GeekSugar

Daily Tech: A Star Wars Foosball Table Made of Legos

GeekSugar — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 12:15:02 PST

This fully-functional Star Wars foosball table is made entirely of Legos - Dvice
What would you do with five bucks? - Urlesque
Why every Windows Mobile phone is now obsolete - Gizmodo
Web news p0wns newspapers - Switched
New DSiWare title features motion-controlled 3D dioramas - Oh Gizmo!
Geeky stationary from Etsy - Unplggd
What will future Americans look like? - io9

Microsoft Unveils Windows Phone at Mobile World Congress

GeekSugar — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 11:00:24 PST

Microsoft dropped a bomb on the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona today, and it's called the Windows Phone 7 Series. If you're a Windows Mobile user, you can toss out everything you think you know about how this phone will look and feel - it's a whole new operating system for you to enjoy.

The Windows Phone comes with a touchscreen and a brand-new tiled interface that allows you to keep up with friends, photos (from your phone and from the cloud), music and videos, games from Xbox Live (including your animated avatar that you can customize right from your phone), Marketplace apps, and business-y stuff like Office easily from your home screen. But the most noticeable thing about the Windows Phone is that this thing looks pretty slick: everything from the background screen to the status update screen is minimal and totally "grown up."

View 5 Photos ›

Zune owners will sense some familiarity about the look and feel of the Windows Phone, but if you haven't been introduced, you can check out the demo video of the new handset and get availability details when you

The Windows Phone 7 Series will be available through a variety of different carriers - AT&T, T-Mobile, Verizon, Sprint - and will be ready to toss in your shopping cart by the time the holiday shopping season picks up at the end of this year.

HTC's Other (Other) Project: HTC HD2 Coming This Spring

GeekSugar — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 14:45:38 PST

I think it may have been an understatement to say that HTC was working overtime last year. Not only did the company assist in the launch of Google's Nexus One and is rumored to be whipping up a tablet, but yesterday at the Microsoft CES press conference, CEO Steve Ballmer introduced the HTC HD2, which will be released exclusively on T-Mobile. The super thin HD2 comes with a high-res 4.3-inch touch display featuring pinch and zoom functionality (which is great for resizing web pages and notes), and runs on Windows Mobile via a 1GHz Snapdragon processor (the same processor stocked on the Nexus One).

The smartphone comes standard with GPS and a 5MP camera with a dual LED flash to add extra light when you need it. The HD2 is slated to be released sometime in the Spring on T-Mobile, and you can sign up to be alerted when it drops.

Load Up These Apps on Your Windows Mobile Phone

GeekSugar — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 10:00:24 PST

You have a Windows Mobile phone, so you have to have a few apps from the Windows Marketplace, right? No!? Well, don't let all those iPhone, BlackBerry and Android apps fool you into thinking there aren't a number of fun and useful ones you should be loading up on your Windows phone as well. Stick with me my friends - I have you covered.

Are You Stoked About the Launch of Windows Mobile 6.5?

GeekSugar — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 09:05:03 PDT

There's a new batch of phones on the block, and they're out to steal away some market share from Apple. Launching on October 6, select phones on AT&T, Verizon, and Sprint networks will begin running Windows Mobile 6.5 under the "Windows Phone" brand. Windows has seemingly taken a back seat in the cell phone department, with Blackberry, Apple, and Android obviously being the front runners to innovation and integration. I remember using Windows Mobile OS on my old T-Mobile MDA, and I have to be honest - it wasn't one of my favorite mobile experiences to date.

But now, Windows hopes to make a comeback in the mobile market with its newest operating system and Windows Marketplace, where you can browse and purchase apps for your phone. It's yet to be announced which devices will be available to run WM 6.5, but I'm curious to know - are you stoked about the launch this Fall?

Windows Mobile May Get Its Own App Store Soon

GeekSugar — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 07:30:48 PDT

No doubt, it may be torture some days to not be an iPhone or iPod Touch user and have to read about some cool new Chanel or Netflix app from iPhone's App Store when you're an avowed BlackBerry or Palm smartphone user. Windows Mobile may have its good points, but a cool feature like the App Store is not one of them. . . yet.

CNET reports that Microsoft is rumored to be preparing an application store that will be called "Skymarket" and offer developers the chance to distribute (and make money for) their applications in one place, like the App Store on iTunes.

No more jealousy over the iPhone! Well . . . maybe just less jealousy.

Updates For Windows Phone 7, Including Kinect Support

Kristen Hawley — Mon, 14 Feb 2011 13:00:34 PST

It looks like at least one of the predicted tech trends for 2011 might be coming true. Today, during Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer detailed updates to Windows Phone 7, parts of which users can expect to see next month.

Announced features include Internet Explorer 9 for faster browsing, multitasking, and built-in Twitter integration. But arguably the most exciting announcement is that the phones will connect with the Kinect, serving as a kind of controller for the device. Details are still sketchy, but based on the demonstration, the Kinect will be able to detect players using Windows phones and allow them to use the phones as controllers to enhance the game. The phone's screen will also display game play, adding another level of interactivity. No official date was announced for this functionality.

These updates, plus the recent announcement that Nokia would be ditching its own software in favor of Microsoft's mobile OS in its phones by the end of the year, could signal that 2011 is the year of the Windows Phone.

Pros and Cons of the Nokia Lumia 900

Kristy Korcz — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 06:30:41 PDT

Yesterday we talked about all the reasons you'll love the Nokia Lumia 900, but the phone itself does have a few drawbacks. Debating on whether or not to pick one up for yourself? Here, four reasons why you might want to skip it and a recap of the five reasons you'll want to buy it.

The apps (or lack thereof) - The Windows Marketplace is buzzing with apps, but your favorites, like Spotify and Instagram, either don't work or are not available. Your basic social networks are ready and waiting, though, so at least you can keep up with your inner and extended circles.
Screen resolution - The 4.3-inch AMOLED screen is big and bright, but only comes with 800 x 480 resolution, which isn't as powerful as other screens on the market. For comparison, the iPhone 4S comes with a 3.5-inch 960 x 640 resolution screen, and while this may not make that much of a difference to you, you might notice a difference while viewing videos and photos.
Photo quality - While the photos that I've taken on the Lumia 900 haven't been that bad, they could be better. Considering the phone comes stocked with an 8MP camera with a Carl Zeiss sensor, you expect a little more than you get. The images do seem a bit washed out, and compared to other Android and Apple devices, it's just not consistently up to snuff.
AT&T-only - Sure, AT&T's 4G LTE network is fast, but if you are a customer elsewhere, you won't get much of a choice on whether or not to pick up this phone. The Nokia Lumia 900 is exclusive to AT&T for now.

To catch up on all the pros, just keep reading.

Readers Share Their Lovely Little Vignettes on Instagram!

CasaSugar — Wed, 21 Mar 2012 06:00:00 PDT

Curious to see what our design-savvy readers are inspired by in and outside of the home, we decided to take our Lovely Little Vignettes platform mobile. In addition to sharing your styling skills through our Lovely Little Vignettes community group, we're also welcoming Instagram users to add the #llv hashtag to any vignette shots you take. Whether it's a window display you fancy or a decorative spot in your home, we want to see them! If you're not sure what I mean by vignettes, click through this slideshow to see some of our favorite Lovely Little Vignette Instagrams from around the web!

V-Day Date Gone Bad? Get Outta There With These Apps

GeekSugar — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 03:14:40 PST

Valentine's Day is quickly approaching, and if you're headed out on a date you aren't 100 percent sure of, then download one of these apps for your iPhone, BlackBerry, Android phones to fake an emergency call, and get the heck outta there - STAT!