Facebook buys startup Tagtile owned by Indians in US

‘SAN FRANCISCO: Facebook has confirmed that it bought a San Francisco startup that helps merchants court shoppers with rewards for checking in with smartphones during visits.

Facebook's acquisition of Tagtile for an undisclosed sum came on the heels of a billion-dollar deal to acquire the startup behind wildly popular smartphone photo sharing application Instagram.

"We're happy to confirm that Tagtile's founders are joining Facebook, and that Facebook is acquiring substantially all of the company's assets," the world's leading social network said in reply to an AFP inquiry. "We've admired the engineering team's efforts for some time now."

Tagtile was created by former VMware engineer Abheek Anand and one-time Google engineer Soham Mazumdar. The entrepreneurs created a system that lets customers use iPhones or Android-powered smartphones to check in at shops and get rewarded with discounts, coupons or loyalty points.

To check in, customers need only to tap smartphones on small white cubes that swap information with handsets using sensors. "We started Tagtile with a simple goal, to help local business owners build better relationships with their best customers," the founders said in a post at the company's website.

"We are happy to announce that we are joining Facebook," they continued. "It is an opportunity for us to take our goal and do it on a much bigger scale than we could have on our own."

Facebook has been building its mobile services and capabilities as lifestyles increasingly revolved around smartphones and tablet computers. More than 10 million Instagram applications tuned to Apple or Android-powered gadgets have been downloaded since the acquisition by Facebook was announced on Monday, raising the total number of users to about 40 million.

Facebook in February filed for a stock offering and could raise as much as $10 billion in the largest flotation ever by an Internet company on Wall Street. Facebook, the leading social network in all but six countries, notably China and Russia, claims more than 845 million users. Facebook's value has been estimated at between $75 billion and $100 billion.

Sony kicks off Android 4 ICS upgrade for Xperia smartphones

New Delhi: Sony Mobile has announced to roll out the Sony software upgrade including the uplift to Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich for their 2011 Xperia smartphones.

According to Sony's blog post, "The software will initially be made available for Xperia arc S, Xperia neo V and Xperia ray for consumers in Sweden, Denmark, Iceland, Finland and Norway. The software roll out will continue over the next 4-6 weeks, becoming available in other global markets – we will update you here on the blog when additional markets can upgrade."

In order to upgrade their 2011 Xperia smartphones, users will need to connect to a PC or Mac. Users are suggested to visit http://www.sonymobile.com/update and follow the instructions.
The software will initially be made available for Xperia arc S, Xperia neo V and Xperia ray.

Besides, the company also mentioned that the Xperia arc, Xperia PLAY, Xperia neo, Xperia mini, Xperia mini pro, Xperia pro, Xperia active and Sony Ericsson Live with Walkman will receive their scoop starting from the end of May/early June.

However, the availability and scheduling of the software upgrade and specific models upgradeable to Android 4.0 will vary by market and carrier requirements.

Motorola’s Xoom tablet takes on iPad

 Motorola’s Xoom tablet computer went on sale in the U.S. on Thursday, amidst positive reviews that labelled the device as the most powerful rival yet to Apple’s iPad.

Apple sparked the tablet computer craze last April with the iPad, and has since sold 15 million of the devices. It is expected to launch a second-generation iPad at a media event slated for March 2 in San Francisco.

Though companies like Samsung and Dell have tried to respond with tablets of their own based on Google’s Android operating system, the Xoom is the first tablet to feature the latest Android version, Honeycomb, which is optimised for tablets as opposed to smartphones.

The Xoom is roughly the same size as the iPad, and costs about the same for a similarly spec’d version, though buyers who opt for an iPad with limited memory and restricted to wi-fi connections can save hundreds of dollars.

The Xoom has slightly higher screen resolution than the iPad, and boasts front and rear facing cameras for picture-taking and video conferencing. Powering the device is a dual core 1GHZ processed with 1GB of RAM, and battery life is assessed at 10 hours.

Nevertheless, the consensus among established reviewers is that the device is a worthy competitor to the iPad.

“Both Motorola’s hardware and Google’s new software are impressive and I believe the Xoom beats the first-generation iPad in certain respects, though it lags in others,” noted Walt Mossberg in the Wall Street Journal. “As much as I like the Xoom and Honeycomb, I’d advise consumers to wait to see what Apple has up its sleeve next before committing to a higher price for the Motorola product.”

Engadget’s Joshua Topolsky said that the Xoom’s ability to multi-task gave it a key advantage over the iPad, but that the device still lacks polish. “Honeycomb and the Xoom are spectacular — unfortunately they’re a spectacular work in progress,” he noted.

Apple to show-off iPad 2

SAN FRANCISCO, USA: Apple Inc is hosting a media event next week to show off the next-generation of the iPad, as it prepares to take on new rivals in the fast-growing tablet market.

Apple, which sent an invitation to reporters on Wednesday via email, will host the March 2 gathering at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco, the same venue where Apple unveiled the original iPad in January 2010.

The characteristically succinct invitation featured an image of a calendar page with a giant "2" emblazoned in the center, peeled back just slightly to reveal the familiar form of an iPad. The invite teased, "Come see what 2011 will be the year of."

Given the sheer crush of competing tablets coming on the market, Apple will face a bigger challenge to wow consumers with the new iPad, which is expected to go on sale in April.

The iPad has completely dominated the nascent tablet computer market, but literally dozens of new devices are set to launch this year, so Apple will have to prove it can stay one step ahead of its pursuers.

Apple's rivals include Motorola Mobility, Research in Motion and Hewlett-Packard Co, all of which are aggressively promoting their tablets.

Apple sold nearly 15 million iPads last year, when it had the market largely to itself. Analysts expect the company to at least double that figure this year, as the overall market explodes to more than 50 million units.

Industry watchers expect Apple to show off a thinner, lighter and faster version of the 10-inch touchscreen tablet, and also add a front-facing camera to enable video chatting using the company's FaceTime application.

Many analysts believe Apple may also add a chip that allows the iPad to run on CDMA networks like that of Verizon Wireless.

There is also the question of who will lead the event, with Apple Chief Executive Steve Jobs out on indefinite medical leave. As Apple's master showman, Jobs typically presides over major product launches.

If not Jobs on stage, other potential emcees include Chief Operating Officer Tim Cook and marketing chief Phil Schiller.

With the original iPad priced starting at $499, investors will also be watching to see if Apple plans to creep farther down the price chain to broaden the iPad's appeal.

Apple's rivals has so far been unable to match the iPad on price. But Apple has pinched its own gross margins by pricing the tablet lower than its serious competitors.

ISRO finds cave in moon, could be used as base station for astronauts

  New Delhi: Scientists at the Indian Space Research Organization have discovered a giant underground chamber on the moon, which they feel could be used as a base by astronauts on future manned missions to moon.

An analysis by an instrument on Chandrayaan-1 revealed a 1.7-km long and 120-metre wide cave near the moon's equator that is in the Oceanus Procellarum area of the moon that could be a suitable 'base station' for future human missions. Scientists of the Space Applications Centre in Ahmedabad said in a research paper published in the latest issue of Current Science that the cave provides "a safe environment from hazardous radiations, micro-meteoritic impacts, extreme temperatures and dust storms."

Scientists said identifying sites for permanent base for human settlements on the moon is important for further exploration.

"Lava tubes provide a natural environmental control with a nearly constant temperature of minus 20 degrees Celsius, unlike that of the lunar surface showing extreme variation, maximum of 130 degrees Celsius to a minimum of minus 180 degrees Celsius in its diurnal (day-night) cycle," they said.

According to them, the lava tubes offer a dust-free environment and adapting them for human use requires minimal construction.Deccan Chronicle ISRO finds cave in moon Indian Express ISRO scientists here have discovered a giant underground cave on the moon that they say could be used as a base by astronauts on future manned missions to earth's lone natural satellite.

The discovery was possible by examining images captured by the … Cave on moon could be a 'base station' for future missions The Hindu ISRO finds cave on moon; can be used as an outpost Economic Times Cave hope for moon house Calcutta Telegraph Gulf Today ?

Toward Computers That Fit on a Pen Tip: New Technologies Usher in the Millimeter-Scale Computing Era

A prototype implantable eye pressure monitor for glaucoma patients is believed to contain the first complete millimeter-scale computing system.And a compact radio that needs no tuning to find the right frequency could be a key enabler to organizing millimeter-scale systems into wireless sensor networks. These networks could one day track pollution, monitor structural integrity, perform surveillance, or make virtually any object smart and trackable.

Both developments at the University of Michigan are significant milestones in the march toward millimeter-scale computing, believed to be the next electronics frontier.

Researchers are presenting papers on each at the International Solid-State Circuits Conference (ISSCC) in San Francisco. The work is being led by three faculty members in the U-M Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science: professors Dennis Sylvester and David Blaauw, and assistant professor David Wentzloff.

Bell's Law and the promise of pervasive computing

Nearly invisible millimeter-scale systems could enable ubiquitous computing, and the researchers say that's the future of the industry. They point to Bell's Law, a corollary to Moore's Law. (Moore's says that the number of transistors on an integrated circuit doubles every two years, roughly doubling processing power.)

Bell's Law says there's a new class of smaller, cheaper computers about every decade. With each new class, the volume shrinks by two orders of magnitude and the number of systems per person increases. The law has held from 1960s' mainframes through the '80s' personal computers, the '90s' notebooks and the new millennium's smart phones.

"When you get smaller than hand-held devices, you turn to these monitoring devices," Blaauw said. "The next big challenge is to achieve millimeter-scale systems, which have a host of new applications for monitoring our bodies, our environment and our buildings. Because they're so small, you could manufacture hundreds of thousands on one wafer. There could be 10s to 100s of them per person and it's this per capita increase that fuels the semiconductor industry's growth."

The first complete millimeter-scale system

Blaauw and Sylvester's new system is targeted toward medical applications. The work they present at ISSCC focuses on a pressure monitor designed to be implanted in the eye to conveniently and continuously track the progress of glaucoma, a potentially blinding disease. (The device is expected to be commercially available several years from now.)

Social Gaming landscape in India warming up

The social gaming landscape in the country is witnessing a growth momentum driven by young and growing aspirational demographic that has increasing access to mobile and internet offering exciting platforms for expanding friend circles and indulge in informal interaction.

The growth of social networks sites, the time spent by users on them, the high entertainment value proposition and opportunity to engage in fun and casual interaction with friends, was fuelling the social gaming market, opine social gaming experts.

“Worldwide over 500 million play social games. In India more than 10 million (over 50 per cent) of the Facebook users play Social games”, says Deepak Abbot, Vice President-Product, Zapak.com, one of the leading social gaming players.

“Today conversations have found a new medium of interaction - Social Gaming. Social games now act as mini social networks. They have now become the conversation starters among two people active on the network.” said Rahul Razdan. President - Products & Operations, Ibibo web.

According to Rahul, on a social network site, only 10 per cent are really active posting their pictures or providing updates on social life, the rest only consumed the data.

But a social gaming format works differently. Here, a user could simply play a game, make a comment and respond to their friends’s moves and take active part without really bothering about whether they had something awesome to say or post pictures, as would be required in a social network site.

It creates reasons for interaction with every action of a player demanding a counter reaction. “It is an inclusive traction”, he said.

Gaming in India though dominated by men, has a sizeable women gaming population as well. Games that favoured aesthetic expressions, building, growing a farm witnessed traction among women, while games relating to mafia, violence and hard core action saw men gravitate toward them.

“The statistics were skewed towards women (55 per cent) when it came to word games”, he said. Surprisingly a game like Teen Pati (a game of cards) on Ibibo actually saw 30 per cent of women playing the game on Diwali night, said Rahul.

“The age profile of social gamers is usually 18-34”, said Deepak. “The Indian social gamer is a bit younger than the average international gamer”, he said.

“Women constitute 30 per cent of the Facebook and Internet users in India, the same per cent can also be assumed in the social gaming space. As the games are more related to building, collaborating and managing these games appeal to women too. There is hardly any skill required to play Social games therefore gender is not an issue”, said Deepak.