Monthly Archives: January 2009

Apple iPod touch (Gen 2)

Posted by on Friday, 30 January, 2009 No comments

apple ipod touch gen 2 Apple iPod touch (Gen 2)

One of the best things Apple is known for, outside of releasing revolutionary electronics devices, is quickly updating said items with more features, better battery life, and much sleeker looking designs.

The second generation iPod touch follows that same trend with a slimmed down look, substantially improved battery life, onboard speaker, and a wide range of applications offered through the Apple App Store. Has Apple finally turned the iPod touch into the ultimate handheld computer?

Build and Design

The design of the new iPod touch is slimmed down and much smoother than the previous generation, and it is noticably thinner than the iPhone 3G, too.

Overall, this device has a tablet shape, and is 4.3 inches tall, 2.4 inches wide, and 0.33 inches thick.

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HTC S740

Posted by on Monday, 19 January, 2009 No comments

s740 htc 286x300 HTC S740The HTC S740 is a Windows Mobile Standard smartphone with a slightly unusual design; it has a numberpad and display on the front, and a slide-out QWERTY keyboard.

Design and Hardware

If I could choose only one word to describe this phone, it would be stylish. While many mobile phones these days are nothing short of ugly, the S740 is both elegant and solid.

The front of the phone, including the edges and the keys, has a mirror-like glossy finish. It’s beautiful, but also a fingerprint magnet; I found myself “polishing” the phone often because I found the fingerprints to be a distraction.

It measures 4 5/8 inches long, 1 5/8 inches wide, and just under 5/8 of an inch thick. When the QWERTY keyboard portion of the phone is extended, the device measures just under three inches wide. Since the keyboard portion is the heavier part of the phone, it’s comfortable to use and isn’t “top heavy”or difficult to hold when the QWERTY keyboard is in use.

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Pharos Traveler 137

Posted by on Tuesday, 13 January, 2009 No comments

Pharos Traveler 137 168x300 Pharos Traveler 137Pharos recently took the wraps off the Traveler 137, a Windows Mobile smartphone with a WVGA touchscreen and a focus on navigation.

An Overview of the Pharos Traveler 137

The Traveler 137 will have a tablet shape and feature a 3.5-inch WVGA (800 x 480 pixel) touchscreen.

It will run Microsoft Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional, and therefor be bundled with a suite of productivity and entertainment applications for handling such tasks as email and web browsing.

This will be a quad-band GSM phone with tri-band HSPA 3G (HSDPA 7.2 Mb/s, HSUPA 2 Mb/s).  In the U.S., it will offer the 3G frequencies used by carriers like AT&T and Rogers, and also the special frequency useed to T-Mobile.

Other wireless capabilities will include Wi-Fi (802.11 b/g), Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR, and an FM tuner.

The Traveler 137 will also sport dual cameras — 3 MPx primary and 0.3 for video conferencing — and a microSD card slot.

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Palm Pre and webOS

Posted by on Sunday, 11 January, 2009 No comments

palm pre Palm Pre and webOS

At long last, Palm, Inc. has unveiled its new operating system and the first device that will run it. I was at the announcement of the webOS, and spent quite a bit of time afterward getting briefed on the Pre.

I can’t say “it was worth the wait” because Palm would be in much better shape if it had come out with its new OS at least a year ago, but I will say that the webOS exceeds my expectations. It is a very well designed and easy to use operating system, capable of going head-to-head with any of its competitors in features and ease of use. It still needs some tweaking, but isn’t expected to debut for several more months, so the developers have time.

The Palm Pre — that’s the slightly silly name for the first webOS-powered device – is a decent model. I wish it was going to be a touch more cutting edge, but I don’t find much to complain about.

No Palm OS Here
Before I get started on what webOS is, I have to cover what it isn’t: it’s not Palm OS II. Specifically, it does not have the ability to run legacy Palm OS applications.

Palm says it expects there to be a third-party Palm OS emulator released for webOS, and I wouldn’t be surprised if the people from StyleTap are already looking into it. But Palm itself isn’t going to write one. Instead, it’s going to encourage developers to port their Palm OS applications to webOS, and says the process should be relatively simple if the software was written in C++.

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Why Buy a Smartphone?

Posted by on Wednesday, 7 January, 2009 No comments

smartphones Why Buy a Smartphone?

As a busy person, you know the importance of staying a step ahead of your clients and your family. You probably know the feeling of being  tied to your desk or home so as not to miss that important email or phone call and to maintain convenient access to essential data—proposals, schedules, contact information, business news or the stock market. However, thousands have newfound freedom using PDA-style smartphones designed for business (and fun). Today’s smartphone traces its roots back to the personal digital assistant or PDA. Originally used as businessperson’s right hand to track important client information, project statuses, and task lists, smartphones have evolved into an everyman’s (and woman’s) tool.

Smartphones are much more than just cell phones; they provide instant access to the web. Whether you’re researching news to predict the stock market or looking for the perfect golf course on the weekend, you’ll find it on the net.

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