Another Beginning

Posted by BA on Mar 13, 2013 in Android, Business, iPhone, Mobile Apps, Technology | 0 comments

While I’ve been running my own start up and have been involved with a couple before that, I’ve recently joined a friend to go for yet another start-up, a brand new company based in DHA Lahore and this is yet another beginning, yet another exciting action packed start-up and yet another dawn for the new dreams.

Duddoo aur Dhobi – First step in the right direction

Posted by BA on Feb 22, 2013 in Apple, iPad, iPhone, iPhone Apps, Mobile, Mobile Apps, Mobile Games, Pakistan | 0 comments

Like any other parent having a young child, my worries are beginning to rise as my son has  access to media, music, cartoons, games, entertainment and education that is either in a foreign language or it’s localized in an incorrect way. While it is great to access English, Spanish and French content, there has been a big gap when we talk about Urdu content, especially in interactive education, games, cartoons, stories and edu-tainment apps. No I do not like my son watching Hindi content, that is not Urdu beware. There have been several serious efforts like ToffeeTV to fill the gap but we need to speed up the efforts now.

BlackBerry 10 – This better be good.

Posted by BA on Jan 30, 2013 in BlackBerry, BlackBerry 10, Business, Mobile, Technology | 0 comments

I’m intentionally writing this post today, BlackBerry 10 launch is just a few hours to go. BlackBerry Z10 is the first device on the given platform and there’s a fair bit of excitement around the RIM and BlackBerry neighborhoods. This has been pretty much down hill for RIM for quite some time and in my opinion this is their last chance to bounce back.

They better get this done right, and they are doing pretty much everything they can to bring back the lost glory to RIM and BlackBerry platform and devices but I’m afraid this may be too little too late. RIM has been missing back to back deadlines and eventually we reach a point where they cannot miss any more opportunities.

I’m sure RIM has been working hard to do a lot of things but here is my wish list of what RIM should do to make it right from here onwards:

* Launch at least 8 devices in 2013 positioned at different price, markets and user levels.
* Break free from networks, allow users to use BlackBerry without using BlackBerry package
* Push popular app makers to bring their apps to BlackBerry 10 ( like Skype   )
* Devise a mechanism to repel junk apps from their app store, they’ve already got quite a many out there already.
* Wake up and bite the reality, they are nowhere near the industry leaders, so they gotta grow slow and steady.
* Launch BlackBerry N10 as quickly as possible. The bigger chunk of existing BlackBerry fan club is qwerty users.

This list could get longer but it’s enough for now I guess.

In the end I wish luck to RIM and team BlackBerry and as a die hard BlackBerry fan/user/addict myself, I’d love to see RIM to do a real come back.

Speedometer – released for iOS

Posted by BA on Dec 9, 2012 in Apple, GPS, iPhone, iPhone Apps, Mobile | 0 comments

We at Eccentrica Technologies have just released Speedometer app for iPhone and iPad. This GPS based Speedometer app lets you keep an eye on your speed whether you are in a car, a bus, a train, a boat, riding a bike, running on foot or even skiing downhill. The app shows an analog and digital speed of the device you’re carrying. You can also turn on a speed alarm to avoid traffic tickets and the iPhone can fit in your dashboard for replacing your old boring speedometer.

The app takes just a few moments to lock the GPS and you’re ready to go. Download this app today for iTunes store now.

Download link: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/the-speedometer/id582606409?mt=8

How did your site look in 1997?

Posted by BA on Jan 6, 2012 in Apple, Google, Internet, Microsoft | 0 comments

I just came across this amazing web archive. If you had a website several years ago or you want to see how your favorite websites looked like a decade back, this is your best bet. I just dug up and found the face of my websites and it was really great to visit so many websites back in time. For example, this is how the Google logo looked like back in 1998/1999.

And this is how Apple’s website looked like in 1997.

How to use Nintendo Wii controller with your Nokia Phone

Posted by BA on Nov 1, 2011 in Gaming Consoles, Mobile, Mobile Accessories, Mobile Apps, Mobile Keyboards, Nokia, Nokia N8, Wii | 0 comments

Just did bit of a hack and it feels so good to control this Nokia phone running Symbian with Nintendo Wii controller. The feel is even greater when you play a game using this remote when your Phone is connected to a TV via TV-out cable. Please note this solution only works on Symbian S60, Symbian ^3 and Symbian Anna and has been tested on a Nokia N8 with Symbian Anna installed on it.

Here we go and Best of Luck!

Hardware used in experiment

1. A Nokia N8 smart phone with Symbian Anna
2. A Wii remote controller RVL 003 (Don’t have one? Click here to buy)
3. A USB desktop keyboard or a standard Bluetooth keyboard (Only for touchscreen-only phones. Optional for phones with physical keyboards).

How to connect

1. Install a simple application named MOBIPad (link at the end of the post).
2. Run Mobi Pad and from options menu choose to connect to Wiimote
3. Press 1 and 2 simultaneously on the Wii controller and wait till the app says connected
4. Done! The remote now works all across your apps and everywhere in the OS.

Catch for Touchscreen users

Touch screen phones like Nokia 5800 ExpressMusic or Nokia N8 do not have a physical keyboard and hence Options menu cannot be launched to start connection with the wiimote. You can use a Bluetooth keyboard or a normal USB keyboard to access the menu. Simply connect the Bluetooth keyboard via bluetooth, or use the USB connector that came with your Nokia N8 to connect a desktop USB Keyboard to your phone. When you run MOBIPad, press Windows/Menu key to open the menu and there you are with a working app on touch-screen.

You can download MOBIPad application from this link.

Note: Please note this program is provided as is. I’ve found it working and apparently it doesn’t do anything wrong to the phone.

What’s kept me busy at gaming?

Posted by BA on Oct 25, 2011 in Android Apps, Android Market, Apple, iPhone Apps, Mobile Apps, Mobile Games | 0 comments

I know this is a weird post with an older game but this is what has kept me busy for quite some time now. It’s Gameloft’s Modern Combat 2 – Black Pegasus. Sounds crazy but I’ve spent hours and hours of online play after I completed the rich single player story. Awesome game with amazing game play and guess what I did after playing this? I was about to upgrade my desktop PC (i3 processor and an Nvidia 8800 GT), I dropped the idea of upgrading it and sold the poor desktop as well. I’ve truly gone mobile-gaming now

You can get a copy for yourself on Android as well as on iPhone if you are interested. Every dollar spent is worth it, guaranteed!

Still not convinced? Watch the video trailer here:

Is it Microsoft vs Apple all over again? HP Pulls the plug on Web-OS.

Posted by BA on Aug 19, 2011 in Apple, Google, Microsoft | 0 comments

The news is spreading fast that HP is discontinuing the Web-OS device operations. While this news needs more detailed analysis and we have a long way to go but we are left with lesser number of players when it comes to operating system for the hand-held devices. Google, Apple, RIM and Microsoft are the four major operating system developers. While RIM and Google are no naive souls, I can’t rule out the possibility of a Microsoft vs Apple battle again a few years down the road if these two can eliminate Google and RIM from the race. With Microsoft’s strategic alliance with Nokia and Apple’s discontinued success story gives rise to the support for this possible traditional rivalry coming to the Smartphone and Tablet’s world soon.