Wild About Gadgets

iPhone 3G now available for pre-order in Black and White, from $199 up

2008-06-09T11:57:00.000-07:00

The online Apple store is now back online, and it now shows the much-awaited iPhone 3G. iPhone 3G will come in two color variants, black and white, with new pricing details for models with different memory specifications. The 8GB iPhone 3G will sell for only $199, while the 16GB model will set you back $299. For those amounts you will get what is probably the most advanced handheld internet device out on the market today, with built-in Wi-Fi, GPS, Bluetooth, 3G connectivity, and... you know the rest. Worldwide rollout is said to be on July 11 so hold your breath, for now.

[Apple Store]

More iPhone 3G photos, worldwide rollout on July 11

2008-06-09T11:50:00.000-07:00

The long wait is almost over. We now have to give Apple exactly one more month and a day for them to finally release the much-awaited iPhone 3G. The official worldwide rollout date is on July 11. And here it is, live and in the flesh, displayed in a transparent glass box just like the original. Hit the jump for a couple of more exclusive live photos.

Thanks, [Giz]

First iPhone 3G real live pics unveiled

2008-06-09T11:42:00.000-07:00

Obviously, these are not fake. Continue reading for more pics.

Photos [Gizmodo]

iPhone 3G finally announced officially!

2008-06-09T11:35:00.000-07:00

Ah, you knew it was coming. Finally, Steve Jobs has taken center stage and officially announced the existence of a 3G iPhone. They're calling it iPhone 3G, and according to Gizmodo's Jason Chen, it's "thinner at the edges, has a full plastic back, solid metal buttons, 3.5-inch display, camera, FLUSH HEADPHONE JACK, and improved audio." Continue reading for another photo. More on this later.

iPhone 2.0 software coming on July, free for iPhone, $9.95 for iPod Touch

2008-06-09T11:10:00.000-07:00

The iPhone 2.0 software update has been confirmed to be released on July for free via iTunes for iPhone owners, while iPod Touch users are charged $9.95.

The iPhone 2.0 Software update brings Contact Search, bulk delete of e-mail/ saving e-mail attachments to iPhone's photo album, auto-scientific calculator mode in landscape orientation, Push Notification service and more.

Apple takes on Task Manager with Push Notification Service

2008-06-09T11:04:00.000-07:00

The iPhone didn't have task manager with its first iteration, causing a lot of people pain in the behind because they couldn't have very important applications (such as IM) running in the background while doing something else.

Apple could've remedied this by adding a simple task manager menu to iPhone 2.0, but this takes its toll on the battery life, so instead they introduce a whole new system called Push Notification Service. It's like push email, only for updates on the apps that you're running. More info on this shortly.

First iPhone 2.0 third-party apps introduced, more to come shortly

2008-06-09T10:47:00.001-07:00

So, WWDC 2008 has officially started, and thus far into the day's presentation, Apple has already demoed 7 upcoming iPhone 2.0 applications, namely: Super Monkey Ball, Auctions, loopt, TypePad, Associated Press, Cromag Ralley, Enigmo, and Cow Terry. Some of these apps (loopt, TypePad, and AP) will be available from the App store for free while the others will set you back $9.99. And yes, the world just stopped spinning.

Image of Cow Terry Grand Piano [Giz]

SEGA SuperMonkeyBall coming to iPhone

2008-06-09T10:35:00.001-07:00

SuperMonkeyBall is going to be available on the iPhone. You can buy it from the App store for only $9.99.

Image [Gizmodo]

Apple WWDC 2008 Keynote begins

2008-06-09T09:50:00.000-07:00

It's a shame I couldn't be there, but the WWDC 2008 keynote has just begun. This is a photo of the stage showing the Apple logo, like an iPhone at startup, which means that the show is ready to start. More updates (read: 3G iPhone confirmation, etc.) are available at Engadget and Giz.

Image [Engadget]

Coin-Operated Wi-Fi base station almost perfect

2008-06-09T09:47:00.000-07:00

For a minute there I thought I was looking at the future. And then I found out that this Handlink Wi-Fi base station needs coins to operate, and my hopes began to sink. Sure, it makes short work of connecting to the Internet at a lesser expense and effort taken from you, but coins?! I'm sure they'll find a way to add support for credit cards or cash by the time this hits the market, or at least I hope.

[Register Hardware]

Motorola offers fancy walkie-talkie in MC75 Worldwide Enterprise Digital Assistant

2008-06-09T09:39:00.000-07:00

No, Moto, this is not the way to go. The world doesn't need to go back to the '90's. Your competition is heading the other way, into the future now! I'm not saying that a 3.5G HSDPA and 3G CDMA-EVDO (Rev A)rocking handset will not be useful in the hands of a FedEx delivery man, but you see, sometimes you have to think of the common folk, too. Remember what happened when you did that with the RAZR? And if you're going to equip something with a barcode scanner, 2 megapixel camera, built-in Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and Infrared, you might as well at least make it easy on the eye, right? Oh well, this is why I'm not surprised that you keep losing market share.

[Motorola MC75]

Online Apple Stores are down worldwide, coincidence?

2008-06-09T09:34:00.000-07:00

Today is the day when Apple CEO Steve Jobs is expected to announce the 3G iPhone, as well as a few new products and the official iPhone SDK. Back at home, meanwhile, Apple's online stores are down, all over the world. Of course you know what this means, and we'll all confirm it in a couple of hours or so.

Realtek and Asus team up for world's first Wireless USB Monitors

2008-06-08T19:18:00.000-07:00

Asus once again deviates from the norm and explores an entirely new market care of a collaboration with Realtek, where the two companies will aim to produce the first ever wireless monitors using wireless USB technology. The obvious benefits of this would be that the desktop would be more clutter-free and truly wireless, at the expense of greater power consumption, of course. Read the full press release after the jump.

TAIPEI and HSINCHU, Taiwan, June 6, 2008 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ ----Realtek Semiconductor Corp. (Taiwan Stock Exchange: 2379.TW) today announced it is collaborating with ASUSTeK Computer Inc. on wireless monitors; a new product series designed to set a new paradigm for monitor convenience and ease of use, employing Wireless USB technology from Realtek.

"Wireless operation opens up an entirely new experience to our customers, with unsurpassed convenience and ease-of-use," said Vincent Chiou, Director of ASUS Display BU. "Our search for high performance and quality led us to choose Realtek's state-of-the art Wireless USB solutions as a key component in raising the easy usability of ASUS monitors to a new level."

By eliminating video cables, wireless monitors reduce clutter and permit more flexible and streamlined office layouts. The connection and disconnection process is reduced to the ultimate in convenience via automatic system configuration, creating a true 'easy come, easy go' experience. With a high bandwidth wireless connection, the wireless monitor offers the performance of a wired connection with the flexibility of wireless.

"ASUS brings highly innovative technology with real consumer benefits to market," said Ran Yan, senior vice-president at Realtek. "We are extremely pleased to collaborate with ASUS at the forefront of the ongoing drive to bring ever more convenience to every aspect of computer use."

The ASUS wireless monitor employs an integrated Wireless USB module from Realtek, embedded into the monitor. The monitor pairs with either Wireless USB HWA (Host Wire Adapter) or WHCI (Wireless Host Controller Interface) solutions attached to the PC.

First Australian Apple store to open on June 19th, offering free shirts to early-comers

2008-06-08T19:11:00.000-07:00

If you're anywhere near King and George Streets in the Sydney CBD in Australia, you may want to camp out overnight on June 18th. Why? Well, let's just say that you could go home the next day with a brand new 3G iPhone in tow. That's right, if the 3G iPhone is really to be announced and released by June 9th, then by June 19th, as the very first Apple store in Australia opens its doors, you should also be able to purchase it there. Be sure to bring both cash and card, though, to avoid any hassles when Apple suddenly announces that it will only accept cards. Two smaller Apple stores are currently under construction in Melbourne's Chadstone Shopping Centre and Chatswood in Sydney.

Via Sydney Morning Herald

Asus showcases dual-screen multi-touch device concept

2008-06-08T04:17:00.000-07:00

Not content with taking over the UMPC and mini notebook market, Asus showed off a couple of concepts that depict some kind of multi-touch device. Think of it as an overgrown Nintendo DS, with both screens having a touch-sensitive surface. For now, these concepts seem to be very far from becoming a reality, but for sure, Asus is already working on them. If they make enough money from the storm they've cooked up with the Eee PCs they recently launched, who knows? Perhaps they may even release these as full-blown products in 10 years or less.

Via [GottaBeMobile]

iPhone to be launched by Rogers Wireless on Monday

2008-06-08T04:14:00.000-07:00

At the exact same day when WWDC 2008 is going to take place, Rogers Wireless is going to release the iPhone for the very first time officially in Canada. The Rogers-Apple iPhone deal was first announced in April of this year, but no details were provided regarding the specs of their iPhone and whether or not it will come with an exclusive lock-in contract. Expect more info to be released by Monday.

[WirelessNorth] via [UnwiredView]

Christian Dior outs $30,000 phone that's really worth a whole lot less

2008-06-08T04:09:00.000-07:00

Why bother to put your kids through college, help feed the homeless, and give your money to charity, when you can throw it all away by having at this new Swarovski crystal-adorned Christian Dior phone? This would have probably been a good mobile phone with its 2.6-inch QVGA screen and 2 megapixel camera, but with the help of 640 little Swarovski crystals, it magically turns into a paperweight that costs nearly $30,000 USD. That's right, you absolutely can't afford it.

Via [Engadget]

MSI Wind with Windows XP reviewed by Laptop Mag, given 4.5 star rating

2008-06-07T14:24:00.000-07:00

The first time I found out about this notebook, I thought it couldn't possibly best the UMPC that it was trying to be a spin-off of (er, the Asus Eee PC). And knowing that MSI wasn't exactly known to be the best laptop maker in the world, I didn't really have high hopes for this one. But after reading LaptopMag's review of the MSI Wind laptop, I have to say I'm impressed. And at the current rate of conversion, I guess I got a bum deal with my ECS M31 that I bought for about the same price as it.

The MSI Wind is a 10-inch screen toting mobile computer that packs a 1.6 GHz Intel Atom processor, built-in Wi-Fi and much of the same features that you'd expect to have in most budget notebooks nowadays.

What's good about the MSI Wind is that it has a battery that lasts for 4 hours with Wi-Fi and 5 hours without, according to Laptop's review. I can't believe it lasts longer than my notebook, but then again, my notebook came out in 2006. Its Intel Core Solo processor doesn't seem to be helping much, even if I have Wi-Fi off and the screen brightness set at the dimmest.

The MSI Wind isn't available yet in the Philippines, but once it hits local stores I wouldn't be surprised if the early Eee PC adopters suddenly turn to the Wind as the Apple of their eyes. I know I'd be glad to check this baby out once it becomes available locally.

Read the full MSI Wind Review at LaptopMag [Link]

Asus makes Eee PC 901 and 1000 as official as this news report is late

2008-06-07T14:19:00.001-07:00

Look, let's just say I just remembered that for my blog to have return visitors I should update my posts regularly. So don't hate on me if I'm only now writing about the Eee PC 901 and 1000.

As I understand, the Asus Eee PC 901 and 1000 are two new versions of the original Eee PC, which as you may probably be very well aware of, is an ultra-mobile PC (UMPC) or mini notebook that offers a lot of bang for your buck.

Now, the new Eee PC's offer even more bang for your buck, featuring shock-proof Solid State Drives, larger screens, and longer overall battery life. Rumors put its price to be around the $650 USD range, and in direct competion with the also recently launched MSI Wind laptop. Asus offers a direct match to the Wind with the Eee PC 1000, but I've only seen a review of the Wind from LaptopMag so far so I can't say who would be a better buy at this point in time.

The Asus Eee PC 900 is the 8.9-inch toting model, while the Asus Eee PC 1000 offers 10 inches of screen real estate. Both will be compatible with either Linux or Windows XP as its OS, and presumably the different versions will come at very different price points.

I have absolutely no idea when this thing will hit the Philippine Market, but I'm guessing it won't be long after availability in at least one neighboring country is announced. So now we wait.

Qualcomm mini-notebook runs with 3G, Linux OS

2008-06-07T14:16:00.000-07:00

When Qualcomm isn't churning out high-tech smartphone chips for Apple. Nokia, and Samsung, it gets busy with side projects such as this - a 3G mini-notebook that runs on Linux. Not surprisingly, it's touted as the latest "Eee PC killer" and should be made available at about the same pricepoint, which is around $299 USD. The Qualcomm 3G Linux mini-notebook is being reworked to be compatible with Windows Mobile 7 on the company's Snapdragon chipsets, which would really make it like an overgrown smartphone. Details are sketchy about this little model's features and release and availability haven't been confirmed just yet. This would add yet another entry to the already crowded mini-notebook arena. But that's a good thing.

Via [Crave]

Brando rolls out FM radio and Bluetooth headset in one

2008-06-07T14:13:00.000-07:00

For the geek of geeks who still happens to find the time to listen to the radio, listen here, closely. There's this plasticky contraption that Brando has developed, you see. It's the BTM-118 Bluetooth headset, and it's a BT earpiece and FM radio in one. It lasts an awfully long time on a single charge (200 hours standby, 10 hours talk time, and 12 hours on FM) so you should be able to find something useful to do with it in between calls. As you can see it features a display that looks like something out of a rectal thermometer, a few buttons, and two variants: black and white. So if your ears are itching for some Bluetooth-FM radio orgy, let this one bring it. I think it even blends.

[Brando]

Looking forward and back with Apple's iPhone

2008-06-07T02:29:00.000-07:00

Has it really been a whole year since the Apple iPhone was first announced? I remember it was the only reason why I bought a brand new magazine from 7-11 for the very first time. The magazine's cover story was "Secrets of the iPhone". From the outside it just looked so sexy, and I found it very hard to resist the prospect of knowing even just a little more about it (at the time I had not been exposed to the world of blogs and online tech news sites yet, and I was only beginning to get acquainted with gadgets through old T3 Philippines back issues, so there).

So I found out that it had a 3.5-inch touchscreen, built-in ambient light sensor, accelerometer, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth AND it's a cellphone. There was supposed to be only one button on its face, but when I first saw the iPhone in photos I couldn't find that "button." Even when I held it in my hand for the very first time when imported units started to hit local stores, I couldn't find the damn button as easy as I'd expected. It was really a phone of a geek's dreams, and the only thing that kept me from thinking I'd ever own one is the ridiculously high pricing, not to mention that it'd be locked to AT&T.

But I kept my cool, and watched all these early adopters and hackers from the sidelines, never giving thought to the possibility that I might ever own one. I was there to cover the news when GeoHotz did the very first hardware hack that opened up the iPhone to other networks, and from that day on I considered myself a fan.

Less than two months ago, I would've bought a first-gen iPhone, but I thought about how impaired it would be with the lack of 3G network support, so I didn't. I went for an iPod Touch instead, thinking that I could complement it with something from Nokia's Nseries, or anything similar. But as I got to know how easy it was to download e-mail to my iPod, surf the Web with Safari, navigate the refreshingly cool menus, and control the mostly accelerometer-based applications, I couldn't help but think that the iPhone would've really been all I need.

And now that the second gen version is all but confirmed by Apple itself to be delivered by June 9th at the earliest, the thought keeps bugging me: maybe I should just forget everything else and get the iPhone 2.0. Should I get a 3G iPhone when it hits the Philippines? The answer seems so obvious!

If it were up to me, I would get the second-gen iPhone (probably even if it doesn't have 3G) but unfortunately, the official reports say it will be made available through Globe Telecom, which means it'll be under a contract.

But there have been rumors that the upcoming iPhone could come without a contract, at a lower price point and unlocked, no less! If that's the case, then I'll be jumping the gun sooner than your 3G connection can download this post. My girlfriend would love to have my 8GB iPod Touch (as I'm sure yours would).

Well, boys, the wait is on, and I hope we all get to have something to smile about come WWDC.

[Inspired by Adam Frucci]

From the red corner...

2008-06-07T02:27:00.001-07:00

Kevin from over at JKOnTheRun has just embarked on what he calls as the web-only challenge, which is a challenge to see how far he would go without relying on any dedicated software clients and turning to the browser in order to get any work done. In a way, I've already been engaged in this challenge myself, since for the last two months that I've been working as a freelance writer all I've ever really needed was a browser and a decent Internet connection. Except of course for MS Paint (which I use to resize the photos in my posts) and MS Notepad (for some occassional rough drafts), I rarely even look at the other apps in my laptop anymore. A browser is all that I need.

OK, maybe I still need a few other software clients, such as iTunes (so I can put songs and movies on my iPod Touch), Windows Media Player (for entertainment), and Nokia PC Suite (to connect to the Internet) but other than these, the only thing I ever really need all the time is Firefox. Web-based apps make short work of my tasks nowadays.

I remember when I was working as an Editorial Assistant for a local community web site back then, and the Head Writers asked for their own licensed copies of Microsoft Office 2007. I thought to myself, "Idiots! Notepad is everything you need!" and decided that it wasn't the nicest thing to say, so I just carried on with my work on Notepad and kept updating that community site's blog from inside through Wordpress.

Now, the blogs that I write for have their own content management system, and it works directly on the browser. I've never even opened MS Office since I left college over a year ago. Really.

So about this web-only challenge thing, although I've already been doing this myself for quite a while now, I'm interested in going it with other individuals especially if they're in the same line of work as I am, and they produce content as well. I'm sure I'll learn a lot of new things that I would otherwise have skipped alone.

So yeah, Kevin, if you're reading this, I'm in. Cheers!

Hop-on to launch six more "Anti-iPhone" handsets including $125 smartphone, 3G phones

2008-06-07T02:23:00.000-07:00

We've all seen Hop-on's first effort to end world hunger produce the lowest-of-the-low-cost mobile phones, in the form of the Hop-on 1900, a very basic phone that's really nothing else than just that - a phone. It features a small body that doesn't have a display, as well as a very light price tag.

But Hop-on is busy, and their cellphone family is growing fast, with a total of 6 new phones on their way to being introduced to the worldwide mobile phone market soon. This will be Hop-on's 1800 series of phones, and these range from the $125 PDA phone to the same cheap $10 cellphone that made them famous.
The new 1800 Series phones include the:

the HOP1801, a very low cost smartphone
the HOP1803, an Ultra Low Price GSM Tri band phone
the HOP1805, an Ultra Low Price cell phone for emerging markets
the HOP1810 GSM Dual Band Camera Phone

These four new phones will be available in North and
South America, Asia, the Middle East and Africa with support for multiple languages such as English, Spanish, Portuguese, Arabic and more upon request.

Hop-on is also working on a couple of more handsets for sale in North and South America, and these are the HOP1808 Dual SIM mobile phone with camera phone with with support for a slew of multimedia files, and the 3G equipped HOP1809, which even comes with built-in Bluetooth.

At this point, all the new phones seem to be nothing more than words in a press release, but we're sure that whenever Hop-on gets around to reaching Apple about collaborating with them (Hop-on CEO wants to add HOP phones as free giveaways for 3G iPhone packages), this should seem interesting. Hope the phones don't have a cranky line, though.

Via PRNewsWire

HTC Touch Diamond official release date delayed?

2008-06-07T02:20:00.001-07:00

Reports from UK reseller Devicewire and similar outfits say that the delivery date of the HTC Touch Diamond is "suffering from a significant delay that could critically affect the timing of its launch."

Though we've known that the HTC Touch Diamond is scheduled for a June 9th release (which is next week already), these reports put the new launch date on the 23rd due to a last-minute firmware upgrade. Something that could give it iPhone-esque, functionality, perhaps?

The delay, according to Devicewire, is a "worse [sic] case scenario" and isn't really final just yet. There's still a possibility that we might be seeing the HTC Touch Diamond roll out in a few days time, if everything works out fine for HTC.

One thing that looks certain from all this is that the HTC Touch Diamond's new launch date would make it as being available on about the same time that Apple's 3G iPhone. If that happens, we'll see a market that's kind of split between two smartphones, then only the best touchscreen wonder will win.

Via Electronista