In our previous post we discussed about Wacom Bamboo Stylus and its features. It have Smooth soft conductive rubber nib for best pen-on-screen feeling and appears to be classy. Here is the hands on video with the Stylus.

Images of Bamboo Stylus

The basic video player for most Android devices, is quite dull and lacks support for most common video codecs. So if you get an Android phone, you’ll definitely need a third party video players unless you want to spend your life converting videos to your phone’s supported format. Here’s our pick of the top 5 video players for Android.

5: Rock player LITE

The free version of the app has ads and it’s a massive 13MB. That being said it can be moved to the SDcard and it does play all major video formats and automatically loads .srt subtitle files aswell as long as they have the same name as the video file for which they are for. You can also tweak the settings a bit but there is nothing major in there. Basically you can choose to change the subtitle color, display FPS and batter percentage and a few more settings.

4: Mobo Player

Mobo player a bit more up its sleeve than Rock player. It has a software decoding and hardware decoding mode, supports .srt .ass and .saa subtitle files. You can also choose to stream video from an external source such as a PC. This one is free aswell.

3: Act 1 Video Player

I don’t know how they came up with that name or the inspiration behind it, but Act 1 does the job for .3GP, H.263 and H.264 format files. There is also partial support for .MP4 files. It supports .srt files for subtitles, onscreen clock, battery percentage, a iPhone-esque seekbar and plays videos from where you left them off. It’s a tiny 261k player and costs $2.79 which might be a bit steep since it doesn’t support a lot of formats.

2: Real Player

While the previous players may be functional enough, their user interfaces are a bit dull. This is where Real Player comes in. It has a quality feel to it and the blue-ish UI looks cool. It is currently in Beta stage and will play any file format your device currently supports. The app also plays music files so you can use it as a music player aswell.

1: VPlayer

You can get the trial version off the Android market which works for a week after which you’ll need to buy this VPlayer Unlocker for $5.01. This makes it the most expensive video player of the five, but then it is easily the best video player you can find. It supports a wide variety of formats such as divx, wmv, flv, avi, mkv, mp4 and 3gp among others and you can add .ssa, .ass, .srt and .sub subtitle files. The app has a simple interface, opening it leads you to a file manager, you can browse to your video file and start playing it. There is no fancy interface and all you get is the same look as a default File Manager. On the upside, it works without any hiccups and plays every file you throw at it.

If you are the owner of one of those Android devices that has not been able to video chat and did not have Skype support, then you could be getting some luck your way. Skype has announced that its latest version 2.1 will support a video chat for a whole bunch of Android devices.

Skype announced

Today we are pleased to announce that with the release of Skype 2.1 for Android, we are rolling out video support for an additional 17 of the most popular Android devices

The following are the list of devices that Skype will now support:

• Acer A5
• HTC Desire (2.2)
• HTC Desire HD
• HTC Evo 3D
• HTC Evo 4G
• HTC Flyer
• HTC Incredible S
• HTC Sensation
• HTC Thunderbolt – Verizon (2.2) (US only)
• LG Revolution – Verizon (2.2) (US only)
• Samsung Droid Charge – Verizon (2.2) (US only)
• Samsung Galaxy S
• Samsung Galaxy S II
• Samsung Galaxy Tab
• Sony Ericsson Xperia mini pro
• Sony Ericsson Xperia PLAY
• Sony Ericsson Xperia ray

The devices that will have the support of Skype 2.1 must be on Android 2.2 (Froyo) or above. If this prerequisite is met then you can download and install the latest version from Android Market through your Android phone’s browser. After the app is downloaded, complete the following:

1.    Go to Skype Settings.

2.    Launch the application and then select Enable video calling.

Note: If Enable video calling is not shown as an option, your device or platform version does not meet the minimum requirements.

Download Skype for Andriod

If you are not already aware, Youtube recently introduced Creative Commons License in there video sharing options. This means that if you are a content creator then you have the option to grant permission to someone else for using your work (Video). Youtube allows attribution – reuse options under Creative Commons with the help of which you can now use the videos under YouTube Video Editor.

How to mark your Youtube video as Creative Commons

You can enable the Creative Commons options with following ways:
1. While Uploading Videos, you can choose from “Broadcasting and Sharing Options”>License>Creative Commons Attribution license (reuse allowed).

2.While going to your video page. You can choose any video and go to its “Edit” Option. There you can find the settings mentioned in Step1.

3. You can go to YouTube Video Editor and choose to search from videos under “CC” options.

So above sums up the Youtube Creative Commons and if you want to learn more about video settings then you should go through my another article on 10 common Youtube video settings explained.

FreeMake Video Downloader is a application that allows you to download videos from the internet for free. This program that is both reliable and comfortable. It provides the option to download videos from over 40 different video sites. This includes sites like the usual suspects, YouTube, Facebook, Google Video, Dailymotion, MTV, Veoh, Megavideo and so on. Additionally, it also provides the option to download adult oriented video sites.

The program, while providing access to all these sites also ensures that the downloading process is easy. The process of downloading seamlessly integrates into the workflow. Additionally, the program ensures that regular updates and ensures that it is compatible with different video portals.

This program is compatible with 32-bit and 64-bit editions of Windows XP, Vista and Windows 7 and requires the Microsoft .NET Framework 4.0. Nevertheless, it is a standalone program for Windows that works on Chrome and Firefox as automatically installable add-ons. Though the usage of the program will be a little different cause the video URL will be required to be added manually.

The interface is simple with all the vital information being displayed. It also offers the flexibility to either download both the video and audio or download just the audio. It also provides the option to select the quality level of the video, before downloading the video, and can be converted to another format.

In our last post we have published about Samsung Gio Specifications and Features and its hands on images. Here is the hands on video of Samsung Gio

Have you ever wanted to fling videos that you want to watch between different devices? The answer you are looking for might just be here. The Apple’s AirPlay tech can now fling any video between Apple/iOS devices. VLC-Shares can help you set up universal streaming for Androids.

The one downside of the VLC-Shares is that the process to set it up is complicated. Apache web server on the computer, some fine-tuning of the VLC media player and a port configuration through the router might be some of the basic requirements to set up VLC-Shares.

Nevertheless, once the entire set up is taken care of and the application is running it can share pretty much any folder on your computer using VLC-Shares. Once the folder is shared you can even play the video on your android devices if you have Wi-Fi connectivity.

[via - Lifehacker]

Samsung is world’s second largest mobile phone maker and has launched mobiles of all ranges. Latest clubbing with Android brought up Samsung Galaxy Tab, which hit the market with a bang. Now, this year is eagerly looking for the upcoming mobile Samsung Galaxy S2 which is believed to be launched in February at the MWC 2011 in Barcelona. Samsung just released a new batch of new Galaxy S2 teaser videos to keep the excitement on. You may not be able to figure out how the device might actually look like in the video, however this cool Samsung Galaxy S 2 teaser is definitely fun!

Expected Features of Samsung Galaxy S2:

• Operating system: Gingerbread Android 2.3
• Camera : 8 Megapixels, 720p and 1080p full HD video recording, Geo-tagging, touch focus, face and smile detection
• Display : 4.3-inch Super AMOLED touch screen display, Gorilla Glass display, 16M colors
• Dimensions : 9mm thickness
• Processor : 2 GHz
• Internal/External Memory : 32GB flash storage, 16 GB storage, 1GB of RAM, 4GB of ROM
• Battery : Standard battery, Li-Ion
• Colors : Black
• Officially launched believed to be in February at the MWC 2011 in Barcelona

[via - Android Guys]

Internet is a great source for reliable information on anything you need today, just that you need to reach out at the right place. When it comes to digital photography, anyone can pass as a good photographer by learning online information, however things get trickier when looking for best performance. On the other hand, you will come across many tips and tweaks to understand the capabilities of digital camera. But again, if you are a beginner then it is advisable to go for some handy tutorials that can improve your knowledge in photography completely. These tutorials are well-written by individual or group of photographers that has various level of experience to help you grow in all aspect of photography. We have already seen some best examples of action photography, underwater photography and city life photography. And is now time to look at digital photography, so Techprone here offer you Top 10 free digital photography tutorials, where you can learn and master your photography skills.

Digital-photography-school –

Digital photography school is designed to offer simple tips to help digital camera owners get the most out of their cameras. You can find all articles right from how to hold a camera to all lesson that make you a brilliant photographer. Darren Rowse is the person behind DPS, yet you will find many tips and tutorials written by other talented digital photographer.

Geofflawrance -

This free digital photography tutorial site will show you how to take better photographs. Each photo tutorial will help you turn your ‘snaps’ into a picture that will delight your viewers rather than bore the pants off them. This site has lot of interesting things such as video tutorials, make money from photographs, quiz and forums. The tutorial section is so neatly designed and segregated from basic to advanced photographers.

Digital-camera-help –

Digital cameras help contain large number of photographic articles that you can use in your day to day clicking. The most impressive part of the site is that they teach you everything in a very clear way. Almost all articles contain diagrams that teach you step by step of the photograph. You can also get lot of free images and don’t forget to take part in forums for better understanding.

Digital-photography-tips –

The digital photography instruction offered by this site is like having a photography expert at your side, helping you take better photos. Every snapper can produce top notch photographs. It doesn’t matter how much your camera costs, or how large it is. If you are looking for some digital photography instruction and want to take better photos – this one can serve your purpose!

Basic-digital-photography -

Digital photography could be really challenging for the beginners and this mainly focus on them. You will find excellently done articles like “learn how to take beautiful photos, how to use photo editing software to touch up photos and many others. The important thing is to learn the basic photography concepts, then keep practicing your skills. One day, you’ll become an expert photographer, is what the site believes.

The digital photography connections -

Digital photography connection is an exclusive site that offers huge number of free tutorials. You will find well explained articles based on memory cards, photographing fireworks, shooting HRD images and shooting track sharp images. This is also a good place for people looking to learn some great lightroom digital photography.

Short courses –

Short courses is a well-designed compact site help you with superb digital photography tutorials. These articles are written for all level of photographer. You will find from what is a digital photography to caring for your camera and just anything about the topic. The site has manuals listed for sale, but the free offering is equally good.

Camera town -

Camera town is a site that mainly focused on reviewing the products, it does have some exceptional digital photography video tutorials that you cannot just miss. The category of tutorials comprise of just anything in between 3D to workflow. Don’t miss on this site if you really want to excel the art of photography.

Woven shadows -

Jerry Hyman is the man behind woven shadows who loves to share the joy of photography. This site is top rated for free digital photography video tutorials and Jerry gives you just right tips without wasting time. You can surely master digital photography by going through all videos step by step.

Layers magazine -

Layers magazine comprise of excellent tips, tricks and tutorials associated to digital photography. All this tutorials are well explained via videos by the expert photographers. There are varieties of tutorials related to Photoshop, fireworks, lightroom, flash, dreamweaver and more.

I understand that there many other digital photography free tutorials site exists and they should be good as well. I would love to hear from you about your favorite site for learning digital photography.

TheInternet Movie Database(IMDB) is a massive, extremely popular website detailing all aspects of many movies and television shows, has finally added what the site has curiously been missing all along: video footage of full-length movies and TV show.

There are a few things that I really like about the new service. While many videos are slapped up on the site using an embeddable player from Hulu, IMDB is the first site I’ve seen that lets you watch these embedded videos in full screen. And it’s nice being able to find videos right next to the images and other media that pop up when you’re searching for information about a movie or TV show.

For years, the Internet Movie Database has been the go-to spot for information about movies, TV shows, actors, directors, and all sorts of other information related to the entertainment industry. But over the last few years as online video started to take over the web, there was one thing conspicuously absent from IMDB: video. Now that’s all changed, as IMDB’s parent comkpany Amazon has rolled out a major update which lets users watch over 6,000 videos from sources like Hulu, CBS, and independent filmmakers.

The Amazon-owned site will now offer 6,000 movies and TV shows free of charge from Hulu, CBS, Sony Pictures Television, and hundreds of independent filmmakers. The content will rotate (much as it does on Hulu), depending on the content-owners’ wishes. IMDB will host and stream some of the video itself, but appears to be using embeddable players from Hulu and CBS where possible.

“IMDb’s mission has always been to be the world’s most comprehensive, user-friendly destination for all movie, TV and celebrity-related information, products and services,” said Col Needham, founder and managing director of IMDB, adding that “We’re excited to offer our users a simple online experience to watch full-length movies and TV episodes for free […] Our goal is to show our users every movie and TV show on the internet for free.”

The site’s interface is also a letdown when it comes to sorting through items with multiple pieces of content, like a television show. After visiting the webpage for Arrested Development (easily one of the best shows in recent memory), I found that episodes were listed out of order with poor descriptions.

And figuring out what you can actually watch will likely confuse many first time visitors. After browsing to the webpage for “Superman”, I was presented with a greyed-out “Watch It” button, which was accompanied by a link to Amazon’s Video On Demand service. Unsure of why I couldn’t click “Watch It”, I promptly looked to see if I was missing a codec or needed to sign into the site. Turns out this is just a bad design choice on IMDB’s part – if you can watch a video the button will be gold, you can’t watch it if it’s grey (why not just say “You can’t watch this here”?).

For now, the service is only available in the United States, as there are several licensing issues that must be handled. IMDB’s visitors will be able to watch classic shows such as Charlie’s Angels, Star Trek, Bewitched and Beverly Hills 90210. Also, new releases like Knight Rider and 30 Rock will be available before their debut on television.

The move should have been considered a very long time ago, as it provides huge financial possibilities, but as the saying goes, it is never too late to do the right thing. From this point on it all depends on how Amazon will promote the service and also on the quality of its content.

IMDB is one of my favorite sites on the web – I’ve spent countless hours browsing through movie trivia, forums, and top 100 lists. It’s nice to see that the database is finally incorporating video, but it could be doing so much more than links to Hulu embeds. Instead of including video as footnotes to database pages, the IMDB should create a consumer-friendly content portal, leveraging its database to serve as a powerful recommendation and review engine.

[http://youtube.com/watch?v=W53W_zOwG4k]

X-VideoServiceThief is a tool for downloading your favourite video clips from a lot of video websites.

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