Starting tonight, cellphones are going to DIE

Or less dramatically, if you have a Chinese mobile -- most of which do not have IMEI numbers -- there is need to worry, as the ICI (Indian Cellular Association) will be imposing a ban on the use of such cellphones starting midnight tonight.

IMEI numbers or International Mobile Equipment Identity numbers are unique numbers assigned to each handset. In case of loss or theft of cellphones, these can be used to track your mobile.

Often, stolen phones are sold with their IMEI number erased, or using an IMEI number from another cellphone. As such, ensuring that each cellphone which is operational is using a unique IMEI number has obvious benefits.

Additionally, terrorists can take advantage of blank or cloned IMEI to make their phones difficult to track. This is a good move for the security of the country, and will additionally aid in reduction of cellphone thefts too.

If you are not too sure about your phone (and even otherwise) you can test the authenticity of your IMEI number by sending a message to 53232 "IMEI " You can find out your IMEI number by pressing *#06# on your cellphone.

BlackBerry Curve 8520 for under Rs 16,000!

Well, this one caught us by surprise. Research In Motion usually has a price tag of Rs 20,000 or higher on all their new BlackBerry handsets launched in India. So when a press release from Bharti Airtel landed in our inbox and said the new Curve 8520 would be available for Rs 15,990, it was reason for a double take.

The phone sports a 2.64-inch TFT screen (65K colours, 320x240 pixels) that offers the latest version of the wonderful BlackBerry OS. The popular ‘pearl’ trackball, however, is missing and has been replaced by a standard trackpad. BlackBerry Curve 8520

The full Qwerty keypad stays intact and holds 256MB of memory underneath. Of course, this can be increased by a further 16GB provided you have a microSD card of that size.

In a perplexing move, the handset is adorned with dedicated music keys. We say perplexing because a standard 3.5-mm audio jack seems to be missing! So RIM wants you to play your music, but just not use your own headphones while you’re at it.

The 2-megapixel camera on the back is not going to impress anyone, nor is the standard connectivity options such as Wi-Fi, Bluetooth with A2DP, microUSB port, GPS and A-GPS (with BlackBerry Maps). And no, there is no 3G on board.

For what can only be a phone targeted at the office-going professional, a reported talk-time of 4 hours and 30 minutes seems a bit less to us. Still, for that low price tag, we guess the company had to cut corners somewhere…

Interested readers can grab the handset from any Bharti Airtel showroom from August 7 onwards.

Silverlight invited to Apple's temple of sanctity

Soon we will have silverlight content on the iPhone! Well not really. However, apparently Microsoft has "worked with Apple" to bring one of the most important functions of browser plugins today to the Apple iPhone, web video.

Web video has rightly become the domain of the Flash player, and is one of it's claim to fame an ubiquity. Now Microsoft's Silverlight is treading on Flash Player's turn by providing playback of video content in Silverlight on the iPhone.

It is by no means the full Silverlight browser plugin, however Microsoft has used a combination of server side features and client side support for video playback in the iPhone safari browser to enable video content delivered using Silverlight to also work on iPhones.

Open-source Google Chrome OS will be available only on closed line-up of devices

All right, so TechCrunch was off about Google launching the much-hyped Chrome OS this week; but what Google has done is make the source code for it available for download to anyone interested. So basically, the people at Google and external coders can now work on the underlying operating system at the same time, said Sundar Pichai, Vice President of Product Management.

In a demonstration of the new Chrome OS at the Google headquarters at Mountain View, California, Pichai mentioned a few things that are worth noting. First, that the operating system is, as expected, a glorified version of the Chrome browser itself. The look and feel are pretty much the same, with just more eye-candy and features in the Chrome OS.

Also, the Chrome OS will work only on Solid State Drives, said Matthew Papakipos, Engineering Director for Google Chrome OS. That’s right, no hard disks with moving parts will be supported. So if you planned on running this on your computer with a dual-boot system, think again! More importantly, Pichai said that the amount of hardware supported will be selective and Google will support only ‘referenced hardware’. The company will be tying up with hardware manufacturers to offer the new Chrome OS on selected devices – netbooks, tablets, laptops or anything else. An open-source operating system on a closed line-up of devices? Irony, thy name is Google!

One extremely impressive factor of the demonstration was the boot-up time. From a cold boot on what looked like an Asus EEE netbook PC, Chrome OS was at the login screen in seven seconds. Google said it will take only another three seconds to be on the Web and browsing. Quite cool, that…

Wirefree and Cool

Studies in human psychology have shown that the way we carry ourselves is what decides our level of appeal to the opposite sex. A small poll of the fairer sex, conducted by a notable tech publishing company, has revealed that this applies to not just what we wear, but also what we carry.

For more detail on Wirefree and Cool log on to http://www.thinkdigit.com/General/Wirefree-and-Cool_3723.html

The Google Phone is real and it’s coming early next year

Leading technology news blog TechCrunch has some solid Google sources. Its past successes in Google-related information include talking about Android before anyone else, about the Chrome OS and its ‘coming this week’ tag, and several other manufacturer-related Android news. So when they stick their neck out and say that the ‘Google Phone’ we have all dreamed of is real, we would tend to believe them.

The article states that some of the information is from solid sources, while some of it is currently in the ‘rumour’ phase.

Now, Windows 7 on a phone! And ViewSonic is set to launch WinXP phone…

It seems like Windows XP is actually being looked at as an operating system for cell phones now. We have previously featured ITG’s xpPhone, which claims to run Microsoft’s operating system with a custom UI. Now, ViewSonic might be opting for the same to make its entry into the mobile phone market.

ClonedInChina is reporting that the renowned LCD monitor manufacturer is coming out with a new handset that runs on Windows XP. Called the VCP08, the device will be powered by an Intel ULV processor, have 8GB of memory, 512MB RAM, 4.3-inch touchscreen, full QWERTY keyboard and a 2-megapixel camera. The flip phone will have a smaller 2-inch display on the top, complete with a numeric keypad for normal phone operations.

ClonedInChina is quoting the price of the phone at $800 (Rs. 37,000 approx).

Windows 7Phone

Icons of Trust - 2009

In this fourth instalment of Digit’s Icons of Trust survey, we’ve listened to some of the lakhs of Digit readers out there, heard their opinions, tabulated everything, and come to conclusions. The results are out, and it’s time to hear what India’s most influential technology community has to say to all the brands out there

more information about Icons of Trust log on to http://www.thinkdigit.com/

Did Nvidia CEO Just Reveal the Apple Tablet?

Well, well, well, what have we here! The gesturing man with the funny expression in the above picture is Nvidia CEO Jen-Hsun Huang, talking to Shufflegazine, an Apple fans magazine. And right in front of him is a wonderful little tablet device that could perhaps be the first look we have at the upcoming Apple tablet.

Huang talked about Apple a lot with the magazine, saying: “Apple uses the best technology for their [computers]. Apple says to their customers: if you buy a computer from us, you can be sure we have selected the best technology inside for you. That is their promise to consumers. Their promise to consumers isn’t ‘we’ve selected the best technology for you with the exception of what Intel allows us to use’. That’s not their promise. And that’s why Apple uses the best technology where they want whenever they want. And that’s why I’m all Apple! At home, it’s just Macs everywhere. It’s Nvidia’s technology in all of them, but I use Macs. My son has two Macs, my daughter has a Mac, there’s an extra Mac just in case and my wife has a Mac. It’s just Mac, Mac, Mac! Because I know it’s got the best stuff inside.”


HP Compaq 2510p | ACi Impression M11 | Dell XPS 420 | Lenovo ThinkCentre A61e | Acer Aspire 3684NWXCi | Lenovo Y410 | Lenovo 3000 N200 | Zenith Admirale | Dell Inspiron 1720

iPod Touch 32GB

Apple’s intent behind the iPod Touch was simple – take the much praised (and admittedly brilliant) interface on the iPhone and design a PMP around it. Thus was born the iPod Touch. It’s built exceedingly well and feels very solid in-hand. The screen is a glorious 3.5-inches and everything from the menu and usability, to its interface and the screen clarity, is top class. We noticed the first generation of iPod Touch had a screen with a noticeable blue tinge, the newer models have a noticeable yellow tinge that is not as bad, but the colours are not neutral and there’s nothing you can do about it. Being based on flash memory, transfers are slower than the Classic – a shame.

The latest firmware (3.1.1) slows things down a bit and the once snappy Touch’s menus have gotten slower after this upgrade. The new firmware also brings a lot of nifty little additions to the device and we’re happy to report most of the additions, while minor go a long way in enhancing the experience of using the Touch. The screen is excellent for movies although the trauma associated with using iTunes leaves lasting mental scars. Colour and crispness is very good and this is highly suitable as a video PMP

Apple iPhone 3G | Blackberry Bold | LG KC550 | Motorola MotoYUVA W230 | Nokia N96 | Nokia E51

Acer launches three new touchscreen phones in India, starting at Rs. 11,900

Mobile phones with touch-sensitive screens seem to be getting cheaper by the day. Nokia, Samsung and LG have already joined the bandwagon, and it seems that it’s Acer’s turn now, with the launch of three new phones – two in this lower segment and one premium model.

The company has tied up with Tata Docomo to offer initial buyers free download data of 500MB per month for the first six months.

beTouch e101
The lowest end of the new series is the beTouch e101, which comes with a 3.2-inch resistive touchscreen TFT (65K colours, 240x320 pixels), complete with a scroll wheel under it for easier navigation. Running on Windows Mobile 6.5, the device comes equipped with a 2-megapixel camera (albeit without flash or autofocus), 256MB RAM, 512MB ROM (expandable via microSD), and the complete Pocket Office suite. Since it doesn’t have 3G or Wi-Fi, EDGE and Bluetooth will have to suffice for connectivity. The 1140mAh battery claims to last for 5 hours of talk-time and 400 hours of standby time.

The Acer beTouch e101 retails at Rs. 11,900.

Sony Ericsson Xperia X1 | PalmOne Treo 600 | ASUS P525 |Palm Treo 750 | LG Black Label Series KE970 | BenQ-Siemens Q-fi EF71 | N85 8 GB | LG KU990 Viewty

Windows 7 still needs anti-virus, susceptible to 8 out of 10 viruses

During the launch of the new Windows 7, Microsoft had a lot to say about the safety features it offered, and especially protection from viruses and malware. While it was always meant to be taken with a pinch of salt, the guys at security firm Sophos decided to put the operating system to the test.

Chester Wisniewski of Sophos writes that they loaded up a machine with a fresh version of Windows 7, and left all the User Account Control options at default. Then, they grabbed the next 10 unique virus samples that arrived in the SophosLabs feed to see how well the newer, more secure version of Windows and UAC held up.

“Unfortunately, despite Microsoft's claims, Windows 7 disappointed just like earlier versions of Windows. The good news is that, of the freshest 10 samples that arrived, 2 would not operate correctly under Windows 7,” Wisniewski writes.

Lesson learned? You still need to run anti-virus on Windows 7. A viable option could be the new, free Microsoft Security Essentials suite that the company has launched recently. Ars Technica reported a few days ago on an antivirus comparison by AV-Comparative that puts Microsoft Security Essentials as the best free anti-virus solution out there, ahead of names like AVG, Avast and Avira.

Windows 7 debut is a hit
Meanwhile, market analysis firm NPD has released a report that says Windows 7 has done extremely well since its launch on October 22. According to NPD’s weekly tracking service, Windows 7 software unit sales in the U.S. were 234 per cent higher than Vista’s first few days of sales.

“Microsoft’s program of early low-cost pre-sales, high visibility marketing, and aggressive deals helped make the Windows 7 software launch successful,” said Stephen Baker, vice president of industry analysis at NPD. “In a slow environment for packaged software Windows 7 brought a large number of customers into the software aisles.”