Gadget Technology Review

Nokia E72 review – the perfect business phone

2010-05-04T13:41:00.000+07:00

The Nokia E72 is a business phone and comes with a full physcial QWERTY keyboard located on the bottom of the phone. Although not as flashy as a full touchscreen phone, it does make for super-efficient messaging.

And that, of course, is what you want from a business phone – you want to be able to reach people quickly and respond to their messages in double quick time. With its superbly engineered QWERTY keyboard, crystal clear screen and 600MHZ processor, the E72 is perfect for just this task.

Usability-wise, then, the E72 is great. Its look are pretty special as well. Although a portrait-orientated QWERTY keyboard might not be the most handsome looking design to sport, you have to admit the overall look of the E72 is very crisp, professional and stylish.

On the back is the 5 megapixel camera, which isn’t actually needed for a business phone, but which adds to the range of features the E72 boasts.

Speaking of which, let’s check them out.

The Nokia E72 is a pure business phone, and so its range of features have been built firmly with the needs of busy business executives in mind. Teh E72 gives you the following features:

* Crystal clear screen shows all your messages in 16 million colours
* Download your documents in double-quick time with 10.2Mbps HSDPA
* A true world phone with quad-band GSM, tri-band 3G, GPRS, EDGE and WiFi b and g
* Fast and efficient navigation with the physical QWERTY keyboard and optical trackpad
* Full multimedia features with a 5 megapixel camera with LED flash and VGA quality video recording at 15 frames per second
* Music and video players support dozens of different formats, including MP3, AAC, MP4 and 3GP
* 3.5mm headphone jack lets you use any standard headphone to listen to your tunes or voice recordings
* Work with your Microsoft Office documents on the move with the Document editor
* Browse the Web wherever you are with Nokia’s Webkit-based browser.
* View YouTube vids thanks to the E72’s support for Flash Lite v3
* Long battery life lets you talk for 12 hours solid
* Navigate your way to your meetings with the E72’s GPS receiver, digital compas and choice of Nokia’s own Ovi Maps or Google Maps
* Mute the E72 just by turning it over thanks to its built-in accelerometer
* Remote wipe feature lets you wipe any data on the E72 remotely if it’s ever stolen
* Create business and leisure homescreens, and switch between the two instantly
* Control your E72 with your voice
* Support for dozens of different email messaging systems, including GMail, Microsoft Exchange, IBM Lotus Notes and more
* Connect securely with the E72’s mobile VPN support and built-in encryption

Blimey – that’s quite a list of features! In fact, to save you a bit of time, if you’re looking for a kick ass business phone for just £25 a month with £80 cashback, then save yourself some time and go and buy the Nokia E72 now.

If you’re still not sure, though, then let’s take a look at some of these features in more depth.

messaging features

A business phone is all about messaging. You need instant updates from any system that your company uses, and you need to be able to message your contacts anywhere around the world, again using any system that your contacts are using.

Nokia have thought about this with the E72 and have armed it to the teeth with messaging services! You can use email, VoIP, Instant Messaging or simple text messagin gto communicate, and do it all seamlessly and easily.

The E72 comes with support for Microsoft Exchange, IBMs Lotus Notes Traveller, GMail, Yahoo! Mail and Windows Live Hotmail, to name just some of hte email messaging services it’s compatible with.

If your company uses VoIP, you can hook your E72 up to the company’s internal phone system by using a super-easy VoIP connectivity app.

security features

If security’s on your mind, the E72 is fully equipped with a range of features to ensure your private documents don’t get into the wrong hands. There’s a Remote Wipe feature, for example, which lets you erase all data on the phone remotely if it’s ever stolen.

There’s also a mobile VPN app, letting you login to your company’s network over a secure connection, which, with the E72’s built-in encryption, ensures you never send sensitive documents in the open.

Multimedia Features and camera

The E72 isn’t all about business. With its 5 megapixel camera, video recorder, music and video player, an dFM radio, it’s a fully equipped multimedia phone as well.

Its media-playing credentials obviously aren’t as good as some of Nokia’s dedicated media phones such as the Nokia X6, for example, but it does give excellent sound quality, and the pictures it takes are extremely good.

Indeed, the E72 is very similar to many Nokia N-Series phones of late, with the same Symbian media player, picture gallery and camera interface, and sound quality that’s better than any other business phone on the market.

Better still, you can mix business with pleasure by creating two separate homescreens, and switch between the two instantly with the flick of a switch. So, for example, you could create one homescreen for business use and another just for leisure, with movies, pictures and music apps all accessible from the leisure homescreen.

A nice touch.

Web Browsing

Web browsing on the E72 should be very familiar to anyone who’s used a Nokia phone in the last three years. The E72 uses the same Webkit-based browser as all Nokia phones recently, and it’s a well executed browser that renders pages very quickly.

Better still, the E72 also comes with Flash Lite, which means you can see Flash animations that are embedded within Web pages, and watch YouTube videos.
Office applications

As a business phone, you want the Nokia E72 to support your business needs throughout the day. That measn a lot of office-based and productivity software, and the E72 happily offers a plethora of such goodies.

As well an updated calendar and Task List app, the E72 also lets your view and edit your Microsoft Office documents – including Office 2007. This feature comes free and is available out of the box, so there’s no expensive downloads to install in order to use this feature – it’s all there waiting for you as soon as you switch the E72 on.

The E72 also comes with a PDF reader and a ZIP file viewer for extracting ZIP files, and a load of other productivity-based apps.

Finally, the E72 also comes with WiPresenter, which lets you run PowerPoint presentations (which you can also edit) straight from your phone.
Nokia E72 with Microsoft Office editor

You’ll notice at this stage that the big difference between the E72 and the latest smartphones is the lack of social media apps. There’s not Twitter or Facebook app integrated into the phone, for example.

But don’t think that that means you can’t access these services on the E72. Thanks to Nokai’s own Ovi Store, there are hundreds of apps you can download, including an extremely useful Facebook app.
Navigation

Finallly, we have the E72’s navigational features. The E72 is equipped with an aGPS receiver, which locks onto GPS satellites quickly and offers a high degree of precision. Nokia’s Ovi Maps v3 is fully supported as well, which means thousands of locations are already stored within the phone, so you won’t lose your directions if you’re suddenly out of mobile phoen coverage (as can happen with Google Maps).

Ovi Maps also supports turn by turn directions and a pedestrian mode for walking on foot, as well as a pretty 3D mode. You can even buy an E72 holder for your car and use it as a full-on Sat-Nav device.

If Ovi Maps doesn’t do it for you, though, you can always use Google Maps. There’s also a digital compass onboard,which makes sure the map is pointing in the same direction you are!

So is th eE72 perfect? No, of course not. For one thing, it’s still using Nokia’s old Symbian S60 OS, which is really starting to show its age. The E72 is no match for the iPhone or for any new smartphone, as far as looks are concerned.

But then, that’s not the point of the E72. It’s a business phone not a smartphone, and by doing away with all the frippery of a smartphone, its core features have been executed superbly, making the phone extremely responsive, and something that will react to your every business need whenever you want it to.

The E72 should naturall be compared to a Blackberry, then, not the latest smartphone.

Another area that’s not quite so hot is the screen. Although it’s crystal clear and capable of showing 16 million colours, it’s not particularly big, as most of the E72’s front face is taken up with the QWERTY keyboard.

Although it’s not a problem for most office-based activities, it does make browsing the Web a bit tricky.

Finally, the user interface is now starting to look a bit old. It’s the standard Nokia interface, which has been arund for ages now. On the plus side, if you’re used to using Nokia phones, you’ll be able to use all of the features of theE72 without any problem whatsoever – you won’t even need to look at the manual – and the E72 does have the fastest response of any Nokia phone, so it’s vertinaly

If you’re after a first-rate business phone, then the answer is simple: yes, it really is the phone for you! From a business-perspective, it’s perfect. Its messaging abilities, communications, Office editing and responsiveness are all first rate, making it the perfect phone for work wherever you are.

Throw in the extra features such as the 5 megapixel camera, Flash support, GPS, compass and Ovi Maps, and you’ve got a well-rounded phone that’s as good for leisure as it is for work. If you’re looking for a business phone, then the Nokia E72 should certainly be right up there on your list.

As for Symbian, the mobile OS that the E72 uses, it turns out that it shines on the E72. Symbian has been slated recently as it’s fallen well behind the competition when it comes to smartphones. But for business phones, it’s perfect.

It’s an extremely quick OS on the E72 with a streamlined interface that makes accessing all the features you need an absolute snip – which is just what you need when you’re under pressure at work.

If you’re looking for a phone that offers a sexier interface, then you should look elsewhere (such as the HTC Desire or Sony Ericsson Xperia X10, for example). But if you need a phone that’ll make you super-efficient at your job, which comes with as many features as an N-Series, all packaged in a seriously professional looking device – and all for just £25 a month – then go buy a Nokia E72 now!

Nokia E72 video review

mobilementalism.com

iPad 3G: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

2010-05-03T14:29:00.000+07:00

The iPad 3G hit stores and customer mailboxes on Friday afternoon, but how does this slightly modified model compare against the original? Is the ability to use 3G worth the extra $130 per model? After spending the weekend using the iPad 3G and comparing it head-to-head with a Wi-Fi-only model, we hope we can help potential buyers figure out what iPad model might be best for them.

For my own comparison, I used a 32 GB Wi-Fi-only unit that was purchased on launch day and a 64 GB Wi-Fi+3G model that arrived Friday. Both units were connected via 802.11n to the same home network and my 3G tests were done in the area of my house that gives the best AT&T 3G signal.
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Samsung N220 review

2010-05-02T10:35:00.000+07:00

Samsung has released a large number of netbooks to critical acclaim and we're often impressed by the quality on offer, although some models have been hampered by a disappointing battery life. The N220 succeeds in addressing this issue and the result is a highly usable and portable machine.

The design is stylish and features very little Samsung branding – a massive reduction from the branding that covered some previous models. A thick layer of plastic covers the lid and helps to protect the netbook, although it does manage to quickly attract dirt and fingerprints.

Inside, the palm-rest flexes a little under pressure, but nothing significant. The isolated-key style keyboard stretches the width of the chassis and is perfect for touch-typing, although it's easy to accidentally hit the Page Up and Page Down buttons when using the arrow keys.

The touchpad is a little small, but this makes it hard to knock by accident when typing and the glide action is smooth. A narrow bar beneath the pad acts as the mouse buttons and this works well, although it isn't as firm as we'd have liked.

Portablility is this netbook's true strength. While the dimensions and weight are similar to the other machines, the 575-minute battery life beats just about every netbook around. With this kind of longevity, you can easily work all day on a single charge.

The screen is another highlight, with images appearing bright and vibrant, thanks to the inclusion of LED backlighting. The netbook can comfortably be used in bright conditions, due to the anti-glare TFT display, which minimises reflections and suits outdoor use.

HyperSpace

Samsung has included HyperSpace 'instant-on' software. By pressing F6 as the machine boots up, the user can select to load the simplified HyperSpace interface instead of the Windows 7 operating system for fast access to the internet. However, netbooks usually boot to Windows in well under a minute, which greatly reduces the need for such an option.

Speedy 802.11n Wi-Fi and standard 10/100 Ethernet provide network connectivity, while Bluetooth is also included for sharing files with devices such as mobile phones. Three USB ports and a VGA port, as well as a 3-in-1 card reader, round off the features.

The Samsung N220 is a well built and stylish machine with a truly amazing battery life. Combined with the bright screen and strong usability, this is an all-round excellent netbook that we highly recommend.
techradar.com

Top 10 things Hollywood thinks computers can do

2010-05-01T11:52:00.000+07:00

A couple of weeks ago we covered the Top 10 biggest tech flaws in films, this week we've got a kind of sequel (in the best Hollywood tradition), and we're looking at the Top 10 myths has about how computers work in the real world. Now we understand the need to 'sex up' computers, as they'd otherwise be incredibly boring, but must these stereotypes persist?

10. When systems go wrong, stuff starts to explode

When a computer crashes in real life it's often quite annoying, but spectacularly dull to watch. In films, when a computer goes wrong, it's very exciting and stuff starts to explode. The way computers go wrong depend on the film or TV show.

In Star Trek, Kirk need only ask an alien computer to "Explain. The. Human emotion. Known. As.....Love", for it to go into a bizarre loop where its logical systems can't computer and it explodes. In Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace (one of the worst films ever made), the destruction of the main ship causes the droid army to lose its control signal and fail - one of them even has his head fall off. Quite why you'd ever build this feature into your army of destruction is beyond us.

Sparking and exploding control stations is our favourite. Thankfully this doesn't happen in real life - imagine your keyboard exploding just because Windows had crashed again.

9. Guessing a password is easy

In all films when the protagonist gets to a vital computer that's protected by a password, guessing the password is always easy. Given three chances to make the correct choice, the following steps are taken: 1) they type one wrong password, 2) they think hard and type another wrong password, 3) they look round the room they're inhave a flashback to an earlier point in the show, find some inspiration and type in the correct password.

Just see the bit in Watchmen when they correctly guess Ozymandias' password by finding a book on his desk. It's almost as if in Hollywood people are required to enter passwords that are both easy to guess and have some kind of obvious personal connection to the person. And by no means ever should the password contain upper- and lower-case characters or numbers to make them harder to break.

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iHome iP1

2010-04-30T08:13:00.000+07:00

Introduction

If the iHome brand seems familiar, it’s probably because you’ve seen or heard their products at your favorite large-scale retailer. In 2005 iHome began making affordable clock radios for the iPod and since then has expanded their product line to include a dizzying array of portable speakers, home stereo systems, earbuds and even more clock radios. iHome, though very successful and popular, is not what we’d characterize as a “high end” brand, but with the introduction of the iP1, the company aims to change that perception.

Decked out with powerful digital amplifiers, individually enclosed speakers and a proprietary DSP chip that promises to improve sound by “adding back what the MP3 took away” the iHome iP1 certainly looks and reads like a high-end iPod speaker dock. In this review, we’ll put the iP1 through its paces and see if its sound measures up to the all of the company’s hype.
Out of the Box

The first thing we noticed about the iP1 was its weight. At a little over 8 lbs, the iP1 is one of the heavier iPod speaker systems we’ve tested and certainly on par with the weight of many of the high-end brands we’ve seen. But as soon as we removed the iP1 from its box, our attention was stolen by the iP1’s striking appearance. The iP1 doesn’t have a cabinet or case, per se. Instead, each speaker is backed by a cylindrical enclosure and mounted into a ½” thick slab of smoked Plexiglas.

Included with the iP1 is a power adapter stout enough to run your laptop (which we do not recommend trying, by the way), an ultra-thin remote control and an extra pair of grill-less speaker bezels that allow the user to show off the slick looking 4” speakers.

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Olympus PEN E-PL1

2010-04-30T08:07:00.000+07:00

Introduction

It’s hardly a secret that Canon and Nikon dominate the DSLR market. Rather than beating their heads against the wall by competing directly against them, other manufacturers are zeroing in a new type of camera—one with a large imaging sensor, smaller size and interchangeable lenses so you can get the photographic benefits of a DSLR without breaking your shoulder carrying it around all day.
Olympus and Panasonic have jumped into this arena and Sony is planning to join them later this year. One of the newest of these cameras is the Olympus PEN E-PL1 which uses the same 12MP chip found in the company’s much larger and heavier E-30 and E-620 DSLRs. Let’s see if Olympus has delivered on the dream and if you should consider it instead of a DSLR.

Features and Design

Pick up the new PEN and it looks like a 35mm film camera from back in the day. With the optional 17mm f/2.8 pancake lens attached, it has a boxy, retro shape some might find cool while turning off others. We liked it and it’s a real standout, but check out the accompanying photos to see if this design appeals to you. The camera measures 4.5 x 2.8 x 1.63 (WHD in inches) and tips the scales at 15.8 ounces with the pancake lens and battery. It’s definitely not as bulky or heavy as a DSLR, but wafer thin it’s not.

Our review sample had a steel blue color, but all-black and silver editions are available. The front of the E-PL1 is dominated by the lens opening which accepts Micro Four Thirds glass. Unlike Canon and Nikon, there are just a handful of lenses for this system, but with a $199 adaptor, you can use a respectable selection of Four Thirds lenses (from Olympus, Panasonic and Sigma). Also on the front is the lens release button, self-timer lamp and a nice grip with a textured finish.

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Novero TheTalkyOne Bluetooth Hands Free Kit Review

2010-04-30T07:54:00.000+07:00

Specifications
The Novero TheTalkyOne works with most major Bluetooth phones and can be used on the desk or mounted to the visor or the dash in your car. The manufacturer claims the device is good for 15 hours of talk and 180 hours on standby and it comes with a DC charger to keep it powered in the car.

In Use
The Novero TheTalkyOne is a very nice looking Bluetooth device. My review unit was white and looked very much like something from Apple. It has a locking holder that can be used to clip it to the visor in your car or stand it on a desk for conference calls.
The clip for connecting to the visor is large so it will fit most cars even if they have very thick visors.

I have a problem finding things that will clip to the visor of my Wife's Nissan Murano, but the Novero TheTalkyOne fits without any issues. The device is very easy to use. You simply hold down the white control in the middle of the speaker and it powers on or off. To adjust the volume you hit the left and right sides of the center control.

Pairing you phone with the Novero TheTalkyOne is easy to do. The first time you turn it on it puts itself into pairing mode and tells you the pin number you need to use. My iPhone paired without needing a pin number. This is the easiest hands free device to pair I have used in a long time.

Once paired the Novero TheTalkyOne is easy to use. In testing the call quality is top notch. The person on the other end of the call didn’t know I was on a hands free device until I told them. Audio quality is very good as well and the DSP tech built into the Novero TheTalkyOne blocks most unwanted noise from the background.

I like that you have mounting options with the Novero TheTalkyOne as well. The visor clip is easy to use and what most folks will use in the car. However, if you don't want the device on the visor it also comes with Velcro to let you attach it to the dash or other part of your car.

The Novero TheTalkyOne can also be paired to two phones at once and you can make or receive calls from either one. When you get phone calls, the device will say the name of the person calling aloud so you don’t have to look at the phone screen for caller ID. The only downside is that the Novero TheTalkyOne is a bit more expensive than some Bluetooth headsets on the market. However, this is a clear case of you get what you pay for.
i4u.com

Casio EX-H15 Review

2010-04-30T07:49:00.000+07:00

Introduction

The EX-H15 is Casio 's second travel-zoom camera, following on from last year's EX-H10 model. Still offering a 10x, 24-240mm zoom lens, large 3 inch LCD, and 720p HD movies in a pocketable body, the new EX-H15 also has a faster processor, improved Premium Auto mode, plus creative Dynamic Photo and Art Photo functions. Gavin Stoker takes an in-depth look in our Casio EX-H15 review.

The Casio EX-H15 is the successor to last year’s EX-H10 pocket super-zoom camera, offering a 10x wide-angle zoom lens with a focal length of 24-240mm and CCD-shift image stabilization mechanism. The 14 megapixel EXH15 boasts a headline grabbing battery life of 1,000 shots, a large 3.0-inch LCD monitor with a resolution of 460,000 dots, and 720p HD movies. The new Engine 5.0 image processor increases operational speed by 30%, while the Premium Auto mode automatically optimises settings for exposure, ISO speed, focus, blur correction, tonal range, colour balance, and even noise reduction. Available in black, gunmetal grey, brown and pink, the Casio EX-H15 retails at £249 in the UK and $299.99 in the USA.

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Plantronics Explorer 395 Bluetooth headset review

2010-04-30T07:40:00.000+07:00

At Engadget, we're used to playing with premium Bluetooth headsets like the Jabra Stone and Jawbone Icon, so it's only natural this $49.95 Plantronics headset would lower our expectations, but turns out it's not bad for the money. For starters, the actual earpiece looks much better than the renders we saw, with a retro look that we quite liked. We're also promised easy operation with few buttons -- the silver paddle-like button (with LEDs underneath) for phone calls and Bluetooth pairing; the black volume button on one side with five incremental volume steps; and the ridged power slide switch on the other side. You'll find a micro-USB port at the end of the silver button, followed by the ear plug underneath and the mic on the other end. Enough with the list of features -- read on to find out how well this headset performs.

Packaging and build quality

Mommy always said the first impression is the most important, and in this case we're talking about the unboxing experience. While we understand the Explorer 395 is aimed at the lower-end market, the glued-up plastic box means there's no way to open it without simply destroying it -- we would've preferred a two-part box snapped together with a few notches, so that it'd be reusable. Furthermore, we were surprised to see a small blob of rubber cement holding the headset in place -- we'd never seen that on other headsets -- but thankfully it required little effort to clean up.

Wearables, Mobile Peripherals,
Plantronics Explorer 395 Bluetooth headset review
By Richard Lai posted Apr 29th 2010 12:23PM
Review
At Engadget, we're used to playing with premium Bluetooth headsets like the Jabra Stone and Jawbone Icon, so it's only natural this $49.95 Plantronics headset would lower our expectations, but turns out it's not bad for the money. For starters, the actual earpiece looks much better than the renders we saw, with a retro look that we quite liked. We're also promised easy operation with few buttons -- the silver paddle-like button (with LEDs underneath) for phone calls and Bluetooth pairing; the black volume button on one side with five incremental volume steps; and the ridged power slide switch on the other side. You'll find a micro-USB port at the end of the silver button, followed by the ear plug underneath and the mic on the other end. Enough with the list of features -- read on to find out how well this headset performs.
Plantronics Explorer 395 Bluetooth headset review

Packaging and build quality

Mommy always said the first impression is the most important, and in this case we're talking about the unboxing experience. While we understand the Explorer 395 is aimed at the lower-end market, the glued-up plastic box means there's no way to open it without simply destroying it -- we would've preferred a two-part box snapped together with a few notches, so that it'd be reusable. Furthermore, we were surprised to see a small blob of rubber cement holding the headset in place -- we'd never seen that on other headsets -- but thankfully it required little effort to clean up.

Once you look past the packaging, you'll be greeted with the headset, wall charger, a couple of booklets and not much else. Unlike premium headsets, you're stuck with just one fixed ear plug (not a tight noise-isolation fit) for the Explorer 395, but we've had no problem with it. The overall build quality of the headset is pretty satisfactory -- the body feels solid, the edges are well-finished, and the ear loop clicks well into its three swivel positions. The only issue we've found is that the volume button's tactility isn't consistent across its length, but it's obviously not the end of the world here.

Comfort and performance

While the ear plug fitted in our ear nicely, the stylish transparent ear hook did get in the way of our glasses' arms; this wouldn't have been a problem had the Explorer 395 come with free-hanging ear plug options (as offered by Jawbone and Spracht headsets), but you get what you pay for. On a more positive note, the headset's 0.39-ounce weight makes this a tolerable discomfort, plus the volume and call buttons are all easily accessible regardless of the headset's orientation. Pairing with other Bluetooth devices was simple enough -- upon first boot the headset automatically goes into pairing mode indicated by a red-blue flash, otherwise you'd just need to hold down the call button for a few seconds to get to pairing mode. Once you're all set, you should be getting about five hours of talk time or seven days of standby time on one battery charge -- almost standard for headsets of this form factor.

Due to the lack of A2DP, you wouldn't be able to listen to music or podcasts with the Explorer 395 -- we actually think the headset's good enough for the latter, so this is a shame. As for the mic performance, it's obviously no match to Jawbone's or Motorola's noise-cancellation technology -- our voice sounded slightly tinny in comparison, and obviously the noise level is higher -- but for this budget we think the 395's done a pretty good job.

Wrap-up

The Explorer 395 may not be the most exciting product coming out of Plantronics, but it's always nice to have a more affordable option for those who are happy with "good enough" performance. Also, this headset's appearance doesn't really reflect its budget price, and combined with the decent build quality we think this it's got good potential. Of course, if you're stuck in a noisy environment most of the day, you'd want to spend more money on headsets equipped with noise cancellation technology, so pick wisely.
engadget.com

HTC Droid Incredible

2010-04-30T07:28:00.000+07:00

The best of the Droids on Verizon, the Droid Incredible ($200 with a two-year contract from Verizon) impresses with its speedy user interface, gorgeous AMOLED display and fun Sense user interface. Other than some minor design qualms, this smartphone truly lives up to its name.

Design-wise, the Incredible appears fairly similar to Google's Nexus One, but it is essentially a CDMA version of the HTC Desire, which launched last February in Barcelona, Spain. The phones use Android, Google's open-source operating system.

The Droid Incredible has an 8-megapixel camera (as opposed to the Nexus One and Desire's 5-megapixel shooters). The Droid Incredible also has a strange rubberdized "topographic" battery cover, which I could have done without. While the Incredible is lighter, it doesn't feel as solid as the Nexus One.

While the Nexus One has four touch keys, the Droid Incredible has four physical hardware keys running along the bottom (Home, Menu, Back, Search). I actually prefer the Nexus One's touch keys, though, as it gives the phone a more streamlined look.

Another difference from the Nexus One is that the Droid Incredible has an optical mouse as opposed to a trackball. Like Research In Motion's BlackBerrys, HTC seems to be making a shift from trackball to optical (both the HTC Desire and Legend sport an optical mouse).

The Droid Incredible runs Android 2.1 with the revamped Sense interface, which offers some useful new functions for easy navigation. For more information about Android 2.1's features, check out our review of the Google Nexus One.

My favorite new Sense UI feature is Leap, which essentially is an elegant way of handling multitasking (a bit reminiscent of Palm's webOS deck of cards visualization).

Pinch anywhere on the homescreen, and you'll jump to seven thumbnail versions of your open pages. From there, you can go to any of those open applications or close out of one. Thanks to the Droid Incredible's speedy 1 GHz Snapdragon processor, this feature works extremely well, too.

Friend Stream, HTC's social network aggregator, allows you to view your friends' status updates, shared links, and pictures all in one seamless view. Supported social networks include Twitter, Facebook, Flickr, and others.

I find these social network feeds a bit annoying (do I really need to see everybody's Tweets and Facebook status updates all mixed up together?), but I suppose if you're an avid social networker seeing all of these updates in one place is useful.

One feature I found especially cool: You can tap and drag to highlight a block of text and either look up a word in a dictionary or translate it via Google Translate.

Along with the standard Android applications, like as Gmail, Google Talk, and YouTube, you also get HTC's Twitter app, Peep, and its photo geotagging app, Footprints. And, of course, you have easy access to Verizon's apps, like V Cast Media Manager, through the Android Market's dedicated Verizon channel.

Impressive 8-megapixel camera
While 5-megapixel cameras seems to be the standard for high-end smartphones for right now, expect to see a lot more 8-megapixel camera phones in the near feature.

Overall, I was impressed with the Droid Incredible's. You press the haptic mouse to snap pictures, which works okay, but I found myself wishing there was a dedicated camera key on the phone's spine. The phone just didn't feel as steady in my hands and sometimes my pictures looked a bit blurry.

Otherwise, I was very impressed with my outdoor shots. Colors appeared bright and natural, details looked sharp. There was also very little shutter lag. My indoor shots looked good as well, though a few had a bit of yellowish tint.

The flash also seemed a bit unpredictable as to when it decided to go off, as well. Many of my indoor shots were pretty well lit so when the flash went off, details and colors were blown out. Nighttime snapshots looked good, however-better than most smartphone cameras with flashes.

The Droid Incredible can shoot high resolution video up to 800-by-480, but you can't shoot 720p quality video. The camcorder is fine for quick clips, but I was disappointed by the slight pixelation in my videos.

Multimedia: Just ok
I do wish that HTC would have updated the Sense media player. It is slightly prettier than the dull-as-dirt Android player, but I prefer iTunes or Palm's webOS player. Audio playback sounded good, though and the player supports a respectable range of audio and video formats.

Video playback over YouTube was as good as YouTube can be. I downloaded a few movie trailers, however, and was impressed the smooth playback, sharp details and clean colors. The Droid Incredible also supports Flash Lite, but I had trouble playing Flash content. I also encountered this problem with the HTC Hero on Sprint.

The HTC Droid Incredible might be the best Android phone available — it certainly is the best on Verizon. But how will it compare with the incoming iPhone 4G with its alleged front-facing camera and higher resolution display?

Smartphone shoppers will have some enticing choices this summer, that's for sure.
msnbc.msn.com

Clickfree C2N Review

2010-04-30T07:12:00.000+07:00

Backup – we’ve called it an ugly, boring chore before and it remains a necessary evil. We’ve also called Clickfree’s products an ideal way to address that chore before too, and with their latest drive – the Clickfree C2N – the company reckon they’ve managed to make running backups on all your home or small office systems even more straightforward. At the risk of sounding like a bad X-Files plot, that’s something we want to believe; check out the full SlashGear review after the cut.

A bit of backstory first. Clickfree’s drives generally consist of what looks like a regular external USB 2.0 hard-drive, loaded with some special software that – when you plug in – automatically scans your computer, spots any important data like documents or multimedia, and copies them over to its safe clutches. Subsequently, only new or modified files are copied, and you can plug the one Clickfree drive into multiple computers and have independent backup profiles for each.

The Clickfree C2N takes that concept and moves it one stage further. As before, it looks like a regular external drive – available in 250GB, 320GB, 500GB or 640GB capacities – but now it can backup not just the local computer it’s physically plugged into, but multiple machines on the same home or small office network.

Now, the obvious way of doing that would be to give the Clickfree an ethernet port and turn it into a NAS, but that’s arguably too complex for its target audience. Instead, Clickfree have come up with BackupLink: plug the drive (using the tethered USB cable that slots neatly into a niche for transport or storage) into whichever computers you want to include in the mass backup and it automatically installs an app that allows the USB drive to easily connect to that machine again over the home network. As long as you leave the C2N hooked up to one of the networked machines, it will be able to remotely back-up any of the computers on that network you’ve previously plugged it into.

So, say you have a laptop and a desktop, and you want to keep backups of both machines. First, you might plug the C2N drive into the laptop and install BackupLink, performing the first backup – which takes the longest, as it’s saving all your data rather than what has just been incrementally changed – while it’s locally connected. Then, you plug the C2N into the desktop and follow the same process, only this time you leave the drive attached. BackupLink installs an icon in the system tray of a Windows machine (it’s also compatible with Mac OS X 10.5 or higher, and you can have a mixture of PCs and Macs backing up to the same Clickfree drive) from which you can not only trigger a backup of the local machine (in this case, the desktop PC) but of the remote laptop too. Thanks to BackupLink running in the background on the laptop, the Clickfree drive spots it over the network and performs an incremental backup as if the C2N was physically connected via USB.

While you can manually trigger a backup of any computer from any machine with BackupLink installed, you can also schedule automatic backups to take place daily, weekly, etc, at a time of your choosing. The app will wake a computer from sleep mode to do so, though it can’t power up a hibernating Windows PC. Similarly, while the C2N supports 256-bit hardware-based data encryption – useful if the drive is stolen – if that’s active you’ll need to type in the password before the scheduled backup can take place.

There are some limitations in comparison to a proper NAS, of course. Only one computer can be backing up to the C2N at any one time, and – while there’s support for browsing the contents of each separate backup volume – it’s not really designed to act as a shared drive for frequently-accessed, communal files. You’ll need Administrator access to each computer initially, too, to install the BackupLink app. You’re also limited by the speed of a) your network, b) USB 2.0 and c) the speed of whatever computer the C2N is plugged into, whereas a decent gigabit NAS and a gigabit router/switch will be faster and more self-sufficient. Currently there’s no RAID option either, so, should the Clickfree drive’s HDD fail, all your backups are lost.

Still, for Clickfree’s target audience the comparison would more likely be using the C2N or nothing at all; they’d not even consider using a NAS, or be put off by the complexity of networking and setting up backup software. In contrast, the C2N makes it all incredibly easy: you can choose specific files or locations to backup, or alternatively you can let Clickfree’s software dig through your drive and identify files automatically. It will even pull out email attachments, and allow you to share photos via its own UI to Flickr, Facebook and MySpace. If you start to reach the limits of the internal storage, Clickfree include an app that streamlines transferring data to a CD or DVD.

You do pay a premium for all that functionality, however, at least in a dollar-per-gigabyte comparison with a regular, “dumb” USB drive. The 250GB C2N comes in at $139.99, the 320GB at $159.99 and the 500GB at $179.99; in contrast, a normal 250GB portable drive can be had for around $55, while 500GB can be had for around $80. We’d be more tempted by Clickfree’s Transformer NE, a $99.99 adapter cable that offers the same BackupLink functionality but rather than coming with internal storage has a USB 2.0 port to plug in a generic external drive. You could even plug in a USB RAID array, if you want to couple Clickfree’s simplicity with the reassurance of multiple-drive data redundancy.

Simplicity comes at a price, then, which is hardly new. A cheap external drive may be easier on your wallet, but it’s a false saving if you then neglect to actually copy your data across to it. In contrast, the C2N streamlines the process to the point where even the most tech-wary of users could get to grips with it. In an ideal world we’d all have redundant local and off-site backup and not even a single byte would go missing; in the real world, Clickfree’s C2N manages to make the company’s own easy products even easier.
slashgear.com

YUBZ MAGNUM Bluetooth Speaker

2010-02-25T15:49:00.000+07:00

A plethora of portable sound projection devices are available in a multitude of shapes and sizes. Several have piqued my interest, but the Yubz MAGNUM is somewhat unique, mostly for its factor. Because it looks like, well…a log. Yep, just like the classic Ren & Stimpy commercial. So how does this particular portable speaker system measure up? Let’s check it out!
The Unboxing

The packing was satisfactory and seemed fairly secure, with some type of perforated cardboard packing material that unfortunately left a layer of cardboard particles and dust all over the outside of the actual product packaging. A bit messy, but recyclable, so tolerable, I suppose.

The actual product packaging was a simple, yet elegant black box with understated “YUBZ” logo on top, surrounded by a plastic sleeve wrapper (possibly to protect the nice box from the cardboard packing material dust?).

Inside the actual product packaging, I was presented with the instruction manual in its own slot on top of the MAGNUM itself, nestled into its own cavity in a vacuum-formed shell.

Inside the Box

Laying it all out, I was actually fairly surprised with the amount of gear inside the box, which included the instruction booklet, an AC wall adapter, a power cable, an RCA jack audio cable, a multi-compartment carrying case, an adjustable shoulder strap and of course the MAGNUM itself.

My first impression of the MAGNUM itself was that, with its cylindrical shape and textured leather skin, it actually does somewhat resemble a log. Upon picking it up and holding it in my hand, I was struck by its solid, weighty feel, even without having inserted four non-included AA batteries.

Operation

I skimmed through the instructions quickly to glean just enough to get cracking. Skimming turned out to be about all the instructions were good for, since they were very simple. My test plan here was evaluate the MAGNUM through multiple device and scenarios. Wired connections first, then wireless.
Controls

The controls of the MAGNUM consist of a row of seven circle-shaped indentations just below the Yubz logo. The first circle, starting at the far left, has a small hole in the center, beneath which is the microphone that allows the MAGNUM to be used as a speakerphone, followed by pushbuttons that control Vol +, Vol -, Next Track, Previous Track, Play/Pause and Power/Answer/End. These buttons are extremely difficult to see, as they are integrated into the leather covering and not visually distinct. However, they do have a nice audible/tactile “click” feel.

Power

There are two power source options, wall outlet AC power or four standard AA alkaline batteries. I plugged the AC adapter into a wall outlet, then plugged in the power cable, which on one end has a USB plug that goes into the AC adapter on the other end a small-diameter power plug that goes into the MAGNUM. I was surprised by how loose the connection was between the power cable tip and the MAGNUM. It felt sloppy (more on this later). I also placed four alkaline batteries into the MAGNUM and it seemed to work just fine.

Audio

There are several possible combinations for piping an audio signal to the MAGNUM, and I tried to explore them all.
Line-in Input – from 4th Gen iPod Nano

I first tried the wired connection using my daughter’s 4th-gen iPod Nano, plugging one end of the RCA-type audio cable into the Nano’s 3.5mm headset jack and the other into the MAGNUM’s audio line-in jack.

Once connected, the MAGNUM is powered on by pressing and holding down the Power On/Off button until the YUBZ signal light (behind the logo) flashes blue. However, if you only press it quickly, or don’t hold it down until the light starts flashing, it appears to go into some sort of demo mode where it powers itself back off after a few seconds. Also, as mentioned above, the AC power cable connection to the MAGNUM is quite loose and if not inserted just right, can toggle loose and either cut the power or deactivate one of the speakers. The Vol + and Vol – volume control buttons functioned as expected. However, using the line-in cable, the Play/Pause button actually mutes the device instead. Also, pushing the Power/Answer/End button simply mutes the device for a few seconds, emits a tone and returns to music. This is presumably because the device is ’smart’ enough to know that it is connected to a music player here and not a phone.
Bluetooth Input – from Lenovo T60p Laptop

I then moved on to checking out the Bluetooth connection using my work laptop, a Lenovo T60p. I was able to pair the MAGNUM with the T60p relatively easily, and proceeded to play some .mp3s. The control buttons worked OK for this. The range was about 20 feet. Here again, because it was not connected to a phone, the Power/Answer/End button simply muted the device for a few seconds, emits a tone and returns to music. The range was about 20-30 feet, depending on how many obstacles might be present to present interference to the signal.
Bluetooth Input – from iMac

Next up was checking out the Bluetooth connection with my iMac. Here I had some issues with the pairing process and was never able to get it to pair. Bummer.
Bluetooth Input – from iPhone 3GS

Finally, I moved on to checking out the Bluetooth connection using my iPhone 3GS. Here, I wanted to check out some of the features that are phone-specific, like the Answer button. The Bluetooth pairing was even a bit more straightforward that with my T60p. I fired up the onboard iPod and began Bluetooth streaming some tunes to the MAGNUM, then used my landline to call my iPhone. When the iPhone began ringing, I pressed the Answer button on the MAGNUM and voilà! The MAGNUM paused the iPhone’s music and the MAGNUM’s onboard microphone allowed me to converse with it as if it were a speakerphone. Once the call was complete, I simply pressed the Answer button again and it ended the call on the iPhone and un-paused the music, right were I’d left off. Rather slick. The MAGNUM’s other control buttons also functioned as expected with the iPhone/Bluetooth combo, including the Last Number Redial, Transfer to Phone and Voice Dialing.
Accessories

I’ve already mentioned some of the MAGNUM’s accessories above, but here’s the scoop on the remaining ones, the case and the strap. The case has a cylindrical-shaped main compartment that is sized to fit the MAGNUM perfectly and has a zip-around cover. Either end of this main compartment has a mesh cover that allows sound to escape.
Off the side of the case is a smaller compartment that I assume is meant to hold the other accessories, such as the cable and AC adapter.

There is also a small hole on one end of this compartment–for what, I have no idea. On the bottom of the case are two small holes that I assume must be portals for plugging the AC power and line out cables into the MAGNUM through the case, so you can operate the MAGNUM while inside the case.
On the opposite side of the case from this side compartment are two straps with Fastex-style quick-release buckles.
Finally, on top of the case are two D-rings to which can be attached the hooks of the strap. The strap looks a lot like an actual belt, with a combination of an adjustable nylon web and leather with buckle portions.

I have to admit, the case and strap are a bit of an enigma to me. I can’t quite figure out how the two side buckles would be used, unless to strap it to the handlebars of one’s bike. And I really can’t see myself slinging this thing over my shoulder to haul the MAGNUM around town, but some might do this. That said, the case does hold the device and accessories rather well.
Last-Minute Update

As I was preparing the last few edits to this review, I noticed that the MAGNUM is currently not shown on the main Yubz site. I emailed Yubz about this and they responded, “Yubz MAGNUM is available for customer to order but now we put it as a offline retail item” and that a special form must be filled out to order it. However, I also Googled Yubz MAGNUM and found this page, which shows the price to now be $164.95 instead of the previous $109.95, and it appears to be available in red, green and yellow in addition to black. Not sure why Yubz has doing this, but there you go.

Pda Reviews

2010-02-24T13:57:00.000+07:00

PDA Reviews
The Personal Digital Assistants better known as the PDA’s are new age electronic devices that store all your personal information and data and process it whenever you need it. These devices are not only about storing and retrieving data but they come with a variety of options for added functionality and convenience. PDA’s are equipped to give you more functionality than processing data and these new functionalities include handwriting recognition, networking, wireless communications, MP3 players, phone etc.

A PDA device can be classified by considering its functionality and the operating system or OS it uses. More features like the Memory and processing speed also help us to determine different types of PDA’s. But in general you will find the PDA’s classified as hand-held PDA’s and palm-sized PDA’s. The only major differences between these two being size, display and mode of data entry. The hand-held PDA’s, if compared to the palm-sized PDA’s, tend to be larger and heavier. They have larger liquid crystal displays (LCD) and use a miniature keyboard, usually in combination with touch-screen technology, for data entry. Whereas, the palm-sized PDA’s are smaller and lighter. They have smaller LCDs and rely on stylus/touch-screen technology and handwriting recognition programs for data entry.]

When you stat looking for a PDA device what you need is device with the most compatible operating system. The Windows Pocket PC OS is the most popular as it is compatible with most of the Desktops. The size does matter. The small sized PDA device is easier to carry and use. While considering a PDA device note that a choosing a big screen will ensure that no unnecessary strain is put on your eyes. The best PDA devices are loaded with the most useful applications and are Internet ready to keep you on move. RAM is an essential factor for choosing a PDA device. The one that have more RAM helps you to process data faster and run more applications. Some of the PDA devices come with memory slots so that you can insert a compact flash or secured memory stick to increase its storage capacity. The handheld PDA device is well equipped with networking capabilities. It helps you to get connected with LAN’s and other wireless networks.

A handheld PDA device is designed to give you the freedom of accessing important data without the geographical limitations, and with added convenience. So a PDA device can be used by those who have to spend most time out of the office and carrying a laptop every time is not a possibility. In fact in some occasions a PDA is more useful as it is handy and can be carried in the pocket. It is very useful with some of its interesting features like handwriting recognition software, which make using it even more convenient. A PDA helps you in a great deal to stay connected to the Internet and can function as a mobile phone as well. This combination is great for the people who need to communicate a lot and at the same time require data at their fingertips. It is also a great entertainment tool with music and video player, which makes it a great companion everywhere.

About Author
Dhiraj Bandurkar
Looking for more PDA Reviews check out www.pda-reviews.biz your guide to PDA Reviews.

Pda’s Comparison

2010-02-23T14:48:00.000+07:00

The new upcoming technology is just going to groove this world. A PDA is a handy tools and it has mammoth potential to keep you in touch by way of internet and communication. PDA has made your work easy and swift. Person buying the best of PDA then the next question come of PDA accessories. To get better result you should be equipped with pda accessories. PDA accessories are easily available in the market which helps to make your task simpler.

PDA’s is more seen in hands of businessman or a professional. PDA has gained much of popularity throughout the world because of its multiple usages which include in many fields.
Now within no time you can access the internet, send & receive mails through Wi-Fi technology, media players for entertainment, could navigate the geographical location when moving to unknown regions through GPS system, built in camera to capture the still of an image and video, security features and memory card to increase it’s storage and many other useful things to make your lifestyle more comfortable. But still if wants some more then dress up your PDA with accessories that suits your needs.

Some of the pda accessories like pda cases, screen protectors, backup cards, and pda charger.

PDA cases: This is a common accessory that any person falls in need of. You can keep stylish or simple pda, though both cases are going to solve your purpose. Keeping pda in carrying case will make you to remind instead of forgetting.

Screen protectors: PDA screens protector keeps the screen scratch proof or if minimal damage cause to screen. It helps to preserve the view and protect function with a peel and apply screen protector.

PDA charger: It is very essential for those people who travel a lot so having a pda charge helps to keep your pda complete charge rather than missing out important calls because of low battery. Have a nice trip with pda charger to keep you in touch with surroundings.

Backup cards: To increase the speed of pda it is advisable to keep backup card rather than choking the memory; in some cases memory or data may evaporate.

PDA headset: Buying of this headset avails to you to talk on phone. In many countries if any person found talking on phone then they are penalized for this act. Now, with no worries you can chit-chat and listen music too by way of your pda headset. Thus, cell phone pda accessories are like body armor for your pda

Pda accessories are on the rise and so are readily available in the market. Having pda accessory will come in your need only. It is of your own importance to accomplish every task with the help of pda so you should not step back in buying it. If you want to make your pda more useful then you should take into account pda accessories.

About Author
Bella Mclaine

Bella Mclaine writes about PDA at pdaaccessoriesinfo.com/Excellent resource website for PDA.
PDA

Following The Blackberry Curve 8910

2010-02-22T11:44:00.001+07:00

The BlackBerry Curve series originally started out in 2007 with the Curve 8300. It was not until two years later, 2009, that the 8900 and the 8520/8530 models were released. This 2010, the very first BlackBerry phone that popped in the news is the soon to come BlackBerry Curve 8910 model.

Details on the devices’ actual specs are still uncertain, but it has been reported that the new device will be sporting a trackpad instead of a trackball –this means that your BlackBerry no longer has to be a magnet for pocket lint. Also, the processor will now be 624 MHz (unlike the original 512 MHz on the original 8900). The Bold 9700 is the first BlackBerry with a 624 MHz processor.

Missing from the 8910 however, is 3G. Despite being a modern device, this phone will be WiFi reliant. No word has been given as to why 3G has been removed as an option in the device, but many suspect that this would allow RIM to market the device at a much lower price. With BlackBerry devices rarely made for the mid to low range price range, the 8900 series is a great way for the series to keep tapping into this market.

The BlackBerry Curve

The Curve series of BlackBerry phones have been around for a while. The first device in the set came out around 2007 –the Curve 8300; lacking both 3G and WiFi, the device was met with very little success. It was not until later improvements on the phone (inclusion of WiFi and even GPS) did the device gain better acceptance. The true sequels to the 8300 came out much later in 2009; the 8900 and 8530/8520 devices delivered higher specs and even better features –but still lacked 3G.

Images of the 8910

With both the BlackBerry Curve 8910and the BlackBerry Atlas still waiting to get formally unveiled, initial images of the two devices are pretty confusing as it is reported that the two phones will look similar –though some even say that they are the same device. The first blurry images of the 8910 show that ever familiar keyboard and screen layout. It will not be using the more impressive looking keyboard found on the Bold 9700.

About RIM

The BlackBerry series of mobile phones is well known by companies across the world as a very reliable line of mobile device suited for business use. The major innovation in the series was the introduction of email technology on the phone –which spawned a unique form of email addiction that was coined as Crackberry (due to the reliance on BlackBerry devices).

This line of mobile phones is the product of Research in Motion, a Canadian based wireless device manufacturer. They are currently run by CEOs Mike Lazaridis and Jim Balsillie. Aside from the upcoming Curve, BlackBerry has been quiet for the most part of early 2010, though many expect to see some new improvements on the BlackBerry OS to compete with the soon to launch Windows Mobile 7.

About Author
Simon Drew
Pay a visit to Best Mobile Contracts to look at all the latest phone deals. You can compare deals for BlackBerry Curve 8910 on contract. You can also read through many informative mobile phone reviews
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BlackBerry Storm2

2010-02-20T10:40:00.000+07:00

When the original BlackBerry Storm came out a year ago, we had great hopes for RIM's first touch screen BlackBerry smartphone. But as with any radically new product, the Storm had its share of bugs (quite a few were fixed in ensuing software updates) and the novel SurePress touch screen that moves when you press it didn't move us. It was too springy, finicky and hard to use. The Storm2 remedies that, with a much improved capacitive touch screen that still moves, but in the right way. We're still not sure that a moving screen is the answer to tactile typing heaven but it works well enough that we won't gripe. While the heart of the BlackBerry's appeal has been super push email and an excellent QWERTY-bar design, there's still room for a big touch screen in our Berry-addicted hearts. We can safely say the Storm2 is what we'd hoped the Storm would have been and it's a phone we can recommend if you really want a touchscreen phone and can't break that BlackBerry addiction.

Features and Specs

It's hard to imagine that one might not be familiar with the Storm platform given all the hype around the first gen model, but we'll give you a rundown of the specs (just a few of which have changed from the original Storm).

* 360 x 480 capacitive SurePress 3.25" display (hardware re-engineered)
* 256 megs RAM and 2 gigs internal storage (the first gen had half the RAM and storage)
* an SDHC microSD card slot, 16 gig card included
* WiFi 802.11b/g (missing on the first Storm)
* Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR
* GPS
* 3.2 megapixel autofocus camera
* 3.5mm stereo jack, RIM's media audio and video players included
* BlackBerry OS 5 (this is the first OS 5 'Berry as of this writing)
* EV-DO Rev. A, world phone with quad band GSM and Euro 3G on 2100MHz

Design

Overall, the Storm2 looks much like the first gen model but the esthetics and build quality are improved. The design is more organic with gloss black flowing into gunmetal trim. The back plate is metal and build quality is solid. Definitely a more attractive phone than the first Storm.

The usual BlackBerry screen lock/power button and mute button live under the gloss top cap. The Nuance voice command button is centered on the left side with the USB port below and the rubberized volume up/down and camera buttons are on the right along with the 3.5mm stereo jack. Though by no means small and a bit on the wide side, the phone feels good in all but small hands.

The microSD card slot is located under the back door, but you need not remove the battery to access it and the cover is at least easy to remove.

Display and SurePress

The Storm2's display is bright and colorful, though not incredibly bright and the viewing angle is limited. The resolution fits well with the large screen, and that means text is rarely too tiny to read (assuming good eyes). The Storm2's resolution is the same as the BlackBerry Tour and Bold, but those smartphones' screens are much smaller so videos look like postage stamps compared to the Storm2 and text is quite small.

The SurePress display's shtick is the moving screen: touch it and it registers your finger in capacitive glory, but it won't actually do anything until you press down, moving the screen until you feel and hear a click. That's RIM's attempt to replicate the tactile goodness of their QWERTY bar phones and while I wouldn't say it accomplishes that task, it's at least no longer annoying and difficult to actuate accurately as it was on the first Storm. The capacitive display is responsive and it supports two fingers-- you can press two keyboard keys at once and the Storm2 registers it, but there's no pinch zoom in the browser. There's an accelerometer that handles automatic screen rotation (less twitchy than the first Storm) and the SurePress display locks (doesn't move) when the phone is turned off.

The on-screen keyboard is reasonably large, yet it somehow feels small when typing. I gave up with 2 thumbs and stuck to using just 1 index finger. Part of the problem is that the required press to click motion caused my thumbs to slide off target when pressing. The virtual keyboard's keys light up when you touch them, but even skinny fingers block most of that key's view. We prefer Samsung and HTC's jump-out style keys so you can see what you've pressed. Though RIM has optimized the non-touch screen BlackBerry line incredibly well for the trackball and keyboard, there are few touch screen optimizations on the Storm2. We'd like to see a keyboard like HTC's for example, where a press and hold enters a number key so you need not switch between virtual keyboard modes. If you compose lengthy emails, the Storm2 may have you pining for a physical keyboard. Word completion works well, and that helps.

Calling and Data

The BlackBerry Storm2 had good call quality and better than average reception in our Verizon-challenged reception area in the Dallas area. It held onto EV-DO when other Verizon phones lost that service and always managed a few bars of 1xRTT where many others got 1 bar. Call quality isn't as sharp and clear as the HTC Imagio and Touch Pro2 on Verizon, but we had no trouble hearing our caller and call recipients said we sounded good if a little nasal. The speaker is very loud and reasonably clear. VZ Navigator on the highest volume setting is loud enough for a top-down Ferrari.

The Storm2, like the first model, is a GSM quad band world phone in addition to being a CDMA phone (Verizon uses CDMA). It has 3G HSDPA only on the Euro 2100MHz band, so if you get the Storm2 unlocked with plans to use it on T-Mobile or AT&T in the US, you'll be stuck with EDGE. The SIM card slot is located under the back door and the phone is SIM locked to Vodafone.

Like most recent 'Berries, the Storm2 ships with Nuance's very good voice command software and the voice command button is located on the phone's left side. The phone supports Bluetooth headsets, handsfree car kits and A2DP Bluetooth stereo headphones and headsets. There are dedicated hardware call send and end buttons; a feature we always appreciate for calling on the go.

The web browser shows incremental improvements in BlackBerry OS 5, but it still can't compete with the iPhone's Safari, especially in terms of rendering speed. Desktop page rendering is improved over the first Storm and older BlackBerry models, with more advanced layouts supported. Javascript can still baffle the browser and slow it down. It's by no means a bad browser-- it certainly does better than advanced feature phone browsers, but the competition is fierce these days, especially from webkit-based browsers from Apple, Palm and Nokia as well as the very good Opera Mobile used on HTC touch screen phones.

Software

This is the first OS 5 BlackBerry and as per usual with RIM, there are plenty of small improvements rather than a major overhaul of the OS and features. It's a responsive OS and the Storm2 didn't lag or languish other than when rendering heavy desktop web pages. It handles video playback very well for video optimized for mobile platforms (VGA and lower resolution are best, keep the bitrate under 900kbps for ripped video).

RIM's multimedia player that handles photo viewing, music playback and video playback is plenty capable. It supports a variety of music formats including MP3 and non-DRM AAC iTunes music and sound quality is very good through both wireless and wired stereo headphones. The video player supports a reasonable range of formats and fills the screen in stretch mode, putting that large display to good use. Our phone shipped with V Cast Music with Rhapsody but not V Cast Video (Verizon's streaming video service).

BlackBerry App World wasn't pre-installed on our phone but we had no trouble downloading it and using it to get apps. Documents to Go Standard Edition comes with the phone, and it allows you to view and edit MS Office documents. You'll need to upgrade to Premium Edition if you want to create new documents and get PDF viewing too.

In addition to RIM's excellent push email and BlackBerry PIN messaging, the phone comes with IM aplenty: Windows Live Messenger, Yahoo IM, Google Talk and AOL IM. You can download a free FaceBook client that integrates with the BlackBerry address book and there's a MySpace client as well. There are a variety of free and paid Twitter apps on App World.

Camera and GPS

The 3.2 megapixel autofocus camera takes OK but not impressive photos. Max photo resolution is 2048 x 1536 and max video resolution is 480 x 352. The LED flash helps a bit with low light photos and autofocus is reasonably fast. The camera application uses the entire screen as the viewfinder and shows a rectangular box for the focus area.

The GPS worked well with both VZ Navigator and the included BlackBerry Maps (the GPS isn't locked down to Verizon's own navigation solution). We like the large cue card style on-screen directions that are clear and easy to see, and voice navigation is loud and clear thanks to the Storm2's loud speaker. VZ Navigator costs $10/month and there's no charge to use BlackBerry Maps.

Conclusion

Take two of the Storm is the real deal: the touch screen works well, the phone has more memory, a new OS and is altogether stable and less buggy than the original Storm. The large screen is a rare treat for the mainly QWERTY BlackBerry line and it makes web browsing, video playback and working with MS Office documents a pleasure. We're still not convinced there's a need for a moving SurePress style screen-- it just adds a second step to every touch screen input without improving accuracy for typing. But it does work well in the Storm2 with none of the frustrations of the first gen model. If you want a BlackBerry and a touch screen, we say go for the Storm2. RIM has some work to do in terms of optimizing the OS for the touch screen (adding shortcuts and keyboard functions) and we're still waiting for a seriously better web browser, but the Storm2 is never painful to use and the browser is certainly better than the Storm 1 and even the Tour's.

Samsung B3410

2010-02-18T14:42:00.000+07:00

The Samsung B3410 is an attractive mobile phone pitched at consumers who like to keep in touch via sms text messaging or social networking sites due to the design of the handset and the fact that it incorporates a physical slide out qwerty keypad.

The B3410 measures a fairly standard 103 x 53 x 15.9mm and weighs 114g. First impressions of the unit are good. The phone is stylish and compact and as with the majority of Samsung designs it is evident that a lot of thought has gone into the overall look of the device. The front of the phone looks very minimal with a 2.6" screen dominating proceedings, situated beneath this screen are three fixed, slim buttons. The 2.6 inch TFT screen is of a touchscreen variety and displays a resolution of 320 x 240 pixels.
The screen incorporates Samsung's TouchWiz user interface which allows users to easily drag and drop widgets around the screen. A physical qwerty keypad slides out from beneath the screen, useful for those who do use a lot of text messages. When in use this keyboard does make using the B3410 feel much more like a laptop or pc experience. Most messaging services are covered including MMS, EMail, Instant messaging and SMS.

The Samsung B3410 does boast quite a few multi media features. The integrated music player handles the majority of audio file formats. This is backed up by a built in FM radio tuner if you fancied tuning into local radio rather than listen to your own music. The media player also supports the playback of MP4 video files. Slightly disappointing is the 2 Megapixel camera, substantially less than the majority of phones available. The camera is easy to use and adequate for day to day capturing of the moment, but that is about as far as it goes. This does however back up the fact that the B3410 is intended to be a fun phone at the lower end of the cost spectrum, not one over laden with technology thus pushing the price up.

In terms of connectivity perhaps the most glaring omission from Samsung is the lack of 3G, HSDPA and broadband. The inclusion of EDGE technology does mean that internet browsing on sites specifically designed for mobile web is fine. Bluetooth 2.1 is also included allowing easy transfer between compatible devices.

All in all the Samsung B3410 does exactly what it sets out to do. The obvious appeal of this handset is its keypad which is a huge plus for those who like to message. It is an affordable phone which although lacking in some areas, makes up for it with a good quality clear screen and a neat compact design.

iPAQ Glisten by HP

2010-02-17T18:34:00.000+07:00

The more things change, the more they stay the same, or so the cliche goes. It's apt enough for HP's latest business smartphone, the Glisten, whose form and function aren't so different from the 2008 HP iPAQ 910c. The looks have gotten more modern and trendy, with a flush display and a black soft-touch casing, but it's still your basic Windows Mobile Pro QWERTY-bar business phone. What has suffered is one-handed and touch navigation thanks to Windows Mobile 6.5. WinMo 6.5 was designed with larger screens in mind, and it attempts to be more touch-centric, neither of which matches with the QWERTY bar smartphone. That means the traditional Start Menu that looked just like the one on your Windows PC is gone. A shame because that was easy to navigate using the d-pad, while the hex grid of icons that replaces it is a nightmare with the d-pad. Thank goodness for the touch screen, you say? Well, not so much. The small, low resolution display is hard to navigate with a finger, making the included stylus a must, and that feels very dated and inefficient.

What stands in the Glisten's favor are its sturdy build, grippable back and good QWERTY keyboard. Combine that with Windows Mobile's excellent integration with MS Exchange, and you've got a decent business phone. The HP Glisten is likely to appeal to veteran Windows Mobile users who accustomed to, if not fond of, that operating system's features and UI. It's otherwise unlikely that the HP would win in a contest against a BlackBerry. RIM's smartphones are easier to use one-handed and their UI is much better optimized to the hardware controls with myriad keyboard shortcuts and convenient home screen options.

The Glisten at a Glance

The HP iPAQ Glisten is sold by AT&T in the US and it has 3G HSDPA on AT&T's bands as well as 2100MHz for Europe and Asia. It's a quad band GSM world phone with EDGE for those places that are devoid of 3G coverage. It has a 2.5" AMOLED touch screen and it runs Windows Mobile 6.5 Professional. The Glisten is powered by a 528MHz Qualcomm CPU and it has 256 megs of RAM and 512 megs of flash memory. There's a fixed focus 3.1 megapixel camera on board as well as a full complement of wireless: GPS, Bluetooth 2.0 +EDR and WiFi 802.11b/g.

Design and Ergonomics

The iPAQ feels solid and well made, and we particularly like the grippy soft-touch back. The QWERTY keyboard's keys are laid out in a smile configuration and are relatively large: both pluses. But their slick surface makes typing faster but less accurate.The embedded number pad is clear in contrasting white and there are shortcuts on the bottom row for the web browser, calendar, email and AT&T Navigator. The chromed plastic sides have relatively few controls and ports. A 3.5mm stereo headset jack and micro USB port are on the right and the volume controls are on the left. The not terribly good or loud speakerphone lives under a small grille on the back. The HP isn't a thin phone by any means, and it's about the same thickness as recent BlackBerry Curve 8500 series models. To our eyes, it looks less plasticky and higher quality than the BlackBerry 8520 and 8530.

The AMOLED display uses less power and is more vivid than traditional LCDs, though the HP's isn't as vivid (or over-saturated) as recent Samsung AMOLED phone displays. It's a resistive display (Windows Mobile 6.5 doesn't natively support capacitive displays) and that means you can use a fingernail, a gloved finger or the included plastic stylus with the touch screen.

Phone and Data

While HP's smartphones have had excellent voice quality and volume since the hw6915 that preceded the 910c, the Glisten has average voice quality and its earpiece isn't particularly loud. Incoming voice is clear with very light background hiss but outgoing voice sounds digitized and this was augmented with many of the Bluetooth headsets we tested with the iPAQ. Volume is average for a GSM phone and it's fine for home and office but it can't combat very noisy public locations. The speakerphone isn't among the best we've heard, but it's suitable to increase volume in a loud place when the earpiece doesn't do the job, and it's fine for in-car navigation using the included AT&T Navigator's spoken directions.

Like all Windows Mobile phones, the Glisten ships with Internet Explorer Mobile and the mobile version of Outlook which is comprised of Messaging (for email, SMS and MMS) and PIM applications (calendar, contacts, tasks and notes). These sync to MS Exchange over-the-air flawlessly and the phone can also sync to Outlook on the desktop via USB. Messaging is a solid email client that works with POP3, IMAP, Gmail and other accounts well, and the Exchange experience is top notch.

Though many Windows phone manufacturers include the superior Opera Mobile browser, HP thinks you can make do with IE. Honestly, the screen is so small and the QVGA resolution so outdated, that we don't consider the Glisten optimal for web browsing anyway. If web browsing is important to you and you plan to do a lot of it, consider a smartphone with a larger, higher resolution display like the HTC Tilt 2. For full HTML sites, you'll see only a fraction of the web page on screen at a given time and selecting links, even with the stylus, takes patience.

Conclusion

The HP Glisten is literally a solid Windows Mobile QWERTY bar phone. It's well-made, sturdy and not bad looking as business phones go. But we can't say it adds anything new or enticing to the mix, and there's little that's changed since the HP 910c (which was a decent smartphone). What has changed is the OS, and unfortunately, Windows Mobile 6.5 Professional is less well suited to the QWERTY bar form factor than was Windows Mobile 6.1. One handed operation is limited and you often must touch the display to get things done. That wouldn't be such a bad thing if the display wasn't so small and the on-screen targets too tiny to easily tap with a finger. The iPAQ is definitely better suited to those who are comfortable with the stylus.

In terms of features and performance for the price, the HP does well and has all the bells and whistles you'd expect on a business smartphone at this or even a slightly higher price. The 528MHz CPU generally does a good job of keeping up with tasks and with 256 megs of RAM, you can leave several applications running simultaneously. Windows Mobile is often maligned, but it offers solid business features including strong MS Exchange support, a built-in Office suite, good security and compatibility with Windows desktops.

Twitter 360 application on iPhone 3GS

2010-02-16T13:19:00.000+07:00

Want to take online stalking to another level? Find where your Twitter buddies have been tweeting with the Twitter 360 application on iPhone 3GS. The augmented reality app from Presselite utilizes the iPhone 3GS' compass function to track your friends by geolocating their tweets. Now you get to realize that the Vanessa Hudgens you have been following is actually your next-door neighborhood postman. (The HSM celebrity claims she does not have a Twitter account.) Check the video demo here.

If you do not want to be tracked down by your tweets, don't worry. You can opt out of the geolocation feature. The Twitter 360 is now available in the iTunes Store for only US$2.99.

New Smart Phone with own Software from Samsung

2010-02-15T18:52:00.000+07:00

Samsung Electronics Co., the largest maker of cell phones for the U.S. market, on Sunday revealed the first phone running Samsung's own "smart" software system, bada.

With bada, Korea-based Samsung is taking the TouchWiz system used on its touch-screen non-smart phones and making it the basis of a smart phone platform to take on Apple Inc.'s iPhone and Research In Motion Ltd.'s BlackBerry. Samsung also makes phones based on other competing smart phone systems: Android, created by Google Inc., and Symbian, of which Nokia Corp. is a major backer.

J.K. Shin, the president of Samsung's phone division, said the goal of bada was to expand the market for smart phones, making them available to people across the world who have made do with non-smart phones.

The new phone, dubbed the Wave, is a touch screen phone like the iPhone. It features a highly saturated, high-resolution screen using organic light emitting diodes, or OLEDs. Samsung said the phone will go on sale in April, but did not say if the U.S. would be one of the launch markets, nor did it say what the phone would cost.

To support the Wave and existing phones using TouchWiz, Samsung is launching online applications stores in 50 countries this year, including the U.S. Most major phone makers now operate applications stores, or make phones that use stores administered by others, like Google.

Samsung revealed the phone in Barcelona a day ahead of the start of Mobile World Congress, the world's largest cell phone trade show.

Alesis PalmTrack SD Recorder

2010-02-13T13:45:00.000+07:00

As you may already know the NAMM 2010 show is currently taking place, one device which is going to feature at this show is Alesis’ PalmTrack SD Recorder.
This portable device allows you to record audio directly to an SD or an SDHC memory card, however as you would probably this is far more impressive than your standard audio recorder.
The PalmTrack allows you to record audio at anytime without any cables, you can record in stereo or surround and there are a wide-range of settings to choose from.
The pocket-sized device allows you to record in many different audio settings, these include “rehearsals, jam sessions, and gigs to conferences, lectures, and classes to interviews and meetings”.

It is thought that the PalmTrack will be available in February, we do not yet know a definite release date nor details regarding pricing, however as we find out more we will try to keep you posted.

Motorola Droid Review

2010-02-12T11:31:00.000+07:00

Features and Design
Interestingly, it's hard to separate the Droid as a piece of hardware from its Android 2.0 heart. As a result, this is as much a review of the upgraded OS as the phone itself.
Unlike its more aesthetically rounded Android predecessors, the Droid is a stern rectangle with a slide-out horizontal QWERTY keyboard. But instead of a springy QWERTY slide option a la the Sidekick, the Droid's keyboard firmly glides out like a solid oak drawer and clicks into a locked position. This QWERTY plate is actually a quarter-inch longer than the screen top, with a lower lip containing the microphone jutting out underneath.

Tile keys with white backlighting on the QWERTY keypad are nearly smooth to the touch, but we had no trouble tapping text quickly and nearly mistake-free. Unfortunately, the Droid's QWERTY, like the Cliq's, lacks a dedicated row of number keys, which restricts quickly substituting numbers in place of text (i.e. "2" for "to," etc.)
At .54 inches thick, the Droid is one of the thinnest slider phones around, thinner even than the .61 thick Cliq.
Moreover, the Droid is the first Android phone with no physical navigation or control keys on the front. Just below the screen you’ll find four touch keys instead: Back, Menu, Ho
me and Search.
To read more about the Droid's Android 2.0 feature set and screen, check out our Motorola Droid hands-on impressions

Ports & Connectors
On the left side of the phone you’ll find the microUSB jack, while up top is the 3.5mm headphone port, uncomfortably close to the power on/off button. If you have a right-angled headphone jack, you'll have to annoyingly twist it around to wake the phone up or put it to sleep.
Note that you will have to remove the battery cover to slide in/out the microSD card. Since the Droid comes with a 16 GB card, however, you're not likely to be swapping memory cards too often.
Even though the Droid captures 720x480 H.264 DVD-quality video, there is no video out jack of any kind.

Audio, Video and Multimedia Performance
The Motorola Droid doesn't take full advantage of its fabulous screen, at least as far as YouTube is concerned. Videos don't run in full-screen mode, just in the middle third of the display, and there are no full-screen zoom touch options as there are on some other Android phones. On our test unit, choosing the HQ versions of clips resulted in a never-ending "loading" process as well. We’re hoping that this is just a glitch on the evaluation sample provided.
Oddly as well, the handset doesn't bookmark your spot in the music queue. When we switched to video capture, songs being played paused, but didn't pick up from where we stopped when we left the camcorder app. We had to restart shuffle play, and the Droid just initiated a whole new song sequence. This is a puzzling glitch as Android is supposed to multitask comfortably, meaning the music queue should have frozen in the background until we returned to it.

Sound Quality
Do you know who the crooner Mel Tormé was? Well, he was nicknamed "The Velvet Fog" for his smooth, enveloping tenor. Even though Motorola's promotional materials don't say so, we’re assuming the Droid is equipped with Motorola's Crystal Talk because it delivers the cell phone equivalent of Mel Tormé tone. Voices are revelatory, realistically smooth and soothing, unlike the harsh digitized tones through which they’re conveyed on other cell phones. We did detect some background feedback echo, however – it wasn't disconcerting, just lurking.
In our unscientific side-by-side comparison, music from the Droid did sound crisper and brighter than it did on an iPhone, though… an altogether pleasant surprise.

Phone Functionality
The Android 2.0 operating system makes it incredibly simple to connect with others verbally or non-verbally as well. Simply search for a contact by typing or speaking via the Google Search widget on the home screen. Once your contact is found, Motorola merges all the party's contact info, including social networking info, into a single entry.

Accessories
Verizon is hawking two docks, both likely to be priced at around $30. When the Droid is docked into the home charging dock in landscape mode, it becomes an alarm clock, complete with current weather updates; touch keys for alarm, music and photo viewing options; and even a dimmer. Snapped horizontally into the dashboard car dock, the Droid immediately pops into portable navigation mode.

Internet and Mobile Web Options
Thanks to Verizon's superior EV-DO Rev A network, most mobile optimized Web pages such as CNN, ESPN and The New York Times load in around three seconds. More graphically-intense pages obviously take a little longer.
But speed isn't the Droid's most impressive Web surfing attribute; rather, it’s the device’s screen. Frankly, even the tiniest type is clearly readable. Text and images are so finely rendered that the Droid lets you view bookmarks as easily identifiable thumbnails as well – a much easier way of quickly locating sites than scrolling through a long list of text.
You can double tap on a loaded page to increase text size, and articles thankfully re-justify to fit the width of the screen as well. All in all, functionality here proved right on-target.

Digital Camera and Camcorder
Outdoor shots taken on the Droid’s 5MP digital camera are just plain spectacular: Even blown up to actual size there is surprisingly little grain.
Indoor shots, however, are problematic, even with the dual LED flash and built-in image stabilization options. It's nearly impossible to capture a sharp shot pressing down the shutter release button. Indoors, you'll have better luck using the on-screen touch shutter release, which, once tapped, automates the auto focus and image capture functions with no additional phone/camera movement. But even then, indoor shots are just shy of sharp.
Surprisingly, the camera overall is a little sluggish, needing two or three seconds to process the large snapshots, a problem inherent with high-quality cell phone images. It would have been nice to have had a Kodak camera on this Moto, like the Motorola ZN5, which seems to have sadly disappeared.
While you can upload videos directly to YouTube, you can't email them, a minor annoyance.

Battery Life
Motorola rates the Droid's 1400 mAh battery at 6.4 hours of talk, well above-average for touchscreen phones, and we squeezed out substantially more in our tests. After a full day of constant usage, the Droid still had half its power remaining, a shocking development considering how much juice it takes to power that large energy-sucking screen.

Conclusion
Host of minor niggles aside, the Droid does so many things (and so many things well) that it’s tough to cover them all. For example: There’s barely enough room to even scratch the surface here with Google Maps Navigation, a free (soon ad-supported) app offering turn-by-turn GPS directions, voice search capabilities, and up-to-the-minute traffic updates that could put all other expensive add-on navigation applications out of business. Just one of many amazing features the smartphone offers, we’ll say this: Taken together, the Droid and its Android 2.0 backbone simplify a plethora of communication and multimedia functions, making the phone a real joy to use. Now if only Google or some third-party would create an iTunes-/Android-like PC client to enable desktop aggregation and syncing of contacts and content. But truthfully, even this missing link and a few other quibbles don't detract from the handset’s wondrousness. If you’re not already married to an iPhone 3G S, or happen to be a Verizon Wireless customer desperately seeking a fresh relationship with the cellie of your dreams, Motorola’s Droid is the smartphone world’s hottest new date.

Pros:
• First Android 2.0 device
• Gorgeous WVGA 16:9 3.7-inch LCD
• Excellent voice quality
• 5 MP camera w/flash and DVD-quality camcorder
• Google Maps Navigation included
• Long battery life

Cons:
• Slow camera
• Music play doesn't stay paused in background
• No dedicated row of numerical keys on slide-out QWERTY
• Heavy

TomTom XL 330S GPS System

2010-02-12T01:28:00.000+07:00

Gone are the days when there was a necessity to carry huge maps when u plan a tour to new places .The travel experience has been made more exciting by the introduction of satellite navigators or GPS Systems. TomTom XL 330S GPS System is one of the latest models of GPS systems launched with many advanced features. It miniature size and compact look enables you to fix it easily in your car space. This GPS system comes in a pleasing silver finish. The dimensions of this gadget are 4.7 x 3.2 x 0.90 inches in width, depth and height respectively. The weight of this device is about 6.61 oz.

TomTom GPS System looks very stylish and it is designed with modern features. It has many advanced features that will adds more exciting experience to your driving . It has an amazing facility of voice recognition guidance which helps you to concentrate on your driving while hearing to the instructions. Scintillating Voice command recognition, 2D/3D map perspective and TMC ready are the additional characteristics of this system. TomTom XL 330 S is a satellite navigation system that offers 4.31 inches colour widescreen display with TFT active matrix technology. The maximum resolution is about 480 x 272 pixels that gives you clear and brighter image. In addition to this, the screen is given an anti glare coating which eliminates the glare from sun light and internal light. The touch screen interface makes it fun and provides easier access .

This GPS system provides you a powerful back up for three hours with an efficient rechargeable Lithium ion battery. It has a USB Port to access with your Personal Computer. The salient features included within this system are address search, instant route re-calculation, POIs and daily fuel price information. The device comes with an one year warranty. This system does not get complete without the USB cable, TomTom Home Software, automotive windshield mount and a car power adapter. This sleek TomTom XL 330S GPS System is a best companion for your travel and helps you explore placers. Best Suited for voyagers and explorers!!

Visit UK GPS System site to find cheap sat nav systems and read expert reviews on Becker, Goodmans, Magellan, Navigon and RAC GPS Systems.

Sony Ericsson W910i Black Pay Monthly On T-mobile– Good Way Of Mesmerizing The Girlfriend

2010-02-07T16:28:00.002+07:00

In current scenario almost every youth is in search how to mesmerize the girlfriend. It can be difficult task for you but for those who use Sony Ericsson W910i Black Pay Monthly on t-mobile it is very easy. Do you know how? Sony Ericsson W910i Black Pay Monthly on t-mobile cell phone makes this task easy for them. This is modern era. With the passage of time the attitude and thinking of girls also have been changed. Now they are very careful about choosing their boyfriend. The girls of modern time give priority to the boys who lead life with modern living and have something special in it.

If you too want to impress your girlfriend, Sony Ericsson W910i Black Pay Monthly on t-mobile phone can help you as it is able to attract your girlfriend towards to you. This sexy device is not only a communication device but also a entertainment device and photography device so Sony Mobile Phones could be used multiply thus the buyer of the handsets can get the right value his invested money on the phone. The phone will not let any monotonous moments come in to your life as its entertainment features will keep you energetic every time. If you want to enjoy photography with this device, it is possible with this phone as it has a 2 mega pixels camera to fulfill your dream of photography.

Sony Ericsson W910i Black Pay Monthly on T-Mobile can be connected with the PC so that you can transfer your data easily. It is possible to exchange the music, pictures or anything from any compatible device. So sharing can give you different fun. The handset has good battery back up so it can be used for long time without worrying about the battery back up. The handset gives its users freedom of keeping charger every time with you.

GPS Jammer And Wireless Camera Hunter

2010-02-07T16:26:00.000+07:00

Technology works wonders at all times. Since time immemorial man has initially developed a technological wonder to have positive impact on the lives of all, but within days you will see new device invented to counteract the impact of the device invented earlier. Though, it depends entirely on mankind to adopt the positive side or negative side of a technological wonder. GPS jammer and wireless camera hunter are two such devices that are having equal use for both the directions.

GPS jammer

Global Positioning System or GPS is a device to track down your whereabouts. This device is extremely useful in daily lives. The GPS jammer is a device used to jam the signal transfers of the device that needs to be tracked out. The jammer can be used to prevent the people from spying your activity. You can install them in your car, or any other devices on which you suspect the GPS is installed on. This device is capable of interfering even with your GPRS and GSM signals as well. So, with multipurpose usage more and more people are looking forward to buying it. You can buy it from online stores at affordable prices. Most of the time military personnel use it. This device is extremely useful in war zones.

Wireless camera hunter

The wireless camera hunter is a device used for spying the one spying you actually! Through this device you can check out all the hidden wireless cameras present in the area. Now, you need not fear about a person keeping track about your movements. The device has a LCD light and an audible alarm system that can go on and off according to your wish. Different capacity devices have different frequency range. There is an attached battery and charger. Then there are auto and manual tuners so that you can check the hidden camera at all frequency level. For further information of any kind you need to search the net. There are many online dealers who will provide you the device at massively cut down rates.

Apple's Ipod Touch Mp3 Player

2010-02-07T16:23:00.002+07:00

Hundreds of thousands of people worldwide own Apple's iPod Touch (iTouch) mp3 player. There are various different versions of this device. First of all there are different capacities. 8GB, 32GB and 64GB versions are currently available at the time of writing. There are also different generations of the iPod Touch, both 1st generation and 2ndgeneration.

A large percentage of iTouch users are unaware of what version of the MP3 player they own. As long as it plays the songs and movies they want, and runs the applications they like it really doesn't matter.

However, there could be a time in the iPods life when it doesn't do the things the user wants. Maybe the user has cracked the screen and the unit is no longer visible, or maybe the battery no longer lasts very long or another issue that needs repairing. To fix your mp3 player you need to order a replacement part, but before you can order the correct part you need to know what generation of the iTouch you own.

There are several visible differences between the 1st and 2nd Generation iPod Touch. Three of these differences are described below.

1 - When you take a side view of the iTouch 2nd generation, you will notice a contoured design that clearly distinguishes it from its 1st generation counterpart that does not have it.

2 - The antenna cover of iTouch 2nd generation is oval-shaped whereas the 1st generation it gives a look of a corner of square. You can find the antenna cover at the upper left corner on the back of iPods.

3 - The iTouch 2nd generation has external volume control and an external speaker (built-in) whereas 1st generation does not have these features externally.

For more details on distinguishing what generation iPod Touch (iTouch) you have including pictures highlighting the differences check out the RepairsUniverse iPod Touch Which Generation? Guide.

To repair your device check out all the available iPod Touch repair parts to bring your mp3 player back to life again.

Many of these repairs are mainly due to the normal life of the product, but some can be avoided by thinking ahead and taking precautions.

Sometimes repairs are inevitable, because of the small size of your iPod and its fragile nature.

Cracked or Damaged LCD Screen - The iPod can be easily dropped. This can cause scratches or even some major damage to the lcd screen and the case.

Water Damage - iPods can’t swim, and are also not waterproof so any contact with water your iPod is likely to stop functioning.

Dirt & Dust - During its normal use, some dust and dirt could get into the iPod so it should be cleaned regularly.

Extreme conditions - Like any electronic product, extreme weather conditions, like cold, hot or damp weather could also harm your iPod. An iPod that sits in the sun all day is likely to get spots on the screen or worse as the player can overheat.

Battery Life - Over time the battery gets exhausted and won't last as long as it used to. When this happens it will need to be replaced.

Memory or drive errors - The hard drive or memory could get broken by dropping the product or sometimes it'll just stop working overtime.

Headphone problems - The headphones sockets endure pressure and sometimes because of continuous use they can get damaged too. Sometimes just the left or right channel can stop working, sometimes it’s both. If this happens it is a must to repair or you won't be able to listen to your music.

If your iPod is in need for a repair check out the iPod Replacement Parts available to repair your device.

If you are not sure how to do the repair you may wish to view the Repairs Universe iPod Repair Guides. These will take you step by step through the installation procedure.

HTC HD2 Phone Set Review

2010-02-02T12:12:00.002+07:00

This mobile is chunkier and larger than its other counterparts and has the dimensions which measure up to 120.5 X 67 X 11mm. Slightly heavier than the rest in the competition, the HTC HD2 mobile set weighs around 157g. This mobile set has a very rich display of colors and offers a spectrum of features, which stretch the horizons of communication and connectivity. The operating system of the HTC HD2 is the Touch Sense, which fully recognizes the gestures and finger movements and tapping. The screen of the phone is 4.3 inches in width which makes it appear as a wide canvas of options.

This TFT capacitive touchscreen has a resolution of 480X800 pixels and can bring to life 65K colors, adding vividness, crispness and clarity to the screen and the images. The phone can update the location, time, date and weather and temperature information automatically, to save the time and energy of the users. The screen also, blends in according to the light intensity of the locations and turns off, to avoid undue activities. This smart phone can also recognize when a person picks up the phone and lowers its ringer volume level accordingly.
The HTC HD2 has an OS from Microsoft Windows Mobile 6.5 Professional, which is backed by the powerful Qualcomm Snapdragon QSD62 1GHz processor, which allows multi-tasks and programs to run on the mobile set, without slowing the mobile or hanging any of the applications. The HTC HD2 mobile set is proficient with a Li-ion 1230 mAh battery, with a standby time of 390 hours with a talk time of 5 hours and 40 minutes. Some people consider the internal memory of 512 MB to be a limitation to this comprehensive mobile phone that is designed to concentrate on social, personal and the professional needs of the individuals. The memory however, can be enhanced with the use of the microSD card.
The music player of HTC HD2 supports all the major formats of the audio file which include; MP3, WMA, MP4 and many more. This player can also act as a radio, channeling many different FM stations. One can enjoy music non-stop on their HTC HD2 mobile sets for 12 consecutive hours. This mobile set has strong network features that support connectivity technologies like GPRS, WLAN, HSCSD, 3G and many more. The HTC HD2 mobile set is a large phone that looks more like a tablet, featuring endless options of infotainment and opportunities that no other mobile set promises. It follows the concept behind the bold and beautiful, and attracts its users on the basis of sheer quality and performance that yet has to be matched by other gadgets in the league.

Samsung Genio Slide - Fashionable Gadget

2010-02-02T12:08:00.000+07:00

Samsung Genio Slide as the name suggests it comes from Genio which is the Queen's English name Corby and thus it is popularly known as Samsung B5310 Corby Ro. This unique handset is being selling widely and is easily available on Vodafone UK site. This unique phone has a trendy with is capable of texting for people who are on a budget. This was the latest version of mobiles phones Samsung announced the special launch of it as a new addition to the Genio range. This fantastic handset is aimed at young market. It is named slide because it has an elegant slide out QWERTY keyboard. This mobile phone has very excellent, beautiful fashionable jackets.

Samsung Genio Slide has a full 2.8 inch QVGA amazing touch screen a 3 megapixel digital fixed focus camera. It has an enormous connectivity of Wi-Fi and HSDPA 3G plus GPS. It has a 3.5 mm audio jack. It has a micro SD slot supporting 16 GB cards. It has additional special features of document viewer and Bluetooth plus a micro USB port. This mobile is integrated with an unique and perfect feature that is bound to make it truly popular, it is the unusual devices' iplayer compatibility and it is going to provide a tremendous social networking accesses to the everyone's all time favourite Twitter and Facebook.
Samsung Genio slide this elegant phone has fashionable jackets; those are the exchangeable battery covers that will allow you to have an easy and fast customization to your treasured phone. Vodafone UK with proudly having this elite phone on their site are offering great offers for the interested consumers; they are giving this handset absolutely free on one of these plans either on a 2 year plan which is £ 15 a month plan or on a 18 month and 12 months plan contracts starting from £ 20 and £ 25 respectively.

The Motorola WX160 Offers Simplistic Styling and Basic Functionality

2010-02-02T12:06:00.000+07:00

The Motorola WX160 is a phone, which quite simply is one of the simplest phones to use within the current mobile phone market. Unlike many of the new models currently being released, which offer numerous levels of functionality, which can confuse the consumer this handset essentially makes and receives phone calls.
The handset measures 106 mm x 46 mm wide and is 14 mm thick. It is a relatively compact unit, with a simplistic style that makes it easy enough for anybody to utilise. The unit weighs 65 g in weight, which makes it amongst one of the lightest mobile phone available on the market.

The handset comes with a 1.3 inch CSTN display screen, which offers colourful image reproduction due to the fact that it is able to display up to 65,000 colours within a pixel screen size of 64 x 96 pixels. The screen is relatively small however is sufficient considering the functionality contained within this handset. The phone provides ring and vibration alert types, which allows the opportunity to receive alerts via silent vibration.
The phone contains a phone book, which will retain up to 500 entries, which is sufficient for most needs, whilst the last 10 dialled, received and missed calls are retained by the call records and can be accessed as when required. The phone comes with a useful USB port which allows data transfer. A useful speakerphone is provided, which provides the means to talk, hands free, as and when required.
The handset provides SMS capabilities and also includes a variety of games for entertainment purposes as well as an FM radio with RDS capabilities. The radio provides the means to listen to a wide variety of radio broadcasts from regional and national radio stations located around the country. The handset is available in black and also comes with a calendar and voice memo facility, which provides the means to take vocal notes as and when a pen and paper are not available.
The Motorola WX160 is a basic handset, which may well be best suited as a second handset or replacement mobile phone. Although simplistic in nature, it provides the basic necessities as required of any mobile phone, which is to quite simply to make and receive phone calls.

Asus EEE PC 1000HE - Netbook Review

2010-02-02T12:03:00.000+07:00

From the forerunner of the mini-netbook realm, Asus, comes another offering: the Asus EEE PC 1000HE. The 1000HE has enjoyed the distinction as being one of our Top 5 Netbooks for 2009. This is in account of performance, durability, flexibility and of course, its impressive price tag.
For starters, the Asus EEE PC 1000HE carries on the tradition followed by Asus. It is powered by an Intel Atom N280 processor. This processor runs at a speed of 1.66 Gigahertz. This high speed is supported by a memory of 1 gigabyte. For storage purposes, the Asus EEE PC 1000HE is equipped with a hard drive capable of storing up to 160 gigabytes worth of files.

Asus has made a claim of the notebook being able to run for up to 9 hours and 30 minutes off the hook. This would make it superior to most of the models in its market as well as some larger notebooks from other manufacturers. The netbook is powered by a 6-cell lithium-poly mater battery.
Another one of the 1000HE's striking features is its keyboard. 92% of the size of a standard keyboard, users will find that there is enough room for their fingers to maneuver themselves. This would make tasks easier and done faster, saving the user more time for other things. To augment their working capabilities, the 1000HE has a 10.5-inch LCD screen with LED back lights for clearer and brighter displays.
Truly, the 1000HE is proof of Asus commitment to provide a steady evolution of its EEE PC models. Being the one who started the trend, Asus has seemingly done a good job.
The 1000HE is apparently a product of detailed planning and development in Asus' part. Engineers and designers have given it an impressive structure that allows for ergonomic use. This is a welcome improvement from the older EEE PC models - which were impressive in their own rights. Another improvement is the attention to airflow: the 1000HE is specifically designed to make cooling more efficient. This certainly accounts for the impressive performance of the 1000HE.
Being a mini-notebook, the Asus EEE PC comes with a display resolution of 1024x600. For those that are used to 1024x768, you can subscribe to a special compression mode to reach that resolution.
Connectivity features for the 1000HE include an Ethernet port, a WiFi connection of 802.11b/g/n standard, Bluetooth and a set of 3 USB ports. The 1000He also comes with a card reader, a VGA output port, and a 1.3 megapixel web cam.
Specifications:
CPU: 1.66 GHz Intel Atom N280
RAM: 1 GB upgradeable to 2 GB
Screen Size: 10.5 inches
Operating System: Windows XP Home Edition
Battery Life: Up to 9.5 hours (manufacturer's claimas)
Graphics: Integrated GMA 950
Pros:
The Asus EEE PC is impressive with its high processing power, its durability, long battery life, excellent speakers and its competitive price.
Cons:
The things that can annoy users of the 1000HE is the noisy ventilation inside it, as well as the absence of an ExpressCard for connection to external hard drives.
Conclusion:
Our conclusion: the 1000HE is excellent for its price range. With a good processor, long battery life, ergonomic design and features, you will not go wrong with investing on the 1000HE.

Google Nexus One - Fast and Affordable

2010-02-02T12:01:00.002+07:00

The Google Nexus One is one of the best mobile phones available. While many people think that they will not be able to afford it, there are many ways that Google is making it more affordable. One of the best, and easiest is to buy it through a carrier that is partnering with Google. T-Mobile is currently the only carrier doing this, and they are located in the United States. However, Verizon Wireless, and Vodafone both plan to get the Google Nexus One as a phone that they will offer in the late 1st quarter time frame.

However, for those who must have the Nexus One as their mobile phone of choice right now, there are a few things that you should know. First off, this is not your typically mobile phone, at least as far as price. It is not subsidized by a network except for T-Mobile. This means that the price of the mobile phone unlocked is quite a bit higher. You will pay over $500 for the right to own one of these awesome phones. The price is truly worth it when you consider you are getting one of the few phones on the market that has a Qualcomm Snapdragon processor. That is the same processor that is included with the iPhone. Also, you are getting the ability to use the Android platform. This is the mobile platform to be using. Not only is it open to developers, but there is so much more that can be done with it.
Also, when you consider that the Nexus One is one of the smallest phones as far as weight, there is not a whole lot that you can deny. It actually weighs 100 grams without its battery, 130 grams with. You can talk up to 10 hours on 2G or 7 hours when you are on 3G service. This is really good battery life when you consider how powerful the phone itself is. When you are simply using the device as a video device it can playback for up to 7 hours. This is 3 full length movies with time left over to save your battery. You could sit through an entire New York to Los Angeles flight with this beauty!
However, that is not all, you are getting the latest version of the Android operating system. The Android that is powering most of the phones in the field right now is simply Android 1.3 or Android 2.0. For all of the people getting the Google Nexus One, you are getting Android 2.1, one of the hottest and newest lines for the mobile Android market. This new upgrade will let you have increased user activity as well as get all of the firmware updates that Google is just beginning to roll out for older phones. The Google Nexus One is currently available for $179.99 with a 2 year contract on T-Mobile, or over $500 if you wish to buy it unlocked from Google directly. Heading to Europe shortly it should be available through Vodafone.

First LG Android Phone - LG GW620 InTouch Max

2010-02-02T12:00:00.002+07:00

LG have now launched their first ever Android phone and it turns out that the new LG GW620 is one of the most affordable on the market. Released under the LG InTouch branding as the Max edition the new GW620 follows on from the successful LG GW520 offering a more streamlined design but with a similar physical makeup.
The LG GW620 incorporates a full slide out Qwerty keyboard as found in the previous GW520, however this new LG phone is powered by Android which makes for fast menu navigation, great software support and access to a huge range of applications for download.

The LG InTouch Max has been released on T-Mobile on the very same day that the network introduced the Samsung Galaxy Spica as the Galaxy Portal, both handsets are offered at a very similar price band but the LG GW620 does win over in some circumstances.
Compared with the slabby look of the touch screen only Samsung Spica the LG GW620 manages to pack in that Qwerty keypad without adding too much bulk alongside a 5.0 mega pixel camera against the 3.0 mega pixel camera of the Spica.
The LG GW620 In Touch Max also offers 3G+ support for fast internet downloads, Wi-Fi, and built-in GPS with Google Maps for navigation. Other features include Bluetooth, microUSB, expandable memory up to 32GB, MP3/MP4 player and built in FM Radio which is a lot of phone for your money.
The Qwerty keyboard does allow for easy and fast text input for writing emails, texting and social networking (for which there is pre-loaded support) but for simple day to day use the LG GW620 also offer a good sized 3 inch, TFT touch screen incorporating an accelerometer sensor for screen orientation.
Although not always publicised, the InTouch range has been steadily growing, consumers know many of the phones simply by their model number including the first LG KS360 (InTouch), the LG GW300 (InTouch Lite), the recent LG GW520 (InTouch Plus) and obviously this new LG GW620 (InTouch Max).
Although initially released as a T-Mobile exclusive phone this latest LG handset will be available on further networks after the limited time period expires, this is usually around one month so expect to see the LG GW620 available on Orange and other networks around mid to late February.
This new LG phone does have some competitors, however none quite match it for the same money, many of the more recent Android phones are slightly more expensive including the Motorola Milestone, HTC Tattoo, Acer Liquid and newly launched Google Nexus One.
If the Android OS was not a consideration then there are a few models that do compete well on price, these all offer a full slide out Qwerty keyboard as well and include the Samsung Genio Slide, Samsung B3410, Nokia 6760, Nokia N97 Mini and the new Palm Pre.

Helicopter Radio Controlled T-Rex 700 Review

2010-02-02T11:57:00.002+07:00

While most of us like to believe we are open minded men of the world, many still shirk at a helicopter radio controlled gadget, as if it was immature and senseless to fly on in the park. Well it's time to nip that knee-jerk reaction in the bud. Working class folk and professionals alike have lauded Aligns' helicopter radio controlled T-Rex 700, since it's humble beginnings of July 1984, as the cutting edge of radio controlled helicopters, or "RC" helicopters for short. From innovative active RC remote control helicopters and hobby RC helicopters, via remote control flying gadgets that many a boy begged their mothers as a release and escape of their Airwolf TV fantasy.

The brand Align has been synonymous with being a leading RC electric helicopter brand. But no one as iconic as the T-Rex 250 and it's sister the T-Rex 250S.E, the micro helicopter RC models that kicked off the whole RC electric helicopter phenomenon in 1984, and the good news is that it's back with the T-Rex 700.
Aligns' helicopter radio controlled T-Rex 700 incorporates new single blade technology, and this model has undergone many adaptations and redesigns since, Align is issuing the helicopter radio controlled T-Rex 700 as a limited Nitro Edition, staying loyal to all it's original designs features, including the characteristic nose cone and windscreen.
Now the T-Rex 700 limited Nitro series will sell out quicker than tickets for the Rolling stones at the O2, but fear not, their may be a contingency plan in the works. For a lesser price you can get your hands on the red hot Trex 650 Nitro Pro Limited Edition, designed & developed by Jason Krause and Alan Szabo Jr. This new limited edition version has all the metal parts anodized in silver finish. Aside from the silver aluminum parts the unique thing about the T-Rex 600 LE is the included electronics and blades combo.
Aligns' helicopter radio controlled T-Rex 700 comes with an uprated heavy duty tail with thrust bearings, Carbon fiber blades, with a 7 channel receiver, more handle if needed coupled with a super engine cooling system very efficient airflow to provide unequaled cooling and horsepower.
Make no mistake, this plane is not for the budding amateur or beginner! This is a single bladed remote controlled helicopter. Single bladed helicopters are difficult to fly. It would be advisable to start with a double balded remote controlled helicopter, such as the Esky Big Lama is a large double bladed model for indoor and outdoor flight. This would be a great model for beginners.

Digital Media Player Guide Review - Xtreamer 1080P HD Media Player & Network Streamer H.264 MKV

2010-02-02T11:55:00.002+07:00

Welcome to the digital media player big leagues the Xtreamer 1080P HD Media Player & Network Streamer H.264 MKV. Released in advance of the holiday season on November 1, 2009, the Xtreamer 1080p HD player comes absolutely loaded with features like iPhone remote control compatibility, of course as the name suggests 1080p TrueHD, Dolby Digital and DTS sound, Google Movie Juke Box, Bluray ISO support, and much more to be discussed. Ups and downs, this network streamer is leaps and bounds ahead of the competition when it comes to features, but leaves a little in the connection department. Overall, my rating is that this player is a must see!

Xtreamer 1080P HD Media Player & Network Streamer H.264 MKV

Priced at only $149.99 USD, one of the most impressive attributes of the Xtreamer is its compatibility with all sorts of codecs and formats. This streaming media player will play just about any type of file in the world. Also, no more hard to sort through menu systems. The Xtreamer HD Player utilizes Google's Movie and Music Jukebox software programs. Xtreamer 1080p Network Streamer is also one of the first digital media players on the market to offer Bluray ISO support. This is a huge feature as the price of Bluray players and discs are coming down and more and more the ability to play Bluray ISO files will be needed. On the go all the time, or just want the ability to access your network, the Xtreamer is compatible with and comes with iPhone remote control which allows the Xtreamer to be controlled by the iPhone or any mobile phone with web browsing capabilities. Sound as clear as it comes with the support for Dolby Digital Dolby TrueHD down mixing and also DTS-HD Master Audio. Hear every detail and get the full capailities of you Bluray player with up to 7.1 audio channels output supported through the HDMI output or the Digital Optical Output.

The Xtreamer Media Player can be hard wired directly through the ethernet port or it can be set up with a wireless WiFi connection to your home or business network with the purchase of the optional Xtreamer Wireless N USB 2.0 WiFi Adapter / Antenna available for around $29.99USD. Whether hard wired or wireless, you can enjoy browsing through your home media collection on the HD menu system graphic user interface. You can also download or stream live internet content like CNN and ESPN streams. The Xtreamer Media Network Player also gives you the ability to install an internal 2.5" SATA hard drive to expand the capabilities of the Xtreamer and also to store your media directly on the device. The Xtreamer offers multilingual support also. To top it all off the Xtreamer is Windows 7 compatible. Here is the low down on the Xtreamer 1080p player:

Audio/Video Outputs - HDMI v1.3a (up to 1080p), Composite Video, Stereo Analog Audio, S/PDIF Optical Digital Audio
Video Files and Codecs - MPEG1/2/4 Elementary (M1V, M2V, M4V), MPEG1/2 PS (M2P, MPG), MPEG2 Transport Stream (TS, TP, TRP, M2T, M2TS, MTS), VOB, AVI, ASF, WMV, Matroska (MKV), AVC HD, MOV (H.264), MP4, RMP4, FLV - Flash Video; Codecs - XVID SD/HD, MPEG-1, MPEG-2, MPEG-4.2, ASP@L5, 720p, 1-point GMC, WMV9, MP@HL, H.264.
Audio Files and Codecs - AAC, M4A, MPEG audio (MP1, MP2, MP3, MPA), WAV, WMA, FLAC, OGG; Audio codecs - Dolby Digital, DTS (DTS DownMix Supported), WMA, WMA Pro, AAC, MP1, MP2, MP3, LPCM, FLAC, Vorbis
Realtek 128X Chipset (Special Edition)
Connectivity - WIFI, UPnP, SSDP, UPnP AV, NTFS

Web Stuff - Video: Picasa, Yahoo Video, CNN, NBC Today, CBS Face the Nation; Audio: Live365 Radio, iPodcast, Radiobox, ABC News, BBC Podcast, CNN News, Indiefeed, Jamendo; Photo: Picasaweb; RSS feed: Yahoo! Weather, Yahoo! News, Yahoo! Xchange, MSNBC News
Interfaces - 1x USB 2.0 slave, 2x USB 2.0 host, Internal SATA (Internal HDD not included)
Network - Ethernet 10/100, Optional Xtreamer Wireless N USB 2.0 WiFi Adapter / Antenna

The Nook Ebook Reader Review

2010-02-02T11:54:00.000+07:00

The Nook, that will sell for $259, offers a similar set of features as the Kindle 2, an enormous collection of titles along with a wireless downloads. Additionally, it forces the e- reader style ahead, having a color, touch- sensitive screen for navigation and the now necessary wireless downloads via AT& T's 3G internet or Wi- Fi.
The 11. 2- ounce Nook (7. 7 x 4. 9 x. 5 inches) has 2 Gbytes of internal ram, enough for approximately 1, 500 titles. Additionally, it has a MicroSD slot which will significantly boost capability. A 16- Gbyte card could hold another 17, 500 e- books. The unit runs a version of the Android operating system, but at present doesn't support any 3rd party apps. Perhaps most remarkably, the Nook supports many different e- book formats, like FictionWise, PDF, and ePub.

The display screen is the 16- level grey scale E- Ink display found with the Kindle 2, but I was not able to have much hands- on time with it. In any case, few e- readers separate themselves by way of the display. What can make the Nook fascinating is its library of subject matter. For instance, like Sony's newest readers and the forthcoming iREX reader, the device employs ePub, the open e- book data format that enables you to move titles between units.
Obviously, this company is gambling on ePub as the format of the future. "Our clients want any book, at any time, anyplace, " said William Lynch, president of Barnes & Noble. "Furthermore ePub will be the most transportable format. " The Kindle, needless to say, doesn't support ePub.
Nook buyers may also be able to loan books to other customers of the Barnes& Noble Bookstore, whether or not they own a Nook, iPhone, Blackberry, or are just reading books on their Computer. The loans last for approximately 2 weeks. "Friends are able to do what they've always done, which is lend one another books, " Lynch said.
Maybe the biggest edge the Nook has in the e- reader marketplace is its in the store support. With over 700 retailers, 40, 000 retail advisers, and a site that may be among the top 20 on the internet, this company is in an excellent place to reach readers. Take a Nook into a Barnes& Noble and you're able to access tailored content via Wi- Fi. Additionally, you will have access to the entire text of each book in the firm's eBook store - albeit only while you're in the store.
"The bookstore will be the most crucial space for demand generation, " says Lynch. "As the world's largest bookstore there is an enormous edge. " Customers will not really download the books, but stream them employing a technology that Lynch would not talk about.
Barnes & Noble also exhibited off stylish Nook Ebook reader from creative designers like Kate Spade, Jack Spade, and Jonathan Adler. The corporation is accepting preorders for the next shipment of the device at nook. com. The recent holiday season depleted their stock completely.
This is a big move for Barnes& Noble, but as chief executive Officer Steve Riggio stated, the corporation has been in this space forever. "We were the very first to sell eBooks. " said Riggio. "We were the 1st to sell an eBook reader, using the RockBook Reader. "
That effort, obviously, underwhelmed. Now the company will make the effort again using the Nook.
My name is Rick Blackmon and I am an avid reader, reading from 3 to 5 books per week. I believe the portable ebook reader is a product whose time has come. The ebook reader offers a great way to take your entire book collection along with you on vacations, business trips and other travels. A battery charge will last for 3 or 4 days.

Sony Bravia KDL32V5500 Review

2010-02-02T11:52:00.002+07:00

Televisions have become a necessity in most homes across the world. They are used for gaming, movie watching, and education. Because of the increasing popularity of the HD televisions, Sony has brought us the Sony Bravia KDL32V5500.
This television has a clean, crisp screen and a great high quality picture. The colors are balanced without any blurring for excellent viewing. The details in the image are amazing.
The Sony KDL32V5500 comes with all of the connections that you could need in a television. It has a PC input that allows you to connect to your PC and has a USB socket to allow you to view your pictures on a 32 inch screen.

There are settings on this television to allow you to switch to low energy mode. It is as easy as a click of the remote control. This energy saving mode is a plus for your television.
There are many ways to adjust the picture and sound on the Sony Bravia KDL32V5500 and all are very easily accessible via the on screen menu.
The on screen menu is a valuable asset to this computer. It is easy to navigate and makes adjusting your settings a breeze. There are many options available through this menu so the information will be readily available to you.
This Sony Bravia KDL32V5500 television rests on a swivel base. This allows you to move the screen easily and with little effort. This is a great option and makes rearranging your living area much more simple.
The high definition screen is viewing angle free. This will allow people to view the program or game from many angles without losing the clarity of the picture. This is a great asset when entertaining large groups of people. There will be less concern as to how you arrange seating in the viewing area.
For the times when silent viewing is necessary, the Sony Bravia KDL32V5500 television is set up with a headphone jack. This is necessary for late night movie watching or gaming so other people are not disturbed by the sounds of your entertainment.
The Sony Bravia KDL32V5500 is more costly than some other HD Televisions but the extra cost leads to higher quality television. With all of the options found on the on screen menu, the easy installation, sleek and stylish appearance and the excellent viewing quality it is a definitely an offer to consider. This television promises to enhance your viewing for many years to come.

Sansui LCD TV

2010-02-02T11:51:00.000+07:00

Sansui is a pioneer in the television industry, it was founded in 1947 in Tokyo, Japan and has operations in over a 100 countries. Over the years Sansui has been manufacturing televisions with the latest technology and it has developed a name in the entertainment industry. Sansui was awarded the title of "company of the year" 8 times in a row by the Japanese government. In India, Sansui started its operation in 1997. Now it has more than 1600 employees and has sold more than 1 million CTV's this year.
In the current industry, Sansui LCD TV has been offering the latest technology products loaded with features. The Consumer also demands wide range of products with specific features. Sansui has been meeting the demands of the LCD TV industry by manufacturing dynamic products equipped with the latest features.

Sansui LCD TV's in India is one of the leading manufactures in the television industry. Some of the popular models by Sansui are the FONTES GL 32, which is a 32" Inch (81cm) Screen LCD TV with UV Glossy Finish. The Sansui Fontes GL 32 is equipped with a 75000:1 Super Contrast Ratio with 6ms Response Time and 1366x768 screen resolution. The Sansui Fontes GL 32 offers 450cd/m2 brightness, a 5 Picture mode, Back light adjustment and Cinema Mode for great viewing experience.
Another popular model is Sansui Fontes EL 32 which is equipped with a 32" Inch (81cm) Screen with 1366 x 768 pixels screen resolution. The Sansui Fontes EL 32 offers 30,000:1 Super Contrast Ratio and 16.7 Million colors display. This Sansui LCD TV provides a great entertainment experience to the viewer with just 6.5ms response time and a brightness ratio of 500 Cd/m2. It also provides 4 selectable picture modes, automatic image optimization, 3 mode color tone adjustment and backlight adjustment. The Fontes EL 32 Sansui LCD TVs has connectivity options like S-Video In, VGA IN, PC audio IN and 2 HDMI ports.
Sansui Fontes AL 32 sports a 32" Inch (81cm) Screen Size, with 1366 x 768 pixels screen resolution. Other features of this Sansui LCD TV are a 16:9 Aspect Ratio, 16.7 Million Colors, 30,000:1 Super contrast ratio, 500 Cd/M2 brightness and 6.5 ms response time. The Sansui Fontes AL 32 has 4 selectabe picture modes, 3 mode color tone adjustment, back light adjustment, automatic image optimization and MPEG noise reduction mode.

3G Apple iPod Touch - The Newest Model

2010-02-02T11:49:00.002+07:00

The Newest Model of the Apple iPod touch is a great upgrade from the 2nd generation model. It comes with the latest 3.1 software already installed when you purchase it. The Apple iPod touch 3rd generation is really thin and light and come in 8GB, 16GB and 32GB. They are good for listening to music, watching videos, browsing the web, playing games and a whole lot more. They weigh 8 ounces and can fit comfortable in your pocket or hand bag and you would not notice it being there.
The New iPod is faster. It has improved graphics with 480 x 320 pixel display resolution, a faster CPU which enables the apps work better, a faster web browser (Safari ) surfs the web at a quicker speed thanks to the new and improved 3G network which make web pages load a lot faster. It also comes with the latest framework.

Best of all voice control. Yes I said voice control you can tell it what to do. This feature is good for when you are on the go; say you are jogging and a sound you do not like or the one you love starts to play. You can simply say next, stop or repeat and the sound will automatically stop, skip or play again and you do not even have to touch it. I just love technology. A free mic+remote are built in with the ear buds for the 32GB/64GB Apple iPod touch but not the 8GB.
The Newest Model of the Apple iPod touch has a wide selection off applications (apps) that can assist you when you are looking for someone, where they live, email address, phone number. All of your friends contact information can be sync from your PC or MAC to your Apple iPod touch. There apps help you write notes. You can also send them to yourself or friends with the Apple iPod touch built-in-email system, check the weather in your area or worldwide, stocks, finance, forex, and so many more. They are over 15000 app available on the App Store.
Having the new Ipod touch is like having a portable mini super computer. It is a great companion when you are on the go or when you want to relax. You can accessorize it by buying different skins, cases, covers and so much more.

Sharp AQUOS LC40LE700UN LED HDTV Review

2010-02-02T11:48:00.002+07:00

LED is simply the way to go. Compared to other technology, LED consumes less energy but still capable of giving you amazing colors and true blacks. Sharp is one of few manufacturers that are producing LED HDTVs and some of its products are the best in the market. The Sharp AQUOS LC40LE700UN 40-Inch 1080p 120 Hz LED HDTV is a great 40-Inch television capable of playing Full HD media. This HDTV comes in a glossy black piano, very sleek and elegant, doesn't look cheap at all. The overall look of the set is definitely exhilarating as well and because of its dazzling finish, it can be placed anywhere around the house without actually spoiling the design concept of the place.
The AQUOS LC40LE700UN comes with 4 HDMI port with every one of them capable of supporting the latest HDMI version 1.3 which allows deep colors to be produced by the television. There are 2 HD component port on the unit as well and both of these ports are capable of playing full HD picture. Picture quality on the LC40LE700UN is one of the best in the market as well. The UltraBrilliant LED System helps produce deep blacks as well as very rich colors. Viewers can definitely be absorbed while watching movies or pictures on this LED HDTV.
Gaming can prove to be quite fun on the LC40LE700UN as it features a Vyper Drive Game Mode that will help reduce delay as well as lags caused by the sluggish response between the television and the game console. In addition to that, the 120Hz refresh rate also allows the user to experience incredible detail in motion pictures. However, this may result in the infamous "soap opera effect" caused by high refresh rate television as well. It is recommended to turn off this feature unless there is a need to watch high speed broadcasts such as sports.
The LC40LE700UN has a USB slot which may be used to upgrade the firmware of the LED HDTV. Not only that, it can also play photos as well as MP3 songs thanks to the USB Photo Viewer with Music Player. In addition to that, the AQUOS Net feature of the HDTV also allows contents to be extracted from the Internet as well as widgets to be used on the television itself. Those having AQUOS Blu-Ray player may also utilize the AQUOS Link technology supported by this television. It allows easier access to the player through the television and can potentially reduce any hassles that may occur with players of other brands.

This LED HDTV is also in compliance with Energy Star regulations. In fact, you don't need to worry about the energy consumption, this LED HDTV only needs maximum of 95 watts at its max out usage. Overall, the Sharp AQUOS LC40LE700UN 40-Inch 1080p 120 Hz LED HDTV is a great television for those wanting a television that helps protect the environment through less energy consumption as well as for those wanting high quality pictures as well. With its deep black production as well as its vivid colors, there is no other choice better than this when it comes to getting an LED HDTV.

Canon Powershot SD1100 Review

2010-02-02T11:46:00.002+07:00

Ever since Canon started manufacturing state-of-the art cameras, it's become a big success and well-loved by camera lovers around the world. If you are an amateur who loves to get valued, cherished moments captured with your shots, then the Canon Powershot Digital Camera series is your best choice. This includes Powershot G9, SX100 IS, DC10, 1200SD, and 880IS.
Another highly rated Canon digital is the Canon Powershot SD1100. This digital camera has an eight mega pixel CCD image size and 3x optical zoom lens. It has got a 2.5' LCD display with a 32 MB of internal memory as a part of its Secure Digital Memory Storage feature.
Additionally, there are also numerous other Canon cameras that are cheap at the same time are renowned for its image quality and resolution features. One example is the Canon Powershot A470 which is compact and incorporates a 3.4x optical zoom, a 2.5 LCD screen that will definitely satisfy your digital wishes.
Although Canon is known for its trustworthy and high-quality digital cameras, it is still essential that uttermost care and maintenance is given. As these fragile gadgets are considered as an investment, it is vital that the device to not be subjected to frequent dropping. You must also keep in mind the easiest way to protect the lens is to never touch it with your fingers. Correct for malfunction to digital cameras like a lens fix should be done by a professional camera repair business. Always ensure that any type of repair like a lens or LCD repair be done right to guarantee that your prized digital camera will last for several years to come.
Pretty photographs are possible with the use of exceptional Canon digital cameras. Though this could be true, it is always advisable to do your own research and decide your photographic desires to finish up with a great choice possible.

Apple iPhone 3Gs

2010-01-31T01:44:00.000+07:00

The over-hyped, as believed by many, iPhone 3GS is remarkably the current market leader, but as many people seem to claim, is it really only thanks to the outstanding marketing team that Apple possesses for the promotion of their gadgets? Firstly, I wasn't too convinced. I am not one to hop on the popular trend, so I defied the quicksand of the gadget's popularity until the latest iPhone came out - the iPhone 3GS. Less than a year ago, in 2008, iPhone 3G was the biggest hit of the summer, on the gadget market in particular. People were piling up at the shops to get a hold of the latest, ground-breaking gadget (at least in Canada they were!).

My buddy in fact managed to get one, and he simply would never stop talking about it. After "sharing" his review with me, I was still not convinced. I believed the camera on the iPhone was pathetic, the ridiculously designed iTunes would never beat the ease of dragging and dropping. To complement all of the above, after looking through some reviews on the iPhone 3G models, the battery was claimed to be fairly insufficient, and when it is built into your gadget of a phone, it does not really leave much choice of an easy swap, does it now? I went for the Nokia N95-8GB instead.
It is 2009. By now, I am extremely unhappy with my cinder-block of a gadget. I had a great camera on it, but it was slow as a turtle to take pictures, in fact I was beginning to get jealous of the speed at which the iPhone operated at. The other major issue was the size. Now, this review is coming from the mouth of a pretty outgoing fella. When I am out of the house, I DON'T want a huge block sticking out of my pocket (unless of course I am participating in the "who's got the biggest gadget in their pocket" competition). iPhone on the contrary is extremely thin, and fits into any of your pockets effortlessly, without stretching your favorite jeans.
The main factor between the 2 gadgets was ultimately the interface. The N-95 was just extremely painful to use (in a metaphorical sense of course). Despite its eye-catching hardware specs and a versatile operating system (Symbian OS), the gadget was just too slow for some reason and asked too much effort from the user to accomplish something as simple as text messaging. After several closer reviews, the iPhone on another hand operated with extreme efficiency. The gadget was well polished, and even though the iPhone did not have a multi-tasking feature like the N-95, the total number of tasks accomplished with the iPhone would beat the N-95 every day.
I cut my losses, after having spent over 400 dollars that on a gadget that came from the brand, which I ranked highly in my books and purchased an iPhone. By now, many of my friends had the iPhone, and I simply could not gather any resources or reviews on why getting this popular gadget was a bad idea. 350 dollars since and I am in love with it. I chose to purchase the new iPhone 3GS 16GB. I do not really need the extra space on my phone that a 32GB would provied, it is a phone after all. And here is my review - I love everything about the iPhone....well almost everything. The lack of a flash for the camera on the iPhone is a bit disappointing.
But to disprove some reviews that I found online, I have had no issues with the battery, no problems with freezing (unlike with my old N-95), and just in summary using the iPhone has been a very pleasantly satisfying experience EVERY TIME. Moreoever, the number of apps and gadgets there are out for the iPhone is outstanding, and a very good number of them cost nothing! Due to the popularity that the iPhone has generated, there are many people and companies developing numerous applications, which can turn your iPhone into a really useful (AND FUN) gadget!
So consider it for what it is worth, but this review of the famous gadget was a review coming from an extremely skeptical buyer, who ended up converting at the end. I have resisted the bandwagon for just over 12 months, but at least now I realize, that the iPhone actually does top the cell phone industry, as not only a phone, but arguable the most ultimate gadget around...at least for the upcoming future. Who knows what the ever-growing technology will come out with next for us in the future. I hope after reading this review, you will consider the iPhone, if you are shopping for a new phone and gadget.

Creating Google Gadgets

2010-01-31T01:42:00.000+07:00

Google gadgets are small modules of functionality (e.g. a clock, a game, etc.) that can be added to Blogger blogs, Google's personalized iGoogle pages, and other places on the web. You can even add them to your own website. Most users of Blogger are familiar with at least three of these objects. The default list of Blogger templates automatically come with Followers, Blog Archive, and About Me gadgets installed. The Followers gadget allows people to connect themselves to blogs by signing on as followers. The Blog Archive gadget displays old blog posts. The About Me gadget displays a blogger's profile.

There are hundreds of thousands of gadgets that have been developed and made publicly available. Google has a directory of gadgets that can be added to your Blogger site or to a website hosted outside of Blogger. It's obvious that Google promotes the development of new gadgets. They have even developed an extensive programming interface to allow independent web developers to tap in to their system.
What is a Google Gadget?
Google gadgets are made up ultimately of an XML file, which gives instructions to Google regarding the configuration of your gadget. To submit a gadget to Google, you simply enter the URL of the location where your gadget XML file exists and click submit. Google finds your gadget, verifies that it works correctly, and then adds your gadget to its database so that it can be presented to millions of gadget users across the Internet.
Gadgets can be as simple as a line of text, as in the following "Hello, world" example:
&amp;lt;?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" ?&amp;gt; &amp;lt;Module&amp;gt; &amp;lt;ModulePrefs title="hello world example" /&amp;gt; &amp;lt;Content type="html"&amp;gt; &amp;lt;![CDATA[ Hello, world! ]]&amp;gt; &amp;lt;/Content&amp;gt; &amp;lt;/Module&amp;gt;
On the other hand, gadgets can be complicated pieces of JavaScript code that run Flash applications and interact with databases. The complexity of your gadget determines to some extent its usefulness. Depending upon your intentions for developing a gadget, you may need to improve your JavaScript, Flash, and other programming skills. If you create an appealing gadget and submit it to be included in Google's directory, it could mean a lot of traffic for your website.
Google publishes a fair amount of technical information to help gadget developers. You can read more information about developing gadgets at Google's gadget page: http://code.google.com/apis/gadgets/

Nokia 5800 XpressMusic Deals - Smart Phone With Amazing Offers

2010-01-26T15:12:00.000+07:00

In this glamorous world, everyone wants to get an extra-ordinary gadget with almost all multimedia advanced features. Latest mobile phones are one of the expensive items that are packed with innovative and revolutionary features. By choosing, the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic deals you will be facilitated with a feature-rich gadget at very effective rates with various attractive deals. These beneficial deals help you in saving your precious time and money with plentiful free gifts and offers.

To avail the lucrative mobile phones to buy, one has to choose one of the best deals that suit their life style and wallet. The various attractive deals are pay-as-you-go, free line rental, contract deals, pay-monthly, sim free and many more.
These lucrative deals are available from different network service providers namely O2, Orange, Virgin, T-mobile, 3 or Vodafone. It surely offers you a great help without any hassles with reduced unwanted mobile phone expenses every month. Therefore, with the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic deals you can fulfill your dream of buying the handset at rock bottom rates.

The Nokia 5800 XpressMusic comes with plenty of sophisticated features and a variety of deals. It comes with an inbuilt 3.15 megapixel camera that allows you to capture all fun loving moments of your life. It has 2048x1536 pixels, Carl Zeiss optics, autofocus, LED flash and VGA. The handset supports gorgeous connectivity tool with GPRS, EDGE, 3G, HSDPA up to 3.6Mbps, WLAN, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and USB. You can now transfer or share data with other compatible devices.

For added fun, the handset facilitates you with Java games, music and video player, FM radio with RDS, voice memo and many more. Additionally, it facilitates you with an effective communication by its messaging service through SMS, MMS, emails and instant messaging. You can enjoy all these astonishing features with the lucrative Nokia 5800 XpressMusic deals. Moreover, it facilitate you with numerous discounts offers like free talk time, free text messages, free accessories, free downloading and many more. You can also avail many free gifts and incentives such as laptops, LCD TV, Xbox, gaming console and automatic cash back etc with these deals.

Nokia E66 Mobile - More Than a Business Phone

2010-01-26T14:55:00.000+07:00

Mobile phones have become a must have tool for professional and business people. They can stay connected with their work even on the move. Nokia Mobiles are among the best ones in the market. Nokia E-series phones are regarded as the best business phones as they equip the user with their office applications. These are high-end phones specially designed for business users to satisfy their business needs while on move. Users, worldwide, are highly impressed by their smartphone capabilities. Nokia E66 is a popular member of E-series of Nokia.

The Nokia E66 is a smart looking slider phone. It is endowed with a sleek and compact body. This is stylish phone with small dimensions of 107.5 x 49.5 x 13.6 mm. It weighs just 121 g. You can carry this phone in your pocket without feeling its weight and any bulge. On the front panel of this phone, there are easy navigation keys. Main display features a TFT screen with resolution of 240 x 320 supporting 16 million colors. You have choice of two colors for this phone; grey and white.

It has several advanced features which are expected from a high-end phone. It is blessed with features like 3.2 MP pixel camera having autofocus capabilities, accelerometer, FM Radio, 2.5 mm audio jack and an integrated GPS. This phone comes with an array of connectivity options like quad band GSM, dual band WCDMA (900/2100), Bluetooth, USB and Wi-Fi.

In addition, there is very prominent personal management feature features. This phone is a voice centric device. You can use its VoIP and push email features. Nokia has incorporated rich software on-board in this phone. This software includes PDF reader, Zip Manager, usual Quickoffice and Active Notes. You can have several different pre-configured idle screens with Switch Mode application.

Its 3.2 MP camera can be great companion if you are fond of capturing little moments of your life in a lens. It has a 4X digital zoom and autofocus feature. You can share your photographs with local network using Bluetooth functionality. There is an extendable memory card slot to store large number of data, files and photos. This Nokia Mobile is equipped with a strong battery which provides talk time of 7.5 hours and standby time of 264 hours. This phone supports Symbian S60 browser.

You can compare the features of Nokia E66 with other phones of same category before you decide to purchase one.

How Cell Phones Work

2010-01-24T14:57:00.002+07:00

A cell phone is nothing but a radio, but very high-tech. It is basically like a CB radio or walkie-talkie. But CB radio or walkie-talkie is a simplex system, where at a time a person can talk or listen. But a cell phone is a duplex device, where a person can listen and talk at the same time. One frequency is used for talking and another for listening. In CB radio 40 channels are used. But in cell phone you can communicate on 1664 channels.

Lets clarify why this phone is called cell phone or cellular phone. The whole network area of the provider is divided into small cells or areas. Each area or cell contains an antenna. When a person moves within the network area carrying a cell phone, the cell phone keeps contact with the local antenna. That’s why it is called a cell phone.
From the service provider each cell phone gets a unique code. This code is used to identify the phone and distinguish from the other. When someone tries to make a call from the cell phone and you turn on the phone a series of events takes place.
When you turn on the cell phone it seeks a system identification code to identify the provider on the control channel. The control channel is a special frequency, which is used for talking. If the phone can’t find any frequency it declares “No Service” message.
When the phone gets the frequency it matches it with the system identification code programmed in the phone. Then the mobile telephone switching office (MTSO) tracks your phone and locates the area your phone is located. After getting a call MTSO looks into the database to locate your phone and identifies the cell you are using. It picks a frequency pair of that cell in which your phone would communicate.
MTSO communicates with the phone through control channel and directs which frequency to use. As soon as the phone and tower tracks the frequency, your phone is connected.

Gadgets For the Home

2010-01-23T14:20:00.000+07:00

Gone are the days when men did not buy home gadgets - they married them! There is, of course, an added advantage today. Gadgets for the home come in all forms to suit various kinds of needs and pockets.
Just think. There is a small baby at home. That new bundle of joy needs to sleep soundly for 2 reasons. One is obviously to enable baby to grow properly.The second is not so well advertised, but none the less valid for that. The parents need to catch up on their work and rest. So if you are left (literally) holding the baby for the better part of the day, when do you do either? Particularly when baby loves to wake up just when s/he is being transferred to the cradle or baby cot?
There is a simple solution by way of a new home gadget. It is a hammock which keeps baby sleeping even when being transferred to it. There are many such home gadgets which have gone a long way to make life easier for those who prefer to live in a home rather than a hostel or mess or boarding house.
Think of the ubiquitous mixer which is needed for your juices, shakes, pastes and purees. Gadgets for home have gained in sophistication with advances in technology. Be it an energy hub system to monitor your domestic energy consumption or a hygienic door handle or a voice control travel alarm clock, there is a plethora of home gadgets in the market today.
Using a vacuum cleaner is old hat. For many using a robot to push around a vacuum cleaner is also something that's been around for quite a while. Neato Robotics has a state-of-the-art robotic vacuum cleaner. Using lasers and SLAM technology (simultaneous localization and mapping), this amazing gadget maps the layout of the room even before it starts cleaning. This ensures that it does not bump into objects in the room (though humans often do) while cleaning! It returns to base only when the job is done or when it needs recharging. It also has features like a top loading dust bin, edge detection to keep it from tumbling down stairs and also a programmable schedule to set how often you want the robot to clean. All in all, this must be one of the neatest gadgets for the home in recent years.

Cool USB Gadgets

2010-01-21T16:14:00.002+07:00

In the year 1995, USB technology was released in the market. The main idea was to present a standard way, through which devices could interconnect with computers. Since then, its popularity begins to increase day by day and became a widespread technology due to simplicity and low cost.
A new era began, in the history of USB technology when USB Gadgets (also known as PC Gadgets) struck the computer industry. These Gadgets changed the definition of conventional USB Devices making them one of the most favorite Novelty Gifts that could be presented for any occasion especially as Xmas Gifts.
Let's have a brief overview of some of the Gizmos Gadgets available using USB technology:

USB Coffee Mug Warmer Gadgets are available in plastic and metal with matt-silver finish. No drivers need to install just plug and play approved by CE. Its warming temperature is 40-60 C°. A red LED is used to display whether the coffee is warm or not. Surely, this is one the 'hottest' USB Gadgets accessible in market.
USB Letter Opener is a Desk clock with USB connection and electric letter opener. It is made of plastic and available in silver-matt color. Other features are alarm settings, date display and removable USB cable. Its funky looks make it a kind of coolest Gadgets.
Star Wars Darth Vader's Fighter Cam is one of the most innovative Gadgets ever made. It includes webcam with built-in microphone. The webcam clips to the top of the monitor and guns illuminates when the camera is activated. Exclusive Gadgets design and excellent camera result supports Skype, MSN, Yahoo! and AOL Messenger. A Complimentary CD comprises of drivers, application programs and video software is delivered with it.
These Gizmos Gadgets are of great importance during this round of year, when everybody is purchasing Xmas Gifts. Everyone wants to buy Novelty Gifts for their loved ones and Gagets definitely proves to be the best novel gifts.

The High Technology Functions of Nokia N96

2010-01-21T16:12:00.002+07:00

Nokia will introduce a new multi-media computer mobile phone which is the popular successor of Nokia N95. The Nokia N96 is a multi-medium that has a fully optimized video and TV streaming. The mobile phone has a large 2.8 inches LCD screen, 16GB built-in memory that can be expanded by a micro-SD memory card and has an array of formats and settings, the twin slide will start a new innovation in the mobile phone industry. Acquiring videos through the internet is easy and quick this is provided by the video formats like MPEG-4, media player of Windows and Flash media. It is even easy to access videos with the help of high speed USB port and Bluetooth.
In top quality industries, the incorporated DVB-H handset presents live relay TV with a mechanically updated program guide.
The immense memory can save up to 40 hours of video content. The storage capability of the Nokia N96 can smoothly be advanced with the use microSD card, like the use of Nokia 8GB microSDHC Card MU-43 which augments the obtainable memory of the Nokia N96 phone to a whole of 24 GB. Moreover, expediency, the Nokia N96 characteristics a 'kickstand' on the back covers that permits for hands-free presentation.
For an excellent music familiarity, the Nokia N96 attributes media inputs, a 3.5 mm headset connector and fixed 3D stereo speakers. The Nokia Maps function presents richer maps with built-up aspects and satellite outlooks and has improve alternatives such as City Guides, turn-by-turn walker mode and voice-guided car routing. This shows the high functionality and high technology functions of Nokia N96.

5 Gadgets That You Should Never Leave Home Without

2010-01-21T16:11:00.002+07:00

There are 5 gadgets that any geek should never leave the home without because if you have some spare time you should take every opportunity you get to do what you love and that is have fun!The problem is you cant take every gadget with you and because of this you will have to decide which ones are more important to you. Here are the 5 gadgets you should not leave home without!
1. Cell phone.
The cell phone is the most important devise you could ever leave at home. If you leave your mobile phone at home you have no communication with any one and you cant browse the web on the move and check email wile you wait for the bus or train.

2. mp3 player.
Whether you go to work on the train or if you have your own transport some times you just want to listen to your own music and when you don't have your own music on hand you get very frustrated!Always take your mp3 player with you so that if the radio is just not entertaining you or if there is a baby crying you can get away from it all.
3. Hand-held devise(PSP, nintendo dci)
Every gamer out there knows that every second you could of been playing a game but weren't is a wast of time so because of this you should always carry your favourite hand-held gaming console around with the top 5 games you like.
4. Netbook/notebook
If you want to browse the web wile you drinking coffee the best thing to do is pull out your netbook and go online vie the wifi hotspot.
5. Flash disk
You never know when you will need to get some files from some one or if you will have to backup some data, by carrying around a flash disk all the time you have peace of mind that you wont have to waist time asking people if you can borrow theirs.

Hi Tech Gadgets - Nintendo DS at a MLB Game!

2010-01-21T16:10:00.000+07:00

Take me out to the ballgame; buy me some peanuts and crackerjacks and let me do in on my Nintendo DS! At Seattle Mariner home games you can use your Nintendo DS to order food, beer, etc. and have it delivered right to your seat. No need to wait for the guy coming around with old sweaty open beer bottles or rubbery hotdogs. This service is being tested exclusively in Seattle, home of both the Mariners and Nintendo. It also helps that the Mariners are owned by the founder of Nintendo, so a direct line to research and development is just a drive across Lake Washington.
Along with ordering food and drinks you can also watch the local TV coverage of the game and see the balls and strikes much like a video game. The aptly named Nintendo Fan Network gives you all the feeling of being at the game.
Of course you are actually at the game so some may question the value of sitting there looking at the screen when all you have to do is look up and see real life. But for the hi tech gadget techno geek in us it's an amazing addition to the game experience. And since the first year when it was $5 per game and fans obviously tired of paying for an overpriced experience to purchase overpriced food and drink they brought the price down to a respectable free.
However, for the geek meets baseball fan there really isn't anything like it. Interested in hitters statistics? You can access them right from your DS. This may seem like a small thing and maybe even a little to uber geeky but it's a fantastic feature. The Internet does lag some while watching a game from the DS, but honestly seeing the game on it isn't even the valuable part. It's all the other features offered by Nintendo on the DS.
Over time they should be able to expand the Nintendo DS out to other ball fields with even more services. Right now the service is fun and interesting for a time, but quickly takes a backseat to the actual game, which should be expected. However, it would be great if this hi tech gadget could be used in more functional and practical ways that would really enhance the user experience. Knowing Nintendo they will, it will move over to the Wii and you will be able to actually participate in the game!