Get Sms alert on Mobile, when you get new email.

if you want sms alert of you email on Mobile, then your email service provider should have email forwarding facility. Like Gmail.com

Then now create a new email on Hotmail.com . Hotmail.com have the facility of providing sms alert. Just active it.

Then in your original email like Gmail.com, active email forwarding service to your Hotmail.com account. 

Its done.
Now when you get new email in gmail.com account , you will get Sms alert on Mobile.

Google's Android OS now running on 130 million devices

Google can rejoice, as its Android mobile OS is now active on over 130 million devices with 5,50,000 devices activated every day.

Just two months ago, Google announced that it has crossed the 100 million devices activated milestone with over 4,00,000 devices activated daily. But all is not well for the little green robot as Apple still holds the numero uno position with 200 million iOS device activated as on June 2011.

Although there are other mobile operating systems in the market like HP's Web OS on the TouchPad, RIM's OS on the PlayBook and BlackBerry devices and Windows Phone 7 on Microsoft's mobile handsets, 

Google's Android seems to be the only OS that can give Apple a run for its money. In the past two years, the Android OS has brought handset manufacturers such as HTC, Samsung, LG, Motorola, Dell and even the like of Micromax on consumers radar as these manufacturers not only deliver quality handsets at affordable rates but deliver a great Android experience as well.  

As of June 2011, Apple is still the king of the apps with 4,25,000 apps available to users in the Apps store. In this respect Android isn't even close to Apple as it has 2,50,000 apps in the Marketplace available for users to download.Apple has seen over 15 billion apps downloaded from its app store were as Android lags behind with 6 billion app downloaded.

British school to give iPads to 1,400 students

A school in Britain is spending 800,000 pounds (around $1.2 million) to give iPads to all its 1,400 pupils in a bid to "revolutionise learning".

The Longfield Academy in Dartford, Kent will hand out the gadgets in September, The Sun reported.

Officials from Apple have also visited the school to speak to the students about the devices.

However, the school would ask parents to fork out 576 pounds for their child's iPad.

They can also pay 16 pounds per month for the next three years.

"Young people enjoy learning through technology, enhancing motivation. This helps them achieve better results," the school said in a statement.

iPhone 5 may launch in August

The iPhone 5 may launch in the second half of August, reports CNET.UK. The website bases it's conclusion on posts on U.K based employment website, Reed. 
 
Apparently, Apple sources a good number of its sales staff from this website. The website has posted a need for iPhone sales personnel between 16 and 29 of August which might indicate an impending iPhone launch.
 
Previously, Apple has always launched a new iPhone at its World Wide Developers conference (barring the original one) but this year a new phone was conspicuous by it's absence. Industry insidersbelieve the iPhone 5 launch was delayed because of production issues after the Japan earthquake and the fire at their Fox-conn manufacturing unit. 

Android powered Amazon tablet in the pipeline?

An Amazon Android tablet is on the horizon, reports Wall Street Journal. According to the report, Amazon will launch their tablet by October pitting it against the iPad and a variety of Android tablets.
 
Amazon already has a substantial portfolio of content generation services in the form of their online retail store and apps store for Android devices, so venturing into the tablet spectrum would be a logical decision.
 
Besides this, Amazon also has considerable experience in hardware distribution with their successful Kindle e-book reader. 
 
According to MG Seigler of TechCrunch.com, a 9-inch tablet is on the cards, which will not leverage Google services but would promote Amazon services, in the process giving the Amazon tablet a differentiator.
 
While it is widely expected that the tablet will go head to head with the iPad, perhaps not in terms of hardware but might undercut it with aggressive pricing.  

Review: Acer ICONIA W500

Intro

Tablet or netbook? That's the first question to pop up when you see the Acer ICONIA W500. When you are dealing with a tablet that runs on Windows 7 and can be docked into a keyboard that also acts as a cover ensuring netbook like utility, there is bound to be some confusion in relation to category. Until the arrival of Windows 8, which will be more tablet specific, we will have to make do with the Windows 7 tablets trying to take a bite out of Apple's share.
 
Packaging and Contents
 
The 10.1-inch tablet comes in a briefcase style box with charger and manuals. The keyboard dock will be offered with the device as a launch offer only, after which it has to be purchased separately.
 
 
First Impression
 
In one word - heavy! The device is no lightweight, even without the keyboard dock. It looks bulky and feels uncomfortable in one's hands. However, overall, the build quality is good and it has a brushed aluminum finish.
 
Performance
 
The device works best as a netbook but it's not an ideal option. If you work on power point presentations, word docs and spread sheets, then the Windows experience is what will suit you best.
The response of the touchscreen is good when it comes to scrolling but icons such as minimize, close, maximize and the small icons on online video players of various websites are too small to touch accurately in the first instance.
 
You are most likely to lock the screen orientation in the landscape view and leave it there, because the interface tends to get tedious in portrait mode. Even typing is a chore. And if you decide to dock the device, the hinge will not allow you to move the screen to an angle of your choice.  Trying to close the tablet as a normal netbook with the dock is a learning experience in itself. You have to unhinge the device, sandwich the screen and the keyboard, lock the hook and then the device is closed. You actually have instructions on the keyboard dock telling you how to do it. If a physical keyboard is something you aspire to then a nice 10-inch netbook may prove to be a better option in terms of utility and user satisfaction.

Connectivity-wise, the keyboard dock has an Ethernet port on the left and one USB 2.0 port on either side. The dock is connected to the tablet via a USB port and two supporting grooves. The tablet itself has an HDMI out, SD card reader; volume rocker, power switch and headphones jack to the left and only the charging port to the right.

The bottom of the device has two USB 2.0 ports and the screen rotation lock. The dock uses one of these USB ports.

The keyboard is standard chicklet and quite comfortable to use once you get used to it. For its size, the keys are well spaced out.

A pointing stick rests between the G, H and B keys. Using it reminds you of how awesome a trackpad is because the pointing stick is quite disappointing. The left and right clicks feel very cheap as well.

The battery life of the device too is under par. With tablets offering up to 10 hours of battery life, the W500 will last you for two and a half hours if pushed to its limits and for a little over four hours if used conservatively.
 
Multimedia
 
The biggest advantage of owning a tablet is the multimedia performance it delivers to users on the move. The multimedia experience on Acer W500 was nothing short of frustrating. 

Watching movies and listening to music is troublesome on the device as the touch experience of Windows 7 on a tablet doesn't work very well. The 1280x800 resolution is great for 720p videos but it's a struggle to get them to play properly. HD videos lagged very badly on the device. The .avi standard definition files ran pretty smoothly. Controls such as play, pause, volume feel comfortable when videos are watched through the Acer ring video app. Play the video in VLC and your experience touches a new low.
 
Browsing the Internet is a mixed bag. Even if the device is docked, you will still use the touchscreen more than the pointing stick, as the retro pointing stick is too cumbersome to use. The physical left and right clicks are too thin and inconveniently placed.
 
The Acer Ring makes an appearance on the W500. This feature is not as impressive as on the Acer dual screen laptop. Touch the screen with 5 fingers to launch the ring. You have the social jogger app, which integrates your social networking feeds and YouTube under one roof. The appearance is a lot like Tweet deck.
 
The TouchBrowser app is a web-browsing app. Like a Windows PC, it has full flash support but the tardy touch interface gets in the way yet again. There is a snipping tool, which essentially lets you click specific screen shots. It's like a simplified version of print screen. 

There are games available on the games tab in the Acer ring. Most of the games come at a price but you do have the option to try them, more like a demo.
 
Verdict:
For the price point of Rs. 33,499, you're better off buying an iPad 2 or an Android based tablet or even a decent netbook.
 
Pros: 
Keyboard dock is a savior from the touchscreen typing experience
   
Cons:
Everything else
 
 
Price: Rs. 33,499
 
 
RATINGS:
Performance: 2
Price: 2
Ease of setup: 3
Ergonomics: 2
Wow Factor: 1
Overall: 2

Specifications
Windows 7 Home Premium 32-bit OS
AMD C-50 Processor 1 GHz processor
10-inch Display with a resolution of 1280x800
2GB RAM
Wi-Fi
Bluetooth
1.3MP front and rear facing cameras
32GB Storage

Benchmark Scores:
PC mark Vantage scores:
PC Mark: 1834
Memories Score: 1306 
TV and movies score: 881
Gaming Score: 2120
Music Score: 2388
Communication Score: 1589
ProductivityScore: 2194
HDD score: 6212
 
Battery mark:
By test results: 2 hours 25 minutes and 17 seconds
Forecast Windows: 4 hours 1 minute and 17 sec 

Google updates Android Market layout

Google released a long awaited update for Android Market clients for Android smartphones on Tuesday. The update intends to showcase applications in a better way by featuring an improved user-interface enabling faster downloads and clutter free browsing.
 
The Android Developers blog is reporting that Google has already started updating Android 2.2 Froyo+ devices, but we are yet to see the update hit Indian shores as even Android 2.3 Gingerbread devices are yet to receive the update.
 
The update will contain new lists such as Top Grossing, Top new free and Trending.
 
For the the first time the Android Market app will Google Books, Video and apps in one interface which will go a long way in improving fragmentation problems faced by various Google properties on the Android platform.
 
Previously, Google had announced the Android Market update at their annual developer conference Google I/O back in May.
 
Android Market has been notorious for its poor user-interface making app selection difficult for users. Perhaps this will be the update that resolves these issues.
 

Will Samsung Galaxy S2 wear a Windows suit?

A Samsung device was among the array of new Windows Phone 7 Mango powered devices that Microsoft revealed at their annual worldwide partner conference on Tuesday, July 12.
 
While Samsung has previously released Windows Phone 7 powered devices like the 'Focus', this  device was remarkably similar in form factor to Samsung's current Android flagship, the Galaxy S2.
 
Interestingly, the device had a front camera. Previously, no Windows Phone 7 device has had a front camera for video chat and this functionality has only been added recently.
 
In the past week or so, tech blogs including Engadget have been reporting a version of the Samsung Galaxy S2, SGH-i937 running Microsoft's OS. Could this be the same device?
 
Apart from the Samsung phone, Microsoft's line up also included usual suspects from Acer, ZTE and Fujitsu. 

Seven new BlackBerries to be unveiled soon

Warding off investors' anger at their annual meeting at Waterloo near here Tuesday, BlackBerry co-CEOs announced that seven new smart phones running a new operating system will hit the market soon.

Declining market share, shrinking revenue, profit warnings and delays in replacing the aging handsets have triggered investor anger at the two co-CEOs Jim Balsillie and Mike Lazaridis who control management as well as board at the BlackBerry maker Research In Motion (RIM).

Calls for making board independent of management have grown shriller as RIM stock has sunk more than 50 percent this year - hovering at about $27 now.

Admitting that RIM faced 'some challenges,' the co-CEOs managed to control investor anger Tuesday, with Lazaridis announcing that seven new BlackBerry smart phones running a new operating system will be unveiled in the coming months.

The release of the seven smart phones, including the new BlackBerry Bold, will again catapult the wireless giant into the lead role, he said.

"It (the new Bold) may have delayed us, but we are going to come out ahead,'' said Lazaridis who started RIM in the 1980s. Warming the hearts of investors, Jim Balsillie added, "Mike and I, along 
with the executive team, are closely managing this transition and have positioned the company for continued future success.''

The new line-up of BlackBerry smart phones will be run by RIM's powerful new operating system used in its PlayBook tablet.

Responding to the prevailing rumours of RIM's takeover by Apple or Microsoft, Balsillie said a rights plan would be put in place in the "blink of an eye'' if a hostile takeover bid was mounted against the company.

Assuring investors, he said, "If there is anything that will make you sleep better at night that I can do, I will do it." There have been rumours that cash-rich Apple or Microsoft could buy out RIM whose net worth is now just $14 billion.

BlackBerry has sunk from top to the third place in the US smart phone since October under onslaught from Apple's iPhone and Google Android devices.

App gives Apple gadget users aerial view of France

Fotopedia and National Geographic Traveler magazine on Tuesday launched a software application that gives Apple gadget users an aerial tour of France.

"Above France" software for iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch devices promised a collection of "awe-inspiring French vistas, from l'Aiguille du Midi to the Chateau d'Yquem."

Helicopter pilot and professional photographer Frank Mulliez took more than 2,000 aerial photos of abbeys, castles, villages, beaches, mountains and other locales streamed to devices with the software, according to Fotopedia.

"This is France from the air," National Geographic Traveler editor-in-chief said of the application.

"It's all here: from Mont Blanc to the historic abbey of Mont Saint Michel, the castles of the Loire Valley and the rooftops of Paris."

The application features interactive maps, slide shows, and tools for building virtual tours or real-world trips to France.

"If you think that France is beautiful, wait until you see this app," said Fotopedia chief executive Jean Marie Hullot. "It's a love letter written with a camera and a helicopter."

The Above France application is priced at $2.99 (US) in Apple's online App Store. Investor-backed startup Fotopedia has offices in Paris and San Francisco.

Patents War: After Apple vs Samsung, It's Apple vs HTC

Fresh from a patent battle with Samsung, Apple has now smacked a complaint against HTC at the International Trade Commission (ITC) for patent infringement. This the second time in six months that Apple has filed a complaint against HTC at the ITC.
 
In a predictable move, Apple has made demands to block the import of HTC devices in the US. Previously, Apple made similar demands with regard to patents infringed by Samsung.
 
Engadget reports that a judge is expected to rule on August 5 and all findings till then will be reviewed by the ITC. 

Now Apple goes after BlackBerry's enterprise base

As BlackBerry maker Research In Motion (RIM) co-CEOs face jittery investors Tuesday at the annual meeting amid the company's declining market share, Apple has stepped up efforts to steal BlackBerry's corporate client base.

Corporate executives and leaders favour BlackBerry because of its security encryption.

But the onslaught from Apple's iPhone and Google Android devices has pushed BlackBerry from the top to the third slot in the US smart phone market in a matter of months.

As the Canadian wireless giant struggles to replace its aging handsets, Apple has taken aim at its enterprise base by targeting them with a back-page ad in The Economist.

The ad highlights Apple's apps for business uses. Compared to App Store which offers more than 425,000 apps, BlackBerry's App World has just 37,000 apps.

Claiming that 88 per cent of Fortune 500 companies are now using iPhones and 75 per cent iPads, Apple has also launched a new website to help companies integrate the iPhone in their information systems.

All this is not good news for the BlackBerry company which is fast losing its share in the US smart phone market.

From being the top-seller with a market share of more than 33.5 percent in October, it has now tumbled to the third position at 24.7 percent. It stock has sunk more than 50 percent this year, currently hovering about $27 - the lowest level in five years.

Its fortunes have sunk to just $14 billion from $83 billion in June 2008. With Apple and Microsoft sitting on cash piles of more than $40 billion each, there has been speculation that the either of them could buy out the BlackBerry company.

But the two co-CEOs - Mike Lazaridis and Jim Balsillie, who control management and board chairmanship, have been reluctant to loosen their grip on the company.

Though they have managed to ward off a vote on giving independence to the board from management, Tuesday's annual meeting is going to be stormy as investors seek a fresh direction for RIM.

Security holes discovered in iPhones, iPads

A new security hole has opened up in Apple Inc.'s iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch devices, raising alarms about the susceptibility of some of the world's hottest tech gadgets to hacker attacks.

Flaws in the software running those devices came to light after a German security agency warned that criminals could use them to steal confidential data off the devices. Apple, the world's largest technology company by market value, said on Thursday that it is working on a fix that will be distributed in an upcoming software upgrade.

With the security hole, an attacker can get malicious software onto a device by tricking its owner into clicking an infected PDF file. Germany's Federal Office for Information Security called the flaws "critical weaknesses" in Apple's iOS operating system.

Internet-connected mobile devices are still subject to fewer attacks than personal computer, but they could eventually prove a juicy target for hackers because they are warehouses of confidential banking, e-mail, calendar, contact and other data.

Software vulnerabilities are discovered all the time. What makes the latest discovery alarming is that the weaknesses are already being actively exploited - albeit in a consensual way.

The latest concerns were prompted by the emergence of a new version of a program to allow Apple devices to run any software and circumvent the restrictions that Apple notoriously retains over software distributed through its online store. There are security risks of doing so, but many people find it liberating to install their own software.

Although this program is something people would seek out, the weaknesses that its authors discovered could easily be used for malice, security experts say.

There is an irony in the controversy: The site distributing the program offers a fix for the problem, but to get the fix, a user has to first install the program in question. So a user must defy Apple's restrictions to get the protection until Apple comes up with a fix of its own.

Charlie Miller, a prominent hacker of Apple products, said it likely took months to develop the program to break Apple's restrictions, but a criminal might need only a day or two to modify it for nefarious purposes.

Apple Inc. spokeswoman Bethan Lloyd said Thursday the company is "aware of this reported issue and developing a fix." She would not say when the update will be available.

One reason for gadget owners to take heart: Attacks on smartphones and other Internet gadgets are still relatively rare. One reason is PC-based attacks are still highly lucrative. Still, vulnerabilities such as the ones Apple is confronting show that consumers should take care of securing their mobile devices as they would their home computer.

"These things are computers - they're just small, portable computers that happen to have a phone tacked onto them," said Marc Fossi, manager of research and development for 
Symantec Security Response. "You've got to treat them more like a computer than a phone. You have to be aware of what's going on with these devices."

Apple's app store downloads cross 15 billion

Apple today announced that over 15 billion apps have been downloaded from its revolutionary App Store by the more than 200 million iPhone, iPad and iPod touch users worldwide. The App Store offers more than 425,000 apps and developers have created an incredible array of over 100,000 native iPad apps.

"In just three years, the revolutionary App Store has grown to become the most exciting and successful software marketplace the world has ever seen," said Philip Schiller, Apple's senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing. "Thank you to all of our amazing developers who have filled it with over 425,000 of the coolest apps and to our over 200 million iOS users for surpassing 15 billion downloads."

"iPad provides us with an unparalleled mobile device for creating gorgeous, immersive games," said Mark Rein, vice president and co-founder of Epic Games. "Infinity Blade has been a runaway hit with customers around the world and we couldn't be more excited about our success on iOS devices."

More than 15 billion apps have been downloaded from the revolutionary App Store and more than 425,000 apps are available, including more than 100,000 native iPad apps, to consumers in 90 countries. Users of the more than 200 million iOS devices around the world can choose from an incredible range of apps in 20 categories, including games, business, news, education, sports, health, reference and travel. Apple has paid developers over $2.5 billion to date.

Facebook is the most download app on the app store inspite of it not being available on the iPad. Some of the other widely downloaded apps on the apps store are Angry Birds, Infinity Blade and Apple's Pages, Numbers and Keynote office applications.

In comparison Google's Android Market has only hit the 4.5 billion mark as of May. While Apple has seen an exponential growth in the apps space Google is quickly catching up. Google's Android Market is the second largest app store in world and it is expected to overtake Apple's app store by August in terms of number of apps available.

SKorea's LG touts Optimus 3D smartphone for gaming

LG Electronics is touting 3-D smartphones as an alternative to dedicated handheld game devices.

The company launched its LG Optimus 3-D phone Thursday in South Korea after beginning a global release last month covering more than 60 markets including Spain and Britain. No special glasses are required to view 3-D content on the phone.

Park Jong-seok, CEO of LG's mobile communications business, said that 3-D smartphones such as the Optimus can hold their own against dedicated handheld gaming platforms.

"The era of dedicated handheld gaming is over," he said in a release.

Success with the 3-D phone would be welcome for the South Korean company, which has been struggling to overcome weakness in mobile phones. LG's mobile communications business has suffered four straight quarterly operating losses.

LG Electronics Co. is the world's third-largest mobile phone manufacturer behind No. 1 Nokia Corp. of Finland and South Korea's Samsung Electronics Co.

LG unveiled the new device, its first 3-D smartphone, earlier this year at the Mobile World Congress trade show in Spain and began rolling it out in global markets last month.

LG said the phone comes pre-installed with three full versions of games from Gameloft including "Asphalt 6: Adrenaline."

"You can actually now play exciting 3D games, advanced 3D games directly on your mobile phone," said Alexandre Tan, Gameloft's director of business development, said at a launch event Thursday in Seoul. "Clearly this is the next big thing for both the gaming and the mobile industry."

The LG Optimus 3-D can record and play back 3-D content. LG is not alone in launching such a phone. Taiwan's top smartphone maker HTC Corp. is also out with its EVO 3-D smartphone

LG spokesman Ken Hong said the LG Optimus 3-D phone will be available later this summer in the United States as the LG Thrill 4G.

Apple may launch the next iPhone in the third quarter

Apple plans to launch its next-generation iPhone during the third quarter of the year, The Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday.

The newspaper, citing "people familiar with the situation," said Apple has placed orders for key components to used in the new version of the iPhone and that it would be thinner and lighter than the iPhone 4.

Apple released the iPhone 4 in June 2010.

"Apple's sales estimates of the new iPhone is quite aggressive," the Journal quoted a source at one of Apple's parts suppliers as saying.

"(Apple) told us to prepare to help the company meet its goal of 25 million units by the end of the year," the source said.

"The initial production volume will be a few million units," the source said, adding the supplier had been told to ship components to Apple's Taiwan-based assembler Hon Hai in August.

Apple declined to comment on the Journal report.

Financial analysts have been predicting in recent weeks that Apple would begin production of a new iPhone in August and introduce it in September or October.

Apple shares gained 0.67 percent on Wall Street on Wednesday to close at $351.76.