Cuil gets its first knockoff

It’s hardly been a week since Cuil, the self proclaimed mother of all search engines makes it debut and we have a knock off already. But know what? The knock-off might be actually better than the Original. Yuil is here! Well it was actually. Because it is offline now. Let me explain.

Yuil, as its creator Sam Pullara, says was put together as a quick parody of Cuil by mashing up the Cuil UI and Yahoo!’s search results. Sam, who is actually the Yahoo VP of Platforms, used the site to show off Yahoo’s recently-released Boss API. Boss is unique among search engine APIs, giving developers an unprecedented level of control over results generated by Yahoo’s search engine.

That said, it would have been good had Sam decided to let Yuil stay for us to have a better look.

The Mojave Experiment – Vista ain’t that bad afterall!

If there is one Operating system that has been loathed, snubbed and has had the worst reviews, it has to be Windows ME. That said, what could have been the reason for those kind of responses? Was the OS really that bad or was it just the reviews that made it look so bad and unusable? Can’t really say! That was then.

We have had similar reactions in 2007, when Vista was launched. It was said to be too resource consuming, needed super computer like hardware to run, had annoying pop ups asking you for confirmation even if you wanted to change your font. To add insult to injury, arch rival Apple had the super slick Mac OSX Panther which not only offered the eye candy, but was also easy to use out of the box – or so said the reviews. And, with boot camp, you can run Vista as well--If you really wanted to. So what does big M do?

They come up with this thing called the Mojave Experiment where unsuspecting users who had “stereotyped” Vista and wouldn’t touch the OS with a one mile rod, were asked to watch a video demonstration of what they were told was its forthcoming "Mojave" operating system. What the subjects weren't told was that they were actually watching a demo of Windows Vista in action -- an OS that most had previously said they wouldn't purchase under any circumstances.

Respondents were chosen from the focus group (Mojave Experiment) organizer's database, called at random, but then selected based on having a low perception of Vista (<5 rating on a scale of 1-10).The 120 odd participants on average, gave Vista a rating of 4.4 out of 10 prior to participating. The average rating jumped to 8.5 after the subjects watched the demo. Responses ranged from "It's awesome" and "The speed is incredible" to "I'd give it a 10"

So is it really all in the head?

The popular Apple ads depict Vista as a slow, buggy unfashionable OS compared to the hip and younger OS X. Apart from the reviews and the ubiquitous Apple ads, implementation of Vista in commercial environments too have not taken off and there have many reports about organizations asking OEM computer suppliers to actually “downgrade” the OS to XP prior to shipping. This means, it is not just the average Joe who is uncomfortable with the OS – even professionals who aren't as impressionable as consumer users, are bitten by the “vista sucks” bug. We can’t really say.

As for the Mojave experiment, many users are complaining about the method used to survey. The respondents did not actually use the OS but were shown only a Video of the UI and the speed. This method according to many is crude as the USP of any OS is the way it interacts with the user. A video showing some parts of the OS certainly is not the way to go if you want a complete picture. Others, however, said the subjects' reaction to Vista was consistent with their own experience with the software.

The debate continues..

Dell MP3 Players! Reloaded!

If initial Wall Street Journal reports are to be believed, Dell is busy readying a new brand of MP3 players to renew the iPod battle. That’s not all, they could be on sale as early as September. That is barely a month from now!

This is not the first time Dell has ventured into the music market. Back in 2003, Dell had launched The Dell Digital Jukebox or just Dell DJ with a little help from the folks at Creative. These players were based on the same hardware and software platform as Creative’s Creative NOMAD/Creative Zen digital audio players. The dream run lasted three years till August 24, 2006, when Dell decided to pull the plug and production was stopped.

Fast forward to 2008, Dell seems to be in a mood to take on the likes of the iPod again. With the likes of Microsoft, Sony having tried – unsuccessfully to pip Apple from the numero uno perch, it would be interesting to note what strategy Dell has in store. For starters, Dell is working on software for a range of portable PCs that will let users download and organize music and movies from various online sources. This is different from what it had done earlier – where it as simply a hardware tied to someone else’s music service.

The music player which Dell has been testing features a small navigation screen and basic button controls to scroll through music play lists. It would connect to online music services via a Wi-Fi, and Dell would likely price the model at less than $100.

Source: Reuters

Geek? Who me?

Precisely! Let me explain.

I am not trying to bloat this place by my self egocentricity.. but heck, I considered myself a gadget guru. I seriously thought I was one. And there were reasons. I was the local neighbourhood "know-it-all". Almost everyone who was in possession anything remotely resembling an electronic gadget within 500 meters of my locality has had a session of "what to buy and why to buy" from yours truly before they ventured out and actually had a look at the products. In most cases, I had delivered the Verdict and the product was usually selected much before the folks ended up at the showroom. I recall in some cases, I made people call up showrooms and make them ask if they had the (add any model number here) in stock. If not when can we expect one so that we can get it home as soon as possible.

And it worked! I still have friends and relatives who are extremely happy that I was there for them to guide through.

I was still basking in the glory of my know it all status when I decide to get myself something. Its been long since my N73 lost its original headset and audio adapter. Headed straight to the Nokia website and had a look. Then the typical geek mentality takes over. Get another run of the mill AD-41 and HS-20?? No way!! I want something better, expensive and it should look er.. geeky and it ought to be something that no one else has.

Thats when I spot a gem amongst the array of ridiculous looking headsets. The HS 69! It had everything I needed - and more. Music control buttons, (play,pause,previous, next), Radio, LCD display which displays the current track, displays the caller name/number while on call and also gives notification of messages and stuff. And I thought it looked cool as well! So it was decided. This is destined to be my next acquisition.

Thats when I found something interesting. This thing is RARE! I roamed almost every authorised dealerships to have a look at the thing and buy one if they have it. Apparently, no one stocks it (I think no one wants it) That fuelled the geekiness in me to newer heights. I am going to get this no matter what - I recall saying this to myself.

Where my search for the HS-69 in stores failed to yield anything positive, a quick Google search revealed that the object of my attention is available for sale online! So what? Got myself one immediately and I two days ago received it in a tacky brown envelope. Opened it up and guess what??

NO 3.5MM JACK!!!


!@#$%^^&*


I ASSUMED this thing would come with a 3.5mm jack. I assumed it because the 69 in HS-69 sounds more high end than the HS -20. So what I have with me now is a stupidly elongated weird looking music controller (some asked me if it was an MP3 player) with extremely unusable and un-ergonomically placed buttons and what more? It comes with headphones that apparently were designed by the soviets in the mid 60's.


Thankfully, the shop where I went to get myself a Creative EP-630 noise cancellation headphones to pair with the HS-69, they did not have it in stock. Thats 700 bucks saved.



Never trust a geek.

First Isexplayer. Now Ipornplayer

If you folks recall, I did report about the Isexplayer here earlier. It is the first software exhibiting malware like behavior for Series 60 third edition devices. A software which dials premium rate phone numbers automatically taking advantage of a well hidden license agreement where it does says it will make calls.

Interestingly, after the story broke, the sisx version of the file disappeared from the website and only a java version was available for download. This version is supposedly safer than its symbian counterpart. Now, it seems the sis version is back –albeit under a new name Ipornplayer. The older (Java) version is still available for download on the same URL as earlier. The new Sis file is however on a different – but identical looking URL.

At this moment, I cannot confirm if the application behaves as it used to earlier. It does however have the same license agreement so I do think it’s the same thing repackaged.

Some Screenshots.. er I have edited the images on the screenshot of the webpage for obvious reasons.



EDIT: Removed a screenshot as it showd the link.


UPDATE:Had asked one of my friends to check if the behaviour persists. He tested it for two days and found nothing wrong. Installed the software earlier today on my phone and the first automatic call was made a few minutes ago. So as far as I am concerned the threat sill exists. The license agreement clearly states the call will be made. So they are legally correct.

Further investigation revealed that there are various versions of this software going by the MD5 values. Some thing certainly sounds fishy!


A screenshot of the call log:

ASUS launches new EEE PCs in India

The latest iteration of the Asus EEE PC,the 904H and 1000H were lauched here in India amidst a glittering function organised at the Taj President earlier today.

Yours truly was a witness to the launch and here are the first thoughts from me regarding the ultra compact notebook segment.

So is the EEE PC worth a look at? How does it fare price wise and functionality wise in our specific market dynamics? Read on.

THE ASUS FACTOR

Asus no doubt is a respected brand for its high quality PC Peripherals. But, when you consider getting yourselves a laptop, it is one of the last names that comes in your mind. And why not? With the likes of Dell, HP-Compaq, Lenovo dominating the segment, Asus does have a task at its hands to make headway into he masses psyche.

So what do they do? Create an entirely new market segment! This has two advantages. One: The company will be perceived as a pioneer in this field and TWO: The brand will be more recognised as these PCs are low cost devices which are affordable and reasonably powerful.

Asus sure has had a headstart in this segment and the nearest competitor is yet to launch a Netbook(Yes, thats the name for the ultra compact notebook!)here, or anywhere else in the world. The only competitor in sight is the Acer Aspire One expected in the next quarter

According to Mr. Benson Lin, General Manager,ASUS APAC Sales Group,"With the introduction of Eee PC 904H and 1000H, ASUS brings to India a new segment of netbooks for today's new age customers who have an innate desire to be connected all the time and see personalized, mobile technology as the way to meet that need."




Speaking on the occasion Mr. Lin also asserted that the EEE PC variants are targeted at both, prospective first time laptop users with basic requirements and for working professionals and students. The USP is the powerful six cell battery which has a 7 hour battery life per charge. Of course it is yet to be seen what the exact performance reports say.

The Variants

The two models lauched today were the 904H and the 1000H. Common features for both include Windows XP preinstalled, an 80 GB hard drive (No SSD!. (Wi-Fi 802.11b/g, Wi-Fi 802.11n), Eee Connect for an easy way to connect two or more users through a remote desktop feature for easy troubleshooting. They ship with 1 GB of RAM and both sport the Intel Atom processor. Bluetooth, microphone, three USB ports, a memory card reader and yes, a web cam is included as well! Neat li'l pacakage. And they look good too!


The 904H has an 8.9 inch screen while big brother 1000H sports a 10.1 inch display. Both share a resolution of 1024*600.

As for the pricing, I do think ASUS could have priced it slightly better so that they can really straddle the segment and create a truly niche segment. This is because, the 904H and the 1000H are priced at Rs.26990/- and 29990/- respectively. That puts it just slightly below the mainstream laptop segment. Any buyer will have second thoughts before getting one at these prices. Why not just increase the budget by a few thousands and get a "mainstream" laptop?

So do I recommend getting one? Well I do if you are looking for basic computing prowess, good battery life and the features. Unlike the earlier versions, you will certainly not feel "left out" as this truly is a capable laptop. However I will suggest waiting a while and check if the prices do come down a bit so that it becomes a great deal instead of a good one now!

RIM patches PDF attachment vulnerability

In a pro active move, RIM recently announced that it has managed to patch a vulnerability in their BlackBerry Enterprise Server. After identifying the PDF parsing related vulnerability, it took no time to have the hole plugged.

The security hole would have given hackers access to the Enterprise Server by tricking RIM BlackBerry email users in to opening a malicious PDF email attachment, potentially leading to a crash of the entire server. Server crashes are nothing new for RIM. Back in September-October 2007, the BlackBerry servers had crashed twice in as many months leading to analysts questioning the security and stability of the Enterprise Server.

Since then it had been an uneventful 2008 – till this flaw was spotted. RIM has confirmed that only BlackBerry server versions 4.1.3 and 4.1.5 were affected by this security hole. Enterprise Server version 4.1.6 for Microsoft Exchange and IBM Lotus Domino was apparently not affected by the flaw. The security patches have been issued to BlackBerry Enterprise server customers.

The statement added that as of now, there have been no reports of any actual exploits taking advantage of this vulnerability and since the patch has already been applied, this should not be a big cause of concern

Nokia Touchscreens Expected very soon.

We have been hearing about the Nokia “Tube” phone for ages now. If fresh rumours are to be believed, Nokia will be releasing a slew of mid and high end touch screen enabled phones later this year. In a statement released last week by Kai Ositamo, the company’s head of devices, it is mentioned that Nokia will soon be coming up with touch screen devices sooner than expected.

Interestingly, the initial releases will be aimed at the Volume market and not the high end sector where we have the likes of the Iphone 3G. This is typical Nokia strategy where they flood the markets with cheap mid range phones – at least initially. The high end models will then follow suit. With the Series 60 touch UI expected to debut soon, it would be interesting how these devices turn out to be.

As for the Nokia strategy, no can deny it does not work. A company that shipped 122 million units in Q2 2008 sure knows what it is up to!

Google Earnings fall short of expectations.

To the surprise of Wall Street executives, Google’s second quarter earnings missed estimates and they are doubtful about the company’s ability to weather a dicey ad environment.

On Thursday, Google reported a net income of $1.25 billion with revenues of $5.37 billion for the quarter ended June 30, 2008, an increase of 39% compared to the second quarter of 2007 and an increase of 3% compared to the first quarter of 2008. Google reports its revenues, consistent with GAAP(Generally Accepted Accounting Principles), on a gross basis without deducting traffic acquisition costs, or TAC. In the second quarter of 2008, TAC totaled $1.47 billion, or 28% of advertising revenues.

"Strong international growth as well as sustained traffic increases on Google's web properties propelled us to another strong quarter, despite a more challenging economic environment," said Eric Schmidt, CEO of Google. "As we continue to focus on innovating in our core business of search, ads and apps, we also look forward to enhancing the experience of our users and expanding the reach of our advertisers and partners with new technologies and formats, particularly as our integration of DoubleClick gains momentum and creates new opportunities in display advertising and elsewhere."

Although the estimates may have been missed, Google is still in a better position than many of its peers and competitiors.

Here are some of the Highlights in Brief:

• Operating income was $1.58 billion, up from $1.55 billion in the first quarter.
• Traffic acquisition costs were $1.47 billion.
• Google site revenue was $3.53 billion, up 42 percent from a year ago, but up 4 percent from the first quarter. Partner sites (AdSense) was $1.66 billion, up 22 percent from a year ago, but down from the first quarter. International revenue was 52 percent of the total compared to 48 percent from a year ago.
• Paid clicks were up 19 percent, but down 1 percent from the first quarter.
• Google had 19,604 full-time employees as of June 30.
• Capital expenditures were $698 million, most of which was spent on IT.

Dual Slide CDMA from Nokia

High end CDMA phones from Nokia are as rare as hair on chickens teeth. Naturally I was delighted to come across this.

Meet the 8208. The newest CDMA (EV-DO/1Xrtt) based handset from the Finnish giant.

Designwise, the 8208 bears uncanny resemblance to its GSM based cousin N96 and from what it seems, would end up as the first phone from the Series 40 stable to sport a dual-slider design.

There is a Chinese version as well, the 8208C.

On the features front, the Camera is a 3.0 megapixel unit with flash and 6X digital zoom. The 2.2 inch screen displays 16 million colors and sports a decent QVGA (240 x 320) resolution. The internal memory of 150MB can be expanded upto 8 GB with Micro SD cards. For music buffs, there is a 3.5mm jack, FM Radio, and a dedicated music co-processor. A GPS module is a part of the standard accessories list. The phone also supports Brew 3.1.5 for browsing. There is a mini USB port and Bluetooth 2.0 with EDR.

Nokia claims the phone is good for 20 hours of music playback on a full charge. Also, the dual slider design means dedicated music keys. Apart from this, the phone has a 11 day standby and 4 hours of talktime.

As of now this is still listed as “Coming Soon” on the Nokia Website: http://master.ncomprod.nokia.com/link?cid="PLAIN_TEXT_1005864

N73 - A Long Term Review

For a change, here’s a review with a difference. It’s easy writing a review looking at a device, playing with its features for a few days and jotting down a few words describing the product. The real testament to a products quality is a “long term” review.


If we have some auto buffs amongst us, they might be fairly well versed with the concept of “long termers”. The term is used to describe cars that the auto magazines use for a fairly long amount of time and the result is a much more detailed look in to the product than a review or a preview where little nuances and features or even downsides might be missed out on.


That brings us to the current review here.


Lets talk about the N73 here. Outdated? Well, it seems fairly outdated considering the fact that we have the flagship N95 and now the N96 in sight.Also, cousins N78 and N82 have stolen the limelight from the good ol N73 which was once upon a time the flagship, if not the best phones from the Nokia stables.As of now,the feature packed music edition retails for considerably less than its well endowed cousins and it still is a steal at this price. We’ll talk about the music edition here.


Looks and Screen:

A quick look on the design front - it is a fairly conservative approach. The massive screen dominates the front and surprisingly, there is still space left for a larger screen had Nokia wanted to add more real estate.

The 240*320 , 2.4 inch screen is bright and crisp. Visibility in daylight is great.. But not exceptional.


Camera:

On the imaging front, the phone sports a decent 3.2 mega pixel camera. The Image Quality is great for a phone although there was an issue with the previous firmware version with a blue haze during night shots. At 3.2 megapixels, the camera is still better than the “standard” 2 mega pixel count which almost all mid end handsets sport these days.


I will delve straight into the main part of the review now. Almost everyone has seen or used the N73 once. How does the handset fare on a long term basis? Read on:



The year that was:

Having used this phone for over an year now, here are the things I have noticed. The build quality is good. I have had four or five falls and on one occasion, the memory card popped out! There is still a scratch to be seen even after these falls and for starters, I am not very careful when it comes to phones. I do not even have a screen protector on. Apart from these, there ae no squeaks or issues with the moving parts -especially the flimsy camera cover.

I'd give an 9.5 on a scale of 10 for build quality.


Being a heavy user, I wanted the phone to have a good keypad and joystick. The keypad is not bad but is a tad slippery. The major problem I have faced with this phone is the joystick. The joystick has been giving me problems since the second month I got this phone and as lazy as I am, I did not bother to take it to the Nokia Service Centre. The problem is interesting it itself, the joystick tends to “jam” and looses tactile feedback when the temperature drops! Funny as it sounds, it works fine in normal temperatures.

As for other daily use wear and tear, there is nothing much to speak about. Apart from the joystick issue, there has been no issues with 11 months of heavy usage.


Firmware Updates:

The Nokia Online Update service is an easy way to upgrade a phones firmware, I was not to be left behind and am always on the latest version. The previous version had rendered the equalizer useless and was full of issues. Thankfully, we have an update now. The online upgrade is fairly simple to use. Make sure you have a good internet connection and steady power supply so that the process is not interrupted – or a visit to the Service Center is imminent!


Overall Experience:

Apart from the irritating joystick issue, the phone has been excellent. No hanging, slowness and technical issues have troubled me. From my experience, the music edition is still a good buy with the 2GB Micro SD! Smartphone buffs on a budget – look no further!

For any further queries or if you want to know something more, just post a comment and I will answer.

Iphone 3G vs Blackberry Bold!

As reported yesterday, Boy Genius Report gave us a detailed first review of the Blackberry Bold, scheduled to hit the stores next month.

What they also did was to pitt the Bold against the iPhone 3G and the result is the first ever iPhone vs Blackberry story. They did have interesting results as far as some of the features are concerned.. but who takes the crown? Read on..

Design wise, both the phones are quite dissimilar. The iPhone has the sleek, mimimalistic approach to design while the Blackberry adds the already rich corporate touch to the phone with the excellent QWERTY kwyboard and the great screen. Even though approach to design is different, its clear that the iPhone takes the crown easily if there were a phone beauty contest.

We did report some issues with the Blackberry build quality yesterday; the screen is easily scratched and does not have the confidence inspiring feeling of the iPhone which feels sturdy and durable – even with the fragile looking glass screen.

As for the screen, the blackberrys 480x 320 screen betters even that of the iPhone! It is brighter and is better for everything from watching videos to photos. However, the larger size of the iPhone screen tilts the balance slightly in favour of the device – However as far as the question of which screen is the best arises, the answer is clear. It’s the Bold.

The iPhone OS has been sort of a dark horse. Even though it is based on the MAC OS, it lacks some basic features like copy-paste. That’s a shame for a smartphone. Anyway, the matter is open for debate. But with the eye candy and functionality that the iPhone OS gives, it still takes the crown as one of the best smartphone platforms available today. As for the Blackberry, it is well known that Blackberry loyalists swear by it., BUT there is little change from the previous versions. To keep it simple, you won’t find a guy buying the Bold just for its OS. On the contrary, most people get the iPhone for that same reason. Additionally, the number of apps for the iPhone, with the App Store and the new SDK will increase exponentially. As BGR put it, “the iPhone wins over any other handset in the world in regards to applications.”

As for the other facets, no device can come close to the Blackberry whe it comes to e-mail. Not even the iPhone with MobileMe and exchange server support. E-mail has always been RIMs domain and it seems it will be like that for quite some time. Call quality wise, there is little to choose between the two.

On a final note, it is clear that the Bold is an effort to enhance the multimedia abilities for a device known for its corporate affinity if you can call it that. The iPhone on the other hand is a consumer friendly device which in its latest avatar is much more corporate friendly.

The First Blackberry Bold Review surfaces.

Boy Genius Report has managed to pull of a Blackberry Bold Review out of nowhere and boy!, it has revealed never before heard facets about the Blackberry Bold – scheduled to hit the stores this August. The successor to the Curve, the phone was in the making for almost three years till it saw the light of the day this year.

This is just a basic roundup of some of the features that the latest iteration from the RIM stable has to offer.

To start with, the folks at BGR did face some issues with starting up the device. But a quick call to one of their “Blackberry ninjas” and post a software update, things fell into place and they were able to check out the device in detail.

The 480x 320 screen is said to be one of the best seen on a mobile device. The vibrant, colour rich screen is however prone to scratches and even the most careful users can end up with a scratch on the screen – thanks to the flimsy plastic quality that RIM chose for the screen.

Designwise, the phone may look a tad iPhonish, but the comparson ends there. Like the plastic on the screen, there is a flimsy chrome strip (plastic again), which is prone to scratches.

The keyboard is similar to earlier models and ex Blackberrians would have no issues graduating to the 9000 in case they upgrade. No learning curve!

Connectivity wise, the 9000 has all you can think of. 3G, GPS and Wi Fi. There is also a brand new browser which works extremely well to display web content in the intended format. In all, a pretty good upgrade over the previous versions. Although still not in the league of the iPhone, its much much better now.

As for battery life, the 1500 MAh mill lasted almost 18 hours under the following usage pattern: 300 -500 e-mails, an hours worth of web surfing over 3G, Wi Fi on, Bluetooth Off and yes, an hour of calling. That is pretty good may I add?

Sound quality is nothing exceptional, but still better than the older versions. Call quality is extremely good as well. Although the speakerphone lpudness nees to be worked upon.

Overall, the Blackberry Bold 9000 seems well worth the wait and hopefully, RIM can needle out the plastic quality issues as well as the overall build quality which now, is a notch below that of the Curve.

Google bucket testing Digg like feature.

Most of us must be aware of Digg – the social content website where any interesting news/story can be submitted and voted for. Only the most popular stories make it to the front page. Voting up is called digging and if a story is not worth the hype, it is buried.
Visit Digg for more on that.

Now, according to reports, apna Google is working on a similar feature for its search results. Prima facie, it seems Google is “bucket testing” the application. Bucket testing is nothing but making the feature available to select randomly chosen users. While most may just miss it, there are some who do notice this and send in screenshots!



Adrian Pike is one such user and he has sent some screenshots which does suggest that Google is working on similar feature. From the screen shots he has sent to TechCrunch, an up and down arrow can be clearly seen – along with an X. When the up arrow is clicked, it turns green and it adds to the total vote count. This was reported earlier as well by the folks at Tech Crunch – the only difference this time being the option to change your vote.

Once the testing is complete and all goes well, Google will move this to the Google Experimental Area where this can be added by any user.

The Samsung i8510. Nokia N96, C905 killer?

Rumours rumours everywhere. This time its Samsung. If initial reports are true, Samsung is readying the big momma of all Series 60 phones. This one - christened the i8510, boasts of an impressive spec list that may make the likes of the N96 cringe and turn in their graves – even before release.

So whats the big deal?

To start with, there is the 8 Megapixel camera (reportedly, the same unit as the Sony Ericsson –C905 –Shiho), Other features :


• A 2.8-inch QVGA (240×320 pixels) screen displaying 16 million colours
•120 fps (QVGA) video recording. (Note: These are not the final specs – so that might go up to VGA)
•UMTS with HSDPA support, WiFi, GPS, TV out, DivX support, dedicated 3D graphics chip.
•Optical mouse (Similar to as i780 and i900 Omnia)
•1200 mAh battery.
•106.5×53.9×16.9 mm metal case
•16 GB internal memory – probably an 8GB version is expected too.



If the above specs are true, the N96 seems to be outdated even before launch. As for the Sony Ericsson C905, a direct comparison would be unjust as the latter is not a smartphone. No word on face detection on the Samsung though.

Now, lets wait and watch what Nokia has for an answer! This is getting interesting day by day!

Now get yourselves a Nokia Account.

Nokia seems to be converging all its services under one roof so that they can be accessed from a single user ID which Nokia says will be your new Nokia account.


This marks a gradual shift for the company from being only a mobile phone manufacturer to a service provider. Most of these services like Maps, File and music sharing started out as different companies but were eventually bought out by Nokia. Naturally, all these services had different membership systems. Now, once under one roof, it is plain annoying too use different IDs for each service. This is one of the reasons why Nokia is aiming for an unified account access system – a la Google.

Nokia has also launched an umbrella brand for all these services. Known as the “Ovi” (Finnish for Door), the website can be accessed on http://www.ovi.com

The services that can be availed currently include Maps, Nokia Music Store, Ovi Share, Ovi Files ad N-gage
There is also the new Chat application that is coming up. More on that here


To create your account, all you need to do is to navigate to http://accounts.nokia.com and sign up using an e-mail ID that works. Although I did notice that there were initial sign up and webpage access issues –hopefully these will be fixed soon.

The Iphone frenzy.. I still don't understand

So, the Iphone 3G has landed.. no we do not have a first look but will as soon as we get a hands on on the device. This story is related to something else actually.

Now, don't get me wrong.. I do not hate the iPhone 3G, I just do not understand the frenzy behind the device. I did see the phenomenon last year and see the same thing being repeated again.

I am not criticizing it nor am I making fun of the folks who stood in queue overnight to get hold of one as soon as it was launched. Infact, I might have one of them had the phone been launched here!

I am amazed at what a Brand name could do.. now to be honest, the iPhone does pack in a lot of features in that not so big frame. Most prominently, the UI. I am sure many have tried to ape the UI and many will in the future.... but the original is what it is.


Now, when it comes to capabilities, almost everyone knows it is a very capable smart phone... but is it the best? Well, its your say.. Basic functions like Bluetooth and FM Radio (for us folks in India :) ) are missing. We eat and prosper on bluetooth here and it becomes a prestige issue after getting a phone like this for a fortune the person decides to transfer a file and lo..! Where the freak did the "send via bluetooth" option go!? Thats where the Iphone owners ego (if he has any) gets hit hard. It sure isn't a funny sight when a friend offers to transfer you a file and you holding one of the most hyped phones ever blurting out.. "Are bhai.. baadme bhej.. bluetooth nahi hai"


For geeks, the iPhone would be an object of desire, curiosity and what not. The flaunt value is unparelleled... maybe only rivaleld by the likes of the N96 and the HTC Touch Diamond.

Now for another interesting angle, most people who use their initial previous generation iPhones here in India bought it from the flourishing grey market. However, this time round, the iPhone is slated to be launched here in September/October by Airtel and Vodafone. I seriously doubt people here will wait that long to get hold of one. According to latest reports, it would be only a matter of days when the iPhone 3G will hit the flourishing underground marketplace of South East Asia and eventually, India. From an initial Yahoo report, heres what shop owner Chris Lau had to say.
“We have already taken orders for the new iPhone from 40 people and estimated its arrival on the gray market in about a week. I’m not 100 percent sure the stocks we are receiving will be unlocked, but I don't think it will take long to crack it," he said, referring to the practice of hacking iPhones' computer code so they can be used with different mobile service providers.

Now, previous experience with iPhones availability in India not long after its International debut will no doubt heighten expectations about its availability here in India. The grey market is ready and raring to go. Albeit, Apple has taken precautions which include steps from tracking buyers and serial numbers, to auditing distributors and resellers, who are typically the biggest risk in the supply chain.

On a final note we know its launched.. but will it be here in India sooner than its slated to be? We will get to know very soon!

Nokia Series 40 Sixth Edition Previewed.

Nokia has discreetly introduced the new Series 40 sixth edition with the Supernova Series. So what does this mean for one of the most widely used native-non smartphone operating system?

For starters, the new OS will support the following enhanced Java APIs.

Location API for J2ME (JSR-179) for creation of location based applications. For laymen, what this means is GPS support with an external GPS unit to obtain location specific information.
The other newly introduced feature is the inclusion of the Cell Broadcast Service message handling. (JSR-205)

For normal users though another significant change is the addition of support for Flash 3 Lite 3 player from Adobe. This will allow running animated swf files and time – date related wallpapers. The theme effects will be extended to the radio and multimedia player applications – and then there is the horizontal scrolling of lists in the user interface.

The Maps application from Series 60 will be seen in the Series 40 now –albeit the older version.
There is a revamped e-mail client as well and support for pop –up windows with the browser.

With the new additions, S40 has moved an inch closer to the capabilities offered by big brother S60 – though we do not see a merging of the features in the forseeable future as both the platforms are aimed at different target audiences.

Series 60 Third Edition Malware Isexplayer. The true Story.

Okay.. I am the guy who reported this story initially.. and now I see that it has created a storm within the Symbian circles...


The issue was first reported on Esato by me and then on Techtree.. and subsequently on Symbian Freak and then on All About Symbian

This is what the initial reports looked like..

"Just as you thought the new Series 60 third edition handsets were a safer bet than the older ones, here’s something to be worried about. Probably the first malware/virus for Series 60 third edition is making rounds on the Internet. It is well known that earlier series 60 editions were plagued by malware issues ranging from the Commwarrior variants, Skull to Caribe. The newest kid on the block, a software called “Isexplayer” acts as a pornographic portal offering various “services”. Once you install the .sis file, it is reported that the software dials a premium rate international phone number – automatically and that too randomly without the owners’ knowledge. Interesting to note is that the software does ask for your permission to allow it to make calls – but this is at the time of installation. End users usually allow this. What the program does not state is that the calls will be automatically made!"



That was my initial story. I have checked the application and saw the license agreement which has an interesting clause.

Here it is
"B)Access fee:Users get unlimited access to the 3g6.se and is billed subsequently per entry. The access is billed by calls made to an international destination. The application will try to call destinations which is the most inexpensive for the subscriber (based on the subscribers country of residence), but are not in any matter obligated to do so. You agree to let the application make these calls to pay for access fee when due according to these billing terms. Total call duration for unlimited access may vary from 10 minutes to four hundred minutes per entry, depending on the subscribers country of origin and available international destination”


I reiterate that this is not a Virus but a program which has a malware tendency... No reason to be worried.. But if you install this inadvertently, it might hit you real bad.. So please do take care. Additionally, it sounds like the software works differently in different phones. On mine, it made 13 international calls. On some others it may do something else. I am not sure because I have tested it only on my phone.


Also, there seems to be a confusion regarding the type of file this is.. I downloaded this to check what the file type is and see that it is a sis file.. some others say it is a .jar file. I doubt if the site detects the phone browser and offers the appropriate version for the kind of phone you are using.. More on this when I get further information...