Some reasons for which to use Whatsapp as your default messaging client.

I've been using Whatsapp messaging client on my phone intensively for about half a year now, and I've been really satisfied with it. Or at least, it's been working perfectly for me until now (Galaxy Nexus on Jelly Bean now), even though there are some who report serious issues with it. For those who did not use it until now, the main idea is that it is a lightweight messaging client which works over the internet (WiFi or mobile network).

I really recommend it because it is very popular (so there should be a lot of users to speak to), uses a very small amount of battery, it is very fast, and uses a ridiculously reduced amount of data. I've sent about 3700 messages since I installed Jelly Bean (very recently) and it used only 1.5 MB, which is really negligible, considering that I have a 750MB data plan and I am a lot of time in areas where WiFi is available free of charge.

But here is the most important feature: based on the mobile phone number, it detects whether the contacts from your address book have Whatsapp installed or not, and it will display those who have it. For this purpose, you'll have to give your phone number when you first run the application. And as you had probably figured out already, you are going to be in tho places, with two different accounts, in the case that you have two phones and you want it installed on both of them. For this reason (the necessity of having a mobile phone number), Whatsapp can't run and was not designed to be used on computers. So no, there's no PC/Mac version, and probably, there will never be one.

Whatsapp is available for the following platforms (click the links for download):

• Android (free for the first year);
• iOS ($0.99);
• BlackBerry
• Nokia phones (Nokia Series 40, Symbian and Windows Phone);

Microsoft tries desperately to attract the attention of Windows Phone 7, organizes weird parade.

Microsoft organized something like a parade with the occasion of launching the RTM version of Windows Phone 7, which isn't the version that is going to be the present on the devices that will be shipped with Windows Phone 7 on board (what I'm trying to say is that the RTM version, or Release to Manufacturing, isn't the final product, it's the version which has been sent to manufacturers in order to allow them to prepare themselves and their devices for the final launch of Windows Phone 7).

Returning to the parade, what Microsoft did was to dress its employees in all kind of zombies, clowns and women in pink, celebrating, along with the launch of Windows Phone 7 RTM version, the death of iPhone of BlackBerry. They actually carried on the streets a dead giant iPhone and BlackBerry, trying to show everybody that the Windows Phone 7 is just near the corner.

One thing is clear, there's a total desperation in what Microsoft did, and what they probably wanted to say is "Death to iPhone and BlackBerry, the Windows Phone 7 domination starts". Windows Phone 7 looks good from what I've seen on YouTube (the interface is completely changed and the OS has been highly optimized). However, I doubt they have any chance on a highly competitive market, such as the US, where the market is shared by Android (with HTC, Samsung, Motorola, etc), iPhone and BlackBerry.

Anyway, why they didn't say anything about Google's Android?

More on Gizmodo and Engadget.

iPhone 4G/HD rumors - the internet blows up.

It seems that the 4th generation of iPhone has been revealed. A device has been found in a pub in the U.S., and Gizmodo (who currently has the device) claims that it's the new iPhone 4G/HD which everybody was waiting for.

This seems to be the next iPhone because of more reasons. This device seems to be having the next generation of iPhone OS 4.0 on it, and has been remotely modified by Apple so it can't currently boot up (and can't be restored). Also, Gizmodo opened it, and on the chips it's written "APPLE". But this isn't all. Apple lost a device, and it wants it back, so many experts are 99% sure that this is what Apple has lost.

However, if this is the next iPhone, it doesn't seem for me that its something extraordinary, at least, related to its design. Apple 3GS stays perfectly in the hand, while this device, with its new design, won't.

If this is the new iPhone, here are what is new:

• improved camera (probably 5 MP) featuring a LED flash
• front-camera for voice conversations
• standard SIM has been replaced with Micro-SIM
• split buttons for volume
• smaller screen than the previous one, but most probably with higher resolution
• probably noise-cancellation microphone (next to headphone jack)
• also, it is expected to have a similar hardware platform as the iPad (Apple A4 chip with 1GHz processor and 256 or 512 RAM)

Source: Gizmodo.

Nexus One, peeling off problems?

I've got my Nexus One two weeks ago in the U.S. and I noticed yesterday evening that at the bottom at the phone, the paint has some marks. Exactly like those which appear on devices after using them for a long time, except that my Nexus is only two weeks old.

It's a great phone, the hardware is very powerful, the software is excellent, and it looks great. So I hope that this problem is not caused by a defective painted part of the phone. I was keeping it always (when I wasn't using it, of course) inside that sleeve case that got inside the pack.

There are some threads on Google forum on which several users complained about the same problem, and I am sure that some of them (I don't know if all them) were keeping their Nexus One inside the sleeve case they received in the pack.

So, the problem may be (and I hope that is) that sleeve case. I'm now not using it anymore, and I hope that my Nexus won't peel off anymore. Even if I bought it in the U.S., I live in the eastern part of the Europe so if the peeling continues I will call HTC for support.

Do you have any problems like this? Please let me know if you do by leaving a comment!

Below is a photo, showing the marks I have on my phone (I have marks on the other side also, but they are not so observable):

Will Windows Mobile 7 come in September, with LG?

After the announcement of Windows Mobile 7 at MWC (Mobile World Congress), rumors about the first phone which is going to have Microsoft's new mobile OS are heading towards both LG and HTC. The phone from LG will be most probably called "Apollo", and it seems that HTC is going to name their phone "Obsession". Nothing is unusual with the expected performances of these phones, except that LG Apollo might have a new Qualcomm processor, which will run at 1.3 GHz.

About the OS, Microsoft tries to attract people with the interface from "Zune", but I think that Windows Mobile 7 is going to be quite similar to Windows Mobile 6. Considering this, even if Microsoft tried to do a great impression at MWC, the new OS will still be pretty buggy, compatible with a low number of applications, and stylus-designed. The only new thing that is probably good related to Windows Mobile 7 is flash support, which Adobe announced that is working on.

LG Apollo is expected to come in September, while HTC Obsession is expected in October. I'm really interested what are they going to be capable of, but they will surely NEVER beat Android with their Windows Mobile 7.

Microsoft-branded phone, ready to come now?

Windows Mobile 7 has just been announced at MWC (Mobile World Congress) and the rumors about a Microsoft-branded phone are the most discussed things these days. It is expected to come through Microsoft's "Pink Project", which is probably just a code name, for the mentioned purpose, says mobileburn.com. But Microsoft has refused to comment on this officially, yet.

The phone is expected to be made together with Asus (Asustek, on their full name), and to be like an iPhone killer or Android annihilator (or, more precisely, Nexus One annihilator). But I don't believe that Microsoft can represent a real problem for Apple or Google, considering that Windows Mobile 7 is not something....incredible. To be honest, I'm totally disappointed of Microsoft, considering both their mobile OS and their desktop OS (Windows 7). We'll see what follows...

What OS are you using on your phone?

With so many mobile OS's available, I'm really interested to see what are my readers using on their phones. So, please vote! :)

p.s: I'm using iPhone OS.

Nexus One. Do you like it or not ? :)

Nexus One has been recently launched, being already very popular. The phone is very performant, having inside a "monster" Qualcomm QSD 8250 Snapdragon ARM processor which runs at 1 GHz, assisted by 510 MB of RAM, which makes the device one of the most powerful available on market. It has 512 MB storage memory, and a 4GB microSD card included, with the possibility to insert storage cards up to 32 GB.

The screen (capacitive one, of course) has 3,7 inches, and a resolution of 480 x 800 pixels, with 100,000:1 contrast ratio and 1 ms response rate. It has a battery which a capacity of 1400 mAh, which offers up to 290 hours on standby, 10 hours while talking, and 5 hours while browsing. The camera has 5.0 megapixels, with recording possibility, geotagging, auto focus, and flash LED.

What I don't like about it is the plastic it is made of, which gives a sensation of cheap phone. Users complained, so far, about problems with connection through 3G networks. The phone runs on 2.1 version of Android, and it is available without any contract (network free) for 529 dollars.

What do you think about the Nexus One? Do you like it or not? Do you have plans about buying one, or you have already got one?

Skyfire. The best browser for Windows Mobile.

I ever wanted to have the ability to run different content/scripts on my Windows Mobile based HP iPAQ 111 PDA, including Flash Player. For YouTube I got a little program, but there are many other good sites for music/videos that are using Adobe's Flash Player. But I never got Flash working natively on any browser for Windows Mobile. As Internet Explorer can't display almost anything as it should, I tried browsing the internet with Opera, but due to reduced RAM memory of the PDA (64 MB), it remained frequently without memory and crashed. And there was still no Flash Player...


But recently, I discovered SkyFire. It has, so far, any scripts that I needed. My blogs are both displayed perfectly, and so any other site. Flash Player works without any problems, on all the sites I navigated through until now. If you are viewing a page exactly like in a computer/laptop browser, it's quality will be reduced in order to keep the device running fine. While zooming in, page quality will increase, because the power needed to display the page decreases as the area that needs to be displayed is getting smaller. The only problem I found is that the browser hits for desktop version on pages, and if you try to view a mobile version of a site it will generally turn you to its desktop version.


So, if you're satisfied with Opera, you'll love SkyFire. Available for download from the official site here (Symbian version also available): http://get.skyfire.com/