How to install Android Market on the Arnova 7 G2 without flashing.

Arnova 7 G2 is one good tablet that offers value for money, though as good as it seem, it lack something on its menu. The Arnova 7 G2 doesn't have an Android Market app, instead it comes pre-installed with Appslib a good for nothing alternative for the android market, that is why many Arnova users are finding ways of installing Android Market on their device, in which most of them often ended up flashing and opted using custom firmwares, however, flashing and custom firmwares has its drawback, to some, flashing comes a bit complicated, if not done properly it may cause some serious problems, and using custom firmwares has its limitations especially when it comes to updating your system not to mention bugs that could cause your system to lag, either way, both procedures are not in my options list, and so, I was forced to tirelessly search the web in hopes of finding other ways of installing Android Market on my Arnova 7 G2 until finally my endless search has come to a halt and my hard work paid off, I now have Android Market on my Arnova 7 G2 and I did it without flashing.....The procedures are listed below.

Download the file Market 3.4.4.rar (you can download Market 3.4.4 rar in my DOWNLOADS AND EXTRAS corner along the side bar) extract the APK files then transfer it in your SD card, and then install the following APK files in order 1.GoogleServicesFramework APK, 2.OneTimeInitializer APK, 3.SetupWizard APK, 4.Gmail APK, 5.Vending-3.4.4-signed APK, 6.Talk-signed APK(optional), 7.Maps APK(optional). After installing all the files don't launch the Android Market just yet, open the Gmail app first then log in make sure you are connected, after logging in you can now use the Android Market.:-)

Archos Gamepad

Archos has finally entered the handheld gaming arena, which for decades was mastered and dominated by Nintendo and Sony. Archos was not the first to try, Nokia also has taken a bold step in entering the gaming world, but eventually met its fatal demise; and so, Nokia's N-gage was short-lived, we do come to question the Archos gamepad, will it share the same fate as that of the N-gage?

For one, the Gamepad is powered by android which since its arrival has taken the world by storm, android powered devices are the hottest selling product on the planet, more than half a decade ago gadgets are all about brands and its model, now its all about what version of android you're running, this just showed how successful android is, in the consumer market, eventhough Apple won't agree with it, Android is here to stay along with its third party developer, and that is pretty much of an assurance that the gamepad will never run out of games and will easily fill-in a spot in the gaming world. Upon the Gamepad's entry, Sony will definitely have their hands full and Nintendo a lot to think about.

The Gamepad features button mapping, which is 100% customizable depending on the gamers preference, though most games will still show their on- screen control layout, but Archos promises to release games, optimized for the gamepad, that means taking advantage of the gamepad's built-in controller, which is by the way, strategically layed-out, and of course no on-screen control that will hinder your gameplay.

The gamepad resembles the Wii U controller, but the gamepad has a bigger screen at 7 inch and an obvious sleeker design.

The Archos Gamepad is powered by a 1.5ghz dual core processor with mali 400 quad core GPU, with ICS on board........ see videos of the gamepad on my video bar for more tech specs.

Samsung Chat 335 Review and Specs

An entry-level phone that will probably give rise to the term "cheap is cheap" at first you'll find it hard to believe for a qwerty phone with wifi and facebook integration to be priced at 3,490 pesos, but believe it, because basically, "you only gonna get what you pay for". The phone looks good no doubt about that and it's slim with dimensions only at 111.2 x 61.2 x 12 mm and weighs at 93g, it's compact enough to fit almost unnoticeable in your pocket and it has a metal bezel on the sides that gives it an elegant look. The Samsung Chat 335 at first glance and feel will impress you, but navigating its features is a different story, yes! it has a sizable screen at 2.4 inch, but resolution and viewing angles are poor, you just have to look straight in to get a good view or use the right kind of theme to get a cleaner contrast, I guess that's what LQVGA display means.

Qwerty phones are made for one thing, fast texting, but with the chat's keypads so squeezed in together people with large fingers will have a hard time texting, does this phone come in pink or red? coz it seems like only lady-fingers will fit in. Believe it or not it uses an optical trackpad but the phone is too slow you'll find it most of the time annoying, it skips, it lags and at some time not responsive, but a good feature to attract customers or should I say deceive them.

The Samsung Chat 335 has a built in wifi but the browser is so limited you'd probably won't use it to browse the web, it kind of reminds me of the DSi browser wherein you'll get sick and tired of reading the word "out of memory" but in fairness facebook and instant messaging works and to my amazement it plays youtube videos directly on its browser.

The Samsung Chat is also a multimedia device it has a built-in FM radio and plays MP3s and videos in MP4 and 3gp formats, one good thing about this phone is the use of a 3.5 mm audio jack, which allows you to plug in your headset of choice, you can also up size your memory up to 8gig using a micro sd card for more music and video storage. The phone also features a 2 megapixel camera but the pictures are extremely grainy, but then again, it might have something to do with the poor LCD maybe viewing it on a different screen or printing it, will the true quality appear, however, it is yet to be tested.

BOTTOM LINE: The Chat may not be the nicest entry level phone in the market, but it is still a good 2nd phone to have, it may not be effective in some of its features but nevertheless, effective in doing the basics "call and text" and the long battery life made it a reliable phone.





- Samsung Chat 335 Full Specifications -

2G Network: GSM 850/900/1800/1900
Dimensions: 111.2 x 61.2 12mm, 93 g
Keyboard: QWERTY
Display: TFT, 256 colors, 320 x 240 pixels, 2.4 inch, optical trackpad.
Sound: Vibration, MP3 ringtones, loud speakers, 3.5 mm jack.
Memory: Micro sd uo to 8GB, Internal 60 MB.
Phonebook: 1000 entries with photocall.
Connections: GPRS, EDGE, Wifi 802.11 b/g, bluetooth, micro USB.
Camera: 2 Mega Pixels, 1600 x 1200 pixels.
Features: SMS, MMS, Email, IM, WAP 2.0/xHTML,HTML, stereo FM radio with RDS, FM recording, java MIDP2.1, SNS integration, Music player, Organizer, Voice memo, predictive Text input.
BATTERY: Li-Ion, standby - 520 hrs, talk time - 12 hrs.

Galaxy S3 vs. iPhone4s

The Galaxy S3 is Samsung’s latest line-up in the smartphone biz and dubbed as an iPhone killer, but is it worth the name iPhone killer? Let’s find out. The Galaxy S3’s hardware specs are way beyond the iPhone 4s, in a layman’s point of view it will automatically make the S3 as the winner, but technology doesn’t work that way. The Operating System (OS) has everything to do with the device overall function, that is where the iOS shines , but having a strong hardware is a factor too, for years the iOs and android are going toe to toe in getting the title the “BEST” OS. When Apple release their iOS 4 it solidifies the iPhone's stand as the “BEST” among the rest, but android won’t back down without an answer upon the release of the gingerbread a sudden change of tides happen and according to some analyst the gingerbread is better than the iOS4 in some ways, while gingerbread is doing well in the smartphone world, Apple unleashed their iOS 5, and it has left the gingerbread out in the dust, but android being resilient as ever has again found an answer in the form of the Ice Cream Sandwich, to date ICS is the best android outing yet, but up until now the clash between the iOS and Android still remains undecided who the best OS is. Below are comparisons between the Galaxy S3 and the iPhone 4s, and as readers you will decide who’s better among the two.

STORAGE & MEMORY: The base 16GB models will probably do the most business, but the S3 can scale up to 128GB. The maximum internal storage is 64GB, but the microSDXC slot means that the storage complement in Samsung's flagship handset can be augmented by a further 64GB. The Galaxy S3 also comes with 50GB worth of Dropbox storage, free for two years! The iPhone 4S, by comparison, also tops out at 64GB of internal storage, but thanks to Apple's need to keep its devices locked down, you won't be able to increase that. You do also get Apple's iCloud service thrown in, which allows you to keep your iPhone backed up to the cloud, making it easy to recover your data if you ever lose the phone. As far as system memory goes, the iPhone 4S has 512MB while the Galaxy S3 doubles-down to 1GB.

DISPLAY: The S3's larger 4.8in screen sports an impressive resolution of 1,280 x 720. While the iPhone's screen is smaller, it also results in a more manageable handset. Also, despite the iPhone's lower screen resolution - 960 x 640 - it's 3.5in size results in a higher pixel density of 330ppi, compared to 306ppi on the Galaxy S3. Both displays are protected by Corning's Gorilla glass but use different technology. The iPhone 4S uses an IPS LCD while the S3 incorporates a PenTile HD Super AMOLED.

PROCESSOR: On paper, the iPhone 4S is no match for the raw processing power of the Galaxy S3. Both phones' chips are based on ARM's Cortex A9 but Samsung's Exynos 4412 has twice the number of cores, which run nearly twice as fast - four 1.4GHz cores vs. two 800MHz cores in the A5. When it comes to the GPU, the S3 uses the Mali-400/MP4, which thoroughly outclasses the PowerVR SGX543MP2 in the A5. Anandtech provided some preliminary results that show how wide the graphics gap is on some benchmarks. SIZE: The iPhone 4S is significantly smaller but heavier than the Galaxy S3. The Galaxy S3 has a volume of 83 cubic centimetres (136.6 x 70.6 x 8.6 mm) while the more diminutive iPhone 4S is shorter and narrower, though slightly thicker at 115.2 x 58.6 x 9.3 mm (almost 63 cubic centimetres). Despite the more compact outer dimensions, the iPhone 4S weighs 140g compared to 133g for the larger Galaxy S3. Far from a drawback, many users have found the iPhone 4S' denser mass to be reassuring, giving the phone a more robust feel. In contrast, some rival handsets boasting of lighter weight risk feeling flimsy by comparison - there seems to be an unspoken relationship between physical size and expected weight in relation to perceived quality.

CAMERA: Both can record full HD footage, both have eight megapixel sensors and both have front facing cameras (VGA for the iPhone 4S and two megapixel for the S3). In theory, both handsets have similar photographic capabilities, but we'll be testing them side-by-side soon to evaluate which makes the better pocket camera. SOFTWARE: The S3 runs Android 4.0.4 Ice Cream Sandwich while the iPhone 4S runs iOS 5.1.1, two distinct and different mobile platforms altogether. While Ice Cream Sandwich is the best Android outing yet, the Galaxy S3 runs a customised version of the OS, just like every Android phone without a Nexus moniker. The problem with customised versions of Android is that updates can take an age to appear - the Galaxy S2 has only recently seen an upgrade to ICS.

BATTERY: The iPhone 4S sports a 1432mAh battery with an estimated talk time of 480 minutes on 3G. The S3 has a far larger battery capacity at 2100mAh, which translates to a slightly higher talk time of 620 minutes. Samsung needed to equip the S3 with as large a battery as possible, with the large screen and quad-core processor likely to put a real strain on battery life.

CONNECTIVITY: Both phones have Bluetooth 4.0, HDMI out (both via adaptors), GPS and Wi-Fi. However, the S3 comes with NFC, GLONASS, Wi-Fi Direct, HDMI out and a microUSB port. An easy win for the S3, assuming, of course, that you actually need or want the extra features.

Specs comparison made possible BY: ITProPortal

Blackberry Curve 8520 review

The Blackberry Curve 8520 is one of the cheapest smartphone Research In Motion (RIM) has to offer at 10,999 pesos it’s no where near cheap, but it’s as low as Research In Motion could get, that is why they always get the notion of being an overpriced and under supported handhelds. Research In Motion (RIM) has announced recently that the company is suffering huge losses, the reason? Well iOS and Android of course, it seems like the two are joining forces to put Research In Motion out of its misery and now Nokia’s Windows Phone is rising up to join the two super powers, and maybe a large portion of their losses comes from their pricing strategy, selling expensive handhelds in times of recession is a dumb move considering the tight competition in the smartphone market, but RIM is a tough nut to crack, they won’t give up without a fight, they did everything possible to cope up with the smartphone competition, like total restructuring of the company and they are always in constant motion to develop more powerful handhelds and Os, my advice a web-based support is a good idea, that’s one thing Blackberry lacks.

The Blackberry Curve 8520 Sells at around 10,999 pesos in the Philippine market, at that price tag it’s almost a guaranty from RIM that nothing could go wrong with the BB Curve 8520, but that is not the case, the phone hangs and lags a lot, and some applications will stop working unless rebooted, lags and crashes are end products of fragmentation, and fragmentation could only mean one thing OS optimization is not 100% or not even close, a simple firmware update “if there is” for the 8520 could resolve these problems, and one thing I hate about the BB Curve 8520 is the built quality, it is made entirely of plastic, once you get hold of it, you won’t be impress by its cheap feel, the Nokia C3 looks more elegant than the 8520, but the price tags are worlds apart.

To every bad story there’s always a good one, that could very well define the BB Curve 8520, it’s not all bad for this phone, the BB Curve 8520 also has an arsenal of good features, like its traditional Blackberry QWERTY keyboard, it still remains unbeaten in the QWERTY phone line-up, and its 512Mhz processor performs well in browsing the web using its proprietary Blackberry internet browser, the BB Appworld also works well, but it lacks serious and useful free apps. Its 2.4 inch screen is sharp, giving your eyes less strain in reading long messages and e-mails. The integrated 3.0 megapixel camera takes good pictures but only in a well lit area, though, video quality is substandard for its price, the music player however, is a bonus it actually sounds good for a business phone and it uses a 3.5 mm jack, now try using Dr.Dre headphones! It also has a dedicated music buttons on top giving you instant access to your music, MP3 player anyone! Overall the BB Curve 8520 is not a bad phone the only thing that’s bringing it down is the price, if only Research In Motion could lower its price, then the 8520 will surely make its way up to the hearts of the qwerty phone lovers.

BLACKBERRY CURVE 8520 SPECS:

NETWORK: 2G GSM 850/900/1800/1900
DIMENSIONS: 109x60x13.9mm
WEIGHT: 106 g
KEYBOARD: QWERTY, Touch sensitive optical trackpad
DISPLAY: TFT 65k colors, 320 x 240 pixels, 2.46 inches (163ppi pixel density)
SOUND: vibration, polyphonic(32), MP3 ringtones, loudspeaker, 3.5 mm jack.
MEMORY: expandable upto 32 gig sd card, Internal 256 MB
DATA: GPRS class 10 (4+1/3+2 slots), 32 – 48 kbps, EDGE class 10, 236.8 kbps
WLAN wi-fi 802.11 b/g
Bluetooth v2.0 with A2DP, Micro USB
CAMERA: Rear - 2megapixels 1600 x1200 pixel, Video QVGA
OS: Blackberry OS 5.0
CPU: 512mhz
MESSAGING: SMS( threaded view), MMS, E-mail, IM... BROWSER: HTML
OTHERS: Java, MP3/eAAc+/WMA/WMV player, MP4/H.263/H.264/WMV player, Organizer, voice memo dial, predictive text input
BATTERY: Standby: up to 408 hrs, Talk time: 4 hrs 30 mins.

Alcatel OT918N review

The Alcatel OT918N, is one of the most affordable dual-sim android smartphone in the market today, although Alcatel may not be active in the cellphone arena this past few years, It has now made Its comeback with the ONETOUCH logo and along with it, an arsenal of Android smartphones and a guy named Chris Tiu, the new face of Alcatel in the Philippine market. Well, anyway, one common misconception about this brand is, most people think it's made in China but the fact of the matter is; it's actually a European brand, a company owned by the French, I got the info, just recently when I got my Alcatel phone, the OT918N android smartphone, which I got for only P5,999.

I had my first taste of Alcatel product with the OT918N, I've been using it for quite some time now, and honestly I have no regrets whatsoever with this phone, infact Alcatel has gain a new costumer in me. The OT918N maybe cheap but it doesn't look nor feels cheap at all, it also doesn't fall short on features too, some would say there might be a catch, as consumer mentality would suggest, cheap products always fall short on quality and durabilty, that's probably true, but not with the OT918N, I've been using this phone for almost five months now, I already dropped it twice and up until now I still haven't encountered any glitches or crashes whatsoever with this device, the phone is tough enough to withstand multiple drops and the hardware, stable enough to support android 2.3 gingerbread.

Most buyers always look from the outside rather than what is inside, obviously, design play a great role in the success of a product. That's probably what I saw with the OT918N, what's inside, only comes as a bonus. The phone is handsomely built, its rubbery finish gives it a tough and rugged look it also provides additional grip so it won't easily fall off your hands. The OT918N boasts a vibrant 3.2 inch highly responsive capacitive touchscreen, so bright it'll pop your eyeballs out, "just kidding" viewing photos, watching movies, videos and youtube is a wonderful experience with the OT918N, until now I still can't believe that a 5,999 peso phone could provide so much resolution, that's something to "thank to" from Alcatel.

The OT918N is powered by a 650Mhz ARM processor, the figures doesn't show much but it's actually a fast one, once you start swiping you'll immediately feel the speed, it opens apps as fast as you can say "eat my shorts":-) it also provides a smooth web browsing experience, just don't install too many useless apps, like all other smartphones installing too many apps will greatly affect your processor's performance, specially apps that opens automatically every once in a while, Start-up auditor may help, but the application itself consumes memory that is vital to open memory hungry apps like 3D games, it also prolong your boot-up time, with a 256MB RAM, memory conservation is a must, application such as app killer and memory up pro may help in providing extra memory.

Another neat feature that I like about this phone is its 3.0 megapixel camera, it actually take good pictures for a P5,999 phone, but "wait there's more" the OT918N's camera is pack with amazing features like; panoramic mode, face and smile detect, multiple burst up to 16 shots, it also take videos up to 8x digital zoom, the only thing missing is the flash. Below are some photos taken from the OT918N's camera.

The music player is every phone's must have feature and the OT918N's music player is second to none, FM never sound better with the OT918N, sound effects are great, the bass is so loud you'll think its coming from a full size boom box, and you can hear all that clarity, just by using its standard in the box headset, and its not just the FM that sounds great but also the MP3's. Since 2008 when I bought my Creative ZEN MP3 player no gadget in my possession has surpus the ZEN's musical prowess not even my ipod touch 2nd gen, the Samsung Corby 2 had gone toe to toe but lost, with the Alcatel OT918N in my hands, it is now my new music champion.

The phone doesn't pack that much power, but it can run some serious 3D games, infact I got Hero of Sparta currently installed in my OT918N, honestly the game runs a bit sluggish, but with some minor tweaks like turning off live wallpapers, deactivating the antivirus and with a little help from apps like memory up pro and app killer, Hero of Sparta will run at its best, but highly entertaining games like Raging Thunder 2 and Heavy Gunner will cope up for the lag. Alcatel didn't say that the OT918N has HD features, but I got games with HD logo installed in my OT918N, games like Empire Defense HD, and Crusade of Destiny HD, they look sharp enough to make me believe that they are in real HD, but then again, I may be wrong. You can download android games at www.androidgamesroom.com, it's like an apptrackr for android.

Android as powerful as it seem, it too has its "achilles hill", the battery life is android's one major weakness, although android's battery life are improving by the year, consumers doesn't seem to get enough. The OT918N is one of those new android phones that has an improved battery life, with moderate internet, multimedia, call and txt, an hour or two of games and some office work the OT918N's battery will surely last for a day, but if you're one of those guys that prefer to run apps and play games more than the usual, then you'll find it short in juice. The phone has a dual-sim feature I did the test with both sims active, so if you're using only one sim, it consumes less battery.

After using this phone for almost five months, I can definitely say that it is one of the best android phones out there, if I where to rate it i'll give it a 9 out of 10, the phone's price is the winning factor. I got phones Ranging from P4,+++ to P5,+++ that come and go, but this P5,999 phone will surely find a soft spot in my pocket for a very long time.

WHAT'S INSIDE THE BOX?
OT918N android phone
Micro USB cable
Charger
3.5mm stereo headset
Manual
Alcatel 1 yr warranty
Screen protector

ALCATEL OT918N SPECS:

DISPLAY: 3.2 inch capacitive touchscreen
RESOLUTION: 320 x 480 pixels
OS: Android 2.3 gingerbread
BANDWIDTH: GSM 850, 900, 1800, 1900mhz, UMTS: 850 2100Mhz
DATA: HSDPA, UMTS, EDGE, GPRS, 3G
PROCESSOR: 650Mhz ARM
MEMORY: 256 MB
CAMERA: 3.0 megapixels
FEATURES: Dual SIM slots, GPS, A-GPS, Music player, FM RDS, loudspeaker, expandable memory via micro sd, built in FB, twitter, bluetooth, WI-FI 802.11 b,g,n, USB 2.0, accelerometer, compass
BATTERY CAPACITY: 1300mAh

ARNOVA 7 G2 Review and Specs.

I was saving money to buy a tablet, and my brand of choice is the Archos 7 HT (Home Tablet), as soon as I got the money, I went to the store where I saw that brand, but unfortunately it was out of stock; instead, I got something better, the Arnova 7 G2 android tablet. The Arnova 7 G2 looks exactly the same as the Archos 7 HT, the only difference is the brand name embedded on the device, in fact ARNOVA 7 G2 was made and designed by Archos, specifically targeting the entry-level market.

I did mention that the Arnova 7 G2 is better than the Archos 7 HT, “YES” it’s true, the Arnova 7 G2 is better than the Archos 7 HT in many ways; it out muscled the Archos 7 HT in the power house division, a 1ghz ARM Cortex A8 processor with 512 MB of RAM vs. an 800Mhz processor with 512 MB RAM, the Arnova 7 G2 uses android 2.3 gingerbread, while the latter uses 2.2 froyo, and the most visible advantage of the Arnova 7 G2 is the front facing VGA camera, in which the Archos 7 HT lacks, of course this advantages doesn’t come free, for the Arnova 7 G2 is a bit expensive than the Archos 7 HT, but still has the Arnova affordability.

The device is almost bare, it comes with only a handful of applications most of them, podcast, RSS, and news widgets from Europe, but it is not a major set back, for android is known for having tons of apps and games ready to be downloaded via the Android market, although the Arnova 7 G2 uses appslib instead of the android market that we grew familiar with, appslib is designed specifically for Arnova tablets , probably to ensure apps and game compatibility. The 1ghz ARM Cortex A8 processor is truly the bread and butter of the Arnova 7 G2, with it, surfing the net is as smooth as ever, it also plays Full HD video up to 1080p.

We all know that browsing speed also relies on the internet connection, so I did a comparison to different types of connections, first at home using broadband, with only my brother currently connected using his desktop computer, browsing the net via wi-fi at home in my Arnova 7 G2 is fairly fast it made me a couch potato making me want to surf the net all day long, then I tried it in a public hotspot with medium volume of people, I prefer McDonalds, I took a seat and scan the area, there are only few people connected mostly using cellphones, again, I was amazed by its performance, it’s not as fast as it did at home, but still decently fair. Now for my last test a public hotspot with large volume of people, preferably a mall, I chose SM City Masinag, browsing speed is a bit slower than my second test, but still, you can surf the net in a fairly decent manner, I would say mediocre, and the good thing about this device is the battery life, it has 5hrs of juice as Arnova claims, well, I say maybe more depending on your brightness level. It is also 3G ready, but only compatible with the Archos G9 3G stick, in doing so, you must update your system with the latest firmware at www.arnovatech.com. Bottom line, the Arnova 7 G2 is without a doubt a reliable internet tablet.

Arnova 7 G2 as a gaming console; I have a couple of games currently installed in my Arnova 7 G2, though some 3D games won’t work well, but HD games such as Samurai II, and Drift works perfectly well, alongside Angry Birds Rio, and Plants vs. Zombies, I did tried to install 3d games with PSP-like graphics, namely Don 2, the game is well-suited for a 7inch screen and the graphics, awesome much better than the PSP, at first it's doing great, with the main character walking around exploring the area, until the enemy approaches and the action begins, the game suddenly turned to super slow-mo mode, making it unfit to play, leaving me no choice but to uninstall it in my device, so if you think of playing Backstab, Dead Space, and GTA on the Arnova 7 G2 you can forget about it, you just can’t, the arnova 7 G2 simply lack the power to run these AAA games.

Here are some games that works well with the Arnova 7 G2, TNA impact! Zorro Shadow of Vengeance, Plants vs. Zombies, Halfbreed, Samurai II Vengeance HD, Deadly Chambers HD, Shadow Cave, Tiki Kart 3D, Mortal Skies, Raging Thunder, Dead Strike, and Zombie Fields. Dead Strike will run sluggish when dealing with Bosses and multiple enemies, but still playable, that is why I decided to keep it installed in my Arnova 7 G2, it’s a great game to pass the time. You can download all this free and cracked games at www.androidgamesroom.com, Enjoy!

What comes inside the box?
ARNOVA 7 G2 tablet
Micro USB cable
Quick Start Guide
Charger with multiple socket
ARNOVA 1yr warranty card






ARNOVA 7 G2 SPECIFICATION

Capacity - Flash memory 8gb and 4gb, expandable via micro SD
Operating system - Android 2.3 gingerbread
Processor - 1GHz ARM Cortex A8 with integrated Vivante GC800 GPU, 512 MB RAM
Display - 7" capacitive multi-touch screen, TFT LCD, 16 million colors
- 800 x 480 screen resolution
Connectivity - WiFi (802.11 b/g)
Video playback - H.264 up to 1080p resolution- 30fps/5mbps
- MPEG 4- 30fps / 2.5mbps
- Realvideo up to 720p resolution- 30fps/2.5mbps
- extensions avi, mp4, mkv, flv
Miscellaneous - built in stereo speakers
- microphone
- G - sensors
Battery - Lithium Polymer, 5hrs video playback
Dimensions - 203mm x 107mm x 12mm(8"x4.2"x0.5") -370g/13oz


PROS: affordable and durable, does what it supposed to, decent battery life.

CONS: a bit laggy, crash issues, does not have a built-in calendar app.

Archos 7 android tablet

Everyone wants a little something for themselves this holiday season, as for me a tablet is the only thing I want, but unfortunately, I got a limited budget for it, and so, I put myself on a mission of finding a good tablet that won't go pass the 10,000 peso mark, obviously, that amount will definitely put an X mark to the Samsung Galaxy tab and the likes.

With checklist of malls at hand, my hunt for a 10,000 peso tablet begins, but to my surprise, I didn't even have to go far to search for what I'm looking for, I found it in a mall not more than 10kms away from my house, there it lies in a newly opened store at Robinsons Metro East, the Archos 7 android tablet. I've red a lot of articles about the Archos 7 over the net, most of them showed tremendous amount of positive feedback, and since 2004, I got this habit of reading T3 magazines; during those issues, portable media players made by Archos are a common sight, giving me a reason to believe that Archos is undoubtedly a well established brand. For just 7,490 pesos it is well within my reach. At last! I got something to get exited about this holiday season.

P.S.
I'll be posting the specs as soon as I got the device.

Is there still life left in Symbian?

Nokia has unleashed another smartphone called the X7, though, Microsoft and Nokia maybe partners these days, Nokia has decided that the X7 sticks to its roots, but is there still life left in Symbian, now that the smartphone market is dominated by the iphone’s iOS, and google’s Android. The X7 runs the new version of Symbian called Anna, it undergo some tweaks to the interface, like faster web browsing with flash, and other stuff that Nokia says can rival that of the iphone, and Android. A few years back Nokia released their highly anticipated N8 that runs Symbian ^3^, but has failed to meet the expectations of the smartphone market, making the N8 a loosing model for Nokia, now Nokia has plans of releasing a new version of the N8 running Windows OS, did Nokia learn their lesson? Probably, not, the N8’s failure to meet the demands of the smartphone market, maybe due to Symbian, being a loosing OS for smartphones. With Nokia’s decision to run, the X7 with Symbian; is all, too risky.

Sony Ericsson was once a supporter of Symbian, they use Symbian excessively to power their P-series smartphones that had once dominated the smartphone market, but with the arrival of the iOS, and Android, Sony Ericsson slowly looses its grasp from the smartphone market, with sales at stake and with the company gradually losing by the numbers, S.E. has decided to put an end to their P-series smartphones and other U.I.Q devices, giving way to their new breed of smartphones, called the Xperia, the first Xperia runs on Windows OS, but S.E. wasn’t satisfied with its feedback, and decided that the next line of Xperia be run, using Android, a decision, that puts back S.E. in the smartphone arena, and a tough competitor, they’ve become.

Symbian is something that we grew familiar with, it is where the smartphone era started; making Symbian and Nokia as the grand daddy of all smartphones, but as the years go by, a newer more powerful OS are popping out like weeds, killing all the weaker ones aside. The market is an ever changing entity, driven by human’s insatiable appetite for something new, Nokia has done everything they can, for Symbian to cope up with the latest trend, but the market seemed to be more elusive to every effort they’ve done, I hate to see Symbian go obsolete, with the release of the X7, and firmware Anna, it may be Symbian’s last hope.

Samsung Corby II review

The Samsung GT-S3850 also known as the Corby II is a cheap phone that offers more than its price, like most phones it has its ups and downs. The Corby II is a low-end phone that caters the young market, like students and young professionals who’s always conscious about numbers and figures; though cheap, it actually pack a lot of features that exceeds most phones that are in the mid-range class. For 4,990 pesos you’ll be able to get these features; a large 3.1 inch capacitive touch screen with a mediocre resolution, though, watching movies on it is quite impressive, I used an MP4 formatted video in a 320x240 screen resolution. Youtube also works well on this device and its impressive dolfin internet browser keeps me glued on the net, not to mention, the nice user-friendly Facebook interface; it also has a built-in wi-fi that most low-end phones doesn’t have, giving you free connections to the web. What surprised me even more was its multi-tasking ability; yes, you heard me right, it can multi-task, a feature only known to a smartphone and hardly ever heard of, on a java based phone. The Corby II is obviously not categorized as a smartphone it uses a standard Samsung proprietary OS that is Java capable, by pressing and holding the menu button you’ll be able to access the task manager, from there you can shift from one open task to another including java apps and games. It also boasts a music player with a nice user interface and excellent audio quality, based on my comparison it sounds a lot better than my ipod touch 2nd-gen. The media player comes with a 5.1 channel support, giving you a theater like experience on both your movies and music.

The Corby II uses Samsung's Touch-Wiz UI, which revolutionized shortcuts on a touch screen phone, though I encountered occasional glitches, specifically on the feeds and updates, and the google search shortcuts, texting also is a bit of a problem, it uses a small virtual keypads, which makes you prone to mistakes by accidentally tapping the wrong buttons, but that didn’t stop me from enjoying this nice looking phone which I considered as one of my best buy, afterall, I got it cheap.

Samsung Corby II Specs.

Network: 2G GSM 850/900/1800/1900
Display Type: TFT capacitive touchscreen, 256k colors
240x320 pixels
3.1 inch screen
Touch Wiz UI
Alert Type: Vibration, MP3,WAV tones
Loudspeaker
3.5mm jack
DNSe
Memory: Phonebook, Photocall
Call record
26Mb internal memory
microSD up to 16 Gb
Data: GPRS
EDGE
WLAN Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n
bluetooth
micro USB v2.0
Camera: 2MP 1600x1200 pixels
smile shutter
Video, QVGA @15fps
Features: JAVA
SNS integration with live updates
Dolfin Browser
Music player
Document viewer
Find music recognition service
Battery: stand-by up to 620 hrs
talk-time up to 9hrs

God of War "The Ghost of Sparta" PSP

God Of War “The Ghost of Sparta” is one of the most anticipated game on the PSP, it is also one of the most expensive game ever produce on a handheld, that's probably the reason why the price also comes with a kick, but you’ll find it worth buying, after all; good games always come with a price.

Based on my experience as a PSP gamer God of War Ghost of Sparta is one of the best looking game on the PSP, graphics and gameplay is so intense you’ll forget you’re playing on a handheld. The Ghost of Sparta is one of the prequels of the God Of War series, the storyline came after God of War 1 when Kratos defeated Ares and right before God of War 2 when Kratos rages his anger to the gods, it happened in between God of War 1 and 2, the story focuses more on Kratos rise to power, clearly a transition to God of War 2. Ghost of Sparta also comes with Kratos’s new moves and abilities, one of my favorite is the takedown, then followed by a ground and pound (ala UFC style) been using it since the start of the game till the end, though, some enemies are immune to that move, so it’s important to learn some melee combo in order to survive in the game, specially when played on hard mode.

God of War Ghost of Sparta reveals some of kratos’s secrets that most God of War fans didn’t know about, one of which is the coming out of Kratos brother. This prequel lets you see how the brothers got separated by the gods, and the plot behind the abduction will piece by piece be revealed as you progress in the game, surprisingly; Kratos mother played a part in this game too and it is one of Kratos quests to free his mother from eternal suffering inflicted by the gods. A lot of secrets will be revealed in this game that will shock all God of War fans, making this prequel the missing link of the God of War series. Its two thumbs up for this game. God of War “The Ghost of Sparta” was released Q4 2010, and it’s now available for download and UMDs.