Sunday, January 27, 2008

Nokia N82 mobile phone

Nokia's flagsip mobile phone is the N95 8GB, but that still hasn't stopped the Finish company from launching the N82 a pseudo N95 with a focus on the digital camera elements rather than an overall multimedia device. But is it just a candy bar version of the N95? We get phoning to find out.


Described as "the latest multimedia computer optimized for photography, navigation and internet connectivity" the Nokia N82 is a candy bar handset that comes in a plastic and metal finish. Dimensions are 112 x 50.2 x 17.3 mm while it weighs 114g slightly lighter than the N95.

Tech specs include A-GPS, a 5-megapixel camera, Xenon flash, Carl Zeiss optics and internet connectivity alongside HSDPA and Bluetooth connectivity.

The design, which is large and fat is also confusing to use with too many menu shortcut buttons cluttering the keypad. Do you really need two dedicated menu buttons for example? In fact there are 12 shortcut keys beyond the 12 numeric keys, all of which are fiddly and like Sony Ericsson's W880 prickly to use.

If that wasn't enough buttons for you, then there are a further four buttons on the top side for the camera function and that's not including the on/off switch or the lens cover slider for the camera.

Compared to the iPhone's four buttons, the tally of 29 is impressive.

Get past the buttons and the, in our mind, ugly design, and you've got the Symbian S60 software interface as found on most of the Nokia N series handsets.

With two menu buttons you have two ways of looking at the applications in addition to the home page and you can either opt for a rotating page system (which works like Apple's Coverflow interface) or for the more traditional amongst us via icons in a grid formation.

Applications of note here are the A-GPS and preinstalled Nokia Maps that allow you to find your way around and users can buy additional features, such as city guides and longer subscription to the navigation.

The A-GPS works extremely well in locking on to a GPS signal when you are in doors and compared to the first N95, finding where you are is a lot quicker.

Additionally maps have now been stored on the device from the start meaning you don't have to download as you go, again speeding up finding directions and you can get voice guidance so you don't have to look at the small screen to know where to turn next however this is an optional paid for extra.

Map excerpts and routes can be sent to friends by MMS or users can save map screen shots to the gallery.

Like the Nokia N95, one of the main reasons to get the N82 is the 5 megapixel camera. Exactly the same as the N95 the only difference here is the inclusion of a Xenon flash, the same as the Samsung G800, and picture quality was good.

The camera is more responsive than the first N95, comes with autofocus with a dedicated autofocus assist lamp, fast reloading between shots and DVD-like quality video capture however it doesn't have an optical zoom as found in the G800.

Thanks to the 2GB microSD card in the standard Nokia N82 box, you can store up to 900 high-resolution photos or up to 84 minutes of high quality video on the device, although customers opting for the N95 8GB will clearly be able to store more of everything.

Like the N95 the N82 has Wi-Fi connectivity and one-click upload to online communities allowing you to share content to flickr or Vox.

Games wise the phone supports the N-Gage platform and games are vastly improved on previous efforts from Nokia outside of the N-Gage handsets however we found it frustrating that you aren't able to opt to rotate the screen to play landscape.

Source: pocket-lint.co.uk

Manchester United Mobile Game Announced for April

Jump Games, an important developer of games across mobile platform and part of Reliance Entertainment, just announced that it was open for business in Europe
on the eve of the Mobile Gaming Forum. It also revealed an exclusive global deal to design, develop and distribute mobile games with one of the most popular football clubs in the world – Manchester United Football Club. The company announced that it intends to develop six Manchester United mobile games during 2008.

The European launch and global announcement of 'Official Mobile Games Partner of Manchester United' were celebrated in London in which a video message from Sir Alex Ferguson stated: "Manchester United, all of us, are delighted in our new arrangement with Jump Games. I think it's a fantastic venture. And to all our fans all over the world it's an opportunity to get yourselves involved in it."

There was also a presentation from 1990 World Cup central defender and ex-Manchester United player Paul Parker.

Commenting on the launch, CEO of Jump Games, Salil Bhargava said: "We’re pleased to be moving into a new phase for the business at a time when so much interest is focused on the mobile platform and its development beyond voice revenues. Our association with Manchester United is the ideal platform for us to further strengthen our offerings and reach out to a much larger set of audiences worldwide."

The first of the six Manchester United mobile games, called 'MANCHESTER UNITED Word It!' will be available on all top operators globally. On the occasion, MUmobile Manager, Mike Dunphy commented: "Working with Jump Games, a leading games developer in the mobile space, will mean that fans will be able to extend their experience of Manchester United, increasing their knowledge and enjoyment of the brand, wherever they are in the world."

There will be six games available in Europe in 2008. The first game will be priced between three and five Euros and around three UK Pounds. Other network charges may apply. Further IP partnerships will be announced during the course of the year.

Source: softpedia.com

Saturday, January 26, 2008

Cell Phone Hack (receive police transmissions)

Shinya Kasatani has developed PocketGuitar, a native iPhone virtual guitar

Samsung G600 and its 5 Megapixel Camera Go Pink

Samsung announced that its 5 Megapixel G600 phone will be available in the UK in a new pink version, obviously preparing the handset for the Valentine's Day frenzy. So we have yet another Samsung

phone for girls, after the recently announced Samsung L310 and Samsung L320 or the older models that we lost track of. What the pink version of G600 brings new is the fact that it is UK's first mobile phone with a 5 Megapixel camera that gets dressed in this color.

As I'm not a girl nor a boy that enjoys pink too much, I don't find the new look of G600 too appealing, but I'm sure others will. Besides, the girly cover hides the same specs that the original phone does, which means it's the same high-end device that won the "Phone of the Year" title in 2007.

Samsung G600 measures 101 x 47.8 x 14.9 millimeters, weighs 104 grams and offers a 2.2 inch, 240 x 320 pixels TFT display. Its 5 Megapixel photo camera comes with Auto focus, image stabilizer, flash and video (VGA) recording, being one of the most evolved cameras integrated by Samsung into a mobile phone. The slider supports quad-band GSM connectivity (850, 900, 1800 and 1900 MHz) as well as EDGE and GPRS Class 10. 3G is missing, but under the pink case of the handset users will find other features like Media Player, Bluetooth 2.0 with A2DP, USB 2.0, WAP 2.0/xHTML, NetFront 3.4 browser, e-mail capabilities, Java MDIP 2.0, Stereo FM radio, TV out, microSD card support and built-in hands-free.

We're not sure if the pink version of Samsung G600 will make it to other countries except UK, but we do know that those living there can buy the phone starting this month from O2, The Carphone Warehouse, T-Mobile, Orange, Virgin Mobile and Phones 4U.

Source: softpedia.com

New Virtual Keyboard Imagined by Nokia

Nokia keeps on filing patent applications with the clear intention to make future improvements in the way users interact with mobile phones. After a patent filed in December

2007 for a 2 in 1 keypad idea, now the Finnish company has another keyboard-related idea, but this time we are talking about a virtual one (the keyboard, not the idea).

The new concept requires, first of all, a phone with a built-in camera and optical sensors and comes to enhance the way we write text messages or e-mails on our phones – we all know it's not really the fastest way to do it, due to handsets' reduced sizes. Samsung has found a way to overcome this drawback, by adding projectors to phones, in order to project a virtual (and large) display that will enable easy text input. However, this is also just a concept and it will be a while until it can be functional.

Nokia, in return, comes with a virtual keyboard that doesn't require additional equipment, since photo cameras are now becoming common for most mobile phones. The patent application, entitled "Mobile device with virtual keyboard", reveals an entirely new concept: the main idea is to use the built-in camera for capturing user's fingers movement. As seen in the picture from the patent, the phone would sit in a special cradle, in a vertical position, while the user types behind it, allowing the camera to record its moves and send the data in real time to the phone's screen, where both a virtual keypad and the entered text are displayed. Furthermore, the handset would also come with sensors capable of capturing vibrations and sound generated by users and translate them into input commands, but we don't have more details about how exactly this works.

While some might say that text input could be simply done with a hardware QWERTY keyboard (like the ones packed in Nokia E90 Communicator or HTC TyTN), the new virtual keypad from Nokia might be a much better option. Or at least that's how it seems now, when the keypad is only a concept. Nevertheless, this idea is surely interesting and may really improve the text input on mobile phones but, as any new concept, it has to overcome many implementation difficulties until it becomes usable.

Source: softpedia.com

Friday, January 25, 2008

BlackBerry Pearl 8110, of which we first heard at the end of 2007, was officially released by Vodafone Spain and RIM, coming as one of the smallest and lightest smartphones to date and the first Pearl handset with built-in GPS.


Despite the fact that it measures 107 x 55 x 14 mm and weighs only 91 g, BlackBerry Pearl 8110 packs lots of goodies, starting with the GPS capabilities that, together with the Vodafone GPS Navigator, will provide quick searches for business locations and other points-of-interest as well as audible directions while driving. The handset also comes with a QWERTY SureType keyboard and the BlackBerry trackball navigation system to offer an excellent mobile experience. A 2 Megapixel camera with enhanced flash, 5x digital zoom and video capture support will allow users to take pictures at a decent quality and make clips at a maximum 240 x 180 resolution.

The feature list for the new BlackBerry goes on and unveils EDGE, GPRS, Bluetooth 2.0 with A2DP, 3.5 mm stereo headset jack, Media player and Media manager, SIVR (Speaker Independent Voice Recognition) for Voice Activated Dialing (VAD), Document viewer (PDF, Word, Excel and Powerpoint) and microSD/SDHC card slot for up to 8GB of extra memory. Unfortunately, we have no 3G in this little Pearl, although many BlackBerry fans hoped for it. However, the other features that the device packs can still make it perfect for customers on the move.

Vodafone Spain offers the Pearl 8110 for 89 Euro (about $130), but only with a BlackBerry data plan and a "25 Más" voice plan, so we should expect the smartphone to have a much higher retail price. There are no details about the future markets to get the BlackBerry Pearl 8110, but it will surely be available soon in other European countries as well as in North America.

Source: softpedia.com

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