Cell Phones News

Mobile phone combined with shave

2009-12-27T10:36:00.000-08:00

Can you imagine shaving your beard anywhere using your cellphone? How about this?

This weirdo Japanese cellphone comes with an electric razor built right in. Of course. Sure, getting little beard hairs in your phone probably isn't the smartest thing in the world, but if it means you'll never have a missed spot again, it might just be worth it.

Via dvice.com and japan.cnet.com.

Internet PC and Phone WiPC from BlueRadios

2009-10-21T11:32:00.000-07:00

WiPC™ has many descriptions such as: Smart Phone, Pocket PC, PDA, MID, wearable computer, media phone, and personal media viewer to name a few. WiPC has a broad market appeal in a variety of near-eye micro imaging applications traditionally reserved for military and industrial applications which are now affordable to consumers who choose BlueRadios Inc, award-winning enabling technology as the core for the WiPC, coupled with Kopin Golden-i microdisplays we reduced the size and weight of a 5 lb. SVGA laptop down to 3oz. so it fits in the palm of your hand. The unit is the size of a typical wireless cell handset. WiPC was first privately demonstrated at the 2009 Consumer Electronics (CES) and will be made public after the Intentional CTIA Wireless as a direct-to-consumer wearable PC system for content snacking.

From www.mywipc.com.

Nokia 8 Mpix N86 specs leaked

2009-02-17T01:24:00.000-08:00

A new Nokia flagman N86 has 8 Megapixel camera with autofocus, Xenon flash and, obviously, Carl Zeiss lens.

The design of N86 seems to be drawing its roots from both the N97 and the N85, so it’s a handset that looks fairly good.

Even more, the camera comes with a 3rd generation dual-LED flash, a mechanical shutter and the ability to record VGA videos at 30 fps.

The known specs and features of Nokia N86 include:

2.6 inch AMOLED non-touchscreen, scratch-resistant display with (only) 240 x 320 pixels

Symbian S60 3rd Edition, FP2
Quad bands GSM/EDGE connectivity (850/900/1800/1900 MHz)
Tri band HSDPA connectivity (850/1900/2100 MHz or 900/1900/2100 MHz)
GPS and A-GPS
Wi-Fi
3.5 mm headset jack
FM transmitter
TV out
8GB of internal memory
MicroSD card slot

Starting the second quarter of 2009, Nokia N86 should be available for sale, in at least two color versions: black and white. No pricing details for the moment, but we’ll unveil them as soon as they emerge.

Via thenokiablog.com, unwiredview.com, engadget.com.

A new really smart and extreme smartphone - i-mate 810-f

2009-02-12T10:59:00.000-08:00

Not just any old smartphone, the i-mate 810-F could walk into the toughest boozer in town, confident of emerging unscathed several hours later.

Yes, this is the tough guy of the smartphone world, built to US military standards and able to cope with pressure, heat, water, humidity and even extreme shock without a dip in performance. And just in case you happen to working in extreme climates, the handset is good for a chilly -10°C or a sweltering 60°C, the former quite useful in the current cold snap.

While that no doubt appeals if you happen to be planning a trip up Everest or a an adventure along the Amazon, the majority of us just want to know if it's any good for email and calls. And you know what? It just might be. A Windows Mobile 6.1 device with a 624Mhz PXA processor and high-speed HSDPA connectivity, it offers a full QWERTY keyboard, a 320 × 240 touch screen, 2.2GB of storage, a video-friendly 2 megapixel camera, GPS, Wi-Fi, a digital compass and Bluetooth. A specification every bit as solid as its casing.

And if it does happen to let you down, i-mate is offering a lifetime warranty, replacing the 810-F without a quibble. Look out for it in the coming weeks for an as-yet undisclosed price.

Via t3.com.

iPod Juice helps you repair your iPod/iPhone of change its battery

2008-09-21T00:08:00.000-07:00

I’ve just discovered a new supplier for the iPod-iPhone family that provides wonderful kits and demos about Apple IPod Repair, but also Apple Iphone Repair and finally replacement of your battery.

You can also use their no-obligation repair evaluation services, and then check if your beloved iPod-iPhone is possible to repair after a water damage, cracked screen, etc…

The batteries that iPodJuice put inside your iPod or iPhone are better than the original ones from Apple. So it is worth considering if your battery is out of order or not good enough to handle a full day of use.

Here is an example of the kind of videos iPod Juice provides to help customers change themselves the batteries of their Ipod, and also do a full Ipod Repair eventually.

You need to a flashplayer enabled browser to view this YouTube video

iPod juice provides as well other tools and devices useful for iPod/iPhone users, such as:

Solar-powered charger

iPod charger and backup battery

Automobile outlet charger

USB and firewire charging cable

USB Retractable charging cable

Repair kits to open your iPod/iPhone

In terms of warranty, the batteries are guaranteed for 10 years. In terms of shipping and delivery, iPod Juice is using USPS, UPS or FedEx.

Windows Mobile: Best Free Applications

2008-08-26T00:08:00.000-07:00

Despite the flurry of attention surrounding the iPhone and other new mobile phone platforms, Windows Mobile still has a widespread distribution and capacity for customization. Approaching its ninth birthday, Windows Mobile has a large selection of old and new software that helps enhance the user experience and make getting things done (and sometimes goofing off) all the easier. If you're rockin' a Windows Mobile handheld, check out our favorite programs, add-ons, and tweaks for getting the most out of your Windows Mobile device.

Synchronize and Back Up Your Windows Mobile Device

You can use a Windows Mobile device without syncing it to a computer, but most likely you don't want to. To make sure your home or work computer has the same data your handheld does, ensure you have the newest version Microsoft Active Sync. If you're a Mac user with a Windows Mobile device check out SyncMate.

As people come to depend more and more on their mobile devices to keep them connected to the outside world and manage their contacts, tasks, and calendars it is increasingly important to have a good backup system in place. As with any kind of backup system a multi-pronged approach is best.

Free utility PIM Backup helps you back up appointments, call logs, contacts, messages, speed dials, tasks, and specified folders and files. PIM Backup is very speedy even with a large number of entries to back up. The handiest aspect of PIM Backup is its ability to back up your data to removable media. The backup on the removable flash card in my phone has saved me on many an occasion from a vacation or business trip without my contacts and customizations.
If you have Outlook on your machine, you can easily sync and back up your contacts and so forth to Outlook through Active Sync. If you're not using Outlook as your primary personal information manager there are alternatives such as syncing your Windows Mobile device to Thunderbird.

For a robust remote backup solution, Dashwire is an excellent solution. Once installed on your Windows Mobile device, Dashwire backs up your photos, videos, text messages, ringtones, bookmarks, speed dials, contacts, and call logs. Everything is accessible from the Dashwire web site and you can easily restore it to the phone.

Calendars, Contacts, and Task Lists Oh My!

We've covered how to sync and back up all those appointments and contacts, but what about displaying and working with them on the phone? Window Mobile's implementation of many basic features like displaying tasks leaves a bit to be desired.

If you practice the Getting Things Done personal productivity system, you might have found that Windows Mobile doesn't handle things like contexts and projects well out of the box. Smarter Tasks is a no nonsense task manager that was designed from the ground up to be Windows Mobile GTD task management system.

If you're not looking to contextualize your task list with GTD, but you do want to soup up Windows Mobile's lackluster default task list display, take a look at TaskPlus. TaskPlus is a today-screen plug-in that reorders the standard task interface into a more manageable and efficient one—complete with streamlined task, appointment, and important event reminders.

Replace Internet Explorer

For casual browsing, the scaled-down version of Internet Explorer that ships with Windows Mobile is sufficient. If you plan on doing anything longer than the occasional aimless surfing in a waiting room, however, you're going to want to replace Internet Explorer with a more robust browser. Opera Mobile 9.5 beta, pictured here, is packed with features missing from IE, like full-screen zoomed browsing and a smooth transition between the full-screen, desktop-emulating view and the smaller-scaled mobile view. Another worthwhile—though spartan—alternative to Internet Explorer is The Iris Browser. Sporting the zoom and tap functionality found in Opera Mobile, it has a built-in screen capture tool and a virtual mouse system for handling web pages that require a more desktop-like interaction to use.

Remote Connect To Your Desktop And Phone

One of my absolute favorite Windows Mobile applications is MyMobiler. Once you've installed it on your computer and phone, MyMobiler allows you to remotely control the phone through the Active Sync connection. MyMobiler is the answer every time you wish you could hook up a full-size keyboard and mouse to your Windows Mobile device to power through some software installations or heavy setting tweaking. In addition to remote control, MyMobiler also has remote screen capture and video casting.

Working in the opposite direction, Mobile Remote Desktop allows you to control your computer from your Windows Mobile device. While not quite as fluid of an experience as controlling a tiny screen with limited input via a big screen with more input it's still a great way to connect into your desktop from as far (a speeding train?) or near (the bathroom down the hall?) as you want to.

Tweak The Interface

Not everyone is a fan of the standard Today Screen interface that ships with Windows Mobile. Polish things up up a bit for a new look.

If you find yourself wishing that the Windows Mobile interface was more like its big brother Windows, we've got you covered. Check out this tutorial to tweak your mobile device into a more desktop like appearance.

If you're not looking to recreate the Windows experience at all, but to make the interface more simple and fingertip friendly, skin your mobile device with Pointui. Pointui radically increases the size of the icons you use to access functions on the phone and consequently lets you ditch using the tip of your fingernail to navigate and get down to some good old fashioned finger mashing.

Finally, if you have a Windows Mobile phone but visions of the iPhone keep you up at night, check out our tutorial on turning your Windows Mobile phone into a psuedo-iPhone. While some people might scoff at the idea of trying to turn a Windows Mobile phone into an iPhone, there are features on the iPhone worth emulating that make using a mobile device easier and more pleasant.

Fun And Games

All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. While you might look your spouse or account manager straight in the eye and tell them that the reason you need a computer in your pocket is productivity, we know you're already thinking about what fun things you can do with it. The built-in media functionality in Windows Mobile is at best, lacking. Fortunately, The Core Pocket Media Player fills the gap in Windows Mobile playback ability. Although the project is no longer under development, it is still widely used and loved by mobile users.

What good is a mobile media player without something to watch? Fill up a flash card with media goodness courtesy of Adam's excellent tutorial on prepping DVDs for portable devices.

Customizing Windows Mobile is my favorite part of using a WM phone. What customizations have you made to your phone you can't live without? Share in the comments below.

Via lifehacker.com.

Reuters: iPhones coming to Russia soon for 990$ each

2008-08-24T22:39:00.000-07:00

The news are promising and frustrating at the same time. According to Reuters Mobile TeleSystems a largets russian mobile operator signed a contract with Apple about iPhones.

Official sales of the iPhone are likely to start in October, with a deal having been reached between Apple and Mobile TeleSystems, Russia's largest carrier, according to the Reuters news agency, citing market sources. A second, carrier has also signed a framework agreement, and a third deal is in the offing, Reuters reported.

It is known that 600,000 illegal iPhones already has come to Russia and are used by Russian geeks. But still the need is very high, that's why Apple anticipates about 3,5 million iPhone sales in the first year. The price will be very high: 990$ for an iPhone compared to 399$ as it is in the US.

Via iphono.blogspot.com.

What do you prefer: iPhone or Android?

2008-08-23T10:41:00.000-07:00

Hey, Google is promoting their new mobile platform - Android.

Apple is coming out with their new chaper and greater iPhone 3G.

Many features, greate design and big companies are fighting each other to get the market.

A new article at iPhono called "Android vs. iPhone" will help you comparing these new devices and make your choice.

The 20 Great iPhone and iPod touch Applications

2008-08-23T07:41:00.000-07:00

Apps that Cover Rumored 1.1.3 Features

In case you haven't seen it, here's a video highlighting the upcoming features in the 1.1.3 firmware release.

First let's tackle the hot apps of the moment—those apps that can already bring you the features rumored to be in the 1.1.3 update. The major new features appear to be the faux-GPS in Google Maps, multi-recipient SMS, and re-ordering apps on the home screen. Two of the apps above have been covering those features for quite some time (Navizon for GPS and Customize for re-ordering apps), and the third, iSMS for multi-recipient SMS, is a bit newer, but in addition to multi-recipient SMS, it offers quick-reply templates, emoticons, and a much more robust SMS management system. It does not currently offer MMS messaging, though there is an iPhone app (called SwirlyMMS) that is attempting the MMS road, though it's still a bit bumpy. MMS messages can be sent (though it requires a bit of setup), but so far not received.

The only major new feature that's been discovered in the 1.1.3 update that isn't easily available through Installer is the new web clip feature that allows the user to bookmark a web page directly on the home screen. There are hacks around that accomplish this, but they're not the kind of no-brainer installations as the above three apps. The WebSearch app described below, however, is arguably a good deal more useful for what I need than the web clips, so I can happily do without for the time being.

Now that I've covered the 1.1.3 features (I'll include these apps in the sections below by category as well), lets move on to my 20 favorite iPhone apps.

Communication

Below we've got a more robust SMS client, a multi-protocol IM app, and a simple utility that adds push email capabilities to IMAP accounts—including Gmail.

Multimedia

The multimedia list is a big one, so I'll just highlight a few. You've got a Last.fm client and scrobbler for your iPod, a feature-rich camera app, and a real-time lyrics app that automagically sucks lyrics for your music from the cloud.

Productivity

One of my favorites, the WebSearch app adds one-click search to any site, while Sketches is a great whiteboard tool and drawing pad.

Utilities

There are obviously quite a few great iPhone utilities, so to highlight just a few: OpenSSH is what I used to tether my iPhone data plan to my laptop; DropCopy is great for sharing files between your phone or iPod and your desktop; Installer, obviously, is the app that makes all of this third-party app business so easy; Navizon does the faux-GPS for Google Maps; and Customize covers app re-ordering and just about any other customization you'd want to make to your little iPod or iPhone.

Games

There are actually tons of games available on the iPhone at this point, but these three stand out as favorites because of their impressive use of the iPhone's animation engine or for just being plain addictive.

Gallery Name

Honorable Mention

For honorable mention purposes (I realize I already fudged a bit with 21 above), I wanted to point out FireflyMediaServer, an app that streams your iPod library to any iTunes library on a local network as a shared library (and which we showed you how to set up here). Dictionary is what it sounds like, a dictionary application that can search tons of installable dictionary databases (also available in Installer). Finally, for the students out there, iStudy is a simple flashcard app that also features downloadable content from Installer.

The obvious argument remains, though, that the 1.1.3 update provides a much better integration of the features listed in the 1.1.3, and that's valid. Keep in mind, though, that you also sacrifice the wealth of great third-party apps, like push email for your IMAP account, when you upgrade to 1.1.3 before the jailbreak is a reality. That said, kudos to Apple for continuing to innovate the iPhone and iTouch, and I think we're all eager to find out what kind of system they're planning to work out once the SDK is official in February (as well as what other announcements regarding these two devices might pop up at MacWorld).

Got a favorite iPhone or iPod touch app I missed? Let's hear it in the comments.

Via lifehacker.com.

First impression og 3G iPhone

2008-07-21T10:42:00.000-07:00

USA Today’s tech journalist Ed Baig (one of three journalists Steve Jobs picked by hand for the first time Apple iPhone 3G) and the circular-Good Guy and I have a Usually meetings around dates iPhone. Last year, I saw an event shortly after he received the first iPhone. He was kind enough to me spend 10 minutes with him. This year I am still in him, and that our own 3G services still happen, I shook him mainly on the head, until the new phone fell from his pocket.

Okay, that’s an exaggeration. Baig did hand it over after some gently nudging.

Head-on, the iPhone 3G is exactly the same as the old iPhone. I realized, which are more integrated headphone socket and chromium-captain was still a little for the face seems more (if both phones are the same height and width) The great (and for some, I think that this is really great) Is the difference. This makes it much more verneigte black plastic, the phone is a little thicker than the iPhone 1.0 and should significantly improve the quality, feels remarkably different from the first iPhone ’s polished aluminum.

The room Ed and I were in was busy and warm, and I noticed that my slightly sweaty palms made the phone back feel sort of sweaty too. It also made it sit more securely in my hand. Still, with the two phones side-by-side, I noticed that the aluminum back on the first iPhone still felt silky smooth in my other hand.

A minor point, I’m sure. On the other hand, the iPhone’s cherished sexiness may have taken a bit of a hit. This iPhone feels a bit more like other phones you might hold and, with that slightly sticky feel on sweaty hands, reminds you that you’re just some guy holding a new Apple iPhone 3G in an over-crowded room.

Via hot-gadget.info.

Sensation! - Wooden Mobile Phone

2008-05-22T14:08:00.000-07:00

One Russian man builds new cases for mobile phones from apple tree
wood. He fully disassembles the new devices and carve a piece-of-art
wooden cases for them, each small part gets its own wooden case - the
antenna, the sim-card, the battery.

A battery is hidden inside a wooden bar...

A sim-card comes in the smaller bar...

And antenna is also…wooden.

Via fast-world.com.

iPhone 3G Photos Are Fake, Fake, FAKE

2008-05-03T10:27:00.001-07:00

Some frogsters* with no track record are claiming that this piece of scratched plastic—which in the photo looks like a cheapo LG cellphone clone wannabe—is the new iPhone 3G. Although it matches the rumored all-black and specs, we don't believe it's the real thing. The reason: these photos have been up since 12:04AM Central European Time and it's now 4:04PM. That's 16 hours up with no Cease and Desist order—and Apple Europe is as aggressive with leaks as Cupertino. In any case, check its back and tell us what you think after the jump.

Whatever it is, the back looks as bad as the front (including the deformed Apple logo), at least in these photos. We have a hard time imagining that anything like this could come out of Monssieur Jonathan Ive's brain. Or better said, we have a hard time envisioning us buying what looks like a soulless piece of machinery, even while the true soul of the iPhone is its operating system.

We will see if we get a cease and desist email—now that Cupertino is waking up—but for now, remember our first rule of rumors: never, ever trust them. [iPhon—Thanks Jean Paul]

* Yes, frogsters. You see, this is completely unrelated to the fake iPhone, but I'm in Madrid, Spain, and today is the 200th Anniversary of the uprising against the French occupational forces in Madrid, which started the revolution that kicked Napoleonic troops out of the country. So today it's frogsters, or the Spanish equivalent, gabachos. (And for the record, I love France.)

Via Gizmodo | digg story.

Nokia Internet Tablets get Ubuntu and Qt

2008-04-24T21:40:00.000-07:00

The open source Maemo platform, which is used on Nokia's Internet Tablet devices, will soon support Trolltech's Qt development toolkit. Nokia says that the GTK-based Hildon framework will continue to be used as the primary toolkit for Maemo's user interface and core applications, but the Qt libraries will be distributed with Maemo so that third-party Qt developers can bring their applications to the platform.

Nokia is currently in the process of acquiring Trolltech and has some ambitious plans to bring Qt support to a multitude of mobile platforms. Nokia is particularly eager to enable development of applications that can target both Maemo and S60, a proprietary operating system used on Nokia phones.

We talked to Nokia development platform product manager Quim Gil who provided us with more details about this new addition to Maemo. "We want to explore cross-platform possibilities between S60 and maemo and we also want to check the interest in the developer community for Qt in the tablets. GTK+ and Qt coexist in the Linux desktop, let's try the mix in maemo. This is also a way to attract more attention from the KDE community, a sensible move especially if the Trolltech acquisition gets completed," Gim told us in an e-mail.

Nokia is also actively sponsoring an Ubuntu ARM port that will bring the popular Linux distribution to Nokia's Internet Tablet devices. The ARM Ubuntu builds, which are being developed by Ubuntu's Handheld Mojo team, can be tested in QEMU or run from an SD card in an actual Internet Tablet device.

Via arstechnica.com.

Visual Search Engine Coming to iPhone in June

2008-04-19T10:59:00.000-07:00

Evolution Robotics ViPR visual search technology is coming to the iPhone this June. ViPR allows you to take a photo of any movie, CD or book, send it to a server, and automagically get an email back loaded with information and links pointing to YouTube videos or iTunes Music Store links. It will also be deployed in Japan on KDDI's au camera phones this Spring. As you will see in the iPhone demo after the jump, it works incredibly well, even when the object is partially occluded:

It seems like the perfect software for the laziest people in the world, but it's one of those "oh wow" things that will make everyone smile when using it.

Breakthrough Visual Search Engine for Mobile Phones Takes Off Big in Japan

Pasadena, CA & Tokyo, Japan - April 17, 2008 - Evolution Robotics Inc., a leading robotics technology company, in partnership with Bandai Networks Co. Ltd, Japan's leading mobile content provider, announced today that KDDI Corporation is including the "ER Search" visual search engine on its new Spring 2008 "au™" line of camera phones, and has made it available for download for any KDDI customer with a prior "au" camera phone. This launch marks a dramatic expansion in the market for mobile visual search, which will enable millions of consumers in Japan alone to do online searches by taking pictures of everyday objects with their camera phone.

The deployment of this technology in the mass market also opens up an entirely new range of categories of services for mobile marketing, which is already projected to grow to $24 Billion worldwide by 2013. (Source: ABI Research)

ER Search is a mobile search engine operated by Bandai Networks and powered by Evolution Robotics' ViPR visual pattern recognition system. It works essentially like using a traditional search engine, but without having to type any text or go through complicated menus. Instead, users simply snap a picture of something they're interested in and immediately get back relevant content, all in the palm of the hands.

As an example, KDDI customers will be able to take a picture of a music CD that would return links relating to the artist, hear clips from the album and purchase songs to download on their phone. If they are shopping for wine in a store, they can take a picture of the wine label and get expert reviews and recommendations on the spot. Or, if they are browsing through a catalog and see an item they'd like to buy, they can order it immediately by snapping a picture of the item on the page.

"ER Search is an entirely new way for connecting consumers with content and companies," said Satoshi Oshita, CEO of Bandai Networks. "Because ER Search runs on mobile phones, searches happen when and where the customer is, as soon as they see something that they're interested in. Additionally, the fact that a customer simply has to click a picture of a product or advertisement, makes the search process far easier and immediate than anything that has been available before."

"We are very pleased to be working with Bandai Networks and are excited to see the momentum building in the Japanese market," said Paolo Pirjanian, President and CEO of Evolution Robotics. "Our mission is to take aerospace-grade technologies and make them affordable for mass market applications, and ER Search is a great example. We see this as just the start of a growing market for visual search in Asia and other parts of the globe and are actively working with our partners to expand the range of services that can benefit consumers and companies alike."

Bandai Networks had already deployed ER Search on over one million phones in Japan in 2007. With this deployment with KDDI, the number of users with access to ER Search will expand by millions more in a very short time, making it even more compelling for companies and advertisers to participate in the service.

About ViPR

The ViPR technology easily supports user-generated content so that users can take new pictures of objects, images, videos or even locations and tag them with links and content to expand the database. That content will then show up in the results returned to other users who take similar pictures, thus creating a robust world-wide visual database for communities to develop and access. (A video demonstration of Evolution Robotics' visual search technology running on Apple's iPhone can be seen at: http://www.youtube.com/user/EvolutionRobotics)

ER Search's versatility rests in Evolution Robotics' breakthrough ViPR visual recognition technology. ViPR is able to learn new objects and images on the fly (such as the cover art on a music CD), without the need for any special encoding such as barcodes or watermarks. Just as significant, ViPR performs well on low cost components such as the cameras used on most mobile phones today, even when lighting and other visual conditions are poor.

For the music search application alone, Bandai Networks has over 150,000 music CD covers already indexed in their database. Other mobile marketing and mobile commerce applications include providing content and links for print ads, book covers, DVDs, product packaging, movie posters, retail displays, business signs, etc. Even animation, streaming video or images from live TV can be supported.

Nike+ going WiFi and 3G, headed to iPhone

2008-04-14T10:44:00.000-07:00

Stuff.tv is kicking back in Nike's HQ at the moment and claims to have official word about Nike's future plans with Apple. They say that the Nike+ system will "definitely" extend beyond the iPod nano to support the relatively bulky iPhone and iPod touch. Interestingly, it will leap-frog the proprietary RF link between the shoe module and nano adapter to take advantage of WiFi and eventually 3G. This of course leads to all kinds of speculation with regard to Apple's "lifestyle companion" patent we showed you last month. 3G support would presumably allow for real-time coaching and uploads of your training activity through the Nike Plus website. So let's see... cellphone (check), iPod (check), Internet device (check), handheld gaming (almost), and now a Nike lifestyle companion (could be).

Via engadget.com.

Pwnage iPhone Unlocking and Hacking Tool Now Available, Works Great

2008-04-03T12:09:00.000-07:00

After some delays, the iPhone Pwnage tool—which is used to flash your iPhone with hacked firmware that will allow you to run any application, use it unlocked in any compatible cellphone network, and basically do whatever you want do to with it, is now available for download. I have been testing this and previous versions for a few weeks now and it works well, but you will need a 2.0 version of the iPhone firmware to try the latest and greatest.

Pwnage is extremely simple to use. First you have to back up your iPhone data using iTunes.

Then, connect the iPhone, select the firmware from your hard drive and iPwn the iPhone. Pwnage will upload the new firmware to the iPhone and that's that: the tool will take care of everything and, in a few minutes, your iPhone will be ready to go.

I tried this with the latest modified version of iPhone firmware update 1.2.0 and it works as good as with the previous version. So go ahead, punks, and make Steve's day.

Note: if by any chance you come across a pwned version of the latest 2.0 firmware, my advice is not to use this version, as this Apple beta is not as stable as I wish. Instead, use the previous beta, which worked perfectly.

Via gizmodo.com.

Latest iPhone 2.0 Firmware Unlocked Again in 24 Hours

2008-03-30T02:23:00.000-07:00

The iPhone Dev Team has demonstrated that Apple will probably have a very difficult time patching the iPhone to thwart their efforts: not even 24 hours after the release of the latest update for the iPhone firmware 1.2.0 (or 2.0, as The Steve calls it,) they sent us this picture showing that they have pwned it again, getting it to work completely unlocked, and run all applications. As they told us: "Apple will not really be able to patch it this time." Check the new Contacts application, which was in the Touch and seems to have been revealed in this latest revision. More pictures after the jump.

How to Trick Your iPhone Into Activation-Hot News iPhone Hack

2008-03-29T09:10:00.000-07:00

I DID IT. Were you like me and STUCK with your phone not being activated. Here is the trick into getting your phone activated IMMEDIATELY. Follow these steps EXACTLY:

Notice you WILL NOT KEEP YOUR NUMBER! DON'T DO THIS IF YOU WANT YOUR # STILL
1. Call up AT&T: 1-877-800-3701
2. Tell them to CANCLE your phone number migration. Tell them you want a new number.
3. Once they do this you will receive an email in minutes telling you your activation was cancelled.
4. Reactivate.
5. Your iRock turns into an iPhone!

Just to prove it is true. My activated phone. Be jealous!

Via blog.noahgift.com.

New Google Mobile feature lets you search without typing

2008-03-24T11:55:00.000-07:00

Google added a new entry into their robots.txt file — one way you can keep tabs on what Google doesn’t want to see. The new entry that forbids crawlers from seeing http://www.google.com/m/lcb made me naturally curious.

The new feature, that from what I can tell is new, lets you browse through categories of businesses without you having to type a word on your mobile device. For the life of me, I can’t figure out what “lcb” means, but everything is broken down into categories — there is even one for “Googleplex”. Strange, and pretty useless if you don’t live in Mountain View California.

The feature works pretty well, but it would be even better if it could somehow figure out your exact location rather than simply the city. This way it could browse real businesses that are close to you rather than everything in the entire city. Maybe if you pass in some weird parameters with latitude and longitude it will do exactly that, but I can’t confirm that at the moment.

Since this feature probably isn’t “finished” yet, I’ll leave most judgment out of this article, but it is promising.

Via zdnet.com>.

iPhone 2.0, iPhone 3.0 or iPhone Nano - a clamshell/flip phone?

2008-03-17T12:06:00.000-07:00

When talking about how Apple is gonna take over mobile phone industry, one of the things that is very rarely talked about, is iPhone form factor.

There’s a reason we have mobile phones in tens of shapes and sizes, and a number of form factors. Some people prefer to have a clamshell or slider in their pocket.

And iPhone is just one pretty wide candybar, the phone factor that can appeal to many, but may not be suitable to even more.

So can Apple come up with something as appealing as iPhone, in another form factor, e.g. - clamshell.

Yes. It does:

The drawings above, are Photoshop renderings, based on a device described in a recent Apple’s patent application, called “Dual sided trackpad“.

It shows that Apple may indeed be working on a clamshell iPhone device. But with a twist.

iPhone 2.0 clamshell patent

The main idea with this device is to separate capacitive touch sensor array and the phone display into two separate units. Then put the touch sensor array on a translucent (transparent) panel, make this panel touch sensitive on both sides - top and bottom and connect them with a hinge.

That’s it. You’ve got you flip iPhone.

When device is closed, transparent touch sensitive panel is covering the whole display area and you’ve got your ordinary full multi-touchscreen iPhone.

When you flip iPhone open, you have a normal phone display and another side of the trackpad becomes multi-touch-active. Through it you control the phone:

If you want to dial a number, you can just draw it on a trackpad.

Or the rotational dial may appear on display, and you rotate it by sliding finger on a track pad.

In the open mode, the transparent trackpad can easily be made to display the standard T9 keypad and other symbols. That can be accomplished by making polarized number and symbol markings that can only be seen when the trackpad is open. Or they can be implemented as tiny LED’s.

When needed, you can keep both sides of the cover/trackpad touch-active at the same time. Thus having “six degrees of freedom” for control, and enabling 3D gestures on the device. Standard multi-touch gestures along “XY” axis on one side of trackpad, adding “Z” axis for the touch events on the other.

This dual sided trackpad approach can be applied to media player functionality as well. When media player mode is selected and cover is closed, it works just like iPod Touch does - media controls on the screen and you control it via touch/gestures.

Flip it open, and another side of the trackpad acts as a scroll wheel on a standard iPod and more.

So what’s the point of all these shenanigans?

Well, for one, you can make the overall device much smaller, when closed. It will be much more convenient to carry around and will fit well in your pocket.

And it’s also about this clamshell form factor thing. I know quite a few people that won’t even consider any other form of device for a mobile phone.

Also notice how all the pictures in here are pretty similar in shape to the latest generation of iPod Nano?

Well, this might be yet another way Apple may take to create iPhone Nano device.

And a stand alone iPod Nano may also benefit from such setup. Same size, with two times bigger display. iPod Touch Nano or iPod Nano Touch, anyone?

iTablet, Macbook with dual sided trackpads too? Why not

While dual sided trackpad on a new phones is interesting, Apple sees much wider applications for the whole idea.

One of them is Apple Tablet.

Just take the standard laptop form factor, put all the electronics behind the display panel, and make all the bottom part into a transparent dual sided trackpad. And you’ve got yourself an iTab:

In a closed position, it becomes a standard slate tablet computer, with a multi-touch touchscreen.

Open it to up-to 160 degree angle, and it becomes a normal laptop computer. The bottom side becomes the control device, with multi-touch trackpad and/or keyboard functions. Add polarized light symbols and/or that multi-touch keyboard technologies, that Apple has been developing for a while now, and overall experience might be richer then on today’s Macbook.

Then, if the tablet is open form more then 160 degrees, sharing mode can be enabled. The picture on display rotates 180 degrees, towards the person(s) you are making the presentation for, and you control the process via trackpad on your side. Or split screen mode can be enabled, so both you and the presentee see the same picture.

And, of course, the same dual sided transparent trackpad technology can be applied to your standard Macbook computer. Why? Think Sideshow, just simpler to make and use, cheaper and more capable.

When your computer is open, it’s just another multi-touch trackpad. Close it, and the trackpad becomes a small external display (just like Vista Sideshow), with full multi-touch capabilities.

You can check your e-mails, control iTunes music player, receive weather alerts and quite a few other things.

And, as patent application says, when OLED displays become mainstream, they will allow only a small part of the display that is visible through the trackpad to be active.

Now think about wide trackpads that are on Macbook Pro’s already. Make the dual sided transparent trackpads a little bigger in size - something like current iPod Touch. Think about laptop battery. Touchscreen. MacbookAir…

Currently both your iPod and Macbook gives you several hours of music, video playback and net browsing on one charge.

But put a dual-sided transparent trackpad on a Macbook Air, and you got yourself an ultimate travel device. Thin, light and, with only part of the OLED display beneath trackpad active, it can work for days, when needed, on one charge.

And in case you are wondering how far these drawings are from the real product, take a look at this picture:

The drawing on the right is the picture from the original iPhone patent, which was filed on March 03, 2006. The “Dual sided trackpad” patent was filed on Sept. 06 that same year.

So, while no promises here, and there are quite a few Apple’s patents that never became something more, we also might be in for some interesting surprises this sumer/fall.

You can download full patent application here (1.8MB *.pdf).

iPhone Getting Multitouch Games, Including Spore, Super Monkey Ball

2008-03-07T11:57:00.001-08:00

I've got good news and better news. The good news is that the iPhone is getting multitouch games that use the accelerometer and every bell and whistle of the iPhone for controls. The better news? Developers such as EA and Sega are on board. EA is bringing the insanely anticipated game Spore to it. All 18 levels. Yes, this is real, and it'll be released in September. Also, Sega is bringing Super Monkey Ball, and the App Store looks like it'll have a bunch of casual games available as well. Does this bring the iPhone up to DS and PSP levels? We'll have to see just how these games look and play, but it's pretty exciting stuff. UPDATE: iPhone Spore coming in September, says Kotaku.

Via gizmodo.com.

Pictures of new Nokia 4G concept prototypes

2008-03-02T09:28:00.000-08:00

Pictures of new Nokia fourth generation mobiles have surfaced from design studio Ideosyncrasy. The theme behind Nokia's prototypes is to have "...a different means of accessing and managing information through different peripherals..." Different is certainly the right term - these concept phones are as far removed from current mobile phones as you can get.

Via mobilementalism.com/.

Fly MC100 Mobile, designed for lovers of music and games

2008-02-22T00:12:00.000-08:00

The people of Fly presented its new model of mobile camera phone under the name of MC100, and say have focused exclusively on those music lovers, as it highlights their duties digital audio as well as games… since it has support for several models for the Nintendo platform.

The phone has a design-in-all pleasant and quite simple.

Here we list the characteristics of the Fly MC100 camera phone:

Dimensions: 111.4 x 50.2 x 15 mm

Weight: 106 grams

TFT LCD with a resolution of 240 x 320px and up 262 thousand colors

2MP digital camera with video recording

Audio Formats: MIDI, IMY, WAV, AMR, AAC, MP3

Video Formats: MP4, 3GP

FM radio tuner

Support for games (NES, JMS, Game Boy, Game Boy Color)

Bluetooth 1.2 with A2DP

23MB of Memory

MicroSD slot

Departure for headphones, 3.5 mm

Built-in speakers, designed by Yamaha

Li-Ion Battery 1050 mAh

Autonomy until 5 pm in use (not much), 330 hours standby

The location of the launch of Fly MC100 will be in Russia, with a price of 620 us dollars.

Rumor: iPhones, iPod to be $100 cheaper very soon?

2008-02-19T11:49:00.000-08:00

Are you one who’s been wanting that iPhone or iPod Touch but on a budget? You might be in luck within the next two months, there are rumors (of course) swirling that Apple is planning a $100 price drop across the board. That would make for a $300 16GB iPod Touch, or $400 for a 32GB Touch or 16GB iPhone.

Coupled with the pending SDK, that makes the iPhone almost appealing to even the most hardened anti-iPhone cynic. Even me.

$100 price drop on iPhones and iPods coming in the next two months [9-to-5 Mac]

PSP Phone reference spotted in Sony Magazine

2008-02-16T05:28:00.000-08:00

Now obviously, before proceeding here you're going to want to find the largest grain of salt you can locate and keep it nearby. According to SEfanatics, a page in an issue of Sony Magazine (an office favorite over here) makes passing mention of a "PSP-Style phone" which is supposedly in development, then casually suggests the device could be "in shops as early as February." Of course, we've been hearing hushed conversations about this topic for some time now, though it does strike us as slightly odd that it's referenced in what is essentially a multi-page Sony advertisement. Sure, it's possible that something like that patent we recently saw could be headed our way -- obviously the company is still capable of throwing a few curve-balls in our direction, though we're going to need to little more evidence than this to start cracking open our piggy banks.

[Thanks, Teemu]