Motorola Milestone 2 for Rs. 20,999

The Motorola Milestone 2 is Android 2.2 based touch screen phone with a sliding QWERTY keypad. It comes as a successor to the original Milestone, which was launched in India last year. The Milestone 2 was announced last year and launched worldwide about a few weeks back.

Specifications of Motorola Milestone 2:

• 3.7 inch capacitive touch screen
• Android 2.2 Froyo OS
• 1 GHz Cortex-A8 processor, PowerVR SGX530 GPU, TI OMAP3630 chipset
• MOTOBLUR UI 1.5 with SNS integration
• Sliding QWERTY keypad
• Gorilla glass(scratch resistant)
• 5MP camera with dual LED flash
• Internal memory of 8GB with 512MB RAM
• Expandable via MicroSD card up to 32GB and bundled with a  free 8GB card
• GPRS/EDGE/3G/Wi-Fi
• Web browser with Adobe Flash 10.1 support
• HD video support
• Li-Po 1400 mAh battery
• Integration with social networking apps

The Milestone 2 costs Rs. 20,999 on Letsbuy and it seems like a good bet.

The world’s first artificial leaf ‘created’

Scientists have created the world’s first practical artificial leaf that can turn sunlight and water into energy, which they claim could pave the way for a cheaper source of power in developing countries like India.

A team at Massachusetts Institute of Technology says that the artificial leaf from silicon, electronics and various catalysts which spur chemical reactions within the device, can use sunlight to break water into hydrogen and oxygen which can then be used to create electricity in a separate fuel cell.

“A practical artificial leaf has been one of the Holy Grails of science for decades. We believe we have done it. And placed in a gallon of water and left in sun, these artificial leaves could provide a home in the developing world with basic electricity for a day,” Daniel Nocera, who led the team, said.

He added: “Our goal is to make each home its own power station. One can envision villages in India and Africa not long from now purchasing an affordable basic power system based on this technology.”

For their research, the scientists identified a set of inexpensive, common catalysts including nickel and cobalt that get the job done with far less expense. And, in the laboratory their playing-card-sized leaves have worked continuously for 45 straight hours without a drop in output.

Though in laboratory, an artificial leaf prototype could operate continuously for at least 45 hours without a drop in activity, the scientists say that they will next try to boost both efficiency and lifespan of their photosynthetic material.

The findings were presented at the National Meeting of the American Chemical Society.

Sony Launches Vaio S Range of 13-inch Laptops

Sony has launched the Vaio S range of 13-inch laptops, which promise 6 hour battery life in a light, ergonomic package with a host of optimisations enabling it to perform longer between charges. The Vaio is targeted at students and business professionals who are on the move without access to a recharge point for extended time. The notebook's claimed 6 hour range can be extended with an extended battery pack to 12 hours according to Sony, which comes with its own standalone charger that allows you to charge the battery pack independently and carry it along with you on the move.

Specifications:

Vaio S Series sports the second generation Intel Core i7 processor mated to an AMD Radeon HD 6630M GPU (1GB VRAM) and a glossy anti-reflective coated LCD screen with a resolution of 1366x768. The notebook incorporates the Dynamic Hybrid Graphic System activated through a dedicated 'Performance Switch' that lets you choose between the 'Speed' mode for fastest performance and 'Stamina' for better battery life.

Its slim body, a backlit keyboard, aluminium wrist pad and a relatively light weight of 1.7 kg allows better mobility and convenience. The higher end models pack an SSD feature the 'Quick Boot' feature that boots up the laptop from a shut down state in a claimed 17 seconds.

The Vaio S range Price details:

VPCSB19GG: Rs. 1,09,900

VPCSB18GG: Rs. 69,990

VPCSB17GG: Rs. 62,990

VPCSB16FG: Rs. 56,990

Intex launches its Next Projector Phone - V.SHOW 8809

Intex Technologies has launched its V.Show Mini Theatre or IN 8809. This phone comes as as successor to the Intex V.Show 8810, which was India’s first projector phone.

The IN 8809 has an in-built projector and it can project 3GP & AVI videos and even images, office documents and web pages.
A few features of this phone include a 2MP camera, Internal memory of 87MB, expandable memory via Micro SD card up to 16GB, Bluetooth with A2DP, Motion sensor,3.5mm audio jack(to connect to external speakers while projecting), FM radio with scheduled recording,Pre-loaded apps such as Facebook, Opera Mini,etc and WAP/GPRS.
The Intex IN 8809 costs around Rs. 6,300 and seems fully loaded for that price.