Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Freelancer Get Started

One of my friend told me a story last year about some richest people. There another guy name Farhan, joined our conversation, they pour some interesting tricks in my find of getting rich. And that was the topic of Freelancer. After listening that topic. We were back at our homes and I started searching about these Freelancers. I got millions of topics and articles on freelancers but from the beginning its just the tips, then I Got one article in a magazine, which describes following to get started (Remember I have never been a freelancers.)
The main prerequisites to become a freelancer are a high level of skill in your field and motivation. Once you are out on your own there is no longer the shelter of senior employees to correct your mistakes or cover your faults. Freelancers typically have very well rounded skills as they need to operate as one person team.
The key to get started as a freelancer is to have work. When it comes to get your first job, its really a matter of telling everyone know that you are available for hire. Searching for projects and jobs on freelance websites and forums is one way to get started. Most clients hesitate to hire people on the strenght of their word alone. It is vital that you have an online presence in the form of a website with a distinct and easy to remember domain name. Freelancing of hotmail account just does not come across as professional or serious and impressions count.

When it comes to build your online brand, there are a few key pieces of information that must be present:-
  • An introduction of some sort usually just a statement is best.
  • How else will anyone know what you do ? Your Services
  • Examples of previous work
  • Contact details.
You may wish to make more of your site, work on search engine optimisation or make it part of your work flow process, but for the bare minimum, above four items will suffice.
The above following article, I got related to the beginners.
Below are some more sites of freelancing which I am reviewing, as I told you in my previous article that I would be writing more reviews, below are some more reviews you can check them here

vWorker
www.vworker.com
vWorker is one of the oldest freelancing websites on the internet. With numerous projects for designers and developers, this website has a lot of opportunities for users. In fact, Rent a Coder was the first to design the process of skill verification.

Project Simple
www.projectsimple.com
On this website, users can bid on the Web Design, Graphics Design, Web Programming, Flash Development, database development and search engine projects posted. Also, projects can be searched by keyword or category. Users can also sign up to recieve e-mails when projects have been posted in their areas of expertise. It costs project seekers nothing to bid on projects. If a user is commissioned to work on a project, the service charges five dollars.

99Designs
www.99designs.com
99Designs is a good website for finding and aquiring jobs. The website also hosts an extremely resourseful blog. A while back, 99Designs started a new concept, a freelancer posts his work, a customer likes it, and buys it.
You can check more preview here at - Freelancers A Little Guide To.







Friday, November 26, 2010

Google Adsense Finally Approved

Now my teacher does not recommend Google Adsense for the best Monetization option on blog/website. He recommends many other Monetization methods. But now he does not use any of the Adsense Monetization on any of his blog/websites. I am in the beginner levels of blogging, so Google Adsense Program is enough for me in the starting level of Monetization with Amazon Products Affiliations. Let me have a good luck with this.
 
Earning Online My Failure

I have already told you in my post Yaro Starak And His Achievements that how I discovered blogging. If you want to read my complete story of discovering blogging then -click here- to see it. In the beginning I discovered it only but I didn't know really what it was. I thought it like something websites even I cannot make the difference in general website and blog. Then some of the posts I found describing about Blogger and Wordpress. I tried them too. I was happy to see their Dashboards, I thought that I was in the condition of making Good Website. I selected most beautiful template and naming blog as Shaun or Shaun Blogging, even I didn't aware of It, although I made my first blog, their I started posting about different religions, what I used to think while writing the posts that not to insert post tags and not to allow the comments, because all of you know that website doesn't have any comments and tags system in their articles or home page or other pages. I used to think it was my website, but I was wrong, in the mean time after 2-3 days I applied for Google adsense :-D , look at my work, what I thought, I thought it would be easy to make money with Adsense without any traffic or without any managed system. Then I started another blog regarding Goldmine International, after some days, I left that too. Like this I started 5-6 blogs at a time and all were dead at a time one by one as I didnot earn a cent in 4 months of dirty blogging. The reason was that I was just motivated by money and used to approve my each blog with Google Adsense in 2-3 days after each new blog, and it is the main problem why most bloggers fail then my dream to earn money online got vanished. Finally I forgot it, and had got buzy in my Pre-Engineering studies for the Annual Examinations.

Earning Online Re Dreamed 

One day my friend phone called me. In the beginning we talked general and about our studies, we are school friends, separated in colleges, and now again reunited in the universities. Than he said me," have you ever heard of earning money online?" I told him full story of my blogging, how I dishearted with money making online. Then he told me not to be dishearted here. He asked me to have a meeting, I accepted that, and set the meeting point near our old school.
When we met there and started discussing the topic before starting any thing he handed me a book titled:-

The Membership Site Masterplan
How To Make $250,000 By Launching your own
Membership site
by Yaro Starak 

And asked me to read it thoroughly, then both of us have a lunch together and went back to our homes. I went along with Masterplan in my hand. I started to read Masterplan, then I was realising how a wonderful membership sites are built and what components are involved. I was enjoying reading that. I got very much excited. After reading it complete at once, I made a phone call to my friend and told him how great it was to read it. I said me,'' Now my dear friend what to do?" I replied him in the mood to start a membership site project. We started working together on one membershipsite, basically based on referring system. which is still in developing. Again I found out these things Blog Profit Blue Print, Roadmap To Becomeablogger, amazing videos from Becomeablogger, and Darren Rowse's from ProBlogger his blogging tips for beginners about blogging, on the basis of these, I started blogging too now three months earlier.

Success In Blogging And Monetization

In the beginning reading any more content or any more articles in launching blog, I made a separate e-mail address maskedblogger91@gmail.com, I was of the idea that the name MaskedBlogger will lead me to the great success in blogging, but I doesn't happen, although I attracted traffic but not that expected. After making new e-mail, I directly watched 10 Free Videos At becomeablogger.com for setting up the blog. I did as directed in the videos but one changed I made according to those videos that I didn't make a blog on Wordpress instead I used Blogspot platform for my blog, it's main reason I'll point out in my coming post Why I used Blogger platform intead of Wordpress. I set up my own blog wonderfully, after setting up of a blog , I printed Blog Profit Blue Print and Roadmap To Becomeablogger, and read those two reports and I have my mindset. After learning those Marketing techniques from Blog Profit Blue Print. I implemented it on my blog (deksamblogger.blogspot.com), those techniques really benefits me. It grows daily traffic to my site I made 0 to 70+ daily readers with his marketing techniques. In just couple of months I made my blog to be able to monetize able. In the beginning I monetized it with Amazon Affiliate Program, Info links. and I registered with Link Referral to pour some more traffic to my blog. It helped me in increasing 100 to 150+ daily page views on my blog.
Social networking too added some of the traffic to my blog like 15+ daily page views and forum marketing draws some 30+ daily page views to my blog. The Important point to follow in Adsense is to drive traffic more and more from all over the World. Last month I had good traffic, but one page was incomplete thats why I was not able to approved by Google Adsense. This month I tried again after completing all the pages. It was approved and finally you can see it on my blog. This was the short story of my success in Monetizing it with Google.


Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Freelancer What Makes It Good

As I mentioned in my last post in the category of Freelancing 'Freelancer A Guide To', that I would make more posts on the same topic, so here I am with it, the second entry in the same category. In my city, I found that there were many freelancers at work, I collected their contacts and had contacted with them, their I asked them to point out main points for what makes a good freelancers, I got many replies and I wrote down them on my notebook and with my new Gold Pen (which I recently bought through Goldmine International along with their membership that GMI Classic Gold Pen), and telling you for first time that I always use to have Notebook and Pen along with me. Lets leave it, coming to the point the things I wrote and then edited and made them read able easily, has been posted below:-

A LITTLE INTRODUCTION TO TOPIC TITLE

As a Freelance worker, contrary to the common belief, success is no easy feat. What differentiates a successful freelancer from an ''often unsuccessful looking for work'' freelancer is not just personality traits and work skills, but also a sharp business acumen, common sense, and a disciplined work strategy. Following are a few best activities for successful freelancers.

  • KNOW THE CLIENT  
A good Freelancer thoroughly researches his/her prospective clients , irrespective of whether these clients are distant locations (initial point of contact may be via a freelancing website) or in the same city. Ensuring that a prospective client (company, intermediary website or individual) has a good reputation of paying fair and on time is vital. If possible, get opinions from other freelancers who have worked with the client, about the prospective client's work preferences, and agree to a contrary only if the working principles matches those of the prospective client's.

  • CLEAR AND COMPLETE DOCUMENTS BE ENSURED
Seasoned Freelancers always opt for a methodical and professional approach when committing to a project. Documentation can mainly be divided into two types
Documents related to the project, and those related to the client. While project related documents vary from project to project, bear in mind that they should ideally cover every detail of the project, right from the requirement specifications document, project proposal, change request forms, to the invoices that specify the payment schedule. On the other hand, the project contract should clearly specify the project duration, working hours and other terms and conditions. Accurate logging of the completed work hours and should always be maintained. A good freelancer prefers the temporary tediousness of detailed documentation over the eventual disasters that result due to lack of documentation.

  • PROFESSIONAL LEGAL SERVICES
Successful Freelancer invest in professional legal services to examine their contracts. All alterations or negotiations go in the black and white. Also, never sign a contract without thoroughly reading and understanding it. Fine print and cleverly phrased clauses are often the cause of later conflicts.

  • MAINTAIN SOCIAL PROOFS
An updated Testimonials/Referrals/Feedback from clients after completing and delivering projects are extremely integral for getting work from new clients. Some Freelancers also maintain a project docket, which is basically a lis of all the projects that are currently in progress. Projects on hold, Prospective Projects and Billed Projects.

  • DO NOT OVER COMMITTED
Successful freelancers never take on more work than they can efficiently manage. They always keep in consideration their travel plans, current projects, and available resources before signing the contract. Few things make a poorer impression than over committing and under delivering.
I myself is not an Entrepreneur or a Freelancer but I can understand the situation when any one has a loads of work on him/her. Many times I myself use to take multiple tasks at once just getting over excited which causes me to perform nothing, so be careful to take the projects and sign the number of contracts.

  • MANAGING GOOD RELATIONS WITH CLIENTS
Good freelancers understand the value of an on going relationship. They strive to produce good quality and timely work, and If the client compensates them fairly, they try not to lose that client as good for your clients are hard to come by.

  • STAY AT YOUR OWN PROFESSION
In most cases, a Freelancer who specializes in one area and has considerable experience is preferred over those who generalize over multiple areas, unless, of course the client is looking for a cheap bargain. Successful Freelancers hone their niche and capitalize on it. However, in the beginning, it is advisable to explore different areas before finding your forte.


  • BE FLEXIBLE
If you are new at Freelancing, you really cannot afford to be finicky about certain things such as refusing to work on someone Else's code, documents etc. Good Freelancers show the willingness and enthusiasm to see the project through, and for that, they are willing to be flexible.


  • NETWORK SENSIBLY
Realise the importance of networking with the right people. Maintain professional profiles and blogs online, and participate in professional networking sessions in the offline World as well, because offline connections are usually stronger and better acknowledged.


  • PAYMENT/MONEY MATTERS
The transparency of payment processes is something that a Freelancer can never ignore. Good freelancers clearly state what they will or will not deliver for the dedicated money. If you are working with a new client or have acquired work from a new online work website, opt for smaller projects initially to check their payment medium and process.
Freelancing is a well thought out process, and should be taken seriously If what you are looking for is a steady source of income, rather than sporadic spurts of getting lucky. At the end of the day, successful freelancing requires the same amount of dedication, talent and structuring as any other permanent job.
Here writing about something payment process, If you want to have a review of most used payment processor.PayPal than read my teacher's PayPal Review - here.
I am sure It is a lot to have small guide to Successful Freelancers.


  • Buy Some Informative Manuals HERE

Saturday, November 20, 2010

What Is A Blog ?

While talking to my relatives and friends about Internet Market, Websites, Flash, Gaming, Social Network, and Search Engines, i have been asked many times the same question,'' What is a blog ?'', and i have made money replies to many different people at many occasions and places, but my answers were all the time different, many people have their own opinions in telling about a single thing for example if you will ask number of people what is car, you will be answered differently all the time, that you get the same meaning all the time but manners, examples, thinking opinions will be different all the times, when i was studying about Blogs and all these, i got many different answers of it, by many different blogger, marketers and people. But what i noticed in those answers was the meaning were same.
Now first of all I'll tell what is a blog in different people's mind. I don't remember the exact names of the people those who defined it but here I'll mention only person with numbers. then lets have a look:-
A blog is a website in which items are posted on a regular basis and displayed in reverse chronological order. The term blog is shortened form of web log or web log. Authoring a blog, maintaining a blog or adding an article to an existing blog is called blogging. Individual articles on a blog are called blog posts, entries or simply posts. A person who posts these entries is called a blogger. A blog comprises text, hyper text, images, and links. Blogs use a conversational style of documentation. Often blogs focus on a particular area of interest, such as Washington D.C, political goings on. Some blogs discuss personal experiences. -Person 1-
 A blog is basically a journal that is available on the web. The activity of updating a blog is blogging and someone who keeps a blog is a blogger. Blog are typically updated daily using software that allows people with little or no technical background to update and maintain the blog. Postings on a blog are almost always arranged in chronological order with the most recent additions featured most prominently. -Person 2-
A weblog is kind of continual tour, with a human guide who you get to know. There are many guides to choose from, each develops an audience, and there is also comraderie and politics between the people who run weblogs, they point to each other, in all kinds of structures, graphs, loops, etc. -Person 3-
From Web log. A blog is basically a journal that is available on the web. The activity of updating a blog is blogging and someone who keeps a blog is a blogger. -Person 4-
These were some opinions of different people, now i'll tell you in my opinion and exactly what blogs are
The word ''blog'' is composed of two different words ''web'' and ''log'', based on posts or entries or articles, they may be based on text, images,hyperlinks, and media etc., and ordered in chronological order that is Newer to Older. Person Writing on blog and maintaining a blog is called ''Blogger'', and the above process is popular as ''Blogging"
Below are some blog chracterstics defined descriptively:-

  • Ordered Articles 
This is the main feature of blog which differs it from websites, Entries/Posts are listed with a title followed by the body content, starting at the top of the page with most recently published Entry/Post, and then next Most recent and in this way so on.Blogs basically means Diaries, which means Diaries have entries made by date and that is how blog post/entry works too.But today blogs are not only personal diaries, now they are used about appropriate chosen topics, as my, i stay on my chosen topics, Business, Internet Marketing, Entrepreneurs and Inventions. and people like you those who are interested in these topics come to read my blog.

  • Adding a Content is not as difficult as Before
Normal Websites are very technical to update, But blog changed many systems, like they provide a content publishing system so easy to use, as it became easier to manage a blog, it increased number of blogs day by day.

  • Content Updates
The problem with the Websites is their statics nature. , because it is too hard for the average person to add content to a website.
Blogs lowered the system of statics in their nature, it is too much easy to add new content on a blogs if you know how to type and how to click. So in this type of matter blogs lead the World Wide Web services in establishing and publishing content with even Images, Videos, Podcasts, Multimedia and Links etc.

  •  Comments System
A significant evolution when comparing a traditional website to a blog is the
addition of the comments function. Each article published to a blog has an input
box to allow any person from the public to leave a comment on that article.
This enhancement turned websites from one-way broadcasting devices, to twoway
communication tools. Readers can directly communicate with the author of
the content, carry on the conversation started by the article and essentially turn a
blog into a community.
This last point is more powerful than you think, and here’s why…

  • People Belief Blogs
 Blogs are communication tools between you and your readers. Blogs by their nature, are considered trusted sources of information. The successful blogs of people leads them to respected experts.

Much of what I just explained won’t be new to some people, but it lays the
groundwork for the rest of this article. If the concept of “blog” is still a bit blurry for
you, head online, find some blogs and seek examples of the five points I listed
above so you understand the opportunity that exists.

You can start with my blog, deksamblogger.blogspot.com, and then explore my
articles related to blogging etc.





  • Buy Now
   

Monday, November 15, 2010

Freelancer A Little Guide To

I have been researching on freelancers for many months, that What are, Why are, How are, and Where are Freelance, Freelancers, or Freelancing. Reading many many articles relating Freelancers, Freelancing etc. and discussing it with many of my elders those who work in businesses and doing jobs. Many times i discussed it on different Forums and other blog and website Communities, where i got many information and lot of feed backs to my small 5-6 lines post about them in different forums and communities.
Here i am describing a little history of freelancers and then some good ranked freelancing sites.

HISTORY
Back in the Middle Ages, a knight was a member of the warrior class of feudal Europe. In those days, fighting was done on horseback with a long pole, known as a lance, which a knight would use to unseat an opponent. An author Walter Scott used the phrase '' free lance'' to describe a medieval mercenary warrior, who had not sworn allegiance to any feudal lord and whose principal weapon was the lance.
Over the years, the word ''Free Lance'' has evolved to denote a unique breed of self employed workers usually writers, designers, programmers and so on, who offer their services to employers without a long term commitment to them, and charging for their services by the hour, day or job. In many instances, these freelancers operate as a one person business. This was a little review on the history of Freelancers by me. In next series i'll describe the freelance, freelancing and freelancers.
But here i'll discuss some websites related freelancers.

Freelancer
www.freelancer.com
Freelancer is one of the most popular and easy to use freelance websites on the internet, where hundreds of jobs are posted on a daily basis. These jobs are posted on a daily basis. These jobs include various domains such as IT, computing and mobile phones, writing, design and architecture, sales, marketing and more.

Elance
www.Elance.com
Elance.com is one of the biggest and most diverse freelance bidding services. On this website, the number of bids, depending on the type of account, is also restricted. Here, in order to be a provider or a client you need to pass an exam. The Elance.com fee varies from four to six percent, in addition to a small percentage for payment processing.

oDesk
www.oDesk.com
One of the most famous online freelance marketplaces, the job postings here are quite varied. The available filters are quite granular, with project seekers instantly connecting to the kind of jobs they are looking for. Furthermore, the website has its own time keeping software that keeps track of a service provider's time. oDesk takes 10% of the total amount charged for each project.

iFreelance
www.iFreelance.com
iFreelance.com is a service that features a superb organisation for employers and freelancers. In a matter of two to three clicks, every job in your field is presented in great detail. One important advantage of iFreelance is that offline contact is permitted, enabling and encouraging long collaborations. iFreelance charges a monthly fee for participation as a bidder.

PeoplePerHour
www.peopleperhour.com
On peopleperhour, a freelancer with a standard account can bid for only ten projects, filtering out amateurs that bid for everything but do nothing. Because a customer can post jobs here for free, projects are numerous. Users can also post their portfolios to show their skills. To be able to bid for more than ten projects, a monthly fee needs to be paid. However, the website's commissions are high even for platinum members.

Guru
www.guru.com
This website has two ways of navigation, one for employers, where all freelancers available are listed, and one for freelancers, which layout projects in an organized way. An upcoming feature is the inclusion of a blog that will help freelancers with their careers. Freelancers are charged five to ten percent of the project value, depending on their type of membership.
Above i have mentioned some of the best freelancing websites, these are the websites, which i have checked out thoroughly up til now, i have more sites to check like 99Designs, Project Simple and v Worker etc., the reviews of these sites will be included in my upcoming posts about Freelancers In which i will go through the history of freelancers to present conditions of freelancers.



  • GET SOME INTERESTING THINGS 
 

Thursday, November 11, 2010

Henry Matilla Talking To Middle East Partners

I was watching the movie expandable while i was alone in my room in high volume to observe its sound quality. after one scene the break appeared. In the mean time i started changing channels, one TV channel was presenting Technology speakers program, where I saw Henry Matilla, head of category marketing, mobile computers Middle East and Africa recently came in Middle East to launch New flagship product of Nokia. They discussed with him the brand new strategic focus, the application markets and the future of the browser.
I thought it would be important to me in my blogging, it could be one of my good posts to record his speech and to make an audio podcast. Then i started to record it with my Sony MP3 Player/Recorder. what i found in my recording was lack of quality sound, even i tried to retouch it with my sound editor Audacity, but it was not getting that much quality. then i dropped the idea of podcast and simply typed it while listening (remember the quality was not good that much to be podcasted but i could listen it because i am use to of it) so below are the questions raised and the answers replied.


QUESTION:- What is the core strategy of Nokia for the phone markets given the range of products it makes and the new focus on services ?

We operate from the lowest low end to the highest high end so we can't take a clear cut approach that we see from some of the competitors who just operate in more limited sectors. How I see it (and this makes it personal), however, is that we are extremely strong in the long end and also the mid range. Where we've lost ground is the high end and we'll focus on that in the future. From there, you will have a natural effect on the mid range phones as you bring those features into those phones over time.
QUESTION:-The applications market really has not taken off for Nokia generally as it has for the competition. Why is that ?

We have admitted that Nokia was not the easiest platform to develop on. Since then, we have revised the revenue share ratios with developers. We are also now co operating with operators for payment so you'll see billing being made available through your network. Previously we were dependent on credit cards in countries where there was not much of an updake on credit cards.
We have got a two prong strategy,
First, you will have a global offering through a portfolio which everyone wants to have , for example, games like Angry Birds after which, in order to have mass downloads, we will localise. So I think what we will also see are local apps coming soon. There is probably the way to go.
We have also tried to engage with the developers to make the eco-system easier. We have aligned our regional resources to cooperate more with developers which we have not focused on before. Once you start to see local development of applications, then you will probably also see the uptake on the OVI store. We are also focusing a lot on integrating local content as such as Web TV, e-Entertainment, National Geographic, etc. many of which we will be preloading on the devices as well.

QUESTION:- What is you company's vision of the future of the mobile device ?

We have Internet in the mobile phones for a while, but the one thing that's happening is the new internet experience coming to the mobile. Now what you have is full flash support, so you can pretty much do everything on a mobile what you could do on a computer. So that's one part of mobility.
The second interesting thing is how the future will use the cloud as part of the ecosystem. When speed is no longer an issue, we will store all our content in the cloud and everyone is still thinking what changes that will bring in the industry. That's one of the biggest happenings.
What we are also seeing is a lot of integration of other devices into the mobile. Cameras are starting to get better. On media side, we are already looking at full HD, while on the sound side we are improving. The image and video editing tools available on the devices are exciting because you will no longer need your laptop to produce content. All this is making the mobile device more 'Computer Like.'

QUESTION:- What do you think about apps being the future of internet browsing?

When you speak of the competition, the lack of flash support is what's driving people to the apps store. Do you really, as a consumer, want to have an app for every thing, for your hotel booking, for your taxi, what is limit you had want to go. My thinking is, I would rather go with a device which has a web browser similar to that in a computer so that I won't actually need apps. The apps in many cases making up for lack of browser integration.

This was the ending of communication. But what i found in the answers is their goal is to provide more improved Multimedia that is Camera , Internet Mobility, Flash support, more apps, Ovi Store and many. 
  • BUY NOW

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Nokia C3 Reviewed

Model:- Nokia C3
Price:- $157.49 to $159.99
Input Type:- QWERTY.
Design:- Candy Bar.
Display:- 320X240 pixels, 2.4inch TFT.
Dimensions:- 115x58x13.7.
Weight:- 113 grams.
Camera:- 2 MP, 1600x1200pixels.
Video:- 15 frames per second.
Messaging:- SMS, MMS, Flash Message, Audio Message, E-Mail and Ovi Chat.
Radio:- Stereo FM Radio RDS with it.
Games:- Default Installed And Downloadable.
Video Player:- MP4, H.264, H.263, WMV Player.
Music Player:- mp3, WAV, WMA, eaac Player.
Memory:- 55 MB Built-In, MicroSD supported upto 8GB
Connectivity:- GPRS, WLAN, BLUETOOTH, USB
Battery:- 5 Hours (Excessive Use)
Charging Period:- 90 Minutes approx.

LOOKS OF C3
The Nokia C3 has looks like all E series, and E63 in particular. Though it is visibly narrower and slightly lighter than E63, the physical similarities are undeniable. It is lightweight and looks elegant and sturdy, specially considering the price clip on it. Nokia C3 box contains User Manual, Guarantee Card, Ovi Starter Guide, A standard Li-Ion Battery, A traveler charger and a one piece hands free with 3.5mm audio jack.
 

COLOUR AND DISPLAY
Three colours availability Odd Pink, White Gold, and Slate Black.
The navigation key, with three buttons on each side just below the 2.4inch TFT LCD screen, including the flat Send Keys at the bottom, and selection keys at the top,separated by two silver, slightly elevated, dedicated keys for the functions that can be customised. The dedicated keys, though useful, are slightly aggravating, as they tend to come in the way of the selection keys above them. Besides that, there are only a few disadvantages with respect to design and the hardware keys- such as the absence of volume rockers and a dedicated camera key. Also, one has to be extra careful when using the Navigation Key, as the separation between its centre key and the keys along its rim is not very distinct. Below the send-keys lies the sure type keypad, which gives the otherwise youthful C3, an executive look. The layout of the keypad is standard, though it takes a while to adjust to its narrowness.
The top of the handset boasts a 3.5mm audio socket, and a 2mm charger plug, completely empty. The left hand side of the handset features the microUSB port and the microSD card slot, thereby permitting a hot-swap. One of the downsides of the C3's design is its front chassis, which is smooth and remains clean. The back of the C3 holds a 2 MP camera (no flash) and the battery. Another disadvantage of the front chassis is its reflectiveness, which makes it extremely difficult to view the screen in sunlight, unless it is titled at a sheltered angle. On the plus side, the battery cover is of good quality and surprisingly smooth around the edges. Pressing the two knobs on either side of the handset easily lifts the cover.

USER INTERFACE
The Nokia C3 runs the Symbian S406th edition software and has a simple user interface. The homescreen can be personalised and laid out in three sections, with editable shortcuts for various phone functions. Navigating around the C3 is extremely easy, the layout, the main menu is typically symbian. Main Menu options can be viewed in different layouts, including grids and listings and can also be moved. They cannot, however, be renamed, nor can new folders be made. The main menu includes the standard options of Messaging, Contacts, Music, Ovi store etc. and additional options for Communities, which is where Nokia allows you to access your Facebook and Twitter Accounts.
Performance wise, the C3 is more or less smooth but not without glitches, as during tests it needed a reboot when we tried to run a couple of apps one after another. To be fair, I did so in quick succession, so I will let that slide, after all, the C3 is not a smartphone. However, one issue worth mentioning is that the battery of the C3 could not be charged to full capacity even after more than 2 hours of charging. I tested two handsets for confirmation, and saw the same results.
The Nokia Ovi store offers a limited number of apps for the phone, which we felt were extremely restricted in their scope.

MESSAGING AND OTHER PHONE ABILITIES
Making and receving calls on the C3 is a breeze. Unfortunately, you cannot block calls or messages from certain numbers, so users have little choice but to rely on the network provider to block unwanted calls/text messages. In call options include main menu, contacts, lock keypad, hold, call record and make new call. There is, however, no option for voice clarity - something that has been available in various Nokia phones, including the S40 3rd edition Nokia 5300 (discontinued model). Call quality on the C3 deserves special mention, as sound, though sometimes grainy, is loud and audible. The microphones, however are below expectations. During tests, there were complaints of voice breaks and fluctuating volumes at recieving end.
Messaging on the C3 is simplified thanks to the QWERTY keypad. So even with the feature phone message editor, you save on time that you would have otherwise lost with alpha numeric keypads quintessential of most Nokia feature phones. You also have access to a threaded view of all the messages that you exchange with your contacts.

ENTERTAINMENT
Entertainment options on the Nokia C3 include a music player, a video player, FM radio and games. Though the music player is basic, it has some additional features like stereo widening, which(if active) makes the sound seem fuller and more dynamic, and equaliser, which though cannot be manually manipulated, can be switched to one of the pre arrange options given. The speakers are quite impreesive, as music, when played on full volume, can be heard across rooms. This, of course can be a double-edged sword< just make sure you don't hold the phone too close to your ear, when on speaker phone unfortunately, we sorely missed the volume rockers. Video playback on the C3, though not completely free of distortion, is decent enough and pixellated as one would expect. The FM radio is easy to get used to, but does not work without a headset.
Games on the C3 include Blockd, Bounce Tales, Sudoko and Diamond Rush. In short, they are all simple and addictive. They simply prove that you don't need state-of-art, accelerometer dependant games to entertain yourself.
CAMERA
Though the 2 megapixel camera of the C3 performs its basic function, the results are disappointing. Even if we overlock the image quality which, during tests, was poor even for a 2 megapixel camera, the absence of a dedicated camera key and the editing options available are unsatisfying. When viewed in full size, images were noisy to the extent that even contours between objects were hazy.

CONNECTIVITY

 Finally, we come to the C3's best feature its connectivity. We can easily say that its connectivity options are going to be its unique selling point. With options like WLAN, BLUETOOTH and EDGE, going online and disconnection was also prompt and file transfers via BLUETOOTH was swift.

FINAL VIEW

The Nokia C3 is a budget phone with great connectivity options, perfect for users who wish to stay online on the go. it is also better suited for those who prefer conventional phones over ones that are loaded with apps, yet often overlook simple, may not be have the functionalities of a smartphone, it does come close, in terms of appearance, to being one, while remaining simple and covenient use.

 


Friday, November 5, 2010

Producing Electricity From Roads

Can roads produce electricity ? Now they may be able to. Experiments are underway to replace the asphalt surfaces on roads by photovoltaic cells. The challenge has been coating them or impregnating them on special glasses that can with stand the pressure of heavy vehicles traveling on them or the heavy bumps that they steel. In order to give it resilience against shattering, the technology developed for making bullet-proof glass is being used.
One technique being used is to deposit thin film photovoltaic materials on to flexible plastic, and then laminate especially toughened glass with plastic. A challenge still to be surmounted is to make this surface rough so that the necessary grip is provided to the vehicles, without reducing the efficiency of the solar cells.
The US Federal highways administration is providing funds for the project, which could lead to the roads generating sufficient electricity to allow electric cars to be charged by road side charging stations and power street lights also.
The days when you will use the road to power your electric car (instead of petrol or diesel used in combustion engines) may not be that far away.
This is the strange World of Science.