Tuesday, April 07, 2009

Dealzmodo Hack: Don't Give Up On Your Symbian Phone [Dealzmodo Hack]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/nIvsD4xt3LI/dealzmodo-hack-dont-give-up-on-your-symbian-phone

Symbian is the planet's most popular smartphone OS—everywhere except the US, that is. It's also arguably the most boring. In this last, most urgent installment of the cellphone revitalization series, we alleviate your Symbian shame.

Symbian's dominance isn't evident here in the US, as it's driven by smartphones—like Nokia's N series or Sony Ericsson's P Series—that don't really have much of a market/mindshare outside of Europe. We've even gone so far as to declare it too marginal to include in our smartphone OS guide.

But there are still plenty of UIQ and S60 phones around, and they all suffer from the same sense of staleness—a stagnation that's obvious, whether it's because of Symbian's global popularity and fragmented nature or despite it. So what do you do to shake the feeling that you're toting a last-gen device? Try this:

Get a new browser
Oddly enough, lots of Symbian phones actually ship with not-so-bad browsers, like S60's, which is based on WebKit just like Mobile Safari and Mobile Chrome. Unfortunately, most of these phones also ship without touchscreens, and depend on a clunky d-pad navigation system. This makes panning around fully-rendered pages a bit of a pain—a problem not helped by the browser's often slow performance. Luckily, there are plenty of alternatives.

Opera Mobile/Mini: Opera has made an appearance in every last one of my smartphone revival stories, and with good reason. Each version offers its own advantage for Symbian: Opera Mobile brings fast-ish full-page rendering with inertial scrolling—only really a boon if you're lucky enough to have a touchscreen handset like the XpressMusic 5900. The newer 9.5 beta, complete with Google Gears support, can be had for UIQ phones, but S60 handsets will have to settle for 8.65. Opera Mini, a Java app, will work on virtually any phone. It's not the prettiest browser, but server-side data compression and clever formatting tricks make it a good fit for smaller-screened Symbian hardware. Bolt is another Java-based browser in the same lightweight, data-conscious vein, and it matches Opera's app feature for feature. You know, six of one...

Skyfire: This surprising little browser takes the Opera Mini/Bolt rationale a little further, running everything through server-side compression, including Flash video. What does that mean, in a word? Hulu. Unfortunately support is limited to Nokia N and E series phones.

Work On Your Communication Skills
Out of the box, most Symbian phones take you as far as emailing. With a few downloads, though, you'll be privy to the same range of messaging capabilities as your smug iPhone and BlackBerry-toting friends, and then some.

Fring: This isn't your locked down, Wi-Fi tethered iPhone Fring. No, this is the real deal: Multiprotocol IMing, VoIP over 3G and Wi-Fi and most importantly, background processing. Skype is supported, sans video.

Truphone:! A dedic ated VoIP app that integrates rather seamlessly with your S60 handset, Truphone can save you a pretty penny on international, long-distance and even in-plan calls. By routing calls through Truphone's network over Wi-Fi or a cell data connection, Truphone can connect you to other users for free, and connect international calls for a few cents a minute. Other perks include voicemail-to-email forwarding and Google Talk support, but discounted calls are the star of the show here.

Agile Messenger: It may lack the VoIP accouterments of the previously mentioned apps, but for straight up instant messaging you really can't beat it. All the big protocols are here, accessible through the same simple interface. You can send videos and voice messages, but not engage in full conversations—this app is about messaging, and message it does.

And All The Rest
Once you've updated your browser and messaging software, you've edged much closer to a modern smartphone experience. Now to fill in the blanks:

Google Maps: Google's superb maps app is as good here as it is anywhere else, with GPS integration, local search and a clean, intuitive interface. Perhaps most importantly, it's not just for fingers; Google Maps is well-suited to d-pad navigation.

JoikuSpot Lite: It's tethering+1: Any Wi-Fi-equipped S60 3rd Edition phone can operate as an access point with JoikuSpot. The Lite version is free, and adequate.

Qik: Qik is a cool app that can only be described in ways that sound utterly stupid. Lifecasting? Live vlogging? Either way, with the right phone, Symbia! n can do it well.

Nokia has some ongoing beta projects to check out, and a few of them are worthwhile. SportsTracker feeds a GPS-tracked record of your run or bike rides to a handy web interface. WidSets is a widget dashboard for a rich variety of web apps. ShareOnline provides basic portals for media uploads, whether it be photo, video or audio content.

And finally, we have Mobbler. A lovely little Last.fm radio client, Mobbler is an iffy addition to this list because Last.fm is cutting off third-party radio support at some point in the near future, so it probably won't work for long. But it's good, so use it while you still can.

If what you see so far isn't overly heartening, hold on: The Ovi App Store for S40 and S60 is on its way, hopefully in May. Symbian's laissez-faire take on the App Store, it promises a slew of applications and media downloads, installable through a handset client. This could end up two ways: As a consolidated Symbian app aggregator, collecting the above apps and others into an easy interface, or as an attraction for new developers, who'll be drawn by the large audience and easy publishing features of the store. That latter scenario may be better, but neither is bad.

Dealzmodo Hacks are intended to help you sustain your crippling gadget addiction through tighter times. If you come across any on your own that are particularly useful, send it to our tips line (Subject: Dealzmodo Hack). Check back every other Thursday for free DIY tricks to breathe new life into hardware that you already own.



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Sony Ericsson Idou Smartphone Appears With Whopping 12 Megapixel Camera [Idou]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/J9B30kcS-Cw/sony-ericsson-idou-smartphone-appears-with-whopping-12-megapixel-camera

Set to debut in Europe this October, the Sony Ericsson Idou is a full-touchscreen smartphone with a 3.5-inch display and GPS.

The first model in a new series of entertainment phones from Sony Ericsson, the Idou is being marketed as a device capable of providing "unlimited entertainment." On the bill are music, video, photo, games, social network functionality.

Aside from the sweet camera offering, however, most of the other features seem pretty run of the mill. Sony Ericsson will have to pull up their britches and get working, because it all sounds like stuff we've seen before. No word yet on a stateside appearance. [Mobil via Slashgear]



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Attack of the Card Skimmers: It's Happening Right Here, Right Now [Card Skimmers]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/11xL8pQnJyQ/attack-of-the-card-skimmers-its-happening-right-here-right-now

Previously on C.S.I... a man found an actual card skimmer in the wild, in the flesh. Today, Gizmodo reader Sean became the card skimmer/PIN camera's latest almost-victim. Where? Chase Bank in Manhattan, East Village.

Sean Seibel was inside a local Chase bank where he inserted his ATM card into one of two side-by-side automatic teller machines. When the machine told him it could not read his card, it took him a bit of jiggling to get his card back. He tried it a couple more times and got the same results. Before trying the other machine, he inspected the slot of the current ATM he was using and realized that it had a false plastic cover attached to the slot. The amazing thing about the cover was that the translucent green plastic matched the card reader slot perfectly, meaning that it was made specifically for Chase ATMs. After snapping a few photos with his iPhone, he alerted the branch manager and explained what happened.

As he was leaving, Seibel remembered reading about card skimmers having small cameras in the proximity in order to read PIN pad activity, so naturally, he went back to the ATM to inspect, which is where he found an extra mirror attached to the vandalized machine that the other ATMs didn't have. Drilled into the mirror was a tiny pinhole with a camera inside, directed at the PIN pad. Seibel alerted the branch manager again and asked Chase why they hadn't inspected the ATM after he had warned them the first time. Chase honestly replied that they hadn't thought of it because they had never encountered that sort of thing be! fore.

From the crazy amounts of feedback we received last night after we posted the first story, it seems that card skimmers are a common crime everywhere from Thailand to Mexico. But actually hearing about it happening to our very own readers here in America makes us want to help get the word out. Seibel says it best: "Take this as a warning and please inspect every ATM machine you use, no matter how secure you think the environment is." [Thanks Sean!]



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Toshiba matches prices, ship dates to LED backlit REGZA LCDs in Japan

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/04/07/toshiba-matches-prices-ship-dates-to-led-backlit-regza-lcds-in/


Toshiba is back and ready to make good on some of the higher end HDTVs promised at CES, after showing off the energy efficient C8000 REGZA LCDs, it's time for the 2,000,000:1 contrast ratio local dimming LED backlit ZX8000 (labeled SV670 in the U.S.) series. These also pack the latest edition of Super Resolution+ upconverting, ClearScan 240Hz motion and fifth generation Pixel Pure image processing. We've heard those picture quality claims and seen the (sometimes controversial) results before, but a few features anyone can appreciate are InstaPort HDMI for lagless switching between inputs and AutoView calibration for room lighting conditions. Add-on hard disk drives are also available, and the ZX8000 models are expected in late June / early July for 46- and 55-inch models topping out around 600,000 ($5,944.) Willing to live without LED backlighting, 240Hz or other bullet points? The ZH8000, Z8000 and H8000 models are ready and waiting for appropriately lower prices.

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Toshiba matches prices, ship dates to LED backlit REGZA LCDs in Japan originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 07 Apr 2009 09:12:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Video: 23 NVIDIA GeForce GTX 295s packed into one system, "overkill" exemplified

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/04/07/video-23-nvidia-geforce-gtx-295s-packed-into-one-system-over/


Ha, and you thought paying hundreds of dollars for a NIC was insane. For one reason or another (likely "another"), YouTube user ByGamerForGamer has loaded in 23 NVIDIA GeForce GTX 295 graphics cards into a single server rig, and while only 17 were installed at the time of this video (he's waiting for a few nuts and bolts before installing the others), we're already amazed. Call us crazy, but something such is this definitely isn't what NVIDIA had in mind when it revived SLI. Per usual, the vid's past the break.

[Thanks, P]

Update: Turns out this is a GPU Folding Farm at Stanford. Impressive.

Continue reading Video: 23 NVIDIA GeForce GTX 295s packed into one system, "overkill" exemplified

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Video: 23 NVIDIA GeForce GTX 295s packed into one system, "overkill" exemplified originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 07 Apr 2009 10:19:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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AU Mobile's iida pico projector for G9 handsets unveiled to a chorus of cheers

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/04/07/au-mobiles-iida-pico-projector-for-g9-handsets-unveiled-to-a-ch/


Unless you're in the thick of it here in the Engadget organization, you can't possibly realize how many desperate (and sometimes, just plain odd) emails we get in the average day. The high weirdness can, at times, become staggering -- dire warnings of robot apocalypse come to mind -- but we do take our responsibility as media darlings and role models very seriously. Case in point: many of you have been asking, "what's up with that iida pico projector for the G9 phone?" Well, we dug up some more details for you, and if you're anywhere near Japan you just might want to check this bad boy out. The device boasts approximately 2 hours and 10 minutes of charge time, projects and image anywhere from six to sixty-three inches, and features a 0.5W (mono) speaker. In case this particular handset isn't on your short list, the proj is also compatible with AU S001, VA001, H001, W63CA, W63H, W62CA and W62H series phones. You're welcome.

[Via Pico Projector Info]

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AU Mobile's iida pico projector for G9 handsets unveiled to a chorus of cheers originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 07 Apr 2009 10:43:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Google's new Gmail mobile web app sports offline message caching, lots of floaty goodness

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/04/07/googles-new-gmail-app-sports-offline-message-caching-lots-of-f/


If you've been losing sleep in eager anticipation of the new Gmail for mobile, rest assured that you'll sleep soundly tonight. With support for both Android phones and iPhone / iPod Touch OS 2.2.1, the gang over at the Google mobile blog are justifiably proud of the new app. Expect nothing less than a more robust cache that utilizes Gears to allow you to compose messages and access recently read messages without a network connection, an improved look and feel, and the all new "floaty bar" (their name, not ours) that keeps popular menu commands from scrolling off screen, as this bad boy rolls out progressively over the course of the day. And for those of you who are resistant to change, fear not -- the previous version is still available. Check it out for yourself over at gmail.com, but not before peeping that super-sweet video after the break.

Continue reading Google's new Gmail mobile web app sports offline message caching, lots of floaty goodness

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Google's new Gmail mobile web app sports offline message caching, lots of floaty goodness originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 07 Apr 2009 15:12:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Leica rolls out truly special Special Edition white M8 digicam

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/04/07/leica-rolls-out-truly-special-special-edition-white-m8-digicam/


Seems like Special Edition white digital cameras are quickly becoming a trend, and one that we'll freely admit to being fans of. The Leica M8 has gotten a fresh coat of paint (as you can see above) and it's looking pretty good. We're not hearing many details yet -- no release date or price -- but don't expect it to be cheap. The wild stuff never is.

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Leica rolls out truly special Special Edition white M8 digicam originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 07 Apr 2009 16:12:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Acer launches first NVIDIA Ion-based nettop: AspireRevo

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/04/07/acer-launches-first-nvidia-ion-based-nettop-aspirerevo/


Yet again, the rumors were (almost) true. A day earlier than anticipated, Acer is launching what amounts to NVIDIA's first Ion-based nettop beyond those on display at CES and the like. The AspireRevo is debuting today alongside a plethora of other Acer wares, boasting a 1.6GHz Intel Atom 230 processor, up to 4GB of RAM, up to 250GB of HDD space, a 4-in-1 card reader, HDMI / VGA outputs, gigabit Ethernet, six USB 2.0 sockets, audio in / out, Windows Vista Home Premium / Basic and a svelte black and white enclosure that measures just 7.1- x 7.1- x 1.2-inches. The built-in Ion GPU means that this bugger is completely capable of handling 1080p (and thus, Blu-ray) content, DirectX 10 and even mildly demanding games such as Call of Duty 4 and Spore. Acer's staying mum on a price and release date, but we're still hearing that the late Q2 time frame is a safe bet. Check the full release just past the break.

Continue reading Acer launches first NVIDIA Ion-based nettop: AspireRevo

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Acer launches first NVIDIA Ion-based nettop: AspireRevo originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 07 Apr 2009 18:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Acer's 18-inch eMachines EZ1600, 24-inch multitouch Aspire Z5600 all-in-ones unveiled

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/04/07/acer-unveils-18-5-inch-23-inch-hd-all-in-ones/


Some more tidbits from the Acer event: new all-in-ones. The eMachines EZ1600 (pictured) boasts a 18.5-inch 16:9 screen and up to 720p resolution, an Intel Atom N270 processor with 945GSE chipset, 2 slots of SO DIMM memory, up to 160GB HDD, DVD-RW, Wi-Fi and a card reader. No price or availability, but you'll be able to pick one up in either silver or black. On the classier side of things, we've got Acer Aspire Z5600 AIO with a 24-inch multitouch display that outputs a 1080p picture. It's got the "latest generation of Intel," up to 2TB hard disk space, a TV tuner, webcam and DVD/Blu-ray writer combo drive. Color us intrigued, but we'll await judgment until we see some price points -- if the Timeline's any indication, we might be in a for a pleasant surprise.

Continue reading Acer's 18-inch eMachines EZ1600, 24-inch multitouch Aspire Z5600 all-in-ones unveiled

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Acer's 18-inch eMachines EZ1600, 24-inch multitouch Aspire Z5600 all-in-ones unveiled originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 07 Apr 2009 19:43:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Acer Timeline hands-on

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/04/07/acer-timeline-hands-on/


We just got all friendly with Acer's new Timeline lineup, and while couldn't technically grasp at the hours upon hours of battery life they're promising, we could definitely feel the palpable presence of longevity. The laptops are very much an interesting blance; they're thin, but not astonishingly thin, they're heavy for their looks (especially the 15.3-inch), and they're styled aggressively in some ways while incredibly conservatively in others. We're not sure we're sold on the funky trackpad setup -- the right and left buttons aren't articulated, are sunken below the level of the touchpad, and are rather hard to touch -- but we like that Acer is really embracing multitouch here. The chiclet keys have a lot of great travel to them, but the board overall felt a little cheap and "prototype-ey" -- it may very well be a prototype.

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Acer Timeline hands-on originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 07 Apr 2009 21:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Google Voice App Comes to iPhone and iPod Touch Soon [Google Voice]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/kaTF9uDmej8/google-voice-app-comes-to-iphone-and-ipod-touch-soon


Google Voice, the recent reincarnation of GrandCentral that gives you voicemail transcription, call control and so much more, is about to hit iPhones by way of an app.

The app comes with a dialer, which dials out (from your Google Voice number), and rings your iPhone to connect both sides. It works with a dialpad or your contact list, plus you can also SMS people the same way. There's other standard Google Voice features like call log and voicemail, which you can listen to much the same way as iPhone's voicemails.

iPod touch users, who can't really take advantage of the dialing stuff, can still use the GV app as a mobile control center to have it ring their standard cellphones. We'll let you know when the app hits. [Google and Sean Kovacs via 9 to 5 Mac]



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3D Laser Scanners Capture and Translate the Alhambra Fortress's 10,000 Arabic Inscriptions [Archaeology]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/hSXEpJTLx6w/3d-laser-scanners-capture-and-translate-the-alhambra-fortresss-10000-arabic-inscriptions

The Alhambra in Granada is so vast and covered with carved Arabic writing that nobody has ever had the ability to catalog it all. Finally, using modern technology, it's doable.

According to the Guardian and the Independent, experts are hard at work collecting over 10,000 inscriptions that nobody has translated in over 500 years since Ferdinand and Isabel evicted the Moors from their mighty fortress. Using the high-tech gear, they've managed to translate about half of the job so far, and have compiled over 3,000 in a DVD. The work continues, and an updated DVD, possibly complete, will come out in 2010. Too bad nobody bothered to show the 3D laser scanner itself in action, because I assume it's a pretty cool—if painstaking—process. I've been all over the Alhambra myself—it'd be a pretty amazing place to "work."

What do the inscriptions say? Mostly the Nasrid motto: "There is no victor but Allah." But in accordance with that particularly fruitful time in Arabic culture, there are an awful lot of other things written on the walls, from poetry to aphorisms, such as "Be sparing with words and you will go in peace." Funny since that's one bit of advice the artists didn't heed themselves. [Guardian; Independent - Thanks James!]



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Netgear rolls out 4-bay ReadyNAS NVX

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/04/06/netgear-rolls-out-4-bay-readynas-nvx/


Netgear doesn't exactly go all out with the styling or blinkin' lights on its ReadyNAS devices, but that all-business exterior is no doubt just what some folks are looking for, and it doesn't look like they'll be disappointed by the company's latest ReadyNAS NVX model. According to Netgear, this one offers "double the performance" of previous NV+ models, which is apparently explained in part by the addition of iSCSI support, along with a number of other new features like an improved ReadyNAS "RAIDiator" operating system (fully compatible with Time Machine) and, of course, a whole range of other on-site and off-site backup measures. That won't exactly come cheap, however, as the base 2TB model starts at a hefty $1,500, with an extra $5.95 to $19.95 a month required for Netgear's ReadyNAS Vault backup service.

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Netgear rolls out 4-bay ReadyNAS NVX originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 06 Apr 2009 14:53:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Olympus SP-590UZ (and its 26x zoomer) gets reviewed

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/04/06/olympus-sp-590uz-and-its-26x-zoomer-gets-reviewed/


We're beginning to think there really is no number too high for the megazoom focal length. Back in the day, just boasting a 10x zoomer was enough to fall into said category; today, you best top 20x if you even want into the discussion. Olympus' 26x SP-590UZ is definitely amongst the craziest out there, sporting a 12 megapixel sensor, 2.7-inch LCD and a launch price of just under $450. Reviewers over at PhotographyBLOG were duly impressed across the board, with a certain critic noting that "the ability to go from capturing wide-angle landscapes to distant details in a four second zoom of the lens cannot be underestimated, especially as there's little distortion to worry about at either end and excellent sharpness across its entire range." Not surprisingly, the cam notched a "Highly Recommended" badge along with 4.5 out of 5 overall stars -- that said, are you really willing to buy in knowing a 58.983x successor is just around the bend?

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Olympus SP-590UZ (and its 26x zoomer) gets reviewed originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 06 Apr 2009 22:49:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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