TechGazing

Almost every cellphone manufacturer these days is coming out with devices with full keyboards - called QWERTY because of the arrangement of the letters - allowing users to type more conveniently. However, we have to hand to one of the newcomers, LAVA, for putting a spin on the concept and coming out with a full keyboard with a difference. Their recently launched B5 handset has a full keyboard, but not of the QWERTY type. Instead the alphabet is laid out in, well, alphabetical order (ABCD, etc.).

Now, this might be puzzling for keyboard veterans who have been used to typing on a QWERTY set-up on a phone or on a computer, but for those who have never really used either, this device is just perfect as they would not need to hunt for keys. And the phone does not cost too much either - Rs 4,399 is the official price. Not a bad deal for a device with full keyboard, 2.2 inch display, 2 MP camera and dual sim. An interesting spin, we must admit. We will let you know how the device actually performs when we get a review unit.

After seemingly having stood and stared while the likes of the Samsung Star and Corby and the LG Cookie series grabbed the lower mid-segment share of the Indian cellphone market, Nokia now finally seems to be hitting back with some terrific devices in the high volume sub-Rs 10k segment. We were very impressed with the 5233 and now we have the C5, which packs in a whole stack of features at a price that seems way too good to be true. Continue reading »

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 »

All right, we think this is definitely a case of Christmas coming early. Airtel has announced that all its subscribers can access the mobile website of Facebook on their handsets free of cost until August 31. In simple English, that means that all Airtel users can “post status updates, comment and write on walls, message others, and also be able to view or upload photos - all without any data charges” (yes, we got that from the press release, so now you know it is official). As if that were not enough, there is also the fact that in the coming days, Facebook mobile will also be accessible in five different Indian languages (Punjabi, Bengali, Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam) apart from English and Hindi. Now, that is what we call a terrific deal, with no strings attached (and we looked!). Continue reading »

The iPhone 4 might be attracting a lot of controversy over its signal reception, but it already has a fan in one of the biggest names in Bollywood - Amitabh Bachchan. The Big B made no secret of how much he likes the device when he recommended it to yet another Bollywood superstar, Shah Rukh Khan.

It all happened over Twitter with Shah Rukh tweeting: “iPad…iMac…nokia…kindle…so much wifi around me feel like a holographic 3d image of myself in space.Marconi we’ve come a long way baby.” Bachchan promptly responded: “shahrukh ! May I add to your wifi world of confusion - get the iphone4 .. It is just incredible ! Ha ha” Of course, we do wonder where Shah Rukh got a Kindle with WiFi (none officially exists), but even then, we doubt the iPhone 4 - or any tech device - has ever had a bigger endorsement. We do hope this will make Apple bring the device to India sooner than expected!

It is not really official, but the tech rumour market in India is abuzz with the news that the new iPhone, iPhone 4, will be seen in India in September. Both Vodafone and Airtel are expected to offer the phone to their users. The 16 GB model is likely to carry a price tag of around Rs 35,000, while the 32 GB model will cost about Rs 40,000. Those are stiff prices, in best iPhone tradition, and one can only hope that the service providers will come up with some subsidy, allowing users to get their hands on the phones for a lower price, while locking them in to a contract. Mind you, that did not happen with the iPhone 3G and 3GS. That said, there will be those who will be willing to shell out even Rs 40,000 for the latest edition of a phone that is being hailed as the best in the world, reception issues notwithstanding.

Google has updated its Google Maps application for Android devices and while there are some very interesting features, the one that grabbed our attention was that you can actually check the timing of the Delhi Metro service and when the next train is due along your route - the official screenshot above shows the San Francisco metro service details for a route but take our word for it, it works for the Delhi Metro too. Pretty cool, we think, making the application one of the best navigation options for those staying in the Indian capital (AND having Android devices, of course). Other new features include the option to share your location over Latitude as well as read reviews (and add your own) of notable landmarks and places. So now, you can not only search for a Cafe around you, but also find out what other people are saying about it.

There is a catch, of course - the new maps work only with phones running Android 1.6 and above. But then again, they are free, come with navigation options and heck, now we can find out when the next Metro train is due without having to go the station. Surely that counts for something.

Apple has just addressed one of the biggest complainst about the iPhone - the absence of multi-tasking. The latest update to the iPhone OS, called iOS 4,brings multi-tasking to the device they call the Godphone as well as a host of other features, such as the option to change wallpapers (yep, believe it or not, you could not do so earlier), get all your e-mail in a unified mailbox, and organising apps in folders (once again, this was not available earlier). There are also significant improvements in terms of speed and battery consumption, as well as the addition of iBooks, Apple’s new e-book reader, although you still cannot purchase books directly from the Apple iBookstore in India.

The update is free and works on iPhone 3GS and iPhone 4 and the 3rd generation iPod touch. While iPhone 3G users can also update their phones, they will not be able to access most of the new features, most notably the multi-tasking. Mind you, at 378 MB, it is not exactly a small download. Still, it is well worth it, given the features it adds to what we think is the best phone in town.

Samsung seems to be betting very heavily on all-touchscreen phones that do not cost the earth. After the success of the Star and Corby, the company has now come out with what it calls its “most affordable 3G full touch handset”, the Star Nano 3G. The device sports a 2.6 inch touchscreen, a 1.3 megapixel camera and Samsung’s TouchWiz 2.0 interface that allows users to access different websites and services from a host of widgets on the homescreen. Of course, as its name itself indicates, the phone is 3G-ready, and its price tag of Rs 7,320 is supposed to be on the lower side for such a device.

Honestly, we think the screen is a bit on the smaller side for a device that is based on a touch interface (the BlackBerry Bold has as big a screen AND a QWERTY keypad to boot) and we do think that a 1.3 megapixel camera is a bit passe in these days when one can get a 3.2 megapixel shooter for most devices in the Star Nano 3G’s price range. Nevertheless, we think it is the performance of the device on a 3G network that Samsung is really betting on and after seeing how well the Corby has handled it on Tata Indicom, we would not bet against this one. Of course, we are still waiting for 3G to come to India, but Samsung seems to be ready for it already. Consumers are unlikely to complain.

We have no official word on it, but market rumours indicate that Nokia will be releasing its much-talked about N900 in India. And joy of joys, it might actually be at a relatively low price - we are hearing rumours that it might cost between Rs 25k-27k. The N900 is considered by many to be Nokia’s best device in recent times. It actually is a smartphone, even though Nokia refers to it as a “Mobile Computer.”

The N900 runs on Maemo, a version of Linux, rather than Symbian Series 60 that is seen on most Nokia smartphones. It is a faster, more web-friendly operating system that many tech pundits feel is comparable with that of the iPhone and Google’s Android. Apart from that, the N900 comes with a 3.5inch touchscreen, a slide-out QWERTY keyboard, a 5.0-megapixel camera and just about every connectivity option in Celltown.And if its price is really around Rs 26,000, rather than Rs 30,000 as anticipated by just about everyone, it could prove to be a great option for smartphone lovers in the country.

Rarely has any brand come under as much fire in the past few weeks in India as BlackBerry, with every Tom, Dick and Harry brand claiming to have a BlackBerry-type of phone that costs lest than the real thing. Nothing could be more cruel than these comparisons. For all the talk about their being overpriced, there is more to BlackBerry phones than just that traditional QWERTY layout and those widish displays. So, even as the pretenders clamour to being better, here is our take on six reasons that make BlackBerry devices the legends they are. Continue reading »

Have Indian cellphone consumers ever been more spoiled for choice? Barely a year ago, a touchscreen phone was pretty much the preserve of those with deep pockets. Today, the market is full of devices that feature touchscreens and do not cost the earth. And the latest to join the affordable touchscreen brigade is the S7000 from Spice. It comes with a 3.2 inch touchscreen (as big as the HTC Hero or the Nokia N97 mini), a 3.2 megapixel camera and memory that can be expanded upto 16GB using a memory card. Not bad at all.

The phone supports most popular video formats so should be handy for watching films - the screen is certainly big enough for them - and also comes with features like Bluetooth and FM Radio. In keeping with recent trends, a number of apps have been installed on the phone, letting users access services and sites like Yahoo, Wikipedia, Vuclip, Facebook, Nimbuzz, Reuters, and Ibibo. Continue reading »

Facebook users on some networks will be able to access the social networking site totally free of cost, thanks to the launch of a new website called Zero Facebook. The site can be accessed at http://0.facebook.com on most handsets and works at the rate of knots as it focuses on displaying text, pushing video and images to the background, although users can access them through links if they wish (viewing pics will incur data costs, though). In essence, the site lets you do everything you can on the regular mobile Facebook site (http://m.facebook.com) like updating their status, viewing their News Feed, commenting on posts, sending and replying to messages, etc., without your having to pay even data charges.

The catch, of course, is that not all mobile service providers in India support the site yet - at present, only subscribers of Videocon and Reliance can access Zero Facebook. Facebook, however, has assured us that it is looking to tie up with other operators too, so it might not be too long before one can access Facebook on one’s handset without incurring a penny of data costs.

There is good news for all those who use Peek, the handy and extremely affordable QWERTY device that lets you access e-mail on the move. According to a mail that we have received, the Peek service is going to get upgraded on May 18. Improvements include “faster email delivery for many users, and the ability to view PDF attachments as images on your Peek.” The service will not be available for three hours (from 0730 hrs to 1030 hrs, Indian time) on May 18, while the upgrade takes place. Also, the upgrade will not let users view attachments of old mail downloaded before the upgrade. Still, if it delivers what it promises - the speed boost and the PDF handling - most Peek users in India, some of whom have been complaining about the service being a tad on the slow side, will be more than delighted.

Now, we just hope the folks at Peek can do something to bring down that Rs 299 per month rental for using the service, which we maintain remains on the high side, considering that Aircel (the network that offers the Peek) has an unlimited Mobile Internet access package of Rs 98 per month!

We hate to say “we told you so,” but well, we did, didn’t we? A few days after we had carried a story that Microsoft would be releasing the latest version of its bestselling office suite, MS Office, shortly in India, the Redmond giant did just that. The wraps have been officially taken off MS Office 2010 for India, with stacks of new features, most significantly, better integration with the Web and mobile handsets. But what has really grabbed our attention has been the news in some quarters (we could not spot it in the official release) that the cost of  the consumer version of the suite would be as low as Rs 5,000, going up to Rs 20,000 for the professional one.

If true, that would be a significant move, given the fact that many users end up using pirated copies of the suite. We must admit that it all does look very promising on paper. MS Office 2010 is expected to be available in India from mid-June. Of course, we will let you know just how good the suite is, once we get our hands on a review copy.

Yes, you read that right. There’s a new mobile e-mail app in town and it claims it can deliver get e-mail to your handset, without your even needing a mobile Internet or GPRS connection.  Called BlacMail, it is an offering from Bangalore-based Fifth C Solutions, and while we have not tried it out as yet, seems incredibly promising.

Evidently, all you need to get BlacMail working on your handset is to download the software from www.blacmail.in - you can download it directly to your phone (if you have a GPRS connection) or to your PC and then transfer it to your handset. That’s all there is to it. The app claims to support not only popular mail services like Gmail and Yahoo! Mail, but also corporate mails. Round that off with the fact that it can also let you access social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter and Orkut, and you will see why we are so impressed.  It does not come free, though. Rates for the service begin at Rs 49, although details  are sketchy at the moment. However, it runs on most handsets and by all accounts, works a charm.

Very, very promising, we think. We intend giving it a once-over in the coming days, and would advise you to do the same if you are the type that likes to get their mail on the move.

Yep, you got that headline right. The folks at DataWind (the same gents who gave us the PocketSurfer) have come up with a netbook with an Internet package for a year (30 hours per month)   - all for a piffling Rs 7999. Called the UbiSurfer, the device comes with an inbuilt modem and a sim card that will connect users to Tata Indicom’s CDMA network all over India. On the spec front, it has a 7 inch display, a full standard 80-key keyboard, Wi-Fi and Ethernet connectivity, a USB port, 128 MB RAM, 1 GB onboard flash memory storage (and 50GB online), dual speakers and an onboard office suite, all powered by Windows 6 CE(an OS seen in GPS and other mobile devices running Windows Mobile) - all that in a sleek package that tips the scales at around 700 grammes. And that’s not all - the company claims that thanks to its data compression technology, the device will be able to access the Internet at very high speeds, even on slow networks. Finally, if you think that 30 hours a month is too little for your Internet needs, go ahead and take an unlimited package that will let you surf the Net as much as you want - for Rs 99 per month! Continue reading »

Nokia has been in overdrive of late. The last week has seen the company announce no fewer than five handsets, each of them extremely promising in terms of features and prices - the utterly affordable C3, the touch and keyboard combo of C6, the brilliantly connected E5, the phenomenally specced N8 and the comes-with-free-music-for-a-year-at-an-unbelievable-price X2. Logically, there is enough here to have all Indian cellphone fans salivating and for Nokia to take on all comers in the market, from the iPhone to the BlackBerry to even the Micromaxes.

There is just one problem - none of these devices is in the market yet. And is not likely to be for a while. Which just makes you wonder why a company would announce them. Market strategists might say that this is a smart move by Nokia to ensure that its loyal fans do not go for other brands in the coming days and wait for its forthcoming phones instead. However, we feel that this is a serious mistake from the market leader. Not only is it showing its hand to the competition, allowing it to come up with answers well before its own handsets hit the market, but it is also trying the patience of a number of its loyal consumers who are getting used to the fact that every Nokia announcement will refer to a handset that is not likely to be seen in the market soon.

Not a very good move in a highly competitive market, we think. But then, we could be wrong.

Those wishing they could access mail and instant messenger (IM) on their handsets must be cheering. Nokia has announced a newer version on Nokia Messaging, serving up push mail on all compatible Nokia Symbian users for Indian users - for free. In simple terms, that means that anyone who wants to use push mail on their Nokia device can now access up to ten mail accounts (including the likes of Gmail, Yahoo, Rediffmail, Sify and Indiatimes) on their handsets, without having to pay a penny. Continue reading »

Phones based on Android have only now started making their presence felt in India, with the release of the likes of the Sony Ericsson X10, the Motorola Milestone and the LG GW620. Even as India comes to grips with Android, PCWorld magazine has come out with a list of what it thinks are the ten best phones running the Android operating system. Yes, not all of them are available in India (yet), but we still think that it makes for some compulsive reading, considering that Android could well emerge as one of the most popular smartphone operating systems in the country in the coming days. You can read the story here.

As the number of Android phones in the country increases, a rather disturbing trend is becoming evident - a number of smartphone manufacturers are selling their devices with older versions of Android and what’s worse, are not providing any option to the user to update them to newer versions. In simple terms, just imagine that someone not only sells you a computer that is running an older version of Windows (say Windows 98) but also prevents you from updating it to a newer version. Sounds ridiculous? Well, that is exactly what seems to be happening. Of all the Android devices in the country, only two - the HTC Legend and the Motorola Milestone - are running the latest version(2.1) of Android. Of the rest, only one - the Samsung Spica - has been updated to the latest version. The others - HTC Hero, HTC Tattoo, HTC Magic, Sony Ericsson Xperia X10, LG GW620, Samsung Glaxay, Acer Liquid - are all running older versions of Android (either 1.5 or 1.6). Continue reading »

There has been a stir in India tech town for the last 24 hours, ever since a few websites reported that BSNL is offering a Huawei phone in Tamil Nadu for as little as Rs 6,500, and for Rs 6,750 with a 3G connection thrown in. There is some confusion over whether it runs Android or Brew, but most of our sources confirm that the phone does indeed exist. Called the U7510, it comes with a full touchscreen, has 100 MB internal memory (expandable to 8 GB), Bluetooth and two cameras - a 2.0-megapixel main camera and a front facing VGA one for video calling. All of which makes it sound like a terrific deal, even if it is just limited to Tamil Nadu.

The only problem is that we have seen no official confirmation of the offer from BSNL - the phone is not on the service provider’s website. Still, if the news is true, then it is surely one of the best value for money offers we have seen on any phone in India (if it runs Android, it becomes the best value for money deal, ever!). We are keeping our fingers crossed that it is true and that such offers will come all over the country shortly.

Vodafone has been painting billboards all over Delhi with ads of its 3G USB Modem. On the face of it, it is a hell of a deal - for Rs 7,000, you get unlimited data usage for all states other than Maharashtra, Goa, Madhya Pradesh (where the rate is Rs 7,499), as well as the USB modem, which itself is worth Rs 2599. Not too bad really, if you consider that you should be getting 3G speeds from the modem. The problem is that you will get these speeds only OUTSIDE India. In India, you will have to be content with the considerably - and we mean considerably - slower speeds on the EDGE network (the normal speeds you get on most mobile handsets).

Here is what Vodafone’s website says about it

• Gets you high-speed connectivity to the internet through the Vodafone EDGE network.
• Gives 3G Broadband speeds when you travel abroad.

In short, yes, it is a 3G USB modem which is being sold in India, but it will be able to access 3G only outside India. Seems a tad misleading to us.

The GW620 is LG’s first Android phone and after using it for a few days, we must confess to being more than a little impressed by it. It may not have the high jinks or style quotient that the iPhone 3GS or the Motorola Milestone have, but delivers something that is equally important - value for the consumer’s money. So in a nutshell, here are six reasons why we think the GW620 is an outstanding phone Continue reading »

We do not ever think we have seen a company release as many touchscreen phones in a short span as Samsung has of late. We had barely come to terms with the deluge of Corbies (not all of them touchscreen, but still…), the amazing Spica, and the launch of the Star Superb, when along comes news that the company has released yet another touchscreen phone, this one called Monte. It comes with a 3inch capacitive (just like the iPhone, folks) touchscreen, a 3.2 MP camera, A-GPS, Wi-Fi, 3G, expandable memory upto 16GB and a few other features. Like the Corby and the Star series, this one too is not a smartphone, although it comes with Samsung’s TouchWiz interface which lets you place a number of widgets across screens.

One thing that surprised us, however, was the price tag of the handset - at Rs 12, 390, it  is more than Rs 2,000 over the 5.0-megapixel Star Superb which also had a 3.0 inch touchscreen and Wi-Fi. The Monte does feel and look a lot better, but will it be enough for it to overcome its own brethren. Or is Samsung taking a leaf out of the P&G book and coming out with products that compete with each other? Time will tell…