AMD's ATI Radeon Runs into Trouble

It's just been a few days of lau It's just been a few days of launch and AMD's ATI Radeon HD 4830 GPU has run into problems. Apparently, some units of the graphics card sent out by their partner, HIS was adjusted to run with a pre-production version of BIOS. Older BIOS meant that the streaming processors were disabled to 560 instead of specified 640 which restricted the full potential of the card.

However, the good news is that AMD has identified the issue and claims that around 400 units of HIS boards are affected by this problem which can be easily resolved by a BIOS update.

Through consultations with AMD board partners, it has been determined with a high degree of certainty that fewer than 400 ATI Radeon HD 4830 boards from one AMD board partner, HIS, have reached the market with the pre-production BIOS incorrectly provided by AMD. As only a small number of HIS-branded ATI Radeon HD 4830 cards are impacted, we ask any customers that purchased an HIS-branded ATI Radeon HD 4830 to test the board using the GPU-Z utility (available at Techpowerup.com ). If the GPU-Z utility reports fewer than 640 shaders, please visit the HIS website for information on how to update the card BIOS via a downloadable install utility."

Nokia XpressMusic 5320

The XpressMusic Series of phones from Nokia got hotter with the release of the Tube now christened the XpressMusic 5800. However, we still don't have it with us as it's yet to hit the Indian market sometime in this month. Today we look at one of the smartest XpressMusic phones I've come across after a really long time - XpressMuic 5320.

I was not too impressed with the looks of the XpressMusic 5320, but I'll leave that for the end-user to decide.

The phone though does have an appeal by the kind of convergence it offers, which is exactly what helps this phone grow onto anyone who uses it. Being one in the intermediate range of handsets, it will create quite a stir in the sales of Nokia phones.

Bundle

Nokia XpressMusic 5320

Stereo Headset (3.5mm jack)

512 MB microSD card

USB Data Cable

Software & Manual

Specifications

XpressMusic

The 5320 XpressMusic phone has some added features as compared to the other phones in the XpressMusic series. Apart from the whole application bundle, there are two other factors that give the 5320 the edge in the series, even though it just an intermediate phone - Say & Play and N-Gage. So a quick word on its specialties.

Say & Play

The Say and Play XpressMusic feature is quite unique, one that I haven't seen in any other phone before. Say and Play works with you telling the phone which song to play and it plays it, much like a voice command. A recording begins once you keep the Own key pressed. You then have to mention the artist name and song, and you will be provided with a list of songs under his/her name.

You can further narrow it right down to just one song or album by adding the name of the album or song after the artist name. Just the name of the song or the artist won't do. Soon hopefully it will even recognize song names and take just that for a 'Say and Play' command.

N-Gage

The 5320 XpressMusic phone also supports the N-Gage platform. With an 8-way navigational D-Pad and gaming keys the phone is all ready to game. However, with the kind of games that are being designed for phones, it requires more than just the keys and the support.

It needs the power and very frankly the 5320 is very capable of it. I tried a couple of games and they ran smooth just like the phone houses a 3D Hardware accelerator. Though no mention of it has been made and I won't be surprised if it did.

It's not a very expensive device, at around €220 (£180 / $360) before tax and subsidy. And to a certain extent you can tell that there have been a few trade-offs when it comes to design. The QVGA resolution display is 2" in size, the camera has a flash but no autofocus and talktime is just 2.5 hours on 3G. Video capture is 320 x 240 pixels at 15 fps. It's certainly not as good as an N-Series device.. but then it is a lot cheaper.

The Nokia 5320 XpressMusic phone sells for around Rs.10,000 with a 1-year warranty. The phone may not be one of the most appealing to the eye but it sure has quite a good number of tricks under its sleeve.
You have to use the handset to know what it is capable of. The 5320 XpressMusic is mainly a music centric device, though it's capable of more.

The only competition I see from the Walkman is the W580i and given an option I would go in for the XpressMuisc 5320 for its features. But if its music quality, nothing beats the in-earplugs offered default in the package of the W580i. Maybe a 1GB card in the 5320's package could turn the tables on the W580i.

Sony Ericsson XPERIA X1

The XPERIA runs on the Windows Mobile OS - v6.1 and it runs smooth and being a Windows Mobile OS it's not something tough to get used to. If you remember I did mention in the HTC Touch Diamond review that the phone has opened this whole new avenue for Windows Mobile Devices. Well that's what it is exactly with the XPERIA.

However, there were few things that I didn't quite like. I had earlier mentioned the call hang button held down locking the phone. I prefer to have the list of options like in the HTC Touch Diamond. So I can choose to Lock the Phone or go to Communication Manager or Enter Flight Mode etc. I hope to see it implemented in the final release.

As enjoyable it was typing on the XPERIA's QWERTY keypad I would have wanted a touch pad because the phone is pretty responsive and it does have a screen that can fit on it easily and would eliminate the need to use a stylus.

The XPERIA's 3.2 MP camera is an autofocus module assisted with flash. The camera is just a 3.2MP, which is the disappointing bit, but has enough options to keep you fiddling around. Its options are much like the G900. The camera quality is not one that I can give an opinion on because it's a prototype, but the images were pretty good.
The music player of the phone is another thing that was disappointing.

It was so basic that other than the look of it I couldn't believe it was a Sony Ericsson. So much so that it's not possible to believe that the makers of the Walkman could come up with something so bland. I hope there are more options in the Media player. The screen resolution (800 x 480 pixels) of the phone is such that it makes it good for watching widescreen movies. However, there is no support for DivX or XviD and I don't see it happening for even the final version. Hope the X2 supports all formats.

The highly-anticipated Sony Ericsson Xperia X1 smartphone has been approved by the FCC and helpfully posted on their website so I can spend my Saturday mornings combing through confusingly bureaucratic PDF files looking for announcements like this. The specific model vetted by the fatcats in Washington probably isn't the one we'll be seeing here in North America: it's referred to as the X1i, which in Sony terms means Europe, and it's not yet equipped with 3G. Still, this is a good indication that we will be getting the X1 before 2009, though it'll still be after those shifty Europeans.

The Sony Ericsson XPERIA X1 is not yet available in the Indian market and will be here only in early November. The expected price tag for the phone is anywhere between 35K - 40K, which is quite steep. I feel it's better to look at it as any other premium Sony Ericsson phone, which when launched is highly priced and later on sees a price drop.

The HTC Touch Diamond is slow and sells for a much lesser price. We will also see the Touch Pro, which should be faster and has perfect competition with the Sony Ericsson XPERIA X1. Also, the X2 is expected to feature early next year, which may demand the price of the X1 to drop. But until then it's a long wait.

Samsung I900 omnia

This phone features Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional as its base operating system with the TouchWiz Interface working as a face.

It's been over a month since I reviewed the Samsung TouchWiz F480 and the more I used the phone I realized that the full touch interface from Samsung was worthy of appreciation. Now we've got our hands on the Olympiad i900 from Samsung, better known as the Omnia.

This phone features Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional as its base operating system with the TouchWiz Interface working as a face. Let's see if the Windows Mobile platform can help the TouchWiz interface get any better than the Original TouchWiz phone - the F480.

Bundle

Samsung i900 Omnia (8GB)

Stereo Headset

1GB microSD card

USB Cable

Charger

This is what we received along with the Samsung Omnia handset as its bundle.

Specification

The Samsung Omnia sells for Rs.33,500 with a 1-year warranty. After seeing the price of the TouchWiz F480, a non Windows Mobile device from Samsung for under 20K, this pricing seems rather steep. The phone does have a lot to offer with regard to its functionality.

But as I see it, the use of Windows Mobile is what has increased its price. At this price you get a lot of phones and the choice is not limited. Almost every other phone is accessible, the N95 8GB a great phone for 24K is also available but it doesn't feature DivX/XviD support.

Nevertheless, if you want DivX/XviD support you can get it by just paying a little extra for decent software. Then there is the Viewty for under 20K, however, that too misses out on Wi-Fi and its interface isn't the best. Now these options can be attained for well under the price that the Omnia is selling for.

So the question is whether you can sacrifice one of the features these phones have to offer. If you can't, then the Omnia should be able to satisfy your needs. However, if you want to save some money then it's better to go with something much cheaper than the Omnia, depending on what you want from your phone.

1,00,000 Sony Laptop Batteries Recalled

You've been using Sony batteries in your HP, Dell and Toshiba notebooks.

Sony's battery woes don't seem to end. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission has issued a voluntary recall of Sony batteries sold via laptop manufacturers like HP, Dell, and Toshiba.

The recall was issued after a few reported incidents where the lithium-ion batteries overheated and caught a small fire resulting in minor property damage and injuring two people with minor burns.

There are around a 35,000 affected batteries sold in the US through HP, Dell and Toshiba, while the remaining 65,000 have been sold worldwide as separate battery packs. Sony has acknowledged the battery recall and issued a statement for the same.

"It is believed that most of these incidents were related to manufacturing line adjustments made from October 2004 to June 2005, which may have affected some battery cells produced during that period. In addition, there were some incidents that may have involved a raw material flaw."

India get hands on Nokia N79

As promised, Nokia has started shipping its N79 for the Indian market. The phone was unveiled in August this year.

The N79 is aimed at the style-conscious multimedia phone users. For the same, the phone comes with a range of features that include integrated navigation, music with FM transmitter, high-speed connectivity capability, Web browsing, 10 pre-loaded N-Gage games.

For the style-factor, the phone will be bundled with three 'Xpress-On' swappable smart covers -- available in 5 colors: Light Sea Blue, Espresso Brown, Olive Green, White, and Coral Red.

The N79 is a candybar phone sporting a 2.4-inch screen with a resolution of 320 x 240 pixels (QVGA). It measures 110 x 49 x 15 mm and weighs 95g. Like the others in the Nseries, this phone too is powered by the Symbian operating system (OS 9.3, Series 60 v3.2) and also features a 5-megapixel camera with a Carl Zeiss autofocus lens.

The phone is 3.5G (GPRS, EDGE, HSDPA, WCDMA) ready and can also keep you connected through Wi-fi. It also bundles a Micro-USB connector (USB 2.0) for data transfer and a 3.5 mm AV connector.

Nokia N79 comes preloaded with 'Anthems 1998-2008', a compilation of 19 all-time favorite classic club songs, and 17 new age music videos (by the Ministry of Sound).

The phone also bundles along a 4GB microSD memory card to fill the void of the paltry 50 MB internal memory.

The company claims that the N79 offers up to 372 hours of battery time in standby, and 5 and a half hours while talking.


The Nokia N79 is available for an approximate price of Rs. 23, 000.

Dell launched new subnotebook: Inspiron Mini 12

On Sunday, the Dell Inspiron Mini 12, a larger version of the Mini 9, makes its debut—in Japan. Dell had reached an exclusive agreement with VIC Camera, Kojima, and SofMap—all Japanese retailers—to make the early announcement overseas. According to Dell, the Inspiron 12 will ship in the United States by mid-November. The Mini 12 is officially the first netbook to house a 12-inch wide screen; the largest so far have been 10-inch models such as the Lenovo IdeaPad S10 and the MSI Wind. The screen offers 1,280-by-800 resolution, higher than the typical 1,280-by-600 netbooks. Its shape is like a wedge, measuring 9.0-by-11.8-by-0.92 inches, becoming thicker towards the back. The weight starts at 2.7 pounds, with a 3-cell battery. A 6-cell battery will be available later on and will likely bring the weight over 3 pounds.

Like the S10 and the Wind, the Mini 12’s feature set includes three USB ports, a multi card reader, Ethernet, VGA-Out, and a 1.3-mega pixel camera. Hard drives aren’t the meager solid state ones offered on the Mini 9; you have a choice of 40GB, 60GB, and 80GB spinning drives. Although it doesn’t have the antenna infrastructure to support WWAN, an empty slot is available for it, like on the Mini 9. In the meantime, the Mini 12 has both Wi-Fi and Bluetooth built in. Like the Mini 9, the new Mini uses Intel’s Atom platform: The 1.33-GHz Z520 and the 1.6-GHz Z530 Atom processor are both available come November. The Mini 12 is one of the few systems to run Windows Vista Basic, which will be the only choice for operating systems at this time. The Vista system starts at $550.

Source: Computer World

Future of Mobile - Google Android Phone

The main event of the night, was Google’s presenter Justin Baird on the future of mobile. He started off by presenting some interesting stats such as there being 1.3Billion people having internet access versus 3.3Billion having mobile phones. Obviously, mobile presents a wealth of untapped opportunites. there are more people sending SMS than using search engines. Everyone in the developed world has a mobile - if not one, than two!

Justin talked about a bunch of other stuff, but the only stuff which I remember was what we had all been waiting for - The Andriod - Google’s answer to the Apple Iphone. A very cool device I must say. Again, this bordered on being a product pitch, but that’s what happens when you attend a marketing event.

The Android is really different to any other phone because it an open source product, which I found rather interesting. The Apple Iphone or any other phone, is a static device because you only use the applications already found on your mobile i.e. they have already been preprogrammed on there. Being capable of open source, means that new developments and applications can be constantly added. Google is adopting a similar practice to its igoogle portal which has open source for its applications. I’ve got a igoogle portal, and I’m fascinated by the amount of widgets they have developed for it. You name it, and they’ve got it. If they dont have it, you can develop it, if you have the necessary know how. That is one of the reasons facebook is so popular, because new apps are constantly being developed by the user community.

I think we will see a lot more mashup apps involving google maps. What the phone does is triangulate your position using cell towers, giving you a fairly good idea of where you are. The thing that really blew me away was compass function using google maps. Imagine having a screen showing you where you want to go. When you move, the phone acts like a compass and adjusts the picture based on where you have moved, giving you a real picture. Very cool.

In addition, because Google is behind it, you know that search has to be incorporated somehow. the stats really surprised me. The click through rate for display ads on google typically is 0.2%. However, on mobiles, that rate is 2%. That’s a 10 fold increase. I tell you why - because the ads become even more relevant based on your location. If your current location is say Parramatta, and you search for restaurants and ads come up for that area, you are more inclined to click on those ads on your mobile. With the unleashing of True Local, we will really see the power of geographic based ads.

From the presentation and my own experience overseas, Australia is really behind globally in the mobile experience. But we are catching up. I remember friends of mine in New York, using blackberries to search for places using google maps. In the U.S they also have unlimited data ability for their phones. Phone data charges here are quite prohibitive - the carriers have to work together to find a way to somehow get to the level of unlimited data downloads. But its probably not going to happen because we can’t get enough people onto the network to make that feasible.

After this presentation, I really do think there are lot more marketing and innovative opportunites we can use with mobiles. I mean more people have mobiles than computers. A mobile is our social currency and keeps us attuned with our friends and family. It is only natural that it becomes even more extended into our lives. Once we can get full internet functionability on our phones, we will really see the true power of mobiles. And there really won’t be a distinction between online and offline. We’ll always be connected.

Android phone already vulnerable to attacks

Less than a week after the release of Google’s T-Mobile G1 smart phone, security experts detected a serious security flaw in its Android operating system that leaves it wide open for hackers to launch drive-by attacks on users’ devices.The security vulnerability, detected by researchers at Baltimore, Maryland-based Independent Security Evaluators, follows last week’s release of Google’s T-Mobile G1 phone Oct. 22, which is powered by the Android operating system.

“These phones will currently ship with the vulnerability present and may pose a security risk to their users until and update becomes available,” said Miller in his posting. According to the advisory, Google Android relies on more than 80 different open source packages. And the security error stems from a buffer overflow vulnerability in some of the older, more vulnerable versions of the open source software. Subsequently, an unsuspecting user could be successfully exploited simply by accessing an infected Web page using with a vulnerable operating system, experts say. Once a user in infected, attackers could then obtain access to any personal information accessible from the victim’s browser — including cookies, information entered into Web application and saved passwords — in order to steal a bank account numbers, Social Security information and other sensitive data.

Source: CRN