Dell to launch 10-inch Android tablet in China

(Reuters) - Dell Inc has chosen to launch its new 10-inch Android tablet in China this summer, passing up on a U.S., Europe launch, as China emerges as a front line battle for tablets.

The tablet named "Streak 10 Pro" will target Chinese "prosumers", a term used to describe advanced-level consumers, Amit Midha, Dell's President of Greater China and South Asia, said on a corporate blog on Thursday.

Dell, which is also working on a Windows 7-based tablet for enterprise customers due later this year, will evaluate launches of the Android tablet in other regions in the second half of the year, he said.

Dell's decision to launch a 10-inch (25 cm) tablet in China is a signal of the market's growing importance to the company.

Dell's China sales grew 22 percent in the first quarter while its retail presence in China exceeds 10,000 sales points, Midha said.

"In China in particular, we're currently number 2 in the Chinese PC market and we're seeing a significant increase in the number of small- and medium-business users, who are adopting mobility products as part of their growth plans," he said.

Dell has chosen China to launch new products before. In 2009, Dell announced it will enter the smartphone market starting in China before moving into Brazil.

By launching the Android tablet in China, Dell hopes to give more time to developers to develop applications for the device as China blocks some Google applications and the Android Market is not yet available.

The tablet market is currently dominated by Apple Inc's iPads, Samsung Electronics and Motorola Mobility Holdings tablets.

"The end product (encompassing the hardware, software, and availability of applications, services and solutions) delivered in China will be significantly different to what would be delivered in many other countries. That's why it makes sense to start there" Midha said, adding that Dell will take what it learns in China to shape mobile products for other markets.

India's top 50 engineering colleges 2011

Ranking methodology

We scanned the last five year rankings of about 241 colleges and normalised their ranks, by assigning differential weights to subjective and objective ranking. Such a process is used to develop clusters of institutions. The research standing of individual institutions were further used to refine the clusters and remove the odd men out.

Individual clusters were ranked serially. In each of these clusters the differences in cut-off marks, wherever possible (like in case of IITs and AIEEE institutes and some States) were used to arrive at individual ranks.

Tata Manza Mileage @ 46.33 kmpl

Tata Manza Mileage @ 46.33 kmpl! Narayanan Menon Breaks Record!

Mechanical Engineer, Narayanan Menon surely doesn’t not like exponentially growing petrol prices in India. He did the obvious you’d expect any engineer to do – get the most out of his car engine. The proud owner of Tata Manza (Quadrajet Aura ABS) set out on 72.3 kilometer long drive on Coimbatore- Avinashi by-pass on May 25 and made an entry into the Limca Book Of Records by churning out incredible 46.33 km per litre of diesel. Menon covered the whole

distance with just 1.58 liters of fuel.

Narayanan Menon With His Tata Manza
While the Tata Manza Quadrajet Aura engine has made a name for its mileage, Menon (MD of Aromen Engineering Company) gives the credit to proper engine maintenance and good driving skills. Indian engineers who care a great deal about the fuel economy of car should take lessons from Narayanan Menon. Maintain your car, service is properly and timely – and you can expect magic from the machine.

W3C 2011: Web for All

The 20th International World Wide Web Conference, WWWC (W3C) 2011 was organized jointly by the International Institute of Information Technology (IIIT), Bengaluru and Hyderabad and the Institute of Information Technology, Mumbai. WWWC 2011 with the theme 'Web for All' was spread over 5 days from March 28th to April 1st, 2011 at the Hyderabad International Convention Center (HICC) in Hyderabad.Dr APJ Abdul Kalam, the former President of India formally inaugurated the event on March 30th.


Prof S Sadagopan, director, IIIT, Bengaluru shares the excitement of bringing the international event to India with VOICE&DATA, “It is a part of our larger effort to get supply side leadership for the country. World has given us this leadership. There is yet a long vision. This is a part of larger game play. These kinds of research oriented events are the seeds which will reap huge benefits. It will boost research activities in India.”

Future of the Web

This conference discussed future of the web and to bridge digital divide. W3C 2011's theme being 'Web for All' aims to promote the all-inclusive aspect of the Web. At present, around 11% of Indian population access web. Referring to the theme 'Web for All', Prof S Sadagopan said, “People in India have recognized the potential of ICT. There are multiple things that are happening, primarily the affordability. We are moving towards the phase of integrating web and mobile, hence people can access web via mobile. Content is improving in Indian languages.” He added, “People, even in rural areas who are now coming into 15 to 16 years are becoming literate. Things are happening though it is not dramatic.”

Web for Empowering Democracy

Sir Tim Berners-Lee shared his insights about Web while delivering keynote address on 'Designing the Web for Open Society' on March 31st, 2011. He said that right to internet should be a human right as in Finland. World Wide Web also reflects the principles of democracy which signifies equality of all people irrespective of their racial, national, social or economic background. Hence it has emerged as the embodiment of the principles of democracy and a powerful tool to achieve democratic process in lands where democracy is non-existent. Referring to the Egypt revolution, he said that web is a powerful tool if used in a right way. Industry is now talking about real-time web data. Data is growing double the times within a span of 10 months. With regard to semantic web, he pointed that interpretative web is exciting. But most of the data is non-formatted. Control of cybercrime doesn't have a simple solution. There are problems of jurisdiction between countries. There's the issue of coordination among law enforcing agencies of different countries. Even if one country does not participate in the regulatory mechanism, all the bad can happen from there. He declared, “Unfortunately IT is conservative and conventional when it comes to producing web data. There should be an interconnection of data amongst all verticals. It is not the internet policy which is questioned time and again but the functions of internet. Internet is very centralized; suppose if the access to internet is interrupted, we would not have a copy of it. Hence we should think about reconnecting immediately if there is any political or any other disaster. Internet is a wonderful place which is like a tree and it escalates system. People should know how to use the unlimited data on net.”

The annual event drew around 700 people from 49 countries. The exclusive research oriented WWW 2011 event was an amalgamation of researchers, technologists, developers and users with intense technical sessions viz, 81 technical papers, 90 posters, 25 demos, 12 tutorials, 9 workshops and a PhD symposium. It also attracted CIOs, IT directors and decision makers from the public and private sectors.

Nokia launches new dual SIM handsets

Nokia has unveiled two dual SIM mobile handsets in India – Nokia C2-00 and Nokia X1-01. The dual SIM music phones have been manufactured at the company's Chennai facility. The dual SIM music phones, made at the company's Chennai facility, have set new benchmarks in the mobile Internet and music space in the entry-level dual SIM category, said Vipul Sabharwal, director sales, Nokia India, during the launch. Nokia C2-00 is priced at Rs. 3,000 and X1-01 is priced at Rs. 2,000.

Nokia said the two mobile phones offer smarter multiple SIM management and enhanced music capabilities, and the handsets have been designed keeping in mind the requirements of the Indian consumers. Nokia claimed the Easy Swap feature of the handset allows users to change SIM cards turning off the phone or removing the battery. Also, with the Nokia C2-00, users can browse the Internet, read emails and enjoy instant messaging with either SIM card. With 32 GB expandable memory, one of the interesting features of Nokia C2-00 is that there is no need to reboot or redefine settings, as the phone remembers up to five different SIM cards.

Coming with up to 16 GB of memory support, Nokia X1-01 also boasts of a 'jumbo' battery that promises continued music playback of up to 36 hours. Nokia said X1-01 allows users to personalize their dual SIM experience with their own SIM name, call or SMS settings, logo, ringtone or music. This handset also remembers the settings for up to five SIM cards.