dood and hangout

Facebook Acquired Face.Com

2012-06-24T22:19:00.001-07:00

Facebook Inc. (FB), owner of the world’s largest social-networking website, acquired Face.com, adding technology that enables facial recognition in photos.

Terms weren’t disclosed. Face.com helps users tag photos and find images online by distinguishing facial features on social networks and photo-sharing sites. Menlo Park, California- based Facebook already uses some of Face.com’s applications. The startup announced the purchase today in a blog posting.

Enlarge image

Face.com's software enables facial recognition in photos. Source: Face.com

“People who use Facebook enjoy sharing photos and memories with their friends, and Face.com’s technology has helped to provide the best photo experience,” said Ashley Zandy, a Facebook spokeswoman, in an e-mailed statement. “This transaction simply brings a world-class team and a longtime technology vendor in house.”

Facebook, which first sold shares to the public a month ago, has been making acquisitions to bring on talented developers, add features to the site and bolster the company’s mobile offerings. Since the beginning of April, Facebook has agreed to purchase photo-sharing site Instagram, location-based application Glancee and social-gifting company Karma.

Face.com, based in San Francisco and Tel Aviv, is backed by Yandex NV (YNDX), Russia’s most-used search engine, and investing firm Rhodium.

Facebook rose 4.7 percent to $31.41 at the close in New York, marking a gain of 15 percent over the past three trading days. The stock is still 17 percent lower than its initial public offering price of $38 on May 18.

Google's long-rumored tablet- Is is a reality?

2012-06-12T01:38:00.002-07:00

Google's long-rumored tablet, developed with help from Asus, is launching soon, according to a new report.
Android Authority is reporting today that it recently sat down with an "Asus representative" at Computex, who said that the co-branded Google tablet does, in fact, exist. What's more, the representative said that the Google tablet will launch at the end of June, seeming to indicate that the search giant's I/O conference could be home to the unveiling.

Rumors have been swirling for months that Google is looking to launch its own tablet at some point this summer. Some reports have suggested that the device would launch in June, while others claim July. The tablet is expected to come with a 7-inch screen, and according to a recently leaked benchmark, a 1.3GHz Nvidia Tegra 3 quad-core processor. Nvidia's ULP GeForce GPU is also expected to come bundled in the device.
According to Android Authority, the representative wouldn't divulge the Google tablet's pricing or availability. However, the person did offer some details on other Asus products launching soon, including the Padfone, which the representative says, will eventually come to the U.S. once carriers warm to it. The Asus Transformer Prime Infinity will launch at the end of the month in both Wi-Fi-only and LTE versions.

Adobe Photoshop

2012-06-06T21:28:00.003-07:00

Adobe Photoshop is a graphics editing program developed and published by Adobe Systems.
Adobe's 2003 "Creative Suite" rebranding led to Adobe Photoshop 8's renaming to Adobe Photoshop CS. Thus, Adobe Photoshop CS6 is the 13th major release of Adobe Photoshop. The CS rebranding also resulted in Adobe offering numerous software packages containing multiple Adobe programs for a reduced price.

Adobe Photoshop is released in two editions: Adobe Photoshop, and Adobe Photoshop Extended, with the Extended having extra 3D image creation, motion graphics editing, and advanced image analysis features. Adobe Photoshop Extended is included in all of Adobe's Creative Suite offerings except Design Standard, which includes the Adobe Photoshop edition.

Alongside Photoshop and Photoshop Extended, Adobe also publishes Photoshop Elements and Photoshop Lightroom, collectively called "The Adobe Photoshop Family". In 2008, Adobe released Adobe Photoshop Express, a free web-based image editing tool to edit photos directly on blogs and social networking sites; in 2011 a version was released for the Android operating system and the iOS operating system.

Project Google Glass

2012-06-03T21:41:00.001-07:00

Project Glass is a research and development program by Google to develop an augmented reality head-mounted display (HMD)

The intended purpose of Project Glass products would be the hands free displaying of information currently available to most smartphone users, and allowing for interaction with the Internet via natural language voice commands, in a manner similar to the iPhone application Siri. The operating system software used in the glasses will be Google's Android.

Project Glass is part of the Google X Lab at the company, which has worked on other futuristic technologies, such as a self-driving car. The project was announced on Google+ by Babak Parviz, an electrical engineer who has also worked on putting displays into contact lenses; Steve Lee, a project manager and "geolocation specialist"; and Sebastian Thrun, who developed Udacity as well as working on the self-driving car project.

Project Glass

Imagine checking the sky in the morning and seeing the weather forecast superimposed into your field of vision, as if the window was your personal life dashboard. That's the idea behind Google's Project Glass, But instead of a window, it uses (as-yet invented) high-tech glasses that move through life as you do, providing guidance at your command.

Talk-To-Texting

While drinking your morning coffee, a friend invites you via text message to "meet up today." You say, "Sure! Bookstore in 20?" and your spoken words are captured, converted to text, and sent as a reply. You're meeting at the bookstore, but there's a problem.

Real Time Alerts

You were going to take the subway, but your Glass tells you that service is suspended at the station. Below the message, you're presented with alternative modes of transport.

Walking Directions

When the subway's out, there's always hoofing it. The Glass can present walking directions or any other travel information available online. During your walk, arrows appear at each cross street to guide you along. There are apparently no limits to this fantastic system.

Facetime

Later, you receive a call from another friend. You accept her call and realize she's sitting at a webcam. How lucky, because you just walked up to the roof of your building

Shared View

Sharing this beautiful sunset. These scenes came from a simulation video of Google Glass in action from the perspective of the person wearing the glasses. It's great to fantasize about things like this, but in reality, all the technology shown in the video could actually be done today if the software existed to implement it. That's what Google's Project Glass is all about—collecting ideas and resources for implementing this particular pie in the sky.

Magnetic Hill (India)

2012-06-01T19:06:00.001-07:00

Magnetic Hill in Ladakh, India.

A sign near the Magnetic Hill in Ladakh, India
Magnetic Hill is a gravity hill located near Leh in Ladakh, India. The hill is alleged to have magnetic properties strong enough to pull cars uphill and force passing aircraft to increase their altitude in order to escape magnetic interference. In reality, the effect is an optical illusion and there is no magnetic disturbance in the area at all.

The “magnetic hill” is located on the Leh-Kargil-Srinagar national highway, about 50 km from Leh, at a height of 11,000 feet above sea level. On its south side flows the Indus, which originates in Tibet and goes to Pakistan. The so-called magnetic hill has become a popular stop for domestic tourists on car journeys.

Adobe Dreamweaver

2012-05-31T21:27:00.002-07:00

Adobe Dreamweaver (formerly Macromedia Dreamweaver) is a proprietary web development application originally created by Macromedia. It is now developed by Adobe Systems, which acquired Macromedia in 2005.

Dreamweaver is available for both Mac and Windows operating systems. Recent versions have incorporated support for web technologies such as CSS, JavaScript, and various server-side scripting languages and frameworks including ASP (ASP JavaScript, ASP VBScript, ASP.NET C#, ASP.NET VB), ColdFusion, Scriptlet, and PHP.

First BlackBerry device

2012-05-30T11:15:00.002-07:00

Flashback! What was the first BlackBerry device you ever owned? Here's OUR first BlackBerry…

Google doodle depicts Faberge eggs

2012-05-29T21:11:00.002-07:00

Today's Google doodle celebrates the birthday of Russian jeweller Peter Carl Faberge, also known as "Karl Gustavovich Faberge". The doodle depicts Faberge eggs, which are Easter eggs made using precious metals and gemstones instead of regular materials.
Ads- Quiz Phobia <---

The first Faberge egg was commissioned by the Tsar Alexander III of Russia in 1885 as a gift for his wife the Empress Maria. Faberge made one egg every year for the Tsar for the next 10 years. The next Tsar, Nicholas II, ordered two eggs each year, one for his mother and one for his own wife, Alexandra. The tradition continued until the October Revolution.

The Imperial eggs enjoyed great fame, and Faberge made some other large eggs for a few select private clients. A Faberge egg were also featured in the 1983 James Bond movie Octopussy, where it is the object of a bidding war between James Bond and Kamal Khan. Ultimately, Bond replaces the real egg with a dummy egg that contains a recording device.

The Google doodle features six Faberge eggs, one for each letter in the Google logo.

Fuel cell to charge Phones

2012-05-24T21:43:00.000-07:00

Midday phone death is a hassle for anyone, but it gets even worse if you’re out and about. A new product can help you avoid that frantic search for an outlet the next time your phone’s battery tanks.

Lilliputian Systems has created a butane-powered fuel cell, which acts as a “plug in your pocket,” according to the company.

The device, which connects to a phone via a USB port, holds enough energy to charge a cellphone battery about a dozen times. After that, the butane cartridge can be replaced and the charger used again. It will soon be available at gadget retailer Brookstone.

Ads- Quiz Phobia

Work While You Travel -Tthe new mantra of Microsoft.

2012-05-23T21:38:00.002-07:00

Ads

Microsoft has planned to start a special bus service for employees at
Bangalore. Employees can now start their work right away once they
board the bus and the office hours would count from the time they
board the bus.Traffic congestions in Bangalore is quite normal and
company do not want to waste the time of the employees on roads.

It is said that the idea was proposed by an employee through their
suggestion scheme and was readily accepted by the Management.

9 Million Pre-Orders for the Samsung Galaxy S3

2012-05-22T19:22:00.000-07:00

Samsung has received 9 million pre-orders from more than 100 international carriers for its upcoming flagship smartphone, the Galaxy S3, Korea Economic Daily reports.

Samsung’s smartphone factory in South Korea is running at full capacity, which is 5 million units per month, according to the same report.

This is more good news for Samsung, which became the world’s biggest phone maker in Q1 2012. The company is also the undisputed king of the Android market: Its smartphone sales represent about 40% of all Android-based smartphone sales worldwide.

Samsung Galaxy S3 hits Europe on May 29, followed by a US launch in June.

It sports a 4.8-inch touchscreen, a 8-megapixel rear-facing and 1.9-megapixel forward-facing camera, and comes with the latest version of Android — Ice Cream Sandwich.

Google doodle- Robert Arthur

2012-05-22T19:09:00.003-07:00

Robert Arthur "Bob" Moog (May 23, 1934 – August 21, 2005), founder of Moog Music, was an American pioneer of electronic music, best known as the inventor of the Moog synthesizer.

Google’s Self-Driving Car Gets a License in Nevada

2012-05-13T19:33:00.000-07:00

The state of Nevada has issued a first license for one of Google’s self-driving cars — provided there are two people inside the car at all times, the Associated Press reports.

Nevada’s DMV has issued the license after conducting demonstrations that the car is safe for testing on public streets.

Google’s self-driving cars use a laser radar on the roof of the vehicle to detect obstacles, pedestrians and other cars. With the help of GPS and a bit of artificial intelligence, the car can drive itself with very little or no intervention from the human sitting inside.

That said, Nevada’s regulations require two people in the test cars: one in the driver’s seat, and other monitoring a computer screen that shows the car’s planned route as well as traffic lights and other potential hazards on the road.

As soon as the “driver” touches the brake or the wheel, he takes control of the vehicle.

We had a chance to test out one of Google’s self-driving cars in March 2011, and the results were good: no glitches, no unwanted close encounters with walls or other obstacles.

In August 2011, one of Google’s cars caused an accident on the road. However, a Google representative told that the car was in manual mode at the time.

What are your thoughts on self-driving cars? Are they the future of transportation or an accident waiting to happen?

MasterCard announced PayPass Wallet

2012-05-11T21:20:00.004-07:00

MasterCard announced PayPass Wallet Services , a new global offering that makes it easier and faster for customers to make purchases in stores and online, by allowing those purchases to be made with a single click or tap.

PayPass Wallet Services has three components: PayPass Acceptance Network, PayPass Wallet and PayPass API which together are designed to streamline your shopping experience no matter how you shop.

PayPass Acceptance Network: The PayPass acceptance network includes both online and contactless payments, and gives merchants a consistent way to accept electronics payments across multiple channels. NFC payments can be made in-store by tapping your mobile phone, and a new PayPass online element lets you check out at a retailer by clicking a PayPass button — automatically providing your shipping and payment information to a retailer without having to fill that information out each time you pay.

PayPass Wallet: PayPass wallet enables banks, merchants and partners to white label their own wallets. Consumers can store payment and shipping information in one secure place including American Express, Discover, Visa and other branded credit, debit and prepaid cards.

PayPass API: The PayPass API allows partners to connect their own wallets into the PayPass network, and lets those partners user MasterCard’s check-out, fraud detection and authentication services to allow their customers to make purchases wherever PayPass is accepted.

MasterCard will make PayPass Wallet Services available to partners in the third quarter of 2012, initially in the U.S., Canada, U.K. and Australia later including other countries.

MasterCard’s first partners for the project include big names like American Airlines and Barnes & Noble. American will be integrating the PayPass Wallet into its mobile application, and Barnes & Noble will be including the PayPass online checkout button on its website.

What do you think about MasterCard’s new PayPass Wallet services?

Google+

2012-05-11T03:49:00.003-07:00

Google+, a social network operated by Google, Inc., launched on June 28th, 2011 with integration across a number of Google products, including Buzz and Profiles.

One key element of Google+ is a focus on targeted sharing within subsets of your social group, which are what Google calls Circles. Circles are simply small groups of people that you can share to, each with names like friends, family, classmates and co-workers.

Also within Google+, Google has created a section specifically for viewing, managing and editing multimedia. The photo tab takes a user to all of the photos he or she has shared, as well as the ones he or she is tagged in. It’s not just photo tagging, though: Google+ includes an image editor (complete with Instagram-like photo effects), privacy options and sharing features.

Another feature that's widely discussed is “Hangouts,” Google’s new group chat feature. Instead of directly asking a friend to join a group chat, users instead click “start a hangout” and they’re instantly in a video chatroom alone. At the same time, a message goes out to their social circles, letting them know that their friend is “hanging out.” Friends can then join the hangout as long as they have been placed in a circle that was invited by the person who created the Hangout.

What Android Ice Cream Sandwich (ICS) Does That iOS (Apple OS)Doesn’t

2012-05-10T21:22:00.002-07:00

1. Take Tour Internet With You

If you use Chrome or Firefox, you’ll be thrilled to know that both of those browsers are available on Ice Cream Sandwich.

Signing in on either browser on your phone or tablet willsync up your bookmarks, search history and even your user names and passwords. You’ll feel right at home with everything you just had on your desktop. The mobile browsers even let you view the tabs you have open on your computer. If you start reading an article and have to step away from your machine, you can pick up right where you left off, without having to add it to any special reading list.

2. Just Plug and Play

It’s easy to get files on and off an Android device. You don’t need any special software; just plug in to a computer, and you’re good to go. You can easily grab all of your pictures and videos or even back up your apps. Add videos easily without converting them to a special format — just copy them on and play.

3. Skip the Security Passwords

Why remember another password or special gesture when you can have your phone remember and recognize you instead? With Face Unlock, your Android Ice Cream Sandwich device’s front-facing camera will recognize you and unlock itself. Machines are supposed to make our lives easier, so shouldn’t we let them do the work for us?

4. Customize to Your Heart’s Content

With Android, you can add widgets to your home screen allowing you to control your music and check your email, calendar or the weather at a glance. Using Ice Cream Sandwich, as with Android 3.0 Honeycomb, you can resize those widgets, so you can decide whether you want to see more information or to save space.
Your home screen is easy to customize — no need to keep each and every app you’ve downloaded on it. Keep them nice and tidy in the app drawer, or arrange them in folders. If you want to, you can replace the entire home screen by using anew launcher. Even your lock screen gives you options — you can check all of your notifications without unlocking your device.

5. Say What You Want With Just a Swipe

Typing on the go can be much easier with customized keyboards. When you’re standing in line and holding your phone in one hand, SwiftKey X Keyboard (download Swiftkey X Keyboard) guesses what you’re trying to type and suggests the next word for you. With Swype, you don’t even have to type — just slide from one letter to the next. There are plenty of other keyboards, so you can find the one that’s just right for you. And it’s not all fancy keyboard tricks, either. If you prefer arrow keys or easier access to punctuation, you can find a keyboard that does that.

6. Navigate the Streets With Ease

The Google Maps app for Android includes Navigation — voice-guided, real-time, turn-by-turn directions based on your current location. With the Google Maps app on your Android device, you no longer need a separate GPS unit for your car — a potential savings of up to hundreds of dollars. A few taps, and your phone will lead you right where you need to go.

7. Tap to Share Information With NFC

With NFC, a chip that lets you send information with a tap, you can share contacts, videos, or web pages between phones via a feature called Android Beam. If you sign up for Google Wallet, you can even leave your credit cards behind and pay for groceries with a swipe of your phone. While it’s not available everywhere yet, NFC is primed to be one of the next big things.
From the way your phone looks to the way your phone looks at you, Android offers a wealth of options. What’s your favorite Android feature?

Google Drive- Share and access your file any where.

2012-05-09T04:30:00.001-07:00

Always up to date

Make changes to a file in one place and it automatically updates everywhere.

All your files – everywhere

Put files in Google Drive and you can access them on your desktop, mobile phone or tablet, and drive.google.com.

5 GB of free space

You get 5 GB from the start, and you can upgrade to get more space at any time.

Mysterious Google Maps Sights.

2012-05-08T21:28:00.001-07:00

Mysterious mouse cursors in India

Southern part of India Mysterious mouse cursors formation.

Exact location-Domlur

The Badlands Guardian

This natural formation in Alberta, Canada is known as the Badlands Guardian and looks strikingly similar to a native American wearing a headdress. If you look close enough, it looks like he's wearing a pair of earphones, but that section is actually a man-made road and oil well.

Firefox Crop Circle

The Firefox crop circle in Oregon was created by the Oregon State University Linux Users group in 2006 to mark the web browser's 50 millionth download.

The Rainbow Plane

This plane flying above Rock Hill, S.C. evokes a rainbow of colors as it soars through the air.

Area 52 Formation

This mysterious crop circle is located near the Tonopah Test Range in Nevada, also known as Area 52. The area is owned by the United States Department of Energy and is a restricted military installation.

Shipwreck

This shipwreck in the Red Sea is captured on Google Maps

Mysterious Russian Site

We're not entirely sure why this location in Russia has been blurred out, especially since it's in the Siberian tundra. The closest city is Egvekinot, Russia, which is a neighbor to Alaska across the Bering Strait.

Mexican Drug Cartel Symbol

The letter "Z" is etched into the desert in Coahuila, México. It represents the "Los Zetas," one of the most powerful groups in the Mexican drug cartel, according to

Voice Activated Thumb Drive

2012-05-08T03:44:00.001-07:00

USB thumb drives are so convenient because of their tiny, portable size — also making them easier to lose. A new voice recognition thumb drive keeps your data safe, even if it makes its way into someone else’s hands.

Made by Hammacher-Schlemmer, the 8GB thumb drive uses a built-in microphone and voice-activation software that “detects the specific frequencies and nuances of its owner’s voice” notes the product description, to access your sensitive data. What if you have a cold, you ask? Simply enter a secret passcode to bypass the voice recognition part.

Would you buy this?

HTC ONE X- Will it be the best android phone?

2012-05-07T21:28:00.004-07:00

The HTC One X rests at the top of HTC’s lineup of Android smartphones. The handset comes rocking a 1.5 GHz dual-core processor, and is the first HTC phone on AT&T running both Ice Cream Sandwich and HTC’s proprietary software layer Sense 4.0.

The One X’s design stands out from the crowd, and the phone’s spec-sheet screams high-end before you even pick it up.

While the One X has a fairly large footprint — 5.3 x 2.75 – the phone is a mere .36” thick and weighs just 4.6 ounces, making it very easily pocketable. The phone has a polycarbonate finish reminiscent of Nokia Lumia 900, giving it a slick feel without making you feel like it might slip out of your hands.

Rounded edges help you grip the handset without having sharp corners cut into your hand when you do.

The phone has a unibody design which looks great, but also means you can’t remove or replace the battery. Non-removable batteries certainly aren’t anything new, but both LTE and the phone’s display are going to be huge sucks on your battery life and may having you wishing for a replacement option.

The One X has a 4.7” 720 x 1280 Super LCD screen which is easily one of the nicest screens I’ve ever seen on a smartphone. The screen displays colors perfectly, and the screen is easy to read from any angle.

The screen is a welcome upgrade from the One S, which has a 4.3-inch qHD AMOLED 960 x 540. Put these two phones side by side, and you’ll definitely notice a difference.

The camera is one of the places the HTC One X really shines. Much like its T-Mobile sibling the One S, the One X has a rapid-fire 8-megapixel camera with a dual-LED flash. Rapid-fire means you can snap a shot as soon as you press the shutter button, and you can hold that button down to take several pictures in succession.There’s a small ring around the camera to prevent it from getting scratched or dirty.

The One X can capture 1080p video at 60fps as well, and allows you to snap shots simultaneously while you’re recording that video.

The One X is running the latest version of Android — Ice Cream Sandwich — as well as the latest version of HTC’s software, HTC Sense. The One X is the second phone from HTC to hit the market in the U.S. running ICS and Sense 4.0.

If you’re not familiar with Sense is a special HTC-specific software — commonly called a skin –that the company puts over Android. Each cellphone manufacturer uses its own skin. For those who are familiar with previous HTC phones, Sense 4.0 is a refreshing update that eliminates some of the things that bogged it down.

Android- (_)

2012-05-06T19:56:00.001-07:00

Android is a mobile operating system initially developed by Android Inc. Android was bought by Google in 2005. Android is based upon a modified version of the Linux kernel. Google and other members of the Open Handset Alliance collaborated on Android's development and release. The Android Open Source Project (AOSP) is tasked with the maintenance and further development of Android. Unit sales for Android OS smartphones ranked first among all smartphone OS handsets sold in the U.S. in the second and third quarters of 2010, with a third quarter market share of 43.6%. Android has a large community of developers writing application programs ("apps") that extend the functionality of the devices. There are currently over 200,000+ apps available for Android and increasing on daily basis.

Version history

Android has seen a number of updates since its original release, each fixing bugs and adding new features. Each version is named, in alphabetical order, after a dessert.

Recent releases

2.3 Gingerbread refined the user interface, improved the soft keyboard and copy/paste features, better native code support (which improves gaming performance), added SIP support (VoIP calls), and added support for Near Field Communication.

3.0 Honeycomb was a tablet-oriented release which supports larger screen devices and introduces many new user interface features, support for multi-core processors, hardware acceleration for graphics and full system encryption. The first device featuring this version, the Motorola Xoom tablet, went on sale in February 2011.

3.1 Honeycomb, released in May 2011, added support for extra input devices, USB host mode for transferring information directly from cameras and other devices, and the Google Movies and Books apps.

3.2 Honeycomb, released in July 2011, added optimization for a broader range of screen sizes, new "zoom-to-fill" screen compatibility mode, loading media files directly from SD card, and an extended screen support API. HuaweiMediaPad is the first 7 inch tablet to use this version

4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, announced on October 19, 2011, brought Honeycomb features to smartphones and added new features including facial recognition unlock, network data usage monitoring and control, unified social networking contacts, photography enhancements, offline email searching, app folders, and information sharing using NFC. Android 4.0.4 is the latest Android version that is available to phones. The source code of Android 4.0.1 was released on November 14, 2011.

Nokia Lumia 900: Best Windows Phone Ever

2012-05-05T22:01:00.001-07:00

There’s a lot riding on the Nokia Lumia 900. While Windows Phones until now have generally been capable if not outstanding devices, the Lumia 900 brings Microsoft‘s mobile platform to a new level. Not only does it add a super-fast LTE connection from AT&T, but it’ll also serve as a flagship device for Nokia and Microsoft, at least until Windows Phone 8devices come later in the year.

Good Windows Phone apps used to be in extremely short supply, but I was pleasantly surprised to see many of the same apps that I use regularly on iOS in the Windows Phone Marketplace.

Still, there’s no Instagram, Pinterest, Flipboard or Hulu Plus. So the Marketplace — recently clocked at 65,000 apps to the iPhone’s 600,000 — certainly has some catching up to do.

But if you’re not already locked into another platform, it’s reassuring to know Windows Phone has the essentials covered.

Next Level Features

Most of those apps look gorgeous on the Lumia 900′s 4.3-inch OLED screen. Indeed, the increasing sizes on today’s smartphones are perfect for Windows Phone’s Metro interface. Its design favors big fonts and splash layouts that stretch to the screen’s edges and beyond.

Windows Phone works best when it’s got lots of real estate to work with.

For example, Foursquare makes the multiple menus in the app feel like one giant poster. My friends, activity and checkins are all partitioned into pretty columns. The iOS and Android versions look claustrophobic by comparison (see below).

The seamless Metro-inspired design isn’t automatic, however, and your mileage will vary from app to app. Most apps from indie developers are pretty blah.

The design occasionally trips itself up. Metro presents its iconography as if it were as familiar as street signs, showing symbols with no labels. It’s pretty easy to pick the wrong function, especially if it’s your first time launching the app.

When navigating, you should proceed with caution, especially in social apps. Shares and check-ins can happen before you know what you’re doing.

Specifications

Pretty design is one thing, but usability is another. Windows Phone begs to be touched, swiped and pinched, even more than iOS or Android. The big layouts practically beg you to see what’s on the next screen.

Here’s where the Lumia 900′s 1.4GHz Qualcomm processor shines. It’s only a single-core design (Microsoft doesn’t yet allow multi-core chips on Windows Phones), but it was more than enough to keep up as I pushed and pulled menus with my fingers. The whole interface feels alive as you touch it.

Besides the great UI, Nokia offers up some special apps to Lumia owners. Probably most useful is Nokia Drive, a free turn-by-turn navigation service that works with Nokia Maps (not Bing Maps, which are also pretty).

Back to the hardware. This is a really well-made phone; even though the screen is 0.8 inches larger than an iPhone’s, it doesn’t feel large in your hand.

That’s partly thanks to the polycarbonate casing, which is smooth but provides an excellent grip. Nokia offers bumpers that can better protect it, but it’s pretty durable. I don’t know why you’d want to cover it up. The camera is 8 megapixels, and to my eye the quality is on par with the iPhone 4S, though it records at “only” 720p resolution.

The Lumia 900′s screen shows off AMOLED’s strengths — bright colors and true blacks that make icons and artwork pop. The screen also uses anti-reflection optics to reduce its reflectance.

The upshot: a screen that’s much easier to see in bright sunlight. You can see just how much in the gallery below.

Finally, there’s that LTE connection. I managed to get download speeds up to 28.4 megabits per second here in the Flatiron district of New York City.

That’s pretty amazing, especially when you consider our office Wi-Fi typically got about 9 Mbps. Puttering along at AT&T’s “4G” HSPA+Speeds, my iPhone 4S maxed out at 1.9 Mbps.

Live tiles have a lot of potential — but few apps use them, and those that do need work.

Nokia’s First LTE Windows Phone in the U.S(4G)- Lumia 900

2012-05-04T19:56:00.001-07:00

Users who are in an area covered by AT&T’s LTE(What is LTE?) network can experience true 4G speeds. If you are outside that area, it falls back on the still speeds HSPA+.

For those that liked the Lumia 800′s design but wanted a bigger screen and front-facing camera, this phone is for you.

The Lumia 900 has a 4.3″ screen with a AMOLED ClearBlack display at 800×480. The screen on the Lumia 800 was one of the nicest I’ve seen — next to the Retina Display on the iPhone 4/4S — so expect this to pop with the blacks and the colors.

In addition to the 8-megapixel camera with Carl Zeiss lens, the Lumia 900 also has a front-facing camera for video chat and self-portraits.

The Lumia 800 is easily one of the best looking and best feeling handsets I’ve had a chance to review. If the Lumia 900 can deliver the goods . Nokia and Windows Phone might be able to make some inroads in the U.S. market.

LTE- Long Term Evolution

2012-05-04T19:54:00.001-07:00

LTE Advanced is a mobile communication standard, formally submitted as a candidate 4G system to ITU-T in late 2009, was approved into ITU, International Telecommunications Union, IMT-Advanced and was finalized by 3GPP in March 2011.It is standardized by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) as a major enhancement of the Long Term Evolution (LTE) standard.

Cube- A Google map game .

2012-05-04T04:25:00.000-07:00

Google Maps, which has been the basis of several games before, was further gamified over the weekend with the release of Cube, a 3D game which challenges players to navigate a marker from one point to another in the fastest possible time.

The game involves a large cube; players have to move a marker placed on the cube from one point to another by tilting it in a similar manner to the classic game Labyrinth. The cube spins when generating new levels, eight in all, and the game features a number of hidden extras such as a traffic map, similar to that which can be found in Google's Maps application.
Google's Cube can be played at playmapscube.com (requires Chrome to run). The game first came to light earlier this year and was initially expected to launch in February 2012. A video exploring the concept can be found on YouTube.