India’s Broadband Penetration Remains Dismal, Ranks 122nd In World!

With the internet penetration increasing year-by-year in India, most of us would be tempted to say that India has progressed a lot in terms of internet subscribers and thus, broadband penetration. Unfortunately, it is not so. One look at a recently released report by Broadband Commission and the bubble goes bust.

The Broadband Commission For Digital Development, a United Nations set-up, launched by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and the United Nations Educational, has come out with their Annual Broadband Penetration 2013 Report. With this Report, the Broadband Commission expands awareness and understanding of the importance of broadband networks, services, and applications for generating economic growth, and for achieving social progress. The Commission has viewed broadband as a cluster of concepts: always-on, high-capacity connectivity enabling combined provision of multiple services simultaneously.

According to the report, in India, broadband has already generated nearly 9 million direct and indirect jobs, while a 1% increase in broadband penetration has potential to add US$2.7 bn or 0.11% to Indian GDP in 2015.

Already CISCO pilot projects in several states in India have resulted in over 600,000 student hours of education delivery, 10-12% improvement in attendance and a 19% increase in the performance of nine schools across three districts of the state of Karnataka. Healthcare services have been delivered via twenty centers, across eight districts in three states (Karnataka, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh), resulting in over 50,000 patient consultations, with hundreds of treatments for malnourished children and consultations with expectant mothers.

India Broadband Stats

In 2011, India adopted the National Optical Fiber Network policy. However, India ranks a distant 122^ndworldwide in Fixed Broadband Penetration per 100 residents.

Shamefully, third world countries like Tonga and Kyrgyzstan are ahead of us. India also ranks a far-off 106^th in the Mobile Broadband Penetration across the world per 100 residents.

Thankfully, in the percentage of households with Internet for developing countries, India ranks better at 75.

But again, in Percentage of Individuals using the Internet across the world, India is at 145 and among developing countries is at 98.

The report says that as India is one of the first countries to launch LTE (4G telephony), it will accelerate service delivery in sectors ranging from health to public infrastructure, and thus drive a significant structural shift in consumer behaviour over the next few years, especially given that nearly 200 operators in 75 countries may offer LTE services by the end of 2013.

Hopefully, the scenario improves in next couple of years!

Fairfax Financials Offers BlackBerry Acquisition For USD 4.7 Billion, Has 6 Weeks To Find Alternative Buyer

The inevitable has happened – Blackberry has been acquired it’s Toronto based largest shareholder Fairfax Financial Holdings. The deal is subject to proper due-diligence and various clearances.

Fairfax Holding is pre-dominantly an insurance and investment business based in Toronto and owned by Prem Watsa. They were Blackberry’s largest shareholders with 10 percent stake in the company. The deal valued at USD 4.7 billion will give it’s shareholder a value of USD 9 per share. Blackberry shares have been trading between USD 9 to USD 10 for last 3 months!

According to the agreement, Blackberry has a window of 6 weeks to look for an alternative buyer (if any) who can offer a better deal. If that comes along, Blackberry can accept the alternative offer by paying a termination fee.

While Blackberry is currently publicly traded, upon acquisition, Fairfax will offer USD 9 in cash per share to acquire remaining 90 percent of Blackberry shares in the market. You can check out more details offinancial transaction here.

Our Take

Blackberry’s acquisition was on cards – It was bound to happen and given the way Blackberry’s fortunes are going down, this is not really a bad deal either for the company or their share-holders. Compared to Nokia’s acquisition by Microsoft, Blackberry surely has got a sweet deal (though Nokia’s deal was more of a strategic one).

Having said that, I would not be surprised if likes of Samsung or Sony or Dell or Lenovo or someone else may come forward in this six weeks window to acquire Blackberry. These companies will surely find lot more value in Blackberry compared to what Fairfax may.

Barbara Stymies, Chairman of BlackBerry’s board of directors has clearly stated that “Importantly, the go-shop process provides an opportunity to determine if there are alternatives superior to the present proposal from the Fairfax consortium,”.

Blackberry currently has over USD 1 Billion worth of Unsold Phone inventory primarily due to Blackberry Z10’s failure to woos consumers.

Like I said, I see a strong chance that BlackBerry will interest many other buyers especially who want to make further inroads into mobile smartphone hw/sw space that is right now being led by Android and iOS’s of the world!

What’s your take?

Fake BBM Apps Fool Thousands Of Android Users!

Today is 21^st September and like me, hordes of Android users are waiting for Blackberry Messenger to arrive on Play store. Social Media sites are abuzz with talks of BBM downloads. Like many others, I visited play store to check BBM’s arrival. To my excitement, I had “Blackberry Messenger” by “BBM Inc.” staring right back at me. Without giving much thought about it, I went ahead and installed.

Generally, when I install any app, I make sure I read the reviews properly, to make sure that the app is genuine and works properly. This time though in the excitement, I did not do it. And like many others I fell into the trap. Here check the screenshot from Google Play store of the app I am talking about.

Though I knew that there are many “Blackberry” Apps created by third parties, the name of developer of this app “BBM Inc” was what convinced me to download it.

When I tried opening the app, it crashed on my Nexus. I tried it a few times but same thing happened. I have installed hundreds of apps on phone, but I have never had a app that did not even start. I was a little surprised. But after I read the reviews from users and spoke to a few people on Facebook and Twitter, it became clear that I was caught in the FAKE-APP trap.

Literally every reviewer had the same experience of app crashing on them. After doing little bit of research on the developer name “BBM Inc”, it was clear that the App was not only fake, but may also be a malware, that could potentially harm your mobile.

The app developer had not one but 3-4 different apps for “Blackberry messenger” and also some other games to their name. The description used for the app was not something Blackberry will use for their apps!

The Real Blackberry Messenger App On Android

The real BBM app will be arriving at 4:30pm India time on Play Store. The app may be released under the name of “RIM”, “Research In Motion” or “Blackberry”. Also, make sure read the description where it may say that “this is official BBM app for Android”. In addition read the user reviews of the app to see what they have to say about it. If the reviews are positive, that means people have used it and vetted the authenticity of the app!

Setting Up Chromecast In India – A User Review

Today I received my ChromeCast Device (One my friend in US sent it for me), it’s not yet available in India for purchase. ChromeCast is Google’s cheaper alternative to streaming devices like Apple TV (I have been using Apple TV for past 2 years) and Roku (and other such devices).

It has similar capabilities like AirPlay (available on MAC and iOS devices) but has a restriction of Chrome Browser and/or ChromeCast compatible Apps (Which are Youtube, Netflix, Google Music, Google Play TV and Movies). Unlike AirPlay you cannot use it as a pure screen casting option.

Box

Here is what was in Chromecast Box

The box consists of –

1. ChromeCast Stick (Device)
2. USB Cable
3. Charger
4. HDMI extender (Extension to connect ChromeCast Device to Television’s HDMI Slot)
5. Product Manual

Setting Up Chromecast

I must say I was impressed how easy it was to set it up. It is a simple 3-step process -

1. Connect your ChromeCast device to your television – You can connect it in two ways

• (Preferred) Attach ChromeCast HDMI adapter to device and put it in your Television’s HDMI Slot and also attach USB cable and put it in your Television’s USB port (for powering ChromeCast device).
• Attach ChromeCast HDMI adapter to device and put it in your Television’s HDMI Slot and attach charger cable to device and plug it in for powering the device.

2. Power on and change the Television mode to HDMI slot where ChromeCast device is plugged in, you should see following screen

3. Download ChromeCast app from https://cast.google.com/chromecast/setup on your desktop/mac to complete the setup. Follow steps (WiFi configuration and Naming the device) mentioned in the app and complete the setup.

That’s it you are all set to enjoy (?) ChromeCast !

Once you are done with the complete setup you will see following screen on your Television.

Start ChromeCasting

Install this Google Cast AddOn on your Desktop Chrome Browser and you will see Casting Button on top right corner of your Chrome Browser and on the bottom right corner on your Youtube Videos.

And when you press the ChromeCast option the video magically appears on your Television!

ChromeCast from iPhone

Also now if you go to your iPhone and open latest YouTube App you will see ChromeCast option on the top right corner of the video, click choose the ChromeCast device and start casting -

And this is how you will see this on Television

You can also cast browser tab to your TV (maybe to view photos or something like that). I didn’t find that much useful.

Behind the scene

ChromeCast doesn’t actually do streaming, instead the device allows you to control the content streaming from your PC/Mac/Mobile Device. What really happens is when you ChromeCast any Youtube video in Chrome/Youtube app and choose to ChromeCast, it actually instructs ChromeCast device what video to play from internet and it streams that from cloud. This way your Phone is free (you can actually turn it off also once stream is started on your Television) This is pretty cool but currently only works with Youtube and Netflix.

Pros:

1. Cheap (35$)
2. Easy to setup (Plug and Play pretty much)
3. Cross Platform (Windows, Mac, Android, iOS)
4. Portable (very small, can hide behind your TV)
5. Browser Tab Casting

Cons:

1. Biggest issue I see is with resolution (as expected) – I can only see 1080 p HD videos on my LED Television, all other lower resolutions give very poor output on Television. When I used Chrome Browser to play some local videos and ChromeCasted them onto TV it slowed down my MAC a bit (it’s definitely resource intensive) also the quality is more closer to good old VHS days.

2. Only Youtube app is supported in India (as we don’t have Netflix). Need more apps. (I would love to see Coursera or similar E-Learning apps with ChromeCast capabilities)

3. Currently only supports Chrome Browser for Tab Casting

Final Thoughts

In short -

Overall it’s a good bargain for 35$ and I hope there would be many more apps coming soon with ChromeCast support.

Having said that, being in India we do not have too many apps that can currently work. I have not tried using proxy to trick chromecast in thinking that I have US, but I am sure that is a workaround that can be used to consumer US-Only apps in India!

The feature that makes ChromeCast unique is again you can continue using your phone for other activities after you initiate the cast as ChromeCast sources all the streaming from Internet.

[This guest post is written by our regular reader Vishwas Jirgale. He is a true gadget fan, mobility expert loves to play around with latest and greatest in gadgets and mobile technology. Currently he is Director of Product Engineering group focusing on Enterprise Mobile Products.]

Malware Becoming A Real Threat For Android Devices In India

With the advent of smartphones, the threats which computers used to face earlier are being passed down to smartphones as well. With the PC market shrinking and the tablets-smartphones growing by leaps and bounds every year, programmers are having a gala time exploiting loopholes. And users are bearing the brunt.

Android had and still has just one issue and that keeps on popping up its head every now and then…Malware. Last month the US Government had said that Android is a malware ‘magnet’, thanks to the OS fragmentation.

The reason was so many devices still run the outdated versions. Of the malicious attacks documented in the study issued by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), 79 percent took place on an Android device. Meanwhile, Apple’s iOS received just 0.7 percent of the recorded malware threats.

The US report had said that 44 percent of Android users are still using versions 2.3.3 through 2.3.7-known as Gingerbread-which were released in 2011 and have a number of security vulnerabilities that were fixed in later versions.

Now the Computer Emergency Response Team-India (CeRT-In) has said a potentially damaging virus, which steals SMSes and personal details of an Android-enabled gadget-user, has been detected in Indian cyberspace.

The malware is affecting all the versions of Android prior to version 4.2.2 (Jelly Bean). The malicious programme, the advisory said, is so damaging that it could be used for stealing personal information like email addresses, IMEI numbers, SMSes and installed applications. “It could also send SMS or make calls from infected devices without user consent,” the sleuths of the national cyber security centre said.

Modus Operandi

Android Master key vulnerability – The vulnerability involves discrepancies in how Android applications are cryptographically verified & installed, allowing for APK code modification without breaking the cryptographic signature.

All Android applications contain cryptographic signatures, which Android uses to determine if the app is legitimate and to verify that the app hasn’t been tampered with or modified. This vulnerability makes it possible to change an application’s code without affecting the cryptographic signature of the application – essentially allowing a malicious author to trick Android into believing the app is unchanged even if it has been.

The worst part is, the attacker can craft the malicious file for stealing personal information. It could even send SMS or make calls from infected device WITHOUT user consent.

Counter Measures

Check for the permissions required by an application before installing, exercise caution while visiting untrusted sites for clicking links, run a full system scan through a device with a mobile security solution or mobile anti-virus solution or anti-malware software, do not download and install applications from untrusted sources and download applications only from trusted sources, reputed application markets and Google play store.

With Android coming up with newer versions, shouldn’t it join the mobile device manufacturers in providing upgrades to the older handsets – if not all, atleast the major devices using the older versions? Or should the manufacturers be allowed to sell devices with OS which is a sitting duck for hackers, especially when we know it is vulnerable?

Opera Partners with 7 Indian Smartphones Vendors To Increase Mobile Browser Market Share

                             Few people know Opera in the desktop space but it’s opposite when it comes to Opera on mobile. Most of the mobile users know it, and have also used it.

                               While it comes to the web, Opera is the fourth most popular browser (after Chrome, Firefox, IE/Safari depending on you OS), in the mobile world however, Opera seems to have been always there.

It was there in the pre-smartphone days, known for its data crunching that enabled user to get faster web page rendering. Because Opera used server-side, data reduction, users also had to download less data thus saving bandwidth.

                                In the smartphones as well, Opera had gained momentum as people downloaded it as their browser of choice because of their fondness that they had from the usage in feature phones. However, the Android browser (and later Chrome on mobile) was quite capable and thus Opera found itself fighting stiff battles. Then came along the plethora of browsers and suddenly mobile internet had the same competition as the desktop.

                              In fact, once India’s most used mobile browser, Opera was recently toppled by UC Browser which claims to be the number one 3rd party browser used by Indians with 30% market share. If you look at Statcounter analytics, in the month of June/July of this year, UC Browser overtook Opera as the Top mobile browse in India.

                               To tackle this, Opera has partnered with seven Indian smartphone vendors (Micromax, Videocon, Spice, MoMagic Technologies, Wynncom, Lemon Mobiles and iBall). According to the partnership agreement, Opera will be pre-loaded in the phones that will be launched by these companies. This is not the first tie-up of Opera and now it has such a partnership with 17 companies including Karbonn, Lava, Intex, HCL etc.

                                   This is indeed a huge number and as we know that Micromax is one of the biggest Indian vendors out there, Opera should be able to get a good reach because of this. Some of the phones that will be launching with Opera Mini in the near future are Micromax’s Canvas 4, Canvas Doodle 2, Spice’s Coolpad, Lava Iris 506Q, Celkon Campus A20, Karbonn A9 Star. Many other phones will also be launched in the future with opera Mini installed in them.

                                   Besides these, Opera has also tied up with Symphony Mobile in Bangladesh and Colors Mobile in Nepal to bring Opera Mini to these countries as well.

                                   According to Sunil Kamath, Opera Software Vice President for South Asia- “India is home to the largest number of Opera Mini users in the world. Partnering with local OEMs in India and neighboring countries is part of our growth strategy to take Opera Mini’s user numbers in the region from strength to strength.”

Let’s see if Opera is able to regain its lost ground with these partnerships.