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It hardly seems like a day goes by without a BlackBerry of some sort being launched on yet another network; today it's the turn of T-Mobile UK and they're gleefully announcing the BlackBerry Pearl 8110 in - wait for it - an exclusive new "Blue Slate" colour.  So that's gritty blue, then, eh?  Casing differences aside, the model is exactly the same as that offered by Vodafone UK: quadband GSM, 2-megapixel camera with 5x digital zoom and flash and GPS with the BlackBerry Maps app. 



T-Mobile have also announced two new instant email plans to accompany the Pearl 8110: customers on 18 or 24-month contracts can add instant email access to their package for £5 ($9.94) a month, with access to ten different email accounts on the one handset, or for £10 ($20) add both instant email and unlimited on-device internet access with the carrier's Web'n'Walk package.

The BlackBerry Pearl 8110 is available now, likely priced from free depending on contract.

[via Pocket-lint]

Apple shares have seen a turnaround after the market reacted positively to the company's news that it had met its iPhone sales targets and was preparing to unveil the long-awaited official SDK for the handset at an event next month (which PHONE Magazine will be live-blogging).  The uplift coincides with confirmation from O2 Ireland that the network will begin sales of the handset from March 14th, priced at €399 for the 8GB model and €499 for the newer 16GB model ($593 and $742 respectively), albeit without Visual Voicemail. 





Unlike tariffs currently offered with the iPhone, the O2 Ireland package will not include unlimited data - instead, it will be capped at 1GB with each MB in excess of that costing €0.02.  Three contracts will be available, starting at €45 ($67) for 175 minutes and 100 SMS, then €65 ($97) for 350 minutes and 150 SMS, and finally €100 ($149) for 700 minutes and 250 SMS.  Buyers will be expected to sign an 18-month contract.

[via Mobility Today and Apple Insider]

Apple Inc sent out invitations for a special event this morning taking place on March 6, 2008 at 10:00 a.m PST. Attendees will learn about the iPhone software roadmap, including the iPhone SDK and some exciting new enterprise features.



Phone Magazine received an invitation to attend, so please join us next week for the live blogging of the Apple event.

We’ll be releasing more information about regarding the live blogging web address as the event approaches.

Sony Ericsson's TrackID system is clever, but it's not much use if you're being plagued by a tune in your head and you're desperate to figure out who it's by; the SE app only recognises actual music playing.  Melodis have

I love seeing sensible besuited business people playing with toys, which is why these Toshiba 815T PB cellphones for Softbank - complete with stick-on robot limbs - fill me with such glee.  Akihabara were in Japan for the unveiling of the bizarre accessories, themed around a new sci-fi TV show called Ketai Sousakan 7; the handset itself is 3G with a 3.2-megapixel autofocus camera and QVGA screen.





But let's be honest, here, we don't care about the specs - we just want a Transformer phone!  According to Akihabara the whole thing is actually quite tasteful and doesn't feel cheap.  Now they have to make one which actually moves! 

Chris Owens' Edge concept might not be as dramatically eye-catching as, say, the Mobile Encyclopedia Frame we covered earlier today, but it has the benefit of being relatively production viable.  Looking quite similar to Samsung's P520 Armani phone, the Edge handset differentiates by having a slide-out glass keypad complete with zeitgeisty etched numbers and cool backlight.





Rather neatly, Chris has fashioned the microphone wires as a border for the keypad; of course, it's all academic since there's not really any chance of the Edge handset being made.   It'd also need some pretty small hardware - that chunky glass slide doesn't leave much casing room.

[via Yanko Design]

Much as it pains me to be cynical about something as cool as a cellphone watch, I'll believe that the Epoq EGP-WP88 is shipping from March 1st when I hear that the first customers have it in their hands (or more likely on their wrists).  Unlike the LG watch-cellphone concept shown at MWC last week, the Epoq apparently has a built in microphone and speaker so you don't necessarily need to resort to a Bluetooth headset if you're caught short.  It also has a kinetic power supply, which recharges the two interchangeable Li-Ion batteries by your own movement.



According to the specifications the Epoq offers "handwritten input"; however there's no mention that the OLED display is also a touchscreen, so I can only assume it's some over-ambitious product description.  The watch is quadband GSM (850/900/1800/1900MHz) has a quoted talktime of 120-150 minutes or 70-100hrs standby.  Most exciting is the "incoming call with big head sticker" feature; I think it means picture caller ID.

Supposedly the Epoq EGP-WP88 will ship on March 1st priced at $549.95.  If you order one, let me know!

[via The Raw Feed]

Looks like HTC have just lost a customer: The Boy Genius has thrown in the towel and decided he can't be bothered waiting for the Shift UMPC, which HTC promised had launched in the UK on the Orange network and in Spain on the Telefonica network back on February 11th.  Unfortunately, it turns out that you can't get a Shift for love nor money; as TBG puts it, "Not in stock, not available for order, not in stores, not in anyone’s hands — nothing." 



A quick check of the sites and yes, there's not even an entry for the Shift in the "upcoming" handsets section.  Now normally this wouldn't be too surprising a situation - mobile phones (and laptops and cars and) are often delayed - but HTC have been promising the Shift for so long that it's likely TBG won't be the only potential buyer deciding to spend their money elsewhere.

What do you think, are you still bothered about the HTC Shift?  Let us know in the comments.

How do you get away from it all without 1) time or money to take you far, far away, 2) a Holodeck, or 3) psychadelic drugs? Maybe by surrounding yourself with mood lighting created with this Room Palette Skyrium from Banpresto RelaxStyle line of products. Nine different LED color lights move through a diffuser to project different lighting themes onto walls and ceilings - like "Aurora" and "Resort Ocean."

Scheduled for release in April - no information on pricing yet, but the original Room Palette sells for $69 at Japan Trend Shop.

Via Trends in Japan.

This week, Verizon is giving away one of these gorgeous pink BlackBerry Pearl 8130 smartphones to one of our email subscribers. If you're not subscribed, sign up here.

Read more about the pink Pearl.

Take a peek at some of our past easy-on-the-eyes emails:

Popgadget Drop: Giveaway - Belkin Rockstar iPod Hub
Popgadget Drop: Giveaway - The Amazing Logitech Air Mouse
Popgadget Drop: Zamzar file conversion now bigger and better

If you noticed your local Apple store was closed today, that was your first clue. Tuesday is the magic day for Apple to dazzle us with new products and upgrades, and make us want to spend money.

After the introduction of the

A friend of mine was very excited about the announcement today at the Game Developer's Conference in San Francisco that Logitech unveiled the official wheel of Gran Turismo, the Logitech Driving Force GT racing wheel. She's a huge NASCAR fan and plays every driving game made, and you have to have a wheel or there's "just no point!" I've played with her and it's amazing how it simulates a real racing experience, though my racing is limited to go-karts and speeding on the freeway when I can.

With features such as powerful force feedback and an innovative 24-position realtime adjustment dial for on-the-fly control of brake bias,traction and damper settings, this wheel will really spoil her. (Sorry, it is only available for PSP3 right now.)

"Driving Gal" salivated over the new wheel which " simulates understeer, oversteer, and traction loss with frightening accuracy." While the full-size gas and brake pedals deliver precise throttle and brake response, racers can use either the sequential stick shift or the wheel-mounted paddles to race through gears. The wheel also features a large 27.9 cm (11-inch) wheel with rubber-overmould rim, which she says will provide "real control."

It seems Garmin may have to use their GPS expertise to navigate the courts, as business PBX company Nuvio have filed a

Fixed-mobile convergence such as dual-mode WiFi height: 287px" title="Motorola Z6w is UMA compatible" />

"Completion of the 3G UMA standard could not be timelier, with strong operator demand for both 3G dual-mode handset and femtocell services.  The vendor community is also preparing to deliver UMA-based 3G solutions. In the dual-mode handset market, we’ve seen recent announcements about UMA-enabled 3G dual-mode handset platforms from both Qualcomm and NXP. And in the femtocell market, NEC, Motorola, Ubiquisys and Netgear have all announced UMA-based solutions as well as trials with O2 and Telia" Patrick Tao, vice president of technology, Kineto

Femtocells are compact cellular network bridges that provide pockets of mobile coverage by passing it via a hardwired broadband connection; O2 are trialling the system in the UK and plan a 500 user roll-out this Summer.

[via Geekzone]

Analyst firm Oppenheimer has slashed their expectation rating of Motorola from "outperform" to"perform", and in doing so triggered a 4-percent stock tumble for the company.  Basing their revised rating on concerns that falling demand for Motorola handsets would see them ship 28 million rather than the previously expected 32 million devices this quarter, Oppenheimer analyst Ittai Kidron predicted similarly poor sales in Q2, just 29 million handsets.  Motorola themselves warned investors of a less-than-stellar Q1, but if Kidron is to be believed performance is worse than expected.

Meanwhile, Kidron has also cast doubt onto Motorola's chances of selling off its cellphone business, citing poor interest from rivals:

"With limited strategic options, we see a higher likelihood of Motorola retaining its mobile devices business" Ittai Kidron, analyst, Oppenheimer

Motorola announced over the weekend that Chief Financial Officer Tom Meredith would be replaced come March by ex-private-equity partner Paul Liska, a move that Kidron has been similarly scathing about:

"We view news of a new CFO as a non-event and we don't believe Carl Icahn can do something that hasn't already been tried" Ittai Kidron

Sony Vaio laptops are always lust-worthy, with the exception of the wretched hard-to-use Vaio keyboards. Still, geeks will undoubtedly sneer at the girly new 15.4 in.

It was a sad childhood moment for me when Mom figured out that the reason I got carsick on trips was that I passed those long hours in the back seat with my nose in a book. She loved books, but she was also fed up with cleaning vomit off the seat, the carpet--and me. So the rule when the car was moving: no reading. I played the license-plate game for endless boring hours and tried not to spend precious gas-station moments in the bathroom instead of with a book.

It wasn’t until decades later, after some serious barfing in a glass-bottomed boat, that I learned the secret cure for motion sickness from a tour guide. It’s simple and completely free. Lift your eyes to the horizon. Focusing on something close can bring on motion sickness. Stare into the distance and it usually disappears.

The makers of the ReliefBand say their wristwatch-like device helps with motion sickness (and also morning sickness if you can’t tough it out until week 12). But the main target is chronic severe nausea like nausea from chemo. It’s nerves in your wrist, they say, that are responsible for throwing up.

Has your door key gone walkabout once more? Or maybe you were able to find it yesterday but know in your heart that the Night of the Mislaid Key will come because it always does? Do you have a locksmith on speed dial because you’re pretty sure you’ll need one eventually--again?

You could make one more try at promising yourself that you’ll do what the memory experts advise: establish a homeplace for your key and remember to put it there faithfully every single time. Or you could just give up and bypass a door key completely. One less thing to remember. Install a lock that opens at a touch--but only your touch.

Your finger is the only key you’ll ever need for the the biometric fingerprint door lock. This one is not bad-looking, and the price ($199) is pretty reasonable. A bonus: you’ll never leave your door unlocked again because this puppy is a guard dog that locks automatically.

Uses 4 AA batteries; no PC connection needed. Fingerprint verification and door lock are combined in single unit for easy installation. It’s available for doors that open either from the left or the right. Fingerprints can be registered or erased directly with the lock on your door - and, if your circle of trust is wide, the biometric lock will accommodate prints from up to 120 of your closest friends.

Thanks to a proposal being pushed by Democratic congressman Ed Markey, US cellphone buyers could soon have the right to buy any handset their carrier offers

Nokia's N82 most definitely scores highly on the "lust inducing" scale for its blend of top-notch functionality (HSDPA, WiFi, GPS, a 5-megapixel autofocus camera and more) and understated styling, but the chromed body was a bit naff for some.  An all-black version had been promised for some time but no live pictures were available; now, mobilecity have managed to get their hands on the upcoming handset so now we have the evidence to show that the renders really did the N82 justice.





In all-black, the N82 really is a slick Darth Vader phone; it's available for preorder in the US now.

[via The Boy Genius]

Flyers for LG's latest touchscreen cellphone have shown up over at

With ever-increasing cellphone coverage, most people are busy complaining about having slow 3G access never-mind no ability to make voice calls; Ben Wilcox over at The Gadgeteer decided to take a look at a phone system that offers voice and data in places where your Nokia would resolutely refuse to grab even a single bar.  Using the Immarsat satellite network, the Thrane BGAN Explorer 500 terminal promises coverage wherever you can clearly aim up into space; the plus side is up to 464kbps downloads anywhere in the world, the downside is some seriously expensive pricing.





With a Bluetooth handset for voice calls, as well as ethernet, RJ-11, USB, an antenna jack and 12v power-out for accessories, the Explorer 500 covers all the connectivity bases.  Getting a signal is possible in less than two minutes, using the built-in compass and LCD display; according to Ben, call quality is better than a cellphone.

However there's an obvious downside: the terminal itself costs $2,800 and the cheapest monthly plan is $57 with no inclusive minutes or data allowance.  And with voice calls starting from $0.99 a minute and data at $6.50/MB or $3.25 a minute for streaming at 32kbps, you'll soon rack up a massive bill.  Pick a bundle package of 750MB data and 200 minutes a month, and you're looking at a regular bill for $2,800.

Like Ben says, if you've got an expense account and you travel off the beaten track, go for it; the rest of us will just have to find the nearest payphone!

Trolltech, the Linux-based cross-platform OS software house that Nokia acquired for €104 back in January, have announced yet another supported OS for its Qt development framework; as of Qt version 4.4, set to be available this coming May,

Trolltech licence Qt in both commercial and GPL versions, depending on the developer, and the platform is used by more than 5,000 customers and features in Skype, Photoshop Elements and Google Earth.  Many analysts saw Nokia's buy-out of the company as a direct challenge to Android; the Trolltech Qtopia OS for mobile devices has already featured on cellphones, set-top boxes and media players.

LinkedIn members can now access LinkedIn via the iPhone or any mobile devices with an Internet browser. The new interface allows for quick and easy access to search for LinkedIn profiles as well as research mutual contacts, get updates about your connections or even send out invitations while on the go. Click over for the full press release along with a quick video demo of the m.linkedin.com on the iPhone.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mQpvZtkLljU

LinkedIn Debuts Web Application for Mobile Users at m.linkedin.com

Mountain View, CA — February 25, 2008 — LinkedIn, the world's largest professional network, today announced over 19 million members can now access a LinkedIn web application via mobile devices with Internet browsers like iPhone and iPod touch, Blackberry, and other web- enabled wireless phones.

"Let's face it, every professional today is carrying a wireless device," said Dan Nye, LinkedIn CEO. "Many of these professionals are on the move, attending conferences, sales meetings and client events. Making LinkedIn available on mobile devices responds to both these business realities and will be great for our users."

There were more than 405 million mobile Internet users worldwide in 2007, with that number projected to grow to 489 million this year, according to eMarketer.com, a market research resource for Internet and emerging technologies. And industry analysts including Standard and Poor's conclude that the phenomenon of online social networking has gone mobile and is one of the key applications driving mobile Internet usage.

LinkedIn members can utilize the LinkedIn network on their mobile devices by logging into the web app at m.linkedin.com. This release is a beta product with the final version expected later this spring. The beta is available immediately in English, French, German, Spanish, Japanese and Chinese with additional languages to follow

LinkedIn members will be able to immediately take advantage of the following LinkedIn features on their mobile devices

* Search LinkedIn profiles including photos and bio information to help recall and connect with business acquaintances at events and conferences

* Research the mutual contacts they have with other professionals to help make real world introductions easier

* Invitation capability to connect on LinkedIn anywhere

* Network update capabilities to receive important updates about your connections while on the go.

Your aerobic exercise routine may not be a bust, but it will be more efficient and productive if you monitor your heart rate and keep it in the target zone that’s right for you. But those chest straps that measure electrical voltages from your heart . . . so ugly and geeky. And using a wrist-only device to measure your pulse instead just doesn’t work as well.

But suppose they made a pre-wired sports bra with tiny electrodes knitted right into the fabric, electrodes that could sense your heart’s electrical signals? Suppose a tiny transmitter, snapped into a small pocket in the front of the bra, radioed readings from the electrodes to a digital heart-rate monitor/watch on your wrist? And suppose this wired device looked pretty much like a regular sports bra?

That’s what NuMetrex has done with a sports bra wired to send your heart-rate data to a digital readout for real-time monitoring. Prices for the bra alone start at $49, not much more than a wire-free brand-name sports bra. An entry-level package featuring bra plus transmitter and watch (with time, date, stopwatch, alarm, and heart rate limits) is $99.

OK, now the crucial question. A sweaty sports bra can get funky pretty fast. Is this, miracle of miracles, a washable electronic device? Yes. And you don’t even have to hand-wash; machine will do fine. The company says you can rack up 100 machine washings with no effect on performance, and even after that their electronic boob job continues to work with only slight error readings. Order one in red or a pretty deep pink called razzleberry before the end of February, and NuMetrex will send $5 to the American Heart Association.

From the makers of Cableyoyo and Cool Feet laptop cooler comes this highly functional and elegantly simple cable organizer and USB hub for laptops. Like other products from Bluelounge, by itself, the SpaceStation doesn't look like much, but put it to use with your laptop, multiple peripherals, and other junk, and it totally changes the look of your workspace.

Hook up your laptop and all your devices (to the internal 4-port USB hub) and wrap the cords around the coiling pins underneath (the cords can enter at any point all around the station, no need to force it to feed through a particular spot), place the top of your laptop on the station (which makes for a more ergonomic keyboard angle, AND keeps air flowing under the laptop to prevent overheating), and use the rest of the surface space to hold your iPod or other small devices. In addition, there's a rear accessory rail to slip in business cards, pages you're working with, or notes to remind you to make calls. Sells for $79.95 at Bluelounge.

Click below to see "after" photos.

There's a new class of performance desktop speakers out there, and if you're an audiophile (or audio-nut like me), you'll want them for your own.

The catchy-named GigaWorks T40 are tall, handsome speakers featuring a three-driver design for great sounding audio. Like the GigaWorks T20 before them, the T40s use a Midrange-Tweeter-Midrange (MTM) driver configuration that improves the overall audio balance with deeper and richer bass effects, giving you music that sounds fuller, warmer in tone and closer to the original recording, whether you're listening to music or a movie.

The T40s boast high quality components, such as the dual woven glass fiber cone driver, the cloth dome tweeters, BasXPort technology, convenient control and entertainment extension.



Available from Creative for $149.

Aside from announcing some Penryn-shaped upgrades to the MacBook and MacBook Pro ranges, Apple has also released firmware version 1.1.4 for the iPhone. However if you were hoping for some serious feature changes, think again; Apple are claiming the update is merely bug-fixes, and early feedback seems to indicate that they're not lying. Normally our advice would be to hold off upgrading your iPhone firmware if you're using an unlocked or Jailbroken handset, but preliminary results around the web suggest the software change doesn't junk your third-party apps or SIM swapping.

Hit up the cut for some bad SDK news

UPDATE: I'm downloading the firmware 1.1.4 and should have an update soon.



(Ok, so it's really just "an update" - so for sanity check there's no support for Flash.) 

Meanwhile, UK newspaper The Guardian is reporting that the iPhone SDK - which Steve Jobs promised would be in developers' hands by the end of February - will be delayed thanks to some last minute tinkering. With no official word from Apple and time fast running out to meet the month-end deadline, it looks likely that some sort of set back is happening.

We've had a soft-spot for OtterBox's cases since Vincent ran one over back in 2006 (you should see what he does to the products he dislikes!), so it's nice to see they're expanding their range to include the BlackBerry Pearl 8120 and 8130.  The cases fit into he company's Defender range, meaning they offer drop second, a high-impact polycarbonate shell; and third, a bump/shock-resistant silicon skin.  Fitting the case will take your Pearl to 4.45 x 2.20 x 0.86-inches (up from the bare phone's 4.2 x 1.97 x 0.57-inches) and it weighs 1.6oz.

The case also has a magnetic proximity sensor which shuts off the screen when the handset is put back in its case.

No price has been announced, but a similar case for the BlackBerry 8800-series is priced at $49.95.

Concept phones are great, but they're particularly interesting when the designer has obviously put a lot of effort into explaining how all the aspects of it would work.  It turns what can often be a flight of fancy into something that really makes you think about the construction and interfaces of the devices we choose to carry.  Qian Jiang's Softphone concept is similar, in a way, to Nokia's format changing Morph concept from yesterday, but with echoes of those instant pop-up tents and washing baskets: collapsing to a small, clipped fabric ring, the design uses tactile gestures - such as squeezing to answer a call - and interwoven light-emitting threads to create simple menus and controls.





Unclip it, however, and the whole thing springs open and gives room for a full QWERTY keyboard.  The earbuds are wireless (with nifty slots to fix them to the phone's lanyard, whereupon they recharge through inductive power) and all the hardware and electronics are squashed into the clip itself.



Obviously you shouldn't expect to see the Softphone on shelves anytime soon, but it does prompt questions about convergence devices and the adaptations they require of us (rather than them adapting to how we use them; tiny thumb keyboards are a good example of this). 



[via Yanko Design]

I long ago stopped caring about desktop silicon - after all, how many CPU cycles do I really need to check my email and criticise bad cellphones? - but mobile devices are an area where the chipset races are really kicking off.  A few weeks back we saw NVIDIA's APX 2500 platform and marvelled at the potential for smartphones and other portable devices; now, German firm Lippert Embedded Computers are claiming to have produced

In the beauty realm, collagen, a protein that acts as the support structure for the skin, seems to have maintained its standing as the most valuable resource of the body. If you don't have enough of it, you can get it injected or use methods for tricking your body into producing more.

Now, you can also drink it. Toki, a Japanese product, is a supplement, that claims to replenish the collagen in your skin. Now, how does collagen that you drink make its way through your digestive system to replenish collagen in your skin? I thought this would be a good question for our friends over at The Beauty Brains website (real scientists who answer questions about beauty products). The reply I got back says there's no evidence that drinking collagen has any effect on the skin, since digesting the protein breaks it down into its constituent amino acids, just like when you eat any protein.

Here's what the Toki website has to say about how their product works: "Toki contains Active Collagen, Calcium, and Hyaluronic & Dermatanic acids. These nutrients have been combined with 47 amino acids from Hijiki seaweed to promote absorption. Unlike topical creams, Toki supports internally. "

How can you resist an iPod speaker shaped like a raindrop that you can take into the shower or bath, or keep pool-side or on your beach blanket? I have the one in "Liquid Blue"; it's about the size of a coconut (so not tiny), and it houses my iPod safely inside its waterproof shell so I can take my music or audiobooks into the bath with me. Sound quality is decent enough, considering my expectations aren't that high when it comes to bath-side entertainment. It runs on four AA batteries, and external controls consist of just four simple, tiny buttons for up volume, down volume, stop, and playback.

The Zumreed Rain Drop iPod Bathroom Speaker comes from Audiocubes for $50.

I know this must have happened to you a million times as well . . . you're just about to go down the catwalk at the Paris fashion show, but you've cut your cheek on one of the crystal champagne flutes. What to do?

Slap on one of these high-fashion bandages over your boo-boo, adjust your outfit (which is the size of a bandage anyway), and off you go! Now you've started another fashion trend, though rapper Nelly may claim that honor.

Blinged out bandages with 4 Swarovski crystals are available in three colors (white, red and pink), and one little tin sells for $12 at Charles and Marie.

Designed by Fabian Seibert, who also created the trendy ace-type bandage replacement in 5 bright colors.

For accident prone style-setters.

With an awful name like Guru100, Samsung must either be mocking spiritual teachers or in complete denial about their latest super-budget handset's features; the candybar cellphone, recently launched in India, is intended to boost the sort of functionality people expect at the entry level price-point.  And when you compare it to, say, Spice Telecom's "People's Phone", it does look blessed with exciting capabilities; that could be because the Spice handset lacks even a screen, of course.



What you do get with the Guru100 is dual-band GSM (900/1800MHz), MP3 ringtones (and Samsung helpfully preload two Bollywood hits to get you jiggling) and a 1.5-inch 65,000 colour 128 x 128 display.  It also has dual Hindi and English SMS predictive text dictionaries, weighs 78g and measures a compact 104mm x 44mm x 16.3mm.

It's available now for INR1949 ($49).

[via Mobile Burn]

There have been a time or two where I had wished my iPhone-supported dual-SIM, which is what the DSTW1 offers. It works on quad-band GSM (850/900/1800/1900MHz) and other tri-band GSM (900/1800/1900MHz). If Windows Mobile Professional is your thing then rest assure the oddly named DSTW1 smartphone has it.



There’s a large 2.8-inch QVGA touchscreen capable of displaying 65k colors, a 2-megapixel camera, 256MB of internal memory and a small 64MB of RAM. The 256MB won’t take you too far so you’re likely going to use an external microSD card for more storage.

There’s no word as to whether the DSTW1 will be sold in the US, but select European markets will have it for sale in March. Pricing is still unavailable.

[via Mobile Burn]

Despite the much-hyped usability of the iPhone, something people often covet from rival touchscreen handsets is the haptic feedback; that is, when the phone vibrates slightly to give a tactile indication that a button has been pressed.  Whether for reasons of battery, a shortage of pre-launch time or merely that they didn't think it necessary, Apple left such a feature out of the iPhone's keyboard; it's up to Malcolm Hall and Eve Hoggan of the University of Glasgow to come up with a solution themselves.  



The software is in a very early stage right now: it basically exists as a proof of concept rather than something that can be used realistically, since it'll only function in a text editor test program.  Apparently it's also pretty buggy, too, crashing regularly and sometimes leaving the iPhone continuously vibrating like a cheap massager.  Nonetheless, it's a great development and nicely implemented; the haptics buzz as you pass your finger across the keyboard in time with each key, and pressing then releasing one gives another, slightly different buzz to indicate it was successful.

Will Apple beat the students to the full release by adding haptics to the next iPhone firmware update?  Perhaps so, but whichever way it arrives it's an addition that should please many.

[via TUAW]

Vodafone UK have

Does anybody really believe that capturing the youth market is as easy as changing a few spellings and missing out spaces?  InfoSonics seem to; their latest handset, the i700, might look like a fat old Samsung slider but no, check out the name, this is a "verykool" cellphone indeed.  Available in South America, the i700 is a quadband GSM phone with 2.2-inch display 2-megapixel camera and Bluetooth, and will ship in black, blue and red.





The most interesting thing about the i700 is the fact that it will function as a webcam when plugged into your PC by USB; otherwise it's GPRS-only, has an microSD slot and MP3/video player.

It sells for $199.99 unlocked.

As device manufacturers jump on the touchscreen bandwagon, suppliers are apparently stepping up production of both single- and dual-layer touch-sensitive displays that could see overall handset prices fall.  Currently, high-end smartphones such as Apple's iPhone use a dual-layer touchscreen, while cheaper single-layer panels lag behind in sensitivity; manufacturer J Touch, however, is already shipping the low-cost displays to "a major Korean handset vendor" while concentrating development of improved finger response.  Meanwhile, prices of dual-layer displays from Young Fast Optoelectronics, comparable to the iPhone's, have fallen to almost 50-percent of what Apple is believed to be paying ($10 versus $15-20).



The race now seems to be in earnest, with both companies attempting to hit the all-important price and response balance.  Young Fast has already dismissed any suggestion of it beginning to develop single-layer touchscreens "because of the low pricing for the segment".

According to an anonymous Engadget Mobile tipster, Verizon have renamed their U940 smartphone - a version of the Samsung F700 - from "Q-Ball" to "Glyde".  It's a change that has already prompted some curiosity, with commentors suggesting that the handset now sounds like a form of lubricant.  Personally, if I were over there in the naming department at Verizon, I might be tempted to think again. 



The U940 Glyde (no, seriously, it's an awful name) is expected to drop in March this year.

According to the Wall Street Journal, Google is seriously considering contracting or buying balloon-launched temporary cellular network specialist Space Data Corp to provide and manage internet connectivity in areas not previously served by existing telcos.  The system uses six-pound hydrogen-filled balloons to take a payload of cellular transceivers between 65,000 and 100,000 feet into the atmosphere; each device can provide network coverage to an area that would require 40 land-sited cellphone towers. 

Check out the WSJ video about the technology after the cut