IBLOG SPACE

"We're number two" might not be the chant everyone's after, but we have a feeling that Google is more than satisfied with that in this case... for now. According to market research firm NPD, Google's Android operating system edged up into second place in the US smartphone market during the first quarter of the year, leaving it still well behind RIM's BlackBerry OS, but marking the first time that it has moved ahead of Apple's iPhone OS. Specifically, NPD found that RIM maintained a strong 36 percent market share for the quarter, with Android coming in at 28 percent, and iPhone OS in third at 21 percent. The growth for Android was attributed largely to strong carrier support -- like Verizon's buy-one-get-one free offer which, incidentally, also helped Verizon maintain a 30 percent smartphone market share, which is just slightly behind AT&T at 32 percent, and ahead of T-Mobile and Sprint at 17 and 15 percent, respectively.

Nintendo have announced their latest quarterly financial results [PDF link], and it proved a disappointing period for both Wii and DSi sales. Wii demand plummeted, falling 21-percent from the same period a year ago, while DSi sales dropped 13-percent. The company has blamed poor flagship Wii game title releases for middling demand for the console, and are looking to the new 3D-capable Nintendo 3DS to salve further handheld shortfalls. Business performance overall was, Nintendo say, impacted by a strong yen and a price reduction on Wii hardware. Still, overseas sales accounted for 84.1-percent of the company’s 1,434.3 billion yen net sales, with net income of 228.6 billion yen.

Lenovo’s Skylight smartbook launch delay was rumored to be so that the company could rework the software and make it more competitive against the iPad; according to ARM, that reworking could predominantly be happening in Adobe’s labs. The company’s VP of marketing, Ian Drew,told ZDNet that smartbooks had “stalled” because of Adobe’s delay in bringing Flash Player 10 and AIR support to ARM chipsets; “Our target is mostly internet machines — it becomes sort of a requirement that they run the internet” he highlighted, before going on to suggest that would-be smartbook manufacturers had been “confused” by the flurry in tablet form-factor devices. “We thought [smartbooks] would be launched by now, but they’re not. I think one reason is to do with software maturity. We’ve seen things like Adobe slip — we’d originally scheduled for something like 2009″ Ian Drew, marketing vice president, ARM The tablet impact was further compounded by ARM’s own involvement in the form-factor, with one of t

How can you be expected to not buy things for your computer, when the internals are starting to look as good as OCZ ’s brand new SSD, the Enyo? When OCZ talked about this solid state drive back at CES this year, we were waiting in utter anticipation to get our eyes on one. And, sure enough, here we are, looking at the OCZ Enyo. The name alone just sounds fancy, doesn’t it? This sleek external SSD has made it to the real world, finally, and OCZ was even nice enough to give us not only a name, but also a shipping date. The only thing better would have been the price, but we don’t imagine that’s going to get in the way of too many people out there when they get a good look. It comes in three different variations: a 64GB, 128GB, and 256GB model, all of which come encased in aluminum. If you happen to drop your hard earned cash for this, you should expect speeds of upwards 260MB/sec (read) and 200MB/sec (write), according to the company. Now, for that shipping date. According to OCZ, that’

There are more and more avenues to get the information you want. And, sure enough, it’s looking more and more like the site LinkedIN is becoming a place to find acquisitions. As employees get shuffled around to new companies, they’re likely to keep their LinkedIN profile in the know, and thanks to one employee of Azingo, there’s some talk swirling around that Motorola has purchased the company. This is in no way official yet, as neither of the company’s have come forward to say anything regarding the situation, but this wouldn’t be the first time an employee’s upkeep of his online resume lead to some pretty interesting things. But, the big question is: what’s Azingo? Well, the company creates their own mobile Operating System, which they’ve called Azingo Mobile . Interestingly enough, it features things like a Webkit-based browser, and even Flash runtime, so it seems that the OS itself may be pretty decent. And, it doesn’t look half bad, either. But, that’s not really the interesting p

Skype must realize that to stay on top of any kind of market, you need to keep adding features. After all, people get bored, and there’s certainly a lot of different ways to call people online nowadays. Thankfully the company knows this, and that’s why they’ve introduced a new group video chatting function, that’s going to go into a public Beta starting next week. Right now, Skype allows for their users to participate in all sorts of free things. Like free calling, instant messaging, and video calls to other Skype members for free. However, if you feel the need to get a hold of someone not necessarily connected to Skype, you’ll have to pay a small amount to get in touch with them. When the group video chat launches next week, Skype has said that it will be free to start, but that the company has decided to charge a premium for the feature, along with others that they plan to unveil in the coming months. The Beta is going to launch for customers on a Windows-based PC to start, but ther

Two screens, Android OS and ebooks a-plenty: no, not Barnes & Noble’s nook, but the Spring Design Alex . Promising extra flexibility than its big-name rival and an imminent partnership with Borders, the Alex nonetheless has to deliver if it’s going to live up to a whopping $399 price tag. Can it hold off not only the Kindle and nook but the iPad currently looming over the ereader market? Check out the full SlashGear review after the cut. The Alex has a 6-inch 600 x 800 E Ink display, capable of showing eight grayscale levels (the panel itself can support 16, but Spring Design have limited it to eight in their implementation), together with a 3.5-inch 320 x 480 capacitive touchscreen with a color LCD panel. Connectivity includes miniUSB, WiFi b/g and a microSD card slot, and there’s a 2.5mm headphone socket. Android 1.5 is running on a 624MHz processor with 256MB of memory, plus there’s a 2GB microSD card included, stereo speakers and a built-in microphone. Spring Design reckon the

Oh Arduino, is there anything you can’t do? There’s plenty to love about Eiji Hayashi’s home-made Laser Command game : its palm-sized cube form-factor for a start, the simple 8×8 LED matrix display and its minimal controls, but it’s the fact that you play the game by shining a laser pointer at the screen that really impresses. Input takes advantage of the fact that the LED matrix can not only output light when current is applied, but output current when light – such as from the laser pointer – is applied. In fact, the matrix rapidly flips between input and output modes, so fast that you can’t spot the blinking. In output mode, you see an array of falling pixels that you have to zap with the laser pointer; in input mode, the matrix tracks where the pointer’s beam is falling. Even better, Hayashi has made all the code and schematics available on his site so if you know which end of a soldering iron is which, you should be able to put this together yourself. If you do, please make us

What price convenience? If you’re talking about SanDisk’s official, licensed Xbox 360 USB Flash Drive then that price is $34.99 or $69.99 depending on whether you want 8GB or 16GB of storage for your console. The branded sticks take advantage of the April 6th storage update for the 360, which allows gamers to store their profiles, game-saves, demos and other data on a USB drive. Of course, you can use any USB stick with your console – all you need to do is allow the 360 to set up a partition (up to 16GB in size) that is then kept aside for gaming data – but SanDisk would much rather sell you their own. Expect confusion in gaming stores as shoppers are invariably “accidentally” told that they need the “official” stick in order for it to work.

Back in the day I watched Blade Runner with my dad and though that it was pretty cool, but I kept wondering where Han had parked the Millennium Falcon. I haven’t seen that flick in years now despite it being one of the coolest sci fi films ever. If you are a big fan you may recall that interesting watch Harrison Ford wore. Yanko Design has a watch that you can actually buy called the Scope Watch that is sort of like the one from the film. It is a digital watch that has a retro sci fi look to it and no normal numbers or hands. The watch has a grid with hours along the bottom and minutes along the left side. The lines on the watch intersect at the time of day. You can get the Scope Watch in a couple different case colors and with different color faces. The watch sells for $189 and is available now.

Most people that loose a limb end up with a ridged prosthetic that doesn’t allow the person any grip or use of the limb. Losing a hand means a huge change in the lifestyle of the person with things that used to take no thought becoming serious issues such as tying shoes or putting on a belt. A company in the UK called Touch Bionics has a line of prosthetic limbs that give the user freedom to grip items and live a life closer to what they lived with the natural body part. The company has announced a new prosthetic arm called the i-LIMB Pulse that is a bionic arm and hand. The device uses patented pulsing technology to allow for a tighter grip on objects like shoe laces and belts making the prosthetic more usable. The pulsing tech adds to the gripping force of the limb and makes it capable of carrying up to 90kg loads. The coolest part is that the user can program the limb via Bluetooth using special software to customize the limbs use for their needs.

We have talked about products from Grace Digital before like the Audio Allegro WiFi radio . Grace is back today with a new WiFi audio device called the Solo WiFi Internet Radio Tuner . The device is designed to connect to your home stereo via RCA jacks and tune the 18,000+ internet radio stations for you to listen to in the home. The Solo connects to your wireless network with integrated 802.11g wireless connectivity. The Solo is also compatible with any home stereo speakers or headphones. Other features include a wireless remote control and the Solo has a 4-line LCD that shows the names of up to 100 stored radio stations. The Solo is available now for $124.99 online and will be in retail stores in July.

AT&T has been offering home phones for a long time, since well before the mobile phone was common. Today a lot of people don’t have a home phone and use mobile phones exclusively. For the ones that do have a home phone, AT&T has a new cordless offering that will also work with mobile phones via Bluetooth. The new cordless phone is the TL86109 and it supports two home phone lines. The phone system uses DECT 6.0 technology and support Bluetooth to let the user answer and make calls using their mobile phone. The TL86109 can be paired with up to four mobile phones and can download up to 6000 phone book entries from a cellular phone. The phone can also be expanded with up to 12 cordless handsets. The phone system will sell for $169.99 in May and will be offered at Best Buy, Staples and other locations.

The iPad has proven to be very popular with gobs of the tablet machines sold. One of the most common accessories for the iPad are stands to make watching video and using the tablet more comfortable. A company called Bracketron has a new stand that will work for the iPad and your netbook. The stand is called the LTM-205-BX X-Stand . The stand gets its name from the “X” shape of the cross supports. It folds flat for storage and unfolds quickly without any tools required. It measures 11 5/8″ x 9.5″ and weighs 5.2 ounces making it easy to take with you on the road. The stand is angle adjustable from 0 to 45-degrees depending on the users need. The stand sells for $19.95 and shipping for the little device adds another $10 to the cost. You can order one of the stands now directly from Bracketron.

Epson has unveiled a new printer that is promised to be the first in the industry that packs in 802.11n WiFi connectivity at under $100. The printer is an all in one unit that can print, scan, and copy. The printer is called the NX420 . The new printer sells for $99.99 and aside from the 802.11n wireless networking that allows for wireless printing it has other features the consumer will like. It can scan documents and images at up to 2400 dpi. It can also make multiple black or color copies at one time. Print speeds are 6.4 ISO ppm in black and 3.3 ISO ppm in color. Automatic photo fixing and enhancing features are built in like one-click red eye removal and automatic photo correction. Epson says that the ink cartridges for the printer start as low as $8.99 each. The NX420 is available now at retail outlets and online.

PC Power & Cooling was one of the biggest names in power supplies for computers for a long time before OCZ snapped the company up. Power supplies from PC Power & Cooling have great reputations for performance and stability in the enthusiast market, and they still do. OCZ has announced a new addition to the PSU line from the company. The new addition is the PC Power & Cooling Silencer Mk II PSU. The PSU has been redesigned for a smaller form factor and now has the 80-Plus certification for efficiency. The product uses a server-class topology and uses a single +12V rail for power efficiency and distribution. The PSU uses a double ball bearing 135mm fan to flow air at levels that are nearly silent. The PSU is offered in several models including 650W, 750W, and 950W unit. A 500W unit with 80+ Bronze certification is also offered.

Windows CE isn’t exactly the most popular of mobile platforms, but it’s still reasonably common to find it hiding underneath the custom UI of various MIDs, PMPs and other devices, not to mention Microsoft’s own Windows Mobile, Windows Phone 7 and Zune OSes. Now, Microsoft are apparently looking at replacing CE with a new platform, codenamed Microsoft Menlo , which combines Windows NT for mobile devices with a new “Experiment 19″ graphics platform. According to Mary Jo Foley’s digging, the project is being led by Galen Hunt, who’s also responsible for Microsoft’a Singularity work. Microsoft Research, unsurprisingly, aren’t saying much about Menlo – though it’s given a brief namecheck on Hunt’s own MR People page – but there are tidbits to be found. Hunt’s LinkedIn profile, for instance, mentions the following: “Co-lead two of the largest cross-group research projects in MSR’s history: the Menlo and Singularity projects. Menlo combined OS, UX, and applications research to explore the

Razer has been making some very nice and high-end gaming peripherals for a long time. The company is particularly well known for mice for gamers. Razer has unveiled a new mouse called the Razer Abyssus Mirror Special Edition . The mouse has a 3500 dpi 3.5G infrared sensor and an ambidextrous design. The mouse sensor promises tracking so that the gamer never loses control on the screen. The mouse has three buttons that can be tuned for rapid action. The bottom of the mouse has hardware toggles for DPI and polling rates. DPI is adjustable to 450/1800/3500dpi and the polling rate can be adjusted from 125/1000Hz. The Mirror special edition of this mouse has a glossy black surface. The mouse can be pre-ordered for $49.99 and is set to ship on May 14.

The Zoom Q3 camcorder has been around since October of 2009 when it first launched. The camcorder’s most important feature is the high-quality audio that it is capable of recording. When the Q3 first debuted it carried a MSRP of $249. Zoom has announced that it is now cutting the price of the camcorder to $199. The Q3 keeps the same features at the new price including the 24-bit/48kHz sound. The camcorder is the only point and shoot on the market capable of dealing with high decibel levels like those that you would find at a concert or a birthday party filled with little girls. The camcorder also features a built-in USB cable, MPEG-4 SP video format, a resolution of 640 x 480 for video and it records to SDHC cards.

i Phone OS 4.0 beta 3 is out, and there are some reasonably juicy additions that Steve Jobs failed to mention when he took to the stage last month. BGR has been digging aroundthe new release and has turned up not only an updated multitasking system – tweaked for quicker use – but media playback controls, file sharing with iTunes and an orientation lock. The media playback controls appear in the new multitasking UI, and can be accessed with a left swipe gesture. As well as track-skip and play/pause there’s also a shortcut directly into the iPod app, together with the new screen rotation lock button. The latter, like the physical lock switch on the iPad, stops the iPhone’s screen flipping with the accelerometer. As for file sharing, that’s a new pane in iTunes that allows you to copy over documents to your iPhone when it’s plugged in, or alternatively transfer them from the phone to the computer. Right now it’s apparently locked-down, but it does at least suggest that Apple are wisi

The rest of HP’s new notebook range may not be quite as eye-catching as the ENVY 14 and ENVY 17 , but there are still some gems in the line-up. The company have partnered with both AMD and Intel for their new Pavilion dm4, dv5, dv6 and dv7 consumer notebooks, together with the ProBook S-Series and B-Series of business-focused machines. We went hands-on will all of them – including the optional-multitouch dv6 – so check out more details and first-impressions after the cut. The new HP Pavilions start with the HP dm4, a Core i5 based machine clad in brushed aluminum and kicking off at $749.99. Measuring an inch-thick, it has a 14-inch HD display, integrated optical drive and up to 6.5hrs of battery life; hands-on, its premium feel belies its low price tag. A step up in size gets you the 14.5-inch HP dv5, with Core i3, i5 and AMD Turion II CPU options and – on select machines – Intel WiDi wireless display, all from $649.99.

We’ve been impressed with Plantronics last few Bluetooth headsets, finding the company’s DSP offers a decent balance of background noise reduction while not making callers sound hopelessly artificial. What happens when Plantronics tries to do DSP on a budget, however? The new Plantronics Explorer 395 has a bargain $49.95 MRSP and, the company reckon, is ideal for first-time Bluetooth headset users. Check out the full SlashGear review after the cut. The most obvious cut back from Plantronics’ more expensive headsets is in the styling. The Explorer 395 isn’t an ugly device, certainly, but neither does it stand out from the rank and file of similarly priced generic headsets out there. Build quality feels high, but the clear plastic ear hook – which rotates and swivels to suit wearing on the right or left ear – lacks the poseability of high-end models. You’re also stuck with the standard ear-bud size, and we found it wasn’t sufficient to hold the Explorer 395 in the ear without the hook i

HP’s ENVY range has been updated, with the existing ENVY 13 and ENVY 15 replaced by a new ENVY 14 and ENVY 17 with, as you could probably guess, 14.5- and 17-inch displays. We grabbed some hands-on time with the new notebooks, and the good news is that what were decent machines have now become even better systems, packing Intel Core i5 and i7 processors, new slot-loading optical drives and a better array of display connectivity. More specs and first-impressions after the cut. The HP ENVY 14 kicks off at $999.99 and has a choice of Intel Core i5 processors, ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5830 graphics, a battery good for up to six hours runtime and a backlit keyboard. Switch off the discrete graphics (and rely on the integrated Intel HD GPU) and you can stretch runtimes out to up to eight hours. There’s also Beats Audio and a display backlighting technology that, HP reckon, is 59-percent brighter than comparable machines. As for the HP ENVY 17, that has a choice of Core i5 or Core i7 proce

We’ve been talking about Moorestown for months now, but the platform has finally come of age and matured into Intel’s Atom Z6xx series of mobile processors. The new 45nm chips currently range from 1.5GHz through to 1.9GHz, and bundle Intel GMA600 3D graphics, video encode and decode, as well as memory (up to 2GB) and display controllers onto a single SoC; that’s good enough for PC-style multitasking, 1080p Full HD video and lengthy battery life in smartphones, MIDs, tablets and smartbooks. Compared to the previous Atom Z5xx generation of processors, the new chips use more than 50x less idle power, 20x less audio power, and 2-3x reductions in browsing and video playback power consumption. Intel reckon that’s good enough for over 10 days or standby or 4-5hrs of browsing and video from a 1,500mAh, which to our cynical eyes doesn’t actually sound that impressive (compared to some of the ARM-based chipsets we’re seeing). The company are also short on demo devices, bringing out the same

A few weeks ago, Microsoft made some big headlines when they announced their latest phone, the KIN – specifically designed for teenagers. People all over the Internet had comments on it, positive and negative – but here’s a take from the target audience – an actual teenager. First off – teenagers do not use phones the way adults do – while we both communicate, our goal is to communicate socially. We talk constantly, are always hanging out with friends, Facebook and tweet every aspect of our lives. A mobile device for teenagers needs to be based on that. Ultimately I’ve seen that there are only 4, at best, features of a phone that teens ever use – texting, calling, pictures/video, and occasionally music. That’s it. Understanding that is critical for getting what KIN is doing for teenagers. The entire phone is built around what teenagers use phones for – communication. The Loop, live feeding to your phone everything everyone you know is saying, doing – and allowing you to share it with

Nope, this isn't the MiFi that you guys are familiar with in the States; everyone else -- mainly 3 / Hutchison customers -- are given this cute-looking Huawei E5830 HSPA modem instead. If you want to join this exotic MiFi party but would rather boogie with a different carrier, then fear not, as ex-iPhone hacker Zibri's just released a free unlock tool. Sadly, it's a bit of a hunting game -- plug in your MiFi (with its preloaded SIM card inside) into a Windows machine, launch the program, find Zibri's blog post that matches the random date picked by the program, type in the title and you'll get the unlock button. Of course, using this hack may invalidate your warranty, so proceed with caution.

South icon Vikram is pleased as punch. As the promos of Mani Ratnam's much awaited 'Raavan' unveiled, most seem to have reacted positively to his song number 'khilli re…'. And the saucy feedback to his looking "hot on screen" has gladdened the celeb heart of the star. "That was encouraging," states Vikram in a tabloid chat, "because this is a completely new audience for me." Besides, the "sizzling chemistry" that he shares on celluloid with Ash, hasn't gone unnoticed by his spouse Shaila ("but she realises that it's all play acting and takes the love songs in her stride") "Mani sir takes romance to a whole new level," asserts Vikram. "He makes it seem so natural and I always wanted to be a part of it. When the song was presented to me, I was delighted!" Morever, Vikram is totally sold over Ash's "perfection" in dancing. "I used to watch her dance during the

Gul Panag got the scary fright of her life after being hounded by a Chandigarh based obsessive who kept flashing her 'I Love You' SMSs. And she voiced her sentiments on Twitter, as much. Recently, however, perky Panag has gone all out to shower praise on Suriya in her posts on the micro blogging site. Panag's tweet goes, "Bumped into Ram Gopal Varma and Southern star Suriya last night, while at dinner. The latter is hot as rumoured to be." The original star of 'Ghajini,' a super idol in Tamil cinema, has an enviable fan following. And canny folks are wondering whether this is Panag's smart policy of indirectly suggesting herself for a South flick with Suriya. Point noted, Suriya?

20 times. And 20 more times, given half a chance! That's the number of times, Sonam Kapoor, the self confessed 'Queen Of Mush,' has viewed 'Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge'! "I have a voracious appetite for love stories," asserts SK in a newspaper talk. Come July 2, 2010, and 'I Hate Luv Storys', her Imran Khan starrer helmed by Punit Malhotra will grace celluloid. "I'm playing Simran who loves love stories and there's Imran playing Jay, a cynic who doesn't believe in them," she says. "And, of course, opposites attract." Apart from 'IHLS', there's 'Aisha', another romantic flick which showcases SK in a different light too ("love stories bring a smile to your face"). SK's sorted out on the kind of male who could waltz right into her celeb heart. "A well brought up guy, with a good body and a good sense of humour would be fine," she reveals. "I also like the co

Shekhar Kapur has been amassing a fresh horde of fans for his "compassionate judging" of a popular reality show on the telly. Even as he readied to step down, as he couldn't turn arbiter for the second season of the show, Kapur did suggest a starry replacement: Anil Kapoor. And reportedly, tweeted about it, as well! A move that has allegedly not gone down well with 'Millionaire' Kapoor. Kapoor, presently lodged in Vancouver, is reported to being rankled, considering it a stepdown for him to be a judge on TV. When confronted with it, Kapur hastily clarified that all of it "was a misunderstanding." States Kapoor in a tabloid chat, "I got many tweets stating that I was a very compassionate judge, and that nobody could replace me on the show. So I mentioned Anil's name because I felt that he is a compassionate person too and would have been the right person to replace me."

A great showman will illumine a legendary writer. In the auspicious wake of the 150th birth anniversary of Rabindranath Tagore, famed filmmaker Subhash Ghai has a special treat in store for cineastes. 'Nauka Dubi', a Bengali film produced by Ghai and helmed by Rituparno Ghosh, based on Tagore's classic novel bearing the same name, has wrapped up it's filming schedule recently. Canned at different locations in Bengal, 'Nauka Dubi' stars Raima Sen, her saucy sibling Riya and Prasenjit. Fortunately, it isn't the 'bhadralok' only who will be able to savour Ghai's effort. Armed with English subtitles, the flick is slated for a world wide release soon.

After a yawning hiatus of nine years, Twinkle Khanna will brave the arc lights, once again. Not for a phillum, though (last celluloid appearance: 'Love Ke Liye Kuch Bhi Karega'). Twinkle will dazzle the camera eye for an ad commercial alongside hubby Akshay Kumar . Anurag Basu, who helms the ad centred around a cell phone brand that Action Kumar endorses, felt that Twinkle fitted the bill perfectly… and got Akki to persuade his spouse to nod assent. Shunning the spotlight, Twinkle's been savouring her role as an interior designer and businesswoman, though Akki's insistence has reversed matters for the former star. Says an insider, "It's a fun ad. It will highlight the glamourous and funny side of Twinkle." Reportedly, offers for ad commercials were never in deficit for AK's wife, but she's been swatting down proposals at every turn. And insiders insist that Akki's keen on Twinkle showcasing herself in commercials in the future to

Aha! This is interesting. Bollywood’s top demands of the year 2010, the much awaited ‘Raajneeti’ and ‘Ravan’ share a few similarities. Firstly, there title starts with the same letters. Then, they both are inspired by Indian epics, one by Mahabharata and the other by Ramayana. Both are directed by acclaimed directors and both have a galaxy of stars featuring in them. Though they are inspired by mythologies, they have modern backdrops and contemporary touch to offer to viewers. ‘Raavan’ has Abhishek Bachchan, Aishwarya Rai, Govinda, Bipasha Basu, Tamil star Vikram, Bhojpuri star Ravi Kissen and ‘Raajneeti’ has Ajay Devgan, Nana Patekar, Ranbir Kapoor, Katrina Kaif, Naseeruddin Shah among others. The industry is keeping high hopes on these biggies; hope they do wonderful for all.

Vidhu Vinod Chopra, the producer of the super-hit film ‘3 Idiots’ has served notice for copyright violation on the makers of animation film ‘The 4th Idiot’. The notice was served on producer and director Biswaroop Roy Chowdhury while the 35-minute film – dealing with memory enhancement techniques – was being screened for students of the local City Montessori Schools in Lucknow. Omi Vaidya, who made his debut in ‘3 Idiots’ as Chatur was also present on the occasion. According to the notice, the makers of the animation film have used the name of the movie ‘3 Idiots’ its story (including scenario, screenplay, dialogues, etc) characters for publicizing and promoting their film ‘The 4th Idiot’. The notice asks the makers to immediately cease and desist, from advertising, promoting and/or publicizing ‘The 4th Idiot’ and in any event using the name of our movie ‘3 Idiots’ its story (including scenario, screenplay, dialogues, etc) characters in any form/manner through any medi

Two years after its theatrical release, Vipul Shah’s ‘Singh Is Kinng’ is being sued in the US on grounds of copyright infringement. The case has been filed by American Rights Management Company. Maximum statutory damages to the tune of 30, 000 $ per infringement have been claimed. As per the lawsuit filed in New York District Court, the movie is ‘derived’ from the 1929 short story ‘Madame La Gimp’ by Daman Runyon. The lawsuit mentions that the film also ‘derived’ from the films ‘Lady For A Day (Frank Capra), A Pocket Full Of Miracles (Capra) and Miracles (Jackie Chan), which are derivatives of the Madame La Gimp story. The lawsuite states, “Sing Is Kinng copies the pattern, sequence and the selection and combination of elements directly from Madame La Gimp and indirectly from the above mentioned movies.” Apart from Viacom 18 and Studio 18, the film distributors, Vipul Shah’s blockbuster Entertainment (producer), Saavn, Reliance Media Works, Big Home Video, MTV India and

They came, they spoke and everybody got conquered. Prakash Jha played the leader as he initiated the gathering which was attended by Ranbir Kapoor who looked ‘cool’ in checks, Katrina Kaif was lovely in black, Arjun Rampal and Manoj Bajpai were enjoying the attention, apart from Ronnie Screwvala. The maker Prakash Jha showed a 10 minute promo of the film which spoke volumes of it promise to be an intense political potboiler. While answering what’s more important money or power, everybody had their opinion where Manoj instantly replied power, Arjun jokingly said ‘money’ as few of his EMI’s are pending. Kats said ‘paisa’ (hold on guys………she said in English) and Prakash Jha said both. Some who expected Kats to say something in Hindi where disappointed as the girl was replying in English and Prakash Jha was translating the tough Hindi ones for his heroine as she smartly replied the English ones, never forgetting to praise the seniors in the film. A bit of drama developed wh

Looks likes Shiney Ahuja has bagged his first movie after being convicted for his unlawful activities. To be named as ‘Shunya’ and to be directed by Puja Bedi who is the niece of Bobby Bedi, the producer of ‘Bandit Queen’. The heroine of the movie is Sayali Bhagat. As per the orders of the honourable court, Shiney will have to be away from Mumbai. Following that, the director has decided to call the shots in Lavasa, near Pune. The shooting is scheduled to begin from 12th May. And Shiney would expect to shine again and see himself back to the good books of the society.

Competition is tough in Bollywood and so Shahid Kapoor is trying something different that none of his contemporaries are trying. Shahid will be seen in four looks in his father Pankaj Kapoor’s directorial debut ‘Mausam’. Just like how the title is ‘Mausam’, Shahid’s four looks would complement the four seasons – Summer, Spring, Autumn and Winter. Apparently director Pankaj Kapoor has decided on the four looks and his beta is working on the same. If you thought that’s only for the hero, then take it slow, because even the heroine Sonam Kapoor will be sporting four looks for the four seasons. According to sources, each look will talk about the season, like a joyful person in spring to a heart broken person in winter. Variety will be prominent in the get ups is what the source concludes. When asked about the movie Shahid’s reply was quick and he tells it is an intense love story he’s ever done or he’ll ever do! Four seasons or a million reasons, Shahid hasn’t been doing lo

Aamir Khan, aka Mr. Perfectionist, wouldn’t do a thing without any planning. Known for his perfect ways, Aamir is leaving no stones unturned even for his next production and wife’s directorial debut ‘Dhobi Ghat’. Heard that in order to promote the film more efficiently, Aamir has asked the film’s lead hero Prateik Babbar to keep himself away from the limelight and asked him to avoid going in public as far as possible. Well, now being a lively youngster and frequent party-goer, this instruction is like a bitter pill for our Prateik. Since his debut film, Prateik garnered much attention, grabbed film offers and got to attend several events. So it was obvious for the lad to become an apple of the media’s eyes. But now, sources reveal, all has changed and Prateik had to back out after he got a call from Aamir. Hmm, now having bagged a film from such a prestigious name, Prateik cannot afford to say no… Kuch pane ke liye kuch khona padta hai

Released on 30th April, Sajid Nadiadwala’s ‘Housefull’ has created immense success from the first week itself. According to reports of Eros International Media Limited, the film has since grossed Rs. 95 crores worldwide with Rs. 75 crores gross in India (Rs. 52.3 crores nett) and Rs. 20 crores overseas. The first of the big ticket releases post IPL, ‘Housefull’ enjoyed a wide release with 2000 plus screens with large number of screenings across multiplexes, making it one of the most anticipated films this year. The film recorded a very positive opening weekend at Rs. 48 gross in India, making it the second highest opening after 3 Idiots. Commenting on the film’s performance over the week, Nandu Ahuja, Sr. VP – Distribution, Eros International Media Ltd said, “Post the fabulous opening weekend, Housefull has remained steady through the week. With the second weekend coming up, we are confident the film will continue its superb run over this weekend too.” Housefull brings

UTV prepares for Cannes with its great lineup of titles. 'Udaan', an Official Selection at Cannes after many years from India, will have a red carpet screening as its World Premiere at Cannes Film Festival. Vikramaditya Motwane’s debut film, 'Udaan', is the story of Rohan, a teenage boy, after being abandoned for eight years in boarding school, returns home and finds himself closeted with an authoritarian father and a younger half brother who he didn’t even know existed. 'Udaan' is Rohan’s journey as he strives to forge his own life out of his given circumstances to pursue his dream of being a writer. Aamir Khan productions’ 'Peepli Live' which is co produced by UTV will have market screenings at Cannes following close to its Sundance World Dramatic Competition section screening and Berlinale Special screening at the Berlin film festival in February this year. UTV will unveil some exclusive footage from its upcoming animation films ‘Arjun-

It’s not that Hollywood is unaware of the happenings in our B-town. In fact the people there do keep a tab on our cinema and an eye on our screen talents. And here we can prove it how… Our birdies said that Ashmit Patel has bagged an international flick. And his co-star will be none other than ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ famed Freida Pinto! Lucky guy na…. Titled ‘American Empire’, the film will be directed by Andy Armstrong, the associate director of ‘Planet Of The Apes’. While Kevin D Ward has penned the script, the film will be produced by Edge Filmworks. According to reports the film’s story is based on underworld, crime and politics. Incidentally, Ashmit – a sibling of actress Amisha Patel - already has two international projects, one of which will release shortly.

UTV New Media, the digital arm of UTV Software Communications Ltd., recently announced the launch of a voice blogging service for one of the most anticipated films of the year ‘Raajneeti’. Bringing the entire cast and crew to interact with their fans, this service will have movie stars upload personalized voice blogs about the film tits-bits and gossip from the sets and from their city visits and more. Exploring new frontiers of promotion in the mobile space, this initiative from UTV New Media will have director Prakash Jha along with the cast, personally blogging on their upcoming movie – ‘Raajneeti’ through the IVR platform. This unique service will allow fans to connect with their favourite stars on the movie. The cast of the film will share lesser known facts, behind the scenes drama, interesting gossip and their on-location experiences all available at the push of a button. Starting May 10, these celebrities will also record live blogs from the ‘Raajneeti’ rally wh

The homely banner and sab ka favourite Rajshri banner have now picked Tusshar Kapoor for their next venture. Coming from the makers of popular TV soaps and brother of soap queen Ekta Kapoor, Tusshar seems to be right choice for Rajshri as their next goody-goody boy. Khabhar hai ki they are going bring this time a love story which will be quite different from the ones Rajshri make. Although it has a modern backdrop, the film will continue to reflect the banner's ideology. The untitled film is expected to go on floors in coming months, sources revealed. While the film will be directed by Manavsi Sharma, Amrita Rao plays the leading lady. Interestingly, our birdies say that Shahid Kapoor was the first choice, as he had given a hit with Rajshri’s earlier ‘Vivaah’. However, after a serious discussion the creative team felt that Tusshar will be best for the role. Hope Tusshar will do justice to ‘Prem’ – a memorable hero character made laudable by several stars of our tow