HTC ChaCha - Can Facebook, But Can It Dance

The Facebook orientated ChaCha handset from HTC. With it's dedicated Facebook button and unique design, but is it enough?

Nokia E7 - Wasted Efforts

Reviewing the latest full QWERTY slider handset from Nokia, boasting top end features, aimed at the top end professional.

Three MiFi V2 - Better In Every Way title

Reviewing Three's 2nd generation MiFi unit, which comes with many new improvements and features including hardware, software and performance improvements

Nokia N900 - Work In Progress

Taking a look at the eagerly anticipated Nokia N900 running on Maemo, a handset aimed at the enthusiast crowd.

Have No Fear, The Hero Is Here

Getting acquainted with the HTC Hero Android phone. It boasts a sleek design, large gorgeous screen and smooth HTC Sense

23 Aug 2010

Sym4Square - Another Option To Check In With

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Whilst there is still no Official app from Foursquare themselves for Symbian there are now at least three different apps which use the Foursquare API to enable check-ins on Symbian handsets. Socially and Gravity are two of those three and more recently Sym4Square, which looks a lot like the Official versions for the iPhone, Android and WebOS.

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Sym4Square allows to do all the basic things. Checking in, viewing your history, friends' history, friends status, your mayor ships and the number of badges. Whilst on the whole the app itself is very easy to use there are a few functions missing. Ability to search and add venues and friends seem to be the major ones. The application itself has been in close beta previously, but is now available signed for the public. It's still a beta mind.
Devices Supported (Symbian S60 V5)
  • Nokia: 5230, 5233, 5235, 5530, 5800, C6, N97, N97 Mini, X6, N8
  • Samsung: GT i8910 Omnia
  • Sony-Ericsson: U1 Satio, U5 Vivaz, U8 Kanna



Whilst we now have a few options to check in with. The questions still remain; why aren't there many official apps for services on Symbian. Is it a US thing or is it a more larger issue?

9 Aug 2010

Nokia 5800XM Hits v51 Firmware

5800xm v51 firmware

Nokia have released an update for the 5800XM handset. The latest version bumps the firmware revision to v51. This includes several improvements in performance, bug fixes and a few enhancements to make a little more easier.

According to Tube5800 the changes include:
Official Changelog:
- Improved Mail for Exchange
- Improved video calls
- Improved browser
- Performance improvements

Other improvements noticed:
- MusicPlayer refreshing is very fast.
- Browser 7.X
- Latest OVI store
- Latest OVI Music
- Latest OVI contacts
- Vibration levels in order & vibration is more clear!
- RDS is working again!
- Kinetics slightly improved
I haven't played around with the handset to notice anything myself quite yet, but will be sure to Tweet the changes once I notice them.

To check if the update is available (OTA it seems) you just need to enter *#0000# into the dialling screen and hit "menu" > "check for updates". This should notify of an update if available and apply to handset.
Whilst the 5800XM does have UDP (User Data Preservation) be sure to back up prior, just in case.

Note: Operator branded handsets may not have the update available.

via [AAS]

4 Aug 2010

Nokia N95 vs X6 - 5MP Shootout

As promised from my earlier post, here is the results of the camera shoot-out between these 5 Mega pixel camera siblings. There's a few years between the two, in technology terms they're pretty far apart. But as both have similar spec cameras it was only natural to pit them both against each other. As after the that, the similarities end between them.
My trusty old Nokia N95 is still my camera for whenever I need to take decent images, see the X6 photo gallery for example. There are some stunning shots there, great detail, colour balance and exposure. So which is the better handset? The evidence in my eyes is clear to see, although the difference isn't that great. A little bit of photoshop would even them up if needed. I haven't touched these pictures. They were sll taken with the same settings shot for shot.

Which do you think is the winner?

N95

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X6

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Conspiracy For Good - Action 3

Rendezvous at the Truman Brewery Car Park. Look for the Ice Cream van with the logo.
Rendezvous

Upon arriving and checking in, I was handed a bag full of kit to help me throughout the day; Pen and Pad, T-Shirt, Special Kit bag which contained Binoculars, a bottle of water and Compass. Instructions were to head over to the building nearby and get to the top floor. This was the Brick Lane HQ were we would be briefed. We were told that Blackwell Briggs had agreed to a Skype conference call. The room was littered with evidence and Blackwell Briggs propaganda everywhere.

Brick Lane HQBrick Lane HQ

During the briefing we found out we had obtained the contracts Blackwell Briggs needed to complete the deal in Zambia for oil exploration and digging, the very same spot where Nadirah was hoping to create a school for the local children. But in getting these documents we had lost the whereabouts of David Nsufo, who had played a crucial part up to this in obtaining evidence and working for the cause.

Briefing at HQ

During the Skype call, Sir Ian Briggs, CEO of Blackwell Briggs brought upon us a huge surprise - Anne Marie had been captured! She is a key member of the Conspiracy For Good movement. We were offered a trade to exchange the contracts for Ann Marie. This was not going to be an easy choice. We had to think of a plan how to get her back, but before that we as a group needed to determine whether it was worth it. There were man opinions offered and in the end we decided that we would trade the contracts for Ann Marie but keep one sheet of the documents with us. If Blackwell Briggs found out it was missing Ann Marie could be in danger, in which case we would give it back for her safety.
The time and place had been dictated by Blackwell Briggs, time wasn't on our side.

The exchange went pretty smoothly, Anne Marie was unharmed physically, but the mental repercussions may be more severe. We smuggled her into the Safe House, the Orange jumpsuit didn't help at all. Where she would give us more information about had happened and where David Nsufo might be.

31072010239Ann MarieThe Trade, Julien & NadirahThe Trade

We had evidence that Blackwell Briggs were monitoring everyone via the vast CCTV network London had in place. The guys had found a way to hack these camera feeds using a Nokia X6, a specially designed app and QR codes to enable us to find out what had happened to David Nsufo. We split into teams, grabbed the locations of the CCTV cameras and headed out to hack them for any clues to where David Nsufo might be. As all the groups reported back, it was clear David Nsufo was being chased and had gone into hiding at Cullum Street, right near Leadenhall Market. One group found evidence that someone had been erasing video from one of the CCTV cameras. This led to us finding a deleted file on the internal servers. This file could be a massive clue to what had happened. But it was encrypted and needed Top clearance access. We had to crack it somehow.

The teams brainstormed on what the password could be, we went through many possible solutions - all of which were wrong. Until one person came up with the answer! We were in! The file contained a video file from one of the CCTV cameras where David Nsufo was last spotted. The scenes afterwards were horrifying, David Nsufo was murdered in cold blood. Anne Marie, Nadirah and the rest of the team were clearly shocked. We had a moments silence for David Nsufo and his courage for fighting for what he believed in and risking his life, and in the end giving his life to the cause. We shall prevail! We must prevail.

After 3 weeks of action, we finally had solid evidence against Blackwell Briggs. They were cold blooded murderers and with the page from the contract they will not be able to proceed forward with their plans in Zambia. We had made significant progress. Now it was time to relax and enjoy a party with my team mates: @jfourgeaud @jonchoo @hardij @rafeblandford held in the name of David Nsufo and what he gave for the cause.

CFG
I am not a memberTim Kring

Next weekend we would commence our assault on the Blackwell Briggs Expo to finally try and put an end to this injustice. This greedy, heartless company. If you want to join us you should head over to the Conspiracy For Good website and register.

2 Aug 2010

Nokia X6 Photo Gallery

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I received the Nokia X6 as part of the ConspiracyForGood movement. I've had the chance to play around with it and get used to the phone itself. Have finally got a chance to get some pictures of this gorgeous little device. It's a really sexy little device. I'm a sucker for the glossy piano black finish as I can testy with my PS3 phat, Xbox 360 slim, Samsung LCD TV and monitor - all of those are finished in glossy piano black! As was the Nokia 5800xm I had modelling besides the X6.

The pictures were taken with my trusty old Nokia N95, which has a 5 Megapixel camera just like the X6 does. Comparison shots have already been made. Stay tuned for that later, for now enjoy the pictures of the two sibling touch phones.



Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.