Phone New Update: October 2009

RingPlus comes with voip service : Call India cheap

The time Ringplus.net came into market, it was a big hit as it offered free calls to India. Ringplus offered free calls to many countries and the call duration was also high. Basically Ringplus made their costs from the advertisement. After few months, this ad-based voip service then lowered the free calling minutes.

At present Ringplus offers 5-6 free minutes to India. A lot of people use Ringplus.net voip service to make calls to India, but some dont prefer it because of the call duration. Now Ringplus has started its paid service (combined with free service). With this paid service you can buy voip calling credit and can use to make calls to any country.

The best part about this new move by Ringplus is that it still offers free minutes, what it means that if you call India then your first 5.54 minutes will be free and you will be charged from next minute. So you call wont get disconnected and you enjoy free part too.

Lets talk about the calling rate which ringplus is offering to India. Ringplus is offering calls to India at 2 cents per minute. So if you talk for 8 minutes, you will be charged about 6 cents. I guess the calling rate is not the cheapest but clubbed with free minutes, the effective rate comes down.

Ringplus is access based number service, you need to call local access number then destination number. Call quality is also ok.

You can purchase call credit in denominations of $10, $20, or $30. I would suggest you to first try with $10.
Few points to be considered here are :
All sales are final. No returns. No exchanges. No refunds. All items purchased are not for resale.
VoIP minutes will expire after a one (1) year period of inactivity from the date of purchase.

So overall Ringplus offers looks good to me, and is worth trying. Please post your reviews to help others.

Vizio VF551XVT

Vizio VF551XVT's big screen LCD looks unassuming for the most part, with the standard glossy black frame surrounding the picture area. But the nondetachable speaker bar along the bottom, with its silver coloring, reflective supports, bulbous shape and see through panel exposing the wall behind the TV, assumes a bit too much, and we predict you'll either love it or hate it. We fall into the latter camp. The only external difference between Vizio VF551XVT and Vizio VF550XVT is the former's addition of an illuminated row of "tech logos" on the left hand side.

There's a menu item that promises to disable the illumination, but it didn't work on our review sample. The 55 inch Vizio VF551XVT measures 51.5 inches wide by 36 inches tall by 13.5 inches deep and weighs a svelte 90.2 pounds with stand attached. Remove the nonswiveling stand and its dimensions become 51.5 by 33.9 by 5 inches and its weight 78 pounds. We liked Vizio's large remote, with its oversize chrome colored cursor pad surrounded by well spaced, easily differentiated, yellow backlit keys.

Highlights include a section that offers direct access to different input types, "A, B, C, and D" keys for other devices, such as cable boxes, that double as picture in picture controls, and the capability to command three other devices. Many of the keys double up, but the remote handles these well we appreciate that the oft used key to control aspect ratio shares the bright red "record" key, for example.

The menu system for the XVT models squeezes onto the left side of the screen, and it's hard to mistake the bare bones graphics for a Samsung or Sony menu. We found ourselves annoyed at the fact that you can only see one parameter at a time and that too much scrolling is required to access all of the settings. On the plus side we liked the text explanations of various menu items.

Panasonic TC-P50V10

Panasonic TC-P50V10 is one sleek plasma. Its main external differentiator is what the company calls "one sheet of glass" design, where a pane of glass extends beyond the edge of the screen and over the bezel itself, leading to a seamless look that's even more impressive in person than in pictures. (It's worth noting that only the 50 and 54 inch models feature the one sheet design; the larger members of the series have the more traditional, visually separate bezel around the screen).

Panasonic TC-P50V10 series eschews the relatively bright silver fade along the bottom of the frame seen on the company's step down TC-PG10 models, instead opting for a much subtler silver accent that arcs slightly upward in the middle. We think Panasonic TC-P50V10 looks more attractive and sophisticated than the G10, and indeed it's one of the coolest looking TV designs we've seen this year. The black frame around the screen is a bit wider than that of the G10 series, leading to Panasonic TC-P50V10's slightly larger height and width dimensions (0.2 and 0.9 inch larger, respectively, on the 50 incher, for example).

The panels' depth dimension, on the other hand, is just 3.3 inches not quite as thin as Samsung's 850 series plasmas or Panasonic's own Z1, but thinner than the 4.2 inches of the G10 models. If you're keeping track, the 50 inch Panasonic TC-P50V10 also weighs 4.4 pounds more than the 50 inch G10, which is probably due to that big pane of glass. We also appreciated that the 50 inch Panasonic TC-P50V10 model's stand includes a swivel, an extra not found on less expensive Panasonic plasmas nor on the larger members of the series.

Beyond the panels and stands, the V10 models are pretty much identical in design to the G10s. The remote differs from the one found on less expensive Panasonic plasmas, and in general we liked it. Panasonic's marketing guys got to the button designers, however, and apparently mandated that an unnecessarily prominent trio of keys Viera Link, VieraCast and VieraTools appear above the central cursor control.

Each provides direct access to functions we'll warrant most users won't access as frequently as the Menu key, and the trio relegates that button to an easily overlooked spot near the top of the clicker. We still like the feel of the keys, and appreciate the size, color and shape differentiation that helps us forget that only the huge volume and channel buttons are illuminated. The remote cannot control other devices via infrared (IR) commands, but it does allow some control of compatible HDMI devices connected to the TV via Viera Link (a.k.a. HDMI-CEC).

Panasonic tweaked its menu design for 2009. The same yellow on blue color scheme is in evidence (albeit a lighter shade of blue), and navigation is basically unchanged, but the main menu actually has a couple of icons now. Overall it's still one of the more straightforward, basic looking menus on the mainstream market, but we still wish the company would see fit to include on screen explanations of selections. A new Tools menu showcases some of the TV's functions, including THX mode, Digital Cinema Color, and VieraCast.

SoftCall.me: Cheap International calls to India

If you are still paying high for making international calls, then you certainly needs change. Change to Voip or your vop provider. We have already discussed about so many voip provider which offer cheap and free international calls. Specially to India, the calling rate is now in the range of 1-2 cents/min.

Today we will talk about another voip provider softcall.me, we are not very sure but heard that this even works from UAE. So all the UAE people who are looking for working voip provider, can try Softcall.me for making calls to India.

The calling rate offered by Softcall.me to call India is 1.3 cents/minute, calling rate to other countries are also very cheap.

Softcall provides Mobile voip service, it also provider SIP support so you it from any SIP phone. SoftCall can also be used from your PC for making PC to Phone calls, as it provides PC voip application. Some features of its Softphone are :
Address Book
Call History
Credit Balance Display
Call To, Calling Destination Display
Cost Per Minute Display
Call Duration Display
Check CDRs
Speed Dial, Redial

Softcall also provides 10,000 free minutes to USA, Canada at price of just $4.99/month. For more info, Visit Softcall.me

HP Mini 311

HP Mini 311 is what you would call an oversized netbook. It's about the same size as the ASUS EeePC 1101HA, Acer Aspire One (A0751h), and Gateway LT3103u in that they all have 11.6 inch widescreens. At 3.3 pounds, it's the heaviest among its peers, although the differences are small. HP Mini 311 is the prettiest though, as HP's signature imprints against a white background is delightful to look at. A black version is also available, though darker colors are usually a magnet for fingerprints and smudges.

Alternatively, the Toshiba NB205 and HP Mini 5101 use textures and metals, respectively, to enhance their looks, as well as repel unsightly smudges. HP Mini 311 is a bigger netbook than the Toshiba NB205 because it houses a bigger screen. Although 11.6 inch widescreens are building momentum in the netbook space, they, along with a 1.366 by 768 resolution, are still tough finds. Most 10 inch netbooks default to a lower, 1.024 by 768 resolution. Likewise, the Asus 1101HA, Gateway LT3103u, and Acer A0751h have matching screen sizes and resolutions.

They're not even the biggest netbooks screens. Both the Lenovo IdeaPad S12 and Samsung NC20 (21GBK) use 12 inch widescreens and 1.280 by 800 resolutions. What makes HP Mini 311 special is that it runs an Nvidia chipset instead of the Intel chipset found on every other netbook on the market. It still needs a CPU, though. The 1.66GHz Intel Atom N280 is a commonly used netbook processor, which means in terms of raw horsepower, the Mini 311 isn't that far ahead of other netbooks. Video encoding tests finished in 4 minutes 54 seconds, which is about as fast the Toshiba NB205 (4:45) and Lenovo S12 (4:40).

It's the fastest among its 11 inch peers, since the Asus 1101HA and Acer A0751h run on a more inferior Atom Z520 processor and the the Gateway LT3103u opts for an AMD low voltage CPU. HP Mini 311 has more oomph when it comes to graphics performance. The ION LE is basically a stripped down version of the Nvidia GeForce 9400M graphics chipset the same chipset found in the Apple MacBook Air (Nvidia 9400GM). The "LE" portion means that support for Direct X is downgraded from 10 to 9.

Its scores on 3DMark06, which I ran just to see what the performance would be, were in the same ball park as the MacBook Air and annihilated those of its netbook counterparts. Despite these 3D benchmark scores, the combination of the Atom processor and lack of a Direct X 10 capable graphics chipset crippled games like World in Conflict and Crysis both of these games lagged to the point where they were unplayable. Games like World of Warcraft and Mini Ninjas, which have lower graphics requirements, were lag free and absolutely playable.

The gravy was supposed to be in high definition playback. I tested several HD movie clips on HP Mini 311, as well as playing them to the Samsung LN55A950 HDTV. It handled all of my 720p and 1080i (24 fps) clips with great color accuracy, good picture detail, and they didn't suffer from any lag. When playing 1080p (24fps) movie clips in H264 and WMV formats, however, there was noticeable lag. Let's just say it wasn't a smooth experience. And even though its 6 cell, 53Wh battery is roughly the same capacity as the one found in the Toshiba NB205 and HP 5101, its score of 5 hours 29 minutes on MobileMark 2007 is about 2 to 3 hours less than that of the competition.

Still, more than 5 hours of battery life is very respectable. By netbook standards, HP Mini 311 is reasonably priced and offers features most netbooks lack. You're paying a small premium for a netbook that has an HDMI port and can drive 1080p resolutions to a bigger display. Though it didn't deliver on 1080p playback, it handled 720p and 1080i videos better than netbooks with Intel based graphics. For those who were hoping to make a gaming netbook out of this, think again. High end 3D games are still best played on full fledged laptops.

HP Envy 13

HP Envy 13 is crafted from aluminum and magnesium bonded materials, while the MacBook Pro does it from a thick slab of aluminum. Its metals are anodized several layers deep, so the Envy 13 is not only sleek, but durable, scratch resistant, and lightweight as well. Apple and HP aren't the only ultraportable manufacturers that use metals, though. The ASUS UL30A-A1 and Acer Aspire Timeline AS3810T (6415) have also experimented with aluminum metals in their frames, though only in the top cover HP Envy 13 uses metals throughout the entire chassis, which drives up costs. The designs are limitless as well.

HP Envy 13 sports a brownish tint and can be permanently etched with lasers in different patterns just like HP's current Pavilion line designs. The luxurious theme extends to its interior. Its 13.1 inch widescreen is one of the brightest in the industry, rated at 400 Nits (cd/m2), and covered in glass, too, which gives it the same clean look as that of the MacBook Pro 13 inch. Its 1.600 by 900 resolution is the highest and most eye popping thus far on a 13 inch screen, outclassing that of the MacBook Pro 13 inch (1.280 by 800), Acer 3935 (1.280 by 800), and ASUS UL30A-A1 (1.366 by 768).

It matches the resolution of the Dell Studio 14z great for multimedia tasks, but not so much for reading text, as higher resolutions tend to make fonts look tinier on a small screen. The full size keyboard is styled in the same way as that of the MacBook Pro 13 inch tiled, with plenty of spacing between each key. The Envy 13 lacks a back-lit option, though, which is inexcusable for a luxury line. In comparison, the MacBook Pro 13 inch and Studio 14z include illuminated keyboards for dark-lit rooms. The embedded mouse buttons also take their styling cues from Apple's design, as they're disguised by one huge touchpad.

They're slightly too resistant for my tastes, but otherwise responded well to various clicking commands. The touchpad, like the one found in the MacBook Pro, supports two finger gestures, which often times got in the way of navigating. You can turn these gestures off in the system's Control Panel. In terms of features, the Envy 13 takes a minimalist approach and that isn't always a good thing. This laptop is not intended for legacy users, since it doesn't come with an internal optical drive, a VGA port, or an Ethernet jack.

I think ridding these features from the system is acceptable, plus all of them are included in this configuration as external USB attachments. Unfortunately, though, you have only two USB ports to choose from. Unlike the Studio 14z, the Envy 13 includes a media card reader, which is still a vital feature for digital camera owners. An ExpressCard slot is not available, though, which would've been handy for adding an ExpressCard docking solution or 3G wireless, since both of these aren't sold as options and there are only two USB ports available. Taking the place of VGA Out is an HDMI port, which is the video out standard most laptops are leaning toward. In contrast, the Studio 14z includes both DisplayPort and HDMI technologies. The 250GB hard drive is a 1.8 inch spindle, but spins at 5400rpm.

Getac 9213

Getac 9213 measures just 12.5 by 9 by 1 inches, and its 3.6 pound chassis offers plenty of relief to full time travelers. It's about a pound lighter than the Apple MacBook Pro 13 inch (4.5 pounds) and the HP Pavilion dv3z (4.6 pounds), but not nearly as cheap. More impressive, though, is that it weighs as little as the Acer Aspire Timeline AS3810T and still manages to incorporate an optical drive, unlike the latter.

Getac 9213's 13.3 inch widescreen clings to the old school aspect ratio (16:10), whereas most consumer laptops are moving to more movie friendly 16:9 displays as is common in HDTVs. As a result, Getac 9213's 1.280 by 800 resolution matches the one on the MacBook Pro 13 inch. It's a vibrant screen, at least more so than that of the Acer 3935 and the HP dv3z. The full size keyboard would've been perfect had it not been for one misplaced key the forward slash key, which is usually right next to the right Shift key, is placed beside the left Shift key here, thereby shrinking the latter to nearly half of its traditional size.

The rest of the keyboard is very responsive, and the touchpad and mouse buttons are tuned to perfection. Before you decide to try running Getac 9213 over with a truck, you'll need to understand the significance of the term "business rugged." A fully rugged laptop, like Getac B300, is completely certified under the MIL-SPEC 810F series, which means it was subject to more than 20 military tests involving vibrations, drops, shock, humidity you get the point.

A semi rugged laptop, like the Panasonic Toughbook CF-52, only has to endure a subset of these tests. Business rugged, meanwhile, is a loose interpretation of the MIL-SPEC series. Getac 9213's rugged qualities surviving 1.5 foot drops, water spills, and shock to its hard drive aren't nearly as tough, but it's tougher than the consumer products mentioned in this review and an incredible asset to have on the road. In order to achieve a thin, lightweight form factor, the 9213 opted for Intel's ultra low voltage (ULV) chipset.

The ULV platform eliminates clunky fans and has huge benefits in power savings. In speed, however, the Intel Core 2 Duo SU9400 (1.4 GHz) trails many of its consumer counterparts. Its equivalent to the processors found in the Lenovo Thinkpad X301 and the Acer AS3810T. Luckily, the 9213's 3GB of memory can help offset some of its performance woes. In video encoding tests, Getac 9213 finished in 1 minute, 48 seconds just 32 seconds behind the Acer 3935 (1:16) and the MacBook Pro 13 inch (1:16).

Cinebench R10 and Photoshop CS4 scores were more in line with the ULV-powered Lenovo X301 and Acer AS3810T. If you constantly work with huge resource suckers, like large Powerpoint, Excel, Photoshop, or video files, this laptop is probably not for you. The processor's power savings somewhat make up for its lack of speed. Even though Getac 9213's 58-Wh battery (6 cell) is average in capacity, the system accrued 5 hours, 4 minutes worth of battery life in MobileMark 2007 tests.

That's more both than the MacBook Pro 13 inch (4:44) and the Acer 3935 (4:50). Against the AS3810T (8:40) and the X301 (5:37), however, Getac 9213 had some trouble keeping up. Rooted in the ruggedized way of life, Getac knows better than to rest on its laurels. Getac 9213 is an ultraportable that blends the company's strengths durability and an excellent user experience with a fashion statement based on current trends and some handy business features.

Going for Vacation : Wowtel International Prepaid Sim Cards

We have discussed a lot on making cheap international phone calls, but have not really discussed about making cheap phone calls whn you are going abroad for a vacation.

A lot of Indians go abroad for business trip, leisure, students go for higher studies. Now offcourse since you are going for few days, you wont be buying a phone connection in your destination country. Ultimately you end up having no phone connection when you are travelling abroad, not able to talk to your loved ones in your home country.

A simple option which most people choose is to get their International roaming activated, and you know the call charges in international roaming are so high that you end up spending a lot of money. (Call charges in International roaming to India are in range of Rs 50-100. More than $1.)

So what all options do you have and how can we help you save on your phone bills. A good option is to get an international prepaid sim cards. These sim cards are normal sim cards which will work in your destination country and best part is that call charges are less than half of what you pay when in International roaming.

We have already discussed about one, Matrix Sim cards (which is already very popular). Lets now talk about other such services. One such service is WowTel International Prepaid Sim cards.

Wowtel offers International Prepaid Sim cards in five countries which includes USA, UK, Belgium, Thailnd, Switzerland.

The initial cost of Sim Card is Rs 1499, and you dont even need to return the card when you get back to India. Initially you will get some free calling minutes and free sms plus wowtel to wowtel local calls are free. The local call rates and call rates to India are also very cheap. When you have used your free minutes, you can easily topup your sim to talk more.

Using Wowtel (USA sim) to call India will cost you 15 cents per minute (approx Rs8) but you know on International roaming you may need to pay more than Rs 100/min. So this clearly shows you how much you can save if you take International prepaid sim cards with you while travelling abroad.

Sharp LC-52LE700UN

The glossy black finish of Sharp LC-52LE700UN series doesn't break any new ground design wise, and this Sharp keeps the angled edges of its predecessors like Sharp LC-46D85U. A silver fade along the bottom of the frame provides a very subtle accent while a blue-lit triangle, which reminded us of the emblems worn by the crew of the Enterprise, points toward the company logo in the middle of the bottom edge (the blue illumination can be disabled).

Sharp's matching glossy black stand doesn't allow the panel to swivel.Lest you see a Samsung ad and believe all LED-based LCDs are also ultrathin, Sharp's LC-LE700UN series is among the many sets that prove otherwise. It measures 3.7 inches deep sans stand, which is quite normal for a flat panel TV of any technology. Sharp has gone the longest of any TV maker we know since changing its remote. Sharp LC-46LE700UN's clicker is basically the same as the one that shipped with the 2006 LC-46D62U, which was a few years old itself at the time.

Our opinion of it hasn't changed, so we'll just quote that review : "Sharp's long remote will be familiar to anyone who's played with an Aquos set in the last couple of years. It has the ability to command four other pieces of gear, keys that are nicely spread out and well differentiated, and a generally logical button layout. We say 'generally' because the key controlling aspect ratio is stashed clear at the top of the long wand, the one for freezing the image is given an unduly important spot near the main directional keypad, and the one for changing picture modes is hidden beneath a flip up hatch."

Unfortunately, Sharp cut back on the backlighting of its remotes, so now only the volume and channel rockers, as well as four nearby keys, receive illumination. Sharp's menu system design is also basically the same as in previous years, and its blocky look seems dated compared with the slick menus available from Sony and Samsung. The pertinent information is all there, however, and we liked the text explanations that accompany various selections. LED backlighting tops the features list of Sharp LC-LE700UN, but it's unlike any other LED-backlit TV released so far. All of the other LED based LCDs fall into one of two camps : edge lit or local dimming.

However, the Sharp falls into neither category. Its LED elements are arranged behind the screen, as opposed to the edge, but they are incapable of dimming or brightening individually. Like a standard fluorescent backlit LCD, Sharp LC-52LE700UN's LED backlight must dim or brighten all at once. The main benefit of its LED backlight is simply reduced energy consumption. Sharp LC-LE700UN also sports a 120Hz refresh rate that provides improved motion resolution compared with standard LCDs although we suspect you'll be hard pressed to see any difference.

That refresh rate also allows the TV to display the proper cadence when fed 1080p/24 material. The two larger sizes in Sharp LC-LE700UN series, the 46 and 52 inch models, feature dejudder processing as well, while the two smaller 40 and 32 inch models do not. Dejudder is available in two strengths on the 46 and 52 inch models and doesn't need to be active to realize the antiblurring benefits of 120Hz.

Zenofon : New promotions and User review

Zenofon came into the voip market with a bang offering free voip trial credit to test their service. Since then Zenofon has been quite active in bringing new promotions.

Thanks to Mr Hitesh for reminding us Zenofon service and informing about new zenofon offer. He also reviews Zenofon voip service.

You will be able to see the new promotions once you log in to your account area of zenofon.

Hitesh reviewed that to stay in to focus, there is a new promotion with zenofon. Call quality of Zenofon is really good. They provide direct dial number so you do not need to dial access number and enter pin. Rate is very competitive. Customer service is good.

The new calling rate to India by Zenofon is 2 cent per minute.

In new promotion once you create a new account with zenofon they give you 30 minutes free calling.

The Auto recharge promotion is for both new and existing customers. Customer who create their credit card profile, mean who gave their credit card number to zenofon and enable auto recharge will get $ 10 credit. To curb misuse they will give instant $3 credit and will give $7 over seven days.

I think this is nice promotion for customer who is using zenofon and those are planning to use it. To claim your free 30 minutes register with Zenofon.

BingoTelecom Calling card : Cheap calls to India

We have already posted so many cheap calling ways to India and other countries. But Post Diwali we bring to you some more cheap calling options to India.

BingoTelecom is offering calls to India in the price range of 1.69 cents to 1.83 cents per minute, this depends on credit value of the calling card you purchase. The above mentioned call rates are when using this calling card for making calls from USA to India (using local access numbers).

What I suggest is to buy a calling card worth USD 10, which will get you 454 minutes and 90 free minutes. This makes effective rate of 1.83 cents per minute (Regular rates to India is 2.2 cents per minute).

To make calls using Bingotelecom, first register with them. Dial the local access numbers and follow the prompt. (You can Register up to 5 phones to make it pinless calling)
For all calls, Dial 011 + Country code + Number you want to call and press #.

Some other features of Bingotelecom calling card :
PIN-less Dialing
Speed Dial
Auto Recharge
No-Hidden Fees
Balance/Minutes Remaining
Follow On Calls
Last Number Redial

For more information, Visit BingoTelecom.

Sony Ericsson Cyber-shot C905

Sony Ericsson Cyber-shot C905a has a very sharp and sleek style that really highlights its Cyber-shot namesake. In fact, from the back, the phone looks more like a point and shoot camera thanks to the sliding camera lens cover. Measuring 4.1 inches long by 1.9 inches wide by 0.7 inch thick, the C905a is quite bulky. It's curved at the top and the bottom, has sharp corners, and is wrapped in a matte silver chassis with hints of dark gray. Weighing in at 4.8 ounces, it has a nice heft when held in the hand.

The sliding mechanism feels solid as well, and engages in a satisfying click each time you slide it up or down. The 2.4 inch scratch resistant display on Sony Ericsson Cyber-shot C905a is absolutely stunning. It supports around 262.000 colors, which results in great looking images and is especially helpful when using the display as a camera viewfinder. It has a simple menu interface similar to other AT&T phones, and can be organized in grid, rotating, or single icon view.

You can adjust the size of the clock on the home screen and the brightness of the display, but not the backlight time. Underneath the display is the navigation array, which consists of two soft keys, a Send and End and Power key, an Activity menu key, the Clear key, and a square navigation toggle with a center selection key. When pressed, the Activity menu key brings up a pop-up menu of four tabs, each of which list new events, currently running applications, application shortcuts, and Internet shortcuts, respectively.

The square toggle doubles as four user defined shortcuts and the middle key leads to AT&T's Media Net browser in standby mode. In camera mode, the toggle lights up in blue, which illuminates four camera function icons they correspond to the exposure setting, the flash setting, the self timer, and the focus mode. Directly above the display are two keys, one on the upper left and one on the upper right. In standby mode, the left key corresponds to the last picture or video in the album, while the right key leads to the camera album itself.

In camera mode, the left key is a shortcut to the shoot mode settings while the right key lets you change the scene mode options. In between the two keys are a light sensor plus the speaker. Slide the phone up and you'll reveal the number keypad. The keypad is quite roomy, and there's a raised line between each row for additional texture. We wish there was more delineation between each key and that the keypad didn't have such high side walls, but as we had no problems dialing or texting, it's a pretty decent keypad on the whole.

On the left side of the phone are the charger and headset jack and memory card slot, which takes Sony's proprietary Memory Stick Micro (M2) format. We were disappointed that Sony Ericsson Cyber-shot C905a doesn't come with a 3.5mm headset jack. Though the recent Sony Ericsson Cyber-shot W995a was the first ever Sony Ericsson phone to have a 3.5mm headset jack, we just wished Sony Ericsson would roll that design out to all of its phones.

On the right side are the volume controls, which also double as zoom controls in camera mode, a camera album shortcut, a camera mode key that switches between camera and video, and the camera shutter key. The shutter key can be pressed halfway to focus in on the subject. On the back of the phone is, of course, the camera lens, complete with the sliding lens cover. When you slide the cover down, you'll automatically put the phone in camera mode. There's a very bright LED flash above the lens, and a tiny self-portrait mirror to the side of it as well.

Post Diwali : Calling Card, Voip Providers User review

I hope you all have had a great Diwali this year. You all must have talked to all your loved ones in India this Diwali season and with voip around, the cost also would not have been much.

We posted about various voip providers like Rebtel, LocalPhone, Rynga and calling cards like Pingo, Simplecall, PinlessWorld Calling card which were offering cheap calls and free diwali offers to call India. What we would like from you now, is if you can provide your feedback about these service.

On the day of Diwali call volumes to India increase soo much that many voip providers could not sustain the traffic and start giving errors resulting in people not able to use their service to call India. So, please post about the voip provider you used this Diwali season to call India whether you liked it or not.

This post diwali analysis about various voip providers will help others to choose the best voip provider in the future. Post your feedback in the comment section.

Nintendo Wii

Nintendo Wii's biggest and most obvious appeal is the ability to use its motion sensing controller to play Nintendo Wii specific games. Nintendo Wii's release lineup includes the highly anticipated Legend of Zelda, Twilight Princess and the addictive pack in party game Wii Sports, as well as a variety of more traditional third party titles (many of which have been enhanced to use the Wiimote control). But while you're waiting for some more innovative Wii titles to arrive, there will still be plenty of games to play.

Nintendo Wii is fully backward compatible with the Nintendo GameCube and includes four built-in GameCube controller ports and two GameCube memory card slots for gamers who want to enjoy their last gen games. To play those older games, you'll need at least one GC controller (best choice : the wireless WaveBird) and (if you want to save your progress) a memory card. Truth be told, though, the list of truly great GameCube titles is short and sweet.

If Nintendo Wii and GameCube games aren't enough, Nintendo Wii also features Nintendo's Virtual Console, a library of games from the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), Super NES, Nintendo 64, Sega Genesis, and Turbografix 16 systems. Games can be purchased and downloaded over Nintendo's online Wii Store, where they are stored on Nintendo Wii's system memory or SD card.

Virtual Console game purchases are tied to the Wii's network ID, so you can't pop your Virtual Console games onto an SD card and take them over to play them on a friend's Wii. On the bright side, Nintendo is pledging that already purchased games can be downloaded again free if you accidentally lose or delete your data. Games are purchased with Wii Points, which can be purchased via credit card or gift card (100 Wii Points equals one U.S. dollar) the system is essentially identical to Microsoft's tried and true Xbox Live Marketplace (Sony's fledgling PlayStation store will denominate purchases in real currency, but is functionally the same).

NES games will cost the equivalent of $5 (500 points), Turbografix 16 games $6, Super Nintendo and Sega Genesis games $8, and Nintendo 64 games $10. While Nintendo Wii's controller is very advanced and innovative, its processing power is not. The system uses a more powerful version of the Nintendo GameCube's processor, and it doesn't have nearly as much polygon pushing power as the Xbox 360 or the PlayStation 3.

While Microsoft's and Sony's consoles support high definition outputs of up to 1080p, Nintendo Wii can hit only the GameCube's ceiling of 480p, and even that mode can't be used with the Wii's included composite A/V cables. (Most if not all of the Wii's games will, however, be optimized for wide screen TVs.) Nintendo Wii also lacks advanced surround sound, instead sticking with the GameCube's Dolby Pro-Logic II matrixed surround (based on a stereo signal, not native 5.1). In other words, if you're looking for state of the art eye candy, you're going to want to opt for the PS3 or the Xbox 360 either of which will take a significantly larger chunk of your bank account.

Is the Wii worth picking up? It all depends on what you're looking for. If you've been clamoring for an all purpose next generation multimedia box with blinding HD graphics, Nintendo Wii will be a disappointment. But Nintendo didn't intend to compete in that arena anyway Nintendo Wii is focused squarely on delivering fun and innovative gameplay, leaving Sony and Microsoft to battle it out at the high end.

The Wiimote and its motion sensing, pseudo virtual reality controls are the biggest draws of the console, and its online capabilities, Wii Channels, Virtual Console, and GameCube backward compatibility are just a thick, sweet layer of icing on an already tasty cake. Likewise, Nintendo Wii is the only home console that lets you play games featuring nostalgic Nintendo only franchises such as Mario, Zelda, and Metroid. With a price tag of just $250 far less than those of its competitors and the included Wii Sports disc that provides mindless fun out of the box, Nintendo Wii won't disappoint.

Nintendo DSi

Nintendo DSi is the third iteration of the DS, which was originally released in November 2004. In June 2006, the company refreshed the system in the form of the DS Lite, which dramatically changed the device's overall design and vastly improved screen performance. Rumors of a second redesign proved to be a reality when Nintendo announced the most recent, and what we believe to be the final rehash of the system, Nintendo DSi. This upgrade adds two small resolution cameras to the portable, slightly larger screens, and an SD card slot.

The Game Boy Advance slot found in both previous versions has been removed. While current DS Lite owners may want to think twice about upgrading, Nintendo DSi does offer plenty of innovative media features and online functionality that may warrant a purchase. Those who still have the original DS should definitely consider the step up as well but if you've been holding out on a DS purchase up until now, Nintendo DSi is certainly the way go. If you own or have held a DS Lite, the first thing you'll notice about Nintendo DSi is its sturdiness.

It definitely feels more robust than Nintendo DSi Lite. That said, you'll find it isn't any heavier as both weigh just under half a pound. While Nintendo DSi Lite is coated in a shinny plastic, Nintendo DSi is covered in a matte, almost rubberized outer layer. While we didn't scuff it up during our testing, it appears this covering will be more prone to such cosmetic scratches. Size wise, Nintendo DSi is only about 4 millimeters thinner than the Lite and just 5 millimeters wider.

Side by side, you won't notice much of a different in appearance. The two LED lights found on the right hinge of the Lite are gone, replaced by a set of three on the left hinge of Nintendo DSi. They're also labeled this time around, with symbols for power, charging, and Wi-Fi activity. Every button on the system has been changed as Nintendo has opted for buttons that click more, as opposed to the softer experience had with the Lite. The X, A, B, and Y buttons aren't as deep, thus they require less of a pressing motion. The same can be said for the L and R rear buttons, too they are now much more springy, and require much less of an effort to engage.

Even the select and start buttons have gotten a similar treatment we found them especially difficult to press with Nintendo DSi Lite. Moving along to the D-pad, we experienced the same sort of click responsiveness. The DS Lite's D-pad, a carbon copy of the one found on a Wii remote, was a bit looser. The power button has been moved to the bottom left of the lower touch screen. A long tap will power the device on and off, while a short tap (when Nintendo DSi is on) with give you a soft reset, something you could not do on any other DS.

Microphone placement remains the same, although the internal camera is now centered with the mic just to its right. Nintendo DSi's two screens are noticeably larger, especially when switching back and forth between systems. That said, we could not really detect huge improvements in overall brightness and color performance. The unit's two stereo speakers, located on either side of the top screen, seem to have been lowered about half an inch. On the outside of Nintendo DSi you'll find a few more noticeable changes.

First off, the Game Boy Advance slot has been removed, so fans of that handheld platform are out of luck. While we believe this omission helped shrink the device's thickness, we wish it had survived the update. We'd gladly give up the 4 millimeters to be able to play any Game Boy Advance game. The headphone jack remains in the same spot, but the volume slider found on the Lite's front left edge has been moved and converted into a push button format on the left side.

We'll agree with the movement of the controls, but we definitely prefer a slider as opposed to buttons. It's much easier to mute the device by sliding your thumb compared with holding down a button for a few seconds. The device's SD card slot is located on the right edge. As mentioned earlier, Nintendo DSi has two 0.3 megapixel cameras : one located on the inner hinge, the other on the outside front cover. A pink LED light glows when the outer camera is active. The outer casing also abandons the vertical square DS logo modeled in the plastic found on the DS Lite. The included stylus is mounted in the same rear location as the DS Lite, and Nintendo supplies you with a spare.

Sony PSP 3000

Sony PSP 3000 has the same slim dimensions (2.81 inches high by 6.63 inches wide by 0.63 inch deep) and lighter weight (just over 7 ounces or 200 grams with the battery, game disc, and Memory Stick on board) as its predecessor. The 4.3 inch LCD wide screen remains, and it's been tweaked. Sony says the new screen now delivers better color reproduction, reduced glare, and reduced "ghosting" on high motion scenes. When compared with the 2000, Sony PSP 3000 3000 does, indeed, deliver better color vibrancy (you can toggle between "wide" and "standard" color in the options to see the difference).

As for glare reduction we didn't find there to be a huge difference. Don't expect to play in direct sunlight, for instance. But you might have better luck with fewer distractions from indoor light sources. But in its effort to deal with the ghosting issue, Sony's cure may have been worse than the disease. By increasing the screen's refresh rate, the new PSP seems to introduce a variety of video artifacts onto the screen. They appear as scanlines or jaggies, as if the image is interlaced.

They're more apparent in high motion scenes in games and videos but that's most of the content on the PSP. The silver version of Sony PSP 3000 has a matte finish, as compared with the shiny piano black finish of the black one. As a result, the silver body is immune to fingerprints and smudges that so easily show up on the black one. Unfortunately, the screen is identical on both smooth and shiny and it remains a magnet for fingerprints.

As mentioned above, the lack of a clamshell design (as seen on the Nintendo DS and DSi) makes investing in a case as much a necessity for the PSP as it is for an iPod or iPhone. Aside from a few very minor cosmetic differences, button layout on Sony PSP 3000 is basically identical to the previous PSP as well. The screen is bordered by controls on its left, right, and bottom side, plus two shoulder buttons along the top edge. The button layout is based on the classic PlayStation controller layout the four way directional pad on the left, square, triangle, cross, and circle keys on the right so anyone who's used a Sony console over the last decade should be able to pick up and play.

The bottom left of the front face also houses an analog thumb stick, for more precise movement. (A second thumbstick on the right, mimicking the design of the PlayStation controller, would've been a welcome addition.) More mundane media controls line the bottom of the screen select, start, volume, brightness, and a "home" button. (Some of them are shaped a bit differently than the previous model, and the "home" button now brandishes the PlayStation emblem.) New to Sony PSP 3000 is the built-in microphone, located just below the screen.

It can be used for online communication, be it within a game or for the PSP's built-in Skype application. The advantage of having the mic integrated into the body is that you can use it with any standard pair of headphones. By contrast, Sony PSP 2000 required a special headset for communicating online. Sony PSP 3000 is designed to play games and movies off something called UMDs Universal Media Discs.

We're not sure where Sony got the "universal" part of the name, because the PSP is the only device that plays them. They're sort of a cross between a mini CD and an old MiniDisc, and they only hold about 2.2GB of data. They load into a snap open door on the PSP's backside. Sony seems to be moving the PSP to more of a downloadable model for games and video (see the PlayStation Store section, below), so we wouldn't be surprised to see the UMD become more of a legacy medium for the PSP.

SimpleCall Free and cheap calls to India

Firstly wishing all my blog readers a very Happy Diwali. I hope you will enjoy this festival to the fullest. To all my NRI readers, just go through the blog and you will find many post regarding making cheap and free calls to India, one of them being Rynga Voip service. This Diwali just call all your relatives and friends in India and wish them up. I guess with Voip you will be able to do so with very low cost.

Lets now discuss about another voip provider, SimpleCall. Thanks again to Mr. Harry for informing us about it.

SimpleCall is offering all new users free 1USD to try their service for free. You can make use of this free credit to make free calls to India. The calling rate offered by SimpleCall to India is also just 1.6 cents per minute. So this free credit will enable you to make approx. 62 minutes of free call.

Since the calling rate being so cheap, I guess you can continue with SimpleCall as Harry gave good reviews about the service.

Using SimpleCall is lot more easy with many ways to use it. You can either use local access number service, dial local access number followed by international number and connect to ones living in India. You can also use SimpleCall Pc application (softphone) for making cheap Pc to Phone calls.

Apart from cheap rates to India, SimpleCall also provides very cheap rates to other Asian countries like Bangladesh and Pakistan.

So, go for SimpleCall. Try the service for free and please do post your reviews as it will help others know about the Simplecall service.

Pinless World Calling Card : India Bulk rate 1.6c per minute

Thanks to Mr. Harry for informing us PinlessWorld Calling card. Its one of the cheapest calling card to India in the market widely used by many.

PinlessWorld Calling card offer calling rate of 1.6 cents per minute to call India. Unlike other calling card companies that offer low rates with an expiration date, PinlessWorld offers its low rates without any fees or expiration date. This is indeed good as they is no validity and you can use your credit at your pace.
Use your minutes when ever you need to and never be afraid of being charged any fees or having to use your minutes within a certain period of time.

Speed Dial: Enter your destination numbers and assign them to a quick dial number. At the balance prompt just dial the Speed dial number followed by #.

PIN Recharge: Instantly recharge your existing pin online via your PIN Manager.

Rounding: There is one minute rounding when using any one of our calling plans.

Call History: You can view all the calls you made from your PIN online in your Pin Manager. Get the Date and Time of each call you make as well as the number you called from and called to. Also view the duration of each call made online.

Dialing Instructions: To place a call to India you need to follow these steps
1) Dial Access number
2) Enter Pin Number (If Pinless Dialing is set up, please skip step 2)
3) Enter your destination number in the following format 011+Country code+City Code+Number

PinlessWorld calling card offers many local access numbers. So, this Diwali you have one more option. Try PinlessWorld Calling card.

Diwali offers by LocalPhone : Lowers calling rate to India

With Diwali coming closer, the call volumes to India have increased. But we dont want people to spend more on making calls to India. With so many voip offers already in the market, we bring to your notice another good cheap deal to call India. Its by another major in voip market LocalPhone.

Thanks to Mr. Hitesh for informing us about the LocalPhone reduction in calling rates this Diwali. LocalPhone has announced their new rates to India of just 1.8¢ per minute to mobiles, 2¢ to major cities, and 2.2¢ to all other landlines.

Good things about this Diwali promotion from LocalPhone is that there are no expiry dates, no minimum top-ups, and no other terms or conditions required to participate. Best part is that these rates are not for a week or month but these rates are new rates by localphone and will remain in effect even after Diwali.

So, this Diwali you have one more option to use LocalPhone. Dont use your normal plans to call India, save on your phone bills by using Voip to make international phone calls.

Update : Localphone is running a promotional offer. When you sigh up with $1 credit, you will get $2.5 credit. That's additional $1.5 credit as bonus.
$1.5 credit is worth 100 minutes to India. This makes cheapest voip provider to India with effective rate of just 0.6 cents per minute. This offer can be used to call other countries as well. What are you waiting for. Just try Localphone.
(No expiry of credit, good voice quality, and sign up with as low as $1).

IndiaLD Diwali Offer: Free 2 million minutes to India

Diwali season is around and voip provider have stared offering free and cheap calls to India. More and more voip providers are coming up with special voip diwali offers to call India.

Firstly Rynga offered such cheap rates to India (one cent per minute), then Rebtel launched Diwali promoton offering very cheap calls to India. Reliance India call and now its turn for IndiaLd and this promotion is really big.

IndiaLD is offering free 2 million minutes as Diwali Promotion. IndiaLD is going to giveaway over 2 million minutes to call India for free this Diwali. Every active account holder will get 1 hour of free calling time added to their account on October 14th.

IndiaLD is also going to give away 10,000 special easy dialer accounts with an hour of free talk time to anybody who does not already have an account, and wants to call one number in India or other 27 countries for free. This is really big. These 10,000 accounts are on first come first basis.

What's for existing customers and how will they get free calling minutes to India. All active accounts on October 14th will automatically get 1 hour of free calling added into their account. You do not need to do anything other than to enjoy the free calling to India for festival season. But what you need to do is spread the word around about IndiaLD so that others also get free minutes.

These accounts (new 10000 accounts giveaway) will be good for 14 days or until all the minutes are used up. Enjoy Diwali and call home to India for free with IndiaLD. Surely worth trying!!

Palm Pixi

Overall, Palm Pixi is slimmer than both the iPhone 3GS and the Palm Pre. The phone itself is covered in a rubbery, soft touch material the back actually flexes and snaps off like a piece of Tupperware and the keys are much clickier and more satisfying to type on than the Pre's keys. On the back, there's a 2 megapixel camera with LED flash, as compared to the Pre's 3 megapixel unit. Palm says Palm Pixi is designed for messaging, and see the company's point.

As RIM's BlackBerry discovered a long time ago, the candybar form factor is perfect for messaging, because the keyboard is always exposed (and doesn't have hinges or ridges getting in its way.) Palm Pixi feels comfortable, well balanced, and just about the right size in the hand. Because of the lack of ridges around the edge, the keyboard feels larger, even though it isn't folks with big fingers will still probably find the keys to be too small. Palm Pixi is based on the Qualcomm MSM7627 chipset, which is designed for lower cost smartphones.

Rather than using a separate application and baseband (phone) processor like the Pre does, the MSM7627 unifies both functions in one chip. That makes for slimmer, cheaper, and cooler running phones, but the downside is lower video performance. Because Palm Pixi has a 320 by 400 touch screen as opposed to the Pre's 320 by 480 display, many of the standard WebOS interface items are a little bit compressed. They're well designed, though, so you don't notice until someone points out to you that the buttons on the phone keypad, for instance, are a bit more compressed. The

smaller screen did become noticeable with Web browsing, though you see less of a Web page at a time than you do on the Pre. The interface was just as responsive as the Pre's, though, and all the WebOS items were in the same place. Palm ditched the Pre's home button in favor of a virtual home button an area right below the screen that lights up in a little white line. It worked just like the Pre's home button. Palm Pixi comes with 8GB of built-in storage, but no removable memory. The battery is removable, though.

You can sync it with various PC and Mac apps including iTunes, although Palm has been having a bit of a cat and mouse game with Apple over that one. Although Palm Pixi's back doesn't work with Palm's Touchstone inductive charger, Palm will separately sell six "artist backs" that do work with the Touchstone each one was designed by a different California based artist. Palm Pixi has GPS and stereo Bluetooth, but not Wi-Fi, unfortunately. Palm dodged the question of why it left out the Wi-Fi, but they implied it was a cost consideration. Instead of Wi-Fi, Palm Pixi connects using Sprint's EVDO Rev A network (or it roams on Verizon's network when Sprint's network isn't available.)

Nokia 7705 Twist (Verizon)

Nokia 7705 Twist (Verizon) uses Verizon's standard menu system. That means it's familiar, slow, and kludgy, and requires too many key presses for most tasks. The Polaris 6.1 browser displayed HTML pages well given the smallish LCD. But pages were stiff and slow to navigate using the on screen cursor, and the USA Today home page took more than two minutes to load fully. Verizon loads its instant messaging applications, which hooks into AIM, Windows Live, and Yahoo Messenger accounts, but counts each transmission as a text message on your bill.

For e-mail, the Twist connects to Web and ISP accounts, and offers RemoSync for corporate messaging; all cost extra monthly fees, which is a disappointment. The A-GPS radio works with VZ Navigator 4.5 for voice enabled, turn by turn directions. The Twist locked onto my position quickly and spoke loudly and clearly a surprise given the Twist's poor speakerphone performance. You can also use Nokia 7705 Twist (Verizon) as a laptop modem with the appropriate Broadband Connect plan.

The non-standard 2.5 mm headphone jack was a downer. At least there's a side mounted microSD card slot my 16GB SanDisk card worked fine, and there's 119MB of on board memory as well. Verizon's music player was difficult to navigate, with too many button presses required to cue up songs, and the usual annoying requirement that everything is in one specific folder on a microSD card. AAC, MP3, and WMA tracks sounded excessively bright and tinny on a paired set of Motorola S9-HD Bluetooth headphones.

Nokia 7705 Twist (Verizon) displayed album art when available. Sometimes, incredibly loud, ear piercing static occurred whenever it stopped or restarted tracks over the S9-HDs and .3GP videos played back OK, though I heard distorted audio on one pass. Stopping and restarting the video seemed to fix it, although it never quite sounded 100 percent clean. V CAST videos were poorly organized, tough to sift through, and looked pixelated, but played smoothly enough provided stucked with the standard thumbnail sized window.

You can also sign up for V CAST Music with Rhapsody for subscription and over the air music downloads. The 3 megapixel camera was a disaster. The slow shutter speed, poor resolution, and lack of detail contributed to a series of useless photos that were either too dark (flash off, or flash on in a dark room) or completely blown out (well lit indoor room, flash off). Recorded videos were useless at 176 by 144 pixel resolution. Moving pictures to and from an SD card was clunkier than it should have been, and changing the default storage location for pictures was buried in the phone's main settings tree instead of in the camera applications.

Motorola Cliq

Like other T-Mobile Android phones, Motorola Cliq is a bit short on style. With a big, 3.1 inch screen, a rectangular design (with curved edges) and a slide away QWERTY keyboard, Motorola Cliq sits firmly between the clunky T-Mobile G1 and the flashy myTouch 3G. All three phones are carried by T-Mobile. In a brief side by side comparison, the still pre-release Cliq was actually a bit more responsive than the fairly new myTouch.

The non-conformist start screen can extend to five customizable themes, with word bubbles a bit like those Charles Schwab ads you see on billboards. Yet, despite how different it is from the MyTouch and G1, and virtually any other smartphone you've seen before, it may quickly win you over. MotoBlur is more than a UI it's actually a cloud based service. You sign up online and put in all your member info for your social networking services and e-mail. Those bubbles are full of relevant information about people from your contact lists.

All of that then synchs up with your Motorola Cliq and, along with your Gmail and Outlook calendar info, is blended into the MotoBlur interface. Motorola Cliq is constantly pulling updates about your contacts, both direct messages and whatever they're posting to the various social networking sites. Motorola Cliq with MotoBlur will support Microsoft Exchange email, but it's not true push. Instead, it can poll for mail updates intermittently. If you lose your Motorola Cliq, you can not only remotely wipe the phone (if it can be found via GPS), but you can retrieve all your contact and messaging info from the Blur online service.

Those bubbles on your Motorola Cliq with MotoBlur UI are actually Android widgets. The interface starts with a core set : Happenings, Direct, Status, and Weather (though Weather is not actually a Blur creation). All of the widgets update with fresh information within seconds of turning on the phone. Direct is full of, as you'd expect, messages that have been sent directly to you through e-mail and SMS. With this and other widgets, you can choose to scroll through all messages for all contacts or drill down to individual contacts. In that case you see all your direct messages on whatever platforms you use to communicate with that contact.

Happenings is your view port into all public posts (including photo updates) on social networking services like Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. Status is where you show and update your own personal status. You can actually enter one post and have it automatically sent to all your favorite services. There was even time to try making a call on Motorola Cliq. Voices came through loud and clear on both sides, despite the fact that we were standing in a crowded meeting room.

Motorola Cliq accomplishes this by using two microphones and noise canceling technology. Motorola Cliq memory card is only accessible if you remove the back of the device. At least it's not under the SIM card. One other bit of good news is that since a 2GB microSD card comes with the unit, you may not need to use change the card unless you need space for media. The hidden keyboard was nice and roomy. Instead of the G1's separated keys, Motorola Cliq's keys are set apart with chamfers. Next to them is a D-pad if you decide you don't want to navigate the interface with your fingers. The D-pad could also theoretically be used for playing games.

Rebtel (Diwali Season) : Lowers calling rates to India

The day we posted about Rebtel for making cheap calls to Mexico, Rebtel came up with Diwali promotion, in which Rebtel is offering very cheap calls to India. The festive season of Diwali is around with Diwali on 17th Oct. Almost all Indian living outside India talk to their parents and loved ones on the day of Diwali (and during the whole festive season).

Each year various Voip providers bring special plans for Diwali season so that people can connect to India at cheap rates. Rebtel has been one of the first few ones this season to bring Diwali cheap calling offer.

So, lets then talk about the Rebtel Diwali campaign.

Until the 20th of October, users of Rebtel can call India for an all time low rate at 1.9 cents per minute to mobile phones and for 2.4 cents to landlines. The regular rate that we previously carried was, as you probably know, 3.9 cents per minute.

Furthermore, users of Rebtel are able to keep the 1.9 cent and 2.4 cent rate when the Diwali campaign expires. If they make a prepayment of USD $25, they will be able to call India at that very same reduced rate for an entire year. After the 364 day period subscribers call at the standard rate plan for any remaining credits.

Well Rebtel is a trusted name in the Voip industry and surely worth trying. Try Rebtel this diwali season to make cheap calls to India. Please do give your feedback about Rebtel as it is very important for us.

Nokia N86

The overall look of Nokia N86 8MP isn't too different from Nokia N series models of the past, but a closer examination of the phone reveals some nice improvements. For one, Nokia N86 has a higher quality build and a more solid feel than any of its other N siblings, thanks to new hardware refinements like metal edges and tempered glass on the face of the device. The one trade off is the phone is slightly heavier at 5.2 ounces (compare that with Nokia N85's 4.5 ounces). That said, we're willing to deal with those extra tenths of an ounce if it means having a more durable, sturdy handset.

Plus, Nokia N86 is still fairly compact, all things considered, measuring 4 inches tall by 2 inches wide by 0.6 inch thick in its closed state. Other areas of improvement include the slider itself and the phone's buttons. Starting with the former, Nokia N86 features a dual slider design just like N85 and Nokia N96. The difference is that the sliding mechanism on Nokia N86 is stronger than the others, so the screen doesn't fidget or move when you're simply trying to handle the phone or use the navigation controls below the display.

In fact, you have to give the screen quite a forceful push downward to access the dedicated multimedia and gaming controls. Meanwhile, sliding the screen up reveals the alphanumeric keypad. Nokia N86 8MP is slightly heavier than N85, but it also has a higher quality build. Speaking of which, both the dialpad and the media buttons are much easier to press, thanks to the fact that the keys are now raised above the surface and have spacing between them.

They're also easy to see in darker environments with the bright backlighting and lime green and white coloring. We have mixed feelings about the navigation controls below the display. The array consists of the standard soft keys, Talk and End buttons, a main menu shortcut, a back button, and navigation toggle, and like the others, the controls are now elevated instead of being flush with the surface, so they don't feel as stiff, and the phone doesn't creak when you press down on them as it did on N85.

Our only thing is we're just not huge fans of the tiny buttons. Nokia N86's dialpad is much easier to use than its predecessor's since the buttons are raised above the phone's surface. Above the navigation controls is a 2.6 inch Active Matrix OLED (AMOLED) nontouch display. While not a touch screen, the AMOLED display helps provide a sharper picture with better contrast and draws less power than regular LCDs. However, we wish it was slightly higher resolution since the QVGA (320x240) screen doesn't look quite as smooth as its competitors.

On the bright side, the smartphone has a built-in accelerometer, which was quick to change screen orientation when we rotated the phone. Like most Nokia handsets, you can customize the home screen with various themes and wallpaper, and also adjust the backlight. On top of the device, you'll find the power button, a 3.5 millimeter headset jack, and a Micro-USB port. The left side houses a slider lock switch and on the right, there's a volume rocker and the camera activation or capture button.

The camera is located on the back and the lens is protected by a sliding cover. There's also a flash and a kickstand that you can use to rest the phone on a flat surface while watching videos or slide shows. We thought the kickstand felt a bit flimsy, however, so take care not to be too forceful with it. Last but not least, you'll find the microSD expansion slot behind the battery door on the right side. Nokia N86 came packaged with an AC adapter, a USB cable, a wired headset and remote, a software DVD, and reference material. For more add ons, please check our cell phone accessories, ringtones, and help page.

Nokia 5130 XpressMusic

Nokia 5130 XpressMusic somewhat resembles the earlier 5310. It also sports a slim candy bar design, though it's bit larger (4.23 inches by 1.83 inches by 0.58 inch 3.10 ounces) and it features a glossier skin with a dotted pattern over its speaker one the rear side. The handset comes in two color schemes aqua-silver and red-black. We tested the former, but the features are the same on both models. The 5130 has a comfortable feeling in the hand, and it travels well. Nokia 5130 XpressMusic's two inch display supports 256.000 colors.

The resolution is decent (320x240 pixel), though some graphics, particularly the menu icons, weren't very sharp. On the upside, the Series 40 menus are intuitive provided that you turn off the transition effects. You can adjust the standby font color and the font size. The navigation array has a spacious, user friendly design. The square toggle is raised and shows a different color than the central OK button or the surrounding keys.

The soft keys and Talk and End or power controls are flat, but they're quite large. You can set the toggle as a shortcut to user defined features. They backlit keypad buttons are a mixed bag. Though they're sizable, they have a slippery plastic feel. Dialing and texting takes some getting used to, and the numbers and letters are rather small. On the rear side is the camera lens. Nokia 5130 XpressMusic offers neither a flash nor a self portrait mirror.

On the left spine are the dedicated music controls, which you can use to activate the player and scan through your songs. On the right spine you'll find the large accessible volume rocker and the microSD card slot. We were glad see a 3.5mm headset jack on the top of Nokia 5130 XpressMusic. Next to it are the proprietary charger connection and the Micro-USB port.

Features
Nokia 5130 XpressMusic's phone book size is limited by its shared memory (30MB). Each contact holds six phone number types, an e-mail address, a URL, a company name and job title, a formal name and nickname, a birthday, and notes. The SIM card holds an additional 250 contacts. You can organize friends into groups and pair them with a video and photo and one of 23 polyphonic ringtones.

Essentials include a vibrate mode, text and multimedia messaging, an alarm clock, a calendar, a to do list, a unit and currency converter, a world lock, a notepad, a calculator, a countdown timer, and a stopwatch. For more advanced options you'll find stereo Bluetooth, a voice recorder, USB transfer and mass storage, voice commands, PC syncing, instant messaging, and Web based e-mail.

The microSD slot can accommodate cards up to 2GB one such card should come with the phone. Nokia 5130 XpressMusic offers the standard Nokia Xpress Music player. The interface is simple, but the controls are simple and intuitive, and the player supports album art. Features include an equalizer, shuffle and repeats modes, playlists, stereo widening, and an airplane mode for listening to tunes while you fly. The player supports a variety of file types, and you can use tracks as ringtones.

Indiald lowers call rates to India : 1 cent per minute

Most of the voip providers have reduced their calling rates to India, with many offering in the range of just 1-2 cents per minute. Since, the calling rates have been revised by many voip providers, we thought to check the rates of providers we have already discussed on this blog.

Indiald, one of widely used voip provider to call India has lowered the call rates with offering from 1 cent per minute to 2 cent per minute depending upon the plan you choose.

By paying monthly cost of $29.99 you will get 3000 free minutes to India, effective rate of calling being just 1 cent per minute. If you dont want to spend so much amount monthly then, I guess $16.95 plan is good. The effective rate of calling is 1.7 cents per minute with 1000 free minutes.

Each month your plan will automatically renew, and you will get a fresh set of minutes. So their is no forwarding of free minutes. Your month starts the day you create an account with Indiald and will be good until that day next month. The rest of details about Indiald have already been discussed in the previous post.

Cheap and Free Voip calls to Mexico by Rebtel

Lately a lot has been discussed about ways and offers to make cheap and free calls to India. Its time to look at the other destinations which are also among the most called countries. You know Mexico is worlds largest calling corridor. And because of this reason a lot of voip provider offer great deals to call Mexico.

Rebtel one of the most trusted and well known voip provider is now offering very cheap calls to Mexico. Rebtel is now offering just 1 cent a min so that all the Mexicans living in USA can connect to their loved ones in Mexico. Its actually result of the war between prepaid calling card industry (which seems to be involved in some kind of fraud activities) and voip industry that has prompted Rebtel to slash their calling rates to Mexico.

A Rebtel survey this month showed that 79 percent of participants believe they had consistently received fewer minutes than promised by calling card providers. With Rebtel there is no charge to set up a Rebtel account. No monthly fees. No connection fees. No hidden costs. Rebtel works with any phone – even the most simple, cheap mobile phone – without modification, software downloads or changes to the user’s calling plan with their cell phone provider.

Rebtel service is very easy to use, actually Rebtel is a well known name on this blog and I dont think I need to discuss about how to use Rebtel service.

What I think which is worth mentioning is the calling rates of Rebtel to make cheap calls to Mexico:

From calling USA to Mexico,
Rebtel offers 1 cent per minute to call Mexico landline phones and 8.9 cents/min to call mobile phones.

You know by following a simple procedure you can make free calls to Mexico using Rebtel service. But in that case you need to ask your friend in Mexico to callback. Three simple steps and voilla make free calls to Mexico. More about it on
Rebtel.

Navigon 8100T

Navigon 8100T is a bit of a departure from the company's other portable navigation systems as far as its design. It sports a silver brushed metal finish rather than the typical black plastic casing, giving the GPS a more sophisticated look and quality build to match its high end feature list. Navigon 8100T is slightly on the larger and heavier side, at 5.3 inches wide by 3.3. inches tall by 0.9 inch deep and 9.4 ounces, but there's a good reason for the bigger size. The reason is that Navigon 8100T features an extra wide, 4.8 inch touch screen with a 16:9 aspect ratio.

Most of today's GPS devices sport 4.3 inch displays, but Navigon added the extra screen real estate to complement Navigon 8100T's Panorama View 3D, which we'll talk about in the Features section. In general, maps and text look clear and bright. You can choose between day and night map colors or set it to automatic so the system will switch it for you based on the time of day. Navigon 8100T's user interface is like other Navigon products : fairly easy to use, but not as intuitive or simple as a TomTom or Garmin.

The on screen keyboard is large enough that you should be able to input addresses without too many mispresses. That said, we're disappointed that there's still no QWERTY format option, but even more frustrating is the system's sluggishness, which affected the address entry process. We'd input letters, but they wouldn't appear for a couple of seconds, or we'd try to delete a letter, but since the system wasn't quick to respond, we thought our touch didn't register and ended up tapping the back button multiple times and inadvertently erasing everything.

Aside from the touch screen, the GPS does have some tactile controls. On the left side, there's a back key, a mute button, and an external antenna jack; there is a 3.5mm headphone jack and external volume controls on the right side, which we always appreciate since then you don't have to dig through menus to adjust the volume. The top of the unit holds the SD expansion slot and the power button. A mini USB port and reset hole are on the bottom, but be aware that when you're using the car charger, you need to plug it into the mini USB port on the vehicle mount and not the one on the unit.

Navigon 8100T comes packaged with a car charger, a vehicle mount, an SD card preloaded with maps and points of interest, a soft protective pouch, and reference material. Navigon's Web site states that Navigon 8100T comes with an adhesive disc for the dashboard, but our sales package didn't include one. The company reassured us that this was just a mistake and all others will ship with the accessory. The vehicle mount itself is similar to the one that ships with Navigon 7100. It consists of one long arm and a suction cup. It's quite modern looking and works well, but we still prefer the more traditional vehicle mounts, since they allow for more adjustments as far as placement and angles.

Features
Aside from the 3D panorama views, Navigon 8100T offers a feature list very similar to that of Navigon 7200T. The GPS is equipped with a SiRFStarIII GPS chip and comes with an SD card preloaded with maps of the United States and Canada and 5 million points of interest. To plan a trip, you can enter a location by specific address, point of interest, recent destination, user defined home, and so forth. You can also enter addresses via the voice command system. As with 7200T, you will have to read a short paragraph so the system can learn your voice.

It's also recommended you do this exercise in the car so the GPS can get the optimal settings for the environment. Unlike the Garmin Nuvi 880, the voice command system is limited to just address entry and can't be used for other tasks. Navigon 8100T can calculate routes in one of three ways fast, optimum, and short and gives you the option to allow or avoid highways and toll roads. There are also pedestrian and bicycle modes.

In addition, like most other Navigon products, Navigon 8100T offers free real time traffic updates for life, so you can know the traffic condition before hitting the road or you can find alternative routes if you happen to get caught in traffic. If there are any incidents along your route, you'll see a little exclamation point on your map screen (and hear an audible cue) and by tapping it, the 8100T will bring up a list of congested areas. You can select a specific incident and get more details on the problem or choose to ignore it.

The PND supports multi destination routing so you can add multiple stops to your trip or add waypoints on the fly. The points of interest (POI) database includes all the major categories, including gas stations, lodging, and ATMs. You can search for restaurants by cuisine type, and there are also specialized categories like golf courses, marinas, and museums. In addition, you can search for POI by Zagat Survey ratings and reviews it's available for hotels, night life, attractions, golf courses, and restaurants, and once you've selected your category, you can refine your search even more by top service, best buy, and so forth. Tapping the information icon on a business listing will then bring up specific ratings and reviews. You can then have it shown on a map or navigate to the POI from your current location.

Navigon 2000S

Navigon 2000S has a very simple design. The unit measures a petite 3.8 inches wide by 2.9 inches high by 0.7 inch deep and weighs 4.3 ounces. It's compact enough that you could fit it into a pants pocket or use it as a handheld navigator, and there is a pedestrian mode as well as a bicycle routing option. Be careful when transporting the system or using it outside of the car, as the portable navigation device has a plastic casing that feels like it could easily crack if it took a tumble.

On front, there is a 3.5 inch touch screen with a 320x240 pixel resolution. It's vibrant and sharp, and Navigon products have always had some of the better looking maps we've seen on other PNDs. You can adjust the brightness of the screen and choose between day or night map colors, though we recommend you just set it to automatic mode so you don't have to think about it. The touch screen is responsive, but we found the onscreen keyboard to be a bit cramped. Navigon 2000S has a feature called SmartSpeller that will bring up possible search results after you input a couple of letters, but even so, the smaller keyboard can lead to some mistakes.

There's also no option to switch it to QWERTY format, only ABC. The user interface of Navigon 2000S is similar to the company's other products. The Main Menu page presents four clear choices : New Destination, My Destinations, Take Me Home, and Show Map. There's also an Options menu at the bottom of the screen where you can adjust various settings, such as routing preferences and map displays. While the user experience is not as smooth or streamlined as Garmin or TomTom, it's still intuitive and general performance is snappy.

There's a microSD expansion slot on the left side, a reset hole on the right, and a mini USB port on the bottom. On top, you'll find a power button, but it's slightly wobbly and set deep beneath the device's surface, so it's a bit hard to press. Navigon 2000S comes packaged with a car charger, a vehicle mount (dashboard and windshield), and reference material. The car mount requires some assembly, but it's simple and the accessory securely held the unit in place during our road tests.

Features
Navigon 2000S is a good value, offering a lot of navigation features for the price. The system is equipped with a SiRF GRF3i+ GPS chip with InstantFix II and comes preloaded with Navteq maps of the lower 48 United States. Planning a trip can start in several ways. You can enter a specific address, select a favorite location or recent destination, or search for a certain point of interest. Navigon 2000S supports multidestination planning, so you can have more than one stop along your journey. The points of interest database includes all the major categories, including gas stations, lodging, and ATMs.

For certain POIs, there are also subcategories. For example, with restaurants, you can drill down further and find food by cuisine type, or you can search for shopping by type (book store, sporting goods, and so forth) or if it's a major corporation, by brand (for example, Best Buy, 7-Eleven, Safeway, or Walgreens). Navigon 2000S also has something called Direct Access, which gives you one touch access to four predefined categories (gas stations, parking and rest areas, restaurants, and lodging). Unlike Navigon 7100, however, the Zagat reviews and ratings aren't preloaded on the device, but you can purchase this as an additional service for $19.99.

Navigon 7200T

Like Navigon 2000S, Navigon 7200T features a slightly new design with a black matte casing rather than the lacquered finish of the company's previous models. It still keeps the compact size, measuring 4.6 inches wide by 3.2 inches tall by 0.7 inch deep and weighing 6.5 ounces, so you can use it in multiple cars or take it with you on vacations for use with rental cars. Navigon 7200T's display is slightly different from the company's other models. The screen is completely flat and doesn't have a beveled edge, so it gives the GPS a more sophisticated and streamlined look.

The display measures 4.3 inches diagonally and is sharp and bright, making it easy to view maps. The touch screen is also more responsive than other Navigon units we've tested in the past. The on screen keyboard is slightly larger than Navigon 7100, so address entry was easier and more accurate. Also, the GPS features predictive text, so as you enter letters, it will automatically bring up possible result matches. Unfortunately, you only have the option of an ABC formatted keyboard and not a QWERTY one. The user interface is pretty intuitive.

From the start menu , you have four main options : New Destination, My Destinations, Take Me Home, and Voice Entry. As we've noted in our other reviews, the Navigon interface isn't quite as clean or easy as a TomTom or Garmin GPS. For example, if you simply want to go to the map screen, you have to tap Options first and then Show Map, whereas the other systems have direct shortcuts. The extra steps required on Navigon 7200T, but it definitely made us appreciate the simplified interface of the other units.

There's a power button on top of the unit, while there's a microSD expansion slot, a reset hole, a mini USB port, and a 3.5mm headphone jack on the bottom. Finally, there's an external antenna jack on the back. Navigon 7200T comes packaged with a car charger, a vehicle mount (windshield and dashboard), a software CD, and reference material. The car mount is slightly different than the ones that shipped with previous Navigon units. It consists of a disc that attaches to the back of the GPS, and that piece connects to the arm of the mount. There's a bit of assembly required, but it's quite easy. What's difficult is removing the unit from the disc; there's a little release lever at the bottom, but we still had problems. The good news is the mount securely held Navigon 7200T in place during our road tests.

Features
Navigon 7200T includes maps of the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. To plan a trip, you can enter a location by specific address, point of interest, recent destination, user defined home, and so forth. Of course, the big news is that you can enter addresses by voice. When you first use the voice command system, you do a little test read in your car so the GPS can learn your voice and the environment in which you'll be using Navigon 7200T.

The first couple of times we used the voice entry system, the results weren't very accurate, but the more we used it, the better it got (check out the Performance section for more details). Unfortunately, unlike the Garmin Nuvi 880, the voice command system is limited to just address entry and can't be used for other tasks. Navigon 7200T can calculate routes in one of three ways fast, optimum, and short and gives you the option to allow or avoid highways and toll roads.

There are also pedestrian and bicycle modes. In addition, Navigon 7200T offers free real time traffic updates for life, so you can know the road condition before hitting the road or finding alternative routes if you happen to get caught in traffic. If there are any incidents along your route, you'll see a little exclamation point on your map screen (as well as get an audible cue) and by tapping it, it will bring up a list of congested areas. You can select a specific incident and get more details on the problem or choose to ignore it.

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