U.S. physicist visualised the concept of SMS in 1909

Texting may be a boon in today's world, but the idea was visualised more than a century ago.

And, it was a pioneering American physicist who had predicted about the portable messaging service, like the SMS, via a hand-held device in the 'Popular Mechanics' magazine in 1909, its Technology Editor Seth Porges has claimed.

Nikola Tesla, the physicist and a mechanical engineer, whose name lives on at the electric car maker Tesla Motors, saw wireless energy as the only way to make electricity thrive, according to Porges.

Telsa wrote in the magazine that one day it'd be possible to 'transmit wireless messages' all over the world and imagined that such a hand-held device would be simple to use and one day everyone in the world would communicate to friends using it, Porges said.

This would usher in a new era of technology, Telsa wrote in the publication.

Nikola Tesla was able to predict technology which is still in its nascent forms a hundred years later. He talked a lot about his other great passion, which was wireless power.

It has taken a little longer to get off the ground, but work on fascinating wireless conductive transmission is going on right now in research centres at MIT and Intel and other places, The Daily Telegraph quoted Porges as saying.

Porges disclosed Tesla's prediction at a presentation, '108 years of futurism' to industry figures in New York.

The magazine, which has nine international editions that is read by millions, has been trying to imagine how the world will look in future years since it was first published in January 1902.

Airtel launches My Tunes for Delhi subscribers

Bharti Airtel has announced the launch of its new value added service by the name of My Tunes. The service is like a reverse ring tone facility and allows Airtel subscribers in Delhi to listen to songs of their choice while waiting for people to take their call.

Subscribers get to choose from over half a million tracks in more than 23 categories including bollywood, devotional and English rock. The My Tunes service is available at a subscription fee of Rs 15 per week or at 30 paise per minute of use. Subscribers can create a playlist with any number of tracks.

Shashi Arora, chief executive officer, Delhi and NCR, mobile services, Bharti Airtel, said in the company statement, “Starting with the launch of Hello Tunes in 2004, Airtel has led the music on mobile revolution in India. With the My Tunes service, today we are putting the power and freedom of choice in the hands of the customer – the power to choose the content he wishes to consume along with the freedom to enjoy an unlimited music experience on mobile.”

A similar service was recently launched by Idea Cellular and was called PreTones. Tata Docomo too launched such a service by the name of My Song. Both services allow subscribers to listen to content of their choice every time they make a voice call. While the content portfolio that Idea offers includes live cricket, jokes, breaking news, astrology forecasts, movie reviews and bollywood gossip, Tata Docomo offers songs from genres which include bollywood hits, regional, international, classical and funny tunes.

Nokia launches X2 @ Rs 5,000

NEW DELHI: Finnish cellphone maker Nokia has launched a low-priced handset X2 in the Indian market.

The candybar X2 sports a 2.2-inch QVGA screen and weighs 81 grams. The phone packs dual speakers, dedicated music keys, FM stereo and support for up to 16GB of storage via microSD card.

Other key features include Bluetooth 2.1, 3.5mm headphone jack and USB 2.0. The phone runs on Nokia's proprietary S40 OS.

X2 also offers direct access to Facebook from the homescreen and comes with Nokia Messaging for email and Instant Messaging. Other notable feature include instant access to apps from Ovi Store, a 5 megapixel camera and a video recorder.

The phone is priced at Rs 5,000 and is likely to be available from June.

Nokia last week unveiled details of its first phone N8 with new Symbian 3 software, designed to challenge the iPhone and Blackberry at the high-end of the market.

The company cut its profit outlook and delayed the sales launch of Symbian 3 phones until the third quarter, sending its shares sharply lower. "Nokia is reacting to the fire alarm," said Swedbank analyst Jari Honko.

Nokia, which has yet to show the phone to journalists or analysts, is counting on the new software to start clawing back market share lost to the company's new rivals.

However, analysts said the new model and software upgrade at best put Nokia on par with features already available to consumers of Google's Android software, or Sony Ericsson, which has sold a 12-megapixel camera phone since 2009.

"Symbian 3 is evolutionary not revolutionary, but N8, if reliable, is a first step in efforts to make Nokia's high-end phones credible again," said Ben Wood, head of research at CCS Insight.

The new N8 flagship model will have a 12 megapixel camera, 3.5-inch touchscreen and retail for 370 euros ($493), excluding subsidies and taxes, Nokia said in a press release.

Analysts said it was unclear how much of an impact the phone will have on third-quarter results as it goes on sale only in selected markets during the quarter.

"I believe it will slightly calm the markets. It does not solve all of Nokia's problems, but it is an important first step," said Nordea analyst Sami Sarkamies.