Quick Tests of the LG Eve Video Recording

Nothing special here, just a quick test of the Video capability of the LG Eve. Video capture outdoors is really not too bad at all; colour seems to be good and lag is certainly acceptable. Unfortunately, low light capture is not as good and the LED flash is not strong enough to compensate. I’ll try to post an example of that later as an edit to this post.

Let me just say; it was -13C out, so I didn’t want to take time to do anything too fancy. Oh, and my nose isn’t really that big! I think. And the sun was in my eyes…

Edit (Dec 23rd):
I should mention that the Eve does allow editing of video right on the phone. You can trim the length, add text overlays, and add music and filters. I must say, the editing is really quite nice! I trimmed one of the videos above and then just loaded it directly to YouTube.

The camera allows editing of images as well including cropping, levels, colour overlays, framing, text bubbles, resizing and more. You can also create slideshows on the phone.

Overall, in good lighting the camera does quite well, video is clear with little stuttering but in low light it struggles. A better LED would help as this one is just underpowered.

First Look: LG Eve, Android for Everyone

The LG Eve, available on Rogers in Canada is a new Android Smartphone being offered for just $49.99 on a 3 year contract. I have been given the chance to use an LG Eve (you can call it the “GW620R” if you feel the inexplicable need) for a bit and will be posting some thoughts on it for the next little while.

This is actually my first go at Android, so I was pumped about playing with this phone. I’ll get into more of that in later posts. For now, let’s take a look at the hardware and an overview of the Eve.

Let’s just gets the specs out of the way:

Basic Specification

• Type: Slide phone/Touchphone
• PET NAME: Eve
• QWERTY Keyboard: Yes
• Technology: GSM and 850/1900 MHz HSPA ; Quad Band Operation 850/900/1800/1900 MHz
• Dimension: L x W x D (mm) 109 x 54.5 x 15.9mm
• Display: 262K Colour TFT
• Touchscreen: Yes
• Vibration: Yes
• GPRS/EDGE (class) A-GPS / Stand alone

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High Resolution Images of LG IQ

Last week I had a chance to play with the upcoming Windows Mobile 6.5 LG IQ smartphone. Unfortunately, the lighting in the venue was less than ideal for pictures. I snapped what I could at the best I could, but they’re not my finest device shots. Thankfully, I now have some really nice clean shots of the IQ so I’m posting them here for everyone to enjoy.

Click on the images below to view the original size image.

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My SeV Evolution Jacket has Arrived

I’ve admired SCOTTEVEST clothing for a long time. Last year, I ordered my first item – the Microfleece Pullover. A great fleece for a really good price – I picked it up on sale for just $40. However, in January at CntrStg I had a good long look at Jack Cook’s Evolution Jacket. It’s a little more money, but a ton more jacket. I was able to try on Jack’s Evolution to get an idea on the size and fit of the jacket. That’s not something everyone can say. And since one of my biggest concerns when ordering clothes online is how will it fit along with the pain that is involved in returning or exchanging items. While SeV has a very understanding return policy, It’s still one of those things that concerns me when buying clothes online. I knew the size and had played with the actual jacket before ordering. Would it live up to my memories from CES?

After a little delay in customs, the Evolution jacket finally arrived yesterday in a bright red pouch as the picture below shows. On the other side, in the same font size it says “SCOTTEVEST / SeV” followed by “The difference is inside”. There’s a really big SeV logo that wraps around the end of the bag. A very attractive shipping bag, especially when you compare it to the regular white bags that USPS / FedEx use.

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Up Close and Personal with the LG IQ

Last night I was invited by LG to take a look at their new device line-up, which included the brand new LG IQ, better known under the code name Monaco. While the IQ is not currently on sale, it will be available from Telus before the end of the year. If you consider that it would be incredibly stupid to release a phone 1 week before Christmas and miss the majority of holiday shoppers, then you could assume that the phone would be available in the next couple weeks. LG would not confirm anything more than “before the end of the year”.

So what’s so special about the LG IQ? Well, it’s running Windows Mobile 6.5 and sports LG’s S-Class user interface, which made for a really nice and finger friendly navigation. The S-Class interface was fully customizable allowing you to change which icons are displayed along the bottom and appear in the expanded menu. LG also allows you to turn this off and use the standard Windows Mobile 6.5 interface if you would rather use that. The device has a 1500 mAh battery, 5 mega pixel camera, MicroSD, and a Snapdragon 1 Ghz processor. The finger scanner on the front of the device works as your navigation and authentication to unlock the device. When it comes to navigation, I found the finger scanner worked really well. It was very much like a touch pad on a laptop. Swiping your finger from top to bottom would cause the page to scroll. The S-Class home screen allows you to swipe left and right to alternate “desktops”.

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Taking a Closer Look at Samsungs Jack Smartphone with Windows Mobile 6.5

Last week, Samsung released Windows Mobile 6.5 for their popular Jack Smartphone. Microsoft claims that the Windows Mobile 6.5 update is all about touch. It offers an improved home screen and today menu for touch screen devices, as well as an updated version of Internet Explorer Mobile, Market Place for Mobile, and a number of more finger friendly enhancements to the general user interface. But the Samsung Jack does not have a touch screen. So is there any reason to apply this update?

Samsung offers the following list of enhancements and additions that Windows Mobile 6.5 brings to the Jack:

• Internet Explorer Mobile 6
• Windows Market Place for Mobile
• Modified UI with updated text & icons in several areas
• Enhanced, Java platform
• Battery optimization
• Radio signal optimization
• Fixed, T9 predictive logic (able to use z character)
• Added, RNDIS bypass support (Settings>Connection>USB) for simpler desktop connectivity
• Added, AT&T WiFi and Mobile Share
• Added, Vlingo for Windows Phone for improved voice recognition

The two big things that you’re going to see after upgrading to 6.5 are an improved web browsing experience thanks to Internet Explorer Mobile 6 and the new Market Place for Mobile. I’m sure that Samsung has done some tweaks to the battery life, but it’s nothing ground breaking. I haven’t noticed an extra day or power or anything. As for the modified UI, take a look at the pictures below and you be the judge if there’s anything there that is so over the top you just have to have it, because, frankly, I don’t see it.

While the market place is a welcome addition, it has yet to receive the praise or attention that it needs from developers to make it worth while. Many developers still see developing for Windows Mobile as a costly endeavor and that hasn’t changed with 6.5.

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Home Screen Love for Windows Mobile Standard with Facade 2.0

SBSH Mobile Software has released an update to their popular home screen plugin – Facade. In the touch screen world, home screen replacement and customization tools are popping up all over. However, that’s just not the case in the world of non-touch. Facade has long been the plugin of choice for those looking to do more with their home screen on Standard devices. The latest update brings a great new interface with loads of new features to the Standard community.

The new version of Facade adds support for skin packs (the ability to bundle up the layout along with skin files into one easy to install package), Thumbnail previews of the background image and Facade layout before you apply it, changing the Softkey and category colors, PIM Integration with all major PIM applications, advanced configuration of each tab, Windows Mobile 6.5 support, and so much more.

After you install Facade, you’ll notice the home screen on your device has changed just a little. The following screen shot is taken from a Samsung Propel Pro Smartphone and it’s what you can expect to see as the default home screen after you install Facade.

There’s a lot of information on that screen, but don’t worry, it all makes sense once you work your way through it. I’ve taken the image and added highlights to the different sections. Here’s the updated image:

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The Aliph Jawbone2 Reviewed

When the very first version of the Jawbone was released, it was widely regarded as one of the best Bluetooth headsets that a user could buy for the money, the proverbial Cadillac of Bluetooth Headsets. And like a Cadillac, it was one of the more expensive solutions, averaging between $85 to $120 when most other BT Headsets were priced between $30 and $60. And although it lacked a lot of the new Jawbone2’s functionality, it was still considered the top dog of the industry at the time.

Aliph has since updated the design and functionality of the headset, calling the new version appropriately enough “the New Jawbone” or “the Jawbone2”, the name I’ll use in this Product Review. When it first came out back in May of 2008, it was one of the single most expensive accessories that you could buy for your phone, with an MSRP (Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price) of $129. But you certainly got a lot of bang for your buck with this device: the inclusion of the new NoiseAssassin Technology and the new smaller footprint (earprint?) makes this version a must-have item for the Ultra Mobile among us, even a whole year later.

Thankfully, the price of the Jawbone2 has also been substantially reduced in the last few months, coming down from the original MSRP of $129 to around $59. This to be mostly a reaction to the release of other “bone” technologies being offered by other competing technology vendors, but Aliph is also making room in their line for the release of their next BT Headset: the Jawbone Prime, which was released back in May of 2009.

Additionally, since most states have enacted some version of a “Hands-Free” law, owning a BT headset is actually becoming less of a want and more of a necessity, especially for those who accept cellphone calls while driving. This, coupled with the afore-mentioned discounted pricing now available, makes this is the perfect time to buy into this model and brand, with it’s uber-cool features.

Out of the three weeks that I wore this headset, it was mostly good times, but there were some frustrations that came packaged with the Headset. Most notable was the ongoing battle to keep the headset in my ear, which proved to be exceedingly frustrating. A distant second was the lack of a dedicated volume toggle switch, but this was minimized by overall good “automatic” balancing of the volume in general by Jawbone2 itself.
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Quick Review: SPB’s Quads

When you think of mobile gaming Windows Mobile tends not to be the platform that comes to mind. Indeed, 3D gaming on Windows Mobile does not tend to be much to write home about. But that doesn’t mean you can’t have a great gaming experience on Windows Mobile.

For the last week or so I have been playing SPB Software’s great new game called Quads and it is a great time waster. It’s a puzzle type game, much like Bejeweled, that has a nice interface, graphics and gaming concept.

The idea of the game is to eliminate the coloured squares on the screen by finding four squares of the same colour that form the corners of a parallelogram, also known as a Quad. Once you select these corner pieces the whole Quad disappears from your screen to be replaced with new squares. The larger your Quad, the more points you get.

There are also other items that will drop with the squares such as dynamite, nuclear bombs and others that will help you crank the score up even higher. These extras really add a nice edge to the game. Nothing like some explosions to hold my attention.

SPB Quads is playable in two modes; a never-ending type mode and a timed mode. Since this is just a time killer for me I prefer the never ending one. It’s too much pressure watching the timer on the timed mode. I’m so old.

For $10 this game is worth it. Well done SPB!

More screenshots here.

Free evaluation copy here.

A Closer Look – The Samsung Jack Reviewed

It may not be called BlackJack, but the new Samsung Jack is the third release in the popular BlackJack series of smartphones. The original BlackJack and BlackJack II devices both reached the million plus sales mark. Can Samsung repeat that success with this new phone? If first impressions are any indication, then the new Jack should easily live up to the reputation of the BlackJack’s before it and reach that million seller mark.

Here’s a rundown of the technical specifications for the new Jack:

• Windows Mobile 6.1 Standard (Non-Touch)
• 528MHz Processor
• 256MB ROM / 256MB RAM
• Supports 16GB MicroSD
• GSM/GPRS/EDGE – 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 MHz
• 3G UMTS/HSDPA/HSUPA – 850 / 1900 / 2100 MHz
• HSDPA – 3.6 Mbps
• 320 x 240, 2.4 inch screen
• QWERTY Backlit keyboard
• 1480 mAh Battery
• 3.2 Megapixel Camera
• WiFi – 802.11b/g
• GPS
• Bluetooth 2.0
• 4.4 x 2.4 x 0.5 inches (H x W x D)
• Weight – 3.6 ounces

If you compare these specs to the BlackJack II, you’ll notice that the processor is a whole lot faster, and the battery is a whole lot less. The BlackJack II sported a 260MHz processor, while the new Jack has a 528MHz processor. That’s a pretty significant upgrade in speed and it’s noticeable. The battery goes from 1700mAh down to 1480mAh. That’s a drop of 220mAh! We’ve got a faster phone with a smaller battery and if you guessed that battery life dropped, then you would be right. The BlackJack II would easily make it through a day and most of the second day before it would need a charge. With the Jack, you will get 24 hours our of a charge and then need to charge it. If you have a busy day, you’ll need to charge it when you get home. Otherwise, you’ll probably need to charge it on the way to work in the morning. [ ..Read More.. ]

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