I rarely use a travel journal, but I have used plenty of notebook-style software over various platforms. When it comes to aesthetics and design, Trip Journal for Android is easily one of the most gorgeous I've seen, managing to strike a perfect balance between presentation and function. The winner of the Travel category in the last Android Developer Challenge, it's a complete solution for recording, tracking and sharing all about your adventures on the road, accomplishing it all very elegantly.

Instead of dumping the thousand or so pictures you took from your last vacation onto a hard drive, the app lets you document the entire experience in a format that's a real eye candy. Interface resembles a leather travel diary, with worn, browning pages where you can paste pictures and add various notes to. It runs very smoothly as well, making it a joy to use when you're on the road.

Obviously, you can imagine just how detailed of a travel journal you can come up with using a software like this. With Trip Journal, you can track your GPS route, add waypoints, get geotagging data and even view your progress on Google Maps. You can add pictures and notes for each place you visit, as well as get statistics on various information, such as the distance you've traveled, speed and altitude. Plus, you can export details of your trips into Google Earth format, as well as share them on Facebook and Picasa.

More than just a travel app, this is one of the best journaling tools I've seen and is currently my favorite on a mobile platform. They have a lite version available if you want to try it, but the full application is priced affordably enough at $2.99.

[iqApps]

It is finally official, or at least, somewhat official.  Verizon Wireless has given a somewhat official date, or timeline, of their first 4G LTE mobile phone.  It appears that Verizon will be releasing their first LTE 4G phone around the middle of next year.

Verizon first expected to have their handset on the market in the last few months of 2011 or the first few months of 2012, but they’ve been able to bring that time scale down quite a bit.  Some regions will be able to latch onto these new 4G phones from Verizon at the end of this year.

Competitor and rival, Sprint Nextel Corporation has successfully launched data cards already with 4G capabilities and are in preparation of launching their first 4G cell phone summer of 2010.

Verizon is expecting to launch a mobile phone that uses Long Term Evolution technology, which is wireless high-speed technology, for their 4G phones.  They are hoping to use this integration of LTE within about six months after the launch of the 4G wireless service.  The phones that use the Long Term Evolution technology will more than likely come with dual-chip sets instead of single chip sets as the dual-chips are needed for the Verizon network and the 4G LTE phones to be compatible with each others in its fullest form.

You can expect to see broadband data cards in 4G before anything else and you can also expect that complete full coverage won’t be likely in the immediate future of the 4G mobile phone and plan launch, says Verizon.  Furthermore, Anthony Melone, a chief technology officer of Verizon, thinks that they will need to eliminate the unlimited data packages in order to fully integrate the Long Term Evolution technology and 4G handsets and plans.  Frankly, it’s not going to be cheap for this technology and 4G, and unlimited data plans simply take away a lot of their revenue, which could ultimately be used towards this new 4G service.

If Verizon decides to eliminate their unlimited phone and data plans, will they be able to survive in this heavy competitive market between cell phone carriers? In my personal opinion, if they do this and the competitors, such as Sprint and AT&T decide to allow their unlimited plans to stay intact, then there may just be a problem for Verizon Wireless.  On the other hand, who will be on top if all mobile carriers remove their unlimited plans?

The new Acer beTouch smart phone is a slim, sleek and slim-line device that is targeting those users looking for a shiny smartphone device that combines user-friendliness along with decent connectivity to mobile Internet and social networking. In fact, Acer's stated aim for the beTouch E400 is to 'open our users' world to the endless possibilities of real mobile Internet', and the device aims to please as it packs both Wi-Fi and 3G connectivity allowing for rapid wireless online access and web browsing for fast and easy updating of information and user status on a range of social networking sites.

As for its speed, it certainly helps that the operating system fueling the E400 is Google's latest OS the Android 2.1 Eclair. This is usefully coupled with the Qualcomm 7227 processor running at 600 mega hertz allowing for instant access to web pages with fast loading and also rapid access to media streaming as well as a wide range of web-based applications. The power of the device's processing gives it an excellent battery life as it enhances energy efficiency with its fast running and easy access to information.

The image conscious individual should be more than satisfied with the dimensions of the E400 as well with its slender girth of just 12 millimeters. There is also a full-size 3.2 inch HD HGVA resistive touch screen, displaying color brightly and vividly.

The integral camera isn't of the highest specs at 3.2 megapixels, but it is decent enough and does pack some useful additional features such as integral flash, a digital zoom, white balance and geotagging. This gives you the option of immediately tagging your images with information such as the exact location of where they were snapped, which is great when you link to your social sites and post your pics to keep your friends and family updated. The camera will also record video and you have the ability to instantly post your recordings onto YouTube thanks to the E400's pre-installed YouTube app by touching its icon.

The E400 is also well suited to the business user, coming pre-installed with Native Microsoft Exchange Server Support giving the user immediate navigation to work and business e-mails from any location. The device also comes with the excellent Documents to Go function, another excellent feature for mobile business customers as it allows the easy creating and editing of a range of different file formats including Excel, Word and PowerPoint. In addition, there is a built-in PDF Reader on the E400, making it simple to read any PDF file from wherever the user happens to be.

Other useful functions of the E400 include the GPS-enabled Google Maps, which will help you find your way around cities and/or towns and includes both Street View and Latitude. The excellent media player will play a full range of file formats and there is a built-in 3-millimeter audio input jack allowing you to plug in your choice of headphones. There is even the very useful Acer Synch feature, allowing the user to wirelessly synchronize with their desktop or notebook so they can easily maintain and keep files and contacts up to date, which is great for when you are ultra-busy and need to save time. The E400 goes on sale in April, though prices have yet to be announced.

At the time it came out, the HTC Hero was, by far, the best Android phone on the block. With the HTC Legend, the manufacturer took everything good about that handset and made it even better.

Physically, it looks a lot like the Hero, down to the trademark chin. The body is cut from a single piece of aluminum (taking a bite out of Apple's aesthetic), making it both more attractive and durable at the same time. Replacing the trackball with a metal-trimmed trackpad also raises the style points up a notch, apart from working just as effectively.

Display is a gorgeous 3.2-inch AMOLED screen, with 320x480 resolution. Colors literally pop out, adding a "wow" factor that you seldom get with the mass of Android phones in the market. At 3mm thinner than the Hero, it's easily one of HTC's more pocketable devices.

As a phone, the HTC Legend manages slightly above average call quality. Voices sound natural with plenty of volume to go, although we did encounter a slight amount of distortion. Speakerphone worked just as well, perhaps lacking just a tad more volume to my liking. Battery life is quite disappointing, though, likely requiring a recharge every day and a half for most common uses.

While the Hero suffered from some form of sluggishness (which they later rectified via firmware), the Legend runs with satisfying speed out of the box. Navigation is smooth, transitions are fast and apps launch quick, putting all 600Mhz of that processor to good use. Web browsing (both over WiFi and HSDPA) is exceptional, with pages rendering almost twice as fast, compared to many Android phones we've seen. Plus, the browser's got multi-touch and some amount of Flash support.

It delivers all the usual Android 2.1 favors, from the nominal music player to the mass of Google apps to extensive messaging capabilities. HTC primps it up with their fancy Sense UI, which adds a lot of value to the device, including features such as being able to add mail to your Outlook folders, an improved mail interface, a very good onscreen keyboard and the MotoBlur-like Friend Stream. The latter, by the way, doesn't work as well as expected. Expect software updates on that end. Camera module is a 5.0 megapixel unit that manages to snap average-looking shots.

Sure, the Motorola Droid and the Nexus One have probably gotten the most press out of today's Android phones. In terms of overall value, though, I'm tempted to side with the HTC Legend, with its great looks, sleek operation and robust feature set.  Price should vary from retailer to retailer, but expect it between $550 to $600 unlocked.



With the help of lip reading cell phones, you may not have to cup your mouth and talk in hushed whispers when you don't want to let anyone else hear what you're saying while on the phone.  Yes, a new technology from German researchers at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology claims to allow cellphones to read your lips and translate it as sound to the person on the other side.

Using the system, all you have to do is move your mouth like you're talking without actually letting any sound out.  A sensor hooked up to the phone will pick up the lip motions and convert it into the equivalent words.  Based on electromyography, the recognition is done by measuring electrical potentials generated by muscle activity on the face, rather than actual lip reading.   What's the catch?  In order to measure electrical impulses from your face, the system requires attaching nine sensors to it.  Yikes.

The signals gathered by the sensors are then fed to a software that records and amplifies each, then passes them to a laptop via a wireless link.  Once on the computer, the group's software decodes the data and converts them into words that a virtual voice can then read to the person on the other end of the line.

Yep, it's cumbersome and the group admits it might not exactly be a mass-market piece of technology.  However, there could be some definite value to it.  According to the KIT team, it can be used to transmit sensitive information (such as PINs and passcodes) over the phone, hold a lengthy conversation while inside a quiet theater, allow people who have lost their voice to communicate verbally over wireless and even translate from one language to another.

Of course, you can always just text what you want to say (unless you're talking to a foreign language speaker), but I digress.  The research was shown off this week at the ongoing Hanover CeBIT trade show.

[Karlsruhe Institute of Technology]

Sometimes, a unique design may be all you need to sell a new handset.  That could be what they're banking on with the Motorola Backflip, a smartphone with various physical innovations that you might find enticing (or retarded, whichever the case may be).

Physically, the unique flip design definitely makes it a noteworthy device.  While it looks like the Motorola Cliq at first glance, look closer and you'll see the huge differences.  When closed, the keyboard sits in the back of the phone, such that it flips open to the bottom of the horizontal 3.1-inch display.  Sure, it's a novel way to implement a clamshell for a touchscreen device, but the fact that your keys are exposed 100% of the time definitely doesn't inspire confidence.  They also added trackpads behind the display, which are supposed to allow you to navigate the UI without your hands getting in the way.  It works well, although, it's hard to see a real need for it.

As a phone, the Backflip manages average call quality.  It was good on our end, although callers sometimes reported issues on theirs.  We're not sure if it was their phone or ours causing it, however.  The speakerphone was excellent, definitely better than average.  Battery is rated at 6 hours, which should be good for at least two days of normal use.

Positioned as more of an entry-level smartphone, it's equipped with a rather underpowered 528MHz Qualcomm processor.  It only runs Android 1.5 too and performance wasn't the best - there were definite lags even with simpler tasks, such as opening your inbox and scrolling through lists.  As such, it might be a good idea to forget ever upgrading the OS here to a newer version.

It comes with Motoblur and you can read our reviews of other similarly-equipped Motorola phones (Cliq, Devour) to get the skinny on that.  Features are around what you'd expect.  You get the usual Android fare (Google's software suite and read-only QuickOffice), Webkit-based HTML browser (very fast page loads over 3G, by the way), aGPS, WiFi and Bluetooth.

While it continues to use Android's lackluster music player, the Backflip comes with excellent sound quality.  The onboard speakers manage gorgeous sounds, definitely a notch above what you normally get from a phone.  Camera appeared great at 5 megapixels of resolution, but the quality of shots left plenty to be desired.

Overall, the Motorola Backflip is a decent choice for an entry-level Android smartphone.  There are definite performance issues, but it covers the range of features well and it's an excellent music phone.  Price sounds good too - $99 with a two-year contract from AT&T (not sure how much for unlocked versions elsewhere).

Fashion phones usually come with a premium.  Not the "catwalk-ready" Samsung S7070 Diva, a female-friendly, style-centric touchscreen device that has just been announced for the UK market.

While it fancies itself a "fashion mobile," the phone's general design actually doesn't veer far from Samsung's normal touch candybar aesthetic.  In fact, the shape and layout are pretty much identifiable with the company's roster, with only the pearl white front panel, jewel-like center button and the 3D quilted back setting it apart.

Details of the Samsung Diva include a 2.8-inch resistive touchscreen (with 320 x 240 resolution), a 3.2 megapixel camera (with a couple of arty effects, such as beauty shot and lomo), stereo Bluetooth, built-in DNSe, quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE connectivity (no 3G or WiFi) and microSD card expansion up to 8GB.  It runs the standard TouchWiz UI, features social networking integration (Facebook, Twitter and MySpace) and comes with an HTML browser.

Carphone Warehouse will be distributing the handset in the UK and are bundling a limited amount of gift bags for early customers.   Each bonus bundle will come with various cosmetic products from Benefit, including portable concealer kits and cream-to-powder finish foundations.

The Samsung S7070 Diva will be available for free from both T-Mobile and Orange, provided you agree to a two-year service contract.  You can also get it for only £130 with no contract.

[Carphone Warehouse]

Nokia has announced a new phone for T-Mobile USA, the first carrier-supported handset from the manufacturer to come with free voice-guided navigation (via Ovi Maps 3.0) in the States.  Called the Nokia 5230 Nuron, the device will be a full-fledged touchscreen smartphone running Symbian S60.

With the GPS feature as its biggest selling point, the handset will come preloaded with maps of the US, Canada and Mexico, along with easy download access to 180 other maps via the Ovi service and the Lonely Planet guides.  It will also come preinstalled with the Ovi Store app, which gives users access to Nokia's application and content storefront.

The Nokia 5230 Nuron doesn't veer away from its European version, featuring a 3.2-inch touchscreen (with 360 x 640 resolution), a 3.2 megapixel camera, a 3.5mm audio jack, stereo Bluetooth and microSD card expansion.   It boasts fast HTML browsing via 3G and full messaging support (including IM and corporate mail), apart from the usual niceties offered by Symbian S60.

No official pricing has been given, with availability vaguely stated for "the coming weeks."  According to rumors, though, T-Mobile might be offering the Nuron for as low as $69.99 on contract, which is a huge value, especially with free GPS software and a full smartphone OS in tow.

[Nokia Press Release]

Aspiring guitar players can now get a new free Gibson app on their iPhone.  No, it won't turn your handset into a Les Paul as other apps are inclined to do.  Instead, it just bundles a number of free tools that six-string instrumentalists of all levels may find of value.

It comes with five different sections - tuner, metronome, chords, lessons and Gibson.com.  The tuner is a chromatic software that can track whatever note you're currently playing (which it receives via your iPhone's mic) and indicates whether you're flat, sharp or in tune.  It starts in "All Notes" mode, but gives options to allow for alternate tunings.  Very useful, especially if you've got a bad ear for sound.

The metronome is just a regular metronome app, which allows you to choose a specific BPM rate.   Tapping the screen three times will adjust the tempo according to your speed.   The chord area, on the other hand, gives you access to 30 chord charts, a great resource if you need help figuring out which finger goes where on the fretboard.

Need guitar lessons?  The app comes with very useful ones, drawn off the award-winning Learn and Master series from Legacy Learning Systems.  It comes with a variety of instructions for new licks, riffs and sequences - a definite value for new and struggling players.  Gibson also promises plenty of updates for this section, with more video lessons slated to come.  Finally, Gibson.com is the app's news area, where they list Gibson-related products and special events.

Overall, the free Gibson app is a definite download if you're at all planning to learn the guitar.  Even intermediate and slightly more advanced players might find it of value, too.

[Gibson App]

These aren't likely official announcements, but Gigabyte has a pair of new GSmart handsets making the rounds in Ukraine news outlets.  The two smartphones, which run Android OS and Windows Mobile respectively, are the Gigabyte GSmart G1305 Codfish and the Gigabyte GSmart S1205 Cougar.

The Codfish comes with Android 1.6 at the helm and measures 116 x 56.8 x 12.4 mm.  Handset details include a 3.2-inch touchscreen display with HVGA resolution, a 600MHz Qualcomm MSM7227 processor, 256MB of RAM, quad band GSM/tri-band HSDPA, WiFi and aGPS.  As with all phones running the open source OS, it will come with Google's suite of apps pre-installed.  On paper, this sounds like it can stand up to most Android devices currently out.

The lower-end Cougar, on the other, will get Windows Mobile 6.5, paired with a 416MHz processor and 128MB of RAM.  Not much details are known, although features include dual SIM card support, a 3.2-inch touchscreen display, quad-band GSM connectivity, WiFi and aGPS.

From the pictures, both the Gigabyte GSmart G1305 Codfish and the Gigabyte GSmart S1205 Cougar don't look half bad, especially considering that the company will likely price these near the bottom of the smartphone ranges.  No confirmed release dates nor pricing details, though.

[via Unwired View]