India showcases Aakash 2 tablet PC at United Nations

The Indian government's ultra low-cost Aakash 2 tablet PC was unveiled at the United Nations on Wednesday in the presence of UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon and other member nations in an event. DataWind, the company assigned to design, develop and manufacture the device, also gave a presentation about the 'revolutionary' device.

The Aakash is an important project for the Indian government, though the device is not without a history of controversies. The recent controversy that surrounded the device is that it has been sourced from the Chinese companies. A Hindustan Times report titled 'Conned: Aakash 2 made in China?' claimed "DataWind founders and NRI brothers Suneet and Raja Singh Tuli may have procured the tablets off-the-shelf from manufacturers in China for $42 ( Rs. 2,263 then), exactly the price at which they sold these to the Indian government".

DataWind's Suneet Singh Tuli, however, quashed the 'Made in India' allegations, saying, “For the first 10,000 units for IIT, and for expediency sake we had the motherboards manufactured in one of our Chinese subcontractor’s facilities And then the units have been ‘kitted’ in China at various manufacturers for expediency, whereas the final assembly and programming has happened in India. We finished this batch of 10,000 units and delivered them to IIT and will be starting another batch of 20,000 units for them in two weeks.”

At the UN, Tuli also responded to the accusations of sourcing some Aakash 2 parts from China. He said, "The idea and innovation is Indian, final assembling is in India. One report says only embellishing is done in India. Ask Apple and Microsoft what that means." Moreover, DataWind has put a detailed explanation on its website where the Aakash 2 tablets are made and assembled.

The Aakash 2 tablet PC, also dubbed as the world's cheapest tablet, is aimed at bridging the digital divide in the country. According to Indian ambassador Hardeep Puri, the Aakash 2 will help children in remote schools to have access to the world-class facilities. The tablet will be made available to an estimated 220 million students for free whereas the original price of the tablet is Rs. 2,200 (around $40). The government also plans to distribute the tablet at subsidised rates, which is around Rs. 1,100.

 

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Skype app for iOS gets updated, finally

The iOS app for Skype has finally received an update that will now allow iOS users to merge their Microsoft accounts with the contact list of their VoIP account.

The ability to merge the Microsoft accounts with the Skype contacts would allow the users to send Instant Messages and make calls to their Messenger, Hotmail and Outlook contacts directly. The update also add the ability to edit instant messages by tapping and holding on texts. There’s a host of smileys and animated emoticon available, which all support Retina Display resolution.

Being able to manage a host of contact lists via a single app is sure to bring great ease to those who use iOS. Android users of the app, along with those who’ve been using it on the desktop have had this functionality for a while now.

These new changes fall in line with Microsoft phasing out the old Messenger in favour of Skype, which will be taking over as the messaging hub in the Windows 8 OS, or so Microsoft hopes.

When Microsoft initially bought Skype out, many thought that it would serve as a communication program for their Xbox 360 gaming console. However, as time has gone by, we’re seeing deeper and deeper Skype integration into various Microsoft properties, however, Skype still hasn’t found its way into the Xbox.

 

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Dell launches XPS 12 convertible, Latitude 10 tablet and Latitude 6340u ultrabook

Dell had a fairly busy day with a series of launches ushered through the door. These new devices are optimized for Windows 8 and are aimed at the business users.First up is the XPS 12 convertible. This, when docked, looks like a fairly traditional laptop/ultrabook for the most part. But the flip hinge allows you to release the touchscreen display and use the device like a full-fledged tablet. The display is a full HD (1920 x 1080 pixel) one.

Dell says, “The touchscreen display is designed to take advantage of the Windows 8 operating system advances for touch interaction”. The XPS 12 convertible’s chassis is a mixture of machined aluminum and carbon fibre, while the display has the Gorilla Glass add-on. Users will have the choice of a Core i5 and a Core i7 processor, 4GB or 8GB of RAM and up to 256GB SSD. The price of the XPS 12 convertible starts at Rs. 90,490.

The Dell Latitude 6340u ultrabook is a refresh of the existing Latitude ultrabook. The new design is 33 percent slimmer and 16 percent lighter than Dell’s current 14-inch Latitude notebook. Users have the option of selecting the 14-inch display with any one of the two resolution types – 1366 x 768 pixels and 1600 x 900 pixels. This ultrabook will come with Windows 8 preloaded. Dell says that this ultrabook will be available from the middle of November, with prices starting at Rs. 69,990.

 

The Latitude 10 tablet is also aimed at businesses with what Dell calls “easy management and security and a swappable battery for go-anywhere productivity”. The tablet can easily be integrated with most existing remote management systems that organizations use. The 10.1-inch display has a 1366 x 768 pixel resolution and gets the Gorilla Glass treatment as well. Dell Data Protection will allow users to encrypt the data on the hard drive as well as block access via any external devices. The Latitude 10 tablet will be available starting end of November with price tag fixed at Rs. 42,490.

Commenting on the occasion, Mr. P. Krishnakumar, Executive Director, Marketing, Dell India said, “The combination of new Dell hardware and Windows OS will allow customers to create and consume content in new and exciting ways which makes technology more accessible and intuitive.” He further added, “The new products launched today are all about maximizing the balance between end user preferences, productivity and IT control, backed by robust customer service, aimed at helping users and IT departments navigate the Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) landscape.”

Quite frankly, the XPS 12 convertible is one device that really excites us. It may be aimed at the business user, but for the kind of functionality it offers, we would not be surprised if it appeals to a wider demographic of users. And we have seen the amazing build quality of the XPS 13 and the XPS 14 ultrabooks already, and with similar materials used on this as well, happiness beckons! Windows 8 should be a lot more fun to use with the touchscreen capabilities.

 

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4 million Windows 8 licenses sold in 3 days; year-end target 400 million

Ballmer and company are reporting that they have sold 4 million licenses for Windows 8 Pro in just 3 days, with over tens of millions of OEM licenses sold till date. Now they are hoping to sell 400 million new Windows 8 licenses within the year. Tall and bold claims, but we wouldn’t be surprised if they actually managed to achieve this goal, given their new super low pricing for the OS (and the fact that it’s a single variant and not 8 fragmented ones with different pricing).

 

Besides the $40 upgrade price for Windows 8 Pro, Microsoft also extended an even better offer to those who bought their Windows certified machines after June 2nd this year, allowing them to get the swanky new OS for just $15. Then there was the glitch in this upgrade policy that probably allowed several hundred (or even more) to get Windows 8 Pro for the cheap pricing even without being eligible. Don’t worry, MS has fixed this bug now.

 

Steve Ballmer shared the impressive numbers with the attendees of Microsoft’s Build Conference, most notably in a bid to lure developers into making apps for Windows 8, Windows 8 RT and Windows Phone 8. This also falls in line with the fact that for 8 days (starting day before) registration for a MS Developer account will cost only $8 for a whole year.

 

Given the wide gap between Windows and OSX user base, 4 million copies in 3 days doesn’t seem like too big an achievement, given that OSX clocked in 3 million downloads in 4 days. However, we are pretty hopeful that with the new pricing, and a generally good-looking and stable OS, Microsoft will at least get close to their goal of 400 million sold licenses within the year.

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Google Play store reaches 700,000 apps, ties with Apple iTunes

Google has announced its Play store now has more than 700,000 apps available for download. The announcement comes shortly after Apple revealed that its iTunes App store had hit 700,000 apps.

 

The figures, first reported by Bloomberg Businessweek, shows a significant surge since Google surpassed 600,000 Android apps on its apps store back in June. According to the report, the growth registered by Google Play store has been 'constant' and 'swift'. However, the dearth of tablet-specific applications, as pointed out by the report, has hampered the growth. The forthcoming Nexus 10 and refreshed Nexus 7 tablet series are likely to improve the situation.

 

“By luring software developers to its Android platform, Google is attempting to eliminate a key selling point Apple has used for the iPhone and iPad. Applications have become a battleground as the two companies look for an edge in the $219.1 billion smartphone market, akin to how Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) dominated the personal-computer business by getting other companies to write programs for its Windows operating system,” says the Bloomberg report.

 

The number of apps offered on an operating system is considered to be an important factor that drives users adoption. Apple has long led the race, but Google is evidently quickly catching up. Microsoft's Windows Phone OS is also seeing a growing number of apps, and its app store recently crossed the 100,000 apps mark. The 100,000 apps is pretty big figure but it significantly lags behind Android and iOS. 

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