Sony Ericsson G502 Review

The newest member of the Sony Ericsson G-lineup was only announced a few weeks ago with a stark commitment to deliver great internet experience. Compact and stylish, this bar has the looks and our preview has already lifted a corner of the curtain on performance. Join us as we start our answer-to-all-your-questions Sony Ericsson G502 review.
Key features

.2" 262K-color TFT LCD display of QVGA resolution
.GPRS, EDGE and 3G connectivity with HSDPA
.Great web browser
.Great battery life
.Compact size
.M2 memory card slot
.2 megapixel camera
.Media center
.Comfortable keypad
.FM radio with RDS
.Bluetooth v2.0 with A2DP support
.USB connectivity

Main disadvantages

.Camera produces mediocre pictures
.Poor display legibility under direct sunlight
.No video-call camera
.No document reader
.D-pad might be uncomfortable at first

The market, at which Sony Ericsson G502 is aiming, is not really overcrowded. There are only a handful of budget handsets to feature HSDPA and at least decent browser capabilities. The strongest challenger is probably the Sony Ericsson K660 but it will probably be a bit more expensive due to the few extra features it offers. Whether the dedicated browser keys are worth the extra cash is debatable but, as these are internet-centered devices, they might just make a difference.
Motorola RAZR maxx V6 is also a reasonably priced HSDPA-enabled handset that comes with the Opera web browser. This might just be enough for some people to choose it over the G502. The form factor could also be decisive here as the maxx V6 is a flip.

The slider Samsung F330 may appeal to the music-lovers, as it features some dedicated music keys to compliment the HSDPA. Some people might prefer the sliding design to the Sony Ericsson G502 bar. We for one do happen to like the G502 browser and general interface more.

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Microsoft`s WorldWide Telescope

Microsoft has released a free public beta of its WorldWide Telescope, which is software that lets both amateur and professional stargazers explore the universe from their PCs. The WorldWide Telescope is a rich Web application that accesses high-resolution images taken by ground- and Earth-orbiting telescopes such as the Hubble Space Telescope, the Chandra X-Ray Observatory Center, and the Spitzer Space Telescope. Read Steven Musil's blog for more details.

The main screen of the Worldwide Telescope contains stars visible to the human eye that are mapped into constellations.

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Motorola MING A1800 with dual-SIM, dual-network

The Motorola MING A1800 is a highly intriguing device that recently leaked online. It can work with two SIM cards, but what's even better it can work with two networks standards as well - CDMA and quad-band GSM.
Boy Genius Report recently got a hold of the otherwise officially unannounced Motorola MING A1800, which comes as an update of the Linux-based MING lineup. Having in mind the CDMA functionality, it's almost sure that the handset will be targeted at the American market, still it would be perfectly usable n Europe too.
The Motorola MING A1800 also sports a 3 megapixel autofocus camera and Bluetooth. Unfortunately, no other specifications are available, but you can enjoy some of the BGR photos.

Source: http://www.gsmarena.com/motorola_ming_a1800_is_dualsim_dualnetwork-news-467.php

AT & T To Bring Mobile TV In May

AT&T announced that the nation's largest wireless carrier will offer subscribers ten channels of live, mobile TV on at least two new phones starting in May.

AT&T Mobile TV uses Qualcomm's MediaFLO system, which we reviewed last year with two Verizon phones. The MediaFLO system allows for at least 14 channels. AT&T and Verizon will share eight: CBS, Comedy Central, ESPN , FOX, MTV, NBC, NBC News, and Nickelodeon. AT&T will get two exclusive channels of their own, which Verizon customers won't have access to.

Verizon, for its part, added two exclusive channels this week: ESPN Radio and a Latino-focused MTV spinoff, "MTV Tr3s".

MediaFLO channels aren't simulcasts of broadcast TV. Rather, they're rearrangements of the TV schedule to play popular programs several times a day. Late night talk shows pop up during morning commuting hours, for instance, and the NBC channel mixes in both NBC network programs and popular shows from NBC's Bravo cable channel.

Since AT&T uses the exact same mobile TV network as Verizon, we expect quality to be the same (excellent, just like 'regular' TV) and pricing plans to be the same (around $15/month.)

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'WoW' bot sued by Blizzard

We've long known that publishers of massively multiplayer online games like World of Warcraft don't like it when players mess with the purity of their games.

That's why they routinely issue stern warnings that anyone caught gold farming or buying accounts or using bots that automate various processes will be punished in some way, including being banned from the game.

But now, it seems, WoW publisher Blizzard Entertainment is taking its enmity toward this kind of behavior to the courts.

As reported by the BBC, Blizzard has sued the creator of a program, or "bot," known as MMO Glider. According to the MMO Glider site, the "tool...plays your World of Warcraft character for you, the way you want it. It grinds, it loots, it skins, it heals, it even farms soul shards...without you."

That is anathema to Blizzard, and the company is trying to get the courts to stop Glider's creator, Michael Donnelly, from selling it.

Blizzard's court filing asserts that "Blizzard's designs expectations are frustrated, and resources are allocated unevenly, when bots are introduced into the WoW universe, because bots spend far more time in-game than an ordinary player would and consume resources the entire time," according to the BBC.


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PlayStation Store may have been breached Sony warns

Sony Computer Entertainment has issued a statement warning that a "small percentage" of PlayStation Store accounts may have been breached, and subsequently had their passwords changed.

The company says it's working around the clock to rectify the problem, though it notes that because entire details aren't displayed on the Store, the chances of your credit card information being leaked is "very unlikely".

"We have investigated the extent of unauthorized access and possible alteration of passwords that could have occurred before corrective measures were taken, and are directly contacting customers who may have been affected by this incident," the statement says.

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New Facebook privacy controls generate good reviews

After enduring withering criticism late last year for the lack of adequate privacy controls in its Beacon advertising system, Facebook Inc. today garnered positive reviews for new controls that let users more strictly monitor who can access the content they create on the site.
The privacy controls launched Wednesday let users limit access to information like photo albums or contact information to specific Facebook friends or friends lists, the company said. Facebook had rolled out the friends list feature in December as a way to help users communicate with groups of friends on the network.

Nick O'Neill, a blogger on All Facebook, noted that the new features provide users with more granular privacy by specifying various settings for each friend list. "This means that, in theory, all of my professional contacts will no longer be able to access my photos, and I can start posting those photos of my crazy times in college," he added.

"These new settings have theoretically transformed Facebook, making it possible to manage all of my contacts from one site," O'Neill wrote.

The All Facebook blogger also noted that the social networking firm today also launched a new option that allows users to opt-out of personalized SocialAds that integrate into photos a notice telling his or her friends about recent purchases made at various online retailers.

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Apple previewed its iPhone 2.0 software

Apple today previewed its iPhone 2.0 software, scheduled for release this June, and announced the immediate availability of a beta release of the software to selected developers and enterprise customers. The iPhone 2.0 beta release includes both the iPhone Software Development Kit (SDK) as well as new enterprise features such as support for Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync to provide secure, over-the-air push email, contacts and calendars as well as remote wipe, and the addition of Cisco IPsec VPN for encrypted access to private corporate networks.


The iPhone SDK provides developers with a rich set of APIs and tools (including programming interfaces for Core OS, Core Services, Media and Cocoa Touch technologies) to create native applications for iPhone and iPod touch. The iPhone SDK will allow developers to create applications that leverage the iPhone’s Multi-Touch user interface, animation technology, large storage, built-in three-axis accelerometer and geographical location technology to deliver truly innovative mobile applications.

Starting today, anyone can download the beta iPhone SDK for free and run the iPhone Simulator on their Mac. Apple today also introduced its new iPhone Developer Program, giving developers everything they need to create native applications, and the new App Store, a way for developers to wirelessly deliver their applications to iPhone and iPod touch users. The App Store enables developers to reach every iPhone and iPod touch user. Developers set the price for their applications — including free — and retain 70 percent of all sales revenues. Users can download free applications at no charge to either the user or developer, or purchase priced applications with just one click.

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Yahoo unveiled a new bookmarking tool for cell phones

The Internet company unveiled a new bookmarking tool for cell phones that lets people keep track of favorite Web content--news feeds, search results, Web sites--from one place on their handheld. The technology, called Yahoo OnePlace, will be available in the second quarter of 2008, according to Yahoo.

The tool builds on other new mobile applications from Yahoo. Those include OneConnect, a tool to update social-networking messaging on the phone (announced in February), and OneSearch, which aggregates news, weather, financial data, photos, and Web links based on search queries

Yahoo has heavy competition in mobile. Earlier Tuesday at Germany's annual CeBit conference, Google demonstrated Google Gears, an open-source browser extension for mobile phones that lets developers create Web applications that can run offline. For now, Google Gears supports Internet Explorer on Windows Mobile 5 and 6 phones, but not Apple's iPhone or other smart phones running Opera browsers.

Last month, Opera also switched out Yahoo and made Google the default search engine for its Opera Mobile and Opera Mini Web browsers designed for handheld devices.

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Sony Ericsson revealed T303

Sony Ericsson revealed T303, a new mid-end compact slider phone targeted to the mass market with its good looks and price. The Sony Ericsson T303 has been rumored throughout the past week and now it finally meets the bright light of day.


Sony Ericsson T303 has a nice appearance thanks to its metal housing and chrome finish, as well as a mirrored screen. The 65K TFT display itself is rather small with its 1.8" and 128 x 160 pixels resolution.




The phone is packed with decent set of features as FM Radio, TrackID, 1.3 megapixel camera and Bluetooth. A serious downside however is that the T303 doesn't have a memory card slot, while its internal memory is only 8MB.

Sony Ericsson T303 measures 83 x 47 x 14.7 mm and weighs 93 grams and will be available in Shimmering Silver and Shadow Black colors.

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Google Unveiled tools to set up Web sites

Google, already the world's most popular spot for finding Web sites, is aiming to become the go-to place for creating Web sites too.
The Mountain View-based company is taking its first step toward that goal Thursday with the debut of a free service designed for high-tech neophytes looking for a simple way to share information with other people working in the same company or attending the same class in school.

With only a few clicks, just about anyone will be able to quickly set up and update a Web site featuring wide an array of material, including pictures, calendars and video from Google Inc.'s YouTube subsidiary, said Dave Girouard, general manager of the division overseeing the new application.

"We are literally adding an edit button to the Web," Girouard said.

All sites created on the service will run on one of Google's computers.


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Apple recently unveiled new models of its Macbook models

Apple recently unveiled new models of its Macbook models, as well as its high-end Macbook Pro line, in an attempt to further boost the sales of the laptop lines.

Both models now come with the new Penryn processing chips by Intel, which were only recently released. The portable computers were also reconfigured to feature faster processors.

The Macbook now comes with the options of a 2.1 GHz or 2.4GHz Core 2 Duo processors for the white models, and the 2.4 GHz for the black models, according to CNet News. The $1,299 and $1,499 models are now with a standard 2GB of RAM - double that of the previous 1GB. An additional 1GB would have cost the user an additional $150.

The $1,299 models also come with a 160GB hard drive, from the previous 120GB, while the $1,499 black model comes with 250GB, from 160GB.

The $1,099 models come with 1GB of memory, and a 120GB memory, up from 80GB.

For the Macbook Pro models, Apple has included the formerly Macbook Air-exclusive MultiTouch trackpad technology, which allows users more flexibility in manipulation by means of pinching, swiping, and rotating displays with the use of fingertips.

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Apple shares rose more than 4% on optimism over iPhone demand

Shares of Apple Inc (AAPL.O) rose more than 4 percent on Thursday amid optimism on Wall Street that the maker of consumer favorites such as the iPod media player and iPhone can weather economic troubles.
The shares rose $5.46 to $128.42 in early trade on Nasdaq, a bright contrast to slumping broader markets weighed down by mounting U.S. recession fears.

The gains come one day after Apple affirmed its iPhone sales goal for this year and promised to give details of how outside programmers can create software for the device. The move is expected to spur demand for the Web-browsing and media-playing mobile phone.

Goldman Sachs analyst David Bailey, after a meeting with Apple Chief Operating Officer Tim Cook on Wednesday, said he continues to believe that "Apple's industry-leading product cycles should help it overcome softer seasonality and sets the stock up for a strong second half."

Although the shares have risen over the past two trading sessions, they are still a long way from recouping a 30 percent decline over the past three months. Investors have soured somewhat on Apple amid concerns that a slowing economy could hit sales of its Mac computers, iPods and iPhones.

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MicroHoo is Unnerving says Sergey Brin

At a recent event, Google co-founder Sergey Brin called Microsoft's bid for Yahoo "unnerving" and said the move imperils innovation on the Internet. Google also posits that the merger would be illegal. Maybe the merger could violate antitrust laws. Or maybe Brin likes being King of the Mountain, and doesn't want anything to threaten that. Oh, and Brin? Innovation will continue with or without MicroHoo.

The remarks came at an event for the Google Lunar X Prize yesterday. In an interview with the Associated Press, Brin said, "The Internet has evolved from open standards, having a diversity of companies. And when you start to have companies that control the operating system, control the browsers, they really tie up the top Web sites, and can be used to manipulate stuff in various ways. I think that's unnerving."

That's pretty much what Google's chief legal officer David Drummond said in a letter published on Google's Web site shortly after Microsoft's takeover bid was announced. He wrote, in part, "This is about more than simply a financial transaction, one company taking over another. It's about preserving the underlying principles of the Internet: openness and innovation."

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Pre-orders for upcoming HD DVD stayed strong at Amazon.com

Pre-orders for upcoming HD DVD titles stayed strong at Amazon.com. despite Toshiba Corp.'s announcement that it will exit the HD DVD business.
Advanced sales for There Will Be Blood on HD DVD increased 1,341 percent, Sweeney Tood – The Demon Barber of Fleet Street up 1,099 percent, and I Am Legend increased 144 percent by Wed. afternoon.

Amazon this week said it will more prominently promote Sony Corp.'s Blu-ray hardware and software to customers, but continue the sale of HD DVD products.

The HD DVD camp faced a barrage of setbacks last week when Netflix Inc., Best Buy Co. Inc, and Wal-Mart stores said each would back the Blu-ray disc format over HD DVD.

Toshiba on Tues. said it expects to exit the HD DVD business by Mar.

Major retailers this week are offering steep discounts on HD DVD products to move inventory.

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Microsoft unveales Windows Small Business Server (SBS) 2008

Microsoft revealed details of the next version of its Windows OS for small businesses and formally introduced a new product line aimed at small and mid-size businesses.

Microsoft Windows Small Business Server (SBS) 2008, formally code-named "Cougar," is one of two software bundles in Microsoft's new Windows Essential Server Solutions line; it also includes Windows Essential Business Server 2008, formerly code-named "Centro" and aimed at mid-sized companies. Both products are based on the same code as Windows Server 2008, the next version of Microsoft's enterprise server OS.

The products in the Essential line bundle a server OS with other software products that Microsoft deems necessary to running a business -- such as Microsoft's messaging software, Exchange Server and security products -- to provide what Microsoft describes as an all-in-one, easy-to-install software stack for companies that may only have a small IT support staff.

SBS 2008 is aimed at companies with up to 50 PCs and includes one-year trial subscriptions to Microsoft Forefront Security for Exchange Server Small Business Edition and Windows Live OneCare for Server.

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Micro-hoo: will that take a place?

Microsoft believes that he's bluffing and plans to pursue this deal through to a conclusion.
In an interview with my colleague Ina Fried on Wednesday, Bill Gates made clear why Microsoft's in love with this grand vision of a future "Micro-hoo."
"We think that the combination with Yahoo would accelerate things in a very exciting way, because they do have great engineers, they have done a lot of great work. So if you combine their work and our work, the speed at which you can innovate and get things done is just dramatically more rapid," Gates said. "So it's really about the people there that want to join in and create a better search, better portal for a very broad set of customers. That's the vision that's behind saying, 'hey, wouldn't this be a great combination?'"

I'm still not convinced that this won't turn into a disaster, with all the messy corporate-culture clashes that always attend mergers--but on a massive scale. Still, Gates and Steve Ballmer believe that they can successfully steer clear of the potholes, and they're willing to put more than $40 billion behind that bet.

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Smuggled iphone return to china

The strange journey of Apple’s popular iPhone, to nearly every corner of the world, shows what happens when the world’s hottest consumer product defies a company’s attempt to slowly introduce it in new markets.

The iPhone has been swept up in a frenzy of global smuggling and word-of-mouth marketing that leads friends to ask friends, “While you’re in the U.S., would you mind picking up an iPhone for me?”

These unofficial distribution networks help explain a mystery that analysts who follow Apple have been pondering: why is there a large gap between the number of iPhones that Apple says it sold last year, about 3.7 million, and the 2.3 million that are actually registered on the networks of its wireless partners in the United States and Europe?

The answer now seems clear. For months, tourists, small entrepreneurs and smugglers of electronic goods have been buying iPhones in the United States and then shipping them overseas.


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Toshiba may say goodbye to HD DVD

Toshiba may pull the plug on its high-definition DVD format but no decision has been made, the Japanese electronics maker said in a statement Monday.
Toshiba Corp. has started a review of its HD DVD business, it said, amid reports by the Wall Street Journal and Kyodo News agency that Toshiba was considering pulling out after losing ground to the competing Blu-ray disc format.

The Journal, citing people familiar with the situation, reported Sunday that the company is likely to pull out early this week.

A Toshiba pullout would signal the almost certain defeat of HD DVD to Blu-ray, which is backed by Sony Corp., five major Hollywood movie studios and others.

Only one format has been expected to emerge as the winner, much like VHS trumped Sony's Betamax in the video format battle of the 1980s.

Recently the Blu-ray disc format has been gaining market share, while Toshiba has been forced to slash prices to sell its HD DVD machines.

On Friday, Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the largest U.S. retailer, said it will sell only Blu-ray DVDs and hardware and no longer carry HD DVD offerings

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Sony Ericsson W910 review

The thin and elegant slider does look the part, while HSDPA (3.6 Mbps) and Walkman 3.0 are the right features to expect in a high-end device. At first glance, the W910 brings a few brand new software and hardware solutions to the scene. Stay with us as we go beyond the disarming looks and try to determine whether Sony Ericsson W910 has what it takes to win the hearts of the customers.

Key features

. HSDPA (3.6 Mbps), EDGE, Bluetooth (with A2DP)
. SensMe™ and Shake control features
. Slim sliding construction
. Media Center, Walkman 3.0
. Dedicated Call and End keys
. Fast photo browser
. Ample 2.4" display
. Powerful loudspeaker
. FM radio with RDS
. 1GB or 2GB M2 card included, M2 USB card reader

Main disadvantages

. Comes at an overpriced price tag
. Wobbly slider
. 2 MP camera with neither autofocus, nor flash
. Only 40 MB internal memory
. Video recording in QVGA resolution at 15fps
. Irrelevant gaming/photo keys
. No skins for the Walkman player

Sony Ericsson W910 comes in a nice compact black-and-orange box with all the necessary gear to get you started - charger, USB data cable, stereo headset, 1GB Memory Stick Micro (M2) (in our case, you may get yours with 2GB card), plus the usual papers and installation CDs. A tiny piece of hardware will make your face broaden into a grin. For the first time, a compact Sony Ericsson USB 2.0 M2 card reader with a status LED and a strap is included in the retail box. We ran a quick test on it comparing performance to a regular card reader on USB 2.0. The standard reader transferred 113 tracks totaling 492 MB in 4:30 min, while the Sony Ericsson USB 2.0 M2 card reader executed the task in almost the same time - 4:20 min. So, you get the same transfer rate and the compact dimensions are an added gain.

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