Google Earth service launched on Honeycomb
A 3D mapping software has especially been optimised for Honeycomb, which means for the first time buildings could be viewed in three dimensions on Android tablets as well.
Google Earth, the popular mapping service, has been optimised for Android Honeycomb devices. A 3D mapping software has especially been optimised for Honeycomb, which means for the first time buildings could be viewed in three dimensions on Android tablets as well.
Peter Birch, a Google product manager, wrote in a blog post, "When we launched Google Earth in 2005, most of us were still using flip phones. At the time, the thought of being able to cart around 197 million square miles of Earth in your pocket was still a distant dream. Last year, that dream came to fruition for Android users when we released Google Earth for Android."
He added, "We've added support for fully textured 3-D buildings, so your tour through the streets of Manhattan will look more realistic than ever. There's also a new action bar up top, enabling easier access to search, the option to 'fly to your location' and layers such as Places, Panoramio photos, Wikipedia and 3-D buildings."
The blog post likens the movement from smartphone to the tablets to watching a movie in theatre to IMAX theatre.
Surprisingly, the iPad version of Google Earth was available for the users earlier whereas the Honeycomb version has been launched now.
Kaspersky launches security solution for smartphones
The mobile security solutions provides protection for smartphones and supports Blackberry and Android platforms alongside Symbian and Windows Mobile.
Kaspersky Lab has officially launched its mobile security solutions in India that, apart from protecting your smartphones from malware and network attacks, enables you to locate your lost phone, protect data as well as block unwanted calls and SMSs.
The Kaspersky Mobile Security 9.0 is available in Android and BlackBerry platforms alongside Symbian and Windows Mobile.
Smartphones like Blackberry and Android phones are gaining more and more popularity in the Indian market. According to a research, Indian consumers are expected to buy 12 million smartphones in 2011. This growth definitely is a precursor to the number of trojans and malware that may be aimed at the smartphones.
With KMS 9.0, you just need to push one button to hide selected contacts and their contact data, including call histories, contact list entries and SMSs, and mute their calls. Contacts can also be hidden automatically after a preset idle period or remotely by sending a predefined SMS. You can also filter out unwanted calls and SMSs by creating a white list and a black list of contacts.
The solution allows you to wipe confidential files or block them remotely by sending a special SMS; locate your lost device with the help of the GPS Find tool; or block your phone and be notified of its new number if the SIM card is replaced.
Mobile users running Symbian or Windows Mobile operating systems can password protect and encrypt their files with a strong encryption algorithm. The GPS Find feature will help you pinpoint your smartphone's current location, and if Kaspersky Mobile Security 9 is installed on your child's device, you can always locate them quickly and easily.
The Parental Control module in Kaspersky Mobile Security 9 lets you restrict which numbers your children and other vulnerable individuals can call, such as premium-rate numbers, and allows you to control who calls them.
KMS 9 is available for Rs 599. More detailed information about KMS 9 is available at www.kaspersky.co.in
App Review: Taazza Go
With over 3 billion applications, Android market place is growing bigger by the day while adding more localised application.
Taazza Go is one such application that is developed specifically for the people of India for helping with localised search and help.
Taazza Go is an application that presents a collection of various topics like news, entertainment, shopping and local information all on the screen of your Android based smartphone.
The app is developed by a Bengaluru based company Taazza.
It is very simple to use. Once installed, it will try and locate your location which might take some time to finalise and after that users start getting content about the places they are in and around right on their Android smartphone.
Users can access information about movies, local news and even shopping. The Taazza go application also fetches daily discounts and deals from marketing companies like 'Snap Deal' and 'Deals For You' and with the in-app purchase option users can also make purchases for that deal right from the application.
The users can even share information on social networking like Facebook and Twitter directly with the help of this application.
Summing up, Taazza Go is a brilliant concept and with its localised search and information engine it is surely going to benefit the user a lot. Users can download this application free of cost from the developers' website or the Google Android marketplace or can do the same from below mentioned link:
App Review: Dropbox
Despite the advancement of technology, transferring files is still not a hassle free affair. To transfer files from your smartphone to computer or vice versa, you have to connect both and turn on the syncing software, put the file to be synced in the software and finally you will be able to see it.However, with the drop box application users can share almost anything between devices at just a click of a button. It is a smartphone counterpart for the famous Dropbox service for computers.Dropbox application is available on iOS, BlackBerry and Android platforms. We have chosen the BlackBerry version of this application for the review considering the business usage of the BlackBerry smartphone.It is a free to use application available for both computers and smartphones and can work seamlessly between devices. Users are required to have an account registered with the Dropbox online service. So if you have an account you can link it directly with the application or else the application itself will guide you on how to set up or sign up for an account.The Dropbox service is available in both paid and free versions. The paid version offers a larger storage space along with some exclusive features but the free version also gives all the required functionality with a limited 2GB data storage space, which is more than enough for a casual or a moderate user.The application has a modest download size of 1.2 MB which will take only a couple of seconds on an EDGE network and even lesser time if you are using a 3G network. Post the installation the application prompts you for the account information. As mentioned earlier, users can opt for a new account or can link an existing account with the application.
The Dropbox application layout is simple and user friendly with folder and files stacked together in an alphabetical order. Users are free to create multiple folders based on their usage from the Dropbox online account, by default the application has 2 main folders public and pictures.By using Dropbox, users can share files, documents, pictures, videos songs and any other data across various devices. Along with this, Dropbox also allows users to create and share public libraries with others by invitation or by directly posting links of popular websites like Facebook and Twitter.Basically the Dropbox simplifies the process of sharing and adds a few more functionality to the process.But Dropbox also is not a perfect application in itself. It lacks the folder creation option on the BlackBerry device which is majorly missed during usage. Users can log in to the web account using the browser of the device but the in application functionality would have been much better.Ultimately, Dropbox is a classic example of how innovative and excitingly cloud computing can be used for sharing data and files across various platforms, which are as different as mobile and computing.The inclusion of free usage will definitely help it go a long way and add a few million users. The Dropbox application is available across different platforms and provides cross platform connectivity too which is a notably good thing to have.So Dropbox is a must have application for any and all smartphone users as it give ultimate functionality and usage whereas more things are discovered as you use it more.Windows Phone 7 keyboard knows the next word
Despite the advancement of technology, transferring files is still not a hassle free affair. To transfer files from your smartphone to computer or vice versa, you have to connect both and turn on the syncing software, put the file to be synced in the software and finally you will be able to see it.
However, with the drop box application users can share almost anything between devices at just a click of a button. It is a smartphone counterpart for the famous Dropbox service for computers.
Dropbox application is available on iOS, BlackBerry and Android platforms. We have chosen the BlackBerry version of this application for the review considering the business usage of the BlackBerry smartphone.
It is a free to use application available for both computers and smartphones and can work seamlessly between devices. Users are required to have an account registered with the Dropbox online service. So if you have an account you can link it directly with the application or else the application itself will guide you on how to set up or sign up for an account.
The Dropbox service is available in both paid and free versions. The paid version offers a larger storage space along with some exclusive features but the free version also gives all the required functionality with a limited 2GB data storage space, which is more than enough for a casual or a moderate user.
The application has a modest download size of 1.2 MB which will take only a couple of seconds on an EDGE network and even lesser time if you are using a 3G network. Post the installation the application prompts you for the account information. As mentioned earlier, users can opt for a new account or can link an existing account with the application.
The Dropbox application layout is simple and user friendly with folder and files stacked together in an alphabetical order. Users are free to create multiple folders based on their usage from the Dropbox online account, by default the application has 2 main folders public and pictures.By using Dropbox, users can share files, documents, pictures, videos songs and any other data across various devices. Along with this, Dropbox also allows users to create and share public libraries with others by invitation or by directly posting links of popular websites like Facebook and Twitter.
Basically the Dropbox simplifies the process of sharing and adds a few more functionality to the process.
But Dropbox also is not a perfect application in itself. It lacks the folder creation option on the BlackBerry device which is majorly missed during usage. Users can log in to the web account using the browser of the device but the in application functionality would have been much better.
Ultimately, Dropbox is a classic example of how innovative and excitingly cloud computing can be used for sharing data and files across various platforms, which are as different as mobile and computing.
The inclusion of free usage will definitely help it go a long way and add a few million users. The Dropbox application is available across different platforms and provides cross platform connectivity too which is a notably good thing to have.
So Dropbox is a must have application for any and all smartphone users as it give ultimate functionality and usage whereas more things are discovered as you use it more.
The buzz around Windows Phone 7 has been growing louder. This time the talking point is its keyboard, which increases typing accuracy for users.
Eric Badger, developer lead, Windows Phone 7 team, says, "We wanted to have the best text-input solution in the world. When it comes to digital communication, the task of getting an idea from your head to the keyboard is really important."
The most striking part of the keyboard is the 'Next Likely Key', which is shown enlarged by the software. With keys shown bigger, users are likely to type words correctly.
In future versions of the keyboard, the keys will also take speed of typing into account.
The program, however, will not make suggestions if you don't want it to. For example, when there is an unfamiliar word, the software doesn't suggest any letter at all.
The Windows Phone 7 keyboard is a nice combination of machine learning and mathematics, and the result is mostly accurate text prediction. Some times, the next word is predicted by the keyboard even before users have begun typing. Languages follow a pattern and the Windows Phone 7 keyboard understands it well.
Most of the work on the Windows Phone 7 keyboard, which is to be launched soon, has been done by the Microsoft Research team.
44 billion mobile app downloads by 2016: ABI Research
A new study from ABI Research reveals that the worldwide application industry is well on its way to achieve 44 billion cumulative downloads by 2016.
"Given the vast number of choices available, app developers and app stores need to innovate continually in order to maintain consumers' interest," said ABI research analyst Fei Feng Seet.
He added, "For example, an app called OfferedApp promises to provide a paid app each day in exchange for users completing a simple survey or signing up for an offer with advertisers. Some apps also offer virtual currency or other premiums to consumers who download a featured app from the developer. However these new marketing tactics are likely to face opposition as iTunes starts to clamp down on such incentivised promotions when they cut into Apple's revenue from in-app sales."
The iTunes is also rumoured to have made modifications to its App Store ranking algorithm. The new ranking system takes into account qualitative information such as reviews, on top of download statistics.
According to practice director Neil Strother of ABI research, "App store browsing on devices has been an issue with users, who can face difficulty finding an app of interest. Having many 'misleading' apps hogging the top charts for a week at a time does not help either, so this could not be a better time for Apple to reform its app ecosystem in an environment where competition and consumers' heightened expectations are increasing the pressure."
Applications business is a fairly new one, and a phenomenon which has taken everyone by surprise due to the tremendous growth it has seen in last couple of years. So the business models have not yet fully evolved, and therefore chances of companies loosing track is high.
What will be required is continuous effort from the entire eco-system to keep tweaking business models, user interface and type of apps based on the changing user preference and keep experimenting to discover this preference.
Android has more free apps than any iOS platform
Android operating system has now more number of free applications than Apple's App Store. The No 1 operating system now has 134,342 free applications, while the Apple App Store iPhone has 121,845 free applications, says analytics firm Distimo.
However, Apple still has more number of applications when paid apps are taken into consideration.
Distimo also says in its website, "If all application stores maintain their current growth pace, approximately five months from now Google Android Market will be the largest store in terms of number of applications followed by the Apple App Store for iPhone and iPad, Windows Phone 7 Marketplace, BlackBerry App World and Nokia Ovi Store."
There are 14 app categories in Apple App Store whereas Android has 26. In the world of mobile operating system warfare, nothing carries as much weight as the number of apps in an app store does and surely Android is surging forward.
This is an exciting news for budget conscious smartphone buyers as they are more likely to tilt towards an operating system which offers more free applications.
New Twitter version for Android
The official Twitter application for Android, which has a fair amount of bugs, has been fixed with a new update. Twitter version 2.0.2 adds a lot of new functionality.
The application now adds much needed search improvements including tabbed search display and search history controls.
It now uses a more secure SSL connection for data transfer between the device and the network. Besides, an all improved data management system allows the smartphone to save crucial storage space.
All this and some design changes make the application more friendly to the eye while utilising the available space in a much better way. Now users will also be able to open links embedded in the tweets directly from where they are without having to copy and paste it in the browser for opening.
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