Mobility june issue

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COMMUNICATIONS & INFRASTRUCTURE TECHNOLOGY JUNE 2013

www.mobilityindia.com

Vol. 10

Issue # 2

India's Smartphone Wars Mobility Personality

NewsHunt Hunts for www.mobilityindia.com Bigger Market Share

Mobility Analysis

Top Five Waterproof Smartphones in India

Mobility Focus

Smart Apps for Smartphones

Mobility Review

BlackBerry Q10 — Review

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Content Cover Story

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Mobility Personality 3 NewsHunt Hunts for Bigger Market Share Mobility Analysis 8 Top Five Waterproof Smartphones in India Mobility Special Definitive Guide to Tethering

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Mobility Focus Smart Apps for Smartphones

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Trends in Convergence WiFi, Tablets Driving Smart Hotels and Healthcare

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India’s Smartphone Wars Mobility Review

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Mobility News

16-23

HTC One Smartphone Unveiled by Jacqueline Fernandez

HP Intros Mobile App Development for Platform

Tata DOCOMO Announces ‘Meet and Greet Ram Charan’

Huawei Unveils Ultra-Wideband RRU

McAfee Unfurls Chip-to-Application Security Cover

Goibibo.com Launches IOS App

Data Wind Wins ‘Outstanding Product Achievement...

BlackBerry Launches Scholars Program for Women

Go Tech To Distribute 500 Free Tablet to Merited...

Salora Presents Multimedia Speaker Systems

ASUS Wins Multiple Awazrds at Computex

IMImobile Opens US Office in Atlanta

ASUS Announces MeMo Tablets

Intex Aqua I-5 is Launches by Farhan Akhtar

McAfee Simplifies MDM and Data Security

Fluke Launches Family of Versiv Cable Certification...

Juniper Helps Muthoot Group on Profitable Growth

EIMImobile develops iPad app with Telefonica and....

Tata Launches Unlimited DOCOMO Phonen 3G Data...

Zebronics Unveils Digital Photo Frame ‘Artifice 3’

Adobe Teams up with Manorama Online

Wacom offers Bamboio Loop

Lava Launches E-Tab XTRON+ Tablet

Emkor Solutions Partners with TARGIT

BlackBerry Launches Q10 Smartphone

Amtrak Infop System Brings Education Tablet My Class...

Dell Unveils CIO Enterprise Tablet Survey Results

Shopify Enters India With SingTel

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Mobility Voice

Editor Choice

Mukesh’s big Bet on 4G

Gionee Elife E3 Gionee is a China-based handset maker which has now entered the Indian market.

While the economy Android smartphone segment is already flooded with offerings from Indian handset makers, there’s always room for new entrants if they’re able to offer products that deliver good

quality and bring

a

differentiated experience.

The Gionee Elife E3 promises to offer power-packed hardware specifications including a 720p display and a quad-core processor, at a budget price in a slim form factor. Does it deliver? We try to find out in our review. The Gionee Elife E3 phone sports a slender 7.9mm frame and fits easily in your hand unlike a large number of new Android budget phones. It falls a few centimetres short of being a phablet as it features a 4.7-inch screen.

The phone comes in four different colours - White, Black, Pink and Blue. We had a Blue colour phone as our review unit. Its 4.7-inch screen dominates the front of the phone. The three capacitive buttons - Menu, Home and Back, are located just below the screen while the earpiece, a 2-megapixel front camera and the usual sensor are placed above it.

A thin blue coloured frame surrounds the front bezel. The volume rocker key and the Power/ Screen lock key are also blue in colour and located at the right side of the phone, while the left side is all clean. The 3.5-mm headset jack and the Micro-USB port sit at the top. There are no ports at the bottom of the handset.

The back features a removable cover that sports a rubberised matte finish though the shade of blue used gives it a metallic look.

It feels good to hold the phone and we did not notice any creaks or wobbles. The back also features the 8-megaixel rear camera that sits right at the top with an LED flash.

The camera lens is pretty small compared to other phones in the market and doesn’t take up much space. You’ll also see some Gionee and DTS sound branding at the back.

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ith India’s telecoms going through a rough time, Mukesh Ambani hopes his multi-billion dollar bet on cheap high-speed wireless broadband could change the way nearly a billion of India’s use mobile devices from the way they perform daily applications such as watching movie, banking to shopping online.

Fo r I n d i a i s a country where most people own a mobile phone yet lack basic Internet access, it is a risky gamble even for India’s richest man. Mukesh Ambani is counting on an unproven strategy and under-developed technology in a market which is highly price sensitive.

It may be recalled that about three years ago energy conglomerate Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) won an exclusive nationwide licence to roll out 4G across India, giving it a foothold to tap a potentially lucrative market in phones, tablets, computers and television.

Eventually, the plan is to run it across hundreds of cities with broadband connectivity.

Swapan Roy

Editorial Front Editor Chief Editor Asst. Editor

: : :

Swapan Roy Manoj Jha E.J. Jawahardatham

Design Desk Art Director

:

Anit Kumar

Acct. & Finance Finance

:

Sandip Sarkar

Marketing & Sales Marketing Manager : Marketing Executives :

Circulation Manager : Production :

System Manager :

Tridip Dey Pratap Biswas Tenzin Kunkey S. Dutt Raj Kumar P. Biswas Ashish Ghosh Ashok Paul Ajay Biswas

H.O.: Delhi / Editorial Office Roy Mediative S-39, 1st Floor, Okhla Industrial Area, Phase-II, New Delhi110020 (INDIA) Mob: 09810380882, 09811346846 Ph: 91-11-41602841, 65683896, 40536384-87

Redg.Off.: 38-B / 56 Block, C. R. Park, New Delhi-110019 (India).

Branch Office: Mumbai: E-mail: roy@ mobilityindia.com Kolkata: 105/12B, Dum Dum Road, Sil Colony, Kolkata-74 Contact: 09330922965; 09903392620 E-mail : roy@ mobilityindia.com Orissa: Krushna Nagar, 5th Lane, Lalji Palli, Berhampur760008 (Orissa) (India) Contact : Raj Kumar-09338410809 Email : info@mobilityindia.com ncn_reporter@yahoo.com Mobility monthly News Paper, Printed, Published & Owned

by Swapan Roy at 38-B / 56 Block, C. R. Park, New Delhi-110019 (India).

Printed at Pushpak Printer, C-96, Okhla Industrial Area-I, New Delhi-20. Retail selling price of News Paper Rs. 20/-. Annual subscription Rs. 240.

Editor : edit@mobilityindia.com roy@ mobilityindia.com Marketing : tridip@mobilityindia.com marketing@mobilityindia.com Info : info@mobilityindia.com Subscribe : subscription@ mobilityindia.com Web : www.mobilityindia.com

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Mobility Personality

NewsHunt Hunts for Bigger Market Share 1. What is your main focus and what is your target audience?

We are a regional language publishing platform and provide a platform/product that shows regional language newspapers on mobile phones. India as a country only has 10% English literacy as compared to 74% for vernacular languages. That together with lack of support for regional languages on mobile devices gives an opportunity to serve an unmet need.

Our target audience is all regional language readers in India who lack access to their language content.

2. Can you throw some light on how your news app works and how it benefits the user?

As mentioned in the previous question - our platform allows users to see regional language text on mobile phones. We have aggregated (officially partnered) about 85 newspapers in 11 languages and provide that content to our users who have limited or no access to that content.

3. How do you reach your target customers or how do you promote your app?

Our growth has been a result of providing a quality app that serves a daily need for a newshungry audience. Most of our growth has been viral as a result of being a top news app in various app stores. Positive rating has resulted in a viral loop of additional installs and growth.

4. If your application is free, and if so how do you get your revenue? Please throw some light on your business and revenue model?

We are an ad supported platform.

5. Do you tie up with mobile service providers like reliance, Vodafone, etc? If yes, how your relationship works? If no, then who are your partners?

No, we are a direct consumer product.

Fulfilling the news needs of the mobilitydriven user communities, NewsHunt is a software application that allows smartphone users to read newspaper of their choice online via smartphone. Using NewsHunt you can read the latest news from more than 50 leading newspapers in India. Mr. Virendra Gupta, MD & Founder, NewsHunt, shares his views about NewsHunt with Mobility. www.mobilityindia.com

6. How do you deal with competition and what is your USP? We deal with competition by providing a world class product. Our app is light weight, super fast and runs on all mobile platforms - including feature phones. That together with a unique platform that can render regional language on mobile devices gives us an edge. This is our biggest USP. We are a news aggregator - but we have licensed content and show full stories (as compared to other news aggregators who rely on incomplete stories through RSS feeds). We have also amassed India’s leading newspapers and built possibly largest mobile news app audience. Together all of this continues to help deal with competition.

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Cover Story

India’s Smartphone Wars Whether it is local Indian brands such as Micromax or Karbonn or global majors such as Samsung, Blackberry or Apple’s iPhone, Smartphone are a hot segment today and all the brands are logged in a war to capture maximum market share

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he smartphones sales in India grew over 100% (year-on-year) in 2012 to reach 20 to 22 million units. For the first time, monthly sales crossed 2 million units in Q4 and smartphones breached the USD 75 price in the same quarter. Currently in India, almost all the mobile devices available over USD 150 are smartphones.

While both Nokia and Blackberry lost significant market share (faster than expected), Samsung continued its momentum from late 2011 into all of 2012 to 2013 and today it leads the market (both in terms of volume and value). Indian handset OEMs started showing early signs of replicating their feature phones success (between 2009-11) in the smartphone space beginning Q3 & Q4 2012.

According to industry estimates, the share of Indian players grew from sub 2% in Jan to close to 30% by Dec, 2012 (in volume).

And, these players duly supported by chipset (System-on-Chip, SoC) vendors and ODMs are driving down the smartphone prices in India.

Among operating systems, Android dominated the Indian smartphone market in 2012, primarily led by Samsung and the growth of Indian players in the latter half of the year. While Symbian’s (S60) deceleration was relatively slow in the first two quarters, it lost www.mobilityindia.com

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Cover Story significant share in the second half of the year primarily due to the lack of competitive device models and Nokia’s increased focus on ‘Asha’ series (primarily based on Symbian Series 40 OS).

To the most part of the year, Windows Phone based devices were only available in the high end, and although more affordable Nokia Lumia 610 & 510 were launched in the second half, they failed to garner significant share for the OS. Apple has increased its focus on Indian market in the last quarter of 2012, with increased distribution, marketing spends, team augmentation and this has reflected in increased sales of iPhones.

In 2013, Convergence Catalyst estimates the smartphone sales to grow approximately by 120% to range between 44 million and 48 million, forming 30% to 32% of total mobile handset sales in the country. This growth is expected to be primarily driven by wider acceptance of smartphones by Indian consumers and the devices coming down the price curve.

Experts also estimate that the sub USD 200 segment to contribute over 60% of total smartphone sales in 2013. Although, currently the user experience on the low-end smartphones (in the sub USD 75 segment) is not optimum, we expect this to be corrected towards the end of first half of the year, and the share of smartphones in the sub USD 75 segment to grow significantly in 2013.

Additionally as per the experts in the industry, Apple and Samusng are set to be the leading players in the over USD 450 segment with over 80% (volume) share between them. Samsung is expected to face stringent competition from local Indian players (in the low and mid tiers) and Apple (in the high end), and the company will have to work on strengthening its leadership position in the Indian smartphone space in 2013.

In 2013, Android’s dominance is expected to continue in India, primarily due to multiple devices being launched by both domestic and global OEMs, especially in the mass-market segment. Samsung’s consolidation of leadership position, growth of Indian OEMs and entry of other global players (such as Lenovo, Huawei, etc) in the smartphones space is expected to aid Android’s growth. We expect Apple’s iPhone devices sales to grow by almost 5x in 2013 (as compared to 2012) as the company leveraging its aspirational brand caters to significant pent-up demand through increased distribution, extensive marketing and innovative sales schemes. In 2013, we also expect Windows Phone share to grow over 7%, with the availability of affordable devices and Microsoft and Nokia marketing them extensively.

new iconic models by various brands (such as Samsung Galaxy S IV, Nokia EOS, iPhone 5S, etc) are expected to be launched as flagship devices in this segment. The availability of multiple devices offering differentiation and catering to the aspirational consumers is expected to increase the market size.

Smartphone Chipsets (SoCs) to Drive the Next Level of Growth – Convergence Catalyst expects 2013 to be the year of smartphone chipsets and the competition among chipset players to drive the growth of smartphones in the emerging markets. We expect smartphones in India to be available on chipsets of at least ten different players in 2013. Qualcomm, the current smartphone chipset leader, is expected to face stringent competition from Mediatek, Broadcom and Marvell in the USD 76 to USD 180 segment, and in the high-end lose share to Samsung and Apple (whose high-end iconic devices are built on indigenous Exynos and Ax series chipsets). As the LTE ecosystem starts to take off in India (in the second half of 2013), we expect other players such Altair, Renesas, etc to enter the Indian market providing solutions for a wide range of devices.

Entry of Multiple Global and Indian Smartphone OEMs – Global players such as Lenovo, Huawei, etc., are expected to make fullfledged foray into the Indian smartphone market with wide range of devices across the portfolio and strong marketing push. Indian brands to expand their footprint and consolidate their position in the low & mid tier segments.

Increased Reverse Bundling with Wireless Carriers – As the wireless carriers focus on increasing the adoption and usage of data-based services in India, we expect them to partner with various smartphone players offering bundled data plans with devices, especially in the sub USD 200 segment New Smartphone OSs to Have Little Impact in 2013 – India is primarily a follower market and is rarely a market of choice for players to launch devices on new platforms, considering the amount of resources needed for marketing and building ecosystem. So, although the world would witness smartphones on new platforms such as Sailfish (targeted at China), Firefox OS (targeted at carrier markets), Tizen (expected to be launched in late 2013) and Ubuntu in 2013, we expect only a few models of these devices to enter Indian market and have little or no impact (in terms of overall smartphone sales in 2013).

India’s Top 5 Smartphones We at Mobility are presenting our list of five best of the line Smartphones with a right mix of performance and features.

Other Smartphones trends for 2013 in India Increase in the Total Addressable Market of >USD 450 Segment HTC One – As per our research, there exist about 24 device models in the HTC One is a fantastic high-end smartphone that almost manages high-end (>USD 450) smartphones space currently. In 2013, many to do everything very well. The two places it falters is in terms of

www.mobilityindia.com

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Cover Story camera performance and limited customization options within the interface. For `42,900, we would advise you to wait until the Samsung Galaxy S4 becomes widely available.

You’ve got to feel for HTC. The Taiwanese phone maker has been churning out quality devices for years now but every single time, no matter how good the phones are, they always tend to be overshadowed by the likes of Samsung.

HTC One is a phone that exudes class and polish and manages to impress the hell out of us with its performance and features.

But does it do enough to help HTC withstand the upcoming juggernaut that is Samsung Galaxy S4?

On account of being a top of the line smartphone, HTC has packed in almost every single feature you can think of into the One. As has become standard on most high-end Android smartphones, the One wields a 4.7-inch display with a resolution of 1920x1080 pixels, giving it a pixel density of 469 ppi, which makes it richer than the iPhone 5 (326 ppi) and the Samsung Galaxy S4 (441 ppi). The One’s display is of the Super LCD 3 variety and, as a result, is on par with the other smartphones in its segment.

The HTC One is powered by a quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 processor clocked at 1.7GHz, 2 GB of RAM and an Adreno 320 GPU. The One doesn’t support microSD cards but does offer 32GB of internal storage, which should be sufficient for all your needs. Buying the HTC One also gives you an additional 23 GB of free cloud storage on Dropbox, so if you ever run out of space on the phone, you can always use the cloud.

Connectivity-wise also , the One is packed to the brim with features. The HTC One supports 3G, Wi-Fi (with Wi-Fi Hotspot), DLNA and Bluetooth 4.0. Outside India, the One comes with 4G LTE support and you’ll also be able to make use of its NFC chip.

The One uses a 4MP shooter as its primary camera but don’t let that relatively tiny number turn you off. Images shot with the HTC One have larger pixels than those shot with cameras (a feature the marketing mavens at HTC call ‘UltraPixel’) with bigger megapixel camera counts. As a result, at least theoretically speaking, every single pixel in an image captured by the HTC will have more visual information packed in. We will see if the UltraPixel technology actually lives up to its name later in this review.

Apple Iphone 5 This is the best iPhone in the market, but that really isn’t a surprise, is it? But then again, for a phone that costs `45,500, it 6

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better justify the expense. The iPhone 5 is an incremental update over the 4S, but the best phone incrementally improved is equal to a huge improvement. Yes, the nano-SIM is a pain to get, and the Maps are pretty much ruined. But what you get is exquisite build quality, blazing fast performance, very good battery life, one of the best cameras in a phone and a display that just makes using the iPhone a lot more fun.

When the iPhone 5 actually released, it was like the worst kept secret. The critics found that a point to pounce on.

But that doesn’t take away from the simple fact – the iPhone 5 is an excellent evolution of what was already a very good product, the iPhone 4S. For all the hype about the bigger display and the taller form factor, the iPhone 5 feels brilliant in the hand. The basic design remains pretty much like the iPhone 4 and the iPhone 4S, with the slightly elongated form factor. We really mean it when we say that photographs don’t do it justice, and you need to hold it in all its real glory to understand all the excitement about it. The shape is exactly the same, just slimmer, with the four rounded edges and the metal strip running around the sides as a frame.

There are those exact same “cuts” at the top and the bottom of the sides, right and left. As we show in the video, the front and the back now sit more flush with the sides, unlike the iPhone 4S where the front and the back sat considerably above the metal band strip.

The volume rocker has been given the same treatment as the previous generation, and we like the continuity. The finish on the back panel is quite different from the 4S. The glass-ish look is now replaced with a brushed look. The flipside is, that it’ll get scratched rather easily.

Immediately, the weight difference does make you sit up and notice that the iPhone 5 is considerably lighter than the 4S. The 4S tipped the scales at 140 grams, while the iPhone 5 does that at 112 grams.

Samsung galaxy S4 Battle Royale for 2013. We may not see a bigger battle between two flagship devices this year. Maybe we will, but at the moment, this seems like the issue undisputedly ruling the otherwise rather fickle minded industry. HTC made the first move with the One. That phone, without doubt, is gorgeous. But Samsung is taking that on by loading the Galaxy S4 with so many features that you might actually end up being confused! On the outside, it looks a lot like the predecessor, but the internals and the features are the completely refreshed and upgraded bit. The Galaxy S III was possibly the most popular smartphone in the Android ecosystem, to take on the Apple iPhone, and it is understandable that Samsung wanted to retain the familiarity aspect and what was till now a winning formula. That seems a fairly good idea in most circumstances. www.mobilityindia.com

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Cover Story Let us start this detailed review by looking at the build and design of the Samsung Galaxy S4 first.

At various points in the review, you will notice direct comparisons with the HTC One, for the sake of enabling you, the potential buyer, to understand all the nittygritties involved, and make an informed decision.

The Samsung Galaxy S4 does pretty much follow the same design pattern as the Galaxy S III. But, from all the feedback and queries we have received from our readers, the point that the Galaxy S4 is essentially held together by plastic, does seem to take primary attention. We believe that Samsung followed the logic that says “if it isn’t broke, don’t fix it”, because the Galaxy S III was doing very well. The fans will point out that the S III held its own, rather comfortably, against the much better built iPhone – at least in terms of materials used.

So, why assume that the S4 will not do the same against the HTC One and the Apple iPhone. But, they do forget one point – HTC One is now, undisputedly, the best-built Android smartphone in the market today. The Galaxy S III, at its time, was not working under the shadow of such an entity, at least in Google Nexus 4 Google has officially unveiled a bunch of eagerly awaited products, namely the Google Nexus 4 (made by LG), a premium Nexus 10 tablet (made by Samsung) and a refresh of the Nexus 7 tablets.

First up is the Nexus 4, made by LG and a rather poorly kept secret. After a series of leaked photos, some poor chum actually went ahead and lost the phone at a local bar. Not really sure if the story is true, or Google is just trying to poke some fun at Apple, but regardless, we now officially have the Nexus 4, which runs on Android 4.2 (still Jelly Bean). There’s not much we didn’t already know about the specs, but just to re-iterate, it runs off a Snapdragon S4 Pro processor (yup, 4 whole cores) along with 2GB RAM. There’s a True HD IPS Display panel with a 1280x768 resolution

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and an 8 megapixel rear camera. The phone is supposed to be available unlocked straight from the Google Play Store on November 13 with the 8GB variant costing $299 and the 16GB model $349.

Next we have the Nexus 10, Google’s premium slate that’s supposed to take on the iPad 4. Designed with curved edges, the slate definitely looks a lot easier to hold, but the real greatness lies on the inside. The Nexus 10 is powered by a Samsung Exynos 5250 dual-core 1.7 GHz processor along with a Mali T640 GPU. There is also 2 whole gigabytes of RAM, NFC and stereo speakers, but the real kicker lies in the display. The Nexus 10 has a native resolution of 2560x1600, pegging its pixel density at a whopping 300 ppi (the iPad 4’s display is 264 ppi). This gorgeous looking powerhorse can be all yours for modest price of $399 for the 16GB version and $499 for the 32GB version.

Last but not the least, we see a refresh in the Nexus 7 lineup.

The 32GB variant has already been leaked several times through store inventories, but now, its official and priced at $249 while the 16GB version drops to $199. The 7-inch tablet also gains HSPA+ (3G) ability, but is only available on the 32GB variant and will cost $299.

Nokia Lumia 920 Nokia’s latest flagship, and runs the spanking new Windows Phone 8 OS. There is a lot of hype around the PureView camera, but isn’t as exceptional as Nokia would have you believe. However, it is still quite amazing, besting the iPhone 5 in most situations, including low-light environments and video quality. The lack of apps for the Windows Phone 8 platform is honestly not a deal breaker. You do get a lot of WP8 and Nokia exclusive features anyway. If you’re in the market for a new high end smartphone, the Lumia 920 should be something you definitely consider.

The Nokia flagship has finally landed, with the Lumia 920 now adorning store shelves in all Nokia Priority stores across the country.

We’ve been really excited about this phone and the camera isn’t the only reason. When Nokia first unveiled the device, the Lumia 920 had impressed us with its high-resolution curved glass display (which is meant to works even with gloves on), its sturdy and gorgeous polycarbonate body, and wireless charging.

We spent a lot of time with this and we’ve got a lot of things to say about it and therefore, we’re going to approach this review a little differently. We’re going to break it down into three sections; Camera, Hardware, and Software, as everything about this phone can be covered under these three heads.

The imaging tech in the Lumia 920 carries the PureView branding, bringing Optical Image Stabilization, (a first in a cell phone camera), along with a fast aperture of f/2.0 which lets light onto an 8.7 megapixel BSI sensor. In a conventional OIS system, there is generally one floating lens element that moves to compensate for shake, but in the Lumia 920, the five lens elements that form the entire optical assembly of the camera move together. Nokia says that this allowed them to miniaturize the OIS system sufficiently.

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Mobility Analysis

Top Five Waterproof Smartphones in India

H

ave you ever panicked when water fell on your smartphone or when it got wet either due to rain or sweat? Well, the new waterproof smartphones available in the Indian market will put aside your fears, once and for all. We are presenting the top 5 waterproof phones available in the Indian market that are set to give you a great all-weather waterproof experience you need.

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Mobility Analysis

HTC Butterfly HTC Butterfly smartphone (from HTC) runs on Android Jelly Bean 4.1 powered by a 1.5 GHz quad-core processor. This beautifully designed waterproof smartphone is also one of the costliest in the Indian market. It sports an 2.1 megapixel front camera and a 8 megapixel rear facing camera. In addition, it has 16 GB of memory storage which can be expanded up to 32 GB. Specs overview HTC Butterfly: Android v4.1 Jelly Bean [OS] Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 quad-core 1.5 GHz processor 5-inch Super LCD 3 capacitive touch screen 2GB RAM 16GB on-board memory 2.1MP front-facing camera 8MP rear camera

Motorola Defy+ Running on Android Gingerbread v.2.3 [OS], Motorola Defy+ is powered by 1 GHz A-8 processor. It has a 9.3-cm (3.7-inch) TFT LCD display with a resolution of 854 x 480 pixels. It comes only in graphite grey color. This waterproof and dust proof smartphone supports a 5MP rear camera and is available in market for Rs 11,990 only!

Android Gingerbread v.2.3 [OS ARM Cor tex A-8 1Ghz processor 3.7-inch TFT LCD display 854 x 480 pixel resolution 512MB RAM 2GB internal memory 5MP back-facing camera Li-Po 1700 mAh batter

Sony Xperia Go This dust resistant and waterproof smartphone runs on Android v2.3 (Ginger Bread). It features an 8.88-cm (3.5inch) scratch resistant reality display. It has a 5 mega pixel camera with LED flash, 512 MB RAM and 8GB built in storage.

Android v2.3 Gingerbread [OS] ARM Cor tex A-9 dual core 1GHz processor 8.88 CM (3.5 inch) TFT LCD capacitive touch screen 480 x 320 pixel resolution 512MB RAM 8GB in built memory 5MP rear camera 1305 mAh battery www.mobilityindia.com

Samsung Galaxy Xcover 2 This waterproof smartphone runs on Android v4.1 (Jelly Bean), sports a 10.6-cm (4-inch) scratch proof display. This phone sports a 5 Mega Pixel rear facing camera and a VGA front camera Android v4.1 Jelly Bean [OS] Cortex-A9 dual-core 1GHz processor 4-inch TFT capacitive touch screen 480x800 pixel resolution 1 GB RAM and 4GB in-built memory 5 MP rear camera and a secondary VGA camera Li-Ion 1700 mAh battery.

Sony Xperia Z Running on Android v4.1 (Jelly Bean) platform and sporting a 12.7-cm (5-inch) HD display, this recently unveiled high-end smartphone from Sony is dust and water resistant. It is engraved with an excellent 13 megapixel rear camera and 3.2 mega pixel front camera. Sony Xperia Z has 16 GB of internal memory that is extendable up to 32 GB. Android Jelly Bean v4.1 [OS] Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 quad-core 1.5 GHz processor 5-inch HD display 1920 x 1080 pixel resolution 3.2 MP front camera 13 MP rear camera 2 GB of Ram and 16GB in-built memory.

2330 mAh Li-Ion battery.

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Mobility Special

Tethering is one of th features a smartphon operators insist on re own good

Definitive Guide to Teth

A

s a great enabling technology, tethering most often refers to using your smartphone as a mobile hotspot. In other words, it lets you connect to the Internet on your laptop, tablet, or Wi-Fi enabled device, using your phone’s data connection.

Tethering is very useful if you happen to be in an area that has no free Wi-Fi and you need to do your computing on a device other than your phone.

However, the service operators are not excited about this and don’t really want you to use this oh-so-convenient option, because users who tether are more likely to use a lot of data and pay very less to their network usage.

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After all, it’s much easier to use data when you’re browsing on a laptop or a tablet, than when you’re limited to your smartphone’s tiny screen. You might argue that, since most mobile plans feature limited data anyway, it shouldn’t matter how you happen to use that data.

But some carriers disagree, and will typically charge an extra on their per month bills for tethering plans.

Third-party tethering apps There are two ways to tether on your Android phone?you can use your phone’s built-in hotspot feature, which may or may not incur charges from your carrier. Or you can use a third-party tethering app.

The ultimate Android tethering guide While most carriers (AT&T, Sprint, and T-Mobile) do not technically allow the use of third-party tethering apps, many third-party tethering apps are still available and will work on phones on those networks. Whether you use a third-party app for tethering is at your discretion, since networks will often charge you if they discover you’re using tethering data and not paying for it.

Remember, if you do choose to use a third-party app for tethering, it’s a good idea to be conservative about how much data you use. If you only tether your laptop to your phone’s data connection to check email on the fly, your carrier probably www.mobilityindia.com

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Mobility Special

he most convenient ne has, yet telecom estricting it for their

hering won’t notice. But if you’re constantly streaming Netflix videos on your tablet using your phone’s data connection, your carrier will probably get suspicious?especially if you have an unlimited data plan.

Numerous third-party tethering apps are available today, including apps for rooted and nonrooted phones. Here are a few of the better options: Best Tethering Apps PdaNet: PdaNet is a free download on Google Play, but this only gets you a 14-day trial. After 14 days, the app will block access www.mobilityindia.com

to secure websites (websites that require a login) unless you purchase the full edition for $15.95. PdaNet allows you to tether your phone’s data connection to your laptop using a USB cable or Bluetooth dial-up networking, or to turn your phone into a Wi-Fi hotspot (though the Wi-Fi hotspot mode does not work on all phones).

E a s y Tet h e r : EasyTether is a USB tethering app, which means it lets you share your phone’s data connection with your laptop via a USB cable. It also lets you tet h er your game console (PlayStation 3, Nintendo Wii, or Xbox) using PC Internet Connection Sharing (you need to go through a computer first to tether your console).

EasyTether has two versions: a free Lite version and a paid $9.99 version. The Lite version blocks secure websites, instant messengers, and game console tethering. The app supports Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux. As of this article’s writing, EasyTether was still blocked on Verizon devices.

Wifi Hotspot & USB Tether Pro: Wifi Hotspot

& USB Tether is primarily for turning your phone into a Wi-Fi hotspot (complete with password), but it also allows you to tether your phone’s data connection to your computer via USB. This is yet another app with a free version (so you can see if it works on your phone) and a paid version that costs $14.99. The Lite version gives you a two-day, five-minutes-per-day trial.

The Reverse Tether app Reverse tethering lets you tether your computer’s Internet connection to your phone so that your phone connects to the Web using your laptop?s connection. This is a much less common scenario, since it’s rare that you’ll find yourself in a place where your computer has an Internet connection but your phone does not. If you do find yourself in this situation, however, you can use the Reverse Tether app to share your computer’s Internet connection with your phone.

Reverse Tether is a $4.99 download in the Android Market, and requires a rooted Android d e v i c e . To tether your computer’s I n t e r n e t connection to your phone, all you need to do is download the app, make sure your device’s drivers are installed on your computer, and connect your computer to your phone using a USB cable.

Since Reverse Tether does not work with all Android devices, you can also download a trial version for free to see if it works. The trial version lets you connect only during certain times, but it never expires.

Linking to your laptop

Tethering doesn’t apply only to your phone’s (or computer’s) data connection. The AirDroid app lets you wirelessly manage your phone from a browser window on your laptop. This can be useful if you’re at your computer anyway, but you want to be able to do things like listen to music that’s stored at your computer, write text messages, and organize your phone’s contacts.

AirDroid is free on Google Play. To use the app, you need to download and install it on your phone, and then open up a browser window on your computer and navigate to http://web. airdroid.com. You can then scan a QR code on the website or enter a passcode from your device, and you’re logged in.

From the AirDroid main screen, you can manage files, organize call logs, check and write text messages, look at photos, watch videos, play music, organize contacts, and install apps. Your device does not need to be rooted for AirDrive to run, but if it is rooted you’ll have access to a couple more features, such as seeing your device’s screen in real-time and taking screenshots.

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Mobility Focus

Smart Apps for Smartphones Applications such as bluejacking and smart tracking are truly transforming your smartphone into a multi-functional super device of tomorrow 12

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Mobility Focus Bluetooth Drives Bluejacking for Smartphones As a communications driven technology, Bluejacking involves the use of Bluetooth wireless technology to either send messages or files to a phone, or connect to it in other ways. The benefit of Bluejacking is that the connection isn’t conveyed through a carrier, so it’s harder to track. And it’s anonymous.

Hence, Bluejacking is the practice of sending messages between mobile users using a Bluetooth wireless connection. People using Bluetooth-enabled mobile phones and PDAs can send messages, including pictures, to any other user within a 10-meter or so range.

Because such communications don’t involve the carrier, they are free of charge, which may contribute to their appeal.

Bluetooth was created to enable wireless communications between various devices; the user can set a device to be inaccessible, accessible to a specific device (through a process known as pairing), or discoverable, that is, accessible to all devices in range.

Although Bluejacking is, in and of itself, a legitimate activity, it has enabled a number of less innocent practices, including Bluesnarfing attacks, which involves theft of data from a mobile device, and reportedly a fad known as toothing, the practice of sending an invitation to nearby mobile device users for the purpose of setting up a quick sexual liaison.

Could someone stalk you using your own smartphone?

Smartphone hijacking and theft of your personal information may not be exclusive to stalking, but they are ways a stalker can find you. As we discussed earlier, a stalker could use tracking software to target your smartphone and intercept personal calls and messages. But he or she could also stage a non-targeted attack on your smartphone using signal interception.

Your smartphone has a combination of radios and signals it uses to communicate.

For phone calls, text messaging and Internet browser, your smartphone uses one or more cellphone network protocols like GPRS, EDGE and 3G. Depending on the smartphone, you might also have a short-range Bluetooth radio, a GPS receiver, and one or more radios for connecting to different WiFi networks. With all these signals moving through the air, it isn’t surprising that stalkers often find ways to capture them and use them for cruel purposes.

Currently, Bluetooth is the easiest of these signals to intercept. Our article What is bluejacking? describes how someone can tap into your smartphone while its Bluetooth radio is on and discoverable. The bluejacker needs no more than his or her own Bluetooth device to do the trick. When the device finds your smartphone, the bluejacker connects and sends data that creates a new contact in your smartphone’s address book.

Though bluejacking itself is a harmless prank, it’s www.mobilityindia.com

also a warning that your smartphone could receive harmful, unwanted data if you leave your Bluetooth connect open. Your best defense is to restrict access to your Bluetooth radio: Don’t enable it unless you need it, and control whether or not it’s discoverable by unknown devices.

For the more dedicated and tech-savvy stalker, imitating a trusted connection point could be the weapon of choice against you and your smartphone. While original phreakers adopted a set of rules that kept them out of trouble, today’s phreakers are often out to do some damage. A mild-mannered phreaker who wants to stalk you can spoof a number, call your smartphone and taunt you after you pick up.

More aggressive phreakers could steal your entire address book, upload malware or make long-distance calls from your smartphone.

Similar to bluejacking, your best defense against phreakers is to know your smartphone and limit your use of its radios and connections.

If you don’t recognize a number that’s calling when you look at your caller ID, and you’re not expecting a call, you could let the call go to voicemail instead of answering.

If you’re walking around busy public spaces and you’re not using your phone’s WiFi connection or GPS, turn off the WiFi radio and GPS features. Not only will radio limiting prevent unwanted connections, but it’ll also keep your battery charged longer.

You can still enjoy your smartphone while avoiding stalkers and hackers. Just use these four tips as your defense: Know your smartphone, know its weaknesses, know how to keep it secure and keep your personal information personal. In the meantime, dial in to the next page for more great links about smartphone tracking and stalking.

Smartphones and Social Network Stalking This is quite interesting and very important as well. When you voluntarily tell the world where you are and what you’re doing, you make it easy for stalkers to track you. Social network Web sites like Twitter and Facebook invite us to do that through status messages. Most of those sites have made it very convenient for you to post your status from your smartphone, providing streamlined mobile versions of their Web sites plus applications you can install on your smartphone.

Even if you don’t say where you are in your status messages, you could be revealing it in your photos. If your smartphone has a camera, it’s common practice to take a photo or video and upload it to any of several social networking sites.

But whatever is in the background of your photos, like street signs and license plates, could reveal things about who and where you are.

Plus, many smartphones geotag your photo when you take it, and that data is uploaded along with your photo, revealing when and where it was taken. If you’re trying to avoid stalkers, check the settings on your smartphone

to find out how to disable geotagging, and be aware of how different social network sites use and reveal geotags from your photos.

Some social networks are based almost entirely on geolocation. The point is to use your smartphone to “check in” when you’re at a particular location, and then have your status updated with your whereabouts.

Networks like Mologogo and Google Latitude let you see where people are on a map, while Foursquare and Gowalla turn “checking in” into a fun way to earn rewards. Not only do these sites keep a log of your check-ins, they also let you automatically send status updates to other social networks, like Twitter and Facebook. In short, if you want to avoid being stalked on your smartphone, treat your smartphone as an extension of your social networks.

Tracking Smartphone Even if you’re cautious about what information you reveal about yourself, it’s possible you could be stalked by tracking software installed on your smartphone.

Commercial tracking software for smartphones can serve good purposes, like keeping track of your kids or monitoring delivery employees.

Unfortunately, some people have chosen to use the software for uninvited tracking activities.

You can purchase commercial mobile phone tracking software from companies like AccuTracking and Retina-X Studios. The software boasts such features as reading text messages, listening to phone calls and tracking the phone’s location on a map using its GPS. When installed on a smartphone, the software runs stealthily with no hint to the phone’s user that it’s gathering and sending this information.

Our article How Location Tracking Works describes how this software works together with radios, like those found in your smartphone.

The companies that sell smartphonespying software post disclaimers that it’s the responsibility of the user to obey laws and monitor people only with their consent. But what happens when someone disregards the law? The only thing a stalker has to do to install the software is to have access to your smartphone.

Unless a stalker has a specific reason to target you and your smartphone, the following simple precautions could get the stalker to move on to an easier target: • Always keep your smartphone with you or locked in a secure location.

• Set a passcode for your smartphone and configure the phone to prevent bypassing that code.

• Know your smartphone’s security weaknesses, and keep track of the latest news about your smartphone in case a new weakness is discovered.

• Take action to prevent someone from exploiting those security weaknesses on your smartphone.

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Trends in Convergence

WiFi, Tablets Driving Smart Hotels and Healthcare Wi-Fi technology when coupled with a super device like Tablets is delivering huge benefits to the hospitality and the healthcare industry today and is no longer just another amenity for hotels of tomorrow.

This super technology combo is fast becoming a prerequisite for doing business in a smart way for the hospitality as well as the healthcare segments 14

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Trends in Convergence providers are looking at tablets and Wi-Fi to support essential business and guest optimization services — from the back office to point-of-sale terminals to IP-based devices everywhere.

Such Smart Wi-Fi networks with tablets are connecting wireless services giving guests access to information at anytime, especially when the front desk is busy with check-ins and check-outs.

Today, hotels need Wi-Fi for far more than just Internet access.

Hoteliers are now deploying single, reliable wireless infrastructure to concurrently support all essential business applications including: tiered highspeed Internet access (HSIA), pointof- sale terminals, IP-based video on demand (VOD), back office and service optimization services, voice over IP (VoIP), digital signage, and kiosks, and in-room IP-enabled devices of all kinds.

Multimedia Support IP-based video streaming, voice communications, and other multimedia applications such as digital signage are quickly becoming essentials. Hotels are fast utilizing the adaptive antenna technology and traffic engineering technologies uniquely classify, schedule, prioritize, and optimize latency sensitive multimedia traffic to ensure flicker-free video for guests, and crystal-clear voice between hotel staff using IPbased phones.

Wi-fi Everywhere With great number of applications such smart Wi-Fi network uniquely delivers the most reliable Wi-Fi signals possible. Providing reliable Wi-Fi for large groups and conferences is always a concern for hotels. Don’t worry. And hence wifi is turning out to be the real choice of such action which supports hundreds of concurrent clients but takes advantage of advanced capabilities such as band steering, airtime fairness, and client load balancing to better optimize the crowded RF spectrum.

When combined the power of tablets, wifi is turning out to be the reach tech combo that hoteliers need and utilize for their set of clients.

This is one technology that gets users on and off the Wi-Fi network faster, there’s no system better able to deal with large numbers of simultaneous Wi-Fi users.

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wning to its ease of use and delivering a great way to communicate seamlessly, Wifi when coupled with tablets is influencing public WiFi offerings for the hotel industry in a positive manner today.

And as a result, businesses that offer free public WiFi access are responding to the rapid growth of tablet computers and other mobile devices, and patrons of coffee shops, hotels and bookstores are now all set to further embrace this tech combo in a better manner today than ever before.

When it comes to the hotel industry, PROVIDING Faster, more reliable Wi-Fi services at a lower overall cost of ownership is essential. It must be everywhere, indoor s and out, AND stable and strong enough to support the most demanding multimedia applications. If not, guests will surely not come back to the hotel.

One Network, Converged Services One network for all the converged services is holding the real key to better customer service today. Smart hotels and healthcare services www.mobilityindia.com

Health providers turning to tablets Many healthcare enterprises are changing up their note-taking and some administrative habits by adopting tablet computers in instances where they would have previously turned to paper notes or a bulky computer on wheels.

Tablets provide several clear advantages in terms of organization, efficiency and access to important patient information. The tablet also allows clinicians to be more personable. Unlike the legacy system, which is large and difficult to fit next to a patient’s bed, the tablet is light and can be taken virtually anywhere.

Tablets are being used for more than just clinical services. Ward managers are using the devices to log repair calls that would otherwise be recorded on paper notes. The tablets have impacted not only care providers’ efficiency, but quality of care as well.

And this is just the start, healthcare enterprises are now plans for dynamic, responsive operation scheduling, based on anesthetists being equipped with the tablets and deploying the technology in pre-operative assessments.

It is important to note that in May 2012, WinterGreen Research released a report on the tablet’s effect on telemedicine, noting that the telemedicine hardware and software market would reach $2.5 billion by 2018, up from $736 million in 2011. This trend will affect the way healthcare providers carry out medical services. Patient care can be brought directly to the patient rather than requiring him or her to go in for an expensive hospital visit or trip to the emergency room. As the tablet continues to thrive, its applications in the hotel industry and healthcare industry will expand greatly.

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Mobility News HTC One Smartphone Unveiled by Jacqueline Fernandez

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TC unveiled its flagship smartphone, the new HTC One in Mumbai.

The event witnessed bollywood diva Jacqueline Fernandez and a group of HTC enthusiasts. Jacqueline unveiled the phone and handed-over the devices to select customers at Reliance mobile store, Juhu, amidst all pomp.

Crafted with a distinct zero-gap aluminium unibody, the new HTC one introduces HTC BlinkFeed, HTC Zoe and HTC Boom Sound; the key new HTC Sense innovations that reinvent the mobile experience and set a new standard for smartphones.

“People today immerse themselves in a constant stream of updates, news and information. Although smartphones are one of the main ways we stay in touch with the people and information we care about, conventional designs have failed to keep pace with how people are actually using them,” said Faisal Siddiqui, Country Head, HTC India.

McAfee Unfurls Chipto-Application Security Cover

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cAfee introduced two new suites: McAfee Complete Endpoint Protection – Enterprise, and McAfee Complete Endpoint Protection – Business.

These suites are the first to link security from chip to OS to applications, protecting against new threat vectors and bringing critical visibility to risk management.

The suites are the first to include McAfee Deep Defender, a rootkit protection based on hardware-enhanced security jointly developed by Intel and McAfee, dynamic whitelisting, risk intelligence, and realtime security management. By including mobile device management and support for Macs and Linux, McAfee suites help businesses of all sizes protect devices, data

Tata DOCOMO Announces ‘Meet and Greet Ram Charan’

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ata DOCOMO, the unified telecom brand of Tata Teleservices Limited (TTL), has announced the launch of an exciting and fun filled ‘Meet and Greet Ram Charan’ offer for its Prepay GSM subscribers in Andhra Pradesh.

100 lucky winners across Andhra Pradesh will be selected through a lucky draw and get a memorable chance to meet and interact with Telugu Mega Power Star and Tata Docomo’s Brand Ambassador Ram Charan at Hyderabad, Vijayawada and Visakhapatnam in coming month.

To participate in this first-of-its-kind offer, existing GSM prepay customers have to just recharge for Rs 222. It offers 4 benefits to prepay GSM customers including full talktime with lifetime validity, local & STD call rates at revolutionary 1 paise/2 16

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seconds for 28 days, an assured surprise benefits of 22 MB data valid for 2 days or 22 local & national SMS valid for 2 days or 22 local Tata to Tata minutes valid for 2 days and a grand chance to meet actor and Tata Docomo’s Brand ambassador Ram Charan.

Michael Sentonas, Vice President & Chief Technology Officer, McAfee Asia Pacific

and applications.

“McAfee is the only security vendor that can provide protection for the endpoint from before the operating system starts, all the way to the cloud,” said Michael Sentonas, Vice President & Chief Technology Officer, McAfee Asia Pacific. “Unlike competitive endpoint solutions on the market, the Complete Endpoint Protection suites include hardware-enhanced protection uniquely delivered by McAfee and Intel in addition to next-generation security technologies, such as a risk advisor and advanced dynamic whitelisting that help organisations defend against the newest and stealthiest threats.” www.mobilityindia.com

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Mobility News DataWind Wins ‘Outstanding Product Achievement Award’

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t its 28th Annual Innovation Awards Gala, the Canadian Advanced Technology Alliance (CATA) announced DataWind as the winner of the 2013 McCagueBorlack Outstanding Product Achievement Award. The award recognizes DataWind’s development of the world’s lowest cost tablet computers in the form of the Aakash2, and lowest cost phablet, commercially sold as theUbiSlate 7C+. The products not only break the affordability gap for billions of people globally, but also help them join the internet revolution using DataWind’s breakthrough web delivery platform.

DataWind’s CEO, Suneet Singh Tuli said, “We are truly honoured and grateful to be recognized by CATA, as this award validates our vision of creating affordability to help bridge the digital divide.”

CATA President John Reid added

Suneet Singh Tuli, CEO, Data Wind

that “these award winners have shown that they are innovators and skilled business people. They are role models for the development of commercially successful enterprises in Canada.”

Go Tech To Distribute 500 Free Tablets To Merited Students

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o Tech Digital Pvt. Ltd announced that it will distribute FunTab Fit tablet absolutely free to the students, who secured more than 95% in this academic year in Classes X and XII - CBSE/ ICSE/ ISE and State Boards. This tablet is a unique blend of fun, and entertainment and promises to deliver a high-quality and engaging experience. This is a very unique educational CSR campaign for the students who deserve the best. Go Tech congratulate all the students who passed the exams with flying Mr.Gaurav Khanna, Managing Director, Go colors and will be the bright Tech Digital Pvt. Ltd. future of the nation.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr.Gaurav Khanna, Managing Director, Go Tech Digital Pvt. Ltd. said, “Our motive behind this campaign is to promote the youth to achieve new heights of success and to make their family and nation proud of them. This is for the first time that our company is taking this initiative to motive the new talent and distributing free tablet is a small gesture of appreciation towards a noble cause”.

ASUS Wins Multiple Awards at Computex

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SUS announced that its ASUS TaichiUltrabook was the most awarded product at Computex2013. The awards include the prestigious Best Choice of the Year Award (selected from all Best Choice Golden Award nominees), Best Choice Golden Award and the Computexd&i Gold Award.

Three ASUS products won Best Choice Awards and 11 received Computexd&i Awards.

President of Taiwan Ma Ying-jeou acknowledged and commended ASUS’

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contributions to design and technology as ASUS CEO Jerry Shen received the awards during a ceremony at the Taipei International Convention Center.

“These awards recognize ASUS design and technology, and signify 2013 as one of our most successful years,” said ASUS CEO Jerry Shen. “Everyone at ASUS is fully dedicated to design thinking, and we will maintain our search for incredible as we continue to bring endless possibilities to customers worldwide.”

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Mobility News ASUS Announces MeMO Tablets

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SUS announced the new MeMOPadTM HD 7 and MeMO Pad FHD 10 Android tablets. With an MSRP of just US$ 129 for 8G and US$149 for 16G, the MeMO Pad HD 7 is a 7-inch tablet that offers incredible value, with a quad-core processor, 1280 x 800 IPS display, and 1.2-megapixel front and optional 5-megapixel rear cameras. MeMO Pad FHD 10 is a 10inch tablet with the new Intel Atom Z2560 processor, 1920 x 1200 Full HD IPS display and ASUS SonicMaster audio technology.

ASUS MeMO Pad HD 7 — the value tablet for mobile entertainment: ASUS MeMO Pad HD 7 has a quad-core processor and 1GB RAM for smo o t h a n d responsive performance with apps of all kinds.

The 7-inch display has a 1280 x 800 native resolution for crisp text and images, and IPS technology for accurate, vibrant colors with 170degree wide viewing angles. MeMO Pad HD 7 also features high-quality stereo speakers with enhanced sound, courtesy of ASUS SonicMaster audio technology. ASUS MeMO Pad HD 7

has a 1.2-megapixel front-facing HD camera that can capture 720p HD videos and models are also available with a rear 5-megapixel camera.

ASUS MeMO Pad FHD 10 — the multimedia tablet of choice: ASUS MeMO Pad FHD 10 features the latest Intel Atom Z2560 1.6GHz processor and a 1920 x 1200 Full HD IPS display for deliver vivid visuals

Mobility June 2013

cAfee announced that McAfee Enterprise Mobility Management (McAfee EMM software) is now fully integrated with the McAfee ePolicy Orchestrator (McAfee ePO) platform. With McAfee EMM software, comprehensive security, policy, and management capabilities are extended to mobile devices. McAfee ePO software enables enterprises to protect their data on company-issued and employee-owned devices (smartphones, tablets, laptops, and desktop computers) through a single, unified infrastructure and console.

“Businesses are leveraging mobile technologies to deliver a competitive edge yet many organizations manage these devices separately from their core infrastructure,” said Ari Jaaksi, senior vice president and general manager of Mobile Engineering Operations at McAfee. “Every device that’s connected to the Internet or that has access to an organization’s network or database needs to be secured and managed. McAfee is making it easier for IT departments to see and manage their mobile footprint along with the rest of their infrastructure.”

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with 178-degree wide viewing angles.

MeMO Pad FHD 10 has stereo speakers with SonicMaster audio technology and its 10-inch screen makes it ideal for entertainment, 1080p video playback and handheld gaming. MeMO Pad FHD 10 features Intel Hyper-Threading Technology for improved graphics performance and increased energy efficiency.

ata DOCOMO, the unified telecom brand of Tata Teleservices Limited (TTL), has launched a unique offering – ‘Unlimited Photon 3G Data Plan’ for its GSM postpay customers. This plan will be available for both potential & existing postpay customers.

The new Tata Photon 3G Unlimited data pack, will deliver excellent download speeds up to 7.2 Mbps. Customers can choose from the 2 special unlimited 3G data packs, where they will get 3GB data for Rs 650 and 4GB for Rs750 excluding taxes. Post the bundled data usage, customer will continue to enjoy 5 GB data benefit at speeds up to 128 kbps and beyond 5 GB at speeds up to 8 kbps as per fair usage policy. Moreover, post the allocated bundled 3G usage, the customers can choose to avail the unique feature of “Speed booster Packs” if they wish to continue on 3G speeds. There are 3 speed booster packs available for the customers, which offer free data bundled usage of 1GB at `200, 2GB at `350 and 0.5GB at `125.

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Juniper Helps Muthoot Group on Profitable Growth

Tata Launches Unlimited DOCOMO Photon 3G Data Plans

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McAfee Simplifies MDM and Data Security

uniper Networks, the provider of network innovation, has been selected

by Muthoot Group, the world’s largest gold loan firm, as its strategic network partner. Muthoot Group has deployed Juniper Networks SRX Series Services Gateways and EX Series Ethernet Switches at its data centers and branch offices across India. Muthoot Group, India’s largest gold loan corporation with 4,200+ branches has been facing stiff competition within its market segment. To address the dual challenge of maintaining profitable growth while remaining competitive, the company has developed a customized core banking application to streamline the delivery of standardized service offerings across thousands of branch offices via a robust and secure IP network.

“The new Muthoot Group branch network is a showcase for Juniper Networks SRX Series and EX Series, which integrate essential capabilities that connect, secure and manage

workforce locations from branch offices to the data center. With highperformance routing, switching, wireless and security applications and capabilities consolidated into a single device, Muthoot Group will be able to deliver streamlined services to millions of its customers economically and securely,” stated, Ravi Chauhan, managing director India and SAARC, Juniper Networks.

Adobe Teams up with Manorama Online

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dobe Systems entered into an agreement with Malayala Manorama, a leading Indian media house, which has diverse interests in the print, visual and online media, under a multi-million dollar deal. The agreement with Adobe is expected to drive digital-transformation initiatives at Manorama, which is pursuing a comprehensive digital strategy. Manorama Online has been in the online media business for more than 15 years, and this deal would support its preparation for challenges posed by the digital world with constantly developing apps and multitude of devices.

Commenting on the strategic deal, Umang Bedi, Managing Director South Asia, Adobe said, “We are very excited and proud of this transformational engagement with Malayala Manorama, a brand with a rich legacy of 125 years.

Adobe’s digital marketing solutions herald a new era for Manorama Online ensuring that it is ready for this next stage in its evolution and will remain leaders in a multi-screen, digital world.” www.mobilityindia.com

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Mobility News Lava Launches E-Tab XTRON+ Tablet

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AVA International Limited, a fast growing company in the mobile handset industry, has announced the launch of its E-Tab XTRON+ tablet, a feature-packed Android tablet priced at sub-INR 8,000 price point.

The XTRON+ tablet is the first tablet to run on the latest Android version Jelly Bean 4.2.2 and extends the legacy of the highly successful E-Tab XTRON line-up from Lava. Through the announcement Lava has further strengthened its tablet portfolio.

The XTRON+ offers all the features that makes it one of the most complete tablets to date. It is powered by a fast 1.5 GHz dual core processor and 1 GB RAM. With

an internal memory of 8 GB,that is expandable up to 32 GB,it gives users enough space to store their multimedia content. Allowing for greater connectivity and convenience, the tablet features dual cameras

(Front 0.3 MP and Rear 2.0 MP). XTRON+ boasts of a thin and compact design with full aluminum shell giving it an elegant

feel and superior strength. . The right sized bezel and ultra slim size makes it convenient to hold and use on-thego. XTRON+ runs on an improved and powerful 3700 mAh battery as compared to its predecessor XTRON. It supports 5hours of running time. For connectivity, the XTRON+ offers WiFi access, microUSB and a HDMI out port. Elegantly d e s i g n e d , enhanced by highspeed performance, with a remarkably sharp screen, E-Tab XTRON+, is an ideal device for those who wish to live a high definition life. This product is available on online channels at a best buy price of INR 6,990.

Dell Unveils CIO Enterprise Tablet Survey Results As enterprises brace themselves to meet the requirements of an increasingly complex and converging IT environment, they require a higher level of technology support to maintain and optimize performance. Dell has recently conducted an India CIO Enterprise Tablet Survey for 2013, which reveals that IT departments are willing to adapt fresher approaches to

BlackBerry Launches Q10 Smartphone

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lackBerry launched the new BlackBerry Q10 smartphone, the first BlackBerry 10 smartphone to feature a classic BlackBerry QWERTY Keyboard. The new BlackBerry Q10 smartphone is expected to be available in India starting tomorrow from authorized carriers and retailers.

Available in two colours, Black and White, the BlackBerry Q10 smartphone combines the power of the BlackBerry 10 platform with a large, re-engineered physical keyboard and stunning touchscreen display – the largest ever on a BlackBerry QWERTY smartphone.

Mr. Sunil Lalvani, Managing Director for India at BlackBerry said, “We are thrilled to launch the first QWERTY BlackBerry 10

Mr.Shishir Singh, Director, Product Marketing, Dell India

Mr. Sunil Lalvani, Managing Director for India at BlackBerry

smartphone with our carrier and retail partners across India. The BlackBerry Q10 smartphone gives customers the assurance of typing on

a classic BlackBerry keyboard, which combines with BlackBerry 10 to offer them a powerful and unique mobile computing experience.”

HP Intros Mobile App Development for Platform

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P unveils a new version of the HP Anywhere platform which allows organizations and developers to build, distribute and manage user-centric mobile applications for the enterprise. The platform provides enterprise scalability by giving developers the flexibility to work with their tools of choice by leveraging core technology standards including HTML5, JavaScript and Apache Cordova, as well as support for Sencha Touch, Enyo and www.mobilityindia.com

jQuery Mobile for mobile application development.

With the rapid adoption of smartphones, tablets and BYOD, organization’ mobile applications must address the dynamic needs of the modern workforce. HP provides the tools developers need to create and deliver enterprise mobile applications that employees will actually want to use residing securely on their mobile and tablet devices of choice.

meet their technology requirements.

Dell is leading the way in the next era of computing with a redesigned portfolio of business and consumer PCs designed keeping in mind the security and manageability requirements of businesses. Built to best optimize Windows 8, Dell has crafted the Latitude 10 that undertakes consumer sentiments into consideration and make touch computing available to more customers than ever before.

Mr.Shishir Singh, Director, Product Marketing, Dell India said, “Dell strives towards keeping pace with the new trends and to become the perfect technology partner to its users. The Latitude 10 tablet offers all the features wanted by an end user with the simplicity and ease of manageability of a business device.

We are already seeing interest from customers who want to work with us to provide pre-installed appson the Latitude 10 to increase workforce efficiency.

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Mobility News Huawei Unveils UltraWideband RRU

Salora Presents Multimedia Speaker Systems

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uawei, an information and communications technology (ICT) solutions provider, recently unveiled a new Ultra-Wideband RRU product at the 2013 Indonesia LTE TDD Summit. Each Ultra-Wideband RRU product supports a maximum instantaneous bandwidth (IBW) of 80 MHz to help operators worldwide make use of new LTE TDD spectrum licenses as they become available.

O n l y o n e U l t r a - Wi d e b a n d RRU product for LTE TDD can simultaneously support up to four 20

MHz carriers with 4×4 MIMO and CA (carrier aggregation) technologies, and can provide a blazingly fast 1 Gb/s single user downlink throughput rate.

The product is part of a comprehensive solution for simplifying future network expansions while protecting investments in existing operator assets. By innovatively enabling higher flexibility for new spectrum releases, Ultra-Wideband RRU sets an industry milestone for further acceleration of LTE TDD commercial network deployment worldwide.

alora International Ltd. introduced its new range of multimedia speaker systems- the SHA-3211UF featuring a 2.1 Channel Active Speaker System and SHA-3511UF featuring a 5.1 Channel Active Speaker System, each with USB player . With the new range, Salora has focused on clean, contemporary design and superior Audio performance to appeal to today’s discerning users, primarily youth.

Both the models pack in excellent

features like USB player, SD Card Reader, Digital FM and digital display, remote control, Bass & Treble control, direct access to MP 3 File and wooden satellite speakers. While the SHA-3211UF packs in a woofer power of 20W, the SHA-3511UF has a whopping 60W with channel control and aux function, enhancing sound quality and customer experience.

While the SHA-3211UF retails at `2495 (MOP– 2295) the SHA-3511UF retails at `4495 (MOP– 4090)

Goibibo.com Launches IOS App

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oibibo.com, India’s one of the online (including mobile) travel platforms in India launches its IOS App. This launch comes at a time wherein Goibibo has witnessed more than half a million downloads of its Android App backed with encouraging reviews. The Android app already occupies one of the top slots in the “Travel & Local” category in the Android Marketplace.

The core features of the IOS app are: 1. The app is fast and extremely easy to use for even return trips. No clutter, and 2. Users can choose the -/+3 day option that gives them the best fare available.

Says AshishKashyap, Group MImobile, a mobile CEO, ibiboGroup, “For Goibibo data infrastructure and business, we are already witnessing solutions provider to telecom 10% of our transactions via Android operators, enterprises and and HTML 5 APPS. I am confident media companies, announced that within 24 months mobile transactions will surpass desktop/PC/Laptop.” the opening of its US office.

IMImobile are expanding into the North American telecom market with an office in Atlanta, one of the leading business centers of North America. The Metro lackBerry is reaching out to women in India to urge them to apply for the Atlanta Chamber (MAC),is new BlackBerry Scholars Program, an initiative designed to inspire women focused on the development globally to enter and develop careers in the fields of Science, Technology, of the mobility and technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM). sectors in Atlanta and is “Women are underrepresented in fields of science and technology, and we supporting IMImobile in feel strongly that it’s time to drive a change,” said BlackBerry Global Creative making an impact on the Director, Alicia Keys.

North American market.

Applications are now open to candidates in India, who are interested in Thomas Boesen, Senior the scholarship, and will close at 2:30 am on June 27 2013. The scholars will Vice President Business be selected by a panel of inspirational and accomplished women, led by Alicia Development, IMImobile, Keys, who will recruit candidates based on their academic merit and passion said, “We see significant for entering the mobile computing industry. opportunities to utilize our

IMImobile Opens US Office in Atlanta

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BlackBerry Launches Scholars Program for Women

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Thomas Boesen, Senior Vice President Business Development, IMImobile

deep CRM expertise in the rapidly growing US prepaid market and to provide our multichannel mobile engagement platforms to help enterprises build profitable and sustainable customer relationships.” www.mobilityindia.com

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Mobility News Intex Aqua I-5 is Launched

by Farhan Akhtar

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ntex Technologies introduced its premium smartphone-Aqua.

Building on the unprecedented success of the Aqua series, Intex Aqua I-5 gives the consumers a complete bouquet of options to choose from the series.

Powered by 1.2GHz Quad core processor, the phone promises superior quality graphics, multitasking and improved application performance. Aqua comes with a 5.0” qHD Capacitive Touch Screen and runs on Android 4.2 (Jelly Bean).

Packed with a 2000mAh battery, the phone provides a talktime up to 5 hours and about 7 days of standby time, ensuring a strong battery backup.

Boasting of dual-SIM capabilities, the phone supports Bluetooth 4.0 and Wi-Fi, ensuring full time connectivity for the social media buffs. The phone has dedicated 1 GM RAM & 4GB of inbuilt memory that is expandable up to 32GB and is equipped with four sensors -Environment Light Sensor, Motion

Sensor, Proximity Sensor, G sensor.

Commenting on the marketing plans of the company, KeshavBansal, Director-Marketing (Mobile), Intex Technologies, said; “The mobility division is one of our key revenue drivers and contribute significantly to the overall revenue streams of the company. We have very aggressive marketing plans which includes 360 degree promotion via TV&Print Campaign with Bollywood star FarhanAkhtar. We are also

MImobile, a mobile data infrastructure and solutions provider to telecom operators, enterprises and media companies, launched in partnership with Telefónica UK and Streetspace an iPad app that provides youth workers with an interactive tool to educate and help young people land their first job.

Telefónica UK who funds a number of projects that aim to improve communities around the UK as part of their Think Big Project approached IMImobile with the opportunity to develop an iPad app on behalf of Streetspace, an initiative that aims to promote young people’s personal and social development. The Streetspace app was designed as a tool to assist www.mobilityindia.com

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luke Networks announced its new family of Versiv Cable Certification Testers designed to help data communications installers more quickly, accurately and profitably achieve system acceptance for copper and fiber jobs.

Versiv is a powerful platform offering interchangeable modules for copper, fiber and Optical Time Domain Reflectometer (OTDR) testing, as well as new software innovations that speed test time and accuracy, and simplify testing setup, planning and reporting.

“When doing cabling installation and certification, the difference between having a job be profitable versus a loss, is often times just a few percentage points,” said Jason

Wilbur,

vice president and general manager of the datacom cabling instillation business unit at Fluke

Networks.

Zebronics Unveils Digital Photo Frame ‘Artifice 3’

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op Notch Infotronix, India’s betting big leading supplier of products and on digital & Online. Going forward, accessories for Computers, Consumer we would be planning a lot of fun yet Electronics and Communication strategic campaigns with him. under the brand ‘ZEBRONICS, has launched their latest Digital Photo Frame ‘Artifice 3’ that lets consumers bring their precious memories to vivid life, with innovative features including video playback function.

The Artifice 3 digital photo frame sports a resolution of 800x480 pixels their youth workers in helping young in a vibrant 7-inch LCD screen, people learn about the process of and reads media files off a variety gaining employment. of convenient and easily accessible IMImobile supports both, Telefònica UK Think Big and Streetspace values and shares Telefònica UK’s belief in corporate responsibility to help various communities and have a positive effect on young people’s lives. The iPad app provides essential information from the initial stages of matching skills to potential jobs, finding jobs, managing expectations, the interviewing process, to dealing with unemployment. With definable parameters and utilizing IMImobile’siPad development kit, the app delivers tailored content in an engaging format to help users find their first job.

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Fluke Launches Family of Versiv Cable Certification Testers

memory devices including USB flash disk and SD/MMC cards. While the screen display ratio is 16:9, the frame preserves the original format of the photos, ensuring that they are not stretched or cropped.

Representing Zebronics’ dedication to quality at value prices, the new Artifice 3 is priced at Rs. 3333/- including one-year warranty and is available right away at Zebronics’ e-commerce site – www. moneyvasool.com – as well as leading consumer-IT stores and on-line vendors.

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Mobility News Wacom offers Bamboo Loop Emkor Solutions Partners acom announces Bamboo Loop write on the photo with the finger or a with TARGIT

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– a new app for iPhone and iPod Touch. It combines principles of photo sharing and messaging in a unique and fun way: digital, paper-like photocards are sent (“looped”) to friends, family

digital stylus, loop it back to the person who sent it or send it on to someone else, or share it with social networks.

Everyone can be creative.

The base card within the app is

members and close colleagues. Unlike many apps in which a photo is added separately to a text message, in Bamboo Loop photos take center stage and can be illustrated and personalized with the built-in editing tools. Sketch, scribble or

the iconic Polaroid framed photo. A style browser offers a choice of different backgrounds, patterns, photo filters, colour palettes and effects, enabling users to easily create cards with a nostalgic, artistic or fun feel.

Amtrak Info System Brings Education Tablet My Class Buddy

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mtrak Info System Pvt. Ltd. (AISPL) recently launched education tablet in Rajasthan – Amtrak My Class Buddy A700E. The model is designed to complement the government of Rajasthan’s recent announcement of distributing cheques in 35,819 government schools to 3.5 lakh students who have secured 2nd to 11th position in the merit list of 8th class for buying tablets. This tablet is focused at preparing the students for the new digital era. Amtrak also brings an introductory offer of FREE key-board - Play-mate worth `899 along with My Class Buddy.

The benefits and outstanding features include: 1. Rajasthan State Board and CBSE Board Hindi digital books for class IX with Bookchums; 2. Infinite Cloud Storage through eNlight Space for the students to save their homework, projects and assignments for lifetime; 3. Hindi Classics like poetries of HarivanshRaiBachan, MahadeviVerma; short-stories of MunshiPrem Chand and others; 4. An e-library of other 50,000 valuable books from Bookchums; 5.

Three layers of security – Personal Security by EyeWatch, Data security, and Device Security; 6. 39 Service www.mobilityindia.com

Centers across Rajasthan; and 7.

1800 102 9509 TOLL FREE number with a simulated customer support for your My Class Buddy.

“We have made sure that we stand entirely different by offering the right kind of content and truly a solution for a school going student by incorporating extra space for important content like school assignments, e-books from the study material, with cutting edge Cloud computing technology,” stated Sandeep Arya, MD, Amtrak Info System Pvt. Ltd. (AISPL).

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mkor Solutions and TARGIT announced their partnership to deliver “Business Intelligence as a Service” across multiple platforms and enterprise data sources in India.

Through this partnership Emkor will become exclusive partners of TARGIT BI in the India region. These offerings will transform the way emerging and medium businesses use data analysis for making business decisions. The solution will include “SaaS” based BI services on the cloud to emerging and mid-market companies who are seeking strong Business Intelligence capabilities to keep pace with latest industry trends and create sustainable competitive advantage.

“We are happy to announce that Emkor has expanded its portfolio of cloud based solution by adding the world’s best Business Intelligence and Analytics tools powered by TARGIT.” said, VikramDham, CEO & Co Founder, Emkor Solutions Limited.

Shopify Enters India With SingTel

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hopify, an ecommerce platform used to create and power online stores, announced their entry into the e-commerce market space in India in partnership with SingTel, Asia’s leading communications group.

Available from Rs 750 per month, the solution is an easy and affordable way for individuals and small business to set up beautiful online shops within minutes, and accept secure credit card payments for goods and services.

Shopify is successfully operating in

over 100 countries and powers over 50,000 online stores with annual sales exceeding $1.5B USD. Mr. Harley Finkelstein, Shopify’s Chief Platform Officer, said, “We built Shopify to allow anyone with a product or a service to easily create beautiful and highly scalable online stores, at an affordable price.

SingTel is the ideal partner for us, as we’re both focused on helping small businesses succeed in today’s global economy.”

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App Review: FoodPanda

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rdering food over the phone is no big deal; you can call any nearby restaurant and ask them to deliver it. However problem starts when you don’t have the menu card with you or when the restaurant number is busy. Plus finding the contact numbers of the restaurants that offer what you want is a bit of task.

To make things simple there is an app called FoodPanda in Google Play Store, which not just allows you discover restaurants in your vicinity but it provides complete menu card of each restaurants.

The user interface of the app is very simple, you select a city followed by area and then you will get a list of restaurants that service the area with a small description of the restaurant, which is great help in choosing the restaurant itself if you have not made your mind even before you open the app.

Adding or removing stuff from your order is simple one click affair. While we did not face any issues vis-à-vis the interface, some people said that since the app doesn’t allow manual entry of complete address (area has to be selected from the drop down), thus if your area is not covered, you may not order anything at all.

Coverage The app has restaurant list from only 10 cities, in fact only seven areas, which include Delhi-NCR, Chandigarh and suburbs, Pune, Jaipur, Mumbai, Hyderabad and Bangalore. So it is not really wide spread in its coverage in terms of cities. However it has a list of over 1800 restaurants in these cities which mean that coverage in the said cities is good.

Coverage is expected to increase over time, however it is a good thing that the developer is concentrating on getting a thick coverage within the cities as this makes people who are in the city to stick to the app.

It looks like developers have integrated the app with the

restaurant’s system so that update is real time. As per our findings, the deals were regularly updated over the week that we used the app for.

Verdict The app is a great concept and in cities with coverage the utility of the app is immense. Its developer seems to be taking care of the update too with regular deals and discounts. However currently the coverage is limited to only seven cities and this is something that will need to be improved as people even within these cities travel a lot and they need to order food when visiting places.

Review: ESPNCricinfo App for iOS New ESPNCricinfo App 3.0 version with an engaging as well as interactive user experience. The updated app is meant for true cricket fans who wish to read, stay updated and interact with others any time.

ESPNCricinfo has pushed a new update for its existing official app for the Apple iOS and Android platforms. The new app brings fresh and revamped user experience along with several new features as well as under the hood improvements. We were given a nearly final version build of the ESPNCricinfo to play with which is now available in the Apple App store.

ESPNCricinfo App for iOS The ESPNCricinfo website has been quite famous for its realtime score updates, scoreboards, live commentary and exhaustive content. Now imagine all of it being bundled into a mobile app.

Many would presume it to be a loaded app with too little content and multiple links on the home screen but that is not the case.

ESPNCricinfo app version 3.0 for the iOS arrives with a fresh user experience, smooth transitions-animations and several tweaks. To start off, the app loads with a visual guided tour of the new changes that have taken place in the app.

The top part is covered by the score summary of the current matches being played anywhere - be it International cricket matches or domestic cricket matches. This dedicated window also has tabs that one can swipe through to know the scores of multiple matches being played at different places or scores of the matches that just finished.

Mobility Rating

■ Easy of use ■ Good selection of restaurants ■ updated regularly ■ Coverage in 7 cities only

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Intex Aqua I-5 — Review

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ntex Technologies has launched its Intex Aqua I-5 smartphone in the Indian market. This smartphone will be available at a best buy price of `11,690.

Intex Aqua I-5 is powered by 1.2GHz quad-core processor along with 1GB of RAM. The smartphone packs in 4GB of internal storage, which can be further expanded by up to 32GB via microSD card.

The latest smartphone in the Aqua series boasts a 5.0-inch qHD capacitive touchscreen. Intex Aqua I-5 runs on Android 4.2 (Jelly Bean). For camera, there is a 12-megapixel rear auto-focus camera along with flash and a 2-megapixel front camera. The rear camera of this smartphone also comes with five layer lenses and BSI Sensor.

Intex Aqua I-5 comes with a 2,000mAh battery, which as per the company claims provides a talk time up to 5 hours and standby time of about 7 days. It is a dual-SIM GSM + GSM smartphone.

Other connectivity options include 3G, Bluetooth 4.0 and Wi-Fi. This smartphone is also equipped with four sensors - Environment Light Sensor, Motion Sensor, Proximity Sensor and G sensor.

If you thought you have seen enough Quad-cores, you are wrong. Intex looks to breakthrough with this new handset called the Intex Aqua i5. This is a zoom-in on an earlier launch cover of the Intex Aqua i5.

Intex Aqua i5 specifications: • Android 4.2 Jelly bean • MediaTek MT6589 chipset, 1.2 GHz quad-core Cortex A7 processor • 5-inch qHD display • 12 MP back camera with LED flash, 2 MP front camera • 2000 mAh battery

Design Intex Aqua i5 features a 5 inch qHD display, similar to that of Karbonn S5 Titanium. Strangely, all the Quad-cores in this price range follow the same pebble type curvy edge profile. Like all other 5 inch displays, one handed use is not going to be in your comfort zone.

Processor This device utilizes the same Media Tek 1.2 GHz Quad-core chipset as the other budget phones. It also includes an SGX 5t GPU, which should boost graphic performance. The processor provides enough juice for the device to run in fluidic fashion.

Camera intex_aqua_i5The device boasts a 12 MP camera with Layer lens and BSI, which is the best sported by any such device in this price range. The device also comes bundled with a 2 MP secondary shooter. The presence of LED flash should enable good low light photography.

Operating System The device comes out of the box with the latest Android 4.2 JellyBean. Intex decided to lightly customize the stock Android UI. Remember that brands like Micromax have also done pretty well with their UI. It would be interesting to see the two UIs battle it out.

Memory The device comes with 4 GB of ROM out of which only 1.56 GB is usable. However, this can be expanded by means of microSD up to 32GB. 1 GB of RAM coupled with the powerful processor should ensure lag free performance.

Battery 2000 mAh battery for a 5 inch screen can never be impressive. Charging everyday would be necessary.

Overall, the Intex Aqua i5 is a formidable opponent to the popular Karbonn S5 Titanium (Karbonn S5 Titanium review), the Micromax Canvas 2 plus and the Lava Iris 504Q (Lava Iris 504Q review).

Intex Aqua i5 price Intex Aqua i5 is available for `11690.

■ Decent design ■ Good battery backup

Mobility Rating

■ Performance could have been better www.mobilityindia.com

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BlackBerry Q10 — Review

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hen BlackBerry unveiled BB10 and the first two smartphones running on the new operating system, everyone sort of intuitively decided that the Q10 with its QWERTY keypad was the flagship smartphone.

DESIGN Being the only high-end smartphone with a physical QWERTY keypad ensures that the Q10 does not have any issues with standing out in a crowd of smartphones. Unlike the Z10, which had an uninspiring design, the designers have done a good job with the Q10.

The Q10 looks as well as feels premium, which is a rarity these days even in the high-end segment where certain vendors get away with cheap plastic and faux chrome trimmings. The black variant has a 3D weave pattern on the back that not only provides a nice grip but also makes the phone look classy.

The metal band that encircles the entire frame lends a sense of sturdiness, which is missing from most flagship smartphones these days. A metal strip between every row in the keypad ensures that the phone does not flex and gives an impression that the keys won’t fall off, like they did in some older BlackBerry smartphones. Even the back cover snaps with an assuring click. The Q10 is certainly one of the best built smartphones out there.

It takes a while getting used to, especially for someone who had let go of physical QWERTY keypads years ago and feels at home thumbing on a glass surface rather than plastic keys. Irrespective of my personal preferences, the keys on the Q10 have just the right amount of give and would appeal to those who still use a BlackBerry Bold.

HARDWARE When it comes to hardware, not much has changed since the Z10, with the Q10 retaining most of the specifications as the other BB10 smartphone. It still runs on a Qualcomm dualcore processor clocked at 1.5GHz coupled with 2GB of RAM and 16GB of internal memory. The microSD card slot remains as well and so does the 8-megapixel rear camera and a 2-megapixel front facing camera.

The only thing that has changed is the display, which is now a strange 3.1-inch 720×720 pixels square display. The square display goes well with the portrait QWERTY keypad but the logic is lost when one plays videos on it when the already tiny display becomes tinier with thick black frames on the top and bottom.

gestures work, which I have previously covered in the Z10 review, but running the same OS with the same gestures seems a bit odd on the Q10. BB10 was built ground up for an all-touch user interface, which the designers rightly thought was the future (or rather the present).

Swiping up from the bottom of the display on the Q10 is unintuitive and especially the slide up, flick right gesture to get into the hub takes time getting used to on the tiny 3.1-inch display. Eventually I started swiping up from the topmost row of keys rather than trying to search for the edge of the display.

PERFORMANCE The BlackBerry Q10 turned out to be a mixed bag when it came to performance. It delivers on the core promise of providing the best physical QWERTY keypad experience on a high-end smartphone, which has always been BlackBerry’s forte and especially now when there are no high-end smartphones with a physical keypad any longer.

In that sense, the Q10 has a niche of its own and does not have any competition. So if one is looking for a phone with a physical QWERTY keypad, there are really no other options and the Q10 becomes the obvious choice.

The Final Word As with the BlackBerry Z10, the Q10 is not going to make users switch over from Android or iOS to BlackBerry. This one is exclusively for those who need a physical QWERTY keypad and are already BlackBerry users.

Price `44,990

■ Nice Looks ■ Good battery ■ Light weight

SOFTWARE I won’t delve deep into BB10 and how its ■ Camera is not that overwhelming ■ Software can hang up at times

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Simmtronics Xpad X722 Tablet Reviews

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f you are looking for a budget tablet from Simmtronics with voice call facility, then the Simmtronics XPad X722 is one such tablet which runs on Android Ice Crean Sandwich operating system.

The Simmtronics Xpad X722 has a 7 inch capacitive multi touch LCD screen with a resolution of 800 x 480 pixels. The tablet is powered with a 1 GHz dual core Cortex A8 processor and supported by 512 MB of RAM and with Mali 400 Graphics processor.

The tablet has a 4 GB internal storage which is expandable up to 32 GB via microSD card slot. The tablet has a 2 Mega Pixel rear camera and 0.3 MP front facing camera. As far as connectivity is concerned, the tablet has 3G (via Dongle), Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and USB. The tablet has internal battery of 3500 mAh capacity which provides internet browsing time of 3 hours and standby time of 100 hours.

The Simmtronics XPad X722 tablet has some important apps pre loaded. The pre loaded apps in this tablet include Google Maps, Gmail, GTalk, Google Search, Android browser, Document viewer, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. The tablet is available in Indian market for a price of `6,000.

• Operating System Type Android • OS Version Android Ice Cream Sandwich • Screen Size 7 inches • Screen Resolution 800 x 480 pixels

• Accessories Included Battery, Charger, Data Cable and head set • CPU Cortex-A8 dual core Processor • Processor Speed 1 GHz • Graphics Processor Mali 400 • RAM 512 MB • GPS No • Hard Disk 4 GB internal storage expandable up to 32 GB • WIFI Support Yes • No. of USB Ports 1 No, • Battery & Life 3500 mAh with 3 hrs internet browsing time and 100 hrs of standby time • SIM Slots Single SIM • Additional features Some of the key features of Simmtronics XPad X722 are listed below.

1. 2 Mega Pixel rear camera 2. 0.3 MP front facing camera 3. Android v4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich operating system 4. 1 GHz Cortex A8 Processor 5. Wi-Fi Enabled 6. 7-inch TFT LCD Capacitive Touchscreen 7. 4 GB internal storage expandable up to 32 GB

Mobility Rating

■ Decent design ■ Good battery backup ■ Light Weight www.mobilityindia.com

■ Screen could have been better ■ Performance could have been better Mobility June 2013

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Asus Fonepad review

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he Asus Fonepad, is the first tablet from Asus to offer voice calling. It’s also the first tablet to be powered by an Intel processor. At a price point of Rs. 15,999, we believe that Asus has got the pricing of the tablet right. Running the latest version of Android, and offering a screen comparable to the Nexus 7, we try to find out if it is a compelling buy in a market full of different options.

Build/ Design Its 7-inch screen dominates the front of the tablet and there are no hardware controls. A chrome earpiece grill and the 1.3-megapixel camera lens sit above the screen, while there’s some Asus branding below the screen.

There’s a removable plastic strip at the back. It hides the MicroSIM and microSD card slot. There’s a micro-USB port and a 3.5mm headset jack at the bottom of the tablet along with a microphone.

Display The 7-inch display of the Asus Fonepad sports a resolution of 1280x800, the same as that of the Nexus 7. The display of the tablet offers good viewing angles and is ideal for use as an e-book or magazine reader as text appeared sharp and images vivid. Videos also looked decent.

Camera The Asus Fonepad comes with a 3-megapixel-rear camera and a 1.2-megapixel front facing camera.

The pictures taken with the rear camera were just about average.

Pictures taken in less light and indoors were grainy. Video capture quality was good but frame rendering was not that smooth. Video captured through the camera is saved in .3GP format, which is an old format.

Software/ User Interface The Asus Fonepad tablet runs Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean. It doesn’t run the stock version of the OS and Asus has customised the user interface skinning some elements such as the notification tray and adding another button with the Android onscreen navigation keys, in addition to including some additional apps, widgets and features.

The tablet comes preloaded with some apps including the Amazon Kindle app for e-books, App Backup to take backups of apps and their data, App Locker to password protect apps, Asus Story to create photo books, Asus Studio to browse, manage and edit pictures, Audio Wizard to select pre-defined sound playback modes, an app to block specific callers, BuddyBuzz to browse social networks like Twitter and Facebook, a File Manager app, MyBitCast for taking voice, image and text memos, MyLibrary Lite- another e-book reader app, MyPainter, Press Reader for reading newspapers, Sticky Memo, SuperNote Lite, To Do List and Zinio app for reading magazines. Unfortunately, it’s

not possible to delete any of these bundled apps. We feel that a lot of these apps are just bloatware taking up space unnecessarily.

Asus also offers 5GB of additional data storage space on its servers via its WebStorage service through which one can collaborate and sync documents, photos and videos across devices.

Just like Samsung’s multi windows apps and Sony’s small apps, Asus has also added floating apps for utilities like calculator, countdown timer, stick memo, stopwatch in addition to floating apps for browser and video player. One can simultaneously run these apps on top of other apps in order to multi-task.

Performance/ Battery Life The tablet is powered by a 1.2GHz Intel Atom Z2420 processor, coupled with 1GB RAM and a PowerVR SGX540 GPU. The tablet performs decently when it comes to doing routine tasks. It offers 8GB of internal storage which is expandable to 32GB via microSD card. However, out of the 8GB memory we were able to only access 4.39GB. The Fonepad comes with a 4270mAH battery and we were satisfied with the backup that it offered. We were able to get around 7 hours of video playback, even with the display on full brightness levels. The tablet lasted about a day and a half with push notifications and e-mails on, 1-1.5 hours of phone calls, an hour of music and video playback, and half an hour of playing games. It’s worth pointing out that we had turned off Wi-Fi and auto-brightness, and the tablet was hooked to a 3G network with the screen brightness at the highest level. Altering these settings might help in running the tablet for a longer duration, depending on your usage pattern.

The final Word The Asus Fonepad is a good tablet that also offers voice functionality. If you’re looking for a device that lets you read books, browse the web, watch some videos, click casual shots and make occasional voice calls, look no further.

At a price of `15,999, the Fonepad is a great buy even if you want to use it as a 3G enabled tablet.

Price: `15,999 ■ Great design ■ Good battery

■ Camera is underwhelming ■ Software performance could have been better ■ Screen is prone to smudges

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