Sachin Gupta

MobiFreak

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Goog-o-Rola: Google acquires Motorola!! :)

Well Well Well!!!

So today we came to know what was cooking for so long.

Google announced today that it is acquiring Motorola Mobility at a price of $40 per share in cash for a total of about $12.5 billion,a premium of 63% to the closing price of Motorola Mobility shares on Friday, August 12, 2011.

Seeing Motorola's die-hard dedication to the Android ecosystem, this seems to be a sensible move by both the technology pioneers. Motorola's hugely successful Droid lineup of mobiles and El-Goog's own need of maintaining the android fragmentation in check, this looks like the most sensible and much needed move from the search giant.

And of-course consumers especially Motorola fans must be having a blast. They will finally have the best of Google's Android  Stock OS (cough: MotoBlur) and Moto's excellent hardware together with some  speedy, almost instant upgrade to android's latest versions released by Google (Wishing!!).

Now it wont be much difficult to guess where the next Nexus phone would come out of... or would it be next-2-next.Wait n watch!!!

You can find some excerpts of the official Press Release below. For the full article punch the Source.

PRESS RELEASE

Google to Acquire Motorola Mobility Combination will Supercharge Android, Enhance Competition, and Offer Wonderful User Experiences MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. & LIBERTYVILLE, Ill.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) and Motorola Mobility Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: MMI) today announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement under which Google will acquire Motorola Mobility for $40.00 per share in cash, or a total of about $12.5 billion, a premium of 63% to the closing price of Motorola Mobility shares on Friday, August 12, 2011. The transaction was unanimously approved by the boards of directors of both companies. "Motorola Mobility's total commitment to Android has created a natural fit for our two companies. Together, we will create amazing user experiences that supercharge the entire Android ecosystem for the benefit of consumers, partners and developers. I look forward to welcoming Motorolans to our family of Googlers." The acquisition of Motorola Mobility, a dedicated Android partner, will enable Google to supercharge the Android ecosystem and will enhance competition in mobile computing. Motorola Mobility will remain a licensee of Android and Android will remain open. Google will run Motorola Mobility as a separate business. Larry Page, CEO of Google, said, "Motorola Mobility's total commitment to Android has created a natural fit for our two companies. Together, we will create amazing user experiences that supercharge the entire Android ecosystem for the benefit of consumers, partners and developers. I look forward to welcoming Motorolans to our family of Googlers." Sanjay Jha, CEO of Motorola Mobility, said, "This transaction offers significant value for Motorola Mobility's stockholders and provides compelling new opportunities for our employees, customers, and partners around the world. We have shared a productive partnership with Google to advance the Android platform, and now through this combination we will be able to do even more to innovate and deliver outstanding mobility solutions across our mobile devices and home businesses." Andy Rubin, Senior Vice President of Mobile at Google, said, "We expect that this combination will enable us to break new ground for the Android ecosystem. However, our vision for Android is unchanged and Google remains firmly committed to Android as an open platform and a vibrant open source community. We will continue to work with all of our valued Android partners to develop and distribute innovative Android-powered devices."

Via: Engadget

Source: Official Google Blog

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Nicholas Allegra - Meet the 19 Year Old Genius Hacker.. He Hacked the iPhone!!

Comex aka Nicholas Allegra, from Chappaqua , New York : Hacker and Creator of the jailbreaking tool called "JailBreakMe". From his looks you wont give him a 10/10 for a great fashion sense but Look inside that little something hiding inside that head and you would surely oblige with a score par excellence`.

As reported by Andy Greenberg, Forbes Blog who is actually credited with finding out this little genius and getting the nitty-gritty details about his life. I will point out the best parts of the article:

Hacked the iPhone as a Hobby.

Surprised by his own ability to find cracks in the Apple iOS's CODE.

Creator of the iOS jailbreaking tool JailBreakMe.

Charlie Miller, first hacker of iPhone terms his(Nicholas) work years ahead of what others are doing.

“code-signing” a technique used by Apple in iOS that allows only Apple's signed commands to be run on the OS even if theirs any security flaw that gives access to the system - Of-course JailBreakMe's brilliant enough to handle this.

Another technique used by Apple( Ingenious) - Randomizing the location of the codes in the memory making it almost impossible for the hackers to take control of the commands. Quoting straight from Andy Greenberg's article:

"That’s like requiring an attacker to assemble a note out of a random magazine he’s never read before, in the dark."

JailBreakMe utilized an exploit in how iOS handles PDF's fonts to locate and use the commands in the memory to gain access to the system.

Dino Dai Zovi, co-author of the Mac Hacker’s Handbook comparethe sophistication of JailBreakMe to Stuxnet the most advanced virus ever written.

JailBreakMe patches the exploit it uses to hack the iOS, leaving the users of the software safe from any kinda threat from some malicious user with the knowledge of the PDF exploit.

JailBreakMe is FREE!!

Apple has released a patch for the PDF exploit.

Don't forget to visit the original post(link below) to savor on the beautiful article by Andy Greenberg and to know more details about how he found Nicholas and what he found about him.

Source: Forbes Blog

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Icing on the Cake...... New Socialize feature by makers of APPMAKR.com for making your apps a social hub!!

In my previous post about appmakr we discussed about the ease with which you can build apps for iOS, Android, WP7 devices.

Now read this: Only 1% of people who download your app will come back to use that app after 90 days of download. So how do you make sure that people not only come back to use your app but also make it a place to hang around and share the contents of your website, blogs etc with their friends.

The new Socialize feature from the makers of Appmakr.com brings in the revolutionary new feature of having your very own in-app social activity hub integrated tightly with the app. The major features:

Three buttons(comment,like,view) on right side of each post for immediate actions.

In-App User profile

Like and comments sytem

Sharing options across various social media platforms like Facebook & Twitter and email options too.

User activity stream to see activities of all users at one place: likes, user comments, shared posts.

Number of views for the post.

The socialize feature gives the app makers a better opportunity for their content to address a broader mass. The in-app social activity feature gives the people an opportunity to interact with other people and likewise create an unique space for themselves.

Check out the video below for a better overview of whats in store.

Video: Socialize Source: GetSocialize

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SolveMedia solution to your Captcha problem...

Captcha: An Image that contains alphabets/numbers in different orientation which you need to identify and enter into a text box  just before you submit your  form.

Problem 1:

How many times have you faced difficulty in recognizing the letters in the first go?? Even refreshing the image does not solve the problem.

Problem 2: The all intrusive ads make your web surfing time miserable as one ad after the other  keep popping their heads at you.

Well SolveMedia has a solution which will make captcha interaction fun and informative while making sure you read the ad as well.

"Ad is Captcha - Captcha is Ad"

The solution that SolveMedia has come up with is that they have used the tiny space that is their in the Captcha image to display Ads. All you need to do is enter the Motto or the Punchline of the Ad into the textbox to prove you are human and no internet Bot. Done! You save time and the Advertising  company get their precious views... and frankly some ads are fun!!

Captcha-Ads presents a Big challenge to the Ad makers to utilize a tiny little space to present their idea in a small yet very creative ways so as to compel the users to view/click the Ad.

Check out the Brilliant Video made by the folks at SolveMedia below:

Video: SolveMedia

Source: SolveMedia, TechCrunch

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Android, iOS , WP7 and the App War.. Welcome APPMAKR.com!!

Apple's iOS App Store has 400K+ apps.

Google's Android Market has 250K+ apps.

Microsoft WP7 MarketPlace has 25K+ apps.  Before you start thinking of making additions to those numbers do read the following facts:

You cannot build an APPLE iOS app if you dont have a Mac.

You cannot build an app for WP7 if you dont have Windows 7 on your PC.

And its difficult to make an Android app if you dont have a Broadband/3G(very expensive) connection to install and configure Android SDK on your system.

So how to make apps for all three platform without even writing a single piece of CODE?? AppMakr is the solution that you have been looking for. Its so very easy and intuitive that it can be used by anyone:- bloggers/writers, business owners, website owners, musicians, sports figures or someone with existing content and fans or customers to reach to.Features:

Its browser based.

It uses your existing content and social networking feeds for the content.

You can set your own price for the App Store or charge nothing.

Push-Notification system, Native Photo Galleries, Location  based RSS, Social network sharing and even ad network integration support.

Its FREE!!

So do you have your own app for your blog, News site, even your social stream on any of the three mobile app markets yet?? AppMakr.com has just the best and easiest solution you have been looking for. Build an App of your liking for your website in just 15 Mins. Do give a look into this amazing piece of technology and Happy App Making!! Source: Appmakr

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How to use a BlackBerry over GPRS/EDGE without BES/BIS ?

Using data services on Blackberry without BIS/BES

“A BLACKBERRY without a BB plan is as good as a paperweight!!”

You must have heard it, read it & even seen it at various forums, tech blogs and obviously BB’s website. Still the lure of owning a BLACKBERRY is too strong to resist.

On the contrary…

“You can use your blackberry over Standard 3G/GPRS/EDGE services which are way too affordable than BIS/BES services” and the applications that you can use and cannot use are as listed below:

CANNOT USE:

1. BB mail (sharing over mail is tightly integrated with it)

2. BBM

3. Facebook app for BB 

CAN USE (over Wi-Fi and data services):

1. Blackberry App World

2. Opera mini – much better browser than BB browser.

3. Gmail app which has “New mail” notification system.

4. LogicMail app which I can rate as 4.5/5 (if not happy with Gmail app).It also has file attachment facility ( www.logicmail.org/).

5. WhatsApp Messenger which is an excellent replacement for BBM and dirt cheaper too (1 year free trial, $1.99/yr subsequently) with group chat, file sharing, audio/video/ location sharing services.

6. Google maps with GPS for turn-by-turn navigation.

7. Snaptu

8. Nimbuzz for Facebook, Gmail, Yahoo, Orkut Chat.

The process is as follows:

Search for the APN for the carrier you are on over the internet.

Go to “Menu>Options>Advanced Options>TCP/IP” enable the “APN Settings Enabled” option and then write the APN that you searched.

For ex:

APN: airtelgprs.com ( for airtel)

APN: portalnmms (for Vodafone)

Save and that’s it! You are done.

Now you can use all the applications mentioned above and much more from the BB App world with standard 3G/ GPRS/ EDGE Plans.

P.S. - YOU CAN ONLY download and INSTALL APPLICATIONS over Wi-Fi from sources other than the Blackberry App world and all the applications are installed in the phone memory itself.

Hope this article helps you on deciding your next dream smart-phone!!!

For any other query please drop in the comment box. Will be Glad

if I can be of any help.

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Google : Not to release Honeycomb to open source. What?? Not Yet!!

Lets just start with Google's official version on this matter:

"Android 3.0, Honeycomb, was designed from the ground up for devices with larger screen sizes and improves on Android favorites such as widgets, multi-tasking, browsing, notifications and customization. While we're excited to offer these new features to Android tablets, we have more work to do before we can deliver them to other device types including phones. Until then, we've decided not to release Honeycomb to open source. We're committed to providing Android as an open platform across many device types and will publish the source as soon as it's ready."

  From above quote what i am able to understand is : 

1. Google's commitment towards an Open source OS is going smoothly in the direction it should be and with Honeycomb it does not want to make the same mistake it did with the Mobile's version of the Android OS(more on this later).

2. Google wants to bring the very beautiful TRON inspired UI of the Honeycomb to mobile phones as well, together with some of its new features but in a manner in which it's meant to be. 

Now lets approach the two points in a more detailed manner. Shall we!!!

First point:

What happened when iPad was released by the mighty Apple in 2010??

Every other company joined the race to bring a "Tablet" computer to the market ASAP. All that these companies had at that time were two options viz, Windows 7 and Android. And as expected they went for Android.

But Was Android(froyo v2.2) ready to be used in these tablets at that time??

NO!! Google itself acknowledged the fact that the current version of Android was not suitable for Tablet computers. Still Samsung came out with Galaxy TAB which to an extent achieved some success because of the 'tablet hype' and 'first in the market with an Android Tablet' factor.

Obviously Google was not happy. Why????

Because the users had a sub par experience on the Android Tablet compared to the butter smooth interface of an iPad. So Google started working from scratch on an Android version that is made totally for a Tablet computer. And Voilà, we have the very beautiful Honeycomb.

So, Are they successful in achieving a truly multitasking, feature rich, highly intuitive and user friendly OS for a Tablet computer??

Yes, They have!!! Kudos Google and Congr8s for the great work....

Now comes the biggest question. Releasing the Honeycomb source code to the PEOPLE??

Caution, Patience and Learning from the Past experience are the things that Google's practicing next. Yes, They will release the source code,  Happily, but only after it has stabilized the OS'es functionalities as its only the first working release of Honeycomb and making the UI experience so good that no other company dares to tinker with it.Thus establishing a Uniform User experience across all Android tablets in the market from different companies and finally putting a plug to fragmentation.

Second point:

Honeycomb has a beautiful UI, new chrome inspired excellent browser, very nice multitasking features and much more..... And the users want it in their mobile phones ASAP.

But is it ready to be ported to a mobile phone just like that???

Obviously No, Not yet!!!!

Thats what will happen if Google releases the Honeycomb source code prematurely. Users as well as companies will try to bring it to market as fast as they can,so they can capitalize on the 'First in the Market' factor. And Honeycomb would have achieved the same fate as its predecessors suffered. Google doesn't want that and neither do many of Android fans (including me Big FAN!!!) around the world. 

So, Its better to follow Google and have a little patience. Let Google do what its best at and bring to us another revolutionary Version of Android(read: Icecream) which combines the UI of Honeycomb and its new features together with stability and experience of Gingerbread.

Thanx for reading.

Cheers!!!

Do leave your comments!!!!

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Motorola Atrix 4G

Motorola recently launched its first NVIDIA Dual Core Tegra2 processor based mobile the “ATRIX 4G“ running Android Froyo 2.2. This new beast from the stables of MOTOROLA features a 4.0” screen of QHD resolution (960x540 pixels) with an equally impressive 1GB of RAM.

The ATRIX 4G covers all the usual connectivity flavors viz., GPRS, EDGE, 3G - HSDPA(14.4Mbps) , HSUPA (5.76Mpbs); Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth v2.1 with A2DP, a standard microUSB v2.0 port and an HDMI port.

For the Photography enthusiasts this gorgeous looking cell phone include a 5MP camera capable of snapping photos at 2592x1944 pixels complete with autofocus, image stabilization, Geo-Tagging and a Dual-LED flash. It is also capable of doing HD video recording at 720p@30fps and yes there is a secondary camera as well for those who like to see who they are...well chatting to ;)

The onboard storage comes standard at 16GB with an option to extend it further by 32GB using a microSD card slot. The 1GB RAM coupled with the dual-core processor and Android 2.2 makes this multimedia beast super snappy. For the statistics lovers, this phone clocked a score of an amazing 2616 in the QUADRANT test. The phone is very much capable of doing 1080p HD (H.263/H.264.WMV/Xvid/DivX) video playback so that you are not left out on enjoying your favorite movies and videos in their full glory.

As has always been a standout feature in Motorola phones, this phone too has an ultra clear speakerphone and coupled with a second mic with Active noise cancellation feature gives the users the best calling experience.

But the most exciting new feature of the ATRIX 4G is the software package and the additional HD multimedia dock featuring a power connector, three USB ports and an HDMI output, along with an infrared remote. This dock enables the users to connect to a TV/monitor, keyboard and a mouse which together with the “WEBTOP” application inbuilt into the phone gives a complete desktop experience. There is also a laptop dock featuring a 11.6” screen with a nice and easy to use keyboard, touchpad and approx 6hrs of battery backup which simultaneously charges the phone as well. The phone docks at the back of the laptop as you can see in the images below.

The “WEBTOP” application turns the ATRIX 4G into a complete PC experience, with a window UI and a MAC OSX alike application dock, full featured Mozilla Firefox with Flash 10.1 support and a file manager. One of the highlight of this application is that the state of the app is maintained across sessions allowing the ATRIX 4G to be undocked at any time and continue unhindered. Completing the package comes a beastly 1930mAh Lithium battery which might just be able to satisfy most of the heavy users, their daily dose of the work, entertainment, gaming, being connected via facebook, twitter and of course quite a good amount of basic phone functionality i.e., Talking and messaging.

Cheiroo!!!

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Hello Moto Atrix 4G

Motorola Atrix 4G