Just Another Gadget Blog

I really wanted to watch Queens club tennis, especially Murray’s straight sets victory over Fish yesterday but was miles away from a TV. With limited sunshine in the UK, I wanted to make the most of the beautiful weather we had yesterday and therefore I didn’t want to go indoors to watch the game. All I had was my smart phone, a phone that could do everything, well I was wrong!

I thought why it isn’t possible to get live commercial TV on the phone. It can’t be that hard, can it? They have thought of everything else, I can watch last nights Eastenders at my pleasure on 13 different handsets but why can’t I watch live TV?

Well, having searched the web, I came across a phone by Softbank and Sharp, the Softbank 923SH mobile phone. Currently only available in Japan, It boasts the ability to get decent terrestrial TV on your handset.

The Softbank 923SH features a 3.3-inch widescreen swivel LCD display, a 5.2 mega pixel auto-focus camera, GPS navigation and Bluetooth. The handset was designed and developed with help from those who designed Sharp’s AQUOS hi-definition TV range.

softbank-sharp-923sh

This sound’s quite unique and looks very impressive, once released in Europe I can see this becoming the next big thing.

This is one of them toys that boyz must have part of their gadgetry. This is something from a James Bond movie or is that a Transformers movie.

The WowWee Spyball spy camera is a tiny remote-controlled Wi-Fi enabled robot webcam, it traverses around on sleek wheels with 360 degree turns. It is very quick when transforming from a ball to cam on wheels. Moreover, it can be controlled from anywhere when connected to a home network as it can be controlled over the web.

My only concern is that the WowWee Spyball can go about its job quietly, so perverts who want to capture upskirt shots could have a field day. Be warned!

The wowwee spyball

When it comes to phones, all we seem to be hearing these days, is the iphone does this, or the iphone does that, don’t get me wrong its amazing phone, I’ve got one myself, but I was getting bored of constantly hearing about it.

So it was a breath of fresh air when I heard Samsung had launched the Samsung E1107 also known as the “Solar Guru”, the world’s first solar powered mobile phone. Yes you read correctly “Solar Powered”. The handset itself is quiet basic and definitely not much to look at, but it has a solar panal on the back. Now you maybe wondering what “solar powered” actually means, basically in Samsung terms, 1 hour of solar charging gives you 5-10 mins of extra talk time (depending on lighting), so if I was you, I wouldn’t throw away your conventional chargers just yet! However great if you’re going somewhere where electricity is limited, such as camping.

The features on the handset are as follows: 1.52 inches CSTN Display with 128×128 pixels & 65k colors, FM Radio, Mp3 ringtones, built in flash light, a mobile tracker, the handset supports dual band and most importantly the phone has a fake call app that’ll let you call yourself to get out of an unwanted conversation….now I know the iphone has an app for that……..but does it have a solar panal?………I think not.

The Samsung E1107 has been released in India and is priced at an affordable price of 2,799 IND ($59). It will also be available in Europe, Southeast and Southwest Asia later this month.

Ever since the iPhone 3G came out one app that should have been released is turn-by-turn navigation. With the power of Google maps, Google directions and 3G technology the iPhone was the ideal platform for turn-by-turn navigation.

Well, better late than never. TomTom, the market leader in satellite navigation have developed the first navigation software in combination with a specially designed car kit for the iPhone. This was demonstrated on stage at Mondays WWDC keynote speech by TomTom’s co-founder and CTO, Peter-Frans Pauwels.

The product is to be launched later on this summer after the release of Apple’s OS 3.0. The TomTom navigation app for the iPhone is based on TomTom’s award-winning turn-by-turn navigation software and will be available via the Apple iTunes App Store. The TomTom car kit for iPhone will probably be available from O2 shops and Apple stores in advance of the apps launch.

The specially developed car kit ensures secure docking, enhanced GPS performance, clear voice instructions, hands-free calling and in-car charging.

Product page

Over the recent year or so, manufactures have been concentrating on the smart phones. All you hear about is either the Google Android, RMI’s Blackberry, the Apple iPhone or now the latest favourite the Palm Pre.

However, we haven’t forgotten that there are millions out there who are happy with a mobile phone which is simply a mobile phone.

The Nokia 6300 Classic has to be our favourite. A high quality device in every aspect, a sleek slim design finished in stainless steel. Elegant and easy to use even for the techno phobics. While this isn’t the most advanced handset out there, it is very reasonably priced, has decent all-round features, easy to use and an elegant, straightforward design.

Nokia’s slogan for the 6300 is

Simply beautiful – beautifully simple

and we could not agree more.

The Nokia 6300 Classic includes the a 2 megapixel camera, a built-in MP3 player, memory expandable to 2 Gb and Bluetooth. While this isn’t the most advanced handset out there, it has a strong casing, a decent all-round feature set and an elegant, straightforward design.

Key Features:

• Compact modern design featuring sophisticated stainless-steel covers, glossy black finish, and rounded edges
• Catch and keep those treasured moments with the 2 megapixel camera with 8x digital zoom
• Get entertainment when you want it with the music player, FM stereo radio, and video player
• See more at a glance with the 240 x 320 resolution screen with up to 16 million true colors
• Access your email on the go and send messages with attachments
• Store music, videos, and photos with up to 2GB expandable memory

Once a market leader in personal data devices, Palm all but disappeared from the market. But now are they are back to take their rightful place in the market or are they being naïve. With the advancement of technology and the successes of Apple’s iPhone, Google Android and RMI’s Blackberry, are Palm placing all their hopes of survival in one basket?

Palm have recruited many of Apple’s ex-iPhone workforce to come up with a serious challenger for the iPhone. ‘The Palm Pre’ is born.

The Pre has received a very positive reaction from many Smartphone critics and has generated a huge amount of interest since its announcements at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas at the beginning of this year.

A first look at the specifications and the new Palm webOS, the Palm Pre certainly looks like a very impressive smartphone.

The main focus has been Palm’s new webOS platform, focused on people on the move. The phone automatically recognises when the owner connects to websites, social networks or e-mail services and builds up a global list of contacts and login details as it is used.

The phone has an innovative interface based around its touch screen and a “gesture area” below the display. And unlike many other smart phones, the Pre also allows users to have several applications running at once and easily switch between them. It has built in 802.11b/g WiFi, GPS, Bluetooth, a 3 megapixel camera with an LED flash and 8GB of flash memory, there is also a wireless charger.

Finally, not much is known about the availability of an App store which is becoming ever more popular with smart phone companies and users led by the iPhone App store.

The world’s first 12-mega pixel camera phone has arrives with Samsung officially announcing the new Pixion 12 (M810) Camera Phone.

I guess it started life as a camera with a phone added on or was it the other way round!!! The Samsung Pixon 12 (M810) has 12-mega pixels and a full AMOLED 3.1-inch touch screen with Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and an FM tuner as standard. The camera or should I say phone delivers superior high resolution images with its Xenon power LED flash and a 28mm wide-angle lens .

Using the 3.1-inch touch screen in camera mode you can tell the auto focus where to focus in framed shots, this camera phone is better than most digital cameras available on the market today. Moreover, the camera phone can records stunning full motion videos at 30fps at a resolution of 720 x 480 and has a huge 150MB internal storage and supports MicroSD card. The Pixon 12 operates on HSPA 900/2100MHz and GPRS/EDGE 850/900/1800/1900MHz networks.

If you’re a happy snapper and just need a phone for emergencies, this is the camera phone for you. Stylish, amazing picture quality and practical with all the standard features we have come to expect from mobile phones (Apple iPhone an exception, lets hope the iPhone Version 3.0 holds up to all the hype and expectations).

The long awaited iPhone software OS overhaul is nearing completion with suggestions that it could be available after the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) in San Francisco later on this month. The new version software fills some of the basic holes in the iPhone functionality also adding some significant features for developers. The ability to plug into Google Maps and the option to sell content through apps will have a significatent impact.

Here are some facts on the new software upgrade and hardware rumours:

1. Free upgrade on the iPhone 3G, £10 on the iPod Touch
2. Picture messaging and SMS forwarding
   • Expected as standard on Mobile Phones since 2002, come on Apple you should have known better!!!
3. Youtube upgrade
   • This will allow you to enter your subscription, rate videos and much more
4. Copy and Paste
   • A 21st Centuary essential, copy, cut and paste how can a business run without this option!!!
5. Upgraded QWERTY keyboard
   • Hopefully resolving current issues on responsiveness
6. Spotlight
   • Search your iPhone of all its content. Also new search features to be added to Mail, ipod and notes.
7. 32GB version
   • Not impossible with the price of memory feeling the crunch!!!
8. iPhone Nano
   • If this is true, I want one. Well, I found copies in Hong Kong when on my hols in 2008 also, found fully functional bluetooth mobile phone watch compatible in the UK.

Let us have your feedback on the iPhone v3 software upgrade…

The HTC Magic, powered by Android™, is designed to turn heads with its sleek and stylish looks, and command attention with its advanced list of capabilities. It provides everything you love about the internet, Gmail, Google Search, YouTube and Google Maps geared up exactly how you want it. Further enhanced with Outlook synchronization, Smart Dialler, and an onscreen keyboard with predictive text, the HTC Magic will keep you entertained and up to date wherever you are.

This is a handset where everything goes, you can personalise your handset as much as you with a multitude of enhancements from the Android market and the best thing is you can get to it all very easily.

We’d say if the Apple iPhone is not for you, or too common then this is an excellent alternative.

Magic, HTC Specification

Processor Qualcomm MSM7200A™, 528 MHz
Operating System: Android
RAM: 288 MB
Dimensions 113 x 55.56 x 13.65 mm
Weight 116 grams ( 4.09 ounces) with battery
Display 3.2-inch TFT-LCD flat touch-sensitive screen with 320×480 HVGA resolution
GPS Internal GPS antenna
Connectivity Bluetooth 2.0 with Enhanced Data Rate Wi-Fi: IEEE 802.11 b/g
HTC ExtUSB™ (11-pin mini-USB 2.0 and audio jack in one)
Camera 3.2 megapixel color camera with auto focus
Audio supported formats AAC, AAC+, AMR-NB, MP3, WMA, WAV, AAC-LC, MIDI, OGG
Video supported formats MP4, 3GP
Talk time: Up to 450 minutes for GSM
Standby time: Up to 420 hours for GSM
Expansion Slot microSD™ memory card (SD 2.0 compatible)
Special Features G-sensor, Digital Compass

VW Beetle originally launched in the 60’s and re-launched in the 90’s has always been an iconic car.

Now, you can get a 4 port USB Hub designed as the Beetle, and during these credit crunching times its probably the closest we’ll get to the real thing.

The USB Beetle Hub as a port on each wheel and has a mobile phone / business card holder on the top of the car and with eyes that lead me to believe these cute cars are distant relatives of Hurbie, the VW Beetle starting with the 1969 film The Love Bug.

VITAL STATISTICS

• Model: Volkswagen Beetle
• Licensed Volkswagon Beetle USB memory stick
• glows red when plugged in
• Storage: 1 GB memory
• Dimensions: 148×82x60mm
• USB extension cable
• Weight: 95g
• Price: US$12.50
• White or Red

Source: Gadget4all.com