New Technology 2011 Gadgets, Best Gadgets, Desktop Gadgets

Earlier last month we had told you that Apple was planning to release 2011 Sandy Bridge iMacs along with Thunderbolt technology in 4 to 6 weeks. Today, Apple has officially announced the 2011 iMac lineup which boasts the next-generation quad-core Intel Core processors and Apple’s revolutionary I/O technology, Thunderbolt.

Apple’s SVP of Product Marketing Phil Schiller has said that the company has made the world’s best desktop even better.

The 2011 Sandy Bridge iMacs tout the next generation quad-core processors, powerful new AMD graphics, Thunderbolt technology and a FaceTime HD camera all in one neat package available in 21.5″ and 27″ sizes.

A standard 2011 21.5″ 2.5GHz quad-core Intel Core i5 iMac with 4GB RAM, 500GB HDD, AMD Radeon HD 6750M graphics and with one Thunderbolt port will cost you $1199. The 27″ 2.7GHZ quad-core Intel Core i5 iMac with 4GB RAM, 1TB HDD, AMD Radeon HD 6770M graphics, and two Thunderbolt ports will cost you $1699. An 3.1GHz 27″ Sandy Bridge iMac will cost you $1999.

2011 iMac shipping time is at 24 hours. You can head over to the Apple Online Store right now and order your new iMac.

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Google today announced a raft of new products and features at its I/O event in San Francisco, a couple of which stand out above the rest. Here we offer a short rundown of what we think are the most interesting things to come out of Google today.

Ice Cream Sandwich

Ever since Honeycomb 3.0 came out for Android tablets the world has been asking when the platform’s smartphones would join in the bee-filled fun, and today we got our answer. Technically they won’t.

What they will get is a new unified version of Android, names Ice Cream Sandwich â€" following the now familiar naming convention of a desert beginning with the next letter of the alphabet.

This new version of Android will sport new multitasking capabilities (Google promises no more memory management issues), resizable widgets and a new user interface. Another new feature is support for USB devices such as Xbox 360 game controllers, though this is presumably added with tablets in mind more than phones.

Google Music Beta

Rumors of a Google competitor for Apple’s iTunes have been merrily rumbling along for over a year now, and the search giant finally took the wraps off it’s Music Beta service today.

Live now for users in the United States only, Music Beta begins with a Windows and Mac application that uploads your library to Google’s servers.  Once uploaded the tracks are available for playback from any Android device running 2.2 or above, be it a tablet or smartphone. Presumably Google TV will also get in on the act, though that doesn’t seem to have been confirmed as yet. All the usual cloud-y features are here â€" synced playlists, offline caching and the like.

The current beta allows for 20,000 songs to be uploaded for free.

Movie Rentals

In another clear swipe at Apple, Google also announced movie rentals.

Priced between $1.99 and $3.99, rentals can made on both tablets and smartphones, thought the latter will be available in a couple of weeks.

Rentals include HD video and last for 24 hours once playback has begun, just as iTunes rentals do.

Again, this service appears to be US-only at the moment, presumably while Google sorts out some sort of licensing agreement.

These are just a few of the major announcements to come out of I/O, and we’re sure you’ll agree these are exciting times for Android fans. With tablet and smartphone finally getting a unified operating system maybe tablets will begin to see the boom in apps their smartphone siblings did last year.

{via: TNW}

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Today was a big day for all the Google and Android fans out there.  A new version of Android was announced, Google announced their new music beta service, and if you were lucky enough to be there today, you got a free Limited Edition Galaxy Tab.

Google first announced that they now have over 100 million Android activiations so far and about 400,000 new devices are being activated every day.  They have also reached 200,000 applications in the market with over 4.5 billion downloads since it’s launch about 3 years ago. Now for the real juicy news.

Google announced the Honeycomb 3.1 update and some of it’s new highlights.  They include USB support for peripherals like keyboards, mice, gamepads (they demoed with an XBOX 360 controller), etc. New VOIP capabilities, push-to-talk, video conferencing, audio streaming (Music Beta), and more. They have include smoother UI animations to enhance the end-user experience, a new launcher, better multitasking, WiFi connectivity even with the display turned off, and other functional tweaks to the calendar, email, browser, etc. The new version of Honeycomb 3.1 will be released to Xoom 3G devices in the next couple of weeks.

Google also showed off it’s newest Android release, set for fourth quarter of this year, code named Ice Cream Sandwich. Ice Cream Sandwich is set to fix Android’s OS fragmentation and get all of the devices on the same version. Google has also been working with several carriers and vendors to better handle firmware upgrades for their customers. Customers who also buy new devices will receive the latest Android builds for eighteen months after the device is released, as long as the hardware allows. I’m digging the new logo.

Google also showed off it’s new Cloud music service named Music Beta, which for now is invite only and is currently free while in beta. This service will allow you to store up to 20,000 songs for on-demand streaming to your computer or Android device. You can create and edit playlists, download songs for offline listening, and create an instant mix that matches songs up together. They also showed off their new movie rental in the Android Market which will give you offline viewing of movies, on a renting basis (24 hour view time, 30 day checkout). Offline is currently only set for the Xoom for the time being, but Google says support for it’s other devices is coming soon.

Overall, it’s been a good day at Google I/O, and we’re looking forward to see what tomorrow will bring. Stay tuned here for more news from the conference tomorrow.

Related posts:

Google Launches Music Beta (invite only) to Compete with iTunes

Honeycomb’s Music App Supports Google Music Syncâ€"Works on Rooted Android Phones

Motorola Shows Off Google Honeycomb Tablet XOOM in New Promo Video

Google Announces Android 3.4 Code Named Ice Cream Sandwich

Google Phone Gallery-What Google did with its /phone page.

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Just more than two and a half years ago, Google introduced Android, the mobile OS from Google that will soon be taking over the world â€" and it really is! Android was launched with the first developer phone, T-Mobile G1, manufactured by HTC. This was in one country, on one carrier.

Google now has an entire Android ecosystem, thanks to all the manufacturers, developers and carriers it has on board. Android is growing at an amazing rate. This is not all.

A few stats were shared a while ago at the first day of Google I/O 2011, where Android Ice Cream Sandwich, Honeycomb 3.1 for tablets, Google Movies for Android, Music Beta by Google and several other announcements were unveiled.

Android stats so far are:

• 100 million activated Android devices
• 400,000 new Android devices activated every day
• 200,000 free and paid applications available in Android Market
• 4.5 billion applications installed from Android Market

This is simply a big wow for a platform that was launched less than 3 years ago. Google is on its way to take over the entire mobile market, and in the not too distant future, Android would soon be available on every electronic item we use.

How? Android is already on mobile phones, tablets, netbooks, TVs etc. It is open-source, and with the help of projects like Android @ Home, Android will be available in what more devices in the future. We just have to wait and see.

If you’re a developer, any plans on how you plan to use Android APIs to create something amazing, or as a consumer, in what area would you like Android to take over next?

For our entire Google I/O 2011 coverage and announcements, click here!

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Do you believe that your company needs to get technologically upgraded to survive a changing Supply Chain Management landscape of the future?

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Akbar Associates to Get Prodea’s Broadband Solution

By Ahsan Javed · Wednesday, May 11, 2011 0 Comments

Akbar Associates Group (AAG)  has announced that it entered into a definitive agreement with Plano, Texas based Prodea Systems, Inc. to deploy Prodea’s broadband value-add services platform for its clients in Pakistan, including PTCL.

After the deployment, AAG clients will be able to offer a turnkey, white label solution for traditional and alternative service providers who require continuous and timely delivery of new and innovative services to their subscribers over the existing broadband infrastructure.

Prodea’s solution will enable carrier-grade services to be delivered directly to a variety of fixed appliances in the home or automobile, as well as mobile lifestyle devices including smart phones, portable media players or laptops.

Jamal Akbar Ansari, Group Chief Executive Officer of Akbar Associates Group, said:

Akbar Associates Group is extremely excited about the opportunity to bring Prodea’s solution to the Pakistan telecommunications market.

Prodea’s is the first solution we have found to be uniquely designed for service providers focused on making the broadband connected home a reality for the mass market. Our service provider clients and their subscribers will soon benefit from an unparalleled suite of entertainment, communications, and lifestyle services, all delivered over a basic internet connection.

Prodea’s solution, known as ‘ROS’, is an end-to-end managed services platform which is delivered with an “appstore” of value-add services, applications and content, catering to every age group and demographic.

Services range from video on demand and Internet TV, to security, eHealth, home automation and eLearning. It was built from the ground up to integrate into service providers’ infrastructure and operations, enabling them to extend their brand and service bundles to new domains and service verticals.

Anousheh Ansari, CEO of Prodea Systems, said:

“We are honored to work with Akbar Associates Group in bringing our connected home solution to the Pakistan market. AAG’s strong reputation and history with telecommunications providers make them the ideal partner for us as we jointly deliver a turnkey service and technology offering through service providers in Pakistan.

Akbar Associates Group’s associated company ‘KHL’ has extensive experience in providing the turnkey infrastructure, which brings high speed Internet to the people of Pakistan, as with the recently announced PTCL Gigabit Passive Optical Network (GPON) Project.

AAG is expecting to begin deployments of the ROSTM solution through leading Internet service providers starting in 4th quarter of 2011.

via PR

Related Stories

• State of Broadband Internet in Pakistan : Overview
• Update: Broadband Subscribers in Pakistan â€" Nov 2009
• Broadband Users in Pakistan Tops 0.81 Million
• Broadband Subscribers in Pakistan Cross 1 Million Mark
• Broadband Users to hit 5 Mln Mark in 3 years
• Wider Broadband Penetration Must for E-Government

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Earlier last month we had told you that Apple was planning to release 2011 Sandy Bridge iMacs along with Thunderbolt technology in 4 to 6 weeks. Today, Apple has officially announced the 2011 iMac lineup which boasts the next-generation quad-core Intel Core processors and Apple’s revolutionary I/O technology, Thunderbolt.

Apple’s SVP of Product Marketing Phil Schiller has said that the company has made the world’s best desktop even better.

The 2011 Sandy Bridge iMacs tout the next generation quad-core processors, powerful new AMD graphics, Thunderbolt technology and a FaceTime HD camera all in one neat package available in 21.5″ and 27″ sizes.

A standard 2011 21.5″ 2.5GHz quad-core Intel Core i5 iMac with 4GB RAM, 500GB HDD, AMD Radeon HD 6750M graphics and with one Thunderbolt port will cost you $1199. The 27″ 2.7GHZ quad-core Intel Core i5 iMac with 4GB RAM, 1TB HDD, AMD Radeon HD 6770M graphics, and two Thunderbolt ports will cost you $1699. An 3.1GHz 27″ Sandy Bridge iMac will cost you $1999.

2011 iMac shipping time is at 24 hours. You can head over to the Apple Online Store right now and order your new iMac.

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Charts handed out by Sony at one of its press conferences to explain the PSN state of play show how the company thinks its gaming network was hacked into, as well as giving a list showing the number of users from each region who’s data may have been compromised.

The image above shows how Sony thinks hackers managed to bypass their security in order to steal personal information from PSN accounts. Interestingly it appears the hack didn’t originate from a jailbroken PS3 as some had first thought, but a good ol’ PC instead. Also of interest is the mention of a vulnerability in Sony’s application server which, presumable, was exploited in order for the unknown hackers to gain access. Does Sony not patch their servers?

Another image to come out of the conferences shows a breakdown by region of the number of accounts compromised. While it doesn’t really tell us anything new, it’s still a scary visualization of the sheer number of accounts involved.

Spot your region?

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Browsing the web today from my iPad, I noticed that I can now access my Amazon Cloud Drive from my device, even using Safari.  This means that I can now listen to my music, from my Cloud Drive, without any other software, or App.

When first trying to get to the page, I got a warning that my browser was not supported, and to use Firefox, iE, or Safari.  I just hit continue and bingo. I got into my drive. If you are already an Amazon Music user, this is a great way to get your Amazon MP3′s right onto your device. However, we have reported in the past that Apple will soon have their iCloud service, which will give you the same functionality. This is still an alternative for their service, but only good if you already use Amazon’s MP3 service and have them uploaded to your cloud drive. Obviously I couldn’t upload anything from my iOS device, but I could link right to the Amazon MP3 Store and buy my music directly from my device.

I will personally be waiting for Apple’s iCloud service, so I can have the same music on my iPad that’s on my iPod.

Related posts:

iCloud: Apples new Cloud-Based Service?

Apple is readying their Cloud Music Storage for launch

Amazon Starts selling iPads

Which is better: Amazon Kindle DX or Apple iPad?

Download iRip 2 And Extract iBooks, Music, Photos Etc. From Any iOS Device [iPhone, iPod, iPad]

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Sony Ericsson XPERIA Arc â€" the phone with curves. It is the most gorgeous device from Sony Ericsson. I have always liked SE because of their designs, sound quality and most of all, their camera lens which they use in their smartphones.

First, Sony Ericsson came out with the famous Cybershot phones with amazing camera quality â€" and not just camera, they had the best music quality as well. And now, with the XPERIA Arc, they have raised the bar again with the amazing Exmor R photography. It the same lens which is used in several Sony Cybershot cameras i.e DSC-TX7.

Let’s begin with the review now and see how this phone performs in other features as well.

Sony Ericsson XPERIA Arc was announced at MWC’11 this year along with the Sony Ericsson XPERIA Play and a couple of other phones. This is the latest flagship device from Sony Ericsson, which is also the successor to XPERIA X10. Talking about the X10, Sony Ericsson managed it quite well to mess up that phone with a very late launch, delayed OS upgrades etc. But we hope they don’t do the same with the Arc.

Here are the technical specifications of the device:

Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc: Specifications

• Display: 4.2-inch LED-backlit LCD display (480 x 854 pixels), BRAVIA Mobile engine
• Processor/GPU: 1GHz Scorpion processor, Adreno 205 GPU, Qualcomm MSM8255 Snapdragon
• Camera: 8 MP camera with autofocus, Exmor R, autofocus, LED flash, no secondary camera
• Video: HD video recording at 30 fps (720p), continuous auto-focus
• Memory: 512MB RAM, 320MB internal memory, 8GB microSD card included, microSD slot upto 32GB
• Connectivity: Bluetooth 2.1, WiFi, microUSB, HDMI out
• Other: Flash Player 10.2 support, A-GPS, FM Radio, 3.5 mm jack, accelerometer, Document Viewer, Facebook/Twitter integration, TrackID music recognization
• Battery: 1500 mAh Li-Po
• OS: Android 2.3 with Sony Ercisson XPERIA UI.

Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc: Design

XPERIA Arc has those curves that we have been waiting to find in a phone. It’s really slim and curvy. This phone is only 8.7mm thin, that is just 0.2mm more than the Samsung Galaxy S II and way thinner the XPERIA Play. It weighs only 117g.

Arc is flat from the front, but all curvy at the bottom. On the front side, you can see sensors at the top, along with the Sony Ericsson logo. Unfortunately, there is no secondary camera included included in this device. I personally think SE should have included that in the XPERIA Arc, now that Google has also released video-calling to Google Talk. On the bottom front, three are three keys: Back, Home, Menu.

Back side of the phone has a noise-cancelling second mic, 8 megapixels camera and an LED flash.

On the sides, you can find the microUSB port, volume controls and the dedicated camera key on the right side, and the 3.5mm audio jack on the left. Mic is at the bottom of the phone.

Top of the Xperia Arc has a HDMI out and the power button.

Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc: Display

Sony Ericsson XPERIA Arc comes with a 4.2-inch large LED-backlit LCD display, powered by the BRAVIA Mobile engine. This is one major improvement over the display found in the XPERIA X10 â€" and even in the XPERIA Play.

BRAVIA Mobile engine on the XPERIA Play isn’t really better than Super AMOLED on the Nexus S or Galaxy S (full review), but in some cases it is. Super AMOLED still has the best contrast and vivd colours, but when it comes to using the phone out in direct sunlight, BRAVIA engine beats out Super AMOLED.

Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc: Processor/Speed

Under the hood, XPERIA Arc is powered by the 1GHz Snapdragon CPU. I honestly think this phone was worthy of a dual-core processor, but oh well. Overall speed is good. Considering the amount of modifications Sony Ericsson has done to Android, this phone does not feel slow at all. You will notice a very slight lag when you pinch-to-zoom on the homescreen and all the widgets show up on your screen.

When compared to the XPERIA Play, Arc certainly is way faster. Playing games on the XPERIA Arc is also a smooth experience, thanks to the Adreno 205 GPU in the phone.

A small benchmark test between the Google Nexus S and XPERIA Arc also proved that the Arc is certainly the faster one here. Benchmark screenshots were not possible due to a colour bug with Sony Ericsson XPERIA devices.

Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc: Camera/Video

This is where the XPERIA Arc leads all the other Android devices â€" till we get our hands on the Samsung Galaxy S2. The Exmor R in the XPERIA Arc is a sure treat for whoever decides to get this smartphone!

Camera is really good with lightening fast shutter speed. XPERIA Arc has a 8 megapixels camera at the back, but unfortunately, folks at Sony Ericsson thought a secondary camera won’t be of need in this phone. I guess they were not aware of Android 2.3.4 bringing video-calling to Google Talk.

Photo quality is good. For a while photos seem to be washed out, but after a little tweaking in the settings and colours, photos got perfect â€" just the way we wanted. You can see a few sample shots I took with the XPERIA Arc below. Click on the image for the full-resolution photo.

The XPERIA Arc is capable of recording 720p HD videos.

Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc: Body/Build Quality

XPERIA Arc and XPERIA X10

Sony Ericsson XPERIA Arc is very identical to the XPERIA X10. The only difference is that it’s much more thinner and is slightly bigger in size and not to forget the curves at the back! You can see our XPERIA Arc vs XPERIA X10 comparison here! It has a 4.3-inch screen, but the phone doesn’t feel big in hands at all.

The phone has a plastic body, more like the Galaxy S kind-of (also Galaxy SL review). But the point to be noted here is that it doesn’t feel cheap plastic when holding the phone.

Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc: Connectivity

XPERIA Arc offers several connectivity options such as Bluetooth 2.1, WiFi, HDMI out and microUSB support. You can use the HDMI out to connect your phone to a high-definition TV and watch photos, videos or just for the heck of it, even play games on the big TV screen from your phone!

Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc: Battery

This phone is powered with a 1500 mAh battery that provides talktime of 7 hours on 2G and 7 hours on 3G. Standby time is of 430 hours on 2G and 400 hours on 3G.

Thank you Rutaba Yaqub for helping out!

Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc: Photos

For more reviews and comparison, hands-on photos/videos of Sony Ericsson XPERIA series, see links below:

• Sony Ericsson XPERIA Arc Preview
• Sony Ericsson: XPERIA Arc vs XPERIA X10
• Sony Ericsson XPERIA Play Preview
• Sony Ericsson XPERIA Play Review (Coming Soon)

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BOSTON (05/08/2011) â€" Chip maker Broadcom said Sunday that it will pay US$41.9 million for SC Square, a move that will bring expertise in smart-card security to the Irvine, California, architect of silicon for communications equipment.

Broadcom’s cash purchase of the Israeli security software firm, which is subject to unspecified closing conditions, is expected to close by June 30, Broadcom said.

SC Square’s website says the Tel Aviv company’s security work is focused on smart cards used in e-health, ID cards, passports, banking and credit cards. Its products include the Apollo smart card OS.

Broadcom’s revenue for 2010 was $6.82 billion, up 52 percent from the previous year â€" a result that also propelled it into Gartner’s list of the top-ten chip companies for 2010. The fabless semiconductor company reported net income of $1.08 billion for the year. It said today that it expects the acquisition to be dilutive to earnings for the remainder of 2011 by approximately $0.01.

The buy joins a string of recent cash acquisitions by Broadcom. Last month, it completed its $313 million purchase of Provigent, which provides chips for microwave backhaul systems. In the last quarter of 2010, it picked up a trio of SOC (system-on-a-chip) developers, paying $75 million Gigle Networks, which focuses on home networking over power lines; $316 million for Beceem Communications, which develops SOC solutions for LTE and WiMAX; and $86 million for Percello, which works on SOCs for femtocells.

 

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Osama’s Compound Now Available As Counter Strike Source Map

By Ahsan Javed · Monday, May 9, 2011 1 Comment

Soon after the assassination story of Osama Bin Laden went online, everyone is curious enough to dig into the issue as much deeper as one can. People really want to see what is inside.

Yes, inside that Osama’s compound in Abbottabad. To add to the curiosity, here is an exciting thing for gamers.

Now you can play Osama’s compound map in Counter Strike Source, a very famous shooting game. The map is named as fy_abbottabad and now available for download here â€" size 1MB.

Map creator says:

Based on Osama’s compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan.

Map may be used as a base for a bomb or hostage map at a later stage. 3D skybox will also be added when/if I have time.

Following are some screen shots:

 

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Earlier last month we had told you that Apple was planning to release 2011 Sandy Bridge iMacs along with Thunderbolt technology in 4 to 6 weeks. Today, Apple has officially announced the 2011 iMac lineup which boasts the next-generation quad-core Intel Core processors and Apple’s revolutionary I/O technology, Thunderbolt.

Apple’s SVP of Product Marketing Phil Schiller has said that the company has made the world’s best desktop even better.

The 2011 Sandy Bridge iMacs tout the next generation quad-core processors, powerful new AMD graphics, Thunderbolt technology and a FaceTime HD camera all in one neat package available in 21.5″ and 27″ sizes.

A standard 2011 21.5″ 2.5GHz quad-core Intel Core i5 iMac with 4GB RAM, 500GB HDD, AMD Radeon HD 6750M graphics and with one Thunderbolt port will cost you $1199. The 27″ 2.7GHZ quad-core Intel Core i5 iMac with 4GB RAM, 1TB HDD, AMD Radeon HD 6770M graphics, and two Thunderbolt ports will cost you $1699. An 3.1GHz 27″ Sandy Bridge iMac will cost you $1999.

2011 iMac shipping time is at 24 hours. You can head over to the Apple Online Store right now and order your new iMac.

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After all the furore surrounding the revelation that iOS devices have been keeping tabs on where they’ve been and saving the information to various log files both on the device and the computer they’re synced to, Apple released iOS 4.3.3 to rectify the issue. But did it do the job? According to PCMag, it did indeed.

Apple claimed the huge log file created by iOS devices containing a database of locations was actually a bug, and that while the data was being collected anonymously, it should not be logging it as thoroughly as it appeared to be. With iOS 4.3.3 supposedly bringing with it a fix for the issue, PCMag went all detective using a couple of different method, and according to their results, Apple were good to their word.

First off, they tried the now infamous iPhoneTracker app.

When we tested this a few weeks ago, the results were clear: while rogue location points peppered the map, for the most part, results appeared surprisingly accurate, showing that the iPhone tracked us to and from work and followed us on vacation. This time, however, there was nothing. Neither of the iPhones we tested showed any evidence of location data being collected and stored in the backup files.

PCMag even went the more manual route of hunting out the log files themselves. Same result. The logs that before were around 380KB were now 24KB â€" fitting in with Apple’s claims their software was logging too much data.

This time around, however, that same file contained almost no data whatsoever. Any data it did collect wasn’t related to tracking

That’s all fine and dandy, but what if you’re faced with a more sophisticated location fiend? PCMag broke out the big guns â€" iOS forensic app Lantern.

Again, iOS 4.3.3 appears to have put right the wrongs of earlier releases when it comes to keeping tabs on people.

While Lantern did an outstanding job retrieving everything from voicemails to text messages from the devices, post-iOS 4.3.3, it found no location-based information on either phone, with or without Location Services enabled.

So there we have it. Any potential security or privacy problems appear to have been squashed by the latest updated to iOS, though whether that’s good enough for the tinfoil hat brigade remains to be seen!

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iPhone Dev Team’s PwnageTool officially gets an update today to support iOS 4.3.3 untethered jailbreak on all devices which include iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS, iPod Touch 4G, 3G & iPad. Still no support for jailbreaking 4.3.3 on iPad 2 however. Like the other jailbreak tools such as sn0wbreeze and redsn0w which were updated earlier, PwnageTool 4.3.3 also incorporates @i0n1c’s untethered exploit and like always, preserves baseband update to allow ultrasn0w unlock on iPhone 4 & 3GS running iOS 4.3.3

Here is our simple step-by-step guide on how to do it all by yourself:

DISCLAIMER : iTD is NOT responsible for any damage caused to your device while following this guide. Those who follow our steps do so AT THEIR OWN RISK. Always back up your device before you begin the jailbreak!

Step 1:

Download latest PwnageTool 4.3.3 from here and if you haven’t already, grab iOS 4.3.3 firmware file for your device here (direct links to IPSW). Make sure you have the latest version of iTunes installed before you proceed.

Step 2:

Now open up the downloaded PwnageTool, select “Simple mode” and choose your device. ClickNext. (We’ll use an iPad in our tutorial here)

Step 3:

Now select the corresponding iOS 4.3.3 IPSW file for your device and hit Next.

Step 4:

Now its time to let PwnageTool cook an iOS 4.3.3 firmware file for your device. You will restore to this custom firmware later via iTunes.

Step 5:

Once done, follow these steps to put your device into DFU mode:

• Hold the Power and Home buttons for 10 seconds
• Release the Power button but keep holding the Home button for 10 seconds.
• Your device will now be in DFU mode

Step 6:

Now close PwnageTool and fire up iTunes. Your device should automatically pop up and ask you to restore. Hold the left Option key while clicking Restore and browse to your newly created iOS 4.3.3 custom firmware.

Step 7:

Now sit back and let iTunes restore your device. Try not to disrupt the restoration process in any way.

Step 8:

Once completed, your device will be jailbroken fully untethered on iOS 4.3.3. You’ll know that once you see the Cydia icon on your Springboard.

You can now safely unlock your iPhone 3GS/ iPhone 4 with our ultrasn0w 1.1.2 unlock guide as your baseband has not been messed with.

Enjoy!

 

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Nokia E7 is one of the best phones in its class. A very solid build quality, gorgeous display and runs on the (almost dead) Symbian^3 â€" which now has been updated to the Symbian Anna OS update.

We call it one of the best Nokia phones so far because it really is. The first feeling you get after holding the Nokia E7 in your hands is wow! Let’s dig deeper what this phone has in store for us!

In this Nokia E7 review, I won’t compare the phone directly with another device for every feature. I will include multiple devices like the Nokia C7, Nokia N8 etc. to compare several features of the phone.

We will cover various aspects of the phone, such as display, sound/music, OS, speed etc. Let’s take a look at its technical specifications first. Then we’ll head to the actual review of the Nokia E7.

Nokia E7: Spefications

• Display: 4-inch ClearBlack AMOLED display (360 x 640 pixels)
• Processor: 680 MHz ARM 11 processor
• Camera: 8 MP camera with fixed-focus, dual LED flash, secondary camera for video calls
• Video: 720p video recording at 25FPS.
• Memory: 256MB RAM, 16GB internal memory, 1GB ROM, no microSD slot
• Connectivity: Bluetooth 3.0, WiFi, microUSB, HDMI output
• Other: Flash Lite 4.0 support, A-GPS, FM Radio, 3.5 mm jack, accelerometer, Ovi Maps, Digital Compass, Document Viewer etc.
• Battery: 1200 mAh Li-Ion
• OS: Symbian^3

Now let’s move on to the review.

Nokia E7: Design

I can keep on talking about the Nokia E7′s design all day. A very gorgeous phone with a solid build quality. On the front side, Nokia E7 has the large 4-inch ClearBlack AMOLED screen. Above the screen, you have the front-facing VGA camera for video calls, light sensor, ear piece and the Nokia logo. Below the screen, there is one physical button in the center for accessing the main applications menu or going back to the home screen.

On the back side of the Nokia E7, there is a 8 megapixels camera (fixed-focus) with dual LED flash and a stereo speaker.

Right side has the external SIM card slot, volume control which can also be used as a shortcut to access the flashlight using the dual LED flash at the back of the phone and the dedicated camera key that almost all Nokia phones have.

On the left side, there is only the sleep/wakeup key to unlock/lock the phone.

There is a microUSB slot, mini-HDMI output, the power button and the 3.5mm audio jack on the top.

Nokia E7: Display

Nokia E7 sports a 4-inch Clear Black AMOLED display â€" and during our tests, this is way better than the display found in the E7′s cousin, Nokia N8. Just like you would expect, the E7 has vivid colours, good contrast and excellent viewing angles.

This large screen is covered by a gorilla glass, which protects the phone from any scratching or hard hits. Too bad we couldn’t do a stress test with its screen this time. May be, later on? You can see our Samsung Galaxy Tab review to see what we do in our gorilla glass testing ;-)

Nokia E7 has a large 4-inch display and trust me, even the ugliest apps and photos look amazing on it. If you have been a past LCD screen user on your phone, then this would be a great upgrade for you in terms of display.

In our quick direct sunlight tests, Nokia E7′s AMOLED display proved to be better than the LCD display of the Nokia C7, Nokia N8.

Nokia E7: Processor/Speed

Nokia E7 is powered with a 680 MHz ARM 11 processor. Not up to the par with the current generation of smartphones, but it pretty much does the job well. Nokia doesn’t have any major resource hungry apps that need so much processing power.

As for RAM is considered, the E7 has 256MB RAM is sufficient for the device. During our play time with the Nokia E7, it hardly crashed or ran out of memory once or twice â€" much better than what it used to be on the Nokia C7 and Nokia N8.

We only experience a slight lag in some areas of the Symbian^3 OS, but I believe that was probably because of some software bug which should now be removed in the Symbian Anna update.

Nokia E7: Camera/Video

Camera is one major disappointment in the Nokia E7. It has a 8 megapixels camera at the back, from what I know, it is the same as the one found in the Nokia C7. It is fixed-focus which doesn’t even take half the better photos when compared to photos taken with other fixed-focus cameras. Nokia E7 also has a VGA front camera for video calls.

Photos taken from the Nokia E7 are quite blurry and not focused well. Nokia E7 could be “the Nokia phone” if only they had put in a 5 megapixels or 8 megapixels camera ‘with’ auto-foucs. Even tweaking with various camera settings didn’t help.

You can see a few sample shots I took with the Nokia E7 below. Click on the image for the full-resolution photo.

Here’s a sample video recorded from the Nokia E7:

Nokia E7: Body/Build Quality

We all know that Nokia still makes products with the best hardware. The build quality is top notch with the slider QWERTY keyboard being the best we have seen. The keyboard is flawless with keys, not too far away or not too close.

I have been using touchscreen keyboards for a while now, but typing on the Nokia E7 was very comfortable. This phone is big, but it doesn’t feel that bulky when in hands.

You make out from the photos that what a solid product the Nokia E7 is.

Nokia E7: Connectivity

Nokia E7 offers several connectivity options such as Bluetooth 3.0, WiFi, HDMI out and microUSB support. It comes with a mini HDMI cable for the E71 which connects with the main HDMI cable with your TV.

Playing Angry Birds on the big TV screen was really fun! You can also use the HDMI out for watching your photos or videos.

Nokia E7: Battery

Battery timings have been relatively better than previous Nokia devices I have played with, but not better than the Nokia N8. Nokia E7 runs on a 1200 mAh Li-Ion battery. It provides talktime of 9 hours on 2G and 5 hours on 3G. Standby time is of 432 hours on 2G and 480 hours on 3G.

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• i have this cell phone

• You like the Nokia E7? What are your views about it?

• Haris this review was really helpful for me in my decision of buying a new phone.. but still I'm a bit reluctant in buying E7 due to camera fixed focus thing :/

  May be you could suggest me another one!!
  P.s. i am also from UCP

• Bravo Haris!

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