Phone, Tablet and Gizmo Thread #0x02

negi · Post by **negi** » 01 Mar 2013 01:20

^ For all practical reasons Vodafone does not exist in Bangalore (half of the time you won't even get 3G icon) if I am not wrong for 3G they use Airtel's infra on lease/rent basis. In Bangalore Airtel has monopoly. I know the rates here , 200MB is not enough for me I consume like 3GB every month (mostly work and music) on postpaid. You can never be under 1500 INR with 3GB data usage . Basically data charges are as expensive here as in Massa if not more. After going through the pain of expensing my phone bill through company I have now switched to company owned and company paid SIM , I am sure that Airtel must be ripping them every month.

SaiK · Post by **SaiK** » 01 Mar 2013 05:05

Rob Bin Mullah! thanks for your help. Bought the device for my daughter.
http://img543.imageshack.us/img543/1927 ... ntuos5.jpg

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 01 Mar 2013 06:53

do you travel all day and browse on 3G...else how to do you manage to consume 3GB every month outside of work and home(where you surely have a DSL?)..airtel DSL will give you 80GB and 4Mbps for around 1300pm.

Raja Bose · Post by **Raja Bose** » 01 Mar 2013 07:28

SaiK wrote:Rob Bin Mullah! thanks for your help. Bought the device for my daughter.
http://img543.imageshack.us/img543/1927 ... ntuos5.jpg

Cool. Next get her a Surface PRO so that she can do the same on-the-go!

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 01 Mar 2013 08:59

in terms of creepy facebook integration, started using the nike+ running app yesterday. it does the usual things like gps logging of the route, speed, distance etc and uploading that to their website for you to browse later. but it also has a feature wherein you can log the start of your run onto your fbook status update and every time some PYT "likes" it, if your data conn is up outside, it will flow back and result in a cheer from the autobot inside the app. and you can have it in male and female voices. since my phone was deep in back pocket next my butt, I unchecked that option as I didnt want a british female voice suddenly speaking from inside my butt and startling me.

also found a app called flipboard that can integrate various categories of news and you flip page by page through it..beautiful..all the daily meat off engadget, gizmodo and techcrunch in one funnel though I have the engadget and techcrunch apps as well. oddballs like someone making a purely e-ink smartphone are there too

Raja Bose · Post by **Raja Bose** » 01 Mar 2013 09:23

Not oddballs, that's E-Ink Corp. which is seeing their share of display volume drop becoz people are OK with LCD glare & lower battery life but want faster refresh speeds, better colour and viewing angles to properly watch Katrina in Chikni Chameli.

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 01 Mar 2013 10:49

^ and do you fault them? only academics reading peer reviewed papers might need a .ps file viewer and e-ink display on a mobile device.

Raja Bose · Post by **Raja Bose** » 01 Mar 2013 10:51

^^^I just feel sorry for them though some of them used to be real cocky during the heydays of Kindle readers.

KJo · Post by **KJo** » 01 Mar 2013 18:11

Crossposting...

I am looking to buy a 64GB tablet. My wife has an iPad and I am wondering if I want to buy another one. Any suggestions?
I am planning on using it to surf the web, read PDF books in the train commute and learn some app programming.

Muppalla · Post by **Muppalla** » 01 Mar 2013 18:17

anmol wrote:
Raja Bose wrote:Windows8 (x86) = WinRT + Desktop.
Windows8(ARM) = WinRT (no desktop apps run time since there are no legacy Win7/XP style desktop apps for ARM). That is why only MS office runs in that "desktop" mode on SurfaceRT since it is a placeholder patch by Mickey.

WinRT is the cross platform run-time for Windows and is the run-time environment in which the metro style apps run in. It is not a separate OS. Whoever named the Surface RT as Surface RT should be administered a 1000 stribes.

Its not Windows RT... iMate concept uses Windows 8 pro with intel chips

are you sure? That is a game changer. A not ARM chip in a phone?

Yogi_G · Post by **Yogi_G** » 01 Mar 2013 18:52

I have an airtel 3g plan in postpaid, it costs me 150 rupees. I get 1 GB with this breakup,

500 MB 3g data at 2-3 MBPS
500 MB 2g data at 40-70 KBPS

There is another plan for 100 rupees, it gives you about 300 MB of 3g data.

Neela · Post by **Neela** » 01 Mar 2013 19:25

From a friend @ MWC selling GB wares;
Chinese presence is large. Lot of boards in Mandarin(?) and English. Massive Huawei presence .

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 01 Mar 2013 20:08

What is the current status of norton ink and its wunderkind ceo rohan shravan?

James B · Post by **James B** » 01 Mar 2013 20:19

I think they shut shop. On the website they say, Busy creating back soon.

anmol · Post by **anmol** » 01 Mar 2013 20:46

Muppalla wrote:are you sure? That is a game changer. A not ARM chip in a phone?

Yes x86, Intel Atom(clovertrail or baytrail)... its game changer if Microsoft allows this. But that is iMate's plan, Asus OTOH is interested in x86 Windows 8 phone that can be docked in a Tablet shell.... http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142 ... 99650.html

sampat · Post by **sampat** » 01 Mar 2013 21:12

KJoishy wrote:Crossposting...

I am looking to buy a 64GB tablet. My wife has an iPad and I am wondering if I want to buy another one. Any suggestions?
I am planning on using it to surf the web, read PDF books in the train commute and learn some app programming.

Go for Ipad. For reading and annotating pdf you can use
1) PDF Expert
2) iAnnotate
3) Good reader
4) Pdf Cabinet
5) Foxit pdf (Free)

Lots of free tutorials on Itunes University. Will make it easier to sync and organize.
However, IPad is not an ideal device if you intend to write/compile code on tablet itself.

I have iPad 3 and use it mostly to read and annotate journal articles. App 1) and 2) from above have excellent annotation capabilities and cloud sync (Dropbox, skydrive...etc). But it does get little tiring to hold iPad for long time.

Raja Bose · Post by **Raja Bose** » 01 Mar 2013 21:35

To be honest the new iPad feels as 'non-portable' in a tablet sense as the Surface when it comes to single-handed use, albeit with much more limited capability. That might be a reason why people gravitated towards the iPad Mini which is much more single-handed use friendly.

----
Notion Ink is probably undergoing Kanadian Vijja treatment given nary a peep or beep from them. But at least he tried while captains of our industry like Murthy et al are sitting on their fat piles of cash and doing absolutely nothing to germinate a product centric ITvity culture in India which can do its own R&D and push its own products instead of toiling for foreign MNCs as cheap labour. All the Indian ITvity fatkats seem content to milk the backoffice/services cow in Indian ITvity for as long as they can with no thought about what happens in the future when that business shifts to a lower cost country like Vietnam or China (already happening) except some PR lip service raving about how Bangalore Kerala is the Indian Silicon Valley (Reality Check: No! It is not!). Bunch of greedy short-sighted morons, no better than the Briturd mush kissing zamindars of yore

hanumadu · Post by **hanumadu** » 01 Mar 2013 22:34

^^^They can probably fund a few start ups on their interest or dividend money alone.

Anujan · Post by **Anujan** » 01 Mar 2013 22:42

There is a certain mindset that makes a VC. They risk a lot and they earn a lot. On top of that they work a lot. Their job is to stay informed, make connections, identify candidates, fend off predators from their companies. It is super hard work when compared to watching a few power points and letting your sidekicks handle the show.

SaiK · Post by **SaiK** » 01 Mar 2013 22:50

Raja Bose wrote:Cool. Next get her a Surface PRO so that she can do the same on-the-go!

not in my immediate reaches. btw, does it have similar capabilities?

Raja Bose · Post by **Raja Bose** » 01 Mar 2013 22:51

The funny thing is in Bangalore, Kerala the prevailing attitude is that VCs are simply money lenders whereas nothing could be further from the truth. Even in regular ITvity scene in India hiring of MS/PhD types has gone down as per IIT placement cell stats - if this is not a solid indication of how we will get kanadian vijja'ed in the future, I don't know what is.

Raja Bose · Post by **Raja Bose** » 01 Mar 2013 22:55

SaiK wrote:
Raja Bose wrote:Cool. Next get her a Surface PRO so that she can do the same on-the-go!
not in my immediate reaches. btw, does it have similar capabilities?

It has the same hardware technology from Wacom but in my trials (Adobe Sketchbook Pro onlee) the inking experience is soup-e-rear to the Wacom Cintiq tablets which go for $2k+, which is surprising coz Wacom is the undisputed master of this domain.

Suraj · Post by **Suraj** » 02 Mar 2013 02:43

Raja Bose wrote:Notion Ink is probably undergoing Kanadian Vijja treatment given nary a peep or beep from them. But at least he tried while captains of our industry like Murthy et al are sitting on their fat piles of cash and doing absolutely nothing to germinate a product centric ITvity culture in India which can do its own R&D and push its own products instead of toiling for foreign MNCs as cheap labour. All the Indian ITvity fatkats seem content to milk the backoffice/services cow in Indian ITvity for as long as they can with no thought about what happens in the future when that business shifts to a lower cost country like Vietnam or China (already happening) except some PR lip service raving about how Bangalore Kerala is the Indian Silicon Valley (Reality Check: No! It is not!). Bunch of greedy short-sighted morons, no better than the Briturd mush kissing zamindars of yore

The taxation and incentives regime probably affects their approach too. The IT-vity services industry is a cushy tax-advantaged niche within the overall economy. Becoming a designhouse and manufacturer will expose them to a whole new set of corporate, patent and trademark, and labour laws that they're not willing to take on. That's not to excuse their priorities, but it's nothing new for the average kampani bahadur to stick to the proven gravy train as much as possible. I'm personally pleasantly surprised they created such a thriving industry amidst a morass of laws that hamper any other kind of business in the country. Fixing the situation will also require fixing the incentive regime that interfaces with the government. Creating a silly con valley takes a set of circumstances combined with an enabling framework that's hard to duplicate. Even PRC hasn't come close to succeeding at their attempts to photochor the idea in Zhongguancun ITvity park in Beijing despite building tall glass/steel imarats and smooth sadaks there.

SaiK · Post by **SaiK** » 02 Mar 2013 03:06

Then why are not applying the silly con wall-e approach for taxation and incentives? what is preventing us? corruption regime alone I can think off as preventing something to move forward in the right direction. There is nothing else that can stop us.

btw, hardware moves at light year speed compared to software. unless, it is all chartered in the business plan, they can't take off. they should have taken an international dealership route like amazon or other online big shops to delivery. planned ahead in time. taking on quality product costs even more, when you are a start up.

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 02 Mar 2013 04:42

> All the Indian ITvity fatkats seem content to milk the backoffice/services cow in Indian ITvity

many / most are invested into premium real estate and hospitality projects on their takings. the directors of top builders have the jernails numbers to contact once the next villa/penthouse proj comes up for investment.

SaiK · Post by **SaiK** » 02 Mar 2013 04:55

^^again not at all thinking about future generations.

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 02 Mar 2013 15:14

well they are thinking of their own kids for sure

if we look at south, all the big political and industrial/trading families used part of their wealth to setup long lasting institutions like hospitals , high schools, universities and so on. a good practice that gave the south a early headstart over the north and east where the taste of the wealthy dont go much beyond wine,women,meat and guns. even realty cos have setup schools.

other than hot air about working at the ground level on various "task forces" and "agenda task forces" I am yet to see any "new age" IT czar do something substantial like setting up a PSG or RV engineering college or a manipal type medical college...or say take up constructing lab facility & proper toilet blocks in govt schools in a time bound manner.

maybe someone can correct me here. its their money and its their right to use it as they want...but the paid media does a good job of projecting them as doing a lot more than they could have done.

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 02 Mar 2013 20:28

display OLED hawks might like this one - folding OLED tech from samsung
https://www.facebook.com/video/video.ph ... 7937605875

looks like a good idea to have a smaller phone and bigger tablet for when needed.

Mort Walker · Post by **Mort Walker** » 02 Mar 2013 21:46

^^^We're probably 2 years away from that.

SaiK · Post by **SaiK** » 02 Mar 2013 22:06

so cool devices can win ayesha hearts leading to dates? future is bright for mards. go buy them or plan ahead to save bucks for it. couple of device centric ahems are on the way.

Zynda · Post by **Zynda** » 02 Mar 2013 22:14

nothing here

Raja Bose · Post by **Raja Bose** » 02 Mar 2013 22:17

Singha wrote:well they are thinking of their own kids for sure

That is the fundamental problem. Silicon Valley in massa thrives becoz the fatkats here not only invest for their own kids/themselves but also plough back a percentage of their wealth to fund new products and startups as angel investors and if they are rich enough, as VCs. In India, all our ITvity fatkats do is park money in plantations, homes and other Lala-ji pursuits. License raj is well and alive in India - its ingrained right into people's minds. And "Labs" such as the ones which TCS or Infy started are effing jokes - another exercise in PR hot air.

Singha wrote:display OLED hawks might like this one - folding OLED tech from samsung
https://www.facebook.com/video/video.ph ... 7937605875

looks like a good idea to have a smaller phone and bigger tablet for when needed.

Dunno if this ever publicly came out but Sammy stole this display tech from GB. Story goes that GB designed this display and contracted Sammy fab to make it for them. After GB showed it off in 2011 Sammy Displays abruptly canceled their contract and also put in claims that certain physical artifacts could not be returned becoz they were destroyed and assured that the destruction was done as per contract terms (this is pretty common in ODMs and in line with regular business practices especially when production runs end). Except the physical artifacts turned up one day in one of Sammy's internal demos as output from one of their R&D labs (apparently with GB internal serial number intact!) and the Sammy flexible display designs look suspiciously like the GB ones.

Nandu · Post by **Nandu** » 03 Mar 2013 00:39

Folks, I want to buy some gizmo so SHQ (an moi, occasionally) can watch internet videos on the living room TV. I am sure his is a common setup, but I am a luddite in this area.

I am considering AppleTV, but many websites still operate with a Windows PC client in mind, so I think a PC based system might be better. I've looked for mediacenter PCs, but it is not clear to me what would be best for the living room, and can work well similar to a set-top.

Suggestions?

Raja Bose · Post by **Raja Bose** » 03 Mar 2013 00:50

^^^Just get a Roku box no? Check if Roku box has a YouTube app.

Added: It seems they do. Apparently, earlier Chacha had forced Roku to remove YouTube access?

SaiK · Post by **SaiK** » 03 Mar 2013 03:50

many tv-sheves when you walk by costco displays they are internet enabled for netflix, joo tube , joo loo, bla bulla .. does not that work if you can attach the device to the broadband net?

btw, i had some blackberries post lunch.. it was bitter. wonder why sometimes people feel bitter when their bahadoor berries ring at home.

Sriman · Post by **Sriman** » 03 Mar 2013 08:06

I'm also looking for a media player, but mainly to play movies on my hard drive. I'm tired of converting videos into formats my TV plays, so I want something that'll play all popular formats out there. I'm not really fussed about internet streaming, so it doesn't matter if the support for that is average. Of course, it has to be something available in India. I'm looking for something under 5k. I looked around a bit and looks like Asus O!Play Mini does everything i'm looking for and is priced around 4k. WDTV is more expensive (9k) and comes with 1 TB hard drive but i don't really need the additional storage. Any other options? Bhairav, Marten et al, what do you use?

Nandu · Post by **Nandu** » 03 Mar 2013 08:35

Re: Roku and/or internet TV. I don't want anything that is limited to a set of sites or channels. It should be able to play any video I can play on my PC.

Raja Bose · Post by **Raja Bose** » 03 Mar 2013 08:47

Then either get the cheapest small PC you can find in BestBuy ityadi (unless you want to build one) or get WiDi (WiFi display) dongles for lappie/PC and TV if you dont wanna dedicate a PC for the TV. If you are a Fruit Co. fan, Mac Minis work well for this setup. That being said, none of the HTPC stuff will give you a true TV like experience from power-on stage, such as the set top boxes (AppleTV, GoogleTV, Roku, XBox etc.). Websites are not designed for OSs, they are designed to work with the main browser engines (WebKit, Gecko, IE) so I dont think you should have any problem with Fruit Co. products in that regard.

SaiK · Post by **SaiK** » 03 Mar 2013 08:53

How about a 27 or 32" all in one pc? like the lenovo idea center
or
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Lenovo+-+27 ... ionType=or
asus
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Asus+-+27%2 ... Id=7184052

Raja Bose · Post by **Raja Bose** » 03 Mar 2013 12:57

Pretty comprehensive article with graphs of browser marketshare