Biggies having a Bad time

First of all a big HI to everyone. Due to obvious reasons (work stress) I haven't been able to blog much this year. Anyways as we celebrate my blog’s 3rd anniversary (Y!), I thought there can never be a better time to restart it. For more personal scoop , keep watching my personal blog [many good stuff in store ;) ]

So if you are a new visitor, you might ask Y Denovos?  Because Denovos brings a new perspective, adds a new dimension, a different view point to the issues you might already know.Alrighty then, lets get down to business.

Yes its true,2010 is even more troublesome than last year. We have been witnessing a lot of new products, developments,releases which also brings in a lot of controversies, complaints , gossips,  etc

A for Apple :

A for Apple  was slightly shaken to A for Antennagate. Seconds later Steve Jobs launched iPhone 4 ,  iPhone 3GS looked like a expensive piece of plastic. Steel frame, Hard glass build, slimmer, Retina Display, 2 cameras, Facetime, it had everything required to do things, other phones can’t even think of .

But the problem was, iPhone 4 couldn’t do what most phones can do – seamless reception of network signals. When users covered the iPhone 4 with their palms (which is a common practice of holding a phone) there was zero signal reception. The new design of the iphone 4 was blamed for this.

Finally Jobs had to have a another press conference to blame the media for “unnecessary hype” , complained al smartphones have the same problem (which was nothing but a twisted truth) and announced they would be giving free cases for iphone 4 users, which solved the issue. Now there are rumors that iPhone 5 will be coming very soon (Q4 – 2011 ) so that  Attenagate is closed and A is again for Awesome Apple.

Will Microsoft bring in Slate-Z ?

NO .Its not announced yet. But as a MS fan,I do want a tablet which has a webcam and SD slots.

I do agree Apple’s iPad is truly an innovative product. I don't know if its going to change the publishing industry , but nevertheless it is a revolutionary device, because it will make computing so simple. Kids and oldies will find iPad a much more easier,enjoyable experience than any other Laptop /Smartphone.

Just picture this,

You are in bed along with your toddler and read him/her Winnie the pooh..only the yellow bear is animated and smiles in bright iPad screen.

The grandpa who is about to kick the bucket, can see his grandson’s latest bday pics lying on the hospital bed,just by touching icons.He might not have held a mouse in his entire life and probably never will.  

But now its  a Apple Device, that means its a luxury product which comes with a premium(and in  iPad’s case without a webcam). So obviously users like me look for a device,which offers value for money . As usual we look up to Microsoft.

Nokia says DtS @ CES 2010

Successful organizations are often seen as mere  Money Making Entities and are often criticized for not doing the “right things” ,without taking it to account their ability to do things right.

The general public often fail to see or rather acknowledge that Corporations are the movers of this world ,moving us to expand ,grow, develop and Progress.

There are around 40+ companies who manufacture mobile phones.Nokia stands as the leader with 52.21% market share (dec 2009) followed by Sony Ericsson @ 15,64%.Rest of the companies have market share of single digit or less than that.

Now what made Nokia to garner this market share??

ADAM without Apple

C’mon seriously…if I had told you that this is the Apple IPAD  which is going to be launched soon,you would have believed,wouldn’t you?

But fortunately or unfortunately, this ADAM is not from Apple ,but Notion Ink (I seriously suspect they named it Adam thinking over Apple :P) Anyways ADAM is the touch tablet or smart pad (as they call it) created by Notion ink – an Indian (jai ho!!) startup  based out of Hyderabad. (checkout their blog)

ADAM has  a writable 10.1-inch TFT  touch screen  weighs around 770grams. Packed with technologies like Blue tooth, a 3MP camera, video recording, USB charging,  32GB data storage, Wi Fi, Lithium Ion batteries ( 48 hours!! backup).

Before you brush Adam aside as a wannabe please note that it has got an nVidia Tegra chip ,Pixel Qi panel that has a low-power transflective display, which allows ambient light to illuminate the screen, and an epaper mode.Get this….this dude runs on An..wait for it.. droid ..  Android.(Sweeeet!! )

Whats more?? no actually less ..yes it costs less than Rs.18000…yep …buying a netbook might not make any sense  anymore….

And last but not  least ADAM will show up in CES 2010..watch out this cool dude with all the hot stuff.

Heathrow throws the driver out

Heathrow Airport in London is one of the busiest airports in the world with over 67 million passengers stopping by annually. The Terminal 5 complex in Heathrow which was opened in 2008 by Her Royal Highness is the largest free-standing structure in the United Kingdom which took 19 years to complete @ the cost of £4 billion.It can handle 35 million passengers annually and it is used exclusively by British Airways.

However, the most unique attraction of Terminal 5 or Heathrow for that matter, is going to be the Personal Rapid Transit or PRT’s.

PRT’s are driverless cabs which look like space pods , will be used for carrying passengers within the Airport

Hi ,Waves Google

After many attempts, I got my Google wave invite from Satish (thanks Doc :P). About 5 months before I had blogged about G Wave (??) and its features.Now a preview is out(invitation only) and it shows what would be the interface where the convergence of various communication & media sharing options will take place(that was the original idea).

The interface reminds me of a email client and the waves remind me of threads in online forums.If u are familiar with threads in online forums(my first forum exp was pagalguy.com) and how discussions take place, then G Wave is almost similar to that . But here you can keep the thread private,choose participants by your choice and has multiple media sharing options like videos and pictures etc,send invites and RSVP’s for events ,parties etc.

Google's video on When to Wave??

Some Q’s came to my mind while waving, why don't they add certain features to Gmail than introducing a whole new product?? Does it mean Gwave will exist along with Gmail? The answer is Gwave is based on a different protocol called XMPP,different from Gmail.Moreover XMPP is a open source protocol which will allow developers to build custom wave engines, add-ons,gadgets etc. To Know more on this read wiki of Google wave Federation Protocol

But still, Isn’t it going to make communication lil more complex? I mean now i have one more inbox to check in and some more messages to reply …but to the same contacts??

Chrome Brow (ser) needs to Grow

Yeah its light ,yeah it loads fast,yeah its smooth,but wats the use ??? Its not working good.

I am yet to Chrome experience that Google says.Every time I log onto to orkut or youtube , it says try Google Chrome.But when I try Chrome ,except for the awesome message (“you are using Google Chrome awesome!!)  nothing else is awesome its all just ..awhh(yawn)

See the pic closely  “Please try using Google Mail with a Supported Browser”  and the browsers was Chrome!!…what can I say?

If this wat Chrome is all about they better chuck their OS plans.If they are serious about it they better make Chrome more robust and btw when the plug-ins are gonna come??

Worst part is Chrome crashes than IE 8..now that's pathetic when something crashes more than a MS product then it has got serious problems

Firefox is the best browser till date,yeah it hogs on memory at least it works.It hardly crashes,even if it does it bounces back in a zing.IE8 is lil faster,but when you consider user friendliness, compatibility,java script performance,add-ons etc Firefox is still hot !!

Of all the products from Google from Google Earth to Picasa,I think Chrome is the exception as it is very much worse and I sincerely hope they fix up the flaws before they roll out the Chrome OS

B.T.M. BITES

Severe time crunch,limited electric supply and almost a decade old desktop are my top 3 excuses for the brief hibernation of blog.

Anyways let me quickly run through the things i wanted to blog but couldn’t.(in random order)

• Bing is doing better than expected but Google still rules as the default search engine,but when comes to niche search Bing may shine better and since Bing now throws up Twitter search results, which may or may not be better than Google results but definitely different from it.
• Some brands just live forever ,like MJ(not me  but the original moonwalker).
  • Mass Media had a good week as  MJ’s “mystery death” was “breaking news”  for more than 2 days,tribute stories,special shows,continuous coverage,cover story…imagine the ad revenues for that two days.i heard even newspapers got sold out in some parts of US (newspapers are on verge of becoming historical artifacts esp. in US)
  • MJ’s sudden death also resulted in sudden surge in the sales of his albums.
  • “I Was At Glasto 09 When Jacko Died” T shirts were being sold the very next day of his death (i am sure the idea did not come from an MBA marketing)
  • But some MBA’s are already drawing up business plans to make his Neverland ranch into a music museum cum theme park which would “pop” profits. I am sure  this MJ mania will continue foe some more time because he was not just a pop singer  but a  iconic brand himself.
• When the world was watching US going Ga Ga over the new smart phones, a startup in Madurai(my hometown ) has  rolled out Red Chery , a Indian alternative for Black Berry.  Red Chery fetches corporate emails to your mobile which is what Black Berry is famous for.
  • Although the firm  says “Red Chery stands for 'Revolutionary (red) Change Enabled Reach for You’ it is obvious that it wants to be associated with  Blackberry one way or another
  • Rajiv and me have had many discussions about this type of branding using the opposites of the existing brand – (black-red;berry-cherry) –we think it will work if a brand wants to remain as a follower acting as an alternative (usually low priced ) –ideally it should be termed ‘reverse branding’ since it already has another definition, we could call it opposite branding or mirror branding(same but reversed).
• Videocon has a renewed logo,which I personally think is  not suitable for a consumer electronics company but looks like logo of a health food brand.
• Sony’s Walkman was named as the top music invention of last 50 years which is  like the first generation of portable media player
• I tried the new Opera.. nothing great.you can skip it… i recommend  the latest FireFox 3.5 RC.

Last but not least …

• Twitter’s potential was unleashed when US Govt requested the micro blogging site to postpone its weekly maintenance as Twitter was the only source of real time updates on Iran elections where news channels and other traditional media sources were restricted.Looks like Twitter has arrived….

Speed Mail – the tech courier

I heard a voice saying “Courier” at my doorstep and I found that my brother’s bank statement had come.While I was looking at the envelope,checking the name ,I held by hand out instinctively as I usually do, to get the pen from the courier guy to sign.But he didn’t he give me the pen as this was no ordinary courier service.As I looked up  ,believe it or not I saw him entering details in a small i-mate PDA  with the stylus. 

If it was FedEx or DHL , I wouldn’t be surprised but there was no name in the envelope and by his appearance I assumed it was a normal courier service. Then he asked me to sign in the PDA itself with the stylus.(frankly i was dazed at this). When he was about to leave,i asked him which courier which he replied “Speedmail”.

The name didn’t ring a bell  ,so at once i went in and googled it. They didn’t have any website ,but were listed in the classifieds.Then i searched  for news and Voila i got it.

From Hindu : Xpress Deliveries, a leading corporate courier services company, has launched ‘Speedmail Deliveries’, its retail courier business unit

The fact that it is a new courier service and is not into retail yet(only corporate clients ) might be the reason why “Speedmail” is not popular yet .

It is interesting to know that,by using PDA’s ,around 16hours is saved every day and the personnel are handling around 700 packages per day against the average count of 300-350.

Speedmail would be starting retail services from August and I am pretty sure they will make other couriers like Professional or DTDC run for their money.Its better they gear up and embrace technology before they get wiped out by new age couriers like Speedmail.

AUDI bets big on India

Despite all the recession stories going around Audi India is very positive about Indian markets.Its aims to grow at a massive 55% to reach the target of 1500 cars in FY2009-10.Considering that it has grown 200% last fiscal despite facing a decline in other major global markets it seems like a realistic target.With A6 already launched in India and Q5 coming soon Audi is confident to achieve this.Out of 80 cars set for the Kerala market,25 has already been sold which is a very good start. 

The German Luxury Automobile company founded in Zwickau, Germany in 1909 will be completing its 100th year this July.Audi which sports its German tagline Vorsprung durch Technik, meaning "Advantage through Technology" is planning to expand its portfolio to 40 cars by 2015.

Call Rates R.I.P-UPDATE

I had explained in January that why “there will be no more Mobile operators but only Internet service providers” and why  there will be no mobiles but only  MIDs.

Well….looks like  the change has begun…

ConsumerReports.org reports that “AT&T will begin selling  netbooks with integrated wireless Internet cards, selling them for as low as $50 — with a data plan contract, of course. The rollout will begin in Atlanta and Philadelphia.” read more >>

Looks like AT&T  has realized the change…and it wont be much time before this change becomes global..

Read my previous posts about this :-

• Bye Bye Cellphones... Hello MID 
•  Call Rates R.I.P

Sixth Sense-the Future of Mobile Technology

Just when I thought touch devices like iphones,Tablet pc's etc are going to rule the near future, comes a far more cutting edge technology which looks like as if pulled out from a Sci-Fi movie. Pattie Mae , founder of Fluid Interfaces Group recently unveiled Sixth Sense, a wearable device comprising a projector which projects the virtual world onto any surface an can be accessed with hand gestures…something like in the movie Minority Report.Watch the video to get a peek into the future.

SIXTH SENSE DEMO

Pranav Mistry, a PhD student in the Fluid Interfaces Group at MIT's Media Lab is the wizard behind this project, which aims to blend in the virtual world with physical world by making data accessible, anywhere, anytime.

If this becomes viable ad practical, we will be “wearing” our mobile devices either as cap, sunglasses or as “bling bling” chains.Hope the day come sooner………

Build Your World- As You Like It

Remember the "Construct " in The Matrix? where Morpheus says "It our 'loading program' We can load anything from clothing to equipment, weapons, training simulation, anything we need".

Imagine what if there is actually a program in which you can load anything, build whatever you want.It will be a place where only your mind is the limit.

The video below is a short film which shows a virtual program called World builder similar to the Construct. Please watch this "TechnoRomantic" brilliant piece of creativity.

World Builder - Sci-Fi Romance

Microsoft's vision for 2019

I completely agree when Tiger says "Microsoft is trying to revive its image of a visionary company"  After all it was their vision to put a PC in every home in every desk.

Stephen Elop of  Microsoft Labs recently unveiled MS' vision for the next decade at the Wharton Business Technology Conference.

2019 - montage

This is just a preview of the vision.Please do have a look at the full video here.

I firmly believe this trait to have a vision, to think beyond,to imagine the endless possibilities of what technology can achieve is what makes Microsoft stand out in the crowd.Sure Apple makes great products and Microsoft copies it. Sure Google , Yahoo etc makes access to information more simpler. But do they have a vision as to how will they play their parts in shaping the future? May be they do, May be they don't. 

Unlike many other companies who  just have  long term business strategies with just  a financial perspective, Microsoft surely does have a vision and exactly knows what part it will play in shaping our future lives.

Arise MS, Awake Apple,Android has Arrived

Google has always been a pain in (u know where) for Microsoft .Google and Microsoft have been rivals in various fronts.Search , browser,social networking, cloud computing, office suite (although G Docs is online only). But the pain took  shape as Android and was competing directly with MS Windows Mobile. But now the face off has become even more bloodier.

Asus has announced that it is working on android based net books.Android has just stepped into Microsoft's own turf - Computer OS, that means sooner or later its going to be a huge OS WAR .

If Google decides to commercialise and brings in android based laptops, imagine the implications!!!.Android based laptops loaded with all Google software (Google desktop, Chrome, Picasa..etc ) & full array of web applications (btw Gmail is coming offline) , will shook up the entire market place.

Even Apple is facing heat from Google same as Microsoft but Apple has always maintained a small, but strong loyalty base .So MS will be the one to receive a lot of damage particularly in consumer markets. Corporate clients will be the saviours of MS. Although Linux is an existing open source OS, they haven't had any devastating effect on MS windows. But Google has the power to do that.

May be one fine day the World will wake up and see GOOGLE is the new MS.

Bye Bye Cellphones... Hello MID

Technology is moving at a greater speed than we think,atleast it is faster than I thought.

Earlier I had  pointed out the narrowing difference (Toshiba Ikiller) between mobile phones & computing devices  and the possible strategic inflection point (Call rates RIP) the telecom industry might come across.

So what? take a look at the news from CNET.com

Intel announced here Monday at the GSMA Mobile World Congress that LG Electronics will use its latest generation technology to build a new class of device called mobile Internet devices, or MIDs.Now the companies are working on a new class of product that are mini-computers that can also be used to make phone calls using a wireless Internet connection. Intel sees the category of product as something that is somewhere between a smartphone, like the Apple iPhone, and a Netbook, a scaled-down version of a notebook computer.

IF you see the image below you will get the idea of that "something somewhere" product Intel is talking about. ARM is one of the early firms to have a vision about MID's or Mobile Internet Devices

The article further states the implication of MID's in the telecom industry which will eventually make Call rates R.I.P

I thought it will take another decade for this to happen, but looks like  we will bid farewell to cellphones & embrace MIDs,very soon.

Call Rates R.I.P.

As Rakesh wanted to buy a new mobile of the smartphone breed ,Dhiru and I were discussing about different mobiles and the new age mobile applications with him.Just then occurred to me that in the near future there will be no more call rates as such.

Let me explain .Almost every smartphone is equipped with 3g, Wi-Fi & other such wireless connectivity solutions. Wi Max and 3g networks have already been launched in some areas of India.Suppose I have a Smartphone ,so does my friend and we both have a WiMax connection, then I don't have to call or text through the GSM or CDMA connection but I will be using the Gtalk to IM or Skype to call.I will be charged for the data usage only which will be much lesser than call rates.

That means with Internet access everywhere, mobile users can stay connected through the internet itself and not necessarily through traditional networks like GSM .So there will be no more Mobile operators but only Internet service providers.

Yes it will be long time for the entire change but it will surely disrupt the telecom business model and entirely change the rules of the industry.This type of scenario is referred as a strategic inflection point,only the companies which will accept this and adapt future technologies will sustain in the future.

With telecom operators rolling out more networks and smartphones becoming more cheaper, its just a matter of time and it will happen...eventually .

Baylis Revolution- Greenest MP3 player

Yes it looks like a brick & No its does not fit into your pocket. Yes it  includes music, video, and photo playback, , but no it does not support DRM protected music or video.Priced at $179 (4GB) it is costlier than an ipod (8GB-$149).So why in the world would anyone buy this??

Did I mention that it has a hand crank and can generate its own energy?  Aptly named the Revolution, this wind-up mp3 player from Baylis  is the greenest gadget of recent times. The crank is used to windup to charge the internal  battery or can be used to charge other devices also.One minute of cranking will give you 45 minutes of music playback.At full charge it gives a astounding 48 hours of playback. Not just that it is also packed with features like music & video playback, a photo viewer, an FM radio, a voice recorder, a line input recorder, a text reader, expandable memory, and get this...a flashlight. (CNET full review)

When the market is full of me too mp3's,here is a player which cuts above the rest with a specific focus on adventure travellers.The Baylis Revolution is not for everyone,its for those who live on the road,globetrotters who explore the world in all its rawness. Talk about product differentiation for a niche segment....

3G IS Here !!! ...Finally

Get Your Iphones and N90's ready because 3G is here.Because the 3ok + price you paid for the hi-fi phones are now ready to put for some real use.

Our Hon'ble Prime Minister Manmohan Singh launched the country's first 3G network by receiving an inaugural video call and viewing live television on a 3G-enabled mobile handset.

So what exactly is 3G? 3G is the third generation of tele standards and technology for mobile networking. Simply put we can say GPRS is similar to the Dial Up Internet  connection,3G is broadband connection for the mobile,i.e. you can avail speeds like 2Mbps in your mobile itself. The point is High Speed data transfer,which will enable live video streaming,uploading and downloading photos directly from the mobile.Fortunately most of the new high end phones are all 3G enabled so users can use take full advantage of their phones by experiencing seamless network connectivity.

Unfortunately MTNL and BSNL are only offering 3g services as of now ,that too only in the Delhi circle.It will take some time before other players jump in and all areas are covered.So we have to wait a little time more.

Happy 40th Birthday Mr.Mouse :-)

On December 9, 1968, at a computer conference in San Francisco, scientist Douglas Engelbart of the Stanford Research Institute demonstrated a small rectangular wooden device, with a single button which could control a computer. The tool had been developed by Dr. Engelbart, and his team as an “X-Y position indicator for a display system” to quote from his patent application. 

And thus the Mouse was born.Though it was not named so people who used it referred it as the mouse as it had a tail similar to the animal.Invented in 1968,the mouse became popular only in 1984,when  Apple launched Macintosh and became an essential input device after keyboard.Unlike its living counterpart,the mouse has evolved into a more powerful,sleek,attractive and more importantly a useful accessory.

But techies say that the increasing touch sensitive technologies are making mouse increasingly redundant and emerging touchless technologies like G-Speak will banish the mouse altogether.

Gpseak-touchless tech demo

Ironically,Logitech today announced it has shipped its billionth mouse.Logitech,the mouse pioneer  will have to watch out for today's touch devices and tomorrow's     touchless technologies.May be one day we might say goodbye Mr.Mouse,but for now its  "Happy Birthday Mr.Mouse :-)"