Google Voice Number Porting

   Today Google announced the opening of porting numbers to a Google Voice account for all existing users. The porting operation will charge the user with 20 USD and porting should be completed in about 24 hours with a confirmation email sent to the requester. After the number is ported to the Google Voice account the mobile service plan will be cancelled. It appears that users may experience disruptions in sending and receiving text messages for up to 3 business days. The good part is that users will be able to receive/initiate calls using this number from any device/computer which has the Google Voice application installed.

   If you wish to port your number you will need to login to the Google Voice account and access the Settings page. Here you will need to click the 'Change/Port' link which will appear next to the Google Voice number.

   Oh, by the way: - Hey Google, when are going to expand your Voice services outside US - like Europe countries? We are waiting for some time now... Thank you.

Source

ASUS Tablets

   At CES, ASUS has announced 4 new tablet PCs, 3 of them running Google`s Android 3.0 Honeycomb and only one with Microsoft`s Windows 7 - the Home Premium version. Although they did not provide too much information regarding their key features - let`s see what we have.

Eee Pad Slider

   This looks like the best choice for users who want a product that combines the tablet`s mobility and a traditional laptop`s comfort. Slider has an IPS 10.1 inches capacitive touch screen with a WSVGA 1280 x 800 resolution and 1080P HD playback capability. The CPU, and GPU in the same time, is the nVidia Tegra 2 dual-core. For RAM memory there are 2 versions available 512 MB and 1 GB, while for storage there is a 16 GB or 32 GB eMMC flash. This can be extended with a MicroSD card up to 32GB. For connectivity Slider offers Bluetooth 2.1 with EDR, WLAN 802.11 b/g/n, one USB 2.0 mini port, mini HDMI video-out, audio jack for headset, and a docking port. This tablet comes with 2 cameras - a front 1.2 MP and a rear 5 MP with LED flash. As you already noticed in the picture has a slide out QWERTY keyboard which may remind you of the HTC Shift. As operating system Asus Slider runs Android 3.0 Honeycomb.

   Unfortunately there are no words regarding the battery life and the 3G network connectivity is optional. Also it appears that HD recording is missing and of course the Motorola XOOM has more.If you ask me, this looks like a great device for the business environment. But we will have to see how it compares with the Cisco Cius.

Eee Pad Transformer

   This tablet has almost the same features as the Slider. But if you do not like the keyboard you can detach it at any moment, which is a good thing. Another difference is the extra storage 64 GB version while for connectivity the USB 2.0 is missing (or at least is not mentioned anywhere) - a bad thing. The card slot is SD (SDHC) and unlike Slider, Transformer has an internal microphone and 2 stereo speakers. They say that has a smooth playback of HD video conferencing, fast Web access and 'incredible mobile gaming performance'. Oh, and the battery life offers up to 16 hours access. So this appears to be a good device for professionals but with nice gaming capability.

Eee Pad Memo 

   The Memo looks like an ebook tablet style device, especially because it comes with a stylus pen for perfect hand-written notes. Different than Slider and Transformer, the Memo has a 7.1 inches capacitive touch screen and a 1.2 GHz dual-core Qualcomm 8260 processor. The front and rear cameras are the same as these other 2 tablets and has a micro HDMI port. As OS has Android Honeycomb but comes with 2 pre-installed applications - Media Note and Painter. The first one, as you probably guessed is a scrapbook or note taking application, while the Painter allows you to use the stylus as a sensitive drawing instrument. There are no other specifications at this moment.

Eee Slate EP121

   This is a totally different product in terms of hardware and software. Its getting very close to a normal laptop. The capacitive touch screen has a 12.1 inches size with LED-backlit display, 1280 x 800 resolution and 178° viewing angle. The processor is an Intel Core i5 470 UM dual-core, for storage there are 32 GB or 64 GB available SSD (expandable through a SDXC card) and the RAM starts with 2GB but can go up to 4GB of DDR3. As the Memo this has a stylus pen also. New features can be noticed in connectivity too: Bluetooth 3.0 and 2 USB 2.0 ports. The OS is a Windows 7 Home Premium with all its wide range applications compatibility. So if Motorola XOOM is the most powerful Android tablet, this is the most powerful Windows 7 tablet.

Source

Google Translate

   Google has released the other days a new version of the Translate application for Android devices. The 2.0 version brings something I thought I will not see too soon. This is the real-time speech translation through the conversation mode, but is working for now only between English and Spanish and is still in testing period. The conversation mode should allow the user to communicate fluidly with a nearby person in another language. So if I call a friend who is speaking only Spanish and I speak only in English we should be able to get long very well with the help of this software. I just need to touch the microphone icon and speak. 

   After I have updated the Google Translate to this new version and opened it, I saw that I can download many other language packages. So in the future there will be available other languages for the conversation mode also. Other improvements in this version are better drop-down list buttons for selecting the language you want to translate from and into, cleaner icons, cleaner layout and better input box. The SMS translation is still there too.

   Google Translate was lunched a year ago in January 2010 and now it supports 53 languages with voice input for 15 of them. This is available for Android 2.1 and above versions and you can download or update it from the Android Market. I believe this is great for the users who need to communicate but are a part of different cultures. This what I like about Google - they are always making things easier for the users. That`s why I am using their blogging platform and this is why I have an Android smartphone.

Source