Sony Ericsson Xperia X8 - Cost Revealed!

Sony Ericsson Xperia X8, the mobile formerly known as Shakira, has finally been released in India. It's now priced at Rs. 13,900, which is a fair bit lower than the expected 16000/-.

This is a very attractive deal! Currently sporting a highly customized UI on top of Android 1.6, the Xperia X8 should get an update ot Android 2.1 in the near future, along with the rest of its family.

A full-touch phone, this 3G-capable has a 3-inch screen, 3.2MP camera, and is available in black and white colours. While the device is a lot cheaper than the Xperia X10, it has a lot of its features, including the signature Xperia applications. Please check the official site for more features and reviews.

Sony Internet TV - Google Powered!

Sony’s Google TV television range, also known as Sony Internet TV (SIT), has finally been announced officially, with prices, sizes, features and other details. Sony’s premium to embed Google TV into television sets seems minimal. Wonder why!

• NSX-24GT1 - $599
• NSX-32GT1 - $799
• NSX-40GT1 - $999
• NSX-46GT1 - $1399

All of the Sony Internet TV sets are edge-lit LED LCD, except the 24-inch model, which is CFFL. An integrated web-cam seems to be an obvious missing feature. Sony intends to provide simultaneous web surfing and TV, with what it calls "Dual View." Sony Internet Television will also enable users to search programs, the web, DVR, applications, etc., from a single place. You will also be able to access your PC content with a DLNA connection. People saw Sony’s button-loving QWERTY remote control, and now it's learnt that it is an RF learning (i.e. universal) remote. The ability to controlling the television with an Android smartphone will also be coming soon.

Sony’s Google TV sets are powered by Android and an Intel Atom processor, and feature Wi-Fi connectivity and USB ports built-in.A Sony Internet TV compatible Blu-ray player will also be available. Pre-orders are open for the televisions now, while they are expected in stores in the U.S. by October 24th. By announcing it will be the only TV vendor for Google TV this year.

NASA and GM reveal Robotnaut2 - the android Space Explorer!!!

Unmanned exploration and colonization of space by humanoid robots – androids – might seem like science fiction, or the far future, but could soon be a reality. Spectacularly timed with Obama’s proposed 5-year NASA budget – which cancelled the Constellation Moon Program and aimed to also privatize the significant cost of manned launches, among other things – NASA and GM announced their creation of Robotnaut2(R2) (Like an Astronaut!!!). GM and NASA have technologically-collaborated several times before, including the Apollo Missions and Lunar Rover Vehicle. While GM aims to reap the technological benefits in automobile robotic manufacturing, NASA clearly declared its intentions to use Robotnaut2 technology to jumpstart a "bold new era of space exploration".




There was Robonaut1, first developed 10 years ago by NASA and DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency), but tragically never left Earth. While R2 still sports a copper helmet and a white body similar to R1 of a decade ago, it is said to be much more dextrous and versatile, and stronger than its predecessor – it can lift a 20-pound dumbbell with ease. This might just be one small step for science, but a giant leap for mankind. But, seeing as we could soon be flinging Robonaut1 and its successors into planetary (and maybe one day interplanetary and galactic) space this is probably a bigger leap for automata!

Firefox Mobile Version Released!!!

The Fox has found another prey in the N900. The long awaited mobile version of Firefox, which had been code-named Fennec has been released.



Unfortunately, for now the release is available only for the Maemo OS and will run on the N900, N820 and N800 Nokia devices. While the browser will finally be available for the Windows mobile platform as well (an alpha is available now) there are no plans for porting it to some of the other smartphone operating systems such as Symbian.Undoubtedly no version for Firefox for iPhone is planned, however a Blackberry port for Firefox is also difficult due to its Java-based OS. Android users however might see a Firefox version as such versions are undergoing testing and development.

As Firefox enters the mobile market, it does not leave behind its powerful add-on centric roots. The Firefox mobile browser promises extensibility and in fact launches with the new Weave add-on which is Mozilla's official synchronization system for Firefox mobile and desktop.It is amazing how much of Firefox you get with Firefox mobile, the browser while meant for mobiles packs in almost all of Firefox's salient features. Even so the browser manages to provide an interface which is relevant for the current touchscreen mobiles.

Interface and Features:


- The Mobile interface for Firefox hides everything till you actually need to use it, saving all your space for the interface of the website that you are browsing. Most of the interface is hidden just outside the visible area and is accessible with a simple slide.
- By sliding the interface towards the right you get access to all the open tabs as thumbnails of the open windows. Sliding the page to the left will reveal on the right side, the back and forward history controls and a button a bookmark the page.
- An settings button is also visible on the panel at the right, which takes you to the interface for managing you browser settings and configuration. Here you can mange you installed add-ons and search for add-ons in the catalog. You can also manage your downloads here.
- For entering URLs, an address-bar is appended to the top of the page which is available when you scroll to the top of the page. Since the interface supports kinetic scrolling, you could easily reach these interface elements by the flick of a finger.
- Important features of Firefox such as the password manager and popup-blocker are available in the mobile version too, and missing ones can be added back with the help of add-ons. The add-ons gallery already has quite few add-ons which work with the mobile version, and more will be available soon.
- While plug-ins support is possible in Firefox Mobile, it has been disabled in the final version due to performance concerns. In Mozilla's tests, the Flash plugin performed fine for websites such as YouTube, however it was detrimental to a good browsing experience when using websites with multiple plug-ins. An add-on is in the works which will allow enabling plug-ins on a per website basis.

Firefox's mobile standards support is at parity with Firefox 3.6, so yes even complicated HTML5 applications such as Google Wave will run on it. Support for features such as location aware browsing and off-line support means that websites such as Google search and Twitter can use you location data, and web application which support it can continue running even when you don't have network or internet coverage.

So all the lucky N900 owners can now get the Firefox browsing experience on your phone.

Just visit: http://www.firefox.com/m

Flash Player 10 on Mobiles!!!!

FlashLight 3.1 has only barely been released, and Adobe already on to the next step, running full featured flash on mobiles.Soon enough, you can expect your phone running Windows Mobile, Google's Android, Nokia S60/Symbian, or the Palm operating systems to be capable of running Flash 10 in all it's glory with a the release of the Flash Player 10 for smartphones. See something missing?


The iPhone is still off the menu. With the rate at which smartphones are getting faster and more powerful it was only a matter of time, that FlashLite and Flash would reach a common ground. Instead of propelling the confusion of different flash version profiles, with compatibility constraints, Adobe has put considerable effort into bringing the full version of the flash player to mobiles. This will certainly make the flash platform even more appealing as developers and designers will be able to reuse the work they put in to the desktop flash projects directly to mobile.

Nearly every mobile phone today supports some version of FlashLite, giving flash an even wider audience than the Internet. Till now flash content for mobiles has been more of small widgets or active active wallpapers and screen savers, but with a full featured flash player, we are sure to see a growing no of application in flash 10 for the mobile.

Flash Player 10 for mobile is expected early next year.

Ref: Digit