Nokia launches community mapping tool in India for Here maps

By Vijay

 

Nokia’s Here maps are considered to be among the best mapping solutions in the market. Now, the company has launched a community mapping program in India that will combine industrial mapping techniques with crowd mapping techniques. Nokia has hired a team of 1,000 people in India, and it will work with local experts from a dozen of universities around the country. Nokia will leverage the map creator tool that will allow people to add missing streets, bridges, points of interest and other information. This not too dissimilar from what Google is doing with its Map Maker tool in India.

To maintain the accuracy of the data and map quality Nokia has built a community moderation mechanism that will allow the Here team and the community to verify the edits to the maps before they get integrated into the base map.

According to Nokia, Here will work with a variety of communities across the country. In smaller towns and cities, Nokia believes locals will help Here build out road networks, while in densely populated areas contributors will provide information about points of interest and capture changes.

Quickoffice for Android, iPhone and iPad now available for free..

By Vijay @ 02:16pm

Google acquired Quickoffice back in June 2012 and made Quickoffice for Android, iPhone and iPad free for enterprise users in April 2013. Now Google has made these apps free to everyone, and all you need is Google account to use these apps. The app lets view and edit Microsoft Office Excel, Word and PowerPoint files. Since Quickoffice is integrated with Google Drive, you can store and access your files across devices.Google has also updated these apps with new features including a new icon, ability to create .ZIP folders and view charts in Excel and PowerPoint files.

New features in Quickoffice for Android, iPhone and iPad

• Works on Android phones, tablets, iPhone and iPad
• Improved Google Drive integration
• Create .ZIP folders
• View charts in Excel and PowerPoint files
• New app icon

If you sign in to your Google Account from the new Quickoffice app by September 26, 2013, you’ll get extra 10GB of Google Drive storage for two years.

Download Quickoffice (Free) – Android | iPhone and iPad

Official YouTube app for Windows Phone is back and now available for both 7.x & 8 devices.

By Vijay @ 01:12pm

Today, Google had released a new version 3.2.0.0 of youtube app which is now live on the Store for Windows Phone 7.x and Windows Phone 8 devices.

The new app looks a lot like the app that was pulled and even includes an upload feature for posting videos directly to the service. That should reassure customers who believe the app would be stripped of functionality (one feature that seems to be missing is downloading of videos).

According to the app description, the features include:

• Pin any video, playlist, channel, and search queries to Live Tiles
• Manage your YouTube profile with your unique My YouTube page
• Manage your playlists, uploads, and video lists
• Find channels, videos, and playlists with the quick access search bar
• Share videos to your social networks, e-mail, and text messages
• Let your kids watch safe videos in Kid’s Corner and keep their own profile

The app is now available for older devices too, which is a great win for legacy users who have felt left out lately from Microsoft’s releases.

You can download the now official YouTube app for Windows Phone here in the Store.

 

Google launches Impact Challenge for nonprofit organizations in India

By Vijay @ 08:35am

After awarding nonprofit organizations around the world for their work, Google has now brought its Google Impact Challenge to India. The Mountain View-based company brings with it a kitty of Rs 12 crore to help four Indian organizations to implement their ideas.

“Today we’re launching the Google Impact Challenge in India, inviting Indian nonprofits to tell us how they’d use technology to improve people’s lives,” Google’s Nikesh Arora wrote in a blog. “At the end of the challenge, four nonprofits will each receive a Rs 3 crore Global Impact Award and technical assistance from Google to bring their projects to life.”

Registrations have kicked-off today and will be open until September 5. The top-10 organizations will be selected by Google users around the world based on their ideas. The final event will take place on October 31, where the top three organizations will be awarded by a judge’s panel comprising of Google’s CBO Nikesh Arora, director of Google Giving Jacquelline Fuller, social worker Anu Aga and MD of Omidyar Network India Advisors Jayant Sinha. The fourth awardee, based on online votes from the public, will also be revealed at the event.

Source: BGR

Comparision: Google Nexus 7 2 vs Google Nexus 7 vs Ipad Mini

By Vijay @ 09:23am

Google recently announced, second-generation Nexus 7, which increases the resolution tremendously to 1920 x 1200 pixels but with same screen size. But how does it stack up against Apple’s portable tablet warrior – the iPad mini? And is it worth than older Nexus 7?

 GSMArena prepared a quick comparison table that’ll bring you another step closer in making your decision.

The new Nexus 7 2 is thinner and a tad lighter than its previous version. So it’s more comfortable to operate with one hand but still 10 grams heavier than the iPad mini which is also little wider.

Coming to screen resolution neither the iPad mini nor the first-gen Nexus 7 can hold a candle to Nexus 7 2′s WUXGA display. Its pixel density is almost double that of the iPad mini’s. Portable tablets not only need to be easy to handle, but also cheap to buy. Google asks $30 more for the Nexus 7 2 than it did with the original, but it’s still way better than the premium price charged by Apple.

Check out the table below to see how the Nexus 7 2 stacks up against the iPad mini and the first-gen Nexus 7.

	Nexus 7 2	Nexus 7	Apple iPad Mini
OS	Android 4.3 Jelly Bean	Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean	Apple iOS 7
Display	7.0-inch IPS LCD	7.0-inch IPS LCD	7.85-inch IPS LCD
Resolution	1920 x 1200 (323 ppi)	1280 x 800 (216 ppi)	1024 x 768 (163 ppi)
Height Width Thickness	201 mm 114 mm 8 mm	198.5 mm 120 mm 10.45 mm	200 mm 134.7 mm 7.2 mm
Weight	318 grams	340 grams	308 grams
Processor	1.5GHz quad-core Krait processor Snapdragon S4 Pro	1.3GHz quad-core processor NVIDIA Tegra 3	1GHz dual-core processor A5
GPU	Adreno 320	GeForce ULP	PowerVR SGX543MP2
RAM	2GB	1GB	512 MB
Storage	16GB / 32GB	8GB / 16GB	16GB / 32GB / 64GB
microSD card slot	No	No	No
Primary camera	5 MP, 2592×1944 pixels, autofocus, 1080p video recording	No	5 MP, 2592×1944 pixels, autofocus, 1080p video recording
Front camera	1.2MP	1.2MP	1.2MP
Battery Life	N/A	10 Hours	10 Hours
Wi-Fi	Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n	Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n	Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, dual-band, dual-antenna
Bluetooth	Yes	Yes	Yes
Network	No	No	GPRS / EDGE / UMTS / LTE
NFC	Yes	Yes	No
Speakers	Stereo	Mono	Stereo
Availability	July 30	Currently available	Currently available
Price	$229 / $269 (Wi-Fi) $349 (32GB Cellular)	$199 / $249	$329 / $429 / $529 $459 / $559 / $659 (Cellular)

That’s Google’s latest Nexus 7 slate is almost just like the original, but it sets the bar pretty high for other portable Android tablets and gives the competition a tough time.

All About Google Chromecast wireless streaming

By Vijay @ 09:34am

Just as exciting as Android 4.3 and the new Nexus 7 tablet, is Google’s latest device, the Chromecast.

  A tiny HDMI dongle, the size of a thumb drive delivering endless YouTube, Netflix, Google Music, Pandora, and web content to your HDTV for streaming anything and everything. Easily stream content to your big screen for only $35. Andriod Community have had some hands-on. So take a peek after the break.

As you can already tell from the images, the Chromecast is a 3-inch dongle the size of most USB thumb drives. It has micro-USB on one end (for power, FYI) and the other is a full-size HDMI plug to stream 1080p video right to your TV and home theater. You’ll need micro-USB to power it, which wasn’t mentioned. Overall it’s small, and extremely portable, but we’re worried the bubble on the end will waste two HDMI ports, which could be an issue for some.

The size aside, which hopefully isn’t an issue, this thing has some serious potential. Plug in the micro-USB for power and start throwing HD video, Netflix movies and anything you’d like right to the television for the entire family to enjoy. Using a Wifi 2.4 GHz band (no 5 GHz) to talk to your smartphone, tablet, or laptop, the Chromecast will let you instantly stream things to the big screen.

Chromecast has some serious potential, and we’re looking for more details (such as mirroring) but for now it only works with a select set of apps. Those being YouTube, Netflix, Pandora Radio, Google Play Music, TV, and Movies, and of course full browsing using Chrome. The idea is dead simple too.

If you’re familiar with controlling any of those on a smartphone, tablet, or laptop, it will be a breeze on the Chromecast because you use the device for controls. Our Android phones can truly control the entire experience now.

One important aspect is the Chromecast works on all devices, and is built to scale perfectly too. You can go from streaming a video from your Nexus 7, to swapping it out and “casting” a tab from Google Chrome on your iPhone 5 in seconds. It does it quick, accurately, and scales perfect. It works in sleep mode so you don’t waste screen time and battery life. So that’s a plus. It sounds too good to be true, but it’s indeed real!

For $35 this is a steal. Buy this amazing little addition right now for only $35.

Play Store Link

Source: Andriod Community

Have Nexus 4? Wants to update to 4.3? Here it is…

By Vijay @ 08:27am

 It’s important to remember that not everyone’s a whiz when it comes to the command-line aspect of Android.

The over-the-air update that brings the Nexus 4 to Android 4.3 is pushing out now. But if for some reason you haven’t gotten it yet and you don’t want to wait any longer, Phalgun Gujjar in Andriod Central forums has a nice little tutorial for sideloading the update. No, it doesn’t root your phone, and it’s really no different than just waiting for the update to push out. It’s quick and it’s easy and it’s a great way to learn one of the basics of working with your Android phone with the command line.

• How to update your Nexus 4 to Android 4.3

 

Best Deal: Nexus 7 on Amazon India for just Rs. 11,999/-

By Vijay @ 09:50pm

Google might have already launched Nexus 7 (2013) but the original Nexus 7 continues to be a great tablet. It has already been updated to Android 4.3 and packs capable hardware for all your tablet needs..

 There is still time for the new Nexus 7 tablet to arrive in India and whenever it does come to the country, it is expected to be priced starting INR 17,999 considering the price of the original Nexus 7 was INR 15,999 at launch.

Amazon.in (via a seller) is currently offering the original Nexus 7 for just Rs. 11,999/-, which is a great price. You cannot get any other tablet with so much potential at this pricing in India, and the latest Android version is a bonus. You will get the full 1 year manufacturer warranty, so there are no worries.

 To remind you, original Nexus 7 features 7-inch 1280x800p IPS display, 1.2GHz quad-core Tegra 3 processor, 1GB of RAM, 16GB of storage, and Wi-Fi support.

Buy Nexus 7 on Amazon.in