Opera releases native Opera Mini client for Symbian devices [Both touch and non touch versions]

The Norwegians have given millions of Symbian device users a special gift today in the form of a beta version of the extremely popular Opera Mini application that’s written as a native application. Seems kind of backwards that the iPhone was the first platform to get a native version of Opera Mini, then Android, and then BlackBerry, and now finally, the world’s most popular smartphone platform can enjoy the benefits of going native too. Features included are: faster startup times, improved scrolling and zooming performance, better font rendering, an issue I’ve been complaining about on the Android version, and finally the ability to set a native access point, thus killing the prompt that asks you how you want to reach the internet.

I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again, there’s a time and a place to use Opera Mini, but these days, with ultra fast mobile phones on blazing networks, the benefits that this application once provided are now no longer needed. Several years ago, when phones were running at less than 400 MHz on an older ARM architecture and 3G coverage was spotty, Opera Mini was damn near the very first app I installed when getting a new phone. Today it’s not even on my mobile, which is a shame since I’ve been such a loyal fan and evangelist, going so far as to take people’s phones out of their hand and install Mini on it. Days later I’d get a text saying “OMG, thank you!” or something to that extent.

The harsh reality however, with operators killing unlimited data plans, makes me wonder if Mini will be popular again. It is, after all, installed on more iPhones than any other device in both the UK and USA according to September’s “State of the Mobile Web”. So you know there’s a bunch of fans out there.

Via : intomobile

Opera Mini 5.1 for Symbian Phones Released

Opera Software has released new Mini 5.1 beta mobile browser for Nokia's Symbian operating system based phones. Nokia Symbian S60 owners can now use the Symbian version of Opera Mini instead of the Java version. A number of improvements have been made in Opera Mini 5.1 keeping a wide range of Symbian phones in mind. Full support for text input methods, faster start-up time and improved page-loading as well as scrolling on older phones are some of the major changes.

Opera Mini more widely used on Symbian phones as compared to Nokia's native browser. The new Opera Mini 5.1 beta will now support old Symbian devices as well. This beta version is only available in English language as of now and supports more than 3000 different mobile phone models.

Take a look at some key improvements:

* Support for more devices than ever
* Significantly faster start-up time
* Improved page-load and scrolling performance, especially on older devices
* Full support for device text input methods
* Improved fonts
* Device integration for copy & paste, email client and more
* Option to choose default access point - no more annoying dialogs


Multiple language support will come later when Opera releases the final version of Mini 5.1. Some of the features like Visual Tabs and Kinetic Scrolling are available only on touchscreen Symbian phones like Nokia N8, Nokia 5800 XM, and others.

Download the new Opera Mini 5.1 beta on your Symbian phone by visiting http://m.opera.com from your mobile phone browser or on your PC/Mac.

Via : techtree

Opera Mini lands for Nokia devices

Oslo-based Opera has announced that its popular mobile browser, Opera Mini, is now available to Nokia users on their Symbian handsets.

Opera Mini 5.1 beta replaces the Java-based Opera versions that S60 users had to make do with, and adds a number of key features, including:

- Support for more devices than ever
- Significantly faster start-up time
- Improved page-load and scrolling performance, especially on older devices
- Full support for device text input methods
- Improved fonts
- Device integration for copy & paste, email client and more
- Option to choose default access point — no more annoying dialogues

“It is Opera’s objective to provide its users with the best possible web-surfing experience on any device”, said Christen Krogh, chief development officer of Opera Software.

“Porting Opera Mini to the Symbian programming language provides the largest user base in the smartphone world with the best mobile browsing experience”.

Grab Opera Mini for free from m.opera.com now.

Via : pocket-lint

Dell XPS laptop range: 3D, HD and Skype enabled machines

“The industry’s first Skype-certified laptops with HD video streaming webcams so you can stay close to friends and family”, Dell excitedly enthuses. Skype, what an ingenious invention that was, and one, which in my opinion, has not had enough publicity and praise written about it. Savvy Skype users have now kissed goodbye to hefty phone bills by making internet calls for free. Skype’s wiser gains were pushed even further when webcams became a regular feature on modern-day desks, enabling the visual to be interconnected with, what was for years, a solely aural experience, and all, for Skype-to-Skype users, for free!

Although this is a review about Dell’s new XPS laptops and not about Skype, but the point I am making is that by being the first Skype-certified laptops and by incorporating HD video streaming webcams, being able to speak and watch friends and family with a higher quality, HD experience, in an extremely economic way, Dell may have come up with a winner.

Although redefining the whole Skype experience is far from the only quality of Dell’s new XPS laptops worthy of a mention.

Aurally, Dell claims these laptops produce the loudest and clearest sound the company has ever produced, and with built-in JBL designed and certified speakers with integrated MaxxAudio 3 processing technology, it is easy to understand the laptops will not fail to live up to these impressive audio claims.

Visually, the laptops sound equally as capable of producing a ‘cinema-like’ experience. Being available in both 15 and 17 inch size screens, all of these stylish laptops include NVIDIA’s 3DTV Play software, enabling users to connect their Dell XPS laptops to 3D HDTVs and enjoy watching Blu-ray 3D films, browsing through 3D photos and videos and playing games in immerse stereoscopic 3D.

We may have come somewhat complacent about valuing an immersive entertainment experience that is seemingly provided in all forms of technology, but Dell’s new family of XPS laptops really is “pushing the limits” on high-definition, 3D multimedia entertainment.

Via : latestgadgets

Dell Inspiron M101z Review – Laptop Power in a Netbook’s Frame

The netbook fad is largely over. The tiny laptops that the public was so enamored with less than a year ago no longer dancing in the spotlight of mainstream news articles. Any text devoted to them is usually centered on arguments over the iPad’s impact on netbook sales, which have slowed as of late.

That doesn’t mean netbooks are no longer selling in the millions, however, or that new products in this category are no longer needed. The excitement of innovation has merely been replaced with the long slog of evolution that will define the segment’s future. The Atom processor is not adequate for many users and there is plenty of room in the market for netbook sized products that provide stronger performance.

And so we have the Dell M101z, an 11.6” laptop that looks like a netbook but carries more powerful hardware inside. The question of whether the M101z is really a netbook or laptop is certainly open. Its size, price and performance makes it difficult to categorize. Given the uncertainty, I will bow to Dell’s marketing department – they’ve made the M101z a part of the Dell Inspiron laptop line rather than a part of the Dell Mini netbook line.

More @ pcper

Bespoke computer design by Munk Bogballe

Munk Bogballe is a company based in London, UK, who have been designing bespoke bags and computers since 2007, the designs are slightly unusual to the effect that the materials used consist of top quality leather, aluminium, mahogany, pearl, gold and not forgetting the diamonds! So there it stands to reason that this is laptop is not exactly going to be found in the bargain basement.

The classic bespoke collection has been on display at the well healed Millionaire Fair held in Moscow recently, clearly this is laptop favoured by the famous Russian Oligarch’s who like to show off their wealth.

The first thing that is noticed will be the case, metal surface: Aluminium (standard), aluminium black, 18 karat gold. The skin surface is made from a soft calf’s leather in either black, brown, red or royal blue or ostrich leather in either black or brown.

The on and off button in fresh water pearls as standard. But with an option to choose from either an 18 carat gold, 18 carat gold with rubies, with Safra 18 carat gold, 18 carat gold with diamonds; while the Screen frame is made from a sumptuous Sipo mahogany with oil finish as standard.

On/off button: freshwater pearl (standard), 18 carat gold, 18 carat gold with ruby, 18 carat gold with sapphire, 18 carat gold with diamond or Single line pavé of diamonds

The operating system will be the Windows 7 Home Edition (64 Bit), a 13.4 inch display, Intel Core i5 processor, 4 GB memory and 500 GB storage.

Connectivity comes in the form of a wireless internet connection with the benefit of Bluetooth, built-in webcam, microphone and stereo speakers.

The dimensions of this over the top laptop are width 37 cm – Depth 27 cm – height 3.5 cm at peak and the weight is around 2.35 kg

As expected, this computer is not cheap with a starting price of around $7,180 and considering the specs, most of price goes on the materials.

Via : geekwithlaptop

The First Laptop Build To Survive A War

The most important feature is the portability of a laptop and that’s why manufacturers are working on devices that increasingly weigh less. Things change, but when talking about U.S. military laptops, designed to withstand the forefront of the battlefield.

VT Miltope company specialized in military hardware, has launched a new line of computers that will be presented this week at AUSA conference (Association of the United States Army), which will be held in Washington.

And it turns out, these devices appear ready to resist any enemy attack came from.

RLC-3 laptop was built for the tests of sustainability of the U.S. Army, so it can survive at 26 drops from about 1 meter, while being protected against factors like water, dust, rain, electromagnetic pulse capable of destroying computers, lightning and explosive impact.

If you are interested in technical details of this laptop, you can find here. In our opinion RLC-3 is not just a laptop, is a super-laptop, a tank-laptop, so to speak.

Acer’s, Dell’s and Panasonic’s your Toughbook you can do all this? We doubt!

Unfortunatly, these laptops are not available for us.

Via : timesoftheinternet

Laptop nightmares: Scary systems with fatal flaws

The Halloween season my be winding down, but that doesn't mean there aren't still plenty of scary laptops out there. Of course, the vast majority of laptops we review are pretty decent examples of technology. After all, there are only a handful of common components used in most systems, and things such as speed and battery life are, if not standardized, at least largely predictable based on the list of what's inside the box.

That said, we occasionally run into a laptop that just rubs us the wrong way. Maybe it's a key missing feature, or terrible design, or an unusable touch pad--or sometimes products simply don't work as advertised. We've compiled our own list of the scariest laptops of 2010, the models that either had one or more frightening flaws, or else were just dogs.

Some of these are bargain basement budget systems, but don't think we're just picking on laptops that are cheap. We love inexpensive laptops, but not ones that cut so many corners that they're not a bargain at any price. Peruse our list below, and feel free to weigh in via the comments section with your own picks.


Via : news.cnet

ViewSonic ViewPad 7 and ViewPad 10 became available for pre-order

In September we reported on two Tablet PCs from the company ViewSonic - ViewPad 7 and ViewPad 10. Now they have become available for preorder in the UK, and will go on sale next month. Recall that they look like.

ViewPad 7 has a 7-inch capacitive touch display with 800 x 480 pixels, Qualcomm MSM7227 processor with 600 MHz, 512 MB RAM, 512 MB of onboard flash memory card slot for microSD. Among the communication abilities are present Wi-Fi 802.11b/g, Bluetooth 2.1 and 3G. Among other things, there is an accelerometer, front a webcam and a standard 3-megapixel camera. Connect to other devices ViewPad 7 can via mini-USB, it works under the operating system Android 2.2. While working on a single charge is 6 hours from the 3240 mAh battery.

ViewPad 10 is bigger and more powerful planshetnikov. Diagonal of its screen is 10 inches, resolution - 1024 x 600 pixels. It is built on a processor Intel Atom N455 c clock frequency of 1.66 GHz. The highlight of this model is the ability to choose under which operating system to work - Windows 7 Home Premium or Android 1.6, for switching between them requires a restart. On the part of the memory of ViewPad 7, he also differs in the big party - 1 GB RAM and 16 GB of storage on the storage of solid. Also it is equipped with integrated graphics, slot microSD, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, 1.3 megapixel camera on and the battery has similar characteristics - 3200 mAh.
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Both tablet right now only available for pre-order, deliveries are expected in November. Prices ViewPad 7 and 10 are set at 400 and 430 pounds, or about 639 and 685 dollars respectively.

Via : it-chuiko

ViewSonic ViewPad 7 Pre-Orders Now Available in UK

The ViewSonic ViewPad 7 Android Tablet has now been made available for pre-order here in the UK.

Pre-orders are being taken at Misco where it can be purchased for £399.99 inc VAT.

The Android tablet its self has a 7 inch touchscreen (capacitive) that has a resolution of 800 x 400 pixels. It can take up to a 32GB microSD card for storage. For connectivity it has wireless 802.11b/g as well as Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR and 3G. AGPS is also included for location based services.

Battery life on the ViewPad 7 is around 4 - 6 hours per charge which is described in the specs as being "heavy" usage.

It runs the latest version of Google Android (2.2) and will be made available soon.

Via : gadgetvenue

Acer Liquid Metal Android 2.2 Smartphone Gets Official

Acer has gone ahead and announced its Liquid Metal Android 2.2 smartphone following an earlier leak that we had reported. The phone will carry 3.6-inch display, be wrapped in metal, and have curved top and bottom edges. It will run Google's Froyo of Android and will utilize a Qualcomm 800 MHz processor, similar to that found on the HTC Desire Z and the T-Mobile G2 for the U.S. market. Additionally, the Liquid Metal will also have a WiFi b/g/n radio, support for 14 Mbps HSDPA networks, and a 5-megapixel camera with flash and 720p HD video recording. DLNA is also supported and Acer has also included Dolby support, like on the Nokia N8. Tethering is also supported out of the box.

There will be two color variations for the phone. The brown version will ship in November in the UK while a silver version will be coming in December. Both iterations will be priced at £299 and will feature the company's Breeze user interface.

More @ ubergizmo

Acer Liquid Metal Supports 14.4Mbps HSPA, New Snapdragon Chipset

Acer is rocking the smartphone space with its Liquid Metal, which supports 14.4Mbps HSPA 3G for super fast data where it’s available. Additionally, the new Acer Liquid Metal features the latest Snapdragon MSM7230 chipset that sits in the T-Mobile G2 and HTC Desire Z. As we’ve seen in tests, the 800MHz processor might not look as good on paper as the 1GHz CPUs we find in other smartphones, but it is equally capable.

The Liquid Metal runs Android 2.2, but will be coming skinned with Acer’s Breeze interface. Breeze adds some social networking and weather widgets amongst other things to give a little distinct taste to vanilla Android if you’re looking for a bit more than just the bare-bones OS. But the build quality of the phone is different, too

More @ intomobile

Acer’s 800MHz Liquid Metal Froyo phone gets official

Acer‘s Liquid Metal Android smartphone has been made official, a 3.6-inch metal-clad handset running 2.2 Froyo on the same Qualcomm 800MHz MSM7230 processor as found in the T-Mobile G2. The Liquid Metal packs WiFi b/g/n, 14Mbps-capable HSDPA and a 5-megapixel autofocus camera with face- and smile-detection, image stabilization, a flash and 720p HD video recording.

You can also stream content directly from the Liquid Metal via UPnP/DLNA over its WiFi connection. Acer has thrown in Dolby Surround sound, their Breeze UI replacement and SocialJogger Facebook and Twitter aggregator too, and there’s a trackwheel for speedy navigation.

The usual Froyo 3G mobile hotspot and USB tethering are supported, and there’ll be two colors: silver and brown. Acer says the Liquid Metal will drop – in brown – in November 2010, priced at £299 ($475) in the UK, with the silver version following on in early December.

Via : slashgear

Nokia N8 Symbian smartphone is so good that they made a movie with it

Finnish handset producer Nokia has released a seven and a half minute long movie. So what, you might be thinking? Well, the company behind the shortfilm called 'The Commuter' produced it entirely on the latest N8 smartphone.

The device, powered by the Symbian operating system that has had very mixed reviews, has a formidable 12 megapixel camera on board that has drawn praise from anyone who uses it.

Nokia decided to underline the fact by this week promoting 'The Commuter', which stars Slum dog Millionaire actor Dev Patel along with Pamela Anderson, Charles Dance and Ed Westwick.

Using the small but highly powerful camera on board the smartphone handset, which features a 720p HD video shooting capability, directors Edward McHenry and Rory McHenry created the mini movie, based around a man who is late for his first day at work.

"I'm always interested in embracing new technology in film making and the main reason I really wanted to get involved with 'The Commuter' was because it was being shot just on mobile phones." said Patel of the completed venture."

"I wanted to encourage the next generation of filmmakers by showing that you don't need expensive equipment and big budgets to make your own movies," he added. "The quality of a camera phone, like the Nokia N8 allows filmmakers to produce amazing HD movies and I hope 'The Commuter' shows aspirational filmmakers that you can create a great movie even using a mobile phone."

Shot in only four days, the end result is likely to garner mixed reviews. And, although it may not exactly be a classic, it does once again underline the fact that the Nokia N8 has set the bar high when it comes to camera technology on smartphones. It almost makes you want to forgive them for using Symbian as the OS...

Via : broadbandgenie