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A good iPAD killer from Dell
Dell has its own answer to Apple’s iPAD. Steve you have competition. iPad can be sleek but this is more powerful. Running on Android, supports SIM, so can actually call. A wifi, 3G data service. 5MP autofocus camera, front video calling camera, multitasking, in browser flash support. HDMI output. I think Dell got it right where Apple went wrong, and you can actually take it out from your court pocket.
9 iPad misses
After three years Apple is back to what it is known to be best at — launch new product. The computing giant launched iPad, a sleek table that aims to revolutionise the publishing business the same way as Apple iPod transformed the music industry and iPhone transformed the telecom industry.
But can iPad really do what iPod and iPhone could in their respective domains? While there are many who are going gaga over Apple’s new launch and see it as a disruptive technology. There are others who are cautious and apprehensive.
The critics are lamenting the absence of some features which they feel are basic for any product of iPad’s category. So what is it that is missing from Apple’s big launch?
Hands on and video: Lenovo’s Lephone
Hands on Lephone at CES2010
Free Turn-by-Turn Voice Guided Navigation with Ovi Maps
We were hoping something like this would happen but we would be lying to you if we claim to have smelled this before Nokia left this cat out a couple of days ago. Yeah, we are talking about the new avatar of Ovi Maps offering free turn-by-tun voice guided navigation across 74 countries in 46 languages.
The latest move by Nokia is taking the navigation tools competition to a new level, a level very few services can sustain. Google started the trend with its similar free service in the US with its android app but Nokia beat them hands down, by offering a similar service across the globe and going by the present market penetration of Nokia devices, it’s anybody’s guess which is going to shape the navigation industry in the long-run.
Apple ditching Google Search for Microsoft Bing on iPhone
According to reports , Apple and Microsoft are in talks to replace Google Search with MS Bing as the Default search engine for the iPhone.
BusinessWeek is reporting that Apple is in talks with Microsoft for few weeks regarding the default search engine iPhone . The move comes as a result of the growing rivalry and competetion between Apple and Google.
Now the Nexus One from Google is taking on the Apple iPhone 3GS directly and its obvious that Apple does not want to use a competitor’s product – Google Search
A significant amount of Mobile Search traffic is from Apple iPhone and iPod touch and Google’s income from Mobile Ads might be impacted by the outcome.
CNBC is reporting that the Microsoft Bing App for iPhone is very successful from the Mobile Search point of view. It drives more traffic than from all of Verizon Wireless’s phones.
Microsoft is willing to pay more money to Apple compared to Google for the search ads.
Steve Jobs wants a Bing Search API where he can integrate search results so deep in the product that user will never have to see the Bing web page and UI
These talks have been going on since October / November 09 .
Apple never saw Google as a Competitor until the rise of Android , Chrome and most recently the Nexus One. Now the relationship has turned bitter . Now we are hearing about the Search but Apple was even considering ditching Google Maps
This is going to be an interesting space to track as Mobile Search volumes are expected to boom in the coming years.
Skyfire the fastest browser for Symbian
Skyfire just released an updated version of their browser for Symbian phones. You can download the version 1.5 of the Skyfire browser for both S60 v3 phones and S60 v5 touch phones. This update follows the launch of Skyfire 1. 5 for Windows Mobile in December 2009. The browser for S60 3rd edition brings Smooth Scrolling , Updated UI for 3rd edition devices and Performance tweaks.
The S60 5th Edition Beta brings a Finger friendly UI with Kinetic scrolling. You can now also browse in Fullscreen mode. There is Auto-Rotate too which users your phone’s accelerometer
“There was a great response when Skyfire 1.5 launched in December 2009 for Windows Mobile. Video, text, and images all look crisp and stunning in high-resolution,” explains Jeff Glueck, CEO of Skyfire. “We’re glad to bring all the unique new features of Skyfire 1.5 to our dedicated Symbian user-base.”
It playes youtube videos seamlessly. The rendering of the page is great. And it is amzingly fast.
So, how does Skyfire works. Every request form the browser first goes to a Skyfire server and from the skyfire server it goes to the actual server in the internet. So, what does the Skyfire server do? It does all the processing for the page and aligns everything so that the page is viewed perfectly in the mobile. So, it takes all the CPU processing from the mobile to the huge servers.
And yes they do it all for free. Believe me it is better than and faster than Opera.
Get your copy of Skyfire today gtom http://get.skyfire.com.
It supports Windows Mobile touch and non touch , Symbian S60 v3 and v5.
One change I would like to see on Skyfire is the cancel button. There is no way I can cancel a request or stop a request. Skyfire, I hope you are listenig.
6 Problems with Nexus One
Is Google’s ‘super phone’ Nexus One turned out to be a super flop? The company is flooded with complaints relating to its first branded smartphone. In numbers too, mobile research firm Flurry estimates that Google sold around 20,000 units of Nexus One phone in its first week, the sales figure is well behind that of competing smartphones.
Nexus One is reportedly giving users tough time with Google’s support forums full of customer complaints regarding company’s poor service.
Here’s looking into what is troubling Google Nexus One.
3G Connectivity
Poor 3G connectivity seems to be one big sore issue among Nexus One users. According to reports, Nexus One switches back and forth between EDGE and 3G service even when strong 3G signals are available.
A user wrote on a customer forum, “Don’t have a “comparison” phone next to it, but I can confirm that the 3G signal falls in and out almost constantly. It moves between 3G and EDGE probably every minute.”
Another wrote, “I upgraded from a blackberry pearl to the nexus one. I cannot get any 3G service as of yet. Don’t know what the problem is. TMobile and HTC have not been able to help.”
A company spokeswoman said that Google is aware of the problem and is looking into it.
Customer Support
Another issue troubling Nexus One users is the device’s customer service. Many users are complaining that they have to shuttle between Google, device manufacturer HTC and network provider T-Mobile USA to sort their issues. Many buyers are also grumbling that they have nowhere to go but online for answers to complaints or questions.
Usually mobile-related problems are directed to the service provider as in the US most people buy subsidised phones from a mobile operator. However, since Google is selling the phone directly to end-users, it has resulted in many users turning to the search giant itself.
Also, Google reportedly appears to be only accepting e-mail customer queries, to which it pledges to reply in one to two days. On the forums, Google promises an e-mail response within 48 hours, but offers no telephone service.
User forums are swamped by customer complaints that they need a proper customer care centre for the device just like other manufacturers provide.
Touchscreen
Many users are also reportedly said to be facing problems in using the phone’s touchscreen and difficulty in returning back to the home screen. Google Nexus One features a 3.7-inch (9.4 centimeter) AMOLED touchscreen display. However, the phone doesn’t support multi-touch functionality.
Delivery Problems
With Google selling the phone directly to users through its website, many users have also complained about delivery issues.
Many users wrote on Google customer forum that they didn’t received order confirmation even after three days of placing an order. A user wrote that he is waiting for his order to be processed even after 72 hours.
Battery Life
Users are also reportedly facing issues with the battery life of Nexus One phones. The mobile phone’s battery seem to be shortlived, with many complaining that it runs out of power in a day even with minimal use.
According to Google, Nexus One offers talktime of upto 10 hours on 2G, upto 7 hours on 3G. Standby time is upto 290 hours on 2G up to 250 hours on 3G. The phone offers video playback of upto 7 hours and audio playback of upto 20 hours.
High Termination Fee
Another issue that has left many customers fuming is double termination fee.
The termination fees levied by both Google and T-Mobile adds up to a whopping $550 for customers who cancel their contract.
Google charges a $350 for “equipment recovery fee” for cancellations done in the first 120 days. T-Mobile charges Nexus One customers $200 for canceling at any time in the first eighteen months of their 2-year contract.
The phone costs $179 ($240) with a two-year T-Mobile contract and $529 without it.
Huawei Attempts to bring 3G Experience over EDGE
The Chinese Telecom and Network solutions company has managed to achieve record speeds of 564 Kb/s over 2G Networks
In a recent trial conducted for EDGE / Enhanced Data Rate for GSM Evolution Huawei managed to clock 564 Kb/s which is roughly 2 times the current speeds possible over EDGE.
It’s an attempt to bring 3G experience over 2G networks which can bring services like Video Streaming etc.
He Gang, president of GSM/UMTS product line for Huawei commented: “This milestone demonstrates Huawei’ s continued commitment towards driving GSM evolution, the world’ s most widely deployed technical standard with the largest mobile subscriber base. Huawei’ s advanced EDGE+ technology enhances flexibility for operators building their 3G networks and provides a seamless high-speed data service experience.”
Huawei is calling this technology EDGE+ or we call it EDGE on Steroids !
If such a solution is implemented by Operators in India where we barely get 100Kb/s even in the middle of the night it would be more than welcome. With large scale 3G deployment in India still a distant dream possibilities like the above are a ray of hope .
Five great free S60v5 applications
With the fast increasing mobile applications for Iphones and Android, don’t be sad for your Symbian S60v5 phones. There are similar mind blowing applications for Symbian as well.
Here is a quick look at the 5 best applications for Symbian S60v5, and of-course all of them are free…
The first really huge third party S60 application to get a full touch makeover, this works superbly on S60 5th Edition, on all phones, in both landscape and portrait modes, and with touch-panning of maps and of the StreetView displays (in countries where this is supported). Version 3.2.1 is the latest and has built-in Latitude (friend-finding), Traffic and Wikipedia (layers) support. It’s also terrific as a general purpose location-centric search tool (e.g. find the nearest plumber or pizza or hairdresser). Ovi Maps is good, but I think Google Maps are better.
Get it at m.google.com
2. Opera Mini
Why on earth would you want another web browser? You have S60 Web, after all? Moreover, why would you want a mouldy, ol’ Java app? Because it’s faster, slicker and more frugal than Web, that’s why. Once you get past the initial Java hand-holding ‘Do you want to go online?’ question, Opera Mini, quite simply, rocks. Backed up by special proxy servers, even huge web pages like BoingBoing can be opened in just a few seconds and browsed around with full touch-panning. If you find S60 Web too slow for tradition text-based pages then Opera Mini is a definite candidate, especially if you’re not on a flat rate data plan. The new version 5 beta introduces multi-tab browsing and an integrated touchscreen keyboard to save you messing with the standard Java text box forms, but the production v4.2 is also well worth installing.
Get either version from mini.opera.com
3. Nokia Photo Browser
Download from http://betalabs.nokia.com/apps/nokia-photo-browser
4. Fring
This is a great application, where you have a common use point of all your messengers. You name it and they have it. GTalk, Yahoo Messenger, MSN messenger, Skype, AIM, ICQ and others. You can also link your twitter and facebook with it to get the latest updates and post updates. The most important is you can even call using VOIP over Gtalk, Skype or ant SIP. The latest addition is to make video calls. You can use it to make video calls to your skype friends. The front camera is used for the video call. So this is a must for all S60v5 users.
Get Fring by going to m.fring.com in Web
5. JoikuSpot Light FREE Hotspot
Perhaps a pinnacle of modern software engineering, JoikuSpot turns your S60 phone and its data connection into a mobile Wi-Fi hotspot for other devices (of yours) to hook into. The premium version has loads more functions and security, but for cheap, cheerful and ad-hoc use, the free ‘Light’ version does very well, letting you surf away on your laptop, for example, using (in this case) the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic as the hotspot. Yes, PC Suite also allows through-Internet connections, but isn’t is just so cool to be making your own Wi-Fi hotspot?
Get it from the Nokia Ovi Store or from Joiku’s download page.
Which touch phone to buy within Rs.10K
After Apple showed the world, the magic of touch, there are several players who have ventured this avenue. So, today we have so many touch phones in market that it makes one confused which phone to buy.
Apple comes at around Rs.30K, which is quite large for everyone. This is where Apple has gone wrong. If they reduce the price then other players will surely be eliminated.
I will give you a detailed review on which touch phone to go for, and yes below 10K. There are so many players, that I am also confused whom to include and whom to not.
First make up your mind what exactly do you want from your phone. There are two types of touch phones in market. One is a normal touch phone, another is called touch smart phone. Now, I have heard that word smartphone, what is it? A phone where you can install new softwares and perform some enhanced functions is a smartphone. It is like your pc, but its a phone after all. There is a huge market full of applications that you can download and install to your mobile. I will give you an example, say you want to use your mobile as a Business Card reader, and your phone doesnot support it, then you can download a software which will use your phone camera, and convert your phone to a Business Card reader. This is a smart phone.
The other type is, you can not install softwares to that phone, but use the applications that is provided in the phone itself. But there are java applications which you can run on these phones and can achieve the flavour of the softwares. But you need a phone where you can run java applications. You can get all the java applications from http://www.getjar.com.
Now with the phones. First phone that comes in mind is from the market leader, NOKIA.
The phone recently released was Nokia 5230. When coming from the market leader, you can be rest assured that this is one of the best phone. Priced at Rs8300/- this is a smartphone running on S60v5 Series. This is the same operating system on which n97 runs, and a powerful processor. So indirectly it means you can install all applications in 5230 that you can on n97. Another fact is, this phone is a 3G enabled phone. So, you get a fast browsing and net experience with this phone. It has been tested over BSNL 3G in Kerela, and is working without any problem, and yes we were able to stream videos from youtube without hiccups over the GSM 3G network. One point in which it beats the iPhone is it supports flash in the browser, which means you can watch youtube from the normal browser itself, you do not require a separate application. So, with so many good points, is it the ultimately phone? No, there are some drawbacks to this as well. First this one doesnot support a wifi, which is a must these days. Second it has a 2MP camera, come-on Nokia, 2MP? The bare minimum you should be giving is 3.2 with flash. 2MP is not acceptable. Also, it is a 3G phone without video calling? How could Nokia do this?
Now moving on to the next market leaders, Samsung. Understanding the market and the need for touchphone
Samsung released a series of touchphones and yes in less than 10K. Though these phones are not smartphones, but you can install Java applications in these phones. There are so many phones, with almost equal features that it is not possible to get all the details of these phones here. But I will try to give the most I can. Starting with the 3G version, Samsung Star 3G is a great landmark. Star 3G is a great phone, with great touch screen, 3G, Video Calling, great features, 3.2 MP camera and at a price Rs.9856/-. The non-3g is also good. It has the wifi, and almost similar features but a bit bigger than 3g at a price Rs.8654/-. Then Samsung releases a Corby series. All Corby phones are non-3g, and non-wifi. But it has many social widgets on the homescreen and the target audience was the young generations. Samsung Corby S3653@Rs.7692/-,
Corby Pop S3510@Rs.6827 /-, Corby Plus B3410@Rs.8749 /-. To install java applications on Samsung phone please go through my other blog. All these phones have the touchwiz interface with widgets for fast action and use on the homescreen itself.
Moving to LG Mobiles. LG has some great mobile phones, but when somehow this 10K market has been missed out. It has only one phone LG Cookie released at Rs.7212/-. The phone has a good touchscreen, and some great features. But it is a non-3g, non-wifi phone. It has the features of widgets on the home screen and it is customizable. It has a good 3.2 MP decent camera, and 8GB expandable memory. It has support for EMail, Instant Messaging. It also supports Java applications.
There are other touch phones as well from so many companies. We have Motorola E6, Spice, Fly, Simocco and others who have touchscreen phones. But I should mention, most of these touch screens are useable with a stylus. But when we have touchscreen phones which we can use with our fingers, these phones with stylus is a big no from me. But I should mention of the new company Movi. They have a good dual sim touch screen phone MT1.
Tech update for everyone 