Reliance to offer 4G In India By December 2011 - by aby benedict

Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) is getting ready to roll out 4G (very high speed wireless Internet) services in India by December 2011 or early 2012.

Reliance confirmed its telecom unit was “in the process of setting up a world-class broadband wireless network using state-of-the-art technologies and finalising the arrangement with leading global technology players, service providers, infrastructure providers, application developers, device manufacturers and others to help usher the 4G revolution into India”.

Reliance’s acquired Infotel , a pan-India spectrum winner for broadband wireless access last year, also is planning to scale up its commercial operations by the mid-2012.

The company, which made a comeback to the telecom sector last year, plans to offer fourth-generation or 4G-enabled data cards that can be plugged into computers, apart from providing tablets at a game-changing price of Rs 3,000 or even lower to hook customers, two executives said. RIL has also initiated talks with media and entertainment firms, including Walt Disney’s Indian venture UTV Software, to acquire content for its wireless broadband offerings.

Apple Store iOS app tipped for self-checkout update this week

Apple is readying a self-checkout update to its Apple Store iOS app [itunes link], reports suggest, allowing shoppers to pick up and pay for accessories, peripherals and gadget cases in Apple Stores without needing any assistance from staff. The new retail store iOS app will charge purchases to a customer’s iTunes account, MacRumors‘ sources say, while more expensive items such as Mac computers, iPhones and iPods will support pre-payment and require staff assistance to bring them out of the stock room.

The exact system for the new payments process has not been disclosed, though the iOS app is expected to email a receipt for each order in case you get stopped by security on the way out. Currently the app shows local store details, allows you to search through stock and then reserve it, but payment is taken by the existing in-store systems.

According to Heylookitseric, the iOS app update is due on Thursday November 3. The site also suggests that the ship-to-store option which began a trial in San Francisco last week will be expanded to cover all US Apple Stores, though the timeline for its roll-out is unclear.

Anonymous online activists threaten Mexican drug cartel - by aby benedict

In a recent video, Anonymous makes a vague threat against the Zetas Mexican drug cartel over the alleged kidnap of one of its members

The online collective Anonymous is making threats to a Mexican drug cartel over the alleged kidnapping of one of its activists in Veracruz.

"You made a huge mistake by taking one of us. Release him. And if anything happens to him, you (expletive) will always remember this upcoming November 5th," the group says in a Spanish-language YouTube video that shows buildings being blown up.

November 5 is commonly referred to as Guy Fawkes day in honor of the Brit who tried to blow up parliament in the Gunpowder Plot of 1604. Fawkes was immortalized in the 2006 movie "V For Vendetta" about a freedom fighter who uses terrorist tactics against a totalitarian society.

"We demand his release," says a man wearing a suit and tie and the mask from "V for Vendetta" that has become the symbol for Anonymous. "We want the Army and the Navy to know that we are fed up with the criminal group Zetas, who have concentrated on kidnapping, stealing and blackmailing in different ways."

The video, posted earlier this month, also threatens to expose journalists, taxi drivers, and police who allegedly cooperate with the cartel.

"We can't defend ourselves with a weapon, but if we can do this with their cars, houses, bars, brothels, and everything else in their possession," the video says. "It won't be difficult. We all know who they are and where they are."

The man in the video uses an accent from Spain and Mexican slang, according to theHouston Chronicle.

The video does not identify the missing member of its group, but says he was kidnapped while he was "doing Paperstorm," which is a reference to posting flyers and other printed messages in public spaces.

It's a gutsy move for Anonymous, which typically targets corporations, government agencies, and law enforcement departments that it deems morally and financially corrupt. The U.S. Justice Department says the Zetas cartel "may be the most technologically advanced, sophisticated, and violent" of the paramilitary enforcement groups in Mexico.­

The bloody incredible iPad Halloween costume- by aby benedict

Sometimes engineers really are quite marvelous.

They think of things that no one else will think of, and those things turn out to actually be useful. Or, in very rare cases, amusing too.

Here is something that is both immensely utilitarian and entirely engaging.

NASA engineer Mark Rober used some red sauce and two iPad 2s in order to pretend, at whatever Halloween convention he might be attending, that he has a vast, open, and bloody wound through the core of his torso.

It is, as he says, simple. You tear a hole in your least favorite sweatshirt. You plant an iPad 2 in front and behind. You start a Face Time chat between the two. That's it.

Because he is a NASA engineer--and NASA engineers have to think of everything--he suggests that, should the Halloween party you go to be in a place with faltering Wi-Fi--don't forget to put a little hotspot in your pocket.

My stomach is agape with gratitude to Gizmodo, which seems to have first noticed this fine creation and even interviewed Rober about designing the next Mars Rover.

Some may feel it is expensive to get hold of two iPads. On the other hand, they are so ubiquitous that there will always be those prepared to give up theirs for the night, just to keep their friends happy. We all live to share these days, don't we?

I worry, though, that the penchant for copying so popular in some tech circles might mean that some San Francisco parties will see long-haired youths sulking because someone else is dressed just like them.

iPhone 4S battery issue points to Setting Time Zone switch - by aby benedict

If you’re one of the masses of iPhone users that’ve upgraded to the iPhone 4S in the past few weeks, you may well have been experiencing some battery issues – today we may well have the answer as to why. As we’ve seen this past week, quite a few people have had what they’ve described as less than stellar battery life with their iPhone 4S, and this weekend we’ve not only been handed a possible solution, we’ve tested it for ourselves, and what do you know, it appears very much to work: just switch your Setting Time Zone switch to off!

Inside your System Services in your Settings on your iPhone 4S, you’ve only to look down the list until you find “Setting Time Zone” and the switch beside it – flip it to OFF. What we’ve found thus far after making this switch is that standby time has gone up significantly. Inside three hours, the iPhone 4S has only used 5% of its total battery life. Sixty hours of standby, is that you? We’ll see!

The tip to make this happen to increase battery life comes from iDownload where Oliver Haslam notes that the bug likely lives inside iOS 5, not necessarily the iPhone 4S hardware. There while the Setting Time Zone appears to be tracking constantly instead of simply periodically, battery time is cut down, and down, and down. The’ve done some tests as well:

“We have tested this method on 4 different iPhone 4s handsets, including an iPhone 4 and an iPhone 3GS. All have reported drastically improved battery life after switching ‘Setting Time Zone’ off.” – Haslam

The only thing you’re losing by switching the Setting Time Zone function off is the automatic re-setting of your time if you cross the boarder into a different time zone – when you’re flying to Grandma’s house for the holidays. If you DO decide to try it out, be sure to let us know how it goes.

UPDATE: Another test on the iPhone 4S yields 80% battery after over seven hours with one and a half hours of that time in use. I think we have a winner!

Apple acquires C3 Technologies for next-generation 3D mapping - by aby benedict

This week its been revealed that Apple’s newest investment into its in-house-built Google Maps application is 3D mapping firm C3 Technologies. This is the second business Apple has purchased in the same vein, the first being Poly9 – C3 having been purchased and shut down by its buyer this summer, that buyer now confirmed by 9to5mac to be Apple. C3 is in the business of creating photo-realistic models of our modern city environments using declassified missile targeting methods previously part of aerospace and defense company Saab AB. Thusly this situation is about to get hardcore.

Have a look through the images and video bits in this post and feast your eyes, ladies and gentlemen, because we’re likely not that far away from seeing our world as 3D as we’d see it in real life, but virtually controlled from your handheld device – your iPhone, in this case. Have a look at C3 Technology’s official company description to see its potential power:


C3 Technologies is the leading provider of 3D mapping solutions, offering photo-realistic models of the world for search, navigation and geographic information systems. Since 2007 when it was spun out of the aerospace and defense company Saab AB, venture-backed C3 has redefined mapping by applying previously classified image processing technology to the development of 3D maps as a platform for new social and commercial applications. The Sweden-based company’s automated software and advanced algorithms enable C3 to rapidly assemble extremely precise 3D models, and seamlessly integrate them with traditional 2D maps, satellite images, street level photography and user generated images, that together are forever changing how people use maps and explore the world.

According to the source speaking with 9to5mac, C3 Technologies CEO Mattias Astrom, CFO Kjell Cederstrand, and lead Product Manager Ludvig Emgard are each part of Apple’s iOS division. In addition, the rest of the C3 team that formerly worked in Sweden, the same place as the original C3 company and now named “Sputnik.” Thusly what we must assume is that this acquisition is slightly different from what Apple did with Siri which retained its name through its re-release on the iPhone 4S. In 2009 Apple purchased a mapping group called Placebase, and with that and these two 3D mapping groups, we must assume that Apple is set to launch their own mapping solution separate from Google maps.

AND back in April of 2011 during the so-called tracking scare, Apple released the following bit of info:

“Q: What other location data is Apple collecting from the iPhone besides crowd-sourced Wi-Fi hotspot and cell tower data?
A: Apple is now collecting anonymous traffic data to build a crowd-sourced traffic database with the goal of providing iPhone users an improved traffic service in the next couple of years.” – Apple

So that’s a 3D Apple-generated mapping service with the ability to give you traffic feedback as well. 

Siri iPhone 4 hack gets Apple server support - by aby benedict

Apple disappointed many iPhone 4 owners with the news that Siri, the digital personal assistant technology, would only be available on the new iPhone 4S, and efforts quickly began to hack Siri onto the older smartphone. Developer Steve Troughton-Smith got the local app running with no problems, but faced Apple’s servers refusing to play ball with anything but the newest iPhone. Now, with the judicious application of some validation tokens from an iPhone 4S, it’s possible to get Siri on the iPhone 4 and iPod touch up and running, even without official support from Apple itself.

“It does require files from an iPhone 4S which aren’t ours to distribute, and it also requires a validation token from the iPhone 4S that has to be pulled live from a jailbroken iPhone 4S, and it’s about a 20-step process right now” Steve Troughton-Smith, developer

Still, you shouldn’t expect to see a public release of this particular Siri hack any time soon, at least from its original developer. Troughton-Smith told 9 to 5 Mac that he viewed it as a proof of concept more than anything else, to demonstrate that the iPhone 4′s single-core processor was up to the task of running Siri and that, in short, Apple’s decision to limit it to the iPhone 4S was one of product positioning.

Siri on iPhone 4:

Meanwhile, a second video has already demonstrated Siri running on the iPod touch, though in this case there are some hardware limitations. That’s around the iPod’s microphone, however, which is less sensitive than that of the iPhone 4/4S: Siri demands a strong, clear voice if it’s going to pick up any commands. No word on whether it’ll run on the iPad yet, though the local app has already been demonstrated as functional on Apple’s tablet.


Siri on iPod touch:

Siri is expected to be Apple’s primary strategy with the oft-rumored Apple television, with the latest rumors suggesting Steve Jobs envisioned a voice-controlled HDTV running iOS and using the intelligent spoken command system to bypass the traditional remote. 

iPad 2 On iOS 5 Successfully Jailbroken (Video) - by aby benedict

After showing a jailbroken iPhone 4S with Cydia installed, the iPhone Dev Team also showed a jailbroken iPad 2 running iOS 5. This time, the team shows a quick demo of the very preliminary iOS 5 jailbreak on iPad 2. Video after the break!

MuscleNerd previously confirmed that the iPhone 4S and iPad 2 will get the same jailbreak since they’re both sporting A5 chip. This means that both iPhone 4S and iPad 2 users will wait together.

Everything is good but MuscleNerd, again, says that there are lots of work to be done.

Dear Android: This is your last chance - by aby benedict

The morning of October 4, I had my credit card in hand, ready to buy an iPhone 5 and wave good-bye to Android forever.

Sadly, the iPhone 4S isn't quite what I'd hoped for: it's too expensive for the high-capacity models I'd prefer, I want a bigger screen, there's no 4G, and I'd hoped for integrated turn-by-turn directions. The 4S has left an opening for Android to reassert itself and win my continued loyalty...but it's a tiny opening, indeed. This is Android's last chance, and here's why.

Fragmentation (still)
I've written about this problem before, and it's still a problem. Sure, it's a problem Google has pledged to address, by forming the Android Update Alliance back in May. Google announced it would work with manufacturers and carriers to deliver timelier updates on a standardized schedule, and to keep updating every device for at least 18 months after its creation. That seemed like good news, and a pretty straightforward acknowledgement that fragmentation was a serious problem, and one that was driving consumers batty.
As of August, progress was spotty, and abysmal at T-Mobile and Verizon, where AndroidAndMe found that only a fraction of phones with those carriers were running the latest version of Android.

Just this month, Gingerbread adoption finally showed a measurable uptick (though primarily due to sales of new devices, one assumes), while Froyo penetration dropped below 50 percent for the first time. That's a slow burn.
Meanwhile, Google's Eric Schmidt is now promising that Ice Cream Sandwich would bring unity to hardware and software specs and make everything all timely and perfect.
But developers have heard that before: Honeycomb, the tablet-specific version of Android, was also supposed to come with strict hardware and software implementation requirements, but many developers say it only worsened fragmentation issues (not to mention the tablets running it were a dud, sales-wise). Now, Honeycomb is being killed off to make room for ICS. That's a wise after-the-fact decision, but woe be the foolish developer who spent a lot of time and money writing apps for Honeycomb back when it was the fragmentation-killer du jour.
What's the end result of fragmentation for you and me? First, the constant game of waiting for updates--some of your friends have Gingerbread, you're still on Froyo, you're complaining about that and then another friend comes up behind you and says they haven't even gotten Froyo. You never know when updates are coming, other than rumors on blogs and forums, and there never seems to be a reason for the delay. That's just a terrible customer experience--but it's not the worst problem.
Fragmentation also leads to lukewarm developer support, which leaves us frustratingly behind the apps race compared to the iTunes App Store. And it means delays on hotly desired apps, like the Netflix app, which the company said was nearly impossible to develop considering the lack of a common DRM platform across devices. Say what you will about DRM, Netflix can't stream movies without it--and that meant no app at all until only recently. The app finally appeared in May, and only worked on five devices, with a slow rollout to others happening willy-nilly over the last few months.


And that slow rollout and spotty implementation, says Symantec, opened the door to the fake Netflix Trojan that this week masqueraded as the actual Netflix app and then stole users' personal information.

To be honest, fragmentation alone is plenty reason to abandon the platform--I'm not buying a new phone every year just to keep up, and I'm tired of the guessing game and bullet lists about what's coming when and to whom, and what apps support what version of the OS, down to the second decimal place. If only that were the end of the tale, though.


Lack of support
Smartphones are complicated devices, running complicated software. Android is further complicated by, as I mentioned, fragmentation, and also the introduction of wild-card apps from multiple sources. Don't get me wrong--I prefer and appreciate the open(ish) nature of Android and the ability to get lots of kinds of apps. But when something goes wrong with my phone, I want someone to call, and Verizon (or AT&T, or T-Mobile, or Sprint) isn't in the business or habit of supporting software. The manufacturers seem well out of their depth, in terms of support. And Google is no help at all.
For example, Droid X users like myself waited months for a Gingerbread update that came more than a year after the phone's release. Sadly, when it landed in June 2011, it crippled many phones, including mine. The list of problems introduced by the update is unbelievable, ranging from the navigation app confusing east and west to spontaneous restarts to weakened or disappearing 3G signals to Bluetooth failing completely to random Wi-Fi disconnections, and on and on.

A partial (seriously) list of problems introduced by Gingerbread on the Droid X.


Forum threads were filled with complaints. Motorola promised it was looking into the issue, and an Android fix finally arrived in August, fully two months later. In the meantime, Verizon didn't say a word, officially (although it did helpfully factory reset my phone as a possible "fix" that simply erased every app and setting and left me with a clean Gingerbread install that was only marginally less buggy than the first), and neither did Google.
Now, I don't necessarily expect Google to wade into every Android-related fray on behalf of their manufacturing partners. But its standards-setting clearly isn't working, if updates this buggy are going out to customers, and if it can't force its partners to deal with problems more quickly, it should at least communicate with the public about whether Android is a trustworthy product on any platform.
This is a question of brand equity and customer experience: Google needs to get control of it on more than just pure-Android Nexus phones. The answer to every Android-related problem on any phone cannot be an army of disdainful Reddit readers telling everyday consumers that all they have to do is root their phones, install Cyanogen Mod, and live happily ever after.

Android is always late
To live with Android is to learn to wait. Like an overdue baby making its expectant mother insane with each passing day, Android came into this world more than a year after it was expected to launch, and it's been running late ever since. Look:
Android 1.5 (Cupcake) was delayed on T-Mobile
Donut was delayed for Samsung users
Eclair was delayed for almost everyone--two full months for HTC (Cliq XT users got the bad news that the upgrade was never coming to their phones)
Froyo was delayed
Gingerbread was delayed on the Droid Incredible and actually delayed the launch of the Nexus S with its tardiness
The Honeycomb tablet OS delays themselves delayed the release of a multiverse of would-be Honeycomb tablets that were hoping to launch after CES 2011--possibly killing off serious iPad competition in droves
Now, Ice Cream Sandwich and the promising sounding Galaxy Nexus/Nexus Prime have also been delayed, purportedly out of respect for the passing of Steve Jobs. At least one blogger has speculated the true reason may be patent-related; certainly, given Android's history, the benefit of the doubt is a bit harder to find.
In sum, life with Android has been an uncertain, buggy, frustrating mess.
There are times when I truly doubt Google's commitment to the whole enterprise, despite its burgeoning market share. The proposed Motorola Mobility acquisition throws even more questions into the mix: will other hardware partners abandon Android in favor of a more trustworthy bedfellow? If so, I'm unquestionably out: Motorola hardware fails fast and hard, although it's not quite as awful as the crapware-laden Samsung Fascinate Verizon foisted on me--the only phone I did root, just to escape having Bing as my default search.
Perhaps Ice Cream Sandwich will be all that we hope: the peacemaker, the great uniter, the forger of a New Deal between handset makers and Google. The Galaxy Nexus could prove to be the perfect phone, with a fully integrated suite of amazing Google services working in harmony and delivering on the promise that Google made back in 2007. But let's be clear: it will have to be exactly that.
As I said, the iPhone 4S gave Android an unexpected break: before that announcement, fully 42 percent were prepared to switch to an iPhone. Those numbers may be lower in the wake of the lack of 4G, the still-small screen, and the fact that Vlingo does a lot of what Siri promises. But the break is likely to be short unless Google can put some serious muscle behind bringing the platform up to prime time. Me, personally, I'm still keeping the credit card ready for the iPhone 5, just in case.

Steve Jobs' last big project: The next iPhone - by aby benedict

The iPhone 4S is not the last major project that Steve Jobs worked on, according to one analyst. That would be the next iPhone--let's call it the iPhone 5.

The next-generation iPhone "was the last project that Steve Jobs was intimately involved with from concept to final design. For that reason...this product will establish the high water mark for iPhone volumes," Ashok Kumar, an analyst at Rodman & Renshaw, wrote in a research note this week. He expects the iPhone 5 to be a "cult classic" because of Jobs' involvement.

In the note, Kumar said the phone will have a slimmer profile and larger screen size but with the same dimensions as the iPhone 4S (the relatively-small 3.5-inch screen is not one of the 4S' best features). The iPhone is also expected to have LTE, or Long Term Evolution--what's sometimes referred to as 4G.

Another source, who I spoke with this week and who claims to have knowledge of the redesign, said the iPhone 5 is a "complete redesign. This is a very large project that Steve dedicated all of his time to. He was not that involved in the 4S because his time was limited."


That makes sense to me. Cosmetically, the iPhone 4S is identical to the iPhone 4. So no big change here. And though the 4S has been revamped on the inside, in some respects, it carries over technology already in the iPad 2: the same dual-core processor, same memory capacity, same accelerometer, same gyroscope, among other similarities.
So, it's probably not unreasonable to expect the iPhone 5 to be a "complete redesign," as the source said--meaning both externally and internally, though probably less so internally when compared with pronounced user-facing changes like the display size. (No telling what kind of plans Apple has on the software front: iOS 6? Siri 2?)
The iPhone 5 should debut around the time of Apple's Developer's Conference in the summer of 2012, according to Kumar's research note.

Galaxy S III leaked via Samsung evolution chart - by aby benedict

What you’re about to see is a chart reportedly leaked from a Samsung internal presentation that shows off a 2012 release by the name of Galaxy S III. For those of you still reeling from the recent release of the USA editions of the Galaxy S II, (with T-Mobile’s coming out this week), you might think – how could they release the next generation so soon? Well, ladies and gentlemen, because the Galaxy S II has been out internationally since early this year and by all means, it’s time to refresh! Technology in the mobile sector is moving so fast that you’re device is outdated by the time you turn it on, and Samsung’s right here on the cuff. Let’s have a look!

While you might feel like the device in the upper right-hand corner of the presentation slide above looks awfully like the Samsung Galaxy Nexus (aka Nexus Prime) we saw in a video last week, you’d be totally wrong! Or it could be that they’re one in the same device, OR it could be that Samsung will produce one, modify it, and release it again with a different name. We’re sure as heck still in the dark on that one. Meanwhile what we’ve got here is one amazing device, it seems, complete with specifications that blow away the current generation of devices by a long shot.

This Galaxy S III is set to have a dual-core Samsung Exynos 4212 1.8GHz dual-core processor, a 4.6-inch Super AMOLED Plus HD display, 2GB or RAM, and a 12 megapixel camera on the back. The source who provided this image to Phandroid has reported that the numbers aren’t quite solid yet, and that this screen is certainly just a jumping off point for the future device, especially the mystical PenTile-less Super AMOLED Plus HD display. The camera will have a W750 BSI CMOS sensor, the phone will run on LTE, and of course the whole thing will be able to work with Google Wallet via built-in NFC.

Also note that the same source says that although it seems that this device will be running on Android Ice Cream Sandwich, it will retain its four physical buttons below the display. This seems strange, and indeed there is at least one more indicator that this screen might be fake: the original Galaxy S appears here to have shipped with another Exynos processor when we know that it most certainly did not. Turn you away? It’s still fun to dream.

Facebook iPad app finally launches today, iPhone app gets updated - by aby benedict

Facebook has finally launched its native iPad app along with an update for its iPhone app that will bring tighter integration of third-party social games and applications. The Facebook for iPad app has been rumored for months, including speculation that it would be unveiled at the Apple iPhone 4S event. That didn’t pan out, but the app is here now and it looks a lot like the leaked version we saw back in July.

The interface is optimized for the iPad screen with an especially pleasant way to browse photos. You’re able to pinch to zoom in on a picture or swipe to flip through the photos like a real album. The app also allows for playing Facebook games in full-screen mode, chatting with friends, watching high-res Facebook videos, and recording HD video for streaming to Airplay devices.

As for the updated Facebook for iPhone app, it is now extending all the social channels that have been available on its desktop platform to the mobile platform. This is still in its early stages, but it will allow developers to extend rich third-party social experiences for Facebook to mobile devices.

Other new features include the introduction of bookmarks for third-party mobile apps, requests for users to invite friends to a mobile version of an app, an interactive News Feed, authenticated referrals, and the extension of Facebook Credits to mobile web apps.

The Facebook iPad app and the updated iPhone app should be available from Apple’s App Store sometime today. Facebook also promises that a version for Android devices will be coming soon.

Apple to Hold a Public Celebration in Memory of Steve on October 19th - by aby benedict

All of Steve Jobs`Apple`s co-founder and ex-CEO, lovers and fans of his inventions and genius were deeply saddened last week to receive news of his passing away.

Apple CEO Tim Cook has just sent a touching email to his employees leeting them know that the company is holding a celebration in memory of Steve Jobs on Wednesday, October 19th at 10 am at Apple`s headquarters.

Team,
Like many of you, I have experienced the saddest days of my lifetime and shed many tears during the past week. But I’ve found some comfort in the extraordinary number of tributes and condolences from people all over the world who were touched by Steve and his genius. And I’ve found comfort in both telling and listening to stories about Steve.

Although many of our hearts are still heavy, we are planning a celebration of his life for Apple employees to take time to remember the incredible things Steve achieved in his life and the many ways he made our world a better place. The celebration will be held on Wednesday, October 19, at 10am in the outdoor amphitheater on the Infinite Loop campus. We’ll have more details on AppleWeb closer to the date, including arrangements for employees outside of Cupertino.

I look forward to seeing you there.
Tim