Tech Readers » Mobile Reviews

LG Nitro HD Gets Official with AT&T

Mikey Mell — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 12:04:32 +0000

AT&T is leaving no stone unturned to increase the support for its LTE series models. The company has already announced HTC Vivid and Samsung GS II Skyrocket just a couple of weeks ago and AT&T has another announcement for its users that LG Nitro HD is coming to AT&T on December 4^th. The initial price set for the device is $249.99.

The device is commonly known as Optimus LTE in markets other than United States. The device has some really heavy specs. As you may have got an idea from its name, the device sports a high-definition 4.5-inch AH-ISP display capable of supporting resolution up to 1280 × 720 pixels. It sports 1.5GHz dual-core processor, 4GB of internal storage capacity and a 16GB pre-installed microSD card. It also features and 8-megapixel camera on the back.

The LG Nitro HD running Android 2.3.5 Gingerbread. It is assumed that the device will come with a range of preloaded applications that you can uninstall based on your requirement.

The most interesting feature of the LG Nitro HD is its appearance – a solid handset on a paper. We hope that the device is as good in the hand as it seems. LG mobile phone business really needs a boost as the past six consecutives quarters didn’t went good for the company. To revitalize its mobile phone business, the company has committed half of its 2012 capital expenditures budget into the mobile business. The new crop of smartphones from LG will certainly take some time to appear in the market, until then all eyes are on the forthcoming Nitro HD.

Verizon Wireless Offers Samsung Stratosphere

Mikey Mell — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 12:56:52 +0000

Verizon has come up with its latest smartphone, the Samsung Stratosphere. It is an attempt to bring something really impressive and powerful to the market. It is in fact belongs to the Samsung Galaxy S family. It will be scheduled to launch on today. You can order one online or have it at brick-and-mortar stores. This slim smartphone considered as the first 4G LTE device that comes from the Verizon Wireless’ camp. It features a QWERTY keyboard to make messaging process smooth as well as swift.

Its 4-inch Super AMOLED display offers a pleasing view of the screen from all angles. It also features B2B-enabled connectivity services from Cisco, Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync support and a secure remote-device management from Sybase. Its powerful data management support clearly suggests that the device is designed to target the business professionals. Many of you must be thinking whether the given smartphone has all that features that make it multimedia thrust. Keep on reading folks!

The Samsung Stratosphere is designed to give you 5Mbps to 12Mbps of download speed, while it can also gets the 2Mbps to 5Mbps of upload speed in the areas under 4G Mobile Broadband coverage.

The Samsung Stratosphere will run on Android 2.3 Gingerbread. In addition to 4-inch Super AMOLDED display, it features 1GHz processor, 4GB of onboard memory with 4GB installed on a microSD card, 512MB of RAM, and of course a five-row slide-out QWERTY keyboard. It also features two cameras, a 1.3-megapixel secondary camera on the front, while 5-megapixel camera at the back which offers HD video capturing as well. Furthermore, it has a voice dialer, voice-to-text feature. As for connectivity, it has Mobile Hotspot Capability as well as DLNA connectivity. Wi-Fi connectivity is also available, in case you don’t want to use 4G or there is no coverage.

With all these specs, we can expect to have a support for several Google Mobile Services as well including Gmail, YouTube, Google Talk, Google Search and Google Maps. There is plethora of apps available in the Android Market as well to choose from.

Samsung Launches Bada Phones with ChatOn Service

Zaheer — Sat, 17 Sep 2011 12:06:04 +0000

Samsung has launched ChatOn service for its Bada OS range of phones internationally. The users will be able to connect with their friends, colleagues or social contacts using the integrated services without any hassles at all. Samsung has been phenomenal in pushing up the ante with their innovative services on the go. The ChatOn services can be leveraged by users for free of cost without any additional investments or set up. The service can be instantiated from within the mobile equipment device by the users in a professional manner. These resources can provide great value addition to the end users from all walks of life.

The service will be ideal for users who chat for longer duration with their friends and family folks. They can easily connect with the contacts and share information in real time. The plethora of mobile devices on Android platforms is hitting the market each day and onus of selecting the best one lies largely with the customers.

Therefore, get going and look to leverage from the Bada OS phone from Samsung in order to experience the next generation chat cum conferencing services in a streamlined manner without any glitches at all. The new league of devices can enhance the usability experience on the fly.

Beware- Smartphones Hurt Your Eyes

Zaheer — Fri, 05 Aug 2011 17:56:37 +0000

A research has indicated that users who spend excessive amount of time accessing their smart phones are at potential risk of hurting their eyes. The smart devices such as iPad, iPhone and other lucid screen quality smart phones emit rays that can harm the retina. There are dedicated screen protectors which can be fixed over the smart devices for shielding the eyes but the users are at large. These have not been popularly marketed and are expensive too in terms of cost. As a result, end users prefer using non-shielded regular screen protectors rather than the expensive bets available in the market.

The onus lies not only on the customers but on manufacturers as well. They must manufacture the shielded screens or reduce the impact of harmful rays on the eyes. It is rumored that Apple and Google might provide sensitive eye phone range in the future.

The next time on you are enticed by a new smart phone in the market you should hold back and check if there are apt screen protectors to cover up for harmful radiations. The screen protectors in the market can be aptly used for curbing down the impact of radiations from smart phones. Also, you can try shopping for anti glare glasses too.

Android Still Rules as the Top Mobile OS, Apple iOS Trails

Zaheer — Tue, 02 Aug 2011 19:05:15 +0000

Android is going strong in the mobile OS front and has left Apple iOS far behind in terms of usability options on the go. The Android mobile OS has a market share of 39% in US and Apple is closely following it up with a share of 35%. The latest league of mobile phones from Samsung and LG are powered on Android 3.x platform. The new range of Android phones offer supreme class usability options to the valued set of customers. A user can video call using an Android powered device along with accessing internet with utter ease or socializing without any constraints at all.

Source: Nielsen

The mobile OS market has become supremely competitive with Nokia planning to launch its dedicated range of smart phones on MeeGo mobile platform on the go. The users should act in a methodical manner while trying to gain from the smart phone operating systems on the go.

Unlike iOS the Android platform offers higher number of free apps and Google is planning to launch dedicated APKs to support various Android devices. Apple is running the tablet segment OS at the moment and day is not far when Android might just sneak ahead of Apple in that front too.

LG P500 Optimus, The Ideal Budget Smart Phone For Everyone

Zaheer — Mon, 25 Jul 2011 14:04:01 +0000

Pros:

The LG Optimus One P500 Android phone, one of the best launched LG budget phones of the year and popularly known as Optimus S in the United States. This runs the standard Android version of today which is 2.2 better known as Froyo. It’s very responsive touch user interface is pretty impressive for its price range. Another good thing about this is its Wi-Fi ready and it has a HSPDA capability for higher and faster download speed and data transfer. It has Google Apps which mostly other Android phones have and runs other fun apps like the famous Angry Birds and many more. You can just go visit the Android app market on the LG Optimus One to download limitless number of apps. It is built-in with a 3.15 MP auto-focus camera which shoot high quality photos, probably the best photo shooter on its price range. It s long battery life offers an incredible talk time of more than 7 hours even on 3G mode, the credit goes to it’s powerful 1500 mAh li-ion battery.

Cons

One of the biggest downfalls of the LG Optimus One is it’s very little internal data storage of 170 MB. Though it comes with a free 2 GB SD card and its external memory is expandable up to 32 GB. Another disappointing thing about the Optimus One is that its camera doesn’t have a flash, which makes it a challenge for its users to shoot good quality photos and videos on low light environment. This budget smart phone is not built with a front cam as well and to think it is a 3G phone. Its lack of front facing camera doesn’t make this handset a good candidate for video calls. One minor addition to its list of epic fail components is its back cover, it’s really a challenge to peel it off and expose the battery.

Specifications

This mid-range smart phone is built with 3.5 mm jack in-earphones which makes it a good music player with good sound quality. It is enhanced with Bluetooth V2.1 which makes it competitive to other smart phones in the market. Another wireless capability of this handset is its Tethering capability, making it possible to share internet connection with other wi-fi capable device. It’s media player can support DivX, MP4, H.264, H.263 media formats. It’s 3.2 MP auto-focus camera can take good quality images and can record videos up to 18 FPS

This smart phone is runs on Android Version 2.2 Froyo OS with a 600 MHz ARM 11 processor for users to run programs and social networking applications fast and easy. The unit comes with a powerful 1500 mAh li-ion battery so consumers wouldn’t have to worry about frequently recharging it.

Other features include Geo-tagging, Beauty Shot and face and smile detection for fun picture taking, an HTML and an FM radio player.

Most importantly, it has Email, Push Email, IM features and has a threaded view SMS messaging which is actually a cool thing about it. The Optimus One also comes in different unique colors, Purple, Silver, Blue, Titan, Wine and Black. As of November 2010, the retail price of LG Optimus One P500 is $325.

Conclusion

Having this phone makes it hard to complain, it is simply because its packed with everything that a smart phone user needs from the outside to the inside. With a decent build and design while boasting rich smart phone features and the standard Android OS of today, this is a mobile phone that you would want to have if you’ve yet to introduce yourself with the Android family.

Taking into consideration the pocket friendly price tag that comes with it, it’s definitely not the handset that you would complain about.

Motorola Atrix 4G: Best Smart Phone for its price?

Zaheer — Sun, 24 Jul 2011 13:01:50 +0000

Pros:

This new phone is powered by Android 2.2 that is a dual core processor. It also has a great quarter of high definition display that has been combined with a 5 mega pixel camera that is for taking pictures and video calls. The phone is also supported by an HDMI port.

Cons:

The HSPA and 4G data capability is not great. Likewise, the phone is less limited because you cannot download and install an application coming from a third party. The video recording of the phone is not also great as it lacks the 1080 p component for high definition.

Conclusion:

The phone has a lot to offer. It features a speed and high end package that is being promoted by AT&T’s lineup for Smart Phones powered by Android.

This review will focus on the phone’s ability as a smartphone. The center piece of the phone’s ability to process data and transaction as a smart phone revolves around its dual core processor. The phone is a high end phone in which users will be very satisfied. The only part that the phone is struggling is its video call ability. But in other features, the phone excels and is credited as one of the best Android phones around the market.

The Motorola Atrix 4G phone has a price of $199.99. The AT&T Company which distributes the phone offers a two year contract and a bundled package. The package includes phone and a laptop dock for a price of $499.99.

Design and Features:

The Motorola Atrix features a sleek and lightweight design. It weighs at 4.8 ounces. The phone is slim and can be easily slip into pants. The phone is also comfortable to hold. The phone features a touch screen base that is very likeable.

Comparing the phone with other smart phones in the market, the Atrix lacks some of the details such as a soft touch finish on the back of the phone. It is a solid device but some good designs are not part of the phone’s designs.

The phone has a 4 inch quarter high definition camera. It has 960×540 pixel resolution. With a big screen, the Atrix provides a sharp and crisp display.

The touch screen design is designed and made well. It is very responsive. With the integration of the Nvidia Tegra navigation set, the phone can process an application menu more faster compared to other smart phones.

The Motorola Atrix 4G package contains an AC adapter, HDMI cable, reference material and a USB cable.

The center piece for the success of the Atrix is its dual core processor. Together with a more advance Nvidia Tegra 2 chipset that includes an ARM Cortex that works at 1GHZ low powered processor, the phone will perform fast, snappy and a better graphics.

The phones works faster in terms of processing application menus compared with other smartphones. Games played in the Atrix rides with a smooth interface for easy gaming features.

The phone also has a Flash content. The phone’s 5 mega pixel camera features a dual LED flash, digital zoom and autofocus.

Performance:

The Atrix boasts of a big battery that can stand up to 7-10 hours of talk time depending on the 4G signal. The sound quality of the phone is fair. The phone calls conversation is clear but there are some minor glitches such as muffled sounds. But all in all, the phone is great. If you want a phone that revolves around Google, the this phone is recommended for you.

Samsung Gravity Smart: Is it smart enough?

Zaheer — Thu, 21 Jul 2011 11:57:52 +0000

Pros: The Samsung Gravity Smart phone features a phone with a good battery life. It is a complete phone having the available features of a smart phone for a relatively cheap price. The phone weighs 145 grams but it is very sturdy. It has a slide out QWERTY feature that is built in a compact and comfortable unit.

Cons: Even though the phone is powered by Android 2.2 froyo, all other parts of the phone is mid tier hence it can be considered as one of its weakness. Another weakness of this smart phone is that its camera quality is not that good. You will not be impressed by its performance when it comes to the camera. The quality of audio it produces is not also great. Its sound quality is not solid as it tends to split the voice when speaking or hearing. The phone’s internal memory is less compared to other smart phones in the market today. The phone’s screen is also a weakness because of its small size. The keyboard is awkward to use.

Conclusion: The phone is competent enough to perform Android functions despite the fact that is relatively a new design.

Specifications:

This smart phone can support a multimedia content that includes DivX, FLAC, AC3 and AC. When you pair it with powerful speakers with a universal 3.5mm audio jack, you will really have a great time in listening to your favorite music. The phone is enhanced with Bluetooth 2.1 that is considered a standard feature for smart phones nowadays. The phone is equipped with a 3.15 mega pixel camera with LED flash that can give you clear images. This smart phone is pack with lots of multimedia features as it has pre loaded applications already. You can use famous social networking sites with relative ease because the phone is powered by Android 2.2 Froyo processor. The phone can support the latest Adobe Flash player. The battery can stand for at least 9 hours of talk time. The phone also features a 32 GB of SD memory card to offset its low internal memory. The phone can store and save unlimited call logs and text messages so that the hassles of deleting from time to time will be avoided.

The Samsung technical and design team made a correct decision in making this a smart phone powered by Android. Many phone users nowadays are looking for a cheap smart phone but can provide them their needs in terms of performance and functions. This phone is up to the challenge because with retail price of $69.99 for a mail in rebate and $29.99 for an online rebate it is very affordable knowing that this phone is a smart phone.

The phone has little complaints from users particularly its camera performance. But it is not really important because the selling point of this phone is its capability to function as a smart phone with a lesser price compared to its counterparts. This smart phone is recommended for those who want to have a smart phone and will enjoy its stylish text messaging feature.

Sony’s Low Profile Android, That’s Packed with Unlimited Possibilities

Zaheer — Wed, 20 Jul 2011 11:52:39 +0000

Pros

The Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 runs one of the most popular operating systems these days, the Android OS powered by Google. It is one of those phones that run with the fastest processing speed because of its 1GHz processor. It has a very responsive touch screen interface so users can reach any app in just a snap. Users can type with ease using QWERTY slide out keyboard with large, lifted keys. It is also known as a rugged phone with better water resistance. Another advantage of this smartphone is the longevity of its talk time that can last up to 600 minutes. Of course, Sony Ericsson has never failed users when its comes to camera features. It boasts an 8.1 megapixel camera that can capture high definition pictures and videos. This smartphone has the Timescape feature that makes it a very good social networking and e-mailing device. With its Mediascape feature, users are enable to browse local media collections by category on the memory card like videos, photos music and can also access online media content.

Cons

The Xperia X10 could feel a bit heavy on the hand considering that it is 13 mm thick and 4.08 oz making it look a bit bulky. The version of its Android OS is also a downside to the unit. Other high end phones run the version 2.0 or 2.1 while this thing only comes with the version 1.6. The camera’s flash doesn’t seem to work like one since it needs manual activation from the camera settings every time it is needed. So it works more like a photo light rather than a flash. Another bad thing about this phone is that there are some instances where it just automatically reboots.

Conclusions

The Xperia X10 is an excellent masterpiece. Though it is a bit expensive, but surely consumers would not regret choosing this phone. With its integrated features and fun applications, there’s nothing else you could look for The 2.1 version may seem like an out of date platform but with the upgrade being just around the corner, you could live with this lapse. Especially official Ginger bread update that is set to be available by August, this could pretty much match with Power Droids available on the market to date.

Specifications

This smartphone has dimensions of 4.7 x 2.5 x 0.5 inches with a large 4.1″ high resolution OLED 480 x 854 clear display. It has a scratch resistant surface, accelerometer sensor for auto-rotation and a proximity sensor for an automatic shutdown purpose. It is equipped with a powerful Scorpion 1 Ghz processor. It has a built-in 8.1 megapixel camera with 16x digital zoom, flash and autofocus features that can record high definition videos at 720 pixels. Other camera features include Geo Tagging, Face Recognition and Smile Detection for fun picture taking. Users can experience quality music playing with its good sound quality. It also features TrackID music recognition. It has Wi-Fi and Bluetooth wireless connections. It is loaded with Google Apps, other fun applications over 200,000 downloadable applications over the app market. This phone comes in two colors, black and white.

The price of this phone on the markets range from $349.50 to $381.50. This isn’t much complains about this phone, if you’re sought after a powerful Android device. Though some users would complain about how it eats battery power even when in stand by mode. Overall, this is an excellent smartphone.

Official Gingerbread Update for Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 Revealed

Hanging with Friends Free iPhone Game Review

Zaheer — Tue, 21 Jun 2011 17:04:58 +0000

Zynga has become a juggernaut in the social gaming sector with various addictive games. Their latest game is Hanging with Friends Free. This game is basically Hangman developed with various intriguing and interesting twists.

Similar to old fashioned Hangman, one person makes a word that their opponent has to guess. Although, unlike Hangman, Hanging with Friends requires one player to select words from a random mix of twelve letters, similar to selecting a row of tiles from Scrabble. Each player in this game is represented by an avatar that is floated up in the air by 5 different balloons. Each time a player incorrectly guesses the word a balloon pops. Your avatar does a freefall if you lose all five balloons. Since this is a game for all ages, I assume Zynga didn’t want to develop the game with someone hanging so the created the balloons.

Another new feature of this game is the coin system that will receive mixed reviews from players. There are three lifelines players can use to help themselves when they are trying to guess their opponents words. These lifelines cost 20 coins each. Players can receive coins by gaining points from the words they make. Similar to Scrabble each word has a specific point to it, and each time you make a new word a randomly placed multiplier appears at one of the eight spaces given to you. This idea is quite unique and makes players to strategize in creating words. Players must now decide whether to play a high point word that is simple to guess or a low point word that is difficult to guess or a mix of both. One problem is that players receive only twenty coins for each 200 points that they score but this can be achieved after several turns.

This game is definitely addictive even though the lifeline and the coin system are a bit imbalanced. When you face against a formidable opponent, games can become quite intense. As the game continues, each player will have fewer margins for error and guesses. This game becomes quite addictive because you have to creative every time you play.

On one hand, this game still have several minor bugs to be looked into and the coin system just feels uncomfortable but Hanging with Friends Free is an excellent novel twist on a traditional game. If you just love word games and feel somewhat good in them, we definitely recommend you to download this game on your iPhone. This game is free to download at the App Store but if you wish to purchase the ad free version, you can do so for just $1.99.

Mike Tyson: Main Event iPhone Game Review

Zaheer — Sun, 19 Jun 2011 15:04:35 +0000

Older fans may enjoy the new Mike Tyson: Main Event iPhone game because it reminds us of the classic Mike Tyson’s Punch Out. Every aspect of Main Event, from the environment to opponents, will give us a sense of nostalgia. On the other hand, Main Event is not the first boxing game for the iPhone to use this concept.

Avid retro gamers will really love Mike Tyson: Main Event. It is developed by RockLive and they have managed to emulate every aspect of this game from zooms to camera shakes so that most people will be quite familiar with it. Again the controls are on screen and have a bit of a learning curve but once you’ve mastered them, it is amazingly similar to Punch Out.

Players will be totally impressed with the game’s audios since RockLive Entertainment actually haired award winning composer, David Frederick, to create the sound effects and music for this game. Even though this game is free, the sound quality is still amazing. The only problem is that it is just too repetitive and players might become bored too soon.

Older fans of Mike Tyson’s Punch Out will enjoy the graphics since they both are quite similar in a fun way. Just like the older game, Main Event has numerous opponents to defeat and interesting backgrounds to box in.

One of the things that make Mike Tyson: Main Event interesting is the huge cast of entertaining opponents. This time RockLive has included several opponents infusing caricatures of celebrities instead of crazy characters of the previous game. You can expect to box against a vicious John Lennon lookalike that is far from peace loving. The developers also promise to update the game with new opponents with the newest being Mr. Chow from the movie The Hangover. These characters will ensure a really fun time and increase the replay value.

All in all, Mike Tyson: Main Event is a pretty decent game and since it is a free game we cannot really complain. We definitely recommend downloading this game if you are a big fan of Punch Out or into retro games. Even though this game is free, there is a possibility to do in app purchases to help you speed up to the final round and fight Mike Tyson. On the other hand, the newness and excitement of this game wears done quite quickly and you may feel uninspired and bored of it pretty soon.

Google Translate iPhone App Review

Zaheer — Sat, 18 Jun 2011 17:04:33 +0000

People that are constantly traveling around the world will definitely love the Google Translate app for the iPhone. This app lets users to translate a word or phrase from 57 different languages instantly. Users can either type what they wish to translate or even speak it by tapping the microphone icon and the app will give you the results.

This app is basically very simple to use and very straight forward. Users input whatever they wish to translate and within seconds results are shown. If you wish to view the translated text in larger fonts, simply flip your iPhone into landscape view. This is great way to show the text to someone if you have trouble pronouncing it. We definitely can imagine this feature can get you out of a lot of difficult situations abroad.

On the other hand, if you wish to try to pronounce the words, this app also gives users phonetic texts that help you in pronouncing it. This feature can help users learn that specific language as well. Plus, trying to communicate with a foreign language will give you extra points with the locals. Also, there is a feature to listen to the translated text. Simply press on the speaker icon and the app will play the audio of the translated text. But you have to understand that not all languages support this feature.

This app also has a history of your past translations that is easy to access. Plus you can mark your most favorite terms or phrases with a star for quick reuse. On the Airplane Mode the history and starred contents are still available but users cannot translate new terms or words.

Users may notice that the accuracy in translating various languages varies. Users have reported that translations between the major European languages such as English, French and Portuguese are quite accurate. These include some insult phrases and even slang. But translating from English to an oriental language such as Japanese can be a bit off at times.

All in all, the Google Translate app for the iPhone is an essential app to have if you are constantly traveling or even if you just go on vacation to a foreign country from time to time. It is an effective way to communicate with people around you in a foreign country. Plus since it is free to download, we definitely recommend having this app on your device. Also this a great app to have if you are actually learning a foreign language.

Flickr HD iPhone App Review

Zaheer — Sat, 18 Jun 2011 15:04:33 +0000

People that have the photographs floating around the internet will definitely enjoy Flickr HD. Basically this app syncs all of the photographs you have in your Flickr account to your iDevice such as the iPhone, iPad and even the iPod Touch. This photograpy app was developed by Alan Scully specifically to manage online photos. Also, for a limited time, you can download Flickr HD for just $1.99 before it returns to its regular price at $4.99. This app needs a 3G or WiFi connection to work properly.

This is a great app to link and manage your online photo collection with your mobile device. Storing your photographs on your device is quite function but on the other hand uses a significant amount of memory space. On Flickr, users can store a large amount (maybe even unlimited) amount of photographs and with this app they can access them anywhere they are. This is again quite practical since users now do not have to go through Safari to access the Flickr site. Also, just in case you want to show certain photographs to someone this app has a favorites section so you can quickly do so.

There is also a feature to randomly view your photographs with a shuffle selector. Plus there it is possible to add captions and a digital clock stamp on to any image. You can further customize your photographs by select one of four background shades for the caption and clock. There is also a feature on Flickr HD where users have an option to share any of their photographs on their Flickr account through Twitter and email. Plus you can also save the photographs directly to your device. Finally, there is a feature to have your device act like a digital photo frame where you can set a slide show of your favorite Flickr pictures. You can set the slide show to various speeds with photographs interchanging every 10, 15 and 30 seconds. This feature looks absolutely amazing on the iPad but is not that impressive on the iPhone or iPod touch.

If you are interested in this app, we recommend that you purchase it while it is still $1.99. All in all, Flickr HD is a great app to help manage your Flickr content to take around with you everywhere you go. This app can be very useful if you regularly look at your photographs on the go but do not wish to fill up your memory to its limit.

Meal Snap iPhone App Review

Zaheer — Fri, 17 Jun 2011 16:04:33 +0000

People watching their weight will definitely love Meal Snap. Basically, Meal Snap is an iPhone app that informs people calorie information of food photographs they have taken. In essence this app is like a Shazam for food and calorie counting. It is also very simple and straight forward to use. All you have to do is take a picture of any food and the app automatically sends it to its servers to identify. After just a few minutes you will receive information about the food and its calories. The app also keeps a history of all the foods you queried.

Usually it only takes two to ten minutes to receive the calorie results of your food. As soon as you receive the results a kitchen timer sound will ding. In order to give feedback, users can rate the accuracy of the given results. Users can choose either Awful, OK or Spot On for the accuracy of the results.

The captions for the foods are usually accurate and users won’t have too much trouble with them. Some of the captions are quite funny while others can be generic. On the other hand, a lot of users may notice how the calorie results are quite varied in standards. There are quite a few times where it is in the awful category since the app tends to give users a very wide range of calories. This may subsequently bother your calorie count when you are in a strict diet. If you want to test the calorie count simply take a picture of your favorite potato chips and compare the results you receive from the app with the calories on the bag. Sadly, you cannot edit the calorie results but you can edit the caption and even zoom in a picture.

One great feature of Meal Snap is that it will instantly classify your meal depending on when you took that specific photograph. As an example, if you take a picture and ask for a calorie count early in the afternoon, the app will automatically categorize it as an “Afternoon Snack”. You can always come back and edit this feature. Also, for every day, users are given an estimated total calorie count from all the pictures you have sent. On the left side of the app you can see a timeline that you can use to jump to any previous day.

All in all, Meal Snap is an excellent concept but needs more work. In needs to be more accurate so people can really apply it to their diets.

Why Sony Ericsson Xperia Play is Not For Regular Users

Zaheer — Tue, 14 Jun 2011 09:55:28 +0000

Sony Ericsson’s Xperia Play is fusion phone equipment that promises to offer unparallel gaming front to the users apart from a regular league phone features. Based on Android Gingerbread 2.3.3 it is powered on 1 GHz Snapdragon CPU. The 4 inch screen of the device is based on a meager 480 X 854 resolution only. The RAM size is neither too fancy and stands at 512 MB only.

Interestingly the price point of the device is on a higher side at $400 and the device lacks video recording capabilities too. The D panel controls reminds of a PSP set up and the phone is ideally positioned for the gaming freaks.

Although some of the finest connectivity options and PC tethering is allowed by the packaged hardware, the phone fails to make an impact. The overall design lacks that vibrant classy looks. Instead, the exterior is packed with poor quality plastic and is squeaky too.

Recording videos can be a real horror on the device as it supports 800 X 480 pixels while the devices such as Samsung Galaxy 2 are already providing supreme coverage of up to 1240 X 724. The still recording is still decent enough with the 5 MP rare camera.

HTC Sensation 4G Launched with Android 2.3

Ali — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 06:26:11 +0000

Yesterday, HTC unleashed the HTC Sensation 4G along with the new services including HTC Watch video service and the latest customer-focused HTC Sense experience. T-Mobile USA will be accountable for sales of HTC Sensation 4G in United States and the device will be expected to go on sale in summer. The company has not disclosed the price of the device.

Some of the characteristic features of the device include a 4.3-inch qHD display (540 x 960 resolution), a 1.2GHz dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon processor, 1GB of internal storage, an 8 megapixel rear lens with dual LED flash capable of 30FPS recording at max 1080p resolution with full stereo sound, and 768MB of RAM. The HSPA+ device help pushing the download rate to a maximum level of 14.4Mbps.

If we talk about its software specifications, it will come with Android 2.3 that is codenamed as Gingerbread along with scene 3.0. Apart from this, the new version of HTC Sense offers a customizable active lockscreen which means you can customize real-time information and content like social, photos, weather, or stock updates, an upgraded weather app and 3D transitions. HTC Watch, on the other hand, is a video service that allows the user to download movies of DVD-quality. This service was first introduced in HTC’s Flyer tablet. HTC Watch makes use of progressive download technology which enables the users to watch videos instantly without waiting for huge video to finish downloading first. Another important thing is you can either buy or rent videos as well. In case you buy the videos, you can watch them on five different HTC devices.

“Consumers have quickly transformed smartphones into consumer lifestyle hubs that are pocket- sized entertainment centers that enable people to take their favorite multimedia content with them wherever they go,” HTC CEO Peter Chou said in a statement. “The new HTC Watch service makes it fun and easy for people to access premium movies and TV shows while on the go. The HTC Sensation 4G combines this great multimedia experience within the latest HTC Sense experience in a premium device that delivers a powerful and unprecedented smartphone to our customers.”

Sony Ericsson Features Mango as Successor to Xperia X10 Mini Pro

Ali — Wed, 06 Apr 2011 09:19:21 +0000

Whenever it comes to some latest news or invention, everyone starts spying about that thing and one such report we have for you. We have come across some leaked photos of a probable pre-production sample of the successor to the Sony Ericsson’s X10 Mini Pro.

One may wonder what make any product the successor to any other product. The answer is quite simple as something that is nothing less in features and looks than the real product. The images we have got are of a leaked phone called SK17i or Mango, the code name given by Sony Ericsson.

The Mango features a sliding keyboard similar to the X10 Mini Pro. We can see a ‘Home’ button just at the bottom of the screen. On either side of this button, there seems to be a touch-sensitive ‘Back’ and ‘Menu’ button. Overall, it looks that the successor has a kind of different layout than its counterpart X10 Mini Pro.

What we have seen that the Xperia X10 Mini Pro is an elegant, cute, little marvelous, but we are not yet sure that if its successor is also a tiny piece of wonder or not. We have not able to gather any information regarding the specifications of SK17i, yet we are told from our resources that the Mango features a 3.2-inch touchscreen instead of 2.5-inch display seen on X10 mini Pro.

The screen resembles to the one we have already seen over Android 2.3 Gingerbread wherein the shortcuts are positioned on each of the four corners of the screen like the one seen on Xperia X8. These are just reports and we have to wait till company officially will launch this phone.

Other details that we have able to collect suggest that this phone features a 5 megapixel camera and also 800MHz or 1GHz Qualcomm processor.

All we can do is just to wait until we have this phone in our hands to see what it really has for us.

Comparison: HTC Desire S vs HTC Incredible S

Tech Readers — Fri, 01 Apr 2011 23:57:31 +0000

HTC Desire S and Incredible S are two mobile phones particularly made for superheroes. Both these phone are known for having remarkable features and functions. This article is an attempt to give you a comparison of features and functions of the two said phones. Let us have a look at them.

Keyboard

At very first place, we have taken the keyboard of both the phones for head to head comparison. The keyboard of Desire S is a kind of slide out QWERTY keyboard that is quite famous among the people who are involved in typing lots of emails and text messages. Incredible S on the other hand has given the capacitive touchscreen having buttons at the bottom that can rotate with the screen. This leaves it on the users if they like the real or virtual buttons in the phone. As far as keyboard is concerned, both the phones are equally attractive.

Size

Here we will compare the size of the two phones. Let us take Incredible S first. It is somewhat larger and a bit heavier than Desire S, i.e. 120×64×11.7mm and 135.5g compared with 115×59.8×11.6mm and 130g respectively. So, this point goes to desire for being good in its looks.

Screen

Let us talk about screen now. It is said especially for smart phones that bigger the screen, better the smart phone. Here, the point definitely goes to Incredible S for being having a screen larger than Desire S, i.e. 4 inch compared with 3.7 inch respectively. However, the resolution is same for both the phones, i.e. 480 × 800.

Processor

Here we will compare the processor of both the phones. Interestingly, both the phones possess the same processor, to say 1GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM 8255. This implies that both the phones are pretty much capable of running different applications and multi-tasking is a not a concern with them.

Memory

This point is all about the memory and surprisingly both the phones share this point because none of them outdo each other in terms of memory. Both the phones have 1.1GB of ROM along with 768MB of RAM and both phone feature Micro SD cards.

Operating System

For sixth point, we will compare the operating systems. Here the Desire S outshine the Incredible S on the basis its recently introduced Android 2.3 Gingerbread. Incredible S is still having the same Android 2.2 Froyo. There are reports that both the phone will be upgraded soon to Android 2.4 Ice Cream.

Camera

In the last point we will talk about the camera. Here, the Incredible S is way ahead to Desire S with its 8 megapixel camera that is capable of capturing the picture at 3264×2448. The Incredible S also features image stabilization, LED flash and autofocus. Besides this, the Incredible S also features a front facing secondary camera with 1.3 megapixels. On the other hand, the Desire S has a 5 megapixel camera.

From the above discussion, we can conclude that there is not a much difference between the two phones as both have their own characteristic features. A difference of point or two doesn’t make any difference as it all depends on the user what he actually wants in his phone, a better camera, real or virtual buttons, smaller or larger screen or lighter or heavier phone.

Nokia Dual SIM Mobiles in Pakistan [Prices & Specs]

Tech Readers — Thu, 07 Oct 2010 09:37:06 +0000

Nokia recently announced four new models of CSeries Dual SIM Mobiles targeting the audience in developing countries. Couple of this CSeries mobiles support Dual SIM Feature, and other two are good for multimedia lovers.

Nokia C1-00 Dual SIM

Nokia C1-00 is specifically different from other two sets in term of different features. For instance, it has a 1.8″ 128 x 160 pixel display and a modernized Series 30 interface. The Nokia C1-00 is particularly designed for making phone calls and sending SMS messages as there is found no data connectivity on this handset.

Nokia C1-00 features “Double SIM” as it contains two internal SIM slots. The user can switch or swap between SIMs by using a menu. Remember, at a time, only one SIM is active. This feature of Nokia C1-00 makes it different from “Dual SIM” handsets, where two SIMs are active at any one time. One such example is Nokia C2.

Other features of C1-00 include the battery time of over 48 days, which is the longest standby time ever on any Nokia phone. The C1-00 talk time is 12 hours. It can store up to 500 phonebook entries and 250 text messages. Besides these, it features a powerful flashlight, a 3.5 mm headphone jack and FM radio. This phone uses the Symbian Series 30 interface to run.

Nokia C1-00 comes in four different colors, i.e. light grey, green, blue and red. It features a full color display. This phone is 73 grams in weight and 15 mm thin.

Availability in Pakistan: YES

Price in PKR: 3200/-

Nokia C1-00 Specifications

Brand / Type
Brand	Nokia
Type	C1-00
Also known as	Nokia C100
Form factor	Candybar
Color	Blue, Green, Red
Network
Phone Network	N/A
Service	N/A
Connectivity
Bluetooth	N/A
Infrared	N/A
Wi-Fi (WLAN)	N/A
USB	No
Fax / Data	N/A
Display
Main display	TFT
Color display	65.000 colors
Dimensions	1.8 in.
Resolution	128 x 160 pixels
External display	No
Memory
Internal memory	No
External memory	No
Memory slots	No
Storage types	No
Basic
Battery	Standard battery, Li-Ion 1020 (BL-5C)
Standby time	1152 hours
Talk time	12 hours
Calling
Vibrate alert	Yes
Photo ID	Yes
Ringtones	MP3
Camera
Camera	N/A
Megapixels	No
Maximum photo resolution	No
Digital zoom	No
Optical zoom	No
Auto focus	N/A
Flash	N/A
Recording video	N/A
Second (front) camera	N/A
Messaging
SMS	Yes
MMS	No
T9 text function	Yes
E-mail	No
Internet browsing	No
Entertainment
FM radio	Yes
Java	No
Audio player	No
Video player	No
Features
Add ringtones	Yes
Organiser	Organiser, Voice memo
Video call	No
Other features	Dual SIM, 3.5 mm audio jack, Flashlight
Format
Weight	2.6 oz.
Dimensions (H x W x D)	4.2×1.8×0.6 in.

Nokia C2 or C2-00

With Nokia C2 which is also a Dual SIM phone, you can keep your two connection active all the time. Battery life is approximately 16 days and 4 hours of talk time. Nokia C2 also has VGA Camera, GPRS, Bluetooth and FM Radio. MicroSD slot is also available which supports up to 32 GB memory card. 3.5mm audio jack and MP3 player are other features of the set.

Availability in Pakistan: YES

Estimated Price in PKR: 8500/-

Nokia C2 or C2-00 Specifications

Brand / Type
Brand	Nokia
Type	C2-00
Also known as	Nokia C200
Form factor	Candybar
Color	Black, Blue, Grey, White
Network
Phone Network	GPRS, GSM
Service	900, 1800
Connectivity
Bluetooth	v2.1 with A2DP
Infrared	No
Wi-Fi (WLAN)	No
USB	YesMicroUSB v2.0
Fax / Data	Yes
Display
Main display	TFT
Color display	65.000 colors
Dimensions	1.8 in.
Resolution	128 x 160 pixels
External display	No
Memory
Internal memory	No
External memory	32GB
Memory slots	1
Storage types	MicroSD, MicroSDHC
Basic
Battery	Standard battery, Li-Ion 1020 (BL-5C)
Standby time	396 hours
Talk time	4 hours
Calling
Vibrate alert	Yes
Photo ID	Yes
Ringtones	MP3, WAV
Camera
Camera	Yes
Megapixels	0.3 megapixels
Maximum photo resolution	640×480 pixels
Digital zoom	Yesx
Optical zoom	No
Auto focus	No
Flash	No
Recording video	No
Second (front) camera	No
Messaging
SMS	Yes
MMS	Yes
T9 text function	Yes
E-mail	Yes
Internet browsing	Yes
Entertainment
FM radio	Yes
Java	Yes
Audio player	AAC, MP3, WAV
Video player	No
Features
Add ringtones	Yes
Organiser	Organiser, Voice memo
Video call	No
Other features	Dual SIM, Downloadable games, 3.5 mm audio jack, Hot swappable external SIM slot
Format
Weight	2.6 oz.
Dimensions (H x W x D)	4.3×1.8×0.6 in.

QWERTY Smartphone: Vivaz Pro by Sony Ericsson

Bilal Akram — Tue, 06 Apr 2010 11:19:04 +0000

Vivaz pro QWERTY Smartphone is a new addition in the Sony Ericsson Phone list, recently Sony Ericsson announced that this phone runs on Symbian Mobile OS. Beside other features it has a slide-out QWERTY keyboard which allows you to type faster. The screen size is 3.2 inch with 360×640 dimensions which is a scratch resistant touch screen display. It also features A-GPS with Google Maps and geotagging, Wi-Fi, TV-out, Bluetooth and a 3.5 mm audio jack.

The original Vivas comes with an 8 megapixel camera on the other hand the latest Vivas Pro is equip with a 5.1 megapixel camera with flash, ability to record 720p HD video and auto focus. It has a 720MHz processor and runs Symbian S60 5th edition OS with Webkit browser, Facebook app and QuickOffice. It supports microSD up to 16GB. It will be available in Q2 2010 in Black and White colors with support for quad-band GSM/EDGE and WCDMA/HSPA 3G networks.

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