Samsung Focus phone review

Samsung Focus phone review

Samsung Focus

Here is a short consumer review of the new Samsung smartphone - the Windows Phone 7 operated Focus /also known as Samsung SGH-i917/. The Samsung Focus is the lightest weight Windows phones at launch. It has a 4" Super AMOLED display that's gorgeous and responsive to touch. Like other Windows Phone 7 smartphones, it has a 1GHz Snapdragon CPU, 3G, WiFi and a 5 megapixel camera with flash. It's currently the only Windows 7 phone that supports removable microSD cards.


Samsung Focus main features
-4.0” Touchscreen with Super AMOLED™ display
The Super AMOLED screen gives you a razor sharp, cinema quality image. It makes surfing the web and reading texts much easier in bright sunlight. The brilliant display allows you to quickly access the information most important to you with Live Tiles on your start screen.
-Windows Phone with downloadable apps via Marketplace
-Social Networking Integration
Now your calendar, contacts, and social networking sites are fully integrated through Windows Phone People Hub. It makes staying in touch with friends and business contacts much more efficient and streamlined.
-5MP Camera & Camcorder
The 5 megapixel camera with flash and auto focus takes razor sharp photos and videos. For sound quality, the 3.5 mm headphone jack allows you to listen to music with high-end headphones rather than just simple ear buds. And Wi-Fi is always handy when you're out and about. The Camera + Pictures Hub contains your entire collection of photos and videos, including the ones saved to your phone and even pictures your friends have recently posted on Facebook or Windows Live.

Samsung Focus specs
GENERAL 2G Network GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900
3G Network HSDPA 850 / 1900 / 2100
Announced 2010, October
Status Available. Released 2010, November
SIZE Dimensions 124.7 x 64.3 x 9.9 mm
Weight 119.4 g
DISPLAY Type Super AMOLED capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors
Size 480 x 800 pixels, 4.0 inches (~233 ppi pixel density)
- Multi-touch input method
- Accelerometer sensor for UI auto-rotate
- Proximity sensor for auto turn-off
SOUND Alert types Vibration; MP3, WAV ringtones
Loudspeaker Yes
3.5mm jack Yes
MEMORY Phonebook Practically unlimited entries and fields, Photocall
Call records Practically unlimited
Internal 8 GB storage, 512 MB RAM, 512 MB ROM
Card slot microSD, up to 32GB
DATA GPRS Class 10 (4+1/3+2 slots), 32 - 48 kbps
EDGE Class 10, 236.8 kbps
3G HSDPA, 7.2 Mbps; HSUPA, 5.76 Mbps
WLAN Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n
Bluetooth Yes, v2.1 with A2DP
Infrared port No
USB Yes, v2.0 microUSB
CAMERA Primary 5 MP, 2592 x 1944 pixels, autofocus, LED flash
Features Geo-tagging, image stabilization, smile detection
Video Yes, 720p@25fps
Secondary
FEATURES OS Microsoft Windows Phone 7
CPU 1 GHz Scorpion processor, Adreno 200 GPU, Qualcomm QSD8250 Snapdragon chipset
Messaging SMS (threaded view), MMS, Email, Push Email, IM
Browser HTML
Radio Stereo FM radio with RDS
Games Yes
Colors Black
GPS Yes, with A-GPS support
Java No
- AT&T U-verse Mobile, NavigatorSM, FamilyMap, Radio, myWireless
- Digital compass
- Microsoft office document viewer/editor
- MP4/H.264/H.263/WMV player
- MP3/WAV/WMA/eAAC+ player
- Organizer
- Voice memo
- Predictive text input
BATTERY Standard battery, Li-Ion 1500 mAh
Stand-by Up to 300 h
Talk time Up to 6 h 30 min

Samsung Focus video review

A video review of the Samsung Focus Windows 7 Phone on AT&T

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Dennis Ritchie, a father of modern computing, died on October 8th, aged 70

Dennis Ritchie, a father of modern computing, died on October 8th, aged 70

Ritchie receiving the National Medal of Technology from President Clinton 

printf("goodbye, Dennis");

EVERY time you tap an iSomething, you are touching a little piece of Steve Jobs. His singular vision shaped the products Apple has conjured up, especially over the last 14 years, after Jobs returned to the helm of the company he had founded. Jobs's death in October resembled the passing of a major religious figure. But all of his technological miracles, along with a billion others sold by Apple's competitors, would be merely pretty receptacles were it not for Dennis Ritchie. It is to him that they owe their digital souls, the operating systems and programs which make them tick.


In the early 1970s Mr Ritchie invented the C programming language. It fundamentally changed how software programs are created. Its popularity stemmed from a mix of robustness and efficiency. Crucially, it was thin. In geek-speak that means it used little computing power at a time when that was in short supply while allowing programmers to control hardware directly with little effort. It was also portable. A C program written for one computer could be modified to work on another. (This is not always easy, but it is possible.)

If that were not world-changing enough, Mr Ritchie was also instrumental (with Ken Thompson and others) in developing Unix, an operating system project begun in 1969 that was originally intended to be a simpler way to run bulky mainframes. At first Unix found a home in academic institutions (Babbage used his first Sun Unix workstation at university in the 1980s) and government agencies. Then, in the 1990s, came the explosion of the internet. In 1991 Linus Torvalds, a Finnish software engineer, reinvented Unix for the internet age. The result was Linux, which worked nearly the same as its forebear and could run the same free and open-source software, but had been purged of conflicts with Unix's intellectual property rights.

Most modern software code is written using C's more evolved descendants. These include C++, Objective C (which Apple favours) and C# (which rival Microsoft does). Another staple of the digital age, Java, also owes a substantial debt to Mr Ritchie's invention. Meanwhile, Unix-like systems power several hundred million Apple and Android mobile devices, most internet firms' server farms and a billion tiny gadgets, like digital video recorders and music players. There are alternatives, of course—Microsoft Windows, Nokia's Symbian or Qualcomm's BREW, among others—but their reach pales in comparison.

Mr Ritchie was modest—and deeply committed to his work, which he pursued with unebbing passion until his retirement a few years ago. His personal web page at Bell Labs, unmodified since 2006 except for the addition of a note from his siblings regarding his passing, shows a quirky character, as likely to post information about his sundry namesakes as to offer insight into his work.

His popular writings were as spare, efficient—and influential—as his coding. "The C Programming Language", a textbook he wrote with Brian Kernighan, has remained the authoritative source about all things C for over 30 years. The book introduced the first program a C coder learns:

main ( )

{

printf("hello, world");

}

which gets a computer to display the words "hello, world". (Mr Kernighan had come up with both the phrase and the task in an earlier internal manual at AT&T.) Patiently taking the reader through the rudiments of a language, with progressively harder programming tasks, was a departure from the dry, ultra-technical manuals of the day. The tens of thousands of computer books that followed all bear Mr Ritchie's mark.

Mr Ritchie and Jobs crossed paths at a crucial juncture. When Jobs was ousted from Apple in 1985 and founded NeXT, he did not create an operating system from scratch. His machines ran a version of Unix. On his triumphant return to Apple, after the company acquired NeXT in 1996, Jobs abandoned the company's ongoing effort to modernise Mac OS. He chose a version of Unix instead (and added an "X" to Mac OS) and all Macs since have relied on it. So does the iOS operating system which breathes life into iPhones and iPads. Yet for all of Mr Ritchie's groundbreaking contributions, and his key role in making Apple's gadgets what they are, his passing received precious little attention from the world's media, still preoccupied with that of the computer industry's most consummate showman.

All operating systems know when they were born. Their internal clocks start counting from then, so they can calculate the date and time in the future. It is unclear whether it was Mr Ritchie or Mr Thompson who set the so-called start Unix time at January 1st, 1970. That moment came to be known as the epoch. Mr Ritchie helped bring it about. And with it, he ushered in a new era. / source: The economist

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Toshiba 32BV801B Full-HD TV

Toshiba 32BV801B Full-HD TV

Toshiba 32BV801B

Main features:
Full High Definition 1080p
Supports Full High Definition 1080p resolution content, the highest definition resolution currently available - offering outstanding picture quality and lifelike image reproduction. Ideal for sports, movie and documentary enthusiasts.

Access to Freeview HD channels
Built-in Freeview HD is the easiest way to enjoy free-to-air terrestrial HD broadcast for free. You can also access up to 50 standard definition Freeview digital TV channels and 24 radio stations. No subscription, no contract, no fuss. Also includes built-in 8 day electronic programme guide.

View images and audio via USB
USB connectivity provides an easy way to playback your music and photos directly via your TV.

7 day electronic programme guide
Includes a built-in electronic programme guide showing the digital TV programmes scheduled over the next 7 days.

3 x HDMI and PC Input
Multiple HDMI connectivity makes it easy to connect to Blu-ray and DVD players, gaming consoles and many other devices via a single cable. PC input allows connection to laptop or PC so your TV doubles as a PC monitor.



Toshiba 32BV801B specs:
Diagonal Screen Size (cm / inch) 32
Screen Format 16:10
Resolution 1920 x 1080
Brightness (cd/m2) 450
Contrast Ratio 3000
Dynamic Contrast Ratio 50000
Response Time (G to G) 8 ms
Viewing Angle 178/178
CCFL
Full High Definition 1080p
50Hz processing
Digital Noise Reduction
3D Digital Comb Filter
Colour Temperature selectable
Manual picture size select

Tuning
Freeview HD
Analogue Tuner
Auto Set-up
NTSC Video-Playback
CI+
DVB-T2 (Freeview HD)
DVB-T (Freeview SD)
Audio
NICAM Stereo
Dolby Digital Plus
Sound Output (RMS)W 2 x 6
Interactive Features
Text Page Memory 1000
Digital Text
Electronic Programme Guide 7 days
Now and Next Information
Favourite Channel Memory
Picture (USB)
Audio (USB)
Connections
HDMI 3
LAN
Component Video
Composite Video
SCART
S-video
PC input
USB 2
Digital Audio Out
Headphone
Subwoofer
Other Features
Audio Description (UK only)
Timer
Panel Lock
Auto Format
4:3 stretch
No Signal Off
Hotel Mode
Power
Power 150 w
Power Standby 0.5 w
Full Power Down Button

Toshiba 32BV801B  Full-HD TV review by For consumers - check before you buy

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Nokia N9 review

Nokia N9 review

Nokia N9 review

This is the Nokia N9. Sleek and seamless. Show yourself. Make a statement. Everything and everyone is just a swipe away. It only takes a swipe to get to what you want with the Nokia N9, and it all floats beautifully on the large, curved display. Stay in touch with people, news, and events. And browse the web. Quickly. Get around with free maps and navigation. And take great pictures with the 8MP camera. The Nokia N9 makes it all smooth, effortless, and gorgeously stylish.










Nokia N9 video preview


Nokia N9 specifications
GENERAL 2G Network GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900
3G Network HSDPA 850 / 900 / 1700 / 1900 / 2100
SIZE Dimensions 116.5 x 61.2 x 12.1 mm, 76 cc
Weight 135 g
DISPLAY Type AMOLED capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors
Size 480 x 854 pixels, 3.9 inches (~251 ppi pixel density)
- Gorilla glass display
- Anti-glare polariser
- Multi-touch input method
- Proximity sensor for auto turn-off
- Accelerometer sensor for UI auto-rotate
SOUND Alert types Vibration; MP3, WAV ringtones
Loudspeaker Yes
3.5mm jack Yes
Dolby Mobile sound enhancement; Dolby Headphone support
MEMORY Phonebook Practically unlimited entries and fields, Photocall
Call records Yes
Internal 16 GB storage, 1 GB RAM
Card slot No
DATA GPRS Class 33
EDGE Class 33
3G HSDPA, 14.4 Mbps; HSUPA, 5.7 Mbps
WLAN Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, Wi-Fi hotspot
Bluetooth Yes, v2.1 with A2DP, EDR
Infrared port No
USB Yes, microUSB v2.0
CAMERA Primary 8 MP, 3264x2448 pixels, Carl Zeiss optics, autofocus, dual LED flash
Features Geo-tagging, face detection, touch-focus
Video Yes, 720p@30fps
Secondary Yes
FEATURES OS MeeGo OS, v1.2 Harmattan
CPU 1GHz Cortex A8 CPU, PowerVR SGX530 GPU, TI OMAP 3630 chipset
Messaging SMS (threaded view), MMS, Email, Push Email, IM
Browser WAP 2.0/xHTML, HTML, RSS feeds
Radio No
Games Angry Birds Magic (NFC), Galaxy on Fire 2, Real Golf 2011; downloadable
Colors Black
GPS Yes, with A-GPS support; Ovi Maps
Java Yes, MIDP 2.1
- MicroSIM card support only
- SNS integration
- Active noise cancellation with dedicated mic
- Digital compass
- TV-out
- NFC support
- Dolby Digital Plus
- MP3/WAV/eAAC+/WMA/FLAC player
- MP4/H.264/H.263/WMV player
- Document editor (Word, Excel, PowerPoint), PDF viewer
- Video/photo editor
- Voice memo/command/dial
- Predictive text input (Swype)
BATTERY Standard battery, Li-Ion 1450 mAh (BV-5JW)
Stand-by Up to 380 h (2G) / Up to 450 h (3G)
Talk time Up to 11 h (2G) / Up to 7 h (3G)
Music play Up to 50 h


Nokia N9 features

Bold, all-screen design - Simply beautiful
Introducing an all-screen smartphone like no other. It all comes together beautifully with the scratch-resistant glass merging perfectly into the smooth one-piece body. And there’s innovation in every detail. The vivid AMOLED display brings everything to life right on the surface, plus the curved glass makes it easy to swipe the touch screen as you move between apps.

One home. Three simple views - This is how it should be done
Three views with everything you need. Start something new in the familiar Applications view, or go to the Open applications view to jump from one live app to another – great for picking up where you left off. The Events view is the place to see what’s happening right now in your world. Live Facebook updates and Tweets, real-time emails and other notifications, all in one place.

Next-generation browser - Fast, effortless browsing
It’s time to speed things up. Nokia N9 features a fast mobile web browser, so pages load on your screen in no time. And with HTML5 support you get the best of the web including rich apps and fast video playback. Everything is quick and highly responsive, plus you can keep multiple pages open at the same time and move easily between them.

8 MP camera with Carl Zeiss optics - Everything looks better in HD
A photo opportunity can come and go at any moment. Use the 8 MP camera with Carl Zeiss optics to take a great shot, or start filming in stunning high definition. The wide-angle lens means you get more friends in the picture – just tap to focus and shoot. Instantly share online for everyone to enjoy, or touch another NFC-enabled phone to share with someone close by.

The best apps and games - Must-have apps preloaded
Apps are everywhere these days. But the important thing is how good they are, not how many you have. Nokia N9 comes with quality must-have apps straight out of the box, including Skype, Facebook, Twitter, Accuweather and AP Mobile. You also get Angry Birds Magic to keep you entertained for hours, plus there are other essential apps and games at Ovi Store.

What's in the box
Nokia N9 all-screen smartphone
Nokia Fast USB Charger AC-16
Nokia Charging and Data Cable CA-185CD
Nokia Stereo Headset WH-901
Get started guide
Product information leaflet

What we think of it?
Nice phone, isn't it?

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Kindle Fire browser test - Amazon Silk

Kindle Fire browser test - Amazon Silk

Kindle Fire browser test

Amazon Silk Official Presentation

The web browser on Kindle Fire introduces a radical new paradigm -- a "split browser" architecture that accelerates the power of the mobile device hardware by using the computing speed and power of the Amazon Web Services Cloud. The result is a faster web browsing experience, and it's available exclusively on Kindle Fire.
One of the headline features of Amazon's new Kindle Fire tablet is a completely new Web browser called Silk that is designed with a "split" architecture, allowing it to offload much of the heavy lifting to Amazon's cloud computing cluster for superior browsing performance.

When the user requests a webpage in Silk, the request will be routed to Amazon's servers in the cloud. Amazon will load the webpage on the server side, downloading all of the necessary content elements in parallel. After downloading the content, Amazon will send the compiled page — including HTML, JavaSript, CSS, and images — back to the device as a single stream of data.

Amazon Fire Silk browser demo

The Kindle Fire comes with a new browser call Amazon Silk. The Silk browser splits resources between the device and Amazon's EC2 cloud servers to render pages faster and smoother. The EC2 cloud servers will do the heavy processing power for most of the sites you will visit and will cache the content for you for quick load times and save power on the Kindle Fire. Other browsers have tried something similar to this like Skyfire but not with the power that Amazon's servers have. Watch the video below as it will give you a better idea of how Amazon Silk works and cuts page loading times in half. Makes you wonder if they will make a desktop version and/or offer this on other mobile OS platforms and join a very crowded browser market.

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How we waste fuel

How we waste fuel

It is quite ironic that a major petrol company - Shell, in this case - has to point out how bad we are at wasting fuel.
But, paradoxes aside, the data obtained from a research to commemorate the Shell FuelSave Day is quite useful to highlight wrong driving habits.
The survey of 1,001 drivers concludes that inefficient motorists drive up to 1,845 unnecessary miles per year for different reasons: from avoiding a busy roundabout to going further to find a parking space under a streetlight.

It seems like we don't mind wasting fuel - to the point of leaving the engine running until a favourite song finish on the radio, for some of us.
The main excuse to drive that 'extra mile' is to avoid a busy roundabout, as 42% of drivers participating in he survey do. Then is to find a bigger parking space (27%), a higher floor in a car park where there is more room (22%), to avoid overcrowded areas on the school-run (19%) and to avoid turning right into busy traffic (19%)
They data obtained about SatNavs tell us that they are useful for fuel-saving, but only when they are used with intelligence. A fifth of drivers admit wasting 10 or more miles a month getting lost in their car - so they obviously would be better off with SatNavs.
In contrast, those fundamentalists who trust too much their gadgets avoid well-known shortcuts only to follow what the machine says.
David Wood, a spokesman for Shell said: "Most drivers don't really take much notice of an extra mile here or an extra mile there but may do if they realised how much it all added up to. Shell has a long-standing heritage in helping drivers to save fuel. We have developed Shell FuelSave Regular fuels which are designed to help drivers save fuel and money but there are plenty of other ways in which motorists could save even more if they wanted to, which we hope Shell FuelSave Day will help them to realise."
There also well-known habits that help us to save fuel. According to Shell, these are the most common:
Keep tyres at the right pressure (54%)
Use higher gears (41%)
Avoid hard acceleration (37%)
Keep the boot empty (33%)
Plan a trip carefully and avoid rush hour (32%)

by Noel Hernandez/ cars.co.uk

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Laptop review - Lenovo Thinkpad SL510

Lenovo Thinkpad SL510 - consumer review

Lenovo Thinkpad SL510

A dual core Intel processor together with a 250G hard drive and a widescreen LED backlit display make it a great business start up or first buy laptop.
Brand new and in unopened, sealed box. Quoted as being a 'great business laptop' and 'hard-wearing'.
It is breaking no technology records but does represent value for money.

Intel Centrino Core2 Duo processors offer leading-edge technology to enable you and your workforce enhanced mobility, connectectivity and security. And with reliable and efficient performance, you'll enjoy faster wireless connectivity speeds and the longer battery life. Free up your workforce from worrying about how their laptop works. Enable them to experience mobile computing without limits. Lenovo is committed to protecting the environment and keeping your energy costs low. And we're especially proud the updated SL Series has earned an EPEAT Gold certified. SL 410/510 laptops meet all 23 required environmental criteria and at least 75% of the optional criteria. SL410/510 are also the first Lenovo laptops to be produced from post-consumer recycled material.


ThinkPad SL510 features
Lenovo ThinkPad SL510 Notebook
Intel Core 2 Duo (T6670) 2.2GHz Processor with 800 MHz Front Side Bus and 2MB L2 chache
2048 MB Memory
250GB (5400 rpm) Hard Drive
DVD Recordable (Dual Layer)
15.6 inch WXGA (1366 x 768) HD AntiGlare Display
Microsoft Windows 7 Professional 32-bit
Mobile Intel GMA 4500MHD (GM45) graphics
ThinkPad 11b/g/n wireless
One year warranty

ThinkPad SL510 specifications

CPU
Processor	Intel Core 2 Duo (T6670) 2.2GHz 2MB (L2 Cache)
CPU Bus Speed	800MHz
Chipset	Mobile Intel GM45 Express
Memory
Memory (Maximum)	2048MB
Storage
Hard Disk	250GB (1 x 250GB) 5400RPM
Display
Screen	15.6in Anti-Glare WXGA
Display Resolution	1366 x 768 Pixels ,
Optical Drive
Optical Drive Type	DVD±RW DL
Graphics Device
Graphics Device	Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 4500MHD with 384MB
Interfaces/Ports
VGA Port	1 x 15-pin HD D-Sub
HDMI Port	1 x HDMI
RJ-45 Ports	1 x RJ-45
USB Ports	3 x USB 2.0
eSATA Port	1 x eSATA (Shared with one USB port)
Microphone In Port	1 x Microphone In Jack
Headphone/Audio Line Out	1 x Headphone/Line out
AC Power	1 x AC Adaptor
Media Adaptor
ExpressCard Slots	1 x ExpressCard Slot
Removable Flash Memory Media	7-in-1 Card Reader
MultiMedia Card	Supported
Sony Memory Stick	Supported: Memory Stick, Memory Stick Pro
Secure Digital	Supported: SD, SDHC
xD-Picture Card	Supported: xD, xD Type H
Network (Wired)
Network Interface	Ethernet 10/100/1000Mbps Integrated
Network (Wireless)
Wireless System	ThinkPad 11
RF Network Standard	802.11 b/g/n
Wireless Communications
Bluetooth	Yes
Camera
Webcam	Integrated
System
Operating System	Microsoft Windows 7 Professional (32-bit)
Electrical
Battery	Lithium-Ion (6 Cells)
Physical
Case Colour	Black
Dimensions	38.0cm (W) x 24.7cm (D) x 3.2cm (H) - Weight 2.6kg

Lenovo ThinkPad SL510 video review


The Lenovo ThinkPad SL510 2847-9YU Laptop Computer is a business-oriented computer that also has the personal features you love! With a reliable Intel Core 2 Duo T6670 2.20GHz processor and 4GB of fast DDR3 memory, the Lenovo ThinkPad SL510 2847-9YU Laptop Computer can power through your difficult software applications and computing tasks. The system comes running Windows 7 Professional 64-bit operating system, a cutting edge O/S designed for your business needs. The Lenovo ThinkPad SL510 2847-9YU Laptop Computer also has a beautiful 15.6-inch diagonal LED backlit and HD capable display featuring 1366x768 (720p native) resolution and integrated Intel GMA 4500 MHD graphics. Output your High Definition presentations to an HD ready TV or display via HDMI output. The Lenovo ThinkPad SL510 2847-9YU Laptop Computer also features a 320GB (7200RPM) hard drive, 7-in-1 media card reader, DVDRW optical drive, and connectivity for Bluetooth and Intel WiFi Link 1000 802.11b/g/n wireless, USB 2.0 and eSATA peripherals. The Lenovo ThinkPad SL510 2847-9YU Laptop Computer: built to make your business better.

Verdict
ThinkPad SL510 doesn't have the quality and feeling of a real IBM computer but for the price of around 450$ it is just great and we recommend it.

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