Some snaps and specs of an upcoming rugged Samsung handset, the B2100, have surfaced. We’re expecting to see this shown off at the Mobile World Congress, which is rapidly approaching. In addition handling dust, dirt, shock, and water up to a meter deep for 30 minutes, the Niagara will also have some great speakerphone options, including a second mic on top, ambient noise filter and programmable vibration profiles so you know who’s calling without needing to hear. The 1.77″ 120 × 160 screen isn’t what you’d call awesome, nor is the 1.3 megapixel camera, but hey, this thing looks tough as nails. Other specs include:
* 113 × 49 × 17.5 mm
* FM radio
* GSM 900 / 1800 / 1900
* Bluetooth, USB
* 10 MB internal, plus microSD
* 1000 mAh battery
* Available in black, green and red
Not a bad little package at all, especially for $120. We’ll have to keep an eye out for it at MWC…
As we’re well aware, the Telus BlackBerry 8350i is now available. Simon touched on it yesterday. After a few friendly emails I’ve managed to pick up a video of the launch party from my bud John over at MobileSyrup… He attended the party and shot the video (which I’ve included after the jump).
I haven’t checked with John, but it looks like the ‘party’ was held in some sort of warehouse or Home Depot :P I keep expecting to see a side of beef hanging from a hook somewhere, or a man to go driving by in a forklift with a palette of lumber. Sadly that never appears.
I’ve also managed to get my hands on some hi-res shots of the Telus (NYSE: TU) BlackBerry (NSDQ: RIMM) Curve 8350i (thanks Kristen!). Make the jump for all the goodies (video, pics, press release!).
TELUS launches the new BlackBerry Curve 8350i smartphone with Direct Connect Push To Talk - only on the TELUS Mike Network
Sleek, compact smartphone combines BlackBerry applications with Direct Connect Push To Talk
Toronto, ON – TELUS today launched the new BlackBerry Curve 8350i smartphone, featuring support for the popular Direct Connect Push To Talk service and available only on the TELUS Mike Network.
The BlackBerry Curve 8350i smartphone is the ultimate productivity tool for professionals in the field and on the go who need instant communication with their teams along with instant access to their e-mail. The new smartphone is packed with functionality, including built-in Wi-Fi and GPS, and combines BlackBerry communications and multimedia capabilities with Mike’s Direct Connect Push To Talk, all in one.
“The BlackBerry Curve 8350i combines the convenience of our Mike Direct Connect Push To Talk technology and the trusted BlackBerry solution,” said Jim Senko, vice-president of Mobility Solutions at TELUS. “It’s a fantastic new addition to our extensive selection of business-ready smartphones operating on our Mike or PCS networks.”
Featuring integrated Global Positioning System (GPS), the new BlackBerry Curve 8350i smartphone from TELUS supports GPS tracking and dispatch solutions and also has Bluetooth-enabled support for accessories such as wireless headsets or hands-free car kits. In addition to being ready for work, the BlackBerry Curve 8350i is ready for play. It includes a robust media player, a 2MP camera with video recording and the capacity to store up to 16GB of music, pictures, video and documents per memory card. And with its built-in Wi-Fi, users have more ways to stay connected with the people and information that matter most.
“The BlackBerry Curve 8350i is a communications powerhouse that makes it easier than ever to stay connected,” said Mark Guibert, vice-president of corporate marketing at RIM. “We are very pleased to be working together with TELUS to bring this innovative and stylish smartphone to Canadians.”
Additional features include:
* High-resolution, 320 x 240 colour display
* 35 key backlit full-QWERTY keyboard
* Premium phone features including voice activated dialing, enhanced background noise cancellation and a low-distortion speakerphone
* Expandable memory via microSD/SDHC memory card slot supporting cards of up to 16GB for additional storage, 1GB microSD card included
* USB connectivity for charging and fast data file transfers between the smartphone and PCs
* Removable, rechargeable battery
* Robust messaging capabilities with support for popular instant messaging, multimedia messaging (MMS) and text messaging services
* DataViz Documents To Go preinstalled for editing Microsoft (NSDQ: MSFT)® Word, Excel and PowerPoint files directly on the smartphone
* Support for thousands of applications, including business, lifestyle and entertainment titles
* BlackBerry Enterprise Server support, providing tight integration with Microsoft® Exchange, IBM Lotus Domino, and Novell GroupWise and works with existing enterprise systems to enable secure, push-based, wireless access to e-mail and other corporate data
* BlackBerry Internet Service support for smaller businesses and individuals, allowing customers to access up to 10 supported email accounts (including most popular ISP email accounts) from the handset
The BlackBerry Curve 8350i smartphone is available from TELUS for as little as $249.99 on a three-year contract or $599.99 without a contract. For more information about TELUS’ full suite of Mike services on the BlackBerry Curve 8350i,
Showing their support for LG Electronics Canada, Bell Mobility is now accepting the return of some 45,000 LG 150 phones bought by their clients.
This is in light of the recall of all LG 150 phones which have been found to no longer meet the Radio Standards Specifications 102 (RSS 102) standards. Despite not posing an immediate or long-term health risk, LG has decided to avoid any hassles in the future and has voluntarily recalled all available LG 150 phones. So as not to further inconvenience their clients, Bell is doing their share in accepting returned phones and issuing an appropriate LG replacement phone. For more details, you can call 1-866-282-6077 or visit bell.ca/lg150recall for more details.
No word yet if the other concerned telecoms will also provide a similar service to their clients, but we certainly commend Bell for taking the initiative to make things a bit easier for their subscribers.
Bell Mobility assists LG Electronics in LG 150 mobile phone recall
LG voluntary recall includes approximately 45,000 LG 150 phones in use by Bell Mobility clients
Bell Mobility will replace LG 150s at no cost to its clients until March 31
MISSISSAUGA, ON, Jan. 27 /CNW Telbec/ - Bell Mobility today announced that it is supporting LG Electronics Canada Inc. in its voluntary recall of approximately 45,000 LG 150 phones in use by Bell Mobility clients with a no-charge phone replacement program.
LG was notified by one of the independent bodies responsible for the certification of mobile phones that the LG 150 mobile phone is no longer certified as meeting the Radio Standards Specifications 102 (RSS 102), Radio Frequency Exposure Compliance of Radiocommunication Apparatus. Consequently, LG has decided to implement a voluntary recall of the LG 150 phone in Canada.
The LG 150 was sold in Canada by Bell Mobility, Virgin Mobile, MTS Allstream, SaskTel, Aliant Mobility, KMTS, NorthernTel, Sogetel, Télébec and TBayTel.
Health Canada is of the opinion, based on the review of test results and its assessment of current science, that the past and current use of the LG 150 should not pose immediate or long-term health concerns.
“We are supporting LG in the implementation of its LG 150 recall program,” said Wade Oosterman, President of Bell Mobility. “Effective today, our clients who own the LG 150 can take advantage of the straightforward and no-cost phone replacement program we’ve put in place.”
No other LG phones and no other phones supplied to Bell Mobility by any other manufacturers are affected by this recall.
Bell Mobility clients with LG 150 phones can return them to a Bell Store from today until March 31, 2009 and receive an LG replacement phone at no cost in accordance with the terms of LG’s recall program. They can also call
1-866-282-6077 or visit bell.ca/lg150recall for additional information and the location of Bell Stores.
The LG 150 sold by Bell Mobility is a compact black flip-phone that can be identified by removing the battery on the back of the phone and reading the label underneath. It reads: “MODEL NO / MODELE: LG 150″. Pictures of the phone are also available at bell.ca/lg150recall.
T-Mobile has just made available the new T-Mobile Shadow all-in-one mobile device. The T-Mobile Shadow boasts of compact form factor and great features including support for T-Mobile Unlimited HotSpot Calling, fast processing power, Windows Mobile 6.1 OS, and more. Available now under T-Mobile for $199.99 with 2-year service agreement, the T-Mobile Shadow will be available in White Mint and Black Burgundy.
The T-Mobile Shadows is the first Windows-based phone that supports T-Mobile’s Unlimited HotSpot Calling service. This gives you mobile coverage at home as well as unlimited calling through Wi-Fi networks. It also lets you switch between Wi-Fi calling and T-Mobile’s wireless network.
The phone was manufactured and designed by HTC and was equipped with a powerful processor to provide you with fast access and Internet connectivity. It also features a Wi-Fi web browser that lets you feed your discussions in real time. The phone also has an enhanced multimedia capabilities that provides top-screen way of sharing your music.
Other features of the T-Mobile Shadow include a slide-out 20-key QWERTY keypad, a 2-megapixel camera, mobile web surfing, picture-sharing, QVGA display, instant messaging and picture messaging, Bluetooth, and microSD card support. It supports copy/paste functionality as well. The phone also supports video capture and playback, and features downloadable content including Megatones, Wallpaper, HiFi ringers, and games. The phone also functions as a music player and easily syncs with Microsoft Outlook.
The T-Mobile Shadow provides up to 7 hours talk time and 7 days standby time.
More than just a cell phone, the Samsung W7900 is one of the first to include a built-in DLP projector. PopSci has a great video hands-on of the Samsung Show W7900. Principally, the phone can project a 40″ image with a decent brightness - which is amazing for such a small device. and for the best use is in dark room. The entire device measures in at 4.4- x 2.2- x 0.7-inches.
Specs wise:
*3.2″ OLED display (400 x 240 resolution);
*Quad-band GSM connectivity;
*7.2Mbps HSDPA;
*5Mpix camera;
*Video calling;
*10 lumen projector (scales 480 x 320 images to 50″)
It is created by d37nu1l. This cell phone theme works on Sony Ericcson only.
Detailed
File Size: 148 KB
Image Size: 708 KB
Resolution: 1100×1100
Fits C702/C902/C905/G705/W595/W705/W760/W902/W980/Z780.
Download here
BlackV2 was created by dhanusaud. It works especially for Nokia mobile phone.
Details
File Size: 720 KB
Image Size: 147 KB
Resolution: 589×790
Artist's Comments
Full SVG theme for S60v3 FP1 & FP2 with more than 800+ customized icons. Ultra theme about 600kb with icons, less than 100kb with default icons.
Download here
Fring, the popular mobile VoiP and instant-messaging application, just announced Last.fm support, so now you can see what your friends are listening to and organize your own tunes while still having quick access to your other social networks. If you're packing a G1 and you're sad that you can't grab Fring, yesterday Last.fm made the jump to Android, so at least you'll still have that. That's not to say Fring's resting on their laurels, either - their last update for Windows Mobile was pretty impressive, let's just hope they bring that manpower to bear on Google (NSDQ: GOOG)'s platform sooner than later.
If those screenshots of Android's upcoming patch from Cupcake whet your palette for new features on the G1, here's a video walkthrough and instructions on how to get an emulated version of Cupcake on your computer.
1. Download and install the Android SDK found here.
2. Download this zip containing new latest Android images:* android_images_sdk1.5.zip (28Mb)
3. Unpack files to a temporary location.
4. Backup the folder /tools/lib/images ( is the Android SDK installation folder)
5. Replace the files ramdisk.img, system.img and userdata.img in /tools/lib/images with the files unpacked from the zip in step 3.
6. Start the emulator and wait.
There's still no word on how long it will take before we see this on a proper device, but at least we know what to expect.
Look, we have a (Chinese) New Year present from Apple! Apple has released a new software update for the iPhone (2G and 3G) and iPod touch. Version 2.2.1 for the iPhone has the usual bug fixes and improvements, including improved stability for Safari, and a fix for an issue where some images saved from Mail didn't display correctly in the Camera Roll.
The update for the iPod touch also fixes an issue that caused some Apple Lossless files to skip during playback.
For a "bug fix" update, this is software update weighs in the same as a full update. The iPhone update is a tad under 246MB in size. If you have a jailbroken or newly yellowsn0w-unlocked iPhone, wait a while before applying this update.
Sony Ericsson’s latest phone, the Sony Ericsson F305, is a phone that delivers a world class handheld gaming experience in a sleek and stylish mobile phone. Gone are the days when dedicated gaming phones were awkward and cumbersome, the F305 is a classy slide phone that comes in a subtle silver case. Taking some of the Sony experience on board with their Playstation heritage and with more than just a nod to the Nintendo Wii, the F305 features full motion sensitive gaming for hours of fun. Swing, shake and swipe your way through a host of different games with Bowling, Fishing and Horse riding all pre-installed on the F305 and further titles
set to be available for download.
Away from gaming, the F305 features everything you would expect from a new mobile phone including an impressive 2.0 Megapixel camera with video recording capabilities and an MP3 player with Sony Ericsson’s popular TrackID application which finds artist and album information from a short music clip that you record. Hear a song you like, simply open TrackID, record a few seconds and the phone will find out who it’s buy and take you to the music store to download it. Elsewhere this cool compact slider has an FM radio to boost its music potential and despite only having 10 MB of internal memory, is complimented with a memory card slot supporting up to 4GB for storage of extra games and music, not to mention video.
Set for launch in the next couple of months, the F305 sets to be the start of an interesting new twist for mobile gaming. Whether the F series will develop into a gaming range similar to the Walkman W range and Camera C series is unconfirmed but, if the upcoming F305 is anything to go by, it would definitely be an exciting proposition.
Kaspersky Lab detected a new malicious program for Symbian that targets customers of an Indonesian mobile phone operator. The Trojan-SMS.Python.Flocker has five known variants, from .ab to.af, and it’s written in Python.
If a phone is infected with it, the Trojan will send SMS messages to a short number with instructions to transfer part of the money in the user’s account to another account, which belongs to the cybercriminals.
The amounts transferred range from $0.45 to $0.90, hence if the cybercriminals behind the Trojan manage to infect a large number of phones, the total amount transferred to their mobile phone account could be quite substantial.
What is not clear, though, is which “flavor” Symbian OS they are talking about. UIQ? S60? Which versions?
Anyway, Kaspersky Labs’ Denis Maslennikov had this to say: “It seems that the focus on financial fraud in the mobile malware industry will only get more pronounced over time. Until recently, many people thought that malicious programs that send SMS messages without the user’s knowledge were a purely Russian phenomenon. Now we can see that the problem no longer affects only Russian users - it’s becoming an international issue.”
Check out what I’ve found today on YouTube. It’s a video of iPhone UI running on the Nokia (NYSE: NOK) 5800 XpressMusic. A short video demonstrates just how open Nokia’s Symbian S60 5th Edition platform is. However, the lack of capacitive touchscreen (Nokia uses resistive touch technology) makes experience somewhat lagging behind the original. In addition, the Tube’s screen is not as wide as the iPhone’s, hence there’s room for three icons per column, only. Still, it’s a nice clip which shows the power of Nokia’s smartphone. Enjoy!
I simply had to report on this. I’m not much of a Nokia (NYSE: NOK) or Symbian guy, but I AM a Commodore 64 guy. Well, at least back-in-the-day I was. This is too good.
To get to the point here, if you’ve got the urge to play those classic Commodore 64 games in all of its 8-bit glory, right on your Nokia S60, S80, or N9210 series devices… There’s a new emulator that can handle the gig. (well ok, the emulator isn’t NEW, but the port to Nokia is!). Called Frodo, the emulator brings Commodore 64 gaming action to the palm (NSDQ: PALM) of your hand. No need to plug in those bulky joysticks anymore. Plus, there’s also accelerometer support available via an add-on called Bilbo, so if you want to take things to a ‘new age’ C64 level, by all means check that out as well. Some of the cool features built-in as told by developer Hannu Viitala:
The latest version of Frodo supports also sensors (accelerometer), vibration, on-screen C64 keyboard and audio engine. To enable those those features, you have to install Bilbo library also. Imagine playing Pitstop II by rotating your phone like a steering wheel, or solving Quedex maze by turning the phone in any direction. If you do not want just imagine, look at the YouTube video below and after that get Frodo and Bilbo to your phone! Note that sensors and vibration is not supported in all S60 phone models.
General Mobile’s DSTL1 will be shown off at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona next month, featuring dual SIM slots, a 400 x 240 screen, and running on Android. Apparently the hardware will see a few changes from these shots in order to accommodate the OS, but you get the idea. Full specifications include:
* Dual-SIM cards with dual-Standby mode
* 624MHz Marvell PXA 310 processor
* Tri-band GSM/EDGE support (900/1800/1900MHz)
* 3-inch WQVGA touchscreen display, 260k colors
* 802.11b/g WiFi support
* Bluetooth
* 135g (4.75oz), 112 x 54 x 16mm (4.4 x 2.1 x .6 inches)
* 5 megapixel autofocus camera with flash (made by Sharp)
Regardless of specs, that’s a much sexier looking Android device than the G1. We can expect to see this one in Q3 of 2009.
So here’s another semi-regular post on what’s playing on my iPhone this week – as a regular consumer of digital music on Mobile devices, I thought I’d share some thoughts on the tracks I have been downloading.
(note: all my music is paid-for and comes through iTunes – but you can find these tracks on other paid-for services I’m sure – there seem to be a plethora of them now!)
Album 1: The Script – The Script
This Irish band have had quite a bit of chart success, since their acoustic-ballad driven tracks are tuneful, and well-sung. The album is also going very cheaply (on the iTunes service) at the moment, which is a double-bonus. I have to say the tracks they have released to-date as singles are very good, and certainly worth at least one listen. However, as is the problem with many albums by one group (with one style), some of the less memorable tracks begin to sound a bit similar. There are definitely enough good tracks to justify the buy though!
Album 2: Akon – Freedom
Akon started off as a little-known force in RnB, but has had quite a meteoric rise – and interestingly, seems to have taken on production duties for an increasing number of stars such as Gwen Stefani, Leona Lewis, and Lady GaGa (come to her in a minute…). I’m not a fan of the tracks where he introduces the vocoder and starts that electronic warble – it’s being overused at the moment and at this rate there is going to be a whole samey genre of RnB with warbling vocals!
On the upside though, there are some great tracks here – certainly enough to justify getting the album. There’s also some superstar cameos from the likes of Lil Wayne, so if you are worried about variety it’s accounted for – just about. Definitely worth a download, if for nothing else than the great production on each track.
Album 3 – Lady GaGa – The Fame
Never has the phrase ‘mixed bag’ been more appropriate – half the tracks on here are great, half are a bit lame! Which makes me think that there’s 50% great talent, and then 50% posturing, with a lot of music style copied from other producers/artists. And guess what? The vocoder is back on some tracks! Let’s get something straight – imitation is the lowest form of flattery! Or as a vocoder would say FFFFfffflLLLLLAaaaaTTTTtttteeeEEErRRRyyy!
Having said all of that, there are some nicely-produced tracks, sharp lyrics, and I’d imagine, a stack more single releases left on the album. Overall worth a listen, even if you have to take the best tracks and stick them in another playlist.
So there you have it – three albums, three sets of thoughts on them – I lean toward RnB as a music preference, but if there’s something that deserves a discussion, then leave a comment – if it’s available on iTunes, it could well end up getting a future mention!
PhonepayPlus is the organisation that regulates phone-paid services - the goods and services that you can buy by charging the cost to your phone bills and mobile pre-pay accounts.
PhonepayPlus has issued a final statement on mobile phone-paid services and their marketing setting out new measures to protect the public from a range of practices in the mobile premium content market which are causing complaints and undermining consumers’ trust.
Having taken into account stakeholder feedback, PhonepayPlus is implementing the following rules:
* Prior permission: providers offering mobile subscription services charging over £4.50 in any given week or applying pay-per-page charges on the mobile internet must first apply for permission from PhonepayPlus;
* Active confirmation: as part of the prior permission undertaking, any consumer joining a subscription service must first receive a free confirmation text message detailing the cost and conditions of the service. The consumer cannot be charged until they have confirmed their subscription by replying to that text.
Hundreds of thousands of consumers use premium mobile services daily. These include downloading ringtones, pictures and games, as well as participating in television programmes, receiving news alerts, finding contact details and entering competitions. Most of these services operate with no problem but some companies have adopted practices which are leading to increased consumer complaints.
PhonepayPlus’ review of the premium mobile sector was prompted by a worrying 108% increase in mobile-related complaints received from 2006/7 to 2007/8. This was accompanied by anecdotal evidence of consumers, including young people, being charged several thousand pounds in some cases as a result of bad practice by content and service providers.
PhonepayPlus has issued a Statement of Expectation alongside the final statement, which summarises the changes and actions service providers may need to take in order to remain compliant.
Also detailed in the statement are rules pertaining to:
* Price transparency: price information must be clearly displayed - as prominent as any other aspect of the promotion. Promotional material must not suggest any premium rate product or download is ‘free’
* Promotional text messages: providers sending free promotional messages must inform recipients that the message is free and make clear how to opt out of receiving similar messages in the future
* STOP: providers offering subscription services or sending promotional text messages must enable consumers to easily opt out of the service via the ‘STOP’ command. Any failure of this command already results in the service being immediately shut down while PhonepayPlus investigates
* Marketing lists: companies that sell or otherwise trade third party marketing lists must provide evidence upon request by PhonepayPlus that recipients have agreed to receive promotional text messages for particular types of services
* Chat: text-based chat services must not imply that users are exchanging messages with other individuals, or that customers will be able to meet people by using the service, unless this is the case
AT&T and LG has just added a new sleek-looking multimedia device to the already saturated mobile phone market. The new LG CF360 is available now at AT&T for $29.00 after mail-in-rebate, and comes with the usual 2-year service agreement. If you are tired of the too complicated mobile phone devices that have recently come out of the market, the LG CF360 offer a simpler and yet powerful alternative.
The LG CF360 boasts of turn-by-turn GPS navigation feature through AT&T Navigator. This feature provides you with maps and real-time traffic alerts delivered right on your LG CF360 phone. For its multimedia entertainment features, the LG CF360 boasts of a 1.3 megapixel camera and camcorder, AT&T’s Mobile Music, Video Share and CV.
Aside from being a reliable mobile phone and a GPS device, the LG CF360 can also be used as a solid music player that supports music formats such as, MP3, AMR-NB, AAC, AAC+, eAAC+, WMA10. It also gives you subscription access to Napster mobile, as well as a facility for identifying songs that you are listening to.
For its messaging function, the LG CF360 provides support for the usual text messaging and instant messaging through AOL, Yahoo, and Windows Live Messenger. It also supports mobile email.
Other specs of the LG CF360 include, a 2-inch QVGA screen, 16 GB expandable storage, 3G/EDGE/GSM/GPRS/Bluetooth, downloadable games, media ringtons, and handsfree speakerphone. The LG CF360 is a quad band phone that gives up to 3 hours of talk time and 10 days of standby time.
Sony Ericsson has showed off its W760 Walkman phone at 2009 CES. Using this music phone, you can play your favorite music and shake your phone to change track. You can also play games with motion sensor. Video after the jump. [Sony Ericsson]
New York City Mayor Bloomberg has recently announced that the city has partnered with Google (NSDQ: GOOG) to create nycgo.com, a website of the NYC Information Center, which is BTW located at 810 7th Avenue. As part of the agreement, New York City is integrating Google Maps for mobile as part of the offering.
By visiting the dedicated website (www.nycgo.com), users can plan a trip at home and then use their phone to navigate the city. In addition, the site helps you find hotels, restaurants, and other things to do in New York. This is not to say you couldn't do this before with Google Maps, it's just that this time it's kinda official.
Back to the website. The most convenient way is to plan your visits to the city from your computer as most pages embed Google Maps. Once you've found something interesting, simply click "send to phone" so you could later find it on your mobile phone.
Finally, Google also reminds us that you can use Google Maps for mobile's public transport feature to find your way around subway.
Still don't have Google Maps for mobile installed? Point your mobile browser to google.com/gmm and take it from there. Or in the meantime, check out how NYC Information Center works in real life after the jump.
If you've been waiting for the ability to do bluetooth file transfers with your iPhone, I've got some cool news for you this morning. No, this isn't a feature built-in to a new Firmware from Apple (NSDQ: AAPL), this is a very unofficial 3rd party application available via Cydia. To use it, you're going to need a jailbroken iPhone 3G (of course). Called iBluetooth (from iSpazio) . First off in this video, you will see a bluetooth connection between a desktop Mac and iPhone being established. Second, a connection between an iPhone and Sony Ericsson (NYSE: SNE) K550i. Very cool.
More importantly to me however… I'm still waiting for Copy/Paste functionality to hit the iPhone via the App Store or even better a Firmware update from Apple. Fingers crossed and waiting patiently.
Looking for a new app to trick your friends and enemies with? Or are you still hooked on the iFart Mobile application? 
Hopefully iFart has run its course for you and you're ready to move on to a slightly classier app. Enter Crack! for the iPhone and iPod Touch. With this cool little app, you'll be able to simulate cracking effects on your iPhone's display. Check out the video above and all will be explained. You can set it to 'crack' your screen whenever you touch it, or set a delay on the number of times it takes to crack. I like this setting, because you could hand your device to a friend, and have them tap… nothing… tap again… nothing… But the third and final time you can set it to crack the screen. I know I could get a few people with this one for sure.
The Crack! app from Digital Film Tools is currently under review by Apple (NSDQ: AAPL), but I would suspect it to get a passing grade and make it to the App Store. There's nothing offensive or vulgar about this one, just clean honest fun. Expect it to be offered for $0.99. I can't imagine this one selling for much more.
Emoji icons might not be high on your list of essential mobile phone features, but hop the Pacific to Japan and you’re in for a world of hurt without those cutesy little “picture letters” to help you express a ridiculous range of emotions and situations. Apple (NSDQ: AAPL) recently enabled Emoji icons on Japanese iPhone 3Gs with the launch of the iPhone 2.2 OS. The introduction of Emoji icons, as well as the launch of the external iPhone TV tuner, has been attributed to Softbank’s success with the iPhone 3G in Japan - highlighting Japan’s love of the Emoji.
Given the flexibility and convenience that Emoji icons allow, we wouldn’t be surprised to see the Emoji trend catching on in the US and elsewhere. In fact, Emoji support has been available for jailbroken iPhones for some time now - too bad factory iPhones were left out of the fun. So, what better way to spread the word about Emoji than with an Emoji-enabling iPhone application masquerading as an iPhone RSS reader? A new RSS reader, available through the iPhone App Store, for the iPhone has renewed the push to bring Emoji to iPhones around the world!
The application that shall not be mentioned name (mostly because it’s in Chinese), touts itself as a simple iPhone RSS reader application. But, don’t go underestimating this little bugger. Hidden within the quizzically-titled iPhone app is the power to unlock the Emoji keyboard on your iPhone or iPhone 3G running the iPhone 2.2 OS. An iPhone 2.2 OS exploit has apparently allowed this seemingly simple RSS reader to enable the Emoji keyboard on iPhones outside Japan.
Popout
Emoji for Non-Japanese iPhone and iPod touch from arron on Vimeo.
How do you enable Emoji icon support on your non-Japanese iPhone or iPhone 3G? Keep reading.
1. Update your iPhone or iPhone 3G to iPhone 2.2 OS
* You can update to non-jailbroken iPhone 2.2 OS through iTunes OR
* You can update to jailbroken iPhone 2.2 OS using Pwnage Tool (our tutorial here).
2. Download this app (iTunes link) - it costs $0.99
3. Install the app
4. Open the app
5. Find an article with a face
* Open it
* Use scroll around
6. Quit the app
7. Navigate to Settings>General>Keyboards>Japanese>Emoji and Toggle the switch to “ON”
8. Enjoy Emoji icons on your non-Japanese iPhone!
Windows Mobile 6.5 has been spotted running on HTC devices before, but this is different - this is Windows Mobile 6.5 in the wild, complete with its all-new honeycomb app launcher. Its makers say they installed Windows Mobile 6.5 “to demonstrate just how friendly to developers exeda is,” and that the new OS, which is still in its Alpha phase of development, was installed “the same day it was released.” Then, lnkr.net inform further its software Developer, Operating system, Usability, and more.
Software developers will appreciate exeda’s special development platform. exeda offers to developers -
*Open source u-boot bootloader
*Detailed hardware and software documentation
*Full BSP’s
*10/100Base-T Ethernet port
*JTAG interface
*RS-232
*Unlocked SIM
Operating Systems
exeda supports Windows Mobile 6.1, Android, Windows CE 6 and Angstrom Linux.
Other operating systems may be supported in the future.
Usability
exeda incorporates a 3.5″ VGA sun-readable display with a touch screen, five row, full QWERTY keypad with backlight and a unique capacitive touchpad acting as a mouse. This makes exeda ideal for reading, browsing and data entry.
Other features
*Marvell PXA270 520MHz CPU
*128MB RAM
*2 banks of internal FLASH, 512MB each
*2MP camera with flash
*GPS with built-in and external antennas
*MicroSD socket with SDHC support
*Built-in microphone and speaker + 3.5mm stereo jack
*High capacity 3000mAh battery
While the iPhone 3G and the App Store might have the upper-hand when it comes down to application breadth and shear volume of downloadable apps, the Android OS is steadily gaining ground. Popular services already ported to the iPhone OS have started to pop up in the Android Market for downloading with any Android-powered smartphone - most notable, the T-Mobile (NYSE: DT) G1. The latest service to make the jump from the iPhone App Store to the Android Market is Last.fm's internet radio streaming application for, well, Android OS.
The Last.fm Android app gives fans the power to "stream your favorite Last.fm stations, view your friends' profiles and watch out for up coming events," from the convenience of your pocket (or purse, or hand, or vehicle cup-holder). And, there's a bonus for Last.fm fans using an Android smartphone. The Last.fm Android app takes advantage of the Android platform's ability to maintain the stream in the background! That means you can navigate away from the Last.fm application (say, to the Amazon music store) while still listening to the audio stream. If that isn't trick, we don't know what is.
Grab the Last.fm Android app from the Android Market. You should know how to do that by now…
[Via: UniversoAndroid]
Konami has announced the release of Silent Hill: The Escape and DanceDanceRevolution S Lite, now available in North America (what about the UK??) for the iPhone and iPod Touch. Based on top-selling franchises, these titles have been re-designed to take full advantage of the iPhone's capabilities, including the innovative Multi-Touch Interface™ and accelerometer.
Silent Hill: The Escape
Silent Hill: The Escape features original gameplay, detailed graphics and spine-chilling sound effects created specifically for the iPhone. In this first-person, 3D shooter survival horror game, players navigate through various levels from an abandoned hospital to a cold subway with a dull flashlight while fighting off monsters and faceless nurses. The battery of the flashlight slowly dies throughout the game, limiting the player's vision as they search for a key to escape the monster-infested labyrinth. Players also carry a gun for protection to ward off the trail of chasing monsters. Taking full advantage of the iPhone's capabilities, players must employ the tilt sensor and skillfully tap the bullets to reload the revolver. Silent Hill: The Escape is available for $7.99 from the Apple (NSDQ: AAPL) App Store.
DanceDanceRevolution S Lite
The worldwide sensation that started the dance game craze doesn't miss a beat on the iPhone. DanceDanceRevolution S Lite is the first installment in the popular videogame franchise designed exclusively for the iPhone and iPod Touch. In this addictive music rhythm game, players tap the arrows on the control pad as they appear on the screen. Featuring 3D characters and simple controls, DanceDanceRevolution S Lite provides an on-the-go DDR experience for iPhone gamers of all ages. DanceDanceRevolution S Lite is available for free download from the Apple App Store.
Silent Hill: The Escape and DanceDanceRevolution S Lite are now available from the Apple App Store on iPhone and iPod Touch.
If you want more info about the games, check out Konami Mobile here.
So the first of my two posts on what the UK operators are currently promo-ing on their websites (as of 25/1/09), begins with Vodafone (NYSE: VOD) and Orange….
Vodafone
… are very strongly pushing Mobile Broadband, the BlackBerry (NSDQ: RIMM) Storm, and their 2009 offers - fairplay really, you've got to play to your strengths, and the Storm is something they've invested heavily in promoting in the UK.
Is it a sign of the times that there is a 'sale' of sorts (offers…) going on? Probably. But nice to see that Vodafone have a clean and easily-viewable site design going on now. I'm not a big fan of overpopulation of the homescreen!
Orange
Orange has a very different attitude to layout - on the leftmost side of the screen is one of the longest vertical nav. bars that I have seen in ages! Overall, the page seems to be a lot more cosmopolitan, with much in the way of lifestyle, search, and even weather on the page. If you want to know about mobile stuff per se (i.e. what they are punting), then you really need to click off to the "shop" link… is that a good move?
Both the Vodafone and Orange pages work in different ways, and I think including a screenshot (valid only for the time I captured them at about 11pm on 25/1/09) in thumbnail actually helps draw out the differences. The striking use of corp colouring is evident, but also note Orange's very text-laden approach.
Let's check out O2 (NYSE: TEF), 3, and T-Mobile (NYSE: DT), in a post coming to you soon!
[Note: 'punting' is slang for 'selling' in the UK, and I'd imagine, lots of other places 
]
UK: what are the Operators punting? Part 2.
So the second of my two posts (the first is here) on what the UK operators are currently promo-ing on their websites, continues with O2 (NYSE: TEF), T-Mobile (NYSE: DT), and Three….
O2
Well there's a LOT of information potentially available on the O2 homepage, and I think you can make an argument to say it's perhaps a little "full"! However, the centrepiece amongst everything else on the page is the iconic iPhone - still doing great business for them, and rightly getting pride of place. There is a stack of info available on the drop-down menu nav, but notably on the homepage you have offers, business deals, and broadband all appearing. Covering all the bases then…!
T-Mobile
T-Mobile's site has clearly had some effort put in to it - there's a stack of graphics in there, and some nice shading and colouring to really "lift" the page - but the all important question is, does it work? Well, kinda. Again, a lot of text is evident, but in centrepiece on the page is offers, then below we have handsets, followed by broadband… see any kind of trend emerging here…?!
As I said, the page is busy, but strangely also seems to be very wide indeed, with the addition of two "people" images either side of the main body (you can see one of the left in the thumbnail, the other was off the screen!) - curious.
Three
Actually I like Three's homepage the most of all the Operators - reason? - well, it's clear, concise, and doesn't have too much going on! There is judicious use of colour, but the thing that 3UK are advertising like mad at the moment (£9/month line rental) is squarely in the centre of what's going on. Broadband, handsets, tariffs, and the INQ1 also make a showing. This is web design as I like to see it, and personally I'd find it the easiest to navigate.
Conclusion
Well for ease of viewing and navigation, I'd choose Three. In terms of coming to the site having seen an advert and then being able to find the right deal - that would be Three again. If you wanted to aggregate all your info in one page, then I'd choose Orange - but then again, do you want to have to click to another page to get the (most likely) mobile info you wanted? Maybe, maybe not.
Ultimately it's end-user preference, and this topic is something I'll be revisiting later in the year to see how and why Operators have changed their homepages….!
With today's advancements in technology, it shouldn't be surprising anymore to find wrist watches and shoes that also function as a mobile phone. Yes, that's right; shoe phones.
If you think a mobile phone/shoe has no practical purpose other than to provide spies with a discreet mode of communication, you're sadly mistaken. Dr. Gardner-Stephen, Flinders University post-doctoral fellow in bioinformatics, thinks this novel idea represents a possible means of relaying health-related information wirelessly from the shoe to concerned individuals and health institutions. Here's a quote from the Flinders University blog where Dr. Gardner-Stephen shares his optimism for the technology:
"Relaying voice communications via a shoe is technologically similar to relaying medical data for remote patient monitoring, such as pulse, blood pressure, blood oxygenation and so forth," Dr Gardner-Stephen said today.
"And a shoe is a good location for housing the electronics required for storing and communicating these measurements. Shoes are well accepted by most people, and are simple to put on and take off," he said.
"Secondly, because our feet, and therefore our shoes, conduct large forces as we stand and walk, energy can be harvested to charge the device during ordinary activity. A shoe-based device would not only be easy to wear, it could run significantly longer between battery charges.
"There is also potential to develop the telephone function for use in home nursing and aged care facilities. The shoe based platform makes it possible to detect shocks and orientation changes resulting from, for example, a fall. On detecting this, the device could telephone a medical carer and initiate a speaker phone conversation and call for any assistance required."
As you can see, the potential for the shoe phone is great albeit a bit on the quirky side. The technology, as evidenced in this video, is no doubt there already, but the demand needs to be there as well.
Given that a 5-megapixel shoe phone with a touchscreen display won't be debuting anytime soon, it probably won't score big amongst the younger generation. However, its practical application in the medical field will no doubt be a huge selling point if and when it does become commercially available. So, when the time comes, will you be getting yourself a shoe phone?
HTC has just updated their old HTC Touch Cruise devised released last year with a new mobile device which shall have the same name with an additional new feature called Footprints. The HTC Touch Cruise with Footprints features a new and more compact design, the same GPS feature, and other mobile functionality that makes the phone worth of using the same HTC Touch Cruise name. But what makes this new HTC Touch Cruis different from its predecessor is a new feature called Footprints which can be used for capturing special moments in a digital postcard using the phone.
The HTC Footprints is an application that allows users to add notes and audio clip about that special moments, whether remembering the name of the place where the event took place, complete with geo-tagging using the phone's GPS feature or simply adding important people in the photo. Geo-tagging the photos they took using the HTC Touch Cruise would enable users to flip through them to retrace their, well footprints. And this footprint feature works whether users are indoors or outdoors.
The HTC Touch Cruis also functions as an advanced in-car navigation system. Users just need to place the phone in a car cradle and the phone will become a GPS-like navigation device complete with turn-by-turn directions and a sleek touch-screen interface.
Other features of the HTC Touch Cruise Footprints will give us a 2.8-inch QVGA display, WCDMA/HSPA/900/2100MHz/HSDPA 7.2Mbps connectivity, Windows Mobile 6.1 OS, HTC TouchFLO 4-way navigation wheel, a 3.2MP camera with fixed focus, 512MB internal memory, microSD memory card support, Bluetooth, WiFi, and GPS.
The HTC Touch Cruise Footprints is slated for a Spring 2009 release.
It has been a year rumour and finally HTC unveils an updated version of its HTC Touch Cruise smartphone on Thursday. The new model is slimmer and has a more attractive design than the old Cruise model debuted in January 2008.The application not only lets you geotag photos that you take using the device's 3.2-megapixel camera, but you can also add notes and audio clips to these digital "postcards."
The HTC Touch Cruise uses Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional, it has a 2.8″ QVGA LCD touchscreen, quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE, HSDPA/WCDMA, 3.2 megapixel digicam, 802.11b/g WiFi, Bluetooth 2.0 with EDR, GPS/A-GPS, microSD memory card slot, Qualcomm MSM7225 528 MHz processor, 512MB flash ROM and 256MB RAM. The new HTC Touch Cruise is expected to be available in all major global markets in Spring 2009. In Europe the Touch Cruise will be available for around 499EUR.
It is great idea of having your very own Wi-Fi hotspot and share that HSPA broadband connection with the rest of your mates. And, Option has helped you. On Thursday, Option announced the release of its new 3G wireless router that is capable of creating a Wi-Fi hotspot with a fast HSPA broadband connection in a networked home or small office. The device has a USB interface that allows users to connect external hard drives to back up data or share their content over the Wi-Fi link. Even, it can be connected with a printer and everyone who has access to the network will be able to print.
At the core of the Globetrotter III is a Qualcomm 7225 chipset, helping the device deliver download speeds of 7.2Mbps and upload speeds as fast as 5.76Mbps. There is no word on pricing as at press time.
SEMCBlog just leaked the new C903. Previously known under the codename Sony Ericsson Frances, now it is confirmed as C903. So, the C903 is basically a 5MP version of the C905 sans Wi-Fi and with a rather intriguing new design. According to SEMC blog, it's going to be announced at MWC 15th February, and release in the end of Q2 this year.
The C903 will only sport a 5 megapixel camera with autofocus, active lens cover and face detection. You will also get A-GPS, 2.4-inch TFT screen with a 240×320 pixels. Sadly, there is no info about xenon flash presence. Pricing details are currently missing.
A new pair of Japanese bluetooth has been unveiled by Japan's Sigma-Apo on Friday. Dubbed as Bluetribe, this Japanese Bluetooth are able to connect to compatible Bluetooth phones and digital music players. The headphones are sold with two different earpads that fit most of ears. A built-in microphone and two-way connection in the Bluetooth 2.1-profile headphones enable you to have conversations when used with compatible handsets. The headphone is SCMS-T compatible, allowing it to receive 1Seg broadcasts.
The drivers has 30mm diameter (about 1.2 inches) delivers a 95dB signal-to-noise ratio. Sigmo-apo didn't explain the benefits of the interchangeable earpads, with a traditional rectangle shape or the diamond shape. Controls on the right headphone include power, play, pause, stop, and track up or down as well as volume adjustment buttons. Concerning with the battery, it is rated at 11 hours when listening to music or making phone calls, while maximum range is rated at about 33 feet. You can also take the offers version with a docking iPhone/iPod adapter
With two 8.0 Megapixel camera phones already under their belt, you'd think Samsung might kick back and relax. After all, they were the first company to launch an 8.0 Megapixel camera phone in Europe with the Samsung i8510 a definite contender for phone of the year in 2009. But no, hot on this success, Samsung have been busy working of the latest addition to their already impressive range. The Samsung S8300 looks to be a natural upgrade to the Samsung Soul thanks to a slim slider form factor measuring in at just 12.8mm thick. With the Samsung S8300 still under wraps at Samsung HQ and yet to see an official announcement, what else do we know about this newest 8.0 Megapixel camera phone?
Well, firstly the camera is complimented by Autofocus and an LED flash but what else? Expect Face and Smile recognition to also make their way into that sleek exterior as well as high resolution video capture as seen on the Pixon. Away from the camera, the S8300 is an HSDPA mobile phone meaning high speed web browsing is at your finger tips, though Wi-Fi is unconfirmed at present. GPS is also included tho
ugh whether it will be the full fat version as seen in the i8510 or only suitable for Geotagging like that on the Pixon is unclear. To round it off, a multimedia player with MP3/ MPEG4 and DivX (high quality video) support plus Bluetooth v2.1 should make the S8300 a formidable multimedia phone.
Though specific details are thin on the ground at the moment, the Samsung S8300 is tipped for release as early as March. Yes you read that correctly, March. As in THIS March. Click here to keep updated and keep an eye on the Blog as we reveal all the juicy details as soon as we get them.
Last week we got a closer look at the HTC Iolite, highlighting a particularly mysterious footprint key at the bottom. Well, today the Touch Cruise has been announced, and we learn that the key is reserved for a little service called Footprints. Footprints allows users to quickly geotag their location with pictures, audio clips, and notes, as well as retrace their path. I’m a huge fan of geotagging, namely because it’s using GPS for something other than driving directions for a change, but the Touch Cruise handles that as well with a bundled car cradle. When locked in, the Touch Cruise changes its UI to something a little more driver-friendly. On the whole, this phone’s got some flavour to it - keep an eye out this Spring.
Specifications after the jump!
Key HTC Touch Cruise Specifications
* Size: 102 x 53.5 x 14.5mm
* Weight: 103 grams
* Connectivity: WCDMA/HSPA: 900/2100MHz. HSDPA 7.2 Mbps
* Operating system: Windows Mobile® 6.1 Professional
* Display: 2.8-inch TFT-LCD touch-sensitive screen with QVGA resolution
* Control panel: HTC TouchFLO™, 4-Way navigation wheel with Enter and HTC Footprints™ buttons
* Camera: 3.2 MP, with fixed focus
* Internal memory: 512 MB flash ROM, 256 MB RAM
* Expansion Slot: microSD™ memory card (SD 2.0 compatible)
* Bluetooth: 2.0 with EDR
* Wireless: Wi-Fi 802.11b/g
* GPS: GPS/A-GPS
* Interface: HTC ExtUSB? (mini-USB 2.0 and audio jack in one)
* Battery: 1100 mAh
* Talk time: GSM: up to 400 minutes
* Standby time: GSM: up to two weeks
* Chipset: Qualcomm (NSDQ: QCOM)® MSM7225™, 528 MHz
I’ve got some buds over in Romania, and I’ve already sent them a few messages imploring them to consider the BlackBerry (NSDQ: RIMM) Curve 8900 as their next device. Why? News has broke via press release that the 8900 is coming to Romania on the Orange network. Unlike the previous generation Curve, the 8900 is solid, fits perfectly in the hand, and well… it’s hard to explain but I just love it. If you’re not a fan of the bigger/bulkier Bold, or the touchscreen Storm, the Curve 8900 is without a doubt the way to go these days.
Orange and RIM launch the BlackBerry Curve 8900 in Romania
Orange Romania and Research In Motion today launched the BlackBerry Curve 8900. In addition to exceptional phone, email, messaging, organizer, web browser and multimedia applications, the BlackBerry Curve 8900 smartphone features global connectivity support, built-in Wi-Fi and GPS, a next generation 512Mhz processor and a stunning hi-resolution display.
”We believe that in 2009 this new BlackBerry smartphone will play a significant role in the smartphone market in Romania. Customers will easily recognize the optimal combination of price, design, functionality and services. Orange smartphone sales have grown by 20% in 2008 comparing to 2007 and we are positive that launching smarpthones such as the BlackBerry Curve 8900, which combines industry leading email and Internet access services with rich multimedia capabilities, will greatly appeal to our customers,” stated Razvan Sturza, Product Manager Orange Romania.
The BlackBerry Curve 8900 is available in all Orange shops and partners’ stores in Romania. Prices range from 229 EUR to 329 EUR depending on the BlackBerry tariff plan chosen.
In a commitment to bring the latest BlackBerry smartphones to the Romanian market, Orange Romania now offers the BlackBerry Curve 8900 in its extensive BlackBerry smartphone portfolio. The choice for customers has never been wider in the BlackBerry smartphone portfolio from Orange Romania, which includes the BlackBerry® Pearl™ 8120, BlackBerry® Pearl™ Flip 8220, BlackBerry® Curve™ 8320, and BlackBerry® Bold™ smartphones, as well as four dedicated service plans starting from 5 Euros per month.
Sporting a sleek new style, the BlackBerry Curve 8900 smartphone incorporates video, text and maps, a full QWERTY keyboard and an intuitive trackball navigation system that gives users an exceptional mobile experience. The full-featured smartphone lets you take your favorite songs and videos with you and with its new 3.2 megapixel camera — including auto focus, digital zoom and flash — you can take sharp, print-quality pictures and send them to friends or post them on the Internet. The microSD/SDHC expandable memory card slot supports up to 16GB per card, giving users plenty of easily interchangeable storage.
“The BlackBerry Curve 8900 lets you stay easily connected with work, family, friends and the web - all on a beautifully designed phone that looks and feels great,” said Mark Guibert, Vice President, Corporate Marketing at Research In Motion. “The combination of features is perfect for people who want the renowned functionality and usability of a BlackBerry smartphone in a beautiful and compact design.”
Enhanced web browsing and multimedia features
The BlackBerry Curve 8900 is a quad-band smartphone with EDGE network support, providing global connectivity, fast data access and powerful web browsing. The smartphone can be used with both BlackBerry® Internet Service and BlackBerry® Enterprise Server.
At approximately 110 grams and 109 x 60 x 13.5 millimeters, the BlackBerry Curve 8900 is the thinnest BlackBerry smartphone to date and comes in a sleek and refined design that feels comfortable for either one-handed or two-handed use. Its large, striking 2.4 inch HVGA+ display (480×360 resolution) projects vivid color and makes information easier to read. The BlackBerry Curve 8900 also provides flexible connectivity with built-in Wi-Fi® (802.11 b/g) support and helps people find their way with its GPS capabilities.
No, not the university. Ever hear of Princeton Technology? Yeah, me neither. We had spotted a compact USB Bluetooth adapter from them awhile back, but it turns out they do phones too, although they look primarily geared towards the Asian market. We just got word of a new model (PTCD 801) on the way packing two SIM card slots like many of their other handsets, but can also record TV as you’re watching it. Specs include…
-Network: Quadband GSM 800/900/1800/1900
-Dual SIM, dual standby
-2.6 inch touchscreen, handwriting support
-Free analog TV, record at the same time
-Dual camera, web camera, DV function
-Accelerometer
-Bluetooth 2.0
-FM radio
-MP3/MP4 Player
-Can use Nokia (NYSE: NOK) BL-5C batteries, 3.5MM standard headphone jack
-Mini USB Cable Port
-Language: English/French/Spanish/Portugese/Italian/German/Turkish/Arabic/Persian/Polish/Russian etc.
No info on carrier or release date, but suppliers are pimping it out, so a release should be soon.
So after shoveling through T-Mobile (NYSE: DT)’s thread on what the deal is with the Android Cupcake update, I finally got a straight answer.
[Cupcake] was a parallel branch that was used for further development while [the Android team] took on the task of converting a main code branch into an open source format. They merged it back when they were done with the open source transition, not because the engineers working on cupcake had produced a final solid product-worthy result. So, some “works in progress” that had been going on in a dead end parallel branch was merged into master. That doesn’t mean it is ready for release.
The short version? The Cupcake development branch is in more developer’s hands now, including a certain Arron La, but everything is entirely work-in-progress, so don’t hold your breath. However, we can get a developer’s view of things that are coming down the pipes, including:
1. New Local Setting Page - Gives you option to pick different locales and pick different text inputs.
2. New Option to view running and third party applications - An option to view running and third party applications from the normal application list. Does not provide a way to terminate them.
3. New windows opening/closing animation effect - a new popping effect when windows are opened/closed.
4. New default notepad - a very simple and ugly default notepad.
5. New Global Time application - not sure if it will be provided by T-Mobile but it’s just a rotating Earth and I couldn’t get it to do anything else.
6. New Spare Parts Application - Once again not sure if the official version will have this, but it provides a number of extra settings such as setting windows animation and transition animation speed, font size, end button behavior and etc. It also has a “display rotation” option which supposedly should allow auto-rotate base on orientation across the entire os, but it is not currently working.
7. New Virtual Keyboard (as seen on video -ed.)- The virtual keyboard will pop up on every edit box. I didn’t feel any haptic feedback but I am thinking that it’s just not there on the example keyboard. Because the phone does not auto-rotate (an option exists but it doesn’t work), it’s very hard to type on it. The sample keyboard also does not provide auto-corrections.
8. Slightly better looking buttons with more shadow.
Looks like quite the upgrade, just remember that it’s all running pretty poorly right now. It’ll be awhile before these changes see the light of day.
We've been tracking the still-unannounced Sony Ericsson (NYSE: SNE) Filippa Cybershot handset since last year. The upcoming Cybershot cameraphone is expected to one-up the Sony Ericsson C510 Cybershot with a 5 megapixel camera that bests the 3.2 megapixel jobby in the C510. And, word on the street has it that Sony Ericsson is preparing to launch the Sony Ericsson Filippa as the Sony Ericsson C901 at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona next month.
The same folks that confirmed the Sony Ericsson Kate's designation as the Sony Ericsson C510 are at it again with a new rumor that the Sony Ericsson Filippa will go live as the new Sony Ericsson C901 Cybershot cameraphone, available in Noble Black, Sincere Silver and Precious Peach color options. And, with a 5 megapixel camera (including auto-focus and xenon flash), smile-shutter technology (automatically takes pictures when it detects a smile) and "illuminated imaging shortcuts," the Sony Ericsson Filippa/C901 is sure to hit a high-note with cameraphone fans the world over.
Tri-Specs has recently unveiled their latest product - a Bluetooth-enabled sunglasses that include noise cancellation, dual microphones and dual speakers. Patented STEPvoice software from STEP Labs is also included in the mix to help differentiate between the wearer's voice and other voices, sounds and noises. As a result, natural fidelity of the voice is preserved, producing "near-perfect voice recognition performance, and impeccable noise cancellation."
As for the battery performance, Tri-Specs says their latest baby can sustain up to 7 hours of talk time or 5 hours of music playing. The sunglasses are available in black, white and metallic…
There's a new interesting hack for the Apple (NSDQ: AAPL) iPhone, which enables five icons displayed in a single row on the iPhone/iPod Touch's homescreen. The so called Five-Column Springboard is not available at the moment of this writing (or at least I've missed it), but it should hit Cydia and Installer.app in the near future. Yap, you'll need to have your iPhone jailbroken in order to have five-icons-per-row singing on your homescreen.
I'll stop here, as this is quite straightforward. A short demo video follows after the jump. If you have any thoughts whether this could be useful or not, we're eager to hear your thoughts. Comments form is all yours…
T-mobile has gotten around to releasing the TM506 in a shiny new color: Scarlet Red. Sony Ericsson had previously offered the Sony Ericsson TM506 in Black or Emerald Green. The specs are identical, the price has dropped down to $49.99 (from $79.99 at launch) and, well, it’s not green. The Sony Ericsson TM506 cell phone has T-Mobile’s high-speed 3G data network delivers the ultimate mobile Web experience in several metropolitan areas.
Its features include:
*Weight: 3.4 ounces, including battery (approx.)
*Size: 3.7 x 1.9 x 0.69 inches (approx.)
*Talk Time: Up to 9.5 hours GSM; up to 3.5 hours UMTS (approx.)
*Standby Time: Up to 250 hours GSM, up to 250 hours UMTS (approx.)
*2.0 Megapixel Camera
*Media Center
*aGPS Built-in
*TeleNav Navigator
*RSS Feeds
*myFaves-enabled
*Audio Postcard
*Quicksend
*Mobile Backup (T-Mobile Address Book)
*Bluetooth 2.0 / A2DP / Stereo streaming
*Tri-Band GSM (850/1800/1900)
*Dual-Band UMTS (1700/2100 & 2100)
*GSM/GRPS/EDGE/UMTS/HSDPA
At the recent Consumer Electronics Show (CES) held in Las Vegas, mobile phone developer Palm wowed the crowds with the announcement of the Palm Pre, a brand new touchscreen mobile phone with stunning looks and a brand new operating system to boot. Palm, previously responsible for bringing us the popular Treo range of smartphones, have raised excitement levels through the roof with their brand new operating system WebOS. WebOS promises to deliver smartphone features in a consumer friendly package. Capable of performing tasks that we expect from a smart phone such as running multiple applications, installing new ones and customising shortcuts and program locations, it’s the new additions that look to set WebOS apart in an already
crowded market.
Want an example of how WebOS will make your life easier? Let’s say you’ve added an important meeting to your calendar. The Palm Pre will detect if you are going to be late to the meeting using GPS to track your location and traffic updates to determine how long your journey will take and then send an email to your assistant/ colleagues to inform them that you will be late for the meeting. Impressive…if a little bit creepy. It’s features like this that could see the Palm Pre becoming the phone of choice for businesses in 2009. Away from the operating system, the Palm Pre looks to be a promising piece of kit. The 3.1 inch touchscreen display with an accelerometer for auto screen rotation certainly looks reminiscent of the iPhone 3G but Palm have got a trick up their sleeve; a slide out QWERTY keyboard that is bound to keep all those email and text fanatics happy.
3G Connectivity and Wi-Fi add high speed internet to the mix and the aforementioned GPS will sound good to SatNav fans. And for those interested in something a bit more fun, the Pre packs in a 3.2 Megapixel camera which should provide ample fire power in the photography stakes and a comprehensive multimedia player that will support a host of audio and video file formats to help boost the Pre’s credentials as a multimedai phone. Whether the Palm Pre will match the hype that is currently surrounding it depends on the user experience. If Palm can nail down those futuristic features that the WebOS is capable of, in a user friendly easy to use experience, then they’ll be on to a winner.
Expected to launch in the Uk in Q2 of 2009 with networks and pricing still to be confirmed, click here to register for updates and news concerning the Palm Pre and, as always, keep an eye on the Blog for the latest developments.
The HTC Touch HD is a simplistic and stylish device, in a tablet-style form factor. It's quite a large device, measuring 115mm x 62.8mm x 12mm (4.4" x 2.5" x .47"), and weighs a fairly substantial 147g (5.2oz). The front is dominated by the huge 3.8 inch touch-sensitive WVGA (480x800 pixel) resolution display, which is capable of showing 65,000 colors. Beneath this beautiful display are four touch-sensitive keys, comprising the 'Send' and 'End' keys, plus dedicated 'Home' and 'Back' keys. The only other buttons on the handset are the power button on the top edge and the volume rocker on the left side. The power button houses a notification light to show when the device is low on battery/charging/charged, and signify when a missed call or new message has been received. Unfortunately, it is mounted nearly totally flush with the casing, so is difficult to press.
Above the display is the earpiece, light sensor, and forward-facing camera lens. The whole front of the device is covered by a glossy panel that shows up fingerprints and somewhat harms the legibility of the display in bright conditions. Unlike the iPhone, this panel is not made from glass, and compresses slightly when poking the screen. Thankfully, HTC have included a screen protector in the sales package, but I was unable to fit it without getting a bubble along at least one edge. The screen worked fine with this fitted, though still compressed when touched.
Surrounding the front panel is a shiny black beveled edge to finish off the attractive fascia of the device. Aside from the earlier mentioned buttons, the sides are mostly bare, with only a 3.5mm headphone port on the top edge, and a USB port and microphone pinhole on the bottom. The battery cover occupies most of the Touch HD's rear, and is clad in soft-touch plastic that offers good grip and resistance to fingerprints. The lens for the 5-megapixel camera is also found on the rear, set in the middle of a raised area sporting a brushed-metal effect. Next to this is a tiny grille for the device's loudspeaker.
The bottom end of the Touch HD is clad in more shiny black plastic. Here you'll find the magnetized active stylus, located in the right side of the device. The device's rounded edges, combined with its soft touch plastics and beveled front, give it a pleasant in-hand feel. Overall, the Touch HD feels well constructed and there are no creaks or squeaks to be heard from the covers, either.
The HTC Touch HD is a quad-band GSM device, with dual-band UTMS support. Its call audio quality is clear and loud though both the earpiece and the loudspeaker. The speakerphone can, however, sound slightly distorted at maximum volume. Reception strength seemed good, and the device never dropped a call. Battery life was impressive, lasting around 2.5 to 3 days in our tests with WiFi(INFO) permanently switched on. With around 20 SMS a day and a few calls, plus some light multimedia use, the 1350mAh battery did a good job of keeping the large display illuminated for so long.
The contacts system was a typical Windows Mobile affair, offering masses of fields to enter information in. Windows Live Messenger contacts are also added to the contacts list when you first synchronize with your Windows Live account. A nice addition to the contacts system is HTC's 'People' pane on the TouchFLO 3D Home Screen. This allows you to flick through images of up to 15 of your favourite contacts and call, message, or email them. Contacts are easy to add and remove, and the search system searches by both first and last names. There is also a smart search feature in the phone system, so it isn't really necessary to open the contacts list very often. Smart search hunts through the contacts list and call log when you start typing numbers in, bringing up any names and numbers that match what you've entered.
Profile support is also a typical WiMo affair, so there aren't really any profiles to customize as such. Clicking the volume rocker brings up system and ringer volumes, plus two buttons for quickly switching to 'Vibrate' or 'Silent' mode. There is also an 'Automatic' mode that sets the device to Vibrate during calendar appointments, which is handy. Plenty of ringers and message tones are available, including the classic ring-ring, and MP3s can be used as ringers, too. There's even an 'MP3 Trimmer' app pre-loaded on the Touch HD that allows you to easily cut down your MP3's, if, for example, the intro is too quiet. There are also various ring and vibrate types on offer, and you can even set how long the LED notification light flashes to signify a missed call or message.
Voice dialing is supported on the HTC Touch HD, and can be used to open applications, too. Unfortunately it isn't speaker independent, so voice tags must be created, but once this is done the system works well. Speed dial is also included, but is rather redundant thanks to the 'People' pane on the TouchFLO 3D Home Screen.
Messaging was a pleasant experience, with TouchFLO 3D encorporating very attractive SMS/MMS and Email viewers. SMS messages are displayed as floating text, and clicking on them brings up a threaded view of all messages to and from that person. Both IMAP4(INFO) and POP3(INFO) email services are supported, and setting up my IMAP4 account couldn't have been easier. Emails were displayed as pages poking out of an envelope, making it easy to quickly flick through your emails by swiping on the display. To view a message in full, simply click on it to get a more traditional view.
When it comes to writing messages the HTC Touch HD proved to be surprisingly capable for a touchscreen device. Although still not as easy to type on as a hardware keypad, the Touch HD's big screen allows keys to be larger, which makes typing faster and more accurate than with many other touchscreen devices. I still often hit the wrong keys, but thanks to the directional buttons included with some of the input methods, it was easy to go back and correct mistakes. There are seven different input methods, including variations on QWERTY(INFO) keyboards, handwriting recognition inputs, and a good old phone keypad. I chose to use one of the QWERTY input methods with the frustrating Windows Mobile T9 dictionary turned off. The handwriting recognition isn't perfect, but works well enough if you're in no rush.
HTC Touch HD
HTC Touch HD HTC Touch HD
HTC Touch HD HTC Touch HD
HTC Touch HD HTC Touch HD
HTC Touch HD
Another useful feature was the Touch HD's ability to synchronize my Hotmail inbox, simply by me entering my username and password in the Windows Live Messenger application. These emails show up in the TouchFLO 3D system as an additional inbox alongside my other email account. The Windows Live Messenger application itself provided a good experience, and aftermarket applications can be installed to allow use of other IM clients, too.
The HTC Touch HD features 3G connectivity with HSDPA(INFO) on the 900 and 2100MHz bands, allowing speedy email and web browsing whilst on-the-go. It worked well in our tests and allowed the Touch HD to quickly update Stocks and Weather information, too. In addition, WiFi is present, for even quicker connectivity at home and in WiFi hotspots. Bluetooth is also on-board, with support for both mono headsets and stereo A2DP(INFO) headphones. Lastly, the Touch HD can be synchronized with a PC via ActiveSync, or used as a modem, courtesy of its mini USB port. The USB connection is also used for charging the battery, either via your computer or the included wall socket adaptor.
The HTC Touch HD has a 5 megapixel autofocus camera, the highest resolution of any HTC device so far. Unfortunately, it has no flash, which makes low-light photography almost impossible. Shots taken in low light came out very yellow, even with the white balance switched to its night setting. Also, the Touch HD requires very steady hands in low light situations, otherwise the image tends to blur. Photos were more successful with better lighting, but the Touch HD's poor dynamic range caused quite severe clipping of the highlights in a number of photos. This left areas of white in a lot of images, especially outdoor images that sometimes looked as if the sky had been removed. Otherwise, the images were good, with plenty of detail and very little noise. Unfortunately, geo-tagging isn't present on the Touch HD, but can be activated with a third party application.
The gallery function is very neat, and allows finger gestures to flick between photos, rotate them, and zoom in and out. The Touch HD's accelerometer also comes into play here, and allows you to rotate images by simply rotating the phone. As with other functions, the TouchFLO 3D system also has a 'Photos and Videos' pane. This allows you to flick through your photos and videos as if they were in a pile, then click on them for a full screen view. It's a wonderful way to view your images, and provides shortcut buttons for the camera and video camera, too. Unfortunately, the video camera quality was quite poor, recording at 30fps with only CIF (352x288 pixel) resolution. Thankfully though, the resulting videos are encoded as MP4s and there are a handful of settings available for both camera modes, including white balance and brightness.
Thanks to the Touch HD's huge 3.8" display, browsing the web is a joy. Again, the TouchFLO 3D system has a pane to cover this function, with shortcuts to common websites and a button to launch the default Opera 9.5 browser. Although there are no 'pinch' techniques for zooming in and out of pages, it's still possible to scroll around the page by dragging your finger around the screen. Zooming is instead taken care of with a simple zoom bar that can quickly be brought up at the bottom of the screen. Not as fancy as the iPhone's offering, but it works. You can also double-tap sections of a page to quickly zoom in and out on them, which is handy. Full HTML pages were beautifully rendered, and Flash and Java(INFO) content is fully supported. It's also possible to view pages in landscape, again by simply rotating the device itself, and a landscape keyboard is offered in this situation.
Thanks to the 3.5mm headphone port, the HTC Touch HD makes a surprisingly capable music player. It's possible to create playlists on the device, and album art is supported, too. There is also a TouchFLO 3D pane for Music, which shows album art in a horizontal stack and provides the usual track information such as artist and track name. You can flick through your music by swiping the display, and play/pause your music from this pane, too. As mentioned earlier, the HTC Touch HD features Bluetooth A2DP, which allows users to connect a set of stereo Bluetooth headphones. Users can synchronize their music with Windows Media Player via USB, or simply drag and drop files onto the microSD card. The HTC Touch HD comes packaged with an 8GB microSD card and has 288MB of RAM and 512MB of ROM.
To keep users entertained there are a few games on-board: 'Bubble Breaker', 'Solitaire', and the ever popular 'Teeter', which uses the Touch HD's accelerometer to navigate a ball around various mazes. To top off the entertainment capabilities of the HTC Touch HD, there is an FM Radio, a media streamer, an RSS(INFO) reader, a fantastic YouTube app, and a video player. Unfortunately, I wasn't hugely impressed with the video player, as it struggled with videos that my Nokia N95 8GB can play with ease. Smaller files played OK though, and looked good on the large display.
HTC Touch HD
HTC Touch HD HTC Touch HD
HTC Touch HD HTC Touch HD
HTC Touch HD
The Touch HD also manages to incorporate a GPS(INFO) antenna into it's design, to allow that huge display to be used for navigation. Our device came with Google Maps pre-installed, but lacked any voice-guided navigation software. However, there is a small app pre-loaded called 'QuickGPS', which downloads the latest satellite information via the data connection, in order to speed up the time it takes to get a satellite lock. Although it seemed to work, it's a shame that it this function had to be manually activated each time before using the GPS. Although there was no pre-loaded voice navigation software on our device, there are many different types available, such as TeleNav and Garmin Mobile. However, be careful, as much of the existing navigation software is not officially compatible with the Touch HD due to its higher resolution screen.
Being a PDA-style device, it's no surprise that the HTC Touch HD comes pre-loaded with plenty of organization applications. You get a calendar that can sync with Outlook, plus the usual calculator, alarms, notes, to-do list, and such. Also included is Office Mobile, which allows users to create, edit, and view Word, Excel, and Powerpoint files. OneNote Mobile, WorldCard Mobile, and Adobe Reader LE are thrown-in too, with the latter allowing users to view PDF files on the handset. You also get a handy file explorer, 'Zip' file compressor, printer app, and 'Remote Desktop Mobile', which allows you to connect remotely to any Windows-based PC.
Once again HTC have done a stellar job on prettying-up the Windows Mobile interface, by adding-on their TouchFLO 3D system. This makes the interface very touch friendly, not to mention hugely attractive - especially on a screen as large as the Touch HD's. Overall, HTC have helped make Windows Mobile a lot nicer to use, and put all the essentials right at the user's fingertips with their tabbed TouchFLO 3D standby screen. With such a large display, selecting on-screen items is much easier, and this makes the overall user experience much better. The menus are a little more bland-looking, but thanks to the flexibility of the TouchFLO standby screen, most users won't need to access them very often.
Although the HTC Touch HD only has seven physical keys (counting the volume rocker as two), it still manages to include a 'Home' key and a 'Back' key. You also get 'Send' and 'End' keys, though these are doubled-up on the screen by an answer/reject slider, so seem quite pointless. However, the answer/reject slider was the cause of many missed calls during our tests, as sliding it to 'answer' would lead to a big delay before the call was finally connected (or more often, missed). This was very frustrating, so I defaulted back to using the touch sensitive keys instead.
Otherwise, the HTC Touch HD's touch sensitive interface worked well, with the large screen making even the smallest of items easy to select with either stylus or finger. In fact, I rarely used the stylus at all, because it isn't really needed. The device also incorporates some nifty gestures in certain areas, for scrolling, zooming, and such, which allows users to communicate with the interface more intuitively.
Themes are supported on the Touch HD, but I'd imagine that most users would stick to the standard 'HTC Black' theme, to match the black TouchFLO 3D interface. Changing the theme to one of the pre-loaded Windows options just changes the colors of the bars along the top and bottom of the screen, and in the menus. Of course, you can turn off the TouchFLO 3D interface should you wish, allowing the themes to have more of an effect on the look of the interface. There are also plenty of downloadable themes online to choose from, should you want to further customize the appearance of the UI.
Not only can users change themes, but the whole device can be extensively customized with additional information and apps available online. For example, it is possible to activate geo-tagging, or install an app to allow the device to be used more extensively in landscape mode. There's plenty of software available for Windows Mobile devices, and there's more and more things being created by the day, which makes the Touch HD very customizable indeed.
HTC Touch HD
HTC Touch HD HTC Touch HD
HTC Touch HD HTC Touch HD
HTC Touch HD
Conclusion
Overall, the HTC Touch HD is a great device. I'm not usually a fan of touchscreen devices, but I got on surprisingly well with the Touch HD because of the screen's favorable size. There were still times when I accidentally hit one of the touch sensitive keys when trying to tap items at the bottom of the screen, and times when the device didn't respond as desired, but overall it was pretty easy to live with.
It's a shame that the Touch HD's camera didn't have a flash, as it otherwise asserts itself as a very capable multimedia device. I'd also have preferred a glass panel to cover the screen, rather than the soft plastic that is actually used. Aside from these minor imperfections there isn't much to complain about with the HTC Touch HD, and I'd say it's probably the best iPhone rival out there. In many ways it surpasses the iPhone's capabilities and is more business-friendly, although the iPhone's interface is slicker. Bearing this in mind, I give the HTC Touch HD a "Highly Recommended" rating.
You'll find a gallery of sample photos shot with the Touch HD's 5 megapixel camera on the following page.
Possible alternatives to the Touch HD: iPhone 3G, Samsung Omnia, Sony Ericsson Experia X1
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