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Posts Tagged ‘gps’

Preview: Lastminute Labs ‘Nru’ Andoid App

Wednesday, December 17th, 2008

News just in from the clever-types at Lastminute Labs (the team behind FoneFood, which we rather like) – they’ve also been trying out development on the Android platform and have released this video preview of their forthcoming application ‘Nru’ (pronounced ‘near you’).

Building on the search feature of FoneFood this application takes advantage of the magnetometer (compass to you and me) and GPS built into the G1 to locate entertainment venues, restaurants, landmarks and other stuff on a radar-like interface.  At last!  A way to find the nearest Pizza Express wherever you are without relying on Ewan’s legendary instinct.

We’re going to try it out as soon as we can.

Check it out:

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Posted in Ben Smith, Mobile Applications | Comments

Fail: SPOT Messenger

Monday, September 29th, 2008

SPOT

One of items I was sent for review in China that excited me most was the SPOT messenger – a unique device that receives a GPS signal to identify your position and then allows that to be re-broadcast via the SPOT satellite service with an ‘OK’, ‘non-emergency help’ or ‘emergency help’ message.  It’s intended for use by people slightly more adventurous than me who venture away from mobile network coverage and want to send status messages or emergency requests for help.  Seems like a great idea and at £130, quite an affordable option.

Without access to the online control panel I set off to China and ran around Beijing and the Great Wall recording messages… back in the UK I finally gained access to the control panel.  Nothing.

Following the supplied instructions I gave it a clear line of sight into the sky again today for several hours and tried again to record a message.  Again nothing.

It might be me, it might be the unit, it might be the location(s)… I’ve no idea.  However, without any way to confirm from the device if a GPS lock has been achieved or whether any messages have been successfully sent it’s a ‘press and hope’ affair – all the right lights flashed at all the right times for me without a single message ever being recorded.  I certainly wouldn’t rely on it as a potential ‘life saving’ device as advertised.  Very disappointing.

To be fair to the manufacturers others have used it with some sucess, but in my testing it’s been too unreliable for me to recommend.  I’d suggest taking Adventure Trading Post up on their ‘try before you buy‘ offer if you’re interested in this kind of device.

customerinfo

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Posted in Ben Smith | Comments

Samsung shows off iPhone-a-like Omnia

Thursday, June 12th, 2008

While the iPhone hype machine was going into overdrive earlier this week, Samsung slipped out its latest device: the Omnia. It’s a fully-specced beauty, but its design is oddly reminiscent of the iPhone.

It’s got a five megapixel camera with smile detection, decent internal memory with 8GB or 16 GB options, GPS with navigation and geo-tagging, 3.2-inch WQVGA LCD screen, HSDPA up to 7.2Mbps and 12.5-mm thin body. All that, and Windows Mobile 6.1 too.

And like any iPhone wannabe worth its salt, the Omnia also has a touchscreen interface – a Samsung built UI called TouchWiz which can “tap, sweep, drag and drop”. At first glance, the Omnia looks like it could give the iPhone a bit of a run for its money in good looks and functionality – but it seems like most other handset makers are struggling to match Apple on the software front. Still, if you’re looking a solid smartphone that’s not the iPhone, you could do a lot worse than the Omnia.

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Posted in Devices | Comments

3G Apple iPhone is finally here – and with some extras

Tuesday, June 10th, 2008

So, the 3G iPhone has finally been confirmed by Steve Jobs last night at the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference. So what’s the difference between this and its predecessor?

1. It’s got – surprise, surprise – 3G, which Apple is promising will mean connectivity twice as fast as the old EDGE iPhone
2. Built in GPS
3. Extra storage – it will come in 8GB and 16GB versions
4. Included iPhone 2.0 software, including support for Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync to provide over-the-air push email, contact and calendar syncing as well as remote wipe and Cisco IPsec VPN for encrypted access to corporate networks
5. Includes the new App Store natively
6. 10 hours of talk time on 2G, 5 hours on 3G, with up to 5 to 6 hours of web browsing, up to 7 hours for video playback and up to 24 hours for audio playback
7. And perhaps most importantly, it’s at half the price (for US customers at least) – $199 for the 8GB model and $299 for the 16GB

It seems to me that this version of the iPhone is how the device should have looked at launch – 3G connectivity, downloadable apps, longer battery life and GPS – rather than a second iteration. The only extra feature that will make me consider rushing out to buy the iPhone is that is looks like being cheaper – what do you guys think?

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Posted in iPhone | Comments

BlackBerry makes Bold move with HSDPA

Monday, May 19th, 2008

RIM has unwrapped its latest gadget for those with overactive thumbs: the BlackBerry Bold. The Bold thankfully sports the HSDPA-connectivity we’ve all been longing for, as well some extra tasty goodies: GPS and maps, wi-fi, 1GB storage as well as the usual full QWERTY keyboard.

Despite RIM’s plans to pitch the device to “business professionals and power users”, the Bold looks like it’s another play by the folk at RIM to charm the consumer audience. As well as boasting similar whizzbang features to those that made the Nokia N95 a crowd pleaser, it’s also got some good looking styling and iTunes syncing, via BlackBerry Media Sync.

Want to get your hands on one? It’ll be out this summer, according to RIM. No word on who’s the lucky UK operators yet.

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Posted in Devices | Comments

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