A smart feature phone

A smart feature phone

When smartphones are available in every shape, size and budget, it is difficult to get excited over the launch of a feature phone. However, I was drawn to the Nokia Asha 300 for two reasons. First, it combines touch and type interface. Second, it has a 1GHz processor, which is quite powerful for a feature phone. Though the body is entirely plastic, it has been given a matte finish, which gives it a neat look. Unlike most candy bar phones, the phone has only three physical function buttons. The other functions have been transferred on to the touchscreen. Scrolling up and down a menu or a webpage is done by dragging your finger on the touchscreen. However, the resistive touchscreen would not respond to feather touch swiping, and I had to apply a bit of pressure while using it. This process was made more difficult given the small area of the screen. On the plus side, the home screen is packed with four customisable slots. By default, the top slot shows the time, the second contains favourite contacts, the third carries Facebook and Twitter updates and the fourth has shortcuts to applications. I found the Communities app, which handles your Facebook and Twitter accounts, quite handy. On Twitter, I could easily read and post tweets, check @mentions and send direct messages. The phone also comes preloaded with a few games. I opted for Angry Birds first. Surprisingly, despite the 1GHz processor, the game was jerky. The resistive touchscreen also played spoiler while aiming the birds at the pigs. You can also download several other games and apps at the Ovi store. While it cannot be compared to a smartphone’s app store, it is nonetheless well populated. Since you are going to use the phone to access a lot of online data, the phone supports 3G connectivity. It is a pity, however, that it does not support WiFi, which many would’ve preferred to download apps or music. The Asha 300 carries a price tag of Rs7,406. There are several low-priced smartphones powered by Android in a similar price range. These come with better touchscreens and you have a far greater choice of apps. The Asha 300 will provide a better value for money once it slashes its price by a couple of thousand or more.

By Free Applications - Make your smartphone smarter — for free Presenting a list of fun apps to try, and they won’t cost a penny

Make your smartphone smarter — for free

Presenting a list of fun apps to try, and they won’t cost a penny



Whoever said all good things come at a price wasn’t thinking — about those downloadable free fun apps that is. Don’t use your smartphone to just make calls, text or listen to music. There is so much more that your device can do. Here’s a list of fun apps that you can explore:

LOSE IT: For all those iPhone users who have made the resolution to shed few kilos in 2012, this is an app that can come in handy. It is a calorie tracker and can play a vital role in your dieting regime. This allows you to feed in your daily calorie budget and then record what you eat. The calorie tracker informs you whether you are exceeding the daily limit or not. And this helps you keep a check on your calorie intake. The app also prompts you to record your calorie count for the day, in case you forget about it. This app is compatible with your iphone and requires iOS 3.0 or its advanced version. You also need to have itunes installed and then it can be downloaded for free.
Works with- iPhone

DROP BOX:
You can now access all your files when you are on the go. All you need to do is download the free cloud storage software drop box on your phone. This allows you to save and store files online. However, remember that it comes with a subscription and you will have to renew it. In case you don’t wish to renew it you need to transfer all your documents to another safe storage option.
Works with- iPhone, Android & BlackBerry

TAAZZAGO: This app provides you locally useful information ranging form news, deals, places and classifieds. Once you download the app, you need to feed in your location as it aims at a more hyper local information. So weather information or details about the nearest restaurants are just a click away. It also gives locations on Google map along with the address and phone number of the listing. The app has tie-ups with different e-commerce sites that offer discount deals, so you get that info too. News... well, the app allows you to save pages to revisit and read later.
Works with- iPhone

GOOGLE GOOGLES: You can now use your camera phone to do lot more than just take pictures of you. This app allows you to click and Google the image. This can come in handy when you are staring at an object or a landmark that you are not familiar with. And since, Google knows it all, you are most likely to receive the information about what you are looking for in just few clicks.
Works with Android

FIRST AID:
This app can be a boon in case a medical emergency arises and an immediate first aid treatment has to be administered. It comes with information along with a small picture detail description about what to do in a particular situation. This app also lists out various symptoms that may be indicative of a particular health problem. You can select the situation and text messages along with illustrative pictures about what should be done in a particular situation.
Works with Android

VIBER: This app is a Voice over Internet Protocol service (VoIP) offered on mobile phones which allows you to make free phone calls. Though you won’t be charged directly for using this service. But this application will use your wi-fi or 3G network to make these calls and to send across the messages. So the data cost charges will have to be accounted for. The app can be downloaded from Android Market for Android devices and from the Apple App Store for iOS devices. Just like any other VoIP service, even here the other person also need to have this services activated to enable calls.
Works with- iPhone, Android

DRIVESAFELY: As the name suggests, this app aims at improving road safety. This is a text-to-speech application that will read out your messages and email to you while you are driving. But if the urgency does not end at just reading it and you also need to reply, you can do that too using the application. You can either use the basic version or choose to upgrade by paying a fee. The basic version only reads out 25 words of the email/text. This can give you an idea about the email or text. After you listen to your text messages while driving, the accident-avoiding app uses an Auto-Responder to tell the sender that you are unavailable.
Works with- BlackBerry, Android