While bloodthirsty and terrifying, you may be surprised to find out that
dinosaurs are in fact sentimental creatures. Yesterday was their first day on the town at SXSW, and those little guys had so much fun they decided to make a scrapbook. To follow’a0their adventures around Austin, check out their online album. They’ll be updating it throughout the next couple
days as they meet new people and scare some panelists.

These prehistoric predators will be back again only for the next two days,
so keep a sharp lookout for them. If you snap a picture with these little
beasts and are the first to meet us at our secret Loopt restaurant location,
(OneRiot & Taptu tweets will let you know,) you snag a
$100.00 gift certificate to grab some grub.

Happy Hunting!

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SXSW: Taptu and OneRiot..Dine With Dino, Day 1!

This week we have learned that Wapedia amongst the top free apps in the Japanese iTunes Music Store!

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Konichiwa! Japan Loves Wapedia On iPhone!

The take-up and feedback of Wapedia on Android has been fantastic. We’re over the moon with it’s early success. Thanks to all of you that have become regular users and provided feedback.

Here are a few highlights so far:

• On September 19 of this year, the Wapedia application surpassed the 100,000 download mark on the Android Market.
• As of yesterday, September 30, the application has been downloaded more than 120,000 times.
• The Wapedia Android application has received over 20 5-star ratings from Android users at cryket.com.
• The Wapedia application has a very high satisfaction rating on Androlib.com.

New Features Abound

The most recent version of Wapedia which was just released to the Android Market has a few new features that are sure to gain notice.

First of all, the newest version supports the most recent 1.6 ‘Donut’ revision of the Android OS.’a0 Also, the latest Wapedia app supports the creation of bookmarks of Wikipedia content and an all new history functionality.

As you can see, Wapedia on Android is growing strong.’a0 With the new features, and others we have coming down the pike, we expect our Android Wapedia users to continue to be happy with the product.

As always, if you have any feedback on how to make our apps and services better, please reach out.’a0 My email address is jason@taptu.com and we’re on Twitter as well.

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Wapedia Rockets on Android

Android has been available for the better part of the year and the handsets that have come to market thus far have been from well-respected handset maker HTC.’a0 The G1 came first and in the US we now have the MyTouch3G from T-Mobile USA.

By paying attention to recent announcements in the mobile handset world, it’s apparent that Android has garnered attention from a growing list of device manufacturers.’a0 Just last week at the Mobilize Conference, which I attended along with Taptu CEO Steve Ives, Motorola announced the Cliq handset.

The Motorla Cliq is an attractive handset features full GSM/3G and Wi-Fi Internet connectivity, a 5 Megapizel camera, full QWERTY keyboard, and media playback, all running on the Android 1.5 (Cupcake) operating system.

Also at Mobilize I had the opportunity to sit down with Frank Meehan, the CEO of INQ Mobile.’a0 He told me (and the rest of the Mobilize conference) that INQ will enhance their existing handset palette with the addition of Android based handsets.’a0 The new line will INQ’s premium offering, leaving the BREW platform to power their low-cost models.

These developments, along with the addition of LG and Samsung embracing Android make me think that Android is finally come around and will soon be a force to recon with in the mobile world.’a0 The iPhone is currently the darling of the mobile world, but I know of many who are looking for an another option.

Android, with its native web functionality, touch interface, and attractive user experience might be the alternative some are looking for.’a0 Also, for app devleopers, the Android platform is attractive.’a0 You see, in the Android Marketplace, there aren’t as many restrictive practices that limit the publication of applications, unlike the App Store from iTunes.

If you’re already an Android user – you should check out our Wapedia app for browsing Wikipedia content.’a0 To find Wapedia – just search for us in the Marketplace.

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Android Becoming Widely Adopted

Internet tablets are not new to Nokia.’a0 In recent years we have seen the N770, N800, and N810 models make their debut.’a0 The most recent Internet tablet from Nokia, the N810, has been out for about a year and a half.’a0 This device features a large 3.5″ touch-sensitive screen, connectivity to the Internet via Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, a front-facing camera for video conferencing, a full QWERTY keyboard and expandability via SD cards.’a0 On the software side, Nokia Internet Tablets come installed with everything you need to interact on the ‘net including an email client, web browser, IM client, Skype, and a traditional VoIP client.

Internet tablets are popular with the open source crowd because they run Maemo, Nokia’s Linux-based operating system.’a0 While the tablets have been popular with the geek set, they have yet to catch on with a mainstream audience and have experienced good, but not great, sales figures.

Enter the N900, Nokia’s newest Internet Tablet which adds some smart capabilities onto the already healthy feature set of the previous Internet tablets.’a0 The N900 adds:

• Maemo 5, the next generation of the Maemo operating system.’a0 This OS release seems to be much more Internet-savvy and user friendly.
• A beautiful black form factor with touch screen
• A’a0 5MP digital camera with Carl Zeiss Lens
• 32GB of onboard storage
• 1GB of app memory
• In addition to Wi-Fi, a 3G data connection for calling and mobile data access.

So, all in all, the N900 appears to be a strong player in the Mobile Internet Device market.’a0 Could the Nokia N900 be the perfect pocket-sized computer?’a0 When the device debuts in October, we hope to find out.

So far, the N810 for me has been a great device to be connected to the Internet when lugging around my laptop isn’t convenient.’a0 Also, the N810 is great as a media playback device on an airplane with its compact size and perfectly sized screen.’a0 However, I’ve always desired the ability access the net via 3G and to make calls from my Tablet.’a0 With the N900, this appears to finally be possible.

What are your thoughts on the newest Nokia Tablet?’a0 Please reply via the comment section below or via Twitter.

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Nokia Unleashes the N900 Internet Tablet

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Testing Video Shot On the Nokia N97

For those looking for the perfect accessory to go with your new digital camera, be sure to give the GorillaPod a serious look. This bendable, flexible tripod is by far the most used camera accessory (besides the memory card) I use constantly.

The last trip I took to the beach with my family, we were trying to take a picture of ourselves so I positioned my Canon Powershot SD800IS on a log and waited for the little countdown timer to do it’s thing. Then, when the shot was going to fire, the camera fell off the log an into the sand.

Then, I looked into the GorillaPod. As you can see, this tripod can be molded and flexed to stand sturdy on just about any surface. whether it’s a car hood, bench, walkway railing – whatever, allowing you to get a perfect shot every time.

I thought GorillaPods were only available for point and shoot cameras, but Joby also makes them for SLR cameras, Sony PSPs and video cameras as well.

(Photo Credit: Flickr User Cleber)

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GorillaPod Makes a Perfect Digital Camera Companion

Palm Pre – A New Beginning?

In the United States, June 6th saw the release of the Palm Pre.’a0 This highly anticipated handset is seen as many a turning point for Palm, once a major influence in the mobile handset world.’a0 The Treo had a strong following in the early half of this decade but with a lack of new innovations, Palm has fallen in popularity.’a0 Will the Pre turn things around for the Sunnyvale, Ca company?’a0 The next few months will tell.

Nokia and the N97 Mobile Computer

June will see the shipping of their newest NSeries handset – a phone I’ve called the “Holy Grail“.’a0 The Nokia N97 has an impressive hardware stack including a high resolution touch screen, 5MP camera with widescreen video capture, GPS and compass.’a0 Also, the homescreen of the N97 can be customized via widgets written for the S60 platform.’a0 The N97 also features a full slide-out keyboard for easy messaging and text input.

The Nokia application store, called Ovi Store, was recently released, making app discovery and selection easier on the S60 platform.’a0 This combinationwill help advance the Nokia/Symbian platform as a great option for mobile application developers and for customers as well.

Apple, the iPhone, and WWDC

This week, Apple kicks off their World Wide Developer Conference.’a0 Tomorrow, June 8, the keynote address takes place.’a0 We already know the Apple iPhone 3.0 software will be released soon, but mobile geeks everywhere are hoping for new iPhone hardware to be announced soon.’a0 Last June, Apple released the iPhone 3G and there’s hope this June Apple will refresh the hardware stack again.

As you can see, there is a lot happening this month in the world of mobile hardware.

What features or handsets are you looking to try out?’a0 Let’s discuss in the comments!

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Mobile Month Continues: Apple’s WWDC Keynote Is Today!

The ubiquitous handset maker is using an interesting approach to the ad campaign centered around engaging and leery stories by pitching them as urban legends. The Nokia Legends, when they debut in the early Fall, are told by a well known actor and story teller and will be the central hub of a web-video campaign.

The actor chosen by Nokia is renowned performer and author Ron McLarty, who has been in roles such as Law and Order, Sex and the City, and many other TV series, as well as a known author who has published 18 novels.

Nokia recognizes that technology marketing is often focused on showing potential users a device that is aimed at specific needs such as SMS, central contact management, email, and so forth. On the other hand, Nokia hopes the Legends campaign will illustrate what is possible by utilizing a more abstract storytelling form that ties together the innovations the company wishes the general public to imagine.

The company is casting a wide net with the stories by using social media to generate a conversation surrounding each of the stories. Being a global company, they’re shooting each video in three languages: English, Spanish, and Mandarin Chinese as well.

It has been a real treat to watch the production process. I’ll post more about the videos themselves when they are released in the coming months. In the meantime, check out some of the behind-the-scenes photos I’ve been able to snap.

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In Toronto Covering Nokia Legends Ad Campaign

Photo Credit: Flickr User d1m5um

Well the big news I read today is that T-Mobile is turning on 3G in the Las Vegas and Austin markets on August 5th and 6th, respectively. TmoNews is also reporting that the next market to get it will be Minneapolis.

It will be nice when we have more than one carrier to chose from when wanting to go 3G here in the US (on GSM). However, I wish that the US radio spectrum could be divied up in a way that USA T-Mobile 3G handsets were compatible with AT&T’s HSDPA or even the EU 3G networks. Said more simply right now, as it’s planned, if you have an AT&T 3G handset and decide to switch to T-Mobile, you won’t be able to use your existing handset on T-Mobile’s 3G network.

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T-Mobile Turns on 3G in Two More American Cities