BlackBerry Bold Overheating in Japan -Battery not the root cause

Research In Motion (RIM) has ruled out faulty batteries as the likely cause of keyboard heating up during recharging of its BlackBerry Bold smart phones sold in Japan.

Japanese mobile phone operator NTT DoCoMo had stopped sales of BlackBerry Bold after about 30 users reported the keyboards heated up during recharging. DoCoMo has sold around 4,000 Bold units in just 7 days. The phone is designed to provide access to DoCoMo's 3G network and also includes Wi-Fi and GPS navigation capabilities.

Initially, it was reported that the overheating of the BlackBerry Bold was related to battery problems. However, RIM said that the battery wasn't the source of the problem. RIM has said in a statement that while "analysis of the devices in question has allowed [RIM and DoCoMo] to rule out a battery problem, the root cause remains under investigation."

"This issue appears to be specifically limited to the BlackBerry Bold devices sold in Japan since last week and sales of BlackBerry Bold devices in other countries are unaffected by this matter," RIM said in a statement.

It is suspected that the problem could be related to software or customization of the phone for the local market, where the device has seen problems in the past.

"The temperatures appear to have remained within the safety range of regulatory standards." Whatever the problem may be, RIM has to fix it quickly, otherwise it may lose a significant market share.

Vodafone comes with Microsoft Online Services

World's largest mobile phone network operator (by revenue), Vodafone is going to offer Microsoft Online Services to small and medium-sized businesses through computer, phone and browser.

The Vodafone Group will sell and manage Microsoft products such as e-mail, calendars, portals, instant messaging and web conferencing tools.

Microsoft Online Services are available in the United States and according to Vodafone Group, these services would be available in other markets in the first half of 2009.

“By combining Vodafone's fixed and mobile communication services with Microsoft Online Services we can provide all the elements of a fully hosted communications solution,” said Tom Craig, Global Business Services Director of Vodafone Group.

Microsoft and Vodafone- the two companies intend to continue growing their partnership through future collaboration and development.

NTT DoCoMo stops BlackBerry Bold sales

Japan's biggest mobile phone operator, NTT DoCoMo Inc has stopped selling Research In Motion's BlackBerry Bold. DoCoMo has taken this step because the phone can overheat while the battery is being recharged.

DoCoMo said it has sold about 4,000 high-end BlackBerry Bold phones, and about 30 users have complained the phone's keyboard area had heated up. The company has informed that it has received no reports of users getting burned or of phones catching on fire.

On this matter, RIM has said, “This issue appears to be specifically limited to the BlackBerry Bold devices sold in Japan since last week and sales of BlackBerry Bold devices in other countries are unaffected”.

Further, RIM has ruled out battery problem, while the root cause is still being investigated.
NTT DoCoMo Inc had started selling the BlackBerry Bold in Japan last week.

Nokia to enter laptop market

Nokia, the world's top cellphone maker, is eyeing to enter the laptop industry.

"We are looking very actively also at this opportunity," said Nokia Chief Executive Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo.

Industry has rumored about Nokia's possible plan to enter the PC industry since late last year, but Kallasvuo's comment has come out as the first official admittance of such plans.

"We don't have to look even for five years from now to see that what we know as a cellphone and what we know as a PC are in many ways converging," Kallasvuo said.

"Today we have hundreds of millions of people who are having their first Internet experience on the phone. This is a good indication," he said.

While strong profit margins in the smartphone industry attract PC brands, the attraction of the low-margin computer industry is less obvious.

All leading mobile network operators and retailers are adding connected notebooks and netbooks to their portfolios alongside mobile phones. On this basis it comes as no surprise that Nokia is evaluating laptop market.

Garmin-Asus unveil Nuvifone G60-Nuvifone M20 Smartphones

The all new venture Garmin-Asus is going to offer you new smartphones. Their first two products will use a different operating systems, one Linux and the other Microsoft Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional.

Garmin-Asus is a new tie-up between GPS (global positioning system) device maker Garmin and Asustek Computer (Asus) to build smartphones.

The Garmin-Asus venture has unveiled the Nuvifone G60, which is an older design intended to become Garmin's first smartphone, while the second one the Nuvifone M20, is a new debut.

Both smartphones have been designed with special consideration to location-based services via GPS and use navigation software from Garmin, one of the most popular GPS device makers in the US.

One feature on the new handsets is geotagging for photos. Pictures taken using the onboard digital cameras of the two Nuvifones will automatically be tagged with date, time and location data.

The Nuvifone M20 has a 2.8-inch touchscreen with 480x640 resolution and runs Microsoft's Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional.

The device comes with either 4GB or 8GB of flash storage for songs, pictures and other data. It includes a suite of Microsoft Office Mobile products such as Outlook, Excel, Powerpoint and Word. It has a 3.0-megapixel camera that can also take video.

Wireless technologies on the M20 include tri-band GSM as well as 3G communications and data services using 7.2Mbps HSDPA (High Speed Downlink Packet Access) or Wi-Fi 802.11b/g.

The Nuvifone G60, which was announced last year, has a large 3.55-inch touchscreen with 272x480 viewing resolution and uses a Linux OS. The device has 4GB of flash memory for data storage and a 3.0-megapixel digital camera.

The Nuvifone G60 is already being made available to mobile service providers, while the company hasn’t revealed any info on M20, like when the device will hit the market.

Acer enters mobile phone market

Taiwan-based computer manufacturer Acer has announced to move into the mobile phone market. Acer has unveiled its first range of high-end handsets at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.

The company, which is best known for its laptops, unveiled eight smartphones that have Internet and powerful processing and memory capabilities as well as core phone functionality.

The touch-screen phones, are mostly in black with a design that resembles the top-selling Apple iPhone, will connect to the Internet via a Wi-Fi connection and run with the Windows Mobile operating system.

The move illustrates two trends in the mobile phone industry: the growing attractiveness of the high-end market for smartphones and the arrival of traditional laptop computer makers in this segment.

Acer had indicated its desire to enter the mobile phone market last year when it acquired Taiwanese handset manufacturer E-Ten.

The first four Acer smartphone models will be called DX900, X960, M900 and F900. The devies are expected to go on sale worldwide in March or April.

Samsung introduces four new digital cameras

Samsung has introduced four new point-and-shoot digital cameras, namely SL820, SL620, SL202 and SL30 in its SL series with prices ranging from $99.99 to $279.99.

The SL820 and SL620 are both 12.2-megapixel models with 3-inch LCD displays and 5x optical zoom lenses. The SL820 sports a 28mm wide-angle lens and the SL620 a standard 35mm lens. Both also feature optical and digital image stabilization. The SL820 can record high definition video at 720p and features an HDMI connection. It has on-board H.264 compression. The SL620 can record 640 x 480 video using MPEG-4.

Both cameras also feature “Smart Auto” modes, “Smart Album” program which lets you search for a specific image on your memory card by sorting through pictures organized by criteria; Face Detection, Blink Detection, Smile Shot and Beauty Shot.

The SL620 will be released in March for $199.99; the SL820 is coming in May for $279.99.

The SL202 and SL30 are both 10-megapixel models equipped with 3x optical zoom and digital image stabilization features. The SL202 records MJPEG video at 640 x 480 resolution at 30 frames per second, and features a 2.7-inch LCD screen. The SL30 sports some of the same features as the SL202 and has a smaller 2.5-inch LCD display.

The SL202 and the SL30 both will be released in March for $149.99 and $99.99 respectively.

HTC unveils Touch Diamond2 and Touch Pro2

High Tech Computer (HTC), the largest maker of handsets that run Microsoft Windows Mobile software, unveiled updates to two of its most popular smartphones ever, the HTC Touch Diamond2 and HTC Touch Pro2 handsets.

The sleek new handsets are both 3G touchscreen devices. While the Touch Diamond2 is a consumer smartphone designed to compete with Apple's iPhone 3G, the Touch Pro2 is geared towards business people and could be a hit with its speaker phone function.

Both handsets continue the Touch line's tradition of attention to design and detail. They are both metallic in color, mixed with chrome and black and are designed to make people stop and ask -what is that?

HTC improved both handsets by a large measure over their predecessors, starting from the screens, which are much larger, more visually stunning and more responsive to touch commands.

The software inside - a customized version of Microsoft's Windows Mobile 6.1 with a new version of HTC's TouchFLO 3D - has also seen major improvements.

Two new features are Push-Internet, which enables the handset to download favorite Web site information at specified times so users don't have to wait for the sites to download. The handsets also have so-called unified communications so people's contact books and most recent conversations are right on hand no matter what form they came in, either from a phone call, SMS or e-mail.

The new Touch Diamond2 has several advantages over the original Touch Diamond. The Diamond2 sports a larger screen at 3.2 inches, compared to 2.8 inches for its predecessor. The overall handset is still slim at 13.7 millimeters thick and small enough to fit easily into your pocket.

The larger screen offers two noticeable benefits right away. The touch function works much better than on the older model and HTC's 480x800 wide-screen VGA resolution is stunning.

The Touch Diamond2 also boasts a 5.0-megapixel camera with mechanical auto-focus, a bid to make cameras in handsets work more like regular digital still cameras. You can snap pictures much faster due to the mechanical auto-focus, according to HTC.

The Touch Pro2 carries a 3.6-inch touchscreen with the same WVGA resolution as the Touch Diamond2, but even thought the screen is nice, it isn't the best physical feature on the handset.
The best feature is that it doubles as a speaker phone for conference calls.

The Touch Diamond2 will be available in Europe and Asia early in the second quarter of this year, with North America to be included later in 2009. The Touch Pro2 will be available globally beginning early in the summer.

Pricing information about the devices is not available yet.

Nokia unveils online software store

Nokia has unveiled its new online software and media store, hoping to give a fight to Apple's App Store.

The focus of the cell phone market has been shifting to software development since Google and Apple entered the mobile market in the past two years.

Nokia unveiled the store at a developer conference on the sidelines of Mobile World Congress at Barcelona.

Nokia said it would open the online “Ovi” store in nine countries in May. It said 70 percent of revenues from the store would go to software developers, and its first model to ship with access to the store would be its new flagship phone N97.

Nokia’s partners for the online software store included, among others, social networking sites like Facebook and MySpace.

Apple's App Store has proved to be popular with iPhone users, and helped spawn an entire industry of entrepreneurs who design the programs which can then be downloaded by consumers.

Microsoft Corp is also planning an "online bazaar" for applications running on its Windows Mobile operating system.

Blackberry-maker Research In Motion ha announced last year it plans to launch its app store early this year.

Also at the fair, telecom operator Orange said it will launch a similar online store from May across Europe.

At its news conference Nokia also launched two smartphone models, the E75 and E55, along with two GPS navigation phones.

Samsung launches Blue Earth

Samsung has launched five new mobile phones including a model made from recycled plastic with a solar panel on the back for charging.

Samsung said in a statement its "Blue Earth" solar-powered model had a touch screen and was made from plastic taken from used water bottles. However, the ompany has not revealed pricing information.

Samsung also launched two phones with 8-megapixel cameras, the Ultratouch and OmniaHD, and two music phones, the BeatDJ and BeatDisc.

Sony Ericsson launches W995 Walkman Phone

Mobile phone maker Sony Ericsson has unveiled an 8 megapixel camera phone and unlimited movie download service for mobile phones.

The W995 Walkman phone is an 8-megapixel sliding cameraphone with an additional sliding-lens cover for its camera.

The W995 has a 2.6-inch screen, a full Web browser, email, and a high-quality camera with face detection and an image stabilizer. It comes in three colors: red, silver and black.

The company also said it would bring to the market in the second half of the year a 12.1 megapixel camera phone codenamed –Idou (just a concept name).

According to Sony Ericsson, the Idou is a 12.1-megapixel cameraphone running a future version of the Symbian OS that doesn't even have a name yet. It has a 3.5-inch, 16:9 ratio 640x480 resistive touch screen, music and video players.

Sony Ericsson will give the Idou a real model name and release more details about it before it launches in the second half of 2009.

Dictate an SMS in 2009

Nuance, the leaders in mobile-phone voice recognition, has announced a new version of their feature-phone software which could potentially enable dictation in SMS, instant messaging and e-mail applications.

Nuance Voice Control 2.0 wraps together a bunch of familiar features, like voice dialing, application launching and Web searching, but adds a flexible programming interface so Nuance can voice-enable any application on a phone. Nuance has already partnered with Oz and Seven, major providers of cell-phone IM and e-mail software, to see how they can work together.

Nuance's existing VSuite product has pretty impressive powers. On existing phones such as Sprint's Samsung Instinct and T-Mobile's Samsung Behold, you can not only dial by name, but you can request playlists and launch applications by voice. You can tell your phone to start an SMS message to a certain person. But once you've started the message, you have to type it in.

Way back in 2005, Nuance predecessor VoiceSignal added dictation to phones with VoiceMode, which appeared on few phones in the US. VoiceMode was a handset-based application with limited power. Since then, Nuance has switched to a server-based model for voice recognition. Its software grabs your voice, turns it into data, uploads it to Nuance's servers, and then gets back a text response which it drops into one of your phone's applications.

Phones with the new dictation abilities are expected to appear in the US market within 6-9 months.

Toshiba announces TG01 - the latest iPhone Challenger

Toshiba has formally announced the latest challenger to the iPhone: A slick-looking Windows Mobile-based touch screen phone with super-high screen resolution powered by a new, high-performance Qualcomm mobile chipset.

This iPhone challenger from Toshiba has been named TG01. The device will be unveiled at Mobile World Congress at Barcelona which begins on Monday.

Slated to appear in Europe this summer, the TG01 will boast a 4.1-inch screen with 800-by-480-pixel resolution. In fact, the TG01's display specifications are more similar to those of Sony Ericsson's debut Windows Mobile handset, the Xperia X1.

Toshiba says the screen uses fine-tuning technology developed for its Regza line of LCD-TVs to ensure vivid colors and quality playback of fast-moving video images.

The TG01 will be the first handset based onQualcomm’s Snapdragon Technology, which integrates a 1GHz CPU with support for GPS, multimedia, Wi-Fi and quad-band 3G networks with HSDPA/HSUPA data support in order to enable the handset's super-skinny and lightweight profile.

While based on Microsoft's ubiquitous Windows Mobile 6.1 platform for handhelds, the TG01 will have its own custom user interface, including a couple of imaginative innovations. You'll be able to shake the phone to answer it, and you'll be able to switch between applications by tilting the phone.

Toshiba rates the phone's 1000mAh battery life as up to 11 days standby time and 5 hours talk time.

The TG01 will have 512MB of ROM and 250MB of RAM, but its micro SDHC slot will support up to 32GB of additional storage. Other features include a 3.2-megapixel camera and Java support.

The TG01 boasts excellent multimedia support. It will play H.263, H.264, MPEG4, and WMV videos, and MP3, AAC, AAC+, AMR-NB, AMR-WB, WMA, and WAV audio files.

At launch the TG01 will be available in two colors- white and black. However, information about the cost of the TG01 is not available yet.

Google to expand in smartphone arena

Google Inc will allow developers to sell applications for its Android cell phone operating system in the United States. This step is being taken by Google to expand in a smartphone arena dominated by Apple Inc.

Google's announcement has marked an important step in the search giant's quest to catch up with Apple in the fast-growing market for smartphones. It signals Google's commitment to expand into a relatively hot mobile market.

Google’s Android Market will initially carry paid applications from developers in the United States and Britain, with plans to allow developers in Germany, Austria, the Netherlands, France and Spain to participate later.

Smartphones, which allow consumers to browse the Web, send email, play games and listen to music, in addition to making calls, are one of the few bright spots in a slowing technology and consumer electronics market.

The T-Mobile G1 phone uses the Android operating system. There are currently 1,000 applications that run on Android smartphones.

Now get mobile with Solar Powered Cell Phones

This is going to be a wonderful gift to mobile lovers. LG and Samsung have developed prototype handsets that are recharged by solar panels built into the case. Both the companies are going to unveil their respective cell phones next week.

Samsung's solar powered phone is called Blue Earth, which is a touchscreen model with rounded corners designed to look like a “well-rounded pebble”. Continuing the environmental theme, the phone is made from recycled plastic and doesn't include harmful substances like brominated flame retardants (BFRs), Beryllium and phthalates.

While LG hasn't released much information about its prototype phone. However the device is expected to be a version of its KF750 secret handset with solar cells covering the rear of the phone's case.

Both the cell phones were almost simultaneously announced by the companies in South Korea. The solar panels on the phones occupy most of the rear of the phone's case.

In both the models, the solar panel doesn't provide enough power to run the phone directly and is used to recharge a conventional battery inside the device.

IBM to deliver Cloud Software thru Amazon

IBM has tapped Amazon's Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2) to deliver software to clients and developers under a new pay-as-you-go model. The agreement will let Big Blue's clients access IBM DB2, Informix Dynamic Server, WebSphere Portal, Lotus Web Content Management, WebSphere sMash, and Novell's SUSE Linux operating system in the cloud.

With immediate effect, IBM will provide software developers with Amazon Machine Images (AMIs) without charge for development and test purposes. In the coming months, IBM intends to launch full production software images in beta, and eventually extend its cloud-computing portfolio to include service-management capabilities from IBM Tivoli software.

According to Dave Mitchell, director of strategy and emerging business at the IBM Software Group, “This relationship with Amazon Web Services provides our customers with a new way to use IBM software and broadens our distribution channels”.

Nokia to launch Touchscreen 3G Nokia 5800

Nokia is all set to launch the touchscreen 3G Nokia 5800 in North America later this month. The device is expected to give the mobile world a pleasant surprise.

The Good Things about 3G Nokia 5800 :--
1) 3.2-megapixel camera with autofocus, dual-flash, and geotagging
2) VGA video recording at 30 frames per second, and TV out
3) Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, FM Radio with RDS, GPS, and USB 2.0
4) Accelerometer, proximity sensor
5) Nokia OVI integration
6) Rich retail package and relatively affordable price

The Bad Things about 3G Nokia 5800 :--
1) Immature and cumbersome user interface
2) Not the best touchscreen sensitivity
3) Unpolished web browser
4) Llimited 3rd party apps availability
5) Separate charger/syncing ports
6) Additional paid license needed for voice-guided GPS navigation

The 3G Nokia 5800 will be launched on February 26th, and will be available in an unlocked version, which can be used on either AT&T's or T-Mobile's network, for $399.

Mobile Connections cross 4 billion mark

According to industry association GSMA, the number of connections on mobile phone networks has crossed the 4 billion mark worldwide. The association further forcasts this growth to reach 6 billion by 2013.

The number of connections does not translate directly into the number of users, however, because in many mature markets, one user may have two mobile phones, or a phone and a mobile data device, which would both count as two connections.

In Western Europe, about a fifth of connections are estimated to be due to one user having more than one device. While in developing countries, phones are often shared.

In the run-up to the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona - the wireless industry's biggest trade show which starts next Monday - the GSMA said some 100 million connections were "mobile broadband" connections. This refers to mobile data connections using the high-speed HSPA standard.

Samsung to launch Touch Ultra Handset

Next week's Mobile World Congress expo at Barcelona will witness a brand new smart phone. Samsung is all set to show it’s full touch screen phone, the Touch Ultra at Mobile World Congress expo.

The Touch Ultra is a slider-type that has a 2.8-inch OLED (organic light emitting diode) display with 240 pixel by 400 pixel (WQVGA) resolution. As with all sliders the bottom half of the phone's body can be slid down to reveal a keypad. On the Touch Ultra it's a basic 10-button number keypad. There's also three function buttons underneath the main display on the phone's face.

The phone is 12.7-millimeters thick and packs an 8-megapixel camera with LED flash and smile mode that snaps a picture only when people are smiling. Also included is GPS (Global Positioning System) for navigation and geo-tagging of photos. Video recording can be done at 30 frames per second in VGA quality.

With 7.2Mbps HSDPA (high-speed downlink packet access) data support, the phone is a WCDMA (wideband code division multiple access) model.

Other features include video playback for DivX, XviD, H.263, H.264, Windows Media Video 9 and MPEG4 files, FM radio, music player and Bluetooth 2.0. The phone comes with 80MB of internal memory.

Archos Tablet Phone to use Google Android software

A portable tablet-phone is being developed by Media-player manufacturer Archos that uses the Google Android operating system. The touch-screen device, soon to be known as the Internet Media Tablet, will be released in the 3rd quarter of 2009, the company has announced.

The device is expected to come with:--
1) High-resolution, 5-inch display
2) TV recording and HD video playback
3) Hundreds of hours of video storage (up to 500GB)
4) An ultra-thin, 10-mm casing
5) Adobe Flash support

It is said tobe a logical step for Archos to make the leap to the mobile phone market, particularly in light of the popular wisdom that standalone media gadgets will soon go the way of the VCR. A tablet-phone with a 5-inch display may make a dandy mobile device, particularly for users who do a lot of web browsing.

But perhaps the bigger story here is Google's Android ambitions. Archos' Internet Media Tablet, with its powerful video capabilities and relatively large screen, inches closer to netbook territory.

Microsoft launches Wonderwall - a celebrity news website

Microsoft has entered the field of online entertainment and celebrity news. The company has launched an entertainment and celebrity news website known as Wonderwall.

Wonderwall.com is a joint venture between MSN, the Internet arm of Microsoft, and BermanBraun Interactive, a media company based in Santa Monica, California.

According to MSN and BermanBraun, “Wonderwall offers people an engaging and visually dynamic perspective on the day's hottest pop culture stories, personalities and trends”.

The main feature of Wonderwall is a nearly full-screen wall of pictures with links to stories, photo galleries and videos.

The site features a feed of the latest celebrity news and categories such as “Top Celebs”, “LOL Pics” and the “funniest photos of celebs from around the Web”.

Wonderwall offers a clever, thought-provoking and amusing voice to fans of celebrity and is a great addition to MSN's portfolio of entertainment content.

LG to launch Arena KM900 next week

LG Electronics is all set to launch its new flagship multimedia cell phone, named Arena. Arena will make debut at Mobile World Congress expo in Barcelona to be held next week.

The Arena KM900 handset features a new LG user interface based around the concept of a cube. According to the company, the user can switch screens within the three-dimensional interface by turning from one face of the cube to the next. Underneath the main display are four icons that provide quick access to functions such as phone calls and e-mail.

The phone is the latest in a line of handsets from major manufacturers that feature highly graphical user interfaces. Many of them have taken design clues from Apple's successful iPhone. Like the iPhone, the Arena also has a large display that occupies most of the front face of the phone.

Other features of the handset include Dolby and Divx support, HSDPA data at 7.2Mbps, Wi-Fi and GPS.

The Arena KM900 handset is expected to be officially unveiled on 16th Feb.

Microsoft to offer online bazaar for cell phone software

According to a report by Wall Street Journal, Microsoft Corp is planning to offer new programs and services for mobile phones, including an "online bazaar" for software.

The online bazaar would be for phones which are running on Microsoft's Windows Mobile operating system.

Microsoft will also soon offer its latest version of Windows Mobile, which will have a "more sophisticated interface."

From Friday, the company has started a limited release of its "My Phone" service, which synchronises information like contacts and calendar appointments on a cell phone to a password protected website.

Kiran Karnik appointed chairman of Satyam

The union government appointed Mr Kiran Karnik, former president of software industry body NASSCOM, as chairman of Satyam, a day after Satyam veteran Mr A S Murty was named the company's CEO.

Karnik is one of the six-man Satyam board, constituted by the government in the wake of the massive accounting fraud at the company.

The govt. announcement was made by Corporate Affairs Minister, Mr P C Gupta, whose ministry had earlier moved the Company Law Board to disband the erstwhile Satyam board after disclosure of fraud by company founder Mr Ramalinga Raju.

Pursuant to the directions of the Company Law Board, the government initially constituted the board of Satyam with three members including Mr Karnik, HDFC chairman Mr Deepak Parekh and past presiding officer of Securities Appellate Tribunal, Mr C Achutan.

The government later expanded the board of Satyam by nominating three more members including CII chief mentor Tarun Das, LIC nominee Mr S Balakrishnan and past president of ICAI, Mr T N Manoharan.

The board had held several meetings at the IT company's headquarters and had cleared the appointment of Mr A S Murty and two other advisers. Karnik, who will head Satyam, was NASSCOM president in 2001-02 and has earlier held several key positions in the IT sector.

Google brings Books to Apple iPhone and T-Mobile G1

Google is offering users of Apple iPhone and Android-powered mobile devices to access millions of books through Google Book Search.

The company has made available more than 1.5 million public-domain books in the US and more than 500,000 outside the US for mobile users to browse anytime at no cost.

"We are excited to announce the launch of a mobile version of Google Book Search, opening up over 1.5 million mobile public domain books in the US and over half a million outside the US for you to browse," the company said.

Google has also made it clear that the Google Book Search service can be accessed through mobile devices such as the Apple iPhone or T-Mobile G1, which is powered by Google's Android software.

To access the mobile version of Google Book Search a user needs to type http://books.google.com/m into the Web browser of their iPhone or Android phone.

Starting with 1.5 million books, Google's goal is to move toward universal access to books.

8 Megapixel Samsung Memoir to bridge Digital Camera and Smart Phone gap

The all new Samsung Memoir is going to bridge the gap between a fully-fledged digital camera and a touchscreen mobile phone. Equipped with an 8-megapixel camera with a Xenon Flash, the Samsung Memoir will be available from T-Mobile.

The Samsung Memoir ie SGH-T929 will work on 3G network from T-Mobile and will feature a full HTML browser, a virtual QWERTY keyboard, and a whole lot of other multimedia features.

The Memoir's feature set is focused on multimedia, with sharing in mind. Photos can be uploaded directly to Photobucket, Flickr, Snapfish, Kodak gallery and other such online services. The 8 megapixel camera includes a 16x digital zoom to shoot video.

Some of the key features of Samsung Memoir are:--
1) 8 Megapixel Camera with Xenon flash and 16X digital zoom
2) microSD slot for storage capacity expansion
3) A-GPS for navigation and location based services
4) 240 x 400 pixels touchscreen display (262k TFT)
5) Full HTML browser and POP3 e-mail support
6) TouchWiz interface with customizable widgets
7) 3G/EDGE/GPRS data access speeds compatible
8) Wireless Bluetooth 2.0 technology (Stereo)

However, nothing has been announced about the launch date or price of the device, it is speculated that Samsung Memoir will be launched by February 25th for $299.

Google Latitude released to track mobile users

Google has recently released a software that allows mobile phone users and other wireless device users to automatically share their whereabouts with family and friends.

Users in 27 countries will be able to broadcast their location to others constantly, using Google Latitude. Controls allow users to select who receives the information or to go offline at any time.

In a blog post, google said about the service, “Fun aside, we recognize the sensitivity of location data, so we've built fine-grained privacy controls right into the application. You not only control exactly who gets to see your location, but you also decide the location that they see.”

Friends' whereabouts can be tracked on a Google map, either from a handset or from a personal computer.

Google's new service is similar to the service offered by privately-held Loopt.

Companies including Verizon Wireless and Vodafone Group Plc, already offer Loopt's service, which also works on iPhone from Apple Inc.

Google Latitude will work on Research In Motion Ltd's Blackberry and devices running on Symbian S60 devices or Microsoft Corp's Windows Mobile and some T-1 Mobile phones running on Google's Android software.

The software will eventually run on Apple's iPhone and iTouch and many Sony Ericsson devices too.

Samsung NC20 Laptop based on Via Nano processor to be launched soon

Samsung Electronics' NC20 laptop based on Via Technologies' Nano processor will be available in the UK from February 9th. UK operator BT has revealed this piece of info and is accepting preorders.

The £391 (US$564) NC20, which includes a 1.3Ghz Nano processor, 12-inch screen, 1GB of RAM, a 120GB hard disk, and Windows XP Home, will first be available in a white case. A second version of the NC20 with a black case will be available from March 9th.

The NC20 fits into Samsung's laptop product line between its Intel Atom-powered NC10 netbook and more powerful systems, which is exactly where Via wants the Nano to be positioned.

News related to NC20's impending release have swirled online since December. The new laptop is a significant design win for Via, the smallest of the three x86 processor vendors, which has struggled to gain market share in the face of competition from its bigger rivals, particularly Intel.

Winning business from a top-tier vendor like Samsung gives the Nano greater credibility with users and other prospective customers. It also means the chip will be more widely available, which should translate into higher sales for Via.

Via could use the boost. The company is an unlikely rival for Intel. To get a clearer picture of just how mismatched they are, compare their revenue from 2008. Taipei-based Via earned revenue of NT$7.9 billion, (US$235 million). That's roughly equivalent to 2.5 days of revenue for Intel, which earned $37.6 billion the same year.

Despite its smaller size, Via has led Intel in key areas. Via executives anticipated the shift towards inexpensive, low-power processors at a time when Intel executives were still promising to hit clock speeds of 10GHz or more with the power-hungry Pentium 4.

With the Nano processor, Via hopes to compete against Intel in the market for more powerful systems than the low-end laptops powered by its older C7-M chip or Intel's Atom.

Intel isn't sitting by idly. The company officials have confirmed an updated version of its Atom processor is now shipping for netbooks. The Atom N280 is only marginally faster than the N270, running at 1.66GHz instead of 1.6GHz. But Intel has added a chipset that supports a faster 667MHz front-side bus and includes a hardware decoder for 720p high-definition video, a feature that was not originally counted among the basic computing tasks Intel envisioned for netbooks.

These new features give the Atom some added benefits, filling in gaps against Via's Nano, which uses an 800MHz front-side bus and is paired with Via's VX800 chipset. Like Intel's GN40 chipset used with the Atom N280, the VX800 also includes hardware video decoders for high-definition video playback.

Blackberry Storm costlier to manufacture than iPhone 3G

According to an analysis by technology research firm iSuppli Corp, Research In Motion's touchscreen BlackBerry Storm costs almost $30 more to produce than rival Apple Inc's iPhone 3G. iSuppli said that the Blackberry Storm has a materials and manufacturing cost of about $203.

RIM launched the Blackberry Storm late last year to compete with the popular 8-gigabyte iPhone 3G. iSuppli Corp said the Storm's total component count stands at 1,177, while the iPhone's is 1,116.

iSuppli’s Teardown Analysis Service report said that the Storm's total per-unit cost includes all parts and manufacturing, but excludes intellectual property (IP), royalties, licensing fees, software, shipping, logistics marketing, and other channel costs. The Storm's exact $202.89 total consists of $186 for components and other materials, and $16.07 for manufacturing. The total is $27 more expensive than what it costs RIM to manufacture each BlackBerry Bold.

However, the bill of materials for the Blackberry Storm totals up to $202.89; the Storm has a suggested retail price of $250 and is currently being sold with a $50 rebate from Verizon store, while the iPhone 3G costs approx $174.33 in components despite a similar retail price.

It’s an interesting point that even though the Storm and iPhone seem at first blush to share most of the same parts- LCD touchscreen, camera, cell phone chips, flash memory, GPS- Apple seems to be in a position to reap more profit of each device than RIM.

Models like the Blackberry Storm, as well as the earlier BlackBerry Pearl are all laden with multimedia features to attract non-business users.

India to display Rs 500 laptop on Feb 3

A elite group of Indian students from the Vellore Institute of Technology, scientists from Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore and IIT Madras are coming out with a laptop just for Rs 500 ($10), which can be used globally for educational purposes and revolutionaries the computer market in developing countries.

The Rs 500 laptop, developed by the students and scientists with the help of companies like Semiconductor Complex, will be on display in Tirupati on February 3, at the launch of the National Mission on Education through Information and Communication Technology.

The $10 laptop project has come as an answer to Nicholas Negroponte’s The Children’s Machine project, which was part of the broader, One Laptop Per Child programme. In November 2005, at the World Summit on the Information Society held in Tunis, he unveiled $100 laptop, which he tried hard sell to India but was rejected by the HRD ministry.

Apart from a very attractive price tag, there is very little information on the specifications of the laptop but according to reports, it comes equipped with 2GB memory, WiFi, Ethernet, expendable memory and consumes a mere 2W of power.

Since there is no information on what operating system it will use, it is assumed that the Rs500 laptop will use the ordinary Linux-based GUI like the Eee PC as running Windows XP will be out of the question as the licence itself will cost more than the laptop.

The National Mission on Education through Information and Communication Technology, with an 11th plan outlay of Rs 4,612 crore, is aimed at making a serious intervention in enhancing the Gross Enrolment Ratio in higher education. The mission has two major components. One, content generation through its portal “Sakshat”, and two, building connectivity along with providing access devices for institutions and learners.

The government is collaborating with Macmillan, Tata McGraw Hill, Prentice-Hall and Vikas Publishing for uploading their textbooks on “Sakshat”, where a small percentage of these books can be accessed for free.

The government will give Rs2.5 lakh per institution for 10 Kbps connection and also subsidise 25 per cent of costs for private and state government colleges by providing computer infrastructure and internet connection to over 18,000 colleges and 400 universities and institutions.

Dell to fight with iPhone and Blackberry - set to announce Google Android and Microsoft Windows Mobiles

Dell is going to be the latest electronics maker to enter the smartphone market, following in the footsteps of Apple. Dell is reportedly entering the smartphone market. Dell would face stiff competition from Apple, Research in Motion, and Palm, among others. RIM and Apple hold 70 percent of the U.S. market for smartphones.

Dell is expected to announce two iPhone and Blackberry competitors sometime next month. The phones will run on Google Android and Microsoft Windows Mobile respectively.

The Wall Street Journal reported that Dell will introduce in February at the Mobile World Conference in Barcelona two new mobile phones, set to go head to head with market leaders Apple and Research In Motion.

One of the phones will be touchscreen-only similar to Apple's iPhone, while the other is a slider-style phone with a full QWERTY keyboard, similar to the T-Mobile G1. The other technical specifications are not available yet.

Dell could launch its first device in February.

Search Giant Google does a mistake

If you did some Google searches between 9:30 a.m. EST and 10:25 a.m. EST, you might have got this message - “This site may harm your computer” - along with your search results. Computer users doing Google searches during a nearly one-hour period Saturday morning were greeted with disturbing but erroneous messages that every site turned up in the results might be harmful.

Google has blamed the mistake on human error and apologized for any inconvenience caused to users and site owners whose pages were incorrectly labeled.

The glitch occurred between 9:30 a.m. EST and 10:25 a.m. EST, Google Inc. said in an explanation on its company blog. Anyone who did a Google search during that time likely saw a message "This site may harm your computer" accompanying every search result.

Google said it routinely flags any search results with that message if the site is known to install malicious software in the background or otherwise surreptitiously, a practice aimed at protecting its users.

Saturday's error happened when Google erroneously applied one of its periodic list updates in such a way that the warning would apply to all URLs, the company said in a statement.

The glitch was caught by on-call staff and the file was quickly fixed, Google said. Since the updates are applied in a staggered and rolling fashion, the errors began appearing at 9:27 a.m. EST and disappeared no later than 10:25 a.m. EST, with the duration for any particular user approximately 40 minutes, it said.

Marissa Mayer, vice president of search products and user experience, said "We will carefully investigate this incident and put more robust file checks in to prevent it from happening again”.

Google scans websites to identify sites that may be dangerous to users. When it finds such sites, Google issues warnings in the search results. This morning, they inadvertently added these warnings to nearly all websites, causing user confusion.

… for more and updated info you may visit Google Official Blog