Microsoft closes nine security holes on "Patch Tuesday"

Bonn, Germany - Microsoft released six security updates on its most recently monthly "Patch Tuesday." The patches close up nine security holes in all, indicates the German Federal Agency for Security in Information Technology (BSI).

The holes can be found in Windows, Internet Explorer, and in the desktop publishing program Publisher, among others. They are in some cases being actively exploited by cybercrooks looking to smuggle malicious software onto the computers of unsuspecting users.

Those who have not used the automatic update function in Windows can find the patches at the Microsoft Update site (http://update.microsoft.com/microsoftupdate).

Nokia Surge

Nokia Surge - available smartphone Nokia Surge is equipped with advanced horizontal QWERTY-keyboard, Bluetooth, FM-tuner, mp3-player, 2-MP camera and a slot for memory cards microSD. Smartphone has a predefined JuiceCaster application and HTML-browser with Adobe Flash for easy work with social networks and videohostingami (F.book, YouTube, etc.). Mobile phone Nokia Surge would work in chetyrehdiapazonnyh networks and GSM networks dvuhdiapazonnyh HSDPA (3,6 Mbit / s). Price smartphone Nokia Surge is $ 79.99, subject to conclusion of a two-year contract with AT & T.

Opera rolls out second beta of its upcoming web browser Opera 10

Opera has rolled out second beta of its upcoming web browser Opera 10. Codenamed Peregrine, the second beta of Opera 10 is second step towards Opera 10 release candidate.

The second beta of Opera 10, with 6.7MB Installer, is available for download for Windows, Linux, Mac OS X, UNIX and other platforms.

The Opera 10 Beta 2 does not show any major new features. It is fine-tuned, refined, neatened version of the first beta of Opera 10, which was released on June 3, 2009.

Opera Unite feature, which was part of the first beta of Opera 10, has been removed from second beta of Opera 10. Opera 10 Beta 2 features loads of fixes and improvements. With Acid 3 tests, Opera 10 Beta 2 has scored 100/100.

Toshiba announces availability of its Satellite laptop line in India

The fifth largest personal computer manufacturer in world – Toshiba has announced the availability of its Satellite laptop line in India.

The Satellite M500 notebook sports 14.1-inch widescreen HD TruBrite LED Backlit display, capable of viewing HD 720p content at 1366x768 pixel resolution. With the 16:9 aspect ratio, the display is not Full-HD. The notebook features built in HD webcam with mic capable of recording high quality video, Harmon Kardon speakers, and a backlit keyboard. The notebook features multi-touch touchpad, and a fingerprint scanner.

The Satellite M500 notebook comes equipped with Intel Core 2 Duo Processor T6500 with 4GB DDR2 800MHz memory, 320GB HDD 5400 RPM storage and dual-layer DVD-SuperMulti optical drive, and Intel GMA 4500MHD with 128MB-1759MB dynamically allocated shared graphics memory usable for HD multimedia viewing over the HDMI port. The notebook runs Windows Vista Home Premium (SP1, 64-bit).

The Satellite M500 notebook features a hard drive 3D Motion Sensor which helps in shutting down the notebook in case of - free fall, shock or vibrations. The notebook comes with LCD cover featuring Toshiba Fusion Finish based on IMR (In-Mould Rolling) technology with a Sonic Boom AERO design. The unique feature of the Satellite M500 notebook is the inclusion of Toshiba’s REGAZA-Link, which allows the notebook to be controlled with a TV’s remote control when connected via HDMI; the notebook only work with Toshiba’s own TVs.

The Satellite M500 notebook also comes with 5-in-1 card reader, a DVD-RW drive, eco-mode for energy saving, ExpressCard slot, FireWire, two USB 2.0 ports and one eSATA/USB 2.0 combo port with Sleep-and-Charge functions. The lightweight Satellite M500 notebook is available in Premier Black color chassis with Champagne Gold Patterns, for Rs. 53,490.

Microsoft launches Power pack 3 beta, improves Windows 7 support

Microsoft Corp. said in blog Friday that it has launched Windows Home Server Power Pack 3 Beta that would improve compatibility with Windows 7 as well as Netbooks and multimedia.

Anyone, who wants to catch the PP3 Beta, will have to join the WHS program on Microsoft Connect, using build number 2361 and download size 19.4MB.

Software giant's Power Pack 3 will be a free update for existing Home Server Owners.

Although, the release date of the Power Pack 3 is yet to be determined, yet the company expects to release the final version before 22nd of October when Windows 7 will be generally available.

Microsoft first announced the Windows Home Server in 2007 at consumer electronic show. The last update to the Windows Home Server, Power Pack 2 was released in March.

Power Pack 3 features Windows 7 compatibility enhancements, Windows 7 action center backup warning suppression, Windows 7 power settings as well as file and computer reinstallation.

Libraries will also be a part of Power Pack 3 for Windows 7 through which users will be able to find multimedia content more easily on other computers.

Power Pack 3 provides for automatic archiving of recorded TV as it shifts recordings from a Windows Media Center PC to home server.

Although, the release date of the Power Pack 3 is yet to be determined, yet the company expects to release the final version before 22nd of October when Windows 7 will be generally available.

BSNL ties up with Hungama for launch of BSNL.Hungama.com

The public sector telecommunication company BSNL (Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited) has tied up with leading mobile & digital entertainment company Hungama Digital Media Entertainment to launch BSNL.Hungama.com.

BSNL.Hungama.com, the digital entertainment store, is exclusively available for four million BSNL broadband subscribers. The service allows BSNL subscribers to download unlimited music and videos for Rs. 149. The service also offers unlimited game downloads for additional Rs 49 a month.

Currently, BSNL.Hungama.com has over 65,000 songs and 2,000 music videos from genres such as Bollywood, devotional and regional language content. The digital entertainment store offers access 200 plus games to its BSNL subscribers.

Bose Launches Home Wireless Audio

Leading electronic firm Bose has introduced a new wireless music solution, the Sound Link, with price tag of $549.95. It will enable music from PC to any point of home with incredibly high sound quality and fidelity.

Creative and Altec Lansing are already providing similar concepts. However, these are more iPod-centric with less popularity among folks.

It supports a USB key for interface with computer to grab PC's audio out through speakers. It is provided with a lithium ion rechargeable battery with three hour backup time and a remote control and capable to operate in iTunes and Windows Media Player. SoundLink also supports an Aux input on the speaker unit for its connectivity with iPod and other sound sources.

SoundLink provides wireless connectivity with computer through a one-piece portable speaker system, popularly, known as SoundDock. It is capable to form its 2.4GHz network to transmit the audio from speakers without using home Wi-Fi network.

The newly launched device is likely to give stiff competition to ipods and mp3 players already present in the market. Its high sound quality and added features, as the firm hopes, will attract large number of customers.

Google launches voice-powered search

Google, the renowned name in the area of internet search, has introduced new concept to make search easier for mobile users. It has come up with voice-based search and map solutions to strengthen its application portfolio.

Users can get information regarding particular site, opening Google search page that shows top results of the category. The firm aims to capture large market share by providing the facility to low-cost GPRS handsets and offering cheaper data plans.

Google India Head of products, Vinay Goel said, "Mobiles (more than 400 million) outnumber the personal computers (PCs -- slightly over 30 million) concentration in India. A big part of the population accessing Internet going ahead would do so on a mobile handset and so we need to offer enriching experience to these users."

The company has recently introduced a free voice-based mobile Internet search, a master piece of its India engineering team, for BlackBerry users. Mr. Goel said that apart from BlackBerry users the facility will be soon extended to other handsets by December this year.

A leading technology related blog adds, "With this app you get local business suggestions even before you click the search button if My Location is enabled."

Apacer Rolls Out PH152 USB 2.0 Hub at Rs 749

Apacer has rolled out launched PH152 USB 2.0 Hub, bringing to its clients the newest and most advanced product, which is perky as well as practical.

Designed with the users’ convenience in mind, Apacer’s PH152 USB 2.0 Hub features four USB ports on a hub of modern and easy design.

Along with eye-catching exterior and rotatable USB port design, PH152 lets users to easily link up to four superior USB peripherals and large devices immediately, including high-resolution video cameras, scanners, printers, storage devices, and so on.

High Style, High Speed, High Performance Apacer’s PH152 USB 2.0 Hub is a desktop accessory whether it is in use or not.

The Apacer PH152’s magic cube design permits users to simply run and memorize devices linked to the Hub. The 2-port rotation design lets sliding or stacking of its USB ports, to suit users’ requirements while ensuring data connection and transferring is effectual and user friendly.

The Apacer PH152 USB 2.0 Hub, which comes with four downstream USB ports permit users to add up to four USB peripherals concurrently to a personal computer or laptop.

Apacer’s PH152 USB 2.0 Hub that backs up bus-power and self-power modes, could expand 70 degrees and the three USB ports can turn 90 degrees. The versatile configuration and ingenious design offers users greater level of flexibility when linking different devices.

The PH152 is fully compliant with USB 2.0 specification and is backwards compatible with USB 1.1 as well. Apacer’s PH152 provides up to 480 Mbps transfer rate, at 40 times faster than USB 1.1, allowing superior connection speed when connecting with laptop or PC. With such boundless speed and stable performance, users who select Apacer’s PH152 USB 2.0 Hub can expect effective management of all digital peripherals and data transferring.

The MRP of Apacer’s New PH152 USB 2.0 Hub is available at a price of Rs 749.

Sony unveils its 32GB Memory Stick Pro-HG Duo HX memory card

Sony has unveiled its latest storage solution – Memory Stick PRO-HG Duo HX – offering the largest ever storage capacity of 32GB. The largest capacity storage memory card from Sony – Memory Stick PRO-HG Duo HX – is ideal for DSLR cameras and HD camcorders.

Sony Memory Stick PRO-HG Duo HX is capable of holding up to 3.75 hours of full HD footage. It comes bundled with a USB adaptor offering read speeds of 20 MB/s and write speeds of 15MB/s.

Sony Memory Stick Pro-HG Duo HX memory card also comes in 4GB, 8GB and 16GB capacities along with a free USB adaptor. Sony is looking to take on the memory card manufacturers, such as SanDisk and Kingston, with its high performance, high capacity Memory Stick Pro-HG Duo HX memory card. Sony hasn’t yet revealed any information about the pricing and availability of Memory Stick Pro-HG Duo HX memory cards.

Nokia 5630 XpressMusic to be next “Comes With Music” device

Specially designed for music playback – Nokia 5630 XpressMusic is going to be the next “Comes With Music” device from Nokia.

The latest XpressMusic mobile phone – Nokia 5630 XpressMusic will be launched with Nokia’s “Comes With Music” service. Nokia Comes With Music is online download music service offering 12 months unlimited downloads.

Nokia 5630 XpressMusic will feature built-in media player, accessible through 2.2-inch screen or ’say and play’ feature. The 5630 XpressMusic will come with a 3.2-Megapixel camera with dual-LED flash and 4x zoom, with video recording capability. The phone will allow its users to upload and share images or videos online via Flick and Share on Ovi.

Other features of the Nokia 5630 XpressMusic phone will include a 3.5mm headphone connector, stereo Bluetooth, FM stereo, and Internet radio. Nokia 5630 XpressMusic is up for a pre-order price of £259 SIM free. Nokia still hasn’t announced any launch date for Nokia 5630 XpressMusic.

Inkjet printer technology may be used to make toxin-detecting biosensors

Washington, July 14 : Soon, technology that is used to make office inkjet printers may be used to develop paper-based biosensors that can detect certain harmful toxins that can cause food poisoning or be used as bioterrorism agents.

In a research, John Brennan and his research team at McMaster University, working with the Sentinel Bioactive Paper Network, describe a method for printing a toxin-detecting biosensor on paper using a FujiFilm Dimatix Materials Printer.

The researchers demonstrated the concept on the detection of acetylcholinesterase (AChE) inhibitors such as paraoxon and aflatoxin B1 on paper using a "lateral flow" sensing approach similar to that used in a home pregnancy test strip.

The process involves formulating an ink like the one found in computer printer cartridges but with special additives to make the ink biocompatible.

An ink comprised of biocompatible silica nanoparticles is first deposited on paper, followed by a second ink containing the enzyme, and the resulting bio-ink forms a thin film of enzyme that is entrapped in the silica on paper.

When the enzyme is exposed to a toxin, reporter molecules in the ink change colour in a manner that is dependent on the concentration of the toxin in the sample.

This simple and cost-effective method of adhering biochemical reagents to paper is expected to bring the concept of bioactive paper a significant step closer to commercialization.

The goal for bioactive paper is to provide a rapid, portable, disposable and inexpensive way of detecting harmful substances, including toxins, pathogens and viruses, without the need for sophisticated instrumentation.

The research showed that the printed enzyme retains full activity for at least two months when stored properly, suggesting that such sensor strips should have a good shelf life.

Portable bio-sensing papers are expected to be extremely useful in monitoring environmental and food-based toxins, as well as in remote settings in less industrialized countries where simple bioassays are essential for the first stages of detecting disease.

Applications for bioactive paper also include clinical applications in neuroscience, drug assessment, and pharmaceutical development.

World’s largest and most technologically advanced telescope to debut on July 24

Washington, July 14 : The world's largest, most technologically advanced telescope is all set to make its formal debut on July 24 in Spain's Canary Islands.

Known as the Gran Telescopio Canarias, the telescope has a 10.4-meter diameter mirror, and has more light-collecting area than any other telescope.

Perched 7,874 feet above sea level on a mountain on the island of La Palma, the GTC has 6 square meters more light collecting area than any of the roughly one dozen 8- to 10-meter telescopes worldwide.

With a mirror composed of 36 hexagonal segments thought to have the smoothest surfaces ever made, it is also the world's most technologically advanced optical telescope.

Sensors keep the mirrors aligned to counteract the force of gravity, with the result that they act as a single surface, even as the telescope is rotated and aligned in place.

According to Stan Dermott, chairman of UF's (University of Florida's) astronomy department, the GTC's size and technical attributes enable it not only to gather more light than any other telescope, but also resolve the light into sharper and clearer focus.

"For astronomers, those capabilities make it a powerful tool to study cosmic origins - the early days of the universe and the very early moments in the mysterious births of stars, planets and galaxies," he said.

"The interpretation of the structure of the disks where new planets form is highly dependent on the quality of the image," he said, adding that the GTC also will enable the discoveries of new planets, possibly including the first habitable planet.

At the inauguration of the telescope, officials and astronomers from the University of Florida, the only US institution that is part of the project, will join more than 500 astronomers, journalists and celebrities in a ceremony presided over by Spain's King Juan Carlos I and Queen Sofia.

Spherical Hours Eris

Eris - the biggest-dwarf planet in the solar system. In addition, it is the ninth largest (2500 km in diameter), the heavenly body revolves around the sun. Named in honor of the world watches Eris, of course, can not boast of such size, but they are made in Switzerland, and this share is already a big plus for hours. Time, two arrows indicate moving on «equator»: Orange is counting minutes, White - hours. Corps device is made of aluminum. Eris can be worn as a pocket watch or pendant, as well as use as a desktop clock. But it will cost pocket «planet» quite expensive - 450 dollars.

Sterlite Technologies to deploy FTTH Network for BSNL under Rs 372 crore contract

The manufacturer of optical fibers, telecommunication cables and power transmission conductors – Sterlite Technologies today announced that it has bagged Rs 372 crore ($ 77 million) contract from BSNL for deploying a Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH) Network based on Gigabit Passive Optical Network (GPON) technology; the project is slated to be completed within FY10.

With the current deployment of the FTTH network, the public sector telecommunication company, BSNL (Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited) will be capable of offering high-speed internet, IPTV (Internet Protocol Television) solutions, VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol), and other Value Added Services to is over 5,00,000 subscribers.

Additionally, BSNL is also looking to deploy the FTTH network over 25 cities across India by 2012. The project will benefit 2 million subscribers, who will be able to access to speeds as high as 100 mbps, along with a number of feature-rich applications including utility applications, like high-definition video conferencing or entertainment applications like high-speed gaming.

The largest telecommunication company of India, with 24% market share as on March 31, 2008, BSNL is going to be the first telecom company to deploy commercial scale FTTH network in the country.

LG announces to launch “LG Application Store” on Tuesday

Jumping on the bandwagon of Apple, Research In Motion, and Nokia, LG Electronics has declared that it is launching its own online applications store for mobile phone on Tuesday.

LG Electronics has announced that the “LG Application Store” will initially be launched in n Asia-Pacific countries, such as Singapore, Malaysia, and Australia. The LG Application Store will be launched in Europe and South America by the end of this year.

LG Electronics has claimed that at the time of launch, the “LG Application Store” will offer 1,400 applications including 100 free programs, in 15 languages, and by the end of this year, when it will be launched in Europe and South America, the “LG Application Store” will have 2,000 applications.

However, LG Electronics hasn’t yet revealed any plan to launch its Application Store in the United States, which has been dominated by Apple's iPhone and RIM’s Blackberry.

Recently, mobile handset manufacturing companies are in new competition to launch their own mobile applications stores. The competition has mainly been triggered by Apple’s App Store. The mobile phone manufacturers, such as Nokia and Research In Motion have recently launched their respective mobile applications stores. Now, LG Electronics is on their way.

Google''s G1 phone designers now create car that drives on its own

Washington, July 8 : The pair of designers behind Google''s G1 phone, have now conceptualised a new autonomous car of the future, called the ATNMBL.

With a glass-walled-like seating area on four hidden wheels, Mike and Maaike's electric car drives on its own.

Talking of the car in their blog post, the duo said that they were not quite impressed with the current trend in the auto industry.

"Today''s car industry is brainwashed by its own car culture, with its obsession for speed, styling and fantasy," Fox News quoted them as saying in the blog.

Thus, the pair have redefined "performance" as the ability to transport passengers, or riders, without the need for driving at all.

"Summoned by phone, your ATNMBL arrives. You enter from the curb side through an electric glass sliding door into a standing-height entryway. Upon entering, you are presented with a simple question: `Where can I take you?' There is no steering wheel, brake pedal or drivers seat," the duo described the experience.

Thus, they said that the vehicle should be "designed from the inside out with elements influenced by architecture. It should offer living comfort, views, conversations, and social connectedness. Unencumbered by driving, the new vehicle should be a space for living."

Belkin releases its new enhanced wireless router – F6D4230-4 – in India

Specializing in connectivity devices, Belkin Asia Pacific Limited has released its new enhanced wireless router – F6D4230-4 – in India. Belkin claims that the new wireless router, F6D4230-4 delivers 802.11n performance of maximum 150Mbps.

The F6D4230-4, based on 802.11n technology, supports 802.11b and 802.11g connectivity. It sports push button for simple wireless security setup – WPS (Wi-Fi Protected Setup) located at the front.

The F6D4230-4 has six LEDs for power, wired, wireless, modem, security, and Internet, which help in checking the status of network and troubleshooting. It offers range up to 300m, and supports VPN ensuring secure connections between homes and offices.

The F6D4230-4 offers link rate up to 150 Mbps in 40MHz channel mode. It features 4 Ethernet ports for wired connections. It offers easy setup assistant and troubleshooting with Network Status Display. The Belkin Enhanced Wireless Router – F6D4230-4 – is priced at Rs.2,719. It is available with technical support and lifetime warranty.

India gets sick of cheap copied Chinese mobile phones

Sick of “cheap copied Chinese mobile phones and accessories,” India is in process to ban the Chinese mobile handsets. The Ministry of Communications and Information Technology says that it is moving to ban the sale of the cheap Chinese cell phones for security reasons.

According to the Government of India, the majority of the Chinese mobile phones do not come with an IMEI number, without which it is difficult to track a mobile phone. Terrorists take advantage of this loophole and often use these mobile phones for communication.

The Indian Cellular Association (ICA) says that the cheap Chinese mobile phones and accessories do not meet the safety standards as well. These devices come equipped with defective batteries which could blow up anytime, while charging or in users’ pockets. There have been a lot of such incidents in India.

The users of the Chinese mobile phones in India see the issue from other side; these people feel that the Indian government is moving under the influence of the mobile handset manufacturers, such as Nokia that are most affected by the cheap copied Chinese mobile phones and accessories, and do not want to see the fake Chinese mobile phones, such as Mokia, BlueBerry, or uPhone, in the Indian market.

There are volumes of Chinese mobile phone users in India. According to an estimate, between one million and 1.5 million cheap Chinese mobile phones are imported into India each month.

‘Laser dazzler’ to stop careless drivers without blinding them

London, July 2 : Reports indicate that the Pentagon is developing a laser dazzler that will force drivers to stop without harming their eyes.

When a vehicle approaches a checkpoint at speed, ignoring warning signs to slow down, troops do not know whether the driver is simply careless or a suicide bomber.

This makes it necessary for troops to have a clear and harmless way of forcing drivers to stop.

Green laser dazzlers designed to temporarily blind drivers were sent to US forces in Iraq and Afghanistan for just this purpose.

But at short range they can damage the eye, and a number of US troops and civilians have ended up in hospital with eye injuries after "friendly fire" incidents.

US troops and civilians have been sent to hospital with eye injuries after `friendly fire' incidents.

Now, according to a report in New Scientist, the US Department of Defense's Joint Non-Lethal Weapons Directorate (JNLWD) in Quantico, Virginia is developing a pulsed laser designed to prevent eye damage.

Its wavelength means a portion of the light is absorbed by the vehicle windscreen, vaporising the outer layer of the glass and producing a plasma.

This absorbs the rest of the pulse and re-emits the energy as a brilliant white light that is dazzling but harmless.

Because the light is emitted from the windscreen, the effect on the driver's eyes should be the same regardless of the vehicle's distance from the laser.

According to Scott Griffiths of the JNLWD, a working prototype could be ready by next year.

Laser beam powered optical transistor may lead to ultrafast light-based computers

London, July 2 : Swiss researchers have made an optical transistor that uses one laser beam to control another, an instrument that could form the heart of a future generation of ultrafast light-based computers.

Conventional computers are based on transistors, which allow one electrode to control the current moving through the device and are combined to form logic gates and processors.

According to a report in New Scientist, the new component achieves the same thing, but for laser beams, not electric currents.

A green laser beam is used to control the power of an orange laser beam passing through the device.

This offers another possible route to light-based rather than electronic, computing.

Such "photonic" computing is desirable because components using optical fibres carrying light could be much faster than those using wires to carry electricity.

However, previous attempts to make optical transistors for such circuits only produced very weak effects.

The new device could change that.

To make their device, Vahid Sandoghdar and colleagues at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich, suspended tetradecane, a hydrocarbon dye, in an organic liquid.

They then froze the suspension to -272 degrees Celsius using liquid helium - creating a crystalline matrix in which individual dye molecules could be targeted with lasers.

When a finely tuned orange laser beam is trained on a dye molecule, it efficiently soaks up most of it up - leaving a much weaker "output" beam to continue beyond the dye.

But when the molecule is also targeted with a green laser beam, it starts to produce strong orange light of its own and so boosts the power of the orange output beam.

This effect is down to the hydrocarbon molecule absorbing the green light, only to lose the equivalent energy in the form of orange light.

"That light constructively interferes with the incoming orange beam and makes it brighter," said Sandoghar's colleague Jaesuk Hwang.

Using the green beam to switch the orange output beam from weak to strong is analogous to the way a transistor's control electrode switches a current between "on" and "off" voltages, and hence the 0s and 1s of digital data.

Doing it with a single molecule means billions could be packed into future photonic chips. (ANI)

Virgin Mobile India declares its ingress into data devices segment with 'vLink'

The joint venture between Tata Teleservices and Richard Branson's Virgin Group – Virgin Mobile India on Thursday declared its ingress into the data devices segment with launching of its USB modem 'vLink' in India.

Virgin Mobile India claimed that the svelte white colored device – 'vLink' – is the data segment’s first device, designed to function as a CDMA USB Modem and 1 GB data storage drive.

vLink comes with all the required drivers, requiring no CD installation, and one month free unlimited data usage. vLink comes with a starter kit of Rs. 99 including free unlimited promo data usage time of 30 days.

Virgin Mobile India launched two tariff plans — Rs 801 per month and Rs 349 per month. The Rs 801 per month tariff plan is for unlimited data usage; the tariff plan allows the mobile customers, who do not want any limitation on their data usage, to surf Internet from anywhere. The Rs 349 per month tariff plan offers rate of 25 paise per minute (between 8 am-10 pm) and 13 paise per minute (between 10 pm-8 am). The second tariff plan also offers a facility of balance roll over to next month.

According to Virgin Mobile India, vLink, priced at Rs 2,100, alond with tariff plans, is the most economical package available, providing speed of up to 153 Kbps.

vLink offers flexible connectivity with laptops as well as PCs. It offers instant connectivity while on the go. The device is ideal for students, professionals, SMBs or SOHOs. The carry-along device allows users to surf internet anywhere and store their music, photos, videos, etc.

Some issues with Nokia N97

The gadget highly hyped as the iPhone killer, Nokia N97 has been fetching mixed response from its users. The latest “mobile computer” and Smartphone from Nokia has been getting expressions of praise and some words against as well.

Some issues pointed out by the users of Nokia N97 are given below.

Some users have found that the touchscreen of Nokia N97 is not as sensitive as iPhone's. Some users have responded that space bar is in a very awkward position and the stylus is too bulky.

Some users have experienced that Nokia N97 often hangs, and it has slow processor. Some users have complained of its weird keypad, and faulty backlight coming out of sleep / standby mode, while according to some users, Nokia N97 has average camera.

Some users have responded that Nokia N97 is not worthy successor of Nokia N96, but Nokia certainly is hoping big from its latest smartphone. Nokia is pitching its Nokia N97 against Apple iPhone 3G S, Palm Pre, and HTC Dream.

Samsung launches Samsung Marine (B2100) mobile in India

Leading mobile manufacturer, Samsung has launched Marine (B2100) mobile in the Indian market. Boasting of a stylish design and long durability, the mobile, provided with a shock-proof case, is dust- and water-resistant, and it can bear bumps, bangs, and scrapes.

The new product supports IP57 certification, ensuring its safety even if it remains immersed in one meter of water for about half an hour.

Besides, the product, designed to withstand extremely hot and cold temperatures, supports all Military Standard 810F (MIL-STD-810F) of the US Defense department.

Sunil Dutt , Country Head , Samsung Mobile Division, said: "Product innovation is an integral part of our overall marketing strategy and products like our recently introduced 'Solar Guru' and 'Samsung Marine' exemplify the same .

Based on our innovative product launches and range enhancement across different segments , we are expecting to double our sales volumes this year." B2100, having expandable memory up to 8 GB, supports all multimedia features, such as camera, FM radio, camcorder and music player; besides outdoor friendly features like noise cancellation, loud external speakers and flash light.

The mobile phone will cost around Rs 7030 across all leading mobile stores in India.

Sony launches two svelte Cyber-shot W series cameras – DSC-W180 and DSC-W190 – in India

Spreading out its Cyber-shot line of digital cameras, Sony has launched two svelte Cyber-shot W series cameras – DSC-W180 and DSC-W190 – in the Indian market.

Sony DSC-W180 is 10.1 mega pixels camera sporting 3x optical zoom lens and 2.7-inch Clear Photo LCD. The camera features 17x smart zoom, maximum magnification for capturing fantastic close-ups and vivid detail.

Sony DSC-W190 is 12.1 megapixels camera sporting 3x optical zoom lens and 2.7-inch Clear Photo LCD. The camera features 18x smart zoom, maximum magnification for usuperb close-ups and vivid detail. Additionally, W190 has a 1/2.33-type Super HAD CCD sensor.

The 18.7mm slim new Cyber-shot W series cameras – DSC-W180 and DSC-W190 – are capable of capturing still photographs and videos. The cameras feature Face Detection, Smile Shutter and Digital SteadyShot technologies. The cameras are capable of automatically optimizing image settings for capturing excellent quality photos.

Face Detection makes cameras capable of detecting up to 8 faces in a scene and automatically adjusting focus, exposure and white balance, and creating optimal capture settings for excellent quality photos. Smile Shutter helps users in capturing smiling faces. Digital SteadyShot helps in reducing the possibilities of poor results due to effects of camera shake by capturing two images in rapid succession and then superimposing the images to eliminate effects of camera shake.

The new Cyber-shot W series cameras offer seven scene selection modes – High Sensitivity, Twilight, Twilight Portrait, Landscape, Soft Snap, Snow, and Beach. The high sensitivity mode of up to ISO 3200 helps eliminating blurring while shooting dim light conditions or while capturing fast-moving subjects. The selection modes help optimizing camera settings automatically for different environments for capturing beautiful photographs.

The new Cyber-shot W series cameras feature drag-and-drop style for easy transferring of images and videos onto computers through USB. The two new cameras are loaded with Picture Motion Browser ver. 4.2.01 software for easy photo and video management.

The new camers come with new and unique feature eDeco that adds mood-enhancing elements photos and videos, including matching photo frames, background music, text and sound effects. The cameras also come with Movie Tracer for constructing panoramic images using a combination of movie frames.

The new Cyber-shot W series cameras – Sony DSC-W180 and Sony DSC-W190 – are available in metallic red, black, and silver colours. Sony DSC-W180 is priced at Rs. 8,990, and Sony DSC-W190 is priced at Rs. 9,990.