IBLOG SPACE

At first glance, the Motorola MOTONAV TN765t PND should be perfect. Huge, 5.1-inch touchscreen, voice recognition, Bluetooth, text-to-speech and lane guidance, along with a lifetime traffic subscription and the ability to access Bing searches and other online content via your cellphone. Unfortunately, as GPS Tracklog’s review reveals, it seems Motorola may have spent too much time on the slick UI and not enough getting the basics right. Video demo after the cut Despite the huge screen, Motorola don’t seem to allow you to have all the usual information displayed at once: you can only see ETA or current speed, for instance, not both. Motorola have also used a two-panel layout, with mapping on the right and different contextual panes on the left, and navigating through the latter is apparently trickier than it ought to be. Throw in the fact that voice-searches are sluggish to respond and you’re looking at a PND that’s not quite everything it should be. There are some strengths: decen

Standby for some disappointment. The LG GW990 smartphone – based on Intel’s upcoming Moorestown platform and running Moblin – is apparently no longer headed to the market. According to phoneArena’s sources at LG, the GW990 was only ever intended as a concept, and as such won’t be launched in the second half of this year as previously believed. The GW990 was rolled out in January this year, and was used by Intel to demonstrate both their hardware and software plans. Moorestown will be the next generation of Atom processors, now frugal enough, the chip company reckons, to power a smartphone and still manage to get through the day. As for Moblin, that’s since been subsumed into the MeeGo collaboration with Nokia, and it’s unclear what exactly the first device running the open-source OS will be. The GW990 had a tempting 4.8-inch 1024 x 480 touchscreen, 5-megapixel camera, WiFI and A-GPS, along with a digital compass and 3D gaming capabilities.

In an open letter published to Apple’s site today, Steve Jobs has taken a hatchet to Adobe over Flash and their attitude toward Apple recently. Outlining the six reasons he believes Flash is not best suited to mobile devices, Jobs describes the technology as “created during the PC era – for PCs and mice,” and as falling short when it comes to “low power devices, touch interfaces and open web standards.” Meanwhile the “avalanche” of streaming media using HTML5 – an avalanche Apple have pushed for with their continued refusal to countenance Flash on the iPhone and other devices – means, Jobs says, that “Flash is no longer necessary to watch video or consume any kind of web content.” He ends by suggesting that “perhaps Adobe should focus more on creating great HTML5 tools for the future, and less on criticizing Apple for leaving the past behind.” The letter ironically coincides with a new beta release of Flash Player for Mac, which takes advantage of OS X’s new GPU hardware acceleratio

Intel already has several ultra-low voltage or ULV processors on the market in different ranges. The ULV processor is an important part of the mobile computer world thanks to the power savings offered that allows for longer battery life. The downside to ULV processors is that they tend to offer less performance than normal counterparts do. Some have been disappointed with Intel ULV processors on the market right now. Intel is said to be getting a new ULV processor ready that should hit market this year. The new CPU will be a ULV Core i7 part with a 1.4GHz clock speed. The CPU is said to be the Core i7-680UM and it is expected to be a quad-core part with 4MB of cache. Pricing isn’t mentioned and we don’t know exactly when the CPU will land.

Most of us are familiar with TomTom. The company is an international firm that is huge in the GPS and PND market around the world. The company is looking to follow other companies like Google and Apple into one of the most lucrative markets for portable devices — apps. Pocket-Lint reports that TomTom is set to launch an app store this year, but executives declined to say exactly when the app store would land. The move to apps will use the recently unveiled webkit platform and let TomTom offer its GPS expertise in places other than its GPS devices. One interesting possibility from the app store announcement is that TomTom might be working on an augmented reality app. However, company executives stated that augmented reality is not a major objective. How cool would it be for a GPS device to have its own internal camera to show the real world on the screen and augment that with common navigation themes.

I think that most people who listen to music on their iPod, notebook, or netbook will agree that most devices lack seriously in the bass department. Notebooks and netbooks are often worse than the iPod and other MP3 players. DigiZoid has a new device called the zo personal subwoofer that promises to redefine personal music listening. The gadget is about the size of an iPod nano and promises to give the sort of bass you would normally get from a 12-inch subwoofer. That is a bit hard to believe. The gadget connects to your media player or other device using the headphone jack and a supplied mini-stereo cable. The user then plugs their headphones into the output on the zo for improved sound. The zo gets power from an internal rechargeable battery. If you are intrigued, you can get your own zo for $99 right now.

More and more cars offer integrated Bluetooth from the factory, but absolutely none offer an integrated Juha Kankkunen. The four-time World Rally Champion isn't even an option at any manufacturer that we know of, but regardless of make and model you can add a little Bluetooth integration with Nokia's CarKit CK-200 . It's a display that sits on your dashboard and connects to two Bluetooth devices simultaneously, and through the wireless controller that clips onto your steering wheel (at right above) you can navigate contacts, make calls, and even scroll through text messages. We're not so sure about the texting part, but it should be a great way to enable hands-free calling from one device and Bluetooth music streaming from another at the same time, if that's your thing. Not sold? The video after the break of Kankkunen doing his thing in a rally-prepped VW while taking calls will make you a convert. You know what they say: if it's good enough for Juha, it's g

Yo TomTom, wake up and smell the competition. While the original gangster of navigation devices is still mulling over an app store, Nokia has raised the smartphone pathfinding bar a little higher by letting people record (and share) their own voice instructions. It's not the most complex process in the world, you just get the extra Own Voice app to go with the latest version of Ovi Maps and set your vocal talents free. At the end you'll get a neat little voice pack to utilize on your handset or to share with the world, which is surely just dying to hear your Mr. T impressions. Let the silliness commence!

We knew there had to be a catch with the Novatel MiFi 3G routers -- they were just too convenient. But, little did we know that catch involved danger to our health and wellbeing! Bell Mobility has been sending couriers around (real people holding envelopes, not unicorns) to owners of the Novatel MiFi 2372, delivering dire-sounding letters (a copy can be found after the break) telling them to discontinue use of their routers due to faulty battery packs and, if that wasn't enough, they were all remotely deactivated yesterday morning. Owners are told to send their MiFis back to the company for replacement, a process said to take a whopping six to eight weeks. Novatel is sending U998 Turbo Sticks to those affected for use in the interim, but that doesn't do you much good if your device lacks USB ports, like our unfortunate tipster's iPad. We can understand the frustration of giving up your gadget for two months, the alternative doesn't sound too appealing either.

You might not be aware of this but the official Chinese iPhone offered by China Unicom since October 2009doesn't include WiFi -- part of the reason for a continued Chinese grey market for iPhones sourced from neighboring countries. Now we're seeing a China-approved 3G / GSM / Bluetooth device from Apple capable of using China's homegrown WAPI (WLAN Authentication and Privacy Infrastructure) protocol. The new device will join Dell's Mini 3i as one of a few foreign handsets to feature the Chinese national standard for WLAN. See the 26 April approved regulatory filing after the break. Update : The reference to "A1303" in the chinese language filing means this is likely a WAPI version of the iPhone 3GS, not a 4th gen device.

Hey, CLIQ , better check that rear-view mirror, because you've got an interesting competitor coming right up on your tail. T-Mobile is launching another midrange Android QWERTY slider -- some might argue the G1's true successor -- christened the myTouch 3G Slide (not quite the "myTouch Slide" we've been hearing for a few months) with a 3.4-inch HVGA display, 5 megapixel camera, and a pretty heavily-customized skin based onAndroid 2.1. How custom are we talking, exactly? Well, it's not quite like anything we've seen on a production Android device before, featuring a host of custom apps including the "Faves Gallery," a social aggregator for your most dearly beloved contacts; "myModes," a profile manager that can change the phone's themes and settings based on time or location; the Swype keyboard in place of Google's option; and the so-called "Genius Button," which seeks to extend Android's already decent voice comman

Regardless of market segment, touch is all the rage these days, which means it's difficult for carriers to ignore it -- even in the cheapest corners of its product range. Word on the street is that Sprint will be shoring up its ultra-cheap touch offerings next month with the introduction of the Samsung Seek, a 2.6-inch QVGA piece with a meager 1.3 megapixel cam, microSD memory expansion, and not bloody much else. Color choices will be "Scarlet," "Cool Blue," and -- later on, if you want to hold out for the special edition -- "Fantasy Pink." This is all hearsay at this point, but the phone seems real enough with the FCC passage of a phone bearing the same model number a few months back, and we're hearing talk of a blockbuster $30 contract price -- not bad for a phone that almost looks mid- to high-end if you squint and forget the spec sheet for a moment.

Wherever the Pre goes, the Pixi typically likes to follow, which makes it pretty interesting to see that Vodafone Spain will be launching Palm's new GSM flavor of the Pixi Plus on the 10th of this month without any sign of itsPre Plus sibling. That's a marked departure from the line Vodafone and O2 have both been taking in other markets, so it makes you wonder: does Vodafone think that the Pre Plus won't sell well here (it already offers the Pre), is there some firmware issue holding back the localized version, or is there some other mysterious conspiracy brewing altogether?

Well, this hasn't exactly followed the usual smartphone launch route, but LG has now officially confirmed the existence of its new Android-powered LG Ally handset, although it's still not doing much talking about the phone itself. It has, however, revealed that the phone will be available on May 20th (presumably on Verizon, though LG oddly doesn't mention a carrier in its press release), and that it will naturally feature plenty of Iron Man 2 tie-in content, including an augmented reality application of some sort. Otherwise, LG is only saying that the phone will have a touchscreen and a full QWERTY keypad, and it's pointing folks towards an Iron Man 2 tie-in site (linked below) that, last we checked, still says to check back on April 30th. We should be getting some more details on the phone soon enough, however, as LG is holding an event in New York on May 11th where it will be showing off the Ally and other "Stark-worthy" technology.

Ryan Frawley still has a fair bit of work ahead of him, but his Wii Controller Demo app for Android sure holds an awful lot of promise. Available now for no charge (though a $1 paid version is available for those who dig his work), this here software allows Android users to create a Bluetooth link between their Wii remote and handset, and then log input information on the mobile's display. As of now, there's not a whole lot of value outside of Wiimote troubleshooting, but it's a few lines of code away from being able to act as a controller for gaming. Just think -- a Wiimote, your Android phone, an emulator, an HDMI output and four other nerds surrounding your television. Needless to say, we'll be keeping a close eye out for updates coming to this one.

Status Under Production Color C Release Date August 6, 2010 Language Hindi Genre Social Shooting Locations (City & Country) Australia Producer Mahesh Bhatt Director Mohit Suri Star Cast Emraan Hashmi Neha Sharma Music Director Pritam Chakraborty CHECK OUT MORE ABOUT Crook: it's good to be bad Here

Banner Venus Records & Tapes SRK Entertainment & Movies Pvt. Ltd Status Completed Color C Release Date May 14, 2010 Language Hindi Genre Director T K Rajeev Kumar Star Cast Rajpal Yadav Khali (1) Nargis Sharat Saxena Asrani Manoj Joshi Om Puri Cassettes and CD's on Venus Records & Tapes Lyricist Sameer Music Director Tauseef Akhtar Srinivas K. Cinematography Madhu Neelakantan Choreography Pony Verma Action B Thyagarajan Art Prasanth Madhav Editor B Ajith Kumar Screenplay T K Rajeev Kumar Sound Ajith A George Dialogue Manisha Korde CHECK OUT MORE ABOUT Kushti Here

MRUC and Hansa Research have released the IRS 2010 Q1 results. From this year, IRS has moved to quarterly reporting. The IRS report will be released quarterly on moving annual total (i.e annual sample). Hansa expects this to help publishers assess the performance of their new publication / edition launches three to six months early as compared to six monthly reporting. There are no big surprises in the top three pecking order in the top three for English dailies, Hindi dailies and regional dailies. Times of India , Dainik Jagran and Lokmat continue to lead the pack. View chart below. ( Note: All figures in thousands. )

KFC has rolled out a new campaign to push the ‘unique taste’ of chicken that gets made inside a KFC restaurant. "While Indian people love the taste of KFC chicken, hardly anybody knows that this taste comes from Colonel Sanders' recipe that has remained a secret for over 70 years. That, and the care and love with which this chicken gets made inside a KFC restaurant is what we want to convey in a simplistic fashion through the TVC," said Sohini Pani, business head, Ogilvy & Mather. "From a business perspective, the communication was supposed to cut across age groups and make the brand more inclusive." WATCH TVC here The creative concept of the campaign revolves around the secret recipe of KFC that cannot be revealed. "At, KFC Colonel Sanders' secret recipe of 11 herbs and spices is closely guarded. In the campaign, we never see the face of the chef because we do not want to give him away. The jars with the secret recipe are kept in a hi-

Zapak Digital Entertainment has appointed of Sanjay Vasudeva to head its national ad sales. Prior to this, Vasudeva was with Times Internet for five years as associate vice president – digital sales. He has a total experience of 20 years with 13 years dedicated to the media and digital space. Prior to Times Internet Limited he was with Navbharat, ABP, GE, Apollo Tyres and Parle. Vasudeva will overlook the revenue generation function for Zapak and will be responsible for the profits at the national level. "With his extensive experience in digital sales segment, Sanjay will now lead the team to deliver profitable revenue growth at national level. He is energetic, and has motivated large teams in the past towards excellence. We are confident and happy to have him in our team," said Arun Mehra, chief operating officer, Zapak Digital Entertainment. Commenting on his appointment, Vasudeva said, "I am delighted to take on the role of national sales head for Zapak.

Red FM, Lintas Media Group and Maruti Suzuki recently came together to relaunch the ‘improved’ Wagon R through a media innovation that saw the FM station turn blue for an entire day on April 23. All this to celebrate the brand new features of the Wagon R, such as its blue eye shaped headlights, taller body amongst others features. Everything from the station jingle and bumpers to the RJ's sign off was modified to incorporate the Wagon R’s features. Two days before the relaunch, a teaser campaign to search for the new "blue eyed boy in town" was kicked off on all 20 Red FM stations in the cities of Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Bengaluru, Chennai, Pune, Nagpur, Jaipur, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Cochin, Bhopal, Lucknow, Kanpur, Guwahati, Bhubaneswar, Vijaywada, Vizag, Coimbatore and Baroda. Red FM RJs led the hunt by enlisting the help of listeners in tracking down this elusive character by going out on the streets to look for "him" and share some clues about

Moneycontrol.com, has launched its Hindi edition, titled www.hindimoneycontrol.com , which aims to gives access to the right kind of tools, information and expert advice to investors - all in Hindi. Through www.hindimoneycontrol.com , users will be able to get access to real time updates on stock prices and various indices, up to-date information and latest news about all listed companies, management interviews, corporate results and analysis, a wealth of information, tools and knowledge about personal finance and much more. Commenting on the launch, Joyson Thomas, COO, Web18 said, "For the past 10 years Moneycontrol.com (English) has been providing investors with tools, information and expert advice to help make the right choices while navigating through thousands of investment options. We believe there are millions people, with an interest in stocks and other asset classes, who could benefit from the comfort of accessing crucial financial information in Hindi, which

Terra, the rural marketing agency of Mudra MAX has added the media - rural activation mandate for Glucon D to its portfolio. The account will be handled out of its Mumbai office. On choosing Terra as Glucon D's rural activation agency, Sundip Shah, VP - marketing - Heinz India said, "We are happy to have Terra on board as our rural activation agency for Glucon-D. Glucon-D touches the lives of around 40 million households in India. It is our endeavour to reach, involve and engage more and more consumers in order to make Glucon-D relevant to them. Terra with its experience and expertise in rural communication will help us achieve to this goal. With this association, we hope to build a personal connect with our consumers who make Glucon-D a part of their everyday life. We are excited and are looking forward to our association with Terra." Commenting on the win, Ajay Sundaram, senior VP - Terra said, "It is a matter of great pride to be associated with an i

Mumbai Volkswagen has launched its campaign in India for the much awaited Polo, a car with a price starting at Rs 4.5 lakh, that is expected to heat up competition in a segment seeing much action lately between players such Maruti Swift, Ford Figo, Honda Jazz, Fiat Punto and Hyundai i20. The campaign created by DDB Mudra and executed by MediaCom, aims to dispel any skepticism about German engineering's efficacy on Indian roads with the 'Made in India' promise. Volkswagen manufactures the Polo in India from its factory at Chakan, near Pune. Speaking to Campaign India , Lutz Kothe, chief general manager - marketing and PR, Volkswagen India said, "The big thought that we're trying to communicate through this campaign is the fact that the Volkswagen Polo is 'Made in India'. Not many global brands are able to incorporate India into their local campaigns here, but Volkswagen always thinks global, acts local. We

Mumbai What you're about to see, is what we'd like to call the new definition of foot tapping music. Do not believe all of it, but the temptation to believe into some of it is enough to bowl you over. Begin your Monday morning with a dose of awesomeness.

Mumbai WPP has reported revenues of £2.078 billion for the first quarter of 2010, down just under 2% from last year. On a like-for-like basis, excluding the impact of acquisitions and currency fluctuations, revenues were flat with last year. The Group states that revenues have stabilised following declines of 5.8% in the same quarter last year and 7.2% in the last quarter of last year and over 8% last year. The first quarter saw sequential improvements each month, with March up 1%, the first monthly revenue growth for 14 months since December 2008. The Group’s two biggest markets in Asia, Mainland China and India showed combined growth of over 5%. The company says 2010 started in a very different way to how 2009 ended. Terming 2009 as certainly “less-worse”, it stated that the start to 2010 indicates a change in client attitudes. WPP says that in 2009 the economic pressure was most acute in the United States, with the United Kingdom less affected than Western Con

Mumbai Spikes Asia has announced two of its jury presidents for 2010. David Lubars, chairman and chief creative officer of BBDO North America will chair the TV/Cinema, Print, Outdoor and Radio jury as well as the Integrated jury. Bob Greenberg, chairman, CEO and global chief creative Officer of R/GA will head the Design jury. “Both David and Bob are creative futurists whose ground-breaking work and multiple accolades across all disciplines are much admired by all and an inspiration to all. We are truly honoured to have them onboard for Spikes,” said Terry Savage, chairman of Cannes Lions who with Haymarket are joint organisers of the Festival. Lubars has overseen BBDO’s transformation into a dominant creative force in the U.S., which has created extraordinary work in digital such as its “HBO Voyeur” and “Imagination Cube” platforms and the Starbucks “Love Project”. BBDO North America was the most awarded in the U.S. last year (Big Won), and the most awarded in t