Walker News » Hardware

How To Hard Reset Android Tablets?

Walker — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 16:13:36 +0000

For those who own a tablet running Android 3.x (a.k.a. Honeycomb) and for some reasons would like to hard reset the Android tablet during boot-up, here is an official video guide from Acer Support team.

The video reference is based on Acer Iconia Tab A500/501, but this well-known secret of performing press-and-hold “Volume Up” key when power on tablet to activate hard reset process should be applicable to other Android tablets running Honeycomb version.

NOTE: Make sure you’ve backup the data on the tablet prior to hard reset, as the process wipe off all user data, including installed application, while restoring the Android settings to factory default.

For better visibility, change the video streaming mode from 360p to 720p (HD) or 1080p (Full HD) in full-screen view:

1. Press and hold down both the volume+ key and power button.

2. When the tablet vibrates, release ONLY the power button (i.e. keep the volume+ button pressed and hold).

3. Immediately after release power button, slide the Screen Rotation Lock switch to the right then left.

4. Now, you should see the black screen showing “Erasing userdata…” then followed by “Erasing cache…”. Job done.

Asus UX21 Is Ultra-thin and Ultra-portable!

Walker — Wed, 01 Jun 2011 10:08:05 +0000

For mobile computer users who looking for ultra-portable laptop, ASUS UX21 is a new choice for consideration.

In term of thickness, this machine in between MacBook Air and Samsung Series 9 notebook.

The thickest point of Asus UX21 is 0.66″, while MacBook Air is 0.68″ and Samsung Series 9 is 0.64″.

In term of weight, one of the main counters to define meaning of ultra-portable, ASUS UX21 is definitely the lightest among the three!

Asus UX21 weighing just 2.4lb (1.01kg), while MacBook Air and Samsung Series 9 are 2.9lb (1.32kg) and 2.88lb (1.31kg) respectively.

Other attractive features include but not limited to all-aluminum body, Intel Core i7 processor, 2-second instant wake up from sleep mode, SATA 3 SSD storage, USB 3.0, trackpad made of glass.

Uses ION Book Saver To Digitize Books For E-Reader

Walker — Mon, 25 Apr 2011 16:08:01 +0000

For those who need to digitize printed reading material into e-book, think about getting a dedicated document scanner that is efficient.

ION Book Saver, for example, is special built to allow one instantly convert books and magazines into PDF or JPEG file format that is suitable for reading on most e-book readers (Amazon Kindle, Apple iPad, tablet computer, netbook, etc):

With reference to ION Book Saver product page, one can scan 200 pages in less than 15 minutes (after you get used with this specialize scanner, I guess). Happy reading.

How Does ASUS EFI BIOS Looks Like?

Walker — Tue, 29 Mar 2011 16:39:28 +0000

Stumbled upon a YouTube video showing off EFI BIOS used on the ASUS motherboards with Intel 6 series chipset (e.g. P8P67, P8H67, P8H61, etc).

The key points emphasized by the demo are these:

Intuitive graphical user interface (the good old BIOS text interface soon be a classic)
Simple mouse control (not so important, especially to old-timers or those who uses UNIX/Linux console more than GUI)
Support disk space bigger than 2.2 TB (this is rock and really needed)
Exclusive EZ Mode (good for novice to play with it)

How To Fix: Nokia N8 Keeps On Connect To WLAN

Walker — Tue, 08 Mar 2011 17:39:12 +0000

When N8 running old device software, the WLAN connection dropped frequently. After upgrade N8 firmware to PR 1.1, the WLAN connection cannot be disconnected once the WIFI establishes connection.

The Nokia “smartphone” auto connects to WLAN almost instantly after I disconnect the WIFI connection manually! It just won’t disconnected, no matter how many times the WLAN connection is removed, unless I forcibly turn it off.

When the phone is powered on again, it doesn’t connect to WLAN automatically until I run some apps (e.g. Ovi Store, Software Updates, etc) that require Internet connection.

Therefore, I suspect it’s a firmware bug. To support the claim, I check these:

Settings > Connectivity > WLAN > Settings > “Show WLAN availability” is set “never”.

Settings > Connectivity > Settings > “Switch to WLAN” is set to “manual”, “Data use in home country / when roaming” is set to “always ask”.

Disable widgets on home screen to go online mode.

Email is configured to be synchronized manually.

Although it can be fixed by power off and on the handset, it is awkward to do so each time after connecting to WLAN/WIFI, isn’t it? Moreover, it could drain out battery faster.

Then, what is the alternate trick? After few attempts, I found out that this glitch can also be “fixed” by putting the phone to offline mode, i.e. change the active profile to Offline and switch it back – though it’s troublesome too, but what can I do if that’s really a bug?

Sophone vs iPhone: How To Differentiate Between Real iPhone And iPhone Clone?

Walker — Sat, 15 Jan 2011 12:29:39 +0000

If you wonder how real the iPhone clone can be, check it out on YouTube where you can find people comparing the Apple iPhone 4 and Sophone (the China-made iPhone clone) side by side.

To get started right here, these are the two for your review:

Sophone hands-on

Note, this post is not seriously telling you how to recognize a real iPhone clone, but it is to make you aware that the clone one can be darn real! If the defects of iPhone clone might able to help you identify the iPhone clone, please find them in previous post.

If you really go for Apple iPhone, please make purchase from authorized stores only and forget about the cheapest price that you might able to find elsewhere.

For those who really want to get a cheaper iPhone clone to relieve “peer pressure”, then try the Sophone (NOTE: I can’t tell how reliable the online purchase is if make it from outside of China)!

As stated on Sophone “official” website, they are going to launch Sophone Android that running Android 2.2 OS! Tempted to see how it works…

China-made Sophone Is Clone Of Apple iPhone 4

Walker — Sat, 15 Jan 2011 10:13:03 +0000

When comparing Apple iPhone 4 and Sophone side by side, most people cannot differentiate them. Therefore, the Apple Daily (Hong Kong) crowns Sophone as high-grade iPhone clone!

If you wonder how true it is, try get Google or YouTube to search for “Sophone”. If the embedded video (below) still working, go ahead to watch now and tell me how do you feel?

The most successful iPhone clone (史上最強山寨 iPhone4)!:

In this video, you can see that Sophone built with same appearance (chassis) of Apple iPhone 4. Besides, the software user interface looks no difference than iOS that power the Apple smartphone!

That’s why most interviewees can’t differentiate between the real iPhone and the clone. You probably only know that is Sophone, the king of iPhone clone, when you:

spot Phillips screw – Apple doesn’t use Phillips screw on iPhone?
download apps from Apple Store – the clone without firmware mod might not able to use Apple services?
open chassis to replace battery – the “best” feature of this iPhone clone that is not offered by Apple iPhone!

Also in the news, the next Sophone can even run Android – will you doubt if the booths tell you that they can install Android on iPhone?