Aakash assembled, programmed in India: Datawind

Datwind, the maker of Aakash tablet PC said assembling and programming of the low-cost tablet has been done in the country and only some parts have been sourced from China.

"For the first 10,000 units for IIT, and for expediency sake we had the motherboards and kits manufactured in our Chinese subcontractor's facilities, and then the units have been kitted in China at various manufacturers for expediency, whereas the final assembly and programming has happened in India," Datawind said in a statement.

The company said it got the approval from the government to procure components from China.

"This was well discussed as we got approval prior to shipping. The initial devices were assembled and programmed at our facilities in New Delhi and Amritsar," it said.

The first one lakh devices will be provided to students of engineering colleges and universities and subsequently these will be distributed to others.

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Mahindra Xylo marks its success with 1 million Facebook fans

After Scorpio, Xylo came out to be a huge success for Mahindra and Mahindra Ltd. Xylo is pretty much liked by the consumers all round the world. This car from Mahindra is a hit on social networking giant too.

Mahindra and Mahindra was pleased to announce that the fan following for its Xylo model has crossed the 1 millionth mark. This a second overwhelming moment for Mahindra and Mahindra after its Scorpio model registered a huge fan base on the social networking giant.

Xylo is a multi-purpose vehicle and is doing well in Indian market as there are more than 1 lakh vehicles on the road till date.

With its fan following on Facebook, Mahindra and Mahindra encourages its fans to post about the vehicle so as to gather information which will benefit users all over. This type of customer/consumer interaction helps to bolster the brands philosophy of letting people have a 'Time of their Life'.

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3 simple tips to fix damage smartphone

A modern day tech-user has taken to buy handheld mobile devices like never before. For most of us carrying a smartphone or tablet is no different than carrying our wallet. But like most electronic devices   something or other can go wrong with your device.

The worst part of owing these devices come if one has to take them to service centre. Many problems are either not covered in the warranty, or a heavy bill and inconvenience awaits the user. In fact the experience of going to a service centre can be a nightmarish experience in itself with the best of brands.

But more often than not, the condition of your favourite gadget may actually not be as bad as it seems and you can fix the problem yourself by following some simple steps. Here are some tips.

Scratches on the Screen
Using your smartphone without a screen guard is not really a brave action because the scratches that will appear on your screen after sometime will really pinch you hard.

Well, toothpaste can help you fix those scratches and make your phone's screen as shiny as your teeth,Just put toothpaste on the screen and gently rub it in circular motion with a soft cloth or cotton and then wipe the whole thing with a soft and slightly damp cloth.

Phone shuts-off randomly
Another common problem that occurs with smartphones is that they randomly shut off. Well, this points towards two things: Either you have dropped your phone a good number of times or the battery is loose.

Buying a new battery can be expensive solution especially when you can solve this problem with just a tiny piece of paper. All you have to do is to take a tiny bit of paper and fold it. Then open the back cover of your phone and insert the folded bit of paper between the edge of the battery and edge of the phone, on the opposite sides where the terminals of the battery are located. This will keep the battery firmly in place and stop your phone from shutting down.

Stuck Pixels
Stuck pixels are the dead pixels that appear on the smartphone screen as a stationary black dot or a bright white or red spot. You can try removing them by gently massaging the area around the stuck pixel with a soft cloth. By this method you are allowing the pixel to reorient itself and regain color.

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AMD launches A-Series processors in India

Global computer chip maker AMD on Thursday launched its next generation of chipsets offering faster processing, better graphics and affordable performance to desktop users, especially those using gaming PCs.

The new range - A-Series Accelerated Processing Units (APU)  - is available at prices ranging from Rs. 3,000 to Rs. 8000.

"While many says PCs are dying, we believe we are at the dawn of a new era in computing. The new generation of APUs provide a combination of processing speed, multiple compute cores and discrete level graphic capabilities, making it excellent platform for Gamers and PC enthusiasts alike," AMD India Managing Director Ravi Swaminathan told reporters here.

AS per an IAMAI report, gamers constitute over 41 percent of the total active internet users in India. Some industry reports suggest the Indian gaming sector achieved revenues of Rs. 1,300 crores last year.

AMD aims to offer rich graphics/gaming experience to entry and mainstream users as well, who would otherwise not invest in a dedicated graphics processors (GPUs), he said. 

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Nokia 808 PureView now available for Rs. 25,000

Here is a good news for those who were thinking of buying Nokia 808 PureView. This phone is best known for its 41-megapixel camera and now you can buy it for Rs. 25,000 only. That's a significant price cut from its launch price of Rs. 33,899.

Aside from the camera that has won rave reviews, the Nokia 808 PureView features a 4-inch display, a 1.3 GHz single-core processor, 512 MB RAM and 16 GB of on-board memory that is expandable using a micro-SD card. Unfortunately the phone runs on the dated Nokia Belle platform. While it was difficult to recommend the Nokia 808 PureView at its earlier price, at Rs. 25,000 it is definitely worth another look specially for photography enthusiasts. 

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Aakash-2 launched with more new features

The advanced version of the low cost tablet Aakash launched by President Pranab Mukherjee at an event in New Delhi.

Coming at a price tag of Rs. 1,130 for students, the new version 'Aakash-2' will be made available to students of engineering colleges and universities to begin with, is now powered by a processor running at 1 GHz, has 512 MB RAM, a 7-inch capacitive touch-screen and battery life of three hours on Wi-Fi.

Aakash-2 runs on Android 4.0 (Ice-cream Sandwich) and has a front facing VGA camera along with Wi-Fi support. It has 4 GB (internal) flash memory, which is expandable upto 32 GB using a micro-SD card.

The first one lakh devices will be provided to the students of engineering colleges and universities and subsequently these will be distributed to others.

Over 15,000 teachers at 250 colleges have been trained on how to use the Aakash for education.It will be used for classroom teaching.

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Google launches Nexus 7 in India

'Gadget of the Year' and the highest selling tablet Google's Nexus 7 is no available in India starting at Rs. 19,900.

Asus the Taiwan based technology company responsible for manufacturing Google's Nexus 7 tablet claims the device has just hit 1 million sales a month milestone. Released in July, the Nexus 7 was Google's first tablet. Google's Nexus 7 has become the highest selling Android tablet just three minths after its launch, a media report said Monday.

Specifications of this tablet from Google include:
Operating System: Android Jelly Bean (4.1)
RAM: 1GB DDR3L
Storage: 16GB
Connectivity: Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 3.0
Camera: 1.2MP (front)
Battery: 4325mAh
Display: 7" WXGA (1280 x 800)
Sensor: G-gensor, light sensor, gyroscope, e-copmass, GPS, NFC, hall sensor
CPU: NVIDIA Tegra 3 T30L Quad-Core @ 1.3 GHz
GPU: GeForce 12-Core, 3D stereo 

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Indian-origin CEO of Datawind and MIT professor among Forbes top-15 education innovators

Indian-origin CEO of Datawind, the maker of India's low-cost tablet, Aakash, Sunit Singh Tuli ans Massachusettes Institute of Technology professor Anant Agarwal have been named by Forbes magazine among the 15 "classroom revolutionaries" who are using innovative technologies to reinvent education for students and teachers globally.

The Forbes list names 15 education innovators who are "harnessing a slew of disruptive technologies to change everything from the way we teach grade school math to how we train next generation of teachers,"

The publican said Tuli is the "mastermind" behind the world's cheapest tablet computer Aakash, " which has the potential to revolutionise educational access in the developing world".

Agarwal, 53, a professor of computer science at MIT is also the President of edX, the new combined online offerings of Harvard, MIT, the University of California at Berkeley and the University of Texas.

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Tata Nano special edition launched in India

For the festive season, Tata Motors has launched a special edition of the Nano in India. The special edition LX variant now gets alloy wheels, new decals, glove boxes for both driver and passenger and a twin speaker audio system with mp3, USB and AUX-in.

Additionally Tata claims to have improved the suspension set-up, added an anti-roll bar at the front and made the car easier to steer. The LX trim has beige interiors, the CX rich black and graphite in the standard trim. All Nano variants come with a four year/60,000 km warranty, whichever is earlier.

Currently Tata is offering new accessories in the special edition for free. The Nano is also sold without this package and customers can avail of other cash benefits.

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Honda to launch its first diesel car in India

Japanese car major Honda today said it will launch its first diesel vehicle in India next fiscal and it will be an entry-level sedan, named 'Amaze' developed on the platform of its existing small car 'Brio'.

"The new entry sedan will be called the 'Amaze', and it will ne launched in Thailand and India. The details of the model will be announced later this month in Thailand and next financial year,2013-14, in India," Honda cars India said in a statement.

Asia Honda Motor Co today unveiled the name of the entry-level sedan that will be developed on the platform of Brio, it added.

Honda plans to introduce the Amaze to accommodate the diversifying needs of customers in automobile markets in Asia, where competition is intensifying, it added.

Talking about the models features, Honda said: "The car offers amazing power delivery yet with class leading fuel efficiency, while sustaining core Honda values to appeal to the growing base of middle class customers aspiring to own a Honda sedan." 

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DRDO and other key government websites hacked

Several key government websites were hacked late on Wednesday night. These included the websites of DRDO and five other government departments. A site hosted by the advisor to the Prime Minister was also hacked.

Algeria based hackers have been blamed for the hacking. The message pasted on the websites after they have been compromised read: 'SanFour 25 Algerian Hackers' minutes after the hacking.

The biggest hack was on the site of the Recruitment and Assessment Centre operated by the DRDO that deals with the Recruitment of the Scientists to the several laboratories of the DRDO. The website was down for almost 9 hours.

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