Stellar Apple Mail to Outlook 2011 Converter: Review

Friday, December 21, 2012 in Iphone

Stellar Apple Mail to Outlook 2011 Converter is a simple, no-frills application that delivers exactly what it promises on the box. With no native support in Microsoft Outlook to import mails from Apple Mail, this utility is sure to come in handy for anyone looking to make the switch.

If you are running OS X Mountain Lion with default Gatekeeper settings, you'll be greeted by this message when you first open the app:


stellar_converter_gatekeeper_warning.pngDon't worry, you can change the Gatekeeper settings via System Preferences (see screenshot below) to allow all apps, though it does make your Mac a little bit insecure if you don't know what you are doing.


stellar_converter_gatekeeper_settings.pngYou can change the setting, run the app, and then change it back to the original. Our advise to Stellar would be to start signing their apps, so users feel more secure running their app.

The application opens with a simple screen with just two controls - path to the Apple Mail folder and a Convert button. The Mail Folder Path points to ~/Library/Mail on launch, the folder where Apple Mail stores your mails be default. You can change that to any customer folder that contains Apple Mail data, but probably won't need to (leave it as is if you don't know what you are doing).

Once you've picked the folder, simply click Convert and you'll be greeted by a Save dialog - pick the location and click save. Don't bother fiddling with Format, since rge is the only choice. We are not sure why the options exists at all, especially since trying to make this non-existent choice lead to an application crash!

We restarted the application, and simply clicked Convert, followed immediately by Save (no mucking around options this time), triggering the conversion process. We were greeted by a progress bar as the application started the conversion process in the background.


stellar_converter_conversion.pngIt took 25 minutes to convert around 5GB of our mails. We were greeted with an option to view a small tutorial on how to import the resulting file into Outlook.

The import process in pretty simple. Fire up Microsoft Outlook 2011 and go to File -> Import and choose "Entourage information from an archive or earlier version". Click next and select "Entourage archive (.rge)" and go to the next step where you select the file exported in the previous step.


import_to_outlook.jpgLet Outlook do its thing and finish the import. Importing our mails took around 32 minutes, which, of course, is no reflection on Stellar's email converter.

The mails are imported into a folder, with sub-folders for each email account you had setup. Individual folders within each mail account are further sub-folders. All email data imported fine, except for the fact that mail statues (read/ unread, replied, flagged etc.) were lost, and all unread messages marked as read. Mail priorities (high/ normal/ low), on the other hand, were preserved.

It is worth pointing out that the app only imports mails, and not mail accounts/ settings, signatures or mail-processing rules.

Verdict
Stellar Apple Mail to Outlook 2011 Converter promises one thing and, minor quirks aside, it delivers on that promise. The fact it marks all messages as read may be a deal breaker for some.

At $39 Stellar Apple Mail to Outlook 2011 Converter may seem expensive, but it's a no-nonsense way of migrating your mail. While there may be some free/ open source tool out there that offers similar functionality, a quick Google search didn't reveal any.

We did find another shareware tool called Emailchemy, that costs $39 as well, but can covert between almost every popular email format, unlike Stellar's utility, that supports just one input and output format. We'll see if we can review Emailchemy later, but meanwhile if you're looking for a painless way to move your mail from Apple Mail to Microsoft Outlook 2011, look no further than Stellar's little program here.

Stellar Apple Mail to Outlook 2011 Converter v1.0 (OS X, $39)

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TV Guide app review

Friday, December 21, 2012 in Hot topics

I grew up in a TV Guide household. I'd flip through the magazine each week to see what was on. Keeping track of what to watch was pretty simple with only three main networks and a new one called Fox. Cable channels showed mostly reruns and old movies.

There are a gazillion channels these days, including basic and premium cable channels with decent original series. Add to that all the content available through streaming, downloads and DVDs, and it can be challenging not to miss your favorite shows. TV Guide's printed edition doesn't bother with full listings anymore.
That's where the new TV Guide app comes in. Available for free for iPhones, iPads and iPod Touch devices, the app gives you a clean display of what's on TV over the next two weeks. An Android version is coming this fall.
You can view listings by time or channel or search for specific shows. You can create a Watchlist of your favorite shows, movies, actors and sports teams and see what's available on demand now or on television later.
The new app is more comprehensive than the guide on a digital-video recorder because it includes shows available on such services as Hulu, iTunes and Netflix, plus on-demand offerings through Xfinity for Comcast subscribers.
But it could be much more.
You start by creating an account and picking your television provider from a list. The listings are then customized according to what's available on your cable or satellite lineup (there's an "antenna" option on the list, too). You can choose to display all channels, or create a list of favorites containing channels you watch most often.
You then start browsing the listings. If you see that "SpongeBob SquarePants" is on at 5 p.m. on Channel 6, you can set a reminder for the iPad (or iPhone) to notify you five, 10, 30 or 60 minutes before the show starts. You can have the iPad do that for all episodes or just new ones -or just that particular showing. By hitting "I'll Watch," you can make that known on a social network such as Facebook or Twitter.
Or you can add the show to your Watchlist.
The Watchlist is the best part of the new app. I can set it up for quick access to Mets games listings or anything on television starring Natalie Portman.
That's also where you can find out whether any of your favorites are available on DVD through Netflix. It doesn't tell you about online streaming choices on Netflix (that's coming), but it does for Hulu, HBO, Cinemax, the CW, ABC, ABC Family and Sony's online streaming service, Crackle. Others are expected soon. The Watchlist also shows the episodes you can buy and download from Apple's iTunes store.
On my Watchlist, I saw that a handful of "Revenge" episodes were available for free on ABC. Clicking on one took me right to ABC's app for viewing.
Through another tab, called New Tonight, you can see which of your favorites are on television that night. You can see what's popular based on how many users have clicked "I'll Watch." With that feature, I learned of a show about a food truck competition on the Food Network.
Beyond that, the app has news, photos and video on television and celebrities. There were also special features, such as the fall television schedule at a glance and the Emmy nominees in key categories.
Unfortunately, the app was stingy when it came to giving me information on shows. I clicked on "666 Park Avenue," hoping to get a description of the new ABC show. All I got was an option to add it to my Watchlist.
And that show about the food trucks? I had to go to the TV Guide website on a computer to find out more.
As for the main listings, clicking on any program gets you a brief description, the kind you get in newspaper television guides or old printed editions of TV Guide magazine. You can add it to your Watchlist, request an alert or post it on a social network. That's it.
One feature TV Guide might consider adding: The ability to click on a link to get all the other episodes of that show, including those on streaming or DVDs, as well as the other times that particular episode would be repeated on TV. I'd also like to see a list of each show's key actors in the episode description, along with links to find out what other shows they appear in over the next two weeks.
Those features are available on TV Guide's website, but not on the app.
TV Guide plans to add some of these features to its app at some point. To get it ready for the fall TV season, TV Guide says it had to focus on the features most requested, the ones most used on its website and those that might help it sell ads.
The TV Guide app beats checking static listings in a newspaper or the TV Guide Network on television. In many respects, it also beats the TV Guide website, as it doesn't force me to get off my couch to find out what's on. I can have the iPad right there, next to my remote control.
But it needs more to work as a personalized television guide.
The New Tonight section comes closest to offering that, but shows I said "I'll Watch" don't appear there, unless I've added them to my Watchlist as well. Same goes for shows I've requested alerts for. It's also limited to a few hours that night not during the day, not the next night, not next weekend. There also isn't a way to check off episodes I'd already watched, either on television or through streaming.
The TV Guide app is worth checking out, particularly for the way it brings together all aspects of television the traditional channels, online streaming and episodes on DVDs. It can certainly help to organize your television life. Just don't expect it to take control quite yet.

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Apple iOS 6 Maps review

Friday, December 21, 2012 in Iphone

Apple's new maps app came out the day I started a 2,243-mile road trip through four states. As complaints about it trickled in and Apple's CEO apologized, I was left wondering whether people were using the same app I was.

Although it's not flawless or as good as Google's maps app on Android phones, Apple's new offering on the iPhone got me where I needed to go for the most part. I know many people will disagree with me, but I even find it an improvement over the old app on iPhones because I now get voice navigation and automatic re-routing.

I've used Google's Android app since it was released three years ago. I don't own a car, but I travel a lot. The app has proven crucial in getting me to unfamiliar territories in New England and various Southern states from Arizona to South Carolina.

Google brought to the phone the spoken-aloud, turn-by-turn directions once limited to GPS navigational devices from Garmin, TomTom and others. Make a wrong turn, and the app automatically updates with new directions. Best of all, it's always been free.

Until last month, Google was also behind the free, main maps app on iPhones.

But that one didn't have voice navigation or automatic re-routing. Driving with it meant swiping through pages of on-screen directions. A friend missed a train in May as we overlooked a step and went the wrong way on a highway, ending up back where we came from. A drive from Ann Arbor to Lansing, Mich., took 17 steps, each with its own page. After Step 9, I had to pull into a rest stop to memorize subsequent steps and avoid an accident.

Apple wanted voice directions, too, and figured the only way to get it was to build its own maps app and bump Google from its perch as the default offering. It partnered with TomTom and shipped the iPhone 5 with the new app. A software update out Sept. 19 made it available on the iPhone 4S and the cellular versions of the latest two iPad models.

I updated an iPhone 4S in a hotel room in Grand Rapids, Mich., that night and was immediately impressed. It was a nice touch to have turn-by-turn directions narrated by Siri, the familiar female voice from Apple's virtual-assistant feature.

Then I started hearing the complaints.

I agree with many of them. The Apple app didn't show as many businesses and landmarks as Google's. Some appeared in the wrong location or were mislabeled. The Apple app didn't offer public transit directions, something crucial for New Yorkers like me. A friend I was visiting toward the end of the two-week trip immediately complained that the app looked different as she pulled it out for the first time.

Head to head, the Google app for Android, which I used on a Samsung Galaxy Nexus and a Galaxy S III, outperformed Apple's version in many respects:

    Google's app typically told me about turns a second or two quicker. Sometimes, I didn't hear from Siri until I got to the intersection, two lanes away from where I needed to be to make a right turn.

    I got better navigation on private roads with Google. At a shopping mall, Google guided me along the right driveways to get to JC Penney, while Apple got me to the general vicinity. Google also got me to the front door of my hotel in Ann Arbor, while Apple got me to the entrance of a complex that included other hotels, a gas station and retail stores.

    In Akron, Ohio, Siri had me turn left to get on a highway, while Google's app properly instructed me to take a ramp on the left. In Indianapolis, Google knew about a service road alongside Michigan Road, while Siri assumed I was on the main road and would have had me crash into a Chinese restaurant. In Charleston, W.Va., Siri told me to head northeast, as if I had a compass, while Google just told me to turn left.

    Besides public transit directions, Google offered options for avoiding tolls or highways while driving. It allowed me to choose continuous satellite images instead of animated maps, while Apple's app offered them only for route overviews, not for live navigation.

    While Siri's voice sounds much more human than the one Google used in its early mapping apps, Google now has a voice that makes Siri sound robotic by comparison. Google also was more sparing with words, which was good as long as I didn't get lost for lack of detail.

That said, Apple's map offers 3-D views. That may sound like a gimmick, but it presents the map in a way that mirrors what you're seeing through the windshield. On Apple's map, the direction you're going is on top in the regular view or toward the back in 3-D. Outside of big cities, Google often has north on top, which can be confusing when driving east or south.

Apple's maps are also more pleasant to view. Instructions such as "turn right onto Pearl St." are in white against a green background, similar to the signs you see on highways. Street names at intersections are in a green rectangle, similar to actual street signs at corners. Unlike Google's, Apple's app showed me the distance and time remaining and an estimated time of arrival all at once, though I would have appreciated larger text.

Apple's app was mostly dead-on in getting me to my destination. The one big miss was when it had a winery I was looking for about a half-mile east of its actual location. I went to another instead.

But Google has made mistakes, too. It told me to turn left to get to a lighthouse along the Straits of Mackinac connecting two Great Lakes, even as the road sign in front of me pointed to the right. Then again, Apple's app didn't even find that lighthouse in a search.

Both apps gave me other questionable directions, even though they got me there, which was what mattered most. At one point, Google had me on a curvy one-lane residential street with little visibility, even though a faster, safer road ran parallel to it. Apple's directions to a roadside tourist trap had me take an exit four miles to the south, only to return four miles north on smaller roads.

Bottom line is no app is perfect. After all the complaints about Apple's app, I downloaded a 99-cent iPhone app called MotionX GPS Drive. It got good reviews and offered more features than either Apple or Google. But it tried to lead me off the wrong exit in Ohio. Plus, all the extra features diverted my eyes to the settings menu when I should've been paying attention to trucks and, ahem, police cars around me.

One of my favorite scenes from "The Office" television show is when clueless boss Michael Scott drives into Lake Scranton because he was blindly following GPS directions.

There will be mistakes, but it beats driving in a new place with nothing. You just need to use your common sense.

Apple's app is far better than the one Google had when it first came out in late 2009. In apologizing for an app he says "fell short" of Apple's own expectations, CEO Tim Cook says the company will keep working to improve it.

It's true Apple's app falls short of what Google now offers for Android, but if all you have is an iPhone or an iPad, Apple's new app will get you there just fine.

Clinging to the old, voiceless app is like hanging on to your cassette tapes while the world has moved on to CDs and digital downloads. I can't imagine driving without hearing voices.

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Google Maps app for iPhone steers right

Friday, December 21, 2012 in Google

It was one of the biggest tech headlines of the year in September, Apple dropped its contract with Google, which had always supplied the data for the iPhone's Maps app. For various strategic reasons, Apple preferred to write a new app, based on a new database of the world that Apple intended to assemble itself.

As everybody knows by now, Apple got lost along the way. It was like a 22-car pileup. Timothy Cook, Apple's chief executive, made a quick turn, publicly apologizing, firing the executive responsible and vowing to fix Maps. For a company that prides itself on flawless execution, it was quite a detour.

Rumors swirled that Google would create an iPhone app of its own, one that would use its seven-year-old, far more polished database of the world.

That was true. Today, Google Maps for the iPhone has arrived. It's free, fast and fantastic.

Now, there are two parts to a great maps app. There's the app itself - how it looks, how it works, what the features are. In this regard, few people complain about Apple's Maps app; it's beautiful, and its navigation mode for drivers is clear, uncluttered and distraction-free.

But then there's the hard part: the underlying data. Apple and Google have each constructed staggeringly complex databases of the world and its roads.

The recipe for both companies includes map data from TomTom, satellite photography from a different source, real-time traffic data from others, restaurant and store listings from still more sources, and so on. In the end, Apple says that it incorporated data from at least 24 different sources.

Those sources always include errors, if only because the world constantly changes. Worse, those sources sometimes disagree with one another. It takes years to fix the problems and mesh these data sources together.

So the first great thing about Google's new Maps is the underlying data. Hundreds of Google employees have spent years hand-editing the maps, fixing the thousands of errors that people report every day. (In the new app, you report a mistake just by shaking the phone.) And since 2006, Google's Street View vehicles have trawled 3,000 cities, photographing and confirming the cartographical accuracy of five million miles of roads.

You can sense the new app's polish and intelligence the minute you enter your first address; it's infinitely more understanding. When I type "200 W 79, NYC," Google Maps drops a pin right where it belongs: on the Upper West Side of Manhattan.

Apple's Maps app, on the other hand, acts positively drunk. It asks me to clarify: "Did you mean 200 Durham Road, Madison, CT? Or 200 Madison Road, Durham, CT?"

Um, what?
And then there's the navigation. Lots of iPhone owners report that they've had no problem with Apple's driving instructions, and that's great. But I've been idiotically misdirected a few times - and the trouble is, you never know in advance. You wind up with a deep mistrust of the app that's hard to shake. Google's directions weren't great in the app's early days either, and they're still not always perfect. But after years of polishing and corrections, they're right a lot more often.

The must-have features are all here: spoken driving directions, color-coded real-time traffic conditions, vector-based maps (smooth at any size). But the new app also offers some incredibly powerful, useful features that Apple's app lacks.

Street View, of course, lets you see a photograph of a place, and even "walk" down the street in any direction. Great for checking out a neighborhood before you go, scoping out the parking situation or playing "you are there" when you read a news article.

Along with driving directions, Google Maps gives equal emphasis to walking directions and public transportation options.

This feature is brilliantly done. Google Maps displays a clean, step-by-step timeline of your entire public transportation adventure. If you ask for a route from Westport, Conn., to the Empire State Building, the timeline says: "4:27 pm, Board New Haven train toward Grand Central Terminal." Then it shows you the names of the actual train stops you'll pass. Then, "5:47 pm, Grand Central. Get off and walk 2 min." Then, "5:57 pm, 33rd St: Board the #6 Lexington Avenue Local towards Brooklyn Bridge." And so on.

Even if public transportation were all it did, Google Maps would be one of the best apps ever. (Apple kicks you over to other companies' apps for this information.)

Google's points-of-interest database also excels. For example, if you look up a restaurant, you can read the Zagat write-up, read customer reviews, read the menu or even book reservations, right there on the info screen. For 100 restaurants, you can even see interior photos. A single button-tap starts navigation to that restaurant. Compass Mode lets you hold the phone in front of you; as you move it left, right, up and down, the phone's view of place changes accordingly, letting you look all around. It's wild. It's "The Matrix." It's visual teleportation.

Google has even managed to incorporate Google Earth, its zoomable photographic model of the entire world and its oceans. You know, just in case you want to know not just where a building is relative to Detroit, but relative to the Mariana Trench.

It's a lot of features. The big question: How well did Google cram them in without sinking the app with featuritis?

This, it turns out, is the best news of all. The brand-new, completely rethought design is slick, simple and coherent. Google admits that it's even better than Google Maps for Android phones, which has accommodated its evolving feature set mainly by piling on menus.

The new software conceit here is the horizontal swipe. Plotting a trip? Maps shows possible routes on the map; a banner at the bottom summarizes the current traffic and time to destination. Swipe the banner to see the next proposed route.

Look up "Italian restaurants?" A banner shows the ratings and average price for the first one; swipe to see the next restaurant's details, and the next.

And when you're navigating, the current driving instruction appears in a green banner; swipe it to look ahead at the next instruction. (Apple's navigation mode doesn't permit you to look as if you're looking down at the world from a plane, the type sizes of place names contribute to the sense of perspective. They get smaller as they get farther away.

So yes, Google Maps for iPhone is a home run. It is not, however, without its footnotes.

The biggest thing you give up is Siri integration. If you say to your iPhone, "Give me directions to the airport," Apple's Maps app opens automatically, your course charted. It takes more steps to get started in Google Maps.

And despite its superior design and fluidity, the iPhone version of Google Maps doesn't have all of the features of the Android version. It still doesn't let you download and store maps for use when you don't have an Internet connection. It doesn't have indoor maps (of shopping malls and airports, for example). And it doesn't have ads or pop-up offers. (I know - boohoo, right?)

Finally, although Google Maps runs fine on the iPad, it's just a blown-up version of the iPhone version. There's not yet an iPad-specific app.

Google says that goodies like those will be coming soon. But for a 1.0 app, created in the space of only a few months, Google Maps for iPhone is an astonishingly powerful, accurate, beautiful tool. For millions of iPhone owners, it's a drive in the right direction.

© 2012, The New York Times News Service

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Google Play growing faster than Apple's App Store: Report

Friday, December 21, 2012 in Google

Google's online Play shop of applications for Android-powered smartphones or tablets is growing fast, a report released Thursday by market tracker Distimo said.

The aggregate daily revenue at Google Play shops across the 20 largest countries where they are available climbed 43 percent during the past four months, while sales at Apple's online App Store increased 21 percent.

"Google Play is just starting to rival the Apple App Store in a few countries on a worldwide scale, even though it is still losing in terms of daily revenues," Distimo said in the report.

Apple's App Store catering to its iPhones, iPads, and iPod touch devices took in more than $15 million dollars a day in November, while daily revenue at Google Play was just shy of $3.5 million, according to Distimo.

"There were many success stories in 2012 about applications that became very successful in a matter of a few days and gathered millions of downloads and revenues," the analytics firm said in the report.

"Looking at the worldwide daily download and revenue volumes, the opportunity is really huge."

Smartphone game application "Draw Something" reached a million users in just nine days, while Asian publisher Naver launched five games in November that quickly became hits.

Naver game application Line Pop was downloaded 1.75 million times within three days of its release, according to Distimo.

A report released this month by research firm IDC projected that Android operating system will power more than two-thirds of smartphones sold worldwide in 2012, and will remain the dominant platform for at least the next four years.

IDC also boosted its forecast for global tablet sales for 2012 to 122.3 million, from 117.1 million, in large part due to demand for Android tablets and the new iPad mini.

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EU to set out anti-trust case against Samsung soon

Friday, December 21, 2012 in Hot topics

The EU will set out its case against Samsung Electronics "very soon" following an anti-trust probe of the smartphone and mobile tablet market, Competition Commissioner Joaquin Almunia said Thursday.

"We will adopt a statement of objections very soon," Almunia said, meaning a document detailing the EU competition watchdog's possible objections.

"I don't know if it is at the end of this year or the beginning of next year," he said, adding that "we are on the last last steps of our internal procedures."

The Commission opened a probe in January on whether the South Korean tech giant was abusing its market position by seeking bans on sales of products made by its competitors in several European countries, alleging they were illegally using its patents.

Samsung said this week it would drop a legal request to ban Apple products in Britain, France, Germany, Italy and the Netherlands but would maintain lawsuits for alleged patent infringement.

Commenting on Samsung's decision to withdraw the requests, Almunia said: "We are very happy with this because one of the most important objections that we have when dealing with holders of standard essential patents is their possible abuses using their ownership (of patents)."

Samsung overtook Nokia as the top mobile phone brand for 2012 and has opened up a decisive lead over Apple in the smartphone market, market research firm IHS iSuppli said earlier this week.

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RIM agrees to pay Nokia to settle patent claims

Friday, December 21, 2012 in Hot topics

Finnish mobile giant Nokia said on Friday it was withdrawing all its lawsuits against Blackberry-maker Research In Motion (RIM) after reaching an agreement on patent licencing.

Last month Nokia filed lawsuits in the United States, Britain and Canada against RIM claiming it had breached an agreement on using Nokia patents on WLAN local area network technology.

"We are very pleased to have resolved our patent licensing issues with RIM and reached this new agreement, while maintaining Nokia's ability to protect our unique product differentiation," said Paul Melin, chief intellectual property officer at Nokia, in a statement.

The Finnish company said the agreement includes a one-time payment and on-going payments, all from RIM to Nokia, with the specific terms confidential.

The dispute arose from different interpretations of which technologies were covered by a 2003 licensing deal that allows RIM to use Nokia's patented technology.

RIM had sought arbitration in 2011 to get the deal modified, but a Swedish court ruled in November it was in breach of contract and could not use the technology without reaching an agreement with Nokia.

Nokia may have lost the title as the top-selling mobile phone maker, but the Finnish company holds patents to over 10,000 types of technology after having invested approximately 45 billion euros ($60 billion) in research and development over the past two decades.

RIM has also seen its market share eroded by competition from Apple's iPhone and devices powered by Google's Android system.

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Apple wants sales of Samsung devices banned again

Friday, December 21, 2012 in Hot topics, Iphone

Tech giant Apple Inc, battling Samsung Electronics Co over patents in several countries, argued on Thursday that a U.S. appeals court should reconsider its decision to overturn a pretrial sales ban on Samsung for infringement.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in October overturned a pretrial sales ban ordered by a lower court in California. The order was to stop sales of Samsung's Galaxy Nexus smartphone.

Apple argued that this was inappropriate and asked for an "en banc review," which means that a larger panel of judges would reconsider the decision made by the three-judge panel in October.

The fight is over a single patent one that allows the smartphone to search multiple data storage locations at once. For example, the smartphone could search the device's memory as well as the Internet with a single query.

Apple argued that the sales ban should be reinstated because it uses the patent in question and competes with Samsung. The three-judge panel had said that consumers did not buy Samsung phones primarily because of the patent, and thus, a sales ban was inappropriate.

It has become increasingly difficult for companies to win sales bans related to patent infringement in recent years. Such sales injunctions have been a key for companies trying to increase their leverage in courtroom patent fights.

Apple, in a different patent lawsuit, scored a sweeping legal victory over Samsung in August when a U.S. jury found Samsung had copied critical features of the hugely popular iPhone and iPad and awarded Apple $1.05 billion in damages.

The Nexus phone was not included in that trial, but is part of a tandem case Apple filed against Samsung earlier this year.

The case in the Federal Circuit is Apple Inc vs. Samsung Electronics Co Ltd et al., 12-1507.

Earlier this week, U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh rejected Apple's request for a permanent sales ban against 26 mostly older Samsung phones, though any injunction could potentially have been extended to Samsung's newer Galaxy products. Koh cited the Federal Circuit's Nexus ruling as binding legal precedent in her order.

In a separate court filing on Thursday, Apple said it intended to appeal Koh's ruling.

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Zynga builds on casino-style play with Elite Slots

Friday, December 21, 2012 in Gaming

Facebook games pioneer Zynga on Wednesday said it was expanding its casino-style offerings with an "Elite Slots" title that weaves social and story elements with luck-based play.

"It's kind of like going to Las Vegas and sitting around a social slot machine with other people," Zynga design director Josh Gause said while demonstrating the new game for AFP. "Unlike Vegas, everyone is a winner."

Gause and fellow game design director Nate Ratcliffe built role-playing and mini-game elements into Elite Slots, which Zynga promised would be available at Facebook soon.

Players are represented on screen as animated pets that progress through levels and find in-game treasures based on outcomes of spins at virtual slot machines.

Themed levels include an enchanted forest and a vampire "house of fangs." At certain points players are pitted against powerful enemies in "boss battles," the outcomes of which are determined by slot machine spins.

"Every one of our themes tells a story," Gause said. "There are bosses, heroes, and every pet has a back story."

After big wins at the slot machine, victorious animated characters appear on the screens of other players dropping rewards.

Elite Slots is free to play, but Zynga is hoping people will spend money buying animated pets with upgraded powers and on in-game coins for extra pulls at slot machine handles.

"Cool collectibles" and being able to progress through games by leveling up abilities are among features typically found in successful Zynga and Facebook games, according to Ratcliffe.

"Those game mechanics work," Ratcliffe said. "We are taking basic principles like those and looking at how to make a slots game better."

The slot machine part of the experience was kept "pure" when it comes to the odds of getting winning spins, according to the game designers.

Elite Slots will be Zynga's fifth casino-style game in a lineup that includes poker and bingo.

Zynga did not reveal how Elite Slots fits into what the struggling social games pioneer has described as a "strategic effort to enter regulated ream money gaming markets."

Zynga has applied to the Nevada Gaming Control Board for a "preliminary finding of suitability" that would clear the way to seek a license to let players bet money on its online games in the state that is home to Las Vegas.

San Francisco-based Zynga expected it to take a year to 18 months before the outcome of the application is known and did not reveal whether it intended to pursue a Nevada gambling license of any kind if it is successful.

The Nevada move came less than two months after Zynga announced a partnership with RMG operator Bwin.party to run poker, roulette, blackjack and other virtual casino games in Britain.

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Angry Birds turns three; coming to movie theatres in 2016

Friday, December 21, 2012 in Gaming

Angry Birds, the game that started it all, turned three on Tuesday, the makers of the game Rovio Entertainment announced it will be producing and financing an Angry Birds 3D animated movie which is to release in summer 2016.

Rovio confirmed that Despicable Me producer John Cohen has signed on as producer of the upcoming Angry Birds movie. David Maisel, former Chairman of Marvel Studios and executive producer of Iron Man, will be executive producer of the feature film.

"John's an exceptionally talented producer, and we're delighted to have him join the flock," said Mikael Hed, CEO of Rovio Entertainment. "With John's hands-on producer background and David's expertise in establishing and running his own successful studio, these two are the dream team for making a movie outside the studio system. Both professionals have the ideal skills and vision to achieve incredible things."

"I'm so excited and honored to be working on this film with Mikael, David, and Rovio's incredibly talented game developers and artists," said Cohen.

Rovia also released an update to the original Angry Birds game on Tuesday that includes 30 new levels, a pink bird that first featured in Angry Birds Season and full iPhone 5 support.

Since its debut in 2009, the Angry Birds game has been downloaded more than one billion times across platforms and versions. The most recent venture, Angry Birds Star Wars, soared to the top of the US iPhone charts within 2.5 hours of release.

The Angry Birds franchise has expanded to include a wide variety of Angry Birds-themed goodies including toys, and even a Angry Birds theme park in China.

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Far Cry 3 review

Friday, December 21, 2012 in Gaming

The travel brochure that enticed Jason Brody and his friends to book their spring break-style trip to the Rook Islands probably left out the pillaging pirates, aggressive bull sharks and lunging leopards.

The picturesque setting of "Far Cry 3" (Ubisoft, for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, $59.99; PC, $49.99) turns out to be far from hospitable to the naive tourist, who can barely stand the sight of blood when he finds himself caged up in a village ruled by a sadistic drug lord.

Jason's transition into a seasoned survivor anchors "Far Cry 3," an outstanding open-world first-person shooter that intersperses character arc, plot and suspense throughout a variety of action-packed firefights, stealth sequences and side missions.

The game begins with Jason being led out of captivity by his military-trained brother, a linear sequence that helps introduce Jason and acclimate players to the control scheme. The islands quickly open up after the arrival of Dennis Rogers, an ally to the indigenous Rakyat tribe who guides Jason on his quest to reunite with his girlfriend and fellow tourists. Dennis sees a burgeoning warrior in Jason and entices him to help free the islands from ruthless criminals.
Each section holds a radio tower handicapped by a signal scrambler, and climbing a tower and disconnecting the device opens a small part of a ridiculously expansive map that's on par with Bethesda Softworks' recent "Fallout" or "Elder Scrolls" installments. Freeing a tower also helps open an area to trade, which makes weapon dealers so happy that they'll start showering you with free guns.

Ridding an enemy outpost of bad guys provides a new location to buy and upgrade weapons with scopes and silencers, as well as a fast travel point to speed trips between friendly villages. But with so many ATVs, trucks and jeeps spread throughout the islands- not to mention hang gliders, jet skis and boats - why not take the scenic route?

Once Jason grabs control of an enemy outpost, he can also browse the bulletin boards for side missions that offer rewards for hunting down rare creatures or wanted criminals. Tracking down a white belly tapir is exciting, but hunting is also a key survival mechanism. Slaying and skinning everything from wild boars to alligators allows Jason to craft holsters to haul more weapons, larger wallets to carry more cash and expanded rucksacks to carry more loot.

The various plants on the islands are another key to survival, as they provide ingredients that boost health and endorphins or enhance perception. And leveling up allows Jason to unlock new skills such as takedowns involving grenades and knives, increased health or adrenaline, and the ability to take less damage from falls and fires.
As in most first-person shooters, killing a bad guy leaves a body to loot, and the controls on this move inflict the game's only significant annoyance. On numerous occasions I found myself mistakenly swapping out a favorite gun for the enemy's weapon when all I wanted to do is grab a little cash.

"Far Cry 3" also has a formidable multiplayer element, with several familiar game modes and a creative addition called Firestorm, in which a team must set fire to the opponents' supply nodes and then escape the spreading flames while capturing a radio transmitter.

So far I've spent several dozen hours exploring the Rook Islands and haven't experienced a moment of boredom. Whatever games find their way under the tree this year, I'll probably still be playing this over the holiday break. Four stars out of four.

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Nintendo's TVii service brings television programming to Wii U

Friday, December 21, 2012 in Hot topics

Nintendo is switching on a television service that transforms the tablet-like controller for its new Wii U game console into a remote that changes the channel on your TV and puts programs from the Internet just a few finger taps away.

The TVii service will debut in the U.S. and Canada on Thursday, the company said. That's a delay from previous plans to have the service available when the game console went on sale in North America on Nov. 18. The TVii service launched in Japan on Dec. 8.

The aim of TVii is to bring order to the hundreds of channels on regular TV and the thousands of shows and movies available through apps from Netflix Inc., Amazon.com Inc., Hulu Plus and Google Inc.'s YouTube.

It's the first time a video game console maker has integrated live TV controls in a device and could be the extra incentive needed for on-the-fence shoppers ahead of the Christmas holiday.

Nintendo Co.'s Wii U console has a unique controller - the GamePad - which is covered with joysticks and buttons and boasts a front-facing camera and 6.2-inch touch screen. The GamePad also houses an infrared emitter that talks directly to your TV or set-top box.

TVii scans what's available and offers you the option of watching a show, sports event or movie on live TV or through apps that connect to the Internet. By the end of March, Nintendo says that it will integrate TVii with TiVo so that it will be possible to program a TiVo digital video recorder through the game console as well.

"This is a way to get every member of the household to pick up the GamePad hopefully every day," said Reggie Fils-Aime, president of Nintendo of America. "Hopefully this leads to a significant change in how consumers view and interact with their TV."

For years, home entertainment enthusiasts have had to grapple with a bunch of different controllers to work their televisions, set-top boxes, DVRs, disc players and game consoles. TVii has the potential to dispense with some of that hassle.

If you search for "The Walking Dead," for example, TVii will show you the next time it's on AMC and give you the option of buying previous episodes from Amazon or watching them on Netflix. If it's on now, you can change the channel from the GamePad. Users will be able to watch only channels they already get via antenna or through their TV provider, but search results will include all the options available, which could entice some people to upgrade their channel packages. Netflix and Hulu Plus require separate subscriptions that cost $8 a month each. TVii itself is free.

TVii also has a traditional channel guide and will recommend shows you might like based on favorite shows, networks and movies that you enter. Different users can have different profiles, and parental controls are included.

Nintendo hopes the service boosts sales of its console. About 425,000 Wii U units were sold in the first seven days on sale. That's faster than the rollout of Microsoft Corp.'s Xbox 360 and Sony Corp.'s PlayStation 3 when they debuted in November 2005 and November 2006 respectively, although initial sales are often constrained by supply, not demand.

Analyst Michael Pachter of Wedbush Securities said the TVii service puts Nintendo a step ahead of its competitors, but he expects Microsoft to close the gap next year with a next-generation Xbox that includes a TV tuner. Microsoft hasn't announced such a device.

"It gives them a head start. I think they should be congratulated on making this a truly multimedia device," Pachter said. "I don't think that advantage is going to last very long."

Nintendo has also added social networking features to its service. A team of curators will watch the top 100 shows on live TV and post details and a screenshot of important events, such as "a great shot in a basketball game or an unexpected twist in 'Mad Men,'" according to Zach Fountain, director of network business for Nintendo of America.

Users can then comment on these moments and have those posts show up on Nintendo's Miiverse network, as well as Facebook and Twitter if they choose. Users that express emotions could wind up with a sad or happy-looking Mii avatar.

Live sporting events such as pro or college football will also be accompanied by scores and play-by-play summaries on the GamePad's screen.

One problem with the service could be the GamePad's battery life. Nintendo says the controller can be used three to five hours depending on activity and screen brightness before it needs to be charged. But TV ratings agency The Nielsen Co. says the average American watches nearly five hours of TV per day. Heavy users may need to keep the controller plugged in to a wall socket, or buy a $25 battery pack that its maker, Nyko, promises will double the battery life.

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Angry Birds Star Wars arrives on Facebook, with social features

Friday, December 21, 2012 in Gaming

In addition to play Angry Birds Star Wars on your phone or tablet, you can now play the game on Facebook. Playing the game is as simple as any other app on the social networking site.

Angry Birds Star Wars is essentially the same that you get on the smartphone/tablet but there are a few differences that are targeted at hardcore fans. Some of the new features include score comparison with your friends, giving you the ability to decide which one of you is the best at bird slinging. Players can also send in-game gifts to friends who are playing Angry Birds Star Wars as well. Rovio will be giving Facebook player’s five new levels each and every week, which will keep players engaged for a long time.

If competition is the name of the game, players can participate in weekly tournaments. You and your friends can participate in for the chance to win in-game goodies. The Facebook version of the game also has new power ups as well as new ability making it the most content heavy version of the game available.

If you are one who still hasn't had some hands on time with Angry Birds, you can take a look at our review of the game here. If you’ve got an Android device, an iOS device, Mac or Windows Phone 8, you can get the game from the following links:
iPhone – Rs. 55
iPad – Rs. 170
Android – Rs. 163.10
Mac OS X (10.6 or higher) – Rs. 270
Windows Phone 8 – Rs. 55

Windows 8 – Rs. 250 (this must be purchased from the Store App within Windows 8)

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Crystal Dynamics releases Tomb Raider 'Guide to Survival' preview

Friday, December 21, 2012 in Gaming

The new Tomb Raider game that will hit store shelves in March 2013 is an origins story. It is the journey of Lara Croft before she became a Tomb Raider. To celebrate this origin story, publisher Square Enix has released a video to signify the new gameplay elements as well as give a quick look at the journey that players will undertake.

The new Tomb Raider game's story story of course begins with Lara and her friends who embark on an adventure that goes wrong. You don't begin the game as the accomplished heroine we have grown to love from the PS One days. You acquire these skills as the game progresses.

Base camp is a new system that makes its debut in the game. This is the customization and upgrade hub for Lara’s skills. Games cannot only upgrade their skills but weapons as well in the game. Gamers earn experience through actions such as exploring, completing missions and succeeding in combat. Earning skill points from these actions helps you upgrade your character.

Gamers will also be exposed to a number of new “gadgets” such as the climbing axe and bow and arrow that can be upgraded to perform newer combos and add to their functionality.

Lara also has an ability called Survival Instinct. This is similar to the instinct feature we have seen in Hitman: Absolution and it gives Lara a hint as to which objects in the environment can be manipulated and worked with. It can also be used to solve puzzles.

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DRDO working on an indigenous OS to ramp up cybersecurity

Friday, December 21, 2012 in Hot topics

The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) is working on an indigenous operating system in a bid to secure the country's cyber network. According to DRDO director-general V K Saraswat, the Indian OS will be ready in couple of years. Saraswat further revealed that about 150 engineers have been working on the OS for the last one and half years.

India mainly depends on imported OSes based on Windows and Linux, which may have security risks, he noted. "To secure our cyber network, our own OS for computers is highly essential," Saraswat said adding the cyber criminals were on the loose, and cyber and network security have become an area of concern.

“The system will ensure that we are independent of what's happening outside and ensure the safety of our own networks,” he said.

He also stressed the need for indigenous manufacturing of good hardware. "We are still importing transmitters and receivers. For the country to equip itself well for electronic warfare, hardware manufacturing also should improve," he added.

DRDO chief's remark comes in the wake of growing cyber attacks in the country. It's notable the cyber criminals have especially targeted the Indian government websites. According to the government statistcis more than 14,000 websites were hacked till October this year. Moreover, as many as 294 government sites of various government departments and ministries were attacked by hackers during the period between January-October 2012. Even, Minister of Communications and Information Technology Kapil Sibal's site was defaced by the hackers.

Despite taking proactive and reactive measures, the government has apparently failed to secure the country's cyber network. With cyber criminals turning their attention towards users in emerging cities and mobile devices, the government has to ramp up its network and make the India net users more aware about the internet security.

Do you think an indigenous OS will help the government secure the cyber network? Let us know in the comments section below:

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Facebook tests paid e-mail service, releases new message filtering options

Friday, December 21, 2012 in Hot topics

Facebook is testing a new feature which makes users pay the company $1 to send an e-mail message to the people with whom they have no connection on the social networking website. Facebook says the feature will help discourage unwanted messages and facilitate delivery of messages that are relevant and useful. The company, in the meanwhile, has also announced new filters for managing inbox.

The feature is being tested with a “small number” of users in the U.S. and to begin with users are limited to one paid message per week. Message for which a user has paid $1 will be delivered in the recipient's inbox rather than the “Other” folder.

“Today we’re starting a small experiment to test the usefulness of economic signals to determine relevance. This test will give a small number of people the option to pay to have a message routed to the Inbox rather than the Other folder of a recipient that they are not connected with,” the company says in a statement.

“This test is designed to address situations where neither social nor algorithmic signals are sufficient. For example, if you want to send a message to someone you heard speak at an event but are not friends with, or if you want to message someone about a job opportunity, you can use this feature to reach their Inbox. For the receiver, this test allows them to hear from people who have an important message to send them.”

New message filtering options

Facebook recently rolled out updated terms and replaced its “Who can send me Facebook Messages” with basic or strict filtering. The basic filtering allows users to see messages from friends and people they may know in their inbox. The filter is applicable for users whose message settings are set on “friends of friends” or “everyone”. The strict filtering enables users to have only messages from friends. The feature is applicable for those who set message settings on “friends” only.

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WhatsApp now available on iOS for free for a limited time

Friday, December 21, 2012 in Hot topics

This holiday season, iOS users can download WhatsApp on their iPhones for free for a limited time. The app is otherwise a paid app on iOS where users could buy it for $0.99. WhatsApp for other platforms such as Android, Blackberry and Windows Phone can be downloaded for free, but users are expected to pay $0.99 after one year. The annual $0.99 fee doesn’t apply to iOS users as they pay upfront for the app.

WhatsApp is a messaging app that lets users send message over data rather than cellular. The app works cross platform, which means that users can send messages from an Android device to an iOS device over data. If you are connected to Wi-Fi, the messaging is virtually free. The application utilizes push notifications to instantly get messages from the sender who may be using a different device running a different OS. If you are one who has an iPhone now is the best time to get this app, simply because its free.
The app is available for a large number of platforms and can be downloaded from the Apple App Store, Google Play store, Blackberry App World, Windows Phone Marketplace and Nokia Ovi Store. You can read our review of the app here.

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Spectrum refarming: Vodafone seeks license extension

Friday, December 21, 2012 in Hot topics

Vodafone India has sought extension of its 900MHz operating licences for Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata circles by next 10 years. The telecom operator has invoked clause 4.1 of the licence agreement, which says "the licensor may extend, if deemed expedient, the period of licencee by 10 years at one time, upon request of the licencee, if made during 19th year of the licence period on terms mutually agreed."

In separate letters seeking licence extension for three circles to Telecom Secretary R Chandrashekhar, Vodafone said, "the 19th year of licence has commenced on November 29, 2012 for Mumbai circle and Novermber 30, 2012 for Delhi and Kolkata circles ... we request you to extend the period of our licence ...on terms to be mutually agreed."

Vodafone's request to extend the licence duration comes despite the government announcement to conduct re-auction of the licences after the current ones expire in November 2014. The Times of India reports “the decision of the licensor shall be final in regard to the grant of extension”.

It's notable the government is planning to auction the spectrum in 900MHz band for Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata circles in this financial. The government hasn't yet announced the final date for auction. The government has already allowed the GSM operators to retain 2.5 MHz in each circle after the expiry of licence. Vodafone has about 24MHz spectrum in 900MHz in these circles.

"We respectfully submit that in our view, extension of licence period is continuation of the already set up network, including continuation of existing spectrum, which is intrinsic to our licence and is being used for providing service to the customers under the licence," said the telecom operators adding for the purposes of licence extension that "there can be no change in the fundamental structure of the license."

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THQ to file for bankruptcy, will continue to publish games

Thursday, December 20, 2012 in Hot topics

THQ, the video game developer and publisher, famous for games such as the Saint's Row series, Homefront and the Warhammer 40K series, has announced that it will be filing for bankruptcy. However, the American company also clarified that it will continue to publish games and will continue work on forthcoming games such as Homefront 2, Metro: Last Light and Saints Row 4.

A statement from THQ explains that it is filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy which entails restructuring of the company and its sale to Clearlake Capital Group, an investment company. With respect to the above games that are still in the pipeline, and their developers, the THQ statement mentions, “The company remains confident in its existing pipeline of games. THQ maintains relationships with some of the top independent development studios around the globe. As part of the sale, the company is seeking approval to assume the contracts of these studios, and Clearlake will assume these contracts.”

THQ was founded in 1989 and has been a recognized name in the video games industry for some time now. However, the last three years haven't been good to the company with its high-profile launches such as Homefront and Darksiders 2 not raking up massive sales numbers. In recent weeks, however, THQ was the subject of some good news when it was revealed that its Humble Bundle compilation of seven games had generated around $5 million in sales, a news that also helped their stock price jump up by 60%.

The THQ news closes out a particularly bad year for gaming studios with high profile shut-downs including 38 Studios (Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning) and Bizarre Creations (Project Gotham Racing, Blur).

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Internet to contribute up to 3.3 percent to India's GDP by 2015: Report

Thursday, December 20, 2012 in Hot topics

According to a report by McKinsey & Company, India's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) could see contribution from Internet services and devices up to 3.3 percent by 2015. The report attributes the growing number of Internet users, consumption and investment during the period for the projected growth.

By 2015, the report says, the contribution from Internet industry will increase from existing $30 billion to approximately $100 billion if the industry reaches its potential. The report notes India is “on the verge of an Internet boom”, considering the falling costs of Internet access and mobile devices.

"The Internet currently contributes a modest 1.6 per cent to India's GDP in line with most aspiring countries. This could grow to 2.8-3.3 per cent by 2015, if India achieves its potential for growth in the number of Internet users and Internet technology related consumption and investment over this period," says the report.

Currently, India's Information and Communication Technology (ICT) exports are said to be the most significant part of the Internet's impact on GDP but growing consumption and investment from public and private sectors could help increase the contributions. India has a user base of 120 million, becoming world's third largest Internet market. By 2015, the numbers are likely to be around 370 million.

With user base of 480 million users base China has the largest Internet market, while the US has 245 million users, as of 2011. By 2015, China is predicted to have have 583 million users, while the US is expected to have 279 million users. The global web user base is likely to rise from from 2,300 million users in 2011 to 2,662 million by 2015, the McKinsey & Company said in the report.

"Given current downward trends in the cost of internet access and mobile devices, India is on the verge of an Internet boom. India is likely to have the second largest user base in the world and largest in terms of incremental growth," it said.

The report, however, added that the impact if Internet in India mainly depends on the current Internet infrastructure. "While India scores well on availability of human and financial capital. It rates poorly on Internet infrastructure, Internet engagement, e-commerce platform, ease of Internet Entrepreneurship and the impact of e-governance," it said.

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iOS 6 adopters rise by 29 percent after Google Maps hits iTunes

Thursday, December 20, 2012 in Google

Google Maps shot up to 7 million downloads within 24 hours of release, and as time has gone by, reports say that so has the number of users using iOS 6 on their iOS devices. Google maps also became the no.1 free app within hours of its release.

After the Apple Maps fiasco became a world wide web phenomenon, many users refused to upgrade to iOS 6, and many downgraded their iOS back to version 5 (at least those who could). While at the time it was not known whether Google would even release a navigation app for the platform, sticking to the older firmware made sense to many just for the sake of Google Maps.

However, last week Google took the App Store by quite a storm when they released their own navigation app with turn-by-turn voice guided navigation. Also included is a completely revamped user interface and integration with the rest of the Google suite of apps. Given how popular and in-demand Google Maps has been, it’s no surprise that there’s been a 29% jump in the number of users that are now running iOS 6 on their iOS devices.

The sharp rise in number of people now using iOS 6 is no surprise, given that the lack of a competent navigation app was what many people kept clutching dearly to their iOS 5. We’re expecting that more people will soon be upgrading to iOS6 in the coming weeks. If you’ve not upgraded yet, you can do so my connecting your device to iTunes and hitting the update button, or just getting the OTA update through the settings tab on your device.

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Aakash 2's first lot not for students but for empowerment of teachers: Govt.

Thursday, December 06, 2012 in Android

Students may have to wait longer to get their hands on the ultra low-cost Aakash 2. The Indian government in Lok Sabha on Wednesday said the first phase of the Aakash 2 tablet project focusses on 'testing and empowerment of teachers' and that there's no plans to provide the tablets to students from poor and rural areas.
In a written reply, Union Human Resource Development Minister MM Pallam Raju said, "Presently there is no proposal in this regard... In the first phase one lakh tablets are for the purpose of testing and teacher empowerment. They would not be distributed to students in the first phase."

The minister was asked whether the government had plans to distribute the Aakash 2 tablets to students, especially those belonging to the rural areas and weaker sections of the society, for free of cost. The minister further revealed some of the main features of the Aakash 2 tablet.

"The salient features of Aakash-2 tablet include seven inch multi-touch capacitive projective display with at least 800x480 resolution. It runs on Android 4.0 (ice-cream sandwich) operating system, powered by one GHz processor and HD video playback support," the Minister added. Also read, Hands on with the $20 Indian Android tablet

The Aakash 2, an advanced version of the original Aakash tablet, was formally launched by President Pranab Mukherjee occasion of National Education Day on November 11. The device was later showcased at the United Nations as well.

The government has been long claiming that the Aakash 2 will help bridge the digital divide in the country. To achieve this, the government has to give more focus on the rural and remote areas of the country. Moreover, keeping students out from the first lot of the Aakash 2 will certainly disappoint thousands of the Aakash enthusiasts, who have been waiting for the tablet for more than a year now. It's notable the government has not made it clear when the second lot of the tablet will be made available to the students.

Do you think the government has done right by keeping students out from the first lot of the Aakash 2 tablet? Let us know in the comments section below:

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Skype lets slip Video Messaging feature through Terms of Service Page

Thursday, December 06, 2012 in Softwere

It would seem that Skype has spilled the beans on a new “video-messaging” feature in its new Terms of Services notice. You don’t have to be the sort of person who goes through pages upon pages of legal mumbo jumbo because we’ve got you covered.
If you go over to Skype’s Terms of Services page and scroll all the way to the bottom, past all the other stuff we know you really don’t read, you will see the video messaging feature outlined. Apparently the feature is primarily designed to cater to premium members, those who have shelled out the $8.99/month to get special privileges. One of those privileges will now include the ability to send video messages across to other Skype contacts.

However, seeing as how a large chunk of Skype users are on the free subscription, Skype will not be leaving you hanging. While the premium members get unlimited video messages, free-subscribers will be able to send a limited number of video messages per month, but they can receive an unlimited number of such messages. These messages will expire in 90 days from receipt, unless the free user upgrades their account to a paid subscription or in the event that the message was sent by a Skype Premium member.

While video messages sound nice, and the subscription perks don’t seem to alienate the free members too much, the question obviously becomes, when will this feature roll out to the public? Here’s a screenshot from the Skype ToS page for your reading convenience, in case they decide to append the page and remove the video-messaging terms:

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Google Now adds traveller-friendly features, updates Voice Search capability

Thursday, December 06, 2012 in Google

Google Now adds traveller-friendly features, updates Voice Search capability.
Cards which are synonymous with Google Now are pulled up based on your search habits and location. Cards are now equipped with the ability to tell you what the weather will be like at your destination and can even automatically pull up your boarding pass once you are at the airport, based on your location data (this facility is currently only available with a US airline, but Google says more airlines will be added soon).

Google Now can also give you a list of events around you, that you can check out once you reach your destination along with a suggestion of websites for you to explore your destination. Also, say if you are at a museum or some historical monument, then using Google Goggles you can learn more about that spot.
Cards which are synonymous with Google Now are pulled up based on your search habits and location. Cards are now equipped with the ability to tell you what the weather will be like at your destination and can even automatically pull up your boarding pass once you are at the airport, based on your location data (this facility is currently only available with a US airline, but Google says more airlines will be added soon).

Google Now can also give you a list of events around you, that you can check out once you reach your destination along with a suggestion of websites for you to explore your destination. Also, say if you are at a museum or some historical monument, then using Google Goggles you can learn more about that spot.
The other major update is with regard to Voice Search. You can now find out which song is playing around you by simply saying “What’s this song?” instead of opening a specific app such as Shazam to tell you that. While looking at products, you can say “Scan this barcode” and Google Now will use the camera on your phone or tablet to look up the product information. You can also update your Google+ status using voice.

This upgrade is available on all devices running on Jelly Bean.

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Apple iPad Mini up for order online in India, starting Rs. 21,900

Thursday, December 06, 2012 in Mac OS

The Apple iPad Mini is now available online in India via the shopping portal Saholic. The 16GB Wi-Fi version has been priced at Rs. 21,900, while the 16GB Wi-Fi + 3G is retailing for Rs. 29,900. As per the details that Saholic has shared with us, the iPad Mini will be shipped with an “Indian invoice”. The listing for both tablets also specifies “12 months manufacturer's warranty with proper bill”.
Interesting to note that the prices for Apple iPad versions that are currently up for sale on Saholic also includes the iPad (4th generation). The pricing shared with us for the iPad Mini and the iPad 4th generation is as follows:

Apple iPad 4th gen (16GB - Wi-Fi): Rs. 31,900
Apple iPad 4th gen (16GB – Wi-Fi + 3G): Rs. 39,900
Apple iPad 4th gen (32GB – Wi-Fi): Rs. 37,900
Apple iPad 4th gen (32GB Wi-Fi + 3G): Rs. 45,900
Apple iPad 4th gen (64GB Wi-Fi): Rs. 43,900
Apple iPad 4th gen (64GB Wi-Fi +3G): Rs. 51,900

Apple iPad Mini (16GB Wi-Fi): Rs. 21,900
Apple iPad Mini (16GB Wi-Fi + 3G): Rs. 29,900
Apple iPad Mini (32GB Wi-Fi): Rs. 27,900
Apple iPad Mini (32GB Wi-Fi + 3G): Rs. 35,900
Apple iPad Mini (64GB Wi-Fi): Rs. 33,900
Apple iPad Mini (64GB Wi-Fi + 3G): Rs. 41,900.

The note sent to us clearly states that the official receipt of orders will begin on 7th or 8th of December 2012. This is confirmed when you see the listing on the website. Saholic confirms that once the order is confirmed, buyers will receive the tablet within 3 business days.

Apple had unveiled the iPad Mini towards the end of October. However, Apple has still not officially launched the tablet in India. Incidentally, this tablet has been available on Ebay.in for quite some time now, with the lowest price among all listings for the 16GB Wi-Fi version pegged at Rs. 23,914.

iPad Mini Wi-Fi + 16 GB and other variants available on Saholic

If you see the Ebay listing in detail, it clearly specifies that the seller has requested for 10 days before the product will be shipped post realization of payment. The suspicion that these units are the ones being brought in from other markets in Asia is confirmed by certain other listings, one of which specifies that the unit has been sourced from Singapore. Safe to say that warranty might be an issue with these units. The Apple iPad Mini is not available on Flipkart at the moment.

The Apple iPad Mini has a 7.9-inch display, with a resolution of 1024 x 768 pixels. A dual core 1GHz Apple A5 processor provides the power, and is helped along by 512MB of RAM. As you would have understood from the listings above, the storage options include 16GB, 32GB and 64GB. The iPad Mini comes with the latest iOS6 version on board. Also check out iPad Mini vs. Kindle Fire HD vs. Nexus 7: Small tablet showdown and Apple iPad Mini vs. iPad (4th Generation): Specs compared

This does bring us to an interesting comparison. The Apple iPad 2 (16GB – Wi-Fi) is retailing on the same website for Rs. 23,549, and has almost similar power specifications. However, for a more wholesome tablet experience, the 9.7-inch display (1024 x 768 pixels) will offer a better deal. If you are looking to buy a tablet, and are not adamant about keeping it as compact as possible, then we would recommend you consider the iPad 2 as well.

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Twitter won't display Instagram Images, gets service blocked

Thursday, December 06, 2012 in Utility

If you’re a social networking junky with a fixation with taking Instagram photos, you might have noticed that those images are not appearing right when posted on Twitter. Photos have been appearing cropped or off center in tweets and we finally know why.
As it would so happen, Instagram has a “card” system in place that allows the app to post images to Twitter. What are Twitter Cards? Well, they’re what allows you to attach media to your tweets which then in turn show up in the tweet itself. Instagram has conveniently altered their backend so that these “cards” are not authorized anymore to pull content from Instagram.

Till now, if you posted a photo on Twitter using the Instagram app, the post would have a “view now” option next to an icon of the image. Clicking on the link would just open up the image which was now on Twitter servers. But with Instagram blocking the Twitter Cards, not only does this thumbnail image not show up right, but click on the link will make you exit the Twitter app/website and redirect you to the Instagram page for that image.

Twitter and Instagram used to be like brothers-in-arms, the only two to offer competition to Facebook’s supremacy. However, that changed with Facebook’s acquisition of Instagram and we couldn’t help but wonder whether the merger had something to do with this new issue that’s cropped up. But speaking at LeWeb conference in Paris today, Instagram's CEO Kevin Systrom insists the change has nothing to do with the outfit's acquisition by Facebook and, instead, is framed as a way of promoting its own web service.

Bottomline is, you can still post those over-processed lo-fi shots on other social networking sites just fine, but Twitter might be getting singled out as a service to get only limited accessibility.

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Sony announces budget Android 4.1 Jelly Bean smartphone, the Xperia E

Thursday, December 06, 2012 in Mobiles

Sony has added another smartphone to its budget line up, the Xperia E. The smartphone boasts of Android 4.1 Jelly Bean straight out of the box. The Xperia E is expected to hit store shelves early next year in two colours - black or champagne.In terms of specifications under the hood, the Xperia E has a 3.5-inch HVGA display with a resolution of 480 x 320. It has a 1GHz single-core snapdragon MSM7227A processor (also called the Snapdragon S1), 512MB RAM and 4GB built-in storage. The rear of the phone has a 3.2MP camera. The Xperia E has a curvy design and is quite light weighing a mere 115gms. It is quite thin too measuring at 11mm thin. It also has a 1500mAh battery.Sony has also announced a dual-SIM version of the Xperia E, called the Xperia E dual. The specifications of the phone are the same with the biggest difference being that the E dual will work on Android 4.0 ICS straight out of the box and will be upgradable to Android 4.1 Jelly Bean in at a future date.

Xperia E comes equipped with the in-built “WALKMAN” application that includes xLOUD audio technology, 3D surround sound and a manual equalizer. The smartphone also has access to Sony’s music streaming service, Music Unlimited. The Xperia E also comes with DLNA wireless connectivity.

“Consumers looking to take their first steps into the world of Xperia smartphones would be well advised to look at Xperia E or Xperia E dual. They are perfect for those seeking affordable access to the quality and functionality more traditionally associated with high-end Android smartphones,” said Calum MacDougall, Director Xperia Marketing at Sony Mobile Communications.

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Gameloft releases launch trailer for Modern Combat 4: Zero Hour

Thursday, December 06, 2012 in Gaming

ameloft has released the launch trailer for Modern Combat 4: Zero Day that’s going to be available for iPhone, iPad and Android devices at any moment. Gameloft has become the developer pushing some of the best games into the iOS and Android space, with popular titles such as Asphalt 7, Wild Blood, World at Arms etc. With each game, they have pushed the boundaries of mobile gaming, with Wild Blood utilizing the Unreal Engine to deliver unparalleled graphics.
Now we have Modern Combat 4: Zero Hour releasing for iOS and Android, which going by the first looks at the trailer seems to deliver console-like quality as far as graphics go. The gameplay looks quite generic for a shooter, but the visual prowess of the game does impress. The previous Modern Combat games have had an excellent multiplayer component, which we’re being told has been improved upon in this upcoming game.

Gameloft has maintained its tradition of improving upon every successive game it launches, case in point being Asphalt 7. After the raving success of Asphalt 6, it was hard to imagine what extra Gameloft could do to make the next game in the series better. But when Asphalt 7 did storm into the App Store, it was quick to break records of the previous game. The same trend has been observed for the Modern Combat games, so we would recommend watching out for Modern Combat 4: Zero Hour which drops at anytime today in the Indian App Store and Google Play Store. But till then,

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Flipkart's Flyte digital store now offers eBooks

Thursday, November 29, 2012 in World news

 Flipkart's digital store, Flyte is now offering eBooks. The store currently features a selection of more than 100,000 books. eBooks bought from Flyte can only be read via the Flyte e-books s app, which is available for Android OS. A Windows 8 app is in the works, and is expected to be released soon.

Flyte is offering eBooks, starting at Rs.30, and offering 4,000 free titles – move aimed at enticing readers to try the new format. “We have a growing, tech-savvy reader base that is constantly on the go - and they are looking for options to buy and read their favourite books on their mobile devices instantly. In the US and European markets, which have been early adopters of eBooks, the market share for digital trade books is currently at 50 percent. In the U.S., the e-books market recently crossed $1 billion in annual sales,” says Sameer Nigam, VP, Digital at Flipkart.

Flyte eBooks app for Android allows users to instantly purchase, download and read eBooks on the go. There's also a free sample of each book on the site/mobile app. Other notable features include ability to read each eBook on up to six devices, sync reading location, take notes, highlight text, search, add multiple bookmarks. You can download Flyte eBooks for Android here.

Flipkart's venture into eBooks store comes days after their top rival Amazon (Junglee) had launched the Kindle eBook store. Flipkart had launched its digital store Flyte earlier this year. The digital store so far only focussed on music, and featured authentic MP3 downloads at affordable prices, starting at Rs. 6. Users can buy MP3s encoded at high quality 320kbps bitrate and are DRM free and can be played on any device. Furthermore, Flipkart allows you re-download a purchased song up to 4 more times (in case you accidentally lose your backup).

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iTunes 11 to debut today: Report

Thursday, November 29, 2012 in Iphone

The report comes from the Wall Street Journal, which also states that the new iTunes 11 app was delayed due to engineering issues and required some re-building.

iTunes 11 was originally slated for an October 2012 release but was delayed till November. iTunes 11 brings with it an all new interface, a mini player, improved iCloud content synchronization and other features to improve the music listening experience.

The Wall Street Journal's report isn’t exactly giving the launch date of the new app, but the delay was mentioned in a profile article about Apple Senior VP, Eddy Cue. The WSJ report reads, “The new iTunes has been delayed a month by engineering issues that required parts to be rebuilt, according to people who have seen it. The delay comes at a challenging time for Apple. ITunes was a pioneer in digital media, and its share of the paid music download business stood at 64% in the second quarter.”

Apple senior Internet VP Eddy Cue and VP of consumer software Jeff Robbin introduced the features and user interface of iTunes 11 back in September 2012. Watch the introductory video below.
Apple launched the previous iteration of iTunes, iTunes 10 in September 2010. Since then Apple has constantly added features to the app that include, iTunes Match, iTunes Cloud, 1080p videos from the iTunes store and more. The new version of iTunes is expected to come with Facebook and Twitter Integration.

Apple did try its hand with its own music centric social networking that shut down. Does anyone remember Ping?

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Google updates Drive app for iOS and Android

Thursday, November 29, 2012 in Google

The updated Google Drive app for iOS includes ability to manage upload progress, check out the recent uploads in new Uploads section, rich text copy-paste within a doc, better speed and stability, improved contact search for sharing docs. Download the updated Google Drive for iOS here.

The Android update for Google Drive v1.1.470.11 includes the ability to edit Google spreadsheets in new native editor, edit contents of tables, format when copy-paste within Google Docs, single tap to enter edit mode, shortcut to Drive files/folders to homescreen of the device, and send link now supports copying links to the clipboard. Download the updated Google Drive for Android here.

Google has been consistently integrating Drive with other products. Google recently updated Drive, adding the ability to upload up to 10GB in Gmail messages. Last month, Google added support for sharing Drive files on Google+.

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Microsoft Windows Phone 8

Thursday, November 15, 2012 in Mobiles

Windows Phone 8 (WP8) is elegant, personable, and different. It absolutely shines for those who use their smartphones for a lot of calling, texting, and Facebooking, and especially people who connect to Microsoft anything—whether that's Outlook, Hotmail, Exchange, Skydrive, Office 365, or Xbox. If iOS bores you and Android intimidates you, Windows Phone will likely dazzle you.

But pick up a Windows Phone 8, and you'll be a maverick. There's significantly less of a selection of apps here than for Android and iOS, and the apps are different. The odds are good that you'll find what you need, but the goods are odd. That makes a Windows Phone less of an easy purchase than it could be.

Launched in 2010, Windows Phone 7 wasn't much of a competitor to iOS and Android in large part because it ran on uninspiring hardware, but Windows Phone 8 will help fix that. While WP8 still only supports Qualcomm processors, at least it supports current Qualcomm processors, along with high-resolution screens and the latest wireless specs. So Windows Phone 8 devices like the HTC 8X and the Nokia Lumia 920 will do a better job facing off against the iPhone 5 and the Samsung Galaxy S III $179.99 at Amazon Wireless on power than, say, the HTC Trophy managed to pull off at the end of its long lifespan. (There's one perplexing lack, though: No decent QWERTY handsets yet.)

I reviewed WP8 on an HTC Windows Phone 8X. We'll have a full review of the phone when U.S. carrier models appear early next month, but for now see our hands-on story from when the device was announced.

If this is your first time even thinking about Windows Phone, take a look at our reviews of Windows Phone 7 and Windows Phone 7.5. While it's built on completely different underpinnings, Windows Phone 8 works much like its predecessors.

The Underpinnings
The familiar interface of Windows Phone 7 hides a radical change under the hood. Windows Phone 8 now runs on the same kernel as Windows 8, including the NTFS file system and the ability for third-party developers to write native code rather than having to go through Silverlight or XNA. It's still compatible with the 125,000 Windows Phone 7 apps, but it's potentially much more powerful because there are more ways to develop for it.

That's mostly potential, though, because Microsoft didn't release the Windows Phone 8 SDK to most developers in advance. So far, it's hard to find Windows Phone 8-only apps that use the new development strategies. Hopefully, they'll start showing up soon.

I'm very excited by an invisible feature called Data Sense, which works like our Editors' Choice Android and iPhone app Onavo Extend. It compresses your data using Microsoft servers, letting you get more out of limited data plans. It also keeps you updated on how much data you've used.

Unfortunately, until sometime next year it's a Verizon exclusive. In the name of "carrier differentiation," consumers won't likely be able to get what they want. Want a Nokia Lumia 920? It's AT&T only. Want a phone with data compression and monitoring? Verizon only. Want a Lumia 920 with Data Sense? Nope.

Windows Phone 8 also backs up your settings, data and apps into the cloud, just like Android and iOS do. You can find, lock, or erase a phone remotely, too. That makes it easy to move between Windows Phone devices or to restore a lost or stolen phone.

The Lock Screen, Tiles, and Hubs
To understand why you would want to use Windows Phone 8, you have to understand tiles. Like icons, but not quite, tiles are squares you plonk on the home screen representing the items you want to access easily. Apps, sure, but also contacts, places, collections of apps called "hubs," media items, or Web pages, among other things. Right now I have a map to my hotel and a FlightStats page about my flight pinned to my home screen, for instance. You can do that on Android, but it's not nearly as simple.

Tiles can be "live," which means they flip around automatically to show new information. Your Me tile is constantly pinging you with new social-networking updates. A FlightAware tile would flip around if your flight were, say, cancelled; a Photos tile usually shows the latest pictures you've taken. (None of this seems to affect battery life much.) You can make tiles in three different sizes, 20 different colors, and snap them together in various ways, so what you end up with is a visually coherent but constantly shifting landscape of relevant data.

The Lock screen is "live," too. Apps can feed data to the Lock screen, ghosting the latest news, weather, or your travel information behind the standard date and time. You can also set which apps send alerts to the lock screen.

The result is just as configurable as Android, but much more visually striking. Live tiles display information the same way widgets do, but the enforced visual uniformity makes a Windows Phone 8 home screen look smartly configured, rather than like a yard-sale jumble.

Along with tiles, Microsoft's second central concept is Hubs. The People hub, Games hub, Photos hub, and Music & Video hub are places where content, apps, and social networking all come together. In the Photos hub, for instance, you see not only your gallery but your friends' galleries and any photo-editing apps you might have. In Music & Video, you see not only your own videos, but YouTube and Vevo content. The new Wallet hub combines real credit cards, loyalty cards, and local deals. It's all more natural than Apple's fragmented system of apps and activities.

Microsoft's very attractive parental control system, dubbed Kid's Corner, is excellent for small children. Kid's Corner lets you select a certain set of games, music, videos, and apps for your kid to use; they then show up as bold, non-resizable tiles. Kids can't use the phone, browser, or messaging, so it's really more for handing your device over to a smaller child, than for offering a sandboxed experience for tweens. But it's simple, clear, and good-looking.

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