Nokia boss says mobile-phone demand strong

The growth in global mobile-phone demand should continue into next year despite earlier expert predictions of a downturn, the head of Nokia predicted.

In an interview with the Financial Times, Jorma Ollila said expectations that mobile sales would fall off over the next few years appeared to be misplaced and that demand would actually increase.

"The buzz that there is in the Middle East, the Gulf and Africa is the same we saw in China seven or eight years ago in the early part of the market cycle, the same we saw a couple of years ago in Latin America," Ollila said.

The Times said phone shipments this year have been slightly higher than in 2004 despite earlier predictions that they would cool considerably. Healthy demand for low-costs phones in developing nations have lifted world sales along with steady phone replacement rates in mature markets.

Copyright 2005 by United Press International

HTC Jetstream and Flyer take tablets to new heights

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Despite the iPad's superstar popularity, a truckload of tablets demand your attention.

They're lean and powerful, with lovely bright screens and all the programs you'll need to keep entertained, informed and in touch.

It's uncanny how quickly a tablet wriggles its way into the daily routine after you have one, and I had the chance to spend some quality time with a couple of darlings: the HTC Jetstream from AT&T and the HTC Flyer from U.S. Cellular.

Both tablets run Android, Google's mobile operating system, and both offer mobile wireless connectivity, which means no Wi-Fi network is needed to get online.

But that's pretty much where the similarities end. Still, both tablets performed remarkably well, with features casting them as compelling alternatives to other tablets shouting out for potential owners.

But first, a few specs.

The Jetstream is a larger, more iPadesque tablet, with a 10.1-inch high-definition screen, 1.5?GHZ dual-core processor; front-and rear-facing cameras; and weighing in at 25 ounces. It also has about 12?GB of internal storage.

The Flyer is a smaller, more Kindle-sized tablet, shining out of a 7-inch screen. The tablet is powered with a 1.5?GHZ processor; includes front and rear cameras for snapping photos and video chats; and it keeps data on 32?GB of storage. The Flyer weighs nearly 15 ounces.

Both tablets have SD card slots for extra storage, Wi-Fi for surfing on nearby networks and Bluetooth for connecting peripherals.

And both tablets were fast and easy on the eyes, perfect for Web browsing, emailing, and streaming video from Netflix and music from Pandora and Spotify.

The Jetstream, with its bigger screen, was more satisfying for watching video. And as you might expect, the generous screen really shows off websites, making surfing simple and beautiful. The Jetstream also is a 4G tablet, by AT&T's definition. So when the carrier eventually launches 4G service here, the Jetstream will fly.

The Jetstream also has a nice brushed-metal back that feels satisfyingly sturdy. The only drawback I found in the design is that its oversize volume button was easily accidentally pressed while holding the tablet in landscape. Seriously: why is that volume button so big?

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HTC Flyer from U.S. Cellular

Cost: $599.99 with a two-year contract (after a $100 mail-in rebate); $34.99 a month for 200MB of data. Or $499.99 with a two-year contract (after a $100 mail-in rebate); $74.99 a month for 5GB of data

Online: uscellular.com

EVERCOOL Attacks With Transformer 3 CPU Cooler

The following is a press release:
The shiny EVERCOOL Transformer 3 will attack the CPU cooler market in 2011
Taipei, Taiwan—2011—EVERCOOL Thermal Corp., Ltd. the professional and well-known cooler and fan brand. The leading brand of cooling aesthetics—EVERCOOL is going to launch Transformer 3 CPU cooler. After launching CPU coolers Transformer 4 and Transformer 6 in the last couple years, EVERCOOL, which always focuses on aesthetics of heat dispersion and comfortable use, is going to launch Transformer 3 in 2011. This cooler has the shining silver look that is the special feature of Transformer series. The design of the three 6mm heat pipes in V shape increases the airflow and improves the cooling performance.


Transformer 3 uses one 12 cm fan and aluminum fins that can rapidly take the heat away. Additionally, H.D.T Tech and the fan with PWM function that can automatically control and adjust the fan speed up to 2200RPM by detecting the CPU temperature in order to successfully dissipate the heat. Moreover, it remains noiseless at 15dBA. An additional fan can be added according to user’s needs.




Besides PWM function, the shock absorption rubber nail design of Transformer 3 reduces the shake and lowers the noise to provide extremely quiet cooling. Additionally, clips for Intel and AMD provide great compatibility.

FanSize

120x 120 x 25 mm

HeatSink Materials

AluminumFin + Heat-pipes

RatedVoltage

12VDC

RatedSpeed

800±25%RPM~2200±10% RPM

NoiseLevel(FAN)

<15~<35dBA

BearingType

ELBearing

Weigh

0.63kg

EVERCOOL Transformer 3 has a reasonable price and offers the excellent cooling performance of Transformer Series.

New Kindle Touch is an impressive e-reader

When it comes to reading digital books, tablets are all the rage. But there's a lot to like about simple e-readers, which over the past year have become both a lot cheaper and a lot less clunky.

Tablets usually have full color screens, include

Instead of using buttons to turn pages, search the text or scroll up and down, you interact with the screen the same way that you would a

Each of the devices also incorporates some social networking features. You can share books with friends from your Kindle Touch, recommend books to friends on the Nook Simple Touch and use the Kobo Touch to alert your Facebook friends when you've completed a book or reached a certain chapter.

But one feature that the Kindle Touch offers that you can't get on either the Kobo Touch or the Nook is 3G connectivity. If you only plan to use an e-reader at your house, where you have a Wi-Fi hotspot, this may not matter to you. But if you want to take it to the beach or on the road, a 3G connection is a big advantage. Not only can you download books without having to find a Wi-Fi hotspot first, but the device will always be able to keep track of where you are in your books.

The 3G feature costs about $50 extra, but that includes free 3G data service for the life of the device; you don't have to pay anything extra to get online to download books.

Besides the 3G, one feature I loved about the Kindle Touch was how it handles library books. While libraries have been loaning out e-books for years, the Kindle until recently wasn't compatible with the e-book format used by most libraries. But Amazon launched a new service last year that gave Kindle users access to library-owned e-books.

To access a library e-book on other e-readers, you have to download the book to your computer first and then transfer it to your e-reader, usually by plugging the device into your PC with a cable and using a special program from Adobe. But with the Kindle Touch, you can transfer a library book directly to your device over the Internet. It's easy and works great.

Making digital reading easy is something of a mantra with Amazon. One great touch that the company has long done with its Kindles is to configure them so the devices are ready to use as soon as you turn them on.

For both the Wi-Fi only and 3G versions of the Kindle Touch, Amazon offers two flavors: a version with ads and a version without ads that costs $40 more. The Kindle Touch I tested had the ads, and I found them annoying. They show up at the bottom of your home screen when Kindle Touch is on and take up its entire display whenever you turn it off, making them hard to ignore.

Barnes & Noble, in contrast, offers the ad-free Simple Touch for the same price as the ad-filled version of the Kindle Touch.

I also didn't like the interface on the Kindle Touch as much as I did those of the other devices. Your collection of books is displayed as a list of text links. It would have been nice if you could instead display the book's covers or arrange them on a virtual bookshelf, as you can with the Kobo and Nook devices.

The rival devices also do a better job of giving you a sense of where you are in a book and of allowing you to speed ahead to other areas. Unlike the Kindle Touch, the Nook Simple Touch displays the page you're on and how many pages are in the book. And both the Nook and the Kobo Touch allow you to zoom ahead by swiping left or right on a slider, something you can't do on Amazon's device.

So I like the Kindle Touch, and the touch screen is a great addition. If you're willing to spend extra for the 3G version, it's the best e-reader around. But if a Wi-Fi reader is all you need, the Nook Simple Touch is a better deal.

---

AMAZON KINDLE TOUCH:

-Likes: Brighter, clearer display; touch-screen capability; optional 3G connectivity; library books sent directly to device; pre-configured for use.

-Dislikes: More expensive than rivals, unless you get version with annoying ads; ugly text-based home screen interface; lacks easy way to zoom through book; doesn't persistently display page numbers

-Price: $100 with ads, $140 without; $150 for 3G version with ads, $190 for 3G without ads

-Web: amazon.com

dmedia G400 WiMAX MID to Show Off at CES 2009

(PhysOrg.com) -- The dmedia G400 offers a choice of 3.8 or 4.3-inch touchscreen with an 800 x 480 resolution. The device features integrated WiMAX, Bluetooth, HSPDA/WCDMA, GPS, and a microSD card slot. Robust feature-sets enable bandwidth-intensive mobile multimedia applications that include NextWave's MXtv, mobile broadcast service, streaming video, video conferencing and VoIP.

There's also an option for DVB-T/H, ISDB-T or T-DMB mobile TV tuners. Some of the other specs are still a mystery but it looks like the G400 uses a SiRFprima SoC with an ARM11 core, 3D graphics acceleration and video decoding; internal memory is unknown at this time.

Current information reveals that the G400 measures 5.4" x 2.8" x 0.5" and weighs 7.1 ounces and comes with a 1400mAh battery.

The G400 is expected to launch in the first half of next year, though in what markets is anyone´s guess. The good news is that availability won´t remain a question mark for much longer, as dmedia is expected to show off the WiMAX MID at CES 2009.

Developers flock to Hero Engine after Star Wars The Old Republic success

Idea Fabrik, the company behind the Hero Engine, has revealed a massive surge in developers expressing interest in using its platform after the success of Star Wars: The Old Republic and other massively multiplayer online (MMO) games that use the engine.

Since the beginning of this year Idea Fabrik has seen a sharp increase in developer subscriptions to its HeroCloud managed service, which lets game studios build 3D online games in a variety of genres.There are now over 5,000 developers using the Hero Engine, “fuelled by the excitement about successful launches last year of MMO games from EA and from Trion Worlds,” according to Idea Fabriks COO, Neil Harris.The Trion Worlds title is Rift, which released in early 2011, and the EA title is, of course, Star Wars: The Old Republic, BioWares first foray into the world of online games. This has paid off big time, as The Old Republic is now the fastest growing MMO in history, with over two million copies sold so far. Not bad for a game thats just over two months old.“We’ve been watching Hero Engine’s evolution over the last several years,” said Wanda Meloni, analyst at M2 Research. “The technology has really become quite mature. My guess is, you’re going to see Hero Engine not only continue to be a dominant platform for MMOs, but that the reference products the company is developing will illustrate that it is viable for other genres of games as well.”

Elgato announces the Game Capture HD

Slowly but surely more and more high definition video capture devices have started to appear, although most of them haven’t exactly been priced at a consumer price point if you wanted something besides a PCI Express card. Elgato’s new Game Capture HD is set to change things at least for those interesting in capturing HD gaming videos from a console.

The Game Capture HD connects to a PC or Mac over USB 2.0 and features a built in hardware video encoder that records the video in 1080i30, 720p60, 576p60 or 480p/i60 depending on the source/settings. It accepts HDMI - without HDCP copy protection - input as well as composite video plus audio and is as such compatible with both Microsoft’s Xbox 360 and Sony’s Playstation 3. And HDMI throughput connector is also part of the package which allows you to play the game on your TV or display at the same time as you’re recording it. One neat trick is that it’s bus powered and as such doesn’t require an additional power adapter.

Elgato also supplies the Game Capture HD with some basic capture and editing software. This has a rather unusual feature which Elgato calls "Flashback Recording" which offers what most people would refer to as time shift record or pre-recording. However, in this case it’s only up to an hour worth of video, but at least it can come in handy for those times when you forget to hit record. The software also include direct uploading to YouTube, Facebook and Twitter for easy sharing of your videos.

The Game Capture HD will be available next month for US$199.99 (S$255) which might still be a bit too expensive for most of us, but it’s far cheaper than most professional grade video capture hardware and it doesn’t require a high-end computer to do the video encoding in real time. The only limitation is that Elgato only supplies drivers for Windows 7 and Mac OS X 10.7 or later.

Source: Elgato