Fashion unveiled on Phones

Mobiles are making a huge round with people downloading applications after another. There is an increasing need for applications and that too unique applications so that they catch the eye of the audience and make a mark.

One such thing was done by the Mobile Phone giant Nokia for their Nokia Lumia 1520.Nokia, one of the official partners of the Lakme Fashion Week Summer/Resort 2014, tied up with designer duo Shantanu and Nikhil to create their exclusive fashion week collection. The duo showcased the collection during their show at 7.30 pm on March 15th.

When asked the designers, "The brand story of the phone — 'reliving your memories' — was an inspiration for us and fit perfectly into our collection, which is about an imaginative timeless social avatar that has travelled many moods and moments to become time itself. The smartphone helped us craft a pleasing story that any artist would want to portray through their work. The large HD screen of the device worked as our canvas and the camera and video experience added to our inspiration."

Journalists see social media as instrument to advance reporting and not threat

A recently conducted international survey of 1149 journalists from 12 countries about their social media habits and preferences has found that they viewed social media as ‘complementary’ and not a threat.

It has been found that day-to-day journalists are undertaking background research, rapid information gathering and opinion mining using social media on a daily basis.

However, more interactive methods of social media such as crowd sourcing for research, asking interview questions and liaising with PRs featured much lower on the breakdown of their daily use. Of those surveyed 87 percent view social media as being complementary to traditional journalism as opposed to a threat.

Facebook dominated as the most popular social media platform for journalists internationally (86%), apart from in the UK where LinkedIn crept ahead. Twitter was voted the second most popular tool among journalists (61%), apart from in Poland, the Czech Republic and Hungary, where the younger platform Google+ was more popular.

However, the online tools journalists use for researching varied internationally. For instance, according to the report, in the UK (75%), UAE (93%), South Africa (68%) and Sweden (50%), Twitter came out on top, while in the Eastern European countries (Poland, Czech Republic and Hungary) Twitter’s popularity came second (25%) to Facebook (71%).

As for how social media is changing the way journalists interact with communications professionals – journalists in the UK placed less importance on personal contact and phone conversations (59%), with email cited as the most important source for their day-to-day job (80%), while social media featured very low (17%).

The top three most important sources for journalist across the globe were email (75%), search engines (68%) and personal contact (70%).

When it comes to the potential pitfalls of social media, journalists appear to be approaching it with care with over three quarters (77%) of those surveyed agreeing that the speed of social media and lack of control over sources will be a problem for quality standards in journalism.

Four in 10 journalists agreed that certain skills were needed to do research or write for social media. However, over three quarters of journalists surveyed stated that they have never been on any social media related training. Despite this, most journalists feel that their knowledge of and competency in using social media is average (55%), rather than very good (37%) or bad/non-existent (8%), the report said.

Lutz Cleffmann told Bizcommunity: “The survey shows clearly that social media has become an important channel of interaction with journalists, but the importance of channels varies very much from country to country. Therefore, local knowledge stays an indispensable prerequisite of success.”

Growing Social Media Usage - Triggers change

Growing Social Media usage in India has only triggered a change - a change that at least with the recent events only seems positive

A few days back, a  text message on the phone: “Video of brutal killings of two boys is of Pakistan, and not related to the Muzaffarnagar incident. Refrain from sharing or else criminal action will be taken.”

The sign off on the message said it was from the office of the DGP, UP Police (the highest-ranking police officer in the state of Uttar Pradesh). Muzaffarnagar, a town in the northern Indian state, recently witnessed communal violence in which 45 people died (according to the official death toll). A YouTube video, which officials sources are saying was either shot in Pakistan or Afghanistan, and uploaded on YouTube two years ago was circulated online, with some saying it was shot during the violence in Muzaffarnagar. Police claim the video incited greater violence, and are probing how it went viral.

The incident is another key demonstration of the role of social media in shaping events, politics and opinion in India – sometimes unwittingly. But even more, there is a sense in India that social media can positively shape politics, reform mind sets, and bring about change.

For example, a few months back a photograph of two young men making lewd gestures to female commuters in Bangalore were photographed by a male friend who was with the women. The young man uploaded the picture on the Facebook page of the Bangalore Police, and within days the post attracted thousands of likes and comments. It certainly got the attention of the Bangalore Police, who arrested the two men, and brought them in for interrogation.

That might seem like an isolated incident, but over the past few months mainstream, prime-time broadcast news programs seem to be heavily influenced by the conversations taking place on social media. Maybe this particular trend points to lazy journalism, but it also brings an issue into the mainstream. Namely, can a growing number of educated people who are getting online and lighting up the Twitter sphere herald more passionate debates? Can this growing collective voice force issues of development and social change into the national gaze?

In March 2013, a report by the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) and Indian Market Research Bureau (IMRB) found that the number of social media users in urban India would reach 66 million by this June. The report also said that 74 percent of all active internet users in India use social media. This figure – which grew more than 30 percent from 56.3 million users in the previous year – makes India the world’s third-largest internet population.

Preeti Singh, editor of Igovernment.in, a website focussed on governance issues, doesn’t share this optimism. She tells The Diplomat, “How many people in India are on social media, in any case? Not enough people are on it to have reached inflexion, even now. Worse, I strongly believe that most people on social media don’t really want to make a difference, they just want to sound smart.”

She admits it’s a good medium to sensitize people to issues they otherwise might now be aware of. And of course, this can help trigger reform. But it’s important not to expect more from the medium than is reasonable. As Malcolm Gladwell wrote in The New Yorker a few years back, “The revolution will not be tweeted.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now, dengue alerts on social media

The spurt in dengue cases has prompted the corporations to spread awareness through social networking sites.

Officials admit that heavy spending on advertising has not helped in preventing mosquito breeding in the city. "As everyone is active on the social media, dengue alerts should reach people. This can prove more effective and cheap," says Andrews Ganj councillor Abhishek Dutt.

 So far, corporations have been sticking to techniques like hoardings at government offices and distribution of pamphlets. "The pamphlets have been in circulation for three years now. People don't take such ads seriously. Checkers cannot scan every corner and residents have an important role in checking mosquito breeding," adds Dutt.

 The South corporation commissioner said they will start the campaign on their Facebook page. Farhad Suri, leader of the opposition, also feels that residents play a major role in spreading social awareness about the disease.

Sony Xperia Z1 – Simply Mindboggling

Sony has launched its latest flagship smart phone, the Xperia Z1, in India. The phone was unveiled at Berlin earlier this month.

 

Sony Xperia Z1 comes with 5-inch full-HD display and the power of a 2.2GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 processor, recently seen inside the blazing fast Sony Xperia Z Ultra (Review), alongside 2GB of RAM. The Xperia Z1 comes with 16GB of internal storage, that can be expanded by up to 64GB via a micro SD card. The phone runs Android 4.2 Jelly Bean with a 3,000mAh battery underneath.

One of the key highlights of the Sony Xperia Z1 is its amazing camera, with Sony's own G Lens with 27mm wide angle and f/2.0 aperture. The camera comes with a large 1/2.3-type CMOS 20-megapixel image sensor Exmor RS with BIONZ mobile image processing engine.

 

The camera comes with software enhancements like Social live, which enables you broadcast live to Facebook and get your friends' comments right on your screen. Info-eye is a visual search function that provides related information on landmarks and on items such as books or wine by capturing them with the camera. AR effect overlays a selection of customisable animations to create pictures using Sony's Smart AR augmented reality technology.

The Sony Xperia Z1 also comes with a time shift burst, that takes 61 images in 2 seconds, a second before and after pressing the shutter, so you can scroll back and forth to find the image you like.

In line with other recent Xperia devices, the Sony Xperia Z1 is dust resistant and waterproof, and comes with pre-loaded apps like Sony Music and Sony LIV, which offer access to Sony's catalogue of music and TV programming respectively.

 

Sony Xperia Z1 is compatible with a host of accessories including the Sony DSC-QX100 and DSC-QX10 lens cameras and Sony Smart Watch 2.

Sony Xperia Z1 key specifications

1.      5-inch full-HD display

2.      2.2GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 processor

3.      2GB RAM

4.      16GB internal storage, expandable up to 64GB via microSD card

5.      20.7-megapixel camera

6.      2-megapixel front-facing camera

7.      3G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, NFC and GPS

8.      Android 4.2 Jelly Bean

Latest Mobiles in India

There is a boom of mobile phones in India. The consumer has a wide range of phones and companies to choose from encompassing a wide range of features at competitive prices. Few latest mobiles in India are

Smartphone Company HTC has unveiled two new smartphones in an attempt to bring newest and improved features to the mid-range and entry-level smartphones, the mid-range HTC Desire 601 and the entry-level HTC Desire 300.

HTC Desire 601 features the similar 4.5-inch size and 960×540 resolution screen but only has a single SIM slot. The specific dimensions are set at 134.5×66.7×9.88mm (5.3×2.63×0.39in) and it weighs 130 grams. This makes it slightly thicker than the Desire 600 but it has a much better 2100mAh battery as well as the improved Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 chipset with dual-core 1.4GHz CPU part and Adreno 305 GPU paired up with 1GB of RAM.

The Desire 300 features LTE support and supports HTC Zoe and Video Highlights features, same one that were seen with the high-end HTC One series smartphones. It features 5-megapixel rear camera with LED flash, VGA front one, has 8GB of internal storage with 25GB of Dropbox storage which are expandable by a microSD card slot, 802.11bgn WiFi and Bluetooth 4.0 for connectivity.

Micromax Bolt A26 is a dual-SIM phone that runs on Android ICS platform. It shelters a 1GHz dual core processor seconded by a 512MB RAM. The 4.5 inch capacitive touch display has 854x480p pixel resolution. The camera segment comprises of a 2MP back camera, backed up by an LED flash and a 0.3MP front camera. For connectivity, it has GPRS/EDGE, Wi-Fi, USB, and Bluetoth. The 1850 mAh battery gives ample talk time and standby time to users. Other features are FM radio, 3.5m audio jack, 1.2GB built-in & 32GB expandable memory.

The iPhone 5C will be powered by a dual-core CPU, and will have a 4-inch screen, just like the iPhone 5, with a resolution of 640×1136 pixels. The specs sheet reveals that the iPhone 5C will have 1GB of RAM, and will come in 16GB, 32GB and 64GB storage variations. It will sport an 8-megapixel rear camera and a 1.2-megapixel front facing camera and run iOS 7 complete with Siri which would be obtainable in English, French, German, Japanese, Chinese, Korean, Italian and Spanish, as per the tipster. The iPhone 5C will reportedly be 6 grams lighter than the iPhone 5 at 106 grams and will measure 124.2 x 58.4 x 7.6 mm. The iPhone 5 measures 123.8 x 58.6 x 7.6 mm.

Nokia Lumia 825 phabletia will be made public in New York next month. The phablet will feature a Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 processor, clocked at 1.2 Ghz. A 5.2-inch display is mentioned, with a 1280×720 pixel resolution. Nokia’s phablet will almost certainly run Windows Phone 8.

Sony launched Xperia M smartphone in India which features the company’s novel one-touch functions and its signature first-class design parallel to that of Xperia Z. The company intends to sell both single SIM and dual SIM models of the phone. Key Features of Sony Xperia M include - Android v4.1 (Jelly Bean) OS, Great Entertainment Contents Offering through Sony Unique Application, 1 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Dual Core Processor, Expandable Storage Capacity of 32 GB, One-touch Functions with NFC, 0.3 MP Secondary Camera, Wi-Fi Enabled, 5 MP Primary Camera, 4-inch Hi-quality Display for Immersive Entertainment and Battery STAMINA Mode for Outstanding Battery Life.

Xolo Q1000S features a 5-inch HD IPS display with OGS display technology and boasts a resolution of 720×1280 pixels with 294ppi pixel density. It runs on Android 4.2 Jelly Bean. The gadget is powered by 1.5GHz quad-core MediaTek 6589T processor paired with 1GB RAM. It also comes with 16GB of internal storage which is non-expandable and measures 6.98mm in thickness.

The Xolo Q1000S has a 13-megapixel rear camera with BSI 2 sensor with LED flash and a 5-megapixel front-facing camera. The rear camera is capable of recording full-HD videos and also comes with image stabilization technology. Other features of camera are scene detection and tuning, high dynamic range (HDR), low-light improvement, face recognition, burst mode characteristic to capture up to 99 shots, Panorama and geo-tagging. The handset packs in a 2500 mAh battery that can give up to 327 hours of standby time and about 23 hours of talk time, as per the company. Connectivity options include GPRS, EDGE, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and 3G.

IPv6

If there is anything that can be placed after food, air, and water, it is Internet. The number of computers connected to the internet has become directly proportional to the services that are deployed over networks.

What is IP Address?
Like every element in this universe, every computer has a unique identity. And the identity of every computer is determined by a unique Internet Protocol (IP) address assigned to it. The version of IP that was widely deployed was IPv4; the 4^th version in the development of IP. It is usually referred to as the backbone of modern Internet.

IPv4 has exhausted!

The use of Internet for computers, sensors, telephones, kitchen appliances, remote medical assistance, education, transportation, etc., has been growing exponentially. And this very factor has marked the exhaustion of the IPv4 IPs.

An announcement by the Number Resource Organization (NRO), on 3rd February 2011, clarified that the free pool of available IPv4 addresses has fully depleted. The Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) allocated the remaining IANA pool equally between the five RIRs (Regional Internet Registries). Although the complete extinction of IPv4 has not yet occurred, adaptation of IPv6 is vital for all Internet stakeholders.

What is IPv6?

IPv6 is the latest version of the Internet Protocol that has been designed as a replacement for IPv4. IPv6 is usually known as the Internet’s next-generation protocol.

How is IPv6 Better than IPv4?

IPv6 betters IPv4 in the following respects:

Large Address Space

With the growing number of mobile phones, PDAs, laptops, handheld devices, etc., additional blocks of IP addresses need to be created. And IPv4 cannot carry out this job. This is where IPv6 comes as a relief.

IPv6 increases the IP address size from 32 bits to 128 bits, thereby increasing the number of globally routable IP addresses, from approximately 4.29×10⁹ = 4.2 billion to 3.4×10³⁸ = 340 trillion trillion trillion addresses. Theoretically, IPv6 can provide 3.4×10³⁸ / 7×10⁹ (i.e. population on earth) = 4.86×10²⁸ IP addresses per person on earth.

Security
Unlike devices with IPv4, those with IPv6 can establish a secure pipeline between them without user intervention. This is possible because IPv6 has a built in IPSec support which can negotiate security parameters dynamically.

Mobility
The Mobile IPv6 (MIPv6) offers roaming capabilities for mobile nodes in IPv6 network. This allows mobile devices, such as PDAs and smart phones, to change the wireless networks without breaking their connections.

The MIPv6 allows devices to move geographically without changing the IPv6 address assigned to it.

Simplified network configuration (Auto-configuration)

Similar to IPv4, IPv6 supports stateful auto-configuration to assign IP address to a computer using Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol for IPv6 (DHCPv6).

To make the network configuration more simplified, IPv6 supports stateless auto-configuration. In this, no server is required to obtain configuration information, and router advertisements are used to create addresses. This creates a “plug-and-play” environment thus, simplifying management and administration.

IPv6 also allows automatic address configuration and reconfiguration, and administrators do not require access to the clients to renumber network addresses.

QoS (Quality of Service)

IPv6 ensures improved quality of service because it helps in identifying traffic and defines how it should be handled. This is ensured by the Flow Label field in the IPv6 header. Packets that belong to this flow are easily identified by routers and are specially handled.

Extensibility
IPv6 is designed to have an optional header separate from the main IPv6 header. This allows the protocol to be extensible in the future which offers optimized support for new features without redesigning the IPv6 protocol.

 More Efficient Routing
IPv6 is better than its predecessor IPv4 in that it makes routing more efficient and hierarchical. This is done by shrinking the size of routing tables. Internet Service Providers assign prefixes to their customers’ network. With the help of IPv6, they can aggregate all such prefixes into a single prefix, and announce the same to the Internet Protocol.

End-to-end transparency

Thanks to the vast address space, a computer with IPv6 can stay in peer-to-peer connection with another computer. This very feature helps enabling new and valuable services. Services like VoIP and QoS will become more robust, as they are easier to create and maintain.

The only question that remains is – When and how to manage the migration from IPv4 to IPv6 without affecting existing services?

The transition from IPv4 to IPv6 is currently happening but with a gradual pace. There is also a degree of uncertainty over the adoption of IPv6 standards and implementation. Although the transition will not be effortless, formulating plans by Internet stakeholders, engineers, and government bodies will boost the migration.