Nokia Launches Development Tools For Ovi Platform

Finland's Nokia Corp., the world's largest mobile phone maker, Thursday said it is launching a set of tools to make it easier for external developers to create applications for its Internet service platform, Ovi, as it aims catch up on the success of iPhone maker Apple Inc.'s App Store.

"Our goal is clear, and that is to make it effortless for our partners to create highly appealing, context-relevant applications," said Niklas Savander, Executive Vice President Services at Nokia.

The Espoo, Finland-based company said it will progressively roll out new Application Program Interfaces, or APIs, for its services, starting Thursday with the Ovi Maps Player and Ovi Navigation Player.

Nokia Chief Executive Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo on Wednesday put location-based applications at the heart of the company's focus on mobile services.

The company, currently staging its Nokia World showcase in Stuttgart, Germany, is also launching a slew of new devices, including a mini-laptop, to expand its business as revenue from mobile handsets falls.

Nokia also said Thursday it will launch the Ovi Software Development Kit Beta, providing developers with a set of tools to create applications for the Internet and for its Symbian and Maemo mobile operating systems.

Applications created with Ovi SDK and Ovi APIs will be available for consumers through the Ovi Store in 2010, the company said.

Ovi Store, which was launched by Nokia in May this year, allows users to download applications to their phones, much like Apple's App Store, which opened in July 2008.

Nokia doesn't disclose the number of applications available on Ovi Store or the number of downloads made.

However, press spokesperson Eija-Riitta Huovinen said there are around 5,500 content items available, which can include applications and more basic content such as ringtones and wallpapers.

Apple's App Store in July had around 65,000 applications from which users had made over 1.5 billion downloads.

Ovi has had a difficult start and is still far smaller in scope than the App Store, but giving developers the right tools may be a step in the right direction, said Ben Wood, research director at CCS Insight.

Nokia Wednesday highlighted its Lifecasting with Ovi service, which will allows users to integrate with their accounts on social-networking Web site Facebook, which it said it will launch on a mini version of its N97 smartphone in October.

Google phone to hit Indian stores in December

Taiwanese handset major High Tech Computer (HTC) is planning to launch the Android platform-powered phone (popularly referred to as the Google phone) in India this December.

The price, however, will be higher than the US debut tag of around Rs 8,200 ($179).

Ajay Sharma, country manager, HTC (India), told Business Standard: “We would prefer a mobile operator tie-up to introduce the Google phone in India in December.”

HTC’s G1 (the Google phone model) will cost more since “the Indian market does not work on the handset subsidy model".

Android is a Linux-based operating system for mobile devices that was announced in November last year and developed by the Open Handset Alliance — a group comprising players like Google, HTC, Intel, Motorola and Samsung.

Research firm Strategy Analytics has predicted that the G1 could sell 400,000 units by the end of 2008, accounting for 4 per cent of the smart-phone market.

To spur the growth of third-party applications, Google recently announced the Android Market, similar to Apple's App Store, where consumers can buy and download content for its mobile platform.

Labelled as competition to Apple’s iPhone, which is priced at Rs 31,000 for the 8GB model, the HTC G1 could be priced cheaper to maintain an edge in India. Currently, HTC has smart-phones in the Indian market priced between Rs 10,000 and Rs 35,000. Google India officials were unavailable for comment.

HTC’s device is a 3G phone with a touch-screen, slider keyboard, GPS and Wi-Fi.

HTC India, which has an exclusive partnership with Airtel, is also open to selling the G1 phone through independent retail channels. “We will decide the business model soon,” said Sharma.

He believes that Google’s software platform and operating system for mobile devices has the benefit of leveraging on more than 100 million online web users as well as its open source development platform and advertising-oriented business model.

Although India does not have 3G yet, Sharma said applications like maps and search could find takers. “We expect to build volumes in India and the Android-based phone should make HTC a bigger player in the wireless handset market,” he said.

HTC India hopes to sell 600,000 mobile devices in 2009, having doubled sales this year from 100,000 in 2007.
platform-powered phone (popularly referred to as the

Apple recalls iPhone 3G tiny power adapters

Apple yesterday advised iPhone 3G users in the United States and other countries to replace the device's power adapter on reports that the metal prongs broke off and stuck in power outlets, creating the risk of electric shock.

Apple said it will exchange the ultra-compact USB adapters for a redesigned model, without charge, in retail stores and online starting Oct. 10.

In the meantime, iPhone 3G users who received the tiny USB adapter with their phone or who bought one should immediately stop using it. Apple said iPhone 3G owners should use the standard USB power adapter, which has fold-up prongs, or charge the iPhone by plugging it into a computer.

Adapters with a green dot on the bottom are safe and don't need to be replaced.

Syncing into ‘Apple-ications’

Apple pioneered the concept of allowing third party applications to be run on its devices. Steve Jobs was a genius, opening up this space for private players creating a successful business out of Apps, says Janani Krishnaswamy as she downloads and tests a few Apple Apps to find out what make them unique.

Application stores appear to be the new rage now. After Apple, Google announced its Android market last week and rumour mills claim that Microsoft is also developing a new app store.

Steve Jobs started it and has even taken it forward with the iPhone, giving start-ups and developers enough to be enthused about to create richer mobile applications. What attracted them most was the open platform that Apple offers. However, the company still controls which ones get virtual shelf space and which ones get featured. There are a 1000 or so apps in the store, but not all of them are featured in the website. We tested a few of them, paid and free applications on the iPod Touch – most of which can be used in the iPhone 3G as well.

Gamers’ paradise

The store is almost filled with gaming applications – free and paid. Wonder why. That’s cos’ Jobs knew playing games on the iPhone/iPod Touch would be fun, and that why it was built with a screen pivoting option. So, you can just tilt, drag, juggle and rotate what’s onscreen. From Audi A4 Driving to Air Hockey, from the Solitaire to Blackjack, the store has something for everyone. Sure, it gives you more thrill than most gaming gadgets, but its one with a difference. For instance, driving through a Logitech Driving Force EX on a PS3 will give you an almost real driving experience and make your heart race, but test driving the Audi on the iPod Touch didn’t give us as much of a near and up-close feedback.

Believe me; if you didn’t tilt the device the right way, you’ll end up losing game after game. That’s the depressing part of it. For example, when you play ‘Super Monkey Ball,’ produced by Sega, you have the option of choosing from four different monkeys and four different monkey islands, then you get to choose your level and all you need to do is tilt and rotate the handset in a way such that you help the monkey eat up the bananas. Remember, it is an island, so you tilt a little extra, your monkey jumps into the sea and will be dead. There, you lose a game very easily.

So, that’s a positive and a negative together. However playing other games like ‘Pocket Hoops,’ which is a basketball-based game, could be real fun when played using the screen pivoting option.

Why not for India?

Apple’s Apps development has been very centric to the American market and its App store reflects this. Be it business, finance, real estate, entertainment or healthcare, a lot of the applications are location specific ones. But why should lifestyle applications that can be used by others not made available in India? We tried downloading one of the well-acclaimed free lifestyle apps – the ‘mobile eBay,’ but unfortunately all we got was a pop-up that said ‘sorry, not available in Indian store yet.’ Too bad! When will Apple encourage India-specific Apps?

There are Apps that can read tarots and foretell the future too. Just as we dabbled with a few apps, we realized that the iPhone can do that too with an exciting download. The ‘iTarot’ application, powered by astrology.com, the popular astrology website, lets you shuffle and pick a tarot for the day. We had two options there – daily tarot and love tarot. Each time we tried opening the application, a new card opened up and it showed up a different interpretation.

Apps for the frequent traveller

While tech experts around the globe are quite disappointed with the GPS in the iPhone, that tries hard to show your location on a map by analyzing nearby towers and Wi-Fi hot spots, its smart apps offer you navigation services and weather updates too, most of them require a Wi-Fi connection. However, many of them come for free. Finding it tough locating a Wi-Fi hotspot… use a wireless router. For the globetrotter, there are language tools too. If for instance you are lost in a foreign country, these apps will help you translate the local languages - Spanish, French, German and Italian are available so far under the category. There are a few applications to calculate your speed and help you keep a watch on your speed limits.

Smart applications

Apple has cleverly managed to deflect some of the criticisms about the iPhone through some really smart apps. You don’t have to be upset over the 2.0 mega pixel camera of the iPhone – not anymore. Download all ‘photography-based’ apps; a few offered free, and with this, you can make it an intelligent camera capable phone. There are not only apps for zooming in and out, panning to and from, but also other interesting ones like ‘ezimba’ - a fun and simple image conversion tool, that allows you to edit and transform your photographs with over 250 conversion categories. Apart from that, there’s ‘fuzzyshot’, ‘photobucket’ and many more that help photo bloggers. But Apple, this is no reason why you shouldn’t upgrade the camera in the iPhone!

For the fitness freak

A handful of apps focus on health and well-being too. Keeping in mind the psychology of the health conscious, developers have also managed to offer varied services from keeping up with a healthy diet, keeping tabs on one’s own medical records to learning about human anatomy. These apps can literally put all your health records within your palm. Or they can keep track of your calories and exercise.

One of the most wholesome fitness apps among the ones we tested was the ‘Medical calculator’ – it calculates Body Mass Index (BMI), Bicarb deficit, Hepatitis Discriminant, Free water deficit and tells you a lot of interesting facts about your body and about how to have a check on it. We can hear you screaming out loud that you don’t want such details. You can probably download just the BMI application – it’s for free. It calculates your BMI, ideal body weight, tells you if you need to put on more weight or if you need to cut some extra flab and also tells you how many calories you need in a day. There’s an app that calculates your Blood alcohol concentration levels too.

Functional apps

You thought the iPhone is only for gizmo freaks and gaming geeks? We found some ‘down-to-earth’ apps that can be used very often and most of them are offered free! ‘Flashlight’ fills up the iPhone screen with bright colour variants thus illuminating the space around you. Clubbing? Want to flash lights in different hues? There’s a ‘myLight flashlight’ to light up the iPhone. Forgot to take your scale to your classroom? The iPhone can help – with it’s ‘RulerPlus’ app.

There’s something for everyone

Something for the business man, something for the nomad, something for the music freak, and something for the student – there’s something for almost every user. Apart from the free ones, the priced apps are quite reasonable too. The delivery system for these apps are supposedly simple - you buy them through Apple’s iTunes store, which then stores the programs on your computer and loads them on your iPhone or iPod Touch.

Iphone Has Big Fan Following in India

Apple Inc.’s hugely popular 3G iPhone made its debut in India on Aug 22, but with a price tag of $700 there was none of the mass hysteria that marked its launch in the United States, Europe and parts of Asia last month.

At about three times the U.S. retail price, and twice the monthly salary of white-collar middle managers, the phone may still find buyers among affluent young professionals who are snapping up iconic brands and luxury items and helping fuel the Asian giant’s trillion dollar economy.
India is the world’s fastest-growing wireless market and with nearly 300 million subscribers is the second-largest market for such services after China.

Operators have been adding more than 8 million customers a month, but most of them are low-paying users, who use their phone just for calling and not for data and multimedia services.

The country’s new rich, however, flaunt new mobiles as symbols of status and success and smuggled iPhones have been available in the black market in India for months.

“Indians tend to buy the most fancy cell phones, and the iPhone has a massive fan following everywhere,” said Pinaki Mishra, head of retail & consumer practice at Ernst & Young.

“It is seen as a status symbol, an aspirational product, so you can expect to see not just the rich, but also tech-savvy youngsters and people in small towns buying it.”

Sanjay Kapoor, Airtel’s president for mobile services, said the company received more than 200,000 pre-bookings for the new iPhone before prices were announced.

The phone sells for as little as $199 in the U.S., with customers often buying mandatory data-service plans. India’s top mobile operator Bharti Airtel and third-ranked Vodafone Essar are selling the 8GB model for around 31,000 rupees ($716) even though 3G services are not yet available.

Nishant Arya, a 22-year-old entrepreneur, said he bought six iPhones, one for himself and the others as gifts for his friends.

“We can’t change phones on a daily basis. We have to keep the future in mind and 3G will come to India soon,” he said.

The first version of the iPhone was snapped up by 270,000 people within days of a June 2007 U.S. launch. Analysts expect it could draw as many as 10.5 million buyers worldwide this year.

The iPhone was also launched in Singapore on Aug 23 with Singapore Telecommunications Ltd, Southeast Asia’s largest telecoms firm, the first to sell it.

Apple Inc.’s iPhone’s price may have 15 percent decrease

It has only been a week since Apple Inc. began selling its smartphone in India. However, experts already believe that the iconic device is now ready to have a reduced price. They said that it can be reduced by as much as 15 percent so that the sales will boost in India – the current fastest-growing market when it comes to mobile phones.

If you were to look at the sales of the second-generation iPhone all over the world, the device has already sold more than 1 million units. However, many believed that the sales of the device in India have only reached as much as 5,000 units. But the picture is not yet clear since Airtel and Vodafone didn’t said anything about the device after they launched Apple Inc.’s smartphone in the country.

According to Anshul Gupta, a principal analyst working with Garner, the price of the iPhone may drop by as much as Rs 5,000. With the current price of the iPhone, they expect that it would only be purchased by those who can’t wait for the operators or Apple Inc. to cut the device’s price. Anshul Gupta also said that the operators will have a volumes game. They must clear all the stocks of the iPhone before Apple Inc. would announce a new version of its iconic smartphone.

The iPhone was launched in India yesterday and the hoopla surrounding the world's most talked-about mobile handset is understandable.

With its smooth curves, chrome lining, and lightly brushed aluminum finish, there's no denying that the iPhone looks trendy -- and it's sleek build and size allow it to fit easily into the palm.

Network service providers Bharti Airtel and Vodafone have tied up with Apple and the latter is offering the 3G model of the phone at a staggering Rs 31,000 (Bharti is yet to quote a price). Indian network services, however, do not even offer the range of services that a 3G model cellphone can avail of, so you're hardly going to get everything you pay for.

Is the iPhone going to live up to the hype? Let's take a look at its features.

First off, there's no denying that the phone looks great. That being said, the phone isn't really tough -- the high-gloss body doesn't allow a proper grip on it at all times and if it falls, rest assured it will dent.

Also, the phone has no buttons, except for a 'Home' button below the screen which take you directly to the cell phone �desktop', so to speak; a volume switch to the left; and a small sleep/wake button on the top. This allows the phone to remain inactive, without being switched off.

So how do you punch in numbers? You use the touch-screen to perform practically every other operation the phone is capable of. With the touch of a finger, you can access the keypad, the main menu, call directory, photo gallery and whatever information is stored on it. To type out messages and emails, an onscreen keyboard appears on the touch screen, which you can use to punch in the alphabets. There is also a feature combining a dictionary and predictive text to help out with your typing. The touch-screen keyboard is rather sensitive and in this sense, rather inconvenient -- if you're on the move, for instance, you'll find yourself re-typing words several times over.

An electrical field around the screen allows for very natural, smooth action to browse through the features. The screen of the iPhone is scratch-resistant and 3.5 inches long, easily one of the largest and most stunning displays to be seen on a cellphone so far. The quality of imagery is excellent -- you can zoom in and out of an image using the touch feature with your fingers.

Photographs can be taken using the iPhone's inbuilt 2.0 mega pixel digital camera. The image quality is pretty decent, but there are no settings that can be altered to click photographs -- no flash, no zoom, nothing. It's just a wide-angle camera and that's all there is to it.

You can't shoot video clips on the phone -- either use your network connection and install the video recording programme, which will allow you a measly 4 seconds of recording time, or then pay more to download a compatible software.

The iPhone also has a motion sensor which detects whether the phone is being held upright or horizontally and automatically shifts the image on the screen to the angle you're viewing it from. When you're scrolling through your video clips and photographs on the phone, therefore, you'll find that turning the screen in any direction will not allow the images to flip to the side.

The favourite feature of many iPhone users is the inbuilt iPod, which allows users to transfer songs and other media files to the phone. You can use your PC to make the transfer or access Apple's iTunes programme directly from the phone for the same purpose. Everything you store is available to you at a touch. Also, powered with a hardcore 412 Megahertz processor, the iPhone's performance is fast and a user can multitask very easily -- you can listen to music while accessing your mail or surfing the Internet, for instance. The main catch here is that one way or another, you have to use iTunes. Also, file transfer can be pretty tricky -- don't try to transfer anything from the phone back to your PC without knowing exactly what you're doing. Because it's very likely that you'll end up losing your personal data from your computer!

The iPhone does not offer MMS support either, so there is no way you can transfer photos or any other files to or from other cellphones. It does not pair with any device to swap info other then a Bluetooth headset, which makes you wonder why it has a Bluetooth facility enabled in the first place!

The voice quality of the iPhone is crisp and clear and the hands free set that comes with it works well too. But one thing that's really annoying about making calls is that you have to scroll through your whole directory in alphabetical order to find the number you're looking for � no shortcut here!

Also, your cheek brushing against the touch screen when you're on a call will often accidentally activate the speakerphone. This is both annoying and embarrassing.

Apple claims that there is a sensor on the phone which turns off the screen during a call and thus contact between the cheeks and the screen should not have any effect. In turn, the phone saves on battery life, which is only 8 hours. But humidity often results in the screen remaining active for longer -- in the duration you find that your speakerphone has activated and everybody around is privy to the conversation.

When it comes to games, movies and other add-on utilities, the iPhone has an apparatus called 'Installer', which will help you install almost an programme off the net on your phone. But you will need a constant Internet connection to download and install these softwares, most of which you have to pay for -- otherwise settle for the trial versions.

Given how heavy the iPhone is on features, like a computer, expect yours to hang occasionally. But it's not as simple to fix a frozen iPhone as removing the battery/ power source and restarting, like in other cellphones. You see, the batteries of the iPhone are built-in and there's nothing you can do besides connecting to a PC and rebooting the phone. If you're on the move or a computer is not at hand -- tough luck!

All in all, the iPhone is trendy and different, but not in all ways that are convenient. It looks great and offers a lot of out-of-the-way features, but it is also lacking in some basic ones. Moreover, fixing a defective handset isn't exactly a breeze and every downloadable addition to your phone will come at a price. Add that to the Rs 31,000 bill you're already footing and decide for yourself whether it's worth it.

iPhone Now Available in India On Airtel and Vodafone

Recently Vodafone confirmed rumors that they were going to sell Apple iPhone in India, now Bharti Airtel, a top Indian telecom player has revealed plans to sell iPhone on their network in India.

Apple iPhone in India on Airtel

Bharti Airtel released a press release that they “had signed a deal with Apple to bring the iPhone to India, later this year”. That surely heats up the race to sell Apple iPhones in India, since Airtel is India’s leading integrated telecom services provider with over 60 million customers!

Last year Apple iPhone premiered at Apple Retail Stores in US and instantly topped the most wanted gadgets lists worldwide. Now Indians can become proud owners of Apple iPhone thanks to Airtel and Vodafone.

You can buy an unlocked iPhone in India from the gray market for Rs.25000 ($600 approx), but soon you can buy iphones legally and flaunt it to your friends. Apple crashed the iphone prices by $200 last year and recently Apple doubled the memory, so a 8GB iphone is now available for $399 at Apple stores. Lets await the pricing in India with the call service pack.