Remember we said, we will be posting the interview with Anca Ventura (Senior Manager Portfolio, Planning & Analytics, Nokia) soon. Well, here it is. This was taken at the Nokia Lumia launch in Karachi, Pakistan. Let’s get on with the interview now.

Q. What is the purpose of this event?

The first thing is the global launch of Nokia smartphones, in particular partnering with Microsoft to bring Lumia product line with Windows Phone. For us, today is very important. We are officially launching Windows 8 phone devices in Pakistan partnering with Microsoft. Windows Phone 8 and Windows 8 is our market point in history for the operating system. You will not only see in the market, devices launch with windows phone 8 but we are expanding 'online' system to increase partnership with Microsoft and other partners.

So in this particular environment, together with Microsoft, we will reveal enterprise solutions in Pakistan and worldwide. We are very confident on our positioning in Pakistan market with our overall focus on having Pakistan as a key market for Nokia and Lumia Devices. We are very confident and very excited about the results we had and we continue to have.

Q. Pakistan market is quiet variant, certain people buy high end devices devices and spend like 500 Euros for a phone, then again there is a large portion of the market which will buy approx. 100 euro phone, whats your strategy to bring smartphone experience for all types of users?

So as you have seen today, Lumia product line addresses 3 price points for the devices we have launched today, Lumia 920, 820 and Lumia 620 addresses low price point. In future, we will ofcourse bring to narket serveral products, which will be announced at a later stage. however as you know we have been launching and sustaining in pakistan very happily Asha smartphone.

Our Asha product line is actually blurring the line between feature phones and smart phones and have been recently classified as smartphones. We are bringing lots of apps, lots of experience points to Asha devices. We have been actually very focused on selling it across the region in Pakistan.

Q. Lets focus on apps market. On windows phone there is no many apps and consistency in development in good apps. e.g. I am myself a dedicated user of Windows phone However I have user carry an android device just to use Instagram. So what is the plan to bring such exculsive apps to Windows Phone devices?

Thankyou very much for asking this question. so first of all on new operating system requiers lots of work and time to team up with Microsoft worldwide and in Pakistan. so we have come up within last year with more than 100,000 new apps. Some apps are more exclusive to Lumia e.g. Redbull app, Vimeo where you have 3 months of free subscription. There are apps which are ofcourse not there, I cannot say a date on behalf of Nokia and Microsoft but rest assured that we are doing everything to get all apps to

In particular you know skype is integreted to Lumia and whatsapp is extremely good experience. and with time there are more new apps coming.

Q. What about nokia services: Nokia Maps and Nokia Drive? They don't work in Pakistan.

I would like to add to your previous question, we have put on to our camera, lots of nokia apps. It has a lens to get the best picture. Secondly, in terms of apps like Nokia Navigation, we have maps apps but as my colleague (Rabia) who is taking care of the developers and ecosystem here in Pakistan, is working with local regulators to get the service working.

We are expecting to make this available soon. I cannot promise a date but we are working on that. Pakistan is a focused market to launch navigation and music services.

Q. Now I want to talk about localized apps. There are services which are exclusively launched for Pakistan e.g. Olaround. Does Nokia has any plans to have them pre-installed in Lumia devices in Pakistan.

I have full list of local apps coming from Pakistan for Windows marketplace. we have certain competition and challenges for developers worldwide and they are the same in Pakistan. We are working with Universities to bring the talent.

One of the challenges is that we have received more than 300 entries from Pakistan. We have prizes for the best developers e.g. the biggest prize of $10,000, every team member gets free Nokia Lumia 920 device, plus an xBox. second prize for $5000 and thirst prize for $3,000. So there is work going on, we have now few 100 of applications from Pakistan.

Q.In regards to you have said that you are trying to get students from universities, which is intriguing that you are getting them interested, however also taking the fact that Nokia has remained market leader in Pakistan, how to do you plan to educate Nokia users to use a Windows phone?

We have a strong retail presence and we are deploying demo and promos on retail stores to give demos and educate the customers on the windows phone, on Lumia and Asha phones. We have very strong focus on deploying on activations in malls, streets, restaurants, cafe's and universities, which detail out the usage and benefits of the using Nokia Lumia Windows 8 Phone. We are fully aware that Windows Phone requires education so once people buy it and experience it – all of our marketing goes into educating people.

Q. Last year Nokia came us with PureView 808 the 41 MP phone, this year Nokia seems to have changed the game and came up with a Windows phone with a good camera. Could you explain what exactly is the idea behind PureView – is it the large camera or a better lens?

PureView stands for the best low-light images without flash so this is not about the megapixels but its about the pixellations you get in different type of light conditions. Nokia Lumia 920 is one of the product from our total product line and there will be more innovative products in future with better ideas and will be announced in time to come.

Q. Will they focus on Windows Phone or will Nokia try something new?

You have seen the three strategic product lines. One is Nokia is spending on Lumia devices for high end and mid ranged options, then we have the asha smart phones, the third is future devices. We have lots of ideas for Lumia and Asha products as well so you will have to wait and watch for what’s upcoming.

Q. What about launching new Nokia devices in Pakistan, Lumia 920 was annouced about 3.5 months ago. Why, not release the device in Pakistan along with global launch?

The first launch in this region was at the end of last year in UAE and Saudi Arabia, and there was a strong focused launch in beginning based on our strategy. Paksitan is part of UAE group however there was a slight delay in global and official launch and we are hopping that in upcoming launch we have events simultanously in large no. of countries.

There are multiple market factors which are involved and don't need to overlooked. Pakistan will continue to be our key focused in mere future, for MEA region and global launches.

Q. How to do differentiate your campaign with samsung and other competitors in Pakistan?

Our marketing campaign will follow the launch and you will see our Nokia Lumia marketing by the end of next month.

After a few delays, Nokia Pakistan finally had their most-awaited Switch to Lumia event in Karachi on 12th February 2013. This event marked the official launch of the current Lumia series of devices by Nokia in Pakistan — and it is safe to say Nokia has been the only manufacturer in Pakistan to officially bring Windows Phone 8 devices.

Nokia launched the new high-end Nokia Lumia 920, the mid-range Lumia 820 and the budget model Lumia 620 in an amazing event held in Karachi. Several media representatives and bloggers from all over Pakistan (including us) were invited to attend the launch ceremony. The last time we were invited, it was the very first global launch event by Nokia from Pakistan. The new Nokia Lumia series has been launched in partnership with Moblink, and is now available across Pakistan on selected stores. More on this after the jump.

This grand event had an amazing set up, along with an equally impressive lineup of speakers for the evening. Let’s take a brief look at what was discussed at the launch event. For those interested, the official press release has been attached in the end.

Alessandro Lamanna

Alessandro Lamanna (Vice-President, Marketing – IMEA at Nokia) explained how confident he was with the Lumia products and how important these products are for Nokia. He explained how Nokia and Windows phone 8 together made perfect sense: optimization, pleasing built quality and attractive screen. He made sure Nokia is committed to Pakistan and this is why they are launching not two, but three Lumia products with all the accessories – most importantly, wireless charging.

Dunia Othman

Then came Dunia (Marketing Manager, Nokia Near East) who mainly talked about the new flagship product by Nokia, the Lumia 920. She explained the features and how the new WP8 takes usability to a whole new level. She emphasized how smooth its UI was, and we totally agree with her. Our first reason to fell in love with Windows Phone 8 was its simple and fluid UI which no other smartphone OS offers so far. According to Dunia, Nokia engineers made sure that during scrolling and browsing through different menus in Lumia phones did not lag.

Next, she gave a quick demo of the new sensitive touchscreen of the Lumia 920. She presented herself by using hand gloves with the Nokia Lumia 920 and showed the phone is capable of being used easily in cold conditions.

Nokia Lumia devices will be available to Pakistani market in various eye-catching colours and briefly mentioned other compatible devices.

Arsalan Zia Qureshi

Head of Mobilink Corporate Sales, Arsalan Zia Qureshi, came up the stage to announce introduction of Nokia Lumia devices in specific Mobilink Business Centers across Pakistan. Mobilink has always planned and brought pleasing and attractive smartphone devices at amazing prices for its customers. We have already seen that with Mobilink introducing several smartphones from Samsung, HTC and BlackBerry. They are confident having a partnership with Nokia.

Salman Siddiqui

Salman Siddiqui (Country General Manager, Microsoft Pakistan) came next and added how Nokia is glad with the new product line and expect it to be a success amongst other smart phones. He explained, Nokia with similar aesthetics and technology in their new line up would give a unique, uniform and easy access to information across computers, tablets (hint: Nokia tablets might be next!) and Nokia phones. He mentioned that Nokia has done exceptional job by introducing Windows Phone 8 which works with strong hardware specifications.

Event Gallery

Our interview with Anca Ventura (Senior Manager Portfolio, Planning & Analytics, Nokia) will be published soon. Keep checking back! And like we mentioned earlier, here is the official press release of the Nokia Lumia event:

Nokia Launches its Amazing Range of Windows Phone 8 Devices in Pakistan

The new Lumia range delivers distinctive experiences through its revolutionary technology and gear accessories

Karachi – 12^th February, 2013: Nokia Pakistan introduced the highly anticipated Lumia range powered by Windows Phone 8 in the country today. The device portfolio which was unveiled here consists of flagship device Nokia Lumia 920, Nokia Lumia 820 and Nokia Lumia 620.With the latest range of Lumia Windows 8 devices, Nokia Pakistan is all set to lead the change for the Windows Phone ecosystem with its Lumia differentiators.

Speaking on the launch, Alessandro Lamanna, vice-president marketing – IMEA (India, Middle East, Africa) at Nokia said, “We are focused on redefining the future of smart devices and continue to invest towards delivering truly compelling experiences to consumers across price points. With the launch of Lumia Windows Phone 8 range, we aim to usher an era of unique innovations in the smart phone market. The announcement today is yet another giant leap in the remarkable progress we have made against our strategy announced in February 2011." He further added, "We are working with partners across the board to take the Lumia experience to more and more consumers faster. The roll out of not two, but three devices marks not just our intent and agility, but also reflects our commitment to our consumers in Pakistan. With a range of accessories and partnerships to bring wireless charging outside the home, we are also boosting wireless charging into the mainstream. All this innovation adds up to one thing – it's Time to Switch to Lumia!"

Commenting on the occasion, Salman Siddiqui, country lead – Channel Sales, Microsoft Pakistan said, "With Windows Phone 8 we created a new way to think about smartphones, one that puts people at the center. With the same look and feel, the same technology core and cloud service, Windows Phone is built to work seamlessly with Windows 8, you can learn it once and use it everywhere. From Tablet to PC to phone, it is all there for you whenever and however you want it. Nokia has done a phenomenal work to bring Windows Phone to life with truly stunning hardware, there is a phone for everyone, these phones are colorful, different and diverse."

At the occasion, Arsalan Zia Qureshi, head of corporate sales (South), Mobilink, added, "Mobilink continues to remain at the forefront of bringing the latest in cellular technology to our customers. The launch of the Lumia series together with Mobilink adds to the long range of Nokia handsets that our customers have been able to reliably purchase from Mobilink's selected business centers. Mobilink's partnership with Nokia ensures that our customers have access to the latest cellular technology at competitive prices and bundled with the most attractive offers."

Nokia Lumia 920

Nokia Lumia 920 includes the latest advances in Nokia PureView imaging innovation. Using advanced floating lens technology, its camera takes in five times more light than competing smartphones without using flash, making it possible to capture clear, bright pictures and video indoors and at night. It also introduces optical image stabilization for the clearest, brightest pictures and video even when shooting indoors or at night.  Additionally, Nokia Lumia 920 is the first integrated wireless charging smartphone, with the technology built right into the handset.

All of these features won numerous accolades for the handset such as Gizmodo Australia – Best Mobile Phone of 2012, Readers Choice Award, International Forum Design, Germany – if Award for Outstanding Design, Mashable – Top 25 Tech of 2012, The Next Web – Best Smartphones of 2012 among others. Nokia Lumia 920 will be available in yellow, red, black, and white.

Nokia Lumia 820

Nokia Lumia 820 is a stylish, mid-range smartphone that delivers high-end performance in a compact package. Microsoft's unique productivity offerings also make Nokia Lumia 820 the obvious smartphone choice for any type of business.  While the Nokia Lumia 820 has the same uni-body look and feel as the high end Lumia smartphones, it comes with exchangeable shell covers in a range of vibrant colors, including the option to add wireless charging. Like the Nokia Lumia 920, the Nokia Lumia 820 also boasts the world’s most sensitive touchscreen and Nokia ClearBlack display technology, ensuring easy visibility in the brightest sunlight. Nokia Lumia 820 will come in red, yellow, cyan, white and black.

Nokia Lumia 620

More fun and more youthful, the Nokia Lumia 620 uses a new dual-shot color technique to deliver a variety of striking color and texture effects.  With five different exchangeable shells to choose from, people can adapt the look of their Nokia Lumia 620 to their own personal taste and style. With NFC support, the Nokia Lumia 620 can easily share and receive content by tapping with compatible devices. Nokia Lumia 620 will come in magenta, yellow, cyan, white and black.

Wireless charging

Nokia also announced a wide range of wireless charging partnerships and accessories, each designed to meet the needs of different people. These include:

• The quirky Nokia Recharge Pillow by Fatboy that provides the perfect place to lay down your Lumia for a power nap.
• The sleek and minimalistic Nokia Wireless Charging Plate and the Nokia Wireless Charging Stand that are extremely simple to use come in different colors to match your Lumia.
• JBL PowerUP for Nokia, the world's first wireless charging docking station featuring NFC and Bluetooth connectivity in old-fashioned retro styling.
• The JBL Play UP Portable, a portable speaker specially made to complement Lumia smartphones. It uses Bluetooth and NFC to wireless stream music from a Lumia.

All the Nokia Lumia WP8 devices come packed with signature Lumia features that deliver the best experience on the WP platform

We are invited to a number of launch events and we have almost attended all of them, and being in Pakistan we have always been part of launch events for devices that are about to be launched in Pakistan.

Thanks to Nokia Pakistan, for the first time ever, a new Nokia phone announcement was made from Pakistan at a global launch event held at Marriott Hotel, Karachi last week.

This was a media event held just for the traditional media, newspapers/magazines and online media (this is where we come in!). Sizzled Core, along with a bunch of other bloggers around Pakistan were invited to be a part of this grand event.

Nokia's decision to choose Pakistan for the global launch of their upcoming devices was a clear sign of how important Pakistani market is for Nokia. Nokia envisions to connect the next billion people with the newly launched Nokia 110 and Nokia 112. Great presentations, and overview of how strong the telecommunications industry is in Pakistan, dance, music, fireworks… This was all part of the Nokia event.

Nokia has the biggest app store in Pakistan which includes 2,000,000+ weekly downloads on average! Almost all of media fro mPakistan is accessible on the Nokia Store – apps include: Geo, Aaj TV, Dawn News, Express Tribune, ARY News, Radio Pakistan etc.

Some really cool local applications are also available, such as Cricket, Ludo, Toffee TV etc. Islamic apps on the App store have millions of downloads. There are over 400 local apps, with 200+ Pakistan developers contributing to the Nokia App store which bring the download count of the Pakistani content to over 17 million!

These statistics and figures were shared by the three key speakers of the main event – Imran Khalid Mahmood, Saulo Passos and Calin Turcanu. The event had global and regional spokesperson from Nokia to share their thoughts on emerging markets and the new devices. Let’s take a brief intro to each of these speakers.

Imran Khalid Mahmood

Imran Khalid Mahmood is the VP, Near East, Nokia Corporation. In his line of duty he is responsible for heading the sales strategy for Nokia in this region. He is the frontrunner of all measurable KPIs and maintains a strict vigilance over them which are the main reason for Nokia's success and popularity in this region.

Saulo Passos

Saulo Passos is the Global Director Mobile Phone Communications at Nokia, based in London, England. As part of the global Mobile Phones leadership team, his main focus targets the Next Billion strategy, a Nokia effort to connect more people to the internet, using a mobile device as the leading path.

Calin Turcanu

Starting from August, 2011, Calin Turcanu is the Head of Mobile Phones Business Unit, Nokia India, Middle East & Africa and overseessales, marketing and business development of Nokia devices in the region. Calin is actively involved in developing business strategies to ensure market success of key Nokia devices and strengthen Nokia's brand presence in the region at the same time.

Remember the dance and music I mentioned earlier? Check out the photo below.

We’ll try to get a full video coverage for you to watch it as well. This performance was just before the Nokia team unveiled their new Nokia 110 and Nokia 112.

These new devices will be available in Pakistan and soon after into rest of the world, starting from the end of May. Prices of these new Nokia phones were one of them ain concerns by the attendees there. Nokia 110 is priced at Rs. 3800 and Nokia 112 will be available for Rs. 4000. Very affordable, isn’t it?

Nokia is continuously working on making the value rich features affordable to all price points – Nokia 110 and Nokia 112 are great examples of how even the entry-level Nokia devices don't just offer optimized and affordable internet but at the same time flaunt a stylish design that will cater to a variety of lifestyles.

These devices will prove to be a true enabler in providing the people of Pakistan and the consumers from other growing economies with their first internet experience on mobile phone. Having internet on mobile phone opens up doors for new opportunities for the masses and helps them follow their dreams.

Now, we expect Nokia to make a bigger global launch announcement from Pakistan next time!

Windows 8 Consumer Preview has just been launched by Microsoft and is now available for download. You can grab the 32-bit and 64-bit download from the Windows 8 website.

When you download Windows 8, Microsoft is also giving out Windows 8 product/activation keys that you can use with the Consumer Preview release.

Windows 8 Consumer Preview Product Keys (32-bit & 64-bit)

Here is a list of keys that Microsoft has on the website for everyone to use:

DNJXJ-7XBW8-2378T-X22TX-BKG7J
NF32V-Q9P3W-7DR7Y-JGWRW-JFCK8

You can download Windows 8 Consumer Preview from the download link below:

Download Windows 8 Consumer Preview

Nokia N9 is one of the most beautiful devices Nokia has ever made. The shape, its body – every aspect of the phone speaks out how much Nokia has put into the phone. The new (not so new now) Nokia N9 is an elegant device that runs on Meego, a Linux-based Operating System, which Nokia has now killed down.

I have been playing with the device for a while now, and in a few words, I ‘d like to sum it up that if you want a phone to impress people, then this is the one to get you should get.

Top 15 Nokia N9 Applications

Moving on, I have covered here the top 5 Nokia N9 apps I have found interesting and one dating app. These apps do not fall into any criteria whatsoever. These are the ones I mostly used during my playtime with the Nokia N9. And, this is not all. We are soon bringing a full review of the phone!

Foursquare

World Clock

File Manager

Sound Recorder

The Flashlight

Bord

Call Recorder

Deformer

Camera Pro

Compass

Battery Usage

Simple Mirror

Sports Tracker

Speed Display

You can download all these apps from the Ovi Store app on your Nokia N9.

Google Galaxy Nexus, the hottest Android phone, just launched at Verizon yesterday is now available to buy in the US for $300 (on contract). Well, we got our hands on the device and took some photos and made a quick hands-on video of the Galaxy Nexus.

Galaxy Nexus is one of the most powerful phones at this time with the latest Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich on it. It sports a beautiful 4.7-inch Contour display, HD Super AMOLED screen, 1.2GHz dual-core processor, 5 megapixels camera etc.

You can see our hands-on photos and videos of the Google Galaxy Nexus below.

Google Galaxy Nexus Photos

Google Galaxy Nexus Video

PlayStation 3 controllers (Sixaxis and DualShock 3) can now be used on Android phone to play games or just navigate through the phone!

Sixaxis Controller is a paid Android app for rooted phones that allows you to use your PS3 controller with your phone. The best part is, this app is also compatible with PlayStation emulators available in the Android Market.

TeamAndroid.com has covered an extensive tutorial/guide on how you can connect your PS3 controller using Sixaxis Controller Android app. It works with both, Sixaxis and DualShock 3 controllers.

If you have a high-end phone with HDMI output, you can play PlayStation games with a PS3 controller, using an Android phone. An entire console in your hands. Awesome, eh?

Download Sixaxis Controller

You can grab the Sixaxis Controlller app from Android Market: Download Sixaxis Controller

Facebook Messenger for iPhone and Android was released a couple of days back which is a standalone app for messaging to your Facebook friends and mobile contacts.

The app was released for iPhone and Android first, but according to the Help pages on Facebook, Facebook Messenger will soon be making its way to BlackBerry devices as well.

This app is a direct competitor to BlackBerry Messenger and WhatsApp (both of them used on BlackBerry a lot), and now Facebook wants to dominate that area as well.

Messenger is available on iPhone and Android devices, and will soon be available on Blackberries. To get the app, search for "Facebook Messenger" in your phone's app store.

No release period or dates have been given, but we believe the app is still in development and will be released soon. Even if you don’t have Facebook Messenger on BlackBerry, you can still reply to messages from Chat, Messages on Facebook website or text messages.

Via Facebook Help.

The latest dev release of Chrome 15 just brought a brand new “New Tab” for Google Chrome. You can see it in the screenshot above.

Google has made multiple interfaces for Most visited, Apps and Bookmarks screens. You can access them all from the bottom of the page, along with a drop-down list of “Recently closed” pages.

You can also navigate through the three main pages by clicking the right and left arrows. This new interface is still in development and it may not be available in the final version. Bookmarks page shows a “Bookmarks coming soon…” which shows that they will be added in their coming releases.

Download Google Chrome 15

You can download Google Chrome 15 (dev release) from here: Download Google Chrome 15

Facebook has just launched their Facebook Messenger for Mobile, a standalone messaging app for smartphones. According to Mashable, Facebook will be rolling out several new features to its Facebook Chat feature.

Now you can send messages directly to your friends on their mobile phones, so you stay in touch no matter where you go. Message friends using Facebook Messenger for Mobile or anyone in your mobile contacts. This looks more of an approach like WhatsApp, BlackBerry Messenger etc.

Messaging is now even faster and you don’t have to be online in Facebook Chat all the time just to chat with friends. You can stay offline in Facebook Chat and still chat with friends using the mobile app.

Facebook Messenger for Mobile also supports group conversations, to make plans on the go and you can also share photos. I’m guessing, Facebook would soon be releasing video chat features as well to the mobile apps.

Try Facebook Messenger for Mobile Now!

Facebook Messenger is already available for iPhone and Android in their respective app markets.

Via Team Android

A Guide to Taming Privacy Concerns Around Google+ – ZoneAlarm Blog has put together an interesting 6-step guide for new people joining Google+ and how they can protect their privacy on a social network that claims to have way more privacy controls than Facebook, yet you can’t have private profiles.

Google+ now has 20 million users worldwide in just 2-3 weeks after it’s launch in their invite-only field test. And as it grows, the concern for privacy and keeping yourself protected from cyber-criminals also increase.

Check out the various steps below to ensure your privacy is safe on Google+.

Apple has just released iOS 4.3.5 iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch. You can download iOS 4.3.5 IPSW files from the direct download links we have given after the jump.

A few weeks back, Apple patched the JailbreakMe 3.0 PDF exploit and released iOS 4.3.4 – and with this latest iOS 4.3.5 software update, Apple has fixed a security issue.

According to the official changelog for iOS 4.3.5, this is a security update and is recommended that all iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch users install this update soon (of course, not those who have a jailbroken device).

It is still yet to be found out if you can jailbreak iOS 4.3.5 yet, or not.

Download iOS 4.3.5 for iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch

You can download the official iOS 4.3.5 IPSW files from the given links below:

• iPhone 3GS
• iPhone 4 (GSM)
• iPhone 4 (CDMA)
• iPad
• iPad 2
• iPod Touch 3G
• iPod Touch 4G

Google introduced the new dark Google bar with the announcement of their new social network, Google+. Several design changes were also introduced to all of the Google services and websites.

Many people welcomed the new Google bar and liked the darker look at the top, but many didn’t and wanted to revert back to the classic Google bar at the top, the white colour one.

Google Light Navbar is a free userscript that you can use on Firefox, Chrome and Opera. It allows you to revert back to the old Google bar in white colour ,and would also allow you to change the colour to your liking.

You will be able to customize the bar with the colours you want.

Download Google Light Navbar script

How to Install Userscripts

The following articles may help you if you need to know how to run userscripts in your browser.

• How to install userscripts in Firefox
• How to install userscripts in Google Chrome
• How to install userscripts in Opera
• How to install userscripts in Mac OS X

Microsoft offer tons of Windows 7 themes and you can download and use those Windows themes for free. However, Microsoft doesn’t allow third-party themes to make major changes to your OS.

You can still manage to do so, by tweaking and patching some system files i.e uxtheme.dll, themeui.dll, themeservice.dll. Universal Theme Patcher is a free utility which patches these 3 files so you can download custom Windows 7 themes and use them on your computer.

Universal Theme Patcher – Patch uxtheme.dll, themeui.dll, themeservice.dll

Download Universal Theme Patcher for Windows 7 (32-bit and 64-bit) from here to patch uxtheme.dll, themeui.dll, themeservice.dll files which will allow you to install and use third-party Windows 7 themes.

Note: This utility requires administrative rights. Turn UAC off before using this.

Facebook just launched the long-rumoured video calling in-collaboration with Skype. They have also announced group chat and a few other improvements to Messages.

The video call feature will roll out to users in a few weeks. You can still try out the video call feature – only if you would like to try.

How to Try Facebook Video Calling Now

Follow the steps below to try out the new Facebook video calling feature:

• Visit this page on Facebook, and click the Get Started button.
• It will now ask you to set up for the first time.
• Install the Facebook video calling app/plug-in that will pop up. Your friend will have to install as well.
• Once it is installed you should now be ready to try out the new Facebook video calling feature with your friends!

If your friend doesn’t answer the video call or is unavailable, you can even record a video message and leave for him to see later.

Another Google+ tip. Chrome extension, to be precise. You can now add a small notification checker extension in Google Chrome which displays your new notifications number and will take you to Google+.

Not just this. This extension now also supports desktop notifications and sound. Google+ Notification Checker is a very simple Chrome extension that displays the number of unread notifications in Google+.

Download Google+ Notification Checker

You can download this Chrome extension from here: Download Google+ Notification Checker

Google’s new dark bar when combined with your Google+ profile could become very powerful from where you can check your notifications, share new updates, photos, videos or access your settings.

When working, like when writing an important document in Google Docs, the red notifications box in the new Google bar might get a bit distracting. If it does for you, you can easily turn them off when using Google Chrome.

Hide Google+ Notification from Google Bar

I have come across a Chrome extension that lets you hide the red notification box from the new Google bar. A very simple Chrome extension that does what it is suppose to do. Download Hide Google+ Notification extension for Chrome and then open (or refresh) any of the opened Google sites.

You will not see the red Google+ notification anymore.

Google uses your +1’s and other profile information to personalize your content and ads on non-Google websites, including applications or other clients. You can choose to disable this option and see the non-personalized version of content and ads.

If you disable +1 personalization, you will not see +1 recommendations from people you know when visiting those sites.

How to Disable +1 Personalization on Non-Google Sites

• Click on your email address in the new Google bar.
• Go to “Account settings”
• Under Google +1, click on ‘Edit’.
• Select the second option ‘Disable’ and save your settings!

We have already shared tons of Google+ tips and tricks. Well, here is another one. Google+ also has keyboard shortcuts like Gmail and other Google services.

I have compiled a list of all the Google+ keyboard shortcuts I found. There might be more, which I’ll add as soon as I find them. See the Google+ keyboard shortcuts after the jump!

Google+ Keyboard Shortcuts

• j: In the stream, move down.
• k: Move up.
• @ or +: mention someone in a post
• q: Add people to Google Talk list.
• Tab: To scroll through comments on a post.
• Enter: When reading a post, hit ‘Enter’ to open the comment box.
• Tab+Enter: Post comment!

These are the keyboard shortcuts for Google+ I know of. If you know more, drop a comment below.

Everyone has been waiting for the iPad 2 jailbreak for a long time, and all we could know was the devs are working on the jailbreak iPad 2 exploit and it will be released ‘soon’, but time frame was given. Well, to our rejoice, JailbreakMe 3.0 has been leaked. You can now download Jailbreak 3.0 PDF exploit and jailbreak your iPad 2 on iOS 4.3.3 / 4.2.1.

Comex has not said anything about this leak, but the JailbreakMe 3.0 iPad 2 jailbreak exploit seems to be working just fine. The Chronic Dev Team and Geohot are also working on an iPad 2 jailbreak. Continue reading below for the steps to jailbreak iPad 2 with Jailbreak 3.0 download.

How to Jailbreak iPad 2 on iOS 4.3.3 / 4.2.1 with JailbreakMe 3.0

You can jailbreak iPad 2 on iOS 4.3.3 / 4.2.1, thanks to the JailbreakMe 3.0 exploit leaked over the internet. Follow the steps below:

NOTE: Make sure you have an iPad 2 running iOS 4.3.3 or iOS 4.2.1.

1. Launch Safari (browser) on your iPad 2.

2. Type the following in the URL box:

http://ryanlobbins.com/Saiz/saffron/iPad_4.3_8F191.pdf

3. Download the PDF file, and it will jailbreak your iPad 2.

4. Now, restart your iPad 2 and wait till it starts (might take a few minutes).

5. You should now have Cydia on your home screen.

Watch the video below to see a live demo on how to jailbreak iPad 2:

NOTE: This is a LEAKED EXPLOIT and is just for educational and informational purposes only. We are not to be held responsible for any misuse or any iPad 2 malfunctioning.

The new dark Google bar is already a really cool navigation bar when combined with Google+ and it has one of the best notifications area I have ever seen.

You can now integrate these notifications in your Google Chrome browser. In this way, you won’t have to be on a Google website in order to access your notifications. You will be notified and can check for new notifications while surfing any website.

Integrate Google+ Notifications in Google Chrome

Download Surplus Chrome extension and install it in your Google Chrome. After the extension is installed, it would show you the icon next to other Chrome extensions. Click on it for the box to pop open and show you your Google+ notifications.

A very simple, but quiet useful Chrome extension. Have fun!

Google+ currently allows sharing posts only within itself – on your own Google+ profile. Thanks to a Chrome extension, you can enhance this functionality and add an option to share on Facebook and Twitter as well.

Most people when share posts would love to share it with their Facebook and Twitter friends as well, because most of their friends and contacts are still on Facebook and have not yet been able to join Google+.

How to Share from Google+ to Facebook and Twitter

Google+ does not have a quick way sharing your posts to Twitter and Facebook, this extension will add a link “Send to …” to each post. Once clicked, it will bring up an internal dialog asking you where to share your post.

Download Extended Share for Google Plus extension and install it. Then open Google+ to see the new changes made.

Google introduced the new dark Google navigation bar at the top of all the Google services, and it turns into your quick update and access to notifications for Google+ after signing up for it.

When you scroll down to look for more updates in Google+, sometimes you go so down and when you have to scroll up just to access the Google bar, it gets annoying. You can now fix the Google navigation bar at the top of the screen as you scroll down as much as you want.

There is a simple trick to fix the new Google+ bar at the top of the screen. Download Google CSS tricks extension for Google Chrome and install that. Now when you visit Google+ and scroll down, the Google+ bar will stay fixed at the top of your screen.

This Chrome extension makes some changes to the main Google.com website as well for better usability. You can see this extension live in action in the screenshot above!

Google+ is the next big thing trying to take over the social network game on the Internet. Google+ revolves around circles (friend lists), hangouts (groups) and sparks (interesting stuff). A very neat and clean interface. I’m already in love with it.

We’ve been sharing various Google+ tips and tricks since morning, and here is another one. You can get a big Chrome app shortcut link for Google+ to quickly access it from Google Chrome.

Get Google+ App Shortcut in Chrome

I myself use the Chrome apps area to quickly access my favourite websites. You can do the same with Google+ as well. It is certainly faster than typing the complete URL (plus.google.com) in the address box.

Download and install Google Plus shortcut app for Google Chrome. It quickly takes you to Google+ without having to type the URL in the URL box. You can see it in action in the screenshot above.

This is something we’ve been trying to get rid off since Facebook. Random, anonymous or mostly unwanted friends tag you in photos where you really don’t want to be tagged.

Google+ sorts out this issue with a very neat option in privacy settings and all thanks goes to circles in Google+.

Disable Photo Tagging in Google+ by People You Don’t Know

Follow the simple steps below to disable photo tagging by random people in Google+.

1. Click on the gear icon at top-tight and go to Google+ settings.

2. Scroll to the bottom and look for Photos.

3. Under “People whose tags of you are automatically approved to link to your Profile:”, you will see “Your circles” circle added in the list.

4. Remove that circle and customize/add friends/circles according to what you want. Leave the box blank if you want to completely disable photo tagging by anyone else on your photos.

It has been a very busy day with new features being uncovered in Google+. After tons of other Google+ tricks, we now have something for those who like to highlight and format their text while updating status.

This trick is very simple and works in the same way as in Google Talk. The list to bold, underline and italicize your text is given below.

How to Use Rich-Text Formatting Features in Google+

You can type in bold, strike or italics in Google+. Awesome, eh? Use the following to write you text in that way.

• Write your text between * * for bold.
• Write your text between – – for strike.
• Write your text between _ _ for italics.

Thank you Badar Khushnood for sharing this tip!

Google+ has some pretty decent privacy options for users to set how and what part of their profile should be visible to others. Just like how you can hide friends list on Facebook, you can do the same on Google Plus as well.

Hiding your Google+ circles from general public will stop stalkers from creeping on your profile, just in search for new contacts to add to their Google+ circles. Continue reading below to know how to hide your circles.

How to Hide Friends in Google+ Circles

It’s quite easy. See the simple steps below to hide your Google+ circles:

1. Go to Google+ Profile.
2. Click on the blue “Edit Profile” button.
3. On the left side of the page, under your profile photo, click on the Circles box.
4. Uncheck both the options: “Show people in” and “Show people who have added you to circles”.
5. Click the blue ‘Save’ button.
6. Now click on “Done Editing”.

That’s it! You Google+ friends in circles are not visible anymore! You can tweak this setting according to what you want to show to the public.

One of the strongest points that Facebook has over Google Plus at the moment are the privacy settings and controls it offers its users. Google+ has a decent Privacy dashboard to tweak and set what  part of content you want to show to which Google+ circle, but again, it took years for Facebook to get this (kinda) right and Google+ will take time too.

You can go through the privacy options and set what part of your profile is to be visible to what people. You can completely hide everything, or set as you want. How to do that? Read below.

How to Edit Google+ Privacy Settings for Profile Visibility

You can follow the steps below to edit your privacy settings for Google+ circles:

1. Go to Google+ Profile.
2. Click on the blue “Edit Profile” button.
3. Now click on any box to edit content and profile visibility settings.
4. When you are done, click the “Done Editing” box at the top to save your edits!

Google is slowly bringing all the Facebook features and experience right on Google+. Apart from the usual notifications in Google Bar, email notifications and mobile push notifications – you can also get SMS notifications on your phone!

These SMS notifications are not enabled by default. Just like Facebook SMS notifications, you will have to add your phone number so that Google could send you Google+ notifications.

How to Get Google+ SMS Notifications

NOTE: SMS notifications are currently only for the US and India.

Follow the steps below to enable your free Google+ SMS notifications:

• Go to Google+ settings (click the gear icon at top right).
• Under “Set delivery preferences”, look for the option for Phone.
• Click on the option “Add phone number”.
• Choose your country from US or India. Enter your number and click Send for verification code.
• Verify, and you should be able to get Google+ SMS notifications now on any phone!

Google+ is the latest attempt by Google to get into the game of social networks. Google+ revolves around circles (friend lists), hangouts (groups) and sparks (interesting stuff). A very neat and clean interface. I’m already in love with it.

A few users have already been tweaking with CSS and trying to make Google+ even better with their own custom designs and Google Plus themes that you can also use for changing your Google+ theme interface. Download free Google+ themes from below!

So far, there has been only one Google+ (Plus) theme and I’m sure, more are on their way. I’ll compile a list of all the available cool themes for Google+ for free download. If you remember, we also wrote about Orkut themes and Facebook themes long time ago.

So let’s go with the list of free Google+ themes for download:

Google+ Theme: Facebook Theme

You can download Facebook theme for Google+ from here: Download Google+ Theme – Facebook

More Google+ themes will be added here as soon as they are available for download! Let us know if you find any cool ones.

Google+ launched a few days back, and since then everyone has been comparing the new social network with Facebook. Well, of course, now there are some Google+ fans, and some still like Facebook and might don’t want to move away from there.

But for those, who love both ,and would love to see Facebook-ish interface on Google+ (Plus), we’ll here is an amazing theme for you to enjoy for Google+. Screenshot above.

Turn Google+ into Facebook with Google Plus Theme

Thanks to CSS, the designer Fabio Giolito has designed the first Google+ theme – which makes Google+ looks a lot like Facebook. It is a userscript addon that you will need to add to your browser though another extensions that enables you to run userscripts i.e Greasemonkey of Firefox.

How to Install Userscripts

The following articles may help you if you need to know how to run userscripts in your browser.

• How to install userscripts in Firefox
• How to install userscripts in Google Chrome
• How to install userscripts in Opera
• How to install userscripts in Mac OS X

Via Mashable.

Google+ pushes out notifications to your mobile devices through push notifications on Android and iPhone. Of course, they are very useful and eat a lot less battery than a service running in the background eating most of your batter.

Push Notifications for Google+ can get annoying sometimes, specially if you have a lot of activity going on in your account. How to disable push notifications? Read below.

How to Disable Push Notifications for Google Plus

You can disable Google+ push notifications by following the steps below:

• Go to Google+ settings (click the gear icon at top right).
• Under “Set delivery preferences”, look for the option for push notifications.
• Select the option “Don’t notify me”.

That’s it! Your settings will be instantly saved and push notifications will now stop.

Also: Download Google+ Android App APK, Directly for Users Outside US

Google Calendar has just rolled out the new interface and have given a facelift to their classic old look. Just like all the other Google apps and services getting an interface update, Calendar is no different. The concept behind the new look is the same: focus, elasticity, effortlessness.

The changes don’t stop here. According to Google, this is just the first in the series of changes they will be making in their products.

How to Turn Off New Look in Google Calendar

If you’re having problems with the new look in Google Calendar, and would like to go back to the old classic look, read the simple steps below.

In Google Calendar, click on the gear icon (top right corner) and choose “Use the classic look”. This will change your interface back to the old classic look of Google Calendar. Do the same if you want to turn on the new look again.

Here is a quick summary by Google of what has been changed in the new Google Calendar look.

• The Quick add function is now under the down arrow next to the Createbutton
• Calendars selected for viewing in your My calendars and Other calendars lists will no longer display with a colored background; instead, only the arrows next to them will be colored.
• The Print and Refresh buttons are now icons rather than text links. The Print button shows a printer, and the Refresh icon is a circular arrow.
• Visual indicator icons (alarm clock icon for events with reminders, person icon for events with guests, etc.) will only show when the event is hovered over.
• The My calendars and Other calendars lists on the left are now collapsed by default and may be expanded using the small gray arrow. Once expanded, they will remain expanded on refresh or open.
• The mini month view calendar under the Create button is collapsible using the small gray arrow.
• The Save and Discard buttons and Back to calendar link are only available at the top of the event page, not the bottom.

In the last two days, there has been a lot of new design changes, product launches and other stuff happening at Google. After Google+, Google Bar, Google Profile – then ext Google product to get a facelift is Gmail.

The official Gmail blog has posted a preview of what we will be seeing on Gmail in the coming few months. A brand new, cleaner interface that is as beautiful as powerful Gmail is.

To give a sneak peak of the new upcoming Gmail designs, Google has released two new Themes for Gmail – Preview and Preview (Dense). These new themes will be exactly of what Gmail is going to becoming in the coming few months. You can see the screenshots below of the two upcoming Gmail designs.

You can change to these themes from the Themes tab in Gmail settings.

Via Gmail Blog.

The launch of Google+ has brought updates and changes to many of other Google services as well. Google Profiles in one such service. Google Profiles already got a facelift a few weeks back, but that was all part of the bigger picture – the Google+ project.

You can now add to connect your Facebook, Twitter, Yahoo!, LinkedIn, Flickr, Hotmail with Google Profile. How to do that? Continue reading after the jump.

How to Add Other Social Accounts to Google Profile

Well, it’s pretty easy with the new interface for Google Profiles. Follow the steps below to add your other social network accounts to Google Profile.

1. On the new Google bar, click on your name.

2. From the drop-down menu, go to “Account settings”.

3. Now from the left side menu, go to “Connected accounts”.

4. Click on “Connect an account” to add more accounts to your Google Profile.

What are the advantages of connecting more social networks?

We use Google to search each and everything. Thanks to the feature of connecting more of your accounts with Google Profile, there are several advantages you need to know. Read below:

• When you search, you can see relevant content your friends share on the web.
• You make it easier for them to find the stuff you share on the web.
• You can choose which accounts to show on your public Google Profile.

Skype for Android got an update today – a much-needed major update to the Android app. Skype Android app now brings you video-calling across (some) Android devices and a UI overhaul to the app. Skype video-calling was one of the most requested features on the app, and looks like we finally got it today.

Video-calling on Skype for Android is cross-platform. Android to iPhone to PCs to PSPs – everywhere! The new UI is not something to be happy about as it because it is very bloated and slow. You can hardly use it. It’s really nice, but only if the Skype Android team would make it even more better in speed.

You can download the Skype for Android update from Android Market.

Google allow Android users to backup their apps, settings, passwords om their Google account and it restores everything back to how it was when you do a full reset of your phone. However, it never backups up your call logs. To most of you, this may not seems of any importance, but for some, it does.

Android keeps a record of your last 500 calls. There is an app available on the Android Market to help backup and restore your call logs on another phone or after a full reset.

Call Logs Backup & Restore is a free app that lets you do exactly what it says to. It creates a backup of your call logs and you can easily restore them back later on the same phone or a new phone.

I tried this between my Google Nexus S and a Samsung Galaxy S II – it worked perfect! Simply, download the application and install it. Then in the app, hit tap the ‘Backup’ button to start the backup process. This process could never be this easy!

Download Call Logs Backup & Restore from Android Market

Google is trying to go head-to-head with Facebook with their latest project, Google+. Just like Facebook has the option to download or backup all your profile data on your computer, Google+ also allows you to quite Google+ anytime with the addition of downloading all your Google+ profile and Google account data with Google Takeout.

Google Takeout allows you to download a copy of your data stored within Google products.

This is useful when you plan to quite using Google services for some reason, but still want a backup of your data. Google Takeout creates an archive of your data within Google services and gives you a link to download that.

You can even check online where most of your data is stored within which Google services. You can request a Google+ invitation here!

Download Your Google Data Archive with Google Takeout

Google+ invites by email are currently not available to everyone except those who work at Google, but there is a small tip that could still make it possible for you to send invitations to your friends, family, co-workers etc.

Thanks to Badar Khushnood for sharing the tip, we can still invite everyone to join Google+. Read after the jump to know how to still send invitations even when not available by email.

This is what he shared on Google+:

TIP: work around if u don’t have Google+ invites yet: add all u want to invite with their emails in a circle and then share a status update or story with them and confirm that u want to send email updates to them…

Yes, this works! All you have to do is add people with email address to your Circles in Google+, and then share something with that Circle. Invitations will be sent to those people to join Google+. You can also request an invitation here!

Also: Download Google+ Android App APK, Directly for Users Outside US

Google+ Android app was released yesterday when Google first took the wraps off Google+. The app is available to some countries only and for most of us living in the ‘other’ countries where the Google+ Android app is not available in the Android Market – I have shared the direct APK file for your Android phone below!

Just move the APK file to your SD card, and use a file manager to install Google+ Android app on your phone. NOTE: You need to have a Google+ invitation for this app to work! Request a Google+ invitation here!

Download Google+ Android App APK

You can download Google+ Android App from the links below:

Download Google+ APK (FileServe)

Download Google+ APK (RapidShare)

Google yesterday announced Google+, their another attempt to take on the social networking world which is an invite-based stage currently and the Google+ project is not open to all.

I have got my hands on an invitations today morning and now would love to share it will all my readers who still haven’t got one.

Google+ looks quite similar to Facebook, but these were just the first step of features that Google plans to roll out for Google+. Google+ revolves around circles (friend lists), hangouts (groups) and sparks (interesting stuff). A very neat and clean interface. I’m already in love with it.

Want to try it out? Looking for an invitation? Just drop a comment below with your email, and I’ll send you an invitation ASAP.

Also: Download Google+ Android App APK, Directly for Users Outside US

UPDATE: Comments with email addresses are in moderation. They will get approved once the invitation has been sent out!

One way to install apps on an Android phone is through the Android Market, but what if you have an APK file and want to install that manually? Android allows you to install third-party apps on your phone, but with a little option that you have to check in Settings.

This is a very basic Android tip, but after going through various Android forums and discussions boards, I found out that many new Android users have no idea of these small tips and trick which, according to us, are a must-do steps after a new or a full reset of an Android phone. I have decided to share basic tips/tricks as well. Now, coming back to the topic.

How to Install Third-Party Apps on Android Phone

Just follow the simple steps below to enable your Android phone to install third-party APK files manually.

• Go to Settings.
• Now go to Applications.
• Check “Unknown sources” box. Tao ‘OK’ at the warning.

That’s it! You should now be able to install third-party apps on your Android phone!

HTC Flyer – the first tablet from HTC. We got our hands on of these and I must say, it is one solid device. It is a 7-inch Android tablet that has a layer of HTC Sense on it and below that you find Android 2.3 Gingerbread.

The size may not be perfect, but it is still better than what we found on the Dell Streak, a 5-inch display. We did a quick hands-on with the tablet and looked around what it has in store for us.

HTC Flyer is powered by the 1.5GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor (no dual-core), 1GB RAM, 32GB storage, 5 megapixels camera, front-facing camera for video calls and of course, Android 2.3 with HTC Sense – that certainly takes the Android experience on tablets to a whole new level.

HTC has confirmed that at sometime in the future, HTC Flyer will be getting a Honeycomb upgrade, but no definite time period for now.

You can check out the hands-on photos below. A very quick one, but I promise to bring a full review, with tons of photos and videos very soon!

.Firefox 7.0 Alpha 1 (nightly build) is now available for download for Windows, Mac and Linux. You can download the latest build as the Mozilla team works on it and regularly updates the nightly build daily. Firefox 5.0 was also just released yesterday for download.

Those of you trying to use Firefox 7.0a1 will be facing an issue that none of your Firefox addons would be working in this browser due to compatibility issues and you will have to hack your way through so that Firefox 7.0 doesn't check for extension updates and disables them.

How to Disable Addon Compatibility Check in Firefox 7.0a1 Nightly Build

Just follow the steps below to disable addon compatibly check in the latest Firefox 7.0:

1. Open a new tab.
2. Type about:config in the address bar.
3. Right click anywhere on the page and click on Boolean under New.
4. Enter this as the preference name: extensions.checkCompatibility.nightly
5. Click OK.
6. Choose false and then click OK again.
7. Restart your browser and all your add-ons should be runnable again.

That’s it! Your previous extensions and addons should now work perfectly fine in Firefox 7.0 Alpha 1, nightly build!

Thanks Daniel for this tip!

The first ‘nightly’ alpha build of Firefox 7.0 is now already available for download. It is regularly updated with new changes and updates as the Mozilla team works on it.

However, you will not be able to use your Firefox add0ns and extensions due to compatibility issues and you will have to hack your way through so that Firefox 7.0 doesn’t check for extension updates and disables them. We’ll do a step-by-step tutorial on that later on.

For now, head over to the Firefox Nightly builds website and download the latest Firefox 7.0a1.

Download Firefox 7.0a1

You can download Firefox 7.0 (Alpha 1) from here: Download Firefox 7.0a1

Firefox 5 is now available for download. We talked about the rapid fast development channel of Firefox, knows as Firefox Aurora – which now looks into action as the Firefox 5.0 is now already available for download after five weeks of testing on the Aurora channel and then another few weeks in five beta releases.

Looks like, soon after this we are about to see the Firefox 6 to hop on the Aurora channel and be ready for the final release soon. The first ‘nightly’ builds of Firefox 6 are already available for download since April.

We are still exploring for new features and changes in the all new Firefox 5.0. We’ll update as soon as we find something new and interesting in the latest release.

Download Firefox 5.0 for Windows, Mac, Linux

You can download the new Firefox 5.0 from the link here: Download Firefox 5 for Windows, Mac, Linux

Samsung Galaxy S II is one of the most powerful Android phones available right now and is certainly the best one out there if you have been looking for a new Android-powered phone. There are different ways to root the Samsung Galaxy S II, but the easiest one is now available – S2 One-Click Root for the Samsung Galaxy S II.

All the credit for this amazing software goes to “lyriquidperfection” from XDA-Developers. You can now root Samsung Galaxy S II with just one-click, all thanks to S2 Root.

How to Root Samsung Galaxy S II with S2 Root

I don’t think this app needs any specific instructions, but we’ll still do a quick tutorial on it. Follow the steps below to root your Samsung Galaxy S II.

NOTE: Make sure, USB Debugging is enabled for you, you have all the necessary USB drivers installed on your PC and have an insecure kernel flashed on your phone. This root method will NOT work with the stock Samsung kernel.

Now connect your phone with the computer using a micro USB cable and click the “Root Device” button. Now sit back and watch your phone get rooted. Once completed , you will see a “Done” in the black screen and your phone will reboot in the end.

To confirm you have a rooted device, check for the Superuser app in your apps list.

Stephen Elop of Nokia just announced the first MeeGo phone – the Nokia N9 (also known as Lankku). We were promised a MeeGo phone this year, and we’re glad Stephen Elop kept his word about that and has announced the world’s first no-buttons phone!

Nokia N9 will have a 3.9-inch AMOLED screen (854 x 480 resolution), OMAP3630 1 Ghz processor, PowerVR SGX530 GPU, 16GB or 64GB onboard memory. Not just this, the Nokia N9 will also have a 8 megapixels camera (Nokia N8 had 12 megapixels!), and will be capable of true 720p video recording.

For the software side, MeeGo looks really good and promising. It has unified notifications for Facebook, Twitter and RSS feeds in the Events view, social networking integration in the Contacts list and features a homescreen simplified into three views: Events, Applications and Open Apps. Ovi Store is also included in MeeGo, but we seriously hope Nokia would soon allow you to run Android apps on the Nokia N9, just like BlackBerry did with its PlayBook tablet.

What Nokia N9 has to offer?

• Swipe guestures
• Unibody design
• No buttons
• Three homescreens
• 8 megapixels camera
• Fast web browser
• Nokia Maps
• Dolby Sound
• NFC-Enabled

And don’t forget, Angry Birds will be making it’s way on the Nokia N9 as well!

This phone will come in three colours: black, cyan, and magenta. We hope of getting a hands-on preview and later a full review of the device soon when it makes it to the market later this year!

Watch the introductory video below:

Samsung Galaxy S II and iPhone 4 – two of the best smartphones in their own category. You can’t really compare both of these smartphones as they run on completely different OS, but when it comes to hardware, then yes, both of these devices are comparable.

I have played with both of them and when it comes to display screens, the difference is very much visible. I previously posted a similar photo of the display screens difference between the original Samsung Galaxy S vs iPhone 4.

Check out the photos below and click them to enlarge.

Samsung Galaxy S II sports a large 4.3-inch Super AMOLED Plus display, while on the other side, iPhone 4 has a Retina display (Super LCD). Last year, after the launch of the original Galaxy S (review), it was difficult to find out which display stands out better, but with the Samsung Galaxy S II now in the race, the winner is pretty much clear.

Have you tried both of these devices together? Which one do you think has a better display? Samsung Galaxy S II or iPhone 4?

Echofon announced today they are working on a Windows-only Twitter client, Echofon for Windows. Echofon started out initially with a Firefox addon which was available on all platforms, thank to the browser Mozilla Firefox.

Twitter doesn’t have any official client for Windows, like Twitter for Mac – but Echofon seems to bring that to the Windows platform with more features. Echofon users on Windows had to go through the Firefox extension to tweet, but that won’t be the case anymore, thanks to Echofon for Windows.

No details have been revealed other than a “coming soon” website for the Echofon for Windows. I’m sure it would have the usual features like multiple account support, image uploads, previews etc.

Echofon for Windows – Coming Soon