How would you change Nokia's N8?

There's no need to tell you that a lot was (and still is, in a way) riding on Nokia's N8. It was said to be the outfit's first dead-serious smartphone to rival the giants of today, and it was also Nokia's first chance to truly reveal Symbian^3 to the world. We've already churned out our two pennies on the matter, but for those of you who bought in, now's the time to get really real. Are you satisfied with where Nokia's going with the N8? Do you seriously see a long and lively future when looking at Symbian^3? If someone (read: UPS) accidentally delivered the keys to the Finnish kingdom to you, how would you go about tweaking and / or reshaping the N8? Would you have selected a different operating system? Added a few more hardware buttons? Thrown in a different processor? Made it available on your carrier of choice? Let us know down in comments below.

To proceed another five miles, TXT 'DESIGN FLAW' to your Reva electric car

 

Not long ago a motorcycle with a fuel gauge was basically unheard of and even "low fuel" idiot lights were rare. Riders used advanced (and generally inaccurate) mathematics to calculate remaining mileage and, when the engine inevitably sputtered, switched over to a reserve tank that would let them nervously motor along a few more miles. Reva, an Indian company set to start shipping electric cars next year, plans to resurrect that most irritating sequence of events in their two-door NXR -- albeit with a modern spin. Now, instead of reaching down and turning a dial to get to that precious extra juice, drivers will need to call or text Reva HQ. Some overworked customer service agent will then remotely activate the "reserve battery," which surely doesn't even exist, to give a bit of extra range. We pity the fool who runs out of charge somewhere outside of cell range, but not quite as much as the designer who pitched this terrible idea.

New solar machine could generate hydrogen fuel, food for you future vehicle

We're hesitant to file this one in the folder marked "Awesome Things That'll Never Happen," but it's definitely on the watch list. A new prototype solar device has been concocted to convert sunlight into fuel, much in the same way a plant does. Eco-minded folks will probably understand that conventional photovoltaic panels "must use the electricity they generate in situ," and thus, cannot deliver energy at night; this here device takes a rather unorthodox approach, using the sun's rays along with ceria (a magical, marvelous metal oxide) to "break down carbon dioxide or water into fuels which can be stored and transported." In theory, at least, the device could be used to create hydrogen and / or carbon monoxide, with the former being obviously useful for fueling up hydrogen-based cars of the future. Sadly, the existing prototype is horribly inefficient -- only around 0.7 percent of the solar energy can be converted into fuel -- but researchers are adamant that they can boost that to nearly 20 percent in time. We'll check back in a decade or so to see how things are progressing.

Sony announces suite of SD cards for cameras that don' t work with Sticks

Sony has announced three (count 'em ) new series of SD cards , giving amateurs , pros , and prosumers
alike even more choices on where to stick their pics . First up is the budget Essential Series in 2 , 4 , and
8 GB capacities , offering Class 4 (4 MB / s) speeds and little else . Next up is the similarly Class 4
Experience Series , which adds 16 and 32 GB models to the list . Finally is the full -bore, Class 10 Expert
Series in 8 , 16, and 32 GB capacities . This is obviously your choice for high bitrate HD recording (hello
PMW - F3 ), but any should do just fine for taking pictures . All come with a handy "memo space " for
those with petite handwriting and ultra- fine point pens , and all ship in January, but, alas, none have
been assigned MSRPs just yet. Now , who said Sony doesn' t like industry -standard formats ?
Show full PR text
Sony has expanded its family of premium- quality memory cards to meet the growing needs
of today' s digital imaging users .
There' s now a choice of three SDHC card ranges by Sony . The perfect partner for your Cyber -
shot ™ , Handycam ®, α NEX or DSLR camera , they 're also a great match for SD / SDHC-compatible
cameras, camcorders and devices from all manufacturers . The affordable Essential Series and
value - added Experience Series are joined by the flagship Expert Series for photo users who
demand class - leading capacity and transfer speeds .
The new family of SD memory cards by Sony reflects ever- increasing resolution and performance
of today 's digital cameras and Full HD camcorders . Innovations like high -speed burst shooting , 3 D
and Sweep Panorama by Sony are all driving demand for higher media capacities and faster
transfer rates. Reflecting this trend , Sony now offers a choice
of SD cards to suit every need – from casual photography to the most data- intensive imaging
applications .
All new SD cards by Sony are attractively presented with environmentally- friendly new eco
packaging . There's also a handy memo space on each card for handwritten titles and other notes.
High performance Expert Series : up to 22MB / s (Class 10 ) SDHC card , available in 8 GB, 16GB &
32 GB capacities
The brand new EXPERT Series of high - speed SD cards is ideal for memory - hungry applications,
from Full HD video to continuous burst shooting and 3 D imaging. Supporting super- fast data
transfer speeds up to 22MB / s, the SF- 32NX/ 16 NX/ 8 NX is a no -compromise solution for storing and
sharing high - resolution video and still images captured with your DSLR camera , compact system
camera or Full HD camcorder .
Value- added Experience Series : up to 15MB / s ( Class 4 ) SDHC card, available in 2 GB, 4 GB, 8 GB,
16 GB & 32GB capacities
Available in capacities from 2 GB up to 32GB , the versatile EXPERIENCE Series of SD cards copes
effortlessly with a wide range of imaging applications. Supporting data transfer speeds up to
15 MB / s, it's a perfect choice for shooting stills and Full HD video with your DSLR camera or
camcorder .
Entry -level Essential Series : (Class 4 ) SDHC card , available in 2 GB, 4 GB & 8 GB capacities
Offering excellent value, the general purpose ESSENTIAL Series of SD memory cards is an essential
add -on for boosting the storage capacity of your entry -level digital camera or camcorder . It 's also
a convenient choice for storing and transferring digital music and gaming data.
Reflecting the needs of today 's digital imaging customers, Sony now offers a complete photo
solution that teams high -quality storage media with powerful, easy-to -use software and utilities.
Offered free to Experience and Expert Series card owners , two valuable applications enhance
storage , sharing and enjoyment of your digital images and video clips .
File Rescue HD* software – now with world -first AVCHD video file support
From accidentally -deleted folders to disconnected transfer cables , camera users everywhere know
the frustration of lost, damaged or erased image files .
Now help is at hand if you think you've said goodbye to precious photos and video clips from your
digital camera or camcorder – whether it's from Sony or another manufacturer . Available as a free
download for customers of EXPERT and EXPERIENCE series SD cards , new File Rescue Version HD
can recover as many as 90 %** of mistakenly deleted image files. In a world first by Sony , this
easy- to - use file recovery software can now retrieve AVCHD movies recorded with any brand of
camera / camcorder alongside JPEG, MPEG - 1 and MP 4 files.
x - Pict Story ™ software for Memory Card
Also available as a free software download for Experience and Expert Series card owners , new x -
Pict Story ™ software by Sony brings your collection of digital images to life .
This easy- to - use package combines your favourite photos and music with beautiful visual effects
and transitions to create professional -looking presentations, with no special skills needed.
Integration with Picture Motion Browser software by Sony makes it quick and easy to upload
slideshows to sharing sites like YouTube ™ or Facebook™ with a few clicks .
In addition to the current Experience Series , the new range of Expert and Experience Series SDHC
removable memory cards by Sony are available from January 2011 .

Galapagos 3D phones popping out in Japan

Our admiration of Japan knows no bounds--we frequently wish we lived in the land of vending machines and tentacle porn. Chalk up another reason to move east: two Sharp Android 2.2 smartphones that offer no-glasses 3D visuals in the style of the Nintendo 3DS.
Sharp has rolled out two mighty-sounding Galapagos 3D handsets in Japan, the touch-screen-only 003SH and the Qwerty keyboard-packing 005SH. Both have 3.8-inch LCD screens and a 1GHz Snapdragon processor, powering Android 2.2 Froyo. They have impressive-sounding cameras too, the touch-screen version with 9.6 megapixels and the Qwerty one 8 megapixels, capable of shooting 720p video. And they'll have a user interface called TapFlow skinning the Android software.

Developers like iPhone, but here comes Android

Mobile-app developers still cite the iPhone as their platform of choice, but Android is increasingly winning their hearts and minds, according to the results of a survey released today by Millennial Media.
Among the several hundred developers and publishers polled for Millennial Media's "State of the Apps Industry Snapshot," 30 percent said they're currently creating apps for the iPhone, the highest percentage of all mobile platforms. Though Apple's smartphone grabbed the top spot, its popularity is down a bit from last December, when 48 percent of those polled were eyeing the iPhone as their platform of choice.
Android took second place with 23 percent of the developers currently building apps for Google's mobile OS. That figure just barely beat Apple's iPad, which is supported by 21 percent of those polled. Rounding out the top five were Research In Motion, with 12 percent of developers creating apps for the BlackBerry, and Windows Mobile, popular among 6 percent of those surveyed.
The numbers are not mutually exclusive--the survey allowed publishers to check all OS boxes that apply to them. Thus someone who develops applications for both iPhone and Android would be included in both the iPhone and Android slices of the pie chart.

(Credit: Millennial Media)

The study also examined the number of developers looking to adopt new platforms next year--that is, smartphones for which they're not already creating apps. Looking specifically at those developers, 29 percent of them expect to add Android to their mix in 2011. The iPad, which debuted earlier this year, will tie for second place with Microsoft's newly launched Windows Phone 7, each drumming up new interest among 20 percent of developers. Only 8 percent of those polled said they plan to add Apple's phone to their development plates--perhaps, in part at least, because the iPhone has already established a strong footing among developers.
Overall, mobile app developers and publishers are looking at a surge in business next year. A full 31 percent expect sales of their apps to rise by 100 percent or more in 2011, 17 percent are eyeing an increase of 50 percent or more, while only 10 percent say their sales are likely to be flat.
To compile its study, mobile ad company Millennial Media teamed up with digital media outlet Digiday and an analyst from financial services firm Stifel Nicolaus. The group surveyed more than 500 app developers, publishers, and advertisers about their mobile platform plans.
The survey results echo those from a similar study conducted in September by IDC and Appcelerator, which found that developers favor the iPhone for the near term but are eyeing strong long-term potential from Android.


Read more: http://news.cnet.com/8301-1035_3-20021763-94.html?tag=mncol#ixzz02QL7w2Wi

Gotcha! Facebook parody site preempts a lawsuit

Get this one: A site called "Lamebook" that mocks bad and silly Facebook content had been threatened with a trademark infringement lawsuit from Facebook, so it decided to sue Facebook first. It may sound silly, but Lamebook's rationale is that it's a very obvious parody and hence is protected by the First Amendment.
"Unlike the Facebook website, the Lamebook website does not offer social-networking services or functionality to its users and, therefore, does not compete with Facebook," the complaint explained, adding that Facebook's repeated threats of a lawsuit began in March.
Facebook has, in recent months, begun to engage in legal action against the operators of sites that use the suffix "-book" in their titles, like Teachbook and Placebook. Lamebook may indeed have a point in that it's not a social-networking site and that it intends to parody Facebook interactions, but its logo and blue-and-white color scheme may ape the Facebook logo a little too closely.
Lamebook is part of the same network of sites as Regretsy, a blog dedicated to the most tasteless and weird items for sale on craft marketplace Etsy, like this $2,000 Swarovski-crystal bust of Michael Jackson.
But the situation there's pretty different. Etsy encourages members to curate and promote items from their own sites--which is understandable, since it's publicity of items for sale--and even though Regretsy serves up ostensibly bad publicity, Etsy hasn't gone after it. (Regretsy is littered with comments from readers who say they actually buy some of the items featured.)
Facebook, obviously, is much bigger, and a parody blog doesn't directly serve to enhance or promote the brand (or profits) in any way. But the company was forced to grin and bear it after initially looking like it was going to fight the production of "The Social Network," the unauthorized hit movie about the company's early days--though Facebook still classifies the controversial content of the film as "fiction," employees nevertheless went to go see the film en masse.
Facebook representatives were not immediately available for comment on l'affaire Lamebook.