Then came along the HTC Magic with a documents viewer from the Quickoffice, but no editing suite.

Thankfully, DataViz has stepped up to the plate with Documents To Go for Android, a full suite of documents viewer and editor.  Now, users can view and edit Microsoft® Word, Excel®, PowerPoint® and Adobe® PDF files without skimping on features on their Android-powered Smartphone. Documents To Go supports latest Microsoft Office & Adobe formats (doc, docx, xls, xlsx, ppt, pptx & pdf).

At this time, the competing QuickOffice application still does not support document EDIT or viewing of Office 2007 documents for Word (.docx) and Excel (.xlsx),so if you need editing, Documents To Go is the direction to look.

The good news is that the Documents To Go viewer is available as a free download from the Android Market.  However, if you also need to edit on your Android device, you will need to upgrade the suite for a fee.

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After careful analysis of their offers, I got myself a SIM and I’ve been hooked ever since. The reasons aren’t too farfetched.

1. At N30/minute (EasyCliq) and N24/minute (Easy Starter HomeZone), they offer the LOWEST OFF-NET TARIFFS amongst all the functional GSM providers. I basically make most of my calls (ON-NET & OFF-NET) on my Etisalat line because it’s way cheaper, with the exception of GLO 2 GLO calls, which are currently, pegged at N18/minute based on an ongoing promo.
2. SMS communication is cheaper at the rate of N5 to Etisalat Networks and N10 to other networks. Other networks charge N15 for off-net textmessages. On Etisalat, I also get one free SMS for every two that I send
3. On the EasyCliq plan, for every N500 I spend on making calls and texting each month, I’m assured of 3MB OF FREE INTERNET DATA, as well as the occasional free SMS and free talk minutes. Though 3MB looks small, it goes a long way for checking my emails and Facebook while on the road. Of course Opera Mini is needed so as not to waste the bandwidth
4. I rarely get the annoying “NUMBER NOT AVAILABLE/UNREACHABLE” prompt while making calls on Etisalat and the calls are mostly crystal clear.
5. Their Internet services though ridiculously priced and lacking 3G connection, are the most reliable in my opinion.

In the title of this entry, “Five Reasons Why I’m Better Off On The Etisalat Network For Now!”, the emphasis is on the phrase “for now“. I am probably enjoying the Etisalat network because they are still UNDER-SUBSCRIBED. Only time will tell if they can keep up the brilliant services as their active subscriber base grows.

Note: Coverage is still a bit shaky even in covered cities so I wouldn’t suggest you make Etisalat your primary telephone number.

I would be literally lost without my Etisalat line. What network’s services can’t you live without? Feel free to leave a comment below.

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The question is: does the camera on the Samsung Jet deliver on the goods?

The Jet’s camera LED flash lights up when you start video recording, which is good. While results in night recordings are not superb, the flash does help low light situations and makes daylight video recording better.

We were unable to convert to DVD format because our video editing software needs a paid upgrade (and we are just penny-pinching at the moment), but conversion to VCD was smooth and easy.

This means that we were not able to examine the full potentials of the Jet’s recording. VCD conversion gave us MPEG1, 325×288, at 25 frames per second, 1150kbps. DVD conversion on our video editor would have given us MPEG2 720×576 at 25 frames per second, 6000kbps. Note that the Jet is capable of 30 frames per second.

If and when we do get that upgrade, we will update this page with a DVD quality file.

Playback on VCD

Video playback of the VCD quality file is pretty good – home video quality actually. Audio playback is good and loud – no issues there. One bit of good news is that the lip-sync issue that occured on a couple of Samsung models in the past is nowhere to be found here. Audio and video sync perfectly.

So that you can judge the quality for yourself, should you so wish, here is a short video we recorded on the Jet indoors, mid-morning. Click on the image or text link below to download the 2.8mb video file and burn it to VCD or copy to a USB flash drive to watch on your VCD/DVD player.

D1-video recorded on Samsung S8003 Jet – converted to VCD quality

YouTube Playback

Alternatively, you can view it via YouTube:

What do you think of the video recording prowess of the Samsung Jet?

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Here is the full press release from Bitstream:

MARLBOROUGH, Mass. – February 3, 2010 – Bitstream Inc. (NASDAQ: BITS) today announced that the forthcoming version of its BOLT™ mobile browser will include the ability to run Web applications, commonly referred to as “widgets.” Since BOLT is a Web browser that works on mobile phones of all types, the addition of Web apps will give BOLT users increased functionality on their mobile phones. The new BOLT Widgets capability will be introduced in beta as part of the forthcoming 1.7 version of BOLT, to be released to the public at Mobile World Congress on February 15, 2010.

Although BOLT already runs website-based applications written in Ajax, Javascript and other Web programming languages, such as the popular Facebook game Mafia Wars and Google Docs, the new Web apps will be installed directly within BOLT and thus will load and execute even faster. BOLT users will be able to discover, select and install specific applications through the BOLT Widget Gallery. BOLT will display an iconic list of all installed apps, allowing users to quickly find and use them directly within BOLT.

“As many of the recent mobile and wireless trade shows have demonstrated, mobile applications are part of the mainstream mobile experience,” said Sampo Kaasila, vice president of research and development at Bitstream. “However, the vast majority of phones in use today are ‘feature phones’ not smartphones. Unfortunately for the users of these billions of feature phones, it isn’t easy to find, install and run mobile applications. By adding Web apps to BOLT, Bitstream is not only improving the usability of our mobile browser, we are also making it possible for literally billions of people to partake in the mobile apps revolution.”

BOLT is a server-assisted browser that has been shown to have the most accurate page rendering of any mobile browser in its class, receiving a perfect 100 percent in the Acid3 page rendering test. Using this same cloud computing technology to support Web applications allows BOLT to offer increased functionality to the broad spectrum of devices BOLT already runs on, even the most basic mobile phones.

At its launch, Bitstream will have an initial set of sample applications available in its Beta Widget Gallery. BOLT Web applications are written as standard W3C widgets (www.w3.org/TR/widgets/), a standard with broad industry support.

Bitstream will be showcasing its new version of BOLT to OEMs and Carriers at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona from February 15 to February 18 in booth number 1A70.

About BOLT
The acclaimed BOLT mobile browser has the most faithful rendering of Web pages of any browser in its class. This fast mobile browser quickly and accurately displays Web pages on mobile phones just as they would appear on desktop computers. BOLT is the only browser for mobile phones of all types to support streaming video from popular media sharing sites such as YouTube and MySpace. Based on the same WebKit rendering engine used by the iPhone’s Safari and Android’s Chrome browsers, BOLT is compatible with the majority of the world’s 4 billion mobile phones. BOLT features a patented split-screen viewing mode, intuitive keystroke shortcuts and copy/paste functionality, and offers a user-friendly, feature-rich mobile browsing experience for even entry-level mobile phones. Download BOLT for free at http://boltbrowser.com – the mobile Internet has never looked this good on your phone.

About Bitstream
Bitstream Inc. develops software technologies and applications for the graphic art and mobile communications industries. Bitstream’s award-winning fonts and font technologies enable device manufacturers and application developers to render the highest quality text in any language, on any device, at any resolution. The company’s MyFonts brand is the world’s leading provider of fonts to consumers. Bitstream’s Pageflex brand enables marketers to easily produce customized communications in print, email, and online. The company’s latest offering is the BOLT mobile browser, which has been installed by millions of users worldwide since its release in February 2009. For more information visit www.bitstream.com.

BOLT mobile web browser just got better. And you heard it first from MobilityNigeria.

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This includes contributions on both the main site and in the forums. We are also looking at implementing a Most Helpful Member of the Year award with a small gift.

Head over to the Most Helpful members thread for more details and to join the discussion.

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What makes it a bargain hunter delight is the price: the 5230 is available for between N26,000 and N29,000 in the market.

But for that price, here are the things that you will find missing: no memory card and data cable in the sales package, no USB charging, no WiFi, and no office document viewer, among a few others.

Still, regardless of its handicaps, the fact that this device is HSDPA-enabled makes it a very attractive option to mobile internet jocks.

If you are on limited funds and need a budget smartphone that will deliver broadband internet, perhaps the 5230 XM is exactly what you need. Should you require a hardware QWERTY keyboard, look in the direction of its sibling, Nokia E63 (just 3G; no HSDPA), or its Windows Mobile cousin, the Samsung B7320 (with HSDPA).

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The Blackberry 8520 is the device through which this transition is taking place, and it has been aptly named Blackberry Lite in certain quarters.

To achieve this low-cost solution, RIM has skimped on features, and you need to be aware before you splurge on the 8520. Here goes:

1. the 8520 lacks 3G, so you are left with GPRS and EDGE for data
2. the camera is only 2 mega-pixel, so don’t nexpect to be able to take pictures you canput to any serious use
3. there’s also no GPS

The QWERTY keyboard is traditional Blackberry and users shouldn’t expect any problems from that direction.

Of course, if you are after much more functionality and value, you can spend about the same to get a Nokia E71, Nokia E75, Samsung Jet, and get 3G, HSDPA, Wi-fi, GPS, much better camera, etc.

But, if your primary needs are corporate PUSH email and image (yes; that’s what most Nigerian BB owners get their devices for) and you don’t want to spend too much, the BB 8520 beckons for you.

But for those who have been craving to join the Blackberry club you can now do so without breaking the bank.

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According to the reports, market leader Nokia lost a small margin of marketshare (from 38.6% marketshare in Q3 2008 to 37.8% in Q3 2009), while Samsung increased by as much as 4% (from 17.1% in Q3 2008 to 21.0% in Q3 2009). LG also made a strong showing growing its sales from 7.5% in Q3 to 11.0% in Q3 2009.

Motorola and Sony Ericsson are both still on a downward slide, and we are hoping here at MobilityNigeria that 2010 will bring them better fortunes.

In the meantime, as someone has said, the Koreans are coming!

Source

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As such, we need you to help us text this feature. Here is what you do for us:

1. load www.mobilitynigeria.com/forums/ on your mobile browser to see if a mobile version is presented to you
2. if the desktop version is what loads on your phone browser, please load this browser detection page on your phone’s built-in browser to check the browser user-agent, then post the info in the comments section below, so we can fine-tune things for your phone browser
3. tell us anything else you observe

We will make adjustments till we have as many devices/browsers covered.

We appreciate the time that you put into this, as well as other resources that this test may cost you. If you are reading this on your mobile device, you are just ready to go, simply click to go to the forums.

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At Alireta, we are of the opinion that it is time we expand the scope of this website to cover these devices. For example, here at the office, we use an Acer AspireOne netbook that is the size of a small hard-cover notebook – smaller than the typical desk diary and very mobile. Some netbooks come smaller than that.

Nokia’s new netbook (the 3G Booklet) has further narrowed down the gap between computers and smartphones. More manufacturers are pitching in this direction as well. It is just a matter of time before they become more mainstream mobile devices.

We have created a section for netbooks, mini notebooks, and tablet PCs in the MobilityNigeria Forums. Users and visitors can post news items and discuss these devices, as well as find help with issues they may face with them.

Do you have a netbook or tablet PC? Have you played around with one? What is your take on their place in mobility?

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