Tiger Airways to expand in India - Flights to Trivandrum and Kochi in Kerala state and Trichy in Tamil Nadu

Tiger Airways to expand in India

SINGAPORE budget carrier Tiger Airways said on Tuesday it was looking at flying to three more destinations in India in addition to Chennai and Bangalore.
Tiger president and chief executive Tony Davis said the airline wants to fly to Trivandrum and Kochi in Kerala state and Trichy in Tamil Nadu.
'As the world's second most populous country, India is a natural consideration for us to expand our low-fare offering,' Mr Davis said in a statement.
'We have had numerous requests from passengers to fly to more Indian destinations. With this encouragement, we plan to commence discussions with the airports and authorities.'
Tiger Airways, which is one-third owned by Singapore Airlines, operates flights to 33 destinations across 11 countries and territories in Asia and Australia from bases in Singapore and the Australian cities of Melbourne and Adelaide. -- AFP
Ref: http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/Singapore/Story/STIStory_493895.html

Google launches music search with Lala and iLike

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Google Inc on Wednesday partnered with Web services Lala and MySpace's iLike to give music fans an easier way to find, sample and buy songs on the Internet, expanding its music industry footprint.

The global Web search leader will provide users who want to sample a song with a pop-up box that will play at least a 30-second segment -- in some cases the entire song -- provided by iLike and Lala, which will then offer links to purchase the music.

Google has also teamed up with Pandora, iMeem and Rhapsody to incorporate links to those music sites, to help consumers discover music related to search queries. Google will begin rolling the feature out to users across the United States on Wednesday.

The move will help cement Google's role in the music industry, which is struggling with plunging sales amid the rise of Apple's iTunes and other sites, and fewer media outlets to break new acts. Investors hope that streaming songs or video clips online will help stem the fan-base losses.

"Every day we get millions of search queries about music. You want to know more about your favorite artists, find that new album or that iconic song, or figure out the name of that tune stuck in your head," Google said on its blog.

The new capability will help listeners find songs by entering a search by title, album, artist or even with a line or two of lyrics.

Google said it did not work directly with any record labels -- contrary to reports that it had forged ties with the likes of Sony Music Entertainment and Warner Music Group -- but had the industry's full support.

"Everybody's been very supportive. Indeed, our business model is to improve the search experience with the help of streaming partners, which offer interesting business models of their own," said R.J. Pittman, director of product management for Google.

Ref: http://in.reuters.com/article/internetNews/idINTRE59R5SF20091029

Nokia - 3D touch interface

A recently filed patent reveals that Nokia is working on a 3D multi-touch interface, using pressure sensitivity to discern the third dimension

Published on Oct 23, 2009

Nokia is testing a new multi-touch interface that works in three dimensions thanks to touch pressure sensitivity.

These developments appeared in patents filed by Nokia regarding exactly how the technology would work.

Nokia isn't perhaps the first manufacturer we'd expect to experiment with 'out there' technologies like this 3D touch interface, what with their continuing support of the increasingly aged-feeling Symbian OS, but if it works intuitively it could represent a step forward for smartphone operating systems.

According to the patent, the haptic touchscreen will be able to tell how forceful each of your screen prods are and exactly which direction any swipes are made in. The latter isn't anything new of course, but it could offer higher fidelity than current capacitive models.

The patent diagram also suggests that this new type of touchscreen is designed for finger operation, which is good news for all of you who are fed up with losing the stylus on your current Nokia smartphone.

 Ref URL: http://www.knowyourmobile.com/blog/342776/nokia_working_on_3d_touch_interface.html

10 cool things about the iPhone 3G S

Unless you've been living under a rock, you'll know that Apple has announced its latest iPhone -- the iPhone 3G S.

The third iPhone to be released since the first was launched in the U.S. in 2007, Apple claims the iPhone 3G S is faster and more powerful than the current iPhone 3G. Although it retains an identical form factor and design, the iPhone 3G S has some nifty new features. Here are 10 of the best:

1. It's faster

Apple launched the iPhone 3G S by announcing it has a faster processor, more memory and "snappier performance". Although the iPhone 3G is no slouch, it can be a little sluggish when opening and closing applications. If Apple's demo videos are anything to go by, the iPhone 3G S will be a much zippier smartphone.

2. It has more memory

Apple will sell two models of the iPhone 3G S: 16GB and 32GB. There original iPhone came with 4GB, 8GB or 16GB of storage.

3. Video recording

Wow! A smartphone in 2009 that can record video? No way! Apple critics will point to the fact that the iPhone 3G can't record video as an example of a phone that lacks some basic features, but for potential iPhone owners the addition of video recording is a real plus.

4. Improved camera

The iPhone 3G S has a 3-megapixel camera with autofocus, compared with the iPhone 3G's 2-megapixel, non-autofocus camera. It still lacks a flash, but the increased megapixel count should slightly improve photos and tapping an area on the screen to focus on is a cool feature that should make mobile photography easier.

5. You can talk to it

The iPhone 3G S introduces what Apple calls Voice Control, a voice recognition feature that allows you to make a call and play music by speaking. Voice Control can find any entry in your contacts list, and users simply have to say a name or phone number to make a call. For music, you can ask what song is playing and hear the iPhone 3G S answer, tell it to play your favourite album, or play similar tracks to the current one.

6. It has a built-in compass

A built-in digital compass is another new feature of the iPhone 3G S. We aren't sure exactly how often anyone would use this as a standalone app, but when combined with Google Maps, the compass will rotate maps to always match the direction you're facing. Now that is pretty cool.

7. Internet tethering

The iPhone 3G S can now be used as a modem, connecting to a Mac or PC via USB or Bluetooth. Although AT&T in the US won't be supporting this feature, Optus is one Australian telco that has confirmed it will be. Telstra and Vodafone are yet to announce whether they will offer tethering capability.

8. Accessibility features

Apple has included a number of features that help people with disabilities use the iPhone 3G S. These include Apple's VoiceOver function, which reads aloud what is on the screen, a zoom function that magnifies up to five times, and a white on black display option that provides increased contrast.

9. Nike+ iPod integration

Previously only available for selected iPod nano models, Apple's Nike + iPod is a fitness system that involves a Nike shoe communicating wirelessly with an iPod. The iPhone 3G S will be compatible with the system, which displays real time walking or running statistics.

10. New headphones

The iPhone 3G S will include Apple's remote headphones in the sales package. The new headphones have a multi-button remote and volume control keys, as well as a microphone to handle voice calls.

For the latest on the iPhone 3G S check out our iPhone Centre.

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Ref: http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/166556/10_cool_things_about_the_iphone_3g_s.html