Techolo - Philippine Technology Outlook Blog

Windows Phone Metro UI Prototype #1

2012-01-25T03:20:00.001+08:00

Click image to enlarge.

When Metro UI came out for Windows Phone, I was really surprised with Microsoft’s decision to move in the direction of the Zune HD. The Zune HD’s interface was great. It had a clean, modern and typographic inspired layout that no design or device has ever had before. It was snappy, had smooth transitions and new.

Windows Phone adopted that interface but in the process, it also unfortunately inherited the large, cutoff texts that served as the page title. To be fair, it does not look bad but every time I see that big chunk of text above I can’t help but think of the wasted limited screen estate I have on my phone.

So I had a free time to do some mock up of an alternate Metro Styling for inside panoramas of Windows Phone. Take for example the People Hub. With the alternate styling, few changes will happen.

There will be more vertical real-estate for actual content
An option to set a custom background. Set similar to Pictures Hub so readability is not hindered
Hierarchical importance and variation is not only determined by the size of the type but also the color and weight of it. Color of header text will be determined by an algorithm of color spots on the chosen background.
Added line breaks for a more formal and cohesive compartmentalization of each content.
Enable the status icons to be constantly displayed on top.

I’m sure many of you might disagree with the suggestions but these are just some ideas that bounced around my head without any real actual holistic study of the full user interface. I’m sure Microsoft did their homework. I’m just merely providing a prototype, that’s all :)

Scosche SnapSHIELD iPad 2 Case Review

2012-01-23T23:55:00.001+08:00

The Scosche SnapSHIELD for the iPad 2 is slim snap-on polycarbonate case that provide durable and good protection for your device. It is compatible with Apple’s Smart Cover, which was an instant buy for me since I have a spare of that. I initially wanted to get a folio, with the strap and all but most of them made the iPad 2 too bulky so this Scosche’s SnapSHIELD was just perfect.

Unlike my other delicate and more expensive Grove Bamboo case, the Scosche SnapSHIELD offers a more handy and curvy profile that is perfect for the iPad 2. The carbon-fiber texture at the back adds grip and coolness to an otherwise boring case. The interior has a felt lining to protect the back of the iPad from scratching and moving. The opening ports are minimally cut to shape without being too open and prone to bumps.

One minor caveat was the shiny glossy finish the case has and as you can see from the photos, it can easily be scratched up, But that’s what cases are for - protecting the device it’s on. Don’t tell me you’re going to buy a case for your case. The SnapSHIELD retails for $40.

If you have an iPad 2 and have the Smart Cover or even considering getting one, the Scosche SnapSHIELD is really a good choice. I really like this case.

Nokia N9 Unboxing Philippines

2012-01-23T10:08:00.001+08:00

A rather simple unboxing and some quick use on the Nokia N9.

HP TouchPad Ice Cream Sandwich Cyanogen 9

2012-01-20T02:18:00.001+08:00

Team Cyanogen just released Cyanogen 9 Alpha 0 for the HP TouchPad rocking the latest and greatest Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich. Some kinks need to be worked on are hardware video (Youtube HD versions), the camera, some market and google apps and audio.

They have previously released Cyanogenmod 7 Alpha 3.5 for the TouchPad which was stable from my experience. This release obviously has rough issues but most of what we know on ICS works.

If you have a TouchPad and want to install Ice Cream Sandwich, please take note that this is an Alpha Zero build. and as they say in their RootzWiki thread, the zero means “zero hardware-accelerated video”, “zero camera”, and “zero support!” so install at your own risk.

RootzWiki.com - CyanogenMod 9 Touchpad
XDA-Dev - Cyanogen 9 ICS Installation Guide for the HP TouchPad

Nokia N9 in the Philippines

2012-01-18T09:48:00.001+08:00

We’ve got the Nokia N9 in the house! :) thanks to Nokia for sending a black 64GB Nokia N9 unit. I’ll do a review in the next few days on this Meego-powered device. Did it stand a chance against Windows Phone 7 had it not been pulled? We’ll find out. Stay tuned.

Nokia Lumia 900 Arrives

2012-01-10T13:48:00.001+08:00

Nokia finally introduced the older brother of the Lumia 800. The Nokia Lumia 900 aka the Ace was unveiled at CES 2012 by Nokia CEO Stephone Elop together with Steve Ballmer of Microsoft and Ralph Dela Vega of AT&T Mobility.

The Lumia 900 has a much bigger screen at 4.3” compared to the 800’s 3.7” display. It clearly has the HTC HD7, Titan and the new Titan 2 as direct competitors in the large screened Windows Phone market.

Nokia Lumia 900 Specs

Display: 4.3", 480x800 ClearBlack AMOLED
Processor: 1.4GHz Snapdragon APQ8055
RAM: 512MB
Camera: Front and Rear (8MP, 720p HD)
Storage: 16GB
Battery: 1830 mAh

The Nokia Lumia 900 will apparently be release initially to AT&T but don’t fret, it would be sold unlocked at Microsoft Stores and at Amazon in the coming months like the Nokia 800.

If you’re looking to buy the smaller but still great Lumia 800 in the Philippines. It’s is now being sold for 22,500 at Widget City ahead of Nokia Philippines release this coming March 2012.

Will InSync be the first Philippine start-up to go global?

2012-01-05T03:11:00.001+08:00

Insync, not the boy band mind you, has been getting rave reviews from the blogospehere as a major competitor for the huge and massively popular DropBox service.

Forget Dropbox: Check out Insync, which syncs with Google Docs
- http://sgentrepreneurs.com

Insync, a startup based in Singapore and Manila, just raised a US$800,000 funding from from phiLabs. Co-Founder and CEO Terence Pua has made the service free starting last December 2011 and is cheaper per gigabyte compared to DropBox as it utilizes Google’s cloud storage services.

Insync cloud storage service uses Google to undercut Dropbox
- The Verge

Insync turns Google Docs into the GDrive
- CNet

I welcome this development in cloud storage as it puts more competition in the market which means lower rates and better service for us consumers.

Good luck to to Insync guys! Don’t disband yet alright?

Hot Toys Harvey Dent / Two-Face (Collectible Series)

2012-01-04T00:37:00.001+08:00

Techolo.com: Collectibles Series will feature unique collectors items ranging from toys, gadgets, and other random treasures. Collectible provided by Toyrewind.com

New year. New collectible! This time we feature Hot Toys Harvey Dent / Two Face 1:6 fully poseable 12” scale from the movie The Dark Knight. Aaron Eckhart plays Harvey Dent. A white-knight Gotham District Attorney who has a tough stance against organized crime. Unfortunately, his legacy was tainted when the Joker made him into Two-Face, a madman and disgruntled citizen looking to exact vengeance.

Hit up the link for more photos and impressions. Warning: large images and may take time to load.

The box design made sure to show both faces of Harvey Dent as a good attorney and his side as a disturbed and broken man. The inside box has one of the movie’s famous quote by Harvey Dent “You either die a hero or you live long enough to see yourself become a villain".

Of course, additional accessories are included. A normal Harvey head and suit along with a pair of hands (to be swapped on the existing gun-holding hand), a pistol (which has a real rolling revolver), a pin with the “I Believe in Harvey Dent” slogan and the two-faced coin (great detail for such a small sculpt)

There is an option to buy an extra true type body for the extra normal head and suit but of course you’ll need an extra shoes, pants and long sleeve as well as the necktie and belt. You’ll just probably end up buying another set in the end or have one tailor made :)

If you enlarge the photos above, you can see the fine work done on the Harvey Dent’s face and suit. The level of detail on the charred face looks great. The burnt glistening flesh shines like it’s made of real gooey muscle and veins. The paint and sculpt complement each other and perfectly blend with the normal side of his face.

The suit is also well executed. The normal side has that fabric/canvas feel while the burned side is more of a leather. The texture just looks good.

Base stand also comes so you can prop up and display Mr. Dent along with Batman and the Joker on your shelf :)

Hot Toys Harvey Dent / Two-Face is currently priced at $250 among online resellers.

If you’re into collecting Hot Toys, might want to check out Hot Toys Philippines.

How about Metro Phone for Windows Phone?

2012-01-02T14:35:00.001+08:00

Windows Phone is a good name. It is simple and sticks to a tried and tested brand but I have seen many occasions where people still confuse Windows Phone to the old Windows Mobile. There is also that stigma that people unfortunately connect with the Windows label. While Windows 7 has been performing well, Windows, to the common folk, means viruses, malwares, and BSOD.

The new label could even drop the phone and just go for all METRO. So the next version can simply be called Metro Tango Phone, Metro Apollo Phone, etc… The “Phone” in the current name sometimes sound redundant when used – “The All-new Windows Phone 7 phone from Nokia..” Still a matter of usage though.

Imagine - Apple has iOS, Google has Android, Windows has Metro. The tablet can be called Metro Tablet for what its worth. Metro Tablet with desktop-grade Windows under the hood, that’s a catch to consumers.

Just my two-cents.

Ice Cream Sandwich manual update for GSM Nexus S

2011-12-17T11:04:00.001+08:00

I’ve already manually updated to Ice Cream Sandwich. Very snappy! Download the update here, copy into your Nexus S’ internal storage.

Power off, then hold volume up and power to reboot to the bootloader.
Using the volume key to navigate, select recovery, then use the power button to confirm
When you see the warning triangle and arrow, hold the power button and tap volume up. You'll see a menu.
From the menu, select "apply update from /sdcard", and choose update.zip from the list.
Reboot and Enjoy!

Mobile Wonder’s Curve & Bounce Speaker Review

2011-12-14T02:22:00.001+08:00

Mobile Wonders has been around for a long time in the portable speakers market but I haven’t really tried their small and compact speakers until now. The speakers are compatible with almost all mobile devices that have a headphone jack like iPods, mobile phones, laptops, tablets etc. They are also into other mobile products like camera accessories and charging adapters.

For this review, I was able to try the Mobile Wonders CURVE and BOUNCE speakers. Will it be a nice Christmas gift? Check out my impressions on both after the jump.

CURVE Speaker

The CURVE speaker has a built-in rechargeable lithium battery that charges at any 5 volt USB port that plugs into the speakers mini USB connection. The main feature of this mini speaker is its retractable and extendable speakers that mimics a subwoofer.

There is an included 3.5mm headphone jack hidden below and an extra cable with a USB connector and another 3.5mm headphone jack for charging and listening to music.

The sound of the CURVE is very good for such a small compact body. Extending its body builds a bassy and full sound compared to the ‘close-mode’. It even bested our Asus laptop speakers and I’m sure it will trump any netbook or pocket media players around simply because it has a larger speaker than most portable devices.

One thing that I missed on the first use was how to turn it on (yes you read that right!). The power, volume up and down icon was confusingly located on the red area instead of the black strip running around the device so I ended up pressing the labels themselves until I noticed that I should have been pressing the black strip instead :)

Overall I like the speaker. I also liked the matte surface that adds a premium quality feel to it unlike other cheap generic speakers I’ve used before.

The CURVE speaker is being sold at around 1,250 Pesos and comes in Black, Red and Silver colors.

BOUNCE Speaker

The BOUNCE speakers shares some similar features with the CURVE above but this model comes in pairs (for the left and right channel) and adds nice improvements. This speaker also has rechargeable lithium batteries and has the same retractable body. If the CURVE was loud, the BOUNCE is louder.

I like the fact that I can place one speaker on my right and on my left. Very useful for gaming on a laptop with a not-so-good speakers or just listening to music.

The speaker has a magnetic base so you can actually place both at their bottom ends or, in my case, attached them under my work desk and on the steel frame, leaving me more room for other stuff. The magnetic feature is really a nice addition!

The BOUNCE speakers has EXCELLENT sound. I was really impressed and I thought the CURVE was good! I’d prefer it over the CURVE because of the improved buttons and dual speakers. The package includes the charging cable and earphone jack plus a travel pouch for both speakers.

BOUNCE is priced at around 2,250 pesos and comes in Red and Black colors.

Mobile Wonders speakers are being sold almost anywhere there are gadgets and electronics – Abenson, SM Appliance Center, Odyssey, Globe Centers and even leading Apple Reseller stores to name a few.

Check out www.mobile-wonders.com for more of their products.

Thanks to Mobile Wonders for providing this review unit.

Best Extension Cord for Gadget Geeks

2011-12-10T23:57:00.001+08:00

If you’re like me and in need of a multiple power strip for your devices then you’ll probably want Akari’s 5 Gang Extension Cord with 2-USB ports. I think this is one of the best extension cords for those who has USB charging gadgets simply because it provides two 5 volts USB charging slots.

So far I’m impressed with the quality. The buttons are easy to press using my feet toes :) and its using the standard 2-prong socket that fits into any electrical outlet without the need for a 3-prong adapter. You can buy this at Ace Hardware for 900 pesos.

Note: the USB ports won’t charge the iPad or the TouchPad because of the higher power input requirement. You’ll need to use the included chargers for both device.

Samsung Galaxy S2 Specs and Impressions

2011-12-08T23:20:00.001+08:00

The Samsung Galaxy S2 is Samsung’s 2011 flagship phone. Under the slim casing runs a dual core 1.2 Ghz Cortex-A9 Exynos processor. It has a 4.3 Super AMOLED display which is beautiful as seen on my Samsung Nexus S. The display is made of tough Gorilla Glass. There is also an 8 megapixel camera and a 2 megapixel front-facing camera.

The Samsung Galaxy S2 has Samsung’s own TouchWiz skin on top of Gingerbread Android. It actually looks more like iOS than Android besides the option to add widgets. What I like about the Galaxy S2 is the build and large display. The 8 megapixel camera also took superb images. If this came with vanilla Android I would’ve chosen this instead of the Nexus S. Overall. this is one solid Android phone by Samsung, probably the best this year, not including the upcoming Ice Cream Sandwich update (which TouchWiz will mess up)

Windows 8 App Store is the key to Windows Phone success

2011-12-07T11:02:00.001+08:00

Microsoft just detailed its plans on the Windows App Store coming built-in on its new Windows 8 coming in tablets and desktops possibly by next year.

It is no mystery that Windows holds a giant share in any OS distribution anywhere, ever. With figures amounting to 500 million users, it obliterates Android phones and tablets which only has a combined user of 247 million users.

While Windows Phones is steadily growing in terms of approved and published apps on the Marketplace, it is still currently lagging behind Apple and Google. But unlike Google’s tablet OS, large hardware makers (some with no Android tablets) are throwing their bet on Windows 8 like HP, Dell, HTC, Samsung and other Windows Phone OEM)

The game changer that is are the apps and the developers that will back Microsoft’s push into the tablet space that everyone has been in for more than a year.

Looking at it, Windows 8 tablets might help Windows Phones gain traction as Win8 developers can just easily port their Metro apps to run on Windows Phones. There is also that incentive of lowered Microsoft cut to only 20% from the standard 30% after an app makes $25,000 from sales and in-app purchases.

Looking at how multitasking dual-pane works on Win8, I notice the specs for the snap-on pane takes exactly 320 pixels wide. If you think about it, this is the same resolution that is purported to arrive on lower end Windows Phone Tango coming next year.

Who knows, maybe Microsoft will allow Windows 8 apps to run on Windows Phones. If that happens, you can expect to see more interest on the Windows Phone platform as app scarcity becomes a non-issue for new adopters and switchers.

2012 is looking to be a crucial year for Microsoft as they need to make sure Windows 8 does not repeat the stigma that Vista brought. If people enjoy Windows 8 on the PC, rest assured, they get the tablet counterpart.

Manny Pacquiao: Pound for Pound iOS Game

2011-11-30T21:05:00.001+08:00

Abu Dhabi Media’s Karkadann Games just released a game starring Manny Pacquiao titled Manny Pacquiao: Pound for Pound. The 125mb game for the iPhone and iPad portays Pacman as a martial arts action hero, ala Bruce Lee, which coincidentally is Pacquiao’s idol. When you are made into a game character by a foreign developer, you’re really famous. you know? :)

See the more photos, game description and video after the jump.

Manny Pacquiao: Pound for Pound is a new 3D action fighting game series starring the Filipino athlete and international superstar, Manny Pacquiao, who is portrayed as a martial arts action hero. Pound for Pound is created for a wide gaming audience featuring accessible game mechanics, and will be available on iOS supported devices such as iPad, iPad and iPod Touch.

Pound for Pound: Volume I takes gamers through narrative arcs, intense action and addictive game play, as Manny the martial arts action hero battles through the dark world of heinous villains on a mission of justice. Gamers not only wield Manny’s legendary combination of pummelling punches with his lightning fast hands, but have access to new items that will improve Manny’s fighting power.

Fight as the world famous Manny Pacquiao in this action packed - game for iOS.
Gamers will use touchscreen actions and gestures to unleash Manny’s arsenal of lethal punches and kicks.
Fight against minions, mini-bosses, and bosses who increase in difficulty as players progress through the game.
Guide Manny in his crusade for justice and experience artistically vivid environments with an immersive storyline.
Engage in a combat oriented experience leveling Manny as you progress through challenging and intense battles
Upgrade Manny’s attributes with every level you gain, furthermore upgrade Manny's gear to increase his stamina, vitality and strength to survive the challenges ahead.
Integration with Game Center for unlockable achievements and leaderboard ranking.

[via] iTunes

HP TouchPad Review

2011-11-29T11:13:00.001+08:00

Here lies the infamous HP TouchPad – on my desk. After using it for a couple of days and reviewing past WebOS devices such as the Palm Pre Plus and Palm Pixi Plus. I just had to try out the latest, greatest and the last WebOS device, the HP TouchPad (Pre 3 you’re next!). If you’re ready for lots of bandwidth hogging photos and my review of a dead device then hit past the jump!

If you haven’t heard the story, let me run it down quick. After buying Palm and WebOS last April 2010, HP made a promise to continue and improve the whole WebOS ecosystem by providing a great hardware and scale for the platform to grow and attract developers. Sadly, it didn’t happen. Just after a month of releasing the TouchPad, HP decided to kill the WebOS business and even considered spinning-off their PC division.

After a few weeks, HP decided to sell of TouchPad stocks in a fire sale frenzy. The 16GB sold for $99 and the 32GB for $149. A tablet people didn’t buy just because it wasn’t an iPad instantly became a sensation. An overnight best-seller on Amazon. Stocks ran out. I was lucky to have gotten mine through hard work and some connections (fortunately)

So enough of the history, let’s move to the review.

Official HP Case

The HP TouchPad case looks like the original iPad 1 folio case. It also has the soft microfiber interior and 3 panels on the cover similar to the Smart Covers. The case has rubber protection covering the sides and corners of the device which offer better protection and smooth grip but making it stand can be a tricky and dangerous thing to achieve. I also believe that this is the only Touchstone compatible cover available for the TouchPad.

Touchstone Charging Dock

It may not look like a stone anymore as seen on its smaller phone counterpart but the Touchstone Charging Dock works as advertise. It charges the TouchPad wirelessly using inductive charging. Placing the TouchPad on the cradle would immediately launch Exhibition Mode and the device would start charging – wirelessly! I think devices should really integrate these inductive charging technology more.

The Exhibition Mode allows the tablet to still function while docked. It can display the current time, weather, RSS feed, Twitter streams and Facebook wall updates and much more. It can also be your expensive animating LCD photo album.

HP TouchPad Specifications

CPU: 1.20 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon APQ8060
Graphics: Qualcomm Adreno 220
RAM: 1 GB
OS: WebOS 3.0
Display: 9.7-inch diagonal, LED-backlit, IPS wide viewing-angle technology
Storage: 32GB (or 16GB version)
Integrated front-facing camera and microphone
Exclusive Beats Audio for studio-quality sound

Unboxing and Booting

While unboxing the HP TouchPad, one thing I noticed was that the box was curiously square, and not rectangular like the usual (iPad) This is due to the fact that HP decided to place the cables and adapter on the left side rather than beneath the device. Along with the usual contents like cables and manuals, HP also included a microfiber cleaning cloth for the screen and the glossy piano-black body which is very prone to fingerprints and smudges.

Booting the TouchPad, I was surprised to see a different startup screen. It showed a white background with some diagnostic menu similar to this video. Apparently, some HP TouchPads are just that out of the box, which is weird. another annoying thing that I was welcomed with was that my device’s volume down button was recessed and somewhat stucked down. Just not my luck I guess.

Besides my unlucky unit, the build quality of the TouchPad is great. The IPS display is even comparable to the iPad. What bothered me was the weight of this (1.65 lbs) compared to the iPad 2 (1.33 lbs) that I have been used to carrying around.

The inclusion of the front-facing camera is a plus that can be utilized for video chat on the built-in Skype messaging client. There is no back camera.

HP TouchPad WebOS 3.0

Having used WebOS on the phone, I was quite familiar with all the swiping and the ins and outs of the software. One thing different with this tablet version was that the gesture bar is now gone. So instead of the gesturing back and forward between apps, you’ll now have to use the click button or swipe bottom up to go back to the home or launch Launcher.

I was also surprised that the TouchPad had haptic feedback. Meaning it had a vibrate motor built-in the device which is useful on notifications, text messages (when connected to the Pre 3) and even games.

However, one thing that I noticed overall was the sluggish and sometimes unresponsive performance of the device. This is a 1.2 Ghz device yet it stutters at times and is slow at opening cards. For sure this is not a hardware problem but an OS-level one. It seems than WebOS 3.0 was not optimize as much to perform much smoother on this hardware. The iPad 2 definitely destroys the HP TouchPad in this regard (even the iPad 1)

To try to speed things up, I installed Preware and then Govnah (overclocking tool). Doing these tips and installing the patches also made my TP move a little faster.

Pre-Installed Apps

The TouchPad had pre-installed applications like Email, Calendar, Memos, Adobe PDF Reader, Maps (Bing-powered), Amazon Kindle and even QuickOffice. Some apps when clicked launched the HP App Catalog and proceeded downloading the app. The Youtube app however was worthless since it just opened up the browser and loaded the mobile version of Youtube.

Enyo Framework User Interface

The layout of these built-in apps were very similar with Apple’s iOS with the use of panes. However, WebOS has a smarter way of managing multiple panes (Enyo) in way that is similar to how Facebook and Twitter apps perform on the iPad. You can slide panes on and off to focus on the main content.

The keyboard was also a pleasant to use. It had options of Extra Small, Small, Medium and Large layouts, all showing the number keys on top which was really a very practical thing to include. I can’t imagine how many times I’ve pressed shift on the iPad just to type multiple numerals. The TouchPad makes this part easy for me.

Notifications

WebOS is known for its smart way of handling notifications. In WebOS 3.0, notifications go on the right side, beside the drop down toolbar settings. Notifications smoothly glides on top and when tapped will display a list. You can either slide to dismiss each notice or point and slide the icon to dismiss all at once. The lock screen also displays each new notifications but it isn’t accessible and doesn’t function as a shortcut on the lock screen ala iOS 5 swipe.

HP TouchPad versus the Apple iPad 2

For the sake of comparison, let’s show these 2 devices side by side. I also tried to install and open up a common app – Box.net. You can see the difference of the app on each device. The display on the TouchPad seemed a little brighter than the iPad 2 both at full brightness. However, the iPad 2 bests the TouchPad hardware at all aspects except for one thing: the Beats Audio speakers. The TouchPad had that extra solid sound and sounded better than the iPad 2.

Conclusion

With iPad’s dominance in the tablet space, The TouchPad didn’t stand a chance and was never given one. Same with RIM’s PlayBook or Motorola's Xoom and even Samsung’s Galaxy Tab.

WebOS 3.0 on the TouchPad isn’t that bad, but it isn’t great either. It works for the occasional web surfer and multimedia user but considering there isn’t a lot of tablet-focused apps on the App Catalog, it would have a hard time competing with the two larger, more established ecosystems.

The HP Touchpad in itself is a lackluster device for it’s original price of $599 – but for a measly $149 it is one of the best tablets you can get right now price versus performance. Sure WebOS is dead but might be dead but the millions it sold through the fire sale piqued interest on this device and now you can actually install a working Android Gingerbread on it. (soon Ice Cream Sandwich).

Sometimes it just all boils to price.

Storing the World's Nuclear Weapons

2011-11-22T09:31:00.001+08:00

So where are the world’s most feared super weapon located? According to the info graphic below, Russia still holds and stores a ton of these WMD. Washington in the US is home to more than 2,300 alone and that more than 2,000 warheads are on high alert, and ready to launch on short notice, anytime, around the world. Fortunately, the graph shows a significant decline of stockpiles since the 1960’s.

I surely hope there won’t be any need to use these any time soon.

Via: Mozy

Google Music Store launches, goes out of beta

2011-11-17T13:04:00.001+08:00

Following the footsteps of Apple’s iTunes, Amazon Music Store and Microsoft Zune Marketplace, Google just made official and released out of beta their Google Music service. The Music store is not yet available in the Philippines but you can already have access to free ones and even back up your own songs to the cloud for free.

http://music.google.com/about/

L5 Remote Review for iPhone and iPad

2011-11-09T00:58:00.001+08:00

The L5 Remote turns your iPhone, iPod Touch or iPad into one powerful universal remote for just about anything. You can design your own remote layout and assign signals from existing remotes. You can even download codes online for your TV’s, VCR, etc. Say good bye to batteries and unresponsive keys. Check the review after the jump.

Inside the box you’ll find this tiny transmitter that plugs at the bottom connector of your iDevice. It works with the L5 Remote app is available at the App Store for free. Without that, this plug is basically useless.

The device works for the following (requires iOS 3.0 or later)

iPod Touch (1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th generations)
iPhone Original, 3G, 3Gs, 4, 4s
iPad 1 and 2

The L5 Remote App Features

Works with all iOS devices.
Download remotes or create your own.
Share remote designs between iPhone, iPad and iPod touch.
Create, position, size, and label the buttons you want to create your ideal layout.
Choose from skins or upload custom icons and backgrounds.
Drag and drop simplicity, iOS and multi-touch power.
Share images of your remotes by email, Facebook and Twitter.
Upload and download remotes to the cloud to transfer, share, backup and restore remotes.
Delete the buttons you don’t use and create the simplest possible remote.
Quick and easy setup of activities and macros.
100,000 button/1000 remote capacity.
Compatible with U-verse, DirecTV, Comcast, Verizon FiOS, Dish Network, TiVo, Sony, Samsung, Sharp, Panasonic, Vizio, and most other brands.

I had an easy time setting up everything from unboxing to using the L5 Remote. Pairing remotes was easy though older remotes tend to take longer pairing times. Launching the app rotates the display so that the transmitter is on top and facing the source. I was able to test on both the iPod Touch 4G and iPad 2.

I tried setting up our TCL and Samsung TV’s using the existing remotes and paired them using each button’s frequency. It was tricky at first since some remotes require holding down the button once, while others require multiple taps before the code is registered on the L5 Remote.

The customization of the remote is limited by the available buttons. There is an option for a silver or dark theme for the background and the buttons can only be customized on shape, size and location. What’s cool is that you can create macros for specific commands, perfect for executing double-digit channel macros.

I tried creating a single button for our common cable channels. HBO, History Channel and Discovery. There is an option to choose one of the default logos or uploading your own. Really nice addition.

Conclusion

If you’re really a couch potato or have lots of media player remotes scattered everywhere and at the same time own any iDevice (preferably the small ones – no iPad) - then this is perfect.

It’s just kind of a hassle that every time you’ll need changing channels or volume – you’ll have to find and install this small device to your phone and launch the app. If you tend to lose remotes or forget where they are, chances are you might also forget this little transmitter is plugged-in your iPhone and end up losing or breaking it anyway.

But for those who want to make backups of their current remote in case the original disappears or loses its clicks, this is a good alternative to backup, store in the cloud, and restore multitudes of remote codes.

http://www.l5remote.com/

Nokia N9 Pre-orders exclusively on Smart

2011-11-07T23:29:00.001+08:00

Smart is the exclusive telecom to offer the Meego-powered Nokia N9 to its Postpaid subscribers. Pre-order date is from November 4 to 18. Units can be picked up on November 21st. Approved applications will receive a free limited edition Nokia Wireless Music Receiver (MD-310). The Nokia N9 is free at All-In Plan 3500 and Unli Data Plan 2000.

http://smart.com.ph/nokia-n9/

HP TouchPad Philippines Unboxing

2011-11-06T23:41:00.001+08:00

Scored one of the most coveted tablet since its firesale – The HP TouchPad. I unboxed this 32GB HP TouchPad and was greeted with a weird boot up screen. Some sort of factory diagnostics which obviously isn’t part of WebOS. For a while, I thought it was one of those Android TouchPads. After running through the tests, I restarted the device and it finally booted WebOS. Review coming up soon.

Samsung Galaxy Note: Stylus powered smartphone

2011-11-05T16:43:00.001+08:00

Editor's Note: This is a sponsored post for the Samsung Galaxy Note

After Samsung’s success on the Samsung Galaxy S2, selling well over 30 million for the Galaxy S and S2 line, The South Korean electronics giant introduces the Samsung Galaxy Note. The Galaxy Note consolidates the power of tablet and the portability of a smartphone with its large display and stylus capability.

Mobile users have long since sacrificed pen-based input since the emergence of capacitive touchscreen made finger-based gestures ubiquitous. I personally still prefer a pen and paper at times for jotting down quick notes rather that typing them. I find it quicker that way. The Samsung Galaxy Note may have provided those people something that combines both touch and pen input into one powerful smartphone.

The Galaxy Note smartphone packs a large and immersive 5.3” Super AMOLED that beats any LCD displays out there (I am a fan of Samsung's display and love the Super AMOLED on my Nexus S). Once you’ve used a Super AMOLED, you wouldn’t want to use any other displays.

The Galaxy Note has Android 2.3 Gingerbread right out of the box. It can shot 8 megapixel photos and record full HD at 1080p videos. The Galaxy Note also includes an advance pen-input technology called the S Pen. One of the device’s main attractive feature is using you’re your own handwriting to input data on notes, illustrations, photos, or documents. This merges the capacitive touch feature long seen on smartphones to now work on the S Pen for a more traditional pen-based input style which some people still prefer for tasks such as note-taking.

The Galaxy note also has a new multimedia application called the S Memo. It is designed to record pen-based input for pictures, typed text, voice recording and convert those into a memo that can be edited, annotated or even shared.

Samsung Galaxy Note Specs

Android Gingerbread 2.3.4
TouchWiz 4.0 UI
1.4 Ghz Dual-Core Processor / 1GB RAM
5.3” Super AMOLED with 1280 x 800 resolution. 285ppi.
8 megapixel camera with LED flash and 2 megapixel front-facing camera
720p/1080p HD video recording
150 MB Storage, 2GB MicroSD Card Included, expandable up to 32GB
Stereo FM, NFC, Proximity Sensor, Ambient light sensor and Accelerometer

via Samsung Galaxy Note

Nokia Lumia 800: First Real Windows Phone

2011-10-26T17:09:00.001+08:00

This post will be updated as soon as more information is available..

Nokia Lumia 800

Nokia just announced the Lumia 800 at the Nokia World 2011. This phone has a 3.7” Clear Black display (Super AMOLED) with a 480x800-pixel resolution. It packs a 1.4GHz processor with hardware acceleration and a separate graphics processor. 16GB onboard storage and free 25GB of SkyDrive space. Carl Zeiss optics, 8 MP camera, HD video. Nokia Lumia 800 is priced at around $580 and ships November.

Nokia Lumia 710

3.7-inch LCD display, same processor and memory at the Nokia Lumia 800. Has 5 megapixels camera. Nokia Lumia 710 is priced at around $380 and ships by the end of this year.

Nokia Windows Phones will have the exclusive Nokia Drive, Mix Radio, and ESPN Sports Hub.

Nokia

Smart introduces new logo

2011-10-26T01:33:00.001+08:00

The logo change may be a part of their corporate and branding strategy come 2012 moving forward as they embrace fully the mobile age - considering that late 2010 to early 2011 was the period that smartphones outpaced PC sales for the first time, adding to that are those who are dumping their dumb phones and moving on to smartphones.

Check out my post on SMART’s recent redesign of their logo over at OneDesignPH.com.

New Smart Logo: Colorful Pimples

Windows Phone concepts Microsoft could actually use

2011-10-21T00:37:00.001+08:00

Browsing over XDA, I noticed a link to the J&K Design blog by Jozef Kocur which has lots of graphical interface designs and ideas. I found that his Windows Phone 7 ones were curiously appealing and down-right practical. (click to enlarge the image)

His left-most concept shows what WP7 would look like after the Apollo update, which presumably would merge Windows 8 and Windows Phone. It looks great and now made me wonder why Microsoft never did allow different color tiles such as those seen in Windows 8.

On the middle, you can see his concept of Settings Toggle just below the volume and notification bar. Interchanges with Zune player controls with the volume keys.

I was also thinking about launching the Zune Part by pressing Volume-Up button, and launching Setting Toggles by pressing Volume-Down Button.

The last image also shows a gradient background under the unusually inverted dark tiles. It just goes to show that there is still lots of room for WP7 to showcase Metro UI in its full glory at the same time allowing users to customize their phones more that what is allowed today.

Check out his website for more hi-res images and concepts. Live Thumbnails and daily Bing lock screen wallpapers are just some nifty ideas that Microsoft should really consider making into a reality. Good job Jozef!