Our wishlist for the next WP7 handset

Windows Phone 7 has been a fresh change from the millions of rows and columns of icons we have seen in smartphones in the recent past. Although the operating system is super fast and effective, it does lack in a few areas, when compared to Android and iOS. Here’s what we would love to see in the next Windows Phone 7 handset.

Guest Mode
Everybody has personal stuff on their phone. From stored passwords, to ‘logged-in’ social networks, to credit card details, to personal images and documents. There’s a constant fear of spilling out ‘classified information’ when somebody wants to view your new smartphone. What do you do then? Enter guest mode.

With Guest mode, there'll be no more of THIS!

We’ll quickly explain this once, if you’ve not understood it already. Guest mode allows you to hide your personal data like e-mail, social networking updates, files and login info. You have two passwords on your smartphone. Password A enables guest mode, while password B enables your normal phone functionality. It’s an extremely simple to implement feature, but somehow hasn’t been included. No longer do you have to stay worried about showing your latest WP7 handset to your friends, as you’ll have guest mode! C’mon Microsoft, please do this for us and everybody else.

Media formats and Zune
The single most irritating feature in Windows right now is Zune and how it greatly limits media formats for your smartphone. Why do all videos have to be transcoded by Zune? It’s similar to iTunes for iOS devices, but we’d have loved a free approach by Microsoft. Anyway, all is still not over and removing Zune dependency would definitely be a ‘feature’ we’d all love to have. And while we’re at it, more media format support out of the box would definitely be a brilliant addition. After all, they’re all ‘smart’phones, aren’t they?

No more Zune!

To think of it, everything in their user interface is slick and fast. From sending emails to updating your Facebook status, to clicking pictures, to accessing music - the whole experience is a breeze. Why doesn’t the same outlook have to be carried over to connectivity to the PC, data transfer and playback? Playing any video format is definitely on our priority list and transferring music files using mass storage is an easier task to accomplish as well. Even phone updates currently require you to connect your phone via Zune, whereas OTA it's quicker, faster and sexier!

More UI customization
Not particularly happy with the look of the user interface? Too bad, you can’t do a thing about it. Like iOS, WP7 is a closed system and while we aren’t particularly complaining out here, how you feel about the interface from the word go, will clearly decide your overall experience and satisfaction with the phone.  WP7 is as rigid as iOS. The best you can do at the moment is change tiles, add or remove them or simply change the background and tile colour.

Gimme more!

We’ll reiterate this again, we aren’t complaining about the user interface. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with the UI, but sometimes you might want that slight amount of customization that might alter the look and feel of your phone. A desktop wallpaper, an alternate launcher, or simply minor tweaks in the layout mean that you’ll never get tired of the tile interface and you’ll have one more option to choose from.

Sony Xperia S Review

What started as a beautiful marriage 10 years ago, ended this Jan where Sony and Ericsson went their own separate ways. This was more of a sweet than bitter parting of ways as Sony can fully concentrate on upping their game in the mobile space and make use of various patents and technology acquired by Ericsson over the years in their other products as well. This leaves Ericsson with a heap of cash for their stake in the joint venture. With Sony at the wheel, it was time for them to change things up and create a new experience for their mobile phone division, something that would be distinctly recognizable as a Sony phone and not a Sony Ericsson.

A handsome looking phone

While the former partners had some iconic phones over the decade, I personally wasn’t sold on their designs and never really like any of their handsets so much, that I would go out and buy one. One of the main reasons for this was their habit of using way too many chrome and glossy bits all over the phone and the fact that the buttons were always small and fiddly, which didn’t really inspire quality (even if it was well built). Take their last high-end phone, the Xperia Arc. A great phone, no doubt, but again, too many glossy plastic bits and a bit of chrome overdose. When they announced their new lineup at MWC 2012, the NXT series did pique my interest since it was a far cry from what we’ve come to expect from them, and most importantly, Sony seemed to have done away with all the chrome bits, which scores high in my book. While the official launch of the Xperia S is for India is still a week away, we were lucky to get our hands on a unit and although our encounter was brief, it was enough to come up with a verdict. Out of all the tests, we weren't able to run our series of battery tests but worry not, as we will be updating this review once we get it for a longer time. This may or may not affect the rating, so we’ll see what happens.

Design and Build
The Xperia S is currently Sony’s highest-end offering in their NXT series. The phone comes packed in a slim box along with some reading material, microUSB cable, power adapter and an in-earphone headset. Available in black and white, the Xperia S feels absolutely lovely to hold and although the chassis is built from plastic, it’s really hard to tell. The phone feels sturdy and well built with no creaking joints even if you squeeze it. The phone appears a bit blocky due to the lack of rounded edges and a slim profile. At 10.6mm, I wouldn’t exactly call it fat and it’s pretty light as well with the battery at 144g.

Nice detailing around the headphone jack

For connectivity, we have a plastic flap-covered microUSB port and HDMI port on either sides while the 3.5mm headphone jack is placed on the top. Buttons on the phone include the volume rocker, camera shutter and a power/sleep button. The lanyard, mic and antenna for the radios are placed towards the bottom of the phone. Like I mentioned earlier, the buttons don’t have any annoying gloss finish, which is good but they are still a bit tiny and thin and can be annoying when you want to quickly unlock the phone or snap a quick picture. I really like the little attention to detail, like the brushed metal ring around the headphone jack. This gives it a nice polished touch. On the front, we have the 1.3MP front facing camera along with a scratch-resistant 4.3-inch screen. There’s even a notification light on the left side which toggles between three colours depending on the type of alert. With a resolution of 1280 x 720, the Xperia S sails past the iPhone’s Retina Display with a pixel count of 342ppi. Coupled with the Sony Mobile BRAVIA Engine, this makes anything and everything on the screen appear super sharp and crisp. Colour reproduction is very good and so is the sunlight legibility. The display also supports 10 finger multi-touch gestures.

The translucent strip is certainly looks cool

Coming to the bottom portion of the Xperia S, we have the new translucent strip which holds the labels for the capacitive buttons. The buttons themselves aren’t on the strip as we assumed before, but instead, they are placed just above it represented by three silver dots. Now, this does take some getting used too as you’ll instinctively want to press something that lights up. The three buttons are ‘Back’, ‘Home’ and ‘Options’. I didn’t find the sensitivity of the capacitive buttons all that great and there were many instances when it refused to register any input. We hope this is merely a software glitch and wish Sony releases a fix for it soon.

The 12MP shooter

Coming to the back of the phone, we just have the 12MP camera, LED flash and the speaker. The battery cover is opened by simply pushing it upwards and it pops out. The Xperia S uses a microSIM card and there’s no expandable memory support, just 32GB of onboard storage. Also, the battery is not user replaceable. Overall, the Xperia S really impressed us with the design and build, it definitely feels like a premium phone, which it is. One thing that needs some work are the capacitive buttons.

Micromax Plans Feature Phone With A Solar Panel

Globally, Micromax may not be a frequently heard of brand. However, in India, the brand has a wide audience and the brand is very popular for their handsets, mainly because they cater to a very wide consumer base. With their tag line, ‘Nothing like Anything,’ the brand in the past have launched a range of handsets with neat features, such as dual SIM capabilities, handsets that feature above average battery life and other interesting attributes. As per an exclusive report by The Mobile Indian, it appears that the brand is going to introduce a new feature on their upcoming and yet unnamed handset by adding a solar panel that allows one to charge the phone easily.

Solar charging handset from Micromax coming soon

As per the report, Rahul Sharma, Co-Founder and Executive Director of Micromax has stated, “We have been at the forefront of innovation. We were the first to launch long battery life phones, dual SIM phones and many more. Our next innovation is to get rid of the mobile phone charger by including a solar panel in our next phone. This solar charger will top up the charge in 3 hours to support 1.5 hours of talktime."

As of yet, no other details have been let out about this upcoming handset, but Rahul Sharma has informed the Mobile Indian that it will not be a smartphone and will instead be a feature phone. For those not in the know how, feature phones are basically mobile phones by manufacturers that are not considered to be smartphones. They may possess various features and capabilities that are not found in general mobile phones, but additional features put them slightly above basic mobile phones. They usually have a JAVA-based operating system, as opposed to Android or Windows Phones and are generally cheaper than most smartphones.

This is not the first mobile phone to implement a solar panel as a means of charging as in the past, Vodafone have released the VF 247 priced at Rs.1,500. The launch of the Micromax handset is scheduled to take place within a week and when it is announced all the features of the handset will come to light.

IPL rides high on glamour quotient at fifth season's opener

Amitabh, Priyanka, Kareena and US singer Katy Perry dominated the glitzy opening ceremony of the fifth edition of the Indian Premier League.

Chennai, (IANS): From a bevy of Bollywood stars, including Amitabh Bachchan, Priyanka Chopra and Kareena Kapoor, as also US singer Katy Perry, the glamour quotient dominated the glitzy opening ceremony of the fifth edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) at the YMCA Ground here Tuesday night.

In his signature baritone, Bachchan set the stage alive with a heartwarming poem written by lyricist Prasoon Joshi.

This was the actor's first stage appearance after undergoing abdominal surgery. He looked hale and hearty as he came on stage dressed in velvet coat and trousers, to recite "Janam Yadhi Phir Se Mile".

The 69-year-old was accompanied by dancers from the Shiamak Davar troupe, who described the essence of the poem through their performance.

His routine was followed by Colonial Cousins, DJ Ravi Drums and Soth African percussionist group 1st Project who mesmerised with their peppy numbers.

Bollywood's "junglee billi" Priyanka Chopra then took the packed audience by surprise when she went up in the air during her performance, and got cricketer Harbhajan Singh to dance a little jig with her.

Looking chic in a black and white sequinned top, black pants and a red wrap-around skirt, the actress opened her act with her popular song "Aaj ki raat".

She did away with her skirt for a sporty look as she was pulled up in the air with a harness for an aerial act on the "Don" tune. The 29-year-old mesmerised the audience with her confidence, and landed on the stage for a power-packed dance on the number "Dhantanaa" from the film "Kaminey".

She moved around in the audience, and urged the front row members, including Sourav Ganguly and Harbhajan Singh, to dance. Bhajji, as the latter is lovingly called, was sporting enough to get up and join her for a jig.

Later, Priyanka took to the stage again to interact with the cricketers of title holders Chennai Super Kings, who are led by India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni.

She pulled Dhoni's leg, and asked the boys to join her for a dance on hit Tamil song "Nakka mukka".

Kareena Kapoor then stole many hearts when she danced to her chartbuster "Chhamak chhallo" and swayed to "Dil mera muft ka" but the cherry on the cake was her warm "Vanakkam".

The packed audience cheered in unison for the 31-year-old as she came on stage dressed in a blingy black overcoat.

"Kaun hai jisne mujhe mudke nahin dekha (Who is the one who didn't turn around again to see me)" from her popular movie "Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham", played in the background as Kareena appeared on stage. And going by her flashy outfit, the dialogue suited the moment perfectly. Even if one wanted, one couldn't miss her presence on stage.

Kareena set the stage on fire with "Chhammak chhallo", "Pyaar ki pungi", her latest mujra number "Dil mera muft ka" and grooved to some remixed versions of her songs like "Yeh ishq haaye", "Teri meri prem kahaani" and "Criminal".

Her performance was fairly long and vivacious and left the audience asking for more.

India's very own Michael Jackson, Prabhu Deva, performed some scintillating dance numbers as well.

The audience's enthusiasm went up to the next level as the Tamil superstar performed his signature moves to songs like "Main aisa kyun hun" from "Lakshya" and "Tera hi jalwa" from "Wanted" in his hometown.

The 39-year-old even went down the stage to mingle with the audience while shaking a leg and people were seen enjoying his performance to the fullest.

Indian cricket board president N.Srinivasan in his speech promised to help 185 Indian cricketers with the proceeds from the four play-off stage matches.

Srinivasan said the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) will be distributing the proceeds among 185 international and domestic cricketers.

"The proceeds from the play-off matches will be distributed among former cricketers, who have represented India at the international level and also among domestic players. The BCCI will give a one time assistance to those cricketers and around 185 Indian cricketers will benefit. It is a small gesture from the BCCI to all those who have done yoeman's service to Indian cricket," he said.

Standing alongside the nine IPL team captains, Srinivasan said it was a proud moment for him.

"It is a proud moment for me to stand here on this stage with nine captains. IPL has gone from strength to strength and has become one of the premier tournament of the world," he said.

Srinivasan also said that IPL has helped the BCCI to develop infrastructure for the sport all over the country.

"We distribute proceeds from the IPL to all the state associations to build infrastructure. BCCI spends substantial amount on helping to develop the game at the grass roots," he said.

 

Micromax Funbook Can Work Only With Tata Photon Plus!

 
Micromax has entered the tablet market in India with its Funbook tab. The company is also offering a Tata Photon Plus bundled with additional 1GB data download for the first two months. The device will work only with Tata Photon Plus EVDO data card. It means that the users are not allowed to use any other USB modem other than the preloaded Tata Photon Plus.

Gadget freaks opine that this is likely to restrict the reach of the tablet device, which is priced at Rs 6,499. Speaking about the device, Deepak Mehrotra, CEO, Micromax Informatics Limited, said, “We are looking forward to cater to the educational and entertainment needs of the Indian youth at an affordable price.” But given the fact that it is restricted to one telecom service provider, it is sure to force the buyers to look for other options. When asked about the reasons for tying up with one service provider, Mehrotra said, “It a part of our collaboration initiatives. For the time being, the device can only work with Tata Photon Plus.” 
However, he refrained from commenting about the services and reach of Tata Phone Plus. He said, "It's not what we would like to comment on. We will try to increase the reach of our device through our distribution network." Mehrotra also did not comment on the time frame when the tablet will support other service providers.

It is worth mentioning here that Micromax Informatics Limited unveiled its edutainment tablet- Micromax Funbook in New Delhi yesterday. The company claims that the 1-cm thick Funbook is the slimmest and lightest tablet in India.

Powered with the latest Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich Operating Software (OS), the Funbook runs on a 1.2 GHz Cortex A8 processor and has a 17.8-cm (7-inch) capacitive touch screen. Micromax has targeted the youth, right from primary school students to civil service aspirants with their ‘pass hoga aur time pass bhi hoga' tag. The tablet features a 0.3 mega pixel VGA front camera and is available in silver and black colours.

Along with Vriti e-learning app, the Funbook has ready-to-use study materials for all school boards in India like ICSE, ISC, and preparatory materials for Medical, MBA, Engineering and other exams. The tablet is powered by BIGflix, which allows users the freedom to choose from over 1000 movies in 9 languages. The languages are Hindi, English, Bengali, Kannada, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Marathi and Punjabi, that cover across almost all genres. It also allows users to view over 48 channels like MTV, Colors, UTV Bindaas, UTV Movies, NDTV, etc. The device is available on the company's website.

Egyptian Entrepreneurs Hope Technology, Google Funding, Will Spur Economy

The Egyptian revolution sent the country’s economy into a tailspin. Egypt was already plagued by high unemployment, particularly among those under the age of 30. Amid ongoing unrest, foreign investors have put projects on hold. Once-reliable industries like tourism are struggling. But several dozen technology entrepreneurs think they have what it takes to spur job creation, despite political uncertainty. They are taking part in a competition sponsored by Google, which will award a $200,000 prize to one business.

In a conference room at the elegant Fairmont Hotel in Cairo, two young men are playing a fierce game of table tennis. Around them, youthful entrepreneurs slouch in bean bag chairs, pecking furiously at their laptops. Hundreds of Egyptians are jammed into small booths around the perimeter of the room. Each one is ready to explain how his or her tech business has the potential to be the next big thing.

"With IntaFeen,you can share your location with friends and family on the go. Whether you are in a restaurant, watching a movie, eating ice cream, in a park, you share this information with your friends and family," said Adel Youssef, the founder and CEO (chief executive officer) of Wireless Stars. He said spent five years working in the United States but moved back to Egypt because he saw unexploited opportunity. He and his team have created a mobile application called IntaFeen. It’s a location-based social network. Users write reviews of restaurants and movies.

They earn “badges” for places where they check in frequently. Youssef says the idea is based on the popular “Foursquare” application, but has a different cultural sensibility. "If you see the badges of Foursquare they are designed for U.S. culture or West culture. My favorite badge is gym rat. A gym rat in the U.S. is someone who is actively working in the gym. If you see someone here and you give him this badge, that is insulting," he said.

About 110,000 people from Egypt to Ghana to Pakistan have downloaded the IntaFeen app.

Organizers say the point of the competition is not just for Egypt’s young techies to show off, but to address one of Egypt’s most pressing problems: unemployment. Egypt’s official unemployment rate is 12-point-4 percent, but many believe it to be much higher. Around 90 percent of the unemployed are young, under the age of 30. But can tech companies really create jobs?

Maha Elbouennein, the head of communications for Google in the Middle East and North Africa, said "These are 50 companies that didn't exist six months ago. In order to be participating in the program, they have to be registered, legal entities. This isn't a business plan competition. So the evidence in itself, that 50 companies exist today that didn't six months ago is evidence enough about how it’s helping the economy and it’s growing. It’s creating jobs."

Elbouennein says, of course, Google has its own financial interests in the region. "Google basically wants people to live on the Internet," he said.

If technology businesses get bigger in Egypt, inevitably, so will Google.

Some of the entrepreneurs have set their sights beyond North Africa and the Middle East. Yasmin Elayat is the CEO of Groupstream, a storytelling platform that lets users interact with one another by adding photos, tweets and blog posts into an online “stream.” Groupstream is going to launch in the United States, first. "The idea started when we noticed that during the Egyptian revolution, Egyptians were documenting our country’s history in real time on social media and Facebook and Twitter and on photos and videos on cell phones and cameras," she said.

Elayat turned that initial spark of an idea into a crowd-sourced documentary project called 18 Days in Egypt. But she says she soon realized that the same technology could be useful for those who did not have anything quite so dramatic as a revolution to document. "It doesn't even have to be news. I see my cousin, she’s like 11 and her whole life is on social media. She doesn't even know what it feels like to hold a photograph anymore," she said.

Google has narrowed a list of 4,000 entrants down to 20 businesses and will pick a winner in May. But win or lose, many of the entrepreneurs share the same hope: that Egypt’s youth, which have been at the forefront of so much political change and upheaval in the last year-and-a-half might now become the leaders of a technological revolution.

Instagram for Android is now available

Instagram has been around since 2010, available only to iOS devices. Android users have been waiting patiently, with repeated promises of an Android version arriving soon.

While we knew the Android version of Instagram was coming sooner rather than later, with the release being teased just last month at South by Southwest Interactive, the exact release date wasn't clear. Well, the day has finally arrived.
With more than 430,000 Android users on the waiting list, Instagram is now available in Google Play. The app carries with it the same features (except tilt-shift/blur) and a similar user interface to that of the iOS version. Users are able to browse friends' photos, view the popular photos, and upload their own photos, as you would expect.
Android users will join a community of 30 million registered users, who contribute more than 5 million photos a day. More than 1 billion photos in all have been uploaded to Instagram, strictly from iOS devices. With the addition of Android devices, these numbers are sure to grow at a considerable pace.
Instagram for Android is compatible with smartphones running Android 2.2 and up. Tablets aren't supported at this time. Download Instagram for Android.
Are you excited to see Instagram on Android? Or are you tired of Instagram-like photos taking over your social streams? Let us know your thoughts below!