Jun

9

2008

(0) Comments

Riding Shotgun: A week with the Dash Express GPS Navigator

02:14AM by Wayne Lam

After spending a week with my commute partner, I can’t imagine life without without this driving companion.  Overall, I believe the greatest benefit of the Dash Navigation system is in its awareness of the traffic conditions ahead as well as the amazingly accurate ETA time calculated at the outset of your commute.  In my humble opinion, the confidence that this navigation tool gives you on your daily commute is worth more than its unique features list.

Okay, well, let’s go through my impressions of this unit:

Jun

3

2008

(1) Comments

Nokia N95-3 Firmware Version v20.2.011: Worth the the Trouble of Updating

02:09AM by Wayne Lam

First off, apologies to Nokia for blaming their NSU application for the firmware update delay - apparently my version is corrupt and had to get a fresh install from a virgin PC.  Overall, I have to say that the version 20.2.011 is definately worth the wait.  Sadly, this should have been the firmware to ship with the phone.  Overall, the performance - especially, the phone, GPS and camera startup times were vastly improved.  Even Java applications open and close more promptly.  We can thank Symbian for improving the basic memory management systems in a technology they call Demand Paging.

May

31

2008

(0) Comments

My new Commute Buddy: Dash Express GPS

01:05AM by Wayne Lam

Living in LA means that you get to spend a significant amount of your time in a car stuck in traffic.  When I heard about the Dash Express GPS unit with its wireless connectivity and “true” traffic updates, I rejoiced.  Now, I finally get a chance to take this personal navigator out for a spin.  So far, I really enjoy its bright and responsive screen as well as a rather ergonomic design.  Granted I haven’t kept up with the state of art on GPS navigation systems on the market today, I don’t really need all those bells and whistles for the type of driving I do (mostly long commutes to work).  As a LA driver, I’m only interested in timely and relevant traffic info.  Check back in a couple of days to read my reviews of this GPS driving companion!

May

26

2008

(0) Comments

Nokia N95 NAM (North American Model) gets Firmware update in advance of 3G iPhone intro

01:07PM by Wayne Lam

North American Nokia N95 owners had been bemoaning the fact that they’ve been left out of the firmware updates but today, and a full week earlier than expected, Nokia has released firmware v20.2.011 for the N95-3.  Obviously, with the imminent release of the 3G iPhone, Nokia has plenty of motivation to stay competitive with a software update on their tried-and-true flagship N95.  Check back in a few hours when I post the results and impressions on the firmware update…

Apr

21

2008

(1) Comments

Walking Hot Spot: Be Your Own Roaming Access Point!

02:56PM by Wayne Lam

Mobility software solutions provider Taproot has just rolled out a trial software based Wi-Fi access point solution for smartphones.  The software made available on WalkingHotSpot.com is designed only for a select few Symbian and Windows Mobile powered devices.  It essentially performs a data-stream patching between the cellular network to the on board Wi-Fi radio; allowing 3G data subscribers to pipe out and share data over the on-board Wi-Fi.  On the downside, there’s a 5-device sharing limit and a significant power drag on the host smartphone battery.  However, for those of us with unlimited data plans, WalkingHotSpot should provide a very cost effective data sharing solution.  Of course, the network carriers has yet to weigh in on this data plan work-around.  In all likelihood, they’ll be in staunch opposition to it. 

Apr

15

2008

(0) Comments

iPhone App Watch: Do you Fring?

03:53PM by Wayne Lam

As a part of the continuing coverage of 3rd party iPhone application launches, I would like to feature a new VOIP and IM app called Fring.  I’ve been using Fring for the past year now on the Symbian S60 platform and I found it to be the most comprehensive IM, Skype, SIP service aggregator out there.  The application connects to VOIP services such as Skype and SIP over Wi-Fi or 3G.  In the case of the new iPhone app, the network bearer will remain only on the Wi-Fi access.  The above YouTube video gives readers a quick tour of what the application can do. Fring also supports Windows Mobile platform.

Apr

9

2008

(0) Comments

Simplify Media App to Extend iPhone’s 8GB Limit

05:13PM by Wayne Lam

As anticipated, we are starting to see some of the latest and coolest new iPhone applications surfacing from independent developers after Apple’s announcement of the iPhone SDK.  Simplify Media has developed a beta version of their media place-shifting software for the iPhone that promises to stream your entire music library where ever you have a WiFi signal.  Hopefully the streaming functionality should extend to use over the cellular data network with the upcoming 3G iPhone model and cut the final tether for true mobile music.

Apr

4

2008

(2) Comments

US to Finally Achieve 3G Network Speed Parity [with Rest of Civilized World!]

02:22AM by Wayne Lam

It wasn’t long ago that the US wireless networks lagged the rest of the world in sophistication, reliability and speed.  That may soon change later this year as AT&T finalizes its 3G HSPA footprint across the country pushing wireless data speed to near 7.2Mbps limit. The conventional thinking throughout the last decade was that Japan was at the bleeding edge in terms of wireless data speeds with Europe and rest of Asia not far behind.  The Americas were in an unfamiliar position of a technology laggard in wireless telecommunications for much of the 2G wireless era. So why the big turn around? Simply put, the US wireless market matured and the industry evolved from small regional wireless players into a handful of powerful national carriers.  Also, the botched auctions of 3G spectrum in Europe and the slower-than-anticipated adoption of 3G service in Japan created the perfect opportunity for the US to catch up.

Mar

20

2008

(1) Comments

Free Mobile Phone, Courtesy of your bank

02:12PM by Wayne Lam

This interesting NFC-enabled GSM phone surfaced on the FCC website recently.  More interestingly though is its branding: Citibank.  Apparently, after the utter failures of name-brand MVNOs like ESPN, Amp’d Mobile, Disney & Voce, the next wave of mobile virtual network operators will come from more mundane companies such as your bank.  The device does offer a compelling design - by combining your bank card and your cell phone, you can now leave your home with one less thing in your wallet!

Mar

18

2008

(2) Comments

How Usable is your Camera Phone?

02:27PM by Wayne Lam

If you are camera snob like I am, you’re probably wanting for a better camera phone.  Year after year, new phone models with higher mega-pixel count comes along but fails to impress in both quality and, more importantly, device usability. The sad fact is that camera phones are, by definition, primarily designed to make phone calls.  The taking picture part is largely a design after-thought or more likely a marketing gimmick to sell you a longer wireless contract.  But all is not lost, a new batch of 5MP camera phones are on their way from the major handset manufacturers.  These new generation of camera phones are finally making up for the failures of past models in both image quality and usability design. 

In this blog we will focus on 2 particular high end camera phones - Nokia N95 and the Sony Ericsson K850i.  Both phones are endowed with 5MP digital senors but each takes a different design philosophy to achieve their intended task.  Camera phones are all about opportunistic photography.  The value of the device is having the capability to take a picture when you least expect to.  Therefore, I believe camera phones should be judged on how usable they are in that purpose.