Google Mobile Image Search improved with Speed and new Design

April 29, 2010 by Leave a Comment

Google [GOOG] has made an update to the mobile image search feature on devices such as the iPhone running OS 3.0 and above and Android 2.1 devices. The new image search functions now run quicker and are easier to use than previously.

The new system allows for 16 thumbnails to be displayed on a single page in either portrait or landscape mode. When clicking a thumbnail of an image the thumbnail is then loaded on an individual page where you can scroll through thumbs by swiping left and right across the screen. Information about the image including the origin URL are included as well as buttons to take you back to the results, or to load a larger image if available. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Tech News

PadRacer for iPad uses iPhone for Controls

April 29, 2010 by 2 Comments

Yesterday we wrote about Chopper 2 that used a bluetooth connection between the iPad and the iPhone allowing the iPhone to be used as a controller. That particular game wont be launched for a couple of months.

But, there is another game already released called PadRacer that also uses the Apple iPhone or iPod Touch as a wireless controller for the game. Up to four players can connect their iPhones to the iPad and race around various tracks.

The video below shows the game in action where response looks good and the game looks fun to play. [Read more…]

Filed Under: iPad

webOS 1.4.1.1 Launches on Verizon

April 29, 2010 by Leave a Comment

webOS 1.4.1.1 is now on it’s way to Verizon webOS devices.

The update has come at a time when HP have announced they are buying Palm, so it’s good to see that things are still moving in the right direction.

Things included appear to be some fixes to the accuracy of the keyboard where letters are not repeating as much. Also GPS fixes are happening a lot quicker from what we have read which wasn’t the case on the Palm Pre Plus running an older OS install. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Cell Phones

Nokia X2 Announced

April 29, 2010 by 1 Comment

Nokia today announced the Nokia X2. The X2 is part of the Xseries line-up of phones which currently includes the X3 and the X6.

The Nokia X2 has a 2.2 inch QVGA screen and is a candybar phone. It measures 13mm thin and just 81g.

Other features in the Nokia X2 include dual speakers, dedicated mucic keys and an FM stereo. For storage it accepts up to a 16GB microSD card. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Cell Phones

HP to Buy Palm in $1.2 Billion Deal

April 29, 2010 by Leave a Comment

Palm has been up for sale for a few weeks now with speculation about HTC and other various mobile phone companies buying it.

We hear now that HP are to buy Palm. HP confirmed that they are paying $1.2 billion for the company which works out at $5.70/share and 23% higher than Palm’s stock price yesterday.

Purchasing Palm would get HP more in to the mobile arena and allow the company to develop and carry on building the webOS platform. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Tech News

Nokia N8 HD Video Demonstration

April 29, 2010 by 1 Comment

The Nokia N8 has a 12 megapixel camera sensor allowing it to capture HD video at 720p. The video below shows a video captured on the device. Nokia point out that the video captured wasn’t modified in anyway and also mention the software used is an early build which indicates the quality could be slightly improved by enhancing the video processing.

This is the first HD video sample captured on the upcoming Nokia N8, shot in 720p. This amazing footage of a dancer on a rooftop has not been enhanced or tweaked in any way. It was taken on a device that is not yet running final software.

Check out the video below… [Read more…]

Filed Under: Cell Phones

How European Flights were effected by the Volcano

April 28, 2010 by Leave a Comment

Just a few weeks ago the Eyjafjallaj¶kull volcano in Iceland decided to vent a bit of ash in to the air causing flights across Europe to be halted. It took a week or more for airspace to get back to normal.

The video below shows a visualisation of the flight traffic around Europe over a time frame starting with next to no flights to everything up and running as normal. It’s quite fascinating to see all the traffic building up to what it is on a daily basis.

The flight data is courtesy of flightradar24.com and covers a large fraction of Europe. There are a few gaps (most noticeably France) and no coverage over the Atlantic, but the picture is still clear.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Tech News

Apple iPhone 4G Release Date Could be June

April 28, 2010 by Leave a Comment

After seeing the Apple iPhone 4G early, it has only really left us with the question of when is the release date.

Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference is going to be held on June 7 and from what TechCrunch are saying, it is widely expected that Apple [AAPL] will announce the next generation iPhone 4G / iPhone HD handset.

Just a few weeks ago a mobile phone network called SaskTel said that they expected to see the new iPhone launch in June which also indicates that the WWDC event could be the one where the new iPhone 4G release date is unveiled. However, SaskTel also commented that the comments made by their CEO were based on the rumours found on the internet and not what they had heard from Apple direct. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Cell Phones

Nokia want N8 Prototype Back

April 28, 2010 by Leave a Comment

Nokia Conversations have spoken up about the prototype Nokia N8 that was leaked on to a site recently and reviewed. The post is titled “One of our children is missing” and goes in to the details of the phone by saying it is a prototype that runs an early build of the Symbian^3 OS… hence the reason it had a few problems.

This wasn’t the first time a Nokia product appeared online before it had been announced. This particular site openly flaunts its ability to acquire our property. Yes, we have to take a look at ourselves, and we are diligently hunting down the source of these leaks. Frankly, we pride ourselves on trust at Nokia, and someone has greatly betrayed that.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Cell Phones

Apple iPad Chopper 2 game uses iPhone as bluetooth Controller

April 28, 2010 by Leave a Comment

The iPhone has been used before on iPad apps. One such game is Scrabble where each connected iPhone acts as a tile rack for each player.

A new idea has been created by a company called Magic Jungle Software that uses the iPhone as an actual game controller. The iPhone connects up to the iPad via a bluetooth connection and then movement is tracked along with taps on the screen making a unique control pad for the game.

The game currently being tested and developed is called Chopper 2 where a small chopper is controlled by the iPhone. The screen on the iPad is used, or if the TV out is used it can be connected up to a HDTV to provide a larger screen. Chopper 2 is a sequel to Chopper which is for the iPhone and iPod Touch. That game was downloaded over a million times. [Read more…]

Filed Under: iPad

iPhone SDK Beta 2 shows evidence of WiFi Video Chat

April 28, 2010 by Leave a Comment

Thanks to the Gizmodo Apple iPhone 4G leak a couple of weeks back, we now know it is highly likely that the iPhone 4G will get a forward facing camera.

The reason mobile phones have forward facing cameras is usually for making video calls. In the latest iPhone SDK (beta 2), there are now references that go more in to detail on how the camera will work. This includes details of the type of connection to make it run.

The first message discusses video conferencing and indicates that the phone needs to register with a service somewhere to use conferencing features.

“ACCOUNT_NOT_REGISTERED_MESSAGE = “This device has not been registered for video conferencing.”;” [Read more…]

Filed Under: Cell Phones

JooJoo now Available in Europe

April 28, 2010 by Leave a Comment

The JooJoo launched about a month ago in the US with a price tag of $499 plus shipping. We now hear that the JooJoo is now shipping to Europe with a price tag of ‚¬359 plus ‚¬15 for shipping.

The JooJoo has a 12 inch screen and is designed to browse the web. Technical specs of the JooJoo show that the 12.1 inch screen can display 1366 x 786 pixels. It is powered by a 1.6GHz Intel Atom N270 processor along with NVIDIA ION graphics. It runs a custom Linux OS. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Laptops