Facebook may soon launch 'Sympathize' button

Facebook's 'Like' button has been one of its biggest successes, but it is not rare to find posts which one may not actually like. In such cases users often write 'dislike' in comments just to express their unhappiness about the topic of the post. While the 'Dislike' button may still be away, users may get to see a 'Sympathize' button in their news feed.

According to a Huffington Post report, Facebookis pondering on introducing a 'Sympathize button'. The button created by an employee during Facebook hackathon held "a little while back" reportedly became an instant hit.

This button would appear when users post a gloomy update (for example Sad or Depressed from Facebook's list of feelings) in place of 'Like'.

Facebook engineer, Dan Muriello, told Huffington Post that though the idea of a 'Sympathize' button was warmly welcomed by others at the company, the button is still some time away from becoming a reality.

Muriello said, "It would be, 'five people sympathize with this,' instead of 'five people 'Like' this.' Which of course a lot of people were -- and still are -- very excited about. But we made a decision that it was not exactly the right time to launch that product. Yet."

So, may be in another few months, users won't have to awkwardly like a post of someone's dog passing away or when they break up with their partner.

Facebook hackathons have created some of the most popular products of the website, such as theLike button, TimeLine, Chat messenger etc.

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Now, turn your iPhone into 'BlackBerry'

A new device has been launched for iPhones aimed at making typing a lot easier.

American Idol host and serial reality TV producer, Ryan Seacrest, has invested one million dollars in the Typo keyboard, an accessory that is trying to make typing easy.

According to Mashable, the case snaps on to the top of an iPhone and turns the touch screen keypad into one that resembles the BlackBerry's qwerty keyboard.

The Typo Keyboard priced at 99 dollars targets those who carry two phones: one for typing and another an iPhone for most everything else.

The keyboard, which works when Bluetooth is enabled, adds less than 1 inch (2.54 centimetres) to the iPhone's length, the report added.

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Nokia's low-cost 'smartphone for India' leaked

Nokia's new Lumia 525 is yet to arrive in the Indian market, but the company may be readying another low-cost smartphone aimed at budget buyers.

Data recorded by Zauba, a logistic tracking website, shows an unannounced Nokia device codenamed RM-977. This device has a 4.5-inch touchscreen and single sim slot and will reportedly ship for Rs 7,966 in the Indian market. This device was sent to India from Finland for testing and evaluation purposes, according to the website.

No other details about this upcoming smartphone are available at present.

The recently unveiled Lumia 525 is the successor to the popular Lumia 520, however, the only differences between the two devices are RAM upgrade and glossier body. At present, Lumia 520 is available in the market at approximately Rs 8,000, while there is no word on the launch date of Lumia 525.

Nokia has already listed the entry-level Lumia 525 and top-end Lumia 1520 smartphones on its India website. However, it has not announced their launch dates.

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Google promises better deals at its shopping fest

Google will kick off its second Great Online Shopping Festival (GOSF) in India from December 11. The fest, which will see participation by over 200 e-commerce portals, will run for 72 hours. Google said the GOSF will bring leading e-commerce players in India on a common platform to provide the best possible deals.

Websites like Flipkart, Myntra, IndiaTimes Shopping, Amazon India, Jabong and Snapdeal will be part of the fest.

Google India chief Rajan Anandan said the GOSF is company's attempt to familiarize more Indian web users with online shopping. The first GOSF, held last year, was only a 24-hour affair. The company said that the most e-commerce portals saw over 350% growth on the day of GOSF last year.

"GOSF is India's version of cyber monday in the west and is an exciting platform to raise awareness and consumer adoption of online shopping in India. With over 200 million Internet users in the country, more and more Internet users are opting to shop online. Industry estimates suggest there are close to 20 million online shoppers in India... it is estimated to grow to 50 million in next few years making it a $16 billion industry," said Anandan.

Google said that last year nearly 50% of people who shopped during the GOSF were the first time online shoppers.

While Google may have big numbers to show, some of the online shoppers are not too impressed with the GOSF. Raju PP, a blogger who often buys gadgets online, says that last year the deals were bad.

"From what I remember, prices were inflated and brought down to levels which were available even before the GOSF began. Existing deals were rebranded for the GOSF, so it was nothing close to Black Friday or Cyber Monday deals we see in US," said Raju.

Google said this time shoppers can expect better and bigger deals. The company said the GOSF partners will offer up to 60% discount on luxury watches, 20% discount on air tickets on domestic routes, up to 50% discount on speakers, headphones and men's accessories, up to 80% discount on home decor, flat 40% discount on furniture, up to 50% discount on TVs, up to 40% discount on mobile phones, up to 45% discount on computers and tablets, up to 30% discount on cameras and 40% discount on men's footwear.

Nitin Bawankule, industry director for e-commerce at Google India, said, "We have extended the festival to three days to cater to the growing demand and hope to attract many first time buyers this year... (our partners) have all lined up incredible deals for the bargain hunters and first time buyers."

Airtel, Intel and Paytm are the preferred partners for the initiative. Apart from promoting the initiative, Airtel will offer a flat 10% cashback on all online transactions on top of the other offers by participating websites to customers who transact using Airtel money. And to help people connect to the internet, Airtel is giving away a free dongle on new 4G and a free Wifi modem on new broadband connections.

Intel has worked with companies who make Intel-powered laptops for the GOSF this year. The company said that discounts will be available on several Intel-powered laptops during the GOSF.

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Infosys launches sales platform, TradeEdge

Software major Infosys has launched TradeEdge, an insights-driven sales platform that would provide visibility to global brands across the demand chain from distributors to consumers.

"It (TradeEdge) will provide brands one of the most affordable ways to expand reach in the emerging markets," Infosys chairman NRNarayana Murthy told reporters here.

The new platform will deliver insights that help brands accurately sense and fulfil consumer demand while significantly improving sales and operational performance, he said.

Murthy said the new platform will have a range of innovative features that empower brands to enhance collaboration by allowing companies and distributors to exchange accurate and timely information related to sales, inventory and products.

He said it would also expand reach by onboarding distributors rapidly in weeks rather than months, via a cloud-based ERP system, while rolling out best practices across markets within hours.

"For global brands, the next billion consumers will come from the emerging markets. To accelerate profitable growth, brands need to know these markets better, reach customers faster and do so at lower costs," Infosys vice-president and global head - products, platforms and solution, Sanjay Purohit said.

Designed from the ground up for the emerging markets, Infosys TradeEdge is already helping 10 global brands gain visibility into sales opportunities of more than $20 billion in over 70 countries, he said.

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Motorola's customizable phones coming soon: CEO

Recently, Motorola announced Project Ara, an initiative that aims to create smartphones with customizable hardware. It soon tied up with 3D Systems, an integrated solutions provider, to come up with the modular smartphones.

In a Google Hangout chat, Motorola CEO Dennis Woodside said that the first Project Araprototype "is pretty close." He also said, "The idea is you have a skeleton that holds together a set of components and the components slide in and out. If we have the interfaces and the protocols that enable the speaker to speak directly to the CPU then this would all be possible."

The aim of the project is to create smartphones whose individual components can be upgraded easily. Users would have the option of removing an older component and replace it with a new one. This would do away with the problem of replacing a smartphone every few months due to upgrades in technology.

Moto Maker, the online tool introduced by Motorola to customize its Moto X smartphone, will be used to create these modular smartphones. The online solution currently allows users to only pick the colour, material of construction and messages on the rear panel. However, it is expected that with the launch of the first Project Ara handset, users will be allowed to choose more hardware features, such as RAM, camera, screen size etc.

Just like Google did with Glass, Motorola has decided to turn to crowdsourcing for the development of Project Ara phones. It has started a programme that allows interested users to sign up and give suggestions to improve the modular smartphones. Motorola will provide an early release version of the customizable smartphone to the most active participants of the initiative.

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Indian IT companies' $18 billion opportunity

Technology firms in India have $18 billion opportunity to help clients improve productivity and asset utilisation as well as to enhance end-customer experience using IoTdata, according to networking firm Cisco.

There is an explosion of data generated by a network of internet-connected devices like sensors, routers, smartphones, smart TVs and security cameras, which is referred to as Internet of Things or IoT.

Using technologies like predictive analytics and Big Data, companies can enhance productivity and increase operational efficiency.

"Use cases for IoT are plenty, be it for energy companies that can build smart grids to reduce T&D losses or for the food industry where there is a lot of wastage due to lack of proper warehousing and logistics," Ciscopresident India and SAARC Jeff White told PTI.

Smarter networks not only help companies plan better but also reduce operational inefficiency and increase productivity, he added.

With improved business process execution and capital efficiency, companies can utilise their assets better ($1.4 billion), while enhanced employee productivity presents a $0.9 billion opportunity, as per Cisco projections.

Other opportunities include improved supply chain logistics ($8.3 billion), enhanced customer experience ($2.7 billion) and strong innovation, including shorter time to market and additional revenue streams from new business models and opportunities ($4.7 billion).

The benefits of IoT are not limited to corporates alone. Big Data and analytics are also transforming other sectors like healthcare and hospitality.

Citing an example, White said, "Using IoT, one can have virtual doctors in villages, where specialists are not available. Through telepresence, these doctors can conduct checkups, dispense health advice, or even alert people to possible health problems before they become serious."

With IP-enabled devices connected to a common network and communicating with each other, door locks, thermostats, set-top-boxes, mini-fridges, light switches and other things can be automated to provide better experience to hotel guests, driving greater customer loyalty, he said.

According to Cisco's Internet of Everything Value Index study, IoT is expected to generate at least $613 billion in global corporate profits this year.

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