Techie Gadgets

True to their promise of connecting people, Nokia has brought the Internet closer to reality with affordable new mobile phones that are Internet-ready and work with Ovi-Mail.

According to Nokia’s consumer research, more than half of the emerging market consumers say that they would rather connect to the Internet and check their email over a mobile phone than their PC. As a response to the demand for mobile technologies that bring powerful solutions without a PC, Nokia developed affordable mobile phones and applications for the needs of consumers in the developing world. Unlike other email services, Ovi Mail accounts can be created and used on a Nokia device without using a PC. Since the launch of Ovi beta in December 2008, over 90% of Ovi email accounts were created over a Nokia phone.

The following new Nokia phones can allow you to create and use an email account (username@ovi.com) directly on the mobile phone, along with enhanced features normally found on more upscale models.

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Tags: Nokia, nokia 2323, nokia 2330, nokia 2700, nokia 2730, nokia ovi mail

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One of the biggest drawbacks of the iPhone 3G is that the battery cannot be removed or replaced, which becomes frustrating once you realize how much power the iPhone uses. If the iPhone is your primary phone, you’ve got to tether it to an electrical outlet at least once a day. There’s really no other choice but to deal with what you have, but there are ways to increase the battery life of your iPhone 3G.

Lower the brightness

As with any device, the LCD screen backlight of the iPhone sucks out a lot of its power. If you’re indoors most of the time, make your screen as dim as you can stand by turning off the Auto-Brightness setting and adjusting the brightness.

Avoid extreme heat

The iPhone uses a lithium ion battery, which is sensitive to extreme temperatures. Any temperature above 114 degrees Farenheit can degrade the batter and will translate to less battery capacity in time.

Turn off the Bluetooth when not in use

A wireless headset is the only device the iPhone’s current firmware can support. Unless you use the headset all the time, turn the Bluetooth off to save on power.

Turn off Push

Unless it’s absolutely necessary that you get notified of new emails right when you receive it, change your email settings by turning off Push on your iPhone. Push is less expensive as checking email the usual way, but it can suck battery power if left on all the time.

Turn off 3G

Unless you’re using the Internet, you probably don’t need the speed of a 3G connection, which consumes more power than the EDGE network. You can turn off 3G by going to Settings > General > Network. Find the setting that says “Enable 3G” and switch it off.

If all else fails…

Always keep an iPhone USB cable in your bag or purse, and a power adapter in your car if you have one.

Tags: increasing battery life of iPhone, iPhone

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Last night, I finally made up my mind to buy a new compact digital camera, but figuring out which compact camera to get took a little more deliberation. At first, I had my heart set on the Canon G10 – I fell in love with how it handled colors when I first used one. But after asking for the advice of several friends, I decided to go for a Panasonic Lumix LX3 instead. I’ve yet to try using one but it looks like I’ll get more out of the LX3 based on the research I did.

Feel and Ergonomics

The Canon G10 is very easy to handle – nice firm grip that feels right in my hand. As I mentioned earlier, I’ve yet to handle an LX3 but many reviewers complained that it’s a little weird to handle. On the other hand, it’s smaller, lighter, and easier to carry around, and I love that it looks like an old school film camera. The G10 is definitely not something you can just slide into a small purse without feeling like you’re carrying a brick with you.

Lens Speed

A fast lens is what the LX3 has that the G10 doesn’t. What this means is that you can get great photos in low light conditions, which is exactly what I’m looking for in a new camera. I hate having to use a blinding flash when I do night time photos in indoor shots. When you use the G10 in low light conditions, you have to bump up the ISO in order to get the same exposure the LX3 has at a lower ISO. Which ties in to another complaint most reviewers have – the G10 churns out grainy photos at high ISOs.

Color

I’ve always been a Canon fan because of its bright vivid colors, especially in natural lighting. It turns out that the G10 and the LX3 is at par in terms of color. Although some reviewers had complaints about color accuracy, it turns out you can always tweak the colors to suit your tastes. I suppose I can figure this out with the help of the manual.

Accessories

Apparently, there are tons of accessories you can buy for the LX3, including a wide-angle lens and fish-eye lens! The G10 has lenses as well, but they’re not as accessible as the LX3’s.

Price

Both cameras are in the P24,000 – P26,000 range, which makes sense.

Now, to make a couple of calls to camera stores! If I can find a store that can give me a Panasonic Lumix LX3 at installment with 0% interest, I’m definitely grabbing one.

Photo credit

Tags: canon g10, panasonic lumix lx3

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I’m a huge bookworm and I’m a little divided on the issue of eBook readers. On the one hand, I love holding the actual book itself; the smell of the pages, the weight of the book in my hands. But then an eBook makes it easy to carry digital texts around, and I have a lot of pirated copies of academic texts and journals. In response to the slight clamor for eBooks with bigger screens, Amazon just launched the new Kindle DX, an eBook reader with a 9.7-inch large screen to make reading newspaper and magazine articles easy on the eyes. I was wrong when I said that the new Kindle costs $200; apparently, the Kindle DX will sell for a whopping $489!

So for that exhorbitant amount, you get 3.3GB hard disk memory – allowing for approximately 3,300 eBooks, 16 shades of gray on the 9.7-inch screen which makes page transitions easier on the eyes, 20% faster page turns, a USB 2.0 connection, .PDF file compatibility, a 3.5mm headphone jack and built-in speakers so readers can make use of the Kindle DX’s Read to Me feature, where a robotic voice reads text out loud. It also has wireless 3G, which means you can download new books without having to hunt for a hot spot!

I wonder who has $489 to burn on an eBook reader during a recession?

Source

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There’s no doubt that the making of a device like the Nokia N97 from scratch requires collective effort and insight on what a flagship device should contain. The Nokia N97 is the child of several parents – a global team based in Tokyo, with the design team in Finland, the mechanics team in Tokyo, and software teams from India, China, Singapore, and Boston. Below is a video of the making of the Nokia N97, where many of the key players of the team go in front of the camera to tell their story, including designer Shunjiro Eguchi and Product Program Manager Tomi Kuparinen. It’s very cheesy in that inspirational bullshit sense, but if you’re excited about the N97 then this video will probably give you the goosebumps.

Source

Tags: Nokia, nokia n97

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