For those of you who saw the fart application for the iPhone and desperately want one for your BlackBerry, here is Fart Machine! for BlackBerry. zzzzzzzzzz

Fart Machine - generate funny fart sounds! Also contains a timer so that you can use this as a great joke application! This application contains twelve funny fart sounds. With just one click you can generate any of these funny sounds. We also added a special timer feature - select a sound, choose a delay - 30 seconds or a minute - and have the fart sound played with a delay - so that you can use this to trick your friends. This application brings a lot of fun!

Product Name: Advent 4212
Price: £199
Supplied by: PC World
Reviewer: Shaun McGill

The Advent 4212 is one of a long line of Netbooks (sorry Psion!) which PC World is selling in the UK. PC World is still at this time using the generic term of Netbook to describe these items even though Psion is making claims against this, and so I will have to as well. If anyone can think of a better way to describe a Netbook, please add it to the comments link below…

The main reason I am looking at the Advent 4212 is because it was previously on sale for only £199 (price is currently £229, but it is worth haggling) and includes a full version of Windows XP. For a market which is rich in newcomers, the inclusion of Windows makes much more sense than following the Linux route in my opinion. Of course Linux is much more efficient, cheaper and still very easy to use, but you can’t get away from the fact that most people on this earth do not care what a computer is running; they just know what they know and want a familiar interface to use out of the box.

In the box

Anyway, the Advent comes in a professional looking box with a charger and internet cable included and that’s about it. There are no extras in the box, but I guess this leaves room to sell one of the slip cases, which are very highly priced, and other extras the user may require.

In use

The keyboard is thankfully large enough to cope with the largest of fingers and with enough travel to allow for quick typing over long periods of time. The symbols and punctuation are all placed as they should be and at no point did I have any learning curve to climb finding where the keys were that I required.
The screen is on the edge of being too small, but at 8.9” is fine for viewing complex web pages if the full screen option is used. It is clear indoors, but not the best in bright sunlight which is a shame for such a portable unit. To clarify, the screen and keyboard combination are well matched and create a practical solution for anyone wanting to undertake web surfing and word processing on the move. Considering the size of the unit, the various components are slotted in with care and every part of the housing is used to good effect.

I was surprised at how quick the system was considering the relatively low amounts of RAM and processor speed. It could be argued that all Windows machines are quick when you first power them on and that they tend to slow up over time- I do expect this to be a problem over time, but with standard use you should not feel that you are using a budget laptop every day.

The lack of a disc bay will be problematic to some, and this is a shame considering the 80GB of included memory. It would be nice to install extra software the traditional way through CD, but a separate hard drive or CD drive will be needed to do so. This should not be seen as a drawback though because the Advent keeps it size primarily through the lack of a drive bay. One point to remember is that a separate CD drive is only £15 from some stores and a DVDRW drive can be had for only £40 so the compromise is worth having in this instance.

Connectivity is adequate with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth on board and I had no issues at all connecting to my home network for internet connection, and the same is true with my BlackBerry Bold for surfing when no Wi-Fi is available. Both of these activities do affect battery life which is not the best anyway, and is possibly the Achilles heel of the Advent.

Even though the battery was brand new, surfing the web with Wi-Fi enabled would drain the battery within an hour which was very disappointing indeed. Things have improved a little bit, but this is still a problem area for the 4212. I would guess that most people who want a device like this will be happy to have it plugged in to a hotel room socket or even at home, but for people who want to work on trains and in other remote places it could be an issue.

Specification

Intel Atom N270Processor - Energy efficient (1.6GHz, 533MHz FSB, 512MB cache)
Windows(R) XP Home
Memory & storage - 1GB Memory & 80GB HDD Portable
8.9" Widescreen Display & 1.2KG
Extras - Bluetooth connectivity & webcam
Stylish Black & Silver Design
Wireless Enabled
Built in speakers
178 mm Depth

Conclusion

The Advent 4212 is an all rounder that accomplishes everything it needs to with ease. It is quick, stable and capable of 95% of what a standard laptop could do on the road. For £200 it is a genuine bargain and is built sturdily enough to takes the knocks of mobile life. If the battery was stronger I would struggle to find any faults with it, but alas this one area drags down the entire experience somewhat. You can purchase extended batteries from £50 and there is even an external battery available for £80 which is rated at a huge 13200mAh.
On a value for money basis alone the Advent 4212 scores very highly and I would go as far as to say this is the best Netbook I have used to date. With some carefully purchased accessories it could easily replace a much more expensive laptop for a total outlay of under £300.

Build Quality- 8
Ease of use- 8
Battery- 6
Screen clarity- 8
Value for money- 9
Total score- 88%

UIQ files for bankruptcy is sad news over at AAS- "Following a board meeting on 29th December the board of UIQ Technology resolved to file for bankruptcy. This follows on from the news, in early November, that staff had been put on notice and a temporary transition period was being funded by Sony Ericsson. With that period over, with no alternative investor available and given the current economic climate the board had no choice but to shutter the company.

Approximately 200 people were still working for UIQ when the announcement was made. Responsibility for the operating and winding down of UIQ Technology falls to the insolvency administrator appointed by the Blekinge district court.

"There are no opportunities to create a new line of business in the current financial climate," UIQ Chief Executive Johan Sandberg told Reuters.

Johan Sandberg, CEO of UIQ Technology said, "We got into a position where we have no customers, no product to sell, and therefore no income either" (rough translation from Swedish)."

PDA-247 is having a January Sale of mammoth proportions. Each day throughout January we will be offering a huge discount on a new title, or a selection of titles, and each discount will run for 3 days.

Today we have 50% off ALL software titles from FlyingBird software. These titles include Money Manager S60 v3, Small Business Accounting Suite and Expense Tracker. There are 8 in total and all you have to do is use the link below and use discount code 'Jan5' at checkout to obtain your discount off any of the titles listed. Some of these titles are almost $30, so the discount is well worth using if you are interested in one of the applications on offer.

Full list of FlyingBird software applications.

TouchBubbles - Bubble Breaker has been released for the BlackBerry Storm and is only $2.99- "TouchBubbles - an extremely addictive touch game! Pop (by touching) as many bubbles as you can by lining them up by color. Enjoy your new BlackBerry Storm!

This game was designed specifically for the new touch BlackBerry Storm - you play this addictive game just by tapping the screen - it's amazingly simple and addictive."

Orange appears to be considering removing the BlackBerry Bold from it's line up again

Mobile phone operator Orange is believed to be considering the removal of the BlackBerry Bold smartphone from its range of handsets because of ongoing technical problems. Although the phone, made by Research in Motion (RIM), received impressive reviews when it launched in October last year, consumers have reported unexplained crashes, poor reception and irregular dropping of calls. Return rates are understood to be well above average for similar devices.

Orange had previously suspended shipping of the Bold to allow RIM to sort out software problems, but faults have continued to be reported with the device. If the operator were to stop offering the Bold, it would be another blow for Canada-based RIM, whose flagship Storm handset, offered in the UK exclusively on Vodafone, has met with mixed reviews. Although initially heralded as the first serious rival to Apple's popular iPhone, the touchscreen Storm has since been criticised by influential gadget enthusiasts, including the comedian Stephen Fry. He has called it "embarrassingly awful" on the social networking service Twitter, and Vodafone sources privately concede that the Storm's software will improve as it is updated."

The North American Nokia N96 has now received the v12 update which brings with it some big improvements such as-

Faster operation with less slow downs, better camera operation including focussing, faster and wider ranging Wi-Fi performance and only 45MB after install?

The update is available via the Nokia Software Updater.

The Financial Times has published an interview with the chief executive of Nokia, Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo, who believes that while Nokia will face some hard times over the next year, it's competitors with a smaller market share will fair worse.

"According to Gartner, the research firm, Nokia sold 118m mobiles in the third quarter of 2008 - close to the combined sales of its four nearest rivals: Samsung, Sony Ericsson, Motorola and LG.

Such dominance enables Nokia, for example, to have superior purchasing power with suppliers of components for its mobiles.

Mr Kallasvuo says: "When times are tougher, people who have stronger positions fare relatively better than the competition . . . So, overall, I believe many of our competitors will have limitations here in terms of their ability to do things."

He also highlights the strength of Nokia's brand and its solid balance sheet - the company had net cash of €2.9bn ($4bn) at September 30.

Such is Nokia's confidence in its prospects that it has a target of increasing its market share of mobile sales in 2009, including smartphones - handsets that double as mini computers. Nokia has had a weaker range of smartphones for much of this year because it did not have handsets using touchscreen technology but the company is now addressing the shortcoming.

Nokia's goal of increasing its market share in 2009 may also be assisted by the trend of consumers "trading down" to cheaper mobiles."

BlackBerry users can now feed their Xbox Live addicition with a new application from Zumobi. It also works on the iPhone and Windows Mobile.

Feed your need for Xbox 360 and Xbox LIVE info & stories all day long while on the go (or stuck in meetings).

You're just a few clicks away from enjoying the new Inside Xbox 360 app which includes news, video & audio clips, community updates, gamer tag status, and more on your iPhone, iPod Touch, Windows Mobile phone or BlackBerry device.

HeroCraft has kindly offered Ball Rush 2 (Xmas Edition) for free to all PDA-247 readers. All you have to do is download the ZIP file which is here and then install it on your phone as you would any other game. I have been slow posting this, hence the Christmas theme, but it's a great game and well worth a try.

Many phones are supported, including some Symbian devices, and a full compatibility list is here.

"Ball Rush is back with more action, more levels, and more fun than ever! Don't waste time breaking all the blocks on the lower levels. You only have to make your way through to the next level, and the next one, and the next: Until you reach the top (boss level) - where you smash everything in sight!"

In an event held today in Nanjing Nokia unveiled the Nokia 6208c, a new pen input device which caters for a number of different customers, specifically those in China. The touch screen on the 6208c is optimized to write Chinese characters and messages in the most natural way, with a pen. The design of the stylus, attached to the back of the phone, is inspired by bamboo slips and works perfectly with the large color display which is reminiscent of an ink stone, another element from traditional Chinese art and culture. All these design cues are implemented using premium materials such as the stainless steel back cover, which makes the handset both easy to use and comfortable to hold.

Added to the Chinese language support, the device features a number of different languages and characters.

With a 3.2 megapixel camera, dual LED flash and 4x digital zoom, the Nokia 6208c makes capturing memories and sharing moments simple and easy. The large input area features larger fonts for messaging and browsing as well as viewing pictures and web pages. The new handset also supports optional microSD cards up to 8GB, providing ample memory for images, videos, music and more.

The Nokia 6208c is expected to start shipping in select markets in the first half of 2009.

Bloglive Symbian Edition - Mobile Blogger Assistant has been updated and is currently discounted to only $12.99- "Bloglive is a powerful mobile blogging application that enables you to update your online blog directly from your smartphone. With Bloglive, updating your blog while you're on the go is as easy as writing an SMS. It runs on your smartphone and allows you to write new blog entries, publish them on your blog, and edit them afterwards or delete them."

I personally believe that Psion invented the Netbook with its series 7 range, and now it seems to have an issue with the term 'netbook' even being used because it owns the copyright.

I would normally ignore such silliness, but this is Psion and as such it is probably right. The problem is, how we will describe small laptops in future?

"Our good friend James Kendrick at jkontherun is reporting that several blogs (not jkontherun or MobilitySite as of yet, to the best of my knowledge) have received requests from fabled consumer electronics pioneer Psion (they even still exist? Golly…)  to cease and desist using the term Netbook as they still have it under copywrite. netBook was the marketing name of Psion’s too little too late attempt to stay in the PDA/Mobile Device game, also known as the Psion Series 7 Organizer (catchy…) which was EOLed several years before the appearance of the Asus Eee.

I have a feeling that they would have a very tough row to hoe if they actually tried to enforce said copywrite as the term is fairly neutral and has been widely adopted on a grass roots level to indicate the mini-notebook computers so in vogue currently. Millions of “Netbooks” have already been sold, with tens of millions expected to move in 2009. The major vendors have now adopted it (with a few holdouts) but they certainly did not coin the usage or even claim to have done so. The fact that there are no legal legs under this complaint is made pretty clear by the fact they are going after fan blogs and not, apparently, the vendors themselves. When one has no bait, you try to land little fish..." More at mobility site.

UPDATE: Psion has responded to the above with a letter posted at JK- "I just wanted to address a mistaken assumption made by some of your readers (including journalists in more countries than I now care to count).

When you said in your 23 December blog that I’d written to ‘some netbook enthusiast sites’ asking them to cease and desist using the ‘Netbook’ registered trade mark, many readers assumed that these letters had gone to people simply commenting on the tech scene.  One of your early posters, called Andy, even said:  “Why go after a bunch of bloggers? It’s not like they’re profiteering off the name.”

Andy makes a fair point.

Here are the facts.

We have sent letters out solely to those making a direct, financial profit from use of the ‘Netbook’ trademark..."

BlackBerry gaming is looking up these days and Resident Evil: Degeneration for RIM BlackBerry is a good example of how things are improving.

"Based on the CG-animated movie, Resident Evil: Degeneration allows players to assume the role of Leon Kennedy as he fights his way through an airport overrun with an army of undead. In the game, players take control of an arsenal of bone-shattering weapons in order to combat a horde of zombies, infected dogs and horrific tyrants through 50 pulse-pounding missions."

Crash Bandicoot Nitro Cart 3D is now available on the N-Gage platform and is a fairly good port of the game that is sweeping the mobile world at the moment.

"The console driving/racing experience brought to your mobile device! Speed your way through 12 exciting tracks as one of the leading characters in the Crash Bandicoot saga. Race and battle against your zany opponents and turn them to dust with 8 devastating weapons. Enjoy console drifting sensations and unique 3D features: spectacular skids, dizzying jumps and special shortcuts. A mobile karting experience that rivals handheld gameplay & graphics. Have you got what it takes to race, battle… and have fun?"

From Aerize- The 1000 copies from our Aerize Alerts holiday promotion went much faster than we wanted (2 hours).  As our present to anyone who blinked and missed out but would like to snag a free copy of Alerts, we're giving out another 5,000.  This time, Santa will be coming at 12 noon Eastern on the 25th.  A new coupon code will be activated at this time that will allow the first five thousand customers a free copy of Aerize Alerts (which, by the way, is now better than ever with release 1.2.1).
 
Once noon (EST) rolls around on the 25th,

• Visit the Alerts page on our web store at http://aerize.com/blackberry/software/alerts/
• Click the "buy" link to add it to your cart.
• Enter coupon code FREE_ALERTS_GIFT and press "Apply Code / Update Cart" to receive 100% off Aerize Alerts.  (This coupon will not work before the aforementioned time.)
• Verify that the total shows as $0.00.
• Checkout as normal, being careful to correctly enter your device PIN so the serial number can be correctly generated.
 
There you can also download and install Alerts.  Then simply enter the generated serial number into the options screen of Alerts to unlock your free licensed copy.  And, if by chance you miss this one, not to fret -- Alerts is 75% off for the rest of 2008, so you can still get your copy for only $2.50.
Wishing everyone a happiest of new years, Aerize