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Monthly Archives: February 2010
Is there room for a smart(ish)phone? Loads of room…
Yesterday my wife was explaining to me why she found her Windows Mobile smartphone to be a pain to use. It does everything she needs, but does it in a way which perplexes her from time to time and I can feel her pain. The use of a stylus, the tiny menu options and everything else about it drives her crazy. The question is- what smartphone would be ideal for her?
She wants text messaging, GPS, Solitaire and phone calls. Yes, that is it. Nothing else- no fancy PIM synchronisation, no super arcade quality gaming experience and most of all a decent battery life and reliability. The problem is the she is used to the handwriting recognition of Windows Mobile and so has been spoilt by some of the good features which the lesser feature phones do not employ. If we take away the data input we are left with a selection of phones that would fit the bill.
Nokia has done well to cover the middle ground in the smartphone to feature phone gap and a device like the Nokia 5230 would appear to be the sensible option. It is under £100 and includes GPS for life, 3G, a touch screen and everything else she needs. When you look at the market as a whole the big players in the smartphone market seem to have forgotten about this middle ground. RIM does not make a low priced smartphone that will appeal to the masses. Apple obviously doesn’t and even HTC struggles with the notion of not filling a phone with as much functionality as possible. The HTC Rome is a move in the right direction, but merely a nod rather than a serious commitment.
The vast majority of people still want a phone that works with maybe some specific extras and Samsung, LG and the like are trying to cover that area, but the obsession with bringing as much as possible to the latest smartphones means that ultimately the move upwards for the general population will be slowed. I am sure my wife will be happy with her new Nokia 5230 though, but then again…
Space Miner: Space Ore Bust for iPhone mini-review
To stand out in the iTunes App Store, especially in the gaming category, is far from easy. To get almost perfect reviews from every user is even more difficult, but Space Miner: Space Ore Bust has achieved both quite easily. John Moore emailed me and asked if I had tried it to which I replied that I hadn’t even heard of it. I get lots of recommendations for iPhone games and so had a quick look on the App Store and was surprised at all of the rave reviews so £1.19 later it was installed on my iPhone, took a while, and I ready to play.
Needless to say that 4 days later my son and I are both completely and utterly hooked on Space Miner. It is a cut scene adventure game which marries action and strategy well to form a deep and long experience which builds up at the perfect pace. There is a sense of achievement throughout and the humour keeps things sane when you have been staring at the screen for far too long. I would love to go into every detail of the game, but that would serve little purpose. What I can say is that this is not one to miss and that it is worth every last penny.
I have not played an iPhone game so far that has kept me going for so long to reach one goal and I am struggling to find fault anywhere. The only slight annoyance is that the ship is not always easy to control, but the frantic pace on some levels could be responsible for this rather than a design issue.
What I can do is thoroughly recommend this game as one of the very best in the App Store and would say to buy this if you have a spare pound or a couple of dollars. The first ten minutes feel a little slow, but after that it is fun all the way. Simply superb!
Check out the trailer below to start to understand what it is all about.
myStocks and Safety Checklist for BlackBerry
myStocks for BlackBerry brings a feature that many platforms are now offering for free to BlackBerry users. Quite well priced at $2.99- “Use myStocks to add your stocks to the your watch list. Add any stock from Nasdaq, AMEX, TSX, London, Hong Kong, Italy, Brasilia, Australia and others exchanges.
Get detail quotes such as Open, Previous Close, High, Low, Volume, Percent change, Bid and Ask and 52 week High and Low.
Get graphs for 3months, 6months, 1 year and 2 year.”
And the we have Safety Checklist which is available for under $5 at the moment, and which uses the line “which can help in reducing the surgical complications, including death.” Would you want an app for under $5 helping you with patients? Would scare the life out of me…
* Safety Checklist is an application which can help in reducing the surgical complications, including death.
* This shows that using a simple 19-step safety checklist (the Surgical Safety Checklist) in the operating room can significantly reduce post-operative complications.
* This Safety Checklist is designed to help all the medical professionals like surgeons, OR nurses and other health care professionals reduce the risk of surgical complications and death.
* Remembering all the 19 checklist is tough for the medical professionals. So, this application contains all the steps before starting any operation.
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Treo Pro for the third time
Murray has tried out the Treo Pro for a third time and proclaims it to be “a fabulous bit of hardware with a great keyboard that looks and feels great in the hand.”
We rarely agree, but I would proclaim it to be a terrible piece of hardware with a barely useable keyboard and one that feels dreadful in the hand.
“Splashed out on a 2nd hand Treo Pro last week off eBay and I’m not sure why. This is the 3rd time I’ve bought one in the last 18 months and regular readers will know that the first two ventures both ended badly with me slagging it off and decrying it as slow and buggy. I don’t know why this one should have been any different but it is. It is unlocked and has no carrier crud on it but then so did the 2nd one I purchased. It’s by no means quick but I haven’t noticed any of the infuriating lag that blighted the first two. I’ll probably not keep it that long but what attracted me to it again was the hardware. This thing is probably my favourite hardware set up, slim with a great qwerty keyboard and it feels solid. I’m not sure that the Bold 9700, Hero and certainly the Pre have been built as well. The Bold 9700 creaks around where the silver trim is and the keyboard is bouncy and feels like it could break, the Hero is okay but there is a bit of flex in the battery cover area whilst the Pre, well, it’s a bit wobbly isn’t it?”
Microsoft Asia Working On A Futuristic Mobile Charging Pad
Microsoft has patented a very clever charging pad. It sounds a bit like science fiction, but you never know. It could see the light of day in the future.
From I’m Just Being Manan- “Some time back I had posted about Microsoft Office Labs GM showing that the technology showed in the Montage video isn’t that far. I came across a patent filed by Microsoft Researchers in Asia showing a charging pad for portable devices which builds on the theme set by the Montage video. The patent reveals a charging pad for portable devices like cell phones and media players. The charging pad is said to have the following features:
Accelerometer
An OLED screen
Ambient lights
Internet access (wired and wireless)…”
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The Nokia E72 Review
The Symbian Blog has posted a comprehensive review of the Nokia E72 which in my opinion is very good indeed. The E71 was a gem of a phone and Nokia has sensibly not changed too much while fixing the little niggles that annoyed some.
“After the unparalleled success of the E71 for Nokia, they knew that they had a recipe for success in their hands. Symbian is still the number one OS for non touch devices, its stable, its fast and there is a plethora of applications for users to choose from. So the task for them was cut out – make a device that’s not too different from the E71, but improved enough that people want to jump on it.
When I bought the E71, I despised its camera and the 2.5mm jack for me was a huge pain. Invariably when I need to a camera or a decent media player, I’d have to switch SIM cards or carry a second device. Not cool. This is what Nokia had to fix, and out came the E72, all runs blazing, a solid marketing campaign behind it. I have been using this device for a solid two months now and its time to ask the question, is it worth the update? Should you consider buying it if you are in the market for a new device?”
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Google Earth Arrives in Android Market for 2.1
Google Earth is now available in the Android Market, but only for devices running v2.1 of the OS. A shame, but Nexus One owners will be happy. From AndroidGuys- “The official Google Earth application has arrived in the Android Market this morning. We haven’t seen any news from the Google Mobile blog yet, so we’re trying to dig through a few things. As of right now, we know it doesn’t show up for Android 1.5 or 1.6 but Nexus One owners have confirmed it to be available. A few of our twitter followers have indicated that it’s not showing up for them either. So it appears that it does require Android 2.1 which makes sense to us. We just saw our first glimpse of it when the Nexus One was unveiled.”
64GB SD card now shipping
SanDisk is now shipping a 64GB SDXC card for $349.99. Expect that price to drop soon, but it will still be good value for some. “Milpitas, Calif., February 22, 2010 – SanDisk Corporation (NASDAQ: SNDK), the global leader in flash memory cards, today announced that it has begun shipping the 64 gigabyte (GB)1 SanDisk Ultra® SDXC™ card, the company’s highest capacity SD™ card ever. With its 64GB capacity, up to 15MB/sec read speed2 and Class 4 speed rating, the new card is ideal for capturing and storing massive 1080p High-Definition video files and then transferring them quickly to a computer.
SDXC cards are based on the new SD 3.0 specification, which makes it possible to manufacture cards with storage capacity up to 2 terabytes (TB)3. The SDXC card’s exFAT file structure helps consumers record long-duration HD videos. The 64GB SanDisk Ultra SDXC card can store more than eight hours of such video with recording speed of 9 Mbps (HD standard)*.
“SDXC is the successor to the popular SDHC card format,” said Susan Park, director, retail product marketing, SanDisk. “The 64GB SanDisk Ultra SDXC card delivers the speed and capacity consumers need for extended HD video recording and improved rapid shooting of still images. The card is an ideal complement for recently-announced SDXC-compatible cameras and camcorders.”
Because the SD 3.0 specification was recently released, only a handful of devices may be immediately available that support SDXC cards. However, the pace of new camera model introduction supporting the SDXC format is accelerating. Canon announced at CES that all of its new VIXIA camcorder models and PowerShot cameras are compatible with SDXC cards. Widespread adoption of SDXC is expected to occur across a range of consumer electronic products including HDTVs, Blu-ray recorders/players, camcorders, cameras, mobile phones, navigation systems and computers. SanDisk® ImageMate® memory card readers are compatible with SDXC cards if the connected PC uses an operating system that supports exFAT.
The 64GB SanDisk Ultra SDXC card comes with a lifetime limited warranty**. The card is available immediately at www.sandisk.com via the U.S. e-commerce site with a price of $349.99, and will be available at SanDisk locations around the world soon after.”
QOTD: New communications?
What form of communication has become more prevelant to you over the past year? BlackBerry PIN Messaging has been the only big change for me with text and voice still high on the list. Skype and other internet voice services have passed me by on my smartphone.
Interview with iPhone developer, Agent57
Today we have an interview with Phil from Agent57 who make apps for the iPhone. If you have not had chance to look at The World Cup app from Agent57 it is the ideal way to build up to the biggest footballing event of the year. Still smarting that Scotland failed to qualify…
1/ Tell us a bit about Agent57. How did the company start and why did you enter the iPhone software market?
We started as a web development Company in 2008, but I have always been interested in software development. I always considered I would only develop for the Mac platform so I started getting to grips with Xcode, the Mac software development kit. Then along came the iPhone which seemed to be a perfect test bed. During the quieter periods, during the early days of the Company, I started developing a few frameworks that led to CarryOn and Sherlock. Then I took it a bit further and in October of 2009 I felt I knew enough to produce a commercial piece of software. I love football and thought there would be a market for a good World Cup App.
2/ How do you view the current iTunes app store model and are you optimistic for the future of the platform?
From an independent developers perspective, it’s brilliant. You do have to work hard with marketing your products but the model of the store, the delivery to end users and the payment system works well. I know there are some problems with the method of getting your App available, ie. the review process, but Apple are working on this, and we have seen the results of their efforts. We have submitted two updates so far for The World Cup; version 1.1 hit the App Store in 5 days after submission, version 1.2 was just 24 hours.
I am sure that Apple will continue to develop the App Store in the same way they have continued to promote and develop the iTunes Store. On that basis, we have to be optimistic that this will continue for some time. I have friends who are just getting their new iPhones now as if they had only been released a month ago. They are every bit as excited about the hardware, the built in software and the App Store as I was when I got my 2g iPhone, and back then we had no App Store.
3/ Do you believe the other mobile platforms are competing well with the iPhone?
Apple took a big gamble with the touch screen interface and the fact they had no hardware keyboard. It paid off, and now even Blackberry’s are surfacing with touch screens and virtual keyboards. Everybody is now trying to play catch-up with the hardware, and they’ve got a good chance of competing there. However, Apple have always produced the best user experience in terms of the man/machine interface and coming up with something that can beat a cut down version of OSX will more difficult to achieve. As far as third party software availability is concerned, I can’t see how any other mobile platforms could come close to the choice that the App Store offers.
4/ What smartphone do you use and why?
I use an iPhone 3GS. It does everything I could possibly need it to for a pocket sized device that goes everywhere with me. Before the iPhone, I used a Nokia N73 and a Palm Lifedrive (and before that a palm Tungsten). I loved all three of those devices, but the N73 was just a phone, I didn’t really use it for anything else. My Palm was my extended computer and diary. Once the iPhone came along I saw how it integrated with the desktop OSX applications, it was almost like having a MacBook with you. My contacts, calendars, IM, spreadsheets and word processing documents all came with me, all synced over the air and it just never let me down. I have more than ten friends who have iPhones now, but only one of them has an Apple Mac. Even though the others do not know how much the iPhone benefits from being part of a mobile/desktop setup, they all still love it!
5/ Has The World Cup been as successful as you hoped for so far?
In some countries yes, particularly in the UK, considering the World Cup is still so far off. In other countries no. Apart from Germany, sales to other Euro countries have been virtually none existent. Including the qualified countries like Spain and France,where the App is available in these languages, so maybe we’ll see these countries getting interested as the tournament approaches. In the USA, the greatest density of iPhone users in the world … worse than Europe!
6/ What football team do you support?
I’m Liverpool born and bred so there’s only one of two ways I can go! I’ll have to say it quietly after our performances this season, but I’m a Liverpool fan. I should give a mention too though to Tranmere Rovers, who over the years I have been watching football, I have probably seen play as many times as I have Liverpool.
7/ Anything you would like to add?
If you like football and have an iPhone … please buy ‘The World Cup’, then tell your friends. Getting the word out when there are so many apps competing for attention is really hard. If people know about it and choose not to buy it, I have no problem with that, at least they had the opportunity. One thing I want to avoid is having people approach me after July and say “That World Cup App looked brilliant … wish I knew about it before the World Cup started”.
Thanks Shaun for the opportunity to talk to your readers. I hope some of them find it interesting.
Web: http://dev.agent57.com
Web World Cup: http://bit.ly/TheWorldCup
Twitter: http://twitter.com/agent57Ltd
App Store: http://itunes.com/apps/theworldcup
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Office Hot Shot for Blackberry: a game and an app
Office Hot Shot for BlackBerry is unusual in that it is a game and a useful application. “1) it is a locking application; use it as a lock screen for your BlackBerry. 2) it is a fun and addictive paper toss game!
When used as a lock application, the Office Hot Shot screen will display when any of the user configurable lock conditions are met. For example, you could configure it so the lock screen displays everytime the backlight times out, keeping prying eyes from seeing what’s on your device.
Touchscreen users could set Office Hot Shot to launch when connecting on a phone call, keeping your device safe from accidental touches from your cheek during a call. Once activated, Office Hot Shot displays on your device, letting you see in a glance useful information, such as the day, date, time, unread emails, missed calls, battery level, and more!
Office Hot Shot comes bundled with a free game where you try to toss a ball of paper into the office trash can. You have to account for wind speed and direction to guide the ball into the can. Set the record and claim the title of Office Hot Shot!”
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Giana Sisters for the iPhone: proper platform phone gaming
Giana Sisters recreates one of the best platform games ever made (in my rather modest view) and works very well indeed on the iPhone. Easily worth the asking price.
“More than 20 years ago Armin Gessert developed with GIANA SISTERS one of the first Jump’n'Run games for the Commodore C64 – the console manufacturers got anxious – Nintendo tried to stop the sisters and the end seemed close. But you might say when idols die then legends are born ! As in this case. C64, Amiga, Amstrad and Atari ST Gamer honor GIANA SISTERS and an original game with packaging has become a rare collector’s item.
The legend is back, better and bigger than ever before. Four years after the successful mobile phone version the GIANA SISTERS celebrate their arrival in the new millenium as an iPone App, without loosing their 80s charm. Especially designed for the possibilities and functions of the iPhone / iPod GIANA SISTERS captivates through its completely new graphic especially for this version, new control options and several Apple 3.0 features.
The newly polished 32 classic levels from the old days should result in hear palpitation and teary-eyes for real enthusiasts. Even though GIANA SISTERS has been polished off from its decade old dust 2009 it goes strong with the known style, legendary sound and all classic features.
Jump deep into the Giana world with 80 new adventures. Choose between classic or touch control as well as several new features – a connection to Facebook gives GIANA SISTERS the connection into this world.”
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Almost a smartphone for almost £90: The Nokia X3
The Nokia X3 boasts some impressive specs for under £90 contract free. The Carphone Warehouse is selling it for £79.95 + £10 top up and for that you get a 3.2 Megapixel camera, assisted GPS (plus free Ovi Maps) and many other goodies. Only the lack of Wi-Fi and the Series 40 OS give away the fact that it is not a true smartphone. Tempted to review this one…
“The Nokia X3 was made for music sharing. This attention-grabbing mobile has a high-tech design and brushed metal accents. Its dedicated music keys allow you to play, skip and pause tracks as you would on an MP3 player.
A multimedia entertainment phone, the X3 is all you need to stay connected on the move.
Play music through the headset provided, on your own 3.5mm headphones, or a wireless Bluetooth headset.
Share tracks with friends via integrated stereo speakers, and listen to live broadcasts thanks to the built-in FM radio antennae.
Connect with contacts via Facebook, email, messenger, text or call. Set four favourite friends to the contacts bar and see their updates, texts and calls. Slide up the display to fire off quick messages using the easy-type keypad.
Music matters and the Nokia X 3′s dedicated media bar takes you straight to its integrated MP3 player with playlists, filters and folders.
Go online via GPRS and download new tracks straight to your handset or to your computer from the Nokia Music Store. With unlimited free downloads for the length of your subscription and millions of tracks available, you’ll soon be expanding your collection. If your tariff doesn’t include an internet bundle you can add an *unlimited data plan to your basket at checkout. Plans start at just £5 a month. **
Do more with your mobile. The Nokia X3 has Assisted GPS and Nokia Maps to help you find your way, and a 3.2 Megapixel camera with video recorder to capture classic moments. Its Bluetooth connection and PC Sync capabilities keep your data up-to-date and backed up. There’s even a pre-loaded Guitar Rock Tour mobile game to keep you entertained on the move!
The X3 comes with a 2GB microSD card to get your media collection started, and is compatible with microSD cards up to 16GB. Designed to be energy efficient the X3 offers a great entertainment experience on the go.”
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The Palm C40: time to speculate
The Palm C40 has been rumoured for some time now and pre central has published an article in which 6 people come up with their ideas of what it might be. Personally I just want to see better hardware build quality, but have for a long time from Palm and am still waiting.
“We can only speculate about the Palm “C40.” The number appears to be completely different than the “100″ designated for the Pre and the 120 for the Pixi. If Sprint is true to form, a next generation Pre or Pixi might be a 100 or 200 series. So this is something different.
Let’s start with the easy things. Palm has said that they will stick to offering real keyboards and I hope they do. The iPhone’s virtual keyboard is just so clumsy. It also will need to be 4G or it will be Dead On Arrival. It will need a higher resolution camera with auto-focus and zoom, even if it is digital zoom. And Palm has to address the battery life issues in hardware. There is just so much you can do in software to save power. The Google Nexus is rated at twice the battery life of a Pre…”
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Q&A: Microsoft on Windows Phone 7 Series
CNET Asia has published Q&A: Microsoft on Windows Phone 7 Series which includes the following disturbing comment from director of Mobile Communications Business, Aaron Woodman.
“Can the users of the current Windows Mobile software upgrade to the new one when it comes out? Woodman: I don’t know if any Windows Mobile 6.5 device today meets those specifications.”
Well, looks like many people will be waiting until it is released before buying a new device. A good way to kill sales…
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