GSM Skills

Acer just announced their latest Android smartphone.  Called the Acer Liquid Metal, it comes in a shapely slate form factor that the company claims will facilitate an improved grip.
The handset runs Android 2.2 Froyo, with all of the latest OS version’s roster of features and Google’s suite of applications.  If you don’t like your Android UI bare, you’re in luck, as it’s got the manufacturer’s Breeze interface running on top, along with SocialJogger, a homebrewed social aggregator with a dedicated widget on the home screen.  According to Acer, the new UI is designed for easier management of applications.
Details of the Acer Liquid Metal include a 3.6-inch capacitive touchscreen, a 5.0 megapixel camera module (with 720p video recording), aGPS, 3G with support for 14.4Mbps HSDPA, WiFi, DLNA/UPnP streaming support, Dolby Surround technology and microSD card expansion.  Acer says it supports tethering via USB, so you can share that 14.4Mbps with your [...]

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Playing a video downloaded from iTunes on an iPhone is a straightforward and seamless affair.  Try to get it to play another format, though (like the AVI and MKV movies you already have on your desktop), and you’re likely looking at investing hours converting  files.  With the VLC Media Player for iPhone (available for the 3GS and 4G), the game has changed.
Like its desktop counterpart, the app promises to play practically any media format you throw at it.  If you loaded it to your phone, it will do everything in its might to play it.  And, for the most part, it succeeds.   Coupled with the dead-simple interface, it’s easy to tick off as a permanent part of my iPhone’s app ensemble.
For many users, VLC has been the default media player for desktop machines, regardless of whether you’re on Linux, Windows or OS X.  With full computers having powerful processors, this [...]

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By now, you’ve probably heard about the PlayStation Phone from other sites, particularly the scoop broken by Engadget (where they claim the product has been confirmed through multiple, trusted sources, including people close to the project).  While some might still argue for its mythical status, it’s likely that there are some real truths about the upcoming smartphone and gaming machine combo.
Here are what’s known (though unverified by Sony Ericsson) so far:

That picture is of a testing prototype, running an early version of the software the device will use.
It looks like a PSP Go and is codenamed “Zeus,” with a slide-up landscape orientation that reveals the controls hidden right under.
It runs Android 2.X (although, the general consensus is that it will likely ship with 3.0).
The gaming controls feature [...]

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If something ain’t broken, RIM won’t change it.  That’s what they did with the Blackberry Curve 3G 9300 and that’s what they’re doing with the Blackberry Bold 9780, which retains much of the same hardware as its 9700 predecessor, adding just a few beefed-up parts.
The changes?  RIM’s new Bold has a higher-resolution camera, more onboard storage and it runs the latest Blackberry OS 6.0.  That means, you get better UI, an all-new Webkit-based HTML browser and social networking integration, among other more modern touches.
Details of the 9780 include a 2.4-inch TFT LCD, a 5.0 megapixel camera module, aGPS (with Blackberry Maps), 3G with HSPA, WiFi, stereo Bluetooth, 512MB of built-in flash storage and microSD card expansion (up to 32GB).  Battery has a rated talk time of 6 hours, with a standby of 17 days.  No word on CPU, but it’s likely running the same 624 MHz processor, as well.
Like its [...]

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Got high hopes for Windows Phone 7?  Fortunately, those hopes won’t go to waste, as it is a well-made mobile platform that could seriously put the Redmond crew back in the smartphone game.
Hub System
One of the smartest decisions here is the Hub system, which essentially lets you group all related content into a single place, streamlining your consumption and interaction.  There are six hubs on the platform, consisting of People, Pictures, Games, Music+Video, Marketplace and Office.  This kind of organization allows you to do plenty of things from a single, unified interface – a brilliant decision that, in my opinion, is the OS’ core strength.
User Interface
The all-new UI is immediately noticeable as soon as you pick up a phone.  Gone are the mass of unnecessary information, which are replaced with “live tiles” that allow you to fully customize your home screen content with widgets, contacts, hubs, shortcuts and alerts.  The [...]

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