New generation iPod’s are here!

Apple has released their new line up of iPods in India. While the iPod Classic and Shuffle don’t see much change the Nano has a new avatar and the Touch also has a few changes worth mentioning.

The iPod Nano is the thinnest Nano ever. It’s sleek new design features curved aluminum and glass enclosure. On the interface side of things the Nano can now create playlists automatically of songs that go great together. There is a built-in accelerometer which which auto switches to landscape when rotated and also helps the Nano go into Shuffle Mode when shaken lightly. The new iPod nano gives users up to 24 hours of music playback or four hours of video playback and is available in an 8GB and 16GB capacities priced at Rs.9,700 and Rs.12,500 respectively. Both capacities are available in several color options - silver, purple, blue, green, orange, yellow, pink, and black.

The iPod Touch also receives a few minor changes; the back has been made curvy like the iPhone 3G. This 2nd generation iPod Touch features a thin contoured metal design as compared to the previous iteration. The 3.5-inch widescreen glass display, 802.11 b/g Wi-Fi wireless networking, integrated volume control buttons, speaker, accelerometer and other advanced sensors have been retained along with Apple’s revolutionary Multi-Touch user interface. The 8GB iPod Touch is available for just Rs.15,100.

Nokia N96 Released

The power house from Nokia, The Ultimate Convergence device; the N96 has been released in India today. You can go pick up your handset from dealers in exchange for Rs. 34,999. As earlier speculated, the handset being sold only through the Idea Network has been denied and the handset will be available from any dealer. There is a slight possiblity to see some VAS (Value Added Service) bundled along with the phone when sold through network providers but with no change in price.

I’ve had the chance to use the N96 handset for about an hour and I didn’t see much to amaze me. As far as I see it, the N95 8GB is the biggest competitor to the N96. And frankly speaking over the N95 the N96 is not much of an upgrade. It could be a buy just for those few select people. For more on a first hand experience of the N96 click here. The article shows throws light on the powerfulness and the functionality of the N96 and how its not much to overcome.

3G finally coming closer?

The 3G auction is to be decided upon by the end of this year, as mentioned by the Department of Telecom (DoT) secretary earlier. The government efforts to commemorate the 3G auction seem to have finally moved into gear. Today the DoT held a pre-bid meeting regarding the prospective companies, both Indian and International, wishing to provide 3G services through the country. Some reports suggest that the meeting had been called by Jyotiraditya Scindia, Minister of State for Communications and IT.

So finally the officials of DoT today will consider a proposal regarding spectrum sharing between mobile operators. The news, was dismissed by the PA to Mr. Scindia. When asked he said, there were no meetings scheduled for today and nothing with regards to spectrum sharing between operators has been highlighted. We will soon have more word on how things are shaping up.

New Linux Version of fring Nokia

There’s a new version of fring for Linux (v.1.2.1.63)

Change Log:

• Added History Tab
• Integrated Dial-pad (screenshot below)
• Several minor bugs resolved

With the integration of the Dial-pad now making VoIP calls will be easier and even though we have taken care of some minor bugs I’m sure more will pop-up, which we will work to clear out.

So go try out the new Linux version here and as always do communicate your experience.

Google Chrome Beta

Google has released a Public Beta of its Browser christened Chrome. I can’t figure out as to why the name Chrome but nevermind. Anything from Google always smells exciting and lets see what the Chrome can do against the likes of Microsoft’s Internet Explorer, Mozilla’s Firefox and the Opera browser. The Chrome is still in Beta don’t know how long it’ll stay that way considering that the Gmail we use is still in Beta for over 4 years now.

I’ve tried the Chrome browser and seemed to have liked the little bits of difference like “No Menus” for example which provides large work space. While using Chrome I did face a couple of computer freezing situations but I think it will get over it soon. What gets me most excited on hearing about Google Chrome is that hopefully they should have the Chrome Mobile which will be compatible with all phones and not just available on the Androids.

fring for Nokia N78 & (even b4 its launch) for the N96 !!!

We’ve been working hard with Nokia, and are pleased to announce that fring is now available for both the Nokia N78 & the N96. These super sexy, super cool top of the range Nokia phones provide a fringing fantastic experience. And we know fringsters are gonna love it.

If you own the N78, then go install fring and lets us know what you think! As for those on the lookout for the N96, when you have one in your palms do not hesitate to have a go with fring because its already supported.

Lots more news soon. Ya’ll Sony Ericsson fringsters stay tuned!

FOF: Friends of Fring!!!

With your ongoing support, fring has developed into an award-winning, global leader in mobile internet communications, and we’ve done so by listening to guys like you telling us what you think, what works and what doesn’t. Our cool services and features have been developed around your feedback and we recognize just how valuable your input has become. So, we’ve decided to take it a step further, by inviting you to join “friends of fring”, a small, exclusive group of fringsters which we will share information and development news with, take inputs and insights from, and provide hot new fring products, features and versions for you to play with before general release.

All we ask is that you continue to tell us what you think occasionally! Please note, there will be no obligation on your part to do so, but we will ask you to agree to keep confidential some of the developments we share with you.

As a FoF (aka friend of fring), you’ll receive a fringing welcome pack with some fun fring goodies , and access to a special password protected friends of fring web site where we’ll share the exclusive friends of fring info. We’ll also be hosting friends of fring social events every so often (lot’s of free drinks and other stuff…), so we can say thanks, get to know each other in person, share the cool new stuff in the product pipeline and hear your thoughts and ideas for future development.

Please note friends of fring is totally free of charge to be a part of. Application is open to any fring user, but to make it manageable and to keep it exclusive, the final selection will be limited to only a few users per country. So if you are interested in joining please apply now.

To apply, please send an email to friends@fring.com with your:

• <!-[if !supportLists]-><!-[endif]->name
• <!-[if !supportLists]-><!-[endif]->fring nick
• <!-[if !supportLists]-><!-[endif]->fring ID (your mobile no. with its international dial code)
• <!-[if !supportLists]-><!-[endif]->and a few short lines explaining why you’d like to join.

  Applications are open until Fri 12^th Sept and we’ll get back to you by Tues Sept 30^th.

  Hope to hear from you and make friends soon!