Internet of Humans

I have blogged a lot before, on topics ranging from personal, political and even gibberish. But never ventured into anything which our life has become today. The online world. That internet has now transformed into a 'right' for every human is almost a given. But imagining humans as mere ‘things’ is beginning to increasingly take shape.

A few years back it used to be common to see rickshaw wallahs flaunting and speaking on feature phones. Now the transformation is complete with smartphone prices plummeting. With the advent of ultra affordable data plans in India, the world as also India is truly transforming into a data munching machine. But wait ..

Something odd just struck me. There are many places in India where there is no water or electricity. But data thrives. The looming water wars don't seem to worry or bother anyone. Can internet or mobile data replace water? Several times in our apartment the water tankers wouldn't show up and the taps would be dry. But internet is still accessible.

Are we in a world where the priorities of life are misplaced? The focus is more on tapping zillions of bytes of data for our new age businesses. And no one is spared from this, not even that newborn whose photo gets uploaded within seconds of birth.

The fact is, humans are increasingly becoming bots. Our needs are being analysed and automatically fulfilled faster and faster. What would be left of our so called emotions, if the machines predict everything for us. Sometimes I dream of mobile borne humans as mere bots who can be tracked by multinationals - to predict their next buy, to predict their next destination and in future even suggest what to emote!

Read More

No Stealth For Health

What an irony, that smartwatches which are built for tracking health information, are still so far away from the complicated structure that the human body is. Apple confirmed that Apple watch doesn't track heart rate if there is a tattoo on the wrist. It's actually funny and amusing that such a simple yet deceptive use case escaped Apple, the most valuable company in the world.

Smart watches seem to be just a fad, just like how tablets flooded the market and are being overtaken by phablets. The only thing smatwatches may do is drive humans become paranoid about their health and woes, or in other cases gloat about their health quotient. Of course the argument could be the fact that it can track potential risks or sudden episodes of an attack or so on. But such is the complexity of the human body, that there is only so much that a smart watch can do.

Add to it the fact that even a tattoo can resist a smart watch being fully functional, questions the  device of its authenticity of the readings. What if a developer witfully manipulates heart rate readings or such using an app he hosts on a smartwatch. It is enough to drive the user nuts and have nightmares. That alone might actually cause issues to the end user, forget the watch itself.

Read More

Long Pending, now (I)mpending

Though I have always disliked Apple because of the suffocating ecosystem, there is no doubt that Jobs and Apple revolutionized the mobile phone market. Jobs took it to the next level by convinvcing the world of another must have device in the form of the iPad. By calling it magical and with his marketing abilities it became a runaway hit and was garnering over 80% market share in the year after its launch. Fast forward 3 years after Jobs' passing away, and Apple has not introduced anything revolutionary. Unless a fingerprint scanner on the iPhone 5S qualifies as revolutionary.

Honestly, there hasn't been much innovation even from Samsung which pioneered the Android ecosystem to the beast it is today. Android commands over 80%  of the smartphone market, and most of the credit is due to Samsung leading the efforts and giving customers a cost effective alternative to the oh so expensive iPhone. Even Samsung's Android tweaks have been more gimmicky than revolutionary. Of course some of the features like split screen and the stylus are certainly worthy of mention. While Samsung pulled away from iPhone in terms of smartphone shipments, Apple probably resisted being pulled into the rat race of competing low cost phones.

Samsung introduced the phablet concept via the Note, and the past year phablets have picked up massive adoption at the cost of tablets. So tablet shipments and sales are now on the vane. Apple could not have ignored customer needs when large sized phones in the range of 4.7 - 6 inch began flooding the market. Maybe Apple did not want to be an also ran company when it came to smartphone competition. Probably devoid of ideas, Apple finally seems to have succumbed to the pressure from its hundreds of Android rivals.

Read More

Android One - A late Google Bugle?

Is Google late into the party? At a time when local players like Micromax, Lava and Karbonn are redefining budget smartphones in India, Google wants to enter the rat race with Android One. Announced in June, Android One is Google's initiative to give a pure Google experience to millions of customers wanting to switch to a smartphone from a feature phone. While the whole intent is to give the pure android and google experience, the end objective is to bring as many users into the Google's internet web. A perfect strategy, but one which could fall flat if local market sentiments are not given due respect.

India is too cost conscious for Google to bring out smartphones priced at over $100. Though on average disposable income is on the rise, the average Indian customer is still very picky when it comes to pricing. Firefox has already made an aggressive entry with phones priced at $30-$40 which is probably more than enough for first timers or those who are from the lower income strata. And then there is the middle class which is equally cost conscious and since the days of Moto G, the choices in the $100 market are abundant. Options range from Windows phones running on the latest 8.1 to the explosive new entrant, Xiaomi. Xiaomi's Redmi 1S phone with its hardware specs and pricing easily beats all local players to dust. Of course, its unique and times frustrating strategy could also backfire.

Read More

Uniquely Universal

Univercell launched a unique mobile store experience last year. It meant to go out of the way to woo customers to the store via dedicated consumer focussed services, and not just mobile and accessory sales. Today I had the opportunity to visit the Univercell Sync at Indiranagar as part of the Indiblogger contest. The marketing manager for Univercell passionately walked us bloggers through the store explaining the uniqueness of the whole experience.

With the sync experience, it is a simplification of the multitude of choices in the mobile world. Many bloggers and tech enthusiasts probably know the different Mobile OS systems and the ecosystems surrounding them. So explaining choices and helping with buying decisions for a mobile is much easier to such an audience. That is not the case for those who are not tech savvy or who are mostly in the late 40s and the elderly.

Just like how internet has been a revolution, the mobile revolution has already taken the world by storm. And so much of technology at one's fingertips can be overwhelming for those without the knowledge. Univercell Sync offers the perfect platform to make the transition from a feature phone to a mobile phone easier, comfortable and secure for those seeking for a switch.  This audience will not know whether brand is more important, or the processor speed. Or is it the mobile ecosystem? Or do they prefer a longer battery life? Or a budget friendly device? The choices are so vast, it is a niche mobile market Univercell is aiming to tap into.

Read More

My Mi

I can't be far away from the next gadget, can I ? For all the waves that Xiaomi has been creating across the globe one can't resist the temptation of wanting to own a gadget from Mi. When Xiaomi was still unknown to India in May, I set about researching for my next new gadget to tamper with. My Sony Xperia live with walkman was getting outdated software and hardware wise. But tweaking and rooting it had made it exceptionally functional and snappy.

So I went about another budget friendly gadget, for my wife. My Huawei Ideos is still going strong on the Dronix ROM. But we need to move forward with latest in technology - is the reason I gave for getting permission for my new gadget. Armed with a new 3G data plan which made sense with a CUG connection, it was but a formality that I would purchase a new gadget. I stumbled upon Xiaomi through cnet.com and the review it carried for Redmi was impressive. Although Redmi is the original Mediatek version with 4GB ROM.

The updated hardware at the same price is the Redmi 1S. Powered by a quad core snapdragon processor and 8GB ROM it was a good step up from the original Redmi. Since it wasn't yet available in India, I started hunting for Chinese sites from where I could reliably order. spemall.com turned out to be the perfect one for me, though price wise it is a little expensive. I  bought it for around 170$ from spemall, almost 3 months back, which is now being launched in India for just 7000! So I paid a premium for the gadget. But I don't regret it much.

Read More

With Nexus in U.S.

I did not know what marriage life would look like. I definitely did not know how it would be after a child is born. On the one side its fun and reassuring to have family and kid, while your interests and hobbies take a backseat. Is that a good ROI? I want to believe so. But being away from family gives one the private space needed, but one tends to miss them too in the long run. Pretty much what I am going through while I am in the U.S of A. So what do I bargain with my wife to rid me of my loneliness? A new gadget! And I have gotten away with this the 3rd time.

I had got my Archos 70 for company when I was in U.S in the new year of 2011. I had my Cowon Z2 for company when I was in U.S last year during May. Over the past year or so, I have realised that owning a high end, top notch hardware/software combination is necessary to feel the pace of technology advances. But I was never one to pay a high premium for it. That gives me the liberty to root my devices with my Ideos U8150, Archos 70, Cowon Z2, Sony Live With Walkman WT19i - all of which are Android and I rightly did root'em all. All of these were indeed modest amongst their own Android peers. But that can't be the case with the new Nexus 7, 2013 edition (Nexus 7 FHD?) HD model. This thing is top notch, and at an astoundingly reasonable price starting at $229. So, my friends, I welcomed this to my android family (wife and child excluded).

Read More

Amazon's 'Open' Challenge to Android

Amazon's kindles announced last week, have bumped up the Wall Street's sentiments about the giant online retailer. Not only have the new Kindles been accepted wholeheartedly, it may also pose a challenge for tablet makers as a whole. Ironically, what Google built seems to be used against it. At a time when Google has acquired Motorola, and is looking to expand its own Android device business, Amazon has used Android, and put in so much of its own flavor, that the Android ecosystem is no longer a necessity for Amazon's tablets to survive.

Amazon's tablets have their own Silk browser, its own Android app store. That means, most of the web experience in Amazon products are not even a shadow of what Android is. Amazon is doing another Apple, just that it is using Android to do so. What works for Amazon is its media streaming options with Hulu and Netflix, as well as its book stores which are a hit anyway. Having used Android to build its tablet/mobile ecosystem, Amazon has posed a major threat to Google's own existence for mobile computing OS. Though Android continues to evolve through Sandwiches and Jelly Beans, it may have to compete with Amazon in more ways than one.

Read More

iPhone 5 - An Apple Gamble?

So Apple finally muscled its way and put Samsung into submission. The court verdict was for Samsung to cough up $1bn in damages for having copied Apple's iconic iPhone. A big blow for Samsung for sure, since it could lead to injunction of its other famed Galaxy line of phones. The latest and very impressive Galaxy S3 has been added to the list of Samsung phones Apple wants to be banned from sales across U.S. No doubt, there is no better form of flattery than to be copied, but Samsung's sales of its smartphones have leapt to such big highs, Apple could not ignore the potential dominance of the South Korean giant. The other way to look at it, if you are a Samsung supporter is - that Apple, the most valuable technology company in the world could not ignore Samsung's rapid rise to the top. If Apple had not intervened the copying innovation Samsung has been leading, Apple could be realistically threatened of its Smartphone crown.

The timing of the court order is very peculiar indeed. It happened just days before Samsung's event at IFA Berlin. It has also happened few weeks before a blockbuster launch of the next 'iconic' iPhone. And in this duration, Nokia announced its new Lumia series of Windows phones, and Amazon will be announcing new Kindles and a potential phone offering too. So what does all this mean to the launch of the iPhone 5 on September 12? Apple's gamble seems to be all on one device, the iPhone. While it has been an incredible device like all Apple products, and arguably copied a lot by Samsung (though it takes one thing to copy and another to do it right and better it!), this is the time of beckoning for Apple the company. Snapping at its heels are competitors who are aggressive, and innovative in their own unique ways.

Read More

Ideos The Ideal

It was now time to explore Android on the Ideos U8150. In the U.S it is better known as T Mobile Comet, and is clearly one of the cheapest smartphones available. I bought the Ideos keeping in mind the affordability and the price point it offered. The features were on par with those offered in other smartphones. Wi-Fi (b/g/n), Bluetooth, AGPS, Android Market, 3 MP camera, 3G enabled and it can be used as a mobile hotspot. The hardware is of more modest nature, with 528 MHZ processing speed, with a 256 MB RAM.

There are multiple advantages of choosing this phone. Having been launched in U.S and internationally, it has been explored across the world various times, and the number of custom ROMs for this device are remarkable. It gives a sense of confidence that this phone is indeed decent enough. When I unpacked the phone contents, it was obvious that Sangeetha mobiles were selling off the Aircel tied up Ideos. The logo was there on the box, and a prepaid sim card as well. I was also pleased to find a 2GB micro sd card inside the box.

The battery cover was blue, and the phone felt quite light in my hands at 102 gms. It was annoying to find the Aircel logo flashing when I booted up the phone. I have a Vodafone connection and I wouldn't want another network provider's logo flashing on. Moreover, in this phone, the phone maker's logo or name is nowhere to be seen. It just says Ideos by Google, which makes it more of a personal phone. I liked this aspect as well.

Read More

Touchy affair with Android

So finally, I got tempted into the world of touchscreen phones. And to add to my dilemma, there is the choice of the resistive one from the capacitive one. My Archos 70 tablet is a capacitive one, and I have been mighty impressed with it. I wouldn't let myself be subjected to peer pressure of touchscreen mobiles, would I? So I started the hunt for a sub 10000 touchscreen phone.

The Indian market is swelling with various mobile phones, from varying handset makers. From Spice to Micromax to Lava, and then the ubiquitous Samsung, LG, HTC, Nokia and even Dell. I had made up my mind on getting an Android phone, so Nokia was ruled out. All the other contenders had Android phone offerings. Samsung would have been an obvious choice, with its highly popular Samsung Pop (better known as the Galaxy mini). With Android's Froyo and Samsung's brand name, it was very tempting indeed. The price was just about 9000. The other options were Micromax Andro A60, Dell XCD28 and LG Optimus One, which was just over budget at 11000.

I narrowed it down to LG Optimus One and the Samsung Pop, with the latter being first choice. Then came a quite unusual option, Ideos. I had known that Ideos U8150 (by Huawei) was launched with a tie up with Aircel in India, and I did have my eyes on it while I was in U.S earlier in the year. The most striking features were the pricepoint (8500) and the vanialla Froyo Android firmware on it. This meant, no unnecessary apps of the handset maker, and plain Android. Besides, it had a capacitive touchscreen too.

Read More

Time to Pop a Tab?

The new year is here, and has ushered in another flurry of technological frenzy. The just concluded CES event at Las Vegas was home to hordes of tablets. Of course Apple was conspicuous by its absence. This only led to more excitement and attention being drawn to the other tablets at CES. Motorola Xoom was launched as the first tablet with Google's official Android Platform, Honeycomb. And then there was the impressive Blackberry Playbook, Toshiba's upcoming tablet, Viewsonic, Archos, Asus and the list just goes on.

The first decade of this century may have belonged to Apple and its technology innovations. But towards the end of the decade, Google had quietly sneaked in on Apple and suddenly is as prepared and equally innovative as Apple is today. This doesn't augur well for Apple's products, particularly with Android handsets marching on ahead of the iPhone. Of course, one should not compare a zillion Android smartphones to one iPhone. Perhaps, therein lies Apple's problems. The sameness in its line of products will eventually drag it down, because the consumers have choices galore with Android.

When the iPod was a big hit, anyone who purchased a non-iPod mp3 player would be asked - "Oh, you got an iPod"? Oh well, an iPod is an iPod, which is an mp3 player. But the synonymous reference was more an appreciation and acknowledgement of Apple's innovative technology, than the lack of other mp3 player options. And a decade ago, the press coverage and the technology awareness among the public at large was much less. This decade is different. The consumers know they have choices, and its not just an iPhone or an iPod out there. There are the Droids, the Evos, the Incredibles.

Read More

Amigos with Archos ...

So after a long long time, finally a post. And why not, when I am all excited about what I am about to reveal in the next few paras. The iPad launch has taken the world by storm. Prior to the launch there was mass speculation on how it will be received across the tech world. With the sales of iPad in millions within months of launch, it was no surprise competitors started hastening their own tablet plans. Though I never prefer Apple products, to be fair, iPad gave much of the tablet world the confidence to pursue.

The relevance of the tablet cannot be understated. Simply put, it is a device for entertainment and web surfing. While a laptop is heavy duty, a tablet is more mobile and portable. Unfortunately, the iPad weighing over a kilogram and being 10'' is nowhere near portable. There are already rumors that Apple may consider a 7'' tablet version, where Samsung Galaxy Tab has already taken a huge headstart. While iPad runs the same OS as that of the iPhone, the Tab runs the Android 2.2 Froyo. Though Google till date is apprehensive of how the smartphone compatible Froyo would scale up to the tablet version.

Even before the iPad though, Archos had started with their Tablet variant with an Android powered Archos 5 and another Windows powered Archos 9. With a bit of experience and vast knowledge of the multimedia experience, Archos unleashed 5 Gen8 tablets during August this year. The 28,32 are so small, many buyers consider them as mere mp4 players. The 43 is more like a smartphone. The 70 and the 101 are the real competition with other Tablets. And where Archos 70/101 stand apart is the lack of any carrier network tie up (like for the Tab or iPad), but still having commendable hardware. There is no need for a carrier tie-up to buy the Archos, no need to jailbreak it, and you can pocket an Archos 70 for $278.

Read More

Microsoft,Apple,Google - Whose MAGic Awaits Us?

With just a day to go for the Apple iPad launch in stores across the U.S., it is also a good time for introspection. Introspection about how the mobile, computing and the internet world at large is shaping up. What is clear is that, as much as technology enthusiasts complain about Microsoft's lack of open source technology support, Apple is quietly doing the same, through a different route. Microsoft has achieved success imposing their own technology on millions of computers and laptops around the world, while Apple seems to be doing the same on its mobile devices. How? Simple, by tying its customers to iTunes.

Apple is what it is, due to its flawless products and amazing user friendly gadgets. I must say, as much as I am anti-Apple in terms of products, my experience of the iPod Touch for gaming purposes was stunning. Its response amazing. But what cuts the deal short of a real game winner is undoubtedly for being chained to iTunes. iTunes maybe revolutionary. But it only works for those who are willing to be loyal to Apple and its products. Else Apple's products are just bricks. Atleast as far as the iPods and iPhones are concerned. The iPad will be no different, and Apple will continue to weave its net of circumvention yet again. That the device maybe stunning or incomparable is a different matter altogether. If as a buyer I don't have the liberty to load any apps, or any games to my wish, or load songs as drag and drop is curtailed, it becomes cumbersome and downright irritating.

What Apple is doing is no different than what Microsoft has been doing with its PC marker for years now. The iPhone is proprietary to Apple and there is a strict screening process for accepting apps into the iPhone. Moreover, the iPhone platform is unique and can only make an Apple iPhone and never a Motorola or HTC phone. The extent of restriction that Apple is imposing reminds one of how it has been with Microsoft in the PC market. Apple is imposing itself in the mobile segment of music players, phones and now tablet pcs. Apple does not even support the ubiquitous Adobe Flash into its devices. Its more a statement at the masses saying, either you are with us or against us.

Read More

No Fuss About Google Buzz

Google never lets the buzz about it grow any less in the internet space. Realising that its social networking platform, orkut, is fading in its primary markets in Brazil and India to Facebook's increasing presence, Google scampered and flexed its muscle to hire stalwarts in social networking. The resulting product which Google unveiled last week, is the Google Buzz, uncannily similar to the Yahoo Buzz platform. Except that Google is taking on the best in Social Networking today, the likes of twitter, facebook and friendfeed.

Google's approach in launching the product has had mixed reactions. What Google has done smartly though, is to use its existing Gmail base across the world, to spread word about the Buzz. Google Buzz comes automatically integrated with all the Gmail users' mailbox, and this is a huge plus for Google. The simple reason being, the kind of exposure and more importantly, the obviousness of the Buzz being present atop the user's mailbox. Look at the adjacent screenshot about what I mean.

The advantage of the placement of the Buzz in the mailbox may not seem that obvious, but what would strike all users, is its presence which gets unavoidable. Buzz is certainly too young to be declared a success or failure. But what Google can leverage on, is to provide its Gmail users one single location to access mails and at the same time follow what their contacts are upto. While twitter and facebook are purely into social networking, Gmail can now offer their mail service along with the social networking platform at the same time.

Read More

iS iPad an iWash ?

You could call it jealousy or plain refusal to acknowledge what Apple defines mobile technology to be. But I have come to admire, yet distance myself from the giant strides Apple has created in the vast technological space. No doubt, the iPod revolutionized what a mobile mp3 player should be. I have always admired the user friendliness of the iPod. But the key aspect about any Apple product is reliability. If you purchase an Apple product, you can place a safe bet that what they claim to work will work flawlessly and seamlessly.

On a personal level, I have always wished to own the not so well known brands. But which eventually still are very highly regarded in their own niche segments. Be it the Panasonic Lumix DMC FZ7 (Panasonic Lumix cameras have now created a strong name, but not when I bought it in December 2006) digital camera, or the Cowon D2 mp3 player. The list of features these products give you are unbelievable. It’s just that, Apple's products are professionally done, and extremely reliable. While the Cowon D2 player for example, needs the user to be motivated and eager enough to explore and unearth the true value. And believe me you, it’s one helluva player.

Apple's announcements are so widely anticipated, that the latest one on their tablet pc, took the sheen off the CES event in Las Vegas last month. Google maybe slowly inching up to Apple in the mobile telephony segment, but the iPhone certainly has a cult following, with rapidly growing success. Expectedly, the announcement by Apple on January 27th last week in San Francisco was hyped up. Steve Jobs, who has epitomized the Apple class of products, unveiled the iPad to an audience wanting to be mesmerized. Without going into further details of the iPad, I have my doubts about the future for this segment of products.

Read More

Is Google going.. going .. gone ?

Google has put its foot down on its China operations and has sought to not censor search results for  Google china searches. Google had gone out of its way in 2006 to censor results specific to Google China. As has been the dubious distinction of the Chinese Government, the censoring of results was to limit mutinies arising out of atrocities by the Chinese government and limit uprisings against its human rights violations. Thus the filtering done for Google China would be at the behest of the Chinese authorities. The restrictions of free expression, over the internet and access to potentially controversial information about the government thus continued in China.

It has taken three long years, and it has taken few hackers on Google accounts of human rights activists and other U.S. companies for Google to say enough is enough. Google has gone on the offensive and now come out saying that it would either not filter Google China search results or exit the Chinese search market altogether. There have been multiple theories and arguments about this move by Google. Of course Google would continue to work with Chinese Government to understand the implications. But the hacking of Google accounts and related cyber attacks to track human rights activists and even U.S. companies is going to make it difficult for Google to trust the Chinese government.

Read More

Google says - Next Us with Nexus

Google finally unwrapped an as yet rumored phone for the U.S market. While in the U.S market all mobile phones come with a telecom carrier package, Google has launched Nexus One as a direct offering to the consumer. When Apple launched its iPhone, it was priced at over $400 with a 2 year bond with AT&T, Google Nexus One is being offered directly to the consumer, without a carrier tie up for $529. Essentially Nexus One will come unlocked for those who don't want a carrier tie up, but for those who want it unlocked and have it on a carrier will have to sign a contract accordingly.

A little over a decade after Google came into being, the decade from 1999-2009 has ended with Google making giant strides in what can be called, the future of the web. Google has quietly eaten into the businesses of Apple and Microsoft, especially in 2009, with announcements of their very own Chrome browser and now the Google phone. Google is leaving its footprints on all the trends of the technical world, besides defining how computing will be in the following decades.

Read More

Don't let Agile Beguile !

I have been more than curious as to why Agile methodology is so sought after in software development. With very little knowledge on the thought and the process behind it, I could well be misinforming my far and few in between readers.

As the name suggests, the need of the hour is fast paced development. And agility in any form can always bear rich dividends. When it comes to business, the benefits are manifold. So it is no surprise that there is a constant push for an Agile model of project execution in software development. To put it simply, Agile methodology lays emphasis on incremental, iterative software development with rigorously frequent reviews between all the project resources. The pretext for the push for Agile is the rapid progress in each of the phases of a typical SDLC.

Imagine a scenario when the requirements gathering is going on, and simultaneously the design also is kickstarted. Typically in a sequential development project, the development team would wait until the requirements from the customer are frozen. Once this is done, the design and implementation starts. Thus, a project which is simple and has medium complexity would need, say 6 months from start to end. But with Agile, the end objective is to do parallel activities starting from requirements till the end.

Read More

To Tweet Or Not To

I was neglectful of twitter for a long time, but the tweeting bug finally bit me . Twitter has been the rage, especially in the past year. The fact that twitter is the top word used in English language in 2009 bears testimony to this. Quite an act, driven almost entirely by the social website's popularity. It took out words like H1N1 and stimulus in the top words list, published by Global Language Monitor.

Twitter is such a rage, that it is almost like the next rss out there. While twitter restricts the number of characters to 140, the impact of tweeting has been contagious. Any news channel or website, which does not have twitter ids would come as a shock for me in this day and age. Any mobile phone which comes out these days, brands itself with claims of having tweeting options in them.

It does seem to me though, that twitter is the sms version of the web. The crucial advantage twitter has, that it is ubiquitous due its presence in the internet. A sms though is confined to a circle. The only comparison which comes up and which ends abruptly is the character based entry. While a sms would be a quick message or response to a select group, tweets are more for a quick update or a news item on the web, for one and all to see. sms is at a personal level, while tweets are at a social level for anyone accustomed to internet.

Read More