Section: Communications, Smartphones, Computers, Netbooks  If you believe Intel, Moblin until now has been the future of Linux-based netbooks. On the same note, until now Nokia has been pushing Maemo as the new hotness for Linux-based smartphones. Today at Mobile World Congress, the two companies have announced a joint program to merge the two platforms to make one mobile OS out of two.
The new OS is called MeeGo. MeeGo is a project looks at bringing netbook and smartphone experiences together, bringing the same OS to both. The platform will also be brought to Internet-enabled TVs, in-vehicle systems and “media phones.” The draw seems to be that whatever developers have created for the separate platforms already will work with MeeGo. That alone brings hope for more Nokia phones like the N900 that have more apps. The apps will be available through Nokia’s Ovi Store, and Intel’s AppUp Center. Of course, Intel and Nokia expect MeeGo to become widely adopted, and the site promises that we’ll see MeeGo devices by the end of the year. The question remains, however, what MeeGo will actually look like, and why we’d want to use it on multiple devices, Shoving a netbook OS on a smartphone with long battery life and the capabilities of the N900 or Google’s Nexus One seems to eliminate the need for a netbook unless you really need the larger size. Read [MeeGo] Via [Gizmodo] Full Story » | Written by Shawn Ingram for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 
Section: Communications, Cellphones, Cellular Providers, Smartphones, Reviews, Features, Originals 
Recently, I have had some time to check one of the latest Verizon smartphones, the Motorola DROID running Google Android 2.0. This is the first time I had used the Android platform and I was pleased with the hardware functionality of the DROID as well as the ease of use of Android. What is it? The Motorola DROID was announced on October 28, 2009 and became available through Verizon Wireless on November 6, 2009. It can connect to the web using Verizon’s 3G network or via WiFi. It comes with a native web browser, but I opted to using the Dolphin Web Browser from the Android Market because it allows for tabbed browsing and I could download YouTube videos from the browser. The crisp 3.7 inch touch screen displays all pictures, videos, games, and websites in high resolution. The touchscreen is pretty responsive and the 550MHz processor opens applications quickly. The DROID can run up to six applications at once, although I have never found the need to run that many at once. Personally, the most I would use at a time is Meebo IM, Pandora, Facebook, Web, and sometimes Email. Everything would open quickly and the notification bar allows convenient switching between apps. The 5MP camera is great for taking sharp pictures and uploading them easily to Facebook or any other photo sharing site. The video capture is DVD quality, and I must say, I was impressed with the video capture. Not to mention it is very easy to store all videos, pictures, music, and apps with the 16GB of onboard memory. As most smartphones, the DROID features a 3.5mm headphone jack so conventional headphones and earbuds will probably work. The Good All the menus are laid out in a manner that is easy to become accustomed to; therefore it was easy to set up WiFi connection, change backlight settings, and turn on/off Bluetooth and GPS satellite receiver. When the battery is running low, it was important for me to be able to change all the settings so it would reduce power consumption. Rather than taking three or four minutes, it only took about a minute to shut the unnecessary features off. Uninstalling apps was a pretty easy process, since there was a menu option to specifically uninstall apps. In addition, it was easy to “kill” any apps running in the background that I did not want to run anymore. The battery life for talk time is 6.5 hours, while standby is 270 hours. I found running intensive applications would lower the battery life pretty fast, but otherwise it has very good battery life, better than I initially expected. It was easy to stay connected to email, IMs, and texts at all times. Whenever an email was received I would receive a notification that I specifically customized, and the same goes for IMs and texts. Personally, I didn’t like the native way of handling texts so I downloaded the Handcent SMS app which gives it the iPhone texting look. A neat aspect of the Android software is the fact that it syncs all Gmail contacts and Facebook contacts and uses their pictures in the contacts app. Even if I don’t necessarily have someone’s number, I probably already have it on my phone if that person has it on Facebook or Gmail. The call quality is above average, in my opinion, and the speakerphone is easy to hear. One of the positives about the iPhone is the App store, which boasts an impressive amount of apps. While the Android Market may not contain nearly as many apps, many of the important ones are free and definitely make the Android experience better. Since it was a demo DROID, I did not purchase any Android apps that cost money, so I cannot comment on how well those apps worked. I never really found the phone to freeze or respond slowly, which is definitely a job well done by Motorola. Being able to personalize the DROID’s background definitely gives the smartphone a bit of personality and there are some apps specifically tailored for backgrounds, or you can use one of your own photos. The Bad Every phone, naturally, has some negative aspects that can be agreed upon by everyone, or some depending on personal preference. Personally, I find the iPhone’s screen to be smoother, while the DROID’s screen feels a little cheap. The phone only has one physical button, so it is not easy to call right away, or hang up on a call. I am a pretty big texting person and I found the physical keys on the DROID a lot worse than what I am accustomed to on the LG enV 3 phone. However, I am still able to text pretty quickly on the physical keys and the virtual ones, albeit it takes a while to get used to. Sometimes after I have the Pandora app open for a while, I cannot play any music off the hard drive, nor watch videos. I’m not sure why this happens, but a quick restart usually solves the issue. Also, for some reason the camera on the Droid takes a WHILE to open up, which is definitely annoying when you would like to take a picture right away. The Crux Overall I am very impressed with the hardware Motorola put together in the DROID and the Android 2.0 technology makes it a winner. It may not be the iPhone killer just yet, but it is one of the better phones on Verizon. Right now the DROID is $299 with a two year contract, but you can buy it online for $199, after a special online discount. I would give it an 8/10 rating, and if you are looking to upgrade your Verizon phone, or switching from a different carrier, the Motorola DROID is definitely a smartphone to consider. Keep in mind it will only get better whenever Motorola decides to roll out the Android 2.1 upgrade. Full Story » | Written by Natesh Sood for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 
Section: Communications, Smartphones 
Motorola has just announced a new family member to its growing line of Android-based smartphones, the Cliq XT. It’s called the “Quench” outside of the US. Oddly (to us anyway) is the Cliq XT runs on Android 1.5, as opposed to the latest Android 2.1 builds that include the much-talked about free GPS navigation. The Cliq XT is Motorola’s eighth smartphone that features the Android OS.
The Cliq XT features a 3.1” 320 x 480 pixels touchscreen, WiFi, 3G, A-GPS, a 5.0 megapixel camera that comes with autofocus and a LED flash. It also supports Flash content as it runs Adobe Flash Lite. It will be available in the US some time next month, exclusively through T-Mobile. No words on pricing, though. Read [Motorola] Via [Gizmodo] Full Story » | Written by Cheng Hung for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 
Section: Communications, Cellphones, Email / IM, Smartphones, Mobile  Running Windows Mobile 6.5, the new Toshiba TG02 and K01 should be blazing fast with their 1GHz processors. Both smartphones rely on a capacitive touchscreen but the K01 adds a slide-out QWERTY keypad and features an OLED screen.
The Toshiba TG02 is a follow-up device to the TG01. The TG02 is designed as a consumer phone and focus on video, images and fast browsing. The 3D User Interface optimizes common consumer functions over the Windows Mobile OS. The screen is VGA and the total device thickness is only 9.9mm. The K01 is a bit more office-oriented. The OLED screen should keep things bright while using as little battery power as possible. The slide out keyboard features big keys for banging out emails to the CEO. Toshiba managed to only add about 3mm of thickness to this device by adding the keyboard for a total thickness of 12.9mm. No word yet on where, when or how much. Read: [Engadget] Full Story » | Written by JG Mason for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 
Section: Communications, Mobile, Imaging 
Samsung recently unveiled new HD-capable CMOS sensors aimed at manufacters of high-end smartphones and slim cellphones. These new sensors are small enough to allow small and thin form factors, while at the same time powerful enough to even allow 720p HD video recording. The sensors are the S5K4E2 and the S5K5CA CMOS sensors.
The S5K4E2 CMOS sensor is a 5 Megapixels sensor that can record “full resolution” videos at 15 FPS. It is unclear what is meant by “full resolution” though. If they meant recording 2560 x 1920 pixels (which sums up to 5 Megapixels) videos at 15 FPS, Samsung really did pack some real punch into this CMOS sensor. Samsung's new S5K5CA on the other hand, is a smaller 3 Megapixels sensor, but it’s still capable of 720p video recording! As this sensor is smaller in size than the S5K4E2, it’s a good choice for manufacturers to use in slim mobile phones, while being able to provide high performance photography. Kat Hannaford over at Gizmodo has pointed out that Samsung may have used the S5K4E2 5 Megapixels CMOS sensor in the Wave. These high performance sensors will be available by the end of the first quarter of 2010. Expect to see them in phones later this year. Read [Business Wire] Via [Gizmodo] Full Story » | Written by Cheng Hung for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 
Section: Communications, Cellphones, Email / IM, Smartphones, Mobile 
This image of a banner at the Mobile World Congress of a completely new device with a very decent looking UI could be the Zune Phone or Windows Mobile 7. Regardless of what they call it, it looks to be the best Mobile Windows UI I’ve ever seen. Looking like a consumer-oriented device, the package looks slim, capable and inviting; words that have been absent from describing anything Windows Mobile in a long, long time. From the easy-to-touch big buttons for voice messages, email and texts, the fourth button looks to be Facebook friends. Front and central. Xbox Live looks to be part of this experience as well as a big button entitled, “Me”. Perhaps this is Microsoft version of Mobile Me? We know from the Adobe announcement that Flash 10.1 and AIR will be supported on Windows Mobile a bit later than Android and BlackBerry devices. It’s coming but it will lag behind the others. Microsoft’s announcements should be made today. We’ll know more soon. Read: [Engadget] Full Story » | Written by JG Mason for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 
Section: Communications, Cellphones, Email / IM, Smartphones, Mobile  Today, Adobe is announcing Flash Player 10.1 and AIR for mobile devices. Coming first to Android devices in 2010, Adobe aims to bring the immersive full web experience to all mobiles devices, well all except its sworn mortal enemy: the iPhone. It seems Adobe is working with everyone but Apple to bring Flash to high performance devices.
Flash and AIR for devices will provide developers with a platform that is able to work across OS. Design an application for AIR and will run on Android, BlackBerry, Palm’s webOS and can even convert to an iPhone app. That means Adobe developers can avoid using the iPhone SDK to reach a maximum of devices. That is not what Apple wanted and is one of the reason’s Apple does not want Flash on the iPhone. “With support for the Android™ platform expected in 2010, AIR provides developers with a feature-rich environment for delivering rich applications outside the mobile browser and across multiple operating systems via mobile marketplaces and app stores. AIR leverages mobile specific features from Flash® Player 10.1, is optimized for high performance on mobile screens and designed to take advantage of native device capabilities for a richer and more immersive user experience.” The implications here could be huge for the iPhone and it’s enormous app store. If developers are designing for everyone, the iPhone exclusiveness begins to fade away. Companies with a smaller installed base, like Palm, will benefit from being part of the OS’s that support Flash and AIR. Overall, this could be a big win for developers who can focus less on customization for each OS variety. Press Release: [Adobe] Full Story » | Written by JG Mason for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 
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