Google Nexus S & Android 2.3 has been officially announced by Google!

Google Nexus S

Google Nexus S

Nexus S is the next generation of Nexus devices, co-developed by Google and Samsung. The latest Android platform (Gingerbread), paired with a 1 GHz Hummingbird processor and 16GB of memory, makes Nexus S one of the fastest phones on the market. It comes pre-installed with the best of Google apps and enabled with new and popular features like true multi-tasking, Wi-Fi hotspot, Internet Callling, NFC support, and full web browsing.

Specifications:

• Connectivity
  • Quad-band GSM: 850, 900, 1800, 1900
  • Tri-band HSPA: 900, 2100, 1700
  • HSPA type: HSDPA (7.2Mbps) HSUPA (5.76Mbps)
  • Wi-Fi 802.11 n/b/g
  • Bluetooth 2.1+EDR
  • Near Field Communication (NFC)
  • Assisted GPS (A-GPS)
  • microUSB 2.0
• Processor and memory
  • 1GHz Cortex A8 (Hummingbird) processor
  • 512MB RAM
  • 16GB iNAND flash memory
• Display
  • 4.0″ WVGA (480×800)
  • Contour Display with curved glass screen
  • Super AMOLED
  • 235 ppi
  • Capacitive touch sensor
  • Anti-fingerprint display coating
• Cameras and multimedia
  • Back-facing: 5 megapixels (2560×1920)
  • 720 x 480 video resolution
  • H.264, H.263 MPEG4 video recording
  • Auto focus
  • Flash
  • Front-facing: VGA (640×480)
  • 3.5mm, 4-conductor headset jack (stereo audio plus microphone)
  • Earpiece and microphone
  • Software noise-cancellation
• Hardware
  • Haptic feedback vibration
  • Three-axis gyroscope
  • Accelerometer
  • Digital compass
  • Proximity sensor
  • Light sensor
• Battery
  • Talk time up to 6.7 hours on 3G (14 hours on 2G)
  • Standby time up to 17.8 days on 3G (29.7 days on 2G)
  • 1500 mAH Lithum Ion
• Size and weight
  • 63mm x 123.9mm x 10.88mm
  • 129g

Official Page: Google Nexus
Official Page: Google Nexus S

Android 2.3

Changes:

• UI refinements for simplicity and speed
• Faster, more intuitive text input
• One-touch word selection and copy/paste
• Improved power management
• Control over applications
• New ways of communicating, organizing (Internet calling, Near-field communications, Downloads management, Camera)

Platform Highlights: Android 2.3
SDK: Android 2.3 Platform

Press Release: Samsung And Google To Deliver Nexus S The First Mobile Phone In The World Powered By Android 2.3
Official Blog Post: Introducing Nexus S with Gingerbread

The earliest Christmas party goes to Nokia! Attended Nokia’s Media Christmas Party yesterday at Serenity (VivoCity). There are 3 early bird special gifts which is the Nokia 8800 Arte!

I won a Nokia E72 (White Edition) during the lucky draw as most of the journalists left before the lucky draw started and there are like about 15 of us left with 10 lucky draw prizes. The Nokia E72 (White Edition) has much more accessories (like car mount, bluetooth earpiece) than the normal Nokia E72.

Most bloggers won a phone, some got home with two phones but Hisham & Shuyun got home with three phones (including the early bird gift). Woot!

Box Front

White Accessories

Black Accessories

Nokia E72 (White Edition) Front View

Nokia E72 (White Edition) Back View

Moonchild: Animated Short Film, a Singapore production, by Stick and Balloon requires some donation to finish their final leg of production.

Synopsis

A shy fiddler named Niki meets a lovely moon-spirit and her strange musical band. Amazed and attracted, he sums up the courage and attempts to impress her. But lo’ the nervousness, a note shrieks into the air and pierces the night. Niki despairs as the moon-spirit leaves, disappointed. But as she walks away, a violin hum pulls at her heart and she decides to take a hopeful chance.

An age-old story of music, romance and epic transformation, Stick and Balloon presents a new twist with the marriage of stop-motion and traditional paper animation techniques.

The film is directed, animated and designed by Sara Chong and Chen Yanyun, a pair as complementary as a little red balloon and a long hardy stick.

With the help of “Mary & Max” VFX Supervisor Michael Allen, fiddler Marjolaine Parot, composer Jachin Pousson and the beautiful tunes of klezmer and fiddle music by Alicia Svigal, Trad’ouir, Danilo and Svetozar Milosavljevic, MoonChild weaves together a spirit of sound, sights and heart, which we hope you’ll enjoy.

You can pledge them donations via Kickstarter.

Sanyo Eneloop Stick Booster KBC-D1BS was announced in Japan back in August 2010 but unfortunately it is not available in Singapore. My mom’s business friend came to visit us on a business trip and I asked him to help me get the Eneloop Stick Booster from Japan. It cost 2980 Yen which is about SGD$46.30. I like it because of the design.

It is capable of outputting 5.0V/500mA through its output port but unfortunately, you can’t charge your Eneloop batteries in it as there is no input/charging port. It has a rating capacity of 1,900mAH and hence it should be able to full charge your iPhone at least 1 time. For more detail specifications, check out this pdf file.

Packaging Front View

Packaging Back View

Packaging Contents

Eneloop Stick Booster

Eneloop Stick Booster

Eneloop Batteries (HR-3UTG) Given

Bought the Huawei MiFi E585 for SGD$185 from Amos of Hardware Zone Forums. It is a mobile router that makes use of your SIM card to connect to the Internet and the router itself supports 5 devices simultaneously.

It is similar to any 3G Modems but instead of only allowing one device (normally only computer) to use it via USB port, the MiFi allows up to 5 devices as long as the device have WiFi support which most if not all of the smartphones these days do. The MiFi is essentially a mobile router and hence it is capable of basic router functions such as DMZ, DHCP, SSID configuration, etc. You can configure those options using the router’s web-based interface (192.168.1.1) and the interface is mobile friendly as well. The E585 also comes with a MicroSD slot that you can use it as a shared storage for all the connected devices.

Of course there are cons to the E585 which is the the reliance on battery, the Huawei E180 3G Modem does not need a battery to operate because it draws power directly from your computer’s USB port. As it is meant to be portable and you can use it with other devices (not just a computer), the MiFi has a removable battery that supports up to 7 hours of usage. But of course you if you are using it with your computer, you can charge it using your computer’s USB port and use it at the same time.

Amos was one of the better sellers that I came across. As the product was delayed by a few days because of supplier issues, he keep you up to date with the situation by SMSing you. Once you are there to collect the product, he will verify your phone number with your name to ensure that you are who you are (I am not the only one ordering it). He will unseal the box in front of you, go through step by step on how to setup the E585 as well as how to RMA it incase there are problems with it. My first impression of him is he is very detailed and organized.

Box Front

Box Contents #1

Box Contents #2

E585 Front View

E585 Back View

E585 UI

E585 Web Dashboard