Google announces Android KitKat contest; winners to get Nexus 7

Google has started an Android KitKat contest in India under which it is assuring to provide Nexus 7 to 1000 winners.

All you have to do is to buy a KitKat chocolate with Android logo on it. Each of these KitKat will have a special eight digit code on inside the wrapper. Then you have to SMS that code to 09880298802. To SMS, type KITKAT<8 digit code>, and then send it to the said number. However, the offer is available on KitKat 2F, 4F and Dark versions only.

You can winners list on Android KitKat page; they will also contact if you emerge as a winner. The contest was started on 27th September and will be valid till 15th November.

Google had earlier this month announced that the next version of its Android operating system will be called Android 4.3 aka Kitkat.

Microsoft Office 365 Launched for Students

Microsoft has launched the Microsoft Office 365 targeted at the youth and college going students in India. At the budget rate of Rs 87 per month, the tech giant is offering the service for Rs 4199 for a period of four years.

Microsoft has tied up with major institutes and colleges in the country to offer the service to students. According to Ramkumar Pichai, "University students will love the capabilities of new Office. Office 365 University will be a trusted and integral part of students' everyday always-on, always-connected life, taking full advantage of the cloud and touch capabilities, all at the best price."

The service will ensure that students can easily access all MS files like Word, PowerPoint, Excel, OneNote, Outlook, Publisher and Access. The service will be synced with two PCs or MACs at a time so students can sync their home systems and one another source. Also, Microsoft is offering additional 20 GB Premium SkyDrive Storage to boost sales.

Microsoft Office 365

The company has already collaborated with most colleges and institutions in India and students will have to specify their university credentials before gaining access to the program. Incase a student does not find a particular college listed, additional information about the same can be provided and then access can be gained.

While most science course run a duration of four years, there are multiple other courses which are not longer than three years for graduates and two years for post graduates. In such a scenario, members will be able to use the system for a period of 4 years. 

According to Tarun Malik, Director of Product Management and Strategy at Microsoft India, “Four years is the usual length of a college course that is why the subscription will be for a minimum of that period.”

Microsoft hopes to create an interest in the youth by this move. Also, Office 365 will enable youth of explore all of MS Office tools at once and will also aid the ailing tech giant’s sales. With a rise in alternate services and options, Microsoft needs to push their offerings and promote them among the youth segment which is more open to experimenting and trying out newer products. Whether Microsoft Office 365 manages to penetrate and create an impact, time will tell. 

WhatsApp introduces one-press voice texting, to be rolled out on all operating systems in 24 hours

The company announced the availability of this new feature while announcing that it has now hit the 300 million monthly active users mark.

Instant messaging service WhatsApp has rolled out an update that lets you now send voice texts by just pressing one button.

The company announced the availability of this new feature while announcing that it has now hit the 300 million monthly active users mark.They garnered a whopping 50 million new active users in just 2 months.

With this new feature, you can record and send voice clips with one press of the mic icon.

According to a report in AllThingsD, WhatsApp users now send 11 billion messages and receive 20 billion messages per day - up from 27 billion total in June.
WhatsApp has began rolling out voice messaging for all of its apps, on iPhone, BlackBerry, Android, Windows Phone and Nokia.

Simple and easy:
What's interesting about this feature is that it is simple with less taps on the screen to get the job done.
You just press the record button to record your message and let go of the mic icon once ur done to send the message.
If you decide not to send the message then you just swipe to the left to delete the recording.
There is no time length limit when recording a message therefore users can get as creative as they want.
Another interesting feature is that the playback of a voice text will automatically switch from handset's speakers to its earpiece when the device is held to your ear.
The mic icon also turns blue when recipients have listened to the message .

Feature available in 24 hours
In the report it is also mentioned that WhatsApp with its strength of just 45 employees will push the new voice feature simultaneously on all its platforms and will make it available to all users within 24 hours.

Facebook and WeChat already have the voice texting feature but what's interesting about Whatsapp is its one press voice text feature.
Siddhartha Bhavsaar, a businessman and an active user of WhatsApp from Mumbai is quite happy with the update, " I hate typing. Voice messaging will be so much easier and fun!"
One of the last useful update rolled out by WhatsApp was to allow its users to send batches of photos in one go.
Divya Saboo, a mass media graduate from UPG College of Management in Mumbai feels that the realms of conversation has increased ten-folds. " With family, you normally conversate in your regional language. With voice text now on WhatsApp I can easily communicate with my mother who does not know English effectively."
Rahil Shaikh, a design proffessional does not really think it makes much of a difference. "To voice chat, I will call the person. Why would I voice text and then wait for a reply on WhatsApp. The app is great for free texting and group chats, but there is no need for voice text."
This feature does not need the app updated and will automatically appear on your device once it is rolled out.
Wonder if 'instant video' is the next update from WhatsApp. We can only wait and hope.

Google: No humans read your emails

NEW DELHI: In a vicious attack on Google, Microsoft has alleged that the company violates the privacy of Gmail users by reading their emails to serve up advertisements.

Microsoft, which competes with Google, has also launched a website - www.scroogled.com - that talks about "Google's practice of going through the contents of all Gmail emails to sell and target ads". Google said no humans went through the mails; only algorithms determined the ads.

Param Yuva II: India's fastest supercomputer

The Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC) launches India's fastest supercomputer, Param Yuva II.

Param Yuva II—the fastest supercomputer in India and 62nd fastest in the world—has been upgraded to 524 teraflops which is about 10 times faster than the present facility.

"In terms of power efficiency, it is better than most supercomputing systems and would have achieved 33rd position in the November 2012 List of Top Green 500 supercomputers of the world," claimed C-DAC.

"With an investment of Rs.16 crore, Param Yuva II was developed in a record three months," reported The Economic Times.

This system is designed to solve large and complex computational problems. This will provide an opportunity for new scientific endeavors for the research community. Param Yuva II will help in predictingweather, aircraft designing and finding natural resources.

During the inauguration of Param Yuva II, Department of Electronics and Information Technology (DeitY) Secretary J. Satyanarayana congratulated C-DAC Pune for achieving the 500 TF compute power and dedicated the new and powerful supercomputer to the high performance computing (HPC) user community in the country.

DoT panel moots single licence for TV, telecom

A Department of Telecommunications (DoT) panel has recommended a new unified licence for telecom and broadcasting offerings that would enable end users to get a host of services such as mobile, landline, Direct-to-Home (DTH), cable TV from a single company, without the entity necessarily owning the full  infrastructure.

A DoT committee in its report on unified licencing regime under the National Telecom Policy 2012 has proposed a new kind of licence - unified licence (service delivery) - that can be used by its holder to use infrastructure of other companies to deliver all kind of communication services to subscribers.

This new service operator may not be required to own the complete infrastructure for delivering services.

The panel has also proposed another licence - network services - that will own the network infrastructure to be used by services delivery licence holders.

The report, according to sources, said the end user would be able to "interact with only one operator for all his needs such as fixed telephone, mobile phone and broadband access through fixed line, wireless broadband access, cable television, satellite television, IPTV for residential users... Further a single billing would be feasible."

Apple iPhone 5 Vs iPhone 5S; possible specs showdown

Cupertino based company is set to introduce a new version of its handset. Apple iPhone 5 Vs iPhone 5S specs showdown makes interesting reading

The new iPhone is quite near. As per grapevine, Apple’s new smartphone edition will come sometime mid this year. Many rumor mills have exposed the potential specifications of the new iPhone that may either be named iPhone 5S or iPhone 6. The new iPhone is an upgrade to the current version the iPhone 5, which Apple released as an upgrade to iPhone 4S in October 2012. Here we are up to make a comparison between the current iPhone with the rumored specs of the upcoming iPhone version.

Many Apple fans are looking for such a comparison. In a time the market is getting too many powerful Android devices, Apple needs to launch a rather better new iPhone. The existing iPhone is not as competitive to the new line of Android phones that have quad core CPUs, 1080p display panels, 13MP cameras and more. So Apple fans across the world look forward for getting a new iPhone that shows off many features as competitive to the new Android phones. Here is our iPhone 5 Vs iPhone 5S comparison.

Display Screen: The current iPhone 5 sports a 4-inch display. It is for the first time an iPhone edition has received a larger display. All the previous models of the smartphone have a 3.5-inch display. The 4-inch display uses the company’s Retina Display technology with a resolution of 1136 x 640 pixels at a higher 326-ppi.

The new iPhone, at the same time, is said to tout a bit more large display. There is no clear mention about the display size of the handset. Some say it may have a 4.5-inch display and some say it will be a 5-inch one. Of course, to keep pace with the new series of Android phones, Apple should design its new iPhone with a 5-inch FullHD display.

Processor, Power: The iPhone 5 is equipped with Apple’s A6 chipset, 1GB RAM and 16GB/32GB/64GB internal memory variants. The 2013 model of the device is likely to run on a new processor, most likely one powered by Apple’s new chipset like A6X or A7. The device should get 2GB of RAM, plus a new 128GB model. Apple has recently launched a 128GB edition of its iPad for the special use of enterprise customers. Perhaps, Apple may expand its new iPhone with a 128GB model as well.

Camera: The existing Apple smartphone mounts an 8GB rear camera. It can capture high quality images and videos at 1080p. Apple’s innovative iSight sensor is the unique feature of the device. The new iPhone must tout a massive 13MP camera. In order to vie with the new generations of Android phones, Apple should set up a 13MP or larger camera with its new handset. Furthermore, the device should also come with some novel features for quality images and video clips.

Target Audience: Both the phones almost have the same audience. Apple looks to sell its new iPhone versions primarily among its own consumers. Most of Apple consumers are frantic fans of the firm and its products. So even before launching a new device, there will be huge rumors about it. People used to wait in long queues to book or buy a fresh iPhone.

But, with the new iPhone, Apple should also concentrate on some new customers especially from the Android and Windows Phone fronts. The mobile world undergoes a very tough competition now. Many firms have already launched high end FullHD handsets with quad core processors and other rich specs. So Apple should put iPhone 5S or iPhone 6 for those customers, who might otherwise go for an Android FullHD phone.

Regarding pricing, Apple will also be selling its new iPhone with the same price of its predecessors. Apple used to avail its iPhone for prices of $199, $299 and $399 respectively for the 16GB, 32GB and 64GB models on two year data contract. The new iPhone will most likely carry the same price.