IPhone 16GB or HTC Diamond?

Question:
I wanna buy a smartphone. The iphone is a bit more pricely but I like it for the name lol. My sister says the iphone is fragile and wont last.....which one?
Answer:
Iphone, my dad recently ( 2 months ago ) brought the HTC Diamond it frustrating isn't very compatible and is actually scratch's easily, he wishes he forked out the extra couple of hundred to get an iphone the iphone does every you need in smart phonene besides if you buy a cover and screen Protectoror you wont break ur iphone, the only advantages of the HTC diamond is its cheaper and smaller besides that the iphone is vastly Superioror and more fun !

HTC publish new widgets for Hero and Eris

HTC tweeted this yesterday evening:

Four new widgets:

• Dice
• Battery
• Today in History
• Tip calculator

There were several negative reviews of these in the Marketplace, with reviewers reporting that “the app doesn’t run”.  In fact, I had the same initial experience when, after the notification of completed installation, I tapped the “Open” button to run Battery.  Then I remembered that these are WIDGETS.  They cannot be launched like a regular app, and must be added to your desktop from the list of HTC Widgets.  They all work very well on my Hero and have a nice polished look.

The Battery widget is perhaps the most useful; tap it and get a detailed summary of your battery’s condition.  I like the way the battery bubbles when charging.

The Dice are fun.  Shake your phone to throw them.

“Today in History” (requires a full page on your Hero’s desktop) is interesting and educational.  I have certainly learnt a few things already.  It links off to web resources for more details.

“Tip calculator” (requires a row on your desktop) does what it says on the in.

If you have a Hero or Eris, get down to your Marketplace and give these new widgets a spin.

[Via http://blog.3dbloke.com]

Sprint HTC Hero vs Samsung Instinct HD?

Question:
Which phone is better?
Do they both get free apps?
Can either phone multitask?
What are some other features on either phone that may persuade me to choose it over the other?

Thank you very much for you assistance in this matter
Answer:
Instinct HD

OTA update for Droid Eris coming sooner than you think

It is the week of showering updates at Verizon. At the start of this week, they announced the roll out OTA update for Motorola Droid, and now they are doing the same for Droid Eris from HTC. The update has version number 1.16.605.1 and brings SMS/MMS improvements and more.

Droid Eris  1.16.605.1 features

The HTC Droid Eris update with version number 1.16.605.1 includes numerous improvements and updateswhich are:

• While on a call and the device is in screensaver mode, pressing the End key now takes the device out of screensaver mode, and a second press will end the call.
• On-call mute and speakerphone icon functionality is enhanced.
• Upgraded functionality after activation eliminates the delay users were experiencing in receiving their first call.
• Device now switches effectively from 1x mode to 3G.
• Device no longer requires users to reselect a default email after power-cycling.
• SMS and MMS messaging delivery is improved.
• Eighty-character MMS/SMS message subject lines are now allowed
• Improved picture messaging functionality allows messages from LG phones to be opened.

[Via http://afkoffline.wordpress.com]

Samsung S3650 Corby vs HTC Touch 2

Samsung Corby S3650 and HTC Touch2 are the latest gorgeous mobiles with chocolate bar design and glossy finish exteriors. Both the mobiles come with simple yet elegant casing with curved contours which enables the users to hold handsets comfortably in hand while calling and convenient to carry them inside pockets. The users will get all the improved functions and multimedia features which they wish for.

Networking options

Samsung S3650 Corby

• Samsung S3650 Corby and HTC Touch comes with the support of working on 2G networks with GSM bandwidths of 850, 900, 1800, and 1900MHz frequency range.
• The Samsung Corby in addition to 2G networking options is also compatible to operate on 3G networks with UMTS bandwidths with frequency range of 2100 MHz.
• The HTC Touch2 comes with support of 3G networking with HSDPA bandwidths of 900 and 2100MHz frequency range.

Camera features

1. Both the handsets come with high quality digital cameras that can take really good still photographs and shoot videos too.
2. The HTC Touch2 comes with 3.15 megapixels camera with high resolution of 2048 by 1536 pixels.
3. It is also equipped with some best camera setting options to enhance the image quality.
4. The camera can shoot videos with CIF resolution at speed of 30 fps.
5. The Samsung S3650 is integrated with 2 megapixels camera with high resolution of 1600 by 1200 pixels.
6. It comes with useful smile detection software, which can be adjusted to take pictures only when it detects smiles of persons being photographed. The mobile can shoot videos with QVGA resolution at speed of 15fps.

Browsing and Connectivity options

There are great opportunities for having ultimate browsing and connectivity experience on both the handsets. Both the mobiles come with connectivity support for Class 10 GPRS with speed of 32 to 48 kbps, Class 10 EDGE with speed of 236.8 kbps, Bluetooth technology with A2DP and mini USB port.

HTC Touch2

While Samsung works on 3G networks with UMTS bandwidths, HTC Touch2 can operate on 3g networks with HSDPA bandwidths at speed of 7.2 mbps and also has support of wireless networking option.  Both the handsets come with inbuilt web browsers that support WAP and HTML applications.

The HTC mobile phone is available with gift : Sony PS 3 Deals.

[Via http://ukphonereleases.wordpress.com]

Why are HTC cell phones cheaper than Nokia or Motorola cell phones?

Question:
I've seen than HTC phones with similar features than Nokia or Motorola cell phones for instance are cheaper.. Why is that?? For instance HTC Touch Viva is cheaper than Nokia 5800, Nokia 6790 or Motorola MOTOZINE ZN5... Why is that? What are HTC phones disadvantages compared with other brands phones?
Answer:
first of all, it is a new company and second, it is a taiwan based phone company

HTC Snap vs HTC Tatto

Appearance and design of HTC Tattoo is simply great and it acquires only four buttons on its home screen which include Call, End, Back and Menu along with D – pad which is used to operate almost all the major functions and features. HTC Tatto is loaded with all the major connectivity and multimedia features that a perfect handset should have. On the other hand HTC Snap acquires QWERTY keypad which eases the comfort of users in fast entering of letters and texts. It has a nice browser which supports almost all the main formats used for better loading of web pages.

Memory

HTC Snap

• HTC Snap has 192 MB RAM and 256 MB of ROM but it has an internal memory which is not revealed by the company yet but there is a memory card slot in this gadget through which the memory can be increased.
• In the case of Tatto, it has 256 MB of RAM and 512 MB of ROM which is much higher than Snap.
• Both the handsets can store unlimited number of contacts in their phone book and also the handset can store unlimited number of call records in call log.
• Both the HTC Phones have an additional option of photo calling too which makes the calling experience more interesting.

Web Browser and Connectivity

The browser of HTC Snap can work on both 2G and 3G networks for uninterrupted network coverage. The browser supports WAP 2.0, HTML and XHTML formats for better loading of web pages. Wi-Fi technology enables the users to enjoy unlimited browsing without any interruption. Users can share their data and multimedia files easily with the presence of Bluetooth v 2.0 and USB.

HTC Tattoo

In the case of Tatto, one can enjoy faster browsing due to the presence of Android OS and powerful Qualcomm processor. There is an availability of Bluetooth headsets, which the users can attach with their handsets to enjoy quality music wirelessly. It provides an amazing browsing experience on the large display screen and the navigation is very easy.

[Via http://thephoneonline.wordpress.com]

Android 2.0.1 coming in December, older devices included?

Android 2.0 was initially launched on the Droid as part of the marketing blitz on Motorola’s part. Until recently the Motorola Droid was the only device running Android 2.0 and there hadn’t been word on when or if older devices such as the MyTouch, G1, or the Hero were going to receive these updates. Leaked screenshots showed Android 2.1 running on the HTC Hero with Sense UI included. Now developers can download Android 2.0.1 which is set for release in December and there are some minor hints that the update isn’t just meant for the Droid.

Engadget was told by Verizon that Android 2.0.1 is going to be released sometime in December. The update is said to fix a known issue with the camera focus and voice reception on the Motorola Droid. Though as Engadget points out, it is a little odd that Google would release a .0.1 update for one specific phone. In Google’s release notes about Android 2.0.1 it says there are minor API changes, bug fixes, and framework behavioral changes. Along with the release notes, there are some instructions on getting started on developement with Android 2.0.1 by downloading the AVD Manager into Android SDK 1.6 or greater. To my knowledge, at this point there shouldn’t be any developers coding for the Droid using SDK 1.6. Maybe this is the final push to get everyone else developing for 2.0.1 before the update is released to older Android devices. One can only hope. As far as the framework changes, hopefully those include fixing the stutter you get on the Droid when pulling down the notification tab or switching between home screens. An issue you don’t see on the Hero, Mytouch, or G1.

Google’s release notes for Android 2.0 and 2.0.1 can be found here.

[Via Engadget]

[Via http://fonefrenzy.com]

My 'Hero'

I’ll be honest. I’m not a fan of Apple. I owned an IPOD back in the day when they were different, and I never really liked it. Mainly because of hassle in transferring my already massive digital music collection onto it, and it’s inability to work with non-proprietory file types. For me, it was a clear sign that Apple just wanted to monopolise the market with. Anyway that’s a post for another day.

Since then, I have never ever purchase an Apple product out of principle, mainly because I’m stubbourn. 2 years ago, I purchased a HTC Touch Dual and loved it due to it’s versatility and dual interface. Then the I Phone came out and I was found wanting. However my principles stood firm, and in August this yr, when I could bear no more, I upgraded my HTC Touch Dual to an HTC Hero. I didn’t have high expectations, as the Android platform is still quite formalative. But in all comparisons with my friends and colleagues IPhone, it compares well. Potentially the number of app’s available could be much more than on ITunes (although I admit that currently this pales into insignificance…) whilst integration with the Google cloud is first rate. Currently I’m synched with about 6 of my social network platforms as well as my Google account.

The thing that really scares me however is that should I lose my Hero, or even worse, should someone steal it, they would have instant access to my identity. It’s a thought that has always worried me. They could obtain personal details by impersonating me on either Linkedin, Facebook or Twitter. This potentially could do a massive amount of damage.

The entrepreneur in me always thought that this would be a great niche for an app. My thoughts were that there could be an app controlled by a web interface that when accessed, could shut down the phone in some way. It would be a great example of Cloud Computing. However whilst I’ve been scribbling some plans on the back of a coaster, someone has actually designed what I think is a great app, which does just this. Created by a company called Wave Secure, they’ve made an app which operates in the background of your phone from startup. If the phone is lost or stolen, you can use the web interface to ‘lock’ the phone down. This means that the thief would not be able to gain access to the phone unless they had your unique PIN.

It’s a great app, and one I think should be a necessity on every smartphone around. Only issue I see with it is that should the thief disable the WiFi/3G, then you wouldn’t have any access to the device…

Oh well, it can’t be perfect!

[Via http://carlosdajackal.wordpress.com]

Cellfanatic, migliore foto Nokia N97 vs Touch Pro2 vs Motorola Droid

Cellfanatic ha effettuato un test foto con le fotocamere degli smartphone Nokia N97 vs Touch Pro2 vs Motorola Droid…

However for my personal needs I would still put the Motorola Droid in second place for a final ranking (best to worst) of the Nokia N97, Motorola Droid and Touch Pro2.

clicca qui per visionare galleria completa

Thanks Nick

Fonte:Cellfanatic

[Via http://passionemobile.wordpress.com]

2009: The Year Of The Smartphone

This is the beginning of the end folks. Smartphones have been around for sometime but it seems like the iPhone lead the way into the main stream audience and now the smartphone industry has exploded. Back in 2007 Apple introduced the iPhone which captured the attention of the general public for the first time. So why is 2009 the year of the smartphone? Lets take a look at what is different today compared to years prior.

In 2007 we went into the holiday season with an iPhone for $299.99 and $399.99. If you recall that year the iPhone had neither a 3G signal nor apps. The Razr was still king of sales in the United States but the iPhone was received well. Along with AT&T’s pretty expensive data plans the smartphone universe was still just a figment of the mass markets imagination.

2008 comes along. In 2008 we saw the introduction of phones like the Instinct and the LG Dare but none of these phones had the impact nor the usability the iPhone brought to the table. All of 2008 basically belonged to Apple. Then in July Apple introduced the iPhone with a 3G radio for $199.99. This is where a spark was struck and it was time for smartphone makers to get serious if they were to compete with Apple. In October the first real competitor was born. Android, Google announced the G1 and in October the phone launched with quite a bit of enthusiasm. The iPhone was still locked to AT&T, no users lusting for a smartphone wanted the LG Dare or the Samsung Instinct, so the somewhat feature lacking G1 was the next best thing. It’s launch was a bit stunted by the United States smallest main stream carrier but the G1 took and Android was something that seemed promising. Still going through the holiday season of 2008 we had the iPhone 3G for $199.99 and the first Android phone for $179.99. Just when it seemed like Apple had completely removed everyone else from the game Palm had a little surprise hidden up their sleeve.

2009, the year of the smartphone. Now things are starting to get serious. Palm at CES 2009 announced their first iPhone competitor, the Palm Pre, and it held a lot of promise. So with no official release date from Palm, Google stepped up it’s game. In early 2009 the price of the G1 dropped and the MyTouch 3G was launched along with the release of Android 1.5. Though still slightly crippled by T-Mobile, the Android devices held their own. In mid may Palm announced the Pre release date and the phone had a heavy emphasis on the open source community and its seemless multitasking. The launch went as well as Palm could have expected, however the Pre was launched on a carrier that was bleeding subscribers for some time. The Pre brings promise and is expected to launch on Verizon in early 2010. There were some Blackberry launches later in the year which include the Bold 2 and the Blackberry Storm 2, but neither phone really has users excited because the OS has little to no change. Then HTC  put out their first fully customized version of Android showing just what is possible.

HTC changed the game for Android showing off what Android OS had potential to become. They added their Sense UI which allows for more robust widgets, more home screens, some UI changes throughout, and multitouch. The Hero launched on Sprint here in the United States. It was a quiet launch compared to the iPhone, the G1, and the Pre, but it was a notable launch.  There were some initial bugs when it came to sluggishness in the UI but a carrier firmware release quickly fixed these issues. The Hero to date was the most promising Android device in town. Outside of the Hero, Android was still on the rise.

Palm had their come back and now it was Motorola’s turn. Motorola then collapsing because the Razr just wasn’t doing it for people anymore and they hadn’t launched a phone that people were excited about in a long time. The rumors were flying that Motorola had something Android under their hat. Finally they announced the Motorola Cliq which showed some promise but also a bit of let down when the specifications seemed to be the same specs of the G1, the MyTouch, and the HTC Hero which is the ARM 11 clocked at 588 Mhz. At this point we had the Pre and the iPhone 3GS with the next Generation ARM Cortex A8 processors with the powerVR Chipsets, so the same old Android processor was beginning to look a little ancient. The Cliq also was going to be launched on T-Mobile which is starting to seem a bit Android crowded at the moment but either way it doesn’t hurt Google to have more Android on the market. Then Motorola blows up the blogosphere with their new Verizon device called the ‘Motorola Droid’ powered by Google’s brand new Android 2.0. This was the first mainstream smartphone on Verizon that people were really excited about. The first Blackberry Storm launch was big but slowly faded as people grew annoyed with the Surepress technology and bugginess of the phone.

There were few small launches here and there which includes the Samsung Behold 2, which has Android and samsungs Cube UI known as Touchwiz, The Droid Eris which is Verizon’s version of the HTC Hero, and the Samsung Moment on Sprint. Early in October Windows Mobile launched 6 devices on multiple carriers with their new iteration of Windows Mobile now dubbed, ‘Windows Phone’, which has Windows Mobile OS version 6.5. Not enough changes in this OS to get people excited. The HD2 looks promising but won’t be in the U.S. until sometime in early 2010. That brings us to now.

This holiday season things are different. Smartphones still have a small market share but the offerings are so good and so affordable it is hard to imagine peoeple who will actually be signing a new 2 year agreement for a feature phone. Let’s take a look at some of the offerings. In 2007 we had the iPhone for $299.99. In 2008 we had the iPhone 3G and the G1 at $199.99 and $179.99. These phones were only on AT&T and T-Mobile. In 2009 we have smartphones on every large carrier in the U.S.  Sprint is offering the HTC Hero for $99.99, Samsung Moment for $199.99, Palm Pixi for $99.99, Palm Pre for $149.99,  Touch Pro 2 for $349.99, and a range of Blackberries from $49.99 to $199.99. On T-Mobile you have the G1 for $129.99, the MyTouch for $149.99, the Motorola Cliq for $199.99, and the Samsung Behold 2 for $229.99. T-Mobile also has a handful of blackberry handsets ranging from $99.99 to $199.99. On AT&T you have the iPhone 3G for $99.99, 3GS for $199.99, Windows Phone for $199.99, and the many variations of the Blackberry ranging the same prices as Sprint and T-Mobile. On Verizon you have the Blackberry Storm 2 for $199.99, the Droid Eris for $99.99, the Motorola Droid for $199.99, another variation of the Windows Phone for $199.99, and the LG Chocolate Touch for $149.99.

The options available today are tremendous and the prices are constantly dropping. Sprint and T-Mobile have set some new low prices on data plans making it even more affordable month to month to own a smartphone.  So that begs the question. What is stopping you from purchasing a smartphone this year? Will smartphones outsell feature phones this holiday season? Feature phones are still selling well because with a feature phone you don’t need to pay for a data plan and so many of them are free, however during the holidays phones are gifts. Is there really anyone hoping to get a free feature phone for Christmas this year? We are starting to think this may be the first holiday season in history where phones called ‘Smart’ will out sell your old feature phones.

[Via http://fonefrenzy.com]

Drive By Shooting on Lion's Gate Bridge

The caption sucked you in didn’t it?  “Drive By Shooting”…it’s a sad commentary on society and the state of art when this kind of story get’s attention but that is the way our MTV, FOX, iPod, Twitter, Facebook, etc. media generated minds work now.  Back to the ‘Drive By’…

The drive south down 99 from Whistler to Vancouver was brilliant.  The sun finally pushed through the five-week canopy of cloud and the curtain opened to five meters of fallen snow in the past 24 days.  Meanwhile, I realised almost immediately that I had fallen into the three most regrettable pitfalls of renting a car. 

Number one: never get into a rental car without you sunglasses.  Granted it is November on the wet coast so a sunny drive on a day forecast for heavy rain wasn’t expected but I own a store that sells three of the coolest brands of sunglasses out there, have shades stashed in back packs, in my glove box (my wife had my truck) and otherwise scatter them in any number of places around my home and office on ledges and window sills where I meant not to forget them…but step into a shiny new Hyundai from Avis…you get the picture.  Note to self, when you get home put a pair of sunglasses in every bag.

Number two: no tunes.  No hook up for my HTC Mp3 phone (no iPod dock…not that I have an iPod), no Bluetooth, no CD’s (although the player is marked clearly ‘MP3′…even Hyundai gets that we burn them)…just the radio.  Mountain FM? God no.  I mean, yes it works, but no.  Enter XM Radio (XM2 actually…do they need 2?).  Leave it to Hyundai to add XM but no jack for auxiliary hook ups…and to add insult to injury they call it a ‘full size’?  They must be made in, well, somewhere with very small people.  XM and I develop an inevitable love hate relationship within minutes.  Every specialty commercial free station you can imagine categorized by music genre, decade, nationality, a million talk stations from comedy to sports to news, even religion (do they still have that?), every station that is except one that is playing a song I want to listen to.  Seek, scan, stop, XM Elvis, 60’s Pop, 70’s, 80’s, 90’s…end of a good song, damn! OFF!!

Finally, the third and hardest to swallow of all rental car pitfalls – especially for hardened Whistler locals like myself who drive full size 4×4, 4 door, Chevy Silverado pick-ups with one of the coolest line ups of stickers ever assembled on a vehicle and, by the way, gets better gas mileage than the Hyundai – the rest stop photo op.  It doesn’t matter how core I am or what hoody I have on or what time my meeting with Patagonia at Granville Island to see the 2010/11 winter line up is (yes, already) when I sit down in a rental car I know I will drop my camera ready to shoot in the passenger seat beside me and be resigned to stop at the first rest stop with a view and take a few shots like every other tourist and be humiliatingly recognized and at the same time welcomed as one of them.  I can’t fight it, or bother to explain to the guys in the big truck – like mine at home – loaded with sleds who are obviously local and only stopped for the call of nature that happens whenever there are more empty cans of Monster than passengers.  I give in to the urge and like a bar star who says she only smokes when she drinks, I pull over and suffer the loss of inner discipline that self righteously drives locals everywhere from interrupting their commute by selfishly enjoying magnificent surroundings like ours…dummies!

The tragic irony of the rental car is that, for me anyways, it is the ultimate excuse and licence to not be cool (except of course for the dorks in Hawaii who insist on renting the Mustang convertibles thinking they are cool).  So my pride intact, I pull up on the Tantalus view-point, grab my camera from the seat beside me, fold myself out of the Hyundai (still squinting from the drive south into the sun…no shades), dressed in my city clothes – black shirt, black jacket, black Vans – and lose myself in the grandeur of this place I am so blessed to call home.  Go ahead, I think to myself, “Screw the cool guy standard…Claim it!” (MSP, In Deep 2009)

The rolling summit due north is a scene straight out of Alaska…’click’…every rock and tree and shadow line a canvas of white beneath the pale blue sky of morning, and down the valley the snow line on the pines is churning in the smokey mist and warmth of the sunlight seen so rarely this time of year…’click, click, click’.  I love the pure imagination of it all…even the digital sound of a shutter release embedded on a chip programmed to echo from the little speaker on my camera to add to the nostalgia of my experience every time I snap a shot like I am Ansel Adams in 1930’something 3 months into a cold winter in Yosemite…brilliant.  Another car drives up and snapped back to reality I wonder for a moment what time it is, put the lens cap back in place and fold myself back into the Hyundai and stop.  I look again through the windshield at the smokey trees…and get back out for a few more…one more for the road.  I laugh to myself and think, ‘I love being a tourist’, and head on down the highway listening to Mountain FM.

It’s awakening to find inspiration in my own time…in my own back yard.  What have you passed by lately? or daily? Is there some place you know you’ve always wanted to stop but never have the time?  (ie. When your on your way to wait 10 minutes in the line at Starbucks or Wal-Mart or London Drugs? – sorry, no line ups there.)  It’s right there outside your window, just a step outside the comfort of your shiny metal box, yes, it’s right there.  Stop.  Just stop. 

(Aside: I would love to hear the stories of the people who just sopped after reading this…) 

Back to the ‘Drive By’…need to hit Vancouver, Granville Island by noon.  Bathroom break in Squamish, resist the ridiculously priced CD’s at Chevron even though they have a copy of ACDC’s Dirty Deeds…where will I ever find that on CD again? Answer; right there, forever…and don’t even think about the shades on the shiny spinny chrome rack thingy on the counter.  Three words, ‘Made In China’, and while I’m at it, why not add one word to that oh so familiar phrase stamped across some ridiculously growing double-digit percentage of our economy that might just sway the buying and manufacturing habits of the western world, ‘communist’.  If every second item you purchased was labelled, ‘Made in Communist China’, would you think twice?  Just a thought.  Two Mocha Monsters for $5.00, an old school chocolate puffed wheat square and I am back on the road.

The drive by shooting begins somewhere on the descent to Stanley Park on the Lion’s Gate Bridge.  I look in the rear view and see the perfect reflection of the suspension towers behind me, the city scape in front just above the mirror, wrap the neck cord of my camera around my wrist – just in case – open the window and fire off a round of black and white’s (I pre-programmed a B+W high res mode on my digi) at arms length out the window from the driver’s seat.  The first shot amazingly catches an oncoming car completely obscuring the city view above the mirror but captures a perfect mirror image of the bridge and the traffic behind.  The next two or three catch the view of downtown Vancouver between the cars, through the suspension cabling, above the tree line of Stanley Park.  Here we go.

I rattle off a few more down West Georgia; homeless guy in the soft focus silhouette of the moving trees (moving @30km/h past Burrard), big sign on the Vancouver Art Gallery, cool soft cover on the back of a Silverado like mine, the underside of the Granville Street Bridge at False Creek, a painting through a wood framed window where I parked, and think to myself, “Drive By Shooting…Drive By”.  Don’t call the MOT (BC Ministry of Transport) for an opinion on this one, don’t even take mine or think what you think I am suggesting (I accept no liability, blah, blah, blah…).  Just think of the possibilities.  We have all done it (haven’t we?).  Eaten a grape at the grocery store, pocketed some cool meaningless trinket, ridden to the store without our helmet, gone into the back country alone…snapped shots from airplane windows, on the bus or train, taken pics of funny road signs, people, other cars, vistas…this is just the natural progression of the art of every day.  It gives new meaning to ‘Street To Peak’ (ha, ha…just thought of that now!).  What better place to get it started (not that I am starting anything) than Street To Peak. 

Imagine you are a tourist today.  Yes, at home or sitting where ever you might be reading this.  How many photos did you take on your last week or two escape to somewhere else?  How many letters and/or post cards  did you write? (Better question – how many did you send?) Did you get out your journal or a pile of napkins and write? and fill more pages than have in the past six months of the every day?  Imagine you are a geeky tourist in a rental Hyundai with no iTunes, squinting into the sun, drinking Monster Mocha, eating Fish and Chips from Tony’s (the best on Granville Island)  from a box on the passenger seat, searching for a good song on the local radio, snapping photos of the sky on a dark rainy bridge after a day of stopping a view points and rest stops just because life is good and you don’t know for sure when you will ever be here, right here, right now, again.   Imagine if that today was every day.

Where to start?  Wait a minute…before you dust off your SLR, load it in the car and hit the road, don’t miss the point.  (I can see the type A’s and OCD’s packing their sunglasses and CD’s already.)  In the immortal words of Ferris Bueller, “Life moves pretty fast.  If you don’t stop and look around once in a while you could miss it.”

[Via http://streettopeak.wordpress.com]

Guides and Ideas for Current/Upcoming SmartPhones

Amazingly enough, Wired, which usually is poorly written (in my humble opinion), has a fantastic new article on guide for looking into Smartphones (Boy Genius Report was close but theirs doesnt talk about the carriers and plans at all). With everyone writing about phones, phones taking over Times Square, $3 mill iPhones and that, phones are apparently the hip thing this year (pssst if you live in Nashville and want Sprint email me). Anyway, point being with all the damn clutter and multiple operating systems, it is nice to have summaries, reviews and what not. Wired’s was impressive enough that I felt it deserved a nod.

FYI, i do work at Sprint now, and I do think the Droid logo on Times Square looks too much like Lord of the Rings.

Also, random note, but I get extremely irritable of people touting the Android has a shitty camera and shitty music player. Don’t get me wrong, it DOES, but that is what an App store is for. Anyone with Android just search music and see what i mean, there’s like 5 upgraded players (i recommend TuneWiki) on the damn thing.

So what’re my recommendations?

Smartphones:Basically, if you are looking for multi-media, internet browsing and email/calander sync, and have google, i recommend Android (Palm is also cool if you are on Sprint). If you need hardcore business email, exchange support Blackberry is still fantastic (although WinMo 6.5 is at least getting updates). Note that Android does support Microsoft Exchange, but honestly if you want the safe, secure thing Blackberry is still the best bet.

Verizon: Moto Droid, Blackberry Tour if you need heavy exchange/business use.

Sprint: HTC Hero or Moment (I finally got to try out a moment, fairly impressive). Palm Pixi for first time smartphone users. Blackberry Tour for Business users.

AT&T- iPhone. Blackberry Bold 2 looks nice so far.

T-Mobile: Anything but a Sidekick. MyTouch 3G is still sweet and Cyanogen makes it even better.

And once you get a smartphone the key is customizing it, and making sure it does what you want it to. I should have postings throughout this blog for tethering and adding nice tidbits for iPhone, Android, Palm WebOS and Blackberry, so feel free to browse, I’ll try and add links and updates here in a day or two, this was just a quick rant in a sleepless night.

[Via http://somegenius.wordpress.com]

Can I use Wifi on my AT&T HTC Tilt 2?

Question:

Answer:
Yes, the Tilt is wifi enabled. Source(s): AT&T customer

Which is a better music player- Blackberry Storm or HTC Droid Eris?

Question:
Which has better sound quality, album art views, etc.?
Answer:
In my experience, HTC has usually had better quality than any BB. The only problem HTC has, is its notorious for not including a "standard" headphone jack but rather a mini usb headset. Although i believe that the Eris does actually have the standard. as for the other features, Android (which is the operating system on the Eris) is alot better than BB's OS. However that is just an opinion rather than fact. i would suggest going to Verizon and playing around with both phones and see which one is better suited for you.

Google Phone - WTF?

Alright seriously Google, now you’re just trying to get a rise out of me right?

I just got done coming to terms with waiting until mid-December for the HTC Passion release and now you have to go and do something like this. Like the holidays aren’t stressful enough.

Here, in no particular order, is why I’m not going to take this seriously and my decision is going to be made in December based on the Passion versus the Droid.

• Google hasn’t said a peep about it and have in fact said quite definitively that such a product would not exist within the last few weeks.
• Chances are even if something like this did release in the next few months it would not be on Verizon. (Although if this thing comes out for ATT I may actually be physically ill as I’m going to have to hear about their having both the iPhone and the gPhone.)
• Even if Google is basically dictating everything under the sun on this device, so what? I don’t know what about that would make it any better than what’s coming out of Motorola or HTC.
• The alleged partnership is with LG, not that they are bad, but I’ve had LG phones and meh is what think of them creating my high end smartphone.
• Honestly I’m just tired of waiting, at some point you have to bite the bullet and make your move and play the cards your dealt and dance with the one that brung’ you and etc….

Alright, I’m the calm center of the universe again and I’m going to go back to trolling for Passion news.

New Review on the HTC HD2

 

We get many reviews on our devices from the various forums and there have already been a number on the HTC HD2.

We were however contacted recently by the T3 magazine (one of my favourites!) as they had recently done a hands on review and video of the HTC HD2 which we thought would be useful to share with you. The review was carried out by Gareth Beavis, who also recently reviewed the Blackberry Bold 9700.

T3’s reviews seem to take a slightly different slant from our other on-line reviews so would be worth a look if you are considering this new flagship device from HTC. T3 recently awarded the HTC Hero their Gadget of the Year, so they already hold the HTC devices in high regard.

The HTC HD2 is proving a very popular Windows Phone with very strong sales. The screen has a real wow effect and the speed is very impressive.

You can see the T3 review here

You can view the full product details here

Enjoy Splendid Multimedia Features with HTC Touch Pro II

HTC Touch Pro II has launched its new gadget that is well equipped with all major features. This window based handset has a powerful memory and a cool music player with Touch FLO screen. The dynamic music player incorporates music keys and functions that can rock the users.

Music Player

HTC Touch Pro 2

• The music player is very easily accessible through home screen and the animation on the player looks great. There is an option to filter tracks and one can arrange music by genre, artist and composer. One can easily create their albums and insert their favorite songs in it.
• There is an equalizer in the HTC Touch Pro2 mobile, but it is visible only when the headset is plugged in. An optional application called Audio Booster is also available to enhance the quality of music. One can operate the phone or surf the net while listening to songs, as well.

Audio Quality and FM Radio

Most of the Windows Mobile does not give high quality of audio, but this HTC Phones is highly praised for its audio quality. It can support all types of audio and video formats like MP3, AAC, AAC+ and MP4. The built in FM radio requires a headset to function and one can tune around 25 channels in it.

Video Player

There is a quality video player which supports DiVX and XViD format files. The graphics are so fine that it offers a pleasant appearance to the interface. The VGA screen is also responsible for an increased quality of video files.

Camera and Video Recording

The beautiful gadget has 3 mega pixel of camera with auto focus feature and it supports resolution of 2048 x 1536 pixels. One can easily take snaps by simply clicking on the D – pad. The camera has LED flash and can store huge amount of pictures in it. The secondary camera placed at the front of a handset is used to make high quality videos.

Video recording can be done at a speed of 30 fps and MPEG4 formats are supported. The video camera supports still camera option and adjustable resolution, brightness, color effects and white balance. So, HTC Pro II has all the major features and functions with very fine audio and video attributes.

What's In Your Pocket? Cnet's Top Ten SmartPhones

From our friends at Cnet:   This year’s: Top Ten  Smartphones Rank #1 #2 #3 #4 #5              Excellent
   Very Good
   Good
   Fair
   Poor Apple iPhone 3GS 32GB Palm Pre Motorola Droid BlackBerry Bold 9000 BlackBerry Curve 8900     Reviewer Comments             Lowest Price
$299.00
$149.99
$199.99
$479.98               Overall Rating             Ratings Features             Expert Reviews             User Reviews                                         Screen Size 3.5 in 3.2 in 3.7 in 2.8 in 2.4 in           Battery Life up to 300 min Up to 300 min Up to 385 min Up to 250 min Up to 330 min up to 300 min Up to 444 min       Memory 32 GB 8 GB 256 MB 1.128GB 128 MB 16 GB 512 MB 8 GB 64 MB 256 MB 3G   Display Resolution 480 x 320 320 x 480 440 x 854 320 x 480 480 x 360 480 x 320 640 x 480 320 x 480 240 x 320 480 x 360 GPS Bluetooth Digital Player Internet Browser Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Wi-Fi   Phone Style Touch Screen Slider Slider Candy bar Candy bar Touch Screen Slider Candy bar Candy bar Candy Bar Digital Camera 3.0 MP 3.0 MP 5.0 MP 2.0 MP 3.2 MP 3.0 MP 3.2 MP 2.0 MP 3.2 MP 3.2 MP Video Recorder   Standby Time Up to 280 h Up to 480 h Up to 270 h Up to 222 h Up to 360 h Up to 280 h Up to 360 h Up to 300 h Up to 480 h 336 h 3 way Calling Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Call Hold Call Timer Call Waiting Caller ID Depth 0.4 in 0.6 in 0.6 in 0.6 in 0.5 in 0.4 in 0.7 in 0.5 in 0.4 in 0.6″ Email Height 4.5 in 3.9 in 4.6 in 4.4 in 4.3 in 4.5 in 4 in 4.6 in 4.5 in 4.4″ Operating System OS X Palm WebOS Android 2.0 BlackBerry Handheld Software BlackBerry Handheld Software OS X Microsoft Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional OS X Symbian OS BlackBerry Handheld Software Polyphonic Ringer Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Vibrating Alert Warranty 1 year 1 year 1 Year 1 year 1 year 1 year 1 year 1 year 1 year   Weight 4.8 oz 4.7 oz 6.0 oz 4.8 oz 3.9 oz 4.8 oz 5.8 oz 4.7 oz 4.4 oz 4.6 oz Width 2.4 in 2.3 in 2.4 in 2.6 in 2.4 in 2.4 in 2 in 2.4 in 2.2 in 2.4″                         Lowest Price  
$299.00  
$149.99  
$199.99  
$479.98  
$399.00  
$199.00  
$549.00  
$99.00  
$309.00  
$49.99 BNI Operatives: Street smart: Web savvy. Stay safe all,

Droid Eris on Android 2.0 firmware?

Question:
Hello, i have the recent Verizoin Wireless Droid Eris. I just wanted to know if i could put the Android 2.0 firmware on it like the one that comes with the htc droid or the G1. Thank you so much for your answers.
Answer:
Yes, you can, Droid Eris is currently on 1.5, but it's upgradeable to 2.0 more on www.Droid-Eris.com

Which Cell Phone Looks Best?

Question:
HTC Touch 2:
http://www.htc.com/uk/product/touch2/ove…

Nokia 5800 Navigation Edition:
http://www.nokia.co.uk/find-products/all…
Answer:
HTC owns. Get the Touch 2.

HTC's HD2 has landed at Engadget (hands-on)

 

That’s right… the HD2 has landed. Actually, we took the phone over to Late Night with Jimmy Fallon the other day, but didn’t get a chance to show it off, so here we are. Sure, you’ve seen this guy in action in earlier videos… but it’s still nice to get a look at this monster up close. We’re still blown away by the fact that this is a Windows Mobile 6.5 device — the skinning job that HTC has done here is nothing short of a miracle. So far we’ve found the phone to be snappy and responsive, but we’re currently putting it through it’s paces. We’ll have a full review shortly, but for now, feast your eyes on the photos below — and start saving for that imminent US launch.

Gallery: HD2 hands-on

Filed under: Cellphones

HTC’s HD2 has landed at Engadget (hands-on) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 04 Nov 2009 10:12:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

HTC’s HD2 has landed at Engadget (hands-on)
Joshua Topolsky
Wed, 04 Nov 2009 15:12:00 GMT

Technorati Tags: HTC,WinMo,Cellphone,Engadget

HTC launches the HD2 in Europe and Asia, Available in the US by early 2010

HTC's HD2

Seeing as HTC’s CEO Peter Chou sorta slipped up and mentioned this back in October, it’s not exactly, you know, news news – but just in case you were a little bit shaky on the dates, HTC has gone ahead and confirmed that the 1 Ghz, WinMo 6.5-powered HTC HD2 will be coming to the United States “with a major US carrier in early 2010. ”Rumors are that when the HD2 comes to the US, the carrier it’ll go to will be T-Mobile. So you’ll be safe to assume that’s where it’ll go. However, it’s still going to be a while before we even see the phone, so we just sit back while our countries overseas enjoy it. HTC disclosed that HD2 shipments in Europe and Taiwan are heading out right this second, and the rest of Asia should see it hit the shelves over the next few weeks.

via Mobile Crunch

Phones for Christmas... I cant make up my mind?

Question:
I am with AT&T and I am open to any kind of phone. A smart phone or any other kind of phone. And it has to be good for texting

The phones I want
1.IPhone 3GS
2.HTC Pure
3.BlackBerry Pearl
4.LG Vu
5.LG Xenon
And here is a phone from Nokia's website.
6.Nokia 5530 ExpressMusic

And I am aware that you have to get a data plan to get a smart phone so I would rather get a non-smart phone.Please tell me about the phones I just listed, and tell me if you like them or not. Thanks guys
Answer:
iphone 3gs best phone alive !!!!!!!!!!

Mais um Android a caminho!

A HTC estará lançando brevemente mais um modelo com o sistema operacional do Google. O novo modelo se chamará Eris.

O novo aparelho da HTC será comercializado pela Verizon e deverá ser o mais barato da família.

Pelas informações do site Phone Arena, o Eris será uma das apostas da Verizon por causa de seu preço. A ideia é fazer dele o Android mais democrático dos EUA, custando 99 dólares em um contrato.

Veja abaixo alguns detalhes do novo Droid da Verizon:

Fotos via: Phone Arena

Unboxing the Motorola Droid, part 2

Sure, the Motorola CLIQ and HTC Hero are very nice, and the HTC Magic and T-Mobile G1 are pretty good, but this phone takes Android to a whole new level!

You’re looking at HAL 9000 the Motorola Droid, the first Android device with 2.0 (Eclair) and a 848×480 pixel screen – possibly the slimmest (and hottest) QWERTY slider ever designed…

Feast your eyes on my unboxing pictures, and if you’re still hungry for more, check out my unboxing video

HTC Hero vierde Android toestel in Nederland

Met de introductie van de HTC Hero is dit het vierde toestel op de Nederlandse markt uitgevoerd met het operating system Android. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Praesent ultricies lectus non quam posuere posuere. Aenean pretium commodo neque sit amet facilisis. Nu beschikbaar in de Toestel Instellingen applicatie HTC Hero met de specifieke instructies voor mobiel internet, mms, email en meer. Vivamus ac tellus tellus, at consequat nulla. Aliquam erat volutpat. Proin nibh sem, scelerisque non pretium quis, malesuada vel dui.

Donec ultricies, lectus sit amet aliquet tempus, libero diam tincidunt lorem, iaculis mollis est dolor nec mauris. Mauris sagittis massa pharetra nisl blandit sagittis. Quisque eleifend lorem a nisl ultricies ultricies. Nunc metus tellus, dictum ut gravida eu, volutpat et neque. Suspendisse blandit massa non lorem cursus semper. Nam et lectus mi, et lacinia sem. Proin et velit vel tortor bibendum laoreet. Fusce a dui eu odio ultricies auctor nec id orci. Mauris elementum pellentesque blandit. Quisque facilisis congue nunc, vel facilisis risus commodo eu. Vestibulum ante ipsum primis in faucibus orci luctus et ultrices posuere cubilia Curae; Fusce quis purus eu enim adipiscing placerat at quis nunc. Aenean vitae nunc eros, eu condimentum ante.

HTC release Hero kernel source code: modders rub hands with glee - SlashGear

HTC have quietly answered many Android developer’s prayers, and pushed out the kernel source code for the Hero smartphone.  Available to download now – though admittedly of little use to most of us – it opens up the potential for much more modification of the Hero with custom ROMs.

Since the Hero’s launch, Android developers have been pestering HTC for full access to its code. The release will likely mean we’ll see some of the more popular custom ROMs – which have in the past tweaked the GUI, brought elements of another manufacturers customization (such as MOTOBLUR) to rival devices, and increased stability faster than manufacturers themselves have been able to – showing up optimized for the Hero now.

via HTC release Hero kernel source code: modders rub hands with glee – SlashGear.

Move over iPhone, here comes Android

Last weekend I bought a new phone, a HTC Hero. I’ve been a long time Unix and Linux user to the thought of using a phone based on Linux had quite an appeal for me. The title of this post sums up my feeling about this phone, and Android in particular, Apple should be worried, very worried.

It’s not just me saying this, Gartner also believes this and state that Android will become the second most popular smart phone operating system by 2012. Considering that there are due to be up to 50 Android phones on the market by the end of 2010, consumers are going to have a far greater choice of touch screen handset which means far greater competition for the iPhone.

There has to be something rather cool about a phone that asks you for your Google, Flickr, Twitter and Facebook account details when you switch it on. Integration with Google services is seamless, automatic syncing with your contacts, email and calendar.

Phones like this are becoming something different and I don’t really feel they should be called either a phone or smartphone any more, they are more than just a PDA too, and close to being a laptop/netbook, with so much computing power and possibilities in the palm of your hand they deserved to be classed as something new, any suggestions?

Tips for a new android phone

I bought an Android phone some time ago, the HTC Hero. After much fiddling with it, these are my suggestions for anyone interested in doing so too:

- Find out what you really want. A nice starting point is PdaDB. This site lets you choose features, like an Android OS and GPS, and lists every PDA having them.

- HTC Sense, a UI for Android phones exclusively from HTC, is really cool and actually makes Android useful. Consider buying a phone with HTC Sense included. Be careful since not all HTC models bundle it.

- Search E-bay before you buy. Most android phones are expensive and the HTC Hero I bought is no exception. It costs about 550,00 Euros retail price here in Greece. I bought it from e-bay for 411,00 Euros, including postage. European users beware, buy only from a EU country or you will probably pay import taxes. I bought mine from the UK. In my opinion though, even at 550,00 Euros, this phone is worth it.

- If you truly want to buy from Greece, then I suggest searching with Skroutz. It should find the best price for your phone in any Greek e-shop.

- Because of a bug in Android, if you don’t set up your Google credentials right from the start, you may need to factory reset your phone, erasing any customizations you may have made. Let this be one from the very first things you do.

- After you buy the phone, there should probably be an Android firmware update for it. Since the ROM upgrade does a factory reset on your phone, this should probably be too on of the first things to do.

- Market, the place to install android applications from, is strangely only fully accessible via the phone, even for simple tasks such as browsing or search. If you want to search and find apps for your android phone, and you probably will, I recommend going to Androlib.com or Cyrket.com.

- At first, this phone will consume most of your free time from just by playing with it. You will probably neglect your spouse and/or job the first days of use. Take appropriate actions to remedy the situation, like buying flowers or taking some days off work. Consider yourselves warned!

- You may want to buy some accessories for you phone. My advice is, again, use E-bay. I bought PDA holders for my bicycle and car at one third of the price I found in a cheap retail store here.

- You may want to protect your phone from scratches using a plastic wrap. One of the best is supposed to be InvisiShield from Zagg which claims to be virtually indestructible. Keep in mind that such protection covers the entire phone and may ruin the comfortable feel of it. Thankfully, the one can choose to install only parts of it, so I used only the screen cover. However, if one wants just a screen protective cover, can as well choose one of the many other, and cheaper, available from other manufacturers. I bought 6 no-name covers for just 1,00 Euro from E-Bay, postage included! In any case, expect the feel of the phone to change to the worst.

- Since I chose not to wrap my entire phone in plastic wrap, I bought silicone skins from E-bay. Although a little more bulky than Zagg’s plastic wrap, the feel of it is extremely nice and protects it from damage in case I drop it. I definitely need it!

That’s all, I hope these will prove useful and bring painlessly more people to the wonderful Android platform.

HTC Tattoo Gets Unboxed

We have just had the news that the HTC Tattoo has arrived and is now shipping and already there are unboxing videos appearing on the internet.

Chris Davies over at Slashgear has had his hands on one of these new Google NAdroid devices and has put toghether a short video which provides and unboxing a brief overview/review of the unit.

You can take a look at the video HERE.

HTC HD2

General 2G Network GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 3G Network HSDPA 900 / 2100 Announced 2009, October Status Coming soon. Exp. release 2009, November Size Dimensions 120.5 x 67 x 11 mm Weight 157 g Display Type TFT capacitive touchscreen, 65K colors Size 480 x 800 pixels, 4.3 inches - Sense UI
- Multi-touch input method
- Accelerometer sensor for auto-rotate
- Proximity sensor for auto turn-off
- Ambient light sensor
- Pick-to-mute a call Sound Alert types Vibration; Downloadable polyphonic, MP3, WAV, WMA ringtones Speakerphone Yes - 3.5 mm audio jack Memory Phonebook Practically unlimited entries and fields, Photocall Call records Practically unlimited Internal 448 MB RAM, 512 MB ROM Card slot microSD (TransFlash) Data GPRS Class 12 (4+1/3+2/2+3/1+4 slots), 32 – 48 kbps HSCSD Yes EDGE Class 12 3G HSDPA, 7.2 Mbps; HSUPA, 2 Mbps WLAN Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g, Wi-Fi router Bluetooth Yes, v2.1 with A2DP Infrared port No USB Yes, miniUSB Camera Primary 5 MP, 2592 x 1944 pixels, autofocus, LED flash Features Geo-tagging Video Yes Secondary No Features OS Microsoft Windows Mobile 6.5 Professional CPU Qualcomm Snapdragon QSD2850 1 GHz processor Messaging SMS (threaded view), MMS, Email, Instant Messaging Browser WAP 2.0/xHTML, HTML Radio Stereo FM radio with RDS Games Yes Colors Black GPS Yes, with A-GPS support; NaviPanel Java Yes, MIDP 2.0 - Digital compass
- MP3/WAV/WMA/eAAC+ player
- AVI(DiVX/XviD)/MP4/WMV/H.264/H.263 player
- Facebook and Twitter integration
- YouTube client
- Pocket Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, PDF viewer)
- HTC Peep, HTC Footprints
- Voice memo
- T9 Battery Standard battery, Li-Ion 1230 mAh Stand-by Up to 490 h (2G) / Up to 390 h (3G) Talk time Up to 6 h 20 min (2G) / Up to 5 h 40 min (3G) Music play Up to 12 h

Microsoft Shows Windows Mobile 6.5 Smartphones

Microsoft smartphone partners are expected to deliver about 30 new Windows Mobile 6.5 devices by the end of 2009, including and Toshiba shown for the first time at a Microsoft Open House in New York City today.The 30-or-so Windows Mobile 6.5 smartphones will be sold in approximately 20 different countries, said Robbie Bach, head of Microsoft’s entertainment and devices division, speaking at a Microsoft open house. Windows Mobile devices getting first-time looks encompassed the HTC Tilt 2 from AT&T, the HTC Imagio from Verizon Wireless, and an as-yet-unnamed device built by Toshiba and anticipated for sale in the Japanese market. In his keynote, Bach suggested this kind of hardware diversity is a key selling point for Microsoft in its struggles with Android, iPhone, Palm, and others for greater consumer mindshare. Apple’s iPhone, after all, has been available in very limited form factors, and the same has held true so far for Android phones promulgated by Google. Bach noted that while some users like large touchscreens, some practically can’t live without keyboards, and others prefer slider architectures that give them a choice of using a keyboard. True to Bach’s words, the Windows 6.5 smartphones displayed later in the day — hung in and around artificial trees in a mock treehouse set up for the occasion — sported a variety of different form factors. Although pre-loaded this time around with Windows 6.5, the Tilt 2 looks and feels quite similar to the original Tilt, a device known for its slider architecture, powerful speakers, and solid video performance. While it’s about the same size as the Tilt, and its screen size is a comparable 3.6-inches, the Imagio seems slightly thinner, and lacks a slideout keyboard. The as-yet-unnamed smartphone from Toshiba — so far codenamed the TG0I — boasts a much larger screen, estimated by one Microsoft rep at 4.2 inches. But it also lacks a slider. Windows Mobile pointed to another type of differentiator for Microsoft. Microsoft’s answer to Apple’s App Store; a mobile browser based on Internet Explorer (IE) 6.0; Theme Creator; and new, user-friendly screens such as the Today Screen, for accessing e-mail, calendar items, photos, favorites, and other frequently needed items from the same place.

MyPhone’s phone-finding capabilities will work even when the smartphone has been turned off, according to Sloan. Microsoft can use GPS to locate a missing phone, and then “wake it up” remotely.Microsoft is offering

the phone-finding service free of charge for the first month. After that, the user will be charged $4.99 per incident.

Microsoft smartphone partners are expected to deliver about 30 new Windows Mobile 6.5 devices by the end of 2009, including and Toshiba shown for the first time at a Microsoft Open House in New York City today.The 30-or-so Windows Mobile 6.5 smartphones will be sold in approximately 20 different countries, said Robbie Bach, head of Microsoft’s entertainment and devices division, speaking at a Microsoft open house.

Windows Mobile devices getting first-time looks encompassed the HTC Tilt 2 from AT&T, the HTC Imagio from Verizon Wireless, and an as-yet-unnamed device built by Toshiba and anticipated for sale in the Japanese market.

In his keynote, Bach suggested this kind of hardware diversity is a key selling point for Microsoft in its struggles with Android, iPhone, Palm, and others for greater consumer mindshare. Apple’s iPhone, after all, has been available in very limited form factors, and the same has held true so far for Android phones promulgated by Google. Bach noted that while some users like large touchscreens, some practically can’t live without keyboards, and others prefer slider architectures that give them a choice of using a keyboard.

True to Bach’s words, the Windows 6.5 smartphones displayed later in the day — hung in and around artificial trees in a mock treehouse set up for the occasion — sported a variety of different form factors. Although pre-loaded this time around with Windows 6.5, the Tilt 2 looks and feels quite similar to the original Tilt, a device known for its slider architecture, powerful speakers, and solid video performance. While it’s about the same size as the Tilt, and its screen size is a comparable 3.6-inches, the Imagio seems slightly thinner, and lacks a slideout keyboard.

The as-yet-unnamed smartphone from Toshiba — so far codenamed the TG0I — boasts a much larger screen, estimated by one Microsoft rep at 4.2 inches. But it also lacks a slider. Windows Mobile pointed to another type of differentiator for Microsoft. Microsoft’s answer to Apple’s App Store; a mobile browser based on Internet Explorer (IE) 6.0; Theme Creator; and new, user-friendly screens such as the Today Screen, for accessing e-mail, calendar items, photos, favorites, and other frequently needed items from the same place.

MyPhone’s phone-finding capabilities will work even when the smartphone has been turned off, according to Sloan. Microsoft can use GPS to locate a missing phone, and then “wake it up” remotely.Microsoft is offering the phone-finding service free of charge for the first month. After that, the user will be charged $4.99 per incident.

Source: http://www.pcworld.com/

HTC Touch2 – NOW IN STOCK

One of the first Windows Phones to hit the shelves with the new Windows Mobile 6.5 the HTC Touch2 has arrived.

First shipments will begin tomorrow, Tuesday 6th October – WE CANT SHIP BEFORE THEN!

In an ‘Urban Brown’ colour the HTC Touch2 is the upgrade to HTC’s original Touch, the features of this unit include:

• Slim, compact and lightweight
• Weighs just 110g, with battery.
• Windows Mobile 6.5 for an improved user experience
• 3G/HSDPA high speed connectivity
• Quad Band network connectivity
• 3.2 megapixel camera
• WiFi
• Bluetooth
• On board GPS receiver
• 2.8" touch screen
• 3.5mm audio jack
• MicroSDHC Memory Card Slot

A good looking device, that feels solid and good in the palm of the hand.  You can read more or order yours HERE.

HTC Imagio headed to Verizon October 6

There was a murmur of the formerly named Whitestone not too far back. The latest official product in the coordinated worldwide Windows Mobile 6.5 launch will be available for $199.99 on a two-year contract after rebates online on Tuesday and in stores on the 20th. It, to no surprise, is a world phone with GSM/HSDPA for the frequent flyers. As well as a 3.5mm headphone jack for you music needs and a massive 3.6 inch touch screen for your eyes and fingers to enjoy.

via Engadget

What I Miss About The iPhone

Ok, after using the HTC Hero for almost 2-weeks now, I finally know what’s missing in the Hero and know for sure what I miss most of the iPhone. In one simple word – media. Music, movies and of coz, apps. Syncing media with iTunes is really very well thought out and I don’t see any company can stand up against it – well, for 2009/2010 at least. Before the HTC Hero with it’s removable battery, MicroSD card – seems everyone was bitching why Apple couldn’t just give us that? Here’s why: (warning: long post)

Accessing photos or media on the phone via the MicroSD card (Class 2, 16Gb) – it’s almost snail like. Music playback is not as bad – you’ll still notice a slight lag. On the iPhone, it’s stored on solid state memory which provide faster access, hence reducing load time giving your machine a speedier performance.

Fellow Hero users are saying that getting a Class 6, 8Gb MicroSD will improve it’s performance with a nite and day difference. I’ve yet to try that for myself and would think so as well. Less memory to read, faster read speed (Class 6) – would definitely translates to better performance.

Now, having removable media cards are great. But then again, unless you’re storing every damn song you have in your music library, it’s really kinda hard to fill-up for an average user who uses his phone mainly as a – phone. Sure, what’s a phone without music, videos and photos these days. But definitely not everything you’ve got?! That’s just madness. So, having solid state memory chip pwns removable media card – any day.

iTunes. That’s the killer. Syncing media is just a couple of clicks away. While on the Hero, you gotta copy your media files as you would onto a portable hardisk or thumbdrive. Drag and drop, right click delete unwanted files. Though not life threatening difficult – but iTunes works great in this department. Yeah, yeah, yeah … it’s not fair to compare a seasoned app with what the Hero has to offer. Yada yada yada. Am not comparing the apps – am highlighting the process.

Apps. Being an iPhone user since 2007 – I’ve got myself quite a bit of apps from the Apps Store. One that I missed most – WunderRadio which allows online streaming of the most popular stations around the world. I listen to Hong Kong radio during office hour – so it’s kinda hard not having that luxury anymore. I tried searching for an app on Android Market which will play my fav stations – none available. If you’re reading this and you know of one – please let me know.

So are you saying you hate the HTC Hero now? Of coz not! As mentioned before, the Social Network part of HTC Hero trumps the iPhone. Being connected out-of-the-box with Flickr, FaceBook, Twitter is just unparalleled. If you have a group of friends who connects socially – HTC Hero rocks!

Tethering. Tried tethering (using your phone’s data connection to surf the net on a laptop) the other day – and it’s lightning fast. My friend was on Maxis and the HSDPA speed recorded 2.2Mb. YouTube videos and websites load instantly. Not sure bout the 3GS and tethering here with Maxis – is it enabled?

The form factor. Between the HTC Hero and iPhone, I prefer the Hero. It just fits in your hand better than the iPhone – and that coming from someone who has a fairly big palm. So, there are pros and cons between the Hero and 3Gs – but I can’t say which is better than the other. To me, both are equally strong and hence, it’s really kinda hard to choose or recommend between one and the other.

So, what’s the solution? Get ‘em both. Weekdays – the 3Gs for all your online streaming and media needs. Weekends and off days, HTC Hero all the way. That, would be the perfect match made in gadget heaven. With Android 1.6 a.k.a Donut released to developers – brace yourself for some pretty cool things happening in the Android platform. Though new, HTC Hero has very big potential for some very big surprises.

Zalany telefon! I co dalej?

Zdarzyło Ci się zalać telefon? Mnie się zdarzyło już kilka razy. Mam takie szczęście że moje telefony usilnie próbują się nauczyć pływać. Szczerze przyznam że najgorzej pływanie poszło Sony Ericsson K800i – uszkodził się wzmacniacz antenowy, trochę lepiej pływa Nokia 6500 Classic jednak, czasami się przywiesza bądź gubi zasięg. W K750i wystarczyło wymienić tylko baterie, telefon działa do tej pory (1.5 roku). Najlepiej pływają telefony firmy HTC Pierwszy tej marki próbował się uczyć pływać SPV M650 telefon ten wyszedł bez szwanku. Po tygodniu schnięcia działał, nie wieszał się żadnych problemów z zasięgiem, WiFi czy też GPS. Całkiem nie dawno całkiem zręcznie nurkował HTC Diamond. Ten już tak dobrze nie potrafi nurkować jak poprzednik co prawda wszystko działa jednak restartuje się co jakiś okres.

Co należy zrobić gdy telefon zostanie zalany, bądź zamoczony? Bezzwłocznie wyciągnąć baterie! Co dalej? Oddać do serwisu? Bądź też kupić pojemnik do schnięcia elektroniki czy też może zostawić go na kilka dni w spokoju? Szczerze powiem, że korzystałem już z tych wszystkich opcji. Woreczek do schnięcia elektroniki koszt ok 20$ plus koszty przesyłki. Serwis? hmm… zależy gdzie w niektórych serwisach telefon położą pod ladą i sam wyschnie następnie sprawdzą czy działa i skasują Cię jakieś 30 – 100 zł, chyba że znasz dobry serwis wtedy telefon wykąpią w wannie ultradzwiękowej w specjalnych płynach, po których nie dojdzie do korozji. Najlepszym, najtańszym i najczęściej sprawdzanym prze zemnie sposobem jest zostawienie telefonu w ładny dzień na parapecie, a najlepiej na kilka dni tj. 2 – 3 można go rozebrać i niech sobie schnie. W taki sposób przywracałem do życia HTC Diamond i nie mam z nim najmniejszych problemów.

HTC Touch2 – Shipping Date Confirmed

We have today had it confirmed that the HTC Touch2, will be here in time for the Windows Mobile 6.5 launch on 6th October. From this date we will start shipping the Touch2.

Features of HTC Touch2

• Slim, compact and lightweight
• Weighs just 110g, with battery.
• Windows Mobile 6.5 for an improved user experience
• 3G/HSDPA high speed connectivity
• Quad Band network connectivity
• 3.2 megapixel camera
• WiFi
• Bluetooth
• On board GPS receiver
• 2.8" touch screen
• 3.5mm audio jack
• MicroSDHC Memory Card Slot

READ MORE or ORDER a HTC Touch2 on the link below:

http://www.clove.co.uk/viewProduct.aspx?product=8DC249F4-363E-4FE5-83D9-FC0FB14F070C

Priced at £290+ VAT this is a great upgrade to the original HTC Touch or makes for a compact general smartphone, with a new and improved interface.

LG Secret, Or Htc Magic?

Question:
Hey everybody, i'm 15 looking for a phone that can text easily and play music. Both these phones are touch screen and i'm planning to get a phone tomorrow but i have no idea which one to get. There are both marked down to 79.99 with a 3 year contract, since i am getting an upgrade. Any opinions would be appreciated
Answer:
Im 15 to and i have the Htc magic and its a Very good phone...ive never had the secret but that seems like a cool phone to but its up to you :)

How good is the HTC magic..?

Question:
What do you think of the phone?
Answer:
As the Japanese say, its awesome-uh

Who are the carriers for the htc dream?

Question:
i know that t-mobile is but what about the other carriers? is cellular going to be one. i REALLY want that phone
Answer:
T-mobile HAS THE "EXCLUSIVE", But you can get it for any carrier, just get it "unlocked" on e bay etc. Source(s): Personal Experience with HTC

HTC promette nuovi design e materiali innovativi per il futuro

La rivista Forbes, ha intervistato Claude Zellweger, eclettico designer dell’ aziendaOne & Co, recentemente acquisita da HTC.

Grazie a questa partnership, HTC è riuscita ad ottenere grandi successi nel mondo della telefonia.

Attualmente è il quarto produttore di telefonia cellulare, dietro a Nokia, R.I.M e Apple.

In questa interessante intervista, Zellweger spiega la nuova filosofia di HTC.

Si passa a design innovativi con l’ introduzione di materiali nuovi e ampia scelta di colori.

Alcuni terminali potranno variare la forma a seconda della commercializzazione e dei gusti dell’ operatore.

Chiaro esempio è il nuovo HTC Hero Sprint.

I terminali Android avranno sempre più un design allegro e gioioso, caratterizzato da linee morbidi e colori variegati.

Questo perchè il software di Google non è ancora ben orientato verso il business, al contrario di Windows Mobile.

I nuovi HTC Windows Mobile saranno più seri e sobri, ma questo non vuol dire che non saranno attraenti!

Basti vedere il nuovo Diamond 2 o le prime immagini del presunto LEO.

Secondo Zellweger HTC deve rendere il suo marchio unico, riconoscibile subito dal design.
Inoltre sono previsti nuovi materiali, come il teflon già utilizzato nel retro di HTC HERO bianco.

Materiale solido e molto resistente ai graffi.
One & Co raccoglie le idee sia da HTC che dai loro 18 dipendenti. Non creano modellini reali, ma solo rappresentazioni in 3D o Mockup.

Entro la fine del 2009 verranno lanciato nuovi terminali Windows Mobile 6.5 e viene esclusa la presenza di un netBook da 7 pollici.
Zellwelger chiude l’ intervista con una bella frase :

“Non abbiamo paura di andare nei luoghi dove la gente non è ancora stata”

HTC Whitestone coming October 6 to Verizon

As we all expect a barrage of Windows Mobile 6.5 handsets on October 6th from mobile carries, we now are getting a better idea of what we’re going to be hit with. We heard eons ago that the HTC Whitestone was coming to Verizon and now we know — well kinda. It’s highly probable, lets say that. If you’re unfamiliar with the Whitestone, it’s basically a slightly smaller HTC Touch HD or a keyboard-less HTC Touch Pro 2. WMEpxerts reports that it will be dubbed the HTC Imagio and will sport a 3.6″ resistive TFT touch screen, GPS, 5 megapixel camera with AF and image stabilization. Unfortunately it is powered by the same old 528Mhz Qualcomm processor. Come on HTC, lets see some more Snapdragons. Everyone loves dragons.

via WMExperts

Android’li en iyi HTC tanıtıldı

Google’ın geliştirdiği Android işletim sistemini kullanan HTC Tattoo Ekim’de tüm dünyada raflara çıkacak.

Google’ın geliştirdiği Android işletim sistemini kullanan HTC Tattoo tanıtıldı. Basit kişiselleştirme özelliğiyle ve küçük ölçüleriyle dikkat çekiyor. HTC Tattoo Eylül sonunda Avrupa’da, Ekim sonuna doğru da Türkiye’de piyasaya çıkacak.

HTC’nin tanıttığı yeni Android tabanlı telefonu HTC Tattoo’da kullanıcıların telefonlarını istedikleri gibi kişiselleştirmelerine olanak tanıyan HTC Sense yazılımı bulunuyor. Ürün bülteninde belirtildiği üzere telefonun tüm açılardan kişiselleştirilmesini sağlayan donanımdan uygulamalar ve içeriğe kadar, cihazın özel tasarımı ve yetenekleri ile kullanıcılar kendi mobil deneyimlerini yaratabiliyor.

Küçük ölçülere sahip şık tasarımlı HTC Tattoo’da Google’ın Google Maps, Google arama, Google Mail, Calendar gibi mobil servisleri standart. Cihazın diğer özellikleri arasında 3.2 megapiksel otomatik odaklı kamera, 3.5 mm stereo kulaklık girişi ve genişletilebilir microSD hafıza sayılabilir. 

İlk olarak Eylül ayı sonunda Avrupa’da satışa sunulacak olan HTC Tattoo, devam eden aylarda tüm dünyada kullanıcılarla buluşacak.

İHA

Magic é o primeiro Android à venda no Brasil

A HTC lança nesta quinta-feira o smartphone Magic, primeiro aparelho que roda o sistema operacional Android, desenvolvido pelo Google, a ser vendido no Brasil.

O Magic será vendido pelas principais operadoras e não tem preço sugerido informado pela fabricante. Seu custo vai depender do plano oferecido pelas operadoras. O aparelho conta com a interface Sense, que divide a tela em três áreas (pessoal, customizado e entretenimento).

O novo smartphone tem tela de 3,2 polegadas sensível ao toque, conectividade 3G, Wi-Fi e Bluetooth, câmera de 3,2 e sincronização com contas de e-mail pessoal e Exchange. O Magic chega às lojas na segunda quinzena de outubro.

O modelo que chega ao Brasil é baseado no conceito HTC Sense, que oferece recursos de lazer e entretenimento, personalização entre outros. Até agosto deste ano, a HTC vendeu 1 milhão de unidades do Magic nos Estados Unidos. O aparelho deve ser vendido no país por aproximadamente R$ 2 mil.

Fonte: Terra

Primeiro celular com Sistema Operacional da Google chega ao Brasil em Outubro.

A fabricante de telefonia HTC anunciou nesta quinta-feira (17) o lançamento no Brasil do aparelho Magic, equipado com o sistema operacional Android, do Google. A novidade chega oficialmente ao Brasil na segunda semana de outubro e o preço ainda não foi revelado.

Segundo a HTC, o valor do aparelho vai depender do plano que o consumidor fechar com a operadora de telefonia móvel – pelo fato de se tratar de um smartphone e fornecer acesso à internet, o plano deve conter pacote de dados.

A HTC foi a primeira fabricante a disponibilizar, em todo o mundo, um aparelho com o Android: há cerca de ano, a empresa lançou por US$ 179 nos Estados Unidos o modelo G1, equipado com essa plataforma. No início do ano, em um evento em Barcelona, a companhia apresentou o HTC Magic, o segundo modelo com Android.

Compatível com todas as operadoras brasileiras, segundo o fabricante, o Magic tem tela sensível ao toque com 3,2 polegadas (contra 3,5 polegadas do iPhone), câmera de 3,2 megapixels, GPS, capacidade de transmissão de dados de até 7,2 Mbps (megabits por segundo), Wi-Fi, Bluetooth e sincronização com contas de e-mail, entre outros serviços.

Android

O Android tem código aberto, gratuito e permite às companhias telefônicas economizar em licenças de software. Ele pode ser adotado por diferentes fabricantes de telefones celulares – na semana passada, por exemplo, a Motorola apresentou o modelo Cliq, baseado nessa mesma plataforma.

Apresentado em novembro de 2007, o Android faz parte de uma parceria entre o Google e outras dezenas de empresas chamada Open Handset Alliance. Segundo o Google, essa plataforma ajudará a indústria de celulares a fazer com que a internet funcione em telefones da mesma forma como funciona em computadores – isso contribuiria para o aumento de tráfego nos sites da empresa.

Fonte: Globo G1

Motorola CLIQ

The Motorola CLIQ

The latest buzz on Android has been the release of Motorola’s new devices, specifically the Motorola CLIQ.  This phone seems to be the talk of the town these days and reasonably so.  Motorola has been suffering tremendously in the past few years of mobile sales as they get left in the dust for smartphones from RIM’s Blackberry devices and of course, the notorious iPhone.  The CLIQ is the first phone to bring Motorola into the Android world and they have definitely stepped up their customization of the platform.

First, let’s take a look at the specs on the CLIQ

• Full QWERTY slide-out keyboard
• 320 x 480 screen resolution
• 5MP camera
• 3.5mm headset jack
• MicroSD up to 32GB support
• 1420 mAh battery
• Qualcomm MSM7201A 528 MHz Processor
• 256 MB RAM/512 MB FLASH ROM

So the first selling point for me is the QWERTY keyboard.  It looks to me that Motorola has taken a step up over the T-Mobile G1 and put the keyboard in the phone with a much slimmer architecture.  As we are used to seeing, the processor and RAM specs aren’t that great, but I still maintain faith that someone out there is going to put Android onto a much more powerful machine at a decent price.  Also, many people are loving the idea of the 3.5mm headphone jack.  This is much better than the lengthy adapter shipped with HTC’s devices.

So what has everyone talking about this phone?  Motorola has introduced to the Android system an interface called MOTOBLUR.  This interface is used to keep all your contacts together along with their Twitter, MySpace and Facebook status updates.  This interface is similar to the HTC Sense interface used in the Hero.  The look of it is very impressive, but one question remains.  If this does really appeal to the younger market of smartphones, will it continue to stick using a platform that so far has only drawn in a more tech-savvy user base?  I think it has a lot of potential, and if the hardware can keep up with MOTOBLUR, then this has a real chance at breaking through and possibly revolutionizing the Android system.

The Motorola CLIQ will start pre-sales on October 19 and more than likely be released in November.  The phone will be available exclusively from T-Mobile with a black or white trim of your choice.  You can check out more information and take a test drive of the system on T-Mobile’s offical CLIQ website.

All that’s left to say is good luck, Motorola.

New Gadget: Sony Ericsson XPeria X1

My new XPeria arrived on Thursday, and now that I’ve had a few days to play around with it, I thought I’d share some of my initial observations on it. This is not a review, just some impressions – I don’t pretend to know much about smart phones, so if I compare two phones and get it backwards, remember this is just my opinion

When selecting a new phone, I had had quite a broad range of choices, most notably between the XPeria, the HTC Touch Pro 2, one or two Nokias, and of course the iPhone. To cut a very long story short, I had not had much face-time with any of the phones, and only had user reviews to go on, as well as past experience with the different brands, and of course the price tag    My two previous phones were both Sony Ericssons, and I was more than happy with both of them. I’ve never been much of a fan of the Nokia range, and the whole iPhone software model I think is stupid. Also, (and many think I’m crazy for this part), I *wanted* a phone with Windows Mobile on it: being a .Net developer, I figured it would be handy to try my hand at some of the SDK functionality available (more on that in another post). Finally, the HTC Touch Pro 2 looked like a damn fine contender, but considering the price tag (more than double that of the X1), the few extra features were hardly convincing.

So, what is my initial impression? Basically, it’s a very cool piece of hardware.

The performance seems great so far (far, far superior to previous P990i on Symbian), and the touch screen is fine (granted, it will probably never come close to the iPhone, or so I’m told, but its perfectly functional) The QWERTY keyboard is excellent too. Interestingly, I had never held the QWERTY keyboard as a priority, but that is probably because I had never found one easy to use, and so had dismissed it completely as a viable input method. I am now converted! The camera is capable, though not important to me, and unfortunately the sound is a little soft. The connectivity (3G, HSUPA, Wifi etc) are all excellent, and extremely easy to set up. (I’m already connecting to the internet through 2 wifi networks, and then hsdpa/3g/gprs etc etc etc…. all seamlessly and automatically, with near-complete control. Something I could never quite get right on the p990i)

On the physical side, it’s a great looking phone: it’s got lots of metal bits rather than plastic, which feels great. It’s light enough not to pull your pants down, but heavy enough to feel like a real phone. It’s also not a brick, like many smart phones, and I think the size is perfect. The screen is very easy to read (though I suspect not so great in daylight, like most smart phones), and colours look great. (IIRC, only 65K, but I still believe more than that is of no real benefit. At least not for me…)

I’m still getting used to not having the standard keypad on the front, so dialling while driving, for example, is quite difficult (which is probably a good thing).

Ok, finally, I can’t write something about the X1 without mentioning the Panels. Panels are probably the most unique and strongest selling point of the X1, and with good reason too. Basically, think of a Panel as your default, or “home” screen. Usually, most of us will use a default panel showing the time, weather, appointments, missed calls, and a pretty background. However, you can quickly (as in, 2 “clicks”) change your panel to, say, the Skype panel, or a GPS panel, or the Radio panel, Facebook panel, etc…. Its difficult to describe it in a way that does it justice, but so far its proven to be pretty cool

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