Windows 8: Windows logo gets redesigned

The Windows logo has gone through several changes over the years. What started as a simple, monochrome 2D logo with Windows 1.0 slowly became more complex as more colors were added along with a bit of depth, until it started resembling a flag by the time XP came out. That ‘flag’ then got ensconced inside an orb with Vista and has been the same ever since.

How The Pirate Bay was reduced to just 90MB of data

Famed for its vast array of torrents and infamous within the film, television and music industries, The Pirate Bay has become one of the most well known and infamous torrent sites on the web.
Following its recent switch to the using magnet links however, its also become far more space efficient. So much so, one user decided to take the entire library of Pirate Bay torrent links and condense them onto a single USB flash drive.
With over 1.6 million torrents, it’s easy to see the appeal for those who are fans of file sharing and depending on the files in question, easy to understand why such a site would be likely to come under fire from big content creators.

Siri Challenged: Speaktoit Assistant launches on iOS

The Speaktoit Assistant is an app that started off on Android and has now crossed over into iOS, bringing Siri-like functionality to iPhone owners outside of the 4S.
Speaktoit can do practically everything Siri does – it can call your contacts, send messages, search for places – even outside of the US and more.
The app is available for free on Android but will set iOS users back $1.99. There will be a special Valentine’s Day promo – the first 100,000 downloaders will get it for free. It will also soon be launching on Windows Phone, BlackBerry and Bada.
What it brings over Apple’s Siri is support for older iPhones and not just the 4S, it has a face, customizable avatar you talk to, it can search maps outside of the US, can update your social status (Facebook, Twitter and Foursquare).
The app shows great promise and it’s generally easy and refreshing to use and most importantly is receiving updates, which is something Siri is yet to have.
You can check it out on the App Store, the Android Market or go to the developer’s homepage.
Source

Androids lose resale value faster...study shows

An interesting new startup called Priceonomics tackles a question that we all face eventually - how much can I sell my old phone for? According to their research, iPhones have the best resale value, while Android is almost tied with BlackBerrys in this respect.If you try to sell your 18-month old phone, you'd get 53% of its original price on average if you have an iPhone, 42% if it's a droid and 41% for a BlackBerry. Check out this graph that shows how quickly smartphones deprecate in value.

RIP Windows Start Button: 1995-2012

It had to happen sooner or later. News from those who somehow acquired copies of a Windows 8 "Consumer Preview" version (build 8220) that leaked this weekend indicates that Microsoft has finally decided to remove one of the staple elements of the Windows operating system: The start button.
Whether you know it more as a start button or start orb – the latter having replaced the flatter "start rectangle" in Windows Vista – the tiny little area that you'd previously click on to pull up a menu of applications, shortcuts, and search functionality is no more. The Windows Superbar, first introduced with Windows 7, now extends across the entirety of the bottom of Windows 8's "desktop mode." And it functions just the same as how you're already used to using it in Windows 7.

Google launches Chrome for Android beta – the browser you have all been looking for

Google just unveiled the Android-ready version of its Chrome web browser and made this a huge day for the Chrome users, who have a smartphone of the droid variety. The app is still in beta, but it already looks like one of the best browsers on the platform (and as you know there’s no shortage of quality web browsers on Android).
With great performance and simplified user interface, the Chrome browser for Android still has plenty of eye-candy to offer. It lets you sync just about anything between your desktop browser and your smartphone/tablet – from bookmarks to current browsing session, so you can continue on your smart device exactly where you left off on your computer.

Google Announces The Death Of The Menu Button, Long Live The Action Bar

We can't say we didn't see this coming. Google just announced on the Android Developer blog that the Menu button is well and truly dead, in case you hadn't gotten the memo. The post has relevant information on how to update your apps to accommodate the new changes without breaking support for devices running software older than Honeycomb (which are the overwhelming majority at the moment).

GLO GBAM:The Ice Breaker

Nigeria's innovative telecoms operator, Globacom, has launched a youth programme, G-BAM Hi5ive, which offers the lowest call tariff ever in the Nigerian market.
G-BAM Hi5ive, which offers 5k per second, the lowest call tariff ever in Nigeria.
The new product allows subscribers to call five special numbers at only five kobo per second and offers a unique proposition to Nigerian youths by making the immensely popular social networking site Facebook free. To register a friend, the subscriber is required to dial *101*1*friend's number#. It also offers subscribers several other attractive benefits including free airtime and free night calls.

Globacom's Group Chief Operating Officer, Mohammed Jameel, unveiled the product at a press conference in Lagos on Wednesday, December 14.

A major aspect of the programme is the G-BAM Scholar which empowers the student community in Nigeria by offering a scholarship of USD5 million for 1,000 students. Jameel explained that 250 students would be selected every quarter for USD 5,000 worth of scholarship. This will help aspiring students to fulfill their academic ambitions, pursue their dreams and passion, and also take care of meritorious students and young people, he added.

The GCOO said G-BAM Hi5ive is primarily a youth-centric package designed with the lifestyle of Nigerian youths in mind. The package will enable them to connect with their passion points and help them strengthen relationships with their friends and loved ones, he stated.

He explained that other benefits of the new product are categorized under G-BAM bonus for N500 free airtime once the SIM is activated and recharged, G-BAM social for free facebook browsing from 1 a.m. to 6 a.m. everyday, G-BAM weekender for free weekend chatting, G-BAM Nites for free night calls. To enjoy the free chatting, the subscriber will simply text "chat" to 20805.

Another added freebie which makes G-BAM Hi5ive the most attractive package to the youths is free Subscription of Glo Radio which is Music on the Go. One can listen to songs of one's choice on the G-BAM package by dialing 77025.

With all the benefits of G-BAM Hi5ive offer, the youth on the Glo network is empowered to be on top of his social life, to keep in touch with his friends as much as possible, Jameel added.

To join the G-BAM generation and enjoy all the freebies on the offer, existing Glo subscribers can simply migrate to the platform by dialing -*100*5*1# while new subscribers can buy a SIM pack from any Glo world or Glo zone or dealer outlets and migrate using the same code.

From http://www.gloworld.com/latestnews2.asp

Aero Commences SMS Booking Application

Aero the leading e-airline in West Africa has launched a facility that will enable bookings-on- hold via SMS and payment through ATM machines, Banks Branches or on the
Internet through www.quickteller.com. This new innovative booking platform took effect from August 22nd 2011.
This application which has been integrated to the aero ticket-sale booking engine, offers customers the opportunity to make bookings for flight tickets from any part of the country via SMS with Mobile Phones. Capt. Akin George, Managing Director for Aero, said: “We are excited to introduce the SMS booking option. It has been our policy to make travel more easy, affordable, simple and convenient. With this booking option, passengers will be able to conveniently book for tickets without having to go to the airline’ s sales desk. Customers can access the option by first making reservations by phone via the SMS and then make payment at any Interswitch ATM machines, Designated Bank Branches, Online through www.Quikteller.com across the country using the generated booking reference. He explained the 3 steps of how customers can purchase a ticket from their mobile phone by just sending two SMS to a short code. He said : “Customers are to look up for available flights by sending their departure and destination city, the date they want to fly to a short code 32120 in this format: Aero Lagos Abuja 20 September. Then the system
responds with a confirmation of the route, date, list of
available flight connections and the price for a single adult
ticket. You can then choose a flight from the list and text the
row number of that flight, your first name and surname to short code 32120 in the format: Aero Row # [Firstname ]
[Surname] . For instance Aero 3 John Smith “.
The system books the flight and puts the reservation on hold and then responds with a confirmation text message listing your flight number, PNR (passenger name record or booking id), biller code, the reference number, and the final
amount. With this reference number, you can pay for the ticket at any bank or ATM machine in Nigeria or at www.quickteller.com (booking will be kept on hold for a
maximum of 24 hours and a minimum of 18 hours from the
time the booking is made). Customers can only book on
hold for a flight which is 24 hours away and above. On-hold bookings from this channel (SMS) must be paid for at least 6 hours before departure. If payment is not received within that time period, the booking will automatically be cancelled. As soon as payment is received, you will be sent a payment confirmation message then you are ready to fly!
“Flying can never be easier than we have made it for our customers. We have launched leading customer focused
products into the Nigerian market and we are proud of these achievements. We are determined to continue to offer excellent customer service and maintain reliable and high safety standards.” Capt George added.
Aero was the first airline to introduce the mobile web and SMS ticketing service in Africa called “Aero webmobile”. This product also allows customers to book and pay for flight tickets using mobile phones.
Aero leads West African aviation in e-airline , introducing various booking and payment options to make air travel convenient for customers. With the introduction of this SMS Booking procedure, Aero has taken another giant stride towards consolidating its position as the leading regional
carrier in Nigeria.

Published with Blogger-droid v1.7.4

an Android phone in Japan Called Yahoo

Yahoo is launching an Android based smartphone in Japan on the country’s third biggest mobile operator, SoftBank.

Yes, as strange as it sounds, Yahoo is launching a phone running Android, an OS made by Yahoo’s biggest competitor in the search engine space. Having said that, Yahoo is a lot more popular in Japan and in fact it is the biggest site in the country.

As for the phone, it will be manufactured by Sharp and will have a 4-inch LCD with qHD resolution, Android 2.3, 8 megapixel camera with a CMOS sensor, Bluetooth 3.0, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, microSDHC card slot, a built-in digital TV tuner, an e-wallet function and infrared communications.

The phone will come with some of Yahoo’s apps pre-installed, such as Yahoo Japan Home, Yahoo Japan Auctions, Yahoo Luco, etc. The Yahoo phone will start selling late next month in Japan.

Source

For the whole Symbian^3 Members, Symbian Anna update rolls out

Yesterday Nokia began uploading the Symbian Anna firmware for the N8 and E7 on its servers. Luckily, it didn’t stop with those two and the Anna updates for C7 and C6-01 also hit the servers later.

Symbian Anna is available now for download via the official channels - either as an OTA update or through the Ovi Suite. All Nokia N8, E7, C7 and C6-01 qualify for the update no matter the region, carrier or color.

Currently, the Anna updates are rolling out in most of Europe and Asia but it’s a matter of days before they go worldwide.

In case you've missed all the important stuff about Symbian Anna, it brings along a completely new web browser, a split-screen text input view, a new homescreen, menu icons and visuals plus improved overall performance and a few updates for Maps, Mail, Photos and Calendar. Nokia N8 gets continuous auto-focus in video recording plus a higher video framerate (30fps), while the C7's NFC capabilities are also finally enabled.

Let's hope the Symbian Belle update won't take Nokia as long as the Anna one.

Source | Via

Camera Update for Nokia N8, with better User Interface and video recording

It must feel quite good to be a Nokia N8 owner these days. First, there was the Symbian Anna update, which deals with quite a few of its usability issues and now Nokia brought the news that there's a camera update in the works for their former flagship.

The Nokia N8 camera update beta has already been released so if you don't mind a few bugs you don't need to wait anymore to get it. Just head to the Nokia Beta Labs website and take it for a spin. A registration is required though and you will need to have an N8 that's already running the Anna update.

The camera update itself is pretty major bringing a new UI that, according to Nokia, gives you faster access to essential camera controls. The UI was certainly one of the worst parts of the N8 camera and we appreciate Nokia's efforts to finally do something about it.

The other thing that got boosted by the update is video recording. The N8 finally got its video framerate cranked up to 30 fps and the continuous auto-focus features. So far, those were only available through an unofficial mod.

Source

Nokia 500 is Nokia's first 1GHz Symbian smartphone

The Nokia 500 has just been announced as Nokia latest Symbian Anna smartphone. The new phone is based on the Nokia C5-03 specs-wise but refreshes some of the key features, retaining the reportedly affordable price tag.

The Nokia 500

The Nokia 500 has a 3.2-inch capacitive screen with 640 x 360 pixel resolution and there's a 5 megapixel camera on the back. Connectivity is covered by 14.4Mbps HSDPA and 5.8Mbps HSUPA speeds, Wi-Fi (no N support here), GPS, a charging microUSB port and a 3.5mm standard audio jack. There's 2GB of internal memory and a microSD slot for adding more storage.

The Nokia 500

The Nokia 500 comes with exchangeable back covers in different colors (two extra supplied with the phone). Much like with the Nokia N79 back in the day, the Nokia 500 changes its wallpaper automatically to match the color of the back cover you put on it.

Unfortunately, it doesn't seem the 1GHz CPU has improved the performance much. If you scrub to 1:31 m in the video, you will see the presenter scrolling the News Feed in the Facebook app. Well, you can clearly see some stuttering in the scrolling action.

The Nokia 500

The Nokia 500 will launch in black in Q3 with a white version coming in Q4 too. There will be six differently colored back panels at the launch in Q3. It's supposed to cost ˆ150 before taxes and subsidies. Sounds affordable for a smartphone alright.

RIM officially announces - the Bold 9900, Torch 9810 and 9860

The BlackBerry Media event in London just concluded and this is what we've got so far: the new BlackBerry Bold (previously known as Bold Touch) 9900/9930 (UMTS/CDMA), the BlackBerry Torch 9810 and Torch 9860/9850 (UMTS/CDMA), which was previously rumored by the names of BB Touch and Monza. All the devices are powered by single-core 1.2GHz processors with 768MB RAM and all have NFC support.

The BlackBerry Bold (also known as Bold Touch) is the thinnest BlackBerry device so far at 10.5mm. It runs the BlackBerry OS 7, and utilizes a 1.2GHz CPU, 8 gigs of expandable memory and a 2.8" VGA (640x480) 287 dpi (close to the Retina's 326 dots per inch) capacitive touchscreen. It has a 5 MP autofocus camera with 720p video recording. In terms of looks, it takes after the previous line of Bold devices with no significant changes to the exterior. It's made out of high-quality brushed stainless steel.

World's first Mango phone announced.

Fujitsu Toshiba mobile communications has announced the world’s first Mango phone. Their new IS12T is the first Window Phone 7 device to be launched in Japan and comes with Windows Phone OS 7.5 Mango pre-installed.

This IPX5 water proof phone is only 10.6mm thin and has a 3.7-inch TFT LCD touchscreen on the front and a 13.2 megapixel camera on the back. Underneath, the IS12T runs on a Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM8655, same as the one in the HTC Thunderbolt. It also has 32GB of internal memory along with Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n and Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR.

The IS12T will be sold in three colors, green, pink and black, starting September on Japan’s KDDI network. No price has been mentioned so far or anything about the international availability, although it is likely the phone will stay in Japan.

Source

Manufacturers get it first. WP7 Mango is now ready

Microsoft has announced it is finished working on the Windows Phone 7 Mango update and it has been released to manufacturing (RTM). Mango is coming this fall on all the available phones and will be pre-installed on the new ones.

New BlackBerries coming, is it the Torch 2 and the Touch 9860?

Since i got my new job and my new android device HTC Desire Z, this the first time am updating my blog. sorry for the long absence but now i have resume from my AWOl, i greet you with the new that RIM are coming out with new devices.
I know for sure there are new BlackBerries coming today - RIM took to Twitter and Facebook to generate some buzz over the upcoming BB OS 7 phones. Are they the Torch 2 9810 and Touch 9860? Well, leaked press shots of these two devices make them the best bet.

You got it! New #BlackBerry devices are coming w/ our new OS, BlackBerry 7! Check back tmrw 4 deets on #BB7FanNight. ^CHMon Jul 25 20:25:03 via CoTweet Research In Motion
BlackBerry

The BlackBerry Torch 2 9810 has been spotted in the wild and looks just like the original - but under the hood it's got a 1.2GHz CPU, 768MB RAM, 3.2" VGA screen and a 5MP camera that can record 720p. And of course, the spanking new BlackBerry OS 7.

The BlackBerry Touch 9860 (a.k.a. Monza) is no stranger to the rumor mill either - it packs the same specs as the Torch 2, save for the 3.7" WVGA screen and no hardware keyboard.

Update: I've seen a report that claims the Touch 9860 is actually the Storm 3. Also, BlackBerry's site jumped the gun and confirmed three versions of the Torch 2 - 9810/9850/9860. I'm still waiting on the official announcement.

Well, these leaked press shots come with no carrier branding but the "3G" label in the top right corner suggests those are GSM models. The Touch will have a CDMA version too - used to be called Monaco, but now seems to go by Volt.

Oh, and there's the BlackBerry Bold Touch 9930 too, which is official, but hasn’t launched yet - so, maybe today is the day for that too.

I'm keeping an eye on RIM and I'll let you know as soon as the new BlackBerry OS 7 phones break cover.

Source

Google working on a messaging application to take on iMessage and BBM?

Apple recently announced iOS 5 at the WWDC event which is the new version of iOS, which comes with more than 200 new features. One of the notable features is the iMessage. iMessage is built in the message application, and it allows you to share messages, photos, videos and few more things. It’s actually a rival of popular BlackBerry Messenger, which is an instant messaging app for BlackBerries. Analyst believe that iMessage is a very big challenge for BBM, and it will take it down in short time of period, but as we know that every tech war is not completed without Google, right? Apple iOS is Google’s Android biggest competitor, and the reason Android is existing is also iOS, as Nokia CEO Elop said Apple helped creating Android. According to a source near to Google is claiming that Google is working hard on their very own messaging application to challenge BBM and iMessage, says Wall Street Journal.
We don’t have any information about the name of the application, but words are on the street that the application could be a revamped and improved version of Google Gtalk. As instant messaging is getting popular, it’s actually faster and way better than sending text messages. So in few years, it will totally replace text messages.
If Google is making something like that, then it will hit Android and there is a possibility that it will hit other phones too i.e. iPhone etc. Nothing is set on stone at the moment, so just take it as a rumor. Anyway, are you looking forward to this?

World's Fastest Supercomputer set to debut

For years the world's biggest computer manufacturers have been locked in a race to see who can build the most powerful machine - regularly trading places with each other as they develop faster and more impressive systems.

But IBM today smashed the existing record in 2009 as it unveiled the world's fastest supercomputer, a machine that is almost 20 times more powerful than the previous record holder.

The new system, which will make it debut later this year is dubbed Sequoia, will be able to achieve speeds of up to 20 Petaflops - 20 quadrillion calculations per second - the equivalent of more than 2m laptops.

Nokia Reader for Symbian^3 gets an update, gets some improvements and bug-fixes

The Nokia Reader is an application for receiving RSS news feeds on Symbian^3 devices and is part of the Ovi Notifications Support Package (ONSP). It just received an update, which improves overall performance and fixes the bugs in the previous version.

The list of improvements include connectivity, a bug that forced the user to re-enter his/hers Nokia Account credentials and force stop issues, which needed a reinstall of the previous version.

A good RSS reader is very important for some people as it condenses the information from many websites into a stream of neat headlines in an organized fashion.

Hit this link through your Nokia Symbian^3 device here.

Source