5 Wi-Fi Plus 3G Phones Under 10,000

Phones have been packed with enormous features concentrating more on the needs of end users. Now there are mobile phones featuring Wi-Fi and 3G connectivity for the lowest price in the market. Users opt more on such phones in order to download videos and many more.

Through 3G connectivity one can access fast internet to get needed information. Here are 5 phones which has both features that makes it a more adorable by the users in the trend existing.

Micromax Q80

The Q80 is a Smartphone, but it has a marked improvement over the Q75 and with added 3G and Wi-Fi support for almost the same price, offers really good value. The Java-based phone comes with a host of built in apps like Nimbuzz, Newshunt, Ngpay and Bloomberg.

It is available at the price of 4,900. The keypad is fairly comfortable to type on and the optical trackpad is a change from the trackball used in the Q75. Overall it’s a good phone for the price with plenty of features to boot. The packed in features of the Q80 has a 2.4-inch TFT display with a 240 x 320 pixel resolution,3G, EDGE/GPRS, Wi-Fi Bluetooth and USB 2.0.

It also has a 3 megapixel camera, a video capture up to 640 x 480 resolution, VGA resolution secondary camera, a 3.5mm earphone socket and an expandable memory up to 8GB.

Lava S12

Lava S12 is certainly worth a phone to be chosen by the users. The phone sports a unique design and texture. Having a 600MHz processor and running a fancy 3D UI, the interface is pretty slick. Homescreens engages cool 3D transition effects that add to the visual appeal. It is available at the price of 9,999.

The phone also comes pre-loaded with India specific apps like SAAVN and Times of India news app, among many others. It even has a decent camera, but lacks auto-focus. The battery life in the S12 will easily last you two days without a charge.

It features a 3.2 inch TFT capacitive touchscreen with a 480 x 320 pixel resolution, a 3G, EDGE/GPRS, Wi-Fi with hot spot creativity, GPS with A-GPS support, Bluetooth v2.1 with A2DP and USB 2.0,

It has a 5 megapixel fixed-focus camera, video capture up to 640 x 480 resolution, 3.5mm earphone socket and an expandable memory up to 32GB

Samsung Galaxy Fit S5670

The Galaxy Fit from Samsung is another phone with a slightly larger screen and runs on Android 2.2. The bundled music player features DNSe sound enhancements along with SWYPE pre-installed. The phone also features a 5MP auto-focus camera with plenty of settings to choose from like Shot Mode, Photo Effects Smile Detection, etc.

With a price of 9,100, Samsung has also provided its TouchWiz 3.0 UI, which makes the phone simpler to use with plenty of shortcuts and tweaks. Other main features of the Fit are its 3.3 inch TFT capacitive touchscreen with a 240 x 320 pixel resolution, 3G, EDGE/GPRS, Wi-Fi with hot spot creativity, GPS with A-GPS support, and a Bluetooth v2.1 with A2DP and USB 2.0.

It is packed with a 5 megapixel auto-focus camera, video capture up to 320 x 240 resolution, 3.5mm earphone socket and an expandable memory up to 32GB.

Nokia E5

The Nokia E5 is one of the best phones under 10K and fits in for user needs. With both 3G and Wi-Fi support, the Symbian v9.3 running Smartphone sports a very comfortable QWERTY keypad and a simple functional design. It is available at the price of 8,700.

Some of the features include the audio quality, which is crisp and loud, a good selection of productivity apps. A very good battery life that makes most Nokia handsets a worth product. Other features includes a 2.3 inch TFT display with a 240 x 320 pixel resolution, 3G, EDGE/GPRS, Wi-Fi, GPS with A-GPS support.

It also features a Bluetooth v2 with A2DP and USB 2.0, a 5 megapixel fixed-focus camera, video capture up to 640 x 480 resolution and a 3.5mm earphone socket with an expandable memory up to 32GB.

Micromax A70

This one is a Smartphone, and a rather good one for the users who are selective. The A70 has a 600MHz processor, and the phone is quick and fluid to use. The handset is comfortable to use and sports a decent 3.2-inch TFT capacitive touchscreen with a 480 x 320 pixel resolution that responds well to touch. It is available at the price of 6200.

The battery life gives much back up, and the phone runs on Froyo. It features expandable memory up to 32GB, and has a front facing camera. It comes pre loaded with a bunch of useful apps. It has 3G, EDGE/GPRS, Wi-Fi with hot spot creativity, GPS with A-GPS support, Bluetooth v2.1 with A2DP and USB 2.0.

It is also packed with a 5 megapixel autofocus camera, video capture up to 640 x 480 resolution, VGA resolution secondary camera, and a 3.5mm earphone socket.

Opera Mini, India's Second Popular Web Browser

Opera Mini browser is the second popular web browser in India, reveals Opera: ‘state of Mobile web’ report. Huge amount non-Smartphone users prefer to browse through opera mini which is installed in maximum phones as it comes as free software and moreover, most smartphones support opera mini 4.1 version. State of the mobile web is the latest findings of opera which tracks down the usage of opera mini browser.

More on the findings say that over 22 countries have crossed the million marks for the number of opera users around the world including Russia, Indonesia, Ukraine, U.S, china among others. Last month 140 million users used opera mini globally, marking a huge increase of 83 percent last year. Again, 86 billion pages were viewed by users, which is about 103 percent increase from the previous year.

Moreover, Google, Facebook and YouTube are the three most popular website on the along with websites such as vuclip.com, songs.pk, zedge.net rank amongst the top 10 websites accessed from Opera Mini users in India. Nokia 2690, 2700c and 5130 are the most preferred phones to use Opera. The united operation of Nokia Phones and Opera Mini browser in India adds up millions of users in the country.

The most recent version of Opera Mini is now accessible in Android, Blackberry and Apple Smartphones. The major sensation of Opera is that it compresses Web-pages before sending to Smartphones with good speed.

Dance is a great way to stay fit

Gone are the days when dancing was pursued only as a hobby or a childhood passion.

We all know how people today have made dancing a way of life because it comes with its own health benefits and it is an excellent way to remain fit! Today, people are taking up different forms of dancing as an interesting form of exercise. It is looked upon as a more exciting option than going to a gym.

"Dance does not follow a fixed pattern like exercise," says Akash Karnatki, owner of a famous dance academy. "It has a different routine every day. Every form of dance comes with its own set of benefits. Hip Hop is a very good cardio workout as it involves a lot of up and down body movements which need a lot of strength. Salsa is great for the upper body and it helps improve flexibility. B-Boying is best for building muscles as the moves are very athletic. Three minutes of dancing is as good as sprinting if you look at it in terms of calories lost."

Dancing also works wonders for people who have to follow fixed routine schedules. Saket Tibrewal, a young professional who enjoys doing Salsa, Tango, Samba, has been dancing for the last three years and finds dancing to be very refreshing. He says, "I go to my dance classes two days a week. Those two days are the refreshing days in the entire week. I suffered from backaches earlier, but ever since I started dancing, the backaches have gone. I can even walk long distances at a stretch without getting tired. Most importantly, dance works as a stress buster."

Dance is suitable for people of all ages to remain in perfect shape and size. Meeta Shah, a graphic designer, 40, has been regularly going to dance classes with her husband and son for the last seven years. She says, "Going to the gym or for morning walks is very boring.

Dance, apart from keeping me fit, helps me look much younger. It is a great way to socialize and meet new people. Even at my age, I can do Hip Hop with my son, isn't that great?" Classical dancing also comes with its health benefits. Vanita Nagarajan, teacher at a renowned dance academy says, "The different postures of Bharatnatyam, if done correctly, largely benefit the digestive system and one never faces any spinal problem. It helps pregnant women have a smooth delivery." Mahima Pandya, who has been practising Kathak for the last 11 years, says, "It really helps in toning the body and increase stamina.

It requires perfect mind and body synchronization, thus making it as good as any other exercise." "It is as good as yoga and increases concentration levels," adds Vanita. Akash also agrees with her and says, "Dancing requires concentration which helps the mind." No wonder then, dancing is the newest best way to reduce the monotony of gym workouts and remain in the pink of health.

Body basics

Bharatnatyam

Helps increase blood circulation Kathak Improves balance and helps combat arthritic pain

Bhangra

Strengthens the heart and regulates breathing

Salsa

Controls blood pressure

Belly dancing

Helps attain flexible muscles which helps in painless childbirth

Hip Hop

Increases stamina and helps losing extra flab

BSNL launches education content services

State-run telecom operator BSNL has launched its online education service 'Topper Education' in partnership with Greycell 18 for its landline broadband customers.

Using this service, BSNL subscribers can access education resources from a comprehensive library of video lessons covering the entire curriculum, online tests with assessment tools and study material, BSNL said in a statement.

This will help students do their home work and prepare them for the exams, it added.

The video lessons are delivered by the finest faculty integrating conventional teaching tools with 3D graphics, real life examples to make understanding of concepts easier and effective for the students, BSNL said.

BSNL offers broadband services with plans for as low as Rs 99 per month in rural areas and Rs 250 per month in urban areas.

Apart from plain vanilla broadband, it offers variety of value added services ( VAS) like music and video on demand, games on demand, voice and video over broadband etc.

Under the new service, education content for Mathematics and Science curricula of Class 9-12 of CBSE, ICSE and other boards will be made available.

The service will be offered at subscription price of Rs 150 per month per class and there will be no separate data download charges. As a special introductory offer, BSNL is offering free 15 days trial of service.

Most Indians Prefer Cheaper Phones

Internationally, the mobile device manufacturers are facing a tough competition, but in India, they have a huge prospect to grab the market by fulfilling the criteria of making cheap phones. As India has always been price sensitive and they like pocket-friendly phones. This budget segment has become the Unique selling proposition (USP) for global players of handset market, such as, Nokia, Samsung, and HTC.

According to Anshul Gupta, principal research analyst at Gartner, these mobile manufacturers are mostly focusing on low- end, value conscious Indian consumers. In India, the average selling price (ASP) of mobile devices is around 2,200 and 75 percent of the total sold devices are below 4,000.

The most popular handset equipment brand, Nokia, has launched dual sim devices in both, the C2 and Asha series of phones which are priced less than 4000. Similarly, Samsung has also launched Chap, Champ, and Star Duos series to cater to the need of budget conscious customers. These phones come in very reasonable prices with full company assurance as well. Due to such assurance, it is grabbing attention of Indian buyers.

In the “Handset Hotlist” conducted by ‘The Mobile Indian Website’, in July, this year, among 25 handsets, 12 were Nokia and 6 were Samsung. Hence these two have become the mostly preferred brands in India.

It’s been stated that, about 230 million phones will be sold in India next year and only 6 percent will be smartphones, which means these high-tech and expensive devices are still far way behind to grab the common man’s attention in India.

Ind vs WI: West Indies 81/2 in second innings on Day 4

Sachin Tendulkar came agonisingly close to an unprecedented 100th international ton only to miss it by six runs but R Ashwin notched up his maiden century as India conceded a lead of 108 runs in the third Test against the West Indies which seemed headed for a draw on Friday.

While the packed Wankhede Stadium was stunned into silence after Tendulkar's dismissal, Ashwin's innings of 103 (118 balls; 15x4, 2x6), after his five-for with the ball, lifted India to 482 all out and helped him join an elite club on the fourth day.

The hosts hit back strongly when West Indies batted for the second time as left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha claimed the wickets of opener Adrian Barath (3) and Kirk Edwards (17) quickly but the visitors recovered to finish the day on 81 for two, an overall lead of 189 runs.

Kraigg Brathwaite (34 not out) was lucky to escape being caught at slip off Ashwin, and first-innings centurion Darren Bravo (27 not out), too, was let off in the last over by Virat Kohli at short leg off Tendulkar.

Ojha got the ball to turn and bounce to get rid off Barath, caught while driving, and Edwards was lured out of his crease and stumped.

With only a day left, it is difficult to imagine a result unless the visitors suffer a dramatic collapse.

Earlier, eager to see Tendulkar score the 33 runs required to compile his landmark hundred, and his 52nd in Test, the packed crowd was left disappointed when the batsman edged Ravi Rampaul to Darren Sammy at second slip for 94 (153 balls; 8x4, 2x6).

Ashwin, who had grabbed five for 156 in West Indies' huge first-innings total of 590, surprised everyone with his batting abilities during his 180-minute stay at the crease before becoming the last Indian wicket to fall.

The 25-year-old's fine all-round show helped him join Vinoo Mankad and and Polly Umrigar. Mankad had scored 184 and took five for 196 against England at the Lord's in 1952, while Umrigar followed his 172 not out with five for 107 against the West Indies at Port of Spain in 1962.

The off-spinner put on 97 runs for the seventh wicket with Kohli (52), who compiled his maiden half century in 111 balls and with the help of with five boundaries, as the duo helped India avoid follow-on after the West Indian pacers removed VVS Laxman, Tendulkar and MS Dhoni.

Before Ashwin's arrival, Kohli had added 95 runs for the fifth wicket with Tendulkar, who got out with India 69 runs short of avoiding the follow-on.

Dhoni fell when the team score was 331. Ashwin advanced to 84 as India lost Ishant Sharma and Varun Aaron to be 463 for nine. The off-spinner completed his ton with a steer to third man for a four before being dismissed off the next ball.

Thanks to Ashwin's effort, who was 16 short of the three-figure mark and in danger of missing a century in only his third Test when last batsman Ojha joined him, India added 106 runs in the second session.

When Kohli was dismissed by Devendra Bishoo whom he drove to Fidel Edwards at mid on, India were trailing by 162 runs.

But Ashwin batted with purpose and was well supported by Sharma who kept the bowlers at bay for 44 minutes.

During his knock, Ashwin struck leg-spinner Bishoo for two sixes over long-on, besides playing some delicate glances and drives through the off side.

In the morning, Tendulkar looked in imperious form as he drove and cut with authority before Rampaul, who was treated with disdain till then, got the batsman to edge one to slip after batting for 39 minutes.

The 38-year-old cricketer was shocked as he made his way back to the dressing room, leaving the West Indians jubilant.

He had slammed his 99th ton (111) against South Africa in a World Cup league match at Nagpur.

Resuming on 281 for three, India lost Laxman early but Tendulkar negotiated the new ball with ease, cruising towards the landmark, much to the delight of the 15,000 people assembled inside the 33,000-capacity arena.

The two sixes he hit during his innings came off upper cuts off fast bowler Fidel Edwards. He faced 20 balls this morning and added 27 runs with the help of three fours and a six.

Tendulkar started in a positive fashion and scored most of his initial runs with flicks. He flicked Rampaul for a two and a four.

This was the 10th time he has been dismissed in the 90s, same as Rahul Dravid and Steve Waugh. He had scored 91 in the Oval Test against England earlier this year.

With Tendulkar for company, Kohli looked confident and played a glorious straight drive off Rampaul which raced to the boundary even before the bowler could finish his run up.

Then came the over from Edwards that proved extremely fruitful as Tendulkar took 14 runs, which included a classical front-footed off drive. He then cut the pacer over third man for a six, taking his score to 93.

Kohli hit a four off Rampaul in the next over before giving the strike back to Tendulkar who ended up edging while trying to play through square.

Tablets You Have Never Heard of

Tablets have been booming since its entry into the market. Many companies have been recognized by their well built featured tablets. As the market is flooded with enormous tablets, only few have reached the users, many other fail to compete with strong rivals and are fade away with no identity.

Though the prices of these tablets are cheap and affordable, the users make their choice through brand names though they much costlier than these tablets.

Here are 10 Tablets that have faded without identity before reaching the hands of users, and are vanished from the sight in the market too.

1. Maylong M-150

The Maylong M-150 TabletPC is an Android-based device sold by Walgreens for a mere 5, 161. It has a 7" screen, but is limited to a resolution of 800x480. It has a resistive touchscreen instead of a capacitive one like the iPad or Galaxy Tab, a 400MHz processor, 256MB of RAM and 2GB of built-in storage.

It comes with 802.11b/g for Wi-Fi and no 3G support, though it claims to be able to use USB-based 3G cards via the extra dongle that comes in the box. It weighs less than a pound and comes with Android 1.6. The M-150's built-in apps have trouble functioning correctly most of the time.

It's hard when you are trying to achieve a simple task like entering a Wi-Fi password or searching for an app on the "App Market", takes minutes per task. In the App market, it's a slimmed-down version of the regular Android Market, though any apps could not be worked properly, largely because they would not connect to the Internet.

The built in e-mail application had the same problem as the Kindle app. And the camera application, for instance, makes use of the built-in camera and slaps a number of ugly frames on top.

2. Augen GenTouch 78

Augen's 7, 820 Gentouch Android tablet is the Android 2.1 version tablet. The Augen tablet is satisfactorily light and it's easy to hold up to read a website or e-book. The 7 inch tablet is an ideal size for holding in one hand and Augen throws in a faux leather case. Surrounding the tablet is a micro-USB port, a 2.5mm headphone jack and a microSD card slot.

The display is resistive and only has an 800x480 resolution. In the video, the application panel jiggers across the screen, scrolling is quite delayed and launching applications takes a noticeable few seconds. Still the tablet is capable of doing things like loading and watching YouTube videos as well as surfing the web.

There is 2GB of onboard memory, but the microSD slot should support up to 16GB cards. The Gentouch does come preloaded with the Google Market, but the applications would not install.

3. Blackberry Playbook

Running on a dual-core, 1GHz TI OMAP processor that's expertly massaged and manipulated by the QNX OS. QNX is an efficient and bulletproof operating system that powers everything including tablets. It is packed by 1GB of RAM and 16, 32, or 64GB of storage, with the smallest costing 26, 104.

The light weight certainly makes it easier for reading and the more hand-friendly size makes it feel more comfortable to carry. Graphics are handled by a PowerVR design, which quite handily offloads video decoding and gaming acceleration from the processor, enabling this thing to decode and display 1080p video over HDMI working quite smoothly and running productivity apps on the seven-inch display.

The device doesn't support simple USB mass storage and a user cannot just plug it in to the laptop and dump a bunch of files on it.

4. Coby Kyros

The Coby Kyros tablet offers a large screen for relatively little money, 10, 427 that runs on Android 2.2 OS. It has an 8” display which is weak to operate as the Kyro’s resistive screen requires a forceful touch (a plastic stylus is included) and is covered in a sheet of plastic that is easy to scratch.

The worse is that the LCD panel and the resistive plastic covering are spaced so far apart that the screen appears as though it is underwater. As a result, viewing angles are problematic, e-book text is washed out, and outdoor viewing is nearly impossible. Users get the open-sourced Android experience that is common to most of the low-end tablets and e-book readers.

5. Kobo Vox

At 10,427, the Kobo Vox is lacking the video/music downloads and streaming options that distinguish its competitors, the Vox should notice for coupling e-reading capabilities with the multimedia functions of a basic Android tablet. The Vox is an Android 2.3 Gingerbread tablet which is both good and bad.

The good part is that a user gets many of the stock Android apps that come with Gingerbread (email, calculator, contacts, calendar, clock, browser, gallery, YouTube), minus Google apps such as those for Gmail and the Android Market, since this is not a Google device

Indian Rupee Getting Cheaper: Opportunity or Curse?

The day has come where the Indian rupee bagged the title "Asia's worst performing currency" when it hit rock bottom of 52.73, a 16.8 percent weaker than its 2011 high reached in late July. Probably India is showing consistency in only two things- inflation and currency decline. Question arises who is actually in crisis. Is it U.S. or India? Is it some gain and just lots of pain? Let's take an areal view of the situation. The rupee suffered its second biggest fall in history.

The opportunities if rupee gets cheaper:

1. More rupees for dollars:

Families of those working overseas will get more rupees for the dollars remitted by them. If you have been working for long time away from India and want to come back and settle down then 'Make hay while the Sun Shines'. The Indian rupee will fetch you fortunes if you have someone from abroad sending you lucky charm notes. For example, One euro can get you 70 now, which is 16.5 percent more than what it did at the beginning of this year. The British pound brings 81.40 rupees now, up nearly 17 percent, and the Australian dollar can get you 51.47 rupees, 12.5 percent higher than the start of this year. The Kuwaiti dinar is worth nearly 17 percent more at 187 for every dinar. On an individual level, however, the rupee's losses can be good for some and bad for others depending on the situation.

2. Medical Tourism in India will get a boost:

Fall in Indian currency value has created an opportunity for Medical Tourism to India as overse as patients have benefits of already low cost of treatment in India compared to U.S. and falling Indian Rupee is giving extra edge to Dollar paying patients. Calculation of packages in Rupee value has given a double bonanza to the overseas visitors visiting India for Plastic Surgery and Cosmetic Surgery, as Indian packages were already 60-70 percent less than those in US and on top of that a further 20 percent reduction due to Indian currency depreciation is an icing on cake for patients from USA and Europe.

3. Diamonds and Gems makers look to capitalize:

For the diamonds and gems industry, the falling rupee coincides with the peaking demand during the Christmas-New Year season. Diamantaires in Surat, the world's biggest diamond cutting and polishing centre, are hoping to cash in on the weakening rupee. Diamond companies import rough diamonds, paying cash and the rupee depreciation helps the industry pay out lower on imports than what it earns through export.

"The dipping rupee helps the industry in all the merchandize and non-merchandize jewellery export as it hedges its risk against raw material well in advance," said Rajiv Jain, chairman of Gems and Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC).

India Ranks 112th Globally in Internet Speed

India has crossed the 100 million internet users mark; however, the speed of browsing is still quite slow. Over the past few years, Indian government is trying hard to raise Internet invasion and the average internet speed that users avail, though it has made little difference to ground realities.

Leading global Internet content delivery network, Akamai rolled out its quarterly report on "State of Internet" which reveals that comparing to the previous quarter, India has an improved internet usage, both in number and speed, though in larger scheme of things, the numbers are very disappointing. When it comes to internet speed, India is ranked at 112th globally, much lower than other Asian countries like Malaysia and Thailand which have four times faster internet speeds than India. The report also highlighted that having 100 million users is not enough, better and faster internet connectivity is equally important to avail the benefits of internet and suggested the listed below facts:

1. The quarterly comparison of state of Internet highlights

The percentage of broadband connections (connections to Akamai at speeds above 2 Mbps) grew at 45 percent quarter over quarter. The percentage of narrowband connections (connections to Akamai at speeds below 256 kbps) remains one of the highest globally at 31 percent. India's average connection speed increased 13 percent quarter over quarter to 844 kbps. India was ranked eighth globally in terms of attack traffic origination with 2.7 percent of observed global attack traffic.

2. Internet Penetration Worldwide

In the second quarter of 2011 more than 604 million unique IP addresses from 238 countries and regions W ERE connected to the Akamai Intelligent Platform. Amid those countries that are listed in the top ten list for the number of unique IPv4 addresses connecting to the Akamai Intelligent Platform during the quarter, Brazil topped the list for the quarterly increase at 9.0 percent, growing to over 15 million IP addresses, followed by Japan's 8.7 percent growth to nearly 45 million IP addresses a close second. Among the European countries in the top 10, Italy claimed the greatest quarterly gain at 5.4 percent, growing to just over 14 million IP addresses while Germany gathered an increase of only 0.4 percent, staying just below 35 million IP addresses. U.S. managed to add only 0.6 percent to its unique IP address count, remaining just below 143.5 million IP addresses.

3. Mobile Connection Speeds and Data Consumption

The average measured connection speed for global known mobile providers ranged from a high o f slightly more than 5 Mbps to a low of 209 kbps in the second quarter of 2011. Approximately three-quarters of the surveyed providers had average connection speeds above 1 Mbps. With regard to average peak connection speeds for the 108 mobile providers worldwide for which Akamai analyzed data, the report highlights a range of 23.4 Mbps as the fastest to 1.2 Mbps as the slowest. Of all such mobile providers, three boasted average peak connection speeds above 20 Mbps, 27 achieved average peak connection speeds above 10 Mbps and 47 recorded average peak connection speeds greater than 5 Mbps. Only one mobile provider located in South Africa did not record an average peak connection speed above 2 Mbps. Over the second quarter of 2011, mobile consumption figures remained fairly persistent with data from the first quarter. Consumers at 10 of the surveyed mobile providers consumed an average of 1 GB or more per month from the Akamai platform. Users at 74 of the surveyed providers consumed greater than 100 MB per month of content, and users at the remaining 20 providers consumed less than 100 MB per month. Through its relationship with Ericsson, Akamai continues to include data collected by the equipment provider in the State of the Internet report. According to Ericsson, the volume of mobile data traffic in the second quarter of 2011 doubled year-over-year and grew eight percent quarter-over-quarter.

4. Attack Traffic and SSL Trends

In the second quarter of 2011, Akmai observed that Taiwan generated the most attack traffic, hitting Myanma r, the last quarter's newcomer to the list, to second position. Observing that the total attack of traffic aggregated by region Asia Pacific/Oceania generated 47 percent of such attack traffic, Europe 30 percent, the Americas 20 percent, and Africa a mere 3 percent. SSL is widely used across the web to enable secure communications with social networks, e-commerce sites and financial services applications. Akamai observed that the use of the SSL cipher AES 128-SHA-1 has nearly tripled while the use of SSL cipher RC4-MD5-128 has declined by almost two-thirds. Interpreting the observed trends, as well as data observed for other SSL ciphers, Akamai regarded the use of RC4-based ciphers may reach near zero levels over the next several years. Furthermore, these trends may indicate a shift towards stronger ciphers, which could lead to SSL becoming more secure over time.

5. High Broadband Connectivity

In the second quarter of 2011, 27 percent of all connections to the Akamai Intelligent Platform were mad e at high broadband speeds (>5 Mbps). Netherlands took the top spot in high broadband adoption boasting 68 percent of its country's connections to Akamai above 5 Mbps. Hong Kong and South Korea attained 59 percent and 58 percent high broadband adoption respectively. Seven European countries are within the list of top 10 countries in high broadband adoption.

GSM Operators Add 7.12 Million Users in Oct: COAI

GSM operators added 7.12 million new subscribers in October, compared to 6.52 million additions in the previous month.

With this, the GSM subscriber base in the country stood at 625.41 million on October 31, 2011.

In October, Bharti Airtel, the largest GSM player, added 0.94 million users, taking its total subscriber base to 173.73 million, the data released by the Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) showed.

The company had a 27.78 percent market share at the end of October.

Vodafone Essar, with a 23.33 percent market share, notched up 0.92 million new subscribers during the month. Its subscriber base reached 145.91 million in October.

Aditya Birla group firm Idea Cellular saw the highest number of additions during the month, with 1.63 million new users taking its total subscriber base to 101.81 million, while Aircel added 0.48 million customers to take its subscriber base to 60.28 million.

State-owned telecom firms BSNL and MTNL added 0.51 million and 34,919 new users, respectively, taking their subscriber base to 91.58 million and 5.36 million.

In addition, MTS added 0.79 (rpt) 0.79 million customers in the month of October 2011, taking its total customer base to 14.06 million.

The COAI data excludes data from Reliance Communications. GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications) is the most popular standard for mobile telephony systems in the world.

The other technology platform on which Indian telcos offer services is CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access), where players such as Tata Teleservices (TTSL), RCom and MTS are the main operators. TTSL and RCom offer both GSM and CDMA services.

The Young Royals of India

India being a land of kings and queens, has a rich cultural heritage endowed with diverse conventions, customs, rituals and ideas culminating in one central core of self-identity. Most of the royal families in India do not retain their past glories anymore.

The descendents of the erstwhile royal families are doing their best to preserve these. While these royals are extremely dashing and magnetic, they also command respect for their royal lineage and made themselves to live socially without any egoism of being a royal. While a few own their own businesses and some involved in serving the country through politics, charitable trusts and social organization proving there is more to royalty and wealth, power and good looks. These are the young royals of India that you might have not come across.

1. Manvendra Singh

Manvendra Singh was born at Ajmer on 23 September 1965, as the son of Maharana Shri Raghubir Singhji Rajendrasinghji Sahib, he belongs to the royal family of the former princely state of Rajpipla in India.

He is also known as the first and perhaps the only gay Prince in India. His sexuality has been more talked about than his family legacy. In January 1991, he married Chandrika Kumari from Madhya Pradesh and the marriage ended in divorce when Manvendra revealed his homosexuality to his wife. He plans to adopt a child in order to keep his family heritage alive.

In 2000 he started the Lakshya Trust, which is dedicated to HIV/AIDS education and prevention. The trust also creates employment opportunity for gay men and support for other organizations. Lakshya won the Civil Society Award 2006 for its contribution in preventing HIV/AIDS among homosexual men.

2. Lakshyaraj Singh Mewar

Lakshyaraj Singh Mewar of Udaipur is the youngest child of Shriji Arvind Singh Mewar and Smt Vijayraj Kumari Mewar. Belonging to the royal family of Mewar, he is a direct descendant of Maharana Sanga and Maharana Pratap.

Lakshyaraj is keen to continue his family`s involvement in social and development causes in India and is a trustee of Mewar Charitable Foundation, set up by his grandfather Maharana Bhagwat Singhji Mewar. He is also a trustee of the Vidyadan Trust, and takes a keen interest in the administration of the schools under its remit.

He has a passion in art and photography, he is a skilled tabla player, and a keen follower of Indian classical, as well as folk and Sufi musical traditions of Rajasthan.

3. Jaivardhan Singh

Jaivardhan Singh is the son of politician Digvijay Singh, the erstwhile Raja of Raghogarh belonging to the Rajput clan and is being groomed to be among India's generation next young leaders. He is following his father's footsteps and beginning an active career in politics.

He belongs to a royal family which had many great kings and saint like, saint Pepaji, Raja Shree Lal Singhji, Raja Shree Deeraj Singhji, the courageous king Raja Jai Singhji and his father Raja Shree Digvijay Singhji.

Digvijay Singh is a senior leader of the Indian National Congress political party and a former CM of Madhya Pradesh. He first became CM of Madhya Pradesh on 7 December 1993 and continued to hold the post till Congress was voted out of power in the November 2003. He is currently a General Secretary of the All India Congress Committee.

4. Kirit Pradyot Deb Barman

Kirit Pradyot Deb Barman was born on July 4, 1978 hails from the royal family of the Manikya dynasty. He is the current head of the royal family. His grandfather Maharaja Bir Bikram Kishore Deb Barman was one of the last rulers of the princely states to accede their throne to the Union of India.

He has brought in a lot of development in his state and also serves as the Chairman of the Royal Heritage Hotel, member of the All India Congress, advisor to the North East Students Committee in Delhi and North East Regional Development Association (NERDA) and many social and cultural organizations in north eastern India.

He is also responsible for the launch of The Northeast Today, a magazine targeted at residents of the North Eastern states of India. He has also shown interest in running for political office from Tripura.

5. Shivraj Singh

Shivraj Singh was born on 30 September 1975, he is the son of erstwhile Maharaja Gaj Singh and erstwhile Maharani Hemlata Rajye belongs to the royal family of Jodhpur.

He is a passionate polo player and a known face in Delhi high society, where he stands out for both his royal lineage and striking good looks. He is primarily responsible for training the Jodhpur polo team, whose fortunes revived under his sponsorship.

He got married last year to Gayatri Kumari Pal, belonging to the royal family of Askot. It was one of the grandest weddings that the country had seen in recent times and was the talk of the town for quite a long time.

Top 10 PlayStation 3 Games

Over the years, PlayStation 3 has undoubtedly established itself to be a one of the best gaming consoles ever made it arguably has one of the best libraries ever. PlayStation 3 was first unveiled in Japan on 11 November 2006 followed by United States on 17 November 2006. Facing many struggles PS3 has come a long way to complete five years. Listed below are the top ten PS3 games of all time.

1.Mass Effect 2

BioWare's Mass Effect saga is an epic space adventure in its own right, Mass Effects 2 narrates a stunningly realistic story set in a futuristic, science fiction-heavy galaxy. This is the continued saga of Commander Shepard, an individual who commands incredible access in a galaxy full of hostile aliens. So much power, in fact, that a private corporation revives Shepard after he or she dies and sets him or her off on a choice-laden adventure. Mass Effect 2 is diffused with high quality and aesthetics.

2. Heavy Rain

Next in our list comes the heavy rain which packs a crazy motion and quicktime control scheme. The game is developed by Quantic Dream and is written and directed by Quantic Dream's founder and CEO David Cage. The story of Heavy Rain is a dramatic thriller starring four protagonists involved with the mystery of the Serial Killer who avails longer periods of rainfall to submerge his victims. Heavy Rain requires you to change between four characters that are all linked up in the kidnappings and murders diffused by the Serial Killer. Loading 22 ending movies, your choices matter and directly influence what happens in the story.

3.Portal 2

The awesome Portal 2 PS3 game is created and published by Valve Corporation. The players in this game are a test subjects in the halls of Aperture Science and need to use a portal gun to solve crazy puzzles. You are sure to love the comedy, interesting twists, clever writing and robot characters in this game. Caste in multiplayer that could connect with PC players, and you can enjoy one hell of a game.

4.Borderlands

Borderlands is a brilliant science fiction based on a first-person shooter with RPG elements. This innovative game is strange and addictive. The game is just too much fun to play through it. The upgrading and customizing of weapons is satisfying and enjoyable. Although the story of the game is not that great, the addictive nature of the game is more than made up for a dull narrative.

5.God of war III

Based on Greek mythology, God of War III is an action-adventure video game. God of War III gives prominence to gameplay similar to previous sections. The player instructs the character, Kratos, in a battle between the first and the third person, platforming and puzzle game elements. With other new weapons, Kratos' main weapons are the Blades of Exile, including the Nemean Cestus, the Claws of Hades and the Nemesis Whip. A pair of fist gauntlets, the Nemesis Whip and Nemean Cestus, are important to the game as they are required to proceed in the game.

6.Braid

The puzzles of Braid are challenging and the music is quite better as compared to many other video games. This inexpensive game requires very little thought. The story of the game demonstrates the protagonist, Tim, who attempts to save a princess from a monster. Text passages put throughout the game highlights a versatile narrative, giving hints about Tim's contemplations and motivations. The game features traditional aspects of the platform types while integrating various powers of time-manipulation. Using these abilities, the player progresses the story by finding and assembling jigsaw puzzle pieces.

7. Limbo

Limbo was developed by Playdead. The beautiful game with a 2 D effect is black and white. The platforming in this game is great and the puzzle solving involves lot of fun including the innumerable deaths. Limbo is a 2D sidescroller, incorporating a physics system that rules environmental objects and the player character. The player escorts an unnamed boy through dangerous environments and hooks as the boy searches for his sister. The creator of this game developed the game's puzzles anticipating the player to fail before finding the right solution. Playdead termed the style of play "trial and death", and utilized visually awful imagery for the boy's deaths to guide the player from absurd results.

8. The Heavenly Sword

Developed by Ninja theory, the outstanding feature of this game is the six-axis implementation and the beautiful motion capture for the characters. The gameplay of Heavenly Sword is related to a martial arts title targeted on battles while featuring opportunities for ranged attacks. Nariko, the main character uses a weapon called the "Heavenly Sword" which changes into one of three forms depending on what attack position the player uses as part of a unique fighting style. Gameplay wise, the game is quite decent, however, if you love action-adventure games, you need to check this out.

9. Dead Rising 2

If you love killing Zombies, coupled with an open world setting, then this game is sure to give you a lot of satisfaction. Featuring a ton of upgradeable and modifiable weapons, your creativity is the only limit. This action-adventure horror-comedy video game is developed by Capcom in partnership with Blue Castle Games. Dead Rising 2 admits players to manufacture their own custom weapons at various points in the game by collecting items and combining them together in maintenance rooms scattered across the game map. The player also has the ability to unlock "combo cards" that disclose weapons that can be connected together.

10. ModNation Racers

ModNation Racers allows players to accelerate and drift. Successful drifts allow players to fill their boost meter. Alike a multi-tiered thermometer, the meter permits the players the choice of activating a turbo boost to increase the kart's speed or a shield to protect their kart from incoming attacks. Players are able to collect weapons as they race which can be upgraded up to three levels of power, weapons include sonic attacks, missiles and lightning strikes. This game is Sony's own take at the popular Mario Kart series, ModNation Racers is a blast to play through.

Aakash gets 3 lakh pre-booking orders

The world's cheapest tablet, Aakash, costing about Rs 3,000, has received about 3 lakh pre-launch bookings for its commercial version that goes on sale later next month.

A subsidised model of this tablet, made by UK-based Datawind, is already being distributed free in schools and colleges. Aakash's retail bookings exceed India's estimated 250,000 tablet PC market, dominated by Apple, Samsung and Reliance.

"The bookings for Aakash have been done without any money received in advance. We have identified an operator for a data plan at Rs 99 a month," said Datawind CEO Suneet Singh Tuli, who claimed the data streaming technology offered by his company could make internet access costs virtually free.

"We hope to make internet free on our devices with that technology." Tuli is experimenting with a technology that can stream a 700MB file compressed into a 25MB on a tablet. Aircel could be the likely operator, said executives of the two companies, requesting anonymity.

Datawind has supplied about 10,000 tablets to the government's National Mission for Education at a price of Rs 2,250. The devices are being used by students from colleges such as the IITs, RECs, BITS Pilani, Teri University and others.

Aakash, in its next version, will be upgraded with a capacitive touch screen and a processor with double the speed. Datawind plans to supply an attachableRs 400 keyboard, turning the device into PC-lookalike at Rs 3,400.

The government is also considering a proposal to procure the next lot, called Aakash 2, with a faster 700 MHz processor, albeit at the same price. Tuli says there have been invitations from other nations for their digital inclusion programs, seeing India's success.

"The governments of Mexico, Sri Lanka, Egypt, Thailand, Brazil, Bangladesh have requested us to participate in programs similar to India. None, though have come out with tenders for supply of low cost devices as of now," Tuli said. KPMG's telecom head Jaideep Ghosh, however, says that the low-cost tablet success might not be as specatcular as that of the mobile handsets.

"About 185 million new handsets being sold in India this year. But the number of tablets to be sold in a year would be in the range of 250,000 to 500,000 units." The low price is attractive only for students and the youth, who are aspiring to buy new products, he said.

Cheapest download

The tablet market is expected to see a price war as Reliance Industries and Bharti Group are also gearing up to offer cheaper data plans on tablets. RIL may slash the cost of data download to as low as Rs 10 per GB on its upcoming Rs 6,000 tablet. Data downloads cost around Rs 100 per GB for most operators now.

Delhi-based Bharti Group's Beetel is also gearing up. "We were the first to introduce a tablet (Magiq) at Rs 9,999, this year. From January we will be going fullsteam and launch a third version of the tablet," says Vinod Sawhny, chief executive of Beetel Teletech. Samsung India is also launching a third model of the Galaxy Tab next month.

As per KPMG, Samsung has about 80% share of the market, followed by Apple with 5% share. Reliance Communications' group head for marketing and branding Sanjay Behl said the tablet market has doubled in a year. "Reliance Tab has become the third largest after Apple and Samsung tablets."

A Nano Car Worth 22 crore

The Tata Group Monday unveiled a Nano car - made with gold and silver, and studded with precious stones - worth an astronomical over 22 crore.

But, it's not for sale - the valuable and fully functional car is a unique branding and promotional initiative by Goldplus Jewellery, part of Titan Industries, a Tata Group company, an official said.

The mega-value Goldplus Nano Car was unveiled Monday evening by Tata Group chairman Ratan Tata.

The Goldplus Nano Car pales the average 1.40 lakh Nano, which started with a 1 lakh price tag at its launch.

The Goldplus Nano Car is billed as the world's first ever gold jewellery car and celebrates the 5,000 years of jewellery making industry in India.

The car's body is made with 80 kg 22 carat solid gold, 15 kg silver, precious stones - including diamonds, rubies - and other expensive gemstones, the official said.

After its glittering launch in Mumbai Monday evening, the Goldplus Nano Car will travel to all the Goldplus showrooms at 29 locations around the country.

The car incorporates beautiful designs, made with the precious stones of different colours, set on the gold and silver body of the car.

Top 7 skincare tips for winter

It's that time of the year when you need to be extra careful about your body. The following tips will help you deal with those dreaded winter woes.

1. Start using a creamy facial cleanser. Cleansers, which you use to remove make-up usually, strip away moisture and during winter, this problem gets magnified.

2. Moisturise throughout the day. Use a moisturizing facial mask. Try using body lotion even before you've left the shower, right after rinsing soap or body wash. It will help lock in some extra moisture.

3. Of course, hot water showers feel great in winter, but they wreak havoc on dry skin. Try a lukewarm shower instead, and then pat your skin dry with a towel.

4. Avoid skin products and hairstyling products that have a high alcoholic content. When alcohol evaporates, it feels cool and refreshing, but it also strips away moisture, so opt for alcohol-free products, when the air is already dry.

5. When it comes to hair, if you're already dealing with dry, brittle hair, resist the urge to reach for the hair dryer. It'll only make things worse. Dry and style your hair with a towel, and if you still want to use a dryer, time yourself and try to use it a little less.

6. One of the biggest problems during winter are chapped lips. Use a lip balm with at least SPF 15 and preferably one with antiseptic agents to aid in healing. Some lip balm products are made with tea tree oil, which helps heal painful cracks.

7. Your hands, feet, knees and elbows need to be looked after too, during winter. Use products containing shea butter, petrolatum, mineral oil, tea tree oil or glycerin. For intense relief, moisturise hands and feet at night, and then slip on gloves or socks to lock in the moisture

3G services on roaming may go soon

The telecom department plans to ask mobile phone companies to terminate 3G-roaming agreements, a move that will prevent telcos from providing high-speed data facilities on a pan-India basis and deprive customers from accessing them in areas where their operators don't have permits.

Operators such as Bharti, Idea, Vodafone and Aircel have signed up 3G customers across the country riding on bilateral roaming agreements that allow these firms to use each other's airwaves and offer high-end data services even in regions where they do not have third-generation spectrum.

This has resulted in, for instance, a Bharti customer in Kolkata being able to access 3G services even though the company does not have a licence for West Bengal. This is different from 2G roaming agreements where a telco cannot offer services in a region for it does not hold a licence.

While telcos say the licensing terms allow for 3G roaming pacts, sector regulator Trai and the telecom department say these alliances violate licence rules. A senior DoT official said his department planned to issue notices terminating these agreements after getting the law ministry's clearance.

This will restrict Bharti, Vodafone, Idea and Aircel to providing 3G services such as high-speed internet, video calls and interactive gaming in only those circles where they won airwaves in last year's auctions. But the ban will not impact Tata Teleservices, Reliance Communications and S Tel as they have not entered into roaming pacts.

It will also mean customers currently accessing high-speed internet and other services in areas where their operator does not own 3G spectrum will either have to switch to an operator who has these airwaves or be deprived of accessing these services.

Only customers of Bharti, Vodafone and Reliance Communications will be able to avail 3G services in Delhi and Mumbai circles, once the ban comes into force.

But the proposed ban will not impact customers who are travelling outside their home networks. They will continue to enjoy 3G services as the ban will apply to 'intra-circle' roaming deals and not 'inter-circle' pacts.

At present, India has 10-12 million 3G subscribers but it is not known how many of them are using these services through the roaming pacts.

Last week, the chief executives of four mobile phone companies - Bharti Airtel, Vodafone, Tata Teleservices and Idea Cellular - had come together to defend 3G roaming deals and said the agreements to use each other's airwaves were 'legal and permissible'. In their joint letter to Communications Minister Kapil Sibal, Bharti Airtel CEO Sanjay Kapoor, Idea Cellular MD Himanshu Kapania, Vodafone India MD and CEO Marten Pieters, and Tata Teleservices MD Srinath N said prior to the 3G auctions, the industry had a clear understanding with the government that such deals would be permitted.

"Any determination now that this might not be the case would fundamentally alter the legal and economic basis on which the business case of 3G bids was evaluated, inevitably leading to a requirement to either refund the bidders or rerun the auction," the heads of the four mobile companies warned. They also said 'assertions that these perfectly legal arrangements have led to revenue loss for the exchequer were baseless'.

DoT wings,Trai say 3G roaming deals violate licence rules

A senior telecom department official said termination notices were inevitable as all four internal wings that studied the issue had concluded that 3G roaming deals were 'illegal'. Last week, the department's advisor (finance) had asked the ministry to decide if 3G airwaves of operators should be revoked for the alleged violation. "The 3G spectrum assignment may be revoked if the licensor determines the user of spectrum to be in serious breach of any of the allotted spectrum (including adherence of auction rules) and the consequent rollout obligations," the department's wireless planning and finance wing had said in an internal note that was reviewed by ET. This wing had also warned that 3G roaming deals would have 'negative revenue implications for the government'.

"Telcos pay higher spectrum charges in areas where they hold 3G airwaves, which are used to provide high-end data services. This wing of the department, therefore, holds the view that these roaming deals allow telcos to offer data services even in areas where they don't have 3G spectrum without having to pay the respective spectrum usage charges," it had added.

ET first reported last month that the access services wing of the DoT, which looks into all operational issues linked with the sector, had ruled that telcos cannot enter into 3G roaming deals with each other in regions where they have not bagged thirdgeneration airwaves. Just prior to that, the Telecom Enforcement, Resource and Monitoring (TERM) Cell of the DoT had also asked the department to initiate action against all mobile phone companies, including issuing showcause notices and imposing financial penalties.

Trai has also written to the government stating it has "prima facie come to a conclusion that (3G roaming) arrangements are a violation of the terms and conditions of the licence". It also warned that if such arrangements were permitted, "it can lead to a situation where operators, after entering into commercial agreements for use/leasing of spectrum, will launch any type of service on intra-circle roaming, without having the commercial rights to use the spectrum in that particular service area".

Apple releases iPhone 4S battery fix

Apple Inc released a software update for its iOS 5 operating system to fix complaints on the performance of the new iPhone 4S battery.

Apple, after facing a rash of complaints on the new phone's short battery life, had promised earlier to release an update to address the issue.

The software update also addresses some security issues, including a flaw in the operating system that may allow hackers to build apps that secretly install programs to steal data.

Tips to Save On Car Insurance

You have just kick started your career life and you have successfully ticked off one item from your priority list, 'to own a car.' In such a case car insurance can be an expensive thing, because you don't have that sufficient income after such a heavy purchase. The most essential priority after buying a new vehicle is to get it covered by insurance. For many newer drivers car insurance is more a pain than a benefit, with the pain part being located in the higher premiums they have to pay. And driving around without car insurance is like skating on thin ice. Because one single accident can force you into bankruptcy if you are not protected by car insurance.

It is very important for a car owner to grab the best insurance deal at the most convenient rate. While there is no way to get car insurance for free, there are plenty of ways to save money on it.

Shop Around

There are plenty of car insurance companies out there, all offering different quote. Never just accept the renewal quote you are offered. You have to shop around to get the best deal. Make some calls, check online and ask question online and make a comparison to check which deal would work the best for you. Ask the car insurance company outright what they can offer you that other companies can't or if they can give you any sort of discount. You might be flabbergasted to know that you can save 15000 on an average when you shop around for the best quote.

Pay Upfront

Try to pay for your insurance in one go, rather than monthly. Because by doing so you will pay less. Do not be tempted to pay for any type of insurance monthly just because it appears to be cheaper or more manageable. You should know that you will be charged interest, which can be as high as 24pc per annum.

Watch Your Usage

Be careful while you driving. Because the more accidents you get into, the more your premiums will go up. Accidents are not the only thing to watch out for. It is important to have a clean driving record.

Buy What You Want

Every policy differs, and this is something that you can usually add in. It would be best if you buy something you want. A policy that wou ld suit you better. Example comprehensive insurance or third party insurance. comprehensive coverage covers damage to your vehicle caused by certain events. These include fire, theft, vandalism and falling objects. This also comes with a deductible you volunteer to pay and which you are obliged to pay before the insurance company pays the remainder. While third party insurance covers for Personal Injury. By opting for third party insurance you save a lot of money.