iPhone4 coming to India courtesy Airtel, Aircel

Last month Airtel and Aircel announced that they will launch iPhone4 in India, and now they have started a registration process for the consumers.

Aircel and Airtel will be the first operators to bring the Apple iPhone4 to India, who have started the registration process through their respective websites to keep potential buyers informed about the arrival of the handset.

However, no launch date or special pack has been announced for this launch yet. iPhone 4 is the latest version of Apple iPhone and comes with features like Apple's stunning Retina display, the highest resolution display ever built into a phone and FaceTime for video calling. It was launched in the USA in June last year.

With a sleek, sharp and thinner design than its predecessor, the fourth-generation model of Apple iPhone comes with a 3.5 inch screen with 640 X 960 pixel resolution.

The phone's operating system has also been upgraded and is now called iOS 4, which offers features like multitasking, spell check, folders and iBooks.

The phone comes in two versions (of 16GB and 32GB memory capacity), a 5 megapixel camera, up from 3 megapixel in the earlier version. The camera has an LED flash. It has a second VGA camera for video calling.

The phone's connectivity options include WiFi, Bluetooth, HDMI and GPS. The device promises seven hours of 3G talk time, six hours of 3G browsing, 10 hours of WiFi browsing, 10 hours of video and 40 hours of music playback.

Sony Ericsson to strengthen Xperia, Cybershot, and Walkman series

The expected phones include W8 in the Walkman series, Xperia Mini and Mini Pro HD, and Cybershot with a 16 mega pixel camera.

To strengthen its product line, Sony Ericsson will be adding several phones to its Xperia, Cybershot and Walkman series of mobile phones in the next quarter, a company spokesperson told 'The Mobile Indian'.

Spokesperson said, "We will be strengthening our product line with more phones in Xperia and Walkman series, and with camera phones."

The expected phones include W8 in the Walkman series, Xperia Mini and Mini Pro HD and Cybershot with a 16 mega pixel camera.

Besides Android operating system, these will have traditional Sony Ericsson features. For instance, the Walkman series will have good music.

The Cybershot brand, which is known for its camera capabilities, is expected to make a comeback with full touch screen (it vanished after the launch of the Xperia series), and a 16 mega pixel camera with Xenon flash (these specifications are not confirmed, but are highly probable).

Walkman series, known for its music capabilities, will also make a comeback. This time, the phone will use Android operating system and will have a full touchscreen.

Sony Ericsson has already created a niche for itself in the Android Market with several PlayStation certified applications. It might be looking to add some more apps for the Walkman series.

Xperia series already has models such as X8, X10, X12, Vivaz, Mini, Mini Pro, Play and Arc. These are expected to be joined by Mini HD and Mini Pro HD.

It's great to hear about Cybershot and Walkman series returning. The success of these phones will depend on how well they are executed as there will be practically no similarity between the forthcoming models and the Cybershots of older days.

It will be a challenge to match people's expectations with a completely new platform (not new per se, but new for these types of phones). Pricing will be another important factor in their success.

Android finds a way to curb piracy

Android has introduced Market License Server which gets pinged by both genuine and pirated apps so the developers can find out and remotely deactivate the app or charge the users.

To counter the scourge of piracy of applications, Android has come up with a way, called Market License Server, through which the app developers can actually verify whether the app running on a smartphone is a legitimate one or not.

If used, this facility let the apps, even pirated copies, to ping the servers of developers which will in turn find out whether it is a pirated one or not.

The developers will have then two options — they can either block the pirated app right away or they can switch the user to a lighter version of the app so they can switch to the paid version later, if they so desire.

Till recently, major video game publishers such as Gameloft avoided Android Market because of rampant piracy of applications. Some analysts believe the users paid more money to the iOS platform because for quite some time it was the only app store in the market which is more secure.

Another reason for heightened piracy over Android is due to the fact that in iOS devices users need to jailbreak their devices to install pirated apps, which involves more effort and therefore users prefer to buy genuine apps mostly.

Nokia to launch X7 next month in India

The phone features the latest version of Symbian, called Anna, a 4 inch Amoled display, and a stylish new look.

Nokia is preparing to launch its new smartphone X7 in the Indian market. The device will feature the latest version of Symbian operating system, called Anna.

"We are planning to launch X7 in this quarter in India," a Nokia spokesperson told 'The Mobile Indian' without divulging the exact date of launch.

Nokia has positioned the X7 as an entertainment smartphone, and has given it a four inch Amoled screen that displays 16 million colours and 640 x 360 pixel resolution, as well as high quality sound output.

X7 features a brand new look and feel along with an improved interface for fluid gesture movement, which Nokia claims is very responsive.

Symbian Anna has a new browser as well, which is expected to be three times faster than the existing browser.

X7 will feature a preinstalled 8GB memory card that can be upgraded to 32GB, and it has 320MB of internal memory functioning as its RAM/ROM.

The display is made of Corning's Gorilla Glass, which protects it from minor scratches and breakage from accidental falls. To add more strength to the phone, Nokia has designed it in a stainless steel shell, which will enhance its longevity too.

The device measures 119.7 x 62.8 x 11.9 mm but is comparatively thin around the edges and weighs 146 grams.

It offers next generation Pentaband 2G/3G network connectivity and 802.11 b/g/n WiFi support along with Bluetooth 3.0 and USB connectivity. The installed 1200mAh battery is expected to give up to 450 hours of standby and 4.5 hours of talk time on 3G networks, and will support the phone for longer on 2G.

The Nokia X7 will cost around 380 Euros, which translates to approximately Rs 25,000.

Android 3.1 update coming in June to Acer and Asus

The update to Acer and Asus devices will bring additional support for a variety of USB based peripherals and accessories.

Asus, which will introduce its Eee Pad Transformer tablet in India next month, has announced that it will offer an Android 3.1 update over the air starting this June. It will announce the country-wise schedule in June itself.

EeePad transformer, as the name suggests, is a 10.1 inch tablet that can also become a netbook once attached to its keypad dock. Transformer currently ships with Android 3.0, and is one of the first devices to get the updated version.

Another tablet to get this update in June will be the Acer Iconia A500 tablet, which was launched in India just a couple of weeks ago. However, Acer officials have refused to comment on the expected release of the update for Indian users.

Motorola Xoom, which is yet to be launched in India, is also getting this update. This is important for many in India as the tablet is already available through several e-commerce websites such as Homeshop18.com.

Android 3.1, which is also known as Honeycomb, has user interface improvements that make it faster and more efficient to use. Along with it, UI transitions throughout the system and across standard apps are also improved.

The update will provide additional support for a variety of USB based peripherals and accessories such as keyboards, mice, game controllers and digital cameras.

The browser has undergone a complete overhaul, bringing support for popular web standards such as CSS, 3D animation, and CSS fixed positioning to all sites.

It also adds support for playback of embedded HTML5 video content. Users will now be able to save web pages, including all styling and images, locally for offline viewing.

Karbonn launches two touchscreen phones

Named as K1414 and K1000, the mobiles are priced at Rs 3,990 and Rs 3,600 respectively and are packed with lot of features.

Karbonn Mobiles, a local handset player, has launched two new touch screen handsets. Named as the K1414 and the K1000, the new mobiles come with support for a wide range of social network websites such as Facebook, Twitter, and e-buddy.

Available across India, the new range combines sleek black design with dual SIM capacity. With their A2DP Bluetooth technology, which allows high-fidelity audio to be streamed from one Bluetooth device to another, one can easily share high quality audio like music from mobile phone to a wireless headset or car audio.

Both phones have 2,000 phonebook memory and video player.

In addition, the Karbonn K1414 and K1000 have an extendable memory upto 16 GB and 8 GB respectively.

The bar styled Karbonn K1414 has a 3D user interface and a 3.2 inch WQVGA touch screen display with 240 x 400 pixel resolution.

While K1414 has 3 megapixel camera, K1000 features a 2 megapixel one.

Available at all mobile retail outlets, the K1414 is priced at Rs 3,990 while K1000 will cost you Rs 3,600.

T-Series launches devotional phone

The phone is called Bhakti Sagar and features several devotional applications, videos and songs. It will be sold only through Homeshop18.com.

T-Series, one of India's leading music companies, has launched a new phone aimed at religious Hindus. The phone, called Bhakti Sagar, is loaded with religious features such as Aartis, Bhajans and Shabads in multiple languages, as well as Tirath Yatra apps, and yoga tips.

The phone features an SOS button for emergency situations. When the SOS button is pressed the phone dials a stored emergency number. It tries to connect to the number thrice,, and if the number does not respond, it contacts the number last dialed from it.

This is a dual SIM phone with a 2.2 inch screen, 1.3 megapixel camera and an LED torch. The device has Bluetooth and GPRS connectivity options, FM Radio with recording, and it supports up to 8 GB of expandable memory.

T-Series, which gained popularity thanks to the devotional CDs it initially sold, is trying to recreate that success in the mobile space with this phone.

The phone also comes with an added feature of "12 Jyotirling", which provides video, pictures and songs of Lord Shiva shrines. Also, the "Yoga" feature helps you practice Yoga postures.

Besides, it comes with Bhakti Sangeet (religious songs), Aartis, wallpapers and devotional themes.

The Bhakti application has more than 165 Aartis, Bhajans and Shabads in nine languages. There is also a scheduler that plays selected songs at a given time or date.

The application has the option of playing songs based on the day of the week, for example, Shiv Bhajans on Monday, Hanuman Bhajans on Tuesday and so on.

Commenting on the launch, AN Sehgal, the director of T-Series, said, "We are happy to introduce the innovative Bhakti Sagar mobile phone through Homeshop18 in India. This phone is pre-loaded with large devotional content and comes at a special introductory price for HomeShop18 customers."

A devotional game called 'Makhan Chor' has also been included. It is about helping child Krishna get to his makhan (butter).

The phone is available exclusively for about Rs 3,000 from homeshop18.com, a merchant website of the Network18 group.