Camera Phones Plaza

In our days, everyone has a personal computer, and the majority of us, are using frequently the Internet. But what do you do when you need to find some information, or you work online and you need to submit your work, or you need the internet for something that can't wait and your internet fails to connect? The fixing of the internet connection could take long time, because our internet providers are always busy. But, happily, with the advanced technology, we can use our smartphones to connect to internet.

Even smartphones are quite small, they can do lots of interesting things and with so many unlimited Internet offers for mobile, we can afford a nice internet connection to our PC using the smartphone. But the question is: "How to use my smartphone as a modem?"

Of course, it is not quite hard and you don't have to have studies in software engineering or be a genius to make this happen. Not all smartphones have the same menus and settings, but they don't differ too much, so, the example of establishing the connection I will give you, should help you.

In order to connect to internet through your smartphone, you should now that you will need the following: Bluetooth or plug-in cable, your computer must operate under Windows XP Service Pack2 or Service Pack3, and an internet connection on your smartphone (you better have an unlimited internet connection).

First of all, you have to verify if your phone is connecting to internet.

On your phone: See if you can find an application named "Modem Link" or a similar application in Programs menu.

Go to Settings in the main menu, then go to Connections-> then choose the type of connection (USB or Bluetooth) and activate your smartphone as Modem.

On your computer: You should disable the application ActiveSync. Then, you have to install the drivers for your phone, in order to get your phone recognized by the computer and to be able to exchange data from phone to PC or vice versa. The drivers are located on a small CD, which came along with the phone in the same pack.

After you have installed the drivers and the phone is yet connected to the PC, go to My Computer->Control Panel->Phone and Modem Options and choose the right modem. If you don't have the connection added on your computer, you should manually add one connection. In order to do this, follow the next directions.

Go again to Control Panel->Network Connections, then, click on Create a new connection. It will appear a window which welcomes you to the new connection wizard like in the next image.

You should click on NEXT> then->Connect to Internet->Setup Connection Manually->and finally Connect Using Dial-up Modem. Continuing, you receive an option list with phones connected to your computer and then you have to select your working smartphone from that list. To recognize rapidly in the future your phone connection, you should name your new connection in the next window appearing on the screen.

Finally, you can now surf on the web using your intelligent and performant smartphone!

For our smartphones to get prettier, and be more competent regarding its functions, the smartphone standard applications are not enough. And because smartphones gives us the possibility to install new applications, we will do it. I will present in the next, some examples of free smartphone applications.

Skyfire - Free mobile browser
Skyfire is one of the most known mobile browsers. It is an experienced browser and with its help is just like browsing on your computer. Because the browser supports Flash 10, Windows Media videos and Silverlight 2.0, you may search and watch videos via YouTube and any other relevant video websites. One extra point of this browser is that it supports Javascript and Ajax.

Firefox Mobile Beta

Mozilla Firefox is more likely a game browser. The Firefox for mobiles isn't exactly like the Mozilla Firefox for PC, because it provides an interface which should be used on small screens.

NewsBreak Lite
NewsBreak Lite is used for RSS feeds. It has a nice interface that helps us customize easier and browse RSS feeds in an comfortable manner. The application has a special saving function, so, when you are using it, it can show you related searches on your results.  Unfortunately, the application has a limit to only 5 feeds.

Skype 3.0 for Windows Phones
Skype 3.0 for phones is just like the Instant Messenger Skype we use on our computers. It has also the function Skype-to-Skype calls met on the messenger for computers, function through which you can also search for images, music and many other files.

iDialer
iDialer is a touch dialpad used on smartphones. It's exactly like iPhone dialer, with the difference that iDialer make calls using virtual numbers from Google Voice, Phone.com, or JaJah. It can simply be replaced by the phone's built-in dialpad or vice versa.

MPlayer
MPlayer for phones is a famous media player introduced by Linux. It plays videos and music or streaming media from networks like radios.

DivX Mobile Player
DivX Mobile Player is working just like the DivX for computers, and it is mandatory to be installed on your smartphone if you use it to watch different movies.

Flash Player
Flash Player it's a useful mobile application if you want to easily use rich interactive Flash applications or different files having Flash content.

VsPainter LE
If you are addicted to draw, design, and illustrate or you are just an artist, you will definitely use VsPainter because it can develop your creativity, with the help of several creation tools.

Adobe Photoshop.com Mobile Beta
With Photoshop Mobile, you can upload, view or share picture. Unfortunately it doesn't play the role as an editor like the Photoshop for computers and it is used more like a gallery.

Writer for Windows Mobile
Windows Live Writer is an application used to create blogs and publishing them.

Wolf's Translator
Wolf's Translator is an application based on Google Translate which can provide you translations from several languages.

iContact
iContact is a finger-friendly contact manager application for mobile phones. It's easy to use because its user-friendly skins, and it can replace the standard phone contact chooser.

Facebook App
This application help you stay in touch with Facebook news, notifications, by simply using your phone.

MSN Messenger
With this application, you can easily access your MSN friends, send them text messages and chatting with many users at the same time. This application uses the same features as the MSN Messenger for computers.

WinRAR
Pocket RAR is the well-known archiver needed to zip or unzip files.

TreeSize Mobile
TreeSize Mobile locates quite sizeable files on your Smartphone when your phone memory is wasted. You don't need anymore to search for the files manually by verifying each file's size which can take you long time. The file system has a tree presentation and showing the folders and the subfolder's size.

AirScanner Anti Virus
Airscanner is an excellent antivirus application for your smartphone because when you establish a wireless connectivity threatened by virus attacks. It's better to protect than to cure.

.NET Compact Framework 3.5
You should install on your mobile the .NET Compact Framework 3.5, because many application need it to run properly.

As we can notice, innovative applications can do automatically jobs for us, protect our phone and with their help, we can save time for other activities.

Are you watching videos on YouTube all day long? You've bought even a laptop to stay in touch with YouTube even when you're not home? Well, I have some news for you. You can play YouTube on phone, if you have the right one, but if you don't , you should better get one, than having with you the laptop which in heavy enough and of course you love new technology, so, why not ?

With the application YouTube Play for Smartphones , you can logon YouTube, upload videos, easily access your  favorite videos and share them with your colleagues , friends, just like you and them would use the computer.

YouTube Play is a freeware Mobile application with a user-friendly interface, having its own player, is based on the FLV player and provides skins for being easily used. An extra point of this application is that it allows you to download videos for using them in the offline mode and also you can save the track as a mp3 file.

YouTube Play application combines the C language with the .net one, so, in order to use this application you have to install on your phone, the .net runtime version 2 or version 3.5.

The application can be used with the help of bandwidth, so, if you don't have a Wi-Fi/ActiveSync or unlimited 3G connection, your phone bill will be huge because the application implies lots of data receivable through bandwidth.

After a new application is launched, it will take long time to definitely fix the application, because bugs will appear. In the following I will present some application bugs and its updates.

Version 1.0.0.4 (07-05-2008): Full screen application, removed toolbars and restored

buttons, VGA, QVGA, portrait and landscape support, size configuration option for buffering , option of setting  number of videos returned, possibility of searching and  getting more results for same search, Load FLV video by browsing, smaller, various fixes.

Version 1.0.0.5 (07-05-2008): Added Save function, setting of configuration to allow altering full screen rotation, displaying version number in the configuration screen, possibility of landscape fullscreen.

Version 1.0.0.6 (08-05-2008): Added YouTube feeds, related videos on searching results, association of YouTubePlay with FLV files.

Version 1.0.0.7 (12-05-2008): Appeared a crash during the play video, launched AppToDate support , retrieving data results  up to fifty results, introduced hardware keys - dpad up/down = vol up/down, dpad right = ffwd, dpad left = back.

Version 1.0.0.8 (10-10-2008): Fixed 3 play errors, caused by internal YouTube changes and some bad code!

Version 1.0.0.9 (27-10-2008):Fixed the error message "Failed to get security cookie" , caused by YouTube changes.

Version 1.0.0.10 (11-11-2008): Added the facility to extract the audio as an MP3 song.

Version 1.0.0.11 (24-11-2008): Added the facility to open and play VP6 (On2) FLV files, slowly  but working, a new version of FFMPEG SVN is ready. Fixed the  Fullscreen  of the landscape mode.

YouTube Play application has succeed because it is easy for everyone to use it, more like using YouTube from your computer, allowing you to discover more on YouTube by simply accessing the site from your phone.

Named by the "Time" magazine as the invention of the year 2007, the iPhone, a multimedia GSM smart phone, carries on the Apple legacy of being revolutionary in its field. iPhone is not just a regular smartphone as it combines other two features:  a widescreen iPod, and a breakthrough Internet device. Ever since the launch of this device, millions of people have fallen in love with its dedicated applications that make life more fun.

Although it is an extraordinarily device, like any software-governed gadget, it has an unpleasant part. Many users have encountered problems when dealing with syncing  iPhone and Microsoft Outlook. The main problem was that the events entered on the iPhone would not transfer to Outlook.  However, the other way round- from Outlook to iPhone-there weren't any problems. This issue appears to be related to recurring events older or corrupt PST files.

As a solution it is recommended to export your Outlook data to an Excel file. Afterwards, you must create an Outlook profile and data file of the correct form which must be populated with the data from the Excel file.  You can find a step by step procedure below:

1)The first step is to export the calendar from Outlook to an Excel file

2)Follow the path: Control Panel- Mail- Create a new profile & Outlook data file. Here you must select the  Office Outlook Personal Folders File (.pst) and  not the Outlook 97-2002 Personal Folders File (.pst) as the new file type. Then, you have to associate de new profile with the new data file as its default.

3) The third step is to select the new profile with the "Always use this profile" option from Control Panel- Mail.

This procedure also resolves syncing issues with contacts.

Another solution to the synchronization between iPhone and Microsoft Outlook is detailed below:

1)      Clear out the Deleted folder

2)       Select your Calendar, then follow the path : View->Arrange By->Current View->Recurring Appointments

3)       Select an item in the window displaying the recurring events, then press Ctrl-A to select all events (this will highlight all the events in the window). Afterwards, press "Delete" on your keyboard to delete de selected items. Prompts will be displayed to ask you if responses should be sent to meeting organizers. It is suggested that these are chosen to be  "Deleted without sending a response" as they will be restored later.

4)      Make sure that all the items have been deleted. The window should display the message: "There are no items to show in this view".

5)      Connect iPhone and start ITunes. Make sure that your settings are configured to Synchronise your Calendar and other options: Left column- Devices-iPhone-Info tab. Form the "Summary" tab chose "Sync".

6)      This last action will result in "Calendar" and "Home" being shown in. Then:  Left column->Devices->iPhone->Info tab Calendars->Selected calendars. Now, your iPhone will display non recurring items in the calendar.

7)      In order to restore the deleted recurring items, select the "Delete Items" folder. Now, you must select all items using Ctrl+A and, with your mouse, click on the selected area and "drag" the items to the Calendar icon shown on the left hand side of the screen.

8)      Once the recurring events have been restored, it is recommended to sync your iPhone once more.

9)      After this last step, your Outlook calendar may be changed to your normal preference. You can do this following the path: Calendar-View-Arrange By-Current View-Day/Week/Month.

Both these options are proven to solve the synch iPhone and Microsoft Outlook problems, but the last one is recommended by a former Apple employee.  All in all, iPhone is a unique device, with innovative hardware features and the world's most advanced mobile operating system.

Samsung B7320 Omnia PRO and B7330 Omnia Pro, are not the only models, from Samsung's portfolio that are competing with the BlackBerry devices. These two models both include a QWERTY keyboard within a candy bar form factor. However, Samsung has planned to steal as many customers as they can from the Canadian manufacturer. This competition started two years ago when BlackBerry decided to create phones with more appealing features, but still sporting the QWERTY keyboard. Therefore, other manufacturers, such as Samsung decided to include QWERTY keyboards within its products.

Even so, BlackBerry lacks a side slider QWERTY phone, while Samsung has at least two, one business orientated and the second one based on the business model, but equipped with a designer logo. Samsung B7610 Omnia PRO was first announced in June 2009 and released in September 2009. This phone sports a more HTC look, than BlackBerry look. However, the B7610 Omnia Pro looks great, conservative but stylish. It's conservative because the front, left and right sides are all black, while the back cover sports a patterned style (flame waves). The front cover sports a glossy black material around the huge display, while the front keys sport a metallic look, similar to the frame included on the sides. The materials used within this phone are extraordinary, and the build quality is flawless, worthy of Samsung logo.

On the front case, above the display you get beside the "Samsung" logo and the earpiece, the ambient light sensor, the proximity sensor, and the second video camera that enables video calling. Under the display you can find three keys, the back key, the call key, and the end call key. The full keyboard slides from the right to left. The QEWRTY keyboard includes good sized keys, but lacks space between them. However, Samsung successfully created a great keyboard, which delivers excellent feedback, which can easily be used when typing in a hurry. The keyboard sports a backlight so the typing process is very comfortable within any light environment conditions. With a height of 112.6 mm, wide of 57.8 mm, deep of 16.2 mm, the B7610 Omnia PRO weights about 159 grams.

The above values should make you understand that this Samsung phone is by far portable or light. Samsung included within the B7610 Omnia PRO a 3.5 inches AMOLED resistive touch screen with a resolution of 800 x 480 pixels, capable of rendering 16 million (but the effective value doesn't exceed 65000 colors).  Beside the common by now accelerometer sensor for auto rotate, you also get an advanced R touch screen display. The performances delivered by this phone are almost similar to what an entry level netbook has to offer, with the Samsung S3C6410 processor with 800 MHz and a dedicated graphics accelerator, and 256 MB RAM. Therefore, the Microsoft Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional (upgradeable to Windows Mobile 6.5) will run smoothly on B7610 Omnia PRO.

With the excellent hardware specs, this phone can easily be considered a true business device. The onboard memory has a value of 1 GB, expandable if using the micro SD memory cards, or the Trans Flash memory cards, up to 32 GB tested. The connectivity department is ensured by the Class 10 GPRS (4+1 / 3+2 slots) with a varying speed from 32 Kb per second to 48 Kb per second, Class 10 EDGE with a maximum speed of 236.8 Kb per second, HSCSD, Bluetooth 2.0 with A2DP, version 2.0 micro USB connection, HSDPA with a 3.6 Mb per second speed, and the Wi-Fi connection with 802.11 b/g profile.

Samsung also included within the B7610 Omnia PRO a 5 megapixel digital camera with a maximum photo resolution of 2592 x 1944 pixels, featuring auto focus, dual LED flash, wide dynamic range, panorama shot, geo tagging, image stabilization, and face and smile detection. This digital camera is also capable of video recording within the VGA mode, 640 x 480 pixels with 30 frames per second. it is nedless to say that this phone with the latest Windows Mobile operating system packs all the possible applications, including an extended music player, an extended video player, a photo editor, pocket office - including editing and viewing Word documents, Excel documents, and view Power Points presentations and PDFs.

Samsung included in the B7610 Omnia PRO a lithium Ion battery with 1500 mAh, capable of 580 hours in standby in the 2G network (GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900) and up to 480 hours of standby in 3G network (HSDPA 900 / 2100). In the talk time department, the B7610 will provide up to 12 hours in 2G network and almost 7 hours in 3G network. Overall, this product is certainly interesting to say at least, since Samsung delivers a complete business phone with a form factor that lacks in the BlackBerry's portfolio. The second Samsung phone to be presented in this article is based on the B7610 Omnia PRO. However, this phone is orientated to the business customers that demand the ultimate style within their devices. The latest Samsung phone released with the "Giorgio Armani" logo is not just a nice looking phone, but a rather powerful phone even for the business users. For the time being it was only announced in October this year. The release date is still unconfirmed.

The B7620 Giorgio Armani is the styled twin brother of the B7610 Omnia Pro. In the design department, Samsung improved this phone, with a stylish look. Even so, the overall look (by details) is similar to B7610. The only form factor difference is that if needed the B7620 can flip its display with a consistent angle (not more than 145 degrees). However, the details make the difference. Therefore, you will easily observe the gold frame that surrounds the upper case, and the gold looking panel on the back cover. This phone is certainly luxurious but I am not sure about the design at all. Maybe too much gold within an economic crisis might make you feel seek as well. However, the QWERTY keyboard can be opened from right to left.

This keyboard is thankfully not gold, but black, and not metallic but rather a rubbery material, with excellent sized keys, sufficient space between them. Even more, thanks to the material used within the keys, you get a good grip when typing improving the overall usability of this phone. The feedback and key layout are similar with what B7610 has to offer. In terms of design, this phone looks nice if you like opulence. The build quality is remarkable, but the handling has a minus from me, because all the metallic body makes this phone too slippery. On the front cover you can find above the display, beside the "Giorgio Armani" logo the second video camera, the proximity sensor, and the ambient light sensor. Under the display, Samsung included the call key, the end call key and the back key. With a height of 118.5 mm, wide of 58.3 mm, deep of 16.4 mm, this phone weights even more than B7610, 164 grams.

The above values (in terms of dimensions) show once again that this phone is build based from the B7610 Omnia PRO. Samsung included within the B7620 a 3.5 inches AMOLED resistive touch screen with a resolution of 800 x 480 pixels, capable of rendering up to 16 million colors (but only 65000 effective colors). The same processor, Samsung S3C6410 800 MHz with dedicated graphics accelerator, and the same RAM value are included in the hardware specs of the latest Giorgio Armani phone. Even more, Samsung decided to add the same operating system, Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional (upgradeable to Windows Mobile 6.5).

As expected this means you will get excellent audio and video player, photo and video editing, and business applications, such as Pocket Office for viewing and editing (only a few documents formats) Office documents and PDFs. The onboard memory was improved from 1 GB found on the B7610 Omnia Pro to 8 GB found onboard the B7620, expandable value if using micro SD memory cards, or Trans Flash memory cards up to 32 GB. The connectivity department is ensured by the Class 10 GPRS, Class 10 EDGE, HSCSD, Wi-Fi with 802.11 b/g profile, Bluetooth version 2.0 with A2DP, micro US 2.0 connections, HSDPA with a maximum speed of 7.2 MB per second with the HSUPA sporting a maximum speed of 5.76 MB per second. the B7620 also sports an excellent digital camera with a 5 megapixel value, sporting a maximum photo resolution of 2592 x 1944 pixels, including autofocus and LED flash. The same features found on the B7610 can be found on board the B7620. This camera can also record video within the VGA resolution, 640 x 480 pixels with 30 frames per second.

Samsung added the same Lithium Ion battery with 1500 mAh providing the same values of standby time and talk time, 580 hours in standby in 2G networks, 480 hours of standby in 3G networks, 12 hours of talk time in 2G network and 6 hours of talk time in 3G networks. For an average user these values mean at least 3 days of autonomy, depending on the usage. Overall, the Samsung B7620 Giorgio Armani is the overpriced model of the B7610 Omnia PRO. If you need to make a statement you can buy the B7620. However, the B7620 is not better than B7610. Even more, the B7610 Omni PRO is a more balanced phone, sporting a conservative look, yet modern, and sufficient specs for any user, either business or multimedia fan.