Samsung Gem Headed to Unknown CDMA Carrier

Samsung recently published some information on its web site about a previously unannounced handset, the SCH-i100 Gem. This bar-style Android device runs 2.1 Eclair has has a 3.2-inch touch display with WQVGA resolution and scratch/smudge protection. It supports 850/1900MHz CDMA spectrum and also includes GPS, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. According to Samsung's site, the Gem has an 800MHz processor, a 3.2 megapixel camera, speakerphone, and support for microSD cards up to 16GB. The Gem has Swype software on board for easier typing on the touch screen and it includes Samsung's Social Hub social networking software. Pricing and availability for the Gem weren't provided, nor was a carrier named for the device.

Experts debunk new claims of Android source code infringement

Florian Mueller, founder of the NoSoftwarePatents campaign, presented new evidence of copyright infringement in Android’s source code. His accusation focused on two sets of files found in separate locations within the Android source code tree. The first set is comprised of seven files (PolicyNodeImpl.java, AclEntryImpl.java, AclImpl.java, GroupImpl.java, OwnerImpl.java, PermissionImpl.java, and PrincipalImpl.java) that are included in the unit test area and are used internally to test software before shipping. These files are used for debugging and testing code only and are not distributed on Android handsets.

As ED Burnette  points out these files are openly published by Sun on its website for use by developers. The presence of these unit test files would not a sign of copyright infringement, except that somewhere along the way these files were modified by an Android or Harmony developer. Rather than use the original Sun files, the files were decompiled and rebuilt. They were also tagged with an Apache license, which, Burnette points out, may have been done by mistake using an automated script.

Though thee files were decompiled and contained an Apache license, it appears as if this may have been a mistake on Google’s part. According to Burnette, Google only needs to replace the files with the original Sun files or remove them entirely since they do not ship with Android. An update to the ZDNet post confirms that Google did removes these files prior to Mueller’s accusatory post. One of these files was removed on October 30, 2010 and the remaining files were deleted on January 14, 2011 with the note “Remove pointless tests.”

The other set of 37 files were much more obscure. They were found in a zip file provided by SONiVOX, formerly known as Sonic, that was published in the AOSP code repository back in 2008. SONiVOX develops the EAS (Embedded Audio Synthesis) framework used by Android handsets. This MMAPI.zip was included in a directory named “misc” and contained the MMAPI wrapper for EAS and tools for testing this code.

Some of these files contain code from Sun that can be downloaded freely but not redistributed. SONiVOX’s documentation clearly states which sections cannot be redistributed, but, for some unknown reason, these files accidentally landed in the AOSP. Similar to the unit test files above, this MMAPI wrapper is not used by Android in any way. According to Arc Technica , it appears that these files were mistakenly uploaded to AOSP by a third-party and are not evidence that Google copied source code from Sun.

In the end, these files should have not been included in Google’s source code repository but it is hardly a clear cut case of copyright infringement on Google’s part. Despite Mueller’s assertions to the contrary, these findings are also not evidence that Google is using stolen code on its Froyo and Gingerbread-powered Android handsets.

Sony Ericsson Working on Windows Phone for 2011

 Following-up on saying that they have an open mind about windows phones, rumour has it Sony Ericsson has one in the works for 2011. Google seems to have wooed pretty much every smartphone manufacturer (including Sony Ericsson) with the Android OS, but Microsoft has been equally successful at garnering initial interest for Windows Phone 7, if not any long-term commitments. SE has said that they were open to the possibility of working with Microsoft again, though they they were holding off on riding the initial wave, which strikes me as a good idea considering how LG has reacted to their results with platform

The current Xperia lineup, including the Arc and the upcoming Vivaz 2, mini pro, and play, are all Android handsets, but the family started off with Windows Mobile, and should Sony Ericsson churn out a Windows phone at some point, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see it crammed in with the Android crowd. By the time Sony Ericsson hypothetically gets around to making one, I wonder if Microsoft will have enabled a deeper level of manufacturer customizations. Considering their joyride with TimeScape, customizing the experience seems high on Sony Ericsson’s priority list, and probably a prerequisite for getting seriously involved with Windows phone.

Bump Technologies Raises $16 Million

 Bump Technologies, which makes an app that allows people to share contact details, photos and money by touching their phones together, recently raised $16.5 million in venture capital to fund its ongoing expansion and port its technology beyond social-networking applications.

The Mountain View, Calif.-based company's app was conceived to simplify exchanging contact information, but has proven even more popular as a way to share photos and music. Each day, users now share about 40,000 contacts and nearly a million photos. People can also friend each other on Facebook, compare contact lists to find mutual friends, and schedule appointments on one another's calendars.

The app works by sensing a "bump" with the phone's accelerometers and comparing the location and timing of the bump to determine which two users are trying to connect. The phones then exchange content through Bump's servers.

IPhone owners make up the bulk of Bump's 7 million active users, but an Android app is also available with a reduced feature set. The company intends to bring it to parity with the Apple version soon.

"It's a proximity-based social network, for people and things you're actually physically interacting with," said David Lieb, co-founder of the company.

Despite the cash infusion, Bump remains focused on building its user base rather than finding profits. But going forward, the company could make money by licensing its technology -- PayPal uses it for a person-to-person payment app -- or from merchants interested in giving users location-relevant information or coupons. Bump's founders have said they've been approached by music labels and bands who want to use the service to communicate with fans at concerts.

With a wider range of development made possible by its recent cash influx, Bump's technology could be coming to more mobile devices in unexpected ways.

Nokia N8 Review

What you’ll love about the Nokia N8

For camera and video enthusiasts, as well as Nokia fanboys, the Nokia N8 is an outstanding piece of kit. The following is just a small list of what you can expect to find on Nokia’s latest and greatest:

1-Take professional quality photos with the best camera of any phone – ever!

2-12 megapixel camera, xenon flash, auto-focus, Carl Zeiss optics, mechanical shutter, and an unrivalled amount of settings let you take photos that are better than your average digital camera

3-Shoot HD videos through the same 12 megapixel camera

4-Imagine capturing video of your kid’s first school play, or just a night on the town, in glorious widescreen 720p HD that looks flawless on your HDTV – just by pointing your N8 at the scene and pressing record.

5-Your videos are also recorded with superb sound quality thanks to the N8′s ability to tune out wind noise and control recording levels in harsh audio environments

6-And don’t worry about capturing your mates’ shenanigans in a dark club – the N8 has settings for low light, white balance an dcolour tone, ensuring you capture the best video wherever you are

7-Secondary front-facing camera lets you make video calls

8-Playback true HD-quality films on an HDTV at 720p resolution, thanks to the N8′s huge memory (16GB internal + up to 32GB from a MicroSD card) and its HDMI output

9-Listen to your movies in superb Dolby 5.1 surround sound

10-Watch WebTV or YouTube videos on the N8′s stunning 3.5″ touchscreen, which, with its 16 million colours and use of Nokia’s brand new Clear Black Display technology, shows deeper blacks and greater contrast than any other phone on the market

11-Listen to your tunes in style with the Ovi Music player, Ovi Music Unlimited service, and excellent quality sound

12-Superb gaming phone thanks to its built-in graphics processor.

In a word

The N8 is a valiant effort from Nokia and definitely its best high-end smartphone to date. However, Symbian^3 is a big letdown and, while the N8 will satisfy multimedia and Nokia fans, it could struggle to attract business users against competition from the Blackberry, Iphone, and to a lesser extent, Android devices.

Specifications

Dimensions

Size: 113.5 x 59 x 12.9 mm

Weight (with battery): 135 g

Display and user interface

Screen size: 3.5"

Resolution: 16:9 nHD (640 x 360 pixels) AMOLED

16.7 million colours

Capacitive touch screen

Colours

·  Anodized aluminium casing, available in:

Silver white   ,    Dark grey  ,  Orange   ,    Blue    ,    Green

Colour availability varies by country

Camera

12 megapixel camera with Carl Zeiss optics

Large 1/1.83" optical format image sensor

Fullscreen 16:9 viewfinder with easy-to-use touchscreen parameters

Xenon flash with automatic red-eye removal

Data Network

GPRS/EDGE class B, multislot class 33

HSDPA Cat9, maximum speed up to 10.2 Mbps, HSUPA Cat5 2.0 Mbps

WLAN IEEE802.11 b/g/n

TCP/IP support

Memory

Internal memory: 16 GB

MicroSD memory card slot, hot swappable, up to 32 GB

Software platform & user interface

Symbian ^3 for Nokia

Java MIDP 2.1

Qt 4.6.2, Web Runtime 7.2

 HTML 4.1

Browsing and internet

Full web browsing of real web pages

Web browsing with touch control

Supported markup languages: HTML, XHTML MP, WML, CSS

Music features

Flick scroll to browse the albums in your music collection

Audio codecs: .MP3, WMA, AAC, eAAC, eAAC+, AMR-NB, AMR-WB, E-AC-3, AC-3

Bit rate up tp 320 kbps

DRM support WM DRM, OMA DRM 2.0

Nokia N900 Review

Design and construction

A handset this size could've only done with pure minimalist styling and in fact we find the N900 quite likeable. The sleek plastic at the back and the glossy fro nt certainly combine nicely and the simplified design (a bit too conservative as it might be) is pretty much what we'd expect in a workhorse like the N900.

The Nokia E71 has certainly spoiled quite a lot of users by making a point that great business handsets don't necessarily have to be fat bricks. But we are talking a completely different class and form factor here.

The sleek glossy front does get messy with use - fingerprints and all - but the rest of the handset is completely immune to those. We are quite fond of the particular type of plastic Nokia used on the handset (and other recent Nseries devices too - N97, N97 mini, N86 8MP) and we are not too bitter about the N900 having no metal on its body.

Web Browsing

The Nokia N900 uses the Maemo web browser, which is built with technology from Mozilla, the foundation behind Firefox. You can find more information about it from Maemo or Nokia, but there are a few things that I would like to point out:

Flash support: The N900′s Maemo Browser is the first mobile browser that I have tried that has Flash 9.4 support. Yes, it means that you can go to Vimeo, Hulu or Youtube (for desktops) and it works… but… video playback in a window is significantly slower than on a desktop machine, so although Flash support is there, the actual experience isn’t (yet). There are good news: in full-screen mode, Youtube videos run fast enough to be enjoyable. At the moment, that’s not the case for Hulu or Vimeo unfortunately

Hover mode: Some websites (especially Flash sites) do require a mouse cursor to hover above a user interface item. That thwarts many mobile browsers, but not this one.

Web apps: Google Docs and Google Wave work too, although sometimes very slowly. It is fair to assume that most web services and websites will work without any issues, in fact I have not found one site that was not fully functional, but complex sites (heavy use of Flash or Ajax) will often be too slow to use on the N900. Overall, the web experience is excellent, and it’s great that most sites don’t even need zooming, if you have sharp eyes.

Mapping: This Nokia N900 is loaded with Ovi Maps 1.0, which is quite a step down from Ovi Maps 3.0 as you can imagine. I have not found a way to download maps and use maps in “offline mode” to avoid map downloads (one of the best features of Nokia Maps to save $$$ while traveling abroad). There’s no Google Maps apps on the N900 (yet) so “street view” is another feature that I sometime miss. Google Maps also has much better coverage for places like Tokyo, Japan. In a pinch that might be very handy. Ovi Maps 1.0 is “ok” to get by, but I can’t wait to see something more robust.

Display

·      3.5 inch touch-sensitive widescreen display

·      800 × 480 pixel resolution

Web browsing

·      Maemo browser powered by Mozilla technology

·      Adobe Flash™ 9.4 support

·      Full screen browsing

Camera

·      5 megapixel camera (2584 × 1938 pixels)

·      CMOS sensor, Carl Zeiss optics, Tessar lens

·      3 × digital zoom

·      Autofocus with assist light and two-stage capture key

·      Dual LED flash

·      Full-screen viewfinder

·      TV out (PAL/NTSC) with Nokia Video Connectivity Cable (CA-75U, included in box) or WLAN/UPnP

Music and audio playback

·      Maemo media player

·      Music playback file formats: .wav, .mp3, .AAC, .eAAC, .wma, .m4a

·      Built-in FM transmitter

·      Ring tones: .wav, .mp3, .AAC, .eAAC, .wma, .m4a

·      FR, EFR, WCDMA, and GSM AMR

GPS

· Integrated GPS, Assisted-GPS, and Cell-based receivers

· Pre-loaded Ovi Maps application

· Automatic geotagging

Mass memory

· 32 GB internal storage

· Store up to 7000 MP3 songs or 40 hours of high-quality video

· Up to 16 GB of additional storage with an external microSD card

Size and weight

     Dimensions:

110.9 × 59.8 × 18 (19.55 at thickest part) mm

      Weight:

Approx 181g

Nokia C5,03 Review

Design:

The Nokia C5-03 is light on your pocket. And we mean it light as light in money, and light as 93-gram light in weight, which puts it somewhere in the top of our list of flyweight smartphones. The variety of looks comes bundled witheco-friendly materials   80 per cent of the body is recyclable, while half of the packaging is made from recyclable materials.

 The phone comes in a variety of color combinations with black or white choices for the body, which can be then paired with different colors for the bottom part.

Music

Nokia C5-03 offers great music quality as it is loaded with a high class music player with support for all the possible audio & video formats viz. 3GPP formats (H.263), H.264/AVC, MPEG-4, WMV. The player has features as music recognition, music playback, preset equalizer and album art cover. It also has an in-built stereo FM radio with RDS and Bluetooth stereo. Output is via the familiar 3.5mm headset that is common on Nokia phones. Nokia Ovi Music and Nokia Ovi store helps one to keep the phone updated with music and other latest contents.

 

Camera

Nokia C5-03 has main integrated 5-megapixel camera with 4x zoom, flash, full focus, full screen viewfinder, geotagging, self timer, sequence mode and 2592X1944 pixels resolution. There is provision for video playing & recording at 720p@15fps.

Specifications

Dimensions

·  Size: 105.8 x 51 x 13.8 mm

·  Weight (with battery): 93 g

·  Volume: 65 cc

Display and user interface

·  Screen size: 3.2"

·  Resolution: 640 x 360 (nHD)

·  Up to 16 million colours

·  Resistive touch screen display

Camera

·  5 megapixel camera

·  Zoom up to 4x (digital)

              Fullscreen viewfinder

Data network

·  GPRS/EDGE class B, multislot class 32, maximum speed 296 kpbs downlink/177.6 kbps uplink

·  HSDPA category 9, maximum speed up to 10.2 Mbps

·  HSUPA category 5, maximum speed up to 2 Mbps

Memory

·  Internal memory: 40 MB

·  MicroSD memory card slot, hot swappable, up to 16 GB

GPS and navigation

·  Integrated A-GPS receiver

·  Integrated Digital Compass

·  Ovi Maps 3.0 pre-installed

·  Ovi Maps with free lifetime navigation licence