If you have never lost a phone, then congratulations to you; if you have, then you might have probably taken some steps in order to prevent the loss from happening again. In any case, losing a mobile phone is a tough situation to be in. Naturally, users of mobile phones are expected to keep regular backups of important information.
At the same time, sensitive and personal data on mobile devices should be kept to a minimum and should be stored securely. Still, the best way to keep your phone and your data secure is to not lose the phone in the first place.
Short of theft, negligence is a sure fire way to lose our mobile device. Heck, negligence even attracts theft. This is why mobile phone owners (as well as owners of all portable gadgets) should always be aware of their belongings. One good way to be aware is to secure your belonging in a location where you can periodically check the presence of the device.
Place it in your side pocket or in a secure sleeve on your bag. This will give you the freedom to occasionally pat the area with your hands to ensure that it is still with you.
Second is to actually check your belongings when you are moving from one spot to another. Check your belongings before you enter a cab and before you get off. The same goes for when you enter a bar, the office or any other place.
Of course, when choosing a way to carry your mobile phone, choose one that is both secure and accessible for you. This way, you have a constant location to check the phone for instead of having to pat yourself all over looking for where you stored the device after you ended that last call.
Archive for January, 2010
Smart Tips for Keeping Tabs on Your Phone
Friday, January 29th, 2010HTC Bravo Confirmed with Android 2.1
Friday, January 29th, 2010
Looks like the Bravo will be having more than just HD video recording as a one up over the Google phone; screens of the device reveal the user interface of the upcoming Android 2.1.
The HTC Bravo and the Google Nexus One will most certainly be compared. Not only do the two devices share many similar hardware specifications, it was also HTC that manufactured the acclaimed Google phone. Anyway, the specs on the Bravo are pretty impressive; with a few extra features that places it just a little above the Nexus. The one single factor that will certainly make the Bravo a better phone over the N-One is more on availability rather than actual specs. The Nexus is only available through Google’s Online store.
Anyway, the Mobile World Congress is coming up this February 15 in Barcelona, Spain and many mobile phone enthusiasts are expecting to see the Bravo to get its formal announcement. The device is expected to be released by March or April of this year, placing it in a prime position to compete with the other Snapdragon Android phone, the Sony Ericsson XPERIA X10.
For those of you who have not had to take a look at the HTC Bravo, the phone’s specs (as stated above) are pretty close to the Nexus One. The Bravo comes with the Qualcomm Snapdragon QSD8250 1GHz processor for delivering fast loading speeds for applications and excellent graphic handling capabilities.
The capacitive AMOLED touch screen is 3.7 inches diagonally and has a resolution of 480 x 800 pixels and can handle up to 16 million colors. The phone also comes with a 5 mega pixel camera with auto focus, LED flash, and video recording in 720p HD.
For more details on the HTC Bravo and the MWC next month, Mobile Choice UK has all the details.
iPad: Not a Mobile Phone
Friday, January 29th, 2010
Yes, the iPad does come in 3G and none 3G variants; just like the iPhone. But that is where the similarities end. The iPad will connect to 3G networks only for online connectivity.
I believe that disappointment is the word you are looking for.
Indeed, the news comes as pretty disappointing though in more ways than one, expected. For weeks now, the iPad has been rumored and talked about, and many speculations about the device have been given. But if there is on constant among all these rumors and reports, it is that it was never mentioned nor suggested that the device would function as a mobile phone. The really interesting part about all this is, deep in the hearts and minds of many readers –they certainly hoped it would.
Anyway, this super thin flashy little gadget was presented lovingly by Steve Jobs (yes, he cradles it onstage like a doting father carrying his child); and as odd as that was, the man certainly has plenty to be proud of. For one thing, this device looks pretty handy. Despite not being as mobile worthy as mobile phones, the iPad can sit on any desk, corner table or even be slipped into your bedside drawer without any problems. It is as slim as a regular magazine.
The 9.7 inch screen provides excellent graphics –which is certain delight for many who would like to get this device as an upgrade to their e-book readers (say goodbye Kindle) and the additional 3G, GPS and WiFi support will certainly make this an excellent choice for casual home use. The iPad also comes with a 1GHz processor, about 64GB of internal space and a pretty long lasting battery. It is estimated that the device can last for 10 hours of continuous usage.
Read more about the iPad details from the source.
Orange Shots Brings Interactive Advertising
Thursday, January 28th, 2010
When you browse through web pages, RSS feeds or any other public material; chances are you will encounter advertisements. These are everywhere, product placements in movies, video games and TV shows are prevalent, and every major street and intersection has a banner or poster ad; so it comes as to no surprise that there are ads even in mobile phones.
But have you ever wondered what it would be like if you had the ability to actually interact with an advert? Would you like to have the chance to tell them you like the product and are planning on purchasing one, or you really hate the ad and would never want to see it again?
Orange will begin the testing of Orange Shots, a new, innovative form of advertisement on 100,000 of its subscribers on the Monkey plan. The Shots will be comprised of SMS and MMS messages that subscribers can choose to reply to, giving brands a direct feedback from the consumers.
From a business perspective, this is a very efficient form of advertising. Not only will brands be able to get publicity with the ads, but getting direct customer feedback will enable companies to modify their marketing and production processes to meet the demands of their customers better.
For consumers, Orange Shots not only promises to deliver interest and lifestyle relevant advertisements, but also access to special promotions and exclusive content. News and media content will be given along with the ads as a form of benefit. These special contents will be provided for by participating brands4Music, Ubisoft, COI and Snickers have all been confirmed to be part of the Orange Shots. Most importantly, users can control the amount of ads and content that they will receive.
For more details on Orange’s plans for the ‘Shots, head straight to Mobile Today.
X10 Coming to Orange and O2?
Thursday, January 28th, 2010
Sony Ericsson has yet to formally announce when the XPERIA X10 will actually be released but two major mobile phone operators are already announcing that they will have this much delayed Snapdragon Android smart phone by March or April of this year.
Laying claim to the stake are O2 and Orange Mobile, as the two are reportedly been planning to release the X10 under their network. For O2, a place holder on their official website has been tagged as the spot for the X10 in their lineup. While exact plan details and offerings for the device are not yet released, many people are already looking forward to O2’s launch of the Android phone.
Over at the Orange Mobile UK camp, things are a little difference. The company has expressed interest in releasing many of the new high end devices coming but have not confirmed on the SE Vivaz (which is supposed to launch alongside the X10).
Originally announced as the Sony Ericsson Rachel, this Android phone was later called the XPERIA X3 before it was formally announced by Sony as the X10. The phone comes with a 4 inch TFT touch screen display with a resolution of 480 x 854 pixels. The 8 mega pixel camera comes complete with auto focus, LED flash, support for geo-tagging and even the proprietary face and smile detection software. As said, at the heart of the phone is a Qualcomm QSD8250 Snapdragon processor running at a speed of 1GHz.
Either way, Sony Ericsson is counting on the X10 to perform well. With the Swedish-Japanese joint venture taking a loss of over 800 million Euros last year, this year’s sales will certainly be a major factor in the future of the company.
For more details on the news regarding the XPERIA X10, jump to the link.
HTC Obsession: Real or Not?
Thursday, January 28th, 2010
This is the burning question that is racing through the minds of many people who have seen the supposed images of the HTC Obsession. The device is reported to be one of the first device that will sport the new Windows Mobile 7 operating system when it comes out, placing a possible launch date sometime late this year as the OS has yet to be actually released.
The main reason why so many question the authenticity of the image is because the phone is shown with a super imposed image of the Android user interface on the screen; since the device has already been determined as a WinMo phone from the start, there is reason to believe that the image is simply a hoax.
Whether the image is the work of a bored Photoshop artist still remains to be proven, but the buzz that the image has brought has shown that many people are actually looking forward to the release of this WinMo phone.
HTC has had a very long history with Microsoft, far longer than Google. Despite HTC’s big role in the Android operating system (aside from making the Nexus One, HTC is one of the first members of the OSA and they also made the G1 Android phone, the HTC Dream), HTC originally made its name through Pocket PCs that featured Windows Mobile. It would not be surprising to see the Taiwanese company being the first to release a WinMo 7 device.
Despite the presence of hoax images, the probability that HTC really is working on a WinMo 7 phone is most arguably true. Whether it will be named Obsession or not still remains to be seen in the coming days.
For more details about the images and what specs to expect on the Obsession, head right here.
Hungry for More Android? XPERIA X10 is Coming
Wednesday, January 27th, 2010
Sony Ericsson’s big hitters for 2010 are about to arrive, and it looks like the XPERIA X10 will be carrying the company flag as the device’s launch on march draws ever nearer. Good news for UK fans of the Japanese-Swedish joint venture, as Orange has dropped hints that they will be getting a special exclusive deal for the X10. As to what exactly this means still remains to be explained.
Anyway, we all know that this year will be full of high end Android devices, while early January has only seen the launch of the Nexus One (and it has been a sad launch with only 20,000 units sold in the first week), the rest of the year will see us looking forward to more Snapdragon powered handsets and then some. The XPERIA X10 will be arriving around to March along with the Sony Ericsson Vivaz (formerly the Kurara).
The launch not only signals the start of a new era for Android smart phones, but also Sony Ericsson’s new hope. The company has had a rough year with 2009 bringing about a total of 800 million Euros in losses for the company. President of SE, Bert Nordberg is confident that with their new line up for this year, the company is on the right track.
Certainly, many of us sure hope so. Sony Ericsson’s sales may have been bad and some of their devices really had problems (such as the XPERIA X2); but the company has always been on the forefront of delivering cutting edge innovation and green engineering. Greenpeace has ranked SE as the second greenest electronics manufacturer in the world.
Anyway, XPERIA X10 is certain to do well in the high-end market with its amazing specs. The device comes with a 1 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor and a 4 inch capacitive TFT touch screen. The screen resolution is 480 x 854 pixels and can display up to 65 thousand colors.
Get more details on Orange and the X10 deal from Techradar.
HD2 Heading to T-Mobile US, Getting Upgrade
Wednesday, January 27th, 2010
Good phones last, this is why the Apple iPhone has been around for over two years now and is still in the top charts. The HTC HD2, is a good phone, but it is being brought down by the fact that it is more of a business phone than anything else –not to mention that people automatically flinch at the thought at a Windows Mobile operating system
Navigating the Windows Mobile operating system is difficult, simply because the UI requires the use of a stylus. This means that using capacitive touch screens is out of the picture (goodbye multi-touch). HTC did a great job –namely by using the HTC Sense user interface which made navigating through the phone’s functions and menu a lot easier. Since the Sense UI is meant for finger input, the phone is able to use a capacitive touch screen.
Anyway, the HTC HD2 is now getting a quick upgrade in the form of more RAM and ROM. T-Mobile US will be getting a solid 512 MB of RAM and 1GB or ROM (originally, the HD2 has 448 MB of RAM and 512 MB of ROM). This update is certain to improve the performance of many heavy applications.
The rest of the specs remain the same, 1 GHz Snapdragon Processor, a 4.3 inch touch screen (the screen comes with a proximity sensor for taking voice calls, an accelerometer for auto rotate and supports multi-touch input), a 5 mega pixel snapper, AGPS, Bluetooth, a 1230 mAh battery, microSD cards and USB support. The 5 mega pixel camera comes with both auto focus and dual led flash. It supports geo-tagging, video recording in VGA at 30 FPS and will take images at a max resolution of 2592 x 1944 pixels.
Want more info on T-Mobile’s updated HTC HD2? Click this link for the rest.
Mayhem Unleashed with Chinatown Wars Cheats
Wednesday, January 27th, 2010
If you own an Apple iPhone and you have not downloaded the Rockstar game Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars, then you are missing out. This impressive little gem of a game brings together many of the elements that has made the GTA a very successful game franchise in a beautiful, CEL shaded, 3D portable version of Liberty City.
Anyway, for those of you who are already experienced running, gunning and jacking in the shoes of protagonist Huang, living in the dangerous streets of Liberty takes a lot of skill, patience and cunning. But of course, staying on your toes all the time is not exactly the definition of fun for many people. For those of you who would like to just jump into the world to cause mayhem and wanton violence, here are a few cheat codes that would make your game play a little less difficult.
To activate the following codes, go to a safe house and activate the mission replay board. Use the magnetic letters to form the following words, they will return to their original positions if you did the cheat correctly.
CASHIN – Grants $10,000 extra cash; use this cheat if you keep getting busted. Having money for guns, ammo and armor always helps when you are on the run from the law and the local gangs.
LIFEUP – Refills your life to full; with health icons too far apart, this is a great way to get back into your max hit points.
SHELLY – Refills your armor to full; armor counts as an extra bar of health –perfect for when you are getting pounded by bullets on all sides.
COPIN – Raises your wanted level by 1 star.
COPOUT – Lowers your wanted level by 1 star.
Raising and lowering wanted levels allows you to tactically choose what kind of opposition you will get. Raise it up to five or six when you want the heavy cavalry hunting you down, or just go for two or three if you are itching for a good chase.
For the full list with weapon cheat codes, head over to Phone Arena.
100,000 iPhones Sold! Vodafone is King of 3G
Tuesday, January 26th, 2010Vodafone is one happy company right now, they have reported that they have sold at least 100,000 Apple iPhone units in the week of its launch date.
Originally, O2 had an exclusive deal with Apple to release the device in the UK. In the two years of exclusivity, many iPhone owners have been complaining of steep prices and bad 3G service. When the exclusivity contract ended, Orange was first on the scene to sell the iPhone and many people expected a price war.
While no price war happened, the operators were forced to face the challenges of having competition in 3G networks where data access speed was very important. Vodafone was also quick to announce that they too would be selling the iPhone. And have been preparing for quite some time for it. Judging from the 100,000 units sold on the first week alone, iPhone users really do trust in UK’s largest mobile network operator.
For Apple, this news comes as a nice warm up to their announcement this 26th of January. While speculations are abound as to whether the iPhone 4G or the iSlate will be announced still remains to be seen.
On another side of the news, the Google Nexus One sold only 20,000 units in its first week of sales; that’s a mere one fifth of the iPhone’s Vodafone launch. Despite the fact that many people thought that the Google phone would be the iPhone killer, the device’s lack of availability has certainly led to its abysmal sales performance.
The Google phone is currently only available through Google’s online store. Despite the recent launch being the first main launch of the device, the fact that buyers cannot get the phone over the counter certainly has discourages many people. Also, the fact that all devices would be shipped from the US meant that many would have to pay extra for the shipping fee.
If you are curious for more, just jump to this link.