Government of Maharashtra Supports Microsoft Initiative to Build Apps for Social Good

Microsoft today kicked off Windows AppFest in collaboration with the Government of Maharashtra to build apps for social good. The initiative will encourage app developers to idea and create solutions that address social and civic issues. These apps will help civil authorities seek alternative methods of interacting with citizens. The top three apps will be selected for a presentation at a conference hosted by Asian Development Bank.

The Windows AppFest represents how a new generation is tackling the challenges of government by using technology and collective action. Support from the Government of Maharashtra has not just offered promise about how technology can reshape governance; it has reformed the very notion of government and citizen engagement, offering a novel suite of previously unimaginable civic tools for government and citizens alike.

“App marketplaces are now proving to be viable platforms to host e-governance and socially relevant apps. Such apps can provide citizen-centric services in a secure manner, while ensuring increased transparency, reliability and efficiency in services. Cloud computing also enables e-governance solutions to be much more scalable and accessible. Microsoft, with its various initiatives including the Windows AppFest for social good in Pune, provides a good platform for app builders to ideate and create solutions to address social and civic issues,” said Rajesh Aggarwal, Secretary IT, Government of Maharashtra.

Sanket Akerkar, Managing Director, Microsoft Corporation India Pvt. Ltd. said “As the world gravitates towards a plethora of new devices and form factors, two things are going to be the key – apps and the cloud to power those apps. The collective capability of the developer population in India is going to play a key role in fueling this movement across the world. With this Windows AppFest, Microsoft is focusing on encouraging app developers to build apps for social good on the Windows platform.”

TechEd 2013, Pune will help developers, IT professionals, entrepreneurs and students hone their skills in app development. Microsoft is currently making significant investments in working with 1.2-million developers (the second-largest developer ecosystem) and over 1000 Independent Software Vendors to empower them with the tools, technologies and training required to develop high-end skills and to compete in a global marketplace. Microsoft’s aim is to provide the gifted and technically-skilled developer community with a supportive environment to drive path-breaking innovation globally. The Windows 8, Windows Phone 8, Office 2013, Office 365 and Windows Azure platforms open up countless opportunities for developers to shape the app ecosystem across multiple devices, giving developers the chance to maximize their revenues.

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ME Tablet Launches ME G1 Tablet

ME Tablet Marks Its Foray Into Turkey With The Launch Of ME G1 Tablet The ME Tablet brand has launched its operations in Turkey. The initial foray into the market comes with the launch of its highly acclaimed mobility products here. Following a highly-successful global launch in Dubai and with a growing market share in many countries and regions like the Middle East for its Tablets, its popular 9.7 inch, Dual Core G1 ME TAB now comes to the Turkish audience.
The ME G1 TAB was launched today at a gala unveiling by the celebrated and much-loved actor Ezgi Mola at the Les Ottomans Hotel, Istanbul.

The ME TAB series comes with power-packed features that enable the user to live better and live larger through an innovative and enabling technology. With a powerful dual core processor clocking 1.2 GHZ and dual core cortex A 9 CPU, the G1 ME tablet ensures high-quality and clarity on a large display screen for high impact images and also presents a rich movie viewing and gaming experience on a mobile device. The product features includes a 1GB DDR3 RAM for blistering fast multi-tasking experience, along with dual camera, front 0.3 MP and rear 2.0MP, with 16GB internal and 32GB external expandable memory, ensuring powerful storage and smooth and fast operability.

The range will be available at all major retailers across Turkey from April 2013 at a price of 599 TL. Commenting on the launch, Srinath Nagarajan, Business Head – EMEA, Mobility Business Unit at HCL Infosystems Ltd. said: “Our foray into Turkey is a very important milestone in our global growth journey. This is a critical market where we aim to acquire a significant market share through our superior technology and advanced devices. This launch is the first in our long-term strategy for this market. Our move into this highly- evolved market is both a reaffirmation of our global strength as a Tablet brand, as well as our confidence in the opportunities that this market withholds.”

“We are certain the ME TAB series will witness an immediate connect with the market, being an extremely stylish and innovative product in the tablet category. The series has been hugely successful in many countries, following the global launch last year. The product features very interesting innovations which completely leverages and harnesses the power of the latest Android OS. As a high-quality, innovative device, we hope to see this product revolutionize the tablet experience for consumers in Turkey.We are committed to introduce many more products from the ME stable that will cater to the various segments of the Turkish society in the near future. Our aim is to provide an exceptional performance and enhanced experience for tablet users, all at very competitive prices,” Nagarajan added.

The ME G1 runs on the 4.1 Jelly Bean Operating System that facilitate high-speed ease of navigation between applications. The tablet is pre-loaded with the Thinkfree Office productivity suite which lets users open, edit and create Microsoft Office documents, spread sheets and presentations. Users can also view PDF documents on the go.

The ME G1 is installed with incredible applications. Users can experience the Social Networking sites with ease through inbuilt applications like Facebook, Twitter, Nimbuzz etc. With free access to the 1 Mobile store the user can chose from over 200000 incredible applications. Whether you are browsing the web or viewing online multimedia content, you’ll be able to enjoy it all on the ME Tab.

The key features and specifications of the ME G1 are: 4.1 Jelly Bean Android Operating System Multi – touch Capacitive Screen with 9.7 Inches display 1.2 GHz Dual Core Cortex A9 CPU,Mali-400 Quad Core GPU Integrated BT-4.0, mini-HDMI and Wi-Fi-n 1 GB DDR3 RAM, 16 GB Onboard Memory and External Expandable Memory via Micro SD slot upto 32 GB Front camera with 0.3MP and rear camera with 2.0MP Great Battery Life – powered by 8000 mAh Li-Polymer Battery

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Here Comes Picture for Nokia Lumia 720

The Lumia 720 comes with a 10.9-cm (4.3 inch) ClearBlack Gorilla Glass 2.0 display with 800 x 480 pixels resolution. The phone is powered by a 1 GHz dual-core processor, coupled with 512 MB RAM. Lumia 720 sports a 1.3 MP front- camera and a 6.7 MP rear Carl Zeiss camera. Lumia 720 is loaded with a 2,000 mAh battery and has priced Lumia 720 at Euro 249 (Rs 18,000).

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Here Comes Picture for Nokia Lumia 520

Lumia 520 sports a 10.1-cm (4-inch) display and comes powered by a 1 GHz dual core processor with 512 MB RAM, much like the Lumia 720. The phone will have an internal storage space of 8 GB, with 64 GB expandable storage. Lumia 520 is loaded with a 1,430 mAh battery and this phone comes with a 5 MP camera. The Lumia 520 has been priced at $183 (Rs 10,000) and will be launched between April and June in the country.

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Lenovo Announces Windows 8 Convertible Ultrabook 'ThinkPad Twist

Lenovo India has launched the ThinkPad Twist, which can be used both as a tablet or a laptop. The latest 'convertible' runs on Windows 8 operating system and offers quick conversion to a stand or tent mode where the laptop becomes a media presenter.

The Twist comes packed with the processors are premeditated for lower power consumption the the company positions it as an ideal device for small and medium businesses. The sleek ThinkPad Twist available in executive-style mocha black, is just 20 millimeters thin and weighs a mere 1.60 kgs.

Some of the key features of the device include: Massive 500GB storage with HDD performance booster Keyboard, UltraNav navigation and multi-touch screen to ease business usage 31.8-cm (12.5-inch) IPS 350 nit high-definition multi-touch screen with anti-scratch and anti-smudge Gorilla glass with a wide viewing angle supported by Dolby Home Theatre V4 VoIP enhancements with features such as new conference call microphone mode, keystroke noise-suppression technology and easy-to-access microphone; and speaker and camera mute buttons. Full-size keyboard with TrackPoint and touchpad for easy navigation 2-seconds resume from sleep and 30-days standby The ThinkPad Twist is priced starting at Rs 71,000 (all inclusive) and is available at Think Exclusive Stores and multi- brand outlets across the country.

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NVIDIA Unveils Industry's First Visual Computing Appliance

NVIDIA has introduced the industry's first visual computing appliance -- enabling businesses to deliver ultra-fast GPU performance to any Windows, Linux or Mac client on their network.

The NVIDIA GRID™ Visual Computing Appliance (VCA) is a powerful GPU-based system that runs complex applications such as those from Adobe Systems Incorporated, Autodesk and Dassault Systèmes, and sends their graphics output over the network to be displayed on a client computer. This remote GPU acceleration gives users the same rich graphics experience they would get from an expensive, dedicated PC under their desk.

NVIDIA GRID VCA provides enormous flexibility to small and medium-size businesses with limited IT infrastructures. Their employees can, through the simple click of an icon, create a virtual machine called a workspace. These workspaces -- which are, effectively, dedicated, high-performance GPU-based systems -- can be added, deleted or reallocated as needed.

"NVIDIA GRID VCA is the first product to provide businesses with convenient, on-demand visual computing," said Jen-Hsun Huang, co-founder and chief executive officer, NVIDIA. "Design firms, film studios and other businesses can now give their creative teams access to graphics-intensive applications with uncompromised performance, flexibility and simplicity."

NVIDIA GRID VCA is an easy-to-install, easy-to-manage 4U appliance. Its 16 NVIDIA GPUs and NVIDIA GRID VGX software provide NVIDIA® Quadro®-class graphics performance for up to 16 concurrent users, with low latency, high resolution and maximum interactivity for unparalleled quality of service.

"We've had enormous success using remote GPU acceleration on our content-creation applications," said James Fox, chief executive officer at Dawnrunner, a San Francisco-based film production company. "Thanks to NVIDIA GRID VCA, we don't spend weeks configuring workstations and transcoding files and projects. Instead, we have more time to deliver a higher quality product for our customers. And we can take on new projects with tighter deadlines."

"Performance is important for creative professionals, and our long-standing relationship with NVIDIA has assured they are able to work with images and videos in a much faster, smoother, more engaging way," said Shantanu Narayen, president and chief executive officer, Adobe. "NVIDIA and Adobe have a shared goal of providing our customers with the latest technology advancements with flexible deployment options so they can focus on their jobs and have more time to be creative. The innovative advancements in virtualization introduced today with the NVIDIA GRID is an exciting new direction that underscores that commitment."

"NVIDIA GRID VCA enhances the design experience for SolidWorks users from any PC or Mac," said Bertrand Sicot, chief executive officer, SolidWorks, Dassault Systèmes. "With centralized access to fast GPUs, designers can more quickly and easily deliver high-quality 3D models."

"NVIDIA GRID VCA will provide tremendous functionality and performance for our small business customers," said Carl Bass, president and chief executive officer, Autodesk. "It delivers easy, high performance GPU access to our applications for the highest quality design and visualization experience."

Pricing and Availability Available in the United States in May from authorized value-added resellers, NVIDIA GRID VCA is offered in 8 GPU or 16 GPU configurations, with pricing starting at $24,900, plus an annual software license of $2,400.

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Sprint Introduces Custom Branded Device Program With Android Phones

Sprint Introduces Custom Branded Device Program, Enabling MVNOs to Custom-Brand White-Label Android Phones
Coupled with white-labeled Mobile ID and Mobile Zone products from Sprint, MVNOs can extend their brand elements to end users more efficiently.
As the proliferation of smartphones continues to grow, Sprint (NYSE:S) Emerging & Wholesale Solutions today introduced the Custom Branded Device Program. Through the program, MVNOs will have greater, and potentially quicker, access to a large selection of completely de-branded marquee Android handsets out of Sprint and Boost Mobile device inventory with volume pricing included.
Select Android devices can be automatically modified through Mobile ID and Mobile Zone, giving MVNOs the ability to extend their own brand directly to end users through over-the-air activation. Currently, Sprint has three devices available for this program – LG Optimus G, LG Mach and Sprint Flash. Several additional devices are expected to be added to the lineup by the end of this month.
Industry analyst firm Strategy Analytics reported in January that 70 percent of the world smartphone market share belonged at the end of 2012 to Android Meanwhile, in early February, research firm comScore released its quarterly U.S. smartphone market share numbers, which showed Android leading in market share with 53.4 percent of the total smartphone market.
"The Android operating system provides such incredible flexibility and supply chain economy of scale that, when coupled with the Sprint Mobile ID and Mobile Zone products, can now extend a value and a new branding opportunity to our wholesale customers," said Bill Esrey, vice president, Emerging & Wholesale Solutions at Sprint. "The Custom Branded Device Program enables our MVNO customers to extend a personal and direct relationship that transcends outside of the store walls, at Sprint's volume pricing."
Sprint continues its commitment to the "open" mobile ecosystem through open platforms Mobile ID and Mobile Zone, which are white-labeled variations of the popular Sprint ID and Sprint Zone applications. These platforms enable Sprint's international and wholesale customers to replicate Sprint's success with the retail versions of the same services – driving enhanced customer engagement and revenue growth opportunities for MVNOs.
Mobile ID – Mobile ID delivers a complete mobile experience – centered on consumers', students' or businesses' interests or favorite brands – including applications, widgets, ringtones and wallpapers, all in a couple of simple clicks. With more than 6 million downloads in the United States, Sprint smartphone users have already begun to harness the power of ID packs to create their own experiences while catering to different tastes and hobbies. Mobile ID enables personalization for the end user that offers access to a broad array of categories, allowing MVNOs to deliver a successful customized application to defined markets and customer segments.
Mobile Zone – Mobile Zone provides a messaging gateway for end users to receive communication from their MVNO and enable customers with self-help services. Mobile Zone can enhance the user experience while improving MVNO-to-customer interaction. An interactive and relevant mobile application, Mobile Zone allows users who are always on-the-go a way to manage their account and discover new content anywhere and at any time.

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