webCat, Sailfish browser for Jolla Smartphone supporting landscape

Leszek Lesner has coded an alternative webCat browser for Jolla. It's a native SailfishOS browser, and it's available for download either at github, openrepos or at Jolla Store. I downloaded it from Jolla Store, and here's a review to version 0.8.3. Let's begin with a video by Leszek:

Features

• Landscape support
• Tabbing support (real without reloading of tabs)
• Bookmark support
• Setting browser user agent
• Setting default font sizes
• Opening up links in new tab (by long press and hold on link)
• Copy links (by long press and hold on link)
• Open rtsp, rtmp and mms links with external viewer (e.g. LLs VideoPlayer)
• Setting DNS Prefetch
• Setting Offline WebApplication Cache
• Manually add bookmark with specific user agent
• Fast scroll to top or bottom of page

Review

The settings: First image is from the pulley menu, from where the settings can be found. Second image shows another pulley menu inside the settings.

Images below show all available settings. The most interesting one is the possibility to change the user agent. User agent is a line of text sent to the server, by that the server selects the content and layout which is sent back to the browser screen. webCat browser can act as an Sailfish, Android, Nokia, Firefox, IE, Opera, Blackberry, NTT Docomo or any custom browser you select. This feature enables e.g. accessing mobile or desktop view of the page.

Last image above shows the bookmarks. Some are there already, selected by the coder (thanks for including Review Jolla), and more can be saved by the user. Bookmarks can't be edited, but they can be removed with a hold gesture, and new ones are saved either via settings (including the wanted user agent) or via the browser window:

These two images shows an example of using google map directions with webCat. On the left, a screenshot of the map, and on the right, screenshot from the list of directions while scrolling it up. While scrolling, a tap button to quicky reach the top of the page appears to the top right corner. Another tap button appears when scrolling down, likewise to reach the end of the page.


On the footer bar you can see a button for entering tabs/bookmarks, a back button, the url where you currently are, and a star to add the page as a bookmark/favourite.


Tap on the url brings up the virtual keyboard, from where you can also refresh the page.


Tap on any free (linkless) spot on the page minimizes the footer bar to a very small one, right to the edge of your screen. Bringing it back requires some good aiming. You can barely see the footer on the image on the right.


When the tap hits the footer, sometimes you still see it as minimized above the keyboard. It should be tapped again to bring it to its normal size.


Entering youtube brings me up to the only bug I found. At least the version downloaded from the Store can't play videos. Not in youtube, not in html5. Some user agents were able to show the cover image of a video and play the sound. On the Leszek's video introduction, however, we can see a youtube video running nicely - so there's probably a fixable issue conserning the store. Looking forward for an update.

The most wanted feature for the original Jolla browser has been the landscape support. In webCat, landscape is fully supported, as you can see in the first image of this article (browsing jolla.com)

Best Tracfone Cell Phone

Top 5 Tracfone Prepaid Cell Phones 

Everyone wants to know, what is the best Tracfone device? Which cell phones are the best options from Tracfone? We provide for you here the 2014 list of Best Tracfone Cell Phones.

List of the Best Cell Phones from Tracfone - photo credit: ario_

As you might expect, this list is dominated by the newly released Android powered smartphones. But which one will receive the top pick? This is almost the best android Tracfone list, but we included some other phones. See the list below!

We are judging this list of the best cell phones based primarily on features, specifications, and performance as well as feedback from customers.

We will provide a short description of each phone in the list, and a link to our full review if you would like to learn more about a particular phone.

List of the Best Cell Phones from Tracfone

The list will contain our five top picks, starting off with number five:

#5 Best Tracfone - LG 840G

This phone comes in at the fifth spot for its wide popularity, low cost, and good features. The LG 840G has been available for consumers to purchase and use with Tracfone for over a year. It offers several great features that help get it onto this list, including Triple Minutes for Life, WiFi, Touchscreen and 3G speeds.

The LG 840G does lack the ability to access Android apps, because the phone uses a proprietary java operating system. You can still use some apps, like Google Maps, but it is not as easy as an Android phone. View our complete review of the LG 840G to learn more about this phone.

The LG 840G is a solid phone with great value for the money. And with prices for this phone as low as $30 on Amazon, it is a great bargain.

#4 Best Tracfone - LG Optimus Dynamic

LG Optimus Dynamic

The LG Optimus Dynamic arrives at fourth on this list of the top Tracfone cell phones. It is actually pretty similar to the LG 840G (which isn't surprising since they are both made by LG) but with one major exception - Android OS.

With the Android operating system, it is possibly for you to access thousands of different apps through Google Play and use them on this phone.

The LG Optimus Dynamic also comes with WiFi, 3G speeds and a free 4GB Micro SD card. Read our review of the LG Optimus Dynamic to get all the details on this phone.

This phone does have a much older version of Android than any of the other smartphones from Tracfone. It uses Android 2.3 and some have reported it as being a little slower than preferred.

But the Optimus is the cheapest option between the other Android Tracfone's, at under $50 on Amazon. And there is also a version of the phone offered in white for those who might prefer it.

On a side note, we have received information that there will be a LG Optimus Dynamic II coming to Tracfone in the near future with better specs and performance, so be on the lookout for that!

#3 Best Tracfone - Samsung Galaxy Centura

Samsung Galaxy Centura

The Samsung Galaxy Centura comes in third by just barely being beat out by the top two. With these top three Android phones, they all offer great features and value, but they have small differences that separate them.

The Galaxy Centura offers all the features you expect from an Android Tracfone - WiFi, Triple Minutes for Life, MP3 player, 3 MP camera and more (read our Review of the Samsung Galaxy Centura for all the specs ad features).

But what puts it in third and not second or first are two main points: First, the Galacy Centura uses Android 4.0 OS, while the ZTE Valet has a slightly newer operating system. Second, the Samsung has a slightly slower processor compared to the ZTE Valet and Huawei Glory.

Overall, the Samsung Galaxy Centura is a great phone, which is why it ranks third in our best Android smartphones from Tracfone list. View the Centura on Amazon at $30 less than retail price.

#2 Best Tracfone - ZTE Valet

ZTE Valet

The ZTE Valet reaches number two on our top Android smartphone list with powerful specs, great features and widespread popularity.

The Valet comes with Android 4.1 OS and all the other features you expect from Tracfone like Triple Minutes for Life, WiFi, and GPS. The Valet also comes with a 4 GB Micro SD card, adding to the value of this phone. You can learn all about the ZTE Valet by reading our review.

What keeps this smartphone from the top spot are the reports we've heard from users that the WiFi can be weak at times, and no where near as strong as some would like. This might be a problem with just some phones, but it does keep the Valet from our top spot.

Price-wise, the ZTE Valet is a great buy. We have found it on Amazon for under $80, and many places like eBay, Amazon and HSN sell it with a minutes bundle. The ZTE Valet and Samsung Galaxy Centura are both great phones, and have been the two most popular Android smartphones that Tracfone has released. But we believe the best android smartphone is the one below.

#1 Best Tracfone - Huawei Glory

Huawei Glory

The Huawei Glory is TracfoneReviewer's pick for the best Tracfone cell phone, and best Android Tracfone smartphone, for its' features, performance, specs and overall design.

The Glory is very similar to the ZTE Valet, with features like a 1 Ghz processor, Android 4.0 OS, GPS, 3 MP camera, WiFi and Triple Minutes for Life. But the Glory also has some features the Valet doesn't, like an FM radio.

But what really lead to the Huawei Glory grabbing the top spot is the quality users report of the WiFi signal strength. This was one of the only downsides to the Valet, and the Glory succeeds in this area. Read our complete Huawei Glory review to learn more about this phone.

In the end, all four of the Android powered smartphones Tracfone released offer great features and huge potential. It really comes down to which features you find are most important to have, and which phone you like the most. And don't forget that you can now bring your own phone to Tracfone! Read our post on this exciting Tracfone Android news to learn more.

We hope you found this article useful, leave a comment with your pick for the best Tracfone device. Also be sure to share this with your friends.

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We also want to share a quick heads up, we have learned that Tracfone is releasing the LG Optimus Dynamic II (LG L39). So be on the lookout for that! More information to come.

For more on the cell phones offered by Tracfone, visit our Cell Phones Review page.

Also don't forget about our most popular page, the Tracfone Promo Codes! or you can see just the codes updated for January 2014!

Jolla streaming video with Plex media server

Jolla as a remote for Samsung Blueray player

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1. Overview

Plex media server works perfectly on Jolla Smartphone. Here's a review to streaming media from computer to Jolla's screen, use Jolla as a remote control, and use another phone as a remote control for Jolla's Plex player. Everything introduced in this article have been fully tested to work. Installing guide is not included. In this review we:

• stream videos from Plex media server to Jolla smartphone over WiFi
• check  if Jolla works as a media server, sending content to other players in the same network
• use Jolla as a remote control for a Samsung Blueray player
• use Jolla as a Plex Player and another phone as aa remote control for Jolla

2. Plex supported devices

Plex software includes a backend media server (Propiertary sSoftware) and a frontend media player (OpenSource, based on XBMC player). Plex software (before version 1.0) can be installed for free on

• Windows (XP with Service Pack 3 or later)
• Mac (OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard or later)
• Linux (Ubuntu 10.04->, Fedora 14->, CentOS 6->)
• FreeBSD 9.1
• NAS (Synology, Netgear, QNAP, unRAID, Drobo, Asustor). With some limitations.
• Mobile devices: Android (inc. Jolla), iOs, Windows Phone 8
• TV's & Blueray players (Roku, Google TV, Samsung)
• Chromecast supporting devices (this is not free. Requires Plex Pass)

From November 2013 Plex introduced version 1.0: Plex Home Theater. Latest version is available for computers running on Windows (Vista or later) and Mac (Snow Leopard or later).

3. Plex on Jolla

Version 0.9.8 works on Jolla, via Android Support, both as a player (no Plex Pass or account required) and as a media server (to use, account and paid Plex Pass required). Without Plex Pass Jolla is capable to play any streaming media supported by the device (e.g. H.264 video format). Media server can transcode most video streams, audio streams and subtitles to supported formats in desired quality. Plex Media Server including the media must locate on the same network with Jolla (e.g. same WLAN)

4. Plex player on Jolla - Photo Review

Plex on Jolla. View to the content of the Media Server

In my setup, I have installed Plex Media Server on my Win7 computer and on Jolla Smartphone.

Plex on Jolla. Watching a BBC document in 720p quality

Additionally Plex Player is installed to my Samsung Blueray player (HT-D5500) and a remote control for that is installed to my Jolla. Here's a view to the remote control, each function works great on Jolla:

Even more, I've installed a 3rd party remote control for Plex Player to another smartphone, so I'm able to control my Jolla from that. Maybe this doesn't seem too important, but it was required to fix the player screen size on Jolla:

Screen overscan wizard is located on the Player Settings, and a remote control was required to adjust the screen. Using the touchpad of another smartphone (ZTE) I was able to adjust Jolla's screen for full use with the player. Some other settings on Jolla are shown below:

As you can see on the right image above, it's possible to select Jolla to be advertised as a server. I tested that, of course, and I was actually surprised that the Plex player on my BD was able to connect to the Plex Media Server on my Jolla. So, the server was recognized, but sharing Jolla's files seems to require sync option, and I haven't activated a Plex Pass to be able to use that. After enabling sync it would propably be possible to share files stored in Android environment (as Plex server is running under Android Support on Jolla).

Streaming video quality was absolutely great. I was able to strem 1080p videos over my WLAN network without any lagging. I did it just in testing purpose, streaming with this quality is useless as Jolla's screen resolution (540x960 px) has only a quarter of full HD quality (1080x1920 px)

Plex on Jolla - adjusting stremaing quality while watching the stream

Audio sync and quality were great too. For my first listening test I attached a DENON amplifier and a nice pair of Gradient speakers to Jolla's audio plug. I would have liked to test if Jolla would support any 5.1 audio stream too, but I was missing a suitable media for that. However, the stereo sound was absolutely fantastic.

Subtitles time sync isn't adjustable on Jolla's player, and as subtitle files are also transcoded when needed, it's pretty possible that some subtitles are in sync and some are not. My testing night ended to watching a movie in my bed with a nice pair of light Sennheiser headphones. In that one, subtitles were in sync too.

After watcing an 1h 30min movie, my Jolla had 25% less battery charge (screen brigtness at half). No lagging, no problems - everything seems to work as it should with Plex. I give this my full recommendation.

Tracfone Promo Codes for January 2014

New Tracfone Promo Codes January 2014

We have listed below new promo codes for all Tracfone minute cards that are valid through January 2014. 

Tracfone Promo Codes below!

Tracfone is a wireless prepaid cell phone company that provides low cost phones and minutes with no contract or other fees.

To add minutes to your phone, simply buy a refill card, and add it either online, or on your phone (or over the phone). When adding your minutes you can also use one of the promo codes below to get additional bonus minutes for free!

Here at TracfoneReviewer, we want to provide these codes to you as easily and simply as possible, free with nothing you need to click.

To make the Tracfone Promo Codes as easy as possibly to use, we make this post with just the codes that have been tested and are working in January 2014. If you want to see our full list of codes, with many more codes, visit our Tracfone Promo Codes page.

Do you like Tracfone but want a newer and better phone? Read our reviews of Tracfone's new Android smartphones. We have reviewed the Samsung Galaxy Centura, ZTE Valet, LG Optimus Dynamic, and Huawei Glory. Each of these phones runs Android OS, and comes with lots of great features. Unfortunately they don't work with the promo codes.

Now, let's get to the codes for January 2014!

Tracfone Promo Codes for January 2014

These codes have been tested and should work through the end of January 2014 unless otherwise noted.

60 minute card - get 30 bonus minutes with code 70166

120 minute card - also get 30 bonus minutes using code 71527

200 minute card - No new codes yet, but we will update when we get them. For now just use 71527 or 70166

400 minute/1 year card - get 200 extra minutes free with code 66271

450 minute card - grab 70 bonus minutes using promo code 72505

That's it, hope you can use these and get some free minutes! Leave a comment with which ones worked or didn't work for you.

We just published our 2014 list of the Top 5 Tracfone Cell Phones - you might want to see which phone takes the top spot!

Check out the latest news about Tracfone regarding bringing any CDMA phone to use with Tracfone prepaid service.

Also you might want to read our look back at what happened with Tracfone in 2013, and what 2014 might hold.

Thanks for visiting, and enjoy these codes in the new year!

Workaround: Jolla rotation and video format problems

Jolla phone - video formats

With Beta releases, it's sometimes just needed to do something yourself. This time, unless a fix is released, it has to do with the video recordings using Jolla's camera. There's a minor bug in rotation, turning some videos upside down (and some photos too), and there's another problem related to Jolla's less common video format h.263. Oh... and the recorded audio quality isn't great either (I hope the problem is just in the software)

Workaround for the rotation bug

When recording a landscape video, turn your Jolla anticlockwise (to the left).
This way the rotation angle will be 0. If you turn it right, the video will show upside down in your computer.

Workaround for the less supported video format

When sending videos to services like Youtube or Vimeo, the videos are automatically converted, and the file size & quality is reduced. No problem in here, if you're satisfied to the quality and the service.

Jolla records videos in format mp4v/h.263 (MPEG-4 Visual Simple@L6 to be exact). Not all players, and especially not the common web players are able to show this (you'll only hear the sound).

If you don't want to use 3rd party services, here's what you can do for the empty video frames and whining relatives: Convert your video to a better supported format. Here's a HowTo for mp4/avc1 format, which is well supported:

For converting a video, I used VLC Player. HowTo:

1. Save your video to any folder in your computer. You can transfer it via USB cable, Bluetooth or Email (attachment). Moving it via 3rd parties is not recommended, as it's usually converted in their desired way when uploaded, reducing the quality
2. Open VLC Player (link is to the official download site)
   Select from menu: Media -> Convert/Save...
3. Add... the video / videos you want to convert to the File selection list
4. Click Convert / Save
5. Browse Destination File. Select the Folder and write the name for the converted video, ending to text .mp4 (note the dot)
6. Select any profile from the dropdown menu, as it need to be edited anyway. I used Video - MPEG4 + AAC (mp4)
7. Edit your selected profile (click the tools icon)
8. For encapsulation, choose mp4
9. Video codec selections (this is what we convert)
   The selection boxes: Select "Video", unselect "Keep original video track"
   Codec: choose H.264
   Bitrate: 10 000 Kbit for max quality, 300-600 for web viewing purposes. This selection is the most important considering the file size and quality, and the processing time too. You could start with smaller values, and make another setting later if you're not satisfied with the outcome.
   Frame rate: 30fps for max quality, less to get smaller file size. At least 12 fps recommended.
   Scale 1 / Width 0 / Height 0 for original size, or change only one of the values for desired size.
10. For audio codec, select "Audio" and also select "Keep original audio track"
11. Save the settings (next time they will be ready in your selected profile)
12. Leave the checkboxes unselected, and start. Convertion takes a while, you can follow the advance from the bar at bottom. After it's ready, the player shows its stopped (no notifications)

You can find your converted video in the Folder you selected earlier. The original video is left unchanged. The format of the new video is mp4/avc1 (MPEG-4, Advanced Video Codec High@L4.0) which is recognized by most web players and html5. Html5 supported browsers are at least Mozilla Firefox (from v21), Internet Explorer, Google Chrome & Safari. Opera does not support mp4 - to gain visibility there, convert video also to ogg format.

Sharing videos in mp4/avc1 format is currently the best way considering most viewers, as both the web and most players in several devices/computers support viewing this format. As an example, here's a 7 second teddy clip not using iframe or Java/Flash. The format is simply supported by html5 programming language. You shouldn't see this with Opera browser, but with most others, yes:

LTE 4G seen on Jolla smartphone UPDATED

This image was shared in Twitter

Jonni hacked wireless charging to his other half. He promised to post details to TMO later. pic.twitter.com/D9xXFckW6G
— Vesku Hartikainen (@veskuh) December 16, 2013

Zooming in a bit we see a nice detail: 4G LTE in use on the screen of Jolla smartphone

About 4G LTE on Jolla (UPDATED 1-Jan-2014)

Jolla's Hardware supports 4G LTE, but the feature has not been activated, as the connection is not found stable enough yet. 4G LTE supported frequencies on Jolla have been told: Jolla will support channels 3 (1800 MHz), 7 (2600 MHz) and 20 (800 MHz).

You can already check if there are operators in your area having 4G/LTE networks using a frequency mentioned above. Just tne of the three supported frequencies is enough for Jolla to work in that network. 

Via developer mode, some experienced users have already been testing their Jolla with 4G/LTE

About wireless charging on Jolla

Like 4G/LTE, wireless charging is neither officially supported by Jolla, and there is no equipment on sale for that yet. However, what we see in this shared image is not the only DIY project going on. This was AFAIK the first project. Later on I've seen other builds inside The Other Half enabling e.g. this charging plate: Maybe I write another article about these projects later, "Stay tuned" :D

Tracfone - 2013 in Review

A Look Back at some big Things that Happened with Tracfone in 2013

Happy New Year Everyone!

2014 is here and there is a lot to be excited about. But lets take a quick look back at some of the things that came out in 2013 for Tracfone. It was a very exciting year, and you might have missed some of the big news and phones that showed up.

Plus, many of the things that happened in 2013 may have a big affect on what's in store for 2014 from Tracfone, so here we go!

Beginning of 2013 - LG 840G Gains Popularity

While the LG 840G was actually released in 2012, it saw a huge rise to Tracfone'a most popular cell phone in the first half of 2013. The touchscreen combined with WiFi, Triple Minutes for Life, access to Google Maps and many other nice features made it a great phone to upgrade to for many longtime Tracfone users.

It was a step up from most other basic flip phones and allowed Tracfone customers to get a taste of the potential a smartphone could have. But the LG 840G wasn't quite a smartphone, with no access to popular apps like Apple or Android phones had.

But the phone's success may have helped encourage Tracfone towards what became one of the biggest news stories for Tracfone in 2013.

Two Words: Android Smartphone

Tracfone's Current Smartphones

By far, the biggest news for Tracfone in 2013 was the release of Android Smartphones for use on the Tracfone prepaid wireless network.

Rumors started filtering in around early summer, about the possibility of four Android powered phones coming to Tracfone. Many held their breath to see if this would actually become a reality, because the lack of a Tracfone smartphone had long been one of its disadvantages.

Around mid 2013, the rumors became truth as the Samsung Galaxy Centura and ZTE Valet were the first Android Smartphones to show up in stores on on the Tracfone website for use on their prepaid network.

Not long after this, two more smartphones also showed up, the LG Optimus Dynamic, and the Huawei Glory. While these phones are not the newest smartphones on the market, they are all Android smartphones, offering access to Android apps and features that Tracfone users had never had access to before.

Something of a 'new age' was ushered in with these smartphones, because up until this point, Tracfone was really only seen as a no frills, budget cell phone service provider. But now, they still have the prepaid, wallet-friendly cell phone service but with feature-rich smartphones that leave the consumer with no sacrifices made.

While using a smartphone with Tracfone prepaid service isn't for everyone, and not all Tracfone customers were jumping at the chance to buy one of these new phones, it was a great step forward and a big change for Tracfone in 2013.

A Piece of News that May Have Flown in Under the Radar

One bit of news that came out at the end of 2013 may have one of the biggest impacts on consumers going forward.

Tracfone announced that anyone can now bring their own cell phone to use with Tracfone prepaid service. So instead of being forced to use one of the phones Tracfone sells, you can choose your own, and then sign up for Tracfone service.

There are some limitations at this time. Only CDMA cell phones are being accepted at this time, and no iPhones. You will want to check and make sure you can bring your phone to Tracfone before actually making the switch. You can do that on their website. Visit the link above if you need more information.

2013 has been fun, and we've seen some big things happening. But 2014 may prove to be even more eventful, with the high possibility of more smartphones coming to Tracfone.

What to Expect from TracfoneReviewer in 2014

We are excited for 2014, and we are making plans to provide more information and better resources for you, our valued visitors. We will also be working hard at keeping the Tracfone Promo Codes that everyone loves updated for each month.

What do you want to know more about? Now is your chance, leave a comment with what questions you want to see answered, or what articles you would want to read!

We are going to continue providing reviews of Tracfone cell phones as they come out, and other informative articles that will help you save money, learn more, and get the most out of Tracfone.

We will also try to keep you posted on the latest news and updates from Tracfone as we learn more about many new and exciting possibilities. So stay tuned!

Thanks for visiting, and for making 2013 a great year for TracfoneReviewer blog, stick around, because 2014 will be even better! Happy New Year!