Archives for December 2009

HTC Hero 2.1 Firmware Mentions Many Android Phones

Hero-Android-2-1If you remember the last few days you will have seen information revealed about a Hero ROM that leaked which turned out to be Android 2.1. Of course the firmware was quickly investigated and run on a phone to see what it was all about with a version hitting XDA Developers that can be downloaded now to your phone and tested.

After more research was done it has been revealed that a number of phone code names have been included in the firmware that shows a total of 19 Android phone’s could be coming out soon. Details of the phone names after the jump. [Read more…]

Google Create a Public DNS

google_logo_lgGoogle [GOOG] are on a quest to speed up the internet. Just recently they mentioned a new protocol called SPDY they have created that aims to speed up the way browsers get the data needed to render web pages by compressing headers and other functions such as passing more data through at a time. Now they have announced that they have opened a public DNS server that aims to resolve domain names quicker, thus speeding up your internet browsing.

When you enter a domain name such as www.gadgetvenue.com, that name needs to be translated to a number (IP address) that the server is assigned and can be contacted by. It can be thought of as a phone book for the internet. Google have created a DNS server that helps to speed up these lookups by using a number of methods such as provisioning servers where there is a need, prevention of DDoS attacks (that can slow DNS resolution down), load balancing and prefetching of DNS data and storing that data in a cache. [Read more…]

Layar 3.0 brings more Layers to Augmented Reality

abbey-road-realityAugmented Reality is a way of overlaying information on a computer screen on top of real time images. A company in Amsterdam have just released the latest version of Layar called Layar 3.0 that ads more data on to real-world images giving a unique experience when using the software.

The software has already been released for Android 1.5 and 1.6 users with a version compatible with 2.0 coming soon. Also, the iPhone version has been created but is just awaiting approval from Apple which as soon as it gets clearance it will be available for download. [Read more…]

Motorola Sholes Tablet Spotted

leak_motorola_sholes_tabletThe Motorola Sholes Tablet has been spotted. The new tablet based device runs Android 2.0 we expect although it could even possibly run Android 2.1 at the time of launch.

Technical specs show it to have a 550MHz processor that is found in the DROID along with a 3.7 inch touchscreen that has an 800 x 480 resolution.

Other features on the Sholes (codename) tablet include a HDMI output port allowing you to hook it up to HDTV’s along with a 3.5mm headphone jack. The camera is capable of capturing images at 8 megapixels and the flash is xenon based. [Read more…]

Acer to Launch Google Chrome OS Netbook in 2010

acer-aspire-oneDigiTimes are reporting that Acer expect to be the first company to produce a Google Chrome OS netbook with the company expecting them to start shipping the new netbook in the second half of 2010. Acer have been working on the new netbook since earlier this year according to DigiTimes sources.

JT Wang, Acer’s chairman, expects that the netbook will be the first of any Chrome OS netbooks to ship. [Read more…]

iPhone and Symbian S60 get Video Calls with Fring

fring-iPhone-video-callsFring is a free application available for a number of phones including the iPhone and has been available for quite a while now. Fring has now received an update that allows the iPhone and S60 phones to make free video calls over wi-fi

Although a step in the right direction, there is a problem as the iPhone only has a rear facing camera, meaning that the person who you are having a video call with wont be able to see you. If you have an S60 phone with a forward facing camera then 2 way video calls are possible. [Read more…]

Boba Fett Potato Head – Spuda Fett

Spuda-FettIf you are looking for a cool Christmas present stocking filler for someone this month then check out Spuda Fett. Spuda Fett is designed after the famous Star Wars Boba Fett character.

The Spuda Fett Potato Head character ads to a a few other Star Wars potato head characters such as Artoo Potatoo, Darth Tater, Princess Tater and several more. [Read more…]

Best Netbooks Under $350 with Windows 7

win7-netbooksAmazon have created a list of the best netbooks costing under $350 that run the new Windows 7 OS. A number of them have received a discount to bring them under the $350 bracket which means you are getting a higher priced netbook for a better price.

Netbooks included in the offer include the always favourite ASUS Eee 1005HA, along with another top seller, the Acer Aspire One as well as many others such as Dell, HP, Gateway to name a few (full list can be found here). [Read more…]

AT&T add Voicemail to Text for $9.99/Month

att_voicemail_to_textAT&T have announced that they are now offering a voicemail to text service that is capable of converting your voicemails to either text messages or emails (or both). The new service costs $9.99 a month and allows you to save messages, forward messages as text or email and gives you more ways to reply to the sender of the message.

It will be interesting to hear reports of how the service works and what runs in the background at AT&T to convert voice to text and how it will stack up against other options available. [Read more…]

Google to offer Pay TV on YouTube

youtube_1080pGoogle [GOOG] is looking in to a pay TV system on their YouTube site that will allow users to pay to watch episodes of premium content. The service is said to be taking on the iTunes service.

The cost per episode is rumoured to be $1.99 which would be the same was what Apple charges iTunes users although in the early stages it seems that Google and YouTube will be offering a lot less. The reason being that if you download from iTunes the episode can be shared among a number of Apple devices that includes iPod’s, iPhones as well as Apple TV and your Mac. [Read more…]

HTC Touch.B Surfaces with Specs – Uses Brewmp OS

HTC-touchBSome pictures of a new phone from HTC have been revealed which show it being called the HTC Touch.B. Previously it has been mentioned as the HTC Rome.

It was expected that the Touch.B would run the Android 2.X operating system although MobileFrance have said other wise showing that it actually runs a QualComm platform called brewmp. [Read more…]

LEGO Wallets

LEGO-WalletsThese LEGO Wallets are designed to give you something different to store your money in this Christmas. Each wallet is handmade and comes supplied with a extra LEGO bricks allowing you to change the colour and design of the wallet.

The wallets are made by a company called ColorByNumbers and a number of different designs are available which are built from various LEGO bricks and base plates. [Read more…]