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Nokia unveils Symbian Belle OS – better late than never

Faizan — Wed, 24 Aug 2011 17:16:43 +0000

Today, Nokia unveiled latest update to its Symbian 3 OS named Symbian Belle that put Nokia in head to head competition with current smartphone market leaders Android and iOS. But Nokia should have released this OS around two years ago when smartphone war was about to start, not now when Nokia has almost lost it. The new OS brings UI and performance improvements, gorgeous new widgets, more customization options, more apps and built-in NFC functionality. All these updates make this OS visually similar to Android and is enough to keep Nokia fans happy for some time until they realize the need for all those awesome apps already available for other platforms. Checkout the UI demo video.

Detailed new features and improvements:

More homescreens: with Symbian Belle the maximum number of homescreens rises from three to six, so now you can have absolutely everything close at hand

Improved status bar: the status bar sports a modern, flat look and incorporates a pull down notifications tab that incorporates common settings and notification of incoming messages, missed calls and the rest.

Modernised navigation: the navigation and options bar at the bottom of the screen sports a modern, new look, similar to that first seen on the Nokia N9.

New apps: a new suite of powerful business apps from Microsoft includes Lync (IM for businesses, like Microsoft Communicator), Sharepoint, OneNote, Exchange ActiveSync and PowerPoint Broadcaster.

Informative lock screen: the lock screen now tells you about missed calls, messages in your inbox and more, so you can check your phone at a glance. You can now also add a colored wallpaper to your lock screen.

NFC devices: With Symbian Belle, Near-Field Communications (NFC) is now deeply integrated into the operating system, so you can share pictures, connect with accessories, and check-in – all with just a tap.

Visual multitasking: Now you can flick between larger live images of your open apps to see what’s going on at a glance and move quickly between your apps.

The update will be available on Nokia N8, E7, C7, C6-01, X7, E6 and 500 and new models in coming months with Symbian Belle.

[Via Nokia]

Foursquare Family now 10,000,000 Strong

AF8AB — Wed, 22 Jun 2011 12:10:38 +0000

In case you don’t live on planet earth, you’ve probably never heard of foursquare. If it’s the other way, you must have been checking in at places all around the city, getting Mayor badges and even winning some free deals from some of serious Foursquare venues. It’s a social network which will help you stalk someone in real life, or in other words Foursquare is integrated with our physical outgoings and not just on the internet.

Foursquare has now 10,000,000 users. Keep reading for this interesting Info-graphic on how they got from Zero to Hero.

Click Image for a Larger Version.

Is This a Good Time to Invest in a Tech Startup? – Infographic

AF8AB — Sat, 18 Jun 2011 11:43:52 +0000

Its 2011 but Venture Capital is growing up to heights like its 1999 again. Everyone is investing in tech startups and industry is growing like weed. But are we in a Tech Bubble that’s about to burst? Udemy has created an interesting Infographic for us to take a look at current state of tech industry and make decent choices about investing money.

Click for Larger Image

Source: Udemy Tech Bubble 2.0

Microsoft Acquires Skype for US $8.5bn

AF8AB — Tue, 10 May 2011 14:23:19 +0000

This is Microsoft’s largest purchase till now. Skype is a communication platform famous for its low price international calls and great VOIP voice and video chat. It has over 8 Million paying customers.

Facebook & Google were considering buying Skype but Microsoft made the mark by offering cool 8.5 Billion dollars in cash. After literally owning the technology market in late nineties and early 2000s, Microsoft began to decline with Windows Vista & Windows Mobile 6.5.

I think now its time once again for Microsoft to shine. It has already started making amazing products like Windows 7 & Its mobile counterpart. IE9 and services like Windows OfficeLive and SkyLive. Microsoft is doing great and is on the right path. If Nokia develops Windows based smartphones in near future, things can start changing for iPhone.

Face Time for Android? Google Talk for Android gets Video chat

Faizan — Fri, 29 Apr 2011 07:54:31 +0000

As we know Android has already taken over iPhone sales in first quarter 2011. Yesterday, Google announced Android 2.3.4 update to their Android 2.3 Gingerbread OS which brings Video and Voice calling features to Gtalk for Android. You can make video calls to your family and friends right from your android phone over Wi-Fi or 3G Network to their compatible Android tablet or phone or Gtalk on computer.

Android 2.3.4 update with start rolling out for Google Nexus S in few weeks and later for other compatible devices. With this update Google Directly takes on Apple’s Face Time video chat feature.

[via Google Mobile]