Tech Talk

Finally, smartphones based on the Google-backed Android operating system are starting to come of age. The OS will soon come in its second major iteration, and will power smartphones from the likes of Motorola, HTC and Samsung.

What this means is consumers can start choosing from a plethora of quality devices (as opposed to the one and only iPhone) that run on a modern and snappy mobile OS that provides an almost desktop-like Internet browsing experience, an amply-stocked application store that can help extend the abilities of their devices, and simple contacts integration with Facebook and Google accounts.

Death to the mediocre smartphone, I say.

Sony Ericcson is the latest to join the Android fold with its announcement of the XPERIA X10.

The impressive-looking hardware (a 3.5G smartphone with 4-inch touchscreen and 8.1-megapixel camera) is accompanied by a slick pair of custom applications, Timescape and Mediascape, which provide much more refined experiences with media playback and communicating with contacts.

Have a look at what the XPERIA X10 might be capable of when it gets on shelves in the first quarter of 2010:

Over in the United States, Motorola’s new Droid smartphone (it could possibly be called the Milestone if it arrives here) is getting lots of airtime for being a possible iPhone-killer with its well-specced hardware – a fast mobile processor that’s coupled with a 3.7-inch touchscreen and a 5-megapixel camera with dual-LED flash:

Smartphones won’t be the only devices that will get loaded with Android. Netbooks will soon be graced by the ‘droid, too:

Tags: Apple, Google, iPhone, Mobile, Smartphone

I have been hoping to write about interesting iPhone apps on a regular basis but work just seems to take up too much of my time. Now that I have time for a slight breather, I’m going to make my first iPhone app recommendation!

There are tons of apps on iTunes Store and it is becoming increasingly difficult to differentiate the good apps from the bad ones. I also find it troublesome to download all those “lite” versions to test out the games or utilities.

Well, get AppReviews from iTunes Store. It is a simple app that draws all its content from iphoneapplicationlist.com – a site that provides information about the latest discounts, the hottest apps and reviews of apps. It really is a gem as it helps you to keep track of all the latest apps and discounts available.

The best part: AppReviews is free!

So, what are you waiting for?

Tags: Apple, iPhone, Mobile

I had the pleasure of meeting Mr Kua Cheng Hock from Adaptive Instruments while I was covering the launch of the iPhone 3GS here. He’s also from the Guide Dogs Association of the Blind and is the only blind person in Singapore who owns a guide dog as well – he’s working on getting funding so more visually-handicapped people can get one for themselves.

So why was he at the launch anyway? This might surprise you. According to Mr Kua, the iPhone is one of the few phones that’s made to be friendly for the blind right out of the box (you simply need to tweak a few settings to switch on its accessibility features). Apart from verbally relaying what’s onscreen to him so that he can operate it, the smartphone’s built-in GPS and digital compass can help him find his way. Currently, he has to carry multiple devices just to do the same thing. The all-in-one device is much cheaper too and can help him with his email and other work-related activities as well. I’ll let him do the talking:

Oh, by the way, this was shot on location with an iPhone 3GS too.

Tags: accessibility, Apple, Gadgets, iPhone, Smartphone

As we’ve mentioned in our iPhone 3GS review today, the smartphone captures decent images and movies with its 3.2-megapixel camera. It has a really intuitive way of letting you focus as well. You simply need to tap on the desired part of the image onscreen:

The square above indicates the area I’ve tapped onscreen. On the top right, you’ll see a slider to switch between video and camera mode.

The camera churns out great photos in daylight or well-lit areas despite its relatively low resolution:

Images in low-light conditions tend to suffer from some visible noise as you can see below – but it’s a general limitation of such cameras in phones:

Here’s a typical food shot in an environment with very low lighting (hey, it was closing time). The iPhone manages to pump up the exposure so that your subject is visible:

The 3GS captures VGA-quality video and also allows you to choose an area to focus on as well, just like in picture mode. This opens up creative ways in which you can capture footage. In our example below, we used its macro focus to limit the depth of field, so you can see details on the raindrops and the texture of the car door’s faux-leather trimming:

Note that the videos on this blog have been compressed because they’ve been uploaded to YouTube straight from the iPhone. As with the camera mode, the quality of the video does tend to suffer when you’re in low-light environments, with visual noise becoming rather visible:

If you’d like to see the full quality of the footage that we’ve captured, download it from here.

Tags: Apple, Gadgets, iPhone, Mobile, phone, Smartphone

One week after Apple CEO Steve Jobs unveiled the latest MacBooks and MacBook Pros in the One Infinity Loop, local media finally get the chance to touch and feel the latest aluminum-clad MacBooks and MacBook Pros!

At today’s media conference held in Ritz-Carlton, Ms Angeline Tan (below), Apple’s Asia Pacific Product Marketing Manager for Portables and Wireless, took us through the new features like aluminum unibody and etc. of the new MacBook. (I think most of us sitting there already knew all about it… just let us touch the MacBooks!)

After the presentation, everyone scrambled for the tables where the MacBook and MacBook Pro rest. I sat myself on the front row and was one of the first to touch and feel the new alu-MacBook. (since I don’t have the money to buy MacBook Pro, I’m concentrating on the MacBook here)

By itself, the new MacBook is already a sight to behold with its smooth edges and curves at the corners. It gets even better when you hold the MacBook in your hands. Not only does it looks good, it feels great. The aluminum build is solid and sturdy unlike the white MacBooks of the past. Moreover, there’s not even a single grain of roughness as you run your hands through the top, rear and sides of the MacBook. Like a fellow member of the media said, “I can just do this all day long!” as he ran his palms around the MacBook.

Besides the body-caressing fetish the MacBook induces, it’s 13.3-inch display is absolutely marvelous, and a joy to look at. I queried Angeline about the potential problems that the reflective nature of the glass display poses, especially in my photojournalism work when I need to file photos out in the field. Her reply is simply to dial down the brightness of the display and the problem is solved. Since I can’t bring the alu-MacBook out for a test, I can’t know for sure if that is really the solution. (Again, when’s the review set? )

Anyway, I was eager to test out the all new glass multi-touch trackpad. It doesn’t feel like glass at all! In fact, it just feels like any trackpad there is in the market right now. However, the multi-touch trackpad makes a world of difference when you run two fingers to right click, three fingers to swipe and four fingers to activate Expose. It really feels even much cooler than my iPhone!

Finally, I put the much touted new NVIDIA GeForce 9400M graphics engine to test by launching Call of Duty 4. After maxing the graphics specs of the game, it feels a bit laggy. Again I asked Angeline about the lackluster performance. She replied the MacBooks present at today’s media conference are production sets and not the final build, so we can’t really judge the performance from these sets.

What?! You mean after all that body-caressing and salivation, these are production sets only!

Oh man, I can’t wait to get my hands on the “final build” of Apple’s latest aluminum MacBook…

Tags: Apple, MacBook