Welcome to another edition of the Review Train! If you missed any previous episodes, be sure to check them out at the Reviews mini-blog. Olympus E30: First Looks We have a first-look at the camera by Digital Camera Review, with the review in their pipeline. And some sample images provided by Four Thirds User and the hard-working Ian Burley. Panasonic G1: Two new reviews Two reviews have hit the web today, one by Let's Go Digital and another by Digital Trends. No spoilers here as usual, but the Let's Go conclusions are on page #9 if you are in a...
When I reminisce about the Best of 2008 I can't help but think Google. Their biggest addition to the geek world in 2008 is probably the Android platform (which now runs on the T-mobile G1 phone), but other features and updates like the Chrome Browser, Gmail themes and additions, iGoogle (and themes), Knol (Google’s Wikipedia), Mail Goggles for Gmail, Picasa 3.0 and Video Chat for Gmail all provided their own unique function and entertainment. What Is Your Favorite New Google Feature? Android/T-mobile G1 Chrome Browser Gmail Themes iGoogle Themes Knol (Google’s Wikipedia) Mail Goggles for Gmail Picasa 3.0 Video Chat...
Like the look of the videos on Flickr's new mobile site? If you're a website publisher, you may soon be able to use Yahoo's video platform to convert your users' uploaded clips into great-looking, iPhone-ready video files. Yahoo launched an updated version of its mobile website for Flickr on Thursday, and along with that update came the ability to playback Flickr's short, 90-second videos on the iPhone and iPod Touch. Other devices, like the T-Mobile G1 and the Nokia N-series phones, will be supported soon. Videos on the Flickr mobile site are being processed by Yahoo's new video platform,...
Continuing on with our Best of Polls for the year, I must say that 2008 was a battleground year for cell phone superiority; usual nemeses iPhone and BlackBerry pulled out the big guns — Apple released the iPhone 3G and RIM responded to the challenge with the Bold and Storm. Not to be outdone, a little company named Google (maybe you've heard of it) launched its first phone, the G1, running on the Android platform, and made by HTC, which also launched the Touch Diamond. And just this week, Nokia came out, guns blazing, with its new N97. I know...
Australian online-only electronics endeavor Kogan will actually make good on its claim to bring the world’s second Android-powered handset to market. Who? Exactly. Don’t feel bad if you’ve never heard of the company headed by Ruslan Kogan; if you live outside of Australia there was hardly a reason to. We’ll bring you up to speed in three sentences: Kogan is a small Australian startup. Last month it gained a bit of notoriety when Ruslan Kogan claimed he would develop, manufacture and begin selling the world’s second Android-powered smartphone for less than US$200 before year-end. Pretty much no one believed...
From the land of the deadly purple-ringed octopus, the jubjub bird and the elusive snark comes the next phone designed to run on Google's Android OS, the Kogan Agora Pro. The attractive smartphone comes with a 2.5 inch touch screen, QWERTY keyboard, 3G, Wi-Fi and GPS, with a 624 MHz processor, a 2MP Camera and 128 MB of RAM as the brain, spine and limbic system. It's Australia only right now, but they are selling it unlocked, which means you should have no problem importing it for its price of $399. I actually think this is a much more...
The next gPhone has arrived, and surprisingly, it looks pretty nice. Although we were all very excited about China’s Sciphone (not really), the Kogan Agora and its upgraded twin, the Agora Pro, are probably a much better bet. It looks rather like a Blackjack, but it fits all the capabilities of a G1 or iPhone into that thinner form factor. I’m a bit jealous, although I think I’ll much prefer the keyboard on my handset. It’s being sold for 300 and 400 Australian dollars for the Agora and Pro respectively, which translates to about $200 or $260 in American...
Feeling as if your G1 is a little bland in the animation department? Want those fancy screen-to-screen sliding animations generally reserved for Google’s demonstrations? Worry no longer - afbcamaro from XDA Developers noticed that you can use a development package from the Android SDK that allows for you to access some fun features (such as sliding transitions) that didn’t make their way in to the end product. Sure, it’s a subtle change - but it’s quick, easy, and makes your G1 just a bit cooler than everyone else’s. Click over to MobileCrunch for the full How-to >>...
Shared by sarahintampa Humans start editing Techmeme, I get a headline. Hmmm, I'm liking the new system already. LOL Sarah Perez / ReadWriteWeb: Stores Clueless About Mobile Barcode Scanning Applications? — With the rise of app-laden smartphones like the iPhone and Google's Android OS, now on T-Mobile's G1, many penny-pinching shoppers have downloaded barcode scanning applications onto their mobile devices....
With the rise of app-laden smartphones like the iPhone and Google's Android OS, now on T-Mobile's G1, many penny-pinching shoppers have downloaded barcode scanning applications onto their mobile devices. These apps allow consumers to compare the prices of merchandise on a store's shelf to competing stores in the area just by taking pictures with their smartphone's camera. The prices are instantly retrieved and displayed on the mobile phone so consumers can know before they buy if they're getting a good deal. Sponsor Although consumers may be catching on to this barcode-scanning trend, some stores are still in the dark. For...
It'd already been known that HTC got a little help from the boys and girls at San Fran-based One & Co in designing its beautiful, WinMo-defying TouchFLO 3D user interface along with the Touch Diamond on which it premiered; apparently, HTC likes the result so much that it's snapping the privately-held firm right off the market. One & Co's expertise certainly isn't limited to phones -- its clients span from Coca-Cola to Adidas, Dell, and Palm -- and interestingly, HTC has decided that the move won't spell the end of the design consultancy, so if you were hoping to get...
Filed under: HTCIt'd already been known that HTC got a little help from the boys and girls at San Fran-based One & Co in designing its beautiful, WinMo-defying TouchFLO 3D user interface along with the Touch Diamond on which it premiered; apparently, HTC likes the result so much that it's snapping the privately-held firm right off the market. One & Co's expertise certainly isn't limited to phones -- its clients span from Coca-Cola to Adidas, Dell, and Palm -- and interestingly, HTC has decided that the move won't spell the end of the design consultancy, so if you were hoping...
MySpace has partnered with RipCode to give mobile users access to MySpace videos. The content will be available at MySpace’s mobile site, m.myspace.com, which currently generates around 3 billion monthly page views from 10 million users. Video will work on the iPhone, T-Mobile G1, BlackBerry Bold and BlackBerry Storm devices, among others. All user uploaded videos (meaning videos that a user has uploaded, as opposed to all videos uploaded by all users) and most premium content will be available. The new feature will use RipCode’s on demand video transcoding service. Videos are transcoded only when requested, into whatever combination of...
Making some headlines at gizmodo today is an article today about a tipster who learned the hard way that traveling overseas with the G1 isn’t all sunshine and rainbows. The underlying issue revolves around the fact that no matter how hard you try, no matter what you do or how hard you try, the G1 always accesses a data network. Apparently the aptly titled, “data roaming features” off feature isn’t really supposed to work like its understood it would. Not to mention, turning off the 3G and data sync. So said user ended up with $102.85 in overages and...
One unfortunate Gizmodo reader has found out the hard way that apparently the G1’s internet access can’t be fully turned off. During a recent trip to the UK, the unlucky G1 owner was hit with a $102.85 data roaming bill - even though he had turned off data roaming, data sync and 3G prior to his trip. Upon returning home he contacted T-Mobile customer service and was informed by a supervisor that “the G1 always accesses the internet whether you are sending text messages or calls—even when the data roaming features are off. ” As it turns out, he was...
Filed under: Handsets, HTC, T-Mobile, Windows Mobile, GSM, EDGE This thing's been in the pressure cooker for ages now, but it looks like T-Mobile might finally be getting within a stone's throw of actually releasing (or at the very least, announcing) the Shadow II, successor to the Shadow -- HTC's funky little Windows Mobile Standard slider targeted squarely at a consumer audience. The new model moves to WinMo 6.1 from 6 (we should certainly hope so), and as rumored, it appears to now support HotSpot WiFi-based calling. It's no G1 on the geek scale, but if you're looking to somehow...
The Gadget: Callpod's Fueltank, a 2-in-1 portable battery/charger that can power up any two mobile devices simultaneously, from phones to Bluetooth to portable media players. It uses the same tips as the six-way Chargepod charger, so anything compatible with that is compatible with this. The Price: $70 online, but should be available at Best Buy for $60 The Verdict: Convenient. The Fueltank does exactly what it says it does: charge two devices simultaneously on the road. It's made even better because the charging tips are the same ones used in the Chargepod, so you can support just about every mobile...
