Gadgets Base

Posted Feb 14th 2008 11:25PM by Nilay Patel
Filed under: GamingWe’re always a little skeptical of piracy impact numbers, especially when companies try to factor in things like “lost sales,” which can’t be adequately measured, but it’s still interesting to hear how large the hit is estimated to be — like Nintendo’s recent filing with the US Trade Representative that piracy cost it and its partners some $975m worldwide in 2007. Saying that the popularity of the Wii and DS makes Nintendo an “attractive target” for counterfeiters, the big N broke the problem down by region, highlighting its efforts to stem the tide and proposed solutions and regulations. We’d say that with profits soaring and plenty of people clamoring for hard-to-find systems, Nintendo could probably get back a little of that cash by finally getting some boxes on shelves instead of pushing for new laws, but hey — even Mario’s lawyers probably get sick of being paid in mushrooms.

[Image courtesy of Nick Cueva]

Vnunet reviews the LG Viewty and writes, “The software, which is extremely easy to use, is especially handy for cropping people who’ve accidentally made their way into pictures from the phone’s 5-megapixel camera. We particularly liked the Muvee application, which makes slideshows of photos taken, in different styles, and sets them to music stored on the phone…However, we were disappointed to find that we could not adjust the colour or brightness of phone images, which tended to come out very bright, lending the people in them a ghost-like pallor. Despite this, we were impressed with the camera’s face-detection technology, which does exactly what it promises, and focuses the camera on people’s faces. The only other complaint about the camera is that there is no protective lens cover, which could be a real problem for those people who like to throw their phones in their pockets next to a set of keys.”

Read more about the LG Viewty.

Posted Feb 14th 2008 10:33PM by Nilay Patel
Filed under: cellphones
While we certainly thought Modu’s modular handset had promise when we played with it at MWC a couple days ago, the company’s founder seems to think the little handset is about to shake things up in a big way — in an interview with Israel’s TheMarker Dov Moran said that “all Nokia can do is go the church on Sunday and pray.” According to Moran, the Modu is based on the reverse of Nokia’s build-it-all-in philosophy, which has led to stagnation in the Finnish company’s devices — “I’ve been to the Nokia booth, and it’s boring. Same device only with 16GB instead of 8″ — and the Modu’s flexible nature will combat that. We’re not sure — that N96 was pretty hot — but we love a good rabble-rouser, and it looks like the staid mobile industry just found a good one.

[Thanks, Benhur; Warning: Hebrew read link]

Posted Feb 14th 2008 4:26PM by Paul Miller
Filed under: Gaming, Peripherals
Hey, we all get jealous sometimes. While Nerf has tried to be a supportive as possible of your Wii addiction, it’s clear that there’s really only room for one gun in your life — and Nerf wants to be it. The upcoming Nerf Blaster Controller (Wii) brings healing to this relationship, by letting you use the Nerf shell to blast away at baddies with your Wiimote locked on top, and then swap in a Nerf dart chamber to blast away at your cat while Link catches his breath. It’s the best of both worlds, and the right thing to do. Hasbro will be showing off the Blaster Controller at Toy Fair 2008 next week, so hopefully we’ll get some more release info then.

[Via Crave]

Register Hardware reviews the Nokia E51 and writes, “The camera on the back of the E51 is a standard two-megapixel shooter that produces average quality photos. This is unlikely to be a selling point of the E51 - its user interface isn’t particularly camera-like, with most of the limited settings options listed in simple list format…The camera achieves better results in bright lighting conditions outside, while indoors images aren’t as crisp – there’s no flash to help matters in low-light conditions. Video can be recorded too, though at a maximum 320 x 240 (QVGA) resolution, and is again fairly average mobile phone limited quality fare.”

Read more about the Nokia E51.

Posted Feb 14th 2008 4:03PM by Darren Murph
Filed under: cellphones, WirelessRidiculous quantities of 3G handsets weren’t the only things showed off at this year’s Mobile World Congress — oh no, NetIndex, Kaga Electronics and Runcom shook up the norm a bit with their WiMAX-enabled portable VoIP phone. Reportedly, the trio joined forces to develop a VoIP handset that utilized a 802.16e module, and aside from “realizing all-IP voice communication,” it also sports a web browser and integrated WiFi for times when a plain ole hotspot will do. Sadly, we’ve no idea where this thing will go after it leaves Barcelona (nor what it looks like), but here’s to hoping it makes a commercial debut — and can decide on a single logo — in the not-too-distant future.

It’s no secret that cell phone batteries typically suck, sometimes not even lasting us until we get home in the evening.  What’s the secret to good battery life?  The general rule of thumb is that if your phone is doing anything, your battery power is being drained.  And if you’re doing something fun on your phone, you can bet your battery meter will be running low shortly.  This means photos, games, and web surfing will all impair your battery’s performance significantly more than regular use.  So what are some steps you can take to maximize your battery life without sacrificing the fun?  Read on for 10 things you can do to increase your phone’s battery life:

1. Turn off all off all unnecessary sounds (keytones, alerts). One of my biggest pet peeves is how most phones these days come with keytones on.  Do people really like hearing their phone beep, strum a musical note, or chime every time they press a button?  You might like it, but ask your neighbor.  Plus, turning these off will save you a good amount of battery juice.  Think of all of the processing it must take to load up those midis (or whatever they are) when you touch a key - plus, they’re annoying.
2. Use either a ringer or vibrate, but not both. I understand if you’re in a concert or loud party you want to increase your chance of actually realizing your phone is ringing, but other than that, pick one or the other.  There’s no need to have your ringer all the way to the point where it has both the sound and vibrate alerts active, so I would recommend against it.  I personally have my phone on vibrate at all times, regardless of where I am.  If you’re worried about not hearing your phone when it’s on vibrate, put it on a table and I promise you’ll hear it.  Or better yet, put it in a dish full of coins!
3. Decrease your screen’s brightness to 50%. Go to the settings menu of your phone and change the LCD brightness.  At first, the screen will look dark, but once your eyes have adjusted to it, you’ll forget about it.  The LCD screen on your phone is one of the biggest (if not THE biggest) power hogs on your phone.  So turn it down, and you’re on your way to a lengthier battery life.
4. Turn your backlight setting down. Most phones these days will allow you to adjust the amount of time your backlight stays on once you’ve stopped touching buttons.  The default length on most phones is probably around 15-30 seconds, but there are settings that are much lower.  I would suggest turning this down to 3-5 seconds to increase your battery life.  If it starts annoying you, then just crank it back up.  Note: Mine backlight is set to go off after 5 seconds and it doesn’t bother me at all.
5. Turn off Bluetooth when you’re not using it. This can be an easy one to forget about if you’re often switching between using a Bluetooth headset, and the phone’s ear piece.  Turning the Bluetooth off when you’re not using it will save your phone from having to go out and check if the headset is there every few seconds.  Any type of transmission will weigh-down your battery life, so if you use infrared, turn that off when you’re not using it as well.
6. Close applications when you’re not using them. This one only affects those of us that have smartphones.  Why do you need to keep that game on pause when you’re not using it?  Or pocket Excel open?  Just save and close them and you’ll minimize the amount of battery waste.
7. Keep your phone in cool climates. I know most of the time you won’t have a choice where to keep your phone - since it goes with you at all times.  But when you do have a choice - such as when you’re at home - don’t put your phone on the hot stove, or on your super hot MacBook Pro or anything like that.  Also, don’t keep your phone in a hot car.  If you have extra batteries for your phone, go ahead and store those in the refrigerator - but make sure not to freeze them.  BatteryUniversity recomments storing them at a 40% charge for best results.
8. When you’re phone is done charging, unplug it! There’s a common myth that you can over-charge your battery if you leave it plugged in.  According to BatteryUniversity, “Once the battery is fully charged, no further charge is applied.” So if no further charge is applied, then why do you need to unplug your phone?  You want to protect your battery from heat, that’s why.  When the phone is running off of AC for a long time, extended heat may hurt the battery.
9. Don’t let your battery fully discharge. If you let your battery die frequently, you’re putting extra strain on the battery.  Avoid this by plugging in your phone before it dies all the way.
10. Don’t do anything fun on your phone. I mentioned this above, but I’m serious here.  If you have fun on your phone, your battery life will dramatically decrease.  Accessing the web, playing games, navigating via GPS and capturing photos or video are not things to do while you’re in the middle of nowhere without a charger.

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