A little off-topic: Slideshow of my cell phone camera effects experiments at Amelie's French Bakery, NoDa, Charlotte, NC.

I dropped my nephew off at the airport before the crack of dawn this morning, and took the opportunity to visit Amelie's French Bakery in the NoDa neighborhood of Charlotte (NC). The croissant was awesome and the coffee hit the spot. It occurred to me that I'd never checked out the camera effects features on my cellphone.

Below is a slideshow of my experiments - there are many pictures of the same "scene", with different effects. (The flash was on for some of the pictures, and off for others.)

HTC Incredible: My Mother's Day Present

I'm chained to Verizon as my cell phone carrier due to my family. That's why I don't have an iPhone. When I was asked what I wanted for Mother's day, I squinted at the screen of my HTC Eris and said I wanted something with a bigger screen.

I don't need reading glasses to read the newspaper, books, or magazines...yet, but I found that I was grabbing my husband's glasses to read my Eris.  Who wants to keep up with reading glasses just to deal with a cell phone?   I don't.

Here is a video from CNET that gives a nice overview of the Incredible's features:



I am happy to say that I love this phone.   I don't need reading glasses to use it.  The only things I couldn't read all of the fine print that was displayed during the initial set-up.  In my excitement to get things set up, I think I might have opted in for more than I wanted!

For some reason, I now have every contact I've ever made, all on this phone,  with phone numbers of people that I never have called,  courtesy of Facebook, I assume.  I'll have to spend some time organizing this mess later on. I'll also have to hunt for my husband's reading glasses after work today to read the fine print and make the correct privacy settings!

Yelp has an Augmented Reality iPhone App for the iPhone 3Gs, "The Monocle"!

(Cross posted from tshwi)

Thanks to Dan Saffer for the link from the Read Write Web!

Here is my partial "reblog":

"Social review service Yelp has snuck the first Augmented Reality (AR) iPhone app specifically for the US into the iTunes App Store. The undisclosed new feature allows iPhone 3Gs owners to shake their phones three times to turn on a view called "the Monocle." This view uses the phone's GPS and compass to display markers for restaurants, bars and other nearby businesses on top of the camera's view...Blogger Robert Scoble discovered the hidden feature and posted about it on FriendFeed today. "

Video (in French, but easy to understand by the demonstration)


"Both GPS and a compass are used to determine location and direction being pointed at."

Screen Shots:




I want an iPhone. Verizon, can you hear me now?!

Zune HD Preview via Gizmodo

Zune HD Video Hands On from Gizmodo on Vimeo.

I need to give this some thought....like the iPhone, the Zune has an accelerometer.

Phenom's All-in One Touch-Screen Watch Phone: A perfect observational research tool !?

Note: Other pictures from the Phenom site gave a message, "Sorry, Our Photos are Copyrighted", so this is the only photo I was able to obtain. You can see more photos on Phenom's online photo-gallery.

I might have found the ultimate HCI - ubicomp research tool! The Phenom Watch-Phone. It might also come in handy when I'm conducting observations "across settings" in my job as a school psychologist. (Maybe Phenom will give me one for free to test out for a while...I'd be happy to develop some apps for it if it works out for me.)




I was delighted with some of the user-friendly marketing features on the Phenom website. I didn't have to dig and get lost and dig some more to find what I needed. The above videoclip is featured on the home page of the site, which gives gives a good info-tease about the advantages of the watch. The FAQ section is fairly extensive and easy to navigate.

When you explore to the "Gadget Freaks" page, you are provided with an audio presentation, with musical accompaniment, as you view pictures and prices. (You can turn the web page audio if you don't want to listen to the blurb, or turn it on and listen to it again, if you missed something.)

When you click on the picture of the "SpecialOPS Black" version of the watchphone, you are taken to another page where you can inspect different features more closely as you move your mouse around the photo. (Since I have an HP TouchSmart PC, I just moved my finger around the photo- a great effect!)

Here is the description of the SpecialOps phone, taken from the Phenom website:

"The ultimate watch phone for those who like to live on the edge. The SpecialOps is a fully functional GSM cell phone that has a touch screen and an external key pad. The SpecialOps has an MP3&MP4, built-in microphone and speakers, digital and video camera, MicroSD slot and built-in Bluetooth. You can even take notes with your convenient and compact stylus or record your thoughts on the run. See full list of features for more details."

More info from the Phenom website:

Features
-External keypad
-LCD: 1.3 inch TFT260k Pixels
-Touch Screen
-Language: English
-Ring tone: 64 Polyphonic, Supported Formats: Mp3, MIDI, Wave
-Music Format: MP4, Full Screen
-Camera: 130 Pixels
-T-Flash Supported
-Built-in Bluetooth
-Picture Format: JPG, GIF

Basic Functions
-Notebook: 250 Groups
-SMS and MMS Messaging
-User-defined on-off switch
-Game: Picture Mosaic
-Other Function: MP3, MP4, Built-in Speakerphone, Group Messaging MMS, Call Barring

Basic Parameters:
-Network: GSM, GPRS, WAP
-Frequencies: 900/1800/1900MHZ
-Call Time: 2 hours (estimated - per battery)
-Standby Time: 120 hours (estimated - per battery)

Accessories Included
-256MG Micro SD Memory Card
-Data Wire
-Battery
-USB Charger
-Stylus

More about Phenom

Mobile Projection from a Cell Phone or PDA!

Microvision and other companies have developed projector that enable cell phones and PDA's to display pictures and videos. With the PicoP, the images work on flat as well as curved surfaces. It looks like it would be a great visual communication and collaboration tool.

The PicoP

If you have had the opportunity to use a mobile projector, please let me know!

Engaget article: Motorola signs on with Microvision's PicoP Laser Projection" (July 25, 2007)