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Unorthodox uses: Home surveillance on-the-move with the Tilt2

I’ve previously written about unusual uses of the Tilt2. Yet another use of it would be to make use of the Smartphone as an ad-hoc viewer for some home surveillance. To do that, you must usually setup a suitable web-camera or IP-based camera at the venue that you want to survey of course.

In the past though, viewing videos or screen captures of what has happened would have entailed the need either wait until you are home (or to the venue that is under surveillance), or to fire up your laptop, wait for it to boot, login, wait for applications to load fully, connect to the Internet, wait for connection to be established and launch your browser, wait for browser to load… you get the idea.

What I really love about a smartphone like the HTC Tilt2 is the fact that you use it to quickly get started without much “waiting” for the same result. Viewing can be done via the Web browser (Depending on your IP camera), or via third party applications such as NetCam2 MP, easily purchased via the Marketplace.

Of course, the Logitech Web camera in the picture above can only be positioned to show a single location. Wireless IP cameras capable of PTZ (Pan-Tilt-Zoom) are cheaper than you think however, with many of them capable of pan and tilt motions.

So there you have it, surveillance on the move!

Paul Mah is an independent tech writer who covers a range of topics ranging from enterprise hardware to consumer gadgets. You can find his personal blog at www.thetechblogger.comor follow him on Twitter @paulmah.

July 29, 6:52 pm

Unorthodox uses: Tap into MiFi-like capabilities of the Tilt2

I’ve always been a technical type of user, and I love to find ways to stretch my Smartphones in unorthodox directions that might not be immediately obvious. Take the HTC Tilt2 for example. It makes an excellent phone, certainly, with an excellent keyboard and high-resolution display whose angle is adjustable.

The combination of Wi-Fi and 3G capabilities within its sleek chassis means that I am only a single step away from being able to utilize both at the same time. Specifically, to make use of the Tilt2 to pipe Internet access over to Wi-Fi only devices such as the iPod Touch. (Laptop’s left at home, remember?)

This was precisely what I did on a few occasions, allowing me to download RSS news onto my iPod Touch for some reading. Based on my usage, I estimated that a full charge is sufficient for at least four hours of Wi-Fi usage, no small feat considering that both 3G and Wi-Fi radios are activated and constantly processing data.

As you can see, the Tilt2 lends itself well as an ad-hoc MiFi appliance for Internet tethering of laptops, netbooks, or even the Wi-Fi only version of the iPad. It is possible to support all of them via Wi-Fi without splurging the money for a new hardware appliance or signing up for yet another data plan.

The best part is that because it’s on 3G, you can continue to make phone calls or send text messages in the interim. Oh yes, the software I used to enable the above functionality on the Tilt2 is called WMWifiRouter, and it installs in trial mode for you to try out.

July 28, 6:28 pm

Shopping with Amazon at your Fingertips

So you saw some electronics gadget or appliance while out shopping. However, you can’t decide whether it is a good buy, or if it has a design defect or other undesirable traits that will become apparently only after you bring it home.

Rather than wait until you get home (and then travel down to the mall another day), why not just whip out your HTC Tilt2, and start a search on Amazon.com?

Now, I can see what you are thinking, what has Amazon got to do with buying things from shopping at the mall?

You see, Amazon has an amazing compilation of reviews and feedback from users who have previously purchased items from the store. As such, it is an excellent place to check out the full product description – which might be more verbose than the actual information you can find in the shop.

In addition, you also get other details such as the actual weight and dimension of the product, shipping dimensions (to decide if it can fit into your boot or backseat), price range, ratings as well as full-fledged reviews.

While it is true that some reviews will carry inherent bias, I’ve often found that reading both the positive and negative reviews can yield important information in order to make a better decision. Personally, that’s one way I research on before splurging on something – both online and offline.

With the HTC Tilt2 in hand and Internet Explorer Mobile launched, it’s a trivial matter to browse to Amazon.com while standing along the aisle. And if you realize that the product doesn’t work for you, you can also check out the very useful “What do customers ultimately buy after viewing this item?” recommendation for alternatives.

You can follow me on Twitter @paulmah. As part of the June “Lose the Laptop” challenge, readers who vote are eligible for a chance to win a HTC Tilt2 phone and $500 Amazon gift card! Best of all, readers get to vote once a day, every day, for additional chances of winning.

June 29, 10:49 am

Shopping with some Help from Twitter

So how does one keep current with all the latest shopping bargains and news in (and out) of town? Of course, you can always check the classified section of the local papers, or scour places such as eBay. But surely there is a way to better comb for offers in our social media-centric world of today?

Well, one thing you can do is to make use of the social networking phenomenal called Twitter to get news of the best deal, or simply to keep in touch the latest news pertaining to your favorite brands – even while on the move, or out of town. You can easily realize the above by making use of nothing more than the HTC Tilt 2, of course.

Assuming you have not already done so yet, you will need is to load a Twitter client for the Windows Mobile environment. I like to make use of free things, so I loaded the free Twitter client from BAK2U that can be accessed via the bundled Marketplace application. Fire up the Twitter application, and log in, making sure that you’re following the Twitter accounts with the most updated coverage on the latest deals around.

Simple huh?

To help you along, I’ve listed the addresses of some Twitter accounts that you can add to your own Twitter account to follow. With some diligence to build up a list of worthwhile people or outlets to follow, you will soon be on your way to shopping nirvana. Well, maybe perhaps until the arrival of your next credit card statement…

High-end fashion News & Updates

@Versace

@LouisVuitton_US

June 15, 8:51 pm

Bringing my bookshelf along when travelling

It might sound strange, but one of the first things that I always check before travelling would be to ensure that I have adequate reading materials on me. And I’m not referring to carrying stacks of magazines or physical books in my luggage either; I simply ensure that I have an adequate number of ebooks loaded into my smartphone of choice.

The idea here is simple; condensing as much functionality into a smartphone as possible will only result in less (other) hardware to lug around, including the laptop. With the HTC Tilt 2 specifically, I find it a simple matter to load a free ebook reader software like the one from Mobipocket and download some of my purchased ebooks onto the device. This way, I know that I will stay entertained regardless of which part of the world that I might be heading to.

Beyond purchased or pre-formatted ebooks, the desktop-based Mobipocket Reader Desktop 6.2 also allows me to easily convert my own PDF documents, HTML pages or even text files into the correct ebook format. The small amount of preparation is completely worth it as it eliminates the need to lug volumes of physical books, or bring a laptop along for reading purpose.

In the attached picture, you can see me holding the Tilt 2 with my hands. While the portrait position is my favourite when it comes to reading on the move (waiting for the transfer, to check-in, on the way to the airport, for example), the unique strength about the Tilt 2 is the ease with which it can be transformed into a hands-free ebook reader by positioning it with its keyboard out on the table.

Well, time for me to go back to my ebooks.

April 1, 2:41 pm