MOBILE GADGETS TERMINOLOGY

3G :- 3G or third generation mobile communication technology will offer increased bandwidth over the Net to mobile devices. This increased bandwidth can be used for features like video streaming and video conferencing. We expect to see 3G services in India soon.

A2DP - Advanced Audio Distribution Profile; a standardized interface between Bluetooth devices. It allows wireless streaming (over BJuetooth) of high-quality stereo sound.

APN - Access Point Name; part of the settings needed for a device to be abte to access the Internet over GPRS or EDGE.

CIF - Common Intermediate Format refers to a resolution of 352x288 pixels, usually in front-facing or video conferencing cameras.

EDGE - Enhanced Data rates for GSM Evolution; a technology that increases bandwidth above the Limitations of GPRS. It is not as fast as 3G, sort of like an intermediary.

GPRS- General Packet Radio Service; a mobile data service for GSM phones, is the most popular (but also the slowest) form of Internet access available for mobile.

HSPDA- high Speed Downlink Packet Access, it is a 3G protocol that supports high speeds and also increases the capac­ity of the network. Can be used for Live TV viewing on mobile devices.

SIM - Subscriber Identity Module; smart card that securely stores the key identifying a mobile phone service sub­scriber to a service provider,

UMTS - Universal Mobile Telecommu­nications System; a part of 3G technology. Also called 3GSM.

VGA - Video Graphics Array; a display standard, but also refers to a resolution of 640x480 pixels in mobile devices.

PTT :- Push To Talk; a method of talking using half-duplex, like walkie-talkies. Only one person can talk at a time, the other has to listen

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EACH N EVERY INTERNET USER SHOULD READ THIS!!!

Initially, programs were developed to eliminate the manual handling of data, but then we live in a wild world which also has conniving people who develop programs to create havoc. Creating viruses began as a prank but soon it took an ugly turn and it was used as a tool to harass netizens. Viruses are no longer touring the cyber world in solitude. Malware has stepped in. Malware is a collection of various malicious programs that are constantly on a damaging spree threatening Internet users.

Some common MALWARE terms

VIRUS :- It is a program that can replicate itself and affect normal operation of a computer without the permission or knowledge of the user.

POLYMORPHIC VIRUS : This type of a virus keeps changing its signature every time it replicates and infects a new file.

WORM : Unlike a virus, a worm is a program that is capable of replicating and spreading to various other systems without the need of a host file.

TROJAN : It is a program that contains or installs a malicious program though it appears to be a genuine one.

SPYWARE : Such type of software collects personal information about the users without their informed consent.

ADWARE :These software are capable of playing, displaying, or downloading advertising material automatically to a computer after it is installed on it.

BACKDOOR : It is a program that can bypass normal authentication to gain remote access to a computer and remain hidden from cursory inspection.

BOTNET : It is a network of computers controlled by a Bot developer.

ROOTKIT : These software tools hide some malicious running processes, files or system data from the operating system.

KEY-LOGGER : It is a program that is used to capture the user's keystrokes.

Fraudulent Dialers: It is a program that that installs a malicious program.

PHISHING : It is a fake website appearing to be a genuine one in orderto extract personal details from users.

PHARMING : Pharming is aimed to redirect a website's traffic to another phoney website.

Future of Malware

Earlier viruses were developed to gain fame, but these days Malware is being developed for commercial purpose. Hence, the trend of developing more deadly Malware is going to continue in big way. There has been an upsurge of programmers who develop and sell Malware for financial gains.

For instance, a Bot is developed to track a PC not patched for certain vulnerability and is connected to the Internet. Once these PCs are detected, the Bot is loaded into all these PCs and when these are spread over a network of thousands to a million PCs they are known as a Botnet. The author of the Bot now has control of all the PCs that are infected by the Bot created by him and now he can get various viruses or Trojans downloaded into the various infected PCs. This Botnet is then sold to a potential buyer, such as an adware developer who wants their ads to appear across all the PCs. The adware developer in this case instructs the Botnet owner to download a certain Trojan that contains his ads into the infected computers and within seconds the entire set of PC's in that Botnet are infected.

In case of phishing websites, the buyer of the Botnet can lead you to a fake website that pose as a genuine secure website, misleading you into entering your bank account details and this information is passed on to malicious users for fraudulent activities. A Botnet created in one country may spread rapidly in some other faraway nation. Bringing such Malware creators to justice is not possible because the cyber laws of all nations are not the same and worse—some nations do not have any. With the advancement in mobile networks as 3G gets introduced offering fast Internet, these new avenues will enable fraudsters get quicker access to people's personal information. Viruses can be evolved to such an extent that they can infect devices running on a similar platform.

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3G won't come to INDIA

Sometimes, it just happens that staying behind the technology of the times allows one to skip intermediate technologies and move on to newer ones—at least, that seems to be the case with India. On the cellular com­munication front, India has not yet moved to 3G from its current 2.5G, and will probably skip it altogether to embrace the emerging 4G. This is seen to be more feasible and 1.5 times more cost-effective, according to Motorola CTO Padmasree Warrior. Though no plans have been announced thus far, we can expect this to happen within the next four years.

The Wireless World Research Forum defines 4G as an Internet technology that com­bines technologies such as Wi-Fi and WiMAX to enable the lowest-cost wireless network pos­sible. This fourth generation mobile commu­nication protocol aims at delivering wireless broadband access, Multimedia Messaging Ser­vice, video chat, mobile TV, high-definition TV content, and DVB (the Digital Video Broadcast standard), in addition to the usual voice serv­ices on mobile phones.

Meanwhile, 3G doesn't seem to be as dead as it's been made out to be. Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) is a 3G technology that combines 3G and Wi-Fi: it is a high-bandwidth technology that enables CDV mobile users to experience application such as videoconferencing, live TV, and Internet connectivity at theoretical speeds of upto 14Mbps. Practical speeds are found to be upto 3.6 Mbps on compatible handsets, though. Our government is evaluating the process of spectrum allocation for this service, and commercial launch is expected in 2009. This will usher in the era of video phones—read: video chat over your phone Interesting enough?

4G will use a technology called Ultra Mobile Broadband (UMB), which will use larger band­width (greater than that offered by 3G) to deliver a host of Internet and high-bandwidth applications in addition to delivering higher-quality voice services. UMB will help eliminate the disadvantages of CDMA: it will support dif­ferent and mixed cell sizes (thus allowing more flexibility to operators, who will now be able to create cells according to the number of mobile subscribers) and variable bandwidth sizes that will eliminate the limits of the total band­width available to handsets.

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Identity Crisis --- Camera OR Phone

Sony Ericsson announced several new mobile phones and accessories where the C905 was the device that caught the most attention. No wonder why. It has a 8.1 megapixel camera with auto-focus, face detection, smart contrast and image stabilizer.

C905 seems a little large, especially the depth. Dimensions are (height, width, depth) 104 x 49 x 18 mm which are actually a little smaller than the comparable Nokia N95. The navigation menu is familiar for many as it is the same found in earlier Sony Ericsson phones.

C905 camera highlights

• 8.1 megapixel camera
• Autofocus
• Image stabilizer
• Assisted GPS for geo-tagging of photos
• Xenon flash
• Face detection. Auto focus on faces in frame
• Smart contrast for more correct exposure

The new C905 Cyber-shot
Take your best shot

• Complete digital camera experience on a phone – true digital camera styling and an 8.1 megapixel camera with Xenon flash
• Outstanding picture quality – complete with face detection auto-focus, smart contrast and image stabilizer
• From baby's first steps to an amazing sunset; store them all on the 2GB Memory Stick Micro (M2) included
• The USB adaptor (CCR-70) provided in-box allows for easy transfer of your photos to-and-from your PC.
• View high-quality pictures on the phones impressive 2.4" scratch-resistant mineral glass display
• Share your memories – send your photos wirelessly from your phone to your TV via Wi-Fi (using DLNA), or connect with wires using the TV-Out Cable ITC-60, also announced today
• Upload photos to your own online blogsite or print your photos with fantastic resolution up to A3 size
• Much more than a camera phone - GPS-enabled for geo-tagging of photos and navigation support.

The C905 Cyber-shot will be available in three colours (Night Black, Ice Silver and Copper Gold) in selected markets from Q4 2008. It will support the following networks:

C905: GSM/GPRS/EDGE 850/900/1800/1900 UMTS/HSDPA 2100.
C905a: GSM/GPRS/EDGE 850/900/1800/1900 UMTS/HSDPA 850/1900/2100
C905c: GSM/GPRS/EDGE 850/900/1800/1900.

Click Here to View Review Video

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Digital camera jargon Busted

A guide to common photography terms to help you understand your camera better.

CCD
Short for Charged Coupled Device, this is a type of sensor used in most point-and-shoot and prosumer digicams. It replaces the 'film' used in conventional cameras.

CMOS
Short for Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor; like CCD this is also a light sensor, but it is used in most high-end digital SLR and professional large format digital cameras.

Digital zoom
This type of zoom digitally enlarges a portion of the image to make it appear bigger/closer. It causes a loss in fidelity and resolution.

Interpolation
A process to electronically increase the number of pixels (resolution) in a photograph. Since these 'extra' pixels have not been really captured, image quality does not improve. Beyond a certain size the quality can also deteriorate.

ISO/ASA
Short for Industry Standards Organization or American Standards Association. Both denote sensitivity to light, assigned to a number. Higher ISO/ASA means greater sensitivity and vice versa. Higher ISO/ASA can help reduce camera shake (by allowing use of faster shutter speed), but can also lead to increased image Noise

JPEG
Short for Joint Photographic Experts Group. It is the most popular format for storing digital photos as it is highly compressed but can still retain a high level of clarity.

LCD
Short for Liquid Crystal Display, it is the most common type of screen found in digital cameras. They range in sizes from 1 inch to 4 inches and usually display a plethora of information.

Li-ion
Short for Lithium Ion, a type of battery. Li-ion batteries are small, quick to recharge and hold a lot of charge for their size. They also don't suffer from the 'memory effect, i.e. they can be recharged at any point during the discharge cycle without detrimental effects.

Macro
Term used for extreme close up photography. A camera lens has to be macro enabled for this, and usually specifies the minimum distance that an object can be placed to the lens to attain a sharp image. Usually, there is also a macro setting on the camera that has to be switched on.

mAh
Short for Milli Ampere Hour. It is a term used to denote the storage ability of a rechargeable battery; higher mAh rating means that the battery can hold more charge.

Megapixel
Simply defined, it is one million pixels. This term is used to specify the resolution of a digital camera. Higher megapixels means that the camera sensor is capable of capturing more data. Note that higher megapixels does not always mean higher quality.

Memory card
A generic term used for all types of flash memory cards that are used in cameras. These include SD(Secure Digital), MMC(Multimedia Card), CF(Compact Flash), and MS(Memory Stick) among others.

Noise
It is an image defect that is usually caused by use of too high an ISO setting. It refers to the presence of several small, colored particles in the image.

Optical zoom
Refers to the use of movable lens elements to bring an object closer to you or appear larger in the frame. Look for the optical zoom figure and not the digital zoom.

PictBridge
A universal standard that allows digicams to connect directly to printers. Requires the use of PictBridge enabled cameras and printers. They can then be connected using a USB cable and the print command can be given directly from the camera.

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Red Eye Reduction

Basically red eye reduction is a trick played by flash of the camera.

First let me tell you what is ‘RED EYE’ EFFECT.

In some pictures of people, when taken in low light conditions using a camera flash, their eyes turn out red. This is called the ‘red-eye’ effect. It happens because in low light or indoors, the pupils of our eyes dilate (widen) to allow more light inside our eyes. When we go out in sunlight, the pupils will constrict (narrow down) to cut down on the amount of light because there is abundance of it.

When a person is sitting with dilated pupils and the flash suddenly goes off. The intense and fast light from the flash goes through the eyes and reflects back from the retina inside the eyes. The retina is deep red because it has a lot of blood vessels. The quick flash basically does not give enough time for the persons eyes to narrow down. Therefore, in a ‘RED EYE’ reduction system, a separate light may come on a few seconds before you take the picture - or the main flash of the camera will fire two-three short bursts of light. This makes the persons pupils constrict and the red eye effect is reduced or many times eliminated.

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AT LAST!!!

AT LAST!!!

It is the best thing ever happened in the field of convergent devices.

Circa 2007–Nokia, Samsung, Motorola, Sony Ericsson and LG have unequivocally agreed to make micro USB the new common charging connector across devices. There's no doubt that USB is the preferred standard for connections to mobile phones. It's fast, efficient, can charge the device, and is highly compatible. Micro USB is a new format developed by the USB Implementers Forum (USB-IF). Designed to replace all the mini USB type plugs that are so common on MP3 players, PDAs and cellphones (Moto Razr, L7, L9, N91 etc.), micro USB is thinner and smaller than mini USB, plus it has all the regular features of USB like fast data transfer and battery charging. Given the collective strength of these companies in the mobile space, the others will be forced to follow suit. This implementation will be seen soon, and has already started with the Motorola RAZR V8 (also known as Moto Razr 2).

Micro USB VS Mini USB

There are a number of reasons why this happened. Portable devices are getting smaller. And the space that they can allocate to a connector is shrinking too. That's why one port is now taking up the functions of what three ports did earlier: charging, earphones and data transfer!

It's just that till now, manufacturers preferred to use their own proprietary connectors-examples of which are Nokia's pop-port and Sony Ericsson's fast port. But with this new decision, there's a lot to celebrate. You will be able to use any charger for your cellphone, wherever you find one.

No more looking around for an LG flat pin charger or a Nokia N-Series type charger. And you won't need to carry a USB cable around either.

Just pick up any data cable from any portable device and you're good to go.

Another piece of good news is that, removable memory cards are being standardized by the same companies responsible for introducing the concept of micro USB.

The new specification, dubbed Universal Flash Storage (UFS), reflects the industry's need for a universal memory solution that removes the need for adaptors to accommodate different removable memory card sizes.

UFS Flash Memory Card

Widespread demand for higher densities and higher performance, plus the surging popularity of multimedia content, is accelerating the need for advanced memory solutions as removable card or embedded formats. UFS will provide a revolutionary leap towards supporting very low access times required for memories, as well as enabling high-speed access to large multimedia files, while reducing power-consumption in consumer electronic (CE) devices. The target performance level is expected to be a significant advancement beyond that of the varied flash cards popular today. Today, users experience a three-minute access time for a 90-minute (4 Gigabyte) high-definition movie; with the new standard, this would be reduced to a few seconds.

Major applications such as mobile handsets, digital still cameras and other CE devices will benefit from the convenience of a universal open standard based specification that is intended to reduce the time-consuming process of enabling interoperability among the various types of removable and embedded memory solutions at the system level. UFS is planned to provide consumers in the future with the convenience of a unified removable memory card that can be shared among various mobile, portable and other CE devices without the need for any adaptors.

The UFS standard is expected to be finalized in 2009.

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Power Saving Tips for your Gadgets

Increase your battery backup by following these simple steps.

1. Reduce the brightness of the screen to the minimal level in viewing comfort.
2. Switch off Bluetooth. Deactivate wireless connection (if you are not using it).
3. Reduce the volume level in calls, ringtones, and text alerts. If possible, set the ringtone and text alert to a simple beep. Turn off keypad tone.
4. Disable the screensaver, if you are using one.
5. Avoid playback of video and music (especially on loudspeaker).
6. Minimal usage of camera or image related operation.

Keep the battery healthy by following these simple steps.

1. Wipe the contacts of the battery clean once in a month.
2. Discharge the battery fully before charging it. Then charge it fully.
3. Do not charge the battery when it is 90%-60% charged. It develops internal resistances and the battery backup is considerably reduced.

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