Sony Ericsson announces two new Handsets

It’s good news for Sony Ericsson fans. Two new handsets has been announced with an expected availability from Q4 2009. The handset on the left is dubbed as “Yari” which seems to be a Wii like gesture based gaming device. “Yari is the industry’s first mobile phone with gesture gaming outside of the Japanese market,” said Catherine Cherry, Market Business Manager at Sony Ericsson. I think we will soon see a lot of people swinging and moving their arms weirdly with this device in their hands. Other usual specs include, 2.4 inch screen with 262K colours and 240x320 pixels resolution, 5 megapixel camera with autofocus, built in GPS and all the usual stuff.

The Handset on the right is dubbed as “Aino”, which includes both numeric slider and a touch screen. However, the touch screen is activated only on the media mode. The device looks cool and features a 3 inch screen with 16M colours, 8.1 megapixel camera with autofocus, etc. Additional features include, support for Media Go and Remote Play for use with Playstation 3. What I really don’t understand is, why is the touch functionality limited to be used only on the media mode for such a beautiful handset? Hit on the read link for the official press release.

Read - Gesture gaming is here with the Sony Ericsson

Microsoft is finally ready to take on Google Search

Google search has been the king of search engines for quite a long time. If you ever thought that no other company would dare to replace Google Search, you were wrong. Meet Bling, Microsoft’s attempt to “deliver the best results, presented in a more organized way to simplify key tasks and help you make important decisions faster”. Microsoft has been testing Bing for some time under the code name "Kumo". Though Bing might yield the same results which Google search might yield, it’s the presentation of the results where Bing outshines Google. Bing tries to add as much information as possible related with our search query and displays them as a neatly organized search result. This is pretty useful when our search is related with shopping, travel, health, whether, news, etc.

Microsoft has added a number of features to Bling to make it look different and better than Google Search. However, Bing is not always superior than Google Search. There are times when Google Search might yield better results than Bing and vice versa. With all the bells and whistles, will Bing replace Google Search? Definitely not. But, Bing will remain as a very good alternative with some added features which are most of the time useful. Maybe Microsoft is aware of this and that is why they call Bing as a decision engine and not a search engine. Microsoft Bling is set to launch worldwide on June 3rd. Until then, click on the read link for the demonstration video on the official page.

Read – Introducing Bing

Google tries to redefine web communication

Google I/O developer conference kicked off 2 days back and there has been tons of discussions about upcoming technologies and innovations from developers across the globe. With too many things going on, the biggest announcement seems to be the “Google Wave”. The master minds behind Google Wave are, Lars and Yen Rasmussen, the same guys behind Google Maps. After almost 2 years of research, they have come up with a new technology which can possibly change the way we all communicate in the web. The major breakthrough here is, users can send and receive richly formatted text in real time. This means that, we no longer have to wait with messages like, “typing a message” or “entered text” anymore. Google calls this as concurrent rich-text editing. Every key pressed by one user is reflected immediately on the screen of the other user in real time.

Now, by applying this technology to email, productivity tools, social networks, blogging and many other similar services, Google Wave may revolutionize the way we communicate and collaborate in the web today. Many of the possibilities demonstrated were simply mind blowing. The most interesting part of the demo was the software's ability to translate each and every word in the preferred language, again in real time. However, since the technology relies heavily on HTML 5, it’s still far from release. As expected, Google Wave is open source, which means that more and more features will be added by a wide variety of developer communities, as the product evolves. Hit on the read link for the news on the official Google blog and the ultra cool demonstration video.

Read - Went Walkabout. Brought back Google Wave.

Microsoft announces Zune HD

After a month of speculations and rumors, Microsoft finally decided to officially announce it’s next generation portable media players. What you see above is Microsoft’s answer to Apple’s IPod touch. Dubbed as Zune HD, the device features a 3.3" 16:9 OLED display with a resolution of 480 x 272, capacitive multi touch screen display, a built-in HD Radio receiver, HD-compatible output, full-screen Internet browser, Wi-Fi support and possibly more. Microsoft is still mum about CPU power, storage capacity, battery performance and few others. The device already looks ultra cool and impressive on spec, it seems that Microsoft has a real winner here. With Microsoft’s upcoming Windows marketplace and Xbox live integration, I believe Zune HD poses a real threat to Apple’s IPod Touch. Now, if Microsoft can add a phone support to this device, the entire mobile industry will be stunned. Hopefully we’ll have more info during E3 next week. Until then, hit on the read link for the official press release.

Read - ZUNE SPOTLIGH

Nokia Ovi Store - now available worldwide

It's a happy day for all Nokia smartphone owners. Nokia has finally made the Ovi Store available for it's worldwide audience. For those who are unaware, Ovi store is Nokia's version of online marketplace where users can download tons of useful applications, games, etc and use many services like maps, photo sharing, music download, online storage, etc for their smartphones. It's quite clear that the company is following the footsteps of Apple. Apple has opened a new world of possibilities for both devolopers and consumers with it's hugely successful AppStore. The unexpected success of AppStore has resulted in every major company coming up with their own version of mobile marketplace including, Windows Marketplace by Microsoft, Android Market by Google, Blackberry App World by RIM and App Catalog by Palm. Only time will tell if Nokia can really match up with AppStore and many other similar services. Hit on the read link for the official Ovi Store page.

Read - Nokia Ovi Store

Lenova IdeaCentre all-in-one A600 desktop computer gets reviewed

Lenova first announced A600 around January. Now after 5 months, the company is finally shipping the product to customers and as expected, reviews have started appearing everywhere. Initial reviews seems to be positive on many aspects with a only a few disappointments due to the presence of an external power brick, oddly placed optical drive, poor gaming performance, etc. Other than that, the PC seems to be the best choice for anyone who wants a decent all-in-one desktop computer with a 1920x1080 21.5" display, great looks, tv tuner(optional) and a reasonable price. The price of A600 starts from $679 and $1,149 for the high end version which includes additional features like a blueray recordable drive, 1 TB HDD, etc. The all-in-one desktop computer market is heating up with the big players in the industry like Dell, Asus, Acer and Lenova manufacturing their own models. Hit on the read link for the official page on Lenova.com

Read - IdeaCentre A Series all-in ones

Google Chrome 2.0 now available

Disappointed with IE? Bored with Firefox? PC users rejoice! Google has finally announced the stable version of it's popular browser, Chrome 2.0. Google chrome has been available for almost 8 months and was under extensive testing by the Google team. After numerous improvements and bug fixes, the team has decided to move the browser from beta version to a stable channel. As expected, the latest version sports number of cool new features and performance improvements. Some noticable improvements include, Improved New Tab Page, Full Screen Mode, Form Autofill, etc. The team claims that they have fixed more than 300 bugs since it's initial release. Hit on the read link for the official blog page for Google Chrome.

Read - A Speedier Google Chrome for all users

Mozilla announces Alpha version of Fennec

Everybody loves Mozilla Firefox now a days. Firefox is slowly gaining it's marketshare in the desktop browser war. It beats IE in many aspects and proves to be a clear winner for windows based PCs. But how about the cell phone market? While the mobile browsers are currently dominated by Safari, IE and Opera, you really thought Mozilla would just sit and watch? Definitely not! Meet "Fennec", a codename for the Mozilla's mobile version of Firefox. They are hoping to provide the same open source browser engine, optimized for mobile use. Looks like both touch screen version and non-touch screen version are under development. If Mozilla gets it right, mobile browser war would turn out very interseting. To get things started, Mozilla has just announced the availability of Alpha version of Fennec. It should be noted that this release is intended only for developers and is very far from the final version. But still, if you really want to try and test it, you can very well go ahead and download the latest build for your Windows Mobile 6 based device by following the instructions on the read link below.

Read - Installing Fennec on Windows Mobile

"Touchstone" - the next generation of mobile chargers?

While the entire mobile industry is quite excited about the launch of Palm Pre (the next generation mobile phone from Palm) next month, it's not only about the phone, but also about the wireless charger which the company is expected to launch alongside. You read it right, a charger which has no wires at all. The basic principle behind such a device is that, current passes through a coil embedded in to the charging pad, generating a magnetic field which in turn generates a charge in the Palm Pre’s magnetic coil, powering the battery. Palm is the first company in the mobile industry to announce such a product. The picture you see above is what Palm calls as "Touchstone", which can be used as a docking station for your Palm Pre. All you have to do is place your phone on the dock and it will automatically align your phone in the proper position and immediately charges your phone. The company claims that this cool device, charges your device in same amount of time as a wall charger would do, but I would say that we should wait for the final product to hit the stores before getting our hopes high. Palm has really made a bold move here by introducing this technology into the cell phone market. It's really hard to believe that this was not realized by any other companies all these days. However, a new wave of chargers are born and I believe all other manufacturer will soon follow the same trend. Hit on the read link for the official page.

Read - Palm Touchstone

Microsoft releases Service Pack 2 for Vista

Microsoft has been pretty busy these days. Just a few days back they announced the availability of Windows 7 RC1 and now they have annonced the availability of Service Pack 2 of it's much disaoppointed operating system, "Windows Vista" and Windows Server 2008 , available for download to the members of MSDN (Microsoft Developer Network) and Microsoft TechNet. Public availability of this latest update is expectd to hit around the first week of June. Service Pack 2 has a number of new features including the ability to natively record in Blu-ray format, Bluetooth 2.1 connectivity, faster Wi-Fi resume after hibernation, ability to configure the maximum number of TCP connections and many more. Releasing SP2 now is a smart move from Microsoft, to boost sales of Vista until Windows 7 hits the market hopefully around October this year. For those who can't wait till June for the public availaility, SP2 is already available on torrent for immediate download. Hit on the read link for the full list updates and fixes.

Read - Notable Changes in Windows Server 2008 SP2 and Windows Vista SP2

Amazon launches next version of it's e-reader - Kindle DX

For those of you who are unaware, Amazon Kindle is a software and hardware platform for reading electronic books (e-books), developed by Amazon.com and was first released in the United States on November 19, 2007. Upon it's initial launch, this cool device had 88,000 digital titles and now after almost 18 months there are 275,000 titles available for download. After the initial success, Amazon released Kindle 2 on February 9, 2009 which had a bigger display, longer battery life, slimmer and faster than the original Kindle. And now after 15 months, Amazon finally announce it's next version of it's popular e-reader, Kindle DX. The latest version has a 9.7-inch display and can display 16 shades of grey, with a 1200x824 pixel resolution. Other features include an auto-rotating screen, built-in PDF Reader, 3G wireless, long Battery Life and more. According to the site, Kindle DX will be released this summer and is now available for pre-order. The new device looks incredibly sleek and very promising with a lot of new features. The only downside seems to be the $489 price tag it carries. Hit on the read link for the official page on Amazon.com for more details.

Read - Kindle DX: Amazon's 9.7" Wireless Reading Device (Latest Generation)

GE promises 500 GB of data on a DVD-Size Disc

Can you imagine 500 GB of storage on a DVD sized disc? Well, General Electronics has made that dream a possibility. The researchers at GE have developed a new recording technique called as - "micro-holographic storage", which is believed to revolutionize the next generation of optical storage. GE has been working on holographic storage for six years and the 500GB capacity is a milestone in its research. GE's Bill Kernick said, "GE’s holographic storage program has turned the corner, and with this milestone we can now intensify our efforts in commercialization opportunities. We’ll continue to engage with a variety of strategic partners to create the best route from product development to introduction into the marketplace". They are also trying to achieve 1000 GB on a single disc. However, all these are in experimental stages right now and might take some time to be available for commercial use. Until then, Blue Ray is the choice storage media for a few more years to come. Hit on the read link for the full article on Informationweek.com

Read - GE Develops 500 GB DVD-Size Disc