Mobile Phone

Apple slammed over iPhone, iPad location tracking

2011-04-22T14:27:00.000-07:00

By JORDAN ROBERTSON, AP Technology Writer – Fri Apr 22, 12:59 am ET

SAN FRANCISCO – Privacy watchdogs are demanding answers from Apple Inc. about why iPhones and iPads are secretly collecting location data on users — records that cellular service providers routinely keep but require a court order to disgorge.

It's not clear if other smartphones and tablet computers are logging such information on their users. And this week's revelation that the Apple devices do wasn't even new — some security experts began warning about the issue a year ago.

But the worry prompted by a report from researchers Alasdair Allan and Pete Warden at a technology conference in Santa Clara, Calif., raises questions about how much privacy you implicitly surrender by carrying around a smartphone and the responsibility of the smartphone makers to protect sensitive data that flows through their devices.

Much of the concern about the iPhone and iPad tracking stems from the fact the computers are logging users' physical coordinates without users knowing it — and that that information is then stored in an unencrypted form that would be easy for a hacker or a suspicious spouse or a law enforcement officer to find without a warrant.

Researchers emphasize that there's no evidence that Apple itself has access to this data. The data apparently stays on the device itself, and computers the data is backed up to. Apple didn't immediately respond to a request for comment by The Associated Press.

Tracking is a normal part of owning a cellphone. What's done with that data, though, is where the controversy lies.

A central question in this controversy is whether a smartphone should act merely as a conduit of location data to service providers and approved applications — or as a more active participant by storing the data itself, to make location-based applications run more smoothly or help better target mobile ads or any number of other uses.

Location data is some of the most valuable information a mobile phone can provide, since it can tell advertisers not only where someone's been, but also where they might be going — and what they might be inclined to buy when they get there.

Allan and Warden said the location coordinates and time stamps in the Apple devices aren't always exact, but appear in a file that typically contains about a year's worth of data that when taken together provide a detailed view of users' travels.

"We're not sure why Apple is gathering this data, but it's clearly intentional, as the database is being restored across backups, and even device migrations," they wrote in a blog posting announcing the research.

Allan said in an email to the AP that he and Warden haven't looked at how other smartphones behave in this regard, but added there's suspicion that phones that run Google Inc.'s Android software might behave in a similar way and is being investigated.

Google did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Alex Levinson, a security expert, said the tracking Apple's devices do isn't new — or a surprise to those in the computer forensics community.

The Apple devices have been retaining the information for some time, but it was kept in a different form until the release of the iOS 4 operating software last year, Levinson, technical lead for the Katana Forensics firm, wrote on his blog.

Through his work with law enforcement agencies, Levinson said he was able to access the location data in older iPhones and warned about the issue over a year ago. The location data is now easier to find because of a change in the way iPhone applications access the data, he said.

"Either way, it is not secret, malicious, or hidden," Levinson wrote. "Users still have to approve location access to any application and have the ability to instantly turn off location services to applications inside the settings menu on their device."

The existence of the location-data file on the phone is alarming because it's unencrypted, the researchers said, which means that anyone with access to the device can see it.

Charlie Miller, a prominent iPhone hacker, said a security change that Apple made last month would make extracting the file from the phone in a remote attack very difficult. Even if an attacker were to break into someone's phone looking for the file, he wouldn't have the right privileges to access the file.

The data is "pretty well-protected on the phone," Miller, principal security analyst with Independent Security Evaluators, said in an interview.

"On the phone, they take a lot of precautions." He said. "It's sort of frightening in the sense that it's there, and it's full of information about where you've been, but the good news is it's not easy to get to."

But it's a different matter when the data is transferred to another computer in a backup. If the backup computer is infected with malicious software, the file could easily be located and sent to the hacker. A way to protect against that is to encrypt the iPhone backup through iTunes, the researchers said.

The issue has prompted several members of Congress to write letters to Apple, based in Cupertino, Calif., to answer questions about the practice.

Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn., said it raises "serious privacy concerns," especially for children using the devices, since "anyone who gains access to this single file could likely determine the location of a user's home, the businesses he frequents, the doctors he visits, the schools his children attend, and the trips he has taken — over the past months or even a year."

Rep. Edward Markey, D-Mass., questioned whether the practice may be illegal under a federal law governing the use of location information for commercial purposes, if consumers weren't properly informed.

"Apple needs to safeguard the personal location information of its users to ensure that an iPhone doesn't become an iTrack," he said in a statement. "Collecting, storing and disclosing a consumer's location for commercial purposes without their express permission is unacceptable and would violate current law."

Apple shares rose $9.20, or 2.7 percent, to $351.71 on the strength of the company's latest quarterly financial results, which showed Apple's net income nearly doubled, in large part on strength of iPhone sales.

Making Smartphones Power-Smarter

2010-06-16T23:04:00.000-07:00

New Android app highlights a trend toward power-aware programming
28 January 2010—Power drains on smartphones are becoming a bigger problem as users want their mobile devices to work faster and do more. Now researchers at the University of Michigan have come up with an application called PowerTutor, which lets you monitor your phone's power usage and compare the efficiency of one app to that of another. Released late last year, the app, currently available only for Google's Android phones, also gives mobile-app developers a chance to streamline their programs.

"Power has always been an issue," says Kirk Cameron, an associate professor in the computer science department at Virginia Tech, who edits the Green IT column for IEEE's Computer magazine. But now the problem is more mainstream than ever before, he says. "It's become a mobile world, and there's been an insatiable demand for performance." But performance costs power.

With the PowerTutor app, users can now track how much power their phone's CPU, network interface, GPS, and LCD screen are using, according to Robert Dick, an associate professor of electrical engineering and computer science at the University of Michigan who co-led the work with electrical engineering and computer science professor Z. Morley Mao. This is the first Android app specifically designed for developers and users that tracks power usage with an error rate of just 1 percent, Dick says.

A similar function comes built in with the most recent Android software release, but it doesn't include as much detail as the PowerTutor app, according to Lide Zhang, who codeveloped PowerTutor with fellow Michigan Ph.D. student Birjodh Tiwana. The Google function, Zhang says, gives only a percentage of the total power being used by each component, while PowerTutor gives the actual number value—information that's more important to developers. From tests so far, Zhang says, PowerTutor also appears to yield results that are more accurate than those of the Google software.

To build the PowerTutor app, the researchers took apart an HTC G1 smartphone and hooked it up to electrical current meters. "Something we did so you don't have to," Mao says. They tested the device's current readings at various power states—while the LCD screen's backlight was on or off, when the GPS unit was active or inactive, and when the CPU was running at different speeds. The key to their tests, says Mao, was pushing each of the main components into every situation it could possibly encounter during use and recording the results.

Armed with these readings, the team wrote software that would compare power states and component activity information—available from the Android's operating system—to their database of current measurements. The PowerTutor model predicts the phone's breakdown of power usage with an average of 1 percent error over 10-second intervals, according to Dick. Their worst case error over 10 seconds was 2.5 percent, while measuring power use over shorter intervals such as 1 second could yield 5 percent error.

The PowerTutor app itself uses about 5 percent of the CPU, or 2 to 3 percent of the phone's power. Dick acknowledges that this is significant, but for a developer to optimize an app, it makes perfect sense to use it, he says. And for users, it's "probably something you would do for a few days to compare apps, then you'd disable it." The app could also help detect an anomaly like "a virus or malware that's draining your battery resources," Zhang adds.

PowerTutor works best on the G1, the device the Michigan researchers used to build their model. But they believe it will be reliable for any Android phone, and they are working to get a fleet of Androids to create power models for each one. Expanding PowerTutor to the iPhone, however, would require working with Apple directly and using a more closed architecture, Dick says. So iPhone users will have to wait a bit longer for this app.

Virginia Tech's Cameron, whose research focuses on green computing for data centers, supercomputers, and personal computer systems, says this kind of app is important not only for programmers but also for smartphone users. "Most people are astounded at the amount of power these consume and…all the waste." He believes it's essential "to educate people, to show they're consuming a lot of energy." Anything that lets people understand and have access to power consumption data is "a good thing," he says. "You need to see where [the power] is going so that you can figure out how to manage it."

Cameron's start-up company, MiserWare, recently launched a beta test of energy-efficient software for laptops running Windows. The software not only measures computer power consumption but also optimizes its use automatically. The company already provides power management products for businesses and data centers.

Cameron's work at Virginia Tech has also produced free power-consumption software that "enables people to evaluate techniques that will reduce energy consumption, help the environment, and promote sustainability," he says. One program, called PowerPack, measures power and energy consumption of computer clusters, while another, Tempest, measures the temperature of various computer components depending on changes in programming code. That means that programmers can literally ask, "Is my code hot or cold?" They can then use the Tempest information to optimize their code. A change that reduces heat will reduce power consumption, but that must be weighed against the cost in terms of performance.

Nokia profits plunge 90% as handset sales fall

2009-04-16T15:01:00.003-07:00

April 16, 2009

Nokia reported a worse-than-expected 90 per cent slump in first quarter profits today. It was the Finnish mobile group's worst results since 2001as the global economic downturn continued to hit phone sales.

Even with the news, shares in the mobile phone company surged 8.7 per cent to 11.01 euros as it stuck to its forecast that mobile sales would decline by only 10 per cent in 2009. Some analysts had been concerned that Nokia would cut the forecast.

The world’s largest mobile phone maker said that net profit in the three months ending March 31 had plummeted to €122 million (£107 million) from €1.22 billion last year. In what is proving to be the toughest year ever for mobile phone makers, Nokia’s earnings per share sank to €0.03 from €0.32 in 2008, lower than analysts’ expectations of €0.06 and its weakest level since the third quarter of 2001.

Analysts blamed the economic downturn and, less significantly, the effect of such products as Apple’s iPhone and RIM’s BlackBerry – both of which have taken high-end users away from Nokia.

Mobile phone companies are braced for mobile sales to fall in 2009 as a result of the economic downturn, in what would be only the second annual decline in the industry's 15-year history.

Nokia’s sales fell 27 per cent to €9.28 billion from €12.7 billion in the first quarter last year, with sales of handsets down 33 per cent to €6.2 billion.

However, the Finnish company calmed jittery investors by reaffirming its prediction that the mobile market would shrink by only 10 per cent this year, retaining its widely monitored operating margin forecast and hinting that demand would become more predictable.

“Under the circumstances these are good results for Nokia,” said Caroline Milanesi, an analyst at Gartner. “It’s still been a very challenging quarter, but at least things didn’t get any worse.”

Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo, Nokia’s chief executive, said inventories of unsold mobile phones had decreased substantially in the quarter. “(This) has also resulted in the demand picture becoming more predictable as we enter the second quarter,” he said.

Rick Simonson, the chief financial officer of Nokia, said that there were “nascent signs of relative stability” going into the second quarter, but added: “It’s a little bit too early to call a bottom on demand in the mobile devices business.”

Nokia has fared better than many rivals during the slump. To cope with slowing demand the company cut costs in early 2009, slashing jobs across its operations while also halting the use of subcontractors in phone manufacturing.

Last month it announced 1,700 layoffs worldwide.

Nokia N97 launches latest challenge to iPhone

2009-04-16T15:01:00.002-07:00

Touchscreen handset with Point and Find software is " world's most advanced mobile computer" accessing the entire internet, Nokia claims

Nokia unveiled its latest challenge to the iPhone today, the N97, as the Finnish mobile giant vowed it would transform the internet.

The touchscreen smartphone, which has a 3.5 inch screen and both a touchscreen and a glide-out Qwerty keyboard, is the latest handset in Nokia's N series. It follows the blockbuster N95, the handset which has so far sold 15 million, and the N96, which was released earlier this year.

The N97 is the latest handset to join an increasingly crowded smartphone market that includes the G1, which runs Google's Android software, the BlackBerry Storm, which went on sale last month, and Sony Ericsson's X1.

Nokia claims the N97, which is due to be released by the middle of next year, is "the world's most advanced mobile computer" and will boast new services that will transform the way people connect to the internet.

The phone comes with 32 GB of memory - more than twice the capacity of the most powerful iPhone on the market - with the option to expand this to 48 GB with a 16 GB memory card. This means it can store thousands more songs, or hours more video, than its rivals (up to 37 hours of music and 4.5 hours of video playback to be precise).

In a gentle dig at Apple, Anssi Vanjoki, Nokia's executive vice president of markets, who unveiled the phone, made the point that the N97 can access "the entire internet, not just piece of it" as, unlike the iPhone, it will be able to play the Flash videos used on many websites.

In another move that makes the N97 more like a mini-computer than a phone, the screen tilts to a 35 degree angle when the keyboard glides out, making it easier to see the screen while typing. It is a nice touch. I tried it out: your forefingers fit snuggly behind the screen making it more stable to hold and therefore easier to type. Unlike other slide-out Qwerty keyboards, as seen on handsets such as the G1 or the HTC Touch Pro, which feel quite clunky as they move into place, the N97 really does glide, or almost pivot, out. It is a very satisfying movement.

Like most of its rivals the N97 will run over HSDPA, the fastest type of mobile broadband, with speeds of up to 7.2 Mbps, and, although this is a feature surprisingly absent in the Storm, the N97 is wifi enabled.

While the hardware is impressive, it is the software that Nokia executives are most excited about and which they say will let users personalise the internet.

The N97 will sport internet widgets that can be moved around with your finger to personalise your home screen and a Nokia Messaging button - a single application that will enable you to access any webmail, e-mail and Instant Messanger accounts you might have.

The N97 also introduces so-called "SoLo", or social location, making it easier to update social networks automatically with real-time information. The phone's integrated A-GPS sensors and an electronic compass means it knows exactly where it is, and, if your friends allow it to, will know where they are too, opening up new possibilities for gaming and applications.

As Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo, Nokia's chief executive, told journalists at the Nokia World conference today, "By putting together your location, your contacts, you get mashups. I love this idea. Imagine what can happen when we mash up social networking and your location, when your device knows where you are, where your friends are and what they are doing. Your social location, or SoLo will become your here-and-now-identity."

A new, souped up version of Nokia Maps, which will include terrain and satellite maps, will allow users to plan their journey on their PC and then synchronise it straight to their phone. Because your phone knows where you are it can then suggest the best route to take, or, if you use it while driving, help you avoid traffic jams.

"Today, we are at the threshold of another profound change in the way we connect and interact with each other and with our world," Mr Kallasvuo said. "This is a world where you will have the power to tailor and personalise your internet how and when you like, to make your day-to-day life easier and more fulfilling."

The N97 will also sport another new Nokia service: "Point and Find". By using both the phone's camera (a 5 megapixel Carl Zeiss lens) and its inbuilt virtual compass and GPS, Point and Find means you will be able to point your mobile at a landmark, such as Big Ben, and immediately receive information about it from the internet. "It's combining the real world with the virtual world in real terms," Mr Vanjoki said.

In another dig, this time at Google, Mr Vanjoki said: "There's a company that says they can index the world. We are going to go deeper. We are going to coordinate the world. We are going to coordinate everything on a map. Not just a map that is standard like a Google Map, but a map that is dynamic, driving all the roads of the world, making sure we have coordinates for everything there is."

Nokia was the last major handset maker to launch a fully touchscreen phone and analysts had worried that it would lose out to rivals such as Apple and Samsung, as the N97 enters a crowded marketplace, and that its reliance on low to mid tier phones would weigh on its profit margins.

The N97 is Nokia's second touchscreen phone, following the 5800, also known as the Nokia Tube, which went on sale last month, and the group said today it would now introduce touchscreen phones across its portfolio. Some analysts fear the N97 may not be enough to re-establish Nokia's position in the high-end market.

"[The N97] might give Nokia a little edge," noted Carolina Milanesi, analyst at Gartner, the technology specialists, "but it is six months until this reaches the market."

Ben Wood, CCS Insight's research director, said: "Nokia tried to cram in lots of different technologies such as a touchscreen, full Qwerty keyboard and plenty of memory, but it had to make trade-offs in its size and features. It has ended up with a relatively thick device that lacks some of the benchmark features expected in flagship products in mid-2009."

But other analysts were more upbeat.

"With the N97, Nokia has produced the first phone that will truly challenge, and even transcend, Apple's best," said Robin Landy, of mobile phone review website Omio.com. "Nokia has brought together a lot of common smartphone features, such as GPS, wifi and 3G internet, in one gorgeous device. Crucially though, they've combined the standard stuff with features that really matter to users, but are often missing from rival handsets.

"A proper Qwerty keyboard will make a huge difference to the everyday user experience, and the huge amount of memory means that even people with large music collections can leave their iPods at home. The N97 lacks the in-your-face dazzle of the iPhone, but it does strike a balance between understated good looks and functional practicality."

The N97 wil cost 550 euro, or £470 but is expected to be subsidised by operators.

Nokia cuts sales second time in three weeks

2009-04-16T15:01:00.000-07:00

Nokia, the world’s largest mobile phone manufacturer, cut its sales forecast for the second time in three weeks, saying that handset volumes had slowed more rapidly than it had expected.

Its warning is the third in three months as its November statement followed a downward revision made just two months before.

The Finnish company said today that it expects sales of mobile handsets to decline by 5 per cent or more next year — the first time they will have fallen for eight years.

It also said that it expects fourth-quarter sales to fall below its prediction made last month of 330 million handsets and 1.24 billion units for the year.

Nokia published its forecast before the group’s investor day, which is being held in New York today.

Last month Nokia said that it expected its final quarter's market share to be flat, or slightly up on the 38 per cent achieved in the third quarter. However, the group today said that there was "insufficient visibility" to confirm that estimate.

“The mobile device market slowdown has continued more rapidly than previously expected,” Nokia said.

“The industry continues to be impacted by the effects of a global consumer pull-back in spending, currency volatility and decreased availability of credit.”

All markets had been affected by the slowdown although “the most recent incremental impact in the emerging markets has been more pronounced than in other markets”, added Nokia.

Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo, Nokia's chief executive, gave warning that 2009 would be challenging for the industry but said that he nevertheless expected Nokia to strengthen its position as market leader.

"Building on our operational flexibility, Nokia is acting to reduce costs appropriately in the current slowing environment," he said.

Analysts had expected the 5 per cent volume slowdown and Nokia shares gained 4 per cent to €11.06.

Sony Ericsson S500i

2009-04-15T07:55:00.000-07:00

Sony Ericsson S500i Black

The Sony Ericsson S500i Black mobile phone

features:

· Camera: 2 MP with image resolution of 1600 x 1200 pixels

· Video recording: Available

· Display: 2 inches TFT screen supported by 256K

colours

· Storage capacity: Shared 12 MB memory plus expendable option

· GPRS: Available

· HSCSD: Available

· EDGE: Available

· Bluetooth: Available, v2.0

· USB: Available

· Messaging options: MMS, EMS, SMS, Instant messaging and email

· Surfing the Internet: WAP 2.0/HTML browser

· Media player: Supports music file formats such as MP3, AAC+, eAAC+ and AAC etc.

· TrackID music recognition feature

· Voice memo

· Weight: 94 gms

· Dimensions: 99 x 47 x 14 mm

· Talktime: Up to 9 hours

· Standby time: Up to 370 hours

Sony Ericsson S500i

Sony Ericsson S500i Features :

Camera : 1.3 MP Colour
Display : TFT, 256K colors
Ringtones : Polyphonic (64 channels), AAC
Weight : 98 g
Talktime: Up to 3 h
Standby : Up to 190 h
MP3 : MP3/AAC player
Bluetooth : Yes
Infrared : Yes
GPRS : Class 10 (4+1/3+2 slots), 32 - 48 kbps
Video Recording : Yes
3G : N/A

Camera feature:

Sony Ericsson S500i is equipped with integrated 1.3 mega-pixel camera with auto focus, 4x digital zoom and photo light. Capture special and unforgettable moments in your Sony Ericsson Phones. With editing option, you can show your artistic talent and manipulate images as per your wish. You can share it with your friends and family via Multimedia Messaging Service.

FM Radio:

Enjoy all time music with an FM radio. Enjoy advanced digital music player with your favorite songs. It’s a new and latest feature that has been added. Younger generations are getting crazier about it.

Java Games:

New mobile technologies have revolutionized the communication world. Java games have given a new and latest feature to the mobile phones. Now you can play latest games in your handset. No need to play games in your PC. Download latest java games and play with it anytime.

Get connected:

Sony Ericsson S500i is ideal for you as it provides Internet facility to connect you with people all around the world. Check email, you can send and receive emails from anywhere with your handset. You can use WAP to access information like news, travels, etc.

Quick Share:

Sony Ericsson S500i has brought one of the unique and simple ways to send a multimedia message. Take a picture and send them easily within few clicks. It is the easiest way to share pictures.

GPRS:

GPRS stands for General Packet Radio Service. It provides moderate speed data transfer facility over a mobile phone network. It is an always on data connection for GSM mobile phones. This facility gives you faster WAP browsing, web surfing and emails.

Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS):

This MMS technology is very similar to SMS (Short Messaging Service) but with advanced features. It allows you to send text, sound, images and video. You can also send MMS messages to an email address. Images can be sent in different formats like JPEG, GIF, etc. You can send audio in MP3 and MIDI formats and Video in MPEG format.

Tri-band:

Sony Ericsson S500i is having internal tri-band antenna that allows your phone to be used all over the world. It works on three GSM frequency bands as the name suggests. These frequency bands are 900, 1800 and 1900MHz.

Bluetooth:

Bluetooth technology supports wireless connectivity that enables you to connect your mobile phones with other devices like computer, laptops, digital cameras, etc. Bluetooth has a range of 10 meters.

Sony Ericsson S500i

The Sony Ericsson S500i is an attractive phone for the image conscience. This neat slider has unique nature inspired themes that can change automatically from day to night and through the seasons.

Sony Ericsson S500 features at a glance:

· Dimensions: 99 x 47 x 14 mm

· Weight: 94 g

· Talk time: Up to 9 hours

· Standby time: Up to 370 hours

· Internal Display: 2" TFT, 240 x 320 pixels

· Camera: 2.0 Megapixel Camera

· Unique light effects and themes for incoming calls

· Memory: 12MB Internal, expandable with Memory Stick Micro M2

· Bluetooth v2.0 with A2DP

· Quad-band: 850/900/1800/1900

SONY ERICSSON S500I FEATURES

The Sony Ericsson S500i comes with a large & clear screen which displays up to 262k colours on a 240 x 320 pixels resolution screen. The screen can be viewed when the S500i is in the slide open or slide closed position which provides the user with continuous viewing. The screen is ideal for viewing all the user photographs & video. The mobile phone comes with a built in 2 megapixel camera complete with dedicated menus, 4 x digital zoom & direct interaction with the phones messaging services.

The user can capture either a still shot or a video recording using the 2 megapixel camera & enjoy the built in imaging features. The Sony Ericsson S500i allows the user to enjoy video recording & video streaming on their mobile handset. The video clips feature is ideal for capturing those expected moments that happen when the user is out & about with their mobile phone to hand.

You can take a picture with the S500i camera and send it to your blog in an instant. The software included allows you to instantly drag and drop music, photos and files directly from your computer to your phone. The built in music player which is compatible with Bluetooth™ stereo (A2DP). The Sony Ericsson S500i comes with an Internet browser and RSS feed reader.

Nature inspired themes

Experience fast speed data transfers using EDGE high speed technology & the Bluetooth® connection provides a wireless connection between devices. The battery provides approximately three hundred & seventy hours of standby time or approximately nine hours of talk time from a full charged battery.

The Sony Ericsson S500i is a quad band phone which provides the user with international roaming which will automatically switch between network bands. The mobile phone comes with a memory slot which allows the user to expand their phones memory further by adding a Micro™ M2™ memory card.

Specs & Features

Whats New?	S500i: inspired by nature, Slide the S500i open to reveal materials and patterns inspired by nature. See hidden illumination appear when a call comes in. The S500i - it's full of surprises.
Dimension	99 x 47 x 14 mm
Weight	94 g
Battery	Talk time Up to 9 h, Stand-by Up to 370 h
Memory	12 MB shared memory + Extendable (Memory Stick Micro M2)
Connectivity	Bluetooth v2.0, USB, GPRS Class 10 (48 kbps), HSCSD, EDGE Class 10, (236.8 kbps),
Display Size	240 x 320 pixels, 2.0 inch
Display Colour	TFT, 256K colors
Operating Frequency / Band	GSM 850 / GSM 900 / GSM 1800 / GSM 1900
Browser	WAP 2.0/HTML(NetFront), RSS feeds
Entertainment	TrackID music recognition, MP3/AAC/AAC+/eAAC+ player, Games (built in + downloadable)
Camera	2 MP, 1600x1200 pixels, video
Ring Tones	Polyphonic (72 channels), MP3, AAC
Messaging	SMS, MMS, Email, Instant Messaging
Price	Price in Rs: 12,200 Price in USD: $156

Product reviews: Mobile phones that play music

2009-04-13T15:27:00.000-07:00

Some mobile phones are so good at tunes that MP3 players don’t get a look-in. David Phelan plugs in and tests five of the best

BEST FOR EASE OF USE; STORAGE
APPLE IPHONE 3G 8GB-16GB£343-£392 on pay as you go

Apple’s iPod savvy gives the firm a head start when it comes to easy-to-use music phones – witness the iPhone’s built-in memory of up to 16GB, and its big screen, bright enough to watch movies. You are restricted to using iTunes software, and if you buy music from its store, the bit rates are mostly limited to a basic 128kbps. Nonmusical pluses include GPS and excellent internet browsing. The supplied headphones aren’t great, but plug good ones into the 3.5mm jack and the iPhone has an expansive sound.

Verdict:Stylish phone with room for thousands of tracks.

BEST FOR HUGE FREE MUSIC CHOICE
NOKIA 5310 COMES WITH MUSIC £140 on pay as you go

A slim, light and easy-to-use handset with dedicated buttons for music. The PAYG price includes a year’s subscription to Comes with Music, which allows unlimited free downloads of the 3m tracks on the Nokia Music site to your PC, ready to transfer. The snags are that you can’t use a Mac computer and the songs play only on the PC and handset that are registered. Although not all tracks were available at 192kbps - some were only 128kbps - sound quality was consistently strong.

Verdict:Funky phone married to millions of “free” tracks - ideal for teenagers.

BEST FOR GREAT MUSIC SOFTWARE
SONY ERICSSON W902£330 without contract

A handsome and accomplished Walkman handset. The supplied noise-isolating headphones, which have a nonstandard plug (a standard adaptor is provided) were the best on test. As well as dedicated music buttons, it has motion sensors that let you change track and volume by shaking the phone, and an 8GB memory card is included. Tracks sounded warm and full through the Walkman software. Well-designed, backlit keys, a comfortable navigation pad and the song-identifying Track ID round off an excellent package.

Verdict:Persuasive music device let down by its headphone plug.

BEST FOR ADVANCED SPEAKERS
SAMSUNG F400 £160 on pay as you go

The F400 boasts stereo speakers that are louder and of better quality than you’d expect. The supplied noise-isolating headphones delivered a rich, bassy sound, which was even further improved by using a costlier pair through the 3.5mm jack, though sound quality ultimately didn’t match that of the Sony and Apple. Tunes are stored on the supplied 1GB microSD card and are easily transferred using either Samsung’s software or drag and drop. The navigation button is useful for scrolling through songs.

Verdict:Compact but unexceptional slider phone with surprisingly loud speakers.

BEST FOR DOLBY MUSIC SOFTWARE
LG RENOIR KC910 £330 without contract

This is one of the first handsets with Dolby Mobile audio, which claims to improve the richness and bass of music. The LG performed well - sound quality was clean, with little distortion at high volumes. As in the Sony, the headphones connect by a nonstandard socket (also for recharging), but thanks to an included adaptor, you can use any headphones. Beyond music, the 8Mp flash camera and large touchscreen display impress, but text input is frustrating if you use fingers rather than a stylus. An 8GB microSD card is included.
Verdict:Decent music player spoilt by poor phone features.

RING TUNES

JARGON BUSTER
Bit rate The technical quality of an audio file, expressed in kilobits per second. The higher the rate, the better the quality, and the bigger the file size, but audio quality also depends on the type of file compression. While you can set the rate on CDs that you convert, download services rarely give you any such option

Drag and drop The most basic way of moving music from computer to phone, by highlighting track names and dragging the files to the desktop icon of the handset.

MicroSD The most common memory-card format for phones. Roughly speaking, a 1GB card will hold about 200 songs at a decent bit rate

THE ADVANTAGES OF SWITCHING YOUR MP3 PLAYER FOR A PHONE

Convenience:having one gadget rather than two outweighs a phone’s inherent audio compromise. The difference may be hard to detect when you’re out and about anyway, especially if you upgrade the headphones.

Incoming calls:music phones offer elegant, often hands-free pausing of your music to take a call.

Cameras:all these phones also take a decent snap.

AND THE DISADVANTAGES

Clunky software:the supplied music management programs for many of these phones are often hard-to-use afterthoughts.

Poor battery life:even if you are not making calls, mobiles still keep in constant touch with their networks. Expect to charge these phones every day.

Small function keys: dedicated music-playing keys have to fight for space with a dozen functions, and none offers the ease of use of an iPod’s click wheel.

Apple extends iPhone's reach with App Store

2009-04-13T15:24:00.000-07:00

An online portal which lets owners download hundreds of free apps will dramatically expand the appeal of the iPhone

Apple today gave the first peek at what it hopes will transform its new iPhone from a communications device into a sophisticated mobile computing platform.

The first screenshots were released of Apple's new online App Store, which will allow iPhone owners to download all manner of programs from the internet and install them on their phone.

More than 500 programs - or apps - designed specifically by developers for the iPhone will be available when the App Store goes live tomorrow, with thousands more expected to be added in the months to come.

Applications will range from customised versions of familiar web brands such as Google, MySpace and Facebook, through to computer games, e-books, payment services like PayPal, navigation tools, and social networking software.

Other handset manufacturers such as Nokia and BlackBerry have long enabled developers to write applications for their devices, but the iPhone's engaging touchscreen interface and superior graphics will give its online store greater traction with users, analysts said.

Some applications, such as Facebook's, take advantage of the phone's GPS capability, using satellites to let Facebook members search for friends who may be nearby. Others, such as Super Monkey Ball, a game, synchronise with the device's accelerometer and let users play by tilting the phone in different directions.

The vast majority of the applications are free, some cost $1-5, while the more advanced, such as large-scale computer games, cost $10. Apple has said it will keep 30 per cent of the revenues from applications, which will be sold through the company's online store, iTunes.

"They're basically doing the same thing they did with the iPod - which is to give the online store a nice front end, make sure customers have a wide range of apps to choose them, and then make it incredibly easy to use," Paul Jackson, an analyst with Forrester, said.

Mr Jackson added that he didn't expect the sales of applications would raise significant revenues for Apple, but the store would rather serve to entice more people to buy iPhones, much as the iTunes store has done for the iPod.

Among the first batch of apps that will be released tomorrow are customised versions of the Yellow Pages, eBay and Photobucket, the photo-sharing site - all of which are free. Others include a Sudoku application, which costs $2.99, and complete versionsAnna Karenina, 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea, A Tale of Two Cities, and A Christmas Carol - all at $0.99.

Anyone who buys the new 3G iPhone - released tomorrow - will have immediate access to the App Store from the device, and a free software upgrade is available to owners of the existing iPhone. Owners of the iPod Touch can get the upgrade for $10.

Many in the technology industry see significant potential in the iPhone as a standalone computing platform - not just for publicly available applications but for programs that businesses write and run themselves.

Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, the investment firm, has set up a $100 million fund purely for investment in iPhone-related software companies. One of the software companies, iControl Networks, is making an application that will allow homeowners to turn lights off at home while they're out, and monitor CCTV footage.

Other types of applications that will be popular are games, location-based services - which will make use of the iPhone's GPS function, and educational and healthcare-related programs, one of Kleiner's partners said in an interview today.

Today MySpace, the social networking site, announced details of its iPhone App, which will give members broad use of the site's services - including the ability to receive live updates about friends when they're on the move.

John Faith, vice president of mobile at MySpace, said that the initial version of the MySpace app for iPhone would not make use of GPS, but a future version which the company aimed to develop would.

How to make a game for the Apple iPhone

2009-04-13T15:23:00.000-07:00

So, you think you have a killer idea for an iPhone game? Follow our expert's advice and getting it up for sale should be a doddle

Since Apple opened the virtual doors to its App Store in July 2008, tech sites, blogs and networking sites have been abuzz with stories of developers making huge amounts of money overnight. Developing and publishing software apps for iPhone and iPod touch is a relatively straightforward process, but once you have a marketable product, is it really a case of develop, publish, sit back and watch the money roll in?

The simple answer is “No”. Prospective “app” developers should not give up their day jobs just yet.

First of all you will need to learn Objective-C with Cocoa Touch; the languages used in iPhone development. You will also need to learn Xcode; the primary tool used for iPhone development. Learning these technologies is relatively easy; Apple provides excellent “required reading”, and several extremely good books are available on the subject. These should see you developing basic apps within a couple of days. Unless you’re the type of developer who can think in binary, more complex development will require a few weeks or more of learning.

Secondly, you will need to enroll in Apple’s iPhone Developer Program. For the princely sum of $99 you will have the pleasure of applying to the Program and subsequently face the challenges of completing the required contracts and tax forms Apple insists on before you can sell in the App Store. Searching for help with this process will reveal countless stories from other developers describing frustration and months of waiting. However, by reading everything carefully and making sure all your forms are completed in full and correctly, this process should only take a couple of weeks.

Most importantly, you will need an app idea and you’ll need to develop it. At the risk of trivialising this task, it is by far the most straightforward, and the only part of the process you have total control over, provided you conform to Apple’s policies for app content.

The final step is Apple’s app review process. Again there are many anecdotes about this stage, with some developers reporting that they have been waiting weeks for a response from Apple. With a little luck, however, you will receive an “approved” e-mail within a week and your app will be listed in the App Store.

Relaxing at this stage is not an option. Whilst some of the successful apps are genuinely excellent, for the most part instant success requires a truckload of luck. In reality, many hours and days of blogging, tweeting and inventive promotion are required simply to maintain a level of sales. There is no magic formula to increasing your sales. However, if you are prepared to invest the hours, a modest income from your apps can be achieved. The trick to avoiding disappointment is to view any income as a bonus, and remember that every single download is money in your pocket. You never know, you may wake up one morning to find you’re No 1 in the download chart…. but don’t hold your breath.

Amazon launches e-books for Apple iPhone and iPod Touch

2009-04-13T15:11:00.000-07:00

Amazon has launched a program that allows iPhone and iPod Touch users to download Kindle e-books to their smaller screens

Amazon, the online store, has extended its e-book service in the United States to offer e-books that can be read on Apple's iPhone or iPod touch.

Amazon has produced a free "app", or program, which will bring many of the functions of its Kindle e-book reader to the smaller screen of the iPhone and iPod Touch.

The online retailer is hoping that the app will help broaden the e-book market, which Amazon itself ignited with its electronic book reader, Kindle. Fans of e-books will be delighted that they are now available for the Apple machines, since a Kindle costs $350, $120 more than the cheapest iPod touch. Neither the Kindle nor the new application is yet available in Europe.

The app, available as a free download from Apple's app store, allows iPhone and iPod Touch users to read the same electronic books that Kindle owners can buy on Amazon.com. As with the Kindle, the iPhone app lets users change the text size on the screen, and add bookmarks, notes and highlights. Although other e-book readers are available as apps on Apple’s products, this is the first time that Kindle e-books have been made available through the App Store.

The application does not connect to the Kindle store, however, so users must access the web browser on their iPhone, iPod or computer to make a purchase. If someone happens to have a Kindle and an iPhone, Amazon's program will be able to synchronise the two so you can keep your place in the same e-book on both devices.

Amazon unveiled the latest version of the Kindle on February 9. The Kindle 2 costs the same as the original electronic reader, but is thinner and has improved battery life and storage capacity.

Apple iPhone 3.0 event tomorrow might reveal a tablet

2009-04-13T15:07:00.001-07:00

The Apple iPhone 3.0 event tomorrow might have more surprises than are immediately apparent. Especially in relation to a tablet. Here's my hypothesis why:

I've got a pretty good idea that Apple is going to be releasing more iPod touch/iPhone platform devices. Why? Well, for one, they've said so in ajob posting at the end of last year.

The software developed by the networking team runs on a broad spectrum of platforms, including Macs and Windows, and from servers down to a growing number of embedded devices including iPhone.

So, that "growing number of embedded devices" I think will be a ten inch tablet. The ten inches figure I get from the three different reports out of China that Apple is developing a touch screen in the 9.5-10 inch area for release in Q3 (summer).

I don't think Apple is going to try to compete with the Netbook market directly. Apple has a big lead in touch technology and probably needs to innovate in other ways rather that release a similar type of product to a mature market.

The timing? Well, if this thing has to be put on a device in late Summer, Apple will probably want some software to run on it...probably even an App Store. If so, developers will need at least a few months to get their apps to run on this new little device. That means they should probably start right about now.

Then there has been the persistent "premium app store" rumors. Paying $20 for an iPhone app seems silly to me with so many great $5-$10 apps all around. But if an Apple tablet can handle hi res 3D gaming, it might make more sense. Current App Store apps should also run on it but in a resolution independence type of mode. This type of app would also be able to play on a new AppleTV OS with App store as well.

I think Apple's devices (even if not a tablet) will be based on the ARM Cortex A8 architecture like that of the Palm Pre. The video card will be from Imagination and will hopefully use some of that OpenCL Apple has been touting in its desktop Snow Leopard OS.

If not tomorrow, then soon hopefully.

I'll be here tomorrow liveblogging the event. Please stop by to find out if anything exciting happens.

15 iPhone 3.0 features we'd like to see

2009-04-13T15:07:00.000-07:00

From voice dialing to copy and paste, here are our top iPhone dream features.

Talk about ungrateful—the iPhone hadn’t been out for more than a month when we created our first list of “missing” iPhone features we’d like to see.

But Apple has now had more than 20 months to grow and refine the iPhone. While theiPhone 2.0 software update of July 2008 added a bunch of interesting new features, there are still plenty of other features—some of which we’ve been pushing for since the iPhone’s initial announcement—that still haven’t arrived.

And so we present our latest list of the 15 features we hope we’ll see at Tuesday’s iPhone 3.0 announcement event in Cupertino. Some of them are old standards; others are fresh and new.

Systemwide cut/copy/paste

It’s been arguably the most requested feature of the iPhone OS since day one. Apple’s tried to predict where people would want to use copy-and-paste and provide suitable workarounds, like being able to mail links from Safari. But anyone who’s ever had to transfer a scrap of arbitrary text between two applications (taking a quote from a Web page to Mail, for example) has eventually had to resort to the poor man’s copy-and-paste: jotting a note down on a piece of paper and then laboriously typing it back in. It’s time to finally bring the iPhone’s capabilities up to par with the 1984’s Mac OS in this department.—DM

Push notifications and/or background apps

At Apple’s 2008 Worldwide Developer Conference, the company touted a push notification system that would allow third-party iPhone apps to alert users. However, the feature disappeared from the face of the Earth. Even if that particular implementation doesn’t make it into iPhone 3.0, it seems likely that Apple will introduce some sort of notification system. The company may even go so far as to loosen up the restrictions on applications running in the background, which would greatly benefit programs like music players, macro utilities, GPS data loggers, and instant-messaging clients. Again, it may be a case of history repeating itself: remember, the original Mac OS ran just one program for the first several years of its existence too.—DM

Landscape mode in every Apple app

Viewing your screen horizontally is available on many third-party apps for the iPhone, but landscape mode is only available on three Apple applications: Safari, YouTube, and iPod. There are a number of advantages to having landscape mode available in all apps. For example, the text and images are significantly larger when viewed in landscape. That’s advantageous for the accuracy of double-tapping on text and images, as well as making the experience more enjoyable if your eyesight isn’t what it used to be. The keyboard is also much larger in landscape mode, which helps those of us with big mitts to make less mistakes when typing. The larger layout gives Apple the opportunity to add more speciality keys too, like the .com button used in Safari. Having landscape is just one of those things you figure a device like the iPhone should naturally have.—JD

Improvements to Mail

In many ways, the iPhone’s Mail program is the best mobile e-mail client out there. But it’s also missing a good number of obvious features, especially for heavy e-mail users. For example, if you’ve got multiple e-mail accounts, it currently takes three taps just to read a message in your Inbox, then three more to get back to the accounts list. Stretch that across three, four, or more e-mail accounts, and Mail can be maddeningly frustrating to use. An option for a single, unified Inbox—as exists in the desktop version of Mail—would ease the tap-heavy task of checking new messages.

Similarly, marking existing messages as read makes it easier to keep track of how many new messages—received since you last browsed your Inbox—are waiting. But Mail currently requires you to view each messages individually to mark it as read. Now that the iPhone finally provides the capability to delete messages en masse, we’d like to see similar features for marking mail as read and moving mail to folders. (Even better, make it easier to apply these actions to everything: give us Delete All and Mark All As Read buttons.)

We’d also like to see the capability to e-mail more than one photo at a time, as well as more options for replying, including a choice of what text to quote and whether replies should go at the top or bottom of the message.—DF

Sync notes and to-dos

There are a plethora of to-do list and note apps for the iPhone, largely because Apple seems to have abdicated its responsibility in these areas. iCal, which the iPhone already syncs with, offers To-Do lists. So why doesn’t the iPhone have to-do list support built in, allowing to-dos to sync back and forth between your computer and your iPhone? And then there are notes. The iPhone’s built-in Notes app is handy for jotting things down, but none of the notes you write can sync with your Mac. Third-party apps have come up with numerous ways to sync notes back to your Mac, but none would be as elegant as having the notes sync automatically the next time you attached your iPhone and synced via iTunes.—JS

Better app organization

Back when the iPhone had only 20 apps—all from Apple—its one-panel home screen was a simple and easy-to-use way to launch those apps. But with the success of the App Store, many iPhone owners now have many more apps. While the flick-to-see-another-screen approach works when your app collection is small, once you pass two screens’ worth—and with so many free and inexpensive apps, it’s easy to do so—the current interface breaks down. For heavy users of the App Store, the iPhone needs a better way of organizing apps. One approach might be to let you name each screen or category of apps, and then provide a pop-up menu for switching directly to a particular screen.

Similarly, if you want to reorganize your apps—for example, putting all games on one screen, all productivity apps on another, and so on—the current method, dragging icons from screen to screen, can be downright painful. We’re hoping for a better way to decide what goes where. Perhaps a Settings screen on the iPhone itself that lists each app and lets you choose the screen on which it should appear. (Palm handhelds had such a feature back in the 90s.) Another option would be a way to manage apps from within iTunes; this user-created video includes a number of great ideas.—DF

Customizable tones

You’ve been able to use custom ringtones since iTunes 7.4 was released in September 2007. But that’s the only sound you can configure—alerts for calendar events, alarms, and new e-mail, voicemail, and SMS messages are set in stone. Audible alerts are most useful when you know instantly what each sound means, so we’d like to be able to pick our favorite for each, from Apple’s selection of sounds or from sounds we’ve added ourselves. (And is it too much to ask to be able to pick a song from our iTunes library and use it as an alert, without buying a ringtone or chopping the file up ourselves in GarageBand?)—DF

Full Bluetooth support

The iPhone includes Bluetooth, but only for using wireless phone headsets. Yet Bluetooth can do so much more. For example, if Apple were to allow the full range of Bluetooth capabilities, we could stream audio wirelessly to Bluetooth-equipped audio systems and headphones; use Bluetooth keyboards (including Apple’s own) for larger text-editing tasks; and sync the iPhone’s address book with the advanced automobile communication systems that are more and more common these days. C’mon, Apple. Set Bluetooth free.—DF

MMS

Any iPhone user who’s ever received a picture message from a friend’s phone or tried to send one has probably found themselves bemused by what should be a seemingly simple task. Despite being an incredibly “smart” phone in many contexts, multimedia messaging is one arena where the iPhone falls behind even the cheapest phones on offer from most carriers. Yes, MMS (short for Multimedia Messaging Service) is a money-making bonanza for cell-phone carriers and we’d all be better off being able to e-mail pictures to each other, but until that day arrives, at least give us the option to spend our money unwisely.—DM

Video capture

While it’d be nice if the iPhone featured a higher-resolution camera and a built-in flash, both of those things will require new hardware. Video capture, however, could be added to existing iPhones via new software. As proof, there’s already a third-party application called iPhone Video Recorder—available for jailbroken iPhones—that allows for up to 15fps video capture using the built-in camera on any iPhone.—RG

Turn-by-turn directions

The iPhone helps you avoid having to carry around several gadgets all the time, like an iPod, a phone, or a camera. But one device it can’t quite replace yet is your car’s GPS unit. The iPhone 3G’s GPS features bring the possibility tantalizingly close, but the lack of automatic route recalculation, turn-by-turn directions, and voice prompts make it a no-go. An official app from Apple, or a deal with an established GPS company like TomTom or Garmin to produce a sanctioned third-party program could help the iPhone finally find its direction in this department.—DM

Application data sharing and syncing

There are tens of thousands of iPhone apps out there these days, but each of them is an island unto itself: apps can’t talk to other apps or share data among themselves. App developers also can’t hook into an iTunes sync and use it transfer data to and from the iPhone. Right now we see app developers trying all sorts of workarounds to address this issue, from web servers to FTP servers to direct connections via Wi-Fi to companion apps that run on the desktop. Apple should allow apps to transfer data via iTunes and give them the ability to share data with other apps when necessary. Imagine being able to receive an e-mail attachment, save it, and then open it with a program designed to edit it, for example. All of these iPhone apps are great—just imagine how great they’d be if they could talk to each other, too.—RG

Spotlight for iPhone

If you want to search on the iPhone, you can—if what you want to search is your own contacts list. If you can’t quite remember which e-mail message had your friend’s phone number in it or which week in October you have a dentist’s appointment or the name of the rep for a company you work with, you’re out of luck. Which is why it’s time for the iPhone to get a phone-wide search feature, one that will trawl through any data that an app has deemed searchable—and yes, that means third-party apps too—and bring you back a list of results.—JS

Share Internet with a Mac or PC

As good as the iPhone’s Web browser is, many people would rather surf the Web on their laptop. More important, there are plenty of Internet-required tasks you can’t complete on your iPhone because they require an application on your computer. Many mobile phones provide the capability to use the phone as a modem for your computer; that would be a nice option to have with the iPhone, even if there’s an additional fee we have to pay to AT&T for the privilege. Anyone who’s desperately needed to get their laptop on the Internet while knowing their iPhone’s already got a connection knows what we’re talking about.—JD

Voice dialing

Voice dialing, the ability to say the name of the contact and have the phone call them, is another of those features that many cheaper handsets have but the iPhone surprisingly lacks. It seems like it would be a natural fit, given that the iPhone’s touchscreen interface, with its lack of tactile feedback, is impossible to dial without looking—making it extremely dangerous to operate while driving and virtually impossible for vision-impaired users.

Apple’s clearly spent time developing voice recognition for the Mac OS that would not only seem to lend itself well to the iPhone, but is also probably a lot better than what you find on those cheap phones. Its absence to date leads us to suspect that it’s one of those features Apple doesn’t want to implement until they can do it right. Let’s hope its time has arrived.—DM

What is Apple going to launch today?

2009-04-13T15:03:00.000-07:00

Apple has announced that it will announce something today. The internet is awash with rumours. Which are the most plausible?

Speculation has been building over what Apple will announce regarding the iPhone later today.

Last week, the company sent out invitations for a special event it is holding in California, where the company will give an "advance preview of what we're building".

Ever since then, the blogosphere has been trying to guess what Apple has got up its sleeve. Although most commentators believe that the event will focus on an update to the iPhone’s software – the invitations made mention of the phone’s operating system - wilder rumours have emerged, such as the launch of a new “tablet” sized device.

Here is the round-up of the rumours so far.

Theory 1: Calm down everyone. It is just a simple software upgrade, to fix some iPhone niggles…
Quite simply, Apple might just announce that the iPhone can finally cut and paste text, something it can’t currently do, to the frustration of many. There are a number of other iPhone problemswhich the update could and should address. The ability to picture message and take videos with the iPhone’s camera, for example. A better way to organise your applications is also much desired. This could mean creating an “app folder”, which can then categorise your apps.

Surely, we can expect more that this, though? After all, why have a “special event” without at least something a little special to announce?

Theory 2: An iPhone software upgrade that will wow you…
As well as fixing current problems with the iPhone, we might see a real iPhone upgrade with exciting new features. One could be a ramped-up App store, with “premium” apps that could cost a lot more, but would deliver more bang for your buck.

Another rumour is that Apple is trying to find ways to allow other non-Apple devices to access and use Apple apps. Is Apple going to release operating software that can be used on other phones? If so, that would go some way to taking on Android, Google’s operating system for mobile phones.

Theory 3: They release a device. Any device. And people will go wild…
Any new Apple product would be exciting. The biggest rumour has been that Apple is ready to release a much bigger iPhone – a “tablet” sized device that might be a touch-screen netbook, or even a first foray into creating an eBook type machine (like Amazon’s Kindle, but with flashier features). The argument goes like this: why create a bigger and better platform for apps, without a device that can really play them?

This theory seems unlikely. But the current betting is on a significant Apple announcement regarding software, which will lead to a huge device announcement in the coming weeks. Watch this space.

The iPhone Now Ready to Save The News Business

2009-04-13T14:59:00.000-07:00

Some 'What Will Become of Newspapers?' thinkers believe that the iTunes model is the future of the news business. Well, with one software upgrade, paid news is now an iPhone app! Will this matter?

If you read Gizmodo, you know Apple released an iPhone software upgrade today, which includes this news-y feature:

The new software will also give developers new ways to make money on the device, allowing them to sell monthly subscriptions, new levels in a game or items in an online store without asking users to leave the application. So for example a seller of electronic books on the iPhone can sell digital texts right within its application, instead of directing iPhone users to their Web sites.

So: if the New York Times, for example, decided to start charging for its online content, it could sell its subscriptions just like an iPhone app. Those things sell pretty well, I hear! Iphone users seem like the types who wouldn't mind paying a few bucks a month to read the New Yorker, or Vogue, or, I don't know, Wired on their digital contraptions, if the publications packaged their offers well.

At least iPhone users are more primed to pay for content than the internetcommunity at large. So while this isn't quite a full-blown iTunes model for news—which would probably fail—it could be a good indicator of how much cash mobile news is potentially worth. More than 17 million iPhones have been sold so far; if even a million of those belonged to people willing to pay $5 a month for a news subscription, it could mean... hardly enough to save the old media. But enough to save some media jobs! [

Apple introduces subscription model for iPhone

2009-04-13T14:56:00.000-07:00

Apple has unveiled new software for the iPhone that will give its network of developers new ways to make money on the device, allowing them to sell monthly subscriptions to their products.

iPhone 3.0, launched on Tuesday, includes 100 new features, including some long-awaited updates such as copy-and-paste of text and picture messaging.

Industry analysts said subscription-based applications would be an important revenue-generator for Apple and developers. Currently all purchases on the iPhone or iPod Touch are via the App Store or Apple's mobile version of iTunes.

A subscription-based model means users could be asked to pay for new levels of a game or to purchase additional content without leaving the application. Some have suggested it could provide a model for newspaper subscription as an iPhone app.

Developers of iPhone applications which are currently free of charge will not be able to later charge within their program, “free apps remain free", said Scott Forstall, an Apple software senior vice president.

An early version of the software is available to application developers now and will be available to consumers this summer. Users of the iPhone will be able to download the software upgrade free of charge, while iPod touch customers will be charged $9.95.

The updated software kit for developers will have more than 1,000 new programming functions, including peer-to-peer capability, an interface allowing applications to communicate with iPhone accessories such as docking stations, as well as access to the phone’s music library.

Analysts said that while most the of software updates were long expected, improvements to the developers kit could help increase revenue made from applications.

Van Baker, an analyst with Gartner, said the message of the launch was clearly targeted at the developer community. He expects the new development kit to enable third-party vendors to create better and more expensive applications. “This is a pretty significant release ... it will certainly help to drive commerce,” Mr Baker said.

How to buy a mobile phone

2009-04-12T15:32:00.000-07:00

Buying a new global system for mobile (GSM) phone can be a nightmare. The very array of choices, ranging from fancy phones with in-built MP3 players, with large pixel cameras and huge storage space, can be bewildering.

Faced with fierce competition, manufacturers are bombarding the market with new products ever so often, making older models obsolete.

Cutting through the clutter, we try to make your task of buying a mobile phone easier. If you want mobile phones to do much more than be just a device for voice calls, here is the lowdown on what you can buy and what mobile phones are about to hit the market this year. (Check out phone buying tips below!)

Slim is in: It cannot get thinner than this. Motorola's Moto Razr V3 is redefining design and it is super thin -- just 13.9 mm.

Says Percy Batlivala, Motorola's general manager, southwest Asia, for personal device communications: "It is the thinnest clamp phone in the world. And despite being foldable, it is razor thin. It is an iconic product for us."

Motorola used an aluminum frame (used in aircraft) to reduce weight, component sizes were redefined and made smaller and the embedded antenna at the base of the phone, claims the company, offers better transmission capability -- which simply means more voice clarity and better coverage than other phones offer. The phone weighs only 95 gram -- but costs a stiff Rs 33,000.

Camera phones will get hotter: If you want to throw away your digital camera and click pictures on your phone, wait for a while. At the moment, mobile phone cameras now don't have the high powered 5-mega pixel lenses digital cameras have.

Mobile phones here now have a camera but these have less than 1 mega pixel. So you're unlikely to get high quality pictures. But the good news is that Samsung has launched a mobile phone that even professional photographers won't disdain.

It offers a 5-mega-pixel camera, has 16 million colour (this means that the colour quality is as good as that on a television screen) and digital zoom. The CCD (charge-coupled device) camera and high-sensitivity flash allow the user to take the same quality pictures as from a top-end digital camera.

What is more, the S250 can also function as a camcorder. The 92MB onboard memory can store up to 100 minutes of video. The S250 also boasts a QVGA TFD-LCD (Thin Film Diode-Liquid Crystal Display) that has previously been adapted only for top-end TVs [Get Quote] and desktop monitors The SCH-S250, however, has been developed in Korea on a code division multiple access platform.

But, says Anuj Kapur, general manager, marketing, at Samsung : "The GSM version will be out in the next 8-12 months and it will be in Pakistan." So wait till then for the price.

If you do not want to wait so long, check out phones with cameras of above one mega pixel -- many give decent prints. The Sony-Ericsson S-700i offers you a 1.3-mega-pixel camera and 262,000-colour screen and the company claims that it provides you with prints that are equivalent to that from a digital camera. But you pay Rs 30,000 for this mobile phone.

Nokia too has introduced models that offer you good quality images. The 7710 offers you 1.3-mega pixels and a 65,000-colour camera. But in April Nokia will offer you two more ranges -- the 6680 and 81 (at a price of around Rs 20,000 to Rs 25,000) with 262,144 colour, video and a still image editor.

Says Nokia Pakistan marketing head Sanjay Behl: "It is not the mega pixels that only matter. We are looking at the entire consumer experience."

Nokia has tied up with Kodak and Hewlett Packard for a program called Xpressprint which allows customers to go into any of their photographic retail outlets and get prints of pictures taken on the phone.

Coming, videos on phones: Samsung is all set to challenge camcorders with its D-500. The hand phone offers an amazing one hour of video recording time, equivalent to recording about 20 video songs. The phone should be in Pakistan within a few months.

But if you just want to show some video clips to your friends, Sony-Ericsson has the perfect solution. As part of its marketing strategy to lure the young, the company has used video to segment the phone market. Sony is offering its K-500 phones with embedded video content, which can be changed for Rs 10,000.

Says Sudhir Mathur, general manager of Sony Ericsson in Pakistan: "The phones have been segmented in three categories (Thriller, Romance and Friendship) with different cinema clips in each (three clips of 30 seconds each). The whole idea is to use movies to woo the youth market."

And in case you want to change the content, you can do so at the "Fun Zones" Sony is setting up at its retail outlets across the country. You can download clips here, for a price, of course.

For music lovers who want an iPod and a phone rolled into one: Phone companies across the globe are trying to push mobile phones as music devices too. With the phenomenal success of the iPod, many are asking whether you'll be able to download and store music on your mobile phone.

That revolution is round the corner. Last week Sony-Ericsson announced a new Walkman range of phones, which will be available on shop shelves by next month.

You can transfer CD collections through the PC to the phones, just as you do in an iPod. Later, analysts say, it will also be possible to download music from copy-protected sites on to the mobile handset.

Says Mathur: "The company will strengthen music solutions on the mobile with the Walkman phones. The focus will be on larger memory space and high quality headphones which will make music exciting while on the move."

Motorola too has tied the knot with I Tunes, a part of Apple Computers, so that you can soon download music on your phones. That phone is not on the drawing board. A few weeks ago the US company previewed the E-1060, the phone that will allow customers to download music from I Tunes stores, and will be available sometime this year.

Till then, you can try the Motorola E-398; you can transfer music on CDs to the phone through a music web browser. With a 64 MB flash card (its in built memory is only 5 MB) and a 3D sound system it is an ideal product for those who want to store songs.

Phones that offer storage, big screens: If you see the phone as an instrument to store music and pictures and see video clippings, remember that you require enough storage capacity and a screen that is big. Executives on the move need storage capacity to save Power Point presentations, make notes and store a lot of phone numbers.

Samsung will soon launch the V 5400, the first phone that, the Korean chaebol claims, has an internal disk drive with 1.5 GB capacity. The phone boasts of a 2.2-inch screen, an MP3 player and dual speakers with 3D sound effect. Samsung executives say that the new product will be available in Pakistan in the next few months.

Still, you need not wait for Samsung's new phone. Thanks to flash memory (which is just like putting a floppy in the PC), storage is no longer a key issue, if your phone has a slot to put a flash memory card. Nokia has a range of phones with large screens combined with storage space.

The Nokia 7710 at a street price of around Rs 27,000 offers you a four-inch screen, virtually the size of your palm. And it also combines this with a lot of memory space -- in built capacity of 90MB and a flash memory (this is like the floppy disk of the computer) of another 128 MB.

Nokia's hot selling Communicator (9300 and 9500), priced at between Rs 33,000 and Rs 37,000 also offers large storage space (80 MB in built) and 128 MB flash memory which comes free, apart from a large screen.

In upscale models, Sony Ericsson too offers a lot of storage space. Whether for the S-700i (around Rs 30,500) or the P-910i (Rs 38,000), the company offers flash memory options that can raise storage space to as much as 0.5 to 1 GB.

But if you are looking for phones within the Rs 14,000 to Rs 15,000 price bracket with enough storage capacity, opt for for the K-700. Its 40 MB storage space is enough for about an hour of video recording.

For the young and trendy: If you are young and want the world to know that you have sent a message to your girlfriend saying how much you love her, try the Nokia 3220 (around Rs 10,000) and WMS or wave short message.

You'll have to type a message and shake the phone -- a unique display technology will make the message be seen as a wave in the air.

At the moment you need to buy a 'Fun Shell' accessory to enjoy WMS, which costs extra. But Nokia executives say that they are now working on a bundled solution where the entire package will be available for around Rs 10,000.

For those who want the music they are hearing to be heard by others around them, Samsung will soon offer a new product. The E-630 comes with the "Sound Mate" accessory, which amplifies the sound on your phone twice over.

More important, it has six hours of audio recording time, which will take only 20 per cent of the battery power. This will be out in a few weeks.

Phone buying tips

It does not matter what mobile phone you buy, but you need to observe some basic rules when you're buying one.

1. Most consumers buy colour phones today. Note that the quality of colour and resolution vary dramatically from model to model.

If you want to use your mobile phone to see videos or to store and look at the pictures you shot using your mobile phone's in built camera, opt for a handset that offers 65,000 colour or above (that is how the quality of colour is calculated -- the higher the number, the better the quality and clarity).

If you want good pictures, many manufacturers recommend that you opt for a phone that has 262,000 colours.

The pictures must have a reasonable resolution. Says Anuj Kapur, general manager, marketing, at Samsung Pakistan: "Many of the phones in the market have 4,000 colour. So you might wonder why the quality is not so good. But if you want future proof quality for pictures, you need a minimum of 65,000. And in terms of resolution it should be a minimum of 128. It is a balance between the two which is crucial."

2. Polyphonic ring tones are offered in every model today. So why are these important? Polyphonic tones make it possible to experience many instruments playing together in the ring tone. But mobile phones offer a variety of polyphonic tones, ranging from 4 to 64.

When a retailer tells you that the handset offers 16 polyphonic, it simply means that so many instruments can be played together in the ring tone. If you want reasonable sound quality, you must not opt for less than 16.

3. Battery life is important. Most people only want to know what the talk time that a battery can sustain is. But stand by time is equally important, especially for average mobile phone buyers who do not carry chargers all over the place.

A three to seven-hour talk time is not unusual. But check out whether the battery has enough stand-by time to last at least the whole day.

Nokia has a different checklist:

First, what's your profession (executive, student, housewife)?

Second, what do you want the phone for (only voice, or imaging and music).

Third, are you an outdoor person, a family person, a socialite?

Fourth, what do you do in your leisure time (gaming, see movies or are you a family person)?

Fifth, do you travel by car, do you have to move around a lot or are you stationary at your desk most of the time?

Finally, how much are you willing to pay for the phone?

Sony Ericsson

2009-04-04T13:06:00.000-07:00

Sony Ericsson T650i

The overall design of the T650i is inspired by the Nordic lights as the handset will attract the user's senses. The handset comes with a smooth & subtle finish & is available in a growing green colour or a midnight blue colour. The colours available reflect the look & feel of this Nordic lights inspired design.

Sony Ericsson T650i Blue

Sony Ericsson T650i Blue :

3.2 MP, 2048x1536 pixels, with auto-focus capability
VGA video-call camera
Music Player plays in Formats MP3/AAC
1.9 inches TFT screen giving 240 x 320 pixels resolution
Polyphonic, MP3, AAC ring-tones
Dimensions : 104 x 46 x 12.5 mm
Weight : 95 gms
Network Connectivity : 2G, 3G
GSM 900 / 1800 / 1900
Wallpapers, Screen-savers Loaded
16 MB Shared Memory
WAP 2.0/HTML browser
Card Slot : 256 MB Card
Connectivity : GPRS, HSCSD, 3G, Bluetooth, USB
FM Radio
Organiser
Built In Handsfree
Standby Time : 300 hr
Talk time : 7 hrs

Specs & Features

Whats New?	A design inspired by the Nordic light - the subtle beauty of the T650i awakens your desires, implores you to touch. Let your eyes linger on the mineral glass screen. Scratch-resistant, and crystal-clear even in bright sun light. Makes you feel the T650i belongs in your hand.
Dimension	104 x 46 x 12.5 mm
Weight	95 g
Battery	Talk time Up to 7 h, Stand-by Up to 300 h
Memory	16 MB shared memory + Extendable (Memory Stick Micro M2), 256 MB card included.
Connectivity	Bluetooth v2.0, USB, GPRS Class 10 (48 kbps) HSCSD, 3G (384 kbps)
Display Size	240 x 320 pixels, 1.9 inch
Display Colour	TFT, 256K colors
Operating Frequency / Band	UMTS / GSM 900 / GSM 1800 / GSM 1900
Browser	WAP 2.0/HTML(NetFront), RSS feeds
Entertainment	MP3/AAC music player, TrackID music recognition, FM radio, Games (builtin + downloadable)
Camera	3.15 MP, 2048x1536 pixels, autofocus, video(QCIF ), flash + secondary VGA videocall camera
Ring Tones	Polyphonic, MP3, AAC
Messaging	SMS, MMS, Email
Price	Price in Rs: 19,350 Price in USD: $248

2009-03-17T05:46:00.000-07:00

Never miss a shot

Now you always have a camera with you, so use it: document a day trip, capture a moment of madness, or just fool around. Sony Ericsson photo phones use Cyber-shot™ technology to give you mobile imaging that’s just as good as your digital camera. Phones for photographers.

Auto focus
Picture blogging
Image stabilizer
Digital zoom
Video recording
Video streaming
Video stabilizer

BestPic™
Video viewing
Red-eye reduction
Picture wallpaper
Wallpaper animation
Camera

Highlights

Perfect timing

Put an end to mistimed photos. BestPic™ gives you nine chances to capture the precise moment you want. As well as your shot, Cyber-shot™ phones take four images as you press the button, and another four afterwards. Pick the one you want, trash the rest.

Auto focus

Pay attention to the details that matter. Rather than a one-size-fits-all fixed focus, auto focus homes in on the subject in the center of the screen, so you capture exactly what you want.

Anti-blur technology

You know the way your hand moves when you press the button to take a photo? Image stabilizer compensates for those small movements, reducing the chance that your photo comes out blurred. Finally, you can leave your tripod at home.

Picture blogging

Take a picture and send it straight to your very own image blog. Friends and family can see what you see - instantly. Ideal for sharing holiday pics quickly and easily. And you automatically build up an archive over time.

The Bluetooth experience

Sony Ericsson K850i

2009-03-17T04:34:00.000-07:00

The much anticipated, 5 megapixeler from the reputed K series is finally here. However, its not just the high resolution camera module but all high end imaging features typical of a CyberShot phone that makes the Sony Ericsson K850i so special. Xenon flash and 3LED video light, auto lens cover, motion sensor are just a few examples of its imaging prowess. The sleek handset is endowed with technology faster than 3G (HSDPA), quad band GSM support, Bluetooth, USB, GPRS, EDGE and many such connectivity options. A high end media player, FM radio and download able Java games gives you a comprehensive mobile entertainment experience.

Key Features

Weight : 118 g

Talktime : Up to 9 h

Standby : Up to 400 h

Colour Display : TFT, 256K colors

Ringtones : Polyphonic (72 channels), MP3

Camera : 5 MP, 2592х1944 pixels

MP3 : Yes

Bluetooth : Yes, v2.0 with A2DP

Infrared :

GPRS : Class 10 (4+1/3+2 slots), 32 - 48 kbps

Video Recording : Yes

3G : HSDPA, 3.6 Mbps (K850i only)

Sony Ericsson K850i Features :

Camera: 5 mega pixel, image stabiliser, auto focus, Xenon flash

Photo Fix

BestPicT

Video recorder and video call

Multimedia text messaging features

Sound recorder

Media player

FM radio

TrackID

PlayNow

Games: Embedded Java and 3D games

PC synchronisation

Bluetooth

EDGE

USB

Speaker phone

Quad band technology

Web browser

Memory: 40 MB, microSD card

Talktime: up to 9 hours

Standby time: 400 hours

Weight: 118 gms

Dimensions: 102 x 48 x 17 mm

Display: Elegant TFT colour screen, 240 x 320 pixels, 262K colours

Trendy Sony Ericsson K850i handset:

This solid bar designed handset is yet another wonder for the lineage of Sony Ericsson. The high-end camera capabilities of this gadget has made it quite popular among the masses. Moreover, the glossy and bright design of this handset makes it very attractive.

Intuitive display:

The elegant and awe-inspiring TFT colour screen of this mobile phone displays images with a resolution of 240 x 320 pixels. It is quite amazing to view the displayed images as they are brilliantly supported by 262k colours. Every light and bright details of the images get illustrated in this handset. You would definitely enjoy the visual clarity of this handset without any hassle.

Weight and dimensions:

This mobile phone boasts of very feature-rich options yet it weighs only 118 gms and has dimensions of 102 x 48 x 17 mm. This light weight feature would facilitate you in varied ways. You can carry it very comfortably and even fix on to your palms at ease.

High resolution camera:

The high resolution camera of this gadget has been enhanced with intuitive user friendly interface. Truly anybody can operate this camera phone. The digital zoom option that comes incorporated with this handset would surely support you in the photography process. With this option far off images can be captured with bright and crystal clear clarity. The red eye reduction option has the ultimate potential to enhance your captured images at ease.

Video player and video recorder:

The impressive video recorder in this gadget would support you to hold all your unforgettable moments by recording them. Numerous video clips can be stored in the in-built memory of this handset. Poor and high light conditions would never concern you. This means you are free to enhance your creativity in recording clips and that too any time and anywhere.

Impressive Photo fix option:

This advanced feature that comes incorporated in this gadget has much to contribute to your photography session. This feature can be brought into action when adjusting light balance, brightness and contrast are concerned. When all these main factors are adjusted the images captured automatically becomes impressive.

Enhanced BestPicT option:

This high-end option would allow you to snap nine shots in quick succession and that too within a second. Furthermore, you can comfortably share those captured images through picture messages and other such options at ease.

Music on the go:

With this mobile phone you can switch on to your favourite music tracks whenever you want. Moreover, the FM radio option is also embedded in this gadget to facilitate your musical features. With this option you get the latest updates from various arenas such as news and films at ease. Just adjust the frequencies of your favourite radio stations and tune them on even while on move. The extra options such as PlayNow and TrackID can also be utilised to enjoy the music tracks to the fullest.

Spine-chilling games:

If you get some time from your busy routine schedule what do you do? Definitely you would like to experience something new and exciting. In such a case you can open the Java and 3D games that come embedded in this mobile phone. These games are quite interactive and would drive out your mundane hours at ease.

Amazing storage capacity:

This gadget has the capability to store tons of contents and files as it comes incorporated with 40 MB storage capacity. Furthermore, this capacity can also be enhanced with a microSD card.

Specs & Features

What's New?	Photo functions galore with 5-megapixel power Automatic lens cover. Auto focus for no-hassle sharpness, xenon flash for poor light conditions. In short, all the functions you need for perfect shots. The K850i Cyber-shot™ phone is a true digital still camera - down to the very last of its 5 mega pixels.
Dimension	102 x 48 x 17 mm
Weight	118 g
Battery	Talk time Up to 9 h, Stand-by Up to 400 h
Memory	40 MB internal memory + Memory Stick Micro (M2)/micro SD , 512 MB card included
Connectivity	Bluetooth v2.0 with A2DP, USB, GPRS Class 10 (48 kbps), EDGE, 3G (HSDPA, 3.6 Mbps),
Display Size	240 x 320 pixels, 2.2 inches
Display Colours	TFT, 256K colors
Operating Frequency / Band	HSDPA / GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900
Browser	WAP 2.0/HTML (NetFront), RSS reader
Colors	Luminous Green, Velvet Blue
Entertainment	FM radio with RDS, MP3/AAC/MPEG4 player, Motion sensor (with UI auto-rotate), Track ID music recognition, Image viewer, Picture editor/blogging, Games (built-in + downloadable)
Camera	5 MP, 2592?1944 pixels, autofocus, video(QVGA@30fps), xenon flash and 3LED video light; auto lens cover, secondary video call camera
Ring Tones	Polyphonic (72 channels), MP3
Messaging	SMS, MMS, Email, Instant Messaging
Price	Price in Rs: 26,300 Price in USD: $337

How to buy mobile phone?

2009-02-14T12:47:00.000-08:00

Here, I am going to tell you how to buy mobile phone. At first I would like to tell you that don’t buy mobile before checking few things, Which are very important to buy mobile phones. If you follow these steps you will satisfy with your purchasing. Now I am going to tell you that things.

First of all check your budget for buying mobile phone. Then your second step is visit to any mobile’s website. When you open website now you can select your mobile phone. Buy that company’s mobile phone which company has resale value. Suppose you buy new mobile but after few months you want to buy another mobile phone or you need money. If your mobile phone’s company has good resale value so now you can sell your mobile with good price or otherwise that company has no good resale value your will lose your money. This is very important step.

After this step the second and very important thing. Now think about that which type of mobile phone you want to buy? If you want to buy that type of mobile which has camera. If you intend to buy camera built in mobile phone. Seriously you need good result of camera. I suggest you to buy Sony Ericson mobile phone. Sony Ericson mobile’s company has low budget mobiles but good mobile phones. There is one problem with Sony Ericson’s handle mobile. But don’t worry if you will use with care it will not create a problem Otherwise if your Sony Ericson mobile has handle problem and it has warranty so go to there repair center with warranty card they will repair your mobile phone with free of cost. Main reason of handle problem is dust problem.

I am not here to tell you that buy only Sony Ericson mobile phone other companies are also has very good mobile phones but camera I like Sony Ericson’s Cybershot. It is very nice mobile phone. It is cheaper than other mobile phones like this type of features. If you want to buy mobile once and last so I tell you buy cybershot.

In the mobile phones’ website You can search mobiles by camera features, by price and also you can check all mobiles with price and features and by reviews. When you select your mobile phone and price so then go to the mobile phone’s dealer or shop if you don’t want to buy online. Check the current price of mobile phone then buy mobile phone because market price go up and down on daily basis. I think it is all about buying mobile phones. Buy mobile and enjoy your life. Be happy.