Cool Latest Gadgets and Gizmos News » Gadgets tips

Can I Bin My Laptop & Replace with Kindle Fire?

Admin — Fri, 02 Mar 2012 17:21:33 +0000

The main thing to remember about the Kindle Fire is that it is not a tablet, not a computer. It is not designed to compete with the iPad, and head to head it wouldn’t stand a chance. And although it may put some of the cheaper and more rudimentary tablets in their place it would struggle against the top brands in terms of capacity and responsiveness. Having said all that this is a very neat piece of kit and compared with its predecessors it is absolutely dripping with extras that make it a thoroughly enjoyable product to own.

Kindle Fire Specs:

At just under $200 it is reasonably priced for what it offers and probably fits fairly neatly into the general budget for a decent Christmas or Birthday gift without the need for breaking the bank. Priced as it is, producers Amazon, claim to be making a loss on the product itself, in the hope that they will redeem the loss on the cost of the item through the sales of apps, video, movies and books from the Amazon website on to the devices. You will need to be prepared to purchase all of the media you want to use through Amazon if you want to use it through the Fire as it is essentially just a media viewer, although a state of the art one, designed to help you access Amazon products.

The 7” screen is multi touch and very responsive, but not quite as intuitive as an iPad in following finger movements on screen. It uses technology called In Plane Switching which does allow for wide angle viewing, useful if you are sharing a movie with a friend, and the 1024 x 600 pixel 169 ppi gives the video display a nice rich effect. The screen itself is made from gorilla glass, superbly tough and you shouldn’t worry about needing screen protectors, as the average set of keys, or other random metallic objects that you might have stowed in the bottom of your bag pose no real threat at all. It does weigh in at a reasonably hefty 413 grams and although this is lighter than the iPad (600grams), if you do find yourself without your stand it is difficult to hold for sustained reading/viewing times.

Like a Computer, but not a Computer:

You have to remind yourself that this is not a computer, but with the combination of the high speed dual core processor, some of the creative apps and the fast internet browsing it does feel like you have a device which is all but in name a PC. Load it up with Office Suite Pro 5, Exchange By TouchDown, (and Facebook, of course!) and you might as well be at your desk. The web browser silk is an innovative feature and something of which Amazon are rightly boastful, although not all websites are sized perfectly on screen, access and flow between web pages is smooth and load time is minimal. Overall if you were looking to replace your tired old laptop, notebook or PC you could probably manage with the Kindle Fire and not suffer to greatly (if at all) as a consequence.

Storage Issues:

Storage on the device itself is an issue. It comes with 8GB as standard, which for a media playing device, given the current direction in terms of file size in terms of definition and quality, that media is going, 8GB is hopelessly inadequate. You look at the numbers and almost shout, “What were they thinking?” Particularly as it doesn’t come with an SD Card Slot. Especially as included in the 8GB is the 1.5GB OS, leaving you with 6.5GB; enough to hold 1 movie, 20 apps, 200 songs and a couple of hundred books in total. Not really the greatest media catalogue in the world. Amazon were of course thinking, as everyone is, with their heads in the cloud. And the cloud here is an excellent feature, with 5gb of free storage and for a buck a year you can get an extra gigabyte, giving you the storage without the hassles of cluttering the device and worrying about download times.

Overall the Kindle Fire is kit definitely worth having, it will not stand up against and Ultrabook, or iPad, but against a standard notebook, it performs fairly well and as a media viewer it is in a class of its own. Its major plus point lies in its price, which is no fortune and won’t require a large online balance transfer so the Kindle Fire should not be passed by simply because of its shortcomings.

Which is the Best Camera for Photography?

Admin — Thu, 21 Jul 2011 13:17:27 +0000

People frequently asked these questions:

“What is the best camera for photography?”
“Which camera should I buy?” OR
“What’s the best camera in my price range?”etc…

Answer: The best digital camera is one that helps you take photos that you love.

Comparing best camera is a lot like comparing apples to apples at the time of purchasing. Faced with a large pile of apples, how do you pick the best one for you? You can pick from a variety of apples because you know exactly what you like (i.e. crunchy, tart, green, and no spots). Finding the best camera is not very different. But you need to think on some points which will help to choose the best. It should help you pick out the best digital camera for you:

Discover your Inner Photographer
Let’s start with a Self-Assessment.

The question you have to ask yourself is: What do I love to photograph?

Think of this exercise as finding your photographic sign. Once you know your sign, it will be easier for you to find a camera you’re companionable with. Now we are going to next section, a list of a variety of photographic styles. See if one of them appeals to you more than the others.

Photography Styles:

Action and Sports: You may not think you’re an action or sporty photographer. If you find your happiness in life is photographing children and pets, than you are! They never stop moving around, and they rarely sit still for a photo.
Portraits: Faces are fascinating to you. When you go on vacation you are more inclined to take photos of the locals than the scenery. There is something about the human face and the expressiveness of the eyes that is enchanting.
Landscapes: Landscape photographers are somewhat opposite to portrait photographers. While the portrait person likes to interact with people, the landscaper is more at home in the beauty of nature without another single person for miles.
Universal: Macro photography is for those who love the small things in life, and pay enough attention to their surroundings to notice all of the tiny details. The devil is in the details – and you want to try to find it.
Night/Low Light: You enjoy prowling around in the dark or dim are fascinated by the way night-time can change a city. That or you really enjoy taking photos inside dim galleries and museums.
Travel/Outdoor: You want your camera to go with you EVERYWHERE. Whether it’s hiking, biking, or jumping out of an airplane, the best camera for you will be small and light.
Indoor: You are most inclined to pull out a camera when your small child is reaching for his favorite toy. You take photos of birthday parties, dinners, and other events that occur inside a house.
Spontaneous: You want to be able to react on a moment’s notice, and know that speed is essential to capturing the photo of a lifetime. You have a habit of waiting until the last moment to bring out the camera.
Planned/Studio: No photo you take is without some form of preparation. Whether it’s a child’s portrait or a still life of your favorite flower, you like to get everything set up so that the light, color and mood are just right.

Best Photography Accessories:

ColorMunki Photo: Combining monitor calibration with printer profiling, the ColorMunki Photo should take care of all your color managing needs.
Epson P-7000 Multimedia Storage Viewer: The Epson P-7000 is good to use when it comes to portable storage devices. Battery life is good and would be more than enough to last the typical user a full day… this certainly isn’t a cheap device, but the quality is first rate, and it beats the heck out of hauling a laptop for image storage.
Epson Stylus Photo R2880: The increase in dMax, while faint, makes the already solid black and white performance even better. Combined with the lack of metamerism,.
HP Photosmart B9180: Overall, the HP B9180 is hard to beat. The image quality is first rate, and with the move to coloring inks the print life and media options are excellent.
Wacom Cintiq 12wx: The ultimate companion for creative professionals, Wacom’s slim and light Cintiq 12WX delivers pen-on-screen capabilities that allow digital content creators to work smarter and faster The Cintiq 12WX is suitable in a variety of computer environments, especially those where users wish to work across displays.

The moment when you start comparing cameras, it’s easy to lose track of why you needed the camera in the first place. At that time, Pick Your Style before you go any further, pick your photographic style. It’s OK if you choose 2 or 3 styles, so long as you remember which ones they are. When you just focus on the features that help you take the photos you love, it reduces the number of features you have to evaluate. You’ll find the best digital camera and not just the best camera for anyone.

5 New Green House Technology – Going Green at Home

Admin — Wed, 20 Apr 2011 08:59:20 +0000

As the economy takes a downturn and the earth’s resources start to get lower, many people consider going green in the home. Below are five new green technologies to consider when making environmentally-conscious enhancements to your home.

Solar Attic Fans:

Do you want to save up to 30% of your cooling expenses? Solar-powered attic fans will dissipate heat. This is useful in the summer when cooling costs rise. It’s also helpful in the winter when ice re-freezes, causing ice damage. In addition, these fans will offset moisture that accumulates via the shower, cooking, etc. — no more mold or mildew. They’re weather resistant and efficient.

Water-Conserving Showerheads:

According to EPA, we use 30,000 gallons of water per day. Through their WaterSense program, you could save some of this water (and your wallet). If you’re worried about water pressure, don’t be. These water-conserving shower heads are reported to have slightly larger water droplets that oscillate, hitting you from all different directions and eliminating the feeling of “low flow.”

LED Lamps:

The state of California has stopped selling 100-watt and 150-watt A19 incandescent light bulbs, and will stop selling 75-watt incandescent bulbs by 2013. This could become a trend. LED (light-emitting diodes) lamps emit light in short wavelengths, so they come in multiple colors. This is more energy efficient than incandescent bulbs, which have a white light source and discard the colors of light (energy) not needed. They range from 5 to 100 watts and can last up to 30,000 hours. While LED lamps are more costly, they last longer and have tubes that don’t break.

Tankless Water Heaters:

It’s so often that people use water, even when they’re not…using it. Standard water heaters keep all water heated even when you’re not actively using it. Tankless water heaters heat water as you use it. Step 1: Turn on the tap. Step 2: The system heats the water. Step 3: The water comes out of the tap hot. There’s no need for a storage tank and you don’t have to worry about running out of hot water in the middle of a shower. These demand water heaters can save 24%–34% more energy, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. It doesn’t get much easier.

Solar Air Purifiers:

A greentech convenience, the solar air purifier is portable and silent. Eliminating odors like those from pets and smoke, you place it next to your window. The carbon filter and photo catalytic oxidation will strip the air of any smells, neutralize airborne viruses and render toxic gasses harmless. They’re also useful for people with allergies or respiratory issues. As long as there’s light, there’s a way.

Britney Baker is a freelance blogger who normally ranks prepaid phones for PrepaidCellphones.net.

Bike Number Plates Design

Admin — Thu, 07 Apr 2011 06:03:08 +0000

The motoring community in return to seeing an growing number of cyclists on the road. The term for bike registration is for the most part a knee jerk reaction. There are numerous ways that you can personalize your motorcycle if you are keen to spend a little money but perhaps one of the easiest and cheapest is to get your hands on some custom motorcycle number plates.

The cyclist’s is the one group of road users who do not have to have any form of licensing, identification or even a recognized qualification to use the public highways. For the bulk of road users, a license and some sort of registration plate such as a number plate is a legal requirement to be able to drive on the road like biker.

It’s a bit of a pain that we have to have number plates on your motorcycle at all really if you want your vehicle to look as good as possible. There is no doubt that the majority of us would do away with them if we weren’t at the mercy of the law. Motorbike number plates do nothing for the looks of your bike and they probably ruin your color scheme and disturb the lines of your machine.

Many companies in the UK are using computer controlled design, printing and routing technology to provide a service that you are guaranteed to be happy with within a few days. By following some simple steps first Design your plate by your own choice, second buy surely online & third they will deliver the number plate to you free.

What law says about Bike number plates?

Hand painted plates are not permitted to be used.
The correct number plate is attached on a bike rack and the vehicle number plate is not covered by the rack
Attach the rear number plate from your car to your bicycle rack when it is in use and then return it to your vehicle when you are not using the bicycle rack
The registered operator of a vehicle must ensure that the numbers and letters on the vehicle’s number plate are clearly visible from a distance of 20 metres.
You can be fined if the number plate is illegible
A bicycle rack is usally fitted or attached to the towbar

Steps to get License Plate made for a Bike:

Look for various type of license plate in which you are interested, and determine whether it will be adapted, originality or even an official license plate. The possibilities are infinite, but don’t be overwhelmed by the quantity.
Some bike registration programs offer registrants the ability to purchase an official registered bike license plate for which you can contact your state or city officials to register your bike. These plates are generally affordable and the product is usually quite attractive with a classic look these programs vary from state to state and municipality to municipality.
Attach your license plate by swelling it to the back of your bicycle frame. Some bicycles come equipped with holes to swell license plates, but many do not. If your bike does not come with the right equipment, you can purchase mounting kits online or from your local bike shop.
Don’t worry if the plate doesn’t seem to fit exactly right, as there is not a lot of standardization in the manufacture of these plates and the mounting apparatus. Improvise if possible by drilling new holes or bending pieces of the mounting kit to fit the license plate.

You can make your own Number Plate your Bike depending on your needs, and whether you want a temporary or permanent option, the materials will vary, but the main procedure will remain the same. Here we go:

With the help of scissors cut out a square of cardboard, after measuring the size of the dimensions space available for your number plate by using a tape measure.
Place it over the space where you want to mount your number plate. Then trim the cardboard into the punch two holes in each corner of the cardboard, at the mounting points, which will likely be the upper fork tubes or cross member below the triple clamp.
Make sure the cardboard stencil fits the way you want the final plate to fit. When you are done, the wire will loop through the two holes like a stitch and be secured around the fork tubes.
Remove the cardboard stencil, place it on the plastic, and trace the shape onto the plastic with the marking pen. Cut the plastic along the line to reproduce the shape of your stencil. Depending on the thickness of the plastic you choose, it may be necessary to make the plastic along the traced line with a utility knife in order to cut it.
Use the zip ties to secure each corner of the plastic to the available mounting point. Drill two holes at each corner of the plastic shape, in the places you marked out from the cardboard stencil. Use electrical tape to create your numbers of choice, and you now have a homemade number plate.

How we can Design our Motorbike Number Plates?

Proud of your bike, get a number plate to be proud of you custom show plates for your motorbike that reflect your personality and your bike.

Before designing a number plate, we need to make sure that we are clear on whether our bike number plate will show a UK registration number, and be used on UK public roads. If this is the case, then you need to make sure that use UK legal fonts and such.
You have the luxury of designing your motorcycle number plates in any color, typeface, background, borders or badges that you want.
Background you can make it plain and simple or colorful and inventive with a mixture of background images including patterns, manufacturers, marques and more. Plate background color usually, yellow is used but silver color is now available.
Borders choose the thinness & thickness of your border, in any color or just use the default (it still looks nice).
Any Upper text that you want to visible on your motorcycle plates above your registration number. If you’ve also chosen to have a border then the text will fit in a gap in the centre of the border at the top. Lower text placed at the bottom, it’s just the same as upper text.
You can choose any luxury font as many fonts as you want, in any color.
Side symbol these fit to the left or right of your registration number you can choose as fancy, as artistic or as wild as you want.
Customizing a motorcycle number plate will only take you a few minutes and can be made and dispatched for delivery extremely fast.

Difference in Motorbike Number Plates and Car Number Plates among different Countries:

In the UK, car plates and bike plates use exactly the same formats, and it’s only the shape of the plate itself which is different. In some countries though, motorbikes and cars use different styles of number plate. But something strange happens. You’d be forgiven for thinking that the prices for similar plates on cars and motorbikes would attain similar prices, but the reality is that they don’t. In Dubai, auctions for the separate motorbike plates are held right alongside the car ones.

From decades modified Number Plates on cars is something that have been popular, and the idea of getting a license plate that is unique and exclusive in some way ,and its depend on number plate that which one of the very first set of registrations . Some clever individuals have realised that there is a lot of money in exclusive license plates that are available for sale.

If we make comparison in price of bike & car number plate, motorbikes plates bring in far less money than plates on cars, and there doesn’t seem to be any good reason for it. If there were two plates of “B1″, one for use on cars and one for use on bikes, the bike one would possibly bring in only around a tenth money of what the car will achieve.

Appearance and look is great topic while discussing about differences. Motorbike owners are hardly less finicky about their bikes appearance and look than car owners, and there are bulk communities of traditional bike owners around the world, so why is it that people aren’t willing to go to the same lengths for number plates for bikes as they are for cars? Conceivably as more bike owners realise the possibilities of personalised plates on their bikes this will change, and in the UK it may already be the case, as what vehicle the plate will be attached to be not known at auctions. Somebody pitching £200k may be doing it to attach the plate to their bike.

Let’s talk about degree of responsibility & experience of freedom in reference to bike & other transport.

Most of us first learn to ride a bicycle at a very early age. It is often our first real taste of both freedom and responsibility. It’s very difficult to identify a cyclist in a road traffic situation. With no easily identifiable number plate, a cyclist can simply go into the traffic and you as a driver are left shaking your fist again. But a number plate, even if that was a personalised number plate of some kind, would give both you as the witness (or victim) and the authorities the ability to trace the cyclist and hold them to account.A basic form of insurance would at least give someone involved in an incident with a cyclist some form of redress. It would also benefit the cyclist as well, giving them a degree of protection in the event of an accident.

While cycling proficiency tests are now down to a matter of choice for individual schools, there is no other form of mandatory testing to ensure that someone is safe and proficient in the use of a bicycle and is familiar with the basic laws of the road. Cycling is one of the only forms of transport where you can literally go into a shop, buy a vehicle and ride out a few minutes later with no formal training, no licence requirements and no registration plate. The law only requires vehicles powered by combustion engines to carry number plates.

Driving a vehicle such as a car or motorcycle requires far more skill than riding a bicycle and there is undoubtedly a greater risk factor purely because of the greater mass involved. So consequently, motorists and motorcyclists undergo strict testing and license controls so that they are identifiable in the event of an accident and deemed as competent enough to use a public road. And this is where the argument for number plates on bicycles comes in.

Gadgets for Girls – Stress Buster

Admin — Thu, 03 Feb 2011 08:35:25 +0000

Stress Buster – Convert Stress into Usable Energy!

You are absolutely be familiar with the feeling when you get back home after a hard day, hungry and angry, eager to beat something or even someone. Don’t beat anyone! In its place convert your pressure into usable energy with the Stress Buster lamp by Saravanan Nagasundaram.

This device is based on the law of conservation energy, according to which energy can only be transformed as of one state to another, it cannot be created or destroyed. The device consists of punching bag, kicking column and squeeze ball. Each of the lamp’s ingredients features piezoelectric layer that generates an electrical meadow or electric potential in response to applied mechanical strain. Thus the Stress Buster produces energy every time you kick, punch or squeeze it. The lamp is not only an energy converter, also it can be used as a useful device: the balls are movable, they can be used as emergency light. The lamp features built-in rechargeable battery in which energy is stored.

HDTV Tips – How to Choose

Admin — Tue, 30 Nov 2010 07:27:10 +0000

On this Black Friday, many people were out to buy quality HDTV, not only this…there were many crazy discounts as well. However selecting the right HDTV for the right person was a big challenge. So here’s the GadgetsWorld advice on choosing the best HDTV.

Plasma v/s LCD
For the money, plasma tends to beat LCD from a pure picture standpoint. Blacks are usually better, contrast is better, motion resolution is better, while the older issues like burn-in aren’t really problems like they used to be. The flipside of plasma sets are that they’re more power hungry, and they’re not as bright.

LCD sets, on the other hand, are brighter, thinner, less power hungry, and straight out cheaper. If you’re going for a set that’s under 42 inches, LCD is probably where you wanna go. The best kind of LCD TVs are LED backlit models that typically deliver better color, better blacks and better contrast, though they’re pricey than the average LCD.

No Fake & Real 3DTV:
Want to buy a set knowing that it’ll have excellent performance without having to do a ton of poking and prodding? Buy a 3DTV. The thing about 3DTVs, says HD Guru’s Gary Merson is that in order to do 3D competently, they “have to do certain things really really well.” 3D sets are, generally speaking, the best performing sets in the product line. So even if you never intend to watch a single piece of 3D content, it’s worth considering a 3DTV.

Because the set’s delivering different images for the left eye and the right eye it has to be able to switch the image it’s displaying “very completely and very fast,” says Gary. The end result is a TV with better processing power and better performance.

The main issue to look out for in 3DTVs is cross talk. Basically, when the image for left eye shows up in the right eye, or vice versa, and you see ghost images. Depending on how much cross talk there is, you might even see two distinct images. And when it comes to no crosstalk, plasma sets beat the LCD competition. In fact, when it comes to 3D performance, plasma wins overall.

What’s 1080p?
The dirty secret about 1080p is that you don’t need it if you’re TV’s not big enough and you’re sitting too far back to see it. If a set’s under 40 inches, you don’t need 1080p. The Lechner distance, named for this guy, is the optimal viewing distance at which your eye can fully process all the detail offered by an HDTV’s resolution. It scales, based on how big your TV is. For example: average viewing distance in an American home is 9 feet from the set. In order to fully see all of the details 1080p offers at that distance, you’d need a 70-inch set. So if you’re sitting more than six feet away from your TV or just buying a smaller set, considering saving some cash by going 720p.

There are lots of other small things that you need to take care while buying HDTV, however these above mentioned are enough to go ahead to choose the best one. All the best for your future shopping. and warm welcome for your HDTV thoughts…

Cool Gifts for your Sister on Rakhi

AmitD — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 07:27:49 +0000

Some Raki Gifts For Ur Sister

We all know that the festival of Rakhi is all about sharing and caring between brothers and sisters. It’s also about giving and taking gifts or gadgets. If you have some money saved up this would be the right occasion to introduce your precious sister to a gadget as a gift from you. However remember to take it slow and start with the basics or something that she would actually use.

For you know how it is… next Rakhi you have to either match up to this year’s gift or you’d be expected to come up with something better. We’ve listed a ‘best’ and the ‘best possible for less’ gadget for a phone, music player, camera, and netbook options that would make good gifts that shall reap you huggable rewards. Go ahead, make this rakhi special for your sister.

Smart Swipe Device

AmitD — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 08:36:39 +0000

Smart Swipe Device

Some of you may remember when we reported on the IDVault, a device that kept all your passwords in one convenient USB thumb drive. It is also an extra level of security. In an age where everything is on the Net, someone could easily obtain our information with nothing more than a few passwords and numbers. The SmartSwipe was invented to insure that our credit card numbers would be safe. The SmartSwipe is a credit card reader that plugs right into the USB drive, and makes you look like a retail cashier. However, it is designed for those who shop online and will encrypt the credit card data before transmitting it to the computer. This is different than most online security programs, that only protect information on the way to the Internet.

So not only can users feel safe about their online purchases and other credit-card related business, but they have an easier way of entering information rather than typing in their credit card number and expiration date. You must be making several credit-card purchases a day in order to justify this purchase. Then again, if you can afford to live like that, then you could easily work the SmartSwipe into your budget.

You have to wonder if the $99.95 pricetag makes this device worth it.

How to run iTune faster

Fri, 16 Jan 2009 14:15:45 +0000

iTunes

I feel iTunes is the single slowest application on some PC’s. However, there are few ways to goose iTunes, to make it a little less pokey than usual. I’m not promising a dramatic speed increase, just somewhat more efficient operation.

First, turn off Genius by clicking Store, Turn Off Genius but that will delete all collected Genius data. It’s a neat feature, but this has been noticed that it seems awfully “busy” at times. Anything that’s demanding iTunes’ attention is also hurting its performance. I never thought it was that smart, anyway.

Second, click Edit, go on Preferences, Sharing, and then disable Look for shared libraries & Share my library on the local network. Whenever there’s ongoing network activity, you can count on a performance hit. Of course, if you are sharing your iTunes library, skip this step.

Finally, switch over to the Apple TV tab & disable Look for Apple TVs. It’s another case of superfluous network activity that can only hurt performance.

I’m sure Apple would do some fine-tuning in this regard.

Netbook tips: How to choose

Admin — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 07:00:54 +0000

Netbooks

First of all, why Netbooks? Because they offer people a mobile, easy way to wirelessly access the Web. And over the past few months a dozen or more new netbooks have hit the market, giving people a wider range of choices.

Netbook Structure: Most netbooks sport small LCD screens, 8.9-inches to 10-inches, versus an average of 15.4-inches for normal laptops. Netbooks generally weigh around 2.2 lbs (1 kilogram) each, far lighter than most laptops, and carry batteries that last up to 8 hours. They cost between US$199 and $799.

Here are some tips for your first netbook:

1. Make sure you want a netbook and not a full-fledged laptop computer.

What do you want to use this netbook for? Do you want a lightweight device for easy Internet access? Or are you really looking for a device to carry around that you can edit video on, play games, or use for other applications that test the computing limits of a netbook?

Don’t buy a netbook if you’re really looking for a laptop, it would be a mistake.

To ensure longer battery life, some key components on a netbook, such as the microprocessor, are less powerful than common laptops. That’s why they’re good for surfing the Internet, sending e-mails, or doing homework.

Anyone looking to do more should shop for a more powerful laptop, not a netbook.

2. Buy a netbook with an 8.9-inch screen or larger.

Tested an Eee PC with a 7-inch screen, the Surf, and found screen too small. I was not able to view an entire Web page on the cramped display. On a screen that small, you have to scroll left and right as well as up and down to see an entire Web page. Scrolling up and down is normal, but left and right was annoying.

That’s less of a problem on the slightly larger-sized screens and, in the 8.9-inch screen size, the weight and size of the netbook is nearly the same as devices with 7-inch screens.

The 10-inch screens are even better, yet add size and weight to the netbook.

3. Make sure you get a 6-cell battery for your netbook, although you may have to pay $50 more and the device will weigh more.

Most companies started out offering netbooks with 3-cell batteries as the standard, but that doesn’t offer a whole lot of run time, just 2-3 hours. A 6-cell battery doubles that, and in some devices designed around a 6-cell battery, such as Asustek Computer’s Eee PC 901, you can get up to 8 hours.

In a mobile device, battery life is vital. You don’t want to always have to look around for outlets, or fight over the last available socket in a coffee shop.

Most vendors are now following Asustek’s lead with 6-cell batteries. In fact, the netbooks listed on Amazon.com’s bestseller list for the past month nearly all carry 6-cell batteries, Acer’s Aspire One, Asustek’s Eee PC 1000HA and Samsung Electronics’ NC10-14GB.

Micro-Star International’s Wind series, which sports a 10-inch screen, is a good example of the difference in weight on the batteries. Wind netbooks with 6-cell batteries weigh 2.6 lbs (1.18 kg), while those with 3-cell batteries weigh 2.3 lbs (1.04 kg).

Vendors generally offer 6-cell batteries for all models. But most devices come standard with a 3-cell or 4-cell battery, so if you want a 6-cell you may have to ask for it, and expect to pay a bit more.

Another benefit of the larger battery is that it props up the back of the device, putting it on a slight angle that makes typing easier. Keyboards on netbooks are smaller than normal keyboards, and comfortable typing was one area I was not willing to compromise on.

4. Try out the keyboard and make sure it’s right for you.

None of the devices I tested had a better typing pad than Intel’s ClassMate PC, which has a keyboard far smaller than the Eee PC 1000. Keys on the ClassMate PC’s keyboard are raised and there is a lot of space between them, making them easy to find by touch.

By contrast, the Eee PC’s, Wind and Elitegroup Computer Systems’ G10IL designed their keyboard with flat keys and little or no space between keys because, I was told by Elitegroup staff, it makes them look nice. The trouble is, it also makes typing more difficult.

I really liked the keyboards on Acer’s Aspire One, Hewlett-Packard’s Mini 1000 and Everex’s CloudBook Max, but the best keyboard was on HP’s Mini-Note.

5. Software: see what comes preinstalled and consider trying the Linux OS.

There are two lessons on software.

First, some vendors have skimped on including software in their netbooks on the pretense that users can download a lot of free software on the Internet. That’s true, but it’s a bad excuse for not going the extra distance for customer satisfaction.

Who wants to spend time downloading when many netbook makers have added lots of software so users can play with their new netbook right away?

Asustek included a lot of useful software on its Eee PCs, as has Acer, which also added a nice opening screen that boots up in just 12 seconds.

Second, it may be time to the give the Linux OS a try.

The Acer opening screen I just referred to is based on Linux, and the Aspire One comes with the Linpus Linux Lite OS, which is very user friendly. I’ve used Windows for most of my life but switching to Linux on the Aspire One was smooth and easy.

Most of the netbooks I tested with Linux booted up far faster than Windows XP or Windows Vista. Which reminds me, don’t buy a netbook with Vista — it’s just too slow.

There are also free Linux-based word processing programs and spreadsheets available on the Internet such as Open Office, Sun’s inexpensive StarOffice and Web-based software such as Google Apps.

Google also offers a nice package of free software, Google Pack, which includes several popular applications such as Adobe Reader, Skype, RealPlayer for music and video, Norton Security Scan and two browsers, Google’s Chrome and Firefox.

Of course, it would be nice to see a Web site devoted to netbooks, with software specifically designed for low-power devices and smaller screens.

6. Price: if it costs more than $500, start looking at a regular notebook computer.

Companies have started promoting a wide range of netbooks at ever higher prices, but once you pass $500, netbooks start to compete with laptops, and a laptop will almost always give you more value for your money.

Laptop computers have far more powerful microprocessors and other components than netbooks, and sport DVD drives. BTW, there are no DVD drives on netbooks.

If size and weight are your main concerns, there’re plenty of small, full-featured laptops, including the Sony Vaio TT with an 11.1-inch screen, Lenovo U110-23042BU” Ideapad, also with an 11.1-inch screen, and of course Apple’s lightweight MacBook Air.

7. Look around at what’s available.

Many new netbooks have come out. There are a lot of look-alikes since newcomers have copied what the pioneers found to be the most popular configurations. The net effect is to put more good devices out there from a number of competitors. You may be able to pick up a nice machine for a very low price.

The IdeaPad S10, Inspiron Mini 9 and HP Mini 1000 do not currently come with 6-cell batteries, or at least I can’t find any. To me, that’s a big negative because mobility is so important.

Mobility may not be so important to you, so that’s why you need to decide what you want to get out of a netbook (or laptop) before you buy one.

There were a lot of nice netbooks out there worth considering.

Giga-byte Technology’s M912 is the netbook with by far the coolest technology with its touchscreen. The screen can also swivel around so you can show someone else what you’re working on.

But I was quoted a price of NT$19,900 (US$632) for the device, and since I’m not really sure how much I’d use the touchscreen, I figured it wasn’t right for me.

I almost decided on one of the netbooks with the bigger, 10-inch screens. My top choices were Asustek’s Eee PC 1000

with the Xandros Linux OS and a 40G-byte solid state drive (SSD) for storage and 6-cell battery, followed by Micro-Star International’s Wind U100 with a 6-cell battery.

Darren rightly pointed out that Asus’s Eee PC 1002HA, also with a 10-inch screen, looks like a very nice device, but neither of us have had a chance to try one out.

In any case, the 10-inch screen devices are a little bigger and more expensive than what I was looking for. Size is important to consider in terms of weight. Ten inch screens, hard disk drives (HDDs) and 6-cell batteries add a lot of extra weight to a netbook.

All of the netbooks I tried out include wireless Internet access through Wi-Fi 802.11b/g, but only Asustek’s more recent Eee PCs, including the S101, 1002HA, and 1000HA, offered the speedier 802.11b/g/n as of this writing.

Several netbooks are now on sale with built-in 3G modules and mobile phone service providers are offering them with 3G (third generation telecommunications) contracts, so people can access the Internet from anywhere on their mobile phone network.

People can also buy add-on 3G or WiMax cards for any netbook.

8. And finally, the best netbook available is.

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10 tips to make cellphone battery life longer

Admin — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 02:10:38 +0000

: Save your mobile battery

It’s no secret that cell phone batteries typically suck. The general rule of thumb is that if your phone is doing anything, your battery power is being tired. And if you’re doing something fun on your phone, you can bet your battery meter will be running low shortly. This means photos, games, and web surfing will all impair your battery’s performance significantly more than regular use. So what are some steps you can take to maximize your battery life without sacrificing the fun? Read on for 10 things you can do to increase your phone’s battery life:

1. Turn off all unnecessary sounds (keytones, alerts). One of my biggest pet peeves is how most phones these days come with keytones on. Do people really like hearing their phone beep, strum a musical note, or chime every time they press a button? You might like it, but ask your neighbor. Plus, turning these off will save you a good amount of battery juice. Think of all of the processing it must take to load up those midis when you touch a key.
2. Use either a ringer or vibrate, but not both. I understand if you’re in a concert or loud party you want to increase your chance of actually realizing your phone is ringing, but other than that, pick one or the other. There’s no need to have your ringer all the way to the point where it has both the sound and vibrate alerts active, so I would recommend against it.
3. Decrease your screen’s brightness to 50%. Go to the settings menu of your phone and change the LCD brightness. At first, the screen will look dark, but once your eyes have adjusted to it, you’ll forget about it. The LCD screen on your phone is one of the biggest power consumers on your phone.
4. Turn your backlight setting down. Most phones these days will allow you to adjust the amount of time your backlight stays on once you’ve stopped touching buttons. The default length on most phones is probably around 15-30 seconds, but there are settings that are much lower. I would suggest turning this down to 3-5 seconds to increase your battery life.
5. Turn off Bluetooth when you’re not using it. This can be an easy one to forget about if you’re often switching between using a Bluetooth headset, and the phone’s ear piece. Turning the Bluetooth off when you’re not using it will save your phone from having to go out and check if the headset is there every few seconds. Any type of transmission will weigh-down your battery life, so if you use infrared, turn that off when you’re not using it as well.
6. Close applications when you’re not using them. This one only affects those of us that have smartphones. Why do you need to keep that game on pause when you’re not using it? Or pocket Excel open? Just save and close them and you’ll minimize the amount of battery waste.
7. Keep your phone in cool climates. I know most of the time you won’t have a choice where to keep your phone – since it goes with you at all times. But when you do have a choice – such as when you’re at home – don’t put your phone on the hot stove, or on your super hot MacBook Pro or anything like that. Also, don’t keep your phone in a hot car. If you have extra batteries for your phone, go ahead and store those in the refrigerator – but make sure not to freeze them. BatteryUniversity recomments storing them at a 40% charge for best results.
8. When you’re phone is done charging, unplug it! There’s a common myth that you can over-charge your battery if you leave it plugged in. According to BatteryUniversity, “Once the battery is fully charged, no further charge is applied.“ So if no further charge is applied, then why do you need to unplug your phone? You want to protect your battery from heat, that’s why.
9. Don’t let your battery fully discharge. If you let your battery die frequently, you’re putting extra strain on the battery. Avoid this by plugging in your phone before it dies all the way.
10. Don’t do anything fun on your phone. I mentioned this above, but I’m serious here. If you’ve fun on your phone, your battery life will dramatically decrease. Accessing the web, playing games, navigating via GPS and capturing photos or video are not things to do while you’re in the middle of nowhere without a charger.

Tell us in your comments that what do you think about above mentioned?

Nokia phone that charge itself

3G Features For Mobile Phone

Fri, 12 Dec 2008 06:04:10 +0000

3G Technology For Cell Phone

3G services are available in Delhi today and it is going to be available this year throughout India.

So what does 3G mean to you? And what can you do with it on your mobile phone to enhance your mobile experience.Understand, what’s 3G.

3G Stands for 3rd-generation. 3G is loosely defined, but generally includes high data speeds, always-on data access, and greater voice capacity. The high data speeds are possibly the most prominent feature, and certainly the most hyped. They enable such advanced features as live, streaming video. There are several different 3G technology standards. The most prevalent is UMTS, which is based on WCDMA. (WCDMA and UMTS are often used interchangeably.) UMTS is the 3G technology of choice for most GSM carriers. The other major standard is cdma2000, which is an evolution of CDMA 2G technology. There are several types of cdma2000, each offering different data rates and levels of compatibility with 2G CDMA.

Why 3G, Here are the features:

Video Streaming that actually works.
Video Streaming is possible even over GPRS or EDGE but its very slow.
You will be able to watch a Cricket match Live on the road with live video and audio.
Video Calling.
Have you ever wondered why there is an additional camera above the display in some phones?
The camera is meant to be used for Video Calling. You can actually see the other person face to face and talk.
Faster Downloads and Browsing.

So you can do hi speed browsing on the go but one downside to all of this is that battery life is comparatively shorter for most phones on 3G networks.

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