Tag: Android

Google plans device to bring Internet shows to your TV

MUMBAI: Making a new move into internet television, Google will start selling a $35 gadget that will plug into a high-definition TV and stream video from Netflix, YouTube and other sources.

The two-inch device, dubbed Chromecast, is aimed at replacing set-top boxes and can be controlled by both Android and Apple smartphones or computers. Google said it will also stream music or even show web pages from computers using the Google Chrome web browser.

Analysts said the device could be a disruptive move by Google to compete with Apple and other tech companies that want to bring internet services to the television set. Forrester analyst Sarah Rotman Epps tweeted that it represents a “smaller, more elegant approach” compared with Google’s previously halting efforts at similar products.

The new Chromecast gadget looks something like a USB memory stick but packs far more capabilities. When plugged into a TV set, Google said the gadget will connect both to a home wireless router and to other devices such as smartphones, tablets or laptop computers. Anyone in range can then use their smartphone or computer as the “remote control” – to select a video from YouTube or Netflix, for example.

The Chromecast takes its cue from the selected device but then streams the video or other material directly from the internet, through the home router, so the smartphone’s battery doesn’t drain, Google representatives said.

July 30, 2013
Eros Now brings Ek Thi Daayan online

MUMBAI: Ek Thi Daayan starring Emraan Hashmi, Huma Qureshi, Konkona Sen Sharma and Kalki Koechlin which released in April, this year, has been released online on Eros Now.

With apps available for Android, Apple & Amazon, Eros Now ensures that its subscribers have easy and straightforward access to the online platform, along with top quality video as well as English subtitles for international audience.

Ek Thi Daayan is about a childhood witch revisiting the protagonist, Emraan Hashmi. Hashmi is a renowned professional magician. While he performs his tricks, Qureshi, monitors his shows on close circuit. The film did moderately well at the box-office domestically.

All users need to do is subscribe to www.erosnow.com, and enter the world of uninterrupted entertainment.

July 30, 2013
Groupon App now available on Android

New Delhi- 25thJuly 2013; After tasting enormous success amongst the iOS users, Groupon India, a leading player in the daily deals segment today launched the app on Android platform as well. The Android App will be available on Google Play for download and will allow users to browse through hundreds of deals from an array of selections ranging from local, travel to shopping and offer suggestions on best things to do, see, eat, and buy. By a mere touch or press of a button, Android users will now be able to use their smartphones as a “Groupon wallet”.

The feature-rich app is devised not only to deepen engagement with regular Groupon users, but also to reach out to a larger audience through the fastest growing platform.

On the launch of the Android App, Ankur Warikoo, CEO, Groupon India said, ” The desire of the Indian youth today to stay connected and have instant access to internet is driving a dramatic growth for the smartphones market in India. After successfully launching the Groupon App for iOS users, we wanted to broaden our base by reaching out to a large number of Android users with this initiative. Our objective is to offer our customers the convenience of accessing our deals across various categories on the go and further creating an unparalleled experience in the deals segment across the country.”

With the Groupon Android App app, you can:
– Buy and redeem deals directly from your phone
– Keep track of all your purchased Groupons by location and expiration date
– Save ink, and avoid paper cuts by never printing another Groupon
– Plan a relaxing retreat or a last minute break with Groupon Getaways
– Use Groupon Goods to discover products made of reliably bonded molecules
– Share Groupons with friends, family, and tech-savvy cats via Twitter

July 26, 2013
TaxiForSure.com launches iOS & Android apps in Bengaluru

MUMBAI: TaxiForSure.com, the Uber and Hailo equivalent of India has announced the launch of its mobile application on iOS & Android platforms. With the mobile app, TaxiForSure lets consumers book taxis in just 15 seconds and customers can just place a request for a taxi. The new mobile apps are now available for download on itunes & Google play stores.

With this launch, TaxiForSure.com ensures that consumers get ready access to a large network of taxis in the city. With just two taps, customers can place a request with all free taxis in their immediate vicinity. Interested drivers accept the request and customers can track the assigned taxi right to their doorstep. The app also closes the trip with the exact fare information to be paid and a copy of the bill is automatically emailed to the customer.

Commenting on the launch, Co-Founder and Director Raghunandan G added, “We use technology to efficiently map a customer to the nearest possible driver and vice versa. With the mobile app, we aim to revolutionise commute in India. We plan to equip every city and every person in India with the ability to get an economical taxi ride at their fingertips.”

The application is currently available in Bangalore and will be launched in Delhi and NCR region soon.

TaxiForSure.com was founded by IIM Ahmedabad graduates Raghunandan G and Aprameya Radhakrishna in June 2011 in Bangalore. Within a time span of two years the company launched its services in Delhi and NCR region and is looking at presence in 15 cities by the year 2015.

July 9, 2013
Robosoft picks up investment from Kalaari Capital to hasten growth

MUMBAI: Robosoft, a leading developer of mobile apps and games, announced that the company has received funding from Kalaari Capital (formerly IndoUS Venture Partners) to accelerate growth and fund expansion. The new investment is a push to Robosoft’s rise as one of the premier mobile application developers. It also boosts the company’s vision to be the Partner of Choice to implement and enhance mobile experiences to leading brands and enterprises the world over.

Robosoft builds engaging applications for the iOS, Android, and Windows platforms. The business had traditionally focused on the US market but is now gaining traction in Europe, Middle East, and India too.

“Robosoft has established some great partnerships in the last few years in the mobile space. We’ve achieved this with our focus on customer delight, engineering excellence, and investment in our people,” said Robosoft Founder and CEO Rohith Bhat. “The new investment from Kalaari will help us turbocharge our growth in new markets and industry segments, add new sales, design, engineering talent to our team, and help us move toward a full-service model.”

Commenting on the investment Kaalari Capital MD Kumar Shiralagi said, “Robosoft’s wealth of engineering talent, their successful track record of building consumer facing products for some of the best brands in the world and their leadership position in the mobile services segment got us interested. Equally enticing were their initiatives in building global IP like ‘WordsWorth’, ‘Camera Plus Pro’, ‘Game your Video’, ‘Boom’, and the amount of traction they already had there. Their clear vision for the future got us interested and we are confident about their ability to execute on that potential.”

July 2, 2013
LINE, a free calling & messenger app launches brand and marketing campaign

NEW DELHI: LINE Corporation has launched a brand marketing campaign through a series of TV commercials targeted at the Indian youth to promote its new mobile messenger service in India capable of various types of communication with free call, voice chat and sticker chat.

LINE, headquartered in Shibuya-ward Tokyo and headed by Akira Morikawa as CEO, says its popular global messenger application is available on both smartphones and PCs across multiple carriers and operating systems including iOS, Android, Nokia Asha, Windows phone, BlackBerry, Windows and Mac. LINE messenger app comes packed with new features and functionality for a truly connected experience.

LINE has launched its first TV campaign in India on 30 June with two very interesting advertisements highlighting the ‘group voice chat’ and ‘sticker’ features. The primary thought behind the ads was to target the Indian youth, by associating the key app features to their day-to-day activities.

Born and headquartered in Japan on 23 June 2011, LINE has already achieved over 180 million registered users across 230 countries. LINE has already become popular messenger app in Asia with Japan having more than 45 million users, Taiwan and Thailand holding more than 15 million users respectively and 10 million users in Indonesia. LINE’s popularity is going beyond Asia with Spain now claiming more than 10 million users and South American countries such as Mexico and Argentine also witnessing significant registrations.

Going forward, with its fast paced growth in overseas markets and expanding user base, LINE will further add new features and improve the usability of its service, with the aim to become the most preferred communication platform for consumers globally. LINE will also launch fun stickers that will suit the Indian sensibilities in the near future.

One of the main reasons why LINE is growing so rapidly compared to other major messenger apps is its stickers function. It is extremely well-received by users as they can send large-sized character pictures with the tap of a finger, thereby providing a simple, casual and exciting way to express their emotions. The sticker characters, include LINE’s original characters and a variety of famous characters such as Disney, Hello Kitty and Ironman, are especially loved among the Asian youth, sparking LINE’s growth in many regions.

Elaborating on the India launch LINE Corporation CEO Akira Morikawa said, “LINE has grown at a tremendous speed to reach more than 180 million in only 23 months after its launch. Today, it delivers five billion calls and messages across the world on its network per day. In fact, LINE is amongst a few services globally which has received an enthusiastic response by young generation in many countries in such a short period”.

“After witnessing solid growth in Asia, Europe and US, making inroad into the Indian market was a part of our overall strategy. With its huge youth population, increasing mobile and internet penetration, lowering bandwidth costs, India makes a hotbed for LINE messenger application which will change the way people communicate in the country,” he added.

June 30, 2013
BBC Weather app hits a million downloads in two weeks

MUMBAI: The BBC Weather app for iOS and Android devices has reached the milestone of a million downloads.

Taking just two weeks to hit the landmark figure, the application is said to have driven mobile traffic to BBC Weather up from 20 per cent to 25 per cent post-launch.The broadcaster reported a 47 per cent increase in mobile access on the weekend of the apps launch, compared to the previous weekend, and the hourly forecast feature accounted for 84 per cent of those users.

Both the Android and iOS builds of the BBC Weather app offer many of the same features, though the former version includes the option to create a homescreen widget and NFC support.

The BBC also revealed that the app is most commonly used between 6.00 am and 9.00 am in the morning.

June 28, 2013

Demand for Tablets and Smartphones to exceed need for Desktop PCs or notebooks: Gartner

NEW DELHI: Even as the demand for desktop PCs and even notebooks will continue to decline, the number of tablets and smartphones will rise consistently in 2013 and 2014.

A survey by Gartner says that total shipment of devices will rise in 2013. A total 2.35 billion Units including (PCs, mobile phones, tablets) are expected to be shipped in the year 2013, a 5.9 per cent increase from 2012. But the major share will come from tablets and smartphones and the share of ultra-mobiles will be minimal.

The trend of fixed computers or rather desktop computers is declining and most of the new buyers prefer to have a smarter mobile unit. Some 305 million units will be shipped in the desk-based and notebook category in 2013, 10.6 per cent lower to what industry shipped in 2012 but on the other hand, tablets will rise by 67. 9 per cent with shipment reaching 202 million units against 120 million units shipped in 2012.

Devices Shipment by Segment (Thousands of Units): Gartner
Device Type	2012	2013	2014
PC (Desktops and Notebook	341,273	305,178	289,239
Ultramobile	9,787	20,301	39,824
Tablet	120,203	201,825	276,178
Mobile Phone	1,746,177	1,821,193	1,901,188
Total	2,217,440	2,348,497	2,506,429

Mobile phone market will see more competition as the consumer waits for better models and lower prices. The mobile market will grow by 4.3 per cent to 1.8 billion units during 2013. Decreasing smartphone prices and availability of latest OS version in the mobile phones have increased the life cycle of the device. It will impact the growth as it will be slower in 2013.

Ultra mobile and hybrid devices are creating new trends and according to the Gartner analysts, devices such as Chromebooks, Slates etc are attracting people more than other mobile devices but their cheaper versions are getting more popular among masses. For example, more than 60 per cent of iOS devices are iPad mini and so is the case with other platforms.

As more models are coming by the end of 2013 with Intel’s Bay Trail and Haswell along with Windows 8.1, the fourth quarter looks more promising.

In the operating system segment, Android continues to grow as table 2 shows. There will be 866 million Android units shipped in 2013 and in 2014 they will hit a 1.06 billion mark.

Devices Shipments by OS (Thousands of Units): Gartner
Operating System	2012	2013	2014
Android	505,509	866,781	1,061,270
Windows	346,464	339,545	378,142
iOS/Mac	212,878	296,356	354,849
RIM	34,584	25,224	22,291
Others	1,118,004	820,592	689,877
Total	2,217,439	2,348,498	2,506,429

June 25, 2013

BBC Weather launches mobile app

MUMBAI: BBC Weather has launched a mobile application for iOS and Android devices in the UK. The free app enables users to keep ahead of the weather by allowing users to take BBC Weather‘s information on-the-go.

As soon as a user opens the app it will automatically detect one‘s location and gives one an instant overview of the weather conditions wherever one is. It also gives quick access to the five day forecast with the option to look up further detail such as hourly UK forecasts, and three hourly forecasts for international locations, for the next 48 hours. One can find other destinations from the UK and abroad with a simple search and save them to a customisable list of favourite places.

The app lets one make the most of this summer‘s big events with Glastonbury, Wimbledon and the British Grand Prix all approaching. There are regular updates for the weather and other information including UV, pollen count, wind speed and humidity.

The UK pubcaster adds that the app follows an increase in users accessing BBC Weather‘s services from mobile devices over the last year, and brings the breadth of its information into a simple design. The look and feel is consistent across iOS and Android with differences, such as navigation and search, that are designed to be instantly familiar to users of each platform.

All information and data can be found in either version of the app, but Android users can also add a widget on the device‘s home screen and share favourite locations over NFC (Near-Field Communications) by simply touching two compatible devices together.

BBC Weather head Liz Howell said, “The new BBC Weather app is the perfect companion for this summer‘s great British sport and music events. We know that our audiences really want that at-a-glance forecast when they‘re out and about, with the option of digging for further detail when they need or want to. That‘s exactly what we‘ve delivered, squeezing in all of our trusted data into an app that‘s simple to use and looks fantastic.”

BBC Future Media senior product manager for Weather James Metcalfe said, “We‘re making BBC Weather truly mobile with the launch of our new app. As so many of our audiences access BBC Weather from iOS and Android devices, we can now offer them an even better way to keep ahead of the weather on-the-go. This represents a significant milestone in our commitment to provide a world-class weather service to audiences across four screens – desktop, mobile, tablet and connected TV.”

June 12, 2013
Google to use balloons to spread internet reach

MUMBAI: Google has come up with an innovative way to spread the reach of the internet to a billion or more new people, including small villages and cities outside of major urban areas in south east Asia and sub-Saharan Africa.

To achieve this purpose the company will use special balloons to broadcast the wireless connection.

A report in The Wall Street Journal states that the aim is to use a combination of CPUs and Android phones to connect a much larger wireless network, utilising airwaves primarily used for television broadcasts.

The networks also could be used to improve internet speeds in urban centers. Google plans to team up with local telecom companies and equipment providers in the emerging markets to develop the networks, as well as create business models to support them, these people said. It is unclear whether Google already has lined up such deals or alliances the report adds.

May 29, 2013