HTC Hero Unveiled in India

"Android loaded HTC Hero arrives with Sense UI, 5MP camera, digital compass"

HTC has launched its second Android OS-based smartphone, the HTC Hero, in India. This handset will come loaded with intuitive HTC Sense user interface. The phone was first launched in June at an HTC event in London. Airtel customers are offered 100MB free data transfer for six months and pack of Airtel apps like Portfolio Manager, Hello Tune Manager, Weather Channel, Mobshare, In-Mobile search and City Search.

Most importantly, HTC Hero will have Android Market preinstalled. It comes with the support for Google apps like Gmail as well as Google Maps which isn't offered in Airtel exclusive handset. HTC will offer Hero for Rs. 31,990 in India but for Rs. 34,600 in Maharashtra; blame it on the 12.5 percent VAT rates in the city.

HTC Hero has 3.2-inch HVGA (320x280) TFT-LCD touchscreen that will add to HTC's new intuitive mobile interface dubbed HTC Sense. Well, as we noted earlier, HTC sense is the same Android UI that was dubbed as Donut/Rosie when it leaked. Hero packs Qualcomm 528MHz MSM7200A processor with 512MB ROM and 228MB , all together promising a zippier UI navigating experience. Hero supports Adobe Flash which will aid the users for easy mobile web browsing and enjoy Flash-based multimedia content.

The best part is that HTC will integrate HTC Sense UI to the portfolio of its phones and hence, HTC Magic customers can expect new Sense update for their handsets too. HTC will also push firmware updates for Hero since many users had lagging and speed issues.

HTC Sense UI boasts of three major features - gesture control, widgets support and integration of different apps in single view. Gesture control offers features like the phone can be turned over to put into silence mode. Slew of widgets for social networks and productivity can be set to the homescreen - like Nokia and Samsung smartphones now allow. Single view of contact specific interaction is enabled by integrating the history of calls, SMS, and mails with the respective contact photos and Twitter/Facebook updates.

Boasting a 5 megapixel camera, Hero also has a built-in internal GPS antenna which can be used in future for geo-tagging the pictures clicked. HTC has added digital compass and accelerometer in Hero just like Apple had digital compass along with Accelerometer in iPhone 3GS.

Unlike in HTC Magic, music fanatics can hook up any headphones with 3.5mm audio jack in Hero and store more music on media card in microSD memory expansion slot. HTC assures a battery life of 7.8 hours with a 1350mAh lithium-ion battery.

Technical Specifications of HTC Hero:

Processor: 528 MHz Qualcomm MSM7200A -
Memory ROM: 512 MB
RAM: 288 MB
Operating System: Android
Display: 3.2-inch TFT-LCD touch-sensitive screen with 320x480 HVGA resolution
Network HSPA/WCDMA: 900/2100 MHz - Up to 2 Mbps up-link and 7.2 Mbps down-link speeds
Quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE: 850/900/1800/1900 MHz
Device Control: Trackball with Enter button
GPS: Internal GPS antenna
Connectivity: Bluetooth 2.0 with Enhanced Data Rate and A2DP for wireless stereo headsets
Wi-Fi: IEEE 802.11 b/g
Data connection interface: HTC ExtUSB (11-pin mini-USB 2.0 and audio jack in one)
Camera: 5.0 megapixel color camera with auto focus
Audio slot: 3.5 mm audio port
Expansion Slot: microSD (SD 2.0 compatible)
Special Features: G-sensor, Digital Compass,
Audio supported formats: MP3, AAC (AAC, AAC+, AAC-LC), AMR-NB, WAV, MIDI and Windows Media" Audio 9
Video supported formats: MPEG-4, H.263, H.264 and Windows Media Video 9
Dimensions (LxWxT): 112 x 56.2 x 14.35 mm (4.41 x 2.21 x 0.57 inches)
Weight: 135 grams (4.76 ounces) with battery
Battery: Rechargeable Lithium-ion battery
Capacity: 1350 mAh
Talk time:
Up to 420 minutes for WCDMA
Up to 470 minutes for GSM
Standby time:
Up to 750 hours for WCDMA
Up to 440 hours for GSM

HTC has smartly priced Hero lower than the iPhone 3G model and offers a number of features that puts the phone head-to-head with it.

Blue audio released on 8th september

The wait for Bollywood’s most ambitious and promising project, the much anticipated India’s first underwater action adventure extravaganza BLUE is over.

The first glimpse of BLUE was unveiled at Cinemax in a grand media event by none other than Music Maestro A.R. Rahman, sound expert Resul Pookuty, Director Anthony D’Souza and Producer Dhilin Mehta as they presented a unique ‘Sound Promo’ of the film.

Audiences too will get a sneak peek of the extravaganza on their television screens and on the big screens too as the theatrical promo opens with the weekend releases. An underwater action thriller BLUE captures the fast paced action, above and below the ocean as never seen before in Indian Cinema!

All set to hit theatres this Diwali on October 16th, Blue is produced by one of the biggest production houses Shree Ashtavinayak Cine Vision Ltd., which has tossed out landmark films like Jab We met, Bhagambhag, Golmaal, etc. And this time, producer Dhilin Mehta has once again defied norms and raised the bar in film-making.

Under the visionary direction of debutant Anthony D’Souza this oceanic spectacle features Bollywood stars like Sanjay Dutt, Akshay Kumar, Lara Dutta, Zayed Khan, Rahul Dev, & Katrina Kaif.

Having an amalgamation of Hollywood and Bollywood, the film boasts of the best technicians from across the world. The wild scenic beauty of the oceans has been captured by the underwater specialist cinematographer Pete Zuccarini, who has worked on Hollywood blockbusters like PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN and DEEP BLUE SEA.

That’s not all; the fast paced racy action has been choreographed by action director James Bomalick who had set our pulses running with THE FAST AND THE FURIOUS – TOKYO DRIFT earlier.

When you’ve got such stellar cast and crew, can the music be far behind? This all-round action packed grandiose has none other than Oscar Winner A. R. Rahman composing the tracks for the film with the winning combination of Resul Pookuty engineering the sound.

And just when you thought you’ve got the best combination, the icing on the cake comes in the form of International pop-sensation Kylie Minogue who has performed a special number in the film along with the leading cast of the film!!!

Looks like the countdown to Bollywood’s most awaited film has begun!

Download Blue (2009) Mp3 Songs

1. Bhoola Tujhe

2. Aaj Dil

3. Chiggy Wiggy

4. Rehnuma

5. Fiqrana

6. Blue

Tata Docomo launches pay-per-character Diet-SMS

You had heard of the pay-per-second module for voice calls from Tata DoCoMo, the GSM brand of Tata Teleservices Limited. Now, the company has announced another innovative offer in the country called 'Diet-SMS'.
Though this, subscribers will be given the option of paying for any SMS they send on a per-character pricing plan. The cost of any 'Diet-SMS' will be 1 paisa per character used for up to 15-character SMS.

The 1 paisa per character charge with no charge for the spaces between words.

To activate the Diet-SMS service:

Type the mobile number followed by a space followed by the message and sms this to the short code 52208.

Or, go to the SIM-based menu on the phone (called Dive-in Now), scroll to the diet-sms option under the English Language menu, open it and send the SMS.

Lastly, you should know that the Diet-SMS service is available to customers on the per-character pricing plan on the Tata DoCoMo network only.

YouTube Auto Buffer Makes the Popular Video Site a Lot Better [Downloads]

Firefox with Greasemonkey: The YouTube Auto Buffer Greasemonkey script tweaks the popular video sharing site to fix some of its most common annoyances. Specifically, it stops videos from automatically playing, turns on HD/HQ playback for all videos, and hides in-video advertisements.

All three of the tweaks YouTube Auto Buffer makes can be toggled, so if you'd really like to get rid of in-video ads but don't want to always watch videos in HD or prefer that videos play automatically, you can just disable the two unwanted features. Or at least they can be toggled in theory. I had trouble getting my preferences to stick, so your mileage may vary.

Either way, it's a nice little script that aims to fix some users' common YouTube annoyances. For some other YouTube-specific tweaks, check out our very own Better YouTube Firefox extension. (With any luck, maybe we can convince Gina to incorporate some of the YouTube Auto Buffer features into said add-on.)

YouTube Auto Buffer is a free download, works with Firefox and the Greasemonkey extension.

YouTube Auto Buffer & Auto HD & Remove Ads [Userscripts via gHacks]

Tata Docomo SMS offer in Kerala

Tata DoCoMo has introduced an 'SMS Offer' for all its existing and new pre-paid customers in Kerala, reports The Hindu Business Line.

With this, Tata DoCoMo pre-paid customers in Kerala can avail100 free local and national SMS everyday for till Nov. 25.

Only the first SMS of the day will be charged at 60p for local and Rs. 1.20 for national text messages. Also, do remember that the first chargeable SMS should be a non-VAS SMS. International messaging will not be included in the free SMS offer.

Will this offer will come to other states also?