Digital Media News - SearchIndia.com Blog » SearchIndia.com Blog

Vonage Offers Free Calls to India

Feb 082012

We’re not sure if Internet phone services provider Vonage’s latest initiative is a sign of desperation or a smart move.

This morning Vonage rolled out free international calling powered by its Vonage Mobile app.

Available for iPhone and Android devices, the free app lets users call others who have downloaded the app.

Vonage Mobile also allows users to send free texts to users of the app, worldwide.

The app works over Wi-Fi, 3G and 4G wireless data networks.

Why the Free Service?

The wise ones ones at SI think the logic behind the new free international service is the reasonable expectation that not many users outside the U.S. have iPhone or Android phones.

Ergo, they’ll have to use a paid service like Vonage or Skype (offers both free and paid services).

Vonage Mobile users can call people who have not downloaded the app at per-minute rates that Vonage claims are 70% less than major mobile carriers and 30% less than Skype’s paid version.

Free Already Available

If you have an iPhone, iPad or new iMac or Mac notebooks, you can use the device’s built-in Facetime app to make video calls to other iPhone or iPad users anywhere in the world via WiFi for free.

But Facetime won’t let you call those without an iPhone, Android phone or iMac or Mac notebooks.

Or you can use the free version of Skype app to call other Skype users.

Vonage Mobile – The Details

Users can add calling credit directly from the app through iTunes or Android Market in increments of $4.99 and $9.99.

Vonage Mobile uses the phone’s existing mobile number and contact list, avoiding the need for unique user names and duplicate identities for contacts.

Calls to any phone in the U.S., Canada or Puerto Rico from anywhere in the world will be free for a limited time (up to 3,00 minutes a month).

Users do NOT need to be a Vonage customer to use the app. Calls to Vonage home or business lines are also free.

Besides the iPhone and Android phone, Vonage Mobile app works on iPod Touch, iPad and Android Tablets.

Mela Welcomes New Customers with Double Billing, Early Billing & iPad Problems

Bollywood, Digital Media, Reviews, Tamil Movies 2 Responses »

Jan 312012

Some Indian startups get off on a wrong footing with customers even before their commercial launch.

Take for example Mela.

An online Indian movie and TV services provider to desis in the U.S., Mela is supposed to roll out its paid Indian movie service on February 1.

But even before the launch the fledgling has started earning the ill-will of customers through double billing and early billing problems, iPad issues and inadequate customer service.

With offices in California and Bangalore, Mela offers customers Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Punjabi, Marathi and Bengali movies online via the Roku box or on the iPad and live Indian TV channels through its set-top box.

Here are some issues we encountered with the Mela movie service.

Billing Problems

* Billing is supposed to start only on Feb 1 since the service is free through January 31 (that is today). But it seems the company got itchy to see some dollars and billed customers a couple of days before the free trial expired. Such cheap practices leave a nasty taste in the mouth.

* As if early billing was not bad enough, Mela compounded the problem through double billing. To make matters worse, the company did not care to proactively address the issue and waited for customers to complain. Mela blames the double billing on technical glitches and promises to ‘fix it’ within two days.

Given these billing snafus, we were not in the least surprised to receive a call from Citibank’s early fraud detection department a little while ago to warn us about the $4.99 charge on our card.

iPad Issues

Besides the billing issues, Mela customers are also grappling with problems on the iPad. Continue reading »

Android Beats iPhone – Ahem, in the Toilet

Digital Media, iPhone No Responses »

Jan 302012

Aha! After searching high and nigh we finally found one place where Droid/Android scores over the iPhone/iOS.

Hold your ~~breath~~ nose now because that place is the toilet.

A new survey has found Droid phone users are more likely to use their mobile phones in the loo compared to iPhone owners.

No kidding, folks.

The survey by integrated market marketing agency 11mark notes that:

Droid users are slightly more likely to use their phones in the bathroom overall; 87 percent have used their phone while indisposed, versus 84 percent of BlackBerry users and 77 percent of iPhone users. BlackBerry users are most likely to answer a call in the bathroom. 75 percent of BlackBerry users report they have done so, versus 67 percent of Droid and 60 percent of iPhone users. But, Droid and iPhone users are more likely to browse a social network or use an app (in the bathroom) than their BlackBerry colleagues.

As always, the wise souls at SI have the explanation for this anomaly – You see, iPhone users really, really care about their mobile phone compared to Droid users.

Can you imagine your sexy lil’ iPhone floating with the remnants of last night’s Pongal, Dahi Batata Vada or swimming in the, God forbid, Paani Puri. No way!

Droid users couldn’t care less if their mobile phone is covered with poo because it looked no different before.

Anyway at least now, the Droid owners have one reason to cheer.

~~Great American Download Story~~
In other highlights of the 11mark survey of 1,000 Americans:

* Neither men nor women are going to the bathroom alone today – 74% of men and 76% of women report using their mobile phone in the bathroom

* 63% report they have answered a phone call and 41% initiated a phone call

* Many (67%) have read a text, and 38% have surfed the Internet

* Men are a bit more attached with 30% reporting, “I don’t go to the bathroom without my mobile phone,” versus 20% of the distaff sex

* Men also work more from the bathroom – 20% say they have participated in work-related calls versus 13% of their female colleagues

* Gen Y respondents are heaviest toilet users with 91% using their phone in the bathroom

* 80% of Gen X report using the phone in the bathroom, 65% of Boomers and 47% of the Silent Generation

* 59% of Gen Y, 43% of Gen X and 22% of Boomers have used an app in the bathroom. While online, it seems they are doing more than just surfing; 16% of Gen Y report making an online purchase while in the bathroom

* iPhone users are particularly likely to browse and buy in the bathroom – 22% have made a purchase, versus 10% of Americans with mobile phones overall

SI confesses to checking for your comments in the bathroom with the iPhone 4.

Even with Dozens of Tablets & Price Cuts, Android Still has only 39% Marketshare

Android, Digital Media, Tablets No Responses »

Jan 262012

Despite powering dozens of tablets including the Amazon Kindle Fire, a new survey shows Android’s market share in the tablet market at just 39.1% in the fourth quarter of 2011.

Something must be seriously wrong with the Android software if so many vendors including Sony, Acer, Asus, Samsung, Motorola etc are struggling to get some momentum for their devices.

So far the only way most Android Tablet vendors have been able to move their devices off the shelves is by repeatedly cutting prices to a few hundred dollars below comparable Apple iPad models.

But for those price cuts, Android’s marketshare would have been still lower.

The only Android tablet that’s gained some traction so far is the cheap $199 Amazon Kindle Fire.

Apple has been able to keep its tablet prices obscenely high because the competition has been unable to get its act together.

iOS Still Numero Uno

Apple iOS continues to be the tablet king with 57.6% of the tablet market in the fourth quarter of 2011, according to a recent survey put out by Strategy Analytics.

Apple shipped 15.4 million units in the fourth quarter compared to 10.5 million units by all the Android vendors combined.

Global tablet shipments hit 66.9 million units in full-year 2011, surging 260% from 18.6 million in 2010.

It seems consumers are increasingly going in for tablets in preference to netbooks and even entry-level notebooks or desktops.

Apple Kicks Ass with Record Q1 Results; Sells 37m iPhones, 15.4m iPads, 5.2m Macs

Business, Digital Media, iPhone, Tablets No Responses »

Jan 242012

Apple’s fiscal first quarter (ended December 31, 2011) results were like its products – sizzling.

The company reported a profit of $13.06 billion ($13.87 per share) on revenues of $46.33 billion.

* Click here to see Apple’s Segment-wise Results for Fiscal Q1, 2012

iPhone, iPad Going Gangbusters

No surprise that sales of the company’s hot iPhone 4S and iPad 2 were at a scorching pace during the holiday season.

During the quarter, Apple sold 37.04 million iPhones, a 128% unit growth over the year-ago quarter.

Tablet sales came in strong too.

Apple sold 15.43 million iPads, a 111% unit increase over the year-ago quarter.

Sales of Mac computers grew modestly in comparison.

Apple sold 5.2 million Macs (including an iMac to us), a 26% unit increase over the year-ago quarter.

Sales of the iPod music and video devices hit a pothole again as their functions have been subsumed in the iPhone. Apple sold 15.4 million iPods, a 21% unit decline from the year-ago quarter.

For the current quarter, Apple set a modest revenue target of $32.5 billion and expect diluted earnings per share of about $8.50.

Any Schmuck Can be an Author with Apple’s New iBooks Author Tool, But Should You?

Books, Digital Media, Tablets No Responses »

Jan 192012

Apple today launched iBooks Author, an easy to use application for writers looking to publish their e-books for the iPad tablet.

Hell, even you schmucks can use the app to write an e-book on any topic and publish them to Apple’s iBookstore.

iBooks Author is available on the Mac App Store for free.

Ah, but there’s a catch here.

You need to have a Mac computer to use iBooks Author and a Mac ain’t free, kid.

The cheapest Mac is the Mac Mini and that will cost you over $800 with a memory upgrade to 8GB, an Apple mouse and a decent monitor.

iBooks Author requires users to be running Mac OS X 10.7.2 or later.

Easy to Use

We just downloaded iBooks Author to our iMac and played with the app for a while.

iBooks Author is nicely done and simple for writers to use.

A no sweat app.

It rightly assumes that writers have little or no experience with publishing and makes the job easy with multiple tools that includes even basic things like templates.

For the heck of it, we picked a template and started playing with it.

Yes, with iBooks Author you can write directly into the app, preview it on the iPad and then publish it to the iBookstore from within the app.

Alternatively, you can write your stuff in your preferred app, say Word and then import it into iBooks Author.

There’s all the basic stuff like a choice of templates, ability to select font styles, size, add images, shapes, charts, tables, and Multi-Touch widgets etc.

Adding a photo to your e-book is so simple, particularly if you already have the image on the Mac. All you need to do is open iPhoto and drag and drop the picture into iBooks Author.

It took only a few moments for us to insert an image on the title page and another inside. The text automatically wrapped around the image. Voila, we were done.

Via a tab on the top right, the app lets you preview you the book on an iPad as you work on it.

What about Small-Time Writers?

Sure, the iBooks Author is an easy to use app for writers. Continue reading »

Sony S Tablet a Flop? Price Cut by $100

Digital Media, Tablets No Responses »

Jan 012012

Sony appears to be joining the list of tablet vendors that have gone up against the might of the Apple iPad and ended up bloodied and bruised.

Not to mention the loss of hundreds of millions of dollars and loss of face.

Discounts & More Discounts

First, in mid-December Sony announced a $50 discount for its recently launched S Tablet.

The discount was touted as a limited time promotion that would end on December 31.

Apparently, that $50 discount wasn’t enough to get the crowds excited (remember, only when HP brought prices of its now retired TouchPad to $99 did the masses buy the tablet).

Now, Sony has not only not ended the $50 discount on December 31 but tagged on an additional $50 discount for a total of $100 off.

This means, Sony’s 16GB S Tablet will now cost $400, instead of the $500 it was charging a few weeks back.

The 32GB version is also $100 cheaper as you can see from the below screenshot of the Sony U.S. web site:

Sony Slashes Price of S Tablet by $100

On August 25, the wise ones at the extraordinary SearchIndia.com blog had recommended a price of no more than $399 for the 16GB S tablet. Continue reading »

Tablet Craze Will Boost Shipments to 63.3m in 2011; Apple iPad King of Heap

Digital Media, Tablets 3 Responses »

Dec 152011

The market for PCs and laptops may be weak but tablet shipments continue to rise.

Based on robust demand in the fourth quarter, market researcher IDC raised its worldwide tablet shipments forecast in 2011 to 63.3 million units, up from its previous projection of 62.5 million units.

Tablet shipments into sales channels in the third quarter rose 23.9% on a sequential to 18.1 million units.

This represents an increase of 264.5% from the same quarter last year, but 5.8% below the original forecast of 19.2 million units.

Apple iPad Dominates

IDC expects Apple to have its best-ever quarter in 4Q11, and sees the iPad gaining more traction outside of the consumer market in 2012, specifically with enterprise and education markets.

Apple dominated worldwide tablet shipments in 3Q11 with 11.1 million units, up from 9.3 million units in 2Q11. That represents a 61.5% worldwide market share (down from 63.3% in 2Q11).

Apple iPad Dominates Tablet Market Apple iPad – Rules the Roost

Samsung was No-2 with 5.6% market share followed by HP with 5%, Barnes & Noble’s Nook Color (4.5%) and Asus (4% ).

Following a poor reception to its TouchPad tablets, HP has exited the tablet business. Continue reading »

SI & Santa @ Apple Store Grand Central

Digital Media 2 Responses »

Dec 122011

The small Apple is now gracing the Big Apple’s Grand Central train station.

Yes, Apple’s newest store in Manhattan opened this Friday at the Grand Central in Midtown Manhattan.

We stopped by over the weekend to see what the hoopla was all about.

Oh my, what a noisy affair it turned out to be.

It seemed as if all of Manhattan, dressed up as Santa, had descended there.

There were tons of people dying to get up to the Eastern Balcony of the Grand Central Station where Apple’s newest store is located.

Taking even a few steps toward the Apple store involved considerable pushing and jostling.

The police and Apple employees had a tough time managing the crowd.

Apple Store in Grand Central Station NYC The Apple of Our Eye at Apple’s new Grand Central Store

Santas at Apple Store in Grand Central Station Santas, Santas & More Santas Outside the Apple Store

SearchIndia.com on Apple iPad2 at Grand Central Holy Cow, Here’s SI on an iPad @ the Apple Grand Central

Were We Impressed?
Not really, considering all the hype.

The store is big, of course.

There’s all the standard Apple products – the iPad, iPhone, iPod, MacBook etc on display – and people playing around with these devices.

But the store itself didn’t strike us as anything extraordinary.

The strange thing is we didn’t see any doors at all. Everything seemed too open.

In any case, we plan to revisit the store on a quiet week day to see if we missed anything amidst the din of the weekend crowd.

Digital Cinemas Making Great Headway

Digital Media, General 5 Responses »

Dec 082011

Digital cinema has hit a major milestone with over 50% of the estimated worldwide commercial cinema screens now converted to digital technology.

Texas Instruments, a developer of digital cinema technology, estimates the digital numbers will reach near 100% by the end of 2015.

Digital cinema is a major transition in the movie business from celluloid films to digital technology.

Although digital cinema is perceived in popular parlance as a shift to digital distribution and projection of films, the folks at Texas Instruments have a wider definition:

Digital cinema encompasses every aspect of the movie making process, from production and post-production to distribution and projection.

While digital cameras are nothing new, and post-production houses have been using digital equipment to edit and master movies and animation for some time, the all-digital distribution and projection of movies has only recently arrived to complete the chain.

A digitally produced or digitally converted movie can be distributed to theaters via satellite, physical media, or fiber optic networks. The digitized movie is stored by a computer/server which “serves” it to a digital projector for each screening of the movie.

We don’t have the numbers for India but China is projected to go all-digital by 2013.

Texas Instruments’ projections are based on data from IHS Screen Digest report “Goodbye and thanks for the memories…the end of 35mm.”

Since 1889, 35mm has been the major projection cinema format.

IHS estimates that by the end of 2012 the share of 35mm will fall to 37% of global cinema screens, with digital accounting for the rest. This represents a significant decline for 35mm, which was used in 68% of global cinema screens in 2010.

By 2015, 35mm will become a niche projection format used in just 17% of global movie screens.

Page 2 of 24«123 4 5 6 7...20...»Last »

SearchIndia.com Blog