Reviewer Andrea Fenn puts it through its paces:

Best viewed in full-screen mode

And the verdict? ***½~ (3.5/5)

There has been a huge boom of development of numerous high-quality, cross-platform applications that make it easier to use Twitter from a computer or mobile phone. This review will focus on four of the most popular applications:

• Tweetdeck
• Twhirl
• Seemic Desktop
• Destroy Twitter

All are free, all are computer apps, all are Adobe AIR applications.

Tweet Deck

Version: 0.33.2
Download: http://www.tweetdeck.com
Ideal for those suffering information overload.
Verdict: ****½ (4.5/5)

What’s cool?

• Facebook status update integration
• Syncs with iPhone app
• Customizable colours
• Information grouping
• Unlimited number of groups (columns)
• Limited screen to force information filtering
• Recommends people to follow
• Auto-url shortening
• Allows users to report spam

Twhirl

Version: 0.9.4
Download: http://www.twhirl.org
Ideal for those who don’t follow hundreds or thousands of people and just need a quick and simple means of updating information
Twhirl is from Seesmic — also see the review of the Seesmic Desktop below.
Verdict: ***~~ (3/5)

What’s cool?

• Lightweight and easy-to-use
• Notifications when you get a hit on saved search items
• Ability to choose colours and fonts

What’s not?

• No grouping support
• No customization of pop-up types

Seemic Desktop

Version: 0.7

Download: http://desktop.seesmic.com
Looking for group and multi-account support? Try it.
Want your voice heard by the developer? Go to their feedback site. They take it seriously.
Verdict: ****~ (4/5)

What’s cool?

• Pop-up notifications, customizable specific to search results, @replies and direct messaging
• Support for unlimited number of multiple Twitter accounts and columns
• High level of customization
• Facebook integration (including comments and likes)
• Unlimited saved searches
• Ability to report spam

What’s not?

• Cannot un-favourite a tweet

Destroy Twitter

Version: 1.7.2 Beta
Download: https://destroytwitter.com
Need more control over settings? Want a dark interface? Destroy Twitter is your choice.
Verdict: ***½~ (3.5/5)

What’s cool?

• Rich set of user-configurable options
• Information grouping

What’s not?

• No multiple-accounts
• No customisable colours or fonts

Finally, a table of comparison of the four applications:

Verdict: ****½ (4.5/5)
xxx

“Blurring the line between consumer and professional”

What is it in technical terms?

I won’t bore you with technical jargon here, but if you are keen to explore the specifications, check out the official Canon website and the video on Trusted Review.

And in plain English?

I’ll share with you my personal experiences of playing with the camcorder’s special features:

Dual Flash Memory & Relay Recording:
According to Canon’s specs, the camcorder’s 64GB internal flash drive can hold up to 24-hours of high-definition video. With five levels of video quality to choose from, HF21’s internal flash memory can store from approximately six hours to more than 24 hours of footage. If you set it on a medium quality level, you can easily go on a week- long trip without needing to delete footage — the dual memory functionality is a major plus.

Image Stabilization (Dynamic OIS):
The HF21 features Canon’s Super Range Dynamic Optical Image Stabilizer function, which reduces unwanted shake and movement across different zooming ranges. However, you can’t completely avoid shaky images when the camcorder is zoomed in. Though comparison shows that Canon’s stabilization is better than its rivals, I advise you to hold it at waist level for better balance when switching between zooming ranges.

Face Detection:
In addition to the normal face detection functions in most equipment, HF21 provides the option to select footage through the “timeline by faces” mode, which displays thumbnails of the scenes that include faces chronologically. This option allows users to search desired scenes quickly. However, unless you have a large amount of footage on a few individuals, I’m not sure you’ll use this function that much.

Night Scene & Low Light Mode:
New night scene and low light modes are added features to the digital camcorder. However, it is not ideal for shooting nocturnal scenes or any low-light situations – the screen gets very grainy. Frequent partygoers and night owls should look elsewhere.

Pre-REC Function:
One of the biggest challenges for avid documentary makers is missing the valuable yet unexpected shots. HF21 tackles this problem by introducing the “Pre-REC” function, which pre-captures three seconds of footage in the buffer memory before the REC button is pressed. Similar to the face detection function, this pre-rec option is unlikely to be used much for for leisure shooting, though it does come in handy in news sensitive situations. 

Dual Mode Function:
The photo & video dual function simplifies switching between the two modes — definitely a plus when filming news packages. 

Video Snapshot:
Sharing gets easier with this video snapshot function. It allows you to film live action in four-second segments, or choose clips from available footage, to merge into a montage via inbuilt editing software, forming a chic film reel. Then, you can select a rights-free soundtrack provided by the camcorder, and be instantly ready to watch your own blockbuster on TV, without the need for heavy editing. This fun function targets the casual users in the market.

Image Effects:
The camcorder incorporates Canon’s Image Effects, which include presets for altering color saturation and sharpening. The “customizable option” of which users can specify colour depth, contract, brightness is worth a mention as well.

What does it look like?

FRONT

Frontal view shows all lens with the camcorder’s built in lighting at the lower right side of the lens.

RIGHT

The camcorder features a rotating control dial to switch mode among photo, video and dual.

BACK

LEFT

TOP

BOTTOM

Overall, LEGRIA HF21 is extremely user-friendly – think video recording for dummies – and thanks to the arrangement of controls on the LCD, you can easily operate the camcorder at waist height with both hands.

In addition to the starter kit items, the package includes the following software for image and video editing:

• PIXELA ImageMixer 3 image & video tools. However this program is not compatible with Mac
• Digital Video Solution disk for saving, managing and printing photos
• Music data that can be used as background music during playback

How much is it?

Canon has a special package for HK$12,480 (US$1,608) if purchasing from Broadway in Hong Kong, and you’ll also get the following goodies for free (perhaps more depending on your bargaining skill):

• One tripod
• One extra battery
• One 16GB memory card
• One multifunctional card reader
• One HDMI cable connection
• One dust blower
• Cleaning wipes for both lens and camcorder

Lastly, and completely unrelated to the product, Broadway also gave way:

• A promotional mug (or door mat, bag, T-shirt, document folders, etc.)
• An air purifier
• Two adult tickets to Hong Kong’s Ocean Park

The Verdict?

All in all, the camcorder does live up to its reputation – “shoot a full day in full HD mode” – however, make sure you have extra lighting for night shots.

His Verdict: ****½ (4.5/5)

A few months before the Nexus One was announced by the Mountain View internet giant, a Google-branded phone called the Google Ion was silently released to a handful of developers present at Google I/O 2009, the company’s annual developer-focused conference held in San Francisco.

The Ion turned out to be the HTC Magic, released in Spring 2009, by the Taiwanese smartphone manufacturer, HTC Corporation.

Fast-forward less than a year later, and you have a phone that blows away the Ion/Magic. Not only does it sport a faster chip, the 1 GHz Snapdragon made by Qualcomm, but it’s also got a much larger, brighter screen, with a resolution of 800×480 pixels (remember the time when our computers had 800 x 600 pixels screens?)

It is unfair to compare the N1 with the Magic, but just comparing its hardware with the iPhone 3G S (released seven months ago) still clearly puts the Nexus One in a class of its own.

To make the Nexus One, Google teamed up with HTC. The Taiwanese company was previously known in the industry for being an original equipment manufacturer (OEM) making phones and portable computers for other companies.

The phone that I carry with me in my pocket every day is not just a smartphone, but a “nexus” to the cloud.

In fact, I rarely use my phone as a phone, the voice device.

I use it more often to browse the internet, read and reply to e-mails, find my position on a map, and listen to online music. This is nothing new for those who already own smartphones, either the iconic iPhone or any other brand.

The Nexus One’s biggest strength, aside from (currently) superior hardware specifications, are its software specificities, namely the Android operating system, and the software made available for it.

One example is Google Goggles, an experimental application that lets users take photographs of real-world objects or patterns (logos) for Google’s servers to crunch and return search results.

Frankly, I have not yet found practical uses for Goggles.

As stated in the disclaimer, the app (application) works rather well on logos, landmarks and, of course, plain text. But at this stage, I don’t have the reflex to yet take photos of, say, a store sign when I find something interesting.

But I clearly see the potential and the vision behind this kind of technology: merging the real, tangible world with the information-rich, virtual world created from data circulated on computers connected to the Internet.

That vision was exemplified in a scene of Avatar, where the scientist portrayed by Sigourney Weaver says that the planet is like a giant computer, network that the Na’vi tap into by performing arcane rituals, or touching some plant with their fingers.

In a (relatively) similar fashion, I could be walking on the streets in 10 (or even five) years from now, and use my wrist band computer (or those prophesied virtual reality glasses) to find the market price for durians when I stroll around the wet market (which would know that I shopping for durians, because my device can smell its sulfurous smell nearby).

What strongly contributed to expand my user experience of the Google Nexus One is Hong Kong’s affordable mobile broadband networks. Canada, where I lived all my life until recently, was said to have slow and expensive Internet access, according to a recent study commissioned by the Berkman Center at Harvard.

In Hong Kong, I can get an unlimited data plan (and about 1,000 voice minutes) at download speeds up to 7Mbps — in theory. In practice, it does not go higher than 3Mbps — for only HK$250 per month with a mid-to-upper range Hong Kong mobile telecommunications company.

Plans with a subsidized handset set you back about HK$400 for unlimited data access. A typical smartphone data plan in Canada, for 1Gb of bandwidth costs CA$60 (HK$450) per month (plus sales tax).

Google Nexus One vs. 2ifc in Hong Kong

Hong Kong Telecoms

I wrote on my blog recently that Hong Kong is a perfect trial ground for Google’s online strategy, a company with ambitions to transform the way we perceive mobile telephony.

In Hong Kong, the Nexus One, shipped with an AC adapter for an extra US$20 (a HK$5 plug adapter is probably available in Sham Shui Po), will cost about HK$4600 in total.

The Nexus One is also available in the US, the UK and Singapore, but you have to pay an extra 17.5 pct VAT in the UK and 7 pct GST in Singapore.

The Nexus One is also a phone that has considerable appeal to the technically-adventurous.

Rooting

While it will void your warranty, “rooting” your phone is not something discouraged by Google, and relatively easy to accomplish with the use of an application included in the Android’s official standard development kit.

The term rooting comes from root, which stands for admin in UNIX nomenclature. Rooting allows applications to make use of hardware that is otherwise locked for safety and security reasons. One such application lets you use the camera flash as a LED light torch and stroboscope (which may overheat and damage your phone in prolonged continuous use). These applications for rooted handsets are available directly on the Android Market.

The Nexus One will probably not be a commercial success or cultural pop icon, like the iPhone has been.

In fact, a Dow Jones report cites sales of 80,000 units in the first month since release, compared with iPhone’s first month of 600,000, or even the Motorola Droid’s 525,000 (another Android phone).

Nonetheless, this is without television ads, and merely from media buzz, presumably, and no physical in-store presence. Is this part of Google stategy to do for cellular phones, what Dell did for personal computers, namely eliminating the unconditional need for physical stores? Is it because the Nexus One is not to be the next big thing for Google?

Like I said, I am a Google fanboy, and they could have branded a pig with the Google name and I would have bought it. The Nexus One is my first smartphone, or “superphone” as they put it (and I never owned a PDA or iPod-like device), and I’ve never been as plugged in as before. I can only hope that one day the Nexus will come as eyewear or something.

Notes
Since February 22nd, Google Earth for Android is available on handsets running version 2.1, which include the Motorola Droid and the Nexus One (see photo)… One of the apps available to root users is the wifi tether app. It effectively lets you use your phone as a modem for, say, a laptop computer. This app is not available on the Android market, and you have to root your phone, but also patch the wifi card driver…