Iphone India - Airtel announces its launch date

Bharti Airtel has issued an official statement on the launch of the iPhone 3G.

The iPhone 3G will be launched in India on August 22, by Airtel. The price though still seems to be a mystery as they are still tight lipped about it .

"iPhone has been the iconic technology revelation of this year, "said Sanjay Kapoor, president of Mobile Services at Bharti Airtel. "Airtel has been at the forefront of innovation and customer delight in the Indian telecom sector. Introducing iPhone 3G to India further underscores our commitment to enrich the communication experience of all Airtel users."

Customers will be able to purchase the iPhone 3G at Airtel Relationship Centers.

Airtel customers can get more information on the iPhone 3G here

Del.icio.us is now Delicious.com

Yahoo has just upgraded its popular social bookmarking service Del.icio.us and now removed the dots from in between Delicious words.

It has more than three million users and 100 million bookmarked URLs.

Delicious uses a non-hierarchical keyword categorization system in which users can tag each of their bookmarks with a number of freely chosen keywords. A combined view of everyone's bookmarks with a given tag is available.

The new Delicious.com seems rejuvenated with many new features such as New Tag Bar to navigate bookmarks by tags and tag combinations ,new UI that gives better usability. You can now organize the site in Bookmarks, People and Tags categories.

Iphone Update - pricing in India

Offices , blogs , magazines , journals all have been abuzz with discussions on what Apple’s much-awaited product will be priced at. They are taking lots of guesses .

Many of us may think it will be just over Rs 8,000 — the rupee equivalent of the price in the US, which is $199. Now, that’s a fantastic price for the 8GB product, and will certainly have every competitor worried.

Nokia’s 8GB N95 , for instance, is priced at well over Rs 25,000, and its new N96 is expected to come at over Rs 36,000.

But there are speculations that it will be priced substantially higher than Rs 8,000.

The sourceat economic times says ,

"The $199 price is a hugely subsidised one, subsidised by the US operator AT&T. Market researcher iSuppli has just estimated that mobile phone service providers are subsidising each handset to the extent of $300.

Some other analysts think the subsidy is higher at $350 per unit. In other words, the actual price that AT&T pays to Apple for each iPhone unit is $499, going by the iSuppli estimate.

Vodafone and Airtel are unwilling to talk about the price they will offer the iPhone at, but Bharti Airtel CEO Manoj Kohli told TOI there is no question of subsidising the handset in India. “US operators are able to subsidise handsets because they can make up for that with their call charges. They charge rates like 25 cents a minute. In India, the charge is 1.5 to 2 cents a minute,” Kohli said.

In the absence of a subsidy then, the handset could be priced at $499 or a little over Rs 21,000 (governmental levies on mobile phones in India are marginal).

Unless Apple chooses to offer the iPhone at lower margins to countries like India. iSuppli estimates it costs Apple just $173 to produce the latest version (excluding the cost of software development, shipping, distribution, packaging and accessories included with each iPhone). So it enjoys a huge margin on the product. "

But , whatever the price may be the iphone ll be the hottest gadget when it s released .

Original Source/Thanks : Economic Times

Google launches Knol as rival to Wikipedia

Google has launched an online encyclopedia to take on Wikipedia.

Knol, which stands for unit of knowledge, allows internet users to write articles on their own areas of expertise.

The world's largest search engine is hoping that "knols" will be written on every conceivable topic ranging from gardening and pottery to Byzantine art and neo-classical literature. The free service will inevitably draw comparisons with Wikipedia but Google says it differs from it in many ways.

Unlike Wikipedia, which allows visitors to edit its pages, people will not be able to make changes or contribute to a person's knol without their permission.

Knols written on the same subject will also remain separate and compete for the attention of visitors, who will be able to give online feedback. Pictures of authors will also be displayed on their knol web pages.

Udi Manber, Google's vice president of engineering, said: "We believe that knowing who wrote what will significantly help users make better use of web content.

"Books have authors' names right on the cover, news articles have bylines, scientific articles always have authors; but somehow the web evolved without a strong standard to keep authors names highlighted."

Contributors will be able to make money from the service by allowing adverts which relate to their articles to appear on their pages.

Juergen Galler, Google's director of product management said: "The internet is huge, but still a lot of expert knowledge remains untapped."

"Knol provides a way for people to share their expertise with others - and get credit for their contribution."

The service is part of a growing drive by Google to expand beyond simple search and into other areas such as desk top publishing and mobile phones.

But taking on Wikipedia is no mean feat. With 116 million global users a month - a third of the internet population - it consistently ranks among the most visited websites in the world.

Anyone wanting to write a knol should go to knol.google.com,

(from praveen's post at wetheforsaken)


Source:THINKDIGIT

Web 2.0 vs Web 1.0

* Web 1.0 was about reading, Web 2.0 is about writing
* Web 1.0 was about companies, Web 2.0 is about communities
* Web 1.0 was about client-server, Web 2.0 is about peer to peer
* Web 1.0 was about HTML, Web 2.0 is about XML
* Web 1.0 was about home pages, Web 2.0 is about blogs
* Web 1.0 was about portals, Web 2.0 is about RSS
* Web 1.0 was about taxonomy, Web 2.0 is about tags
* Web 1.0 was about wires, Web 2.0 is about wireless
* Web 1.0 was about owning, Web 2.0 is about sharing
* Web 1.0 was about IPOs, Web 2.0 is about trade sales
* Web 1.0 was about Netscape, Web 2.0 is about Google
* Web 1.0 was about web forms, Web 2.0 is about web applications
* Web 1.0 was about screen scraping, Web 2.0 is about APIs
* Web 1.0 was about dialup, Web 2.0 is about broadband
* Web 1.0 was about hardware costs, Web 2.0 is about bandwidth costs

Thanks :: Copacetic

Apple introduces MacBook Air - the world's thinnest notebook

Apple introduced the MacBook Air, a computer that the company says , the world's thinnest notebook .

It's priced starting at $1,799 and will be available within two weeks.

Sporting a silvery finish, the MacBook Air features a 13.3-inch LED-backlit widescreen display that has a 1280 x 800 pixel resolution.It weighs about 3 pounds(less than 1.5 kg), and sports a thickness of 0.16-0.76 inches. It's 12.8 inches wide and 8.95 inches deep.

The MacBook Air also features a built-in iSight webcam and a full sized MacBook-style black keyboard. The MacBook Air features a 1.8-inch hard disk drive with 80GB of storage capacity standard. A 64GB solid-state disk (SSD) drive is an option. The hard drive is a Parallel ATA (PATA) model that operates at 4200 RPM.

The laptop is powered by an Intel Core 2 Duo chip running at 1.6GHz, with 1.8GHz available as an option. Jobs noted that Intel was willing to engineer a new version of the Core 2 Duo specifically to Apple's specifications -- it's 60 percent smaller than others. The chip operates with 4MB of on-chip shared L2 cache running at full processor speed, and uses an 800MHz frontside bus. 2GB of 667MH DDR2 SDRAM is also included.

The MacBook Air also includes 802.11n-based wireless networking support and Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR.

Apple estimates that with wireless networking turned on, the MacBook Air can get about 5 hours of battery life.

See this Apple official ad to get more crunch of this Geeky gadget ...

Tryphone --- Try this !!

One of the major problems with buying a cell phone is that you usually don’t really know what the interface on the phone looks like and you have no idea how the menus work and so on.

New web site TryPhone aims to help phone buyers go beyond looks and see how a phone operates when you, say, pull up recent calls or start typing a new text message. The site only carries four popular models at the moment—the iPhone, BlackBerry Pearl, Verizon Juke and Sprint Muziq—but claims it will be adding phones weekly


http://www.tryphone.com/home.seam

Bluetooth stereo Headset

JayBird Bear - stereo Bluetooth solutions for portable audio devices.

This product makes a fine companion for any cell phones using A2DP Bluetooth, or for the small handful of MP3 players with that wireless capability (the Samsung T10 and Insignia Pilot, for example). However, for most other MP3 players--including the iPod--you'll need a little more help with cutting the headphone cord. Enter the JayBird Bluetooth Adapters.

The company offers two different $50 models: the JBA-100m offers a standard 3.5mm plug for connecting to any audio device, while the JBA100i comes with a 30-pin connector that allows it to be snapped onto the bottom of any docking iPod. The iPod version is about half the size of the standard MP3 version, so it's quite a bit more compact, but neither one will add a ridiculous amount of bulk.

http://www.jaybirdgear.com/JB-100-JayBird-Bluetooth-stereo-headset.php

thanks : crave

Fancast: Comcast Launches Rival to IMDB

Comcast has soft-launched its TV and movie portal Fancast . The site is a portal for fans of movies, TV shows, actors and directors, aiming to be “the one place where you can find what to watch, where to watch, when to watch it - plus all the video, photos and facts you crave.”

There’s also a “My Fancast” section where you can save and rate your favorite movies and shows. Other features include tagging and a game called “Six Degrees”, which helps you find relationships between actors, shows and movies in a system inspired by the Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon. There are TV listings, too.


by Pete Cashmor for mashable

Google Rises in Rank as Most Improved Brand

We all know that branding is important. Image is everything. And according to a report from Interbrand, Google has been deemed the most improved brand.
According to a survey of global brands, Google has gained the most in value of the past year. Interbrand reports that Google’s brand value has increased 44% in the past year to $17.8bn, bringing it to rank at number 20 on the short list of Best Global Brands. Coca-Cola tops this list for the seventh year in a row, and a few tech companies aren’t far behind, with Microsoft, IBM, GE and Nokia respectively in second, third, fourth and fifth place. Intel isn’t too far either, coming in at number seven. The brands’ value is determined according to how important it is in its sector.
So that means that people really value Google as a brand, and is important to the general public as its own entity. Things like this can’t be taken lightly, especially when it comes to publicly traded companies. The public’s perspective on a company can have an impact directly on its value. There are a great many factors that could have caused its rise, including its numerous acquisitions like YouTube, new developments such as Google Checkout, as well as its furthered integration into mainstream media, specifically its new goals for a print ad distribution network.

uTorrent Relaunched as Official BitTorrent Client

BitTorrent Inc launched their rebranded version of uTorrent as BitTorrent 6.0.

The rebranded version of uTorrent looks just like the original uTorrent client, however, it now includes BitTorrent DNA. Another significant change is the absence of the built in search for sites like Mininova, Torrentz and The PirateBay. However, you can easily add those under options –> preferences.

Thanks torrentfreak

Cisco axes Linksys branding

Cisco CEO John Chambers recently announced at a European roundtable discussion that Linksys products would now sport the Cisco name. Chambers was quoted as saying that "it would all come, over time, into a Cisco brand," and he also noted that the reason the Linksys name was kept alive was because "it was better known in the US than even Cisco was for the consumer." As the firm "goes globally," he concluded, there would be "little advantage" in keeping it around.

Thanks to Darren Murph(Mashble)

Microsoft to slash XBOX 360 prices ??

A good source within a major Canadian retailer guarantees that the Xbox 360 will drop $100 across all SKU's. When?.. Perhaps ... Sooner than you think.!!!! AUGUST 1ST.


In less than 3 weeks the console prices will be the following:

-Xbox 360 core, $199 American (with pack-in memory unit!)
-Nintendo Wii, $249 American
-Xbox 360 Premium, $299 American
-Xbox 360 Elite, $449 Canadian, possibly $399 American
-PS3, $599 American, $649 Canadian

So August 1st, Xbox 360 will be the lowest price console on the market with the core system.

Source :Zero Iscariot (Destructoid)

µTorrent 1.7.1 released

µTorrent 1.7 version has been released .

The biggest changes were full Vista support and the removal of the 65,536 piece limit for torrents.
Also added was support for finding local peers (peers on the same LAN) and optionally not having any upload restrictions for them.
It is also possible to turn on automatic updating for betas now, found in the "Other" section of the preferences.

To get it ...

http://download.utorrent.com/1.7.1/utorrent.exe

New WiFi Record: 237 Miles

A Venezuelan techie apparently has set a new record for longest WiFi link. Networking guru Ermanno Pietrosemoli established a wireless connection between a PC in El Aguila, Venezuela, and one in Platillon Mountain, a distance of about 237 miles, mostly using off-the-shelf equipment and a few hacked parts.
The previous record was 193 miles, between a balloon and an Earth-bound PC, which rather cuts down on the risk of signal-bouncing obstacles.
Pietrosemoli notes in the project description that one of the benefits of doing this kind of work out in the Latin American boonies is you don't have to worry much about signal interference.
And yes, I now feel a whole new kind of stupid for not being able to get a reasonable signal between home office and bedroom.

SanDisk inks agreement to support DivX

DivX and SanDisk have announced a licensing agreement allowing SanDisk to include DivX technology in SanDisk’s Sansa line of video-enabled products.

As a result of the partnership, future SanDisk video products can include interoperability with the DivX Stage6 video website. This partnership is designed to provide SanDisk consumers with seamless access to the growing library of professional and user-generated video content available today in the popular DivX format, according to the companies.

Products that bear the DivX Certified logo have undergone a rigorous testing program to ensure a high-quality DivX media experience, including reliable video playback, interoperability with other DivX Certified devices and the visual quality users expect from DivX.

SanDisk expects to announce plans later this year for DivX support in its product lines.

Nintendo Wii sales hit 8 million worldwide

The sales of Nintendo's Wii console have now passed the 8 million mark worldwide. With Xbox360 sales just 2 million ahead on 10 million sold through and PS3 on 3.5 million. DS, meanwhile, is fast approaching the 45 million mark, with PSP sales around half that.

For more statistical details and chart like presentations click the link below

http://www.vgchartz.com/?w=8m

Mininova's Landmark .

Mininova, one of the most popular BitTorrent search engines, experiences a massive growth in the first half of 2007, and yesterday they served the 2 billionth .torrent download.

I personally recommend(use) mininova among the public torrent sites besides using some non-public torrent sites like demonoid,desitorrents,tamiltorrents .. (yeah !! i ve account in all of em !!)

EA Brings its Games To Apple Mac OS X

In a recent press release from EA Games, the company has decided to bring it's line up of hit titles to the Mac OS X platform.

EA has announced a deal with Apple to develop and port many of its best PC games to Apple's Mac OS X.

Now coming soon to an OS X based system near you will be a few new EA titles:
Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars
Battlefield 2142
Need for Speed Carbon
Harry Potter and the Order of the Pheonix
Madden '08
Tiger Wood's PGA Tour '08

Apple iPhone Tech specs

Screen size -------------- 3.5 inches

Screen resolution---------320 by 480 pixels (160 ppi)

Input method------------Multi-touch

Operating system--------OS X

Storage------------------ 4GB or 8GB

GSM--------------------- Quad-band (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz)

Wireless data------------- Wi-Fi (802.11b/g) / EDGE / Bluetooth 2.0+EDR

Camera -------------------2.0 megapixels

Battery
Talk / Video / Browsing --Up to 5 hours
Audio playback----------- Up to 16 hours

Dimensions ---------------4.5 x 2.4 x 0.46 inches / 115 x 61 x 11.6mm

Weight------------------- 4.8 ounces / 135 grams