Tag Archive for ‘social-networking’
The first Android full-QWERTY slider from the Taiwanese leader in smartphones was the HTC Dream released back in June 2009. Now you have a successor in the HTC Desire Z. A closer look and it’s really the HTC Desire that just grew a sliding QWERTY keyboard from the outside. Inside, it’s another story, though close.
Familiar Features
Like the earlier Desire, the Z comes with the same 3.7-inch Super LCD capacitive touchscreen with 480 x 800 resolution and 16 million colors, plus accelerometer and proximity sensors and the multitouch input feature. It could have been AMOLED just like the first batch of HTC Desire handsets, but HTC has already shifted to S-LCD in the later batches as Samsung failed to deliver the needed quantities of the screens.
Then there’s the same 5-megapixel autofocus camera with LED flash, geo tagging and face detection. But the HTC Desire Z one-ups the Desire with 720p video recording courtesy of its higher Android v2.2 Froyo. But an upgrade on the older Éclair in the Desire should fix that.
Other Desirable Features
Powered by a Qualcomm MSM 7230 CPU clocked at 800 MHz, a bit less endowed than the 1GHz Snapdragon on the first Desire, the HTC Desire Z enjoys the same plethora of radio and data connectivity options, starting with a quad band GMS/GPRS/EDGE on 2G and a dual band UMTS/HSDPA/HSUPA on 3G.
It comes with hotspot support from an upgraded WiFi 802.11 b/g/n with DLNA and local data connectivity like Bluetooth v2.1 with A2DP and microUSB v2.0. Other features include a stereo FM receiver with RDS, a 3.5mm audio jack, SatNav support with GPS, A-GPS and Digital Compass.
There’s a 1.5 GB onboard user memory with 512 MB RAM and up to 32GB microSD support. Its 1300 mAh Li-ion battery delivers 9.8 hours of call time on 2G, 6.6 hours on 3G with 430 hours on standby. Some very attractive HTC Desire Z contracts have already emerged and the handset is expected to hit shelves in late October.
Tags: 5-megapixel, Android-2.2-Froyo, Google-Android, HTC, HTC-Desire-Z, qualcomm, QWERTY, social-networking, Wi-Fi
Several years ago, people would say that word of mouth is no longer a powerful advertising tool. With mass media in its growth the most successful advertisements were often the ones with the most air time on television, the largest billboards, the most posters and the widest streamers.
People could still give out recommendations to friends and family, but word of mouth can only travel so far. Unless you were a journalist or elsewhere in the media, a personal opinion and recommendation is not going to change the future of your favorite corner book store.
Today, a single Tweeted opinion can be as powerful as the most expensive commercial air time during a major sports event.
This is the world that we live in today, highly influenced by three major factors: better smart phone technology, the growth of social networking and the improvement of mobile wireless technology. Information can be sent, received and share instantly, not just among small circles of friends, but across hundreds and thousands of linked acquaintances, colleagues, peers, co-workers and other contacts.
In a portion of the findings from research firm Gartner’s study, it was revealed that may people rely heavily on what people in their social network say regarding products and services. The study covered the influence of social networking in the purchasing habits of over 4000 consumers from all over the world.
According to Gartner, the realm of social networking is a highly underutilized tool for marketing that many commercial companies are failing to tap to into. Despite the already large number of ads that appear all over sites such as Facebook and sponsored Tweets there are still plenty of avenues left unexplored, and many brands still without an online presence.
One could say that smart phone technology and the internet have turned the concept of marketing into a full circle –giving the power of influence back to the consumers. From what we are seeing, it looks like the progress has pushed marketing beyond its’ original scope.
Tags: Facebook, Internet, smartphones, social-networking, technology, Twitter
With a sizable 3.7” AMOLED screen delivering amazing colours and full contrast, the HTC Desire is truly nothing short of brilliant. Under its hood is a 1 GHz Snapdragon processor which aims to deliver unbridled clock speeds and a silky smooth, highly-responsive, and multi-tasking-capable system that is unmatched. Rounding things off is its famed Sense UI which has received countless acclaims. If there ever was a desirable Smartphone, then surely it has to be the HTC Desire.
It’s YOUR Mobile
One of the best features of the Desire is that it provides limitless customization options, making the device a perfect match for one and for all. Regardless if you’re an on-the-go office worker, a budding entrepreneur, or a college undergrad still searching for his own voice, the Desire can truly be YOUR mobile.
HTC’s proprietary Sense UI provides its users with a boatload of widgets that you can mix and match to convert your home screen into a personal source of information, multimedia, entertainment, or even all of the above, all at once.
Stay Connected
The manufacturers of the HTC Desire appreciates the fact that in order to be an exceptional mobile, a device has to have the ability to connects its users to the rest of the world through a variety of avenues. Voice and data connectivity options on the Desire are second to none and it of course, has support for the likes of IM (instant messaging) and Push Email. That’s not all she wrote for the Desire as it is also equipped with social networking integration which guarantees that you never miss a bet on Facebook or Twitter.
One for the Books
The HTC Desire is definitely a mobile to remember. It has all the elements both critics and consumers look for in a Smartphone. Come the end of the year, when all the mobile phone awarding bodies start searching for the premier mobile of 2010, there is no doubt that the Desire will be there or thereabouts.
Tags: AMOLED, HTC, HTC-Desire, HTC-Sense, smartphones, social-networking
Many smart phones will allow a user to instant take a video recording of almost anything. And chances are these videos are shared with friends and families online on various file and video sharing sites like YouTube before they are posted on Facebook.
In many ways, this little convenience is something that users should be careful about. Uploading a video is quite easy (especially when there is a stable and fast internet connection), but the repercussions of doing such could be bigger.
Take the previous case of a Google video which showed a young boy being bullied. The case ended with three of Google Italy’s top heads taking the blame for the psychological damage that the video has brought. Despite the fact that Google does not control the content that is uploaded by users, many feel that they are responsible.
Since Google also owns YouTube, the same argument has also been made –not only because of an uploaded video’s potential effects, but also because of the fact that a large chunk of videos online contain copyrighted material. Viacom has filed a case against Google regarding this matter. Despite the fact that they lost the case, it drives in the fact that there is an issue with the content that is being uploaded to the video sharing site.
Copyrights are not the only issue that YouTube users should be wary of, after all, Google already takes measures to help out the copyright owners (if copyright owners request that certain videos be taken down, Google cooperates with them).
Being careful about how personal and private videos are shared is also important. While it may be nice to upload that video taken at a cousin’s recent wedding, be sure to ask permission from the people who are heavily involved in the video –more often than not, people find themselves tagged in embarrassing moments caught on camera that are publicly displayed by their contacts on Facebook and other social networking sites.
Tags: copyrights, Facebook, Google, Google-video, Internet, smartphones, social-networking, Viacom, video, YouTube
The new Microsoft mobile platform focuses heavily on making phone functions smooth and dynamic. A recent video demonstration showed how easy it is to link from one phone functions to another in a smooth comprehensive manner.
The process often starts with the contacts list, from there, any contact can be emailed, messaged, called or just reviewed depending on the available contact information. When tied up to a social networking account or a Windows Live account, instant messages can be sent and the most status updates can also be seen. From there, users can opt to share Facebook content, leave a comment and more.
The calendar is also connected to various functions of the device as well. Users can create an entry that not only provides the time and name of event, but they can also specify a location which will be integrated to the map function. This allows a person to easily check a schedule, reference an event location on a map then make plans to visit nearby places of interest.
For the most part, the entirety of the Windows Phone 7 is expected to work in this same way. Many believe that the number of things a person can do in contacts will increase as more functions get added in. Sending specific files, inviting people to play games and other functions are expected to be available once the final product rolls out.
According to gamers, there is still not much to look forward to on this smart phone since there is still no lineup of games for the Xbox Live Service which has been announced months ago. With this, many might want to pass up on getting Microsoft’s new mobile platform and focus their budget on other products such as the MS Kinect or even better, Sony’s Playstation Move.
With many new games and accessories coming out later this year, Microsoft will be hard pressed to convince gamers of the value of their new mobile platform.
Tags: calendar, email, Facebook, games, Microsoft, social-networking, Windows-Phone-7
You might have found yourself with a phone on low battery more than once. It is not a crime, but it is terribly inconvenient. Mobile phones are made to help people get in touch with one another, coordinate, communicate and plan. However, with most of society becoming all too reliant on the accessibility of the modern mobile phone, being stuck outside with a phone on its last few bars of energy leaves one with a feeling of hopelessness.
Here are a few simple pointers that could help ration the energy left on your mobile phone when a charge is still too far away.
First off, go silent. Most mobile phones have a silent mode setting that will keep all the tones, beeps, rings and music to a muted level. This helps save a lot of energy. If you are waiting for a message to arrive or a call, simply be sure to keep the phone on hand or in a visible position in your desk so you can check the screen regularly.
Of course, when checking the screen, there is no need to unlock the device if there are no updates –the dark standby screen often has notifications if you have a new message or call to check.
The second best thing to do is to go offline. Connecting to WiFi or a 3G network will drain your battery faster, especially when there is plenty of content coming in and out. When in a situation where a person really needs to have a phone with power, being offline from a social networking account for a few hours should not be much of a compromise (if it is, you might want to seek help).
Lastly, change the screen settings. LCD screens and backlights eat up power when left on for a long time. Devices often have a low power settings mode, or have similar adjustable settings to achieve the needed effect.
Tags: 3G, battery, social-networking, Wifi
Now here is a big claim. At the Nielsen 360 Consumer Conference, Sheryl Sandberg is saying that Email will eventually go away, despite the fact that even she finds it hard to imagine a future without it.
The silly thing here is that prior to this statement, Sheryl also declares that it is the current web usage patterns of teens today that determines the trends of the future. It sounds logical, but it also completely ignores what teenagers are actually doing. Her example covers the concept that teenagers would not send emails to each other; they would message each other privately using Facebook’s message features.
The only reason this happens is that accessing the ‘send a message’ button is far easier than logging into a web server. But if all email did was send personal messages among people in a one’s friends’ list, then the technology would have been phased out by now.
Emails do more than help people communicate. Email also works as a personal identification tool on the web –Facebook is trying to do the same, but the need for privacy alone is enough to stop the effort.
And the reason why people trust email accounts to identify them and not their Facebook accounts is due to the fact that emails, as personal as they are, are also anonymous. Of course, barring the use of one’s own name as an email address, anonymity is a key factor that Facebook cannot provide.
Despite the fact that the highest amount of traffic that mobile internet sees is with social networking site Facebook, search engine Google and microblogging Twitter, accessing emails is also an important part of the day for many people. Access to emails is one of the main reasons why smart phones were developed. And while social networking may be pushing the distribution of smart phone technology, it would never be able to replace or phase out emails.
Tags: email, Facebook, Google, Internet, social-networking, Twitter
If you plan on giving your child a smart phone with internet access, you might want to check into the latest Norton Family Report to be able to know what you need to do to prepare the child for access to the internet.
According to the annual study, children these days are more likely to encounter “negative experiences” when browsing the internet. Not that the internet has always been clean, but access to various content that contains violence, profanity, nudity and other similar material is now made easier. Norton states that at least 60% of children will encounter this content when they go online.
The initial solution for many parents is to control what their children can and cannot access. This usually entails placing firewalls, passwords and family filter protocols to determine what goes through the router and what cannot. However, shielding does not actually prepare the child for anything; it is simply delaying the inevitable.
A generation ago, it would have made sense to keep children away from such materials until they are at an age where their level of understanding and level of maturity is able to cope with the ‘negative content’. But given how integrated the internet is to our society (and how the material can also be found offline –on the telly and on other media), it is actually more important for parents to know and understand the value of educating their children properly.
The internet will not wait for your child, and keeping a child away from social networking, games and the internet in general would be akin to deprivation. What is important is to give the child discipline, confidence and awareness of what the internet truly is what can be found there.
With smart phones now considered to be a basic necessity for many modern families, this is one crucial step that parents cannot afford to miss.
Tags: firewalls, games, Internet, smartphones, social-networking
So many mobile phones are now aimed helping you manage your many different social networking accounts. This is because social networking is not just for connecting to friends, it has also become a way of life for many people. The popular site Facebook has been used as a business tool for those who want to advertise their product, service or event. It has become an effective medium for people to search for missing loved ones during a calamity and has served as a way to organize the distribution channels of charity goods when disaster strikes.
That being said, it is no wonder that Facebook has become the avenue for hackers to spread their creations. The latest virus threat which has hit Facebook is descriptively called as the “Distracting Beach Babes Virus”. This is actually a video post which is strategically placed on the unsuspecting user’s wall. Upon clicking the play icon however, you will be redirected to a page which automatically downloads malware in the form of a Hot Bar adware application. This does not only infect your mobile device or desktop, it also spreads the video link onto your friends’ Facebook wall.
Of course, the way these virus scares work is that it takes advantage of the trust you place on the posts your friends make. Rarely will a situation prompt you to cross check a video link or doubt a wall post because it is posted by a contact that you trust.
The lesson here is that people should be more careful when clicking on post links. It should be treated the same way as an email link or attachment is treated. It would be better to err in the side of caution rather than to have your personal information given unknowingly or to have your files corrupted.
Tags: Facebook, security, social-networking
We all know that the general public is not to happy the announcement that Facebook is refusing to install a panic button for users. Of course, many people also do not understand the concept of deterrence on the internet and fail to realize that things that apply to the real world do not necessarily apply as well on the internet.
The bottom line here is that despite the good intentions of charities, the police and everyone else, it is Facebook that truly understands the nature of the internet. Take it from them -they are the ones with a social networking site with millions of users.
Now, it has been said that Facebook’s current actions are simply going around the real requirement (which is to add a panic button) and that the social networking site is simply doing things in order to look like they are doing something productive. This perspective however, could not be more wrong.
Facebook’s decision to provide proper help guides and detailed content regarding what people can do when confronted with offensive content or accounts that clearly violate rules is far more productive than making a panic button graphic.
The link is more than sufficient, and in the internet, it is knowing what a link does and what it is for that gets people to use, not bright shiny images (face it, when did you last click a bright shiny pop up ad?).
Now, the biggest insult to Facebook is calling their offer of free advertising as a “cynical approach”. Charities should know better than to snap the hand that is being extended out to them. Advertising space on a social networking site is a prime spot, and no spot is more “prime” than Facebook.
Tags: Facebook, online-safety, social-networking
