Android Basic Terminologies

Android Basic Terminologies
What is Android?
In a layman’s term, Android is operating system that runs on primarily on mobile platform (Cellphone/tablets). It certainly is not the hardware that you get when you purchase a phone.

Architecture of Android
Before I go in depth about ROM and Super User, let me tell you a little about the architecture of android. For any computational device to work there needs to be certain element which interacts with the hardware. Hardware alone can’t do a thing unless it is directed to. This direction/interaction with the hardware is done through the innermost layer of the operating system known as kernel. The Kernel inside android is a fork of present day Linux Kernel.

The layer above kernel is what gives the kernel instruction to perform specific tasks. For instance if your click on the browser icon on the launcher, the input is interpreted by kernel (as it interacts with hardware) but what to do with this input is understood by the next layer, which is application. In this case the launcher. So the question is how does launcher work? It doesn’t directly work with kernel, instead there is an intermediate called Dalvik Virtual Machine which runs these applications. If you are familiar with Java you will understand this quite easily, but if you don’t get it don’t bother.

In short, hardware interacts with kernel which interacts with Dalvik virtual machine which interacts with applications, and all these together combined is called ROM.

ROM, RAM and Firmware
ROM stands for Read Only Memory, there are many kinds of ROM, some which can be erased, some that can be programmed. ROMs are used to store the entire stack that I mentioned above. Whole Kernel, DVM and Applications are stored in these ROM, hence the name.

There is quite a difference between ROM and RAM so don’t get confused. On one hand ROM is like a permanent storage, RAM is the temporary storage. It stores the run time data that is generated during processing.

And, if you hear someone say something about ‘firmware’ don’t get confused because ROM and Firmware are almost the same.

What is Rooting? Who is a Super User?
If you are an avid ‘Linux/Unix’ user then I don’t need to answer these, but for others let me put it this way. If you have read till now you would realize that Linux Kernel is in the heart of this device. So all the inherent features of operating system would be same as Linux. Therefore which is the one user which can do anything/everything on a Linux system?

The answer is Root aka super user, and hence the term rooting.

Rooting gives you the rights/permission to do certain tasks on android which has inherently been blocked by the handset makers for both simplicity and security of the device. You might have noticed that when you install any application from android market, it asks for certain permissions. Similarly there are some applications which require system level permissions for them rooting is required.

There are different ways to root android (depending on the version), but we will not deal with them here.

Flashing the ROM
As you might know, Android is an open source initiative and anyone can go ahead and build his/her own custom operating system for their handset. There are numerous developers working on building their own versions of Android. One of them that we mentioned previously is known as Cyanogenmod. There are many such ROMs built for many different devices, and process of installing these on the handset is commonly knows as flashing. The process of flashing varies from handset to handset and ROM to ROM. It isn’t a difficult task, but certainly requires lots of research.

I think this should be enough for the basics, though you should know about some common terms used in relation to android.

Deodexed – If you are new to flashing and modding, don’t bother with this one. It is for those who venture a little deep into it. And if you are really interested in knowing what exactly it is you read about it in this excellent article at addictivetips.com.
Partitions – Don’t get confused when someone says ‘ROM partitions should be ext4 or Reiserfs’. Partitioning is dividing the internal memory of the handset, and ext4/reiserfs are the file systems. Like in case of Windows, fat32 and ntfs.
Bootloader – Again, if you are linux user I don’t need to explain you this, but for the ignorant ones, bootloader is what loads the kernel into the main memory so that it can interact with hardware. I won’t go deep into how it works, but would point out that the moment your device starts the first thing that comes up after powering on is Bootloader, which loads the modules of kernel in memory.

Ok enough of complex stuffs, let me tell you about the applications you might need if you think of flashing.

Odin – Its a Windows application which interacts with the device at hardware level and can write on ROM (Read only memory) of the handset.
CWM – Clockwork Mod is an application installed on android device that manages the ROM(the stack) installed in the system. It can be used to install or backup the roms.

This is more than enough information for one read. If you wish to know more about your handset post your queries here and I will guide you to right place. Also for most of HTC/Samsung/Motorola phones the best place to venture is XDA Forum.

HTTP Status codes explained

Different Types of HTTP Status Codes

What is an HTTP status code and why should you care about them, if you have a website or a blog?

Whenever you enter the address of a webpage in your browser’s address bar, the browser requests data from the server where the page is originally hosted. The web server returns the data but before the browser receives and renders the data at the clients end, an HTTP header is returned by the web server that has the status code of the given page.

In general, HTTP status codes are not meant for human visitors but both desktop and mobile browsers use this information to know more about the present condition of the webpage in question. If the page is in a healthy state, the HTTP status code returned should be a 200 OK. If the page has been moved to a new address, the HTTP status code should be 301 and so on.

There are lots of different HTTP status codes in place and the following table should explain what are the different types of HTTP header responses and their purpose in brief detail:

HTTP Status code	Type	Description	Link Juice
Redirected
300	Redirection	The server is waiting for an action from the user so that it can fetch a new resource	Depends
301*	Redirected	The old page has permanently moved to a new web address	Carried
302	Redirected	The old page has temporary moved to a new location but the user should continue using the old URL later	Not carried
303	Conditional redirection	The user is requested to do some action (GET request) so that the current page may redirect to another resource. The GET request
is conditional.	Not carried
304	Conditional redirection	The user has performed some action (conditional GET request) but the current page was not modified.	Not carried
305	Redirected	The user can only access the requested page using a proxy.	Not carried
306	Redirected	The server is fetching the page from another location but it will soon fetch the page from its older source. This status code is rarely used over a 302.	Not carried
Successful
200 **	Success	The server has processed the webpage correctly.	Carried
201	Success	The server has processed the requested page and created a new page or resource during the request.	Depends
202	Partial success	The server has received the request for the webpage and is currently processing it.	Carried
203	Partial success	The server has received the request for the webpage and it is waiting for a resource from another page.	Carried
204	Partial success	The server processed the request for the webpage but no content has been returned due to an error.	Carried
205	Partial success	Same as 204 but this time the server is waiting for the user to complete a specific action.	Carried
206	partial Success	The server received a partial GET request from the user.	Carried
Request Errors
400	Fail	Wrong syntax sent by the user	Not carried
401	Authentication required	The page is behind a login and/or requires an authentication from the user.	Not carried
403 ***	Forbidden	The server denied the request.	Not carried
404	Page does not exist	The requested page is not found on the server.	Not carried
405	Not allowed	The server is not allowing any request to the page for this user.	Not carried
406	Not allowed	The server can’t respond to the request at this time.	Not carried
407	Proxy required	The resource must be requested via a proxy.	Not carried
408	Timed out	The server timed out performing the request.	Not carried
409	Conflict	The user’s action has given rise to a conflict of resource.	Not carried
410 #	Permanently removed	The page has been permanently removed from the server.	Not carried
Server Errors
500	Internal Server error	The server is facing issues with some internal configuration and thus unable to fulfill the request at this time	Not carried
501	Not recognized	The server is not equipped to understand the type of request sent	Not carried
502	Bad gateway	While fulfilling the current request, the server received an incorrect response from its upstream server	Not carried
503	Server not available	The server is facing downtime or is currently unavailable	Not carried
504	Gateway timeout	The server is acting as a gateway or a proxy server to another resource and didnt received a timely request from the user	Not carried
505	Server does not support protocol	The server is not configured to support the HTTP protocol version that is used in the request	Not carried

* This is the only way to tell search engines that your old page has moved to a new location and the newer URL should be re-crawled and re-indexed. Only this server header preserves link juice and Google Pagerank but remember that if the page is part of a redirect chain, a considerable portion of the PR may be lost overtime.

** This should be normally the HTTP status code returned by a webpage if it’s static in nature and needs no GET request from the user.

*** If any of your pages return a 403 HTTP status code, it means that your web server denied the request of the page to Googlebot and human visitors. A possible case is when your web host is facing downtimes or it is blocking spiders and search bots from accessing some parts of your website, so you should be careful about it.

# This is similar to a 404 error but the standard practice is to 301 redirect the missing page to it’s newer location. If the page has no new location, it is recommended to return a 410. If you have temporarily removed the page from the server, use a 503 instead.

Boost Weak Cell Service at Home: Your Options

Boost Weak Cell Service at Home: Your Options

Even the best wireless networks often can't deliver a consistent signal inside your house. Femtocells and repeaters will usually help, but they'll cost you.

The problem is familiar to many cell phone users: When you're indoors, even within your carrier's coverage area, the network's signal sometimes simply isn't strong enough to support voice calls or data services. With so many consumers ditching their landlines for cell phones, poor reception at home is no longer acceptable. Fortunately, a slew of products now address the problem, though they don't come cheap.

Ssignal-boosting products generally fall into one of two categories: femtocells or signal repeaters. Both types of equipment can deliver strong signals within buildings, but they work in fundamentally different ways.

Femtocells act as miniature cell phone towers that connect to a home network router and use your wired broadband connection to move voice calls and data services to and from your carrier's network. Femtocells don't rely on the carrier's towers at all, but because they use technology that can direct data and calls back to the carrier networks over the Internet, most of them are sold by the carriers themselves.

Repeaters and boosters, on the other hand, amplify and rebroadcast cell tower signals. Since they don't require carrier support, they tend to be manufactured and sold by third parties such as Wi-Ex (under the brand name ZBoost) and Wilson Electronics.
Understanding Femtocells

While repeaters have been around for several years, femtocells are relative newcomers to the mobile scene. Of the four major U.S. carriers, two--Sprint and Verizon--have been selling femtocells (under the brand names Airave and Network Extender, respectively) for the past few years; AT&T introduced its 3G MicroCell femtocell last year.

The first Sprint and Verizon Wireless femtocells supported only voice calls, but current models support high-speed data as well as voice. Sprint charges $130 for its Airave access point (with a two-year service plan); there's no additional charge for using Airave to enhance coverage with an existing plan, but Sprint does offer a $25-a-month unlimited calling plan for Airave calls--which might appeal to anyone who is considering dropping landline voice service. Current Airave access points support EvDO Rev. A 3G data speeds and up to six simultaneous calls.

Verizon Wireless charges $250 for its Network Extender, which also supports 3G data, and the carrier imposes no monthly service fee. AT&T sells the MicroCell for $150, also with no mandatory service fee; it also offer an optional $20-a-month unlimited calling plan, plus price breaks for customers who sign up for the company's DSL service.

The Beauty of the Femtocell

AT&T's 3G MicroCell, made by Cisco.

Femtocells appeal to consumers and carriers on several levels. Consumers like them because they provide immediate five-bar coverage across an area of up to 2500 square feet, regardless of how far you are from a cell phone tower. A strong signal typically means better voice quality, fewer dropped calls, and faster data speeds. Good signals also improve a phone's battery life, since its radios don't have to work as hard.

Femtocells are low-power wireless access points that operate within a licensed spectrum to connect standard mobile devices to a mobile operator’s network via residential DSL or cable broadband connections.

Another benefit: You can configure the femtocell to recognize and prioritize the phones you authorize, so neighbors can't mooch off your service at your expense. Interestingly, Verizon Wireless's FAQ for its Network Extender says that, though you can prioritize up to 50 Verizon Wireless numbers, the device will remain available to all Verizon Wireless subscribers within range when priority numbers aren't using it.

This brings us to a big reason why wireless providers like femtocells: They offload some of the expense that the carriers might otherwise incur in order to expand network capacity and/or coverage. Femtocells also help retain customers in locations where carriers can't significantly improve reception on their own (such as basements, suburbs that don't want new cell towers, locales with difficult topography such as steep hills and valleys, and skyscrapers with thick walls). In fact, forum posts indicate that Sprint has occasionally given customers Airave units to keep them from switching to another carrier.


Femtocell Weaknesses

Price aside, femtocells have some limitations. For one thing, you can use a femtocell only at the address where it is registered. To enforce that restriction, the FCC stipulates that all femtocells must be equipped with GPS receivers, and that they either must be placed close enough to a window to receive GPS signals directly or must be connected to a GPS antenna that can pick up the signals.

David Nowicki, marketing vice president for femtocell vendor Airvana and for the Femto Forum trade association, says that the FCC imposed the location restriction to enable carriers to track the femtocell's position and disable its operation in areas where the carrier doesn't own the frequencies that the femtocell supports and where, consequently, using the femtocell might interfere with another carrier's network. Even so, forum posts suggest that femtocells sometimes hurt neighbors' regular network reception when deployed in close proximity.

Then again, it’s not necessarily a bad thing that femtocells are aware of their location. That, coupled with the device's ability to recognize when an authorized phone is nearby, could enable carriers to offer customers additional services that go beyond improving reception, including 911 services.

Network handoff issues are another concern. You can start a call on femtocell service and then hand it off to the regular network as you leave the femtocell's coverage area (assuming that the nearest cell tower is close enough). But calls initiated on the regular network can't be handed off to a femtocell.

And finally, critics complain about having to pay for a service that essentially deliver what the wireless network is supposed to have provided all along. "It's a fair point," Nowicki concedes. But carrier spokespeople say that no carrier can provide coverage in all locations of its service area. Verizon Wireless spokesperson Thomas Pica describes the Network Extender as a "niche product," given that the vast majority of Verizon customers don't need one because of the carrier's robust network.

What about the broadband ISP that now gets to carry the wireless carrier's traffic? Nowicki says that the bandwidth consumption of mobile devices is tiny compared to that of most home and office networks. For that reason, femtocells don't impose a significant burden on the ISP, which in some cases is run by the same company as the mobile carrier anyway.
T-Mobile’s Approach

T-Mobile has taken a different approach to improving weak cell signals. Phones that support Wi-Fi Calling use UMA (Unified Mobile Access) technology to route calls over Wi-Fi hotspots. T-Mobile notes that this helps with calls made through any hotspot that its phones can access, and not just at a single location (which is the case with femtocells). However, T-Mobile's Android phones can't hand off calls made using Wi-Fi hotspots to T-Mobile's cellular network; other phones that support Wi-Fi Calling can. T-Mobile has no announced plans to introduce femtocells, but a spokesperson says that the carrier continues to review customer equipment options for improving coverage.


Repeaters and Boosters

Repeaters (also called "boosters")--the other class of products designed to improve poor cell reception--depend on at least a weak cell tower signal to amplify and rebroadcast. They work with specific frequencies, independent of carrier; some support more than one frequency. On the frequencies they support, repeaters improve both voice calls and data speeds.




Many repeaters have multiple parts, starting with an antenna that you place as close as possible to the strongest cell tower signal--typically, near a window or even outdoors. The antenna transmits signals over a cable connected to an amplifier, which boosts the signal and retransmits it indoors. In some cases, the amplifier and indoor antenna are integrated; in others, the amplifier hooks up to a separate, centrally located indoor antenna in the home or office. The area of coverage depends on the strength of the amplifier and of the signal being amplified.

Unlike femtocells, repeaters can't be configured to recognize specific phones. Consequently, the amplified signals benefit any mobile device within range that operates on the supported frequencies--though obviously the owner's devices are more likely to benefit than a neighbor's devices located farther away from the indoor antenna. It's up to you (with the help of your reseller) to ensure that your repeater kit amplifies the frequency or frequencies that your carrier uses in your area. You can get help in choosing the right repeater kit from specialty retailers such as wpsantennas.com or RepeaterStore.
Repeaters Don’t Come Cheap

Repeater kits can be more expensive than femtocells. Pricing depends on how large an area you want to cover. Wi-Ex's ZBoost line includes SoHo products that range in price from $169 to $399, and you can spend up to $600 for kits that cover areas larger than 2500 feet--the maximum handled by femtocells. On the other hand, Wi-Ex marketing vice president Sharon Cupett notes, there are no monthly fees for repeaters--and of course, no broadband service is involved.

Though repeaters rebroadcast over carrier-owned frequencies, they are legal if they don't interfere with cell tower signals (which is why repeater signals have limited strength). One way to avoid problems is to look for FCC-certified repeaters; some are still awaiting approval, however. Check with the reseller.
Repeater vs. Femtocell

Should you get a repeater or a femtocell? Generally, femtocells are a good match for cell phone customers with broadband service who don't want to pay $300 or more for equivalent repeater coverage and who want to avoid many of the antenna-positioning hassles that repeaters entail. You do need a GPS signal, but those are available pretty much everywhere. Cell tower sites with signals that repeaters can work with are probably less common. But if your carrier doesn't offer a femtocell, a repeater may be the only way to improve your indoor coverage.

Iomega launches Four-Drive NAS Appliance

Iomega launches Four-Drive NAS Appliance

The StorCenter ix4-200d, the latest four drive NAS appliance announced by Iomega is available in 2TB, 4TB and 8TB capacities. It utilizes the acclaimed EMC LifeLine software, a fully-developed Linux operating environment and suite of applications that protects your data and performs valuable business tasks above and beyond simple storage, all designed to make it easy to securely store, protect and serve up data when you need it and where you want it. EMC LifeLine software is designed for cross-platform support with PC, Mac and Linux computers. It can be configured with different levels of RAID support: RAID 5 (pre-configured) and RAID 10 (both with automatic RAID rebuild), as well as JBOD. The four drives in the ix4 are user replaceable SATA II hard drives that minimize downtime. With dual Gigabit Ethernet connectivity and a high-performance embedded architecture, the ix4-200d boosts small business productivity by making data readily accessible and secure over a local network. The ix4-200d also has three USB 2.0 ports for adding printers or additional storage capacity with external USB drives.


Its features also include Device-to-Device Replication (D2D), VMware Ready Certification, Remote Access, Multiple Network Protocols,Time Machine Support, UPS Support, Video Surveillance, Print Server, Bluetooth capability and Picture Transfer Protocol. Iomega says the StorCenter ix4-200d is the ideal NAS appliance for small businesses, distributed offices and home office networks that require advanced data storage and protection features without the need for a dedicated IT staff.

New Twitter scam "Your Online Timer" spreading rapidly

New Twitter scam "Your Online Timer" spreading rapidly

Twitter users, beware of an online scam doing the rounds across the popular microblogging / social networking website. Your Online Timer, a rogue application designed to help scammers by spreading links pointing to online surveys is spreading fast across Twitter, IT security firm Sophos warned.

The Your Online Timer application claims to count how long Twitter users have been members of the social networking site.

Sophos reports a variant of the following message appearing on various Twitter profiles within the past day, allegedly displaying the affected Twitter user's time spent on the site:

The message appears on Twitter profiles after users authorise "Your Online Timer" application to access and update their Twitter accounts.

Sophos says once you authorize the application to post to your Twitter profile, users are redirected to a website which claims to indicate their time spent on Twitter. After this a page pops up in the browser displaying a survey which earns the scammers money for each questionnaire completed.

WD Scorpio Black 750 GB Available, is 2.5-inch 7200rpm HDD

WD Scorpio Black 750 GB Available, is 2.5-inch 7200rpm HDD

Western Digital has announced that it has begun shipping its new WD Scorpio Black 750 GB hard drive (model number WD7500BPKT). This 2.5-inch laptop hard drive is meant to provide high-performance, with a rotation speed of 7200 RPM. The new model offers a 16 MB cache, uses Advanced Format (AF) technology, and is claimed to incorporate data-protection features to actively monitor and protect valuable data.

The WD Scorpio Black is one of the few 2.5-inch laptop compatible hard drives to spin at 7200rpm, yet offer data storage capacity of as much as 750GB. Western Digital offers a five-year limited warranty on this product, and it is expected to sell at Rs. 5,275 (excluding tax).

"Our most demanding customers have come to expect "no compromises" from our all of our Black series products," explained Sushil Bandi, Country Manager for the Indian sub-continent, Western Digital. "The new WD Scorpio Black drive does not disappoint, providing users of portable devices the necessary speed, significant storage and efficient power management needed to enjoy their favorite HD content, high resolution images, powerful office applications or gaming at home, in the office or on the road."

Internet Explorer 9 Chalks up 2.3 Million Downloads

Internet Explorer 9 Chalks up 2.3 Million Downloads

Microsoft has claimed that their newly released Internet Explorer 9 Web browser was downloaded 2.35 million times in the first 24 hours of its release. In a post on Windows Team Blog, Ryan Gavin, Senior Director, Internet Explorer claims that the browser was downloaded 27 times per second in the first 24 hours.

While these numbers may look impressive, a story by The Register helps put these numbers in context. The first 24 hours of the Opera 11 Web browser launch was said to have seen 6.7 million downloads while Mozilla came up with even bigger numbers for their Firefox 3.0 launch- eight million downloads in 24 hours. So, while IE9’s download count beats IE8, it still lags behind Firefox and Opera.

Internet Explorer 9 was launched on Monday and has generally received positive response from critics and users (along with some brickbats).

RIM to use Microsoft's Cloud Services on its Playbook

RIM to use Microsoft's Cloud Services on its Playbook

RIM has announced its plan to partner with Microsoft to integrate cloud services to RIM's Blackberry devices including the upcoming Playbook tablet. The cloud-based service from Microsoft called the Office 365 is a service that has communications and collaboration products with Microsoft's latest version of desktop suite for businesses. The Office 365 includes Microsoft Office Professional Plus, Microsoft Exchange Online, Microsoft SharePoint Online and Microsoft Lync Online. RIM's Blackberry devices will carry the Office 365 and the RIM's Blackberry Enterprise Servers will connect to Microsoft data centers, so that Blackberry users will have up to date information on their devices all the time.

With the Blackberry Office 365 service, companies who have been maintaining one or more Blackberry Enterprise Servers on their private servers will now have off-site data centers which will enable them to control and manage their data remotely. According to Jim Tobin, senior vice president of RIM's software and business service unit, RIM and Microsoft won't jointly manage off-site date centers, but Microsoft centers will connect "cloud-to-cloud" to RIM centers that house Blackberry Enterprise Servers. The cloud-based Blackberry Exchange Server (BES) will also support RIM's upcoming Blackberry Balance service which will allow IT departments’ access to the enterprise and BES part of the Blackberry while providing users freedom to access web or social networking sites like Facebook etc. The Blackberry Playbook will also include the Blackberry Balance service but the announcement date for this tablet is still not yet disclosed.

Lava KKT 35 with Color Matcher App Launched in India for Rs.3,950

Lava KKT 35 with Color Matcher App Launched in India for Rs.3,950

Lava has launched a budget handset KKT 35 with what it's called an innovative feature - a Color Matcher application on the occasion of Holi. The Lava KKT 35 is a dual-SIM handset with bar-form factor. It comes with a Color Matcher application to pick up any color as background and let users to use it as a home screen. The new phone comes in a slim metallic body and it features like 1400mAH battery that has a promising talk time of up to 8-9 hours. Apart from the Color Matcher application, the Lava KKT 35 includes useful features like conversation recording, answering machine, web camera and chat-style SMS.


The budget phone has a 2.4-inch QVGA TFT LCD screen supporting up to 260k colors, a camera ( supposedly VGA) with digital zoom, upto 8GB microSD support, audio (MP3, AAC, WAV, AMR, MIDI) and video (3GP, MP4 and AVI) players, Stereo FM, 3.5mm stereo jack, torch function, WAP browser, Mobile Tracker application and Flight Mode. The phone is priced at Rs.3, 950 and based on the official Lava site; the package includes a 2GB microSD card. “Color Matcher” is another example of our commitment. We understand that colors are a way of expressing ones personality and attitude. Normally consumer has a limited choice of selecting colors in a phone .With “Color Matcher” now you can pick up any color which excites you,” said Mr. Sunil Raina, Chief Marketing Officer, LAVA International.

Spice Introduces Projector Phone, M-9000 Popkorn: Also Features Analog TV

Spice Introduces Projector Phone, M-9000 Popkorn: Also Features Analog TV

Spice has launched Spice M-9000 Popkorn mobile phone, first projector phone in India. The M-9000 Popkorn is a dual-SIM phone that comes with a Projector to let you project and view the phone's contents on a large screen. The phone plays MP4, FLV, AVI, 3GP, RM and RMVB videos. Using its Analog TV feature, it will also let you watch free TV channels ( if available) in your city. The Spice M-9000 Popkorn is priced at Rs.6, 990.


As a phone, the Spice M-9000 Popkorn is a bar-phone that has some standard features for a budget phone. It features a 2.36-inch QVGA screen with 262k colors support, a 3.2 megapixel camera, FM with recording, video recording, MP3 playback, Documents Viewer, Stereo Bluetooth (2.1), Java support and WAP/GPRS/EDGE connectivity. There is 87MB of internal memory and up to 16GB of microSD card is supported. The phone's document viewer support will make the phone an ideal choice for viewing and projecting your slideshow during presentation. The document viewer supports MS Word, Excel, Power point and also PDF documents.

Spice also included some features like Incoming Call Guard, Scheduled FM recording, Wireless FM and some built-in organizers like To-Do-list, Calendar, Currency/Unit Converter, Alarm, Calculator and many more. There is also a Tripod included to make The phone comes with a 1200mAh battery which has a rated talk time of 3.5 hours and stand-by time of 300 hours.

AT&T's takeover of T-Mobile creates largest U.S. carrier

AT&T's takeover of T-Mobile creates largest U.S. carrier

AT&T will buy T-Mobile USA for $39 billion in cash and stock, easily making AT&T the nation's largest wireless carrier, ahead of top-ranked competitor Verizon Wireless and reducing the number of major national wireless carriers from four to three.

Consumer groups are sure to object because of concerns over market consolidation and less competition, but some analysts said the deal makes sense and won't lead to higher prices. Rumors circulated last year that T-Mobile was expected to be sold, possibly to third-place Sprint, so AT&T's emergence was somewhat of a surprise.

The deal, announced on Sunday by both AT&T and T-Mobile's parent Deutsche Telekom, has been approved by the boards of both companies. Under the deal, Deutsche Telekom would receive an 8% equity stake in AT&T and a board seat.The transaction is expected to close in 12 months, the companies said. It is subject to federal regulatory approval, where it will undoubtedly receive close scrutiny, given its size and impact on the competitive landscape. A conference call on the agreement is set for 8 a.m. EDT Monday.

AT&T said the deal will add T-Mobile's 34 million customers to AT&T's 95.5 million total subscriber base (at the end of 2010), enabling a quicker expansion of 4G LTE wireless networks to the entire subscriber group of about 130 million. By comparison, Verizon had 94.1 million subscribers at at the end of 2010 , although Verizon and AT&T count them somewhat differently.

Some analysts lauded the deal, even though consumer groups are expected to question having more subscribers under the control of a single carrier. "Bigger is better in a commodity game," said Phillip Redman, an analyst at Gartner who follows the wireless carriers. "Four providers were too many. This may help [third-place] Sprint as it becomes the standalone low-cost provider, and it makes more sense than a Sprint-T-Mobile deal."

Redman said the Federal Trade Commission and Federal Communications Commission will both "take a hard, long look at it, but in the end it will be approved." With three major providers -- Verizon, AT&T and Sprint --Redman added, "I think there is plenty of competition...This is the last of the big mergers" in the wireless industry.

The companies sought to deflect concerns about reduced competition with the combination of two large carriers, noting in a statement: "The U.S. wireless industry is one of the most fiercely competitive markets in the world and will remain so after this deal. The U.S. is one of the few countries in the world where a large majority of consumers can choose from five or more wireless proviers in their local market ...The competitiveness of the market has directly benefited consumers."

Shortly after the takeover was announced, consumer rights group Free Press issued a statement condemning it. "Don't believe the hype: There is nothing about having less competition that will benefit wireless consumers," said Free Press research director S. Derek Turner. "And if regulators approve this deal, they will further cement duopoly control over the wireless market by AT&T and Verizon."

Turner noted that the top four companies already control 90% of the wireless business. If two of the four merge, that means "nothing but higher prices and fewer choices, as the newly engorged AT&T and Verizon exert even more control over the wireless Internet."

Jeffrey Kagan, an independent analyst, said he didn't think the AT&T takeover would have a negative effect on pricing, since there will still be three major players in the market. "Ultimately, [the merger] will be approved," he said. Because AT&T will invest more in network expansion because of the takeover, Kagan said both customers and investors will be "happier."

He noted continued problems in keeping up with data demands of the iPhone when AT&T was the device's exclusive wireless carrier, creating an image that AT&T didn't want. Jack Gold, an analyst at J. Gold Associates, said he was unsure whether regulators will automatically go along with the merger because it significantly limits competition.

"It is highly likely that data rates ... will increase," he said. "The bottom line is that this is probably good for current customers of AT&T and T-Mobile as it will ultimately result in better network coverage, but in limiting the competition, it will also probably result in higher prices."

AT&T Chairman Randall Stephenson said the transaction represents "a major commitment to strengthen and expand critical infrastructure for our nation's future." AT&T will increase its infrastructure investment by more than $8 billion over seven years, he said, and will be able to extend its plan for LTE coverage to an added 46.5 million Americans across 95% of the U.S.

With the acquisition, AT&T will immediately gain cell sites that would have taken on average five years to build without the transaction, the carrier said. It said its mobile data traffic grew by 8,000% over the past four years, and will be eight to 10 times greater in 2015 than it was in 2010.

Both companies use a GSM-based HSPA network, although T-Mobile announced HSPA+ speeds in January that would technically make it faster than AT&T. AT&T is moving its subscribers to LTE in the next two years, expecting the first rollouts later in 2011.

Xbox 360 successor to surface by 2015

Xbox 360 successor to surface by 2015

Microsoft's Xbox 360 gaming console is headed towards a refresh by 2015, if leaked images of a confidential project part of WGX (Windows Gaming eXperience) and Microsoft's IEB (Interactive Entertainment Business) are to be believed.

This Xbox scoop comes courtesy of ZDNet, who managed to get their hands on the confidential image in question. It shows a tantalizing hint of what arguably looks like the successor of the Xbox 360 as we know it. Take a look (image courtesy ZDNet).

The cryptic note at the top of the image reads "collaboration with Microsoft's IEB Design group investigating future user experiences and hardware for 2015." The image was posted on the website of one Ben Patterson -- a recent addition to the Xbox team, reports suggest.

Right now, the details are hazy at best and all in the realm of speculation, because it looks like Microsoft has just started working on the Xbox 360 gaming console's successor. But the 2015 release date means the current Xbox 360 console is on its way to complete a decade as Microsoft's premier gaming console. Ten years, who would've thought?

There you have it then, Sony's PS3 and Nintendo's Wii have been warned. What needs to be seen is if the Xbox 360 successor will be anything as groundbreaking or record-breaking as its Kinect motion controller. Four years is a lot of time for Microsoft to cook something spectacular, don't you think?

Google Blames China for Blocking Gmail

Google Blames China for Blocking Gmail

After a lull, the conflict between Google and the Chinese government seems to have flared up again. A Google spokesperson leveled accusations against the Chinese government blaming them for interrupting the Gmail service for almost an entire month.

According to Google, Chinese Gmail users regularly complained of disruptions in service during this period, which coincided with political trouble in Middle Eastern countries such as Tunisia and Egypt (also known as the “Jasmine Revolution”). During this same period, there were also cases of Chinese people living overseas who were calling for similar protests in China.

The Google spokesperson also claimed that there was no technical issue on Google’s side with reference to the service disruptions and that the blockage was “carefully designed to look like the problem is with Gmail.”

Problems between China and Google had reached a peak in January of last year when Google had declared that they would no longer be willing to censor search results leading to a war of words with the Chinese government.

Twitter allows secure HTTPS access to website

Twitter allows secure HTTPS access to website

Facebook did it earlier this January, it was only a matter of time before Twitter followed suit. Yup, users of the popular microblogging website, now have the option to secure their connection to Twitter over the Internet via HTTPS.

Once you enable HTTPS access through your Twitter user settings, it allows you to connect to the website over a secure encrypted connection, keeping your user data secure from unfriendly eyes.


Just go to Settings > Account, scroll down to tick the Always use HTTPS radio box. In the past Facebook and Gmail have enabled HTTPS access to user accounts to secure connections.

Google Circles: Social networking isn't over for Google

Google Circles: Social networking isn't over for Google

Facebook, Twitter, take note; seemingly Google hasn't had its last word on social networking. Details about Google Circles, a new social networking-based product, have emerged at the ongoing SXSW (South By Southwest) Festival at Austin, Texas, an annual event themed primarily around film and music.

Not much is known about Google Circles right now, but there are strong indications that Google isn't stopping at Buzz as far as its social networking aspirations go.

ReadWriteWeb jumped the gun on Sunday claiming Google would showcase a "preview" of its "major new social network" called Circles at the ongoing SXSW event. That prompted a Google response on Twitter to RWW's report by stating it isn't launching any product at SXSW. So no previews of Google Circles any time soon, or not until the Google I/O event in May later this year.

What is Google Circles?
But what exactly is Google Circles and how is it any different from Google Buzz? According to ReadWriteWeb, Google Circles will allow people to have different social circles, thereby sharing photos, videos, and status messages with people in a specific social circle.

This approach of Google Circles -- if indeed true -- claims to be unique by differentiating and respecting the different social circles we share with our online friends (family, work colleagues, club mates, etc.), and decide the amount of content we share with them -- just like offline, real-world social networking works.

Evidence of Google moving beyond Buzz and contemplating about social networking deeply has been there to see for a while now. We all know Google has been working on introducing elements (or social layers) in its search engine to serve results depending on our social lives, most notably Google's Social Search experiment. Google also has something called Social Circle which determines your social connections for Social Search.

And even though Google isn't launching Circles at SXSW, it hasn't denied rumors that it's working on a new social networking product or Google Circles.

Here's what we would like Google's next social networking endeavor to focus on. Other than that, keep your fingers crossed till May.

Twitter working on SMS short codes with operators

Twitter working on SMS short codes with operators

Although Twitter was temporarily blocked in Tunisia and remains blocked in other places such as China, "people will always find a way to communicate," said Dick Costolo, Twitter's CEO, speaking to a packed auditorium at the Mobile World Congress (MWC 2011) in Barcelona.

Costolo announced Twitter is working with operators in the Middle East to make it easier for users to send Twitter messages using SMS (Short Message Service) short codes, after blockages in countries such as Tunisia and Egypt.

Costolo also said that Twitter is working on a crowdsourced translation service, starting with the Russian, Indonesian and Turkish languages.

While Twitter isn't compatible with languages that read from right to left, such as Arabic, Costolo said, "We need to do that." Later in the year, Costolo said Twitter will accommodate Portuguese.

Twitter is seeing strong use on mobile platforms: Some 40 percent of all tweets are sent from mobile devices, Costolo said. But many of those platforms and devices provide different user interfaces, which require people to figure out how to use it again.

"Right now those experiences are dissimilar and I have to relearn Twitter again," Costolo said. "The experience has to be the same. I shouldn't have to think to use Twitter. "

Other goals in the coming year for Twitter include more single-sign-on options and deeper integration with applications. People should be able to tweet directly from within an application, rather than having to leave the application.

"All we need to do is simplify the service," Costolo said.

That also applies to photos. The Android operating system allows people to tweet photos after one is taken, Costolo said.

On business issues, Costolo said Twitter is seeing businesses such as the U.S. cable provider Comcast use the service as a CRM (customer relationship management) tool. The carmaker Audi also included a hash tag for tweets in a commercial aired during the Super Bowl inviting people to participate in a contest.

Many of those interactions are occurring without assistance from Twitter, which Costolo hinted holds commercial promise. "Imagine what will happen," he said.

Twitter's market capitalization has been estimated to be up to US$8 billion, although the 350-person company only has three products: paid-for "promoted" tweets, promoted accounts and Trends, which lets companies buy slots on lists.

Twitter products are "working quite well," Costolo said.

Rumors have abounded this month that Facebook and Google were interested in buying Twitter, but Costolo dismissed the talk during the question-and-answer session.

"I don't know where these things come from," he said. "It's just a rumor."

Sony Ericsson's Xperia Android phones strongest at MWC?

Sony Ericsson's Xperia Android phones strongest at MWC?

Sony Ericsson smartphones haven't been very successful in the U.S., but the company may be turning a new leaf if its MWC 2011 smartphone lineup is anything to go by. So far Sony Ericsson's announced the Xperia Play, Xperia Neo and Xperia Pro Android smartphones at Mobile World Congress. And they've left an impression, a very good one.

Here's why Sony Ericsson's got the rest of the Android smartphone brigade worried.

1) Sony Ericsson Xperia Play: Not to be called the PlayStation Phone anymore, the Sony Ericsson Xperia Play is the first "PlayStation certified Android smartphone" which will support older PlayStation (One) games available on Sony's PlayStation Suite.

The Sony Ericsson Xperia Play runs Android 2.3 Gingerbread OS, has a 1GHz Snapdragon processor and an Adreno graphics processor. The Xperia Play comes with a 4-inch touchscreen and a 5.1-MP rear-facing camera. The phone also has a slide-out gaming controller with a D-pad, buttons and dual touchpads. Fifty games will be available at launch of the Sony Ericsson Xperia Play and up to seven games will be shipped with the smartphones.

2) Xperia Neo: The specs on Sony Ericsson's Xperia Neo are adequate enough, with a 1 GHz Snapdragon processor, 3.7-inch display, Android 2.3, and up to seven hours of talk time.

But the main draw is the phone's 8.1-megapixel camera with Sony's Exmor R CMOS sensor. Sony claims this makes bright pictures and videos possible even in low lighting. HDMI output allows you to browse photos, videos and the Web on a big screen.

3) Xperia Pro: Like a more business-minded sibling of the Xperia Neo, the Pro has many of the same specs (1 GHz processor, 3.7-inch display, Android 2.3, fancy 8.1-megapixel camera), but also adds a slide-out physical keyboard.

Microsoft Internet Explorer 9 Release Candidate Ships With Tracking Opt-out

Microsoft Internet Explorer 9 Release Candidate Ships With Tracking Opt-out

Microsoft launched the release candidate of Internet Explorer 9 (IE9) last week, saying that the browser is now feature complete and that the final build would ship shortly. The IE9 release candidate, or RC, features faster performance, a small memory footprint, new support for additional Web standards and the opt-out Tracking Protection that Microsoft has touted as its answer to calls for a Do Not Track feature in all browsers.

Microsoft debuted IE9 in March 2010, with the first of seven bare-bones builds dubbed "Platform Previews", then followed those with a public beta in September 2010. More than 25 million copies of the beta have been downloaded in the five months since then, Microsoft has claimed.

"With the Release Candidate, we've taken to heart over 17,000 pieces of feedback about IE9," said Dean Hachamovitch, the executive who heads the IE team, in an MSDN blog post. "You will find the product has made progress on all fronts -- performance and standards, user experience, and safety and privacy."

The enhancements and additions to IE9 RC include the roll-out of Tracking Protection, an opt-in tool disabled by default that relies on published lists to selectively block third-party sites and content embedded in Web sites.

Tracking Protection is Microsoft's response to growing concern on the part of consumers, privacy advocates and government regulators about online privacy, particularly how advertisers track users' movements and their purchasing habits. The U.S. Federal Trade Commission has said users should be able to block sites and advertising networks from following their movements online.

This IE9 tool relies on lists created by others to allow or block a site or ad network from tracking users. (Microsoft has said it will not generate such lists.) Groups offering Tracking Protection lists today include Abine, EasyList, Privacy Choice and TRUSTe. A page on the IE9 site provides links to the lists that are available for download.

Although Microsoft has promised to complete IE9 this quarter, it has not set a launch date for the final version. Hachamovitch said only that the polished edition would "come shortly."

Microsoft is betting that IE9 will bring back some of the users who have abandoned Internet Explorer for rivals like Mozilla's Firefox and Google's Chrome. According to Web analytics company Net Applications, IE lost more than six percentage points of user share in the past 12 months, and at the end of January accounted for 56% of all browsers, a historic low. While IE8 now holds more than 34% of the market, the 2009 browser has been unable to stem the share bleeding. Google's Chrome, for example, accounts for nearly 11% of all browsers in use, an increase of 5.5 points in the last year.

IE9 RC can be installed on Windows Vista and Windows 7, but will not work on Windows XP, the operating system that continues to dominate the market. The release candidate can be downloaded from Microsoft's Web site, or from the company's download center. The 32-bit version of IE9 RC weighs in at just over 19MB, while the 64-bit version is a 37MB download.

Also, Microsoft has published a blocking toolkit for IT administrators who want to keep IE9 off company machines when Microsoft begins serving up the browser via Windows Update. Microsoft rolls out such blocking kits -- which include both executable scripts and Group Policy templates -- prior to delivering major upgrades to its operating systems and browser through Windows Update. Last November, for instance, Microsoft published a blocking kit for Windows 7 Service Pack 1 (SP1), the OS update it shipped earlier this month.

Internet Explorer 9: Hands On With the Release Candidate

Internet Explorer 9: Hands On With the Release Candidate

The first release candidate for Internet Explorer 9 is here, five months after IE9 first went into public beta. IE9 is Microsoft's attempt to bring support newer, more modern Web technology to its browser. If you haven't used IE9 before, take a moment to read our prior review of the public beta. The release candidate isn't dramatically different from the public beta, but there are a number of tweaks and refinements that make IE9 feel more usable and put-together.

When I reviewed the public beta, I noted that I wasn't a fan of how IE9 placed the tabs on the same line as the address bar. It made everything feel squished, and there wasn't enough space for more than a handful of tabs before tab names would become truncated to the point of being nearly useless. The IE9 release candidate fixes this issue to some extent: While it still defaults to having everything on one line, you can now separate tabs onto a second line by right-clicking an empty area in the toolbar and selecting "Show tabs on a separate row." Ideally, this would be the default behavior, but it's better than nothing.

In addition, the IE9 release candidate does a better job at keeping you informed on the status of a loading page. The initial IE9 public beta would show a spinning status indicator to show that the page is loading, but it would for only a second or two. If you were on a slower connection, the indicator would disappear before the site would load in, making it unclear if there was a problem with the site, or if it was still loading in. The release candidate shows the spinner until the page is completely loaded.

Microsoft made another tweak with the interface, by further shrinking the amount of window chrome and toolbars. The main toolbar is 5 pixels narrower than it was in the public beta. There is such a thing as too little interface, though: This change is good for PCs with small screens, such as the netbook I'm using to test IE9 on right now, but it could be an issue for those with larger screens, since the "targets" for different parts of the interface are quite small.

Microsoft made various performance improvements in the release candidate. That said, we didn't have a chance to test its performance.

New in the IE9 release candidate are Tracking Protection Lists; these let you limit which sites and online services can track you online via tracking cookies and other user tracking methods. (Firefox 4 will ship with a similar feature). Tracking Protection lets you block all sites from tracking you, or pick and choose which sites to let through. It's a welcome addition to IE9, but unless you know what you're doing, its usefulness is limited since you'll have to manually intervene if you want to allow something to track you.

In all, while there are still areas where I think IE9 could still improve, as a whole it feels like it's well-considered, and I look forward to seeing the final version.

New Logitech HD Webcams & Vid HD Software For High-Def Video-calls

New Logitech HD Webcams & Vid HD Software For High-Def Video-calls

A new set of models have been added to Logitech's HD-capable webcam series. Saying it wanted to bring communication over HD video to everyone, Logitech India showcased its lineup of HD webcams and Logitech Vid HD, in Bangalore this Tuesday. Logitech says the new range of webcams will make high-definition video calling, recording and sharing a reality, with features like HD 720p video calling (1280x720), Full HD 1080p video recording (1920x1080), Logitech Fluid Crystal technology and one-click HD-uploading to Facebook and YouTube. Logitech also announced the Logitech Vid HD, a free video-calling service, and claimed it to be the easiest way to make a HD video call over the Internet, using a laptop/desktop PC.

Mr. Subrotah Biswas, Logitech’s country manager for India and South West Asia said, "Broadband adoption is a primary driver of video calling in India. HD video calling is a critical step toward our vision of a world in which video communication is as mainstream and seamless as a telephone call — for anyone, anywhere. With Logitech HD webcams and Vid HD, you have everything you need to share, connect, and see the people that matter to you in breathtaking detail that far surpasses the quality of embedded webcams." Speaking about the partner ecosystem, he said, "Our major business transactions happen through the channel in India. We are committed to supporting our partners with the right training and marketing support to further take this superior digital experience to the consumers."

The list of portable Logitech webcams shown and announced can be viewed below. Logitech offers a 2-year warranty on them all, with their respective suggested retail pricing as seen here.
Logitech HD Pro Webcam C910 - Rs. 7,295 (offers Full-HD 1080p recording)
Logitech HD Webcam C510 - Rs. 2,995
Logitech HD Webcam C310 - Rs. 1,795
Logitech HD Webcam C270 - Rs. 1,695 (with Stereo headset)
Logitech Webcam Pro 9000 - Rs. 5,995 (HD 720p video calls supported)
Logitech Webcam C905 - Rs. 6,695
Logitech Webcam C210 - Rs. 1,295 (only 640x480 video recording)