Nokia Officially Unveils the E6 and X7

Nokia India today announced the launch of two new smartphones –Nokia E6 and Nokia X7, aimed at business people and entertainment enthusiasts respectively. The phones are the first in Nokia's line-up of smartphones which have received the Symbian Anna update.

Speaking at the launch, Viral Oza, Director Marketing, Nokia India Private Limited, said, "With the launch of two new devices on the exciting new Symbian Anna, we aim to further consolidate our leadership position in the Indian smartphone market. With the Nokia E6 and the Nokia X7, and a robust line up of exciting new smart devices and user enhancements coming in the next few quarters, we are confident of further strengthening our smartphone user base."

Mr. Oza further added that starting this July, Nokia will start shipping the Nokia N8, E7, C7 and C6-01with the new Symbian Anna software update. By the end of August, existing owners of these devices can also download Symbian Anna. Over the next 12 months Nokia plans to increase the existing portfolio of Symbian-based smartphones to market.

Available in a range of colours including black, silver and white, Nokia E6 is available across the country at Rs. 18,679 and the X7 is now available across the country in shades of dark steel and light steel at Rs 22,829. Consumers can also avail both the devices on an Easy EMI scheme, paying for the device in three equal monthly installments at zero percent interest.

Microsoft Ships Second Pre-release Preview of IE10 for Devs

Microsoft has recently released a new Internet Explorer 10 preview. This is the second pre-release of Microsoft’s proprietary software that is designed especially for developers to check the innards of the software before the final build ships with the new Microsoft OS or is available for download to all users.

The new version of Internet explorer has support for drag and drop, form validation, positioning of page elements and much more. Microsoft has also provided a number of demo sites for the devs to check the new capabilities of IE10.

According to Microsoft's corporate vice president in charge of IE10, Dean Hachamovitch, the IE10 platform preview has support for several HTML5 technologies. Like most of the others, Microsoft is obviously using HTML5 as an umbrella term which includes other standards like JavaScript and CSS.

The preview also includes better hardware acceleration which squeezes from your graphics-processing unit. What this means is that developers can create rich, interactive websites.

Microsoft has also beefed up the security, supporting HTML5 Sandbox and iframe isolation.

Silicon Power Stream S20 1TB USB 3.0 HDD Launched

Based on a 2.5-inch hard drive, Silicon Power has announced availability of their Stream S20 1TB external hard disk drive, that supports the fast USB 3.0 interface and is backward compatible with USB 2.0. With a casing said to be designed like a sports car, the front resembles a sports car's low wind shear design, to signify speed/performance.

Painted metallic purple, the drive has LED indicators to identify power on and data transfer activity. If there is no activity for 10 minutes, the drive will switch to hibernation/power-saving mode.

Bundled in the package, is a bag to carry the SP Stream S20 drive, SP Widget software that features seven backup and security tools, and a 60-day trial version of Norton Antivirus 2011. The SP Stream S20 comes with a 3-year warranty and is available in capacities of 500GB, 640GB, 750GB and 1TB.

Google Plus: Hands On

So we at PCWorld India did join Google's latest attempt at social networking Google+, albeit through a loophole. Here is what we feel about the Google+ experience.

Signing up

Well apparently Google has suspended invites to any more people on Google+ but there is a loophole (or is it a marketing strategy? Keep guessing!).

In order to join all you need to do is ask a friend who is already on Google+ to share a link to your Gmail address. What you need to do next is click on 'learn more about Google+' and you will be redirected to Google+ sign up page. Voila! Mission accomplished.

Interface

We +1 the interface. The minimalist design is a treat for the eyes.

After the initial formalities of creating a profile, you are greeted to a home screen where the crux of the screen is occupied by what Google calls 'Stream' similar toFacebook's newsfeed and you can obviously share you updates/links/photos in an instant. There is a search bar for people on the top of Streamand four small buttons: home, profile, photos and circle.

The right hand side contains your friends list (circles) and there are Google's custom friend suggestions below it. Below suggestions you have a small button which reads 'start a hangout' which will be explained in succeeding paragraphs.

You can customise your stream according to your preference. For example, you can choose your 'notifications' as the Stream. Below that is 'Sparks' which will again be explained in detail later. Below that is the Gtalk module which shows who are available for chat irrespective of whether they are on Google+ or not.

Circles

Google tries to mimic the way we organise our friends in real life with 'Circles'. After you join Google+, the first thing that you do is create a circle of friends. There are Google pre-determined circles like friends, family, acquaintances and following. You can also create custom circles and add your friends accordingly. You can choose which Circle of friends gets to see a particular post.

The coolest part about circles is the interface. You can drag and drop friends to any circle and the smooth animation looks very good.

Sparks

Sparks is a very interesting and unique addition to Google+. What it basically does is lets you choose a particular search keyword and set it as your interest in the Sparks. So if I like The Doors, then I can create a search term and set it as a Spark and the moment I click on The Doors I am greeted to a search string which is similar to the normal search on Google. Our only qualm is that users don't get all search keywords on a single Sparks stream. However, Google does excel at what it does best - 'Search'.

Hangouts

It is an intriguing name for a video conferencing feature. But, it is definitely something that might put Google+ ahead of Facebook. You can create a hangout of up to 10 people. You can invite a circle of friends or an individual friend to the Hangout room for the video chat session.

Final Verdict

Google+ is definitely creating a lot of buzz on, ironically, Twitter and Facebook. It is a huge leap from the disasters that were Buzz and Wave. However, despite the overwhelming initial response, Google+ has miles to traverse and many more steep hurdles before it can actually be of any threat to Facebook.

McAfee Unveils Mobile Security Offerings

McAfee today announced that it is extending its mobile device portfolio for consumers with McAfee Mobile Security and McAfee WaveSecure Tablet Edition. These mobile device offerings are said to change the mobile security landscape by offering security safeguards that help consumers secure their mobile devices for personal use, commerce and work.According to a mobile security report released last week by McAfee and Carnegie Mellon University titled, "Mobility and Security: Dazzling Opportunities, Profound Challenges," respondents named their top three security concerns: the loss of personal or work data through the accidental loss of a device, physical theft of the device, or loss of their data due to their device "crashing". Moreover, close to half of all respondents said they were using their smart phones both for personal use and work, demonstrating that consumers want more than just personal device security.

McAfee Mobile Security software, available for both smartphones and tablets, reportedly provides a comprehensive mobile security solution by combining three leading McAfee mobile security products: WaveSecure, VirusScan Mobile and SiteAdvisor for Android.

With McAfee Mobile Security, consumers reportedly have available to them the following features: back-up and restore data - to help protect sensitive information; Protection against misuse (such as excessive phone charges)- as well as safeguarding personal data with remote locking capabilities; An audible alarm - to help users find the device or disrupt a thief, and or pop-up a notification with instructions for returning the device; Remotely remove data from a lost or stolen device - via the McAfee Web portal, mobile Web portal or via a SMS message; 24/7 real-time anti-malware protection and protection from malicious Web sites - when shopping online, SiteAdvisor, a software for Android devices provides color coded site ratings right next to the search results, allowing Android users to confidently browse and search the mobile Web; Management of mobile device protection - allows consumers to quickly execute necessary security tasks, backup, locate, wipe, etc. via the McAfee Web portal.

The WaveSecure Tablet Edition is said to offer Android users, through WiFi, the ability to find their missing device through the alarm and location tracking features, and prevent device misuse through remote lock and wipe. It also allows for preserving important personal data with remote backup, even from a lost or misplaced device. Users can also reportedly trigger an audible alarm to help them find the device or disrupt a thief, and also send a brief SMS message with instructions for returning it.

Todd Gebhart, senior vice president and general manager of consumer, small business and mobile, McAfee, was quoted in the press release as saying "With device growth eclipsing PCs, consumers need tools to not only protect their personal information, but also to provide safeguards for business data should they decide to use that device for work. It’s far too easy to leave a mobile device in a cab or at the airport, which can mean lost photos, contacts and other important content. Also, the threats to mobile devices are in many ways the same as in the online world. Beyond device lost or theft, users can be hacked, infected or phished on a mobile device just as easily as they can online."

McAfee Mobile Security software is available at an annual subscription of $29.99 (~ Rs. 1340) per year from McAfee and the Android Market. McAfee WaveSecure software is similarly available at an annual subscription of $19.99 (~ Rs. 893).