Smartphones News: Is Your Phone Smart?

Nokia 6610 includes java, color display, polyphonic ringtones, and a cover that folds open into a split keyboard. It even has an FM radio for good measure. But it's only available in Europe and Africa.

So what is a Smartphone, anyway? With almost every new phone offering text Internet access (that almost nobody uses), what's all the noise about? The latest batch of wireless phones sport new features, but not all of them really qualify as smart.

For the sake of argument, we'll define a smartphone as a mobile device that includes next generation capabilities, like: java applications, color displays and polyphonic ringtones. Some include built-in cameras and multimedia messaging (MMS), or they have PDA operating systems like Palm and PocketPC. As you wade through the new handsets now available, you'll notice a few changes. Color Screens

One of the first changes you'll see is a high resolution color
display. Until recently, phones only had one choice of display.
As Henry
Ford said, you can have any color you want- as long as it's black.
Times are changing. Almost every carrier is now offering phones
with color screens, letting you download color graphics and
photos. The quality of these color screens vary widely, so
check out
the options
before buying one. If your phone has a color screen, you can
customize your phone by downloading
color screensavers.Polyphonic
Ring Tones

This is pretty cool. Instead of having the same monophonic keypad
tones on your phone, many new phones let you download
polyphonic ringtones so you play actual music using
MIDI files. Although it's
limited
to
short
music
clips,
this
is still a fun way to personalize your phone. You can even assign
specific ring tones and graphics to certain people in your address
book. When your Aunt Melba calls, for example, you can have the
phone display a picture of Darth Vader and play Def Leppard in
the
background. Well, you get the idea.Java and
Brew

We're not talking Starbucks here. J2ME (Java for mobile devices)
and BREW (a similar competing standard) let you download games and
applications directly into your phone. By running the Java applet
on your phone instead of over the air, it's faster and has better
graphics. It's also a lot cheaper, since you don't need to send
as much data over the network. With over 3 million Java Developers
worldwide, there are a lot of people out there building applications,
games and content that can work on mobile devices.Faster Data
Rates

After years of hearing about it, phones are finally getting faster.
Sprint Vision now offers a wireless connection that's three times
as fast as a dial-up connection. AT&T Wireless, Verizon, T-Mobile
and Cingular are also offering new higher speed access (watch for
the upcoming article "How the Carriers Stack Up"). Although
U.S. data speeds still aren't as fast as Europe and Asia, we're
starting to catch up. PDAs and
Phones Collide

Another new twist on an old idea is combining PDAs and wireless
phones. That's actually good news. After several less that stellar
attempts over the last decade, the lastest handsets do a surprisingly
good job of merging the two. There are three operating systems available
for phones with built-in PDAs: Symbian, Palm OS and Microsoft's
Smartphone. The Handspring TREO,
T-Mobile Sidekick,
and Audiovox PocketPC
Phone Edition all do a good job of merging the best of both
worlds. On the flip side, RIM's now offers it's popular Blackberry
handheld with a phone built-in through T-Mobile and Nextel. Photos on
Your Phone

In Japan, J-Phone has 11 handsets available with built-in cameras,
and over 8 million people are using its picture messaging service
Sha-mail. Another 4 million are using rival Docomo's i-shot photo
service. Nokia just launched its new 7650 Imaging Phone in Europe,
letting
you use the color display as a viewfinder, snap a picture, and
save
the photo in an album or send it to a friend. Sprint PCS, T-Mobile
and AT&T's all offer optional plug in cameras that connect
to your cell phone. Although it's standard fare in Japan, there
are
only a few phones with built-in cameras available in the U.S.
That will change soon, though, as new models are rolled out.MMS

Multimedia Messaging (MMS) is the latest innovation sweeping through
Europe and Asia, and due in the U.S early next year. Instead of
send a text SMS message, MMS allows you to include animations, photos
and music in your messages. The big problem now is interoperability
between carriers and the lack of compatible handsets. Although it
will catch on slowly at first, MMS will be huge in the years ahead.
How Smart
is Your Phone?

A successor to the original droid, Motorola Droid X. Motorola Droid X for verizon wireless is a pocket-sized home theater with a wide screen 4.3 ” touchscreen technology that offers a virtual keyboard functionality and wide for your convenience in typing text with ease,  and video with HDMI output 720P high definition.  Prossecor 1 GHz

A slim cell phone from manufacturer HTC with the HTC Magic.  Tech bright touchscreen and HTC’s vibrant touch screen the HTC Hero with a 3.5mm headphone jack that is aimed at music lovers and there is a sense HTC technology. with 5MP camera support to take a beautiful moment.

Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 Pro Mini Sony Ericsson has found an innovative about embedded Smartphone Sony Ericsson Xperia on X10 Pro Mini and the Sony Ericsson Vivaz.  a headset that can run on Android 1.6 (Donut) and presents a new factor on the Smartphone.  Xperia X10 on this still has a QWERTY keyboard slides

Best Smartphones 2011

Sony Ericsson has found an innovative about embedded Smartphone Sony Ericsson Xperia on X10 Pro Mini and the Sony Ericsson Vivaz.  a headset that can run on Android 1.6 (Donut) and presents a new factor on the Smartphone.  Xperia X10 on this still has a QWERTY keyboard slides out to serve those users that the use of writing a message and want a quick email. Continue Reading »April 23rd, 2011 | Category : Android, HTC, Other.

A slim cell phone from manufacturer HTC with the HTC Magic.  Tech bright touchscreen and HTC’s vibrant touch screen the HTC Hero with a 3.5mm headphone jack that is aimed at music lovers and there is a sense HTC technology. with 5MP camera support to take a beautiful moment.Continue Reading »April 23rd, 2011 | Category : Android, News, Sony Ericson.

Sony Ericsson has updated the list of genre Walkman phones, Sony Ericsson W8 Walkman.  Sony Ericsson W8 Walkman comes with 4 colors :  Azur, red, and orange metallic (walkman icon).

This new phone features come with touch screen technology and anti-scratch screen size is 3 “with a resolution of 320×480 pixels. size is 99x54x15 mm and weighs 104 g, with a size like that makes mobile phones are sleek on the Walkman phone. Sony Ericsson W8 Walkman is embedded systems google android operations 2.1 (enclair) supported by a 600MHz processor and with a user interface that is easy and can be found as in the Sony Ericsson Xperia Mini. Continue Reading »April 24th, 2011 | Category : Android, Motorola, News.Motorola milestone is an Android 2.0-based products in the form of a business-friendly device with a simple visual design is different with the aim of most smartphones.  Offer a QWERTY keypad that will allow the businessmen in his office job anywhere with a little higher at the top of the keyboard.

A capacitive touchscreen technology and responsive to finger touches the screen with no time left its fingerprints and oily protected pap. Motorola Milestone is quite heavy which is 165 grams for the use of metal on the body which makes this smartphone is quite heavy.  And the addition of rubber on the rear body that makes this phone is not easy slippery.  Measures 115.8mm x 60mm x 13.7mm with a screen size of 3.7 “and a resolution of 480×854 pixels which makes images look clean and clear.

At the connection point, the smartphone is armed with a wireless connection wireless, bluetooth and GPS that will make comfortable in their daily activities. Other features found on Motorola Milestone, the top there is a 3.5mm headset jack and the left type there is a micro USB as a power connector.

Motorola Milestone front back viewReview Motorola Milestone SpecsApril 12th, 2011 | Category : Android, HTC, News.Review HTC HD Desire A9191

Acer, which is a computer manufacturer has now released a smartphone device, Acericonia smart.  Appear with the design of a wide screen display that is 4.8 “(480 x 1024 pixels) with a ratio of 21:9.  Claiming this is an Acer iconia smart smartphone tablet form.  Screen supports up to 16 million colors, this smartphone is also equipped with a feature gyro sensors and multi-touch. Continue Reading »April 19th, 2011 | Category : Motorola, News, Samsung.Review Samsung Galaxy Fit | Review Motorola Charm

The two product is not much difference. Galaxy Fit  presented with a bandage with a metallic silver casing that makes the feel of elegance, while the charm comes with a box shape which is also surrounded by silver trim.  Both also have a distinctive character of each vendor, samsung galaxy resemble the contour of the vertical line on the back that makes the phone comfortable and not slippery when held and while Motorola body with rubber coating that gives the effect of coarse and not easily separated from the clutch. Continue Reading »April 15th, 2011 | Category : Android, News, Sony Ericson.Review Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 Pro Mini

Sony Ericsson has found an innovative about embedded Smartphone Sony Ericsson Xperia on X10 Pro Mini and the Sony Ericsson Vivaz.  a headset that can run on Android 1.6 (Donut) and presents a new factor on the Smartphone.  Xperia X10 on this still has a QWERTY keyboard slides out to serve those users that the use of writing a message and want a quick email. Continue Reading »April 19th, 2011 | Category : News, Other.

Motorola Atrix 4G (AT&T)

Motorola atrix is a new innovation-based 4g in android and is an addition to the AT & T that grows on android phone.  Android-based smartphone has a strength that is impressive processor with dual core processors and  1gb ram and 16 gb of storage with 1930 mAh battery support and Motorola Atrix using Android 2.2 (Froyo)Motorola Atrix so shocking with a thin design at 0.4 inch thick, 2.5 inches wide and 4.6 inches long, and Weigh 4.8 ounces.  On the screen has a feature QHD with 4-inch wide touchscreen display, with one physical button below the screen to the menu. At the top is a proximity sensor and camera facing forward. On the right is the volume rocker button, bottom left there is an HDMI and USB ports. The top edge there is a standard 3.5mm headphone jack. And the back there are 5 megapixel camera and flash, and a small speaker port at the bottom.

Additional features in this Motorola Atrix that is Docking and ‘Webtop’ that enables the user in a task that usually only fixated on the small screen smartphone itself, which to be combined with a laptop. With support for dual core processors that can run applications on the screen full size laptop.  Not only that additional features to the security side of the insert of a fingerprint recognition technology on the back, phone will remain locked until the phone recognizes your fingerprint. On the screen to function as on / off button and sleep / wake up,  if you do not activate this feature fingerprint recognition.

Using Android » PersonalizationSettings

Let’s start your personalization journey with the background wallpaper. By long-tapping on any blank space on any of your home screens you will be presented with an option to Choose wallpaper from Gallery, Photos, Live Wallpapers and Wallpapers. Gallery is the gallery of images stored on you device. These could be photos you took with the camera or images you have downloaded or were sent.

Photos are photos uploaded privately to your Google + account where crafty features like Highlights and Auto Awesome have been applied.

Wallpapers are images made available on your device as wallpapers.

Live Wallpapers are animated images which either come with the device or have been downloaded from the Google Play Store. You can find many beautiful Live Wallpapers on the Google Play Store. Below for example are two of my favorite Live Wallpaper, Ocean HD and next to it Forest HD. They look great still but animated they are quite beautiful with sunbeams, creatures and dappled light.Ocean HD live wallpaper.

Forest HD live wallpaper.
 I change my wallpaper quite often. Sometimes I like an animated wallpaper and other times I find it a bit busy, and wonder about how much battery it is consuming. The nice thing about wallpaper is that it does not interfere with the usability of your device, when you change your wallpaper your device looks different but all your familiar icons are still in the same place.
By the way, you can also configure your Wallpapers by tapping Settings, Display, Wallpaper.Application Icons

Second to the Wallpaper the simplest form of Personalization is selecting which applications you would like to see on which of your home screens. The most used Applications should have pride of place on your home screen. Other screens can be configured with lesser used applications and widgets grouped in such a way as makes sense to you.

A completed list of all your Applications is available in your All Apps screen which can be accessed via the All Apps icon at the center of your Favorites Tray at the bottom of every home screen. (The All Apps icon is the six dots surrounded by a circle.) To add an Application to a home screen just navigate to the All Apps screen, locate the Application, long press the Application until it gives a buzz, then drag it to the space where you would like it to reside on your home screen. As you move the icon about the other icons on your home screen will dynamically jiggle around to make space for it.

Moving the icon to the side of the screen will cause the screen to slide over to the adjacent home screen allowing you to position the icon there. Just release your finger to drop the icon in the desired location.

Dropping the icon on the Uninstall Trash Can will un-install the application while dropping it on the App info icon will, predictably, display information about thatApplication.

Moving an icon on the Home screen.

Once an icon is on your home screen you can rearrange the order simply by long-pressing the icon until you feel a vibration, then move the icon to the desired location. To remove the icon drag it to the top of the screen and drop on the Remove icon. This will remove the icon from the screen but not delete the application.

You can also group icons into Folders. This is a very handy way of optimizing your device’s screen real estate so you can easily access all your applications without ending up with cluttered home-screens. To group Applications simply drag one icon on top of another. You will see a blue circle appear, drop the icon and you will see both icons surrounded by the blue circle. Now when you tap the Group a folder will pop up containing the Applications you have grouped into the folder.

In the example below this is what pops up when I tap the ‘Google’ folder on my home screen. All my Google apps in one place and they only take up one icons worth of home-screen space.

Icons grouped into a Folder

 Widgets

Widgets are mini-applications that reside on your home screen. Most display some sort of information like the weather or upcoming events in your Calendar. The benefit of displaying this information in a widget is that you don’t have open an application in order to see the information when you can view it on your home screen. Widgets can be positioned according to your preference and some widgets can be configured to display more or less information and occupy different amounts of space accordingly.

Widgets can be classified into three main types or they can be a hybrid of the three.Information Widgets


These are the most common. They typically show a small amount of important information. Tapping on the widget will open up the associated companion application which will allow you to configure what information will be displayed in the widget and will display more detailed information.


A Weather Information Widget.Collection Widgets


These display a collection of information of the same type, generally as a list or a grid view. Collection widgets allow you to scroll through the list and select an item by tapping it. This will launch the companion app for that item. An example of this type of widget is the Gmail widget. You can scroll through your emails and tap on an email to open it up in the Gmail App.


A Gmail Collection Widget.Control Widgets


These allow you to control an application from your home screen without first opening up the App. You can think of these as remote controls. The control widget below allows you to toggle settings for Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS, Sync and Brightness without needing to open up the Settings screen and locating these services. A Settings Control Widget.Hybrid Widgets


These contain elements of more than one of the above widgets. A Music App is an example of a Hybrid widget as it shows information about the song being played and it allows you to control the player by allowing you to pause or forward to the next song.A Music Hybrid Widget.Adding Widgets to your Home screens


Adding widgets is done in the same fashion as adding icons to your home screens. Just tap the All Apps icon in the center of your Favorites tray, this opens up the Application screen. You will notice that there are two tabs, one for Applications and one for Widgets. Tap the widgets tab and you will be presented with a grid view of all the widgets available on your device. Swipe right to scroll across to the next page of widgets. Note that beneath each widget is the name of the widget and the number of blocks it takes up on a 4 X 4 grid.


Adding a Widget to a Home Screen.


To add the widget to your home-screen long tap the widget, the device will vibrate and you can drop the widget on the screen of your choice. If there is not enough room you will return to the widget screen and receive a message telling you there is insufficient space for the chosen widget. You will then need to do some housekeeping to make space available.


Dropping a Widget in a Home Screen.


To remove a widget long press it until the device vibrates and then drop it on the X-Remove which will appear at the top of the screen. Some widgets will also allow you to resize them when they are long pressed. You will see a blue outline with blue dots indicating that these are handles that can be dragged to resize.


Like icons widgets can be rearranged and moved across screens. Just long press and drag the widget, icons and other widgets will scatter to make space for you to drop it.Custom Launcher


Although Custom Launchers are not part of the base Android system they are so pervasive that depending on what phone you are using you are probably already using one. Different manufacturers have chosen to differentiate Android by ‘skinning’ Android. HTC has the Sense interface, Samsung has TouchWiz. These are all Custom Launchers which alter the look, the feel, and the way the user interface works.


You can also download some excellent Custom Launchers from the Google Play store. There is no reason to do this other than because you can. The default launcher is excellent. In fact many Android aficionados prefer the stock Google Android launcher to other manufacturer’s launchers which inevitably contain bloatware to punt their products. But no Personalization experience would be complete without installing a few Custom Launchers.


Personalizing your device with various launchers has a downside though. You can end up getting frustrated because you have customized in so many different ways that you have eliminated the carefully crafted Google user experience to the extent that you can’t easily remember how to make a phone call, or read your email. Experience has taught me that if you want your device to work for you, rather than be challenge to operate, then you need to keep things consistent and familiar. Choose a launcher and a layout for your icons and widgets, and stick with it.Keyboard


It might seem strange to have included a chapter devoted to keyboards. But there is a good reason for this. The Android operating system is open and extensible and one of the most creative and functional expressions of the power of open systems is the amazing and innovative keyboards that developers have invented. Apart from touch gestures the keyboard is your device’s most highly used input medium, and on a flat glass screen it is lacking in so many respects. It has no feel, it is cramped and for stubby fingers it is error prone.


Android’s stock keyboard is good and is improving all the time but not as good and as cutting edge as the keyboards available on the Play Store. One would think that a keyboard is a keyboard. Not so. Swype for example is a keyboard that allows you to slide from one key to the next without lifting your finger. Using clever algorithms it ignores the letters in between and is remarkably accurate and fast.Swiftkey has taken word prediction to the next level. As you start typing it suggests words based on what you have just typed. You can either tap the word or hit the space bar to move on to the next word. Speaking of space bars, Swiftkey also allows you to ignore spaces. Just type away with no spaces and it figures out the spaces for you.Swiftkey is also remarkably accurate and fast. And it learns as you type, improving all the time.


Inevitably there will be situations on even the best keyboard app where the auto-correct has made an incorrect prediction. Be sure to re-read before you press send on that important email.Trackback from your site. div > .uk-panel'}" data-uk-grid-margin>

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