Motorola Xoom Android 3.1 update coming in India

Motorola India has just announced that the Indian version of Xoom 3G and WiFi will be getting the Android 3.1 update. Update will be pushed over-the-air, so your Xoom will get a notification window with the option to download the update immediately or at a later date. It can also be downloaded manually by going to Settings > About Tablet > System Updates. The update is 40MB in size.

Motorola Xoom

Update Details:-

• It activates the SD card slot
• Improved multi-tasking, providing instant visual access to a larger number of applications
• Re-sizable home screen widgets for Gmail, Calendar and Browser
• Keyboard and Mouse support over Bluetooth.
• Support for USB and Bluetooth PC joysticks and gamepads.
• Direct Picture transfer from camera with a single touch.
• New high-performance Wi-Fi lock lets applications maintain high-performance Wi-Fi connections even when the device screen is off
• Preloaded Adobe Flash Player and File Manager.

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Karbonn launches its first Android phone, A1

Karbonn Mobiles has launched its first Android smartphone, A1, in the Indian market. The phone is based on Android 2.2 (Froyo) and has a and 600 MHz processor. Standard Android applications and features like Google Map and G-sensor are included with the smartphone, as well as the ability to download applications from the Android Market.
The phone is priced at Rs 6,999. The company plans to introduce three more Android smartphones in the coming months

Karbonn A1

Specifications:-

• 2.8" QVGA capacitive touchscreen (240x320)
• Android 2.2 (Froyo)
• 256 MB RAM
• 150 MB internal memory
• Memory expendable upto 32 GB
• Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g
• Bluetooth v2.0 with A2DP
• Quad-Band GSM, 3G HSDPA (7.2 Mbps)
• 600 MHz processor
• 3.2 MP Camera
• 1100 mAh Battery

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BlackBerry Messenger 6 gets social integration

BlackBerry Messenger 6

RIM has announced the availability of BlackBerry Messenger 6, which introduces "BBM connected" apps, allowing users to easily interact with each other from within the app. For example, with a BBM connected game app, users can invite their BBM friends to join them in a game and then chat with one another in real time while the game is being played — without ever leaving the game app.


BBM connected applications also include the ability to share app reviews with friends - when a user discovers a great new BBM connected app, they can instantly share it with their friends. Users can simply pull up their BBM contact list directly from within the BBM connected app and start chatting.

Users can also discover new apps by viewing the list of apps that are posted to a BBM friend's profile. They can also click on an app within the list, and instantly download it from BlackBerry App World.

There is also a new profile feed, which allows you to share game scores, etc., and click to download an app which someone else has shared.

All in all, it looks like RIM is seriously trying to make its users download and use more apps respectively. It will be interesting to observe if this update of the Blackberry Messenger will help RIM in increasing the download rate of the apps for Blackberry OS, an area where RIM is well behind the competing Operating Systems- Android and iOS

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Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 Gingerbread update delayed

Sony Ericsson, in a statement issued on their blog, have announced that the information about Xperia X10 Android 2.3 update release on its site was premature, and it will take a few days for the actual roll-out to start. With this news, It seems that the long wait for X10 owners is still not over.

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Acer launches Android Smartphone Liquid E Plus smartphone in India

Acer India has announced the launch of its new Liquid E Plus Android Smartphone in the Indian market. It is being projected as an entry level device for the Indian market and is priced for Rs. 12,250. The phone comes with Android Froyo pre-installed and there is no mention of any Gingerbread update.

Acer Liquid E Plus

Specifications:-

• 3.5" WVGA capacitive touchscreen (800x480)
• Acer UI 3.0
• Android 2.2 (Froyo)
• 256 MB RAM
• 512 MB internal memory
• Memory expendable upto 32 GB with an 8 GB card free
• Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g
• Bluetooth v2.0 with A2DP
• Quad-Band GSM, 3G HSDPA (7.2 Mbps)
• 768 MHz Scorpion processor, Adreno 200 GPU, Qualcomm QSD8250 Snapdragon chipset
• 5 MP Auto-focus Camera
• 1350 mAh Battery

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Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 Gingerbread update released

As we reported earlier, Sony Ericsson has started rolling out the Gingerbread update for the Xperia X10 smartphone in select countries with others scheduled to get it soon. The PC Companion software is needed to update the phone as OTA updates are not yet available. A complete list of changes can be seen in the picture.

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Karbonn to launch an Android phone in India soon

Karbonn Mobiles is going to launch its first Android smartphone in India soon. Named Karbonn A1, it will be a Froyo (Android 2.2) powered smartphone and would be priced at about Rs. 7,000.


While the specifications of the smartphone are still unknown, it is expected to come with the complete set of Google Applications  along with Android Market support

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Sony Ericsson launching Xperia Mini and Xperia Mini Pro in India next week

As we had already written in May, Sony Ericsson is launching its two new Android smartphones- Xperia Mini and Xperia Pro in India next week. Both the phones have the same specs with the Pro featuring a hardware keyboard. The phones will be launched for about Rs. 15,000 for the Mini Pro and Rs. 14,000 for the Mini. The Mini pro is already available at flipkart on preorder.

Specifications:-

Sony Ericsson Xperia Mini

Sony Ericsson Xperia Mini Pro

• 3" HVGA Reality display capacitive touchscreen ( 320x480)
• 1GHz Qualcomm QSD8255 Snapdragon processor, Adreno 205 GPU
• 512 MB RAM
• Memory Expendable upto 32 GB
• Quad-Band GSM, 3G HSDPA
• WiFi b/g/n, Bluetooth 2.1 with A2DP
• 5 MP autofocus camera with LED flash
• Android 2.3 (Gingerbread)
• 1200 mAh battery
• Full QWERTY keyboard and secondary VGA camera in Xperia Mini Pro.

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Microsoft makes Marketplace available to 19 more countries

Microsoft opened its application store last year with the launch of Windows Phone 7 but so far it has been available only in handful of countries. Those outside these countries had to fake their location, which meant they could only download free apps from the Marketplace.

Now, however, the list of supported countries has been expanded with 19 new names, including India, added to the mix, taking the grand total to 35.

Apart from this, the Marketplace has also received other updates in the form of updated price tiers, App Hub localization, improvements to mobile in-app advertising, new private distribution of applications for beta apps and enhanced application management.

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Acer finally launching its new Flagship Android Smartphone, Iconia Smart in India next month

We had reported back in May that Acer is launching its Iconia Smart mobile in June. After an unexpected delay of two months, the smartphone will finally be launched in August. There is still no word on pricing, but it is expected to be around Rs. 28,000.

Specifications:-

Acer Iconia Smart

• 4.8" HXGA LED backlit capacitive display (1024x480)
• 1 GHz Qualcomm processor
• 512 MB RAM
• Quad-Band HSDPA 3G
• 8 GB Memory expendable upto 32 GB
• 8 MP autofocus camera with LED flash
• 2 MP secondary camera
• WiFi b/g/n, Bluetooth 2.1 with EDR
• Android 2.3
• 1500 mAh battery
• HDMI, 3.5 mm port

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Asus launches Eee Pad Transformer in India for Rs. 33,000 with dock

Asus today finally announced the launch of the Android Honeycomb powered Eee Pad Transformer in India. It will be available for a price of Rs 32,999 for the 16 GB WiFi only version. The price also includes the keyboard dock available for the tablet. There is no option to purchase the tablet separately.
The Eee Pad Transformer comes with Android 3.0 on-board at the launch in India, but an update to Android 3.1 is expected soon.

Specifications:-

Asus Eee Pad Transformer

• 1Ghz Nvidia Tegra 2 processor
• 1 GB RAM
• 16/32 GB storage expendable with a 32 GB Micro-SD card
• 10.1-inch WXGA capacitive touchscreen (1280 x 800)
• Android 3.0 honeycomb with Flash support.
• Bluetooth 2.1 with A2DP
• WiFi b/g/n
• 5 MP auto focus camera with LED flash
• 1.3 MP front camera
• 24.4Wh Battery
• Keyboard dock with extra battery and ports
• 3D stereo with SRS sound

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HTC ChaCha launched in India for Rs. 16,000

HTC today launched its second Facebook smartphone, the ChaCha in India. The smartphone will be available for Rs. 15,990 in the market. HTC ChaCha was first announced earlier this year along with Salsa, which was launched last month for Rs. 20,000.

HTC ChaCha

HTC Salsa Features:-

• 5 MP autofocus camera with LED flash
• VGA Secondary Camera
• Android 2.3 (Gingerbread)
• Bluetooth 3.0 With A2DP
• 2.6" HVGA capacitive Gorilla Glass display (320x480)
• 1250 mAh Battery
• Wi-Fi b/g/n, Wi-Fi hotspot
• Quad-Band GSM, 3G HSDPA (7.2 Mbps)
• 800 MHz Qualcomm processor
• 512 MB Internal Memory, 512 MB RAM
• Memory expendable upto 32 GB 
• Dedicated Facebook  button with full QWERTY keypad

Along with the launch, Flipkart has also reduced the price of HTC Salsa to Rs. 18,796. You can find the deal here.

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Viewsonic to launch two Android smartphones in India next week

ViewSonic is going to launch two new Android smartphones in India very soon; these smartphones include V350, which is a dual-SIM phone and ViewPad 4, a variant of the Huawei Ideos X6. According to The Mobile Indian, this launch could happen as early as next week.
V350 is expected to cost about Rs. 16,000 and Viewpad 4 about Rs. 20,000

ViewSonic V350

ViewSonic V350 Specifications:-

• 3.5-inch HVGA capacitive touchscreen
• Android 2.2
• 5 MP auto-focus camera 
• Expendable memory up to 32 GB
• WiFi b/g
• Bluetooth 2.1 with EDR
• Dual-Sim GSM
• 3D User Interface
• Quad-Band GSM, 3G HSDPA 7.2Mbps
• 600 MHz Qualcomm MSM 7227 processor
• 512 MB RAM, 512 MB ROM

ViewSonic ViewPad 4

ViewSonic Viewpad 4 specifications:-

• 4.1" WVGA capacitive touchscreen
• Android 2.2
• Qualcomm MSM 8255 1GHz processor
• 5 MP camera
• Bluetooth 2.1 with EDR
• Expendable memory up to 32 GB
• WiFi b/g/n
• Quad-Band GSM, 3G HSDPA 7.2Mbps
• 512 MB RAM, 2 GB ROM
• 0.3 MP front Camera
• 3D User Interface

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Samsung rolling out Gingerbread update for Ace

Samsung Galaxy Ace s5830

Even though unofficially the Gingerbread ROM for the Samsung Ace leaked months back, Samsung never released it officially. But now, SamFirmware is reporting that Samsung has started rolling out the Gingerbread update for the Ace through Kies. The update will upgrade the Android version to 2.3.3 and bring the usual Gingerbread goodness to the Samsung Ace. The update for now is available in limited countries, namely, Russia and Poland but will be available in other regions including India soon.

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Micromax A70 launched in India

Micromax has just released its latest Android powered A70 in India today . The launch was announced on their facebook page. It is a budget Android smartphone and boasts a pretty decent configuration. It features Android 2.2, 600 MHz processor and 3.2 inch display. The phone has been listed for Rs. 7,999 on flipkart.com

Micromax A70

Specifications:-

• Android 2.2 (Froyo)
• 5MP camera
• 0.3 MP front camera
• 1450 mAh battery
• Wi-Fi b/g, Bluetooth v2.1 v2.1 with EDR
• 3G HSDPA (7.2 Mbps), Quad-band GSM
• 600 MHz Processor
• 4 GB Internal Memory Expendable upto 32 GB
• 3.2" inch HVGA capacitive display (320x480)

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Spice to launch MI 720 Android tablet in India next month

Spice MI-700

Scrapping its plan to launch MI 700 tablet in India this month, Spice has instead decided to upgrade the tablet to MI 720 before launching it next month. AS we had mentioned before, the tablet had outdated specs with Android 2.2 Froyo, 600 MHz processor, 3.0 MP camera, Wi-Fi b/g, and so the news that it is being updated is a good one. The new tablet MI 720 is expected to have upgraded Wi-Fi radio, processor, OS and camera, and is expected to retail for less than Rs 20,000. Tweet Follow @anshulsood2005