HTC Desire HD gets price cut, now Rs.18,990

Remember the Desire HD - one of the first HTC models to sport the speaker grill bar and those curved edges, along with a mammoth display? When it had launched, it managed to generate a good amount of buzz in the Android space. Now, online store seller, Saholic has priced the HTC Desire HD at a cool Rs.18,990. And guess what, the Desire HD is one of the sixteen devices that HTC have announced, which will definitely get the Ice Cream Sandwich update. So, in terms of future proofing, this definitely will not disappoint you. However, the weak points of this phone, include the LCD display, the battery capacity and the lack of a front camera, which might be a potential deal breaker for some people. 

Will you buy it?

For those of you that have forgotten the exact specs of this device, here’s a look again at the specs of the HTC Desire HD:

• 4.3-inch LCD capacitive touchscreen with a 480 x 800 pixel resolution
• 1 GHz Qualcomm MSM8255 processor, 768 MB of RAM
• Android 2.3 Gingerbread (upgradable to ICS)
• 1.5GB internal storage
• 3G, EDGE/GPRS, Wi-Fi
• GPS with A-GPS support
• Bluetooth 2.1 with A2DP, USB 2.0
• 8 megapixel camera with dual LED flash, 720p video recording
• Stereo FM radio with RDS
• Memory expandable up to 32 GB via microSD card
• 3.5 mm handsfree socket
• 1230 mAh Lithuim - ion battery

At this price, you also get the Sony Ericsson Xperia Neo V, the Samsung Galaxy S LCD, the Sony Ericsson Xperia Ray, the LG Optimus Black and the Xperia Active. We were impressed with the Neo V, and the Xperia Active as well. Obviously, the major drawback for the Active out here is the lack of a bigger screen, but it more than made up for that with an IP67 protection.

112 government websites attacked in 3 months

Over the years, government websites have become the target of hackers and in recent times we’ve seen a rise in such events. Recently, Defence Research and Development Organization disclosed that the government websites were attacked 200 times during the Commonwealth Games 2010. This continues as in the last three months 112 government websites were hacked, as per reports by IBNLive. The list of hacked websites hacked or defaced includes the Planning Commission, the Finance Ministry and several State government agencies.

Cyber attack on a rise (Image Credit: Getty Images)

“During the period December 2011 to February 2012, a total number of 112 government websites were hacked,” Minister of State for Communications and IT, Sachin Pilot told the Lok Sabha on Wednesday. He also added that the Department of Information Technology and the National Informatics Centre (NIC), which host major of these government websites have been working at updating their skills to prevent and combat such cyber attacks. To ensure that hackers do not target government websites, firewalls are being upgraded and there has been addition of newer filters. 

The state government websites under attack were from Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Orissa, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Sikkim, Manipur, Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh. Hackers attempted to break into different websites of the Andhra Pradesh government's websites pertaining to finance and justice departments, while a security audit was being conducted at the State Data Centre. Last year the Central Bureau of Investigation website was hacked and took weeks to restore. The Congress website was also hacked, and an Irish government website was hacked to protest against a web law. Hackers tried breaking into the BSNL website, first in July and then in December. A lot of personal information and data would have been at stake if it was successful.

Such increasing attacks on government websites and the alarming numbers need to be curbed as soon as possible. We hope stringent measures are taken to deter such malicious acts.

Sparrow comes over to the iPhone from Mac

Sparrow, an e-mail client for Mac OS made its way over to the iPhone. The app is now available in the iOS App Store for $2.99 (approx Rs.150). Sparrow uses what they call a 'pane navigation' concept for their interface and the app has full IMAP support. This means you can ditch your native Apple Mail client and access your Gmail. Google apps, iCloud, Yahoo, AOL and custom e-mail address right from Sparrow itself. However, the application doesn't support POP or Push, yet. Not having Push might be a turn off for avid phone e-mail users, but Sparrow explained why they left out Push in a blog post.

Sparrow across platforms

The e-mail client said that them not supporting Push has to do with data security. They explain that in order to provide Push service, they need to store user credentials, so they can patrol users' inboxes to provide notifications as necessary. Sparrow, being a start-up, doesn't want to take the responsibility of holding on to user information, especially since they feel they cannot hold on to that information securely. They do however, store Mac users'credentials because Sparrow communicates with mail providers directly over SSL.

Sparrow on iOS

This means that the big difference between Sparrow for iOS and Sparrow for Mac is that the Mac version stays awake all the time but the iOS version goes to 'sleep' after ten minutes of inactivity. However, like applications like Skype and Fring, which allow you to receive calls and messages even when the app has been inactive for a while, Sparrow is trying to use an API which Apple provides to allow this activity during inactivity. Sparrow has already submitted an app using this API, but it was rejected by Apple.

ICS update for Samsung Galaxy Note pushed to Q2

We’re afraid we have some bad news for all Galaxy Note users, as Samsung has pushed back their ICS update for the Galaxy Note till Q2 of this year. Samsung had earlier promised Android 4.0 to the Galaxy S II and the Note in the first quarter, to which, they did release the update for the S II, but for reasons unknown, the Note will have a wait a bit longer. This news comes from the Samsung Norway's Facebook page, which states that ICS will be arriving in Q2.

Still have some waiting to do

One of the main reasons for holding back the update could have something to do with the issues that many users facing with their S II, after the update. The problems involve a lot of lag when scrolling, reduced Wi-Fi performance and other minor niggles, like the inability to resize widgets. This could be the primary reason why Samsung may have held the update back. Rather than receive flak for an improper ICS build, they are probably taking their time to iron out the bugs.

One of the main reasons why Samsung (and the others as well) are taking their sweet time with the updates is because of the heavy skinning involved. They have to customize the interface and at the same time, ensure that it runs smoothly. Samsung haven’t said when in Q3 they’ll be launching the update, so it could be as early as April or it could even be June, we don’t know yet. Other than the phones, Samsung’s tablets, like Tab 750, 730 and 620 should also be getting an ICS update in the coming months, although we haven’t heard anything about this from them as of now. We’ll keep you updated as and when we learn more.

Nokia’s Design Chief Confirms Tablet In The Works

We have been hearing rumors that Nokia are working on a new tablet, which will most likely be a Windows 8 based tablet, and the last thing we heard was that the device would launch in quarter four of 2012.
Now Marko Ahtisaari, who is Nokia’s design chief has confirmed that the company is indeed working on a tablet, the new comes from a Finnish publication which recently interviewed him.

Ahtisaari also told another publication that Nokia are working on a ‘revolutionary phone’, although we don’t have any details on the device we suspect it will be a Windows Phone handset and will probably feature Nokia’s PureView camera technology.

Orange UK To Offer Subsidized New iPad 3

Earlier today we heard that UK mobile carrier Three would offer a subsidized version of the new iPad and now we have some details from another UK carrier, Orange.
Orange will offer the new iPad 3 on a 24 month contract which will cost you £25 a month, and for that you get 1GB of anytime data a month and 1GB of quiet time date, which is from 12 am until 4pm.

The pricing for the new iPad 3 on Orange starts at £199 up front for the 16GB model for existing customers and £229 for new customers, you can see full details below.


You can find out more information about the new iPad 3 on Orange over at their website.

Apple Offering Trade Ins On iPad 2

With the launch of the new iPad 3 scheduled for tomorrow, Apple has started offering trade ins on last years iPad 2 through their reuse and recycling program.
Apple is offering up to $205 for the 16GB WiFi model, and the top 64GB WiFi and 3G model will get you up to $320 in Apple gift cards which can be used against the purchase of the new iPad 3.


There are some companies like Amazon who are offering slightly more for second hand iPad 2′s, and you could probably get more money for it selling the device on eBay or some other auction site, you can find out more information over at Apple.