Wednesday, October 26, 2011

nokia's first windows phones review

Nokia took the wraps off its first two Windows Phones at the opening day of its Nokia World conference.
There are two of them: The Nokia Lumia 800 (the phone known as “SeaRay”) and the Lumia 710 (the phone codenamed “Sabre”). The phones both are built on the same 1.4 GHz Snapdragon processor and  “Mango” operating system release. The Lumia 800 features a 3.7-inch display and an 8 MP camera and a ; the 710 has a 3.7-inch display and a 5 MP camera. The estimated retail price of the Lumia 800 is 420 Euros (about $585 U.S.) and the 710 is 270 Euros (or $376 U.S.).

The rumored third Windows Phone device — a more business-focused phone codenamed “Ace” was a no-show today (if it exists at all, which I believe it does).
Many on Twitter noted the first Nokia Windows Phones were solid, but lacking some of the features one might expect — like front-facing cameras, built-in NFC support and on-device storage of more than 16 GB.
There’s no official word as to when — and actually if — the Lumia 800 and 710 models will come to the U.S. Nokia officials promised a “portfolio” of Windows Phones will begin rolling out in the U.S. starting early next year, but didn’t actually say whether those two devices will be part of that portfolio.
We do know that Nokia is going to support CDMA and LTE in certain markets where it makes sense, but, again, no specific official promises. (ThisIsMyNext reporters noted that Verizon Wireless reps were at the show, which is a somewhat encouraging sign for us Windows Phone users on Verizon who still only have one model from which to choose, a year after Windows Phone debuted.)
What wasn’t lacking was Nokia’s thoughts and plans for marketing the new phones with a slogan “Amazing Every day.” Company officials played up during today’s kick-off keynote the way Mango features that are common to all Windows Phones will resonate with consumers and help differentiate Microsoft’s offerings from the Android and iPhone competition.
It doesn’t seem as though Nokia is envisioning its Windows Phones as helping the company attract the next billion phone users; instead, Nokia is playing up its four new S40-based “Asha” phones as its offerings aimed at cost-sensitive younger users in emerging markets. That said, the Lumia 720 is going to be available first (later this year) in Russia, Taiwan, India, Hong Kong and Singapore. The Lumia 800 is going to be available first in six European markets this fall, and Russia, Taiwan, India, Hong Kong and Singapore before the end of the year.
Nokia execs also noted that Nokia is providing its Windows Phone users with some custom applications designed by Nokia and for Nokia products only, including its Nokia Music and Mix Radio services (which seem to have nothing to do with Microsoft’s Zune service) and Drive voice-activated turn-by-turn directions.
Microsoft is really betting heavily on Nokia to push Windows Phone sales. Though the two Lumias introduced today look nice, they seem pretty pricey (to a U.S. consumer like me who is used to cheaper phones), especially given they don’t offer a whole lot more — feature-wise — than other Mango phones. My ZDNet colleague Larry Dignan wonders aloud whether consumers will see them as “must have” gadgets. Maybe other phones in the coming U.S. portfolio will be must-haves, but these, to me, are not. You thoughts?

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

ra one review




It’s always tough to make a sci-fi film where you have to first make the audience understand the basic premise – the ‘new technology’ that makes things happen. And even tougher when your primary target audience is children. Shahrukh Khan and Anubhav Sinha manage to pull it off barely by a pixel. So Shekhar Subramanian (SRK) is a clumsy, Hindi and Tamil speaking game programmer in London. He has a wife Sonia (Kareena Kapoor) and a kid Prateek. To impress his son, he makes a computer game where the villain RA.One is more powerful than the hero, G.One. Then the unexpected happens. Thanks to the ‘new technology’, RA.One enters the real world. Now he is all set to cause destruction everywhere he goes and even G.One might not be able to stop him.
Kareena really doesn’t have much scope to show off her talent, except in the songs and she shines in them. Shahrukh is in a totally new avatar here and it’s not just the curly hair. His romance is downplayed, he does funny football fights and gets his Tamil wrong. But hey, it is an interesting change from his usual dreamy romantic scenes. And when he has to remain expressionless as he is playing a game character, he still conveys a lot with his blue eyes.
A big cheer for Arjun Rampal. We couldn’t wait for RA.One to come out of the game, just so we could see the hunk. We waited. And waited. The most tragic thing that can happen to a hero, happens to Shekhar and all we are thinking is, where is Arjun? It’s post-interval and he is still to make his appearance. Poor Arjun. And to think he shaved his glorious head of hair just to be in less than half a movie. Despite the length of his role, Arjun makes a heady impact.
If you are a die-hard SRK fan, you should give this film a shot. Especially with the VFX actually being really stunning. It makes you want to believe that yes, gaming characters can enter the real world. That’s a huge plus. RA.One has set the bar really high with its VFX. If only director Sinha had paid that much attention to the emotional factor. There are so many moments where you know he wants you to pull out your handkerchief but you just don’t feel the need to. That’s why in the end, we are still left asking one thing: G.One might be a superhero with a heart, but hey Shahrukh, where’s the soul?

Friday, October 21, 2011

Best Low Cost Cheap Dual SIM Phones

It’s time for diwali in India and so many offers around both online and offline shopping stores. So, today we share the list of low cost dual sim phones for Indian users. When talking about Low cost & cheap dual sim phones, Indian mobile phone manufacturers stands out. Micromax, Karbonn Mobiles, Videocon, Lava, Zen mobiles are some of the trusted brands in that order. Here is a list of cheap dual sim mobile phones for this diwali.
Mainly these dual sim phones are targetted over rural areas for low income groups. Already low cost phones with dual sim’s are produced by Nokia & Samsung (guru series) but considering the price, Indian manufacturers such as Micromax, Karbonn mobiles are the leaders in Dual SIM market in India. Let’s check out some of the best dual sim phones from the Indian makers for Indians.

Micromax X215

micromax x215 Diwali Special : Best Low Cost Cheap Dual SIM Phones in India
Micromax X215 is a slim bar type phone which weighs just 65 grams. With the dual sim capacity displaying 1.4 inches which has a display size of 128x128px. It has a camera with 640×480 pixels, zoom feature, video recording, video player which supports 3gp, mp4 format. It can record upto 1000 contact entries, stand by time upto 300 hours and talk time upto 4 hours. Comes in one color – black. No infrared or bluetooth option. Provides with a usb port and cable. It has a browser, so you can enable GPRS and browse internet via mobile phone. It has FM radio, memory slot option where it supports upto 4GB microSD card. There is no internal memory storage. Price of this phone is Rs.999.

Maxx MX111

maxx mx111 Diwali Special : Best Low Cost Cheap Dual SIM Phones in India
Maxx mobiles are another great competitor to Micromax. The Maxx MX111 is a dual sim phone which weighs just 44g, less than micromax x215. Another bar type phone (mostly all the dual sim low cost phones are bar type phones). This is a dual sim + dual stand by phone. But sadly as I said, Maxx doesn’t provide many features in their low cost dual sim phones. There is no camera, video recording, video player, no browser, no MMS, no email, no GPRS, no memory card slot. It just has a internal memory of 32MB. Just a phone book, sms, FM radio, mp3 player. Just another simple dual sim phone. Price RS.999.

Micromax X1i Plus

micromax x1i Diwali Special : Best Low Cost Cheap Dual SIM Phones in India
Another great micromax phone with a dual sim and low price with good features. Bar type model weighs around 82 grams. Dual SIM and Dual Standby option. No camera, no video player. Memory card slot upto 2GB (microSD card). FM radio, GPRS, and great battery power. It works on stand by time upto 30 days and talk time upto 15 hours. Mostly all these low cost dual sim phones concentrate on battery power that allows rural people to talk for a long time. Price – Rs.1,100.

Karbonn K200

karbonn 200 Diwali Special : Best Low Cost Cheap Dual SIM Phones in India
Similar to Micromx X1i plus, but the memory card slot supports upto 8GB and has FM radio, mp3 player. Standy by time upto 96 hours and talk time upto 8 hours. 1050 mAh battery is used. Special features such as Torch Light, Mobile Tracker, Data Protection are provided with this dual SIM mobile phone. Price Rs.1,144.

Micromax X117

micromax 117 Diwali Special : Best Low Cost Cheap Dual SIM Phones in India
Apart from the usual Dual sim, fm radio, mp3 player, what’s special with Micromax X117. It has a TFT screen display and support to 8GB memory slot microSD card. Stand by time of 30 days and talk time of 15 hours. Comes in black color with a price tag of Rs.1,178.

Speaktoit Assistant : iPhone 4S Siri Alternative

With the launch of new iPhone 4S by Apple, where the S stands for Same thing except one special feature, that’s Siri. Siri is a virtual assistant for iPhone4S users that is programmed intelligently. It can help you in what ever things you shoot out. Suppose, if you ask Siri – What is weather like in Tokoyo now? It displays the weather information in tokoyo. Not only weather info, about setting reminders, calling/texting your contacts, finding out information on web, all by means of voice. Yes, Siri is a perfect & intelligent voice interface that acts as a virtual assistant to all iPhone4S users.
ss 480 0 5 Speaktoit Assistant : iPhone 4S Siri Alternative for Android
If you’re looking out for something like Siri for your android phones, then here you go. Speaktoit Assistant is an android app that does the similar work of Siri. Speaktoit assistant android app is a virtual talking buddy for your android smartphone. It can answers questions, performs tasks, notifies you. The Assistant saves you time and makes communication with gadgets and web services easier and less stressful.
ss 480 2 5 Speaktoit Assistant : iPhone 4S Siri Alternative for Android
Speaktoit Assistant is a virtual buddy for your Android device that uses natural language technology to answer questions, find information, launch apps and connect you with various web services, such as Google, Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare, and many others. You can search for addresses in maps using voice, find for images, look up weather reports, convert currency, send email and more.
ss 480 4 5 Speaktoit Assistant : iPhone 4S Siri Alternative for Android
The visual appearance of the Speaktoit app is amazing. You can select your virtual assistant whether you want it to be a pretty blonde or brunette girl, handsome agent or old professor. You can also set up different voices with SVOX or Loquendo TTS.
Other features that Speaktoit Assistant does it for you are, it can dial, text and email people from your contacts, you can save your notes in evernote. Just long tap on Search button to start the Assistant.

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

iris clone of siri for android


While voice control has been part of Android since the dawn of time, Siri came along and ruined the fun with its superior search and understanding capabilities. However, an industrious team of folks from Dexetra.com, led by Narayan Babu, built a Siri-alike in just 8 hours during a hackathon.
Iris allows you to search on various subjects including conversions, art, literature, history, and biology. You can ask it “What is a fish?” and it will reply with a paragraph from Wikipedia focusing on our finned friends.
The app will soon be available soon from the Android Marketplace but I tried it recently and found it a bit sparse but quite cool. It uses Android’s speech-to-text functions to understand basic questions and Narayan and his buddies are improving the app all the time.
The coolest thing? The finished the app in eight hours.
When we started seeing results, everyone got excited and started a high speed coding race. In no time, we added Voice input, Text-to-speech, also a lot of hueristic humor into Iris. Not until late evening we decided on the name “iris.”, which would be Siri in reverse. And we also reverse engineered a crazy expansion – Intelligent Rival Imitator of Siri. We were still in the fun mode, but when we started using it the results were actually good, really good.


Sunday, October 16, 2011

top reasons to choose android

Below are the reasons why android is better than others:

Availability:

Android phones are almost universally available, unlike the iPhone, which is available only at Apple Stores and a select few stores. Also, nearly all Android phones are available almost instantly in India when they are launched worldwide, but the iPhone is available in USA first than in other nations usually after a year, when it is already too old.

Network lock:

The major drawback of iPhone is, it is sold with a network lock - it works only with one mobile service provider to which it is subscribed, and you cannot use it with another provider. Android phones do not have any such restrictions and the users are free to use any network of their choice.


Price:

With Style and features, money also matters. When a new iPhone is launched, it is priced exorbitantly and is out of reach for most customers. Whereas, Android phones are a mixed bag as far as price is concerned, as there are so many of them that almost every price segment is covered and you can choose the Android phone that suits your pocket. .

Widgets:  
Widgets are valuable because they can provide an at-a-glance look at lots of different kinds of information and quick access to valuable apps and configuration settings. Android phones have screen with widgets with an actual purpose, giving you information at the flick of your finger tip.


For example, Data Counter widget instantly displays data usage to check your internet usage, On the other hand, Twitter widget keeps you updated with your Tweets.

No need for software application on the computer:

iPhone needs iTunes on your computer for syncing to do just about anything on the iPhone, such as transferring applications, music, videos or contacts. In addition, you can sync it with only a limited number of computers. Android phones do not need any such application - simply plug the phone into any computer and exercise complete control over your phone.

Data transfer is as easy as drag and drop. On a side note, I deem the SD card expandable memory option in the Android phone to be better than having no memory slot as in the iPhone, because you can carry additional memory cards with you and use when required without worrying about running out of memory.

Convenience:

You can instantly switch on or off Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, Mobile Network or GPS on the Android phone just by simply clicking on the provided buttons on the home-screen. This goes a long way in conserving battery life. In the iPhone, you have to go deep into the settings to be able to enable or disable these features.

Better web browser:

The web browser on the Android phone is really awesome. To know the reality, you have to use it personally. It is faster than Safari, has every feature that you expect from a web browser, and supports Flash. Being an operating system developed by Google, as expected Google is integrated deep into the heart of Android. Thus, if you want to search, simply enter the search button and enter your search string and the results will appear with no delay.
There is also Google Voice app available for Android.

Of course, the browsing experience varies with the speed of the processor inside the Android phone, which means that you will get the best browsing experience on the more expensive phones. Also, we must mention here that the web browser on the iPhone 4 is supposed to be the best around, but we don't get the iPhone 4 here in India and even if we were to import it, it is too expensive. 

Notification system:

In the iPhone, there is a very limited notification system. For example, if you are a Twitter user, then you need to open the Twitter app to find the tweets.


In Android based phones, notifications are organized in a better fashion. These apps can access the notification system of the operating system and alert you on the notification bar to a new email, voice message, and Twitter or Facebook notification, in addition to SMS. The application runs in the background and you do not need to open it to find out the status.

Click image below for information about app design :


Apps from Market:

Just like the App store from Apple, there are lots of apps for Android available in the Android Market. Just about every iPhone app has an equivalent, which is usually free. The coolest part is that you need not sign into your account every time you want to install an app from the Market, even if the app is free. And yes, Market has more liberal censorship laws for Android apps - Google does not play the moral police.

Unlimited personalization:

Android phones can be personalized the way you want. Thus, you can make the phone appear the way you want, and behave the way you wish.

  
Depending on the type of user you are, you can configure each desktop to serve your needs. If you are a business user, you may want a screen with contacts, emails, stocks and news updates via RSS, etc. A social network user may want to have a Facebook desktop, a Twitter desktop, and so on. You can even add a whole new desktop if you want and set default actions for different contacts. This is the power of Open Source that is not available in iPhone.

OS update makes your phone better:

Updating the operating system on an older iPhone such as installing iOS 4 on the iPhone 3G, usually affects the performance in the negative way, forcing me think whether it is a strategy by Apple to force you into buying their newer iPhone. Forget about preventing the OS being updated in older devices after a certain version, Apple does not even care to warn the users against the ill effects of updating the OS on older devices.

Android on the other side, has been seen to actually make the phones work faster with the updated OS. Better still, to avoid any problems as we have seen in the previous example, a trend has been seen where most Android phone manufacturers play safe by setting a limit that an Android phone can update its OS only twice in its lifetime.

Some of the above limitations can be overcome by Jailbreaking the iPhone, but then would you risk voiding the warranty on such an expensive device? I wouldn't.

So at last, i have some good enough reasons to decide to go for an Android phone. Please tell me your views in the comments section below.
 

Saturday, October 15, 2011

tell me o khuda music review

Tell me o kkhuda is come back movie for both hemamalini and esha deol.hence,expectations were high.


The soundtrack consists of seven tracks, three of which have been composed by Pritam (Mausam and Once Upon A Time in Mumbai) and the reminder by other composers amongst which are DJ Aqeel and Sajid Wajid (Dabbangg). It features the vocal talents of Sunidhi Chauhan(‘Sheila Ki Jawani’ – Tees Maar Khan), Anuskha Machanda (‘Mit Jaaye Gham’ – Dum Maaro Dum), Shweta Pandit and Shreya Ghosal (‘Bahara’ – I Hate Luv Storys) amongst other new vocalists. Mayur Puri has penned the first six tracks while Jalees Sherwani has penned the 7th track.
Someone Someday gets the ball rolling. An aesthetically composed track by Abhijeet Hegde Patil, it is equally well rendered by Sunidhi Chauhan. Puri’s decent and hopeful lyrics combined with Patil slow contemporary music makes the number instantly likeable. Unfortunately, I can’t say the same thing about the track’s remixed version. Firstly, the rap lyrics are very off-putting, more so after you see Salman Khan doing a pathetic attempt at lip-syncing them in the music video currently on air. Secondly, it all comes off as rather sleazy. The original may have been sensually aware but it was classy in its sensuality. If you manage to get past that, it may be a decent remix, because the music is great and Anuska Machanda’s vocals are awesome. However, personally, I couldn’t get past the rap.
Things get desi-fied with Mera Man Jabse Racha Hai Sawariya which begins with an ensemble of Rajasthani folk artistes and then turns into a familiar, if not mediocre, romantic number well sung by Shewta Pandit. In the same line as songs like ‘Bahara’ (I Hate Luv Storys) and ‘Saathiya’ (Singham), it’s girly and cute and Puri has done a good job with the lyrics so they don’t sound run-of-the-mill. The folk vocals give the song a nice edge and though it reminds you of prior sufi-esque Pritam numbers like ‘Tum Jo Aaye Zindagi Mein’ (Once Upon A Time In Mumbai) and ‘Teri Ore’ (Singh is Kingg) it does not disappoint.
Next is Mile Na Tu, a fast paced duet vocalised by Sundhi Chauhan and Anupum Amod. As with the previous track, the premise of the track is nothing new. It could have easily been another song with the trade mark phrase “Tere bin(a)…” but Puri has penned it well so the same sentiments are vocalised relatively differently. George Theofanous has composed a short yet effective track. You are tapping your feet to it and bopping your head to it and before you know it the track’s over, thus not giving you the time to over-analyse it. Its just long enough to be enjoyed.
Shreya Ghosal steps behind the mic for Nagma Koi Gunguna Ne Ka, obviously a journey song what with the subtle hints at self-actualisation and the like by Puri. The track is vocally potent but Pritam’s music still leaves an impression, especially the musical interlude just before the end of the song.
Love You Dad, sadly, fails to impress mainly because of the overuse of English lyrics that in my opinion makes it sound amateurish. Throw in the shrill voice of Aditi Banarjee and song falters. Amod’s vocals are wasted on ill-lyrics, a shock since Puri has been doing a fantastic job penning the track’s predecessors. Dad/Son, Dad/Daughter numbers have been composed immensely well in the past and I was personally expecting something like the title track of Akele Hum Akele Tum or Babul or even a lose amalgamation of both, but no such luck.
The soundtrack closes with the title track, Tell Me O Kkhuda. It is a rock-chick-esque of a composition by Sajid-Wajid that has ample opportunity to be choreographed with style and oomph. Sunidhi’s rendition oozes attitude that make the track even more trendy while Jalees’s lyrics are strictly okay. The chorus line can be at odds with the rest of the song but it is still decent number.
In summary, Tell Me O Kkhuda does not offer any new and is not overly impressive. However, it is listenable. ‘Mera Man Jabse Racha Hai Sawariya’ stands out while ‘Somebody Somewhere’ and ‘Nagma Koi Gunguna Ne Ka’ are easy on the ears. And if you need a little tempo give ‘Tell Me O Kkhuda’ and ‘Mile Na Tu’ a try.