BlackBerry v/s Android

BlackBerry v/s Android

BlackBerry, Android, and iPhones are the three big names in smart phones today. Let's specifically look at Android and BlackBerry.Both the Android OS and BlackBerry OS are considered smart phones but they are vastly different and they cater to different groups of people. Instead of saying which operating system is better, let's take a look at the differences between the two and you can decide for yourself what would you prefer to use.

Android and BlackBerry are both smart phones. What exactly makes a smart phone smart? Smart phones are cell phones that can make calls, text message, email, browse the web, and offer multimedia playback in terms of music and videos. Both Android and BlackBerry can do these things although they do it differently.

Blackberry OS 6

(found in latest Blackberry smartphones)

Pros -

1. The very USP of a Blackberry smartphone is its messaging system. With unified inbox and push-email, it is undeniably the most powerful messaging handheld device in the market.
2. Another major feature that Blackberry users dread missing is the Blackberry Messenger, popularly known as BBM. Of course, today a lot of new cross-platform messaging systems have cropped up (like WhatsApp, LiveProfile and Kik). Yet, none of them has managed to touch the popularity of BBM.
3. As already mentioned earlier, nothing can beat the feel and experience of a set of QWERTY physical keyboard. And RIM has mastered that with elan.
4. Every single Blackberry device supports true multitasking.
5. While you can choose between a couple of data plans for a Blackberry, all of them allow unlimited download/upload of data.
6. Blackberrys are inherently smart and compress all data being transferred to ridiculously minuscule levels. That ensures faster access of data.
7. It is only a Blackberry that allows you to assign separate notification alerts for almost every possible event. And it works for both native and third party applications.
8. One can even customize the notification profiles depending on whether the device is in the holster or not.
9. Thanks to BIS, you can open almost all websites even if they are banned by your ISP, since all traffic gets routed via their servers in Canada.
10. It is possible to cut, copy and paste almost any piece of text across the OS. And the experience is also very painless.

Cons -

1. The App World integration with BB apps is not streamlined. So, even if an app gets upgraded on the main server, your device won’t get the notification for almost a day or two more.
2. The Blackberry phones get almost paralyzed while installing/upgrading applications.
3. No support to purchase apps from the computer unless the phone is already connected via a data cable.
4. Till date, the Blackberry smartphones house the lowest spec of hardware, and the hour glass icon is very common.
5. Memory management system on the Blackberry smartphones is one of the worst, and “battery pull” is a daily affair for almost all the Blackberry owners.
6. RIM hasn’t launched any Blackberry yet that houses a front camera. That means, no video calls.
7. The multimedia capabilities of a Blackberry is hardly a talked about feature.
8. Blackberry OS 6 is still pretty buggy, and OS 6.1 promises to sort out a lot of those issues.
9. If you wish to purchase the same app on multiple Blackberry devices at the same time, you need to buy those apps those many time.

Android v2+

(found in a myriad of smartphones and tablets, like Samsung Galaxy S, Nexus S, Galaxy Tab)

Pros -

1. The ONE advantage of the Android OS that facilitates all the others that follow is the fact that it’s an OpenSoftwareSource .
2. Android devices support true multitasking too.
3. Supports Adobe Flash. However, Flash is still awaited for Android v3, aka HoneyComb.
4. Google apps are tightly integrated and updated most frequently on Android devices. And since most of us have a Google account and use Google products these days, it improves the user experience on an Android device many folds.
5. Applications can be bought via the computer (or any other device) and can be installed over the air on the device.
6. Multiple hardware manufacturers producing even more models of smartphones for the Android platform ensures more choice for the consumers.
7. Android App Market has more free apps than any of the other platforms.
8. The browser of an Android device is as good as the Safari on iOS. And yet, surfing experience is much better on Android OS thanks to the compatibility with Flash.
9. Applications and data can always be backed up on the cloud (Google’s servers). So, an Android device runs out of the box over its lifetime without ever needing to be connected with a computer.
10. Personalization options on an Android device are endless, compared to a Blackberry or a iPhone.

Cons -

1. One major reason for Android owners’ heartbreak is its abysmal battery life. Compared to an iPhone and a Blackberry, an Android phone’s battery life is hardly appreciable.
2. Android apps have no intuitive ways to be killed. While there is an application management page hidden will within the menu structure, it’s hardly intuitive.
3. Again, no unlimited data plan provided by the Indian mobile carriers.
4. It is not possible to organize app icons in categories/folders out of the box.

Well, while the choice of a device and an operating system are solely personal choices and extremely subjective , but there topics will surely help you out . If any point is missing , the comments section is always there .

At the end of the day, Android always felt like a computer trying to become a phone while BlackBerry is a phone trying hard to become a computer.

Smart Search

Tips for Smarter and Efficient Internet Search :

In this post I will tell you a few tips which you will require everytime you need to find any information regarding any topic common or unique . Whenever you are told to search any information for your school project or your personal intrest , where do you go ??

I know - GOOGLE !! Google has now become Metonymic with Searching .

These days, everyone is expected to be up to speed on Internet search techniques . But there are still a few tricks that some users — and even savvy searchers — may not be aware of -

1. Either/or
Google normally searches for pages that contain all the words you type in the search box, but if you want pages that have one term or another (or both), use the OR operator — or use the "|" symbol (pipe symbol) to save you a keystroke. [dumb | little | man]

2. Quotes
If you want to search for an exact phrase, use quotes. ["dumb little man"] will only find that exact phrase. [dumb "little man"] will find pages that contain the word dumb and the exact phrase "little man".

3. Not
If you don’t want a term or phrase, use the "-" symbol. [-dumb little man] will return pages that contain "little" and "man" but that don’t contain "dumb".

4. Similar terms
Use the "~" symbol to return similar terms. [~dumb little man -dumb] will get you pages that contain "funny little man" and "stupid little man" but not "dumb little man".

5. Wildcard
The "*" symbol is a wildcard. This is useful if you’re trying to find the lyrics to a song, but can’t remember the exact lyrics. [can't * me love lyrics] will return the Beatles song you’re looking for. It’s also useful for finding stuff only in certain domains, such as
educational information: ["dumb little man" research *.edu].

6. Advanced search
If you can’t remember any of these operators, you can always use Google’s advanced search.

Definitions
Use the "define:" operator to get a quick definition. [define:dumb] will give you a whole host of definitions from different sources, with links.

7. Calculator
One of the handiest uses of Google, type in a quick calculation in the search box and get an answer. It’s faster than calling up your computer’s calculator in most cases. Use the +, -, *, / symbols and parentheses to do a simple equation.

8. Numrange
This little-known feature searches for a range of numbers. For example, ["best books 2002..2007] will return lists of best books for each of the years from 2002 to 2007 (note the two periods between the two numbers).

9. Site-specific
Use the "site:" operator to search only within a certain website. [site:dumblittleman.com leo] will search for the term "leo" only within this blog.

10. Backlinks
The "link:" operator will find pages that link to a specific URL. You can use this not only for a main URL but even to a specific page. Not all links to an URL are listed, however.

11. Vertical search
Instead of searching for a term across all pages on the web, search within a specialized field. Google has a number of specific searches, allowing you to search within blogs, news, books, and much more:

• Blog Search
• Book Search
• Scholar
• Catalogs
• Code Search
• Directory
• Finance
• Images
• Local/Maps
• News
• Patent Search
• Product Search
• Video

12. Movies
Use the "movie:" operator to search for a movie title along with either a zip code or U.S. city and state to get a list of movie theaters in the area and show times.

13. Music
The "music:" operator returns content related to music only.

14. Unit converter
Use Google for a quick conversion, from yards to meters for example, or different currency: [12 meters in yards]

15. File types
If you just want to search for .PDF files, or Word documents, or Excel spreadsheets, for example, use the "filetype:" operator.

16. Location of term
By default, Google searches for your term throughout a web page. But if you just want it to search certain locations, you can use operators such as "inurl:", "intitle:", "intext:", and "inanchor:". Those search for a term only within the URL, the title,
the body text, and the anchor text (the text used to describe a link).

17. Cached pages
Looking for a version of a page the Google stores on its own servers? This can help with outdated or update pages. Use the "cached:" operator.

With all these tips coming into practice , I don't think you guys will have problem in searching the net. This is going to enhance your speed to peep into the best encyclopedia in the known world :-)

Google Plus - First Impression

Its seen that many people have sent out Google+ invites to one another. Having logged into Google+ myself, I'm curious as to what everyone's review of the new social network is, and if you believe that it could rival Facebook at some point. But first, I thought I'd share my first impressions of Google+.

There are some similarities between Google+ and Facebook, such as the basic appearance of the user profile and stream, similar ways of placing photos (notice your profile has that horizontal bar of photos you can add next to your default picture much like Facebook's), etc. But there is much more to this. There are some trick which are already used in Facebook.

Information

While both Google plus and Facebook have options in the status window that allow you to post photos, videos, or links, but i prefer the Google+ layout. Both allow you to choose who you're sharing that particular post with, but Google+'s is much easier to navigate and seems pretty cut and dry. The best thing that I like in particular is the ability to jump right to YouTube on Google+'s "Add Video" option. In addition, I think the "Questions" button on Facebook's status box is completely useless, and prefer Google+'s "Add your Location." by syncing with Google Maps . Another cool feature is the ability to disable comments altogether on a particular post, where Facebook's privacy button for each post just allows you to share it with certain people, or just yourself.

Google+'s Circles is a feature is quite fool proof just because the drag and drop feature is so convenient and provides a perfectly categorized library of people you know. I like that I can separate what my family sees from what my friends see, and so on. While this is possible on Facebook as well through its Groups option, let's be honest...who really uses that? I feel that Facebook share bit more while Twitter shares bit less . But Google+ is right in the middle because you can categorize your information and content to a particular Circle

The +1 feature is somewhat like the "LIKE" button in Facebook and there not much special to write about it. They're the same to me, but what's cool is that there is a "+1's" tab on your user profile that allows you to store the posts/links you've +1'd on Google+. In case your friends has shared a good picture of a sports car and you +1 it , you will be having the same content in your profile even if your friend deletes it .

The chat is just a version of Google Talk standard with one-on-one, video, voice and multi-person chat (Facebook recently launched the latter). The better is the on/off the record option. If you choose to be "off the record," your conversation is not stored in Gmail chat history or your contact's history. It was really a neat idea.

Google+ also has a multi-person video chat called Hangouts.Its quite better than the Facebook Video Chat since you can have a hangout with multiple people unlike Facebook which has One-to-One.

Google+'s mobile app for Android seems very plain to me and still not yet released for all Android Smartphones .The Cellphone App is still in its initial phase and will develop for sure, but for now, the mobile version on the iPhone 4's Safari seems to have more. Also Google has linked your Plus account with Orkut, Gmail, Picasa,Documents etc . Which gives you all Google Apps under a single roof making everything quite simple.

Another good feature is "view Profile As" bar on your profile that allows you to look at your profile as any person in your Circles which respects your privacy. It's quick and easy confirmation that your family didn't see that crazy post about that party last weekend :)

The Google+ Sparks is just like Communities on Orkut or the various pages on Facebook where you can have a word with the people having same interests as you

This was my first impression about Google+ which will surely raise the bar for Facebook and Facebook people will have the same feeling that Orkut had on arrival of Facebook :)
Also Google+ has a "feedback" option which will help Google+ develop a lot with the users co-operation and right reviews.

I look forward to that day when Google+ will outrun Facebook starting a new era of Social Website, but until then, what do you think? What are your first impressions?