Latest News - Page 5208

The folks at Aussie business news website, iTnews have an exclusive report on the performance of Vividwireless' 4G wireless broadband expansion which has reached Sydney and Melbourne.

Some maps that Vividwireless has let out reveal a much larger coverage area for Sydney when compared to Melbourne (at this stage), but both networks are still far smaller than their Perth network which kicked off around four months back.

The signal footprint for Sydney roughly covers areas like Rodd Point and Lewisham in the inner west, Mascot in the south, the Sydney Harbour Bridge to the north and Rose Bay to Matraville along the east coast.

In a not very surprising aftermath to the launch of Apple's iPhone 4 handset a few days ago, mobile phone dealers have struggled to meet demand. Both Optus and Telstra said the demand was unprecedented and in efforts to help cope with such demands somewhat, Telstra stores implemented an ad hoc customer prioritisation system.

An optus spokesperson has said that all of its stores had sold out of the phones within 15 hrs of launch.

As it stands now, many more are on order and the large telcos are taking down customers' details who go onto a waiting queue to obtain one from the next batch coming in. Apple are said to be working overtime to help replenish inventories ASAP. Telstra is expecting new stock to arrive by this coming Wednesday.

The past couple days have been sprinkled with rumors of Android 2.2 finally being ready for release over several handsets, and now it has been made official. Engadget got word directly from HTC that Froyo, the newest Android OS, will be available this weekend for owners of the HTC Desire in Europe.

This rollout is for unlocked versions of the phone; those that are locked into a carrier may have to play a little bit more of the waiting game to get their hands on Froyo. This update is expected "in several weeks' time" as testing is finished up. Along with the OS, the update for the Desire is also unlocking 720p recording mode, the HTC App Share widget, iTunes sync, and the Smart Caller ID feature.

An as of yet unannounced smartphone from Samsung, currently dubbed the "Cetus," was uncovered in a post by the Bluetooth SIG. Coming with Windows Phone 7, this is the first handset seen with Microsoft's OS that is outfitted with a front facing VGA camera listed as a "video call" camera.

Video calling is not a feature that Microsoft has officially stated that Windows Phone 7 supports. Skype announced a couple months back that they would not be working on an app for Windows Phone 7, so either Samsung is supporting the feature with its own software or Windows Phone 7 is capable of more than we are currently wise to. Other specs for the Cetus include a 4 inch 800x480 display, 5mp camera, Wireless N and Bluetooth capability, and an FM radio.

The Kindle app from Amazon got a pretty good facelift today. The iPhone and iPad version is receiving several new features, including a 250,000 entry dictionary and the ability to look up words on Google or Wikipedia. The dictionary, which other apps like iBooks and Barnes and Nobles's ereader already support, allows you to tap any word on the page to get a definition. The update also allows searching within books on the iPad and adds support for fast app switching on iOS 4 devices. The app is free and available for anyone running iOS 3.0 or later.

The rumor mill got restarted yesterday with the report that RIM had acquired the domain blackpad.com, and now it seems that will indeed b the moniker for their tablet project. The folks at Bloomberg apparently received some info from a source at RIM that the Blackberry inspired tablet will indeed be called the Blackpad and have a 9.7" screen. The tablet is hoped to be "introduced in November," although no projected shipping date was leaked. Here's hoping that this announcement date means we will get to play with the device at CES, though.

It seems the rumors were true; Froyo is indeed right around the corner from hitting the EVO 4G. In an official announcement, Sprint revealed August 3rd as the date that the EVO 4G will receive the long awaited Android 2.2 OS update.

Dubbing themselves "the first wireless carrier to bring the latest version of Android to its customers," this is indeed a big step forward as Froyo has only been available to certain unlocked phones to this point. Some listed features and enhancements include Voice Dialing Over Bluetooth, Application Storage on External Memory, 4-way camera rotation, and Improved Browser Performance including a faster JavaScript engine and Flash 10x Support.

I live in Texas where it is hotter than the surface of the sun for most of the summer. A remote start system lets you get your car nice and cool so you can actually touch the controls without being burned when you get in.

If you use an Android phone and want a remote start system the Viper SmartStart application is now available for Android devices. The application was previously only available for the iPhone and Blackberry handsets.

If you liked those watch phones that you can wear on your wrist that have surfaced this year, but you want to keep your existing handset a new option is available. A company called Atomic9 has unveiled a wrist worn Bluetooth speakerphone.

The device has a 30-foot range to let you walk and move around the home or office without the phone on you. When a call comes in the wristband can beep or vibrate and speak caller ID info.

If you have a netbook that you take back and forth from home to the office you have probably wished that you had two power adapters at some point. Having to crawl under the desk to unplug and plug that power cord is a pain.

If you need a new power adapter for your netbook, Duracell has announced a new offering that is priced well. The Duracell Portable Universal Netbook AC Adapter sells for a bit under $50 and will be in stores and online.