Rock out on this music cellphone
Most music phones so far have been an amalgam of two disparate technologies, but the Nokia 5300 XpressMusic may be on the verge of getting it right.
Many cellphones have music-playing software, but the 5300 also has buttons on the outside for playing, pausing, rewinding and fast-forwarding tracks. The 2-inch screen slides up to reveal a full keypad, and the phone is compatible with AOL, Yahoo and MSN instant messaging, as well as myFaves, T-Mobile’s unlimited calling plan for friends and family.
The phone includes a 1-gigabyte MicroSD card and holds about 300 songs. You can add your own audio files or buy music using Yahoo Music Unlimited, a wireless music store. It works with three audio formats (MP3, AAC and WMA) and includes a small adapter for 3.5-millimeter headphones. It can also be used with stereo Bluetooth headsets.
The phone, which also has a 1.3-megapixel camera, weighs 3.7 ounces and is about an inch thick. It is available now for $100 with a two-year service contract at T-Mobile stores or online.
This diminutive phone may still make calls, but it is perfectly acceptable to rock out while on hold. – John Biggs, The New York Times
No “glow eye” flash photos of pets
Digital cameras that remove red eye caused by a flash are now common. But what about removing the “glow eye” that appears in flash photography of dogs and cats? Hewlett-Packard’s new R837 digital camera does just that.
Light can reflect differently on animals’ retinas than on human retinas, creating an eerie glow. Software in the camera detects the glow and replaces it with a remarkably lifelike black dot.
Hewlett-Packard also has added software that removes blemishes and smooths wrinkles in photographs of humans.
The 7.2-megapixel camera, with a 3X optical zoom lens and a 3-inch image display, will go on sale next month for $230.
The camera finds the eyes’ focal points and adds a tiny white dot, indicating the direction the pet is looking. But if a picture is shot in the dark and the glow is extreme, the retouching does not work well. The pet looks like a bug-eyed marmoset. – Damon Darlin, The New York Times
