Scooopy – Scoops about Gadget, Mobile & Technology
Posts tagged Mobile
Mozilla Releases Firefox Mobile RC2
Jan 12th
Firefox Mobile Release Candidate 2 (RC 2) is now available.
Bringing Firefox to mobile phones is the next step towards fulfilling Mozilla’s mission of providing access to one Web that everyone can access, regardless of device or location. The most advanced browser available, Firefox is fast, secure, customizable and syncs perfectly with the Firefox on your desktop.
Here’s how Firefox Mobile brings your Web to your phone.
The Real Deal
Forget about the clunky, stripped-down mobile Web you’re used to. Firefox delivers the performance and security you expect, plus all the bells and whistles you know and love.
Site for Sore Eyes
Tabs and browser controls are stowed away to the sides of the screen. Now you can see what’s been hiding all this time – the entire Web page. Enjoy the view.
Touch of Genius
Bookmark your favorite sites with one touch. Swipe your finger across the screen to access tabs or install useful add-ons. Double tap to zoom. So smart it’s simple.
Awesome Bar
Forget about typing long URLs, let the Awesome Bar do the searching and get you the sites you love in an instant.
Get Personal
Add-ons have gone mobile. Personalize your browser and make it your own. Search and install add-ons on the go.
Password Manager
Typing passwords on your phone is just plain hard. Why do it more than once? Choose to “remember” site passwords and forget ever having to endure long and difficult typing.
Fab Tabs
Your tabs are close at hand. Just swipe your finger to the right to see thumbnails of all your open tabs to find what you want quickly.
Be a Local… Wherever You Are
Looking for the city’s best live music joint? An alternative route to the highway? Get insider info and access maps with Location-Aware Browsing.
Get Up and Go
Get Weave and surf the Web on your PC, get up and go, and have everything waiting for you on your phone: your history, open tabs, bookmarks, the Awesome Bar – just as you had left it.
Firefox Mobile’s Features
What’s so special about the Awesome Bar?
The Awesome Bar gets you where you want to go quickly. Touch the Awesome Bar and begin typing. As you type it will display websites that you visit frequent or have recently visited or bookmarked. The Awesome Bar learns as you use it, adapting to your preferences and making your browsing more personal. You can also tap the Awesome Bar to enter a URL or search term and start exploring the Web.
What are Firefox add-ons and how can I get them on my mobile device?
Add-ons let you customize your Firefox by adding features. Select the settings “gear” button on the bottom right-hand side of your screen, then choose the add-ons “puzzle piece” button and search for and install the add-ons that are most useful to you directly from your phone.
How can I share my Firefox bookmarks, history, tabs and more between my PC and my mobile?
The Weave add-on brings your Firefox experience to your mobile phone. First, create a Weave account on your PC. Then go to Firefox on your mobile and select the pre-installed Weave add-on. When you enter your Weave account info and sync, your Firefox preferences, history and more will be shared between your PC and your mobile.
Do I need to get the Weave add-on to use Firefox on my phone?
No. Although we think syncing Firefox between your PC and your mobile with Weave is super useful, it is an optional service that you can choose to use or not. You can still enjoy the Firefox you trust and expect without it. Weave allows you to share your history, bookmarks, preferences and more, enhancing your overall browsing experience wherever you are.
What is Location-Aware Browsing? Is Firefox tracking where I am?
Location-Aware Browsing saves you time by allowing websites to ask you where you are. If you choose to share your location with a website, it can use that information to find nearby points of interest and return additional, useful data like maps of your area. It’s all optional – Firefox doesn’t share your location without your permission.
How accurate are the locations?
Accuracy varies greatly from location to location. In some places, our service providers may be able to provide a location within a few meters. However, in other areas it might be much more than that. All locations returned by our service providers are estimates only and we do not guarantee the accuracy of the locations provided.
Downloading & Devices
How do I download Firefox to my phone?
Visit the Mozilla.com Mobile homepage to send a text message containing a link to download Firefoxto your phone. Or, simply go to mozilla.com/m with your current mobile browser and download Firefox directly to your phone.
Will Firefox work with my mobile phone?
Firefox is currently compatible with Nokia N810 and N900 mobile devices, as well as specific Windows Mobile 6.0 and above phones. See our full list of supported devices.
Can I still download Firefox to my phone even if it’s not a supported device?
Yes, but we encourage you to try Firefox on a supported device so you can experience its full capabilities.
Supported Devices
Maemo
- Nokia N900
- Nokia N810
Extra Details
As with the past few releases, this one’s only available for Maemo device. Don’t got Nokia’s latest greatest tablet? You can still play with Firefox Mobile Release Candidate 2 by way of Emulation.
Firefox Mobile Developers have bumped the rendering engine up to Gecko 1.9.2, which just so happens to be the same engine that will power the upcoming release of full-blown Firefox 3.6. Perhaps most important for those waiting to dabble, they’ve also fixed a pretty nasty bug that kept things from running smoothly on the Nokia N900.
If you’ve got a Maemo-powered Tablet, you can download the release at https://www.mozilla.com/en-US/m/.
Stuck without a tablet to tap at? You can also find it for Windows here, Mac OS X here, and Linux here.
Connectify 1.0 is now available
Dec 21st
Connectify Releases Connectify 1.0 for Windows 7
Connectify 1.0 (http://www.connectify.me) is now available.
For downloading Connectify, click here to start the download.
Here is their press release about this release:
Connectify is proud to announce Connectify 1.0 (http://www.connectify.me), a free software application for Windows 7 that turns any Wi-Fi enabled computer into a real wireless access point. With Connectify, users can share any Internet connection: a cable modem, a cellular card, or even another Wi-Fi network with any device that supports Wi-Fi. Connectify has hit a market need: since its beta release on October 27th, Connectify has had over 97,000 downloads, and 26% of Connectify users state they upgraded to Windows 7 specifically to be able to use Connectify.
Consumers can use the software to connect their computers, smart phones, music players, game systems and other devices onto personal Wi-Fi networks, or to extend the range of their home Wi-Fi networks. Because the Connectify software is free to download and use, users can save money on multiple Wi-Fi connections while on the road and still get all their devices online simultaneously. “Everywhere you go, users congregate in groups and have multiple devices including notebook PCs, Wi-Fi enabled handsets and mobile internet devices,” said Alex Gizis, CEO of Connectify. “We simply noticed a tremendous problem: There was no easy way for all of the user’s mobile devices to get and stay online. Connectify is our solution.”
For teams of mobile professionals, Connectify plus file sharing is a mobile office to go. Only the machine sharing the Internet connection needs to be running Connectify. Other Wi-Fi enabled devices can see and join the hotspot just like any other Wi-Fi access point and do not even need to be running Windows.
“MiFi has been a raging success providing a standalone device to enable Wi-Fi access for up to five nearby Wi-Fi enabled systems,” said J. Gerry Purdy, Ph.D., Chief Analyst for Mobile & Wireless at Frost & Sullivan and Managing Director, Yosemite Ventures. “Now, any new notebook PC can be turned into a Wi-Fi hotspot using free software from Connectify.”
Connectify is available at no charge. The company plans to offer Connectify on a wide range of mobile devices and provide a number of value added services within the software that will be made available for a small fee.
To download Connectify for free now, go to http://www.connectify.me .
ABOUT CONNECTIFY
Connectify is a Philadelphia based company that has developed innovative wireless solutions for the military and (now) the consumer market. The Connectify team is dedicated to bringing real wireless sharing to everyone, saving people money, and improving the cross platform wireless experience.
Upgrading to Connectify 1.0
For downloading Connectify, click here to start the download.
Changes since Beta 4.1
- Improved Notification tray icons (including a warning icon if the selected Internet connection is not currently working)
- Support for even more wireless cards and configurations
- Improved memory and CPU management
- Recover from sleep/hibernate
- Support for machines where multiple users install Connectify and log on at same time
- Ability to remove clients from the Client History list (right click to get menu)
- Autohiding of the Mode box. By default we hide the “Mode” box to choose between AP or Ad Hoc mode. If your wireless card supports both, then we default to Access Point mode. To keep the mode box visible, there is an option on the Option menu (right click on the Connectify logo to show the menu).
- Fix device capability detection
Download/Upgrade Connectify 1.0 now.
Opera Mini 5 Beta 2 is now available
Dec 15th
Opera Mini 5 Beta 2 is the next generation of mobile browsing which runs on almost every phone.
Top new features
Tabbed browsing
Browse several Web sites at the same time, while easily jumping from one to another.
Speed Dial
Get to your favorite Web page with just one click, with a set of visual bookmarks when you open a new tab.
Opera Link
Synchronize your bookmarks and Speed Dial between your mobile phone and desktop computer.
Download manager
Manage downloads right from the browser. Pause and resume downloads to suit your needs.
Feature details
Innovative and easy-to-use
1Living up to our vision of providing the best Internet experience on any device, Opera Mini 5 boasts a powerful new user interface. Merging the best from our desktop browser together with new innovations for mobile phones, Opera Mini is advanced, yet highly intuitive to use.
Faster
Time is precious. Opera Mini compresses pages by up to 90% before being sent to your phone, meaning faster page-load times than in other mobile Web browsers.
Full Web in your palm
2When visiting a Web page, Opera Mini displays the overview of the page and suggests where to begin your reading before you zoom in. Opera Mini also detects when you are on a Web page designed for a mobile phone and displays it optimally.
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Full Web in your palm
Page zoom
Control default text size on Web sites. Depending on your mobile phone screen size, often text can be too small or too large to be viewed easily. Control the default zoom level from 60% to 200% directly in Opera Mini 5.
Built for speed
The new Opera Mini lets you search for text within a Web page, so you can get to the information you need even more quickly than before.
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Innovative and easy-to-use
Speed Dial
Get your favorite Web page with just one click. Speed Dial is a set of visual bookmarks you see when you open a new tab, like a dashboard for your online life. To add a new page, simply click an empty dial, and Opera will make suggestions based on your browsing history and bookmarks.
Mobile view
Fit content to your mobile phone. Mobile view intelligently reformats Web pages into a single column eliminating the need for horizontal panning. Changing to Mobile view is accessible though the Settings menu.
Password Manager
4There is no more hassle with those hard-to-enter usernames and passwords. Opera Mini 5 will remember your credentials, and you can log on to your favorite Web sites with just a single click. The passwords are stored on your phone for your convenience.
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Password Manager
Tabbed browsing
Browse several Web sites at the same time. Check your e-mail in one window, Facebook in another and, Twitter in a third, all while being able to jump easily from one tab to another. With a touchscreen phone, you can enjoy even easier tab switching with visual tabs. On keypad-style phones easily mange desktop-style tabs in the Opera Mini user interface, above the address bar.
Power scrolling
Scroll at warp speed using your phone keypad or by dragging the page on a phone with a touchscreen.
Touch and keypad
3The user interface has been designed for both touchscreen- and keypad-style mobile phones. With a touchscreen, you can enjoy even easier navigation with our new zooming and kinetic scrolling.
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Touch and keypad
Adaptive zoom
On a touchscreen phone panning has become even easier with adaptive zoom. When panning quickly around a zoomed-in page the panning momentum creates a more intuitive and easier to-navigate experience.
Landscape mode
Browse in the way that is most comfortable to you. Landscape mode allows you to view Opera Mini 5 on your phone in landscape.
Download Opera Mini 5 Beta 2 to your mobile phone
To try Opera Mini 5 beta 2 visit the address m.opera.com/next, using your phone’s default Web browser, or download it to your computer. It is completely free.
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.
