Here’s a look at this week’s Top 10 tech news.
Contents
Amazon launches Kindle Store and Kindle e-reader in India
In a bid to bring e-reading to the masses in India, Amazon launched its first India Kindle Store, along with its E Ink Kindle e-reader. The Kindle Store will allow readers to buy books in INR and pay via regular Visa or Mastercard. The e-tailer also launched its Kindle e-reader in India, retailing via Croma retail stores. The e-reader can also be ordered online from Croma’s website and has been priced at Rs. 6,999.
Indian government orders blocking of URLs and Twitter accounts
The Indian Government ordered ISPs to block over 300 URLs and asked Twitter to block 16 accounts which were believed to be causing rumour mongering that led to the Assam riots. The move attracted significant backlash from Indian internet users. It was one of the most talked about topics this week and #Emergency2012 was trending along with #GOIBlocks.
Meanwhile, Twitter also blocked an account belonging to India’s Minister of State for communications and IT, Milind Deora, by mistake. The micro blogging giant later unblocked the account and apologized for the error.
Bookmyshow.com gets Rs. 100 crore in funding
Famed Facebook investor Accel Partners have pumped in Rs. 100 crore in Bigtree Entertainment Pvt Ltd, the company which runs Bookmyshow.com.
TOI reported that the online movie booking portal had transactions worth more than Rs. 20 lakh in July 2012. This round of funding may see the portal expanding its footprint onto ticket sales sporting events, concerts and other domains.
Apple becomes the world’s most valued company
Apple began the week with a bang as its shares surged 2.6% to $665.15, making it the most valued company of all time in nominal terms. With a market capitalization of $623.52 billion, Apple edged over Microsoft’s $616.34 billion from 1999. At current levels, Apple’s value is more than 2.4 times Microsoft’s and is approximately $215 billion more than the 2nd most valued company, Exxon Mobil.
Sony Mobile launches Xperia ion in India
Sony Mobile has launched Xperia ion in India. The android based smartphone has a 4.6 inch LCD screen and is powered by a 1.5 GHz dual core processor with additional graphics support by Adreno 220 GPU. The device has 1 GB RAM, 16 GM internal memory, 12 MP rear camera and a 1.3 MP camera in the front. "Xperia ion is the gateway to HD entertainment when and – most importantly – where you want it" said Sony Mobile’s Marketing Head, Prasun Kumar.
Former Infosys VP and CTO join hands to launch Cloudmunch
Pradeep Prabhu, former VP and Prasanna Raghavendra, former CTO at Infosys have launched a new startup called Cloudmunch. Their venture is a Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS), offering clients a platform to test, compile and release their products. The startup aims to allow customers to focus on ‘writing the code’ and use its IT infrastructural services for all other needs in their product cycle. "Focus on code, Cloudmunch the rest", said Prasanna Raghavendra, reported TOI.
Apple wins $1.05 billion in damages from Samsung
A US court has directed Samsung to pay $1.05 billion to Apple for copyright infringement violations. After a long fought legal battle, it emerged that the South Korean conglomerate had copied many of Apple’s patents including the ‘pinch and zoom’ effect amongst many others onto their own devices.
Apple’s win is unprecedented and $1.05 billion is the highest ever payout in a patent case. Despite the verdict, Samsung plans to appeal to a higher court.
Flipkart.com raises $150 million
In its latest round of funding, Flipkart.com raised $150 million from new and existing investors including Tiger Global and Accel Partners. South African mass media giant Nasper pumped in more than $90 million, to become the e-tailer’s second largest shareholder after Tiger Global.
"This round of funding would fuel our growth plans, and help us achieve our stated ambition of hitting $1 billion in gross merchandise value by 2015" said Sachin Bansal, co-founder, Flipkart.com.
Samsung launches Galaxy Note 800 in India
Samsung launched Galaxy Note 800, its latest tablet PC in India. The 10.1 inch tab is powered by a 1.4 GHz quad core processor and 2 GB RAM. The android based tab offers split screen multitasking and comes with a 5 MP primary camera with autofocus along with one a 1.9 MP front camera. Samsung has priced the Galaxy Note 800 at Rs. 39,990.
Microsoft updates its logo for the first time in 25 years
"It has been 25 years since we’ve updated the Microsoft logo and now is the perfect time for a change" said Jeff Hansen, Brand Strategy Manager at Microsoft as the company unveiled an updated logo.
Founded in 1975, this is the first time in 25 years that IT company has decided to update its logo, which the company says, is a result of a ‘new beginning’. The logo is made up of four different coloured squares with neat edges as opposed to its previous one where the squares had rounded and deformed edges, giving a wavy look.
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So there you have it – The top 10 technology news of week…
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