Technofilic
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- Review: LG's Voyager for Verizon
The Voyager has been out for a week now and already I have seen more than a few in the wild. After a few hours of playing with one there is no doubt this is going to be the hottest phone during the holiday season.
The first impression of the Voyager was great. The size of it is perfect. Whether you hold it in a closed position and type on the touchscreen for a message or open it and type one out two handed, it feels very sturdy but not bulky. The major problem I had with the LG EnV was how it didn't seem to feel good when using. The outer screen which is entirely touch has a pretty good reaction, especially after you get used to it. What I liked most about it was whatever it lacks in sensitivity to the iPhone it makes up by having a sort of tactile feedback. The little vibrations that let you know the tap was registered is very helpful. The touchscreen, like the iPhone's also has a very nice scrolling feature where simply waving your finger down or up will navigate.
The only real drawbacks (on the design side) is with the full QWERTY keyboard on the inside. The keyboard is not very one hand friendly, but with a T9 outer screen this is barely a problem. The other gripe was with the location of the Space bar. There is no central space bar instead there are two located on both bottom sides of the QWERTY.
The 2 megapixel camera is pretty decent and even takes ok pics in low lighting. It offers multiple fonts and it seems that having a data plan is a must as the VZ Navigator uses data. If you can ignore the Verizon user interface which has been crippling their phones then this should be a strong consideration for you. The photos basically speak for themselves.
4/5 Stars.
Tue, 04 Dec 2007 21:58:00 +0000 - Information on the Blackberry 9000 series
The Boy Genius Report which has been chirping a lot about a rumored 9000 series from RIM has finally gotten some substantiated information. And it is juicy. Sporting an iPhone like 480 x 320 screen it seems that there won't be the keypad that has made Blackberries a staple of the business community. It seems a bit odd that Research In Motion would take such a drastic route, but who cares this thing looks amazing.
Aside from the massive screen the 9000 series is expected to have it also is going to have an Intel processor that clocks in a bit faster than the iPhone. Two of the most important feautures also include WiFi and GPS. One feauture BGR didn't seem to know about was if the Blackberry OS would be drastically revamped, which it seems it would have to be given the size of the screen. With the possibility of a 3.2 megapixel camera we want one, yesterday.
Check out the full report BGR has been waiting all year to break. http://www.boygeniusreport.com
Fri, 30 Nov 2007 22:58:00 +0000 - Update to Mobile Google Maps
Yesterday Google modified the hybrid feature on the full version of Google Maps, today Google updated their Mobile Maps app to include a somewhat new layout and a few features. The feature of most note would be the "My Location" option which works on phones that are unfortunate enough to not have built in GPS. The My Location feature uses cell towers to approximate your location, not quite GPS but it works pretty well. With a range of 500 meters to 5000 meters, depending on how dense the area is. So if you are lost in Wichita trying to find your brother-in-laws this may not help, but it is fun at the least. Oh and it won't eat your battery nearly as much as GPS will. If you have a Blackberry, a Nokia S60, or a WinMo device check out http://www.google.com/gmm.
Wed, 28 Nov 2007 21:29:00 +0000 - Google's GDrive is almost ALive
The Wall Street Journal has recently reported that Google's mildly talked about online storeage system, GDrive, may be poised to become public in the next few months. This will excite some, if the storeage capacity comes up big. Google is likely to offer both free and paid services when GDrive is announced, which will match up well with its three main competitors. The names of these competitors shouldn't surprise you with Microsoft's SkyDrive, AOL's Xdrive and Apple's iDisk.
Google has been slamming all competition when introducing new products, and GDrive will likely it the mark again. Likely having a search function for uploaded files the largest factor will be how much space Google will make available. Skydrive, Microsoft's offering was just upped to 1GB of storeage for free, and offers no paid service while Apple's iDisk allows for 10GB of space if you fork over $99/year. This is a rare situation in which Microsoft is actually ahead of Google, however when it comes to size it seems Microsoft, unless they up their storeage capacity, may once again be made to look like kids at a cocktail party.
[via WSJ.com]
Wed, 28 Nov 2007 00:51:00 +0000 - PayPal workaround for Apple Store
If you have ever tried to use your PayPal account to purchase the newest iPod then you know the Apple Store doesn't accept PayPal. Well now PayPal has made it possible. They have set up a method that creates a virtual Mastercard number that is linked to your PayPal account.
Simply go to PayPal, select 'Mac User?' and pick the Secure Card option. This will generate the CVMC, card number, and everything else you will need to get your tax-free Apple Store holiday frenzy on. Ohhh Yeeeeaaaah.
[via TUAW.com]
Tue, 27 Nov 2007 21:03:00 +0000 - Verizon opens Network to "Any app, Any device"
This may or may not be a monumental announcement. In early 2008 Verizon says it plans on allowing devices that fit he minimum standards will be allowed to operate over its cherished network. Of course they haven't said what these minimum standards will be. Their President Lowell McAdam has created a $20 million lab that will validate the devices/apps. Mr. McAdam sees this as a watershed event in the 20 some years wireless systems have been operating. Verizon is not a partner of the Open Handset Alliance, Google's Android operation that bears a resemblance to this announcement.
This is certainly something to keep your eyes on, but until it is deployed and can be tested it will be hard to say if Mr. McAdam is accurate.
[via Verizon]
Tue, 27 Nov 2007 20:36:00 +0000 - ZML.com: Movie downloads on the cheap
This may not be the most legal site out there. They are currently able to continue their business thanks to a very vague Russian copyright law. If Piratebay.org is too illegal for you and iTunes too expensive, then ZML.com might be for you. Curently you can download movies from a range of $1.99 - $4.99 which is fantastic.
If semi-legal is your thing and you don't mind throwing your Visa around somewhat nefarious sites, check out ZML.com and begin downloading DiVX encoded movies from The Godfather to The Simpsons Movie. ZML may not last long though, so get it while you can.
Mon, 26 Nov 2007 23:22:00 +0000 - Pirate Bay: Still not afraid of Governments, Lawyers or Anyone else
We at Technofilic by no means agree with pirating software, but that doesn't mean we, like most Torrent users, haven't sat around in awe as The Pirate Bay thumbs its nose at everyone from Microsoft's legal team to Apple's. Back a few months ago TPB had their headquarters raided and several servers taken. With no evidence found against them it is no surpise they aren't too worried.
They should however worry that there seems to be no end in sight to the constant legal investigations of them. The newest charges about to be filed before the end of the year are of "facilitating copyright infringement". We just hope The Pirate Bay rakes in enough money to keep on facilitating while they fight a few neverending legal battles. Check out ArsTechnica.com for more information.
Mon, 26 Nov 2007 19:50:00 +0000 - FCC Ok's Motorola Z6c worldphone for Verizon
It has bee slim-pickens if you are a world traveller and have somehow decided to stay loyal to the "In Network". Verizon seems to have been recently realizing this and have been making an earnest attempt at getting a few phones that work beyond the confines of North America. This newest creation has two separate GSM bands for when you find yourself in Asia or Europe. It of course also has a band for CDMA for regular old U.S. usage. Dissing MediaFLO, but packing the now standard 2.0 megapixel camera, a QVGA screen and slider form factor, we like the way it looks.
A few more questions we have may be answered soon, especially whether or not the Z6c will be available before the holidays.
[via EngadgetMobile.com]
Mon, 26 Nov 2007 19:28:00 +0000 - FCC checks out the Blackberry Pearl 8120
Here is the first photo, from the FCC showing T-Mobile's new prize; the 8120. Nearly identical twins of it's parent the 8310 (Blackberry Pearl). The major difference seems to be the inclusion of WiFi which makes this one of the more cherished of RIM's creations. For more info on this device check out Technofilic's initial post on the 8120.
http://technofilic.blogspot.com/2007/11/fcc-t-mobile-first-to-get-wifi-equipped.html[via FCC.com]
Fri, 23 Nov 2007 20:14:00 +0000 - Black Friday deals continue to leak: AT&T
A week ago Technofilic reported on T-Mobile's fantastic Black Friday deal - http://technofilic.blogspot.com/2007/11/t-mobile-does-something-unprecedented.html. Now it seems AT&T has decided it needed to play ball and has gotten in on the fun. They are offering 50% off all phones (other than the one you want, iPhone). Despite not being able to get your fanboy on, you can get in on some other great deals:
Motorola RAZR 2 - $149
Blackberry Curve - $99
Pantech Duo - $99
Samsung a737 - $24.99
Sony Ericson w580i - $24.99So after you wake up from a turkey and pie based coma, if you feel so inclined to get your handset fix on, stop by an AT&T retailer.
Wed, 21 Nov 2007 20:39:00 +0000 - Motorola loves Taiwan
This year has not been the best year for Motorola. After over exposing their prize product, the RAZR, to the market and releasing every possible shade of chrome at prices from $400 to free, Moto really needed a hit. Their RAZR 2 has been available for months now, and has not sliced through the competition. Instead they have slipped to to #3 in the world in handset sales, letting Samsung take their spot behind Nokia.
They may not be as concerned with the world market as they ar with Taiwan, where they announced they would be taking bold steps to escape the #4 spot for handsets. Their plan over the next year is to release 20-30 new phones in that relatively small country. That is roughly two phones per month (or more). Besides making us want to move to Taiwan, maybe Motorola is trying to beat HTC in its home market and create a worldwide surge back to a MotoWorld ?
Good luck Motorola, just don't forget about the rest of the world.
Wed, 21 Nov 2007 18:11:00 +0000 - Introducing miShare
This little device is pretty useful. It does what many iPod owners have wanted to do since they first envied a track on someone elses iPod, copy a track, picture, or movie in a seemless fashion over to their own iPod. And it does exactly that. However it is not the quickest process. The Linux powered device allows you to select the item you want to transfer and at 500K/sec you won't have to wait too long.
It is available for preorder in a week and will ship a few weeks later. Check out more photos over at Engadget.
[via Engadget.com]
Wed, 21 Nov 2007 00:23:00 +0000 - The new Chocolate: LG Venus
Yesterday it was Verizon's LG Voyager, and today it's the LG Venus. Upgrades of both the EnV and Chocolate, LG has become the handset maker of choice for Verizon. It has been an early Christmas for Engadget receiving both in the passed two days.
Hop on over to Engadget and see their unboxing. This phone looks flawless, despite a lackluster Verizon interface.
http://www.engadgetmobile.com/photos/hands-on-with-the-lg-venus/
Tue, 20 Nov 2007 21:04:00 +0000 - Earthlink bails on municipal WiFi
For some time now Earthlink has seen municipal WiFi projects as a great way to get into markets which they did not have a strong foothold. Recently they have begun to withdraw most involvement in such projects after coming to a realization that profits would not be seen for some time.
Stating that investing anymore time or capital in municipal WiFi projects is inconsistent Earthlink's goals when in comes to increasing shareholder value. They had been hinting at such a move since the beginning of the year as one of their more costly ventures, Philidelphia, had not panned out as they had hoped it would. Following the higher-than-expected costs for nodes in Philly, Earthlink ran into a few problems in Chicago and Houston, leading them to basically give up.
Apparently the entire Municipal Wireless business model has been sputtering. Even in tech/venture capital rich Silicon Valley there is nearly no desire to begin such investments. However Corpus Christi, Texas has managed a very efficient wireless system. It just might be too soon, but keep your fingers crossed.
[via http://www.ArsTechnica.com]
Tue, 20 Nov 2007 19:18:00 +0000
