Mobile Phone With Walkie Talkie

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It is difficult to decide which one is the best in mobile phones. As a user can only define which one is number one according to how he uses it and that suits his needs. Whilst others prefer the latest in technology, others prefer a much simpler one that provides just the basic telephony service.

It is true that the latest smartphone can do more functions and unifies the gadgets that we tend to carry around. A modern day swissknife that let us do many things in a smaller and simpler package. As a regular user, I must admit that I am fascinated with this gadget more than anything else and wonder how they could fit in everything in a very limited space. How clever the inventors and innovators are. But I also wonder which  function, gadget or hardware they will add into a mobile devices in the future, aside from a high  end resolution cameras, compasses, navigators, multimedias etc. etc. Can you think of anything that a future mobile phone will carry to it's already awesome collection of tools and hardware?

One of the online consumer surveys I participated asked the same question and one of the possible choices is a walkie talkie or "radio, and I thought, why not?

I do not know much about the laws in using walkie talkies but  as far as I know it doesn't necessarily need a license to operate, and doesn't need a maintenance balance to use. It is a free communication but limited in range. I do not say I prefer talking using this device over mobile phone but it is good to have aside from a mobile phone. And I think it is even greater if it is built in with a mobile phone. So that in case you are out of cellular coverage, you can still be reached from other walkie talkie's nearby. It can also save you money specially when going out with friends or family into an amusement park or mall. Instead of using your network operator  and being charged for it, just use the free radio signal with the walkie talkies. 

I can imagine that built in walkie talkie is financially beneficial to the users, but would have a threat in mobile operator's profit. This might be the reason why it is not a standard hardware with almost all  brands, popular or non popular. Or makers may thought that it can just add to the cost of the unit whilst user's are not keen of using it as it is not cool to use and looks like going back to a primitive way of communication. 

Whatever the reason of the manufacturers not to incorporate this kind of function, there are a few companies that make this product. Specially designed for the rugged outdoor surroundings, it is shockproof, dustproof and waterproof. It has a built in GPS for the adventurous and explore crazy users. And who cares if you will be away for days or weeks without mains power? Aside from the included twin batteries, it can also be charged with a handheld dynamo which is also included with the package.  And like the usual phone, it  has a led light, and camera to record videos or snap away your adventures. Made for the tough man yet gentle on the budget, this device would make a good impression as a present.

Watch how tough this phone is!

Bluetooth Dual Sim Phone Kit

Good news to those who always carry two phones, two different numbers in a given day. Like those who like to separate their personal calls from their professional or work conversations. Those who do on calls in a busy life threatening work, as they will be calling from the other line doing family or leisure conversation and the other number on standby, waiting for the operator's code alert to quickly dash off and do some unblocking of coronary artery or something similar. 

This device tends to lighten up your pocket and jacket, free from other mobile phones with different numbers. It does this by accommodating two separate sim cards, from different networks, and connects the two new signals to your smart phone by bluetooth. This promises to make a phone that has only one sim card into a dual or even tri-sim card phone, clever! Even better is, as the Bluetooth Dual Sim Phone Kit can take any simcard from any network, even if your phone is not unlocked, it can virtually use any sim that the phone kit device can handle. As it just function as a transmission bridge that passes the audio conversation from the active simcard to your phone's speaker and microphone.

The device is advertised for apple and android devices. Though apple products should be jailbraked to enable installation of the software. It doesn't only work with mobile phones but it can also work with tablet computers, smart music devices that can download and install apps. Now you can send a text and place a call with your tablets and other bluetooth enabled gadgets as long as the corresponding software installed.  The application to make it work varies and goes with which brand of the phone kit.

 One particular brand is Gmate, that can give additional telephony service to both apple and android devices.    You can search it's app, skyroam gmate, at the play store when you are using am android. Brave apple device owners should do a jailbreak first and download the application from third parties as the app is not available at iTunes.

See more details at:  http://gmate.co.uk/
See products at:

Click to watch video:

Automation Using NFC

When friends come over for dinner with their kids, expect the young generations to bring with them their gadgets. Whilst the younger kids are busy with their games, the teens are busy tapping away their statuses on social networks. It seems that the common lingo among them is handheld technology. And most of the time, they do more than just accessing social networks, and decide to share what's their latest find on youtube or watch streaming movies and even download  music online.  As this requires a massive data allowance, they ask for the home wi-fi network code. No problem on keying in on the hex code, but sometimes it could take a while because of input problems like too small keyboard, too much characters in the key and the number of devices to connect, especially that everybody wants to connect as they prefer different things.

But to those who has NFC enabled phones, the sharing of home's SSID and it's password is easy. It is just a matter of briefly touching with their phone the green NFC tag on my router and easily they can have the internet connection using our access in no time. The tag is not built in, but have bought it blank and just did an easy little note writing on it.

If you find it difficult to key in your password to share with your friends when they come around, then you can do this trick too, to simplify this task. Trust me, you can do this, assuming that you and your friends have  compatible devices!

How to build a tag and automate the sharing of your key?

1. The first step is to make sure your phone is NFC enabled. Examples of phones that has NFC are Samsung s3, Note 2, or google Nexus phones. You can check this link for the current brands and models with this function at 

http://www.nfcworld.com/nfc-phones-list/#available

2. You need to buy a tag to write on. I ordered one from an ebay seller and I got it the second day from this seller. 

  3. Download an NFC writer reader application from Play market place. I recommend NFC Smart Q for the purpose. Then you can write your tag.

How to write your tag?

3.1  Open the application and the list of what you can do with a tag is written down. In this example that I want to create a tag for the wifi access, I choose control settings, Wi-Fi, then Wi-Fi Connect.

3.2 Enter SSID name, select the kind of security (WPA or WEP), enter the key value, then choose toogle( this will toggle the device to turn on and off alternately everytime it touches the tag, or just simple tick enable)

Press OK then tap write. Now tap your phone over the empty tag to write the instructions on the tag. A notification of success will show on the screen if the writing is successful.

3.3 You can now stick your tag at the tap of your router or wherever you want. To use it, just tap in your friend's NFC enabled phone running NFC Smart Q application at the tag on top of you router to get Wi-Fi access.

How to use your tag?

Now that you have written an instruction with the NFC tag, with your phone screen unlocked, NFC enabled(settings, more settings, under file and data transfer, turn on NFC), just put your phone on top of the tag and it will read and translate it in a few seconds! See video below.

You can do more automation using this technology, like sharing your phone number, turning on your bluetooth when inside your bluetooth enabled car, turning off your data connectivity when you do not need it, sharing your social network address or website, notes, etc. etc. It is just really a matter of how big your imagination is to exploit the power of this tech!

Click picture below to see video.

Huawei Ascend Mate

The latest device from Huawei has a massive screen that measures a viewable 6.1 inches, measured diagonally from edge to edge. The total dimension is 6.5 inches length  x 3.4 inches wide x 0.4 inches thickness and weighs only 198 grams. With this size, would it be comfortably called a phone, a tablet, or shall we say a phablet, a cross over between the two devices. 

Huawei Mate and Note 2
image copied at http://bit.ly/V5XtTv

Manufacturer's are trying to out do one another in giving the users what they need, a screen that can comfortably accommodate a whole webpage. Though not everyone is a fan of massive screen, I think it is practically essential to make internet devices, mobiles included, to give the convenience of  easy navigation to websites, high resolution photos and apps. Annoyance with smaller screen is the time spent in zooming in and out the contents displayed into the screen. It is also a hit and miss story when clicking on links. Minimizing this time consuming gesture is to really give enough room and comfortably show the whole page or item with a bigger screen. Suddenly, the Samsung Note 2 (5.5 inch), became a bit smaller, well in terms of size!

Features

• Processor: 1.5GHz quad core processor
• OS:  Google's latest Android 4.1 Jelly Bean 
• Camera:  8MP rear camera, 1.9MP front
• Storage:  16GB internal storage and 2 GB RAM 
• Connectivity: Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS and micro USB 2.0. 

Interesting Features

• Battery

The power of the battery of any device goes to it's screen, and with a device this big, surely will drink any available juice quicker than the smaller ones. Huawei knows this fact that it built a power house of  4050mAh super huge battery capacity. Huawei claims that with it's 1.5 GHz quad-core Hi-Silicon K3V2 + Intel XMM6260 and with QPC and ADRX smart power-saving technology, it can promise two days of normal use before charging it to full. It can also be on standby mode for 9 days. Not really bad for a phone this big. Another power factor is, Huawei claims that it is 30% faster to charge it to full than other smartphone batteries of this range.

• Magic Touch

Src http://bit.ly/Xj0i3P

I can not wait to see this feature into action. I would like to use my touch screen phone even when it is cold and whilst wearing a pair of thermal gloves. At the moment and with my present smartphone, I need to take off my gloves to answer a call, as the device can not recognise my fingers inside my gloves. Freezing temperature outside at this time of the year dictates to wear a pair. And because it is not convenient to use the phone with the gloves on, and the same inconvenience to take the gloves off, chances are, I tend not to answer calls when I am outside. Magic touch enabled screen is highly sensitive to slightest pressure, and can recognise your touches and respond accordingly regardless of how thick the gloves you wear.

• Guiding Wizard

Src http://bit.ly/Xj0i3P

I am not a fan of mobile navigation and do not use it frequently to guide me whilst I am driving to unfamiliar places. I use proper navigator instead. Only when I'm on foot and seems lost that I tend to use a mobile device to point me at the right direction. I couldn't really find any distinct difference using different mobile navigators, the graphics, and the way they guide you from point a to b are almost exactly the same.

With guiding wizard, the device uses augmented reality technology to guide you on your way. It can do this by activating the camera whilst in navigation mode and the turning instructions appears as an overlay against the camera view. Could be useful and cool!

• Availability

Though it is not yet available to any retailer I know in the UK, it is rumored to hit the shelves anytime soon.  Would it be a big hit?  Let's wait and see if the mobile with the biggest screen, for the moment, can lure users despite the absence of NFC connectivity.

• Watch Video

Sony Xperia Z

Buy me at £36/monthly plus £299
worth of Sony Headphone

Here's another addition to smart mobile temptations hard to resist, the new Sony Xperia Z. Is it the last edition of the Xperia range that's why it is called Z, and will be the beginning of a new name after it? The Xperia fans need not to panic as this is just a personal question, knowing that "Z" is the last in the set of alphabet. If it is, this might be the best Xperia ever to be built!

The Specs

What experience will the variant "Z" can give the user?

This 5 inch TFT stunner  is powered with google's Jelly Bean 4.1 operating system. Build with a quadcore CPU from Qualcomm's Snapdragon S4 prochip processor, which is running at 1.5ghz, is faster than the other popular models from Samsung and Apple like the S3 and iPhone5 but about the same with the new comer from Blackberry Z10. Other similarities with the BBZ10 are the same amount of RAM at 2 GB, 16GB of storage plus an additional expansion of upto 32GB more using a microSD card. The camera can take a whopping 13MP of data per shot taken from the rear and 2.1 MP from the front, enough to stream a decent video when making a video call. The screen resolution can blow users away with it's stunning 1920 x 1080 at 443 ppi density, way higher than the 356ppi of the BBZ10. But then again, might be unnoticeable when viewed in it's native 5inch screen. The usual WiFi and bluetooth connectivity is also standard plus the addition of NFC for future near field compliant devices and services. It can also give the user a taste of the fastest, at the moment,  4G mobile data connectivity. Battery life is claimed to get the user continuous talk time of 11 hours with it's 2370mAh removable power house.

Distinct Feature

Did your phone ever get sticky after accidentally poured with soda, or after eating chocolate? What did you do, wipe it with a damp cloth or paper? With this phone, just pour it with water or wash it with soap without thinking of water damage! The distinct feature of this device aside from the obvious win with higher numbers on it's hardware is it's being water proof. It can stay submerged for half an hour under water with it's tightly fitted port covers. The tight fit might annoy other users but it is designed like that for a good cause. This feature is a must for forgetful user's with clumsy hands, and for those with even clumsier hands, will be thankful for the tough "Dragontail" glass screen.

Click the photo
 to watch video

Where To Buy

It comes in white, black and purple in colour, this phone is available to preorder online at the carphonewarehouse or dialaphone. Other retailers will soon follow, but at the time of this post, both the retailers are giving away a sony headphone for every pay monthly pre orders. Line rental starts from £36 a month with a generous monthly allowance of unlimited minutes, unlimited text and 1GB of data. The handset is free and with free delivery.

 And here's the temptation to buy it, the free sony headphone is worth £299 when bought on it's own. Pre order now until 27th of February to get this offer!

The New Blackberry Z10

Finally, a new Blackberry Z10 mobile phone to rival apple and android devices emerges.  Research In Motion has gone with the flow of new mobile gadgets without the ugly and bulky physical keyboard. And like most of the mobile phone manufacturers that favoured virtual user's input interface, RIM decided to make use of all the length and width of it's new smartphone to use for touch user's input. This is really a smart move. And for the fans that are expecting a qwerty physical keyboard would need to wait for a while for the unveiling of the Q10 after sometime.

Processor, Screen Resolution, RAM

The new BB Z10 has a 4.2-inch 1280 x 768 display with 356 ppi resolution, 1.5GHz dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 processor, 2GB of RAM, 16GB of internal storage and external micro sd card slot, and a full dimension of 130mm x 65.6mm x 9mm, slightly larger that the iPhone 5. So what's the "like" factor of this new device? 

The screen resolution of the Z10 is higher than that of  the iPhone5 and Samsung S3. Although the difference will only be noticeable when zooming in on photo's or documents, the Z10 has certainly beaten that of the apple's 326 ppi and The Samsung Galaxy's 306 ppi  in this aspect.  The dual processor running at a fast 1.5GHz, is built for the multitasking user. Compared to the iPhone 5 which is believed to have 1.3 GHz and the S3's 1.4GHz speed, the new comer is faster. Combined with 2GB of RAM,  which is more than the 1GB RAM packed with the iPhone5, will keep the opened programs running smoothly, launching and closing apps easily. Another plus factor is the removable battery, which is handy and more practical when it's time for the device to have a new power plant, it is easier and cheaper to replace. The phone can take up to 32GB of additional storage with the allocation of a micro SD card slot. This is a real envy to the fixed memory apple fans that are limited to their device's capacity.

Operating System, Interesting Feature

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 See BB Z10 SIMFREE £479
See BB Z10 £31pm

Going into it's innards, the Z10 is running the new BlackBerry OS 10 that critics say it is responsive and it's layout interface looks way much better that the older versions. It also included useful and interesting features like the BlackBerry Hub, where all communications and other notifications reside, whether that's a text message, tweet, email or social networking notification, users will just need to access one place, and that's the BB Hub. Another interesting and useful new feature is the way the virtual keyboard suggests words while you tap away the letters whilst composing a message. You can just touch the predicted word to use it, making you finish your message in no time. Click this clip to see how it works.

Connectivity, Battery life, Camera

Existing and future technology is also built in, like the presence of 4G, incorporation of NFC, and the earlier connectivity interface like bluetooth and WiFi. Wired connection port includes micro usb that doubles as charging and data transfer port and micro HDMI for external monitor output.

With the snapdragon processor, known for it's efficient power management, the phone can keep user's using 3G connection for up to 10 hours, and 305 hours on standby. Music listeners can have up to 60 hours non stop audio playback or can finish 5 movies of 2 hours each before looking for mains socket.

Snappers can be tempted to use it's built in time shift photo feature where in user's can easily compose the best moment in a photo by taking shots before and after taking the photo. For more info on how to use this feature, click here for demo. The camera specs of this device is an 8MP rear-facing camera, autofocus, 5x digital zoom, 1080p HD video recording, 2MP front-facing camera, 3x digital zoom, 720p HD video recording.

Availability

The new phone is available in two colours, black or white and prices start  from £31 per month for 2 years, contract with 600 minutes allowance,  unlimited text, and 1GB of data per month, and can be bought sim free from £479.

Do you think Blackberry Z10 is ripe for the picking? There's only one way to find out, get one now!