Download “Vote Mitra Darjeeling” - Mobile app for voters

8:03 AM

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gadgets

March 31:Darjeeling From locating your polling booth to seeking information about your EPIC card, accessing information in Darjeeling district will be only a touch away, with the district information office launching a mobile application, “Vote Mitra”, today.

This application is for voters in Darjeeling district and is the first-of-its-kind in the state. “We have brought election-related information under a single platform,” said Anurag Srivastava, the district magistrate and district election officer (DEO).

The android application can be downloaded from Google play store under the name “Vote Mitra Darjeeling.”

Alternatively, one can also download the application by going to the page, Get Set Vote, on Facebook. A link is available on the page which can be downloaded.

“Vote Mitra Darjeeling” - Mobile app for voters

“Those who cannot locate their polling booths just need to enter the booth’s name and a map will be shown, along with the name and contact details of the booth level officials,” said Srivastava.

If one is not sure of the booth’s location, the app will also provide a direction through its “Get Direction” feature.

One of the most important features of the application is “Send a Video/Picture or Text to DEO” section.

“Anyone at one-touch can provide a picture, video or text message to the district election officer if they want to inform authorities about anything of urgent public importance related to elections,” said Srivastava.

Download or Install the App Here

Telegraph

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Sikkim Launches Disaster Information App

8:47 AM

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Sikkim

The Sikkim disaster management department today launched a free mobile app that would provide details of natural calamities like landslides and earthquakes, along with road condition and weather warning.

The app, developed by a Calcutta-based company, Sysepedia, also has information about recent land and crop damage, casualties and exgratia norms.

The Sikkim Disaster Management App was launched by the state relief commissioner, C.T. Wangdi, at the land revenue and disaster management department office.

"The application could be useful for smart phone users as a tool to get information on all disaster management activities in Sikkim," said Wangdi.

The app can be downloaded through Play Store in smart phones.

"One has to type Sikkim Disaster Management and install the app. The information would be updated every day. It is a free app," said a senior official.

The district collectors of all four districts of the state would be the "admin" and they would log in and update information.

South district collector Raj Yadav said: "We felt it was necessary to launch the application because the present system of disseminating information is time taking. Collectors would gather information from the BDOs and panchayats and report to the head office. Now, the process would be fast and it would be easily accessible."

The relief commissioner said the panchayats would be asked to download the application. "We will ask the block development officers to raise awareness of the application."

Source: Telegraph

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Nokia announces its first android phone - X range

10:25 PM

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gadgets

Nokia has finally, officially, announced an android operating system phone.The first Nokia Android Phone is known as the "X" and X+. The X will have a 4-inch, 840 x 480 IPS screen, 512MB RAM, 4GB of storage expandable storage via microSD slot and 3-megapixel camera, while the X+ sports the same specs but more RAM (768 MB) and an included 4GB microSD card.

The X version will go on sale immediately in Europe and Asia Pacific. The X+ and XL will launch in April.Users who buy one of the X models will be able to use Microsoft's free cloud-storage system, OneDrive. The software giant's email software, Outlook, will also ship as standard on all models.

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Facebook buys WhatsApp for $19 billion

11:24 PM

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technology news

In a play to dominate messaging on phones and the Web, Facebook has acquired WhatsApp for $19 billion.

That's a stunning sum for the five-year old company. But WhatsApp has been able to hold its weight against messaging heavyweights like Twitter (TWTR), Google (GOOG, Fortune 500) and Microsoft's (MSFT, Fortune 500) Skype. WhatsApp has upwards of 450 million users, and it is adding an additional million users every day.

Facebook buys WhatsApp for $19 billion

Referring to WhatsApp's soaring growth, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said on a conference call, "No one in the history of the world has done anything like that."
WhatsApp is the most popular messaging app for smartphones, according to OnDevice Research.

Buying WhatsApp will only bolster Facebook's already strong position in the crowded messaging world. Messenger, Facebook's a standalone messaging app for mobile devices, is second only to WhatsApp in its share of the smartphone market.
Related: 5 key moments that changed Facebook

Similar to traditional text messaging, WhatsApp allows people to connect via their cellphone numbers. But instead of racking up texting fees, WhatsApp sends the actual messages over mobile broadband. That makes WhatsApp particularly cost effective for communicating with people overseas.

That kind of mobile messaging services have become wildly popular, with twice as many messages sent over the mobile Internet than via traditional texts, according to Deloitte. But most of the messaging industry's revenue is still driven by text messaging.

On the conference call, Facebook said it is not looking to drive revenue from WhatsApp in the near term, instead focusing on growth. Zuckerberg said he doesn't anticipate trying to aggressively grow WhatsApp's revenue until the service reaches "billions" of users.
WhatsApp currently charges a dollar a year after giving customers their first year of use for free. WhatsApp CEO Jan Koum said on the conference call that WhatsApp's business model is already successful.

That indicates Facebook bought WhatsApp to add value to its existing messaging services, as well as for the long-term potential of the company.
Facebook bought Instagram for $1 billion in 2012 for similar reasons: As young social network users gravitated towards photo-sharing, Facebook wanted to scoop up what could have eventually become a big rival.

Like Instagram, WhatsApp will function as an autonomous unit within Facebook, with all the existing employees coming in as part of the deal.

Facebook (FB, Fortune 500) said it will pay WhatsApp $4 billion in cash and $12 billion in stock. WhatsApp's founders and staff will be eligible for for another $3 billion in stock grants to be paid out if they remain employed by Facebook for four years. Koum will also join Facebook's board of directors.

Source:money.cnn.com

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Samsung pays 30 trucks 5-cent coins, $1 billion dollars, to Apple

3:08 PM

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technology news

This morning more than 30 trucks filled with 5-cent coins arrived at Apple’s headquarters in California. Initially, the security company that protects the facility said the trucks were in the wrong place, but minutes later, Tim Cook (Apple CEO) received a call from Samsung CEO explaining that they will pay $1 billion dollars for the fine recently ruled against the South Korean company in this way.

The funny part is that the signed document does not specify a single payment method, so Samsung is entitled to send the creators of the iPhone their billion dollars in the way they deem best.

This dirty but genius geek troll play is a new headache to Apple executives as they will need to put in long hours counting all that money, to check if it is all there and to try to deposit it crossing fingers to hope a bank will accept all the coins.

Lee Kun-hee, Chairman of Samsung Electronics, told the media that his company is not going to be intimidated by a group of “geeks with style” and that if they want to play dirty, they also know how to do it.

You can use your coins to buy refreshments at the little machine for life or melt the coins to make computers, that’s not my problem, I already paid them and fulfilled the law.

A total of 20 billion coins, delivery hope to finish this week.

Let’s see how Apple will respond to this.

Source: hound.net

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Urdu language compatible Nokia phone, price Rs 2,500

10:15 PM

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technology news

Mobile handset maker Nokia released a low-cost device with Urdu language capability in the country on Thursday.

Nokia launches Rs 2,500 phone with Urdu capability

The device which targets the 150 million Urdu speaking residents of the country is priced at around Rs 2,500 and will offer services such as messaging, Internet access etc in Urdu.

The company offers several Indian language interface in some of its models. Nokia already had the Urdu capability due to its operations in West Asian countries and Pakistan, which has been customised for the Indian dialect.

P Balaji, managing director of Nokia India said that Nokia is the first mobile company to support content and user interface in 11 Indian languages in India. “Introducing Urdu Keymat in Nokia 114 is another such initiative to reach out to our customer across the country.”

ALSO READ: How Samsung dislodged Nokia from the top

He added that the company was prompted to launch the product on a special request by minister of communications and information technology Kapil Sibal.

The company will initially target states which have high Urdu speaking population such as Uttar Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh among a few others.

Present at the event, Sibal said that it will benefit the Urdu speaking population in the country, which is one of the largest in the world. There are several initiatives running from the ministry of communications and IT to extend the usage of the language for the Internet, Sibal added.

ALSO READ: microsoft-bets-on-apple-like-revival-113090401253_1.html" target="_blank">In Nokia, Microsoft bets on Apple-like revival

It is often argued that one of the primary reasons for the high digital divide in the country is due to unavailability of content in local languages. Just about 10% of India's 1.2 billion population uses the Internet.

This comes at the backdrop of reports that the poll-bound government is planning to distribute 25 million mobile phones and 9 million tablets with the aim of bridging the digital divide in the country.

The event also marks the first launch by the company after Microsoft announced it was acquiring Nokia in a $7.2 billion deal last week.

Source : business-standard.com

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iPhone 5C 5S - all you want to know

1:38 PM

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gadgets

For the first time Apple Inc. released two iPhone models at once. In the past, Apple simply offered one new model targeting the high-end market. This time, an affordable iPhone 5C makes a debut. The change comes as Apple faces growing competition from Samsung, HTC and other makers of phones that run Google's Android operating system.

Here's the compilation of the Apple Inc.'s new offerings – iPhone 5C, iPhone 5S

For the colorful

Color is more than just a hue. It expresses a feeling. Makes a statement. Declares an allegiance. Color reveals your personality. iPhone 5c, in five anything-but-shy colors, does just that. It's not just for lovers of color. It's for the colorful.

An undeniable extension of who you are. And that's exactly why Apple Inc. said no to thousands of seemingly acceptable colors before saying yes to five wit uncommon beauty and depth.

Specification

A6 chip. 8MP iSight camera. 4-inch Retina display. Ultrafast LTE wireless. With an all-new design, this is iPhone as you've never seen it — or held it. iPhone 5c is beautifully, unapologetically plastic, the better to bring its five decidedly uncommon colors to life. Beneath the smooth surface of the seamless outer shell, a steel-reinforced frame provides structural integrity. So iPhone 5c feels reassuringly solid in your hand.

Which one is for you, iphone 5S or iPhone 5C ?

iPhone 5S

* Available in silver, gold, and space gray, iPhone 5s features an A7 chip, a Touch ID fingerprint identity sensor, ultrafast LTE wireless, an iSight camera with a larger 8MP sensor, and iOS 7.

* Estimated price 16GB ($199), 32GB ($299), 64GB ($399).

* Dimensions:

Height: 4.87 inches (123.8 mm)

Width: 2.31 inches (58.6 mm)

Depth: 0.30 inch (7.6 mm)

Weight: 3.95 ounces (112 grams)

* Will work on A7 chip with 64-bit architecture, M7 motion coprocessor

* Touch ID - Fingerprint identity sensor is a new feature in iPhone 5S

* 4-inch (diagonal) Retina display, 1136-by-640 resolution, 326 ppi

* Camera: 8 megapixels with 1.5µ pixels, ƒ/2.2 aperture ,Sapphire crystal lens cover, True Tone flash, Backside illumination sensor, Five-element lens, Hybrid IR filter, Autofocus, Tap to focus ,Face detection, panorama, Burst mode, Photo geotagging

* Built-in rechargeable lithium-ion battery, Charging via USB to computer system or power adapter, Talk time: Up to 10 hours on 3G, Standby time: Up to 250 hours, Internet use: Up to 8 hours on 3G, up to 10 hours on LTE, up to 10 hours on Wi-Fi ,Video playback: Up to 10 hours,Audio playback: Up to 40 hours.

iPhone 5C

* Available in green, blue, yellow, pink, and white, iPhone 5c features an A6 chip, ultrafast LTE wireless, an 8MP iSight camera, and iOS 7

* Estimate price 16GB ($99), 32GB ($199) and no 64 GB. Body case to cost $29 additional.

* Dimensions

Height: 4.90 inches (124.4 mm)

Width: 2.33 inches (59.2 mm)

Depth: 0.35 inch (8.97 mm)

Weight: 4.65 ounces (132 grams)

* Will work on A6 chip and don't expect M7 motion coprocessor at this price

* Touch ID is new feature from Apple Inc. but only for iPhone 5S

* 4-inch (diagonal) Retina display, 1136-by-640 resolution, 326 ppi

* Camera: 8 megapixels, ƒ/2.4 aperture, Sapphire crystal lens cover, LED flash, Backside illumination sensor, Five-element lens, Hybrid IR filter, Autofocus, Tap to focus, Face detection, Panorama, Photo geotagging

* Built-in rechargeable lithium-ion battery, Charging via USB to computer system or power adapter, Talk time: Up to 10 hours on 3G, Standby time: Up to 250 hours, Internet use: Up to 8 hours on 3G, up to 10 hours on LTE, up to 10 hours on Wi-Fi, Video playback: Up to 10 hours , Audio playback: Up to 40 hours

Apart from these, Siri (Use your voice to send messages, set reminders, and more) is available in both the models.

Pre - order iPhone 5C is starting on September 13 while iPhone 5S can be ordered from September 20.

Keep tuned for more updates!

Source : indianexpress.com

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