Local messaging

Abhijit Bhattacharjee,founder and CEO of the Luna Ergonomics,says Panini keypad allows you to type in Indian languages through statistical predictions. “The existing SMS applications use dictionary-based typing where typing non-dictionary words is slightly problematic. But Panini is based on linguistic research and functions on statistical predictions,allowing you to type much more easily by mostly using just your thumb. Also,it is much more easier to write non-dictionary words on this app,” he explains.

The app can be downloaded from the website and used in Java-enabled phones. Once the application is initiated,it shows a virtual keypad on the mobile screen,displaying letters of a particular chosen language. It throws up most-used letters on the top right slot of the letter chart,as per the probability of the word you are going to type. Say if you wish to write vichar (thought) in Hindi script,you type va,ee and it will immediately suggest cha and ra as your next letters. Thus,it gives you the word very easily.

One can write and send SMSes in Hindi,Bengali,Telugu,Marathi,Tamil,Gurumukhi (Punjabi),Gujarati,Kannada,Malayalam,Oriya and Assamese using the software. It also allows you to covert a message from a given language to 10 others,and even English.
“Almost everyone uses a mobile,but we still don’t have an easy way of typing in regional languages,” says Bhattacharjee. “It’s not just for people living in rural areas. Even those living in urban areas would prefer to write in their own language if they could do so easily. When people use their language,then the nature of communication is more personal and effective,” he adds.

The other feature of the application,SMS compression,allows you to cram up to 210 characters in a single SMS. “This is being done for the first time in the world,” he claims. “We do it by special encoding at both the sender and receiver’s end. It functions in a secure mode and can only be read on the receiving mobile handset which also needs to have the app.” It also allows you to copy and paste text in other applications like Facebook,he adds.
The size of the software is between 170 and 500 kb,depending on the version,like Panini Basic,Panini Clever,Panini Premium and Panini Touch.

The innovative application has already won accolades and attention. “Our product is being studied at Nokia Head Quarters in Finland and is on the path of adoption. Even International Telecommunication Union (ITU) has said the application is fit to be standardised,” he claims.
“This application is not just about SMSing,but also typing. It can also be used in PCs and laptops,” he says,adding that there are about 800 or so downloads per day from all over the country. They have now applied for patent in India and abroad,he adds.

My Gang on your phone
PHONES are gradually becoming a major access point for social networking sites and gaming. Hoping to cash in on both the trends,Nazara Technologies Pvt Ltd has developed My Gang,a social gaming network for mobile Internet users. The nazara.mobi website is capable of providing features like private messaging,public and private chat,friendship management,social multi-player games and free content downloads,till now limited to Internet networks. Nazara’s multi-player games like Housie and Tic Tac Toe have been very popular since their launch. Users can use the points won from these games to download wallpapers,animation and other games from My Shop. Nazara is now planning to connect Facebook,Twitter and Orkut for a larger social networking experience.