Nokia Lumia 900 (black, AT&T)

The good: The Nokia Lumia 900's eye-popping unibody design sets a new direction for smartphone style. Its LTE speeds, vivid 4.3-inch screen, and 8-megapixel camera are high points.The bad: Problems with call quality and minor design flaws like some gaps in the construction and weirdly placed buttons get in the way. The designer camera optics are good, but they don't live up to the hype. The phone shoots 720p video rather than 1080p video.The bottom line: The Nokia Lumia 900's unique design and high-end features make Windows Phone look fantastic, and the $99 price is extremely fair. Despite some flaws, this is my favorite Windows Phone yet.Photo gallery:Nokia Lumia 900Nokia sorely needs a "hero" smartphone with the looks, the speeds, the specs, and a price that will hush the doubters. With the Lumia 900, Nokia proves that it has the chops to compete. We thought so at CES, where we awarded it best new smartphone, and I think so now.

Design
If you imagine the cell phone section of a funky, Scandinavian design shop run by avant-garde youths, the Lumia 900 would fit right in. Its lightly sculpted unibody chassis and deliberate use of color scream "lifestyle product." Bold as an exclamation mark, the Lumia 900 has pure pop-art coursing through its electrical veins.

This is the classiest "Smurf" phone you're

 ever going to see

.What makes the Nokia Lumia 900 so eye-catching? Even without the electric blue version that I have, the bright white color arriving April 22, or the more-understated black color, the 900's profile 

stands out. The chassis has a perfectly flat top and bottom, with round sides and a slightly curved back, which Nokia then topped with a large, glossy screen.At 5 inches tall by 2.7 inches wide by 0.45 inch deep, it's a large phone. The smooth, matte finish helps it slide into pockets and purses, but because of the width and flat back, the Lumia 900 did feel a little flat in my hand. However, it was comfortable on the ear. It may feel a bit heavy at 5.6 ounces, but it's also very solid. I'm a little worried about the long-term effect of finger grease and residue on the color, but in the short term, the finish survived my residual hand lotion and the direct application of a goo-gone solution without marring the color.Back in its heyday, Nokia phones were largely synonymous with solid construction and thoughtful -- and sometimes daring -- design. The Lumia 900 may not present a strictly new design, since it's clearly adapted from the Nokia N9 Meego-based phone released in Asia, and the Lumia 800, the European version of the N9 that runs Windows Phone, but it's a good one that offers slight variations.

The smooth body helps it slide into pockets

 Because of its size, the Lumia 900 fits better in my back pocket.For example, the Lumia 900 is larger than the 800 and features a front-facing camera in addition to that all-important LTE and a larger battery. Then there are the more-minor surface variations, which you'd only really notice holding the two phones side by side. On the 800, the display bubbles out about 2.5 millimeters, like the surface tension curving a drop of water. The 900's screen, on the other hand, looks more like a slapped-on postage stamp. My review unit had a few gaps that were barely perceptible, but were there nonetheless. The most obvious was large enough for me to stick my fingernail into the space around the SIM card slot, and pull up a corner of the locked door -- that's sloppy. There was also a thin gap where the right side of the screen meets the body of my review unit, with no gap whatsoever on the left side of the screen.I had no complaints with the display itself, though, and it's easily one of the Lumia 900's key selling points. The beautiful 4.3-inch AMOLED screen features ClearBlack display technology and Gorilla Glass. Colors look richly hued, bright, and sharp. I compared the Lumia 900 with the Samsung Focus S, which has an identical screen size and WVGA resolution (800x480 pixels). In both brightness and richness, the Lumia 900 absolutely blows away the Focus S, which at the time I hailed as a beautiful Super AMOLED Plus screen in its own right. At the same levels of full and automatic brightness, the Lumia 900 shone about a full level brighter than the Focus S.I also compared high-res photos on the two handsets. While they both looked terrific, the Lumia 900 showed noticeably greater contrast, with blacker blacks, more color spectrum variation, and greens so bright they looked a bit unnatural.

Operating system and Nokia apps
Thanks to a close partnership between Nokia and Microsoft, the Lumia 900 runs the most recent iteration of Windows Phone OS, version 7.5 Mango. As a result, the Lumia 900 can perform every software task that other Windows Phones do, too.

Nokia doesn't have much leeway on the 

software side beyond these apps

Unlike Android, Microsoft keeps its OS pretty locked down, so Nokia has little room to add its own flair on the software side, a strategy I appreciate for uniting the phone experience across devices, but one that makes it harder for manufacturers to stand out. Still, Nokia does make a mark with the nice Nokia Blue color theme (it's the Lumia 900 default) and with a suite of Marketplace apps that include Nokia Drive, Nokia Maps, Nokia Transit, and Nokia Contacts Transfer. This section also highlights partners' third-party apps, like ESPN and CNN. It's a shame that the Lumia 900 doesn't have Nokia's music app, Music Mix Radio, like its European counterparts, and I hope the right deals are signed soon. The absent app, which serves streaming radio and creates mixes, is similar to a Windows Phone feature, but it's also an alternative that could give Nokia some additional cred.

Features

Since Windows Phone OS pretty much behaves the same on every handset, it's the extras that are important. LTE was the most crucial feature Nokia needed to sell this phone on our shores, and it'll be one of the first two Windows phones with LTE. (The HTC Titan II, which goes on sale the same day, is the other.)Wi-Fi, GPS, and Bluetooth are standards, though sadly, the Lumia 900 ships with Bluetooth 2.1, practically antique compared with the new Bluetooth 4.0 standard we're starting to see in mobile devices.Windows Phone OS handily provides e-mail and social networking integration through account log-ins in the settings, an option for linking inboxes together, and support for group messaging. There's also threaded text and multimedia messaging, and a cool feature that can weave together messages sent between IM and traditional texts. Task-switching, voice search, and scan searches with Bing are also included, as are conference calling and voice dialing. (For even more on Windows Phone OS, read my full Windows Phone 7.5 review.)

Earth Day 2012: Mobilize the Earth

PEOPLE all over the world celebrate Earth Day every April 22. But did you know how this global celebration started?

Forty-three years ago, US Sen. Gaylord Nelson from Wisconsin had a light-bulb moment after witnessing how the 1969 massive oil spill in Santa Barbara, California, ravaged the environment. He thought of holding a “national teach-in on the environment” for the national media.

According to Earth Day Network, Nelson “realized that if he could infuse that energy with an emerging public consciousness about air and water pollution, it would force environmental protection onto the national political agenda.”

Armed with his bright idea and wide network of friends, allies and like-minded individuals, he led over 20 million Americans marching to the streets to demonstrate for a healthy, sustainable environment on April 22, 1970.

The massive protest, the Earth Day Network said, “achieved a rare political alignment, enlisting support from Republicans and Democrats, rich and poor, city slickers and farmers, tycoons and labor leaders. The first Earth Day led to the creation of the United States Environmental Protection Agency and the passage of the Clean Air, Clean Water and Endangered SpeciesActs.

By 1990, the Earth Day movement became viral. More than 200 million people in 141 countries participated in the global campaign. Earth Day 1990 shored up recycling efforts, paving the way for the 1992 United Nations Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro.

World's 'Oldest Running Motor Car Sells for $4.62 Million

A vehicle purported to be the world’s oldest running motor car has sold for $4.62 million dollars.At the RM Auctions in Hershey, Pennsylvania this past Saturday, the steam-powered 1884 De Dion Bouton et Trepardoux Dos-a-Dos Steam Runabout attracted a winning bid of $4.2 million, more than twice what it was expected to fetch. A 10 percent fee was added to the price, adding $420,000 to the grand total.The four-seat car, known as “Le Marquise” after its creator’s mother, predates by two years the official birth of the automobile in 1886, when Karl Benz was granted the first patents for his purpose-built gasoline-powered car.Steam-powered automobiles date back to at least the mid-18th century, and several cars older than the De Dion still exist, but aren’t functional. However, one that was built in the U.K. in 1875 by Robert Neville Grenville and is currently housed at the National Motor Museum of Britain makes a rival claim to the title of “oldest running motor car.” The auction listing for “Le Marquise” mentions the Grenville, but describes it as “basically a powered gun carriage.” A representative of the National Motor Museum tells FoxNews.com that is incorrect, and that the vehicle was intended for personal transportation and can carry four passengers. It was last seen up and running only a few weeks ago.However, unlike “La Marquise,” which runs on four spoked wheels with rubber tires and has a self-fired steam-engine, Grenville’s vehicle requires a ride-along fireman to tend to the boiler and has three solid wooden wheels with metal tires, so its looks less like a modern automobile.“Le Marquise” is said to have a top speed of 37 mph, more than triple what Benz’ car could achieve. Its new owner is just the fifth in its long history. It is not known yet if it will join a private collection or be put on public display.

 

World's oldest Indian motorcycle for sale

A 1903 Indian motorcycle claimed to be the oldest-known unrestored example in existence will be auctioned off on April 21st in Frederick, Maryland.Little more than a motorized bicycle, the 1.75-horsepower Indian was part of the estate of Charlie Alder, Jr., who passed away last year. His carpenter father obtained it through a $50 barter in 1950, when he discovered it hanging on the wall of a dentist's office, unused since 1920. Since then it has spent most of its life in storage, although it has been taken on a tour of motorcycle events over the past several months.The Indian brand was launched in 1901 and started selling motorcycles to the public the following year. A few nuts and bolts are all that have been changed on the Alder bike, which is not currently in running condition. Nevertheless, Mike Mederski of the National Motorcycle museum says it is a “wonderful find” and a great document of how motorcycles were built at the time.Many of the other "original" motorcycles from the period that are on display in museums are largely constructed from reproduced parts.Auctioneer Josh Ruby won’t take a guess at what the bike is worth, but a steam-powered Roper velocipede from 1894 attracted a high bid of $425,000 at an Auctions America event in Las Vegas in January. Experts FoxNews.com spoke to estimate that the Alder Indian could fetch anywhere between $65,000 and $500,000.

World's Sexiest Beaches: 

Zuma Beach, Malibu, 

Calif.1 of 12The world’s sexiest beaches come in all shapes and sizes, colors and types, from remote palm-tree-fringed paradises, to white-sand surf meccas, trendy social scenes and hedonistic hot spots for partiers. We’ve scanned the globe, on the hunt for stretches of sand that inspire romance, passion and a playful seductive spirit. Here are our picks for the world's 12 sexiest beach escapes.Text by Julia Dimon; photo editing by Connie Ricca.If you’re looking for some California lovin', head to one of Tinseltown's sexiest beaches along the famous Pacific Coast Highway. This is where the voluptuous Santa Monica Mountains meet the ocean; where you can sip chilled chardonnay overlooking a vista of dolphins and migrating gray whales. One of the largest and most popular escapes near Los Angeles, Zuma Beach in Malibu boasts long, wide sand, great surf and a celebrity clientele. Adjacent to million-dollar mansions and over-the-top holiday homes, this stretch has been known to attract such celebrities as Jennifer Aniston, Jennifer Lopez, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie. So if you’d like a side of stargazing with your sand, Zuma is for you.

Immune retune: Recharging your body's natural defences

"ACHOO!" A sniffling friend is sneezing just inches away. You would love to cover your face or run away, but in the interests of politeness all you can do is try not to inhale in their direction and hope your immune system is on the case.Some people seem to catch everything that is doing the rounds, from coughs and colds to stomach bugs. Other people never seem to get ill. What's their secret?A lot is down to dumb luck. There are some things affecting the performance of your immune system that you cannot change: your age, your gender, your genes, and most importantly, whether or not you have had a previous brush with an invading bug.But there are plenty of factors you can control. I'm not talking about downing supplements sold as "immune boosters"; the claims for most such pills are not based on hard evidence. But there are plenty of other ways you can keep your immune system revved up and raring to go.It's not all about boosting activity, though. Many common conditions are caused by the immune system reacting to things it shouldn't. When it attacks parts of the body the result is autoimmune disorders like multiple sclerosis, type 1 diabetes and inflammatory bowel disease. When it responds to molecules that are foreign but harmless, like those from pollen or peanuts, the result is asthma, eczema or allergies. Again, there are ways of encouraging your immune system to behave. So help it out by following these tips.

“We've really achieved the ideal of what I wanted Microsoft to become.”

William (Bill) H. Gates is chairman of Microsoft Corporation, the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential.On June 27, 2008, Gates transitioned out of a day-to-day role in the company to spend more time on his global health and education work at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. He shares his thoughts about the foundation and other topics on Gates Notes, a Web site launched in January 2010. Gates continues to serve as Microsoft's chairman and as an advisor on key development projects. In June 2006, Craig Mundie assumed the new title of chief research and strategy officer at Microsoft and is responsible for the company's research and incubation efforts.