Archive January-March 2006
Imaging software for camera phones
29 March 2006
You have just taken a beautiful picture on your camera phone and desperately want to share it with your friends - but a teenager in the background of the frame ruins it by showing the finger. The photo is not necessarily doomed if you have image-editing software on your phone that lets you modify the image. We took a look at a few popular imaging products that run on a phone to discover if they can improve your photos before you share them with the world.
Suunto G6 mobile device for more consistent golf swing
27 March 2006
We know from our own experience that golfers are constantly looking for new technology. If a new titanium/tungsten driver doesn't lower the score, the new super-spin golf ball surely will. Suunto, better known for their mobile outdoors and navigation products, has taken a new approach to help golfers: a wrist computer that can improve your golf swing. The Suunto G6 measures your swing and gives you instant feedback on its screen. When a top pro golfer, like Davis Love III confesses that he's using the Suunto G6, the product is worth checking out >
22 March 2006
The Pentax *ist DS2 is one of the smallest and lightest digital SLR cameras available. It lets you capture 6 megapixel pictures through a zoom, macro, or another lens of your choice. With automatic scene modes and manual control over the image exposure, the DS2 is a product for a photographer who wants to enjoy the snappy performance and image quality of an SLR camera, or for anyone who has already invested in interchangeable Pentax lenses. Read the review >
20 March 2006
The Creative Zen Vision M is a small, portable media player that lets you store music, videos, podcasts, and photos on its 30GB hard disk to enjoy wherever you want. The high-contrast color screen, high-quality audio and nice design make it pleasant to use the device. You can listen to the news on the built-in FM radio, record radio shows, and use the device as a voice recorder. Read the review >
Video downloads for Archos media players
17 March 2006
Finding movies and videos that are compatible with your portable media player can be time-consuming and bothersome. iPod owners can rely on iTunes, Creative Zen Vision owners can find podcasts and videos from the ZenCast service, but Archos portable media player owners have had to search and convert videos for their mobile devices using their own skills. Not anymore >
Canon EOS Digital Rebel XT / EOS 350D: Review
15 March 2006
The Canon EOS Digital Rebel XT / EOS 350D is one of the most popular digital SLR cameras in the marketplace. Featuring an 8.0 megapixel CMOS image sensor, lightweight build, fast processor, and wide lens compatibility, the product is a sophisticated, yet easy-to-use camera built for the serious amateur photographer taking their first steps into the realm of digital SLR. Read the review >
13 March 2006
The Wayfinder Navigator software turns your smartphone into a GPS navigator with color maps, automatic routing, and voice guidance. All you need to do is to connect a GPS module to the phone and tell the software where you want to go. You don't have to store maps on the phone, because Wayfinder downloads them during the trip. Consequently, the phone needs a continuous access to an online map storage database while it is navigating. Read the review >
What do you need for watching TV on your phone?
8 March 2006
Broadband has enabled computer owners to watch videos and TV news on their computer screens and some daredevils even copy the best clips on their portable media players and watch videos on the go. These tech pioneers can't, however, watch live TV on their portable players, because the devices are not connected to a network. Smartphones are always connected to a network, they have nice color screens and multimedia capabilities - why not watch TV on a phone?
Quiz: Digital video and movies
1 March 2006
You thought it was an excellent idea to watch videos on your new portable media player, until you opened the product's user guide. It bluntly stated that it is only possible to watch H.264 or MPEG4 videos on the device. You might think those abbreviations are names for science fiction movies, but they really are something you need to be aware of in order to survive in the acronym-filled world of digital videos. Take our quiz, test your knowledge and learn, among other things, how fast time goes with "quicktime" >
27 February 2006
Seriously portable, the Sony Cybershot DSC-T5 is a 5.1 megapixel, ultra-slim digital camera ready to be taken anywhere. Our initial reaction on testing the camera was that it’s so small…it really fits effortlessly in your hand and you could always carry it with you. Featuring a large 2.5-inch color screen, a Carl Zeiss 3x optical zoom lens, multiple auto-focus and auto-exposure options and movie mode, this camera has almost everything the amateur digital photographer wants in a small, lightweight aluminum body. Read the review >
Do we really need four wireless technologies in one small, handheld device?
22 February 2006
Our first GSM phone was built using wireless technology that allowed us to make phone calls while walking the dog. It was marvelous. Our new smartphone came with four wireless communication technologies: 2G, 3G, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. Fantastic, but on second thoughts – it is plenty. Have we gone mad, are the vendors making us pay for useless features, or does it make perfect sense after all?
20 February 2006
The Magix Ringtone Maker is an advanced, but easy to use software product for creating free ringtones for a variety of phones. You can quickly turn an MP3 or WMA song that you have on your computer into a ringtone, but this software also allows you to mix your own music using the included sample tune library, which proved to be a lot of fun. The product lets you copy new ringtones to the phone locally without having to transmit them via a mobile network >
Setting up a digital photo frame for free
15 February 2006
Have you noticed that you tend to view old photographs more often when you have them organized on a computer instead of in traditional photo albums or in shoeboxes? Digital picture frames are a fine solution for anyone who doesn't want to use a computer, but still wants to view new photo slideshows on a bright screen. You don't have to be a computer wizard to create a digital photo frame out of an old notebook computer >
13 February 2006
One of the smallest digital cameras available, the Nikon Coolpix S1 has a wide selection of features that fit surprisingly well in a slim, silver package about the size of a tiny wallet. At about 4.9 ounces/140 grams (with battery), the Coolpix S1 is the ultimate carry-around point-and-shoot camera for the novice photographer, but it would also serve well as a backup snapshot taker for a more advanced digital photographer >
8 February 2006
Even if you have never before played a game on your phone, you might change your mind after trying Sudoku. This popular puzzle game suddenly made a breakthrough in major newspapers in 2005, but it also happens to be a perfect game for practically any phone that can show a simple grid on the screen. Download Sudoku on your phone and play it whenever you want to activate your brain cells and have some fun >
6 February 2006
The Archos Gmini XS 100 is a small MP3 player with 3GB or 4GB storage capacity where you can copy up to 100 music CDs. It's an easy to use device that does well the one thing it has been designed for: play digital music. This item is one of the best value products when all MP3 players are considered >
Downloading songs from an online music store directly to a phone
1 February 2006
We have been downloading ringtones to our phone from online services for ages (before we discovered that we can make our own ringtones for free). Now, as music phones that can play MP3 songs are becoming more popular, why don't we download full tracks directly to the phone from online music shops? We powered up our smartphone and tried services that charge for downloading tracks and other services that offer free downloads and were surprised at what we discovered >
30 January 2006
Digital photo frames allow you to display pictures on an elegant device that looks like a traditional photo frame. The photo frame is an electronic device that displays images on its LCD screen once you copy your photos to the unit's memory. Then, you can display a holiday picture slideshow in the photo frame and let it scroll, for example, on the living room bookshelf. Picture frames come with USB cable connection, wireless Wi-Fi connectivity and Ceiva picture frames can use a telephone line for updating photos.
Tips for finding and downloading video films to a portable media player
25 January 2006
As far as music and podcasts are concerned, we can be pretty sure that every portable device can play them, because they tend to come in MP3 format. The same goes for photos, as we can be sure that all portable media players can display JPG pictures. But when we want to watch video on mobile devices, it’s suddenly pure rocket science. There are plenty of videos, TV programs and films available to download and watch, but the problem is to find the right type of video that plays on your portable media player. This guide will help you find and download videos for your portable media player >
Konica Minolta DiMAGE X60: Review
23 January 2006
The Konica Minolta DiMAGE X60 is a nice and thin digital camera with large LCD screen for easy framing and viewing of snapshots. It captures 5 megapixel images and its 3 times zoom and exceptional lens technology are capable of producing fine photos. If you need a camera that you can always have with you, is fast and easy to use, the DiMAGE X60 is good value. Read the review >
18 January 2006
Isn’t it funny how other people’s behavior with their phones in public places often feels annoying, but you may behave the same way every now and then yourself. We admit using Crazy Frog as our ringtone for a day and we learned the hard way that it wasn’t the best way to make new friends. Just as most camera phone owners are learning to be sensitive of what they are doing with their cameras, there needs to be an etiquette for music phones >
16 January 2006
The Creative MuVo V200 is an elegant little flash memory MP3 music player that has the features and capacity at a price that attracts many music lovers. You can listen to MP3 songs extracted from CDs, podcasts, WMA music downloaded from online shops, or FM radio programs on this portable music player. Read the review >
Get the most out of the battery in your handheld device
11 January 2006
As sure as the queue at a hamburger stand is crawling slower than the one next to you, the power on your portable device crawls to a halt when you need it the most. After a year, it may feel like you have to recharge the battery ever more frequently, or is it just that you are losing your patience with the whole damn thing more frequently. We have a few tips to help you get the most out of batteries on your portable devices.
HP iPAQ hw6515 Mobile Messenger: Review
9 January 2006
The HP iPAQ hw6515 Mobile Messenger is a PDA, world phone, GPS navigator and messenger device all in one small, handheld product. When you subscribe to a wireless data connectivity plan and purchase GPS maps into the device you have a powerful tool under your thumbs, no matter where in the world you roam. Read the review >
Instant messaging products for phones reviewed
4 January 2006
When you happen to be at your computer and quickly want to exchange a couple of messages with a friend who's at her computer as well, you can use an instant messaging service for communications. When you are away, you can send a text message from your phone to your friend's phone. Now, you can combine the benefits of both methods by downloading an instant messaging application to your phone and using it to chat with your friends who can be using computers or phones.
2 January 2006
The Pentax Optio WPi is a waterproof digital camera that you can take for a dive to 5 feet/1.5 meters. It's a 6 megapixel compact camera with advanced features and with picture quality that satisfies amateur photographer's ambitions in normal situations and more importantly, it allows you to snap photos in the water, snow and dust. Read the review >
