Finally Sony Ericsson churns out a decent (very understated) communication device. Yup, I can really feel the Sony-Japanese vibe in the Xperia X1. Even the name seems taken out straight from manga character. Just try to say it and drag it, Xperriaaaaaa X1. Okay, I had my moments there…

From the features list, there is nothing to complain about. There is not many mobile phone that can match X1’s specifications. The initial rumor suggests that X1 will be loaded with all the connections available today, from HSDPA, Bluetooth, EDGE, to Wi-Fi. However, the real show stopper is the design. I’m not a fan of sliding mechanism in a phone, but X1 is really beautiful. Of course, I really have to hold it in my hand to confirm how good it is, but judging from the pics and videos, it’s a decent phone.
The question is when it will come out and how much (in Indonesia), and judging from my past experience with Windows Mobile device, how stable and different it is compared to other WM device. I really hope that Sony Ericsson has enough tricks to lure smartphone users that stay away from WM devices because the many problems and unstabilities they have. So, back to the wait mode…

Source: Sony Ericsson via SE Fanboy

Popularity: 16% [?]

If you love freewares (like I do) and anything that smells Mac, here’s a treat for you. Mac Games and More offers free mac games, and more.

The focus of the site is to recognize and spread the words about the work of independent Mac developers, one of those forgotten people. The website offers interesting freeware mac games, such as Frozen Bubble, Gomoku (Japanese board game), Foobillard (billiard game), Emillia Pinball, Tux racer, CowCatchingGame, and lots of other mac games for your computer.

If you just love Solitaire, you got to have Smack Solitaire. It’s a collection of 30 different types of Solitaire games, and it contains worthy Solitaire games such as Klondike and Spider. You can even say that it’s the spider solitaire for mac.

And it’s not all play there. You can also find useful software for Mac, such as Car Companion, Mom’s Calendar, Bible Reader, Googlet, and many more. The best thing is, almost everything is free.

Popularity: 21% [?]

If you happen to be curious about the mobile phone industry, then you should follow closely the unraveling of things in the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.

I’m going to start with Nokia in this first article, which will be followed by other vendors. From the release, Nokia takes the road to converged devices and Internet services as its main theme.

“As we continue to free the Internet from the limitations of the dekstops, we are taking mobility into a new completely new realm of possibilty,” said Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo, CEO of Nokia. “We are, in fact, redefining the Internet itself as we’re making it context aware and more personal. With context, the Internet becomes a medium of very immediate and personal experiences.”

In MWC 2008, Nokia introduced 2 NSeries and 2 mobile phones; N96 and N78, followed by Nokia 6210 Navigator and Nokia 6220 Classic. All phones are equipped with A-GPS and HSDPA, with N96 as the most advanced model.
To complement its new models, more…

Popularity: 21% [?]

Well, nowadays it’s hard to talk about computer games without mentioning modern 3D games, and the insanely powerful requirement for them to play. Sure they look beautiful but sometimes,
the only thing these games have are the the cutting-edge graphics and the super-famous franchise. Yet they often forget the storytelling and gameplay.

Speaking of gameplay, mini games from Internet have now become popular due to their small size and relatively low PC requirements. I have stumbled upon a great site that offers numerous kids’ games and Mac games, called Midoritech.com.

According to the site, Midori is a place in Burgundy, France, which is surrounded by wineyards. Hmmm, that’s got nothing to do with gaming. Anyway, the company presently offers recreational games and softwares aimed for all ages. So it’s pretty safe for your kids and family.

The games don’t really need top-of-the-line PCs and mostly available for both PCs and Macs. I happen to be attracted to Global Warning, which teaches the players to do small things that can be done in real life to save earth.

There are games for kids and the young-at-hearts such as Ladybugs (3 maze games which are both educational and fun), Smack Mahjong (mahjong tile-matching game for everyone), YooDoo (comprised educational games that let you create pictures and even monsters!)

Mac users can play innovative mac games, like Venice Mystery, mahjong-style tiles-matching game which is pure fun. Risk and strategy games lovers, will love to play Lux, which is based on classic Risk game style that’s fun and easy to play. For the sim-game addict, Virtual Villagers lets you train your villagers to do some basic surviving stuffs and solve mysteries, set in an unknown island.

Well, enough of my babbling. Just try them! I’m sure you’ll like at least one or two.

Popularity: 15% [?]

Eastman Kodak claims that it has developed an image sensor that greatly improves the quality of pictures and video captured by camera phones.
The KAC-05020 Image Sensor, world’s first 1.4-micron, 5-megapixel chip, is at least doubly sensitive to light than the current technologies. It produces crisper images even when light conditions are not ideal - such as at a candlelit birthday party - or when shooting a moving target, Mosleh said.

“Most camera phones - ever though there’s 700 million or so produced every year - unfortunately still behave like toy cameras,” said Fas Mosleh, a marketing director in Kodak’s image sensor business. “The pictures usually come out dark and fuzzy, and video clips are full of unwanted noise and blurriness.”

Kodak plans to more…

Popularity: 16% [?]

Nokia opens the year 2008 by announcing two new mobile phones, aimed for basic users in the “developing” countries. With the price of less than US$60, the main feature of Nokia 1209 is its price. No fancy camera or MP3 player, however the phone is aimed for users who only need to make phone calls, SMS, and other basic stuffs. The interesting (and maybe not so useful) feature is the shared phonebook. Nokia 1209 can accomodate up to 5 users with different phonebooks in one device. Errr… why? Well, it appears in some Asian countries one family can only afford one phone, so they have to share it. Nokia acknowledge this through research, so it’s not just shooting in the dark. The other phone more…

Popularity: 22% [?]

Popularity: 16% [?]