Free Vodafone SIM cards and NFC – A reality

Global Mobile Technology leaders Vodafone and Gemalto (the world’s largest SIM card manufacturers) have joined forces to provide secure Free SIM card based NFC payments to customers around the world, in a multiple year contract between the two giants. This union will see the provision of an infrastructure that will deliver secure and trusted mobile transactions including payment by mobile contact and even ticketing. The security is provided by the SIM card, which is controlled by Vodafone, which means that the manufacturers or software providers will never have access to customers’ sensitive information.

Only Gemalto will have access to the software, which will be implanted in the Vodafone SIM card, this combination creates and manages a secure environment in which customers can take advantage of Near Field Communication (NFC) technology to make payments and other transactions on their mobile.

Samsung Galaxy Note 2 in Amber Brown and Ruby Wine

The Samsung Galaxy Note 2 is one popular device with the Android faithful, and just like the hugely popular Samsung Galaxy S3 the Note 2 just might be getting some new colour options which old Sammy seems to be quite in favour of recently, as the word is there could be both brown and red versions of the Galaxy Note 2 on their way.

According to a report by Japanese website Blog of Mobile, the Samsung Galaxy Note 2 variants popped up in a magazine advert which could suggest that these two new colours could soon be arriving in South Korea.

Apparently the official new colours are Amber Brown and Ruby Wine, with the Amber Brown version already available in Japan. So one can presume that it will be only a matter of time before old Sammy brings these new colour models of the Note 2 to other markets.

Ubuntu for phones announced

Ubuntu for Android has been there for a while, enabling you to dock your phone and make it your desktop, with a full blown OS on the phone, but what about Ubuntu, the OS itself on your smartphone? Yes, Canonical has let loose the details of the new Ubuntu OS for smartphones, with devices slated to launch by 2014. Watch the virtual keynote video here -

Crimson Dragon Side Story WP7 shooter game

Crimson Dragon isn’t available on Xbox Live just yet, but if you simply can’t wait to get your shooting action on and defeat your enemies you can get that action on Windows Phone 7 by downloading the Crimson Dragon: Side Story game for Windows Phone 7 devices. A game that is a side scrolling shooter that uses touch controls.

Crimson Dragon: Side Story for Windows Phone 7 devices enables the gamer to get a taste of Crimson Dragon using touch controls to pilot their dragon and target their enemies along with breeding new controllable dragons and the ability to level up via repeated play.

LG to launch two new Google TV models at CES

LG, after having some moderate success with its range of Google TV-based HDTVs also called “Smart TVs”, has decided to launch two more models at the upcoming CES event. These new Google TVs will be made available in a variety of screen sizes ranging from 42 – 60 inches in diagonal. They will have the Google TV software pre installed, and will be running on a dual core processor.

Google and LG have worked together on something called the LG Magic remote Qwerty that helps in easy keyboard input as well as voice search with an inbuilt mic. LG also have skinned the Google TV UI to make it more useful. They have added a card-style layout which they call “Smart Home”, which more or less resembles the metro UI on the Xbox 360. The user interface has some useful features though, like “My interests” which is like a live update of whatever you choose for it to display, including weather, social feeds etc.

Samsung Galaxy S3 Sudden Death issue needs quick fix

Since its release during the summer of last year the Samsung Galaxy S3 has been enjoying a good time with regards to reviews and sales of the handset. The biggest news away from the sales figures for the smartphone has been the various versions of the operating system running on the different carrier models of the handset. Towards the end of last year though a more worrying problem emerged with owners reporting a sudden death issue with the Samsung Galaxy S3, which needs a quick fix even though only select models are being affected.

We first reported on the problem affecting some owners of the Samsung Galaxy S3 just before Christmas, with a growing thread on the XDA Developers forum that originally started in November. Since our report we have had some of our readers also reporting the problem hitting their version of the handset, and Samsung replacing the motherboard installed inside the device.

Chennai Airport prepares for paperless tickets using smartphones, tablets and laptops

Just after the BCAS(Bureau of Civil aviation Security) announced that, like the Indian Railways, Airports in India can accept tickets on phone or any computing device, the Chennai Airport has started preparations for the same. If implemented, passengers will be permitted into terminal buildings with tickets in digital form, but the boarding pass will still have to be paper once checked in.

This move comes in the wake of the Indian Railways, an inferior yet highly used mode of public transport started accepting e-tickets through SMS and on any screen provided with the ticket. Likewise, all the major Airports will go paperless soon and that is a welcome change for frequent travelers and people who are frustrated with slow changing digitization of public transport.

Chennai Airport authorities are reportedly being trained to look for the appropriate information in digital tickets, as the formatting may vary. Since print out tickets are mandatory and a lack of easy print solutions inside the Airport complex are less, people who forget their tickets clobber for limited and pricey solutions in some airline stations.  It is also said that the CISF who take care of the entry points into the Airport will be trained to look at the PNR on the digital form of the ticket.

It is about time that digital Wallets and passbook support arrive, for eliminating paper boarding passes, but I guess that is still a distant dream.

Source TOI  Image via The Hindu

Samsung unveils enhanced Series 7 Chronos Notebook and Series 7 Ultra with Full HD displays

Samsung has refreshed the Series 7 PC line-up with an enhanced version of the Series 7 Chronos Notebook from the previous version. that has Full HD 1080p display, a faster GPU and the Series 7 Ultra 13.3-inch ultrabook with a sleeker and light weight profile. These comes with Windows 8, Backlit Keyboard with clikpad and have JBL Stereo Speakers for powerful audio.

Aircel launches ‘Pocket Music International’ for International Music Downloads

Aircel has launched Pocket Music International, a new pack that would let their customers download full tracks directly from their mobile phone, from a vast catalogue provided by top two global music recording giants Sony and Universal.

This new service is aimed at younger generation and range from various genres like pop, rock and hip hop from several international artists such as Justin Bieber, Rihanna, Beyonce, Michael Jackson, Enrique Iglesias, Bryan Adams, Pitbull, Black Eyed Peas, Jennifer Lopez and many more.

Aircel subscribers can log on to music.pocketinternet.in from their mobile phone to subscribe to the Pocket Music International pack. It comes at a daily subscription of Rs. 5 which would let you download 5 song downloads daily. So you get to spend just Re. 1 for a song, which is value for money.

Corning Gorilla Glass 3 to be introduced at CES 2013

Corning, makers of the popular toughened glasses for smart devices have announced that they would showcase Gorilla Glass 3 at CES 2013 next week. The company unveiled the Gorilla Glass 2 at CES 2012 that was used in range of popular smartphones of 2012 including the Google Nexus 4, Samsung Galaxy S3, Nokia Lumia 920 and lots more.

The company would demonstrate the toughness of the Gorilla Glass 3 and also showcase the benefits of Corning Gorilla Glass in larger format, multi-touch displays. The Corning Gorilla Glass 3 would be tougher than the earlier versions with Native Damage Resistance (NDR), 40 percent improvement in scratch resistance and is also expected to be more slimmer. The company would also unveil Thunderbolt Optical Cable at the event next week.

Corning would unveil the Gorilla Glass 3 on Monday, 7th January 2013 at CES in Las Vegas.

Airtel launches mEducation services

Airtel has launched mEducation that would enable their customers subscribe to range of educational services including language skills, entrance exam preparation,  career counseling, search schools or colleges and more on their mobile phones. Airtel customers can activate these services through several mediums such as SMS, IVRS and WAP.

Airtel mEducation services

• English Guru - Learn English in your native language transcending barriers of lack of opportunities, teachers, poor infrastructure or costs – IVRS – Dial 55066. Cost - Rs 30/ 30 Days
• Office Vocab - Learn the corporate lingo and improve your vocabulary to prepare yourself for the coropoarte world. SMS - 55077/ *321*793#. Cost – Rs 1.5/ Day
• Exam Prep - Questionnaire based preparatory material for popular National entrance & competitive exams – UPSC, MBA, CLAT, Bank PO, RRB, Staff Services & GRE – SMS PREP to 5432105/ *321*550# Cost – Rs 2/Day
• Mock Tests - Full length Mock Tests for popular National entrance & competitive exams – UPSC, MBA, CLAT, Bank PO, RRB, Staff Services & GRE – SMS - MOCK to 5432105/ Direct WAP Link Cost. – Rs 99 (12 mock Test) / Rs 49 (5 Mock Test)
• Ask an Expert – Ask the best industry experts all your education and career related queries. SMS - 55077. Cost Rs 10/ week (10 questions free)
• Career Counselling - Talk to the best of professors from top institutes and leading industry experts & professionals on all your career related queries IVRS - 55077. Cost - Rs 2/ day + event Charges
• MBA Fastrack Pack  - Learn the tricks to crack the CAT by the CAT Guru, Arun Sharma – WAP – m.crackcat.in Cost - Rs 10/ day (30 Day) or Rs 199 (One time)
• Personality Development - Develop your soft skills and enhance your personality IVRS – 53222345 Cost - Rs 15/ 7 days
• Campus Search - Search any campus/ school/ college in your city and town – Dial 532229 or *322*290#, or SMS sub school to 532229 Cost - Rs 1.5/ day
• Scholarship Alert - Scholarship Alert right on your mobile. SMS – 55077 Cost - Rs 1.5 / Day

LG Optimus 2X Android 4.0 update now available in India

LG Optimus 2X (LGP990) users have finally received the Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) update in India. LG started rolling out the ICS update for Korean users back in August and for European users, earlier this month. The LG Optimus 2X launched in India last April with Android 2.2 (Froyo) on-board and later received the Android 2.3 (Gingerbread) back in November. LG confirmed the ICS update for the device soon after that.

The Android 4.0 update brings the new Optimus UI 3.0 with a new lock screen, face unlock, a new camera UI, faster browser and lots more new features.

As you can see from the image above, the firmware version of the update ROM is V30b, unlike the V30a that rolled out in Europe recently. The Android 4.0.4 update is about 686 MB and is available OTA (Over-the-Air) and also through the LG Mobile Support Tool on your PC.

Facebook Messenger for Android and iPhone updated with Voice Messaging

Facebook has updated Messenger app for Android and iPhone that brings option to send quick voice messages to your friends. You can choose a friend or a group of friends and select the attach button next to the text area, to record voice messages. You need to press and hold the record button to record a message, which shows the number of seconds the voice is being recorded. You can release it to send the voice message or slide off to either side to cancel.

Once the message is sent, the recipient can click the voice message to listen, the sent message is also stored in the inbox. Facebook for iPhone version 2.1 update also brings option to call friends for free right from the Messenger. This feature would roll out to users gradually.

The new version also brings several improvements and bug fixes. Download Facebook Messenger v2.2.4 for Android from Google Play Store and Facebook Messenger v2.1 for the iPhone from the Apple iTunes Store for free.

Samsung Galaxy S3, Galaxy Note, Galaxy S Duos and Galaxy Ace Duos get a price cut in India

Samsung has cut the price of the Galaxy S3, Galaxy Note, Galaxy S Duos and the Galaxy Ace Duos in India, just in time for the new year. The Samsung Galaxy S3 got a price cut to Rs. 34,900 back in September, now the device is available for Rs. 31,900 after the recent price cut. It was launched in India in May for a MRP of Rs. 43,180. Even the 32GB version of the Galaxy S3 got a price to Rs. 34,900. The Galaxy Note got a price cut to Rs. 29990 back in September, now the device is available for Rs. 27,500 after the recent price cut.

The Galaxy S Duos that was launched in India for Rs. 17,900 few months back is now available for Rs. 14,900 after the price drop. The price of the Galaxy Ace Duos (GT-S6802) has dropped to Rs. 10,900.

Online retailers Saholic and Flipkart are now selling these devices at new rates. Samsung has also announced festive offers for the Galaxy S3, S Duos and the Ace Duos recently. Are you planning to buy these Samsung smartphones for the new year?