Be Smart

If your goal is to fit as large a keyboard, preferably full QWERTY, into as small a form-factor as possible, while still recognising that people like to use their cellphones in portrait orientation for calls and landscape for messaging, you've got yourself a challenge.  It's a challenge HTC's latest patent has taken on, though, using a nifty diagonal slider format and simultaneously contradicting our general perception of sliding handsets: that the top section should, when closed, fully cover the bottom.  Unwired View took the patent illustration (shown after the cut) and knocked up this photoshop of how it would work:



 



At first glance I assumed the keyboard folded somehow, but it's actually one solid piece: the screen only covers the top two-thirds, with the bottom, numeric keypad portion uncovered for using the handset in portrait mode.  Push the screen to the side and it slides, diagonally, so as to be central above the QWERTY keyboard when held in landscape orientation.

Of course, the buttons needn't just be numbers and letters: HTC's patent suggests they could be anything from a "standard keyboard, a video play key, numeric keys, dialing keys, navigation keys, hot keys, speed dialing keys, a Windows key and an ending key".  It might be interesting to see gaming controls, too, with the handset operating as a phone in portrait and as a handheld games console when the screen is flicked across.

Engadget have a managed to score some pre-announcement shots of the enV2 - aka the LG VX9100, which we first saw back on Valentine's day - showing the clamshell messenger in its black and maroon glory.  Exact specs are still unconfirmed, but the handset is sporting a USB socket (in either mini or micro format) which suggests they've moved to generic connections for chargers.



 



The outside has a letterbox-style display that you really wouldn't want to use for anything beyond caller ID and basic dialling, although it's likely that you'll still be able to send SMS messages without cracking open the handset.   Earlier indications suggest a 2-megapixel camera, WAP browser, internal QVGA display and confirm the USB as micro not mini.

Cricket might not be one of the first US carriers to spring to your mind, but that doesn't mean they've forgotten about you.  In fact, if you live in Tulsa, Oklahoma, are looking for a tri-band clamshell that is the first CDMA handset to support the 1700MHz band from the 2006 AWS frequency auctions, and aren't a fan of swish external displays, then the UTStarcom CDM-7126 might be just the handset you've been waiting for.



The CDM-7126 also has Bluetooth, voice recognition and 1xRTT data access; apparently it'll be released in Las Vegas and Oklahoma City at some point during this year, whenever the 1700MHz network is available there.

No indication of price, but it looks to be relatively budget.

[via PhoneArena]

Currently ongoing at digital art institution Eyebeam is Feedback, which is a collection of experimental green design. As compact fluorescent light bulbs and solar powered patio lights continue to become more mainstream, Feedback reminds us that there are still boundaries to be pushed in green design. The show explores issues concerning topics such as natural resources, ecology, energy use and climate change. The forms of work run the gambit from visualization of data to working prototypes to theoretical architecture and design.

A highlight of the show (no pun intended) is the piece called "The Revolution Door" by Fluxxlab, which was founded by two Columbia architecture design school graduates, Jennifer Broutin and Carmen Trudell. As you turn the door, this working prototype powers the "Feedback" sign on the main panel explaining the exhibition. (Thanks to Stephanie Pierce who was at the opening and agreed to operate the door while I took the picture.)

Fluxxlab's project demonstrates how our daily activities, such as pushing a door, generate energy that can be converted into something useful, instead of being lost. As good experimental design does, The Revolution Door leads to further questions. In this case, the next logical query is: How can these kinds of designs be implemented on a mass scale?

The Feedback show closes on April 19, 2008, so there is still time to get to it if you're in the New York City area.

This story brings together some of my favourite things: cats, design ingenuity and intelligent young women kicking ass. Plus, it shakes off the stereotype that British people don't care about teeth. (We do, just not our own...)

Seventeen year old British college student Rachel Gilbert has reached the final of a national competition, the Ideas Igloo Roadshow, with her design for feline false teeth.

They look a little ghoulish, but have a noble purpose: "When animals suffer broken or rotten teeth, they have had to be removed," Rachel told her local newspaper, The Sheffield Star. "The gum can become infected and they find it difficult to chew food. We aim to reduce animals' suffering and improve their quality of life." Local vets are already on board with the design, which was created after taking a mold from a cat with damaged teeth. This revolution in animal dentistry could also be extended to dogs and sheep.

Rachel and her team of eight now have two minutes to pitch their idea to a panel of American Inventor-style entrepreneurs for a chance to win £2000 (around $4000) to help launch their business.

The best part of this whole story? Rachel's from my home town. Not that I'm biased, but I hope she wins...

These plant examining glasses bring technology developed by NASA and the Department of Agriculture and brings to your humble backyard. Put these on and you'll be able to see areas of your lawn that may need a little help long before you'd observe the problems with your naked eyes. The lenses block out the green reflected by chlorophyll in the healthy areas of your lawn and garden, causing those areas to show as black or gray. Any unhealthy spots, deficient in chlorophyll, will show up as pink, red or coral colors. It's the plant equivalent of full-body MRIs that detect problems before their symptoms surface. So what if you look like Rick Moranis in Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, surveying your backyard in these dorky glasses that look like they came out of a box of kids' cereal? Your verdant backyard will thank you for it.

Available from environmentally friendly online gardening store, Clean Air Gardening, for $49.99.

If it's true that a forced smile on your face will eventually penetrate into your soul, then this new cosmetic device may work miracles for that person in your life who is always unhappy. And how about those people who are happy on the inside but have faces that don't know how to smile properly and could benefit from a little smile training?

While this looks like a little dental torture device, the "Yumi," is a mechanical gadget that you insert into your mouth to "train" your facial muscles to smile (a nice, upward smile, not a downturned smile which may confuse people). According to Tokyo Mango (and I'll have to take their word for it, as I can't read the product maker's website), it comes in three colors and three strengths, normal for men, soft for women (why?), and rehabilitative for "seniors and children" (which would mean even softer?).



So what if the smile trainer makes you look like a monkey 4 times a day for 3 minutes? It's non-invasive and cheap - just $50 at this website. Those of us in the U.S. may have to wait until it comes to Amazon.

Via Tokyo Mango.

Samsung Korea must have a good reason for calling their latest fashion sliders the MiniSkirt Season 2 collection, but perhaps my brain isn't capable of grasping it.  The three new Anycall models - the SCH-C225, SPH-C2005 and SPH-C2255 - are each 10.9mm thick and have GPS, Bluetooth and a 2-megapixel camera.





The camera has "Smile Shot", a smile-recognition function which takes the photo when your subject is grinning (potentially frustrating if you only have glum friends but still want to have pictures to remember their misery by), although in the photo above it appears to have accidentally taken the photo when the sprawling girls looked most like poppies.  Meanwhile, the softkeys are touch-sensitive with vibrating haptic feedback to tell you when you've pressed them.



[via Akihabara]

Perhaps recognising that it's faintly ridiculous to licence a rival's media streaming technology when you have your own sitting back at the lab, Microsoft have finally got around to announcing an availability date for the Windows Mobile version of Silverlight.  From Q2 this year, developers will be able to get their coding hands on Silverlight 1.0 for Mobile, supporting animation, media playback and vector graphics.  The company licenced Silverlight for Symbian earlier this month. 



Silverlight supports WMV, WMA and MP3, as well as H.264, and Microsoft have suggested that video quality is better, using the same bandwidth, as Adobe's rival Flash format.

The company also announced beta availability of Silverlight 2.0 for desktop.

[via TBG]

If you can't make a cellphone eco-friendly, you can still make it green.  Sony Ericsson have sent their W580i Walkman slider off for a lick of new paint, and come back with the

Location-aware social network GyPSii have launched an iPhone-tailored portal, in advance of a native app using the official Apple SDK for the cellphone.  GyPSii is a mixture of traditional profile-based networking and points-of-interest and local search borrowed from sat-nav; touching a particular person or place on-screen brings up all its relevant information such as proximity, details and specific position on a map, all on one continuous screen.  Both people and places can be called directly from the web-app.

"With GyPSii on your iPhone, it becomes your mobile personal digital life recorder.  You can record and share every aspect of your life as it happens with your friends, family and your online community – all via your mobile. GyPSii for iPhone makes social networking dynamic, mobile, and real-time.  We’ve integrated with the deep feature set on the iPhone, with the result being an entirely new way to communicate" Dan Harple, CEO, GyPSii  



Check out a demo video of GyPSii on the iPhone after the cut 

http://corporate.gypsii.com/iphone/iphone.flv

GyPSii is the latest of the social networks to jump onto the iPhone; earlier today it was rumored that MySpace are in the final stages of developing a mobile version for the handset using a pre-release copy of the SDK.

You can access the mobile GyPSii by visiting http://www.gypsii.com/m on your iPhone.

Despite having only been available for less than 12 months, the iPhone's form-factor is already well-cemented; could an Apple handset sporting anything other than a full-face touchscreen be viewed as a true iPhone?  Brand recognition is great, but it can be stifling as well, especially if you want to introduce new form-factors but still preserve the functionality you've built up.  After all, any handset with the iPhone's GUI but with, say, a smaller display would cause a drop in usability.  Staska from Unwired View has been doing some patent digging and come up with what might be Apple's solution to the issue: titled "Dual-Sided Trackpad", it describes a clamshell cellphone with a transparent, flip-down touchpad covering a large display.  When closed it can be used like the original iPhone - touching the screen directly - but when open the reverse side of the trackpad is active.





If you're anything like me, you might be wondering at this point "why would you want that?"; well, the suggestion is that the design would lend itself to an iPod nano-sized device, with the same body size as the Apple PMP but twice the screen.  You could also have both sides of the trackpad active, and use it for 3D gestures or the sort of 'pseudo-transparent' control Microsoft demonstrated last week with LucidTouch, or embed polarised numbers or even LEDs to put controls directly into the flip.

Apple also suggest the transparent technology would make for a good Mac Tablet, with a flip-down trackpad layer that could double as a keyboard-style input device thanks to some of those polarised numbers (which can only be viewed when the panel is opened), or as a window in a traditional laptop form-factor to view a "sub-display" section of the laptop's screen.  The patent suggests the use of an OLED display, different sections of which can be shut off to reduce power drain.



Unwired View have the full patent document available to download, if you're interested in reading the whole thing.  I'm curious, though; would you want a different iPhone form-factor, are you satisfied with the current physical design, or do you think these suggestions are smokescreens covering Apple's true intention for the technology?  Let us know your thoughts in the comments.

The European Commission has attempted to streamline the roll-out of mobile TV by backing the DVB-H standard; however while this might be good news to Nokia, who were petitioning for DVB-H, some operators are accusing the Union of deciding too quickly.  EU member states will now be required to "encourage" the use of DVB-H (Digital Video Broadcasting Handheld) in new implementations, based on the standard being the most widely used in Europe.  Sixteen countries either have trial or commercial launches of DVB-H based mobile TV services.

"An official endorsement does carry weight but it's not clear if DVB-H is necessarily the best standard" GSM Association spokesman

However, other formats have been adopted in South Korea, Japan, the United States and China, and broadcasters are more interested in whether subscribers will be willing to pay for the small-screen TV experience.

"How do you design a compelling service that people will want? Even if it's free and financed by advertising, how many ads do people want to see on a small screen?" Ross Biggam, director general of the Association of Commercial Television, Europe

The Commission hopes that backing the standard will be the boost mobile TV needs to flourish in Europe.

[via picturephoning]

Trimble might not be the first port of call for a Windows Mobile handheld, but if you're looking for a ridiculously sturdy, ruggedised PDA with an outdoor-viewable VGA display then their Nomad would make for a distinctive (if not especially pocket friendly) option.  Really, Nomad - like the rest of Trimble's range - is intended for non-consumer use, but the 806MHz CPU, 1GB of storage, GPS, WiFi and Bluetooth add up to something surprisingly appealing.  Now Trimble have announced a USB EV-DO modem accessory, made by Franklin Wireless, and using Sprint's network for messaging, GPS tagging, collecting field-data and even the odd sneaky Facebook session in-between working. 





Of course, since it's Trimble selling you the modem and not Sprint, they're not subsidising it with a contract: that means they'll charge you $349 for the modem (and drivers) on its own.  Probably not too much of an issue for a business, but madly expensive if you're a consumer taken in by the Nomad's MILSTD-810F military standard for drops, vibration, humidity, altitude and extreme temperatures, or its ability to survive immersion in up to a meter of water for 30 minutes.

[via jkontherun]

People lease cars, TVs and furniture - why shouldn't they lease something that gets replaced even more often than those, their cellphone?  That's the concept behind development consultancy Kaleidoscope's LINC cellphone: a handset that not only takes into account the fact that people want to upgrade every 12 months, but makes a feature of its recyclability.  Users pay for the cellphone service and borrow the LINC handset; right now, its feature list is bang up to date - GPS, full internet browser, Bluetooth, WiFi and 3G - but in a year there'll be fresh tech on the market.  That's when your new LINC drops through the mail, automatically switching your account to the new, updated handset and leaving you to send back the old one for reclamation.





The recycling process is perhaps the most bizarre element of all; the way Kaleidoscope tells it, once back in the factory a "directed radiant heat beam" is fired at an internal memory latch, at which point the handset falls open to free up glass, aluminium and more, all without any paints or surface adhesives.  Kaleidoscope predict that some parts would be reused in the next generation of handsets, some would be considered outdated for cellphones and passed on to less spec-intensive applications, and the bare minimum would be disposed of as hazardous waste.



Of course, there are no plans to put this into production; Kaleidoscope are more think-tank than manufacturer.  But as cellphone contracts get longer in order for carriers to get their money back on subsidising giving out expensive handsets, there may come a pivot point when the promise of cellphone reclamation is enough temptation to loan rather than sell the device.

[via BoingBoing Gadgets]

AT&T have been forced to pick up a $10m tab for supposedly-free ringtones, after Florida's Attorney General Bill McCollum chose to hold the carrier responsible rather than chase the third-parties who falsely advertise the downloads.  As part of the settlement, AT McCollum claims his office is currently investigating other cellphone companies to check to what extent they are allowing fraudulent billing, and if necessary will impose similar fines.

AT however in the process of the investigation AT font-size: 11px; padding-top: 10px; padding-bottom: 10px;">

Since I prefer text-based forms of communication that don't shame me for not having brushed my hair and still being in my pajamas at 4 in the afternoon, I've never been a fan of the web camera. I tolerate the presence of the ones built into my mobile devices, but I rarely install the corresponding software to get it to work.

Pair that with the fact that this skull web camera ($65.36) from GeekStuff4U terrifies me to the core (the pained expression of that evil skeleton being strangled by the cobra's tail will haunt me tonight), and you'll understand why you won't ever see me online.

And no, it doesn't make a difference that the 1.3-megapixel camera will record my movements at a fluid 30 frames per second. Because you know for a fact that the minute I look into that lens, those skulls will come to life and shoot laser beams from their eyes. And don't even get me started about the centipede/millipede.

Via Shiny Shiny.

I'd heard a lot of hype about KateModern, the first British soap opera to be shown entirely on student social networking site Bebo. I knew I wanted to watch it sometime (can 48 million viewers be wrong?) so my plan today was simple: I'd catch up with a few episodes of seasons one and two (each lasts around three minutes, so it wouldn't take long) then extol its virtues/criticise the production values as appropriate.

But my plan was rocked by some deeply shocking news [spoiler alert!]...

We're all familiar with people who give their kids hippy, happy names like "Moon" and "River," and those at the other extreme who give their unsuspecting offspring first names that are actually weighty surnames like "Montgomery" and "Emerson." In each case, the named person has nothing to say about it, and has to carry the given name, along with its baggage of expectations, upon his psyche for the rest of his life.

So now, what do we make of the new trend in naming babies that comes out of the loose and appalling way we spell words in emails and SMS? According to Thaindian News:

Most parents these days are drawing on the cool SMS and email spellings, by eschewing traditional spellings for versions such as Alex-Zander, Cam’ron, Emma-Lee, Ozkah, Thaillah and Ameleiyah.

Social analyst Mark McCrindle looked at Australian births in 2007 and discovered that the name Jayden was registered spelt in 12 ways, Aidan in nine ways, and Amelia and Tahlia in eight ways.

"Most" parents are doing this? Really? On purpose or just because they can't spell anymore? And doesn't this trend undermine our ability to find people on the Internet?

One needs to take certain things for granted in this life. Call me old-fashioned, but Michael should be spelled "Michael" and Mary should be "Mary."

Via textually.org.

Digital pens that can capture handwritten notes, drawings, and memos, store them electronically, and even turn them into digital text are not exactly a dime a dozen, but they've been around for a while. Here's a new and mind-boggling variation that sounds straight out of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

The Mobile Digital Scribe claims to be the first device that can capture and store handwriting employing only - here's the mind-boggling part - ordinary paper and an ordinary ballpoint pen refill available at your average office-supply center. The company says you don't need a special digital notepad or special digital ink to take electronic notes that you can upload to a computer for display, export in JPEG, or even turn into text.

I'll be fascinated to read the reviews. But if the process is as easy as its promotional material makes it seem, the Mobile Digital Scribe should be heaven for those - medical types, journalists, students - who would rather be wired but must take handwritten notes because they're on the move or in class.

If price has kept you from owning a pair of Shure earphones, you'll be glad to hear that they've broken the $100 barrier, introducing the SE110 Sound Isolating Earphones for $99 bucks. It makes perfect sense for Shure - long known as the pro musicians' audio source - to enter the consumer market at a time when most music lovers are upgrading their default headphones with every music device they buy.

Everday audiophiles will appreciate the Balanced MicroSpeaker system which delivers optimized, balanced audio. Rather than noise cancelling, these are "sound isolating," cutting out approximately 90 percent of ambient noise. A "fit kit" includes sized disposable black foam sleeves (S-L) and ensures a comfortable and sound-enhancing fit. (A good seal is key to optimizing sound isolation and bass response.) Taking them for a spin, I was impressed - the sound is very close to my $250 pair of Shures. If I'd met these first, I would have been delighted.

Available in white or black, you can buy them at Shure and Amazon.

After a disappointing financial report, shares in Virgin Mobile USA fell by a massive 54-percent yesterday amid analyst negativity and poor subscriber figures.  Contrary to expectations, Virgin's subscriber growth for this quarter is being estimated at just 5,000 to 20,000, compared to 210,000 net additions in Q4 2007.  The already significantly weakened share price has fallen further; Virgin commanded a $15 share price back in October during its first public offering, but dropped $1.90 with the news of its stalled performance to a miserable $2.30. 

"With 2 quarters in a row of disappointing guidance we believe that the softening economy and increased competition have eliminated management's ability to forecast its business" Phil Cusick, analyst, Bear Stearns

Sprint, who sells Virgin Mobile the network space and owns an eleven percent share in the MVNO, saw its own shares fall by 3.5-percent to $6 after the news broke.  Bear Sterns analyst Phil Cusick cast doubt on the likelihood of a buy-out of Virgin - "We see no reason any competitor would buy Virgin Mobile's equity" - seemingly suggesting that there's not that much to buy.

Analysts had predicted Q1 2008 growth of 130,000 customers, and adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) of $142.8m; Virgin now forecasts an EBITDA of $105m to 130m.

[via Engadget]

If you see holidays such as St Patrick's day as an opportunity to shamelessly cash in with a so-called "special edition", then step forward and take a bow: you're well on your way to being a cellphone marketing expert.  As Valentine's showed us, launching a "new" model need only involve changing the colour and thinking up a slogan; hence Sprint's green

ASUS have unveiled two HSDPA-equipped UMPCs at CeBIT 2008 today, and we were down on the show floor to snap some photos of the Windows Vista powered devices.  The R70, shown here, has a 1.6GHz processor, GPS, 3.5G radio and is rumored to pack a 120GB hard-drive; meanwhile, the R50 (shown after the cut) is a smaller UMPC with Intel's 1.33GHz Silverthorne CPU, 1GB of RAM, a 32GB SSD, Bluetooth 2.0, WiFi b/g, HSDPA, GPS and front and rear cameras. 





Unlike Samsung's Q1 Ultra, neither ASUS device has a full QWERTY keyboard; instead they rely on navigation via the touchscreen.  The R70 also has a trackball and dedicated left/right mouse buttons, together with a biometric fingerprint reader and a front-mounted webcam.

No prices nor availability details have been revealed as of yet.

[via SlashGear]

Many will recall Indie musician Jill Sobule from her track "I Kissed a Girl." The song was a cross-over hit, and the video (the one co-starring Fabio) got a lot of MTV airplay in the 1990s. I saw her play a few years ago when she was touring with Lloyd Cole as a member of his band, the Negatives. Years later, Sobule is still touring and recording music. After going through a handful of music labels, both big and small, she is currently creating her own path.

Where Radiohead has now famously asked fans to pay what their latest CD is worth, Sobule has taken a slightly different route. In January, she asked fans on her website, Jill's Next Record, to donate money before the she makes her next album. In telethon-like fashion, she asked fans to help her reach a goal of $75,000, which would cover studio time, producers, additional musicians and post-production. By March, she had reached her goal and raised over $80,000.

Possibly the coolest web concept ever (present company excepted, of course) is Common Craft, a kindhearted company making free videos to explain all manner of tech-type stuff "in Plain English."

When Geekbrief goddess Cali Lewis interviewed Lee LeFever, one of Common Craft's founders, she said his Twitter in Plain English video had instantly converted two non-techie family members to social networking/micro-blogging site Twitter. (And this after months of nagging - Common Craft clearly has near-magical qualities).

By far the site's most popular video - with over 336,000 views so far - is RSS in Plain English. Enjoy:

Researchers in the EU have been developing a self-organising ad-hoc wireless standard, which could create point-to-point and mesh networks and adapt not only to new or out-of-range devices but without intervention from a human operator or from specific interoperability in running applications.  Called Reconfigurable Ubiquitous Networked Embedded Systems (RUNES), the project would use anything from GSM, WiFi and Bluetooth to less common standards such as ZigBee, regardless of OS, and even "robotic routers" that could move into place to bridge a gap in an existing network.

"RUNES set out to create middleware: software that bridges the gap between the operating systems used by the mobile sensor nodes, and high-level applications that make use of data from the sensors. RUNES middleware is modular and flexible, allowing programmers to create applications without having to know much about the detailed working of the network devices supplying the data" Science Daily 

"A lot of people have been looking at embedded systems networking, but so far there has been a reluctance to take the plunge commercially.  RUNES' open-source model is an excellent way to stimulate progress, and it should generate plenty of consultancy work for the academic partners" Dr Lesley Hanna, consultant and dissemination manager, RUNES

Hanna used the example of a tunnel fire, with wired communication channels cut off and fire crews uncertain of where the source of the blaze was located and where survivors were.  Instead, wireless sensors could be rearranged into an ad-hoc network delivering information to the crew, with information on visibility, temperatures, and the locations of vehicles and people.

Although led by Ericsson, much of the research has been carried out by universities and falls into the public domain or open-source.

[via Slashdot]

Could Motorola use CTIA Wireless next month as a springboard back in the limelight?  Probably not, but thanks to a new video on YouTube (which you can see after the cut) we at least have a hint of what they could be foisting on us there.  According to Unwired View's Staska, the manufacturer purposefully toned down their appearance at the Mobile World Congress so as to avoid significant new products getting lost in the scrum (and if that's really the reason, guys, well done: the bland Z6w and ditchwater-dull W181 instead, they'll use CTIA to catch headlines.  The video appears to show not only the rumored 5-megapixel Kodak-collaboration but the MOTOMING 2, what looks to be the replacement for the Q9 (and which some are calling the Q10) and a new, kick-sliding music phone (the ROKR E10, perhaps?)



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zmr2RT80qNQ

 

No official comment from Motorola, as is to be expected, but the signs are at least vaguely positive for a more interesting showing at CTIA in early April.  With the company looking so shaky at present it really needs to pull a few good handsets out of the bag.

Sierra Wireless

Anybody hoping for native Flash compatibility to be announced at the iPhone RoadMap event tomorrow will likely be disappointed; Steve Jobs has gone on record criticising Adobe's software offering, claiming that the current mobile version of the Flash player isn't good enough for the iPhone, but that the full version runs too slowly with the handset's CPU.

"There's this missing product in the middle" Steve Jobs, CEO, Apple

Adobe are yet to comment on Jobs' statements, but looking at recent blog posts by members of their developer team it doesn't look as though they're leaping to produce that middle product:

"No one aside from

Steve Jobs has any idea if or when it's coming.  Everyone I talk to doesn't know anything" Ryan Stewart, Adobe chief spokesman for internet-based applications

While it seems likely that Flash support will eventually come to the cellphone, it seems unlikely that it will feature at the event this week.

[via BGR]

Could support for HTML email have been removed from the upcoming BlackBerry Enterprise Server 4.1 SP5?  That's the suspicion at the moment; rendering HTML and rich-text messages has become one of the most keenly anticipated features of the update, but the official RIM "What's New" page for SP5 has been edited to remove any mention of the feature.  RIM are yet to announce any alteration of the release, though the shipping date has been pushed back from February 29th to March 11th. 



It's possible that RIM have delayed the functionality for stability reasons, and instead intend to ship it as part of the SP6 release which has been pegged for June 2008.  That update will also include support for Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007.

The news of HTML omission was met by disappointment among users; RIM subscriber figures have grown ahead of predictions this quarter, despite a number of issues with network stability.

CitiGroup analysts have revealed plans that Apple is going to introduce 3G capable iPhones in the 2nd quarter of 2008. This is great news for iPhone lovers that feel burdened by the slow speeds offered up by Apple's current EDGE wireless. Expect to see the new 3G iPhone sometime between April and June.



Why the switch now?

Apple originally stated that 3G wireless technologies consumed too much power when the iPhone first launched. Now that big advances in power management have been made in 3G, Apple feels confident that it can put this valuable technology into the iPhone.

When I first heard this news I thought to myself, "Wait a minute, does the US have enough 3G wireless coverage to justify this move?" but this announcement coincides with AT font-size: 11px; padding-top: 10px; padding-bottom: 10px;">

This morning I wasn't particularly inspired by Samsung's new G400 Soul, but having seen these exclusive photos from the CeBIT 2008 show floor I'm freshly impressed.  Remember, that's a 2.22-inch touchscreen on the front, meaning you should hardly ever have to open the G400 up (and be faced with its low-profile keyboard).  Check out the gallery of photos after the cut!





 To recap, the G400 is a triband GSM, 7.2Mbps HSDPA (2100 band) with a 5-megapixel autofocus camera, Bluetooth 2.0 and USB 2.0.  It's expected in Europe in June.

Not the most inspiring diagram ever to have worked its way through the intestinal tract of the FCC, but the promise of a new Nokia clamshell handset - product code RM-324 - packing US-spec 3G/HSDPA is enough to get high-speed-starved users at least a little dribbly.  The device showed up in listings yesterday, with little more to show than this basic outline and the fact that they're fitting a 1500mAh battery pack.



The adoption of the 1900MHz band by AT Europe, which has seen a higher take-up of the technology, uses different bands and as such manufacturers have had to create new versions for the US market.

Nokia's US version of the N95 8GB was passed by the FCC back in January this year.

[via The Boy Genius]

The more we get away from traditional camera designs, with sleeker, smaller digital cameras, the more nostalgic I get about old film cameras. This miniature digital camera, the Rolleiflex MiniDigi AF5.0 from Komomura Corp., is modelled after the legendary twin lens Rolleiflex, which were everywhere a few decades ago, and are still sold today. The 5 megapixel retro camera is priced at 43,050 Japanese Yen (about $420).

Via Nikkei Weekly (subscription).

There's no excuse anymore to stick with those crummy default speakers that came with your desktop, not when Creative has the "Inspire T10" speakers for a mere fifty bucks.

I know, you're thinking "How good can they be for $50?" Pretty damned good, actually. Thanks to the dedicated tweeters, the listener can pick up high frequency instruments such as strings and cymbals, and like their more expensive models, the T10 features the unique BasXPort technology which delivers dynamic bass effects (like a great drum solo).

The built-in headphone jack and AUX In connector makes it easy to plug in your headphones for private listening, or to play music from your MP3 player or any other audio device.



At 13.7cm x 9cm x 19.4cm, they're compact enough to fit on your desk, and they come in a glossy black finish augmented by an acoustically slanted front, making them good-looking as well.

The ASUS Eee ultra-portable notebook computers have been popular, not least for the price - in some cases a stunningly low $299 (in blush pink!) Other manufacturers are rushing to bring out competitors, so ASUS is moving its lean machine with the 7-inch screen into the mainstream.

The first models have run Linux and claim to be Windows-compatible, whatever that means. But the company has now formally announced a version with pre-installed Windows XP. It will also come with Microsoft Works and access to Windows Live, an online suite offering mail, messaging, a photo gallery, and kid-protection features.

Reviewers have been enthusiastic about previous versions of the Eee, although they concede its imperfections. The keyboard is cramped, with some keys very tiny. RAM is only 512 MB, also cramped these days when we all want to run several programs at once.

Is it just me, or is inflatable toast one of the most random things you've ever seen? If the soft vinyl slice could be pumped with air to reach the size of a mattress or something, I could understand the appeal of inedible toast that looks incredibly realistic.

Wanting to sleep on a gigantic piece of bread and fighting off nightmares of being slathered in butter and jelly makes sense. Exercising one's lungs to blow up something that measures six inches doesn't.

Set of two available now for $6.50 (okay, it makes sense at this price).

Via Nerd Approved.

How many times have you said to yourself "I've got to check out that movie/music/site" and made yourself a mental post-it note? I've tried writing a memo on my iPhone, only to forget to check it when I get home.

An S.F. start-up called KWIRY aims to solve this pesky problem by allowing people to use their cell phones to text personal reminders with full search results to an online account. "Text it before you forget it" -- their snappy motto -- works by simply sending a text message to 59479 (K-W-I-RY.) KWIRY works with Jott, so you can use your voice to send texts when you're in your car, or have a non-QWERTY phone.

Not only does it help you remember, but one click turns kwirys into search results from sites like Yahoo, Google, Wikipedia, Amazon and more. Users can also mark their 'favorite' search results so their top sites stay linked to each kwiry.

Adding social networking has made it even more attractive. People can create their own community at kwiry.com with photos, profiles, and comments or integrate kwiry into their existing social networks, such as Facebook.

KWIRY could potentially sort of solve the issue of having no encrypted or sync-able notes on the iPhone. You can send texts which will stay on your KWIRY page, and can be marked private so only you can see it.

What are you looking up today?

Apple launched the iPhone in Austria via T-Mobile and Ireland via O2.



iPhone pricing:

* Austria: 8GB €399, 16GB €499, monthly plans €39, and €55
* Ireland: 8GB €399, 16GB €499, monthly tariffs €45, €65, €100



[VIA IPHONE LAUNCHED IN AUSTRIA AND IRELAND - IPHONE BUZZ]

After fears earlier this week that the Indian Department of Telecommunications would cut off BlackBerry push-email servers in the country over RIM's refusal to hand over decryption algorithms, Telecoms Secretary Siddhartha Behura has now made clear that the Indian government is not considering pulling the plug on the service.  Confirming that the ministry is "very keen" that RIM's service continue, he denied that the company was being threatened in that way:

"There is no question of banning at this point We are not interested that we say BlackBerry will not used in this country" Siddhartha Behura, Telecoms Secretary, Indian Government

"The interactions are going on with various stakeholders including the home ministry I do believe it will be resolved" Andimuthu Raja, Telecoms Minister, Indian Government

It's news that will come as a relief for the approximately 400,000 BlackBerry users there, as well as the four networks which provide the service.  However the government is still pushing for access to encrypted messages:

"We want operators to talk to BlackBerry people and put pressure on them to provide the necessary and satisfactory answers to security agencies. That is what we are talking to them" Siddhartha Behura, Telecoms Secretary, Indian Government

A meeting is scheduled for Friday evening to discuss the issue.

Rather foolishly, I thought Verizon's Car and Driver SlideShow would take the prize for "most ridiculous image-based cellphone application" today - after all, charging $4.49 a month for a hundred photos of cars on your cellphone is really milking the idea of mobile content - but that's before I saw AT imagine the joy and excitement as you then forward that composite picture to all your friends and family.





Once you've sent the photo, AT&T give you an url where you can edit, resize and move it around so that your head isn't obscured by Chikezie, whoever he is.  If you don't want to appear next to any of the contestants, you can put yourself on stage or even holding a placard with a "funny" slogan.  As AT&T themselves say, "Send it to yourself to use as your phone graphic, post to a web site, or forward to ALL your friends!"  As I say, "save your money and wait until they're all doing meet- font-size: 11px; padding-top: 10px; padding-bottom: 10px;">

Motorola has quietly released updates for three of its handsets, the Q9m Windows Mobile smartphone and K1m on Verizon Wireless and the W490 on T-Mobile.  The latter two will automatically upgrade via the Motorola Software Update program, but the Q9m requires a specially released version of the update tool (offered when 'Verizon Q9m' is selected as model type).



The Q9m updates the radio firmware to version 03.20.29P and the Windows Mobile 6 version to AKU 0.6 (from AKU 0.2); we're still waiting for feedback on whether this introduces gpsOne functionality as present on the Sprint Q9c.

The K1m updates to version 01.19.08, while details on the T-Mobile W490 are unclear; the update software itself ascertains whether the phone needs attention.

[via PhoneNews]

Microsoft and Nokia have struck a deal to bring Silverlight to Nokia phones running Symbian OS, beginning with the S60 smartphones as well as S40 phones and their linux-based Internet Tablets: N810, N800, N770, N700, etc. This is a big win for Microsoft as they have a huge task ahead of them trying to displace Adobe's Flash as the default internet video player.

The major draw for mobile devices to run Silverlight is its video implementation which is purported to handle MP4 and H.264 for high quality streaming video. Another benefit for adopting Silverlight is that web application developers will be able to develop one application for PCs, smartphones and Internet Tablets all with the same developer's kit.

Currently, Microsoft has Silverlight running on Windows, Mac OS and has partnered with Novell to develop a version for Linux as well as plans for a Windows Mobile version later this year.

[via Crave]

The ongoing patent dispute between Qualcomm and Nokia has reached another milestone this week, as a UK high court judge issued a ruling in favour of Nokia, dismissing all of Qualcomm's GSM patent claims.  It makes for the second major decision in the Finnish company's favour, after the US International Trade Commission (ITC) similarly ruled in their favour back in December, and makes it eleven lawsuits in the past two years against Nokia that Qualcomm have lost.

"We are pleased with the Court's decision that the patent claims are invalid and believe it is consistent with and supported by the facts.  This is the second court to conclude that Qualcomm does not have relevant and valid GSM patents.  The UK High Court and US ITC findings are further evidence of Qualcomm overstating its position as an industry innovator and demanding compensation for patents that are not relevant or valid" Rick Simonson, Chief Financial Officer, Nokia

Other litigation brought by Qualcomm against Nokia has been put on hold, pending court proceedings in the Delaware Chancery Court, while patent invalidation actions, filed by Nokia against Qualcomm patents in suit, continue in China and Germany.

According to a Qualcomm press release, the company is "actively considering whether to seek permission from the UK court to amend the patents and appeal the decision."

I swear, my favorite 4 letters spell "SALE!" And one of my favorite organizational sites, See Jane Work, is having a big sale so I just had to share. Stock up on colorful stationery, handy desk collectors, magazine holders in different flavors, the popular "Mom Agenda," totes, Allex scissors . . .

But get there fast since the goodies won't last!

Do you have unsightly wall-warts? I didn't even know I had this problem until I got the new T12 Power strip which replaces those bulky AC plugs, also known as wall-warts. Who knew?

This serious power strip offers great flexibility, as eight of the 12 plugs can be rotated up to 90 degrees. Handy (though Gizmodo calls it overkill) in one convenient package, the T12 offers a highly effective "4320 joules of surge suppression" and noise filtering for AC power, and signal-line protection for telecomm (RJ-11), network (RJ-45), and cable, antenna, and satellite (F-connector) signals.

The Oldest Profession may also be the oldest form of social networking, but it has been updated, transformed, and enhanced by communications gadgetry, says The Associated Press.

The article uses the prostitution scandal involving (now former) New York governor Eliot Spitzer, shown here with chin-up wife Silda Wall Spitzer, a lawyer, to explore how text messaging, electronic funds transfer, web sites, forums, webcams, and other digital technologies embedded in our daily lives are embedded in the commercial sex industry too.

To demonstrate the point, the New York Times came up with information about the woman that Spitzer was, um, seeing--including her MySpace page. To him she was known professionally as Kirsten, but on MySpace, under a different name, she is an aspiring singer whose friends include Madonna, Mary J. Blige, Amy Winehouse.....and Celine Dion? (She also has a blog, but hasn't updated it since last summer.)

I tried to think up a pun involving friend requests, but nothing came to me. Perhaps I don't think this is so funny. Feel free to suggest one in the Comments.

Photo Credit: Brendan McDermid/Reuters

I prefer tea to coffee, and honey to sugar. But, man is honey a drippy, sticky mess. Inevitably wherever I am, I’m sure to dribble even when I’m sure I haven’t.

I made a lovely discovery today however, stumbling upon the Honey Drop solid honey you can hold. The Honey Drop is an individual serving (one teaspoon / 5g.) of 100% pure dried honey sans additives or binding agents. You get all of the sweetness without any of the messiness!

Price: $11.99 (box of 20 with and w/o lemon) honibe.com. For more information visit www.NoStickyFingers.com.

When people refer to Facebook fatigue and more generally "social network fatigue," it can mean two different things, either that (1) you're bored with social networking and are spending less time with it, or (2) you're generally exhausted from spending too much time keeping up with online interactions with your friends and updating your information. Web 2.0 Asia suggests that social network fatigue hit Korea and Japan a little earlier, in the same way that certain tech trends hit and then decline in Asia ahead of the U.S. and Europe. Apparently, Cyworld in Korea and and Mixi in Japan, have been losing their appeal with users for whom the novelty of online networking has worn off.

Take our poll and let us know where you stand.



Links to articles about social network fatigue:
'Facebook vatigue' kicks in as people tire of social networks, The Register.
Facebook Fatigue, Economist.com.
Facebook Fatigue: There Is Hope, Portfolio.com.

While Apple's iPhone SDK will give far more official flexibility for third-party developers, there are still limitations on what functionality coders will be able to take advantage of.  Not permitting background processes is one of the better known restrictions, but Apple has also said that third-party software will not be able to access the dock connector or Bluetooth either.  It's forced companies to come up with clever solutions for getting their peripherals to talk with the iPhone; Gadgetell spoke with PosiMotion, whose G-FI GPS for iPhone product will use WiFi to funnel positioning data into the cellphone.



Gadgetell:  To me, it would seem very risky to build something Apple may not allow, how do you minimize this risk?

PosiMotion: We are in the process of gaining Apple product certification 

Set to release this Summer, the G-FI receiver will apparently be compatible with both the iPhone and iPod Touch, and come with software based on the official SDK for both devices.  G-FI will also be compatible with other WiFi enabled devices, such as laptops.

Using WiFi rather than the more traditional Bluetooth to circumnavigate Apple's restrictions is also the tactic of PacketVideo, whose TV tuner will use the wireless networking standard to send mobile TV to the iPhone.

Jenn over at Pocketables is a woman after my heart; she's got her eye firmly on the XPERIA X1 release, and isn't letting the lack of official pricing from Sony Ericsson stop her from looking around for the best deal.  It turns out that plenty of online retailers aren't waiting for Sony Ericsson to reveal the X1's price either: figures vary from almost $1,500 at the top end down to $699 at the bottom, and remember these are made-up discounts from the made-up full retail prices! 



Here are the figures Jenn found: 

* MobileCityOnline - $999 ($1,199 retail)
* CellHUT - $699 ($899 retail)
* Wireless Galaxy - $1,428 ($1,500 retail)
* Smart Mobile Gadgets - $979.94

A quick Froogle pulls up a few more prices - for instance 

If you received the rejection letter below, don’t take it personally. You’ll be happy (or sad – depending on how you look at it) that a lot of other folks are in the same boat. Apple did say in the press release accompanying the SDK announcement that “a limited number of developers will be accepted into Apple’s new iPhone Developer Program,” priced at $99.

Dear Registered iPhone Developer,

Thank you for expressing interest in the iPhone Developer Program. We have received your enrollment request. At this time, the iPhone Developer Program is available to a limited number of developers and we plan to expand the program during the course of the beta period. We will contact you again regarding your enrollment status at the appropriate time. Thank you for applying.

Best regards, iPhone Developer Program.

Apple recently announced that the SDK was downloaded more than 100,000 times. That’s a healthy number by any means.
[Via Apple rejected massive numbers of iPhone SDK applicants - iPhone Buzz]

There are some people whose enthusiasm I can't help but admire, and Steve over at UMPC Portal is just such a guy.  It seems he ran as fast as his legs could take him to the Gigabyte booth at CeBIT last week, so desperate was he to get his hands on their HSDPA-equipped M528 Mobile Internet Device (MID), and shot the GUI demo video you can see after the cut.  Frankly, I share some of his interest in the M528; while it may only have a 4.8-inch touchscreen, the 3-megapixel camera, GPS, WiFi and Intel's backing all add up to a strong competitor to the Nokia N810.



"Something is happening behind Intel's Atom branding that's more than just silicon development. There's a software infrastructure building that is big, financially supported and not far removed from the way Apple are doing things with the iPhone. The control is there. The guidelines are there. The restricted hardware set is there. The ISV process seems to be both accessible and well controlled and with 150 people working on the Moblin core and distribution through partners like Canonical and Asianux who are also working on optimisations and UI, you know there's some big numbers involved" Steve, UMPC Portal

While UMPCs may still be trying to find their niche, even after several generations of hardware, consumer adoption of smartphones suggests that Mobile Internet Devices have a far better chance of succeeding, especially given the growing array of high-speed cellular broadband options. 

Sadly we'll have to wait a while for the M528; Gigabyte have apparently said it'll be several months before there's any chance of a launch.

Huawei, who supply Vodafone UK with their 3G modems, have announced a combination HSDPA/HSUPA USB modem and digital TV receiver.  The E510 promises download speeds of up to 7.2Mbps and upload speeds of up to 2Mbps, network depending.

T-Mobile have been teasing CeBIT visitors with their latest Windows Mobile smartphone, the MDA Compact IV, keeping the slick HSDPA handset safely behind glass. We were told this was the only Compact IV they'd brought with them, hence the reluctance. The device has a 3-megapixel camera with autofocus, 4GB of internal memory and a 640 x 480 touchscreen together with 3D graphics.





Compatible with the networks MyFaves plan, the MDA Compact IV will be available in Europe from May 2008 priced at €111 ($169) with a new Relax 100 plan. T-Mobile broadband customers in Germany will also be able to use the handset to schedule recordings via the network's new IPTV service.

When was the last time a packet of magnets made you squeal with excitement? If you're thinking "never" then you obviously haven't come across Tiny Mighties yet. (Trust me: I don't squeal easy).

At just a quarter-inch in diameter, these teeny-tiny magnets are the ultimate in minimalism and they're useful, too: one Tiny Mighty can hold three sheets of paper. Plus, being so small, they allow you to actually see little Jimmy's artwork or the date of your sister-in-law's party (or whatever). Something tells me the days of alphabet magnets are numbered...

Fridgedoor.com has them at $7.95 for 16 but if larger, slightly sacrilegiously-named magnets are more your style, you might prefer The All Mighty, so-called for its ability to hold 36 sheets of paper and turn water into wine.

Via Mighty Goods.

YouTube can be fun, and very occasionally brilliant, but a lot of its content is, let's face it, Amateur Hour. Not so Hulu.com, which just opened to the public. It features real TV shows and even movies. For free - so long as you're willing to watch ads too, of course. (Hulu estimates its ads at about 2 minutes per half-hour's entertainment, less than commercial television.)

I was one of Hulu's beta testers, but I didn't get the big head because there were 5 million of us. I only checked in a couple of times, partly because the selection was limited and partly because I'm spoiled by my fairly big TV screen - not to mention haunted by many hours of programming languishing unwatched on my DVR.

Some of Hulu's offerings are top-drawer. TV shows include "The Simpsons," "30 Rock," and "The Office" (US version). Among the movies are "Sideways," "Ice Age," and "Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World" - plus several golden oldies. There is, of course, also dreck. Exhibit A: "Dr. Goldfoot and the Bikini Machine." I can tell it's dreck without having watched a minute of it. Don't argue.

Over time I've upgraded everything on my desktop -- bumped up the memory, bought a new monitor, treated it to a new back-up system, but I was still hacking away on my old keyboard. So when Logitech sent me the new MX 5000 keyboard-and-mouse combination, it was perfect timing.

I'm still testing it, but here's what I already am addicted to:

- The Bluetooth feature for the keyboard and mouse. The MX 5500 desktops receiver can also be used as a Bluetooth hub, enabling other Bluetooth devices, such as a Bluetooth-enabled cell phone or a PDA, to connect to a computer through the hub. The wireless feature allows you to use the MX 5500 Revolution desktop at a distance of up to 30 feet from your PC.

- The built-in LCD screen which shows the time and date, calculator, temperature, website favorites, a keystroke counter, email updates and media information, such as band and song titles.

We don’t all have gignormous LCD screens at home, and many of us spend too many hours hunched over our tiny, tiny laptops. Newly added to LapWorks' already wonderful line of products is the Attaché Laptop Stand. It features four different height settings, making it the perfect companion for your family or for when you have a pain in your neck.

Additionally, Attaché has a heat-dissipating concave aluminum faceplate, and two virtually silent built-in cooling fans powered from your laptop’s USB port, four-port USB 2.0 hub, so you can run multiple devices connected to your laptop at once - printer, iPod, PDA, digital camera, etc.

Your chiropractor would be proud of this smart little laptop companion, and your laptop will likely love you more for keeping things cool.

Price: $69.95 at Laptopdesk.net.

I've heard that dogs generally run around on hard surfaces enough to never actually need a nail clipping, but people who say that have never seen my dog Mojo, who runs around plenty, whose nails have grown to curly

Okay, so being the winner of our "Pink Palm Centro Misery Giveaway" means you've been a big loser at love, at least once during Valentine's Day, but now you're getting the messaging phone extraordinaire and you can send hate messages to the one who wronged you. Only kidding....

The winner will be receiving the Pink Centro, valued at $399.99 (or $99 with a 2-year Sprint contract).

And the winning/losing story:
M & I had been dating for 7 years. Valentines Day was a huge day for us, as we had been set up on a blind date on V-day 2000. A mutual friend set us up & we hit it off immediately. We got close quickly, but were both happy with keeping our separate living arrangements as we were both professionals with busy work schedules. We had always talked of getting married at some point and having kids. We had similar ideas & ideals about marriage & families. Back to V-day. M always put a huge effort into making our V-day celebration special. I never knew from year to year what he would plan. One year, he whisked me away to NYC in a limo to an intimate dinner & then to a show that I had wanted to see. On the way, he took me to my favorite SoHo boutique to buy a new dress & beautiful shoes.

Don't be too jealous, see the misery come in after the jump...

You might remember back in February that we got so annoyed by HTC's missing Shift UMPC that the company itself had to calm us down; someone perhaps even more frustrated was The Boy Genius, maybe because he was planning on actually buying the device, so it's nice to vicariously enjoy his eventual review now that it's actually in his hands.  Of course, the question is, now that it's here can it live up to expectations?  As you might expect, there are some aspects of the Shift that kick proverbial cellular ass, and others less so.





Take the 3G HSDPA for instance, and the build both come in for praise, HSDPA on AT font-size: 11px; padding-top: 10px; padding-bottom: 10px;">

Like cars?  Like pictures of cars?  Well you'll be excited to hear that Verizon are introducing Car and Driver SlideShow as their first interactive SlideShow product for cellphones.  By interactive they seem to mean "forwards, backwards as far as I can tell, the SlideShow is just a series of around 100 car photos, refreshed twice a week, and separated into categories like "concept cars", "hot cars" and "luxury cars", for which Verizon will charge you $4.49 a month.



Each category consists of ten images which you can scroll through, and if you really like a particular photo you can rate or save it.  It's been produced by Viva Vision who, according to Verizon VP of digital programming Ryan Hughes, are "taking still images to the next level."

Available on fifty Verizon handsets, the new SlideShow app comes under 'Pictures' in the Get It Now virtual store.  Perhaps I'm missing something, but this really doesn't seem all that impressive.

Press Release

Verizon Wireless and Viva Vision Introduce Mobile entertainment slideshow With Car and Driver Content

BASKING RIDGE, N.J. – Verizon Wireless, the builder and operator of the nation’s most reliable wireless voice and data network, and Viva Vision, an industry leading content provider for mobile entertainment, today announced the availability of Car and Driver SlideShow – a new Get It Now® SlideShow application featuring the best automotive photography from Car and Driver magazine. Car and Driver SlideShow is the first interactive SlideShow application available to Verizon Wireless customers and is produced exclusively by Viva Vision.

Car and Driver SlideShow allows automotive enthusiasts to view more than 100 images per month of the latest concept cars, speed vehicles and automobiles featured in Car and Driver magazine. The images come packaged in seven different SlideShow categories, including Concept Cars, Editor’s Picks, Hot Cars, and Luxury Cars, which each contain 10 images that the SlideShow scrolls through in sequence. All SlideShow content is refreshed twice a week.

Verizon Wireless selected Viva Vision as the exclusive provider of SlideShow content. Viva Vision’s platform allows subscribers to control the playback of each SlideShow, including the ability to pause, rewind and fast-forward. Other interactive features include the ability to vote on and save favorite images.

“Our SlideShow products expand the entertainment and content options for Verizon Wireless customers,” said Nick Montes, president of Viva Vision. “We are excited to be chosen as Verizon Wireless’ exclusive SlideShow partner and look forward to providing more mobile applications that will entertain consumers.”

“Viva Vision is taking still images to the next level with SlideShows,” said Ryan Hughes, vice president of digital programming for Verizon. “We think our customers will enjoy the refreshing format.”

Car and Driver SlideShow is currently available for $4.49 monthly subscription on nearly 50 Verizon Wireless phones, including the Chocolate and Venus™ by LG, Verizon Wireless FlipShot™ and Alias™ by Samsung, and the MOTORIZR™ Z6tv and MOTORAZR™ maxx Ve. Verizon Wireless customers can find the Car and Driver SlideShow application in the Picture font-size: 11px; padding-top: 10px; padding-bottom: 10px;">

If there's anything to get a geek's mouth watering, it's LEGO, and developer play/nyc are looking to bring some of that fun to the iPhone.  Okay, so there's nothing quite like having the real bricks in your hands, but with LEGO Touch for iPhone you'd be able to build models, animate them and even send them to friends so that they can see you've been doing no work.  It all takes advantage of MultiTouch, positioning different bricks (of which there seem to be quite a range) and zooming to focus on tricky designs.



Image via play/nyc

Check out the video of Lego Touch for iPhone after the cut

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IEMp15cwrMA

Sadly it's only a speculative app at the moment, but LEGO would be mad not to jump on the possibility now that the iPhone SDK is available.

Much excitement at Meizu's stand at CeBIT today, as the team manning the booth were paid a visit by German police investigating claims of patent violation.  Telling visitors to the exhibition that "this stand is closed until further notice", equipment and brochures were taken and the display cleared.  Initial suspicions centred around Meizu's M8 smartphone, which bears a striking resemblance to the Apple iPhone in both physical and GUI design, but a manager from the company subsequently disclosed that the M8 was

According to a report by analysts The Nielsen Co, around 23-percent of US cellphone users have seen advertising on their handset in the past month, and - more surprisingly perhaps - about half of them responded to those adverts.  Surveying 22,000 individuals who actively use mobile data services, Nielsen's researchers found a 38-percent increase in mobile ad recall between Q4 and Q2 2007. 

Around 13-percent of those questioned said they would be open to adverts if it improved the mobile content available, while 14-percent stipulated that they would accept marketing messages consistent with their own interests.

In terms of demographics, Nielsen claims Asian-Americans and African-Americans are more likely to recall mobile ads than other users, and that the 13 to 17 age range displayed the greatest attentiveness to marketing.  Almost a third of people would apparently be open to cellphone advertising if it lowered their overall bill.

If you've ever wanted to show a few YouTube videos on your iPhone but been scuppered by the lack of wireless connection, then MxTube might be the app for you.  Currently in a very early stage of development, the software allows you to search for and then download video - in both normal and higher quality encoding - from YouTube direct to your iPhone (or iPod Touch), ready for offline viewing.  Developed by a teenager called Max (whose site, http://mxweas.com/, appears to be down), you can install MxTube on a Jailbroken iPhone via Installer.app; it's in the "recent additions" section.



Check out the video of MxTube in action after the cut! 

Right now stability could do with some work - the download queue is getting regularly mentioned as a problem area, as is the way navigating out of the app during video playback is handled - but this could be a really useful program if you're short on content or at the mercy of poor EDGE speeds.

[via Crave]

Looking a little like a button-encrusted woodlouse, Spracht's Aura Mobile BT speakerphone might not have the stunning good looks of its rivals but it does have a CES award for Design font-size: 11px; padding-top: 10px; padding-bottom: 10px;">

We stopped by Meizu's stand at CeBIT today, to take a look at what many have been calling their "iPhone clone"; the M8 - which does bear a striking resemblance to Apple's cellphone - has been knocking around in render and prototype form since last year, but so far there's yet to be a working model displayed. Well, they've partially got it running now; the handset itself, while apparently containing the actual hardware of the finished model, simply swaps between three screenshots depending on which front-panel button you press (and they demo guy kept taking it back to fix it), but there was an engineering board that we could play with and marvel at how closely the M8's interface resembles that of the iPhone, finger-flicks included.



As for the design, Meizu insist that it's not a copy of the iPhone - in fact, that they had finalised the appearance by the end of 2006 and that Samsung helped them develop the casing; they're saying that they've got proof that it's their own creation. They didn't say whether the GUI (which sits on top of Windows CE 6.0) was developed before or after Apple, however; we're thinking definitely after, as it's a very, very close facsimile of the iPhone's interface.



Aesthetics aside, while the 3.4-inch screen - at 720 x 480 - is delectably crisp and a 3-megapixel camera bests the Apple handset, the lack of 3G (like the iPhone, the M8 is GPRS/EDGE only) and the fact that it still won't launch for another six months does put a serious dampener on the M8. Still, I do wish the iPhone had the M8's TV-out and Bluetooth 2.0 +EDR!

Sony Ericsson's XPERIA X1 made a discrete appearance at CeBIT today, but it's accompanying minder was tight-lipped on the suspected shipping delay. All he would say is that "it's still developing" and that they couldn't comment on any rumors. As such, we'll have to make do with these hands-on images of the handset from the show floor.



Again, the XPERIA's killer feature might just be that glorious screen (though the GPS, HSDPA and WiFi don't hurt either); Facebook's mobile app looks particularly good at that resolution, it's just a shame that the multi-panel interface Sony Ericsson developed only extended to the main menu, and after that you're stuck with dull old Windows Mobile 6.1.

OpenMoko, the open-source Linux cellphone developer behind the FreeRunner handset and the Dash Express GPS unit, have taken the design-your-own-handset process one step beyond offering a custom software platform by making the CAD files for creating a suitable casing open-source as well.  Users can now create prototype and one-off designs either for production on a CNC machine or for full-scale manufacture.

"With your current phone, you might be able to change the skin, add some rhinestones. Inconsequential customization.  With this, you can change the physical shell"Steve Mosher, OpenMoko



"Freeing up the source allows people to invent things we couldn't have imagined People look at the platform, and say 'Hey, I can do something with this'" Steve Mosher, OpenMoko

OpenMoko are claiming that their target audience remains "makers of things", the engineers and designers who prompt development.  The CAD files are offered in Pro Engineer format and under the creative commons licence.

The next reference handset from the company is expected in April this year.

[via Wired]

Unwired View's Staska has spent some hands-on time with the P320 Galaxi Mini Windows Mobile smartphone from ASUS at CeBIT this week, and while much of the media's attention has been lavished onto its faster, eye-catching Lamborghini sibling, Staska has still come away impressed by the P320's capabilities.  Although 2.5G only - with quadband GSM (850/900/1800/1900MHz), GPRS and EDGE - the Galaxi Mini nonetheless has a GPS receiver, 2-megapixel camera and spacious 2.8-inch QVGA touchscreen.  Really, it's the sat-nav functionality and the low price that marks the P320 out as a potential winner; ASUS are predicting an unlocked retail price of €300 ($456). 





Powered by a Texas Instruments OMAP 850 CPU running at 200MHz, and with 128MB ROM and 64MB RAM, the P320 won't exactly be a 3D powerhouse but it should be fine for Windows Mobile 6.1 Pro.  It also has Bluetooth 2.0, a USB 2.0 port and a microSD slot to augment the onboard storage.

ASUS expect the P320 Galaxi Mini to be available in Europe during Q2 2008.

YouTube has discretely begun to increase the quality of its Flash-streamed videos, adding a new 480 x 360 version with stereo AAC audio to the standard 320 x 240, mono clip created whenever a user uploads new content.  However, the site has also begun retroactively upgrading certain videos, seemingly intending to provide better quality throughout the site.  Speculation has started that Apple could be - either directly or indirectly - responsible for the upgrade; they previously were integral to Google-owned YouTube moving to the H.264 format. 



An example of the newly encoded footage can be seen

I have a girlfriend who will only hit the gym if she has an appointment with her trainer, or take a run if she has a partner. (And I have another girlfriend who's a gym rat but we're planning an intervention, so that's a different story.)

Girlfriend #1 needs the new Adidas miCoach system which is like having a coach or trainer constantly pushing you to new levels ("Come on, just one MORE MILE!").

Unlike the devices that collect data for your workout, miCoach claims to be the the first system that actually coaches by turning your data into a personal training plan based on your fitness level and goals ("LAZY BONES, speed it up!").

Created as a partnership between Samsung and Adidas, miCoach uses your cell phone as a personal trainer, the first "fully--featured, fully-reactive and adaptive personal trainer mobile phone." This means there are some unusual features such as a heart rate monitor, a pedometer which works by attaching a "foot pod" to your laces (or if you bought the matching runners, there's a spot specifically for it) and measures the distance you’ve travelled and how fast you’re going.

Meanwhile, since you inputted all your data, the domineering phone is supposedly motivating you by pushing you to your own personal fitness plan. Perfect for people who need a personal trainer or coach. Me? I would have trashed my phone after the first mile.

Scheduled to be released next month, there's no pricing information available yet.

Milena has briefly been playing with DataWind's PocketSurfer 2 at CeBIT, a GPRS-based mobile internet device with a similar form-factor to Nokia's Communicator series. Where the PocketSurfer 2 differs, however, is in the contract - or, more accurately, the lack of it. After buying the clamshell device, you get 20hrs of surfing a month for a year; it also handles email and assisted-GPS, in fact the one thing you can't actually do is make calls on it. The GPRS modem is just that, a modem, and the PocketSurfer 2 is intended to accompany rather than replace your regular cellphone.





Milena came away impressed but wishing it had a touchscreen for quicker navigation. We've actually got a PocketSurfer 2 in for review at the moment, and are currently putting it through its paces. Look out for a full unboxing and video review soon!

Now less than 24 hours away, PHONE Magazine is getting ready for Apple's iPhone SDK Roadmap event in sunny California which we'll be live-blogging from 10am PST. Apple described the event as concerning the "iPhone software roadmap, including the iPhone SDK and some exciting new enterprise features", and has sparked off the inevitable cavalcade of rumor and analyst prediction.

For instance, the SDK itself - a toolkit for developers to code applications natively supported by the iPhone (and the iPod Touch) and which would no longer require the handset to be unofficially Jailbroken - is suspected to be delayed; Steve Jobs originally promised its release by the end of February, and now the unconfirmed consensus seems to be that, while a beta will be made available at tomorrow's event, the full software package won't be delivered perhaps until WWDC in June.

Meanwhile, the functionality on offer in the SDK has cast doubts onto initial consideration of Jailbreaking as a temporary measure. Many believed the system of brute-unlocking handsets for third-party applications would only apply until Apple made such alterations official, but supposed leaks have suggested that the Cupertino-based company will maintain a far stronger grip on their platform than expected. While freeware is believed to be relatively free of Apple inspection, paid-for software will apparently require validation by the company and be distributed solely through iTunes; unsurprisingly, Apple will take a cut of each copy sold.

In addition, the extent to which third-party developers can access iPhone functionality is also in doubt; Apple is rumored to be preventing use of the dock connector and, perhaps, limiting interaction with other cellphone hardware such as networking and the camera. There is also uncertainty as to who exactly will be able to access the SDK at all; whether the package will be distributed free or paid for, and whether it will be limited to enterprise customers or released generally

Apple's mention of enterprise has reignited a wish-list of business-related functionality, and at the top of the list is Microsoft Exchange compatibility. With the inevitable adoption by corporate users (and AT however, we'd love for you to join us for the other half of the fun, as we live-blog the whole event direct from the Apple Town Hall in California, tomorrow morning, 10am PST.

According to Electronista, popular social network MySpace is preparing a mobile application for the iPhone and iPod Touch that has been crafted using early access to the official Apple SDK.  While details of the software's functionality are unknown, it is being described as "impressive" compared to existing mobile versions of the site such as offered by Helio and other carriers.  However, unless Apple also announce Adobe Flash support at tomorrow's SDK Roadmap event, it looks unlikely that the MySpace video and music catalogue will be available.

The app is known to be the work of a small team coding part-time on the project, and is apparently close to release standard.  However no date has been set for availability, whether for reasons of coding or because Apple's distribution method for third-party software has not been established.  It's also unclear as to whether MySpace will be charging for the app or releasing it as free software.

Tata Comunications has just announced the world's largest commercial rollout of WiMAX technology in India, where wired broadband adoption has suffered from low adoption rates. Tata has tapped Telsima Communications to install WiMAX base stations in 110 cities across India by the end of 2008. Tata plans on providing wireless broadband for both Enterprise and Retail consumers.

Perhaps most exciting is that Bangalore has already got 600 base stations installed and ready for retail customers. A solid wireless broadband infrastructure would do wonders for India's economy could boost productivity dramatically.

In the initial phase, Tata Communications' WiMAX network will offer Broadband Internet access and content services to enterprise and residential customers in Delhi, Mumbai, Pune, Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad, Cochin, Chandigarh, and Kolkata. By the end of 2008 Tata Communications plans to have enabled WiMAX retail broadband service in about 15 cities.

[via

Next time you're faced with a rack of expensive Bluetooth headsets, just remember how cheap manufacturers can actually get the hardware: CSR have announced their BlueVox2 mono headset, measuring a tiny 4.5 x 5.5mm but still packing Bluetooth 2.1+EDR, simultaneous connection with multiple devices and the company's own AuriStream noise reduction that, they claim, gives voice quality on a par with a landline phone.



"BlueVox2 has by far the lowest power consumption in the market, is the first to use Bluetooth version 2.1, first to feature AuriStream, the lowest cost headset with so many features and, thanks to clever engineering, one of the most compact headsets in the world. The noise and echo reduction as well as the AuriStream CODEC ensures that voice quality on this device is better than any other on the market. CSR has crammed in a huge number of features for an eBOM of just $5. Most of these features would normally only be available in much more costly solutions"  Anthony Murray, Senior Vice President, CSR Wireless Audio Business Unit

Packed onto that one chip is not only the Bluetooth radio but codecs for the microphone and speakers, power management, a battery charger and a microprocessor to run virtual machine applications.  Samples of the BlueVox2 are with manufacturers now, and CSR expect retail headsets using the board to be available in Q3 2008.

The urge to capitalise on the almost surprising popularity of the U900 Soul has driven Samsung to produce this, the G400 Soul, a touchscreen-blessed clamshell set for release at CeBIT 2008 this week. Where the U900 slider has a small touchscreen underneath its main display, the G400 has a large, 2.22-inch touchscreen with haptic feedback on the outside, allowing for control of the MP3 player, camera, photo album and FM radio as well as navigation of SMS messages. Inside, there's a 2.22-inch standard display, while the G400 also has a 5-megapixel camera with automatic face detection, image stabilizer and Wide Dynamic Range (WDR).





There's also a second, VGA camera inside for video calls, as the G400 Soul is 3G 7.2Mbps HSDPA compatible. Apparently the handset GUI will be heavily skinnable, with all the same options as seen on the U900 Soul.



SAMSUNG UNVEILS G400,THE FIRST FULL TOUCH DUAL SCREEN CLAMSHELL AT CEBIT

HANOVER, GERMANY – March 4, 2008 – Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., a leading mobile phone and telecommunication equipment provider, today announced the launch of Samsung G400, the latest dual screen clamshell at CeBIT in Hanover, Germany.

Samsung G400 inherits the look and feel of Samsung’s flagship product Soul with unique premium exterior and graphical user interface design identity. Samsung has introduced a clamshell version of Soul, continuing its leadership in clamshell form factor as well as sliders. Samsung G400 has a luxurious high gloss metallic finish with a hairline texture.

Similar to Soul, the Samsung G400 also offers a new series of graphic user interfaces (GUI) providing three different options for users. With the GUI skin, users can change the UI according to their personal tastes. Display skins are customizable with various options such as background images, fonts and colors.

In addition to an internal 2.22 TFT LCD display, Samsung’s G400 has a 2.22” external full touch screen display. With the external full touch display, users can operate multimedia features without opening the folder and haptic vibration feedback is given when user uses full touch screen. Seamless operation of multimedia features including FM radio, music, camera, and photo album is possible through the full touch external display and normal phone centric operations can be utilized using the internal display. When the phone is in idle status, users have an option of displaying wallpaper, digital clock, analogue clock, or calendar modes through the external display. Additionally, notifications for SMS/MMS as well as alarm or schedules can be viewed directly on the large external display.

Samsung G400 is equipped with the latest imaging solutions including a 5 megapixel camera. Many up-to-date digital camera features such as automatic face detection, image stabilizer and Wide Dynamic Range (WDR) are equipped. Users can enjoy fast Internet access through the 7.2 Mbps High Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA) browser and share images or video taken with the phone. With a sub camera, users are able to enjoy video telephony under HSDPA networks.

Samsung G400 will be available in European countries from June.

Intel have been showing off their Mobile Internet Device (MID) platform again, and while normally I've got no time for show-offs this demo is actually pretty impressive.  A common complaint levelled at UMPCs and other ultraportables is that they're underpowered; however, here Intel show a VoIP app running despite purposefully crashing the system's OS. 



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jf7NRYJCHNU

The stability is down to VirtualLogix, who have figured out a way to run the network and audio stacks running in a virtualised Linux instance while the main operating system reboots.  It's actually made me quite excited about MIDs, which I haven't felt since the UMPC was first a twinkle in Microsoft's eye and before we realised that, in the first generation at least, they weren't all that hot.

[via Engadget]

When you think about it, the cars parked outside the house must be fuming over what goes on inside during the holidays. Balloons and streamers for birthday parties, wreaths and stockings for Christmas, tablecloths and autumn-colored centerpieces for Thanksgiving. "The house gets everything!" the cars are saying beneath their honking. And they're right. Sure, they get fed, cleaned, and tuned up from time to time, but that's hardly a celebration.

Silence their (g)rumbling engines this Easter with a pair of 16" plush ears to hook over their windows and a 4.5" pink nose to wire to their grilles. Be careful what you wish for, eh, cars?

Available for $15.95 from What on Earth.

Via bookofjoe.

I recently discovered docstoc.com through a colleague and almost instantly became addicted. .docstoc is a user-generated community built for free-sharing professional documents (legal, business, technology, education, and creative). Did I mention that it’s a free service?

Whether you’re creating a lease or contract for a new tenant, or starting a new job and in need of a strategy deck, you’ll find an abundance of high-quality examples in multiple formats (: .doc, .pdf, .xls, .ppt, .ppt, .txt).

A somewhat social community, you’ll find a highly engaged user-base viewing, downloading, rating, and commenting on all documents.

My favorite feature is the “request tab.” If you can’t find the document you’re in search of, you can add the title, tags, categories, language, and file type of any document and when any other user subsequently uploads the document, you’ll get it sent to you by email.

Visit docstoc.com for more information.

If the concept design for the paper weighing scale designed by Duck Image Studio sees the light of day, then I will no longer have to worry if someone else is looking down at the embarassingly high figures on my scale while I am standing on it.

Ask how? Because the paper weighing scale is different from other weighing scales – it is inconspicuous, almost like paper, and can be placed anywhere in the house as it is ultra-thin and flexible. The figures are depicted via large numerals flashed on an e-paper display – easy enough to let you steal a sly glance as you are walking down the hallway, for example. And you can leave the paper scale out on the floor through the day since it is waterproof and easy to clean. The flexibility aspect ensures that you can even roll it away for storage if you are not comfortable being reminded of your weight so many times in a day. Methinks this is a great design for something as simple as a scale.

Via Yanko Design.

Today, Apple announced that iTunes is now the second largest music retailer in the US, trailing only Wal-Mart, according to the latest data from the NPD Group. (The MusicWatch survey captures consumer reported past week unit purchases, and counts one CD as representing 12 tracks, unlike the archaic system used by record companies.)

Apple also announced that there are now over 50 million iTunes Store customers. “We’d like to thank the over 50 million music lovers who have helped the iTunes Store reach this incredible milestone,” said Eddy Cue, Apple’s vice president of iTunes. “We continue to add great new features like iTunes Movie Rentals to give our customers even more reason to love iTunes.”

By sprinting past Amazon and Best Buy, iTunes is well placed to take on Wal Mart. iTunes claims to have sold more than four billion songs, and to offer the world’s largest music catalog of over six million songs.

Via iLounge.

I've been lusting for a MacAir since it was released but as a longtime PC user, I've resisted because I keep hoping that someone makes an ultraportable notebook PC that's just as light and thin, with an integrated optical drive.

IBM has answered with the Lenovo X300, which definitely doesn't look as sleek and sexy as the MacBook Air, but is arguably more functional, and even weighs a bit less. The X300 has a 13.3" LED backlit display, which is lighter, thinner, and easier to view than regular LCDs, an optionally built-in optical drive (the MacAir has an external optical option only), options for built-in 3G connectivity with GPS, and up to 10 hours battery life in a package that starts at under 3 lbs. The X300 also has a full-size keyboard, with some lighted keys (the MacAir has a fully backlit keyboard), and 3 USB ports (the MacAir has just one).

The X300 has an Intel Core 2 Duo 1.2 GHz processor, 1 GB of RAM, 64 GB solid state drive, and blessedly, comes with Windows XP Professional, instead of buggy, bloated Vista. The X300 starts at about $2500, which is substantially more than the least expensive MacAir.

The X300 is impressive on specs, not so spectacular in looks or pricing, but provides an option for people looking for a fast, lightweight machine that you can stick in a manila envelope.

Available from the Lenovo Shop.
___________________________

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LG Korea have

Now seems a great time to introduce our representation at CeBIT this year, Milena, who has been responsible for scoring the fantastic photos both for PHONE Magazine and over at or sibling site SlashGear.com.  Pictured here attempting to steal a Mini Cooper convertible and make off with the XPERIA X1 prototype, Milena will also be covering IFA for us in August.



Milena has also written for our German-language consumer electronics site, SlashGear.de

Google have launched a mobile version of Google Gears, intended for devices running Windows Mobile 5 and 6.  The software allows web-based applications, such as the search company's own Google Docs word processor, to be used offline on a device where internet access isn't available.  Of most interest, perhaps, is that applications already coded for the original desktop version of Google Gears will work automatically with the mobile version; of course, this is dependent on the capabilities of the smartphone itself.



Check out the video of Google Gears for Mobile after the cut! 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wZJbidoQg30

"It's a fully functional port of Google Gears v0.2 that can be used to develop offline capability into your mobile web applications. You can also create slick and responsive applications by hiding latency issues through controlled caching of data and storage of information between sessions. We're also working to bring Google Gears for mobile to Android and other mobile platforms with capable web browsers" Google Code blog 

There are already applications which are using Google Gears for Mobile to bridge the desktop/smartphone divide, including Zoho and social payment service Buxfer.

Google Gears v0.2, including the Mobile developer, is a free download.

The New York Times has revealed further details of the origins of Apple's iPhone, indicating that, as widely maintained, the project began not as a revolutionary cellphone but as a notebook-scale internet tablet.  John Markoff, discussing Apple CEO Steve Jobs' recent dismissal of ebooks, claims that MultiTouch began life in a hardware development project creating a so-called 'Safari Pad'.

"Apple's multitouch technology began life not as a cellphone, but as a notepad-sized skunkworks project internally dubbed Safari Pad, run by Tim Bucher, then Apple’s head of Macintosh hardware. To his credit, Mr. Jobs seized on the technology and morphed it into the iPhone"John Markoff, New York Times

 

Image via Flickr

Markoff goes on to suggest that Apple could be working on an internet tablet now, speculation has begun that the compact motherboard and components in the Air are also serving as a test-bed for implementation in a smaller, UMPC-sized device.

[via Mac Rumors]

The Wave is Neutrogena’s newest foaming face product, intended to simulate a very affordable facial/dermabrasion-like experience. The starter kit includes a hand-held vibrating wand with two trial packs of pre-soaped pads, and an AA battery. Much like I do with my toilet wand, the Wave’s head is designed to “grab” the pads. If you spend your days out on the farm, playing the jungle, or mucking out the horse stalls at the tracks, this might be a cheap way to reveal those gorgeous freckles of your’s.

Or keep using your fingers, working them in small circles around your face, and washing with your favorite cleanser.

When it comes to your toilet bowl though – make waves, stick with the wand!

Price: $14.69 at Amazon.

Maybe you were just surfing around for your next career or were up to something more sinful, when your boss decides to show up behind your back, literally. Instead of painstakingly trying to revive a decent screen on your PC, and in the process look like a silly baboon, you can now make a swift and smart move using the USB Smart Privacy Mouse and convince him that you were really being a sincere employee.

The USB Smart Privacy Mouse, as you must have already guessed, is for the wily amongst us. It has a “secret” button that can be configured to conceal any (and all) programs that you would consider private and instead bring up “decent” programs in times of need. So let’s say you are on a chat application, bitching about your boss and the devil himself walks in to say hello. Hit the button on the Smart Privacy Mouse, and voila – the screen displays the time report that you have been working so hard on. Happy boss, happy you. Smart indeed. Get wicked at $19.99.

Via The Red Ferret Journal.

Sign up for Popgadget Drop emails for weekly gadget giveaways and quick and simple tech tips.

As part of our long-standing tradition of bringing you the best in toilet technology, we'd like to present the Breeza deodorizing toilet seat. The Breeza has a 4-part deodorizing system which starts when the sensors detect a "deodorizing opportunity" as someone sits down. At this point, the fan kicks in, which sucks up the odors. Then, the carbon filter absorbs the odors. As a final step, the Breeza's fragrance vents deliver a subtle (so they say) waft of natural extracts to give the air a sweet scent.

The Breeza Warm adds a seat-warming feature with an adjustable temperature setting.

Most of the world hasn't caught up with the super-toilets of Japan, but the Breeza can bring you a step closer for just $129 from Amazon.

Sign up for Popgadget Drop emails for quick and easy tech tips and great gadget giveaways.

The word "vegan" in relation to shoes conjures up images of boxy, blister-making eyesores on the feet, unless you're talking about Stella McCartney vegan shoes, which are in a league of their own. For those of us without movie star budgets, there are some stylish options, believe it or not, like those from Mooshoes.

Brazilian shoe company Melissa Shoes makes vegan shoes out of a plastic material called "MELFLEX" which molds to your feet. Presumably, this makes for less friction between shoe and skin once the shoe molds to your foot. Dedicted to sustainability, the company recycles last season's shoes to make this season's styles.

The shoes shown above are $58 from Kaightshop.

Via Inhabitat.

I love kitchen tools . . . just for decoration, since I, sadly, do not know how to cook. But I do love to crush things, don't ask me why. Give me some nutmeg or vanilla beans or mustard seeds, and I'll turn them into a fine dust with my mortar and pestle (even if a fine dust isn't what you asked for).

If I had this Viking Mortar and Pestle from Drinkstuff.com, it could get ridiculous. I find the shape of the pestle kind of beautiful, but it actually has an ergonomic purpose - it fits more naturally in your hand. The mortar is made of beechwood, which contrasts nicely with the silvery pestle.

Costs 20GBP (about $40).

Via Kitchen Contraptions.

Thanks to a deal with mobile media distributor HandMark, Social.FM might be coming to your cellphone; similar to Last.FM, in that it offers a streaming genre-specific radio service, Social.FM also gives access to a user's own digital music collection and a social network with buddy-list music playback.  Available for Symbian and Windows Mobile handsets, the service requires a 3G or WiFi connection.





HandMark has contracts with AT it will be preinstalled on handsets as well as released as an over-the-air download.  The first releases should be seen within the next quarter.

If you were planning to treat your family to a trip down to the nearest Sprint store this morning, you might need to find alternative entertainment.  Apparently the carrier is closing all of its stores, including licenced dealers, from 9am PST to 11am; the reason given is that they'll be watching a webcast.

It's unclear whether this has anything to do with recent job losses and the shift of Sprint management back to Kansas that was announced earlier this month.

Sprint has made 4,000 staff redundant since CEO Dan Hesse was appointed last December, and 125 retail locations have been closed; Hesse described the cutbacks as "creat[ing] a single, performance-based culture."

Why should your iPod have all the cool cases? Griffin has now released two of their most popular cases for the iPhone. For the rugged individual, there's the multi-purpose Courier which is made of compression-molded EVA outer jacket for abrasion-resistant durability and can either wrap around the strap of your backpack or bag (up to 4 inches wide), or be secured by a industrial-strength hook now $24.01 at Amazon.

My iPhone had been envious of my iPod's stylish Reflect case, but is now sporting its own. Made of a durable polycarbonate shell that surrounds the face of your iPhone with seamless, chrome-like protection, and a rubberized matte black back, it protects while still giving you access to all the controls of your iPhone. At $24.99 it's a great way to dress up your iPhone.

TomTom have announced a new traffic receiver that accesses the so-called High Definition congestion database via a built-in GPRS modem.  Plugging into a cigarette lighter to recharge the li-ion battery, the HD Traffic Receiver can access road status on a far greater number of routes than TomTom's existing TMC FM-based system, as well as being more accurate and specific.  Connection between GPS and HD Receiver is by USB.

The Lamborghini brand isn’t one to take lightly so I sure hope for ASUS as well as Lamborghini that the ZX1 lives up two the brand. As far as I can tell, it isn’t too shabby considering there’s an iPhone-like ASUS touch user interface on a 2.8-inch TFT, 65K colors with a 240320 pixels.



The ZX1 is powered by a TI 2431 450 MHz CPU on EMP U360 platform running on Windows Mobile 6.1 OS. Other features include GPS, WiFi, 3-megapixel camera with autofocus, a second VGA camera for video calls, 256 MB flash memory, 128MB SDRAM, Bluetooth, USB 2.0, and a microSD memory card slot.



The ZX1 sounds like a power hungry machine, so I hope the 1150 mAh Lith-ion battery will be enough. ASUS claims talk time to be 5 hours while getting about 200 hours of standby time.

Count on the ZX1 to work on GSM (850/900/1800/1900), as well as tri-band WCDMA (850/1900/2100). There’s also the standard data support on GPRS, EDGE and 3.6 Mbps HSDPA.



The ZX1’s launch date is still unknown, most likely hitting Europe first and maybe stateside much later. Expect to pay premium price of 1,000 EUR or more if you’re planning on getting one.

Nokia today announced its latest collaboration with T-Mobile, the 6650 clamshell.  Set for release during Q3, the HSDPA handset has a 2.2 TFT QVGA internal display, Assisted-GPS, a 2-megapixel camera with flash and an FM radio.  It'll be compatible with T-Mobile's web'n'walk, MyFaves, Mobile Jukebox and NaviGate services.





30MB of onboard memory isn't especially lavish, but there's a microSD slot to augment it together with Bluetooth to offload any images taken.  No prices have been given.



[via SlashPhone]

Sod the Enterprise features, what the iPhone needs is a really good game - something it can do and that pales on other devices.  Trism, spotted on YouTube (you can see the video after the cut), might be just the thing: ostensibly a basic colour-matching puzzle, the game uses both the touchscreen, to move rows, and the iPhone's accelerometer (which normally adjusts the screen orientation depending on which way round the cellphone is held).  In this case, triangles fall into open space following the direction of gravity fitting to the orientation of the iPhone.



Sound confusing?  Watch the video, after the cut, to see it in action! 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hy0ptZisr70

Demiforce, the game's creators, are planning an official release once Apple make the SDK available.  A demo version, requiring a Jailbroken iPhone, is also in the works. 

[via MacRumors]

T-Mobile were coy about their financial performance when they revealed Q4 2007 subscriber stats back in January, but the figures are now in and it looks to have been a pretty successful year for the carrier.  Service revenues for the quarter grew by 14.6-percent over the same period last year, reaching $4.4bn, while customer churn fell from 2.1-percent to 1.8-percent.  Meanwhile, the carrier posted $1.33bn in Operating Income Before Depreciation and Amortization (OIBDA) for the quarter, up 13.2-percent on Q4 2006, giving a net income of $383 million; profit steadily dropped each quarter in 2007, however, for which T-Mobile are blaming "higher customer acquisition costs".

Blended average revenue per user (ARPU) remained steady at $52 in Q4 2007, the same as the previous year, despite a small rise to $53 in Q3 2007.  Of that, data revenue makes up 15.8-percent (or $8.20 per customer) driven, T-Mobile state, by increased messaging.  The total number of SMS and MMS messages rose to 24bn in Q4 2007.

The year also saw a significant outlay by the network, spending $500m in Q3 and $1.01bn in Q4; much of this was on increasing the carrier's UMTS coverage.

Press Release:

Bellevue, February 28th, 2008 -- T-Mobile USA, Inc. (T-Mobile USA) today reported fourth quarter and full year 2007 results.  At the end of the quarter, the company had 28.7 million customers, adding more than 951,000 net new customers during the fourth quarter, OIBDA of $1.33 billion, up 13.2% compared to the fourth quarter of 2006, and a reduction in contract customer churn to 1.8% from 2.1% in the fourth quarter of 2006.

“T-Mobile continues to drive strong year-over-year growth by pioneering innovation that matters to consumers,” said Robert Dotson, CEO and President, T-Mobile USA.  “In 2007, we increased growth to more than 3.6 million net new customers. myFavesSM was a major contributor, with 5 million customers at year-end using the service to enjoy truly affordable unlimited calling features along with one-touch access to their Faves. Our new FlexPaySM plans also debuted in 2007, driving smart financials and new growth by opening up access to more attractive offerings for a broader base of customers.  Finally, with the successful completion of our SunCom acquisition, we also look forward to bringing our services to new customers in both the Carolinas and in Puerto Rico.”

“T-Mobile USA continues to deliver very strong results,” said René Obermann, Chief Executive Officer, Deutsche Telekom.  “Year on year double digit growth in both service revenues and OIBDA show how T-Mobile USA is helping Deutsche Telekom deliver on its strategy to grow abroad with mobile.”

Customers

·         In the fourth quarter of 2007, T-Mobile USA added 951,000 net new customers, up from 857,000 in the third quarter of 2007, and 901,000 in the fourth quarter of 2006.

o    Contract customer net additions in the fourth quarter of 2007 made up 77% of customer growth, up from 65% in the third quarter of 2007, and down from 87% in the fourth quarter of 2006.

o    myFaves continues to be very popular with our customers. At the end of the fourth quarter there were 5.0 million myFaves customers, up from 3.5 million at the end of the third quarter.

·         Contract customers comprised 83% of T-Mobile USA’s total customer base at December 31, 2007.

Churn

·         Contract customer churn was 1.8% in the fourth quarter of 2007, down from 2.0% in the third quarter of 2007 and 2.1% in the fourth quarter of 2006. The year over year decline in churn is primarily due to the introduction of two-year contracts in the second quarter of 2006.

·         Blended churn, including both contract and prepaid customers, was 2.8% in the fourth quarter of 2007, down from 2.9% in both the third quarter of 2007 and the fourth quarter of 2006.

OIBDA and Net Income

·         T-Mobile USA reported OIBDA of $1.33 billion in the fourth quarter of 2007, down from $1.41 billion in the third quarter of 2007 and up from $1.17 billion in the fourth quarter of 2006.

o    The sequential decrease in OIBDA was primarily due to higher customer acquisition costs in the fourth quarter of 2007.

·         OIBDA margin was 30% in the fourth quarter of 2007, down from 32% in the third quarter of 2007, and the same as in the fourth quarter of 2006.

·         Net income for the fourth quarter of 2007 was $383 million, down from $526 million in the third quarter of 2007 and up from $179 million in the fourth quarter of 2006. 

Revenue 

·         Service revenues, consisting of contract, prepaid, and roaming and other service revenues, rose to $4.37 billion in the fourth quarter of 2007, up slightly from $4.33 billion in the third quarter of 2007, and up from $3.81 billion in the fourth quarter of 2006.

o    The increase in service revenues year on year was primarily due to the growth in contract customers.

·         Other revenues were $77 million in the fourth quarter of 2007, down from $82 million in the third quarter of 2007 and $122 million in the fourth quarter of 2006.

o    The major reason for the year on year fall in other revenues was the ongoing migration of AT font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal">    In 2007, Wi-Fi revenues were reclassified to contract revenues and roaming and other service revenues (see note 9 to the Selected Data below for further explanation).

·         Total revenues, including service, equipment, and other revenues were $5.07 billion in the fourth quarter of 2007, up from $4.89 billion in the third quarter of 2007 and $4.52 billion in the fourth quarter of 2006.

ARPU

·         Blended Average Revenue Per User (“ARPU” as defined in note 1 to the Selected Data, below) was $52 in the fourth quarter of 2007, down from $53 in the third quarter of 2007 and the same as in the fourth quarter of 2006.

·         Contract ARPU was $56 in the fourth quarter of 2007, down from $57 in the third quarter of 2007, and the same as in the fourth quarter of 2006.

o    The sequential fall in contract ARPU was primarily due to lower variable revenues from contract customers.

·         Data services revenues were $690 million in the fourth quarter of 2007, representing 15.8% of blended ARPU, or $8.20 per customer, compared to 15.4% of blended ARPU, or $8.10 per customer in the third quarter of 2007, and 12.5% of blended ARPU, or $6.50 per customer in fourth quarter of 2006.

o    Growth in messaging revenue continued to be the most significant driver of data ARPU. The total number of SMS and MMS messages increased to almost 24 billion in the fourth quarter of 2007, compared to 21 billion in the third quarter of 2007 and almost 13 billion in the fourth quarter of 2006.

o    Strong GPRS / EDGE access and usage revenues were another significant driver of the increase in data services revenues in the fourth quarter of 2007 compared to the fourth quarter of 2006.

o    T-Mobile USA’s converged device offering was significantly strengthened during 2007 with the successful launch of a number of converged devices such as the T-Mobile ShadowTM, the T-Mobile Sidekick iDTM, LXTM, and SlideTM, T-Mobile WingTM, and the BlackBerry® CurveTM – the first converged device enabled for the new HotSpot @HomeSM service. The fourth quarter of 2007 saw a continued strong demand for these converged devices.

CPGA and CCPU

·         The average cost of acquiring a customer, Cost Per Gross Add (“CPGA” as defined in note 4 to the Selected Data, below) was $300 in the fourth quarter of 2007, up from $280 in the third quarter of 2007 and the same as in fourth quarter of 2006. 

o    The sequentially higher CPGA is primarily due to higher advertising and marketing costs during the fourth quarter holiday season.

·         The average cash cost of serving customers, Cash Cost Per User (“CCPU” as defined in note 3 to the Selected Data, below), was $25 per customer per month in the fourth quarter of 2007, down from $26 in the third quarter of 2007 and the same as in fourth quarter of 2006.

o    The primary reason for the decrease in CCPU in the fourth quarter of 2007 compared to the third quarter of 2007 was due to lower network costs. 

Capital Expenditures

·         Cash capital expenditures (see note 7 to the Selected Data below) were $1.01 billion in the fourth quarter of 2007, compared with $500 million in the third quarter of 2007 and $675 million in the fourth quarter of 2006.

o    The sequential and year on year increase in cash capital expenditures was due to an increase in network capital expenditures, including T-Mobile USA’s UMTS build-out. At the end of 2007, T-Mobile USA had deployed over 8,000 UMTS-capable cell sites.

·         T-Mobile USA continued its commitment to invest in network coverage and quality in the fourth quarter of 2007, adding almost 900 new cell sites, bringing the total number of cell sites at the end of the quarter to 37,900.

Other Highlights

·         For the seventh consecutive reporting period, according to the J.D. Power and Associates 2008 Wireless Customer Care Performance StudySM released on January 31, 2008, T-Mobile USA ranked highest among the five largest wireless carriers in customer service performance.

·         T-Mobile USA’s HotSpot @Home service continues to receive recognition in the industry. During the fourth quarter, HotSpot @Home received three awards for innovation: One of the 10 annual “New York Times” Pogie Awards, the wireless networking Annual Mobile Innovation Award from “Laptop” magazine, and the 2007 Product Differentiation Innovation Award from Frost & Sullivan, a market research firm.  “T-Mobile has dedicated themselves to providing a feature-rich and seamless end user experience,” stated Frost font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal">         In February 2008 T-Mobile USA made the T-Mobile Hotspot @ Home Talk Forever Home Phone service available in selected markets (Dallas and Seattle). With the Talk Forever Home Phone, customers can connect their regular home phones to a dedicated T-Mobile Wi-Fi access point and pay a set price for unlimited calling to anyone, anytime.

·         T-Mobile USA announced the proposed acquisition of SunCom Wireless (SunCom) in September 2007, which closed on February 22, 2008. The acquisition further enhances T-Mobile USA’s network coverage in the southeastern United States and the Caribbean. SunCom has operated a GSM/GPRS/EDGE network and provided roaming service to T-Mobile USA in these markets since 2004.

This press release includes non-GAAP financial measures. The non-GAAP financial measures should be considered in addition to, but not as a substitute for, the information provided in accordance with GAAP. Reconciliations from the non-GAAP financial measures to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measures are provided below following Selected Data and the financial statements.

T-Mobile USA is the U.S. operation of Deutsche Telekom AG’s (NYSE: DT) Mobile Communications Business, and is a wholly owned subsidiary of T-Mobile International. In order to provide comparability with the results of other US wireless carriers, all financial amounts are in US dollars and are based on accounting principles generally accepted in the United States (“GAAP”). T-Mobile USA results are included in the consolidated results of Deutsche Telekom, but differ from the information contained herein as Deutsche Telekom reports financial results in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS).

Despite how glorious it sounds to work from home in your pajamas, blogging isn't a very glamorous profession. Sure, there are exclusive press events and fancy cocktail parties every now and again, but for the most part, it's just you . . . at home . . . in your pajamas. All day, every day.

It can get pretty mundane. That's why I need this paparazzi play set. It comes with a velvet rope that I could set up beside my computer to keep those pesky 4-inch vinyl photographers, reporters, and autograph hounds at bay. Paris Hilton's got nothing over me (except fame, wealth, and a prison record).

Available for £14.95 from I Want One of Those.

Via Coolest Gadgets.

With all the dire reports about identity theft, it seems like pure idiocy not to have a paper shredder (I'd put mine right by my mailbox and ask the mailman to feed all the junk mail from credit companies directly into it). But, seriously, how do you manage the flow? There's just so much, every single day. It never lets up. How many hours per month would you have to spend shredding mail if you really heeded all the advice about protecting your personal information when it seems to be free-floating everywhere?

The hand-held paper shredder by Ziszor may not be big or fast enough to handle the mountain of mail with sensitive information that we pile up every month, but I have to say, it would give me some satisfaction to feed the more outrageous mail I get through this little device. The Ziszor, which operates on 4 AA batteries, has 28 blades within, and can hanle 5 layers of paper at one time. Now priced at $39.95 (down from the regular price of $49.95).

Smarter Agent have been helping Sprint customers find new places to live for a few years now, with their GPS-enabled Apartments for Rent app; the software allows mobile users to locate available property, view details and even directly call the letting agent to make a viewing appointment.  Now the company have signed a deal with AT&T which will see Apartments for Rent available on 25 handsets in the carrier's catalogue.





The app can be downloaded through the AT font-size: 11px; padding-top: 10px; padding-bottom: 10px;">

People seem to have been getting particularly excited lately over Panasonic's VIERA P905iTV cellphone for NTT DoCoMo; it's understandable, really; the HSDPA handset with a 3.5-inch, 4000:1 contrast ratio display looks on paper at least to be oceans better than much of the dross we get in the rest of the world.  But does the 1-Seg mobile TV slider live up to expectations in the plastic?  Vincent caught up with Panasonic and shot the exclusive P905iTV video you can see after the cut. 



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FeGcgmd6-KU

Full specifications: 

* Size: (H x W x T) Approx. 113 X 53 X 17.9 mm (when folded)
* Weight: Approx. 129 grams
* Continuous talk time:
* Voice call Approx. 230 minutes (3G)
* TV phone Approx. 160 minutes
* Continuous standby time: Approx. 660 hours (3G)
* Main display: Approx. 3.5 inches (854 X 480 dots)
* Full wide VGA LTPS TFT LCD (262,144-color)
* Cameras: Autofocus CMOS Camera
* Effective resolution Approx. 2.0 megapixels
* External Memory Device microSD / micro SDHC memory card (optional)
* Colors: Black, White

Despite ongoing rumors (and presumably desperation from investors hoping to see some sort of dividend ever again), Sprint CEO Dan Hesse remains cagey about a potential WiMAX deal with Clearwire that would see the two companies merge their networks.  In an earnings call yesterday Hesse admitted that Sprint was sitting on "an enormous asset" in the shape of the WiMAX spectrum, but refused to be drawn on further roll-out plans.

"We have had wide ranging discussions with Clearwire on potential relationships but no final agreements have been reached" Dan Hesse, CEO, Sprint

"I am extremely encouraged with what I have seen. Our soft launches in Baltimore, Washington and Chicago offer confidence in the performance of the technology Sprint has an enormous asset—nearly 100 megahertz of un-utilized spectrum—and we have the opportunity to have a three-year head start with our Xohm service, true wireless broadband with multi-megabit speed" Dan Hesse, CEO, Sprint

Nonetheless, Hesse did confirm that the carrier will be launching dual-mode CDMA and WiMAX handsets later on this year, though whether this would be in advance of further WiMAX soft launches or alongside them wasn't clear.

While rushing Xohm into service could undoubtedly lead to problems, Sprint do need to at least give solid confirmation of their intentions for the next 12-24 months.  Investors are still reeling from yesterday's dividend freeze, and the share price looks increasingly unsteady.  Publicising their plans might set deadlines that could be hard to meet, but with expectations of the under-performing network at an all-time low there doesn't seem much harm in attempting to reassure those with a vested interest that Sprint are still in the game.

[via mocoNews]

Carry your gum, game cartridges, or memory sticks in this little tin box that looks like a miniature Wii remote (it even has slightly raised buttons). $3.50 from Fractalspin, my favorite seller of geek jewelry and accessories.

This looks like something we might see in a movie about futuristic space travel (like the film Sunshine), but is actually a real present-day subterranean farm underneath a bank building in Tokyo. The project, with the cool sci-fi sounding name "Pasona O2," covers an area of 1,000 square meters (about 10,764 square feet). Created as a facility for teaching urban kids about agriculture, the farm grows rice as well as tomatoes, lettuce, strawberries, and other fruits and vegetables. If I worked above ground in that building, I'd be tempted to take my lunch breaks below ground - to get fresh air.

Take a look at some of the other beautiful photos at pruned. Also via Japundit, by way of Tokyo Mango.

Mitsubishi has announced today [pdf link] that, after the current range of cellphones it sells through Japanese carrier NTT DoCoMo, it will no longer manufacturer handsets.  Blaming a saturated market in the country, the company will instead concentrate on hardware for next-generation networks, including transceivers and base stations.

"It has become difficult these days, however, to expect growth in demands for the already matured domestic mobile phone market, with the increasingly diverse preferences of consumers leading to severe business conditions. Consequently, Mitsubishi Electric's mobile handset business has recently suffered shipment decreases and it has become extremely difficult to expect improvement in this field" Mitsubishi press release

Aftercare will still be handled by Mitsubishi for existing owners, and the company expects to continue working with NTT DoCoMo only on network infrastructure rather than cellphones themselves.  They predict a shortfall of 17 billion yen ($163m) in pre-tax income for this current fiscal year, although Mitsubishi expect to absorb that loss with improvements in other fields.

Press Release

TOKYO -(Business Wire)- Mar. 2, 2008 Mitsubishi Electric Corporation (President and CEO: Setsuhiro Shimomura) announced today that the company has decided to no longer continue its mobile handset business in Japan in order to strategically shift resources to the communication-related business and other businesses the company plans to strengthen. This decision has been made with a view to further accelerate the company's growth strategy under the management policy of "making strong businesses stronger."

1. Mitsubishi Electric to Terminate Mobile Handset Business

Mitsubishi Electric started supplying car phones in 1983 to Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Public Corp. and since then, the company has been involved in the mobile handset business in Japan, with the recent products supplied to NTT DoCoMo, Inc. (hereafter "NTT DoCoMo.") It has become difficult these days, however, to expect growth in demands for the already matured domestic mobile phone market, with the increasingly diverse preferences of consumers leading to severe business conditions. Consequently, Mitsubishi Electric's mobile handset business has recently suffered shipment decreases and it has become extremely difficult to expect improvement in this field.

Under these circumstances, Mitsubishi Electric has considered the course of action involving the mobile handset business from every aspect and decided to no longer continue the business. The company will strategically shift its resources to other businesses the company plans to strengthen, thus continuously boosting the company's business performance and further increasing its corporate value.

Mitsubishi Electric will therefore stop launches of newly developed models after the current models supplied to and sold by NTT DoCoMo.

Even after the business restructure, however, we will continue after-sales-service as well as the recall of D06 lithium batteries (announced in Japan on Dec. 7, 2006).

Meanwhile, Diamondtelecom, Inc., which is a mobile phone sales dealer and a subsidiary of Mitsubishi Electric, will continue and work to further expand its business.

Mitsubishi Electric will also work to maintain and further strengthen the partnership with NTT DoCoMo through the communication related business we aim to expand.

Summary of Mitsubishi Electric's Mobile Handset Business

1) Shipment forecast of approximately 2.1 million handsets in fiscal 2008 (April 1, 2007-March 31, 2008).

2) Sales forecast of approximately 100 billion yen in fiscal 2008.

3) Approximately 600 employees, including R font-size: 11px; padding-top: 10px; padding-bottom: 10px;">

Mobile phone roaming fees have again made headlines after a UK man has been charged £11,000 ($21,852) for downloading four episodes of TV sitcom Friends.  The downloads - which were initiated while in the UK and free under the user's "unlimited" cellular broadband - were continued after the unnamed businessman travelled to Germany, automatically resuming but on the roaming networks per-megabyte data rate.  Vodafone has issued a statement claiming it warns customers of exceeded data quotas, but admitted that it can take longer to do so if the user is overseas. 



"Sending a text message or downloading data in another country should not be substantially more expensive than at home.  Higher retail charges abroad must be justified or they will have to disappear"Viviane Reding, European Union commissioner for information, society and media

Industry regulator Ofcom has announced it will be "looking to take action", and the organisation is already looking at pushing through a ruling that would force greater parity between home and roaming rates for SMS messaging and data.

Vodafone are yet to confirm whether they will be charging the full £11,000 amount or not.

Apparently taking a leaf out of Motorola's book (and who wouldn't with the success that Moto are having right now), Samsung are prepping four new colour versions of the a737 for AT&T.  White, hot pink, purple and electric blue will join the existing red, orange, blue and lime at some point in the not too distant future.



The a737 is a 15mm thick HSDPA slider with quadband GSM/EDGE, a 1.3-megapixel camera, microSD slot supporting cards up to 4GB in size and compatibility with AT&T's media download services.

It's currently

A second RIM patent documenting a smartphone where the keyboard is hidden on a sliding panel has been published, submitted a month later than the first we saw at the beginning of February.  Titled "Hybrid portrait-landscape handheld device with trackball navigation and hide-away keyboard" the patent describes a smartphone similar to HTC's TyTN, with its QWERTY keyboard sliding out from behind the screen, only with the BlackBerry trackball instead of a D-pad.  RIM describe the handset as being used in portrait mode for calls and reading messages, and suggest a touchscreen and/or voice control could be used when the keyboard is not extended.

American Technology Research analyst Shaw Wu has once again named Apple stock as potential hot property, citing the well-rumored upcoming Exchange and other corporate email support for the iPhone as boosting demand for the company. 

"Even before the iPhone was launched, our concern was its mediocre corporate email support even though it had strong consumer email capability (Yahoo! Mail, Gmail, .Mac, AOL mail). Our concern stemmed partially from Exchange's lukewarm support of Macs (understandably so as Microsoft needs to defend its Windows franchise)" Shaw Wu, Analyst, ATR

Predicting a share price of $175, Wu claimed to have heard from industry insiders that Apple has been trialling pro email support on the iPhone during "months of beta testing".  However the origins of the support are uncertain, with Wu suspecting it to be the work of an internal Apple team of developers but at the same time conceding Microsoft could have played a part themselves.

"What isn't as clear to us is how Apple will accomplish this, whether this is from internal development (most likely), third-parties including MSFT (next likely) with its ActiveSync technology, or RIM Blackberry Connect (possible but less likely), or a combination of two or more" Shaw Wu

Also in his prediction are better VPN support, compatibility with Enterprise software such as Customer Relationship Management systems, and improved security to ease the concerns of IT departments.  The home-brew community has created applications that satisfy many of these categories already, but such software generally requires hacking an iPhone in ways corporate customers would be unlikely to entertain.  Indeed, the market for hacked iPhones is partly what prompted Wu's enthusiasm for Apple stock; he suggests ten million of the handsets will ship by the end of the year.

[via Macworld UK]

The fear of a dead cellphone battery no doubt prompts me to "top up" my handset more often than is either necessary or good for the battery pack itself, which is why I'm seriously eyeing up FreeLoader's Portable Solar Charger.  Version 8.0 of the device - which has both a solar panel array as well as an onboard battery pack - can apparently power a cellphone for up to 44 hours from a full charge, an iPod for 18 hours or a PSP for 2.5 hours.  It ships with eleven different power adaptors (including iPhone and iPod Touch plugs; you can see the full list after the cut), while more are available as well including in-car, AA and AAA battery adaptors.





Priced at £29.99 ($59.60) and available in silver or pink, the internal battery will maintain its charge for three months without further topping-up.  It's available now.

Included adaptors: 

Dedicated Connector for I-pod, I-pod nano, Iphone
LG - KG800 Chocolate / Shine Series
Nokia Old 3.5mm jack and compatible phones
Nokia New 2mm jack and compatible N series phones
Samsung A288 and compatible Series phones
Samsung D800 and compatible current Series phones
Sony Ericsson K750 and compatible Series phones
4mm Jack compatible with Sony PSP, Tom Tom, some Digital Cameras, PDA's and Two Way Radios
Dedicated Connector for Nintendo DS Lite
Mini USB compatible with Blackberry, Smart Phones, Motorola Phones, HTC Phones, Qtek Phones, some Digital Cameras and other devices that charge via a mini USB port.
USB female for use with devices that can be charged via USB on your computer. For example MP3 or MP4 players and some Digital Cameras

Available FreeLoader 8.0 Accessories include:

Spare Freeloader battery and hub (s)
Adaptor plug to suit iPod and iPod Nano
Adaptor plug to suit Siemens BenQ mobile phones
Adaptor plug to suit Nintendo Game boy Advanced / Old style DS
Adaptor plug to suit Nintendo Game boy Micro
Adaptor plug to suit Nintendo DS lite (now included with freeloader)
Adaptor plug to suit Samsung 2.5mm jack mobile phones
Adaptor plug to suit Panasonic mobile phones
Adaptor plug to suit Palm One PDA's and mobile devices
Adaptor plug to suit Alcatel mobile phones
Adaptor plug to suit Siemens C55 mobile phones
Adaptor plug to suit Siemens C25 mobile phones
Adaptor plug to suit Sanyo mobile phones
Adaptor plug to suit Motorola 3mm jack mobile phones
Adaptor plug to suit Sagem mobile phones
Adaptor plug to suit Micro USB connected mobile phones
In car power Adaptor
Mains power Adaptor
Freeloader Pouch
Spare Freeloader battery and hub (pink)
Freeloader Pouch (pink)
Adaptor plug to suit New Nokia mobile phones
Adaptor plug to suit Old Sony Ericson mobile phones
Adaptor plug to suit Old Motorola  mobile phones
Adaptor plug to suit New Samsung phones
Freeloader AA font-size: 11px; padding-top: 10px; padding-bottom: 10px;">

Another week, another cellphone concept made of ecozeitgeist material of the moment bamboo; Gert-Jan van Breugel's concept goes one step further, however, not only being made of the grass but containing its seeds as well.  That means, once it's been buried at the end of its lifespan, new bamboo can be grown.  The plant in fact feeds off the rest of the casing, which would be made from corn-based bio-plastic.





Power is also environmentally provided, with the whole handset becoming a hand-powered crank to recharge its battery.  van Breugel estimates a three-minute cranking session (isn't that what Lil Jon does?) would be enough for a single phone call. The design is an entry for core77's Greener Gadgets 2008 competition.



[via JUMPB]

UK carrier O2, currently Apple's partner in the country for the iPhone, have been threatened with a £40m ($79m) fine by telecoms regulator Ofcom for failing to meet a 3G licence roll-out requirement last year.  The clause, which obliged any UK carrier with a 3G licence to build a network catering for at least 80-percent of the population by the end of December 2007, was intended to prevent spectrum buyers from picking up the rights but failing to produce a viable network; O2's four rivals, each with their own licence, have all met the 80-percent minimum.  O2 itself has 3G coverage for 75.7-percent of the population.

Ofcom has given the network up until June to meet the target, otherwise they will be subject to a fine potentially reaching £40m and a subsequent four month reduction.  O2 are seemingly unconcerned by the challenge, however:

"O2's strategy has been to roll out our 3G network in areas where there is the most demand, providing high quality, in-building coverage in those areas. We have rolled out our 3G network to over 75% of the population. Where we do have coverage it has consistently provided the best quality. We also have one of the larger 3G customer bases" O2 statement

Some have speculated that the delay in 3G was caused by the carrier concentrating on building an EDGE network suitable for the iPhone, although this has not been confirmed.

[via Pocket-lint]

These indoor/outdoor herb gardens from UncommonGoods (for $16 each), would make nice house-warming gifts, even for someone who doesn't have a green thumb. Each garden comes in a biodegradable pot made of renewable grain husks, mainly rice hulls, with soil and seeds to grow lemon basil, garlic chives, or parsley. These are the only selections, but if they had cilantro and sage, I'd cover my deck with them during the spring and summer, and set them by my kitchen window during the winter.

The US division of Dubai-based WM smartphone manufacturer i-mate has apparently been left with a skeleton staff, after a combination of redundancies and staff walk-outs following problems delivering their new Ultimate line of cellphones to retail channels as well as "massive resistance" from carriers reluctant to offer the handsets.  All staff in the engineering, QA and tech writing departments were laid off, and several other employees - including the Chief Software Officer and VP of Sales and Marketing - left voluntarily, in some cases in support of their unemployed colleagues.

i-mate in the US now consists of a General Manager (a freshly promoted sales director) and a small staff who will be managing the company's webshop for unlocked Ultimate handsets.  Having displayed their latest products at the Mobile World Congress, i-mate had received much coverage for their VGA-screened 9502 smartphone, but had yet to finalise distribution deals with any of the US carriers.

If it wasn't for Verizon's sterling financial performance lately, you'd have to wonder whether there's something about CDMA that sucks finances straight out of carrier's wallets.  Not only is Sprint suffering a major cash-flow crisis, but things over at network MVNO Helio are looking to be pretty precarious too.  Certainly not to the extent of Sprint - writing off $30bn in a quarter is pretty tough to beat - but the niche carrier is certainly at a junction point of sorts.  Helio made $171m in revenue in 2007 while losing $327m, adding up to a total $560m debt over three years; however, that revenue beat, by a million, the company's own predicted takings, while the loss was under their $340-360m prediction.  Year on year growth was also promising, as revenue increased 264-percent while loses increased 70-percent.

And when you actually look through the carrier's figures, you'll see that debt figures even in the most profitable accounts book.  Verizon may have seen 2007 increases of 13.3-percent in wireless revenues, but the network is still carrying $31.2bn in debt.  Now the difference is that they're paying some of it off - $5bn in Q4 2007 - but it underscores the fact that shelling out huge, scary quantities of money is par for the course if you want to run a wireless business.

The question, then, is whether Helio's owners - SK Telecom - have the stomach for more debt and the attitude to deal with a cellular market looking increasingly bullish and, at times, desperate.  The news has been full of the carrier's $99.99 deals, and Helio really could've done more to draw attention to its own plan that, before Sprint steadied its nerve and threw Simply Everything into the ring, already offered unlimited access to all features.  As we wrote about Sprint yesterday, WiMAX could be the next big draw for Helio, too, and arguably the data-heavy and high-tech functionality the smaller carrier specialise in would be an even more obvious playground for WiMAX's high-speed connectivity.  I think, personally, it would be a shame to see Helio go under - anything that drives innovation in the US market has to be a good thing - but unless they can convince users and investors that they're still a key player, they may become just another casualty.

If you're in love with your feature-packed HTC smartphone but having serious commitment issues with the headphones the manufacturer supplies, then Brando's 3-in-1 adaptor might be just the thing to keep relations rosy.  A standard 3.5mm headphone socket means your ears are free to choose their favourite 'phones, while miniUSB means you can recharge and synchronise the handset to.  Finally, there's a built in microphone and call-answer button if you want to use your smartphone as, well, a phone. 





It's compatible with most recent and not-so-recent HTC smartphones (check out the full compatibility list over at Brando's site) and retails for an eminently affordable $15.  That sounds like a pittance in the name of relationship harmony. 

[via Coolest Gadgets]

There was a spattering of BlackBerry flavoured confusion over the weekend, as conflicting messages came out of the Sprint camp regarding eligibility of RIM handset owners to sign up to the carrier's new Simply Everything plan.  Apparently, some callers were told that, despite it being specifically mentioned in the T BIS is included, although if you want access to corporate servers you'll need the BlackBerry Enterprise Server add-on which runs to an additional $20 a month. 



"The $99 plan includes BlackBerry Internet Services (BIS: access to Web, other data services as available on BlackBerry devices; no corporate server access). Access to the BlackBerry Enterprise Server (BES: corporate server, access to corporate email/calendar/contacts/firewall) is available for an additional $20 premium" Sprint statement

The need for clarification raises yet more questions about Sprint's customer services provisions, and the call centres have come under renewed criticism from users torn between the carrier's newly champion plan and the fear of having to deal with the phone support team. 

After claims on Friday that Apple would be policing iPhone software produced using the official SDK, insisting on distributing it solely via iTunes and only after vetting it themselves, further sources have provided more detail of the company's plans for third-party apps.  Electronista is reporting that Apple's strenuous validating procedure will only apply if the developers are looking to sell the software; free programs will not be constrained by the same rules, and Apple will in fact be unlikely to examine these releases at all.

Instead, the sources claim, Apple would focus solely on paid-for software, which it would expect to take a cut of the sale price from.  Speculation has been that the company is attempting to stimulate the iPhone development community into building a broad range of readily available applications, so as to counter criticism that platforms such as Windows Mobile and S60 have a far greater catalogue of third-party software.

Overshadowed by its all-inclusive big brother, Sprint actually announced another unlimited plan yesterday: seemingly aimed at more traditional cellphone users, $89.99 a month gets you unlimited voice, messaging and push-to-talk use but leaves out the data, GPS and mobile entertainment functionality.  Personally I'd prefer to see unlimited internet access in there rather than PTT, but it's still undercutting Verizon, AT font-size: 11px; padding-top: 10px; padding-bottom: 10px;">

News of Apple's RoadMap event on March 6th has not only given third-party developers something to look forward to, but reignited discussion of which category the iPhone itself fits into.  Obviously PHONE Magazine will be there next week, Live Blogging the event to bring you all of the details as Steve and his friends discuss the next phase of their already-iconic cellphone, but the longer-term question is whether official non-Apple software will be enough to convince analysts and IT professionals that the iPhone is a true smartphone. 

"It turns out that [the iPhone] will be closed to third party applications. Therefore we must conclude at this point that, based on our current definition, the iPhone is not a smartphone: it is a very high-end feature phone" Philip Solis, ABI Research 

Back in January last year, ABI Research's Philip Solis denied that the iPhone could be properly discussed in the same breath as a Treo or a Windows Mobile handset; their definition of a smartphone was something open to third-party apps produced in a competitive environment.  Since then, the iPhone hacking community and their tireless efforts to keep the handset 'Jailbroken' has blurred this differentiation between Apple's handset and rivals; similarly, sales of the iPhone have seemingly not been dulled by the extra, unofficial steps necessary to install software. 

Official, sanctioned software - with the support of Apple and the reassurance that the iPhone's warranty will not be affected - would tick one of the final boxes left unsatisfied in reviewers' minds.  The phrasing of the RoadMap invite, "learn about the iPhone software roadmap, including the iPhone SDK and some exciting new enterprise features", suggests another of the stumbling blocks might be rectified: Exchange support for true push-email, finally bringing the iPhone into the business fold.

Of course, not everything is 100-percent rosy. Our sister-site SlashGear is reporting on rumors that Apple's upcoming SDK announcement is not, in fact, to launch the iPhone's software development kit, but in fact only a beta; suspicions are that Apple is yet to finish it, and as such will delay the full launch until the WWDC during the Summer.

Late or not, though, the SDK will eventually arrive and with it the next stage of the iPhone's life.  Accused of being too tightly controlled by Apple - both the locked-down OS and the constant battle between firmware updates and Jailbreak methods - the success of the handset as a true smartphone will depend on how loosely they police third-party applications.  Back in November Apple confirmed that it would be implementing digital signatures in order to track software and confirm legitimacy.

“That way if there’s something wrong with an application, you have a way to track it back to where it came from.  So one of the things we want to do, again, is create a development environment that is going to maintain the security and reliability of the iPhone yet at the same time offer developers some really cool things that we can do” Greg Joswiak, iPod and iPhone marketing chief, Apple

Too loose, and they run the risk of the iPhone becoming tainted in the same way Windows Mobile is sometimes criticised: that less than perfect software spoils the carefully crafted experience and sours user impressions.  Too tight, and the iPhone may not be taken seriously as a true Enterprise-capable device.  But if there's one thing Apple have shown us, it's that, perhaps better than any other company, they're eminently capable of treading - and, more importantly perhaps, willing to try to tread - the difficult centre balance.

We're really interested to hear your opinions on the iPhone and the ongoing "is it a smartphone?" debate - let us know your thoughts in the comments.  And remember, join us on March 6th at 10am PST for our Live Blog of the Apple RoadMap event!

According to Crave, mobile device manufacturer MWg (formerly O2 Asia) is planning on launching a number of new smartphones in the second half of 2008, which will incorporate Splashpower's wireless charging.  While the collaboration with the UK-based magnetic induction specialist has been known for a while now, MWg had previously declined to indicate a timescale for when we could see products announced.  MWg Vice President Sanjay Sabnini confirmed yesterday that the smartphones (or PDA phones) would make up part of three to six new devices, also including new UMPC models that will also recharge wirelessly.

While there's quite a range of choice for in-car Bluetooth hands-free speakerphones, many of them require either regular recharging or a 12V hook-up via the cigarette lighter socket.  If you're like me, that socket it already taken up by your GPS, so you either swap between (and cope with what seems like miles of cabling snaking all over the dashboard) or you don't bother answering calls until you're parked up.  Anycom have another solution: their SCK-1 Bluetooth hands-free kit is solar powered, giving thirty minutes of talktime for every 3hrs of sunlight.





Not a vast amount, perhaps, but enough to handle the occasional call; plus, if you do find your 12V socket free, there's an adaptor that will charge it up in a mere 2hrs.  Anycom quote 15hrs talktime from a full battery, or 25 days standby, and there's DSP noise cancelling and echo reduction. 

The SCK-1 is compatible with voice-dialling, three-way calling and redial/hold/mute functions, should your cellphone offer them, and is available now for $89.99. 

[via bookofjoe]

I've become quite cynical about online project management tools. With each new brand that comes out, I'm either underwhelmed (because there aren't enough features) or overwhelmed (because there are too many features - but most of them I'll never use - and the system is too complicated for my project partners to bother with). Yet, I remain persistent in my search for the perfect application that will free me from having to use four diffrent methods for communicating with people on a given project.

I just became aware of MyQuire, a web application with standard fare project management features: calendar, projects & task assignments, file and photo upload, notifications, and online chat. But MyQuire distinguishes itself from the crowd of other project collaboration and management applications by combining these features with a social networking element, so that you can set up different groups as well as networks to draw from for various projects.

Though I'm not that impressed with MyQuire from a pure project management standpoint, I can see how it could be very useful for charity projects (calling upon a group of people to help rebuild a school in a third world country, for instance) and community events, as well as for organizing social events for enthusiast/hobby groups (like those emerging out of Meetup.com).

I like the concept, and hope that it becomes part of a trend towards building online social networks around causes.

Samsung's Vice Chairman, Lee Hak-soo, was questioned on Friday by South Korean officials investigating claims that the conglomerate is guilty of tax evasion, mis-sold shares and using a $213m "slush fund" to bribe government employees and the courts.  Many of the claims come from Samsung's ex-attorney Kim Yong-chul, who accused the company of corruption and of bypassing the law in an attempt to avoid paying inheritance tax and to ensure control of different sub-corporations are passed unhindered from father to son. 

Lee Hak-soo's questioning has led to speculation that Samsung chairman Lee Kun-hee is next in line to be brought in; investigators have already raided the conglomerate's offices, including the chairman's office itself.

Photo credit AP/Yonhap, Park Ji-ho

"I faithfully answered in response to the various things they asked" Lee Hak-soo, Vice Chairman, Samsung

Samsung has denied the allegations, and is currently appealing against several court rulings concerning bonds convertible to shares sold to children of executives at below market value. 

Various other members of Samsung's management have been questioned as part of the investigation, which is expected to run until April.

iLounge have received apparently trustworthy but non-attributable confirmation of something we wondered about back in November: that not only will the iPhone SDK that Apple will officially announce on March 6th require third-party software to be distributed via the iTunes store, but that the company will insist on vetting each application before it's made available.  Apparently Apple will also prevent third-party apps from accessing the dock connector, meaning programs would be unable to take advantage of any add-ons or accessories for the iPhone or iPod Touch.  The plan has been likened to iTunes' scarce collection of iPod games as opposed to the broad music catalogue.  Meanwhile, their sources also confirmed the rumor that the SDK released next month will merely be a beta of the long-awaited development toolkit, with the final version delayed until the Worldwide Developers Conference in June.

"Our sources confirm that Apple will act as a gatekeeper for applications, deciding which are and are not worthy of release, and publishing only approved applications to the iTunes Store One source saw this as a positive for major developers, suggesting that Apple will be choked by application submissions and forced to give priority to releases from larger companies, another source disagreed, stating that Apple’s current approval processes for third-party products have resulted in lengthy, needless delays" Jeremy Horwitz, iLounge

The news has been met with disappointment by iPhone users and software developers, with Apple again accused of too tightly policing the software environment.

Do you know what this is? It's a "celestial watch" which, in case you didn't know, keeps perfect celestial time as the face rotates in real time.You can precisely tell the placement of the stars just by using the watch’s many measurements and rotating the dials. (I'm lucky if I know what time zone I'm in so this is not a good choice for me.)

A limited edition, there are also versions in yellow (200) and handsome blue (300.) These Astrodea models from Citizen, including the Moon Age and the 2007 “small” versions, are available at Trends in Japan. $585 for the large version; $449 for the smaller one.

If you're in love with your feature-packed HTC smartphone but having serious commitment issues with the headphones the manufacturer supplies, then Brando's 3-in-1 adaptor might be just the thing to keep relations rosy.  A standard 3.5mm headphone socket means your ears are free to choose their favourite 'phones, while miniUSB means you can recharge and synchronise the handset to.  Finally, there's a built in microphone and call-answer button if you want to use your smartphone as, well, a phone. 





It's compatible with most recent and not-so-recent HTC smartphones (check out the full compatibility list over at Brando's site) and retails for an eminently affordable $15.  That sounds like a pittance in the name of relationship harmony. 

[via Coolest Gadgets]

Air Canada have launched a mobile version of their Flight Pass prepaid flight credits system, which allows travellers to view and manage flights and even check-in from their cellphone.  The airline describes Flight Pass as "a prepaid package of electronic one-way flight credits used for travel within a selected geographic zone during a specific period", making it ideal for round-the-world trips with multiple stops, and business and group versions are available.  What's new is the http://mobile.aircanada.com portal, with full access to the remaining credit balance and the ability to search and book flights. 





The same functionality is available on a normal PC as well as on a smartphone.  Air Canada's service is live now.

[via mobilesyrup]

A jaunty looking David Beckham helped Motorola Korea launch their

Details of three new LG fashion cellphones are beginning to appear in advance of CeBIT, all bearing an 'F' prefix that seems to stand for 'Fashion'.  The KF240 is believed to be a 2-megapixel music phone initially targeted at Latin America and Asia, while little is known of the KF300; however, the most interesting is this, the KF750 - an apparently high-end slider with an interestingly backlit touch-sensitive control panel and 5-megapixel camera.





Photo via phoneArena

The KF750 also has a front-mounted VGA camera, presumably for 3G video calls, a microSD card slot and 160MB of internal memory.  A Romanian auction site apparently has one for sale.

Faced with $99 "all the calls you can make" plans from Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile, Sprint have throw caution (and profits?) to the wind and

If you thought the store closure today was just to prep Sprint employees on the carrier's new $100 Simply Everything plan, think again; there's a fair chance some strong motivational encouragement was going on too, as the company today announced a quarterly loss of $29.45bn thanks to a goodwill write-off, predicted further decline in subscriber numbers, and even froze dividends for "the foreseeable future".  It's news that has sent Sprint's share price into a tailspin, dropping 13-percent to a five-year low, and prompted CEO Dan Hesse to describe the situation as "more difficult than what I expected to find" when he took over in December last year.

With subscriber losses expected to reach a massive 1.2 million this quarter (compared to outsider predictions of around 400,000) and the company bluntly suggesting that there'll be no significant turnaround of that in Q2, analysts have been deeply pessimistic about the carrier: Stanford Group analyst Michael Nelson described the figures as "considerably worse than even the most bearish estimates out there."  Sprint is predicting Q1 operating income at up to $0.7bn less than initial market expectations: $1.8-1.9bn compared to Stifel Nicolaus analyst Chris King's prediction of $2.3bn.

Sprint has confessed to borrowing money from a revolving credit facility - $2.5bn, in fact - and both they and the analysts are doubtful that the Simply Everything plan will be what the company needs to repay that; instead, Hesse believes the carrier's brand is in need of serious attention as it currently "lack[s] relevance and a clear message."

Samsung have obviously been watching the N-series competition from Nokia and have sent their i550 smartphone back to the lab for an all important 802.11 tweak: renamed the i550w, the S60 cellphone now has WiFi in addition to the existing HSDPA.  All other specs for the smartphone remain the same, which means you get a 2.6-inch QVGA display, 3.2-megapixel autofocus camera with flash, GPS and a microSD slot.



Specs:

* HSDPA, UMTS, EDGE, GSM 900/1800/1900 MHz +2100 MHz connectivity
* 3.2 megapixel camera with autofocus and flash
* 2.6-inch QVGA 262K color TFT display
* Built-in GPS
* FM Radio
* Bluetooth 2.0 (with A2DP)
* USB 2.0 High Speed
* 3.5 mm headphone jack
* Symbian 9.2 OS with S60 3.1 UI
* Full HTML browsing
* RSS support
* 1200 mAh battery
* 150 MB of built-in memory
* expandable to 4GB with via microSD
* Dimensions: 115×53×13.8 mm  

The i550w appears to be already on-sale, priced at around $395 SIM-free.

[via Unwired View]

We spend so much time looking forward at the next generation of mobile devices (or theorising about the future with never-gonna-happen concepts) that it's nice occasionally to take a look back at the development process for some models we're more familiar with.  Heliocity got their hands on some images of prototype Helio devices, including (clockwise from top left) the Hero, the Ocean, and two versions of the Kickflip.





Most different from its final form is the Kickflip, also shown below, which in prototype form had an external aerial and a rear-mounted secondary LCD for framing self-portraits (replaced by a far cheaper mirror).  The Ocean (shown above in final form, left, and prototype form, right) is also an example of what some cosmetic tweaks can achieve; I think it would be in far fewer pockets if they'd left it looking like the test version.

Kevin Choi from

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LWvIj0iszFE

The MC950D measures 70 x 25 x 12mm and has an integrated antenna; it keeps all its drivers and software on built-in flash memory, so you can basically plug it into any laptop (PC or Mac) and be up and running.

Novatel also make a MC930D version of the modem, which offers only the 2100MHz band.

Ubuntu today announced the launch of their Mobile Linux OS, yet another open-source competitor for the Mobile Internet Device (MID) market.  Out of the box, Ubuntu are promising full web 2.0 and AJAX compatibility, including Flash and Java support, together with media playback, GPS and 3D graphics.   MID devices are the brainchild of Intel, intended as an ideal platform for their power-miserly Silverthorne chipset, and Ubuntu are keen to stress their close work with the silicon manufacturer to fully integrate the Mobile OS.  There also seems to have been some Apple watching going on, as their GUI uses similar swipes, gestures and stylus-free taps to navigate.





Two interfaces have been shown, the aptly-named 'Clutter' shown above in green, and 'Flash User' below which removes much of the extraneous options.   Ubuntu will be leaving the hardware up to OEMs and ODMs, but envisage MID devices to have touchscreens between 4 and 7-inches, multiple wireless connectivity (including WiFi, Bluetooth, 3G or WiMAX), GPS, 2GB to 8GB of flash storage, OpenGL 3D acceleration, a camera and optional hardware keyboard.



[via Digg]

Out of Toshiba's G-Series Portégé cellphones, the most unusual was the tri-circular G450; intended to only do duty as an occasional handset, its primary purpose was to provide UMTS/HSDPA cellular broadband to a laptop via its built-in USB connectivity.  Crave UK have been playing with one and, for £100 ($194), come away surprisingly impressed.  While standard phone functions are made more tricky with the non-traditional keypad layout, it lacks MMS and a camera, and the screen is a compact three-line affair, what it does do it seems to do pretty well. 





Really, it's the HSDPA option that most people will pick the G450 up for; why choose a normal USB data modem that's only good for surfing the net, when you could have one which also lets you make calls (while surfing in fact) and send trickily-typed text messages.

It'll be available in the UK at the end of March.

Verizon's CDMA version of the Samsung F700, the U940 (previously codenamed "Q-ball") that's supposedly set to launch in March this year, has had photos and its user manual put up on the FCC's site.  They confirm that, unlike the F700, the handset will have a 2-megapixel camera, but otherwise the casing appears to be the same. 



Disappointingly, the user manual states that "The Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) browser on your phone allows you to access the web", which puts to rest the idea that the U940 would ship with a full HTML browser.  It's a move that will see many potential users look elsewhere for their next smartphone purchase.

As yet there is no indication from Verizon as to the price of the U940, nor confirmation on that suspected March release date.