Symbian Mobile Phone Blog

The Rare Electronics Marketplace

No matter what market you’re in, there is an increasingly important movement toward the small business environment. People want to be able to trust the source of the products they buy. Buying anything online is as simple as a few mouse clicks, and meatspace merchants must now lower their prices or increase the value or their products in some other way to compete with the endless variety offered by internet sales.

 

Taking it a step further, sites such as EBay put the buyer directly in touch with the seller. Some enterprising individuals have transferred this notion to other sectors- some sites offer peer to peer micro-lending. “Homestay” is a way to stay for free at someone’s house instead of paying for a hotel room.

 

How about rare items? Are you looking for an antiquated or rare Electronic Parts?? You’re probably not going to find a store in your hometown that specializes in Obsolete Integrated Circuits. One advantage of shopping through online retailers is anonymity- all you need is an avatar and a Paypal account and B-I-N-G-O, your problems are solved.

 

Whether you’re building a lightsaber or just trying to fix your cell phone, you’re probably going to need a semiconductor. Rather than ordering your component from a manufacturer, why not go to the after market and get it on the cheap? Hard to Find Semiconductors can be shipped to your doorstep within a few days.

 

These sites are also great if you have a bunch of components you need to offload. Forget about the pawn shop- step out on a limb and you might just get the best bang for your buck.

Thinking outside the search box

I remember when the idea of a search engine was a novelty. Maybe 12-15 years ago, when a new search engine (like dogpile or ask jeeves) came out it would generate a pretty substantial buzz, maybe even making it onto mainstream news sources. Now your website is basically trash if it doesn't include at least an internal search engine. The technology has just exploded to encompass multiple world wide web search engines, some with a specific focus or features that others don't have.

One thing that's missing from most of the engines I've checked out, however, is a graphical interface. Digg Labs has some great visualizations but they're not really a search engine and, although the visualizations provide much-needed respite from the monotony of text-only listings (that's one reason I dis prefer reddit as a news source) they don't really add functionality to your search options.

What about a fresh approach, something new?  Check out the Your Ergo! It's actually a download-able program. Mostly I prefer to keep my bits and bytes on the web, with the notable exception of Google Earth. But Ergo's search engine is worth installing an extra program. It's a perfect match between eye candy and functional efficiency. The download is free, but if you need support you'll most likely have to fork over some cash. But it's so easy to use, unless you confuse a laptop with a waffle maker you probably won't have any difficulty.

This is truly a revolutionary program and if you use it to its full potential it has the potential to enhance the way you interact with the world wide web and your home PC. Unfortunately, no Mac or Linux version seems to be available, but perhaps that will change in the future. Happy searching!

Cellular Ringtones

We've come a long way since Tupac Shakur wrote the prophetic line: "They get jealous when they see you witcha mobile phone." Back then he was probably talking about a car phone, and I doubt he had any cool ringtones to sample in his rap. Now, the traditional ringtones that come bundled with your phone are just not sufficient- you'll want to personalize, right down to the point where if someone calls you they'll be able to listen to a song instead of hearing digital bleeps.

What's all the hype, you might ask?  There's a good article on wikipedia if you need to answer the question "What is a ringtone?". It has basic information and goes into a bit of depth in the technical aspects. The line is blurring between ringtones and music as phones such as the iPhone gain stake in the market and more people feel the need to express their personalities through their cellular phones.

Did you know that you can download a ringtone that some people can't hear?  It's called a mosquito ringtone, I suppose because mosquitos emit very high-pitched sounds that are sometimes difficult to hear. The best application I can think of for mosquito ringtones is to send and receive text messages in class, although the vibrate function works for the most part. If you frequently miss calls and/or text messages because you don't pay attention to the vibrations, you can get a free ringtone that other people can't hear!

There are various categories of mosquito ringtones based on your age group. Younger people can most always hear sounds that are higher than older people, so if your cell phone is equipped to handle a mosquito ringtone you should check it out- there's no reason not to. It will make your life a lot easier when you get a call you've been waiting for and, instead of disturbing a meeting or classroom, you can stealthily sneak to the bathroom and answer the call.

How to pick the right cell phone

There's a few reasons you might want a new cell phone. Maybe you've had yours for 3 years, it's as big as a banana and most of the buttons don't work. Perchance you just dropped it in the toilet and your insurance policy doesn't cover water damage. Or maybe it's just too simple and you have a little extra money lying around- you want an upgrade.

Assuming you don't work for a cell phone retailer and you're not looking for a hand-me-down (which can be very hard to find, especially since cell phone carriers are in the business of making sure you can't do that, so that you'll have to belly up to the bar) you'll probably need some guidance since there are so many phone models available right now with a range of options and features.

Some of the different things you might want to think about before you even go to the store: How much am I willing to spend on a phone? Do I need a camera on it? If so, do I need a video camera? Am I going to be sending many text messages? If so, do I want to look for a model with a more expansive keyboard than the traditional 9 keys?

Once you've answered these basic questions, it might be time to narrow down your options based on brand names. Different manufacturers are based in various countries and a quick search will tell you more than enough about their professional ethics. Alternatively, you could just check out a website including cell phone news and reviews, it'll give you a list of phones to consider.

Make your decision wisely, because you'll probably have to stick with it. No one wants to buy a used cell phone, and once you've used it for a while it will be difficult to return it to the place you bought it. My advice is to take someone else's word for it. There is plenty of information out there if you look hard enough.

Nokia Morph Concept Phone

Can your fancy n95 or iPhone be scruntched up into a compact, portable sphere or stretch flat into the shape of a keyboard?

Nokia has unveiled a "concept phone" bearing about as much practicality as you might find with your average concept car!  The truth is that with advances being brought about with nano-technology, a science-fiction device such as this could really come to exist in the near-term future.

Overall it definitely looks like it would be an uber-cool piece of gagetry.  A survey was recently done of the American public that concluded that in terms of morality & ethics most people bundle nanotechnology with the likes of stem cell research and human cloning.  This is obviously a misperception that will have to be corrected if nanotech is to take off and make its way to our beloved cell phones.

The long version of the Morph concept video is on the detail page for this post.