Google Barcode Scanning Integration For Mobile Devices

Ever since Google's Product search has been integrated onto mobile devices, people have been pleased with the convenient way to look for items. But, considering laziness is becoming a growing part of our society these days, people are losing patience it takes to type in or speak the product name they wish to search for. Well, being the user friendly service that Google is, they have decided to make it easier for you to search for things using their new barcode scanner app.

Google revealed the Android version of their Product Search that is now integrated with barcode scanning functionality. The process is simple, just head on over to Google.com and select "shopping" from the "more" page. Then follow the step by step instructions and download the latest version of Google's barcode scanner and your ready to roll. Now all you have to do is go on over to the Product Search page, hit "Scan Barcode", position the red line in the center, and Google takes care of it from there.

Google's barcode scanning works best for products like video games, books, electronics, movies, or things like that. However, Google is working on adding more and more barcodes from other products. If you scan an item and you do not receive a result, that just means that Google has yet to add that barcode. But don't fret, you can still type in your search or speak it in, just like before.

A new way to shop for Android owners. Now all you have to do is go around scanning things with your phone, which is much easier than trying to steal your own scanner from the store or lugging your desired unmarked item to the one scanner in the store you can never find.

A Quick Glance at LG Dare

Mobile phones today just seem to keep pushing the limits of what can be done from the palm of your hand, especially when it comes to Verizon Wireless’ sleek LG Dare. Whether it is the enhanced 3-inch touch screen that can give tactile feedback, the 3.2 megapixel camera with autofocus face detection, or the Bluetooth stereo support for listening to V CAST Music with Rhapsody, the LG Dare is ready to cater to every possible want or need from a phone through Verizon Wireless. The Dare’s chic, modern design and slick, lightweight body only add to its multitude of enhanced features.

It has fantastic versatility with the option of utilizing the 3-inch touch screen or the virtual QWERTY keyboard. The 3.2 megapixel camera and camcorder can capture just about anything using SmartPic technology which offers superior image quality and automatic face detection. The image can even be immediately edited through the Dare’s enhanced image editor. Even listening to music on the LG Dare is a breeze. With the ability to sync music from V CAST Music with Rhapsody to the Dare you can listen to whatever you want when you want it. The mobile phone can also turn into a music player capable of playing MP3, WMA, and other associated audio files. The Dare also has the ability to preset the sound effect equalizer, make and manage playlists, and multitask while listening to music. Its microSD memory port can support up to 8GB and has mass USB storage.

Other amazing qualities of the LG Dare would be its Bluetooth capabilities, speaker-independent voice commands, and handwriting recognition. It can hold up to 1000 contacts and has all the general features of most LG phones. It has the capability to have mobile email, VZ Navigator with touch navigation, HTML web browsing, and access to a media download center featuring ringtones, games, and more. The LG Dare is an advanced masterpiece that few can compare to, and considering Verizon’s fantastic service, the unbeatable features of the Dare, and the reasonable price point, what could possibly be a better deal?

Gigabyte T1028 TouchNote

The Gigabyte T1028 is a one of the coolest little laptops I have seen recently. Announced back at CeBIT 2009, the T1028 is pretty neat. It has 10.1 inch 1042 x 600 LED backlit display which is standard on the device. It also has an Intel N280 1.66GHz processor or you can get it with the Atom N270 1.6GHz processor. It only comes with 1GB of RAM but is upgradeable to 2GB. The coolest features if this laptop has got to be the screen. Not only does the screen rotate for left and right and other directions, it is also a touch screen.

The feature list of this machine is also pretty good. It comes with the Windows XP Home operating system, Mobile Intel 945GSE Express Chipset, 10.1 inch TFT-LCD WSVGA 1024x600 LED backlit display, 2.5 inch 9.5mm SATA HDD 5400, 3 USB 2.0 ports, 1 mic in port, one earphone out port, D-Sub, RJ45, Express Card, 4-in-1 card reader, and 1 DC in port.

The T1028 also has 2 1.5 watt speakers, built-in V2.1 bluetooth, a 1.3M pixel webcam, Ethernet 10/100BASE-T for LAN, 802.11 b/g/h/ wireless LAN or 802.16WiMAX wireless LAN which is optional, HSDPA support, and a Lithium-ion 4 cell battery which gives you around 4hrs of battery life or a Lithium-ion 6 cell battery for around 6hrs of battery life.

Also included by Gigabyte is their Smart Manager App. It provides the user with the ability to change between stylus or finger buttons which toggles screen rotation, the touch screen, adjusts brightness, turns the wireless on or off.

This little guy is definitely worth looking at. The rotating touch screen is definitley a high selling point but the other features are also really good.

BlackBerry Curve Rises Above Apple iPhone

Smartphones are the popular way to go right now for cell phone users. The possibilities with such a device are endless and people all over the world are finding new things to do with them.

Apple's iPhone has long been the reigning champion in the smartphone market but now a new device has dethroned the "king" and taken the spot as number one. According to the Q1 smartphone sales released by the NPD group, Blackberry phones took three out of the top five positions and took out the iPhone 3G from the top spot. This is mainly due to the fact that the Curve is available on the four biggest U.S. cell phone carries and the fact that Verizon is giving a special buy one get one free sale for the Curve. Aside from the Curve, the other top spots were grabbed by the Storm and the G1.

But how did the Curve topple the iPhone 3G? The availability of four major carriers helps, considering the iPhone is still restricted to AT&T. The price is also better than that of the iPhone coming in at $99 with a two-year contract. A trend for Apple which could have helped them get bumped is that RIM's share of the market in smartphones jumped from 15% to a nice 50% whereas Apple saw shares drop 10%.

But who knows? People could be delaying their iPhone buying for both models due to the thought that Apple's new iPhone model may be announced next month. But one shouldn't underestimate the BlackBerry products. Their smartphones are among some of the best on the market with an added boost from low prices and a wide availability of carriers. You can get the Curve on four different carriers for $99 whereas you can only get the iPhone 3G on AT&T for a higher $199. The iPhone is still a good product and it will be interesting to see how the Curve and iPhone do against each other in the upcoming months.

Hulu App Rumored For Iphone

Engadget has just reported that Hulu is in the process of making an app for the iPhone and iPod touch that would allow apple users to watch hulu videos on their phone. The app is reported allow users to watch videos over both the wi-fi and 3G network.

About Hulu
"Hulu is an online video service that offers hit TV shows, movies and clips at Hulu.com and other online destination sites — all for free, anytime in the U.S." Hulu is pretty much a youtube that has full length tv shows, movies, and clips for free, but at the cost of 30 second commercials every 15 minutes. Check it out yourself at Hulu.com

Hulu will not be the first company though to come out with an app like this. CBS’s TV.com, Joost, and i. TV all have similar apps, but none of these have near the fan base that Hulu has. The app is rumored to be scheduled to be released in the next few months on apple app store.

Google Android is Not Science Fiction

The iPhone is one of the most wide spread phenomina since the rubix cube, with thousands of aps and just as many options it has become a top contender in wireless communications. Have you ever looked at your iPhone and wonder what drives it? Android is the underlying foundation and operating system developed by Google and later enhanced by Open Handset Alliance for mobile devices. The system relies on the Linux kernel for core system services such as security, memory management, process management, network stack, and driver model. Android allows developers to write managed code in the Java language, controlling the device via Google-developed Java libraries. Applications can be written in other languages such as C but the paths may not be supported by Google.

The Android Platform was released in November 5, 2007 along with the forming of the Alliance consisting of 48 hardware, software and telecom companies devoted to advancing open standards for mobile devices. Android was released by Google under the free-software and open source license Apache. Open source makes it harder for the “search giant” to corner the market in wireless aps. The Android project just keeps growing, with giant companies coming on board; like Sony Ericson and Toshiba. However, Blackberry and Palm are notably in the game.

Many other companies are creating phones that will run Android like Moterolla, Acer, Sony Ericson, and Samsung all of whom are planning to release Android based phones in 2009.

Android is not without its criticisms, Wikipedia reports:

“Tethering (internet connectivity to a laptop or pc via the cell phone) is forbidden by T-Mobile USA and Google has banned such applications for their customers. However, tethering applications are still available for non T-Mobile USA users.[100] This also means that the apps can be carrier specific as chosen by Google.[101]

Android uses a Linux kernel, but does not contain a full Linux stack. Its specific nature makes it difficult to reuse existing Linux applications or libraries.[102]

Android does not use established Java standards, i.e. Java SE and ME. This prevents compatibility among Java applications written for those platforms and those for the Android platform. Android only reuses the Java language syntax, but does not provide the full-class libraries and APIs bundled with Java SE or ME.[103]”

At only a year and a half old Android has taken the country by storm and while it does have its limitations I am certain that this is only a foundation of bigger things to come, and I think it is safe to say we will all be looking forward to what comes next.

Apple iPhone OS 3.0

The iPhone. One of the amazing marvels of modern technology. There is already so much you can do with the iPhone and you may be wondering what else is there? Could there possibly be anything else? Well iPhone enthusiasts, I have great news, there is.

On March 17, Apple announced the schematics of the iPhone OS 3.0 , the latest version of the most advanced mobile platform in the world. But that isn't all Apple had in store for the audience. Apple, in addition to showing off the innovative features, gave members of the iPhone Developer Program instant access to the beta of the iPhone OS 3.0 software and SDK with over 1,000 entirely new API's.

Everything just keeps getting better and better for all of you iPhone users. The iPhone OS 3.0 will have 100 new features when it hits this summer. Among these new features is the ability to search your iPhone, cut, copy, and paste things, send photos, contacts, audio files, and location MMS, and even read and compose email and text messages in landscape. These combined with the big list of other features is sure to get any iPhone user all tingly in their stomach.

In addition to 100 new features is the 1,000 new API's for developers. Members of the iPhone Developer Program can build applications that do more with the new SDK(software developers kit). With this, developers will be equipped with the tools that allow them to enable in-app purchases, including subscriptions, additional game levels, and even new content. Developers can also create apps that connect peer to peer through Bluetooth as well as communicate with hardware accessories and use Apple Push Notification service to provide alerts.

Also with the SDK you get the ability to embed maps within your applications with the new Map Kit framework. The Map Kit works with Google Mobile Maps Service which features panning and zooming current location, geocoding, and custom annotations. You can also get iPod Library access. With this you can access music, podcasts, or audio books in from a user's iPod library directly from your application via the updated Media Player Framework. This allows you to play, repeat, and shuffle songs or entire playlists. You can even create sequences of songs using custom sequences. Also with the SDK you can use the new External Accessory framework. Now you can communicate with "Made for iPod" hardware accessories attached to iPhone or iPod Touch by wirelessly using Bluetooth or by using the 30-pin dock connector.

Needless to say iPhone users will be more than pleased with the new Apple iPhone OS 3.0 and SDK. iPhone enthusiasts have a lot to look forward to when this hits this summer.