Make free international calls from Google Hangouts

In a bid to attract new customers, Google Hangouts has started a new promotion where it’s offering users a free international voice calling facility. As good as this may sound, there is one small catch involved – You won’t be charged for calls placed overseas as long as it’s under a duration of one minute.

Just so you know, this feature, like placing normal calls from Google Hangouts, is only available in the select countries. It currently applies to 25 locations over the globe including India, the UK, Australia and Japan amongst others. Head over to this link for an entire list of countries that falls under this promo.

There are a few things you’ll need to do in order to avail free calling. Firstly, you’ll need to add credit to your Google account. Calls can only be placed through the Hangouts mobile application and only one will be accepted at a time. In cases of multiple connections, there will be a charge in place expect for one call.

Google notes that you’ll see the words ‘First minute free’ when making a call. This basically means that you’re under the promo and if the message isn’t visible, you’ll be charge for that session. Additionally, the search giant doesn’t want you to abuse its offering, so some calls might not be free if there are a large number of calls each day.

Calls made to the US and most of Canada is absolutely free and Google is also offering low rates for international locations. This promo will be a limited time deal and it’s valid for this year only.

For reminder’s sake, the first minute of calls to any of the 25 countries is free. Once you cross that limit, you’ll automatically be charged for the rest of the session.

Timeline: The fall of Nokia

The mobile world has changed rapidly in the last couple of years. While some mobile players pioneered these changes, others were quite slow and couldn’t adapt to the lightening-fast changes. Earlier this year, there were reports from HIS iSuppli how Nokia’s 14-year run as the biggest phone manufacturer finally comes to an end. Most of us have loved our Nokia devices and it brings in a lot of nostalgia to many users, but that’s the problem. The company introduced us to the term smartphone in 2002. Just five years later, the iPhone was launched, changing everything one may demand from a smartphone, but Nokia failed to see the changing consumer demand. Though Nokia builds quality hardware for phones, it moved too slowly to catch up with its competitors in terms of OS and app ecosystem. In mere 2-3 years, Google and Apple have managed to shake Nokia off its position to run a two horsed mobile race. While the question on everyone’s mind was whether Nokia will ditch Symbian for Android, the company surprised everyone by joining hands with Microsoft’s Windows Phone. After a lukewarn response for the Lumia series last year, followed by dipping shares and hundreds of lay offs, Nokia’s future still doesn’t seem stable. Here’s a timeline showing the fall of this once-mighty company.

8 Wireless uses for your Android phone

The mobile phone has gone from being just another communication device to a pocketable computer of sorts. With more and more power and features being added to the device, there’s a whole lot of functionality that the device has to offer. The possibilities are somewhat endless, but a layman is pretty unaware of many of these. We’re looking at some of these things that we can do with our Android smartphones using a few apps. Of course, keep in mind that your phone needs to have some of these feature or OS updates in place. All the apps we've mentioned are free for download. Use your phone as a Wi-Fi router : This is one of the simplest things to try out. If you have an EDGE or 3G Internet connection, you can easily share it with others, on-the-go. This way you can have Internet connectivity shared amongst other devices such as Wi-Fi only tablet or netbook. The feature is accessible under the Settings > Wireless Networks > Tethering menu. You may also find a 3G Hotspot app in the app drawer, which lets you share the connection. Remember that you’ll be billed according to the data plan scheme that you’ve chosen, so use the feature with some caution.

Nokia may sue HTC over design similarities between 8X and Lumia 820

Two of the biggest companies to have showcased upcoming devices that will be running Windows Phone 8 are HTC and Nokia. And, according to Neowin, there might be a legal war between them. According to unnamed sources, Nokia might be preparing to file a lawsuit against HTC because of the similarities in design between the HTC Windows Phone 8X and the Nokia Lumia 820. The original report by PC-Tablet.com says, “The reports are saying Nokia is preparing to get HTC 8X banned in various parts of the world from going on sale when it will launch in November. Nokia has said in reports that the front-face of HTC 8X looks identically same as of the Lumia 820 followed by side-curves of the phone body.”

HTC Windows Phone 8X may be released in early November

One of the biggest phones that will be launching this year is the HTC Windows Phone 8X. The release date of the phone, according to the listing for the SIM-free version of the phone on Amazon UK, is November 8. The price of the phone is listed as £531.43 (roughly Rs. 46,000), according to GSMArena.

It is worth noting that while there might be a release date and a price on Amazon, these things haven’t yet been announced by HTC. The release date and price from Amazon are unofficial. Another store – Clove UK – is listing the phone for £399 (roughly Rs 34,500). The phone won’t be released before the official release of the operating system – Windows Phone 8.

Best features of iOS 6

Apple’s event is in full swing right now and one of the new things that the Cupertino-based company has announced is the latest version of its mobile operating system – iOS 6. The new version of the operating system for iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad has a bunch of new features.

One of the biggest changes to the operating system is the new Maps app . The new Maps app has a built-in search for local points of interest, with over 100 million possible suggestions. Other features of the Maps app include navigation, routing, 3D maps, satellite imagery – that wraps around the 3D maps – and the ability to get directions directly through Siri.