Archive for March, 2010
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31
Mar
2010
Super AMOLED and DivX on Samsung Smart Phones
This April and May, Samsung is going to take plenty of impressive firsts in the mobile phone industry.
To start off, the super AMOLED screen seems like it has become the new standard for high end Samsung smart phones. First shown at the Mobile World Congress, the Samsung S8500 Wave device was the very first handset to use the technology where it was praised for its very impressive 3.3 inch capacitive touch screen display.
Most of the comments regarding the super AMOLED display described its brightness and clarity as being very exceptional; others remarked that the “blacks” appeared to be real blacks as opposed to being unlit gray pixels.
This new screen technology also appears in the larger 4 inch display of the Samsung i9000 Galaxy S. the Korean manufacturer has not said why the Android smart phone will be getting a larger version of the new display. Other than these two phones, it was also reported that a yet to be identified Samsung WP7 device will have a super AMOLED display as well. This brings the total of devices using the new technology up to three.
Aside from the new screen technology, the Wave and the Galaxy S are also going to be much sought after as they are the first smart phones to have DivX HD video playback capabilities. While this technology may eventually be common among smart phones, it is an impressive feature that is not present in the HTC Desire or the Sony Ericsson XPERIA X10.
For those who missed out, the Wave is Samsung’s first Bada smart phone. The new open source mobile platform from Korea has proven to be quite the system when it was shown off last December to many developers.
Find out more about the Samsung Galaxy S and the Samsung Wave smart phones at Mobile Choice UK.
30
Mar
2010
The Need for Phone Features to Pin Down Bad Driving Practices
Getting people to understand and know why it is bad, wrong or even illegal to drive while using a mobile phone is easy. The hard part is actually getting folks to follow the rule.
Unlike drinking, which is something that many people do try to avoid, mobile phone usage is a practice that is on a completely different level. It is a functional tool, though it can be used for non-important functions, it is not labeled outright as a “bad practice” –which is something that people tend to associate with being drunk.
Using the phone is simply a part of daily life. This is the very reason why preventing or even discouraging people from using mobile phones when driving can be so hard to do. Not only do people want to use the device on their own, there is also nothing stopping phones from alerting drivers to incoming messages or phone calls.
The privacy of vehicles is also another reason why people think they can get away with texting and driving. Unlike in public places such as theaters or chapels where it would be customary to set a phone to silent or even to turn off the device, there is no cultural standard to be followed when driving in one’s own car.
Others simple refer to the presence of hands-free controls as an excuse to tinker around with their phones. While the feature does help a bit while driving, users would still need to pick up the phone and tap a few buttons to either make the call or send the dictated message. Not even applications can help –as there is no way for a mobile phone to distinguish between a driver and a passenger.
Get to know more about the need to help stop the practice of using mobile phones when driving at Google News.
29
Mar
2010
Know What a Hutt wants to drink in the Upcoming Star Wars Cantina iPhone Game
Star Wars geeks and iPhone users have something to look forward to. THQ is putting their wireless Star Wars rights to good use by developing the next Star Wars app on the iPhone. After the announcement of the Lightsaber Duel app (you know, the one that lets you swing you iPhones at each other with realistic lightsaber sounds), this seems to be a good year for Star Wars nuts and app lovers alike.
The newest Star Wars iPhone app is dubbed as the “Star Wars Cantina” and players are tasked to keep the patrons happy on a cantina in Tatooine. This involves serving drinks to both popular and unpopular Star Wars characters. And yes, that includes your favourite race, the Hutt.
The official game description is as follows:
“Your task is to see that the right beverage finds its way to the right customer. And don’t keep them waiting. Some of the customers are real troublemakers! Working towards your daily quota, accuracy and speed are essential. As a reward for a job well done, [you can] outfit your cantina with decorations and attractions to appeal to even the most difficult customers.”
For the game play, think Diner Dash with a Star Wars vibe. You control the bartender Wuher and basically you have to keep your customer’s drinks filled and cater to everyone in the bar.
All in all it looks to be a promising app. The funky art style and bright colors make everyone seem to pop like a Facebook Playfish game.
Seriously though, the game screens are looking quite impressive at the moment. Aside from being a Star Wars fan, if you are the type to like managing virtual establishments, like say Restaurant City, give this app a try. Who knows, you may even see an in-game fight between Greedo and Han Solo.
See the screens at Gizmodo.
26
Mar
2010
New Super AMOLED Phone from Samsung Gets DivX
The good news with the new Android smart phone from Samsung keeps on coming with the recent announcement that the Galaxy S will come with support for DivX videos. DivX has been a primary choice for video encoding for many people for its high quality and excellent compression rate. With the Galaxy S able to run at HD resolutions, it will be the first HD capable smart phone to come with DivX support.
While that is certainly great news for media buffs everywhere, the Galaxy S is already a great hit among smart phone fans as it is the first Android phone to be used in the super AMOLED display. The 4 inch capacitive touch screen display is expected to deliver images and videos in crisp stunning quality that other mobile devices cannot match. Aside from the impressive touch screen, it has also been confirmed that the phone will be running a 1GHz CPU and will have a 5 mega pixel camera as well.
On the software side, the device is reported to be using the new Android 2.1 OS and will also have the Samsung TouchWiz user interface. Additional features on the Galaxy S include the new Smart Life (a basic daily task helper) and ThinkFree (a Word document reader and editor) apps as well as the recently released Social Hub networking tool.
The first device to use the screen technology is the Samsung Wave –which is also the first mobile phone to use the Bada operating system. It was showcased at the Mobile World Congress where the open source platform was praised for its impressive app support and the screen technology was highly recognized for delivering superior quality images over standard AMOLED displays.
Find out more about the new super AMOLED Android smart phone from Samsung at Softpedia.
25
Mar
2010
T-Mobile offers Desire and X10 Ahead of Time
There are a couple of high end Android smart phones being offered by T-Mobile. The HTC Desire and the Sony Ericsson XPERIA X10 are two of the best Android devices to be ever launched. Aside from the already released Google phone, Nexus One, there are no other Android smart phones that use the Snapdragon processor clocked at a speed of 1GHz (the Acer Liquid did use a Snapdragon, but that was under clocked to below 800MHz).
Vodafone and Orange mobile also expressed that they will soon offer the device as well but no release date has been given on when the stocks will actually arrive, even T-Mobile states that the devices will be ready by shipping after at least 7 days. (10 days for the XPERIA X10).
The Sony Ericsson XPERIA X10 was originally announced as the SE Rachael. Later rumors regarding the device labeled it as the XPERIA X3, in the same line as the two previous XPERIA phones that used the Windows Mobile operating system. It was later confirmed that the new phone would be named X10 and that it would be running the Google Android operating system and that it will have a 1GHz Snapdragon processor. The device also comes with an 8 mega pixel camera and a 4 inch capacitive touch screen display.
Taiwanese manufacturer is now offering the new HTC Desire. This Snapdragon powered Android smart phone will have a 3.7 inch AMOLED capacitive touch screen display, a 5 mega pixel camera and video recording capabilities at 720p HD quality. The device will be using the HTC Sense user interface over the Android operating system. It has also become a favorite for many who are interested in getting a device similar to the Nexus One.
Get to know more about T-Mobile’s new Android smart phone offerings at Mobile Choice UK.
24
Mar
2010
Will the Digital Economy Bill Actually Help Us?
Somewhere along the line, the connection between piracy, prevention and the legislation seems to have gotten lost. In fact, if memory would serve right, there was never any defining trait or aspect in the Digital Economy Bill which determined and outlined how it would actually be successful to the curbing of piracy.
Is this really important? Quite so; for the past couple of days the biggest argument being given is: “piracy will cost the UK millions in Pounds and in jobs”. There is a strong subliminal suggestion here that implies that the “Digital Economy Bill will stop piracy”, which makes us truly wonder, how?
Everyone knows that China has a pretty darn good control of the internet, enough to make Google pack up and leave with all the censorship going on. But despite China’s strict control, their very own hackers and “leet” citizens are among the most prolific sources of bootlegged material online.
The scary thing here is that the UK is not as tightly controlled as China. If the Digital Economy Bill does push through, then the British government should be prepared to deal with an even stronger community of file-sharing revolutionaries.
Film makers, musicians, game developers and other creative artists are the true victims of piracy, but the Bill is hardly anything that would protect them. Enforcing strict authentication protocols such as digital rights management (DRM) would only inconvenience consumers and would actually inspire people to obtain hassle free, cracked pirated copies.
What many fail to realize is that the simple act of accessing a music video or a film clip never really cost the industry any money. People who are impressed enough with a video will purchase the real product. Those who aren’t would never purchase in the first place.
The government should focus more on giving tax breaks and supporting those in the arts and media industry in order for artists to be able to create works worth purchasing.
For a different opinion on the Digital Economy Bill, read the article on the Economic Voice.
23
Mar
2010
Digital Economy Bill: Using Piracy as a Scapegoat
It is appalling that until this very day and age, the legislation still relies on broad statistical research done by private companies in order to provide solid backing for making their decisions.
Not that surveys make for bad advice, but it certainly twists things around when the focus should be looking for a real solution.
The Digital Economy Bill has found a new backing in the form of a recent research study prepared by the TERA Consultants (requested by the International Chamber of Commerce) regarding how piracy will impact the economy in the UK. The results are particularly shocking: not only will piracy cost the UK 240 Billion Euros by 2015, but it will also cost 1.2 million jobs as well.
Are they serious about this?
There is no doubt that piracy is indeed rampant, causing many sectors the loss of income and obviously, quite illegal and should be stopped. For the piracy to actually start costing jobs however, would be pushing it. In a move meant to play to the hearts of major worker unions in order to increase support to lobby the Digital Economy Bill; this research has been presented as an added scare factor.
Should the UK really fold to so quickly to the Digital Economy Bill? There are certainly a lot of excellent aspects to the bill itself, and it would be quite beneficial to several sectors of the business industry. For end users and consumers however, there is very little positive change to be gained.
This is an ironic circumstance; for if the bill does get passed, it will actually make more consumers turn to piracy even more. Piracy should and must be stopped at all costs, but for it to be used as a scapegoat in order to create pressure for pushing legislation is a completely different matter. Let us hope that the TUC realizes that this not the path they want to go.
Read more about the research data regarding piracy at the London Daily News.
22
Mar
2010
HTC Takes a Stand Against Apple Lawsuit
The Apple lawsuit against HTC is pretty outstanding, with 20 patent infringement cases covering both hardware and software innovations. Affected devices include almost all HTC Android smart phones and a few Windows Mobile phones.
It does not take much to realize that this lawsuit is more than Apple playing bully with its patents; it is a tactical strike against their competitor Google.
If this was Google that Apple is taking to court, Google would be able to play their game and maybe even match their lawsuit spending budget. HTC however, does not have the same resources. HTC is a Taiwan based company with offices in the United States, and while they are small, they have been in the mobile industry for a very long time.
This is the point that HTC CEO Peter Chou is pressing with his latest statement:
“HTC disagrees with Apple’s actions and will fully defend itself. HTC strongly advocates intellectual property protection and will continue to respect other innovators and their technologies as we have always done, but we will continue to embrace competition through our own innovation as a healthy way for consumers to get the best mobile experience possible.”
“From day one, HTC has focused on creating cutting-edge innovations that deliver unique value for people looking for a smartphone. In 1999 we started designing the XDA and T-Mobile Pocket PC Phone Edition, our first touch-screen smartphones, and they both shipped in 2002 with more than 50 additional HTC smartphone models shipping since then.”
Google has also taken a stand against Apple as they have declared their support for HTC. While not statements has been given as to how Google intends to support their partner, as it is also within their interests to help HTC.
Read more about the HTC defense against Apple at PC Mag.
20
Mar
2010
Peter Chou: “HTC disagrees with Apple’s actions”
HTC has been around the mobile device industry much longer than Apple. Despite Apple being the larger company, their lawsuit against HTC has not only surprised many, but is described by some as a patent hoarding attack against the Taiwanese based manufacturer in order to affect the production of Android devices.
It has already been established that Apple and Google are the two biggest giants of the industry and that the Google Nexus One was indeed manufactured by HTC (who shares a very long history with both Microsoft and Google). Some are already considering this to be a form of legal bullying with Apple filing the case in the US where a smaller foreign country is at a bigger disadvantage. While Apple is obviously prepared to take the case head on, it has taken a while for HTC to make an official statement.
A couple of weeks back, it was confirmed that HTC would indeed be defending itself by showcasing their own patents. Google has also stated that they stand behind the Android partner regarding this matter. With most of the devices being Android smart phones, many already see the possible motives behind Apple’s lawsuit.
HTC CEO Peter Chou states “HTC disagrees with Apple’s actions and will fully defend itself. HTC strongly advocates intellectual property protection and will continue to respect other innovators and their technologies as we have always done, but we will continue to embrace competition through our own innovation as a healthy way for consumers to get the best mobile experience possible. From day one, HTC has focused on creating cutting-edge innovations that deliver unique value for people looking for a smartphone. In 1999 we started designing the XDA and T-Mobile Pocket PC Phone Edition, our first touch-screen smartphones, and they both shipped in 2002 with more than 50 additional HTC smartphone models shipping since then.”
Get to know more about the lawsuit at Tech Radar.
19
Mar
2010
WP7: No Multitasking, No Cut and Paste
Will this be the start of our love hate relationship with Windows Phone 7 series?
After all, the past few weeks have been nothing but plenty of great news. But now, it seems like Microsoft is showing us a little of the problems that might be bothering the new OS and it looks like we will be in for a long hard fight convincing MS that certain features should really be put in.
Anyway, this week saw the release of the SDK for the OS and several new features that are bound to make the platform much more interesting to use (Silverlight, Notification and Location Services). At the same time, we also learned that the system will be lacking a few key factors.
First off, multi tasking is not longer present. While the OS can handle the music player over anything else, users will not be able to swap between active apps anymore. The hardware on a WP7 will certainly be more than enough to handle multi tasking –a problem quite similar with the Apple devices. The iPhone and the iPad both lack multi tasking as well.
Speaking of iPhone problems, Windows Phone 7 will also come without cut and paste capabilities. For such a simple function, it is pretty surprising that Microsoft has not enabled it; even worse, the system will be having the Pocket Office apps –unless these apps will have their own cut and paste technology. In any case, expect to see a lot of disappointed folks when they see this feature missing. Lastly, the WP7 will not support SD cards for extra storage space. Oddly enough, these traits are quite similar to the Apple iPhone OS –closed system and all.
Read more about the cut and paste issue with Windows Phone 7 at Mobile Choice UK.
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