Comeks is a great Series-60 application that lets you take camera phone images and enhance them with comic-book like artwork, speech bubbles and other effects. You can then assemble these images into a comic strip which can be MMS’d (or saved back into phone memory for upload to your favourite photo-sharing site). I first saw Comeks in action when one of its creators demo’d it to me at the Mobile Monday Global Summit event in Helsinki. I thought the application itself was fun, but what really impressed me was how the slick UI made it to create comic images, add text, borders, position bubbles, etc… The people at BulbOn who produced this application really understood mobile usability. Unlike the sterile content creation environments that often ship with these devices, the Comeks application is actually fun to use and experiment with. In my view, content creation is one of the key challenges of the mobile platform. Content consumption is becoming a non-issue, but content creation remains a bit issue, and it’s examples like Comeks that are showing what can be done in this space. It’s also a great example of mobile innovation that bypasses traditional distribution channels. You can download the Comeks app over the “Mobile Web” by pointing your Series-60 Web browser at Comeks.com For more great examples Comeks creations, search for “comeks” on Flickr. I think we can expect more exciting applications from these guys in the future. → Read More
If you’re having a problem emailing me your photos, please post them somewhere – Photobucket, your own site, etc. – and email a link to john at crunchgear dot com or AIM me the link at johnbiggsny if you’re still having trouble. Thanks, guys. → Read More
Skype has just released version 2.6 of its web phone software as a public beta. So what’s new? The new version makes a big deal of Skypecasts which I have not really taken too so far. The new ‘Live’ tab lists imminent events about to start, which could be anything from language lessons to dating services. Hopefully I can also filter the skypecasts or turn it off completely. There’s a new browser plug-ins for Internet Explorer and Firefox which mean that phone numbers on web pages will be recognised and Skype users simply click the number to call it using SkypeOut. This is a very good feature but I thought this was already in the previous build when I loaded the Skype toolbar. Also new is the ability to add links to mood messages. Your contacts will see the link alongside the buddy icon in their Skype interface. Finally, Skype is making use of its global user database by adding a feature that reminds Skype users when any of their contacts has a birthday, assuming they have entered that information into their profile. It’s my 40th birthday soon so I will see if it works. Talking of birthdays Skype was three years old this week! They had 7 million concurrent users online. Well done Skype The beta is available for download from the Skype website. → Read More
New Hitwise findings indicate that MySpace sent more US traffic to online retail sites last week than MSN search, the third largest search engine on the web. That’s big news, as it’s tangible evidence that youth oriented online social networking is a market driver of serious proportions. The Hitwise report puts Yahoo! as the source of 4.69 percent of traffic to online retail sites, MySpace as 2.53 percent and MSN search at 2.33 percent for the week ending August 26th. Google leads the pack at 14.93 percent. → Read More
Eurogamer TV had an opportunity to talk with Microsoft Europe boss Chris Lewis at the Leipzig Game Conference last week, and apparently, Lewis had some great news to tell all of our moms. After the disaster that was the 360 launch (I found myself at 3 different Target stores before 9 AM), this year’s holidays seem to be under control. When asked if Microsoft would be ready for this year’s onslaught, Lewis replied: I’m very confident that we have the production capacity to suit our ambitions. And there will be no stock shortages anywhere in the region over this Christmas period, I can assure you of that. So make sure that your mom reads this article, and diggs it, and saves it to Del.icio.us — and you might as well print it out for her, too. ‘No 360 shortages this Xmas’ – Lewis [gamesindustry.biz via Kotaku] → Read More
Hitwise UK is a great site for keeping track of global as well as UK web trends. They have just posted about Yahoo! Flickr once again becoming #1 website, in the Hitwise Photography category, based on share of UK visits. It seems softporn search queries has something to do with the sudden rise in Flickr traffic? “In the past three months, whilst Flickr’s market share of UK visits has increased 39%, Photobucket’s has decreased 17% and Community Webshot’s has remained flat.” said Heather Hopkins, VP of Research for Hitwise UK . “The top terms sending visits to Flickr are searches for the brand (“flickr”, “flickr.com” and “flicker”) and soft porn terms (“boobs”, “transvestite” and “nudity” to name a few tame terms)”. According to LeeAnn (Hitwise Director of Research in the US) in the US Photobucket is ranked #1 whilst Flickr came in at #6. So why is this so different in the UK. It seems MySpace was a huge effect on the number of visits for Photobucket in the US, as it does in the UK. “MySpace accounted for 22% of Photobucket’s upstream UK visits last week, compared to only 1.45% for Flickr” but the MySpace effect is much more important in the US than in the UK. MySpace recently became the #1 ranked website in the US, based on share of US visits and therefore pulls through many of its ecosystem partners, yet in the UK, MySpace ranked #12 last week behind Bebo at #10. On a separate point, although my Yahoo! ID is the same for both Yahoo! Photos and Flickr, I cannot still seamlessly import/export my photos from one service to the other? Why would I want to do that? The reason is because all of my photos are in Flickr but it still lacks an online UK photo development partner(s) and yet Yahoo UK & Ireland photos does have an online UK photo function? I guess printing out digital photos must be very 20th century these days → Read More
. Both cameras have advanced digicam features like automatic exposure control and shake-correction. They can also output in 16:9 mode, which is cool in that “well, OK” kind of way. Throw in 3X optical zooms and 2.5-inch LCDs and the cameras start to look pretty enticing. The ISO 1000 mode will be sufficient enough for those photos you take in the bushes outside of her house will actually turn out, but it could stand to be higher. The Pentax lenses should make the photos look pretty clear, too. The C540 has a 5MP sensor, and the C740 has a 7MP. Other than that, they appear to be identical, specs-wise. BenQ DC C540 [LetsGoDigital] BenQ DC C740 [LetsGoDigital] → Read More
I don’t know about you, but I’ve been excited about playing Madden 2007 (and all the other sports games) on the Wii since I first saw the controller. So, when I saw this video on YouTube, I kinda came close to wetting myself (alright that’s not funny, I have an incontinence problem. Yes I’m on medication. Just drop it OK?). I’ve heard a lot of rumblings about what gameplay would actually be like with the Wii games, and I wasn’t sure if we would actually be throwing a ball or tackling a player via the Wiimote. Turns out, we will. I think the best feature shown off in this video is the Tutorial, where you actually perform the movement and the game tells you if you did it right or not. I really hope this is standard for most of the Wii game. A New Wii Video: Walkthrough of Madden Wii [I4U News via Joystiq] → Read More
Just when you thought that iPod accessories couldn’t get any more ridiculous, furniture-maker Adonis announces a line of iRocker chairs. These “interactive sound chairs” carry an onboard iPod dock, along with speakers sets that vary depending on which chair you buy. The iRocker chairs range from $99-$600, depending on what suits your price range. The higher-end models come with a set of five Alltek Vision speakers (that’s sort of an oxymoron) with a remote control, so you can rock out and relax (that too) without having to move. And the lower-end models come with a standard pair of speakers. Either way, both chairs include an auxiliary input in case you don’t own an iPod (there are people who don’t own iPods?!), but you will have to keep an eye on the device’s battery. The chairs also come in a wide range of colors ranging from micro fiber, neutral black, bone and saddle colors for the faux-leather models. So, if enjoy sitting and iPod, the iRocker might be for you. → Read More
With what might be the worst product name ever, Commodore will demonstrate tomorrow at IFA its new personal media player the Gravel In Pocket. Despite its unfortunate naming, this PMP seems to be a relatively valid device. It will sport a 2.8-inch screen, 1GB or 2GB of storage and WiFi. The GIP is capable of playing DivX, Xvid, WMV, MP3 and WAV files. It also features an SD slot. It will be available in November, but not word yet on pricing. ComodoreCorp PDF data [via Engadget] → Read More
The Yorkshire Post has a story about Freeserve founder Ajaz Ahmed’s latest venture browzar, “a new internet browser which allows users to surf the web without leaving a history of websites visited and protects against leaving personal details on computers.” I did wonder why someone would create such a browser, considering the dangerous times we live in with paedophiles, criminals and terrorists; who would love nothing better than to hide their digital footprints, but Mr Ahmed gives some valid points as to why he felt the need to create his new browser. He said: “browzar will do for surfing and searching the web with privacy what eBay did for auctions and My Space did for social networking. It is the first in a range of products that we’ll be rolling out this year”. I’m not sure I agree but he added, “We divulge masses of information about our habits, hobbies and financial dealings while online, often unknowingly, and there are times when all of us would rather this was kept private. Using browzar, anyone worldwide can surf the web privately in the knowledge that no-one will stumble across the sites they have visited when using the same computer.“ Maybe if the mainstream browsers did a better job of protecting our privacy and making it easier for the non-technical user to change their privacy settings, then products like browzar would probably not be used or needed. Personally I use both Firefox 2 and Internet Explorer 7. They both have similar privacy protection features within them that enable me to protect my privacy, clear my browsing tracks etc. But as the average web user never changes their homepage from MSN or whatever preset it came with, it’s highly unlikely they will change their privacy options from the default settings which don’t clear out your digital footprint automatically at the end of each session. Not everyone agrees with Mr Ahmed. Stuart Bruce, who alerted me to this story, has some strong views on this browser. “I bet the security folk love that as assorted terrorists and weirdos flock to browzar to try and cover their tracks.” Again according to Mr Ahmed, “browzar does not interfere with information stored by internet service providers about sites visited which can be made available to authorities investigating suspected illegal activities.“ According to Peter Cole it’s not even a browser. “it is a simple wrapper on the IE → Read More
Get those entries in, kids. We’ll hold the floodgates open until 6pm PST. → Read More
USB flash drives are a dime a dozen, meaning companies need to spice up their offerings to get any kind of recognition from consumers. One way is to make it huge, like Toshiba’s 16GB drives. Another is to mold yours in the shape of a syringe. Yeah, I think we all know which one we’d want. The syringe drive is USB 2.0 compliant and has up to 1GB of space, plus it makes airport security really happy. Product Site [Wideshine via i4u] → Read More
I spoke with Tako Steinz of Stillpoint Media who just launched Gadgets.OriginalSignal, a beta aggregator for gadget websites. Right now it trolls fifteen major sites – including Crunchgear – and reports when new items appear every time you visit the page. Think of it as a NASA “big-board” style system that isn’t NetVibes. Tako and his 5-person team wanted a very basic interface and are planning a number of interesting “signals” down the line including politics and news. They launched the main site a few days ago and are now adding “signals” to it as we speak. They’ll then capture the click data to create a central dashboard showing the most popular stories of the day. It’s very basic right now but it’s still in beta and it seems like a good enough idea to warrant a second look. Gadgets.OrginalSignal.com → Read More
The next generation Lego Mindstorms improve on the original 1998 model of do-it-yourself robotics with a “32-bit NXT control brick, ultrasonic sensors, a revamped set of pieces, a new piece of visual programming software, and Bluetooth support.” Not at all like the legos we played with as a child, these Mindstorms sensors register touch, sound, light and distance to keep your Lego robot doing what you want. One can detect contact, one detects sounds or music, one detects ambient light and the other distance from objects. The included visual programming language is extremely easy, letting you program your bot by just dragging squares onto a grid, which represents actions your Lego buddy will take. To give you a sense of how powerful such a simple system can be, consider the humble “movement” square. The context menu lets you choose which motors you want to control, the direction you want them to go, the direction, the power, and the duration of the movement, and whether to let the motor coast or brake at the end. The set is targeted towards kids 10-14, but adults and children of all ages (with adult supervision) can enjoy this. That $249 list price is a small price to pay for quality time building fun robots with your kids. Lego Mindstorms NXT [Ars Technica] → Read More
Both models of HTC’s smartphone—the HTC TyTN or the re-badged XDA Trion—are available for purchase now on Dynamism’s website. Both are available for $899, which means it’s no throwaway phone. The XDA Trion has a QWERTZ keyboard, common in Europe, where the HTC TyTN has a QWERTY keyboard, which is more suited for the States. To refresh, the phones are Quad-Band GSM, have 64MB RAM, 128MB ROM, a MicroSD slot, Bluetooth, GPRS, HSDPA, EDGE, 802.11b/g, a 2 megapixel camera, a VGA camera for video calling, and 5 hours of talk time. You should be able to use the imported phone on both Cingular and T-Mobile, thanks to GSM compatibility. Product Page [Dynamism] → Read More
All 436 pages of Sprint’s user manual for the Treo 700wx is online, leaked for your consumption. Seriously, 436 pages? Isn’t that a little complicated for the average user? Well, you Treo fans know what you’re getting into. And if you want to pore over the notes and see what Sprint’s got in store for you in September, be our guest. Treo Manual (PDF) [Mobility Today] Palm Treo 700wx user manual appears [Mobility Today] → Read More
SynapseLife is a suite of integrated online applications for managing various parts of your life. The company is currently accepting email addresses for beta release notification on the first of October. SynapseLife is the first consumer play of Synapse Corporate Solutions, a four person Seattle team founded by Daniel Rust and Mark Michael. The basic applications will be free with premium applications available. There’s eight ajax applications scheduled to be in the initial release. A contacts manager, calendar, email broadcast tool, to-do lists, a financial ledger, a feed reader, favorites and tagging. All of the applications will be fully accessible by mobile device; there will be three versions of the site, a text only version for simple phones, a version with more graphics for PDAs and the basic browser version. The contacts manager will integrate with the email broadcast service, for sending email blasts to groups of people. Emails will go out through SynapseLife but will have your regular email as the reply to address. The calendar app will include the ability to create events and manage RSVPs – invitees will receive emails containing a link to a page for your event where they can provide information like the number of guests they’ll be bringing. The RSS feed reader aims to be highly customizable and there’s an online bookmarking function. Content throughout the suite will be searchable by tags. The company plans to release an API to allow other functionality to be added or for Synapse to be plugged in to other systems by third party developers. The personal applications described above will be free and users will have the option to pay for additional features aimed at small business and entrepreneurial needs. Those features will be based on the company’s legacy web service, which will be upgraded for the demanding Web 2.0 aficionado. This is a great example of the kind of lightweight bundle of applications I expect to see a lot more of in the future. Yahoo! Mobile offers a similar but different feature set. → Read More
Ok. It’s Crunch time. We’re closing our contest at 12 noon, PST and we’ve got one entry so far. If I were in this contest, I’d definitely like those odds – that means one person, as of right now, will get both a Moto Q and a Kodak v603… unless I start seeing some entries! Read on for full rules. → Read More
Remember our video post last week about Leopard and how its Expose + Spaces was supposed to work? Yeah, Apple doesn’t quite like it, and told us as much in the form of a NastyGram. Apparently, because the only version out of Leopard is a developer’s version, it’s not quite “public”, and a video of the OS is a big no-no in Apple’s book. Hope you saw that video while it was up, because it was really cool, and pretty much just served to hype up interest in Leopard. Seems to us they’re just shooting themselves in the foot here. The more people hear how Leopard is supposedly ahead of Vista, the more people want to pick up a Mac instead of a new Windows machine next year. Apple Sends a NastyGram [CrunchNotes] → Read More
San Francisco, CA
