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The Week That Was
Techtree News Staff, Feb 07, 2010 1130 hrs ISTLet's see what all hogged the headlines in the week that went by us
It's the weekend and time is here for yet another edition of Techtree's weekly news roundup. Let's see what all hogged the headlines in the week that went by us.
iPhone OS 3.2 Supports Video Call, SMS Features
Last week, Apple did not only launch the iPad but also announced the iPhone OS 3.2 SDK with iPad simulator to build apps. Engadget reported that Apple iPad is capable of video calls, file transfers, SMS and handwriting recognition. Of course these features are visible from the iPad simulator and confirmed by a developer. Amusingly, the simulator always says "iPhone Simulator" on the menu bar so don't get confused.
Obviously, we're talking about a front facing camera possibility in the future iPad models since the SDK already suggests video call support in it. You can now hook to accept or decline a video conference, flip a video feed and run the video call either in full screen mode or custom-window size mode suggest probability of front-facing camera.
India's own Kindle Arrives: Infibeam Pi
Say hello to the Infibeam "Pi". This is by far India's first attempt at making an e-book reader of our own that has actually materialized and the product is ready for "consumption". The Pi is made by shopping portal Infibeam which currently offers over one lakh books for Indian readers via its portal http://infibeam.com. There are plans to add more books and unlike the Kindle, the Pi gives its users a cool option to upload their own content via a USB. In future, you can also expect a lot of newspaper and publications to the list of reading materials. The Pi, apart from being just an e-book reader, also happens to be a music player. It has 512MB of ROM and supports upto 4GB of memory with SD cards.
Samsung S8500 to Get Bluetooth 3.0
All through 2009, mobile devices continued to ship with "old" Bluetooth 2.0 and 2.1 hardware and only in 2010 will we see the first of the devices that will come with Bluetooth 3.0 loaded. The first of these devices might be the Samsung GT-S8500, a phone that would be launched later this year. The Bluetooth SIG'S website has details of this phone that will most likely be the first one to sport Bluetooth 3.0. The S8500 is a Full Touchscreen device boasting of a 3.1 inch OLED screen and runs the Touchwiz interface over proprietary Samsung OS we believe. The phone is also told to be slim and will support EDGE/GPRS Quad-Band (850/900/1800/1900) networks.
Microsoft Zune Phone Imminent at MWC
References to the much speculated Zune Phone were found in the Zune software update recently. Now, MuyComputer blog's editorial director Javier Perez Cortijo has confidently confirmed with Gizmodo that Microsoft will share details about Zune phones at the Mobile World Congress 2010 later this month. From the scanty details which are available, we know that the phone isn't a "Zune" phone but a Windows Mobile 7 running handset with Zune capabilities.
Sony Ericsson Aspen Arrives
Sony Ericsson has announced the launch of its latest Windows Mobile powered handset, the Aspen. A GreenHeart labeled handset, the phone is the first Sony Ericsson Windows Mobile handset to sport a QWERTY keyboard in a non-slide out format. The phone is being targeted as a Business device and packs in the latest version of Windows Phone and comes preloaded with powerful productivity tools. It is also a strong performer on the multimedia front with support for features like PlayNow and a mediabrowser.
Chrome Eating into Firefox, IE Market Share?
According to the latest data released by Internet research firm Netmarketshare, Google's Chrome browser is on a steady market share increasing spree. The browser, which was launched in late 2008, has overtaken the likes of Opera and Safari to become the third most popular browser on the planet. While Mozilla Firefox and Internet Explorer are ahead of Chrome by a considerable margin, the worrying thing for both of them is that they have lost market share at the cost of Chrome's gain. Apple's Safari browser too has increased its share. In terms of numbers, Internet Explorer with all its versions accounts for 62.2 percent while Mozilla Firefox trails at second place with 24.4 percent share. Chrome is at distant third place at 5.2 percent of the browser market.
BlackBerry OS 6.0 in Works
If you happen to be a big BlackBerry enthusiast, this one might just interest you. While most of you are aware that Blackberry OS 5.0 is just making its presence felt, let us also inform you that RIM has already started working on the next iteration of the OS. That's right. Work on Blackberry OS 6.0 has already begun. There aren't any juicy details regarding OS 6.0 as of now. However, what we do know is that it is at its preliminary stages only.
Symbian Becomes Open Source
The Symbian Foundation has announced the much-awaited decision of making its code open source. Symbian3, the new version of the OS, will mark the change of Symbian from being a closed OS platform to become an Open Source platform where anyone can download and modify it for free.
This move comes after the increase in the popularity of likes of Android OS from Google and the iPhone OS from Apple who had slowly started stealing the limelight from Symbian, which was not only, a decade old - but had also started looking outdated and cumbersome.
Nikon Coolpix P100 Launched, Shoots 1080p Video
Nikon has finally released its first Coolpix family digital camera with 26x optical zoom, full HD (1080p) capabilities and CMOS Image sensor. New Nikon Coolpix P100 seems like redefined version of P90 and of course with much more imaging power. The P100 uses new 10.3-megapixel CMOS sensor that claims to improve shooting speed and reduce the noise in low-light photos. Nikon's new Coolpix P100 can be expected in U.S. stores by March for $400 (Rs. 19,200 approx). New Nikon Coolpix P100 has 10.3-megapixel backside-illuminated CMOS image sensor that improves the shooting speed such that it shoots at 120 frames per second bursts. Boasting as the first of its kind from Nikon P100 is capable of capturing video at full 1080p HD resolutions along with audio aided with stereo mic on the top.
Nokia C-Series Shows Up
We have been hearing about Nokia's C-Series for quite some time now. It was first heard of back in July when Nokia was caught trying to patent its X and C-Series brands. While we are aware of what the X-Series would be like, little was known about the C-Series. On February 3, a leaked image of what is thought to be one of the first C-Series devices to be launched by Nokia started doing the rounds of the Interweb. The phone in the pictures is known as the C5. The C5 looks like a very compact candy bar phone running Series 60.
Facebook Redesigned, Brings Simpler Homepage
Just three months after it had last redesigned its homepage, Facebook has done it again. And in less than six months, Facebook has given yet another facelift to its homepage. However, this time, the change aims to make the Facebook homepage more search friendly and interactive by hooking navigational elements in that page itself. Just when users had got accustomed with the homepage UI enhancements, an uninformed change arrives. Facebook and the community backlash is expected just like everytime when homepage redesign occurs. Again, Facebook has been known for making UI changes overnight and then face heat from its user community. The new 'simplified' home is visible only to select users and more 80 million users will get to see the change in a day or two. We believe many Facebook addicts will get shock when they log in and find their page messed up. Yes, by messed up, we mean messed up!
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