WoNoBo.com, a curiously named website, has partnered with Indian Tourism Ministry to offer Virtual Walkthrough of prominent cities within the country.

Launched by Genesys International Corporation, a geospatial solutions company, WoNoBo essentially strives to offer a complete 360^o panoramic view of important cities of India. Launched with coverage of about 12 cities, the platform creators are working to extend the total to 54 Cities.

Why should one consider WoNoBo?
Google Street View is one of the most comprehensive and detailed platforms to take virtual tours. Street View has ventured to many unique places and has made the location–locked wonders available for anyone with an internet enabled device to visit without leaving their seat.

But WoNoBo has a distinct advantage. The portal has tied–up with Incredible India, Ministry of Tourism and Government of India. Accordingly, the website will cover interiors of important socio–cultural businesses across the country and offer complete walkthroughs of most popular monuments in India. Additionally, WoNoBo will allow creation of Customized Themes, as well as allow user–generated content about the location that is accessed. Apart from the same, users can also create virtual localized communities.

Supposedly created with the help of experts, users and technology, WoNoBo will even collate ancillary local information like places to eat, shopping hotspots, children–friendly spots and much more. While this may all be possible in Google Street View, WoNoBo still scores owing to the shortcoming faced by Google Street View.

Google's offering has had many a spat with the local law enforcement agencies. Citing multiple reasons, Google has been halted from making Street View available to Indians and that too about Indian Locations. Launched on a pilot scale in Bangalore, Google Street View was soon forcibly shuttered.

WoNoBo being an Indian entity, may have convinced Indian Authorities that it poses no threat. But geospatial data once made available online, is for anyone to access and use. So what clarification and convincing argument could WoNoBo have put forth that Google couldn’t manage?

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Rural India will have 68 million claimed Internet users and 46 million active internet users in rural India by the end of October 2013, according to a report by IAMAI and IMRB.  The i-Cube report titled, ‘Internet in Rural India’ stated that the number of active internet users has seen 58% growth since June 2012. An active internet user is one who has accessed internet at least once in the last one month.

It further predicted that by December 2013, there will be 72 million claimed Internet users and 49 million active Internet users in rural India. Furthermore, claimed users will rise to 85 million and active internet users to 56 million by June 2014. The number of computer literates in rural India by June 2013 has risen nearly two-fold to 125 million. As of June 2013, there are 59.6 million users in Rural India who have accessed internet at least once in their lives.

Subho Ray, President of IAMAI stated, "This is just the tip of the iceberg, in the next two years, a combination of affordable smart phones, optic fibre backbone and local language content is likely to change the beat all projections of internet growth in rural areas.”

The iCube report finds that there were 21 million active mobile Internet users in rural India in June 2013 – 5.3 times more than in 2013 over 2012 and nearly 47 times over in 2010. It is estimated that by October 2013, there will be 25 million active mobile Internet users and 27 million by December 2013. According to the report, the availability of content in local language encourages the rural user to go online and although 79 per cent of the users access content in English, 32 per cent of the users access content in Hindi.

Nearly 42% of the internet users prefer to access Internet only in local languages. Giving insights about mobile internet usage, the report stated that compared to the 0.4% mobile internet users in 2012, the penetration has grown to 2.4%, indicating a substantial growth in the mobile internet user penetration levels.

The findings of the report reveal that majority of the rural internet population is not comfortable in accessing Internet in English and this is holding them back from using internet fully, for other purposes than online entertainment. Only 9% of the active internet users transact online. Due to a very low awareness level, online transactions are still in their infancy and there is a pressing need to educate and inform the user of the benefits of the internet services to drive the growth of internet usage.

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The Nokia World Conference has turned out to be a proof that the company still has a lot to offer than being relegated as an organization whose core business was taken over by Microsoft.

While the company unveiled its first ever Tablet in the form of Lumia 2520, it brought forth a bunch of other products as well. While Nokia has refreshed its line of Affordable Phones in the Asha Series, it has decided to follow the Smartphone makers like Samsung and even other regional phone makers by launching two extra-large screened Smartphones, commonly referred to as Phablets.

Christened Nokia Lumia 1520 and Lumia 1320, both these phones sport a humongous 6 Inch Screen. Surprisingly though, the company has chosen LCD Displays as against Super Amoled. While the 1520 features a full HD LCD (1920×1080), its sibling, the 1320 gets a mere 720p HD Display. The 1320 is more affordably priced at US$ 339 while the 1520 costs almost double, i.e. US$ 749.

The Camera: Nokia Phones, bearing the Lumia Brand, have garnered the perception of devices with the best in class cameras. While the Lumia 1520 assuredly offers a 20 MP PureView Camera accompanied by Dual LED flash, the 1320 has to make do with a humble 5MP primary shooter.

The Hardware: Here too, the differences are quite apparent. Nokia Lumia 1520 is the first Windows Phone to feature the new quad-core 2.2GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 processor and also includes 2GB of RAM. While the 1320 has just a humble 1.7 GHz Dual Core Processor with just a Single GB of RAM. However, as far as Battery is concerned, both the 1520 as well as 1320 house a large and non-removable 3400 mAh Battery.

Nokia has been experimenting with multiple design aspects like Screen Sizes, User Interface, Camera Resolution and its associated specifications like Optical Image Stabilization that is only found in standalone digital cameras. Additionally, its OS provider Microsoft too, had been trying to build the app ecosystem.

After suffering at the hands of Samsung, Nokia is slowly learning the fast changing dynamics & equally complex customer expectations that ironically, even the regional companies like Spice, Micromax, Karbonn, Spice, etc have been able to decipher. With 1520 & 1320, Nokia seems to have conveyed that it is a company that is willing to listen to consumers. Additionally, with the refreshed Asha Series, the company has shown its commitment towards the Affordable Feature Phone Segment. Do you think the company's decision to appease customers at both the extremes of the price spectrum is the correct one?

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WhatsApp Messenger has now hit 350 million monthly active user mark. The popular instant messenger’s user base was 300 million in August which means, it has added 50 million in mere two months. Prior to that in June, WhatsApp has 250 million users. WhatsApp CEO Jan Koum announced the numbers at the on going Nokia event in Abu Dhabi.

He also announced that  250,000 users per day are registering for WhatsApp using Nokia devices — including Symbian, Asha, and Lumia handsets — over 7 million per month. The WhatsApp user base announcement comes at a time when Blackberry’s popular instant messenger BBM hits Apple App Store and Google Play. According to reports, BBM iOS and Android app has been downloaded 10 million times within 24 hours.

Instant messaging has been rampant all over the world and especially in emerging markets in India and Brazil. India is a competitive market with popular players like Line, WeChat, Viber, Skype, Nimbuzz and Hike. Each of these services are trying to tap the markets with continuous updates to their mobile apps across all platforms. WhatsApp added voice messaging feature to the app in August this year. While, Japanese messenger Line added video calling and video sharing feature in September. Other services also offer various stickers and emoticons that make instant messaging fun and lively.

With more users switching to smartphones, the instant messaging platforms are only expected to grow bigger in the near future. Which messenger do you prefer the most? Let us know in your comments.

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Going beyond free messaging service, Nimbuzz has partnered with internet service provider Spectranet to launch a new low cost Internet-powered international calling platform. Indian users can call landline or mobile numbers in US, Canada and UK starting at one paisa per second using Spectranet's "hello ip" service. The rates for calls, however, will vary for other countries.

This is a pre-paid offering where users can recharge their accounts through credit card. However, the service doesn't support domestic calling within India and works only for International calling. The calling service works with all data networks and Wi-Fi. Speaking at the launch, Nimbuzz CEO Vikas Saxena said, “Hello ip will allow our Indian users to reach out to their loved ones across the world without cost concerns. It is a unique proposition that allows Nimbuzz users to make calls at rates almost 450 per cent less than that are available in the market today. 

According to Saxena, the industry in India is worth a $1.5 billion when it comes to international calling. He also said that the majority of users will use VoIP overseas calling via Wi-Fi and added that 40 percent of Nimbuzz subscribers use Wi-Fi at least once a day. "Wi-Fi is all pervasive among Nimbuzz users, which will help the uptake of this new service, he further added.

Udit Mehrotra, CEO of Spectranet hello IP, said that India gets 6.5 billion minutes of incoming international calls but outgoing calls make up only 10 to 15 per cent of that amount. “This disparity is because of high pricing,” he added. Until now, Nimbuzz users in India could do only peer-to-peer calling, but now they will be able to make calls to any international number.

Nimbuzz claims to be India’s first legal VoIP (Voice over IP) service and users can pay using there credit and debit cards. Saxena said that 25 million Nimbuzz users will be benefited by this service and it will allow Indian users to reach out to their loved ones across the world without cost concerns. Mehrotra said that they expected the user base to double in the next 12-18 months.

The new service is a good news for users who indulge in international calls on a daily basis. Currently, Vodafone charges Rs 6.40 per minute for an international call to the US. Hence, the hello ip service seems like a far better option to the traditional mobile calling. We feel that such VoIP services will gradually eat up telecom operators revenue as instant messaging did for SMS. Last week Google Hangouts for iOS also added free international voice calling. Recently there were reports that Nimbuzz will roll out multi-party conference call.

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Nokia has stepped into a brand new segment for itself. The company has launched its first ever 10 Inch Tablet running Windows RT 8.1.

Showcased at Nokia World Press event held at Abu Dhabi yesterday, the company chose to launch its first ever 10 Inch Tablet. Christened Nokia Lumia 2520, the tablet bears the Lumia lineage and comes with a 1080p full HD Display. The tablet will compete with rivals like Sony Xperia Tablet and other's from Samsung and of course, Apple's iPad.

Sticking to the reputation of being durable, the Lumia 2520 Display is protected by Gorilla Glass Version 2 that is touted to be even tougher and more scratch resistant than its previous iteration. The Tablet is powered by a 2.2GHz Quad-Core Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 processor and is supported by 2GB RAM. The Tablet comes with inbuilt 32 GB Memory and also features a standard 32 GB capable Micro SD Memory Card Slot. Additionally in accordance to the Lumia moniker, the Tablet gets a large 6.7MP Back Facing camera with Zeiss lens as well as a 2MP front facing one.

The Tablet is augmented with a Power Keyboard that doubles up as a protective cover. The Keyboard also encases extended battery as well as 2 USB Ports. Bearing an uncanny resemblance to the Surface Pro Tablets, Lumia 2520 runs on Windows RT 8.1 and comes inbuilt with 4G LTE Connectivity. Initially priced at US$ 499, the tablet is available in eye–catching colors like red, white, cyan and black.

Nokia's Tablet is certainly a compelling piece of hardware. Built with stellar internals, the tablet perhaps has just one, but serious issue. The Tablet runs Windows RT and not the full Windows 8.1. Though the RT release, is by no means a slouch, the complete Windows experience will certainly be absent. Surprisingly, even the diminutive Iconia W4 from Acer runs the full Windows 8.1. Hence it certainly comes as a surprise that Microsoft, the recent owners of Nokia's Mobile Division chose to imbibe the Lumia 2520 with the RT Release.

Nokia has been famous to make sturdy and durable hardware. With the Lumia 2520 priced at US$ 499, plus US$ 199 if one wants the power keyboard, the Tablet is certainly a worthy option for anyone looking for a Nokia Branded Tablet. But against the competition, the Lumia 2520 could be just another tablet with stellar hardware, constrained by Windows RT. What do you think?

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The wait is over for Windows Phone users. Instagram is finally coming to Microsoft’s operating system in the next few weeks. Nokia announced Instagram’s arrival at the Nokia World event in Abu Dhabi. It further announced that Vine, Popular news reading app Flipboard and messaging app WhatsApp are coming to Windows Phone too.

"Our ultimate goal is to bring Instagram to everyone who wants to use it. We're looking forward to watching the Windows Phone community use Instagram to capture and share beautiful moments in the coming weeks”, Systrom announced. There are plenty of third-party apps available for Windows Phone users, but many don't offer the same features as Instagram.

The 150 million monthly active user photo-sharing social network, landed on iOS three years ago and on Android in April 2012. Nokia held a strong campaign on Twitter to force Instagram to take notice of Windows Phone and even came up with its own app, named #ToInstaWithLove, to help push the service to Windows Phone users.

It would be interesting to see  how Instagram adapts the app for the unique look of the Windows Phone UI. Although it is just an app, Instagram’s arrival on Windows Phone will definitely draw the crowds as most of the people had distanced themselves from the OS due to lack of the service.  We believe that Instagram landing on Windows Phone will have 2 effects. First, this might boost  Nokia sales for Lumia phones and second, a surge is possible in Windows global smartphone OS share. What do you think? Share with us your thoughts.

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Youtube wants to recognize the best musical artists from the past year by letting you decide the winners. It is going to be a live event taking place in New York City on November 3rd featuring performances from across the planet from entertainment giants like Lady Gaga, Arcade Fire, and Eminem.

The six categories include video and artist of the year, “response” of the year (which YouTube says are top unofficial fan videos), YouTube phenomenon (pulling together trends like Harlem Shake, Gangnam Style and other songs that generated a huge fan video response), YouTube breakthrough, and innovation of the year.

YouTube has undergone many changes and they range from design changes to handing over the ownership of the website. YouTube was taken over by Google and since then the website has met with criticism for featuring ads before every video.  Founded in 2005 by former PayPal employees, YouTube has raised its status from a simple video sharing website that offered amateur videos to a forum where budding artists share their talent.

The videos on YouTube have a high production value and have a high audience base. Artists like Ray William Johnson, Mystery guitar man and many acapella artists (and for that matter every talent imaginable, and unimaginable) have made careers out of making YouTube videos. They have their own production houses and shooting teams.

This development is significant when you want to see the potential of Youtube as a post cable content delivery medium. Google's strategy to acquire the sharing website when it was about to be ripe, has paid off. This ceremony would obviously garner more business for the ad base that Google runs on YouTube and consequently more views on the artists. The innovation category in the awards has seen the most unknown artists out of the whole bunch of nominees. Let us see whether the final event, which will be hosted by actor Jason Schwartzman and Spike Jonze, will be the bang we all assume the ceremony to be.

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After selling 9 million iPhones (iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c), Apple is gunning for same results with its latest launch. As expected, Apple unveiled next generation iPad Air and iPad Mini with retina display. The tech giant also debuted a new MacBook Pro lineup. Apple CEO Tim Cook revealed that the company has sold 170 million iPads since the tablets launched three years ago. Also there are now 475,000 apps on the app store customized for iPads.

iPad Air: Apple took wraps off a thinner, lighter and faster iPad Air which sports a 9.7 inch screen with 2,048 x 1,536 pixel resolution. The fifth generation iPad weighs just 0.45 kilogram, compared with 0.64 kilogram for the previous version. It runs the same Apple A7 chip, which was first announced last month with the iPhone 5S, which has significant improvements in CPU and GPU performance. Compared to the first iPad, the iPad Air is 8x faster and offers 72x better performance on graphics. The iPad Air also packs the M7 motion co-processor that pulls data from the device’s accelerometer, gyroscope and compass.

On the camera front the device has a 5 MP iSight camera, 1080p HD video with new FaceTime HD camera with larger pixels, improved backside illumination, and dual microphone. Running on the latest iOS 7, the iPad Air claims to have a 10-hour battery life. Starting at $499 (Rs 30,760 approx) for a model with 16 gigabytes of memory, the device will start to go on sale from November 1 in selected countries.

iPad Mini with Retina Display: Apple also unveiled iPad Mini with Retina display which sports the same screen size and resolution that of the iPad Air. This is a huge boost improvement over the original Mini's paltry 1,024-by-768 display. Available in silver and white, or space gray and black, the device sports a new A7 processor (which includes the M7 co-processor), a faster MIMO Wi-Fi antenna and support for more LTE networks around the world. It will also have a new FaceTime camera and a 5-megapixel iSight camera and runs on Apple latest iOS7.

The Wi-Fi version will start at $399 (16GB) and $529 for Wi-Fi plus cellular. The original iPad mini will remain on sale, but gets a price drop from $329 to $299 for the non-Retina version. Apple did not give a specific date for the release, but said it might come "later in November."

MacBook Pro: Finally, Apple launched  refreshed line-up of retina display 13 and 15-inch MacBook Pro. Both devices are thinner and lighter than their predecessors. The 13-inch device runs fourth generation dual-core Intel Core i5 processors up to 2.6GHz with Turbo Boost speeds up to 3.1GHz. The 15-inch device will sport 4th-generation quad-core Intel Core i7 processors up to 2.3GHz with Turbo Boost speeds up to 3.5GHz. The two devices which come with Thunderbolt 2 ports also get a number of performance and feature updates.

Apple also revealed that nearly two-thirds of its mobile devices are running iOS7, the revised operating system it released in September. Twenty million people have listened to iTunes Radio about a month after its release. The tablet market is getting extremely competitive with premium and affordable tablets.  There is no word on when will these devices land in India.

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