Saturday, November 27, 2010

Mobile Buzz

Mobile Buzz

Micromax Launches the Andro A60 – Cheapest Android Phone in India

Posted: 27 Nov 2010 09:19 AM PST


Yesterday, we had told you about the expected launch of Micromax’s new budget Android phone. Today, at the Micromax Blogger Meet in New Delhi, Micromax announced the new Micromax Andro A60, its first Android phone.

The specifications are the same as we announced earlier – it comes with a 2.8 inch resistive touchscreen display and a 3.15 MP camera. It is powered by a 600 MHz processor and runs the Android 2.1 Eclair OS. It comes with 150 MB internal storage and supports up to 32 GB microSD cards. It also offers 3G, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity.

Micromax Andro A60

The Andro A60 looks quite stylish but the low display size and resolution is definitely a concern.

Micromax is also planning to launch another mid range Android phone soon, with Android 2.2 Froyo and a 3.5 inch capacitive touchscreen. It also announced plans to launch an Android tablet in the coming months.


Micromax Launches the Andro A60 – Cheapest Android Phone in India originally appeared on Techie Buzz written by Pathik Shah on Saturday 27th November 2010 12:19:10 PM under Mobile News. Please read the Terms of Use for fair usage guidance.

Nokia X6 Firmware Updated To v30.0.3

Posted: 27 Nov 2010 09:07 AM PST


Nokia has released a new firmware update for its first capacitive based S60v5 phone – the Nokia X6. The new firmware update is numbered version 30.0.3 and improves the core applications of the phone. Along with this, the touch screen performance and the memory management of the phone have also been tweaked.

Nokia_X6

Here is the change-log from over at DailyMobile.se forums –:

* Here and Now
* New version of Ovi Maps and Ovi Store
* Improved Browser
* Improved chat in Ovi Contacts

Nokia X6 owners can update the firmware of their handset either via OTA (Over-The-Air) or via Nokia Software Updater (NSU). Since the handset features UDP (User Data Preservation), users don't need to make a backup of their data before proceeding with the firmware update.

Nokia will slowly roll out the update to the various regions of the world in the upcoming weeks.


Nokia X6 Firmware Updated To v30.0.3 originally appeared on Techie Buzz written by Rajesh Pandey on Saturday 27th November 2010 12:07:09 PM under Mobile News. Please read the Terms of Use for fair usage guidance.

Symbian Foundation Winds Down Even As Nokia Remains Bullish

Posted: 27 Nov 2010 08:20 AM PST


SymbianThese are tough and challenging times for Symbian, and the future doesn’t look too bright either. The Symbian foundation held its final council meeting on November 24, and the board is expected to be dissolved on December 16.

The open source Symbian project as we know it is dead. All official websites, including source code repositories, will be shutting down on December 17. For a majority of Symbian employees, Dec 17 will be their last day in office. A small transition team will be retained till Q1 2011.

Once the Symbian Foundation closes down, Nokia will once again be in control of the Symbian project. Petra Soderling, Director of Symbian Ecosystem at Nokia, has reemphasized that Nokia is still bullish about the future of Symbian. Nokia is sticking to its projection of more than 50 million Symbian^3 based devices being sold. Nokia is also looking for an alternate open and direct model for making the platform available to the community in future. They want the alternate model to be “no less open, free and flexible” than today’s. However, it will not feature a council type of governance.

The death of the Symbian project doesn’t necessarily mean the doom of Symbian. Many Symbian enthusiasts are still optimistic about the platform. MyNokiaBlog is hopeful that without the stifling bureaucracy of the Symbian Foundation, Nokia will be able to iterate Symbian faster, in order to become competitive once again. Let’s hope that they are correct. Because, unless Nokia manages to significantly improve Symbian, it is definitely doomed as a smartphone operating system.


Symbian Foundation Winds Down Even As Nokia Remains Bullish originally appeared on Techie Buzz written by Pallab De on Saturday 27th November 2010 11:20:02 AM under Mobile News. Please read the Terms of Use for fair usage guidance.

Review: Pulse News Reader is a Gorgeous RSS Feed Reader for Android

Posted: 27 Nov 2010 06:30 AM PST


Android apps are often criticized for lacking the visual appeal and design aesthetics of iOS apps. There are apps like Slide Screen and Touiteur and which are truly beautiful. But, such apps are the exception rather than the rule. Fortunately, more and more iPhone apps are beginning to make an appearance on the Android market. As competition increases, other Android app developers will hopefully be compelled to improve.

One such app is Pulse News Reader. Earlier Pulse used to be a paid app on iOS as well as on Android. However, a couple of weeks back, the Pulse Reader team decided to make it available for free on all platforms. I have been using Pulse as my primary feed reader for the past week (previously it used to by FeedR and My6Sense). Here’s my in-depth review.

The attention to detail impressed me the moment I started using it. On first launch, you are presented with a curated list of feeds under the “Featured” tab. If you wish, you can dig deeper and “Browse” through a larger selection of popular feeds organized into categories. I simply imported my feeds from Google Reader. One odd thing about the Pulse app is that it only supports up to 20 feeds.

Pulse-News-Reader

Pulse Reader presents your feeds as horizontally scrollable columns of thumbnails. Tap on the thumbnail and it will open the content. On websites that offer partial feeds, Pulse can strip away all additional formatting and junk, and scrape the full content. If you enjoy reading stuff in context of the original website, you can do that too with Pulse’s web mode. As you might expect, sharing options (Facebook, Twitter and more) are baked right into the application. Pulse Reader executes everything with a flourish. There are neat animations when you switch between screens (see the video embedded below). However, these animations never get in your way.

Pulse-News-Reader-Feed-View

Techie Buzz Verdict

Pulse-News-Reader Pulse is all about making consumption of information clutter-free and fun. The interface is simply stunning. Unfortunately, when it comes to features, there are a few significant lapses. The cap on the number of feeds alone might be enough to deter many users. Additionally, Pulse lacks a search function. It also doesn't have the ability to hide read messages or organize feeds (although with just 20 feeds, organization isn’t really necessary). These drawbacks will perhaps make Pulse unsuitable for heavy duty users. However, if they aren’t a deal breaker for you, go ahead and try it. It’s definitely a pleasure to use.

Techie Buzz Rating: 4/5 (Excellent)

[ Download Pulse News Reader for Android ]


Review: Pulse News Reader is a Gorgeous RSS Feed Reader for Android originally appeared on Techie Buzz written by Pallab De on Saturday 27th November 2010 09:30:37 AM under Mobile News. Please read the Terms of Use for fair usage guidance.

Angry Birds for Android Hits 7 Million Downloads: Paid Version Coming Soon

Posted: 27 Nov 2010 06:09 AM PST


Angry-Birds

It’s not as if any of us need more proof of Angry Birds’ insane popularity, but Rovio has revealed that Angry Birds for Android has hit 7 million downloads. The download figure is possibly slightly inflated due to updates; however, it is still phenomenal. The fact that Angry Birds for Android is free (ad-supported), unlike in other platforms, obviously helped in a big way. Rovio had earlier reported that they had crossed the 1 million download count within the first 24 hours of release.

The aforementioned revelation came in response to questions regarding Angry Birds’ pricing strategy. Rovio obviously believes they will benefit more by offering a free ad-supported version. However, if you hate advertisements, fret not. A paid version of Angry Birds for Android will be launched soon.

Rovio has clearly been keeping themselves very busy. Yesterday, we revealed that they are about to announce a “really big” new project. On top of that they are also working on console ports of Angry Birds, “Mighty Eagle” for Android, Angry Birds Christmas edition and a gaming network.


Angry Birds for Android Hits 7 Million Downloads: Paid Version Coming Soon originally appeared on Techie Buzz written by Pallab De on Saturday 27th November 2010 09:09:39 AM under Mobile News. Please read the Terms of Use for fair usage guidance.
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