Face-lifted Honda City launched in India

Honda Siel Cars India launched a face-lifted version of the Honda City. The City now gets a restyled front and rear bumper, redesigned tail lamps and new 10-spoke alloy wheel design (available in certain variants).
The new additions include cruise control, turn indicators on rear view mirrors, chrome fittings on the central console and electric sunroof. It now also gets ground clearance of 165mm, up from the 160mm for the previous gen City. It will also be available in two new colors, Carnelian Red Pearl andSparkling Brown Metallic.
The engine specifications remain the same for the new City, a 1.5-litre E10 compliant petrol engine producing 118PS of power. The new Honda City will now be available in five variants - Corporate, E, S, V ( MT/AT) and V (Sunroof) MT/AT.
The Corporate edition gets all black interiors while the E variant onwards gets beige interiors. Standard safety features are ABS, brake assist and dual airbags. Bookings for the new City will start immediately at all Honda dealers nationwide however deliveries will begin from January 2012.
The price of the new City range (ex-showroom Delhi) is:
Corporate MT – Rs. 6.99 lakh
E MT – Rs. 7.7 lakh
S MT – Rs. 8.2 lakh
V MT – Rs. 8.7 lakh
V AT – Rs. 9.42 lakh
V (Sunroof) MT – Rs.9.5 lakh
V (Sunroof) AT – Rs.10.22 lakh

Liege attacks: Lone gunman brings terror to streets of Belgian city with hand grenade attack

The killer was named as Nordine Amrani, 33, a known criminal and gun-lover who launched his rampage for reasons that police were still trying to fathom.

They stressed that Amrani had no known links to terrorism or any history of mental illness or violent crime, but it did emerge that he was released on parole last year from a 58-month sentence for possessing a cache of weapons and 2,800 cannabis plants.

His victims were two teenage boys aged 15 and 17, a man aged 20 and a 75-year-old woman. A 17-month-old girl later died of her wounds in hospital. The city's mayor said the teenagers were celebrating finishing their exams and were heading to the Christmas market when they were killed. Around 120 were injured.

Didn't want to be just a figurehead: Kumble

Former India captain Anil Kumble on Tuesday said he resigned as National Cricket Academy's chairman as he didn't want to be just a "figurehead" when none of his plans found support from other committee members.

Almost two months after a controversy broke out over an apparent conflict of interest, Kumble stepped down and his resignation was accepted by the BCCI's Working Committee, which met here on Monday.
"I had a plan which didn't have much alignment with other committee members. I didn't want to be just a figurehead," Kumble told reporters here.
Asked why his plans didn't find support with others, Kumble said, "I don't know but I was very keen to contribute and even put together a proposal."
Punjab Cricket Association's general secretary M P Pandove will be the caretaker chairman of the NCA till a full-time appointment is made.
Initially, "lack of time" was said to be the reason why Kumble stepped down as NCA chairman but on Monday, the retired leg spinner said that he was left with no other option.
"I had a three-year vision to make NCA a better academy.
I had made 10 presentations during my tenure as chairman with the hope that my vision could be accepted. Even on Sunday I had discussed this at the NCA meeting in Chennai. But it was not in alignment with the rest of the committee," Kumble said.
"I felt that it made no sense to be a chairman when I was not being heard. I had no other option but to move on in life," he added.

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Read more at: http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/anil-kumble-after-resigning-as-nca-chief/1/164123.html

Who will be evicted from Bigg Boss this week?

In a dramatic change in the nomination process, Bigg Boss gave relatives of housemates who went into the house on Monday, the power to nominate members for eviction this week.
Amar Upadhyay is top of the list with four nominations, followed by Shonali Nagrani with three votes.
So, the eviction battle is between Shonali and Amar
Who of the two you think is going to be evicted? Cast your vote at the end of the slideshow!
Shonali Nagrani
Shonali was accused of exaggerating her angry exchange with Pooja Misrra before housemates. Host Sanjay Dutt clearly informed Shonali that she was wrong in telling the housemates that she had hurt her eye in the fracas.
Later, she was punished for not following Bigg Boss's orders and told she can never become a captain.
Recently, when filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt entered Bigg Boss, she told him of the anguish she had experienced when Vishesh Films made her wait for a project and at the last moment rejected her. Mahesh got upset and apologised to her.
She's also said that she feels uncomfortable when co-contestant Amar Upadhyay hugs her and that it is indecent and weird.
Her boyfriend Shiraz Bhattacharya, who entered the house on Monday, was concerned about this and told Shonali not to make unsubstantiated allegations against anyone. He added that Amar was a married man and she should not talk like this about him on national television.
When Amar asked her for an explanation, she started crying. Will this save her from eviction?

Sony Ericsson's Nozomi just loves the camera

It's the phone with the daft name – or at least it is if you know it by the name Sony Ericsson Nozomi and not the more Westernised other name it's doing the rounds under – the Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc HD.

But whatever it's called, it can't seem to steer clear of the cameras right now, and its latest publicity initiative is to be snapped from all sides – and even sans cover – in the most revealing set of snaps we've seen thus far. Just to remind you in case you're getting excited right now – this is a phone we're talking about.

Sony Ericsson has been ploughing the single-core furrow for an awful long time now, so hearing that it's finally sussed what this whole dual-core business is all about is welcome news. Well OK, it's more Qualcomm's fault, but anyway.

The point is the Nozomi has been confirmed in the latest leak as having a nifty piece of 1.5GHz dual-core Snapdragon action going on, together with a 4.3-inch 720p display and 1GB of RAM.

Switching to the photos, they reveal a pretty much bog-standard Sony Ericsson design approach, which is not to say the Nozomi is unattractive, it's just not overly exciting.

More interesting, however, is the fact that it'll only play nice with Micro SIM cards and appears to have no removable battery, nor any space for a microSD card.

Further spec action is claiming a 12-megapixel camera, which we'd assume has some sort of Exmor flavouring to it, and 16GB or 32GB of on-board storage, which lessens the blow of there being no removable storage, though not by much considering it will also be coming with Full HD video recording.

We're disappointed, though to be honest not surprised, to hear that it'll only be Android Gingerbread and not Ice Cream Sandwich running the show on the OS front. That does at least suggest that we're not looking at months before the Nozomi hits the big time. Or we bloody hope not, anyway.

One last thing – a quick trip to Wikipedia confirms Nozomi as meaning “wish” or “hope” in Japanese. Now isn't that nice?

Nokia Cheap With Lumia Lighting Up Demand

Nokia’s stock took a hit last Thursday and declined by more than 6%. The broader market sold off heavily on European concerns and it now looks like the the first version of the Lumia phone will be a lower end version sold through T-Mobile rather than AT&T as some had speculated.
The company also announced plans to sell off its luxury subsidiary Vertu. ^[1] With the stock down 20% or so during the last month, we believe that it’s discounting the potential impact from the Lumia line of smartphones.

DigiTimes came out with a report that component suppliers in Taiwan expect orders from Nokia to grow 20% in 2012 as the demand for Lumia smartphones increases. ^[2]
Lumia smartphones are the first devices that Nokia has introduced based on Microsoft’s Windows Phone platform.

Vodafone launches Smart Android 3G smartphone in India

Vodafone India has announced the launch of Vodafone Smart, a 3G Android phone for their customers in India. This smartphone is powered by a Qualcomm incorporated Snapdragon S1 processor and runs on Android 2.2.1 OS. The Vodafone Smart is designed for tech savvy customers, providing them access to mobile apps, games, Internet and social networking platforms on-the-go.

Attractively priced at Rs. 4,995, Vodafone Smart will enable customers to enjoy hundreds of Android applications on the handset, which comes with two years of warranty. Vodafone subscribers will also enjoy a special introductory limited period offer of Double Data Benefit on their 3G subscription. 

The highlighted features of the Vodafone Smart are:

• Android 2.2.1
• 2.8-inches TFT capacitive touchscreen with a resolution of 240 x 320
• 3G, Edge, GPRS, Wi-Fi, Wi-Fi tethering, Bluetooth
• GPS with A-GPS
• 2MP camera with video recording capabilities
• MicroSD slot expandable up to 32GB
• Stereo FM and MP3 playback support

Apart from the above mentioned specifications, one gets a 2GB memory card free, along with the handset. The Vodafone Smart is available at all leading retail outlets, Vodafone stores and Mini stores across India.

Malaysian firm launches 'Quran mobile' in India

New Delhi: Tolmol.com, online product comparison firm in a joint venture with Malaysian digital Islamic products maker ENMAC Engineering, Monday launched GSM mobile handset MQ3500 also called 'Quran mobile' to cater to the Muslim community in the Indian market.

Priced Rs.3,950, the dual SIM phone has inbuilt features like complete Quran recitation in voices of world's top seven recitors, auto silent mode during prayer times, Quran translation in 29 languages, prayers, Tafseer (commentaries on Quran) and Hadith (sayings of the Prophet) apart from basic features like GPRS and FM radio.


"This is the first of its kind product being launched in India which has a huge market for digital Islamic products," Anuj Kanish, co-founder Tolmol.com, told IANS.

"Mobile phone now is in the hands of everyone irrespective of age-groups, in all parts of the country. This product will cater to the specific needs of the Muslim community like timely information on important dates and prayer timings and content for their daily prayers," he added.

The company also plans to introduce a range of other Islamic products including digital Quran reader and Islamic e-books, apart from high-end phones with advanced features, in India very soon.

"This is the beginning of a new genre of mobile phones in the Indian market," Kanish said.

Apart from the online platform, the products will also be sold through retail outlets and will be available in markets by early December. IANS

Motorola launches Razr model in new avatar

Handset maker Motorola is back with the new version of its best-selling smartphone 'Razr', which is sleeker and more powerful than the earlier models.
The latest version of the Android 2.3 (Gingerbread) device is equipped with a 4.3-inch super AMOLED display, scratch-resistant Corning Gorilla Glass screen, 1 GB RAM and a dual-core 1.2GHz processor. It also has a front-facing 720p HD video camera and 8-megapixel rear-facing camera.
The handset is priced at Rs 35,990, while the best buy price is Rs 33,990.
"One of the best-selling mobile phones of all time, the original Motorola Razr redefined what a mobile phone was as people worldwide proudly flaunted their fashion items," Motorola Mobility Mobile Devices business country head-sales and operations (India and South West Asia) Rajan Chawla said in a statement.
The device comes preloaded with the Motorola MotoCast app, which allows users to stream or download content straight from the PC.

Tata Nano - the world's cheapest car

    
The 2012 Nano will be available in more colours and have more luxurious interiors, as part of an effort to rejuvenate its appeal.
The manufacturers also say the car will be more fuel-efficient.
Tata motors, which makes the Nano, also manufactures British luxury cars Jaguar and Land Rover.
The modifications were made after feedback from Nano owners, Tata Motors' India operations director, PM Talang, is quoted by AFP news agency as saying.
The engine will be increased by three horsepower to 38 and the company says the inside of the car will be quieter.
The car's makers say they hope the new model will help to increase sales. The price of the car will remain the same.
Last December it was reported that sales of the Nano had plunged by 85% compared with a year earlier.
Analysts pointed out that a series of fires in the Nano may have contributed. Tata offered free safety upgrades for the model.
It was launched in 2009, amid great fanfare as a car costing just 100,000 rupees ($1,979; £1,366). Tata owner Ratan Tata has described it as a "milestone" at the time.

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Sony Ericsson posts euro8 million profit in Q4

Mobile phone maker Sony Ericsson has reported a net profit for the fourth consecutive quarter, mainly as a result of its efforts to cut costs.
The company Thursday posted a fourth-quarter profit of euro8 million ($10.8 million), compared with a loss of euro167 million a year ago.
It was the company's fourth consecutive quarterly profit after nearly two years of losses.
However, revenues in the quarter, ending Dec. 31, fell 13 percent to euro1.53 billion ($2.1 billion) from euro1.75 billion.
In 2010, Sony Ericsson cut its global workforce by approximately 4,000 people in total, and decreased annual operating expenses by more than euro880 million.
For 2011, the company said it forecasts modest growth in units in the global handset market.

HTC Readies to Announce Five Handsets at MWC

As Mobile World Congress is just around the corner, be prepared for the usual tsunami of leaked mobile devices that are hoped to be unveiled in Barcelona.
We will be able to see five new HTC mobile devices that will make an appearance at the conference. The first one is known as the Desire HD. The mobile device comes with a 4 inch screen. It will be enabled with a front facing camera. The handset will be available in curved bezel. It is expected that the mobile device will run the Android operating system.
The handset is followed by the Nexus One that has similar 3.2-inch screen. It is already in the Chinese market under the A3380 guise.
A possible Smart 2 is also found in the list. It will come with a massive 4.3 inch screen. The model will be enabled with physical send as well as receive buttons. Probably it is the same as the Chinese A3360.
It looks like the most interesting is a completely button-less mobile device, that was previously spotted in the list of Verizon.
Still not so many details we know about the upcoming handset, but no doubts we will be able to know more at the big mobile conference which will be held in February.

Linksys E4200 450Mbps router review: Fast is in

The new Cisco Linksys E4200 router sports a more eye-caching design than its predecessors.

(Credit: Dong Ngo/CNET) As promised, the review of the Cisco Linksys E4200 Maximum Performance Dual-Band Wireless-N Router, the very first true dual-band Wireless-N router that offers a 450Mbps ceiling speed, is now up.
And the router is the fastest we've seen among Wireless-N routers. It's quite unfair to compare it with others, however, as it is the first router that offers the higher 450Mbps speed on the 5GHz band. The only other router that offers this speed is the Trendnet TEW-691GR, but it works only on the 2.4GHz band.
The Linksys 4200's 2.4GHz band, on the other hand, remains at 300Mbps. It was still very fast in our testing. Even faster than the TEW-691GR. On top of that, the E4200 is the first dual-band router we've seen that offers the same range for both bands: up to 290 feet in our testing facility, which is not exactly optimized for wireless range.
Note that to take advantage of the higher 450Mbps speed, the wireless clients need to support this, too. For now, you'll need to have a laptop equipped with an Intel Centrino Ultimate-N 6300 or 5300 Wi-Fi adapter. In the future there will also be USB adapters and add-in cards that support this speed.
We actually tested the E4200 with 300Mbps clients and the scores were already noticeably higher. This only means that the E4200 will offer even better performance when used with 450Mbps-capable clients.
Other than the performance aspect, the Linksys E4200 comes with the Cisco Connect software that makes setting up and managing the wireless network a no-brainer, great for home users. What's better is that its Web interface now offers complete control over the router's settings and features, allowing savvy users to skip the software entirely, which is not possible with previous models in the E series.

Read more: http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-20029221-1.html#ixzz1BqzNidDf

Volvo S60 for Indian auto market

Volvo has given India a great boost by catering to the need for quality buses to aid better road travel. When one hears about Volvo, we think of luxury, so, India has a lot to look forward to in terms of passenger cars.
The first feel of Volvo that Indian owners experienced was the compact luxury car, XC60. The car certainly got more customers interested in owning a Volvo passenger car. The impending launch of their compact executive sedan, the Volvo S60 is much awaited. Suggestions point to the fact that the Volvo S60 could be launched this February.
Volvo S60 specifications:
•    D5 2.5-litre Twin Turbo diesel engine
•    torque of 205bhp and 420Nm
•    enhanced safety features
•    Pedestrian Detection
•    monitors traffic to prevent low speed rear-end collisions
The Volvo S60 will be imported as a Completely Built Units (CBU). This will attract a 110% customs duty on the Volvo S60.

Google Nexus S to Hit India within 3 Months

While several lucky U.S. and UK citizens are enjoying the Google Nexus S smartphone, the rest of the world anticipates its launch in the coming months. From what I've learned, Google Nexus S would mostly be introduced in India by the end of the first quarter. So we can expect its arrival in or after February.

Samsung Galaxy S has been quite a success in the Indian continent. But recently, the Samsung authorized re-sellers and stores are running out of its stock. Google made the Nexus S and the Android 2.3 Gingerbread update official in U.S. on December 7. It was the first phone to be unveiled with Gingerbread. 

As of now, Best Buy in U.S. is selling the unlocked Google Nexus S for $530. Two Indian online retails Infibeam and Flipkart have listed the Nexus S under Coming Soon. The Infibeam listing indicates that the price of Nexus S in India would be Rs. 24,000 excluding taxes et al. 

Now, even though a few Samsung smartphone retailers are out of Galaxy S stock, the Nexus S won't be made available immediately. Nexus S is an important device for both Google and Samsung. Hence, I anticipate a formal launch in India before it is sold out in retail.

Apart from that, India also anticipates the launch of GSM/CDMA version of the iPhone 4 which was buzzed to arrive last year from Airtel and Vodafone mobile operators.   

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alm's m125 hits the street

September 20, 2001
Palm today announced the new m125, long pre-rumored on the Internet. It comes with a slick new faceplate and a rubberized cover, but the real value is inside, with its 33MHz Dragonball processor, 8MB RAM, an SD card slot, and USB HotSync through its Universal connector. Price will be US$249, a bit high for the category, but it might fit a niche, since it offers a lot more than the m105 for only US$50 more.

GE Electronics Announces Portable Ultrasound Device

One of the premier companies involved in the manufacturing of hi-tech health devices, that are used by hospitals across the globe, GE Electronics, today announced an all new portable ultrasound scanner, called Vscan. that looks like any other flip open cell phone. The announcement was made at the Web 2.0 Summit.
According to the Jeff Immelt (CEO, General Electric), inspite of the size of Vscan, the device itself is extremely powerful and rivals the cumbersome ultrasound machines are being used in clinics and hospitals. Further stating that, the device is the size of a Blackberry phone, but with immense medical applications. As of the now the price of the Vscan hasn’t been revealed and GE plans to gather feedback on the functioning of V scan by deploying the device in prominent 12 clinics and countries across the world.

The Vscan is designed as a portable ultrasound machine that can be used by doctors in house calls, during emergency situations and in various other fields as well. Basically, Vscan is expected to become a doctor’s next generation stethoscope.