Lenovo Pocket Yoga

Lenovo Pocket Yoga Recently, the Internet has created photo Lenovo Pocket Yoga. It turns out that netbuk resembling Sony VAIO P, is only a concept two years ago.

Submarine Deep Flight Super Falcon

In the Bay of San Francisco passed the first test «flying» submarine Deep Flight Super Falcon. Originally Deep Flight Super Falcon submarine was designed for a millionaire Tom Perkins (Tom Perkins) Maltese Falcon by Hawkes Ocean Technologies. Noticing how interest in their development, the company Hawkes Ocean Technologies has decided to make the design of submarines in the business. In addition to the original submarine for 1.3 million dollars, Hawkes Ocean Technologies will also sell a mini-submarine version of the open booths for 350 thousand dollars.

LightLane bike safety concept becomes reality

As a cyclist myself I couldn’t be more happier to see this concept become reality. The video after the jump features LightLane, a bicycle light concept which aimed to increase safety of cyclists by using “super-bright red LEDs” along with two highly visible diode-pumped solid state green lasers to project a path which appears as a bike lane.

If you asked me, I can see the LightLane becoming one of the bestselling bike gadgets to come, that is if they don’t decide to overprice it too much!

Sea-Quad - amphibious wind glider for rich people

This new vehicle known as the Sea Quad allows lazy surfers to surf on the beach as well as on the sea without ever needing to get up (or fall off). This is certainly no ordinary surf board. The Sea Quad is sail powered which means it does rely on wind power, the sail is connected to a steering bar allowing you to glide through winds at whatever speed it allows.

Though the Sea Quad is no Rinspeed sQuba, once its development completes, it’ll set you back $13,950 which isn’t the type of budget anyone could afford under the current day economics.

Comcast rolls out wireless Web

NEW YORK - Comcast Corp, the largest U.S. cable operator, said on Monday it is introducing a wireless service for subscribers to access the Web beyond their homes anywhere within the United States.

The so-called fourth-generation (4G) wireless service, is the first execution of a partnership between Comcast, Clearwire Corp. and other companies that use the emerging WiMax high-speed mobile technology.

The new service, called "Comcast High-Speed 2go," is expected to deliver data to laptops, netbooks and other devices over a wireless network at faster speeds than has been commonly available to date.

Comcast said it will offer download speeds of up to 4 megabits per second. Existing 3G wireless networks typically offer download speeds between 1 and 1.5 megabits a second.

Cablevision Systems Corp offers mobile Internet service via Wi-Fi, a short range service typically limited to a home, restaurant or "hotspot." The operator is providing Wi-Fi service to its digital subscribers throughout its market in the New York metropolitan area.

Comcast High-Speed 2go launches officially in Portland, Ore., on Tuesday and is expected to expand to Atlanta, Chicago and Philadelphia before the end of the year, Comcast said.

A Metro version of the data card, which is typically installed into a laptop to allow wireless Internet access, will cost $49.99 a month when bundled with home Internet service. The Metro version will only work within the 4G metropolitan coverage area.

A nationwide version for $69.99 a month will allow subscribers to access the Internet via Sprint Nextel Corp's 3G network where the 4G network is not available.

WiMax is expected to blanket entire cities with Web access for mobile devices at speeds up to five times faster than traditional wireless networks, but the technology is still unproven.

After previous stumbles, such as a collapsed partnership with Sprint, cable companies are hoping that Clearwire, founded by wireless pioneer Craig McCaw, will help them resolve their long-running wireless conundrum.

The cable industry is also trying to figure out ways to make more video available beyond traditional TV sets.

Last week, Comcast and Time Warner Inc. said they started testing ways to allow people to watch more TV shows over the Web, while making sure they keep paying for their traditional cable or satellite TV services.

Comcast will likely try to market the new wireless service as a way for subscribers to watch their favorite shows wherever they are in the United States.

Buy Vista-Equipped PC To Get Free Windows 7

Following a poor critical reception to Windows Vista, Microsoft is now trying to lure customers to upgrade to its newest operating system Windows 7. Microsoft has announced that consumers and small businesses who buy Vista-equipped PCs between 26 June and 22 October 2009 (the release date of Windows 7) will get a free copy of the new operating system when it hits the stores in October. Microsoft adopted a similar approach in the run-up to Windows Vista's arrival three years ago.

Is Microsoft hoping to erase bad memories of the ill-starred Windows Vista OS in the minds of consumers?

In addition, Microsoft says consumers who pre-order a copy of Windows 7 will receive discounts of 50 per cent or more for a limited time starting Friday.

"There is a lot of excitement for Windows 7 in the marketplace today. However, many consumers need a new Windows PC for school, work or home before 22 October 2009," said Brad Brooks, corporate vice president, Windows consumer marketing, Microsoft. "So starting 26 June 2009, any customer who buys a PC from a participating computer maker or retailer with Windows Vista Home Premium, Business or Ultimate will also receive an upgrade to the corresponding version of Window 7 at little or no cost."

On 22 October 2009, Windows 7 will be available in 14 languages -- English, Spanish, Japanese, German, French, Italian, Dutch, Russian, Polish, Brazilian Portuguese, Korean, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese and Chinese (Hong Kong). It will be available on 31 October 2009 in 21 other languages. Because of a European Commission anti-trust inquiry, the Windows 7 version going on sale in Europe will not include Internet Explorer, Microsoft's Web browser. Microsoft announced earlier this month that it had decided to remove the Web browser because of the regulatory wrangling, according to The Economic Times.

For the fourth quarter fiscal year 2009, Microsoft will defer an estimated $200 to $300 million of revenue. The deferral only impacts the timing of revenue recognition and will not impact cash flows from operations, Microsoft explains. The company made a similar revenue deferral for the Windows Vista Technology Guarantee programme during the 2007 fiscal year.

Once made available, the full version of Windows 7 Home Premium will be priced at $199, with an upgrade from Vista or XP costing $119. The full version of Windows 7 Professional will cost you $299, with upgrades going for $199. Windows 7 Ultimate will be priced at $319, with the upgrade version at $219.

The catch is the programme only works with participating manufacturers or retailers. Also, some manufacturers may charge a small fee for costs such as shipping and handling. Microsoft said it would provide free upgrades for people who buy computers loaded with Windows Vista until 31 January 2010.

Intel, Nokia To Create Future Mobile Devices

Further uniting the Internet with mobile phones and computers, Intel Corporation and Nokia have announced a long-term relationship to develop a new class of Intel Architecture-based mobile computing device and chipset architectures which will combine the performance of powerful computers with high-bandwidth mobile broadband communications and ubiquitous Internet connectivity.

To realise this shared vision, both companies are expanding their long-standing relationship to define a new mobile platform beyond today's smartphones, notebooks and netbooks, enabling the development of a variety of hardware, software and mobile Internet services.

Taking advantage of each company's expertise, these future standards-based devices will marry the best features and capabilities of the computing and communications worlds and will transform the user experience, bringing incredible mobile applications and always on, always connected wireless Internet access in a user-friendly pocketable form factor, the duo says.

The Intel and Nokia effort includes collaboration in several open source mobile Linux software projects. Intel will also acquire a Nokia HSPA/3G modem IP licence for use in future products.

The companies expect many innovations to result from this collaboration over time.

Elaborated Anand Chandrasekher, senior vice president and general manager, ultra mobility group, Intel, "With the convergence of the Internet and mobility as the team's only barrier, I can only imagine the innovation that will come out of our unique relationship with Nokia. The possibilities are endless."

"Today's announcement represents a significant commitment to work together on the future of mobile computing, and we plan to turn our joint research into action," said Kai Öistämö, executive vice president, devices, Nokia. "We will explore new ideas in designs, materials and displays that will go far beyond devices and services on the market today. This collaboration will be compelling not only for our companies, but also for our industries, our partners and, of course, for consumers."

The effort also includes technology development and cooperation in several open source software initiatives in order to develop common technologies for use in the Moblin and Maemo platform projects, which will deliver Linux-based operating systems for these future mobile computing devices.

The companies are coordinating their open source technology selection and development investments, including alignment on a range of key open source technologies for mobile computing such as: oFono, ConnMan, Mozilla, X.Org, BlueZ, D-BUS, Tracker, GStreamer and PulseAudio. Collectively, these technologies will provide an open source standards-based means to deliver a wealth of mobile Internet and communication experiences, with rich graphics and multimedia capabilities.

In addition, Intel will licence Nokia's HSPA/3G modem technologies with the aim of developing advanced mobile computing solutions that deliver a flexible computing experience – combining the 3GPP modem technology with the high performance and low-power consumption of future Intel Architecture-based platforms.

Pay As You Use: Call Anywhere In India 1 Paisa/Sec

Tata DoCoMo, the joint venture between Tata Teleservices Limited (TTSL) and NTT DoCoMo of Japan, commercially launched its GSM operations in Chennai and Tamil Nadu circles on Wednesday. With this launch, Tata DoCoMo subscribers will now be able to enjoy the benefits of 'pay-as-you-use', at only one paisa per second for all voice calls. The per-second concept will be applicable for all local and STD calls.

Tata Teleservices has become the second telecom operator in India to offer both CDMA- and GSM-based mobile services. On 30 December 2008, Reliance Communications became the first telecom service provider to offer mobile services on both CDMA and GSM platforms.

TTSL’s next-gen GSM service started on a heady note, with TTSL managing director Anil Sardana making the first phone call from Tata DoCoMo's 3G-ready network to A. Raja, union minister for telecommunications and IT. Tata DoCoMo's pan-India service rollout will be completed this year, with South Indian circles going 'live' in a fortnight.

In a message at the launch press conference, Ratan Tata, chairman, Tata Group, said, "This launch is truly a moment of triumph for the consumer. The launch of pay-per-use, per-second concept offered by Tata DoCoMo will create a paradigm shift in the overall telecom experience for the customer and provide a service that is refreshingly different."

Anil Sardana said, "It is a privilege to be fulfilling that promise first in the Tamil Nadu circle — where subscribers are discerning and seek transparency, innovation and differentiation. Our partnership with NTT DoCoMo will help us provide our subscribers with tremendous technological and service differentiation. Keeping in view the century of trust associated with the House of Tata, we are launching the concept of fare being fair."

In a video address, Toshinari Kunieda, senior vice president and managing director, global business division, NTT DoCoMo, said, "NTT DoCoMo has provided technical inputs to make the Tata DoCoMo GSM network world-class. Progressively, NTT DoCoMo shall bring to India the various products and services that we offer in Japan and many other countries — such as i-mode, Location-based Services (LBS) and mobile payment — and give Tata DoCoMo customers a flavour of tomorrow. TTSL and NTT DoCoMo are closely engaged in integrating technology, value-added services, products and applications through the mechanism of Business and Technology Cooperation Committee (BTCC). This should see Tata DoCoMo change the way India communicates."

Deepak Gulati, president, Tata DoCoMo, said, "From day one of our launch, we will work on a per-second pricing model for almost everything, be it voice calls, VAS services and IVR interactions. Above all, we promise to always listen to our subscribers."

Tata DoCoMo products will be available in nearly 20,000 outlets very shortly. The company has earmarked an investment of $2 billion on its pan-India GSM network rollout.

Tata DoCoMo has also introduced the pay-as-you-use advantage for many of its value-added services, including all its voice portals, 24-hour music, cricket commentary and voice chat. The company also announced free missed call alerts service to all its customers without any charge whatsoever. In addition, voicemail on Tata DoCoMo will be totally free for all subscribers with no burden of monthly rentals, no deposits and no retrieval charges.

Microsoft unveils new security software

San Francisco - Hoping to dispel fears about the vulnerability of Windows to viruses and other malware, Microsoft on Tuesday released a trial version of a new free security package called Microsoft Security Essentials.

The software is designed to replace the Windows Defender tool that Microsoft released in 2007, but which was widely derided as being inadequate to protect computers from the constant and ever-evolving threats posed by hackers.

Microsoft has been widely criticized for failing to include free and effective security software in its Windows operating systems, which are targeted far more intensely by malicious software than the rival Linux and Apple systems.

The world's largest software company said that Microsoft Security Essentials is available to the first 75,000 subscribers in the US, Israel, Brazil and China. The software is meant to run in the background, without constantly bombarding users with security alerts or using a lot of system resources.

A full version of the software is expected to become available in September. (dpa)

Robot that displays 7 human emotions unveiled in Japan

London, June 24 : Researchers at Waseda University in Japan have unveiled Kobian, a "humanoid" robot, which can express seven human emotions.

The ground-breaking robot can express feelings, including delight, surprise, sadness and dislike. Kobian also uses motors in its face to move its lips, eyelids and eyebrows into various positions, according to pinktentacle, reports The Telegraph.

The robot, which features a double jointed neck that helps it achieve more expressive postures, can also walk around, perceive its environment and perform physical tasks.

It was developed and unveiled by researchers at Waseda’s Graduate School of Advanced Science and Engineering in Tokyo on Tuesday June 23.

They were led by Professor Atsuo Takanashi, and worked with robot manufacturer Tmsuk, based in Kitakyushu, southern Japan. (ANI)

HTC announces its latest android-based “HTC Hero” smartphone

Serenading about its latest mobile handset in its Android line-up, HTC Hero – HTC is claiming that “HTC Hero” is the best Android phone up to now. HTC Hero has been recently announced at London by HTC.

Smart looking smartphone with angled bottom – HTC Hero boasts of its 3.2-inch, 320 x 480, HVGA touchscreen supporting multi-touch and pinch whilst browsing, and 5 megapixel auto-focus camera.

The 14.3mm thick HTC Hero sports a Teflon coating soft-touch finish. The phone comes packed with a slew of features including built-in GPS and a gravity sensor, a digital compass for simple navigation, an accelerometer, a standard 3.5mm headphone jack, anti-fingerprint screen

HTC Hero runs the Google-backed Android operating system. It uses Qualcomm MSM7200A processor running at 528MHz. The phone comes with 512MB ROM and 288MB RAM. The memory of the phone can be expanded to 16GB using a microSD memory card. The phone offers support for 900/2100MHz HSPA and quadband GSM, and 802.11b/g Wi-Fi.

HTC Hero is known for its better browsing capabilities. The handset allows its users to send emails and messages to their friends, and access the services, such as Twitter, Facebook, and Flickr. HTC Hero will be available on T-Mobile and Orange in United Kingdom, in July. HTC has not revealed the price and launch date of HTC Hero yet.

Now, watch footie matches while soaking up beach sun – courtesy mini-beamer in mobiles

Washington, June 25 : Those who love watching their favourite football teams in action on the big TV screen can now enjoy the same experience even when they are out on the beach—all thanks to mini beamer in cell phones.

Cellphone TV is coming closer as the mini beamer would make it possible to create a public viewing event on a small scale – for example on a white bathing towel by the side of a lake.

Developed by research scientists at the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Optics and Precision Engineering IOF in Jena in cooperation with their partners in the EU project HYPOLED, the mini projector does not need an additional illumination system like conventional beamers.

As the beamer can operate without an extra light source it offers a number of advantages—firstly, it takes up little space.

The prototype is 2.5 centimeters long, has a diameter of 1.8 centimeters and can be easily integrated in a cellphone or a PDA.

Secondly, the device needs very little energy and therefore does not overtax the battery.

"The key component of the projector is an organic display, or OLED, developed by our colleagues at the Fraunhofer Institute for Photonic Microsystems IPMS in Dresden," said Dr. Stefan Riehemann, group manager at the IOF.

Currently the OLED display produces a monochrome image with a brightness of 10,000 candelas per square meter and for colour images the brightness is about half that level.

The researchers are exhibiting a monochrome prototype at the Laser World of Photonics trade show from June 15 to 18 in Munich. (ANI)

Bath-o-matic iPhone app allows you to run a bath

London, June 25 : Scientists have created a revolutionary iPhone feature that makes it possible to run a bath before getting home.

The Bath-o-matic software means the phone can send orders to a set of high-tech taps on a bath tub that can control the temperature, pressure and draining of the water, reports The Telegraph.

The software for iPhone is available free from Apple''s popular App Store. However, users will have to pay 4,000 pounds for the technology at home.

They will then be able to select the temperature, depth and fragrance of the water and even how many bubbles in the bath.

Unique Automation, the company behind the device, recently showed off its wares at a trade show.

A spokesman said: "At the touch of a button, Bath-o-matic fills the bath to perfection - even adding bubbles and perfumes.

"Bringing full automation to the bathroom at last, this technological breakthrough offers energy and water savings plus flooding and scalding prevention." (ANI)

Nokia N86 – superb convergence of mobile phone and camera – Review

Specially designed for passionate mobile photography buffs, Nokia’s recently released Nokia N86 is superb convergence of mobile phone and camera.

Nokia N86 comes with its 8 megapixel camera featuring 28 mm Carl Zeiss Tessar lens with triband 3G HSDPA/HSUPA. With the powerful camera, you can capture ace quality photographs in all light conditions. You can enjoy watching videos and photographs through the phone’s 2.6-inch OLED display with 240 x 320 QVGA resolution.

Nokia N86 offers you ample of space for storing your images, videos, and music files. With 8 GB of internal memory, the phone can store up to 4,000 images. You can expand the memory of the phone to 16 GB using microSD card. Through N86, you can share your location with personal content –geotagged photos and videos – on web.

Nokia N86 also offers you several entertainment features including audio/video player, FM radio, and pre-loaded 17 N-Gage games including one chosen by you for free license. With N86, you can enjoy 30-hours of non-stop music. With integrated kick stand, N86 is your ideal gadget for enjoying videos and music. You can enjoy music through the Nokia Bluetooth Stereo Headset BH-214, and you can synchronize your N86 with a PC and TV.

Furthermore, Nokia N86 comes preload with Nokia Maps 3.0 with voice-guided driving directions, Ovi online services suite, a built-in digital compass, along with a trial navigation license for driving, pedestrian navigation, and accelerometer.

Nokia N86 runs S60 3rd Edition. The phone supports FP2, WiFi b/g, and A-GPS. You can buy Nokia N86 for Rs. 27,359.

Simmtronics launches Intel G-41 chipset based motherboards for desktops & notebooks in India

The leading manufacturer and distributor of motherboards – Simmtronics has launched Intel G-41 chipset based motherboards for desktop as well as notebook computers, in India.

Simmtronics G41T-M motherboards offer maximum 8GB scalability. The G41T-M motherboards come integrated with 2 DIMM DDR2 800 slots, which help amplifying the performance of system. The motherboards also deliver up to 12.8GB/s bandwidth system memory.
Compatible with LGA775 Intel processors featuring HT technology, the G41T-M motherboards come with 6-channel HD Audio CODEC that facilitates producing home theater-quality sound.

Qualified for Windows Vista operating system, the motherboards based on Intel G-41 chipset come with Core 2 Duo processor, USB 2.0 and 10/100 LAN. The core Duo processor is power efficient processor running up to 1333MHz front-side bus and consuming lesser power against the Intel chips launched earlier.

The motherboards include Atheros AR8112 10/100 Mbps LAN and for that users are not required to purchase an extra LAN card. The USB 2.0 connectivity allows data transferring at the rate of maximum 480Mb/s.

Supporting SATA HDD, CD-ROM and other advanced devices, along with NCQ function support, the G41T-M motherboards come with integrated SATA II offering a running speed of up to 3.0Gb/s

The G41T-M motherboards come equipped with Intel Graphics Media Accelerator X4500, LGA775 socket for latest Intel Core 2 Quad /Core 2 Duo / Pentium Dual-core /Celeron processors, dual-channel DDR2 memory architecture, and two 240-pin DDR2 DIMM socket with maximum 8 GB support. The motherboards also support DDR2 667/800 MHz memory.

The G41T-M motherboards come with rear panel featuring PS/2 keyboard & PS/2 mouse connectors, four USB ports, VGA port, COM port, RJ45 LAN connector and audio port. Additionally, internal I/O connectors and headers include of 24-pin ATX Power Supply Connector, 4-pin 12V Connector, four Serial ATA connectors, LPT header, Clear CMOS header, etc.

The G41T-M motherboards also feature come with Micro-ATX Size, 244mm x 204mm form factor along with AMI BIOS, with 8Mb SPI ROM supports plug and play 1.0A, APM 1.2, Multi Boot, DMI and ACPI revision 1.0 specification.

The Simmtronics G41T-M motherboards for notebook and desktop computers are available for Rs. 4,200 through Simmtronics Semiconductors in India.

Sony Zappin MP3 Player

Here’s Sony Zappin, a thumbkey like digital audio player. It comes with 2GB of internal memory, FM tuner and Sony’s Drag and Drop Technology that goes without software. This 26g weight player support MP3 and WMA files and gives you 18hrs of audio on a single charger.

BT Group to Offer Virtual Data Center Service

BT announced it will soon launch a virtual data center service aimed at aiding large businesses and government agencies with low-cost, cloud-based enterprise class services. BT plans to roll out the service across data centers in Europe, beginning with the UK at the end of July and other countries in the months following, reports ZDNet.

According to BT, its customers will be able to access the services via an online portal and will have the ability to change their infrastructure in real time throughout the duration of their contract, says vnunet.

Apple: iPhone OS 3.0 plugs 46 security bugs

Apple has issued an advisory regarding security enhancements included in the iPhone OS 3.0 release 17-06-2009 Wednesday.

(Credit: Apple)

Here is a synopsis of the 46 iPhone security vulnerabilities addressed by the latest operating-system update for the iPhone and iPod Touch. As may be expected, many of these security patches focus on the Web-browsing framework WebKit.

CoreGraphics Changes to CoreGraphics prevent maliciously crafted image and PDF files from causing unexpected application termination or arbitrary code execution; vulnerabilities causing the same problems in FreeType v2.3.8 were also patched.

Exchange Changes were made to prevent a user from connecting to a malicious Exchange server that could lead to the disclosure of sensitive information by adding improvements to the handling of untrusted certificate exceptions.

ImageIO Changes to ImageIO prevent the use of maliciously crafted PNG images from causing unexpected application termination or arbitrary code execution.

International Components for Unicode Changes to Unicode prevent the use of maliciously crafted content that may bypass Web site filters and result in cross-site scripting.

IPSec Changes to IPSec patch multiple vulnerabilities in the racoon daemon that may lead to a denial-of-service attack.

Libxml Changes to XML library Libxml patch multiple vulnerabilities in Libxml2 version 2.6.16.

Mail Changes were made to the Mail app to give users control over the loading of remote images in HTML messages (see below). Additionally, the app was changed to prevent an application from causing an alert to appear that may be used to initiate a phone call without user interaction.

MPEG-4 Video Codec Changes to the MPEG-4 Video Codec will prevent the viewing of maliciously crafted MPEG-4 video files that may lead to an unexpected device reset.

Profiles Changes to Profiles will prohibit the installation of a configuration profile that may weaken the passcode policy defined by Exchange ActiveSync.

Safari Changes to Safari support the clearing of Safari's history via the Settings application, allowing prevention of disclosure of the search history to a person with physical access to the device. Now search history is actually removed. Additionally, if a user were to interact with a maliciously crafted Web site, a patch has been put in place to prevent unexpected action on another site such as "clickjacking."

Telephony Changes to Telephony address a problem in which a remote attacker may cause an unexpected device reset.

WebKit Changes to Web-browsing framework WebKit were very numerous in this release, given how popular the iPhone has become for Web use. They included many fixes to prevent arbitrary code or script execution, when visiting maliciously crafted Web sites. Some of these vulnerabilities could lead to app crashes and unexpected device resets, or the disclosure of sensitive information.

Soon, eco-friendly washing machines that use just 1 cup of water

London, June 22 : Water conservation usually takes a backseat while doing laundry, but not anymore, for now a new environmentally friendly washing machine, which uses use only one cup of water and leaves clothes virtually dry, is all set to hit showrooms next year.

Developed at the University of Leeds, the technologyaims save up to 90 per cent of water used by conventional machines, use 30 per cent less energy, and thus can have the environmental impact of taking two million cars off the road.

The washing machine works by replacing most of the water with thousands of tiny, reusable nylon polymer beads, which attract and absorb dirt under humid conditions.

Only a small amount of water and detergent is needed to dampen the clothes, loosen stains and create the water vapour that allows the beads to work.

And after the cycle is finished, the beads fall through a mesh in the machine's drum, and can be re-used up to a hundred times.

The company behind the technology, Xeros, is initially aiming at the commercial washing market, including hotels and dry cleaners.

Bill Westwater, Xeros chief executive, said that growing pressure on companies and consumers to cut water usage and carbon emissions might boost demand for the system.

"We've got an eye on the consumer but it will take time and we hope commercial success could act as a springboard to move into the consumer market," Times Online quoted Westwater as saying.

Stephen Burkinshaw from Leeds developed the technology over the past 30 years. (ANI)

LG announces three new smartphones – Crystal, GM 730, and Viewty Smart

The “life’s good” company – LG on Thursday declared that it is looking to increase its market share in the flourishing mobile phone market of India. LG announced to launch 50 new mobile handsets by the end of this year in the Indian market.

Announcing its three new smartphones Crystal, GM 730, and Viewty Smart at the telecommunications conference CommunicAsia 2009, LG declared that it is aiming to double its marketshare to 11 percent in the dramatically growing GSM mobile telephony market. Presently, LG has a 5.25 percent market share in GSM segment, and near about 50 percent market share in the CDMA segment.

The Head (Asia Pacific Region), Mobile Communication Company of LG Electronics, Bo H Choi told that LG GM 730 will be released globally in July. He declared that the three touch screen smartphones – Crystal, GM 730, and Viewty Smart – will be released in India by September. He disclosed that the LG GM 730 will be available for over Rs 25,000 in India, but he didn’t reveal the features, and the prices of the other spartphones.

According to Choi, seeing the growing demand of mobile phones in India, LG will focus on India as investment destination. The company is also planning to launch India specific products to attract more and more Indian customers.

Choi disclosed that LG is also planning to hike it the production capacity of its Pune manufacturing plant, which currently produces 5 lakh units of mobile handsets, which are exported to the Middle East, African and Asian markets.

Choi claimed that currently LG is the world’s third largest mobile handset manufacturer behind Nokia and Samsung, but ahead of Motorola and Sony Ericsson. He revealed that LG sold 100.8 million handsets globally to claim about 9 percent market share in the global market in 2008.

Acer launches five smartphones in the Indian market

Switching from computers to smartphones, Acer has launched five new feature-rich smartphones, in the price range of Rs. 24,000 to Rs. 35,000, in the Indian market. Celebrated more for its desktops, laptops, and peripherals, Acer certainly is looking to cash the growing popularity of smartphones in India.

DX900, DX650, X960, F900, and M900 are the five new multimedia smartphones, which have been released by Acer. The DX900 is a dual-SIM handset; the dual-face design, DX650 smartphone features touch screen on one facet and finger-friendly keypad on the other; the F900 and the M900 are being touted for their mobile web browsing capabilities; and the X960 is publicised as an all-purpose smartphone.

Acer has claimed that the smartphones have been designed to satisfy the most sophisticated handheld users, and to make mobile internet experience more interesting.

According to the Acer Senior Corporate Vice-President and President of Acer’s Smart Handheld Business Group, Aymar de Lencquesaing, Acer is planning to launch more phones, with price starting from Rs. 16,000, in order to make significant presence in the flourishing Indian mobile market.

Aymar has told that Acer is currently importing smartphones from Taipai. He also told that the Delhi-based Vision Distribution Pvtd. Ltd. will market and distribute Acer smartphones in the Indian markets. He revealed that Acer has also signed deals with all top retailers, such as Croma and Reliance to retail Acer smartphones.

Kaben Wireless Silicon Achieves up to 7X Performance Boost with Cadence Virtuoso Accelerated Parallel Simulator

Leading RFIC IP Provider Cites Success While Catching Flaws Early in the Design Process Enabling First-Pass Silicon Tapeout

Cadence Design Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: CDNS), the leader in global electronic design innovation, today announced that Kaben Wireless Silicon has achieved dramatic performance boosts while running top-level simulations using the Cadence® Virtuoso® Accelerated Parallel Simulator (APS). Kaben, a leading provider of RFIC semiconductor IP for next-generation wireless communication, also credits the Virtuoso Accelerated Parallel Simulator with enabling engineers to find and resolve design issues that they believe they would have missed without the performance and capacity delivered by APS.

The simulator was introduced in December, and to date Kaben has achieved impressive results, including one case where Kaben achieved a 7.6 times performance boost with four threads over the baseline SPICE simulator on a pre-layout PLL design with fewer than 5,000 devices. In the case of a post-layout PLL design with 328,000 devices dominated by parasitics, the Virtuoso Accelerated Parallel Simulator ran the complete simulation without reducing the design net list in four days with full SPICE accuracy compared to a previous solution where they were not even able to run the simulation.

“Because of its quick run time and high-capacity, the Virtuoso Accelerated Parallel Simulator helped our team find design issues early on in the verification phase, then quickly fix them and run another iteration of verification,” said Tom Riley, chief technology officer of Kaben Wireless Silicon. “The ability to perform high-capacity post-layout simulations quickly, for fully functional and integrated transceiver IP, with full SPICE accuracy and scalable performance across a multi-compute platform is a real enabler for our efforts to deliver turnkey wireless applications to our customers.”

The Virtuoso Accelerated Parallel Simulator also enables Kaben to run simulations at new levels of abstraction. Kaben engineers can get more coverage across various corners and conditions in less time than required by previous solutions. The simulator can be accessed through a flexible token-based licensing model.

The Virtuoso Accelerated Parallel Simulator delivers the full accuracy of the industry reference Cadence Virtuoso Spectre® Circuit Simulator. Developed to solve the largest and most complex analog and mixed-signal designs across all process nodes, it consists of a combination of proven Cadence simulation technologies and a breakthrough parallel circuit solver, along with a newly architected engine that efficiently harnesses the power of multiprocessing computing platforms. The result is a circuit simulator with an accuracy and use model identical to the Virtuoso Spectre Circuit Simulator, delivering significantly improved single-thread performance and scalable multi-thread performance.

“Kaben Wireless Silicon’s designs are, by necessity, very complex components, and therefore comprehensive simulations are a necessity to help ensure they meet customer specifications,” said Zhihong Liu, corporate vice president of Cadence. “Kaben is seeing firsthand how the Virtuoso Accelerated Parallel Simulator delivers comprehensive simulation, and helps ensure market opportunities are realized.”

About Cadence
Cadence enables global electronic design innovation and plays an essential role in the creation of today's integrated circuits and electronics. Customers use Cadence software and hardware, methodologies, and services to design and verify advanced semiconductors, consumer electronics, networking and telecommunications equipment, and computer systems. The company is headquartered in San Jose, Calif., with sales offices, design centers, and research facilities around the world to serve the global electronics industry. More information about the company, its products, and services is available at www.cadence.com.

For more information, please contact:

Dean Solov
Cadence Design Systems, Inc.
408-944-7226
dsolov@cadence.com

Microsoft Announces Windows 7 Editions

Microsoft announced the SKU lineup of Windows 7, and while the company says it will focus mainly on two editions: Windows 7 Home Premium and Windows 7 Professional; Microsoft offers a total of six different Windows 7 versions (more, if you count the stripped-down K, N and KN versions the company is required to sell overseas because of antitrust rulings). This is the full Windows 7 SKU (Stock Keeping Unit) line-up:

• Windows 7 Starter Edition (for netbook users)
• Windows 7 Home Basic (for emerging market customers only)
• Windows 7 Home Premium (the main consumer version)
• Windows 7 Professional (the business SKU for home and small business users)
• Windows 7 Enterprise (for medium to large businesses and enterprise customers that use Software Assurance)

• Windows 7 Ultimate (for consumers who want all the business features)

Key Feature List:

• Starter	Home Basic	Home Premium	Professional	Enterprise and Ultimate
  Broad app and device compatibility with up to 3 concurrent applications Ability to join a Home Group Improved taskbar and JumpLists	Starter features plus: Unlimited applications Live Thumbnail Previews & enhanced visual experience Advanced networking support (ad-hoc wireless networks and internet connection sharing) Mobility Center	Home Basic features plus: Aero Glass & advanced windows navigation Easy networking & sharing across all your PCs & devices Improved media format support, enhancements to Windows Media Center and media streaming, including Play To Multi-touch and improved handwriting recognitio	Home Premium features plus: Ability to join a managed network with Domain Join Protect data with advanced network backup and Encrypting File System Print to the right printer at home or work with Location Aware Printing	Professional and Consumer features plus: BitLocker data protection on internal and external drives DirectAccess provides seamless connectivity to your corporate network. (requires Windows Server 2008 R2) Decrease time branch office workers wait to open file across the network with BranchCache. (requires Windows Server 2008 R2)

  
  

  Note: Windows 7 Enterprise is available only through Microsoft Volume Licensing

  
  

  According to Mike Ybarra, general manager for Windows there are some changes to the Windows 7 packaging & marketing in comparison to Windows Vista: "The first change in Windows 7 was to make sure that editions of Windows 7 are a superset of one another. That is to say, as customers upgrade from one version to the next, they keep all features and functionality from the previous edition. As an example, some business customers using Windows Vista Business wanted the Media Center functionality that is in Windows Vista Home Premium but didn't receive it in Business edition. Customers won't have to face that trade-off with Windows 7. With Windows 7 there is a more natural progression from one edition to the next."

  
  

  "The second change is that we have designed Windows 7 so different editions of Windows 7 can run on a very broad set of hardware, from small-notebook PCs (sometimes referred to as netbooks) to full gaming desktops. This way, customers can enable the scenarios they want across the broad hardware choices they have. "

  
  

  "The third change lies in how we broadly communicate in the marketplace, to make these choices as simple and clear as possible for customers and partners."

  
  

  This last point will (according to Microsoft) mean that the company will focus most of their marketing attention to only two primary editions: Windows 7 Home Premium, and Windows 7 Professional. Microsoft thinks that these two editions will serve the majority of their customers' needs. Windows 7 Home Premium as the recommended choice for consumers and Windows 7 Professional the recommended choice for small businesses users.

  
  
  

  Microsoft has not yet announced pricing for Windows 7.

Windows 7: The new Taskbar

Microsoft did a lot of work on the new taskbar for Windows 7. They looked extensively how people were using their computers and started making improvements based on those observations. The number one task for which people use the taskbar is switching between windows. Below I will show and discuss some of the changes/enhancements.

Microsoft has started their taskbar improvements with a facelift that includes larger icons, which make it easier to identify programs, and also makes it easier to target icons with a cursor without accidentally clicking on the icon next to it. The Windows 7 taskbar is 10 pixels (at the default 96 DPI) higher than the taskbar used in Windows Vista, this of course when used as a single row (you are still able to use multiple rows). You'll also note that the taskbar looks more 'glassy'. According to Microsoft the feedback they got was that users dislike Vista's UI where the taskbar would turn opaque and dark.

You can still pin programs to the taskbar by dragging them or via a context menu, just like you have always done with Quick Launch.

In Windows 7 Microsoft effectively combined the QuickLaunch and taskband. In order to maximize the use of available space, Microsoft standardized launching and switching behavior so that only a single representation is made on the taskbar.

As you can see from the images above, the shortcut for Microsoft Word (subtly) changes to represent an opened Word document. Now you may wonder what would happen when you have two or more documents open, and how you would be able to switch between them.

Here is where another improvement to the taskbar comes to light. When hovering over a taskbar button you'll see a thumbnail as you would in Vista. The difference with Vista is that in Windows 7 the thumbnails are now an extension of their corresponding button so you can click on these to switch to a given window. The thumbnails are also a more accurate representation of a window; complete with an application icon in the top left corner, window text and even the ubiquitous close button in the top right.

There is a visual cue of stacked tiles to give a clue whether there are multiple windows running for a program (see picture above).

Another advantage of the single representation is that you can now move taskbar buttons. Quick Launch has always allowed this, but combining this mechanism with the taskband naturally extended rearrange functionality to running windows.

The next improvement I want to talk about is called "Jump Lists". Most users are used to the concept of the context menu that is available for running programs. This menu is accessible by right-clicking on a taskband button. The advantage is that you don't have to start the program to quickly access a task or launch a file.

Above you see the jump list of Windows Explorer's taskbar shortcut, which includes frequently accessed locations as well as the most recent accessed locations. You can also pin specific locations to this list, so you can always access them quickly (Figure).

Notification Area

Microsoft also greatly improved the notification area, putting users back in control. By default, only a select few system icons are shown while all others appear in a menu (Figure). Simply drag icons on or off the taskbar to control the experience. Also, every balloon tip that appears in the notification area has a little wrench icon that allows one to quickly configure the icon & notifications (Figure).

Another commonly requested change is that the default taskbar now shows both the time and date.

I think that these are all good improvements to the taskbar, and while it will take a bit of time to get used to the change, the important thing is that these changes definitely improve the functionality of the taskbar.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

The purpose of this FAQ is to provide you with some general information about Windows 7. Q: Windows 7? A: Windows 7 is Microsoft's next Windows client operating system, formerly known by its code-name(s) "Blackcomb" and "Vienna". The name "Windows Seven" or "Windows 7" was confirmed as the products final name in October 2008. Q: When will Windows 7 ship? A: Microsoft currently plans to ship Windows 7 by early 2010, about three years after the (consumer launch) of Windows Vista. Q: What features will be included in Windows 7? A: Microsoft is making some major functional changes and a wide number of smaller changes to Windows 7. Right now we are still in the early stages of its development, but based on early builds of Windows 7 and reports published online, here are some changes that are being planned: User Account Control improvements. Windows Vista's most hated feature is being completely overhauled to be more customizable. Four settings will be available (Figure): Never notify me - The user is not notified when a program tries to install software or make changes to the computer. The user is not notified when they make changes to Windows settings or when programs try to make changes to Windows settings. Only notify me when programs try to make changes to my computer - The user is notified when a program tries to install software or make changes to the computer, including Windows settings. Always notify me - The user is notified when programs try to install software or make changes to the computer. The user is also notified when they make changes to Windows settings or when programs try to do so. Always notify me and wait for my response - The user is notified when programs try to install software or make changes to the computer. The user is also notified when they make changes to Windows settings or when programs try to do so. Updated Windows Explorer. Windows Explorer (Figure) is being updated with a number of new features, including a new toolbar, and a new icon view style called Content (Figure). The search box has also been updated, and is now resizable (Figure). Extended ReadyBoost. First introduced in Vista, ReadyBoost in Windows 7 adds support for concurrently using multiple lash devices (such as USB keys, Secure Digital cards, and internal flash devices) and for caches larger than 4 GB. Improved "Out Of Box" experience. Microsoft made several improvements to Windows 7 so a user's first experience when running the OS for the first time will be improved. Windows 7 expands on Vista's setup routine; for example when installing Windows 7 on a PC that includes a Wireless Network, setup will prompt you to join a network during the setup phase. Multi-touch. Windows 7 will include integrated support for multi-touch displays and support the "Surface" multi-touch technologies. HomeGroup networking. Windows 7 HomeGroup makes it easier to create a home network where PCs share pictures, music, videos, documents, printers, and other resources with each other. Computers running Windows 7 automatically identify and connect with each other (Figure). Location Aware Printing. When you change network locations, such as when taking your work laptop home for the evening, the default printer setting can change to relect the best printer for that new location. When you print at work, Windows 7 will print to your work printer. When you print at home, Windows 7 will automatically select and use your home printer. ClearType Text Tuner. A ClearType Text Tuner can be found in the Windows 7 Control Panel. In the past, Microsoft Powertoys provided access to a ClearType Tuner which has now been integrated into Windows 7. This will let users configure their display to their personal liking (Figure). Sidebar Removed. Microsoft removed Windows Sidebar from Windows 7, but the Windows Gadgets infrastructure remains. In Windows 7, Gadgets can only be viewed on the desktop. As such, the Gadget Gallery found in the Windows Sidebar on Vista is now available from the desktop right-click menu. Windows Solution Center. Microsoft replaced Windows Security Center with a new utility called Windows Solution Center. Besides monitoring Firewall, Automatic Updating, Virus and Malware protection, Internet security settings and User Account Control settings, the new Solution Center will also monitor PC maintenance and performance, backup, troubleshooting, Network Access Protection (NAP), and much more (Figure). Microsoft Paint. Windows 7 includes a dramatically improved version of Microsoft Paint (finally!), the first major upgrade to this software since it first appeared in Windows (Figure). This includes the Scenic Ribbon to replace the old menu's, similar to the ribbon in Microsoft Ofice 2007. Controls in Paint are touch-ready, so you can even use your finger to paint and choose colors or shapes (when you have a touch screen). Internet Explorer 8. Windows 7 will include the latest version of Microsoft's Web browser. Windows Media Center. Windows 7 will include a new version of Windows Media Center. Microsoft WordPad. Word Pad also takes advantage of the Scenic Ribbon. Other improvements to WordPad include highlighting, line breaks, additional text colors, bullets, indents, print preview enhancements, picture insertion, and zoom, making WordPad a capable word processor (Figure). Calculator. Calculator has a new look and some brand-new features. You'll find calculation history, unit conversion (Figure), calculation templates, date calculations, and controls that are optimized for touch. Sticky Notes. Sticky Notes support ink and text input. You can paste text into Sticky Notes, resize them on the desktop, and use note colors to personalize or organize Sticky Notes. Q: What are the System Requirements to run Windows 7? A: Microsoft has not yet published any specific requirements, but it is most likely they will be similar to the requirements of Windows Vista. Q: Will Windows 7 be a 32-bit or 64-bit operating system? A: Windows 7 will be available in both 32-bit (x86) and 64-bit (x64) versions.

Some of the new wallpapers: