With the Evernote and Skitch add-ons, features that were once available through separate apps can now be accessed directly through the Dolphin browser.

That means you can quickly save text on a webpage to Evernote, or use Skitch’s drawing tools to annotate content without firing up the respective apps.

But here’s the catch: you’ll need to first install the apps, and the add-ons are only for the Android version of Dolphin HD.

While desktop browsers have been embracing add-ons for years, makers of mobile browsers are only starting to warm up to the idea.

Hopefully, this will be a sign of things to come as more app developers start to think about integrating their apps with others for a more seamless — rather than walled garden — user experience.

Launched in March 2010, Dolphin HD was one of the first browsers for Android devices to introduce gesture-based navigation.

The browser hit its 10 million-user milestone in November 2011, three months after it made its debut on the Apple iOS platform.

So what is a condom maker like Okamoto to do?

Create a social media campaign around being naughty in Singapore. Watch:

The tongue-in-cheek campaign, which was just launched last month, sources for ideas from the public to create products that help Singaporeans have fun naughty sex more often.

One of the more interesting ones that came to Techgoondu’s attention was the Okamoto iPhone app TipOff. A motion-sensing app that detects when a door is opened, the TipOff app calls a number (presumably your lover’s one) when a door is opened.

This notification is supposed to give you and your lover some reaction time. Depending on the scenario, you could compose yourselves, hide in a closet, or even escape out of a window.

Useful when you’re doing something indiscreet and don’t want your spouse/parents/children to walk in on you and your lover.

There’s even a YouTube tutorial on how this works:

The app retails for US$0.99 on the iPhone app store. The app does not come with complimentary Okamoto condoms, of course.

As technology users welcome 2012 everywhere, it’s clear the year that had just passed was filled with no little controversy and memorable incidents.

From Steve Jobs’ death to the delay of the much-awaited iPhone 5, from the rise of Android devices to Nokia’s return with its Windows Phone devices, and finally, with the potent mix of mobile devices and social media that  helped ignite protests in the Arab Spring and Occupy Wall Street, but also encouraged the thuggery of the London riots, 2011 was a big year in technology.

The next 12 months look to be just as interesting, as existing technologies mature and grow, while other new trends emerge. Here are five things to look out for in 2012:

1. The arrival of the “transform” device
Just a few years ago, it was unfathomable that people would junk their desktop PCs for laptops. Because the portable device had a smaller screen and usually lesser computing prowess, the portable device never matched up to the silent giant under the desk.

These days, however, with power-efficient yet advanced CPUs and graphics chips, laptops can do the job just as well, plus they can be hooked up with a monitor, keyboard and mouse easily to transform into a desktop PC in a jiffy.

The same is happening with tablets and smartphones. In 2012, there will be more devices like the Motorola Atrix, first unveiled in early 2011, that basically turns into a laptop once it is docked with a laptop dock. The Atrix taps on its dual-core chip to run Webtop, which is based on Ubuntu Linux, to give users a regular desktop OS look and feel. It runs the OS you prefer at any time, all in one device.

Essentially, you only need one smart device – your phone or tablet – to do everything you need in future. What you will have are many docks or keyboards and screens to hook up to this increasingly powerful (expect quad core gizmos in 2012, starting with the Asus Transformer Prime) yet portable device in your hands.

Desktops and laptops will definitely still be around, but the mobile gadget is set to be the central device in your life.

2.  Windows 8 brings “touch” on everyday PCs
Related to this portable device rush is Windows 8. The upcoming Microsoft OS, expected this year, is being billed as the biggest upgrade in years for one reason – it is going to unify both mobile devices and PCs with one OS.

It works with touch, and features a Windows Phone-like tile system, where users will be given a panel of information and the ability to go into the nitty gritty only if they wish to. The big icons and friendlier interface also mean that this is the first time the Start button and taskbar – at least in their present forms – will be out of the picture.

Along with Windows 8′s arrival, expect computing of all types – from smartphones to laptops to desktops – to tap on the novel OS.

What to expect? Look to something like the Samsung Slate PC, which crams a powerful Intel dual-core CPU into a thin, portable tablet that can be hooked up with a keyboard and screen to become a full-fledged desktop. It runs Windows 7 now, but come next year, devices like these will sport the even more touch-friendly Windows 8.

3. Tougher times for Apple
It’s not just Steve Jobs’ passing that will affect Apple for the coming year, but also the fact that it is a company that wins big because of the very sharp innovation curve that it sets out each year.

When the iPod was commoditised, the iPhone became the next big thing; when Android smartphones managed to grab huge chunks of market share in 2010, the iPad became the market-conquering portable gizmo in a class of its own.

The question in 2012 is: what next? Surely, there’d be new versions of the iPhone (after the disappointing iPhone 4S) and iPad (which still has a good lead over all over Android rivals). But can these upgrades keep Apple at the top of the pile, or will it see its innovation and design lead cut short in 2012?

The emergence of the Windows-based Ultrabooks in 2011 from Asus, in particular, is a clear answer to how fast the competition is catching up, in this case, with the MacBook Air.

In the next 12 months, Apple will find the going even tougher. Users are often willing to accept Apple’s closed “my way or the highway” approach because of the perceived better design and innovation from the company, but it has to keep coming up with new winners to redefine the field. In 2012, it needs another big winner to pull away.

4. Say hi again to a smart TV
It’s been prophecised several times before, but 2012 could finally see the arrival of smart TVs that do more than just show your cable TV programmes or Blu-ray movies in all their 60-inch Full HD glory. These TVs could be the conduit to many services and apps that were just becoming common in 2011.

Yes, Facebook will be there, as will Twitter and other PC-based services and apps that you had seen on your 2011 Samsung or LG TV when you were free enough to venture into some of its sub menus. But what about YouTube, or rather, a YouTube-type service – on steroids?

Think of an app that is smart enough to offer the same multi-tasking you’d expect on a PC screen, say, talk to a friend on a chat window while watching a live football match, or checking out background information from Wikipedia on the JFK assassination, if you are watching a documentary on it on a National Geographic app, for example.

Not so new, I hear you say? The main difference this time is that the intelligence is built into the TV and possibly delivered straight to the screen – over the TV’s Net link – instead of via a third-party set-top box and third party broadcaster.

Sure, it’d be a leap of faith for content executives who have always preferred to work with their favoured “platform partners”, i.e. broadcasters like StarHub and SingTel.

But for indie channels and content owners looking to jumpstart their work by showing their programmes direct to viewers, they can now create their own content and app and reach out to viewers – in the same way cellphone app developers sell their apps direct to users.

Creating a smart TV programme would thus involve skills needed to develop an app for, say, the mobile phone or tablet. Will this model work for TV? Well, it’s already proven already by Apple and Google in their respective app marketplaces, and what’s there to stop you paying S$2 for a movie on a smart TV, just like you’d buy an app on your phone?

If rumours hold true and Apple decides to create its own TV set in 2012 or if Google takes YouTube to the big screen by signing up more content creators as it has done in 2011, then the next 12 months could see big changes in the way video content is created, delivered and consumed in the big screen in the living room.

5. Fibre broadband takes off in Singapore
This is a banker of a trend, because we know that 95 per cent of the city will be covered by the fibre optic network this year. Going by the long waitlist to turn on a fibre broadband service now – up to a month with M1, we are told by users – the demand for light-speed downloads is going to be even higher in 2012.

It helps, of course, that the network has finally forced open a market that once was dominated by SingTel and StarHub.

Take M1, for example. It used to have to rent the network from the two telcos, but now it can get wholesale access at the same price as its bigger rivals, and it can price its services competitively, as a result. Its S$39-a-month 100Mbps fibre plan sold at computer expos in 2011, for one, has become the benchmark to follow in 2012.

Since Steve Job’s untimely death, Samsung has been ramping up the assault on Apple, having launched a series of funny ads attacking the iPhone 4S.

Take a look at this ad which was just released a few days ago:

And of course, here was the original ad that mocked the throngs of people who queued up to buy the latest iteration of the iPhone 4S.

Of course, the battle isn’t just being fought in the realm of marketing and PR.

A global war is being fought on the patent lawsuit end between the two giants, and Apple just suffered a setback when it failed to get Australia courts to prevent the sale of the 10-inch Galaxy Tab just this week.

Of course, Apple is well-known for using patents to go after the competition, in this case Android and the phonemakers who support the platform, like Samsung and HTC. Apple has purportedly even dipped into the shadier side of the law through patent trolling in its all-out war.

Steve Jobs himself famously vowed to “go thermonuclear” on Android in the recent official biography by Walter Isaacson.

This book, by the way, even though it is only about two months old, has already become Amazon’s top grossing book of 2011. A testament to the man’s legacy that even the big Apple detractors here at Techgoondu have to admit.

With the mobile wars between Apple and Samsung and HTC heating up, and not forgetting dark horse Nokia (with Windows), 2012 will surely be an interesting year. Fight!

It’s that time of the year again when you play Santa to your friends and family by buying them the presents they deserve, depending on how good they have been.

If you are thinking of phones to stuff into the stocking this year, here are five of the hottest mobiles that would not disappoint most gizmo lovers. Check them out.

Samsung Galaxy Note

Okay, it’s a bit of a stretch to call this a phone, when it looks a little too big to be with its 5.3-inch screen. But Samsung’s latest “crossover” device still fits into many handbags and jeans pockets – tablets usually don’t – and it boasts one of the best screens around in its AMOLED display.

More than that, the stylus complements regular finger gestures to let you scribble as well as scrawl notes on the screen. We weren’t sure it’s a hit when we first saw the Galaxy Note, but it is now surely one of the most popular gift ideas this holiday season. Check out our hands on test here.

Samsung Galaxy S II

If a “traditional” phone is more to your taste, then one of the most popular now is the Galaxy S II, the Korean firm’s runaway hit this year. It’s got the best screen around in the ultra-bright Super AMOLED Plus and the interface is butter smooth, thanks to the 1.2GHz dual core chip onboard.

Better yet, there’s even a pretty, white version now if a “white Christmas” is your kind of thing. Plus, the new version also means your gift is a little different from the original black version. Check out the review here.

Motorola Razr

Okay, enough of Samsung. One alternative to the top Android maker from Korea is Motorola’s new Razr. Though nothing like the original Razr that made Motorola a choice of fashionistas several years ago, the new version sports the same focus on design and style with its ultra-thin design and unique Kevlar backing.

What we also like are power settings that intuitively help you save battery juice. You can set the Razr to automatically switch off the GPS, for example, when you reach home. Check out our hands on test here.

HTC Sensation XL

Another phone that is bound to please is HTC’s aptly-named Sensation XL. With a 4.7-inch screen that is only bettered by the Galaxy Note’s 5.3 incher, the Sensation XL also sports a speedy 1.5GHz chip that means all the extras that HTC throws into its Android-based phones don’t slow down the interface here.

As you’d expect, the XL-sized gizmo also comes with HTC’s trademark heavy metallic chassis – a contrast to Samsung’s much lighter, plastic chassis for its Galaxy phones. This phone is what you’re looking for if you prefer something that feels a little heavier or “solid” in your hands. More here.

[NOTE: We had earlier said the Sensation XL sported a dual-core chip. This is incorrect. It has a single core chip.]

Nokia Lumia 800

After four Android phones, a Windows rival here. What makes Nokia’s comeback device so special is really its design. Like the N9 before it, the Lumia 800 has a screen that looks like a pillow sitting on a single piece of moulded plastic – it’s simply genius.

The simple design will resonate with many users who like Microsoft’s simple interface that has been quietly gaining fans looking for an alternative to Android and iOS devices. Better yet, the new “Mango” version of Windows Phone comes with much-needed updates like multi-tasking, making it a real rival to the two main OSes now. More about the Lumia 800.

Alternatives
What else do we like? Well, the Samsung Galaxy Nexus that runs Google’s latest Android OS is definitely in the wishlist of many gadget fans this Christmas, but we’re still not sure if Samsung will get this much-awaited number in the shops by Christmas.

There’s also Apple’s iPhone 4S, which surely is a must-have for its fans, but the small screen and closed, inflexible OS mean it is poor competition for its Android rivals and make it a gift strictly for Apple lovers.

Fancy a gadget other than a phone this holiday season? We’ll have more guides on laptops and more in the coming days to Christmas!

Popcorn: SG Movie Showtimes, free from Android Market
Previously exclusive to the iPhone, Popcorn is a nifty app that lets you search, browse and book movie tickets from local cinema chains including Cathay, Golden Village, Filmgarde, Shaw Cinemas and WE Cinemas by Eng Wah. At the same time, you can also check out movie synopses, cast information, movie ratings and YouTube trailers.

The app is easy to use: choose a date, movie and cinema, and you will be directed to the cinema operator’s website to book your tickets. Some bugs have to be ironed out: the app displayed a maintenance notice on Golden Village’s ticketing site for The Three Musketeers, though the same booking could be made on a computer. To entice users to download the app, Popcorn has also teamed up with Garrett’s Popcorn to offer attractive popcorn deals.

Iris, free from Android Market
A team of developers has conceived this app to bring Apple’s Siri voice search technology to Android devices. In a brilliant twist, Iris, or Siri spelled backwards, was put together in just eight hours. The clone has been updated several times since it was unveiled last month.

To use the app, tap on the Iris button to ask a question and the answer will be read out in a computer-generated voice within seconds. In our tests, the app delivered on questions like “why is the sky blue”, with the right answer retrieved from a Wikipedia article. Iris has a feisty personality, too. If you ask her to shut up, she will reply with “yeah, well don’t expect me to buy stuff for you in future if that’s your attitude”. Iris works most of the time, but in some cases, the app failed to call a few contacts despite recognising their names.

Skoob, free from Android Market
SingTel is banking on the first-mover advantage to sell e-books in Singapore with Skoob, an e-book service developed on Mobcast, an online retail platform for digital books. Up till now, there was no direct way of purchasing e-books in Singapore, so SingTel’s entrance into the market will give the telco an early lead in the fledgling local e-book market.

The app offers the same experience as the Skoob website and lets you browse and purchase e-books after logging into your account. The store stocks great local content, including the Giants of Asia series by publisher Marshall Cavendish. To entice users to sign up for the service, SingTel is also offering one e-book that you can download for free, though there are only five titles to choose from. By and large, the app works as promised, though I had difficulty signing in several times despite entering the correct credentials.

It was a strange sight: A group of geeks seated at a coffeeshop round table, shouting/speaking at their phones, rather than through their phones.

My friends and I were testing out SingTel’s free deF!ND mobile app over coffee the last weekend. The directory concierge app, which supports voice recognition, was just released about a week ago on both the iOS and Android platforms.

Voice recognition software has long been available in the market, but it took Steve Job’s recently released iPhone 4S and Siri to make it popular. Reams have been written about Siri, and it has spawned brilliant caricatures and even a copycat Android version called Iris.

“UOB ATM in Pasir Ris”, “Best Char Kway Tiao”, “Chicken Rice Bugis”, we spoke at our phones.

Verdict: SingTel’s voice recognition concierge app turned out to be pretty accurate. We were a diverse group of speakers, from Singlish Ah Bengs to those who spoke with good diction, and the app worked — for the most part — pretty well for us.

There’s a catch though. SingTel’s deF!ND works well because it only recognizes from a small dictionary of Singapore-centric directory names. You can only use this to find amenities, restaurants, and local business places.

One wonders whether this function is more of a fun fad than, well, actually being useful. As some of my friends said, it might be faster to key in your search query rather than shout at your phone.

Except in specific situations, like when you’re driving and need to be hands-free, is when the voice recognition part actually useful and not a tack-on function.

Apart from the voice recognition, deF!ND has a nice bag of functions for a conceirge app. Besides serving as a food and restaurant directory, you can also book taxis, reserve movie tickets, and find events in Singapore.

The BuUuk or HungryGowhere apps might be a better experience if it’s just to find food or restaurants in Singapore, but otherwise this free SingTel app is worth a second look.

Higher launch prices notwithstanding, hundreds of iPhone fans queued up late Thursday night to be among the first people in Singapore to own Apple’s latest gizmo – the iPhone 4S.

Although the launch time stated by all telcos was Friday 12 midnight, some began queuing as early as 8.30am on Thursday to ensure that they get a place in the queue.

Take Melva Yip, a 21-year-old student at Nanyang Polytechnic. He and his friend agreed to work in shifts and started their quest from 8.30am on Thursday. His reward: the first M1 customer to own an iPhone 4S.

A current iPhone 4 user, Yip is convinced that the 4S is a worthy upgrade. “I’m upgrading for the speed, for the camera,” he said.

Also in the M1 queue was 20-year-old Jayden Chen. He said, “What attracts me is the Siri function. I’m switching over from SingTel because I think there’s a lower chance of getting the phone fast with SingTel, as they’re going with a pre-order system.”

In comparison, M1 offered the iPhone 4S on a first-come-first-served basis.

But others were less willing to queue for the phone themselves. 27-year-old Amit Sawhney, who owns a construction materials manufacturing business, conveniently got his foreign worker to stand in line for him from 9.30am. As a result, he managed to be the first SingTel customer to own an iPhone 4S.

In addition to the launch of the physical handsets, SingTel also unveiled their exclusive apps for the iPhone 4S, including one which localises voice-controlled assistant Siri’s functionality in a separate app.

Called deF!NE, the app allows users to search their surroundings with familiar terms like “char kway teow”. A quick hands-on with the app shows that it’s nowhere near Siri’s polish, but still works well enough to be useful.

These apps could prove to be a key differentiator for the red telco, as the iPhone 4S is otherwise identical across the board.

Update: Record crowd turnout

According to M1, it was a “record turnout” crowd for the iPhone 4S, which dwarfed previous crowds for the iPhone 4 and iPhone 3GS.

An estimated 750 people were in the Paragon queue on 27th October Thursday night.

Customers hoping to get an iPhone 4S at M1 outlets this weekend should check M1′s Facebook page for the latest updates on availability. Thus far, M1′s online store is all out of stock. The 64GB iPhone 4S model is also out of stock at all retail outlets.

Information for SingTel stores can be found on SingTel’s Facebook page, and updates and availability for StarHub on StarHub’s Facebook page.

(This story first appeared on Techtalk, our technology content partners at Yahoo! News Singapore, with additional updates by Chan Chi-Loong, Techgoondu. Photos courtesy of Yahoo! News Singapore)

Queue outside the Paragon for M1 on Thursday 27th October night

Queue outside Suntec Hall 4 for SingTel on Thursday 27th October night

The iPhone 4S might have disappointed many fans, and validated others of their move to Android, but it’s still a highly awaited smartphone to many people.

As the local launch dates draws near, both SingTel and M1 have already unveiled their plans and pricing for the new iPhone.

StarHub, on the other hand, is keeping mum over its plans for the device, and already some fans are speculating whether the green telco has failed to secure an agreement with Apple in time for the launch.

But let’s work with the numbers we already have. Based on the cheapest plan from both SingTel and M1, the new iPhone will cost you anywhere from $498 to $798.

M1 offers a lower monthly subscription and lower iPhone prices (with the exception of the 16GB version), but bundles 50 less SMS than SingTel.

SingTel might offer you 50 more SMS, but the prices are generally higher. You’ll have to pay $39.90 every month, $32 more than M1 for the 32GB iPhone 4S, and $28 more for the 64GB version.
If you don’t mind paying up to $205 every month, then you can get the 16GB and 32GB iPhone 4S for free from both telcos, with the 64GB still commanding at least $108.

M1 seems to be the clear winner here, with unlimited phone calls and unlimited data bundles for $198. SingTel, on the other hand, asks for $205 per month but restricts you to 2,000 minutes of calls and 30GB of data.

Now that the iPhone 4S will be hitting the streets, what’s going to happen to the iPhone 4?

M1 has not released renewed pricing for the iPhone 4 8GB, but it will be available at SingTel from $400 with the cheapest plan (iFlexi Lite at $39.90 per month), $120 for the next cheapest (iFlexi Value at $59.90 per month) and free for the more expensive plans.

If you prefer to buy the iPhone 4S without a telco plan, the prices will be significantly higher. But that might be the only option for those whose contracts with no end in sight. Retail pricing is available at the Apple online store.

Here are the full listings for SingTel:

And the full listings for M1:

In general, these prices are comparatively more expensive than the iPhone 4 when it launched, and could prove to be a major deterrent to consumers, especially those sitting on the fence about jumping to other platforms.

Update: StarHub has also revealed its pricing for the iPhone 4S.

(This story first appeared on Techtalk, our technology content partners at Yahoo! News Singapore).

The engaging experience offered by smartphone apps has led consumers to prefer interacting with products and services on mobile devices. This has spawned a race among businesses to roll out consumer apps as a competitive tool to improve customer relationships.

Now, companies that have launched consumer apps are also beginning to use business apps to speed up decision-making, raise productivity and leapfrog competitors.

Organisations with the right IT skills could build their own apps from scratch, or go for off-the-shelf apps from enterprise vendors such as SAP, Oracle and Salesforce.com.

These ready-made enterprise apps span the gamut. Besides those that streamline sales processes, there are apps for analytics, inventory management, employee collaboration and expense approvals. Here are some of the more notable ones:

Oracle Business Approvals for Managers, free from Apple App Store
This free iPhone app allows managers to handle pending Oracle E-Business Suite (EBS) actions related to expense reports, purchase order requisitions, human resources vacancies and job offers. Managers can use this app to evaluate pending EBS approvals, request more information and approve or reject pending requests.

Oracle Mobile Sales Forecast, free from Apple App Store
This app gives sales managers better insight into sales opportunities. It can track expected and total revenue against sales quotas, filter opportunities by deal size and quickly pinpoint deals that will bring sales managers closer to their revenue targets.

Salesforce Chatter, free from Apple App Store and Android Market
Chatter leverages the social networking model to enable co-workers to collaborate in a private and secure way. Users can follow people, information, and groups in their Chatter feed. This helps users work more efficiently and stay connected to people and information that are most important to them in real time.

Salesforce Mobile, free from Apple App Store
Available since April 2006, this app lets users securely access their Salesforce records and information using a smartphone device such as an iPhone or Blackberry. Users can access information on Saleforce.com such as sales dashboards, contacts, accounts and sales opportunities.

Sybase Mobile Sales & Workflow, free from Apple App Store
Securely access and update your SAP CRM sales data, including accounts, contacts, opportunities, activities, leads and analytics with this app. In addition, you can also receive SAP Business Suite Workflow alerts and notifications, as well as initiate and approve workflows on the go.

SAP Field Service, available for Windows Mobile; Android and iOS versions to follow
Announced at SAP’s Sapphire Now business technology event in May, this app allows field technicians to improve customer service by bringing the right data resources and information to resolve issues. Built on the Sybase Unwired Platform, this field service app will provide full online and offline access to assignments, service orders and service confirmation.