HCL Info launches 3 tablets starting Rs 15,000

 HCL Infosystems Ltd has launched three tablet personal computers "with localised content," running on Google's Android operating system.

The HCL ME Tablet range will be priced between Rs 14,990 and Rs 32,990, the company said in a statement.

Sporting a 7-inch display, HCL Me AE7-A1 comes with 800 x 480 pixel resolution. Powered by Android v 2.2, the tablet runs on ARM 11, 800 MHz processor. The tablet packs 256MB DDR2 RAM and features a 0.3 megapixel camera, GPS, Bluetooth v2.0, USB 2.0 and EVDO.

HCL Me AE7-A1 has 2GB of internal memory with Micro SD card slot for memory expansion. There is also a 3.5mm headset jack, stereo speakers and Li-Po 2400 mAh battery. The tablet is priced at Rs 14,990.

HCL Me AM7-A1 tablet features a 1.3 megapixel front camera for video calls and offers GPS navigation. Powered by Android v 2.2 Froyo, the tablet runs on ARM Cortex A8, 800 MHz processor. It also supports full HD1080p video playback and video calling.

The tablet comes with 512 RAM and 8GB built-in memory. Other key features include microSD card upto 16GB, Wi-Fi, 3G connectivity, Quad Band GSM/EDGE, USB v2.0 connector, 3.5 mm headset jack, Bluetooth v 2.1+EDR and audio playback. HCL Me AM7-A1 is available for Rs 22,990.

The third tablet, HCL Me AP10-A1, comes with a dual core 1GHz processor. Featuring a 10-inch capacitive multitouch display, the tablet runs on Android v 2.2.

The tablet sports 1.3 megapixel camera and offers support for 3G connectivity and Wi-Fi. It has 16GB in-built storage and microSD card slot for upto 32GB memory expansion.

Other features include HDMI, USB 2.0, Ethernet connectors, Bluetooth 2.1+EDR and GPS with e-compass. The tablet is priced at Rs 32,990.

Google pays $59m to top execs

Google has awarded nearly $9 million in bonuses and another $50 million in equity to four top executives of the Internet giant, according to a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission.

Patrick Pichette, Google's chief financial officer, received a $2.7 million bonus and $15 million in equity while chief business officer Nikesh Arora received a $2.7 million bonus and $20 million in equity.

Google's senior vice president for engineering and research Alan Eustace was awarded a $1.8 million bonus and another $10 million in equity, according to the SEC filing.

Senior vice president for product management Jonathan Rosenberg received a $1.7 million bonus and $5 million in equity.

Siemens unveils new media platform for digital content

BANGALORE: Siemens IT Solutions and Services Limited unveiled a new media platform that enables enterprises in the broadcasting, education and publishing segments to offer digital content with social media value. 


Coined iNeevM, the next generation platform facilitates content owners and service providers to manage and deliver digital content over the internet to multiple online users with an option to provide social media benefits and advertisement as a revenue stream. 


"Our platform enables enterprises to manage and distribute rich digital content along with the benefits of social media collaboration to enhance efficiency, engagement and productivity," Siemens IT Solutions vice-president Seetharaman Krishnamoorthy told reporters here. 


As the wholly-owned Indian subsidiary of the $5.5-billion German major, the Bangalore-based Siemens provides IT solutions and delivers outsourcing services ranging from consulting, software deployment and system integration to management of IT infrastructure to enterprises across verticals. 


"Our revenue model provides a choice of hosted and in-premises services. In the former, there is an upfront investment on customisation and configuration with periodical charges for the usage of the platform, while in the latter, the platform is hosted at the customer's site with a one-time license fee and an annual maintenance contract," Krishnamoorthy said. 


The company is in talks with two international educational institutions and two broadcasters to hard-sell the platform as a one-stop solution to help them enhance their offerings, increase audience share, maximise revenue and strengthen customer relationships. 


"As enterprises and service providers face the challenge of audience fragmentation, escalating content costs and changing media consumption habits, they need to broaden their delivery options and expand from traditional channels of distribution," Krishnamoorthy noted. 


The key features of the platform are management and distribution of digital content via media portal, on-demand personalised videos for streaming or online play, live-stream of an event or channel, geo-specific locking, content discovery, portal management, user-generated content (UGC) management and business intelligence support for targeting and reporting. 


"The platform, developed in-house with support from our development centres in Germany and Britain, protects infringement of content rights and enables incremental revenue streams by supporting local, remote and live ingest, automated transcoding, frame-accurate annotation for stored and incoming live feeds and online collaboration," Siemens senior consultant Kishlay Baranwal said. 


The company is targeting enterprises in broadcasting, education and publishing areas in the Indian and North American markets where the convergence of telcos and IT have created an ecosystem for leveraging the platform to offer innovative services. 


"For education institutes, the platform helps two-way conversation among parents, teachers and students on academic progress and individual development with far-reaching outcomes for the system," Krishnamoorthy added. 


Read more: Siemens unveils new media platform for digital content - The Times of India http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/tech/personal-tech/computing/Siemens-unveils-new-media-platform-for-digital-content/articleshow/7072058.cms#ixzz17gZ3InJH

Facebook told to improve its privacy policies

SEOUL: Facebook Inc, owner of the world's most popular social-networking site, was asked by South Korea's telecommunications regulator to improve privacy policies to better protect users of the service in the country. 


Facebook is "inadequate" in notifying users about how personal information is collected and in getting their consent for its use, the Korea Communications Commission said in a statement yesterday. Should Facebook offer personal information to a third party, it needs to notify users of the purpose and the period in which the details will be used, it said. 


An e-mail seeking comment sent to Jonathan Thaw, a spokesman for Palo Alto, California-based Facebook, wasn't immediately answered after working hours. 


The commission also asked Facebook, which has about 2.32 million users in South Korea, to submit documentation on how it uses personal information for customized advertising and whether it's complying with measures to protect personal information.


Read more: - The Times of India http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/tech/social-media/Facebook-told-to-improve-its-privacy-policies/articleshow/7071194.cms#ixzz17gVqCeXK

Google Chrome OS to make PCs cheaper

NEW DELHI: Google has launched a test version of the Chrome OS, its much-awaited and delayed internet-centric operating system that analysts say could make the personal computer cheaper by up to 25% in India. 


"Chrome OS is essentially a free software," says Sundar Pichai, vice-president for product management at Google, and one of the two leaders of a team that developed the new software. 


An operating system makes up for roughly a fifth, and in many cases a fourth, of a PC's cost. For this reason, experts expect a fall in computer prices in 2011 because the Google OS is free. For example, a Rs 22,000 PC shipped from an original equipment maker costs as much because it comes with an operating system priced at nearly Rs 4,000. 
Likewise, a Microsoft Windows 7 Home Basic version costing Rs 5,690 and the Windows 7 Ultimate at Rs 11,190 add to PC prices. 


"Google Chrome is bound to bring down PC costs, given that it will be opensource and will not have associated licensing fees," says Pankaj Arora, Managing Director of Protiviti Consulting. 


The price factor apart, users of the Chrome OS computers can also look forward to other benefits. For starters, they do not have to install software. Rather, the PCs rely on applications delivered over the internet, making it easy for users to access files and applications from any machine. 


Chrome ideal for people on the move 
Chrome PCs also start up quickly, taking users to a browser within 10 seconds after booting. "The Chrome is ideal for \an increasing number of people who need to access or record information in their daily work, but are seldom at a desk with a PC and ethernet connection," says tech consultancy Ovum. Though aimed at netbooks, the lightweight Chrome can support desktops and laptops as well because it runs on both X86 ( Intel Pentium, Atom family) as well as the ARM chip systems. 


Besides Google features such as Docs for spreadsheets, presentations and word processors as well as Reader for PDF documents, users can hook up with common accessories such as calculator and tabs for Facebook, YouTube and built-in security features via a browser. 


Google first announced Chrome OS in July 2009 along with plans to sell netbooks running the software from the second half of 2010. Tuesday's news conference in San Francisco at which the internet giant began distributing a limited number of PC models running the software does not mean that users are about to lay their hands on the Chrome OS. 
Google's inability to go beyond a test version means that customers are staring at a further delay. The Chrome OS will only be available to a select group of users because the new devices running the software are being shipped by Google's partners such as Samsung and Acer for now, says Mr Pichai. Acer and Samsung devices are expected to hit the market in mid-2011. 


"We are (also) working with multiple PC manufacturers to bring a number of netbooks to the market next year," he adds. 


In the meantime, "Technical people can download and install it easily after a bit of tweaking, though," says Pichai. The company will hand out about a few thousand laptops with Chrome OS for education and non-profit use. 


For Google, the Chrome OS presents an opportunity to take aim at Microsoft and Apple by offering an alternative to their operating systems, the Windows and Mac OS. 


"Provided there is huge demand for the Chrome OS in 2011, PC prices may fall by a couple of thousands, since the OS may come free," says Vishal Tripathi, principal research analyst at Gartner. 


Still, it will be interesting to see if Google convinces manufacturers to move away from Microsoft and produce Chrome OS netbooks, he says. 


"Partnerships of Microsoft with PC makers remain strong as ever and demand for Chrome will depend upon its performance." Microsoft India had no comment on the impact of Chrome OS on the operating system market. Dell, HP, HCL, Acer and Lenovo are the largest PC sellers in India. The partnership with Acer, which has a 10% share in the Indian PC market, is the only one officially announced by Google yet. 


Google's other partner Samsung has a less than 2% share in India. In comparison, Microsoft's share in the global operating system market is more than 90%. In India, that rises to 98%, thanks to the Windows OS. The Windows XP is the most-used OS in India with a market share of about 70%, followed by Windows 7 (about 20%) and Windows Vista (8%), says StatCounter, the online tracker of tech statistics. 


The balance 2% marketshare is divided between Mac OS and Linux users. And despite Google's best-laid plans, tech analysts say Chrome OS, which is primarily aimed at netbooks might lose out if tablet PCs swamp the netbook market. "Apple has a jump on Google in this market, and it will have a second version of the iPad with an updated version of its own iOS before Chrome is officially released to the world in the second half of 2011." 


Adds Ovum, "Given that a USP of Chrome is the 'instant on', will these workers want it on a device such as netbook or even the Cr-48 'pilot device' laptop being offered by Google for testing? No they will want a tablet." 


There are other challenges as well. "Awareness of opensource software is limited in India, especially amongst small businesses," says Rohit Chaudhary, CEO and founder of the newly-launched eTechies.in, a PC support provider. "Besides, resellers are not pushing netbooks to consumers because they come with lower margins."


Read more: The Times of India http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/infotech/software/Googles-new-Chrome-OS-to-cut-PC-prices/articleshow/7068481.cms?curpg=2#ixzz17gVMf7mQ