Nokia phone user can design their phone cases

Nokia is releasing 3D printing files for its Lumia 820 handset so that owners can create their own covers.
Companies offering interchangeable covers or replacement shells for their smartphone handsets is nothing new, in fact it was Nokia that started the trend back in 1998 with the 5110 -- the first phone to feature Xpress-on covers. This, however, takes customization to a new level.

Writing in a blog post on Nokia Conversations, Nokia says: "We are going to release 3D templates, case specs, recommended materials and best practices -- everything someone versed in 3D printing needs to print their own custom Lumia 820 case. We refer to these files and documents collectively as a 3D-printing Development Kit, or 3DK for short."

In the post, Nokia also claims that it is the first major phone manufacturer to freely hand over these files but, as 3D printing starts to catch on and becomes more mainstream, it probably won't be the last company to do so.

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Blowfish12@2012 blowfish12.tk Author: Sudharsun. P. R.

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• Nokia backs 3D printing for phones (bbc.co.uk)


• MakerBot prints Lumia 820 case using Nokia's 3D printer templates (pocket-lint.com)


• Print your own Lumia 820 cover with this Nokia 3D schematic (theverge.com)


• Nokia releases 3D-printing specs for making custom Lumia 820 back covers (engadget.com)


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Fact for the day: 23-07-2012

Many Nokia phones come with a reserve battery. To activate the battery, key-in *3370# your cell will restart with this reserve and your instrument will show a 50% increase in battery. This reserve will get charged when you charge your mobile next time.

The name Epson for the popular brand of printers was coined when the subsequent models of their first printer 'Electronic Printer 101' were called 'Sons of electronic Printers'

A CD-RW disk can, in general, be-written about a thousand times. In contrast, a hard disk can be written over virtually an unlimited number of times.

When desktop scanners were first introduced, many manufacturers used florescent bulbs as light sources.

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Blowfish12@2012 blowfish12.tk Author: Sudharsun. P. R.

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Touchscreen ignores unintentional taps and swipes

If you're anything like me, you'll have accidentally tapped or swiped buttons on a smartphone or tablet that you didn't mean to. This has not only caused gaming calamities - like dropping the landing gear while still hypersonic in X-Plane Space Shuttle on the iPhone (arrgh!) - but also tweeting or emailinghalf-written missives or photos by leaning on the screen.

An answer of sorts is on the way. Nokia researchers Juha Matero and Ashley Colley have developed software that can tell the difference between an intentional tap and a clumsy accident.

Their trick, they told last month's Designing Interactive Systemsconference in Newcastle, UK, was to cajole 17 colleagues - all smartphone users admitting they had particular trouble with unintended touches - into taking a few basic smartphone use tests to see how often they goofed.

In more than 4000 "touch events", some 1500 were unintentional mistakes. They noticed that 99.7 per cent of intentional touches ranged between 70 and 400 milliseconds long, but unintentional touches were much shorter. They also noted that many unintentional presses were on icons up to a millimeter from the screen edge. By continuing to analyze the factors that caught out the user, they have worked out how to design a software-based filter that can rid users of 80 per cent of unintentional touches.

I'd welcome such code in my phone - but app user interface designers could play a part too, by not positioning buttons such as tweet or email "send" buttons too close to screen edges. In my view, the worst example of misconceived button-placement is in Apple's Voice Memo app, which has a large "delete" button right next to the progress bar - so scrolling through audio often activates the delete function. Not good.

If you have an app button placement horror story, tell us in the comments.

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Blowfish12@2012 blowfish12.tk Author: Sudharsun. P. R.

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Siri says Nokia Lumia 900 the best smartphone ever

When iPhone 4S users ask Apple's virtual personal assistant Siri which smartphone is the best ever, the Nokia Lumia 900 takes the honor.

Apple's Siri virtual personal assistant certainly has said some rather interesting things in the past. But to diss its overlord seems a bit much, don't you think?

When iPhone 4S owners ask Siri which smartphone is the best ever made, the obviously disgruntled virtual personal assistant responds saying it's the Nokia Lumia 900 4G running on AT&T's network. It goes further, stating that the Cyan-colored Lumia 900 stands above all others.

• CNET Review: Nokia Lumia 900
• CNET Review: Apple iPhone 4S

Although it may seem a bit odd that Apple's own service would recommend another phone, it actually makes sense. Siri looked for the answer on Wolfram Alpha, which points to the Lumia 900 when users type in "what's the best smartphone ever?" The high rating is delivered based on "customer review average" across the Web.

The Lumia 900 is certainly no slouch. CNET's review of the device gave it four stars out of five and deemed it "excellent." CNET reviewer Jessica Dolcourt called the Lumia 900 her "favorite Windows Phone yet."

Evidently, it may be Siri's too.

The Siri query does not appear to be delivering the same results to everyone. Two CNET staffers on the West Coast are now getting Yelp results when asking Siri which smartphone is the best ever.

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Blowfish12@2012 Author: sudharsun. P. R. Source: amazon.com, thenextweb