Mozilla Firefox Browser for Smartphones
August 29, 2008
Mobile phones are no longer mere tools for communication. They have emerged as powerful equipments in the hands of users which can, apart from making and receiving calls, facilitate emails, internet browsing, audio / video content download and so on. It takes upon the role of music players and digital cameras as well.
For accessing the internet you need to have a web browser. Most of the browsers which are available at in the present market face security problems. Mozilla is a browser with many safety features and is being increasingly used amongst internet users. The latest buzz is that Mozilla foundation will be soon coming to mobile phones. Its role as browser in the desktop market being a success now, Mozilla treads ahead to make an impact on consumer devices like mobile phones.
The advent of 3G and HSDPA technologies has augmented the pace to access the internet. With that, the demand for software to easily modify web pages to fit the small screens has increased. The Mozilla Foundation has confirmed that they are working on a mobile browser. Nokia has funded a project at the Mozilla foundation to develop mobile phone browser. The resultant project is named “Minimo”. The technology used in it, shrinks the less important images from the web pages so as to give the user a single column. With this the user need to scroll only vertically. Minimo 0.3 will facilitate enhanced web page navigation. The users, with the help of the arrow keys, would be able to move between links on the web page. Minimo 0.3 will also automatically complete URLs as they are being typed in.
There is stiff competition among the various web browsers. There is Apple’s Safari that provides access to the full sites, instead of accessing sites with content trimmed down for the small screens. Safari’s touch interface makes it easier for users to manage web pages. Mozilla Firefox is not far behind; it will be able to work with a touch screen and will also be available with a non-touch user interface. Another competition is from Opera web browser which also facilitates very fast access and does indeed offer smooth scrolling and panning like that of the Apple iphone. But when it comes to the navigational side opera likes the use of a stylus whereas on the iphone it is possible with the use of your finger.
All these web browsers are competing to be the market winner for mobile browsers. There are certain technical hurdles in the process as well, mainly because of small displays, low bandwidth, less processing power and less memory of the conventional mobile phone gadgets. Braving all odds, Mozilla’s Minimo is getting small enough to give other mobile phone browsers a run for their money.
LG Secret KF750 Mobile Phone
August 29, 2008
LG Secret KF750 Bluetooth mobile phone is a slim slider phone and comes in matt Black and Silver band finish. It is designed with carbon fibre and tempered glass which assists in scratch resistance. The 2.4” TFT LCD touch screen with a resolution of 240 x 320 pixels looks like a perfect mirror, when the phone is not in use. The touch screen can be activated through the Touch Media, a portal for multimedia features like FM radio, music, motion games, photo and documents. The phone comes with auto luminance control that automatically adjusts the brightness on the screen depending on the surrounding environment.
LG Secret KF750 5MP Camera Mobile Phone features a 5 mega pixel auto focus camera with a video recording speed of 120 fps. It has a 16x digital zoom. It comes with ISO 800 for best picture quality, DivX video recording and playback for clear DVD-like quality. The Photo editing features include morphing and after-photo editing. It also features 7 different scene modes and filter effects, 5 different white balance and 3 different playback speeds. You can view images in the desired angle by just flipping the phone. Its TV out function enables to view your recorded photos and videos directly on a TV. With dimensions of 102.8 x 50.8 x 11.8mm, it is claims to be the slimmest 5 mega pixel camera phone.
LG Secret KF750 3G mobile phone uses technologies like HSDPA, 3G, Bluetooth, GPRS and GSM which enables high speed downloading of data. It is loaded with Li-ion battery that offers talk time of 229 min and standby time of 260 hrs. The messaging features include SMS, EMS and MMS and it uses WAP browser for internet browsing. It is equipped with an internal memory of 100MB and weighs 116 grams. This mobile phone features some exceptional games that come built-in, mainly due to its MIDI and JAVA support.
HSDPA for High-Speed Broadband in Mobile Phones
August 27, 2008
HSDPA refers to a High-Speed Downlink Packet Access. It is also called 3.5G or super 3G in mobile phone terminology. It offers a high speed method of downloading data across a 3G mobile phone network. HSDPA networks support download speeds of 1.8 Mbps. The uplink speed for HSDPA is 384Kbps. HSDPA handles transmission from the network to the user equipment. With HSDPA, you can download the full music album instead of individual songs. It will also improve the quality of streaming video, while making video downloads much faster.
A quick look at 3G
3G is a technology for transferring data, be it voice data like phone calls or non-voice data like email, video calls or downloadable music and videos. The maximum speed on 3G is 384kbps which lets you download a 3MB file in a minute. HSDPA is an improvement over 3G and it provides more bandwidth, making it faster to get content, whether it is video / audio streaming, or downloading movies, music or games. HSDPA is a more advanced technology that allows data to be transferred at a much faster rate. With HSDPA, download speeds of 1.8 Mbps, 3.6 Mbps, 7.2 Mbps and 14.4 Mbps are possible as discussed earlier.
An overview of HSDPA
Even though, today's smartphone subscribers are not satisfied with just the basic services. They are demanding more, in terms of video chat, network TV, high-speed internet access and so on. The introduction of HSDPA technology enables to meet the requirements of mobile multimedia much better. HSDPA is a technology for improving the downlink speed of WCDMA networks. Data service is the motivating factor behind the development of HSDPA. It is considered to be the most important technology of mobile broadband operation. HSDPA makes use of three key technologies - Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARQ), Adaptive Modulation and Coding (AMC) and fast invoke.
It’s Importance
With HSDPA the data transmission rate of the radio network can be increased and subsequently the transmission delay and transmission cost can be reduced to a great extent. Large number of subscribers can access high-speed data service at the same time with the help of HSDPA. With HSDPA you can enjoy broadband service any time, any where. Owing to increased data rates, the operators can now launch an array of new and value-added services. Business users can benefit by way of rapid download of emails with attachments and high-speed internet access. It facilitates easy download of DVD quality music, full length movies, advanced games and high-resolution images.
HTC Touch Diamond Mobile Phone
August 27, 2008
HTC, founded in the year 1997, is one of the leading companies in the mobile sector. The company, known for its innovation, is constantly broadening the range of devices it offers. HTC launched HTC Touch in June 2007 with intuitive fingertip navigation.
The predominant fact, so striking about HTC Touch Diamond WCDMA Mobile Phone is its small and compact size. Its dimensions are 102 x 51 x 11.3 mm and it weighs 110g, which makes it lighter than the iPhone. With a stunning brushed metal casing and perfect faceted edges, it retains simplicity and beauty at its core. The phone encompasses hi-tech prowess, intuitive usability and exhilarating design. HTC Touch Diamond Mobile Phone has a vibrant 2.8” touch screen user interface. It comes with TouchFLO 3D feature that offers touch control over the phone. You can use your fingertips to navigate programs, surf the web and flip through contacts, photos and albums. The phone comes with integrated GPS. It provides connectivity via Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and USB.
HTC Touch Diamond Bluetooth Mobile Phone is equipped with 192MB RAM, 256MB ROM and 4GB internal storage. It does not accommodate a Micro SD slot, which seems to be odd, for its being a GPS-equipped handset. The phone operates on Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional. The phone features Ultra-fast HSDPA connectivity with which, you can easily interact with Google, YouTube and Wikipedia, just like any of those broadband connections.
Capture those beautiful moments of your life with the 3.2 megapixel auto focus camera. HTC Touch Diamond Mobile Phone is also designed with a secondary VGA CMOS colour camera for video calling. The entertainment feature includes built-in microphone, speaker and FM radio with RDS. It supports 40 polyphonic and standard MIDI format. HTC weather is a feature which provides constant view of weather at home and abroad. It is loaded with Lithium-ion battery which offers a talk time up to 270 minutes for WCDMA and up to 330 minutes for GSM. The standby time offered by the battery comes to 396 hrs for WCDMA and 285 hrs for GSM.
Debate on Mobile Phone Radiation. Going….Going….
August 25, 2008
Myths?
Today, different perceptions based on various criteria that range from scientific studies to simple rumours to even religion-based feedbacks shrouds the mobile users. Among these, you are familiar of those hazards said to accompany the excess use of mobile phones like skin problems, hearing disorders, psychological problems and even carcinogenic effects. Some die-hard religious minds consider them as a part of the devil’s anti-God campaign as well. However, researches are going on, on this subject and until a credible thesis is formed, you have to follow your discretionary powers to balance the situation.
Radiation from Mobile Phones
A single-channel, low power two-way radio, that is what a mobile is all about. It gets connected to the base station in the vicinity as you make or receive a call and then onwards, the regular land line network carries the signal. A mobile phone, being a radio emits radio frequency radiation (RF) that is measured as SAR (Specific Absorption Rate). SAR refers to the radiation, a human body absorbs, while using a mobile phone. SAR is higher when an increased radiation is absorbed. Generally, you experience much reduced RF levels as well as corresponding SAR levels. Even emissions from base stations are not much severe unless you are straight under it.
Credible Sources
Just give an ear to the ICNIRP (The International Commission on Non Ionising Radiation Protection) spokesperson, “There is insufficient information on the biological and health effects of EMF exposure of human population”. The ICNIRP is the unit that has forwarded guidelines with a view to limit such radiations. Nations like Germany, Spain, Australia, Japan and France follow the guidelines forwarded by the ICNIRP for effectively checking RF emissions. In the USA, they follow the RF emission checking guidelines provided by a different body called FCC (The Federal Communications Commission). This is the body responsible for making sure that each mobile phone model sold in that nation follows their guidelines to check RF emissions. ICNIRP further states that a considerable interest among today’s world population, in the possibilities of microwave-exposure triggered carcinogenic effects is relevant, though not reaching panic levels. Briefly, a number of reports have suggested that microwave fields are not mutagenic and hence, exposures to these fields are unlikely to initiate carcinogenesis.
What about all those scientific Studies?
This should be the question, which nags you right now. Of course, they are not false at all. These studies undertaken by a number of organisations and bodies, credible or trivial, which have discovered negative findings, carried a few inherent differences in their conducting modes. Predominantly, most of these bodies used emissions above 4 Watts as the basis in their studies. Moreover, they experimented for a prolonged period and that too in mice. Finally, the condition in which an average human being uses his/her mobile phone differs largely from the conditions in which those tests were carried out.
How shall I act?
This makes a sensible question, the best answer for which is, acquire knowledge about this technological phenomenon to distinguish between truth and myth. A radio, mobile phone, microwave or a nuclear reactor, what ever be the device used by you, would carry an explicit instruction manual that has to be followed without fail. Lastly, but definitely not the least, you must see that your mobile phone comes with a proper documentation and is bought from a credible outlet.









