Technology Archives | Page 124 of 167

September 1, 2009

Nokia N900 Internet Tablet – A sneak Peak

Nokia is going to launch its 700$ Tablet the N900 in October 2009 . Many in the media have projected it as a totally new device, but the truth is it is an highly upgraded version of its N800 and N810. Unlike the previous model Nokia has added the “phone” features to the Nokia N900. The earlier version Nokia N810 also had Maemo Linux OS (2008 version) and most other features except the main feature of a phone.

Nokia N900 a highly refined Nokia Internet Tablet

So now additionally you can use this device as a phone and also it comes with A-GPS. The Maemo OS 2009 , is also refined and more features have been added. Though many have complained the device is too big, it is actually not that big. It has almost similar dimensions of the Nokia N97 and matches Iphone 3G in Length and width. But its thickness is almost 2 cm (20 mm).

Here are the dimensions of N900 compared with Nokia N97,Apple Iphone 3Gs , Nokia N810 and Nokia E71.

The dimensions are given in mm as height x width x thickness

Nokia N900 – 110 x 59.8 x 18 (19.5 max)
Nokia N810 – 128 x 72 x 14
Nokia N97 – 117.2 x 55.3 x 15.9 (18.2 max)
Iphone 3Gs -115.5 x 62.1 x 12.3
Nokia E71 – 114 x 57 x 10

As you would have noticed the N900 will occupy a smaller footprint than the N810 as its length and witdth have been reduced considerably. But added thickness is the only concern. But then the device makes it up with so many features and a Mobile version of Linux.

The increase in thickness can be attributed to 5MP camera (Carl Zeiss lens) and Full Qwerty keypad.

In terms of weight (in grams) it definitly is heavy.

Nokia N900 – 181g
Nokia N810 – 123g
Nokia N97 – 150g
Iphone 3Gs – 133g
Nokia E71 – 127g

Once a device gets a full touch screen, the looks factor subdises considerably. Most times you cant notice big difference between various Full Touch devices except in dimensions. So N900 looks almost like N97 including the dimensions.

Technical Specifications and Features
This is where N900 scores against its competitors and is almost similar to N97 except for the OS. Actually I did not notice any major difference between N900 and N97 in the features section.

N900 being run on Linux (Maemo on Linux) supports wider range of Audio and Video codecs, also comes with Mozilla powered Maemo browser. And its browsing capabilities resemble a ultra mini Netbook. Also has a bigger battery than the Nokia N97. Has inbuilt memory of 32 GB and 256 MB RAM (+768 MB Virtual Memory). Also the tablet runs on a faster processor than Nokia N97.

Other Main features of the specifications include

* 3.5″ Bright WXGA 640*480 resolution screen
* Graphichs Accelerator with OpenGL support
* Bluetooth version 2.1
* Mini USB.
* 3.5 mm Audio jack.
* GSM,GPRS,EDGE and 3G Support.
* HSPA, maximum speed up to 10 Mbps (DL), 2 Mbps (UL)
* WLAN IEEE 802.11b/g
* 5MP Camera with Carl Zeiss Opticals.
* aGPS with Maps
* Supported Email protocols: Mail for Exchange, IMAP, POP3, SMTP
* Flash,AJAX,RSS,HTML,xHTML support in Web Browsing.
* Office Suite,Adobe PDF reader and typical Nokia apps.
* Video playback file formats: .mp4, .avi, .wmv, .3gp; codecs: H.264, MPEG-4, Xvid, WMV, H.263
* Video streaming: H.264, MPEG-4, Xvid, WMV, H.263 in .avi, .mp4, .wmv, .asf and .3gp containers
* Music playback file formats: .mp3, .wma, .aac, .m4a, .wav
* FM radio / Tuner
* TV out with free cable

August 30, 2009

Optimizing a website : Minimizing your Bounce Rate

What is the bounce rate for a website?
If you are one who goes through your website, you would have noticed the Column Bounce Rate. Bounce Rate is the percentage of your visitors leaving your site after a single page visit. And most likely these visitors would have come from a search engine, looking for a specific piece of information. And if they are leaving either they could be disappointed in the content or they found the answer. Typically a Bounce Rate of less than 50% is good. And for new sites with very few visitors bounce rate could be upto 75%.

How to minimize your bounce rate?
If you are using Google Analytics, you would be able to see the site’s entire bounce rate and individual pages Bounce Rate. If a individual page is getting higher percentage of visitors and also having higher bounce rate then you need to fix those pages in particular, before going for a entire site overhaul.

Typically a higher bounce rate would indicate the following :
1. Content is poor.
2. Misleading title/SEO optimization.
3. Poor Navigations like Similar posts/Recent Posts etc.

If the content is poor then you might need to get more in depth content for the page without removing existing article completely. If you believe your content is not related to the title, then you might want to add relevant information as it help you in earning the trust of your visitors. Google eventually will reduce your rank in the search index if the bounce rate is higher, as a high bounce rate shows less relevant information.

And if the link structure or Related Posts/Recent Posts organisation is not correct then you might as well go for a complete site overhaul to place these links in highly visible areas of your site.

Also adding a page navigation, Collapsible archives in your site could help. Adding other page links just below or near your content/main entrance of your sites will help in leaving your visitors.

August 26, 2009August 26, 2009

Nokia E72 Review – An irresistable upgrade to Nokia E71

Not many days ago, I was googling the web for any news on upgrades to Nokia E71, its not because E71 is bad, but because it has been 2 year since the E71 has been launched and Nokia usually follows up with its successful models sooner than later.

And recently did I discover the upgrade, Nokia E72 Business Phone with QWERTY keyboard. The phone looks almost like the E71 but with a much faster processor, More Built in memory and upgraded 5MP Camera. It also benefits from all the firmware upgrades of original E71.

The features and look and feel of this Phone are almost similar to E71, afterall why would you go and fiddle with something which already perfect. But still Nokia has made very minor cosmetic changes the width of E72 is few mm and the keyboard has also has been fiddled with, it appears the keys are better than the E71.

Processor :
All the changes are under the hood the E72 has a faster Processor most likely a 600MHz processor as in the case E55.

RAM / Memory :
The RAM capacity is increased to 250MB which allows the device to scale upto 16GB of Memory Cards (E72 itself comes with a free 4GB card).Once the OS loads the free memory is likely to be 80MB and excess so more memory for Memory hungry apps.

Nokia E72 - Irresistable upgrade to Nokia E71

OS :
Includes S60 V3 Feature Pack 2, a highly refined UI and is very efficient and bug free. This is also a major upgrade. It improves multitasking, memory usage, power management and also changes in Menus.

Battery :
Battery remains the same , with BP-4L 1500mAH but the power management has improved Nokia promises a 12.30 Hours of Talktime against 10.30 Hours on E71 (Both on GSM Network).

Keypad :
A new optical navikey replaces the original D-Pad (ie center key with 4 way scroll). Two new keys are added in the bottom row by reducing size of space key . The new keys are Symbol and ! .

Audio/Sound Quality :
3.5mm audio jack replaces the 2.5mm jack of E71. And an active Noise cancelling filter has been added to improve voice clarity.

Camera :
The camera is upgraded to 5MP camera with LED Flash.

GPS :
E72 gets a magnetometer to sense the direction and assist the GPS on the phone. Also comes with lifetime Explore license (pedestrian) and a trial (10 day) Drive by license.

Apart from the above E72 supports charging through USB ie charging from your Laptop/Computer.

All in all E72 is an irresistable upgrade to E71 , being a fan of Nokia’s E61i and E71, I will surely be waiting in line to get the Nokia E72 expected to be launched in September 2009 in Europe and India.