The iPhone 3G kicked off the era of the mobile apps - software that you could install on your phone to get extra functionality. While smartphones (like those on Symbian Series 60 platform and on Windows Mobile or BlackBerry OS) might have an edge in the app business, it is entirely incorrect to assume - as some people do - that apps can be installed ONLY on smartphones. In fact, you can get a very decent array of mobile apps for most mid-segment (beginning from Rs 6,000) phones - “if it has a colour display and connect to the Net, it is a fair chance it will support apps,” as one app guru told us.
And we just went and cherry-picked six of the best that we think would even make the dumbest-seeming phone almost as good as a smartphone. Continue reading »
With more than fifty matches scheduled in the FIFA World Cup over the next four weeks, keeping track of what is happening and when can be quite a tough ask. Which is why we love what the folks at Marca.com have done -they have come out with a really innovative calendar showing the entire tournament in a wheel of sorts, where you can view matches and results by team, date, cities and group - with an option to make the calendar fullscreen too.
The past few days have seen a lot of noise about the security - or lack of it - on Facebook, and the consequences. Well, there are many ways of making sure that your Facebook data is reasonably secure, but if you are the type that likes a simple solution (heck, most of us do), then all you need to do is go to www.ReclaimPrivacy.org. One the page you will see an option to drag a button titled “Scan for Privacy” to your browser’s bookmarks bar. Drag it to your browser’s bar and the next time you are visiting your Facebook account, just click on the button and hey, presto, you will be given a quick breakdown of how secure your data on the site is and how you can improve it, if needed.
We just love it when a tech behemoth throws the market into a tailspin by doing what consumers love most - offering a great product at an excellent price. Well, that is exactly what Sony seems to have done with its decision to release a Blu-ray disc player for as low as Rs 9,990, a price that is almost Rs 5,000 lesser than most Blu-ray players in the country from leading brands (no, we will not talk about the grey market or the smaller brands). For the non-tech types, Blu-ray discs are very similar in appearance to DVDs but offer much (and we mean MUCH) better picture and sound quality.
It came in unheralded, like most Google updates, but could prove to be one of the best from the search behemoth. Most of us tech followers know that we can get a 3D perspective of the earth by downloading and using Google’s Google Earth software - well, now you can get a somewhat similar experience in your browser itself, without having to download anything big. All you need to do is go to http://maps.google.com and opt for the “Use Earth View” link that appears on the left of the screen and you will be able to see the earth in 3D, panning and zooming from various angles using your mouse and your onscreen controls. Of course, it does not work well in ALL areas - we would advise you not to try seeing your neighbourhood in 3D, for instance - but when it comes to famous buildings and monuments, it is nothing short of awesome. We are still stunned at how amazing Big Ben and Mount Everest looked, and “stunned” does not quite sum up how we felt when we discovered that we could actually dive underwater to see the wreck of the Titanic.
Want to find out what’s happening in the Indian Premier League (IPL), but do not have a television at hand? Well, just dial 08 123 123 123 on your cell and you will get access to live ball by ball coverage and even access video footage. Making all this happen is July Systems’s MIX platform, which serves up live ball-by-ball updates, action replays, video scorecards, cheerleader videos, and many more exciting features. Best of all, you do not need a smartphone to access this service - just about any cell with Internet connectivity at any location will do (there are more than 6,000 models supported) and you do not even need broadband or 3G, as it works fine over EDGE and GPRS. Best of all the service is totally free - even 08 123 123 123 is a toll-free number. You just end up paying data costs for using the Internet. Incidentally, if you do not feel upto dialing numbers on your handset, just open its browser and head to 
With storage requirements going up every day, many of us are investing in portable hard drives to back up our digital information, be it documents, pictures, videos or literally anything and everything that is on our computer’s hard drive. But while going for purchasing a portable hard device, the only factor that most people seem to keep in mind is the hard drive’s capacity. Many of us in fact do not even bother using the software that comes with these devices, preferring to drag and drop files from our computer to the had drive - a tedious and repetitive process. 
E-book readers were the rage at the recent CES in Vegas. Just about every tech player worth their salt is trying to get into the segment, from Amazon to Sony to Asus, is trying to make its presence felt in the e-book reader segment. But call us old-fashioned if you will, we still think that conventional paper books beat the hell out e-book readers. At least at the moment. Before you start accusing us of being paper-freaks who hate everything mechanical, just read through our reasons for thinking so. 
Airtel today announced its triple play service offering-providing Internet, telephone and IPTV through the same wire for NCR customers. According to company spokesperson, IPTV can provide a truly interactive experience, not available in dumb DTH services. My question to him was, what are the services that you’re offering that you think are not available on DTH. 
If you are sitting on stacks of video content, it may be time to organize it better for some good reasons. One, there is always the risk of it getting lost or damaged. Two, you may lose out on an opportunity to strike gold: digital media is predicted to be the next big thing on the Internet, and content owners could well be the first to cash in.
