IntoMobile - Cell Phone News, Information, and Analysis

GIPS unveils video chat technology for iPhone developers

Dusan Belic — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 11:14:37 +0000

Global IP Solutions aka GIPS, the company which we know for their VoIP solution for Android, unveiled a new video chat technology for iPhone developers. This very sentence prompts us to think – why would you need video conferencing on the iPhone when it lacks the front-facing camera? Does GIPS knows something we don’t about the iPhone 3GS’ successor? Or they talk about using the one and only photo/video taking camera for video conferencing? That would be strange.

Anyway, the product/solution is called GIPS VideoEngine Mobile and it allows iPhone developers to “rapidly integrate high quality real-time video chat or multi-point video conferencing into iPhone applications.” The press release doesn’t share tech details, hence you should visit GIPS’ website for additional information…

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Fonolo’s visual dialing menu gets an iPhone app

Dusan Belic — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 11:13:01 +0000

Fonolo, the company that makes software for less frustrating calls to large companies, released an iPhone app to remove the super-annoying “press 1 for this, press 2 for that” process. They say using their app for such things as changing a flight time or reaching an agent about a phone bill will no longer be a pain — instead of waiting for the recorded voice to stop speaking and then pressing/tapping a button, you’ll see a visual menu and access the required department faster.

Of course, the organization on its end should have Fonolo system installed for this to work, and unfortunately not many do. Hopefully that will change at some point in the future. In the meantime, “pressing 1 for that and then 2 for this” stays the way to go…

You should definitely have Fonolo app installed and hope the company on the other end of line is also Fonolo-enabled. AppStore link is here (it’s a free download).

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Video: Sony Ericsson Xperia X1 running Android

Dusan Belic — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 11:11:04 +0000

Who says Xperia X10 is the only Sony Ericsson (NYSE: SNE) handset that can run Android. The original WinMo device, Xperia X1, can handle Google (NSDQ: GOOG)’s mobile OS just as well. Ok, it’s not just as well, considering that X10 gets its power from Qualcomm (NSDQ: QCOM)’s super-fast Snapdragon CPU, but it does manage to start most of the apps.

Anyway, here’s a video of Android 2.0.1 running on top of Windows Mobile on the Xperia X1. All I can add is my praise to a hacker behind this.

[Via: PocketGamer.co.uk]

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Frank Miller GelaSkins iPhone cases are made for Sin City, 300 fans

Dusan Belic — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 11:10:21 +0000

Frank Miller, the guy behind Sin City and 300 comics, has teamed up with GelaSkins to release some great looking iPhone/iPod Touch cases and laptop skins. As you can see from the image above, these are made for fans of Miller’s work, who I’ve no doubts will pour out $14.95 without blinking for a second. Moreover, the fans may also opt to do the same with their laptop – in that case, they’ll have to pay $29.95, which is not too much for the “look I like Frank Miller official fan” feeling.

[Via: Gizmodo]

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India’s BSNL plans to cover 400 cities with its 3G network by April, 760 cities by September

Dusan Belic — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 11:08:42 +0000

While other carriers in the country are waiting for the India’s 3G auction to finally begin, one of the state-owned operators, BSNL, announced that it has covered 318 cities with its 3G network. Moreover, they said they are on target to reach 400 cities by the end of March, and eventually all 760 major cities by September.

As a reminder, BSNL launched its network in Chennai last February and now has a presence in all zones except the Western Zone. So far, 856,000 subscribers have signed up to use the new network.

[Via: CellularNews]

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It’s Poppin’ Fresh: LG Pop Arrives on Rogers

James Falconer — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 09:17:31 +0000

One of the new touchscreen devices slated for release on Rogers (NYSE: RCI) has arrived. The LG Pop is now available on big red, and is available starting at $19.99 on a 3-year contract. The LG Pop (GD510) is somewhat small in size when it comes to touchscreen devices these days. The overall dimensions are roughly 9.5cm by 5cm by 1cm… and it packs a 3″ WQVGA 240×400 display. You’ll also find a 3MP camera with 2x zoom and video, microSD expansion to 16GB, Bluetooth and more.

If the 3-year contract doesn’t tickle your fancy you can also pick the Pop up for $69.99 on a 2-year, $134.99 on a 1-year or contract-free for $174.99.

Should be interesting to see when other touchscreen devices like the Sony XPERIA X10, Samsung CorbyPRO and LG KM555 arrive on Rogers. Any bets?

All the details are over at Rogers.

[Via: MobileSyrup]

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#iBaconLove Twitter Contest Shamelessly Promotes iBacon App (and I Love it!)

James Falconer — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 08:25:35 +0000

Chalk this one up as weird or useless if you want… But for me, anything that involves bacon by default has to be awesome. The folks at G-Monkey Productions have recently announced their #iBaconLove Twitter contest. The contest shamelessly promotes their iBacon app, an app so jam-packed full of crispy bacon goodness you’ll go crazy. In iBacon you can pinch and flip bacon in the pan, drain off grease, shake the bacon and more. When you’re ready to take the bacon off the skillet, hit the ‘eat bacon’ button and enjoy your hard work.

Getting back to the contest… How does it all work? Simply hit up this link and hit ‘update’ (providing you’re logged into your Twitter account) to send out the #iBaconLove tweet. You’re allowed one entry per day, and a winner will be announced on Valentine’s Day at 6PM mountain time. That’s all there is to it!

For more information on iBacon, hit it up in the App Store (iTunes link). To purchase, you’ll need to spend $0.99.

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The Missing Sync for BlackBerry (Mac Edition) Updated with OS 5.0 Support

James Falconer — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 08:05:29 +0000

Received news just a little while ago that Mark/Space’s Mac version of ‘The Missing Sync’ for BlackBerry (NSDQ: RIMM) is now compatible with BlackBerry devices running OS 5.0 or later. This is pretty good news for those running newer Berry devices, including the Storm2 and Bold 9700.

The Missing Sync makes it possible to sync your contacts, calendars, media files, notes (and much more) wirelessly and automatically. Simply place your BlackBerry down near your Mac, and BAM, a sync happens. Talk about easy.

This latest version is a free update for existing customers. For more information or to purchase The Missing Sync for BlackBerry Mac Edition for $39.95, hit up Mark/Space.

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Rumour: HTC Scorpion/Olympian is a 1.5 GHz ARM Cortex powered Android 2.2 device w/ WiMAX?

Stefan Constantinescu — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 02:47:05 +0000

Someone anonymously sent Android Spin information about an upcoming HTC device that wasn’t mentioned in the infamous roadmap leak of December 2009. If their information is to be believed, then HTC will come out with a device called either the Scorpion or the Olympian, that it will be powered by an ARM Cortex based 1.5 GHz processor, and that it runs Android 2.2.

The weird part out of all of this is that this mysterious device is supposed to include WiMAX. The amount of people using WiMAX devices right now is so small, so insignificant, couple that with an entire industry is moving to LTE, and I’m simply left confused. But hey, it’s a rumor.

Qualcomm has confirmed that they’re working on 1.5 GHz Snapdragon processors, Google (NSDQ: GOOG) is obviously working on a new version of Android, HTC is one of Google’s best partners, so we’re definitely going to see something turn up in the future that matches this rumour. Whether or not it lives up to the expectations you’ve set for yourself, or has the same model name that we’ve seen today, is a whole other story.

[Via: Engadget]

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New Met Office iPhone App handy for those in the UK

Ben Robinson — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 01:21:42 +0000

So those helpful people at the Met Office (weather forecasting, for our non-UK readers) have delivered an App for the iPhone that lets you check out the weather in lots of lovely detail. Well actually, the work was outsourced to a mobile developer, but that’s fine – because all the content is there, and that’s what we need to see!

In this case the content is weather data, including:

5-day weather forecasts
National severe weather alerts
Daily national and regional weather maps
UK rainfall radar and satellite imagery
Save and access your favourite locations

The best part, I suppose, is that the App is free – not always a good indicator of quality, but I think in this case it should be pretty reasonable.

Met Office Weather Application / £free [iTunes link]

[Via: TechDigest]

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PureDepth acquires patent for Multi-Layer 3D OLED displays

Ben Robinson — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 01:07:31 +0000

According to my buddy Ron over at 3d-display-info.com, PureDepth have announced that they have acquired a patent for Multi-Layer 3D OLED displays. PureDepth Multi-Layer-Displays (MLD) use two or more displays that are placed one in front of the other to create 3D effects. These 3D displays do not require glasses and provide real depth!

One of the markets the PureDepth are targeting are mobile devices, and OLEDs are becoming more and more popular in that market. Up until now PureDepth had only LCD related patents, but now they can work on 3D OLEDs, too – which is a pretty sweet bit of news!

If these guys can make 3D work (properly) on a mobile device, you are looking at the next generation of screen technology I reckon – time will tell, of course. You can check out more about PureDepth here.

[Via: 3d-display-info.com]

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O2 delivers dynamic Priority ads through Shazam iPhone app

Ben Robinson — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 00:58:20 +0000

O2 has announced an exclusive sponsorship deal with Shazam which will allow it to deliver highly targeted ads for its Priority Tickets service to Shazam users. Customers will be served relevant ads for O2 (NYSE: TEF) Priority pre-sales based on the music they have tagged through Shazam’s iPhone application. The dynamic ads will be delivered using 4th Screen Advertising’s ad serving platform, Mpression.

In case you were wondering what O2 Priority Tickets is, its a unique offer for O2 customers which gives them the ability to purchase tickets for gigs at The O2 and O2 Academy venues up to 48 hours before they go on general sale. O2’s sponsorship of Shazam’s iPhone app means that customers will only see adverts for pre-sales which they might be interested in based on the artists or tracks they have tagged using Shazam. For example, if a Cheryl Cole pop song is identified and she’s performing at The O2 or one of the O2 Academy venues, the ad will promote the gig.

These relevant and contextual ads will be delivered using a variety of formats including standard banners and integrated links. Shazam’s iPhone app is free to download via the App Store.

It all seems fairly reasonable, and I think could be quite potentially, as long as the targeting is accurate, and not too intrusive.

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Google Nexus One turns up on Play.com for £599

Ben Robinson — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 00:48:18 +0000

Wowzer! The Android-powered Google (NSDQ: GOOG) Nexus One rocks in to an online shop in the UK, packing serious heat in the pricing department! Play.com, a popular online retailer for music, DVDs, and more recently mobile technology, has a listing for the Google Nexus One – and it’s on there for a hefty £599!

Apparently it’s going to be available from 16th February, which is great – my only issue is the pricing differential. If you work back the currency exchange rate for buying one direct, you’d be coming in at under £400 for sure – which means there is a £200 premium? A bit harsh, if that’s right.

Anyhow, if you want one of these badboys, then you have options – and widely varying prices to boot! Check out the play.com listing here, and the main Google pages for the Nexus One here.

[Via: TechDigest]

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Adapt to launch a 100 lumens DVB-T micro projector next month

Ben Robinson — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 00:38:10 +0000

Wow. Check out the rate of progress on the hardware accessories front – in this case Pico Projectors! Typically you might find connectivity between a mobile device and a pico-projector (be it iPhone, Android device, or other), but in this case, the device has its own DVB-T tuner!

The ADPP-450 Pro will have 800×600 resolution, can project images up to 150″, and will have a 200:1 contrast – nice! The LED based projector also has a built-in 4 Watt speaker and can accept A/V, VGA, USB and SD (not sure what file types are supported on the memory card and USB). It weights 390 grams. The battery is external.

Well it’s a cool box of tricks – if I can get my hands on one, I might even come back with a review on it!

[Via: picoprojector-info.com]

The ADPP-450 Pro will have 800×600 resolution, can project images up to 150″, and will have a 200:1 contrast – nice!

The LED based projector also has a built-in 4 Watt speaker and can accept A/V, VGA, USB and SD (not sure what file types are supported on the memory card and USB). It weights 390 grams. The battery is external.

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Telmap Partners with GyPSii for Location-Enabled Social Media Solution

Ben Robinson — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 00:22:09 +0000

GyPSii and Telmap have jointly announced today a partnership to develop and introduce advanced location-based social networking as part of Telmap’s Mobile Location Companion.

As part of the cooperation, Telmap will introduce social networking and user-generated content, to the Telmap5 Mobile Location Companion using GyPSii’s Open API, OpenExperience. Telmap5 will offer users access to all their networks of friends across social networks including Facebook and Twitter. The integration with GyPSii’s Open API empowers Telmap5 mobile users to access and contribute location-aware content, sharing locations, read and post recommendations, videos, pictures, find friends, events, and places, geo-blog, and more — all in one app!

“The Telmap-GyPSii enabled offering is fully supportive of people’s desire to explore their surroundings and interact with friends around them not only while at home, but also while on-the-go,” said Oren Nissim, Telmap CEO. “GyPSii and Telmap share a vision to offer operators the ultimate location companion they need in order to maintain their subscriber’s loyalty through an excellent solution and a superior user experience, and we are sure that this new cooperation will open up additional opportunities for operators to achieve just that.”

I’ve a feeling this won’t be the last location-related App that we see with social features – now GPS is common on devices, as are Apps generally, you can expect a melding/mashup of all sorts of data in the coming 12 months!

You can check out Telmap here and GyPSii here.

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Sygic Mobile Maps for iPhone gets free major update

Ben Robinson — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 00:07:29 +0000

Sygic Mobile Maps for iPhone has got a major update. It is bringing a whole UI reworking to its users free of charge – sweet! It is traffic-ready and the traffic info system will be gradually launched to the regions during this quarter. Additionally, it supports speed camera or road incident sharing between the app users and much more – such as:

Fresh new look and feel of the whole application
Natural scrolling through menus with no buttons needed
Pinch to zoom the map
Dynamic menu animation
Optimized music playback during navigation
iPhone-like keyboard
Contacts integration enhanced by means of utilizing 1400 common abbreviations for address segments across 24 languages
Policetraps community – share mobile and static speed cameras and get warnings updated in real-time. Sign up on policetraps.com or report anonymously. Tap the bottom part of the navigation screen to report speed cameras or incidents
Traffic info icon is already present in the main menu – it will be activated at the moment of launching the service, availability and launch time depends on region
Useful indicators – network signal, battery status, GPS signal strength icon and time – now present throughout the menu on top right panel
New instruction voices added
The address input within the country simplified by means of skipping the country name input field – the user can still decide to take the step back if he/she happens to be in different country compared to the last route
The app is ready for Google (NSDQ: GOOG) Local Search and Sygic is awaiting the green light from Google. The weather information feature is also ready and awaiting activation

Sounds good, doesn’t it? Well I know I’ll be checking it out in my Local iTunes store (the UK)!

Sygic Mobile Maps (UK & Ireland) / £29.99 (but update is free if you already have the App) [iTunes link]

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Hands-on review: Knomo Sleeve for iPhone 3G and 3GS

Ben Robinson — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 23:51:54 +0000

I am constantly on the lookout for the ultimate Apple (NSDQ: AAPL) iPhone case – I’ve seen and tried lots of pretenders to the throne, but I think finally I might be nearing the end of my mission. Why? Well, the Knomo Sleeve for iPhone 3G and 3GS (retailed by Mobilefun) is a pretty good effort!

Here’s the promo material:

This luxurious leather sleeve is designed exclusively to fit an iPhone 3G. Hand crafted using the highest quality soft full grain leather and finished with a velveteen interior, it allows full access to headphone jack, sleep/wake button, silent switch and volume control. It provides the ultimate protection for the iPhone 3GS / 3G.

Custom designed to fit the iPhone 3GS / 3G
Luxury handcrafted genuine full-hide leather case
Slim and smooth design makes it easy to slip into pocket
Full access to headphone jack, sleep/wake button, silent switch and volume control while still in cover
Leather exterior and velveteen interior

The case is snug to begin with, but loosens up slightly over time. As alluded to above, there is a neat effort by Knomo to cater for the volume control without removing the device from the sleeve (you also have access to the headphone jack and on/standby button):

Obviously the case has quite a luxury feel to it too – leather works well in the construction of the case, and if you’re looking for something to inject a bit of class in to your range of iPhone accessories, this might be the case for you!

You can get the Knomo Sleeve for iPhone 3G and 3GS from Mobilefun for £25.00 – a bargain! There are also other iPhone accessories available from Mobilefun, who claim to have the largest selection in their store!

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Google rolls out live customer support for Nexus One

Will Park — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 23:18:35 +0000

As an apparent answer to all those Nexus One customers who have been complaining that Google (NSDQ: GOOG) is taking too long to respond to customer service emails/inquiries, Google has rolled out a new Nexus One customer support hotline. Now, instead of just emailing the traditionally closed and uncommunicative search giant, Google is offering Nexus One owners and soon-to-be users a phone number that they can call to talk to a live person. Combined with the Google’s decision to lower the Nexus One return fee, it seems Google is looking to boost the Android phone’s flat sales.

Here’s Google’s statement on the matter:

“By design, we focused initially on providing the best possible customer support through our on-line channel, and our experience in the four weeks since the Nexus One launch enabled us to significantly enhance that on-line support offering. We have been able to address a large majority of customers’ inquiries successfully through on-line support, in combination with phone support from our partners, HTC and T-Mobile (NYSE: DT). That said, our approach with our new consumer channel is to learn fast and continue to improve…Live phone support from Google, combined with an optimized on-line support experience, enables a superior Nexus One customer experience.”

Starting today, Google will field all your Nexus One customer support questions through their new toll-free phone number. If you’re in the US, just dial (888) 48NEXUS (63987) between 4 a.m. and 7 p.m. to talk to a real, live person. If you’re thinking about calling to get technical support or in reference to your T-Mobile service, you can find phone numbers here.

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Google eases up on Nexus One return fee, now $150

Will Park — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 20:44:35 +0000

Google’s Nexus One sales have been fairly flat since the Android phone was launched earlier this year, but things may change with Google (NSDQ: GOOG)’s decision to reduce its early termination fee. The Nexus One maker has been getting some bad press surrounding the Nexus One’s $350 early return fee – something Google calls their “equipment recovery fee” – and has even drawn an official inquiry by the FCC. It’s not clear why, exactly, but Google has announced that it has dropped the fee for returning a Nexus One down to $150.

Still, the drop in fees doesn’t make the Nexus One a cheap smartphone to return. Google’s new $150 “equipment recovery fee” rides on top of T-Mobile (NYSE: DT)’s $200 ETF fee, so it’s still going to cost you a pretty penny to give the N1 back to Google. If you return the phone within 14 days of purchase, you’re free and clear of the penalty. But, should you return the phone after 14 days, you’ll be stuck paying Google’s fee in addition to T-Mobile’s ETF.

Check out Google’s new Nexus One terms of sale here.

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Flash Limited to Android 2.1?

Simon Sage — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 19:48:46 +0000

We’ve already seen Flash running on the Nexus One, but apparently other devices running anything less than Android 2.1 won’t support it. Call it a hardware bottleneck, but the droid and Nexus One are the only devices out there presently that will run Flash 10.1. Along with Android, Windows Mobile and webOS plug-ins will be available in the first half of this year, likely with BlackBerry (NSDQ: RIMM) not too far behind.

If the limitation is strictly software-based, then it won’t be all lost – upcoming devices like the X10, which are launching with Android 1.6, will likely be able to upgrade to 2.1, and potentially support Flash. I’m not seeing where Adobe made the announcement of this limitation to 2.1, but in the same breath, they also forecasted that over half of smartphones will be packing Flash by 2012. Now, who wants to take bets that the iPhone will get it by then?

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