Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Samsung's Wave is World's First DivX HD Phone

Samsung Wave and Galaxy SI know all of you are out there drooling over the thought of having DivX-encoded 720p greatness on your new incredi-phone. And if that is the case then look no further than Samsung. Well, at least look no further than Samsung if you want it as soon as possible. The Korean based company has just announced that its Bada-infused Wave handset is going to be the the very first phone with certified support for DivX HD playback.

The Wave isn't the only mobile device trying to reach this desired goal. Samsung is also working on the Galaxy S, an Android-based handset, getting the DivX HD treatment as well. Samsung was the first to incorporate DivX certification in their mobile devices so it isn't surprising to see them being the first ones to incorporate DivX HD. According to CEO of DivX Incorporated Kevin Hell, "Samsung Electronics has demonstrated ongoing innovation in the field of mobile devices, featuring high quality phones that offer users an experience of art."

Hell went on to say, "We are very pleased to extend our collaboration with Samsung to present the first terminal in the world capable of reproducing, in a stunning, HD DivX video on this revolutionary mobile platform." In a statement from Vice President of Business Samsung Mobile Communications Younghee Lee, "We were delighted to be the first manufacturer to offer consumers a DivX certified mobile phone in 2007. Since then we have continued to work together to help develop the experience of mobile video. Now we expand further this spirit of innovation with the first DivX HD mobile terminals, two models based on industry leading platforms for innovative smartphones."

I know people are going to be psyched about this new development between Samsung and DivX. It seems that Samsung has finally found a use for the incredible Super AMOLED displays that both the Wave and the Galaxy S have built in.




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Monday, March 22, 2010

Dell's New Android Phone Coming to AT&T

Dell's New Android Phone Coming to AT&T
The Aero, Dell's new Android-based smartphone, is coming to AT&T the carrier has announced. They were not very specific about what you can expect but they promise to have more details soon. Pricing and release dates have not been revealed either. Basically, the only thing they did confirm is that the Aero is an Android phone and it will include an alternate user interface created especially for it by Dell.

And apparently the Aero is just a re-branded version of Dell's original smartphone that took advantage of Google's Operating System: the Dell Mini 3iX. At least that's the rumor among online tech geeks. They are basing this on pictures of the new phone, which are very similar to the the Mini 3iX. Specs for the Mini 3iX included a 3.5-inch screen, GPS, 360 x 640 touchscreen, 3.2 megapixel camera, a microSD memory card, Wi-Fi, 3G, and Bluetooth.

There are also rumors floating around that AT&T will be picking up a second Android-based smartphone from Dell in near future. The phone, the Dell Mini 5, will be bigger than the Mini 3iX, with a 5-inch display, a WVGA (800 x 600 pixel) resolution, and be a capacitive touch screen with support for multi-touch. Whether or not and when it will be released in the United States is not known at this time.



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Thursday, March 18, 2010

Verizon's HTC Incredible May Be Closer Than You Think

HTC IncredibleConfirmation has set in. A word from sources at Verizon Wireless announced that the highly anticipated HTC Incredible is supposed to begin arriving at Verizon stores in two weeks. This isn't that surprising considering the fact that Verizon recently announced that it was beginning a test deployment of Android 2.1 to the Motorola Droid smartphones. Android 2.1 is the OS that is speculated to power the Incredible.

Android 2.1 has a lot of cool features. It adds pinch-to-zoom in the browser, better voice-to-text support, animated wallpapers and tweaks to Google Maps. The Droid is already operating under the Android 2.0 OS but received a slight bump up to the Android 2.0.1 OS through an over-the-air update. But most people are focused on the HTC Incredible, which may turn out to be the slickest Android handset on the market.

According to most reports on the device, the Incredible will boast a 1GHz Qualcomm QSD 8250 SnapDragon ARM CPU as well as 512MB of DRAM, exactly like the Nexus One. Different from the Nexus One, the Incredible's CPU will be underclocked to 768MHz. Some people may frown on the underclocking but even so it should prove to be more than enough speed to run almost any app as well as providing longer talk time than the Nexus One.

The Incredible comes with an 8-megapixel camera with a noticeably larger lens than that of the Nexus One. The camera does make the Incredible ever so thicker than the Nexus One coming in at 117.5x58.5x11.9mm. Another rumor floating around about the Incredible is the addition of 6GB of flash, a microSD expansion slot and an FM tuber with a standard 1300 mAh battery. What carrying the Incredible could mean for Verizon is that they may hold off on the Nexus One for now. However, Sprint is wasting no time on getting the Nexus One out on the its powerful 3G network.

A lot of people are excited for the HTC Incredible. It looks like major U.S. networks besides AT&T have, for the most part, abandoned the Apple iPhone. Most companies are now hotly pursuing the deployment of new Android handsets. The next iPhone is supposed to come out this summer and could see a substantial challenge from the Nexus One an Sprint, AT&T and T-Mobile as well as the HTC Incredible on Verizon.




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Tuesday, March 16, 2010

Solar Powered iPhone Charger

solar powered iphone chargerMuzatch is a company that wants to make a difference. They are designing their gadgets in an attempt to make them more energy efficient. They currently have just released the Muzatch MZH-1200 iPhone solar charger. This little compact devise only weighs 9.8 ounces and also has the ability to charge iPods.

Solarologist, founder, and co-CEO of Muzatch, Willie E. Nason, says that, "with the need to move towards a more energy efficient nation, by investing in renewable sources of energy, it was imperative that we seek solar energy not only for our homes and businesses, but our electronic devices as well, and make it affordable."

The company says that the charger will last for over four years of continued daily use, and it will carry out over 2,000 different uses. It has a four LED charging indicator system that lets you know when it’s ready to go.

You can get the charger from Muzatch’s website. It’s list price is $49.95, and you have the choice of five different colors (black, white, blue, silver, and green).



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Sunday, March 14, 2010

More People Using Phones for Social Networking

More People Using Phones for Social Networking
There's no doubt that social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter are becoming more and more popular, but the way people access these sites is changing. In January, over 10% of smartphone users accessed a social networking site with their phones; that's over 5% more than January 2009.

That means that during that month, one in three smartphone users accessed a social networking website with their mobile browsers. According to ComScore, a web metrics firm, Facebook saw a 112% increase in mobile web suers, while Twitter saw a whopping 347% increase. Because the numbers came from the users who access the websites through their mobile web browser, it did not include the almost six million users who mobile applications to access these websites.

Mark Donovan, the senior VP of mobile at ComScore, said in a statement, "Social networking remains one of the most popular and fastest-growing behaviors on both the PC-based Internet and the mobile Web. Social media is a natural sweet spot for mobile since mobile devices are at the center of how people communicate with their circle of friends, whether by phone, text, email, or, increasingly, accessing social networking sites via a mobile browser."

Despite the overwhelming increase in Twitter users, Facebook still reigns as the most popular social networking site. Facebook more than doubled MySpace with its 25 million mobile browser users in January. Twitter saw 4.7 million mobile web users. And not only is social networking on smartphones seeing an increase, more and more people are using smartphones to access the web in general. At the end of 2009, 17% of mobile phone users were using smartphones, vs 11% at the end of 2008.




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Sunday, March 7, 2010

Google's New Gesture Search for Android

Google's New Gesture Search for Android
Google has announced that it has created "Gesture Search," a feature that allows users to search through files on their Android smartphones by tracing a letter such as "A" on the phone's screen. It's supposed to learn from your search history to improve your search quality and is currently available for phones that run Android 2.0 or higher. This is just one of many things Google has done recently to increase its smartphone operating system's viability in the current market. It also comes as companies such as Google, Microsoft, and Apple have been working to create various forms of mobile search for their smartphones.

The features works well with Google's Nexus One, which uses Anroid 2.1. Other phones are supposed to upgrade to 2.1 throughout the rest of the year, including the Motorola Droid. It allows users to search their contacts, applications, bookmarks, songs, and other items.

And if your handwriting isn't too neat, that's okay. If you draw an "A" that looks like an "H," results from both letters will be displayed. If you need to erase something, just swipe your finger horizontally through the query.

You can download the app from Android Market and as for now, it's only available in English. The app joins the recent release of Google Earth for Android 2.1, which allows users to access places on a map via voice-recognition. It also allows users to see satellite and 3D views of almost any place on earth, just like the web version.

Google entered the smartphone market with the release of the Nexus One in early January.

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Monday, March 1, 2010

Choosing a Bluetooth

choosing a bluetoothIt is becoming increasingly popular to have a Bluetooth headset. Well, you’ve got to admit that it is much easier to talk on the phone hands-free. This way you are able to multi-task, which is something that we all seem to need to do these days.

Now picking a Bluetooth may seem a little overwhelming. There are tons of styles, brands, and features to consider when you start the hunt for the perfect headset for you. The feel and fit are extremely important, because if its not comfortable on your ear than you are not going to want to use it. Other important factors to consider include design and style, battery life, and sound quality. Here are what many feel are the seven most important things to consider when choosing your Bluetooth headset:

1. Call Quality
As talking on the phone is the whole point of having a headset, the quality of the call is probably the most important factor to think about. The quality of calls greatly varies from one headset to the next. Finally, some of the smaller, more stylish headsets have boosted their call quality to match that of the larger devices, even though they have smaller speakers and microphones. Researching call quality of headsets is essential before choosing a Bluetooth.

2. Comfort
As I said before, the feel and fit of the headset is something to definitely pay attention to. If you don’t feel comfortable with the Bluetooth in your ear, than you most likely will not use it. Many people enjoy the feeling of headsets featuring rubber earbuds that sit part of the way in your ear. They say that it creates a feeling of being secure without being too tight. There are also many other models where the earpiece sits instead on the edge of your ear. It really all just depends on personal preferences.

3. Noise Cancellation
Noise cancellation can be an extremely helpful feature found on many headsets. This feature was introduced by Alphi’s original Jawbone and has since taken off. Many Bluetooth’s have the ability to turn the noise cancellation feature on or off according to whether or not you are in a noisy room. This really can help with your phone conversations more than you probably can imagine.

4. Battery Life
No matter how much time you’re really going to be spending on your headset, battery life is important. You don’t want to have to deal with the frustration of going to use your Bluetooth only to find it dead. When examining the different Bluetooth models, it really unfortunately seems like the bigger the device the better the battery life. The smaller headsets are just unable to stay alive for long amounts of time due to the fact that there’s not enough room to have a large battery.

5. Range
There really isn’t tons of variation in range due to the fact that Bluetooth technology is limited to a range of 33 feet, but it is still something to pay attention to. Most likely you will be able to make it anywhere between 10-15 feet away before static begins to interrupt your conversation with most headsets. Just make sure that your device doesn’t have a range below these numbers.

6. Style
For those who think that Bluetooth’s may look silly or weird, producers are beginning to release much more stylish devices. Many manufacturers are now offering headsets in variety of styles, colors, and textures. They are also trying to make them smaller and less noticeable. Hopefully this will draw the attention of the more skeptical people who could benefit from the use of a headset.

7. Mono vs. Stereo Sound
You don’t really have to worry much about mono sound. Most of the Bluetooth sets out there have mono sound and fit in one ear, but if you feel that you might be able to utilize stereo sound than you need to examine headsets a little closer. This could be used to provide stereo music wirelessly for instances like working out. These sets are dual-eared pieces. With devices such as these you are able to listen to music and calls quite easily.

Now that I have discussed the essential elements to consider when purchasing a Bluetooth headset, here are a few different devices that you might be looking at:

Motorola Endeavor HX1
$159.99
This device is a very popular headset choice. It has great call quality, efficient noise cancellation, and a battery life of over eight hours. This is notably impressive due to the fact that the Bluetooth itself is really very medium-sized. It should be noted that the earpiece may not fit entirely well for everyone, but this is definitely a device worth exploring further.

Plantronics Discovery 975
$129.99
This model is considered to be the most stylish of Plantonics’ headsets. It has good call quality and noise cancellation, and it comes with a charger that triples its talk time which can come in handy.

Motorola MotoROKR S9-HD
$129.99
This was one of the first reasonably-priced headsets to have good call quality. It doesn’t have the best voice call abilities, but its not bad. Just as a side note, people will be able to tell you’re on a headset, because there is an increased amount of room echo when making calls.

Plantronics Voyager Pro
$99.99
This headset is not know for it’s chic style or anything like that, but when it comes to functionality, the Voyager Pro comes through. This headset offers some of the best sound quality, in any environment, that you could ask for. It also has a very comfortable fit and a long battery life. The device is very large, but if you’re looking for a good quality and price over looks, this could be the headset for you.

Nokia BH-905
$299.99
This headset was specifically designed with music-lovers in mind. It has a fantastic wired stereo mode that is crisp and clean. Many also say that it is extremely comfortable to wear which is important. It doesn’t have the best noise cancellation, but it really isn’t bad at all.

Aliph Jawbone Icon
$99.99
This device is the first to offer an apps platform for a Bluetooth headset. It allows you to customize voice prompts, add local searches, and more. The Icon is known for its excellent call quality and fantastic noise cancellation abilities. I does have problems with short battery life though.

Plantronics Voyager 520
$79.95
Honestly, this is a great Bluetooth headset to consider if you’re on a budget. It has good call quality and an amazing battery life of close to 9 hours. The issue is that the Voyager 520 does not feature noise cancellation which can be quite frustrating at times. It also is quite large compared to some of the newer headsets. If these things don’t bother you though, than the Voyager 520 might suit you just fine.






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