iPhone Touch Screen GPS Games

Dream Gadget: iPhone with Laptop

2009-08-10T01:01:00.001-07:00

What a user need a combination of cell phone and a laptop, isn't it? Both the toys have their significance and equally needed throughout a day and night. If we can ever design one consolidated master piece of technology that would be awesome. Don't you think so? Would look like a dream come true to make turtles dance again. One don't need to carry two gadgets, carrying cases, multiple adapters, back up of varied kind to data flying in between iPhone and Laptops, worrying to expand the memory of one anther. We will be free from multiple downloads of utilities that can consolidate our data and connect to outlook, digital camera, video streaming, Internet Explorer, integration with multi platforms of handle held technologies. Can you imagine iPhone with an Intel chip in it advanced USB port that can take any kind of plug in for any device and could suggest a suitable download to connect to that device using Google's advanced search engine capabilities leading to the Web 3.0

One often gets these technology shivers, but the reality breaks the ice on a different tangent. And, start building our needs around it. Sometimes, I get confused who is driving, are these our emerging needs or the technology derived from someone's crap making us follow a newly invented route that could make all of our existence obsolete in due course of time.

In this cat and mouse play, when we look back it feels like we have come a long a way. But, when you see ahead it seems a longway to go..

iPhone - Tablet - Mini-Computer - What??

2009-08-07T15:49:00.000-07:00

May be we need something in between a smart phone and a tiny note book that could do all. To provide users a satisfying experience Nokia, Motorola, LG, Samsung, Sony, and RIM spending enormous amount of money on the R&D to stay up in the race with beautiful skinniest model bundled up with all the possible features in one. These are the big players offering the best cell phone technology today. However, Apple is dormant player this stream that could come with some revolutionary idea like no one thought about iPod, until it existed. What our silent killer Apple is up to? No one knows, people have some educated guesses what Apple should or could come up with? From touch to tactile? What will the next version of the iPhone have that the current one doesn’t? Will it have a keyboard for those who haven’t been touched — in a good way — by the iPhone’s touchscreen? How about GPS capabilities? Will there be iPhones in different sizes, similar to what Apple has done with its iPod digital music player? How about a 'tablet' or 'mini-computer' or could sell the digital books from it iTune store, making the tablet another e-book reader and competitor to Amazon.com Inc.'s Kindle.

On the contrary, there are vulnerabilities in iPhone software that communicates the sms function. What happens in this vulnerability that users can not detect that there is malicious virus in the sms message received. These hacker are pain in the neck for the iPhone users to keep updating their PCs and iPhones. The funny part Government knows how it is designed with tons of information up there on the internet with tutorials to hack a system. What hackers has to say in the conferernce attended by several security professionals at Black Hat. "It is not illegal to disclose ways to hack into computer systems, though it is against the law to use it to break into them. " :)

GPS Online Connectivity on the road

2008-05-26T07:40:00.000-07:00

The Global Positioning System that helps us navigate the highways was a brilliant idea. So brilliant that industry watchers at ABI Research Inc. in New York say there will be 900 million such devices in use worldwide in another five years.

But many GPS devices aren't very bright. Yes, they can tell us how to get where we want to go - but not much else. Travelers need lots more information - the latest traffic conditions, for instance, or the weather.

Such data is easily available over the Internet, but that's not much use when you're rolling down I-93 or 401 unless you've got a GPS with a wireless communication system. Then you can tap into those databases for real-time information on the road.

A growing number of GPS devices have gone online. We tried out three: the Dash Express from Dash Navigation Inc.; the Go 930 from TomTom International BV; and the Nuvi 780 by Garmin Ltd.

The Dash Express, cheapest of the three at $399, lacks some of the attractive features of the other two. For instance, the Go and Nuvi have FM transmitters, so they can relay their spoken driving directions over your car radio. They also have Bluetooth technology.

But the Dash leads the pack when it comes to Internet integration. Users pay $12.99 a month to subscribe to the Dash online service. Now you can add new maps and software upgrades, or punch in your favorite addresses, by logging onto the Dash website.

The Dash Express contains Wi-Fi networking. Just bring it within range of your home hot spot and turn it on, and the software upgrades install themselves. It also has a built-in cellular modem that works in most parts of the United States and downloads information as you drive. It gets the latest traffic data, warning when there's gridlock ahead.

Some of the traffic data may come from fellow drivers. Dash uses anonymous information about your car's speed and location to map traffic on the road you're driving. This data is relayed to every other Dash user in the area. Dash says this will enable its service to provide much better real-time traffic data. Dash also lets you search for your destination through the Yahoo Internet service.

The Garmin Nuvi 780 costs $749, nearly twice as much as the Dash Express. In exchange, you get a much more compact unit, not much bigger than a full-sized iPod. The Nuvi also has FM radio and Bluetooth features, an MP3 music player, and access to the Audible audiobook service, for an additional subscription fee.

News: Email Security in iPhone

2008-05-23T14:16:00.000-07:00

iPhone is of no use to business clients, if it does not support the corporate delivery for corporate emails. That is why, Sybase Inc. has already planned selling the software, which could help the popular device gain use among business clients by allowing them to access their emails.

The program for Apple Inc.'s iPhone will be released before the end of this year. The new program will let workers use the iPhone to access their e-mail with the same security safeguards that are currently available in products for use on Treo smartphones from Palm Inc. and Research in Motion's BlackBerry.

Sybase is also working on similar software for Android, a new smartphone platform that Google Inc. is developing with dozens of other companies. Android is being put together by the Open Handset Alliance, a collection of 30+ companies, including Intel, TI, Sprint, T-Mobile, HTC, Motorola, Samsung, and Wind River.

This group is putting the finishing touches on this platform, which will consist of a Linux-based operating system, middleware, and key mobile applications. Many of these are likely to tie into Google's services, like Gmail and Google Maps.

Because this platform will be open source, the Alliance hopes it will be quickly extended to incorporate new technologies as they emerge.
In addition, it will be open to third-parties to create applications using Java.

The new Sybase software programs will allow businesses to deliver e-mail to several different types of phones, depending on which device a user carries.

Touchscreen Laptop by 2010

2008-05-20T23:04:00.000-07:00

The new version of 'Touchscreen laptop' is due already, to come out in 2010. This will replace a traditional keyboard with a second touch-sensitive video screen. The screen can be configured as a keyboard or the device can be opened flat and used as an electronic book. It is desined for the emerging world out there, while keeping in mind to make it userfriendly for the childeren. This is a collaboratice effort from acedima and the industry involved in the social projects. “You can fold it flat and use it as one continuous display,” said Nicholas Negroponte, the founder of 'One Laptop per Child Foundation' the foundation’s founder.Negroponte said the organization hoped to price the new computer at $75 each, compared with the $188 price for the current generation of laptops. Mary Lou Jepsen, who left One Laptop per Child to launch a for-profit business, will work with Negroponte's organization to design the new laptop.

The One Laptop per Child Foundation, is a New England based nonprofit organization which is planning a new version of its inexpensive laptop for developing countries. They have defined their mission statement in ternms of FOUR Ps

In addition, this non-profit organization is planning the resumption of the get-one-give- one program to allow people in affluent countries to buy two of the laptops and donate one to a child in a developing country. This is a brilliant idea to spread the fire of knowledge across the untamed among the folks needs to be lit up with it, out there.

Negroponte said the program will resume in August or September and will be open to buyers in North America and Europe. He said the previous program, which opened last year to people in North America, enabled the One Laptop to distribute 30,000 additional laptops to children in Rwanda, Mongolia, and Haiti.

JLA Ventures: RIM, RBC, and Thomson

2008-05-19T05:46:00.000-07:00

RIM is rocking with its announcement to make a $150 million fund that will invest in companies creating software for BlackBerrys and other mobile devices. The Royal Bank of Canada and Thomson Reuters are co-investors.

The BlackBerry Partners Fund will be managed by JLA Ventures and RBC Venture Partners. This move from RIM smells similar to Apple's March declaration that it would set up a $100 million "iFund" for the development of iPhone and iPod Touch applications.

Well, this new BlackBerry model in more than a year: the Bold, a high-end model that further expresses the company's wish to make tools for work with fun and frolic. The Bold, or 9000, has twice the screen resolution of the current Curve model, making for a very sharp display. It matches the resolution, but not the size, of the screen on Apple's iPhone, which has emerged as a potent competitor in the "smart phone" category. It also has much more internal memory, a glossy metallic look, and adds corporate-strength Wi-Fi capabilities to third-generation cellular and Bluetooth radios.

A horizontal screen above a trackball and a keyboard with one letter per key seems impressive. This Canadian, Waterloo based RIM didn't declare a price for their new model 'Bold', nor did it sepcify any agreements with specific cellphone carriers. Assumption is the phone would be available from various carriers this summer. The initial model would support GSM networks, the kind employed by AT&T and T-Mobile. Later models could work on the Sprint Nextel Corp. and Verizon Wireless networks.

Like the Curve and the Pearl, BlackBerry's consumer-oriented phones, the Bold has a full-size headset jack and a camera that can also capture video. At the same time, it has dual-band Wi-Fi, a feature previously only found on a model aimed at the corporate market.The Bold will also have exchangable back plates in different colors, a first for a BlackBerry.

iPhone's Global Reach

2008-05-14T20:27:00.000-07:00

The paucity of iPhones for sale in some markets comes as Apple is hustling to meet its goal of selling 10 million of the hybrid iPod-cell phone-Internet surfing gadgets by the end of 2008. So far, Apple has sold 5.4 million iPhones, according to the latest data as of the end of March.

Apple, is rapidly linking its network with the world wide wireless carriers to expand its presence across the Globe. In the Asia-Pacific region, SingTel will sell the gadget in Singapore, Bharti Airtel in India, Globe Telecom in the Philippines and Optus in Australia, SingTel has about 2.3 million mobile subscribers in Singapore and around 7 million in Australia.

According to data as of Dec. 31, 2007. Bharti currently has about 64 million subscribers, while Globe reported a 21.3 million mobile subscriber base for the quarter ended March 31.

Last week, the top mobile phone operator in Latin America, America Movil SAB, also announced plans to deliver the iPhone to its region. America Movil has 159.2 million subscribers in 16 countries, including Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia and Mexico.

In recent weeks Apple has also signed deals with Rogers Communications Inc. to sell the device in Canada; Milan-based Telecom Italia to sell the iPhone in Italy; and Vodafone Group, the world's biggest mobile company by sales, to sell it in a total of 10 countries, including Australia, India, Italy and Turkey

Apple is also planning a software update for this summer that makes the iPhone work better with corporate e-mail, a necessary upgrade to help the iPhone compete with Research in Motion Ltd.'s BlackBerry and Palm Inc.'s Treo smart phones. Girding for a fight with Apple in the business-oriented smart-phone space, Research In Motion on Monday unveiled the Bold, its first BlackBerry model to work over 3G.

Mobiles offer SOS service

2008-05-13T22:02:00.000-07:00

Cellphones have proved to be a great device rescuing people out of emergency situations. No body thought it could be a blessing when one do not have access to 'Radio', 'TV' or if there is no electricity either that the mobile alert systems can avert an upcoming radom situation.

In one of the situation, when fierce storms hit California in early January, submerging streets and felling power lines, Steve Livingston was prepared. Armed with a text message alert from the San Mateo County Office of Emergency Services, he dodged the flood and made it home safely. A few months earlier, when a surprise earthquake shook the region, Livingston, chief marketing officer of Sunnyvale, Calif.-based mobile transaction firm mBlox was in Los Angeles on a business trip. Alerted by a text message from the same service, he rushed to call his family back in Hillsborough, near San Mateo. "The pervasiveness of text messaging makes it one of the best ways to communicate to masses of people," he says.

As the Technology evolve these small gadgets are getting smarter with intelligent features in it. All one need to do is sign into the message alert system that could be life saving. Even the government is signing on. The Federal Communications Commission is developing a national mobile alert system for 2010. The messages, which will be distributed through the country's four largest carriers (AT&T, Verizon, Sprint Nextel and T-Mobile) will include "presidential" or national emergency alerts, weather and local emergency alerts and child abductions.

Moreover, the public companies are designing their own mobile safety network system. For instance, several phone makers, including Samsung and Asus, offer SOS functions that — with the push of a button — ping pre-set numbers with text messages that warn the sender is in danger.

Some firms are going further, viewing phones as the 21st-century equivalent of medical ID bracelets. Marina Del Ray, Calif.-based developer MyRapidMD Corp. is one. Its Emergency Service Profile software application is designed to be installed on cellphones and relay basic information about its owner to first responders. Users submit data including blood type, medications, allergies, emergency contacts and a photo for identification purposes. The information resides on their phones where it can be quickly and easily accessed, even in areas without cellular reception. If the phone is broken, emergency workers can call a 1-800 number and access the data remotely.

"It's not meant to be a full medical history — just key data for those first 15 minutes, when people most need that information," notes MyRapidMD President Mark White.

Let's Compare iPhone

2008-05-07T01:20:00.000-07:00

Screen Resolution + Input Method

Because the iPhone uses a virtual ‘soft’ on-screen keyboard instead of the full QWERTY keyboard on the Treo, Apple has naturally used this additional space to increase the screen size

Operating System

The PalmOS has now successfully powered many generations of Treo smartphones while the OS X variant which powers the iPhone has yet to prove its mettle – particularly when it comes to telephony where Palm has had the benefit of a long learning curve.

Storage

The opportunity to have 4 or 8GB of permanent storage on the iPhone may prove appealing at first but the fact is that seasoned Treo users fully understand the higher benefits that an external SD card storage provides. For some $150 I can easily add an 8GB SD card for data storage on my Treo without limitation to the number of cards that one can use.

GSM + Wireless Data + Camera

While both the iPhone and Treo 680 share an almost identical Quad-Band radio with GSM/GPRS/EDGE support there is no doubt that Apple wins points here by adding WiFi, Bluetooth 2.0 and a 2.0 megapixel camera. However, the use of WiFi is likely going to quickly drain the iPhone’s non-removable battery which is a consideration to keep in mind. Also, a 3G iPhone is planned for Europe by the end of 2007.

Battery

While the battery performance of the iPhone and Treo 680 are fairly similar with 5 and 4 hours of Talk Time respectively there is no doubt that the removable battery on the Treo provides significantly better power options for Treonauts on the go.

Dimensions + Weight

While the Treo 680 is some 15% heavier than the iPhone the fact is that I consider the additional weight of the full QWERTY keyboard, SD card slot and removable battery to be well worth it.

Comparison of Technical Specifications

Leaving these technical specifications aside the iPhone does offer some unique and innovative features that Treo could certainly learn from- the impressive overall look & feel of the user interface with very rich graphical elements which I have been yearning to see equally well represented on the Treo. The UI looks rich, inviting and user-friendly.

The iPhone’s “Visual Voicemail” which allows you to go directly to any of your messages without listening to the prior messages so you can quickly select the messages that are most important to you is a feature that many Treo power users have suggested for some time but which Apple is now first to implement.

With a full iPod interface inside the iPhone it is clear that people will be delighted with its Music, Movies and Photos capabilities. The Safari web browser looks extremely robust and has a stunning display for web pages. iPhone uses a rich HTML email client that fetches your email in the background from most POP3 or IMAP mail services and displays photos and graphics right along with the text (albeit it looks considerably more complex to use than on the Treo).

The iPhone’s “Widgets” like the Weather pictured here above are an absolute pleasure to look at and the iPhone’s “horizontal scrolling” is equally smart. Advanced sensors including an accelerometer detect when you rotate the device from portrait to landscape and changes the display orientation; a proximity sensor detects when you lift the iPhone to your ear and turns of the display while an ambient light sensor automatically adjusts the display’s brightness.

Other Comparisons

This is a great iPhone comparison matrix showing the iphone side by side other leading smart phones. It really gives you a good perspective how the iPhone compares on size, price, and features. Another good iPhone comparison can be found at www.iphonevsblackberry.com

Differential GPS

2008-05-04T23:45:00.000-07:00

Trimble today introduced a modernized software package designed to continuously monitor and control Differential GPS (DGPS) broadcast sites for marine navigation, Trimble Coastal Center software.

Developed to provide network operators the ability to monitor and control multiple DGPS beacon stations from one central location, Trimble Coastal Center is built on an open architecture. It can address a wide variety of DGPS provider network configurations ranging from one site to hundreds of broadcast sites, Trimble said.

It can also adapt to different configurations and architectures within the same DGPS provider network. Operators can customize the configuration of monitors, alarms and reports by specifying the exact conditions to meet their particular needs, the company said. The software package has extended beacon almanac features and a high level of reporting capabilities; it is also the only beacon monitoring software designed using standards of the International Convention of Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS), according to Trimble.

The Coastal Center software supports conventional communications systems such as RS-232 and 422, as well as modern network communication standards. Depending upon user network design and system requirements, Trimble Coastal Center software can operate on a single PC-based platform or it can be distributed across several computers. Users can view all beacon sites from any licensed workstation throughout the network.

Coastal Center also provides control station messages required under the RSIM 1.1 and the new RSIM 1.2 standards with a configurable alarming system that interfaces with e-mail and pager systems. It also combines event and message logging capabilities with XML-based report generation.

Navigon 2120

2008-05-04T23:20:00.000-07:00

Consumers no longer have to break the bank to receive top-rate features in the increasingly popular GPS market. NAVIGON, the fastest growing GPS brand, today announced the retail availability of the NAVIGON 2100 max and NAVIGON 2120 max personal navigation devices (PNDs) in the United States and Canada. These devices provide exceptional and affordable value with top-of-the-line features, such as NAVIGON’s new DirectHelp(TM), a feature that pinpoints a user’s location and provides instant links to nearby services such as hospitals, pharmacies and roadside assistance. The devices also include a 4.3 inch widescreen and spoken driving directions via text-to-speech.

3G iPhone on its way..

2008-05-01T03:17:00.000-07:00

The iPhone 2.0 update will be coming in a couple of months and the launch of a new 3G device to go along with the new software is a natural assumption. Most of us are contented with their iPhone, but the lack of 3G is a real bummer that results in using other Wireless devices instead of the iPhone to enhance the mobile productivity on the run. A 3G iPhone with the new firmware is going to be very tempting with its lucrative features and tough for anyone to resist. However, we will have to evaluate the features in totality in relation to other improvements in this Harry Potter magic wand. Will that have the right magic spell on it. For instance, its Bluetooth connectivity to a keyboard, A2DP Bluetooth support, and video capture capability before we finally make our preparation to transform into next generation 3G iPhone.

Steve Jobs, Apple's CEO, has confirmed that there is a 3G iPhone in the works, although fell short of saying when we could expect to buy one.

"We are working on the next iPhone already, the one after that and the one after that", Jobs said.

Making the comments at the "Mum is no longer the word" press conference at the Regent Street Apple store in London, Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple said: "You can expect a 3G iPhone in third quarter this year".

The news comes as a 2G EDGE-enabled iPhone will be available in the UK on 9 November.

Earlier, when asked why the current model didn't have 3G, Jobs blamed power issues saying that the 3G chipset would be too much of a drain on the unit's battery life which promises 8 hours of call time, but said that future models would have the technology.

Safari Browser of the iPhone

2008-04-29T06:59:00.000-07:00

New research has concluded that the Safari browser of the iPhone 1.1.4 is vulnerable to attacks, which may lead to service denial and in turn, result in a system crash. This design flaw was detected by the researchers at Radware, an application delivery solutions company, earlier this week. The researches say the flaw triggers a series of “memory allocation operations on its memory pool”, which then triggers another different bug within its garbage collector.

To exploit Safari’s vulnerability, an iPhone user would have to open any malicious HTML pages that contain Javascript, usually as a social engineering tactic like e-mail phishing. The Radware researchers say that in a worst-case scenario, the users would experience a denial of service attack, which could result in crash of the entire Safari browser. Once the browser crashes, its malfunction could escalate to a point of paralyzing the entire iPhone.

iPhone reaching Canada

2008-04-28T05:05:00.000-07:00

Canada's only major GSM cell provider, Rogers, is hoping to introduce the iPhone at the right time, while promoting a campaign for touchscreen phones at the company.

Rogers' campaign will most likely start in late May or early June, before Apple's Worldwide Developer Conference in which it is widely expected that the company will introduce the 3G model of the iPhone.

Despite its reputation as having the highest-priced mobile data plans of any cellular provider in Canada, Rogers is also the most advanced. About two months ago, the carrier introduced an unlimited data bundle "that gives users both unfettered browsing on most of its devices as well as a set amount of MMS/SMS messages and voicemail." Rogers' also offers advanced 3G network features including "two-way video calling on supporting devices as well as 7.2-megabit HSDPA downloads on portions of its network. The 3G iPhone is understood to use a newer Infineon chipset that would support both normal HSDPA service as well as its faster variety on Rogers."

Beta iPhone Firmware to iTunes Control

2008-04-28T05:00:00.000-07:00

Apple may be preparing to add iPhone (and iPod touch) functions to connect to and play media from nearby iTunes sources. Citing an "anonymous tipster," TUAW reports that code found in the latest firmware release points to a new iPhone application called iControl, which it says could be part of Apple's own plan to release new software applications based on forthcoming iPhone SDK. Based on strings found in the code of the latest private iPhone firmware beta, the application would allow users to connect to shared iTunes library running on a PC to playback songs or view videos. According to the report, the media navigator will allow users to view videos, play podcasts, listen to music and even support shuffle playback from the iTunes library. If true, iPhone and iPod touch users would not only be able to playback media from their device, but may also be able to actively control iTunes installed on a PC.

Users could potentially direct playback of iTunes to any of its sources, including local speakers or other wireless speakers (connected via AirPort Express).

iPhone in India

2008-04-28T02:22:00.000-07:00

Good News !! for the gadet lovers. This September, Indian market will have the most sought-after gadget – the iPhone available. According to a leading financial daily, the iPhone is expected to be launched with telephone operator Vodafone in the first week of September.

Features - include quad-band world phone support, a 2-megapixel camera, Wi-Fi, stereo Bluetooth, a speakerphone, e-mail and a Safari Web browser. Memory caps out at 8MB and there's no 3G support or wireless downloads, but the iPhone will garner interest simply because it exists.

Price - report says that the California-based Apple would first launch its 8 GB version of the iPhone, a touch-screen device with WiFi capability, an e-mail client, online music store, TV feeds and map-based guides. The iPhone 8GB version is estimated to be sold for a price ranging from Rs 27,000 to Rs 28,000.

Memory - Althought it has 8 GB as if now, but report added that the 16GB version would probably be launched by mid-2009, depending on the sales and market response in India.

A spokesperson from Apple says the carrier deal for India is still being worked out with the UK-based Vodafone, which is also likely to be the carrier for the Australia’s iPhones.

Wii Gaming Console

2008-04-28T01:31:00.000-07:00

Nintendo does not plan to cut prices of its popular Wii gaming console or DS handheld game system anytime soon, the company's president made this announcement last Friday. While prices for hardware is usually reduced over time, that could leave gamers who bought early feeling ripped off, After the company reported record annual profits.

The Wii retails for about $250, unchanged since its launch in November 2006. In contrast, Sony has slashed the price of its 20-gigabyte PlayStation 3 twice so far to boost demand.

Nintendo Co. expects to sell 28.0 million DS units this year through March 2009, down from 30.3 million last year. While sales in Japan have slowed, the DS maintains strong momentum in the United States and Europe, with considerable room for growth. The DS Lite sells for 16,800 yen in Japan and $129.99 in the U.S.

Nintendo's main focus is to keep gamers playing by continually offering new software, services and accessories. He hinted that there were new projects in the pipeline, but did not elaborate.

"Our biggest fear is for people who have bought the DS to shut it away in a closet," Iwata said. "We want people to use it in their everyday lives." Still, the falloff in DS sales is a main reason why the company tempered its growth expectations this year after a nearly 48 percent surge in net profit last fiscal year to $2.5 billion and a 73 percent gain in global revenue to $16.2 billion.
"The speed last year was beyond our expectations," Iwata said.

What a Hit !!

Like all Japanese exporters, Nintendo is wrestling with a stronger yen that threatens to erode the value of overseas sales, which accounted for 81 percent of total revenue last year.

Nintendo's main driver of growth this year, then, looks to be the Wii — a runaway hit that has outsold Sony Corp.'s PlayStation 3 and Microsoft Corp.'s Xbox 360 since its release in November 2006.

With easy-to-play games and motion-detecting controllers, the Wii has done well by attracting new and casual gamers, including women and senior citizens.

Despite Challenging Economy - consumers around the world have snapped up nearly 24.5 million of the consoles so far, and Nintendo says it expects to sell 25 million units this year, even with a gloomy outlook for the global economy.

New Arrivals - Nintendo will release several new games this spring, including a racing game called the Mario Kart Wii. The Wii Fit exercise game, which has sold well in Japan, will also make its debut soon in the U.S. and Europe.

GPS ONIX 400

2008-04-26T22:06:00.000-07:00

The Global Positioning System (GPS) is the only fully functional Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS). Utilizing a constellation of at least 24 Medium Earth Orbit satellites that transmit precise microwave signals, the system enables a GPS receiver to determine its location, speed, direction, and time. Other similar systems are the Russian GLONASS (incomplete as of 2008), the upcoming European Galileo positioning system, the proposed COMPASS navigation system of China, and IRNSS of India.

ONIX 400

Today, the autonomous recreational handheld navigator is often overshadowed by what we have in our cars: the sleek PNDs with the big screens, loads of maps, and streaming traffic updates — all of which are useless in the backcountry. God forbid if you drop one on a rock while you're hiking or taking a fast turn on your all-terrain vehicle. For these reasons alone the market for recreational GPS devices remains brisk, with unswerving devotion from millions of outdoor types. Along these lines, a plethora of popular products are available from Garmin, Magellan, Lowrance, Trimble, and many others. Their prices range anywhere from less than $100 to more than $400. All have good-quality features, but a few really stand out above the rest, such as the offering from Bushnell discussed below.

This is a product that really impressed me. The brainchild of Phil Gyori and Jason Luzar from Bushnell, the ONIX 400 is a second-generation Bushnell attempt at getting GPS right, and it succeeded. Based on the needs of a customer base that demands a hardy field solution, be it rifle scopes, binoculars, field optics, or GPS, Bushnell went beyond the typical mass-market features found in recreational GPS devices to create something new and extremely usable.

Out of the box, the ONIX 400 feels good in your hand and is obviously well thought out, with a load of features and accessories. What's unusual about this device is the planning that went on in the design stage. First of all, you can download maps and aerial photos of the areas you want to explore. This feature allowed us to spot hiking trails and other parts of the ranch, as well as determine our proximity to them and our ability to navigate to them.

Another great feature of the ONIX 400 not typically found in this class of device is XM satellite radio — very cool indeed. I initially thought this feature might be a bit too much, but when I discovered my GPS location could be tagged to the weather channel and that I would receive any corresponding weather alerts, it all made good sense. There is nothing like standing in the middle of nowhere and being able to watch Doppler radar (actually, I turned the game on instead). The ONIX 400's GPS acquisition times were fast, it exhibited good battery life, and it featured easy-to-understand instructions. The large color display also pops out at you, even in direct sunlight. Not bad, for a company that has created only two GPS devices so far, it's a good start..

Can iPhone cater to Enterprise Market ?

2008-04-16T22:18:00.000-07:00

Since Apple's iPhone launched last June, one of its biggest weaknesses has been its lousy/non-existent support for corporate email. That should change soon: Apple is planning to lay out the iPhone "software roadmap," including "exciting new enterprise features."

Apple might do to make the iPhone a solid business-email gadget by improving its ability to work with Microsoft's (MSFT) Exchange email server and IBM's (IBM) Lotus Notes, the top enterprise email platforms.

How will Apple make it happen? Most likely, the company has developed its own hooks into those platforms. Or Apple could have licensed email software from a third party, like Microsoft's ActiveSync technology -- less likely. Possible but least likely: licensing Research In Motion's (RIMM) BlackBerry Connect software.

I don't think they are going to replicate the robustness of BlackBerry push e-mail, but nonetheless, it seems improvements as positive.

Not just positive, but mandatory: If Apple (AAPL) wants to sell 10 million iPhones this year, cracking the enterprise market is key.

First they would have to worry about security stuff, complying with the Federal Information Security Management Act. Some features they would be looking for:

Does the system encrypt the data coming in and out of the iPhone?

Does it support encrypted email?

Can you wipe the device remotely?

To satisfy the group's disaster recovery plan, is there a backup messaging feature in case the Exchange server goes down?

Assuming all of that passed, they will have to set up the Microsoft (MSFT) ActiveSync software that the iPhone uses to connect to Exchange for email, contacts, and calendars. Then they would have to figure out a deal with AT&T (T), Apple's exclusive U.S. carrier partner. (Their organization's BlackBerry account is currently with T-Mobile.) Then they would have to test iPhones on the system, buy a bunch, and set them up.

To be sure, this is a branch of the Federal govenment we're talking about, so we wouldn't expect them to turn on a dime. But we think many large companies won't be much nimbler. Which means the iPhone's first corporate customers are going to be small shops with dozens of people, not hundreds or more.

And given that a lot of the growth in the smartphone market -- even for RIM -- is coming from consumers who just want to connect to their corporate email as a convenience, Apple (AAPL) will focus on them first. They can tackle RIM's biggest business customers down the road.

There are applications you can think of–field technicians in areas with poor connectivity who need access to large amounts of data–but those are probably the exception, not the rule. Most road warriors could use Web-based tools with little loss in productivity. I have been amazed at the richness of some of the iPhone applications that I’ve seen and it’s only been a few months.

Creating Web-based applications and data might not work for every enterprise, but if it works for you, then the iPhone, and it’s future copycats, might prove to be a superior platform. Don’t make the mistake of thinking that just because the iPhone doesn’t work like the last generation of mobile devices that it’s not right for your organization. Regardless, the iPhone portends changes for the mobile market and it’s worth paying attention to what that means for your enterprise.

iPhone Touch screen GPS Games

2008-04-10T01:11:00.000-07:00

Today, when cell phones are the best personal assistant every one carries all the time, we want this assistant to be capable of doing most of the every day tasks. What we are looking into is a hand held device easy to maneuver on the run with the capabilities of storing contacts, document viewer, emails, text messages, notes, music, mp3, board games, camera, video streaming, business card scanner, ability to write with a free hand on the screen, converting and saving it in the required format in the phone or a PC itself. To name a few models from Nokia, LG and Samsung that has most of the features that we look for in a cell phone. Despite of the best of cell phones in the market, we still come across some frustrations at various features that could have been made better? Is someone thinking about it? Something out of the box. Of course, not out of the cell phone box, but a new generation cell phone that could fill up the missing part from one cell phone to another. On the other hand it should open up new venues for the manufacturer, ISP, Gaming Software etc.

Nokia N96 Camera and Display
The Nokia N96 takes pride in its 2.8 inch screen that guarantees a 240 by 320 pixel resolution. This is with an active TFT of about 16M colors. Many even mention that this new 3G mobile from Nokia is a personal window to actual entertainment.

LG KT610
The LG KT610 is an extraordinary GPS-enabled stylish mobile phone. It has a unique and charming 2.4” VGA flip-type screen which holds a QWERTY keypad that resembles the one for the PCs.

Samsung SCH-i760
Verizon scores a big one with the release of the Samsung SCH-i760. Announced last 2006, the i760 is a Pocket PC phone with a number pad and a built-in QWERTY keyboard. It operates on the Windows Mobile 6 operating system which includes the Office 2007. This is in contradiction to earlier reports that the i760 will run under the Smart phone version of the Windows operating system. It also does not include the Windows Live integration that other units of its class offer and will be missed by those who are used to having their services.

Another great source of frustration probably has to do something with either the display hardware or drivers as some programs are unable to display videos in landscape mode, which should have been one of the great features.

Possible New Version iPhone
May be we need something in between a smart phone and a tiny note book that could do all. To provide users a satisfying experience Nokia, Motorola, LG, Samsung, Sony, and RIM spending enormous amount of money on the R&D to stay up in the race with beautiful skinniest model bundled up with all the possible features in one. These are the big players offering the best cell phone technology today. However, Apple is dormant player this stream that could come with some revolutionary idea like no one thought about iPod, until it existed. What our silent killer Apple is up to? No one knows, people have some educated guesses what Apple should or could come up with? From touch to tactile? What will the next version of the iPhone have that the current one doesn’t? Will it have a keyboard for those who haven’t been touched — in a good way — by the iPhone’s touchscreen? How about GPS capabilities? Will there be iPhones in different sizes, similar to what Apple has done with its iPod digital music player?

Once again, a new model may be released within the next few months; it’s natural to pose the questions. And, the new one is possibly coming with 3G along with a faster broadband connection. No doubt, Apple must be working on some new generation iPhone, a combination of iPod with cellphone features. Apple does not talk about their product in development, a lesson learned from their past mistake. Well, I don’t need to tell the story of ‘Pirates of the Silicon Valley’ here. “They’re clearly one of the more secretive organizations around,” said Ken Dulaney, vice president of Gartner Research.

I guess, we are expecting at least one major physical change to the iPhone. There are a lot of people who would like to have a 12-key keypad, because it’s easier for them to dial. Our habits less often for composing e-mail than reading it, typing a long message seems a bit cumbersome. No doubt, the existence of physical keyboard in a cell phone is gradually evolving into a touch screen.

Some of the indicator from Apple’s free iPhone 2.0 software upgrade, due in late June, will include Microsoft’s Exchange Active Sync software. The program synchronizes with a PC for e-mail, calendar and contact information. By doing so, Apple is aiming to grab a share of the business smartphone market now dominated by Research in Motion’s BlackBerry. A PC World contributing editor, wrote a recent open letter to Jobs about the “top things to fix” in the next iPhone. Among them: the need for a keyboard. “Yeah, the touchscreen is cool. And maybe the kids are down with doing the two-finger tango,” he wrote. “But we thumb typists are tapping our fingers in frustration.” J He suggested a “slide-out keyboard option,” and said, “even an add-on Bluetooth keyboard might work.”

GPS and a little light
As per one of the Gartner studies, adding a GPS chip to the iPhone would be a “logical” enhancement to the phone’s location-mapping software. It lets users approximate their locations, using phone cell towers and local Wi-Fi networks. GPS would offer additional accuracy and a room to generate more revenue. Definitely, cheaper than paying $500 for a GPS system.

Nevertheless, Apple might change the iPhone’s LCD screen to a more energy-efficient OLED (Organic Light-Emitting Diode) screen. Although OLED is about twice as expensive as using LCD, it’s also more energy-efficient, takes less physical space in the device and would allow for other technologies like GPS or 3G, without having an impact on its battery life.

Games
In the beginning of gaming there was the board. And yes, mankind played an assortment of games on it. Many were the hour spent on the wondrous entertainment it provided. And then along came the PC and ruined it all. Suddenly boards went into the background and everything went cyber with a vengeance. Some popular board games got converted into videogames that bore little semblance to their origins—most people would accuse you of having had a drop too many if you were to tell them that the spectacular Neverwinter Nights series was actually based on the rules of a board game called Dungeons and Dragons! As the PC took over, games like Ludo, Snakes and Ladders, Scrabble and several other board games seemed set to be consigned to the realms of nostalgia or at best, played before one was old enough to be trusted with a computer. Gaming was serious business with people talking of high-end graphics, non-stop action and immersive environments. Saved by the cell? Fortunately, the emergence of mobile gaming has changed all that. Suddenly, classic board games are back in fashion. And they are being played not on boards or on PCs but on cellphones. In fact, cellphone gaming seems to be totally distinct from its PC and console brethren—the user generally has far lesser time at his/her disposal and is, in most cases, looking for a short spell of entertainment rather than being anchored to a device for hours. The learning curve also has to be much shorter as the mobile user does not really have time to learn complicated keystroke combinations (which are difficult to execute on cellphones anyway—ever tried holding down two keys at the same time on a cell?) And classic board games fit right into the slot. Most users are familiar with the rules and developers are saved the trouble of having to come up with a brand new concept. All one has to do is work on the interface. The result has been a revival in the popularity of old classics such as Snakes and Ladders, Battleships, Mah Jongg and Chinese Checkers to more recent paper and pencil affairs like Sudoku. There’s even a mobile version of Book Cricket—the game which involved opening a page and taking the digit in the unit’s place as the batsman’s score (‘0’ in the unit’s place meant a dismissal!). And as GPRS and Bluetooth-enabled handsets gain popularity, there are versions that actually allow users to play games like Battleships and Snakes and Ladders with each other, instead of competing against the cellphone itself. A blip or a wave? Mind you, this is not to say that the mobile avatars of board games are perfect. For one, there are far too many versions of each game. Just try Googling for ‘cellphone chess’ and you will find yourself staring at dozens of games, each claiming to deliver a ‘real chess experience’. And as making mobile games is easy (compared to making one for a console or PC), almost every major developer has his or her version of a board classic. Which makes it all very confusing for the user, who cannot really experiment much, as most of the games come with a price tag. There is also the little matter of the gaming experience. Some of the games are a trifle dull to play—there’s a version of Snakes and Ladders where all you do is hit the button for revolving the dice (you cannot even control when the dice stops rolling or how many times you want it to spin). The fact that demo versions are relatively rare in mobile games does not help matters. All of which has led some gaming observers to believe that this sudden popularity of board classics is just a blip. As the likes of Nokia invest in cellphones with better graphics facilities, they predict that mobile gaming will soon be on par with its counterparts on consoles and PCs. But given the fact that most mobile versions of board games can run on mainstream (even lower-end) phones, there is reason to believe that board games are going to be around for a while— even if it is on cellphones, rather than on cardboard and wood. If you think that’s far-fetched, just head to the Google search box, enter the name of your favorite board game, attach the word ‘mobile’ ahead of it... and prepare to be flooded!