iPhone going Verizon?

iPhone going Verizon?

Author JoeDigital | 22.02.2009 | Category Consumer Electronics, Mac/Apple

With the AT&T allegedly having a decreasing number of subscribers and problems with coverage, rumor has it that Apple might be considering heading to Verizon for a little pick-me-up.

This rumor, of course, goes around despite the very much existing five-year contract which promises an exclusive deal between Apple’s iPhone and AT&T. This could be a major setback, because the contract has barely entered its third year. On the other hand, it’s very obvious that this “exclusive” contract didn’t stop places like Wal-Mart and Best Buy from having iPhone up for sale in their stores.

Of course, you can’t blame anybody for coming up with such an exciting rumor. Verizon does have an edge over AT&T when it comes to coverage and many complaints about dropped calls really don’t happen that much with the former. Because of this, Verizon patrons are holding on to their seats until they get an official announcement from both Apple and Verizon.

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Samsung OmniaHD

Author JoeDigital | 21.02.2009 | Category Consumer Electronics, Telecommunications

With high resolution technology being the latest in cell phone fashion this year, the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona brought in for display the Samsung OmniaHD. This Samsung model proves its high definition quality with its 360 x 640 pixel resolution all over the phone’s 3.7-inch Full Touch QHD 16 M AMOLED screen.

With its 8 megapixel CMOS + CIF camera, not only can you take pictures with auto-focus, power LED flash, face detection, and smile, blink and panorama shots, the Samsung OmniaHD can also record up to 720p or 24 fps, which isn’t a common thing among cell phones. So that’s already an edge. And of course, it also has Bluetooth and Wi-Fi along with a microSD for external memory.

While the Mobile World Congress is a showcase for European phones, US consumers need not worry, because like all the phones that came out in Barcelona, the Samsung OmniaHD will most likely be out on the US markets pretty soon.

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Pre-Pay Gaining Acceptance

Author JoeDigital | 21.02.2009 | Category Consumer Electronics

While post paid plans for cell phones still remain the most popular among consumers, a recent research a New York Times report shows that the counts for the cheaper alternative of getting pre-paid plans has went up significantly.

According to the report, Pali Research count at least a 13 percent increase last year – something noted by the Times as a three-fold growth compared to the standard post-paid plans.

As to why people are making the switch, the Times got to interview some users and were able to find out that paying $120 per month on a phone isn’t really practical anymore with what’s going on with the present economy. And with an average of $8 for budget in its pre-paid counterpart, switchers might be making savings right there.

Of course, post-paid users might be foregoing certain benefits (i.e. subsidies) by switching to pre-paid, but it’s really a matter of whether or not it’s well within your budget to enjoy such luxuries.

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Considering The Google Gdrive

Author JoeDigital | 20.02.2009 | Category Computers, Innovation, Networking, Technology Viewpoint

If you stepped off the bus earlier this afternoon, and walked directly into a high tech corporate office, you’d be presented with such exciting terms as “cloud computing”, “wi-fi”, and “remote access.” Someone might even have mentioned the still vaporware Google Gdrive.

Gdrive is hyped as unlimited, unhampered data storage. It can be used to store all of your files, including images, video, and music, and can be accessed from any computer, anywhere, anytime. Wow. That is quite an attractive boast, considering that only new part of the concept is the addition of making it perfect for “cloud computing” applications. Online storage has been around for more than 10 years, long before the mobile computing boom we are seeing today was even dreamed of.

And let us take a moment and consider this new phrase “cloud computing.” I distinctly recall, in 1996, watching the innermost working of a network reduced to a set of hubs and spokes on a whiteboard. And then other networks, also in the shape of spoked wheels, were drawn. And then a big fluffy cloud was sketched in around the whole thing, and the word INTERNET was boldy written underneath.

The Internet is the cloud of cloud computing. The first cloud computing tools put into widespread use were web browsers, and by the year 2000, countless applications from file storage to online calculators and utilities were being used by people all over the world. This was cloud computing, and it hasn’t changed in many ways, even today. It has become better able to process data for you, reducing CPU intensive applications, or completely eliminating the need to install a program on your computer, because it can be opearted just as efficiently, and across a greater number of computer platforms, by keeping the program based on an Internet server.

The Google Gdrive is likely to be a fantastic addition to Google’s suite of productivity applications based in the cloud, but it is simply an old idea being presented in a new way. It is far less impressive than the productivity suite of Google Docs, but is likely to receive great acclaim becuase it is managed by the increasingly powerful folks at Google.

Technorati Tags: google, gdrive, cloud computing

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Vegas on the hunt for iPhone users

Author JoeDigital | 20.02.2009 | Category Consumer Electronics, Technology

Sorry to those iPhone users who don’t know anything about the latest issue, but you guys are going to have to be careful when using them around casinos especially when you’re playing. This is because Vegas has already been informed of an iPhone application that is going around that helps players count cards in blackjack games.

This $1.99 Blackjack Counter is a very cheap piece of technology that would help out the old-age technique in winning this particular card game. The software is even designed to function discretely so as to use subtle means of alerting the player of when to make big bets by merely vibrating after calculating based on the present cards inputted by the player. Unfortunately, this practice, even done manually, has been frowned upon by gambling leaders everywhere. More so, the use of such technique with the help of a computer is downright dirty.

MP3 players and iPod users better watch out too, because Vegas is speculating that this kind of technology can be used there as well. Anyway, most casinos strictly prohibit the use of mobile gadgets while inside their establishment way before this controversy.

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Micro USB becomes charger standard

Author JoeDigital | 19.02.2009 | Category Consumer Electronics, Gadgets, Telecommunications

In line with the European Union’s pursuit of convincing cell phone manufacturers to come up with a universal standard for chargers on different handsets, over 17 companies have already joined in and agreed to adopt such standard.

This particularly refers to the micro USB format. It’s a smaller version of the USB connector and it has been used by already quite a lot of present handsets, not just exclusive to cell phones.

The plan is to make sure that “majority of all new mobile phone models” are compatible with the Micro USB connector by the opening of the year 2012. Furthermore, the other goal specified was that these chargers are meant to use only half power while on standby.

This kind of standard will definitely have its significant perks. There will be costs cut on all sides when cell phones will no longer have to be sold in bundle with their exclusive chargers, which is predicted to reduce charger productions by 50%.

Of course, the world doesn’t only have 17 cell phone companies. There are some big companies that still hold on to their own formats. Hopefully, they will join the bandwagon in due time.

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Verizon’s $5 Landline Offer

Author JoeDigital | 19.02.2009 | Category Technology Viewpoint, Telecommunications

Interested in getting a landline service that will only cost you $5 a month? How about a phone service that will only cost $10 a month? Well, Verizon is actually coming up with the idea as we speak. The folks over there say that since cell phones have been coming around, people don’t really mind the telephone anymore, so they thought of a way to keep these things from gathering dust.

The only hitch with this $5 monthly plan is that they take out a very important element in using landline phones – outgoing calls. Yes, the $5 plan only lets you dial 911 or Verizon customer service. Then again, you can also consider the $10 monthly plan which only allows local outgoing calls.

Of course, even Verizon admits that they’re still looking into the idea, so the deals are very much open to scrutiny. But you know, landlines do come in handy in case of emergencies, because they are less likely to conk out like cell phones would when you need them the most.

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HTC’s Magic: Another Android Phone

Author JoeDigital | 18.02.2009 | Category Consumer Electronics, Telecommunications

See that neat looking white gadget? That’s basically the second Google Android-powered phone since the release of T-Mobile’s G1. The difference is that this one boasts itself as a slimmer and perhaps more advanced class to the former.

For one thing, the HTC’s Magic no longer has the slide out keypad that makes the G1 so bulky. Instead, the Magic features a touch screen keypad that lets users operate the phone straight from the screen. Aside from the 3.2 inch touch screen, this android phone also has a camera with 3.2 megapixels, as well as 3G, Wi-Fi, and GPS access.

Of course, this gadget hosts a wide range of programs exclusive to phone that are Google OS-powered. This includes YouTube, Google Talk, Google Maps, and the basic Gmail as well as other Google applications.

This interesting little gadget has already revealed itself to the eyes of Barcelona just recently. While there is no express announcement that this will storm the US anytime soon, word on the street says it’ll probably be in the markets in a few months.

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Laser Printers: A Health Hazard?

Author JoeDigital | 18.02.2009 | Category Computers, Science

While some types of older printers were said to have harmful effects to one’s health, this new surprising finding from an Australian research group on laser printers showed that even top of the line printers can produce harmful toxic elements as well. The study basically showed that these printers produced materials as harmful as cigarette smoke. This alarmed many printer companies as much as it got the attention of consumers, and reactions and denials were all over the place.

And now those same researchers are back with new findings. After testing it on two types of laser printers – one that produces little particulate matter and another that makes 1000 times as much – the researchers pointed out that the combined activity of the toner, lubricating oil, paper, and other parts of the printer reacts at a certain temperature and produces harmful emissions into the air.

However, without any further testing on the matter laser printers cannot be directly blamed with this kind of “harmful effect”. Inkjet printers in general, however, remain to be safe, as this study was only for laser printers.

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Palm Pre at your Fingertips

Author JoeDigital | 17.02.2009 | Category Consumer Electronics, Telecommunications

Nobody has said anything about when the Palm Pre Smartphone is coming out yet, but it definitely has people waiting for the announcement. Surely, the classic Palm OS Models should be replaced with something more contemporary and new for the modern day user, and the Palm Pre might just be the thing.

At 3.9 inches long, 2.3 inches wide, and 0.67 inch thick, the Palm Pre is a tad smaller than the iPhone (but a little thicker, though). It weighs around 4.8 ounces. This, however, does not sacrifice the Palm Pre’s sharp LCD screen which is relatively wide and vivid for its size.

Performance isn’t absent in this gadget as well. It reacts quickly to clicks and commands and features a wide variety of cool stuff like being able to “throw away” an application you’re done with by just shoving it to the side of the screen with your stylus.

With all these great things to look forward to, our next question is: when is it coming out?

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