image leaked : Samsung Galaxy Note II

A leaked image of the front panel of the upcoming Samsung Galaxy Note II has surfaced online. The image, provided to GSMArena.com by an anonymous tipster, shows that the design theme of the upcoming phablet (phone+tablet) is quite similar to that of the Samsung Galaxy S III.

The look is characterised by curved edges and a standard single hardware button flanked by a haptic key on either side. The Galaxy Note II is expected to be launched within the next few weeks, most likely during the SamsungUnpacked event on August 29, 2012.

In its post, GSMarena itself said that the authenticity of the image could not be verified by the tipster either, which casts some shadows over its credibility. However, rumours say that the design of the second generation Galaxy Note will be heavily inspired by Galaxy S III, thus gaining some credence to the image.

The post said that the tipster also provided data about the specifications of the yet-to-be-launched Note II. In line with speculations, these include a 5.5-inch SuperAMOLED touchscreen with regular RGB matrix. The tipster also informed GSMArena that the device was subjected for Full HD videos, but that put pressure on the battery of the device, and is likely to be shelved.

Another speculation reinforced by the post was the inclusion of a 1.5GHz Exynos 4 quad-core processor and 8MP rear camera. Samsung Galaxy Note is likely to be launched with Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich), since the Jelly Bean update for the same is still under development, the post stated

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India ranked second

India ranked second in the number ofeducation queries on Google, the search engine major said today.

India was ranked 8th in 2008, and is now behind only to the US, reveals a study titled 'Students on the web' compiled by Google India.

The study was compiled by combining Google search query patterns and an offline research conducted by TNS Australia on behalf of Google India.

Over 60 percent Indian students, who have access to Internet, use it as their first source to research for information related to educational courses and institutes, the study reveals.

"With over 60 million Internet user population in India being in age group of 18-35, educational related search queries are exploding on Google. Our core objective behind compiling this study was to understand the impact Internet is having on this young population with regard to education related decision making by the students,"Google India Vice President and Managing Director Rajan Anandan said.

Education related queries on Google in India are growing at over 46 percent year on year, that highlights strong demand for information on institutes and courses that are available in the country.

Out of all education related search queries on Google, over 40 percent of queries were for higher educationcourses and institutes.

Search queries from mobile phones have considerably grown showing a growth of over 135 percent and amounting to over 22 percent of all education related search queries.

TimesJobs.com has launched a career services portal

Times Business Soultions run online job portal TimesJobs.com has launched a career services portal namedStepAhead. According to the company, StepAhead is a one-stop destination offering a host of services customized for senior, mid and entry levels professionals. StepAhead’s portfolio of premium services range from providing expert advice and analysis of users Resume's strengths and tips on 'how to' make it better with Resume Critique.

StepAhead also provides Resume Distribution and Job Search Management services to make sure that the usres’profile reach top recruiters. With StepAhead’s Profile Verification Service, users can get profile’s credentials, both academic qualifications and employment histories verified, and win recruiters’ trust to get more interview calls.

StepAhead also offers Career Astrology with analysis and predictions in the areas of Work Place Compatibility, Career Growth, Personal SWOT Analysis, Get an Answer, Name Change, Job Shift Planner and Auspicious Dates.

“Undoubtedly, every working professional shares this dream of ‘Career Growth’. But this ambition has many definitions and manifests differently for each individual. While for some the goal would be Financial Freedom, or Bigger Status, for others it could be Recognition from the boss, colleagues, family and friends or even Society. StepAhead provides the bridge between this aspiration and its achievement,” summarized Mandeep Sodhi, Business Head, StepAhead.

PNB facilitates balance enquiry via missed call

“Missed Call” the uniquely Indian innovation has found new legitimacy of sorts at Punjab National Bank. Given how a large number of Indians like to give missed calls so as to indicate to the party at the other end to call back, the bank has devised a simple mechanism which exploits the trait in a unique manner.

The public sector lender has launched a service which allows its customers to find out their savings account balance by giving the bank a “missed call”.

All the customers have to do in order to know their savings account balance is dial the bank’s customer care at either 18001802222 or 01202490000 and give no more than three rings using their registered mobile phone numbers. Immediately after receiving the missed call, the system at the bank’s end sends the details of the accounts balance via an SMS.

The facility is an extension of the bank’s recently launched SMS-based alert service which has received an extremely favorable response from the customers, says the bank.

While PNB is perhaps the first bank in the country to exploit the missed call phenomenon, there have a few examples albeit outside the realm of banking and financial services sector, which indicate that the missed call culture may soon go mainstream in the enterprise.

Sangeetha Mobiles, a retailer with one of the country’s largest chain of mobile stores for instance uses a customized solution which enables prospective customers to get in touch with the mobile retailer via missed calls. Also, there have been reports of mobile application developers working on apps which can incorporate missed calls as a standard type of messaging like a text or even a regular call.

Mobile call rates likely to go up by 30p/min

Disappointed with Cabinet decision on fixing minimum or base price at Rs 14,000 crore for spectrum, the telecom industry today said the recommendations will prove to be "regressive" for the sector's growth and that operators would be forced to raise tariffs for consumers.

GSM operators body COAI, which countsBharti Airtel, Vodafone and Idea Cellularamong its members, said the move will impact tariffs by 30 paise per minute on an average.

"It will continue to have an impact on the tariffs to the extent of about 30 paisa per minute. The effect on finances is that an amount of Rs 3,20,000 crore of additional debt that will have to be laid on the industry," COAI said.

Also, the banking industry itself has said that it would be near impossible to continue to fund this type of a demand for investment funds, he added.

"So the only thing that this is going to balance is perhaps the budget of the country if at all even that. So we really don't see any benefit that this decision does to the industry," Mathews said.

CDMA operators body AUSPI agreed. "It (reserve price) is still very high. It will definitely affect the tariffs," Association Of Unified Telecom Providers Of India Secretary General SC Khanna said.

KPMG Executive Director Jaideep Ghosh also said the pricing is on the higher side and that tariffs for consumers, which have gone up recently, would continue to "firm up".

The Cabinet, headed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, has decided to fix the reserve price at Rs 14,000 crore for 5 Mhz of airwaves as against around Rs 18,000 crore recommended by sectoral regulator Trai for spectrum auction.

The Supreme Court had, in February this year, cancelled 122 licences issued by the then Telecom Minister A Raja in 2008 and asked the government to conduct fresh auctions by August 31.

But this deadline may not be met and the government may approach the apex court for extension of the timeline