TomTom Satellite Navigation Launched In India Now

TomTom has been in India for ten years now and over the years they have studied the Indian traffic psyche to understand what would be of most use in a satellite navigation system in India. TomTom has also built their maps from scratch because according to their survey the biggest problem in India was the lack of a reliable map.

TomTom is a company based in Amsterdam, they have been around for twenty years now and are listed on the Amsterdam Stock Exchange. Their research and development units are based in Holland, USA and in Pune, India. TomTom’s strategy in India has been based on the long run which is why they took time to develop an India centric system as a whole.

The new systems will have a unique feature developed for India called ‘Landmark Navigation’, this feature will help people find locations on unnamed streets by being able to input a landmark near the destination. Other standard features in these systems will allow drivers to change maps and share it with their friends. The systems will also provide real time traffic information to drivers.

The typical scene of Indian roads is one where people stop hastily on the side of the road, roll down the window and ask for directions. 70% of the streets in India do not have names and this creates a big confusion in finding an exact location. Stopping on the side of the road in a hurry is also a safety hazard to pedestrians, two wheels and cars alike.

TomTom believes in developing driver friendly satellite navigation systems to make the experience of commuting and looking for a place easy. TomTom have launched their ‘Via Series’ in India, which consists of three units, the Via 100, Via 120 and the Via 125. The satellite navigation units will be priced at Rs. 15,000, Rs. 17,000 and Rs. 19,000 respectively.

Apple Seek Samsung Tablet Ban

Kogan must stop flogging Samsung's Galaxy Tab 10.1 in its home country after Apple threatened to sue it.Apple's pursuit of Samsung and its hardware is well documented and has clocked up a lot of airmiles. In this latest win the fruit themed firm has forced a company that offers its own competing product to stop selling a competitor's product. Something that presumably says a lot about free trade.

A legal dispute between Apple Inc. and Samsung Electronics Co. in Australia intensified Monday, with an attorney representing the maker of the iPad alleging its South Korean rival's product infringes on patents relating to touch-screen technology. The case is part of a global battle between the two companies that began in April, when Apple sued Samsung in California, saying its smartphones and tablets had "slavishly" copied the iPhone and iPad. The companies have since filed suits against one another in Germany, Japan, France and South Korea.

Apple has demanded that the company stop selling and advertising the 10.1in tablet and tell it who it bought them from. Kogan complied with the first demand, but not the latter one, according to the report.that is not to say that it has taken the demands gently, however, and the firm suggested that Apple was using its muscle to stifle competition, something that might prick up some ears with the relevant regulators.

"There is a fine line between legitimately enforcing your intellectual property on the one hand, and just trying to stifle competition on the other - in our view Apple is very precariously walking that line," said David Shafer, Kogan's executive director, in a statement released to the Sydney Morning Herald.

Although the firm thinks it is within its legal rights to offer the tablets to consumers, as it acts as something of a middle man and makes the purchaser the importer, it seems unwilling to get too deep into talks with Apple's lawyers and for now it is taking a softly softly approach to dealing with them."If you decide to pursue the injunction, we will leave these matters to the court and we believe that our case is strong," wrote Shafer in a letter to Apple's Australian lawyers. µ

Trai Says No Rethinking On 100 Limit SMS Per day

In its effort to stop the menace of unwanted communication, Trai said that as of now, there is no plan to do away the restriction of 100 SMSes per SIM per day for all subscribers, except on special occasions like Diwali, Eid or other festivals."In order to curb the menace of pesky calls and messages, as of now, this (limit of hundred SMS per day per SIM) will be applicable to all users. If in future some problem arises, we will see the things," a Trai source said. COAI Director-General Rajan S Mathews, in a letter to Trai last week, had pointed out that there are several instances where SMSes are an important mode of communication.

“There could be a situation where a customer has exhausted the limit and suddenly some emergency occurs. Due to this artificial restriction, the safety of the subscriber may be jeopardised,” he argued.On September 5, the telecom regulator had come out with an order restricting access providers (operators) from transmitting more than 100 SMSes per day per SIM from September 27.
The limit, however, will not be applicable on “blackout days” (festive occasions) when the text-addicts are free to send as many messages they want.“To curb the menace of pesky calls and messages, as of now, the regulation will be applicable to all users. If in future some problem arises, we will look into it,” Trai sources said.

Trai’s clarification comes within days of Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) asking Trai to reconsider its recommendation, claiming that such a regulation may pose a potential challenge to the “fundamental rights” of an ordinary subscriber.

NASA Satellite Falls Back On Earth

out of gas and out of control after two decades in space, plunged back into the atmosphere early Saturday, heating up, breaking apart and presumably showering chunks of debris along a 500-mile-long downrange impact zone.But NASA officials could not immediately confirm where or exactly when the satellite came down, saying only that re-entry occurred during a two-hour period."NASA's decommissioned Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite fell back to Earth between 11:23 p.m. EDT Friday, Sept. 23, and 1:09 a.m. EDT Sept. 24," the agency said in a statement released more than three hours -- two complete orbits -- after the predicted impact time.

"The satellite was passing eastward over Canada and Africa as well as vast portions of the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian oceans during that period," NASA said. "The precise re-entry time and location are not yet known with certainty."U.S. Strategic Command predicted the defunct UARS satellite would re-enter the atmosphere off the west coast of Canada.
(Credit: William Harwood/MacDoppler Pro)The Joint Space Operations Center at Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif., reported that UARS entered the atmosphere over the Pacific Ocean, according to NASA spokesman Bob Jacobs, but the "precise time and locale aren't yet known."
Given the trajectory of the bus-size, 6.3-ton satellite, experts said it was unlikely any falling remnants would result in injuries or significant property damage. But there was no immediate confirmation as to how much debris might have reached the ground or where the debris "footprint" might be located.The centerpiece of a $750 million mission, the Upper Atmosphere Research satellite was launched from the shuttle Discovery at 12:23 a.m. EDT (GMT-4) on Sept. 15, 1991. The solar-powered satellite studied a wide variety of atmospheric phenomena, including the depletion of Earth's ozone layer 15 to 30 miles up.The long-lived satellite was decommissioned in 2005 and one side of its orbit was lowered using the last of its fuel to hasten re-entry and minimize the chances of orbital collisions that could produce even more orbital debris. No more fuel was available for maneuvering and the satellite's re-entry was "uncontrolled."

As with all satellites in low-Earth orbit, UARS was a victim of atmospheric drag, the slow but steady reduction in velocity, and thus altitude, caused by flying through the tenuous extreme upper atmosphere at some five miles per second.UARS' final trajectory as it neared the discernible atmosphere proved difficult to predict. The descent slowed somewhat Friday, presumably because the spacecraft's orientation changed. As the day wore on, the predicted impact time slipped from Friday afternoon to early Saturday."As of 10:30 p.m. EDT on Sept. 23, 2011, the orbit of UARS was 85 miles by 90 miles (135 km by 140 km)," NASA said in a 10:50 p.m. statement. "Re-entry is expected between 11:45 p.m. Friday, Sept. 23, and 12:45 a.m., Sept. 24, Eastern Daylight Time (3:45 a.m. to 4:45 a.m. GMT). During that time period, the satellite will be passing over Canada and Africa, as well as vast areas of the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian oceans. The risk to public safety is very remote."
The final update from U.S. Strategic Command, which operates a global radar network used to monitor more than 20,000 objects in low-Earth orbit, predicted entry around 12:16 a.m. EDT Saturday above the Pacific Ocean just west of Canada. But the prediction was uncertain by plus or minus two hours and at orbital velocities of 5 miles per second, just 10-minutes of uncertainty translates into 3,000 miles of uncertainty in position.Nick Johnson, chief scientist with NASA's Orbital Debris Program at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, told reporters last week he expected most of the satellite to burn up as it slammed into the dense lower atmosphere at more than 17,000 mph. But computer software used to analyze possible re-entry outcomes predicted 26 pieces of debris would survive to impact the surface in a 500-mile-long down-range footprint.

"We looked at those 26 pieces and how big they are and we've looked at the fact they can hit anywhere in the world between 57 north and 57 south and we looked at what the population density of the world is," he said. "Numerically, it comes out to a chance of 1-in-3,200 that one person anywhere in the world might be struck by a piece of debris. Those are obviously very, very low odds that anybody's going to be impacted by this debris."For comparison, some 42.5 tons of wreckage from the shuttle Columbia hit the ground in a footprint stretching from central Texas to Louisiana when the orbiter broke apart during re-entry in 2003. No one on the ground was injured and no significant property damage was reported.

Wanna Know Who Unfriend You In Facebook ==>> Now U Can

Want to find out who defriended you on Facebook? Yep. There’s an app for that.Facebook made headlines and heads turn this week with yet another design overhaul . The biggest change this go-around is the introduction of the Timeline, which shows any and all activity of a user in chronological order. That exposes an unusual bit of information: Users will be able to see who has removed them from their friend list, according to technology blog Buzz Feed.“Sounds like a troublemaker,” wrote one commentor on the FoxNews.com SciTech Facebook Page. The new design doesn’t go live until September 29th, but people have figured out a simple means for enabling the beta version.

In addition to showing users a timeline of their activity on the site throughout the years, it turns out that Facebook’s new profile provides a rundown of which friends they’ve lost.

Here’s how you can see which friends you’ve lost:

• 1. Enable the new Facebook Timeline .
• 2. Pick a year in the timeline and locate the “Friends” box.
• 3. Click on “Made X New Friends.”
• 4. Scroll through the list. Where you see an “Add Friend” box, you know that you are no longer friends with that person. If you haven’t unfriended them, they’ve unfriended you.

There’s still no real-time Facebook alert for an unfriend. But if you’re really interested in learning more and more quickly about your declining online popularity, a browser plugin like Better Facebook is a good alternative.

Hopefully this information won't cause any rifts among friends before then.“Fun! =-) People always get so hostile when I unfriend them,” said another commentor on Facebook.“I'm sure to get a lot of death threats now.”

Zebronics MP3 Player On Market

Zebronics has released a set of portable speaker, called ZebStation Lite, which can hold its own as an MP3 player. The ZebStation Lite can playback MP3 files stores on external storage devices via its slots for SD/MMC card or a USB flash drive.

This device can also connect to cell-phone or a laptop through the 3.5mm port to be used as speakers.

Playback and volume is controlled through a series of buttons in the front of the device and the information is displayed using the old-school 7 segment display.

The ZebStation Lite also has a built-in FM tuner and memory to store radio station frequencies. Like all things Zebronics, the ZebStation Lite is priced at the lower end of the band at Rs 990.

Nokia Windows Phone 7 Runing MANGO

the world's largest phone maker by volume, said on Friday it was increasingly confident its first Windows Phone would reach consumers this year. There is one thing that the Microsoft mobile OS has always had that no other mobile platform can really match--Microsoft Office. Windows Phone 7--especially "Mango"--goes beyond the Office Mobile apps with the Office Hub, so today I am going to jump into the Office Hub and see how "Mango" lets you be more productive on the go.

"As we stated previously, we have increased confidence we will ship our first Windows Phone product this year," said Nokia spokesman Doug Dawson. Nokia is in the midst of changing its smartphone software platform to Microsoft's Windows Phone from its own Symbian. Let's be honest--it's a smartphone. Your screen real estate will vary some based on the exact hardware model you are running "Mango" on, but the reality is that you aren't going to create a multi-worksheet Excel spreadsheet with charts or pivot tables, or write the next great American novel on your smartphone.

But, even if the smartphone is not going to be your platform of choice for content creation, it's hard to argue with the awesomeness of being able to view and edit Microsoft Office files natively, or to even create a simple Word document or Excel spreadsheet in a pinch.I can create new OneNote files, new Word documents, or new Excel files from the smartphone. It even has a handful of templates to choose from--things like Agenda, Expenses, Mileage Tracker, Golf Scorecard, and more.

I have advocated for years that Microsoft should be aggressively developing Microsoft Office Mobile apps for all platforms. Even if Windows Phone 7 lives up to the loftiest of expectations and ascends to the number two position among smartphone platforms, it will still only have 20 or 25 percent market share. That leaves three fourths of the smartphones with no Office Mobile and possibly exploring alternatives.I'll get off my platform-agnostic Office Mobile for all soapbox now. I didn't even scratch the surface today, though, on actually using the Office Hub, and seeing how it works with the SkyDrive or Office 365 integration, so we'll call this topic "…to be continued."

Microsoft needs to give customers incentive to rely on Microsoft Office, and Microsoft's backend infrastructure (Exchange, SharePoint, etc.). It needs to make this same, consistent experience available on iOS, Android, and any other platform that comes along.

Samsung Galaxy Tab Takes You Into The Future

The Galaxy Tab is a Tegra 2 tablet with a 10.1 inch screen and a dual core processor. This means that it will be able to run Onlive, the gaming streaming service which just launched for PC, Mac and MicroConsole in the UK this week. To date, Android devices have only a viewer, but there will be a player coming out soon, and that's one thing well worth future-proofing for.Samsung's racing team apparently uses the app to allow them to get more information about the laps that their riders do. I could imagine that working pretty well. I could imagine a powerful (and fast / responsive) tablet serving a vital role for looking up killmails or checking mission guides

There's plenty of other games that would be ideal for the Galaxy Tab too, such as Galaxy on Fire, and EA's HD games (e.g. Need For Speed Shift HD). In addition, most standard Android apps will run on the device. You may not want to take it out with you when you go jogging (so there's no point in having RunKeeper!), but apps such as Skype, a Ventrillo viewer, IRC, Facebook, and EVE Aura are invaluable. If you're looking for a high quality tablet with great screen quality, a fast processor (and gaming capable graphics), and decent battery life, then this is a great time to be getting into the tablet market.

Facebook On Its Peek On Colonization

The press releases and corporate blog postings have been flowing out of Palo Alto faster than the site's newly introduced "ticker".Automatic friend grouping, updated privacy controls, music, movie and news integration, Timeline and the aforementioned ticker have all transformed the look of the social network.Some users have reacted with anger, demanding a return to the "old" Facebook. Many are simply befuddled - struggling to make sense of the whirring, buzzing modules that have suddenly appeared in their electronic lives.

n his F8 keynote yesterday, Mark Zuckerberg said that as many as 500 million people used Facebook in a single day, with the total Facebook tribe approaching 800 million.According to Experian Hitwise, Facebook had a 10 percent share of Internet visits in the U.S. for the week ending Sept. 17, followed by Google at 7 percent. Among social networks, Facebook garnered more than 65 percent share of visits, compared with YouTube at 19.5 percent for the same time period.With the new features announced yesterday at F8, Facebook is poised to cast a bigger shadow over the Internet of people and things.

At the F8 Developer Conference yesterday, Facebook announced a new way to view user profiles, dubbed as the Timeline. Facebook also announced closer integration with apps and social apps within Facebook for reading books and listening to music. The Timeline view will be rolled out to users over the next few weeks(you can sign up for the same at this moment) and once the rollout is complete, new apps would also be made available. Facebook timeline is a chronically arranged visual representation of a user's status updates, photos, and other activities on Facebook marking the various events of his life. A user can share and highlight memorable and important moments from the past - posts, photos, videos, and events - and make them visible for others.

It is true that the ticker looks a lot like Twitter, as does the subscription system. But then Twitter looks a bit like an RSS feed, which resembles a journalist's newswire system, which has elements of the stock ticker about it.In fact, the technological mechanism is a red herring. What Facebook is learning, is what any TV executive will tell you - if you are unlucky enough to be stuck talking to one at a party - that "content is king".Twitter is a virtual blizzard of opinion - from Joey Barton's pop philosophy to Kim Kardashian's perpetual exclamation fest!! Google+ has become the default hangout for tech geek information exchange, with Robert Scoble and Jeff Jarvis presiding over matters. Both feel like an exciting place to be.

By comparison, Facebook has seemed a little quiet of late. "David is at Pret A Manger", I see.Hence Mr Zuckerberg's plan to make it the central hub of all consumption. In his vision, the site will become the Grand Central Station on everyone's daily commute.Just because you have a cool house and maybe even a swimming pool, doesn't mean anyone is going to come to your party. But if you can get the cool kids to come along, everyone else will be beating a path to your door.

The plan: if you care at all about broadening your horizons - seeing a new video, hearing a new song - this is the place to be.No longer are the Wall, photos and poking enough. You need to leverage the might of news publishers, TV, cinema, anything and everything that is of interest.That is what will bring in the crowds and keep people engaging with Facebook.Ironically, it is the lesson that every wealthy young geek learns the hard way.

Internet As Essential As Air, Water & Food !!!!!!!!

Internet access seems to have become a basic need, ranking behind air, water, food and shelter for at least for 33% of the respondents to a global survey by networking giant Cisco.The study also pointed out that four out of five college students and young employees surveyed believed that the internet is important and an essential part of their lives. The 2011 Cisco Connected World Technology Report conducted by third-party market research firm InsightExpress surveyed 1,441 college students (aged 18-24) and 1,412 employees (aged 21-29) from 14 countries, including the US, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, UK, France, Russia, India and China.In India, 95% of the college students and young employees surveyed said the internet is as important in their lives as water, food, air and shelter.

In India, 95 per cent of the college students and young employees surveyed said the internet is as important in their lives as water, food, air and shelter."Internet is no longer a 'good to have', it is now a 'must have'. There is a conscious need to be connected at all times from all locations, accelerated by the growth of social media and smart mobile devices which provide easy access to the Internet," Cisco India and SAARC Vice-President (Borderless Networks) Mahesh Gupta told reporters in a teleconference. The report provides an insight into this phenomenon by focusing on current and future employees and provides a barometer on how companies can best address their needs, expectations and issues, he added.About 64 per cent of the respondents (two out of three) said they would prefer an internet connection over a car.

The survey also found that eight in 10 students check their Facebook at least once a day and 73 per cent of young employees do the same."The results of the Cisco Connected World Technology Report should make businesses re-examine how they need to evolve in order to attract talent and shape their business models," Marie Hattar, VP of enterprise marketing at Cisco, said in a canned statement on the results. The study took an online survey of 1,441 college students and 1,412 employees under the age of 30 in 14 countries

On the importance of social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter to the younger generation, the report said 27 per cent (one in four) said they would rather update their status messages on Facebook than party, date or hang out with friends, if there had to be a choice between them. The survey also revealed that smartphones and laptops trumped televisions in the survey respondents' preference, with only one out of 10 college students opting for TV as the most important device in their lives.

In terms of usage of social networking site Facebook, Indian respondents were ranked highest in the survey, with 92% of students checking their accounts daily, while one-third (33%) check their virtual walls at least five times a day.The survey also said 85% of employees in India confirmed adding their colleagues and managers as friends on Facebook.The report also strongly indicated that the use of paper has gone down significantly among the youth, as two out of five students have not bought a book from a bookstore in the last two years.

Sandisk Launches New Range Of Extends Storage Solutions

The US headquartered storage solutions company, SanDisk Corporation, on Thursday launched number new flash storage devices for mobile phones, cameras, notebooks and tablets. The move comes as a part of the company's product expansion plans. “With a rise in demand for smartphones, laptops and tablets, we hope to see a good demand for our flash storage solutions,” Ms Manisha Sood, SanDisk Country Manager and Director (India and SAARC) said.

SanDisk has unveiled plans to a sell 700 million units of its memory vault, SSDs and other storage solutions. The company has launched new range of storage solutions that include SanDisk Memory Vault, SanDisk Ultra solid state drive, 64GB SanDisk Extreme Pro SDXC UHS-I card, 64GB SanDisk Mobile Ultra microSDXC card, Cruzer Fit and Cruzer Switch USB flash drives, ImageMate All-in-One USB 3.0 reader/writer, and SanDisk SecureAccess software.

SanDisk has unveiled plans to a sell 700 million units of its memory vault, SSDs and other storage solutions. The company has launched new range of storage solutions that include SanDisk Memory Vault, SanDisk Ultra solid state drive, 64GB SanDisk Extreme Pro SDXC UHS-I card, 64GB SanDisk Mobile Ultra microSDXC card, Cruzer Fit and Cruzer Switch USB flash drives, ImageMate All-in-One USB 3.0 reader/writer, and SanDisk SecureAccess software.

“With more than 230,000 storefronts worldwide and extension of our storage solutions range, SanDisk targets to sell 700 million units globally in 2011. Registering a year on year growth rate of 18 percent, Sandisk had revenue of $4.83 billion in 2010 and has already fetched $2.67 billion in H12011, globally. Asia Pacific contributes 21 percent to the global revenue. The company leverages on the innovations from its R&D division on which we invested $422 million in 2010 and have spent $249.9 million in H12011,” said Clarence Cho, Marketing Director, Asia Pacific, SanDisk.

“Flash memory market in India is driven by the increasing penetration of mobile phones, laptops, tablets, and cameras as well as the fact that India has the largest young population in the world and many of them are tech savvy who are ready to adopt new technologies. We focus on doing the fundamentals right - delivering quality products at a reasonable price, investing in the SanDisk brand, and be available at where customers want to buy. With Ingram Micro, Rashi Peripherals, Beetel Teletech, and HCL Infosystem as our distributors, we have presence in 20,000 retail outlets and LFRs across the country," said Manisha Sood, Country Manager and Director, India and SAARC, SanDisk.

The company also has launched high end - 64GB “SanDisk Extreme Pro” - memory cards for photography enthusiasts. The cards, available in 8GB to 64GB capacities, are priced between Rs 2,199 and Rs 16,299.SanDisk launched its “Memory Vault” which the company claimed to enable data storage for 100 years. The device is priced at Rs 3,499 (8GB) and Rs 5,499 (16GB).

SanDisk’s new “Cruzer Fit” USB flash drive – one of the smallest in the market - comes in 4GB to 16GB capacities with prices starting from Rs. 249 (4GB) to Rs749 (16GB).

Its “Cruzer Switch USB flash drives” come in a cap-less flip-top design for easy portability and is priced between Rs. 499 (2GB) and Rs 2,699 (64GB).

Android Flaw Used By Hackers

Google's Android operating system (OS) users beware, researchers have found two new vulnerabilities in the OS with one of them reportedly capable of gaining full access to your smartphone. According to researchers Jon Oberheide and Zach Lanier, the first flaw, which affects all Android devices regardless of OS version, allows the installation of applications without users' approval. Considered as "permission escalation vulnerability," it affects all Android handsets regardless of the OS version.

It's been more than a month since researchers reported two serious security vulnerabilities in Android, but so far there's no indication when they will be purged from the Google-spawned operating system that's the world's most popular smartphone platform.The first flaw allows apps to be installed without prompting users for permission. The permission-escalation vulnerability permits attackers to surreptitiously install malware in much the way a proof-of-concept exploit researcher Jon Oberheide published last year did. In that case, an app he planted in the Android Market and disguised as an expansion pack for the Angry Birds game secretly installed three additional apps that without warning monitored a phone's contacts, location information and text messages so data could transmitted to a remote server.

“The Android Market ecosystem continues to be a ripe area for bugs,” Oberheide wrote in an email. “There are some complex interactions between the device and Google's Market servers which has only been made more complex and dangerous by the Android Web Market.”The second bug resides in the Linux kernel where Android originates and makes it possible for installed apps with limited privileges to gain full control over the device. The vulnerability is contained in code device manufacturer have put into some of Android's most popular handsets, including the Nexus S. The bug undermines the security model Google developers created to contain the damage any one application can do to the overall phone.

One of the hopes for Android a few years back was that it would be a viable alternative to Apple's iOS, both in terms of features and security. With the passage of time, the error of that view is becoming harder to ignore. By our count, Google developers have updated Android just 16 times since the OS debuted in September 2008. The number of iOS updates over the same period is 29.Owners of the Motorola Droid, for instance, are stuck running Android 2.2.2 even though that version was released in May 2010 and contains a variety of known bugs that allow attackers to steal confidential data and remotely execute code on handsets the run the outdated version.

Even more telling, when a new version of iOS is released, it's available almost immediately to any iPhone user with the hardware to support the upgrade. Android users, by contrast, often wait years for their phone carriers to supply updates that fix code execution vulnerabilities and other serious flaws.

Google Denies Tampering Search Service

Executive Chairman Erik Schmidt is set to defend the company's business practices at a congressional hearing on Wednesday, batting down criticism from other Web sites that the largest provider of Internet searches is manipulating its online-search system to steer users to its own sites.The clash, in a U.S. Senate Judiciary subcommittee, pits the search giant against review and shopping sites such as Yelp! Inc. and Nextag Inc. It brings to Capitol Hill a fight that has most loudly been waged in Silicon Valley, and holds the potential to expose Google to a new level of scrutiny in Washington.

"As Internet search has become a major channel of e-commerce, Google has grown ever more dominant and powerful, and it appears its mission has changed," Senate Judiciary subcommittee Chairman Herb Kohl (D, Wisc.) is set to say at the start of the hearing. He will say that a string of acquisitions "has transformed Google from a mere search engine into a major Internet conglomerate" and ask: "Does Google's transformation create an inherent conflict of interest which threatens to stifle competition?" “May I simply say that I can assure you we're not cooking anything,” the Telegraph quoted Schmidt, as saying.“Google does nothing to block access to any of the competitors and other sources of information,” he added.

"Today, Google doesn't play fair," Katz, who earlier founded the travel comparison site Orbitz, will say in prepared testimony. "Google rigs its results, biasing in favor of Google Shopping and against competitors like us. As a result, Nextag's access is more and more discriminated against. Not because our service has gotten worse...but because we compete with Google where it matters most, for very lucrative shopping users."Stoppelman will add that "Google is no longer in the business of sending people to the best sources of information on the web. It now hopes to be a destination site itself." He will say that Google has been unfairly taking content from competitors--and then agreeing to stop only if other sites agree to be removed from searches.

"This, of course, was a false choice," Stoppelman will say. "Google's dominant position in the market prevents services like Yelp from exercising any sort of meaningful choice in the matter: it is a choice between allowing Google to co-opt one's content and not competing at all." “We get it. By that I mean, we get the lessons of our corporate predecessors,” Schmidt added in reference to software giant Microsoft, which faced years of anti-competition investigations and subsequent fines.Concern over Google's domination of the internet has grown as the company continues to expand into other internet areas, such as its own price comparison website and buying US mobile phone firm Motorola Mobility.

But Thomas Barnett, a former Justice Department antitrust chief who is representing a coalition of web sites, including Expedia, will testify that "there is reason to believe that Google is using its extraordinary power to manipulate users and foreclose the ability of other sites to compete. If so, Google should be found to be violating the antitrust laws and an appropriate remedy should be imposed."

India Rejects Qualcomm License Bid

The Telecom Ministry has rejected Qualcomm Inc’s application for a licence to provide Internet services, the US chipmaker said on Thursday, casting uncertainty over its India plans after it paid $1 billion to buy broadband spectrum last year.Qualcomm said the application was rejected on grounds that it found to be “baseless”. It did not give details and a company spokeswoman declined to comment beyond the official statement.

India's telecoms ministry has cited Qualcomm missing the deadline for applying for the Internet service providers' licence as one of the reasons for rejecting the application, two sources with knowledge of the matter told Reuters.According to the broadband spectrum auction rules, firms that won wireless airwaves in last year's auction were required to apply for the licence within three months of being declared winners, the sources said.

Telecom companies spent a total $24 billion, far more than expected, in a state auction last year to buy radio airwaves for third-generation (3G) and broadband services, with most of it funded by debt.Qualcomm said in a statement that it fully complied with the application process and it would work with the Indian authorities to resolve this matter.The ministry's move will delay the company's plan to launch broadband wireless services in India, for which it had spent $1 billion buy wireless airwaves in Mumbai, New Delhi, Haryana and Kerala circles in an auction last year.

Any license cancellation could further dent foreign investor interest in India's telecommunications sector, which is already waning after allegations that the allocation of mobile bandwidth and licenses in 2008 were rigged.Qualcomm won the four bandwidth slots in a government-run auction that ended June 12. Under the auction rules, it needed to apply for the ISP licenses within three months from July 12. Qualcomm said it applied on Aug. 9, 2010 -- within the stipulated limit. The DoT, however, said while Qualcomm did initially apply in August, it gave a revised application in December, missing the deadline.Qualcomm added that it will merge the four nominee companies it created into one to adhere to the rule stipulating only one nominee firm would be granted.

Facebook Has Plans To Move To Hollywood

Facebook is planning to improve its relationships with the film and music industries, a new report claims.According to reuters, citing anonymous sources, Facebook is currently looking to hire an executive who would handle the company's relationship with Hollywood in the hopes of eventually inking lucrative deals with both film companies and music labels.

Facebook will on Thursday unveil a real-time stream of what its users are watching and listening to online, turning the social network into a key entertainment destination on the web.The social network will introduce the new "ticker" stream alongside partnerships with major media companies at its f8 conference in San Francisco.

Although Facebook has yet to make a decision on whom it might hire, the company has held talks with former MySpace co-President Jason Hirschhorn. Those talks, Reuters says, apparently went nowhere, and Facebook is back to looking for a suitable person for the job.Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg will unveil the changes as part of a "read, watch and listen" theme at the conference on 22 September.Zuckerberg is also expected to introduce changes to the "Like" button, allowing developers to create their own verbs such as "Want", "Desire" or "Need".

Facebook's desire to ink deals with Hollywood has everything to do with the competition it faces, Reuters says. Executives at Facebook are reportedly concerned that Twitter, especially, has strong ties to Hollywood, and could use that to its advantage. However, how strong Twitter's ties to Hollywood really are is debatable. The company certainly has a huge number of celebrities its service, but it has yet to sign blockbuster deals with companies that would make Facebook shake in its boots.

Early suggestion indicate that music will be central to Facebook's announcements, with Spotify and the video site Vevo believed to be introducing apps that will allow listeners to stream songs without leaving the site.Film and TV streaming sites, as well as some newspapers, are also expected to unveil new Facebook products at the conference.

Facebook's 750 million users will be able to automatically share activity such as viewing, listening and reading in the live "ticker" stream, once they have opted in to the feature. The new stream will be separate from the existing Facebook news feed, although popular items – such as the most frequently played songs among friends – will appear in the column.The world's most popular social network has stepped up its offering in the past year – adding 250,000 new active users – in the wake of increased competition from Facebook and a new rival in Google+.

While Facebook is keen for its users to stay on the site for as long as possible, Zuckerberg has consistently emphasised that the site is a "distribution platform" to other media companion According to Facebook's own referral figures, the Independent's website has seen a 680% rise in traffic from Facebook over the past year. Britain's biggest newspaper website, MailOnline, saw referrals from Facebook increase sixfold when it introduced the "Like" button across its website.

iPhone Likely To Be Released Soon!!!!!!

Seems the wait of Apple aficionados is about to end. According to a report, quoting "sources familiar to the matter," Apple is going to hold a media event on October 4, where the company is likely to unveil its next-generation iPhone. An Apple event next week? Not so fast. According to All Things D, Cupertino will unveil its next iPhone on Oct. 4.

New CEO Tim Cook will do the honors, ATD said, citing sources "close to the situation." The blog does say, however, that "Apple could certainly change its plans anytime."AllThingsD is rather certain that October 4 is the day next iPhone will be unveiled. According to the report, Apple's new CEO, Tim Clock, is expected to be showing off the phone (or may be phones). The announced phone is expected to be available weeks after the event.

Going by past releases, that would put a new iPhone on store shelves by mid-October, which follows previous ATD reports of an October launch.Cook took over for Steve Jobs after Jobs resigned last month. While Cook has been at Jobs' side at various Apple events and took the reigns at the Verizon iPhone launch , this will be his first major product launch as CEO.

Apple also traditionally unveils upgrades to its iPod lineup in the fall, so expect some announcements there. The launch of the new iPhone also means the arrival of iOS 5, which Jobs first showed off earlier this year at Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference.

That being said, it's probably best to wait for the official call. As PCMag mobile analyst Sascha Segan noted, "When the Apple event is announced, it won't be announced by 'sources.' It'll be announced by Apple."

In a recent report, A JP Morgan analyst Mark Moskowitz said that Apple will be launching not one but two models of the next-generation iPhone: a revamped iPhone 4 called iPhone 4-plus and a slimmer model iPhone 5. The analyst expects the iPhone 5 to be a "world phone" device with GSM and CDMA support, while the iPhone 4-plus will target the midrange of the market, as well as China.

That launch, of course, is expected to be the iPhone 5. There have been rumors that Apple is also (or only) cooking up a low-cost version of the iPhone 4, dubbed the iPhone 4S, which could help push iOS into developing nations. Those who bypassed the iPhone 4 and have been holding on to their iPhone 3GS, however, are likely itching for a major upgrade.

TechRepublic editor Jason Hiner, meanwhile, also tweeted that San Francisco's Moscone Center, where Apple typically holds larger launch events, is booked by Oracle on October 4. Apple could hold the event at its Cupertino campus, but the auditorium there only holds about 250 people, which is much smaller than the usual big Apple launch, according to Segan. Stay tuned.

Nokia Siemens Networks Going Into Liquid Technology And Cloud Computing

Nokia Siemens Network(NSN) unveiled its new Liquid technology which promises to ease telecom network congestion and possibly change the market for such equipment for good.The technology from the world's No. 2 mobile gear maker after Ericsson shares network resources across mobile and broadband networks, similar to cloud computing.

The technology from the world's No. 2 mobile gear maker after Ericsson shares network resources across mobile and broadband networks, similar to cloud computing."For operators it offers a better use of capital. You invest in total network load, not in peak levels," Phil Twist, head of marketing at NSN's Network Systems unit, said in an interview.
Telecom operators around the world are struggling with a shortage of network capacity as the use of video on smartphones and tablets proliferates. The shortages usually occur during rush hours at specific locations.Telecom operators around the world are struggling with a shortage of network capacity as the use of video on smartphones and tablets proliferates. The shortages usually occur during rush hours at specific locations.

Networks at city centers are crowded, base stations in suburbs which are scarcely used during the daytime. With traditional technology, operators have to buy new base stations for the centers to cope with the growth.The technology of the 50-50 venture of Nokia and Siemens removes the computing power unit, one of the two key units of traditional station, from the base station. The network shares computing power between all stations.

This poses a risk to market leader Ericsson, as well as Chinese players Huawei and ZTE, which have stormed the market with cheap and strong dedicated hardware offerings.In recent years, Ericsson and the Chinese firms have put strong pressure on NSN and Alcatel-Lucent which have struggled to make a profit and have been forced to try to find the next breakthrough technology ahead of the others.

Nokia Siemens said it has already started deliveries of its Liquid products. Rival Alcatel-Lucent has unveiled a comparable, stripped down future base station, but it is scheduled to start first deliveries only next year.

Google+ Goes Public!! Its Open TO All !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Google launched its social networking platform in June 2011, allowing users to sign up to Google's social network with an invitation. The company has now introduced "open sign-ups". Google integrated its flagship search engine into its 3-month old social network -- with membership now open to the Internet public -- and expanded its "Hangouts" video-chat feature to allow mobile use and broadcasting.

On its company blog, Vic Gundotra, senior vice-president of engineering, said: "For the past 12 weeks we've been in field trial. We're nowhere near done but with the improvements we've made so far we're ready to move from field trial to beta and introduce our 100th feature: open sign-ups. This way anyone can visit Google+, join the project and connect with the people they care about."Eden Zoller, principal analyst at Ovum, said Google+ completes the company's portfolio of services.

Google has even shoved a reference to Google+ on its search homepage, by pointing a blue arrow to a link labelled "You+". Despite that, many would claim Google+ is still searching for its G-spot.And a user can now host an online broadcast with this feature -- recording a session and broadcasting it live for public access online. Black Eyed Peas front man will.i.am will host the first "Hangout on Air" on Wednesday, Google said.Zoller said the biggest challenge for Google will be in differentiating against Facebook. "This won't be easy as Facebook is quick to introduce new features and has had the benefit of being able to watch the trial of Google+ prior to its beta launch this week," he said.

"Google has been slow to formulate a coherent social networking strategy, which is more than an oversight given the assets Google has in this area and the fact that strong social networks have scale, thriving developer communities, big audiences and a monetisation strategy based on advertising. This is core to Google's own interests - and of course other social networks already established in the market,"said Eden Zoller, principal analyst at Ovum

"Hangouts should keep pace with how you socialize in the real-world, so today we're launching it on the one device that's always by your side: your mobile phone," senior vice president of engineering Vic Gundotra said on the blog post.Google did not say how many people had signed up for Google+ so far, but confirmed the social network was now open to all, whereas previously it had been invitation-only. Analysts estimate upward of 25 million users have joined Google+ since its inception.

The company also made its search engine available from within the social network. Users can search from Google+ and get results not just on the network, but from the worldwide Internet.Google's infant social network, which counts Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg as a member, has met skepticism so far. Some are waiting to see if it can maintain the rapid momentum of its first months.

Google Wallet Service Hits The Streets

Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) met its self-imposed goal to launch its mobile payment service this summer, as Google Wallet rolled out Sept. 19 to allow consumers in New York and San Francisco pay retailers with their mobile phones.Google Wallet's US launch was limited to Citi bank accounts and its own prepaid card, and was only accepted on MasterCard's PayPass terminals. Visa has wasted no time announcing that it too will be finding space in the Google Wallet, and that Wallet users will be able to pay anywhere there's a Visa PayWave terminal installed too.

Visa will be joining MasterCard in Google Wallet, making the Chocolate Factory's service acceptable just about everywhere - if you have the right app installed.The launch came with a surprise bonus: Visa, American Express and Discover have joined Citi and MasterCard as credit card partners.Unveiled in Google's New York office in May, Google Wallet includes a mobile application that communicates with smartphones equipped with near field communications (NFC), a short distance wireless technology.













Just about every payment terminal shipped these days supports NFC (the near-field communications radio standard used to make the payments), and millions of Europeans can already make payments of up to £15 with a tap of a card, though few of them are aware of it. Those payments are based on PayWave and PayPass - provided by Visa and MasterCard respectively - and most terminals support both these days.Sprint Nexus S 4G phone owners will receive access to the Wallet through an over-the-air update. Once they receive the app, Nexus S 4G owners can tap their phones against an NFC-enabled cash register to pay for goods at some 20 retailers and restaurants.

At the launch of Google's virtual pockets, a bank wanting to create an instance of their credit card for Wallet had to sign up with MasterCard, which was quite a limitation. Only now, thanks to Visa, they won't, and Google Wallet can play on an equal footing with operator-backed Isis as the shape of the industry starts to come together.That industry is settling on a model that adds an additional layer to the distribution of credit cards, allowing that layer freedom to make money from coupons and other kinds of on-handset advertising while the traditional players make money in the usual way.

Visa also said Google has licensed for payWave contactless payment software, the card provider's answer to MasterCard PayPass, at hundreds of thousands of cash registers all over the world. This deal will enable Visa account holders to make purchases using Wallet."Our goal is to make it possible for you to add all of your payment cards to Google Wallet, so you can say goodbye to even the biggest traditional wallets," Bedier said, adding the Wallet would be available on more phones in the future.

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Google's offering is physically inside the handset, so one can change operator or SIM without moving one's account. The consortia systems allow one to change handsets without affecting the account, but lock the user to the network operator. Banks will probably provide instances of credit cards suitable for all the popular platforms, so users will have to decide if they want to be locked to their network operator, or the Chocolate Factory, but they'll have to be locked somewhere.Without Visa's support Google Wallet was going to have a hard time making progress, but with it onboard the platform is free to compete with network operators for ownership of the customers' pockets, at least until Apple steps into the NFC arena and changes the rules for everyone

Google believes it has the advantage of incentive with Google offers, the company's Groupon clone service that entices consumers with discounts of 50 percent off or more for goods and services. Offers is live in three dozen cities around the country, including in San Francisco and New York, where Wallet is now available.