Daily Bits

mobile phones

Sonim XP3300 Force is the Toughest Phone in the Planet

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Sonim XP3300 Force Guinness
Sonim XP3300 Force Guinness
Are you the kind of klutz who is bound to drop his phone at least once within the first few weeks – not to mention the other times after that? Do you miss the sturdiness of the old Nokia and Motorola “brick” phones that used to be the cool mobile devices?

I do know I miss the sturdiness of those phones, but I cannot say that I miss the rest of the user experience. One thing is for sure – I have learned long ago to be very careful with the phones they roll out these days. It’s not like I can afford to replace a phone every few months!

If your lifestyle or job involves a lot of physical activity and high risk of losing grip of that mobile phone, though, you might want to consider the world’s toughest phone. I know we hear all about tough phones every day, but the Sonim XP3300 Force is officially the best one in its category. Ask the guys over at the Guinness World Records – they have tested the Sonim XP3300 Force themselves and deem it worthy to be called the toughest phone in the planet. [Read more…] about Sonim XP3300 Force is the Toughest Phone in the Planet

5 ways to save money with your iPhone or Android smartphone

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Even before Apple and Google dominated the mobile software industry, money-saving apps were must-haves for power users of previous generation mobile environments like the Palm OS.

Much of these legacy software, lacking the internet access and tight hardware integration that define the smartphone experience today, were limited to helping users balance their budgets.

That’s definitely changed, especially as the average smartphone buyer places more weight on what apps are available for a phone, with less focus on the gadget’s built-in hardware features. [Read more…] about 5 ways to save money with your iPhone or Android smartphone

Samsung Flexi Phone Concept

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Samsung Flexi Concept
Samsung Flexi Concept

If there is one thing that can be said about Samsung mobile phones, it is that they are rather sexy. These days, you would probably not chance upon a Samsung mobile phone that looks clunky. And while they may not have the appeal that the Apple iPhone has for many, Samsung phones can hold their own against most any other phone in the market.

Truth be told, if I were the type to have more than one mobile phone for every day use, I would have a Samsung Galaxy in my purse as well. And if this concept phone ever comes out, that might just be the case for me! [Read more…] about Samsung Flexi Phone Concept

Nokia Is NOT Dead – Or Is It?

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I still remember the days when owning a Nokia 5110 was the coolest thing ever. Then the Nokia 3210 came out – or it may have been another one of those models. All I know was that back then, Nokia kept spewing out mobile phones that every one wanted to get their hands own. In my part of the world, whether people admit it or not, having the “right” kind of mobile phone is a status symbol. Many years ago, it was a Nokia. Today, I am not entirely sure what the “right” kind of phone is, but I am pretty sure it is not a Nokia. ((Yes, yours truly has a several-years old Nokia.))

The fact is that it is common knowledge that Nokia is dead. Or is it common knowledge, really? Those in the western countries – the US in particular – may not even know much about the Finnish mobile phone manufacturer anymore, but apparently, Nokia is still king of the mobile world – the Asia-Pacific mobile world. Believe it or not, they have 40 percent (well, almost) of the market share in this region. Now that I think about it, I still do see lots of Nokias here. ((Oh yeah, I do own a Nokia, old as it may be.))

Don’t believe me? Check out this infographic below from InnerActive. ((Source))

Nokia Is Not Dead

It does seem that, far from being dead, Nokia is very much alive and kicking. Does this mean that the next phone I get should be a Nokia or should I go ahead and finally get the iPhone? What phone are you using?

Mobile Phone Battery Dying? Talk Louder!

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ShoutTechnology never ceases to amaze me, and even the most improbable ideas can turn into reality, thanks to some of the most creative minds in this world. In the future, if you are in the middle of nowhere without electricity and your phone’s battery is running out of juice, you might just have to talk louder to power up your gadget.

I kid you not – this is the technique that has been developed by some electrical engineers in South Korea. The idea is simple – sound waves being converted into electricity. The brainchild of Dr. Sang-Woo Kim of the Institute of Nanotechnology at the Sungkyunkwan University in Seoul, South Korea, this technique holds a lot of promise for the average person today.

Not only can using the phone to make a call help to charge the battery, but the background noise can also be used to power up the device. Before you get too excited, you have to understand that there are limitations to the technology. For one, the power that can be derived from the sound waves may not be enough to charge the battery to its full capacity. However, if the technology works properly, the sound waves may at least be able to allow the device to keep on functioning until a proper outlet can be accessed. Even better, this technology can be applied to gadgets other than mobile phones. Think netbooks and laptops.

Here’s the science behind the idea: set up two electrodes with strands of zinc oxide in between. Attach a sound absorbing pad. When this pad vibrates, the zinc oxide strands move as well, the result of which is an electrical current. That is, of course, simplifying things, but the concept alone is enough to evoke some excitement as to its potential!

Via Crazy Engineers

The Best Use for Pizza Box Supports

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I know someone who is very handy with old boxes and those sorts of things.  He’d get “trash” and cut them up to make them useful – like a DIY iPad stand, for example.  But, have you ever thought of making something useful out of those plastic pizza box supports that come with every pizza you order?  If you’re anything like me, you’ll end up with so many of those things.  Either that or you just throw them away every time.

Here’s a cool idea from Serious Eats: recycled pizza box support as a mobile phone stand.

Pizza Box Support

It’s rather simple, actually.  You just need to get that plastic thingamajig, and make sure you wash it thoroughly.  I would think that dishwashing liquid can remove all that grease.  (The last thing that you would want is grease to get all over your phone and probably ruin it.) Snip off the front leg and mount your mobile phone.  I am not sure about the angle – you might have to do a little bit of cutting off here and there to get your desired angle, but you get the idea.  I say it’s a cheap – not to mention semi-creative – alternative to mobile phone stands that you can buy today.

This got me thinking – what other “everyday things” can you turn into something useful like a mobile phone stand?

Via Serious Eats