Ciacfest

Archive for the ‘Smartphones / Handset’ Category

Smartphones are extremely popular devices that have only appeared in the past few years, making legislation and enforcement regarding the use of these devices while driving particularly difficult. In general, it may take months if not years for a common understanding of a law to be established. However, in the case of these phones being used for their text messaging capabilities, the law has pushed forward to educate drivers of the dangers and potential illegality of smartphone usage.

Due to the capabilities of an internet-ready phone, it is difficult to inherently describe what exactly the phone is as a device and how to legally classify it. While legislators may be able to recognize a cellular phone as a phone, a smartphone may also function as a portable computer with internet capabilities. Thus, where a phone might be illegal, a smartphone may be used in a way that bypasses the telephone function and uses the smartphone as a mobile GPS device.

These problems are not necessarily recognized in existing laws and bans, requiring lawmakers to either update their legislation or draft new laws that more widely deal with expansions in technological use. Specifically, many states have begun to describe the function of the device, not the device itself, when making a usage ban for drivers. In some texting-while-driving bans, the device is not necessarily singled out, but the act of creating a text message is.

As a result, it may be illegal in certain jurisdictions to create a message using any hand-held device. For many laws that work this broadly, lines are commonly drawn that devices, whatever they are and whatever they do, may be used in a hands-free capacity.

To learn more about how mobile devices work with existing bans, contact a car accident attorney.

For a market looking for upscalish touchscreen handsets minus the hefty price tag, there’s every reason to rejoice once the new LG GM360 Bali hits the market. At a glance it looks like a deadringer for the earlier GT505 released in August last year.

Hardware-wise the similarities are spot on except fro a couple of features that had been taken out to bring it to more affordable price levels. Unveiled at the recently concluded 2010 CeBIT in Hanover, the handset’s name may conjure up images of the exotic tourist destination resort in Indonesia.

But if the data sheet on the previous GT505 is any indication of its similar capabilities, the Bali is one feature phone that basically does two things apart from targeting the low end market with a feature phone than can embarrass high end smartphones.

Redefining the Standards of Affordability

First, it redefines what a low end touchscreen should be. No more 3 megapixel cameras or 2.5-inch displays. You get a 3-inch TFT LCD resistive touchscreen display with Wide-QVGA resolution and 256k colors. Not bad when you consider that many mid-range smartphones have the same display technology. LG obviously has pushed the envelope and from now on, it would be difficult to win the low end markets with a touchscreen with more modest display features.

Then there’s the imaging function that can embarrass even high end smartphones with only 3.2 megapixel cameras. This one has it at 5 megapixel resolution with autofocus and LED flash. Most camera phones in any class have one or two of these features, not all. There’s no geo-tagging of course, as it has no GPS receiver.

WiFi should now be standard on even the least costly mobile phones; either that or it has 3G. The Bali has no 3G but retains the WiFi 802.11b/g on the GT505 which makes surfing at 54 Mbps even better in hotspots rather than on 3G. It’s still the same quad band GSM facilitating international roaming on 2G and has class 10 GPRS/EDGE which also makes surfing fast. But a WiFi data plan should give you unparalleled surfing experience instead.

Eroding the Smartphone/Dumbphone Divide

And secondly, the LG GM360 Bali can shame some of the more prestigious smartphones on the market. About the only distinguishing mark of a smartphone is a PC-like Operating System which the markets rarely think about when using a mobile phone. And when you have a dumbphone that looks, acts and behaves like a smartphone as the Bali does, what else is there to buy a smartphone for?

Just about all the features are found in both – a point-and-shoot camera, touchscreen, SatNav (though the Bali doesn’t have one), multimedia support, FM radio, Bluetooth with A2DP, WiFi, 3G (not the Bali) and apps you can upload to the phone.

But if there’s anything else that distinguishes a smartphone from a dumbphone is the price. You get to pay more for a smartphone thanks to the royalties or the cost of using a PC-like OS for the same set of features.

People own smart phones for business will need to use them for a wide variety of specific purposes. But how do you choose the best smartphone for you? the following points should help you make the right decision and steer you towards the right choice.

Business people require features which will help them to become organized such as a diary, a reminder system, alerts and even more modern systems such as video calling abilities. We have all become very reliant on the e-mail system and having a phone with the ability to keep in touch with the office will mean that you can keep in touch with colleagues even when you are out and about attending meetings elsewhere. It is crucial that the software included also includes the ability to send and receive e-mails.

All of that is a fairly obvious, really. However, new users will probably be less likely to think about the applications that they need to view their documents. So, you will need something called a document viewer. This will enable you to look at files on the phone. Such a view is recommended for all the common types of files that we use every day such as for Word, PDF and PowerPoint not to mention Excel. You will have more limited capabilities than the software that you are used to on your PC but the viewer will enable you to see the documents that you need whilst you are out of the office.

A useful tip is to see if you can actually have a play around and practice with your intended purchase before actually buying it. Do you like the look and feel of the it? Can you carry it comfortably? Does the touch screen work as you would like? These points can be just as important as the technical features which dominate if you are not careful.

One of the most familiar features of computers is the QWERTY keyboard and this is a very useful feature to include on best smartphone wish list. You can also print documents from smartphones. The easy and simple way to achieve this is by making sure that your device comes equipped with an infrared capability. You can then quickly borrow other people’s printers to produce the work that you need to have in hard copy. This will also enable you to carry out other functions such as scanning documents which can be extremely useful.

Another very useful point to bear in mind this is the choice of accessories which are available. For instance, it may be useful to make sure that you have a high quality case so that your phone and, in particular, its screen, are well cared for. You should also give careful thought for before choosing the service provider for your cell phone. Have a look and see what business services they offer. Do they give you enough text messages, e-mails and broad band width so that you can use the phone as much as you wish?

The question of cost is always important when deciding on the best smartphone for your circumstances. There is obviously the question of the initial outlay but you may wish to also consider the cost of the monthly service provider and also additional insurance to make sure that your phone is replaced quickly and easily should ever be lost or stolen.

The number of smartphone reviews available online has increased at a very fast pace in recent months. These are published on professional sites as well as on blogs that are created by individuals. A smartphone blog is one of the most popular content types available online today.

Blog owners carry a wide range of content on the blogs including smartphone comparisons which pit one device against another in order to see which device is, in their opinion, better and which one should consumers go for. These articles are very informative for the general public as they are often locked out in either buying one of two smartphones in the same price range. The smartphone comparison may notify them of a feature that may be very useful to them and is present in one only one device and thus this would help them in making their choice.

Blogs also list the smartphone ranking of individual smartphones so that people may find which phone is currently the most popular. This is useful for the general public in finding the most desired phones currently on the market and then exploring their features. This way the common reader does not need to go on and see the specifications of each device in order to find the best ones. The smartphone reviews of these products are also usually the most popular and the people can find the reviews faster this way.

As most smartphone reviews feature real-life photos of the devices, these help consumers in deciding if the phone fits their needs. For example a large phone may not seem so large in its marketing photos, but if in real life it is really very big when placed beside other phones, a person may think twice about purchasing it. Thus smartphone reviews help people to go on and get a 3rd party evaluation of the product which improves their knowledge and helps them avoid making rash decisions due to good marketing.

Mobile phone spec sheets often do not mention features which may not seem interesting but may be of a great importance to you. An example would be smart dialing. You may want to know if it is present in the product you are interested in but cannot find any info about it from the manufacturer. In such a case, you would be able to obtain such information from a smartphone review that another person has written instead of the product manufacturer.

The new Motorola Atrix showcased at CES 2011, may prove to be a dark horse in the new smartphone segment. It is not only the most powerful smartphones present in the mobile, it can also be tweaked up, to match the standards of our very own desktop personal computers and your laptops as well.

The creators have well packed a bunch of power pruners under its hood. It has 1GB RAM, a Dual Core 1 Ghz Tegra 2 processor — which is enough to playback(or output) 1080p full HD video, quite comfortably. The smartphone also gives options for optional accessories like the HD Multimedia Dock, using which the Atrix can truly function like a Desktop PC. Now that means, it can power up a larger monitor, standard USB Mouse and Keyboard.

Another unique accessory, which have been featured in a lot of Tech Blogs is the ‘Laptop Dock’; since its the age of laptops, the Atrix slots in neatly, and supports all functioning all-day-to-day basic computing, such as, multimedia playback, web browsing, document editing, and email.

With the all the power that it holds you must be wondering what about its battery? Well, fear not my Friend, Motorola Atrix comes with an impressive 8-hour battery life, which is enough to last and help you go through the day’s work.

The Motorola Atrix is a ‘smart’ smartphone, but becomes a powerful tech gadget when it comes in connection with the help of some unique accessories. Cool isn’t?

So, I hereby declare the DISCLAIMER – “Handle with Care”

Cheerz!

Modern technology moves fast and furious, especially when it comes to capabilities of the smartphone. Just what is a “smartphone”? Actually there are no agreed upon or exact definitions for the term. Most would agree however that smartphones do more – much more – than what Alexander Graham Bell first envisioned when he invented the original telephone back in the 1870s.

Definition

The smartphone differs from ordinary mobile phones in that they are capable of advanced functionality because they contain software applications that can be run directly from the phone itself. This software is typically open-source, an advantage that makes adding applications as easy as loading them onto the phone via wireless downloads. Today, these devices are not considered very “smart” unless they can accomodate a datebook/calendar, advanced internet connectivity, photography, music and even video capability.

Origins

IBM was the first to venture into the business of offering consumers a highly advanced mobile phone. In 1993, the company introduced what could be considered the world’s smartphone – simply called Simon. Considered low-end by today’s standard, this first smartphone featured an amazing array of features – email, address book, clock, calendar, note pad, and even the ability to send and receive faxes.

During the mid-90′s, Nokia began to heat things up by introducing its first line of smartphone – the Nokia 9000 series. This phone was not only the first in a series of popular smart phones manufactured by Nokia, they were also the most expensive, coming in at 20-40% more costly than its rivals. The Nokia 9210 was indeed the first real and true smartphone due to its open operating system.

Cutting Edge Smart Phones

The 21st century has spawned smartphones that are incredibly powerful and easy to use. Touch-screen functionality has become the norm and manufacturers such as Apple, Nokia and Research in Motion are furiously vying for the smartphone consumer and business dollar.

Apple changed the smartphone industry with its introduction of the Apple iPhone in 2007. Nokia has since countered with the unveiling of its Nokia XPress Music Phone [http://nokia5800phone.com/nokia-5800-vs-iphone/] in 2008. The Nokia 5800 is a touch-screen lovers dream that includes just about every feature a user would want. The handset even comes with millions of downloadable music tracks at no cost. Google recently joined the fray by introducing it Android phone during the same time period.

The Future

Could the smartphone get any smarter than it already is? Sure can! In the not so distant future, virtually everyone on earth will be carrying some type of smartphone – devices that will make today’s handsets pale in comparison. Increased bandwidth and speed will allow phones to be able to handle video in real-time with no problem. In the future, these mobile handsets will be indispensable to daily life, used for a wide array of functions, including consumer purchases, banking, real-time video connectivity, advanced GPS tracking, entertainment and much more.