Samsung to showcase a bendable tablet at MWC: Report

Samsung is planning to reveal the first-ever bendable tablet next week, according to a report by ET News.

According to the report, the tablet will be showcased at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona next week. The tablet is supposed to be bendable upto 90 degrees in the middle. This feature will make the lower half of the tablet function as a keyboard and the upper half as the screen. It will give users options to use the device in a tablet and a laptop mode as well.

Even though Samsung has no plans of launching bendable displays in the market till 2015, it is likely that the company will showcase the technology at MWC. 

Samsung has already revealed its first mobile smartphone featuring a flexible display, the Galaxy Round. As of yet the phone is only available in South Korea only. 

It is most likely that Samsung will showcase the tablet secretly and will be shown to a specific group of people.

Google starts rolling out a new YouTube interface

YouTube has launched a new center aligned user interface similar to its mobile app. The update also brings better playlist management options and makes the service more accessible.

The new interface has a center-aligned look which focuses more on videos. Two links at the top of the screen allow users to navigate between recommended videos and their subscriptions. The 'guide' which has your subscriptions and playlists is displayed more prominently next to the YouTube logo in the center of the screen.

What's more the new interface allows users to watch videos right within the guide screen, from their own curated lists or from channels that they have liked. Personal playlists have a better editing screen as well. For Example, clicking the 'Like' button next to your favorite musicians' favorite videos playlist, will automatically add that playlist to your collection.

The new interface also brings easier Playlist management options. Now, when you create a playlist, YouTube will pop up a new page that lets you organize your videos. The new design will be rolled out over the next few days for users worldwide.

Google had released a new update earlier this month for YouTube that shows the top music videos from the artist's official YouTube channel. The results will appear from random YouTube users as well as from other video sites, though the results from other sites are shown in a much smaller thumbnail.

Recently, YouTube started monitoring video views to avoid artificial inflated video counts. The Google-owned company says that it will take the accuracy of interactions like comments, views or likes "very seriously" as artificially inflating counts mislead fans about the popularity of a video.

Google unveils 3D smartphone technology project

Google has announced a new research project which aims to bring 3D technology to smartphones. The project is called Project Tango. Google hopes that it will make way for applications that might include indoor navigation for the blind and more immersive video games.

The company has developed a prototype smartphone which is equipped with a collection of cameras, sensors and chips that create a three-dimensional map of user's surroundings.

The search giant has said that it would provide the prototype to outside developers so that they are encouraged into writing new applications.

According to project leader Johnny Lee, the goal of the project is to incorporate robotics and vision-processing technology and give mobile devices a human-scale understanding of space and motion.

"What if you could capture the dimensions of your home simply by walking around with your phone before you went furniture shopping?" Google said on its Project Tango web page.

When it comes to games, the technology could be used for "playing hide-and-seek in your house with your favourite game character.

The smartphones are equipped with sensors which make over 1.4 million measurements per seconds, updating the position and rotation of the phone. Google has partnered with researchers from the University of Minnesota, George Washington University, German tech firm Bosch and the Open Source Robotics Foundation, among others.

Mobile commerce to grow 15% in 2014: InMobi report

InMobi, has released its 2014 Global Mobile Media Consumption Report, which provides insights into changing trends in mobile media consumption habits. The 2014 report findings reiterate that mobile devices becoming an important part of everyday life. It also shows growing trust and reliance on mobile devices is likely to have a significant impact on mobile commerce in 2014.

The report predicts a 15% increase in mobile commerce in 2014, with 83% of respondents planning to conduct mobile commerce in the next 12 months. Mobile has become a key factor affecting purchasing decisions, with 48% of respondents worldwide listing mobile as a key media which impacts purchasing decisions, and reliance on mobile is even higher in important consumer markets, like India, at 60%.

“In last year’s report we found that mobile had touched most aspects of modern life. But this year, we find that mobile has really become an essential part of daily life, even a daily workhorse, that has replaced the desktop and TV for everything from gathering key information, media consumption and accomplishing daily tasks, like shopping and paying bills,” said Naveen Tewari, CEO, InMobi. “Furthermore, with mobile content gaining similar prominence as TV, mobile advertising is now impacting consumer behavior across the entire purchasing lifecycle from small day-to-day purchases, to bigger purchases, like cars.”

While mobile already overtook TV last year in overall media consumption, this year more users are going mobile-only for their online access, shunning desktops, and engaging in multi-screening behavior if they do watch TV.

Key 2014 mobile media consumption statistics:

• The average mobile web user consumes 6.0 hours of media per day.
• 60% of the average global mobile web users now use mobile as either their primary or exclusive means of going online.
• Multi-screen behavior is common, 61% of mobile web users engage in mobile activities (e.g., social networking, text messaging) while watching TV.
• Mobile is an important companion particularly for in-between times, 83% of respondents use mobile while waiting for something, and 81% while lying in bed.
• 40% of Indonesians use mobile as their only means of web time, followed closely by 34% in India and South Africa.

According to the report, mobile commerce is rising, an increase of 15% expected this year. With smartphone penetration on the rise, more consumers than ever before are using their mobile devices to research product information and pick a retailer that best meets their needs during the buying process.

First Ubuntu smartphones to ship in 2014

Canonical has announced that it will launch its first Ubuntu based smartphones this year. The smartphones will be made by BQ, a Spanish manufacturer of multimedia devices and Meizu, a Chinese smartphone manufacturer. The phones will be available on the websites of the two manufacturers and at Ubuntu.com.

Canonical founder, Mark Shuttleworth, speaking in a web conference, said that the firm was working with some well-known brands also. But he also stressed that the two chosen companies were selected in order to bring out the devices into the market quickly.

"We're delighted to be working with some household names, but we wanted to start with partners we can get started with in 2014," he said.

The company is also expected to reveal some tablets as well.

So far Canonical has not revealed the specifications of the devices but said that it will reveal the Ubuntu based smartphones and tablets at Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona next week which will include the smartphones from BQ and Meizu. Shuttleworth has hinted that the BQ device will a dual-SIM phone and the one manufactured by Meizu would run on a hardware that the company has already used on its previous phones.

According to Shuttleworth, Canonical is trying to reveal Ubuntu as an alternative platform to Android. "We don't see BlackBerry and Windows Phone as direct competitors. The people who want to use those platforms are not going to choose Ubuntu, but those interested in Android may consider it. The position that we seek is to be a credible alternative to Android at scale for particular audiences," he said.

Google unveils 360-degree online view of Indian monuments

Google India and the Archaelogical Survey of India who recently teamed up together in order to create 360-degree online views of almost 100 national monuments have unveiled the project, the Ministry of Culture said in a press release today.

From today, people from around the world will be able to explore the Taj Mahal and other national Indian monuments online through Street View.

The project aimed to create a panoramic imagery of the "nationally important" monuments like Taj Mahal, Humayun's Tomb, Khajuraho, Red Fort and Agra Fort, etc. In order to make India's 100 most important heritage sites more accessible for the world, ASI teamed up with Google. The search giant says that it aims to share more of the Indian culture and heritage with people around the world.

“Today, this partnership with Google makes it possible for billions of people across the world to see and explore our magnificent heritage, to take a walk at the Rock Cut Jain Temple, to marvel at the Nagarjuna Konda Buddhist Stupas and to relive history in Fatehpur Sikri." Union Minister of Culture, Smt. Chandresh Kumari Katoch said.

Speaking to the press, Rajan Anandan, Vice President and Managing Director, Google India said, “ Google is deeply committed to helping preserve and showcase cultural heritage across the world. India is unique in terms of the sheer wealth of heritage and iconic historical monuments, and it has been our privilege to work with the ASI in collecting new 360-degree photos of 30 Indian heritage sites. We hope the imagery will help make India’s heritage and culture more accessible to people at home and abroad.“

So far, Google has released the first set of 360 degree online images of 30 monuments and will slowly keep adding other heritage sites. The annoucements for new releases will be made on Google Maps and Google Cultural Insitute sites.

Google uses street view cars to take multiple photographs of streets and buildings and attaches them together to create a panoramic views of these places.

Here's the map of the areas in the world which can be viewed through Google's Street View.

In order to view these monuments in a 3D view, go to Google Street View and search for the monument.Here's how Taj Mahal looks on Street View.

Fin: a ring that turns your palm into a touch interface

A Kerela based start-up has developed 'Fin,' a new gesture based wearable transmitter that turns your hand into a touch interface. The device lets the user make phone calls, text without touching their smartphone as well as adjust the volume of their TV.

The ring shaped device is worn on the thumb and uses Bluetooth to communicate with different devices. Earlier, the device had five pre-programmed gestures. However in its final iteration users will be able to create customized programs on an app that will come with the device. Fin's creators hope that their device will help people who are visually impaired.

According to the company the device can last up to a month on a single charge in power saving mode. Fin will be launched in September and will be available in five different colors for $120. Nattukallingal and his team aim to raise $100,000 in flexible funding on crowdfunding site Indiegogo; as of now the campaign has raised more than $20,000 with 18 days remaining.

“Fin is a real life buddy for every individual to do their digital interactions as natural as possible. Fin is a trendy gadget you can wear on the thumb and make your whole palm as a digital touch interface” says the company about this gadget.

"People in today's world are becoming more busy, but still they are wasting a lot of time interacting with their smart devices," Rohildev Nattukallingal, founder of the Koch-based RHL Vision Technologies, the startup behind Fin.

"Fin removes this interaction gap by allowing users to quickly interact with those devices," said Nattukallingal.

Wearable tech gadgets are on the rise, a new Bluetooth enabled 'Smarty Ring' raised more than $299,049 on crowdfunding site Indiegogo last month. The ring lets users check their smartphone alerts and manage incoming calls right from their finger. The ring can be used as a watch, phone finder and a timer and is compatible with both iOS and Android devices which have Bluetooth 4.0.

Microsoft renames Office Web Apps as 'Office Online'

Microsoft has rebranded Office Web Apps, as Office Online. The change was spotted by a Chinese website which discovered several pages on Microsoft's website with reference to the new name.

The internet giant admitted that the old name was confusing for the customers.

Microsoft's Office Web Apps has received some enhancements along with the rebranding, including a large library of ready-to-use templates and an app switcher. Microsoft Office 2010 or Office 2013 users can click on a button to open an online document in the pertinent desktop application.

"We heard from customers that the inclusion of Apps in our name was confusing," wrote Amanda Lefebvre, a senior product marketing manager with Microsoft, in a Thursday post. "Are they something I install? Do I go to an app store to get them? No, to use them all you need is a web browser. Ah! You say. So it’s like Office, online. Yes, exactly. Office Online.”

Lefebvre admitted, "A lot of you don't know that we have an online version of Office because you just couldn't find it," she wrote today.

Facebook to acquire WhatsApp for $16 billion-FullStory

Facebook has officially announced acquisition of the massively popular mobile messenger WhatsApp for a total of approximately $16 billion, including $4 billion in cash and approximately $12 billion worth of Facebook shares. The agreement also includes an additional $3 billion in restricted stock units for WhatsApp’s founders and employees that will released in over four years subsequent to closing. Also, WhatsApp co-founder and CEO Jan Koum will join Facebook Board of Directors.

The acquisition comes at a time when WhatsApp has already built a huge user base – 450 million monthly users worldwide. WhatsApp has continued to see a strong growth and is adding over 1 million new registered users per day. WhatsApp's messaging volume has already totalled the entire global telecom SMS volume. Last month, WhatsApp had announced hitting 430 million active users worldwide.

"WhatsApp is on a path to connect 1 billion people. The services that reach that milestone are all incredibly valuable," says Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook founder and CEO. "I've known Jan for a long time and I'm excited to partner with him and his team to make the world more open and connected."

Jan Koum, WhatsApp co-founder and CEO, says, “WhatsApp's extremely high user engagement and rapid growth are driven by the simple, powerful and instantaneous messaging capabilities we provide. We're excited and honored to partner with Mark and Facebook as we continue to bring our product to more people around the world.”

Facebook-WhatsApp deal is considered to be the biggest Internet deal since Time Warner Inc.’s $124 billion merger with AOL Inc. in 2001.

The new acquisition is most likely to benefit Facebook, which had been facing a stiff competition from the mobile messaging apps such as WhatsApp, WeChat, Kakao Talk, Snapchat, Line, BBM and Viber. Recognising the threat, Facebook has eaten up the competition and apparently become the leader in the mobile messaging space.

It'll be interesting to see if Facebook brings ads to the mobile messaging app, as the social networking giant has been looking to make money for the mobile platforms. However, WhatsApp co-founder and CEO Jan Koum has been against advertisements.

WhatsApp in a blog post says: “WhatsApp will remain autonomous and operate independently. You can continue to enjoy the service for a nominal fee. You can continue to use WhatsApp no matter where in the world you are, or what smartphone you’re using. And you can still count on absolutely no ads interrupting your communication. There would have been no partnership between our two companies if we had to compromise on the core principles that will always define our company, our vision and our product.”

Google Hackathon in Bangalore to promote Indian language apps

Google India will be hosting a two-day Hackathon and workshop in Bangalore that will focus on designing and creating Android applications in Indian languages. The event will take place on 21st and 22nd February, 2014.

According to Google, about 100 developers will be participating in this event, which is open to both amateur and professional developers. The Hackathon aims to promote regional languages and develop applications for Internet users who communicate and understand only their native language with a view to encouraging more users to come online.

"The next 300 million Internet users in India won’t use English. That’s why we’re working on enabling the Internet in Indian languages, which is the key to driving growth. We are seeing great interest from users in small towns across India, because people are becoming aware of the value of the Internet even in small towns and villages. This Hackathon will help organizations prepare for the coming growth in the Indian language Internet”, says Rajan Anandan, Managing Director of Google India on the launch of the initiative.

At the event, Google will host workshops covering the technical process of enabling apps in Indian languages and monetisation potential of language apps.

The sessions will also cover business aspects of enabling existing android applications in multiple languages and how that can further the reach and monetisation potential of the apps for the developers. The objective of the sessions is to enable better understanding of the growing Internet user base in India and the opportunity it represents for the developers and help them to build valuable skills.

Microsoft to give 100GB free storage to its first 100,000 OneDrive users

Microsoft is giving away 100GB of extra storage space to the first 100,000 people who sign up for their OneDrive accounts as part of its promotion post re-branding. The extra space will be added to users' existing OneDrive (formerly SkyDrive) storage, and will be available to users for one year.

Angus Logan, the group product marketing manager for OneDrive, confirmed the promotion but didn't reveal a specific launch date. He added that OneDrive users who want to get the free storage will have to check Microsoft's OneDrive Twitter feed for the latest news.

"We aren't announcing a time in advance. We're telling people to monitor [the OneDrive Twitter account] for clues about the promotion and how they can be part of the 100,000," said a Microsoft spokesperson.

The 100 GB of storage will be added to the 7 GB free storage that OneDrive provides on sign-up. Users can also get additional 5 GB of storage by inviting their friends to OneDrive, and get another 3 GB by using OneDrive's camera backup feature.

Microsoft is also offering additional online storage space to its tablet and Windows Phone users. Users will get an additional 200 GB of OneDrive space for two years with Surface 2 or Surface 2 Pro tablet. The company will also give bonus space to its users who have already been using Windows Phones.

Microsoft rebranded Skydrive to OneDrive after losing trademark lawsuit to British Sky Broadcasting Group in June last year. Initially Microsoft had decided to appeal against the UK courts ruling but later dropped it for a "reasonable period of time to allow for an orderly transition to a new brand" for SkyDrive. Microsoft has renamed SkyDrive and SkyDrive Pro to 'OneDrive' and 'OneDrive for Business' respectively.

Source: OneDrive

Soon you can send texts with flavored smells

A Harvard University researcher and his team has created an 'oChip' that can send thousands of unique fragrances via phone calls, text or social media.

The chip has been put in a phone called oPhone. It is the brainchild of Harvard Professor David Edwards and two of his design students, Rachel Field and Amy Yin, who have established Vapor Communications operating out of Le Laboratorie (Le Lab) in Paris to bring the device to market.

David Edwards also teamed up with French designers Baptiste Viala and Laurent Mion to produce a working prototype which was displayed at the arts and design center Le Laboratoire in Paris recently.

Edwards believes oPhone can send complex odors to people and may even help Alzheimer's patients recover old memories.

The scents can be shared via smartphone attachments and Bluetooth devices to other oPhones across the country, states or ocean.

So how does the oPhone work? It all begins with the reproduction of particular scents such as coffee or citrus flavors, and then by arranging molecules of these flavors in a certain order and at different ratios. The result creates aromatic profiles.

“Scents are deconstructed by an aroma expert. The specific aroma profiles are captured and loaded into an 'oChip',” explained David Edwards, a biomedical engineering professor at Harvard. "Each 'oChip' can release thousands of unique odors for 20 to 30 seconds," he added.

"We create unique aromatic profiles," says Blake Armstrong, director of business communications at Vapor Communications, an organization operating out of Le Laboratorie (Le Lab) in Paris. "We put that into the oChip that faithfully renders that smell."

Armstrong added that they are already working on improving the scent-transmitting phone for the end-of-year Beta release. They want feedback before a major release in 2015. The oPhone will eventually be smaller, "more intimate," according to Armstrong.

Guwahati teen develops computer system that uses microchip instead of hard disk

Guwahati schoolboy Afreed Islam has developed a prototype of a computer system that uses a microchip, embedded with an operating system, which allows dependencies on both Windows and Linux-based software simultaneously.

Afreed a student of Little Flower School, Hatigaon, has named his invention Revo Book. He says that the microchip replaced both mechanical and electronic hard disk drives that also doubles as a storage unit and therefore does not run the risk of data loss or system crash.

He has also developed an operating system called ReVo IX which he has installed on the microchip. He stated that his system comes with an integrated firewall, and works as a complete independent operating system. He added that he has applied for a patent for the OS.

“A hard disk drive always runs the risk of data loss as it has moving parts which may crash due to shock and also when brought in a strong magnetic field. However, the microchip has no moving parts and is also not influenced by magnetic field, therefore there is little risk of data loss of the microchip-run computing system invented by Afreed,” explained Anupam Barman, Senior Systems Consultant at the Assam Electronics Development Corporation Limited, who was also present at the launch of Afreed’s invention.

“The idea to develop the system came to my mind first when I was studying in Class VII and encountered some problems while operating the computers which my parents had bought for me,” said Afreed. Afreed has partnered with a German company for manufacturing the computer system.

Nokia teasers hint at Android-based Nokia X smartphone

Nokia has officially started to build hype around its much talked about Android-based Normandy smartphone, aka Nokia X. The company has posted three cryptic images including one treasure map on its Chinese Weibo page that hint at its new Android phone.

One of the images feature two monkeys, one in a tree and another on the ground. The second image has a tree with a DNA helix for roots. The green X shape give an obscure hint at the Nokia X.

The third, the treasure map, also has a green X. The text in the map says - February 24, 15:30 (8:30 am local time in Barcelona, Spain).

Moreover, Nokia on its Conversations page has posted a countdown along with familiar X mark. Check it out below:

With X clearly in the focus, Nokia's Android phone seems to be imminent on February 24 at the MWC 2014.

Nokia's Android phone has been rumoured for several months. The last round of rumours state the company has been sent out the device to developers in India. Nokia may release the smartphone in India towards end of the March. Another leaked image confirms the 'X' name of the smartphone.

The Nokia X is likely to be priced around Rs.6,000 as a recent listing on a Vietnamese online store confirmed the price of $110.

The much talked about Nokia X Android phone codenamed 'Normandy,' is expected to launch at the MWC in Barcelona on February 24. But the latest rumors suggest that Nokia X might be launched around some time later towards the end of March. Apparently the launch is being expected to be carried out at the start of the cricket league IPL.

So far, there is no confirmation from Nokia whether the company has indeed sent its Android phones to developers in India. Tech blog BGR India says that it has exclusively learned that “ Nokia has started seeding the smartphone, codenamed Normandy, to developers in India.”

In another development regarding the Nokia X, @evleaks, has leaked a press image of Nokia X. The image seems to have confirmed the name of the phone as Nokia X.

The tipster had tweeted earlier that the phone might officially be called as 'Nokia X.'

Nokia X. pic.twitter.com/meA05ALusT

— @evleaks (@evleaks) February 17, 2014

We will know on 24 February, if Nokia plans to launch Normandy during the event or later around IPL.

So far the rumors suggest that Nokia X will be powered by a 1GHz dual core Snapdragon processor, 512 of RAM and a 1500mAh battery.

According to reports, Normandy isn't going to be the only Android phone to be launched by Nokia. The company is reportedly planning to launch n the May-June timeframe at different price points.

Aakash 4 to launch in market for Rs. 3,999 soon: Kapil Sibal

The Indian government's ambitious ultra low-cost tablet PC – Aakash 4 – will be available in the market by end of March for Rs. 3,999. Confirming the development, Telecom Minister Kapil Sibal revealed tender for the Aakash 4 has been already floated by Directorate General of Supplies and Disposals (DGSD).

The Aakash 4 will feature a 7-inch scratch resistant capacitive touch screen, 4GB internal storage, external memory card slot with storage capacity of up to 32GB and front camera. For connectivity, it'll support Wi-Fi, 2G, 3G and 4G. You can check out the proposed specifications for the Aakash 4 tablet here.

As many as 17 companies including Dell, Intel, HP, Acer, Microsoft, DataWind, Micromax and Simmtronics are in race for the Aakash 4.

Despite various delays and spate of controversies, the Aakash has continued to be an important project for the Indian government. The tablet, aimed at bridging the digital divide in  the country, has already been showcased at the international platforms including the UN.

While the consumers continue to wait for the government's ultra low-cost tablet, the market is already awash with a wide range of ultra low-cost tablets. 

Slow start for Windows 8; initial sales disappoint

According to the company’s sale figures released on Thursday, Microsoft sold 100 million fewer licenses of Windows 8 than it had sold of Windows 7 in about the same amount of time.

Microsoft released Windows 7 on October 22, 2009. By January 2011, it had sold 300 million copies. On October 26, 2012, the company released Windows 8 and has confirmed that it sold only 200 million copies in February 2014. In May last year, Microsoft confirmed that it had sold 100 million licenses which was a good start despite drops in PC sales due to the growth of tablet market.

Market analysts speculate that the recent surge in demand of tablets has affected PC sales, which has subsequently affected sales of the latest Microsoft PC operating system.

Last month, the research firm, Gartner Inc. confirmed that Windows 8 had failed to boost the PC market. It also said that global PC shipments had declined by 4.9 percent in the fourth quarter of 2014.  

Lechal, world's first interactive footwear with haptic feedback, launched in Mumbai

Ducere Technologies, founded by two Indian techies announced the launch of LECHAL (pronounced lay-ch-al, meaning “take me there” in Hindi) claimed to be the world’s first interactive footwear with haptic feedback. The product is the first of many fashion segments that the company hopes to tap into, but at the same time the product has its roots in a socially beneficial noble cause. Lechal started as a project with a social aspect, which was to create an aid for the visually impaired and each pair sold will result in a subsidised pair for blind people.

In the press conference held at Mumbai today, one of the founders, CEO Krispian Lawrence unveiled two products, the first being an insole which can be slipped into any footwear to make it interactive and a shoe with the same technology incorporated in it. We’ll look into the details of the two products below.

Insole

Launching of the 7th of March 2014, the insole has all the electronics located at the heel, all of which has been fitted into a small module which can be easily removed. Each module has a weight threshold of 500kgs. The remaining portion of the insole can be replaced as and when they get worn out. They hope to keep the price of the insole below $100 while the replaceable portion can be obtained for Rs.500 , however, the final price would be unveiled on the launch date.

Shoe

The shoe will be launched in two colours – red and black. The pricing of the shoes wasn’t disclosed. The shoe has a flap near the rear cuff where the battery is slid in. The haptic feedback module might be located in the heel of the shoe.

Charger

Each module comes with a rechargeable battery that has reversible contacts. The charger has an inbuilt clapper which when activated beeps in a certain pattern to indicate the level of charge.

App
The app would appear to be at the core of the product line. The user can interact via voice commands and in order to keep it simple, most of the operations can be performed using the volume keys on your smartphone. The app will be out for all major platforms but the release date for the same was not revealed. From what we could gather the app has the following features.
- Maps your route taken and you can label and share routes
- Location tagging feature
- Multiple modes of transportation are covered
- Includes a waypoint system
- Calorie counter with fitness milestones
- Social media integration
- Tourism feature, wearer will be notified of points of interest with a little write up popping up in their phone at the same time
- Senses distance between phone and shoes, then alerts the user when the distance increases
- When a new route is pulled up you’ll be alerted if there is enough charge for the trip to begin with
- Future features include the ability to detect falls, with a call being placed to an emergency number in the event of a fall
- The shoe gives you the ability to record gestures, so raising your heal could allow you to tag a location or tapping your shoes twice could set it to navigate you back home

Development time
The prototype first made the headlines back in mid 2011 when the primary focus was towards developing an aid for the visually disabled. The prototype was developed on Arduino but they later migrated to using an AVR. When inquired if the API for the app would be released, Krispian mentioned that they would be release the API after further development but there would be restrictions placed on the developers.

A social cause
For each shoe that is purchased the company will subsidise one pair for the visually impaired and the prototype models are being tested out at the L.V. Prasad Eye Institute, Hyderabad where inputs from the visually impaired are being used towards further development.

About the company
Ducere technology was founded by Krispian Lawrence and Anirudh Sharma and is based in Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh. The primary focus of the company is towards fashion with technology being a byproduct of their tinkering.

The founders    

    

Krispian Lawrence
Co-Founder and CEO, Ducere Technologies
M.S in Electrical Engineering, University of Michigan-Ann Arbor

Anirudh Sharma
Co-Founder and CTO, Ducere Technologies
M.S in Media Arts and Science, MIT, Cambridge, Massachusetts

Interview - Sameer Parwani, Founder & CEO of CouponDunia.in

We speak with India’s leading budgeting website, that helps users find the best deals on various e-commerce websites, including the likes of amazon.in, Flipkart, Myntra, Zovi and Infibeam, including many others. We speak with Mr. Sameer Parwani, Founder & CEO of CouponDunia.in, and get an idea about the journey, the challenges and the future plans.

In a market crowded with e-commerce websites, how does CouponDunia.in plan to get the customer’s attention?

To begin with, CouponDunia is not an e-commerce website. We're a coupon website. For virtually every e-commerce store in India, we list coupons and offers that can be availed to save on a purchase. These coupons and offers are all free. Everyone loves saving money so the response we've received in the market has been excellent. We can boast to be the most popular coupon website in India due to our focus on helping people save money.

Can you tell us something about CouponDunia’s journey? And what is the vision for the future...

I started CouponDunia in December 2010 while living in the Boston area. Running a site for Indian consumers while in the USA came with a whole set of challenges. It was virtually impossible to hire people and totally impossible to meet clients. Even calls were tough due to the time difference. I hadn't ever lived in India, hadn’t visited India since 2004, and didn’t speak Hindi so there were even cultural issues to overcome.

But despite these issues we did really well. On the people front we hired contractors in the Philippines to add coupons. I became virtually nocturnal to have as much time as possible to deal with clients.

It then got to a point where it became clear that I needed to shift to India to allow CD to reach its full potential. So I finally moved here in August 2012. From there we've grown even further. At that point we had 4-5 employees and now we have almost 40 and have expanded our operations into 4 new countries.

Going forward we plan to continue to expand internationally. Our domestic plans are to go from distributing coupons that only can be used for online shopping to also distributing coupons that can be used offline.

How does CouponDunia generate revenues?

It’s a pretty straightforward business model. We send our users to our partner merchant sites where these users makes purchases. For every purchase made by a customer sent by us, the merchant pays us commission.

Can you give us some numbers on CouponDunia’s registered users? Among them, which is the most active demographic?

We have almost 10 lakh newsletter subscribers and over 1.7 million monthly visitors. The most active of these users are usually males between 25 and 31 years of age.

Which categories of products and which website deals are the most sought after on your portal? Please share some figures also specific to gadget categories.

Electronics is definitely the most sought after category. Last December, our users bought about 2.5 crores worth of electronics from Flipkart alone. Fashion and travel are also very popular. Coupons that are applicable on all products or multiple categories do really well as the user has a huge range of options to choose from.

What is your strategy to take on the competition?

What differentiates us from our competitors is the quality and accuracy of our content. We’re constantly striving to provide a better user experience through design and algorithm upgrades as well as exclusive discounts. Since we have the largest audience of discount seeking users, merchants are more willing to share better coupons with us than our competition.

Does CouponDunia have any role in the buyer-seller interaction/transaction? Do you take any measure to ensure validity and safety of transactions?

We make transactions more likely to happen by ensuring consumers get a good value. Shoppers hesitate to buy due to the unknown of whether they are getting a fair price or not. We take that fear away and hence more sales happen.

Airtel to acquire Loop Mobile in a Rs.700 crore deal

Bharti Airtel, which just bought the 900 MHz band spectrum in Mumbai in an auction, is likely to acquire Loop Mobile in the next couple of days.

The deal will make Bharti Airtel the largest telecom operator in Mumbai, with over 7 million subscribers. It surpasses Vodafone's Indian unit, which has nearly 6.9 million customers.

According to sources involved in the deal, Bharti Airtel will get Loop's 3 million subscribers, about 400 telecom towers and optic fiber. It includes the electronic equipment on which the Loop's network currently runs.

According to sources, the deal is likely to be finalized for about Rs 700 crore. Currently, Loop Mobile has a debt of Rs 400 crore which is expected to be included in the final transaction. Bharti as well as Loop Mobile have declined to comment on the deal.

Loop Mobile has been in discussions with Airtel since last year. It is one of the oldest and most profitable telecom operators in the Mumbai area. The company which operates in the 900 MHz frequency did not renew its 10 year license. Instead Airtel bought the premium 900 MHz spectrum in Mumbai service area for about Rs 2,800 crore. The amount is about 70 per cent premium over the base price. The 900 MHz frequency band that Loop uses is preferred by cellular companies as it is more efficient and requires a lesser number of cell phone towers. Loop Mobiles generates the highest average revenue per user (ARPU) per month and has nearly 30% post-paid subscribers.

Doctors use Google Glass in a cancer surgery

Google Glass was used by surgeons in a cancer surgery to summon patient records. Two physicians, Dr. Szotek and Dr. Jeff Browne, each sported Google Glass during a four-hour abdominal surgery and relied on Google's voice control to access medical information as they sliced out a tumor.

Google Glass was able to pull out the patient's records, including MRI and X-ray information on its display for the surgeons reference, just out of the surgeons line of sight during the surgery.

The doctors have big plans for Google Glass and want to use the wearable technology to stream videos for educational purpose, giving students insights into different stages of surgery. Dr. Szotek also plans to use biological tracers that could help Google Glass identify tumors from healthy tissue.

Doctors suggest that this automatic differentiation "could revolutionize the field of cancer surgery" and will help in complete removal of cancerous tissue while still leaving as much healthy tissue behind as possible.

"This 'Star Trek'-style technology could really have a major impact on how we practice medicine." Dr. Szotek stated.

Google Glass is not the only wearable technology making inroads in the medical field. Researchers at Washington University recently demonstrated their own smart glasses system that was capable of identifying cancerous tissue. The High-tech eyewear could help surgeons in removing tumors from patients with breast cancer or melanoma. The eyewear that looks similar to Google Glass, shows the margins of tumors more accurately when a dye is used to fluoresce a tumor’s borders.

Dhingana no more

Popular Indian music streaming startup, Dhingana has shut down its operations, reports Medianama. The apps related to Dhingana have also been taken down from the app stores.

The companies top management has refused to make any comment on this decision. Though contrary to earlier reports back in December when it's CEO Rohit Bhatia told the media that the company was in the process of restructuring its operations and plainly declined to make any official comments on the possibility of a shut down.

Their Twitter page also has not been updated for quite some time, instead they have subtlely posted a message on their website which says:

We hope that you enjoyed listening to Dhingana as much as we enjoyed building it. But alas, all good things must come to an end. We thank you from the bottom of our hearts for letting us be a part of your musical moments! – The Dhingana Team.

The shutdown comes as a bit of a surprise as it was one of the most top funded music startups in India. Launched in the year 2007, Dhingana raised $7 million in series B funding led by Lightspeed Venture Partners. Since December last year, the online music streaming service has had over 9 million monthly active users. Experts are of the opinion that many music services have been struggling lately because companies like T-Series have been blocking access to its music.

Reports about the startup's uncertain future started popping up last year when T-series decided to end it's partnership agreement with the media start-up. T-Series has not renewed it’s license for Dhingana.com and T-Series’ music has been withdrawn from the site with immediate effect.

"We were not able to see much traction from this platform as compared to other similar services in India and abroad and thus decided to part ways in an amiable manner," said Neeraj Kalyan, President of T-Series.

"I have been informed about the closure of Dhingana a couple of days ago and I speak on behalf of the music industry when I say it saddens us no end," Devraj Sanyal, managing director of Universal Music and EMI Music South Asia said.

With Dhingana no more, we are left with Gaana, Saavn and Hungama.

Google acquires sound based authentication start-up 'SlickLogin'

SlickLogin, a sound based password alternative has been acquired by Google.

The deal was officially confirmed by the company on its website, where the homepage reads "SlickLogin joins Google". Their primary reason for merging with Google is to “make the Internet safer for everyone." The exact details of the deal are not out yet, though we'll keep you updated as soon as we hear something.

SlickLogin was launched to be used as a password replacement alternative. It acts as a secondary layer atop a traditional password. In order to verify a user's identity, a website would play a nearly silent sound through user's computer's speakers, while an app running on your phone would pick up and analyze it, and send back the sound signal data collected to the site's server in order to confirm your identity.

Over the years, we have witnessed a rise in the number user id's being compromised, and that's what SlickLogin is aiming at. It basically allows you to log in to a website on your PC while holding your phone within a few inches away from it. It uses a number of protocols to verify your phone's exact position: Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, NFC and GPS.

Microsoft brings eSignatures to Office 365

Microsoft Corp. and DocuSign have announced a long-term strategic partnership to make the eSignature apps available from within Microsoft Office 365. The app will be launched in early March this year.

The eSignature will provide customers with the ability to submit and sign documents without leaving Microsoft applications for easy transactions. The new app, built on the Office 365 platform, will include quick integration within Outlook, SharePoint Online, Word and SharePoint Server 2013. This means that Office 365 and SharePoint admins will be able to add the service remotely and the tool will also be integrated with the Azure Active Directory. Therefore no separate sign-in will be required to use DocuSign. All the documents will be stored on Microsoft's OneDrive for Business.

DocuSign will demonstrate the new DocuSign Apps at Microsoft's SharePoint 2014 Conference , March 3–6, in Las Vegas, and at DocuSign MOMENTUM , March 4–6, in San Francisco.

“"Leading partners like DocuSign are building apps on the Office platform to help our customers get more value directly from their most highly used applications," said John Case, vice president of Marketing, Microsoft Office. "This partnership with DocuSign helps our customers keep transactions digital and manage eSignatures seamlessly from within Office 365, where they already communicate, collaborate and create."

"We're excited about the momentum behind Office 365 and customers making the transition from their traditional Office applications to all-new scenarios enabled by cloud services," said Keith Krach, chairman and CEO, DocuSign. "We believe Office 365 customers of all sizes will appreciate the seamless availability of DocuSign integrated into the applications they use every day. The combination of Microsoft and DocuSign further helps organizations keep business digital, and leverages the power of the cloud to help them focus on business results."

According to reports Microsoft is thinking of bringing Android apps to its Windows and Windows Phone platforms. The move expected to help Microsoft resolve app-availability problems and help Windows Phone catch up to rival Android and iOS platforms. According to The Verge, Microsoft's team is split on the decision.

Virgin Atlantic uses wearable tech for passenger check-ins

Virgin Atlantic has become the first airline for  using Google Glass and Sony Smartwatch technology for passenger check-in at the London Heathrow airport in an innovative pilot scheme.

Virgin Atlantic has tied up with air transport IT specialist SITA, and will be the first in the industry to test the latest wearable technology. The program, currently designed to aid customer service staff attending to upper class passengers, uses Google Glass and Sony's Smart Watch 2 to serve up information about passengers and their destinations.

The airline staff will be able to update passengers about the flight information, translate foreign languages, weather or inform them about local events happening at their destination. If successful, Virgin says that they would bring Google Glass or the Sony watches to other airports as well.

Virgin Atlantic director of IT, Dave Bulman, said: "Our wearable technology pilot with SITA makes us the first in the industry to test how Google Glass and other wearable technology can improve the customer experience.

"We are upholding Virgin Atlantic's long tradition of shaking things up and putting innovation at the heart of the flying experience," he said in a statement.

SITA chief technology officer Jim Peters said: "At SITA Lab, we've taken the lead in testing and trialing this new technology for the air transport industry, and it's been fantastic to work with Virgin Atlantic to launch the industry's first wearable technology application."

Google Glass is available for users who sign for up the company's Glass Explorer program, with the hardware running $1,499 a pair. Google recently added new features to its Glass including wink gesture to take photos, updated security features, full Hangouts support and also has a new option for uploading videos directly to YouTube.

eBay India starts '9 hour delivery' service in Mumbai

eCommerce marketplace eBay India has started its ‘9 Hour Delivery’ service in Mumbai to cover popular lifestyle as well as technology products including laptops, mobiles, perfumes, jewellery and much more.

The ‘9 Hour Delivery’ service is meant for shoppers who want their favourite gadgets and lifestyle products as soon as possible. eBay has tied up with the Mumbai Dabbawala Association and Meru Cabs to generate awareness about the service.

The Mumbai Dabbawalas will wear eBay India T-Shirts to distribute leaflets along with their lunchbox deliveries from February 7 – 11, 2014. Meru Cabs will provide free cab rides from 12 noon to 9 pm to passengers across select locations in the city including the Kalaghoda Festival on February 9. Additionally, live contests on Radio and eBay social platforms (Twitter and Facebook) will also be launched to promote the campaign.

Commenting on the campaign, Ms. Deepa Thomas, eCommerce Evangelist, eBay India said, “We are constantly looking for innovative ideas to engage with our consumers & provoke eCommerce trial. This campaign is a part of our endeavor to not only spread awareness about the ‘9 Hour Delivery’ service recently launched in Mumbai but also to encourage more people to shop online. With this ground activation we will be covering key pockets of South Mumbai and Western Suburbs to engage consumers.”

Amazon and Flipkart have also launched similar services with assured same day delivery for consumers.Amazon is providing the service in several cities in India including Mumbai, New Delhi, Bangalore, Ahmedabad, Pune and Hyderabad for an additional Rs 99. Flipkart is also offering its 'In-a-day' delivery service in select cities including Mumbai, Delhi, Noida, Chennai, Pune, Bangalore and Hyderabad by paying an additional charge of Rs. 90 per product.