NOVATHORTM U8500

The NovaThor™ U8500 is the first integrated smartphone platform to offer the latest SMP (Symmetric Multi-Processing) dual core technology in a high-performance, low-power and cost-optimized solution for multiple operating systems.The U8500 is the first mobile platform with full High-Definition 1080 progressive-scan camcorder capabilities. With its combination of a dual-core SMP processor and a high-end 3D graphics accelerator, the U8500 enables a full web-browsing experience for next-generation smartphones.

Features

• Full HD 1080p camcorder, multiple codecs supported
  (H264 HP, VC-1, MPEG-4)
• High-resolution, touchscreen display support up to WXGA
• Simultaneous dual display support up to dual XGA
• High performance 3D graphics
• Dual camera support with Integrated ISP 20 Mpixel and 5 Mpixel
• Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS and FM enabled platform
• Built-in USB 2.0, HDMI out
• Support for multiple operating systems
• Optional support for mobile TV standards

Technology

• Highly efficient, low-power ARM dual Cortex™- A9 processor
• Dual multimedia DSP for low-power, flexible media processing
• High-bandwidth LP-DDR2 interface
• ARM® Mali™ 400 GPU and NEON®CPU extensions
• State-of-the-art HSPA (High-Speed Packet Access) Release 7 modem
• Unique audio architecture with a wide range of audio codecs supported
• Advanced power saving architecture enabling class-leading audio and video playback times

U8500 Block diagram

Nokia WP To Feature A Dual Core 1.2Ghz Processor

Speaking to Forbes, Chief Executive of European semiconductor maker STMicroelectronics, Carlo Bozotti revealed that at least some of Nokia's upcoming Microsoft Windows Phone (WP) based smartphones will be powered by silicon sourced from ST-Ericsson - a joint venture between STMicroelectronics (STM) and Ericsson.

He further announced that ST-Ericsson's Nova Thor U8500 will be the first chip to power these phones. This sounds plausible because STM used to supply chips to Nokia, long before the former formed a 50-50 partnership with Ericsson. Bozotti also confirmed that ST-Ericsson will be one of the two chip suppliers for Nokia's Windows Phones. Qualcomm may most likely be the other supplier, as all WP7 devices released till date are powered by its Snapdragon processor.

Since the U8500 is a dual-core SOC (system on chip) supporting Full HD (1080p) video recording capabilities, we assume that it may possess 1080p playback capability as well. In addition to WXGA touchscreen support, the processor allows simultaneous display on two discrete XGA screens. Interestingly, the Nova Thor supports multiple operating systems. We would love to see this feature leveraged for a dual boot option involving WP and Symbian OS. The U8500 is based on ARM Dual Cortex A9 processor, with the ARM Mali 400 GPU handling the 3D graphics subsystem. It also incorporates the usual bells-and-whistles such as Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity, HDMI output, USB 2.0, GPS, and full web-browsing experience for next-generation smartphones.

Nokia may have been criticised for selling underpowered phones in recent times, but now it finally seems to have paid heed to competition from other well-specced smartphones. Moreover, as its Symbian mobile OS has already lost ground to rivals Android and iOS, Nokia will most likely bring out the best that it has got for the final stand. The Finnish mobile giant sure doesn't seem to be ill armed this time around.

Pune Monsoons

Pune, formerly called Poona, also known as Punya-Nagari, is the eighth largest metropolis in India, the second largest in the state of Maharashtra, after Mumbai and the largest city in the Western Ghats. Once the center of power of the Maratha Empire.

Today, Pune is known for its educational facilities and relative prosperity. Pune is a majority Hindu city and one can see temples all over the city. Pune is the cultural capital of Maharashtra, and the notional seat of the Marathi language.

Pune is known to have existed as a town since 937 AD. Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, the founder of the Maratha Empire, lived in Pune as a young boy, and later oversaw significant growth and development of the town during his reign. In 1730.

Ah!-Pune

Ah! Pune ... long time no HDR. so I thought I'd do one. This after a wonderful afternoon! all the black spots u see (if you see) are birds and not dust spots... believe me... I may be rough on the camera, but take good care of it!

Shaniwarwada

Lingmala Waterfalls

The Lingmala Waterfalls, close to Mahabaleshwar, a Hill station near Pune in Maharastra, India. This photo was taken in the monsoon season, hence the waterfalls in all its glory, greenery all around. This is a 3-stage waterfalls about 600 ft high, and the spot where i took this snap from is fairly high.

The-old-and-the-new

The city fathers made it a point to see that the old tower on NH4 was not touched during the road widening. So we have the old and the new side by side.

Pune City

Pune-International-Marathon-Race-against-AIDS

Quarry

THis is one of the most beautiful places in Pune.

The Sahyadri range is the best place to be during monsoons!

Android Vies for World Domination

Apple for once did not dominate the headlines this week. During Google’s two-day developer’s conference, Google I/O, the search giant packed in a number of headline-grabbing announcements—particularly about the future of Android.

On day one, Google formally disclosed its next Android releases: improved video services, and the so-called future of Android, or Android@Home, which could even involve Android light bulbs. Google also launched its Google Music Beta, possibly including anti-piracy protections, and disclosed that it could pay up to $500 million to settle a Department of Justice investigation. On day two, Google announced a revamped Android Market featuring music recommendations (like Apple iTunes already does).

Google also said that Android applications have been installed over 4.5 billion times to date, covering 200,000 discrete apps. The idea, of course, is to elicit more. Google takes a 30 percent cut of all Android Market sales, and Google's keynote pitch to add in-app payments through a single line of code provides it another route to higher revenues. Google’s Android Market lead Eric Chu said that Google didn't have any plans to cut its revenue share to 5 percent, as it will do for the Chrome App Market.

This week we kept an eye out for some of the most interesting tweets about Android, in light of all the I/O announcements. Click on the slideshow below to start, and check out PCMag’s pick of nifty tech products demonstrated at Google I/O.

Arduino Mega 2560 :Android Home Chip for developers

Overview

The Arduino Mega 2560 is a microcontroller board based on the ATmega2560 (datasheet). It has 54 digital input/output pins (of which 14 can be used as PWM outputs), 16 analog inputs, 4 UARTs (hardware serial ports), a 16 MHz crystal oscillator, a USB connection, a power jack, an ICSP header, and a reset button. It contains everything needed to support the microcontroller; simply connect it to a computer with a USB cable or power it with a AC-to-DC adapter or battery to get started. The Mega is compatible with most shields designed for the Arduino Duemilanove or Diecimila.

The Mega 2560 is an update to the Arduino Mega, which it replaces.

Schematic & Reference Design

EAGLE files: arduino-mega2560-reference-design.zip

Schematic: arduino-mega2560-schematic.pdf

Summary

Microcontroller	ATmega2560
Operating Voltage	5V
Input Voltage (recommended)	7-12V
Input Voltage (limits)	6-20V
Digital I/O Pins	54 (of which 14 provide PWM output)
Analog Input Pins	16
DC Current per I/O Pin	40 mA
DC Current for 3.3V Pin	50 mA
Flash Memory	256 KB of which 8 KB used by bootloader
SRAM	8 KB
EEPROM	4 KB
Clock Speed	16 MHz

Power

The Arduino Mega can be powered via the USB connection or with an external power supply. The power source is selected automatically.

External (non-USB) power can come either from an AC-to-DC adapter (wall-wart) or battery. The adapter can be connected by plugging a 2.1mm center-positive plug into the board's power jack. Leads from a battery can be inserted in the Gnd and Vin pin headers of the POWER connector.

The board can operate on an external supply of 6 to 20 volts. If supplied with less than 7V, however, the 5V pin may supply less than five volts and the board may be unstable. If using more than 12V, the voltage regulator may overheat and damage the board. The recommended range is 7 to 12 volts.

The Mega2560 differs from all preceding boards in that it does not use the FTDI USB-to-serial driver chip. Instead, it features the Atmega8U2 programmed as a USB-to-serial converter.

The power pins are as follows:

• VIN. The input voltage to the Arduino board when it's using an external power source (as opposed to 5 volts from the USB connection or other regulated power source). You can supply voltage through this pin, or, if supplying voltage via the power jack, access it through this pin.
• 5V. The regulated power supply used to power the microcontroller and other components on the board. This can come either from VIN via an on-board regulator, or be supplied by USB or another regulated 5V supply.
• 3V3. A 3.3 volt supply generated by the on-board regulator. Maximum current draw is 50 mA.
• GND. Ground pins.

Memory

The ATmega2560 has 256 KB of flash memory for storing code (of which 8 KB is used for the bootloader), 8 KB of SRAM and 4 KB of EEPROM (which can be read and written with the EEPROM library).

Input and Output

Each of the 54 digital pins on the Mega can be used as an input or output, using pinMode(), digitalWrite(), and digitalRead() functions. They operate at 5 volts. Each pin can provide or receive a maximum of 40 mA and has an internal pull-up resistor (disconnected by default) of 20-50 kOhms. In addition, some pins have specialized functions:

• Serial: 0 (RX) and 1 (TX); Serial 1: 19 (RX) and 18 (TX); Serial 2: 17 (RX) and 16 (TX); Serial 3: 15 (RX) and 14 (TX). Used to receive (RX) and transmit (TX) TTL serial data. Pins 0 and 1 are also connected to the corresponding pins of the ATmega8U2 USB-to-TTL Serial chip.
• External Interrupts: 2 (interrupt 0), 3 (interrupt 1), 18 (interrupt 5), 19 (interrupt 4), 20 (interrupt 3), and 21 (interrupt 2). These pins can be configured to trigger an interrupt on a low value, a rising or falling edge, or a change in value. See the attachInterrupt() function for details.
• PWM: 0 to 13. Provide 8-bit PWM output with the analogWrite() function.
• SPI: 50 (MISO), 51 (MOSI), 52 (SCK), 53 (SS). These pins support SPI communication using the SPI library. The SPI pins are also broken out on the ICSP header, which is physically compatible with the Uno, Duemilanove and Diecimila.
• LED: 13. There is a built-in LED connected to digital pin 13. When the pin is HIGH value, the LED is on, when the pin is LOW, it's off.
• I²C: 20 (SDA) and 21 (SCL). Support I²C (TWI) communication using the Wire library (documentation on the Wiring website). Note that these pins are not in the same location as the I²C pins on the Duemilanove or Diecimila.

The Mega2560 has 16 analog inputs, each of which provide 10 bits of resolution (i.e. 1024 different values). By default they measure from ground to 5 volts, though is it possible to change the upper end of their range using the AREF pin and analogReference() function.

There are a couple of other pins on the board:

• AREF. Reference voltage for the analog inputs. Used with analogReference().
• Reset. Bring this line LOW to reset the microcontroller. Typically used to add a reset button to shields which block the one on the board.

Communication

The Arduino Mega2560 has a number of facilities for communicating with a computer, another Arduino, or other microcontrollers. The ATmega2560 provides four hardware UARTs for TTL (5V) serial communication. An ATmega8U2 on the board channels one of these over USB and provides a virtual com port to software on the computer (Windows machines will need a .inf file, but OSX and Linux machines will recognize the board as a COM port automatically. The Arduino software includes a serial monitor which allows simple textual data to be sent to and from the board. The RX and TX LEDs on the board will flash when data is being transmitted via the ATmega8U2 chip and USB connection to the computer (but not for serial communication on pins 0 and 1).

A SoftwareSerial library allows for serial communication on any of the Mega2560's digital pins.

The ATmega2560 also supports I2C (TWI) and SPI communication. The Arduino software includes a Wire library to simplify use of the I2C bus; see the documentation on the Wiring website for details. For SPI communication, use the SPI library.

Programming

The Arduino Mega can be programmed with the Arduino software (download). For details, see the reference and tutorials.

The ATmega2560 on the Arduino Mega comes preburned with a bootloader that allows you to upload new code to it without the use of an external hardware programmer. It communicates using the original STK500 protocol (reference, C header files).

You can also bypass the bootloader and program the microcontroller through the ICSP (In-Circuit Serial Programming) header; see these instructions for details.

The ATmega8U2 firmware source code is available in the Arduino repository. The ATmega8U2 is loaded with a DFU bootloader, which can be activated by connecting the solder jumper on the back of the board (near the map of Italy) and then resetting the 8U2. You can then use Atmel's FLIP software (Windows) or the DFU programmer (Mac OS X and Linux) to load a new firmware. Or you can use the ISP header with an external programmer (overwriting the DFU bootloader). See this user-contributed tutorial for more information.

Automatic (Software) Reset

Rather then requiring a physical press of the reset button before an upload, the Arduino Mega2560 is designed in a way that allows it to be reset by software running on a connected computer. One of the hardware flow control lines (DTR) of the ATmega8U2 is connected to the reset line of the ATmega2560 via a 100 nanofarad capacitor. When this line is asserted (taken low), the reset line drops long enough to reset the chip. The Arduino software uses this capability to allow you to upload code by simply pressing the upload button in the Arduino environment. This means that the bootloader can have a shorter timeout, as the lowering of DTR can be well-coordinated with the start of the upload.

This setup has other implications. When the Mega2560 is connected to either a computer running Mac OS X or Linux, it resets each time a connection is made to it from software (via USB). For the following half-second or so, the bootloader is running on the Mega2560. While it is programmed to ignore malformed data (i.e. anything besides an upload of new code), it will intercept the first few bytes of data sent to the board after a connection is opened. If a sketch running on the board receives one-time configuration or other data when it first starts, make sure that the software with which it communicates waits a second after opening the connection and before sending this data.

The Mega2560 contains a trace that can be cut to disable the auto-reset. The pads on either side of the trace can be soldered together to re-enable it. It's labeled "RESET-EN". You may also be able to disable the auto-reset by connecting a 110 ohm resistor from 5V to the reset line; see this forum thread for details.

USB Overcurrent Protection

The Arduino Mega2560 has a resettable polyfuse that protects your computer's USB ports from shorts and overcurrent. Although most computers provide their own internal protection, the fuse provides an extra layer of protection. If more than 500 mA is applied to the USB port, the fuse will automatically break the connection until the short or overload is removed.

Physical Characteristics and Shield Compatibility

The maximum length and width of the Mega2560 PCB are 4 and 2.1 inches respectively, with the USB connector and power jack extending beyond the former dimension. Three screw holes allow the board to be attached to a surface or case. Note that the distance between digital pins 7 and 8 is 160 mil (0.16"), not an even multiple of the 100 mil spacing of the other pins.

The Mega2560 is designed to be compatible with most shields designed for the Uno, Diecimila or Duemilanove. Digital pins 0 to 13 (and the adjacent AREF and GND pins), analog inputs 0 to 5, the power header, and ICSP header are all in equivalent locations. Further the main UART (serial port) is located on the same pins (0 and 1), as are external interrupts 0 and 1 (pins 2 and 3 respectively). SPI is available through the ICSP header on both the Mega2560 and Duemilanove / Diecimila. Please note that I²C is not located on the same pins on the Mega (20 and 21) as the Duemilanove / Diecimila (analog inputs 4 and 5).

Google Announces Android Open Accessory Kit for Developers

I’ve never been an Apple fan. Sure, it works for some, but the closed approach has just never sat well with me. One thing that Apple does well, however, is accessory integration, and for years now, I’ve sat back as I’ve seen wave after wave of Apple-compatible home stereos, car stereos, boomboxes, toasters, and refrigerators come marching down the assembly line. Well, no more, fellow Android-users, as Google has announced the Android Open Accessory Development Kit (or ADK), available for developers who want to offer accessory integration for Android devices. Google’s demonstration at Google I/O today involved an exercise bike, so versatility is definitely on the menu for the ADK. Before you get too excited however, be aware that the service will be limited to Gingerbread 2.3.4 and Honeycomb 3.1, and right out of the gate it will be limited to USB with Bluetooth integration planned in the future. This latter part is great news as darn it all if I don’t want a Google Talk based Dick Tracy video watch. Full press release after the break!

The Android 3.1 platform (also backported to Android 2.3.4) introduces Android Open Accessory support, which allows external USB hardware (an Android USB accessory) to interact with an Android-powered device in a special “accessory” mode. When an Android-powered powered device is in accessory mode, the connected accessory acts as the USB host (powers the bus and enumerates devices) and the Android-powered device acts as the device. Android USB accessories are specifically designed to attach to Android-powered devices and adhere to a simple protocol (Android accessory protocol) that allows them to detect Android-powered devices that support accessory mode. Accessories must also provide 500mA at 5V for charging power. Many previously released Android-powered devices are only capable of acting as a USB device and cannot initiate connections with external USB devices. Android Open Accessory support overcomes this limitation and allows you to build accessories that can interact with an assortment of Android-powered devices by allowing the accessory initiate the connection.

Note: Accessory mode is ultimately dependent on the device’s hardware and not all devices will support accessory mode. Devices that support accessory mode can be filtered using a element in your corresponding application’s Android manifest. For more information, see the USB Accessory Developer Guide.

The Android Open Accessory Development Kit (ADK) provides an implementation of an Android USB accessory that is based on the Arduino open source electronics prototyping platform, the accessory’s hardware design files, code that implements the accessory’s firmware, and the Android application that interacts with the accessory. The hardware design files and code are contained in the ADK package download. You can buy the hardware components of the ADK if you do not already have them. The main hardware and software components of the ADK include:

• A USB micro-controller board that is based on the Arduino Mega2560 and Circuits@Home USB Host Shield designs (now referred to as the ADK board), which you will later implement as an Android USB accessory. The ADK board provides input and output pins that you can implement through the use of attachments called “shields.” Custom firmware, written in C++, is installed on the board to define the board’s functionality and interaction with the attached shield and Android-powered device. The hardware design files for the board are located in hardware/ directory.
• An Android Demo Shield (ADK shield) that affixes atop the ADK board implements the input and output points on the board. These implementations include a joystick, LED outputs, and temperature and light sensors. You can create or buy your own shields or wire your own features to the ADK board to implement custom functionality. The hardware design files for the shield are located in hardware/.
• A library based on the Arduino USB Host Shield library provides the logic for the USB micro-controller board to act as a USB Host. This allows the board to initiate transactions with USB devices. Describing how to use this entire library is out of the scope of this document. Where needed, this document points out important interactions with the library. For more information, see the source code for the Arduino USB Host Shield library in thefirmware/arduino_libs/USB_Host_Shield directory.
• An Arduino sketch, firmware/demokit/demokit.pde, defines the firmware that runs on the ADK board and is written in C++. The sketch calls the Android accessory protocol library to interact with the Android-powered device. It also sends data from the ADK board and shield to the Android application and receives data from the Android application and outputs it to the ADK board and shield.
• The Android accessory protocol library, which is located in thefirmware/arduino_libs/AndroidAccessory directory. This library defines how to enumerate the bus, find a connected Android-powered device that supports accessory mode, and how to setup communication with the device.
• Other third party libraries to support the ADK board’s functionality:
  • CapSense library
  • I2C / TWI (Two-Wire Interface) library
  • Servo library
  • Spi library
  • Wire library

An Android application, DemoKit, that communicates with the ADK board and shield. The source for this project is in the app/ directory.

Google Chromebook - the computer for people who hate computers

In the decade or so that the web has been in the public consciousness, it has revolutionised a host of everyday tasks – from finding out basic facts via Google to watching that BBC programme you might have missed, and there has been a conspicuous and at times violent revolution in the music business, the book trade and the media. Yet computers themselves haven’t been affected much.

Yesterday, Google set out to change that. In a radical new vision, the world’s most important technology company set out its contempt for computing as we know it. Why, Google asked, do computers so often ask meaningless questions of their users? Why does it take an age for a PC to boot up? Why, when the web is often our first port of call, do we need to click on an icon to get it going? Why, in short, is a computer a barrier when it should be a tool?

This is the same problem Apple is grappling with – Steve Jobs, its co-founder, has spoken at length of the “Post-PC” age, and the iPad’s instant access to apps and the web has been a great selling point. Neither Google nor Apple has said so explicitly, but the implication is clear: Microsoft’s Windows has not done the job. So long as computers are for geeks, they’re on the wrong track.

So Google has finally announced computers for people who don’t like computers. Where the traditional IT press will condemn such devices for lacking the bits and bytes and gigahertz of their contemporaries, Google has its sights set firmly on the mass market. Chrome OS, an operating system based on the web browser now used by 160 million people, aims to eradicate the need for “the IT department”.

This may all sound too good to be true – we’ve all become so used to new pieces of software coming out every so often. Each new PC sold is, in part, a vehicle to get users to upgrade to new software.

So what is Chrome OS, practically? It starts in about seven seconds; a good device, such as the Samsung model unveiled yesterday, will have 10 hours of battery life; every time you turn it on, the software will check online to see if there are updates, and it will always boot up with the latest version. If there’s a catastrophic failure, for whatever reason, it will simply reinstall itself. Any documents are backed up online - in the "cloud" - and restored from the web. Speed, simplicity and security – the magic sibilance that many users have wanted from technology.

The obvious criticism, of course, is that not everybody is online all the time. When Chrome OS is not connected to the web, the whole concept is hobbled. Google argues that as more developers get involved, that problem will solve itself. And anyway, infrastructure is improving all the time. Some apps, such as that of the New York Times, show that Google Chrome can be configured to work anywhere, anytime. But that remains, for most, the future. Anyway, a Google YouGov survey found that 57 per cent of those questioned were online for at least half of the time they were using a computer.

Perhaps a greater problem is the fact that Chrome OS is not merely optimised for users who want only to go online; it is pure internet all the way. There’s no option to minimise the browser to see a traditional desktop. It needs, in short, its users to be educated. Less of that will be necessary for those simply switching from Microsoft Word to Google Docs – but even basic photo editing online is unnatural for a photography fan with an attachment to Photoshop.

Chrome laptops – Chromebooks – will be available from mid-June across Europe and in America. If they’re priced right, at around £300, for example, makers Samsung and Acer will be able to cash in both on people’s awareness that the future of technology is already out there and on their scepticism over whether tablets, without a keyboard, will ever be enough. While laptops and “netbooks” running software other than Windows have, in the past, been crushed by Microsoft, if anyone can do it, it’s Google. Chrome promises a world of computers that are easier, better and invisible, backed by one of the richest companies in the world.

On Tuesday, Google announced a movie rentals service, a way to store music online, and even lightbulbs that can be controlled from a laptop. All that sounds impressive – but with yesterday’s Chrome OS announcements the company took an enormous bet on wooing users who work with computers but wish they didn’t have to. Certainly, if it ends the days of phoning “IT” to connect to a new printer, Google will win a legion of fans. But will it really make computing effortless, when Apple, Microsoft and others say they all wish the same?

If every office worker or consumer takes up arms against the stroppy, counter-intuitive, bloody-minded software, the answer may just be yes. Google argues that the status quo need no longer exist, and that users should be in charge.

Price List & Reviews for Most Popular Phones

Our mega mobile phone price list gives you a "one-stop solution" to find out and compare prices of the latest mobile phones from Nokia, Samsung, HTC, Motorola, Apple, LG, Sony Ericsson and Blackberry. The prices in the table below are for legitimate (non-grey market) mobile phones with proper one year warranty and bill.

All of the significant branded mobile phone models currently available in the market, priced around the Rs. 5k mark or above are in the list. Out-of-production models and products withdrawn from India are not listed below, since you cannot buy them at stores.

You can click on the price link of every phone to get re-directed to the site where the product is listed at a price we thought was the lowest. For more information on these phones, you can click on the "Read Full Review" link to read more about the phone, buying advice and view the PCW rating it received.

Alternatively, we have covered some of the phones in other manners including videos, news and head-to-head comparisons - you can click on the "Read More" link to find out more about the phone's details.

Nokia

Phone Model	Price (Rs.)	PCW Info Link
Nokia E7	27,690	Read Review
Nokia C3-01	8,075	Read Preview
Nokia C6-01	15,645	Read Preview
Nokia C2-01	3,849	Read More
Nokia X2-01	3,745	Read More
Nokia C5-03	9,190
Nokia X3-02	7,590	Read More
Nokia X5-01	8,990	Read Full Review
Nokia X2	4,790	Read More
Nokia N8	21,490	Read Full Review
Nokia C7	16,440	Read Full Review
Nokia E72	14,790	Read Full Review
Nokia E5	8,990	Read Full Review
Nokia E63	7,790	Read Full Review
Nokia E52 Navi	10,610	Read Full Review
Nokia C6-00	12,290	Read Full Review
Nokia C3	5,690	Read More
Nokia C5	7,190	Read More
Nokia X6 16GB	15,290	Read Full Review
Nokia 5233	5,975	Read Full Review

Samsung

Phone Model	Price (Rs.)	PCW Info Link
Samsung Google Nexus S	25,499	Read More
Samsung i9003 Galaxy S	18,990
Samsung S5670 Galaxy Fit	9,990	Read More
Samsung S5570 Galaxy Pop	8,645	Read More
Samsung S5830 Galaxy Ace	14,490	Read More
Samsung Galaxy 551 I5510	9,399	Read More
Samsung S8530 Wave II	15,000	Read Full Review
Samsung Galaxy Tab	23,890	Read Review
Samsung Galaxy 3	11,290	Read Full Review
Samsung Wave 723 S7233	10,275	Read More
Samsung Wave 525 S5253	6,890	Read More
Samsung Wave 533 S5330	7,990	Read More
Samsung Omnia652 B6520	7,999	Read More
Samsung Star Duos B7722	10,250	Read More
Samsung Monte S5620	7,690	Read Full Review

Sony Ericsson

Phone Model	Price (Rs.)	PCW Info Link
Sony Ericsson Xperia Play	29,999	Read More
Sony Ericsson Yendo	4,990	Read More
Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc	26,690	Read More
Sony Ericsson Xperia X8	11,990	Read Full Review
Sony Ericsson X10 Mini Pro	12,990	Read Full Review
Sony Ericsson X10 Mini	8,990	Read Full Review
Sony Ericsson Cedar	4,725	Read Full Review
Sony Ericsson Spiro	4,075	Read Full Review
Sony Ericsson Elm	7,620
Sony Ericsson Zylo	6,945	Read More
Sony Ericsson Aspen	10,490	Read Full Review
Sony Ericsson Vivaz Pro	19,790	Read Full Review

HTC

Phone Model	Price (Rs.)	PCW Info Link
HTC Incredible S	26,399	Read More
HTC Desire S	23,129	Read More
HTC HD7	28,290	Read Full Review
HTC Desire Z	24,835	Read Review
HTC Desire HD	25,199	Read Preview
HTC Desire	21,999	Read Review
HTC Wildfire	11,499	Read Full Review

LG

Phone Model	Price (Rs.)	PCW Info Link
LG Optimus One P500	10,299	Read Review
LG Cookie Snap	7,984
LG GT540 Optimus	7,590	Read Full Review
LG Cookie Zip	6,966	Read More
LG Cookie Fresh	5,650	Read Full Review
LG GX500	9,500

Motorola

Phone Model	Price (Rs.)	PCW Info Link
Motorola Defy	17,189	Read Full Review
Motorola Quench XT5	12,674	Read Full Review
Motorola Quench XT3	11,772	Read More
Motorola Charm	8,999	Read More
Motorola EX115 Starling	4,690	Read More
Motorola FlipOut	14,478	Read Full Review
Motorola BackFlip	17,633	Read More
Motorola Milestone XT720	25,299	Read More
Motorola Milestone	19,990	Read Full Review

Blackberry

Phone Model	Price (Rs.)	PCW Info Link
Blackberry Torch 9800	28,690	Read Full Review
Blackberry Bold 9780	25,185	Read More
Blackberry Curve 3G 9300	14,009
Blackberry Pearl 3G 9100	14,990	Read More
Blackberry Pearl 3G 9105	11,796
Blackberry Bold 9700	22,594	Read Full Review
Blackberry Curve 8520	9,599	Read Full Review

Apple

Phone Model	Price (Rs.)	PCW Info Link
Apple iPhone 3GS 32GB	40,599	Read Full Review
Apple iPhone 3GS 16GB	34,599	Read Full Review

Dell

Phone Model	Price (Rs.)	PCW Info Link
Dell Venue	25,990	Read Full Review
Dell Venue Pro	28,790	Read More
Dell XCD28	5,990	Read More
Dell XCD35	10,690	Read More
Dell Streak	23,990	Read Full Review

Acer

Phone Model	Price (Rs.)	PCW Info Link
Acer Liquid Metal	19,712	Read Full Review
Acer Ferrari Edition Liquid E	25,399	Read More
Acer beTouch E130	12,899
Acer Liquid S100	18,899	Read Full Review

Prices of the products above are indicative only, as observed at online mobile stores such as Adexmart.com, Flipkart.com and UniverCell.in and PCW will endeavor to keep the prices current. Univercell.in is a well-known mobile phone retailer, with a strong online presence. In our quest of finding prices, we also discovered FlipKart.com, a website that started as a specialist of selling books and music online. FlipKart surprised us with its listing of latest mobile phones with the most competitive pricing. Adexmart is a new site that might not have the largest number of phones or brands but definitely has one of the lowest prices on the Net. You can buy these phones (offline) from brick-and-mortar stores, and also from univercell.in, adexmart.com or flipkart.com online.

What is Android@Home? The Future of Android

The future of the Google Android operating system lies in a technology called Android@Home, a system for tying together home devices via Google-authored protocols and APIs.

Google announced the platform in a keynote address on Monday at Google I/O, where the company opened the conference by announcing a new version of Honeycomb, its next-generation "Ice Cream Sandwich" release, as well as movies, music, and Android accessories.

To date, Android has existed as an operating system for phones, and most recently, tablets. The upcoming "Ice Cream Sandwich" release, due in the fourth quarter, will serve as a unifying release for both the tablet and the phone. Google hasn't said what OS Android@Home will use.

Android@Home, by contrast, will connect a user's Android device to other appliances in the home via a suite of new services that will be released at an undisclosed future time. Examples of this include "Project Tungsten," a wireless speaker system that can be synced via Android, as well as wireless light switches and other appliances. Lighting Science was also named as a partner, and will launch wireless lighting products to support Android@Home.

"We want to think of every device in your home as a connection to Android apps," said Hugo Barra, product management director for Google, in the keynote.

What is Android@Home?

According to Eric Holland, vice president of electrical engineering at Lighting Science, Android@Home will use a new version of a wireless network developed by Google. It will eventually be open sourced, Holland added.

"Google reached out to us, but we were already working on something similar," Holland said. Wireless Science plans five products, including internal lamps and external lighting fixtures that use the technology. They will ship by the end of the year, Holland said.

The network is similar to that used by ZigBee, a low-power wireless network used for short-range home automation. However, the network will be designed to allow for enough bandwidth to transfer video, Holland said. "One of the fixtures we're going to show off next week [at Lightfair, the North American commercial lighting show] will be an external [lighting] fixture with a security camera attached," Holland said.

The network itself will consume "negligible power," compared to the 12 watts of power a typical lamp consumes, Holland said. It will also be low cost, said Joe Britt, Google's engineering director.

Google may also apply Android@Home to smart-grid applications, Britt added.

Project Tungsten

Project Tungsten, by contrast, appears to push the Android@Home network a bit further. A Tungsten device runs the Android OS as well as an Android@Home framework. In the example, Google showed it connected to a home stereo system speakers. Google executives showed Google Music running on the speakers, and said it could be synchronized throughout the home—a shot at the high-end Sonos audio system.

Google executives also showed a CD with an NFC label that could be touched to an Android@Home system. When it connected, the music was added to the library. When touched again, the music started playing. Executives said users should hear more about Android@Home in the next couple of months.

In its present form, Tungsten looks like it will impact Sonos, the wireless speaker system that syncs music across various rooms in a user's house. Although Sonos has released cheaper versions of its hardware, the company is often perceived as a high-margin vendor of audio products—a market into which Google can apparently move. And it wouldn't be the first time; revenue and sales at GPS/PND vendors has declined since Google announced its Google Maps Navigation app in late 2009.

Sonos representatives were not available to comment.

"At Home is going to be huge," said Richard Shim, a mobile analyst for DisplaySearch. "I think it's something that's very ambitious. It's what I like to call the next level. Everyone now has this synchronization of data, where you put it in one place with multiple devices. The next step is controlling these different devices, and no one has been able to crack that nut."

On the surface, Android@Home doesn't seem that new; technologies like DLNA have tried to integrate home appliances via a home network for years, with middling success. According to Shim, however, DLNA companies designed the protocols and integrated the technology on the appliance side, leaving client software and devices to integrate as they chose. Android@Home will provide a unified client as well as the protocol, taking the opposite approach.

"Now it's up to the appliance side to pick it up," Shim said.

Will Apple iPad 3 Have a 3D Display?

According to rumors, the iPad 3 from Apple will sport a 3D display. The wireless communications industry news website RCR Unplugged was informed about this by a Hollywood insider. The source also stated that big movie studios are already sending 3D films to be synchronized with the iPad 3.

Apple was granted patent to a glasses-free 3D projection in December last year, so this is not so much of a surprise. Apple s OEM manufacturer, Taiwanese company Foxconn, has also been talking about Apple s plans for a 3D-enabled iPad and this further adds credence to the speculations.

A 3D iPad would possibly compete with the Nintendo 3DS, which also has a glasses-free 3D display. But there is a wider scope for content on the 3D iPad, which would tip the balance in its favor. We will find out when the iPad 3 is launched in the near future.

$25 Computer to Entice Kids into Programming

Game developer David Braben's PC on a USB stick to include HDMI and run Linux in 1080p

With the actual cost estimated at around $200, the One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) project may be nowhere near its $100 target. However, game developer David Braben's (of Transport Tycoon and Kinectimals fame) endeavour, the Raspberry Pi Foundation, aims to achieve much more at a fraction of the OLPC's cost by deploying its ULPC (Ultra Low-cost PC) for $25.

The specifications are impressive despite the unbelievably low price. What looks like a naked USB stick actually holds a 700 MHz ARM11 processor mated to 128MB of SDRAM. The yet unnamed ULPC may not match up to current-gen cutting edge tablets and smartphones with 1GHz dual-core processors, but to put things in perspective, the iPhone 3G was outfitted with a 412MHz version of the same ARM11 CPU. The very spartan product website fails to mention the fact that the ULPC includes Wi-Fi connectivity and web browser, as confirmed by Braben through a tweet.

No details available on the GPU, but the ultra low-cost PC supports OpenGL ES 2.0 standard, capable of delivering 1080p video through the attached HDMI port. An HDMI port may sound counter-intuitive, considering the PC will inevitably be targeted at developing countries, but it makes sense from a design perspective as adding an analogue video interface requires a bulky and costly digital to analogue conversion chipset.

The pint size computer also features a USB 2.0 port that can be used to hook up keyboards, mice, and other peripherals through an external powered USB hub. Storage is addressed with cheap and ubiquitous flash-based SD memory, accessible through the attached SD card slot. Early prototype images hint at expansion in the form of additional modules that can be attached through a ZIF (Zero Insertion Force) connector, such as the camera module visible in these snaps.

The Raspberry Pi is capable of running Linux, which should help keep costs low and make it versatile enough to handle word processing, video, and web browsing. However, going by Braben's statements, his ULPC may not be a rival to the OLPC project. The usual approach to computers in education has followed the ICT format that trains kids in superficial computer applications such as word processing, presentations, and basic computer operational skills. In contrast, with the Raspberry Pi's predilection towards Linux, Braben wants kids to delve deeper into programming and computer science. In a nutshell, learning how stuff works, rather than just learning how to work stuff.

This philosophy is further bolstered in a possible application postulated by Braben in a YouTube interview: "In theory, they could be given away to the child, with other ways of funding it. What they would do with it is, they would be able to engage in a lot of things that we're all consumers of but not actually creators of: understanding how you put together little scripts that might run websites, that might look at things like Facebook and Twitter, also email." It seems that Braben fully intends to venture a step further than the OLPC.