Nokia’s internet tablets are getting ready to make way for a new, smarter and from the looks of a it a much cooler device that is codenamed Rover or N900 (possibly). The device that reports are saying might be announced in June, which is just a few days away, is going to be a sleek device weighing in at approximately 180g with dimensions of 59.7mmx111mmx18.2mm.

The same reports are also talking about a few features that include a 3.5-inch touchscreen sporting an 800 x 480 pixel resolution (with an accelerometer) and even a 5 megapixel camera with a Carl Zeiss camera. The camera will have a sliding cover with dual-LEDs for a flash. It has support for Wi-Fi and could be equipped with GPS functionality as well. It would also feature 1GB of total virtual runtime memory (256MB physical RAM, 768MB virtual memory).

 

Nokia India has announced the launch of its first series 40 touch-input device Nokia 6208 Classic.

The Nokia 6208 Classic, priced at Rs. 13,259, features a pen input along with an alphanumeric keypad and handwriting recognition features. It also features a 2.4-inch QVGA display, 3.2 mega-pixel camera with dual LED flash, Stereo MP3 player and FM radio, 64 MB internal user memory (13 MB free) and a 5-way navi-key.

Vineet Taneja, Marketing Director, Nokia India said, “We are extremely excited to launch the Nokia 6208 Classic truly designed for convenience. This is our first series 40 touch input aimed to give our consumers an enhanced messaging experience. With a 3.2 megapixel camera, dual LED flash and 8x digital zoom, the Nokia 6208 Classic makes capturing memories and sharing moments simple, fun and easy.”

The Nokia 6208 Classic is made from materials such as stainless steel and features larger fonts for messaging and browsing as well as viewing pictures and web pages. The Nokia 6208 Classic also supports optional microSD cards up to 8GB.

Apple is warning users of the iPod and iPhone that they could well receive a small and quick electrical (static) shock from their earbuds while using the devices.

 

If you’re a budding photographer moving up in life, Sony says they’ve got just the thing for you. Three things to be precise. They’ve just introduced what they claim to be three easy-to-use Alpha DSLR cameras – the DSLR-A380, DSLR-A330 and DSLR-A230 – that will come loaded with four new lenses. Senior manager for the Alpha business at Sony Electronics Inc. had this to say:

“Our new alpha cameras, lenses and accessories make it easier for new users to get the great photos they expect without the steep learning curve that DSLRs have traditionally required.

By overcoming the obstacles, we’ve made it much easier for newcomers to take great pictures with DSLRs.”

 The way they’re overcoming obstacles is via what they claim to be an extensive built-in Help Guide, that will help new photographers by showing them the ropes.

The A380 will support up to 14.2 megapixel while the other two cameras will go up to 10.2 megapixel. The camera will come equipped with Sony’s Quick Autofocus (AF) Live View technology, so you can frame photos on the camera’s LCD screen as well as in the optical viewfinder. In addition, they’ll all feature extensive HDMI compatibility, so you’ll be able to view images on any HDTV if you connect the camera via HDMI. To futher the Sony integration, you’ll be able to control the camera’s photo/video preview on Sony’s  Bravia via the Bravia’s remote. The cameras will release this July. There’s no India price out yet, but here are the American prices –

The A380L, Aa330L and A230L will cost about $850, $650 and $550, respectively. The L series one-lens kit comes with the SAL-1855 standard zoom lens.

The A380Y, A330Y and A230Y will cost about $1050, $850 and $750, respectively. The Y series two-lens kit comes with both the SAL-1855 standard zoom and SAL-55200 telephoto zoom lenses.

The first thing that’s striking about Windows 7 beta 1 is how similar it is to the M3 builds that I’ve been using since October. In fact, put builds 6801 and 7000 beta 1 side-by-side and you might be hard pressed to spot the difference (especially if you activated the Blue Badge features). This means that if you’ve been following Windows 7 builds then when you get your hands on the beta you’ll be pretty familiar with the beta. The flip-side is that I’ve got fewer new things to show you!

 

It’s unusual not to be faced with heaps of new features with each build – it’s almost as though Microsoft had a plan for Windows 7 right from the start, baked these features into the early M3 build and have since been working on refining these features. This is an interesting approach that seems to have resulted in the best beta build of an OS from Microsoft that I’ve ever seen (and I’ve seen a LOT of beta builds!). Wow!
Installation
Installing Windows 7 beta 1 is faster and simpler than installing Windows Vista or Windows XP on a system.
There are fewer steps to work through, the installation is overall much faster than for earlier Microsoft operating systems (I can get Windows 7 onto most systems in about 25 minutes, on a powerful system the install process will take less than 20 minutes), and there are fewer obstacles between the user and the OS once it’s installed (for example, gone is that annoying post-install performance test).

 

Revamped desktop
On meeting Windows 7 for the first time the first thing that you’ll notice is the revamped desktop. Let’s take a quick look at some of the features:

 

• New taskbar
  Oddly enough, the first thing that you’re likely to notice about Windows 7 is also the bit that I like the least. The new revamped taskbar is visually very interesting (and certainly a lot easier to use at higher screen resolutions that the Vista or XP taskbar), but it tries to do too much and as such comes across as kludgey and counter-intuitive. One failure is that it’s hard to tell the difference between apps that are running and shortcuts that have been pinned to the taskbar. It also incorporates the new Jump Lists feature which acts as a context-sensitive menu for applications. Problem is that there’s very little rhyme or reason to what to expect from Jump Lists, making them awkward to use in the real world.
• Aero Snap
  Aero Snap is a simple little feature that I find myself using all the time. This is a gestures driven method of organizing Windows. Drag a window to the top of the screen and the app is maximized. Drag it to the side and you get it to tile to one half of the screen. Drag the app away from the top of the screen to restore it. It’s a very handy feature indeed, especially for people who work with multiple applications.
• Aero Peek
  Ever wanted to see what was on your desktop without minimizing all your applications? Aero Peek is the feature for you. Mouse over the small area on the right-hand side of the taskbar and you get a glimpse of what’s on your desktop, allowing you to see shortcuts and gadgets. Aero Peek is of limited usefulness though since you can’t interact with anything on the desktop because as soon as you move the mouse off the Peek spot the applications all return.
• Personalizations
  If you like to customize your Windows experience then you’ll appreciate some of these changes. Not only does Windows 7 come with several ready-made themes that include specific background images, colors, sounds and screensavers, there are also themes that make use of a desktop slideshow to continually change the desktop image.

Applications
Windows 7 has a far fewer applications to look at than XP and Vista. Gone are applications such as Windows Mail, Windows Messenger, Movie Maker and so on. Anyone wanting apps of this sort will need to download then via Windows Live Essentials.

 

Paint and Wordpad now incorporate the Ribbon UI found in Microsoft Office and seem to have received a little TLC by Microsoft programmers.
Internet Explorer 8 will be the browser that Microsoft wants you to use with Windows 7. It’s far better than earlier incarnations of IE but still falls short when compared to other browsers.
Windows Media Player is also vastly improved, but as with IE, you’ll either use it or have a third-party app that you use instead.
Media Center sees a few new tweaks, most noticeably a “Getting Started” feature aimed at new users.
Hardware and software compatibility
Microsoft does seem to have kept to its word when it claimed that what worked for Vista should work for Windows 7. I have run across some software issues (which I believe are related to UAC – User Account Control – changes in Windows 7) but since developers haven’t yet seen a beta these sorts of issues are to be expected and I’m sure most will be fixed within weeks of beta 1 being officially released.

 

I’ve had no noteworthy issues relating to hardware, although drivers that officially support Windows 7 are still a while off so I’ve been sticking with Microsoft drivers. I expect hardware vendors to start getting Windows 7 drivers out soon after the official release of Windows 7.
Microsoft demoed some cool stuff at PDC relating to Device Stage, but I’ve not yet come across anything that kicks it into life.

f you do run into problems with Windows 7 then you get access to the new Troubleshooter that attempts to diagnose and fix problems. It’s not perfect, but it’s a darn sight better than any troubleshooter previously shipped with Windows.
Closing thoughts
I like Windows 7, a lot. Microsoft seems to have put a lot of effort into developing a core operating system that is free from the pointless frills of the likes of XP and Vista. The OS is solid and fast and based on what I’ve seen so far I’d have no problems in rolling out beta 1 and using it daily.
I am concerned about the new taskbar. I hope that Microsoft is receiving constructive feedback on this feature and working to improve it for the release candidate version of Windows 7. The new taskbar isn’t a deal-breaker for me, but I do feel that it’s the least refined part of Windows 7.
I can’t wait until the official release of Windows 7 beta 1 so that you folks out there can tell me what you think of it.

Sony has waved its magic wand once again, and given us a sparkling new LCD TV, the 40-inch Bravia ZX1. It is touted as the world’s slimmest LCD TV – 9.9mm thick and weighing in at about 15kg.

 

The ZX1 comes with many technologies to help contribute quality images and digital entertainment experience. At its heart is the Bravia Engine 2, surrounded by Edge LED technology, Motionflow 100Hz and Image Blur reduction. The ZX1 comes with a Full HD display resolution of 1920 X 1080 pixels, and a glossy black bezel and screen.
Apart from the usual Bravia features like Live Colour Creation, 24p Cinema, Xross media bar, Bravia Theatre Sync, the ZX1 has audio enhancement features like digital amplifier, S-Force Surround, voice zoom, dolby digital plus, etc. This screen has two integrated speakers and a woofer that delivers a net output power of 20 watts (5 Watts for each speaker + 10 Watts for woofer).

The main USP is probably Wireless HD, one of the most innovative features in the Bravia ZX that enables users to enjoy Full HD quality images without any messy wires and cables. Wireless technology allows the user to utilize the media library located anywhere in the house, via the supplied HD media receiver. Wires from the HD devices are connected to the HD media receiver and the display will receive the input signals from the media receiver wirefree, with the help of high-speed wireless connection and RF technology.The connectivity of the Bravia ZX1 is distinguished with 4 independent HDMI inputs, a PC input, composite inputs, component inputs, USB connection, and a RBG compatible SCART input.

There is no price point attached to the Bravia ZX1 as yet. You’ll know as soon as we do.

Looks and Features
If you thought the shuffle was already small, think again! The new one is a bit longer but a lot slimmer, making it about the size of a pencil eraser or a small Bluetooth headset. Its weight is nearly unnoticeable when clipped onto your clothes or bag strap. It looks absolutely clean and smooth, without a single bump, ridge or mark on the front and only the stainless steel clip on the back. The upper surface is where you find the earphones/USB socket and a tiny power/mode switch.

 

The new shuffle’s biggest talking point and the boldest move so far in its history of culling common features is the complete lack of controls on the device itself. The ring of buttons is gone, and you have to use the inline controls on the earphones’ cord for all track navigation and volume changes. It takes a while to get used to the idea, but considering how small the shuffle is in the first place, it makes sense to tuck it away while keeping the controls within reach.

I just figured out an amazing website to find all kinds of accessories and add ons that are available for your mobile at a single place http://www.mobilefun.co.uk/.

The latest news streaming in about iPhone OS 3.0 is with regards to the handset’s camera. Most of us who’ve used or are still using the handset have already established that the completely featureless camera on board the handset is pretty decent. Even without the frills the iPhone’s camera manages to perform quite well as very literal ‘Point and Shoot’ camera phone. However, Apple has apparently decided that wasn’t good enough and with the latest update of OS 3.0, the iPhone’s camera has been adjusted and upgraded to provide better quality images. I’m just a little confused as to why they couldn’t have developed this option sooner; I guess there just weren’t enough of complaints. Of course with a 3.2MP camera being loaded onto the next gen handset, everything’s going to change for wannabe iPhone users who just weren’t happy with a 2 megapixel shooter.