, various sites only offer a phone version. iDon’t have Flash or Flash Lite – flash sites, apps or games simply do not work. iDon’t have push idle so battery drains fast even on push. iDon’t have push e-mail if i’m jailbroken, even if you pay! iDon’t render HTML5 graphics, nor can iHandle HTML5 controls. iDon’t process HTML attachments correctly.
File management: iDon’t have access to my internal folders by any means – no app in the iStore allows this! iDon’t even have access to set mp3s as ringtones. iDon’t have MIDP/JAVA support. iDon’t handle DivX, XviD, FLV native video. iDon’t handle ZIP, RAR or SFX – no app in the iStore allows this!
