First, before I start telling you the reason for the new design let me welcome you to TCL's New Design and layout!! So now onward,  let's get into a little bit of the design and the reason for the change.

So here we are 4 years later since the last update in 2014  and I felt that it was time for a makeover. The Collective Loop is a place where art, design, music, technology and more collectively loop, but that doesn't mean the design can't.  After contemplating, I decided that I wanted to change the layout to look more professional, interactive and all around still have a minimal feel. I also wanted a site where it would look amazing on portable devices and be more responsive.  I was able to find all this with the new design.

Here are some of the new changes:

• Responsive Layout for all devices 
• Clean Minimalist Design
• Font Awesome – Retina ready icons
• Responsive Sidebar
• Social Share

So tell me what you think of the new design? Look around and see all the new changes.

New TCL Design






TCL Old Design

Who would have thought that a mattress could be this smart.  Well, Luna announced their Smart Mattress Cover ($249-$289), which is a smart cover that includes built-in sensors and controlled by using your smartphone. The sensors allow for separate temperature zones for you and your partner, sleep tracking data  and integrate with your smart home. It also has monitors and evaluates your sleep quality and cycles. It even has a built-in smart alarm, which wakes you at the right moment of light sleep, so you can say goodbye to those groggy mornings. You can pre-order now and get 20% off and free shipping in the US.  Due to ship in August 2015. Watch the video below for more information.

Keeping your eyes on the road can be a hard task. You want to keep checking your phone for directions or see who posted the lastest thing on your Facebook. With Navdy (pre-order $300.00), it will help make this a thing of the past. This 5.1-inch transparent heads-up display connects to your phone via Bluetooth and presents your navigation info and incoming notifications in a distraction-free way — above your dash, and between your eyes and the road. An IR camera lets you control things via touch-less gestures, and thanks to an OBD-II power and data connection, it can give you pertinent info about your car's performance and vitals, too, all without making any modifications to your existing ride.

Check out the video below for more info or check out Navdy site.



Source: uncrate.com

Have you ever needed to charge four things at once but only had one outlet available, I know I have. That is where a roll-up travel charger ($33) would come in handy. It can plug up to 4 different charging tips: iPhone, Mini USB, Micro USB, and Samsung and it only uses one wall outlet.  Yup, you can now recharge up to four gadgets all at the same time. Not bad and it comes in this stylish leather roll up case.

I haven't written about a new phone in a while. It seems that they're all the same just with a couple of difference specifications, however, that doesn't mean that a few differences can't make a big difference. The Samsung Galaxy Note (TBA) is one of those phones.  This phone is equipped with the world’s first 5.3-inch HD Super AMOLED Display (WXGA 1280×800, 285ppi). It sports a 1.4GHz dual-core processor, 8MP camera with LED flash, 2MP camera on the front, full HD video recording / playback support for MPEG4, DivX, Xvid and more.  Other features include Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 3.0, optional NFC, A-GPS, microSD card slot and a 2,500mAh battery.

It also has an old school feature of the stylus with a new and improved process. What Samsung calls the S Pen which is a digital pen that is very accurate and produces thin lines without bleeding, which can make you replace the notepad you always bring with you. 






 

I know some of you have been waiting for this rumor to become a reality and it has. Sony has officially unveiled the Xperia Play($TBA). The Xperia Play will be the first PlayStation certified device. The Play will run Android 2.3 Gingerbread, features include a 854×480 pixel capacitive multi-touch TFT LCD display, 5.5 hours of gaming time on a single charge and a 5.1MP camera and a certified Playstation slide-out controller. Powered by 1 GHz Scorpion ARMv7 single-core CPU, 512MB of RAM and comes with an 8GB microSD card. Did I also mention that upon its debut there will be 50 launch titles that will be available plus it will come loaded with a "legendary" Playstation One title, which, Engadget reports it will be Crash Bandicoot.

So here becomes the real blur between dedicated mobile gaming devices and smartphones. Let the gaming begin. Is this a phone that you would be willing to rock out?



Source: Engadget, Gizmodo

Pulse news reader is an elegant application for iPhone, iPad and Andriod devices. It incorporates colorful panning story bars and fills them with content from your favorite sources. Pulse redefines news, giving you the opportunity to experience the news you desire from traditional sources, your favorite blogs and social networks – all in one beautiful interface.

I have been personally using this app for a while now. It makes checking my content easy and it gives it a more professional look. I even like how I can share right from my phone in this app without having to go to another app to share it. The guys at Alphonso Labs got it right when they set out to make mobile content less frustrating and more user friendly as well as visually pleasing.

It will soon be upon us the New Google Nexus S. The Nexus S is the next generation of Nexus devices, co-developed by Google and Samsung. It will have the latest Android platform (Gingerbread), paired with a 1 GHz Hummingbird processor and 16GB of internal memory only. It will make Nexus S one of the fastest phones on the market. It comes pre-installed with the best of Google apps and enabled with new and popular features like true multi-tasking, Wi-Fi hotspot, Internet Callling, NFC support, and full web browsing. With this device, users will also be the first to receive software upgrades and new Google mobile apps as soon as they become available. Another great feature about the Nexus S is that it's unlocked and will work with any GSM carrier. The Nexus S, which goes on sale Dec. 16, will sell for $529 as an unlocked phone without a contract. It will also be available for $199 with a two-year service agreement with T-Mobile.

The other day I was check out the ISO50 blog and saw that Ghostly was doing a giveaway and seeing how I'm a fan of that label I had to check it out. When I was checking out their store I came upon the Card Speaker($75). This speaker is no bigger than credit card and as thick as a blister pack of chewing gum, the Card Speaker puts most every mp3 accessory to shame with its good looks and crisp fidelity. It was designed by IDEA International with the concept of being a speaker that wasn't a pain to carry around and easily accessible. It comes in either black or silver, with a mirror-polished back, and includes a protective carrying case, a 3.5 mm connection plug, and a USB battery charge cable. The speaker has an operating time of approximately five hours on a two-hour charge.

Belkin is back with their new Bluetooth Music Receiver which enables one to enjoy wireless music straight off your devices . Stream your iPhone and iPod touch jams to your home stereo, but in realty, this thing will work with any BT 2.0-enabled music streaming device. Phones, PMPs, genetically modified children you name it. Connect the receiver to your home stereo system with the included cables, and then easily pair your device to the Receiver wirelessly to listen to, share, and control your music from up to 33 feet away. The Bluetooth Music Receiver uses Bluetooth v2.0 to give you reliable, high-quality sound. The cost of one of these bad boys is ($49.99)

Cellphones are a growing part of everybody's everyday life. So we are always trying to stand out and find different ways to show who we are by the accessories that we carry with us. So in that being said, let take a look at some of the concept phone designs that will not go to production, however, could meet the criteria of a you phone.

The Mobile Script phone offers two touchscreens and one of them can slide out to view multimedia files.




The LG Helix when not being used as cellphone also moonlights as a fashion accessory by transforming into a bangle!


The Samsung WM is yet another concept that gets the tech kingdom and the fashion police closer. It is a watch and a mobile phone combined and looks like a remote control.


Typing long messages can be irritating hence the Mimeo interactive cellphone looks like the perfect solution. Sam James Chu’s concept is brilliant as to dial or send a text you need to write it down on a surface.

So when I was on my trip back home. I came across a program that would come in handy for me. Seeing how I'm always working on three computers and needing to transfer files. I needed to find another form of saving my documents and having access to them on all my platforms. Then I found Live Mesh Beta.



With Live Mesh, you can synchronize files with all of your devices, so you always have the latest versions handy. You can access your files from any device or from the web, easily share them with others, and get notified whenever someone changes a file.Working on one computer, but need a program from another? No problem. Use Live Mesh to connect to your other computer and access its desktop as if you were sitting right in front of it. Live Mesh has a lot of different features that allow you to share folders with others and manage your folders within Mesh. It also gives you a live desktop that is accessible through a web browser and they provide you with 5GB of free space to save on your Live Mesh Desktop. So check out Live Mesh Beta and let me know what you think. If you have a Windows Live ID you can use that to start your Live Mesh Beta account.

The inPulse smartwatch is not a BlackBerry Smartphone on your wrist, nor is it manufactured by Research in Motion (nor is RIM developing an accessory like this on their own - this is the "BB watch"). Rather, the inPulse smartwatch is manufactured by Allerta, a new Waterloo-based start-up focused on intelligent smartphone accessories, and works as a companion to your BlackBerry Smartphone to notify you of incoming BlackBerry messages/events.

inPulse smartwatch for BlackBerry Tech Specs & Key Features

• 1.3" full colour organic light-emitting-diode (OLED) display
• Bluetooth® v2.0+EDR
• 150 mAh lithium-ion polymer battery
• Glass lens and full metal body
• 22mm interchangeable wrist band
• Vibrating motor
• Micro-USB port (for charging)
• Over-the-air firmware updates
• Dimensions: 51mm height x 38mm width x 12mm depth

Here is some more information on the inpules Smartwatch. The battery life is 4 days depending on use and can be recharged in about 30 minutes via standard microUSB cable. To use the inPulse wristwatch you must also install an app onto your BlackBerry that runs in the background. The Cost for this device is $149.00 which is not a bad price at all. It's available for pre-order now (not taking payment yet but you can get on the waiting list), with the first consumer shipments scheduled for February 2010.



Reference: Crackberry.com

Windows Mobile 6.5 launched earlier this month and people weren’t very impressed. Windows Mobile 6.5 was just release on October 6th this year and the company is already working on updates for this version with Windows Mobile 6.5.1. This may be because a lot of users felt that the operating system really didn't change much from previous versions. This doesn't give users of the current platform much reason to be convinced in staying with the windows platform. Windows Mobile 6.5 does have a new and improved web browser and home screen so I guess that is a plus.

Windows Mobile 6.5.1 will however bring several significant improvements, including a rewritten, finger-friendly contact application, according to Download Squad. Microsoft is also adding several UI elements, including buttons and check boxes with a visual refresh that will hopefully address how most of the OS still looks like it's from 2002.

Windows Mobile 7 is expected out next year, and it will reportedly represent a major shift by including more finger-friendly controls and a new version of Office Mobile. But until then, it sounds like Windows Mobile 6.5.1 might be the way to go if you're stuck with a Windows Mobile device.



Read more at DownloadSquad via jkontherun

Adobe, which makes Photoshop, introduced Photoshop.com Mobile for iPhone, a Photoshop Lite program to tweak and add effects to camera phone shots on the iPhone. It's not to be confused with its big brother Photoshop desktop application, which sells for $599.

The Photoshop iPhone app also lets users access photos stored on Photoshop.com and view them on the iPhone, but Adobe has plenty of company with that feature.

Said features include in the app are rotating, cropping, using filter effects, and adjusting exposure, tint and saturation. Photoshop mobile includes "sketch," to make pictures look like drawings and "soft focus," for a slight blur.

HTC passed around their latest creation: an Android-based device they're calling Hero. And... wow! I have always been a fan of HTC since back when they came out with the HTC 8125. If you recall that phone was a monster but back in the day it was full of features that other phones during that time did not have. So now as time has passed we look for more features and a slicker looking style phones.

So it was with notable reticence that I took a shine to the Hero. The whole interface is skinned in HTC's own UI, which they call "Sense," built on top of Google's Android operating system, version 1.5 (aka Cupcake). Like other HTC-designed interfaces, it's beautiful. Unlike others, it works. Fast.

The device's most superficial menu is a dashboard-like flip screen that holds an arrangeable array of widgets, which can provide quick access to your contacts, Twitter feed, music player, calendar and weather-bugs, among other things. Once you dig into the Hero's customized apps, you'll notice that the contact flow has its own lovely Rolodex feel, akin to TouchFLO but more space-efficient and responsive. Likewise, HTC has ginned up its own custom on-screen keyboard (the Hero has no flip-out jaw, thankfully) and its own calendar, which look and feel as good as anything birthed in Cupertino.
The camera, backed by an excellent 5MP sensor with autofocus and digital zoom, takes pictures that shame the iPhone's (3G or 3G S), even though zooming is confusingly operable by the rolly nav ball instead of any of the soft keys. And the rest of the phone's physical chassis is above and beyond what we've come to expect even from a good hardware maker like HTC: the glass screen is oliophobic, so fingerprints wipe off easily, and the backing is infused with Teflon so it doesn't stain or fade with contact from palm or purse. The screen is crisp and bright--moreso than the iPhone--and the body itself feels more compact than Apple's device, although they're virtually the same size. Even HTC's trademark "foot"--the bend at the bottom of the device--seems refined from its odd incarnation on the G1.

Unlike the G1 or the new myTouch 3G, the Hero has a 3.5mm headphone jack at the top, and unlike the iPhone, it plays Flash animations out of the box.

HTC says the Hero will go on sale in the U.S. this fall in two colors, black and white, but no price or carrier has been disclosed.

Here are the specs of the phone. HTC Hero

Source: HTC Hero Hands-on, HTC

iphone Like Cellphone
Designer, Bence Bogar, releases a concept phone which he claims is the “perfect phone in the world”, which means he claims his concept phone is better than iPhone. The concept phone has 2.8″, 5.0-MP digital camera, 512MB Ram, micro SD (T-flash) expansion slot, WIFI support, built-in Bluetooth technology, and built-in GPS features. Will Steve Jobs buy Bence Bogar’s concept phone idea?





Nokia 888

The Nokia 888 concept design by Tamer Nakisci can be changed to any form. You can change its shape according to your needs during the day but don’t have to carry it in your pocket or on your wrist; take it anywhere and in any form.

This cellphone concept can be rolled, bent, placed on your clothes like a clip and more. It uses liquid battery, speech recognition, flexible touch screen, and a touch sensitive body cover which lets it understand and adjust to the environment.

As well as the shape, the color of the Nokia 888 Mobile Phone may also be changed.

The idea behind the design of Nokia 888 is thatthe perfect form does not exist. Form follows you so they create the perfect form for each function.

That's right people, the Zune HD is real, and it's coming this Fall. Here are some of the features that Microsoft has added to the new Zune HD.

Touch Screen
Get quick and instant access to your content with multi-touch navigation. With a 3.3-inch screen and vivid 16:9 OLED display (480x272 resolution), premium entertainment is at your fingertips.*

HD Radio
Tune into all your favorite stations with crystal-clear reception. With an integrated HD Radio receiver, you can access a variety of HD Radio stations at no additional cost. Plus, tag the songs you like for later purchase.

HD Video Out
Watch supported 720p HD movies, TV shows and videos in high definition on your HDTV through the Zune HD & AV Dock (sold separately). Or take them with you for premium entertainment on the go. Additional dock and HDTV are required.*

Wireless
Connect, update, and buy content wirelessly from Wi-Fi hot spots. Stream millions of songs over Wi-Fi directly to your Zune HD and turn it into a portable digital jukebox.

Web Browser
Surf the web anytime, anywhere you have a Wi-Fi connection. Enjoy your favorite websites with a full-featured web browser including tap-to-zoom technology, built-in accelerometer, and touchscreen QWERTY keyboard.

Samsung’s first Android phone is finally coming and this time for real. The Samsung i7500 will be the first Samsung phone running Android 1.5. The 11.9-mm slim quad-band GSM, tri-band 7.2Mbps HSDPA (900/1700/2100MHz) candybar packs a 3.2-inch, 320 x 480 pixel AMOLED touchscreen, WiFi, GPS, 5 megapixel camera with Power LED, 1,500mAh battery, 8GB of storage (plus MicroSD expansion for up to 32GB more), and a standard 3.5mm headset jack.

There is not an official a release date for T-Mobile USA but because it will have 1700 3G band, this is a good candidate to be launched on T-MO.

The Samsung I7500 is a cutting-edge smartphone, featuring a 3.2″ AMOLED full touch screen and 7.2Mbps HSDPA and WiFi connectivity, giving users access to Google™ Mobile services and full web browsing at blazing speeds.

Features:

HSDPA 7.2Mbps / HSUPA 5.76Mbps (900 / 1700/ 2100MHz)
EDGE / GPRS (850/ 900/1800/1900)
OS
Android
Display
3.2″ HVGA(320×480) AMOLED
Camera
5 MP Camera (Auto Focus), Power LED
Video / Audio
Video: MPEG4, H.263, H.264, WMV
Audio: MP3, AAC, AAC+, e-AAC+, WMA, RA
Value Added
Features
Full Web Browser Google Search, Maps, Gmail,
YouTube, Calendar, Google Talk, Android Market
Connectivity
Bluetooth® 2.0, USB 2.0, WiFi, MicroUSB, 3.5mm ear jack
Memory
Internal memory: 8GB
External memory: Micro SD (Up to 32GB)
Battery
1500 mAh
Size
115 x 56 x 11.9mm

* Google, Google Search, Google Maps, Gmail, YouTube, Google Calendar, Google Talk are trademarks of Google Inc.

Reference: CellphoneSignal.com April 27, 2009 by T-Marco

When it comes to cellphones and where they are heading in the future. I am like a little kid in the candy shop. I get so excited and I want to tell everyone how awesome they are and what they can do.
So I periodically check out one of my favorite manufactures of cellphones, HTC. HTC was founded in 1997, HTC Corporation designs, manufactures and markets innovative, feature rich smartphones and PDA's phone devices.

Since its establishment, HTC has developed strong R&D capabilities, pioneered many new designs and product innovations and launched state-of-the-art PDA Phones and smartphones for mobile operators and distributors in Europe, the US, and Asia. These machines are available as HTC devices and as products individually customized for operator and device partners.

HTC is one of the fastest growing companies in the mobile device market. Now that you know all this information lets get right into the phone of choice today. The HTC Snap. The HTC Snap boasts an effortless elegance with its slim design you’ll be proud to display, no matter where your schedule has you running.

Specifications:

Processor	Qualcomm® MSM 7225™, 528 MHz
Operating System	Windows Mobile® 6.1 Standard
Memory	ROM: 256 MB RAM: 192 MB
Dimensions	116.5 X 61.5 X 12.0 mm ( 4.59 X 2.42 X 0.47 inches)
Weight	120 grams (4.23 ounces) with battery
Display	2.4-inch TFT-LCD with LED back light and QVGA resolution
Network	HSDPA/WCDMA: Europe/Asia: 900/2100 MHz Up to 7.2 Mbps down-link speed Quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE: Europe/Asia: 850/900/1800/1900 MHz (Band frequency and data speed are operator dependent.)
Device Control	Trackball with Enter button
Keyboard	4-row QWERTY keyboard
GPS	Internal GPS antenna
Connectivity	Bluetooth® 2.0 with Enhanced Data Rate and A2DP for wireless stereo headsets Wi-Fi®: IEEE 802.11 b/g HTC ExtUSB™ (11-pin mini-USB 2.0 and audio jack in one)
Camera	2.0 megapixel color camera with fixed focus
Audio supported formats	AAC, AAC+, eAAC+, AMR, AWB, QCP, MP3, WMA, WAV, MIDI
Video supported formats	WMV, ASF, MP4, 3GP, 3G2, M4V, AVI
Battery	Rechargeable Lithium-ion battery Capacity: 1500 mAh Talk time: Up to 300 minutes for WCDMA Up to 510 minutes for GSM Standby time: Up to 480 hours for WCDMA Up to 380 hours for GSM (The above are subject to network and phone usage.)
Expansion Slot	microSD™ memory card (SD 2.0 compatible)
AC Adapter	Voltage range/frequency: 100 ~ 240V AC, 50/60 Hz DC output: 5V and 1A

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