Gadgetell | Tech News, Reviews, and Interesting Things

In what has to be the worst name ever for any app, not just Android, Wikitude by Mobilizy offers something extremely unique: augmented reality.  In addition to being a POI (point of interest) search companion, the tool makes use of all the on-board hardware on the G1: GPS, accelerometer, data connection, camera among others.  In my opinion, this is the coolest thing on the G1 phone.

The remarkable augmented reality is basically like looking through a pair of binoculars that identifies landmarks and provides snippets of information from Wikipedia about them (video below).  Imagine you are traveling through Europe, as you are prone to do, and whip out your G1 and activate Wikitude which tells you the bar you are drinking in was visited by Napoleon.  Instantly, you’ve got your own tour guide.

See what else this cool piece of software does.

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Last month, I asked whether Google would start to pay favorites with respect to designing and upgrading their products now that the Android phone was out.  Today, I learn that Google Earth for iPhone became available yesterday as a free application from the App Store.  There is no Android version, yet.

The Google team seems very excited about putting the world in your pocket via the iPhone.  A quick tour of the application shows it augments the native Google Maps application that comes with every iPhone and iPod touch.  An accelerometer based trick allows you to tilt the phone to get a 3D view, panning up or down as you tilt.  It’s quite a neat trick.  A bare bones search function is also available, though in my test the very same results were brought up in Maps. 

Keep reading to see a video of the app in action and more.

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Sections: Apple, Communications, Cellphones, Smartphones, Mobile, Gadgets / Other, GPS/Navigation, Web, Google

Compact, rugged, and with a price tag that won’t break the bank, the newest model of outdoor ready compact cameras by Olympus has a clever little feature that they invite users to tap into. Yeah, ok…so I’m sure by now you’ve figured out it has something to do with tapping, right? Well, correct you are.

Usually, one does NOT want to bump, bang, or ever tap their camera any more than necessary. In the case of the Stylus 1050 SW however, Olympus invites their users to “tap into worry-free fun”.  It means just what is sounds like. The camera uses an innovative tap interface where it registers taps on not only the screen area like some other touch screen cameras do; but also anywhere on the camera body. It uses an accelerometer so that it can read taps on different surfaces to control different functions just by tapping the appropriate area. Certain taps on the right side of the camera do one thing…taps on the left another. You can even calibrate the tap sensitivity to your liking. According to Olympus, it offers benefits in adverse conditions as well.

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Another handset that we can expect to see officially announced at the big Sony Ericsson event on June 17, the F305, which is being touted as their “first Motion Gaming-enabled phone.“

While the gaming features are taking the front seat, the F305 does also offer quad-band GSM with EDGE support, a 2-inch TFT display, 2-megapixel camera, stereo speakers on the back, Bluetooth and an FM radio. The F305 also has a Memory Stick Micro card slot, which is a good thing because there is only 10MB of internal memory.

As for the gaming features, that is obvious from the beginning as the F305 comes with Bowling, Bass Fishing and Jockey pre-loaded. When the phone is in game mode, it will be held to the side (in landscape mode) and will use some Wii like motion controls, as well as the phones buttons which are on the left and right side of the display.

The F305 will be available in polar white or mystic black and expected to be available during Q3 of 2008. Pricing while not officially announced is expected to be on the low side.

Via [se-nse]

• Augmented reality android app: Wikitude
• Gamertell Review: T-Mobile’s G1 as a game system
• Sony Ericsson’s XPERIA X1 to make a US debut on Black Friday

The wonders of the built-in accelerometer are put to good, legitimate use by Nokia as it enables an automagic screen rotation feature on any European Nokia N95 8GB handset. This move makes Nokia look like it has accepted that the feature is really in-demand with users.

It might seem a novel idea, but who would’ve thought that this little trivial thing could become one of the most popular features ever on mobile phones? (Do I really need to say it? Um, iPhone? Hello?) Unfortunately, Nokia N95 8GB NAM owners still have to wait a bit for official support to roll out on local shores. But you can ask your European friends how this old new feature fares out with their handsets. It’s non-intrusive, and you’re free to deactivate it if you deem you don’t really need it (Oh, come on.). So don’t waste time and test it for yourself already. I know you can’t wait.

Download [Nokia] Via [IntoMobile]

• Gamertell Review: T-Mobile’s G1 as a game system
• YouTube goes widescreen
• Wii Virtual Console and WiiWare update for 11.24.08

Have you ever dropped something or committed some other social faux pas while searching for your cell phone in order to turn the damn ringer off? Well, drop no more when incoming calls arrive, as so has help in the form of FlipSilent, a small software that helps you “use your phone naturally.”

FlipSilent utilizes accelerometer technology, which is the very same that is used to re-orient phone and camera displays horizontally or vertically. FlipSilent transforms the process of quieting an incoming call to an action as simple as flipping the phone from its back to its face (assuming of course, that you know where your phone is to flip, a malady that sometimes befalls a small segment of our population).

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