Black Ops “Call of the Dead” official movie poster released

By: Aseem Gaurav, May 1, 2011

US based video game developer Treyarch has released a movie themed poster for the “Call of the Dead” zombies mode in its upcoming Call of Duty: Black Ops Escalation series which is scheduled to be launched on May 3 on Xbox 360.

To access the content of The Call of the Dead you’ll need 1200 Microsoft points or $15.

Treyarch has also released a handful of screenshots. Here’s a look at it:

App review: Bubble Ball

By: Aseem Gaurav, May 1, 2011

The sensational Bubble Ball game knocked the insanely popular Angry Birds game out of its top slot on the Apple App Store's list of most popular free apps in December. Bubble Ball is created and coded by eight-grader Robert Nay and his mother Kari, who hails from Spanish Fork, Utah. While Angry Birds was created by a 17-person Finnish company, Bubble Ball is the work of 14-year-old Robert Nay, who taught himself how to program the game from a library book.

Bubble Ball is a simple move-the-ball-to-the-goal physics game with very basic graphics. It's a good game by any standard. The most important part that you need to do is prior planning and thinking about how gravity will affect the objects they have. To achieve your goal, you can choose from a set number of items, simple basic shapes to quickly move the ball to its destination. The shapes available are of wood and metal and as we are aware these two materials respond differently to gravity. The wood pieces are required to sit on a solid platform but on the other hand metal pieces will stay at the same place where you put them. You can rotate the shapes in accordance to the diagram available on the field to quickly guide the ball. After setting up the field, players then press start to turn gravity on and start the ball rolling. There are twenty one levels and one can jump to whichever level they wish.

Just like I said earlier, it is a simple yet very interesting game. In terms of graphics, the options available before you are multiple color of the ball. There is no sound in the background but a loud horn is noticed when you pass the ball to the finishing line. You also have the option of four different power ups; two affect gravity, turning it on and off, and the other two speeds up the movement of ball in either horizontal direction.

The most challenging and interesting part of the game is that you have to apply your knowledge and logic to come with new and original solutions to the given problem in every level. The game is addictive and besides lacking fancy graphics and stupendous sound effects, all depends on how well you play the game. But in terms of a puzzle game, there are only a couple of challenging levels available. Overall, it is a brilliant game highly recommended for those who are on the lookout to kill their boredom and want some excitement.

Pepsi introduces Social Vending Machines, lets you gift drinks

By: Aseem Gaurav, April 30, 2011

Food and beverage giant PepsiCo, which is well known for its interactive marketing campaigns, has launched a new vending machine that can send gift drinks to your friends and even record messages.

PepsiCo’s Social Vending Machine, which the company recently launched at a trade show in Chicago, combines the traditional vending with modern day social networking.

To use the vending machine choose a drink of your choice for your friend, and give the machine the friend's name and mobile number. Consumers can personalize the message with a short video recorded by the machine along with a personalized text message. Moreover, you can even send a free beverage to a stranger.

Your friend on the other hand can go to any vending machine that is linked, enter the code from the text message and receive the drink. Even your friend can pass it on to someone else.

Mikel Durham, chief innovation officer at PepsiCo Foodservice, in a statement said: “The new machine “extends our consumers’ social networks beyond the confines of their own devices and transforms a static, transaction-oriented experience into something fun.”

However to the surprise of many, Pepsi’s model for social vending machines lack the popular networking giants like Twitter or Facebook, but the company says there is a possibility to other social media integration in the near future.

iPad app Bike Repair HD saves bikers time and money

By: Aseem Gaurav, April 30, 2011

Fixing bikes may prove to be a tough and laborious task unless you have the knowhow or better know a good mechanic. To give you an alternative, Atomic Softwares has come out with their Bike Repair iPhone app, priced at $2.99 for both the iPhone and iPad (Bike Repair HD).

The Bike Repair app is an easy-to-use, step-by-step reference guide to fix bike tires, chains, brakes, and much more. Available on the App Store, it could prove to be a big money saver right from the first time of its use.

The app gives a complete breakdown of bike parts and common symptoms so that the users can easily diagnose and fix anything from a chain to basic wheel truing.

The best part about this app is that it makes basic repairs seem less intimidating as both written and visual instruction are quite easy to understand. The app serves equally well for casual and serious riders, with most of the repairs requiring no special tools. Moreover, it even has a section devoted to cycling-related aches and pains.

I must say that if you are one of those who take a lot of care of your bicycle throughout the year, then this app is sure to impress you. Although many of us know how to do few adjustments and repairs, sometimes we forget the nuances when we go out to repair some critical problem in our bike. Needless to say, such an app will become quite handy when you’re out on trail.

Pros

Easy to understand information and intuitive interface
Wide-ranging breakdown of repairs
Inclusion of aches and pains diagnostic

Cons

Seems oriented (at least visually) to road bikes
Can't enlarge photos

S-911 GPS tracking bracelet helps patients with cognitive disorders

By: Aseem Gaurav, April 30, 2011

US based Adiant Solutions, a company known for its GPS safety and tracking solutions, has announced the availability of their new S-911 tracking bracelet. The product has been designed to give peace of mind to those who have a child with autism or a person with Alzheimer’s, dementia and other cognitive disorders and who can easily runaway. The bracelet tracks their every step in real-time and within several feet.

The Adiant S-911 bracelet is a comprehensive device. The company claims that the S-911 is the only bracelet on the market that features customer controlled geo-fencing, two-way communication with automatic answering after three rings, a G-force sensor alert to detect falls, a speed sensor, a panic button in case of emergency and a watch.

“We have seen many different tracking solutions over the years,” said Candace McDonald, executive director of Jenny McCarthy’s autism foundation Generation Rescue. “The Adiant S-911 bracelet is a comprehensive device.  This product is something families should strongly consider if they are a caregiver of a child with autism or a person with another cognitive disorder that has a tendency to wander or run.  In our community wandering is a tremendous issue and it’s valuable to know there is a product that can help families in need.”

In 2011, at least three children with autism got drowned in the US after wandering and the figure was nine in 2010.

Adiant founder and CEO Jim Jeselun said the company was founded on the premise of helping people and the S-911 bracelet does just that.

In case a person wearing an S-911 bracelet enters or leaves a designated geo-fenced area, the caretaker will receive a text or e-mail message and a phone call on their handheld device within three seconds alerting them.  The alert gives them the exact location of the bracelet so that they can reach their immediately.

Features of S-911:

• GSM/GPRS Quad-band 850/900/1800/1900MHz
• LCD Display for Time, Date, Speed and GPS Info
• AGPS for both outdoor & indoor Location
• Built in SPK and MIC
• 2 dial buttons on the side
• Micro USB port for configuration and power charging
• Geo-Fence setting with in/out alert
• Security band available
• Tamper Detection
• Data logger built in with thousands of waypoint to record time stamp, speed, position, and event state.
• 3 Axial Accelerometer to report impact, accident, crash, tamper intent and falling
• Real time dynamic position report based on time interval or distance travelled
• Mileage report and over-speed alert
• Phonebook & Fast dial feature
• Communication Encryption and Compression on air.

Celebrate the Royal Wedding with the Royal iPhone collection

By: Aseem Gaurav, April 30, 2011

Have you got your share of Royal Wedding Memorabilia yet? Consider the Royal iPhone Collection from Goldgenie if you want to remember the Prince William and Kate Middleton's wedding in a royal style. This uber iPhone collection is sure to make you feel like a real prince or princess.

The stylish 32GB iPhone is cast from solid platinum or gold rear, which is embellished with VS1 8.50 carat diamond. The phone includes a dazzling sapphire bezel and logo of Apple embellished on its sides and buttons. Just under the embellished Apple logo there is a symbol of the British Monarchy engraved along with names of the Royal Couple. The 32 GB model comes in three variations – Platinum, Gold and Rose Gold.

The choice of the stones used makes this collection really stunning. They have been especially chosen to match the look of the late Princes Diana’s wedding ring.

The only sad part about this collection is that it is a limited edition creation and only 50 iPhones have been made as a commemorative design for the wedding of the century.

According to Goldgenie, the Platinum model will cost £23,050 ($38,400). The Gold and Rose Gold models have been priced at £20,050 ($34,150) and £20,100 ($33,500) respectively.

Now, an iPhone app that helps users become better drivers

By: Aseem Gaurav, April 29, 2011 (New Delhi)

To help you drive more safely, insurance company State Farm has come out with a new “driver feedback” application for the iPhone and iPod touch. The app gives grades to your driving skills and tells you if you're a danger to society or not.

The app is called Driver Feedback and is a free to download application. It has been designed to make your iPhone turn into a pocket-sized driving coach, using the device’s accelerometer features.

The Driver Feedback app rates your driving on three primary features – acceleration, braking and cornering. Surprisingly, it does not include looking outside the window and talking on your iPhone while driving.

When activated at the end of each trip, the driver is provided a score and a log of potentially dangerous driving activities. This score can then be compared with other drivers or with the same driver’s other trips.

Key features of the app include: Record trips and give feedback on driving performance; a map illustrating where potentially dangerous activities occurred; compare driving scores; a trip completion notification allowing a driver to send a text or email to someone on safety completing their trip; and multi-trip average scores.

Overall, it is a nice app, and may prove to be useful if you are really eager to know what your driving skills are.

VoxOx launches iPhone app for cheap international calls and faxes

By: Aseem Gaurav, April 29, 2011 (New Delhi)

Southern California-based VoxOx, which is an all-in-one phone, fax, instant messaging, text messaging, and file sending application for desktops, has launched its first mobile app, VoxOx Call for iPhone. The app could be a boon for those who have to use a lot of different communication channels.

The app enables iPhones users to make long-distance calls at very low cost from any part of the world without relying heavily on their mobile data plan.

VoxOx Call for iPhone’s features include 2-way worldwide SMS, Find Me call forwarding, inbound faxing, on-call star commands, switch devices mid-call and digitally record calls.

The company said it’s a callback service that connects both parties using standard lines and it doesn’t make calls using VoIP. The mobile app syncs beautifully with the full-featured VoxOx desktop software.

To use the app, new users have to register for a free VoxOx account that’s available within the mobile app interface. To complete the sign up choose a free US phone number or purchase a low cost Canadian number.

With VoxOx Call app the users can:

• Auto-dial from iPhone address book
• Initiate “callback” calls from an iPhone to any other phone worldwide at low VoIP rates
• Send and receive SMS worldwide – free to receive, one to two pennies to send
• Receive, view and forward faxes within mobile app interface
• Leverage star commands for 20-party conferencing, device transfer and call recording
• Manage Find Me, which enables call forwarding to multiple phone numbers
• Change caller ID on the fly
• View and retrieve VoxOx voicemail – includes voicemail transcription
• Email transcripts of SMS conversations

Users to download 44 billion mobile apps by 2016

By: Aseem Gaurav, April 29, 2011 (New Delhi)

The app market is growing at a phenomenal rate and a new study from ABI Research reveals users will download 44 billion cumulative by 2016.

The study says Android and Windows Phone 7 are fast catching up with Apple given the growing number of users adopting these platforms. It says the mobile app ecosystem and the market model will evolve with the increasing pool of smartphone and tablet users.

"Given the vast number of choices available, app developers and app stores need to innovate continually in order to maintain consumers' interest," comments ABI research analyst Fei Feng Seet.

"For example, an app called OfferedApp promises to provide a paid app each day in exchange for users completing a simple survey or signing up for an offer with advertisers. Some apps also offer virtual currency or other premiums to consumers who download a featured app from the developer. However these new marketing tactics are likely to face opposition as iTunes starts to clamp down on such incentivized promotions when they cut into Apple's revenue from in-app sales."

As per the figures, users have downloaded nearly 3 billion apps from the Android Market while Apple reached a remrkable figure of 10 billion app downloads in January.

It says a growing number of smartphone owners and more App Stores (i.e. Appia and Amazon’s Android App Store) could mean downloads reaching exponentially over the next few years.

HP Laptops - Re-defining the Methods of Computing

HP laptops are winning hearts and capturing many household and office places where they stand as an efficient performer even after being loaded by tons of work projects and data. If you have decided to buy HP laptops, it is certainly going to be wisest decision you have ever taken, and you won’t regret it. Every HP laptop model you buy is accompanied by a set of accessories that further add to the advanced and modern ways of computing.

The recent models introduced by HP, boast of bringing the latest technology and high tech features with them. The HP notebook series is considered to be perfect for multi-tasking applications like movies, photos and music downloads. These notebook models allow you to enjoy great multimedia experience, even when you are at work. The noteworthy diagonal displays along with essential mobility adds another advantage to these gadgets.

You can win the option of having advanced connectivity in your laptops if you choose to buy HP laptops. The list of HP laptop models includes versatile performance laptops, mobility laptops, pro-book laptop PC, entertainment powerhouse PC models, HP mini notebooks and many more. In case you have plans to buy online HP laptops, then nothing stands better than HP Compaq laptop models. These laptop models are embedded with enhanced business features along with advanced security and latest technology. They offer you the option to extend the battery life as well so that you can enjoy doing uninterrupted work for long hours.

HP Laptops are your perfect companions that provide you easy internet accessibility even when you are travelling. Buy HP laptops to remain connected with your instant messengers, e-mails and other important official activities online.

When you will search for online HP laptops, you will get a broad selection of add-on accessories and solutions. These laptops are featured with ultra-modern facilities that enable you to get more out of your computing experience.

Read more at www.systemactive.com .

Google brings Video Chat facility to Android smartphones

By: Aseem Gaurav, April 29, 2011 (New Delhi)

Google has announced that it will begin rolling out Google Talk for video chat for Android devices. The feature will initially be available on the Nexus S.

According to the company, the app will allow both voice and video calls over 3G, 4G, or WiFi.

Google decided to release the feature ahead of the schedule may be because of the reason that Apple has already beaten the search giant in shipping FaceTime in iOS 4.x.

Video calling has long been a part of Google Talk and Motorol Xoom, equipped with Android 3.0 honeycomb, supports this feature.

For now the service only works with Nexus S devices, but other Android 2.3+ Gingerbread device will get the support very soon.

Using the service is also quite easy. After receiving the update, a video and a voice icon will appear next to your Google Talk list of contacts. Just touch the button and start using the service. Moreover, you can place Video chat on 'hold' while carrying on with audio chats

The service is much in the style of FaceTime, and for now it is restricted to Android to Android devices.

Apple iPad 2 finally arrives in India on April 29‎

By: Aseem Gaurav, April 28, 2011 (New Delhi)

The iPad 2 fever is all set to grip the Indian consumers from April 29. Following its successful launch first in the US on March 11 and then in 25 other countries on March 25, the next-generation tablet will go on sale in India on April 29.

The iPad 2 with Wi-Fi will sell for a retail price of Rs 29,500 (including VAT) for the 16GB model, Rs 34,500 for the 32GB model and Rs 39,500 for the 64GB model. The high-end version of iPad 2 with Wi-Fi + 3G will cost Rs 36,900 for the 16GB model, Rs 41,900 for the 32GB model and Rs 46,900 for the 64GB model.

The popular tablet made its debut in Japan on April 28 as it finally went on sale after a month-long delay caused by the March 11 quake and tsunami.

The slate is 33 per cent thinner and up to 15 per cent lighter than the original version, while having the same 9.7-inch LED-backlit LCD screen. It is powered by new dual-core A5 processor for stunning graphics and blazing fast performance. The device now includes two cameras, a front-facing VGA camera for FaceTime and Photo Booth, and a rear-facing camera that captures 720p HD video.

If you’re not extremely obsessed with a lot of music, videos, or media then a 16GB unit may be fine for you. For an average user, 32GB is quite okay. But for those who extensively use these services, the high-end model will be the best option to go for.

However, choosing between Wi-Fi or 3G may prove to be a difficult decision for you. The Wifi connection serves best when you are staying in the home as you can connect your iPad through your wireless Internet in home and surf the Net. Wifi is faster than 3G since it uses your home internet connection. On the other hand, using 3G you can connect from almost anywhere and you can check mails even while riding in a car. Before taking this decision decide whether you are ready to spend such a hefty amount for the 3G or do you travel enough on the road that justifies the cost of the high-end model. Moreover, many small hotels and restaurants offer free WiFi. I hope I have made it a lot easier for you, but still the choice is entirely yours.

Complete List: 

16GB Wi-Fi: Rs. 29,500
32G Wi-Fi: Rs. 34,500
64GB Wi-Fi: Rs. 39,500
16GB 3G + Wi-Fi: Rs. 36,900
32GB 3G + Wi-Fi: Rs. 41,900
64GB 3G + Wi-Fi: Rs. 46,900

Apple buying iCloud.com for $4.5 million?

By: Aseem Gaurav, April 28, 2011 (New Delhi)

Apple's upcoming and long awaited 'cloud-based' online music storage and streaming service could bear the name iCloud.

According to popular tech site GigaOm, Apple has reportedly bought the domain www.iCloud.com from Swedish tech company Xcerion, for a hefty sum of $4.5 million.

Xcerion’s iCloud service have rebranded itself to CloudMe.

Recent reports reveal that Apple’s upcoming cloud-based music service is nearing completion. The service will let iTunes users to store their music and videos which they have purchased on Apple’s cloud in a digital ‘locker’ enabling them to stream the content to internet connected devices, such as the iPhone and iPad. Thus it eliminates the need of users to store the content locally on the device.

While Apple is still keeping the specifics under the wraps, sources in the industry say that major record labels are in talks with with the iPhone- and iPod-maker before the service is launched.

Amazon recently rolled out its own cloud-based digital storage service called Cloud Drive. The service offers 5GB of storage for free and then tiered subscriptions that allow storage up to 1TB.

Fring brings 4-Way Group Video Calling to iPhone, Android for free

By: Aseem Gaurav, April 28, 2011 (New Delhi)

Just as you thought that two-way mobile video calling is approaching the mainstream, voice and video chat app Fring has rolled out 4-way mobile video calling service between Android and iOS devices.

Following a private beta testing period, they’ve just opened up the feature to anyone with an iOS 4+ or Android 1.5+ device.

Fring’s group video calling supports up to 4-way video chat, which means you can call up to three people on your iPhone or Android device. Calls are supported over Wi-Fi, 3G or 4G, although video quality will depend on your connection speed.

Besides group calls, users can also avail of free calls to other Fring users and text chats as well. The four-way video chat facility makes Fring the first company to offer group conference calls across smartphone platforms.

You can check out the awesome promo video of Fring below and if you want to go ahead and start video chatting with some of your friends on an Android or iOS device, download Fring.

“Fring leap-frogs sluggish, expensive PC Group Video Calling solutions by giving users the world’s 1st mobile Group Video service, free. There is no reason why users need to run home to their PC in order to have a ‘spontaneous’ video call with their friends and family. Users love seeing all their friends at the same time, on one screen, but want to be able to do it, when and where they want,” said Avi Shechter, Co-Founder & CEO of fring.

“Just as Fring was the 1st to liberate video calls from the PC back in 2009, we are the 1st to give users the ability to see all their friends on their phone at the same time, anywhere. This video call revolution lets fringsters be free to get together, wherever.”

To use it, go to the nearest app market for the software update to join the fun.

Features:

• You can call your Fring friends from anywhere
• Do a Video Chat either from your iPhone or Android device.
• Add up to Four Friends(with the new DVQ™ technology) in this Video Chat.
• You can use 3G,4G or WiFi.
• More clear Voice and Video Experience with Fring 5.0.0.52.
• The only free mobile Group Video Call service in the world!
• Video call/Call any other iPhones, iPod touches, Android, Nokia
• See your friends real-time status; you can chat with your friends before video-calling them

White iPhone 4 available worldwide from today

By: Aseem Gaurav, April 27, 2011 (New Delhi)

California-based Apple will begin sales of its white iPhone 4 on Thursday. The phone, already delayed by production problems, will be sold at Apple's online and physical stores, AT&T and Verizon stores, and other retailers.

"The white iPhone 4 has finally arrived and it's beautiful," Phil Schiller, Apple's senior vice president of worldwide product marketing, said in a statement. "We appreciate everyone who has waited patiently while we've worked to get every detail right."

Initially the company planned to sell both black and white versions of the device at the time of its release in June 2010. But in a statement is said the white iPhone was more challenging to manufacture than expected. Apple never talked about the challenges, but speculation about paint that peeled under heat and problems with sensors reacting to the lighter shade circulated online.

Other than the color, the new version is similar in appearance and function as its black counterpart, running on Apple's A4 processor. The new white iPhone for will be available for $199 or $299 depending on the model. The model comes with a Retina display and a front-facing camera for FaceTime video chatting.

Apple denies tracking iPhones, promises to fix the 'bug' soon

By: Aseem Gaurav, April 27, 2011 (New Delhi)


Apple has finally broken its silence over claims that it was tracking the locations of iPhone users in a hidden file, stating "Apple is not tracking the location of your iPhone.”

“Apple has never done so and has no plans to ever do so," the company said in a statement.

Apple said it is planning to rectify "bugs" that resulted in location data being unencrypted and stored for up to a year.

According to Apple, the iPhone was not logging a user’s location but instead gathering location information to maintain a database of Wi-Fi hotspots and cell towers in the user’s vicinity to “enable an iPhone to rapidly calculate its location when requested.” It said that its approach can slash the process of calculating a phone's whereabouts to a few seconds.

Apple’s statement comes in wake of researchers raising privacy concerns that that iPhones and iPads were storing latitude and longitude coordinates along with a time stamp. It said the location as seen by the researchers is "not the past or present location of the iPhone, but rather the locations of Wi-Fi hotspots and cell towers surrounding the iPhone's location, which can be more than one hundred miles away from the iPhone."

It says that all location data sent to Apple is in an anonymous and encrypted format, and that it cannot identify the source of this data.

The reason the iPhone stores so much data is a bug we uncovered and plan to fix shortly Apple blamed it is on a software bug for storing as much as a year of location data, and planning to fix it shortly with the release of a free iOS software update. It said the update will reduce the size of the crowd-sourced Wi-Fi hotspot and cell tower database cached on the iPhone, ceasing backing up this cache, and deleting this cache entirely when the Location Services function is turned off.

Apple admitted that users should be able to turn off the location logging feature on their phone when they disable location services on it. But a bug prevented this, the company said.

Apple has been at the center of a privacy debate that’s sparked lawsuits from consumers and drawn inquiries from US Congress about whether their products breach privacy rules by tracking and storing users’ locations.

Drop-proof your iPad 2

By: Aseem Gaurav, April 26, 2011 (New Delhi)

You have just spent $500 in buying Apple’s new gizmo, the iPad 2. And you want to keep it well protected – from scratches, dust, as well as accidental damage. You’ve made a wise decision to purchase Apple’s latest slate but now the immediate step that you should take is to invest wisely in a protective case that gives you that extra protection. Well, the market is full of cases, but I am sure that you must be looking at a case that’s reliable, an eye candy and reflects your sense of style! This is an important decision, but it’s yours.

Just to make your job easy, iPadfanzz gives top three protective iPad cases that will serve your purpose well.

1. Hard Candy's Street Skin – For that tough protection & tender care

Hard Candy's Street Skin cases for your iPad give you protection with ruggedized style. Built from thermoplastic polyurethane rubber, an elastic but rugged material, the case gives you full access to all ports, plugs, controls, and audio outputs. This includes both the cameras. The TPU rubber used in the case is not only an excellent shock absorber but at the same time it is soft to the touch. The Street Skin's magnetic screen cover attaches via a hinge to the back of the case while not in use. The color choices are: black, clear and pink. Street Skin is available at a cost of $40.

2. iBallz – Cool design and unique protector

A cool design for those who don’t want to hide their shiny new iPad, but at the same time willing to make it a little more quirky. Not only the case protects your slate, keeping it up off of any hard surface, it leaves all the ports or buttons open to use. The four shock-absorbing foam balls are held in place with a cord, at each corner of the tablet. The cord can be tightened to secure them, or loosened to take these balls off. In case your iPad is dropped, instead of just crashing to the floor, it’ll safely bounce off of the floor. A unique functionality of iBallz is that you can even place a foam ball underneath the iPad to give you a better viewing angle. It is available in the market at $19.99.

3. Factron High Defender for iPad – Put on some metal

This costly protector will surely attract those consumers who are willing to shell out some extra bucks and give their iPad a metallic look. Factron's exquisite and expensive shell is made up of aluminum alloy, which is used in airship frames. It was designed for the original iPad. The shell gives your iPad an all-round protection – be it bumps, scratches, or a high fall. Through custom cutout and metal covers, you also can access all iPad buttons and functions. The Duralumin A2017 costs $756, and the Duralumin A7075 is priced at $905 – this is equivalent to the cost of a high-end iPad. Though it is hard to justify such a costly accessory for an iPad, but looking at its features and looks, for some it may not prove a costly affair.

Top 3 sites to download free eBooks for iPad

By: Aseem Gaurav, April 26, 2011 (New Delhi)

Apple’s technological marvel, the iPad, is a great tool to give you an amazing multimedia experience. Apart from videos, e-mails, games, a lot of consumers are using the device for the reading purposes. In an iPad’s high-resolution, LED-backlit screen, the text appears crisp and bright, and you can flip the pages – just like a book – through the swipe of your fingers. You can view a single page in the portrait mode and jump to any part of the book (table of content or any chapter) in a second. When reading is such a pleasure on iPad, you must be feeling the need to keep your library full of iPad ebooks without spending any money.

To help you get free ebooks, iPadfanzz.blogspot.com brings you top 3 sites where you can download free of cost iPad ebooks and save it in your library for reading at leisure time.

1. Scribd

Scribd is popular online document sharing site where you can share Word, Excel, PowerPoint, PDF and other popular formats. It is a free service that allows users to sign up and then browse a wide variety of ebooks ranging from Fiction, Non-Fiction, Health & Medicine, Brochures/Catalogs, Government Docs, How-To Guides/Manuals, Magazines/Newspapers, Recipes/Menus and School Work. This is a great site for those looking for new content including news and current affairs and novels and books. But beware that there is also a lot of pointless and useless content which can frustrate you with its download time.

2. ManyBooks.net 

It’s an amazing site with many popular titles. The site allows you to download thousands of books for free directly on your iPad.  ManyBooks.net also provides instructions on their site under ‘iPad Help’ which makes it easy to download files.

3. Project Gutenberg 

With over 33,000 free ebooks in its store, this may be the place you were searching for downloading free ebooks for you iPad. The iPad natively supports various eBook formats, one among those is ePub format which is used by Project Gutenberg.  The site includes big-name titles from big-name authors. Its free digital ebooks can save you thousands of dollars as you'll be able to carry an entire library of classics around with you.

B&N's Nook Color gets apps, email, Flash and more

By: Aseem Gaurav, April 25, 2011 (New Delhi)

Barnes & Noble's $250 Nook Color e-reader has announced a major software update, which it claims will transform it into a low cost Android tablet.

The update adds features like e-mail and enhanced Nook books, plus popular games like Rovio's "Angry Birds" and a superb multimedia experience with Adobe’s Flash video player. The update itself will include Nook Email — supporting Gmail, Hotmail, AOL and Yahoo — and Pandora radio.

In total there are 125 apps available for the e-reader right now including free and paid apps. The cost of paid apps range from $2.99 to $5.99.

In addition to apps, B&N has also added new features to its periodical reader, including adding a navigation slider bar in the carousel, and widening the landscape column of the article view.

In other upgrades, Nook Kids children's titles has now become more interactive, with 15 finger-friendly animated "Read and Play" books, like "Splat the Cat" and "Go, Dog, Go!"

Nook Color’s version 1.2 will automatically hit your eReader over the coming weeks but if you want it now then you can go and grab the update from Barnes & Noble immediately.

“The Nook isn't intended to go compete directly with full-fledged tablets such as the iPad, for which there are more than 65,000 apps,” said Jonathan Shar, head of Barnes & Noble's "digital newsstand.” "The target for this is still people who love reading," Shar said.

Overall, the new update will certainly help in extending Nook Color’ usefulness. It may be far away from competing against other feature loaded computer tablets available in the market, but it will help it change the marketplace of the low-end tablet market.

Charlie Sheen's mind now an app

By: Aseem Gaurav, April 25, 2011 (New Delhi)

Troubled Hollywood actor Charlie Sheen now has his own mobile application.

The app, called “The MaSheen”, which is now available for iPhone, iPad, and the iPod Touch, is being dubbed as "the mind of Charlie Sheen in your pocket."

The MaSheen features 17 short videos, a fortune teller and games. To use the digital fortune teller, just think of a question and ask it out loud to your device, now shake your iPhone or iPad around, and your fortune will appear clenched within the jaws of a tiger.

"Great news, world; my new app is finally up and running. it's epic! #MaSheen the others are ALL FAKE! this one I designed. your welcome," Sheen twitted.

Apple gave final approval to the App on April 15 allowing Sheen to add content anytime in the MaSheen app, which will cost $2.99.

It’s an interesting and creative way adopted by Charlie Sheen to reach his public without tweeting. But it is now up to them how they take it.

Chinese man repairs damaged photos with Photoshop free of cost

By: iPadfanzz.blogspot.com, April 24, 2011 (New Delhi)

China’s Baojun Yuan, who has mastered Photoshop is credited with repairing 2000 old photos for Chinese residents for free in the past nine years. Yuan learned Photoshop at the age of 60 and now he’s 76, and he’s now a master on how to repair old and damaged photographs just like a pro.

Baojun Yuan liked the idea of repairing old photos because doing them at the local market price is quite expensive. So, Yuan himself bought a computer and a scanner and began service people free of cost. “My teacher just taught me how to repair the photos, but he forgot to tell me how to charge,” he says. What a noble idea indeed!

(Source: http://thedesigninspiration.com/)

App review: Adobe Ideas

By: Aseem Gaurav, April 24, 2011 (New Delhi)

Imagine you are sitting in a coffee shop or somewhere down the beach or in a museum and there’s your shiny iPad in front of you. After having a good look at the environment you want to sketch out some of your thoughts or ideas. That’s where Adobe’s free app Adobe Ideas comes in.

This is a fun, free and useful app, which has got one of the best UI available in the market. It allows you to sketch out ideas, write notes on photographs and extract color schemes from photographs, and share (via e-mailed PDF) the drawings. It has got pretty amazing color scheming tool that you can use on photos taken from the iPhone’s camera or any images in your library as its source.

Just a reminder that it is the same app that US President Barack Obama autographed during his campaigning in Seattle, Washington at the University of Washington. “He looked slightly surprised, but proceeded to use his finger to scribble on the iPad using the Adobe Ideas app,” said Sylvester Caan, who forwarded his iPad for the US President to sign.

When creating ideas, the app gives you very simple tools: a brush, eraser, hand tool (for panning), and settings to change the size, color, and opacity of the brush. The photo import option is also availale, which can give you an easy way to trace a photo or mark up a picture or document.

The app has been recently updated to give users VGA out capability to display sketches in real-time on an external display or projector using Apple’s VGA adapter for the iPad. Moreover, you can purchase a $4.99 Layers in-app optional purchase to create up to 10 drawing layers. Each layar can be manipulated in the sketch space using the Layers Move tool.

Features and Specs:

• Simple vector-based drawing tools
• Zoom control without jaggies or big pixels
• Variable-size brushes using multitouch control
• Vector eraser
• Huge virtual canvas
• Automatic creation of harmonized color themes from your photos or images
• Ability to email ideas as PDF files for editing in Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop or for viewing with any PDF viewer
• Gallery-style organizer to quickly scroll through your ideas and color themes
• Separate drawing and photo layers
• Easy creation of multiple versions of design concepts
• 50-level undo

Overall, it is a marvelous app for those who want to design something urgently and want to use an existing color scheme. I must say that the app is so simple that anyone can use it and create an album of his/her own ideas.

Firefox 4 hits 100 million downloads mark just within a month

By: iPadfanzz.blogspot.com, April 24, 2011 (New Delhi)

Just within a month of its launch, Mozilla's Firefox 4 has become an instant hit with users, topping 100 million downloads.

The download update is visible on Mozilla's "Glow" stats ticker page.

On the first day of the Firefox 4 release, it was downloaded twice as many times as Internet Explorer 9.

according to StatCounter, the browser has now taken over 7.94 per cent of the worldwide browser, with Internet Explorer 8.0 at 29.99 per cent, Firefox 3.6 at 24.43 per cent and Chrome 10 at 15.35 per cent.

T-Mobile G-Slate now $100 off: A limited time deal!

By: iPadfanzz.blogspot.com, April 22, 2011 (New Delhi)

T-Mobile and LG Mobile Phones have quietly launched their new tablet, the T-Mobile G-Slate. LG’s new computer tablet runs on 4G wireless networks, or Wi-Fi connections, and shoots video in 3-D.

T-Mobile is luring consumers by offering a discount of $100, provided you sign up for a 2-year contract that costs $529. All you have to do is order before April 27. Thus, effectively you pay $429.99 for G-Slate. And without the T-Mobile contract, the G-Slate sells for $749.99.

To avail this discount, you need to place your order over the phone by dialing 1-866-464-8662, selecting option 3, and referencing the code GSLATE100.

Given the growing competition with the arrival of new players, this discount makes sense for LG, which is trying to carve out a niche for its product in the rapidly growing computer tablet market.

T-Mobile’s G-Slate is an amazing tablet that is equipped with Google Android 3.0 (codenamed Honeycomb), a tablet-optimized version of the operating system designed to challenge Apple’s iOS. G-Slate features a 10.1 inch, 1280 x 800 pixel display, 1 GHz NVIDIA Tegra 2 dual core processor and front and rear cameras including two 5MP cameras on the back capable of shooting 3D footage.

The G-Slate has 32GB of internal memory with a microSD with the capacity to be upgraded another 32GB.

“The G-Slate represents the next chapter in T-Mobile’s rich history of Android innovation,” said Brad Duea, senior vice president, marketing, T-Mobile USA. “Tablets enable users to take with them the rich Web and entertainment experiences they have at home, and this will radically shift the way people interact with and consume content while mobile. The G-Slate delivers a powerful combination of premium mobile HD entertainment and T-Mobile’s lightning-fast 4G mobile broadband network.”

The G-Slate also supports 720p HD on-device video playback and HDMI output which allows users to watch the video taken on another 3D or HD capable gadget. With a NVIDIA Tegra 2 mobile processor with dual-core CPU and full Adobe Flash Player support, the G-Slate enables browsing of rich Web content, multitasking and gaming. LG is betting big G-Slate’s 4G capability (on the carrier’s HSPA+ network) which it sees as a boost in the market.

G-Slate takes advantage of T-Mobile’s 4G network to easily stream all the content, whether video or data on the wireless network which is available in over 100 metropolitan areas.

iPads replace paper in a Canadian hospital, making doctor's jobs easier

By: Aseem Gaurav, April 22, 2011 (New Delhi)

As per media reports a hospital in Ottawa (Ontario, Canada) has ditched tracking patients and treatment on paper in lieu of an iPad.

The Ottawa Hospital has recently ordered 1,800 iPads for their staff, which will replace medical charts. The hospital has even contacted a local software development company to develop the software which they can use on a day to day basis. The hospital staff already uses 500 Apple tablets.

Doctors at the hospital use the iPads to examine a patient’s X-ray, take note and prescribe drugs during the patients’ visits. Thus, a doctor is able to see all those things which he has prescribed to the patient and thus helping eliminate the traditional paperwork which was earlier being used.

It’s all there on the iPad – medical histories, injury reports and patient allergies – that need to be filled out and filed.

Through an iPad, doctors can now give greater understanding to the patient while at the bedside.

Dale Potter, the man behind the Ottawa Hospital tech transformation, said the hospital will offset the costs of the additional iPads through improved productivity and replacing old equipment. He said not only the device will reduce the errors in reports, but will reduce the amount of rework required on orders entered wrongly by hand.

How to play DVD movies on an iPad 2?

By: Aseem Gaurav, April 22, 2011 (New Delhi)


After getting your iPad 2, you must be wondering how you can play DVD movies as there is no built-in DVD-ROM or DVD player on it. And an iPad 2 comes with MP4, MOV, H.264 video format and MP3, M4A, WAV audio format, so in order to use your old DVDs on it, you need to rip that DVD or DRMed movie files to your computer, and then transfer the movies to your iPad. To do this, all you need is a DVD and Video to iPad Converter, which can convert AVI, WMV and RMVB to iPad-friendly video format. While it may sound a bit complex but using an easy-to-use interface, you can easily put all your DVDs into your iPad 2. iPadfanzz tell you how to go about it:

Step 1. First download, install and run DVD Video to iPad 2 Converter

Step 2. Now import your DVD

After installing the software, launch it and choose “Load DVD” to convert the file in desired format.

Step 3. Choose the output format 

Under the profile option, now set the output format, choose iPad Video (*.mp4). You can choose M4V, MPEG-4 Movie iPad/iPad 3G support. Choose the language (audio track), subtitle and the start point you'd like to convert, then click "Start".

Step 4. Select the output path

After converting the file, it’s time to save the converted iPad MP4 files from DVD. For this, under the output option, click “Browse” button to choose a folder to save the converted file. Click “Advanced” button to set parameters like "Frame rate", "Resolution", "Output Quality", "Channels", "Audio Bitrate", "Volume", "Sample Rate."

Now open the output folder to take a look at the converted iPad media files. This you can add to iTunes library, then sync to your iPad.

DVD to iPad - Free DVD to iPad Movie Converter software download and detailed guides.