Auto Call Recorder (ACR)

ACR – Auto Call Recorder Features

• Folder to save calls in
• Ask to save Call
• Record Incoming Calls
• Record Outgoing Calls
• Write to Debug File

You can select SD card as the folder to save the call wave files. No need to worry phone memory running out issue. ACR will auto record every calls for you after enable recording.

Note – HTC HD2 users, you need to install 2-way In Call Recording Fix for HTC HD2 in order to make ACR working properly. Else you can only record 1 way voice only.

Download Auto Call Recorder (ACR) v1.2.4 here.

via: xda-developers

Record voice conversation

The cab is a registry entry. You can edit it by your own or just install the cab.

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Drivers\BuiltIn\WaveDev]
“MixModeRecord”=dword:00000001

This solution is working on normal phone call, hands-free mode and even with jWIN Electronics JB-TH130 Bluetooth Headset. It works for me. And it should work the same to you. By the way, the recorded voice conversation is located at phone memory – My Documents\Notes in wave format.

Note – remember to soft reset your phone after install the cab.

Download 2-way In Call Recording Fix for HTC HD2 here.

via: xda-developers

mConvert

You can convert unit in these categories ~

• Area
• Length
• Power
• Temperature
• Velocity
• Computers
• Force
• Frequency
• Volume
• Weight
• Acceleration
• Cooking
• Energy
• Pressure
• Torque

Download mConvert v2.0.0.2 here.

via: xda-developers

Mobile Finance

Poor INTC performance. Dropping a lot lately. Don’t know when it can climb back to previously high at $24…

Download Mobile Finance v1.2 here.

via: xda-developers

ClearTemp

ClearTemp Features

• It also allows you to clear your Recent Program List, Internet Address History and soft reset counter.
• You can even change the location of the temporary folders (Cache, History & Cookies) or e-mail attachment folder to the Storage Card.
• If you have custom folders/files which you wish to clear, you can also add them in.

Download ClearTemp v1.3.1 here.

via: xda-developers

Network Band Selection

Guide to enable 3G / WCDMA / UMTS / HSDPA connection on Windows Mobile HTC HD2

1. Click on ‘Windows hardware button’ at main screen.
2. Go to ‘Settings’.
3. Go to ‘Connection’.
4. Go to ‘Comm Manager’.
5. Click on ‘Phone’.
6. Scroll down and click on ‘Band ~ Change baseband’. You get the screen like above.
7. Select ‘WCDMA’ for Network Type and ‘UMTS(2100+800)’ for Band Frequency.
8. Click ‘Done’.
9. That’s it.

Note – When set to 3G connection only. You won’t have any connection if there is 2G connection only in that area (no 3G connection at all). You need to switch back to auto mode then.

Guide to enable 3G data connection on Android HTC HD2

1. Click on ‘Windows hardware button’ at main screen.
2. Go to ‘Settings’.
3. Select ‘Wireless & networks’
4. Check ‘Mobile network ~ Use phone for data connection when WiFi is unavailable’.
5. Select ”Mobile network ~ Set options for roaming, networks, APNs’.
6. Select ‘Access Point Names’. Note – A blank APNs page will be shown.
7. Click on ‘Windows hardware button’. It will bring up 2 options ~ ‘New APN’ and ‘Reset to default’.
8. Select ‘New APN’.
9. Key in ‘My APN’ by clicking on ‘Name’. Note – you can key in any name you want. I selected ‘My APN’.
10. Key in ‘My APN’ by clicking on ‘APN’. Note – you can key in any APN you want. I selected ‘My APN’.
11. Click on ‘Windows hardware button’.
12. Then click on ‘Save’.
13. Select on ‘My APN’.
14. You are done.

Try to disable WiFi connection. Your phone should connect to Internet using 3G data connection now. Enjoy…

The SDHC benchmark was carried out with the help of CrystalDiskMark. Well done, SanDisk. 8GB SanDisk SDHC microSDHC Class 2 Card is able to read at 20 MB/s and write at 7.6 MB/s sequentially. It easily passed the requirement of Class 2 SHDC speed class rating ~ at least 2 MB/s writing speed.

Huh? Why the writing speed is only 9.9 MB/s? It should be around 20 MB/s based on 133X Compact Flash (CF) Card X-Speed Rating. I am disappointed with 8GB Kingston 133X Elite Pro Compact Flash Card performance. No wonder I felt slowness when started to use this card. It should be rated as 66X instead of 133X. Hmm… I need to contact Kingston Support to clarify this. By the way, the CF benchmark was carried out with the help of CrystalDiskMark.

The CF benchmark was carried out with the help of CrystalDiskMark. 2GB Transcend 120X Compact Flash Card is able to read at 18 MB/s and write at 15.7 MB/s sequentially. It is almost near to 120X speed @ 18 MB/s. Not bad…

16GB Kingston SDHC Class 4 Card

The SDHC benchmark was carried out with the help of CrystalDiskMark. 16GB Kingston SDHC Class 4 Card is able to read at 19 MB/s and write at 10.7 MB/s sequentially. Not bad, I can buy another 16GB card. Then, I can record 2 hour ++ video.

8GB PenDrive Class 4 SDHC Card

The SDHC benchmark was carried out with the help of CrystalDiskMark. 8GB PenDrive SDHC Class 4 Card is able to read at 17 MB/s and write at 10 MB/s sequentially. Well done, PenDrive. You make us proud as a Malaysian.

8GB Transcend SDHC Card

The SDHC benchmark was carried out with the help of CrystalDiskMark. 8GB Transcend SDHC Card is able to read at 15 MB/s and write at 5.6 MB/s sequentially. It fulfills the requirement of Class 4 SHDC speed class rating ~ at least 4 MB/s writing speed. Yup, I don’t see any video frame skip when using 8GB Transcend SDHC Card on Panasonic HDC-SD700 HD Camcorder which record 1920 x 1080 / 50p @ 28 Mbit/s (which requires at least 3.5 MB/s writing speed).

CrystalDiskMark

CrystalDiskMark Features

• Measure sequential reads/writes speed
• Measure random 512KB, 4KB, 4KB (Queue Depth=32) reads/writes speed
• Select test data (Random, 0Fill, 1Fill)
• Theme support
• Multi-Language support

Above benchmark data is coming from Samsung HD103SJ 1TB hard drive. It is able to read at 78 MB/s and write at 77 MB/s sequentially. And read at 31 MB/s and write at 37 MB/s randomly with 512KB. Frequent hard drive defragmentation will help to improve reading and writing speed. Or upgrade to solid-state drive which have better random reading and writing speed.

CrystalDiskMark is a nice benchmark tool for Secure Digital and Compact Flash Cards too. You can use it to determine the minimum writing speed for SLR camera and video camcorder’s flash memory cards.

Download CrystalDiskMark v3.0 here.

via: Crystal Dew World

Compact Flash (CF) Card X-Speed Rating
6X = 0.9 MB/s
10X = 1.5 MB/s
13X = 1.95 MB/s
26X = 3.9 MB/s
32X = 4.8 MB/s
40X = 6 MB/s
66X = 9.9 MB/s
100X = 15 MB/s
133X = 19.95 MB/s
150X = 22.5 MB/s
200X = 30 MB/s
266X = 39.9 MB/s
300X = 45 MB/s

High end digital SLR camera requires high speed CF card like 200X above in order to capture more continues shots. However, the price is higher compare to lower speed CF card. What you pay is what you get…

SD, SDHC and SDXC Card Speed Class Rating
Class 2 = 2 MB/s
Class 4 = 4 MB/s
Class 6 = 6 MB/s
Class 10 = 10 MB/s

It is very easy to determine SD card speed class rating. For example, class 2 SD card is able to write minimum 2 megabytes per second while class 4 at 4 megabytes per second. Same apply to class 6 and class 10.

Be careful when buying SD card for your digital SLR camera. Most of them require high speed SD card in order to record full HD quality video.

Retracted Viewfinder | Extended Viewfinder

Panasonic VW-VBG260 Battery is heavier than the stock battery ~ Panasonic VW-VBG130. But I don’t feel much different when attached to Panasonic HDC-SD700 HD Camcorder. It adds on another 50 gram to it. So far, it does not cause any issue to me. No nose blocking.

Panasonic VW-VBG130 vs VW-VBG260

I ended up with iLion Panasonic VW-VBG260 Compatible Battery. Its shape is the same as original Panasonic VW-VBG260 but performance is not. Oh well, will buy the original one if really lazy to carry lot of poor performance compatible battery.

iLion Panasonic VW-VBG260 Compatible Battery

iLion Panasonic VW-VBG260 Compatible Battery Features
iLion Panasonic VW-VBG260 Compatible Battery is a (non-OEM) Panasonic VW-VBG260 rechargeable decoded battery pack with 7.4v 2600mAh capacity. It also comes with double IC circuit protection to prevent over heat and over charge. Since it is a decoded battery, it can display the remaining power on the camcorder screen. In addition, it can be charged with original charger. Note – you might not even power up camcorder with non-decoded battery. So be careful to choose compatible battery.

Cells made in Japan

Performance Results

3 hours and 5 minutes recordable time

Wow… iLion Panasonic VW-VBG260 Compatible Battery can record 3 hours and 5 minutes 1080/50p video. Just a little bit shy from original Panasonic VW-VBG260 battery ~ 3 hours and 10 minutes maximum continuously recordable time on Panasonic HDC-SD700 HD Camcorder.

Yaya… It will be good if iLion Panasonic VW-VBG260 Compatible Battery really can perform like original Panasonic VW-VBG260 battery. Nope. It does not. The recordable time started to drop fast when reach 1 hour and 40 minutes. And even faster when below 50 minutes. In the end, the total continuously recordable time is 1 hour and 50 minutes. By the way, I ran 3 times of testing to confirm the data. Charging and discharging… This battery requires around 3 hours to fully charge (Original battery requires 4 hours and 40 minutes).

Conclusion
“What you pay is what you get…” Yes, I agree with this statement. Don’t expect to get 100% same battery life performance with 1/4 of the original battery price. iLion Panasonic VW-VBG260 Compatible Battery life performance is about the same as its smaller brother ~ original Panasonic VW-VBG130 but with VBG260 body. However, it is cheaper.

Do you know any Panasonic VW-VBG260 Compatible Battery that can perform like original one? Tell me…

The shadow regions are blind spots

Based on above picture, the driver cannot see the car and motorbike beside him with existing rearview mirror and side mirror. The blind spot mirror will help to wider the view. Make those car and motorbike visible to you. This will help you to avoid them when trying to overtake other cars.

I got Little Wagon Blind Spot Mirror (S size) for myself. It provides wide angle view with its convex mirror. And it is 360 angle adjustable.

Without | With blind spot mirror

Haha… I don’t use blind spot mirror when overtaking cars. I use it when park my car by looking at the rear wheel. To make sure that I park my car in the parking slot perfectly. How about you? Do you use it for parking too?

Honda City Speedometer ~ Fuel Level

Honda City 2009 Grade E has 42 litre fuel tank capacity. And the low fuel alert will be prompted when fuel level reach the last half block. During that time, it still has 7.9 litre left in the tank.

I filled up 32.43 litre with RM60.00 (RON95 @ RM1.85 per litre) on Petronas Primax 95. It managed to fill up 402 km distant that I travel (80% city and 20% highway drive). Note – I reset the trip meter every time I fill up the petrol. So that I can calculate the accurate fuel consumption on Honda City.

402 km / 32.43 litre = 12.39 km/l

Honda City Speedometer ~ Fuel Consumption

Honda City’s speedometer can display the fuel consumption based on the style of your driving (fast or slow). Just like above photo, system shows that the fuel consumption is 12.1 km/l on my current driving style.

My Honda City is still below 1000 km mileage. Will update again when it passes 1000 km and 5000 km mileage.

Panasonic VW-BN2 DVD Burner

Panasonic VW-BN2 DVD Burner Features

• Portable
  Thanks to its modern and slim design you can take the VW-BN2 DVD Burner with you wherever you go. When you’re ready to burn your movies to a DVD just connect the burner and your camcorder and copy your footage for immediate viewing no matter where you are
• DVD Playback
  When connected to a compatible Panasonic camcorder you can play back your burned DVDs on the camera’s LCD screen. DVDs and CDs can also be played back on HDTV or analog TV
• PC Editing
  Using the included USB cable, you can connect your PC, the VW-BN2 and your compatible Panasonic camcorder to copy motion video/pictures that have been edited on your PC to a DVD
• Compatible Formats
  DVD-RAM, DVD-RW, DVD-R, DVD-R DL, CD-RW, CD-R, DVD+R, DVD+R DL, DVD+RW

Package Contents
Panasonic VW-BN2 DVD Burner comes in a nice package. It contents Panasonic VW-BN2 DVD Burner, AC adapter, 3 AC main leads for different countries usage, mini AB USB connection cable and operating instructions guides.

Slim & Compact

Package Contents

Performance Results
Panasonic VW-BN2 DVD Burner is easy to use. Just plug in power and connect it to compatible Panasonic camcorder or camera. Then, you can start burning your video footage already. I tested it with Panasonic HDC-SD700 HD Camcorder. It requires around 57 minutes to burn 20 minutes 1080/50p video. Same time needed on AVCHD 20 minutes video on its 8x DVD writing speed. (Note – 45 minutes required to process when we burn using HD Writer AE 2.1 PC software with Panasonic HDC-SD700 HD Camcorder connected.). The video footage can be burned into high definition AVCHD format and standard definition DVD (XP and SP mode).

USB port and DC input

Panasonic VW-BN2 DVD Burner will be perfect if it can be powered by USB cable. Else it will be a handy portable DVD burner indeed. (Note – the AC adapter and main lead are not light and small to carry.) Panasonic VW-BN2 DVD Burner can be connected to PC using USB cable supplied with camcorder. You can use it as external DVD burner for Netbook which does not have DVD drive built-in.

One thing that short off, but it does not caused by Panasonic VW-BN2 DVD Burner itself. You cannot rearrange video sequence to burn. It follows the continue numbers in camcorder. This is the limitation of camcorder. Do take note on it.

Conclusion
Panasonic VW-BN2 DVD Burner is a great portable DVD burner for compatible Panasonic camcorder. You can burn video footage anywhere you want with it. And act as external DVD burner when connected to PC. However, it does not come cheap. Try to get it free during promotion like I did…