The rail link between Kashmir valley and the rest of the country will be completed by December 2012 once India's longest tunnel at 11 km - connecting Qazigund with Banihal - is constructed within a year.
The tunnel, one of the world's largest and deepest, will pierce through the Pir Panjal range below snowline, which stands like a wall between the Valley and Jammu.
The engineering marvel, named T80, is strategically important for the country since the only road link via the Jawahar Tunnel, which connects both the regions in the border state, is often blocked due to heavy snowfall.
"The tunnel will provide all-weather connectivity between the two regions," said Chahatey Ram , chief administrative officer of Northern Railway. "We are hopeful that Banihal-Qazigund rail link will be commissioned by December 2012," he added.
Hitesh Khanna, director (works) of IRCON, which is executing the project, said of the 11-km stretch, work has been completed in 10.40km. The distance between Banihal and Qazigund will be reduced to only 16km once the tunnel becomes operational, said R V Anand of IRCON.
Railways is also building an eight-feet wide service road along the T80 for any exigency.
The Banihal-Qazigund project is part of the Katra-Qazigund (129 km) venture, passing through hostile terrain of young Himalayas that are routinely posing geological surprises to the engineers. The inhospitable terrain has forced IRCON to construct 67.5km of access road to reach the project site, which has also helped in providing connectivity to around 35 villages.
Railways is using state-of-the-art Austrian tunnelling method to construct T80 that involves integration of surrounding soil formations into a ring-like support structure.
In 2002, then NDA government had announced a 345-km Jammu-Udhampur-Katra-Qazigund-Baramulla railway line, the biggest mountain rail project since the Independence.
The 53-km Jammu-Udhampur section was opened to the public in 2005, and the 119-km Qazigund-Baramulla route has been operational since 2009.
At present, the 6.5km Karbude tunnel of the Konkan Railway is the longest tunnel in India.
Monday, May 30, 2011
Infosys to pay KV Kamath special fee of Rs 67 lakh
KV Kamath, the man who built India's second-largest bank, ICICI Bank, and who is now set to take over as non-executive chairman of India's second-largest IT exporter, Infosys, will be compensated with an additional fee of around Rs 67 lakh for his new responsibilities.
Mr Kamath, 63, is replacing NR Narayana Murthy , the visionary founder of Infosys, as he retires in August in one of the major transitions the software exporter has undergone in its 30-yearold history. The fee is more than twice of what he got as non-executive chairman and board member of ICICI Bank in 2010-11.
Mr Kamath received a total of Rs 30.6 lakh, including a sitting fee ofRs 10.6 lakh, in ICICI, where in addition to being on the board, he is also on a number of committees such as the customer service and fraud.
In Infosys, Mr Kamath earned Rs 56 lakh in commission as a director in 2010-11. The 'special fee' of $150,000, or Rs 67 lakh, for the non-executive chairman has been recommended by the compensation committee of Infosys, in addition to his board fees. "The nominations committee on April 30, 2011, recommended the appointment of KV Kamath as the non-executive chairman of the board of directors with effect from August 21, 2011.
In this connection, the (compensation) committee has discussed and recommended to the board that, while serving in this role, KV Kamath as the non-executive chairman of the board be entitled to a special fee of $150,000 (over and above the regular board fee) per year for chairmanship of the board," the company disclosed in its annual report. Mr Kamath, who also chairs the compensation committee, excused himself from these discussions.
He stands to get close to Rs 1.2 crore as fees for his duties as a director on the board and as the non-executive chairman of Infosys. An expert with a global firm, advising on board restructuring and compensation, said the fee being paid was in line with the current practice of paying professionals on the board a fee for utilising their special knowledge and experience beyond their role as board members.
"Organisations are no longer appointing people to the board without due thought. They are looking for people who can spend time with the company, share values, but not run the company," he said.
Mr Kamath, 63, is replacing NR Narayana Murthy , the visionary founder of Infosys, as he retires in August in one of the major transitions the software exporter has undergone in its 30-yearold history. The fee is more than twice of what he got as non-executive chairman and board member of ICICI Bank in 2010-11.
Mr Kamath received a total of Rs 30.6 lakh, including a sitting fee ofRs 10.6 lakh, in ICICI, where in addition to being on the board, he is also on a number of committees such as the customer service and fraud.
In Infosys, Mr Kamath earned Rs 56 lakh in commission as a director in 2010-11. The 'special fee' of $150,000, or Rs 67 lakh, for the non-executive chairman has been recommended by the compensation committee of Infosys, in addition to his board fees. "The nominations committee on April 30, 2011, recommended the appointment of KV Kamath as the non-executive chairman of the board of directors with effect from August 21, 2011.
In this connection, the (compensation) committee has discussed and recommended to the board that, while serving in this role, KV Kamath as the non-executive chairman of the board be entitled to a special fee of $150,000 (over and above the regular board fee) per year for chairmanship of the board," the company disclosed in its annual report. Mr Kamath, who also chairs the compensation committee, excused himself from these discussions.
He stands to get close to Rs 1.2 crore as fees for his duties as a director on the board and as the non-executive chairman of Infosys. An expert with a global firm, advising on board restructuring and compensation, said the fee being paid was in line with the current practice of paying professionals on the board a fee for utilising their special knowledge and experience beyond their role as board members.
"Organisations are no longer appointing people to the board without due thought. They are looking for people who can spend time with the company, share values, but not run the company," he said.
Infosys to set up separate company to create IT products
For many who see Infosys as conservative, this may come as a surprise. The company's new management under K V Kamath and S D Shibulal is planning to set up a separate company focused on IT products, platforms and intellectual property-driven solutions.
The $6-billion company has so far built its global reputation on providing IT services to international firms. The move to establish this new company represents a focused shift to a higher value business. Products are riskier to do, given that they can fail even after substantial investments . But the payoffs from successful products can be huge, as the likes of Microsoft , IBM and SAP have shown.
"We are discussing several options to set up this new company to house innovations ," Subhash Dhar, the head of business innovation at Infosys told TOI. One of these is to make an acquisition of an existing company that is involved in areas where Infosys is looking to innovate . These areas include fast growing practices such as cloud computing, mobility and sustainability.
The other option is to create a new company. Employees at Infosys who are already involved on the innovation side, which includes products and platforms, would move to this new firm.
Dhar said the new company would provide a start-up kind of environment. Product-driven companies require a culture and DNA that nurtures out-of-the-box thinking, the way start-ups do. This culture is very different from what prevails in large firms, which tend to get tied down by processes and bureaucratic procedures, and in IT servicefocused firms, which does not involve much risk-taking .
Siddharth Pai, MD of global sourcing advisory services firm TPI India , said Indian service providers had shown with core banking solutions that they can compete with the best product companies in the world (Infosys has a successful banking product called Finacle, and TCS has a successful one called Bancs). He said it is a natural progression for IT services companies to move to products. "The lines are blurring between product and services players. To remain competitive , it is essential to become a full services provider. It can help win long-term and stickier deals." Pai echoed Dhar's view that the two businesses are fundamentally different, and therefore a separate entity for products and platforms makes sense. Nasscom president Som Mittal said that clients are now demanding high-end solutions such as platforms and products from Indian IT service providers to drive greater value and efficiencies.
The Indian IT sector , he said, had moved up the value chain from providing basic application support to become domain experts. Mittal said that from the IT companies' perspective, such initiatives are also driven by the need for them to become more non-linear (do more with fewer employees) and become end-to-end service providers.
Dhar said that traditional IT services are getting commoditized , with pricing and margin pressures. "In order to bring in non-linearity and differentiation in a competitive environment, innovative products and platforms become vital."
The firm has begun the process of setting up a separate unit. Seven new positions at VP and AVP levels have just been created for products and platforms, four of which will be for innovations coming out of the banking & finance, manufacturing , retail, and energy and utilities segments. The other three will build product engineering , product management and commercialization teams for new innovations.
"We have not fully utilized several of our products and IP-led platform solutions. The plan is to monetize some of these opportunities as well as build future products and solutions under this new unit," said Dhar. This includes existing products like mobile application platform Flypp and healthcare product I Transform , as well as solutions built for areas like supply chain visibility. The banking product Finacle however will not be part of this unit since it is already well established.
The products and platforms effort is part of the 'Infosys 3.0' strategy under which it intends to transform from a technology solutions company to a business solutions firm. It recently structured the company under three service lines. The first is transformation , which includes 'Change-the-business' initiatives like package implementation and consulting. The second is business operations, which includes 'run-the-business ' initiatives like application development & maintenance, testing and BPO. And the third is innovation, including products and platforms.
The $6-billion company has so far built its global reputation on providing IT services to international firms. The move to establish this new company represents a focused shift to a higher value business. Products are riskier to do, given that they can fail even after substantial investments . But the payoffs from successful products can be huge, as the likes of Microsoft , IBM and SAP have shown.
"We are discussing several options to set up this new company to house innovations ," Subhash Dhar, the head of business innovation at Infosys told TOI. One of these is to make an acquisition of an existing company that is involved in areas where Infosys is looking to innovate . These areas include fast growing practices such as cloud computing, mobility and sustainability.
The other option is to create a new company. Employees at Infosys who are already involved on the innovation side, which includes products and platforms, would move to this new firm.
Dhar said the new company would provide a start-up kind of environment. Product-driven companies require a culture and DNA that nurtures out-of-the-box thinking, the way start-ups do. This culture is very different from what prevails in large firms, which tend to get tied down by processes and bureaucratic procedures, and in IT servicefocused firms, which does not involve much risk-taking .
Siddharth Pai, MD of global sourcing advisory services firm TPI India , said Indian service providers had shown with core banking solutions that they can compete with the best product companies in the world (Infosys has a successful banking product called Finacle, and TCS has a successful one called Bancs). He said it is a natural progression for IT services companies to move to products. "The lines are blurring between product and services players. To remain competitive , it is essential to become a full services provider. It can help win long-term and stickier deals." Pai echoed Dhar's view that the two businesses are fundamentally different, and therefore a separate entity for products and platforms makes sense. Nasscom president Som Mittal said that clients are now demanding high-end solutions such as platforms and products from Indian IT service providers to drive greater value and efficiencies.
The Indian IT sector , he said, had moved up the value chain from providing basic application support to become domain experts. Mittal said that from the IT companies' perspective, such initiatives are also driven by the need for them to become more non-linear (do more with fewer employees) and become end-to-end service providers.
Dhar said that traditional IT services are getting commoditized , with pricing and margin pressures. "In order to bring in non-linearity and differentiation in a competitive environment, innovative products and platforms become vital."
The firm has begun the process of setting up a separate unit. Seven new positions at VP and AVP levels have just been created for products and platforms, four of which will be for innovations coming out of the banking & finance, manufacturing , retail, and energy and utilities segments. The other three will build product engineering , product management and commercialization teams for new innovations.
"We have not fully utilized several of our products and IP-led platform solutions. The plan is to monetize some of these opportunities as well as build future products and solutions under this new unit," said Dhar. This includes existing products like mobile application platform Flypp and healthcare product I Transform , as well as solutions built for areas like supply chain visibility. The banking product Finacle however will not be part of this unit since it is already well established.
The products and platforms effort is part of the 'Infosys 3.0' strategy under which it intends to transform from a technology solutions company to a business solutions firm. It recently structured the company under three service lines. The first is transformation , which includes 'Change-the-business' initiatives like package implementation and consulting. The second is business operations, which includes 'run-the-business ' initiatives like application development & maintenance, testing and BPO. And the third is innovation, including products and platforms.
Delhi University launches Facebook page for students
With its helplines and open-days flooded with pre-admission queries, Delhi University today launched its Facebook page for students, giving them another avenue to sort out their questions, raise their grievances and offer suggestions.
At the first Open Day at the South campus, officials of the University were bombarded by a series of questions by curious students and concerned parents as they sought to clear their doubts about the new admission norms and other details and nuances of several courses.
Vice Chancellor Dinesh Singh said at the institution's social networking profile, a link to which is available on the University's website, he will himself try to answer several of the queries posted by students.
Speaking to aspirants, the Vice Chancellor also advised them to opt for the subjects they actually have aptitude for rather than running after market trends.
"We are today launching our Facebook page, a dedicated email id is also in place. I'll do my best to personally answer several queries," he said.
The University officials said they are also making available the option of e-open days whereby presentations will be posted on the University website.
"We are also launching e-open days and e-brochures. This will help local students as they will not have to move around the city in the heat and also outstation students who can avail of the information benefits from their own cities," said Dean Students' Welfare J M Khurana.
At the first Open Day at the South campus, officials of the University were bombarded by a series of questions by curious students and concerned parents as they sought to clear their doubts about the new admission norms and other details and nuances of several courses.
Vice Chancellor Dinesh Singh said at the institution's social networking profile, a link to which is available on the University's website, he will himself try to answer several of the queries posted by students.
Speaking to aspirants, the Vice Chancellor also advised them to opt for the subjects they actually have aptitude for rather than running after market trends.
"We are today launching our Facebook page, a dedicated email id is also in place. I'll do my best to personally answer several queries," he said.
The University officials said they are also making available the option of e-open days whereby presentations will be posted on the University website.
"We are also launching e-open days and e-brochures. This will help local students as they will not have to move around the city in the heat and also outstation students who can avail of the information benefits from their own cities," said Dean Students' Welfare J M Khurana.
Microsoft releases Internet Explorer 9 versions in 11 Indian languages
Microsoft released the latest version of Internet Explorer 9 in 11 Indian languages including Assamese, Bengali, Gujarati, Kannada, Konkani, Malyalam, Marathi, Oriya, Punjabi, Tamil and Telugu. Microsoft may well be a late entrant in this space behind Google Chrome and homegrown browser Epic that is built specially for the Indian market.
This is not the first time Microsoft is engaging with the Indian market. The company has a few India-specific tools like Indic language input tool, phonetic keyboard that has language support, and features such as email, instant messenger are also available in local languages.
Experts feel that this could increase Microsoft's prominence in the browser market but will do only that. "If Microsoft is looking at reaching the rural market and drive technology adoption, it is a good strategy but it will not lead to PC adoption. People are not going to buy a computer only based on local language offering. That won't happen," said Vishal Tripathi, principal research analyst, Gartner.
This is not the first time Microsoft is engaging with the Indian market. The company has a few India-specific tools like Indic language input tool, phonetic keyboard that has language support, and features such as email, instant messenger are also available in local languages.
Experts feel that this could increase Microsoft's prominence in the browser market but will do only that. "If Microsoft is looking at reaching the rural market and drive technology adoption, it is a good strategy but it will not lead to PC adoption. People are not going to buy a computer only based on local language offering. That won't happen," said Vishal Tripathi, principal research analyst, Gartner.
Google, Microsoft to test Apple's tablet dominance
Google and Microsoft's attempts to loosen Apple's grip on the booming tablet-computer market will be put to the test this week as PC makers unveil new models at the Computex trade show in Taipei. Investors and analysts will be looking to see if Google's Android operating system can match the popularity of the iPad, while Microsoft may preview its next Windows platform for tablets a year after Apple's first offering hit store shelves.
"Investors want to know which tablet is better, which has the best price-performance , and when the non iPad camp is going to get going ," said Angela Hsiang, an analyst at KGI Securities in Taipei. "Previously, people couldn't actually see the products .
At Computex, we'll be able to touch and use them." Acer and Asustek Computer, which upended the computer market when they showed low-cost netbooks at Computex in 2007 and 2008, will demonstrate new tablets featuring Google's Android this week. The operator of the world's most popular search engine and Microsoft will both send executives to the event to meet with reporters and update companies on their plans.
Intel, the world's largest chipmaker, and ARM Holdings , whose chip designs are used by Qualcomm and Nvidia to run tablets, will also try to convince manufacturers that their products are the best as the desktop and notebook markets slow. Global shipments of tablets will climb to 215 million units in 2015 from 17 million last year, Toni Sacconaghi, a New York-based analyst at Sanford C. Bernstein, wrote in a May 26 report.
Fifteen percent of all tablets will cannibalize the sale of consumer PCs, reducing computer-sales growth by 2% annually between 2010 and 2015, Sacconaghi wrote. Competition from new entrants will cut Apple's share of the tablet market to 50% next year, iSuppli said on April 21, from almost 100% when the Cupertino, California-based company began selling the iPad in June.
"Investors want to know which tablet is better, which has the best price-performance , and when the non iPad camp is going to get going ," said Angela Hsiang, an analyst at KGI Securities in Taipei. "Previously, people couldn't actually see the products .
At Computex, we'll be able to touch and use them." Acer and Asustek Computer, which upended the computer market when they showed low-cost netbooks at Computex in 2007 and 2008, will demonstrate new tablets featuring Google's Android this week. The operator of the world's most popular search engine and Microsoft will both send executives to the event to meet with reporters and update companies on their plans.
Intel, the world's largest chipmaker, and ARM Holdings , whose chip designs are used by Qualcomm and Nvidia to run tablets, will also try to convince manufacturers that their products are the best as the desktop and notebook markets slow. Global shipments of tablets will climb to 215 million units in 2015 from 17 million last year, Toni Sacconaghi, a New York-based analyst at Sanford C. Bernstein, wrote in a May 26 report.
Fifteen percent of all tablets will cannibalize the sale of consumer PCs, reducing computer-sales growth by 2% annually between 2010 and 2015, Sacconaghi wrote. Competition from new entrants will cut Apple's share of the tablet market to 50% next year, iSuppli said on April 21, from almost 100% when the Cupertino, California-based company began selling the iPad in June.
Apple may unveil ‘digital lockers’ for tunes
Compared with buying e-books, building a digital music collection is a hassle. E-books zip directly to reading devices like the Kindle and Nook and are backed up “in the cloud” — on the servers of Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble. A digital song, on the other hand, is typically downloaded to a PC and must then be manually transferred to an iPod or mobile phone. If you lose your Kindle, you can always download an e-book again; if the PC crashes or the iPod falls into the bathtub, the song goes down with it.
Moving music to the cloud has been an elusive goal for big tech companies and their music industry counterparts, until now.
In the past two months, Amazon and Google have unveiled cloud music services, albeit to mixed reviews and indifference from consumers. These new services let users upload their music collections into so-called digital lockers on the Internet and stream the songs they own to a variety of devices. Both are limited, because neither Google nor Amazon could reach an accommodation with music labels. Label executives say they are negotiating aggressively to make sure they profit from the shift to the cloud. It may be the last opportunity to stem rampant piracy and years of plummeting sales.
Apple, the reigning heavyweight of the music business, may have solved this cloud conundrum. It has reached agreements with three of the four major music labels and is close to reaching terms with the fourth, Universal Music, according to people with knowledge of these deals.
The company could preview its cloud plans as early as June at Apple’s annual Worldwide Developers Conference in San Francisco. The music industry will be watching to see whether Steve Jobs & Co. have discovered a way to quell the deep anxieties of the music biz while creating a flexible, easy-to-use service that isn’t too expensive.
“With a big enough checkbook, anyone can get a deal with the record labels,” says Michael Robertson, founder of an unlicensed cloud music locker called Mp3tunes, which is embroiled in a lawsuit with EMI. “The question is whether Apple’s cloud music service will be consumer-friendly.”
Apple declined to comment.
Apple’s music service, which Engadget and other tech blogs are already calling iCloud, might well represent the future of recorded music. Armed with licenses from the music labels and publishers, Apple will be able to scan customers’ digital music libraries in iTunes and quickly mirror their collections on its own servers, say three people briefed on the talks. Users of the service will then be able to stream their songs and albums directly to PCs, iPhones, iPads, and perhaps one day even cars. And the music industry gets a chance at the next best thing after selling CDs: monthly subscription fees.
“We will come to a point in the not-so-distant future when we’ll look back on the 99-cent download as anachronistic as cassette tapes or 8-tracks,” says Ross Crupnick, a music analyst at NPD Group.
While it may be a huge shift, it won’t be free. Apple no doubt has paid dearly for any cloud music licenses, and it’s unclear how much of those costs it will eat or pass on to consumers.
Moving music to the cloud has been an elusive goal for big tech companies and their music industry counterparts, until now.
In the past two months, Amazon and Google have unveiled cloud music services, albeit to mixed reviews and indifference from consumers. These new services let users upload their music collections into so-called digital lockers on the Internet and stream the songs they own to a variety of devices. Both are limited, because neither Google nor Amazon could reach an accommodation with music labels. Label executives say they are negotiating aggressively to make sure they profit from the shift to the cloud. It may be the last opportunity to stem rampant piracy and years of plummeting sales.
Apple, the reigning heavyweight of the music business, may have solved this cloud conundrum. It has reached agreements with three of the four major music labels and is close to reaching terms with the fourth, Universal Music, according to people with knowledge of these deals.
The company could preview its cloud plans as early as June at Apple’s annual Worldwide Developers Conference in San Francisco. The music industry will be watching to see whether Steve Jobs & Co. have discovered a way to quell the deep anxieties of the music biz while creating a flexible, easy-to-use service that isn’t too expensive.
“With a big enough checkbook, anyone can get a deal with the record labels,” says Michael Robertson, founder of an unlicensed cloud music locker called Mp3tunes, which is embroiled in a lawsuit with EMI. “The question is whether Apple’s cloud music service will be consumer-friendly.”
Apple declined to comment.
Apple’s music service, which Engadget and other tech blogs are already calling iCloud, might well represent the future of recorded music. Armed with licenses from the music labels and publishers, Apple will be able to scan customers’ digital music libraries in iTunes and quickly mirror their collections on its own servers, say three people briefed on the talks. Users of the service will then be able to stream their songs and albums directly to PCs, iPhones, iPads, and perhaps one day even cars. And the music industry gets a chance at the next best thing after selling CDs: monthly subscription fees.
“We will come to a point in the not-so-distant future when we’ll look back on the 99-cent download as anachronistic as cassette tapes or 8-tracks,” says Ross Crupnick, a music analyst at NPD Group.
While it may be a huge shift, it won’t be free. Apple no doubt has paid dearly for any cloud music licenses, and it’s unclear how much of those costs it will eat or pass on to consumers.
2G scam: Vinod Rai appears before JPC today
The Comptroller and Auditor General, Mr Vinod Rai, today appeared before the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) examining the 2G spectrum scam to explain how the Government auditor quantified the losses in the spectrum allocation at Rs 1.76 lakh crore.
Mr Rai was asked to brief the Committee, chaired by the Congress leader, Mr P.C. Chacko, on the allocation and pricing of telecom licences and spectrum during 1998 to 2009.
The CAG, in a report to Parliament last year, had pegged the presumptive loss to the exchequer on 2G spectrum allocation at Rs 1.76 lakh crore.
The findings triggered a political storm and subsequent events led to the resignation of the then Telecom Minister, Mr A. Raja.
The Telecom Minister, Mr Kapil Sibal, had dubbed “utterly erroneous and without any basis” the estimated loss of Rs 1.76 lakh crore, arrived at by the CAG on account of 2G spectrum allocation.
According to the CBI charge-sheet in the 2G spectrum allocation case, the loss to the exchequer is pegged at Rs 30,984 crore.
Earlier this year, Mr Rai had made a similar presentation before the Public Accounts Committee of Parliament on how he arrived at the figure.
PAC examines the CAG reports and tables its findings to Parliament.
Mr Rai was asked to brief the Committee, chaired by the Congress leader, Mr P.C. Chacko, on the allocation and pricing of telecom licences and spectrum during 1998 to 2009.
The CAG, in a report to Parliament last year, had pegged the presumptive loss to the exchequer on 2G spectrum allocation at Rs 1.76 lakh crore.
The findings triggered a political storm and subsequent events led to the resignation of the then Telecom Minister, Mr A. Raja.
The Telecom Minister, Mr Kapil Sibal, had dubbed “utterly erroneous and without any basis” the estimated loss of Rs 1.76 lakh crore, arrived at by the CAG on account of 2G spectrum allocation.
According to the CBI charge-sheet in the 2G spectrum allocation case, the loss to the exchequer is pegged at Rs 30,984 crore.
Earlier this year, Mr Rai had made a similar presentation before the Public Accounts Committee of Parliament on how he arrived at the figure.
PAC examines the CAG reports and tables its findings to Parliament.
Samsung Galaxy S II I9101 spotted in the wild, could be the NFC 1
Another version of the Samsung's Galaxy S II has leaked, this time in a bunch of blurry photos. It goes under I9101 model name and looks just like the I9100 Galaxy S II. It could be the NFC version that's supposed to ship in June to UK and other select markets to support the introduction of NFC services.
For all we know, in addition to the original I9100 Galaxy S II smartphone, Samsung is preparing two more rumored versions to expand its market expansion. The first one is the I9103, which should be based on the Tegra2 chipset, while the other one is the NFC-capable Galaxy S II.
Since we know nothing about the I9101, we suppose it should be the NFC-enabled Galaxy S II. The forum user who posted the pictures claims the device is stuck on the boot screen, so there is no information on its specs.
Anyway, at least we know there is another Galaxy S II on the way and we guess it should be announced soon.
For all we know, in addition to the original I9100 Galaxy S II smartphone, Samsung is preparing two more rumored versions to expand its market expansion. The first one is the I9103, which should be based on the Tegra2 chipset, while the other one is the NFC-capable Galaxy S II.
Since we know nothing about the I9101, we suppose it should be the NFC-enabled Galaxy S II. The forum user who posted the pictures claims the device is stuck on the boot screen, so there is no information on its specs.
Anyway, at least we know there is another Galaxy S II on the way and we guess it should be announced soon.
Samsung Galaxy S II, fastest selling smartphone in Korea
The Samsung Galaxy S II has already been blazing a trail in its homeland of South Korea, but its just passed another impressive landmark. It had already surpassed all previous pre-orders for Samsung in Korea and had doubled that of the iPhone 4.
Now, in its first month alone its sold over 1 million units which makes it the fastest selling smartphone ever in Korea. It's predecessor the Galaxy S took a full 70 days to hit that magic number and the S II promised great things early on when it passed 100,000 units by day three, doubled that by day eight and hit half a million in two weeks.
Part of the S II's one-upmanship over iPhone 4 came about as the Galaxy S II didn't suffer carrier support problems. KT were originally the only carrier for the iPhone until this month when SK picked it up as well. Despite this, it's still a great success for Samsung and one they no doubt hope to reproduce elsewhere with their S II family in the US and the S II's availability across Europe.
Now, in its first month alone its sold over 1 million units which makes it the fastest selling smartphone ever in Korea. It's predecessor the Galaxy S took a full 70 days to hit that magic number and the S II promised great things early on when it passed 100,000 units by day three, doubled that by day eight and hit half a million in two weeks.
Part of the S II's one-upmanship over iPhone 4 came about as the Galaxy S II didn't suffer carrier support problems. KT were originally the only carrier for the iPhone until this month when SK picked it up as well. Despite this, it's still a great success for Samsung and one they no doubt hope to reproduce elsewhere with their S II family in the US and the S II's availability across Europe.
Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 gets an update, not the one you expected
Sony Ericsson has just released another update for its Xperia X10 former flagship. It’s not the Gingerbread release everyone was hoping for, but it seems to be a pretty major one nonetheless. There are plenty of changes brought and all early adopters claim to notice a substantial improvement in performance.
The update is version number is 2.1.B.0.1 and it seems to boost screen responsiveness and general performance with the effects being most prominent in Timescape. There’s also a new baseband in the package, which reportedly benefits signal strength and in-call sound quality. Switching between 2G and 3G networks is now said to be faster and initiating a call takes shorter time.
Some have noticed a change in battery life for the better (but then others claim that it’s worse) and there’s now voice search integration just about anywhere where you can need it – search bar, browser etc.
A pretty major change is the system-wide availability of multi-touch. The X10 got official multi-touch support with its previous update, but that only worked in some of the apps.
On the visual side of things Sony Ericsson introduced minor tweaks to the notification area, dialer pad and status bar. New animations have also appeared around the interface and they seem to be smoother than before.
Hackers will be pleased to know that the rooting solution from previous ROMs is compatible with this new one, so you won’t be losing control over your system by updating.
So what are you waiting for – go check out if the update has become officially available to your area. If it hasn’t you can always follow the source link to the XDA-developers forum, where you can find instructions on how to flash it manually. Mind you, you should only do this if you really know what you are doing.
Some have noticed a change in battery life for the better (but then others claim that it’s worse) and there’s now voice search integration just about anywhere where you can need it – search bar, browser etc.
A pretty major change is the system-wide availability of multi-touch. The X10 got official multi-touch support with its previous update, but that only worked in some of the apps.
On the visual side of things Sony Ericsson introduced minor tweaks to the notification area, dialer pad and status bar. New animations have also appeared around the interface and they seem to be smoother than before.
Hackers will be pleased to know that the rooting solution from previous ROMs is compatible with this new one, so you won’t be losing control over your system by updating.
So what are you waiting for – go check out if the update has become officially available to your area. If it hasn’t you can always follow the source link to the XDA-developers forum, where you can find instructions on how to flash it manually. Mind you, you should only do this if you really know what you are doing.
Dropbox Partners With Softbank, Sony Ericsson for Global Growth
Dropbox Inc., the Web storage provider with 25 million users, signed deals with mobile carrier Softbank Corp. (9984) and handset maker Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications AB to attract more customers in Asia and Europe.
The agreement means Dropbox’s file-sharing application will be preloaded on two phones running on Softbank’s network in Japan in early June, said Lars Fjeldsoe-Nielsen, head of mobile business development at Dropbox, in an interview. Sony Ericsson is building the app into devices that will be sold in 10 countries in Europe and Asia.
The partnerships are the first for San Francisco-based Dropbox, a startup whose app has surged in popularity as consumers turn to smartphones to take pictures, create videos and listen to music. The app lets users store and access their content from any computer, phone or tablet with a Web connection.
“Whenever you do anything that can be stored, consumed or shared, we want to become part of that,” said Fjeldsoe-Nielsen, who joined the company in January. “We’re working with the guys who are moving the fastest.”
Terms of the partnerships aren’t being disclosed. Softbank and Sony Ericsson will be promoting the app in stores and commercials, while also training sales staff so they can demonstrate it to customers.
Dropbox’s app is currently available as a free download on Apple Inc. (AAPL)’s iPhone and iPad, devices running Google Inc. (GOOG)’s Android operating system and on Research In Motion Ltd. (RIMM)’s BlackBerry smartphones. The company expects to sign marketing and distribution deals later this year with U.S. carriers and manufacturers.
Freemium Pricing
Founded in 2007 by Drew Houston and Arash Ferdowsi, Dropbox uses a tiered-pricing model, called freemium, giving away the basic app and charging users who want more space. The free version comes with 2 gigabytes of storage, enough for thousands of documents or hundreds of photos. Beyond that, Dropbox sells as much as 50 gigabytes and 100 gigabytes for $9.99 a month and $19.99 a month, respectively.
Dropbox said last month that more than 25 million people are using the service, a sixfold increase from January 2010. It competes with Box.net, an Internet-storage company that raised $48 million in February from investors including Andreessen Horowitz. Box.net, based in Palo Alto, California, has almost 6 million users.
With the Softbank partnership, Dropbox will come automatically loaded on two Android phones in Japan, one with a 3-D screen manufactured by Sharp Corp. Tokyo-based Softbank, Japan’s third-largest wireless carrier, will be promoting the devices in about 7,000 stores in Japan.
Softbank Price Break
In addition to the two free gigabytes that come with the app, Softbank is adding 50 percent more at no charge, the Tokyo- based company said in an e-mail.
Sony Ericsson, the London-based mobile-phone venture of Sony Corp. and Ericsson AB, is selling Android phones with the Dropbox app pre-installed in countries including the U.K., Denmark, Australia and Indonesia, starting today.
Chief Executive Officer Bert Nordberg said in March that the company is aiming to expand its global share of Android handsets to at least 25 percent from 14 percent at the beginning of this year.
Sony Ericsson has similar partnerships, where it promotes apps from Facebook Inc., Twitter Inc. and Foursquare Labs Inc., said Calum MacDougall, Sony Ericsson’s London-based head of Web service partnership.
‘Entertaining Smartphones’
“Dropbox is something that is an exciting and rapidly growing service,” MacDougall said in an interview. “To have the most entertaining smartphones, we need to find partner brands that consumers are using.”
Dropbox was initially funded by Y Combinator, the Mountain View, California-based startup incubator, and then raised $7.2 million from Sequoia Capital and Accel Partners. It now has about 55 employees.
Bryan Schreier, a partner at Sequoia and Dropbox board member, said he’s an avid user of the product in addition to being an investor. For his kids’ birthday parties, he sets up folders that enable everyone involved to take photos and shoot video from their phones and upload the files immediately.
“In real time we’re building a shared photo album that people can access on the Web anywhere,” Schreier said in an interview from his office in Menlo Park, California. “It’s an awesome experience.”
The agreement means Dropbox’s file-sharing application will be preloaded on two phones running on Softbank’s network in Japan in early June, said Lars Fjeldsoe-Nielsen, head of mobile business development at Dropbox, in an interview. Sony Ericsson is building the app into devices that will be sold in 10 countries in Europe and Asia.
The partnerships are the first for San Francisco-based Dropbox, a startup whose app has surged in popularity as consumers turn to smartphones to take pictures, create videos and listen to music. The app lets users store and access their content from any computer, phone or tablet with a Web connection.
“Whenever you do anything that can be stored, consumed or shared, we want to become part of that,” said Fjeldsoe-Nielsen, who joined the company in January. “We’re working with the guys who are moving the fastest.”
Terms of the partnerships aren’t being disclosed. Softbank and Sony Ericsson will be promoting the app in stores and commercials, while also training sales staff so they can demonstrate it to customers.
Dropbox’s app is currently available as a free download on Apple Inc. (AAPL)’s iPhone and iPad, devices running Google Inc. (GOOG)’s Android operating system and on Research In Motion Ltd. (RIMM)’s BlackBerry smartphones. The company expects to sign marketing and distribution deals later this year with U.S. carriers and manufacturers.
Freemium Pricing
Founded in 2007 by Drew Houston and Arash Ferdowsi, Dropbox uses a tiered-pricing model, called freemium, giving away the basic app and charging users who want more space. The free version comes with 2 gigabytes of storage, enough for thousands of documents or hundreds of photos. Beyond that, Dropbox sells as much as 50 gigabytes and 100 gigabytes for $9.99 a month and $19.99 a month, respectively.
Dropbox said last month that more than 25 million people are using the service, a sixfold increase from January 2010. It competes with Box.net, an Internet-storage company that raised $48 million in February from investors including Andreessen Horowitz. Box.net, based in Palo Alto, California, has almost 6 million users.
With the Softbank partnership, Dropbox will come automatically loaded on two Android phones in Japan, one with a 3-D screen manufactured by Sharp Corp. Tokyo-based Softbank, Japan’s third-largest wireless carrier, will be promoting the devices in about 7,000 stores in Japan.
Softbank Price Break
In addition to the two free gigabytes that come with the app, Softbank is adding 50 percent more at no charge, the Tokyo- based company said in an e-mail.
Sony Ericsson, the London-based mobile-phone venture of Sony Corp. and Ericsson AB, is selling Android phones with the Dropbox app pre-installed in countries including the U.K., Denmark, Australia and Indonesia, starting today.
Chief Executive Officer Bert Nordberg said in March that the company is aiming to expand its global share of Android handsets to at least 25 percent from 14 percent at the beginning of this year.
Sony Ericsson has similar partnerships, where it promotes apps from Facebook Inc., Twitter Inc. and Foursquare Labs Inc., said Calum MacDougall, Sony Ericsson’s London-based head of Web service partnership.
‘Entertaining Smartphones’
“Dropbox is something that is an exciting and rapidly growing service,” MacDougall said in an interview. “To have the most entertaining smartphones, we need to find partner brands that consumers are using.”
Dropbox was initially funded by Y Combinator, the Mountain View, California-based startup incubator, and then raised $7.2 million from Sequoia Capital and Accel Partners. It now has about 55 employees.
Bryan Schreier, a partner at Sequoia and Dropbox board member, said he’s an avid user of the product in addition to being an investor. For his kids’ birthday parties, he sets up folders that enable everyone involved to take photos and shoot video from their phones and upload the files immediately.
“In real time we’re building a shared photo album that people can access on the Web anywhere,” Schreier said in an interview from his office in Menlo Park, California. “It’s an awesome experience.”
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)