Section: Communications, Cellphones, Cellular Providers  It looks like we’re finally at the end of the great Sidekick disaster. Well, we thought we were already at the end when T-Mobile said that the data was lost and offered users gift cards and free data for a month. Now it looks like we’ll be able to put a bit of a happier note to the end of this tale for those users who may have lost all of their data.
Microsoft is claiming that it was able to recover “most” of the data that was lost in the recent server problems. The data that we all assumed was lost should now be able to return to users or should sometime soon at least. The data, including contacts, calendar entries, to dos and photos are included in all that data. The data isn’t all available right now, but Microsoft hopes to push it all out “as soon as possible.” Of course, this might exclude some users, as only “most” of the data was recovered. Hopefully, those people whose data was truly lost never turned off their phone, or let it run out of battery so the RAM retained it all. It is great news that most of the data has been recovered, especially considering the fact that T-Mobile announced it was all pretty much gone forever. The whole deal should teach us all a valuable lesson, as well. Even data on the cloud should be backed up locally if possible. That way, if something unforeseeable, like say a giant corporation accidentally losing all of the information, happens, the files you need are still there for you. It’s doubtful that many of us backup their phone data to a computer despite the option to, which we should maybe start doing. Read [Reuters] Full Story » | Written by Shawn Ingram for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 
Section: Communications, Web  Finland, the land of reindeer and hockey, will soon be the land of broadband for all as well. The Finnish government has made broadband internet action a right, not a privilege or a luxury, and says every citizen will be legally entitled to such a connection by July 2010.
Initially, the connection will be 1 Mb but will be ramped up to 100 Mb by 2015. This will make Finland the first country in the world to make broadband access a legal right for its citizens. The move will hopefully move other countries to make similar laws. France has gone so far as to declare internet action a basic human right but so far has not made it a law. Hopefully, the U.S. will follow in Finland's footsteps, but concerns about infrastructure and net neutrality have slowed down progress. Granted, Finland is a tiny country, smaller than New York City, so it's not nearly as complicated an undertaking. Still, here in the U.S. it needs to happen. The net is no longer a scholarly playground or a luxury. It has infiltrated our lives and become a vital part of them. Our kids use the net to do their homework, companies rely on it, and millions of us use it to get the latest news, pay our bills, and stay in touch. President Obama relied on it to run his campaign. It's become a necessity and hopefully soon, it will be a legal right for us as well. Read [PCWorld] Full Story » | Written by Sue Walsh for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 
Section: Audio, Video, Content, Communications, Mobile, Computers, Software / Applications, Wireless, Gaming, Imaging  Rumors of the coming Wi-Fi Direct are out and I’m sure it’s got the Bluetooth makers shaking in their boots. With Wi-Fi Direct, Bluetooth may no longer be top dog.
Just announced at a consortium, some of the biggest players in the tech field are coming together to form an alliance to bring Wi-Fi connectivity to the public without all the hassle so often encountered now. Intel, Apple, Cisco Systems and over 300 other tech companies are all joining up to develop and distribute technology that will turn just about any gadget into an access point that can connect with any other Wi-Fi enabled gadget within around 300 feet. Just think—phones, computers, gaming systems, TVs - all able to communicate together. If you happen to own an existing Wi-Fi enabled device, you will still be able to make use of the new Direct technology by simply downloading some software. This is what is probably going to make the Bluetooth folks a little nervous. Now they finally have some competition and while Wi-Fi can go through your battery life more quickly than Bluetooth tends to, it has its upside in speed and a richer multimedia content. Beyond the obvious use on cellphones, TVs implementing it are probably going to become commonplace. Chipmaker Marvell is already in pow-wows with TV makers. Although not many offer this technology currently, several are now thinking about adding the feature so that users can do things like transferring video and photos right onto their TV screens from cameras, camcorders and laptops. What is also cool when you think about this technology is the fact there are so many ways it is going to be able to be used. We hear that the technology is supposed to be able to connect both one-on-one and in a group and will come with built in WPA2 technology to keep those nasties at bay. Set to launch sometime mid-2010, this is something I’m definitely looking forward to seeing come to play. Read: [businessweek] Full Story » | Written by Jodie Andrefski for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 
Section: Audio, Gadgets / Other, Lifestyle, Gaming, Console, Miscellaneous, Web, Web 2.0 / Social Networking, Online Music/Video Well, we had gotten the early scoop quite a while ago, that Facebook was coming to an XBox 360 near you. Unfortunately, it didn’t happen when Microsoft was first hinting that it would…way back in August. It’s the “Big 3” apps scheduled to make their debut soon - Facebook, Twitter, and Last.fm. The apps are now supposed to hit in “a Fall release,” with the company saying sometime in November. Although even when pressed, they wouldn’t commit to a firm date. If you are among the select group of beta tester users, you can try it out ahead of time (sign up here). What they’ve got going so far is cool, though not as extensive as the desktop versions. This was kind of expected in some ways though, when you consider that they have to plug three rather major web apps into a system that doesn’t have a web browser, let alone a mouse or a keyboard. Instead, users have either the on-screen keyboard or the attached USB keyboard, and the 360 controller. You can also opt to buy the Chat Pad for around $30 if you like. Obviously the lack of a browser affects the use of the apps. I mean, when you go onto Facebook, or Twitter, you tend to click on stuff right? Can’t do it here. No browser equals no links. So what does each app on the 360 consist of? What can you do? Facebook Well, let’s start with Facebook. One thing XBox 360 users are probably going to use this for is to connect with other gaming friends to give status updates bragging on their scores or levels they just beat. It does that well through Facebook Connect. Another area is allowing you to see friends’ photos quickly and easily. You are able to check out friends’ photos in a full-screen slideshow that has some serious speed getting you the photos, just about the same as getting the shots off of a card reader. Well, this is of course dependent on your internet connection. Nice. However, at this point at least, you are not able to take your own shots from a memory card and upload them to Facebook through the app. Not so nice. Another fun thing is the ability to find buddies who are on either Facebook or XBox Live easily with just one click. When you are logged into the app, you have the option of adding someone in two different ways: Facebook Friends on XBox Live or vice versa. It sounds fast and simple. However, right now you have a limit of 100 people with whom you may be friends. Microsoft has been hinting around though, that they just may up that limit. Also still missing—that I hope show up eventually—are chat and videos. It’s doubtful Microsoft is going to add chat (wanting users to keep using Windows Live Messenger), but the video portion might not be asking too much. Ron Pessner, Microsoft general manager of XBox Live says that “We’re obviously interested in what folks have to say about the desirability of personal videos,” he said. “We’re going to be evaluating that going forward.” Let’s hope it happens, it would be a nice touch. Twitter Moving on the Twitter, what can you do with this part? Well, it looks pretty. It is big and bright and blue. It’s also kind of limited. You can look at the last 50 tweets from the people you follow. You can reply, retweet and favorite tweets. It does also offer search and trending topics on the main page. User themes don’t cross over though, everyone is blue.  However, again, you can’t click on any links. And when people are only tweeting 140 characters or less, they usually include links to whatever they are talking about. It would be nice if you could actually check them out. While it can be a pain in the butt using a vrtual keyboard, chances are you won’t be trying to bang out War and Peace anyway in a bunch of tweets. So, you can handle it for the brief shout-outs you will probably be using it for. But you do want to take note of the fact that it doesn’t give you any kind of warning when you are approaching the 140 character limit, and it lets you keep typing. Maybe they are just checking your Rainman skills. A final part that is rather cool is that you can switch back and forth between more than one Twitter accounts from the same Live user profile, since the app isn’t tied to your XBox Live account. Last.fm Moving on the music with Last.fm, lots of people seem to like it as a way to find new music. The strange thing about the app, though, is that it doesn’t hook in with the music you have already ripped to your 360. Once you start using the app, you are starting at square one of telling your favorite bands, although you can link to an existing Last.fm account you may already have and sync up with that. There is also a set of “music for gamers” that Microsoft and Last.fm have created. It has stuff like game-inspired music and game music soundtracks. Now the not so nice, it can only run when it is the only thing running. If you want to listen to it while you are gaming? Ummm…no. It also takes a tad to load, about 10-15 seconds, compared to Facebook and Twitter loading pretty much immediately. What else? Guess who Microsoft chose to use for their video marketplace app? Zune. Yep, Zune. Pessner says they went this route rather than with the XBox Live brand because it’s “part of Microsoft’s move to put Zune across as the music and video brand.”
And actually, it seems to work quite well. The video streaming is better than what is being used now for their streaming service and due to the Zune’s adaptive streaming technology, you can stream pretty much instantly. Now, even with the older 20GB 360, you can watch HD movies without having to download them first. You can also stream content you bought to somewhere else, like your Zune, so you don’t have to use up your hard drive space. So who gets to use it? The Facebook, Twitter and Last.fm apps are only going to be available to those users with an XBox Live gold account. Silver won’t cut it. This is another way Microsoft is going to try to get the free members to cough up the money for an upgrade. So, if you aren’t a gold member, would these apps make you rethink the cost to upgrade? Are they things that make it worth it to you? Or just some more not needed apps in your opinion? Tell us what you think. Read: [CNET]
Image Source: CNET Full Story » | Written by Jodie Andrefski for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 
Section: Communications, Accessories, Mobile, Computers, Software / Applications The company Spoken has announced its plans to team with Microsoft in order to offer audio to text transcriptions of voicemails. This service will be offered to enterprise customers and will come as an enhanced option on the new Microsoft Exchange Server 2010. The service is called GotVoice and will automatically convert your audio voicemails to text. Any type of third party voicemail service will be compatible with the program. Options to receive the text transcriptions will include email attachments, text messages sent to your mobile or in the inbox of your GotVoice account. The voicemails will be password protected in order to secure your privacy. You will have the ability to adjust your settings through a secure server on the GotVoice website. The GotVoice program is being marketed as a cheaper and more technologically advanced form of voicemail transcription. Many programs have a live person transcribe voicemails into text. Spoken's GotVoice will instead use software as well as a live person for troubleshooting. You don't need Microsoft Exchange Server to use the service. Business and individual accounts can be opened directly through the site. Site: [GotVoice] Image Source: Tech Crunch Full Story » | Written by Heather Wood for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 
Section: Communications, Cellphones, Smartphones, Mobile  Google has recently released an updated Google Voice app for the Blackberry, which brings the app up to version 0.1.5.1 . Due to how people are really into Google Voice, this sounds like good news, but the catch here is that Google has not offered any sort of changelog along with this update. That means it is hard to say just what if anything was added in terms of features or fixes.
That said, this is just a point release update, so I would not expect to see anything major. Personally I updated the app on the BlackBerry Bold that we have in my house, but given that I have not used it regularly in the past, I cannot comment on any differences. Of course, from what I was able to dig up online, it looks like version 0.1.5.1 now offers the ability to preload voicemails and that the call log and inbox seem to have a faster loading time. There were also several reports of an improved compatibility with OS 5.0. Unfortunately this version has not brought the one thing that most people are hoping for—better integration which will allow for better notifications of text messages, calls and voicemails. Bottom line, this update does not seem to have given users anything major, but it still seems like a worthwhile update to apply. Via [CrackBerry] Full Story » | Written by Robert Nelson for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 
Section: Gadgets / Other, GPS/Navigation, Lifestyle These days if you're introducing a GPS, you've got to have a hook. Satsports is bringing its Satsports GPS to North America and wants it to be the GPS for all sports. It runs Windows CE 5.0, has an internal speaker, some built in memory with 256MB or storage, Micro SD slot for real storage, weighs 125g, and has a 2.7-inch QVGA screen (320 x 240). This GPS also has apps made for golfers, runners, street nav, and skiing. What do these apps do? "Pocket Caddy" lets you see golf courses in a fly over mode so you can see the hole before you hit the ball. It will even tell you yardages so you can figure out how hard to swing. You can also record data like what kind of club you used so you can learn from your mistakes. "Satski" gives you ski maps, real time data on speed, and rescue services data. "Satsports Log" will probably have the most wide appeal as it it is for cyclers, runners, and hikers. You can find out altitude, distance, and speed. Data for both Satsports Log and Satski are sycnable to your computer. The Satsports GPS will cost $490. If you have a Windows Mobile phone you can get all the apps for $8.00. If you have an Android device, you can go through the Android Market to grab some apps. Company Site: [SatsportsGPS] Full Story » | Written by Iyaz Akhtar for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 
Section: Computers, Networking, Reviews What is it? The Belkin Powerline AV+ Starter Kit moves network data over your home’s electrical system up to 300 meters. Belkin Powerline Ethernet adapters is meant to solve a common problem - needing a network connection where you don’t have one. It has a list price of $179.99. What's in the box? - 2 Ethernet adapters: 1 three port adapter, 1 single port adapter
- Power adapters
- CD with user manual
- 2 Ethernet cables
The Good Set up is minimal. The instructions in the quickguide sheet explain everything. Plug in an Ethernet cable in an adapter, then plug the adapter into your electrical outlet. Do the same for the other adapter. Just be aware that using these devices in a surge protector is not recommended. For best speeds, plug directly into an outlet. The receiver unit has three Ethernet ports so you can connect multiple devices without needing an Ethernet switch. Due to the fact the adapters are a bit on the bulky side, Belkin included proprietary extension cables that worked very well. You can either slide on the regular plug adapter or the extension cable depending on your preference. Playing DVDs and 1GB video files over the network worked fine using the Belkin Powerline AV+ Starter Kit. There were no stalling issues. In case you live in an apartment or just don’t want people plugging in their own compatible Ethernet adapters, Belkin has a system to lock others out. Just press a button on one adapter for a few seconds, then press the corresponding lock button on your other adapter. Then those units will only talk to each other. If you want to add more adapters, just repeat the process. The locking/pairing scheme works even if you have to unplug your device and move it around. The Bad The claimed maximum speed is 200 Mbps, but while moving a 1GB file over a wired network, uploading tests showed only about 34 Mbps. Downloading tests showed speeds of 43.2 Mbps. Again, these speeds were not exactly close to the claimed maximum speed. Speeds were better than my 802.11g wireless connection, which had a download speed at 22.4 Mbps and 19 Mbps for uploading. The In-between There was one hiccup in setting up the Belkin device. It turns out whatever electrical connection is in my dining room is apparently flaky for networking. Plugging the Belkin kit elsewhere yielded better results. Hopefully your home does not have electrical weirdness, but be aware that your home’s electrical system may cause a problem. The Crux
The Belkin Powerline AV+ Starter Kit does not deliver speeds near the advertised maximums. If you need speeds like 200 Mbps, you are probably better served with something else. If you want speeds much faster than a 802.11g network, this is probably not your solution either. Product Page: [Belkin Powerline AV+] Full Story » | Written by Iyaz Akhtar for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 
Section: Computers, Desktops  Just yesterday we told you about the touchscreen based Acer Aspire notebook, and now Acer has followed up with an announcement for the Aspire Z5610—a multitouch capable all-in-one desktop PC.
As you would imagine due to the timing, the Aspire Z5610 will be running Windows 7, or a little more specifically it will be running Windows 7 Home Premium. Other features include a 2.60GHz Intel Pentium Dual Core E5300 processor, 4GB of RAM, a 320GB hard drive, SuperMulti optical drive, Gigabit Ethernet, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/draft-n, as well as a built-in card reader, integrated HD webcam and microphone. Additionally the Aspire Z5610 will be sporting a 23-inch display with a 1920 x 1080 resolution and also ship with a wireless keyboard and mouse. A specific release date was not mentioned in the press release, instead it was simply listed as being available in time for the holiday season. As far as a price, the Aspire Z5610 will be $899.99. Read [Business Wire] Full Story » | Written by Robert Nelson for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 
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