Wireless carrier Orange unveils service that connects users to their Facebook friends via voice calls.

French wireless carrier lets you call friends through Facebook...
















Orange, a French wireless carrier, plans to provide a service that will let Facebook users call friends without needing their phone numbers.

The new feature, called "Party Call," will launch this summer in France and will let friends call each other one-on-one or in a group, TechCrunch reported today.

Orange said the feature is the result of a partnership with Facebook. The mobile provider built the service using Facebook's open API, or application programming interface, for developers. The service uses Facebook's open social graph, letting users invite friends and post messages about each call to walls and Timelines.
Unlike VoIP services like Skype or Orange's own Libon, the service provider will route calls to Orange's voice network, Xavier Perret, Orange's vice president of strategic partnerships, told TechCrunch.
 Facebook is not commenting on the new feature, and CNET has contacted Orange for more information. We'll update when we hear back.

Orange's Facebook-based phone service is probably the closet thing to an actual Facebook phone. Although Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has said that a Facebook phone doesn't make sense, rumors continue to surface that the hardware is still in the works.

Wireless carrier Orange unveils service that connects users to their Facebook friends via voice calls.

French wireless carrier lets you call friends through Facebook...

Orange, a French wireless carrier, plans to provide a service that will let Facebook users call friends without needing their phone numbers.
The new feature, called "Party Call," will launch this summer in France and will let friends call each other one-on-one or in a group, TechCrunch reported today
Orange said the feature is the result of a partnership with Facebook. The mobile provider built the service using Facebook's open API, or application programming interface, for developers. The service uses Facebook's open social graph, letting users invite friends and post messages about each call to walls and Timelines.
Unlike VoIP services like Skype or Orange's own Libon, the service provider will route call Orange's voice network, Xavier Perret, Orange's vice president of strategic partnerships, told TechCrunch.

Superfast 4G mobile phone technology to be launched in Cardiff

The latest mobile phone technology(Superfast 4g)

Cardiff is one of 10 cities to move to the cutting edge of mobile phone technology as it launches 4G products for the first time.

EE, formerly known as Everything Everywhere, will launch its range of 4G products and services in London, Bristol, Birmingham, Cardiff, Leeds, Sheffield, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Liverpool and Manchester.

The 4G network, which offers speeds up to five times faster than 3G, will be available on the Apple iPhone 5 as well as devices from HTC, Samsung, Nokia and Huawei.

The launch comes amid criticism of EE's 4G pricing plans, which will hit customers on certain tariffs with additional charges if they exceed download allowances.

Long queues are expected at shops across the country as consumers rush to sign up to the new service and get their hands on a 4G device.

EE customers in a further six cities - Belfast, Derby, Hull, Newcastle, Nottingham and Southampton - will have access to 4G by the end of the year. The group then plans to roll out the service to further towns, cities and rural areas next year, with population coverage of 70% and rising to 98% in 2014.

Rival operators including Vodafone, O2 owner Telefonica and Three will be able to launch their own 4G services and products from next spring. The companies had threatened legal action against communications regulator Ofcom over its 4G auction process, which has allowed EE to be the sole UK provider of the superfast services until next year.

Vodafone launched a "4G phone promise" last week, offering customers the chance to bring an eligible phone into any store and have 70% knocked off their remaining contract, in exchange for taking on a 4G device.

The services will allow uninterrupted access to the web on the go, high definition movies to be downloaded in minutes and TV to be streamed without buffering.

The cheapest EE tariff offers just 500mb worth of downloads each month - the equivalent to two one-hour programmes on the BBC iPlayer. Customers who want to download more than their 500mb allowance will have to pay extra, with a user looking to download eight one-hour programmes a month facing additional charges of up to £180 a year. The EE deals range from £36 a month for 500mb of data downloads to £56 a month for 8GB of data. There are no plans for unlimited data downloads.

TIME COMING BACK

PRESENT WORLD IS MAD FOR SMART PHONES. FUTURE WORLD WILL BE MAD FOR ......?

SMART WATCH ?

The world has waited for high-tech, computerized watches. In the 1980s, Casio came out with calculator watches, while the 1990s and 2000s saw a number of lame attempts to sync wrist pieces with the PC. Finally, in 2012, we’re starting to see real, useful watches that work as our phone and the cloud to help us stay connected, fit and informed. 

                             SONY SMART WATCH

Messaging

Read email, SMS and other notifications on your SmartWatch. Swipe to scroll. Touch to navigate. Gmail, POP3 and other email plugins are available at Google Play Store.

Calendar

SmartWatch vibrates gently for every calendar notification in your phone. Tap the screen and read the details.

Social

No need to check your phone to see if your Facebook friends are up to anything. SmartWatch lets you know. You can read Facebook messages and tweets as they come in.

                                                       Apple's timid

 The iWatch 2 concept features WiFi and Bluetooth support to connect with your iOS devices, and would allow you to access missed calls, Twitter feed, and RSS on the device, as well as a front-facing camera which could be used for FaceTime.

Samsung Galaxy S3 claims top place in smartphones world

Samsung shipped out 18 million Galaxy S III smartphone's in the third quarter for 11 percent of the total smartphone market,"A large touch-screen design, extensive distributions across dozens of countries, and generous operator subsidies have been among the main causes of the Galaxy S3 success. Samsung's Galaxy S3 has proven wildly popular with consumers and operators across North America, Europe and Asia," said analyst Neil Mawston, adding the new iPhone 5 would likely reclaim the top spot for Apple in the current quarter.

Global Smartphone Shipments
	Samsung Galaxy S3		5.4			18.0
	Apple iPhone 4S		19.4			16.2
	Apple iPhone 5		0.0			6.0
	Others		128.0			127.6
	Total		152.8			167.8

ipad- Apple-Tablet

Microsoft prepping Office Mobile for iOS, Android

Microsoft is apparently prepping a mobile version of its popular Office suite for the iPad, iPhone and Android devices. 

Initial reports indicate that Redmond plans on launching Mobile Office for both Android and iOS in early 2013.

According to Tom Warren of The Verge, Office Mobile will make its long-awaited debut in the form of free apps that allow Android and iOS users to view Microsoft Office documents on the move.

A Microsoft account will be required, with the free apps offering preview access to Word, PowerPoint and Excel documents. 

However, full edit functionality will require a paid Office 365 subscription - which can be purchased within the app, or enabled via distribution codes assigned by businesses and corporations. 

"The apps will allow for basic editing, but we're told this won't go very far in attempting to replace regular full use of a desktop Office version," Warren explained. 

As noted above, Mobile Office is expected to go live in early 2013, with the iOS version slated to roll out in late February or early March, and the Android iteration due in May. 

Microsoft seems to have confirmed the above-mentioned story by issuing the following official statement: "Office will work across Windows Phone, iOS and Android."

In the meantime, there is always Google Docs - which is free - for both viewing and editing Microsoft documents and spreadsheets. 

Quite frankly, I've always thought the anticipation and hype surrounding Microsoft Mobile (for Android and iOS) is somewhat overblown. Google Docs is probably fine for most mainstream users, most of whom have absolutely no need or interest in 90% of Office features.

TECHNOLOGY WORLD...