7999 Rs Netbook with free internet for one year

Datawind Ltd. a leading developer of wireless web access products and services recently launched its first product in India the UbiSurfer, which just cost 7999 INR with a one year internet subscription plan. The netbook runs on a modified version of  the  Debian operating system (OS) which is what make it low cost. Another version runs on the classic Windows CE OS. The netbook is power by an AMR9 processor and has a 7 inch TFT – Wide screen display running at a resolution of 800 x 480 pixels (WVGA). 

The Ubisurfer is not your ordinary net book it runs on a patented client/server architecture to deliver the power of a powerful server in the palm of your hand. Plus its small form factor makes it more portable. 

"Our primary focus is on cost, and making the cost of both the hardware and the usage affordable for the masses"  is what Suneet S Tuli, CEO of Datawind said in a recent online interview.

Netra lets you tests your eyes through a mobile phone.

To get your eyes checked you have to take an appointment go visit the optometrist and then go through a series of test. All the equipment involved like an Aberrometer in the test costs a lot. Poor countries and civilizations cannot afford it and are therefore deprived from quality vision. But now the function of the Aberrometer has been shrinked to just a small lens device and a smart phone screen.

A team at MIT media labs consisting of Ankit Mohan, Manuel M. Oliveira Neto, Vitor Pamplona and Ramesh Raskar have come up with an amazing prototype device and a software which lets to detect the power of refractive errors in your eye anyplace anytime.

Courtesy gizmag.com

The whole system consists of  three things, a plastic device consisting of a lenses, a mobile phone and a software installed on the cellphone. The plastic device is clipped to the cellphone screen. Then the patient looks through the lens to see a pair of parallel  lines, now the patient has to press the arrow keys until the parallel green and red lines seem to overlap. This is repeated 8 times with different angles for each eye, the software comes up with prescription data. The devices has no moving parts and hence no maintenance. The software is based on a  technology called Bokodes which was developed last year which helps to store a large amount of information on a tiny square code. 

International Engine Of The Year Award Winners

This is for all you engine lovers.

The Engine Technology International , published by UKIP Media & Events has been organizing  The International Engine of the Year Awards since 1999 and now are considered the most prestigious in the auto industry. Here is a brief insight into the winner of the top four category winners.

International Engine of the Year 2010 (Volkswagen 1.4-litre TSI Twincharger)

For the second consecutive year Volkswagen 1.4-litre TSI Twincharger is the winner in this category. This is an amazing engine which uses a combination of a turbocharger and  a supercharger with a direct fuel injector The first engine of its kind in history. It gives a power output of upto 125kW (170bhp) and 240Nm of torque. 

(While most 1.4L engine produce around 100bhp)

As Volkswagen says "The 1.4-litre TSI engine manages to do the work of a 2.5-litre engine". That with great fuel efficiency figures of 7.2l/100km (13.9km/l). This engine proves the fact that even small engines can pack a punch whiles turning great efficiency  figures.

Toshiba Libretto W100 dual screen concept laptop

Toshiba is celebrating its 25th Anniversary as a part of it, recently unveiled a dual touch screen concept laptop named Libretto W100. Its a beautifully designed ultra portable laptop computer which has 2 fully functional  multitouch 7 inch screens instead of a keyboard. Its small enough to fit in a jacket pocket and can be easily fits in a palm.

The W100 is powered by Windows 7 Home Premium OS. It even has a strong hardware configuration consisting of Intel Pentium U5400 CPU@1.2Ghz, 2GB DDR3 RAM, 64GB Solid State Hard Drive, It has six virtual keyboard modes plus a virtual touchpad. Plus it will feature Haptic response. It even feature custom applications to improve user experience. 

Its dimensions are 4.84 inches X 7.95 inches, The form factor is quite small, it is a first of a kind device from Toshiba, as said in the press release it will be a limited edition device. Toshiba plans to sell limited units and get feedback from users to develop better products in the future. Its quite an iPad killer considering the fact that despite being so small and portable it is as powerful as a decent laptop/netbook so it will let you do more than an iPad.

Affordable and portable Fuel cell technology is here.

Fuel cell technology has been around for years now but there hasn't been any significant application of it in our real life yet. That's about to change though, a company by the  Name Horizon Fuel Cell Technologies based in Singapore has come up with an amazing portable fuel cell Charger/Power pack named "The MiniPak" which can juice up all your portable devices which require power up to 2W (5V 400mA) anywhere anytime. 

For those of you who don't know, fuel cell technology produces electric current by combining Hydrogen and Oxygen molecules and the emission is just water vapor so its a green technology.

It consist of a small device which fits in your palm and a refillable solid-state hydrogen cartridge which can be removed refilled and inserted in the device like a battery. The power is delivered through a standard usb port. The cartridge is called HydroSTIK and has a battery like form factor. One fully filled Hyrostik delivers enough to last upto 3 charging cycles for smart phones and 4-6 cycles for mobile phones. The Hydrostik lasts as much as 1000 disposable AA size alkaline batteries before a replacement.The Hydrostik is 100% recyclable 

Budget Android phones in India

The Android was meant to be an OS for the masses but it didn’t turn out as expected rather, the handsets based on it were more costly than expected. The geek community in India had a lot of expectations from the Android OS but here in India only a few handsets were released despite the fact that India is the one of the biggest market for handset manufacturers. The Google phone or the Nexus one is yet to be launched in India. The ones that were released initially almost cost as much as a good laptop! But that is changing steadily as manufacturers like Samsung and LG have joined the Android bandwagon.If you are looking for an Android based phone which fits your budget here are two handsets one from LG and one from Samsung.

LG GW620

This is LG's first Android  phone to come to India. This phone from LG runs on the Android 1.5 cupcake version which is a bit old for the time but it is quite feature packed. It has a bright 3 inch touch screen and a full QWERTY slide out keypad.
Street Price in India  is Rs 15,099