Get extra ipad storage with Kingston Wi-Drive

Access your files over Wi-Fi on the pocket-friendly Wi-Drive that allows streaming multimedia, PDFs and more files.

Kingston has come up with a new device that can be used by the Apple iPad, iPhone and iPod touch owners as an additional portable storage space, and has been dubbed as Wi-Drive.

The new Kingston Wi-Drive is available in 16GB and 32GB storage options and will allow users to access data wirelessly using iPhone (3G and higher), iPod touch (3rd Gen and higher) and iPad.

Indians will have to wait till June end to buy this additional storage for their iOS devices. At present, Wi-Drive is available outside India for $130 (Rs 5850 approximately) and $175 (Rs 7875 approximately).

TouchPad will be better than the No 1 tablet: HP

HP has tasted immense success in the personal computer market and wants to emulate the same in the mobile devices market as well.

Hewlett-Packard's TouchPad will be better than the number one tablet computer, the company's European head Eric Cador has said. 

While speaking at press conference in Cannes, Cador said that there are ample opportunities for HP to get the top spot and that the company would call its position "number one plus". 

HP has tasted immense success in the personal computer market and wants to emulate the same in the mobile devices market as well. 

Intel's Oak Trail tablets to be unveiled

There are several companies getting ready with their Oak Trail processor based tablets, and these include Acer, Asus and MSI; but most of the tablets first off the mark will be from Chinese companies.

Tablet PCs based on Intel's Oak Trail processor are likely to be displayed next week in the Computex Trade Show in Taipei. 

The name of the processor, Oak Trail, is actually a code name for the Intel Atom Z670 processor designed for tablets. The ARM based processors have grabbed large market share among mobile devices. 

Logitech introduces tablet keyboard

All the accessories such as keyboard, mouse and speakers connect with the tablet via Bluetooth, but it tends to turn back the clock in time.

Logitech, a well known name for PC accessories, has now introduced tablet keyboards for both Android and Apple tablets. 

The iPad2 keyboard acts as a cover for the tablet. The Bluetooth keyboard also helps users make text entries into the iPad. The keyboard cover for iPad from Logitech is available for $99.99 (about Rs 4,500) on pre-order. 

New BT app for video conference calls

It allows the host to control their video conference equipment, quickly launch a meeting, end a meeting and extend a meeting time using a mobile device.

BT Conferencing, a provider of audio, video and web collaboration services, has launched a video conference application for the Android and iOS based smartphones and tablet. 

The new app, BT Engage Meeting Mobile, is a schedule and automation tool that makes video conference calling easier than ever before. It allows the host to control their video conference equipment, quickly launch a meeting, end a meeting and extend a meeting time using a mobile device. 

iPad2 camera not popular, says Flickr

It could be due to the fact that tablets are not convenient while taking pictures, and probably Flickr numbers reflect that.

The iPad 2 camera is the most unused one, Flickr has said. The photo sharing website, which tracks the camera usage by users by detecting the devices used in clicking the photos, said the iPad2 camera is way too low on its list behind iPhone 3G, iPhone 3GS, and iPhone 4. 

The iPad2 comes with low resolution, and the pictures are especially bad when taken in low light conditions. Just after the launch, the iPad2 cameras quickly became famous for all the wrong reasons. 

Its picture quality was panned by several websites in the past as well.

RIM recalls 1,000 PlayBooks

It was reported there were 935 PlayBook tablets with the flaw in their operating system. Some users reported they couldn't complete the user agreement screen also, which meant they couldn't operate the device also.

About 1000 PlayBook tablets have been recalled by Research In Motion (RIM) due to a flaw in the operating system. The flaws had the potential to pose problems to users during the initial set up, reported the technology blog Engadget.

The affected devices had not even reached customers as they were still with the distributors. 

The news may affect RIM negatively and comes close on the heels of less than expected sales of BlackBerry handsets. The company believes the new products will lead to a turnaround in its sales. 

Samsung to unveil new 10.1 inch display

Samsung announces a display with much better resolution than currently on offer on other tablets. The new display uses PenTile technology which draws 40 per cent less power than other similar displays.

Samsung will unveil a new 10.1 inch display with 2560x1600 resolutions next week in the SID Display Week 2011 International Symposium in Los Angeles, said the company in a press release. 

This resolution is much better than anything else what is on offer on other tablets currently. Samsung says it uses PenTile technology (geometrical layout of subpixels used in electronic device displays and is a Samsung Trademark) in the display which will allow the display to operate at 40 per cent less power than other similar devices.

Samsung has, however, said that the display technology may undergo an upgrade. There are no indications when the new display will make its way to the Samsung Galaxy line up. But if it does, it will bring Samsung a significant advantage over its competitors. 

50% iOS subscribers willing to share personal info

Even more may agree to share personal data for free content or other utilities. Users may now get magazines on iPad as subscribers' information was the main standoff issue between Apple and the publishers.

At a time when the mobile applications are panned by users over privacy and other security reasons, it has been found that close to half of the iOS users have no problem in sharing their information.

This came to light when magazine publishers found that close to 50 per cent of the iOS users are willing to divulge personal data for subscription and that if they get free content or other utilities, more users may agree to share their personal data. 

The readers' response is reflective of their comfort level in the secure environment run by Apple, the makers of iPhone and iPad. Mostly users do not agree to share personal data in a free for all environment. But with Apple, more users have agreed to share their data such as email address and names. The news becomes significant at the time when Apple and Google are battling problems with location tracking issues on iOS and Android phones. 

WebMD app reaches Android

WebMD is a health app which helps users make informed decision about their health through specialized tools such as Symptom Checker, Drugs & Treatments, First Aid Information and Local Health Listings.

WebMD Health Corp has announced the launch of its health application for the consumers who use Android platform handsets. The app is already available for iPad and iPhone. 

The WebMD app has a varied of tools such as Symptom Checker, Drugs and Treatments, First Aid Information and Local Health Listings. The Android app also has a new voice search functionality in which users can enter their query by speaking into the microphone. 

"WebMD for Android is the next significant step for expanding our multi-screen market presence," said Wayne Gattinella, president and chief executive officer, WebMD. "We are proud to be selected by Google to showcase the new WebMD for Android App at their annual developer conference today."

WebMD is already a popular health information website. Unlike other apps, which provide entertainment to the users, the WebMD apps on iPhone, iPad and Android phones specialises in providing comprehensive healthcare information to its users so they can make informed decisions.

Microsoft to buy Skype, claim reports

The possibilities of Windows Phone and Skype complementing each other might be endless, with the use of Skype on Windows phones to making video calls with Kinect received on mobile devices or vice versa.

On the backdrop of reports of Google and Facebook partnering with Skype, reports have now claimed that Microsoft intends to buy the VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) company for close to $8 billion.

Wall Street Journal has said this in a recent report citing its own sources, which in a way confirms the rumours earlier published by GigaOm.

The Microsoft-Skype deal would be a big push for the Windows based smartphones. The possibility of making free calls using Skype on Windows Phones may prove to be tempting for many users, though phone to phone VoIP calls are not allowed in India yet. Only those calls which originate from computers are allowed in India right now.

Another interesting possibility for users may be use of Kinect, another Microsoft product which helps in making video calls, in combination with Skype. The Kinect-Skype combine would enable users to talk to their friends and family through high quality video calls using their televisions. These calls may originate from TV sets and end up on devices such as iPhone, iPad, Android, and of course Windows Phone 7 phones. The reverse may also be possible.

Skype was founded in 2003 and was later bought by eBay in 2005, which then sold its stake to a private investment group. Even earlier, Microsoft has revealed that Skype would soon be available on Windows Phone 7 devices. So one thing's for sure, the interest from the company is already there.