Motorola Mobility brings 2 Budget Friendly Android 2.3 Smartphones to India

Power up  and experience the pleasure of multitasking with Motorola  FIRE XT and Motorola FIRE two new slim, sophisticated and budget friendly Android 2.3 powered smartphones from Motorola Mobility India Private Limited, a subsidiary of Motorola Mobility, Inc.

The Motorola FIRE XT delivers all the social networking you want, with the latest tools to keep you entertained; including video chat, email and convenient Swype texting on its 8.9cm (3.5-inch), extra-bright touch screen display. It also offers you vivid video capture and crystal clear, colorful still images with its dual cameras, including an auto-focus camera with built-in flash. The Motorola FIRE offers quick social messaging and web browsing with a touch-screen display plus a full QWERTY keypad, easy contact management with friends-centric widgets, and sharp, sharable images. Both of these new, fashionable Motorola smartphones allow you to quickly switch between friends and work-centric modes depending on what you’re doing with the new MOTO Switch user interface.

“Smartphones have become an integral, personal part of users’ lives – that’s why Motorola believes they should be fun, fashionable and feature-packed,” said Rajan Chawla, Mobile Devices business country head-sales and operations, India and South West Asia, Motorola Mobility. “With easy multitasking and contact management, faster and easier interactions, the Motorola FIRE XT and Motorola FIRE make for a great mobile experience at a great price for the young, fast-moving users who want everything from a top-quality smartphone.”

 Motorola FIRE XT: Simply better mobile Internet
Enjoy the perfect balance of sleek design, affordability and intuitive functionality on the Motorola FIRE XT. Capture and share your memories in crystal clarity with its 5MP auto-focus camera with built-in flash.  You can also use the front-facing camera to take fun photos of yourself on-the-go or to video chat with friends and family. You can quickly update your status and stay in touch with easy text input via Swype.

 Motorola FIRE: A mobile messaging experience with great multitasking
A full QWERTY keyboard and 7.1cm (2.8-inch) touch-screen display provide the perfect combination for emailing, texting and browsing the Web all day long on the Motorola FIRE. Users can even personalize their device and stay in constant contact with friends and families through the world’s leading social media applications. You can also capture memorable moments with the 3MP camera. And, Motorola FIRE transitions seamlessly between work and play, with a friends-centric widget to make it easier to manage contacts for both.

Additional key features and specifications for both FIRE XT and FIRE:
-Users have access to more than 250,000 apps from  Android Market
-3G/WIFI enabled and supports 3G hotspot for connecting up to 5 devices
-Access to Google Maps, Google Talk and Gmail
-FM Radio with radio data system (RDS) support
-2GB microSD card in box, expandable up to 32GB
-Supports E-mail (POP3/IMAP4), Enterprise-Class E-mail and MMS
-Assisted global positioning system (aGPS)d
-E-compass, proximity sensor, ambient light sensor, accelerometer

Pricing and Availability
Motorola FIRE XT and Motorola FIRE are available at select outlets in select cities. The Motorola FIRE XT is priced at a best buy of Rs 12,990 (MRP: Rs 13,890) and the Motorola FIRE is available at a best buy of Rs 9,490 (MRP: Rs 9,990).

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Vodafone Facebook Phone Launched in India for Rs. 4950 (555 BLUE)

Vodafone has launched it’s 555 Blue “Facebook Phone” in India with a price tag of Rs. 4950 or about USD $110. Vodafone 555 Blue is fully integrated with Facebook.

Tech Specs of Vodafone 555 Blue “Facebook Phone”

• 200 MHz MediaTek processor
• 2.4″ QVGA (320×240 pixels) display
• QWERTY keypad
• Bluetooth 2.1
• 2.0 MegaPixel Camera with LED Flash
• Email client with IMAP and POP3 support
• Preloaded Opera Mini Browser
• Lacks 3G & Wi-Fi connectivity and instead, works on 2.5 G and Edge networks
• 40 MB Internal Memory with upto 32 GB extendable via microSD card
• FM Radio

Vodafone’s Facebook Phone is bundled with unlimited data usage for the first year. The phone also comes with a dedicated Facebook button. 555 Blue integrates Facebook contacts with the phone’s address book as well as the messaging inbox. It also has a homescreen widget that keeps updating automatically in the background with latest Facebook updates.

Vodafone is also going to offer attractive pre-paid and post-paid data plans so that you can make some serious use of the new 555 Blue phone. You can check the video demo of Vodafone Facebook Phone in action.

Vodafone Facebook Phone will be available to buy/order soon through Vodafone shop & local resellers.

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Aston Martin Stunning Transparent Android Phone (Mobiado's CPT002 Aston Martin)

A phone with soul?  Luxury phone maker Mobiado and luxury car maker, Aston Martin have recently shown off the first prototype of a stunning transparent Android phone – somewhat mind blowing, no?

The CTP002 phone,glass is a color capacitive touchscreen, embodied into one big, transparent sapphire glass with two titanium edges on the left and right

But far from being just a cool phone with a fancy logo slapped onto it, the CPT002 will be able to connect with anAston Martin car and control many of the car’s functions. The car display will show a map with all local venues and your friends from Foursquare. While the camera’s integration into the car can be set to snap a photo periodically and post it on Facebook or Twitter and the CTP002′s accelerometer will track the drivers body in case of a collision, giving the car’s airbags better information on how to react.

While it is a concept, this isn’t just some pie-in-the-sky phone that will never exist in the real world. Aston Martin is working with Mobiado to create something real for their customers.

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USB 3.0 Flash Drive Roundup....

A brief history of USB Flash Drives

Developed in the early 1990s by Compaq, DEC, IBM, Microsoft, Intel, Nortel, and NEC, Universal Serial Bus is today the de facto peripheral interface standard. It has almost entirely replaced earlier interfaces like the serial and parallel ports. USB also relegated most external storage media like floppy and Zip disks to obsolescence, due to the utilization of the USB interface by flash and external hard drive manufacturers. USB 1.0, launched in 1996, specified 12Mbits/s “Full Speed” data transfer rates between devices and the host computer, though it did not see widespread adoption. 1998 saw the release of USB 1.1, which maintained the same 12Mbits/s transfer rate, and was the first widely adopted USB standard.

Usb1.0

I remember happily paying over $100 for a 32MB flash drive in the fall of 1999 because I could fit an entire semester’s assignments, articles, and papers on a single gadget the size of a pack of gum – and it was also durable – my first flash drive survived three trips through the washing machine. Though it’s hard to imagine someone not recognizing a flash drive now, back then other students occasionally came up to me at the Fishbowl to ask “What is that blinking light thingy you plugged into the computer?” While the earliest flash drives were handy, they were agonizingly slow – even accounting for their diminutive capacities.

Usb 2.0

The widespread adoption of USB devices (over 10 billion in the wild) is largely due to the development of USB 2.0. The USB 2.0 specification was released in 2000, and boasts a 480Mbits/s data transfer rate. Though USB 2.0 devices rarely approach this theoretical throughput maximum, USB 2.0 is far less patience-trying than USB 1.1, and googling (or binging or yahooing) 'novelty flash drive' reveals there's a flash drive for every interest imaginable. However, in 2000 when USB 2.0 was introduced, a 20GB hard drive was ‘huge.’ Today, a 2TB hard drive costs less than $100, and copying 1,000GB+ over USB 2.0 is a not particularly exciting all-night affair.

USb 3.0

Like USB 2.0 before it, USB 3.0 offers dramatically improved data transfer rates compared to its predecessor. Though specifications were announced in late 2008, consumer devices didn’t start ‘hitting the street’ until the beginning of 2010. USB 3.0 specifies transfer rates up to 5Gbit/s, compared to USB 2.0’s 480Mbits/s. USB 3.0 devices are downward compatible with USB 2.0 ports. Because of the ubiquity of USB 2.0 ports and relative rarity of USB 3.0 ports, this is an important consideration. Unfortunately, plugging a USB 3.0 device into a USB 2.0 port yields USB 2.0 transfer rates. Fortunately, computers with USB 3.0 ports are becoming increasingly common. Many newer laptops have at least one such port. USB 3.0 port expansion cards are available to upgrade older systems, and many newer motherboards feature two or more USB 3.0 jacks. Cases with front USB 3.0 ports are still rare, as are motherboards with USB 3.0 front port headers, but these will only become more common as time passes.
Anand reviewed an array of USB 2.0 flash drives back in 2005. He found that performance between different manufacturers and different models was quite variable. Because manufacturers often do not provide hard data regarding their drives’ performance, or sometimes provide ‘idealized’ transfer rates that don’t equal real-world capabilities, choosing between flash drives is problematic. We compare here a number of USB 2.0 and 3.0 drives in multiple ways, including synthetic performance tests and real-world use scenarios.

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Sony’s 3D Visor To Change 3D Forever. 750-Inch Screen Mounted on Your Head

When it comes to industry’s first, nobody does it better in style than Sony. Following its product roadmap in offering wide range of 3D products and 3D content production systems, Sony this time around has launched the world’s first 3D compatible head mounted display which is equipped with high definition OLED Panel offering its users movie theater-like virtual screen experience, equivalent to 750-inch screen, all in 3D-vieiwng style. The newly developed “Personal 3D Viewer” the “HMZ-T1” offers capability of viewing both 2D and 3D content.

The new “Personal 3D Viewer” is equipped with newly developed 0.7-inch (diagonal 18.0mm) high definition panel (1280 x 720). The new “HMZ-T1” offers HD picture quality through high contrast using self-illuminating OLED, color reproducibility through Sony’s new signal processing circuit for maximizing OLED features, as well as fast response, by illuminating the OLED panel the minute electrical current is passed through it. In addition to this the device achieves “Dual Panel 3D Method” by separating panels for left and right eye, for achieving 3D vision with HD picture quality. The new device offers viewers wide horizontal viewing angle of 45 degrees by incorporating an optical lens which suppresses unwanted things such as aberration and distortion. Furthermore, Sony has adopted its original virtual surround signal processing technology offering the viewers with acoustics equivalent to a maximum of 5.1ch through the left and right headphones. Among some of the other features on this device are; its wearable sensors which automatically turn off the panel if the viewer is not wearing the product, processor unit for connecting the device to other devices through its HDMI output socket and through socket and built-in HDMI output switcher enabling both the head mounted display and the television to be connected to the processor unit at any given time, giving freedom to its user to switch between devices for their desired output destination.

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Password recovery timing

Time it takes a hacker’s computer to randomly guess your password:

of course unless they’re using a nice setup and using gpu power

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How to Bypass BIOS Passwords

BIOS passwords can be add extra layer of security for desktop and laptop computers, and are used to either prevent a user from changing the BIOS settings or to prevent the PC from booting without a password. BIOS passwords can also be a liability if a user forgot their passwords, or if a malicious user changes the password. Sending the unit back to the manufacturer to have the BIOS reset can be expensive and is usually not covered in an a typical warranty. However, there are a few known backdoors and other tricks of the trade that can be used to bypass or reset the BIOS password on most systems.

To enter the BIOS Setup try these keystrokes:

• AMI BIOS:  Del key during the POST
• DTK BIOS:  Esc key during the POST
• Award BIOS:  Ctrl-Alt-Esc
• misc BIOS:  Ctrl-Esc
• Phoenix BIOS:  Ctrl-Alt-Esc or Ctrl-Alt-S
• IBM PS/2 BIOS:  Ctrl-Alt-Ins after Ctrl-Alt-Del

Backdoor Passwords

Many BIOS manufacturers have provided backdoor passwords that can be used to access the BIOS setup in the event you have lost your password. These passwords are case sensitive, so you may wish to try a variety of combinations.
WARNING: Some BIOS configurations will lock you out of the system completely if you type in an incorrect password more than 3 times. Read your manufacturers documentation for the BIOS setting before you begin typing in passwords.

Award BIOS backdoor passwords:

ALFAROME		BIOSTAR		KDD		ZAAADA
ALLy		CONCAT		Lkwpeter		ZBAAACA
aLLy		CONDO		LKWPETER		ZJAAADC
aLLY		Condo		PINT		01322222
ALLY		d8on		pint		589589
aPAf		djonet		SER		589721
_award		HLT		SKY_FOX		595595
AWARD_SW		J64		SYXZ		598598
AWARD?SW		J256		syxz
AWARD SW		J262		shift + syxz
AWARD PW		j332		TTPTHA
AWKWARD		j322
awkward

AMI BIOS Backdoor Passwords:

AMI		BIOS		PASSWORD		HEWITT RAND
AMI?SW		AMI_SW		LKWPETER		CONDO

Phoenix BIOS Backdoor Passwords:

phoenix

PHOENIX

CMOS

BIOS

Misc. Common Passwords

ALFAROME		BIOSTAR		biostar		biosstar
CMOS		cmos		LKWPETER		lkwpeter
setup		SETUP		Syxz		Wodj

Other BIOS Passwords by Manufacturer

Manufacturer	Password
VOBIS & IBM	merlin
Dell	Dell
Biostar	Biostar
Compaq	Compaq
Enox	xo11nE
Epox	central
Freetech	Posterie
IWill	iwill
Jetway	spooml
Packard Bell	bell9
QDI	QDI
Siemens	SKY_FOX
TMC	BIGO
Toshiba	Toshiba

Toshiba BIOS

Most Toshiba laptops and some desktop systems will bypass the BIOS password if the left shift key is held down during boot

IBM Aptiva BIOS

Press both mouse buttons repeatedly during the boot

Motherboard “Clear CMOS” Jumper or Dipswitch settings

Many motherboards feature a set of jumpers or dipswitches that will clear the CMOS and wipe all of the custom settings including BIOS passwords. The locations of these jumpers / dipswitches will vary depending on the motherboard manufacturer and ideally you should always refer to the motherboard or computer manufacturers documentation. If the documentation is unavailable, the jumpers/dipswitches can sometimes be found along the edge of the motherboard, next to the CMOS battery, or near the processor. Some manufacturers may label the jumper / dipswitch CLEAR – CLEAR CMOS – CLR – CLRPWD – PASSWD – PASSWORD – PWD. On laptop computers, the dipswitches are usually found under the keyboard or within a compartment at the bottom of the laptop.
Please remember to unplug your PC and use a grounding strip before reaching into your PC and touching the motherboard. Once you locate and rest the jumper switches, turn the computer on and check if the password has been cleared. If it has, turn the computer off and return the jumpers or dipswitches to its original position.

Removing the CMOS Battery

The CMOS settings on most systems are buffered by a small battery that is attached to the motherboard. (It looks like a small watch battery). If you unplug the PC and remove the battery for 10-15 minutes, the CMOS may reset itself and the password should be blank. (Along with any other machine specific settings, so be sure you are familiar with manually reconfiguring the BIOS settings before you do this.) Some manufacturers backup the power to the CMOS chipset by using a capacitor, so if your first attempt fails, leave the battery out (with the system unplugged) for at least 24 hours. Some batteries are actually soldered onto the motherboard making this task more difficult. Unsoldering the battery incorrectly may damage your motherboard and other components, so please don’t attempt this if you are inexperienced. Another option may be to remove the CMOS chip from the motherboard for a period of time.
Note: Removing the battery to reset the CMOS will not work for all PC’s, and almost all of the newer laptops store their BIOS passwords in a manner which does not require continuous power, so removing the CMOS battery may not work at all. IBM Thinkpad laptops lock the hard drive as well as the BIOS when the supervisor password is set. If you reset the BIOS password, but cannot reset the hard drive password, you may not be able to access the drive and it will remain locked, even if you place it in a new laptop. IBM Thinkpads have special jumper switches on the motherboard, and these should be used to reset the system.

Use the Debug command

Boot to MS- DOS prompt, run through the below example, this example is perfectly fine to run on any PC Computer running MS-DOS / Windows and will not harm anything.
DEBUG script that will just reset the password only
Type debug and press enter.   (ex.  A:\>debug )
After typing debug you will get “-” as a prompt ,type these exactly how they are written.
o 70 10
o 71 20
quit
Explanation of code:
DEBUG    ; Run DEBUG, “-” will appear on each line then type:
o 70 20     ; Send 70 to address 18
o 71 21     ; Send 71 to address FF
q              ; Quit DEBUG
or you can use this alternate DEBUG script that will just reset the the BIOS

A <ENTER>
MOV AX,0 <ENTER>
MOV AX,CX <ENTER>
OUT 70,AL <ENTER>
MOV AX,0 <ENTER>
OUT 71,AL <ENTER>
INC CX <ENTER>
CMP CX,100 <ENTER>
JB 103 <ENTER>
INT 20 <ENTER>
<ENTER> Note: Nothing is typed on this line
G <ENTER> By pressing G this will execute the above script
Q <ENTER>
Then reboot and you will get a Setup Checksum Error. Go into setup, correct all the incorrect values, time, date…


Alternatively you can use the program WipeCMOS from a boot floppy

Use the Decoding software

CmosPwd by CGSecurity – This is probably the most up to date and popular CMOS decryption tool. CmosPwd decrypts password stored in cmos used to access BIOS SETUP, you can also backup, restore and erase/kill cmos.You will have to be logged in as administrator, run ioperm -i command and then run cmospwd_win.exe
PC CMOS Cleaner – PC CMOS Cleaner is an easy-to-use tool to recover, delete, decode and display the superior passwords stored in BIOS whatever the brand is. It’s an bootable CD that runs on x86 and x86_64 computers. It can display the superior passwords of the BIOS, remove BIOS password(will set the BIOS to default status, need reset date).

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Top 10 iPhone unlock codes

In his last update to Big Brother Camera Security, Daniel Amitay added some code to record common user passcodes. Because Big Brother’s passcode setup screen and lock screen are nearly identical to those of the actual iPhone passcode lock, Daniel figured that the collected information would closely correlate with actual iPhone passcodes. Out of 204,508 recorded passcodes, the top ten most common were:
[1234, 0000, 2580, 1111, 5555, 5683, 0852, 2222, 1212, 1998]

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