Saturday, August 20, 2011
Times have changed: Music industry in last 30 years
Check out this animated transition of the way Music Industry has transformed in last 30 years
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
Rise of Android OS
Mobile handset and software market has undergone a major transition from the past year and the not so well known OS Android now captures 50% of the smart phone market globally, Nokia is pinning all it's hopes on windows OS to revive it's crumbling market share which still stands strong on top position in BRIC countries: Brazil, Russia, India and China. Samsung has good potential to rush ahead if Nokia provided it adapts to aggressive marketing and sales strategies in emerging markets.
Apple has grown from a market share of 14.2% to 19% with iOS it enjoys a stable growth in the US market and it does not see any immediate threat from Android considering the hype around iPhone 5 which is peaking amongst consumers eager to find out what Apple is going to come up with, Nokia is placed third falling from a lions share it had of around 41% of market share with Symbian which Nokia is now bidding farewell to and embracing Windows OS ahead seeking a new lease of life. RIM also is struggling to Android OS and iOS onslaught in American market which is visible by its market share falling from 18% to 12% from last yearThis situation was not the same last year in August 2010 which is reflecting from the graph below an article(via www.seekingalpha.com)
Google has woken up to a bitter reality of going easy on aquiring patents that are essential to safegaurd growth of Android OS, Apple is flexing it's muscles going hard after Android tablets and phones alleging manufacturers like HTC and Samsung of lifting designs meant for Apple phones and tablets. Luckily google also realised that it needs to act swift on unifying different versions of Android OS into one version touted to be named as Ice-cream Sandwich that makes it easier for developers to focus on developing apps for Android.
Indian Smartphone market would provide Nokia enough time to get their act straight with Symbian OS and its dream to build an ecosystem akin to Apple with Ovi services has not met desired success. Sony Ericsson once had the potential to come close to Nokia's market share in India lost the path midway with a series of mediocre phone launches which gave Samsung good chance to rise further with BADA OS and it started offering value for money products in different price segments. Samsung has also discussed options with google for developing desi version of Android OS in Indian market.
Thursday, August 11, 2011
iPhone 5 rumor mill stuff churned up to now
The Best and Worst of the iPhone 5s [Video] - http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/vip/~3/GcL1OHU03Pc/
Thursday, August 04, 2011
Galaxy Tab 10.1 TouchWiz UI video
Read more about it here Samsung Shows Off TouchWiz UX For Galaxy Tab 10.1 (Video)
Truly a Masterpiece: Samsung Galaxy S II Review
Here’s my review for Samsung Galaxy SII after using it almost above a month now, let’s find out if this new flagship phone from Samsung is a worthy contender to be amongst the best smart phone launches in year 2011
Content/Packaging: Almost all phone manufacturers have resorted to smart packaging, getting eco conscious and doing away with a thick manual booklet, unwanted CD’s etc, Galaxy SII packaging is no exception to this. Along with the phone you get a standard charger, USB data cable, Samsung headphones which I haven’t tried out yet they also come with spare headphone ear bud attachments, a KIES software mini CD, Black leather pouch and finally a 1650mAh battery.
Hardware and Design: A prominent wow factor that catches your attention while holding this phone is its 4.3” Super AMOLED Plus screen and weighing 116 grams it is way lighter than Nokia N8 I have used prior to owning this handset. With a minimalistic design Galaxy SII sports a touch interface based menu and back buttons, you’ve got a home screen button and on the sides you have volume keys with power on/off, lock button. Surprisingly Samsung has not included a button on the phone for camera.
Gorilla glass looks durable and I suppose it can resist minor scratches and smudges in general. The rear cover provided with the phone is made up of flexible plastic material which has a matte finish and though it has got a scaly look to it, it does not help in getting a firm grip. A Word of caution for slippery palms, please get a case as soon as possible to avoid any damage to your spanking new phone accidentally.
The overall design of the phone does not spell class instantly, what amazed me was the slim factor for a powerhouse phone like this one, weighing just at 116 grams against N8 I used earlier which I thought could be the least smartphones could get slim which weighs 135 grams.
OS / Phone interface
Current OS version of Android available on Samsung Galaxy S2 is Gingerbread 2.3.3, phone icons, screen layout etc. leave an instant impression of apple rip-off’s no doubt Apple has locked horns with Samsung on the legal front accusing them of lifting their iPhone designs/interface for upcoming Samsung phones.
Samsung has refined gyroscope function in the phone which I feel is slightly better in terms of response even compared to Ipad 2, adding option of motion based gesture control. Swiping through phone menu, home screens, working across multiple applications happens in a jiffy which goes to show what amount of processing power is really packed with 1.2 GHz dual core processor under its hood. I found Galaxy S2 offering ample features to customize the way you control power settings, using various applications which leaves a lot to be explored while using the phone. Videos look vivid and crispier and I have played some 720p HD videos which look amazing on the SuperAMOLED plus screen. I found the onscreen keyboard slightly difficult to operate while holding the handset vertically, on horizontal orientation it felt laid out properly and easy to use while composing text.
Using phone for navigation via Google Maps it latched on to GPS signal in no time and got my accurate position displayed on the screen, no difference in performance while using it over Wi-Fi or 3G connectivity. Flash support on the default Android browser comes with smooth integration and it just couldn’t get any better. It also allows you to view flash content on websites on demand in case you want to do away with flashing ads on a webpage and just focus on the content
Video/Music/Camera
Samsung Galaxy SII supports 1080p HD video recording at 30 fps, I have tried recording videos at 720p resolution (1280 x 720) which did not turn out to be jerky and 8 mega pixel camera captures images with different settings provided in the phone and I found camera performance satisfying enough for my experience moving away from N8’s 12 mega pixel Carl Zeiss lens. You can juggle between image capture pre-sets or define your own settings to click images.
I have not yet tested camera performance in low light settings yet however have tried macro, landscape and normal mode pics with some fiddling with outdoor visibility and auto contrast features. Digital zoom up to 2X does not land up in grainy images but 4X zoom does impact image quality and it would be better to resort to manual ISO settings to check the quality on pictures taken with digital zoom. Front end 2 mega pixel camera is suitable for video calling, not useful enough to snap pics.
Using apps like Juice Defender and getting the settings right for your phone display, Wi-Fi settings, Background data sync and 3G usage would make a lot of difference and I have seen improvement from 7-8 hours of battery backup improving to almost a day now on medium to heavy usage. As a blogger and social media enthusiast this phone is a boon for people like me as it provides you sharing options from browser, from various other apps falling into social media category and abundant options to play around with themes, widgets and screen customization features.
It does not stop there, Samsung has also provided Social, Game and Reader’s hub that aim to integrate your experience with regards to configuring twitter/Facebook notifications, listing popular news feeds, subscribing to magazine and book reading subscription based services from Kobo and Zinio and for Game downloads you would spot Game loft games available to try and buy.
Phone body tends to heat up around camera area for weird reasons at times you can keep a watch on battery stats through few free apps available to download from android market, Android marketplace is brimming with lots of apps available in different categories still it has a long way to go in meeting standards set by apple for their app store, the issue being around governance of the quality of apps that get launched on the marketplace, a technically not so savvy user can get confused checking if the app is really compatible with his/her android phone OS and device.
Samsung Galaxy SII has already crossed 5 million units in sales even before hitting US market and poses a good challenge to iPhone 5 which is about to release somewhere in Sept/Oct this year in USA. Android OS needs serious tweaks and bug rectifications in the upcoming Gingerbread 2.3.4 OS version that should address battery and heating issues to some extent and truly the phone has a galaxy of features you would have not imagined in a smartphone before.
*(more tips/ app suggestions / videos/ camera snap samples coming up)
Tuesday, August 02, 2011
Indian cricket team bashing
Losing 2nd test to England badly, I was surprised TOI writing off Indian team as a non deserving team for top spot in test rankings.
We raised toast to the same team on winning world cup, should we with play always charged bots thay would never fail instead of human players?
Possibly this series could be taken up as a learning lesson to re-look our bench strength of players which managed to grab success in west indies but struggling in england.
Now is the right time to experiment and fail which would help us prepare a new breed of quality players.
Friday, July 29, 2011
Android Smartphones capture 39% of marketshare in US
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
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Nokia opens up Ovi store for paid app purchases in India
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 introduces mobile App
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?
You can read more about this here
Friday, July 01, 2011
32 inch 3D TV from LG
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.
Saturday, May 14, 2011
Real Estate nexus in Pune
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.
Some links to read Below
Mid-Day article on land grabbing | Forum based news on tricks played by pune builders
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