Acer launches Aspire 8930G-7665 with Intel's Quad-core Chip

Acer has launched a powerful quad-core laptop at a price that may appeal to buyers on a budget. According to Acer, company's Aspire 8930G-7665 laptop is designed as a gaming laptop or desktop replacement. The laptop is powered by Intel's Core 2 Quad mobile processor with four cores that runs at up to 2.53GHz and includes 12MB of cache.

With a starting price of US$1,799, Acer's laptop could be a bargain compared to expensive quad-core laptops from the world's top PC vendors. Hewlett-Packard and Dell both offer quad-core laptops as either gaming laptops or mobile workstations with prices starting at over $2,000.

The laptop includes an 18.4-inch screen that can display high-definition image and video. It also includes 4GB of RAM, Nvidia's GeForce 9700M GT graphics card with 512MB of video memory, a 500GB hard drive, a Blu-ray Disc drive and Wi-Fi wireless networking.

Technical Specifications of Aspire 8930-7665 are following :-
• Intel® Core™2 Quad Mobile Processor Q9000 (12MB L2 Cache 2.53 GHz 1066MHz FSB)
• 18.4" WUXGA Acer CrystalBrite™ TFT LCD (1920 x 1080)
• 4GB DDR3 1066 MHz Dual Channel Memory
• NVIDIA® GeForce® 9700M GT with 512MB dedicated video memory
• 500GB 7200RPM SATA Hard Drive
• Blu-ray Disc™/DVD-Super Multi double-layer drive
• 6-in-1 Digital Media Card Reader
• 802.11a/g/Draft-N Wi-Fi CERTIFIED®
• Acer Crystal Eye Webcam
• Dolby Home Theater®
• Windows Vista® Premium 64-bit
• MSRP $1799.99


The laptop comes preloaded with the 64-bit version of Windows Vista Premium OS. The laptop is now available in the US through retailers.

Bluetooth headset Jabra BT4010 enters Indian markets

GN has announced to launch the high end Bluetooth headset, Jabra BT4010 for the Indian markets. The headset permits excellent hands free experience and enables ease of operations and music listening while driving.

The device has a LCD screen for display. Bluetooth headset features an integrated display which allows users to visually check the device's battery life and call information.

Although BT4010 isn’t the first Bluetooth headset to feature an integrated display; Sony Ericsson’s HBH-660 Akono has a tiny screen too. But Jabra claims the BT4010 is the only headset capable of simultaneously displaying battery life alongside the connection and call status in three simple icons.

The Jabra BT4010 smart display LCD feature is modeled after screens of a mobile phone and ushers in a new level of usability for Bluetooth headsets. Users no longer have to guess or interpret flashing lights to understand your battery level, connection and call status. All this information is available by simply viewing the display.

The headset works over Bluetooth 2.0 with Enhanced Data Rate. It provides up to six hours of talk time and 150 hours of standby life. Users can recharge the gadget through the built-in Micro USB port. The e-SCO technology improves voice transfer providing crystal clear sound.

Technical Specifications of Jabra BT4010 are following:
• Innovative, iconic Smart Display
• e-SCO improves voice transfer from headset to phone
• Auto-pairing
• Up to 6 hours talk time
• 150 hours standby time
• 2 earhook sizes provided for added comfort
• Size: L 2″ x W 0.67″ x D 1.1″
• 0.35 oz
• Bluetooth Specification 2.0 + Enhanced Data Rate
• Micro USB Charger Connection

The Jabra BT 4010 can be worn with or without an ear hook. The device has been priced Rs. 3390 for the Indian markets.

LG Electronics to launch 3G Watch-Phone

LG Electronics plans to debut a wristwatch-style 3G phone at the Consumer Electronics Show to be held in early January.

The LG-GD910 phone will go on sale first in Europe and builds on a prototype shown at CES 2008.

There is a 1.4-inch touchscreen display at the centre of the watch that is used for interaction. It is used as the keypad when making a call. There are also buttons down the side of the phone's body.

The WCDMA phone supports the latest 7.2Mbps HSDPA data system, so downloads could be fast. It can also make video calls via a small camera above the top right corner of the screen.

Other features of the waterproof handset include Bluetooth, MP3 player, speakerphone and a text-to-speech function.

More details about the 3G watch phone are expected during CES 2008.

PCG 1P1L - New Laptop from Sony

At the beginning of this week, Sony New Zealand began a teaser campaign for a new Vaio laptop. That was followed by Sony Japan, which offered a visual clue to the new machine, and Sony US apparently let the laptop's specifications out of the bag.

Expectations for the new laptop began in early December. The machine was identified as the PCG-1P1L and the few details available indicated it will offer cellular as well as Wi-Fi connectivity.

At the beginning on this week, Sony New Zealand started promoting a "revolutionary" Vaio laptop that will be revealed on January 9 in the country. That works out to just a few hours after Sony CEO Howard Stringer is scheduled to deliver a keynote speech at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas on January 8.

Later on, Sony Japan started promoting a new Vaio laptop and offered a better idea of the machine's design – “a compact laptop that could fit in a woman's purse”.

A Flash animation on Sony's U.S. shopping site, SonyStyle, offered details of a Vaio P laptop. Sony used the "Vaio P" name back in 2003 for a desktop PC but at present it doesn't offer any machines under that name.

The computer, according to the site, has an 8-inch LED backlight screen with 1,600 pixel by 768 pixel resolution. Other snippet,s including a 1.33GHz Intel processor, Vista Home Premium or Home Basic, and the choice of a hard-disk drive up to 60GBs or a 128GB solid-state disk (SSD).

From the regulatory filing, the computer appears about 22 centimeters long by 11 centimeters deep and its form factor would suggest a widescreen 8-inch display. The greater length could allow for a larger keyboard than is possible on most of the compact "netbook" computers now be offered by competitors and the combination of a high-resolution with LED backlight will likely make for an impressive display.

The 1.33GHz Intel processor matches the speed of the Atom chip that is included in some netbooks although the use of Vista would be unusual if this is indeed a netbook. If it's a compact but more fully featured machine, as the use of Vista might suggest, then it would appear to be based on the more powerful Core2Duo processor, which is the only other chip Intel offers at this speed.

More details about the new laptop may come out in Consumer Electronics Show to be held in January.

iPhone 3G at Wal-Mart retail stores across US

Wal-Mart, the US retail giant is going to sell Apple's iPhone 3G from today (Dec 28) onwards. The iPhone 3G will be available in retail stores across US. It was anticipated that the iPhone 3G will be offered on a heavy discount but it is not so. The retailer is offering 4GB iPhone 3G for $99, black 8GB iPhone 3G model for US$197, and the 16GB black or white model for $297.

Until now, the iPhone has only been available through Apple's own stores, AT&T outlets and electronics chain Best Buy.

According to Gary Severson, Wal-Mart's senior vice president, entertainment, "We are delighted to bring customers this ground-breaking mobile technology”.

Wal-Mart is expected to help Apple's efforts to reach conservative shoppers who might not visit Apple stores.

Meanwhile, as retailers stock a wider array of mobile devices, the iPhone helps Wal-Mart offer arguably the trendiest phone on the market.

As expected, the phones come with a new two-year service agreement from AT&T.

making of a computer that thinks like mammalian brain

An international team of researchers led by Indian scientist Dharmendra Modha, is planning to develop a computer that can learn from its own experience.

Dharmendra Modha of IBM plans to develop a computer that operates like a mammalian brain.

Scientists from University of Wisconsin-Madison, Columbia University and IBM will work on the "software" for the thinking computer, while nanotechnology and supercomputing experts from Cornell, Stanford and the University of California-Merced will create the "hardware".

They aim to build a machine that should be as small as a brain of a small mammal and use as little power as a 100-watt light bulb.

Their idea is to create a computer capable of sorting through multiple streams of changing data, to look for patterns and make logical decisions.

It all comes down to an understanding of what is necessary for teaching an artificial brain to reason and learn from experience.

University of Wisconsin-Madison research psychiatrist Giulio Tononi said that the ideal artificial brain would need to be plastic, meaning it is capable of changing as it learns from experience. The design will likely convey information using electrical impulses modelled on the spiking neurons found in mammal brains.

Orbita - world’s first wireless 3-axis mouse

The Orbita is the world’s first wireless 3-axis mouse. It’s a fully integrated, intuitive control centre that redefines conventional mouse limitations.

A built-in compass calibrates movements in 3 dimensions. The advantages are both intuitive and ergonomic and the efficiency gain is immediately obvious.

The most noticeable change to the conventional Mouse is the replacement of the scroll wheel. The wireless cylindrical shape becomes the basis of this incredible enhancement. Now instead of a vertical (up and down) scrolling, you simply rotate the mouse left or right in a natural dialling action.

Functions that require continues scrolling now avoid the jerking limitations of vertical finger movement.

You can navigate your way through large documents, Audio Visual Editing, CAD 3D fly thru; Gaming in 3D environments; just about any action that requires scrolling.

Specific Features:
1. Revolutionary Continuous Scrolling
2. Ergonomic Cylindrical Design
3. Virtual /Actual Control Knob interface
4. Jog Wheel Horizontal Scrolling
5. Programmable Interface with vmulti function platforms
6. 2.4Ghz Zero Lag Wireless
7. Compatibility: Windows 2000, XP, Vista, Mac OS X 10.3.9 and later versions

Nouveau Riche University- your real estate guide

Real Estate Investment is one of the best ways to earn money and name quickly. One of the best places which provides all the information and teaches how to make real estate investment is the Nouveau Riche University. It not only teaches how to invest in real estate but also provides a perfect launching pad with initial resources and support.

Some of the famous and well known real estate investors who are the members of the Nouveau Riche alumni are Chad Wade, Chris Record, Jason Nedrow, etc. All of them agree that Nouveau Riche University not only teaches real-estate-investing but they create Real Estate Investors too.

The Nouveau Riche University has a community which is America’s largest real estate community and comprises of mastermind investors of the world. It helps in creating real estate portfolio and maximizing gain from real estate investment. The community helps the new real estate investors in learning all the tricks as how to become successful.

The university conducts live workshops of one or two days which has been hosted by the top class real estate investors who provide vital tips on how to become a successful investor. The university has been recently honored by the home magazine as the featured company which is one of the best publications of America.

For more info on the Nouveau Riche University you may visit its official website.

Motorola MOTOROKR EM35 offers unlimited music

Motorola has recently announced to launch a latest mobile handset MOTOROKR EM35. The new technically improved MOTOROKR EM35 is a quad-band GSM slider phone.

The ROKR EM35 has been designed for better audio and music experience. It comes with new and advanced CrystalTalk Technology, virtual surround sound, the Motomusic player, dual speakers, a 2.2 inch QVGA screen and an RDS-enabled FM radio. This latest Motorola phone adorns a FastScroll navigation wheel for quick and easy access to the content.

MOTOROKR EM35 uses Radio Data System technology to display information regarding the FM stations helping you recognize songs and their artists. ROKR EM35 is a brilliant music phone with FM radio, which can also be played over stereo Bluetooth or external speakers. SONGID technology and the powerful FM antenna will help you play your favorite FM radio using stereo Bluetooth. You may even use external stereo speakers to enhance your FM experiences. The users can also get real time information like weather, latest news, sports etc. via the preloaded widgets.

Other important features of MOTOROKR EM35 include 2.2inch QVGA screen, 3.1 mega pixel camera and battery talk-time life up to 400 minutes at the backdrop of 400 hrs standby time. The phone’s memory can be expanded up to 32GB through removable microSD storage cards.

The pricing details of MOTOROKR EM35 music phone are yet to be revealed. The new mobile phone has the potential to grab attention of the market.

Nouveau Riche can inspire you

Wealth is the foremost necessity in today’s world. Every body aspires for it but few have it. Of them some are there who get it easily and some are there who work for it and earn it enormously. They are the Nouveau Riche guys.

They are the one who use their brains and skill sets and rise like the shining stars. CNN Money has got an exclusive list of such Nouveau Riche fellows.

One of them is Kenneth R Thomson. He holds about 70% stakes of Thomson Corp, 76% stakes of Hudson Bay and about 81 % stakes of Markborough Properties. He also looks after the affairs of Canada’s second largest newspaper. He also controls England’s largest tour operator and the Britannia airways.

Another Nouveau Riche that is well known to the world is Warren Edward Buffett. He is the CEO of Berkshire Hathaway and also the richest person on the planet. In one of the general meeting of Berkshire Hathaway he once said ''I tap-dance into work, and then I read and talk on the phone for seven or eight hours, and then I go home and read some more,'' Such is the great man’s love and dedication!

There are many more people of this kind who have achieved money the hard way. CNN Money brings for you this and much more about such great Nouveau Riche guys. The article exclusively talks about the people who acquired considerable amount of wealth and are enjoying their life in most luxurious way possible. The success stories of these new rich people could be an inspiration to all those who aspire to be successful in life.

Xperia X1 from Sony Ericsson at Rs. 44,500

Sony Ericsson has recently launched a new hi-tech mobile phone, integrated with nine-panel user interfaces, for the high-end mobile users against a price tag of Rs. 44,500. The new smartphone, ‘Xperia X1’, is highly customized particularly to stimulate the fashion conscious tech-savvy GenNext youngsters.

Xperia X1 has been designed exclusively keeping in mind the style needs of the GenNext fashion conscious youngsters. The new 3.0-inch Sony Ericsson model with its 16-bit color TFT touchscreen amidst 800×480 resolution will surely affect lifestyle of its users.

It is expected that the arrivals of ‘Xperia X1’ will open a new chapter in the history of mobile-phone evolution. Primarily, the company has targeted to deliver a new dimension in the spheres of web communication experience by designing the high cost phone. According to Sony Ericsson India President Anil Sethi, “Xperia, aimed to offer energizing communication and premium mobile experience, with the promise of quality and functionality.” “We have launched this high-end phone to target the premium multi-media devices market, which is doubling every year”, he added.

According to Sudhin Mathur, General Manager of Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications, “Xperia X1 can be personalized through nine panel user interfaces to suit to the user’s mood and lifestyle. Users can access content quickly and directly through touch-screen, easily switching between applications by touching one of the unique customized panels. With Windows Mobile, high data transfer rate and Wi-Fi support, one can enjoy favorite entertainment and work efficiently on the move”.

Across US “Xperia X1” is available from November 28 @ $799. The handset is available in two shades: Steel Silver and Solid Black.

The mind blowing ‘Xperia X1’ model is loaded with Windows Mobile 6.1 Operating System. Its technical specifications include 3inch wide touchscreen supporting a resolution of 800 × 480 pixels (WVGA), metal-finish body, a 4 GB card extendable up to 32 GB, a full keyboard, one 158 grams Lithium-Polymer battery with 1500 mAh capacity sufficient enough for 10 hrs GSM talk time and 6 hrs of WCDMA usage, and 65-thousand color TFT display, etc.

Other vital characteristics include operating compatibility for HSPA and Quad-band GSM networks, 3G, Handwriting recognition, Wi-Fi 802.11b/g, Bluetooth 2.1, Optical joystick, and USB, etc.

Samsung Tobi S3030 announced for pre-teens

Technology giant Samsung is now targeting a new section in the mobile phone market. It is the pre teens. Samsung has announced the launch of a handset “Samsung Tobi S3030” which is specially designed for pre teens.

Weighing less than 100 grams, the GSM compatible phone has a TFT screen, which can display a resolution of 144x176. Specially designed for pre teens, Samsung Tobi S3030 has lots of features.
The newly launched phone is eco friendly as it made out of bio-plastics, non-toxic paints and non-allergenic materials. It also contains specially animated characters and themes.

S3030 has a TFT screen with a resolution of 144×176. 15 MB internal memory has been provided. Available in different colors like Sweet Pink, Bright Orange, Loyal Blue, Oasis Blue, Apple Green and Snow Silver, the technical specifications of the new sliding phone include a 1.9 inch screen with 65K colors and a QCIF resolution, 15 MB of internal memory, GSM/GPRS (900/1800/1900 MHz) connectivity, 1.3 mp camera, music player, Bluetooth 2.0, USB 2.0. Using a microSD slot it can be expanded up to 8 GB.

The handset is expected to be available soon in Italy and UK while details of pricing are not yet known.

Alltel unveils Hi-Tech LG Swift phone

A new phoning technology, FasTap, has silently entered the US market. Alltel has recently announced to launch a new LG mobile model LG Swift empowered with latest FasTap technology. The fast and easy-to-use phone has been designed keeping in mind ever changing needs of the fashion conscious people. Highly multimedia oriented phone LG Swift will surely add a new dimension in the selection of mobile phones.

The new technology, FasTap, incorporated in the new Alltel release will enable its users with ‘fast and simple’ navigation for all the functions the phone provide. The hi-tech functions that become integrated with the new phoning concept include Alltel Shop, games, email, music, and Alltel Navigation, etc. Now, to access these routine functions, you will not be required to go through the main menu. The FasTap will permit you to activate them directly making your Alltel phoning experience extremely fast and seamless. You will be amazed seeing the six raised one-touch access Quick keys of LG Swift mobile phone.

“The LG Swift is an innovative phone that helps our customers explore and enjoy Alltel’s most popular data features. The introduction of FastapPress-to-Experience keys enables us to delivers information and entertainment to our customers faster than ever before,” said Brian Ullem, vice president of device strategy for Alltel Wireless.

The 3 ounces LG Swift mobile model comes with bundle of mind-blowing features such as microSDHC slot, multi-shot and video photography enabled 1.3 megapixel camera, speakerphone, media player, and exterior music buttons, etc. Music buttons of LG Swift are highly customized to permit you enjoy all your hot stuffs without facing any access difficulty. With the hot phone, you will also be able to enable background music mode to customize your mood and style. Bluetooth headset with amazing stereo sound of LG Swift will gift you a new multimedia experience.

With 140 hrs of stand by time, the phone, which comes with a price tag of $49.99 and available in two beautiful colours: red and blue, provides 180 minutes of active talk time.

Google Search through SMS

The Internet Search Giant, Google has made it possible to search the Internet on your mobile phone even if it is not web enabled. Google has introduced this service with all the major GSM and CDMA operators in India.

The usage of the service is very simple. The user just sends a normal text SMS to 9-77-33-00000. You could be searching anything like cricket scores, stock updates, Indian Railways train schedules, PNR status, horoscopes, movie show-times etc. The search engine will fetch the data and send you an SMS. The service also acts as yellow pages and runs applications like the calculator and currency converter. Local search is one of the main utilities.

“No longer do you need to remember complicated strings to put before your query, you can search as if you are searching on Google web search – we will do all the hard work to understand your query and give you the best results on SMS”, a spokesperson for Google India affirms.

Here is how users can use this service:-
To receive latest cricket score, just type cri or cricket or cricket India and send it to 9773300000.
For PNR enquiries in Indian Railways, send the PNR number.
Likewise stock quotes from BSE can be received by sending “company name quote”, for example “Tata Steel stocks”.
To know horoscope just sms your Sunsign.
Similarly, weather info can be found by sending “weather city”, eg “Weather Kolkata”.
Also available are calculations and conversions. Like “65000 INR in USD”, “13 Kg in Pound”, “Population of Delhi”, “Current GDP of India”, etc.

The cost of the service will be normal SMS charges.

RBI considering Internet Payment Options

Almost two years back, TimesofMoney, a Times of India group owned company had introduced Wallet365.com. RBI is now believed to be considering the regularization of internet payment options. An approach paper on the subject is under consideration by the RBI.

As per the Payment and Settlement Systems Act all non financial institutions have to obtain a RBI clearance for operating pre paid payment instruments. The KNC (Know Your Consumer) initiative by the RBI specifies limits for financial transactions beyond which it is necessary to obtain all information regarding clients.

If the RBI gives the green signal for internet based cash cards and pre paid payment options, it will spawn a fresh competition in the financial sector. An Indian version of PayPal may soon become a reality.

Very much on the lines of PayPal, Wallet365.com allows you to make secure electronic payments easily and instantly. Signing Up with Wallet365.com is free and all that is required is a valid email id.

By signing up with Wallet365.com, one can send money to anyone, receive money from anyone, or make payments to businesses. With Wallet365.com, users can store money electronically which is much like a checking account. Wallet365.com is safe and secure for its users. It is 128 bit encrypted and is VeriSign certified.

Microsoft develops 216 Megapixel Camera

Microsoft has developed 216 megapixel camera. The UltraCamX collects 216 megapixels per trigger to produce 14,430 across track and 9,420 along track pixels, the largest image format available, with a sustained collection rate of three gigabits per second. The UltraCamX, a large Format Digital Aerial Camera, uses CCD technology, employing 7.2 micrometer pixels thus achieving an even larger image format at 14,430 x 9,420 pixels without sacrificing radiometric performance.


Vexcel Imaging GmbH, a Microsoft® company, has signed a purchase agreement with Aerodata International Surveys, a Belgian-based airborne surveying and mapping company - for an UltraCamX (UCX) large format digital aerial camera system.

“Aerodata is a long standing UltraCam customer and has significant experience operating the camera,” said Rob Agee, Microsoft Group Business Manager for the Vexcel Imaging GmbH business. “The company understands the clear benefits provided by the UltraCam technology and the added value afforded by the advancements available through the UltraCamX. We value their commitment to providing their customers high-quality aerial imagery, quickly and economically, and congratulate them on this purchase.”

Motorola to launch VE66

Motorola, the phone giant has announced the launch of another attractive 5 MegaPixel camera phone, the Motorola VE66. The phone has an appealing display and some excellent features.

The Motorola VE66 runs on the Linux operating system. It has a 2.2 inch QVGA screen with 256 colors. It comes with a powerful 500 MHz processor. The camera has digital image stabilization and red eye reduction. It will be having two versions. The first one will not support 3G. The second version will support UMTS and HSDPA. The phone also has two microphones to enhance audio quality.

Tracey Koziol, corporate vice president, Mobile Devices, Motorola said, “The MOTO VE66 delivers on consumer’s demand for more personalized listening and imaging experiences on a mobile phone. With a diverse multi-media experience, the VE66 truly enables you to make a statement and express yourself on your terms.”

The Motorola VE66 is likely to hit the stores in the fourth quarter. The other details including price of the handset are yet unknown.

Gigabyte unveiled X58 series motherboards in India

Gigabyte has unveiled two powerful high-speed motherboards recently in India. The motherboards, GA-X58-Extreme and GA-X58-UD5, are expected to fuel India’s fast growing hardware industry, taking India few steps ahead in the PC manufacturing field. The new X58 series motherboards of Gigabyte are based on Intel’s Turbo Boost technology and compatible with Intel’s new Core i7 processors.

Integrating with the Intel X58 Express chipset, the new GA-X58 series motherboards allow 2 phase power for their North Bridge and memory. Dynamic Energy Saver (DES), Temperature Alert LEDs (TALs), OV-Alert LEDs, and OC-Alert LED form the constituent parts of these next generation motherboards. The new Gigabyte motherboards are available throughout India through Avnet, Redington, and Ingram Micro in the price range of Rs. 20,500 - Rs. 25,000.

Few important features of GA-X58-Extreme and GA-X58-UD5 motherboards include QPI interface, CrossFireX support, 3 channel DDR3 support, Ultra Durable 3 technology, and 3 Way SLI, etc. The energy efficient new Gigabyte motherboards have been designed to provide high performance in the complex computing fields, especially in the complex multimedia and graphics field. 3 PCIe x16 Gen2.0 slot, integral of the new Gigabyte X58 Series motherboards, ensures enhanced graphics configurations. Now the motherboards will be able to handle up to 6 monitors at a time using using multiple display support.

The new Gigabyte motherboards are available throughout India through Avnet, Redington, and Ingram Micro in the price range of Rs. 20,500 - Rs. 25,000.

T-Mobile unveiled Samsung Behold and Samsung Gravity in US

Samsung has again made its way in US via T-Mobile. T-Mobile has unveiled two latest mobile devices, Samsung Behold and Samsung Gravity. The Samsung Behold is the Touch screen smart phone while the Samsung Gravity is a message focused smart phone. Both the phones have customized features to woo from low to middle level consumers.

Samsung Behold is an ultra thin phone with a large touch screen display that uses the Samsung’s TouchWiz user interface. This application will allow the user to personalize and modify the phone. It features drag and drop options to shift items easily on the main screen. This will make the phone user-friendly and can get instant access to theses functions. Behold offers a compelling mobile web application experience to the owner. The phone packs in a powerful 5 mega pixel camera with LED flash and video recorder. The phone also comprises a full QWERTY on screen keyboard with haptic feedback. Behold incorporates a built-in GPS and quad band GSM support. Behold claims to offer a super fast transfer of data and superior Wi-Fi application. The internal memory of the phone is 128 MB which can be further expanded with the external microsSD card up to 8GB.

Samsung Gravity is a phone with a convenient slide out QWERTY keyboard. Samsung Gravity has a 1.3 mega pixel camera with video recording facility that will allow the user to capture their special moments whether still or moving. Gravity also supports the T-Mobile’s MyFaves service that will help the user to keep in touch with their beloved.

It is reported that T-Mobile is planning to market the new Samsung models in two years contract agreement under the price tags of $ 49.99 and $150 for Gravity and Behold respectively. In Indian currency, the corresponding prices will be approximately Rs. 2,375 and Rs. 7,125 respectively. The two outstanding mobile phones with each having its unique features are set to release in November. The Samsung Behold smart phone is available from November 10 while Samsung Gravity will be offered from November 17.

Chandrayaan-1 enters lunar orbit, sucessfully orbiting the moon

Proud moments for India!! India's first unmanned spacecraft Chandrayaan-1 entered the lunar orbit on Saturday after Indian Space Research Organisation scientists successfully carried out a highly complex and tricky manoeuvre crossing another historic milestone in the country's space programme.

ISRO scientists at the Mission Control Centre near Bengaluru fired the spacecraft's liquid engine at 16:51 hours for a duration of 817 seconds in a hit or miss Lunar Orbit Insertion operation in the maiden moon mission, 18 days after it was launched from Sriharikota spaceport.

"For the first time in the history of India, an Indian-made satellite is circulating the Moon ", a jubilant ISRO chairman G Madhavan Nair told after the home-grown satellite broke away from the Earth's gravitational field for the first time and reached the moon. India becomes the sixth country to put a satellite in lunar orbit.

The engine was fired when the spacecraft passed at a distance of about 500 km from the moon to reduce its velocity to enable lunar gravity to capture it into an intended orbit around the moon.

The spacecraft is now orbiting the moon in an elliptical orbit that passes over the polar regions of the moon. The nearest point of this orbit (perilune) lies at a distance of about 504 kms from the moon's surface, while the farthest point (apolune) lies at about 7,502 km.

A relieved Nair said today's operation was the "most crucial moment" in the mission."We have done it," he declared. "For the last 20 minutes, almost all our hearts were at a standstill," Nair said immediately after the the challenging manoeuvre was carried out.

"Nobody else in the world perhaps would have got such a precise lunar orbit as India did in the first attempt," Nair said.

Spice Mobile to launch Finger Swipe Touch Screen S930 Phone

Spice Mobile has recently announced to launch its sophisticated mobile handset S930. This handset is targeted at fashion conscious Indian customers. And the best thing about the set is- it comes at a very affordable cost. Available at Rs. 7999 only, it is a unique mobile handset that blends with innovative technologies. Coupled with Finger Swipe Touch Screen (FSTS), the Spice phone S930 will be highly capable to accommodate vibrant spirits of the youths who love to play with technologies of future.

Spice S930 supports 1 GB memory stick amidst 2 GB Expandable memory and a virtual keypad to assist you enjoy true beauty of a high capacity mobile phone. A 2 mega pixel camera with Webcam forms integral part of the phone. Technological innovation coupled with trendy business needs makes the phone S930 just irresistible. By way of just a finger swipe, the S930 will swing into action making you extremely delighted.

Irrespective of a sleek metallic finish exterior, Spice S-930 has various incredible internal features as well, namely: 2 Mega Pixel Camera with Webcam facility, 2 GB Expandable memory, Complimentary 1 GB Memory Card, Video and MP3 player, FM Record and Play, and something new that steps in is the most awaited: The Finger Swipe Touch Screen Facility. Not to forget VAS’s new Opera Mini Browser and Thomson Reuters, for speedy browsing and keeping up abreast with the various worldly events.

Govt of India to provide Internet Connection to Gram Panchayats

In a major initiative to increase India’s Internet density, Govt. of India is funding a project, namely Rural Broadband Project, to provide fast broadband Internet connection to all Gram Panchayats (GPs) by 2012, said A. Raja, Union IT and Communications Minister. The project is also to include all Govt. Higher Secondary Schools and Public Health Centers for providing such connection to empower rural e-Governance.

Explaining scope of the project, the minister said, “The Universal Service Organisation (USO) funds is being extensively deployed on a large scale to increase the broadband connectivity in rural area. We are making continuous efforts and committed to extend communication facilities with broadband connectivity at each block and village level. Once these facilities are in place, the broadband connectivity will be available on demand”. He even has indicated of offering PCs as part of bundled scheme along with Internet broadband connection. “The government is planning to launch bundled schemes of broadband along with customer premise equipment, including PCs with the subsidy support from USO fund,” he said. The minister was delivering a lecture on ‘Telecom Sector in Education Development’ at the National Round Table Conference held recently at New Delhi.

The round table conference was jointly organized by Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) and the Communication and Manufacturing Association of India (CMAI). Besides, several university-heads and premier telecom companies had attended the conference to devise a strategy for enhancing distance learning system through optimum utilization of telecom infrastructures and IT facilities.

“It is heartening to note that efforts have already been initiated in this direction. We need to make available free tools and fonts to the public for all the major Indian languages. Then only, the domain of knowledge can be easily extended to our common man”, said the minister.

ISRO to launch Bhuvan to take on Google Earth

Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is in a new avatar. ISRO’s entry into the software development field has added a new dimension in the world IT segment. This time, it is Bhuvan - an Indian version of “Google Earth”, with which they want to take India to a new height.

Bhuvan, a new eye of ISRO and a satellite mapping tool, is at the final stages of development and is based on the Indian Remote Sensing (IRS) technology. The portal, which is likely to be made operational by mid 2009, will provide powerful and effective images similar to ‘Google Earth’ or Wikimapia. Following Bhuvan, ISRO has also plan to unwrap “Bhu Sampada”, another satellite based Desi IRS information portal.

Bhuvan, which means Earth, will be more efficient and user-friendly than the Google Earth, said ISRO. Space Applications Center (SAC) of ISRO is now seriously engaged in designing and enhancing features of Bhuvan, which will be upgraded annually in place of Google Earth’s four-year upgrade schedule. Bhuvan, the Desi Google Earth, will be able to give you details up to 10 metres, whereas Google’s and Wikimapia’s efficiencies are up to 200 metres and 50 metres respectively.

Disclosing first about the projects, Dr G Madhavan Nair, chairman, ISRO said on Tuesday last at the Indian National Cartographic Association (INCA) International Congress in Gandhinagar, “Bhuvan will use the data recorded by the Indian satellites only. The prototype of Bhuvan will be ready by the end of November and ISRO is hoping to officially launch the service by March next”. The portal will be dedicated to the Indian sub-continent only, and “With Bhuvan we will be able to produce very local information which will be specific to only to our own country. This information available from this mapping system will be useful in addressing very local problems like floods, famines, infrastructure development, education and much more,” Nair said.

While delivering a lecture on the “Benefits of Space to the Society”, Mr. Nair said, “The information on Bhuvan will be layer wise and the options of viewing filtered information will be available. Inputs from a lot of local players, like farmers, fishermen and likes who know the local area in and out, will also being integrated in Bhuvan. This is for the primary reason to make it of more use to the general public”.

Chandrayaan-1 to reach final orbit on Nov 15

India’s first unmanned moon mission spacecraft Chandrayaan-1 is performing well within all scientific parameters till date since its launch. Now the scientists at Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) are expecting the lunar probe to enter into it’s last orbit on Nov 15. Creating a history of leaving Earth’s gravity by any Indian made spacecraft, Chandrayaan-1 enters into the celestial space towards the moon at 4.56 am on Tuesday last! It was a great achievement for India, and particularly for ISRO.

In place of planned five minutes firing, the 440 Newton Liquid Apogee Motor (LAM) on board of Chandrayaan-1 was fired for only about two-and-a-half minutes to make the spacecraft positioned along the moon’s highway taking it away from the Earth’s gravity effect. So smooth switch over and fine maneuvering of the lunar spacecraft has made Indian scientists jubilant at home. At the time of transition, apogee (farthest point to earth) of Chandrayaan-1 was 3,84,000 km and it was only 500 km away from the lunar surface.

About the lunar transfer trajectory, Mylaswamy Annadurai, Chandrayaan-1 project director said, “I was at ISRO’s telemetry, tracking and command network (Istrac) at Bangalore since early morning and we were going step by step very carefully. As soon as we received a signal that Chandrayaan had successfully entered the main highway to the moon, there was a jubilation in the mission control room”.

Next critical stage of the mission is lunar orbit insertion (LOI); but scientists are at no pressure to face LOI on Saturday between 5 pm and 6 pm. “I am hoping that the manoeuvre will go off smoothly on Saturday too,” Annadurai said.

LOI is a complex stage for any moon mission, as about 30% of moon missions of US and erstwhile Soviet Union have failed during this stage. ISRO is now gearing up for the ‘D’ day. After successfully establishing at the lunar orbit, Chandrayaan-1 will send images of the lunar surface with the help of Terrain Mapping Camera (TMC) available on board of the spacecraft. The camera is kept switched on, which has already sent black & white pictures of Earth back home.

With google crome you don’t need to worry about privacy leak

Google is in limelight now for its controversial Chrome release. Chrome, an advanced browser application has been released by Google to give a tough competition to Microsoft. Powerful Chrome knows too much about you. And that’s the issue.

With advanced technology and increasing customization, Google has become so sensitive and responsive to your needs and demands that it can anticipate your searching needs following few of your keywords. Even before you press Enter, it collects data from the search query box and stores them into its server, thereby causing concerns for the groups of privacy advocates.

In order to make Indian googling a seamless experience for all, Google has plan to use advanced algorithms in its powerful search engine. While doing so, you may be asked to compromise with your privacy! Exponential growth of Google and thereby empowering itself with excessive private data has longer ramification.

Privacy concerns may not be so serious, said a market analyst. He explained, speculation about Google’s rising power to dominate Internet search and advertisement spheres might have fuelled in raising eyebrows for personal data security at the hands of Google. Extending business to accommodate Yahoo needs has just added firewood to the speculation.

Denying any risk of privacy leaking at the hands of Google, the company said, people are misinformed about the issue; it collects and stores private data only to improve its customized services. Releasing of Chrome is only an effort from Google to lead future web browsing through a new platform.

Microsoft unwrapped Live Search Maps for Indian Cities

Microsoft’s Hyderabad based business center Microsoft India Development Centre (MSIDC) has recently unwrapped Live Search Maps for major Indian cities that will be able to guide you traversing across 9 major cities within India and will let you be informed about business listings for 29 cities while giving you a unique doorway to highway networks along 20,000 prominent Indian locations.

Besides the cities of Chennai, Delhi, Kolkata, and Mumbai, the newly uncovered India Live Search Maps from Microsoft India also include Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Jaipur, and Pune for providing detailed data like addresses, road-networks, area-information, landmarks, elaborate street-maps, monuments, hotels & restaurants, and other similar places of public interest. Proposal for covering more cities is under serious consideration, and soon the Live Search Maps for India will extend it’s city-base to about 30. They also have planned to enhance their offered-features by including driving directions based upon landmark identities, and incorporating developer communities among others.

The newly launched service of Microsoft India can be accessed through both PC and mobile from Microsoft’s Live Search Service, and it is the first of its kind that offers detailed local mapping service in India. “Over the last two years, Microsoft has made significant investments into research and development for Live Search, acquired global resources and introduced several new features which we believe are extremely relevant and will deliver great value to our users,” said Microsoft India’s consumer & online marketing operations Head Rishi Srivastava. “Live Search Maps for India will allow users to search for geographical information, places of general interest and business listings both on the PC and mobile phones,” he added.

“In the near future we plan to add new features such as landmark based driving directions, collections search, options for enterprise customers and developer community to create custom mash-ups, along with satellite imagery and related features for India and key cities,” said Gurpreet S Pall, GM, Live Search and MSN Technologies, Microsoft India Development Centre.

ISRO receives images from Chandrayaan-1

Without doubt October 22, 2008 was a great day for India, especially for the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), when it successfully launched it’s first unmanned moon mission spacecraft Chandrayaan-1. PSLV-C11 was used to place the 1380 kg spacecraft, laced with international research instruments including a high-resolution Terrain Mapping Camera (TMC), into the earth’s elliptical orbit.

According to a media release, the moon probe Chandrayaan-1 has helped India looking beyond the space-horizon. Scientists at ISRO became too proud when the first image of Earth taken by the optical sensor fitted at Chandrayaan-1 reached at their hands. Images sent by the spacecraft are of high quality and indicate normal operation of Chandrayaan-1.

The Terrain Mapping Camera placed onboard moon spacecraft Chandrayaan-1 is capable of taking black and white shots of Earth from space and it is doing well in this direction, said ISRO. The images sent are continuously being monitored back at home in order to assess health of the probe relentlessly.

According to ISRO, “The TMC was operated through a series of commands from the spacecraft control centre of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO)’s telemetry, tracking and command network (Istrac)”.

The first images, which were received by the Indian Deep Space Network at Byalalu was later processed by the Indian Space Science Data Centre. The first images were taken at 8 am from a height of 9,000 km on Oct 29. The first picture shows the northern coast of Australia while the second image taken at 12:30 pm from a height of 70,000 km shows Australia's southern coast.

The TMC is one of the 11 scientific instruments of Chandrayaan-1 and the camera can take black and white pictures of an object. The instrument has a resolution of about 5 meters.

Sharp launches AQUOS 931SH Touchscreen Phone

Japanese mobile giant Sharp has recently announced their plan of enhancing the AQUOS series of mobile phones by introducing state of the art sleek mobile phone 931SH, likely to be available by December this year. The Japanese cellphone maker Sharp has launched the new 931SH mobile phone through Softbank.

Equipped with extremely high-resolution 5.2 megapixel camera, the new AQUOS 931SH mobile phone handset is a fully touchscreen model. The 931SH touchscreen handset expands the very-popular AQUOS-brand. AQUOS 931SH features a 3.8-inch touch LCD display that is capable of producing a resolution of 1024×480 pixels. Equipped with impeccable LCD display AQUOS 931SH will allow its users to enjoy super-sharp finer quality images and videos.

Users can watch sharp and superior quality videos, web pages, pictures and even live TV. Yes, the phone has the ability to showcase TV from 1-Seg tuner. The other exciting features of the model include accelerometer, motion sensor, GPS connectivity, sporting media player, microSD card slot, and Bluetooth 2.0 etc.

The feature-rich AQUOS 931SH Sharp mobile phone will be available in four different colours: black, pink-tint gold, red, and silver. The pricing of the device has not been disclosed yet.

Nokia N79 enters Indian market

Nokia has finally unveiled it’s smart mobile phone N79 for the high-end Indian consumers. The Nokia N79 comes with 3 Xpress-on smart covers that when changed will automatically change the colour of the theme on the phone. Nokia N79 mobile phone comes in a stylish design and changeable smart covers. This handset is actually a successor to the Nokia N78 phone. The phone offers a superb 5MP shooter with dual LED flash, geotagging and Carl Zeiss optics, a direct access to the Nokia Music Store, dedicated music keys, FM Transmitter and a 3.5 mm headset jack. Other cool specs are include GPS functionality with Nokia Maps 2.0, and microSD support for extra memory storage. Its battery offers up to 24 hours of music playback. Each purchase of this mobile phone comes with a 4GB memory card.

The battery is a BL-6F (1200 mAh) which should be up to most tasks to get you through the day. A 4GB microSD card that comes with the new Nokia model N79 to enhance phone’s memory capacity will enable you to store about 3000 of your favorite songs, thereby gifting you a living stock of your good old memories. With in-built latest 5 mega pixel camera integrated with dual LED flash and Carl Zeiss optics, you will be able to capture all your special moments with ease and style using the sophisticated new Nokia model. N79 will also allow you to access web at any time from anywhere with excessively high speed. Seamless web browsing will be a treasured experience for you, if your machine is a Nokia N79 model.

"The Nokia N79 packs cutting-edge technology into a compact design - a characteristic of the iconic Nseries - that allows people to discover, create and share their passions with others," said Juha Kokkonen, Director, Nokia Nseries. "It has been designed for those who want a device that is as appealing as it is powerful and comes with interchangeable covers that have automatically matching screen themes. This balance of performance and style means that it is a powerful and defining step forward from the popular and very successful Nokia N72 and Nokia N73."

Nokia N79 is highly recommended for those stylish consumers who want to enjoy seamless mobile-multimedia with flexible customization option. Intelligently designed model will fulfill all your minute requirements that you may face in a highly competitive mobile environment. Ten preloaded N Gage games will ensure fulfilling your complete entertainment needs. One of the most exciting features of N79 is that it offers editing scopes for your captured photos on the mobile itself without using any PC.

By using microSD card, memory of the striking phone set can be extended up to 8GB beyond its regular 50MB internal memory. A powerful battery that forms integral part of the Nokia phone offers five and a half hours of talk time and up to 372 hours of stand by time. Presently Nokia N79 model is available in five different exotic colors, which include Coral Red, Espresso Brown, Light Sea Blue, Olive Green, and White.

Priced at Rs 22,939, the awesome sleek GPS enabled N-series handset is equipped with voice navigation system along with a powerful FM transmitter.

Experience new discoveries with N79
The innovative technology packed into this colorful offering means that accessing a rich pool of services to further enhance individual experiences is seamless. Log on to online communities like Friendster, Flickr or YouTube or click through to Nokia services such as the Nokia Music Store, N-Gage, Nokia Maps and Share on Ovi, an online service that enables consumers to share personal pictures and videos from their mobile devices.

The 5 megapixel camera with Carl Zeiss optics, dual LED flash and video light captures sharp, clear images and video that can be edited immediately, without the need for a PC. Images can also be geotagged to specific locations. What's more, the Nokia N79 comes packaged with a 4 GB microSD memory card that makes it possible to store around 3,000 songs, approximately 2,500 pictures and up to four hours of DVD-quality video clips that can be organized by albums or tags and uploaded directly to Share on Ovi or third party services. The addition of a sliding lens cover helps protect the top-quality lens when not in use.

Nokia Maps makes it easy to explore and navigate new surroundings by accessing more than 15 million points of interest (POI). In-built A-GPS providing turn-by-turn navigation - for walking or driving - comes with a three month integrated license on the Nokia N79.

A Friendster widget will also be made available for the Nokia N79 via the WidSets service. This will allow people to browse Friendster friends' profiles, view and post shoutouts, upload pictures taken with their handset, and browse their own and friends' photo albums. All this enables more effective communication with friends while away from a computer using the Nokia N79. New users can even register for Friendster directly on their device via a link to Friendster's mobile site (m.friendster.com), create an account, and instantly begin participating in the Friendster global community.

To ensure each device is as distinctive as its user, customizable features are available at the Nokia Download! store, a one stop personalization shop, already embedded in Nokia Nseries devices. It lets consumers create a unique experience for themselves by offering easy access to a multitude of popular ringtones, branded entertainment content, the latest in mobile gaming and dynamic applications for personalizing mobile devices to the user's own preferences.

Motorola Motoming A1600 GPS enabled Touchscreen Phone unveiled in India

Motorola has recently announced launching of its state-of-the-art GenNext GPS enabled mobile phone with touchscreen in India. The new sleek model of Motorola, named MOTOMING A 1600, is not the first of its kind in the Indian high-end mobile phone market. The model has to face a stiff competition to make its way from the existing players such as Apple’s iPhone, BlackBerry Bold and Samsung Omnia, etc. However, customized multimedia features vis-à-vis its cost effectiveness will give the MOTOMING A 1600 an upper hand in wooing fashion conscious Indian consumers.

Motorola’s new MOTOMING bears a price tag of Rs. 15,847 only, which is just half of the price of Apple’s iPhone. A 16GB Apple’s iPhone will cost you around Rs. 36,100 and you have to pay around Rs. 31,000 for its 8GB model. A huge difference in pricing indeed! BlackBerry Bold and Samsung Omnia too demand similar prices. Motorola, the American mobile phone maker, has truly established a potential business challenge in the fields of touchscreen mobile phones in India by keeping price of MOTOMING A 1600 well within reach of middle-class Indians without compromising with any of the high-end features.

The high-memory capacity Motorola model MOTOMING A 1600 is laced with bundle of attractive user-friendly features, which include high precision GPS service (pre-loaded with navigational data of 30 major cities), dazzling multimedia features, Linux-based 3.2 mega pixel camera with 8X zoom supporting multiple capture modes, transparent flip cover, highly sensitive and instantaneous responsive touchscreen, integration with some features of MapmyIndia, 1GB MicroSD card with expandable memory of up to 4GB and voice-guided navigation in select areas etc.

Talking about the necessity of offering one more mobile phone in the Indian market, Lloyd Mathias of Motorola Mobile Devices India and South West Asia said, “MOTOMING A 1600, is the first GPS-enabled mobile phone. The navigation service is free with no activation charges, independent of mobile networks and can be used even without inserting the SIM card”. The satellite based GPS of MOTOMING A 1600 will offer you a rare opportunity of enjoying free GPS navigation for lifetime.

More About Motoming A1600 …
The MOTOMING A1600 is powerful business devices armed with Linux, GPS, touchscreen and a bunch of other goodies.The Motorola MING A1600 should support English as well as Chinese, so you can expect to see a small number coming into Europe and the US as special imports.
The Motorola MING A1600 flaunts a 2.4-inch 262K color TFT display with a QVGA resolution. It’s touchscreen and there is also a stylus to help you get around.

Technical Specifications:
* 2.4″ 262K color TFT display
* touchscreen and stylus
* Linux OS
* quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE support
* 3MP camera with continuous autofocus
* microSD card slot (up to 4GB)
* Bluetooth (A2DP)
* microUSB port
* FM radio
* built-in GPS receiver

Apple MacBooks with Nvidia chips put a threat to Intel inside

Apple has recently unleashed its superior notebooks in the MacBook range; but the most dramatic and challenging issue on the new release is that they have used high-efficiency Nvidia graphic chips to take on the Intel chips. Apple has adopted this revolutionary new GPU for its incredible new Apple MacBook, MacBook Pro, and MacBook Air. Apple and NVIDIA have worked together to harness the massive parallel processing power of NVIDIA GPUs to deliver a rich visual experience for consumers on the go.

"The NVIDIA GeForce 9400M architecture delivers an ideal combination of visual computing horsepower and energy efficiency in a single, highly-integrated package that we're using to bring a whole new level of graphics performance to our MacBook users," said David Moody, Apple's vice president of Worldwide Mac Product Marketing.

With the great success and huge market response to the new MacBooks released by Apple, it seems that the long monopoly of Intel graphic cards is likely to face a real threat in the coming days. At least, now people will have better option in front of them deciding true value for their money.

A market survey has predicted that the newly introduced Nvidia GeForce 9400M 3D graphic chipsets have the potential to grab at least 20% market share in the Intel CPU-based notebook arena. Apple is not the only one, first one of course, to use Nvidia’s GeForce 9400M chipset in their notebooks, several other global notebook makers such as Acer, Asustek Computer, Dell, and Hewlett-Packard (HP), etc. are also planning seriously to include the dazzling chipset in their products to enhance their graphics capability. MCP79-based notebooks of these celebrated vendors are the immediate products that will use Nvidia GeForce 9400M after the Apple’s MacBook series.

About the NVIDIA GeForce 9400M GPU:-

The NVIDIA GeForce 9400M is a single chip, high performance, highly integrated design that is ideal for notebooks and smaller computing devices. It features 16 parallel processing cores that deliver a whopping 54 GFLOPs of processing power, making it the most powerful integrated GPU on the market today. It also delivers up to 5x faster graphics performance than Intel Centrino 2, and long-lasting battery power, allowing consumers to watch a complete, full-length HD movie on a single charge.

AMD unleashes ATI Radeon HD 4830 Graphics Card

AMD has recently unleashed a high performance less expensive ATI Radeon HD 4830 graphics card, raising the performance bar for graphics cards priced at less than $150 (USD) and presenting gamers with even more affordable access to award-winning ATI Radeon HD 4800 series performance. Like all ATI Radeon HD 4800 series products, the new offering delivers class-leading game performance and superior HD multimedia capabilities, as well support for the latest DirectX 10.1 games soon to be released for the holiday season.

The ATI Radeon HD 4830 graphics card delivers outstanding value to gamers. With the launch of this card, even the most intimidating games that were previously unplayable on a graphics card selling for less than $150 can now be enjoyed at playable frame rates, even when using image enhancements such as anti-aliasing and anisotropic filtering. For those gamers looking to get even more performance out of their gaming rigs, ATI Radeon HD 4830 cards support ATI CrossFireX technology allowing gamers to combine as many as four cards in one PC.

More than just a gaming card, the ATI Radeon HD 4830 offers up exceptional HD multimedia performance as well. All ATI Radeon HD 4800 series cards allow users to enjoy HD digital content with uncompromising visual fidelity while helping to enhance the definition and clarity of lower resolution visual media. AMD’s second generation Unified Video Decoder (UVD 2.0) ensures users experience smooth HD video playback, and sharp, crisp images and vibrant colors through ATI Avivo HD technology. Combined with capabilities like picture-in-picture, and support for the latest HD audio technologies like 7.1 surround sound, the ATI Radeon HD 4830 graphics card serves up an impressive cinema-quality home entertainment experience.

The ATI Radeon HD 4830 graphics card is supported by a dozen add-in-board companies offering custom designs of the products. Partners include ASUS, Club 3D, Diamond Multimedia, Force3D, GECUBE, GIGABYTE, HIS (Hightech Information Systems), Jetway, MSI, Palit Multimedia, PowerColor, SAPPHIRE Technology and VisionTek.

“The $100-$150 graphics card price band represents the ‘sweet spot’ of the desktop PC graphics market where the consumer gets the most graphics performance per dollar spent,” said Dean McCarron, founder and principal, Mercury Research. “This is where the latest graphics technologies reach the mainstream PC audience, and this is the level that most PC games target.”

Expressing sheer joy and happiness on the new product launch, Rick Bergman, senior VP and general manager of AMD’s Graphics Products Group said, “The ATI Radeon HD 4830 graphics card is another example of how AMD’s scalable design strategy is paying off. With a single chip, we have been able to quickly and efficiently bring to market graphics card designs ranging from below $150 through $549 SEP, with leading performance in every segment. The ATI Radeon HD 4830 continues that great trend, providing tremendous value to gamers for less than $150.”

MOTOROKR EM30 Arrives to India

Motorola has recently announced launching of it’s trendy mobile handset MOTOROKR EM30. The device is a wonderful blend of mobile phone and music player. The highly customized tech gadget will certainly add colors to the festival of light in the Indian sub-continent.

The Motorola ROKR EM30 is Motorola’s latest addition to its ROKR series. Being focused towards music, with a morphing ModeShift keypad that changes from numbers to music playback keys when the music player is activated makes it a perfect choice for music lovers who prefer music on the go.

Equipped with state-of-the-art ModeShift technology, the candy bar MOTOROKR EM30 provides an excellent mobile interface to switch between sensuous talking and enjoying aesthetic music. By simply touching a button, you will be able to quickly move from talk to text1. Whether you are in music mode or phone mode, that will be indicated by appropriate colorful illumination of your conspicuous keypad i.e. red and brilliant blue keypad appearances for music mode and phone mode respectively.

With the availability of in-built 3D stereo sound compatible advanced audio equalizers, the new Motorola mobile phone becomes a splendid option for enjoying music on move in most vivacious way. An optional microSD card will allow you to enhance the phone’s 27 MB on-board memory up to 8 GB. Few momentous features of the new MOTOROKR mobile phone include a 2MP camera with 8X zoom for recording vibrant videos along with high-quality images, integration with Windows Media Player 11 to allow seamless transfer of music from computer to the ROKR EM30, FM radio with Radio Data System technology, text to speech recognition, 3.5mm stereo headset jack, and support for crystal talk technology, etc. among others.

At one moment ROKR EM30 is a mobile phone; the next, it transforms into your favorite music player. It uses Motorola’s innovative ModeShift technology to illuminate the keyboard- red keys illuminate in music mode and a brilliant blue keypad appears in phone mode—taking users from talk to text1 to complete music immersion with a touch of a button.

With colorful cues that let users know exactly which mode they are in, the ROKR EM30 connects the sounds that matter most: family, friends and favorite artists. In addition to the basics in talking and texting, ROKR EM30 is loaded with other great features for music lovers too, including high-fidelity audio and seconds-fast MP3 downloads1-3 for listening to their favorite tunes. Consumers will know the artist and song playing on the FM radio with Radio Data System (RDS)4 technology. The 3.5mm stereo headset jack provides consumers the flexibility to use the headset of their choice with ROKR EM30. Compatibility with Windows Media® Player 11 provides the freedom to download music from more than 200 online music stores worldwide.

The MOTOROKR EM30 comes in two elegant colors: cherry red and silver. The handset is priced at Rs 8,959.

Nokia announces CDMA phone Nokia 2228

Nokia has recently announced launching a CDMA mobile phone, Nokia 2228. The stylish Nokia CDMA phone offering several messaging modes is expected to hit the market before Q4 of 2008. The 12 mm unique monoblock device will be an ultra-lightweight compact device giving an innovative sagacity to its style-conscious users.

The 1.3 mega pixel camera-phone Nokia 2228 supports all most all types of common digital file formats in order to make your phoning, gaming, imaging, and messaging experiences absolutely enjoyable and seamless. An advanced media player coupled with a built-in hands free speaker and a speaker dependent voice-recognition trait will make your Nokia 2228 a true entertainment companion.

A MicroUSB will allow the new Nokia CDMA slim phone to be connected with your PC and the phone will act as a modem for a fast Internet access. With around 20-25 MB of functional storage memory, you will be able to use the phone for all your practical purposes. An arresting flash will notify you for all your incoming calls, while all your waiting messaging will be indicated by LED flashes in interval. Other attractive features of Nokia 2228 include a 2.5 mm headset jack, FM radio, and a powerful battery with 3.5 hours talk-time and up to ten days of stand-by time. Price of the phone is not yet disclosed.

Apple MacBooks unveiled in India

One of the most celebrated digital leaders of the world, Apple has recently landed in Mumbai, India with their superior MacBook models initiating new effervescent waves in the fields of high-end digital world. The new notebooks from Apple are believed to be of thinnest and lightest, and of course not with the least price tags.

MacBooks were unveiled in India just after a week they were launched in US. The product, made out of aluminum frames, is available in 7 models under 3 different product categories, which include MacBook, MacBookPro and MacBook Air categories. Most exciting feature of these new models of MacBook notebooks is that they are highly customized for seamless video editing works. Thrilling gaming experience coupled with awesome entertainment options forms integral part of these high-end costly notebooks.

Powered with Intel’s Core 2 Duo processor chips, Apple’s MacBooks become first users of latest GeForce 9400M 3-D processor. Speeds of these classic notebooks vary from 2 GHz to 2.5 GHz. NVIDIA’s innovative graphics-centric integrated chips inside the ‘unibody’ ultra-light aluminum chassis make these machines unique and creditable.

You will find these varying-cost smart MacBooks in different sizes, such as 13.3 inches, 15.4 inches, and 17 inches under the price tags from Rs. 79,700 to Rs. 1.62 lakh. Touch pad and light-adjusting keyboards made available with these next-generation notebooks represent Apple’s innovative efforts towards bringing user-friendly machines. Expressing happiness on the new launch, Angeline Tan, Apple’s Product Marketing Manager for Portables and Wireless (Asia Pac), said, “they are designed to be as beautiful inside as they are outside.” She also endorsed, “It is specifically for the professionals working in the area of graphics, gaming, designing software and programs.”

Spice Mobiles launches Spice S-580

Spice Mobiles has announced a new handset Spice S-580. Apparently, the unique feature of this handset is the Dazzle Ring-tone that plays a fresh ring tone with every incoming call. Actually,the phone shuffles and picks a ring tone for every call from its list of 10 user-selected ring tones.

The Spice S-580 phone integrates an MP3 player, FM recording, playback, expandable memory up to 2 GB, one-touch torch light, mobile tracker and GPRS and WAP functions. With this musical handset SMS can be scheduled by typing the message with the date and time of delivery and the message reaches its destination accordingly.

Besides, the call blacklist facility on the handset allows users to bar unwanted calls. The candy bar phone comes with a chess design keypad and is priced at MRP of Rs. 2249.

Nokia launches super sleek N85

Nokia has recently launched super sleek mobile model N85 in the Indian market is highly customized to offer complete entertainment experience. Especially, the model offers unique gaming experience against a price tag of Rs. 27299. Nokia N85 slider phone is an upgrade to Nokia N81 and the Nokia N79, which is a minor update to the Nokia N78.

Feature-rich Nokia N85 offers seamless gaming option in addition to other striking specialties such as 3D stereo speakers, 20x digital zoom, 2x digital video zoom, VGA video capturing capabilities, and dedicated camera key, etc. In order to ensure enhanced gaming experience, the specially designed exotic Nokia handset N85 supports all most all multimedia file formats such as AAC, AVC/H.264, eAAC, eAAC+, Flash Video, H.263/3GPP, MP3, MPEG4, RV, WMA, and WMV etc.

The Dual-slider Mobile Phone Nokia N85 will present you with 15 pre-downloaded N-Gage games that are popularly known as try-and-buy made-for-mobile games. Besides, you will also receive a voucher offering a full-game license. The new Nokia mobile model comes with various user-friendly external attachments, such as 3.5 mm AV connector, Bluetooth, high-speed USB 2.0, and micro-USB, etc. Nokia XpressShare and Nokia XpressTransfer that form integral parts of N85 will just mesmerize your mobile experience.

Expressing happiness on the new launch, Nokia India’s Marketing Director Devinder Kishore said, “The Nokia N85 was created to be more than the sum of its parts, offering a complete mobile entertainment package. Combined with landscape gaming and dedicated gaming keys for additional comfort, the Nokia N85 breaks the boundaries of mobile gameplay.”

Elegant N85 has a flamboyant 2.6 inch OLED screen, is just 128 gms in weight. It offers super 16.7 million colours amidst QVGA resolution of 320×240 pixels. Carl Zeiss optics of the 5 mega pixel in-built phone-camera will ensure highly defined mobile images. Few other vital characteristics of N85 include 30 hours of active battery life, location tagging capabilities, great finish, Wi-Fi connectivity, 74 MB internal memory extendable upto 8 GB with 8 GB microSD, in-built FM transmitter, and 3.5G HSDPA, etc.

India launches Chandrayaan-1 successfully

PSLV-C11 carrying India's first unmanned moon spacecraft Chandrayaan-1 lifted off successfully from ISRO's Satish Dhawan Space Centre today.

At the end of the 49-hour countdown, the 44.4 meter tall four-stage PSLV-C11 blasted off from the second launch pad catapulting the country into the select club that have sent missions to the moon, after the US, former Soviet Union, European Space Agency, China and Japan.

Carrying aloft the lunar orbiter Chandrayaan, the rocket, Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV C11) lifted off from the second launchpad of the Satish Dhawan Space Centre here and broke through the scudding cloud cover at 6.22 a.m., exactly on schedule.

Trailing its characteristic orange plume, the 44-metre-tall 316-tonne PSLV started to move into its designated orbit within minutes, to sling Chandrayaan into geostationary transfer orbit (GTO), as scientists of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) cheered at this spaceport off the Andhra Pradesh coast, 80 km north of Chennai.

From the GTO the satellite's onboard liquid apogee motor (LAM) will be fired to take it to the lunar orbit - 387,000 km from earth - around Nov 8.

Once the 1,380-kg Chandrayaan gets near the moon its speed will be reduced to enable the gravity of the moon to capture it into an elliptical orbit.

At the earliest possible opportunity Chandrayaan will drop its Moon Impact Probe (MIP) which will land on the moon's soil carrying India's flag, among many scientific instruments. After that, the spacecraft will also activate its cameras and other instruments on board.

Chandrayaan will orbit the moon for two years. It carries 11 experimental payloads, five Indian and six from the European Space Agency (3), the US (2) and Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (1).

At liftoff, PSLV C11 weighed 22 tonnes more than earlier PSLV models, as its six strap-on motors were 3.5 metres bigger at 13.5 metre and the rocket carried 12 tonnes of solid propellant as against the usual 9 tonnes.