Unlocking News

London Riots: Blame Blackberry Messenger (BBM)!

2011-08-08T23:26:00.001+01:00

BBM is both essentially cost-free and invisible to police!

As riots continue throughout London, British police have threatened to bring charges against those who use social media to incite looting and violence.
Deputy Assistant Commissioner Stephen Kavanaugh confirmed that officers were looking at both Twitter and Blackberry Messenger as they investigated the riots, which began after the police shooting of 29-year-old Mark Duggan in the Tottenham section of North London on Thursday.

But some observers have noted that the social media that has really helped "organize" the looting is not Twitter or even Facebook, so central to uprisings throughout the Arab world earlier this year. Many of the teenagers running through London's streets are communicating by BlackBerry Messenger.

Just before Duggan died Thursday, he sent a final message to his girlfriend via BlackBerry Messenger, "The Feds are following me."

Ever since, according to Mike Butcher, editor of TechCrunch Europe, "while Twitter has largely been the venue of spectators to violence and is a handy public venue for journalists to observe, it would appear the non-public BlackBerry BBM messaging network has been the method of choice for organising it."

BlackBerrys cost less than smartphones and BBM is both essentially cost-free and invisible to police. In order to communicate, BBM users must exchange PINs, but their conversations are private. They can spread their PINs via SMS, Twitter or other means.

BlackBerry made a specific effort to market its product among black youth in London, recently sponsoring a "secret gig" in London featuring top U.K. rappers.

Blogger Jonathan Akwue said he didn't quite understand the appeal of BlackBerrys among London teens until his "far cooler 17-year-old nephew" explained that BBM was "the main reason for their popularity." The rioters seem to be as young as the BBM users. More than 200 alleged rioters have been arrested so far, and two thirds of those for whom ages have been given are 21 or under.

Akwue was the first to note that BBM messages had been circulating since the Duggan shooting. "BBM was also the channel used to spread the word that the riot had started," wrote Akwue, "and from what I can tell on Twitter, it appears to be the means by which communications continue to be shared." Both Butcher and Akwue have archived reams of messages in which Londoners use Twitter to talk about BBM's role in the violence and looting, and even to offer to retweet BBM pins.

"Sending out BBM broadcasts about linking ukp at 4 pm to cause more havoc," writes one tweeter. Another says, ":o jd sports Tottenham hale just got robbed go on bbm to see da pics!" Another writes, "People had in their bbm status 'Going Tottenham riot, who's on it" like it was a casual street party. A fourth said, "According to my bbm, now something's starting in wood green."

Most telling perhaps are tweets that say, "BBM Where Ma News of Da Day Comes From" and "The news ain't even showing the extent of what's actually happening on the streets of tottenham? BBM is doing da ting right now!"

Influence of the iPhone Design on Other Mobile Phones Since 2006

2011-08-05T16:13:00.000+01:00

Picture yourself back in the 2006 holiday season: if you were a geek, you were most likely struggling with your Windows Vista upgrade (those were the days!) and dreaming of owning that then-brand-new smartphone. More likely than not, it had a physical keyboard, had a rudimentary built-in web browser and definitely not a multi-touch display. When the iPhone first launched, the whole smartphone space was taken into a whole different direction.

As you can tell from the image below, Apple’s competitors have evolved greatly since the iPhone’s 2007 release, but there’s a pattern they all seem to have followed: all of Apple’s competitors now look like the iPhone in one way or the other. Back in 2006, the predominant form factors were clamshells and small screens surrounded by static plastic buttons, yet today most major smartphones don’t even have many physical buttons; in fact, most of their interface is comprised almost solely of a large multi-touch display, much like the iPhone.

Back when the iPhone was first announced at Macworld 2007, Steve Jobs made a sharp comparison between it and the other devices, portraying them as outdated and functionally flawed. After years of arguing for the importance of physical keyboard and dismissing the need for multi-touch functionality, it didn’t take long for all major players to adopt features they had previously criticized. While lousy at first, the tide began turning in 2009 with meaningful "iPhone killers" being introduced, most, if not all of them running Google’s Android operating system. Android, while significantly different from iOS, was clearly built to resemble it in both user experience and functionality with its touch-based interface and fluid web browser. Today, major players who had developed their proprietary operating systems in the past have all jumped on board to develop Android-based phones. Samsung, for example, developed its Galaxy line of smartphones and tablets which has been a runaway success. While Android has been hugely successful, other makers have instead decided to evolve their own proprietary operating systems. This has led to a much more touch-friendly Symbian, which runs on Nokia phones, and a new version of the Blackberry OS that brings some of the features iOS users had been enjoying for quite some time. Of course, all of Apple’s competitors attempt to emphasize the differences they have between each other, but in the end all share 90% of the features. We’ll have to wait until the next trend starts to watch everyone blindly following it. Yet, we can’t deny that touch-screen devices with decent web browsers are better with plastic dumb phones that could barely display Google.com correctly.

iPhone 5 Prototypes Sent to Carriers for Testing

2011-08-02T21:55:00.000+01:00

According to a new report, carriers across the world have received the next-generation iPhone for last-minute testing before the device officially begins being manufactured en masse. This follows many contradicting reports and claims that have surfaced over the last few days, which suggests that the next iPhone release might be imminent.

The news was broken by Charles Arthur, tech editor at the well-known UK publication The Guardian, on an opinion post. There, Arthur claimed he has sources that have hinted at “boxes” that have been shipped to carriers worldwide:

my carrier sources tell me that the boxes in which the new iPhone hardware is encased have been transported to carriers for testing. This is an important step in the release cycle for any phone.

Important indeed: in fact, this is one of the last, if not the absolute last, test that the iPhone 5 will go through before its mass manufacturing begins and is later shipped to customers worldwide. According to Arthur, the phones come enclosed in “black boxes” that are very rarely opened, and only by senior staff. Since the focus of most of the testing is merely to assess last-minute compatibility problems with the device’s connection to networks, very few people actually manage to see the device itself at this stage, or find out about its functionality unless, of course, they really need to know about it. Moreover, the device is likely enclosed in a different case to make it indistinguishable from the iPhone 4, if the next iPhone actually turns out to be different.

It’s very high security, as you could guess; my understanding is that barely anyone inside the carriers gets to open those boxes,

Of course, there’s no evidence of whether these mysterious black boxes that are finding their way to carriers actually contain the next iPhone, but since the iPhone 5 has been rumored to come out in about a month, what else could secret packages shipped by Apple with their content strictly locked down could be? It must be the new iPhone, folks.

Rumors of a next-generation iPhone have been ongoing over the last few months. While reports have been confusing at best, the iPhone 5 is expected to include several hardware enhancements, including a larger camera and better processing power, and perhaps slight design changes such as a larger screen. The device is expected to be an announced by Apple at a special event next month.

iPad Full Permanent Factory Unlock Now Available

2011-08-01T16:56:00.000+01:00

Yes! We can now permanently unlock Apple iPad and Apple iPad 2 (any version). All that is needed is the IMEI number, unlock is all done remotely via email.

Service supports the following networks:

New micro glass lens paves way for projectors in smartphones

2011-08-01T16:41:00.000+01:00

The smartphones we carry in our pockets are quite versatile devices. They used to be the size of a brick, required a separate battery pack, and only made calls. Now they fit in the palm of your hand, do HD video, surf the web, play games, hold gigabytes of data, and run for days on a single battery charge. Manufacturers continue to add functionality too, with NFC being the latest new tech to slowly be introduced to make them payment devices, and who knows what’s next.

One potential future edition is the inclusion of a projector module. That would allow video to be projected on a wall as a 60-inch HD output, for example, maybe even larger. The problem with adding such functionality is one of size, power, and heat. At the moment the projector components are too big, they require a lot of power, and generate a lot of heat. That makes them unsuitable for inclusion in the tiny, cramped enclosure of an iPhone or Droid.

Alps Electric is trying to solve that problem though, and has just announced the world’s smallest aspherical glass lens. It measures just 1mm x 1mm.

Such lenses are used in high-capacity communication networks. The glass lens is used in optical communication for transmitting light signals to optical fibres, but those same lenses are also ideal for use in projectors.

Alps’ latest aspherical lens is called the FLGS3. Not only is it incredibly small, but it has a high coupling efficiency (measure of light transmission efficiency) of 73% over the previous 68%. What that means is you need less light to gain the same level of brightness. Less light means less power and less heat.

The gains from the new lens mean that palm-sized projectors may no longer require the Peltier device–metal component used to help dissipate heat–therefore making them smaller and cheaper. The savings in power will also mean you can use the projector for longer on a single battery charge.

Even if the savings don’t turn out to be enough for use in smartphones, it should see a reduction in size of new, dedicated palm-sized projectors in future.

Alps has already started production of the new glass lens, and definitely sees them being used in consumer devices as it ramps up production to 100,000 per month by the end of 2011.

Official Facebook Phone Unveiled: Vodafone 555 Blue

2011-07-29T22:21:00.000+01:00

Vodafone has unleashed what it claims to be the world's first designated prepay phone that is aimed squarely at Facebook fans (the INQ Cloud Touch is also available on contract). Indeed, the handset itself has been designed in collaboration with the social networking giant and even features the iconic "F" logo as a separate button.

The Vodafone 555 Blue (which sounds a bit like a 1980s porn movie, to be honest) is fairly basic in functionality and connectivity: There's a QWERTY keypad, 2.4-inch display, and 2-megapixel camera (with flash)

It can play MP3s, WMAs and AACs through built-in music software, and its 40MB of on-board can be upgraded through SD card support (up to 16GB). There's also an FM radio and Bluetooth 2.1.

And, of course, Facebook is built into its core, running from the off. Messages from your FB friends will appear in your inbox alongside emails. It also updates automatically in the background, so you can always keep informed of what's going on in your social networking world.

There's also the Opera Mini 5 web browser on board for internet tomfoolery. But it is only a 2.5G device, so it's not designed to munch away on massive amounts of data (just as well, really. As a pre-pay handset, you don't want to run out of credit quickly for phone calls, for example).

Vodafone will be releasing the 555 Blue globally in the near future, through its own shops and online. Pricing is yet to be confirmed but is expected to be around the £100 mark.

Facebook’s New iPhone App EXPOSED!

2011-06-16T16:24:00.002+01:00

Just hours ago, we reported on a leak that revealed a new photo sharing app Facebook has been working on. We’re now getting our hands on even more screenshots showcasing other features, such as commenting features built right in, as well photo capturing (although that wasn’t all that surprising).

Instead of nagging you with boring details, we’re cutting it straight to the chase: below are some of the features we found the most compelling from the mockups.
Photo capturing and sharing built right in:

As expected, this new app seems to allow users to capture pictures straight from the camera App. The capturing feature looks and feels very similar to the native iOS camera app, as you can tell from the pictures below:

Once users are done taking pictures, they can choose whether to share them or not. From the sharing screen, users can also insert tags if they’d like. Users apparently won’t be forced to share pictures right away either:

Single Shot and Multi-Shot Modes:
More interesting, this app seems to have two modes: single shot and multi-shot. While the former seems to be meant to be a quick way to take a photo, tag it, assign it to a place (yes, you can do that) and submit it; multi-shot lets you do the same thing, only with many pictures, presumably for big events, such as parties.

"Likes" and Comments:
This app will also be able to display likes and comments, as expected. Although the mockups below don’t look anywhere near finished, they hint at a possible slide-up function in order to unveil comments on any picture. We’ll have to see where this goes...

Top 10 Most Common iPhone Passcodes

2011-06-14T16:34:00.003+01:00

Daniel Amitay has developed an iPhone security App known as Big Brother Camera Security, which relies on the simple concept of capturing a picture of anyone who enters the wrong passcode when unlocking the device. Weirdly enough, the app also tracks passcodes (on an anonymous basis of course) for statistical purposes, which led Amitay to write a rather amusing blog post with the top 10 most used passcodes. And yes, the most used one is 1234, how did you guess?

As you can tell from the graphic above, the two most common passcodes are 1234, followed by 0000, at least out of all Camera Security users. Security Savvy users should definitely know better, since the first codes any thief will likely try will be exactly those two, and therefore defeat the point of the Camera Security app altogether. Another popular pattern seems to be dates, such as 1998 and 1989, which are likely associated with birth and graduation dates, which is another big no-no if the thief happens to know a little about you (or takes the time to take a look at any ID you might have in your wallet). This also points to this app’s young user base, as its author concluded, which should definitely be more security-aware.

15% of Camera Security users are using one of the passcodes shown above, this can appear rather shocking, but in fact it’s just a reflection of how little we really care about security. This applies to website passwords too, where 1234, birth dates and dictionary words are among the most popular. It’s a known fact that we only perceive threats when they’ve hit us in some way, it’s human nature. Until the time when we in fact do get hit and our personal data falls on the wrong hands.

Food for thought.

iPad 2 Jailbreak Coming Soon

2011-06-12T10:29:00.000+01:00

It’s been more than three months since Apple started shipping the iPad 2 and the jailbreaking community hasn’t been able to satisfy iPad 2-toting, jailbreaking junkies yet.

The new Apple A5 processor-based architecture in the iPad 2 is proving to be a difficult puzzle to solve. The Limera1n exploit, which worked on A4-based iOS devices like iPod touch 4G and iPhone 4, is hardware-based and, well, since iPad 2 is A5-based, the exploit doesn’t work on it. And so we need to find an all-new exploit…

Well signs are now pointing towards a potential PDF-based exploit. So we may soon have some very good news for all iPad 2 owners waiting for a jailbreak.

We will of course keep you updated and let you know as soon as the iPad 2 jailbreak is available.

DroidKungFu: New Hard-To-Detect Android Malware: Steals User Data

2011-06-06T20:31:00.000+01:00

If you’re an Android user, you better stay on the lookout for a new form of Android malware: DroidKungFu. Discovered by Assistant Professor Xuxian Jiang and Ph. D. student Yajin Zhou, both from North Carolina State University, this reflects yet another evidence that hackers are interested in this open but also largely unprotected platform.

As explained on the University’s blog, the malware takes advantage of a vulnerability present in Android 2.2 and under. When installed, it opens a backdoor that grants an attacker full access to the phone, and the data on it, essentially turning it into a "bot":

In Android versions 2.2 (Froyo) and earlier, DroidKungFu takes advantage of two vulnerabilities in the platform software to install a backdoor that gives hackers full control of your phone. Not only do they have access to all of your user data, but they can turn your phone into a bot – and basically make your smartphone do anything they want.

Users of later versions of Android are also affected, although to a lesser degree: albeit no full control is possible, some data is still accessible, such as the phone’s mobile phone device ID number, a unique number used by authorities to identify the handheld and block it, in case it gets stolen.

What sets this threat apart from other recently Android threats, like DroidDream, which we reported on last week, is the fact it can’t be detected or removed by common anti-malware software. According to the University’s blog, two leading malware removers were tested and neither of them was able to detect or remove DroidKungFu effectively. The researches at North Carolina State are currently working with anti-malware makers on a fix:

The researchers are currently discussing this problem with leading anti-virus software companies.

This malware is embedded into Android applications found in "more than eight" different Chinese App Stores. While no infected Apps have been found anywhere else, we can’t stress enough that taking standard security precautions is becoming more important than ever on mobile devices: don’t get Apps from sources you’re not familiar with and check for anything shady. Remember that if something doesn’t look right, it probably isn’t.

Even if this piece of malware isn’t detected, it’s also becoming increasingly advisable to get anti-malware software, such as Lookout or AVG Free. Some protection is always better than none.

Download iOS 5 Beta for iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch

2011-06-06T20:23:00.000+01:00

As was expected, Apple today at Worldwide Developers Conference has announced the next major release of iOS for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch. This release, which brings tons of new features is available as of today to developers for testing purposes.

Which devices are supported you may ask? Well, this time, iPhone 4, iPad 2, iPad (1st-gen), iPhone 3GS and the 4th & 3rd-gen iPod touches are all going to be supported. This debunks the rumor which we heard earlier about iPhone 3GS not getting iOS 5.

The new iOS 5 includes over 200 new features, not to forget over 1500 new APIs for developers to take advantage of. There are 10 new key features, including new revamped notifications system called ‘Notification Center’, which according to Apple is going to be the industry’s best implementation. Other features include: Newsstand, Twitter integration, Safari Reader, Reading List, tabbed browsing for iPad, Reminders, Camera updates, Mail updates, built-in dictionary, PC-free (no cables required), OTA software updates, updates to Game Center, iMessage, AirPlay mirroring for iPad.

Just like with any other beta release, this version of iOS is only available to developers who are enrolled in the iPhone Developer Standard or Enterprise Program. If you are a registered developer in either of these two programs, then you can access all the beta bits today by signing into Apple Developer Connection (which is also knows as iOS Dev Center) here.

iOS 5 is slated for public release later this fall, probably in line with the next-gen iPhone 5/4S release.

White iPhone Coming This Spring

2011-03-14T14:31:00.000Z

In a reply to a question posted on Twitter about when a white iPhone would be available for purchase, Apple’s Senior Vice President Phil Schiller used his verified Twitter account to reply, saying "The white iPhone will be available this spring (and it is a beauty!)."

Two things are interesting here. First is the fact an Apple employee has actually given some real information about the availability of the unicorn-like device, and second is the use of Twitter as the medium. With Schiller’s account being verified by Twitter there is little doubt this is indeed the SVP himself. Is Apple starting to converse with its users, even if it is limited to 140 characters?

Perhaps the real question here is whether the Spring white iPhone is an iPhone 4 model or something else.

iPhone iOS 4.3 Software Update Released Today

2011-03-10T11:24:00.000Z

Apple today has just released the very final version of iOS 4.3 for iPhone 4 (GSM only), iPhone 3GS, iPad 2, iPad, iPod touch 4G/3G.

This version of iOS brings a number of new features for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch users including: ability to to cancel the download of an app, multitouch gestures for iPad (for developers only), Personal Hotspot for GSM iPhone 4, AirPlay for third party apps, option of choosing between mute switch and rotation lock for iPad’s “Side Switch” hardware button, subscription-based payments to iTunes App Store, Nitro JavaScript engine from Safari on OS X, new iTunes Home Sharing features, support for FaceTime on iPad 2, Photo Booth for iPad 2 and other system wide changes and improvements.

If your phone is jail broken and unlocked DO NOT UPDATE YOU WILL LOSE YOUR JAILBREAK AND UNLOCK!!

BlackBerry Messenger will launch on Android and iOS

2011-03-03T15:27:00.000Z

PhoneShop UK has learned from multiple trusted sources that Research In Motion is planning to bring its beloved BlackBerry Messenger app and service to Android, and eventually to iOS as well. According to our sources, RIM has not yet finalized details surrounding timing or pricing, but we have heard that the company might make the software free to all users. We’re also told strategy is still being developed, however, and RIM may end up charging users a one-time fee or even a recurring fee for access to its BBM service on third-party platforms.

It might seem a bit strange for RIM to want to bring the software that is responsible for keeping BlackBerry devices in the hands of countless potential defectors, but in the big picture, we think it could make sense. The company is getting very frustrated with applications like WhatsApp and Kik offering third-party experiences based on a concept RIM invented, and RIM apparently wants to own the space.

As far as what Android and iOS users can look forward to, we’ve been told RIM will offer stripped down versions of the BBM experience BlackBerry owners know and love. That way, Android and iOS users can communicate with practically anyone who has a smartphone using BBM, but they might not be able to share photos, location, or videos (when RIM crosses that bridge). Users who want the full BlackBerry Messenger experience will still need a BlackBerry smartphone to get it. At the same time, RIM could own the entire messaging app category on every major smartphone OS platform and could potentially draw new users in because it has given them a taste of what BlackBerry Messenger is all about.

Right now, we have heard that Android is definitely a go. But again, we’re not sure on timing, though our sources are confident that it will launch some time this year. RIM chose Android first because of the fact that it could develop and integrate something like this much easier with an open platform, but the plan is to build and deploy an iOS version at some point as well.

Geohot Raps Against Sony

2011-02-14T15:29:00.000Z

This has to be one of the funniest trolling done by anyone from the jailbreaking community ever. I always thought Geohot is cool, but with this, he just gets better. Unless you have been living under the rock, you must have heard of the lawsuit that sony has filled against Geohot for making PlayStation 3 exploits and jailbreak tools public. No matter what, there’s something that Sony always gets back from Geohot, pwnage for life. In a latest effort to publicly pwn Sony, Geohot gives you "The Light It Up Contest".

He sums everything up in a single phrase "You’re fucking with the dude who got the keys to your safe". Watch the video embedded below to enjoy the rap!

Lyrics:

Yo it’s geohot
And for those that don’t know
I’m getting sued by Sony

Let’s take this out of the courtroom and into the streets
I’m a beast, at the least, you’ll face me in the northeast
Get my ire up, light my fire
I’ll go harder than Eminem went at Mariah
Call me a liar
Pound me in the ass with no lube, chafing
You’re fucking with the dude who got the keys to your safe and
Those that can’t do bring suits
Cry to your Uncle Sam to settle disputes
Thought you’d tackle this with a little more tact
But then again fudgepackers, I don’t know Jack

I shed a tear everytime I think of Lik Sang
But shit man, they’re a corporation
And I’m a personification of freedom for all
You fill dockets, like thats a concept foreign to y’all
While lawyers muddy water and TROs stall
Out of business is jail for me
And you’re suing me civilly

Exhibit this in the courtroom
Go on, do it, I dare you

How to Unblock Access to Cydia on Three’s 3G Network

2011-02-14T15:23:00.001Z

We have just discovered UK carrier Three is blocking Cydia servers on their 3G network.

The block also affected Cydia in Ireland and China apart from UK. Three is known to block a lot of websites including but not limited to warez and P0rn. Speaking of p0rn, Cydia was also blocked in an effort to filter adult content and not to prevent jailbreaking, which by the way, was accidental.

This could be a big problem for jailbreakers in the mentioned regions and so we had to look around for a solution. The solution is as simple as simplicity can get. All you have to do is dial 333 from your phone on Three’s network and request them to disable adult filtration for you. The best part? You get a bonus too along with Cydia. Heh!

Untethered Jailbreak for iOS 4.2.1

2011-02-04T11:02:00.000Z

Finally the much awaited full untethered iOS 4.2.1 jailbreak for all iOS devices is available. We can now jailbreak any iOS device out of the box on iOS 4.2.1 including: iPhone 4, 3GS, iPod touch 2G/3G/4G, iPad and Apple TV 2G.

Jailbreak your iOS 4.2.1 device NOW!

Only from PhoneShopUK

Official Facebook Phones in Partnership with HTC To Launch As Soon As Next Month – Report

2011-01-27T11:37:00.000Z

With Facebook’s 600m users it was surely only a matter of time before the king of the social networks decided it wanted to enter the mobile phone fray, and according to City AM that time could well be as early as February.

Believed to be manufactured by phone hardware behemoth HTC, the Facebook phone (we hope that’s not what it will be called) is expected to be announced during next month’s Mobile World Congress and will be powered by a customized version of Google’s Android operating system. It’s anticipated that Facebook’s popular news feeds and status updates will form the core of the interface, possibly living on the handset’s homescreen. HTC’s ability to ‘skin’ Android is believed to be one of the main reason Mark Zuckerberg’s startup turned billion Dollar company decided to plump for the Taiwanese company as a partner.

Interestingly Joe Hewitt is believed to be one of the key players in the development of the handset. Those with long memories may remember Hewitt ceasing development of Facebook’s iPhone app last year citing frustrations with Apple’s ecosystem as the root cause. Is this what the man with the golden touch has been working on ever since?

Former Googler Matthew Papakipos is also on the team according to City AM.

Is this just another step toward world domination for Zuckerberg? Love him or loathe him, the guy knows how to make products people want to use. Time will tell if the mobile phone world is the next to be conquered by the Zuck.

PhoneShop UK

Android 2.3.1 Gingerbread Now Available for iPhone, iPod touch

2011-01-27T11:29:00.002Z

After just a couple more weeks of work, we have made tremendous progress and brought the recently released Android 2.3 Gingerbread to the iPhone 3G.

iPhone 3G is the first device on which Android 2.3 has been installed successfully using the same OpeniBoot software in previous ports. In case you don't know, OpeniBoot is an open source software based on iBoot that allows jailbreakers to insert their own code such as Linux kernel into iPhone and iPod touch.
Android 2.3.1 Gingerbread has been finally released for iPhone 3G, 2G and iPod touch (1st-gen). Android ports for iPhone 4, iPad and iPhone 3GS are said to be coming soon.

However this is a preview release only, and therefore it is not distributed via popular Android installer package called Bootlace. You will have to download the binaries and install it manually using the instructions posted here.

http://www.phoneshopuk.biz

Data glitch hits Windows Phone 7 handsets

2011-01-11T15:19:00.000Z

Microsoft is investigating a glitch on some of its Windows Phone 7 handsets which is causing huge chunks of 'phantom' data to be sent and received automatically.

The glitch deals a serious blow to Microsoft’s ambitions to storm the smartphone market with its flagship Windows Phone 7 portfolio.

Windows Phone 7 users have reported on various forums that up to 50MB of data being sent from their phones, without their permission. The problem seems more widespread in the U.S.

One user reported: ‘I went and looked at my AT&T account online and noticed that my phone was sending huge chunks of data seemingly in patterns. For instance on November 21-24 it sent between 30 and 50MB of data at 10:41pm each day and Dec 1-4 it sent between 30 and 50MB of data at 9:41am each day.

'On December 23rd I turned on airplane mode so my phone could no longer send data. I turned airplane mode off briefly on December 23rd and the phone sent 400MB of data. I called AT&T yesterday, December 28th, but they said that there was nothing that they can do to figure out what was happening on my phone.’

A Microsoft spokesman said the company is investigating the problem.

Unlock Your iPhone 4 Permanently

2011-01-10T16:28:00.004Z

Use This service is to fully unlock any iPhone 4.

This is the only FULL LIFE TIME UNLOCK or FACTORY UNLOCK solution for Apple iPhone 4.

Your phones IMEI will be registered as UNLOCKED in the Apple database. So your phone will always be unlocked even if you update the firmware!

Supported iPhone Models:

* iPhone 4 Locked To T-Mobile UK, Orange UK, Vodafone UK or O2 UK
* All software versions including iOS 4.1.2
* 16 or 32 GB

How Long Does it Take?

Current waiting times for iPhone unlocking codes is 3 to 7 working days.

If your iPhone 4 is not locked to United Kingdom T-Mobile do not use this service !!

Here's a question we get asked a lot about our iPhone Full Unlock Services:

Q. I'm interested in your "Unlock Your iPhone Permanently !!" service, my iPhone is currently locked on T-Mobile (UK) and my phone is iPhone 4 version 4.1. After your unlock will I still have proper warranty? Or you will just send the details hot to jailbreak my iphone4 ? and after all procedure I will lose warranty?

A. This is not a jailbreak unlock at all. It's a full unlock and once processed, you hook your iPhone up to iTunes with a none T-Mobile sim inside and iTunes will say "Congratulations your iPhone is now unlocked". The version is irrelevant, 4.1 will be fine, and you will be able to update in the future too without fear of the phone re-locking, also your warranty is unaffected.

This unlock service can only be purchased using a Credit or Debit card for payment over the phone. Please call 0115 960 5928 to order.

PhoneShop UK - iPhone 4 Unlocking.

Sony Ericsson Playstation phone photo leak

2011-01-10T16:16:00.000Z

Pictures of Sony Ericsson’s long awaited Playstation smartphone have been leaked by Chinese website IT168.

The phone, dubbed the Xperia Play, appears to run on Android 2.3, with Sony Ericsson’s proprietary Android skin.

A Playstation app allows users to access the gaming function of the phone, with games controlled either using the built in gyroscope or the traditional Playstation buttons.

The phone also sports a 1GHz Snapdragon Qualcomm processor and 512MB of RAM.

Sony Ericsson has yet to name a launch date for the phone. Since it did not turn up at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas last week, all bets are on it launching at the Mobile World Congress next month.

Jailbreak iOS 4.1 NOW

2010-10-09T22:42:00.002+01:00

Our new jailbreak is ready and we can confirm that our NEW iOS 4.1 Jailbreak Bootrom Exploit works on iPhone 3G, 3Gs, iPod touch 2G, 3G, 4G, iPhone 4 and iPad !

Jailbreak your iPhone, iPad, iPod or AppleTV

iOS 4.1 Jailbreak Using Bootrom Exploit works on iPod touch 4G, iPhone 4 and iPad

2010-09-09T16:26:00.001+01:00

Our experienced iPhone hackers at PhoneShopUK have successfully managed to find another bootrom based exploit which can jailbreak all iOS based devices on the latest iOS 4.1 firmware. What this means is that the next jailbreak most probably is going to be based on bootrom exploit which unlike JailbreakMe will enable users to change boot and recovery mode logos among many other things.

Also, the best thing about a low-level bootrom exploit is that Apple wont be able to patch it simply by releasing a new firmware update . Instead, it will require Apple to release a revised hardware version of iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS, iPad and the iPod touches with new bootroms chips in order to patch the bootrom exploit.

So our new jailbreak should be ready very soon and we can conferm that our NEW iOS 4.1 Jailbreak Bootrom Exploit works on iPod touch 4G, iPhone 4 and iPad !

Sony PlayStation mobile phone

2010-08-12T13:09:00.000+01:00

There's no question that gaming on the Android platform has heretofore been relatively underwhelming, but that looks like it's all about to change. It seems that Sony Ericsson -- a company that has yet to even introduce an Android 2.0 device -- is at work on a project to redefine gaming on Google's mobile platform. We now know (via a trusted source) that the company is actively and heavily developing a brand new gaming platform, ecosystem, and device (possibly alongside Google) which are already in the late stages of planning. And we've got the goods on it.

Here's what we can tell you about the hardware: if you're a gaming fan, this is exactly the kind of phone you've been waiting for. The device is described as cross between the Samsung Captivate and the PSP Go -- in other words, it's a landscape slider with game controls in place of the typical QWERTY keyboard. The D-pad is here, but instead of the small joystick, the device will have what was described as a "long touch pad" for analog controls, along with standard PSP buttons and shoulder buttons. The phone has a large display, described as being between 3.7 and 4.1 inches with WVGA or better resolution, a 5 megapixel camera that we're told might not be final, and it'll likely have a 1GHz Snapdragon CPU on board. The phone is mostly black with some silver highlights, and the gamepad area is white / silver in color.

Apparently it's currently branded as a Xperia device, but it looks like it will carry PlayStation branding as well. Those who've seen the phone say it looks "pretty damn sexy." The mockup above probably doesn't do the actual hardware justice, but it should give you an idea of what you'll be dealing with. On the software side, it looks like the device will be running Gingerbread (Android 3.0) with a phone-specific skin, and there will be a new area of the Android Market specifically for the games. That content will be initially accessible only by the halo device, but from the sounds of things, these titles might be made available to other Android phones if their specs and button layouts meet requirements.

Games will be graphically in the range of PSX or PSP games, meaning true 3D gaming is headed to Android. Titles currently being shown off seem to be focused around some older PSX as well as new PSP offerings, with God of War, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, and LittleBigPlanet possibly on tap, and future plans for titles which incorporate augmented reality features.

In terms of release, it's possible that the phone and ecosystem could be introduced as early as October of this year, but we have yet to confirm.

Right now we're working on getting even more detail about the phone and partnership, but we can tell you now that this is not a random rumor -- we have reason to believe that what we've heard and seen is real and coming to market. It makes perfect sense in a way -- Google gets a much-needed push into the gaming and entertainment space for Android, while Sony (via its partnership with Ericsson) finally delivers the PlayStation phone users have been wanting.

We see it as a major win for both companies and the consumer... and we always need another distraction. Stay tuned to this space for updates as we get them, and in the meantime, start socking away the pennies.