Archive for February, 2008

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Sony Ericsson G700

Monday, February 25th, 2008

This is the cheapest till date Smartphone being announced by Sony Ericsson. The G700 series was announced at10th February 2008 at World GSM Congress, Barcelona. The phone is one of the 7 new phones launched by the company. It’s a bar shaped phone based on the UiQ 3.1 and Symbian OS, version of which has not yet disclosed. The device is Sony Ericsson’s attempt to bring its range of Smartphone more close to public.

The G700 doesn’t really look like a Smartphone rather it looks much similar to the company’s feature phones. The back has look of a low-cost phone, but is comfortable to touch. The back features exposed camera and dual LED lamps for flash purpose which looks similar to the one in P1i. The speaker grill is situated just under the battery compartment.

The screen is 2.4 inches and boasts of 262k color with QVGA 240×320 pixels resolution. Though it is not as good as it is on the P series phones, but it manages very well. The display though is a nightmare under direct sunlight. Being smaller than the most of the phones based on UiQ, the ease of use is greatly crippled. The cost cutting measures have reduced the size of screen as well the availability of WIFI and auto focus on camera which is otherwise a 3.2megapixel sensor unit making the close-up shots impossible. The camera has image stabilization facility. Video is recorded at QVGA resolution at 30FPS. The secondary camera with VGA resolution is used for video calls.

The weight of the device is mere 99grams and the thickness being only 13mm which makes it come very close to motorazr in terms of size and aesthetics. The device retains touch screen and the interface has been customized to suit day to day needs like putting up sticky notes on the display of the screen. The device runs on a 208 MHz ARM processor with 128MB of RAM which ensures that it will be won’t hang and be quick. In built memory is 160MB which is extended by M2 card up to 1GB. Connectivity is through GPRS/3G in 2100MHz band only. This means that it won’t run on the 3G networks of USA. It also has Bluetooth 2.0 with support for stereo headset. Though with smaller screen display, Sony Ericsson has tried to enlarge the icons so that it’s possible to use the phone with thumbs.

The keypad is the generic alphanumeric with a D-pad for navigation as well as dedicated keys for shortcuts and messaging. The new shortcuts feature is very useful as it can help you organize your most frequently used contacts notes, appointments and shortcuts to favorite applications. The task manager has also been revamped with the recently opened applications tab being removed and only running tasks being showed. The photo gallery, music and videos are made accessible through the media center which is one extremely organized way to browse through your multimedia collection. The interface is very similar to the new walkman branded phones. The search facility has also been greatly enhanced as you can tag the photos into categories and then sort the photos based on those categories/keywords as well as the searching of a particular song is possible even if you don’t know complete name of song, but just some words of it. The video player is very cool; it has very big buttons in horizontal mode which can be pressed by thumb. The controls are transparent and gradually fade away when not being used. The web browser is the same as the ones in previous versions of UiQ i.e. Opera 8.x though the navigation is very fast with the hardware D pad buttons. It is expected to cost around EUR 250, though Sony has also announced another phone G900 with WLAN, 5megapixel camera with auto focus with cost of around EUR 300. The handset is expected to be available by march-end, 2008.

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Sony Ericsson C702i, The Rugged Cybershot

Sunday, February 24th, 2008

Sony Ericsson announced Cybershot C702i phone on 10th February 2008. This phone is one of the 7 new phones launched by Sony Ericsson at this year’s GSM World Congress at Barcelona. Targeted at mobile users who like to shoot and use phone, but are limited to choices due the environment being too rugged for use.

The special thing about this phone is that it is splash and dust proof which means that you can safely drop the cameraphone in puddle and still be sure of receiving the next call or taking the next shot through camera. The build quality of the cellphone inspires confidence that no matter where you use it, it will be faithful to you. The phone is a 3G enabled quadband phone with HSDPA 3.6Mbps connectivity available for 2100 MHz networks The front features a big screen of 2.2inches with resolution of 240×320pixels a alphanumeric keypad with a front VGA camera whereas the back of the cell has dimpled surface with a lot of gripping provided and a bolt like feature provided on the cover of battery to give it rugged and macho feel. Just next to the bolt is a big eye for wrist band. Weight of the device is mere 105grams with the thickness being 15.5cm which is very less considering the tough built of cellphone. The thickness of the cellphone has been kept more so that it doesn’t slip from the hands of user. The phone has 3.2megapixel sensor and since it comes in the series of mighty Cybershot Brand of Sony Ericsson, it packs a lot of power in the camera. The image stabilization, red eye reduction is from its predecessor K850i.

The camera on this device is 3.2megapixel sensor with Sony lens and autofocus feature. New things on this device are face recognition which allows you to focus on the subject of the picture rather than on the background. Also featured here is Photo fix which is software provided by Sony Ericsson for fixing the photo after it has been shot. Red eye reduction is further improved from the previous K series model. However the biggest thing missing here is Xenon flash which was a hit with K850i. The newphoto light on this device is said to do same functions and also provide lighting in video shooting too which was not possible with Xenon flash. Let’s hope that this LED based photolight does as the company promises.

Another good thing about this phone is that it features GPS which had been pretty much domain of hi-end phones like Nokia’s N95. This makes the foray of GPS technology into the mainstream feature phones. The GPS module integrates with the camera and does “geo-tagging” of images which is a very new and interesting feature. The phone comes with 160MB of memory onboard which can be further extended through memorystick M2. Other features like mp3/aac/wma enabled music player, Blogging tool, radio with rds, notes, calendar is standard which is very similar to other phones made by the company. However, it remains uncertain whether the users will be able to use 3rd party softwares from companies like Tom-Tom on their phones as doesn’t have an operating system. It’s a phone for outdoor type of users who work in conditions where there is a lot of moisture and dust. This phone could be a boon to those people who previously had been avoiding a cameraphone from the fear of dropping/wetting the phone while using. Let’s wait to see the reaction of market to this phone when it is launched in Q2, 2008.

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Nokia N96 - 16GB

Saturday, February 23rd, 2008

We thought that nokia had reached epitome of mobile development when they had announced N95-8GB, but it seems that they have something else in mind while they have launched N96. It’s somehow a N95 with cosmetic changes and storage upped to whooping 16GB with further 8GB addition possible through micro SD card. It also features a DVB-H receiver for times if you want to view TV on its big 2.8 inches screen. It is targeted towards multimedia oriented audience.

Let’s go towards the specifications of the device. It’s based on same platform as the previous N95-8GB, but offers poor battery backup as it is powered by 950mAH battery, the same one on original N95 which was very poor on battery life. It seems that the DVB-H would be sucking a lot of battery from the device rendering its usability limited by the battery backup. Seems like keeping a backup battery for extended viewing maybe not a bad idea. The phone comes in similar shape of newly launched Nokia N82 and looks crafted out of steel. The design is sleek two way slider, similar to N95, with one side having keypad and other having dedicated multimedia control buttons like play/pause, FF, RW and stop. The buttons are tactile to touch and so wouldn’t find much of audiences with youngsters who are much into text messaging. The weight of device is whopping 125 grams, far more than other competing mobiles, but it can be easily ignored if the number of features on the device is considered.

The display is 2.8inches with QVGA resolution of 240×320pixels. It seems that Nokia does not understand that when most of the manufacturers are going to higher resolutions, they are still stuck to technically inferior quality resolution in spite of the fact that they tend to put this device as true multimedia substitute. The phone has auto-rotate UI and the back of the phone has a stand kind of protrusion which allows you to keep the handset at a particular angle when you are watching video in landscape mode. This feature is quite useful for prolonged viewing of videos. The speakers are made on right side of the handset and come on top when the device is kept in landscape mode. As usual, they are of superb quality and produce stereo sound. Also if you want to view your videos in discretion then you can use the standard 3.5mm jack to plug in a standard headphone to listen to music or videos. The phone with hefty 16GB space would help you dump all of your videos without any second thoughts about the memory getting filled up very fast.

Featuring host of connectivity options like 3G with HSDPA for both international and American networks, EDGE and GPRS, it’s surely a phone made for world. There is WLAN 802.1b/g, Bluetooth v2.0 with A2DP, infrared and micro USB for connecting it to other devices. When you plug it to your PC then it has a special mode where it is recognized as a music player by windows and allows you to synchronize it with Windows Media Player with ease.

The camera module is taken directly from the Predecessor N95, which is a 5megapixel autofocus sensor with 20x digital zoom. Other features like red-eye reduction, image stabilization, and exposure control are standard. But its really pity that Nokia is still not putting optical zoom and xenon flash in its flagship phone, when it has already introduced that concept in N93i long time ago. Though this phone has very good specs, but if you already happen to own N95 or N95-8GB, then there is not much worth in going for upgrade. It is expected to be priced around 800$ .

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iPhone in Asia?

Saturday, February 23rd, 2008

Apple is said to release a version of iPhone for its Asian customers this year. Once it has been released, would it satisfy the Asian customers’ needs or people will just shy away from its expensive price tag?

iPhone is an amazing phone that is built for sophistication. Prior to its Asian release, the hacked version of the iPhone has already infiltrated Asia especially in the Philippines. Unfortunately, these hacked iPhones can not be updated or else you would have to re-hack it and it does not have many features that you would enjoy if you got an authentic un-hacked iPhone.

So, what will you get from an Asian version release of Apple’s iPhone? First of all, you get the phone’s warranty. Second, there’s no need to hack it so you could update its software with no worries. And lastly, it is believed that they would be using the 3G feature which is, by far, the highest innovation in cellular technology in Asia.

There is still no official statement from Apple regarding their Asian release of their iPhone but many believe that once it had been released in Asia, the Philippines would not be included on the list. Why, you might ask? Because Apple is generating more income from its services rather than through the revenue from iPhone purchases. Filipinos love buying high-end cellular phones even though they would have to spend their rainy-day savings just so they could flaunt their phones. But, what kind of services do Filipinos use most of the time? Filipinos love to text and most of the time, that’s the only purpose of their phones aside from its built-in hardware/software features of course. So, unlike their U.S. release where iPhone goes hand in hand exclusively with cingular, iPhone generates more residual income from its phone related services offered by cingular. It’s a totally different ballgame in the Philippines. The majority of Filipinos don’t take cellular plans instead they go for prepaid as it is much cheaper with no monthly fees.

So, is there still hope for a Philippine release of Apple’s iPhone? We just have to wait to find out!

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Xperia X1 - Sony Ericsson

Thursday, February 14th, 2008

The rumors have finally been found true. Sony Ericsson has opened gates for new platform for its high end business mobile phones. Currently its most sophisticated P series phones were run on Symbian UiQ, now it has given that slot to Microsoft Windows Mobile 6.0 and that seems for good only considering number of bugs and problems previous P series devices were having in their firmware

At World GSM Congress, Barcelona, Swedes-Japanese phone maker released its new flagship phone called Xperia X1 which as people say has been developed with collaboration with HTC. The phone would come in arc shaped slider form which means that while using the slide out QWERTY keyboard, you won’t have difficulty in seeing display screen which itself is gigantic 3 inches wide. The phone will come with thickness less that 16mm which is superb for a business class phone packed with full keyboard. The device has WXGA resolution of 800×480pixels which is highest at the moment in market with pixel density almost 1.5times that of iPhone’s display. The phone has a lot of goodies to talk about like the acceleratometer which changes the orientation of Ui with any rotation of the device. The navigation is through touch screen interface which is a specialty for Sony Ericsson mobiles and also through an optical joystick which is useful specially when browsing through big WebPages for moving scroll bars. The Processor is pretty decent Qualcomm’s 520MHz unit which will make this device slick when it comes to multi tasking. Further it has 128MB RAM and 512MB ROM. This makes it compete with the likes of HTC’s behemoth TyTn II. The external expansion is through Sony’s Micro M2 memory. The phone features a lot of connectivity options like GPRS, EDGE, 3G and HSDPA/HSUPA 7.2Mbps which makes it at par with Nokia’s N95 mobile phone. The EDGE support had been lacking in almost all the Sony’s business phones till late. Also for local connectivity there is provision of Wifi 802.11b/g (Yes g also!!) and Bluetooth 2.0 with EDR and A2DP. The exclusive thing about the phone which makes it stand apart from other windows mobiles is that it features Xperia interface which is a very cool 9 animated icon’s which are displayed in active display screen and can be used directly to open apps. However the biggest disappointment is that the display is meager 65k color when even the low end Phones these days feature at least 16million color display. The phones sports 3.2megapixel autofocus camera which takes shots at 2048×1536pixel resolution and video recording at vga resolution at 30FPS. Phone comes in with windows live, MSN messenger, Internet explorer mobile, windows media player 10 for mobile and mobile outlook. Though it is fitted with WM 6.0, but Sony says that it will be fitted with updated version of WM called WM 6.1 before it is launched. It also has GPS facility and the media player virtually plays all the popular codecs of audio and video without any need of external softwares. The phone comes in two colors black and white. The phone is truly state-of-art and the finish is marvelous much better than the W960i which was launched a few months back.

The keyboard has spaciously drawn out keys which allow even people with big thumbs to type easily. For people who use smileys a lot, there is a dedicated smiley button on the keyboard. Though it is a business phone, still it has a slot for a 3.5mm audio jack which is quite a surprise as it is not offered even on the company’s walkman series phones which are targeted towards music lovers.

The camera module is same as the one being used in P1i so not much point in discussing that. However as the handset is announced to be released in Q2 of this year, you may expect a lot of changes in the specification. Being termed as iPhone killer, it has created a league of its own. It seems that bar has been raised for the competition. Let’s see how Nokia counters this phone.

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CANON 400D

Wednesday, February 13th, 2008

Photography professionals, amateurs and enthusiasts alike love to capture everyday moments to help.

Here are some of Canon 400D’s highlights:

  1. Integrated Cleaning System – image-sensor dust is one of the most annoying problems a DSLR owner can have. Since a camera lens is very sensitive, you can’t just wipe it off with an ordinary cloth. Canon 400D has an incorporated cleaning system built in its body that generates ultrasonic vibrations which shakes off dusts that enter when a lens is mounted or removed.
  2. Dust Delete – to further enhance the cleaning system of this camera, the Canon 400D has a second defense system to remove dust that the integrated cleaning system did not totally get rid of. A computer program composed of two steps locates and identifies dust that appears on the images and automatically deletes it.
  3. Noise Reduction – this feature is built into the CMOS sensor to aid in preventing image noise when a higher ISO setting is selected.
  4. 10.1 megapixel CMOS sensor – this camera can produce 3904 x 2598 pixels and has a sensitivity range which varies from ISO 100 to 1600.
  5. Display-Off Sensor – it’s a bit annoying when light seeps into your eyes everytime you peek into a camera’s viewfinder. Canon 400D’s Display-Off Sensor attribute automatically switches off whenever the photographer’s face is pressed to the viewfinder.
  6. Picture Style – this function presents various “film emulsion” choices to photographers in order for them to take advantage of the different options to utilize exceptional color, saturation and resolution to suit a certain subject or particular object.
  7. Three-layer optical low-pass filter - this characteristic focuses on helping the camera reduce chromatic deviation or abnormality and color fringing. It makes up for artificial red coloration brought about by infrared rays.

If you’re still not satisfied with this camera’s fine focal points, then maybe mentioning a few more worthy features will make you run out the door to avail your very own Canon 400D.

The Canon 400D is a great DSLR camera for beginners, who prefer this type of camera over the regular point-and-shoot ones, as its controls are very clear-cut and it has basic icons and icons for easier comprehension. It consists of standard exposure modes which include Manual, Shutter-Priority Speed, Aperture Priority, Full Auto, Auto Depth of Field and Program. As mentioned a while ago, beginners will have a fun time taking photographs with this camera since it is equipped with a Full Auto Mode which will give novice photographers superb results.

Newbies often enjoy chimping. This term simply means looking at a taken photo consecutively—shoot, look at the picture, shoot, look at the picture. It’s not really an offense but most newbies are identified with this habit. However, with Canon 400D’s 2.5 inch LCD monitor, chimping won’t be a problem any longer since it displays your pictures clearly.

If your concern is about the battery life, there’s no need to worry. Once the battery is fully charged, you are guaranteed to enjoy it throughout the day. The camera’s weight won’t be a problem as well since it’s quite light so you can take photographs without complaining about aching arms when you wake up the next day.

Of course, nothing is perfect in this world. The Canon 400D also has its weak points and one of it is its smallish grip which is a major complain by photographers who has medium-sized hands or bigger. This next snag is for serious photographers who have discovered the beauty of shooting in RAW format. Shooting in RAW format makes the camera lag for a few seconds, this is a problem because a photographer has to wait before he can shoot another picture.

Evidently, not all photographers opt to shoot in RAW format. So disregarding this matter the Canon 400D is a good choice for those who are planning to take up photography as their form of relaxation. Of course, professionals and amateurs will surely benefit from this camera too as it has a lot of features that can be quite useful to all photographers.

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Apple iPOD Touch

Tuesday, February 12th, 2008

Apple has come a long way since the introduction of their first iPod which has swept the entire world to its feet. Music and movie lovers have enjoyed this mini-masterpiece which is simply a delight to everyone; even non-techie junkies can have fun with their own iPod as it is very easy to use.

To make life even more fun and enjoyable, Apple has come up with a relatively new gadget which will make the iPod much more popular than it is now—iPod touch. The iPod touch is an innovative media player which literally brings your music, videos and even the web right into your fingertips with its multi-touch screen interface. Its magnificent 3.5 inch wide screen presents a simple yet vibrant display of colors that’s completely scratch-resistant. Its touch screen conveniently allows users to input data without them bothering to look for the miniscule stylus which almost always disappears when you need it. With the iPod touch, your fingers will do all the work for you (once you’ve mastered how to control the screen, which is quite easy to learn) by providing you with trouble-free manipulation.

Don’t be fooled with the iPod touch’s slim design because, despite its delicate and elegant features, this portable media player is quite sturdy. Flip this awesome gadget and you’ll see a gleaming stainless steel cover which protects the iPod touch’s interior components from unintentional and unexpected accidents.

iPod touch users can effortlessly add new contacts and update their calendar using the Qwerty keyboard on the touch screen. Moreover, it is enabled with Wi-Fi to allow users to efficiently navigate through their favourite websites, even letting users zoom in on images. It also allows users to check their e-mails, download songs and videos from iTunes and acquire easy access to everyone’s preferred video provider—YouTube.

Originally designed for music and movie lovers, iPod touch is still one of the best media players out in the market. It can easily store music, videos and photos up to 16 GB with the help of its 128 MB of RAM. iPod touch stores its files using flash memory which allows speedier access for its users. It has a non-removable battery composed of Lithium Ion which guarantees users at least 5 hours worth in video and 22 hours music playback. It has a dimension of 110 mm x 62 mm x 8 mm and it only weighs 120 grams– very easy to bring anywhere since it’s bulk-free. Like all iPod’s, iPod touch offers great audio and picture quality which is quite essential since it boasts of its wide screen.

The downside? It is a tad pricier compared to the other iPod’s since it has new features and is relatively more upgraded. Nevertheless, it is still one product worth shelling out a few bucks more. You can’t really blame Apple since they have presented such a revolutionary media player suited for people who love music and videos and those who can’t get enough of the web. If you’re looking for a media player that has style, functionality, refinement and simplicity combined into one, then grab an iPod Touch now.

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I Love Widgetbucks!

Monday, February 11th, 2008

I see big improvement on my RPC since widgetbucks started deploying the site category features, as of now the highest RPC I'm receiving is .33 and the lowest is .15 which is far better than .03 rate.

Widgetbucks is one of my highest online income generator aside from adsense. I'm currently earning at least 8$ per dayfrom one site alone.

I'm also thinking joining Project Wonderful as I read some good feedback from Macuha.com . :D

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