1001Technology

New BlackBerry Curve 8320

2009-03-13T22:54:00.001+07:00

It's not the first BlackBerry with built-in Wi-Fi, but it's the best. In fact, the BlackBerry Curve 8320 is the best BlackBerry we've tested--period. RIM and T-Mobile took our favorite keyboard-equipped smart phone and added unlimited Wi-Fi calling for a reasonable $19.99 per month (starting in October), whether you're on your home network or at one of thousands of T-Mobile HotSpot locations. Add in the same sharp two-megapixel camera, robust media player, and good call quality we loved on the AT&T version--and throw in MyFaves and instant messaging--and you have a winner.

Weighing only 3.9 ounces and measuring 0.6 inches thick, the light and sleek Curve 8320 looks nearly identical to the AT&T-branded model, but you do get two color choices: titanium and pale gold (we tested the latter). We still love the rounded edges, the fast, spacious keyboard, and bright 2.5-inch display. You also get the same intuitive trackball for menu navigation and a 3.5mm audio jack for listening to tunes using your own headphones.

One unique (and welcome) difference is the new T-Mobile Zen-themed main menu, which includes five spots for your myFaves contacts. You get one-click access to these contacts via e-mail, calling, or text messaging right from the home screen. (You can even IM contacts from this menu if the other person is signed in.) Beneath this area is a row of icons for accessing frequently used applications like e-mail, calendar, and the browser.

The Curve 8320 is very much like its cousin in the features department, too. A 312-MHz processor provides snappy performance; the 2-MP camera takes sharp pictures without much of a shutter delay (but doesn't capture video); and the bundled Roxio software makes transferring music, photos, and videos to the device easy. We especially like we can multitask; we could easily switch from the music player to the Web browser without missing a beat and still have control over our tracks' volume. And like all BlackBerrys, the 8320 is an excellent push e-mail device and personal organizer.

What makes this model better than the AT&T version is how T-Mobile leverages the Curve 8320's Wi-Fi connection. Unlike the BlackBerry 8820, which merely uses Wi-Fi as a stand-in for EDGE when surfing the Web and viewing e-mail, the 8320 can make phone calls over Wi-Fi using the T-Mobile HotSpot @Home service. The carrier offers specialized routers along with this service that do a good job of prioritizing calls over other types of data traffic, but because they use the older 802.11g technology, we stuck with our own 802.11n-based home network. Call quality was still quite good, and voices came through loud and clear on our end of the line.

The 8320 also did a fairly good job handing off calls from Wi-Fi to GSM, and vice versa. The experience was a little smoother than when we first tested the T-Mobile HotSpot @Home service with the bargain-basement Nokia 6086. When standing outside a Starbucks in Manhattan, one of nearly 8,500 HotSpot locations in the U.S., our phone took about a minute to recognize and switch over to the T-Mobile HotSpot network, but our test call connected without any issues. As we walked away from the coffee shop, the call automatically switched back to T-Mobile's GSM network without a hiccup.

At home, we experienced some dropped calls when walking away from our house in one direction as the call switched from our Wi-Fi network to GSM but not when we walked in another direction. If you start a call on Wi-Fi and switch over to cellular, the call counts against your unlimited HotSpot @Home plan, not your monthly allotment of cellular minutes. However, if you start a call and then roam onto your home network or a T-Mobile HotSpot, that call will eat into your cellular minutes.

We were pleasantly surprised with the call quality of the Curve 8320 over GSM as well, especially compared with other T-Mobile phones we've tested. Although one caller complained that it was tough to make out some of our words, other callers said we sounded fine, and we were generally satisfied with the clarity and volume on our end. A button on the right spine automatically activates voice dialing, and we had no problems pairing a Motorola stereo Bluetooth headset for calls and music.

Data performance was also quite good. Surfing over Wi-Fi didn't really speed things up, mostly because RIM's servers already compress Web pages, but we were impressed with the speed of the 8320's EDGE connection. In most cases, surfing on this device was just as fast (or faster) than with the AT&T Curve. Yes, the formatting is crude, but in most cases we got the info we wanted in less than 15 seconds. Unlimited data costs a reasonable $19.99 per month.

Another unique perk on this Curve is the array of instant messaging clients. In addition to BlackBerry Messenger, T-Mobile bundles AOL, Google Talk, ICQ, Windows Live, and Yahoo. We tested Google Talk and Yahoo and found both services snappy. Yahoo had better emoticons, but Google Talk's IMs showed up in our general Inbox.

As with all BlackBerrys, the Curve 8320 lasted a pretty long time on a charge. With moderate usage our device lasted about 3.5 days, compared with 4 days for the Wi-Fi--less AT&T Curve. Rated talk time is 4 hours and standby time an unrealistic 17 days.

If this device has a letdown, it's the integrated Maps application from Tele Atlas. It's certainly a useful app, but it feels like a watered-down version of TeleNav, which you'll find on some AT&T BlackBerrys. We like that you can look up addresses and get directions and that the software integrates with the Curve 8320's address book, but you can't search for businesses, and you don't get real-time turn-by-turn instructions as you do with the BlackBerry 8820.

You really can't go wrong with either the AT&T or T-Mobile BlackBerry Curve, but those looking to ditch the landline should consider the latter because of its ability to make unlimited calls via Wi-Fi for an affordable price. For $50 more, you get a smart phone that can be your only phone.

Source : http://www.laptopmag.com/review/cell-phones/blackberry-curve-8320.aspx

AT and T Launches the BlackBerry Curve 8320 Smartphone with Wi-Fi today

2009-03-12T22:50:00.000+07:00

AT&T Inc. and Research In Motion has announced the availability of the BlackBerry Curve 8320 smartphone with built-in Wi-Fi, which gives AT&T customers with unlimited corporate or personal BlackBerry service plans free and seamless access to thousands of AT&T Wi-Fi Hot Spots in the U.S.

Available in sapphire blue, the BlackBerry Curve 8320 smartphone makes it easy to connect to home or campus Wi-Fi networks and to automatically connect to any of the more than 17,000 AT&T Hot Spots nationwide. These include Starbucks, Barnes & Noble and thousands more restaurants, airports, hotels and other convenient locations across the U.S. Those customers who subscribe to unlimited corporate or personal BlackBerry service plans can access these AT&T Hot Spots at no charge.

The BlackBerry Curve 8320 smartphone — with 802.11 b/g — provides broader data coverage, and customers also can carry on a telephone conversation on the cellular network while simultaneously accessing data via Wi-Fi.

The BlackBerry Curve 8320 smartphone also gives AT&T customers the ability to access Wi-Fi hotspots worldwide¹. These global Wi-Fi capabilities complement AT&T's industry-leading wide area wireless international coverage with the ability to perform data functions in more than 150 countries and make or receive a phone call in more than 200 countries.

The BlackBerry Curve 8320 smartphone packs numerous new features including an enhanced HTML browser that supports a Web browsing experience with desktop-style depiction. The smartphone's trackball acts like a computer mouse, allowing users to quickly scroll through a page, zoom in and out or click on hotlinks. The BlackBerry Curve 8320 also has an improved user interface and support for HTML e-mail, and it allows users to download attachments as well as edit Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint files directly on the handset using the preloaded DataViz Documents To Go software suite.

The BlackBerry Curve 8320 smartphone retains the features that have made it one of the most popular smartphones in the world. It combines the renowned BlackBerry e-mail and messaging capabilities with a full QWERTY keyboard, built-in spell checker, premium phone features and comprehensive organizer, and it sports a large, ultra-bright, 320-by-240 display that supports more than 65,000 colors and comes with light-sensing technology that automatically adjusts backlighting for optimal viewing. In addition, it features Bluetooth 2.0 support, a 2 megapixel camera with zoom, flash and video recording², advanced media player with desktop media management software and expandable memory of up to 16GB via its microSD/SDHC memory card slot. The BlackBerry Curve 8320 smartphone also includes AT&T Music subscription services, integrated Push To Talk (PTT) and, when used with a separate Bluetooth-enabled GPS receiver, provides access to the popular AT&T Navigator and YELLOWPAGES.COM mobile services.

Pricing and Availability
The BlackBerry Curve 8320 smartphone with built-in Wi-Fi is now available online at http://att.com/blackberrycurve8320 and through AT&T's direct business-to-business sales organizations for as low as $149.99 with a two-year contract and mail-in rebate. In early 2009, it will be available at select AT&T retail stores and national retailers. Customers who want personal e-mail access and Web browsing with BlackBerry Internet Service can choose the BlackBerry Personal Unlimited data plan for as low as $30 a month with a qualified voice contract. Unlimited corporate e-mail and data access via BlackBerry Enterprise Server or BlackBerry Professional Software for small businesses is available for as low as $45 a month when a qualified voice plan is also chosen. Customers who travel overseas can select the BlackBerry International Unlimited data plan for as low as $65 a month with a qualified voice plan.

Small business customers also can couple their BlackBerry data plans with new AT&T BusinessTalk voice plans, which start at $60 a month for five users and 700 Anytime Minutes and can be expanded for $9.99 a line to accommodate up to 40 users and 20,000 Anytime Minutes. When combined with BlackBerry Professional Software, AT&T BusinessTalk provides small businesses with a complete voice and data solution. Companies may also choose BusinessTalk with either unlimited Mobile to Mobile or Push To Talk features.

Source : http://www.cellphonedigest.net/news/2008/12/att_launches_the_blackberry_cu_1.php

BlackBerry bold 9000 Review

2009-03-10T22:47:00.000+07:00

Remember those three BlackBerry 9000 units that showed up on eBay? As I made note in an earlier post, when the auction got pulled by the powers that be (err.. RIM?!!) there were still two units remaining, leaving one Crazy BlackBerry Addict anxiously waiting for the delivery of this next generation BlackBerry smartphone.

As luck would have it, it turns out I’m the Crazy BlackBerry Addict! When mention of the eBay 9000s came up in the forums, there was plenty of discussion as to whether the devices were legit or not. The images accompanying the auction seemed too good to be photoshopped and were unlike any other leaked 9000 pictures I had encountered previously, so it only took a few minutes to make the decision to click the Buy it Now button and PayPal over the funds. At £399.99GBP + £19.99GBP shipping (~ $828USD) it was a gamble, but potentially a good deal considering previously reported rumors that the 9000 could carry an MSRP in the $900-$1,000 range. Worst case scenario if things went south I’d eat KD for a month and have a good story to tell.

As for these particular BlackBerry 9000s, the image above says it all. 100% the real deal. It was delivered to my house yesterday afternoon and I’ve been playing with my eBay-purchased toy ever since. You’ll want to keep it locked to CrackBerry.com. I was planning on writing up one super review, but there's simply WAY too much info to put into one post. Part I (this post) will cover the unboxing and initial impressions/comparisons and after getting a few more hours facetime with the device Part II will get into the device features and OS4.6. I'll follow that up with an in-depth video walk through and we are also going to record a Special Edition BlackBerry 9000 podcast. Craig and I will record the show Friday evening, so if the posts and video leave you with any unanswered questions be sure to call them in to our Podcast Hotline at 1-866-904-5772 ext. 222 and we will answer them on the show. My fridge is stocked with Red Bull, I have a BlackBerry 9000 in hand and I don't plan on sleeping until every feature has been tested and menu option explored. Let the FUN begin!

Source : http://crackberry.com/blackberry-9000-smartphone-hands-review

First Look : Hands-On With BlackBerry Bold 9000

2009-03-09T22:46:00.000+07:00

After months of online speculation, rumor and badly photoshopped innuendo, Research in Motion announced its new BlackBerry Bold today.

RIM CEO Mike Lazaridis stopped by the Wired offices last week and gave us some one-on-one time with an early version of the Bold. It's, well, kind of awesome. I'm by no means a BlackBerry fanboy, but the Bold has some impressive features.

First off the big news:

* HSDPA: We tried it out in G-Lab HQ and were able to load several graphic-heavy sites quickly with the BlackBerry Bold's fast 3G data access. A few hiccups occurred when pulling up Wired.com's front page, but keep in mind this was also a beta unit. Mike assured us they're still ironing out all the bugs and final units would not have any issues.
* Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/ compatibility: No n spec, but that's no biggie. Having nearly unrestricted Wi-Fi access will make this BlackBerry even more useful.
* Half-VGA, 480 x 320 pixel screen: The screen itself is gorgeous, bright and colorful. We watched the seizure-inducing trailer for Speed Racer and it was gorgeous and glitch-free. Too bad we can't say the same for Speed Racer itself.
* Built-in GPS: Paired with location-based services plus BlackBerry Maps, you'll also be able to use it while making a phone call. Try that while driving and see if you can avoid crashing your car.

Blackberry3 The external speaker is loud, clear and excellent for handsfree use. It's also passable as an impromptu speaker for playing music or movies. Comparatively, it's about as powerful as the speakers on an average laptop. Plus there's now a requisite 3.5mm headset jack so you can plug in standard headphones.

The keys have been reconfigured slightly from previous BlackBerry iterations. Mike pointed out that they now have metal dividers resembling the shape and feel of guitar frets, making touch-typing easier. Interesting, considering most CrackBerry heads I know can already touch-type without a second thought.

The BlackBerry Bold is going to ship preloaded with 1 GB of memory, a 2-MP digicam with a built-in "flash" LED light, and media-management software that can sync with iTunes. For additional storage, you can also plug in a microSD card; the Bold supports cards up to 16GB in capacity. The back panels are removable and will come available in a variety of colors.

Blackberry2 While the Bold is not the touchscreen-enabled iPhone killer that has been rumored for the last nine months or so, from what we saw, it's shaping up to be a solid device with some very cool, forward-thinking features.

The Gadget Lab will get the first working models as soon as they are ready — just before the projected launch date in late June. We'll have the review up for y'all around then.

(Photos by Jim Merithew / Wired.com)

Hit the jump for more details from the press release.

RIM Introduces the BlackBerry Bold Smartphone

Top of the line BlackBerry smartphone with premium design and unprecedented performance and functionality; targeted at business professionals and power users.

Waterloo, ON – For customers seeking a smartphone that makes a bold statement, Research In Motion (RIM) (Nasdaq: RIMM; TSX: RIM) today introduced the enviable BlackBerry® Bold™ smartphone. Crafted from premium materials, inside and out, that radiate elegance with a dramatic presence, the BlackBerry Bold is designed to give users unprecedented performance and functionality in an intuitive BlackBerry® smartphone. It is the first BlackBerry smartphone to support HSDPA high-speed cellular networks and comes with integrated GPS and Wi-Fi®, as well as a rich set of multimedia capabilities. From its lustrous black finish, satin plated frame and leather-like backing, to its stunning display, to its newly designed and highly refined full-QWERTY* keyboard, the BlackBerry Bold smartphone is a symbol of accomplishment and aspiration.

SUPERIOR PERFORMANCE
The BlackBerry Bold smartphone's support for HSDPA and enterprise-grade Wi-Fi (802.11 a/b/g) are powered by a next-generation 624 MHz mobile processor and 128MB Flash memory that make short work of downloading email attachments, streaming video or rendering web pages. The BlackBerry Bold also comes with 1GB of on-board memory storage and a microSD/SDHC memory card slot**, conveniently accessible from a side door. It comes with the renowned BlackBerry productivity applications, including phone, email, messaging, organizer and browser, and works with thousands of mobile business and lifestyle applications, making it easier than ever to stay connected, productive and entertained. With this new smartphone, users can even talk on the phone while sending and receiving email or accessing the web, and download Word, Excel or PowerPoint files and edit them directly on the handset using the preloaded DataViz® Documents to Go® suite.

STUNNING DISPLAY
The BlackBerry Bold smartphone comes with the most vivid and bold display ever introduced on a BlackBerry smartphone. Its color LCD is fused to the undersurface of the lens, making images leap out with stunning definition and clarity. Pictures are vibrant and razor sharp, while videos play smoothly and web pages, documents, presentations and messages snap with exceptional quality and contrast.

DESKTOP-STYLE WEB PAGES
With its newly enhanced, high performance browser and high-resolution, ultra-bright display, the BlackBerry Bold smartphone gives users an on-the-go web browsing experience with desktop-style depiction. The trackball mimics a mouse, making it easy to navigate sites in "Page View" or "Column View" or to zoom in on specific parts of a web page, while various emulation settings allow users to choose between the full desktop-style HTML content and layout or the mobile version. Attachments can also now be downloaded from within the browser and there is support for watching streaming videos (RTSP – real-time streaming protocol).

RICH MULTIMEDIA
While it is designed to meet the extensive requirements of the business professional during the day, the BlackBerry Bold smartphone also caters to the consumer side of the business person during evenings and weekends. It features a 2 megapixel camera with video recording capability, built-in flash and 5x digital zoom. The enhanced media player can display pictures and slideshows quickly, play movies smoothly in full screen mode, and manage an entire music collection. Audio can be played over the handset’s dual speakers in rich, stereo sound, and when using wired headphones or external speakers, the media player gives the user an equalizer with 11 preset filters – like "Lounge", "Jazz" and "Hip Hop" – that boost or soften audio ranges to create the perfect ambiance.

For managing music and video, the BlackBerry® Desktop Manager software includes Roxio® Media Manager for BlackBerry® as well as Roxio Photosuite® 9 LE, which makes it easy to enhance pictures and create photo albums on the computer. For users that manage their collection with iTunes®, the new BlackBerry® Media Sync® application provides a simple way to sync iTunes digital music collections with the smartphone. Support for high-speed USB allows all files to be transferred to the smartphone as fast as 10 MB/sec.

POWERFUL WI-FI & GPS
For even broader high-speed network coverage, the BlackBerry Bold smartphone supports the 802.11 a/b/g Wi-Fi standards, ideal for use in enterprise or campus wireless LAN deployments, over Wi-Fi hotspots and on wireless home networks. A new "Push Button Setup" is included, making it faster for users to sign on to protected wireless networks.

Through its integrated GPS, the BlackBerry Bold smartphone can pinpoint its exact location, supporting applications like BlackBerry® Maps and other location-based applications or services. With its improved rendering capabilities, faster download speeds and ability to support simultaneous voice and data, the BlackBerry Bold smartphone even allows users to navigate while on a call.

FIRST CLASS PHONE
The BlackBerry Bold smartphone features a new acoustic design that increases the size of the phone’s audio sweet spot, improving listening quality and clarity. It also comes with numerous premium phone features including Speaker Independent Voice Recognition (SIVR) for Voice Activated Dialing (VAD), Bluetooth® 2.0, with support for hands-free headsets, stereo headsets, car kits (including car kits that adhere to the Bluetooth Remote SIM Access Profile) and other Bluetooth peripherals. It is a quad-band handset that supports global roaming*** and features dedicated 'send', 'end', and 'mute' keys, smart dialing, speed dialing, conference calling and call forwarding. It also features noise cancellation technology that offsets background noise, a powerful speaker phone and support for polyphonic, mp3 and MIDI ring tones.

ROBUST EMAIL & MESSAGING
Like all BlackBerry smartphones, the BlackBerry Bold gives users the industry’s leading mobile messaging solution. It works with BlackBerry® Enterprise Server, which enables advanced security and IT administration within IBM® Lotus® Domino®, Microsoft® Exchange and Novell® GroupWise® environments, as well as BlackBerry® Professional Software for small businesses. It also works with BlackBerry® Internet Service, which gives users access to up to 10 work or personal email accounts (including most popular ISP email accounts), and the BlackBerry® Unite! software for SOHO and home users.

CONVENIENT ACCESSORIES
The BlackBerry Bold smartphone comes with a variety of accessories including a stereo headset, travel charger, carrying case or sleeve and USB cable. The removable / rechargeable 1500 mHh battery provides multi-hour usage with a target GSM talk time of approximately 5 hours and 13 days of standby. Additional accessories for BlackBerry smartphones, including leather holsters and totes, charging pods, premium earphones, the BlackBerry® Remote Stereo Gateway and Bluetooth headsets, are available through retail outlets or online at: www.shopblackberry.com.

AVAILABILITY
The BlackBerry Bold smartphone (model number: 9000) is scheduled be available from wireless carriers around the world beginning this summer.

the BlackBerry Bold Smartphone

2009-03-07T22:40:00.001+07:00

Waterloo, ON- For customers seeking a smartphone that makes a bold statement, Research In Motion (RIM) (Nasdaq: RIMM; TSX: RIM) today introduced the admirable BlackBerry® Bold™ smartphone. Crafted from premium materials, inside and out, that radiate elegance with a dramatic presence, the BlackBerry Bold is designed to give business professionals and power users unprecedented functionality and performance in an intuitive BlackBerry® smartphone. It is the first BlackBerry smartphone to support tri-band HSDPA high-speed networks around the world and comes with integrated GPS and Wi-Fi®, as well as a rich set of multimedia capabilities. From its lustrous black exterior, satin chrome finished frame and stylish leather-like backplate, to its stunning display, sophisticated user interface and newly designed full-QWERTY* keyboard, the BlackBerry Bold smartphone is a symbol of accomplishment and aspiration.

“The new BlackBerry Bold represents a tremendous step forward in business-grade smartphones and lives up to its name with incredible speed, power and functionality, all wrapped in a beautiful and confident design,” said Mike Lazaridis, President and Co-CEO, Research In Motion.

SUPERIOR PERFORMANCE
The BlackBerry Bold smartphone's support for tri-band HSDPA and enterprise-grade Wi-Fi (802.11 a/b/g) networks and its next-generation 624 MHz mobile processor make short work of downloading email attachments, streaming video or rendering web pages. The BlackBerry Bold also includes 128 MB Flash memory plus 1 GB on-board storage memory, as well as a microSD/SDHC memory card slot** that is conveniently accessible from a side door. It comes with the renowned BlackBerry productivity applications, including phone, email, messaging, organizer and browser, and works with thousands of mobile business and lifestyle applications, making it easier than ever to stay connected, productive and entertained. With this powerful new smartphone, users can even talk on the phone while sending and receiving email or accessing the web, and download Word, Excel or PowerPoint files and edit them directly on the handset using the preloaded DataViz® Documents to Go® suite.

STUNNING DISPLAY
The BlackBerry Bold smartphone comes with the most vivid and bold display ever introduced on a BlackBerry smartphone. Its half-VGA (480x320 resolution) color LCD is fused to the undersurface of the lens, making images leap out with stunning definition and clarity. Pictures are vibrant and razor sharp, while videos play smoothly and web pages, documents, presentations and messages snap with exceptional quality and contrast.

DESKTOP-STYLE WEB PAGES
With its newly enhanced, high performance browser and high-resolution, ultra-bright display, the BlackBerry Bold smartphone gives users an on-the-go web browsing experience with desktop-style depiction. The trackball mimics a mouse, making it easy to navigate sites in "Page View" or "Column View" or to zoom in on specific parts of a web page, while various emulation settings allow users to choose between the full desktop-style HTML content and layout or the mobile version. Attachments can also now be downloaded from within the browser and there is support for watching streaming videos (RTSP – real-time streaming protocol).

RICH MULTIMEDIA
While it is designed to meet the extensive requirements of the business professional during the day, the BlackBerry Bold smartphone also caters to the business person’s consumer side during evenings and weekends. It features a 2 megapixel camera with video recording capability, built-in flash and 3 digital zoom levels. The enhanced media player can display pictures and slideshows quickly, play movies smoothly in full screen mode, and manage an entire music collection. Audio can be played over the handset’s dual speakers in rich, stereo sound, and when using wired headphones or external speakers, the media player gives the user an equalizer with 11 preset filters – like "Lounge", "Jazz" and "Hip Hop" – that boost or soften audio ranges to create the perfect ambiance.

For managing music and video, the BlackBerry® Desktop Manager software includes Roxio® Media Manager for BlackBerry® as well as Roxio Photosuite® 9 LE, which makes it easy to enhance pictures and create photo albums on the computer. For users that manage their collection with iTunes®, the new BlackBerry® Media Sync application provides a simple way to sync iTunes digital music collections with the smartphone***. Support for High Speed USB 2.0 allows all files to be transferred quickly from a desktop computer to the BlackBerry Bold smartphone.

POWERFUL WI-FI & GPS
For even broader high-speed network coverage, the BlackBerry Bold smartphone supports the 802.11 a/b/g Wi-Fi standards, ideal for use in enterprise or campus wireless LAN deployments, over Wi-Fi hotspots and on wireless home networks. A new "Push Button Setup" is included, making it faster for users to connect to protected wireless networks that require a sign on process.

Through its integrated GPS, the BlackBerry Bold smartphone can pinpoint its exact location, supporting applications like BlackBerry® Maps and other location-based applications or services. With its improved rendering capabilities, faster download speeds and ability to support simultaneous voice and data, the BlackBerry Bold smartphone even allows users to navigate while on a call.

FIRST CLASS PHONE
The BlackBerry Bold smartphone features a new acoustic design that increases the size of the phone’s audio sweet spot, improving listening quality and clarity. It also comes with numerous premium phone features including Speaker Independent Voice Recognition (SIVR) for Voice Activated Dialing (VAD), Bluetooth® 2.0, with support for hands-free headsets, stereo headsets, car kits (including car kits that adhere to the Bluetooth Remote SIM Access Profile) and other Bluetooth peripherals. It is a quad-band EDGE and tri-band HSDPA handset that supports global roaming**** and features dedicated 'send', 'end', and 'mute' keys, smart dialing, speed dialing, conference calling and call forwarding. It also features noise cancellation technology that offsets background noise, a powerful speaker phone and support for polyphonic, mp3 and MIDI ring tones.

ROBUST EMAIL & MESSAGING
Like all BlackBerry smartphones, the BlackBerry Bold gives users the industry’s leading mobile messaging solution. It works with BlackBerry® Enterprise Server, which enables advanced security and IT administration within IBM® Lotus® Domino®, Microsoft® Exchange and Novell® GroupWise® environments, as well as BlackBerry® Professional Software for small businesses. It also works with BlackBerry® Internet Service, which gives users access to up to 10 work or personal email accounts (including most popular ISP email accounts), and the BlackBerry® Unite! software for SOHO and home users.

CONVENIENT ACCESSORIES
The BlackBerry Bold smartphone comes with a variety of convenient accessories including a stereo headset, travel charger, carrying case or sleeve and USB cable. Users will also be able to personalize their BlackBerry Bold smartphone by purchasing replaceable leather-like backplates that come in a range of colors. The removable / rechargeable 1500 mAhr battery provides multi-hour usage with a target talk time of approximately 5 hours and 13 days standby time.

Accessories for BlackBerry smartphones, including leather holsters and totes, charging pods, premium earphones, the BlackBerry® Remote Stereo Gateway and Bluetooth headsets, are available through retail outlets or online at: www.shopblackberry.com.

AVAILABILITY
The BlackBerry Bold smartphone (model number: 9000) is scheduled to be available from wireless carriers around the world beginning this summer.

For more information please visit: www.BlackBerryBold.com.

About Research In Motion (RIM)
Research In Motion is a leading designer, manufacturer and marketer of innovative wireless solutions for the worldwide mobile communications market. Through the development of integrated hardware, software and services that support multiple wireless network standards, RIM provides platforms and solutions for seamless access to time-sensitive information including email, phone, SMS messaging, Internet and intranet-based applications. RIM technology also enables a broad array of third party developers and manufacturers to enhance their products and services with wireless connectivity to data. RIM’s portfolio of award-winning products, services and embedded technologies are used by thousands of organizations around the world and include the BlackBerry® wireless platform, the RIM Wireless Handheld™ product line, software development tools, radio-modems and software/hardware licensing agreements. Founded in 1984 and based in Waterloo, Ontario, RIM operates offices in North America, Europe and Asia Pacific. RIM is listed on the Nasdaq Stock Market (Nasdaq: RIMM) and the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX: RIM). For more information, visit www.rim.com or www.blackberry.com.

* Keyboard also available in AZERTY and QWERTZ configurations to support different language groups.

** MicroSD/SDHC memory cards are available today in configurations of up to 8GB and the BlackBerry Bold is expected to support upcoming 16GB microSD/SDHC cards.

*** Certain music files may not be supported, including files that contain digital rights management technologies.

**** Check with service provider for roaming services.

Forward-looking statements in this news release are made pursuant to the “safe harbor” provisions of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. When used herein, words such as “intend” and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are based on assumptions made by and information available to Research In Motion Limited. Investors are cautioned that such forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements include, without limitation, possible product defects and product liability, risks related to international sales and potential foreign currency exchange fluctuations, the initiation or outcome of litigation, acts or potential acts of terrorism, international conflicts, significant fluctuations of quarterly operating results, changes in Canadian and foreign laws and regulations, continued acceptance of RIM’s products, increased levels of competition, technological changes and the successful development of new products, dependence on third-party networks to provide services, dependence on intellectual property rights, and other risks and factors detailed from time to time in RIM’s periodic reports filed with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, and other regulatory authorities. RIM has no intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

The BlackBerry and RIM families of related marks, images and symbols are the exclusive properties and trademarks of Research In Motion Limited. RIM, Research In Motion and BlackBerry are registered with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and may be pending or registered in other countries. All other brands, product names, company names, trademarks and service marks are the properties of their respective owners. RIM assumes no obligations or liability and makes no representation, warranty, endorsement or guarantee in relation to any aspect of any third party products or services.

Source : http://press.rim.com/release.jsp?id=1562

The BlackBerry Storm 9500

2009-03-07T22:37:00.001+07:00

It’s been nearly two years since Steve Jobs first demonstrated the iPhone, a move that shocked the mobile phone industry. The iPhone wasn’t just a “bit better” but a completely different approach. In the 18 months that the iPhone, and then the iPhone 3G have been on sale we honestly couldn’t even consider another phone; now we have two to look at. The first is this one, RIM’s Vodafone (the second is the T-Mobile G1, or Google phone as it’s better known).

Is it us or has the smartphone market just got a little bit crowded?

Of course, competition is a great thing because it means more choice for us all, and with more choice you’re more likely to get the sort of features you want. It’s also more likely to put the pressure on everybody to continuously improve, rather than stagnate… so we welcome the BlackBerry Storm 9500 with open arms. This is the first mobile phone we’ve seen that we would seriously consider buying instead of an iPhone 3G.

What’s great about the BlackBerry Storm 9500 (and to an extent the T-Mobile G1) is that it’s not an “iClone.” Although it sports a large touchscreen display, and it’s clearly RIM’s answer to the iPhone (not to mention the phone that RIM hopes will claw back market share), it hasn’t simply copied the iPhone blueprint. Instead, RIM has taken everything that’s good about previous BlackBerry phones, and made a full-on touchscreen model.

The BlackBerry Storm is something of a departure for RIM, and not just because it’s the first touchscreen BlackBerry. It’s also a handset that has been jointly designed by its customers - the mobile phone operators Verizon and Vodafone. Unlike most other mobile phones, which launch initially on one mobile phone network but are later rolled out and offered by several, the BlackBerry Storm is completely tied in to these two carriers. In this sense it is more like Apple’s iPhone model, which is only available from O2 in the UK and AT&T in the U.S.

Source : http://www.macworld.com/article/136977/2008/11/blackberry_storm_9500.html

BlackBerry Storm 9500 hands-on now

2009-03-07T22:35:00.001+07:00

RIM's a little late to the touchscreen party, but comes bearing goodies. The BlackBerry Storm is a beast of a phone in more ways than one. Fronted by a meaty, high-resolution touchscreen with an innovative clicking mechanism, the phone is easily the prettiest by RIM to date. There's a brushed metal back, a beautiful new OS interface, and enough radios to give your grandkids cancer (EV-DO Rev. A, quad-band GSM, Europe-friendly HSPA, GPS, Bluetooth 2.0 with A2DP, though sadly no WiFi). But the real test of a phone is usability, not flash. Check out our impressions after the break.
Gallery: BlackBerry Storm hands-on

RIM's going back to its roots here, and once again reminding us why corporate users tend to holster their phones instead of pocket them -- the Storm is a large one. It's not that you can't slide it into a jeans pocket (it's 0.55-inches thick), and in fact, there's no particular dimension that the Storm exaggerates beyond reason in comparison to, say, an iPhone, but folks who felt that Apple was already pushing boundaries there won't take kindly to this beefy phone. The traditional BlackBerry weight advantage is gone as well -- the Storm's large glassy touchscreen and related clicking mechanism, in addition to a very solid build means the weight certainly matches the size.

So, about that touchscreen. We were skeptical, since we've seen so many touchscreen phones done badly, but the Storm is a real charmer. First off, you have to understand the approach RIM took, which was to interpret the existing navigation method (scroll ball) into a touchscreen environment without pissing off existing users who were just getting over their jog dials. That method boils down to two categories: navigation and execution. As in, with previous BlackBerrys you scroll the wheel to select the email / link / application, and then click the scroll wheel to open / click / launch the object. Now you flick the screen to scroll, tap to select, and click to activate. That means when you tap the screen to select a soft key or an email or an application on the Storm, the object is highlighted, but nothing actually happens. You have to click down to execute, and we really mean click. The entire screen is floating on a clicking mechanism, and clicks down evenly, which provides just the right amount of resistance and tactile feedback, while still allowing for rapid operations like typing. The capacitive touch on top is perfectly sensitive and accurate. We'll get more into how well this works for actual usage (hint: pretty darn well) in the software section.

The 3.25-inch screen itself is bright, colorful and high-resolution (480 x 360). Video playback is sharp and smooth, and the extra pixels on the large screen means eye fatigue won't be much of an issue. Unfortunately, as far we can tell there's no hardware video acceleration, which shouldn't be a problem for correctly-compressed video, but there aren't any Apple or Nokia-style swooping transitions in, we don't have high hopes for gaming, and stuff like browsing through photos and and panning around web pages is fairly choppy. The lack of hardware acceleration could also cut down on battery life, which RIM is pegging at 15 days of standby and 5.5 hours of talk, but hasn't fleshed out with media playback figures.

In addition to the touchscreen, there's a full complement of standard buttons for getting things done: rocker switch and camera button on one side of the device; another function button on the other side; call, end, back and BlackBerry buttons on the face; invisible mute and lock buttons up top.

There's an internal accelerometer, and the screen (speedily) rotates accordingly, even allowing full rotation for left-handed use. There's a micro-USB plug on one side, and a 3.5mm jack on the top right side of the handset. Unfortunately, that sideways jack pretty much means you'll need to go A2DP or rock the phone holster-style to listen to music on the go, it's going to be quite uncomfortable in your pocket with a headphone plug sticking out the side. There's a very, very loud built-in speaker for pushing out your tunes old school, and an included dock for enjoying movies in such a fashion -- when docked the phone also doubles as an alarm clock, and is plenty loud enough to pull it off.

Software

Like we said before, RIM didn't want to reinvent the wheel here, and didn't. In fact, almost the entire interface -- besides the recent aesthetic overhaul enjoyed by both the Bold and the Storm, which brought much needed perks like readable fonts and a modicum of glamor -- is standard BlackBerry. That means the standard, business-friendly strengths of RIM remain intact, while some of the long-standing interface annoyances (like incessant scrolling) can be overcome with a simple tap or click of the touchscreen.

But the true test of any touch-based phone is typing, and we won't hold any punches here: we're in love. In fact, we like it enough to pit it against regular button-based keyboards, since it easily leaves traditional touchscreen typing (even that hokey haptics stuff, Nokia, LG) in the dust. In landscape mode, the QWERTY keyboard is simply gargantuan, which means the keys are hard to miss. Tap a key and it glows, letting you know you're on the right one, click the "key" (the entire screen, really, but it feels like you're just clicking that one key) and you type the letter. We're guessing we could type out a few words without looking in a pinch, and for people just starting out on a mini-QWERTY keyboard, they're going to have a much easier time finding the letters than on those relatively teensy QWERTY keyboards on existing HTC, Palm and RIM phones. We're even bigger fans of typing in SureType mode (two letters per virtual key), with the phone in portrait. The buttons are the largest of any SureType keyboard out there, you can type with one hand, and the touchability of the screen means it's easy to select the right word when there are multiple options. Both options blow away the touchscreen alternatives thanks to the screen click, though SureType is an acquired taste.

In standard RIM fashion, one-handed navigation is a priority and totally doable, but now there's actually room for two hands, which could speed all sorts of actions -- click the app switcher button with one thumb, tap your desired app with the other, not mind-blowing, but helpful. There are other perks brought on by touch that will take a bit of exploration to discover. For instance, if you tap and hold the screen (without clicking) on an email address or an email subject for a couple seconds, the phone will search for related emails. Multitouch makes a reluctant appearance in the form of two-fingered selection. Hold one finger above and another finger below a block of text to select it, then tap and drag to fine-tune the selection. Unfortunately, stuff like two-fingered zooming and rotation isn't happening here, but RIM promises to work on other helpful uses for touching -- it feels a tad underutilized in its present form.

Wait, wait, rewind. Did we just say text selection? Yes, RIM (and other sane, mature smartphone OSes) has been doing text selection and copy / paste for a good long while, and didn't think the Storm was any time to stop. You can select, copy and paste anything, anywhere, including random blocks of text from the browser (just switch from "pan" to "cursor" mode).

Speaking of the browser, RIM has made great strides in the past year or so, but its homebrewed Java-based app still doesn't quite match the Nokia / Apple / Google-favored WebKit in terms of rendering speed and accuracy. We also didn't see the sort of smooth and effortless scrolling the iPhone provides, that no other touch phone has managed to replicate so far.

RIM's core apps are obviously just as solid as ever when it comes to email, calendaring and contacts, and are increasingly being integrated with the browser and outside apps like Facebook. What's still lacking is a truly powerful and cohesive media player -- it still seems tacked-on, though the search feature in the music app is a nice touch. RIM's clearly working on this, but there's more to be done. At the time this post goes live we're still not sure if those leaked App Center screenshots are legit, but it'd certainly be a nice shot at Apple and Google, and a chance to bring RIM's existing developer community to the forefront.

Wrap-up

Carrier (Verizon) and budget (unknown) constraints aside, what it's probably going to boil down to is whether or not the BlackBerry OS is your style. RIM hasn't done an overhaul to make touchscreen viable, instead banking on its navigation / execution paradigm to make the transition to touch -- which for the most part it does brilliantly. RIM hasn't in any way made the phone unattractive to its traditional corporate loyalists, and might just manage to snag other users looking for a flashy phone with decent email, but when it comes to browsing, media playback and other forms of consumer-friendliness, RIM still has a ways to go.

Source : http://www.engadget.com/2008/10/08/blackberry-storm-9500-hands-on/

BlackBerry Storm 9500 confirmed, don't hold your breath just yet now

2009-03-07T22:30:00.001+07:00

The highly anticipated BlackBerry Storm 9500 today made its first official appearance, popping up on German Vodafone web site. Images and specs of the first touchscreen RIM-manufactured device have been floating around the net for what seems like ages but it hasn’t yet been officially announced. If all the rumored features are confirmed when the device actually sees daylight then the Apple iPhone 3G might be up for quite a challenge.

The specifications of the BlackBerry Storm 9500 that are already known include a 3.3” touchscreen with a resolution of 360 x 480 pixels. The tri-band 3G with HSDPA and the quad-band GSM support make it capable of global roaming. The Storm 9500 is running on a 624 MHz CPU and has 192 MB of RAM and utilizes a new version of the BlackBerry OS, optimized for touchscreen input.

Some of the other extras include a built-in GPS (with A-GPS functionality), microSD card slot with support for up to 8GB cards and a 3.5mm standard audio jack. The lengthy specs sheet comes in the reasonable 112.5 x 62.2 x 13.9 mm package which makes it sound as quite an offer. The Blackberry Bold should also have Wi-Fi connectivity, but as of now it's not 100%.

Source : http://www.gsmarena.com/blackberry_storm_9500_confirmed_dont_hold_your_breath_just_yet-news-607.php

Nuvi maker plans to develop smartphone today

2009-03-07T22:27:00.001+07:00

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Navigational device maker Garmin Ltd. said Wednesday it has entered into a "strategic alliance" with Taiwan-based Asustek Computer Inc. to develop and produce a co-branded line of feature-rich mobile phones.

The first device, called the Garmin-Asus nuvifone G60, will be unveiled later this month and begin being shipped by June 30, the companies said in a joint statement.

Garmin, the world's largest maker of navigational devices using satellite technology, announced more than a year ago that it was getting into the wireless device business.
The move is seen as crucial as cell phones with location-based services, such as turn-by-turn driving directions, traffic warnings or search engines for nearby restaurants and stores are cutting into the market for dedicated navigational devices.

Min Kao, chairman and chief executive officer for the Olathe, Kan.-based company, said it worked with Asus for more than a year on a contract basis to develop the nuvifone. He said the companies decided it made more sense to become partners, which Kao said would increase manufacturing capacity and reduce the time for new products to make it to market.

"This alliance is advantageous to both companies because it allows us to combine our resources and establish a strong foundation from which we will innovate and introduce the world to the benefits of (location-based services)-centric mobile phones," Kao said.

The companies didn't provide details on their alliance, other than to say they will share profits from the phone sales, split research and development costs and be responsible for distributing devices in their respective territories.

The companies have already developed the nuvifone G60, which they will unveil along with a second device at the Mobile World Congress trade show, beginning Feb. 16 in Barcelona, Spain. Additional products will be unveiled throughout the rest of 2009, the companies said.

The nuvifone G60 is a touch screen device that includes many of the features of Garmin's nuvi line of navigational devices, including driving directions, weather and traffic information and connections to social networking Internet sites.

In a conference call with analysts Wednesday, Garmin President Cliff Pemble said the co-branded devices will make the location-based features central to the device's functions, as opposed to being simply a separate program as they often are on competitors' phones.

Source : http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29021248/

Smartphone Today

2009-03-07T22:22:00.001+07:00

A smartphone is a mobile phone offering advanced capabilities beyond a typical mobile phone, often with PC-like functionality. There is no industry standard definition of a smartphone.^[1]^[2] For some, a smartphone is a phone that runs complete operating system software providing a standardized interface and platform for application developers.^[3]^[4] For others, a smartphone is simply a phone with advanced features like e-mail and Internet capabilities, and/or a built-in full keyboard or external USB keyboard and VGA connector. In other words, it is a miniature computer that has phone capability.^[5]^[6]

Definition

There is no agreement in the industry about what a smartphone actually is and definitions have changed over time.^[2] According to David Wood, EVP at Symbian, "Smart phones differ from ordinary mobile phones in two fundamental ways: how they are built and what they can do."^[7] Other definitions put different stresses on these two factors...

"With smart phones it's just one evolution in one evolution, so it might that the actual device at some point ... will become even smaller and we will not call it a phone anymore, but it will be integrated ... the deal here is to make the device as invisible as possible, between you, and what you want to do," says Sacha Wunsch-Vincent at the OECD.^[8]

Most devices considered smartphones today use an identifiable and open operating system, often with the ability to add applications (e.g. for enhanced data processing, connectivity or entertainment) - in contrast to regular phones which only support sandboxed applications (like Java games)^{[citation needed]}. These smartphone applications may be developed by the manufacturer of the device, by the network operator or by any other third-party software developer, since the operating system is open.^{[citation needed]}.

In terms of features, most smartphones support full featured email capabilities with the functionality of a complete personal organizer. Other functionality might include an additional interface such as a miniature QWERTY keyboard, a touch screen or a D-pad, a built-in camera, contact management, an accelerometer, built-in navigation hardware and software, the ability to read business documents in a variety of formats such as PDF and Microsoft Office, media software for playing music, browsing photos and viewing video clips, internet browsers or even just secure access to company mail, such as is provided by a BlackBerry. One common feature to the majority of the smartphones is a contact list able to store as many contacts as the available memory permits, in contrast to regular phones that has a limit to the maximum number of contacts that can be stored.

History

Motorola Q, released in 2006

T-Mobile Dash, released in 2006

Apple iPhone, released in 2007

The first smartphone was called Simon; it was designed by IBM in 1992 and shown as a concept product^[9] that year at COMDEX, the computer industry trade show held in Las Vegas, Nevada. It was released to the public in 1993 and sold by BellSouth. Besides being a mobile phone, it also contained a calendar, address book, world clock, calculator, note pad, e-mail, send and receive fax, and games. It had no physical buttons to dial with. Instead customers used a touch-screen to select phone numbers with a finger or create facsimiles and memos with an optional stylus. Text was entered with a unique on-screen "predictive" keyboard. By today's standards, the Simon would be a fairly low-end, however its feature set at the time was incredibly advanced.

The Nokia Communicator line was the first of Nokia's smartphones starting with the Nokia 9000, released in 1996. This distinctive palmtop computer style smartphone was the result of a collaborative effort of an early successful and expensive PDA model by Hewlett Packard combined with Nokia's bestselling phone around that time and early prototype models had the two devices fixed via a hinge; the Nokia 9210 as the first color screen Communicator model which was the first true smartphone with an open operating system; the 9500 Communicator that was also Nokia's first cameraphone Communicator and Nokia's first WiFi phone; the 9300 Communicator was the third dimensional shift into a smaller form factor; and the latest E90 Communicator includes GPS. The Nokia Communicator model is remarkable also having been the most expensive phone model sold by a major brand for almost the full lifespan of the model series, easily 20% and sometimes 40% more expensive than the next most expensive smartphone by any major manufacturer.

The Ericsson R380 was sold as a 'smartphone' but could not run native third-party applications.^[10] Although the Nokia 9210 was arguably the first true smartphone with an open operating system, Nokia continued to refer to it as a Communicator.

In 2001 RIM released the first BlackBerry which was the first smartphone optimized for wireless email use and has achieved a total customer base of 8 million subscribers by June 2007, of which three quarters are in North America.

Although the Nokia 7650, announced in 2001, was referred to as a 'smart phone' in the media, and is now called a 'smartphone' on the Nokia support site, the press release referred to it as an 'imaging phone'.^[11]^[12]^[13] Handspring delivered the first widely popular smartphone devices in the US market by marrying its Palm OS based Visor PDA together with a piggybacked GSM phone module, the VisorPhone. By 2002, Handspring was marketing an integrated smartphone called the Treo; the company subsequently merged with Palm primarily because the PDA market was dying but the Treo smartphone was quickly becoming popular as a phone with extended PDA organizer features. That same year, Microsoft announced its Windows CE Pocket PC OS would be offered as "Microsoft Windows Powered Smartphone 2002".^[14] Microsoft originally defined its Windows Smartphone products as lacking a touchscreen and offering a lower screen resolution compared to its sibling Pocket PC devices. Palm has since largely abandoned its own Palm OS in favor of licensing Microsoft's WinCE-based operating system now referred to as Windows Mobile.

In 2005 Nokia launched its N-Series of 3G smartphones which Nokia started to market not as mobile phones but as multimedia computers.

Out of 1 billion camera phones to be shipped in 2008, smartphones, the higher end of the market with full email support, will represent about 10% of the market or about 100 million units.^{[citation needed]}

The Smartphone Summit semi-annual conference details smartphone industry market data, trends, and updates among smartphone related hardware, software, and accessor

Android, a cross platform OS for smartphones was released in 2008. Android is an Open Source platform backed by Google, along with major hardware and software developers (such as Intel, HTC, ARM, and eBay, to name a few), that form the Open Handset Alliance^[15].

The first phone to use the Android OS is the HTC Dream, branded for distribution by T-Mobile as the G1^[16]. The phone features a full, capacitive touch screen, a flip out QWERTY keyboard, and a track ball for navigating web pages. The software suite included on the phone consists of integration with Google's proprietary applications, such as Maps, Calendar, and Gmail, as well as Google's Chrome Lite full HTML web browser^[17]. Third party apps are available for free via the Android Market, with premium apps slated for Q1 2009^[18].

Operating systems

Market share of Smartphone operating systems (As of November 2008)

Operating systems that can be found on mobile devices include Symbian OS, iPhone OS, RIM's BlackBerry, Windows Mobile, Linux, Palm WebOS and Android.

The most common operating systems (OS) used in smartphones are in Q3 2008:

Symbian OS from Symbian Ltd. (46.6% Market Share Sales Q3 2008 ^[19]): Symbian has the largest share in most markets worldwide, but lags behind other companies in the relatively small but highly visible North American market.^[20] This matches the success of its largest shareholder^[21] and customer, Nokia, in all markets except Japan. Nokia itself enjoys 52.9% of the smartphone market.^[22] In Japan Symbian is strong due to a relationship with NTT DoCoMo, with only one of the 44 Symbian handsets released in Japan coming from Nokia.^[23] It is used by many major handset manufacturers, including BenQ, LG, Motorola, Samsung, and Sony Ericsson.^[24] Various implementations of user interfaces on top of Symbian (most notable being UIQ and Nokia's own S60) are incompatible, which along with the requirement that applications running on mobile phones be signed ^[25] is hindering the potential for a truly widely accepted mobile application platform. It has received some adverse press attention due to virus threats (namely trojan horses).^[26]

iPhone OS from Apple Inc. (17.3% Market Share Sales Q3 2008): The iPhone uses an operating system called iPhone OS, which is derived from Mac OS X. Third party applications were not officially supported until the release of iPhone OS 2.0 on July 11th 2008. Before this,"jailbreaking" allowed third party applications to be installed, and this method is still available.

RIM BlackBerry operating system (15.2% Market Share Sales Q3 2008): This OS is focused on easy operation and was originally designed for business. Recently it has seen a surge in third-party applications and has been improved to offer full multimedia support.

Windows Mobile from Microsoft (13.6% Market Share Sales Q3 2008): The Windows CE operating system and Windows Mobile middleware are widely spread in Asia. The two improved variants of this operating system, Windows Mobile 6 Professional (for touch screen devices) and Windows Mobile 6 Standard, were unveiled in February 2007. Windows Mobile is enjoying great popularity because of the low barrier to entry for third-party developers to write new applications for the platform^{[citation needed]}. However, it has been criticized for having a user interface which is not optimized for touch input by fingers; instead, it is more usable with a stylus.

Linux operating system (5.1% Market Share Sales Q3 2008): Linux is strongest in China where it is used by Motorola, and in Japan, used by DoCoMo.^[27]^[28] Rather than being a platform in its own right, Linux is used as a basis for a number of different platforms developed by several vendors, including Google's Android, LiMo, and TrollTech, which are mostly incompatible.^[29]^[30] PalmSource (now Access) is moving towards an interface running on Linux.^[31] Another platform based on Linux is being developed by Motorola, NEC, NTT DoCoMo, Panasonic, Samsung, and Vodafone.^[32]

Palm webOS and Palm OS developed by PalmSource (now a subsidiary of ACCESS): PalmSource traditionally used its own platform developed by Palm Inc. Access Linux Platform (ALP) is an improvement that was planned to be launched in the first half of 2007. It will use technical specifications from the Linux Phone Standards Forum. The Access Linux Platform will include an emulation layer to support applications developed for Palm-based devices.

Binary Runtime Environment for Wireless (BREW): BREW was developed in the USA by Qualcomm, Inc and is popular in North America. BREW is a mobile application development platform and end-to-end content delivery ecosystem. BREW has recently gained a foothold in Europe via the 3 Skypephones offered by network 3.

Android from Google (Released 22 Oct 2008): Android, which was developed by Google, has yet to own even a small part of the smartphone market because of its recent release date. Android is an Open Source, Linux-derived platform backed by Google, along with major hardware and software developers (such as Intel, HTC, ARM, and eBay, to name a few), that form the Open Handset Alliance^[33]. This OS, though very new, already has a cult following among programmers eager to develop apps for its flexible, Open Source, back end^[34]. Android promises to give developers access to every aspect of the phone's operation^[35]. This lends many to foresee the promise of further growth for the Android platform^[36].

Market Share data from Canalys report "Global smart phone shipments rise 28%"^[22]

Source : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smartphone

BlackBerry Curve 8900, Stable for Business

2009-03-07T22:17:00.003+07:00

Although Research In Motion (RIM) has issued BlackBerry Storm that carried fitur the screen touched, not meant then the product BlackBerry with the classic design will be forgotten. Most consumers BlackBerry indeed from the circle pebisnis that too much did not need fitur the screen touched. And this also was understood by RIM that afterwards launched the younger generation from Curve this.
BlackBerry Curve 8900 this still carried the design that was not too far from the Curve model beforehand. The front appeared to be divided two with the screen on the top and the switch rank keypad QWERTY underneath. Exact between the screen and keypad this was located trackball and four other switches that had a function of receiving and ending telephone discussions as well as the menu switch and the back. The black colour with finishing glossy was chosen to the main colour of the front with few coloured touch chrome that appeared to become the frame from this front view. Tampilan classic this clear has not been again foreign for the old users BlackBerry. But over tampilan that was classic that RIM also gave the new touch that made Curve 8900 this became stabler as the friend business.
The clear improvement was seen was his dimension that was a little small and thin from the generation beforehand. However of course the measurement that was still becoming smaller this brought the impact of the measurement of the screen that was still taking part in shrinking also. His profit, RIM installed the screen with the higher resolution so as tampilan became more sharp and sparkling. Watched the film through the screen measuring 2,44 inch this then became pleasanter. Two other improvements that really interesting was the installation trackball Atomic as well as Jack's use headphone the measuring standard 3,5 inch so as you still are not restricted to the use headset this product gift. About Atomic trackball, it seems he could keep dust and the waste as well as had the smoother performance. The bowel smartphone this then received attention also. When beforehand RIM used the processor have a speed 312MHz this time they installed the processor with the speed 512MHz. The memory capacity was also increased to 256MB now slot the memory card that was installed also has supported the card to have a capacity of 16GB. Sayangnya, the position slot this card rather.
Although not one of the mainstays, but RIM was still installing the camera to this smart cellular phone. At least for only a documentation, the camera 3.2 megapixel that was supplemented with light flash this has been enough. But should not hope could get results of the aim that was first-rate of this camera. The matter fitur the mainstay, BlackBerry indeed most the matter champion of the email. And that still continued to be awakened in the Curve generation 8900 this. Briefly, if you want to smartphone with the competent email capacity, GPS, the capacity processed the document office and web browser that was competent, BlackBerry Curve 8900 this was quite appropriate for you. Unfortunately, gadget this one did not yet support the network of 3G. Mungkin same that obstructed Trusted Reviews gave the highest value to smartphone this. But at least, the smart cellular phone that was sold with the price around US$500 or was equal Rp 5,500,000 this still received the value 8 from 10 of these sites.

BlackBerry Curve 8900 First Impressions Kills the Original

2009-03-07T22:14:00.001+07:00

RIM excels at many things, but keeping secrets ain't one of 'em, so we'd eyeballed the BlackBerry Curve 8900 (nee Javelin) quite a bit before this AT&T-branded one dropped in our laps. It's a Bolder version of the current Curve that improves it in basically every way: Lighter, tighter, but more powerful—and it feels like a phone that was produced in 2008, not when you were still keeping your 2006 resolutions

Body
It's a solid evolution of the Curve form factor. Slightly thinner, it's also tighter, with less wasted space around the screen and keys. The lines are much cleaner, making it sleeker and more modern, like a sports car compared to a Toyota Corolla. (It's very similar to the Storm.) The refined form has some function, too, since it feels better in your hand. It also has the Storm's dedicated lock key on the roof—no more menu-digging!

Screen
Even though the Curve is RIM's mass market smarty (the Pearl doesn't really count), they didn't scrimp on the screen compared to the Bold. It's fantastic. Colors pop, contrast is great, resolution is solid and the viewing angle is nice and wide. For nitpickers, he colors are noticeably warmer than the Bold—kind of like the iPhone 3G vs. the iPhone—but it's totally fine.

Keyboard and Trackball
The keyboard feels almost exactly the same as the old Curve—punchiness and layout are essentially identical, though the keys now slope ever so slightly, like the Bold, but to a lesser degree. Most people probably won't even notice. The new "atomic trackball" doesn't feel too different compared to the one you're used to, just more robust and less hangin' loose.

Battery Life
We haven't done any formal tests—it'd be unfair since this isn't a final build and the software optimizations can make it even better—but it seems to be comparable to the old Curve (i.e., well over a day), even with the beefier hardware.

OS and Software
Again, this isn't a final unit, so really digging into the OS and software like it's a production model isn't quite fair, but so far, it's a really stable version of the BlackBerry 4.6 OS we've seen on the Bold and Pearl Flip. And obviously, that's where a lot of the improvement is over the old Curve. It's prettier, smoother, and just a better overall user experience, with major enhancements in the look and feel of the entire BlackBerry experience.

The Curve 8900 is fairly nimble getting around the OS, though not quite as zippy as the Bold—but that's expected since the Bold has more monstrous hardware powering it. You can kinda see this in the browser, which lagged behind the Bold in our tests even though both were on Wi-Fi. There will probably be tuneups in the final build to make it snappier, though the Bold will always have a hardware advantage.

Conclusion
What's interesting is that even though the Curve 8900 borrows heavily from the Bold in terms of design and in no way feels cheap (well the plastic-y chrome is a little cheap), it's more clearly differentiated from it than the old Curve was from the 8800. It's very much a Curve still, and clearly the consumer model to the Bold's pro position. So what looked to be a hard choice from leaked shots, isn't quite as difficult as it appeared.

The Bold is more substantial, exuding "executive" to the Curve 8900's "middle manager" or "normal person." It's clearly more powerful, and has a bigger screen. The keyboards are way different, too—personally, I prefer the Bold's larger, squishier keys to the Curve's smaller, stiffer ones. But obviously, the biggest thing is 3G. The Bold has it, the Curve 8900 doesn't, and we missed it sorely.

All that said, this thing will sell like a mother, and justifiably so. It pushes the BlackBerry you see in most people's hands (if they're carrying a BlackBerry) into 2008, exceeding the original Curve in every way.

Source : http://gizmodo.com/5071533/blackberry-curve-8900-first-impressions-kills-the-original

Technology: Robot jobsworths go on patrol only

2009-03-07T22:11:00.001+07:00

Security guards could soon be replaced by robots developed by a team of the University of Oxford. Researchers at Oxford are offering to send their machines out on patrol, having developed what they claim is the first robot that can reliably map a changing environment and plan its own route.

Most robots follow signals from buried wires, while autonomous guided vehicles can only operate in an environment that does not change. They cannot cope if somebody has moved a desk during the day or has left a packing case in the middle of a corridor.

The Oxford robot does not mind these changes because it constantly surveys its territory as its patrols. If it encounters an obstacle, the robot will see it and add it to its map.

Hugh Durrant-Whyte of Oxford's department of engineering science, is negotiating the lease of the robots to several security firms. 'Patrolmen cost about ...

Source : http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg14119103.400-technology-robot-jobsworths-go-on-patrol-.html

Robot unravels mystery of walking slowly

2009-03-07T22:07:00.002+07:00

RunBot is a self-learning, dynamic robot, which has been built around the theories of Nikolai Bernstein.

"Getting a robot to walk like a human requires a dynamic machine," said Professor Florentin Woergoetter.

RunBot is a small, biped robot which can move at speeds of more than three leg lengths per second, slightly slower than the fastest walking human.

Bernstein said that animal movement was not under the total control of the brain but rather, "local circuits" did most of the command and control work.

The brain was involved in the process of walking, he said, only when the understood parameters were altered, such as moving from one type of terrain to another, or dealing with uneven surfaces.

The basic walking steps of RunBot, which has been built by scientists co-operating across Europe, are controlled by reflex information received by peripheral sensors on the joints and feet of the robot, as well as an accelerometer which monitors the pitch of the machine.

These sensors pass data on to local neural loops - the equivalent of local circuits - which analyse the information and make adjustments to the gait of the robot in real time.

How does RunBot walk?

Information from sensors is constantly created by the interaction of the robot with the terrain so that RunBot can adjust its step if there is a change in the environment.

As the robot takes each step, control circuits ensure that the joints are not overstretched and that the next step begins.

But if the robot encounters an obstacle, or a dramatic change in the terrain, such as a slope, then the higher level functions of the robot - the learning circuitries - are used.

The latest findings of the robot research study are presented in the Public Library of Science Computational Biology journal.

Four other scientists - Poramate Manoonpong, Tao Geng, Tomas Kulvicius and Bernd Porr - are also involved in the project, which has been running for the last four years.

Professor Woergoetter, of the University of Gottingen, in Germany, said: "When RunBot first encounters a slope these low level control circuits 'believe' they can continue to walk up the slope without having to change anything.

"But this is misguided and as a consequence the machine falls backwards. This triggers the other sensors and the highest loop we have built into RunBot - the learning circuitry - and from that experience of falling the machine knows that something needs to be changed."

Dynamic process

He said human walking was a dynamic process.

"About half of the time during a gait cycle we are not doing anything, just falling forward. We are propelling ourselves over and over again - like releasing a spring.

"In a robot, the difficulty lies in releasing the spring-like movement at the right moment in time - calculated in milliseconds - and to get the dampening right so that the robot does not fall forward and crash.

"These parameters are very difficult to handle," he said.

All these big machines stomp around like robots

Prof Florentin Worgotter

RunBot walks in a very different way from robots like Asimo, star of the Honda TV adverts, said Prof Woergoetter.

"They are kinematic walkers - they walk step by step and calculate every single angle, every millisecond.

"That can be handled through engineering but it is very clumsy. No human would walk like that. All these big machines stomp around like robots - we want our robot to walk like a human."

The first step in building RunBot was creating a biomechanical frame that could support passive walking patterns.

Passive walkers can walk down a slope unaided, propelled by gravity and kept upright and moving through the correct mechanical physiology.

Prof Woergoetter said: "Passive walking looks pretty realistic - but that's level one. On top of this we have local circuits, nested neural loops, which operate between the muscles (the joints of the robot) and the spinal cord (the spinal reflex of RunBot)."

He said RunBot learned from its mistakes, much in the same way as a human baby.

"Babies use a lot of their brains to train local circuits but once they are trained they are fairly autonomous.

"Only when it comes to more difficult things - such as a change of terrain - that's when the brain steps in and says 'now we are moving from ice to sand and I have to change something'.

"This is a good model because you are easing the load of control - if your brain had to think all the time about walking, it's doubtful you could have a conversation at the same time."

Nervous system

The principle was first discussed in the human nervous system by Russian physiologist Nikolai Bernstein.

Prof Woergoetter said: "He said it made sense that local agents, local networks, do the basic job, but the brain exerted control whenever necessary."

So using the information from its local circuits RunBot can walk on flat surfaces at speeds of more than three leg lengths per second.

Prof Woergoetter said RunBot was able to learn new walking patterns after only a few trials.

"If walking uphill, the gait becomes shorter, the robot's upper body weight shifts forward," he said.

The key lesson from the study, he said, was that the nested loop design first proposed by Bernstein more than 70 years ago "worked and was efficient".

He said the challenge was now to make RunBot bigger, more adaptive and to better anticipate situations like change of terrain.

Frames 1 - 3: The robot's momentum causes the robot to rise on its standing leg and a motor moves the swinging leg into position

Frame 3: The stretch sensor of the swinging leg is activated, which triggers the knee joint to straighten

Frames 3-6: The robot falls forward naturally, with no motor functions being used, and catches itself on the next standing leg

Frame 6: As the swinging leg touches the ground, the ground contact sensor in the foot triggers the hip extensor and the knee joint of the standing leg and the hip and knee joints of the swinging leg to swap roles

Source : http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/6291746.stm

Technology Nuclear Reprocessing, Digital Television

2009-02-07T22:36:00.003+07:00

Scientific American continued its series on nuclear energy last week with a look at whether reprocessing spent nuclear fuel could offer a viable alternative to the problem of nuclear waste storage. The magazine also looked at the overall risks and rewards of nuclear power.

In other technology news, the U.S. House voted last week not to postpone the February 17 deadline for the transition from analog to digital television broadcasting. The Senate had approved putting it off until June.

Researchers at the University of Washington released the initial component of a public system intended for use in digitally preserving and authenticating firsthand accounts of war crimes, atrocities and genocide.

A flexible digital display computer screen may be available soon, thanks to developments at Arizona State University. Researchers there have used a novel lithographic process and an electronic ink to print flexible displays onto long rolls of a special plastic film.

Meanwhile, as electronics have become more "outdoor-friendly," sensors are being more widely used in agriculture, geology and other fields to monitor such things as soil moisture and temperature.

And, just in time for the Super Bowl, the Christian Science Monitor reported that inventors want to use technology to improve football by making the game faster, more fair and less dangerous for players.

Source : http://www.americanscientist.org/science/pub/technology-nuclear-reprocessing-digital-television

Science and Technology Nuclear

2009-02-07T22:34:00.003+07:00

One of the most spectacular and controversial achievements of world science in the second half of the 20th century has been the harnessing of nuclear energy. The concepts that led to the splitting of the atom were developed by the scientists of many countries, but the conversion of these ideas into the reality of nuclear fission was the achievement of U.S. scientists in the early 1940s.

After German physicists split a uranium nucleus in 1938, Albert Einstein, Enrico Fermi and Leo Szilard, all of whom had fled to the United States to escape persecution in National Socialist Germany and Italy, concluded that a nuclear chain reaction was feasible. In a letter to President Franklin Roosevelt, Einstein warned that the next step on the part of German scientists, would be the construction of "extremely powerful bombs." This warning led to the Manhattan Project - the United States' effort to build an atomic bomb before Germany. The development of the bomb and its use against Japan in August of 1945 initiated the Atomic Age.

After the war, the network of researchers, government and military officials, and physicians mobilized for the Manhattan Project began working on government programs to promote both peaceful uses of atomic energy and nuclear weapons development.

Nuclear power and nuclear medicine are two examples of peaceful uses of atomic energy. Nuclear energy to produce electricity commercially began in the U.S. in 1957. Today, over 100 nuclear power plants produce about 21 percent of all the electricity generated in the United States. A 1979 accident at Three Mile Island in Pennsylvania made many Americans uncertain about the safety of nuclear power. Utilities must follow a lengthy series of licensing procedures before a nuclear power plant can be built and operated in the United States.

Source : http://usa.usembassy.de/technology-nuclear.htm

TheTechnology: Nuclear researchers pump control into industr

2009-02-07T22:32:00.002+07:00

BRITISH engineers have begun to develop a unique range of flow control equipment without moving parts for use in process industries. The devices on offer - pumps, valves and controllers - rely on the emerging technology of power fluidics.

Early versions of this equipment were developed by the UK Atomic Energy Authority, now called AEA Technology. They were designed for use in difficult and demanding applications in nuclear plants.

One major customer is British Nuclear Fuels. It is planning to fit around 250 fluidic pumps to its giant reprocessing plant, known as THORP, which is currentlyunder construction at Sellafield. Now AEATechnology, keen to capture new nonnuclear business, has joined forces withAlpha Technical Services to market fluidicdevices for the chemical, biotechnicaland pharmaceuticals industries.

Fluidic pumps (marketed under the name FLUIDTEC) have no seals or glands that can leak. The absence of these components also eliminates contamination: there are no routes left ...

Source : http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg12416902.800--technology-nuclear-researchers-pump-control-into-industry-.html

Senior Design Class (22.033) uses fusion energy for hydrogen fuel production

2009-02-07T22:30:00.001+07:00

Abstract.

Seniors design economically attractive steady-state large-scale fusion plants for hydrogen fuel production. Fusion energy holds the possibility of a nearly limitless energy supply for the future. Most fusion research and design studies have looked at fusion to produce electricity for the grid; however this constraint holds the total size of the plant down to 1 GigaWatt electrical. This is a challenge because the standard fusion approach using strong magnetic fields most easily occurs in hot, and therefore large, devices.

The NSE senior design class, taught by Assoc. Prof. Dennis Whyte, examined the possibility of a fusion power plant used to make hydrogen fuel instead of electricity, freeing the fusion plant from small size limitations. Their study showed that not only did the H fuel become more competitive economically at larger size (8-30 GigaWatts) but that the core fusion design was inherently far from operational limits, yet steady-state with readily controlled heat exhaust; thus solving some of the most vexing problems for the standard tokamak configuration fusion design.

Source : http://web.mit.edu/nse/

Nuclear technology History

2009-02-07T22:22:00.001+07:00

Nuclear technology is technology that involves the reactions of atomic nuclei. It has found applications from smoke detectors to nuclear reactors, and from gun sights to nuclear weapons.

History

Discovery

In 1896, Henri Becquerel was investigating phosphorescence in uranium salts when he discovered a new phenomenon which came to be called radioactivity.^[1] He, Pierre Curie and Marie Curie began investigating the phenomenon. In the process they isolated the element radium, which is highly radioactive. They discovered that radioactive materials produce intense, penetrating rays of several distinct sorts, which they called alpha rays, beta rays and gamma rays. Some of these kinds of radiation could pass through ordinary matter, and all of them could cause damage in large amounts - all the early researchers received various radiation burns, much like sunburn, and thought little of it.

The new phenomenon of radioactivity was seized upon by the manufacturers of quack medicine (as had the discoveries of electricity and magnetism, earlier), and any number of patent medicines and treatments involving radioactivity were put forward. Gradually it came to be realized that the radiation produced by radioactive decay was ionizing radiation, and that quantities too small to burn presented a severe long-term hazard. Many of the scientists working on radioactivity died of cancer as a result of their exposure. Radioactive patent medicines mostly disappeared, but other applications of radioactive materials persisted, such as the use of radium salts to produce glowing dials on meters.

As the atom came to be better understood, the nature of radioactivity became clearer; some atomic nuclei are unstable, and can decay releasing energy in the form of gamma rays (high-energy photons), alpha particles (a pair of protons and a pair of neutrons) and beta particles, high-energy electrons.

Nuclear fission

Radioactivity is generally a slow and difficult process to control, and is unsuited to building a weapon. However, other nuclear reactions are possible. In particular, a sufficiently unstable nucleus can undergo nuclear fission, breaking into two smaller nuclei and releasing energy and some fast neutrons. This neutron could, if captured by another nucleus, cause that nucleus to undergo fission as well. The process could then continue in a nuclear chain reaction. Such a chain reaction could release a vast amount of energy in a short amount of time. When discovered on the eve of World War II, it led multiple countries to begin programs investigating the possibility of constructing an atomic bomb—a weapon which utilized fission reactions to generate far more energy than could be created with chemical explosives. The Manhattan Project, run by the United States with the help of the United Kingdom and Canada, developed multiple fission weapons which were used against Japan in 1945. During the project, the first fission reactors were developed as well, though they were primarily for weapons manufacture and did not generate power.

Nuclear fusion

Main article: Timeline of nuclear fusion

Nuclear fusion technology was initially pursued only in theoretical stages during World War II, when scientists on the Manhattan Project (led by Edward Teller) investigated the possibility of using the great power of a fission reaction to ignite fusion reactions. It took until 1952 for the first full detonation of a hydrogen bomb to take place, so-called because it utilized reactions between deuterium and tritium, isotopes of hydrogen. Fusion reactions are much more energetic per unit mass of fusion material, but it is much more difficult to ignite a chain reaction than is fission.

Research into the possibilities of using nuclear fusion for civilian power generation was begun during the 1940s as well. Technical and theoretical difficulties have hindered the development of working civilian fusion technology, though research continues to this day around the world.

Nuclear Weapons

The design of a nuclear weapon is more complicated than it might seem; it is quite difficult to ensure that such a chain reaction consumes a significant fraction of the fuel before the device flies apart. The construction of a nuclear weapon is also more difficult than it might seem, as no naturally occurring substance is sufficiently unstable for this process to occur. One isotope of uranium, namely uranium-235, is naturally occurring and sufficiently unstable, but it is always found mixed with the more stable isotope uranium-238. Thus a complicated and difficult process of isotope separation must be performed to obtain uranium-235. Alternatively, the element plutonium possesses an isotope that is sufficiently unstable for this process to be usable. Plutonium does not occur naturally, so it must be manufactured in a nuclear reactor. Ultimately, the Manhattan Project manufactured nuclear weapons based on each of these.

The first atomic bomb was detonated in a test code-named "Trinity", near Alamogordo on July 16, 1945. After much debate on the morality of using such a horrifying weapon, two bombs were dropped on the Japanese cities Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and the Japanese surrender followed shortly.

Several nations began nuclear weapons programs, developing ever more destructive bombs in an arms race to obtain what many called a nuclear deterrent. Nuclear weapons are the most destructive weapons known - the archetypal weapons of mass destruction. Throughout the Cold War, the opposing powers had huge nuclear arsenals, sufficient to kill hundreds of millions of people. Generations of people grew up under the shadow of nuclear devastation.

However, the tremendous energy release in the detonation of a nuclear weapon also suggested the possibility of a new energy source.

Most natural nuclear reactions fall under the heading of radioactive decay, where a nucleus is unstable and decays after a random interval. The most common processes by which this can occur are alpha decay, beta decay, and gamma decay. Under suitable circumstances, a large unstable nucleus can break into two smaller nuclei, undergoing nuclear fission.

If these neutrons are captured by a suitable nucleus, they can trigger fission as well, leading to a chain reaction. A mass of radioactive material large enough (and in a suitable configuration) is called a critical mass. When a neutron is captured by a suitable nucleus, fission may occur immediately, or the nucleus may persist in an unstable state for a short time. If there are enough immediate decays to carry on the chain reaction, the mass is said to be prompt critical, and the energy release will grow rapidly and uncontrollably, usually leading to an explosion. However, if the mass is critical only when the delayed neutrons are included, the reaction can be controlled, for example by the introduction or removal of neutron absorbers. This is what allows nuclear reactors to be built. Fast neutrons are not easily captured by nuclei; they must be slowed (slow neutrons), generally by collision with the nuclei of a neutron moderator, before they can be easily captured.

If nuclei are forced to collide, they can undergo nuclear fusion. This process may release or absorb energy. When the resulting nucleus is lighter than that of iron, energy is normally released; when the nucleus is heavier than that of iron, energy is generally absorbed. This process of fusion occurs in stars, and results in the formation, in stellar nucleosynthesis, of the light elements, from lithium to calcium, as well as some formation of the heavy elements, beyond Iron and Nickel, which cannot be created by nuclear fusion, via neutron capture - the S-process. The remaining abundance of heavy elements - from Nickel to Uranium and beyond - is due to supernova nucleosynthesis, the R-process. Of course, these natural processes of astrophysics are not examples of nuclear technology. Because of the very strong repulsion of nuclei, fusion is difficult to achieve in a controlled fashion. Hydrogen bombs obtain their enormous destructive power from fusion, but obtaining controlled fusion power has so far proved elusive. Controlled fusion can be achieved in particle accelerators; this is how many synthetic elements were produced. The Farnsworth-Hirsch Fusor is a device which can produce controlled fusion (and which can be built as a high-school science project), albeit at a net energy loss. It is sold commercially as a neutron source.

The vast majority of everyday phenomena do not involve nuclear reactions. Most everyday phenomena only involve gravity and electromagnetism. Of the fundamental forces of nature, they are not the strongest, but the other two, the strong nuclear force and the weak nuclear force are essentially short-range forces so they do not play a role outside the atomic nucleus. Atomic nuclei are generally kept apart because they contain positive electrical charges and therefore repel each other, so in ordinary circumstances they cannot meet.

Nuclear Accidents

Main articles: List of civilian nuclear accidents and List of military nuclear accidents

Examples of Nuclear Technology

Nuclear Power

Further information: Nuclear Power and Nuclear reactor technology

Nuclear power is a type of nuclear technology involving the controlled use of nuclear fission to release energy for work including propulsion, heat, and the generation of electricity. Nuclear energy is produced by a controlled nuclear chain reaction which creates heat—and which is used to boil water, produce steam, and drive a steam turbine. The turbine is used to generate electricity and/or to do mechanical work.

Currently nuclear power provides approximately 15.7% of the world's electricity (in 2004) and is used to propel aircraft carriers, icebreakers and submarines (so far economics and fears in some ports have prevented the use of nuclear power in transport ships).^[2]

Medical Applications

The medical applications of nuclear technology are divided into diagnostics and radiation treatment.

Imaging - medical and dental x-ray imagers use of Cobalt-60 or other x-ray sources. Technetium-99m is used, attached to organic molecules, as radioactive tracer in the human body, before being excreted by the kidneys. Positron emitting nucleotides are used for high resolution, short time span imaging in applications known as Positron emission tomography.

Radiation therapy is an effective treatment for cancer.

Industrial applications

Oil and Gas Exploration- Nuclear well logging is used to help predict the commercial viability of new or existing wells. The technology involves the use of a neutron or gamma-ray source and a radiation detector which are lowered into boreholes to determine the properties of the surrounding rock such as porosity and lithography.[1]

Road Construction - Nuclear moisture/density gauges are used to determine the density of soils, asphalt, and concrete. Typically a Cesium-137 source is used.

Commercial applications

An ionization smoke detector includes a tiny mass of radioactive americium-241, which is a source of alpha radiation. Tritium is used with phosphor in rifle sights to increase nighttime firing accuracy. Luminescent exit signs use the same technology.^[3]

Food Processing and Agriculture

The Radura logo, used to show a food has been treated with ionizing radiation.

Food irradiation^[4] is the process of exposing food to ionizing radiation in order to destroy microorganisms, bacteria, viruses, or insects that might be present in the food. The radiation sources used include radioisotope gamma ray sources, X-ray generators and electron accelerators. Further applications include sprout inhibition, delay of ripening, increase of juice yield, and improvement of re-hydration. Irradiation is a more general term of deliberate exposure of materials to radiation to achieve a technical goal (in this context 'ionizing radiation' is implied). As such it is also used on non-food items, such as medical hardware, plastics, tubes for gas-pipelines, hoses for floor-heating, shrink-foils for food packaging, automobile parts, wires and cables (isolation), tires, and even gemstones. Compared to the amount of food irradiated, the volume of those every-day applications is huge but not noticed by the consumer.

The genuine effect of processing food by ionizing radiation relates to damages to the DNA, the basic genetic information for life. Microorganisms can no longer proliferate and continue their malignant or pathogen activities. Spoilage causing micro-organisms cannot continue their activities. Insects do not survive or become incapable of procreation. Plants cannot continue the natural ripening or aging process. All these effects are beneficial to the consumer and the food industry, likewise.^[4]

It should be noted that the amount of energy imparted for effective food irradiation is low compared to cooking the same; even at a typical dose of 10 kGy most food, which is (with regard to warming) physically equivalent to water, would warm by only about 2.5 °C.

The specialty of processing food by ionizing radiation is the fact, that the energy density per atomic transition is very high, it can cleave molecules and induce ionization (hence the name) which cannot be achieved by mere heating. This is the reason for new beneficial effects, however at the same time, for new concerns. The treatment of solid food by ionizing radiation can provide an effect similar to heat pasteurization of liquids, such as milk. However, the use of the term, cold pasteurization, to describe irradiated foods is controversial, because pasteurization and irradiation are fundamentally different processes, although the intended end results can in some cases be similar.

Food irradiation is currently permitted by over 40 countries and volumes are estimated to exceed 500 000 metric tons annually world wide. ^[5] ^[6] ^[7]

It should be noted that food irradiation is essentially a non-nuclear technology; it relies on the use of ionizing radiation which may be generated by accelerators for electrons and conversion into bremsstrahlung, but which may use also gamma-rays from nuclear decay. There is a world-wide industry for processing by ionizing radiation, the majority by number and by processing power using accelerators. Food irradiation is only a niche application compared to medical supplies, plastic materials, raw materials, gemstones, cables and wires, etc.

Source : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_technology

The Indonesian students note-ready for informations technology world

2009-02-07T22:15:00.002+07:00

Indonesia's ability to provide skilled information technology workers remains in doubt, even as it approaches its 100th year of "national awakening".

Indonesia ranked 67th out of 69 countries in an e-readiness study by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), faring little better than Azerbaijan and Iran as one of the least IT-prepared countries on the list.

The EIU ranking was based on consumer and business adoption of IT, connectivity and technology infrastructure, business environment, social and cultural environments, government policy and vision, and legal and policy environments.

In a separate survey by the United Nations, Indonesia ranked 106th out of 189 countries in terms of government Internet-based service usage.

And despite gold medal-winning performances in several international Physics, Biology and Astronomics Olympiads (including last year's Asian Physics Olympiads), Indonesian students have yet to distinguish themselves in the IT category.

According to Maria Widyati, deputy marketing director for the ComputerStar learning center, there are only three or four large private education institutions in Jakarta that provide IT-based education for students from elementary through to high school levels.

She said, "This is very sad, because we believe programmers will be the ones moving this world."

ComputerStar provides computer-based education from elementary to high school levels, and since its inception 20 years ago, some 330 schools across the country use its curriculum.

According to Maria, computer-based learning centers see an annual increase in the number of participating schools of only 7 to 10 percent. She added that most of the recipients were private schools, "because giving computer lessons is expensive".

In addition to the government-issued computer-based curriculum, ComputerStar also gives lessons on using image editing applications like Photoshop, and computer programming applications like C++.

Maria added, "We teach what is stipulated in the Education Ministry's curriculum, but we also feel it's important for the students to keep up with current trends."

In 2003, the government revised the 1989 law on education, giving schools more freedom in allocating their government funding.

Education Minister Bambang Sudibyo said the reluctance of schools to enhance the quality of IT education by improving their curriculum is part of a trial and error process.

"The schools are just surprised with having to handle so much money. They don't know what to do with it yet," he said.

He added, "We feel we should stop telling schools what to do with their money. We cut out that government bureaucracy because public school students tend to become rigid, it doesn't help their creativity. We want schools to allocate funds for whatever field they need to concentrate on."

The new law also replaced the old curriculum with a new competence-based curriculum that requires students to pass several subjects, including moral studies. In IT studies, the curriculum only requires students to have basic word processing skills and an understanding of computer icons.

"Basically we're allowing each school to compete with each other," Bambang said. "But in 10 or 15 years, we should see some results from democratizing the curriculum."

Bambang said the government had also taken steps to provide IT education by providing an e-learning system, which connects schools to the Internet to highlight IT education.

In 1997, the government created a distance-learning program, which was the basis for the development of an e-learning system. Then in 2006, the ministry launched a national education network, which connected about 750 public schools to the Internet.

Heru Sutadi, a telecommunications observer, argues that this has not translated into a wider use of network services.

"There is an improvement in terms of our online services, both in the business and government sectors," he said. "But those services still can't function as a main service center, because the infrastructure is not evenly spread out, there is limited troubleshooting expertise and limited IT awareness."

"Also, the available broadband services are limited, and are fairly expensive," he added.

According to the Indonesian Association of Internet Service Providers, only 10 percent of the population is connected to the Internet, compared to 90 percent in neighboring Singapore.

Heru said Indonesia had to start increasing the quality of IT education.

"It's our duty to ensure that future Indonesian workers master IT across the board, through formal and non-formal means," he said.

He added, "If we don't start now, when will our position change from simply using or seeing all these foreign products coming in and out, to actually being the producers?"

Source : http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2008/05/05/indonesian-students-not-eready-information-technology-world.html

The Panasonic warns of huge loss, cuts 15,000 jobs

2009-02-07T22:05:00.002+07:00

TOKYO - Panasonic Corp. said Wednesday it will slash 15,000 jobs and shut down 27 plants worldwide to cope with plunging demand for its TVs, semiconductors and other electronics products.

The world's largest maker of plasma display TVs also announced a net loss for the October-December quarter and lowered its forecast for the fiscal year through March to a net loss of 380 billion yen ($4.2 billion), its first annual loss in six years.

Panasonic joins a slew of other major Japanese companies, including Sony Corp. and Toshiba Corp., in announcing job cuts and forecasting a full-year loss as the global slowdown batters the world's second-largest economy.

The Osaka-based manufacturer plans to cut the jobs — half of which will come in Japan — by the end of March 2010. They amount to about 5 percent of its 300,000-strong global work force.

Shuttering plants
Panasonic also will shutter 14 overseas plants and 13 plants in Japan by the end of March to adjust production and cut costs, company spokesman Akira Kadota said.

Panasonic blamed the dismal earnings results on the global slowdown set off by the U.S. financial crisis, the rapid surge of the yen and sudden price drops. Sales slid in a wide range of products, including flat-panel TVs, DVD recorders, microwaves, lamps and semiconductors, it said.
"The company's business conditions have worsened particularly since last October, due mainly to the rapid appreciation of the yen, sluggish consumer spending worldwide and ever intensified price competition," it said in a statement.

Panasonic reported a 63.1 billion yen ($709 million) loss for the fiscal third quarter, down from a 115.2 billion yen profit the same quarter the previous year.

Quarterly sales dropped 20 percent to 1.880 trillion yen from 2.345 trillion, with overseas sales decreasing 29 percent, and Japanese sales down 10 percent.

The last time Panasonic reported an annual loss was for the fiscal year ended March 2002, when a global electronics slump and massive restructuring costs contributed to 431 billion yen in red ink.

Since then, the company has been shedding money-losing businesses and focusing on key products such as plasma display TVs to turn itself around.

The company, formerly named Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., for its founder, also lowered its sales forecast for the fiscal year ending March 31, to 7.75 trillion yen from an earlier 8.5 trillion yen.

Delaying production
Panasonic will delay by a half year starting production at two Japan plants — one for plasma panel TVs to July 2010, and another for liquid crystal display TVs until January 2010, in response to slipping demand for flat-panel TVs, it said.

"The company's business conditions have worsened particularly since last October, due mainly to the rapid appreciation of the yen, sluggish consumer spending worldwide and ever intensified price competition," it said in a statement.

Panasonic reported a 63.1 billion yen ($709 million) loss for the fiscal third quarter, down from a 115.2 billion yen profit the same quarter the previous year.

Quarterly sales dropped 20 percent to 1.880 trillion yen from 2.345 trillion, with overseas sales decreasing 29 percent, and Japanese sales down 10 percent.

The last time Panasonic reported an annual loss was for the fiscal year ended March 2002, when a global electronics slump and massive restructuring costs contributed to 431 billion yen in red ink.

Since then, the company has been shedding money-losing businesses and focusing on key products such as plasma display TVs to turn itself around.

The latest restructuring measures will cost an additional 190 billion yen on top of the 155 billion yen Panasonic has already announced for the fiscal year through March.

Rival Japanese manufacturer Sony is forecasting a 150 billion yen net loss for the fiscal year through March. The last and only time Sony reported a loss — the fiscal year ending March 1995 — the red ink came from one-time losses in its movie division, marred by box office flops and lax cost controls.

Hitachi Ltd., NEC Corp. and Toshiba are also all forecasting big losses for the fiscal year.

Panasonic shares rose 1 percent to 1,092 yen. Earnings were announced after trading ended.

Source : http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29008882/

Windows 7 history

2009-02-07T22:02:00.001+07:00

Windows 7 (formerly codenamed Blackcomb and Vienna) is the next release of Microsoft Windows, an operating system produced by Microsoft for use on personal computers, including home and business desktops, laptops, Tablet PCs, netbooks^[1] and media center PCs.^[2]

Microsoft stated in 2007 that it was planning Windows 7 development for a three-year time frame starting after the release of its predecessor, Windows Vista, but that the final release date would be determined by product quality.^[3] As of January 2009, Windows 7 is expected to be officially released in the third quarter of 2009.^[4]

Unlike its predecessor, Windows 7 is intended to be an incremental upgrade to Vista, with the goal of being fully compatible with device drivers, applications, and hardware which Windows Vista is already compatible with.^[5] Presentations given by the company in 2008 have focused on multi-touch support, a redesigned Windows Shell with a new taskbar, a home networking system called HomeGroup,^[6] and performance improvements. Some applications that have been included with prior releases of Microsoft Windows, most notably Windows Movie Maker, and Windows Photo Gallery, are no longer included with the operating system; they are instead offered separately (free of charge) as part of the Windows Live Essentials suite.^[7]

Development

Main article: Development of Windows 7

Originally, a version of Windows codenamed Blackcomb was planned as the successor to Windows XP and Windows Server 2003. Major features were planned for Blackcomb, including an emphasis on searching and querying data and an advanced storage system named WinFS to enable such scenarios. Later, Blackcomb was delayed and an interim, minor release, codenamed "Longhorn" was announced for 2003.^[8] By the middle of 2003, however, Longhorn had acquired some of the features originally intended for Blackcomb. After three major viruses exploited flaws in Windows operating systems within a short time period in 2003, Microsoft changed its development priorities, putting some of Longhorn's major development work on hold in order to develop new service packs for Windows XP and Windows Server 2003. Development of Longhorn (Windows Vista) was also "reset" in September 2004.

Blackcomb was renamed Vienna in early 2006,^[9] and again to Windows 7 in 2007.^[3] In 2008, it was announced that Windows 7 would also be the official name of the operating system.^[10]^[11] The first external release to select Microsoft partners came in January 2008 with Milestone 1 (build 6519).^[12]

Bill Gates, in an interview with Newsweek, suggested that the next version of Windows would "be more user-centric."^[13] Gates later said that Windows 7 will also focus on performance improvements;^[14] Steven Sinofsky later expanded on this point, explaining in the Engineering Windows 7 blog that the company was using a variety of new tracing tools to measure the performance of many areas of the operating system on an ongoing basis, to help locate inefficient code paths and to help prevent performance regressions.^[15]

Senior Vice President Bill Veghte stated that Windows 7 will not have the kind of compatibility issues with Windows Vista that Vista has with previous versions.^[16] Speaking about Windows 7 on 16 October 2008, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer confirmed compatibility between Vista and Windows 7.^[17] Ballmer also confirmed the relationship between Vista and Windows 7, indicating that Windows 7 will be an improved version of Vista.^[17]

On 27 December 2008 Windows 7 Beta was leaked onto the Internet.^[18] According to a performance test by ZDNet,^[19] Windows 7 Beta has beaten both Windows XP and Vista in several key areas, including boot and shutting down time, working with files and loading documents; others, including PC Pro benchmarks for typical office activities and video-editing, remain identical to Vista and slower than XP.^[20] On 7 January 2009, the 64-bit version of the Windows 7 Beta (build 7000) was leaked onto the web.^[21]

The official beta, announced at the CES 2009, was made available to MSDN and TechNet subscribers on 7 January 2009^[22] and was made briefly available for public download on Microsoft TechNet on 9 January 2009 before being withdrawn and replaced with a coming soon message. The servers were experiencing difficulty in dealing with the number of users who wished to download the beta. Microsoft had to add additional servers to cope with the large volume of interest from the public.^[23] Due to the unexpectedly high demand, Microsoft has also decided to remove its initial 2.5 million download limit and make it available to the public until January 24th 2009^[24], and again to February 10th, where from then it will no longer be available to the public, although paused or deferred downloads of the DVD image files will still work till February 12th.^[25]

Features

New and changed features

Main article: Features new to Windows 7

WordPad in Windows 7

The new Windows Action Center which replaces Windows Security Center

Windows 7 includes a number of new features, such as advances in touch, speech, and handwriting recognition, support for virtual hard disks, improved performance on multi-core processors^[26]^[27]^[28]^[29], improved boot performance, and kernel improvements.

Windows 7 adds support for systems using multiple heterogeneous graphics cards from different vendors, a new version of Windows Media Center,^[30] Gadgets being integrated into Windows Explorer, a Gadget for Windows Media Center, the ability to visually pin and unpin items from the Start Menu and Taskbar, improved media features, the XPS Essentials Pack being integrated, Windows PowerShell Integrated Scripting Environment (ISE), and a redesigned Calculator with multiline capabilities including Programmer and Statistics modes along with unit conversion.

Many new items have been added to the Control Panel including: ClearType Text Tuner, Display Color Calibration Wizard, Gadgets, Recovery, Troubleshooting, Workspaces Center, Location and Other Sensors, Credential Manager, Biometric Devices, System Icons, Action Center, and Display.^[31] Windows Security Center has been renamed to Windows Action Center (Windows Health Center and Windows Solution Center in earlier builds) which encompasses both security and maintenance of the computer.

The taskbar has seen the biggest visual changes, where the Quick Launch toolbar has been merged with the task buttons to create an enhanced taskbar or what Microsoft internally refers to as the "Superbar". This enhanced taskbar also enables the Jump Lists feature to allow easy access to common tasks.^[32] The revamped taskbar also allows the reordering of taskbar buttons.

Screenshots have appeared demonstrating a new feature called 'Peek'. Peek is a quick way of making all visible windows transparent for a quick look at the desktop.^[33] A Microsoft spokesman said that "this will be useful for users who want a quick look at the news" in reference to RSS gadgets on the desktop.^{[citation needed]}

Unlike Windows Vista, window borders and the taskbar do not turn dark when maximized when Windows Aero is applied. Instead, it remains in Aero Transparency even when maximized in Windows 7.

For developers, Windows 7 includes a new networking API with support for building SOAP based web services in native code (as opposed to .NET based WCF web services),^[34] new features to shorten application install times, reduced UAC prompts, simplified development of installation packages,^[35] and improved globalization support through a new Extended Linguistic Services API.^[36]

At WinHEC 2008 Microsoft announced that color depths of 30-bit and 48-bit would be supported in Windows 7 along with the wide color gamut scRGB (which for HDMI 1.3 can be converted and output as xvYCC). The video modes supported in Windows 7 are 16-bit sRGB, 24-bit sRGB, 30-bit sRGB, 30-bit with extended color gamut sRGB, and 48-bit scRGB.^[37]^[38] Microsoft is also investigating better support for Solid State Drives and Windows 7 will be able to identify a Solid State Drive uniquely.^[39]

Windows 7 adds online versions of Spades, Backgammon and Checkers.

Removed features

While Windows 7 contains many new features, a number of capabilities and certain programs that were a part of Windows Vista are no longer present or have changed, resulting in the removal of certain functionality. The following is a list of features that were present in Windows Vista but have been removed in Windows 7.

Several Start menu and taskbar features^[40] including:
- Floating Deskbands (was deprecated in Windows Vista, now deskband can be only pinned to taskbar)
- Windows Media Player Toolbar (replaced with the new Jump list feature)
- Pinning default Internet Browser and E-mail client software programs on Start menu by default (programs can be manually pinned)
Windows Photo Gallery, Windows Movie Maker, Windows Mail, and Windows Calendar (in favor of downloading or using online the free respective Windows Live counterparts, which lack some features)
Software Explorer feature of Windows Defender^[41]
Removable Storage Manager (RSM)^[42] (applications dependent on it, such as NTBackup or the NTBackup Restore Tool, cannot run)
Windows Meeting Space^{[citation needed]}
InkBall, a game
The numeric keypad from On-Screen Keyboard^[43]
Microsoft Agent 2.0 Technology
Windows Sidebar (Gadgets remain, sitting freely on the Desktop)
Windows Ultimate Extras

Antitrust regulatory attention

As with other Microsoft operating systems, Windows 7 is being studied by federal regulators who oversee the company's operations following the 2001 United States v. Microsoft settlement. According to status reports filed, the three-member panel began assessing prototypes of the new operating system in February 2008. Michael Gartenberg, an analyst at Jupiter Research said that, "[Microsoft's] challenge for Windows 7 will be how can they continue to add features that consumers will want that also don't run afoul of regulators."^[44]

Editions

Main article: Windows 7 editions

Windows 7 will include six editions, although Microsoft will focus only on selling the Home Premium and Professional (Business in Windows Vista) editions to the retail and consumer markets. Enterprise will be available for corporate customers with a Select license agreement. Ultimate will have limited retail availability. Windows 7 Home Basic will be available for sale only in emerging markets, and the Starter edition will only be sold through PC makers, but unlike with Vista, it will be sold worldwide.

Each edition will be a superset of the previous, containing all included features. As a result, upgrading from one edition to another has been simplified.^[45]

Upgrades

In January of 2009, Microsoft released information on the availability of upgrades to Windows 7 from its predecessor, Windows Vista. Windows Vista owners who bought their copy of Vista after July 1, 2009 will be eligible for a free upgrade to Windows 7. This upgrade program is similar to the Windows Vista Express Upgrade offered by OEMs to Windows XP users in 2006.

Various upgrade paths and rules must be adhered to by OEMs for the Windows 7 upgrade. Each upgrade from must take the path from the Windows Vista edition to its corresponding Windows 7 edition. For example, a Windows Vista Home Premium user will be able to upgrade only to Windows 7 Home Premium. A Windows Vista Business user can upgrade to Windows 7 Professional, and a Windows Vista Ultimate user can upgrade to Windows 7 Ultimate.^[46]

In addition to upgrades from Windows Vista, Microsoft will be offering discounted upgrades from Windows XP to Windows 7. Windows XP users will be offered a chance to buy an upgrade and receive upgrade media as well as carry their Windows XP license to Windows 7. Users with Windows XP pre-installed on their computer will not be able to simply upgrade their operating system. Instead, they will need to perform a full, clean install of Windows 7 on their personal computer.^[47]

Source : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_7

PlayStation Portable History

2009-02-07T21:57:00.002+07:00

The PlayStation Portable (officially abbreviated PSP)^[4] is a handheld game console manufactured and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment.^[5] Development of the console was first announced during E3 2003,^[6] and it was unveiled on May 11, 2004 at a Sony press conference before E3 2004.^[7] The system was released in Japan on December 12, 2004,^[8] in North America on March 24, 2005,^[9] and in the PAL region on September 1, 2005.^[10]

The PlayStation Portable is the first handheld video game console to use an optical disc format, Universal Media Disc (UMD), as its primary storage media.^[11]^[12] Other distinguishing features of the console include its large viewing screen,^[13] robust multi-media capabilities,^[14] and connectivity with the PlayStation 3, other PSPs, and the Internet.^[15]^[16]

Despite the console's superior computing power and multimedia capabilities, sales have (with cyclical exceptions) lagged behind its main competitor, the Nintendo DS.^[17] Despite this, the console is "the most successful non-Nintendo handheld game system ever sold".^[18] After the release of a remodeled, slimmer, and lighter version of the PlayStation Portable, appropriately titled Slim and Lite, in early September 2007, sales quadrupled in the United Kingdom the following week and increased by nearly 200% in North America for the month of October.^[19]^[20]

History

Sony first announced development of the PlayStation Portable at a press conference before E3 2003.^[21] Although mock-ups of the system were not present at the press conference or E3,^[21] Sony did release extensive technical details regarding the new system.^[22] Then-CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment Ken Kutaragi called the device the "Walkman of the 21st Century" in a reference to the console's multimedia capabilities.^[23] Several gaming websites were impressed by the handheld's computing capabilities and looked forward to the system's potential as a gaming platform.^[6]^[21]^[24]

The first concept images of the PlayStation Portable appeared in November 2003 at the Sony Corporate Strategy Meeting and showed a PSP with flat buttons and no analog stick.^[25] Although some expressed concern over the lack of an analog joystick,^[26] these fears were allayed when the PSP was officially unveiled at the Sony press conference during E3 2004.^[27] In addition to announcing more details about the system and its accessories,^[28] Sony also released a list of 99 developer companies that had pledged support for the new handheld.^[29] Several PSP game demos, such as Konami's Metal Gear Acid and SCE Studio Liverpool's Wipeout Pure were also shown at the conference.^[30]

Launch

Main article: PlayStation Portable launch

On October 17, 2004, Sony announced that the PSP would launch in Japan on December 12, 2004 at a price of ¥19,800 (about US$181 in 2004) for the base model and ¥24,800 (about US$226 in 2004) for the Value System.^[31] The console's launch was a success with over 200,000 units sold the first day.^[32]

Sony announced on February 3, 2005, that the PSP would go on sale in North America on March 24, 2005 in one configuration for a MSRP of US$249/CA$299.^[33] Some expressed concern over the high price,^[34] which was almost US$20 higher than the system's price in Japan and more than $100 higher than the recently launched Nintendo DS.^[35] Despite the concerns, the PSP's North American launch was a success,^[36]^[37] although reports two weeks later indicated that the system was not selling as well as expected despite Sony's claim that 500,000 units had been sold in the first two days.^[38]^[39]

The PSP was originally to have a simultaneous PAL region and North American launch,^[28] but on March 15, 2005, Sony announced that the PAL region launch would be delayed because of high demand for the console in Japan and North America.^[40] A month later, on April 25, 2005, Sony announced that the PSP would launch in the PAL region on September 1, 2005 for €249/£179.^[41] Sony defended the high price, which was nearly US$100 higher than in North America, by pointing out that North American consumers had to pay local sales taxes and that the GST was higher in the UK than the US.^[42] Despite the high price, the console's PAL region launch was a resounding success, selling more than 185,000 units in the UK alone, more than doubling the previous first-day sales record of 87,000 units set by the Nintendo DS.^[43] The system also enjoyed great success in other areas of the PAL region with more than 25,000 units preordered in Australia^[44] and nearly one million units sold across Europe in the first week.^[45]

Variations

Retail configurations

PSP Core Pack
Country	Release price	Release date
Australia	AU$200.95	September 1, 2005^[46]
Europe	€139,99	September 1, 2005^[47]
India	INR11,990	September 1, 2005^[48]
United Kingdom	£109.99	September 1, 2005^[47]
Canada	CA$229.99	March 22, 2006^[49]
United States	US$129.99	March 22, 2006^[49]
Chile	CLP$119,990	April 4, 2008^[50]

The PSP is sold in two main configurations that differ in which accessories are included. The basic unit package or Base Pack (called the Core Pack in North America^[51]) contains the console, a battery, and an AC adapter.^[52] This version was available at launch in Japan^[31] and was later released in North America and Europe.^[53] The Core Pack currently retails for CA$/US$169.99,^[51] ¥19,800,^[54] HK$1,280 or $1,360 (depending on the color),^[55] S$280,^[56] AU$279.95,^[57] NZ$299.95,^[58] €169.99, and £129.99.^[59]

The Value Pack includes everything in the Base Pack as well as a 32 MB Memory Stick Pro Duo, headphones with remote control, a carrying pouch, and a wrist strap.^[52] Some regions have modified versions of this pack that include different accessories.^[60] The Value Pack retails for US$199,^[61] ¥26,040,^[62] HK$1660,^[63] AU$399.95,^[64] and NZ$449.95.^[60]

Many limited edition versions of the PSP that include various accessories, games, or movies have also been released.^[65]^[66]

Colors

The PSP is currently available in ten colors. These include , piano black, ceramic white, ice silver, rose pink, deep red, champagne gold, felicia blue, mint green, lavender purple, and metallic blue. Only the piano black model is available in all regions.^[67] The ice silver, ceramic white, and deep red versions are available as stand-alone models in Asia^[67]^[68] and as part of the "Daxter", "Star Wars Battlefront", and "God of War" entertainment packs in North America (with a Darth Vader silkscreen on the ceramic white model and a Kratos silkscreen on the deep red model).^[69]^[70] The rose pink, champagne gold, felicia blue, and lavender purple versions are only available in Asia^[67]^[71] and the mint green model is exclusive to Japan.^[72] The metallic blue color had been discontinued, but was made available again in North America as part of the Madden NFL 09 entertainment pack.^[73] Several other special edition models, such as the Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops camouflage PSP, have also been released.^[67] The pink and silver colors have been discontinued.^[67] It has been recently announced that Asia will get another four new colours; Vibrant Blue, Radiant Red, Bright Yellow and Spirited Green - in March of 2009.

PSP Slim and Lite (2000 series)

The PSP Slim and Lite, in ice silver

Main article: PlayStation Portable Slim and Lite

At E3 2007, Sony announced that a new version of the PSP would be released in September 2007, for all regions.^[51] The redesigned PSP is 33% lighter and 19% thinner than the original PSP. The redesign also features composite TV output, supports charging via USB, double the onboard RAM (32 MB to 64 MB), and has a brighter screen.^[74] It also caches UMD data in memory to decrease game loading times. The WLAN switch has been moved to the top where the old IR receiver was to avoid accidental switching, and the speaker vents that were at the bottom and underside of the original PSP have been moved to the top of this new model.^[75]

PSP-3000

Main article: PSP-3000 series

On August 20, 2008, a revised PSP design, model 3000, was announced at a press conference in Leipzig. Based on the Slim & Lite (PSP-2000) design,^[76]^[77] the PSP-3000 features an improved LCD screen, a built-in microphone, an oval shaped start and select buttons, and expanded video-out. The LCD screen features a higher contrast ratio, shorter response time, and wider color gamut, as well as anti-reflective technology for improved visibility in well-lit environments. Expanded video-out capability allows gameplay video to be output in interlaced format. This model was released in Japan, Asia, North America and Europe in October 2008.^[76]

By March 31, 2007, the PlayStation Portable had shipped 25.39 million units worldwide with 6.92 million in Asia, 9.58 million in North America, and 8.89 million Europe.^[85] In Europe, the PSP sold 4 million units in 2006 and 3.1 million in 2007 according to estimates by Electronic Arts.^[86]^[87] In 2007, the PSP sold 3.82 million units in the US according to the NPD Group^[88]^[89] and 3,022,659 in Japan according to Enterbrain.^[90]^[91]^[92] In 2008, the PSP sold 3,543,171 units in Japan, according to Enterbrain.^[78]^[92]

In the United States, the PSP has sold 10.47 million units as of January 1, 2008, according to the NPD Group.^[80]^[81]^[82] In Japan, during the week of March 24 – March 30, 2008, the PSP nearly outsold all the other game consoles combined with 129,986 units sold, some of which were bundled with Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G,^[93] which was the best-selling game in that week, according to Media Create.^[94] As of December 28, 2008, the PSP has sold 11,078,484 units in Japan, according to Enterbrain.^[78]^[79] In Europe, the PSP has sold 12 million units as of May 6, 2008, according to Sony Computer Entertainment Europe.^[83] In the United Kingdom, the PSP has sold 3.2 million units as of January 3, 2009, according to GfK Chart-Track.^[84]

Hardware

Main article: PlayStation Portable hardware

A ceramic white PSP. The shoulder buttons are on top, the directional pad on the left with the analog 'nub' directly below it, the PlayStation face buttons on the right and a row of secondary buttons below the screen.

The PlayStation Portable uses the common "slab" or "candybar" form factor, measures approximately 17 x 7.3 x 2.2 cm (6.7 x 2.9 x 0.9 in), and weighs 280 grams (9.88 ounces). The front of the console is dominated by the system's 11 cm (4.3 in) LCD screen, which is capable of 480 x 272 pixel video playback with 16.77 million colors. Also on the front are the four PlayStation face buttons (, , , ), the directional pad, the analog 'nub', and several other buttons. In addition, the system includes two shoulder buttons and a USB 2.0 mini-B port on the top of the console and a WLAN switch and power cable input on the bottom. The back of the PSP features a read-only UMD drive for movies and games, and a reader compatible with Sony's Memory Stick Duo flash cards is located on the left of the system. Other features include an IrDA compatible infrared port (discontinued in PSP-2000 and later series), built in stereo speakers and headphone port, and IEEE 802.11b Wi-Fi for access to the Internet, ad-hoc multiplayer gaming, and data transfer.^[5]

The PSP uses a 333 MHz MIPS R4000 (32-bit) CPU, a GPU with 2 MB onboard VRAM running at 166 MHz, and includes 32 MB main RAM and 4 MB embedded DRAM.^[95]^[5] The CPU was originally locked to run slower than the hardware was capable of and most games ran at 222 MHz.^[96] However, with firmware update 3.50 on May 31, 2007, Sony removed this limit and allowed new games to run at a full 333 MHz.^[97]

The PSP includes an 1800 mAh battery that will provide about 4-6 hours of gameplay, 4-5 hours of video playback, or 8-11 hours of audio playback.^[27]^[98] Official accessories for the console include the AC adapter, car adapter, headset, headphones with remote control, extended-life 2200 mAh battery, battery charger, carrying case, accessories pouch and cleaning cloth, and system pouch and wrist strap.^[99]

Software

System Software

Main article: PlayStation Portable system software

Sony has included the ability for the operating system, referred to as the System Software, to be updated.^[100] The updates can be downloaded directly from the Internet using the Network Update feature, or they can be downloaded from the official PlayStation website to a computer, transferred to a Memory Stick Duo, and subsequently installed on the system. Updates can also be installed from UMD game discs that require the update to run the game.^[100]

While system software updates can be used with consoles from any region,^[101] Sony recommends only downloading system software updates released for the region corresponding to the system's place of purchase.^[100] System software updates have added various features including a web browser,^[102] Adobe Flash support,^[103] additional codecs for images, audio, and video,^[102]^[104] PlayStation 3 connectivity,^[105] as well as patches against several security exploits, vulnerabilities, and execution of homebrew programs.^[106]^[107] It is currently at v5.03.^[108]

Graphical User Interface

Main article: XrossMediaBar - Playstation Portable XMB

The PSP's version of the XrossMediaBar (pronounced Cross Media Bar and abbreviated XMB) includes seven categories of options. These include Settings, Photo, Music, Video, Game, Network, and Playstation Network.^[109] The PSP has the capability to play photo slideshows and audio and video files, stored on a Memory Stick Duo,^[110]^[111]^[112] monitor and save content from RSS channels,^[113] and send and receive photos wirelessly with other PSPs while in ad-hoc mode.^[114] The PSP also includes the ability to customize the appearance of the XMB with different colors, photos, or themes.^[115] Although the XMB can be accessed at any time by pressing the Home button,^[116] the currently running application will exit before showing the interface (with the exception of a photo slideshow, and most of the applications in the "Network" column.).^[117]^[118] It is now also possible to change the appearance of the PSP with "theme" files, with there being few official ones and mostly user made, though legitimate, theme files.

Web browser

The PSP Internet Browser is an embedded microbrowser. It is a version of the NetFront browser made by Access Co. Ltd. and was released for free with the 2.00 system software update.^[102] The browser supports most common web technologies, such as HTTP cookies, forms, CSS, as well as basic JavaScript capabilities.^[119]

The version 2.50 upgrade added Unicode (UTF-8) character encoding and Auto-Select as options in the browser's encoding menu, and also introduced the saving of input history for online forms.

Version 2.70 of the PSP's system software introduced basic Flash capabilities to the browser.^[103] However, the player runs Flash version 6, four iterations behind the current desktop version 10,^[120] making some websites difficult to view.^[103]

There are 3 different rendering modes, "Normal", "Just-Fit", and "Smart-Fit". "Normal" will display the page with no changes, "Just-Fit" will attempt to shrink some elements to make the whole page fit on the screen and preserve layout (although this makes some pages extremely difficult to read), and "Smart-Fit" will display content in the order it appears in the HTML, and with no size adjustments; instead it will drop an element down below the preceding element if it starts to go off the screen.

The browser also has limited tabbed browsing support, with a maximum of three tabs. Pages are opened in new tabs when a website tries to open a link in a new window.^[121]

Remote Play

The PlayStation Store for PS3 displayed on a PSP via Remote Play.

Main article: Remote Play

Remote Play allows the PSP to access many features of a PlayStation 3 console from a remote location using the PS3's WLAN capabilities, a home network, or the Internet.^[122] Features that can be used with Remote Play include viewing photos and slideshows, listening to music, watching videos stored on the PS3's HDD, and several other features.^[123] Additionally, Remote Play allows the PS3 to be turned on and off remotely and allows the PSP to control audio playback from the PS3 to a home theater system without having to use a television.^[124]^[125] Although most of the PS3's capabilities are accessible with Remote Play, playback of DVDs, Blu-ray Discs, and PlayStation 2 games, most PlayStation 3 games, and copy-protected files stored on the PS3's hard drive is not supported.^[123]

Wireless Phone

PSP as of January 8, 2008 supports Skype Internet Phone service. PSP 2000 or later required for this feature.^[126]

Games

Main article: List of PlayStation Portable games

See also: PlayStation Store, List of PlayStation Network games, List of movies and television shows released on UMD, and List of PlayStation Portable game demos

In addition to playing PSP games, several PlayStation games have been rereleased and can be downloaded and played on the PSP via emulation. Currently, the only three official ways to access this feature is through the PlayStation Network service for PlayStation 3, PSP, or a PC.^[127]

Demos for commercial PSP games can be downloaded and booted directly from a Memory Stick.^[128] Demos are also sometimes issued in UMD format and mailed out or given to customers at various retail outlets as promotional content.^[129]

During E3 2006, Sony Computer Entertainment America announced that the Greatest Hits range of budget titles were to be extended to the PSP system.^[130] On July 25, 2006, Sony CEA released the first batch of Greatest Hits titles.^[131] The PSP Greatest Hits lineup consist of games that have sold 250,000 copies or more and have been out for nine months.^[132] PSP games in this lineup retails for $19.99 each.^[131]

Sony Computer Entertainment Europe announced on September 5, 2006, that a number of titles would be available under the Platinum range for €24.99 each in Europe and £19.99 in the UK.^[133]

Homebrew development

Main article: PlayStation Portable homebrew

On June 15, 2005, hackers disassembled the code of the PSP and distributed it online^[134]. Initially the modified PSP allowed users to run custom code and a limited amount of protected software. Sony responded to this by repeatedly upgrading the software.^[135] Over time curious parties were able to unlock the firmware and allow users to run more custom content and more protected software.^[136]

Reception

The PSP received generally favorable reviews soon after launch and most reviewers cited similar strengths and weaknesses. CNET awarded the system an 8.1 out of 10 and praised the console's powerful hardware and its multimedia capabilities while lamenting the lack of a screen guard or a guard over the reading surface of UMD cartridges.^[137] Engadget applauded the console's design, stating that "it is definitely one well-designed, slick little handheld".^[138] PC World commended Sony's decision to include built-in Wi-fi capabilities while lamenting lack of a web browser at launch and the glare and smudges that resulted from the console's shiny exterior.^[139] Most reviewers also praised the console's large and bright viewing screen and its audio and video playback capabilities. In 2008, Time listed the PSP as a "gotta have travel gadget", citing the console's movie selection, telecommunications capability, and upcoming GPS functionality.^[140]

Source : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PlayStation_Portable

Fujitsu Software AG Details SOA Product Roadmap

2009-02-07T21:51:00.002+07:00

Fresh on the heels of some encouraging numbers from its newly acquired webMethods unit, Software AG has unveiled the roadmap for what it intends to do with the overlaps in products and partnerships that resulted from the $546 million acquisition. While both companies had largely complementary geographic footprints, there were significant overlaps with SOA registry/repository, enterprise service bus, and composite application composition. Additionally, the acquisition brought several overlaps where an existing product covered similar ground as alliances in business process management and legacy modernization.

What's especially interesting is the balancing act that Software AG and Fujitsu have performed.

So here are the details. First, Software AG has promised to support for existing products and provide migration paths for those few that will be converged. And for product convergence, top priority will go to merging the webMethods Infravio service registry/repository with CentraSite.

As it turned out, both products had varying strengths that translated to different use cases. CentraSite has capabilities in metadata management which looks at SOA from the bottom-up perspective of individual services. For instance, a typical use case would be whether there are other services that could be reused, or what is the impact or reusing, modifying, or creating a new service? By contrast, Infravio was stronger in a top down approach of managing SOA environments through policies.

Initially, Software AG will bulk up the next refresh cycle of Infravio in September with some of CentraSite’s metadata capabilities. But by Q2 next year, it plans to fully converge Infravio and CentraSite together, making it the first of the new merged product offerings.

And, as Software AG announced when it closed the webMethods deal back in June, while its Crossvision SOA offerings will be rebranded webMethods, CentraSite will retain its branding (not surprisingly, Infravio will be retired).

“We decided that governance would be an independent brand because customers have heterogeneous environments running Java and .NET, and they want SOA Governance to remain neutral,” explained Ivo Totev, Software AG chief marketing and product management officer.

The next set of products to be merged will be the Enterprise Service Busses. The major difference is that Software’s offering, Crossvision Service Orchestrator, had (as its name implied) stronger BPEL support than webMethods’ offering. For its part, webMethods ESB was distinguished for its capabilities to tie in its EAI and B2B integration engines.

Beneath the covers, both products had similar lineages, given that both companies had North American headquarters barely 10 miles away from each other in Northern Virginia. “A lot of people went back and forth between both companies,” Totev remarked. One of them was the chief architect for Crossvision Service Orchestrator, who subsequently decamped for webMethods.

Software AG plans to release the converged offering by mid 2008, and continue Crossvision’s existing packaging in several editions. They will range from lightweight mediation to service orchestration, and once the products are merged, enterprise and B2B integration as well.

The final area for product consolidation is in the area of service composition, where you had Crossvision Application Composer and webMethods Fabric. And here again, there were different use cases, with the Software AG offering more focused on legacy renewal, while the webMethods Fabric was designed as an easy-to-use approach to exposing business processes as web services, and working in human workflows or interactions. Both tools make liberal use of Ajax to provide highly interactive front ends to services that are exposed.

This area will prove the toughest for Software AG to converge because both products appeal to very different audiences. Totev said that Software AG had “a less aggressive” timeframe, promising a converged offering by Q3 next year.

Finally, there are the matters of business process management (BPM), where Software AG has an alliance and webMethods a product, and legacy modernization, where the situation was reversed. While Software AG’s strategies here are little mystery, they have devised some creative answers on the BPM side, which featured an extremely close relationship with Fujitsu.

As we reported several months back, Fujitsu was bullish on the future of the Software AG relationship, noting that CEO Karl-Heinz Streibich gave them a heads-up on the deal before it was announced.

Going forward, Software AG will clearly favor the webMethods BPM offering, and as previously announced, will continue supporting joint installs of Fujitsu BPM (both companies had roughly 60 joint customers as of last April). But, dropping a subtle hint, Totev said that Software AG would also offer the “option” to have Fujitsu deliver support. “We're not encouraging customers to move to Fujitsu maintenance, we will maintain support, but are offering that option so they have freedom to make the choice,” he said. Of course, that promise must be balanced against Fujitsu’s presence, which is heavily concentrated in its native Japan.

But Software AG’s relationship with Fujitsu ventures well beyond BPM. For instance, Fujitsu will continue to support native integration of its BPM product with CentraSite, and more importantly, Fujitsu will continue reselling Software AG’s non SOA products in its home market. And, Totev added, there will be some new announcements to expand the alliance when Software AG’s Streibich visits Japan next month.

In other cases, Software AG and webMethods have some complementary offerings that provide significant opportunities to enhance their product lines, such as webMethods Cerebra technology, which provides semantic integration of web services, and Software AG’s, which does the same for databases.

A Careful Balancing Act

Excluding instances where a large software player buys a technology startup, most software mergers these days will involve product overlap. Obviously, if you’re an ERP player like Oracle or Infor, there’s little to be gained from migrating product lines because few customers will pay for the disruption.

By contrast, with middleware dominated by formal and (in the case of Microsoft) de facto standards, the road to convergence is potentially smoother. It also doesn't hurt that most customers do not have decades of entrenched legacy in their Java, .NET, or SOA middleware platforms because, frankly, those technologies have not been around that long.

Significantly, Software AG reported that webMethods license sales had double digit rises in Q2, which coincided with announcement of the acquisition. Marking the first such rise in over a year, webMethods customers evidently are now feeling a bit more secure.

Software AG’s product roadmap is not that surprising in that most of the SOA offerings are built on standards for core functionality, and stray into proprietary technology only at the edges where the features can be grafted.

What’s more interesting is the balancing act that Software AG and Fujitsu have performed. In that case, there is entrenched legacy, as Fujitsu plays a role in the Japanese market that is very similar to IBM’s: it is a major enterprise software platform provider and integrator. Because it has been integrating and reselling Software AG’s legacy renewal products for years, it realized that the loss of BPM status with its partner was only a tactical setback.

Source : http://www.onstrategies.com/CURRENT-NEWS/Software-AG-Details-SOA-Product-Roadmap.html

The wireless Network

2009-02-02T22:11:00.001+07:00

Wireless network refers to any type of computer network that is wireless, and is commonly associated with a telecommunications network whose interconnections between nodes is implemented without the use of wires.[1] Wireless telecommunications networks are generally implemented with some type of remote information transmission system that uses electromagnetic waves, such as radio waves, for the carrier and this implementation usually takes place at the physical level or "layer" of the network.[2]

Wireless PAN

Wireless Personal Area Network (WPAN) is a type of wireless network that interconnects devices within a relatively small area, generally within reach of a person. For example, Bluetooth provides a WPAN for interconnecting a headset to a laptop. ZigBee also supports WPAN applications.^[3]

Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) is a wireless alternative to a computer Local Area Network (LAN) that uses radio instead of wires to transmit data back and forth between computers in a small area such as a home, office, or school. Wireless LANs are standardized under the IEEE 802.11 series.

Screenshots of Wi-Fi Network connections in Microsoft Windows. Figure 1, left, shows that not all networks are encrypted (locked unless you have the code, or key), which means anyone in range can access them. Figures 2 and 3, middle and right, however, show that many networks are encrypted.

Wi-Fi: Wi-Fi is a commonly used wireless network in computer systems to enable connection to the internet or other devices that have Wi-Fi functionalities. Wi-Fi networks broadcast radio waves that can be picked up by Wi-Fi receivers attached to different computers or mobile phones.
Fixed Wireless Data: This implements point to point links between computers or networks at two locations, often using dedicated microwave or laser beams over line of sight paths. It is often used in cities to connect networks in two or more buildings without physically wiring the buildings together.

Wireless networks have had a significant impact on the world as far back as World War II. Through the use of wireless networks, information could be sent overseas or behind enemy lines easily, efficiently and more reliably. Since then, wireless networks have continued to develop and their uses have grown significantly. Cellular phones are part of huge wireless network systems. People use these phones daily to communicate with one another. Sending information overseas is possible through wireless network systems using satellites and other signals to communicate across the world. Emergency services such as the police department utilize wireless networks to communicate important information quickly. People and businesses use wireless networks to send and share data quickly whether it be in a small office building or across the world.^[5]

Another important use for wireless networks is as an inexpensive and rapid way to be connected to the Internet in countries and regions where the telecom infrastructure is poor or there is a lack of resources, as in most developing countries.

Compatibility issues also arise when dealing with wireless networks. Different components not made by the same company may not work together, or might require extra work to fix these issues. Wireless networks are typically slower than those that are directly connected through an Ethernet cable.

A wireless network is more vulnerable, because anyone can try to break into a network broadcasting a signal. Many networks offer WEP - Wired Equivalent Privacy - security systems which have been found to be vulnerable to intrusion. Though WEP does block some intruders, the security problems have caused some businesses to stick with wired networks until security can be improved. Another type of security for wireless networks is WPA - Wi-Fi Protected Access. WPA provides more security to wireless networks than a WEP security set up. The use of firewalls will help with security breaches which can help to fix security problems in some wireless networks that are more vulnerable.

Source : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wireless_network