Nokia X Android phones

Nokia X Android phone's: Life in the Fastlane

By design, Nokia's new Android smartphones will underwhelm users of high-end phones. The Nokia X line was created with emerging markets in mind, so the company emphasised keeping prices low, meaning the user interface is relatively simple.

The home screen resembles the one on Nokia's Windows-based Lumia phones, even though it's Android underneath. But Nokia Corp. added a Fastlane feature, a screen with quick access to your most-used apps. You get to it by swiping from the left or right edge of the home screen or tapping the back button at the bottom.

The basic Nokia X phone costs 89 euros ($122) and has a 4-inch screen, measured diagonally, and a 3 megapixel camera. A X+ version with an SD storage card costs 99 euros, while an XL with a 5-inch screen and 5 megapixel camera goes for 109 euros.

In the brief time I've had with the Nokia X at this week's Mobile World Congress wireless show in Barcelona, Spain, I have found the Fastlane feature to be a good start. It's something I would like to see on more phones, including Nokia's Windows devices.

I hate to spend time customising gadgets, getting the icons for the most-used apps on the main home screen. The nice thing about Fastlane is that you don't have to spend any time on that. Your favourite apps are just one swipe away - sort of.

The top of Fastlane shows you what's coming up, whether that's alarms about to ring or future events in your calendar. Below that are your recently used apps. The ones you just used will be at the top, so you don't have to scroll down.

For some apps, you get information that normally comes with notifications, such as previews of text messages or alerts that three people have tried to reach you on WeChat, a Chinese social network. You see small versions of recent photos and can tap for the larger version in the photo gallery app. You see calls you missed, songs you heard and websites you visited.

It could get overwhelming, so you can block certain apps and certain notifications from appearing in Fastlane. In the settings, you can also add a shortcut to one social network, such as Facebook or Twitter.

That's where Fastlane can improve - understanding better which apps I use most over a period of days or months and creating a section at the top for those.

This week, for example, I was too busy to check Facebook, but that doesn't mean I don't use it regularly. But in Fastlane, Facebook would drop toward the bottom in a matter of days, unless I happen to choose it as my one shortcut.

Why not make sure the most-used apps are stored as favourites at the top of the screen? Nokia says it's considering that.

Likewise, if I haven't used something for months after using it daily, Fastlane can assume I've grown tired of it and automatically remove it. Myspace anyone?

Nokia doesn't plan to make Fastlane for its Windows phones, and I doubt it'll extend it to rival Android phones, such as my Samsung Galaxy S III. It's something it wants to keep exclusive to its own phones to compete.

TAPPING ON MY PHONE TO PAY FOR SOMETHING FEELS TRULY FUTURISTIC

TAPPING ON MY PHONE TO PAY FOR SOMETHING FEELS TRULY FUTURISTIC

I’m happy with Loop’s reliability, but less so with its initial product designs. The Loop Fob is a bit chunky, and only holds one card at a time. (Coin solved this problem with an onboard screen and card-switching button, but it remains to be seen how well it actually works in practice.) I ended up carrying around both the Fob and my wallet just in case, which defeats the purpose of the Fob. Perhaps if it were much smaller, like a Mobil Speedpass, I’d bring it with everywhere.

TAPPING ON MY PHONE TO PAY FOR SOMETHING FEELS TRULY FUTURISTIC

       The Loop ChargeCase is a more logical form factor that provides both backup power and payment capabilities. The ChargeCase is essentially a cheaper-feeling Mophie: it can be activated either with a quick button press on its side, or using the Loop Wallet app. Inside the app, you can flip through all the cards you’ve scanned in, then tap one to transmit its magnetic signal to a credit card reader. Tapping on my phone to pay for something feels truly futuristic, like the Google Wallet promotional videos of yore. This was the promise of Google Wallet, but it’s Loop that delivers. And Loop says it’s already working on a new version of the ChargeCase with a removable Loop card you can hand to waiters and bartenders.

Loop worked at most credit card machines I tried aside from subway-ticketing machines, gas pumps, and ATMs that require you to fully stick in a card for a scan to take place. Loop has hacked its own way to working at these kinds of terminals — it involves sticking another card into the reader slot, and then pressing a Loop device against it — but it’s not worth the trouble. Loop also didn’t work at Duane Reade, a popular chain of drugstores in New York, but Loop says this is only because Duane Reade hasn’t upgraded the software in its credit card readers. At Walgreen’s and Staples, the credit card readers accepted debit card transmissions via Loop, but not credit card transmissions. They require a software upgrade too, it seems. But despite the hiccups, Loop worked in far more places than any mobile payments app or hardware I’ve ever tried. The company solved a big piece of the payments puzzle — but in doing so, revealed another enormous obstacle blocking the path of any mobile payments startup.

In your pocket Wrap-up

                 Loop’s biggest problem is that it’s a waste of time. It feels magical to use, but isn’t worth the additional 10 or 15 seconds it takes to explain to each and every cashier. At a bar or restaurant, handing over my phone or Fob while yelling instructions over the chatter of other patrons was both awkward and impractical. And even if a friendly cashier doesn’t ask any questions before trying out Loop, they almost always ask questions afterwards. I felt like I was not only wasting my time, but the time of the people in line behind me, like the main character in that one VISA commercial.

      Hardware ubiquity, as it turns out, is only half of NFC’s problem. The other half is that it requires cashiers to trust you aren’t trying to hack them by touching your gadget to their credit card reader. Even if Loop works at every register, it doesn’t compute for every cashier. Acceptance may come in time as more cashiers learn about Loop, but I have a feeling that true ubiquity would only come from corporate executives formally deploying new systems as Starbucks and Whole Foods have done with Square readers. Or perhaps even from Isis.

                                                                                    

COMPARE IT

Loop Fob

6.3VERGE SCOREWRITE REVIEW

GOOD STUFF

• Impressive magnetic transmission tech
• Dead simple to use
• Two-month battery life
• Very reliable

BAD STUFF

• Requires convincing cashiers to let you try it
• Only holds one card at a time
• Bulkier than a stack of credit cards

AFTER TWO WEEKS,                                 I WAS EXCITED TO START SWIPING MY CREDIT CARD AGAIN

After two weeks, I was excited to start swiping my credit card again. As impressive as the company’s technology is, credit cards aren’t ready to be disrupted in America just yet. The fact is, credit cards are simple, lightweight, replaceable, and every cashier knows what to do with them. The viral success of companies like Coin show that people want ways to “go digital” and slim down their wallet, but not in ways that inconvenience them. Even companies like Coin face disruption as America slowly but surely embraces “chip-and-PIN” cards the way European countries have for years. Perhaps if Loop were acquired by Samsung or Apple, built into their devices, and marketed as “the new way to pay,” it could find success. Wallner says, in fact, that any phone with built-in NFC or inductive charging components could add Loop capabilities with less than a dollar in parts. The company says it expects a few of its OEM partners, which it declined to name, to debut Loop hardware inside their phones in 2015. But for now, Loop, like NFC, is ultimately limited by both its convenience and utility. Neither yet adds enough convenience or removes enough hassle to become essential.

NFC promised wonders, but failed to deliver in the US. Loop fulfills NFC’s promise to let you pay anywhere with your phone, and it works. But for me, it doesn’t.

Now, public can start naming Mars' 500,000 craters

                         After years of naming landmarks on the Red Planet by themselves, space mission rover teams now wants the public to get involved in Mars exploration much the same way.

Through Uwingu's redesigned website at http://www.uwingu.com, now anyone can help to create Uwingu's new Mars map, with names for all the approximately 500,000 unnamed but scientifically catalogued craters on Mars.

In almost 50 years of Mars exploration by spacecraft, only about 15,000 features have been named on Mars by scientists and others around the world. Yet over 500,000 Martian craters catalogued from NASA and European space mission imagery remain unnamed.

Uwingu is setting a goal of naming all these unnamed Martian craters and completing its new Mars map before 2015 -- the 50th anniversary year of humankind's first missions to Mars.

The completed project aims to generate over 10 million dollars in funds for space research and education -- larger than any other private space grant program in history.

Uwingu's Mars map grandfathers in all the already named craters on Mars, but opens the remainder up for naming by people around the globe. Unnamed craters in the Mars database range from under a kilometer across to over 350 kilometers (over 200 miles) across.

Craters can be named for almost anything or anyone, including friends, family, co-workers, heroes, pets, places on Earth or in space, sports teams, musical artists.

Galaxy Note 510

Galaxy Note 510

Say hello to the new Note 510, your everyday companion in the dos and don’ts of life. 

With well-connected nimble performance and the natural feel of a S pen, it’s perfectly 

sized to always be there with you, at a moment’s note.

(Screen images simulated. Based on 3G version. The product image and some GUIs

 of Wi-Fi version may vary from 3G version.)

Perfect Size for on the go

Designed for wherever inspiration strikes. Introducing the new Note 510, made for

 the thinkers, the dreamers, the movers and shakers. Scribble a thought, sketch out

 a concept, organise your ideas and express your creativity wherever inspiration may 

strike. It feels just right in your hand reading on the subway, giving a presentation, or

 enjoying a movie in bed. 

Reading Mode with S Pen

Your books will never know.
Indulge yourself with a good book in any environment with Reading Mode that reads

 just like paper. By optimising the gorgeous screen to provide perfect illumination

 and tone, it delivers a comfortable reading experience in all lighting conditions.

 And with the ability to annotate directly with the S pen, all on a size made easy to

 hold, reading has never been more enjoyable, even on the go.

Multi Window

Multitasking during calls made simple.
Give your mobile lifestyle a boost with simultaneous calls and Multi Windows.
Jot down notes, look up directions, check email, search – all the things you need

 to do during a call at once, all without switching apps. Reposition, expand to full

 screen, or close any window immediately with smart buttons that adapt to the 

position of the S Pen for a truly integrated experience.

S Pen / Air View, Easy Clip, Capture, Quick Command

Make your ideas come to life. One stroke at a time.
The S Pen is no ordinary tool. Use it to tap the hard keys for an even more extensive

 navigation than before. Air View lets you to take a peek at any file just by hovering

 over it. Clipping gets done swiftly with an expert’s precision, and Quick Command 

helps you easily find what you’re looking for. Frankly, you’ll be left wondering how

 you lived without it.

S Planner / Various Sticker, Handwriting, Memo, Search

Your calendar, notes, and diary. All in one place.
Life is full of important events and memorable moments – capture them all effortlessly

 with S Planner. Handwrite events and notes directly in your calendar, or scribble your

 thoughts down with the natural feel of a pen. You can even decorate handwritten 

messages and share them with friends and family. 

S Note / 10 Templates + 3 New Templates

Take notes in style for all your idea inspirations. You’re full of great ideas – S Note

 transforms them, beautifully refined. Easily create stunning presentations with

 template enhancements that help your ideas stand out from the rest.

Tools of Expression / Paper Artist

Made for all your artistic inspirations.
Get your creative juices flowing with the perfect tools for the modern artist. With Paper

 Artist, reach a whole new level of artistic expression with beautiful brushes to create 

stunning drawings, paintings, and illustrations. With Photo Note, scribble memories

 on the back of your digital photos with S Pen, for that personalised touch of old

 photographs. And with easy sharing capabilities built-in, your friends and family 

can enjoy your latest creations instantly.

Powerful Performance

Blazing performance that keeps up with you.
No matter your demands, the Note is up to the task. Equipped with a powerful quad

 core processor and 2GB of RAM, all your multitasking, searching, streaming, and

 gaming just works without a hitch. 

Fast Connectivity

Whenever. Wherever. Faster than ever.
Don’t get bogged down by slow connections. Stay in the loop with the latest versions

 of Wi-Fi Channel Bonding / GPS + Glonass.

4,600mAh Battery

    

Business Card Software

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Logo Design

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