New Apple iPods launched in India

Apple has launched its new range of Apple iPods in India for the festive Christmas season. The Apple iPods range varies from the 1GB iPod Shuffle to 32GB iPod Touch. The 1GB iPod is priced at Rs 2,300 and the 32GB iPod Touch is priced at Rs 21,100. (Click to enlarge image)

(Picture used for representation purpose only)



Apple iPod Nano has a curved aluminum enclosure and will be available in 8 beautiful colours, which includes silver, purple, blue, green, orange, yellow, pink and black. The 8GB or 16GB flash drive of the device can store up to 2,000 or 4,000 songs in 128-Kbps AAC format and has music playback time up to 24 hours in its full-charge mode, while video playback time is up to four hours.

The second generation iPod Touch has a thin contoured metal design, a 3.5-inch widescreen display, 802.11 b/g wi-fi, integrated volume control buttons, built-in speaker and accelerometer and other advanced sensors.

It is available in capacities of 8GB, 16GB or 32GB flash drive, which means it can hold up to 1,750, 3,500 or 7,000 songs, respectively, in 128-Kbps AAC format and up to 10 hours, 20 hours or 40 hours of video respectively when fully charged. The iPod Touch has a music playback time of up to 36 hours and a video playback of up to 6 hours.

The 120GB iPod Classic a 2.5-inch colour display, can store up to 30,000 songs, 150 hours of video and 25,000 photos and has 36 hours of audio playback time and video playback time of up to 6 hours.

Apple iPhone Nano coming soon!

If rumours are to be believed, Apple is reportedly working on the iPhone Nano. Details which were observed on a Chinese manufacturer XSKN's website show the probable design of the iPhone Nano. (Click to enlarge images)







XSKN manufactures silicone casings and had already showcased the Apple iPhone 3G even before it was launched. So there could be some truth in the rumours.



Watch this space for latest details as and when more information is available.

How to convert your Apple iPod Touch into a phone

Apple iPod Touch users can now convert their iPod Touch into a phone. The internet telephone company Truphone has launched a new Wi-Fi free application software that converts the iPod Touch into a mobile phone.



Using a Wi-Fi connection iPod Touch users can make and receive calls via VoIP, with other Truphone users, iPod Touch owners and Google Talk messaging users. Truphone will also introduce the facility to handle calls from landlines.

Users will need a headset and microphone. The software creates a virtual keyboard on the iPod Touch to dial calls. The software application can be freely downloaded from Apple's App Store.

Additional features which will be introduced later are calling and instant messaging MSN and Skype VoIP users and checking and setting Facebook and Twitter connections.

Nokia 5800 XpressMusic - Apple iPhone Killer?

Nokia, the largest handset maker in the world, has launched the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic (also called the Nokia Tube) touchscreen phone. Nokia 5800 XpressMusic will be directly competing with Apple's iPhone and Samsung's Omnia. As per Nokia, the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic is the ‘first mass-market phone with a touchscreen’ which will be available at an affordable price of $390. (Click to enlarge images)





The Nokia 5800 XpressMusic runs on the S60 5th Edition operating system and has a 3.2 inch 640 x 360 touchscreen with stylus input, a 3.2 megapixel camera with autofocus Carl Zeiss lens and LED flash, VGA front camera, A-GPS, HDSPA, Wi-Fi connectivity, 8GB internal memory expandable upto 16GB using the microSDHC memory card slot, built-in surround sound stereo speakers, a 3.5mm jack and graphic equalizer.





The Nokia 5800 XpressMusic will have 'Comes With Music', a Nokia service which offers 1 year of unlimited access to the Nokia's music store catalog. Nokia 5800 XpressMusic has a browser with Flash Lite 3 installed for surfing the internet.





The Nokia 5800 XpressMusic will be available worldwide in the 4th quarter of 2008. Nokia 5800 XpressMusic will be launched in India in the third week of November at a price of sub-Rs 20,000. Apple’s iPhone and Samsung’s Omnia are priced at more than Rs 30,000 in India.

Nokia will also bundle exclusive content of its brand ambassador Shah Rukh Khan for Nokia mobiles sold in India. It bundled the full ‘Om Shanti Om’ movie in Nokia N96 and will also bundle video clips and music of Shah Rukh Khan's movies in these handsets.

Apple new iPods

Apple has launched its new iPods in India.

The new iPod Nano is the fourth generation model. It is the thinnest iPod and has a curved aluminium and glass enclosure. It includes the new Genius technology, which crawls through songs and creates playlists of songs from your library, in just one click. It also has a built-in accelerometer which automatically switches to Cover Flow when rotated and goes into Shuffle mode when it is shaken lightly.
















The new iPod Nano will give upto 24 hours of music playback or 4 hours of video playback. It will be available in silver, purple, blue, green, orange, yellow, pink, and black colours. The 8GB model is priced at Rs.9,700 and 16GB model is priced at Rs.12,500.

The second generation iPod Touch has a 3.5 inch widescreen display, thin contoured metal design, the revolutionary Multi-Touch user interface, 802.11 b/g wireless networking, integrated volume control buttons, a built-in speaker and accelerometer and sensors. Apple iPod Touch will be available from 8th October. The 8GB model is priced at Rs. 15,100. The 16GB and 32GB are priced at Rs. 19,100 and Rs. 25,000 respectively.

HTC S740 smartphone - Apple iPhone rival

HTC has launched the HTC S740 smartphone, a worthy rival to iPhone and BlackBerry. The HTC S740 is the successor to the S730, and is inspired in its looks by HTC Diamond.

HTC S740 is a Windows Mobile 6.1 smartphone with both a standard numeric keypad and a slide-out QWERTY keyboard. HTC S740 has 2 cameras, a 3.2 megapixel and a VGA, conventional non-touchscreen device with a 2.4" QVGA screen, video calling, quad-band GSM plus GPRS and EDGE data, UMTS and HSDPA support in the 900 and 2100 MHz bands, WiFi, Bluetooth 2.0, USB 2.0, and microSD expandable memory.

According to HTC, the S740 has the fastest mobile broadband capabilities with a maximum download speed of 7.2 Mbps, which is up to 18 times faster than 3G. Actual speeds will vary according to the user's carrier network status. HTC S740 also supports POP3, IMAP, and Exchange push email.

HTC S740 specifications:

Networks: WCDMA/HSDPA: 900/2100 MHz for EU and Asia
GSM/GPRS/EDGE: 850/900/1800/1900 MHz
Chipset: Qualcomm® MSM7225, 528 MHz
Display: 2.4-inch QVGA screen
Camera: 3.2 megapixel with fixed focus
Internal memory: 256 MB flash; 256 MB RAM
Memory card: microSD
WLAN: 802.11b/g
Bluetooth: 2.0 with EDR
GPS: GPS/AGPS
Maximum speed: UL = 384 kbps; DL = 3.6/7.2 Mbps
Interface: HTC ExtUSB™ (mini-USB and audio jack in one; USB 2.0 High-Speed)
Operating system: Windows Mobile 6.1 Standard
Battery: 1000 mAh
Talk time: WCDMA: Up to 320 minutes*** / GSM: Up to 380 minutes***
Standby time: WCDMA: Up to 400 hours*** / GSM: Up to 280 hours***
Special features: Sliding QWERTY keyboard, FM radio, Google Maps, RSS Hub
Size: 116.3 x 43.4 x 16.3 mm
Weight: 140g with battery

The HTC S740 will release in Europe this September. There is no information on pricing, as yet.

Apple iPhone 3G price in India announced

Well, bad news for Apple iPhone 3G lovers in India. Vodafone has officially disclosed the price of the Apple iPhone 3G. Vodafone has sent out a SMS to all those who had pre-registered with it during the past few weeks.














The iPhone 3G will be available in 8GB and 16GB at Rs 31,000 and Rs 36,100 respectively. But, Vodafone, one of the two operators in India which will start selling iPhone from 22nd August, did not reveal whether the prices declared are for unlocked iPhones, or those with bundled plans.

Those customers who had pre-ordered the phone will have to confirm their booking of the Apple iPhone at Vodafone Stores by paying an advance of Rs. 10,000 on 20th and 21st August.

Bharti Airtel, the other operator who will be offering the iPhone, has not revealed its pricing plans, but it is expected that it will follow Vodafone on pricing.

As per Vodafone, "Remember, the sooner you confirm your booking, the earlier you'll get your iPhone". "We have limited stocks and it will be on first come, first serve basis." they stated.

Vodafone has also not specifed when the handsets will be delivered as it has said that it will intimate the buyers to collect the iPhone after paying the balance amount at a pre-appointed time.

At a price of Rs. 31,000 the Apple iPhone would be out of reach of most consumers in India.