Mark says no for "FACEBOOK PHONE"

For the last couple of years, we have been hearing the rumours of a Facebook phone. Rumours that never seem to see the light of day.

First, we saw the so called 'Facebook phones' from HTC turned out to be normal phones -read HTC Chacha and HTC Salsa. Then the INQ Facebook phone turned up with just a little extra integration to the social network. Now the hopes for a Facebook phone have been dashed all over again.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg stated during company's Q2 earnings call Thursday that it wouldn't make sense for the company to make a phone. The dismissal comes on the heels of the latest round of leaks and reports suggesting that Taiwanese manufacturer HTC is actively working with the company to make a real Facebook phone.

The social network seems to be sticking to its previous stance of working with manufacturers to better integrate Facebook into devices and making apps for other platforms rather than building a whole phone.

"There are a lot of things that you can build in other operating systems as well that aren't really taking - that aren't really like building out a whole phone, which I think wouldn't really make much sense for us to do," stated Zuckerberg.

So, is this really the end for not-so-real Facebook phone

Free wi-fi during Olympics in London by leading network O2

Heading for London Olympics with your smartphone? You may enjoy internet service without shelling out money, as a free Wi-Fi service has been launched for the extravaganza.

A deal between Westminster City Council and a leading network provider will give free Wi-Fi services to users in Central London during the Olympics and much after it gets over, the BBC reported.

The network will initially cover Oxford Street, Regent Street, Trafalgar Square, Leicester Square, Piccadilly Circus and Parliament Square. Other areas will be covered eventually, with Covent Garden next.

The deal between Westminster City Council and UK's leading network provider O2 will make WiFi services available to all internet users free of cost with downloads upto 24 Mbit/s, regardless of their current provider, in central London's West End.

Councillor Philippa Roe, leader of Westminster Council, said the free Wi-Fi was part of a "long term project to help make London one of the most technology-friendly cities in the world."

The project funded by O2 will make use targeted advertising to recover the costs.

Internet users will get to use the free services after completing a single registration process. Unlike other service providers, O2 hotspots will remain free even after the Olympics have ended.

By the end of July, 80 London Underground stations will have Wi-Fi access, but this will only be free for the duration of the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Google introduces "handwrite" for mobile and tablets.

A task as simple as typing on a mobile touch device, especially while travelling, can become quite complicated. You either end up cursing your phone for not co-operating or yourself for bearing large fingers.

Thanks to folks at Google, typing will now not just be easier, but a whole lot of fun as well. Google has introduced 'Handwrite' for smartphones and tablets that lets you search anything off the web in your own handwriting.

The best part is that you can type anywhere on the screen without having to strain your eyes on a keyboard eating away half your screen.

For Handwrite to work, you're required to enable the feature by going to Google.com on your mobile or tablet. Tap 'Settings' at the bottom of the screen and enable Handwrite. You might want to refresh the page for the new settings to take effect.

Once enabled, you'll see a bar at the bottom displaying 4 icons. Tapping the 'g' button will allow you to type in your own handwriting. There's also a space bar button and a delete button. Once you start typing, Google reveals the autocomplete searches indicated by an arrows next to them.

Users must note that this is merely a replacement for typing using the keyboard and you can still type using the latter by tapping on the search box.