Tech reviews

Telus is bringing the much-awaited Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich to the Samsung Galaxy Note. It will be available starting July 13. This smartphone with its 5.3-inch Super AMOLED screen, dual-core 1.4 GHz ARM Cortex-A9 CPU, Mali-400MP GPU, and support for the S Pen stylus and Near Field Communication, was one of Samsung’s successful releases in 2011. Out of the box, the device s

hipped with Android 2.3.5 Gingerbread OS.
Meanwhile, the Canadian wireless carrier has also released the schedule for the same update on other devices. For the Sony Ericsson Xperia ray, the update will arrive as early as July 20 next week. On the other hand, there is no schedule yet for the LG Optimus LTE, although it is expected sometime during the middle of July. As for the Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9, the update will be available this coming August whereas the 10.1-inch version of the slate will have it sometime late next month. The HTC Desire HD, for its part will get ICS on July 25.
Along with these ICS updates, Telus is likewise pushing updates for Blackberry and Windows Phone devices. The Blackberry Bold 9790 will receive the upgrade on July 11. As for the LG Optimus 7, it will get the MRC3 Windows Phone update this coming June 20 while the Nokia Lumia 800 will receive it on July 13.
Software updates often add functionalities, allowing users to expand the features of their devices. Furthermore, they are also known to provide fixes for issues that users experienced on these handsets. In particular, the Ice Cream Sandwich update offers a redesigned user interface, better camera capabilities and additional effects, enhanced email and web browsing, better spell check and voice input and resizeable widgets. As well as a new home screen, improved People app, the ability to respond to a call via text, and novel features like face unlocking, Android Beam NFC sharing, Wi-Fi Direct, and Bluetooth HDP. In general, it makes multi-tasking easier with all the improvements included in the update.

Sony has once again taken to their official blog to announce Android 4.0 update for the Xperia Active. The update is being rolled out in batches, so hang tight if you haven’t received it yet.  You could also check for updates through the PC Companion suite. Just like their last update of the Xperia Mini Pro, Sony has listed a series of SI numbers and if your phone has that number, then you should be able to receive the update. The SI number can be found inside the phone, once you remove the battery. Here’s a brief from their website,” The Ice Cream Sandwich software update for 2011 Xperia Smartphone’s is now being rolled out. The update is released in batches, and below you will find links to each phones list of all the currently released ICS software’s. Since there are minor differences in the software depending on product, country and operator we have a unique identifier that we call Sales Item (SI). If you find your SI in the released software table the software for your device is released and available in PC Companion and Bridge for Mac where you can update your Xperia Smartphone.”

The Xperia Active is a dust-proof, water-resistant Android handset very similar to the Motorola Defy. Along with similar features found in the Ray, it will also have a Barometer, Compass, heart rate and pulse monitoring functions and iMapMyFitness app to keep a track of your day to day performance. In the box, you’ll find an extra back cover, detachable ear hooks for the hands-free, wrist strap, an arm case for use during workouts and a 2GB memory card. Below are some of the highlights of the phone.

Here are some of the specifications of the Xperia Active:

• 3-inch capacity touchscreen display with a 480 x 320 pixel resolution
• 3G, EDGE/GPRS and Wi-Fi capabilities for net access
• GPS with A-GPS support for Google Maps
• Bluetooth with A2DP and USB 2.0 (Micro)
• 5MP camera with LED flash
• FM radio
• 1GB internal + microSD card support for up to 32GB more memory

Although today's smartphones are well equipped to alert the users about most events but sometimes we miss that just one call that can ruin our rest of the day as you were busy with your work and miss the all important call despite the phone kept blinking right next to you. Sometimes, we also fail to respond the emergency SMSes in time.
But how nice it would be if your phone gives you an alert on your PC or laptop notifying you about what's happening on your smartphone.

Well there is an application called Desktop Notifier that can do this for you. All you need to do is relax and the software application on your Android Smartphone will do the rest for you. And once you have setup the whole thing, you won't miss a call again.
So here is how you go about setting up the Desktop Notifier on your device. The software is available in two parts, one for your Android device and another for your computer. Notably, it is available absolutely free of cost.


Step 1

Visit the developer's website and download the desktop software from this link (http://desknotifier.clemens-elflein.de/download.php).


Step 2

Download the files that will be in a .zip file format and unzip it on your computer to access the installation file of the application.


Step 3

Double click on the installation file to initiate installation. Installing the software will take about a minute or so. The software might prompt you to add the software as a startup option, select yes.

Step 4

The installation on the desktop if finished. The software will prompt you for the language, make sure you select English as the other option; German will be of no use for most of us who do not know how to read and write German.
Step 5

Access the Google Android marketplace (Google Play Store) application from within your phone's application menu or from the home screen of your desktop and install the Android application on your Android device from this link for desktop.
Link: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=de.elfsoft.desknotifier


Step 6

Locate the application from the application menu. It will be a blue callout shape icon called Desktop Notifier. Run the application.

Step 7

The Desktop Notifier app works on notification, to enable that the software might prompt you to change the notification setting. Press 'ok' and proceed. Enable notification settings for the application.
Step 8

Now the application will open up showing the settings page and that is all the application has for an interface. Locate the IP address form the setting and keep it handy to input in the software on the PC to help connect it to app on the Android device.

Step 9

The application will prompt you for the connection setting. If you have a WiFi network, select the WiFi or else choose USB to connect. Upon choosing WiFi enter the IP address that is on the phone in the application's settings page.
Step 10

Both the desktop and device application will notify the user about the connection. Once done, you can send a test ping to the PC by selecting the test ping option form the Android device.