Slowdown: Engineering graduates facing risk of unemployment

As it is, a fifth to a third of engineering graduates run the risk of being unemployed.

BANGALORE/MUMBAI: It isn't intended to crush young dreams. But for over a million engineering students who are stepping into placement season this month, NasscomPresident Som Mittal's confirmation that IT hiring will indeed decline 22% to 1.8 lakh this year does just that.

"Ten years ago, we could hire half the graduating engineering students, but now, there is global uncertainty, automation, non-linear growth," Mittal told ET even as a new engineering placement season gets underway in a rather bleak economic backdrop. "We cannot provide jobs to all."

As it is, a fifth to a third of engineering graduates run the risk of being unemployed. Many others will take jobs well below their technical qualifications, an ET special feature had reported recently.

That's the environment in which hundreds of non-IIT and second-tier colleges are now getting into a placement overdrive. They are roping in newer industries, inviting more companies, settling for salaries that are much lower than the minimum benchmarks, and encouraging more students to entrepreneurship.

"Last year, we had a placement record of 85%, but this time, we would be happy even if we meet 70% of the target," says Guru Venkatesh, V-P (placement and corporate relations) for Dayananda Sagar Institutions. "Up until 2012, there were companies we would not touch...but this year, we are looking at all."
But top-rung institutes, including the Indian Institutes of Technology, remain relatively insulated. "We have no worries. Only 15% of our students join the IT sector and for our 1,200-odd students (all streams included), salaries are expected to go up as well," said an official from the placement office of IIT-Madras. The average salary has gone up from 8.9 lakh for the batch of 2012 to 11.4 lakh for the class of 2013.

Karnataka-based DayanandaSagar Institutions has around a 1,000 students to place. This year, it has decided that companies will have to share slots from day one. Three companies will be allowed to pick students on the same day; only one was allowed earlier.

"IT companies, which used to be the large recruiters, will hire fewer people, so we are trying to get more firms to make up for the numbers," says Venkatesh.

"In 2012, around 100 companies came. This time, we will try for 200, which includes startups," he adds.

Call them all
Colleges are compromising on salaries too. "Last year, we had few companies offering 3-lakh plus salaries. This year, we are open to more companies with salaries of 3 lakh or so," says an official from the placement team of VIT University, based in Tamil Nadu.

The campus has started its placements with companies like DE Shaw, Flipkart and Ebay.

IT companies, which constitute about 70% of hires, usually come later in the year, around September onwards.

Campus placements for engineering colleges start from mid-July and continue for the next eight months. Initially, those from core engineering industries, R&D and sectors like auto, manufacturing take their pick.

The IT mammoths, which hire in large numbers, come only in September but have said their hiring will be muted. "The overall industry will see muted hiring from campus this year," says Pratik Kumar, executive vice-president for HR at Wipro.

Compared with the 2,30,000 IT jobs created in 2012, only 1,80,000 will be generated this year, according to Nasscom. This year, IT giants will hire in September during campus placements and again in May-June, to bulk up their off-campus placements, Mittal adds.

Alternate avenues
Bangalore-based RV College of Engineering is advocating entrepreneurship for its students. It is looking to garner Rs 25 crore in two years for its entrepreneurship cell. In the past 50 years, 12% of its alumni became entrepreneurs and the college hopes more will follow suit. It wants the 1,000-odd engineers graduating every year to apply for more patents and research projects so that they are picked up by core engineering firms and do not have to bank upon just the IT sector.

Delhi Technological University (DTU) will follow a similar strategy. "We have added 15% new recruiters only for computer science and IT students, keeping in mind that hiring numbers per company may take a hit," says NeerajNimwal, training & placement officer for DTU. "Colleges need to look at other sectors like manufacturing, pharma, biotech as recruiters. In fact, I am more worried about those graduating four years later," says Nasscom'sMittal.
Some have done so without delay.

Bengal Engineering and Science University (BESU) has around 500 students, roughly 180 are from streams like IT, computer science, electronics and electrical engineering. MK Sanyal, professor & head, department of HR Management, says placing all these students is getting more challenging as the scenario gets increasingly competitive. Earlier, if 30 companies used to approach the institute for placements, the first 5-6 would absorb all the students, and the others had to be sent back.

"Last year, we felt the heat when several more companies were required to take on all the students. This year, we will have to accommodate even more companies," he says
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Why Infosys, HCL are shying away from government projects

IT comapanies are shying away from government-backed information technology contracts.

BANGALORE: Software companies are shying away from government-backed information technology contracts, frustrated by delays in payments and lack of clarity about project milestones. 

While earlier they would throw their hats in the ring for virtually every government project, even the largest IT companies are becoming choosy about the type of contracts they want to be part of. Infosys, for example, did not bid for a Rs 200-crore project to computerise the Debt Recovery Tribunal, India business head C N Raghupati said, because the company was seeking a clearer investment and execution roadmap. 

Another project by the telecom department to set up a facility to test equipment for security vulnerabilities and spyware did not take off due to lack of clarity in the funding model and milestones. Many such government projects, including the DRTs, lack a clear process roadmap that defines milestones. As payments are typically linked to milestones, this results in delays in payments. "Major IT players have become more circumspect and are participating only in projects that are well-funded and have clear vision and can pay," said, Rohtin Bhattacharya, executive vice president who for corporate strategy at HCL Infosystems. "We have faced delay in payment from government entities and are trying to get our money." 

The company, which gets a lion's share of its business from the government, saw its revenue declining from to Rs 10,856 crore in fiscal 2012-13 from Rs 11,548 crore a year ago. From next to nothing from the private sector two years ago, the company gets about Rs 171 crore now. "As a part of the strategy we are focusing on the non-government customers and expanding our portfolio to private sector but we still have government orders worth roughly a $1 billion." Gartner estimates the government technology market in India to be worth about Rs 37,000 crore (including IT products and services) in 2013, with Tata Consultancy Services, and IBM having a dominant share. With general election due in early 2014, industry experts said that most large projects are stalled or are progressing at snail's pace. 

A senior executive at IBM, who requested not to be identified, said that payment delays have become acute as bureaucrats fear greater scrutiny by auditors and vigilance agencies in the wake of several recent corruption scandals. "With payments getting stuck, chief financial officers are pulling up India-business heads at most of the large IT companies asking them not to bid forgovernment projects as they are seen as being too risky from a cash-flow perspective." 

In the June quarter, TCS reported that its India business shrank by about 5% from three months before. For the $12 billion company, the domestic market contributes about 8% to sales. Similarly, Wipro's revenue from India and the Middle East fell by 7%. TCS and Wipro did not reply to questions for this story. 

The spokesman for the Department of Electronics and IT did not make himself available for comment. However, a senior official in the department said on condition of anonymity that, typically, payment delays are on account of "milestones not being achieved." 

Sanjay Dhawan, who heads the technology practice at PwC, said he does not foresee a quick turnaround in the state of government projects. "Macroeconomic factors, uncertain rupee-dollar fluctuation and the political sentiments with election coming up are making vendors go cautious with government projects.
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'A' tour to South Africa gives fringe men chance to impress

The 16-member squad, led by Cheteshwar Pujara, will also take on the hosts in a couple of unofficial Tests later. (TOI Photo)

MUMBAI: The India 'A' team's tour of South Africa begins in Pretoria on Thursday when they play Australia 'A' in the second game of the triangular series. The 16-member squad, led by Cheteshwar Pujara, will also take on the hosts in a couple of unofficial Tests later. 

India's selectors have picked a strong batting order and a relatively inexperienced bowling attack for the tour, with the aim of giving the young batsmen a feel of the conditions that they will come across when MS Dhoni's men take on Graeme Smith & Co in a full series later this year. The quality of cricket is expected to be top-notch in both formats given the class of the players involved and that is what makes this tour so special. 

From a broader perspective, this tour will give fans and selectors a sense of where Indian cricket is heading. How will the likes of Pujara, Shikhar Dhawan, Ajinkya Rahane and Murali Vijay perform in testing conditions against the screaming pace of Kyle Abbott and Marchant de Lange? 

Will Rohit Sharma finally stake a claim in the Test squad, seven years after making his T20 and ODI debut? Will Suresh Raina stand up against the barrage of short-pitched deliveries that are waiting to greet him and finally get the monkey off his back? There are questions aplenty and the onus is clearly on the young cricketers to answer them.

In the past, the 'A' tours were hardly given any importance. The BCCI sent teams as a formality, often without thinking of the future or even understanding the significance of such outings. The players focused on their individual performances, hoping that they could somehow graduate to the next level. The selectors rarely counted these runs or wickets, unless someone performed spectacularly well. 

Former India captain Sourav Ganguly, however, feels the time has come to change the mindset and get into the winning habit. "It is a positive move to send a team to South Africa ahead of the Test series. 

Obviously you want them to win as many games as possible. I know it will be tough but that is what you expect from this team," Ganguly told TOI on Tuesday. "The conditions now will be completely different when India go there in November-December. With the winter on, the conditions will be difficult now. 

The wickets will do a lot more and, I am sure, it will be a good learning curve for the players. It will prepare them well for the series ahead," he added. The Board, too, has done its bit by sending a former Railway's wicketkeeper-batsman Abhay Sharma as the fielding coach, along with head coach Lalchand Rajput. 

"It is the first time that the BCCI has sent a fielding coach on an 'A' tour and that is because we are playing a couple of four-day games. It will also continue the process of raising the fielding standards," said Prof Ratnakar Shetty, BCCI's game development officer. The BCCI, however, has chosen not to send a bowling coach and Ganguly is fine with that. 

"There's too much of spoon feeding these days. I think players at this level should to be left to figure out their own way, and that goes for, both, the batsmen and bowlers. In any case, not many bowlers from this attack will make it into the team for the South Africa series," he said. 

Squad : Cheteshwar Pujara (C), Shikhar Dhawan, Murali Vijay, Rohit Sharma, Suresh Raina, Ambati Rayudu, Dinesh Karthik, Ajinkya Rahane, Wriddhiman Saha, Parvez Rasool, Shahbaz Nadeem, Mohammed Shami, Stuart Binny, Ishwar Pandey, Jaidev Unadkat, Siddharth Kaul 

'A' tour that matters... 

The performance of all the 16 players in the 'A' team - which will play two 'tests' and a triangular in South Africa - will be followed closely by selectors. TOI lists five batsmen who will be in the spotlight... 

Murali Vijay 
The Tamil Nadu opener received a surprise call-up for the series against Australia at home and made full use of that opportunity by scoring 430 runs in four Tests@61.42, including two hundreds. It was a performance that was instrumental in India's clean sweep of Australia. Admirably, Vijay toned down his usual aggressive style and was willing to dig in and play a big knock. Questions, however, still remain about the 29-year-old's ability to cope with pace and bounce in overseas conditions. Success on this tour will give him immense confidence ahead of the SA tour. 

Cheteshwar Pujara 
There is no doubt that on the evidence of what we have seen so far, Pujara is currently India's best Test batsman. A statutory warning, though, must be issued to those who label him as the 'next Rahul Dravid': He is yet to be tested against quality attacks outside India. Pujara has also shown a penchant for falling to the hook shot repeatedly. The 25-year-old now gets a wonderful opportunity to get used to the rising ball. If this class act comes out with flying colours on this trip, the Indian Test side will breathe easier. 

Rohit Sharma 
If this gifted batsman wants to break into the Test side, this tour could be his golden chance. The 26-year-old is yet to make his Test debut, despite having played 102 ODIs. Throwing his wicket away when in complete control has been this Mumbai batsman's biggest bane and he has rightly been criticised for it. Many, in fact, think he is just a T20 or 'IPL specialist.' Recently, however, he seems to have turned the corner, having found success as an ODI opener. His experience of playing two new balls should help Rohit prepare better for Test cricket. This tour will tell us if he is cut out for the five-day format. 

Suresh Raina 
This man has proved to be an integral part of the Indian T20 and ODI side, but still has a long way to go before he re-establishes himself in Test cricket. Raina's biggest problem is his inability to deal with the short ball. While lack of technique is an issue, Raina appears to also have a mental block against it. If the southpaw can conquer his demons, he can transform into a quality Test batsman. He can take a cue from former India skipper Sourav Ganguly, who overcame a similar problem successfully. 

Ajinkya Rahane 
He has waited on the sidelines for far too long, but like Rohit, has suffered due to lack of opportunities in the Test side. He is no more a contender for the opening slot in the longer format and that has affected his confidence. The Mumbai youngster endured a miserable debut against Australia on a treacherous pitch in Delhi. Before that, he failed against the English seamers in ODIs at home and was dropped. A good show on this tour will help him stay on the radar.
 

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'Sir' Jadeja's meteoric rise silences critics

Jadeja became only the fourth-ever Indian bowler and the first since Anil Kumble to top the ICC bowlers' rankings. 

MUMBAI: The verified Twitter account of Ravindrasinh Jadeja - @iamjadeja - introduces him as Indian 'cricketer', 'biker' and 'horse-rider' from Jamnagar.

The profile picture is a huge white compound wall of his new home that has initials 'RJ' inscribed on it. He's Jadduboy on Instagram. His tweets normally end with a patriotic 'Jai Hind'. And for many, he's the Rajnikanth of Team India: nothing is impossible for him.

The 24-year-old all-rounder - who became only the fourth-ever Indian bowler and the first sinceAnil Kumble in 1996 to top the ICC bowlers' rankings in ODIs - is on a high.

"Bahut bada first class cricketer hai." (He is a very big first class cricketer). It's a moniker that thousands who follow the vast domestic circuit across India, where hundreds play first-class cricket for decades and retire, can identify with. There are a few others who are a little more talented but somehow just can't break through. There are alsoexceptional cricketers who end up earning an India cap as soon as they arrive.

And then, there are those like Jadeja who keep rising like the proverbial phoenix, leaving connoisseurs baffled. How else would you describe a player who critics and experts forever felt was overrated?

Larger-than-life tattoos, untimely pub-brawls, an IPL ban, running cricketers out and leaving his skipper MS Dhoni out in the cold for promoting him in the order in the 2009 World T20 would condemn most players to the sidelines. Jadeja, though, has rewritten his story many times until it began to read like a success story.

He even shares space with the likes of Don Bradman, Brian Lara, Bill Ponsford, Walter Hammond, WG Grace, Graeme Hick and Mike Hussey, having scored three first-class triple centuries, the first Indian to do so.

But it had become a trend to mock at his cricketing ability. Even when he began picking wickets against Australia in the Test series early this year, tweets popped up saying 'what's worse than India not getting a wicket? Jadeja getting a wicket.'

The tweeter could still be eating his words, digesting how the man with such 'ordinary talent' could manage 24 scalps in the series and get Michael Clarke out five out of six times.

Sarcasm did not end even when Jadeja - famously tagged 'Sir' by Dhoni and teammates - set the Champions Trophy on fire in the UK recently. Whether it was about getting his skipper that one crucial breakthrough or contributing with a timely cameo, or affecting a sublime run-out, Jadeja did it all.

If there were only Gujaratis running for his autograph when he landed at Heathrow, there was quite a pan-Indian crowd bidding him goodbye when he left.

Conventional wisdom suggests that Jadeja's success is the result of his captain's faith in his abilities, the comfort of playing in a team where his role is defined to the 'T', not experimenting too much and sticking to a line-and-length approach, and understanding one's limitations.

"It's been the case with most Indian cricketers who've excelled for India in the last decade," says former India bowler Paras Mhambrey. "Captains like Sourav Ganguly and MS Dhoni have brought the best out of players just by keeping the faith and pursuing with them," he adds
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Microsoft cuts Surface Pro tablet prices by $100

Discounts come just days after the tech titan reveals that marketing the tablets has cost more than the revenue they have brought in.

The Surface Pro.

(Credit: Microsoft)

Microsoft reduced the price of its Surface Pro tablet this weekend by $100, a few days after revealing that it has spent more money on marketing the in-house tablet than it has generated in revenue.

The reductions, which were first reported by The Verge, cuts the price of Microsoft's 64GB and 128GB tablets to $799 and $899, respectively. The discounts come three weeks after Microsoftcut the price of its Surface RT tablets by 30 percent.

Even though Microsoft revealed its revenue from the Surface tablets, it did not release the number of units sold or specify the individual revenue from either the Surface RT or the Surface Pro. In March, Bloomberg reported that Microsoft likely sold around 1.5 million Surface tablets to date. Though 1 million of those sales were for the RT version, that number was about half of what Microsoft initially expected, according to Bloomberg.Sales of Surface RT tablets, which debuted last October, have been seen as tepid. The tech titan revealed on Tuesday that it hasearned $853 million in revenue from its Surface tablets since their debut last fall. However, that is less than the $900 million the company had to pay for Surface RT inventory adjustments and also less than the $898 million Microsoft paid for Windows 8 and Surface advertising.

In comparison, Apple reported last month that it sold 14.6 million iPads in the last quarter alone.

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Facebook hires first marketing chief from Motorola Mobility

Gary Briggs formerly served as Motorola's CMO after Google completed its $12.5 billion acquisition last year.

More than a year after going public, Facebook apparently believes it's time to hire the social network's first-ever chief marketing officer.

Gary Briggs, who was formerly the marketing chief at Motorola Mobility, has been hired by the social-networking giant to lead the company's marketing efforts, according to AdAge. Briggs replaced vice president of product marketing Eric Antonow, who has supervised Facebook's marketing efforts for the past three years.

Briggs said in a statement to AdAge that he was excited by the new challenge.Upon Google's completion of its $12.5 billion takeover of Motorola Mobility a year ago, Briggs was appointed Motorola's CMO after serving as vice president of consumer marketing at the Web giant.

"Facebook isn't just a company. For more than a billion people, it's their connection to the friends and things they care about most," Briggs said. "Telling the story of such an important and still very young brand is an incredible opportunity, and I cannot wait to get started."

After six-year stints in consumer marketing at eBay and Pepsico, Briggs most recently served as an adviser to Motorola CEO Dennis Woodside and its new CMO, Bill Morgan.

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Apps inch up toward iTunes users' favorite activity

Listening to music files is still tops, but that's slowly but surely heading toward becoming the second-most-popular iTunes activity.

Here are the results of NPD's research into how iTunes users spend their time and money. Note that the results do not add up to 100 percent because most people use iTunes for more than one type of activity.

(Credit: NPD)

Apple's iTunes platform may have started with music in mind, but over the last couple years, a rival for people's attention has arisen from within, according to new research.

Although 54 percent of U.S.-based iTunes users in 2010 headed to the software to listen to music, that figure dropped to 41 percent of users in 2013, according to new data from research firm NPD.

At the same time, the amount of people downloading apps has jumped. For free apps, the figure has grown from 24 percent in 2010 to 35 percent in 2013. For paid apps, the figure has shifted from 12 percent in 2010 to 18 percent in 2013.

Just to be clear, the figures don't add up to 100 percent because NPD didn't make it an either-or inquiry.

Although it appears apps might eventually win out over music, both activities are extremely popular and iTunes itself continues to grow. According to NPD, iTunes now has 67 million users in the United States, up from 50 million in 2010.

Free apps, however, are becoming more and more significant.Apple's iTunes platform was originally designed as a way for users to manage tracks and listen to songs. Over time, however, the platform has grown into a full-fledged marketplace, offering everything from games and movies to e-books and podcasts.

According to NPD, 95 percent of iOS users download free apps and, on average, have 35 free downloads on their devices. Paid app downloads have declined from 72 percent of users in 2012 to 69 percent this year, according to NPD.

Not surprisingly, games are the most popular apps, with 81 percent of iOS users downloading free titles. Social-networking applications come in second with 70 percent usage.

One other interesting tidbit on the state of music downloads: just 9 percent of iTunes users download a full digital album, compared with 29 percent who download individual songs.

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Google brings touch features to Chrome Canary

The browser update includes the ability to scroll backward or forward with the slide of a hand.

(Credit: Google)

Google's Chrome Canary -- a browser version that's available, but still under development -- is adding touch-friendly features to the software,according to The Verge.

The browser now includes a slide-to-navigate option that will allow users to swipe across the display to either go forward or back. Like mobile operating systems, swiping to the left in Chrome Canary takes users to the next page, while swiping to the right will take them to a previous page.

In addition, the browser comes with an "enable pinch scale" option that lets users pinch their fingers together on the screen to zoom in and out.

Though Chrome Canary is available for download, Google cautions that only early adopters and developers should try it because it's still unstable and could crash without warning.

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YouTube extends live streaming to all channels with 100 or more subscribers

YouTube has announced that all channels with a least a 100 subscribers will now be able to offer live streams.

Making the announcement on the YouTube Creators blog, the Google-owned video streaming service said that the feature was being rolled out to all channels in good standing, within the next few weeks. Channel owners will be able to enable the feature through their Account Features page.

Google had extended live streaming functionality to channels with over 1,000 subscribers, in May. 

Previously, the service was available only to select YouTube partners. It had started trials for the live streaming platform in September 2010, though it was streaming select events including the Indian Premier League, prior to that. The move democratises live broadcasts and makes it more mainstream.

YouTube offers channel owners real-time transcoding in the cloud, which essentially means that they only need to send their highest quality stream to YouTube and Google will make it available in all resolutions and device formats. Video producers can show multiple camera angles, add closed captions, and insert ads and slates to their live streams.

Viewers can watch the live stream from any device, with the video quality constantly adjusting to their Internet connection, and can rewind and forward in the live stream.

Google also offers Hangouts On Air on its social networking service Google+ that lets users take part in virtual roundtable style video chats broadcast for anyone to see, live. It also puts recordings of such broadcasts on YouTube after the end of these hangouts. This functionality was extended in May.

During the same time, YouTube had informed that over 100 hours of video were being uploaded every minute to the world's most popular video-sharing site.  YouTube had also launched paid channels, in a move that had placed it in direct competition with services like Netflix, Hulu and Amazon. The company had released a list of some 50 channels which will be part of the program. Subscription rates go as high as $7.99 per month.

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WeChat 5.0 brings in-app Sticker purchase, location based friend finder and more

Mobile instant messaging app, WeChat, has received a major update, offering new features like in-app purchase for stickers, a location based friend finder service and revamped official accounts, among others.

The new version (version 5.0) is now live on the App Store for iPhones, while the Android version will be available at a later date, according to the company.

WeChat 5.0 includes Sticker Shop, an in-app purchase mechanism for downloading and paying for stickers. This essentially means that users will be able to buy sticker packs within the app through their iTunes accounts. Mobile messengers are increasingly using Stickers as differentiators to build engagement among users and for monetization.

"The new WeChat 5.0, we are aiming at taking the platform to the next level making it more than just a simple chatting app and enriching the user experience by being a truly mobile social platform. Users not only meet, chat and share moments, pictures and videos, they do it in a dynamic and intuitive fashion," said Poshu Yeung, Vice President at International Business Group at Tencent, the company behind the WeChat app.

WeChat 5.0 also features 'Hold Together,' a location based service that allows users to find and connect friends who are in close proximity. It also offers 'Shake' and 'People Nearby' (previously called "Look Around"), to connect with friends.

The updated app also makes sharing web pages to Facebook easier for users who have linked their Facebook account to their WeChat accounts. It also brings a revamped 'Official Accounts' user interface with brand accounts grouped into one single category to reduce clutter on chat screens. It also allows users to save text, voice messages and photos, following the update.

"While WeChat users enjoy connecting with friends and meeting new people; WeChat's comprehensive privacy settings allow users to limit and control who is able to communicate with them, who can view information and manage how they can be found. For added security and control, protection mechanisms such as the two-way authentication to initiate a chat, ability to hide contact details, create a 'black list' to block users and allowing users to turn off LBS features. This means they can share experiences only with the people they trust," continued Yeung.

WeChat claims to have 70 million registered users, globally. It competes with apps like WhatsApp, Line and Viber.

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FLY F40+ with 4-inch display, 1GHz processor launched for Rs. 4,999

Fly Mobiles has expanded its smartphone series with the launch of the Fly F40+ for Rs. 4,999.

The Fly F40+ features a 4-inch WVGA display with a resolution of 480x800 pixels. The phone is powered by a 1GHz processor and has 512MB RAM. It includes a 3-megapixel rear camera along with flash and a front facing VGA camera. The Fly F40+ runs Android 2.3 Gingerbread which is an outdated OS, considering that Google has already rolled out Android 4.3 Jelly Bean, a few days back. It includes 180MB internal storage which is expandable up to 32GB with the help of a microSD card.

The Fly F40+ is a dual SIM device that comes with GSM+GSM functionality. It is backed by a 1200mAh battery that the company claims, delivers up to about 7 hours of talktime and 220 hours of standby time.

Other features of the Fly F 40+ include Bluetooth, Proximity sensor, Wi-Fi and Gravity Sensors.

Commenting on the launch Rahul Goel, chief executive officer, Fly Mobile, India said, "The market is inclined towards Smartphones more than ever. Amidst myriad high end smartphones taking over the market, the common man is still waiting for an affordable option that can make his life easy. We have designed Fly F40+ to fulfill this dream of the people. Fly has always manufactured products that bring a change in people's life and we will continue to do so to add value to the community."

The company has been updating its F series of Android smartphones and now offers a total of 14 smartphones in its portfolio that includes Fly F53S, F351, F45S, and F45Q, among others.

Recently, Fly launched F53s for Rs 9,999. The device is powered by a 1.2 GHz dual-core processor coupled with 1GB RAM. It supports dual SIM (GSM+GSM) and runs Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean operating system. The Fly F53s sports an 8.0-megapixel auto-focus rear camera which features 99 burst mode shots while the front camera is of 2.0-megapixels and also supports 3G video calling.

Mobiles launched in July 2013

Fly F40+ key specifications:

• 4-inch WVGA displaywith a resolution of 480x800 pixels
• 1GHz processor
• 512MB RAM
• 180MB, expandable up to 32GB (microSD card)
• 3-megapixel rear camera with Flash
• VGA front facing camera
• Dual-SIM smartphone (GSM+GSM)
• 1200 mAh battery
• Android 2.3 Gingerbread

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Samsung confirms Galaxy Note III launch event for September 4

While rumours surrounding Samsung's next generation Galaxy Note smartphones have been floating for a long time, Samsung has now officially sent invitations for an event scheduled on September 4 in Berlin, where it's expected to finally unveil the large screen device.

The South Korean electronics major has gone a bit creative with the invitation and has sent it in a handwritten design that says, "Note the date 04.09.2013 Berlin".

The company calls it an 'Unpacked' event, which is scheduled to take place just ahead of the IFA show and it's likely to unveil its rumoured smart watch at the event, as well.

The company has been using the IFA trade show in Berlin to unveil its Galaxy Note phablet devices in the past. Last year, it unveiled the Galaxy Note II device at the event.

The official invite is inline with previous rumours. We had earlier reported that the South Korean giant was planning to unveil the Note III at an event scheduled for September 4 in Berlin.

The Galaxy Note III is likely to feature a 5.7-inch display and the latest Android 4.3 Jelly Bean OS. Other leaked specifications suggest that the Samsung Galaxy Note III could sport a Super AMOLED panel similar to Samsung's other high-end devices with a resolution of 1080x1920 pixels. In terms of camera, Samsung's latest phablet is expected to sport a 13-megapixel rear shooter. It will reportedly be powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 processor with 3GB of RAM

There have been reports about Samsung testing different screen sizes for the Note III but the company is rumoured to have finalised the 5.7-inch device, considering the market response to the Galaxy Mega 5.8 and Mega 6.3.

The company is also expected to use the event to unveil its wearable computing device, most likely a smart watch, giving it a head start over arch rival Apple, which is widely tipped to unveil its iWatch soon. Sony had also recently unveiled SmartWatch 2, a wearable companion for Android devices.

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Airtel likely to launch 4G services in Delhi by September

Expanding the footprint of its high-speed Internet services, Bharti Airtel is likely to launch by September fourth generation (4G) services in Delhi, which is one of the lucrative data market in the country.

The firm, which already offers 4G services in Kolkata, Bangalore, Pune and Chandigarh, has roped in Chinese equipment maker Huawei to build and operate the 4G network in Delhi.

"We are planning to launch 4G services in Delhi by September and has selected Huawei for the network," a company source said.

The company, which recently reduced 4G data tariffs by up to 31 percent, is trying to boost up data usage and increase adoption for its 4G service for improving revenues.

Airtel had won spectrum for high-speed broadband service - Broadband Wireless Access (BWA) - in four telecom services areas of Kolkata, Maharashtra, Punjab and Karnataka in 2010, paying Rs. 3,314.36 crore for it.

Airtel last year acquired 49 percent stake in US telecom major Qualcomm Inc's Indian 4G venture Wireless Business Services (WBS), which gave it entry into the circles of Delhi, Mumbai, Haryana and Kerala.

Qualcomm had forked out Rs. 4,912 crore to win the BWA licence for the four circles.

In the same auction, Reliance Jio Infocomm (then Infotel Broadband Services) won 20 Mhz slot for pan-India BWA spectrum for Rs. 12,847.71 crore but the company is yet to roll out services.

Right now, Airtel holds 51 percent stake in WBS and the company plans to completely acquire it by end of next year.

After Delhi, Airtel will launch 4G services in Mumbai and the company is in talks with players such as Huawei and ZTE for network.

4G mobile Internet technology provides download speeds of around 100 Megabits per second (Mbps) on the move and it can go up to 1 Gigabits per second (Gbps) at a fixed location.

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Vodafone will need to sell Bharti Airtel stake in light of new Unified Licence rules

Vodafone Group will be required to offload its indirect 4.4 percent stake, worth USD 1 billion, in Bharti Airtel as new telecom licence rules bar telecom players from holding any beneficial interest in competitors operating in the same service areas.

"In the event of holding/obtaining Access spectrum, no licensee or its promoter(s) directly or indirectly shall have any beneficial interest in another licensee company holding 'Access Spectrum' in the same service area," Unified Licence (UL) rules say.

Vodafone declined to comment on the matter.

In India, there are 22 services area, or circles, for 2G telecom services and both the companies operate in all the circles.

Vodafone and Airtel currently operate on Unified Access Service Licence (UASL) licence, or 2G licences, under which telecom companies are permitted to hold stake up to 9.9 percent in other firms.

However, as per the new rules, telecom service providers operating under previous licences will have to migrate to new licences on expiry of their permits and sell stakes held by them in any rival within a year of getting UL.

Vodafone's three permits, Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata will expire in last quarter of 2014. The last 2G licence of Vodafone, issued for Madhya Pradesh area, is valid till 2027.

Two permits of Airtel in Delhi and Kolkata will also expire in November 2014, while some of its licences are valid up to 2024.

Following failure of spectrum auction in November 2012 and March 2013, government came up with idea to bar companies from holding stake in each other to prevent any cartel formation.

Vodafone in a letter to Department of Telecom had already expressed concern when UL norms was being firmed up.

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Microsoft Office comes to Android smartphones for Office 365 subscribers

Microsoft is bringing a pared-down version of its Office software to Android phones, but it won't work on Android tablets just as it doesn't on iPads.

The software will be available starting Wednesday. It requires a $100-a-year subscription to Office and won't be sold separately.

The new offering follows the release of an iPhone version in June and brings an Office app to phones running the most widely used operating system on new smartphones.

Microsoft Corp. is trying to make its Office 365 subscription more compelling, without removing an advantage that tablet computers running Microsoft's Windows system now have - the ability to run popular Office programs such as Word, Excel and PowerPoint.

"The release of this app shows that we're committed to keep providing additional value for Office 365 subscribers," the company wrote in a blog post. "Office 365 subscribers will now be able to access, view, and edit Word, Excel and PowerPoint documents with Windows Phone, iPhone and Android phones."

Microsoft is pushing subscriptions as a way to get customers to keep paying for a product that was historically sold in a single purchase. The company touts such benefits as the ability to run the package on multiple computers and get updates for free on a regular basis. However, a subscription can be more expensive than buying the package outright for just one or two computers.

Microsoft said it designed Office Mobile for Android phones specifically for small-screen devices, even though many people will prefer editing documents on a tablet's larger screen. The company has a version for iPads and Android tablets, called Office Web Apps, but that runs on a Web browser and requires a constant online connection. The new Android software is an app that gets installed on the phone and can work offline.

With a subscription, customers typically get to use Office on up to 10 devices. Five of them can be Windows or Mac computers or Windows tablets. The other five can be iPhones or Android phones. Windows phones come with Office installed and do not count toward the limit.

In keeping the software off the iPad, the top-selling tablet computer, Forrester Research analyst J.P. Gownder has estimated that Microsoft is potentially ceding $1.4 billion a year in revenue, based on 10 percent of the 140 million iPad owners paying for a $100 subscription. Gownder said failure to provide it on the iPad or Android tablets gives incentives for users to explore competing offerings such as QuickOffice from Google and iWork from Apple.

Like the other mobile versions, the new Android software is designed for lightweight use. For example, you can use it to view and edit an attachment sent by email. But it's not meant to create a complex spreadsheet from scratch.

The new software requires Android 4.0 or later - the Ice Cream Sandwich or Jelly Bean flavors of Google's operating system. It's available through Google's online Play store. At first, it's available only in the U.S., though Microsoft plans to expand to 117 markets with versions in more than 30 languages.

Microsoft did not announce any plans for BlackBerry phones.

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Lemon Aspirational A3 with 3D support, Android 4.0 launched for Rs. 12,000

Lemon Mobiles have launched a new smartphone, Aspirational A3 for Rs. 12,000.

The latest Aspirational A3 smartphone sports a 4.3-inch qHD display with a resolution of 540x960 pixels. The device is powered by a 1GHz dual-core processor with 1GB of RAM. It includes an 8-megapixel rear camera accompanied by an LED flash and a 2-megapixel front-facing camera. The Lemon Aspirational A3 runs on Android 4.0.4 Ice Cream Sandwich which is disappointing considering that Google has rolled out Android 4.3 Jelly Bean OS. It also has 4GB of internal storage that can be expanded up to 32GB through microSD card.

The device is backed by a 1,640mAh battery that the company claims can deliver up to 7 hours of talk time and 250 hours of standby time.

The company claims that the main feature of the Lemon Aspirational A3 is that it also allows 3D viewing experience without the use of 3D glasses.

Announcing the launch of third phone in Aspirational series, Gopal Kalra, Director Fastrack Communications Pvt. Ltd - the company that owns Lemon brand - said "With Aspirational 3D, the consumers can experience a hassle free real life occurrence which runs on Android 4.0 and is the latest dual-core processor entry by Lemon Mobiles. The 3D smartphone will not only enhance or reduce the depth of captured 3D images but will also yield more effective results when taking landscape pictures and close-up shots".

Last month, the company launched Lemon A4 that sports 5-inch full-HD display. The smartphone is powered by a 1.2GHz quad-core processor along with 1GB of RAM. It comes with 16GB of internal storage and can be further expanded by up to 64GB.

It is just 8.5mm thick runs on Android 4.2.1 Jelly Bean. For camera, Lemon A4 has a 13.1-megapixel rear camera with LED Flash and a 5-megapixel front-facing shooter. Lemon A4 is a dual-SIM with dual standby. Lemon Mobiles launched the device in the Indian market at a price of Rs. 17,999.

Mobiles launched in July 2013

Lemon Aspirational A3 key specifications

• 4.3-inch qHD display with a resolution of 540x960 pixels
• 1GHz dual-core processor
• 1GB RAM
• 4GB internal storage, expandable memory up to 32GB with micro SD
• 8-megapixel rear camera with LED Flash
• 2-megapixel front-facing camera
• Dual-SIM (WCDMA+GSM)
• 3G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0, GPS and aGPS
• 1640 mAh battery
• Android 4.0.4 Ice Cream Sandwich

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