when anonymous callers try to contact you, you can use an app that locates calls by cell phone numbers in reverse - use it when you are not sure who the number belongs to

 

• 25Dec

  LG Cookie Fresh GS290 Official, Scheduled For Release This Month

  Mobile Phones No Comments

  What tastes better than a cookie? A freshly-baked chip, of course. Maybe that’s what LG was thinking with their brand new touchscreen based off of the popular Cookie (over 12 million units sold). Billed as the LG Cookie Fresh GS290, the phone just received its official stamp today.

  The handset sports a largely youthful form factor and appears to be angling for the entry-level slice of the market. It sports a 3-inch TFT resistive touchscreen with 240 x 400 resolution, an accelerometer for auto-rotate and a “cartoon UI,” as with the Cookie Plus.

  Details of the Fresh GS290 include a 2.0 megapixel camera module, stereo Bluetooth, complete messaging capabilities (SMS, EMS, MMS, email), social networking integration, FM radio with RDS, a 3.5mm audio jack and microSD card expansion (up to 8GB). There’s no 3G or WiFi, though, so you’re stuck with GPRS/EDGE for connectivity.

  The LG Cookie Fresh GS290 is slated for a European launch sometime this month and the rest of the world later in the year. It is expected to be released alongside the slightly more feature-rich Cookie Plus, although no pricing details have been announced yet.

  On a side note, this battle of the Korean cheap-ass touchscreen phones between Samsung’s ever-growing Corby line versus LG’s similarly-multiplying Cookie probably won’t end soon, would it?

• 24Dec

  Streetfighter IV Brings Relentless Touchscreen Abuse To The iPhone

  Technology No Comments

  Capcom’s amazingly popular fighting game, Street Fighter IV, has made its long-awaited iPhone debut. To every button masher’s joy, the game didn’t disappoint, turning out an exciting beat-em-up that’s bound to subject your poor handset’s touchscreen to relentless abuse.

  Graphically, the game has more in common with older versions of the franchise, rather than the 3D Street Fighter IV you will find on current-gen home consoles. They’re not bad, far from it. In fact, this is one of the most attractive-looking fighting games I’ve seen on a mobile platform to date, even on an iPhone 3G (where I played it).

  How about the buttons? Surprisingly enough, they work well. There will likely be some getting used to, especially if you’re a hardcore player, but it’s not as bad as I originally imagined. In fact, I was pulling off mildly difficult combos in well under 30 minutes – a feat considering everyone I know kicks my ass on SF4. You get an onscreen joystick for movements, plus four buttons – punch, kick, special move and charge. Yes, Capcom decided to leave out the low and medium strikes, which sucks a little. Regardless, there’s still plenty here to waste entire days on (not hours, but days).

  The special move button, by the way, is kind of a cheat, but you can turn it off in the preferences, as well as rearrange the button placements if you so wish. You also get “revenge” and “super” meters that charge as you get beat up or pile on the hurt, respectively. Once either is full, you can simply touch them to perform a special attack. The ease by which you can do that is a bit of a turn-off, but it’s a minor annoyance on what’s an otherwise excellent implementation.

  You can play as one of eight familiar characters in seven different environments. Game modes include Tournament (where you fight multiple matches), Dojo (a training mode for your character), Free-Sparring (for testing out an opponent), Training Room (where you can practice your combos) and Versus (against a human opponent over Bluetooth).

  If I had any real complaints, it would be the common iPhone problem of my fingers getting in the way of the action. It can get irritating, especially for a fast-paced horizontal game such as Street Fighter 4. While I do think the price is a bit steep at $9.99, it is one of the greatest action games of all time on your iPhone, so that should count for something.

• 23Dec

  Nokia 7230 Brings Sleek Design, Lacking Features

  Mobile Phones No Comments

  We’re used to vertical sliders looking ugly as all hell, so seeing the Nokia 7230 is like a breath of fresh air. Good-looking and stylish doesn’t mean a joy to use, though. So how does it fare?

  Physically, it brings a sexy, curvaceous shape that’s more common in touchscreens than other form factors. The neat layout, band of chrome running along the edges and overall great feel in hand suggest an excellent design aesthetic. Keypad slides out smoothly from the bottom and provides a great experience – well-spaced keys, good feedback and accurate typing.

  It comes with a 2.4-inch screen (320 x 240 resolution) that actually looks bigger because of the shape. Display is sufficiently bright with crisp detail. It does have poor viewing angles, though.

  As a phone, the 7230 delivers excellent call quality. Voices sounded clean and very natural, with nary a hint of disruption. Speakerphone performed the same way, with ample volume and just a hint of tinniness. Battery life is very good, lasting a full four days of regular use.

  A basic slider, there’s not much to expect on the features end. It runs Symbian S40, which offers good messaging capabilities and a few other essential niceties, such as PIM tools, a music player (basic but decent quality; the bundled 3.5mm headphones are crap, though) and stereo Bluetooth. Better than most entry-level handsets, it comes with slower 3G speeds (no HSDPA), which top out at 284kbps. There’s no WiFi.

  The 3.2 megapixel camera is quite poor, managing noisy images. Indoors, it get worse, adding a yellowish hue and a noticeable lack of sharpness to shots. It does come with easy uploading capabilities to both Flickr and Ovi Share, however, in case you’re into that.

  Overall, the Nokia 7230′s best assets are its looks and the way it handles basic phone functions (calls and texts). If that’s all you want, this can be a good choice of a handset. Otherwise, there should be a couple of sliders along the same price range (between $150 to $180) that can deliver just a bit more on the features end

• 22Dec

  MLB At Bat 2010 For Android Brings Gameday Audio, No Video

  Mobile Phones No Comments

  MLB’s At Bat made its debut on the iPhone last year. This year, Android users get their turn at the service, which is an absolute must-have for any baseball fan.

  While the app itself seems lightweight (0.9MB Android Market download), the features aren’t. In fact, it’s quite surprising to see how much functions they crammed into it, all in a clean and straightforward interface.

  On first launch, you see all MLB games scheduled for the day, with options to navigate both forward and backward into the timeline. It’s an easy way to see game schedules, as well as to check out past scores. Click on a game and you’ll get detailed information about it, from box scores to pitch-by-pitch descriptions to video highlights. Unfortunately, no streaming video on At Bat 2010 for Android.

  The main selling point here is the Gameday Audio, which lets you tune in to any game broadcast during the year, from spring training to the World Series. With a live data connection (3G or WiFi), you won’t have to miss a single game anywhere you are. Do note that some pre-season games won’t have audio available, but all games after that will have feeds for broadcasts from both home and away teams. Streaming isn’t perfect (yes, audio is sometimes dropped), but the quality is good.

  Priced at $14.99, MLB At Bat 2010 for Android may seem a bit too expensive at first crack. Consider that it gets you audio for all games during the year, along with a slew of scores and stats, however, and it actually sounds like a fair deal. Sucks that streaming video isn’t available, though.

• 19Dec

  MLB At Bat 2010 For Android Brings Gameday Audio, No Video

  Technology No Comments

  MLB’s At Bat made its debut on the iPhone last year. This year, Android users get their turn at the service, which is an absolute must-have for any baseball fan.

  While the app itself seems lightweight (0.9MB Android Market download), the features aren’t. In fact, it’s quite surprising to see how much functions they crammed into it, all in a clean and straightforward interface.

  On first launch, you see all MLB games scheduled for the day, with options to navigate both forward and backward into the timeline. It’s an easy way to see game schedules, as well as to check out past scores. Click on a game and you’ll get detailed information about it, from box scores to pitch-by-pitch descriptions to video highlights. Unfortunately, no streaming video on At Bat 2010 for Android.

  The main selling point here is the Gameday Audio, which lets you tune in to any game broadcast during the year, from spring training to the World Series. With a live data connection (3G or WiFi), you won’t have to miss a single game anywhere you are. Do note that some pre-season games won’t have audio available, but all games after that will have feeds for broadcasts from both home and away teams. Streaming isn’t perfect (yes, audio is sometimes dropped), but the quality is good.

  Priced at $14.99, MLB At Bat 2010 for Android may seem a bit too expensive at first crack. Consider that it gets you audio for all games during the year, along with a slew of scores and stats, however, and it actually sounds like a fair deal. Sucks that streaming video isn’t available, though.

• 18Dec

  Samsung Galaxy S

  Mobile Phones No Comments

  The market is flooded with smartphones from almost every major manufacturer. Beside Apple iPhone, HTC, Dell, Motorola and many others have an impressive line up of smartphones. You must be aware that Android is the fastest growing platform and all manufacturers stated above with the exception of Apple have bought out quite powerful phones which have wowed everybody. All this while Samsung’s effort have been feeble and have not impressed many.

  But all that is set to change with its latest Samsung Galaxy S which arguably is the world’s best smartphone. I know that this is quite a big title and you must be asking me that what this phone has that warrants me to rate this phone so high.

  There are many reasons and there are thousands of reviews all over the internet which will explain to you this better than me. But the feature that really impresses me more than anything else is its huge 4” Super AMOLED display that virtually grabs your attention by scruff of its neck. It is very hard to resist to falling in love with this beauty. Beneath the screen throbs its heart which is a powerful 1 GHz hummingbird processor which in tandem with Android 2.1 makes this phone they best multimedia smartphone ever.

  If you want to buy this smartest of the smartphone, then head over to phones4u for the best offers.

• 17Dec

  Philips Xenium X312 Appears, Boasts A Full Month Of Standby

  Mobile Phones No Comments

  Philips’ Xenium line has always had one very simple selling point: they offered especially long battery life. The latest of the line, the Philips Xenum X312, doesn’t strive to be any different, boasting a claimed standby time lasting a full one month.

  Clad in an attractive-looking metallic design, the candybar handset brings elegant styling that’s a bit on the industrial side. While it showed up on Philips’ Russian website, there were no specs listed, although pundits are guessing it will come with the same basic features as found on similar “long-lasting” phones from the company: namely, a QVGA display, stereo Bluetooth, an onboard music player, FM radio, a 3.2 megapixel camera (or less), microSD card support and GSM/EDGE.

  Since we haven’t seen the Xenium line extend to any markets beyond Russia and Asia, it’s fair to expect the Philips Xenium X312 will stay within those two areas too. Sounds like a great phone for those extended weekends out enjoying nature.

• 16Dec

  Droid Incredible By HTC Coming Soon

  Mobile Phones No Comments

  The oft-rumored HTC Incredible phone just got an official stamp (sort of), although its unveiling is about as cryptic as you can get. Earlier today, a page on the Verizon website showed an email signup page that introduces the handset as the Droid Incredible, teasing fans with an April 29th date (no word on whether it’s a release or pre-order date, though). Basically, it says that “the next chapter in the Droid saga begins April 29th,” offering an email entry field for those who’d like more information about pre-ordering.

  Despite Verizon’s lack of usable details, the skinny on the clearly higher-end smartphone has been outed before. To begin with, it will be running the latest Android 2.1, along with HTC’s Sense UI on top. Features include all the usual Google apps, a full HTML browser (with Flash Lite 4.0), onboard social media apps (Facebook, Twitter and YouTube), push Gmail, Exchange support, visual voicemail, advanced speech recognition and more.

  Core hardware of the Droid Incredible consists of a 1GHz Snapdragon QSG8650 processor, 512MB of ROM, 512MB of RAM and 8GB of internal storage. Details include a 3.7-inch AMOLED touchscreen (with 480 x 800 resolution), an 8.0 megapixel camera module (with autofocus, video capture and LED flash), an accelerometer sensor, aGPS, full range of connectivity (CDMA / EV-DO Rev A, WiFi, stereo Bluetooth) and microSD card expansion. Phone dimensions are 4.63 x 2.3 x 0.47 inches, with a 4.59 oz weight and a little over 5 hours of talk time.

  The public Droid Incredible page has since been taken down, but a replacement should be up soon if they’re looking to build more buzz for the April 29 date.

• 15Dec

  Android-Powered Garminfone Announced For T-Mobile

  Mobile Phones No Comments

  T-Mobile earlier announced the upcoming availability of the Garminfone, a full-featured smartphone that pairs Android OS with Garmin’s GPS expertise. While the navigation company has previously released phones in a venture with Asus (like the Nuvifone M20), the US-bound device appears to be outside of that partnership.

  As expected from a Garmin-built phone, it delivers a complete navigation experience (driving, walking and public transportation), similar to the company’s dedicated GPS devices. More than the usual voice-guided navigation and onscreen directions, it features one-click integration with other phone elements (text messages, emails, contacts, calendars and web pages), text-to-speech for street names, day and night modes, over 6 million points of interest and automatic rerouting.

  Full maps of North America are preloaded on the device, allowing you access to directions even without a cell signal (unlike Google’s turn-by-turn app). It comes with a slew of travel-related software, too, including a parking reminder application, real-time data (traffic, gas prices, weather and movie listings) and Garmin Voice Studio, which allows you to record and share custom voice directions with your contacts.

  Handset details include a 3.5-inch capacitive touchscreen display, a 3.0 megapixel camera with autofocus, 3G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 2.1 and a full HTML browser (with pinch and zoom capability, plus embedded location awareness). No word on the Android version on the phone, but it comes with all of the usual features, including extensive messaging and Google’s suite of apps. It ships with a charging window and dashboard mount.

  The official North American name appears to be the T-Mobile Garminfone and it will be available later in the Spring for a still undisclosed price.

• 14Dec

  Freaking Inkies For iPhone Makes Matching Colors Exciting

  Technology No Comments

  You know creativity is at a high when a studio can make a game about paint and have it deliver an action-packed experience. That’s exactly what Atakama Labs did with Freaking Inkies, a wacky monster-shooting game for the iPhone that sees you destroy enemies by nailing them with paint bullets of matching colors.

  Three half buttons (really – half buttons) go on either side of the screen, each of them coming in one primary color (red, yellow and blue). You’ll have to put your thumbs on both half buttons of the right color if you want to fire, with aiming managed by tilting the handset from side to side. The right color, by the way, is determined by the monster. Blue monsters need to be shot with blue paint and so on. Sounds simple enough, right? Well, it gets complicated (and more fun).

  Not only do you get monsters (which are actually the Freaking Inkies, by the way) in primary colors, you get them in secondary too (green, orange, purple and so on). To hit them with the right ammunition, you’ll have to press the proper mix of button colors, such as one thumb on red and one thumb on blue for purple. As you can imagine, this makes playing just a tad more complicated. The actual gameplay is fast and frantic, making the color-combining mechanics a real challenge.

  That original monster-shooting gameplay alone is worth the price of admission, but Freaking Inkies gets even better. In the main 100-level challenge mode, it incorporates a whole lot of other things that add depth to the action, such as a paint monster slot machine and shooting monsters in the dark. Graphics are very pretty, with attractive sepia backgrounds, contrast with colorful monsters and paint splatters. Controls feel accurate too, especially the tilting response.

  Overall, Freaking Inkies is just a very unique, extremely fun game that’s bound to perk up even the most jaded mobile gamers. Well worth the $2.99 price.

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