Here’s a list of the features of the new Opera Mobile 12 for Android and Symbian:

• WebGL on Android phones, for all things 3D and web. With WebGL on mobile, it’ll be even easier to make games cross platform and to distribute them.
• Ragnarök, Opera’s HTML5 parser support, meaning better web apps and increased compatibility with websites. More HTML5 means more advanced web functionality.
• Support for camera use in the browser.
• More possibilities for customizing the Speed Dial of Opera Mobile, including entering as many Speed Dial entries as you like.

and for Opera Mini Next for feature phone:

Opera Mini’s coming Home tab brings social-networking updates and other frequently refreshed sites to the feature phone browser.

• The Home tab keys into site feeds, so you can see site update notifications in Opera Mini without loading the site in full.
• The Turbo feature can compress data up to 90 percent on Opera Mini, great for feature phones and smartphones on limited data plans.
• Speed Dial in Opera Mini and Opera Mobile can now handle an unlimited number of sites.

Head over to m.opera.com & m.opera.com/next to download or proceed to TechDock’s download section to find a direct link.

To download, you will need to SIGN UP for a free account, select the brand and model of your phone to filter the results to show apps, games and wallpapers compatible for your device.

Below is a list of my TOP 5 Picks from MyAppsMall:

1. Opera Mobile Browser – One of the most popular mobile web browser  that supports a wide variety of phones and operating system. It comes with opera turbo that compresses data for faster and convenient browsing.
2. eBuddy Messenger – An all-in-one messenger for MSN, Yahoo, Gtalk, Facebook, ICQ, MySpace and AIM(AOL).
3. Google Maps – It offers an effective way to navigate you through any destination. Need help finding a café, shop or a mall nearby? Then Google Maps got you covered.
4. MoboTV Player – Let’s you watch any of your favorite channels on a phon,. anytime and anywhere.
5. Collins Essential Dictionary – Having a dictionary at your disposal is always a good thing whether at school or at work. Collins Essential Dictionary contains more than 123,000 words and 200,000 definitions.

And there’s more! Since it’s a launch of a new service, Globe Telecom is also giving away  100 Android Phones, 3 Honda Motorcycles and a Brand New Car for  grand draw winner in their SUPERSTAR CHALLENGE. How to enter the draw are detailed below. Click on the image to start earning entries.

So head over to MyAppsMall and start downloading goodies and get rewarded! Visit http://apps.globe.com.ph via web and  http://m.apps.globe.com.ph via wap.

“This is my official entry to the Globe-YugaTech My Apps Mall Contest“

QuesVisual the developer, just released the very first version of World Lens, the application they’ve been working for two and half years.

The app translates English to Spanish and Spanish to English translation, it uses Optical Character Recognition technology, the translation happen in real-time as soon as you point your camera.

For more action watch the clip below and be amazed:

By mention of Online Game (will be OLG from this point onwards), I simply meant all games provided or can be accessed through the internet. Technology at its peak, every game in town can now be played online 24/7 and can played by friends and most of the time, strangers – since most of OLGs are designed for multiplayer capacities. A little bit of background, in the early 1990′s, software was pretty much developing and produced the possibility of tunneling the LAN protocols to be played over the internet. True enough, by the later years, OLG allowed millions of gamers from all over the world to play with one another. Servers and game rooms are brought to life serving as online lobbies for players to choose their opponents or allies. User names, passwords and even special accounts are now common words for gamers. I pretty much guess that almost everyone, every once in a while, participates and plays OLGs.

OLGs caters to a big community. By saying big, this includes a huge population count on almost all age brackets, with heavy chucks of teenagers and young adults in it. I cannot give statistics here since I have different purpose. You can check for stats at <http://www.grabstats.com> if you need so. My purpose is to share some bits of information to the Filipino Gamers especially to the DOTA players. Below info maybe useless to most addict DOTA players therefore, I would like to dedicated this to the starters, new players, and the uninformed. Hope you may find them amusing and helpful as I do:

> Pre-game:

• DOTA: ‘Defense of the Ancients’ or the Warcraft III – Frozen Throne game.
• GG Client: or the GArena client will take you to the most famous (if not the only) and the biggest gaming lobby for most countries including the Philippines. They have numerous games to offer.
• CP: means ‘Check Ping’ usually done by the Host of the game or as requested by the players. Usually, the host makes the decision of ‘kicking a player’ after checking his ping to minimize game ‘lag’.
• Ping: or the ‘latency’ or the minimum delay that will define the ‘lag’ time. Everyone have this especially if your playing network games. For LAN connection (100ms) and for Battle.Net access (250ms). This delay tends to go up to thousands all depending to the access rate to the network/host/server.
• Lag: delayed reaction of the Hero to your command as projected by your ‘ping’. Terms such as ‘stop dance’ and ‘super lag’ are also being used to signify that there’s much delay.
• Tunnel: or the act of as ‘tunneling’ to create a connection/gateway of determining the ping.

> Game proper:

• GG: can be meant as ‘Go Game/Get Going!’ if said before the start of the game (usually inside a create game room talking to the  Host) or ‘Good Game’ if said at/towards the end of the game thus given that one is team is at obvious advantage.
• P, B, K, GB: ‘Push’, ‘Back’, ‘Kill’ and ‘Gang Bang’.
• RS: ‘Roshan’, either signifying that the team are to slay Roshan or the other team is doing so.
• MH: ‘Map Hack’ which is a new (cheat) feature for the latest dota maps since it gives advantage because you be able to see the entire map!
• RM: ‘Re-Match’ if said towards the end of the game or ‘room’.
• BS, OM: ‘Blind Spot’, ‘Only Mid’,
• CD, SS: ‘Cool Down’ and ‘Special Skill’ or the last skill.
• Imba, Noob, Feed: names called to player seemed like newbies to the game. They tend to die on clashes or even on head to head.
• Pull: Usually done advance players, ‘pulling’ is done when the hero attacks the Neutral Creeps then lures them at the Normal Creeps. This will then delay the arrival of the normal creeps and delays/lessens the chance of the opponent to gain experience and coins.
• Farm: ‘Farming’ is done by attacking and killing Neutral Creeps instead of joining the combat lane. It is either they need a certain experience amount to level up or that they need a coins to buy certain items.

In the end, all of this may not matter since there are thousands of words being invented due specially while playing DOTA. But nonetheless, it may be a plus to atleast take note of them on your next game all the more when your playing in a team. Happy gaming everyone!

[If you may find anything that is not correct, please enlighten me. If you may add other interesting facts, I'll be paying my full attention ^_< cheers! Your comments will be most welcome...]

Every link you add to a bundle will include a preview page with headlines, excerpts, photos, and videos pulled from the underlying websites. Each bundle page also has a click count that show how many times it’s been viewed, and a list of the original links. Also it can be customized with a title and description.
Watch the short clip below from Montreal’s xtranormal on how the new system works.

In this technology-dependent era, connectivity is important as well as mobility. Most of the gadgets are being used for mobile communications. Whether you are a tech-guru or not, you are probably familiar with a wireless LAN card. Yes! Wireless LAN card used for having mobile internet access on your PC. It allows you to connect to an access point that then connects you to the internet. But, as I said, technology is dynamic, and don’t be surprised with my next statement. Wireless LAN card can be used for vital signs monitoring. You read it right again!

Olga Boric-Lubecke, Geert Awater, and Victor M. Lubecke in their paper Wireless LAN PC Card for Vital Sign Sensing experimented on using the wireless LAN card for sensing vital signs. Yes. I will no longer describe the details of the experiments and how it was done, but lets talk more of the results. The researchers showed that it is possible to measure your heart beat and respiratory activities using the wireless LAN card exploiting the principle of the Doppler Effect. They were able to monitor vital signs using the configured wireless LAN card and a software (which they created) to interpret the results. If you don’t believe me yet, try to research on Doppler principle, and let your mind work from there. But I tell you, this is true.

So, if you have nothing much to do with your time, try to find out something from existing things to create something new from it. How about using your PC as a portal to other countries. (Packetized human being and send them over the internet). Just kidding, it will kill airline companies. (But I do not say it is impossible!) See you on my next article!

For my first article here at Techdock, let me share this web browser that can be controlled by the user’s eyes! YES! You do not have to take another glance, your eyes hit it right! Introducing, WeyeB, an Eye Controlled web browser for handsfree navigation.

The idea is from Marco Porta and Alessia Ravelli, in their paper “WeyeB, an Eye-Controlled Web Browser for Hands-Free Navigation”. WeyeB, which stands for Web Eye Browser, is another interface for web browser that makes browsing possible for physically disabled people, or those with hand injuries that want to surf the net. The only means needed for the user to get through with the web pages and interact with hyperlinks, is just the movement of their eyes. Give me a wink out there!

The WeyeB operates on an Eye Tracking system that reads the movement of the eye of the user as it stares at the page of the website.With modern eye tracker devices, eye tracking nowadays is no longer intrusive. All it takes is a computer equipped with camera that analyzes the movement of the eye of the subject. As the eye move, the computer can detect what part of the page is being viewed by the user.

Some features of the WeyeB are page scrolling and link selection. Though there were previous studies that explored the said feature, WeyeB does it in a different way. For the page scrolling feature, the screen has arrows in certain area of the page. This arrow, once the user stared at it for a certain time or dwell time, will be activated. For example, when the user stared at the down arrrow at a time equal or maybe greater than the dwell time, the page will scroll down. For link activation, it is also dependent on the dwell time. The link will just be activated after the user stared at it for a certain period of time, again maybe equal or greater than the dwell time for link activation.
In general, the features of WeyeB are good to let people interact with a computer for a certain physical disability. You don’t have to move an inch, let your eyes do the surfing!

Android users now have a new choice when it comes to browsers. Today, Opera Software announced that Opera Mobile 10.1 beta is available in the Android Market for free, providing the many millions of Android users better browser performance and an improved user experience.

Android users are known to appreciate speed and functionality. They are also known for their demands for new and improved software for their handsets, as well as an almost emotional relationship to their phones. Now, they have the opportunity to run Opera Mobile, made by a company that shares their passion for a better browser.

“Android users now have a better choice when it comes to using a browser on their mobile devices,” said Lars Boilesen, CEO, Opera Software. “With Opera’s new browser for Android, we give users the opportunity to access the Web, using the best tools available.”

Opera Mobile boasts faster page loading than other browsers and a highly fluid panning, scrolling and smooth zooming experience. Speed Dial, another Opera innovation, gives quick and easy access to the user’s favorite websites while the password manager saves the user from cumbersome mobile-phone typing. Additionally, users will experience better browsing on slow or congested networks with Opera Turbo, which provides up to 80 percent data compression.

Opera Mobile 10.1 Beta for Android also features:

• Easy tab management with visual tabs
• Opera Presto rendering engine
• Sync your bookmarks across devices with Opera Link
• Ability to be set as the default browser
• Geolocation support
• SVG support

Download

Download Opera Mobile directly to the Android phone for free from the Android Market or at m.opera.com/next. For more information, visit http://www.opera.com/mobile/.

Opera Mobile is available for Android users in the following 18 versions: Chinese Simplified, Chinese Traditional, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Norwegian Bokmål, Norwegian Nynorsk, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish and Swedish.

Proceed to our TechDock’s download page for direct download link.

Samsung netbooks although new in the country has been very aggressive with their marketing and with a good product to boot, Asus might have a worthy contender here.

Read on as we try to find out…

Specifications:
• Intel® Atom™ Processor N450 (1.66 GHz, 512KB, 667MHz)
• Genuine Windows 7 Starter set
• 1GB DDR2 RAM
• 250GB HDD
• Intel GMA3150 (Int. Graphic)
• 10.1″ WSVGA (1024 x 600), Non-gloss (anti reflective), LED Backlight
• 802.11b/g/n WiFi
• Bluetooth 3.0
• Digital Live Cam
• 3 USB 2.0 ports
• VGA out
• SD/MMC card reader
• 6-cell battery (4400mah)
• SRP: P 21,900 (available in yellow, pink and black)
• Dimension: 264 x 188 x 25.3-34.7 mm
• Weight: 1.24 kg (inc. 6 cell battery)

My thoughts…

Aesthetics

1. Appeal & Size

- Glossy finish top cover with a unique Corby Yellow color makes the Samsung netbook N150P appealing especially to the young generation who are simply conscious about style and fashion. The downside of being glossy of course would make it prone to finger print smudges. Printed Samsung logo is elegant looking. Overall built and craftsmanship is good.
- The N150P is small enough to carry around anytime and anywhere. Weighing only 1.24kgs is an added plus.

2. PORTS / doors / Cardreader

- On the right side you can see the 2 usb ports, VGA port.
- On the left side you can see the DC jack, RJ45 port, vent, USB and mic and earphone.
- On the front side you can see the card reader and the power button. Placing the power button in front makes it a little difficult for me to power up the laptop initially as I am so used to see the power button on top of the keyboard like what 90% of laptop manufacturers do today. Not really a negative thing but just needs some familiarization.
- Overall the ports are well thought of and laid out well. You can’t complain much about it.
- At the bottom is plastic door so that users can reach the memory slot. The HDD unfortunately cant be accessed by the user easily.

3. Keyboard Layout and size/Touchpad

- The keyboard is the standard type which is not as appealing as the chiclet type keyboard but making it standard would give you a better feel of the key especially when you have big fingers like me.
- Touch pad design is good except maybe it is a little small. Left and right click appears to be a one button. The clicker is readily clickable not as hard as other netbooks that I have tried before.

4. Display
- 10.1-inch LED backlit display (1024×600 resolution). Coming off a review from a Asus EEEpc 1215n, you can surely see major difference in the work area in the screen. Of course it would be an unfair comparison but realistically, you can actually do more work obviously with bigger screens. Working with spreadsheets and documents would greatly need the added real estate for sure. But comparing the Samsung to the EeePC 1005p then it is basically the same.
- Samsung chose to use an anti reflective screen. Initially you might think it is not very appealing as it is matte finish but this would be very useful when you work on an are that is prone to high back lighting like outdoors and when you have a lamp at your back. So there benefits with having this screen for sure

Usage & Performance

1. Bootup time (I consider this an important factor in any laptop / desktop that I use)
Windows 7 starter

- Took about 1 minute and 45sec flat. Pretty fast to me knowing that this is just an Atom and loaded with Windows 7. The speed might improve further if you remove some bloatware but never had the chance to tweak that part already. Compared to the N220. The bootup time of the N150 is slightly slower simply because the N220 has a faster cpu.

Windows Experience Index:

2. Conversion of video – cyberlink espresso video converter to an IPOD format (I put this criterion thinking that most laptop users would somehow convert movies or songs to their ipods or MP4 players). Using cyberlink espresso seems to be a faster converter compared to Freemake which is what I was using before. Cyberlink espresso is not FREE btw.

- Convert 720p MKV to IPOD format – Took about 3 hours and 5 min
- Convert AVI to ipod format – 1 hour and 56min

For the 720p file I used UP the movie which is about 4.37GB big
For the AVI conversion I used Clash of the titans.avi (480p) which is about 1.45gb

HD video whether 720 or 1080 cant be played in this machine no matter how you tweak it. Stutterring and out of sync issues remain despite installation of difference codecs and player. Playing Avi is without problem.

3. Graphics

You can check more details here in notebookcheck

<click here for link>

not a lot can be said. You cant play intensive games. Facebook games should run like a breeze though.

4. USB Charging + Bluetooth 3.0

- One nifty feature of the Samsung N150 plus that I almost overlooked is the USB charging function. Even while the computer is turned OFF/Sleep/Hybernate you can actually plug any device that can charge via usb. Like an IPOD, mobile phone, MP3 player, etc. This is NICE! (downside: the usb that can charge is located on the left side of the laptop only and not ALL usb ports)
- This laptop is equipped with the latest BT technology. I cant really test it but reading from other sites. It is nice to have feature although I don’t even have a single gadget with me that can maximize this thing yet. The best application by far that I can imagine would be when you want to plug a BT capable HD camcorder. Streaming via BT might be possible for that.

5. Check speaker and audio
- For a netbook, speakers are GOOD. Not the best but when I watched a movie, the audio can be heard and understood clearly. Not much bass but the clarity in the words are fine.
- Having been able to test the Asus eeepc 1005p, the 1215n, the Samsung N150 and N220 show better audio quality. It is not a major leap in audio but any improvement will be a a welcome thing for a netbook user.

6. OS compatibility – Windows 7 drivers are easily downloadable from the samsung website. XP is also still supported for this unit and it is also downloadable easily.

Battery Life

How we test the battery life?

- playing continues video till battery dies (use avi files) – power saving features disabled.
- Screen brightness = Max possible
- Audio = Max possible
- Wifi is ON
- Configured to do Max performance

RESULTS: 4hours and 40min approx. (this is the minimum possible battery life you can get on a max consumption). You can actually get more if the power saving features are turned on. This is by far the longest battery life I ever tested in any netbook or notebook. If you notice the battery uses a higher capacity cells that are not available in china made laptops.

Note: The Samsung N150P uses the 4400mah 6 cells battery and the Samsung N220P uses the same 6 cell battery but with 5900mah high capacity cells. I think the main difference here is the battery itself and not the guts as to why the N220P would have a longer battery life.

Pros:
Small and lightweight
Long battery life at 6 hours and 40 min (watching movies)
USB Charging even while turned off!
BT 3.0!
Unique elegant & Stylish design

Cons:
10.1 screen (how I wish this was 12.1)
Doesn’t have any recovery disc
1gb memory is obviously lacking

This netbook is surely a worthy opponent of the EeePC specifically the 1005P. Comparing the Asus EeePC 1005P and this netbook, I would choose the Samsung as a hands down choice, but that is just me. You guys decide on your own, I am just here trying to help.

- spike888ph of TPC -

As Apple’s prohibits the use of flash on iOS device, developers of Skyfire Mobile Browser found a good way to get around Apple’s restrictions by using Skyfire’s servers to download the Flash video content and convert it to HTML5 on the fly. When a user visits a page with Flash content it will be sent to Skyfire’s server which render and transcode the video to HTML5 and sent it back to the device, then a selectable thumbnail which then allows the content to be streamed will be available, negating the need for Flash.

Here’s a short list of Skyfire for iPhone features:

• Adaptive streaming technology ensures optimal utilization of network and processor bandwidth (preserves battery life)

• Sharing to Facebook and Twitter – it’s simple!

• Facebook Quickview – Check your Facebook News/Wall without opening another app or page

• Intuitive and finger friendly user interface for easy browsing experience

• Load full desktop webpages on your mobile device

• Multi-tab browsing – open up to eight windows and browse simultaneously

You can download Skyfire for your iPhone or iPad in Apple’s App Store on Thursday, November 4 for $2.99. We’ll keep you posted regarding this, you can also visit our download page, we will post a link of Skyfire in App Store when the application is available.