Biggest technology launches of 2009

[seema]

The long-awaited successor to Microsoft IE 7 (Internet Explorer), IE 8, was rolled out this year.

Microsoft claimed that the new browser is faster in almost every respect. It loads faster, switches pages faster, and renders complex graphics and videos faster than in previous versions.

IE8 has a new feature called Accelerators which allows users to highlight text on a website and choose from a variety of functions, including search engines, language translation or map displays.

The Redmond, Washington-based software maker added some new privacy features, including a mode for Web browsing that doesn't remember what sites were visited nor stores small data files called cookies.

IE8 beefs up protection against malware and known phishing scam sites. It comes with built-in technology to protect against another kind of threat, "cross-site scripting," in which hackers insert code into legitimate Web pages that compromise peoples' computers without them knowing it.

[seema]

Marking a first, Korean electronics giant Samsung launched a series of LED technology-based televisions in the Indian market priced between Rs 1.25 lakh and Rs 3.5 lakh.

The LED TVs are based on a new technology which uses LED (light emitting diodes) in the panels as against LCD TVs, which use normal liquid crystal display technology.

Samsung's 32 inches LED TV Series 6 offers a resolution of 1920 x 1080, 4 HDMI ports, USB 2.0, SRS TruSurround HD and is priced around Rs 70,000.

The company also introduced a range of LCD TVs and Plasma TVs, affordably priced in the range of Rs 17,000-1.7 lakh and Rs 59,000-1.35 lakh respectively.

[seema]

RIM's long-awaited touchscreen iPhone rival, Blackberry Storm, finally made its debut in India this year. BlackBerry Storm 9530' most striking feature is its nifty SurePress touchscreen, which combines the flexibility of software-based input with the tactile response of physical ****ons. The phone sports a standard QWERTY keyboard for a high-resolution 3.25-inch touchscreen.

Storm packs a host of multimedia capabilities including Bluetooth 2.0 with support for stereo Bluetooth headsets, dial-up networking and GPS. The phone comes with a Media Player with support for music and video formats including MP3, AAC, WMA, WMV, MPEG4 and H.264.

Storm is equipped with a 3.2 megapixel camera with video recording, auto focus and flash. The phone comes with 128MB of flash memory and 1GB of onboard memory. The phone offers support for microSD/SDHC expansion slot up to 16GB cards.

[seema]

Taking cue from Apple's lightest laptop MacBook Air, Sony this year launched an ultra-slim Sony Vaio X laptop. The laptop weighs mere 655 grams and is about half an inch thin. The laptop sports a 11.1-inch LED Backlit display offering 1366x768 pixel resolution.

Equipped with Intel Atom processor, the laptop comes pre-loaded with Windows 7 Professional (32-bit). Vaio X is sold in two models -- VPCX113KG for Rs 64,990 and VPCX117LG for Rs 84,990.

The base model, VPC113KG, will pack 45nm process 1.86GHz Intel Atom Z540 'Silverthorne' processor. Vaio VPC117LG model includes 2GHz Intel Atom Z550 processor. Sony is offering 2GB DDR2 RAM and 64GB SSD in VPCX113KG while the other model has 128GB SSD storage.

[seema]

Creative Zen launched a 3-inch touchscreen media player -- Zen X-FI 2 in the Indian market.

The Zen X-Fi 2 supports MP3, WMA, AAC and FLAC audio formats, and supports Creative’s proprietary X-Fi Crystalizer and X-Fi Expand technologies to enhance sound quality.

The player bundles EP-630 in-ear earphones with ear tips in three different sizes for comfort. X-Fi 2 also comes with a micro SD slot for adding more data, and an AV-Out port (the A/V cable is sold separately) which can be used to display videos and pictures on the TV. The X-Fi 2 also features a built-in speaker and microphone, and supports clock, alarm, calendar, task, and contacts functions.

It is priced around Rs 7,000, 9,500 and 12,000 for 8, 16, and 32GB versions.