Nokia Lumia 530 review: not quite an upgrade

Here at TechCentral, we have long been fans of Windows Phone. We think it’s the perfect platform for new smartphone users or those people that want a no-fuss operating system. And Microsoft’s newest, the Nokia Lumia 530, is a great entry-level Windows Phone device for budget-conscious consumers.

The 530 has much to live up to. Its predecessor, the Lumia 520, was the best-selling Windows Phone device in its category in South Africa and worldwide.

The Lumia 530 resembles the 520, but it’s edges are more rounded. The phone still has a 4-inch liquid crystal display, but the screen quality has been upped ever so slightly — 480×854 pixels for a pixel density of 246ppi, up from the 520’s 480×800 pixels and 233ppi. It is also a little heavier and slightly thicker than its predecessor, but weighing in at 129g, with a girth of 11,7mm, this phone isn’t going to weigh heavily in your pocket.

The capacitive buttons on the Lumia 520, just below the screen, have been made part of the display, providing a much cleaner look to the phone’s front panel. The buttons and 3,5mm audio jack remain untouched, but Nokia removed the dedicated camera button on the side of the phone, which is a pity in our view.

The phone has a 1 430mAh battery (same as before) that will deliver talk time of about 13 hours. Battery life under normal usage conditions should last just more than a day. There’s a 1,2GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 200 processor powering the device. It’s enough grunt to ensure Windows Phone runs reasonably smoothly.

Compared to last year’s model, the Lumia 530 has been trimmed in two important areas. Firstly, the internal flash storage has been cut from 8GB to just 4GB, though this can be expanded by way of a microSD memory card up to 128GB. Secondly, the 530’s video recording capabilities are not as good — the 520 was able to shoot video at a respectable 720p at 30fps, but it’s only 480p, also at 30fps, on the new phone. The camera keeps a 5-megapixel sensor, although its now a fixed-focus shooter — the Lumia 520 had auto focus. There is no rear flash or front-facing camera either, but this is not unique to entry-level smartphones.

We can only imagine that Nokia has pared these features in an effort to bring down the 530’s price. The 520 was introduced last year at R1 899; the 530 costs R550 less, even though the rand has weakened substantially against both the dollar and the euro in the same period.

As with other Lumia phones, this one features an array of brightly coloured and replaceable back covers, available in bright green, bright orange, white and dark grey.

Basic connectivity options are supported, including 3G cellular and 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi. The phone can be used as a hotspot. It also has full GPS support.

The Lumia 530 comes with a number of applications, including Facebook, Skype, MixRadio, Office and OneDrive. Users get 15GB of free OneDrive storage when they sign up.

Considering its price, it’s hard not to love what the entry-level Lumia 530 has to offer. If you have a Lumia 520, though, the upgrade might not seem as appealing as it would have been with an improved camera and video recording capabilities.

The Lumia 530 has a recommended retail price of R1 349. There’s also a dual-Sim version for sale online. The Orange store has it for R1 435.  — © NewsCentral Media

Entry-level Samsung Galaxy V appears in a retail listing

Another day, another entry level smartphone from Samsung! A retail listing from Vietnam reveals that the South Korean giant is gearing up to introduce a new smartphone dubbed Galaxy V to attract entry-level users.
Samsung Galaxy V will come out with a 4-inch display with a resolution of 480 x 854 pixels. The handset will be powered by an unknown 1.2GHz processor along with 512MB of RAM. There is a 3 megapixel rear camera with LED flash and it looks like the front facing shooter has been scrapped to keep the cost down.

Another day, another entry level smartphone from Samsung! A retail listing from Vietnam reveals that the South Korean giant is gearing up to introduce a new smartphone dubbed Galaxy V to attract entry-level users.
Samsung Galaxy V will come out with a 4-inch display with a resolution of 480 x 854 pixels. The handset will be powered by an unknown 1.2GHz processor along with 512MB of RAM. There is a 3 megapixel rear camera with LED flash and it looks like the front facing shooter has been scrapped to keep the cost down.

Gaza conflict: Israel and Hamas agree 12-hour window

srael and Hamas have said they have accepted a 12-hour humanitarian window in Gaza.

The truce is due to begin at 0800 local time (0500 GMT). Efforts to negotiate a seven-day ceasefire are still ongoing.

Earlier US Secretary of State John Kerry said he was still confident of a longer ceasefire, despite media reports that Israel had rejected one proposal.

More than 800 Palestinians, mostly civilians, and 36 Israelis have died since the conflict started on 8 July.

A spokesman for Hamas, the Islamist group that controls Gaza, Sami Abu Zuhri said there was "national consensus on a humanitarian truce... for 12 hours on Saturday".

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) later confirmed the truce on Twitter, but said it would "continue to locate and neutralise terror tunnels".

"We will respond if terrorists choose to exploit this time to attack IDF personnel or fire at Israeli civilians," it said in a statement.

The news came shortly after Israeli Defence Minister Moshe Yaalon warned that ground operations in Gaza could soon be broadened "significantly".


Mr Yaalon told soldiers: "You need to be ready for the possibility that very soon we will instruct the military to significantly broaden the ground operation in Gaza".

Hamas has previously said it would not agree to any long-term truce that did not lead to an end to Israel's blockade of the Gaza Strip.

The British ambassador to the UN, Mark Lyall Grant, said he was disappointed at the failure to reach a longer-term truce.

But he welcomed Saturday's 12-hour truce, saying it could "open up a little bit of space to work on a more sustainable ceasefire."

West Bank clashes
According to the UN, Israeli air strikes killed a further 68 people in Gaza on Friday, bringing the total number of Palestinian dead to about 870.

There were also clashes during protests in the West Bank which left at least five Palestinians dead.

Palestinians in the West Bank had been taking part in a "Day of Rage" against Israel's military operation in the Gaza Strip.

Air strikes continued against targets in Gaza on Friday

Meanwhile Israel's military said its Iron Dome defence system had intercepted several rockets fired across the border by Hamas.

Israel launched its military offensive on 8 July with the declared objective of stopping Hamas firing rockets into Israel.

It has since extended its operation to destroy tunnels dug by militants to infiltrate Israel.

Several foreign ministers, including Mr Kerry, are due to hold a meeting in France on Saturday to seek a diplomatic solution.

"The goal is to bring together international efforts so that as quickly as possible conditions for a cease-fire in Gaza emerge," said a French foreign ministry spokesman.

The foreign ministers of the EU, UK, Germany, Turkey and Qatar will also take part.

Israel's Iron Dome system intercepted several rockets fired from Gaza on Friday

Air Algerie AH5017: 'No survivors' from crash in Mali

There are no survivors from the Air Algerie AH5017 passenger jet that crashed in Mali, says the French President, Francois Hollande.

Mr Hollande said one flight data recorder had been recovered, after French troops reached the crash site near Mali's border with Burkina Faso.

Air traffic controllers lost contact with the plane early on Thursday after pilots reported severe storms.

The 116 passengers on the Air Algerie flight included 51 French citizens.

The McDonnell Douglas MD-83 had been chartered from Spanish airline, Swiftair. It was flying from Burkina Faso's capital, Ougadougou, to Algiers.

French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve told French radio network RTL that "the aircraft was destroyed at the moment it crashed".

"We think the aircraft crashed for reasons linked to the weather conditions, although no theory can be excluded at this point," he said.

A team of 100 French soldiers, with 30 vehicles, had travelled to the crash site on Friday, a French defence ministry official said.

The team was part of a force that was deployed to Mali last year to combat an insurgency backed by al-Qaeda.

"French soldiers who are on the ground have started the first investigations," French President Francois Hollande said on Friday. "Sadly there are no survivors."

Sandstorm alert
Contact with Flight AH 5017 was lost about 50 minutes after take-off from Ouagadougou early on Thursday morning, Air Algerie said.

The pilot had contacted Niger's control tower in Niamey at around 01:30 GMT to change course because of a sandstorm, officials say.

Burkina Faso authorities said the passenger list comprised 27 people from Burkina Faso, 51 French, eight Lebanese, six Algerians, two from Luxembourg, five Canadians, four Germans, one Cameroonian, one Belgian, one Egyptian, one Ukrainian, one Swiss, one Nigerian and one Malian.

The six crew members are Spanish, according to the Spanish pilots' union.

Tips for a Healthy Pregnancy

Pregnancy is something that can make a mother feel happy. Keeping the baby in the womb to grow healthy and born alive is to be performed by a pregnant woman. The gestation period will determine the child's growth. Here we provide some tips on healthy during pregnancy.


Visit a Physician Regularly
During pregnancy, mothers can visit a physician/doctor regularly. Regularly check the baby in the womb is useful to know the condition and growth of the fetus. Likewise, if there is anything wrong in pregnancy should be immediately checked by a physician. Do this until the last month of pregnancy.

Important Eat Nutritious Foods
Begin to eat nutritious foods; it is important for pregnant women and fetal growth. Maternal diet usually eats small meals but often, about 5-6 times per day. It's better than eating large servings in 3 per day, a diet with smaller portions and more often to reduce nausea and vomiting in the morning, and stomach pain.

Folic Acid and Zinc
Healthy foods for pregnant mothers are foods that contain folic acid and zinc. Folic acid is useful for preventing neural tube defects in infants and spine. Foods that contain folic acid present in cereals, brown rice, oranges, green vegetables, beans, broccoli, and more. Zinc is useful to prevent anemia during pregnancy. Anemia is very dangerous for pregnant women, can cause bleeding during childbirth.

Avoid Cigarette Smoke
Cigarette and tobacco smoke are very harmful to the health of mother and fetus. Avoid cigarette smoke; try not to become passive smokers. If your husband is a smoker, warn not to smoke near you. And if you're also a smoker, stop smoking better. Cigarette smoke will make your baby born weighing less, easily hurt, slow growth; it can even cause miscarriage and death in the womb.

Drinking Adequate Water
Drinking adequate water is another important thing to note for pregnant women. Drinking lots of water is very useful for pregnant women, because the incoming fluid will help to increase the blood volume that occurs during pregnancy. Drink at least 6-8 glasses a day, can be fruit juice, milk, or water.

Taking Medications Safely
Be careful when taking some drugs. If you are attacked by a disease or pain, be careful taking drugs. You should immediately consult your physician before taking it. If you are pregnant and taking medication without rules would be harmful to the fetus in the womb.

Remain Active During Pregnancy
Pregnant women should remain active. Pregnant women can also do exercise such as walking. Taking a pregnancy exercise classes are also good, in addition to the benefits to the mother and fetus, the pregnant women in the class are able to share experiences and gain knowledge. In between activities, do not forget to rest

Vaccination During Pregnancy
Another important thing is vaccinated during pregnancy. Pregnant women should talk to their physicians to figure out which vaccines they might need and whether they should get them during pregnancy or wait until after their child is born. Hepatitis B, Influenza and Tetanus/Diphtheria are considered safe to give to women who might be at risk of infection.

Nurse-Physician Collaboration

To achieve effective service the nurses, physician and healthcare team should collaborate with each other. No one group can claim more power over others. Each profession has different character so that when combined can be a force for achieving the desired goals. 

Nurse Physician Workplace Collaboration
With good communication and respect for other professions in shared decision-making (in collaboration) in the group it will create a good work team so committed to providing a comprehensive service can be created. Opinion between physician and nurses need to be a standard domain with (physician-nurse) standard.
There are significant differences in the collaboration between groups of patients with severe, moderate, and independent. Practice negotiating collaboration on many stages in patients partially dependent (being) because of the patient's full dependence (severe) physicians only give direction and decisions without consulting nurse.

Of the need for education and socialization practices of collaboration among work teams managed care health or health professions ranging from education situation. For hospitals need to improve the quality of nursing care health. An increase in nurse education and good communication between team and patient to work, and to improve the practice of collaboration needs to be a shared commitment between leaders (structural) and functional (health professions), where the principal can adopt managed care and socializing and can be applied to services.

How to Teach 1st Grade

Teaching 1st grade will be different by teaching high school students. Required certain techniques so that the child can absorb lessons more fun considering the psychological child is still in the early learning stages.

The voice sounded clear enough by children, intonation, etc. are things that are very important to be possessed by the teacher. For early elementary grades, they are still considered early childhood, before providing early childhood learning, as teachers need to recognize the characteristics of elementary school age children first. Do not forget to always give something new and varied for them. No need expensive, objects in the environment can be the object of exploration for children.

The period is also very short of their concentration. Thus, teachers must have a second plan, and even third, fourth plan needs to be prepared for them so they do not saturate. Keep in mind that early childhood is a period play. Thus, the instruction given to them should be based on the principles of play (fun, children can explore, gain a lot of experience).

Children are not miniature adults but they have the characteristics and uniqueness of each. So, do not equate them with the high school kids that are easier on the set and was able to concentrate for a long time.