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Monday, February 27, 2012

Nokia still has it

Nokia, the veteran cell-phone maker and former industry leader, indicates it can still throw some tough punches. The company, who is trying to penetrate the smart phone market dominated by Apple phones and Google's Android based phones (the primary hardware manufacturer in the android zone being Samsung), has anounced an astounding 41-megapixel camera in a new model. To understand the full meaning of this declaration, one should remember that the most recent iPhone bears an 8 megapixels camera, and professional photographers usually use 20 megapixels cameras. The news item telling this also includes interesting details on the new models by Nokia targeting emerging markets.

While analysts in the developed world have been considering Nokia and  Research in Motion as has-beens, both are sill  leading players in the emerging markets. Research in Motion have been promising that come 2012, they will re-emerge in the developed world. For the time being, it seems like Nokia has been working harder, and are already here. Worth taking a look.

Regardless of one's personal preferences, it is quite clear that 2012 is going to be a very interesting year in the smartphones market. 

Wednesday, February 8, 2012

Google's fuss over privacy: rejoice or lament ?

Repeatedly encountering Google's notifications regarding its changing privacy policy, one cannot help but feel that something big and important is happening.

Then one reads the privacy policy. Takes a look at other policies. Peeks at the FAQ. And one scratches one's head. Why all the fuss ?


All they say is that the change means Google shall be combining together all the information it has regarding the activities of a single Google account. To be frank, I was sure they were already doing it.

So, why is it so important for them to repeatedly tell me that they are going to "treat you as a single user across all our products."  ?

I did some search around, and it seems that others are just as clueless as I am.

We all know the deal Google has been offering, and we all take it happily: we let them have a glimpse at our data, and they let us use excellent products for no additional cost.

So what is new ? They are not asking for more information, are they ? They are just going to use the information we already gave them more efficiently, and while doing this, they even simplified all the legal Mumbo-jumbo and made it much clearer to read. Simpler legal relations and better products. Couldn't be better, could it ?

But if everything is so great, why are they working so hard to make sure we pay attention to this change ?

Considering Google's blunder with Google Buzz, probably Google's greatest blunder to date, one feels this probably has something to do with Google's social network, Google-plus.  


One cannot help but feel that there is a catch here.

But what is it ?