Nokia posts $1.72 billion loss in second quarter

Finnish mobile phone company Nokia's net loss nearly quadrupled in the second quarter on sagging sales of smart phones, a market in which the company is struggling to regain ground lost to rivals including Apple and Samsung.

Shares in the company jumped, however, as sales of low-end phones buoyed revenue and shipments of the new Lumia phones, which run on Windows software and will replace the older smartphone models, were not as bad as feared.

Nokia posted Thursday a net loss of $1.72 billion, compared with a loss of about $451 million in the same period last year.

Overall sales were down 19 percent.

This marks a fifth straight quarter of losses for Nokia.

After 14 years as the leading mobile-phone manufacturer, a position it lost earlier this year, its value has dropped 64 percent this year to its lowest value since 1994.

Since Apple’s introduction of the iPhone in 2007, Nokia has lost $117 billion of value.

It now has a market cap of 6 billion Euros.

CEO Stephen Elop hopes the companies line of powerful Lumia smart phone will stem that loss. Nokia has shipped 4 million Lumias phones, which runs on the Microsoft Windows Phone OS.

Aakash 2 Tablet PC Officially Unveiled; to hit Colleges by December

Union Minister Kapil Sibal on Tuesday officially unveiled the Indian government's ambitious ultra low-cost Aakash 2 tablet PC at IIT Bombay. As expected, the next generation of Aakash tablet PC comes with host of improvements including a faster processor, capacitive touchscreen and larger battery life. The Aakash 2 tablets will initially available for engineering students across the country. 

The Aakash 2 tablet has an 800MHz processor, as compared to 366 MHz processor of the original Aakash. The resistive touchscreen has been replaced by a capacitive one. The 2,000mAh battery has been replaced by a 3,200 mAh one, which is rated to deliver three hours of backup. The improved Aakash 2 tablet PC has been priced at Rs. 2,263, down from Rs. 2,276 of the original Aakash. The announcement of the Aakash 2 comes three months after IIT-Bombay took over the project from IIT-Jodhpur. 

According to reports, IIT-B has already developed apps for the ultra low-cost tablet and is likely to incorporate few more. IIT-B has also been given responsibility for procuring and distributing the Aakash tablets. If everything goes as per scheduled, the first units of the Aakash 2 tablet will be dispatched to as many as 250 engineering colleges across the country by December-end. A public spat between IIT-Jodhpur and DataWind, which were spearheading the Aakash project, had delayed the distribution of the tablet in February, after which the Indian government handed over the project to IIT-B. 

It may be recalled that Sibal had announced the Aakash tablet in October last year amidst much fanfare. Unfortunately, the device hasn't seen the light of day due to a spate of controversies, which stalled production.

ACi Launches Low-Cost Lcon 1100 'laptop', at Rs. 4,999

ACi or Allied Computers International, a laptop specialist brand from the UK, has launched a super-affordable “laptop” in India – the ACi Icon 1100, which will be retailed for as little as Rs. 4,999.

With its specifications and feature set however, the device qualifies as an affordable netbook. Featuring a 10.2-inch 1024x768 pixel display, the ACi Icon 1100 runs on an undisclosed VIA CPU, along with 512MB of RAM (1GB optional). 

Dimensions are 11 x 7.25 x 1 inches, and it weighs in at 0.7kgs. Other specifications include a MMC/SD push card reader, 10/100 Ethernet adapter, Wi-Fi, 3G support via USB dongle, 3 USB 2.0 ports, and 4GB of storage, expandable up to 32GB. 

It will ship with 12 months replacement warranty. The ACi Icon 1100 is sold in India by the BSE listed company, Allied Computers International (Asia) Limited. 

Speaking on the launch of the ACI Icon 1100, Mr. Hirji Patel, Managing Director, ACi (Asia), said: “Ergonomics and proper usability of a Laptop by the today’s deprived segments is what we have focused on today in our ACi ICON model. 

We will by no means stop here and will continuously develop the models in months to come in order to meet consumers' entire needs of today in order for them to up-bring their families to one day own slick, stylish and power laptops of tomorrow’s world.” 

The company will also be launch other laptops from its portfolio in India, from mid-to-high end segments. “At the same time as us fulfilling our goal of developing India as a Laptop Nation with never ending price breaks, we will continue to house latest technology in laptop computing in all our laptop models to ensure India is never used as a dumping ground by the MNCs of this world,” added Mr Patel.

MTS Slashes Tariff Plans For Delhi, NCR Users By Up to 60 Percent

MTS, the mobile services brand of Sistema Shyam TeleServices Ltd., has announced the slashing of data plan prices by up to 60 percent in Delhi and National Capital Region (NCR). 

MTS is likely to slash data plan prices in other circles soon. New MTS plans start at Rs. 96 for 1GB ( 1 day validity) to Rs. 698 for 4 GB with validity for sixty days. 

Earlier, MTS offered only 512 MB usage for Rs. 96, with one day validity. Similarly, MTS users can now have 6GB of data (validity of 90 days) for Rs. 998, which earlier had only 3GB data. Moreover, MTS has also announced new special tariff voucher of Rs. 698, which has 4 GB data usage and 60 days validity. 

Previously for Rs. 348, MTS users got 512 MB data which is 67.9 paisa/MB, but now after the revised rates, users get 1.5 GB data usage for Rs. 348 which is 22.5 paisa/MB – a whopping 60 percent drop in usage charges, says MTS in a release. 

“We have specially designed these tariffs to provide our data customers with a world class mobile internet experience at affordable price backed by increased usage benefits,” Mr Shankar Bali, Chief Operating Officer, Delhi NCR and Haryana Circle, MTS India, said. 

According to Mr. Bali, the new MTS plans will benefit operator's three lakh customers in Delhi and  NCR. After Airtel launched its 4G services and slashed 3G tariffs, it was expected that other telecom operators will follow suit sooner or later. 

So far all the major telecom operators including Vodafone, Idea, Reliance and Aircel have already slashed their 3G tariffs. CDMA player MTS was long speculated to join the race. 

MTS' new data plans are certainly competitive, and set to compete with new 3G plans from the operators such as Aircel and Reliance. To know more about 3G tariff price war, read More 3G for less: Which plans make sense for you?

Android Activations Reach 1 Million Per Day

SAN FRANCISCO -- A total of 1 million Android devices are activated each day, Google announced today at its Google I/O show today. The number is a big jump from the 400,000 per day the company reported at last year's show in May. 

In addition, Google said 400 million Android devices have been sold so far. "Four hundred million is a pretty huge number, but were definitely not slowing down," said Hugo Barra, director of product management at the show's opening keynote. 

The more customers use Android, the easier it is for Google to persuade developers to write apps for it and the more customers there are for Google services such as search and maps that generate ad revenue. 

Android is the headline item at the Google I/O show designed for developers. At the show, Google also announced Android 4.1, called Jelly Bean.

Google ups challenge to iPad, Kindle with debut of $199 Nexus 7

The worst-kept secret in Googleland is now official.

The Nexus 7 tablet was unveiled today at the Google I/O Conference. As previously reported, the device was built by Asus and comes with a 7-inch 1,280-by-800 HD display. According to Google, it's running the Tegra 3 processor and has a front-facing camera for video chatting.

Wi-Fi connectivity, as well as Bluetooth and near-field communication support are also included in the device. Rumors had been swirling for months that Google would offer the tablet. Earlier this morning, the company mistakenly let slip a banner image of the device on its Google Play store.

With the announcement, Google is making a play for a piece of a hard-fought market where its entry will compete against Amazon.com's Kindle Fire -- which the Nexus 7 approximates in size and price -- as well as Apple's iPad.

The Nexus 7 comes in 8GB and 16GB models. The 8GB option retails for $199, while the 16GB version will go on sale at $249. The device will start shipping in two to three weeks, Google said. However, interested customers can start preordering the tablet today.

Rounding out the specs are a Micro-USB port, 1GB of RAM, a 1.2-megapixel front camera (no back camera included), a gyroscope, GPS, an accelerometer, a microphone, and 802.11a/b/g/n Wi-Fi.

The device measures 10.45mm thick, weighs 0.7 pounds, and, from the looks of the first pictures released, has a textured, grippy backside and appears to be about the same size as the Kindle Fire.

The Nexus 7 will be the first device to run the latest version of the Android 4.1 OS, also known as Jelly Bean. Google says to expect 9 hours of 720p HD video battery life.

Tamil girl holds banner to the visiting Indian Prime Minister in Myanmar. Asks for justice.

Tamil girl holds banner to the visiting Indian Prime Minister in Myanmar. Asks for justice.

Saratha Muthuraamalingam who is a Tamil descendant in Burma decided to hold a banner on the route of visiting Indian Prime Minister in Burma . On behalf of Burma (Myanmar) Tamils , Saratha appealed to the Indian Prime Minister that ,

1. Separate Tamil Eelam is the only solution for the ailing Tamils in the island ,

2. War criminals of Sri Lanka must be punished .

3. Rajiv Assasination convicts Perarivaalan, Murugan, Santhan, Nalini who have already undergone 20 years of imprisonment must be released. These people are not directly connected with Rajiv's murder These were the appeals from the Tamils of Burma the message stated.

Of course world Tamils are also wishing the same.