Mozilla is going to Add Do-not-track Feature to Firefox

Mozilla has decided to add a do-not-track feature to their web browser Firefox, which will prevent websites and advertisers from tracking a user's actions online.

Once activated through the settings, this feature would broadcast a do-not-track message to each website that a user visits. However, it still depends upon the owners of those websites or advertising companies whether or not they choose to collect user data.

Microsoft had a similar feature in the older versions of Internet Explorer, but had to remove it because it was having a negative impact on the business of online advertisers. Google is expected to implement something similar in their Chrome web browser, but it won't be built-in and would require third-party software.

While Mozilla's tool would be pretty useful to users in maintaining their privacy, the fact that it depends upon online services to go against their best interests and not collect your data makes us doubt its effectiveness.

Read More

Apple Launching Its iPad In India On January 28th

Apple finally decided to launch its iPad in India. According to The Telegraph, the iPad will be launching in India on January 28th, which is just three days away from today. The iPad will be available in India only through Apple's premium retailers.

According to The Telegraph, the Wi-Fi version of the iPad will be priced somewhere between Rs. 26,000 to Rs. 33,000. The 3G+Wi-Fi version will be priced somewhere between Rs.33,000 to Rs. 44,000. Each version will be coming in three capacities, 16GB, 32GB and 64GB.

The iPad itself requires no introduction. By now almost everyone has heard of or used the iPad in India. We are just disappointed that Apple took this long to launch the iPad here. With the second generation iPad launch just three months away from now, does it mean that we won't be getting it on time as well? Something tells us the answer is "Yes" .

Read More

Sony Ericsson Halon MT15a Surface

Apparently, Sony Ericsson Halon or MT15i is the same handset that was spotted on Picasaweb. This handset is deemed to join the X12 Anzu, Xperia Arc, and the Xperia Play at the Mobile World Congress 2011 starting on February 14. Here are some important specs of the Sony Ericsson Halon MT15a:

- Google Android 2.3.1 

- 1 GHz Qualcomm MSM 7630 chip based on ARMv7 microarchitecture

- 512 MB RAM

- 8MP camera with Exmor sensor and 720p video recording

- 480 854 Bravia-quality display

- Front facing VGA camera

- HDMI port

- 1500mAh battery

 

Since the phone would be carrying second generation Qualcomm MSM7x30 chipsets, it won't be able to record 720p HD video. Just like the Xperia Arc, this Android smartphone too will come with Mobile Bravia Engine for upscaling visuals with enhanced clarity and brightness. 

As of now, there's no information about the name of the phone but it will be part of Xperia handsets due for being launched on February 13. Those who are holding their phone purchase for a good feature-rich Android smartphone should wait for this phone's official announcement and availability. 

Read More

MNP (Mobile Number Portability) comes to India today

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) announced, on November 20, 2009, that Mobile Number Portability (MNP) will be introduced in India, on December 31, 2009.

TRAI said that subscribers in India will be able to change their service providers while keeping the same mobile number, at a fee of no more than Rs 19. It doesn’t matter whether you want switch from GSM to CDMA or vice-versa, or within GSM and CDMA opetaors; you can still retain the same number. However, initially, you will be able to switch operators and retain the number only within the same telecom circle. You cannot retain the same number and change operators if you want to, say, move from Delhi to Mumbai.

TRAI also said that service provider will be able to charge any amount less than or equal to Rs.19

MNP will be introduced in India, in two phases. It will first be introduced in Indian metros and Category A telecom zones, on December 31, 2009, and subsequently in the rest of the country, by March 20, 2010.

Subscribers must pay up all pending bills before making an application for MNP. The porting fees is to be paid to the new operator. No payment is required to be given to the operator you are leaving. TRAI said that porting between mobile operators should be accomplished within four days. There’s a catch though. You cannot switch operator and retain number if you have been with that operator for less than three months. Prepaid users must remember that their balance talk time will disappear if they switch to a different operator. The maximum downtime between deactivating the existing connection and starting the new connection will be a maximum of two hours.

As for Dipping charges, the charge will be mutually agreed upon between a service provider or international long distance provider to the MNP service provider.

Licences were provided to two MNP Service Providers (MNPSPs) for two zones in the country, earlier in the year.

Dipping charges are charges that a service provider would need to pay to use the query response systems of the two MNP service providers. Service providers can use the query response systems to get the Location Routing Number for routing a message to the called number.

The MNP service provider will need to fix the Dipping charge thirty days from the date of publication of these regulations in the official Gazette, TRAI said.

The charge may be reviewed after a period of one year.

The move is sure to unsettle the market. It will generate fierce competition between service providers and force big ones to improve their services. At the same time, it will benefit new players immensely. Several surveys have found that about 7-10% of all mobile users are unhappy with their current mobile service provider. Introduction of mobile number portability will facilitate the easy exit of disgruntled users. This also means telcos will have to put more effort to retain those customers, who earlier stayed loyal to the operator out of the necessity of retaining their number.

Mobile operators offering telecom services in India include state-owned BSNL and MTNL, besides private operators like Airtel, Reliance Communications, Vodafone, Idea Cellular, Loop Mobile, Aircel, MTS and Tata Indicom/DoCoMo. Once mobile number portability is across in India, every operator will have to facilitate customers’ exit from and entry to their networks with the same number.

Read More

Sony New Vaio YB Series Comes In Vibrant Shades

Apart from those heavily loaded performance boosting attributes underneath a portable computing solution, attractive looks are something that climb up the traits’ list while singling out an ideal pick. Bringing such an amalgamation, Sony just dazzled the scene with its brand new Vaio YB Series laptops.

For consumers who prefer a dash of eye-popping shades, the stylish device comes drenched in pink, silver and green. Integrated with the latest Vision Technology from AMD, the laptop now enables users to enjoy smooth and facile high-definition contents playback, faster Internet operation and finer online gaming experience.

Certainty pertaining to astounding graphics doesn’t gulp additional power. Users can experience their favorite videos and multimedia content on YB’s impressive 11.6-inch wide display at the same time. Designed with a sense of style, the device also sports an ergonomic touchpad for precision gestural control.

The integration of its unique ‘Assist’ button further enhances the usability factor. By utilizing this button, users can instantly access Vaio Care, Vaio original software, which simplifies basic maintenance and troubleshooting tasks.

The new Sony Vaio YB Series laptop has been tagged at Rs. 26,990 and will be made available across all Sony Centers and other major electronic outlets in India beginning 2nd February, 2011.

Read More

Voice Updates For Facebook Offered By Aircel

If you are bored of updating status through text messages , then Aircel has something new to offer. All Aircel subscribers can now perform 'voice updates' for their Facebook status by simply calling 51555. The end result won't be a speech to text translation or anything, because let's face it, that would be a utter disaster given our varied accents. Instead, the message will appear as a audio recording on your wall, which your friends can listen by just clicking it. The reason for such a feature would probably be the low percentage of smartphone users in India. 

Compared to Europe and the US, smartphone adoption is still at a nascent stage here. Many people would like to update their status but may find smartphones a bit intimidating. That's where Aircel's initiative comes in. This is a far simpler way of updating your status by simply calling a number rather than subscribing for a GPRS plan and then buying a decent enough phone in order to access the Facebook app. 

Whether other countries get a similar update still remains to be seen, but it's certainly a novel idea to make Facebook accessible to the masses while on the move.

Read More

Samsung Galaxy S Mini S5830 Snaps Unleashed

Exclusive snaps and details of an upcoming handsets unleashed , the Samsung Galaxy S Mini GT-S5830, were procured by SamFirmeware.com. This smartphone is basically a "Mini" version of Samsung Galaxy S smartphone. 

This is Samsung's yet another Galaxy phone dubbed as the Galaxy S Mini, and we presume it would be a mid-range device. Running Android 2.2.1 Froyo, Galaxy S Mini S5830 will have a 5 megapixels camera capable of shooting 720p HD video. Thankfully, the Galaxy S Mini has an LED Flash unlike the Galaxy S

The specifications available for the GT-S5830 handset are:

•  Bluetooth.
•  Wifi.
•  3.5 mm audio port
•  Micro SD
• Micro USB
• 5 Camera with LED Flash
• Max Camera resolution: 2560x1920
• Max Camrecorder resolutuion: 1280x720

The Galaxy S Mini S5830 will rank higher than the Galaxy 3 S5801 handset. As of now, there's no news about its price, but it may range between Rs. 15,000 and Rs. 17,000 that would be a good price for this handset.

Read More

YouTube videos gets over 200 Million Views Per Day

YouTube applications in Mobile has seen a huge growth in the past couple of years, it is all because of the growth in the number of smartphones and devices that come with the YouTube app pre-installed, and also the popularity of the YouTube mobile site. YouTube has now released the official numbers, which turn out  to be over 200 million video views per day, which is up by 3x from January 2010.

Apart from this YouTube is also adding music videos to their library of videos, but only for the Android YouTube app. YouTube has partnership with VEVO, so users can now access music videos from labels such as EMI, Sony and UMG and also get other stuff such as artist bio and other tracks by that artist.

These videos will come at a small cost to the users. They will now have to sit through 15 second pre-roll ads before they can start watching these videos. While this may sound annoying it will ensure you will continue to get premium content on your Android phone in future. The feature is currently limited to Android app users but will soon be available to those on other platforms as well as those who use the mobile website. 

Read More