Delhi prepares for Mobile Asia 2008....

Mobile Asia 2008, India’s largest consumer exhibition on mobility will be held at Pragati Maidan, New Delhi from February 29 to March 3, 2008. The expo will showcase innovative new products and services being offered by telcos and handset manufacturers. Among those displaying their products and services will be the likes of Airtel, ASUS, i-mate, Intex, LG, Molife, Motorola, Nokia, Nuance, Radical Software, RPG Cellucom, Samsung, SanDisk, Sony Ericsson, Vodafone, World Phone and World Space Radio. Users will also be able to avail of attractive offers on a variety of products and services, which will be available at the event.
Mobile Asia 2008 will be inaugurated by Hon’ble Chief Minister of Delhi Smt. Sheila Dikshit on February 29, 2008. The theme running through the event will be GenNext, as exhibitors will showcase products and technologies that will change lives not just today but in the coming years too. Explaining this, Pankaj Mohindroo, National President ICA (Indian Cellular Association), said, "The next wave of growth in mobile subscribers will be primarily from the younger generation. Mobile Asia 2008 therefore aims to provide a platform for the industry and trade to interact and communicate with GenNext.”Mobile Asia 2008 is the fourth in the line of mobility expos organized by ICA, which is committed to protecting the interests of the industry players as well as the consumers.
Speaking about Mobile Asia 2008, Mr. Lloyd Mathias, Chairman, Mobile Asia, said: This year, Mobile Asia will focus on GenNext to ensure consumers see the latest in mobiles - the world's largest convergent device.
Apart from newly launched and innovative handsets and mobile services, Mobile Asia 2008 will also showcase the latest innovation in various technologies related to the mobile industry.Source

Xbox 360 will have HD DVD Players no more...!!

Finally, after much dilly-dallying, Microsoft has publicly conceded to stopping making HD DVD players for its Xbox 360 gaming console.
However, the company said it will continue to provide standard warranty support for its HD DVD players. With this move, the last of the support to the dying (now dead) HD DVD format has ended. During the time the format lasted, Toshiba, Intel, NEC, and Microsoft were arguably its main proponents.
Actually, HD DVD's downfall began quite some time back when major Hollywood studios, including Sony Pictures, Walt Disney, Twentieth Century Fox, and Warner Bros Entertainment chose rival Blu-ray over HD DVD for distributing their high-definition content.
This was followed by nearly all of USA's major retail chains, the likes of Best Buy, Target, and 'last but not the least' Wal-Mart Stores, pledging support to Blu-ray over HD DVD
With Toshiba's public withdrawal of the format, the fate of HD DVD was more or less sealed, leaving Blu-ray the unchallenged victor.
Now that Microsoft has said it will stop making HD DVD players for its Xbox 360 console, Blair Westlake, a Corporate Vice President with the company's media and entertainment group, further said they will continue to give consumers the choice to enjoy digital distribution of high definition movies and TV shows directly to their living room, along with playback of DVD movies that they already own.
Just how are they planning to do this?
With HD DVD players firmly out of the way, is Microsoft now going to make attachable Blu-ray players for its Xbox 360. In any case, Sony's PS3 gaming console already has built-in Blu-ray playback capability.
Or is the company now going to increase high-definition downloads on its Xbox Live service, as it said earlier. Source

Samsung, Spice introducing Cheap Phones

Telecom companies, Samsung and Spice have come up with entry-level handsets for the Indian market.
Samsung's "Guru100" is a stylish bar-shaped handset equipped with features such as MP3 ring tones, mobile tracker, 9 hours talk time, and up to 500 phone-book entries. The handset sports a 3.86cm LCD screen and a speaker phone for hands-free comfort. It also includes a Hinglish sms feature that recognizes both English and Hindi words.
Priced at Rs 1,949, "Guru100" weighs 78 grams and measures 104 x 44 x 16.3mm.
Meanwhile, Spice's new entry-level camera phone, "S-585" features FM Radio, VGA camera, and music player.
The one-touch FM Radio and MP3 player comes along with inbuilt speaker phones. Users can also watch videos on the 65K TFT color display. The memory slot is expandable up to 1 GB.
The S-585 comes with essential accessories, including a dual-corded headset and USB cable, and is priced at Rs 2,999.Source

Nanotech Mobile designed by Nokia and Cambridge

Nokia may not be too funky with their mobile phone designs for mass production but you have to admit, their concept designs are something that look, quite literally, out of this world. Morph, a joint Nanotechnology concept, developed by Nokia Research Center (NRC) and the University of Cambridge (UK) - was launched today alongside the "Design and the Elastic Mind" exhibition, on view from February 24 to May 12, 2008, at The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York. Morph features in both the exhibition catalog and on MoMA's official website.
Morph is a concept that demonstrates how future mobile devices might be stretchable and flexible, allowing the user to transform their mobile device into radically different shapes. It demonstrates the ultimate functionality that nanotechnology might be capable of delivering: flexible materials, transparent electronics and self-cleaning surfaces. Dr. Bob Iannucci, Chief Technology Officer, Nokia, commented: "Nokia Research Center is looking at ways to reinvent the form and function of mobile devices; the Morph concept shows what might be possible".
Dr. Tapani Ryhanen, Head of the NRC Cambridge UK laboratory, Nokia, commented: "We hope that this combination of art and science will showcase the potential of nanoscience to a wider audience."The partnership between Nokia and the University of Cambridge was announced in March, 2007 - an agreement to work together on an extensive and long-term programme of joint research projects. NRC together with the University of Cambridge have decided to work on more projects that, to begin with, are centered on nanotechnology.
Elements of Morph might be available to integrate into handheld devices within 7 years, though initially only at the high-end. However, nanotechnology may one day lead to low cost manufacturing solutions, and offers the possibility of integrating complex functionality at a low price. Hopefully it won't take that long.Source

Cordless Wave Desktop introduced by Logitech

Logitech has unveiled its "Cordless Desktop Wave" comprising a cordless keyboard with 'Comfort Wave Design', and a cordless laser mouse.
The keyboard, according to Logitech, combines three elements; namely, a wave key-frame design, U-shaped constant curve, and cushioned contoured palm rest. While the ambidextrous laser mouse is designed to complement the striking curved style and comfort of the keyboard. The keyboard's 'Comfort Wave Design' addresses the fundamental principle that fingers vary in length, and cradles them in a shape or contour supporting their actual lengths.
The keys are placed high at the A and Enter keys that are typically hit by the little finger. Moving inward towards the pointer finger, the keys decrease in height reaching the D and K keys that are typically hit by the longer middle finger.
The keys then move up again in height to accommodate the pointer finger at the G and H keys. The maximum distance between the keys' peaks and troughs, the lowest and highest keys, is 4 mm, the company said.
The U-shaped constant curve, Logitech claims, features a 5-degree curve that allows users' hands to open up and take a natural position instead of forcing the wrists to bend.
The keyboard also offers large, hot keys that can be mapped to launch folders, Web pages, or applications with the help of software. For Windows Vista users, shortcut keys activate Flip 3D as well as Windows Sidebar and gadgets.
Meanwhile, the cordless laser mouse features pixel-precise laser tracking and a soft rubber grip. Both the mouse and the keyboard feature a battery indicator light that alerts users when battery power is low, eliminating the hassle of unexpectedly losing power.
Logitech's "Cordless Desktop Wave" is priced at Rs 4,995, and comes with a three-year warranty.Source