Scooopy – Scoops about Gadget, Mobile & Technology
Mobile
MSI’s Holiday Giveway 2009 Offer
Dec 9th
MSI‘s currently running a Holiday Giveway 2009 through MSI’s Facebook Fan Page.
Keep visiting the Facebook page for future chances to win.
AMD’s 40th Anniversary
Dec 9th
AMD’s 40th Anniversary
May 1, 2009, marked AMD’s 40th anniversary.
Formed by Jerry Sanders and seven co-founders in 1969, AMD is a company with a rich and colorful history.
AMD’s 40th anniversary is a testimonial to our longevity, our employees, our customers and our unique business approach. AMD takes great pride in our role of igniting next-generation technology solutions, as well as our ability to see where customer and end-user needs are headed next and then collaborate with the industry accordingly. These values are captured in our Fusion business approach: a unique combination of integration, intimacy and impact.
The Differences between Opera Mobile 10 and Opera Mini 5
Dec 5th
We get quite a few questions about the difference between Opera Mobile 10 and Opera Mini 5. This post will attempt to clarify.
NB! Unless you have a Windows Mobile or Symbian/S60 phone, Opera Mobile is not available for you to download to your phone. Enjoy Opera Mini!
First, here is what they have in common:
- Both are based on the same core technology, the Opera Presto browser engine (just like Opera for desktop).
- Both use the same cross-platform user interface, providing similar features and browsing experience.
And the difference:
- In Opera Mini, the Opera Presto browser engine is located on a server. In Opera Mobile, it is installed on your phone.
When you enter a Web address in Opera Mobile, the Web page is fetched directly from the Web server to your phone. However, the Opera Mini client sends a request to the Opera Mini server, which downloads the page from the Internet. The server then transcodes the page before it is forwarded to the client in a lightweight mark-up language designed specifically for this purpose.
The advantage is that the Opera Mini client can be much smaller and work on more basic phones than the full Opera Mobile browser.
On the other hand, Opera Mini depends on a server while Opera Mobile does not. (Opera Turbo is an optional service for Opera Mobile that compresses Web pages and makes it cheaper to browse, but it is not required).
In practical terms, here is what that means for you:
- Opera Mobile will render Web pages just like a desktop browser. In Opera Mini, there may be slight differences, and very complex Web pages may not work optimally.
- Opera Mini will generally be faster. It downloads less content and requires less CPU to render pages.
- Opera Mini works on almost any phone. Opera Mobile is only available for Windows Mobile and Symbian/S60 phones.
Which product is best for you depends on your personal preferences and the sites you browse. Many advanced users will have both browsers installed and alternate depending on the situation. For example, they will use Opera Mobile when on Wi-Fi, Opera Mini when on a cellular network.
Another reason why Opera Software has both products in the portfolio is that many of our operator and handset manufacturer customers have very specific requirements. The differences between the products may be extremely important to them. For example, Opera Mobile is generally preferred by handset manufacturers for preinstallation on mobile phones.
Connectify turns Windows 7 based Laptop or Notebook into Wi-Fi Hotspots
Dec 2nd
Few years ago a little-known feature called Virtual Wi-Fi was crafted by Microsoft‘s research group as a way to “virtualize” one wireless card as several separate adapters in Windows. The project was discontinued in 2006, but some of the code apparently made its way into Windows 7, and now at least one company is taking advantage of it with a new application that can turn any laptop into a wireless access point.
Developed by military consulting firm Nomadio, Connectify lets a laptop “tether” other wireless devices to a single internet connection by effectively turning it into a software-based wireless router. Windows 7 is required on the notebook acting as a wireless hotspot, but any wireless-equipped device, including handhelds and other notebooks running whatever operating system can jump online without any additional software. The program even encrypts traffic to and from the software hotspot using WPA2-Personal (AES) encryption.
While the Connectify beta is free to download, Nomadio expects to charge users once the complete version is released in about six weeks. A free, ad-supported version might also be released down the road.
Microsoft Rolls Out Marketplaces for Mobiles
Nov 24th
Jamie Wells of MSFT just made a blog post about Microsoft’s Marketplaces for Mobile.
Here is the brief of that post:
Earlier in the month we rolled out “Microsoft Mobile Marketplaces,” a new mobile ad product that illustrates the performance advantage gained by combining the power of mobile search and display.
We launched the Marketplace to a select group of advertisers during the critical holiday shopping season, when consumers often are on the go and pressed for time. So far, we’ve launched Marketplaces for Ringtones, and additional Microsoft Mobile Marketplaces are already in the works, including Holiday Shopping, Mobile Games and Wallpapers slated for release in the coming days.
Here’s how Marketplaces work: A user browsing a Microsoft mobile media property, such as Mobile MSN, Hotmail, Messenger, CNBC or FOX Sports, is presented with a display ad promoting a specific consumer product vertical, such as “Last Minute Holiday Deals” or “Hot Ringtones.” When the user clicks on a mobile display banner they are then re-directed to a mobile landing page that contains a list of sponsored links from Bing for Mobile that are based on the specific theme or set of keywords associated with that Marketplace.
In effect, the Mobile Marketplace acts as a transformational mobile ad product, converting a generally reactive medium like mobile display into a more intent-based mobile search product. Benefits to the advertiser are many, but two of note are cost savings and ease of implementation. Advertisers are able to increase their ROI by extending their mobile search campaign across key Microsoft Mobile display properties, and it’s simple to implement – advertisers can participate in the Marketplace simply by setting up a typical Bing for Mobile ad campaign and bidding on just one keyword.
The early results are in and we’re off to a great start. Average Marketplace campaign click-through rates (CTR) are currently running in excess of 20 percent, which is over five times more than the average CTR for a mobile search campaign.
Stay tuned as we launch additional Microsoft Mobile Marketplaces over the next few months. In the meantime, please contact our Mobile Sales Specialists at mobads@microsoft.com if you are interested in participating. Also, leave a comment below if you have any thoughts on specific Mobile Marketplaces you’d like to see brought to life, or if you have any additional thoughts you’d like to share on this new product.
