The Gadget Blog » smartphones

Dymo CardScan Mobile: Business Card Encoder for Windows Mobile Smartphones

Rico Mossesgeld — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 15:30:15 +0000

Apparently one of the first apps to appear on the Windows Marketplace for Mobile, Dymo’s CardScan Mobile’s premise is very simple: you take a picture of a business card with your Windows Mobile smartphone’s built-in camera, and it takes care of encoding the text, adding the information to your contact list, and making sure the data is in the correct fields.

While I look for someone who can try out the app on his or her Windows Mobile smartphone, here are some five quick questions answered by Dymo’s PR:

CardScan Mobile uses OCR to decipher the text right? Yes.
Do your testers have a failure rate regarding text reading? In other words, out of 100 tries, how many times does the software get the text wrong? The characeter-level accuracy is around 96%, but this rate has everything to do with picture quality. So if “100 tries” refers to perfect pictures, it’s high accuracy. If “100 tries” contains some bad pictures, it’s lower accuracy.
Which versions of WinMo is it compatible for? CardScan Mobile works on Windows Mobile Smartphones OS 6+

CardScan Mobiel is available from the Windows Marketplace for Mobile. Price is $15. Unfortunately, I can’t seem to locate the application on the site. Apparently there are problems with WMM, so hopefully by the time we get a review out, we’ll be able to provide a direct link for those who want to buy Dymo CardScan mobile. Visit WMM with your WinMo smartphone.

Post from: The Gadget Blog

Rumored Dell Benzine Android Smartphone Specs

Rico Mossesgeld — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 13:00:51 +0000

According to the source, here are the specs you should expect from Dell’s rumored Android smartphone, the so-called “Benzine” which is rumored as ready for launch:

Courtesy Boy Genius Report

Quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE class 12
Size: 68.6cc
103g grams weight
Dimensions: 58 x 122 x 11.7mm
Display: 3.5″ nHD 640×360 LCD, 18-bit, 262K colors
OTA capable
Microsoft Exchange support
Google, AIM, Yahoo and MSN IM support
3 megapixel auto-focus, flash, 8x digital zoom camera with 30fps video shooting mode, built in photo editor
USB 2.0, Bluetooth 2.0 + EDR
A-GPS
On-screen QWERTY keyboard, hardwriting recognition, multi touch UI
MicroSD slot

Pretty thin and full-featured, if you ask me. And unless the version of Android to run on this gadget was changed significantly, future buyers should expect a responsive experience.

Given the intentionally blurriness of the product pic, I’m calling this an intentional leak. In any case, updates as they become official to follow.

Source

Post from: The Gadget Blog

The Nokia E75: Designed for Idiots

Rico Mossesgeld — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 08:40:49 +0000

Take the Nokia E75 out of the box, and you’ll see a transparent sticker plastered over the display. Apparently, Nokia received too many complaints, from people who couldn’t figure out that on some phones, the red End Call key doubles as the power button! The side-effect of this noobishness? You have to take off the display cover to start using the phone, wasting the sticker’s screen protector potential.

Based on the attended product briefing, Nokia’s pushing the E75 as email-centric, highlighting the QWERTY keyboard that slides out from underneath the otherwise candybar-looking smartphone, as well as the email-friendly messaging app. Functionality-wise compared to the E71 however, the E75 is pretty much the same, with a different form factor and a newer version firmware to set it apart (and I was told that the same firmware is being prepared for the E71).

The complete data sheet is here, courtesy of Philippine affiliate Technograph. More pictures and a review to follow soon.

Post from: The Gadget Blog

Where Laptops Still Beat Smartphones

Rico Mossesgeld — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 20:45:58 +0000

The advent of Blackberries marked the beginning of the frequent mobile use era. It’s not uncommon to see people today check their email or their favorite websites through their phone.

Courtesy Quo Vadis

The problem is that some people are unaware of how rude they come off, tapping away on their thumboards in meetings or even one-on-one conversations.

This is where smartphones still fall short versus laptops. For some reason, and I’ve seen this happen many times, people who use laptops to essentially not pay attention while getting things done on their own agenda come off as more polite. More businesslike even.

It’s a reality that will probably not change soon. You can tap away on the keyboard, do a little furious clicking, all while glancing quickly at the speaker. All in the name of pretending that you’re doing an activity related to the current business conversation. So long as you pretend to follow the 7 rules for using laptops in meetings I guess.

Heck, so long as no one else can see your screen, you can even dabble in casual gaming. That’s also something I’ve seen happen with my own eyes.

Post from: The Gadget Blog

Showdown of “New Generation” Smartphones

Rico Mossesgeld — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 20:50:49 +0000

In attempt to get more people to their website BillShrink recently came out with this well-made digital flyer that compares the so-called “new generation” smartphones:

Courtesy BillShrink

Here’s that table in real-text form:

	iPhone 3GS (AT&T)	Palm Pre (Sprint)	Android G1 (T-Mobile)
Storage Capacity	16GB	8GB	1GB (Expandable SD Slot)
Talk Time (hours)	5	5	5
Standby Time (hours)	300	300	130
Camera Megapixels	3.0 With Video Recording & Editing	3.0	3.0 With Video Recording
WiFi?	Yes	Yes	Yes
GPS	Yes Turn By Turn (& Digital Compass)	Yes Turn by Turn	Yes Turn By Turn (& Digital Compass)
Voice Commands?	Yes	No	Yes
App Store	iTunes App Store	Palm App Catalog	Android Market
Price (With Contract)	$199	$199	$149
Price (Without Contract)	$599	$550	$399
Service Plans	Unlimited: $99.99 – Voice $30.00 – Data $20.00 – Messaging	Unlimited Voice, Data, & Messaging: $99.99	Unlimited: $99.99 – Voice & Messaging $24.99 – Data
Total Costs (+Tax Over 24 Months)	$3,600	$2,400	$3,149

Post from: The Gadget Blog

The Nokia E71’s Workable Keyboard

Rico Mossesgeld — Sat, 18 Oct 2008 20:00:11 +0000

I say workable, because even if it takes some time to get used to the QWERTY keyboard of the Nokia E71, it’s still decent enough to allow the input of an appreciable amount of text quickly. This very post was composed on the said smartphone.

The E71’s keypad features rounded and slightly raised buttons that are easy to distinguish from each other after some practice, but don’t require an extraordinary effort to push. Right now, I’m literally blazing through this part of the post, gaining confidence with each press and committing virtually no mistakes. I guess the only way to move faster would be to use a full-size keyboard—and the E71 supports wireless ones through Bluetooth. Once again, my love for real and actual physical buttons, over virtual keyboards, is justified.

The only thumboard experience that’s better than the E71 are the current generation Treos. But the latter don’t possess the versatility of this business-oriented gadget from the Finns. The E71 literally has everything you’ll need from a high-end phone, including multiple ways to go online (WiFi for hotspots, 3G for on-the-go). Bluetooth allows easy file transfers, and heck, there’s even IR to support those older work-related electronics.

I honestly have no idea how Nokia pulled this off, cramming additional features like GPS and a 3.2 megapixel camera with flash in a relatively thin and compact frame. It’s also worth noting that the E71 also improves on its predecessors’ respective thumboards, and supplies lots of power via a 1800mAh battery. You will appreciate its capacity as you spend the whole day listening to music, surfing the web, and taking pictures—and find that you haven’t even drained the battery halfway.

To make a long story short, I’m seriously considering getting this phone. It’s a matter of finding the cash to indulge this desire.

Post from: The Gadget Blog

Let’s Keep Those Smartphones Varied

Rico Mossesgeld — Sat, 09 Aug 2008 16:10:29 +0000

Hear hear Steve O’ Hear! You understand that with smartphones, one size doesn’t really fit all:

Yet I remain convinced that for all of Apple’s innovation – especially on the mobile browsing front and major improvements in usability – the iPhone in its current incarnation will have significant but limited appeal. There’s only one iPhone, and in the smartphone market, one size doesn’t fit all.

It’s honestly weird seeing some people claim that the iPhone is the end-all and be-all of the cell phone world, especially since it isn’t the fastest, most user-friendly, and most-capable mobile out there. True, no single device is the best at everything. But that’s why Nokia is still king with its thousands of models, even if conventional thinking dictates that more choices equals more confusion and less chance of buying.

As far as it can be determined, the manufacturer is pretty adept at identifying the varied needs or market niches that need fulfilling, and of course, fulfilling them with a vengeance through its wide gamut of offerings.

But the Finns aren’t the only ones benefiting from customers’ varied tastes. The smartphone market is plenty crowded, and the reason why its various players survive—the Samsungs, the LGs, and the HTCs—is the fact that everyone has his or her own needs when it comes to mobility.

Admittedly, these requirements may be more superficial than practical, but the fact remains that people want this and that. The fact also remains that no current model can do everything efficiently and properly—at a budget-friendly price.

Post from: The Gadget Blog