Motorola's Droid

The general consensus on the Motorola Droid is that while it's a very strong device, it still doesn't match the iPhone.

The Droid has a nifty open source operating system and processing power on par with the iPhone 3GS, but it doesn't have the remarkable ease of use that has made the iPhone the most popular smartphone in the consumer market. All that said, however, users have found a lot to like in the Droid and have declared it a solid alternative for smartphone fans who don't want to subscribe to AT&T.

Hands On With The HTC HD2 Windows Mobile 6.5

The HD2 is a gigantic, but slim, slab of a phone at 4.74 by 2.64 by .43 inches and 5.54 ounces, with a 4.3-inch, 480x800 capacitive touchscreen. That is a whopper of a screen. It's not any higher resolution than the HTC Touch Pro2 or the Motorola Droid, but it's bigger; you don't get more real estate, you get more punch.

The HD2 is the first Windows Mobile phone with a capacitive touchscreen, and the first with a Qualcomm Snapdragon QSD8250 processor. The 1 Ghz Snapdragon uses a similar architecture to the ARM Cortex-A8 found in the iPhone 3GS, and includes a new graphics processor with OpenGL ES 2.0 support. This may be the fastest processor available on any U.S. device.

The phone runs Windows Mobile 6.5, sure, but you'd hardly know it because HTC's TouchFlo 3D skin replaces many of the features you'd usually use. On the Touch Pro2 for T-Mobile, you can skim your finger along the bottom of the screen to pick out common functions like contacts, messaging, or Web. But the HD2 feels faster than the Touch Pro2, and it has even more home-screen widgets, including one that brings Twitter to a home screen panel.

HTC replaced Microsoft's address book with its own. Ditto the calendar and photo gallery apps. Did I mention multi-touch? The HD2 uses the familiar pinch-to-zoom gesture in its photo app, Microsoft Office viewer, and Opera Web browser, which will thrill multi-touch fans.

Transcend launches new MP330 portable music player

“The MP330 is a versatile digital music player with support for newer file formats such as FLAC (Free Lossless Audio Codec) as well as MP3, WMA, WAV, and even WMA-DRM10 protected music files. Besides featuring a high signal-to-noise ratio of over 90dB to deliver superior audio output quality, the MP330 provides seven advanced equaliser effects to choose from, including a special user-customisable option that allows music playback to be tailored to match specific music tastes and styles”.

Physically, the MP330 has a carefully crafted smooth shape that is compact (83mm x 25.5mm x 11.5mm) and lightweight (just 25gms). Additionally, the MP330 is equipped with a unique removable sport clip that gives users more flexibility to match their listening habits.

The player features a bright OLED display that can easily be viewed at any angle, even in broad daylight.

Aside from its sleek looks and digital music playback capabilities, the player doubles as a portable storage device. Thanks to its built-in USB connector, the MP330 operates just like a USB flash drive, allowing users to transfer files without the hassle of carrying around bulky cables.

The gadget also boasts of an impressive collection of value-added functions. The player's line-in feature can be used to record music from an external source such as a CD player, while its A-B repeat, variable track playback speeds, and advanced voice recorder serve as excellent tools whether at work, at school or anywhere. The device also includes an FM radio and sing-along synchronised lyrics display with support for 14 different languages.

The feature-packed MP330 is currently available in three capacities, and in two colours (black or white), with a 2-year warranty:

2GB – Rs. 2,500

4GB – Rs. 3,000

8GB – Rs. 4,000

Tune Up Utilities 2010 is now available in market

The latest version of TuneUp Utilities is here! This version is bound to usher in a new era in Windows optimization because TuneUp Utilities – Version 2010 is not just a box full of tuning tools – it’s your PC expert at home!
Discover the easiest way to tune Windows so that you can work faster and get a better gaming experience with your computer! From PC beginner to savvy user, TuneUp Utilities guarantees you will have more fun and no more hassles with your PC.

Highlights of the new version:

• Easier to use: new Start Center
• Concentrated performance: Turbo
• ModeAutomatic and in real time: new Live Optimization
• Even more effective and intelligent: Automatic Maintenance
• Up-to-date as always: now supports Windows 7™

(32-bit and 64-bit)

How to Install Windows 7

Check Your Machine's Specs

The first thing to do is check whether your desktop or laptop PC is capable of running Windows 7. If it's already running Vistawith acceptable performance, then the answer is yes. Officially, you need at least a 1-GHz CPU and 1GB RAM, but testers of the OS have successfully got it running on machines as out of date as a 266-MHz Pentium II with 96MB of RAM. Go ahead and try that kind of thing if you want, just don't use your license key on that type of machine. It may run, but you'll spend a lot of time waiting for it, and it won't display the glassy new Aero interface and enhancements.

If you're unsure whether your current system can run Windows 7, download and run Microsoft's Upgrade Advisor to assess your hardware's capabilities. When I ran it on an aging XP laptop, it told me I needed to back up my files and perform a Custom installation (see below), that my hard disk didn't have enough free space (you need 16GB), and that the laptop wouldn't run Aero Desktop. The good news, however, was that my 1.6-GHz CPU and 1.5GB RAM were sufficient. The advisor actually checks a lot more than the basic system requirements, and it lists every piece of hardware and software you have installed at the bottom of its report.

Choose an Edition

Home Premium, Home Basic, Professional, and Ultimate.The key thing to consider here is that you have to do a clean installation without the ability to carry your apps along if you move from one level of Vista to another level of Windows 7, say from Vista Home Premium to Windows 7 Professional. The exception is Windows 7 Ultimate, which will let you perform an in-place upgrade from any level of Vista as long as you don't change whether you're using the 32- or 64-bit version.

After that Choose 64-bit or 32-bit

After Running Setup

Once the setup has run its course, you'll be asked to type in a username (20 characters maximum) and computer name (15 characters maximum). Then you're asked for a password, password confirmation, and password hint. (You can bypass this last step if you're not worried about others getting into your PC.) After this, you're supposed to enter your product key, but since you have a 30-day trial, you don't need to right away. The same page by default sets the system to automatically activate Windows, but you may want to uncheck this if you're just trying out the OS. After 30 days, you'll see messages and warnings that you need to Activate, so it's not like you can forget about it.

Then you choose Security settings. The large choice at the top for Default Settings makes a lot of sense—it turns on automatic updates and checks online to resolve problems. The other two choices, "Install important updates only" and "Ask me later," leave you a bit less protected. After this, you'll be prompted for your Time Zone and be given a chance to check the date and time. Windows gets this over the Internet, so you shouldn't have to set it manually.

Now comes the Welcome screen and the "Windows is preparing your Desktop" Message. And that's it—you're running Windows 7! You'll likely see updates in available in Windows Update, which will probably require a restart.