Archive for May 5th, 2010
Take a Hershey Milk Chocolate Bar and compare it with the Palm Treo 650′s size and you will be surprised that the Treo 650 is just a few millimeters shorter. The Treo 650 is considered among the largest smartphones. It was released in 2004 and its time has paved way to the importance of functionality over size, especially that the smartphone has barely reached a wider population.
The Treo 650 is bulky, with a dimension of 4.4 x .2.3 x 0.9 inches, excluding the antenna, and a weight of 6.3 ounces. It looks so similar with the Treo 600, except for the slight change in color.One of the changes in the design included the improved display. although it retained the old size of 2.5 inches at a 320 x 320-pixel resolution. The marvel lies on the 65,000 colors it projected, a very large improvement from Treo 600′s 3,375 colors. This resulted to images that are colorful and bright. The QWERTY keyboard was also retained but the semi-translucent keys felt cramped and looked when backlit.
A five-way navigation is still included in the Treo 650 layout, although there are a number of new buttons: the Talk and Power/End buttons, four shortcut buttons to the calendar, messaging, applications, and menus.
A volume rocker on the side replaced the volume buttons and another quick-launch button for opening an application of the user’s choice are also added. The top side of the Treo 650 is where the hardware switch, ringer and silent modes, MMC/SDIO expansion slot, the infrared port, and the SIM card slot are located. On the back side is the camera lens while below it is the speaker and the access for the battery. The multi-connector is on the bottom portion of the 650. Music lovers may find the connector an inconvenience especially wih the 2.5mm headset jack, wherein an adapter is required so that standard headphones can be used.
Features in the 650 include the 312MHz Intel PXA270 chip processor that supports multitasking and audio-video applications and the memory is limited to 22MB. Connectivity options in 650 include wireless WAN voice and data, infrared and Bluetooth. However, the Treo 650 can’t be used as a wireless modem and no integrated Wi-Fi as well.
Basic phone features remains the same in 650. It consists of a phone book, speakerphone, vibrate mode, three-way calling, speed dial, and picture caller ID. It runs on Palm OS 5.4 and includes productivity tools such as task list, memos, a calculator, an alarm clock, a calendar, and a world clock. Viewing Microsoft documents is possible with the Dataviz Documents To Go 7.0 application. It also includes AudiblePlayer, support for Java (J2ME)-enabled games and RealPlayer in ROM for playing MP3s or Real files. The VersaMail 3.0 application continues Treo’s pedestal in the e-mail stardom. It supports up to eight POP and IMAP accounts. Web browsing is possible with WAP 2.0. The 1.3-Megapixel camera, however, is a disappointment because of its blurry images.
Nevertheless, the Palm Treo 650 remains an important gadget when it was released on its time and it has contributed a lot to the emergence to a pool of greater smartphones.
Introduced in 2002 and among the earliest Palm models and originators of the smartphone in the market, the Palm Treo 180 is a monumental piece in the mobile industry. While size had become a major contention to Treo 180, its functionality had been hailed during its time.
Treo 180 comes in steel-blue color, and has a dimension of 4.3 x 2.7 x 0.7 inches and weight of 5.2 ounces. It also sports a flip design with see-through window that covers the monochrome screen. A scroll wheel is also located on the left side for navigating menus and lists. Its 4-bit color support runs at a 160 x 160-pixel resolution.
Flipping the protective cover automatically turns the display into a speed-dial menu. Accessing the Palm OS start-up menu is possible by clicking the Home Icon on the QWERTY keyboard. Among Treo 180′s productivity tools are Memo Pad, Blazer, Advanced Calculator, HotSync Manager, Instant Lookup, Palm Desktop Software, Expense, Date Book+, To Do List, Phonebook and CityTime world clock. It also includes a USB cable.
Treo 180 runs on a 33MHz Motorola DragonBall processor and comes with 16MB of memory and Palm OS 3.52. The problem with this unit is that the OS isn’t upgradeable and no slot for adding up memory. Connectivity features in Treo 180 are limited but is already promising when they were introduced during the time. It included a Handspring’s Blazer browser for accessing the Internet (9.6Kbps to 14.4Kbps, GSM). Some may also need their ISP such as Earthlink to surf.
E-mail with Treo 180 only includes POP3 e-mail applications such as the JP Mobile One-Touch Mail for forwarding e-mails to the device from existing POP3 accounts. Receiving messages from AOL mail is also possible, as well as sending SMS messages t e-mail addresses and other GSM-enabled cell phones in the United States and abroad after activating international roaming.
Using the Treo 180 remains a comfort, almost the same as using a standard flip phone. The speakerphone is also a plus feature, alongside with an ear0bud style headset for hands-free conversations. The bad side of the Treo 180 is on its batteries: with only 2.5 hours talk time and 60 hours standby, it could have been better. Nevertheless, the Treo 180 has remained an important part in the mobile industry.
Compared to the Palm Treo, the Palm Centro is thinner and lighter, meaning it’s more comfortable to the pocket and the grip without losing important features. The Centro is the first smartphone under Palm which doesn’t bear the Treo brand name, and it is the lightest and smallest smartphone from Palm. The move of Palm to revert away from the aesthetics of the Treo is a good decision as Centro promised ease of use.
As stated above, the Palm Centro cuts of the bulk of the Palm Treo. It measures 4.2 x 2.1 x 0.7 inches and weighs 4.2 ounces, although it is still considered bulky as compared to smartphones released by Nokia and LG. It comes in ruby red and black onyx, with the former envisioned targeting female users, however some critics have noted that such logic made the phone looked like a toy.
The screen measures 2.25 inches and runs 65,000 colors at a 320 x 320 pixel resolution. Text and graphics are displayed crisp and bright and navigating and entering data has been very convenient with Centro.
Although it is already a touch screen, controls such as Talk and End keys, five-way toggle and shortcuts (to phone application, home screen, calendar and inbox) are also located below the display. A QWERTY keyboard is also included, but it looked very cramped and small, and typing messages with it proved to be dubious. Atop the Centro is a 2.5mm headset jack while a multi-connector port is located on the bottom. On the left side are the volume rocker and launch button while on the right side are the infrared port and microSD expansion slot. On the back side are the camera lens, speaker, stylus and the self-portrait mirror.
The good thing about the Centro is that it packed all the features of the Palm Treo in a smaller unit. It runs Palm OS 5.4.9 and comes with 128MB ROM and 64MB RAM. Productivity tools include the calendar, a to-do list, a memo pad, a calculator, a world clock, and a voice recorder. An application that can be used for opening, writing and editing Microsoft Word, Excel and Power Point documents as well as PDF documents – the Documents to Go version 10 – is also included.
E-mail is among the important features of the Centro, offering various option for access. Among the applications include the VersaMail e-mail app for real-time synchronization with Microsoft Exchange, and Sprint Mobile eMail. Instant messaging applications (Yahoo, AIM and Windows Live) are also included. Of course, like other smart phones, Centro continues to support SMS and MMS.
Connectivity features in Centro include EV-DO support and Bluetooth 1.2 for wireless headsets, hands-free kits, object exchange, and dial-up networking. However, the model doesn’t support A2DP and that a built-in radio isn’t included. It has 3G but no Wi-Fi. It also works with Sprint TV and live streaming music and talk radio. Access to YouTube is also possible with the Centro Blazer Web Browser. Listening to music is also more fun with the PocketTunes Deluxe Edition that can play MP3s. Last, the images produced in the 1.3-Megapixel camera are surprisingly sharp and decent for a camera phone.
The Nokia N800 Internet Tablet was introduced at the Las Vegas CES (International Consumer Electronics Show) Summit in January 2007. It should be noted that the N800 should not be directly compared with other smartphones or PDAs in the market. Web browsing is perfect with the N800 especially when traveling. It also offers an easy-to-use web browser. Other offerings of the N800 include a built-in Webcam, a gorgeous screen, a Wi-Fi, and improved performance, as compared to its predecessor, the Nokia N770.
N800′s lightened up its all-black casing and added up a sleek silver design. It sports a dimension of 2.9 x 5.7 x 0.5 inches and weight of 7.2 ounces. The Internet tablet is slim enough to fit in the bag, and sliding it inside the pocket may not be a good idea. It also includes a kickstand, located on the bottom of the device, for propping it in the desk.
The front interface of the N800 includes a wide screen, 65,000-color display at a resolution of 800 x 400 pixels, wherein texts and images are displayed sharp and bright and are readable in sunlight. It also includes an option for touch screen, which if chosen, will defer the navigation controls.
A four-way directional keypad with a center OK button, an Escape key, a Menu button, and a Swap key are located on the left side of the screen. Zoom in and out, switch to full-screen mode, and power on and off keys are on the top. Located on the left spine of N800 is a built-in webcam for video calls. This feature will pop out by pressing in the circular section in the upper edge of the unit. The webcam can also be rotated 180 degrees. The stylus is held on the right spine, together with the power connector and 3.5mm stereo audio-out jack. N800 also offers two expansion slots located in the bottom of the unit and behind the battery cover. Each slot can accept up to 2GB cards.
While the other phones in the NSeries are getting gaga on the multimedia features, the N800′s redemption is on its web features. N800′s greatest assets lie on its speed, and portability. Connection through Internet can be done via the integrated Wi-Fi (802.11b/g). The Opera 8 Web browser allows watching videos from YouTube and Google Video, aside from being an outstanding browser.
Inputting texts is possible through a stylus with the onscreen keyboard or through the full-screen keyboard. The handwriting recognition mode can also be useful, however the best alternative will always be a Bluetooth accessory keyboard such as such as the Nokia Wireless Keyboard, especially for writing long e-mails.
Don’t forget this fact: the Nokia N800 is not a phone but you can still make calls using Voice over IP (VoIP). Call your friends using Google Talk, Jabber and Skype. Users can also listen to music and video via the media player. A big problem with the N800 is that it doesn’t allow PC synchronization and PIM tools, but one can easily download applications on their visit to the Maemo.org website.
The introduction of the Nokia N96 marked a two-year gap on its predecessor, the Nokia N95. While it’s normal that anticipations surfaced on N96′s possible fresh offerings to users, it showed otherwise because many were alarmed on its high price despite being almost identical with the N95, on design and on features. Does such reaction from critics justifiable?
As stated above, the Nokia N96 is very much comparable with the N95; however the N96 features a more streamlined design. Nokia N96 has smooth edges and round corners. Sleek black is the color of the N96 while N95 is matt and silver. It has a dimension of 4.05 x 2.16 x by 0.71 inches and weight of 4.41 ounces. N96 boasts a 16 million-color display on its 2.8-inch QVGA resolution screen.
N96 projects a bright and colorful display which automatically adjusts according to environmental conditions. In addition, the N96, with a thickness of 8mm, is slimmer than the N95, making it more comfortable to the pocket. The N96 shares the dual-slide design of the N95. Sliding the phone forward shows the numeric keypad, sliding it backward reveals a small selection of music player control keys.
The latter option also automatically sets the screen to widescreen. Some are complaining with the keypad. The N96′s keypad is entirely flat and without significant definition at all. The back of the handset is where the 5-megapixel camera is located while the top is where the 3.5mm headphone jack is situated. It can also be transformed in to a mini TV set by flipping the stand out, meaning users can watch videos without the assistance of a desk.
However, the features division of the N96 makes it a copycat of the N95. It boasts the trio of the best features: HSDPA, Wi-Fi and GPS, very impressive for a smartphone. It also includes A-GPS, a 5-megapixel camera with Carl Zeiss optics and A2DP stereo Bluetooth. Here’s the problem if the predecessor already has the best add-ons, surpassing is almost next to impossible. A big improvement with the N96 is the inclusion of the 16GB of internal storage, in addition to a microSD expansion slot, a feature that is comparable with the Apple iPhone. N96 also included a built-in DVB-H TV tuner, which received DVB-H broadcast signals for mobile TV channels.
N96 runs on Symbian OS version 9.3 S60, with the productivity tools associated with the N95 were just retained. Other features of the N96 are the following: digital music player, FM radio, support for podcasts and Internet radio, e-mail, text and multimedia messaging and USB 2.0. The GPS also includes maps and voice directions. It is also a quadband phone (GSM 850/900/1800/1900) and also supports roaming capabilities. It also supports both the 900 and 2100 3G bands. It also allows instant upload to Flickr, Vox, Yahoo and Google.
To be fair with the N96, it remains to be a good catch for business and casual mobile users alike, as far as feature and design are concerned. However, since it’s still new in the market, the price of $780 still appears to be a burden that users may tend to be practical and choose the older and now cheaper, N95 instead.
The Nokia N95 has been one of the most popular smartphones in the NSeries, having been introduced way back 2006 and it remained on its pedestal up to now, continuing to allure the public. This Symbian smartphone could have predicted the wants of the users so early, considering the inclusion of a 5-megapixel camera alongside an impressive multimedia and wireless features, it has successfully remained a cast on the mobile market.
Nokia N95 broke the law of physics by compacting all of its features in a small gadget with a dimension of 3.8 x 2.1 x 0.8 inches and a weight of 4.2 ounces. The phone is easy to use and comfortable to hold. Its design and color scheme made it more sophisticated. One great innovation in N95 is the two-way slider. By sliding the front cover up, the alphanumeric keypad will be revealed. By sliding it down, the media player controls will be exposed. The only problem with this is that the phone is too easy to slide open and a stronger mechanism to lock the phone could have been used. N95′s display is a large 2.6-inch TFT screen that runs 16 million color at a 320 x 320-pixel resolution. Text and images are shown bright and sharp and the screen automatically adjusts according to environmental lighting conditions.
N95′s buttons remain the same as that of the other models: Talk and End buttons, main menu and multimedia menu shortcuts, Clear key, Edit key and four-way toggle. N95′s keypad is large and easy to press. A headset jack is located on the left side, together with the infrared port and the microSD expansion slot. The volume rocker, camera activation and shortcut to photo gallery are on the right side. The camera lens and flash are covered by the slide on the back. The power connector and mini USB port are on the bottom while the power button is on top.
N95 is a gift from the heavens for multimedia addicts. It proudly included a 5-megapixel camera with a Carl Zeiss Vario-Tessar lens, and the picture quality is great, it is comparable with a normal digital camera. Users can also adjust the the brightness, contrast, white balance, color tone, ISO light sensitivity, and exposure value. It can also record video at 640×480-pixel resolution with sound.
The N95 has an integrated music player that supports a variety of formats and RealPlayer for video. It also includes an FM radio. Another great feature of the N95 is the incorporation of Bluetooth 2.0, Wi-Fi and GPS in a single device. The Bluetooth profiles support hands-free kits, wireless keyboards, and A2DP for Bluetooth stereo headsets. The GPS receiver of N95 has an additinal bonus: a mapping application that supplies color maps and route planning, which can be subscribed. Surfing the net is at its best with the Wi-Fi.
Phone capabilities of N95 are speakerphone, speed dial, conference calling, voice-command support, a vibrate mode, and text and multimedia messaging. It also includes a number of productivity applications according to the Symbian operating system. It has the QuickOffice application that can view Word, Excel, and PowerPoint documents. It also supports the following e-mail accounts: IMAP4, POP3, and SMTP.
Nokia N93i is a fold-and-twist smartphone, a slimmed-down but pumped up spin-off of Nokia N93. Most people would argue though that like its forerunner, it is more of a camcorder phone than a smartphone.
Nokia N93i is still bulky at 2.2 in x 4.6 in x 1.1 in and 163 g; however, it is already a good 5mm thinner and 17g less than its predecessor. It looks strikingly attractive with its large, shiny mirror-backed screen and two-toned silver/black exterior.
Nokia used an Organic Light-emitting Diode (OLED) for the phone’s 2.4-inch screen, helping it to extend battery life as OLEDs do not require backlight to function. With a large 240 x 320 pixel display, message sending, web browsing and personal information managing is easier and enjoyable.
The screen gives an impressive view of your applications with its vivid and vibrant colors. Its 16 million color display makes your pictures come alive! However, you might find it disappointing as the outer layer of the screen is too reflective when used outdoors. Especially with sunlight, the contrast is compromised, giving out a glare and blurring the icons on the screen.
One cool thing about this Transformers look-alike phone is that it twists and rearranges in your hand to form a gun-like video camcorder, positioning your thumb rightly on the big record button with an intuitive zoom rocker around it. Video recording from a phone has never been this fun and classy. Its screen is also built to flip around and sit like a laptop, serving as a portable media viewer. It also has a TV out that allows straight connection to a V or monitor, so you can watch your recorded video on TV monitor and even create and manage slideshows with music. How cool is that?
As for connectivity, which is what makes a phone a smartphone, N93i is included in the top list of excellent Web browser with its user friendly Wi-Fi set up connection. It has GPRS data connection and wireless access via 802.11b and Bluetooth 2.0.
Sure, there are 5 mega pixel cameras around now, making N93i’s 3.2 mega pixel Carl Zeiss lens seem less impressive. However, its hinge-mounted 3.0 x optical zoom camera compensates for this. It even allows you to go further to a 20 x digital zoom. So your photos appear as crisp and vivid, if not more, as they would in a 5 mega pixel camera. Also, it has a tiny LED light under the lens for close-up photos in the dark.
Video shooting in this phone is not only flashy but also easy to master as it only has limited features, which include auto and night scene modes. Nokia’s promise is that this phone would give you DVD quality video. Critics on the other hand, beg to differ, saying that its quality is no different from a webcam output. Although it is a full 30 frames per second, the resolution is very low.
The major failing of this smartphone is in its battery. From N93’s 1100mAh, it is now a 950mAh BL-5F, which has reduced capacity. Nokia claims that battery life could last 11 days. However, tests proved that moderate calls and Bluetooth use drain the battery in four days. Media player can also drain it in six hours. And for a full Wi-Fi and camcorder use, N93i could only last 3.5 hours.
Forget the sins of the Nokia N96, as the Nokia N85 is here to save the phone model in distraught. This gizmo is a real entertainer, having been equipped with music and video playback features, 3D gaming and GPS and unlike N96′s robustness the N85 features a slimmer and sleeker frame.
Commonalities between the N85 and N96 still exist; one is the two-way, sliding keypad mechanism. Push the phone upwards to reveal the traditional keypad and push it downwards to reveal four multi-function buttons that change in every mode. These buttons light up as playback controls in media mode, extra control buttons in game mode and zoom in/out buttons in web browser mode. Sliding the phone also changes the phone’s display layout. Show the normal keypad and it is in landscape mode; show the media controls and it is in portrait mode. N85′s usage of the Organic LED screen is a first in the N series handsets, a cool change since OLED displays consume less power compared to TFT screens. While the usage of OLED to other phones yields some disappointments, N85 did it right with its bright and vivid colors, although getting used to it is a little challenge especially for TFT-addicts who might find the N85′s screen look different.
Its music department comes with top-notch features including the standard, easy to use S60 music player. Store hundred, thousands of songs in the 8GB microSD card and listen in private with your favorite headset by plugging it in the standard headphone jack. You better think twice if you really want to replace the bundled headphones that are actually pretty good, and it comes with an inline remote control, microphone and hands-free calling. Another cool feature is its built-in FM transmitter for beaming tracks to your car stereo or FM radio at home.
Gaming is another plus points to the N85, with the rebirth of the NGage software platform embedded in the unit. Preloaded games include FiFa 08 and System Rush.
Connectivity-wise, the N85 also excels. It has Wi-Fi and HSDPA. There are some complaints with the web pages, but it’s good news that they load and display smoothly and quickly. There is always a solution with the bittersweet browser though, just download Opera mobile for the phone and experience the improvement. The built-in GPS also works wells with the Nokia maps software.
There are two cameras in the Nokia N85, one in front for 3G video calling and the 5-megapixel, with Carl Zeiss optics, on the rear. The sensor is covered with a lens cover, and when slid back, the phone automatically switches into camera mode. The rear camera has both autofocus and a dual LED flash and the image quality is bordering on the okay side.
To date, voice calls and SMS/MMS capabilities are nothing but the core and reviewing them is sometimes unnecessary. Most phone reviews are targeted on the extras and basing on this criterion, the N85 does well.
Another NSeries phone is the Nokia N82, which is reminiscent of the Nokia N95. N82 retained N95’s 5.0-Megapixel camera, with additional Xenon flash. The N82 is a Symbian smartphone that continues to offer the best features in mobile technology. One downside of the N82, however, is its design and many have wished that it could have been better. The bottom line is N82 remained to be a high-end multimedia smartphone.
While some users may fall love at first sight with N82 from a distance, they might get disappointed on a closer look. The phone felt plasticky, despite the silver-colored exterior, and the alphanumeric keypad is very hard to use. Blame it to its small dimensions of 4.4 x 1.9 x 0.6 inches, while it looked cute, the keys appeared to have forced to fit into place. The keys are tiny, and even the Talk and End buttons, shortcuts, clear button and navigation toggle aren’t out of the question. The Nokia N82′s 2.4-inch display runs 16.7 million colors at a resolution of 320 x 240 pixels. It detects ambient light and its brightness adjust accordingly. Two speakers are located on the right spine, at the top and bottom, together with the camera activation and capture button, shortcut to photo gallery and volume control.
The left spine is where the micro USB port, power connector and microSD expansion slot are connected. The power button and headphone jock are on top while the camera lens and flash are on the back side, protected by the sliding cover. As with the other members of the NSeries family, the N82 has a powerful multimedia features, one of which is the 5-megapixel camera with Carl Zeiss optics and Xenon flash.
Editing images are at par in N82, and the user can pick among five image qualities, eight scene modes and five color tone options. N82′s camera also includes features for white balance, exposure, sharpness, contrast, and light sensitivity. Add up the fact that Nokia finally managed to take photos with impressive picture quality unlike the earlier models.
Listening to music and watching videos in N82 is a total delight, with a number of files supported. Users can easily categorize tracks according to albums, artists, genres or composers and create playlists right on the phone. An FM radio is also included, although it is dependent on the included headset as it acts as a tuner. It also works with Nokia Ovi which showcases the Nokia Music Store and Nokia Maps.
N82 is a quadband phone and it offers world roaming, speakerphone, speed dialing, conference calling and voice command support. It also supports SMS and MMS. Connectivity options include Bluetooth 2.0, Wi-Fi and GPS. Among the e-mail accounts supported by N82 are IMAP4, POP3, and SMTP For productivity tools, N82 runs on Symbian operating system. Among its applications are the Quickoffice, for viewing Microsoft Word, Excel and Powerpoint files, Adobe Reader, Zip manager, voice recorder and a lot more.
Adding up to the multimedia group of phones in the Nokia NSeries is the Nokia N81. Aside from its excellent support for music, it also revived the N-Gage gaming platform, aside from a number of improvements and add-ons.
Nokia N81 is a juggle between style and function, and its design has always become a talk of praise for users. With its shiny and sophisticated black exterior, the N81 is a definite eye-catcher. It measures 4.0 x 1.9 x 0.7 inches and weighs 4.9 ounces. It is comfortable to use and easy to slide in the pocket. The front panel boasts its large 2.4-inch screen, displaying 16.7 million colors at a 320 x 240-pixel resolution. Texts and images are displayed sharp and bright. Gaming is at its best with N81, being its most priced feature.
Buttons below the screen include the Talk and End Buttons, main menu shortcut, clear button and the navigation toggle. Also included are the play/pause, stop, and forward and back buttons which are visible only when backlit. The alphanumeric dialpad can be accessed by pushing the front cover upward. The problem with the setup of the N81 is that it looked crammed and pressing is a bit hard.
Above the screen are two gaming keys. The screen orientation automatically switches from portrait to landscape mode when playing games, transforming the gadget into a handheld gaming device. On top of N81 are the 3.5mm headphone jack, a lock switch and a power button. On both left and rides are the speakers. On the right spine are the volume rocker and camera activation key. On the backside is the camera lens.
It still holds the same multimedia capabilities of other NSeries phones, including the integrated music player, that supports MP3, WMA, W4A, AAC, AAC+, and eAAC+ formats, the FM radio and the RealPlayer that supports 3GPP and MPEG-4 video-streaming. A built-in equalizer is also included.
N81′s 2.0-Megapixel camera holds the feature of other cameras under the NSeries and the picture remains in fair quality. The video quality, on the other hand, is better. What’s impressive is its 8GB of internal flash memory, however it doesn’t include a microSD expansion slot unlike the other phone models.
Phone capabilities of N81 is remarkable, being a quadband mobile. It is also include speakerphone, voice commands, VoIP support, conference calling, speed dial, and text and multimedia messaging. N81 is diasppointing in the absence of 3G, but nevertheless, the integrated Bluetooth and Wi-Fi redeemed itself.
Productivity tools in N81 is dependent on its operating system, the third edition of the S60 platform Symbian, however it doesn’t come preloaded with QuickOffice but it can be downloaded. E-mail support in N81 includes IMAP4, POP3, and SMTP e-mail accounts. It also offers Adobe Reader, Zip Manager, clock, voice recorder and a lot more.
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