Patriot Memory Supersonic Mini USB 3.0 Flash Drive

Patriot Memory’s Supersonic line of USB 3.0 flash drives has been launched for more than 2 years. Following the high-speed Magnum and Rage XT and rugged Boost XT, the company has just introduced the latest addition, the super small Supersonic Mini. With a ultraportable form factor, the new USB 3.0 drive is light (just 1.5 grams) and small, and is super durable with a rubberized casing.

The Supersonic Mini uses USB 3.0 interface and offers a transfer speed of up to 80MB/s. It is available in 16GB and 32GB capacities, which are priced at $19.99 and $29.99, respectively. You will be able to get one starting from early April.

 

Nokia staff in Chennai factory in India gets 200% wage hike

Nokia has decided to give its workers at the Chennai factory in India a raise, with some of the workers to get as much as 200% higher paychecks.

According to a report by the Economic Times, Nokia sees the factory as a key part in its comeback plans and has entered into a wage pact. As a result as many as a 3000 of the 9000 employees will see their wages jump from Rs. 7,000 ($129) to Rs 21,000 ($386) a month.

The rest of the staff will see significant pay increases as well. Furthermore, the Finns have set up a death relief fund, totaling to Rs. 500,000 ($9212). Its purpose is to go to the families of workers, who have died of natural causes.

Here’s what a Nokia spokesman said to ET

As policy, we do not share specific details of wage agreements between Nokia and its employees. That said, we would like to confirm that Nokia India Private Ltd and Nokia India Employees Union, an independent union with no affiliation to central trade union, have entered into a long-term wage settlement that was signed recently in the presence of assistant labour commissioner Dharmaseelan. A Soundararajan, MLA and president and consultant to our trade union, represented the employees union.

Google Shows Off its Shoes but You Cannot Buy a Pair

If you thought wearable tech was stupid, think again. From the guys who gave you Google Glass comes another wearable tech product called ‘Google Glass’. It won’t be coming to stores near you unlike Google Glass, but ripoffs are expected now that the idea is publicized.

Google Shoes are modified Adidas sneakers and is a part of the company’s ‘Art, Copy and Code’ project. Its build in co-operation with the tech company ‘Yes Yes No’. They feature a custom-build microcontroller and speak funny things out to you via a speaker, or Google plus when connected to the internet. Things like accelerometer and gyroscope are build into the shoes too along with the pressure sensors at the bottom.

Its the messages though which make this piece of technology great. For example, if you start walking it will say "I’m snoring" and if you are not moving, it will yell "I am trying to imagine what it would look like moving" at you. It can also connect with an Android smartphone.

The Google Shoes were shown at the SXSW event in Austin, Texas. What’s a pity though, is that Google doesn’t plan to sell these in any market. They might however open-source the information so that you can make your own. The pair shown off at the SXSW were made to show what’s possible with data.

So the next time you are at an Adidas store (or elsewhere) buying your next pair of sneakers, take a moment to think about the possibilities of wearable tech. This one actually looks like a better concept than Google Glass, even if its not quite nearly as functional.

Rovio Slashes the Price of Angry Birds on iOS to Free to Boost Sales

Rovio, the company behind Angry Birds, the most successful game of recent times has cut off the price of its popular Angry Birds and Angry Birds HD titles to free as an effort to boost sales of the games again.

The move saw the Angry Birds app being chosen as the App of the week.

The apps were already free on Android but its only now that they’ve seen their price getting slashed to ZERO on iOS. Their free versions have been pulled down from some markets as well. Rovio, however, hasn’t confirmed yet whether the move is temporary but its highly likely that it isn’t.

What goes up…

Rovio has, in recent times, seen its place fall from the top 80 grossing apps for the first time in the App Store since May 2010. Angry Birds series’ titles have been downloaded over 1 billion times, quite an achievement even for a freemium app. It also popularized the idea of proper gaming and store on a smartphone.

The game series, however, lately has become a bit dull and boring due to a certain lack of ideas. Also the rise of new app makers has made gaming on a smartphone a never-ending experience which always feels fresh.

FCC Orders to Suspend Payments to Pakistani Telecom Operators for Charging Higher Call Rates

The Federal Communications Commission, the regulatory body in USA, has ordered all U.S. telecommunications service providers to freeze payments to Pakistani long-distance carriers for termination services in excess of 2 cents per minute.

In an order issued on March 5th, 2013 and posted to the FCC website yesterday, the agency’s International Bureau agreed to partly grant an October 2012 petition by Vonage Holdings Corp. for commission intervention in what the company claims is a 500 percent increase in the rates charged for outgoing calls to Pakistan.

Such rates prior to Oct. 1, 2012, had been based on cost, averaging $0.02 per minute, but Pakistani carriers decided to raise the rate to $0.088 per minute following the creation of a new “International Clearing House.”

AT&T Inc. also supported Vonage’s petition, and said that Pakistani carriers’ actions violate the commission’s policies protecting U.S. consumers against anticompetitive conduct by foreign carriers to force “above-cost” settlement rate hikes.

However, instead of issuing a full stop payment order as requested by Vonage, AT&T recommended that the commission issue an order prohibiting increased U.S. settlement payments above the rates that existed before Oct. 1, 2012.

FCC in its order said:

“We find anticompetitive the Pakistani LDI [long-distance international] carriers’ actions demanding a substantial rate increase above previously negotiated rates in a way that amounts to a rate floor. By establishing the International Clearing House plan, the Pakistani carriers acted in concert to impose unilaterally this rate floor without engaging in meaningful negotiations with U.S. carriers and foreclosing future separate negotiations between U.S. and individual LDI correspondent carriers.”

“Vonage is extremely disappointed in the exorbitant price increase imposed by the Pakistani providers.  The increase hurts consumers and prevents us from providing greater value to our Pakistani customers,” said Michael Tempora, Senior Vice President of Product Management for Vonage. “Vonage appreciates the efforts of the United States government and the FCC. We are hopeful that this Order will spark a prompt reduction in calling rates so that consumers can once again afford to call Pakistan with the freedom and frequency they enjoyed before.”

It merits mentioning here that telecom operators in Pakistan were charging higher calls and hence had posted tremendous increase in stock value and revenues during Q4 2012. With this order, and possibly the similar action in other markets, operators are likely to face the monetary brunt.