Section: Computers, Web, Web 2.0 / Social Networking, Web Browsers, Google If you thought that Google Instant was a cool search feature, wait till you’ve tried Google’s newest search tool - Google Preview. While Google Instant gives you the most accurate search results as soon as you type your search query, Google Preview on the other hand offers a new kind of visual search result to make it even faster for you to choose the right search result. Google Instant Previews also gives you a graphic overview of search result and also highlights the most relevant sections. This helps you find the right page as quickly and as easily possible. It’s like flipping through a magazine. Google said that among the participants, 5% are more likely to be satisfied with the results they click. Google Instant Previews provide new ways for evaluating search results - enabling you to find what you’re looking for on the pages you visit. Some of the things that you can do with Google Instant Previews include - quickly compare results, pinpoint relevant content and interact with search results pages. And in case you’re wondering how Instant Previews will be useful to you. Google cited that with Instant Previews you will be able to tell if any of the results look familiar. Or if you’re looking for the official website of a specific company or organization, you can easily find the site simply be scanning the search results and looking for a site in the search results which has the official logo of the company. Now Instant Previews will only become more useful if it works fast. Google explains that search queries were matched with an index of the entire web, identify the parts of each webpage, stictch together these parts before serving the resulting preview. All of these takes only under one-tenth of a second. Ready to try out Google Instant Previews? Simply click once on the magnifying glass that you can find beside the title of any search result and visual overview of the page. Then hover your cursor over any other result to see their previews. Video demo of Google Instant Previews follows after the read link. Read [Official Google Blog]  Full Story » | Written by Arnold Zafra for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 Section: Communications, Cellphones, Cellular Providers, Mobile If you don’t feel like jumping into Windows Phone 7 or any other smartphones available in the market today and you just want a simple messaging phone for Christmas, Verizon has something for you. Just released is the new Samsung Zeal. Guess what? It’s a simple messaging device with few extra cool features wanting to be explored and used. The Samsung Zeal will be available on November 11 at all Verizon outlets for only $79.99 after a $50 main-in rebate with a new two-year contract. Don’t even think that this simple and affordable phone is a lemon because it is not. In fact it is loaded with features that will surely be useful if you’re looking for a simple messaging devices. This dual-hinge phone sports a unique, flip-style form factor with a unique feature which Verizon describes as the E Ink technology transforming the phone’s QWERTY keypad based on your needs. So if you open the phone vertically as a flip phone, you can use its traditional numeric keypad and then change it to an alpha-only keypad. When in landscape mode, the QWERTY keypad can change to numeric with symbols. Sounds enticing enough? Other features of the Samsung Zeal include - a 2.0MP camera with night and panorama shot, corporate email support for Microsoft Exchange, Bluetooth, and a slew of other social features supported by Verizon services. Read [Verizon News] Full Story » | Written by Arnold Zafra for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 Section: Computers, Mobile Computers, Laptops, Netbooks Quietly, Lenovo has launched a new ultraportable machine dubbed - IdeaPad U260. Interestingly, Lenovo decided to take the silent path and do away with the fanfare of announcing the product with a big bang. I don’t know but the machine looks promising especially when it comes to some of its features and specs. I mean, looks-wise, the IdeaPad U260 don’t look like the worst-looking laptop we’ve seen before. It is only 0.71-inch thin with a 12.5-inch screen. The only gripe you’d probably have about this laptop is that it’s a bit on the heavy side, weighing around 3.04 lb. But I’m pretty sure it’s not the heaviest laptop of all time since it is being geared as an ultraportable machine. In fact, it has no optical drive so that makes it a lot thinner than most regular laptops in the market today. Save of course for the new MacBook Air. But that’s a different story. Anyway, rounding the features and specs of the Lenovo IdeaPad U260 will give us - a 12.5-inch HD-resolution display in anti-glare finish, ULV Core i3/i5 processors, 4-cell battery option, 2 USB 2.0 ports, 4GB of RAM, 320GB HDD, Bluetooth, WiFi b/g/n and two choices of unusual colors for a laptop - Mocha brown and Clementine orange. No words on pricing yet but given its RAM and HDD, we’re suspecting that this beast will sell for $1000-up. Any takers? Via [ThinkPads] Full Story » | Written by Arnold Zafra for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 Section: Communications, Cellular Providers, Smartphones, Mobile And it looks like the webOS 2.0 training has begun with Verizon. Of course, we end users are still awaiting something a little more solid in terms of a release date for the Palm Pre 2. Not to mention, something more specific than in the “coming months” as to when current Pre Plus users can expect to see webOS 2.0. But hey, it all has to start somewhere and what better way than to begin with training the employees. The report comes by way of the PreCentral blog who have gotten their hands on one of the documents, which is aptly titled, HP webOS 2.0 Features and Benefits. Sadly though, of the five key points noted, we have already seen them all in the original webOS 2.0 announcement. But again, we have to start somewhere. Via [PreCentral] Full Story » | Written by Robert Nelson for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 Section: Communications, Cellular Providers, Smartphones, Mobile  It looks like sales of the HTC HD7 are going good for T-Mobile. Well, that is assuming you can see the positive side of a backordered status. The reports are coming by way of the TmoNews blog who have stated that both the T-Mobile website and T-Mobile customer service have noted the handset as backordered. As of this posting there is no mention on the T-Mobile website, at least when viewing the information for the phone. It seems like it will allow you to make a purchase and then deliver the bad news at the end. And in truth, they are simply listing the handset as being “not available for immediate shipment.” Of course, this just leaves one to wonder—is the backordered status because they are selling really well or because T-Mobile only ordered a limited inventory in fear of not being able to sell them? And while I am not planning on purchasing a Windows Phone 7 device, I would say that the HD7 would be the one that could possible lure me over. Via [TmoNews] Full Story » | Written by Robert Nelson for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 Section: Computers, Mobile Computers  Kno is attempting to change the way students interact with textbooks by offering 14.1-inch tablets to display electronic versions of the expensive tomes. The Kno comes in a single-screen and double-screen version, and today the pricing for both has finally been announced. The single-screen Know will sell for $599, with the double-screen going for $899.
Both versions will go on sale sometime within the next few weeks, before the end of 2010. The first targets for the devices will be ten universities which have not yet been named. The company seems a bit dodgy as to how many will be made at first, the only figure being “in the thousands,” which sounds promising enough. Kno has done some beta testing of the product, and it seems that most of the students who were given the single-screen version were asking for an upgrade tot he double-screen version. The company highlights that the students really liked the ability to put handwritten notes directly onto the textbook they were reading. There’s already partnerships with Pearson, McGraw Hill and Cengage to get textbooks onto the tablet, with even more textbook publishers coming soon. Obviously Kno wants to keep the launch focused, but it would be a shame if only students in those ten partnered schools get a chance to buy the device. I would have loved to have the Kno as I was in school, and I’m sure there’s plenty of other tech-savvy students out there who go to smaller schools who would want a Kno. Then again, even after college I still would love to play around with a Kno, and I’m sure I’m not alone in that. Read [All Things D] Full Story » | Written by Shawn Ingram for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 Section: Communications, Cellular Providers, Broadband Cards, Mobile, Computers, Mobile Computers  As many likely remember, and as many were likely surprised by—Verizon began offering the iPad a short while ago. And for those who may have missed the original announcement, they are simply selling the Wi-Fi only iPad with a contract free MiFi mobile hotspot modem bundled in. Needless to say, it seems they are going all out with their ‘new’ product and have recently taken to the airwaves promoting it. Enter the “Breakaway” commercial which is actively promoting the bundle. With that, it all makes perfect sense to me and likely to other geeks, but I have to wonder if those who are unsure what a MiFi is will understand what he is doing in that commercial when he pulls out the device and pushes the button. Watch [YouTube] Via [TiPb] Full Story » | Written by Robert Nelson for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 Section: Communications, Cellphones, Cellular Providers, Smartphones, Mobile How about this folks? If all the published specs, features, functionality, and capabilities of the current crop of Windows Phone 7 are not enough to convince you in getting any of these phones, would the availability of Google search app on the Windows Marketplace be enough? Well, it would be enough if you are a both a Google search fan who also wants to try out Windows Phone 7. So there. If you get a new Windows Phone 7, you might want to give Google search app a spin. It could be a good alternative to Bing on Windows Phone 7. So, what will make you use Google search app instead of the Microsoft-back Bing search on your Windows Phone 7 unit? According to the Google Mobile blog, searching with Google on your Windows Phone 7 unit is easier and gives you quick and convenient access to a rich set of search results from the web, images, local, news and other Google verticals. Among several features that Google is bringing in to Windows Phone 7 are auto-suggest, search history and location-aware. Ready to jump back into the Windows Mobile ecosystem? Remember, there are several Windows Phone 7 you can choose to buy. Choose wisely. Read [Google Mobile Blog] Full Story » | Written by Arnold Zafra for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 Section: Communications, Smartphones, Mobile Good news for those who refuse to settle on a mobile platform that does not have a large amount of available apps—the Windows Phone 7 Marketplace is already at 2,000. The details are coming courtesy of the Windows Phone Developer Blog who states it rather clearly; “Windows Phone 7 customers in launch markets around the world already have access to nearly 2,000 apps and games”
Now lets see how high that 2,000 will climb and whether or not consumers will even care. Personally, I say given the right apps, 2,000 is more than enough. Of course, that seems easy for me to say given I am one of the few happy with the limited selection available in the App Catalog for webOS users. And sure, I would love to see more, but it does not change the fact that the major players are there. Furthermore, the Windows Phone 7 Marketplace currently has 13,000 registered developers and that means we should begin seeing more and more added to the available category. Read [WindowsTeamBlog] and [Windows Phone 7 Marketplace] Via [BGR] Full Story » | Written by Robert Nelson for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 Section: Computers, Laptops, Gadgets / Other, Lifestyle Well this one comes as an absolute shock to me. A new study shows that the heat from a computer placed on your lap can adversely affect your sperm’s quality. The study, which was published in this month’s Journal Fertility and Sterility, states that there really isn’t much that men can do to counteract the affects from laptop heat besides placing them on other surfaces. The researchers placed thermometers on the genitals of 29 men who were using the machines placed in their laps. The results showed that all of the test subjects’ genitals overheated quickly even with the assistance of lap pads. “Millions and millions of men are using laptops now, especially those in the reproductive age range,” said urologist Dr. Yefim Sheynkin, who lead the study. “Within 10 or 15 minutes their scrotal temperature is already above what we consider safe, but they don’t feel it.”
Sheynkin went on to say that the increase of the scrotum’s temperature from more than one degree Celsius (1 degree Fahrenheit) can cause damage. I wonder if this research was conducted with the test subjects holding their laptops while they were charging. In any case, thank you Dr. Sheynkin for providing us with this study that men everywhere won’t soon forget. Read [Reuters] Full Story » | Written by Tarun Kunwar for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 Section: Gadgets / Other, ebooks  The hacker magazine, 2600 The Hacker Quarterly is continuing to go digital. Last week we mentioned that the magazine was available for Kindle users and now it looks like it has come to the Nook. Similar to the deal with the Kindle, at present there is not an option to subscribe and those interested will have to purchase each issue on an individual basis. That said, there is a perk in terms of the price. The Nook version is only $3.99, which is a few bucks less expensive as compared to the print edition. Needless to say, according to a Twitter message from the 2600 crew, the Kindle sales are nicer than the Nook sales.
“Kindle sales of 2600 are lively. Nook sales are next to nothing. We’re learning a lot about this industry.”
Read [2600 Magazine on the Nook] and [2600] Full Story » | Written by Robert Nelson for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 Section: Communications, Cellular Providers, Smartphones, Mobile Aside from the Motorola DROID PRO which was made available for pre-order starting yesterday, Verizon is releasing another Droid phone - the Motorola DROID 2 Global. In fact, unlike the DROID PRO, the DROID 2 Global is now available online at the Verizon Wireless store. Flaunting a slide-out full QWERTY keyboard, you can grab this smartphone if you’re willing to pay $199.99 and be tied up on a two-year contract with Verizon. If you don’t mind those terms, let us just remind you of the key features of the Motorola DROID 2 Global. Aside from its QWERTY keyboard, this phone also features a 3.7-inch WVGA touch screen display, runs Android 2.2 (Froyo) with Motorola Application Platform, 1.2 GHz processor with a dedicated GPU, 5.0MP camera, 8GB microSD card, Bluetooth, WiFi 802.11 b/g/n and other features that will help you to become more productive. But if you don’t like the slide-out QWERTY keyboard of this phone, you might want to check out the DROID PRO which sports a candy-bar form factor with full QWERTY keyboard. The only drawback of course is that you’ll get a smaller screen. So, what’s it going to be? Decisions, decisions. Product [Motorola DROID 2 Global] Full Story » | Written by Arnold Zafra for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 Section: Communications, Smartphones, Mobile, Web, Web Browsers As we had expected, the Opera Mobile 10.1 web browser has come available for Android users. The browser is available as a free download and can be found by visiting the Android Market or surfing on over to the mobile Opera website at m.opera.com on your phone. Opera Mobile 10.1 beta for Android is said to offer “faster page loading than other browsers and a highly fluid panning, scrolling and smooth zooming experience.” Furthermore you can also expect to find goodies such as Speed Dial, a password manager and a “better browsing” experience courtesy of Opera Turbo. Other features include; - Easy tab management with visual tabs
- Opera Presto rendering engine
- Sync your bookmarks across devices with Opera Link
- Ability to be set as the default browser
- Geolocation support
- SVG support
With that, check out some of the features in the videos below… Read [Opera]       Full Story » | Written by Robert Nelson for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 Section: Communications, Cellular Providers, Smartphones, Mobile Try to act a bit surprised. Today Samsung announced it’s newest Galaxy S smartphone, the Samsung Continuum. What we have here is essentially a standard Galaxy S phone with a secondary “ticker” display. The Continuum features a 3.8-inch Super AMOLED screen, and specs the same as just about every other Galaxy S phone. There’s the 1 GHz Hummingbird processor, a 5MP camera with flash and 720- video, again just like previous Galaxy S devices. The main thing that makes the phone different is the ticker display, which was apparently inspired by the stock ticker at Times Square. The idea is the display alerts you to events, email, news, SMS, calls and other things without taking you out of whatever you’re doing on the main screen. The phone runs on Android 2.1, with an upgrade to 2.2 coming soon, which is odd considering 2.3 is apparently right around the corner. The price for the Continuum seems to be $199 after a $100 mail-in rebate, which seems like a lot. It is apparently set to launch on November 11. With Verizon comes the Bing branding on just about everything, which is again depressing, but the Samsung rep I talked to was quick to plint out that there is a way to change it to Google, even if it isn’t possible to change the Bing logo on everything. I had a few minutes to play around with the phone after the announcement, and it’s fairly interesting. The grip sensor to activate the ticker display seemed a bit hard to find, but will likely become second nature fairly quickly. Swiping across the ticker will switch between the set features it’s meant to display, though that sadly doesn’t include a few app shortcuts, which would seem only natural to me. The display was bright, and colors seemed to pop under the lighting conditions in the room. It ran Samsung’s Galaxy S Android skin well, with about the same responsiveness you’d expect to see from any Android phone. After just a few minutes, if you already have a Galaxy S phone, the Continuum probably isn’t worth switching at the moment. Maybe with more playtime I wouldn’t be able to live without the ticker display, but that seems doubtful at best. Full Story » | Written by Shawn Ingram for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
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