India's first 4G LTE phone : Huawei Ascend P1 LTE launched in India by Airtel

At Qualcomm's IQ conference in New Delhi, Airtel and Huawei launched the first LTE-based smartphone in India - Meet the Huawei Ascend P1 LTE.

The smartphone will run on Bharti Airtel's 4G LTE network which is already rolled out in Kolkata and Bangalore; as well as in Pune, where 4G is expected to launch very soon. Huawei Ascend P1 runs Android Ice cream sandwich 4.0.4 with Huawei's custom UI on top, dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 processor, 1 GB RAM, 4 GB user memory, a microSD slot, 4.3" AMOLED display with a screen resolution of 960x540 pixels with scratch-resistent Corning Gorilla glass, 8 MP camera and a good 1800 mAh battery.
Huawei Acsend P1 can only use 4G network in India, because of the 2300 MHz radio allotted to 4G spectrum by the Indian government.  Bharti Airtel is going to offer seamless Roaming between 4G LTE and 3G /GSM network across India. The device can handles high speed data on the LTE network (4G) and voice calls on the underlying 3G network using Circuit Switched Voice Fall Back (CSFB voice) technology.
Neither price of the handset nor availability is announced today.

Source : Telecom Talk, UnleashThePhones

How To : Partition your computer's hard drive without formatting

Many a times, the new laptops which come with Windows 7 pre-installed, offer no partition. There is a huge C drive which houses Windows system files. So it becomes a little difficult to partition the hard drive. It is recommended to store your important data such as documents and pictures on a different partition, so they can be safe even if the OS needs to be re-installed due to some failure or virus attack.

Luckily, Windows 7 sports a feature called as Disk Management, which lets you modify the hard drives. It is, although, hidden deep into the settings and not directly accessible through Control Panel. Let us see how to split the hard disk to a new partition.

Step 1 : Firstly, press Start on your Windows 7 machine, and type "Computer Management" in the search bar at the bottom. In the list that appears in Search Results, click on the program "Computer Management". A new window will open.

Step 2 : Click on the option "Disk Management" (highlighted in the above image).

Step 3: Right-click on the drive that you wish to split. Select "Shrink Volume". A dialog box will appear which asks the amount of megabytes by which to shrink the drive.

Step 4 : Select a size you wish, which should be less than the free space left in that drive.

Step 5: After the drive is shrunk, there appears an "Un-allocated Space". Right click on it and select "New simple volume". Fill up the dialog box appropriately and a new partition will be created.

Mapify your Facebook : Add a map as cover image of your Facebook profile

 Since Facebook has introduced the option to add large cover images to the timeline, it has become an extremely popular feature. Now there is a web-app to use a map of a place as the cover image of your timeline. Created by Technologies Evangelist, Simon Madine, Covermap.me gives your Facebook timeline a very distinctive and a very personal look.

 When asked about how he got the idea for this innovative website, Simon answers to a blog :

 A little while ago, Facebook introduced timeline cover images where you could upload a large image to appear at the top of your Facebook profile page. Naturally, my first thought was “Maps!” so I uploaded a Nokia Map centered on Berlin (where my office is based). After a couple of people comment that they like it, I realized I could make it into a fun little web service where people could do this automatically.

 When you sign in to covermap.me with your Facebook account, it shows you a map the same size and shape as the Facebook cover image with your profile picture in the bottom left. It tries to centre on your current location but you can search for anywhere. Once you’re happy with the map position, the next step allows you to choose between different map tile styles – standard, terrain, public transport networks, etc. When you’ve picked a style you like, another button press will upload the image to Facebook and ask you to confirm that you want to set it as your profile image. Cool, isn't it?

How to use older applications with Windows 7 using Virtual PC

There are a lot of old applications that used to work with Windows 98 and Windows XP, that refuse to run in Windows Vista and Windows 7. Many developers didn't update their software to work with the latest version of Windows, and users are missing out the functionality. That is a reason why many enterprises and companies are still sticking to Windows XP in their computers.

Microsoft has stopped selling Windows XP officially, now that Windows 8 is at the horizon. But many application developers have not upgraded their software to support the new version of Windows, and the applications fail to load in Windows 7 and 8. To use those, users had to dual boot their PCs with Windows 7 and Windows XP, but that's not a legal way to do it. Besides, it needs frequently restarting to switch between the operating systems. There is an elegant solution provided by Microsoft, which is absolutely safe, legal and advantageous -- Microsoft Virtual PC.

This guide will be useful to set up Winodws XP Mode in a Virtual PC environment:

Step I : Make sure that your computer meets the minimum requirements for Virtual PC here. Yes? Then, good. Then visit here, download and run Microsoft's tool which examines the system and tells you if your hardware is capable or not. If the tool says that 'Virtualisation is enabled', then go to Step II. If virtualisation is not enabled, visit here to learn how to change BIOS settings.

Step II : Visit this website and click on 'Get Windows XP Mode and Windows Virtual PC now'. http://www.microsoft.com/windows/virtual-pc/

Step III : Select your version of current OS and language, and download both 'Windows Virtual PC' and 'Windows XP Mode'.

Step IV : Run the files as per instructed on the screen, and you will find Windows Virtual PC folder in Start Menu. Select Windows Virtual PC in that folder. From here, you can start a virtual machine 'Windows XP Mode'.
Windows XP will load in a window and the screen will look something like this after loading.

Step V : You can install applications and access filesystem from Windows XP Mode as you normally do. Install your applications in it, and they will flawlessly work.

The Windows XP mode uses a virtual hard drive, which is not available from Windows 7 environment. Although, you can see the drives on Windows 7 in XP Mode's My Computer, so you can copy files.

Closing the virtual PC will shut down the Windows XP environment.

Have fun!

(If you are an advanced user and want to change the settings of Virtual Machine, right click on it and select Settings.)

Sony Xperia S gets included in Android Open Source Project; Bootloader unlocked

Sony mobile's flagship smartphone Sony Xperia S has been included in Android Open Source Project by Google. This means that Xperia S owners can enjoy vanilla Android on their mobile. This means a nexus like treatment and timely updates as well as the feel of stock Android experience. Xperia S is the only non-Nexus device which has been awarded with this honor.

LightReading : Ten Reasons to opt for the Nokia N8 over the 808

Steve Litchfield from All About Symbian has posted an article emphasizing why the two year old Nokia N8 is still relevant in the current smartphone scenario. Nokia 808 PureView has clear advantages over N8 in many ways, and it is undoubtedly the best Symbian experience ever. But there are certain little things that are lost as technology moves forward. The article shows the little advantages of N8.
Steve quotes,

But, as ever in the mobile world, every device tends to bring a few steps forward and at least one step backwards, i.e. progress is made, but the older devices often have a few facets which are better - this is normal. 

 Read the full article at the source link : http://www.allaboutsymbian.com/features/item/15557_Ten_Reasons_to_opt_for_the_Nok.php

Nokia Belle Refresh update now rolling out, Symbian users rejoice

The long awaited Symbian Nokia Belle Refresh update is now available to download for the first generation Symbian devices. The list includes N8, E7, C7, X7, C6-01, and Oro. The update is available over the air, or through Nokia Suite as well as from Nokia Software Updater. The update is characterized by version number 111.40.1511. The software update for Nokia E6 is due next week bearing version number 111.140.0058.

The rough changelog is as follows:

• Redesigned browser with support for HTML5 web apps and offline viewing
• More clock and toggle widgets
• Notes and Gallery widgets
• Music player with enhanced functionality like lyrics support
• Nokia N8 will have new image editing apps
• Microsoft Office Mobile 2.01 and Nokia Maps 3.09 included in firmware
• Nokia Social 1.5
• New Nokia Store

Different Types of SD Cards

Last week, the aged memory card in my phone died, and I had no option to buy a new one, as the warranty period of the last one has ended a long time ago. So I was searching for 'microsd card' on eBay, and I got literally confused which one to buy. Because there seemed to be so many different types of classes of microSD cards, I had to go into R&D mode. After searching on Wikipedia and Nokia Support, I finally made up my mind to buy a class 4 microSD HC card with 16GB memory.

Infographic : Mobile Marketing

CJ from UnleashThePhones has shared an interesting infographic about mobile marketing. Take a look:

Source : Unleash The Phones

How to install WhatsApp Messenger on a PC or Laptop using Bluestacks

WhatsApp is a great cross-platform real-time chat service, and many people are using it on their cellphones. However, if you don’t have a smartphone, or just don’t want to spend money on a data plan; you now can try WhatsApp on your PC thanks to Bluestacks App Player.

Bluestacks is an Android emulator for Windows and Mac. It is currently in beta testing and absolutely free.

Step I : Go to http://bluestacks.com/

You will be greeted by a screen similar to this:

Step II : Download and install Bluestacks App Player. If you want to install it on several computers, I will recommend you to download the “different type of installer”.

Step III : You may need .NET framework 3.5 in your PC before you install Bluestacks. If Bluestacks installer gives an error and wants you to download .NET framework 3.5, click here to download.

Step IV: After installing Bluestacks, launch it from Desktop or Taskbar. In the Social tab, you can find WhatsApp. Click on it and it’ll download and install inside Bluestacks.

Step V: Set up WhatsApp at the first start by providing your mobile number (or land line will also do in this case). The app will try to send an SMS to your device, but as there is no way to get that SMS on your PC, it’ll fail. Don’t worry. The timer will eventually reach to zero, and after that click on the option to send the verification ID by calling. Keep the phone within your reach. You’ll get a computer generated call providing you with verification ID. Enter that ID in WhatsApp and it’ll be activated.

Step VI: Install Go Contacts EX on Bluestacks for contact information of all your buddies. If your contacts are synchronised with Gmail, then you can copy them on Bluestacks in a few clicks. Or you can manually add contacts, if you have a plenty of time to kill.

Note: WhatsApp can only send messages to only one device. The user is identified by the phone number. So if you register for WhatsApp on your PC, the mobile client will no longer get messages. I’d recommend using your land line (or any other) number if you want to keep receiving messages on both devices.

If you wish to discontinue using PC and want to go back to using WhatsApp on mobile again, remove it from both devices and reinstall WhatsApp on mobile.

Note: Bluestacks can also be used to install many other android apps and games, so if you don’t own an android device, you can go ahead and try it on your PC! Have fun..!

Apple wins against Samsung in USA, destroys Galaxy brand's reputation

On Friday, Apple won against the conflicting patent war against Samsung. Well, at least in the United Sates. Nine jurors gave the call that Samsung has indeed infringed upon six out of seven patents from Apple. Apple also accuses Samsung for copying the iPhone hardware design. As a result, Samsung has to pay a sum of $1billion+ to Apple. This may also result in a ban on more than 7 Galaxy products, including Nexus S, Galaxy S and Galaxy S II.
The features copied are simple navigation methods that many touchscreen phone users use daily. The list includes scrolling bounce-back,  pinch-to-zoom, tap-to-zoom, centering capability, multi-touch and one-fingered scrolling. The verdict was correct because Apple indeed patented these small methods, and Samsung was guilty on infringing them. The problem lies in the USA patent system.
As a matter of fact, no company should own a patent for basic software related ideas, gestures or designs. Because, in such a system everyone has to apply for patents for numerous small things. The market can evolve this way by competing companies making better products and the consumer gets the benefit.
Now Apple is acting like a stubborn child and it wants nobody to copy their design of iPhone, which is as basic as it gets - a rounded rectangle. Does it matter, really? There are so many TV sets in the market, and they all look the same..! At this moment, Microsoft and Nokia's engineers would be very happy to lock themselves with their distinctive designs of squares and squircles respectively.

Microsoft previews Office 15 in Metro look; calls it Office 2013

Today, Microsoft announced the latest version of it’s productivity software, Microsoft Office 2013. This new version is touch-optimized and visually skinned in an all new Metro look. Metro is the design language followed by Microsoft, which will give Office the same look and feel that Windows 8 and Windows Phone bear.

Office 2013 is designed to be optimized for touch-input, so it will be able to work flawlessly in Touch Mode on Windows 8 tablets. The touch mode makes the spacing of the keys bigger, making items easier to tap with a finger. A reading mode is introduced in Word and PowerPoint which uses swipe gestures and animated transitions to provide a reading experience like a dedicated e-book reader. The ribbon interface is still there, with more customization offered. There is also an ability to edit pdf files directly in office, which can come handy for many users. The rich note-taking application OneNote has gone completely Metro too.