Qualcomm challenges LCDs through new e-reader

Qualcomm challenges LCDs through new e-reader

  10:00:00 PM    Science Lover

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A new electronic display is poised to challenge power-hungry LCDs after U.S. mobile chip maker Qualcomm Inc. teamed up with a South Korean bookseller to introduce a new e-reader.

The "Kyobo eReader"

A new electronic display is poised to challenge power-hungry LCDs after US mobile chip maker Qualcomm Inc. teamed up with a South Korean bookseller to introduce a new e-reader. The "Kyobo eReader" was unveiled this week in Seoul and will reach South Korean consumers as early as December 1, Kyobo Book Centre officials said Thursday. The e-reader features Qualcomm's 1.0 GHz "Snapdragon" processor, a custom Kyobo application based on Android and a 5.7 inch "XGA" mirasol display.

The mirasol display uses ambient light instead of its own in much the same way that a peacock's plumage gets its scintillating hues. Qualcomm's mirasols have already been used in a few Chinese and South Korean phones, and in an MP3 player on the US market. The display contains tiny mirrors that consume power only when they're moving, easing battery drain. Mirasol displays also quickly change from one image to the next and show video.

The global market for e-readers is dominated by bright LCDs and grayscale "e-ink" screens. LCDs consume relatively more battery power while e-ink screens are slow to refresh. The introduction of the e-reader jointly developed by Qualcomm and Kyobo signals increasing competition in the global market for tablets.

US online retailer Amazon.com Inc. and bookseller Barnes & Noble Inc. have recently released tablets of their own, Kindle Fire and Nook Tablet, and are challenging Apple's iPad in pricing.



Qualcomm CEO Paul Jacobs noted South Koreans' near-100 percent literacy rate and digital reading skills during a launching ceremony in Seoul on Tuesday, according to the San Diego-based company. Fifteen-year-old South Koreans scored highest in their ability to absorb information from digital devices, according to a 2009 study by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. Over 80 percent of households in South Korea have broadband Internet access. The e-reader featuring the mirasol display will be priced at 349,000 won, or $302, said Seoul-based Kyobo, South Korea's largest bookseller.

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LHSee - Large Hadron Collider app - Big bang science in your pocket

LHSee - Large Hadron Collider app - Big bang science in your pocket

  2:46:00 AM    Science Lover

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Want to find out how to Hunt the Higgs Boson using your phone? Ever wondered how the Large Hadron Collider experiments work, and what the collisions look like?

Scientists at the world's biggest scientific experiment - the Large Hadron Collider (LHC)at CERN, Geneva - are trying to answer fundamental questions about the nature of the Universe, the origin of mass, the structure of space and time, and the conditions of the early universe. For those of us not lucky enough to have the world's highest energy particle smasher in our own back gardens, we can still get close to the action using an exciting new smartphone App.

The new App, called 'LHSee', makes the LHC accessible to anybody with a smartphone or tablet PC running the Google Android operating system. Written by Oxford University scientists in collaboration with the ATLAS, one of the four LHC experiments at CERN, it has been designed for experts and non-experts alike.

For the first time you can now grab live collision events from the underground detectors in Geneva, and beam them direct to your own device. As well as a variety of educational resources, the application allows you to interact with the collision events in full 3D graphics. You can also find out how the different parts of the detector work, learn how to identify different types of collision, and even put your new skills to the test by playing the 'Hunt the Higgs' game.

Dr Alan Barr of the University of Oxford says: "I love the detail in the live displays - it's amazing to see that you can pick out the different individual proton collisions."

With help from their international friends within the ATLAS collaboration, the developers offer the App with language support not just in English, but also in French, German, Italian, Spanish and Swedish.

The App is free to download from the Google Android Marketplace.

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India to launch $45 tablet computer

India to launch $45 tablet computer

  9:48:00 AM    Science Lover

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India is set Wednesday to launch its long-awaited low-cost computer, a $45 tablet device designed to bring the information technology revolution to tens of millions of students.

Indian customers visit the computer section at the Croma electronics mega-store in Mumbai in September 2011. India is set Wednesday to launch its long-awaited low-cost computer, a $45 tablet device designed to bring the information technology revolution to tens of millions of students.

The touchscreen computer has a seven-inch (18-centimetre) screen, Wi-Fi Internet access, a media player and 180 minutes of battery power, according to official specifications.

Called the "Akash" ("Sky"), the locally-made device will be launched in New Delhi by Human Resources Development Minister Kapil Sibal after years of delays.

"It will cost 2,200 rupees ($45) and the first batch of 500 tablets will be handed over to students after the release," ministry spokeswoman Mamata Varma told AFP.

"Initially, 700 Akash tablets will be made every day and we expect the production to pick up when more companies join in to manufacture the device," she said.

The commercial marketing strategy for the Akash remains unclear, but most of the computers are likely to be sold through universities and colleges rather than shops.

Canada-based Datawind, the current manufacturer, said the tablet used an Android 2.2 operating system, had video-conferencing capability, two USB ports and a 32GB expandable memory.

But experts warned its 256-megabyte random access memory (RAM) would limit performance.

Commercial manufacturers are hoping Indian customers will leapfrog personal computers to buy tablets, as millions did by buying mobile telephones instead of waiting for a landline.

Apple's internationally-popular iPad computers costs a minimum of $600 in India, with competitor Reliance Communications selling a rival tablet device at about $290.

The Akash is part of a push to increase the number of students in higher education and to give them the technological skills needed to further boost the country's recent rapid economic growth.

India, where the 61 percent literacy rate lags far behind many other developing nations such as China with 92 percent, is making major efforts to improve its education system.

The government had promised to release the first 100,000 Akash computers by January 2011, but uncertainty over the level of government subsidy is thought to have delayed mass production.

The much-hyped "computer for the masses" was said to be on the brink of release in both 2005 and 2009 -- only for it never to materialise. Industry observers say rising labour charges, cheap imports, and more sophisticated tablets could undermine the Akash among India's tech-savvy youngsters.

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A Tablet that Wants to Take Over the Desktop

A Tablet that Wants to Take Over the Desktop

  12:34:00 PM    Science Lover

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Cisco has redesigned the Android operating system to make a tablet that also works as a desktop computer—but it takes some control away from users.

New look: The Cius tablet features a radically
different version of Android.
Credit: Cisco.

The latest entrant in the increasingly crowded tablet computing field, Cisco's Cius, is bulkier than the iPad, and has a smaller screen (7-inches wide, compared to the iPad's 9.7). But it packs a number of tricks all of its own, designed to woo business users. The Cius is designed to integrate closely with Cisco's voice and video phone systems, and it can even replace a desktop computer when docked to a new Cisco deskphone, which connects to a monitor, keyboard and mouse.

A Cius tablet makes a user's desk number mobile, enabling a person to make and receive voice and video calls anywhere, if their company has a Cisco phone system. The tablet features HD quality cameras front and back and can be used with a Bluetooth headset for more private calling. The tablet can also be used as a desktop videoconferencing device when docked on a special desktop phone, and can smoothly switch between a WiFi a cellular network connection.

That dock can also be plugged into a monitor keyboard and mouse to act like a desktop computer. "It can replace my desktop operating system," says Tom Puorro, senior director for Cisco's collaboration technologies.

The Cius runs Google's Android mobile operating system, which is used on a rapidly growing number of smartphones and tablets as well. Android is open source, meaning it can be modified by anyone for free, yet so far most companies that have built gadgets running Android have tinkered with it little. The Cius, in contrast, features a radical reworking of Android.

This gives an IT department much greater control over what a Cius user can do. IT managers can shut down access to the Android app market to protect a company from malicious apps. Cisco has also created its own app store, AppHQ, that contains only apps deemed stable and secure by Cisco. Companies can even create their own app store within AppHQ and limit employees to certain applications, or apps built in house.

A WiFi only version of the tablet will be available worldwide from July 31 at an estimated price of $750. Cisco will sell it along with related services and infrastructure, so the cost to businesses will vary, and could be as low as $650. AT&T and Verizon will each offer versions for their 4G networks this fall.



A person can use the tablet's own OS or Windows even via a virtual desktop that runs in the cloud, as Puorro demonstrated at a launch event held in San Jose today. The tablet's powerful 1.6GHz Intel Atom processor allows desktop-like performance when hooked up to a keyboard, mouse and monitor. Although iPads are showing up in workplaces, they can't offer the same integration with everyday tasks like phone calls, and are limited to email, Web browsing and video, says Puorro.

Cisco worked with Google to get advice on its modifications to Android, says Puorro. These modifications enable Android to deal with video and operations like group calling and transferring calls, and make use of a dedicated chip in the tablet that encrypt all its data.

Desk mode: The Cius can be plugged into a new Cisco phone, and function as a desktop computer.
Credit: Cisco

However, the Cius lags other Android tablets in that it uses a now-outdated version of the operating system, code-named FroYo, which was intended only for phones. Cisco say they will catch up, but are waiting for the fall release of Android, code-named Ice Cream Sandwich, a version that Google says will seamlessly span phones and tablets.

Ken Dulaney, a VP and analyst with Gartner specializing in mobile devices says that Cisco has likely delivered something that none of the 200 or so other tablets launching this year can match. "Samsung's latest Galaxy Tab has much more advanced hardware," he says, "what Cisco has done is create a special case of Android that adds things the enterprise needs and is a unique combination of phone, tablet and videoconferencing device."

Other companies have hinted at plans for enterprise-friendly revamps of Android, says Dulaney, including Motorola, but none have so far yet delivered.

Although the Cius may not seem competitive with Apple's iPad 2 to consumers, to businesses concerned about their security it likely see distinct advantages. Apps such as MobileIron exist to help IT staff control iPads used by their staff, but Apple's operating system fundamentally limits the extent to which the iPad can be managed remotely, says Dulaney. "With Android, Cisco could go in at a low level and change how the device is managed so a company can manage everything for the user."

Without an existing investment in Cisco phone and communication systems, though, many company may see little appeal. Puorro says that Cisco continues to develop and release iPad and iPhone apps for its collaboration software, a strategy Dulaney says is wise. "Of course Cisco will also aggressively support iPads," he says, "I think they're gonna see how the Cius does, and if it doesn't work out, work hard to support the most popular tablets."

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Can Google Get Web Users Talking?

Can Google Get Web Users Talking?

  1:13:00 AM    Science Lover

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Voice-driven search is a futuristic idea, and may take some getting used to.

Credit: Google

The notion of asking a computer for information out loud is familiar to most of us only from science fiction. Google is trying to change that by adding speech recognition to its search engine, and releasing technology that would allow any browser, website, or app to use the feature.

But are you ready to give up your keyboards and talk to Google instead?

Over the last two weeks, speech input for Google has gradually been rolled out to every person using Google's Chrome browser. A microphone icon appears at the right end of the iconic search box. If you have a microphone built-in or attached to your computer, clicking that icon creates a direct audio connection to Google's servers, which will convert your spoken words into text.

It has been possible to speak Google search queries using a smart phone for almost three years; since last year, Android handsets have been able to take voice input in any situation where a keyboard would normally be used. "That was transformational, because people stopped worrying about when they could and couldn't speak to the phone," says Vincent Vanhoucke, who leads the voice search engineering team at Google. Over the last 12 months, the number of spoken inputs, search or otherwise, via Android devices has climbed six times, and every day, tens of thousands of hours of audio speech are fed into Google's servers. "On Android, a large fraction of the use is people dictating e-mail and SMS," says Vanhoucke.

Vanhoucke's team now wants using voice on the Web to be as easy as it is on Android. "It's a big bet," he says. "Voice search for desktop is the flagship for this, [but] we want to take speech everywhere."

Voice recognition is more technically challenging on a desktop or laptop computer, says Vanhoucke, because it requires noise suppression algorithms that are not needed for mobile speech recognition. These algorithms filter out sounds such as those of a computer's fan or air conditioners. "The quality of the audio is paramount for phone manufacturers, and you hold it close to your mouth," says Vanhoucke. "On a PC, the microphone is an afterthought, and you are further away. You don't get the best quality."



Google asked thousands of people to read phrases aloud to their computers to gather data on the conditions its speech recognition technology would have to handle. As people use the service for real, it is trained further, says Vanhoucke, which should increase its popularity. Data from users of mobile voice search shows that people are much more likely to use the feature again when it is accurate for them the first time.

A bigger challenge to getting users to embrace voice recognition on the desktop could be the existing tools for entering information, says Keith Vertanen, a lecturer at Princeton University who researches voice-recognition technology. "On the desktop, you're up against a very fast and efficient means of input in the keyboard," he says. "On a phone, you don't have that available, and you are often in hands- or eyes-free situations where voice input really helps."

Vertanen says people are less tolerant of glitches when using speech recognition on a desktop computer because of the close proximity of a tried-and-true way of entering text. He says users might find voice recognition more compelling on on other Internet-connected devices in the home. "Nonconventional devices like a DVR, television, or game console don't usually have good text input," he points out. Google TV devices can already take voice input spoken into a connected Android phone.

Vanhoucke acknowledges that speech recognition fulfills a more immediate need on phones, but argues that users are ready for it on conventional computers, too. "People will use it in ways that surprise us," he says. "At this point, it's still an experiment." Situations when people may have their hands full is one example, says Vanhoucke (although it should be noted that desktop voice search today still involves using the mouse to activate the feature).

Google isn't performing this experiment alone. The company is pushing the Web standards body W3C to introduce a standard set of HTML markup that allows any website or app to call on voice recognition via the Web browser, and has already enabled a version of this markup in the Chrome browser. For now, Google is the only major company with a browser able to use the prototype feature, but Mozilla, Microsoft, and AT&T are all working with the W3C effort.

"It's a collaborative effort that other browser makers are part of," says Vanhoucke. "Any designer can add it to their Web page. It's something anyone can use." Extensions for the Chrome browser that make use of voice input (like this one) have already appeared, and can be used to enter text on any website.

However, those extensions reveal that although Google's desktop speech recognition is accurate for search queries, it's not much good for tasks like composing e-mail.

Enabling the system to learn the personal quirks of each person's pronunciation, a feature already enabled on Android phones, could address that. Vertanen points out that the personalization learned through mobile search could easily be ported over to the desktop for people logged into their Google account. It could also make it possible for the technology to spring up elsewhere. "The advantage of Google's networked approach is that a [speech] model in the cloud can adapt to your voice in all these different places and follow you around, whether that's in your living room or in your car."


A Browser that Speaks Your Language The latest version of Google's Chrome shows the potential of HTML5.

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A Browser that Speaks Your Language The latest version of Google's Chrome shows the potential of HTML5.

A Browser that Speaks Your Language The latest version of Google's Chrome shows the potential of HTML5.

  11:48:00 PM    Science Lover

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Early adopters can now get a sneak peek at the future of the Web by downloading the latest prerelease, or "beta," version of Chrome, Google's Web browser. One of the most interesting new features is an ability to translate speech to text—entirely via the Web.

Credit: Technology Review

The feature is the result of work Google has been doing with the World Wide Web Consortium's HTML Speech Incubator Group, the mission of which is "to determine the feasibility of integrating speech technology in HTML5," the Web's new, emerging standard language.

A Web page employing the new HTML5 feature could have an icon that, when clicked, initiates a recording through the computer's microphone, via the browser. Speech is captured and sent to Google's servers for transcription, and the resulting text is sent back to the website.

To experiment with the voice-to-text feature, download the latest beta version of Chrome here. Then go to this webpage, click on the microphone, and start talking. You'll probably find the results mixed, and sometimes hilarious. Using the finest elocution I could muster, I read the opening passage of Richard Yates's Revolutionary Road: "The final dying sounds of their dress rehearsal left the Laurel Players with nothing to do but stand there, silent and helpless." I got error messages several times in a row ("speech not recognized" or "connection to speech servers failed"). Once, I received this transcription: "9 sounds good restaurants on the world there's nothing to do with fam vans island."

The new feature derives in large part from experiments Google conducted through its Android operating system for mobile devices. For more than a year, says Vincent Vanhoucke, a member of Google's voice recognition team, Android app developers have been able to integrate voice recognition into their apps using technology provided by Google. This has provided Google with useful voice data with which to train its voice-recognition algorithms. Today, some 20 percent of searches on Android phones are conducted using voice recognition, says Vanhoucke: people use voice recognition to write texts, send emails, or conduct searches. "It has really opened up interesting new avenues," says Vanhoucke.

However, unlike desktop voice-to-text software, which first accustoms itself to a user's voice, Chrome is trying to churn out text from voice without prior training.

"I suppose if they keep track of [the] IP address, they could adapt" to a given user's voice, says Jim Glass, a speech recognition expert at MIT. Glass notes that the mobile phone provides an acoustic environment very different from that of a laptop or desktop computer; for one thing, a phone's microphone is reliably placed right at the user's mouth, unlike computer microphone setups in homes or offices. "This is the beta version of Chrome," says Glass. "They'll be collecting data, and we can be sure they will be refining their models--that's the nature of the speech-recognition game."

Even if it's rough around the edges, sometimes the technology impresses. I tried once again and got back "the final warning sounds of the dress rehearsal at laurel players with nothing to do with stand there." Not so bad. And the Chrome app nailed it to a letter when all I said was "the quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog."

Third-party programmers have also begun creating Web pages capable of using the new feature of Chrome. Already available for trial is a browser plugin called Speechify that lets you search Google, Hulu, YouTube, Amazon, and other sites using voice with Chrome.

Other inventive uses could soon follow. "Games could be taking keyboard, mouse, touch, accelerometer, and speech input together," says Karl Westin, an expert on HTML5 who works for Nerd Communications, based in Berlin, Germany. "Having an aeroplane game where you could actually scream 'up, UP, UUUPPP!' could be fantastic."

But the technology is more than just a toy—it also points the way to a much more capable Web. HTML4, the last major version of the HTML language, emerged in 1997. Since then, plugins like Silverlight and Flash have added media-processing capabilities to the Web. But HTML5 enables media playback and offline storage via the browser.

"The insight we had was that more and more people were spending all their time in the browser," says Google's Brian Rakowski, group product manager for Chrome. E-mail and instant messaging increasingly take place in browsers rather than in separate e-mail or AIM applications. "We'd like it to be case that you never have to install a native application again," says Rakowski. "The Web should be able to do all of it."

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Now Your App Knows Where You Are Geolocation analytics could help companies to improve their apps--and make more money from them.

Now Your App Knows Where You Are Geolocation analytics could help companies to improve their apps--and make more money from them.

  9:53:00 AM    Science Lover

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A new platform for analyzing when, where, and how smart-phone apps are used will soon be available to thousands of mobile developers.

Pizza tracking: A spike in coupon redemption at PizzaLand at lunchtime is revealed in San Francisco by FortiusOne and Appcelerator's Titanium+Geo package.
Credit: Appcelterator

Appcelerator--a software development platform that lets Web programmers create apps that run natively on both iPhone and Android devices--will release the new mobile analytics platform within the next three months. The platform was developed by Appcelerator and FortiusOne, a company that specializes in visualizing location information.

Accurate geolocation analytics data will help companies improve their software and make money from location-targeted advertising.

Appcelerator has around 72,000 users, including developers from large businesses such as NBC and Budweiser. It has proven popular because it lets developers create apps without requiring the technical expertise needed to build them from scratch.

The new platform, called Titanium+Geo, lets Appcelerator developers see what users are doing, and where they're doing it, as long as geolocation functionality has been built into an app. For example, the startup Scoutmob, which offers location-specific deals to subscribers through an Appcelerator app, could see when and where users open the app, and how they respond.

Titanium+Geo collects data every time a user opens an app. A developer can instruct the app to report various events to a remote server, such as when a user views an advertisement--or a coupon for a discount--or when the user responds to the ad or redeems the coupon.

"Most of what we see currently in terms of smart-phone advertising, not much of it is geotargeted," says Sean Gorman, president and founder of FortiusOne. Without the metrics to determine how well mobile, geotargeted ads work, there simply hasn't been a business case for using them, he adds.

"We're used to Google Analytics for Web pages, but until now, we haven't had that for how apps are used," says Gorman.

SimpleGeo, another startup company that offers geolocation tools for developers, has announced that it is working on a similar analytics platform.

Adding spatial data to the information that apps already gather will allow for new forms of data mining. Gorman says that researchers have, for example, been able to determine with near-perfect accuracy who the friends of a given smart-phone user are simply by analyzing data about where and when that user comes into contact with others.

The approach could also allow for much more targeted advertising. "When you understand when and where [a person is when they use an app], then you understand context," says Scott Schwarzhoff, vice president of marketing at Appcelerator. "If it's 7 a.m. and a person is in the marina district, then you understand where that person lives."

Targeted ads would allow developers to command higher rates for advertising. But this kind of data could also reveal things that users might rather keep secret.

"It's like Minority Report," says Byung-Gon Chun, a researcher at Intel Labs Berkeley. "As Tom Cruise walks by the billboards, they change their advertisements based on his presence."

Chun, who studies mobile security, recently coauthored a paper showing that many Android apps share user data, including location information, without making it clear to users.

Chun and colleagues Jaeyeon Jung at Intel and William Enck at Penn State University developed a program called TaintDroid that examines the data that Android apps pass to the Web. Half of the apps they analyzed transmitted geolocation data, most without asking for permission or making it explicit in their documentation that they would.

"Even if this disclosure is in the [end user license agreement], it's hard for users to figure out what kind of information the app is actually sending," says Chun.

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HTC EVO 4G: Better Than the Nexus One?

HTC EVO 4G: Better Than the Nexus One?

  1:14:00 AM    Science Lover

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Sprint's new HTC EVO 4G smartphone is being hailed as the new ruler of the Android empire. But has the crown really been passed?

The HTC EVO 4G, unveiled at the CTIA Wireless exhibition this week, sure has a feature-list fit for a king. The phone boasts a 4.3-inch capacitive touchscreen with HDMI output, dual front- and back-facing cameras, and a superspeedy 1GHz Snapdragon processor. Oh yeah -- and there's that whole 4G thing, too.

HTC EVO 4G vs. Nexus One: The Display

It's hard to miss all the gushing over the HTC EVO 4G's display, and there's a reason for the excitement: The phone has one sweet screen, and you don't have to be an Android fanboy to see that. The EVO 4G's 4.3-inch display beats the Nexus One's 3.7-inch offering (which beat practically everything else back when it debuted). Both devices feature the same WVGA resolution: 800-by-480.

HTC EVO 4G vs. Nexus One: The Data Network

Sprint's biggest selling point with the HTC EVO 4G is all about those final two characters. A 4G data connection, according to Sprint, brings you download speeds as much as 10 times faster than what you'd get on a flimsy old 3G alternative.

But -- and this is a big but (you're welcome, Sir Mix-a-Lot) -- you won't be able to get those tasty 4G connections in much of the country. So far, Sprint's 4G network is available only in 27 U.S. cities. The carrier has plans to expand to a handful of other major markets later this year, but that still leaves everyone else with that aforementioned flimsy old 3G.

Plus, the EVO 4G will be available only on Sprint -- so if you're in an area where network coverage is spotty, you'll be out of luck. The Nexus One, on the other hand, will soon be available on all major carriers, giving you greater choice in the data-providing department.

Which phone wins this category, then, truly depends on where you are and how the carriers' coverage compares for your specific area.

HTC EVO 4G vs. Nexus One: The Hardware

The HTC EVO 4G is powered by the same chip as the Nexus -- that snazzy-sounding 1GHz Snapdragon processor -- so there's a virtual tie in that department.

When it comes to cameras, the HTC EVO 4G is victorious: Its back has an 8-megapixel camera and its front features a 1.3-megapixel one. The Nexus One, in comparison, has a single 5-megapixel photo-snapper.

HTC EVO 4G vs. Nexus One: The Body

The HTC EVO 4G is slightly larger than its Google-endorsed cousin (4.8-by-2.6-by-0.5 inches, compared to 4.69-by-2.35-by-0.45 inches). It's about 1.4 ounces heavier, too.

A deal-breaker? Unless you're Thumbelina, probably not. 

HTC EVO 4G vs. Nexus One: The OS

Both the HTC EVO 4G and the Nexus One are running Android 2.1, the latest version of Google's mobile operating system. Despite the matching versions, however, the user experience will be quite different on the two phones.

The reason is that the HTC EVO 4G runs HTC's Sense user interface, while the Nexus One uses the stock Android interface. The Sense interface gives Android an entirely different look, with specialized home screen widgets and custom navigation tools. As far as which is better, it's really just a matter of personal preference.

One area where the Nexus One's setup will have a distinct advantage, though, is in future Android upgrades: Given the fact that the phone is running the stock Android interface, updating it to a new OS version will be a simple and likely delay-free process (the fact that the Nexus One is Google's baby probably won't hurt, either). Custom interfaces such as HTC's Sense tend to take more time to update, as the manufacturer has to rebuild the interface around the revised platform.

HTC EVO 4G vs. Nexus One: The Data Perks

Sprint is billing the HTC EVO 4G as a mobile hotspot, meaning you can connect up to eight Wi-Fi-enabled devices to the phone and use its data connection to get them on the Internet.

It's not difficult to set up tethering on any Android phone (even if some carriers may discourage it). Still, this built-in multidevice functionality is certainly a perk worth considering.

HTC EVO 4G vs. Nexus One: The Final Judgment

Ultimately, the truth is that there'll never be an end-all Android phone; it really comes down to what's right for you. Given the nature of the platform's open ecosystem, a new contender will always be right around the corner, and hyperbole-loving bloggers will always be chomping at the bit to label it the "killer" of everything else.

That, my friends, is the one thing you can count on.

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Liquid Phone with Qualcomm Snapdragon Processor

Liquid Phone with Qualcomm Snapdragon Processor

  6:15:00 AM    Science Lover

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Acer has brought a new liquid phone in India. It’s really liquid due to its unique feature which differentiates it from the other phones. This phone has the world’s first Qualcomm Snapdragon processor and is based on the first Android 1.6 high definition smart phone. It delivers real time communication as well as content which are location aware. This smart device brings forth a unique combination of high quality performance as well as bold style.

This high defining smart phone combines the cutting edge technologies; software innovation as well as ultra-fluid user interfaces so that users can get a completely new experience with this phone. Unique set of features developed by Acer and its partners would include a new user interface as well as improved power management systems. This enhanced power management system would help the user to achieve longer battery autonomy.

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Fone-Tastic!

Fone-Tastic!

  12:39:00 AM    Science Lover

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The Mobile World Congress 2009 expo in Barcelona – being held from February 16 to 19 – has thrown up quite a few surprises: The beginnings of a war between different operating systems for cellphones; the world’s first phone that acts as a projector; and a stylish handset with a transparent keypad.

INTERFACE TIME

Rival developers are battling to create the dominant operating system (OS) for mobile phones, with Google’s open-source Android system competing against Microsoft’s new Windows Mobile 6.5,Nokia’s Symbian, a Linux-based project, and RIM’s Blackberry OS.

The biggest event on Tuesday was Taiwanese manufacturer HTC unveiling the Android-based ‘Magic’ – a slim, tablet-shaped device with a 3.2-inch touchscreen that bears a resemblance to the Apple iPhone.

Equipped with a 3-megapixel camera, GPS, Wi-Fi, and other connectivity options, the gadget will be available exclusively through Vodafone in Britain, France, Germany and Italy; however, no plans were announced for an India release.

On Monday, Chinese manufacturer Huawei had revealed its first cellphone to run on Android, meaning there are at least three ‘Google’ phones now developed.

Australian firm Kogan had previously announced the ‘Agora’ handset in December, but its launch has been postponed indefinitely. LG and Samsung have also promised their versions this year.

“For a new, open-source platform, I am impressed with the momentum growing behind Android,” said Gavin Byrne, an analyst at telecom research group Informa.

He said that he still expected Nokia’s Symbian to remain dominant in the next five years, but that Android would soon establish itself as an alternative.

Also on Tuesday, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer unveiled the latest version of the company’s mobile OS,Windows Mobile 6.5,promising an improved touch-screen inter-face as well as a dashboard-like experience to items such as new emails, texts, missed calls, and calendar appointments.

“We’re going to work with the guys who build phones that are exciting... that are hot and tell the story of their Windows phone,” Ballmer said, announcing tie-ups with phone makers HTC, LG and Samsung.

Image via Wikipedia

TINY PHONE, BIG SCREEN

Meanwhile, Samsung – in association with US-based technology firm Texas Instruments – showed off a new mobile phone with a built-in projector that turns any surface into a screen.

Dubbed the ‘i7410’, the handset is fitted with the DLP Pico chipset, which lets users project images in excess of 50 inches, depending on the ambient light conditions, the company said.

“These Samsung mobile phones instantly turn any situation into a media-viewing opportunity,” said Frank Moizio, Manager, DLP Emerging Markets business.

Equipped with audio speakers, the i7410 is a touchscreen phone that comes with a 5-megapixel camera.

The projection feature can be used to share Powerpoint slides, view emails and pictures, watch videos, and even act as a flashlight.

The device will hit Korean markets this month, and international markets shortly thereafter.

Texas Instruments also showed off a newer iteration of the DLP Pico chipset, which boosts the current HVGA (480x320 pixels) resolution to a higher WVGA (800x480 pixels).

A SEE-THROUGH CELLPHONE!

The LG GD900 ‘Crystal’ see-through phone and the Android-powered HTC Magic (top) were launched at MWC

Adding oomph to the proceedings was LG’s GD900 ‘Crystal’ phone, which is billed as “the world’s first transparent design phone”.

When opened, its sliding, translucent keypad illuminates a cool glow that reflects the phone’s sleek and polished silver body.

“This crystal, glass-like phone proves that stylish design can be achieved not only with the use of vivid colours, but also by revealing the handset in its purest form,” the company said.

Packaged with a Bluetooth headset for music playback, the GD900 will be released internationally later this year.

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