Best Phone Blog

There are plenty of reasons why LG’s upcoming Panther smart phone is much anticipated; mostly because the device going to be running the new Windows Phone 7 series.

The Windows Phone 7 mobile platform first came out at the Mobile World Congress held in Barcelona, Spain. There, Steve Ballmer showed off their work in progress, gave their new motto “the phone is not a PC” and showed to us that Microsoft is still one of the best operating system developers (despite the fact that the Windows Mobile series was a total disappointment).

Admittedly, there are plenty of things to like about WP7. First off, the tiles system is a great way to customize the content on the phone’s home page. The expanding pages are also pretty important. It groups all the contents and allows you to easily browse and filter through phone content to get to the stuff you want.

Other features of the OS still lack the main features –such as the Office Menu which online contained the OneNote and SharePoint functions, other features were already functional: like the “People” page already incorporated Facebook integration. It was also shown that Bing and Zune would be present in the mobile platform as well.

A demo at the Tech Ed 2010 delves deeper into the capabilities of the OS. The big advantage is the addition of the new XBL service. While it was revealed at the MWC that XBL would be part of WP7, it was only at Tech Ed that an actual game was shown. The good thing about having full Microsoft devices such as a Windows PC, an Xbox 360 and a smart phone with WP7 is that you can play the same game on all three platforms.
Read more about Windows Phone 7’s features and capabilities at Softpedia.

Touch based technology really is one of the biggest innovations of the past decade. Touch has been adapted to laser projected keyboards, touch screens for mobile phones and gaming handhelds and even wristwatch-smart phones. The applications of touch technology are endless.

Now, many manufacturers are working on developing touch screens that can be expanded to really large sizes or even be worn on clothes. Microsoft on the other hand is focusing on a different kind of technology –projected surfaces.

The first examples of surface computers have popped up a couple of years back demonstrating the great potential to be had when using projected touch screens. Now, Microsoft is pushing the bar further by turning the technology into something mobile.

Mobile surface computers will turn almost any surface into a touch and gesture detecting area which users can utilize in order to interact with the software. A tech demo showed how the system is able to detect hand and finger motions allowing the user to play “air drums” on a pair of virtual bongos with controllable volume. The user interface flips out to a larger full drum set which showcases the systems’ ability to detect objects such as drumsticks.

The show pretty much reminded us of the old Surfacescapes demonstration that featured the old Microsoft surface. By using small handheld objects that are detected by the camera, users are able to play Dungeons and Dragons on a flat projected surface.  That demonstration was done last October of 2009; it would not be surprising to see even more breakthroughs in the coming months.

The technology looks straight out of a science fiction movie, just like Minority Report and Ironman, but Microsoft is pushing forward with developing the mobile surface. Considering how many amazing applications this can have, we completely understand why.

Get to know more about the Microsoft Mobile Surface at Pocket Lint.

The name for Apple’s touch screen tablet has always been the center of many bad jokes and puns. Even before an official name came out, the speculations alone were more than enough to make our most austere reader’s ears turn red.

Now, Steve Jobs has finally given the official christening of the newfangled gizmo and we have to say, any joke the iPad receives is well received. First off, the tablet shares the name of a series of women’s padded push up bras made by a Canadian lingerie company. Second, the name conjures images of ladies’ overnight napkins.

Hip Handmaids, from Etsy, have recently decided that since the joke was so fun to hear, why not make a product based on it?

The creative team quickly went all out and created the iMaxi -an all purpose carry all case for the iPad in the shape of a giant napkin complete with wings and pad grooves. While this may seem like a novelty joke (and some women might feel offended by it), it actually does work. Sanitary napkins after all, have been designed to give total support and comfort.

Obviously, real napkins are made to guard against leaks and carry cases are supposed to protect from small impacts. The iMaxi’s “pseudo absorbent” area is actually a heavily padded shock protector. The “wings” spread out in order to fully wrap and support the touch screen tablet. Overall, it is a well designed carry case that should give you and a few of your more open minded friends a good laugh.

Of course, if you really want to go shocking, the Hip Handmaids are also offering the iMaxi with an all red interior pad –perfect for that time of the month.

See the iMaxi iPad carry case and get know its details at Pocket Lint.

Flash is one of the most dynamic and interesting elements of the internet. It plays an important role in delivering animated advertisements, creating unique layouts for WebPages and delivering media through the internet in a very easy to access format that surpasses embedded JavaScript items.

Of course, Flash support on mobile phones is very important. Since web browsing on smart phones has become common practice and social networking tools sometimes use Flash elements, it is rare to hear that a mobile phone platform will not have Flash support –unless it is an Apple product. Steve Jobs of Apple has made it pretty clear that he does not believe in Adobe’s product. Instead, he says that HTML5 is better, this will reflect in the Apple iPad tablet.

Google’s Android users on the other hand do not need to worry about the new Adobe Flash version since it has been already announced that the latest version of the Android will support Flash.

For Windows Mobile users however, Adobe is passing up on the current version of the OS in favor of the upcoming WP7 smart phone. This news alienates many of the existing Windows Mobile 6.5 phone users as they will no longer be able to update Flash support on their browsers.

This can be considered as a backfire of having shown off the new mobile platform. While WP7 is an impressive OS, it is not yet due until much later in the year. This has also made developers slightly ignore the newer 6.5.3 Maldives version of the OS since everyone is too busy looking forward to getting to see WP7 come out soon enough. No word yet if the Flash update will be made for older WinMo eventually.

Get to know more about Flash at Softpedia.

If you have ever been bed ridden to a point that moving your limbs is a difficult chore, then you might have already felt what it was like to wish that you can change the channels on your telly without moving a muscle.

A new research at the University of Washington focuses on allowing humans to interface directly with computers in order to interact with appliances and simple machines. This is pretty useful research, considering that it can pave the way for major innovations in the field of medicine and mechanical engineering.

About two years ago, the first commercialized neural input system was introduced to the public. The OCZ Neural Input Actuator allows users to easily map 11 different key stroke commands to mental input commands. It does take a while to train new users into actually getting things right, but once a person is used to the controls the results are astounding. When playing a first person shooter game, users showed incredible skill with the controls allowing for accurate shooting with almost no keyboard or mouse input.

In application, there is very little use for neural input in our offices. After all, most office work requires seeing the actual feedback on the monitor, which would mean that typing would still be faster than mental input.

On other fields, neural input can change the way we live our lives. This will certainly mean wonders for people who rely on prosthetic limbs in order to walk and move. Neural input would allow for the mental activation of actuators that would enable to simulate movement. At higher levels of control, more complicated actions can be achieved. Even normal people using technology such as the hybrid assistive limb would be able to exhibit a high level of control beyond traditional mechanical access.

Read more about mental input technology on Engadget.

Asus has been pretty successful in the computer industry. The electronics manufacturer has a very successful line of net books that use the Intel Atom processor which has allowed them to create smaller devices with pretty good hardware. The Eee PC line of net books has been doing well in the laptop industry. With mobile phones however, Asus still has a long way to go. Recent tie-ups have resulted with a couple of Garmin-Asus devices. The phones are impressive, but still lack that extra factor that would make them stand out in the large crowd of HTC, Motorola, Samsung and others.

Now, it looks like a timely tie up with Microsoft will be changing the way we look at Asus mobile phones.

Reports are in; Asus will be manufacturing a Microsoft branded smart phone that will be using the Windows Phone 7 series.

Windows Phone 7 is shaking up the mobile phone industry since it was shown off at the Mobile World Congress held in Barcelona, Spain. Microsoft tech head Steve Ballmer led the team as they showed off the current work in progress and how they are planning to turn the Android and the iPhone OS into static and obsolete looking interfaces.

Some critics have said that there was so much going on in terms of animation, but from a user standpoint, everything flows so smoothly and cohesively in the initial demos that it is hard to imagine what could be wrong.

The bleeding effect on the edges of the page not only add a futuristic edge to layout, it also serves as a subtle sign that there is more content to be seen by panning around. Expect to see some groundbreaking new features once the OS is ready for commercial release.

For more info on the Asus-Microsoft connection, go to Mobile Choice UK.

It has been a week since the Mobile World Congress and plenty has happened in the mobile phone industry, both related and not related to the weekend event. In any case, here’s a quick round up of some of the more interesting headlines:

First off, Sony Ericsson’s CEO Bert Nordberg has said in a magazine interview that they turned down an offer to make the Google Phone –Nexus One. It is a surprising bit of news to hear and many people believe that SE has made a critical error in choosing not to take the opportunity. While many can argue that the Nexus One is not a real success in terms of sales, the mere publicity and reputation by the prestige could very well bring in more money for the company.

SE has been a financially troubled company since last year and despite their impressive 2010 lineup, many believe that there are still plenty of dark clouds in the joint venture’s horizon.

One key company to watch out for this year is Microsoft. The company has had success in the computer industry with the release of the new Windows 7 operating system which practically fixed all the problems of Vista (well, almost). They are also doing well in the mobile industry with the recent unveiling of the Windows Phone 7 series.

A recent report has shown that European Regulators have approved the Yahoo! and MS tie up. No details yet on what we can expect from the two giants, but expect them to start cracking down on competitors such as Google and Apple pretty soon.

Speaking of Windows Phone 7, the mobile operating system is expected to appear later this October with a device made by Asus for Microsoft.

Get to know more about the latest news and more at the Guardian UK.

Garmin Asus showed off a couple of nifty gadgets last Sunday at the Mobile World Congress; but it looks like Asus will be getting its knees deeper into the pits of the highly competitive mobile phone industry as it is reported to be the manufacturer for the very first Microsoft branded smart phone loaded with Windows Phone 7.

For many, the new Windows Phone 7 series stands as one of the most promising operating systems to be announced in a long time. The fact that it reinvents the concept of a smart phone is truly miraculous. Large panels bigger than the display screen will be used as the main menus, this makes it easy to pan around for information and features instead of using tired old menu systems. It has also been confirmed that there will be Bing, Zune and Xbox Live Games to the new operating system.

The big panel system divides phone functions into several parts. People will give users access to information such as profiles, and status updates on Facebook. Images will let you sort out your files easily and even upload them on file sharing sites. Other features such as Office has shown a bit of functionality but still lack anything beyond being able to run SharePoint and OneNote. Games do not have any actual game titles yet, so right now it’s a social networking tool too for XBL users.

What is surprising is that Asus might be teaming up with Microsoft as a subcontractor for the very first WP7 smart phone.

It was previously reported that that WP7 OS relies mostly on Qualcomm technology. Since Asus products focus heavily on the Intel Atom CPU, the report of a possible tie up between the two is still pretty unlikely.

Read about the news regarding Windows Phone 7 and Asus from the source.

The Xbox Live Games service will be appearing on Windows Phone 7. It has been shown in the demonstration and it even supports the avatar, gamer profile and other details. No doubts about it, this system will let you bring your XBL account with you where ever you go. Right now, no games have been announced for the Windows Phone 7, but many are expecting ports of XBL games to be made available.

One interesting thing to note is that Michael Chang, senior product manager of Microsoft’s mobile communications marketing group has stated that MS is not blocking third party access, even from competitors.

In some weird way, it sounds like Mr. Chang is inviting the Playstation Network (PSN) to be made available on the Windows Phone. Despite the initial similarities between Xbox Live and the PS Network, the two networks are pretty different.

XBL is a paid online service. Users pay a monthly subscription fee to access the service which lets them access the Xbox live store, get downloadable content (DLC) and play online with contacts. The first difference is that PSN is free; the second major difference is that when you play online, you will not have to put up with over compensating teeners raging over headsets about how good they are.

Seriously speaking, it is technically possible, but pretty much improbable that PSN would even be available on the Windows Phone. It is likely that Sony Ericsson would adapt an entirely new OS or have device exclusive features for Sony Computer Entertainment. So far, the Aino has been shown to be compatible with PS3 stored media. Perhaps a PSN mobile app may actually not be far from reality on a Sony Ericsson smart phone.

Get to know more about Windows Mobile 7’s open policy on Tech Radar.

Many people already expected that Windows Mobile 7 would be an important platform for Microsoft as they have previously promised to deliver many of the requested features that never made it to WinMo 6.5 and below. Many considered that WinMo 7 should at least be worth a look to see how far MS has come in the mobile platform industry.

Nobody knew that when Steve Ballmer went up onstage, he would literally shake the core of what many thought a mobile phone operating system should be.

“The Phone is not a PC”.

This was the running mantra for the presenters who showcased the many features and capabilities of the upcoming Windows platform. They should even print that line unto a shirt and give it out as it literally explains the mental dynamic behind the functional and aesthetic design of the new user interface. Yes, Microsoft produced a mobile platform so good it reinvented everything they made before.

Obviously, the first thing we noticed about the new Windows Phone 7 operating system is the oversized screens that did not even fit the display of the touch screen phone. This novel idea of creating a wide area for content that you can customize to only see specifically the things you want to see. These large panels combined with the tiles system, brings full customization at your fingertips.

Zune and Xbox Live Games have also been demonstrated as present in the new operating system; though no game demonstrations have yet to be shown. Zune even got to have its own introduction as it was not locally available and many people did not know what it is.

Plenty of details are still missing for now; but with an expected holiday release date, there is still plenty of time for MS to fill in the missing features.

Get more info about the Windows Phone 7 OS at the source.