Google Translates Conversations For Android Users

Removing the barrier of language-difference, Google has launched a smart update for translator app for Android for flexibility for its users to translate conversations from Spanish to English & vice versa.

Last night, search giant named company had launched an application which translates the conversations instantly. Here, the interesting thing is that. In that applications users have to just speak into the device which runs on Google’s Android OS & the said conversations will be translated in to the desired language.

And on the other hand the users using the same kind of device will automatically hear the desired conversation from the speaker.

Over & above the users would have to attain a habit of pressing submit after each conversation said.

The above device uses the method named “conversation mode”. This method firstly gathers the users statements and then sends it to Google servers. After recognizing the content & the language of conversation & the language into which it is to be transferred.

Google translates text by using a verified index of official translations, provided by the EU and the UN.

It is reported by the Chief Executive of Google, Eric Schmidt that he expects the above service to be made effective for the people to use within 18 months.

Google’s planning is to set its “alpha” version in English & Spanish versions only & then to launch the application in other different languages.

15 Lakh Crore Invested By MoUs In Gujarat

Report From Vibrant Gujarat Summit 2011:

The date of today can be defined as a golden date in the history of Gujarat’s economy. Gujarat Principal Secretary for Industries and Mines M Sahu reported, commitment investment amount is around Rs 15 Lakh Crore on the first day of summit. Gujarat has obtained all the industrial opportunities to be fulfilled said by Narendra Modi.

The sectors like power, special investment regions, mineral-based industries, banks and financial institutions and oil and gas attracted the investors & MoUs to invest.

In the power sector, Approximately Rs 3,05,204 Crore is invested by the private owners which is classified as sectoral investments.

And similarly under special investment, Rs 1,22,742 Crore has been announced to be invested & Rs 1,34,645 crore in the mineral based industries.

Banks & Financial sector institutions will have contribution of Rs 1,72,400 crore & oil and gas sector will get Rs 40,679 crore.

It is expected by Sahu that on the 2nd day of the summit more MoUs are likely to invest more than the amount invested in the first day.

Out of all investment, the investments announced by Reliance Group-Anil Ambani & Adani Group-Gautam Adani are considered to be one of the biggest investments. Today State government has signed cumulatively 2,766 MoUs business domicile & companies.

  

Adani Group has announced to invest Rs 80,000 crore in port, power generation and infrastructure & Reliance Group led by Anil Ambani has announced to invest Rs 50,000 crore in power & cement projects

Multinational Essar Group has announced to invest Rs 30,000 crore in the sectors of power & refinery.

Engineeing & construction company  Larsen & Toubro has announced to invest Rs 15,000 crore infrastructure sector company Hindustan Construction Company (HCC)  will invest Rs 12,000 crore &  in investment & infrastructural projects  & renewable energy.

Company related to farm equipment & software sector, Mahindra & Mahindra group has committed 6 MoUs with the state government investing Rs 3,000 crore in hospitality & real estate sectors.

Auto company General Motors also announced to invest Rs 450 crore to increase the efficiency of Halol plant from 85,000 units per year to 1,05,000 units per year.

Adani Group Announces Rs 80K Crore Investment In Gujarat

Reports from Vibrant Gujarat Summit 2011: On Wednesday, Gautam Adani chairman of Adani Group announced investment of Rs 80,000 crore in ports & power sector & infracstructure of Gujarat. While announcing the statements of investment, Gautam said, “On the occassion of Vibrant Gujarat-2011 we announce an investment of more than Rs 80,000 crore in port, power generation and infrastructure in Gujarat”.

He showed his interest in expanding ports of Mundra & Dahej. He also announced about the development of two new ports at Hazira & Dholera. By this he estimated that the rate of handling capacity to be increased by 200 million tonnes per annum by the year 2015.

Also in the field of power sector the group has specially made 2,000 MW plant at Mundra which will be extended to 2,600 MW by March 2012. They are expanding their roots by installing 3,300 MW at Bhadreshwar in Kutch, and 600 MW at Dahej and 4,000 MW at Dholera. With the help of these power plants Gujarat will cumulatively produce 15,000 MW by the year 2015.

For the purpose of increasing the efficiency of production, & infrastructure, development of LNG systems is being promoted with promoting railway lines and supporting facilities.

Announcing about the other projects he said, "Projects of more than Rs 35,000 crore for which we had signed MoUs at the time of Vibrant Gujarat Summit in 2007 and 2009 have been fructified." 

Nokia C3: Specifications & Review

Design:

The design of Nokia C3 Touch & Type highly resembles with other Nokia C-series devices & highly with Nokia C6-01. However, C3 Touch & Type is extremely light weight & very much comfortable. A stainless steel finish on the whole device gives an elegant look far better than X3 or T&T. The keys are large & comfortable & side by side the design gives the phone a very much bold & stylish look.

It has a 2.4 inches large screen giving resolution of 240x320 pixels. The screen have is integrated with a very pretty, bright & detailed. Its viewing angles are also acceptable.

The device’s form looks like a candy bar combined with numeric pad & a touch screen, all cased in a stainless steel wrapping. Right side there is a volume key & a keypad lock button. And on the top of it, there is a micro USB port, a 3.5mm headphone jack and a charging port. It has a 5MP with auto focus with a single LED flash and a loud speaker. microSD card slot is below the battery.

SIZE                                                 Dimensions: 

111 X 47.5 X 11 Mm, 63.2 Cc

Weight: 

(With Battery): 114 G

MEMORY                                       Phonebook & organizer:

                                                            It doesn’t offer anything new feature but yet reliable.                                                                                                                                                                                                And practically unlimited phonebook memory.

                                                            These features are finger friendly & simple to                      understand.

MULTIMEDIA                            Pictures:

Pictures are usually complained to be of low contrast & dull especially in indoors. Over & above pics taken in outdoors are are       pretty wel if thelighting is good. However, the detail is inconsistent.

DISPLAY                                       Type:

                                                            TFT Resistive Touchscreen

                                                           Resolution:

                                                           320x240 pixels

                                                           Color: 

                                                           256K Colors

                                                           Size:

                                                           2.4 inches

CAMERA                                       Primary Camera:

                                                           5 MP camera:

Nokia C3 Touch & Type has a 5MP camera integrated with flash having average review. It can take nice snaps upto a distance around 1                                                                                                                meter. It do not have nice output in low light. With the camera, good quality of 6x4 & 7x5 prints can be obtained. It do not have nice response in Noise handling & low contrast.

Video Recording: 

Video Capture in MPEG-4, QCIF Max. Resolution 320 X 240, Video Clip Length: Up To Capacity Of Memory Card, Settings For   Scene, Video Light, White Balance, Colour Tone

BATTERY                                    Type: 

Standard Battery, Li-Ion 1320 MAh (BL-5J)

Talk Time: 

7 H (Maximum)

StandBy Time: 

792 H (Maximum)

AUDIO & VIDEO                       Music Player: 

Music player offers a good response for music                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      playback with onboard loud speakers & 3.5mm headphone  jack giving out elegant class sound.

MP3/WAV/WMA/EAAC+ Player
3.5 Mm Audio Jack

Ringtone Formats: 

Vibration, MP3 Ringtones

Speaker: 

Yes

Radio: 

Stereo FM Radio (87.5-108 MHz/76-90 MHz), RDS

Video Player: 

MP4/H.264/H.263/WMV Player

DATA &                                        GPRS: 

CONNECTIVITY                      Class 32

EDGE: 

Class 32

Wlan: 

WLAN IEEE 802.11b/G, Maximum Speed Up To 11     Mbps/54 Mbps

Bluetooth: 

Bluetooth Version 2.1 With Enhanced Data Rate

USB: 

High-Speed USB 2.0 (Micro USB Connector)

WAP: 

Supported Protocols: HTTP, WAP

The S40 web browser is decidedly average, lagging       every time a page is loading and while the inclusion of a touch screen improves the             experience, we still find Opera Mini to provide a better (free) alternative when it comes to zooming in and out of pages lag free. Neither             browser however offers any kind of Flash support, if that's what you're looking for.

PLATFORM                                Operating Frequency: 

Quad Band EGSM 850/900/1800/1900, Automatic    Switching Between GSM Bands, Flight Mode,

Java: 

JavaScript Version 1.3 And 1.5

With all the software you'd expect to see on a modern feature-phone such as a basic, yet comprehensive enough MP3 player, calendar and     organizer tools as well as a Facebook and email client, no software on the Nokia C3 Touch and Type will wow you, however, it shouldn’t             disappoint either. This functionality, coupled with the great connectivity and usable hardware on board, makes the Nokia C3 Touch and Type       one of S40's highest offerings.

GSM/CDMA/

Dual Sim/Triple Sim:              GSM

MEMORY                                       Internal Memory: 

55 MB Internal Memory, Expandable To 8 GB with           MicroSD Card

Cards Slot: 

MicroSD Memory Card Slot, Hot Swappable, Up To 8          GB   

PHONE BOOK                            Practically Unlimited Entries And Fields, Photocall

Call Records: 

Detailed, Max 30 Days

OTHER FEATURES                 Games: 

Downloadable

Browser: 

WAP 2.0/XHTML, HTML (Opera Mini)

Messaging: 

SMS, MMS, Push Email, Instant Messaging

Miscellaneous: 

Voice Command/Dial

Organizer 

PERFORMANCE:                    There isn't really anything major wrong with the                                                                     Nokia C3 Touch and Type on any front and the phone's performance is no exception. When it comes to call quality when on the Nokia C3 Touch and Type, calls are clear, though max volume isn't as high as we would like it to be. On the other end, there were no issues with quality or volume. Coverage is also on the whole good. 

                                                            As for speed, thanks to the relatively simple interface, there is no lag other than in the web browser. The touch screen is responsive and there                                                   is a degree of polish on the Nokia C3 Touch and Type that we only tend to see in Symbian^3 devices, which is refreshing. 

Conclusion:

In all, Nokia X3 Touch & Type is one of the most impressive in its range & Nokia C3 Touch & Type as well. Device having smart connectivity options giving nice flexibility & touch screen adds something great to its user interface. Whereas, camera is sufficient for taking casual snaps & not detailed ones. It is one of the greatest option for those who want both, keypad & touch screen. Moreover if the price range is more to you, Nokia X3 can come to you for rescue having very similar features, without steel casing & flash. Or Nokia C5 which is without touch screen.

Sir Alex: Rooney Is Fit To Face Spurs

Sir Akex Ferguson is over-excited for Wayne Rooney landing back on next Sunday from Tottenham tour.

Though, due to his ankle injury during training on Friday, he stayed at West Brom on New Year. And Alex didn’t wanted him to play forward.

Sir Alex is also very much happy for Wayne for his Sunday’s 1-0 victory over Liverpool at Old Trafford.

At this Sir Alex commented, "I could have put him on the bench but there was no point, He just felt it again on Friday and when he came in on Saturday morning you could see there was a reaction. At that point, we said no."

Sir Alex’s expectations are very high also on skipper Nemanja Vidic because Edwin van der Sar may need 1 more week for improvement from his weakness due to Flu virus for consecutive 3 games in 2011.

Is Facebook Shutting Down On This March 15th ?

Have you heard that Facebook is closing March 15?  Apparently, rumors claiming that Facebook is shutting down March 15 are all over the web, and that has plenty of people worried.  If Facebook is closing March 15, people are going to have to be a lot more productive at work!  But is Facebook really shutting down?  The answer, logically, is no. Here’s why.

Facebook is a behemoth, a billion-dollar service that has users and advertisers smitten. Obviously, it would be foolish to shut down the service. If Facebook was closing March 15,Mark Zuckerberg would be throwing away a fortune (not that he doesn’t already have one).  But Facebook shutting down would leave a massive gap in the social network, so don’t worry, it’s unlikely to occur at this point, certainly not by March 15.

So where did the Facebook closing March 15 rumor come from?  Apparently, an opinion piece on how a $500 million investment into Yahoo! video – which was slated to shut down March 15 – would affect Facebook sparked the rumor.  Although that seems an absurd cause of the Facebook closing rumor, internet rumors have been sparked over less ridiculous causes, so we wouldn’t be surprised.

Just rest assured that Facebook and your little FarmVilles aren’t going anywhere.

Read Detailed Report At http://9point.li9r.com/2011/01/is-facebook-really-shutting-down-on.html

Google Nexus: Tough Compitition For Apple iPhone 4

Apple has given unforgettable products in 2010. its range of smartphones rules the market’s top position.

Have you ever wondered can there be something better than the best? Yes there is 1 such option – Google Nexus, Google launching it in 2011.

Today most discussed OS Android by google touches each segment with its flexible & advanced features available in the brands like Motorola, Samsung, LG, HTC and Sony Ericsson.

The owner google is all set to launch its expected rival Apple with its weapon Google Nexus. On the other hand apple’s iOS is running on iPhone 4, the iPod touch and the iPad & ruling the tech market.

The Nexus is likely to have Android OS to launched soon this & it is considered as promising rival for Apple’s ipad. It has currently got nice reviews by critics. It has having heart throbbing features like Slim, powerful and with an excellent screen.

Moreover it is considered to best competitor for iPhone 4.

On the other Apple is also all set to give a tough competition to Google Nexus. Yes Apple is likely to launch one more iPhone this year.

Over & above, choosing a winner will be very difficult here due each & every having their personal taste but the competition will get encouraged with the help of the users by fighting to prove whose smartphone is better…

Quantity Of Spams Surprisingly Got Reduced

On an average, 200 billion spam massages were  sent each day in Summer this year, reported by a company. But uptill this Christmas the amount reduced to 50 billion messages per day which is a distinct 1/4^th change.

On this reduction senior analyst Paul Wood of Symantec stated that: “We do see spikes and falls in the volume of spam on a daily basis but what we haven't seen before is a drop of this magnitude, which is unexpected and unexplained.” He reported BBC News that on this Christmas the producers of these spams got reduced by 47% of all the spam globally.

At this Rustock reported that there was only 0.5% of the global spam.

 In 2010 it was analyzed that out of all e-mails sent, 90% of them were supposed as spasm, though as we know that they got filtered by E-mail services. It was estimated that about $100 billion (£65 billion) of spam business was carried out in 2010.

Surprisingly it was observed that other 2 botnets namely Lethic and Xarvester have got silent during this year, at which severa global analysts predicted to increase in the value of spammers.

Shweta Tiwari Wins Bigg Boss 4 Title

                                                                                

Popular TV actress Shweta Tiwari Saturday (January 8) walked away with the crown of 'Bigg Boss 4' and the prize money of Rs.1 crore at a grand finale in Lonavala after her dignified and balanced behaviour for 14 weeks in the house. She is the first woman to win the show.

Masala.com readers had predicted in our online poll that Shweta would win, with almost 60 per cent of our readers voting in her favour.

An overwhelmed and emotional Shweta burst into tears after seeing her daughter Palak and mother when she came on to the stage.

"I have won because of your love. I am very happy," she said to the audience after being announced the winner.

Shweta said earlier that she would be spending her prize money on the education and future of her daughter. 

Earlier three seasons of the show were won by actor Rahul Roy, reality show winner Ashutosh Kaushik and Vindu Dara Singh, respectively.

The actress, once regarded as small screen's favourite bahu after she gained fame with 'Kasautii Zindagii Kay', pipped finalists WWE wrestler The Great Khali, actor Ashmit Patel and Dolly Bindra who is infamous for her bizarre behavior, to win the reality show.

Though the decision was based on viewers' votes, Shweta's inmates like Sameer Soni, Manoj Tiwari and Aanchal Kumar felt she was most deserving owing to her patience in dealing with the verbal fights with loud mouthed co-participant Dolly, who walked away as the third runner up.

Khali was declared the first runner up, Ashmit the second runner-up and Dolly the third runner-up.

When he was asked by Salman how he felt, Ashmit replied, "I was prepared to be out of the house but it still feels bad that it happened." He added that he had always listened to his heart while in the Bigg Boss house, and so had no regrets.

Dolly Bindra said that she felt fine, and that she had started to control her temper, she just couldn't still control her volume. At the end she also accused Khali of having double standards, just like Manoj Tiwari earlier. When asked by Salman, Dolly also predicted that Shweta Tiwari would win.

Celebrity astrologer Bejan Daruwalla, who came on the show, had predicted that either Shweta or Dolly will win.

All three runners-up took home a bike each, while actor-model Sameer Soni received a Chevrolet Cruze as a special prize for being the boldest and most stylish participant of this season.

The grand finale saw performances by Sara Khan, Veena Malik, Aanchal Kumar and Manoj Tiwari. The star host, Salman Khan too regaled the audience with his energetic dance.

'Bigg Boss 4' started with 14 contestants, and had two wild card entries in subsequent weeks, with a three-day guest appearance by Hollywood actress Pamela Anderson.

Edin Dzeko Giving His Debut Representing Manchester City

Edin Dzeko completes £27m move to Manchester City

After completing his transfer worth £27million, Edin Dzeko is all set to give his debut In Manchester City against Wolves on Jan 15th.

Along with the Rubber Stamp Authorization City has completed all the needfuls like securing work permit, international authorization, fine tuning with players for Dzeko. Also, before landing on Germany he is medically certified in Watford on Wednesday.

Though the transfer process took very fast but still its too late for the Dzeko to be suitable to play on Sunday for FA Cup, And hence he will make his debut against Wolves at Eastlands this week.

For his debut, Dzeko stated: “It has been a long time that I have been linked with the club, going back to last summer, but Wolfsburg did not want to sell me until today, I was always attracted most to joining City and I am pleased to be at such a good club with such a big ambition as Manchester City. They were my first choice and only choice.”

Considering his transfer as winning charm Dzeko claims that the moment of this transfer for Manchester City is likely to be a biggest deal of City.

 He said: “Manchester City have been playing well this season. I have watched them a lot on television, They are playing for first place in the Premier League and that is what I want. Everybody speaks about City having lots of money but it is not about that. It is about ambition and I have spoken to coach [Roberto] Mancini and he told me ‘this is the best club for you."

Latest Updates Of Auction For DLF IPL Season 4 Post Lunch

3:54: Sri Lanka's Angelo Mathews, opening bid at $300,000. Kochi bids first, Pune raises the bar, King's XI take a shot, Kochi throws another line, so do King's XI, Deccan Chargers makes an entrance, the price by now is $550,000. Delhi Daredevils want Angelo now, Deccan Chargers not ready to give in. $800,000 on Angelo Mathews, Pune back in the ring, $850,000. Kochi back in action, $900,000. It's Pune Vs Kochi now. And Pune wins Angelo Mathews for $950,000.

3:50: Abhishek Nayar with an opening bid of $50,000. Brisk bidding, price is over $190,000, seconds later, Delhi bids $350,000. Deccan Chargers bid $400,000. It's not over yet. Royal Challengers bid $650,000. King's XI come in with $800,000. Remember, the base price was $50,000. And Nayar is sold, for $800,000.

3:48: Stuart Broad comes in with a high base price of $400,000. King's XI Punjab makes the opening bid and get their player unchallenged.

3:47: Al Hasan on the anvil. KKR take him for $450,000

3:45: Wright, another big name with a $400,000 base price remains unsold

3:38: Delhi Daredevils like Ravindra Jadeja more than Deccan Chargers does, $700,000. Surprise, sudden bidder, Kochi bids $ 750,00, Kochi taking on Delhi by the horns, $ 950,000 their latest bid for Jadeja, and they have him.

Do take a quick look at the team-wise list of players auctioned at the IPL player auction at the ITC Royal Gardenia Hotel here on Saturday evening is as follows. Brought to you swiftly and accurately by our sports correspondent K.C. Vijay Kumar

Team-wise at 3.35 p.m.:

Kolkata Knight Riders: Gautam Gambhir , $2.4 million; Yusuf Pathan, $2.1 million; Jacques Kallis, $1.1 million; Brad Haddin, $325,000.

Pune: Robin Uthappa, $2.1 million; Yuvraj Singh, $1.8million; Graeme Smith, $500,000; Tim Paine, $270,000.

Mumbai Indians: Rohit Sharma, $2 million; Andrew Symonds, $850,000; David Jacobs, $190,000.

Delhi Daredevils: Irfan Pathan, $1.9 million; David Warner, $750,000; Naman Ojha, $270,000.

Kochi: Mahela Jayawardene, $1.5 million; V.V.S. Laxman, $400,000; Brendon McCullum, $475,000; S. Sreesanth, $900,000; R.P. Singh, $500,000; Parthiv Patel, $290,000.

Royal Challengers Bangalore: AB de Villiers, $1.1 million; Dilshan Tillakaratne, $650,000; Zaheer Khan, $900,000; Daniel Vettori, $550,000; Saurabh Tiwary, $1.6 million.

Deccan Chargers: Cameron White, $1.1 million; Kevin Pietersen, $650,000; Kumar Sangakkara, $700,000; J.P. Duminy, $300,000; Shikhar Dhawan, $300,000.

Rajasthan Royals: Ross Taylor, $1 million; Rahul Dravid, $500,000; Johan Botha, $950,000.

King’s XI Punjab: Adam Gilchrist, $900,000; Shaun Marsh, $400,000; David Hussey, $1.4 million; Dinesh Karthik, $900,000.

Chennai Super Kings: Michael Hussey, $425,000; Wriddhiman Saha, $100,000.

3:38: Ravindra Jadeja comes under the hammer with an opening tag of $100,000. Chennai Super Kings is interested, the price tag went up to $350,000.

3:36: Bidding begins, James Hopes, base price $ 200,000. Delhi Vs Mumbai for Hopes. $350,000, Mumbai silenced, Delhi has Hopes.

Our sports correspondent Vijay Kumar has some thoughts on that glaringly conspicuous lack of bids for Brian Lara -

For a batsman, who was the lord of all he surveyed, Saturday afternoon’s uneasy silence when his name cropped up during the IPL player auction at the ITC Royal Gardenia Hotel here on Saturday, must have come as a shock. Brian Lara, regal willow-wielder and the owner of the highest individual score in Tests at 400 not out, is away in the West Indies but he will surely be aware of the sands of time catching up with him and his value as he remained unsold in the player-auction. Coming in at the top price band of $400,000, Lara, now 41 years old, had no takers.

3:30: Jacobs up next, $20,000 opening bid. No, I didn't miss a zero. Some brisk bidding, no doubt, price went up to $100,000 in seconds. This is really interesting, Mumbai Indians fought Royal Challengers and have pushed the price to $190,000. For better or worse, they have him.

3:26: Matt Prior, opening bid, $200,000. He remains unsold. And Mark Boucher remains unsold as well!

3:23: Meanwhile, bidding's stil on for young Tim Paine, $240,000 from Mumbai Indians, Pune bids $250,000, Mumbai ups it again, Pune's thining about it. $270,000 from Pune, bid against Mumbai. And Paine is sold, not without some pain to the bidders.

A quick overlook of the afternoon's auction, up until 3:00 pm, from our sports correspondent K.C. Vijay Kumar -

Team-wise

Kolkata Knight Riders: Gautam Gambhir , $2.4 million; Yusuf Pathan, $2.1 million; Jacques Kallis, $1.1 million.

Pune: Robin Uthappa, $2.1 million; Yuvraj Singh, $1.8million; Graeme Smith, $500,000.

Mumbai Indians: Rohit Sharma, $2 million; Andrew Symonds, $850,000.

Delhi Daredevils: Irfan Pathan, $1.9 million.

Kochi: Mahela Jayawardene, $1.5 million; V.V.S. Laxman, $400,000; Brendon McCullum, $475,000; S. Sreesanth, $900,000; R.P. Singh, $500,000.

Royal Challengers Bangalore: AB de Villiers, $1.1 million; Dilshan Tillakaratne, $650,000; Zaheer Khan, $900,000; Daniel Vettori, $550,000; Saurabh Tiwary, $1.6 million.

Deccan Chargers: Cameron White, $1.1 million; Kevin Pietersen, $650,000; Kumar Sangakkara, $700,000; J.P. Duminy, $300,000; Shikhar Dhawan, $300,000.

Rajasthan Royals: Ross Taylor, $1 million; Rahul Dravid, $500,000; Johan Botha, $950,000.

King’s XI Punjab: Adam Gilchrist, $900,000; Shaun Marsh, $400,000; David Hussey, King’s XI Punjab, $1.4 million.

Chennai Super Kings: Michael Hussey, $425,000;

Unsold players:

Sourav Ganguly, base price $400,000

Chris Gayle, base price $400,000

Jesse Ryder, base price $100,000

Herschelle Gibbs, base price $200,000

3:20: Australian Tim Paine, opening bid $100,000.

3:17: Kochi bids first for Brad Hadding, $200,000. The hammers up to make the sale, and a flurry of bids. Kochi forced to move up to $ 300,000. But KKR take him for $ 325,000.

3:13: Naman Ojha, do we have bids for Naman Ojha. Yes - 130, 140, 150, 160 and rising. King's XI take him for $ 270,000

3:11: Dinesh Karthik on sale now, $850,000 and counting. $900,000 from King's XI. Sold.

3:10: By the way, Chennai Super Kings took Hussy, for Rs. 1.95 crore.

3:08: Wriddhiman Saha goes next. Biddings open. $100,000 opening bid, and Chennai Super Kings take him without contest.

3:04: Parthiv Patel, $100,000 the start bid. Mumbai Indians $110,000, Kochi chips in, $170,000. Kochi willing to go to $260,000 for Patel. $ 290,000 and Kochi takes Parthiv Patel.

3:03: Wicketkeepers are up now, graham Manou of Australia starts with an opening bid of $50,000. Passed over.

3:01: Heads up, Brian Lara, starting bid, $ 400,000. Silence in the room, no one's bidding! He remains unsold! Looks like big names don't mean too much.

3:00: Looks like Delhi Daredevils have taken it away again, $ 750,000 for Warner. Sold.

2:59: Kochi had to give up their quarry a couple of time before, they seem a little more interested this time, in David Warner. $450,000 and counting.

2:53: Hussy's on, $ 1.4 mn, with the King's XI Punjab. And sold.

2:46: A little drama - Looks like King's XI Punjab bid just as the hammer came down. The auctioner asks if they think they bid on time, and says he can reopen the bidding at his discretion. And looks like he just did. Royal Challengers not giving up Tiwary yet, they snag him for $ 1.6 mn

2:43: Meanwhile, Saurabh Tiwary is upping the ante - $950,000 by Kochi and counting! And he's crossed the million mark - Royal Challengers - $ 1.4 mn. Sold. That is really impressive, espaecially with a base price of $ 100,000.

2:39: Shikhar Dhawan on the anvil, Deccan Chargers seem keen on Dhawan as well. And they have him for $300,000.

2:36: J.P. Duminy for $ 200,000 - KKR takes the bid, aftter what seems like a long time, others raise the bar, the ball back in KKR, stalls at 260, Deccan Chargers playing hard, it's back and forth, DC takes it up to $300,000, and Duminy goes to Deccan Chargers. Not a bad deal, he's a T20 asset.

2:33: Michael Hussy turning up the heat now, his price shoots up from $ 200,000 to $ 280,000 and rising

2:32: Herchelle Gibbs - openinh bid, 200,000 - goes unsold!

2:30: The first player to be auctioned post-luch session iss Jessie Ryder. Goes unsold, is passed on quite quickly.

Welcome to the post-lunch session of the IPL season IV auction. In the previous session, Gautam Gambhir was taken by Kolkata Knightriders for a whopping $2.4 mn. Talk about working up an apetite!

Latest Updates Of Auction For DLF IPL Season 4 Till Lunch

Players sold before the lunch-break at 1.25 p.m.

Gautam Gambhir , Kolkata Knight Riders, $2.4 million

Dilshan Tillakaratne, Royal Challengers Bangalore, $650,000

Zaheer Khan, Royal Challengers Bangalore, $900,000

Ross Taylor, Rajasthan Royals, $1 million

Yusuf Pathan, Kolkata Knight Riders, $2.1 million

Kevin Pietersen, Deccan Chargers, $650,000

Mahela Jayawardene, Kochi, $1.5 million

Yuvraj Singh, Pune, $1.8million

AB de Villiers, RCB, $1.1 million

Sourav Ganguly, base price $400,000, unsold

Cameron White, Deccan Chargers, $1.1 million

Jacques Kallis, Kolkata Knight Riders, $1.1 million

Rohit Sharma, Mumbai Indians, $2 million

Andrew Symonds, Mumbai Indians, $850,000

Kumar Sangakkara, Deccan Chargers, $700,000

Adam Gilchrist, Kings XI Punjab, $900,000

Rahul Dravid, Rajasthan Royals, $500,000

Graeme Smith, Pune, $500,000

Robin Uthappa, Pune, $2.1 million

Johan Botha, Rajasthan Royals, $950,000

V.V.S. Laxman, Kochi, $400,000

Daniel Vettori, Royal Challengers Bangalore, $550,000

Brendon McCullum, Kochi, $475,000

S. Sreesanth, Kochi, $900,000

Chris Gayle, base price $400,000, unsold

Irfan Pathan, Delhi Daredevils, $1.9 million

R.P. Singh, Kochi, $500,000

See you folks. The update will continue at 14:30 hours

13:28: It is lunch time at the auction hall. The last bidder R.P. Singh was bought by Kochi, the new comer for this IPL season.

13:27: Kochi bids for R.P. Singh 475,000 dollars

13:26: Kochi bids for 450,000 dollars for R.P. Singh

13:26: R.P. Singh's bid going well and it is Chennai Superkings bidding for 425,000 dollars

13:25: The bidding for R.P. Singh starts well and it goes to 270,000 dollars from Chennai Superkings.

13:24: It is bidding time for R.P. Singh. The base price 200,000 dollars.

13:23: Delhi Daredevils buys Irfan Pathan for 1 million 900,000 dollars.

13:22: Irfan Pathan bidding rises to 1 million 700,000 dollars from Delhi Daredevils. Irfan Pathan's bidding goes on and on..... swinging from Punjab to Delhi. It is now 1million 900,000 dollars.

13:20: 1 million 500,000 dollars for Irfan Punjab. Still in bidding

13:13: 1 million for Irfan Pathan from Punjab. I'm still in shock about Chris Gayle going unsold. Bidding for Irfan Pathan is still on.

13:10: No bid for Chris Gayle! What is going on! Nobody wants the match winner from West Indies.

13:09: Chris Gayle not getting too many opening bids. Surely he cant go for a lowly 400,000?

13:08: Wow that came from nowhere. Kochi bid 900,000 for Sreesanth out of the blue and get him. So Sreesanth goes to his home team.

13:07: Kochi make a splash at 900,000 for Sreesanth.

13:05: Sreesanth in the mix

13:03: Just 475,000 for McCullum. Kochi buys him at a seriously low price. This is an absolute steal!

13:01: The IPL's first centurion, Brendon McCullum now.

13:00: Daniel Vettori sold for 550,000 to Bangalore. Bit surprised at the low price. Not too many bidders for the spinner.

12:57: 400,000 for VVS Laxman to Kochi. He got one bid, and thats the last.

12:55: 950,000 for Johan Botha. Sold to Rajasthan. That is a huge sum for Botha. Did Rajasthan pay too much?

12:53: Bangalore drops out after Rajasthan bids 750,000 for Botha. Then Pune step in with 800,000.

12:50: Looks like Bangalore is keen on Botha. Bangalore matching Kochi bid for bid.

12:49: South Africa's spinner Johan Botha now.

12:48: Robin Uthappa going for a huge sum! 2.1 million to Pune!

12:47: Kochi and Pune going head to head for Robin. 2.1 million now for Robin from Pune.

12:43: Kochi and Pune fight for Robin, Bid stands at 1.6 million from Kochi now.

12:43: 1 million from Kochi for Robin Uthappa and we aren't done yet. Bangalore might step in with a bid, they seem keen.

12:42: Big hitter Robin Uthappa up for grabs.

12:41: Team Pune gets Graeme Smith for 500,000. Some laboured bidding there, not too many franchises keen on the South African captain.

12:39: Richard about to drop the hammer but Kochi enter with 420,000 for Smith. Richard Madley explains that he saw the last second bid before he dropped the hammer, so the bid counts.

12:38: Even Graeme Smith not getting too many bids. Stuck at 400,000.

12:37: A little painful to watch as Dravid goes without many bids. Sold for 500,000 to the Rajasthan Royals.

12:35: Ex-Bangalore icon player Rahul Dravid struggling to get bids here.

12:33: 900,000 for Gilchrist to Punjab. The opening bid took a while to come, but the bidding picked up quickly after.

12:31: Unsold? Who am I kidding? Bidding on at 850,000 for Gilchrist now.

12:29: Opening bid at 400,000. So he won't go unsold.

12:29: Adam Gilchrist, you're up

12:28: Keeper-batsman Sangakkara goes to Deccan Chargers for 700,00. Chennai made a brief bid but backed out quickly.

12:26: Sri Lanka's Kumar Sangakkara now.

12:25: Andrew Symonds goes to the Mumbai Indians for 850,000. Mumbai gobbling up players here.

12:23: Chennai Super Kings finally make a bid after staying on the sidelines all through. Will they buy their first player?

12:22: Andrew Symonds up for sale now.

12:21: 2 million for Rohit Sharma! 2 million! Sold to Mumbai Indians! Mumbai with a mammoth bid!

12:20: Priety Zinta and Punjab keen on Rohit Sharma at 1.1 million, but Mumbai and Deccan Chargers enter with 1.4 million bids.

12:19: Can you believe it? 1.1 million for Rohit Sharma. Bidding still on!

12:18: Step up, Mr. Rohit Sharma. Another T20 specialist.

12:17: Kallis sold for 1.1 million to Kolkata after Bangalore exits the race.

12:14: Star player Jacques Kallis up for sale now. Expect some frenzied bidding.

12:13: Cameron White goes to the Deccan Chargers for 1.1 million.

12:11: Can we go back to Ganguly for a minute? Ganguly upped his base price from 200,000 to 400,000, it has backfired on him. No bids for Ganguly. Silence as Ganguly's name is called by Richard Madley, the autioneer. There was talk that Ganguly might go unsold, turns out to be true in the end.

12:11: Cameron White is up next.

12:09: And we're back with the bidding. Major setback for Saurav Ganguly, he goes unsold!

12:04: Right, a quick recap of the players sold so far. We have K.C. Vijaya Kumar, our sports correspondent, with the roundup:

Players sold at 12 noon.

Gautam Gambhir , Kolkata Knight Riders, $2.4 million

Dilshan Tillakaratne, Royal Challengers Bangalore, $650,000

Zaheer Khan, Royal Challengers Bangalore, $900,000

Ross Taylor, Rajasthan Royals, $1 million

Yusuf Pathan, Kolkata Knight Riders, $2.1 million

Kevin Pietersen, Deccan Chargers, $650,000

Mahela Jayawardene, Kochi, $1.5 million

Yuvraj Singh, Pune, $1.8million

AB de Villiers, RCB, $1.1 million

11:51: We have a short break now of 15 minutes. Some crazy bidding going on in this first session. Yusuf Pathan and Gambhir setting the stage on fire with record bids. Still much more to go.

11:50: 1.1 million for de Villiers. Bangalore with the buy.

11:48: AB de Villers now

11:46: Mumbai and Deccan Chargers fight for Yuvraj, but Pune comes in with 1.8 million to get the big hitter.

11:44: In about a minute, Yuvraj's bid rises to 1.3 million. Chennai have been rather inactive thus far, will they enter with a surprise bid for Yuvraj?

11:43: Here is another prize catch. Yuvraj Singh.

11:42: Jayawardene sold to Kochi for 1.5 million. Inflated price?

11:41: I'm not sure about these inflated prices. Jayawardene at 1.5 million with Kochi. Is he really worth this much? It's not over yet, Kings XI Punjab might up the bid.

11:40: Hello, what do we have here? Kings XI Punjab, who have been silent all the while, comes in at 1 million for Jayawardene.

11:39: Kochi and Bangalore battle for Jayawardene. Bangalore has the bid at 900,000 as of now.

11:38: Who wants Sri Lanka's Mahela Jayawardene?

11:36: Pietersen sold to Deccan Chargers for 650,000. Not too much, very modest price.

11:34: Pietersen, who played for Bangalore in the previous edition, should be hot property with his pyrotechnics.

11:34: England's former captain Kevin Pietersen up for grabs.

11:32: Yusuf Pathan, T20 specialist, is sold for 2.1 million to Kolkata! Just a shade under Gambhir's 2.4 million.

11:31: As expected, Yusuf's price is through the roof. Kolkata bids 2.1 million. Bidding still on.

11:29: Kolkata, Kochi and Deccan Chargers in a three-way fight for Yusuf.

11:29: In no time, 1 million for Yusuf Pathan. Bidding still in progress.

11:27: And now, we have the big gun - Yusuf Pathan. Bidding begins in earnest. Will this be the record buy? Let's wait and see.

11:26: Rajasthan Royals get Ross Taylor for exactly 1 million. Nicely done Rajasthan, Ross Taylor is a great T20 buy.

11:24: Bid stalls at 850,000 for Ross Taylor. Bangalore almost gets him, but Rajasthan enters the fray with 900,000. This auction is full of last minute surprises!

11:23: Time for New Zealand's explosive Ross Taylor. Who wants some? Base price 400,000.

11:22: Bangalore steals Zaheer Khan from Mumbai and Delhi. Zaheer sold for 900,000 to Bangalore! Prize catch! Last minute bid from Bangalore snares the left arm pacer.

11:20: A bit of a tussle between Delhi and Mumbai for Zaheer. 850,000 USD right now with the Mumbai Indians. RCB enters at 900,000.

11:19: Zaheer Khan, India pacer, now. He has a base price of 300,000 USG

11:18: 650,000 USD for Dilshan, bought by Bangalore. A bit of a bargain if you ask me, I think he is definitely worth more.

11:17: Each team can spend a maximum of 9 million, so spending 2.4 million on just Gambhir is quite something.

11:16: Dilshan can be be murderous in this form of the game. Expect skyrocketing prices for the Sri Lankan too.

11:15: Sri Lankan dasher Dilshan under the hammer now.

11:14: What a brilliant start to the auction! Gambhir is sold to Kolkata Knight Riders for 2,400,000 USD. 2.4 million for Gambhir! 11.4 crore for the India opener!

11:12: Gambhir was about to be sold for 1,900,000 but Kolkata comes in with a 2 million bid. Hot property, Gambhir.

11:09: Pune and Mumbai in a bidding war. The bid stands at 800,000 for Pune, but wait, we have a new entrant. Bangalore comes in with 900,000 USD!! The bid is still on, 1 million now by RCB.

11:06: You can cut the tension with a knife. Richard Madley, the auctioneer, puts Gautam Gambhir up for sale. His base price is 200,000. "I hear 250,000 for Mumbai. Now 260,000". This is exciting. Let us wait and see how much Gautam Gambhir is sold for.

11:04: The IPL chairman Chirayi Amin: "I'd like to congratulate all the team owners and wish you all the best in the auction. Also, good luck to the players."

11:03: And we're off! Introductory speeches begin.

11:01: Right, let us go through the rules for a bit. Each team needs to have a sqaud of 30 players, with not more than 10 overseas players.

10:59: I think the most interesting part of today will be the auction of Brian Lara. His base price is 400,000 USD, a bit steep for a player who hasn't played competitive cricket for three years.

10:56: Vijay Mallya, the owner of the Bangalore franchise plays down the importance of money at the auction. "It isn't about the money you have in your pockets, it is about picking a well balanced squad," he says.

The team owners and officials are gathering in the auction room in Bangalore now. We are minutes away from bidding action.

Welcome to The Hindu's live coverage of the IPL player auctions 2011. 48 Indians up for 'sale', and a total of 353 players to be auctioned today and tomorrow.

Explosion In Maryland Government Buildings

              

Two parcels exploded in the mail section of state government buildings in Maryland, US.

According to the reports, 1st parcel exploded in the mailroom section of Transport headquarters in Hanover. The 2nd parcel exploded after half hour of the 1st one in a building of Annapolis which also  belongs to Maryland.

Maryland officials stated that both the parcels were received via mail and  except 1 person, no serious injuries or causalities were observed. Their representative Greg Shipley reported that the parcels were of the size of books & while the parcels were opened, foul smell & smoke got dispersed in air.

Still Fire Department of Annapolis is into action & investigating the case. But till Thursday night nobody is arrested under suspect of being guilty.

For the security reasons about 125 people in Jeffery Building & 250 people in Department of Transportation building have been evacuated & investigation is still under progress