Nokia N9 Design Story

Nokia finally announced the presence of Nokia N9, the first smartphone that uses MeeGo platform, in the event the Nokia Connection 2011 in Singapore on Tuesday (21/06/2011). Nokia N9 introduces an innovative new design, by eliminating the "Home" and all done on-screen menus displacement. Everything is using an alias swipe sliding motion with the fingertips to the screen.

"With the Nokia N9, we want to design a better way of using a cell phone. For that, we innovate on the hardware and software. We changed our way of thinking, of using a button 'Home' to a simple movement," said Marko Ahtisaari, Nokia's Head of Design.

No matter where the user in an application, swipe from the edge of the screen will take you to the main screen. Three main screen of the user interface is designed to provide quick access to things that are most important people are doing with a phone: use the application, keep up-to-date with notifications and social networking, and switching between activities.

Design Nokia N9 is an example of a blend of function and art that have not done the competitors Nokia. Material made of a single molded polycarbonate precise and beautiful. Black in appearance and laminated to make the user interface look like floating on the surface of this phone.

Nokia N9 is also equipped with the latest technology in cameras, navigation, and audio, providing an overall exceptional experience. Nokia has also been using NFC technology in this product.

Specifications Nokia N9:

•     Operating system: Linux MeeGo
•     Screen: 3.9-inch AMOLED capacitive 854 x 480 pixels
•     Size: 116.45 x 61.2 x 12.1 mm
•     Weight: 135 g
•     Processor: ARM Cortex-A8 Model 1000 MHz TI OMAP 3630
•     Graphic Processor: 2D/3D Graphics HW Accelerator with OpenGL ES 2.0 support
•     Camera: 8 MP
•     Talk time: up to 11 hours
•     Standby time: up to 19 days

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Windows 7 Gadgets for Monitoring System

Windows 7 gadgets can be a lot more than a pretty interface for your clock or news feed. Several Windows 7 gadgets exist solely as system monitoring tools that show constantly updated data about your system resources like CPU, memory, hard drive and network usage.

Below are the best free Windows 7 gadgets that can be used to help keep track of system resources:

1. CPU Meter Gadget

The CPU Meter Windows gadget for Windows 7 displays two dials - one that tracks your system's CPU usage and another that tracks physical memory usage, both in percentage format.

This is a pretty basic Windows 7 gadget in that there are no fancy options, but it does what it does well.

If you like to keep track of how much memory and CPU is being used at any given time, give the CPU Meter gadget a try.

2. DriveInfo Gadget
The DriveInfo Windows 7 gadget monitors the free space available on one or more of your PC's hard drives. It displays the free space in both GB and percentage. The DriveInfo gadget is very easy to configure and is an especially attractive addition to your other Windows gadgets.

The DriveInfo gadget is available as a free download from the Windows Live Gallery for your Windows 7 desktop or Windows Vista Sidebar.

If you frequently check the free space available on your hard drives, the DriveInfo gadget will definitely save you some time.

3. System Control A1 Gadget
The System Control A1 gadget is a fantastic resource monitor gadget for Windows 7. It tracks CPU load and memory usage.

The System Control A1 gadget is freely available from the Windows Live Gallery.

The best thing about the System Control A1 gadget is that it supports up to 8 CPU cores, making it fully compatible with the latest multi-core CPUs. The interface is superb as well which helps balance out the fact that there are absolutely no user options.

4. Xirrus Wi-Fi Monitor Gadget
The best thing about the Xirrus Wi-Fi Monitor gadget for Windows 7 is that it looks cool. You can see available wireless network connections, verify wireless coverage, and lots more in a unique interface.

Xirrus Wi-Fi Monitor packs a lot of useful information into a single gadget, maybe too much. For me, the Xirrus Wi-Fi Monitor gadget seems a bit "heavy" with the radar display running all the time and the huge Xirrus logo. Still, it's powerful gadget and you might find it really useful.

The Xirrus Wi-Fi Monitor gadget is a free download from the Windows Live Gallery.

5. System Monitor Gadget
The System Monitor gadget for Windows 7 is an excellent multifunction monitor. System Monitor can track CPU usage (up to quad core) and RAM usage but also can display internal and external IP addresses, the current time, battery usage, and even has a wireless network monitor.

System Monitor is very well designed and has numerous options. Nearly every aspect of this gadget is configurable.

I highly recommend that you try the System Monitor Windows 7 gadget.

6. Margu-NotebookInfo2 Gadget
The margu-NotebookInfo2 Windows gadget has a funny name but it's serious about packing a lot of system monitoring into a single gadget.

With the margu-NotebookInfo2 gadget, you can track system uptime, CPU and RAM use, wireless network strength, battery level, and much more.

margu-NotebookInfo2 is put together very well and should be an excellent addition to any Windows 7 or Windows Vista PC.

7. iPhone Battery Gadget
The iPhone Battery Windows 7 gadget has to be one of the coolest gadgets around. The battery indicator is an excellent knock-off of the glowing battery level indicator on the iPhone and looks great on a Windows desktop.

With the iPhone Battery gadget, you can also mimic an antique meter, a Duracell® battery, among other cool things.

The iPhone Battery gadget is free from the Windows Live Gallery and installs on your Windows 7 desktop or Windows Vista Sidebar.

If you're on a laptop or other portable Windows 7 device, the iPhone Battery gadget should definitely help you keep a closer eye on your available power.

8. Network Meter Gadget
The Network Meter Windows 7 gadget provides all kinds of useful information about your wired or wireless network connection like current internal and external IP address, current upload and download speed, total bandwidth usage, SSID, signal quality, and more.

There are several useful configurations available with Network Meter including background color, bandwidth scaling, network interface card selection, and more.

The Network Meter gadget is a free download from the Windows Live Gallery and installs on your Windows 7 desktop or Windows Vista Sidebar.

If you're troubleshooting a local network issue or are always checking your external IP, the Network Meter gadget could be very useful.

9. All CPU Meter Gadget
The All CPU Meter gadget keeps track of CPU usage and your used and available memory. What makes ALL CPU Meter stand out from the crowd is its support for as many as eight CPU cores!

There are only a few options but background color is one of them. That might seem like a small advantage, but if you're a regular user of Windows 7 gadgets, you know that making it fit with your desktop scheme is an important factor.

I also like the quick 1 second update time and well designed graph in All CPU Meter.

The All CPU Meter gadget is available for free from the Windows Live Gallery for your Windows 7 desktop or Windows Vista Sidebar.

10. GPU Observer Gadget
The GPU Observer gadget for Windows 7 gives you a constant look at your video card's temperature, fan speed, and more.

GPU Observer shows the GPU temperature and, if reported by your card, the PCB temperature, fan speed, GPU load, VPU load, memory load, and system clocks.

Most NVIDIA and ATI desktop cards are supported by GPU Observer, plus some NVIDIA mobile cards. No Intel, S3, or Matrox GPUs are supported.

Multiple cards are supported but not simultaneously. You'll have to choose which video card you'd like stats displayed for in the GPU Observer options.

If keeping tabs on your GPU is important, as it is to most serious gamers, then you'll love GPU Observer.

So you can tray to put the gadget on your dekstop.

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Olloclip three-in-one lens for iPhone 4

The age of lugging around a pricey DSLR kit just to capture casual fisheye, wide-angle and macro photos may be nearing its end -- for some of us, at least. Designed by a startup duo in California, the Olloclip was the first project featured in our Insert Coin series, and we were thrilled to learn not only that it was successfully funded, but that the device is ready to ship to both early supporters and new customers just two months later. The accessory brings the functionality of all three lenses to the iPhone 4, and it does so well enough to warrant leaving your pro kit at home on occasion -- assuming, of course, that your photographs aren't responsible for putting food on the table.

While a bargain compared to its professional equivalents, $70 is a lot to spend on any iPhone accessory, so the lens's price tag may not sit well with some users. Also, design limitations mean you won't be able to use the lens with other devices, and there's no way to guarantee compatibility with future iPhones as well. Nonetheless, we had a blast shooting with the Olloclip, and we think you will too. Head past the break to find out why.

Design and appearance

At first glance, the Olloclip only appears to include two lenses, but unscrewing the wide-angle reveals the cleverly hidden macro. To use any of the built-in lenses, simply slide the clip onto your iPhone. The fit is quite snug, so you can rotate the phone, walk around, and even slip your phone into a bag without worrying about the lens slipping off. It's also easy to reposition -- to swap the wide-angle for the fisheye, for example, just flip the entire clip around so that the lens you want to use is facing forward. As with all sub-$100 optics, it doesn't have the sturdy, metal construction of, say, a $2,000 professional-class Canon L-series lens, but for a pocketable accessory with a potentially limited shelf life, we're more concerned with the device's performance than we are with how it feels in our hands. The plastic lens mount is also less likely to damage the glass body of your iPhone 4, so we don't mind that the clip itself isn't made of metal.

Ease of use

The Olloclip is incredibly easy to use. You don't need to install any software, though it's compatible with any and all iPhone apps. And mounting or swapping lenses just takes a second, as you can see in our hands-on video. We did have some trouble using one hand to remove the wide-angle lens to expose the macro, as we were using the other hand to hold the iPhone, though unscrewing the lens while it's mounted on the phone is less of a challenge. It's also important to note that because of the iPhone's higher multiplication factor in video mode, the wide-angle and fisheye lenses will present a completely different perspective when shooting video than they do when capturing stills. Don't be discouraged, however -- the video crop factor actually eliminates much of the distortion we experienced with the wide-angle lens

Image quality

Since the optic functions simply as an extension of the iPhone's existing lens, the quality of the images it captures are limited by the sensor itself. Fortunately, the iPhone 4's camera offers a huge improvement over its predecessor, enabling the Olloclip to capture some pretty fantastic photos. Pics we shot with all three lenses were sharp and vibrant, and were clearly distinctive from those captured with the iPhone's native lens. Most wide-angle lenses suffer from minor barrel distortion, but unfortunately we found distortion with the Olloclip's wide-angle lens to be far more noticeable than what we've experienced with a wide-angle lens on a DSLR. These distortion issues are clearly visible in our gallery of sample images. As with any fisheye lens, you'll notice some significant barrel distortion here, too, but that's to be expected -- after all, that stretching is kind of the whole point of fisheye photography. [src engadget]

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Benefits of Text Messaging in Cellular Phones

“pls. let’s meet nw. wana c u coz I mis u so mch… etc.” This is just one typical line of what is a text message or SMS (short message service).

These days, it is one of the most liked features of the mobile phones. People from all ages especially the teenagers really like it. They consider it as the most convenient and the cheapest form of keeping in touch with the people around them. Mobile phone networks have been taking advantage of the tremendous support and patronage shown by the SMS population.

This SMS culture is not only true in a corner of the world but worldwide. It is these 160 characters that could be sent and received from one mobile phone to another which makes the world seem smaller these days. Text messaging keep family ties firm, cross distances, save friendships, deliver emergencies, campaign information… and the list goes on.

These benefits are not everything. Text messaging is also valuable to our disabled brothers and sisters around the globe. There are claims about the negative effects of text messaging like the erroneous spelling it uses. In text messaging, people use a very rare “lingo”. This is to save the number of characters. Despite these negative effects, the benefits are still undeniable.

Generally, it keeps a person updated and informed since you can carry a light device anywhere you go. For the deaf, it gives them that sense of independence and freedom. It provides them a way from the linguistic and geographic barriers. They are able to be like the common people when it comes to communicating with the people they want to keep in touch with.

As for the Birmingham Institute for the Deaf in UK, “text messaging provides them with a potentially life-saving tool to report crimes. Since 98% of the hearing impaired in the United Kingdom uses text messaging. A British police department adopted text messaging as a method of reporting crimes for the deaf community. Stations in the United States are now beginning to adopt similar practices.”

With these reasons, SMS appears to be a very beneficial innovation in these modern times. We just hope that it will not be use for abusive practices that may be a threat to the world. These benefits are things we must be thankful for.

With man’s power of the mind, innovative ideas turn out to be solutions that lead to a better, more convenient life. We do not have to run miles at all, wait for weeks, venture on messages in bottles, we have the messages right on our fingertips. In the future, SMS would grow into a more complex level but let us keep its objectives neat.

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Benefits of Owning a Cellular Phone

This is not a new line to let go of but we could totally say that Cellular phones are very popular everywhere. No matter what the age of an individual is, it is indeed now a need instead of just a want. Cellular phones are in demand not just because they are necessary for communications but because this seems to be one of the hippest possessions especially for the young people.

Cellular phones come in different models and varied features that would surely be of great help to users depending on their needs and depending on the way the cellular phone features meet the standards of the users. There are benefits that could be derived from owning a cellular phone, there may be some disadvantages from them but it is beyond denial that cellular phones are really useful and they have influenced us more access, more technology and more mobility.

There are numbers of benefits that we could really get from owning a cellular phone but there are three of the most dominant benefits:

• This is very useful in case of emergencies

 With a cellular phone, you could contact people as fast as you could without letting the situation get even worse. Through cellular phones, it would be easier for people to respond to unexpected cases that may happen to them along the way. Without cellular phones, the transfer of information would be slow and would also produce slow outcomes.

• This could lead you to the right direction

While traveling in a new place, it is natural that a person may get lost or lose the right direction. With a cellular phone, it would be possible for you to find the right direction. As we are all aware of, there is that locator feature now that could be enjoyed by users. There is also an option that could be very helpful for kids and parents. For example, by accident, a kid gets lost, parents could trace the location.

• This could let you help others especially when they are in the middle of an emergency.  Through this, you could selflessly open your hand and lend a help. This is a great help to a community for it does build bridges among people. And, this is what the essence of communication is. Building bridges instead of walls.

These are the three major benefits of owning a cellular phone. These are big advantages if you own one. It would be plus points if you could get a good model or a good brand.

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