The Google Phone is Out There!

Image via CrunchBase

Is it good for service providers to go into the hardware side of the business? We all know that Google's Android has been slaughtering the competition (except for the iPhone that is) and now Google seems to be branching into the smartphone market with the ominously titled, "Google Phone".

Yep, it's been confirmed and Google employees are getting it--unlocked--as the tweets from the following Google employees show:

We noticed a Twitter message from a Google Program Manager, who writes “Stuck in mass of traffic leaving work post last all hands of 2009. ZOMG we had fireworks and we all got the new Google phone. It’s beautiful.”

Another guy, Jason Howell, says he had his hands on the device, which he says is made by HTC and is running Android 2.1: “The new Google Phone runs on HTC hardware. I saw it w/ Android 2.1. Homescreen has new visual enhancements like animated desktop wallpaper.”

“Supposedly, Google employees were given tons of these phones today. unlocked,” he adds.

What does this mean for current hardware manufacturers and developers like Motorola, etc. and the Android carrying lot? Does this mean that Google will focus more on making their Operating System work better on their phones over the others or will they still support their comrade at arms in the smartphone business? Nevertheless what Google decides, I know it's going to be a game changer in the smartphone industry as the Google brand alone will attract a lot of geeks out there to at least try out.

Source

Droid: Jailbroken and Beats iPhone in Time Mag List!

It's been a long time since I wrote about the Motorola Droid. The last time I did was when it launched, after that there was nothing. A lot of people praised the Motorola Droid as the one to beat Apple's iPhone 3GS and if Time's correct, it already did. However, with such a high profile phone, there's bound to be people who want to break it like they did the iPhone, and they just did.

Droid is Jailbroken!

There have been reports going around that the Motorola Droid has been finally "rooted" or for those not technically inclined--the Operating System has been opened up and anyone can muck around with it. The one who announced it was Cyanogen who tweeted it. However the one who hacked it was a person named Zinx Verituse.

So what does this mean for current Droid owners who wants to root their phone?

A rooted Droid means the user will have administrative rights and the ability to control every aspect of the phone, not just those that Motorola or Verizon have provided access to. A person will be able to download widgets that allow them to overclock their processor or install themes that dramatically change the appearance of their phone. Cyanogen offers custom builds that truly customize a device and provides easy access to hidden features.

Just remember that rooting your phone has also a great chance of totally bricking it.

Droid Beats iPhone in Time List!

According to Time Magazine, the Motorola Droid is the number one gadget of 2009, beating the iPhone (who sits at a lowly four).

"The Droid is a hefty beast, a metal behemoth without the gloss and finish of the iPhone, but you don’t miss it. The Droid’s touchscreen is phenomenally sharp and vivid, it has an actual physical (not great, but good enough) keyboard, and best of all, the Droid is on Verizon’s best-of-breed 3G network. It’s Android’s first credible challenge to the iPhone."

Congrats to Motorola for beating the iPhone on this list!

Jailbreaken Droid Source
Time Magazine Top 10 Gadgets of 2009

Dell to Dive Into Smartphone Market

Being successful in business means going out on a limb a lot to ensure that your company will be able to develop new products and services for the current and potential customers. This is what Dell's going to do with their intent on making it on the mobile phone market.

Dell, one of the best desktop computer makers out there, has decided to try their hand on the booming smartphone market. They've created a mobile division with the reorganization of the company. Although they failed before with the Axim, they're going to try again with the Mini 3i.

Dell’s new mobile phone division will be run by one Ron Garriques, a former Motorola boss who was leading Dell’s consumer computer division. When Garriques was brought to Dell (reportedly personally by Michael Dell) in 2007, it spurred rumors that Dell would reattempt something in the mobile product line.

Dell’s PDA line, Axim, was produced from 2002 to 2007, but sold poorly in the ‘BlackBerry era’ of smartphones with well designed e-mail and other business features. Dell’s Mini 3i is their first phone attempt, although it is only going to be sold (at first) in China and Brazil. Dell said that in addition to phones, Dell will also produce MIDs (mobile internet devices) and possibly a tablet.

Good luck to them as the market for smartphones is really getting rough and tough with all the hoopla with Apple's iPhone 3GS and the various Android phones (most prominent as of the moment: Motorola's Droid).

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Nvidia Driver Release

3D Mode

2D Mode

Windows Desktop Default Mode

Nvidia WHQL Notebook Driver version 195.62 is released.

Download them from Nvidia Website here

Please note that the new Nvidia Driver fixes the issue of not being able to throttle to default clock in Windows Desktop so please use this driver instead of the Acer Download (187.XX) which has the problem.
This driver is recommended.

Acer Aspire 4530 Actual Fan Control

I found the actual control variable of Acer Aspire 4530 Fan.
It is actually a hex value located in the EC.
To access the EC Control Variables, Download and install Rw-Everything.
Next run the program.
Select EC Button to view the EC Variables
You should see the following as shown below:
If you set it to 13 then click done, you will quickly hear the fan spining at maximum speed.
Other values between 0-13 also alter the RPM but there are also values in between that does nothing.
Happy Experimentation!

Nokia to Improve on Symbian

I mentioned last time that Nokia's move to the Maemo from Symbian maybe a disaster if they keep on continuing the same way they treated Symbian. It's great news that Nokia has focused on improving Symbian by focusing on the User Interface (UI) to make it look less cluttered and a lot more easier to reach your fave apps (for example tap twice instead of eight times to get to your application). This will surely make Nokia phones so much faster and efficient for its users. Scrolling will be supposedly be faster from 15 frames per second to 60.

However, Nokia will still push through with their lone Maemo powered phone next year--most likely a parallel run to truly test which smartphone OS would best suit the majority of their customers. Why not have two smartphone operating system running with their phones? Will it be too much of a stretch for them? HTC (supposedly one of the forerunners of Android phones) have done it with both Microsoft Mobile and Android in the past. Although it looks more like Microsoft's getting kicked hard in the butt by Android, there are still hardcore people out there who use Microsoft Mobile as their OS of choice.

Another question is why did they just move now since they had Symbian way before the Android was even thought of. Whether Nokia lost its focus on its smartphone OS all this years is no longer the issue, but rather how do they move up the charts again? Will they be able to do it with a vastly improved Symbian or a new kid on the block Maemo? Looks like will see next year.

Source

GP2X Wiz Portable Arcade & Console Emulator

If you're an old time gamer like I am, you long for the days where you can just jump into a game and immerse yourself in that reality for a few minutes. The games these days take quite a while to finish and requires a lot of effort and concentration, thus the fun factor has been sorely lacking. It also requires you to buy multiple cartridges or discs in order to play games that you like. It's great then that the GP2X Wiz is coming out with a lot of games under its belt. Not only is this a Game Boy Emulator but it's an emulator to end all other emulators.

The Wiz uses Linux-based firmware to support a number of different emulators. As a result, games ranging from classic Nintendo to Sega Genesis to Neo Geo plus Arcade favorites are playable in one handheld device. "The retro gaming community grows in size every day. The demand for old favorites to be readily available is constantly increasing, despite how many new games are released" stated Mark Hall, Wiz enthusiast and proprietor of the community site GP2XWiz.info.

Although I do have to admit that the games included in the Wiz seems to be more targeted to an older audience, it doesn't mean that the younger generation can't get into it as well. Let's say it's a way for them to appreciate where the gaming today came from. For those of my age, it's a great way to relive younger days where games are meant to be fun rather than a challenge.

Press Release