Google launches Goo.Gl

Google has launched its own URL shortening service, aptly called goo.gl.

At the moment, its only being used for Google Toolbar and Feedburner. The shortener is not a stand alone service and is not available for “broader consumer use.”Google assures that its shortener will be stable and secure to help protect users from clicking on malicious sites. And Google promises a speedy service.

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Sony Ericsson Launches Mobile Content Submission Challenge for Developers

Sony Ericsson Developer World (SEDW), a global support program and web portal powered by Sony Ericsson has announced today the launch of its 'Get on the Train to Fame' contest exclusively designed to foster the growth of professional developers across India. Through this contest, the developers get a chance to feature on the Sony Ericsson go-to-market channels - PlayNowT and Fun & Downloads that are available to consumers in upto 70 countries. In addition to this, the best prospective application every week could win a Satio (Idou), a high-end Symbian smart phone by Sony Ericsson. The contest also offers developers a chance to receive 70% of revenue from the sales of their content. Entries can be submitted at www.sonyericsson.com/in/traintofame.

The aim of 'Get on to the Train to Fame' is to encourage and reward developers to submit innovative content for multiple platforms like Java, Symbian, Windows and Android, which are the backbone of new age mobile phones. The best prospective application or game will be announced every week, providing unmatched opportunity to Indian developers to showcase their competence on the international platform.

Encouraging the mobile content developers in the country to participate, Natasha Dutta, Manager- Marketing & Communications, Sony Ericsson Developer World, commented, "Get on to the Train to Fame is an excellent opportunity for mobile application or game developers looking to make a name in the mobile industry. This contest is open for content developers who have a creative eye for innovation and ideas that go beyond a common man's imagination, or maybe who know how to bring life to a mobile phone through addictive content and games."

Sony Ericsson brings to its users a robust range of applications and games through its application store, PlayNowT. The categories under which applications and games can be developed are: For Applications - Communication, Entertainment, Education, Health & Lifestyle, Languages, Location Services, Music, Productivity, Sport, Web Applications, Email, Messaging, Security, Travel, Others For Games - Nostalgia, Adventure, Entertainment, Fun & Lifestyle, Motion Games, Multi player, Racing, Sport, Strategy, 3D, Action, Boardgames & Cards, movie & TV, Music, Puzzle, Simulation, Classics, Others

Content can further be submitted on the following platforms:

-- Java ME (Sony Ericsson JP-6 and above; Symbian SJP 5.0.0)
-- Symbian^1 (S60 5th Edition) native
-- Windows Mobile®
- XPERIAT Panels, including native, Flash, Java and HTML Panels created using new Panelizer tools
- Windows Mobile native applications.

For those who would like to convert their content to Panel format, it is recommended that they use the simple Panelizer tools.

Sony Ericsson will review each application on the following criteria:

-- Compliance with Sony Ericsson Content Policy & Guidelines
-- Compliance with Verisign and Thwate testing protocols
-- Assessment of application quality
-- Review of the supplied materials
-- Relevance to the portfolio of content. For example, a clever new idea or interesting niche application is more relevant than an application that is very similar to something already available on PlayNowT.

The best applications selected will get a chance to be placed on Sony Ericsson Channels to market and be made available to consumers across 70 countries on Sony Ericsson's PlayNowT and Fun & Downloads.

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HTC Service Centers now in Delhi & Chennai

HTC has finally launched authorized service centers in Delhi and Chennai. This is surely a good news for all the HTC customers like me who have to rush here and there to get their phone repaired.

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Samsung Bada OS unveiled

South Korea's Samsung Electronics on Tuesday launched its new smartphone platform, named bada, as the focus of the cellphone industry increasingly shifts to software.

Bada, which means ocean in Korean, includes a support platform for software developers, as the company aims to catch up with rival systems that offer an easy to use and feature-packed interface for applications such as games, the Internet, location-based services and music.

Driven by the success of Apple Inc's (AAPL) iPhone and its App Store, phone makers and wireless operators have started to push their service offerings hard.

Samsung's bada includes motion sensing, face detection, social networking and other interactive features, and its launch coincides with a challenge by the company to developers to win a share of a $2.7 million prize fund by using bada's features to build applications.

Development partners for bada include Twitter and games companies EA Mobile, a unit of Electronic Arts Inc. (ERTS), and France's Gameloft (GFT.FR).

The platform provides an opportunity for developers "to get their applications onto an unprecedented number of Samsung devices across the world," said Hosoo Lee, Executive Vice President of Samsung Electronics' Media Solution Center.

Samsung will initially launch bada-based touch screen phones for the mid-range segment and thereafter on lower-end devices, Hosoo Lee told Dow Jones Newswires Tuesday.

He said bada phones will mainly be released in Asia and Europe in the first half of 2010, followed by other markets later, but Samsung had yet to determine a more detailed roadmap or set of targets.

The company will gradually expand the number of bada handsets but will also continue to use other platforms such as Microsoft Corp's (MSFT) Windows Mobile, Google Inc's (GOOG) Android and Symbian, said Lee, adding that the company still hasn't decided whether it will open up bada to other mobile phone manufacturers and operators.

Samsung's market share has grown steadily in recent quarters, helped by a competitive offering of phones with attractive hardware features such as touch screens, said analyst Neil Mawston at research firm Strategy Analytics, and bada looks to be a move to strengthen its position in the fast-growing smartphone segment, where profit margins are higher than for cheaper devices.

In the third quarter 2009, Samsung's global handset market share increased to 20.7% from 17.1% a year earlier, narrowing the gap to market leader Nokia Corp. (NOK) which had a 37.3% market share in the quarter, according to research firm Gartner Inc.

While bada will provide a platform for software developers, it will also mean operators can easily customize the user interface.

Still, Mawston said bada is a relatively late response to what some of Samsung's competitors are doing, and might not be too different from rival platforms such as LiMo, which Samsung already uses for some devices, or Symbian, Nokia's principal smartphone interface.

Speaking last week at its Espoo, Finland headquarters, Nokia Chief Executive Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo said: "In 2010, we will drive user experience improvements, and the progress we make will take the Symbian user interface to a new level."

The launch of bada challenges Apple, one of Samsung's biggest customers for flash memory chips and screens, as well as Microsoft and Google, the firms it now relies on for the main software in its smartphones. Google's Android phone operating system is now on a growing number of phones globally. But Samsung has said it wants the flexibility and control that firms like iPhone-maker Apple get from owning a phone platform.

In addition to mobile phones, Samsung is the world's largest maker of memory chips and flat-screen televisions by revenue. "The global market is huge, but we also enjoy the benefits of the other areas where Samsung competes such as TVs and other devices, which gives us confidence in our approach of driving smartphones to a wider market," Hosoo Lee said.

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HTC HD2 arrives on Tata Docomo in India

The Touch HD2, the first device to use the Snapdragon processor, which operates at 1GHz, and uses 448 MHz of RAM and 512 MB of ROM will arrive in India on Tata Docomo exclusively.
Tata Docomo released this news on Twitter just now:

Living up to our promise of DOing the New, we'r pleased to announce the EXCLUSIVE PREVIEW of the HTC HD2 handset ONLY at the TDOCOMO contd..Dive In Stores from 8th to 14th December! This will b followd by 7 days sales exclusivity , wherein the hndset can be purchased..contd..

...only from the Dive In Stores at our launch cities! V'l preview da HTC HD2 Xclusivly 4m Dec 8 -14, follod by 7 days sales exclusivity , whrein da hndset cn b prchasd only 4m r Dive In Stores

HTC HD2 -- Super Screen (4.3 inchs tchscreen), Super Slim (11mm) n Super Speed (1 GHz) ..available only at TataDOCOMO Dive-In Stores!

This is the compilation of various tweets from Tata Docomo.

Pricing details are not out yet onl;ine. If you want to know pricing just march to you nearest Tata Docomo Dive-In stores as tweeted.

To know more abt da pricing details and other specs abt the HTC HD2 hndset visit any Tata DOCOMO Dive-In Stores in yur circle!

More About HTC HD2:

The HTC HD2 is a high-end smartphone with a large touch screen and a customisable user interface, which comes about as close as you can currently get to the experience of Apple's iPhone on a Windows Mobile handset.

With its larger than average 4.3in screen, HTC's Sense user interface, and a powerful enough processor to drive it all, the HD2 makes touch input much more practical and usable than on many other handsets we have seen.

On the downside, this screen makes the phone itself a little large to easily fit in a pocket.

Specifications

In hardware terms, the HD2 is similar to many other high-end smartphones, with HSPA support up to 7.2Mbit/s, 802.11 b/g Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and built-in GPS capability.

Click on the Image to see full specifications

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ABB bags Rs.506-cr order from Bangalore Metro

Leading power and automation technology group ABB Monday said it has won an order worth Rs.506 crore from Bangalore Metro Rail Corp to provide power solutions for the city's proposed metro network.

"ABB will design, supply, install and commission four substations that receive and distribute electricity," said the company in a statement.

Bangalore's population has grown at a rapid pace in the last decade owing to a flourishing IT industry resulting in the city's infrastructure coming under tremendous pressure.

The urban population is expected to rise to more than 8.5 million by 2011 from the current 7 million or so.

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Godrej Properties plans residential project near Chennai

Mumbai real estate developer Godrej Properties Monday said it will jointly develop a mid-market residential project near here in association with the city-based cutting manufacturer Addison.

As per the deal, Godrej Properties has acquired the developmental rights on a 12.57-acre plot owned by Addison.

"We will promote a mid-market residential apartment project after getting the necessary approvals," said Godrej Properties chief operating officer K.T. Jithendran.

"As per the agreement, Addison will be entitled for 30 percent of the saleable constructed area and our share will be 70 percent," Jithendran told reporters here.

Last year, Godrej and Addison had signed a deal to jointly develop commercial and residential buildings on 17.39 acres in Tiruvallur district near here.

The Mumbai firm paid Rs.8 crore to Addison for its share of land, measuring around 8.75 acres.

According to Jithendran, Godrej Properties is looking at mid-market residential apartments in Chennai and Kolkata, apart from other cities.

The company will hit the capital market Wednesday for raising around Rs.500 crore, to be used for acquisition of land development rights, construction and repayment of loans.

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