Huawei Ascend P1 S : world’s thinnest smartphone

When it comes to smartphones, people can argue about the relative merits of a bigger display that is easier on the eyes and fingers or a smaller display that results in a more pocket-friendly unit. But whatever the length and width, it seems that the desire for a thinner smartphone is pretty much universal. And - for the time being anyway - they don't come any thinner than the Huawei Ascend P1 S that made its debut at CES this week. Measuring just 6.68 mm (0.26 in) thick, Huawei says although the Ascend PS 1 is the world's slimmest smartphone, it doesn't scrimp on the features.

Huawei's Ascend P1 comes in two flavors - the P1 and P1 S. Both offer the same features but where the slimline P1 S gets a 1,670 mAh battery, the P1 is a slightly thicker 7.69 mm (0.3 in) thanks to a 1,800 mAh battery. Aside from the battery, both models have the same specs, which includes a 4.3-inch 960 x 540 pixel Super AMOLED touch display, 1.5 GHz dual core TI OMAP 4460 Cortex A9 processor, 1GB of RAM, 4GB onboard memory, 5.1 surround sound capabilities, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 3.0, DLNA support, 8-megapixel rear-facing camera with backlight illuminated sensor and 1080p HD video capture capabilities, and a front-facing 1.3-megapixel camera for video calls.

Both quad-band GSM phones will come running Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) and feature a PPVD back cover coating designed to dissipate heat. They will come in metallic black, ceramic white and cherry-blossom pink when released in Europe, the Asia-Pacific, North America, Australia, the Middle East and China from April 2012, with additional colors also on the way. Huawei hasn't yet revealed pricing or potential carriers for the phones.

Strap-on macro lens works with any smartphone camera

The cameras on most smart phones tend to be rather simple affairs so it's not surprising that savvy inventors have dreamed up numerous add-on attachments such as mini-microscopes and wide/telephoto adapters. They do tend to be rather elaborate and brand-specific, however, not to mention somewhat pricey. Not this one though - the Macro Cell Lens Band is a simple close-up photography solution that has two definite pluses - it works on any camera equipped phone and it's very inexpensive.

The Lens Band is decidedly low-tech, just a thick rubber band with a thin plastic lens smack in the middle of it, but judging by the sample shots, it produces surprisingly good quality images.

Installation is quick and simple, take the band out of your wallet or off your wrist, wrap it around the phone with the lens positioned correctly and you're away.

PhotoJojo sells the Macro Cell Lens Band for US$15.

Smartphones at 1cent (50 Paisa !!!!)

Amazon cuts top smartphone prices down to 1cent 

Amazon is holding a penny-pincher sale and has most smartphones (and regular phones) from AT&T, Verizon and Sprint  priced at $0.01 for a limited time. This obviously comes with a new contract and Amazon has said that the pricing is only valid for a limited time.

Among the top phones in the list, I have seen: the Droid RAZR, the Galaxy S2 Epic Touch 4G. the HTC Rezound, the Atrix 4G, and many more. If you’re not quite sure which one you want, you should start by reading our reviews, and drop a comment if you are still unsure. In any case, don’t worry if you can’t make up your mind, as another cooler, faster smartphone will come out a few weeks from now. The wonderful world of consumer electronics…

Droid RAZR: “Impossibly Thin”

Motorola has just announced the Droid RAZR, a phone that the company calls “impossibly thin“. At 7.1mm thin, at its thinnest point, Motorola calls it the world’s thinnest phone. It features a 1.2GHz dual-core processor, 1GB of RAM. Its display is a 4.3″ Super-AMOLED with Gorilla glass that can be used to watch HD movies from Netflix. Motorola says that it is the first device that can download HD movies from Netflix.

Key features:

• 1.2GHz dual-core processor
• 1GB of RAM
• 4.3” Super AMOLED display with Gorilla glass
• Android Gingerbread 2.3.5
• Measuring 7.1mm at its thinnest point
• Stainless steel and kevlar design
• 4G LTE connectivity
• Able to watch HD Netflix movies
• Government-graded encryption of emails, contacts and calendars
• Compatible with Motorola’s Lapdock 500 Pro/Lapdock 100

The internal design is made of stainless steel and Kevlar, which ensures rigidity but at the same time, it weighs only 127g, which is more than the Galaxy S2, but less than the iPhone 4.

But hardware is only one side of the story says Motorola. On the software side, Motorola says that it has optimized the software that will improve battery live, and of course, Webtop from Motorola transform this thin smartphone into a small Linux computer.

Motocast is a cloud service for Motorola. With Motocast, users can stream music, download files/documents, which is something that business users will appreciate according to Motorola.

Finally, this is the thinnest 4G LTE phone in the world right now. It is as simple as that. At the moment, the 4G LTE network from Verizon is the fastest 4G network in America, and earlier devices suffered from being bulkier and had short battery life. The Droid RAZR has already changed the physical design difference. Now, we’re excited to see how good the battery life is going to be!

App allows users to view electrocardiograms on smartphones

Gone are the days when we simply used our mobile phones for calling people – now we can conduct our own ECGs. We’ve already seen iPhone and Android applications that can create ultrasound images and that measure air pollution. Now tech companies IMEC and the Holst Center, together with TASS software professionals, have released a new heart rate monitoring application.
The IMEC/Holst Center application is designed for Android and it uses small monitoring sensors which are placed on the user’s body. The sensors are connected to a necklace that will wirelessly transmit the heart rate data to your Android phone.
Within minutes you will receive your ECG (electrocardiogram) heart rate monitoring report, that can easily be stored or emailed to your doctor. The sensors are unobtrusive and can remain on the user’s body all day if constant monitoring is required. The application would be suitable for athletes, patients wishing to be monitored from home, and heart disease sufferers.
The small Android interface uses low power and is based on the Linux kernel, and is thus easily compatible with other Linux-based devices, such as PDAs or laptops. It also has the ability to integrate with all the features available on Google’s operating system, such as SMS, e-mail and data transmission over the Internet.