It’s an original NokiPhone! It features dual-slide design reminiscent of the N95 and a 3.2-inch touchscreen, also benefits from dual SIM cards and a face that is as much iPhone as other, more brazen iPhone clones. It’s actually both Nokia clone and iPhone clone, which makes perfect sense considering the features. Too bad, NokiPhone has not decided to include 3G or WiFi on the N3000i. Anyway, it does support videos and music files and games.
We have been keeping an eye on this Android handset for some time and Vodafone have just started to accept pre-orders. The phone is due for launch on the 5th May and if you pre-order they are guaranteeing that you will get it first.
Looking at the pricing plans, if you want the phone for free, look to spend at least £30,.00 a month for a minimum of 18 months, the cheaper plans will cost you £ 293.00 for the phone as well as the contract so choose your plan carefully. This is only the second Android phone which to be honest surprises us that it has taken so long to come around, many are blaming the economic blah blah but maybe it is down to something else like an HTC exclusive agreement maybe, who knows, but 5th May is the day to stick in your diary if this floats your boat. More information from Vodafone.
Our HTC Touch Diamond2 has arrived and we have just done a quick unboxing video and a look around the device, nothing too in-depth at this stage but it should be worth a watch if your interested in this phone. First impressions are the screen is beautiful and the most sensitive of any Windows Mobile device to date, nice and responsive to use. The phone is small in the hand and no longer has the diamond shaped rear panel which is a big improvement. So far the device is really impressive. We will be using it and testing it over the next few days and if you have any questions at all, leave them in the comments or email us at [email protected]. Video after the break.
So the chances are that you will have seen my previous Diamond2 unboxing video where I unboxed a pre-release model and took you on a tour around the new version of TouchFlo 3D. Today, courtesy of our friends at Clove Technology, I’ve got my hands on the retail version of the Diamond2 so I thought I would record a brief unboxing video for you.
There’s no difference between the pre-release and the retail version in terms of hardware but there are some ROM changes which improves the overall speed and a couple of known bugs. Our review, which we hope to have completed next week, will be of the retail version of course.
So like I say, this is just a quick unbox so that you can see what’s included with the handset that you might buy. The previous video has more about the OS and TouchFlo 3D.
Please also check out my Diamond vs Diamond2 photos and check back soon to see our HTC Touch Diamond2 review.
EDIT: Our extensive HTC Touch Diamond2 review is now live!
Posted by: Matt
[ Post Tags: HTC Touch Diamond2, Diamond, HTC, tracyandmatt.co.uk ]
HTC have released another video, this time showing the HTC Touch Diamond2 in action, demonstrating the fast access to web pages, zoom bar, messaging and a few other things, its only a short video.
We will have our Diamond2 in the next few days, if you have any questions email us at [email protected] and we will answer them as soon as we get our hands on the phone. In the meantime enjoy the HTC video after the break.
Record your favourite programmes wherever you are with the Sky+ application for iPhone and iPod Touch.
With instant access to the 7-day Sky TV channel guide, simply find your favourite show, press Record and the programme will then be recorded on your Sky+ box for you to watch at home.
To use the Remote Record facility, you will first need to ensure you have a Sky Remote Record account by registering with Sky.com. We have done just that and after the break we will tell you if it works.
Should I add a fisheye lens to my kit bag ?
This is the first fisheye lens developed exclusively for use with Nikon DX Format, it is equivalent to 16mm focal length on 35mm.
What’s in the box?
- CL-0715 Soft Case,
- Front Lens Cap,
- Rear Lens Cap.
- Manual
Nikon 10.5mm f/2.8G ED AF DX Specification
- Construction – 10 elements in 7 groups
- Extra Low Dispersion (ED) Lens: 1 ED Element
- Angle of view – Picture Angle (D1): 180°
- Focal Length: – 10.5mm
- F stop range – Maximum Aperture: f/2.8
- Minimum F stop: 22
- Closest Focusing Distance – Approx. 5.5 inches
- Maximum Magnification -Max. Reproduction Ratio: 1/5 (0.20)
- Filter Size – Rear of lens, Gel filter holder built-in
- Dimensions (Length x Diameter) -Diameter x Length: Approx. 2.5x 2.5 inches
- Weight -Approx. 10.8 oz.
- Notes – Aperture Blade: 7 elements (Rounded)
- Lens Hood: – Built-In Flower Type
General
This is a very simple lens, with a good robust built quality. There are few functions to discuss but it is extremely good at what it does, and I think this is the nature of a fish eye lens, simple functionality and guarantee that it will deliver what it was designed to do without complication.
Focusing – The lens focuses through two groups: the front and rear groups both move in and out. There is no rotation. The outside of the lens doesn’t move.
Auto-focus – Typical screw style should be very easy to find focal full focus on this lens. Auto-focus is fast, as you’d expect for an ultra wide lens.
Macro – The 10.5mm is a very advanced fisheye lens. It has a close-range correction system that allows the lens to focus to at 14cm. However more interestingly these ratings are measured from the image plane, (the rear of the camera). And therefore the front of the lens is 10.8cm in front of that. All this means that the 10.5mm fisheye can focus to within 3.2cm from the lens.
Pro’s and Con’s
- The lens does not have an internal Auto focus motor and therefore relies on a slotted drive screw operated by the camera. This means the auto focus action will generates a small amount of noise.
- The focus ring operates very smooth but it is not damped.
- As with almost all fisheye lenses it is not possible use a front filter because the huge field-of-view would cause edge shading. However, according to Nikon you can use a gelatin filter at the rear of the lens.
- There seems to be some indications of Chromatic Aberration at the extremities of the frame, these can be easily fixed with some basic post production tweaks in simple programs. For example try using the Fisheye-Hemi plug-in for Photoshop ( or Apple’s "Aperture") to fix the distortion
- The lack of aperture ring is frustrating.
Review
This lens is a great deal of fun to use and offers a lot of new possibilities for photographers of all levels. It is hard to be specific on the best application of fish eye photography. But in my personal case I find the technique useful for two major reasons. Firstly for property photography as it allows for me to get maximum field of view in smaller spaces and with some de-fishing and trimming I can get some amazing results in tight corners. Secondly for urban or sports photography it begs for you to get in close to your subject and this almost always guarantees a host of new and challenging images, and furthermore moves you to use the technology in new and interesting ways.
The lack of filtering options with a fish eye lens may hamper some photographers; I have not as yet found this to be an issue. It is frustrating that it does not have an aperture ring, this is largely a personal frustration as I often use my Nikon lenses when filming as prime lenses on a 35mm lens adapter, no aperture ring means it is relatively useless for this purpose, which is a shame but by no means a drawback as this is not what it was designed for.
I found both the operation and the build quality more than satisfactory and both would suggest a long and fully functional life for your investment. Some may feel the price tag a little hefty for what is a very specific lens with limited practical use, but for me there is always place for this lens in my kit bag.
Conclusion
I would highly recommend this lens to any photographer who enjoys to challenge themselves and develop their eye for the abstract and the original, for those shooting sports or cultural events where that one magical shot that encapsulates the energy or scale of the moment can only be achieved in a ultra wide angle. It’s a good functional lens for shooting property photography and with a little tweaking and trimming you can achieve wonderful results, the lens can be part of a larger creative process in the world of digital photography. From skate parks to concerts halls this lens has great potential. I already own a Nikkor 16mm lens which is the closest lens I can draw comparison to and I found despite the lack of aperture control on the 10.5mm lens it was still a worthy addition and lots of fun.
Review by: Stuart Birchall
Some programs look like games at first glance but are not games. For example: Second Life. Here comes an app for iPhone that lets you grow virtual, 3D, flowers in your iPhone!
With Flower Garden for iPhone you can grow flowers, touch them (and they move like on the wind), you can water flowers, you can cut flowers, and you can do almost all that stuff that you would do in real life. Changing view in 3D with multi-touch is also working nice in this app. Finally you can also send your flowers to somebody.
Here is how this app looks like:
After yesterdays flurry of rumours that Apple had rejected the Sling Player application for iPhone, the guys at Sling Community have managed to talk with Jay Tannenbaum at Sling Media, who was able to shed some light on the current situation. It turns out anyone stating that SlingPlayer has been denied, or confirmed for that matter, is only spreading rumours.
"Here are the facts," he says. "We submitted the iPhone SlingPlayer to Apple a few weeks ago, and we’re in contact with them (Apple). There’s nothing to report yet. It’s a great app, and there’s nothing more we would like to do than have it be available in the App Store."
Part of the problem is Apple’s approval process, which does seem to take an eternity when there’s so much pent-up anticipation.
"A two to three week wait is common," says Jay. "Some apps may take less time, but it’s important to remember that SlingPlayer is far more complex than your typical iPhone app. It makes sense it would take a little extra time to go through this process."
So there you go, don’t believe the rumours until you hear it from the horses mouth.
via Sling Community
As Twitter becomes ever more popular, more and more platforms are getting great applications, this one is for the Blackberry and the guys who developed it are looking for Beta testers. Heres what they have to say:-
ÜberTwitter is a company devoted to delivering highly functional Twitter clients for mobile devices. Our first product is ÜberTwitter for the BlackBerry line of mobile phones. We are very excited about the opportunity to provide BlackBerry users with a full featured Twitter client which will include:
Integrated ability to upload pictures to a site dedicated to serving ÜberTwitter users
Ability to optionally update your Google Talk status with your last tweet, making your tweets reach a wider audience then just people following you on Twitter
Automatically update your location based on the cell tower information provided by your phone, no GPS hardware required, click here for an example
Send videos embedded in your tweet
See everyone who is tweeting near you
We have started an open Beta test for our Blackberry client software. If you are interested in participating point your BlackBerry browser to http://www.ubertwitter.com/bb/download.php
. The ÜberTwitter client supports BlackBerry devices running 4.2.1, 4.3, 4.5, 4.6, and 4.7.
via JKOntherun
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