Wooden iPad Stand boosts iPad volume!

Share

Wooden accessories like native keychains, ashtrays, lamp, tables, figurines are pretty popular in the Philippines. Carrol Wilhelm probably got this idea to design a Wooden iPad Stand. But his design is not just a wooden stand/dock, it boosts the volume to a considerable level. The design was well thought and research was conducted thoroughly before this was developed. No need to buy external speakers for your iPad! 


See for yourself.

The iPad Stand will cost you around $39.95 @ Etsy. 40 bucks for a piece of wood with 4 holes @_@


Source: Etsy

Share

China's iPed Tablet, the ultimate "iPad clone"

Share

China "clone" phones have been quite popular here in the Philippines. Besides cloning a phone model's design, China phone manufacturers have managed to add certain features that are not offered by the originals. As we all know, China "clone" phones are famous for their dual-sim functionality and capability to receive TV signals. And most importantly, they are incredibly cheap! But at the same time, they are famous for their "quality". With all these features packed into a device and sold in a low low price, we couldn't expect its quality to be as refined and sturdy as the originals. 

China phone manufacturers have cloned almost every single phone model in the market. Apple's iPhone, Nokia's N series, Samsung's flip phones, Sony Ericsson's Satio, Blackberry models, you name it! And now, China has done it again! The latest addition to their clone collection is the iPed, an Apple iPad clone. News of the iPed have surfaced since May 2010 and now it has reached our shores. 

Homescreen comparison: iOS vs Android OS

Back Comparison

Boxed out: Apple iPad and China's clone, iPed

The iPed tablet runs on Android 1.6, has a 7" screen, and looks exactly like Apple's iPad (including the box).  Some key features of the iPed: WiFi 802.11b/g, It has USB ports where you can plug your USB 3G Modems like Globe Tattoo, or Smart Bro to access the internet; 2gb flash memory with expandable storage using MicroSD up to 16gb or external hard disk drive through USB ports; Under the hood, it's running on an Intel chip, VIA processor 300Mhz with 128mb RAM. 

"Apple bottoms"

Looking on the hardware aspect, besides looking exactly the same as Apple's iPad, the iPad is even 2 times heavier than the iPed. Just like any China clones, using fingers to navigate through the touchscreen will be a bit harder, it will be easier using stylus. Battery life is a bit weak and will probably last around 2.5 hours according to specifications indicated in its box. 

As for its incredibly low low price, it is said to cost around Php 5,000 - Php 6,000 here in the Philippines compared to an entry level Apple iPad that costs around Php 32,000. 

Yugatech was able to get his hands on one of these for Php 6,800. But according to his site, he said you can probably get it for Php 5,000 from other stores in Greenhills.

Sources: TechDude, Yugatech

Share

Toshiba Libretto: A Nintendo DS-like dual screen Tablet PC

Share

Toshiba's newest innovation, Libretto W100, is a cross breed between a traditional laptop and a tablet PC that has two multi-touch LCD screens. One screen is primarily for display and one serves as a virtual keyboard since the 7in, 1.5lbs machine doesn't have a physical keyboard. The dual screen design can also function as a touch screen tablet PC, pretty neat!  So I guess, Apple's iPad now has a worthy competitor. The Libretto W100 runs on Windows 7, so it pretty much could do what other laptops/netbooks could do. You can extend displays between two screens, so its so much easier when surfing the internet, or even reading e-books. 

In my opinion. the dual screen design somewhat resembles what Nintendo did to their Nintendo DS. And I commend Toshiba's idea on implementing this design on a Windows 7 device. The Libretto also offers 6 clever virtual keyboard modes to choose from, which proves that the Libretto is designed to cater to the user's accessability and full control of the device. Toshiba was able to combine mobility, user-friendliness, large screen display, speed without sacrificing basic computer functionalities since it's running on Windows 7.

Closer look on the Libretto W100:

The technical specifications are as follows:

- Intel Pentium U5400 (1.2 Ghz)

- 2GB DDR3 RAM

- 62GB Solid State Drive

- 802.11 b/g/n

- 802.16e-2005 WiMax

- 1 megapixel Web Camera

- Bluetooth 2.1

- MicroSD card slot

- USB 2.0 port

- Internal Mic

- Stereo Earphone jack

- Dual 7.0 inch multi-touch displays

- 6-mode virtual keyboard

- Weight: 1.55 lbs

- Battery Life: Approx. 2 hours

By compacting all these features into one ravishing device, we'll be expecting the price of the Libretto W100 way higher than the Apple iPad. It's more of a PC than a multimedia device. You can do a lot more with the Libretto than the iPad. So expect the price to be on par with market Tablet PCs.

WoW-Pow has made a video review of the Toshiba Libretto W100. 


Part 1:



Part2:

Source: WoW-Pow, Gizmodo

Share

Motorola Droid 2 R2-D2 Special Edition brings nerds and geeks to tears

Share

The ultimate success of Motorola's Droid has earned its spot as iPhone's number one contender.  And its about time Android-based mobile phones challenge Apple's iPhone to a cage match. Now, Motorola is about to give birth to the Droid's successor, Motorola Droid 2.  Motorola has kept the world waiting for the birth of the new and improved Droid 2. 

But wait, don't get too excited. There's more good news! 

To all Star Wars nerds and geeks out there, R2-D2 is coming to our galaxy! In the form of Motorola's Droid 2. Motorola's shipping a Droid 2 Special Edition in honor of Star Wars' dependable droid, R2-D2.

Comparison between the real R2-D2 and Motorola Droid 2 R2-D2 Special Edition

According the Verizon's teaser poster, looks like the pocket size R2-D2 will be available on September 30, 2010. 

Verizon has gone live with the Droid 2 R2-D2 Special Edition teaser web page. You can follow this link to the whereabouts of Artoo. 

Source: Android Central

Share

Web browsing competition: Surfing the web without using keyboards

Share

Google has made a huge impact on the lives of web surfers. With the best search engine by our side, all the information that the internet hold is within our grasp. It even gave birth to the term "googling", which generally means searching for something using google. 

Surfing the web without search engines is like finding a book in the U.S. Library of Congress (Biggest library in the world), blind-folded. So nowadays, surfing the web pretty much = googling. 

Trailblazers, a web browsing competition, challenges web surfers to surf their way from a website to a destination website without using Google (or any other search engine), and keyboards. So how are you going to surf? By using hyperlinks that are available on websites. For their inaugural contest, Trailblazers participants were challenged to browse their way from Amazon to Pirate Bay.

Video highlight of the recent Trailblazer competition:

Here are Some Trailblazers challenges:

1. [www.apple.com]
http://get.adobe.com/de/products/flashplayer/


2. [web.mit.edu]
http://icanhascheezburger.com/

3. [imdb.com]
http://thepiratebay.org

4. [www.4chan.org]
http://www.scientology.org/

5. [brockhaus.de]
http://de.wikipedia.org/

6. [www.bundestag.de]
http://www.bigbrotherawards.de/

7. [pleaserobme.com]
http://polizei.de/

Are you up to the challenge? Try out some of the challenges and post your answers.

Source: Gizmodo, Trailblazers

Share

Major cellphone makers signed agreement to "Universal" charger on mobile phones

Share

USB or Universal Serial Bus has paved the way to a standardized connector for computer peripherals (mouse, keyboard, printers, flash drives, media players, etc) to computers. Unlike those days where we have different connectors for each peripheral: mouse (mouse PS/2 connector,)  keyboard (keyboard PS/2 connector), modem/media players (RS-232 serial port), printers (LPT1 parallel port).

So why not apply this concept to mobile chargers? When your battery is dead and you forgot to bring your charger, it is kind of hard to look for a friend who owns a phone with the same manufacturer as yours. But nowadays, handset companies even create different connectors for different models of the same brand. So when your phone dies on you, same goes with your charger. Talk about marketing strategy. 

With the help of the European Commission, starting 2011, most mobile phones sold in Europe will have a one-size-fits-all charger. 4 major cellphone makers namely: Apple, Motorola, Samsung, RIM (Blackberry) have signed to this agreement that will save Europeans from their dead batteries.


Talks of having a universal microUSB connector for chargers started during 2009,which was initiated by the European Commission. And we are pleased that it is already taking effect.


Source: CNN


"Universal" chargers
It took years for a country as advanced as Europe to come with a solution for different connectors in mobile phone chargers. But believe it or not, here in the Philippines, years ago we already have "universal" chargers. CDR-King, a one-stop shop for gadget accessories and computer stuff, has a "10-in-1 multifunction usb/car/desk charger". It's basically a swiss knife for mobile chargers.

It supports 10 charger connectors for:
1. Old Nokia models (big round connector)
2. New Nokia models (small round connector)
3. Devices using miniUSB connectors (Blackberry, HTC, Palm, etc)
4. Selected Motorola models
5. Selected LG models
6. Selected Sony Ericsson models
7. Selected Samsung models
8. iPod/iPhone/iPod Touch (Any model)
9. Sony Playstation Portable or PSP
10. Nintendo DS Lite


These connectors can be plugged using:
1. Universal Serial Bus or USB
2. Car charger (Car cigarette lighter plug)
3. Desk Charger

10-in-1 Multifunction USB Charger Package by CD-R King

10 charger connectors for a variety of phone models that can be plugged to your PC through USB

Car charger that accepts the 10 connector-USB cable and other types of USB cables

Desk charger that accepts the 10 connector-USB cable and other types of USB cables
 

30 chargers in one! (10 usb chargers, 10 car chargers, 10 desk chargers) And guess how much this multifunction charger costs? CDR-King is selling it for Php250 or roughly $5.56! They have other interesting products like USB-powered vaccum cleaners, shaver, aquarium, sharpener, and more!

Techno Bacon <3 CD-R King!

For a variety of innovative accessories at low low prices, you can visit CDR-King, your one stop media provider.

Source: CDR-King 10-in-1 Charger

Share

Mobile Platform War: Motorola's Droid X phone mocks iPhone 4's bumpers through ads

Share

Setting: Grade school classroom

Scenario: During a final exam, everybody uses various techniques on how to cheat to pass their exam. Unfortunately Stevie was caught by their teacher. Since Stevie was already bound to fail the exam, he thought: "If I'm not going to pass this exam, might as well drag my other classmates. This way, I won't look like the only cheater in this class." So Stevie, looking for a "companion", finds Andy and tells their teacher that Andy was also cheating, and that everyone does it.

Same with Apple's attack on Motorola's Droid X. After the controversial iPhone 4's "Death Grip" that affects the device's signal strength when holding the phone in a certain way, Apple has decided to prove it's innocence by applying the "Death Grip" on Motorola's Droid X and say: "Hey! We're not the only one, so don't go saying our design is flawed!". Apple has posted a video, demonstrating the "Death Grip" on the new Droid X and showing that the issue persists on the device and not only on the awaited iPhone 4.

Motorola's response? They released an ad, mocking iPhone 4's bumpers.

It says: "NO JACKET REQUIRED", referring to iPhone 4's bumpers that, as a workaround, will solve the "Death Grip" issue.

More mocking on the caption below: "At Motorola, we believe a customer shouldn't have to dress up their phone for it to work properly. That's why the DROID X comes with a dual antenna design. The kind that allows you to hold the phone any way you like to make crystal clear calls without a bulky phone jacket. For us it's just one of those things that comes as a given when you've been making mobile phones for over 30 years."

Personally, I find the "Death Grip" an issue. It's a design flaw, admit it Stevie! And yet, experts say that the "Death Grip" issue doesn't really have much effect on iPhone 4 users since you won't really hold your phone that way.

But still, I enjoy the current Mobile Platform War between the two giants, their childish mockery, and taunts.

Share