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I remember way back in the day Nokia’s 5210 was one of the more popular handsets because of its rugged look and feel and of course the fact that it was dust proof and water resistant to a certain extent. Their latest in that sporty all weather was the 5500 Sport and now it seems the company just may be coming out with a new rugged handset that’s being called the 3720.

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The handset is not yet officially announced but according to the reports making the rounds the 3720 is IP54 certified. This means that it can withstand dust and splashes of water to certain extent. It would be great if Nokia would launch this here. The timing would be perfect considering the oncoming, or should I say, already here, monsoons.
There’s not much more on the specs. The leaked images showcase a candy bar firm but that’s it. Stay tuned.

The popularity of a Facebook application mostly depends on whether you are male or female, and if it meets the criteria of being "cool", says a latest study.
The research was conducted by Professor Rebekah Russell-Bennett and Dr. Larry Neale from the Queensland University of Technology. They studied the value of applications such as ‘Superpoke’, ‘Mousehunt’ and ‘Scrabble’ which enable people to interact with social networking sites and other users.
According to Russell-Bennett, when it came to discovering what made social networking applications successful, it seemed women wanted to express themselves, while men enjoyed the thrill of social competition.
She added that "Facebook users want to possess and share cool applications that enhance their standing within their network of friends. For women this is about self-expression, for men it is about who is the best."
Russell-Bennett highlighted the importance of the study by saying that from a commercial view, organisations were struggling to understand how to develop a cool application and identify the features that would encourage people to recommend cool applications to friends.
"Popular applications can attract tens of millions of views and uses per month, and given that applications are relatively cheap to develop and are distributed virtually cost-free, this makes them an attractive substitute to traditional advertising."
"Anecdotally we know that companies are spending a lot of money on applications but they aren’t necessarily working," she said.
Now that they are armed with the knowledge of what motivates people to use and recommend applications, companies could better tap into the social networking market, Russell-Bennett added.
The results of this study will be presented at the UK Academy of Marketing conference in Leeds later this month.

Kensington has introduced the Washable USB/PS2 Keyboard with antimicrobial protection, for the hygiene conscious.

The USB or PS2 plug and play keyboard is waterproof, easily washable and treated with an antimicrobial that provides additional defense for the keyboard against bacteria. The new product meets administrative demand for the highest level of cleanliness within communal environments.
Key features of the Kensington Washable USB/PS2 Keyboard with Antimicrobial Protection include –
- Antimicrobial Treatment – Special treatment provides added defense against the growth of molds, mildews, and fungi associated with odor and stain-causing bacteria
- Lab and Office Friendly – Water-proof and washable keyboard designed for use in many different environments, such as hospitals, government offices, schools and more
- Easy, Convenient and Reliable – A standard size, white keyboard with 104-key layout that is plug and play via USB or PS2; the soft-touch keys offer a crisp, responsive touch for added comfort and is compatible with Windows 95/98/NT/2000/XP/Vista
The Kensington Washable USB/PS2 Keyboard can be run under a tap and washed to remove germs and contamination.
The keyboard is available for pre-order at Amazon.com and Kensington.com and costs $39.99

An Iraqi IT expert has set up the country’s first e-shopping website for trading anything from cars to game consoles, hoping to build a business that may one day cater for locals and foreign investors alike. Named after an ancient and teeming Baghdad market, Harej, which means "commotion" in Arabic, the site connects buyers and sellers for free – although few goods are on offer so far.
Its creator, Mehdi al-Ajwadi, said the idea would take time to catch on in the almost entirely cash-based economy of a country ravaged by years of conflict, and where only a tiny proportion of the population has access to the Internet. "There is still a long way to go before it’s accepted by the people," Ajwadi told Reuters. "In future, when credit cards become more common and widely used here, we will take a percentage on each trade." Hosted on a British server, www.harej.com runs in Arabic and Kurdish and offers new and used goods in categories including real estate, electronics, books, furniture and vehicles. By far the most popular section is cars, with 16 offered including a BMW X5, Mercedes C300 and GMC Yukon XL. Elsewhere, sellers are flogging a Nokia mobile phone handset, a Sony Playstation 3, and a modest four-bedroom home costing $65,000.
Eventually, Ajwadi hopes to develop a delivery service to get goods to buyers, as well as one day to tap the global market. "In the future we aim to be able to direct foreign investors to investment areas in different provinces of Iraq," he said.

ZKG writes "Only hours after announcing that a new update would be coming, the update is available for download. I just downloaded it a few minutes ago and it is installing now. We don’t even know what was in it, but its out. It appears that the thing that they said would be in it that PS3 users were asking for is new avatars. More details to come."

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With global sales approaching 50 million units, Wii Sports has comfortably overtaken Super Mario Bros. as the best-selling videogame of all time. Of course a great deal of that success can, as with the previous record-holder, be ascribed to the fact that the game comes bundled with the console upon which it plays in every country outside of Japan. But the link between Nintendo’s Wii and its number one sports game runs far deeper than a physical tie at the point of sale.

Just as Super Mario Bros. defined the NES so Wii Sports exemplifies the Wii’s functionality and appeal, along with its maker’s current vision and ambition, better than any other. Arguably the principle success of this immediately irresistible sport-themed mini-game collection has been in revealing to non-gamers why gamers play videogames.

With a barrier to entry as low as swinging the controller like a racket or bowling ball, anyone can experience for themselves the joy of digital cause and effect. In this way Wii Sports has broadened gaming’s boundaries and improved the mainstream cultural standing of the medium more significantly than almost any other title.

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