Friday, October 30, 2009

Nokia first netbook, the Booklet 3G will go on sale in mid November.

Nokia, the world number one cell phone maker is set to release its first netbook, marking effectively its entry into this new and hot category of inexpensive devices deigned primarily to access the Internet. Nokia's Booklet 3G as it is called, will hit the market in mid November and the reviews give it a passing grade. Starting with its look, the Wall Street Journal noticed the resemblances between the designs of the Booklet 3G and those of Apple's. One thing that will jump out according to the Journal, is its high resolution screen of 1,280 by 720 pixels, which seems noticeable in the netbook category. Another thing that will make this netbook stand out, is its unusually long battery life which should last a decent 10 hours under normal circumstances. The Nokia Booklet 3G will cost $300 if purchased with AT&T two year Data Connect Plan at the tune of $60 a month for five gigabytes of data. The one nice thing about the AT&T plan is that users are offered the option to choose at all times between a cellular 3G or a WI-FI connection which should ensure almost a constant connection. Without the AT&T plan, the Booklet 3G will cost $600 and Best Buy has started taking pre-oreders this week. The Booklet 3G comes preloaded with Windows 7 Starter and one gigabyte of memory plus the Nokia Social Hub software which is designed to allow its users to track their social medias interests and text messages.

For more, see WSJ.com

Thursday, October 29, 2009

Shoeboxed iPhone app offers an easy way to keep track of receipts.


For people with the need to keep track of everyone of their daily expenses, one of the major obstacles of achieving that may have been laying in the cumbersome nature saving the actual physical receipts. Indeed, it can be tedious, time consuming and require a lot of discipline. Now, thanks to the Apple iTunes store, help has arrived in the form of a free app called Shoeboxed offered by Shoeboxed.com.Shoeboxed is not the first digital receipts keeping solution in the market, Quicken Online Mobile has been offering a way for users to type in their receipts on the spot. What makes Shoeboxed different is the fact that there is no typing involved from the users. The way it works is very simple, according to the New York Times which has tested the app.First of all, you will need to download the free app either from the Apple store, or from Shoeboxed.com and after that, you can start taking pictures of your actual receipts using your iPhone camera;once in the system, the data will be extracted and organized into your private own account. Even if you do not own an iPhone, you still can use the service as long as you own a Web capable phone with a built-in camera. Just like with the iPhone, snap a picture of the receipt and email it to Shoeboxed.com; the service will extract the data and enter it into your safe private account for immediate access. People who lack both an iPhone and a Web accessible phone, can still use the service by mailing all their receipts and even business cards using some provided prepaid mailing envelopes to the company for it to do the scanning and the filing for them. As said earlier in this post, the app is free but the service is not, requiring a minimum $9.95 monthly membership for unlimited uploaded or emailed receipts and up to 50 receipts or business cards.

For more, see NYTimes.com

Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Crapware free PCs sold at Microsoft stores.

One of the surprises that greeted customers at Microsoft's newly opened first retail store in the U.S. since its announced come back in the retail business, has been the availability of PCs offered for sale without the traditional load of crapware or unwanted useless software that generally come with such hardware.
And according to Ars Technica, almost all of the traditional PCs makers models are represented in this new experience. But, there is a catch; even if these PCs come free of the usual crapware, there are loaded with Microsoft own software including Windows Live Essentials and Microsoft Security Essentials, as well as Adobe software.

For more, see ArsTechnica.com

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Retailers to use free shipping to lure shoppers for the holiday.

This coming holiday shopping season in the midst of a recession, has all the markings of a buyer's market. Economic experts have been busy all summer watching consumers spending and almost all signs point to some unease when it comes to people opening up their wallets. Well aware of that, retailers from the brick and mortar with an online presence to the ones with online only presence, are gearing up to make sure they don't miss the opportunity to grab their share of the dollars spent online.
To reach that goal, many retailers are reverting to free shipping as their secret weapon.
Already standard with some online retailers like Zappos.com and Shoebuy.com, free shipping is starting to become spread across the board. Retailers giants like Target, who has offered free shipping around the holidays, is starting the offer two weeks earlier this year, starting in November 1st and applying it to twice as many items as in years past, according to the Wall Street Journal.
For its part, Wal-Mart which is locked in an epic battle with Amazon.com, is using it as a knock out punch, even applying it to the already heavily discounted books that it is selling online.
Last but not least, shoppers can expect the number of retailers taking part in the annual Free Shipping Day organized by Freeshipping.org and held on Dec 17, to double from the 250 stores that took part last year;
and the event this year is set to draw first time participants like Toys "R" US.

For more, see WSJ.com.

Monday, October 26, 2009

New Flip MIno HD Premium is more stylish and offers more memory.


If you have ever tried the popular Flip pocket camcorder Mino HD, chances are you liked for its simplicity and for the results it yields. Now, its maker have introduced a new model which is not radical move from the original but rather a nice little makeover with the addition of more memory. The new Mino HD has a eight gigabyte memory, or double the capacity of the standard one, and can store two hours of 720p footage according to the New York Times.
It also has a larger two-inch LCD screen with an improved resolution of 960 by 240 pixels and a new nice feature consisting of a mini HDMI connector that will allow you to connect the device to a HD TV to view your recordings. At $230, the Mino HD is only $30 more than the standard one with double the memory and certainly, double the fun.


For more, see NYTimes.com

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Best Buy and SEARS offer free delivery and set-up for large screen TVs.

To entice people to make the purchase of that big screen TV, Best Buy is offering a free delivery and set-up for TVs priced at $999 more. This new offer comes on top of another incentive from Best Buy of free recycling of your old TV. There is no indication on how long this offer will last, but chances are that given the current economic conditions, it is going to be around for awhile and even expended to others products, or adopted by others retailers.
The latest seems to be already the case with SEARS offering a similar program for certain large TVs.

For more, see WSJ.com

Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Newly released Apple's iTunes ninth version, is a major improvement.

Earlier last month, Apple released the ninth version of its popular iTunes software with a major overhaul of the familiar components of the program: the media jukebox, the built-in store and the synchronization feature that moves media and applications to and from iPods and iPhones.

For more, see WSJ.com

Monday, October 19, 2009

Free apps for direct printing from an iPhone or an iPod.

Owners of Apple's iPhone or iPod Touch who love to snap and save pictures with their devices, may been wishing that there were an equally easy way to print those pictures on the go. That wish is now reality with the introduction of some options in the form of apps available from various sources. Even thought there are quite a few stand alone apps that offer to do just that, most of them are not proven to be bug free, or they do not offer direct printing. Two of the most reliable ways to achieve direct printing from an iPhone or an iPod Touch, are offered by two big names printer makers, HP and Canon.
As it is no secret, these two printers makers realized that few people actually take the extra step to print the many pictures that they snap with their camera equipped devices. So, they have a legitimate interest in making printing from some of the most popular mobile devices as effortless as possible. And thanks to wireless printers and iPhone's apps, that feat is just a touch of a button away.
On the downsize, the apps offered by these two giants, only work with their own brands of printers, so to use them, you really have to own a printer made by them, and for Canon's app to work, it has to be in conjunction with some particular printers models, which limit your choices. Let's introduce the current offerings by those two companies and see how they compare.
The HP's iPhone app called the iPrintPhoto is free, simple, easy to use and delivers great results working with an inkjet printer.
To get it to work beside the obvious fact that you have to download it from the Apple store, is that the printer and the and the iPhone have to be on the same WI-FI network. The printer can be connected to its own network or a Mac with the Printer Sharing option turned on. The only downsize is that the app can only print 4x6 size photos.
The other direct printing option from Canon is called the Canon Easy-PhotoPrint for iPhone or Canon iEPP, for short. Like the HP iPrintPhoto, the Canon iEPP is a free application that allow you to print from an iPhone or iPod Touch on a compatible Canon PIXMA printer via a local network.
Contrary to the HP iPrintPhoto, the Canon iEPP gives you more options when it comes to paper types or sizes(from 2.2 inches to letter size.) It is different from the HP iPrintPhoto in the sense that it will give option between choosing borders or bordeless photos and the number of copies you can print( up to 20.)
It is also has more advanced features like automatically finding a printer on a wireless network.

For more, see pcmagazine.com

Friday, October 16, 2009

New iPhone Viper SmartStart app lets you start your car remotely.


With winter just around the corner, the thought of wakening up on a snowy morning and having to make your way to your car, scrap it clean and finally have it started, can make most of us cringe. And even if you already own an electronic remote starter, the range is usually limited to 30 feet with the requirement to be standing and pointing the keyfob in the direction of the car.
Now imagine being able to start your car from almost any distance and from any room in the house regardless of what activity you are engaged in? That thought is now reality thanks to a new iPhone app called ViperSmartStart from Directed Electronics.
ViperSmartStart is an iPhone-compatible remote starter capable of warming up or cooling down a car.
It does not stop there, allowing you to remotely lock or unlock your car's the doors, pop the trunk or even sound the car alarm.
The system can be installed as a new unit for $499 or as an add on to an existing remote starter for $299 and either way, it comes with an annual fee of $29.99.
The ViperSmartStart is also compatible with the iPod Touch but with the range limited to withing existing WI-FI networks.

For more, see Wired.com

Thursday, October 15, 2009

How to delete personal information from an old iPhone model.

With the release of the new iPhone 3G, people wanting to get the new phone, may have been slow to do so just at the thought of what may seem a daunting task of moving all their data from the old phone to the new one. Thankfully for those people, that process is much simpler than they otherwise may think. Whenever ready to make the move, the first step is to go to the Home screen and tap the Settings icon which will bring up the General icon; tap the General icon and scroll down to the Reset option which is located at the bottom of the screen. Once taped with a finger, the Reset area will bring a screen with different options and you will need to look for the "Erase All Content and Settings" option. The taping of that option will get the process started and all your personal data should be completly wiped out. The data wipe out can take up to four hours depending on the amount of data in the memory. That is why is not a bad idea to have the phone on a charger during this last phase of the process.

For more, see NYTimes.com

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Do it yoursell replacement of a laptop hard drive.

For people not afraid to open up their laptops and feel confident to find their way once there, replacing a bad hard drive shouldn't be too complicated.
To get started, these are the tools needed to do the job: a nice variety of small screwdrivers to open the laptop case, and some software discs to format the drive and install the operating system onto it.
The second step is to know your old drive specs so you can shop for one that match.
Those specs to know are: The type of interface used by the drive ( the choice is going to be between an IDE connections or the newer SATA connections.) The other set of numbers to keep in mind are the capacity and the speed of your drive.
All these data can be found at spots as varied as your machine's manual, the manufacturer's Web site, or at the many sites that caries replacement hard drives.
Most of the sites that sell these replacements hard drives, have step by step guides or video tutorials on buying and replacing a defective hard drive. Some of the most known are: The ExtremeTech.com, NewEgg.com , CMS Products.com



Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Motorola Cliq smart phone will synch and stream various sources onto the screen.


Last month, Motorola introduced its first Google's Android phone, the Motorola Cliq scheduled to go on sale exclusively from T-Mobile beginning Nov 2 with pre-ordering for current T-Mobile customers starting from October 19 to November 1. The Motorola Cliq is priced at $199.99 for the pre orders and will likely remains at that price when it goes on sale to the general public, according to Barron.co.
With Google Android as the brain, the phone comes loaded with various offerings from Google like Google Maps with Street View, Google Voice Search, Picasa, Google photos sharing website, Gtalk etc.
But when it comes to e-mail services, the Motorola Cliq offers several options beside Google's Gmail, including Yahoo mail, Windows Live and others.
According to CNET.com, Motorola Cliq comes equiped with a full HTML Google browser, WI-FI capabilities and is Bluetooh and GPS ready. It also has a built-in music and video player, and a 5-megapixel camera with video recording capabilities.
But beside all its nice features, what Motorola is hoping will set the Cliq apart from the competition, is its featuristic interface called Motoblur which key element is it ability to synch information from different sources such as your work or personal e-mail accounts, Facebook, MySpace, Twitter and other social networks sites and automatically display any updates from those sources, on the screen.
In that new feature, Motorola tries to set the tone in what a smart phone should be: an Internet access and platform device. How true that assumption is going to ring, will depends on how widely and quickly the new phone is adopted before the next new thing comes out and takes all the novelty factor out of it.

For more, see CNET.com

Monday, October 12, 2009

How to read Gmail offline

Earlier this year, Gmail owned by Google, introduced a feature called Offline Gmail that will allow users to check their mailbox while offline.
The way Offline Gmail works a copy of your mailbox with the latest messages in it, is downloaded while you are online, and then stored on your browser for later viewing offline.
The function needs to be turned on by logging to your Gmail account, click the Settings tab and then the Labs tab. From there, click the Enable button for Offline Gmail and hit the Save Changes button.
Once those steps are taken, you can start downloading your mailbox by clicking the new Offline line on the mailbox page.
Web-based mail is great — until you don’t have an Internet connection. To ease the separation anxiety, Google recently introduced a feature called Offline Gmail, which downloads a copy of your mailbox and all the recent messages when you do have Internet access, and then keeps it all available in your Web browser for when you don’t.
To turn it on, log into your Gmail account on the Web, click the Settings tab and then, in many browsers, the Labs tab. Click the Enable button for Offline Gmail and then the Save Changes button.
To start downloading your mailbox, click the new Offline line on the mailbox page.

For more information, go to the Gmail Blog where a video explain the process in simple terms can be viewed.

Friday, October 9, 2009

Starbucks coffee launches my Starbucks App for more convenience.

As if its stores were not ubiquitos enough, Starbucks wants to put a store right in the palms of your hands, for iPhone phones owners at least, in the form of an app. That was made possible with the introduction last month of two Starbucks apps respectively called myStarbucks App and TheStarbucks Card, available at Apple's store. While the myStarbucks App has been released to the general public already, The Starbucks Card is still in the testing phase, mainly in the West coast with yet no release date to the general public. In the other hand, myStarbucks app is available for download free from the iTunes store.
According to the NYTimes," the myStarbucks App, which is usable anywhere, lets you store the recipe for your favorite coffee concoction and to share it with other people." If you need some help with your selection, the myStarbucks App has a flavor selector that will let choose a coffee made with your favorite flavors like earthy or nutty. It also gives you a peak onto the nutritional information relevant to your selection.
And as you would have suspected, the myStarbucks App has a store locator built into it with multiple possibilities like search for the closest store or by the kind of amenities offered ( diapers changing station anyone?)
The Sarbucks card being tested in selected cities in the West Coast, is more intriguing in the sense that it will let people pay for their coffee via a bar code embedded on the phone's screen.Quoting the New York Times, TheStarbucks Card "works just like a regular Starbucks card, in that you buy credit then use it against your orders. When you want to buy a drink, turn on the app, and your screen will show a barcode. The store will scan the barcode and the dollar value of the drink will be subtracted from your purchased credit."


For more, see NYTimes.com

Thursday, October 8, 2009

Using WI-FI as an alternative to cellular networks congestion.

With the popularity of samart phones these days, come a drawback in the form of clogged cellular network connections who more often than not, got more than they can handle.
So to help remedie the situation, some of the nation biggest wireless carriers are offering a temporary relief in the form of WI-FI connection from hot spots. With WI-FI, customers can bypass the carriers wireless networks and make or receive phone calls and deliver or access fast data in areas where they normally wouldn't.
In that regard, AT&T, the carrier with the most isssues with network coongestion, is leading the way with close eely to 20,000 company's accessible hot spots. Those hot spots are freely accessible as part of their monthly data plan to AT&T customers with Windows Mobile phones as well as AT&T customers owners of an iPhone or a Blackberry even though, many of them are not aware of that option.
To find those free hot spots, iPhone owners can download WI-FI locator apps like the free hot spots finder, WI-FI Finder from JiWire which will offer users a list of nearby hot spots based on their locations. Blackberry or Windows Mobile phones owners on the AT&T network, don't have access to such free applications, but for a certain fee, can download apps from either the Blackberry's App World or the Android Market.
T.Mobile, another big wireless carrier, also offers free WI-FI connections to its subscribers as part of their monthly data plan but for only about 10,000 hot spots locations.
But for an additional $10 a month, T.Mobile customers are able to place unlimited calls from any hot spot without exceding their plan limits. Unfortonatly, among T.Mobile 30 WI-FI capable phones, only 18 of them can make such calls and to make it even more restrictive, the Android powered phones are not among them.
Another big wireless carrier, Sprint does not offer WI-FI connections but instead is taking another route in the form of WiMax technology, in conjonction with its partner, Clearwire Communications.
With that technology, Sprint is trying to cover entire cities in an Internet cloud and not just some hot spots. That's why the project is slow going and is rolled out in only a few cities (Baltimore, Las Vegas, Boise Idaho, Bellingham Washington and Portland Oregon) with a few more on the work.
In cities where its WiMax is present, Sprint's actual subscribers would have to pay an additional fee to acces the network and they have the option to pay a $ 60 monthly fee for unlimited connection, or pay by the day to the tune of $10 for a full 24 hours.
Verizon Wireless, the nation biggest wireless carrier doesn't offer a WI-FI cellphone connection even though it is promoting a device commonly called MI-FI that for $100 a month, will enable up to five devices to connect to the Internet. But the catch there is , you have to be near a cellular covered area for the device to work.



For more, see NYTimes.com

Wednesday, October 7, 2009

Verbatim InSight is a stylish external hard-drive with high capacity storage solution.


Back in August, Verbatim, the world's leader in media storage technology introduced a new portable high capacity USB Hard Drive called InSight.
Beside the technical specs that we will visit further, the most striking thing about the InSight, is its sleek design that sets it apart from most other storage devices with more conservative looks.
In the functionality category, it is worthwhile to notice a very neat feature called the Always On display which is a blue digital display that automatically calculates and continuously displays the drive's name -which by the way can be customized to the user choosing- and the available free space, even when the drive is disconnected from the computer.
Taking about space, the palm sized Verbatim InSight comes in two models, a 320-gigabyte one, and a 500-gigabyte one priced respectively at $130 and $160.
Either model comes with a complete data protection solution from Nero BackItUp Essentials allowing full automatic system backup and restore functions. The backup software set up is easy to use, offering the user, the option to choose the backup frequencies, and features data encryption with password.

For more, see Gizmodo.com

Tuesday, October 6, 2009

Cake Financial is an easy to use automated financial service.

If there was a better time for someone to pay closer attention to their own finances, that time is now. But the recession and the financial crisis that have preceded it, can make it harder for a lot of people to afford, or even to just trust another human being with advices on how to handle their investments. That's where comes in Cake Financial, a San Francisco based small company which is offering an automated financial service written in plain English and with the aim to provide users, a custom design mutual-fund portfolio.
Priced at $99 a year, "the service, is designed to be simple, clear, relatively quick using easy to understand graphics and a step by step approach", according to the Wall Street Journal.
Cake Premium, which is the name of the service , works by automatically importing users retirement investment and 401(k) account information from a pool of 65 major investments companies, analyzes and categorizes his or her holdings, and then proposes how best to reallocate them.
It is important to note that Cake Financial is not a licensed adviser or broker and doesn't conduct any transaction on your behalf. It provides the practical advices and if you want to follow through with them, you'll have to go somewhere else to conduct the actual transaction.
For people interested in testing the service, Cake Financial is offering a free 30-day trial at Cake Financial.com.

For more, see WSJ.com

Monday, October 5, 2009

Femtocell devices extend and enhance cellphones coverage.

Most cellphone users have one time or another experienced with spotty coverage or simply dropped calls regardless of which carrier they get their service from. Over the years, there have been a number of devices intended to help with the problems by extending or enhancing cellphone service. In the past year, some of the biggest wireless carriers in the U.S. have begun offering new devices called femtocells that are small boxes that act like miniature cellular towers to improve the network's coverage. While Verizon Wireless and Sprint Nextel sell femtocells, AT&T does not. But here is a catch:the wireless carriers who do sell femtocells, do not market these devices as doing so would give a hint to a sensitive subject they rather do not want to talk about, coverage problem. So the catch is that if a subscriber really feel like he or she needs one, he or she will have to expressly demand for it. And usually carriers use the option to offer it as a last resort to retain subscribers who threaten to switch carriers.
According to the Wall Street Journal, "femtocells don't require special cellphones as they use the same radio spectrum as carrier's cellular towers to extend their cellular coverage by taping into a landline connection and routing calls over the Internet."
One femtocell can handle up to three simultaneous calls, covers up to 5,000 square feet and the owner can grant access to other cellphone owners that use the same carrier.
Sprint femtocell device called Airave is offered at $100 plus a monthly fee of $5, while Verizon unit called a Network Extender, goes for $250.
AT&T is said to be testing it's version of femtocell in three different cities without any mention of possible roll over date.

For more, see WSJ.com

Friday, October 2, 2009

Avis offers free-rental days.

Through December 13, 2010, Avis Rent A Car is offering what is called a future free-rental day when travelers book a car for five consecutive days. The way the program works, after the five-day rental is complete, a voucher for a "Rental health Day" to be used before June 13 rd, 2010, would be e-mailed to customers by Avis . One of the conditions is that customers have to be members of Avis loyalty program called Avis Wizard and register for the promotion at www.avis.com/rentalhealthday.
The program only allow the earning of up to three free -rental days generated by three separate five day-paid-rental periods.

Thursday, October 1, 2009

Fanbase.com plans to be the web's largest almanac of pro and college athletes, built by fans.

Sports fans who can not get enough of their favotite team or players, or who follow some not very popular sports, like high school hockey, have a new avenue to satisfy their devotion, thanks to a new Web site called Fanbase.com. The site goals' is to be a sort of a almanac of sports of all sorts, be it a team sport or an individual one, professional or amateur. Fanbase will work kind of like a Wiki where pages devoted to former or current players or athlets or teams will be created and fans as well as the players themselves would be encouraged to review and update.
According to the New York Times, Fanbase.com "hopes that current and former athletes and fans will visit the site and upload commentary and correct inaccuracies, just as enthusiasts provide much of the information in Wikipedia and the Internet Movie Database. "
To make the site more engaging, Fanbase holds various trivias and contests and is trying to fill it with as much videos as possible from some of the most popular video sharing sites like YouTube and with users generated content, be it video, written or pictures. The site organize various contests and trivia
Fanbase also is making it easier for its users to stay connected with their friends on other popular social networks sites like Facebook.com
Still according to the New York Times, "Fanbase plans to expand over the next few months to include individual sports like golf, skiing and tennis. After that, it wants to get really obscure, adding pages for high school teams and athletes."

For more, see NYTimes.com

Business - Google News

FUN ZONE

World Bloggers United