10 secrets about SIRI

One of the most useful functions of SIRI is ‘commands,’ also known as ‘talking to your phone.” Most people know its main abilities but here are some secret capabilities of the feature.

Did you know that SIRI can:

• Understand many basic symbols, emoticons and punctuation marks, as long as you say them by the right name. Examples include “open parenthesis”, “close square bracket”, ” “frowned face”, “new paragraph”, “pound sign”, etc.

You should choose among and ask the SIRI [Punctuation/symbols/emoticons]

• Play not just a song, but a whole playlist for you.

The keywords are Play playlist [playlist name]

• Give you a short list of e-mails from the contact you ask for.

You should command the following words: Find all email by [contact]

• Show you all your appointments for today, tomorrow, or any date, you wish.

You should say: what’s on my calendar for [date]

• Search the competition for you, if Google is not your cup of tea.

Say the phrase: Search [Bing/Yahoo]

• Search for. Whether you want the latest scores, show times, etc., if you phrase it just right, SIRI can often find it for you.

You need to say: Search [Google/Bing/Yahoo] for [specialized information] [time] [place]

• Tell you the name of that actor you know you have seen before but just cannot remember.

To receive an answer, ask: Who was in the cast of [movie]?

• Delete all alarms, not just individual ones.

Just say: Delete all alarms

• Message your status right to it, if you have set it up on any social network that lets you update via SMS.

The keywords for Siri are: Message [Social network] [Status]

• Re-spring the Springboard. It is not a full reboot, but it is faster.

Use the word Restart.

Top 5 Android Video Player Apps

The Android mania is on the rise nowadays and manufacturers are running helter shelter to churn out Smartphones in numerous price ranges to stay alive in the competition. Being Open Source and free, Android has found its way into millions of handsets manufactured by almost every leading mobile brand.

Android has apps that do virtually everything from editing snaps to making presentations. With the advent of large screen phones, video watching on phones has turned into an interesting choice and the Android market has tons of video playback apps to offer. Here we check out the top Video player apps available on the Android market.

1. Rock Player Lite

A universally compatible video player, the Rock Player Lite has several built in codecs that support a wide variety of video formats other than x264 and MKV formats.It will definitely surprise you with the flawless playback and smooth transition of effects and virtually effortless navigation and control.

The provided user interface is very light and extremely fast. There is pretty much nothing to complain about the Rock Player Lite other than the slightly boring interface, but it will not be much of a problem actually.

2. Mobo Player

Having the ability to play just ordinary videos is not what several hardcore smartphone enthusiasts prefer today. What they want is pure video entertainment and the Mobo Player offers just about that.

It offers even 1080p video playback that will take High Def playback on Smartphones to a new level. It offers good video streaming via HTTP and RTSP protocols.

It also offers a wide variety of Sound options that will suit different video clips and in all the Mobo Player is a package to be considered if you are an Android junkie.

3. QQ Player

Barring the huge size requirements which stand at a remarkable 10 MB, the QQ player offers one of the best interfaces for any Video playing app on Android and is definitely one of the best out there.

Playback of any kind of media files including heavyweights such as MKV. The auto lock feature can be annoying at times but the software offers a solution in the form of anti lock when you are viewing a movie in your Smartphone.

4. MX Video Player

The player offers a unique property of offering Zooming while the video is playing and that too in sync with touch gestures. The MX video player offers separate Codec packs but it can turn a bit confusing at times.

However it is better in terms of performance as compared to those with built in codecs. The MX video player is best for those Smartphones that have graphics support from the likes of NVIDIA Tegra and ARM Neon.

5. mVideo Player

This video software pretty much supports all modern video formats except for ones like MKV which is by its standard a heavy weight format.

Interestingly it has an automatic sub title search engine that gets you the subtitle files of the latest movies from OpenSubtitles.Org.

So there you have it folks, 5 of the most rated Android Video player apps available in the Android Market.

Ten cool Windows 7 Gadgets…

 
 
All CPU Meter

All CPU Meter

The gadgetwhich is used to monitor dual-core computer running Vista wasn’t available in a quad-core version, so we can switch to All CPU Meter. It supports up to eight cores. All CPU Meter isn’t as complex as some, but the simplicity works in its favor. It monitors your memory usage as well as CPUs, and it packs a lot of information into a small space. You can change the background color to match your preferences.
Windows Orb Clock

windows Orb Clock

During all the time I used Vista and the first year I used Windows 7, my analog clock gadget of choice was the electric blue version of the one that comes with the operating system. But now I’ve switched to a much cooler model: the windows Orb Clock . I love its clean look and the nice symmetry of having it just across from my Start Menu orb
Clipboard Manager

Clipboard Manager

I’ve also replaced the Clipboard gadget I was using with Vista. I liked being able to access previous Clipboard items — without opening an Office app — but the old one was a little cheesy looking and limited in its functionality. Clipboard Manager looks slick and is feature-rich. You can customize the background to fit your desktop, and not just the color; you can use a photo as the background if you prefer.
You can save up to 999 clips (that’s a lot of clips!) and you can delete any clip or send it to the Clipboard or to your Favorites list with a right click. The Favorites feature lets you create boilerplate text you use often. I also like the ability to mark clips with timestamps. And unlike the old Clipboard gadget, this one supports images as well as text. It even has a privacy mode, which prevents clips from being displayed on the main gadget so that passers-by who glance at your desktop can’t see what you’ve saved to the clipboard.
Facebook Explorer

Facebook Explorer

One big change in my online life since 2008 is that I’ve become thoroughly immersed in social networking. Much of the discourse that used to take place through email discussion lists now occurs via Facebook. A Facebook gadget seemed like almost a necessity, but the first one I tried (Facebook Sidebar 1.5) didn’t work. It never picked up my info even though it said it was connected. So I tried Facebook Explorer, which worked nicely. It can be configured to run in a smaller or larger width and one of three heights, and you can specify how often you want updates (from every one to 60 minutes). It gives you a compact view of your own status and information or friends’ activities, as shown in two views of the gadget in. You can also update your status in the flyout.
Ultimate Explorer

Ultimate Explorer

Ultimate Explorer lets you search popular sites from your desktop without having to go to those sites first in your browser. It’s a compact little gadget with that can search Google, YouTube, Wikipedia, eBay, Amazon, Digg, and many more. You can make it larger if you have plenty of desktop real estate, and you can select up to eight search sites for “snap search,” which enables you to “snap” quickly from one search engine to another. It also includes a flyout calendar and events feature. And unlike the vast majority of gadgets, it even has a flyout Help section, as shown
App Launcher

App Launcher

One aspect of Windows 7 that annoyed and frustrated many users was the omission of the Quick Launch toolbar. If you’re like me, for years you’ve relied on the Quick Launch bar to access your frequently used programs. There is a way to get Quick Launch back, but unlike with previous versions of Windows, you can’t separate the Quick Launch bar from the main Taskbar. That means it takes up precious space on the Taskbar that you might need for open programs, system tray items, etc.
Enter the App Launcher gadget . It serves the same purpose as the Quick Launch bar but can be placed anywhere you want on the desktop. You can add whatever programs you want by dragging them to the gadget, configure the number of icons to display per row and whether to center them, and change the background image.
MiniTV

MiniTV

Want to take a break and catch up on the news? The MiniTV gadget allows you to choose from a number of stations (many of which I’ve never heard of, as well as familiar ones, such as NBC News and C-SPAN). You can watch the program in the tiny gadget window or you can double-click it to display full screen. Just double-click again to get out of full screen mode.
Traffic by Bing Maps

Traffic by Bing Maps

Traffic is a simple little gadget that can be useful if you’re about to head out into the big, bad world. I don’t use it as much as some folks would, since I work from home. But I still have to venture onto the major freeways now and then, and it’s nice to know in advance if there are going to be problems along a particular route. One caveat is that you need to live in (or be traveling in) a major metro area to use it. You can zoom in or out, and clicking the traffic info button (which is represented by the red light icon in will take you to a full sized map of the area on Bing Maps, complete with the traffic data.
Magic Folder

Magic Folder

Okay, granted, the icon isn’t the most professional looking, as you can see in . And many folks won’t like the idea of having a folder make decisions about where to save their files. But for those who always seem to end up with dozens of files sitting on the desktop because they never get around to moving them into appropriate folders, Magic Folder could be a godsend. You just drag your files to the magic folder and it examines the file extensions and sends the files to the “right” folder. For example, .doc files go to the Documents folder; .jpg, .gif, and other image files go to the Pictures folder. The nice thing is that you can add or remove the file extensions recognized by the gadget, change where specific extensions should be put, and you add your own folder locations. If you want to maintain more control, you can set the gadget to prompt you before it moves a file to a folder. Oh, and you can also change the appearance of the folder icon to something a little less…  magical.

Open/Close DVD

Open/Close DVD

Open/Close DVD is utterly simple. But it’s handy to have if your computer is sitting under your desk like mine, making it difficult to get to the button for opening the DVD drive door. Just click the open button (the down-pointing arrow shown in and it opens; click the Close button (the up-pointing arrow) and it shuts. It doesn’t get any simpler than that. One thing to watch for: If you have more than one drive attached, it will open/close both of them — there is no option to select a particular drive.

Top 20 Android Apps…

 Lightbox – Photos & Effects

More than just an Instagram for Android, Lightbox offers features like photo journals and the ability to arrange pictures by personal timelines that make it unique and, to some, indispensable. The app’s stunning visual display and compatibility on multiple Android devices set the standard moving forward for photo-sharing apps on the platform.

 Amazon MP3

Along with Google Music (see below), Amazon MP3 is the best way for an Android smartphone and tablet owner to kick an iTunes habit. The app provides access to a library of nearly 20 million songs, 5GB of free storage, and reliable offline listening. Subscriptions to Amazon’s Cloud Drive service start at a reasonable $20/year for 20GB of storage, but you can store as much of your own music as you like with that subscription.
 AirDroid

Android devices offer so many customization features that sometimes using a larger screen, mouse and full-sized keyboard will help you get the most out of your smartphone or tablet device. This free app lets users operate their smartphones from a PC with a Wi-Fi connection. Additionally, AirDroid emphasizes privacy protection with password changes for each use.
 SwiftKey X Keyboard

After launching a beta app last year, SwiftKey X arrived on Android smartphones and tablets in 2011. The app has larger keys as well as superior word and sentence prediction algorithms than what is typically found on Androids. SwiftKey also learns from previously typed emails and messages, and offers three color schemes to simplify the process and brighten things up.
 Any.DO: To Do List | Task List

Funded by Google Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt, Any.DO is the best productivity and to-do application tailored specifically for Android devices. The app’s elegant interface is optimized to limit actual typing through voice-driven commands. Users can swipe each task when complete, and shake their phones to clear them from the screen. The app also offers (mostly) seamless integration with Google accounts.
Skitch

Acquired by Evernote, Skitch lets users annotate photos with sketches, images and words. The app has dead simple editing tools and the ability for users to draw with multi-colored crayons. Skitch is a great app for kids in addition to serving as a functional and unique photo-sharing service.
 BlueStacks Cloud Connect

While still in Alpha, BlueStacks is demonstrating how Android applications can run on Windows-based PCs. The Android app works in concert with the Windows-based BlueStacks App Player to run mobile applications on PCs. The venture-backed company and application, which has attracted more than 500,000 early adopters since launch, expects to debut a Mac OS version in 2012.
 Qello

Available as separate applications for Android smartphones and tablets, Qello offers a great catalog of high definition concerts (mostly rock, but with other genres sprinkled in). Users can sample the 500+ titles for free, or lease any of them on a weekly ($1.99) or monthly basis ($4.99).
 AccuWeather for Honeycomb

Developed specifically for Honeycomb-based tablet devices, this all-inclusive weather application showcases the beauty and utility of Android on larger form factors. The Lifestyle section, which informs users on things like whether it is a good day for biking or bad day for allergies, is a nice humanized touch.
 HD Widgets

Android is all about customization, and there is no better and more comprehensive widget app available than this one. Optimized for Android tablets and smartphones, HD Widgets is great for Android experts and first-timers alike. Users will also appreciate the “fanatical” customer service of the developers.
Here are the five best Android apps developed by Google that were released or received significant updates in 2011.
 Google Music

Like Amazon MP3 cited above, Google Music is a way for Android users to comfortably cut the cord (or cloud) on iTunes (at least on their mobile devices). The app lets users store up to 20,000 songs for free in the cloud, with a portion available for offline access.
These next 10 apps were initially released for iOS devices. They are included here for their utility, entertainment value and impact on the Android ecosystem.
 Price Check by Amazon

When Amazon unveiled this price-comparison app to Android devices just before Black Friday, the company’s retail Death Star became fully operational. Sure, Price Check was available to iPhone owners a year earlier, and there are similar apps across all major mobile platforms. But having an Android app gives Amazon critical mass in this category, and allows the company to (again) upend physical retail as we know it. This includes offering discounts to consumers on their phones during the point of comparison.
 Netflix

There were a lot of things that Netflix did horribly wrong in 2011. Releasing a killer Android app for smartphones and tablet devices was not one of them. As Android tablets become ready for prime time and more plausibly compete against the iPad, entertainment apps like Netflix will flourish.
 SoundTracking

The most innovative music detection and discovery app of the year finally arrived to Android in December. SoundTracking not only identifies a song a user is listening to, but shares it with Facebook, Twitter and foursquare friends and followers. The advantage of the Android app, relative to the iOS version which launched earlier this year, is that users with Spotify and Rdio can listen to entire tracks (as opposed to 30-second snippets from iTunes).
 Hipmunk Flight Search

Hipmunk differentiates from the run-of-the-mill flight search applications by predicting how painful your traveling might be. The app’s “Agony Index” takes into account factors beyond price including flight duration, Wi-Fi access and other variables. Once users choose the least painful flight, the app accommodates direct booking and provides access to third-party services.
 Fooducate Shopping Scanner

This app translates nutritional information found on food packaging into plain English, and offers a letter grade as to how healthy or harmful an item can be. The app offers comprehensive coverage of both mainstream brands and niche delicacies via the scanning of barcodes. Best of all? The app suggests healthier, similar alternatives to the worst offenders.
 Marvel Comics

Reading classic comics within this app works on virtually any size Android screen — which is no easy feat. Marvel Comics also offers panel-by-panel viewing that features beautiful art and more legible word balloons. While most titles require a subscription, there are an ample amount of classic comics available for free.
Syncplicity

For digitally promiscuous users who store and share files on multiple devices and operating systems powered by Android, iOS and Windows, Syncplicity is a useful way to manage libraries found within all of them. Unlike many cloud-based alternatives, Syncplicity uses encryption to secure files.
Starbucks

After launching initially on iOS and BlackBerry smartphones, the official Starbucks app finally arrived on Android earlier this year. Better late than never. The app lets users manage their Starbucks Cards and purchase coffee and the like at nearly 7,000 U.S. locations.
LinkedIn

After what seemed like an eternity in beta, LinkedIn finally launched an Android app ready for prime time in the spring. While not perfect, the LinkedIn app is a much better alternative than the company’s more limited mobile site. Finally, this indispensable professional networking service found a full-time gig on Android.
Path

A significant December update to this social blogging app on Android and iOS devices served as an early holiday present to its passionate and vocal adherents. Beyond sharing photos, users can now tell the world about what music they are listening to and other activities they are doing. The app’s new design and “Automatic” feature, which recognizes when users deviate from routine schedules, also separate Path from the pack.

Top 10 Tablets Of 2011

A tablet is a portable device that sits right between the portability of a smartphone and workload assistant of a laptop/netbook. Sure there were tablet PCs long before the whole iPad saga, but it was truly Steve Jobs’ idea of iPad that used a OS and UI tailor made for large touch-screens that revolutionized and brought back the tablets into mainstream. Speaking of which, you can’t deny that 2011 was indeed the year for tablets, starting with Apple iPad 2 to Asus Transformer Prime and everything in between.

If you are a person who fancies tech and gadgets then I am pretty sure that you would be wanting a tablet for yourself by now. As always, the market is full of a wide variety of tablets that are begging in the stores to take them with you. In order to rescue you from the difficulty of choosing yourself a right tablet, I have compiled a list of top 10 tablets in the market.

1. Apple iPad 2 – Rs. 27,000 (16GB Wi-Fi) onwards. 

Love – iOS 5, Specially made iPad Apps, Great Screen, Fluid Web Browsing, Extremely fast, Amazing battery life and Solid built quality.  And Apple, ofcourse.

Hate – Poor Fixed Focus Cameras, iTunes Still required, Comparatively low screen resolution.

Conclusion – Although priced higher, it is obvious that there is still no match to this tablet. Not only it is extremely fast and pleasing to use, its solid built quality and thin body makes it comfortable to carry around. It has the longest battery life till date so you can charge it once and forget the charger for the rest of the week if you use tablet casually.

2. Amazon Kindle Fire – Rs. 13,500 On Ebay.

Love – Extremely Affordable yet fast (Courtesy: Dual-Core processor), Good screen, Good Browser, Amazon media services are second only to Apple iTunes, Exclusive Apps.

Hate – Only 8GB non-expandable storage, No Extras (Cameras, Microphone, GPS and 3G), Some UI quirks.

Conclusion – It is the best and most usable affordable tablet to date. If you are geek enough then you can install Android 4.0 ICS on it in the near future.

3. Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1/ Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9 – Rs. 30,990 onwards

Love – Very good screen, lighter and slimmer than iPad 2, Fast, Android 4.0 Upcoming, Usable cameras, Good on-screen mini apps and good battery life.

Hate – Very limited set of tablet apps, No memory expansion option.

Conclusion – It is by far the best Android 10 inch tablet with all the latest features built into its thin and light body. It is also officially announced to get Android 4.0 ICS.

4. Sony Tablet S – Rs. 29,990

Love – New, fresh and easy to handle paperback-like design, PlayStation Mobile Gaming certified, Integrated Universal Remote, Android 4.0 Upcoming.

Hate – Low screen brightness, Proprietary and heavy charger, Average Battery Life.

Conclusion – It looks and feels different from all the other slim slab looking tablets out there. With ‘PlayStation’ certified games for mobile and an integrated all-in-one remote, it is a good tablet to be in your living room.

5. Asus Transformer – Rs. 29,990

Love – Keyboard and Touchpad Dock is really useful who happen to type a lot, Full sized USB port and card slot, HDMI out will be good add-on for media enthusiasts.

Hate – Low quality cameras, average build quality.

Conclusion – Sure it is a yesteryear’s tablet but with some great add-on in the form with a keyboard dock that doubles up as a secondary battery built-in. The HDMI port, full sized card slot and touchpad makes it look like a netbook replacement with an added advantage of touchscreen.

6. Motorola Xoom – Rs. 19,900

Love – Android 3.2 (Upgradeable to Android 4.0 ICS), HDMI, Low priced, 3G connectivity standard in all models, All the connectivity options and sensors present.

Hate – Heavier and fatter than other tablets, Dull looking design.

Conclusion – Although with a heavier body, it is the most affordable Android 3.2 tablet with powerful hardware and connectivity features.

7. Apple iPad (64GB, Wi-Fi) – Rs. 27,000

Love – Good screen, Huge storage option, Excellent apps and games, Great for reading books, Wide range of accessories, Awesome battery life.

Hate – No 3G connectivity, no cameras and limited 256MB of RAM.

Conclusion – It may be nearly 2 years old but it is still better than a lot of tablets out there. With a huge collection of apps and games specially made for iPad, it may never disappoint you with all the entertainment options. Excellent battery life makes it the cherry on the cake.

8. HTC Flyer (Wi-Fi + 3G) – Rs. 22,000

Love – Affordable, Good looking and great build quality; All-round connectivity, Android 3.2 Honeycomb, Speedy single core processor, Digital pen for jotting down notes and scribbling, HTC Sense.

Hate – Single core processor may not be able to run all high end games, You can buy dual core tablets and cheaper price, thicker than others.

Conclusion – With super sexy aluminum unibody, great 7 inch screen with HTC sense UI, it is the best and most affordable 7-inch tablet with Android 3.2 and a 3G connectivity option.

9. Samsung Galaxy Tab (7-inch, 16GB, Wi-Fi) – Rs. 15,000 on EBay India

Love – Faster processor than others, Good gaming performance and web browsing. Android 2.3 with Samsung TouchWiz 3.0 UI and good tablet specific apps from Samsung (Email, Calendar, Music Player, etc); Good screen quality.

Hate – No upgrade to Android 3.0 or 4.0 and average battery life.

Conclusion – This tablet is definitely the best Android 2.3 tablet with all the Google services. It has a good screen, it is light and easy to carry around; build quality is good too.

10. Akash Tablet/Ubislate 7+ – Rs. 2,500 onwards

 

Love – Super affordable making it the cheapest tablet in the world. Can play HD videos, Expandable storage, Android 2.2(Akash)/2.3(Ubislate 7+), Full sized USB port, Made in India.

Hate – None at this price. (Could have been excellent if they managed to fit a capacitive touchscreen though)

Conclusion – Finally we are proud of Indian government who launched the worlds cheapest tablet for Indian students and even subsidized the price.

What tablet did you buy in 2011? What do you look forward to? iPad, once again?

Top 10 Technical News!!!

1.PayPal to Launch Mobile Coupons in 2012

Its official and most likely to launch in early 2012.

2.Google Buys a Virtual Assistant

Google announced on Tuesday that it acquired Alfred app maker, Clever Sense
which is know for digital personal assistant.This acquisition is targeted to
compete with siri which lets iphone 4S users to perform any task via voice
command.

3.Google Extends Free Gmail Calls in the US and Canada to 2012

Free calls were added to Gmail in August 2010 with an announcement that they
will be remain free for the rest of the year.At the end of 2010 Google exntends
this offer to 2011 and it is extented for 2012( throughout  the year ).

4.Apple Confirms 18 Billion Unique App Store Downloads

Apple has announced on Tuesday that the Mac App Store had reached 100 million
downloads in less than a year.

5.SocialBro Integrates PeerIndex, Now You can filter you twitter followers

Now you can filter your twitter followers by various factors via
SocialBro.

SocialBro allows you to filter you twitter followers by Peerindex
score which is a great alternative of klout score and by far most accurate after
klout scores.           

6.Alibaba Adds Gaming Support to 'Chinese Android' OS

7.Google Chrome Gets Multi-User Support

Now you Chrome has multi user support which enable you to carry your bookmarks
anywhere you go.All you have to do is sign in to chrome by your Google account and
forget everything.Below is the screen shot showing you how you can sign in to chrome.

8.Skype v2.6 is Rolled out for Android

9.Microsoft Releases SkyDrive Apps for WP7, iPhone

10.Rumour : Facebook Could Launch Mobile Ads in March
Do let us know how these wrap ups are useful for you in the comment section below