Reviewed: Nokia 700, Symbian Belle

With Nokia's latest Symbian smartphones selling like hot cakes I thought it was high time we reviewed the hottest selling smartphone of the year - the Nokia 700 and tips for it's associated OS, the Symbian Belle.

XBox 360 reaches for the skies

Microsoft is leaving no stone unturned for Xbox 360 as it is on the brink of phasing out with Xbox 720 anticipated to launch next year. They have announced a dashboard update for the Xbox 360 and as the tradition goes for these updates to bring along a new set of features, the update is set to be launched on December 6,2011. Read more about xbox 360 cloud.

How to Speed your way around Symbian Belle

It's somewhat ironic that, having had hierarchical folder for so many years and with iOS and Android just starting to copy the concept, Symbian has now abandoned folders. Well, not quite. The idea of a flat list was to help new users find apps they are looking for. And, to be honest, even as experienced Symbian die-hards, I bet we've all scratched our heads once in a while looking for 'Recorder' or 'Connection manager'.

The first thing to note is how easy it is to toggle between 'Arrange - A to Z' and 'Arrange - as it was'. Tap the 'More' icon (three stacked lines) and you'll see it on the menu. This alone makes it easy to find an application.

Homescreens

This is going to sound radical, but the very first thing you should do is remove almost all the widgets and shortcuts put on the homescreens by default. In fact, delete most of the homescreens provided. Far better to build up homescreens with bits that you find you need rather than fill the homescreens just 'because you can'. You'll see slightly faster device operation, slightly less data use and slightly better battery life if you keep homescreens and widgets down, especially if they're connected widgets that go online.

Multitasking

Not to be overlooked is the built-in Symbian multitasking - present since the beginnings of the OS, of course, but very visual since Symbian^3, with live 'previews' of what each running application is up to. When you need another app and you know it's running, it's often faster to press and hold the main 'home'/Menu key and simply pick from the carousel of running applications.

[Via]

A battery that charges 10x faster and last 10x longer

Scientists at the NorthWestern University in the USA have finally built and tested a prototype battery that has 10x greater battery life and charge 10x faster. If this battery passes FCC and hits the market, it could be an evolutionary change in battery technology.

How the scientists managed to do this is an interesting read as they did a "simple" thing of poking holes in the battery to improve it's life and performance. When they say holes, however, they mean that they drilled 20 nanometer holes in the Lithium-ion batteries. They also removed the sheets of material and insted changed it into clusters so that they can achieve greater lithium ion density.

Read more about this longer life battery here.

Nokia Will Launch Windows 8 Tablet in 2012

In a very brief statement by one of Nokia's executives in France, Nokia has confirmed it'll be shipping a Windows 8 tablet next year. The statement from Paul Amsellem was very specific and to the point, if a bit devoid of detail:

In June 2012, we will have a tablet that runs on Windows 8.

With the proliferation of quad-core tablets, we can probably assume that a system-on-chip solution like the Tegra 3 will be used, offering impressive multitasking prowess, good 3D performance and also potentially excellent battery life.

Both Lenovo and HTC have recently revealed they'll be producing tablets based on the Tegra 3 chipset, in addition to Asus who were the first to announce they would be using Tegra 3 in their heavily anticipated Transformer Prime.

Windows 8 is expected to launch in the middle of 2012, so June seems a fitting time as any. Nokia will likely have received quite early access to Windows 8 thanks to their new relationship with Microsoft, although now the Windows 8 Developer Preview build is out so their competors will also be able to do so.

If you'd like to give Windows 8 a try before it's released next year, you don't need to be a developer to do so. Just download it from the official Microsoft page, choosing an appropriate version for your PC, either 32 bit (x86) or 74 bit (x64). If you're not sure, just choose 32 bit to be safe.

You can install Windows on your computer using the Windows 7 USB install tool to install the file onto a USB drive. Once the tool is ready, just restart your PC and choose to boot from USB (an option typically available in the BIOS, search 'changing boot order' and the name of your PC if you're unsure.

Of course, you'll need a fresh hard drive to do this; don't overwrite your existing Windows install unless you know what you're doing! There are a lot of hurdles available beyond the scope of this blog post, so search for a Windows 8 USB install guide for more details.

That's all for now -- stay tuned for more Windows 8 and Nokia news!

This article was written by William Judd. William writes for Mobile Fun, the UK’s leading online retailer of the accessories for the Razr, including the Motorola Razr car holder, the Motorola Razr cover and the Motorola Razr charger.

Pakuma Akara K1 Backpack

Pakuma
Their logo is derived from the shamen symbol for man. Pakuma bags have quite a story behind them, you can read them here. This Pakuma Akara K1 bag was sent in for review by mobilefun.co.uk, you can find similar cool accessories at their macbook accesories page. Though you can get the Akara K1 in various colour combinations, our sample arrived sporting brown panels and green piping.

Unloaded the bag weighs 1.3kg, and it has an internal volume capacity of 23 litres, measures 34 x 16.5 x 51cm, and can hold most 15 to 17-inch laptops (the compartment's exact dimensions are 30 x 5.1 x 39cm). According to the Pakuma website it will take "all PC and Apple notebooks from 15.4" to 17", but we can't see it fitting a gaming monster along the lines of the Alienware M17xR3. At the bag's front you'll find a further two zippered compartments, marked out in brown to show their size and shape. The top one features an internal pocket to hold your MP3 player. It has some padding at the front but none at the back, so again you have to be careful what you put in the Akara K1's main compartment.

Top 10 ways to accessorize your MacBook

I've been window-shopping the past few days for some smokin' accessories for my mac. After a pretty extensive search I've come up with the following list. Hope this helps you if you've been searching for Macbook Pro accessories as well. I've provided links so that you can get all these products from the same e-shop which would make shipping easier and cheaper if you get more than one.

Note: For Indian readers, I highly recommend gearzap.com. Their shipping to India is extremely fast and I was able to get my products in just over a week.

Cases/Skins

1. Protective Housing

The Macally MBP sleeve is wonderfully built with Faux Leather. It's sufficiently padded and there is further protection inside the case.The inner lining of the case is made from microsuede. Microsuede provides a slight cushioning effect as well as preventing any scratches from appearing on your MBP. I've noticed the microsuede infact gives you a cleansing action, the MBP felt way smooother when I took it out of the case.

2. Stylish Sleeves

A whole lot of Macbook sleeves can be had from here - choose your pick. Obviously my selection might not click for you.

3. Padded Backpack/Rucksack

Even though I think that there's too much marketing talk at the Pakuma site, this bag does show some good value for money. If you've got a 100$ budget then this backpack might do the trick. Read the whole review here. 

4. Henge Docking Station

 No longer deal with cables and clutter. With the Henge Dock, simply connect the relevant cables to your dock and then connect to your Unibody MacBook Pro. The Henge dock allows you to use your MacBook on a larger screen with a standard keyboard and mouse meaning it in essence becomes a traditional desktop computer set up. You are also able to use the Hench dock so the MacBook effectively becomes a home cinema system.

5. Swift Point Mouse

 

If you ever get frustrated by the accuracy and responsiveness of your laptop or MacBook's touchpad, and don't want the bulk of big mouse then get this mouse. Fortunately SwiftPoint have created an award winning mouse which gives you back full control, in an amazing lightweight and compact design.

6. Elecom Node Mouse

If you, like me, hate the puny mouse shown earlier then this is the mouse for you. It did the trick for me =)

The cool looks are cutting edge. It also works with the  same pen like principle that the Swift mouse works.

7. Mac Cables

Stevie had put in a mini-display port on the mca so in order to use it you need these cables. You could get them from the Apple Store but it's way more expensive there.

8. Macbook Stands

Again there's a whole lot of them so you just go ahead and browse them to find the one that suits your situation and lifestyle.

9. Wrist Pad

You need this to prevent the sharp edges of the MacBook Pro from cutting your wrists. If you've got soft or sensitive skin, or work for long hours on the MBP then I really do recommend getting one of these.

10. ...

Well, I haven't found out a 10th accessory that i really like yet ;-D Will let you know if I do !

All the products shown above can be bought from the laptop accessories page - it'll help you save on shipping if you're buying in bulk =)

New MacBook Pro : Utra-thin and 15 whole inches!

The new model is said to be an ultra-thin version similar to the MacBook Air, but with a 15" screen. It still remains to be seen whether this would be branded as a MacBook Air or a MacBook Pro. Read more about  this awesome 15" ultra thin macbook pro.

Reviewed: Altec Lansing M102 Octiv Mini

A lot of mobile phone speaker manufacturers seems to have dumped sophisticating devices and instead have started putting out more minimalistic styled simple devices.

The Altec Lansing M102 Octiv Mini is one such button-less device that is operated by an app-enhanced iPhone 4 or iPod Touch. Take away the iPhone app and the Octiv Mini is a basic iPod speaker. It's not a complete plug-and-play device though, for you have to manually launch the app to make use of some features. But playing music is a straight forward affair.

The volume range is good, and it has a fairly good sound for such a small speaker. Be aware that you have to change the volume on your iPod/mp3 player itself, as the speaker has no controls on it.

The product also ships with a kind of multi-plug - a single adaptor with an interchangeable pin that allows you to use any of the standard pins available without adding any bulk. Perfect for frequent travelers.

Read More here: Review: Altec Lansing M102 Octiv Mini

Nokia N8 to have a successor, comes with optical Zoom

Nokia seems to be mighty confused on what OS it really needs to use. So instead of concentrating on one it's spreading it's legs into 2 boats: Symbian and Windows. Not to mention the occasional case of MeeGo or Maemo. Despite the obvious move toward the Windows Phone 7 OS for all their new devices, the successor Nokia’s flagship model, the N8, will still use the Symbian OS.

It is still unclear which version of Symbian will be used as the latest iteration doesn’t have support for the resolution the new device is rumored to sport.  Other features of this new phone are as follows:

• bigger camera sensor (not sure about resolution),
• optical zoom!
• 3.5” WVGA Clear Black display with Gorilla Glass,
• 1GHz CPU,
• 512MB of RAM

This has got to be one gadget of a phone, the Optical zoom reminds me of the days of the Nokia N93. The N8 successor is scheduled for Q2 2012 release, and may be launched at Mobile World Congress in February.

The Slimmest and Lightest Laptop in the World

Gaming laptops are all the rage these days as they have looks to kill. Compared to the boring designs of other companies like Dell, these have been mostly desktop replacements as they weighed an average of 10 pounds and no less than 2 inches thick. Then again the existence of laptops which are ultra thin and ultra portable cannot be ignored but when it comes to gaming performance these machines misses the mark by a mile. Razer has fabricated a laptop called Blade which they claim to be the World’s  first true gaming laptop. Read more about this cool gaming laptop.

3 new cool gadgets of the week

The  Samsung Galaxy Note is one almighty handset, with it's 5.3" Super AMOLED screen, 8MP camera and 1.4GHz dual core processor.  Surprisingly it's really slim and lightweight too, only weighing 178g and has a handy built-in stylus to help you navigate the handset quicker.  The Note's been claimed to fill the gap between smartphones and tablets, because of it's size, style and speed. The great news is the Galaxy Note is in stock now costing £589.95.

The second handset which is exciting us is the  HTC Sensation XL.  This is one of the new HTC handsets complete with Beats by Dre Audio software and headphones, but it's not just all about the music. The Sensation XL has a massive 1.5GHz processor and 4.7" screen to keep it running super fast and show all images and visuals in bright, vivid colours.  The handset also has an 8MP camera with instant capture, so you never have an excuse to miss a moment.  Again we've got this handset in stock now and it costs £499.95. 

Next up we've received stock of HMDI out cradles for the Samsung Galaxy S2, HTC EVO 3D and HTC Sensation.  These docks allow you to sync and charge your handset, but also have the ability to stream your images and videos straight to your TV!  This means you can show off your photography skills on the big screen all in the knowledge that you're not using up any of your battery, as your phone's charging at the same time.  The docks are al in stock now and cost £24.95 - a bargain for such a multi-functional accessory.

3 Goodies for Nokia Users

First of all you have 5 free Symbian apps waiting for you by The Pundit. These have been selected from around the web and tested to make sure they work. Of course we can't guarantee anything but I hope you get your app without further ado.


Secondly there's a very interesting article here about Nokia. It has got to do with their rubbery history..


And finally we have a review of the latest and best Nokia Symbian Smartphone to be released - the Nokia 700 running Symbian Belle. If you're in the market for Symbian - this is the device that you have got to buy.


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