How many times have you inserted the USB plug of your gadgets the wrong way up? Despite having the USB sign clearly labelled on the correct side, I still do it everyday, often because I don't look at it at all.
With this latest USB concept design by Ma Yi Xuan, this problem will disappear once and for all, because the Double U works both ways � there won't be a wrong side! Might this ever become a reality? Hopefully by USB 5.0…
[via Yanko]
Folks at Nokia Beta labs has been doing a great job from the past till the present. They yet again they have come up with an app that is fully made using Nokia's Qt technology. This is the first app that is being made using the push notification API which hugely helps in saving battery juice. You can really feel the smoothness of this Qt made app. This is what Qt is capable of.
Also, this RSS Reader application is purely made for Symbian
Chaotic Box's Silverfish [99�/Lite] is an intense arcade-style avoidance game with flashy retro graphics and fast-paced gameplay. We really enjoyed Silverfish when we reviewed the game back in November, and we also really liked the brand new Haste mode that was added in an update just a couple of weeks ago. Despite all of this positivity towards Silverfish, though, the game never really seemed to catch on with mainstream App Store gaming populace.
Now there's no reason not to at least give the game a try, as Chaotic Box has just released Silverfish Free into the App Store. Silverfish Free features a single game mode based on the Reaper mode from the full version of the game. This free version is ad-supported, but does contain full Game Center integration for competing on high score leaderboards and unlocking achievements. It even contains two exclusive achievements not found in the full version.
Silverfish Free is a great way to get a taste of the regular Silverfish without having to pony up any dough. Should you decide to upgrade to the paid version, you'll get an unlimited Reaper mode along with 3 additional play modes, as well as many more achievements and leaderboards through Game Center. Silverfish really is one of the best games that you aren't playing, and players in our forums have been loving it since release. Check out this new lite version, and if you dig it, the full version of Silverfish is still currently on sale for 99�.
<!-- PHP 5.x -->Here is the FoneArena Motorola Defy review � a rugged Android phone which is available for purchase in UK, USA and hitting India soon.The phone drew plenty of attention worldwide because it's not only rugged but also smart !
The DEFY is a rugged smartphone. It is marketed as a complete smartphone solution for social savvy people with the added bonus of being dustproof, scratch-resistant and splash-resistant. Motorola calls it the lifeproof phone. I don't disagree.
The DEFY is a rare breed in smartphones. Not only is it a smartphone, it is also capable of withstanding the daily abuse that life throws at it � and it does so stylishly.
When I first heard of the Defy, I expected to be greeted with a smartphone equivalent of a Panasonic Toughbook laptop, but no � the Defy looks like any normal smartphone. It is even smaller than my Nokia N8! It won't take any design awards home as far as physical aesthetics is concerned, but it isn't something you would be embarrassed to own. In fact it looks rather cute!
The Motorola DEFY comes in an eye catching compact box. Inside you will find the DEFY, a large 1540mAh battery, microUSB cable, 2GB microSDHC card, headphones and USB wall charger.
As a rugged smartphone, the DEFY is surprisingly small and light. It looks nothing like most rugged phones I have ever laid my eyes on. Hat tip to Motorola engineers for creating a rugged smartphone that not only looks normal but in fact stylish even.
The capacitive touchscreen is incredibly sharp. The DEFY packs a 3.7? LCD with a resolution of 480�854, and is covered by a Gorilla Glass ensuring that it is as scratch-resistant. Multi touch is supported. Colour rendition is accurate and not oversaturated as you would normally find on an OLED screen. Contrast could be better.
Just below the display are four capacitive touch-sensitive soft buttons. Personally I've never been too keen on touch-sensitive buttons as they are too sensitive, and thus prone to accidental presses.
On the top of the phone you will find the small power button and 3.5mm audio jack. The volume rocker resides on the right side of the phone, while on the left the microUSB port. A reassuringly large 1540mAh battery can be found behind the battery cover. The microSDHC and SIM card slots can be found below the battery. A 5 megapixel camera with VGA 30fps video recording and LED flash resides close to the top of the back.
Looking around the Defy it is evident how Motorola managed to make it water-resistant. Not only is the battery door sealed well, the microUSB port and headphone audio jack are covered by protective flaps. But what truly surprises me was how small and light the DEFY is.
With a thickness of 13.4mm, it is barely thicker than my Nokia N8 but also significantly lighter (118g vs 135g). The lightness can be attributed to Motorola's decision to use plastic. Some may see this as a bad thing, but I've seen no evidence that the built-quality is compromised by the use of plastic material. Overall the DEFY is smaller than the N8, but has the added advantage of having a bigger and more importantly, removable battery.
The DEFY is powered by Android 2.1 (Eclair) and Motorola's own custom homescreen MOTOBLUR. The homescreen actually looks and feels like a normal Android homescreen.
The MOTOBLUR integration comes in the form of widgets. There are plenty of widgets to choose from, including Social and Status (for Twitter and Facebook), Weather, Contacts, RSS, Music Player etc. While the widgets are resizable, they are rectangular in shape, which makes them rather unattractive to look at.
The technical specs of the DEFY are modest. It runs on a 800Mhz TI OMAP3610 ARM Cortex A8 processor. The relatively slow processor (both in clock speed and out-dated architecture) coupled with Android 2.1 is evident when using the DEFY. I've shown a couple of HTC Desire owners the DEFY, and they've all commented on how laggy the DEFY felt.
512MB of RAM is available so you wouldn't have any issues multi-tasking. There's also 2GB of on-board storage for installing applications. A 2GB microSD card is also bundled with the phone. In addition to that, the DEFY packs quad band EDGE, dual band HSDPA, WiFi, Bluetooth with A2DP, built-in GPS receiver, accelerometer � basically almost everything you would expect in a 2010 phone.
Like many modern smartphones, the DEFY has two microphones, one which is used to cancel out noise. Motorola dubs this the CrystalTalk technology. In-call quality is good and clear while I never encountered any issues with reception. Smart dialing feature is missing, though I didn't find that I miss it at all.
The phonebook is brilliantly social savvy. You can link each contacts with their own Twitter and Facebook accounts, thus giving you an easy way to view any of your contact's latest social updates. Linking the contacts is easy and painless, though isn't as straight forward as Microsoft's approach with Windows Phone 7.
Messaging is easy with the DEFY. Threaded messaging is here, and the built-in Swype support makes composing texts and emails a relatively painless process. Gmail is unsurprisingly supported and works in a way that you would expect it to, including option for push e-mail, labels and archives.
Web browsing is a breeze thanks to the high resolution screen. Despite running on Android 2.1, Flash is included. Zooming can be done via either double tapping or pinch to zoom. While multiple tabs are supported, text reflow isn't.
Most modern smartphones are very well capable of replacing dedicated DAP (MP3 players), and the same can be said of the Defy. The music player, while basic, is intuitive. The audio quality is very good with overall good frequency response. It isn't as good as the iPod Touch or N8, but most people wouldn't be able to tell the difference unless they invest in $200 headphones.
As the DEFY comes with built-in GPS receiver, you can use Google Maps as a SatNav device. Google Maps is preloaded, though if you want the latest and greatest you can always grab the latest Google Maps 5 via the Android Market.
The DEFY comes with a standard (in 2010 terms) 5 megapixel camera with LED flash. Video recording is limited to VGA resolution, which is disappointing but hardly surprising � Motorola never set out to make the DEFY a cameraphone. Still for a social phone you would expect better.
Unfortunately because the DEFY does not have a physical camera shutter button, it was impossible to take pictures underwater. I tried, but because the DEFY uses a capacitive screen, water makes it difficult to operate the screen. So forget about using the DEFY for cool underwater shots.
You can also forget about low light photography as the DEFY is poor at that. With good amount of lighting available, the DEFY managed to capture some decent pictures with good amount of detail. The camera UI is simple to use, with a handful of options available to the user (nothing manual).
So is it worth your time? Geeks will unlikely taken by it � the DEFY is slow compared to its other Android cousins and the lack of Froyo/Gingerbread will no doubt put some people off. But it isn't without its charm. The DEFY is a competent smartphone competing in a category that has no competitors. There are no other rugged or semi-rugged consumer smartphones that looks as stylish as the DEFY on the market. If you are in the market for a clever social phone with the ability to keep up with your hectic lifestyle, then the DEFY is for you.
Good
+ Small and stylish
+ Water, scratch and dust resistant
+ Good battery life
+Social networking integration
Bad
- Slow , might be android upate might fix things
- Android 2.1
- Clunky looking widgets
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You might remember an app that we showed a while ago that can be used to perform free calls from your iPhone. Of course, we're talking about Viber app, and if you're a Viber user, you'll be happy to know that newer version this app is available on App Store.
So what does a new version of Viber app has to offer? Since Viber uses data connection for making calls, developers have decided to add a quality meter on the side of the app that shows how good the connection is. Although this is only a minor update, it's quite useful to have a connection indicator so that you can know whether you can use data connection or regular cellar network. Of course, there are other improvements such as improved voice quality, Bluetooth, and call connection improvements.
Current version of this app is 1.1 and if you haven't tried it yet we suggest that you give it a go from the App Store for a test drive.
[via Ubergizmo]
7:54 PM
We were first alerted of Sarien.net's existence back in October. After a brief preview a bit later, Space Quest went live. In a nutshell, Sarien.net was an amazing homage to classic Sierra adventure games. When it was still online, it allowed you to stream picture-perfect ports right within Safari on iOS devices, with most games totally tweaked to be touch friendly. Some even had basic multiplayer support to see other players in-game.
Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end, and even though the whole project was a labor of love for developer Martin Kool, Activision finally sent the somewhat inevitable cease and desist letter� Resulting in an immediate halt to the whole project. Hopefully this means that Activation is planning on bringing these same games to the iOS platform with the same care Kool gave them, but I somehow doubt it.
The up side of all this (if there is one), is that quite a few people took notice in the sheer HTML wizardry taking place behind the scenes in these ports, resulting in a surge of business to Martin's web design studio. He's told us to keep an eye out for apps and games (both native, and web-based like the Sierra games) in the future.
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What your looking at is mostly HTCs answer to Samsung Tab. The HTC Flyer was already in news for sometime. And we've just got the rumored specs of this device.
HTC Flyer Specs
This phone will not be able to handle calls as it doesn't support GSM. And it comes with a pre-installed version of Skype. Also this tablet might run on Android 2.3 or will directly ship with Android 3.0 which makes sense as its mostly made for the tablets.
Also amobil.no has heard from their sources that something called as Magnified Sense is being adopted for this device, which gives a desktop similar experience on a tablet. And also they've heard� that a 10 inch iPad-competitor is in the works which will also support LTE, and be in stores some time during the second half of 2011.
We might just get a chance to check out these tablets at the MWC this year if HTC Plans to showcase them there. Keep tuned.
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LG Mobile just sent an invite for it's press conference at MWC 2011. The handset in the above pic looks a lot like the LG Optimus 2X but we can barely see anything else. Another high end phone from LG ?
The event is happening on Feb 14 , 2011 and the invite bears the words LG Optimus on the top right. Into the New Dimension and says Experience the new world that LG is opening !
What can it be ? Can it be the Glassless 3D Mobile Phone LG promised at CES ?
FoneArena should be reporting live from there ! stay tuned !
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Yamgo, a service which lets you watch free live TV and video on your mobile phone has announced the global launch of Fashion TV, world's leading lifestyle channel on mobile phones.
Yamgo is adding this channel on their global mobile TV network. And its first of its kind, where Fashion TV has become the first fashion and lifestyle channel to launch on the global mobile TV network. Fashion TV's network is really vast. Its a 24-hour fashion, beauty & lifestyle television channel that is available on more than 30 different satellites, in more than 190 countries and over 350 million households across Europe, Asia, Middle East and Africa. And this channel has a great track record for covering almost all high level brands, fashion shows and exclusive lifestyle events.
So all these services and fun only for your viewing pleasure. Kudos to Yamgo for providing such quality services for free.
To get this free service goto 
www.yamgo.mobi from your mobile phone's browser, or navigate to www.yamgo.com, it just takes couple of minutes for registration and your done! They mostly support all leading mobile platforms and manufacturers. Go give it a try.
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