Google introduces Flight Search services

Google has launched a new flight search feature for its users.
The company revealed Google Flight Search in a surprise move this week, adding a link to 'flights' for users who type a query with the format "flights from" in the US.
At the moment, the product is US-only and limited to economy-class flights, but Google says that it will be rolling it out further, and, in a move that is likely to frustrate travel search competitors such as Expedia and Priceline, the tool only allows booking via airline websites, effectively cutting online travel agencies out altogether.
With this first step in flight search that combines ITA’s expertise with Google’s technology, you will be able to:

• Get super-fast results. Speed is critical to all the things we love on the web, and travel planning should be no exception. Making changes to dates, destinations, and filters should be as fast as we hope you’ve come to expect from Google. 

• See a simple list of the most relevant flights. Flight Search shows you an easy-to-scan list to help you get to your destination quickly and inexpensively. 

• Figure out when to travel. Quickly see which travel dates are least expensive by dragging the date selector forward or backward, or check out the bar chart to compare lots of dates at once. 

• Consider your destination options. Flight Search helps you explore possible destinations, letting you filter them by airline, flight time and price. For example, you can use the map and filters to see where you can go from San Francisco within 3 hours for less than $300. 

Start Google Flight Search >>

Microsoft Windows 8 Developer Preview

Microsoft Corp. showcased a detailed preview of the next major release of Windows, code-named “Windows 8.” The company also detailed new tools for developers to help write applications for more than 1 billion people around the world who use Windows every day.

Touch-First User Interface

•	Metro style. Windows 8 introduces a new Metro style interface built for touch, which shows information important to you, embodies simplicity and gives you control. The Metro style UI is equally at home with a mouse and keyboard as well.
•	Touch-first browsing, not just browsing on a touch device. Providing a fast and fluid touch-browsing experience, Internet Explorer 10 puts sites at the center on new Windows 8 devices.

More Ways to Engage With Powerful, Connected Apps

•	Powered by apps. Metro style apps built for Windows 8 are the focal point of your experience, filling your entire screen so there are no distractions.
•	Apps can work together. Apps communicate with each other in Windows 8. For example, you can easily select and email photos from different places, such as Facebook, Flickr or on your hard drive.
•	Your experience syncs across your devices. Live roams all the content from the cloud services you use most — photos, email, calendar and contacts — keeping them up-to-date on your devices. With SkyDrive, you can access your files, photos and documents from virtually anywhere with any browser or with Metro style apps in Windows 8.

Enhanced Fundamentals

•	The best of Windows 7, only better. Windows 8 is built on the rock-solid foundation of Windows 7, delivering improvements in performance, security, privacy and system reliability. Windows 8 reduces the memory footprint needed — even on the lowest-end hardware — leaving more room for your apps.
•	Preserving power-user favorites and making them better. For those who push the limits of their PC, Windows 8 features an enhanced Task Manager and Windows Explorer and new, flexible options for multimonitor setups.

New Developer Opportunities

•	Windows Store. The Windows Store will allow developers to sell their apps anywhere Windows is sold worldwide, whether they’re creating new games or familiar productivity tools.
•	Build using more languages. Windows 8 lets you leverage your existing skills and code assets to create great experiences using the programming language you prefer.
•	Rich hardware integration leads to richer experiences — particularly for games. DirectX 11 gaming power underlies Windows 8, allowing the easy creation of full-screen games with smooth, flicker-free action.

New Generation of Hardware

•	One Windows — many shapes and sizes. Support for ARM-based chipsets, x86 (as well as x32 and x64) devices, touch and sensors means Windows 8 works beautifully across a spectrum of devices, from 10-inch tablets and laptops to all-in-ones with 27-inch high-definition screens.
•	Always connected. With Windows 8, new ultrathin PCs and tablets turn on instantly, run all day on a single charge and stay connected to the Internet so your PC is ready when you are. Next-generation system on a chip (SoC) support will also enable greatly extended standby and low-power states.
•	Tap the full power of your PC. Windows 8 runs on PCs and is compatible with the devices and programs you use today on Windows 7, without compromise, to deliver the performance you expect of a PC.

Vodafone Blue 555 Facebook Phone in India

MPJ9SWJDJ774 Vodafone is partnering social networking site Facebook to launch a 'Facebook' phone. This would give users one-click access to the site.

The phone is primarily aimed at Facebook addicted users who don’t want to miss out on a single FB update.

Setting up Facebook from the second you turn on the phone, you're prompted to log in to the network – or sign up for an account, if you're one of the seemingly few people who don't have one yet.

The price of the phone is estimated to be in the range of Rs. 4000 – Rs. 6000.

Specifications

Size 

Dimension 110 x 61.1 x 12 mm

Display

Type    TFT, 256K colors

Size    20 x 240 pixels, 2.4 inches 

Sound

Alert types Vibration, MP3 ringtones

Loudspeaker Yes

3.5mm jack Yes

Memory

Phonebook Yes, Photocall

Call records Yes

Internal 40 MB

Card slot microSD, up to 16GB, buy memory

Data

GPRS Yes

EDGE Yes

3G No

WLAN No

Bluetooth Yes, v2.1 with A2DP

Infrared port No

USB

        Yes, v2.0

Camera

Primary 2 MP, 1600x1200 pixels, LED flash

Video Yes

Secondary No

Battery

Standard battery, Li-Ion 1000 mAh

Stand-by Up to 324 h

Talk time Up to 3 h

Features

CPU         200 MHz MTK 6235 processor

Messaging SMS, MMS, Email, IM

Browser WAP 2.0/xHTML (Opera Mini)

Radio FM radio with RDS

Games Yes

Colors White

GPS         No

Java         Yes, MIDP 2.0

• Facebook dedicated key
• OS level SNS integration
• MP3/eAAC+/WMA player
• MP4/H.263 player
• Organizer
• Voice memo
• Predictive text input

Acer Ferrari Liquid Mini

At the ongoing IFA trade show in Berlin, Acer and Ferrari have teamed up to unveil an Android-powered phone, Acer Liquid Mini Ferrari edition. 

The phone packs Android 2.3 Gingerbread and will come preinstalled with Ferrari engine sound, Ferrari-themed wallpapers and pictures. The phone's user interface (UI) has also been Ferrari themed. 

The Liquid Mini Ferrari edition will come with an exclusive Bluetooth headset.

Design

• Ferrari shield
• Curved back for a perfect hand fit
• Dark chrome trims and buttons conveying elegance and style
• Ferrari red color
• Very light (105g)

Technical Specifications

• Display LCD       3.2" HVGA
• Touch screen       Capacitive Multitouch
• Processing Ram      512 Mb
• Camera               5.0 Megapixel
• Micro SD card       8 Gb
• Social               SocialJogger 2.0
• OS version       Android Gingerbread 2.3
• Customization       Ferrari
• User Interface       Acer UI 4.2

Exclusive Contents

• Via Bluetooth, get recognized as a Ferrari fan by the world around you
• Exclusive wallpapers – choose your favorite... and choose to display it on 3, 5 or 7 pages
• Specially developed set of sounds that replicate the powerful Ferrari engine for ringtones, alarms and messages alerts
• Be notified of the latest Ferrari news from the SocialJogger– Access Ferrari official Twitter and Facebook pages and have your say.