Google Android sounds like the name of a mobile phone, but it’s actually not. The name Google Android is used to refer to the OS of the mobile phone. The market is flooded with with mobile phones these days, and consumers are spoilt for choice. So what makes Google Android so different? And why should anyone start using a totally different OS altogether?

Currently, the better known mobile operating systems in the market are Symbian, Palm, Windows Mobile and more recently, OS X for iPhone. These operating systems are all competing for market share. But the similar aspect of these operating systems is that they are all closed systems. In other words, no one else, but the companies themselves can develop applications for the OS (with the exception of OS X, which we shall discuss later).

Therefore, all mobile phones that are equipped with these operating systems have limited applications that can be installed.

Recognizing the rising trend of the open network, Google is hoping to change all that with Google Android. With the SDK (Software Development Kit) offered by Google, developers can truly innovate and come up with applications that can be installed in Google Android. We have all seen this concept taking the Internet by storm.

For instance, we see the Firefox browser closing the gap with Internet explorer. It’s able to catch up quickly because it allows developers to develop useful extensions for the browsers. To date, there are hundreds of extensions for the Firefox browser, and its popularity is still rising. The same goes for social community sites. MySpace used to be the top social community site. But Facebook became popular really fast, and have risen to be on par with MySpace. Again, it happened because Facebook started allowing developers to launch applications on its platform.

The signals are clear. The open concept works, and Google Android is looking to overtake all the other mobile operating systems. The project is now being undertaken by the Open Handset Alliance, which is a group of companies formed by Google, T-Mobile, Sprint, Vodaphone, HTC, Motorola, Samsung, LG, Sony Ericsson and other players in the mobile phone industry.

Eventually, fans can’t help but compare Google Android with Apple’s OS X. After all, the Apple iPhone is immensely popular, and it also allows developers to develop third party applications for the iPhones, and distribute them through Apple’s website. However, the OS X also has a limitation – it can only work with the iPhone. So if you don’t like the iPhone (rare, but it happens), you are out of luck.

Google Android looks set to become the leading OS. It’s just a matter of time. Already, the Open Handset Alliance is working with mobile phone manufacturers to develop Android mobile phones. So don’t be surprised to find mobile phones from major brands such as Samsung, HTC, Motorola, etc. in the near future.

Free Renewable Energy Report: Save Energy and Money!

There are tons of ways to save energy and money. Think about it. There is magnetic generator, solar power, wind power
and other alternative power sources. How does one choose to save energy and money? Let’s break it down!

Magnetic energy is a good and cheap way to generate energy into power. This power can turns into electricity which can power your home or business. Think about it this way: take two magnets and put them on a table, what will happen? They will either repel or cling to each other. Hence, it will generate power. Now that is a small demonstration. And when they are forced to each other they repel, creating energy!

Solar Power is other good way to save energy and money. Here you can convert heat into usable energy. The sun is the number one cleanest renewable energy in the world. The cool thing is that this fuel is free to use. Using this energy gets rid of the pollution in the air and in our water systems. This form of energy is stored in the solar cells that is converted into energy that we can use,

Wind power is a form of solar power because the wind is generated by heat. Wind is considered our long term energy source because it is renewable energy that we can harness. Wind actually turns turbines to product energy. The cool thing is that we can use this to our advantage to our homes and business saving us energy and money.

All three of these energy sources are all renewable energy that is environment safe. Our fossil fuels are diminishing every day. Once we use them they are gone never to be reused. So why not save energy and money!

A digital photo frame is the “high tech” way of displaying your pictures. Owning a digital camera or a phone with a camera is common nowadays, and with that resource people often take as much pictures as they can afford or care to print. A digital photo frame is a good solution for a cost effective way of displaying these life stills. Its main purpose is to display the pictures stored from various memory cards, either from your camera, phone or on its built in memory. There are diverse types of digital frames available in the market today each differs in features, quality and cost. Below are the 5 important factors to consider before getting one for yourself:

1. How large is large and how small is small? Decide on what size of viewing screen you prefer. It can vary from 1 or 2 inches digital photo keychain sized up to 19 inches wide TV-like frames. The bigger the screen the bigger it will cost you. The average size is at least 7 inches which can display the popular 4X6 sized images.

2. Quality matters. The quality of the image being displayed is a factor to be considered. The main purpose of a digital photo frame is to display images, owners should be satisfied on how the image was displayed. Three quality related factors to be considered are pixel, resolution and display area. The bigger the screen, the higher resolution it needs to get the desired image. Other points to consider for quality are the options for adjusting brightness, color accuracy and viewing angle.

3. Is the price right? Different brands and product specifications give rise to diverse price range for digital photo frames so you need to set a particular range on how much are you willing to spend.

4. Worthy add-ons. Most digital photo frames offers additional features to ease the usage of this gadget. Each have different capacity on the photos that can be displayed, some even have the multiple display capacity via slide show. Others have timers, clock, or can even play music and videos. Some brands change the picture orientation, re-size pictures to fit screen, have zoom capability or even allows image manipulation. The more sophisticated it gets, the more it will cost you.

5. Technically Equipped. Buyers should also take note of the technical aspects of the product. Below are the three guide questions that they need to figure out.

1. What types of image files are supported?
2. Where will be the images stored, from external memory cards or on built in memory? If its from a built in memory, is it expandable?
3. If it supports music and/or videos, what file types are supported?
4. Is there a USB port, wi-Fi or Ethernet connection? What are the other ways to transfer files?
5. What is the power source? Is it battery operated or from AC power.

When choosing a digital photo frame, do not just base your selection on cute graphic design or color. It will cost you money so might as well be smart and choose well and make this a good investment.

Nokia 5800 became the first to use the touch screen for menu operation. Compared to competitors, the size of the screen from Nokia 5800 is not actually very wide. However, the design of glass surface and keypad removal make the screen feel very wide.

Remaining buttons are available at the bottom of the screen which is only 3 buttons: Call button, Menu, and End call.

To turn-off the mobile phone, Nokia provides the key apart; located on the top body, the top of the right.

Touch screen are vulnerable for accidentally touch but do not worry because Nokia has prepared a solution, the key slot on the right body.

Nokia 5800 is not free from problem that often available in any touch screen devices which is hand impressions, specially in the display. But the dark color is usually successful solution for the problem. Maybe because that Nokia choice to set up only 3 colors: silver-black, red and blue.

Typically, touch screen are paired with stylus as the input tool. Nokia 5800 is also same. The stylus can be drawn out from the bottom of the right elbow body, a bit behind. The funny is, if you opened the back casing, this stylus was inherent in the casing.

But there is also interest thing in the Nokia 5800, which is the use of plektrum as input tool. Guitarist certainly must know it because this looks like a regular pick used to pluck the guitar string. Plektrum is equipped with a rope so that it can held to the mobile phone.

New menu and movement sensor
Nokia 5800 using the latest Symbian, the S60 version 5. Not surprisingly, the home screen menu structure is changed. Nearly all the icon on the home screen are shortcuts to open further menu . For example, click on the icon to open the day and you will found clock setting.

Interesting note is that the Contacts Bar. At the bar we can enter 4 contacts which are the most commonly contacted. This menu can show the call or SMS to update the blog contact.

The Media Bar; “ribbon” menu that appears on the right side of the screen when pushing “touch button” on the bottom of the camera. “Ribbon” icon contains 5 shortcuts to the application of entertainment, music library, Online Gallery Share, Video center, and Bookmarks.

One more interesting is the movement sensor. When you change the position of holding the phone from portrait to landscape, the display screen will automatically change to follow. This function is the most enjoyed when you play fun game such as Bounce or car racing Global Race Raging Thunder.

Music and Music
As a music phone, music player is definitely mandatory attendance. The setting provided, among others are Shuffle play, Repeat, Equalizer, Balance, Bass booster and Stereo widening.

In addition to music player, this smartphone also have Radio feature. Radio, as always, require that the headset is connected.

Ease of getting to the songs supported for Podcasting and Music store.

The strength of the sound produced must be calculated too. And the Nokia 5800 is not disappointing. The external speakers that broadcast sounds was clear and high enough.

Camera
3.2 MP camera with Carl Zeiss Tessar lens is behind the body, accompanied with flash. The camera button on the right body. Second VGA camera in the upper-right corner of the screen; used primarily for video call.

You can splatter images with Image Quality for maximum 3 Megapixels that allows you to print the image for size 25×20 cm. While the video can be recorded with Video Quality high quality TV as the maximum progress , which means that all of the recorded video can be playback on TV, PC or handset.

Nokia 5800 has a TV-out function. Thus, you also can “move” the contents from the mobile phone to displaying it on TV screen. There are options which is TV screen size, TV system and Flicker filter.

The cat is out of the bag. Lifestyle gadget enthusiasts are whispering to one another the prospects of Google Android – a new OS that looks to be a strong contender against Apple’s iPhone. For years, Apple has had very little competition. The iPhone appeared to have dominated the mobile community, and to date, it’s still the most popular mobile gadget around.

One of the main reasons why the iPhone is so popular is because Apple allows third party developers to develop applications for the iPhone. The applications are then distributed through Apple’s website. This is a highly strategic business move adopted by Apple, and one that has proven to work very well.

This concept is not new. Other non mobile platforms have adopted a similar concept, and have achieved great success as well. For example, both MySpace and Facebook, 2 immensely popular social community sites, have launched their own developer platform. Like the iPhone, developers can develop third party applications on these platforms.

The trend is rather obvious – user generated application based on an open concept is in. The iPhone’s success didn’t go unnoticed. Google is a strong player looking to compete in this sphere.

Recently, lots of buzz has been generated on Google Android – a brand new mobile OS. The key difference between Google Android and the iPhone OS is that the Android is an open OS. That means the OS can be used on any phone, not just the iPhone. By limiting the OS to the iPhone, Apple had isolated the rest of the phone manufacturers.

For years now, Apple had the upper hand. They can charge whatever price they wish to charge, and fans will still pay because they can’t get a similar system anywhere else. Google Android is looking to change all that. By leveling the playing field, consumers now have more choices. For sure, the prices for mobile gadgets (i.e. smartphones), will plummet once the Android gets adopted by other smartphone manufacturers. Already, major brand names like HTC, Motorola, Samsung, LG and Sony Ericsson are working closely with the Open Handset Alliance (the company now running Google Android) to realize this goal.

Being such a new technology, and with limited developers, enthusiasts will have to bear with a great number of useless mobile apps that will be released in the first few years. This is a common trend because developers are mostly experimenting with the system to see what works and what doesn’t.

As the OS matures, and more and more developers jump on the band wagon to release applications, there will be more and more useful applications. Consumers may then enjoy the full benefits of having an open mobile OS.

T-Mobile’s G1, based on Google Android, is already enjoying a fair amount of success. For sure, a G2 looks set to be launched in the near future. Lenovo is also looking for a piece of the pie with its very own Lenovo oPhone. Mobile enthusiasts have a lot to look forward to.