How To Post To Twango - from you Nokia Phone

Following the "Nokia Aquires Twango post", here I try to break the big question - "How To Post to Twango?"

Add these settings to the Services Menu:

• Server: http://api.twango.com/atom/
• Account name: XYZ (or anything)
  
• Username: username (twango)
  
• Password: password (twango)
  

The above settings are simple, and it should work for you too. Please try these and let me know if it worked for you.

iPhone Style iTheme for Symbian S60 Mobiles

iPhone Style iTheme for the Series 60 Mobile Phones released. S60 3d Edition Phones can now look like iPhones, but this will no way make u an iPhone user nor give you the feel. But this is just a cheap imitation. If you love to use it, you are welcome..[huh]











[Via Darla Mack]

M-Envelope Gmail Video - Be Part Of It!!

Here is a chance for all those video buffs out there, you can be a part of the M-Envelope video mail chain started by Google Gmail. The video is one of a kind idea, where the chain video will be shot by gmail users and will be uploaded to the Gmail Site Here. Gmail asks the users to keep the video under 10 seconds, and make the "M" logo visible, this is a easy, no-fee marketing trick. Instead of paying millions to a single "ad agency" this idea might just work. Let us wait for the final version, and see how many ideas just pop out.

I like you people who do not have the time to shoot the video, but have ideas striking your mind, to just write it down here. We can check if one of your such idea is part of the final video or nominations at a later point of time. Just click on the comment link below and write your idea for the "M-Envelope Video"!! Good Luck.

Techblo's Top 5 Under $200 Digital Cameras

This is Our Special Edition for this Holiday Season: Top 5 Under $200 Digital Cameras
[Only Compact and Ultra-Compact Form Factors are suggested here under]

Canon PowerShot A630: Canon leads the Digital Camera arena and this is a steal for under $200 coupled with a underwater waterproof casing this is you perfect Snorkeling Vacation Camera! Canon A630 is the best in category with a 8Mega Pixel resolution complemented by a 4X optical zoom. 80 to 800 ISO range allows you to shoot in bright beach light and in very low light conditions, wonderful 9-point Auto focus allows you to capture a large group of friends in your small camera - with great face clarity! That is enough of cream for a under $200 camera, and this monster give you more, like a Tilt and Twist LCD, Manual and Preset White balance, Lens thread with adapter facility (so you can add a tele zoom lens), stores in the most common SD Memory card and supports MMC as well, runs on typical AA cells(so you never short of them), video out to view your pictures directly on a TV Screen, and hey it is quite heavy enough for a steady shot(315grams) !

Casio Exilim EX-Z70: Under $200 this is a very cute little camera that sits in your pocket without bothering you, providing 7.0MP, 3X zoom, Video Clip capability, and very easy to use menus. This ultra compact digital camera has to be driven by a Lithium Ion rechargeable battery and that sets you back by the limitation of it's charge. Otherwise this is just a wonder and we recommend this for the traveler who likes a light weight camera. [I suggest this for Traveling Elders, Parents, and Grand Pa's - Ideal Çoz it is light and easy to use]

Nikon Coolpix L12: This popular Nikon Coolpix model gives you a 3X Zoom on a 7.1Mega Pixel camera. This camera comes with a great feature called IS (Image Stabilization) which is good for minimizing camera shake. Perfect for a vacation, where you are not a focusing on a perfect shot, but a shot to register the moment! So go ahead enjoy the moment and point-and-shoot leaving the rest to the IS of this camera. Manual white balance, Continuous drive, and a large 2.5" LCD screen makes this edge out in the under $200 category. [A bit advanced model, for the enthusiastic traveler]

Fujifilm FinePix A610: Just announced Jan'07 this is a wonderful compact digital camera, with great user reviews all over the world, very popular and less expensive (under $150) delivering crisp pictures and great prints. The 2.5" large LCD display and the 3X Zoom makes it a great camera with power to shoot video, and the best part is it runs on 2 AA batteries and you are safe on your trip, with AA batteries all around the world.

Panasonic Lumix DMC-LZ7[party-goers camera]: Lumix LZ7's got a good grip, and it fits well in your bag/pouch, small enough to fit your pocket too. Loaded with a mega 7X Zoom and 7.1MP effective pixel rate, this camera comes with ISO settings from 80 to a Mega 3200(HI ISO) to shoot best at low light conditions. If you are the type that parties a lot during holidays, or everyday - this is the best bet under $200 to shoot low light pictures. The 60 sec Min shutter means this is made for low light conditions in mind, and it serves the purpose very well, beating the other competitors for this specific feature. Runs on AA(2) batteries sporting a large 2.5"LCD and an added advantage of Image Stabilization. [I would call this the party-goers digital camera]

Note: I would never suggest a Sony Product for the fact that it makes use of a proprietary "Memory Stick" for storing data. This sets you back tying you to this Memory Stick in all your digital equipments, meaning you have to use Sony Products only or use different memory cards for each of your equipment. I would not suggest this, you better look for the Equipment that sports a common memory card like the "SD Memory" or the "Compact Flash". This saves you hundreds of dollars and saves you in certain situations - you can swap memory cards from your mobile to your camera, or MP3 player or PDA.

How To Choose Your Digital Camera? - Tips and Tricks Using Flickr

Don't have the time to research for a new camera? If you are in a hurry here is some cool suggestions for picking a Digital Camera for your vacation - fast! Read the Author's choice of Top 5 Digitals

Choosing a product for the home or a personal equipment used to be a "Showroom Specific" process a few years back. But these days, with the invent of Internet Shopping and Research the flexibility available of the consumer has grown exponentially. Research - true; you have to research well before you select a product, if you are concerned about the value for money you shell out. Coughing out a few dollars on a gadget should do justice to the money spent, else the whole process of buying and enjoyment there after will be in a jeopardy.

Well, now choosing a Digital Camera is quite an important agenda in one's life. Why? - çoz the camera will be your only source of capturing happy moments while you are on a vacation or for an important party/marriage. So choosing a sloppy camera with blotting photo results will not be what you desire. Here are some detailed methods to choose the right camera with the power of Internet, which cannot be compared with a Showroom Shopping. Showroom shopping cannot give you this much power to choose and flexibility.

Digital Cameras are of various types, sizes and features; choosing the one you want is in your hands. You have to decide what you are looking for - Size or Features or Style or Budget or Type or Quality. There are thousands of digital cameras in the market now, with hundreds being introduced in the market every month - thanks to the stiff competition between manufacturers.

Decide what Size factor suits your need first. Some people want a camera to capture precious moments in their life, with a good quality but need something that fits in their pocket. Some like the camera to be a bit bulky so they get a good grip and stability while holding it. Some are hard core professionals that look for the best in the market, and know what they want exactly.

Once you make you mind with the size, you have filtered out some other options, and get to the next important factor - budget. To make life easier, most online shopping carts have a wizard like feature to filter out the unwanted factors, so that you are left with the remaining lot to choose from. Exploit these websites, you do not have to buy online in essence, just use the wizard to make your choice, later compare with your local dealer and decide if to get from the website or not. [I often use this tool from the Popular dpreview.com website]

Now you know how to use an online shopping site to choose your camera, but you need to know the quality of the camera - this cannot be made available in any Showroom as far I know. Only with the realm of the Internet checking the output of a camera in an instant is possible.

Flickr is a photo sharing Web2.0 site, where thousands of digital photographs are uploaded by users to share them with friends, relatives and the world. You can exploit some nifty features of this website to see the quality and output of a certain digital camera that you have filtered on. I will explain how to use them in the following section, read on..

I prefer to use Flickr, for it's nifty applications. After choosing models with the help of the above filtering technique, you should have a few models to choose from. The only decision you have to make now is that of the quality of the pictures that these models can produce. To check the quality, you have to make use of "Camera Finder" feature of Flickr. With the help of this tool one can choose a camera, and see photographs taken with that particular model [thanks to the advent of EXIF data]. This is a wonderful application for choosing the right camera model for your vacation!

Patiently spend a few minutes with this application to see the results from various users of Flickr community for Quality of the photographs, colors, and clarity. Use the process to find pictures for each camera model you have chosen and compare them manually with a vigil eye. You should be conveniently satisfied with a 1 or 2 of camera models now, and it is you who have to make the decision now. Use your common sense and your budget to choose the final model camera. Run the Flickr application once again and see if you like the photographs taken with them, and you like the quality.

Some tips:

1. See the largest possible size to check for Quality.
2. Pictures must be less Grainy.
3. Lesser the Noise level the better for print.
4. See for colors, and check how natural they are.
5. Check all the "Now Showing" options of Flickr, like Portrait Photos, Landscape Photos, Night Photos, Macro Photos - this helps you decide on what level of photos you will shoot often.

There are quite a lot of Form Factors in Digital cameras, here are a few listed for your convenience: Compact, Ultra-Compact, SLR-Like, SLR(professional), Point-and-Shoot and so on. Some popular brands of Camera's available are Nikon, Canon, Kodak, Minolta(Konika), Fuji, Casio, Nokia, Motorola, Sanyo, Sony, agfa, contax, epson, HP, JVC, Kyocera, Leica, Olympus, Panasonic, Pentax, Ricoh, Samsung, Sigma and Toshiba.

Go on pick the right one that suits your style and trend., Happy Hunting.

[You might like to read more about Photography, Storage and perfect combo of devices for the On Road Warrior!]

1. GeoTag Your Photos While You Shoot
2. Archos - Arachnoid of the PMP Arena - "Ditch Your iPhone Dreams"
3. Best Photography Storage Devices For the On Road Warrior!
4. Canon Shelphy CP740 - Canon Hand held

Never Loose Memory of your Photos - Geo Tag Web2.0

Following our Sony GPS post, we have an interesting Web2.0 Site - Locr that allows you to geotag your photos with or without a gadget. More over, you can share your photographs with friends and fmily and stranges as well with the site's capacity to collaborate.

Any photo can be geotagged using two methods (manual or automatic). The geotagging is done on the locr web site or by using free locr PC software, which you can download here: Downloads

Once you tag them, you can see your pictures on their site on a sat map, or a hybrid map (Like Google map or Flickr Location).

Have fun, and you may never loose note of your photographs again. You will never be asked where was this taken?!

You might like to read these related articles:

1. GeoTag Your Photos While You Shoot
2. Archos - Arachnoid of the PMP Arena - "Ditch Your iPhone Dreams"
3. Best Photography Storage Devices For the On Road Warrior!
4. Canon Shelphy CP740 - Canon Hand held
   

Archos - Arachnoid of the PMP Arena - "Ditch Your iPhone Dreams"

Archos - Arachnoid of the PMP Arena?

I bet you will ditch your iPhone Dreams after you read this article!

Archos must be one of the best PMP's in the Arena, that could have come out from a frustrated iPod user? This packs almost all that one can imagine and more than that!

Let's get to the features of Archos wasting no more time. The looks are simple, and yet elegant, well thought of design, neat colors, and thoughtful button positioning. Ergonomically the Archos beats the " Thumb Driven Zen and iPod" - is that only it? Read on..

Built-In Camcorder - Imagine not a Still Camera, but a full fledged Camcorder on your PMP! Yes that is true, you have a high resolution camcorder that can shoot till you burn all the left out memory! Indeed! 30 to 160 Gigs of memory to shoot for a life time!

Plays Videos - Archos can play every known type of Popular Video Files such as WMV, MPEG-4, AAC, Quicktime and JPEG Photos as well. The all new high resolution screen with a 800x480 pixel resolution makes it much of a delight to watch.


Record TV - Hey this is cool, With the optional DVR Station, you can record your Fav TV Show and watch it later while on your car or Bus to work! You can record from a TV, DVD Player, STBox/Cable Box or even a VCR! [yuk, why did they forget a FM Tuner?]

Photo Viewer - Photos look so good on the Archos, more with Music and Transition effects. Yes you can build a Slide Show in a jiff, add music to it, run it straight on the TV using the Optional DVR Station. [Microsoft Photostory will weep blood now?]

Photo Transfer - One can connect a digital camera and transfer photos directly to the Archos. Transfer it, make a slide show, add background music [throw that bulky laptop dude] from your music collection - See it on any TV where ever you are! - [insane right? - but it is true.! Just the kind of gadget I would Love!]

And yeah it plays Music too, did i forget? - Nah. Archos can play your Music from MP3 to WMV - this will be the least feature I would want to mention! [C'mon man, Archos has got so much why would I talk about Just playing Music?]

Sync with Windows Media Player every time you connect to the system and charge the batteries same time. This is hassle free!

Storage - 30GB can store upto 40 movies[QVGA resolution MPEG-4 at 1000 KBPS] or 3,00,000 photographs or 15,000 songs[128 Kbits/s]
Archos comes in 30, 80 and a 160 GB flavor - which is your choice?

Connectivity - WiFi inside Archos can stream Video/Audio/Jpeg content to your WiFi enabled Set Top Box! - Wires - for the lame! Go WiFi and get tangle free! Use [read Exploit] the best technology can offer!

Display - Sports a high resolution 4.3'' touch screen (800x480 pixels)

Internet enabled to surf the Web, share content, and access Web video sites (eg DailyMotion)

Note: Ok - this is supposed to be the best bet for our Digital Photography On The Go Storage/Viewer Combo. But I thought this was too advanced, and would distract the Photographer from Shooting! So I thought to review this in a seperate post.

Best Photography Storage Devices For the On Road Warrior - Part II

Best Photography Storage Devices For the On Road Warrior - Part II

Creative Zen Vision - A Definite Winner to look up!


I have been using a Creative Nomad for very long, and I know how "Creative's Gadgets" are sturdy and trust worthy. "Firmware updates" to "Ease Of Use", Creative just surpasses the consumer's desire[Yeah Desire]. Well this neat large screen device scores the best accolades from users all over the world, and from critics as well. Creative has grown from a humble Nomad MP3 player to the Monstrous ZEN Vision (30Giga Black) all through the years just getting better and better. From the days of Diamond Rio(must be the first MP3 player in the world, along with MP-Man) till date Creative has been competitive in bringing out various flavors of PMP's [personal multimedia players] to enthrall the consumer.

This Monster ZEN Vision, is the Crown in Creative's gadgets so far, it is also a best bet for the Road Warrior who likes to photograph like mad, and store it and view it in a great device. This is not a tiny gadget, but a decent Big Screen gadget that allows you to store and view from your camera through various input methods including the much wanted Compact Flash Slot. The DSLR buff can be happy that he has a viewer and storage unit that can read on the fly from his Compact Flash Card. No need for any external OS Driven devices, to read from the Card. Just insert and the Zen starts to display what is inside the CF Card. The Zen comes in a variety of flavors(storage) and hence the 30GB would suit your need, store 3-5Gb of music and video and keep the rest 25GB for the Photography Enthusiast in you. [You shall decide the best ratio, this is just an idea I would go about! :p ]

There is nothing bad about the Zen to talk about, so I stay away from the CONs of this device, it is a wonderful thing, and will make you feel great. It comes with a variety of extra features like the Outlook Sync to your PC, Ultra High Resolution Screen[really good], Records from FM[plays Fm indeed], Supports recording video from TV - and above all it is priced very reasonably priced[under $400] for a 30GB Hard Disk!! Battery life is amazing with the Audio Player, and the battery is removable - means you can carry a backup cell.

[will continue in the part III of Best Photography Storage Devices For the On Road Warrior!, I would tell the Best Device Combo for the Voracious Travel Buff!]

Best Photography Storage Devices For the On Road Warrior!

Off late I have been searching for a device for assisting me storing my snaps on the go. I used to carry my laptop for this before, but that has become a extra baggage. I wanted the same convenience of a Laptop but a less bulkier device, something like a portable hand held computer(PDA?) or an alternative. Some of these were my choices:

1. Portable DVD Player - That which can read from SD/xD Cards.
2. A Pocket Storage device that stores in Giga Bytes.
3. A PDA hand held Computer

Cost is a big factor, and so is the feature set, always we expect a better bet right? I look for a good storage device that can store all my snaps during a long trip. Say anything from a 6GB to 150GB monster would do the trick. I have searched for some time now, and have seen many gadgets that serve this purpose, but would it be nicer if we have a storage device coupled with a JPEG viewer?

Yeah that is why i have filtered on few devices with a large to medium LCD Scree, but the Pocket Device(a Digital Wallet) is only a storage device with no display feature.

A) One Portable DVD player that supports SD Memory is the Toshiba SD-P2600. This is a large screen portable DVD Player that can address your on the go Picture Viewing issues. It can read from a SD(Smart Disk Memory) or a CF(Compact Flash memory) which is why this fancies moi. One big blow is, it does not have a storage unit. Would be nicer if Toshiba's Compact Storage Wing gets an eye on this article, and thinks to add a storage unit to this DVD Player.

The crystal clear LCD display makes it a wonderful choice, it couples as a entertainment gadget and a picture viewer. You can watch DVD's while you are caught on a long bus journey or cramped in a eatery while it rains outside like mad!

You may think this as only a viewer and not a storage unit, so I vote out for this.

B) There is Toshiba always in the race with new storage devices that beat the record for the "Size Factor". Toshiba has announced the 2.5 Inch USB Hard disk Drive that can store up to 200GB, and that is an awesome amount of storage for a size of a coin. These HDD's come in 100GB/120GB/16GB/200Giga Bytes flavors, to suit your immediate need. These are affordable(under $200)[under $120 Pexagon 2.5" Hard Disks, Firefly SmartDisk's are available too] devices for the consumer, and made sturdy with scratch proof coating.

One feature to notice is, it is a regular USB device, so you may need a broker in between to store your Photos from your camera, like a PDA or a laptop - this votes out this Tiny Wonder 2.5 Inch Toshiba USB Hard Disk out of the race in Photo Storage Devices. ironically if you were able to store to this device you might as well invest in a iPhone [get Amazing iPhone wallpapers here]or a Video iPod that can be a great storage device apart from your personal entertainment system.

C) Here comes the Leader, ...

[..to be Continued in Part - II]

Canon Shelphy CP740 - Canon Hand Held Printer Polaroid?

Canon Selphy Hand Held Photo Printer - No Computer Needed:

Being a Photography Enthusiast I closely follow some of the best brands like Nikon, Fuji and Canon. Canon always surpasses the desires of every photographer and comes out with some ground breaking technology to make life easier for the real enthusiast. Apart from the two Camera's Canon has come out of with 2 models of Hand held printers, the Selphy CP740 and CP750, boasting LCD screens, IrDA, Bluetooth and USB port.

These two dye-sublimation photo printers may not be the best bet for the photographer, but it sure is an added advantage in your bag. Slow printing speed might irk the average user, the printers takes approx. 1 minute to print a postcard(6x4") at a 300 dpi.

What is amusing about these printers are they print from a range of inputs like the Smart Memory Card(SD Memory), Compact Flash(CF Card), MMC(Multimedia Memory Card), Memory Stick(Sony Flavor), and the most popular xD-Picture Card, USB Cable printing, Canon Direct Printing, PicBridge(USB), IrDA(Infrared), Bluetooth and even the WiFi unit.

Here is the Press Release, Amstelveen, The Netherlands, 07 May, 2007: - Link

Next Version of Flickr - What do you want?

Flickr community has been my turf for a long time. It is surprising that i have not written about Flickr so far, but this posting will not talk about the best of Flickr, but the best that can come up in Flickr. Would Yahoo listen to us and make the necessary feature additions so that we have a much more beautiful turf to have fun and learn?

1. Flickr user profile does not have the list of "Equipments" that one uses. First thing anyone would look for while watching a Photograph is - What Camera? - This is available from the EXIF data. But while you look at a particular user's profile, he might be using more than one camera, and these are not listed in his profile. It would be nice to aggregate the Camera Models that he uses, and show it in a single page. [what do you think?]
2. Flickr Groups are run by individuals, and it is a big hit. But there is no proper layout and feature set for the groups application. It would be nice to have a drag and drop type of front end UI[User Interface] for the groups administrator.
3. Groups could have been made just like Blogger, and they can allow Text Advertising least! So that the Group Administrators make some cash in their spare time and be encouraged to run groups in style.
4. Groups must have better features like Ajax(Yahoo Beta) type of layout, better user ban, a limit to the Number of listings, showcasing styles(think CSS).
5. Skins would be nicer, to separate each group from each other, why not give source code control to certain areas(HTML?)

Did you know:

• You can Check for the quality of a Digital camera by Flickr Camera Search
• Decide on a Digital Camera by using Flickr Camera Finder
• View category-wise photographs of a particular Camera Model(Portrait, Landscape, Macro..etc)
• Flickr is a virtual Camera Model Database, with living examples of pictures taken by photographers and consumers worldwide?
• Flickr has communities where you can learn more about how to use your camera
  
• Flickr has tons of Adobe Photoshop tricks?
• Flickr has "Tutorials" to make your photograph picture perfect?
• Flickr has Camera Model wise photograph searching capability
• Flickr has a inbuilt mailing system with which you can make friends and grow a community or your relationships?[will love to see the system work like orkut scraps]
  
• Flickr has tons of wallpaper quality photographs - do not search for wallpapers in wallpaper sites that demand your email and other cumbersome process to get a single wallpaper!
  
• Flickr has free wallpapers in almost all screen sizes?

I'm a Flickr fan, if you are one, please post your thoughts about what you would like to see in Flickr in the days to come as we eagerly wait for the next version of Flickr!!

Free iPhone Wallpapers for your Apple iPhone

In the days to come we can see more and more Apple iPhone wallpapers and goodies, Drivers, Upgrades, Accessories, Pouches, Ear Phones, Protective Covers and much more. Here is the Secon set of iPhone wallpapers from Other designers, first set was exclusive Techblo.com wallpapers.

I found some more interesting wallpapers from some Photographers and Designers. Here they are for you:

These are iPhone wallpapers that you can put on your MAC or Windows Desktop:


These are iPhone wallpapers that you can set for your iPhone screens:

























[Via Flickr, Thanks Fleur-Design, Coop666]

First Photos of Happy iPhone Buyers and the Frenzy Outside the Apple Building

Against all Odds the iPhone is a star among it's fans. Here is a set of images that show iPhone buyers, happy first buyers of the Apple iPhone from Various parts of Americas.

1. A proud owner of the Apple iPhone has it pictured.
2. The long Queue outside the Apple Block



1. A pile of Apple iPhone Goodies Bag, ready to be sent out
2. The Checkout Counter of the Apple iPhone Multimedia Phone





1. Does he look happy(what an expression) with his new iPhone package?
2. Media men cover the Apple iPhone release frenzy



1. People who bought the iPhone
2. People waiting for their turn to come, waiting patiently.



1. The Apple iPhone croud
2. The much awaited iPhone is on the cradle

HowTo use iPhone Keyboard Official Tutorial - No Keyboard on iPhone?

Official iPhone Keyboard Tutorial:

Jobs calls it "MAGIC" - so here we unveil the magic behind the Keyboard Less iPhone.

Apple's Official iPhone Keyboard Tutorial:

1. Large 67MB Video Tutorial - Download
2. Watch it online Choose: Medium or High Resolution
3. Watch the iPhone Guided Tour
   
4. Where to buy the iPhone
5. See the 360 Degree View

Awesome TV Ads of the iPhone, I love these ads, just have a look at them!

Amazing iPhone Wallpapers - Blazers Basketball - Danica Patrick - Nature Wallpapers

Amazing iPhone Wallpapers, that you can download for free. A variety of wallpapers from Indy 500 Motor Race day, Danica Patrick, Basketball Blazers Wallpaper and Nature wallpapers.

Instructions: These are "iPhone Optimized" Size Wallpapers. So you can Click and open them in a new tab and save it to your desktop/folder. Then transfer it to your iPhone via the Sync cable, or WiFi and enjoy the Wallpaper.





Note to Fellow Bloggers: I have spent time and energy to create these wallpapers. Please do not rob me of them, if you like to share, let me know, and give me a static link and make use of them.

Zach Randolph Wallpapers @ TechBlo.com

Zach Randolph Wallpapers for your Windows Vista, XP, 2000 and Windows ME Boxes