The Week That Was [Weekly News Roundup]

Here are the top happenings this week from the world of technology and startups. In case, you missed something, this will be a great way to catch up with The Week That Was.

Women’s Day Special

We had a wonderful collection of articles to celebrate International Women’s Day on March 8th. We had a special guest article on ” ‘Accepting’ the new age Woman” by Prukalpa Sankar of Social Cops where she candidly shares her thoughts and experience of the new age woman.

Our in-house writer, Saraswathi was our Editor for the day and we got to know her a little better, personally. We also had articles that presented wonderful lists:

Top Five Apps For Busy Women

10 of the Best Inspiring TED Talks By Women

10 Startup Ecosystems that Help Women Entrepreneurs

Top Five Women in Tech Business

Business

Forbes List of Tech Billionaires, Top Companies

Forbes has published its annual list of the world’s richest people and, like before, tech and related domains have continued to be on top. Check this out.

Book Review: Startup Sutra – What The Angels Won’t Tell You About Business and Life

This weekend, I got my hands on a copy of “Startup Sutra“, a newly released book written by Prof. Rohit Prasad. In a nutshell, I’d say this book shows a totally different way of experiencing an entrepreneur’s life as an audience. A must-read for everyone.

156 Million Smartphones in India by 2017 [Report]

According to IDC, India will be the world’s third largest smartphone market by 2017 only after China and US. IDC’s study predicts the Indian smartphone market to attract 2.78 crore shipments in 2013, accounting for 3% of worldwide market share.

Ultrabook and Hybrid Sales Expected to Rise in Second Half of 2013

A major recovery is expected in the second half of the year, with shipments of ultrabooks and hybrids that convert from laptops to tablets expected to increase significantly due to users becoming accustomed to Windows 8 and a number of key technical improvements, such as increased battery life, and a wider deployment of touchscreens.

European Commission Fines Microsoft $731 Million For Browser Antitrust Violations

The European Commission has fined Microsoft €561 million ($731 million) for failing to comply with its commitments to offer users a browser choice screen enabling them to easily choose their preferred web browser.

Carl Icahn To Take Up a 6% Stake in Dell

Carl Icahn, American business magnate and 26th on the Forbes list of The World’s Billionaires, is close to taking up almost 6% stake in Dell. Trading sources said they were confident that Icahn had amassed a position in Dell that may approach 100 million shares, and would bring him to a roughly 6 percent ownership.

Startups

OpenSesame – The Perfect Platform For Any E-learning Course

We bring to you one of the excellent e-learning platforms – OpenSesame. OpenSesame connects learners and content providers directly in a marketplace where elearning courses are easy to publish and connect to any LMS.

We caught up with Josh, the co-founder for OpenSesame to discuss more.

Introducing CanvasJS – Beautiful, Platform-Independent & Easy-To-Make Charts and Graphs

CanvasJS is the new, cool way to make graphs and charts. It’s beautiful, intuitive, platform and device independent, and most importantly, very easy to make.

The moment I checked it out, I fell in love with it, majorly because of the really simple and beautiful user experience. CanvasJS is basically an easy to use HTML5 Javascript Charting & Graphing library.

We got in touch with Sunil Urs, the Founder of Fenopix, a Bangalore-based startup that has created CanvasJS.

Gadgets

Samsung’s First Teaser Video for Galaxy S4

Samsung has just posted a teaser video for the upcoming launch of its new flagship smartphone, the Galaxy S4. The video basically shows a young boy, apparently “the secret messenger” of Samsung Unpacked 2013, taking delivery of an even-more-secret package.

iPhone 5S Planned For August, Next Gen iPad Around April

Sources from iMore report that Apple is planning the release of the iPhone 5S for this summer, currently for August. Next generation iPads, presumably the iPad 5 and potentially the iPad mini 2, may also debut as soon as this April.

Nokia Lumia 620 Finally Up For Pre-order in India, Priced at Rs 15,199

Nokia’s mid-range Windows Phone 8-powered Lumia 620 is now available for pre-orders in India. Online retailers like Flipkart are pre-booking this smartphone for Rs 15,199. It is expected to be available in the second week of March.

Apps

Youtube To Take On Spotify, Will Launch Music Streaming Service

Youtube, the world’s second largest search engine and the world’s largest digital repository of steaming media, will launch a new subscription based music service later this year.

The service is expected to have its own operations but there is also a possibility that some functions might overlap with new features rumored to be coming to the Google Play music section.

Google Maps 1.1 for iOS

This is the first update to Google Maps since its reintroduction in December. The new update allows for Google Contacts Integration and a new and better search feature for the iOS. Let’s call it the ‘Recreation’ button!

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Hope you enjoyed the content this week. If you have any feedback, please leave your comments below. We promise to bring you great content in the days to come as well. Have a knowledgeable and fun weekend.