TechGazing

The folks at Olive Telecommunications have come out with a phone called Olive FrvrOn. In terms of features, it is pretty much low-end with a 1.5 inch display, FM radio, polyphonic ringtones and stereo headset. The price is very much low-end too - Rs 1,699. However, what grabbed our attention was the fact that the phone can run on any -yes, any-AAA battery. “A user upon running out of electricity charge in the supplied LiOn battery can simply slot in any AAA battery available into the phone, and stay connected,” says the press release. Now, that’s interesting. The catch is that battery life on lower end phones is pretty good as a rule, although such a device would definitely be right at home in rural areas where power availability is spotty at best.

All said and done, this is definitely a move in the right direction at a time when battery lives of phones are dipping across all segments. Now, if only we could find some similar way of keeping the battery of power-guzzling phones like the iPhone and Nokia N97 going.

We love the facility that portable hard drives offer, allowing us to lug stacks of data - literally everything on our computers, in some cases- from place to place. But one major complaint we have had about them is that we have to plug them into a machine to find out what’s on them or even how much space they have left. Well, Western Digital have now come out with the My Passport Studio portable drive which comes with a customizable e-label that’s always visible, even when the drive is unplugged.

Called the Smart Display, it reminds users of what is stored on the drive and provides available capacity and security status at a glance even when the drive is not connected to a computer. It can be changed as often as desired using the included WD SmartWare software. Now, that’s really useful! There are a number of other goodies in there too, including FireWire connectivity and encryption facilities, but it is the label that has got us really intrigued.

The drives come in capacities of 500 GB and 640 GB and are priced at Rs. 9,600 and Rs. 10,750, respectively. We do not have a review unit yet, but it sure seems very good value for money.

The recent wave of phones with QWERTY keypads from the likes of Micromax, Samsung and LG, have made us wonder if one really needs a smartphone. If that sounds ridiculous, just consider the facts. The Micromax Facebook phone comes with a good QWERTY keypad and a decent screen, ability to access mail and social networks, browse the Internet, chat away merrily, and a reasonable, if not exceptional camera, topped off with storage of up to 8 GB. And all for less than Rs. 5,000! Similarly, the relatively more expensive high-end Corby throws in a touchscreen and a QWERTY, with Wi-Fi and GPS and a decent camera for around Rs 11,000. Continue reading »

It may not be as magical as Steve Jobs made it out to be, but we still think Apple’s iPad packs enough in it to turn the tech world upside down. And no, not because we got five of our seven predictions about it right. In fact, it is the prediction that we got wrong that might make the biggest difference.

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All the hype around the Apple Tablet (if it comes) is just the latest chapter in the touchscreen romance that has enthralled the world ever since the launch of the iPhone. Be it cameras, cellphones, e-book readers or computers - just about every gadget manufacturer in town is trying to incorporate an element of touch in their products. But, hype apart, there are several practical reasons for opting for a touchscreen over a conventional physical button interface. Here are just five of them. Continue reading »

The following post is a column I wrote for the Hindustan Times, a leading daily in India. You can access its web version by clicking here. It has a strong Indian context to it though.

Rohini Sharma wanted to go on a family holiday over the Easter weekend to Lansdowne, a hill station in Uttarakhand. The family was all set to go with accommodation tentatively booked at the Retreat Anand at this charming, colonial hill station, when the plan was changed to stay instead at the Bird House in Dehradun. Why? Because reviews and images posted on the Internet by other travellers did not paint a pretty picture of Lansdowne.

Instances like these are becoming more a norm than an exception as travel planning enters the Web 2.0 era. The Internet is full of reviews and opinions posted by travellers, and many people are using these as a key reference source when planning any trips. Such User Generated Content (UGC) is being seen as mostly credible and trustworthy, with the ‘authoritative’ voice of a professional writer no longer the last word when it comes to deciding one’s holiday. Continue reading this trend story

Do you use Salesforce? And Google’s AdWords as an advertising medium? How would you like to connect to your AdWords account from Salesforce, correlate web clicks with inbound leads and be able to measure the effectiveness and ROI of your Google campaigns? It is possible through the ‘Salesforce for Google Adwords,’ a highly rated and one of the most downloaded application on Salesforce AppExchange On-Demand Marketplace.

While it is interesting enough to be able to do so, what is even more significant is the fact that this application could have been developed independently outside of Salesforce and offered on this platform. Because, with Facebook and Google showing the way, the big trend that could unfold in the coming years is that of independent developers plugging in their applications on existing platforms. And Salesforce, the world leader in on-demand CRM services, is ensuring it is not left behind. Continue reading »