Panasonic P51 to create a dent among smart phones in India

Panasonic launched its first smartphone in India, the P51, earlier today and it’s certainly a very interesting addition to the Indian market. Priced at Rs 26,990, the P51 will face some really tough competition from the likes of Micromax and Karbonn, not to mention market leaders Samsung and fellow Japanese electronics giant Sony. Obviously, the P51 has to bring the right set of specs to the battle – and it does so to a large extent. Let’s take a look a closer look at the specifications of the P51. 

OS – Stock Android 4.2 Jelly Bean
The Panasonic P51 stands out among a sea of TouchWiz and Sense-running smartphones thanks to the stock Android 4.2 roots. The company has also included the on-screen navigation buttons just like Google intended. And overall, we are pretty chuffed about seeing stock Android on a smartphone. It makes a whole lot of difference in the user experience when bloatware or badly-designed skins don’t hog your RAM resources. There are minor customisations in the interface, but nothing too drastic.

The stylus can be used to mark out portions of text or for simply doodling

Cellular connectivity – Dual-SIM, 3G and 2G
Just like most phones launched in India these days, the P51 goes the dual-SIM route. However, only one SIM can be used for a 3G connection, while the other can be used to surf the internet on EDGE. 

Display – 5-inch 720p display
We would have been really disappointed if the first ever Panasonic smartphone for India would have launched with WVGA resolution display. Mercifully, there’s a 720p 5-inch display on the P51 and the resulting pixel density of around 294 ppi sounds really good even in this age of 1080p displays. The display is of the IPS variety, so colours should be well-balanced and still look punchy enough; however, Super AMOLED fans will miss the really deep blacks. The screen of the phone is made of Asahi Dragontail glass and has an Oleophobic coating to prevent fingerprint smudges.

Form factor – Unibody design
While at first look the P51 looks plain as can be, the unibody construction makes a great impression when looking at the overall design. The matte black back panel looks great and should keep fingerprints to a minimum, but the glossy white back is totally opposite. The 8 megapixel camera sits smack in the middle of the back with an LED flash underneath, while a loudspeaker grille occupies a left-of-the-centre spot towards the bottom. The right edge of the phone has the volume rocker and the microSD card slot. The power button is at top along with the 3.5 mm audio jack, while the left edge of the phone has the dual SIM slots and the microUSB out.

Wi-Fi – Nothing out of the ordinary
The P51 plays nicely with Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n standards, which seems slightly lacking when seeing more and more phones are supporting 'ac' and 'a' standards. As is usual for an Android phone, you can use the phone as a Wi-Fi hotspot.

SoC– MediaTek MT6589 (quad-core)
The P51 will not be found lacking for processing power. It features MediaTek’s MT6589 SoC, which contains a quad-core ARM Cortex-A7 CPU and PowerVR Series5XT GPU. While the CPU uses the slightly older architecture from ARM, the SoC is built using the newer 28nm fabrication process, so it should do well in terms of power efficiency. The four cores should easily help in gaming and even the general responsiveness of the UI. Another noteworthy feature is the inclusion of 1GB of RAM, which should put it on par with competition like the Micromax Canvas HD.

Storage – 4GB internal memory with microSD card slot
While 4GB of onboard storage seems rather disappointing, the presence of the microSD card slot make up for it. The slot can take cards up to 32GB in capacity.

Cameras – 8MP sensor with LED flash and 1.3-megapixel front-facing camera
The primary camera is an 8 megapixel shooter like the Micromax Canvas HD and the Karbonn Titanium S5. The camera is of the autofocus variety and there’s an LED flash as previously mentioned. Sadly, there’s no mention of it being a BSI sensor like the one on the XOLO A800. Still, we’ll have to wait and see how good the real-world performance of the camera on the P51 is.

The 1.3 megapixel front-facing camera might not be able to hold a candle to the 2 megapixel and even 5 megapixel ones we are seeing nowadays, but it should still be good enough for basic video calls and the occasional self-portrait.

GPS and miscellaneous
The P51 has the usual collection of sensors, but a gyroscope is missing. There’s Bluetooth 4.0 for wireless audio playback and for interfacing with other devices. P51 has good ol' GPS while GLONASS is missing from the picture. We guess including that piece of hardware would have driven the cost up further. 

Battery – Li-Ion 2500 mAh
The battery capacity of the P51 drew a smile on our faces. With a capacious 2500 mAh battery, the P51 should easily last the whole day, unless you go overboard with the usage. The quad-core CPU in the P51 and the 720p display will be the real power hogs, but battery life should still prove to be peaceful.

The bottom line
There’s no doubt that the P51 is a very attractive smartphone both in terms of looks and design; however, if there is one sore point for the phone, it’s the price. At Rs 26,990, the phone is priced miles ahead of similarly-spec'd Micromax Canvas HD, Xolo Q800 or the Titanium S5. Expect a quick drop in the price of the phone soon after it hits stores next week. If that doesn’t happen, then Panasonic could have a flop on its hand with the first foray into India. In other aspects, the P51 seems very appealing and could be a worthy competitor to the Indian-made smartphones.

Source: T2

Tools & Applications To Create Own Website

CIPL (Corporate Infocom), an IT entrepreneurship based company focusing on simplifying technology introduces applications and tools to enable customers create their own websites/e-commerce portals.

CIPL has introduced user friendly application and tools in order to assist the aspiring web builders. These applications can be used by people from different verticals and across industries. The content available in the training manual is easy to understand and implement practically.

Rahul Walia, Chairman, Corporate Infocom says “We endeavor to create one such platform where we give opportunity to people who aspire to create their own web site economically and easily in today’s scenario where you need to on the web to create your identity”.

Highlights of the tools and applications:

· 100 template designs

· Customizable menus and support form fields

· Training manual

· Personal administrative support

· Web building tools such as soholaunch pro edition and template express for easy website designing

· Tips to increase website ranking

· Domain name and web

CIPL also deals in providing SEO training, online learning courses, mobile building course and complete domain and hosting package for newbies.

Yogi’s SaaS platform will drive innovation

iYogi a global provider of software and technical support services has launched a cloud based solution that drives service innovation through support automation and customer experience management.  With iYogi’s ‘Digital Services Cloud’ (DSC), telecom companies, OEM’s, technology retailers and BPO companies can address new opportunities and generate revenue, while enhancing customer experience and reducing costs. 

“Digital Service Cloud has a proven capability to increase customer lifetime and value, and can generate operating income between US$15 and $20 for every customer interaction. By using Digital Service Cloud telcos, technology retailers, OEMs and global service providers or BPO companies can not only use support as a channel for new revenues, but also expand their business by adding tech support services, the market for which is estimated at US$100 billion globally and at least Rs 20,000 crore in India.” said Uday Challu, CEO and Co-founder of iYogi.

“Since Digital Service Cloud is a SaaS solution, it’s very easy for any organization to integrate it with its existing contact centre infrastructure. It’s highly scalable and secure, and can help companies transform the customer support process, and their business. Service innovation built into the platform puts the end customer in control of how and when they want to access support,” he added.

iYogi has more than 2.5 million users, and has serviced more than 13 million technical support incidents in the last six years. At 93% the company’s customer satisfaction rates are among the highest in the industry. Digital Service Cloud is what lies at the core of the iYogi service offering, and now the company is offering it to other companies as a hosted solution.

Samsung Galaxy S4 Steals The Limelight Among New Androids

New phones are continually coming out. Which should you buy? The latest being the S4, which is an excellent device from a hardware standpoint. Its 5-inch screen is larger than its predecessor, yet it's a tad lighter and smaller. The display is sharp, at 441 pixels per inch. The phone is currently priced in India at Rs 41, 500.

Indians have got lucky as the better version has been launched in India. The Samsung Galaxy S4 will come with an Exynos Octa-core processor running under the hood. Samsung’s eight-core processor has earned Samsung the honour of creating the fastest phone ever with the Samsung Galaxy S4. While 4 of the processors are super-fast, power packed processors, the other four are slower but provide stability. With an eight-core processor and 2 GB RAM, the phone will definitely not face lag issues.

Samsung packed the Android device with a slew of custom features, including new camera tools and the ability to perform tasks by waving a finger over a sensor. Many of the features, however, make the phone more complicated to use. In some cases, custom features work only some of the time. In other cases, you're confronted with too many ways to do similar things. The S4 might be for you if you don't mind spending time customizing it. Otherwise, you must bypass all the gimmicks to get to what otherwise is a good phone.

Another cool specification is the camera. If Samsung’s competitor HTC has come up with Ultra-pixel camera for their flagship the HTC One, Samsung has provided the Samsung Galaxy S4 with a 13 MP camera. The front camera is a 2 MP camera. However, the camera is not a regular, basic snapper. Samsung Galaxy S4 incorporates innovations and features in every aspect of the phone so why should a snapper be any different?

The Samsung Galaxy S4 camera provides dual-shot option, i.e the option to click photos with both cameras together. This not only provides a complete perspective but captures multiple details. The main camera takes a complete picture while the front camera takes a post-card image. The second image can then be edited and added to the main image. 

Although Samsung is the market leader in smartphone market in India, competition from Apple, BlackBerry and Nokia has put pressure on it to add new software features to maintain its lead.

According to research firm IDC, the overall mobile phone market in India reached about 218 million units in 2012, growing 16 percent year-on-year.

Of this, 16.3 million units were smartphones, but the category saw a growth of about 48 percent. Samsung was the leader in the quadcore and 5-inch plus screen size models, IDC added.

The demand for smartphones is expected to be around 34-36 million units this year. Globally, Samsung had 30.3 percent share of the smartphone market (with sales of 215.8 million units) in 2012, while Apple had a 19.1 percent share with sales of 135.9 million units, according to IDC.

Myntra’s Meet Brings Together 200 Marquee Brands

To discuss the future growth prospects in the online fashion and lifestyle segment, Myntra.com, a leading e-commerce platform for fashion and lifestyle products, has recently organised the second edition of its Annual Brand Meet 2013 in Bangalore. The event saw participation from over 200 brands from the fashion and lifestyle industry, with CEO/MD's of over 60 leading brands.

The second edition of the Annual Brand Meet paved the way for the future of the fashion and lifestyle e-commerce industry, by bringing together partner brands for a day long networking event. The event served as an effective platform to empower participants with intellectually stimulating insights on the potential of this space.

Myntra.com is pegged on the path of constant growth with over 500 partner brands and access to 32,000 unique products, making it the largest fashion destination online for Indian youth.

The event kick-started with an insightful keynote address by Nitin Bawankule, Industry Director - Ecommerce, Google India. In addition, two panel discussions were organised comprising of senior industry leaders, and delved on issues affecting the Indian ecommerce space and explore opportunities of future growth. The event was hosted by the gorgeous TV anchor and Bollywood actress, Mandira Bedi.

Speaking on the occasion, Mukesh Bansal, Co-Founder and CEO, Myntra.com said, “Myntra’s Annual Brand Meet is a one-of-its-kind industry networking initiative that brings together various brand partners under one roof to discuss future growth opportunities in the fashion and lifestyle segment. We are honoured with the presence of senior leaders from over 200 marquee brands and the support we continue to receive from them.”

He further added, “Being the first to enter the current season, full catalogue model, I’m confident that we will continue to scale and further extend our leadership position in the fashion & lifestyle category.”

During the keynote address, Nitin Bawankule, Industry Director, E-commerce, Google India said that the rate at which the e-commerce industry is scaling is significantly huge. He revealed that online transaction of apparel and accessories are likely to overtake consumer electronics this year and more women are expected to shop online. He also highlighted the huge potential of m-commerce, with 30 per cent of online shopping queries coming from mobile and tablet devices today. This trend is expected to grow to 50 per cent by the end of the year.

The first panel discussion focused on the importance of tier 2 and tier 3 cities and their future potential for the online shopping space. The panel included Sandeep Mukhim, CEO, Proline India Pvt. Ltd.; Sanjay Mehra, MD, TATA International, Wolverine Brand Ltd., Mukesh Bansal, CEO& Co-Founder, Myntra and E S Sudarshan, CEO, India on Time. The session was moderated by Kedar Gavane, Senior Director, comScore. As the discussion gained momentum, topics such as consistent demand and customer engagement from these cities were discussed. The panelists resonated the need for players in the Indian e-commerce sector to focus on the emerging markets (Tier 2 & 3) with a sustainable engagement model.

The second panel discussion focussed on the best retail practices to engage and encourage women to shop online. This panel included Asif Merchant, Managing Director, Catwalk Worldwide; Sanjeev Aggrawal, Managing Director, Skechers; Anupama Bijur, Resident Editor, Bangalore, Magna Publishing Co Ltd., and Kanika Vohra, Business Head, ELLE. This discussion focused on bringing to fore solutions to bridge the gap between online and offline shopping for women shoppers and was moderated by Siddharth Puri, CEO, Tyroo Media Pvt Ltd.

Following the panel discussions, Myntra announced the winners of the Myntra Brand Awards for FY ’12-13. The awards were presented to the leading brands in light of their immense contribution to the fashion space through unique and innovate designs.

The event also featured an exclusive Fashion Show - ‘Ramp Up 2013’, displaying the new season collections available on Myntra.com. The fashion show set the momentum for the remainder of the event as it concluded in high spirits.

Does Technology Make Classrooms Smarter?

The 2000s saw the introduction of computers and projectors in the classroom. A decade later iPads and LCDs took over. The most recent trend, however, shows that the modern classroom has fascination with gadgets and is now focussing on using techonology to make the classroom smarter. Gadgets are increasingly being used only as a means to improve learning processes, engage students in classroom discussions and enhance learning environment.

The noveau age educational institutes have been adopting a comprehensive strategy at making education digital. These technologically sound classrooms offer high-tech tools like touch panel device to control the whole system that include computers, data projector, audio system, and interactive whiteboards.

“Using visuals during classroom presentations not only help students to understand the subject clearly but also offer a way to keep the class engaged while covering required curriculum material,” says Punit Rastogi, Managing director Solutions India Systems Pvt. Ltd. (SISPL) which has deployed AV Solutions for Dhirubhai Ambani International Schools. The company has also created high-tech smart classes with over 800 projectors at NIIT recently, besides developing state of the art technology for Amity University, Jetking, and Frankfinn among others.

He further adds, “Referring to the benefits of smart classes, Government of India has also taken a step for the implementation of innovative teaching methodology. Some schools are promoting the BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) concept to make learning more effective and speedy.”

 “For instance, if a professor is explaining the geography of a place, in a smart class room it will show the exact location of the point on a map, the continent it belongs to, the adjacent ocean, the mountain range that surrounds it, the cities, states and national borders. In fact it will throw up any detail. During the session if a student raises a question related to partition of the country or formation of states, the professor is in a position to quickly pull another presentation or content or access available material on the web and address the inquiry immediately. These solutions also have internal libraries which are mapped according to the curriculum of various boards and packed with fine details for better understanding. Once the class ends, professor can post the presentation with added inputs on website with a private access or email it to the students. This also encourages students to concentrate in the class instead of focusing on their notes,” adds Rastogi.

In addition to this, moving data, compiling images, referring to altogether different files, incorporating images or data is easily possible through this technology.

“We have also improved upon technologies that break geographical barriers in education and give distance education a whole new meaning. The technology has been flawlessly implemented at corporate training centres. But going forward, we see this impacting education institutes in a big way. Theoretically, this means that when Stephen Hawking delivers an address at, let us say, University of Houston, students in India tied up with the university can not only listen live to him, but can interact as much as his American counterpart who is physically present there. The future of education is exciting,” concludes Rastogi.

Samsung New Smart & LED Tv Models Now In India

Samsung India, further expanding its Smart TV and LED TV portfolios, has launched 20 new TV models in the market. And also it unveiled an 85 inch Ultra HD (High-Definition) Television namely 8569 and Joy Range of TVs that would be available later this year; according to Samsung these TVS are made especially for India. 

The Joy Range of TVs are currently being developed and designed at development centres of Samsung at Noida and Bangalore. The TVs that come under Smart series are priced between between Rs.37900 to Rs.3.68 Lakhs, while the prices of the Plasma range TVs vary in between Rs.35,500 and Rs.2.09 Lakhs.

However, the newly launched models that come under the Smart and Plasma TV series comprise interactive features letting users to browse through the internet. Samsung has also unveiled a new ‘Evolution Kit’ that is being sold separately facilitates upgrading the features of software & hardware of selected models of Samsung. It is priced at Rs.17,000.

According to S.K. Kim, Senior Vice President (Consumer Electronics), Samsung India, “With the launch of our 2013 Smart TV range, we are looking to consolidate our leadership in the Panel TV market in India. We expect LED TVs to drive our Panel TV growth, with Smart TVs contributing at least 20 per cent of our Panel TV volumes this year.”

Among the newly launched models under the Smart TV range, there is F8000 model, the same model that was unveiled at CES 2013, which is said to be the first Smart LED TV of the world that comes with a quad core processor. This one also comes equipped with S-Recommendation & intelligent viewing features. However, the S-Recommendation feature allows users to ask for the recommendations using their own voice. 

The S-Recommendation feature is a part of Smart Hub Suite that lets users to access apps and social networks. This feature also comes with another quad-core powered model named F7500, which comes with a 46 inch monitor. Both these F8000 and F7500 models are designed to deliver ultimate lean back experience to its customers being powered by quad-core processors.

Kim also said that as of now more or less 1000 has been developed that run on Linux platform. These TVs not only facilitates social media but also lets users transfer contents from other gadgets like smartphone & tablets to the TVs.

To know more about these new launches, refer to the official website of the Korean manufacturer. And stay tuned for further such updates.