Microsoft Out In iPhone Market With Seadragon

Microsoft is spreading itself in different fields, after Saturday launch of Seadragon a mobile imaging software, they jumped in iPhone market. With the help of software iPhone user can easily navigate large image or bunch of images, using the Apple iPhone's touch screen interface.

"Want to see giga-pixel images on your iPhone? Now you can--with Seadragon mobile," wrote a company blogger on Microsoft's Live Labs site, in a Saturday post.

As per blog, Seadragon Mobile lets users scroll through and zoom in-out, maps or photos, "with just a few pinches or taps of your finger." Application is built using Microsoft's Photosynth technology which is specifically designed to handle large image files. Photosynth lets users stitch together separate images into a continuous whole to create panoramic pictures.

Up to now, Microsoft has held off introducing apps for the iPhone--preferring instead to focus on its own Windows Mobile platform. It appears, however, that Microsoft can no longer simply ignore the iPhone's market dominance.

Microsoft company employees are still wondering that why Seadragon Mobile was released for Window Mobile. "It's terrific to see this innovation coming out but I have to ask myself where is the Windows Mobile version?" wrote Steve Clayton, a Microsoft technology manager who works on software and services projects, in his own Saturday blog post.
"Surely phones like the touch HD from HTC would benefit from this too?" he said. "The app is astonishing, the aerial maps with Seadragon and GPS enabled are a joy to behold," Clayton continued.

Make A Call With Wireless iPod Touch

Truphone is allowing its iPod Touch users to make calls to other iPod Touch proprietors and Google Talk's messaging services users. The software came in existence due a spin-off technology developed by Truphone for smartphone and iPhones. Truphone turn out to be the latest firm to offer voice over Internet protocols(VoIP), alongside Unlicensed Mobile Access and Propriety protocols such as Skype.

"There are a slew of new features we're rolling out for the iPod Touch that will let users call landlines, Skype users or send instant messages. We're talking weeks, not months, before these go live." said, Geraldine Wilson, Truphone's CEO.

Although Truphone technology is capable to work on any mobile device, the company is focusing on a equipment that have an application store.
"We've decided to focus on devices that are Wi-Fi enabled and have an apps-store. For the consumer, there has to be an easy way of downloading an application. Our focus on the consumer side - at least in the short term - is finding devices that fit that category," she added Ms Wilson.

The only drawback of Wi-Fi connection to work is that  the users need to be in range of a Wi-Fi network or should be within Wi-Fi hotspot.

Truphone founder, James Tagg, said that the technology also worked on other mobile devices, though in slightly different way. "If you were using Truphone on a Blackberry, it will use cellular technology to log into the Truphone's website. From here you can make an international call, call a user on VoIP, or send an instant message."

"Because the first leg of the call - from the user to our server - is charged at local rate, you're talking a bill of pennies, rather than pounds, to call, say the United States."  he said.

The firm also said that Google's Android operating system would be the next platform for which it will develop the Truphone application.

Nokia Unveiled N97 Powerful Touch Screen Smartphone

Nokia is the cellular company which dominant share of worldwide cell phones, but recently Apple and Research In motion are current masters of the smartphone category.

On Tuesday, Nokia unveiled N97, a powerful touch screen smartphone that it hopes will not maintain Nokia's worldwide dominance but also increase its share in U.S. market.

The N97 is powered by the Symbian S60 5th edition operating system. Nokia is placarding its N97 as a "mobile computer", consist of many features for the mobile professional.
The large 3.5 inch touch screen coming with 640 by 360 resolution, outclasses the iPhone 3G and BlackBerry Storm. The screen automatically rotate and adjust it self depending on how the users holding it, also with capability of handwriting recognition. The display can be personalized with widgets that give the user one-click access to Web services.

A full slide out QWERTY keyboard that enables user to compose messages and to file in Web addresses. For connectivity, the N97 will have integrated Wi-Fi, EDGE and 3G wireless technologies with up to 3.6 Mbps downlink speed. The WebKit based browser has Adobe Flash Lite 3, give freedom to watch internet videos on popular sites like YouTube.

Built-in GPS, which can be used with cellular data networks for assisted GPS.  This will figure prominently in what Nokia calls So-Lo, a service that uses a customer's location to update social networks automatically and share their location with friends in real time.

It is said that N97 is a multimedia powerhouse, which is quite capable of playing multiple audio and video files. It also will be simpatico with company's Ovi services, which offers streaming music, gaming, navigation, remote file access and other services.

To feel the music plug in their headphones to the standard jack or via Bluetooth stereo headset. N97 comes with 32 GB memory on-broad and can be expanded another 16 GB via a microSD slot.
A 5-megapixel camera with Carl Zeiss optics, consist autofocus and flash.

The handset is expected to be launched by June 2009 for $693 before subsidies and taxes.