Top news this week: Aakash 4 specs revealed, Airtel 4G in Mumbai and Delhi and more!

This week too the tech world remained abuzz with new launches, and announcements. Right on cue, we’re back with a recap of this week’s tech news for you. Check it out in case you missed something.

Google Reader is dead. Long live Google Reader!
Google Reader bid a goodbye to its users this week. The service that allowed readers to go through articles and news feeds in one location was shuttered off for good by the Internet giant on July 1. It will no longer be useable and you will not be able to view your feeds on Google Reader anymore. You can still use another RSS reader to salvage your feeds and keep using them.

Cross-platform messaging app Line comes to India
Cross-platform messaging application Line has now made its way to India. Following the footsteps of WeChat, Line too has come to the country armed with a brand new marketing campaign, including TV spots targeted at the youth.

Launched this week …

3G feature phone Nokia 301 launched in India for Rs 5,349
Nokia launched 301, a S40 handset, in India for Rs 5,349. The mobile features the classic ‘candybar’ design and sports a 2.4-inch display. The handset runs on the Nokia Series 40 platform and features 3.5G HSPA speeds alongwith a ‘smart camera’. The 3.2MP camera on the Nokia 301 comes with a host of options for taking and editing pictures.

Aakash 4 specs released; will run on Android and Linux
After much deliberation, the government has decided to continue the much-troubled Aakash project and has released the specifications of the fourth-gen low-cost education tablet. These are the proposed specifications for the device, which will officially be called Aakash 4.

India refused asylum to Snowden…

India turns down Snowden’s request for asylum
Syed Akbaruddin, a spokesman for the foreign ministry, said that while the Indian embassy in Moscow did get the request, after careful deliberation, it was decided that India saw no reason to grant the request.

Mozilla CTO says Firefox OS tablet is coming soon
The organisation’s Chief Technology Officer, Brendan Eich, said at a news conference in San Francisco that the first tablets to run Firefox OS are coming soon, but declined to say exactly when we could expect them.

Third most used OS in the world…

Windows 8 becomes the third most used OS in the world
A report by Net Market Share, an online platform that monitors the market share statistics for Internet technologies, has stated that Windows 8 is the third most used operating system in the world.

2.7 billion people will have Internet access by year end: UN
The latest edition of UN’s Millenium Development Goals report is out and it estimates that by the end of this year, 2.7 billion people (39 percent of the world’s population) would be using the Internet.

MediaTek MT6589: At the heart of India’s quad-core smartphone boom   MediaTek’s low-cost SoC, MT6589 is the beating heart of the quad-core smartphone boom that’s ongoing in India and has already swept China. And it’s here to stay by the look of things.

Airtel 4G service coming soon to Delhi and Mumbai

Soon, Mumbai and Delhi will also get Airtel 4G service
Bharti Airtel has now become the majority shareholder in Qualcomm’s India-based high-speed wireless broadband units, after buying an additional 2 percent stake in the business. In May last year, Bharti Airtel bought a 49 percent stake in Qualcomm’s India units. This means the company can provide 4G in Delhi and Mumbai.

Costs a whopping Rs 91,999

Asus Transformer Book launched in India for a whopping Rs 91,999
Asus took the covers off its Transformer Book TX300 in India. The Asus Transformer Book is a 13.3-inch hybrid notebook with a detachable Full HD IPS display and a 178-degree viewing angle.

LG launches Optimus G Pro 1080p phablet for Rs 42,500
LG has finally launched its flagship phone, the Optimus G Pro in the Indian market for Rs 42,500. The Optimus G Pro is the successor to the Optimus G, which was launched in February this year.

Google asked to rewrite privacy policy in Europe before September 20
Google has been granted time until September 20 to rewrite its privacy policy in Europe or face legal sanctions, reports The Guardian. Privacy watchdogs in the UK, Germany and Italy want Google to amend its privacy policy to make it clearer to users as to how it uses the data it collects.

Smartphone companies are rolling out EMI schemes for their premium models (Image credit: Reuters)

Smartphones on EMI: The myth of the zero percent interest rate
With smartphone prices increasing, manufacturers were earlier being limited to high-end clients for many of their premium smartphone offerings. Apple was the first to break that mould by introducing equated monthly instalment (EMI) schemes for users who want to get their hands on an iPhone or iPad, but can’t afford it at one shot.

All you need to know: Reliance Jio Infocomm 4G
Reliance Jio Infocomm, earlier called Infotel Broadband, is already emerging as a popular name in the Indian telecom space as it gears up to introduce 4G services here soon.