Tech News

Seven Indian original-equipment manufacturers — in the mobile phone and tablet space — have inked a pact with Opera Software to pre-install the Opera Mini mobile web browser on the manufacturers’ upcoming mobile devices that run on the Android operating system. Opera Mini will be be pre-installed on all Android devices manufactured by Celkon, Karbonn, Lava and Intex, a press release from Opera Software stated. Opera Mini will also be preinstalled on select Android devices by Fly and Zen, as well as on HCL ME tablets. The Opera Mini is suited for Indian mobile networks as it uses a server to pre-process and compress websites to as little as 10 per cent of their original size before sending them to the mobile device. The open source browser has seen wide adoption in India, Opera Software claims. “The number of Indians accessing the web from mobile devices is growing at a much faster rate than those using a computer.

Hardware major Intel has launched a nationwide integrated campaign to increase the relevance and demand of personal computing devices, and to drive domestic adoption of technology by targeting consumers with the message of how a personal computer (PC) can change their lives. The six-weeklong campaign started this week in Rajasthan and will cover 40 cities across 10 States. It will continue to educate consumers on why a PC is a transformational device. Sandeep Aurora, Director of Marketing and Market Development, Intel South Asia, in a release, said: “In our quest to bring about nationwide awareness for digital literacy, we will continue to scale up our efforts under the National Digital Literacy Mission and through this new campaign we will urge consumers to pursue their passions and creativity with the power of an Intel processor-powered computer.” Intel will create experience zones under its ‘My Discoveries’ programme across 40 cities.

Tata Elxsi, a tech-design firm, announced the launch of the second edition of the Ignite Design Contest, which aims to encourage budding designers to enable change through design. The contest is part of connect D, an annual event organised by Tata Elxsi to commemorate World Industrial Design Day. This year’s theme, ‘Design enriching everyday life’, has been aligned to the Indoor Positioning System, ‘Industrial design is open’, set by the International Council of Societies of Industrial Design (ICSID). The theme intends to convey the growing recognition of the importance of design across industries and how it can help brands and companies solve day-to-day problems to gain a competitive edge in the marketplace, a release from the firm stated. Design students pursuing full-time UG and PG courses in Product and Visual Design (Branding, Graphic Design and UI) in India can participate in the contest. Applicants can submit their entries in two categories: Age-friendly Kitchen Appliances for the Elderly, and Re-defining a Smart TV.

Zoho announced the launch of Card Scanner, an online business card scanning application for Zoho CRM. Now, users can take a photo of a business card and Card Scanner intelligently converts the image to text that is automatically saved either as a new contact, a lead in Zoho CRM, or as a new contact in Card Scanner, a release from the company stated. This app now eliminates the process of manually entering data into the CRM module for Zoho users. In a release, Raju Vegesna, Chief Evangelist, Zoho, said: “Entering data manually into any CRM application is a daunting task. Automating this process and making it simple for our users is the primary idea behind the launch of our new mobile app for Zoho CRM, Card Scanner. The app lets users save business cards on their iPhones while at meetings, events, conferences and trade shows, thus saving time and digitising the process.”

Combining their technical know-how with some business savvy and a little luck, the childhood friends and one-time University of Florida roommates have created a smartphone app for digital business cards that has attracted investors with international ties in venture capital — the kind of high-risk, high-reward financing that built Silicon Valley and other major technology centers.

So though Florida's share of the nation's newly invested venture capital has plummeted during the past year, the early success of Feathr — brainchild of Bishop Moore grad Aidan Augustin and Wekiva High grad Neal Ormsbee — could become a template for certain startups looking to finance future ventures.

"These guys are smart, energetic and, perhaps most importantly, they are coachable," said Dennis R. Pape, a veteran Central Florida venture capitalist and founder of VenturePitch Orlando, a networking event where Feathr demonstrated its product last week. "They are really a cut above the young entrepreneurs that we usually see."

After operating on a bootstrap budget since its founding last year, Feathr has secured $150,000 from a group of Indian-American investors in Tampa who are members of TiE Florida, the state chapter of an international organization of Indian entrepreneurs. Combined with money raised from "angel" investors — family members and advisers — Feathr has raised nearly $200,000 in the past 18 months.

The TiE Florida investors were impressed by Feathr's product and the sophistication of the novice entrepreneurs — especially Augustin, the company's chief executive and its point person when it's time to pitch the business.

"He was constantly in touch with us, persistently following up on his dream," said Sunal Jain, founder of the Tampa-based TiE chapter and president of Medical B&T Services LLC, a billing-technology company. "When we finally visited his place, saw his team and where they worked, and interviewed each team member, we were convinced of the prospects for this company."