Country has 95.5 crore mobile subscribers: Telecom minister

A whopping 95.5 crore mobile phone connections have been taken by India's 120 crore population, Lok Sabha was informed on Wednesday.
Telecom minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said this was a reflection on how much the mobile phone network has expanded in the country.
"There were 30 core internet connections in the country till last year which was more than the United States and next to China.
In the use of smartphones, India is next only to the US," the minister said during question hour. He said the telecom ministry was implementing the Technology Development for Indian Languages (TDIL) programme and its objectives included research and development of language technologies, software tools and applications for Indian languages, proliferation of language technology products and solutions.
Another objective of the programme was to develop standards for linguistic resources, tools and applications for inter-operability.
The minister said under the TDIL programme, CDs containing software tools and fonts for 22 constitutionally-recognised Indian languages have been made available in public domain through the <http://www.tdil-dc.in> portal.
This has empowered the citizens to use Information and Communication Technology in their own languages.
Further, various Indian language tools, technologies, linguistic resources and standards developed under the TDIL programme have been made available, like machine translation, optical character recognition, text to speech, sanskrit tools, monolingual search engines.
Prasad said a number of initiatives to develop tools like language CDs and keyboard drivers for android based mobile devices, technologies like machine translation, optical character recognition, cross lingual information, text to speech, automatic speech recogntion etc. and standards like unicode, web standards, speech standards, corpus standards and natural language processing standards have been taken.
"TDIL is an ongoing research and development programme which caters to emerging language technology needs of the masses and changing Information and Communication Technology environment," he said.

Google Play launches a global age-based app rating system based on local standards

Google is announcing that it is adopting a global age-based system for rating apps in its Google Play store. The system is automated so that developers can answer questionnaires and get a recommended rating quickly that covers advice for parents about how old kids have to be to play the game or app.
The system also has safeguards to deal with incorrect ratings, and it will have oversight from Google Play and ratings agencies around the world. One of the smart things about it is that it can develop automated ratings for a game or app based on the local customs of various regions with ratings systems. It’s all about having developers better label their apps for the right audience, Google said.
The system is based on the fact that people in different countries have their own ideas about what content is appropriate for kids, teens and adults, said Eunice Kim, Product Manager for Google Play, in an interview with GamesBeat.
“We know that cultural standards are different the world over,” Kim said. “We wanted to be sensitive to those differences, especially when we have a billion users using the product every day. We wanted to make sure it wasn’t burdensome for the developer.”
Developers can answer questions about an app, such as whether it uses any images with nudity or common naughty words. Then Google Play generates an automated rating for the title based on ratings systems. In North America, the title is based on ratings from the Entertainment Software Ratings Board, an industry supported group that is part of the International Age Rating Coalition (IARC). Other members include the Pan-European Game Information (PEGI), Australian Classification Board, Unterhaltungssoftware Selbstkontrolle (USK) and Classificação Indicativa (ClassInd). Territories without ratings authorities will display a generic age-based rating.

Above: ESRB ratings

Image Credit: ESRB

The system will be implemented for all apps in the coming weeks around the world. Google believes that the change will give developers an easy way to communicate ratings to users and receive better app discovery and engagement for their apps.
“Android is in the hands of a billion people in 190 countries, and we have paid out more than $7 billion to developers,” said Purnima Kochikar, director of business development for Google Play, in an interview. “What we are doing here is helping developers categorize their apps in a way that users understand.”
To sign up for a rating, developers can sign in to the Android Developer Console and complete the new rating questionnaire for each app. Apps without a completed rating questionnaire will be marked as “Unrated” and may be blocked in certain territories or for specific users. Starting in May, all new apps and updates to existing apps will require a completed questionnaire before they can be published on Google Play. The ratings have descriptions that help parents out, such as “has nudity.” Kochikar noted that the developer doesn’t rate the game; the agency produces the rating based on the questionnaire.
“This is an emerging area, and no one else does it this way,” said Kim. “In the past, it has taken thousands of dollars and weeks to rate video games. We believe the accuracy and the objectivity here is beyond what is available in the market now. This is a technical solution to a human problem (of having too many games to rate). The answers to the questionnaire map to different rating levels. They do not proactively review the ratings before they get published, but they have the right to review them after they are published. It is meant to be a streamlined process.”
Kim said the system was initiated in response to user interest. It wasn’t driven by complaints or laws in various countries.
“We previously had one size fits all,” Kochikar said. “Now it is based on local ratings.”
If there is a mistake, developers can challenge the rating. Or if a developer misrepresents a game, Google Play can override a rating so it is consistent with what the rating agencies would do. The rating agencies can also step in.
Previously, Google used a rating system that it had designed itself, but it was one system for the entire world.
“It’s top of mind for us to do a better job with families and parents,” Kim said.
Patricia Vance, head of the ESRB, said in an interview that the process with Google took about a year to complete. She said that other carriers and platforms are in the midst of creating their own policies based on similar notions. The ESRB launched its own solution for digital game ratings a few years ago, and this Google Play system leverages that work. The IARC now has ratings that cover 1.5 billion people around the world, she said.
“It was built to be scalable and to handle the higher volumes of mobile apps,” Vance said. “We needed a scalable system that was also verifiable.”
In a related development, Kochikar said that several months ago, Google began reviewing apps before they were published on Google Play to better protect the community and improve the app catalog. Developers can check where their app is in the approval process. Google doesn’t approval apps with sexual content, copyright-infringing intellectual property, and real-money gambling.
This new process has a team of human experts who are responsible for identifying violations of the developer policies earlier in the app life cycle. This team uses automated tools and their own judgment to quickly decide whether apps can be published or not. Kochikar said that developers haven’t noticed any delays in the process, and now the team can approve apps in a matter of hours rather than days.
Google also provides reasons why apps are rejected or suspended, based on its content policies.
Vance noted that other carriers and platforms are performing the same analysis now. Apple has not signed on yet, she said. Vance said she believes that titles based on Xbox Live, Nintendo eShop, and the PlayStation Network will use the same IARC system as Google for territory-based ratings around the world. So far, the Firefox Marketplace has also approved the IARC system.
Kochikar attributes the success of Android to a focus on better business management, smarter tools for developers, and a good user experience. Kochikar said carrier billing is available in 32 countries, with 11 new ones added in 2014. Gift cards are in 28 countries, with 21 added in 2014. And PayPal is available in 18 countries, all launched last year.
“We are in more places and more ways,” Kochikar said. “We’ve focused on flexible business models, including in-app purchases and subscriptions.”

Opera Coast 4.1 for iOS Adds Video Boost and More New Features

The updated Opera Coast browser is available on the App Store and is compatible with all devices (iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch) running iOS 7.0 and higher.
The video boost feature on Opera Coast browser is claimed to compress the overall video size to reduce the time taken to buffer the video. It works only when Opera Turbo is enabled.
"Using the Rocket Optimizer engine, Opera's video boost is the first time that video optimization has been integrated into a Web browser, so your browser can now become your favourite video app. Opera Coast has always been about reflecting how people truly surf on their mobile devices, and part of that is kicking back with trending, inspiring or downright hysterical videos," explained company in its press briefing.
Other than video boost, company says that Opera Coast now has more features to speed up browsing experience. The browser has added a page-loading status with the progress bar, an easier way to return to search from the Discover news feed (by swiping down), and support for sharing pages directly to Pinterest, Evernote, Pocket and Kik. Opera also claims that users can now navigate back to the previous page of a secure website without refreshing the page.
Last month, Opera mobile browser added a feature - Opera Max App Pass - that let operators offer subscribers free access to selected apps.
The new Opera Max App Pass feature will soon also allow advertisers to offer phone users sponsored or paid passes for using mobile apps. The feature is being tested by Telenor in some Asian markets, said company.

Microsoft 'not killing' Internet Explorer just yet

Microsoft's Internet Explorer has although slipped lower and lower on the popularity meter in the past few years, however, several Windows users, including celebrities like Zooey Deschanel, came to its rescue after Microsoft hinted that it might squash the ageing browser.
The confusion started when Microsoft's Chris Capossela said at the Microsoft Convergence event on Monday that the company was working on a new browser name and brand that will feature in Windows 10, reported Mashable. Capossela added that the project was codenamed "Project Spartan."
This statement was read as a hint that the IE browser in the upcoming Windows OS will be replaced by another browser. However, Microsoft late clarified that the IE browser will be very much alive. A spokesperson said, "Project Spartan is Microsoft's next generation browser, built just for Windows 10."
The firm said that it will continue to make Internet Explorer available with Windows 10 for enterprises and other customers who require legacy browser support.

More Channels Could Be Coming to Apple’s TV Service

 

Discovery and Viacom are reportedly in talks with Apple

Apple’s rumored upcoming pay-TV service may be getting a more robust channel offering than originally thought.
The Wall Street Journal, which first reported on the new service, now says that Discovery Communications (owner of Discovery Channel and Animal Planet) and Viacom (owner of Nickelodeon and Comedy Central) are in talks to partner with Apple, a move that could bring programs like MythBusters and The Daily Show to the platform.
The Journal had earlier reported that Disney, CBS and 21st Century Fox were considering bringing their channels to the service, which would deliver content via the Internet on Apple devices such as the Apple TV and iPad.
The price of Apple’s service is still up in the air, but figures ranging from $25 to $40 per month have been floated so far in media reports. If the new service actually launches, Apple will be competing not only with traditional cable operators but also other tech companies like Sony that are also planning on launching pay-TV offerings.

Windows RT is Dead, But Microsoft Hasn't Learned

Windows RT is dead, according to a Microsoft slide shown on WinBeta.org today. It will not receive updates. It has no upgrade path, although it may get a few consolation features. It was a bad idea in the first place. And now, Microsoft may be making the same mistake again with Windows 10.

Names and stories matter; they tell you what things are. Windows RT, a variant of Windows 8 designed to run on ARM-based tablets using chips from the likes of Qualcomm and Nvidia, was doomed because of a bad name and a bad story. Crammed in between Windows Phone and Windows 8.1, RT ran a subset of desktop Windows applications that were distributed through the Windows app store. Most notably, it had a full copy of Microsoft Office relatively early for low-cost tablets.
But Microsoft could never properly communicate exactly which apps did and didn't run on RT, confusing potential customers who then went for either "real Windows" or iOS tablets. The killer messages for Windows are productivity and gaming, but the vast majority of line-of-business apps and the vast majority of Windows games never ran on RT.
RT was made irrelevant when Intel came out with x86 processors small and cheap enough to fit into $299 tablets like the four-star Lenovo Miix 2 8"$269.00 at Amazon, thus making slates trying to leverage a Qualcomm price and power-efficiency advantage look irrelevant when competing against "full Windows" tablets able to run all Windows apps, with no compromises.
Windows 10 Mobile Phone Series For Phones and Tablets
So now we have Windows 10 coming. Windows 10 will run on mobile phones, 7-inch tablets, 10-inch tablets, laptops, and desktops. But wait! There are two versions of Windows 10, and they are incompatible. They run different apps. Both are called "Windows 10."
The evolved Windows Phone, which is designed for both ARM and x86-based processors, and which runs on devices with 8-inch or smaller touch screens, runs one set of apps. The evolved Windows 8.1, which runs only on x86 processors and has a non-touchscreen mode, runs another set of apps. But Microsoft is giving them the same name.
This has resulted in a lot of confusion in the press. I've heard Microsoft partners calling the new phone OS "Windows 10 Mobile," "Windows Mobile 10," "Windows Phone 10," and "Windows 10 for Phones." Today's slide lists it as "Windows Mobile 10," which I've had Microsoft executives tell me is wrong. The Microsoft website calls it "Windows 10 for phones." I think our house style around here at the moment is "Windows 10 for phones and tablets," but that's subject to change.
This is important because Microsoft can't afford to have consumers be confused. Pretty much all Android devices (in the U.S.) run pretty much all Android apps; the same goes for iOS devices. (When Amazon forked Android, it changed the name to Fire OS.) The same needs to go for "Windows 10," or less technical buyers will once again be confused and frustrated as to what they're actually purchasing.
When Do We Get One Windows?
There needs to be one Windows, or two. Ideally, one. Not three. Microsoft's two major competitors have gone for the two-OS strategy—Mac OS and iOS, Android and Chrome OS. Microsoft's impenetrable advantage in home and enterprise computing has always been the epic depth of its bench of third-party apps. Throwing that away, as it did with Windows Phone, really weakened the company.
I'd be very interested to see if Microsoft can find some way to truly bring the power of Windows 10 to mobile platforms. Maybe that's some sort of virtualization or streaming-app solution. It's amazing to me that OnLive and Nvidia, among others, have shown Windows games streaming to Android devices, but that there's no official, well-supported solution to stream Windows games to Windows phones. Microsoft will stream Xbox games to some Windows devices, but for now, it looks like that excludes all the ARM-based phones and tablets. Microsoft has been very unclear on this. I hold out hope.
If Microsoft is truly going the two-OS route, it should commit. Embrace Windows 10 for phones as a well-integrated, well-optimized sibling of Windows 10, and stop trying to conflate the two. The last thing we want to see is Windows RT all over again.

LG India Tech Show 2015: Announcements

Hot on the heels of the Mobile World Congress and CES at Las Vegas, LG offered a sneak peek of its big tech launches for the Indian market. The LG India tech show, now in its third edition was held in Delhi today and showed off LG’s capabilities in the home entertainment, appliances and mobile devices categories. As expected, LG took the wraps off the LG G Flex 2, that we first saw at CES, the slightly overwhelming 105K OLED TV with its 266 cm screen, the LG Inverter V AC with its unique ‘mosquito away technology’ and the mammoth 1000-litre double ‘door-in-door’ refrigerator.
Larger than life:
If you have Rs 60 lakh in spare change, you might want to consider the world’s first 5K television. Even as consumers are gradually making the shift to 4K TVs, LG has upped the ante with the launch of this massive 5K TV that takes ‘immersive’ to another level. A 266 cm screen, IPS 5K panel with 11 million pixels and a horizontal 5120 x 2160 resolution. The TV gets a leg up with a 7.2 channel sound system designed by Harman/Kardon that packs in a whopping 150W of sound. If the price is out of your budget then the 77 4K OLED TV might do the trick. Priced at Rs 15 lakh, this TV, with seriously deep blacks and life-like colours, also features sound designed by Harmon/Kardon and the all-new Web OS 2.0 for an enhanced ‘Smart’ TV experience.

Bend it like LG:
LG’s first G Flex device with a curved display didn’t exactly set the sales charts on fire, but that hasn’t stopped LG from unveiling a successor – the much improved G Flex 2. The G Flex 2 is a gorgeous blend of four distinct curves that lend this device its unique form factor. It doesn’t just make the device easy to grip but the G Flex 2 also has excellent viewing angles on the 5.5-inch Plastic OLED screen. The camera is ridiculously quick and very selfie-friendly – it now supports gesture controls for selfies up to 1.5 metres; you might not need that selfie stick after all. The device also comes with a unique self-healing back cover that makes minor scratches disappear almost miraculously. The device is also a powerhouse – the first device with the new generation Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 processor (64 bit, Octa-core) and also comes with a handy quick charge mode that promises to fire up your device from 0 to 100% in 40 minutes flat. At Rs 55,000 LG seems to have priced the device more wisely than its predecessor.  

LG ups its wearable game:
We’ve been fans of LG’s newest wearable – the LG Watch Urbane, since it debuted at the Mobile World Congress. It’s easily one of the best looking smartwatches out there and can actually pass for a spiffy looking designer watch. There’s a slightly bright gold case and a more sober silver case (you can play around with custom straps). It’s not all form though; this device comes in two versions – one that runs on Android Wear while the other (The LTE version) sports LG’s custom interface and also has its own SIM card slot. The Urbane is powered by a 1.2GHz processor (plus 1GB RAM) and also features 4GB of onboard memory. It sports the same plastic OLED display similar to the one found on the G Flex 2. At an expected price band of Rs 25,000 – 30,000 it might still be a tough sell for LG given that consumers are still playing the waiting game as far as wearables go.
Mid-market trio:
Much of the action in the smartphone space is in the fiercely competitive Rs 10,000 – 20,000 segment where finicky consumers want serious bang for their buck. LG has lined up three devices – the Leon, Spirit and Magna (priced between Rs 12,000 and Rs 18,000) in a bid to carve a 10% market share in the smartphone segment in India. The devices are bound to stand out in this cluttered segment with their ‘slightly’ curved form factor (the screens of these three devices are not curved though) and their striking IPS displays. All three devices come with Android 5.0 (Lollipop) out of the box.