Wednesday, September 19, 2007

Travel And The Cell Phone


By: Roberto Sedycias

The cell phone (telefone celular) is created to make the world open up to the user; to enable them to be on the move yet in contact with the rest of the world. The modern person travels more than ever, both for business and pleasure, and so the cell phone has become an essential rather than an important tool in modern day living.

Cell phones were initially created so that people could roam within regions, and then they advanced to nationwide. Now it enables the modern user to connect to people all over the world.

If you are travelling with your cell phone (telefone celular) to another country than where you reside, make sure that it will be compatible. Although devices bought in Europe are compatible throughout that continent, American models use a different frequency band. The best way to ensure that your device will be of use, purchase one with a tri-band frequency. This will enable your device to pick up reception anywhere in the world that is serviced for cell phone use. This applies also if choosing to buy a cell phone (telefone celular) whilst abroad. A tri-band frequency will ensure that it works once you have returned home.

To use your cell phone (telefone celular) abroad, the roaming network needs to be activated, and this can be done by contacting your network provider. The cell phone (telefone celular) is equipped with everything needed for roaming. The rates are usually much higher than the standard rate, but networks are beginning to do packages for the frequent traveller. Rates differ from with service provider, and so contact them for up to the minute information and advice.

The modern cell phone (telefone celular) also has built in camera and picture messaging facilities which are a great feature for the holiday maker. Although they tend to have little memory, up to 2 or more gigabyte memory cards can be purchased to be able to store more information. The pictures can then be transferred to the home computer upon return. The use of a memory card makes this particularly simple; just make sure that it is compatible with your computer. To stay in contact with friends and family in a more personal way, these pictures can be sent to any compatible cell phone through multi media messages. This is a particularly good feature for long term and frequent travellers. The feature usually has to be activated specifically for a roaming network, so make sure that you do this before you leave.

Internet usage is a great feature of the modern cell phone (telefone celular). However, most devices are set up to use certain networks only and the compatibility can be poor or non existent when abroad. The best way to determine whether you can use this feature is to contact your cell phone service provider. Determine the rates also; internet usage is usually charged per the amount of information downloaded, rather than the amount of time the facility is used. If you are able to use the internet feature, then consider the advantages and disadvantages, especially with a GPSR phone; the battery will run down very quickly unless the always on feature is disabled.

A modern feature that may be important to the travelling cell phone (telefone celular) user is the flight safe mode. This enables users to use it to listen to music without having to switch the cell phone on, which prevents interference with aircraft technology. Note that the battery will run down much more quickly when roaming as the cell phone (telefone celular) is constantly searching for signals and changing networks. Always make sure you have your device recharger with you.

This article is under GNU FDL license and can be distributed without any previous authorization from the author. However the author's name and all the URLs (links) mentioned in the article and biography must be kept.

Monday, August 27, 2007

Wireless Bluetooth Devices


By: Garrett Pierson
from http://www.superfeature.com


Bluetooth was originally designed as an industry standard, for cross communication between devices, the idea was to create a common protocol that could connect all common household devices, like laptops, cellphones, music systems, televisions etc. using a single protocol. One of the biggest applications of Bluetooth is the transformation it has bought about, in the way mobile phones send and receive data with each other. Today there is a plethora of devices that can be linked up to a mobile phone using the Bluetooth protocol.

The first thing you need to know is that there are actually two types of Bluetooth enabled phones in the market, older handsets that support Bluetooth 1.1 or 1.2 based cell phones (the number indicates the version of the Bluetooth technology, so a lower number means an older version of the technology). Newer and more recent mobiles which support Bluetooth 2.0. There are a couple of features that are supported by handsets with Bluetooth 2.0 that are not supported by 1.1, however all features of a 1.1 version will be supported by 2.0 (the technical term for this is backward compatibility).

The objective of this article however is not to be a technical white paper, but to actually mention some of the really useful Bluetooth enabled gadgets that are available for mobile phones today. So without further specifications and details lets get straight to the list

Bluetooth Headsets

The most popular accessory which supports Bluetooth is the Bluetooth headset, almost all Bluetooth enabled phones support the Bluetooth headset, and the newer version of Bluetooth actually has support for the latest in music listening, Bluetooth enabled stereo headsets. The stereo headsets are a direct result of the implementation of the Bluetooth 2.0 technology, all phones that support streaming of audio in Bluetooth stereo will mention that they support stereo headsets or they usually mention that they support A2DP (Advanced Audio distribution profile).

Most high end phones today offer the stereo Bluetooth headsets as an accessory, especially newer Motorola phones have started supporting the A2DP technology, Nokia, Samsung and LG have also followed suit. So if you are a big music fan and love your music, check to see if your phone supports A2DP and go and get your self a stereo Bluetooth headset. Some popular manufacturers of both stereo and normal Bluetooth headsets are Motorola, Nokia, Samsung, Jabra.

Bluetooth Printers

Click and Print is no longer a thing associated with cameras, today you can use your cell phone to take pictures, and simply send them to the nearest Bluetooth enabled printer to print them out, initially Bluetooth printers were used by laptop owners to get easy printing done without any wires at all, however with time Bluetooth enabled printers have become quite the rage and you can simply turn on the Bluetooth on your phone, search for the nearest Bluetooth enabled printer and send copies of your favourite photographs to be printed. And yes! It is actually at the press of a button. Printers supporting Bluetooth are available from all major printer manufacturers like HP, Canon, Compaq etc.

Saturday, August 25, 2007

ipod mini accessories


By: rosy.sheeba

The MP3 players are available at different shapes, sizes, features, storage capacities, file formats and download services. These days, manufacturers are adding an ever-widening range of features to their players to set them apart from the competition. Here are the extra features available at your mp3 players that may want to consider.

Radio - Many players provide FM radio reception, although they are more widespread on flash devices, which require the spinning hard drives and the CD-playing aspects that can interfere with the signal. AM radio is very rare. Other radio-related features has FM recording, transmission (for just playing back audio wirelessly through home and car stereos with FM tuners), and presets.

In-line remote - For larger hard drive-based or CD MP3 players that you stow in a carrier, an in-line remote control between the headphone cord is a superb feature. Look for a model, like iPod, with a clip for joining the remote to your bag strap.

Music recording - Most MP3 players that record high-quality audio apt for music recording as different to voice memos or interviews do so through an analog line-input, however there are exceptions. Some devices also record digitally or from mike-level sources. The former works great for dubbing tracks from present stereo components. The latter allows you use a small, un-powered microphone for live recording. If you require the highest-quality recordings, ensure the player has a decent ADC and can record to uncompressed WAV files.

Voice recording - A few MP3 players have a small inner microphone for recording the spoken word. These are suitable for documenting a lecture, a meeting, or a talk but inapt for high-quality music recording. The sampling charge is naturally low, and the recordings are mono.

Data storage - Many MP3 players can twice as exterior storage devices, letting you to shuttle data between PCs. A few models do not even need drivers; thus, you could move a resume or a presentation to the laptop of the individual seated next to you on a flight. So-called plug-in players do not even require a wire since they have built-in USB connectors.

Personal information management - A few MP3 players--notably the Apple iPod and Creative's Zen line--can allow phone books and schedules. The information usually entered into Outlook or another PIM program, and then synchronized to the tool where you can view it but not modify it on the go.

Sound-tweaking options - Audio purists normally prefer to hear songs just the way the recording engineers mixed them and do not have much utilize for digital signal processing (DSP), which adjusts a song's equalization or spatial characteristics. However, since digital audio files come from numerous sources and people have individual sonic preferences, EQ and other DSP settings can be of use. Seek a customizable EQ setting (the additional bands the better; five is the norm), with the standard presets (Rock, Jazz, Bass Boost, and so on). In terms of spatial enhancers, DSP features like SRS Wow add-on can create music coming through headphones sound like it is bouncing around a big room. It is simply a matter of individual liking, but we feel music sounds better with some degree of customization.

Advanced playback features - Almost all player presents shuffle, repeat, resume and play list functions. Still, there is space for improvement. Newer models provide the ability to make on-the-fly play lists sans a computer; smart play lists that can serve up. For example, a combine of '80s hip-hop, song-rating techniques in which preferred tunes show more often in Shuffle mode; automatic cross fading that includes soft transitions between songs and automatic volume control, which composes all songs evenly loud and additional artificial intelligence modes that can make it experience like a pro DJ is spinning tunes for you.

Port compatibility - All present Macs and definite PCs also ship with FireWire ports, while numerous PCs have either USB 1.1 or its faster descendent, USB 2.0. Every MP3 players use FireWire ports, USB 1.1, or USB 1.1/2.0 for loading melodies from a computer. If you plan to connect your MP3 player to your stereo, find a device with a lineout port or your stereo carries digital output, be definite your player does so also. These outputs compose songs sound somewhat cleaner over speakers.

Color screens, video playback & photo viewing - Many latest hard drive- and even flash-based players come ready with a color screen that can show JPEG and BMP digital images. This is a fine feature for those who like to take their precious digital memories with them, but be careful that you pay a little extra for it. Color screens are the wave of the upcoming, and as well the photo viewing, the displays are brighter and easier to study. As well, look out for players with crystal-clear OLED displays. Ever more, MP3 players are even providing video playback.

Article Source: http://www.superfeature.com