Author: Shivaank Rana

NIIT partners Microsoft to offer new programs in Cloud and emerging technologies

Technology trainer NIIT inked a strategic alliance with Microsoft Corporation to develop cloud-ready professionals, to take on assignments in the global IT industry. Under this alliance NIIT will offer new programs in cloud and emerging technologies in association with Microsoft.

This initiative will allow students to look at the next generation opportunities in the field of cloud computing, cloud services, and apps development. Further, the benefit of Microsoft Certification integrated with NIIT programs will be made available to students both in the retail and academic space, by NIIT.

[ET]

September 13, 2012
Motorola Atrix HD Receives Major OTA Update For Battery, Wi-Fi Improvements, But Not Jelly Bean
Motorola has announced a new software update for the Atrix HD, and while there’s no Jelly Bean to be found quite yet, there are a number of improvements that users ought to appreciate. Included in the update are things like enhancements to Wi-Fi connectivity, optimized battery performance and improved low light performance in the camera. The full changelog from Moto is available at the bottom of this post.

There are also a bunch of apps updated to their latest versions, including Google Chrome, Google+, GMaps, Gmail, and Street View, while the number of pre-loaded software will be increased with Quickoffice, Smart Wi-Fi, and YPmobile.

The OTA update should have already started rolling out to Atrix HD owners, but if you haven’t got yet a prompt message to download the new software package, go ahead to “Settings” – “About Phone” – “System Updates”, and perform a manual check.

[toggle_box title=Change Log” width=”Width of toggle box”]

Improved Features
- Wi-Fi: Improvements in WI-FI to allow for stronger connections in more places.
- Battery: Optimized Battery performance and metering for longer battery life
- Camera:
  - The camera changes include improvements for low light performance, reduced blurriness, and better color accuracy.
  - Bar code scanning applications like AT&T code scanner will have a higher rate of accuracy on 1st scan.
- Games/Apps:
  - Optimized EA/Gameloft games performance.
  - With Spotify Market Application, when skipping to the next song, the player will no longer pause.
- Streaming: Optimized playback of Widevine streaming content which does not impact most of the streaming content available today.
- Live Wallpaper:
  - Removed Not Supported Live Wallpaper 1) Color Bands, 2) Forest 3)Triangulations.
  - Software update will revert to Factory default Wallpaper if one of the above three is user selected prior to the update.
- Location: Corrected functionality for Fixed pictures being Geo Tagged when settings has it disabled.
- New and Updated Apps: Added latest versions of AT&T apps (Smart Wi-Fi, YPmobile), Pre Loaded apps (Quickoffice), and Google apps (Chrome, Google+, Maps, Gmail, Play Store, Street View).
- Security: Implemented Latest Google Security Patches.
[/toggle_box]
September 13, 2012
Nintendo Says Wii U Will Launch On November 18

Nintendo’s upcoming Wii U gaming console will start at $300 and go on sale in the U.S. on Nov. 18, in time for the holidays, the company said Thursday.

A “deluxe” version will sell for $350. It will be black instead of white and include extra features such as more memory, a charging stand and the game “Nintendo Land.”

Nintendo Co. has been trying to drum up excitement for the Wii U, which is the first major gaming console to launch since 2006. The device has a touch-screen controller called the Wii U GamePad. It also plays games made for the original Wii.

Nintendo said the latest game in its wildly popular Mario franchise, “New Super Mario Bros. U,” will be available when the new console launches. It will include new ways to play that use the GamePad. It will also offer new challenges for advanced Mario players, such as trying to complete a level without touching the ground. “Mario” and other classic games have long been Nintendo’s main draw.

The company also announced new entertainment features for the console. Called “Nintendo TVii,” the service collects all the ways users have to watch movies, TV shows and sports. This includes pay-TV accounts along with services such as Hulu and Netflix. The GamePad works as a fancy remote controller and will let viewers browse shows they can watch.

TVii “brings all of your services to one place,” said Reggie Fils-Aime, president and chief operating officer of Nintendo of America.

So if you like the TV show “Modern Family,” for example, it will pull in the show’s episodes from every available source.

[Washington Post]

September 13, 2012
New iPod Nano, Touch and “EarPods” revealed! (PR)

Apple has revealed the latest iteration of the iPod Nano, which comes with the new lightning corrector. It’s 5.4mm thin, which is a third thinner than the previous generation.

The physical controls are on the side, and there’s a 2.5-inch multitouch display. There’s an FM tuner with a DVR; pause live radio and go back and listen.

Fitness and pedometer built in, which the current nano has as well. Also Bluetooth, which is new and great.

Also revealed was an updated iPod touch! It’s 88 grams and just 6.1mm thick. It also has a larger 4-inch display, presumably retina as well. Apple has included the dual-core A5 chip which is bound to enhance the gaming experience on the iPad touch. It too comes with the lightning connector.

The camera has been updated as well, it now has a 5MP sensor, backside illumination and f/2.5 aperture, 1080p videos. Facetime HD front-facing camera, 720p with face detection.

Also, Siri will be moving to the iPod touch as well. It’ll also come in white, black, blue, and yello, and red.

It will also come with an armband and iPod Touch Loop.

Apple has also released new head phones called EarPods! The shape is “defined by the geometry of your ear” but doesn’t create a seal. There’s a port in back for midtones, a port in the stem and a port that points to your ears. It’s to “maximize airflow”.

They will be shipping the EarPods as standalone items and will also be included with all the new devices launched today. The EarPods will come in their own cases.

iPod shuffle: $50, 2GB, 7 new colors. iPod nano: 16GB for $150.

4th gen iPod touch, 16GB for $200. New iPod touch, 32GB for $300

[toggle_box title=”Press Release” width=”Width of toggle box”]

Apple Introduces New iPod touch & iPod nano

World’s Most Popular Music Players Reinvented With Ultra-Thin Designs & Amazing New Features

SAN FRANCISCO—September 12, 2012—Apple today introduced the new lineup of the world’s most popular music players including the incredible all-new iPod touch and reinvented iPod nano. The new iPod touch is the thinnest iPod touch ever and features a brilliant 4-inch Retina display; a 5 megapixel iSight camera with 1080p HD video recording; Apple’s A5 chip; Siri, the intelligent assistant; and iOS 6, the world’s most advanced mobile operating system. The new iPod touch comes in a gorgeous new ultra-thin and light anodized aluminum design, and for the first time ever, iPod touch comes in five vibrant colours. The new iPod nano is the thinnest iPod ever featuring a 2.5-inch Multi-Touch display; convenient navigation buttons; built-in Bluetooth for wireless listening; and the new iPod nano comes in seven gorgeous new colours.

“With over 350 million sold, iPod is the world’s most popular and beloved music player,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing. “Music lovers may have a difficult time deciding between the reinvented iPod nano, the thinnest iPod ever, and the all-new iPod touch with its stunning 4-inch Retina display, 5 megapixel iSight camera and ultra-thin design—both in beautiful new colours.”

The new iPod touch has been redesigned with a brilliant 4-inch Retina display in an ultra-thin and light anodized aluminum body—the thinnest iPod touch ever at just 6 mm thin and weighing just 88 grams. With Apple’s dual-core A5 chip inside, iPod touch delivers up to twice the processing power and up to seven times faster graphics than the fourth generation iPod touch, all while maintaining incredible battery life of up to 40 hours of music playback and up to eight hours of video playback.* And, for the first time ever, iPod touch is available in five vibrant colours.

The new iPod touch includes a 5 megapixel iSight camera with autofocus, support for 1080p video recording with video image stabilization, face detection and an LED flash, and the new panorama feature that lets you capture gorgeous panoramic photos by simply moving the camera across a scene. Every new iPod touch comes with a colour-matched iPod touch loop, a clever and convenient wrist strap you can use while taking photos, recording video and playing games.

The new iPod touch comes with iOS 6, the world’s most advanced mobile operating system with over 200 features, and for the first time, features Siri, the intelligent assistant that helps you get things done just by asking. Siri arrives on the new iPod touch with support for more languages, easy access to sports scores, restaurant recommendations and movie listings.** The new iPod touch also includes: built-in Facebook integration with ability to post directly from Siri; Shared Photo Streams via iCloud; and other key iOS features like iMessage, FaceTime, Mail and Game Center. Now you can wirelessly display your iPod touch screen right on your HDTV with AirPlay Mirroring, allowing you to stream photos, videos, music, apps and play games on your big screen TV.***

The reinvented iPod nano is the thinnest iPod ever, at just 5 mm, and features the largest display ever built into an iPod nano, allowing you to enjoy more of your music, photos and widescreen videos. The new iPod nano features a 2.5-inch Multi-Touch display to make navigating your music even easier; a home button to quickly get back to your home screen; and convenient buttons to easily control volume and quickly play, pause or change songs without looking. The new iPod nano gives music lovers built-in Bluetooth for wireless listening with Bluetooth-enabled headphones, speakers and cars. At 30 hours, the new iPod nano offers the longest music playback of any iPod nano so you can enjoy your playlists* and FM radio even longer. With built-in fitness features including a pedometer and support for Nike+, iPod nano users will be ready to take their music walking, running or anywhere they like. The new iPod nano comes in seven gorgeous new colours with fun colour-matched wallpapers.

With the App Store on iPod touch, users have access to the world’s largest and best collection of over 700,000 apps, including over 175,000 game and entertainment titles. Customers also have the iTunes Store at their fingertips, giving them instant access to the world’s largest catalogue of over 26 million songs, 190,000 TV episodes, 45,000 movies and 1.5 million books to purchase and download directly to their iPod touch.*****

Both iPod touch and iPod nano come with the new Lightning connector that is smaller, smarter and more durable than the previous connector. The all-digital Lightning connector features an adaptive interface that uses only the signals that each accessory requires, and it’s reversible so you can instantly connect to your accessories. The Lightning-to-30-pin Adapter is also available to connect iPod touch and iPod nano to legacy 30-pin accessories.****

iPod touch and iPod nano also come with the new Apple EarPods featuring a breakthrough design for a more natural fit, increased durability and an incredible acoustic quality typically reserved for higher-end earphones.

Pricing & Availability

The new iPod touch will be available in October through Apple Authorized Resellers. The fourth generation iPod touch is available in black and white for INR15,900 (INR 14,009 ex VAT) in a 16GB model and INR 23,900 inc VAT (INR 21,057 ex VAT) in a 32GB model through Apple Authorized Resellers. iPod touch requires a Mac with a USB 2.0 or USB 3.0 port, Mac OS X v10.6.8 or later and iTunes 10.7 or later; or a Windows PC with a USB 2.0 port and Windows 7, Windows Vista or Windows XP Home or Professional (Service Pack 3) or later and iTunes 10.7 or later. An Apple ID is required for some iPod touch features. iOS 6 will also be available as a free software update for iPod touch (fourth generation) customers allowing them to experience the amazing new features including Facebook-enabled apps like Photos; Shared Photo Streams via iCloud; and Passbook, the simplest way to get all your passes in one place.

iPod nano will be available in October in pink, yellow, blue, green, purple, silver and slate for a suggested price of INR12,500 inc VAT (INR 11,013 ex VAT) in a 16GB model through Apple Authorized Resellers. iPod shuffle is available today in pink, yellow, blue, green, purple, silver and slate for a suggested price of INR 3,700 inc VAT (INR 3,260 ex VAT) in a 2GB model through Apple Authorized Resellers. iPod shuffle requires a Mac with a USB 2.0, Mac OS X v10.6.8 or later and iTunes® 10.7 or later; or a Windows PC with a USB 2.0 port and Windows 7, Vista or Windows XP Home or Professional (Service Pack 3) or later and iTunes 10.7 or later. iPod nano requires a Mac with a USB 2.0 or USB 3.0 port, Mac OS X v10.6.8 or later and iTunes 10.7 or later; or a Windows PC with a USB 2.0 port and Windows 7, Vista or Windows XP Home or Professional (Service Pack 3) or later and iTunes 10.7 or later.

* Battery life depends on device settings, usage and other factors. Actual results vary.
** Not all features are supported in all countries.
*** AirPlay Mirroring is only supported on the fifth generation iPod touch.
**** Sold separately.
***** Content varies by Country.

[/toggle_box]

September 13, 2012
Apple introduces new dock connector, called “Lightning”

Apple has changed their iconic connecting chord, replacing it with an “all digital, 8-signal design” that’s 80% smaller and looks exactly like the rumors.

They have also showcased an adapter which will help the iPhone 5 to connect with the previous generation devices with the old connecting port.

September 12, 2012
iPad Stats Revealed at Keynote! Blows Competition Away

Before the launch of the iPhone 5, Apple revealed some interesting facts and statistics related to the iPad! Here are the major ones :-

1. Apple had 62% market share last year for tablets, this year so far it’s at 68%.

2. iPad accounts for 91% of traffic from tablets.

3. Almost all of the Fortune 500 are getting in on the iPad action.

4. Apple sold “more iPads than any PC manufacturer sold of their entire PC line”.

5. Apple has 700,000 apps in the App Store, 250k are tablet-optimized.

6. Apple sells 17 Million New iPad’s : Tim Stevens :”We sold more iPads than any PC manufacturer sold of their entire PC line”.

September 12, 2012
iPhone 5 : Rumours Recap

1. Larger Screen

The most significant rumour leading up to the next iPhone is talk of a larger screen. Numerous sites have reported Apple will give its device a 4-inch screen, changing the 3.5-inch screen size of the iPhone for the first time. This will likely come true.

It is probably going to use Sharp’s IGZO display technology. IGZO screens are thinner, because they use smaller transistors, allowing more light to pass through. That means they use fewer LEDs, and therefore take up less space and consume less power.

2. Appearance

The phone will reportedly be a unibody design, with a two-tone back, and come in both black and white. And it turns out, all of the leaked internals fit perfectly into the leaked outer casing.

There likely won’t be any significant use of liquid metal in the next iPhone but Apple is indeed working with a company named Liquidmetal Technologies and the two firms extended their contract by two years this summer.

3. Smaller Dock Connector

Talk that Apple would change the iPhone’s dock connector for the first time since launching the iPhone in 2007 began this summer. Pictures have surfaced since then and the new piece looks about half as small as the current dock connector. This might just be true!

The latest reports are saying it’ll be called a Lightning connector, and look basically the same as all the leaks we’ve seen.

4. LTE connectivity

A few days ago a report said the iPhone will definitely get LTE connectivity, the fastest type of cellular Internet speeds available. Of course, it won’t be definite until Apple says so, but we expect this to be true too.

5. iOS 6

We all know that the next iPhone will come with iOS 6. And we’ve learned a good deal about Apple’s next mobile OS, too, since it was announced at WWDC in June. It will feature Apple’s own mapping system, as well as some pretty cool new features like Passbook.

6. Name

Given the design of the invite which hid “5” in the shadows of “12”, the next iPhone is almost certainly going to be branded as the “iPhone 5”.

Just a few more minutes to go before the next iPhone is released. Let’s wait and see what Apple has in store for us!

September 12, 2012
Sony Xperia S Tablet Torn Apart In New Sony Video

Sony has been pretty open about its support for the Android enthusiast community, and it seems that extends to teardowns of their own devices.

In its latest blog post, a Sony engineer takes apart and puts back together an upcoming Xperia Tablet S, the successor to the popular 9.4-inch Tablet S released last year. While the two devices bear a more-than-passing resemblance to one another, the new one is a wholly different beast inside, and is considerably thinner to boot. With a quad-core Tegra 3 processor to power the tablet, the only disappointing aspect is the lack of a screen resolution upgrade; the Xperia Tablet S sports an underwhelming 1280×800 TFT display.

The post goes into great detail about the improvements made to the overall design including a longer, thinner 6000mAh battery cell and a carbon fiber cooling system. It’s also splash-proof, which means that Sony uses a lot of adhesive to keep the front and back pieces together.

Watch the video below :

September 11, 2012
New YouTube App For iPhone Released

Last month it was revealed that the official YouTube app would not make an appearance in Apple’s upcoming release of iOS 6. The reason given was because Google’s “license to include the YouTube app in iOS has ended.” Google said that a new YouTube app was in the works and today they’ve delivered on their promise and launched version 1.0.1.3063 – this is currently available for iPhone and iPod Touch users.

If you have an iPad, an “optimized version” of the app will be released “in the coming months.”

[quote]“The new iPhone app is available worldwide and unlocks tens of thousands of official music videos, as well as bringing lots of new features to improve finding and sharing awesome videos and channels,” said Andrey Doronichev, head of YouTube mobile, in a blog post. “It’s a new app built by YouTube engineers, to give our iPhone users the best mobile experience.”[/quote]

As for the new features, the YouTube app has a fresh new design, swipeable channel guide, faster search capabilities, and sharing options to Google+, Facebook and Twitter.

The updated version of YouTube app for iPhone now lets users play tens of thousands of additional videos, including prominent-label music videos. Google has made it possible by posting advertisements, which was not shown in Apple-designed app.

September 11, 2012
Domino’s India Website Hacked, Data Leaked

A Turkish hacker’s group called ‘Turkish Ajan Hacker Group’ has hacked the Indian website of leading pizza company Domino’s. The company’s India operations is handled by its franchise Jubilant FoodWorks. The news was first reported by Cyberwarnews.

Post hacking the site, the Group leaked details of around 37,000 accounts on Pastebin.com. These included names, contact details (phone numbers, email id’s, city details) as well as passwords. According to Business Standard, the hackers used the SQL injection method and remote file inclusion for getting the data.

However, the website is still operational and is still allowing users to place orders.

September 11, 2012
Nokia to launch internal ethics investigation into misleading Lumia 920 ads

The Nokia Advertisement.

When it was discovered that Nokia misleadingly simulated the “optical image stabilization” effect of the upcoming Lumia 920 in both video and photo formats — by shooting with a DSLR instead — there was a warranted outcry. The company quickly recovered, issuing an apology and subsequently adding a disclaimer to the ads that the effect was “simulated,” but the damage was done.

According to Bloomberg, the company is launching an internal ethics investigation to discover exactly what happened inside the company that allowed such shenanigans to happen.

[quote]A company spokesperson, Susan Sheehan, said “What we understand to date is that it was nobody’s intention to mislead, but there was poor judgment in the decision not to use a disclaimer.”[/quote]

The evidence of fakery was discovered by The Verge, in which a cameraman and an artificial light was seen in a reflection of a van window.

But what must be understood is that Nokia never actually claimed the ads were shot using a Lumia 920; rather, the impression was left in the viewers’ eyes. An outright denial would have arguably taken away some of the magic, but would have also prevented a scenario such as the one we’re dealing with today.

Not the best start for Nokia’s “comeback”!

September 10, 2012
Pocket Sized Wireless Router To Use 4G!

In an attempt to make 4G (which is four to 10 times faster than 3G) entry affordable for customers, some Indian 4G operators are going to offer pocket-sized Wi-Fi routers which would enable the existing EDGE or 3G-enabled smartphones, which are available at one-fourth the price of a 4G device, to use high-speed internet. The only requirement: These phones have to be Wi-Fi-enabled. Vendors say the Wi-Fi routers are expected to be sold at around Rs 2,500 and when fully charged, the router can work for the entire day.

As many as five people or an individual with multiple devices (for instance, a mobile phone and a tablet) can get connected at the back-end through the router to a 4G network. In simple terms, it means that an Apple enthusiast can save money by just buying a Wi-Fi-enabled iPad rather than a 3G or 4G enabled model which is much more expensive.

Currently, the number of 4G devices is limited across the world and they are available at around Rs 20,000 and above — virtually unaffordable to most customers. But smartphone prices have dropped to as low as Rs 5,000 and as most of them are Wi-Fi-enabled, customers can continue to use them for making voice calls as well as surfing data on 4G.

[quote]“We already have pocket-sized routers and surely offer them to Indian operators,” says an executive of China’s Huawei Technologies, which manufactures the Wi-Fi routers:[/quote]

According to data available with the Indian Cellular Association (ICA), there are over 50 to 60 million Wi-Fi-enabled phones in the country, which constitute over 10 per cent of the total phone ownership base. With over three million smartphones being sold every month, this number will only grow. However, according to telecom operators, the number of phone owners using Wi-Fi as a service would not be more than five per cent — it is this market that 4G operators would tap.

Attempts have been made to use the Wi-Fi router model in 3G, too. Tata Teleservices, for instance, offers a pocket sized device for Rs 5,000 which would create a hub and can be used for five devices. However, operators and telecom technology providers say a similar model in 3G has been constrained by the limited amount of spectrum available — GSM operators have only 5 MHz while CDMA players are asking for more spectrum.

In comparison, 4G players have over 20 MHz of spectrum. Experts say they also have to create a robust backbone to support the strategy which would include building a large fibre optic backbone — an area where Ambani’s Reliance Industries Ltd is now investing in.

[Business Standard]

September 10, 2012
Apple To Unveil 4-inch iPod Touch?

According to the latest rumours, Apple is expected to announce new products in its iPod Touch lineup at a major press event on Wednesday (September 12), including a new model featuring a larger 4-inch display.

The US technology giant is thought highly likely to unveil its new iPhone 5 smartphone at the product launch this week, offering various improvements, including a larger screen, 4G connectivity, NFC etc..

However, the event is also expected to feature new generations of the iPod Touch, iPod Nano and iPod Shuffle.

Last week, Rene Ritchie from the iMore website reported that the upcoming iPod Touch will come with the 4-inch, 16:9 display that is rumoured to feature in Apple’s iPhone 5 – an increase on the current 3.5-inch screen in Apple devices.

The Verge speculates that Apple will fit its larger display panel in both the new iPod Touch and iPhone 5, potentially bringing the high-resolution Retina display with IPS – a technology offering improved colour contrast and viewing angles – to the media player.

As well as a larger screen, it is believed the higher priced models could feature a smaller dock connector, more storage and come with Apple’s recently launched iOS 6 pre-installed.

The updated iPod Shuffle will reportedly come in eight different colours, while a larger Nano with Wi-Fi capabilities has also been rumoured.

It forms part of a strategy by Apple to boost sales of its iPod which have dwindled in recent years, due to the overwhelming success of the iPhone and iPad.

September 10, 2012
Windows Phone 8 SDK preview opens September 12th

Microsoft announced that developers will be able to sign-up for inclusion in the Windows Phone 8 SDK (Software Development Kit) programme from September 12th. Microsoft also revealed that the program will be initially limited to a select few at first until the full Windows Phone 8 SDK is publicly available later this year, after Windows Phone 8 has been released.

Microsoft won’t be giving access to just anyone, it will give priority to any developers that have already published apps to Windows Phone. In essence, they’ll be favoring the developers that chose to develop for Windows Phone before there was any major buzz for it. How exactly this will help the company garner better app development remains to be seen.

[quote]”The full Windows Phone 8 SDK will be made publically available later this year when we unveil Windows Phone 8. Until then, we believe this program offers more published developers a way to explore the SDK and get started on the next wave of amazing Windows Phone apps,” said Microsoft in a statement.[/quote]

One should keep in mind, WP 8 apps are on a whole new development platform. While WP 8 devices will continue to support WP 7.5 apps, these apps will not take advantage of the new hardware capabilities of WP 8 devices. Microsoft officials said they wouldn’t be disclosing the full set of Windows Phone 8 OS features until a later, unspecified date.

September 9, 2012
Windows Store Reaches 1000 Apps Milestone

We have seen a large rise in the number of Windows 8 apps that users of the RTM version can see from the Windows Store. Today, a third party site that has been tracking the numbers of those apps stated that it has now passed the 1,000 milestone.

McAtkins Online says that in its latest app count shows there are now 1,004 apps that are visable for Windows Store users. This number includes both desktop apps (which cannot be directly downloaded from the Windows Store) and the “Modern” Windows 8 apps. Just a few days ago, the same website said there were 839 apps available on the Windows Store.

Apparently, the rate at which new applications are being pushed to the Store has increased, and chances are that Microsoft will go near the 3,000 apps mark or beyond it by the time the platform reaches general availability.

It seems that more and more developers are flocking to Windows 8, which suggests that more new software will appear in the Store soon, thus making the platform even more appealing than before.

It’s also possible that Microsoft could be holding back until just a few days before October 26th before it decides to open the flood gates for new Windows 8 apps to be released.

September 9, 2012