IBM to support iPhone, Macs with new software

IBM is trying to reach more Mac and iPhone users, as well as making the enterprise more social.
Big Blue is expected to announce Thursday at Macworld San Fransisco that it will soon be delivering its enterprise social platform, Lotus Connections, and Lotus Quickr team collaboration package for use with the iPhone and Mac.
Organizations can "now use IBM software for enterprise social networking, instant messaging, and securely encrypted e-mail and collaborative applications with the iPhone and Mac," said Alistair Rennie, general manager of IBM Lotus software.

iPad Costs $229 to Produce, Says iSuppli

Apple Inc's forthcoming iPad tablet computer will cost as little as $229.35 for the company to produce, according to an estimate on Wednesday from research house iSuppli.

The group conducted what it called a "virtual teardown" of the iPad, since the device is not yet available and component suppliers have not been announced. Apple's iPad, which resembles a large iPhone and uses the same operating system, will go on sale as early as next month, as the company looks to define a new category of mobile devices. For the $499 iPad - the lowest-cost model, which features 16 gigabytes of flash memory - iSuppli estimated the total materials cost at $219.35, with a $10 manufacturing cost. The priciest iPad will cost around $335 to produce, while the mid-range model will cost roughly $287, the group said. The most expensive component in the iPad is the 9.7-inch display and touchscreen, at an estimated cost of $80, according to the estimate. Analysts expect Apple to ship somewhere between 2 million and 5 million iPad units in the first year.
(Tech2)

Wipro Goes Green With New Desktops

The environment is rapidly deteriorating and there's no denying it. Technology innovators and developers are trying (even if it isn't their best) to make their products somewhat green and eco-friendly. Nokia is at the top of the list with their sound green agenda.

Indian company Wipro Infotech is not far behind and has recently unveiled a new eco-friendly desktop range, manufactured with materials free from toxic chemicals like polyvinyl chloride and brominated flame retardants. The desktops are part of Wipro's Greenware range based on Intel Core 2 Duo and the company will soon be launching laptops in the same range.

Wipro has 17 e-waste collection centres in India and 12 of the Wipro campuses in the country have been certified as green buildings.
(Tech2)

Nokia's Cheapest 3G Phone Launched for Rs. 4,499

Nokia has launched its most affordable 3G handset in the country earlier today with the launch of the Nokia 2730 Classic.
The phone, priced at just Rs. 4499, comes loaded with a host of features rarely seen on a device in is price range. The 2730 Classic packs in Ovi Mail, Nokia Messaging, Nokia Life Tools, and full HTML browsing as well. It also comes with Opera Mini preloaded.

The 2730 Classic has a 2-inch QVGA display that can display 262k colours. At just 88grams, the phone is quite light-weight. As expected, it runs Nokia's S40 interface. The 30 MB of internal memory can be augmented using a microSD card and the phone comes with a 1GB card - preloaded. It offers a maximum of 7.4 hours talk time and 16.5 days standby time. Music lovers on a budget can rejoice - thanks to the 3.5mm slot this one comes with. If that wasn't all, there is Bluetooth and microUSB support as well.

There is a decent 2 megapixel camera at the rear that should be good enough for casual imaging. Along with 3G, it also supports class 32 EDGE - making it a good device for browsing while on the move. There's FM Radio with RDS as well.

The 2730 Classic should make a decent buy for a feature packed, cheap first phone.
(Techtree)

Intel Ready to Show off Some Netbook Apps

Intel will show off several applications designed for netbooks and mobile devices at the upcoming Mobile World Congress, where the chip maker plans to push a software development program designed to populate its AppUp Center application store with applications.

Intel plans to show off the applications designed for netbooks and mobile devices at its booth, where executives hope to woo developers with their Atom Developer Program, according to a blog post on the company's Web site.

The heart of Intel's netbook application strategy is the Appup center, an application store like Apple's App Store and Google's Android Market that is currently in development. The chip maker is counting on developers to fill the AppUp Center with free and paid applications designed for netbooks and other mobile devices that the company calls mobile Internet devices, a catch-all term that describes handheld devices with smaller screens.

Of the eight applications mentioned in blog post, four of them -- Fring, PopCatcher, Fanomena, and Fluoh -- were either announced previously or are produced by developers that earlier voiced their support for the AppUp Center. The remaining four applications are video editor JayCut, image browser PhotoFlow, Last.fm client Vagalume, and EyeSight, an application that relies on a netbook's built-in camera to let users control the device and applications with hand gestures.

MWC, which will be held in Barcelona, runs from Feb. 15 to Feb, 18.

(PC World)

Facebook Chat opened up to new mobile and desktop IM clients

Facebook has opened up Facebook Chat to allow it to be integrated into a number of other popular desktop instant messaging clients, expanding the functionality of its social network to over 400 million members.

"By integrating Facebook Chat with your preferred instant messenger, you'll never miss a message when you have to navigate away from Facebook and you'll be in control of how and where you chat with your Facebook friends," says Facebook.

"Simply connect your Facebook account with the instant messaging client of your choice and start chatting. You will not need to stay logged in to Facebook.com to continue to access your Facebook friends".

Facebook Chat will now work with your AOL Instant Messenger account and other IM clients that use Jabber, including iChat, Pidgin, Adium and Miranda.

Open web emerges

Mickael Remond, CEO of ProcessOne, told us the following regarding Facebook's latest move to open up Facebook chat to speak with other instant messaging providers

"With Facebook opening up its chat to connect with other IM providers this is sign of the 'open' web emerging enabling users to communicate with each other irrespective of platform, thereby breaking down walls between online communities. With the integration with Facebook adding about 300 million potential users, XMPP is now by far the largest standard protocol for instant messaging and real-time web communications.

"Gtalk, Nokia Ovi and Livejournal all have chat based on XMPP meaning that it now also has the largest instant messaging user base in the world. This is a demonstration of the growing popularity of XMPP in the messaging space. It is already being used as part of Google Wave and I am sure that it will spread to other forms of real-time web communication in the future."

(Tech Radar)

Samsung Launches Android-based Galaxy Spica

Samsung's added yet another Android-based mobile phone to its portfolio - the Galaxy SPICA (I5700).

Offering inbuilt Google mobile services, the Galaxy SPICA features an 800 MHz processor, 3.2” HVGA TFT full touch-screen, 3G and WiFi connectivity.

Ranjit Yadav, Director - Mobile and IT, Samsung Electronics said, "Applications from the Android Market can be downloaded and installed on to the Galaxy SPICA over the air, without the use of a PC, thereby opening up an entire new world to the mobile phone user ."

The Galaxy Spica offers users access to the full suite of Google Mobile Services, including Google Search, Google Maps, Gmail, YouTube, Google Calendar, GTalk and other applications and games available in the Android MarketM. Currently, these applications and games are available free in India.

The new Galaxy SPICA offers social networking with location based GPS tagging, allowing users to update their location status as they interact with friends and peers in the social networking space. "With the Galaxy SPICA and the Android Market access over the air, mobile customization has a new meaning. The phone can function as a scanner, metal detector, a mobile office and even as a Fitness trainer depending on the user needs", said Yadav.

The Samsung Galaxy SPICA has internal memory of 163 MB, expandable memory up to 32 GB, a 3 mega pixel camera, multi Format Music Player with 3.5 mm ear jack, DivX Video Playback, Accelerometer, Proximity Sensor and a Digital Compass.

The Samsung Galaxy SPICA is priced at Rs. 14750.
(Tech2)

iPhone 4G to be Larger than its Predecessors

As each day passes, increasing number of reports regarding the new iPhone 4G are surfacing on the web. The new iPhone, as you might be aware, is expected to be out sometime later this year. In the string of these reports comes the latest one that says that the new iPhone will be marginally bigger (read: taller) than its outgoing brother.

The source of the report is a well-known iPhone repair site iResQ who has posted images of what its claims are parts for the next generation iPhone. As you can make out from the image, the fascia of the supposedly newer device looks slightly larger than the existing iPhone. While you are at it, also notice the reflective surface at the top of the fascia, right above the earpiece. As of now, there is no way to figure as to what this surface is all about. The obvious use would be to fit in a proximity sensor there - however, the latter doesn't warrant the use of a reflective surface.

The current generation iPhone has a 3.5-inch LCD display that, in itself, is pretty good. However, it is likely that Apple might switch to AMOLED technology for LCD due to its obvious advantages (except for its issues with sunlight legibility) and due to increasing competition from other multimedia phones that have better screens.

Another question that arises here is the need to increase the size of the phone if the screen size remains unchanged. Better/faster processors in the lineup? Larger camera sensor? Many such questions remain unanswered as of now.
(Techtree)

95% of user generated content 'is spam'

Some startling web-based statistics have been unearthed in a new report, which shines a light on just how corrupt parts of the internet are.

According to Websence Security Labs the majority of what we see online and receive through email has links to spam and contains malicious code.

In fact, 95 per cent of user generated content is generally spam or dangerous links and 85 per cent of emails sent are no more than 419 scams cunningly disguised – or not so cunning if they begin: "dear friend".

Stat attack

In the findings, it was also noted that 71 per cent of websites which contain malicious material are legit sites which have been compromised. And of those attacks, 35 per cent will have a data-stealing code embedded.

There's definitely a significant rise in compromised websites, with reporting that there has been a 225 per cent rise in dangerous websites, when comparing the second half of 2009 to the second half of 2008.

It's obvious why Websence Security Labs is relaying these scary stats – which it mined from the ThreatSeeker Network – but the statistics are pretty revealing. But not enough that a little bit of common sense and being web-savvy couldn't remedy.

(Techradar)

Paypal Suspends Payment Transactions in India

Online payment service provider Paypal on Saturday said that it has suspended certain types of payment transaction in India.

In a blog posted on its website, PayPal spokesperson Anuj Nayar wrote "... personal payments to and from India and transfers to local banks in India have been suspended while we work with our business partners and other stakeholders to address questions they have about the service".

Without giving any further details for the unusual suspension, he added that the company is working "to resolve the situation as quickly as possible."

"During this time, customers can still make commercial payments to India but merchants cannot withdraw funds in rupees to local Indian banks," he said.
(Tech2)

BSNL to Bring WiMax in NCR This Month

State-owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd. (BSNL) will start the latest wireless broadband service - WiMax in the NCR this month, said a statement by the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology of the Indian government.

To begin with, the service will be launched from Dhakor of Greater Noida in Uttar Pradesh. This service would be extended to other parts of NCR such as Bisrakh, Dadri, Jewar and Jahangirpuri in next financial year, said Sachin Pilot, minister of state for IT and Communications. This will enable subscribers to access services like video telephony, TV on mobile, video-conferencing, tele-medicine and e-learning.

BSNL and MTNL will set-up 10 new exchanges by the end of this financial year in Noida and Greater Noida. Pilot assured that special steps would be taken to ensure that downtime of towers in these areas is minimized. "With improved quality of service, I am expecting that both companies will add 25,000 new subscribers to their present subscriber base. BSNL at present has 75,000 subscribers and MTNL has 25,000 subscribers in Noida circle," said Pilot.

He also said that over 40,000 mobile subscribers would be added in Noida and Greater Noida areas by March 2011.
(Techtree)

NASA Invites Questions For Astronauts on Twitter

NASA seems to have come to terms with the power of the Twitterverse and is inviting the public to send questions for astronauts during space shuttle Endeavour's upcoming mission to the International Space Station, via Twitter and have them answered live from space.

Astronaut Mike Massimino will be accepting questions for the crew from the public via his Twitter account until Thursday, Feb. 11. Massimino will be a shuttle Capcom, or spacecraft communicator, at NASA's Mission Control in Houston during Endeavour's flight, scheduled for launch Feb. 7.

At 2:24 a.m. CST on Feb. 11, Massimino will host an interactive event with the crew from his console in Mission Control. He will ask the astronauts as many submitted and live questions as practical during the 20-minute event. The shuttle will be docked to the station during the live question and answer session. The event with Endeavour's crew will be broadcast live on the Web and NASA Television.

The public is invited to start tweeting questions for Endeavour's crew today to Massimino's Twitter account, @astro_Mike, or add the hashtag #askastro to their tweets.

Endeavour's 13-day STS-130 mission will include three spacewalks and the delivery of the Tranquility node, the final module of the U.S. portion of the station. Tranquility will provide additional room for crew members and many of the space station's life support and environmental control systems.

Attached to Tranquility is a cupola, which houses a robotic control station and has seven windows. The windows will provide a panoramic view of Earth, celestial objects and visiting spacecraft. After the node and cupola are added, the orbiting laboratory will be approximately 90 percent complete.

The time and day of the Twitter session are subject to change due to mission priorities.
(Tech2)

Google unveils Nexus One "superphone"

Google Inc took the wraps off the first of its smartphones on Tuesday, a device with speech recognition that it hopes can take on Apple's iPhone over time and help shore up the company's dominance in Internet advertising.

Analysts say the phone -- to be sold directly to consumers -- is not expected to dramatically alter the carrier-hardware vendor relationship the industry relies on, nor is it likely to yield a revenue windfall in the short term, though executives said it could be profitable.

Google plans to use what it calls a "superphone" -- the first of many types of smartphones that it will make -- to expand its reach from the PC to the mobile world and ensure its online products and ads get prominent placement on a new breed of wireless Internet devices.

The highly anticipated Nexus One, which marks the first time the 11-year-old Internet search titan has designed and sold its own consumer hardware device, could provide Google with a viable challenge to the iPhone and Research in Motion's BlackBerry.

It "wasn't the game-changer people thought it could be," Canaccord Adams analyst Jeff Rath said. Google could have shaken up the industry by offering the device for free, but instead chose more traditional pricing, he said.

Rath added that though his early impression was that the Nexus One was a good phone, it was unclear how much better it was than Motorola's Droid, released last year and that also runs on Google's Android operating system platform.

"It's very close to the Droid, some people will debate whether it's better. But it looks like an incremental improvement rather than a blow-the-doors-off improvement," Rath said.

The Nexus One, which was garnering favorable first reviews on tech Websites and forums on Tuesday, ships immediately from Google's online store for $179 with a two-year contract from Deutsche Telekom's T-Mobile USA, or $529 without a service plan.

Executives said the phone will be carried on Verizon Wireless's network in the United States, and eventually on Vodafone's in Europe. Verizon Wireless is a joint venture of Vodafone and Verizon Communications.