Have you ever had your phone die either on the road with a friend or at their house, oly to realize they don't have a charger that works with your phone? It's happened to me more than once, and I've always wondered why there couldn't just be a standard connection over all cell phones. Well, the forward thinkers in the European Commission have heard these same outcries, and are set to make micro-USB the standard for smartphones and data-enabled phones starting in January 2011.

This stems from an agreement that was signed by the top ten mobile manufacturers last year. Yes, that includes Apple. According to Dennis Abbott, an EC spokesman, "Introduction of the universal charger will make life much simpler for EU consumers. When you discover you've left your charger at home or work, you will be able to use someone else's, knowing it will fit your phone. How cool is that?"

I can only hope that this piece of legislation can make its way over to the U.S. and across the rest of the world as well. With these phones already having to follow this standard in Europe, there's no reason for heir equivalents elsewhere to be any different. In this case, hooray for conformity!

Mark Hurd, the CEO of Hewlett Packard (HP), has resigned from his position today after a marketing consultant for the company accused him of sexual harassment. The Board of Directors of HP launched an independent investigation of the accusations on June 29th after a letter was sent to outside legal counsel about the incident.

HP general counsel Michael Holston spoke to reporters today about the incident and also stated CFO Cathie Lesjak will take over on an interim basis while Marc Andreesen and three directors undergo the task of finding a permanent replacement. This comes as a large blow to the company, which has undergone a fairly large turnaround and was seeing improved earnings and had acquired Palm for a larger foothold in the mobile market.

Here is the statement released by Mark Hurd: (courtesy of BusinessInsider)

Australian developed tool "Wave" was being promised to revolutionize the way people electronically message each other and was one of many projects Google was keen to add to its arsenal.

Unfortunately, Google Wave is a wipout after the company today announced it plans to axe the facility. It is being said that the main reason for its demise is due to the complexity of it; while it has clear advantages over any other types of electronic messaging services available, particularly e-mail, it was quite new and involved.

Google Australia's Lars Rasmussen who thought up and put the concept into action had this to say; "We had a lot of interest after we first showed a demo and then when we got it out into peoples' hands there was a fair bit of disappointment because it didn't change the world overnight.

If you're proud of your shiny new iPhone 4, be sure to hold onto it real good when standing / walking over a hard surface, or at least invest in a decent case for it.

Apple went on this big spiel leading up to the release of the new-gen phone about how it uses 'aluminosilicate glass' which it said is the same type of glass used in the windshields of high-speed trains and and helicopters. In their words exactly, Apple said it was "chemically strengthened to be 20 times stiffer and 30 times harder than plastic, the glass is ultradurable and more scratch resistant than ever".

So then, with that in mind, take a look at this picture of someone's new pride and joy :-

Ahh, technology; a road that never ends and there's always something new on the horizon. A pretty funky iPhone application was launched today by the Commonwealth bank which more or less gives the ability to point their phone at a house from out the front and access both its sale price as well as giving a virtual peek inside.

The new app harnesses mobile phone camera and location based tech to map the user's position; then it simply matches it with information about the house such as how many bedrooms and bathrooms it has, the exterior or interior (or both) sale photographs and also its most recent sale price. Said information is obtained via property website Realestate.com.au and rpdata.com.

A CBA spokesperson has confirmed the information is made available publicly to anyone with the iPhone and its new app installed. There is no charge for using this facility (at this stage, at least). the CBA feels this is the way to go after noting results from a study by a media company initiative whereby it was determined that Australians are spending an average of 27 minutes a day online on their smartphones and that 70% of decisions in the home lending market have been made while online.

Telstra's really pushing to outdo its competitors with its range of iPhone 4 plans. Further testament to this is word today that it has risen its data allowance for minimal extra cost, though apparently this is in part due to a glitch in their billing system.

Several people have now reported that they've been given the opportunity to get 6GB of data connected to their plan for only $20 on top of the plan's fee. While Telstra does advertise a 6GB plan in its range, this usually costs $129. However, the loophole is allowing customers to get 6GB on their plan for as little as half that amount.

While there are small inconsistences in what is being offered to various customers, according to several Whirlpool users there looks to be a good chance of getting a similarly awesome deal when talking into Telstra shops to see what's on offer.

More dirty deeds from the inevitable; Telstra is reported to have been rorting its iPhone 4 customers at its T-Life stores by charging them prices that are significantly higher than what is advertised on their website.

It has been said that in some instances there are stores asking customers to sign contracts that agree to more than $1,000 of additional charges versus what is advertised here. Also, while it is well known that Telstra charges its post paid customers an up front cost for its 16 or 32GB iPhones, depending on the size of the monthly cap, some T-Life stores are also tacking on further monthly handset fees that adds up to hundreds of dollars across the full term of the contract.

A member of the Whirlpool forums has said that he approached the T-Life store manager about these discrepencies and was given a charming reply. Apparently the manager said that because he is the owner of the franchise he can charge whatever the hell he wants. He doesn't have to issue subsidised phones nor does he have to follow the iPhone 4 plans that Telstra have on their website.

So, the iPhone 4s are now in many aussies hands country wide; thoughts? - Are you holding off for a bit (or forced to due to sell-outs of initial batches) and wondering if it really is the right way to go over some other phones you've been eying off recently? - Stuart Kennedy of The Australian IT column gives his thoughts and also brings up that wretched antennagate issue plaguing folks in the states.

Does the 'gripe of death' haunt us Aussies, too? - Apparently so.

The fault works like this: grab an iPhone 4 with your hand wrapped around the gadget so that it covers the antennas at the base of the case and the presence of your paw throttles the life out of the network connection.

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.

The entire HTC release: (courtesy of Engadget)

Victoria's state government sees logic in giving a number of hospitals in the state a bunch of Apple iPads; no less than 500 to be handed out. The trial is set to commence from January of next year; details of which hospitals would be getting some of the iPads weren't disclosed at this time.

Daniel Andrews whom is Victoria's Health Minister said the roll-out is costing about $500,000 in total; the iPads are going to be handed over to graduate doctors, nurse practitioners and advanced practice nurses for use while treating patients.

"The iPads will allow doctors and nurses to access any web-enabled application run by their hospital as they move around the hospital, as well as allowing them to tap into health information resources. The iPads will connect via the Wi-Fi networks that allow secure, safe wireless connectivity within the hospital while not affecting other important and sensitive electronic patient care equipment."